food, and raiment, and lodgings, and things that perish, ho devoted all the etrenO"th of his thought and pnrposc to the supreme ohiect for which he had come into the :•orld. It may be urged that this, though admirable in him, is really no model for us. Wo cannot lead auythiug like that simple, untrammelled, uuconventional life of which we read in the Gospels. Now, no one alleges that in form we can live as our Saviour [i\·ed, or.hi~ servant Pa:1I. llut \ye do maintain that Christians ought to catch the spirit and pr111c1ple of the life of Clmst, and therefore should not let artificial wants multiply or needless anxieties entangle their hearts. Unless pains be taken to prevent it, lifo becomes in modern tnnes very much of a grind-heart-wearin(T and perplexing. Our bones and brains are weary. Our time slips away from us, m~J. with all our fa"~ll1"' we find ou~ work dr~g. ,ve .are caught in the tyrannical grasp of the conventi:n:i: snd go on m a labonous fashion, not happy, certainly not Christ-like. They are the wisest and the happiest who lay down simple lines for themselves, reducing; the cum- brousness of the outward life in order to cultivate more fully the inward lifo of faith >iope, and charity. 3. The principle of the care-renouncing life. It is faith in Gol Let us cast our care on him, for he cares for us. On this principle the Man Christ .Jesus walked, believing that the Father heard him always and compassed his path. Oo this principle he assnrcd his followers that the very hairs of their .heads were numbered. On this principle have all patient and humble Christian lives been sus- tained. "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want." 'l'he thirt_y-soventh psalm teaches it "·ell. Art thou anxious about temporal wants? "Trust in the Lord, and do ;:!:vOd; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and Verily thou shalt be fed" (Ps. xxxvii. 3). Art thou keen and eager for a lawful object? "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart" (Ps. xxxvii. 4). Art thou concerned about the issue of a matter? "Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass" (Ps. xxxvii. 5). Art thou l1indered or discouraged by the success uf unscrupulous rivals? "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him, fret not thyself" etc. (Ps. xxx\'ii. 7). With these simple directions laid to heart and obeyed, one m:iy go through the greatest vicissitudes and most exhausting toils with a spirit cheerful and serene. "There are, in this loud stunning tid@ Of human care and crime, With whom the melodies abide Of th' everlasting chime, Who eo.ny music in their heart Through dusky lane o.nd wrnngling mart, Plying their daily task with busier feet, Because theil' secret souls a holy strnin repeat." F. Vers. 1-7.-.A.dvice on details of Christian conduct. In dealing with these verses, it should be noticed: 1. That, concerning such matters of practical detail, St Paul gives his advice be does not lav down authoritative commands. 2. The apostle's mission concerned' principles, not details, w~ich arc properly. reg;ard~d a~ well ~i~hio the co~trol of cultured Christi~"!l thought and Judgment. lnsp1rat10n 1s Wisely !muted to subjects which, for any reason, are out of ordinary human rea~h. No?e of us need precise authoritative guidance of the common incident~ a~d relations of life. W~ can oms_elves sufficiently apply Christian principles. 3. l'rmc1ples are. bet~er left :,v,1thout m11!ute applications, as they can thcu be variously adapte~ to the d1ffcr111g c~nd1t1ons or _society in each aae. 4. St. Paul, when induced to give advice, takes care to bring out and impress the relat~d priociple; and, if possible, he presents his own example for ,imitation,-. The principles with which he deals in these verses concern: (1) The s~bordmate pos1tl?n of womao. On this matter details would be very unadv1sable, as will be fully seen 1f we contrast the Eastern and V/estern, the ancient and modern, sentiments about the place and work of woman. (2) The mastery of bodily passion in the power of the sanctified willi. This is enough and we can make all necessary applications. "Each one of you should know how to possess the vessel [of his body] in sanctification and honour." (3) The duty of using for the service of others, and in no way rnisusiog or abush,g, any form of capacity with which we may be en<lo\\'eu (ver. 7).-H. T. -OH. VII. 1-40.J THE FIRST EPJSTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 259
Vers. 8-16.-The marriage tie. When Christianity spread abroad amono-0 the heathen, very often, in a family, "one would be taken and another left," and much family and social difficulty was made when a beat.hen husband or a heathen wife was ,converted, and the other partner remained in heathen darkness. There could be no doubt that Christinnity demanded separation from heathenism, and even declared a social connection with heathen people to be morally perilous; and it mio-ht very readily be inferred that this :ipplied to the heathen husband or the heathen" wife, ancl that ,divorc\j from them should at once follow upon Christian profession. It seems that the heathen in ancient times held the marriage bond very loosely, as do the heathen in many countries now. There is no more fruitful source of national immorality than -ease in procuring divorce. Christianity has exerted such an ennobling influence on the European nations, in part because it has testified so firmly to the sacredness of the marriage bond. Christianity treats marriage as the main foundation of moral relations.. and the proper preventive and cure of social evils. The relation must, therefore, be anxiously sustained, and almost every other consideration must be made subservient to its maintenance. Its various claims must be duly met; its various duties must be properly performed: 1. For the Christian partner's own sake, whether the other be Christian or not. If not, then maintaining faithfully the marriage relation will prove a spiritual discipline. 2. For the sake of the children of the mixed marriage, over whom the Christinn partner can exercise a holy influence. 3. And even for the heathen partner's sake, since he or she may be won by the "chaste conversation" and holy example of the follow-partner. Impress that the principle applied to marriage has wide applications. Whatever our spheres and relations may be, the man in Christ ought to master and mould and use them by the force of his new life in Christ.-R T.