before others, to parade them before the eyes of othel"B, argues a base and malignant nature. Should occasion require us to speak of them, it should be in the saddest tones of tenderness, iLnd even with compassionate indignation. 3. Courteousneas. "To be no brawlel"B [not. to be contentious), but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men." How much there is in society, how much in every department of life-mercantile, mechanical, Rnd mental-one meets with to annoy and irritate, especially those rated with an irascible nature I Still, amidst the strongest provocations, courtesy is our duty, yes, and our dignity too. III. IN RELATION TO OUR MORAL SELF. The ~postle urges the duty of forbearance to what was wrong in government and society, by reminding them of the wrong in their own past lives. "We ourselves also were sometimes foolish "-we had no proper understanding of the true. "Disobedient "-indisposed to do what is right. "Deceived" ---i!Werving from the true mode of life. "Serving divers lusts and pleasures "-slaves of impure passions, revelling in the sensual and the gross. "Living in malice e.nd envy, hateful, and hating one another "-we once spent our days in the atmosphere of hate and mali!!Il passions. It is a duty which every man owes to himself to remember all the wrong of bis past life-remember it: 1. That he may be charitable towards others. 2. That he may be stimulated to efforts of self-improvement. 3. That he may adore the forbearanre of God i,n his past dealings. 4. That he may de11outly appreciate the morally redempti11e agency of Christ. 5. That he may realize the nee£Ssity of seeking the moral restoration of others. Two things may be inferred from Paul's language concerning the past moral condition of himself and others. (1) The pos.~ibility of the moral improvement of souls. The rough stone can be polished, the unfertile soil can be made fertile, the wilderness can blossom as the rose, (2) The obligation of the moral improvement of souls. CoNcLUSION. Let us find out our duty and follow it, through storm as well as sun- shine, even unto death. "After all," says Canon Kingsley, "what is speculation to practice? What doe11 God require of us but t.o do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with him'/ The longer I live this seems to me more important, and all other questions less so. If we can but live the simple, right life, do the work that's nearest, though it's dull at whiles, helping, when we meet them, lame dogs over stiles." lP the rml.i.1-.ation of our duty is our strength, our nobleness, our heaven. .. Yet do thy work: it shall succeed ln tl1ine or in another's day ; And if denied the victor's meed, Thou dhalt not lack the toiler's pay, "Then faint not, falter not, nor plead Thy weakness: truth itself is strong; The lion's strength, the eagle's speed, Are not alone vouchsafed t.o wrong." (Whittier.) D.T.
Veni. 4-7.-Salvation, not of works, but of grace. "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared," etc. The great subject here ie aalr,atio11. Thie include11 the restoration of the soul to the knowledge, the image, the fellowship, and the service of the great God. The 1'85&age leads us to offer two remark.1 on the word,;. L TB.AT WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WE CANNOT PERFORM, AND TBEBEFOBE THEY CiltBOT SAVE us. "Not by works of [done in] righteousness which we have done [which we did ourselves]." What are righteous works? Condensely defined, works iaspired ever by supreme sympathy with the supremely good. No other works, what- ever their 118.Cred semblance, whatever their popular appreciation, are righteous. Now, such righteoWI works we cannot render in our umenewed state, because we have lost this affection, and the loss of this 1.8 tne death and c1amnat1on of the soul. 1. Could we render ,u.ch WQf'k, they wwJ,d aave u,. They secure the blessedness of the unlallen angels. 2. Witlwut rendering au.eh work, we cannot be saved. Moral aalvation con- sists iu holinees of character. Character is made up of habitR, habits made up of actii, and the acts, to be of any worth, must be righteous. CB, ID, 1-16,] THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. 67