of law and government, is that we may enjoy a. quiet life. To some a. quiet life is the least desirable thing; but it is the life of nature, and it is the moRt blessed life. How quietly the flowers blow, the stars shine, the dew descends, the hirds win"' their Aight, the light falls I 1. "A quiet life;" JM if thNe be disorder, all life is at a~ s1,and- still. Even great artists like Gerome, during the last French Revolution, bar\ to bury their pictures, for the time, beneath the earth. 2. " Quiet; " /M think of the /Mee., around us. We need good government to preserve us from the violent, the lewd, and the criminal. The sea. of human passion is always ready to break its harriers; the volcano woold soon burst through the crust. 3. " Quiet ; "/or this is the yreat enjoy- ment of life. Our happiest hours have been quiet ones-at home; by the river or the sea.; in the valleys and in the forests; and in the Church of God. "That we may lead,'" which implies ccntinuance; life without trepidation; absence of the disorders whicL check industry, prudence, and enterprise.-W. M. S. Ver. 2.-"A peaceable life." Christ said, "Peace I leave with you," and he intenden this to be the element in which nations and families and individuals should live. Through faith in him, we have peace with God, peace with our brother, and peace in ourselves. The world delights in noise and tumult; filh its forums with fierce dis- cussions and debates; hangs the pictures of Wouvermans, with their fierce battle-fields, on its walls. Some people are said to delight in strife--to be what is called" law-thirsty;" and in quiet villages, even, you meet with antagonisms that are fierce and frequent. 1. " Peaceable;" for the gospel is to overcome evil with good. To triumph, not by carnal weapons, but those that are mighty through God, and which have the secret majesty of their power in the cross. 2. " Peaceable ; " for passion must be governed by conscience and Ohrist. Unquestionably the microscope shows us insects at war in the globule of water; and the beasts of the forest meet in deadliest conflict. But ma.n is to triumph over himself; reason is to be lord over passion, aud Christ is to be Lord over alL 3. "Peaceable;" for a home withO'Ut this is misery. Where jarring and disputation are, there the atmosphere is destructive of all holy, happy life. 4. "Peaceable;" for this is the end of law. Forms of government are not all in all: Greece and Rome alike feli under the same form of government under which they rose. 5. "Peaceable;" for the Prince of Peace is to reign. He came to fulfil the angels' song, " Peace on earth, and good will to man;" e.nd one day, by his cross, he will draw all hearts unto liim;;elf.- W. M. 8. Ver. 2.-Moral loveli1141811. "In all godliness e.nd honesty." It ma.y be said that "godliness" includes "honesty;" but we must not be the slaves of pedantry in words; it is good sometimes to emphasize. I. GODLINESS 1B ESSENTIAL TO THE ORDER 01!' THE STATE. Rousseau remarks, "A country cannot well subsist without liberty, nor liberty without virtue." Peaceable lives must be godly lives. The safety of a nation is not" lions chained," but" lions turned to lambs." Modern sociology thinks it can do without godliness. It has invented some philosophy of morals of its own; some ideal of utility called " the greatest good of the greatest number." Philosophers may understand it, but common people cannot. So much depends on what is meant by " the greatest good." For if you exclude the soul, the greatest good is only a secular paradise, and that is death to all the heroism which can deny itself earthly pleasure for the sake of high spiritual ends. By "godli- ness" we understand God-likeness in men. Some talk of seraphic holiness; we prefer the old word "godliness." Let a seraph be a seraph ; we want to be men. It is not wise for children to sing, " I want to be an angel;" they should want to be good children. We want godliness; purity like God's; pity like God's; fidelity like God's; holiness like God's. "Be ye holy, for I am holy." II. HONESTY 18 ESSENTIAL TO THE TRUE CHRISTIAN LIF&. No fine ideas of spirituality that set at nought commo'.I morality musL find honour amongst us. While our hearts are in heaven, our feet a.re upon the earth. 1. We must be honest to our convictions; act out what we think; dare to be true to ourselves. 2. ',Ve must be honest in word; dealina in good coin; not pretending to be what we are not. Better honest silver than count:i-feit gold. 3. We l\re VJ l•~ honest in deed. Whether we build, or buy, or sell, whether we paint with the a.rtiHt, or mingle in the marts of commerce, we are to see to 44 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. [oa. n. 1-115.
it, that the stamp of honesty is on all we_ do. For all this we are to pray ; for there ls 1t great sky over us all, snd a gre1tt Father 1n heaven, and a great Saviour in whose Name we may pray. So life will be peaceful 1tnd holy; ba~ed upon the granite rock but bathlld in the delicate haze of the firmament of heaven; solidity clothed with beaut;; and be to ,vhom we pray heareth us always.-W. M. S.