removeue out of the dominion of those sine which ha.ve hitherto ruled over us. This is the end, the blessedness, of suffering. God sends it in love; he chastens us for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. But suffering doth not always save. "The sorrow of the world worketh death;" it produces discontent and murmurr.ng, and hardens the heart. To gain the blessed fruit of suffering, the eye of the sufferir:g Ch,istian must be fixed upon the suffering Lord. We must "arm ourselves with the same mind." "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." It must be our effort to think the same hol_y thoughts, to be animated by the same high resolve, which filled the sacred heart of Christ. Those thoughts, that resolve, are our spiritual armour. If we let our thoughts dwell on our troubles, if we fret ourselves, we are defenceless, we are exposed to the temptations which swarm a.round us. But we must look away from our own sufferings and keep the earnest gaze of faith fixed upon the cross. Thus by an act of faith we may unite our sufferings with the Saviour's sufferings, and then suffering sanctified by faith iD. Christ will have its blessed work in destroying the power of sin. 2. Tlirough the change of heart wrought by suffering. "He that bath suffered in the flesh bath ceased from sin." Suffering meekly borne is a great help in the daily conflict against sin; it shows us our own weakness and the emptiness of earthly comforts; it humbles us, and makes us less unwilling to submit ourselves to the holy will of God; it points our thoughts to the tra.nsitoriness of human life ; it is miserable folly to waste that little life in following the wretched lusts of the flesh, when we ought to be doing the will of God. As the blessed angels do God's holy will in heaven, so we must strive to do it in earth; we shall never dwell with the angels unless we are really trying to learn that deep and holy lesson. II. BY FORSAKING OLD SINS AND OLD COMPANIONS IN SIN, 1. What we must forsake. The will of the Gentiles, 'l'he Gentile world was very evil when the Lord Jesus came; sin reigned everywhere, open, rampant, unblushing. It was a shame for the heathen thus to live, for they bad the light of conscience; it is a shame of far deeper guilt for us Christians, who have the full light of the gospel, to live as did the Gentiles. Con- verted men must cast off those old sins; the sins of the flesh, uncleanness, drunkenness, and such like, ruin body and soul. Men set up idols in their hearts-money, station, honour ; they fall down and worship these things. Christians must forsake these unlawful idolatries. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God; him only shalt thou serve." Him only; Satan stands behind these idols-it is he whow men really worship when they give their hearts to this or that earthly idol. We have given too much time, far too much, to these idolatries. Let the time past suffice which we have miserably wasted: the residue may be very short. There is much to be done, let us take heed that we wasto our time no more. 2. JVhom we must forsa~. Our old companions, it may be, think it strange that we no longer live as once, perhaps, we did; we were as bad 118 themselves once, they say. It may be so, but we are changed, and they, alas I are not; we have, we humbly trust, put on the new man; we a.re (God grant that it be so I) in Christ, abiding in vital union with him, a.s living branches in the true Vine; and old things must pass a.way-old desires, old pursuits, old hopes and fears; all things must become new, for we are new creatures in Christ. Men think us strange; they speak evil of us, perhaps; they call us hypocritical, sanctimonious ; they exaggerate the inconsistencies which they see in us, and invent and eagerly propagate falsehoods. They cannot understand the Christian life; they cannot feel its hidden sweetness; it seems to them strange, hard, unattractive. We must not heed the vain talk of men; we must seek the praise that cometh from God; we must take patiently the accusa- tions of evil tongues; in some degree, probably, we have deserved them; only let us labour more and more to please God in all things. III. BY LOOKING ~'ORWARD TO THE JUDGMENT. 1. All must be judged. All, believers and unbelievers, saints and sinners, persecuted and persecutors, slandered and 11landerers,-all must give account of their deeds; for the Lord is at hand, ready to judge the quick and the dead; as soon as the number of his elect is complete, the juclgment will be set, the books will be opened. This thought gives au awful solemui~y to human life; the record of each day as it passes is entered in those mysterious books. 8u!Tcrings, slanders, can be patiently endured when we thiuk of the coming judgment. The persecutors, the evil-speak<1rs, must give account to the g~eat Judge; the Chris- \ian should pity them, should pray for them, It seems sad now :-0 be persecuted; then J. PET!"!\. S 178 THE FIRS'l' EPISTLE GENERAL OF PE'l'ER. rcu. 1v. 1-19
it ,~ill be ~adder far to _have been persecutors. 2. For all will have htcr,rd the gospel,. Quick and dead ahke will have heard it. It was preached in Hades by the Lord him- self to the dead who in life had not heard the glad tirlings. It is a sweet and comfort- ing thought that they were not left to perish uncared for. \Ve know not the result of 1 ~1c Saviour's preaching; it is hidden from us; conjecture is vain, perhaps irreverent. but we have the fact-the g0spel was preached to them, and tho object was that they might live according to G0d in the spirit.. Is it now preached to the dead who iu life have had iacanty 0pportunitics and scanty knowledge? \Ve arc not told; but we know that God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance;" we know that the Lord Jesus Christ "tasted death for every man;" wo know that the true Light" lighteth every man;" aud we feel sure that none can be left to perish ~thout the means of grace; we feel sure that, in some way, and at some time, t.be gracious offer of salvation comes to every man in life or in death, in ways known or unknown. LESS01'--S. 1. Christ teaches how to suffer. Learn of him in this as in all thincrs. 2. Make suffering a mc~ns for destroying the power of sin. It will be so, if in s;ffering you contemplate the suffering Lord, and arm yourselves with his holy resolve. 3. The time is short. Live a godly, righteous, and sober life. 4. Shun evil companions; when they would tempt you to sin, think of the coming judgment; take heed to yourselves, and pray for them.