It is a very tempting prospect, and few have faith enough to resist its flattering invitation; the present is seen and felt in all its alluring power; the future is out of sight, and out of mind. But this present, be it remembered, is the best which the world can give, its first cup is its sweetest; he who with reckless faith accepts it, will find that year by year some joys are lost, or lose their zest, some flowers die along the road, or cease to give him their fragrance; the world and its pleasures will grow insipid; his taste for their enjoyment will become less and less keen, until it is gone for ever. Disappointment will vex and harass him; he will become unhappy, fretful, and peevish. Behold him grown an old man, with all he could wish for except the power of enjoyment, playing with trifles on the verge of eternity, but finding no solace in them; vainly wishing for pleasures which can never return; trembling at the thought of death, and hardly allowing it to be mentioned in his presence. Behold him on the bed of death, with every joy gone for ever; poorer than the poorest, for he cannot drink the drop of water which is held to him; looking backwards, and seeing with remorse a long life spent in childish amusements, in unsatisfying pleasure, in vain and worthless occupations; and no bright spot of work done for God's glory, or for man's good: looking forwards, and anticipating a fearful meeting with God, and a terrible endurance throughout eternity. Surely, if the world's first cup was sweet, this its last is bitter; if the first was attractive, this is most repulsive; if the first had a voice exclaiming, "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart

cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes;" the last too has a voice, and takes up the text with solemn warning, "but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Mark the contrast.

Behold a young man determined to live not for this world but for the next; choosing like Moses rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; and esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of this world, because he has respect to the recompense of the reward. If he will be Christ's disciple he must deny himself, and take up his cross. He must begin in penitence and self-abasement; he must be prepared to meet with coldness, suspicion, and ridicule, on the part of those who once loved him. He must be ready to endure hardness, and not ashamed to confess himself a servant of Jesus Christ. This is the first cup, and it is the least attractive; every succeeding one will be more so. His broken heart will soon be cheered, his penitence soon will not be without its joy. Those who at first suspected and ridiculed him will be led to respect and esteem him. Self-denial will bring its attendant cheerfulness; and humble boldness will be followed by certain peace.

As surely the worldling loses his pleasures, and at the same time loses his power of enjoying what he has, so does the Christian not only meet with new

8 Eccl. xi. 9.

sources of joy, but acquires new powers of enjoyment. Every year new flowers spring up in his path, or the old ones acquire a fragrance which he had not noticed before. You may see him as an old man, the hoary head having become indeed a crown of glory, full of quiet assurance; with Jacob looking back and praising Him who has fed him all the days of his life, and redeemed him from all evil; looking forwards and exclaiming, as he hastens unto the coming of his Lord, "I have waited for thy salvation, O God"." You may see him on the bed of death, calm amidst others' agitation, joyful amidst others' tears; you may see him raising his eyes to Heaven in the spirit of a child, and hear him saying, "God is love, God is love;" and as you retire from that scene where you have witnessed the most peaceful day of your friend's most peaceful life, you will lift up your heart to your Redeemer in thankful adoration, and say, " Of a truth, Lord, Thou has kept the best wine until the last."

Gen. xlviii. 16; xlix. 18.

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, LONDON.

THE LEPROSY OF SIN.

MATTHEW viii. 2, 3.

"And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed."

(From the Gospel for the Third Sunday after Epiphany.)

IN the Gospel for last Sunday we had an account of the first of our Lord's miracles, performed at a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. To-day we read the first of the miracles recorded by another Evangelist, wrought also in Galilee, near to that favoured city, Capernaum. Perhaps the reason why St. Matthew gives a full account of this miracle, while he passes by or but briefly notices many others, was because the healing of the leper was a kind of sign or type of the great purposes for which the Son of God came into the world. Leprosy is always considered to represent the disorder of sin; the leper resembles fallen man, that is, every man born into this world: the act of the leper in coming to Jesus, as I have just read, signifies the return of the awakened sinner, conscious of his own helplessness, and yet knowing where he may obtain mercy while lastly, the ready answer of our Lord, "I will; be thou clean," expresses how willingly a gracious Saviour welcomes the returning sinner, and [No. 11.]

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receives him to His bosom, and washes away his sins, and restores him again to the society of God's people. Let us notice this general similitude in three particulars, observing,

I. How fitly sin is represented by the leprosy, of which we read so much in Scripture.

II. How graciously the Saviour puts away sin. III. The effect of this change upon the sinful soul.

I. Leprosy was a disorder of a most terrible kind. It began within, in a man's bones and marrow, often not appearing outwardly for three or four years. And when it came to sight, it was first seen in very small spots, which soon spread and ran together. Then the hair turned white and fell off; the skin presented a very. loathsome appearance; the whole body became corrupt; the unhappy patient was a burden to himself and to his friends. It does not appear that leprosy was a very painful disorder, but it certainly kept the leper in great misery and inconvenience. Nor is it absolutely certain that the disease was infectious. Yet it was so offensive that the afflicted person was quite unfit for society. was, as we know, forbidden by the law both of God and man to draw near to healthy persons, until there was some evidence of his cure. And perhaps he often became an outcast by his own choice, being afflicted with a sadness and melancholy which deprived him of any pleasure in the company of his fellow-men. Thus it was that lepers, companions in misfortune, sometimes congregated together at the outside of cities and villages, because they did not dare approach the abode of the healthy. We read, for instance, of four leprous men at the gate of

He