searching pain or bitter trials; they may have existed before, but not have had such opportunities to be put in action. A man may know how to swim, yet never have occasion to exercise his knowledge till suddenly upset and cast upon the waters. Then indeed a mere fancied knowledge would be utterly vain, as, in real trial, mere imaginative Christianity must be vain also. But real knowledge would be exercised as real graces are, in the exercise of which true Christians reflect the glory of Christ, and are changed into the image of Christ, through the working of the Spirit of Christ.

(3) And further still we may well believe that He who knows and permits our sorrows has another object in view, namely, "to try our patience for the example of others."

It is a blessed thing to be permitted in any way to give God glory. We would willingly bear afflictions, if in affliction we can best do so. And, brethren, is it not the case that the sight of a Christian sufferer often strengthens and cheers us on in our Christian course? We see that religion is a reality; we see that God does give strength according to our day; we go to our homes saying, "What a blessed sight to behold one so deeply afflicted and yet so calm, so thankful, so full of the praises of God." We cannot have been much with the sick without having had some such feelings as these at times. This leads us to praise God and to trust Him, to thank God for others, to take courage for ourselves.

Have we been thus cheered by others?

Then

may God give us grace when our time of suffering comes to cheer others by our calmness, our confidence, our patience, our thankfulness. May those around us say of our sorrows, "See how Christians can suffer;" may they say of our deaths, "See how Christians can die." "The sting of death is sin: but thanks be to God who hath given them the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord "."

(4) And not only may our suffering affliction be a blessing to others as an example, but as calling forth their sympathy and love.

"God is love." A new commandment our Saviour has left us, that we love one another. But, alas! men break this commandment as they do all others. Now what could be more calculated to awaken all our sympathy, to quicken all our love, than to have objects brought before us exactly suited for its exercise?

Imagine the case of a suffering child in the midst of a hard, ungodly family; could you conceive any thing more likely to be an instrument in the Spirit's hands to soften a father's or a mother's heart?

Or imagine one well known in a neighbourhood to be passing through a long and painful sickness. Is he not a blessing to that neighbourhood? Are not sympathies awakened; is there not something of a softening influence felt in the whole round of his acquaintanceship, as each endeavours to add a mite of consolation to the sufferer's heart?

Christian brethren, I appeal to you who have some

31 Cor. xv. 56, 57.

experience in visiting the sick and the afflicted! Have you not found it a means of grace to yourselves? Could you cease to do so without detriment to your own spiritual state? Does not the sight of sorrow awaken love, sympathy, a desire to help; has it not taught you to pray for others, and to thank God for yourselves; and have you not often gone to your homes with a full appreciation of that text, "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to. the house of feasting'?"

There is comfort, then, as well as instruction, from the fact that God knows our sorrows.

But, brethren, if we are to enjoy that comfort, we must be in deed, what we profess to be in word,Christians. Are we so? Oh! if we are not, sorrow when it comes to us will overwhelm us. We shall have no comfort, no support; we shall be like Ahab in Elijah's presence, exclaiming, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" The fire which purifies gold, burns up wood and straw; the searching trial which tests a Christian's faith, makes the hypocrite's hope to perish.

Oh, may God the blessed Spirit make us and keep us Christians indeed! Then it will be well with us, come what will. If we walk through the fire, Jesus will be with us, as He was with the three of old, and it will not kindle upon us. If the wind and the storm beat upon our house, it will not fall, because it is founded on a rock, and that rock Christ. "In all times of our tribulation, in

4 Eccles. vii. 2..

all times of our wealth, in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment," He will deliver us. And then, Christian brethren, when, safe in the world to come, we contemplate with wonder and amazement the manner in which the Spirit of God has led us, step by step, in the narrow way, will not our sorrows stand out as prominent objects for which to glorify God? Surely then many will say, "In that sorrow I first turned to God;" "In that sorrow I first learned patience;" "In that sorrow I gave up my last earthly idol;" "In that sorrow, deep and long and painful as it was, I passed from a world of sin to this glorious and holy rest.” All, all was well-all, all was ordered by a Father's loving hand. Every stroke from His hand was love; every sorrow of His sending has ended in joy. Most truly He has led me forth by the right way, and caused all things, sorrows, disappointments, perplexities, yea, all things, to work together for my good."

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, LONDON.

JUDAS ISCARIOT.

MATTHEW Xxvi. 14-16..

"Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? and they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him."

Also, verses 20, 21.

"Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me."

(From the Second Morning Lesson for Sunday before Easter.)

HERE we have the traitor Apostle present at two widely different scenes, parted from each other by scarcely a day's interval. We marvel to find one, who had kept company with the Lord of life, among the men who hated Him,-one, instructed as Judas had been, sinking to the lowest depths of guilt,-one, who had cast out devils probably in Christ's Name, himself a child of the devil,-nay, a willing agent of the devil in his work of darkness. We marvel, again, to find the man, whose hands had seized the fatal bribe, once more among the little family of disciples, -the renegade, who had sold his Lord, sitting familiarly with Him as a friend, the foul-hearted apostate listening to words such as man never spake or heard before, and unmelted, unabashed, while they made his guilt look all the blacker. The two scenes have been brought before us in the course of this morning's Lesson; so we will take both for our subject. There are our Lord's murderers assembled in the first place, and our Lord's disciples assembled in [No. 24.]

321