that you will not fall-I know that you will—but I do say that God is able to keep you from falling, and will keep you from falling, if you do but ask Him in humble, contrite prayer. I do not say that you have not fallen; I know that you have; but the example of David, who poured out his soul in sorrow for sin-the example of St. Peter, who went out and wept bitterly-followed, remember, in each case by a real, true, earnest repentance, lasting through the rest of their lives—there is a surety that' any one of us who falls can gain from God pardon and grace to help him to rise and to keep in the straight path.

One word more. Be ever on your guard. Do not cease watching; always be on the look-out, because it is only those who are always on the alert who can hope to be successful in their fight with Satan.

Some hundred years ago, when the English and the French people were fighting together in North America, each army was obliged to enlist some natives in its service-the Indians, who were at that time almost the personification of treachery; still, in order to fight equally, they were compelled to have these men: but when they had them in their company, they knew that they must not only use them but watch them most carefully. In one of the English regiments a sentry was accordingly told off night after night to keep guard in a part of the camp where these Indians were, for though in

F

night - time they

round on those

the broad daylight they would fight for the side which employed them, in the would not unfrequently turn with whom they marched and murder them: so the special duty of the sentry was to keep watch over these men. One night, or rather the next morning, the sentry was found shot in the back by an arrow from an Indian's bow. It was almost impossible to tell how it had been done, and the officer said the man must have fallen asleep, for if he had been on the watch he would have been able to arouse the others. A second night, and the same thing happened: a sentry was found shot in the back-dead. The third night they said they would put the steadiest man in their regiment to watch, and they told him off for the duty. The next morning this man was found lying cold and dead, shot in the back by an arrow. They then began to think that, after all, the men could not have slept, that there must be treachery somewhere, and a young officer volunteered to go out next night and take the sentry's walk. He did so, keeping, as may be imagined, a very sharp lookout on all sides. All went well for a part of the night, until at last he saw, creeping stealthily towards him from the rear, what looked like one of the black hogs which were common in that country, and as he looked at it rooting up the the ground as it walked, he could not help noticing that it always tried to keep behind him.

At

length, not thinking that there was any connexion between the animal and the death of the men, he turned on it and fired, and as he did so an Indian jumped from the skin with a yell, and fell almost at his feet-dead. There was the secret of the sleeping soldiers. They had not slept, they had simply forgotten to keep an eye behind them as well as an eye in front. They had only been surprised.

My friends, keep an eye behind as well as before you, for we have to do with one who is equal to any treachery, no matter how deep, and who comes to the truest son of God as well as to the blackest sinner; one who will tempt all alike, and who never rejoices more than when luring a saint to sin. Be watchful, then, and remember that while it is said, 'Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall,' it is also said, 'There shall no temptation come to you but such as is common to man;' and when the temptation comes, provided it has not come from your own fault, God will with the temptation make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.'

IX.

'For the love of Christ constraineth us.'-2 Cor. v. 14.

MOST of us, my friends, know what it is to

have a motive in life; most of us know what it is to have something which underlies all we do; and which is, in fact, the secret of all we do. One man works from early morning till late at night from simple ambition. He wants to rise in the world-to better himself; he wants, it may be, to move out of one rank of society into another, and so he estimates no toil too hard, no self-denial too great, in endeavouring to attain his object. But, as regards the majority of us, I think that the secret of our lives is to be found in something much simpler than that. Nearly all the men in this room, if we were to ask them why they worked so hard, and why they toil without complaint, would reply, 'Because we love our wives and our children, and know that unless we go through the day's labour the wife and the children must suffer.' And I believe, therefore, that love for one's own-love for one's flesh and blood, as we call it is the secret of a very great deal of the self-surrender and self-sacrifice which we find in every rank of society.

Love, then, seems to have very great power in this world. Some of us know, at least we have often heard it read, what men have done for love of country, and love of family; but it was only when our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world that we first really learnt what love was. If you read the Old Testament through you will find that men looked up to God as a great King, as a great Judge. They looked up to Him as some one who could punish them if they did wrong, or reward them if they did right; but the great idea of a personal love to One 'Who hath done great things for us whereof we rejoice,' that great principle was really never known in this world until our Lord came amongst us. The very first act in His life was one calculated to win love from the hardest hearts. He Who was so rich, for our sakes became poor; He Who was so great became so tiny; the mighty God became One Who ministered to the wants of His fellow-creatures. And there was the same unceasing love marking every act of His life. From the time when He was born at Bethlehem until the day when He sealed with His life's blood the work which He came to do on earth, 'for us men and for our salvation'-from His cradle to His grave-love transfused His whole being; love beamed in His face, and made itself felt in His every act. Never was He too weary to show that love; no matter how hard His day's work had been He could give up His rest, not merely to teach the people, but to