object of life, and all else we do should be in subservience to this. Souls are everywhere perishing around us, at home and abroad, in the town and in the country, in the palace and in the hovel, clothed in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day, or barely covered and protected by their flimsy, filthy rags. There is a call and there is work for all, among the ignorant and the debased, the drunkard and the fallen, the careful and the careless, the worldly and the wise, the buyer and the seller, the covetous, the gay, the doubting, the deceiver, and the deceived. There is error to be withstood, and vice to be confronted, and sorrow to be alleviated. Souls are in danger in every conceivable position and circumstance of man's chameleon life; helpers, teachers, preachers, every where are needed at home and abroad, and He that winneth souls is wise. The marginal reading, that is, the original meaning of the word, win, is take or catch-at once suggestive of the danger of the object and of the skill and diligence with which we should seek to save it. To gain or win souls should be our great aim, and to accomplish this, like St. Paul, we should employ every means in our power become all things to all men-that by all means we may save some. Those ignorant we should endeavour to teach; the doubting we should confirm; the careless should be warned; the gain

sayer withstood and convinced. Those involved in error should be skilfully and patiently untaught; the backsliding reclaimed; the self-righteous and stout-hearted shown their hollowness, wilfulness, and worthlessness. Preaching Christ, and warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, is the apostle's mode of winning souls, and his end, that he might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Men are not to be scolded into repentance, or driven as beasts of burden, or acted on as mere machines. They are to be dealt with as reasonable and responsible beings. The truth with all its strong and divine claims is to be brought before them, and they are rather to be won than warned into godliness. Although knowing the terrors of the Lord, yet St. Paul says, we persuade men; and the goodness of God, he says, should lead us to repentance. God draws by the cords of love, and by the bands of a man, and His ministers and servants in every capacity should do the same. Love often melts and conquers, while terror and severity only repel and harden. He that winneth souls therefore is wise.

III. This is, thirdly, earth's highest wisdom, and the fittest subject for the exercise of man's loftiest talents. In no other sphere is there such urgent necessity, such opportunities of usefulness, or

such incalculably glorious results. He who could form the justest estimate of the value of the whole world and of a single human soul, represents the former as utterly worthless in the comparison. In God's word folly is the synonyme for sin, and wisdom the equivalent for holiness. To save ourselves is the first part of wisdom; and others, those near and those far off, the next. It is to seek the highest end, eternal salvation and God's glory, by the employment of the best means, which is the true definition and character of wisdom.

To win souls is to defeat Satan of his prey, to rescue them from everlasting misery and despair, to glorify God, and to increase the eternal joys of heaven. It is to be the instruments of securing the highest bliss and glory to those won, and of promoting thereby our own and that of countless angels, who rejoice over every sinner that repenteth. O then, my brethren, be this wisdom yours and mine; let us use with increasing diligence every talent and opportunity, all time and influence, wealth and energy for this purpose, to win souls, to save those for whom Christ died; our brethren at home, and our perishing fellow-men in heathen and Mohammedan lands. They have all like ourselves immortal and Godbreathed souls; though they have, alas, forgotten their lofty origin, and have debased themselves lower than even the beasts that perish. They know not

God, nor Christ, nor truth, nor holiness, nor heaven. They need to be won, my brethren, from the paths of sin and death; and the Church Misssionary Society invites you to be fellow-workers with it in the glorious work of making known the only means which can win them,-the preaching of the everlasting Gospel. Our divine Master has commanded us to proclaim it to every creature. He has appointed us all to be fishers of men, to seek and to find those pearls of inestimable value, immortal souls, that they may shine in His kingdom with ever-increasing lustre, and that in their glory He may be glorified. O let us endeavour to win them, my brethren, in every land. Let us send abroad faithful and skilful labourers, and let us sustain them in their arduous work by our deepest sympathies, earnest supplications, and liberal offerings; and then, when summoned hence, we shall each be able to answer, "Here am I, Lord, and the souls which Thou hast given me," and receive the reward of those who are "wise," and who "turn many to righteousness," even to "shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever."

SERMON X.

"THE SONS OF THE STRANGER."

"Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant; even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer: their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people."-Isa. lvi. 6, 7.

As the sons of the stranger, and on the present occasion, when the claims of the distant heathen are to be commended to your sympathy and support, these words of the evangelical prophet ought to be as the sound of heaven's richest melody in our ears, and find a grateful and adoring response in every heart. To us, my brethren, are the words of this salvation sent, and they say unto us with the emphasis of a personal interest-"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."