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Now in these great verses, brethren, we have the real Bible answer to the question I just now asked,—namely, how it is that we are warranted in saying that we are so joined with Christ as the ripening grain is joined and related to the autumn seed. It is that we have been by baptism buried along with Him. It is that in the sacred font of baptism we have, as the apostle says, been planted together with Him, and shared His death. It was our baptism that gave us a right to hold ourselves to be His, to be, in Him, dead unto sin, and to have the beginnings of that life which is alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The beginning, brethren, but not the end. The blessed beginning, but only the beginning. We are no doubt buried with Him by baptism into death, but the object of that burying is, that, as He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

And herein is the question, the real and vital question, for every one of us,-how far we are walking in newness of life; really, and as God sees us, striving with all our might to repent of our sins, and rise continually, and every day to greater and more real holiness; how far we are really living in faith, living in prayer, endeavouring, by the grace of God, to square ourselves, our outward and our inward living, with His holy law, and

make our wills altogether true to His will. This is the real question, the question for every one; for old people and young people; for rich people and for poor people; for those who know enough to be able to teach others, and those whose place it rather is to be taught. And it is a question which each must, after all, answer for himself. For no other person whatever can penetrate deep enough, or be admitted any way, to see and judge of the secrets of another man's conscience sufficiently to answer it for him. Each must answer it for himself now, as each must answer for it for himself when the day of judgment comes.

It would be, I think, well and not unprofitable, if we who live in the country, and see all these country sights which our Lord made such use of, were to be in the habit of remembering the lessons which He put upon them whenever we see them: that when, for example, we see the labourer throwing his seed broadcast on the field, or, it may be, with more skilful and careful husbandry drilling it along the rows, we took pains to remember Him who did not abide alone, but died and was buried in order that He might spring up at Easter with that wonderful produce of which I have been speaking, -that when we see the blade springing gaily under the early warmth of the sun, we should recall the thought that it is not always the deepest and richest soils that

spring the quickest, nor are the cleanest from various kinds of mischievous and choking weeds,—that as we see the crops waving in the summer breeze we should remember that under fair appearance there may often be secret blight, and rust, that does not meet the eye, but wofully injures the grain; and that parishes and people may bear an outwardly Christian seeming and yet may have secret blights of sin, and uncleanness, and unfaithfulness among them that are not outwardly visible, that when we see the sickle put to the corn, and the sheaves, and the harvesting, we should remember the last harvest of the spiritual corn of God, in which we shall all be gathered, either as good grain into the garner of Heaven, or as empty ears, and useless chaff for the burning.

These things are a help, if we will use them; and we cannot spare such helps. For indeed we have, each one of us, a great work to do,-to make, by the help of the grace of God, our heavenly calling and election sure! A great work indeed! the greatest that can be! A work great in itself, great to our friends, inexpressibly great to ourselves. And little time to do it in-none to

waste.

We of this distant generation are late grains of this mighty crop; conscious of much blight of sin, conscious of much imperfect obedience of growth:-but the Sun of

Grace still shines upon us, the blessed rains of the Holy Spirit are still with us in the opportunities of prayer, and self-control, and holy exercises,-He is not actually laying at this moment the sickle to the stalk. Shall He find us such as He would have us,-faithful, true, penitent, holy?

Thank God, brethren, the question is still by His mercy open to each one among us.

The Seed Corn springing to New Life

I

I CORINTHIANS XV.

36. That which thou sowest is not quickened except it die.

SPOKE to you this morning, brethren, about the

corn of wheat, and how, unsown, it abode alone, a little, trifling, solitary, insignificant thing, but how when going through its own natural process of death and decay, it was endued with a wonderful capacity of increase, so that in four sowings the produce might very much more than equal the whole sum of the human race and following the teaching of our Lord and St. Paul we were bidden to see in this little corn the likeness of our Lord dead, buried, and risen; and to regard ourselves as being in baptism dead and buried with Him, so as to rise, if by His grace we will rise, to newness of life, and more perfect penitence and devotion.

It is a very true, and a very cheering thought, and

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