Nothing that defileth can enter heaven. like him, for we shall see him as he is.

We shall be There will be

no stain on those spotless robes; there will be no moth in that pure apparel; no worm in those goodly cedars; no rust in that virgin gold; no taint in that atmosphere of life, and purity, and love; no pollution in those springs of living waters, which shall be opened to them that live and reign with the Lamb for ever.

This expression, "walk in white," denotes, also, that they shall be amid perfect glory; as is evident from such passages as these :-In the transfiguration on the mount, it is said, "His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." This was the picture of Christ in glory. Another evangelist adds this further feature, 66 SO that no fuller on earth could whiten it." The angel at the tomb also had a countenance, we read, like lightning, and his raiment was white as snow. The expression, therefore, "they shall walk with me in white," denotes that they shall walk with Christ in glory, irradiated with that unutterable glory and beauty. This expression also denotes dignity and rank. The ancient priests and kings were clothed in white, and the Roman Patricians wore white as their distinction. So with us, too, if we have washed our robes, and made them white in that blood; we too, if it is our prayer and our effort to keep our garments undefiled in the world; we too, who war with sin, and rise, even though we may have fallen, and pray and wrestle again; we, too, shall walk with Christ in white, and shall be presented unto him (to quote a parallel passage) "a glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing," in that place where righteousness shall shine forth as the sun, "and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many unto righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."

Such then is the condition of this Church-a few in the midst of Sardis, Christians among the unchristian many; such, secondly, is their character-not defiling their garments; such, lastly, is their reward-they

shall walk with Christ upon earth in the enjoyment of the earnest, and they shall walk with Christ hereafter in the full enjoyment, of the full blessing-they shall walk with him in white.

Then it is added, "for they are worthy." What does this word mean? What sense must we attach to it? There are two senses in which the word "worthy" is used, and we are at liberty, nay, we are commanded, to adopt that which appears to be most plainly coincident with the whole strain and tenour of God's word. The word is used in the sense of merit, as, "he that did things worthy of stripes,"—that is, deserving. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation,”—that is, deserving all acceptation. Again; "Thou art worthy to take the book." In this sense no human being can be worthy, if there be truth in Scripture or consistency in the Gospel; and in this sense, therefore, the word cannot here be construed. In its other sense it is said, "He that loveth father, or mother, or sister, or brother, more than me, is not worthy of me,”—that is, "it indicates the spirit that disqualifies him for following me." "Bring forth fruits meet for repentance :" here the word translated meet is the same that is rendered worthy, and means, "fitted to," "corresponding to." "Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet [or worthy] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." In this second sense, therefore, the word denotes fitness. In the first sense it cannot be here used; for, By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God :" "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us." Our comfort, our happiness, our peace at this moment rests upon the full, clear, distinct realizing of this truththat in that which entitles us to happiness there is not one thread of any robe of our own, not one atom of any possession of ours; we are saved, not by anything we are, or by anything we have done, or by anything we have suffered, but wholly, solely, exclusively, from the first pulse of the new life on earth to its first pulse in

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glory, by the finished righteousness and glorious sacrifice of the Son of God. He that knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. But in the second sense in which the word is used, we ought all of us, day by day, to be growing in worthiness of walking with Christ in white,-that is, in that spirit, temper, taste, perseverance, desire, aspiration, prayer, which indicate that we have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus.

Let me ask you, then, Are you making progress in fitness for heaven? Does each succeeding Sabbath dawn with greater beauty on your homes? Are the chimes of its bells daily more musical to your ears? Is the service of the sanctuary more delightful than it ever was? Do you find in the Bible mines of gold, and stores of honey, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb? Can you say that you love the company, and study the interests of the people of God? Can you say, with all your faults, your short-comings, your sins,

your infirmities, that you have grown in grace and in

fitness for heaven? I can conceive no better test by which to try your fitness for this promise than your enjoyment of the Sabbath. Is it to you a day that is welcome because it enables you to walk more closely with Christ or is it a day that you are thankful to see ? Do pass away you feel it to be the brightest, and the best day of the seven? For what is the millennium but a Sabbath a thousand years long? It is the rest, the sabbatismos, that remaineth for the people of God. That man who has no delight in praise, nor in prayer, nor in hearing God's word explained, nor in studying God's truth, nor in such means as Christ commands and commends, gives too plain and palpable evidence that he wants that which will fit him for the kingdom of heaven. An unregenerate man would not be happy in the choirs of the blessed. The future state is less a locality, perhaps, and more a character. Plunge a saint into the depths of hell, and he will be secure and happy, as were Shadrach, Meshech, and Abed-nego in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Snatch a victim from the

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flames of the lost, lift him, and set him beside the throne of God, and the consuming and corroding agony of his curse would remain with all its stings and terrors still. It is not what is without us that makes heaven or hell; it is what is within us. The heart is the spring of misery or happiness; and according to what that heart is, "by nature fallen, or by grace regenerate,” does man feel in happiness or misery. I ask you then, Are you becoming meet for the kingdom of heaven? Is your religion making you more happy, more victorious over the temptations, more patient in the trials, more resigned in the afflictions, more hopeful in the difficulties through which you have to pass? If it is doing so, bless him who has given it to you; pray that the Spirit of God would impress his sublime truths upon your hearts more deeply, and make his promises the music amid which you pass to the future world, and the performance and fulfilment of them the hope of the enjoyment that awaits you there.

LECTURE XXIII.

TRUE HONOUR AND RENOWN.

"He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."- REV. iii. 5.

I DESCRIBED the true state of the Church at Sardis when I addressed you on the words "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead;" the portrait of a formal Church, without spirit and without life: the semblance of the Church, the reality of the world—a statue, perfectly beautiful in all its proportions, but cold, without animation and without heart or mind. I then addressed you from the exhortation given to her-" Be watchful." Christ had no pleasure in the ruin of that Church; he would rather rekindle the smouldering flax, and restore the broken reed: he therefore says to her, "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, and are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent." I then addressed you on the fourth verse— "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments." I showed that even in the worst and darkest spiritual state into which a Church can fall, there are left some bright and beautiful exceptions. There was an Abraham in the land of Ur; there was a Job in the land of Uz; a Lot in the land of Sodom; and even when Elijah thought himself alone, there were seven thousand, invisible to him, but known to God, who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Even in the Church of Rome there is a people to