which would destroy all peace and contentment if it was not removed. Therefore the desire of the natural man is to silence conscience, to shut his ears to its voice, or in some way or other to quiet and deaden it; the result being that it tends to become weaker and weaker, and in many cases is wholly destroyed.

But if conscience is destroyed, man is no longer capable of redemption; therefore he who seeks to deaden, soothe, or quiet conscience, in order that the evil of his heart and life may not trouble him, fights against his hopes of future happiness; and he who succeeds in completely searing or killing his conscience, destroys his own soul, andsins unto death.' In other words, the death which has passed upon all men through the sin of Adam. is complete, and in accordance with the original warning, 'dying thou shalt die' (Gen. ii. 17, marg.), he has died. eternally.

Hence the numerous warnings in the New Testament against the 'unpardonable' or 'eternal sin,' which is spoken of as the sin against the Holy Ghost,' who is 'the Spirit of truth.' The Spirit of truth is He who, through the Word of God, quickens and awakens the conscience, convincing man of sin, of righteousness, and judgment to come (John xvi. 7-13). He, therefore, who fights against his conscience, and the truth which appeals to and awakens it, fights against the Spirit of God. Yet, for the sake of present peace and quiet of mind, this is the instinctive tendency of every natural man. Many do this by the pursuit of the interests and ambitions of this world, or even by the pleasures of sin, which, by absorbing the mind, shut out the thoughts of spiritual things. Nevertheless, conscience still exists, and its voice, faint though it be, yet produces a subtle sense of unrest and disquietude even in the midst of the most absorbing worldly interest, and there are few, therefore, who do not seek the additional aid of religion in order more effectually to quiet it.

But if man by nature is alienated from, and at enmity with, God, he will not seek a religion which obliges him to draw nigh unto God, but one which enables him to quiet conscience, and get rid of the sense of ill-desert, without necessitating real communion with God; a religion which seems to satisfy the demands of God, and removes the sense of indebtedness to Him, but which does not involve true faith and dependence on Him.

Pride and self-dependence being characteristics of the natural man, he will be attracted by any religion which seems to make salvation dependent upon his own will and efforts, and which therefore can only be outward, consisting of those acts which he can perform without a change of mind and affections. Here, also, the ignorance of the natural man comes into play. The things of the Spirit of God are foolishness to him, and, as a consequence, he will form false ideas of God, drawn from his knowledge of himself and of his fellow-men. Therefore he thinks he may satisfy the demands of God by outward acts of righteousness, by an outward homage, by magnificent temples, costly gifts, laboured devotions, and even by bodily austerities. This was the spirit of the ancient paganism, and is still the spirit of multitudes of professing Christians. But God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, as if His presence could be entered, or left and forgotten, by entering, or leaving a material building. It was said of the Israelites, when perverted by the spirit of the surrounding idolatry, that they began to build temples or houses of God throughout the land. 'Israel hath forgotten his Maker and buildeth temples' (Hos. viii. 14); and the words may equally apply to many professing Christians.

*

Neither is God worshipped,' or done good to (PeраTEVEтαι) by men's hands, as though He needed any

thing' (Acts xvii. 25).

*

God does not require even true

'Temple,' vaòv, a habitation or dwelling-place of the gods. 'Know ye not that your body is the temple (vaòs) of the Holy Ghost?'

righteousness on the part of man for His own sake, but for the sake of man himself, because He willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live.' 'If thou sinnest,' says Elihu, 'what doest thou unto Him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto Him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou Him, or what receiveth He at thy hands?' (Job. xxxv. 6, 8). Therefore the outward homage and worship of God by the work of men's hands is vain and useless; it leaves the heart unchanged, and it supposes that God, like some earthly potentate, is flattered by such homage, and, like man, looks on 'the outward appearance."

For this is man's characteristic, Man looketh on the outward appearance.' Its influence on his mind is paramount, and the inward thought and evil desire cherished in the heart seem to him to be insignificant, compared with even minor acts and outward expressions of evil. Similarly the outward act of charity, or benevolence, of forgiveness, humility, patience, etc., and yet more the outward acts of worship and religious devotion, are all important to his mind, and appear to him to more than condone the inward evil of the heart. These acts make a goodly show, and seldom fail to obtain the recognition and approval of others, which, more than anything else, seems to endorse their value; for how can they of 'whom all men speak well' suspect that in the eyes of God they may, perchance, be utterly wanting?

Therefore Christ warns His hearers, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment' (Luke vii. 24). He had said that all sin proceedeth out of the heart of man, and because it is 'out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaketh,' therefore He adds, 'By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned ' For, as we have seen, it is belief of the truth by which the hearts of men are changed, and

(Matt. xii. 34, 37).

it is the words of Christ, or the truth to which He bore witness, by which they will be judged at the last day, and if so, the pious religionist who rejects the truth will then be cast out, although now all men speak well of him.

Nevertheless, the rule of the majority is to judge everyone according to their outward appearance, and to refuse to consider any questions of the motives of those who appear to be righteous. For to admit the possibility of those motives being wrong would be to entirely depreciate the value of the righteousness in which they trust, and oblige them, as Christ directed, to 'judge righteous judgment.' The consequence is that the possession of this outward righteousness perfectly satisfies its possessors, and they equally esteem it in others, while the praise it obtains, not only seems to be the endorsement of its value, but is a powerful stimulant to its pursuit. For the praise and esteem of others, whether silent or expressed, is the very life of the religious zeal of many, and a state of mutual admiration and compliment is the result, which tends to impress the lookers-on with a sense of their superior holiness.

This righteousness, consisting of acts which a man can do without a change of heart, is called by the Apostle a man's' own righteousness,' which he also says is'of the law,' because it is the only righteousness which the law of itself can produce (Phil. iii. 9). It was this righteousness which blinded the Jew,' 'for they,' says the Apostle, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.' The root of their error was their ignorance of the nature of true righteousness, for had they recognised it, they would have perceived, like the Apostle Paul, the worthlessness of their own righteousness.

What was the effect of their error? The more they excelled in this outward righteousness, and received,

in consequence, the praise of their co-religionists, the more blinded they were to their real need, the harder were their hearts, and the more hostile were they to the truth. How can ye believe,' said Christ, who receive honour one of another' (John v. 44); while, as a consequence of their blinded minds and consciences, they spoke against and opposed the truth after it had been plainly set before them, and became a warning to afterages of the sin unto death.

Therefore Christ, with special emphasis, said to His disciples I say unto you, that except your righteousness exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.' These classes were the most zealous followers of that righteousness of the law which was so esteemed by the nation generally. They were representative men, honoured and esteemed by all; and their strict observance of the letter of the law, abstention from outward sin, their fastings, almsgivings, and religious zeal and devotion, were evidences of their earnestness to all, which seemed to warrant the high estimation in which they were held.

Yet so little do some recognise the character of the Jewish religionists, that while they are foremost in condemning them, they are themselves representatives of the same spirit, manifesting the same zeal for the outward homage of God, attaching the same supreme importance to the outward acts of righteousness and to the performance of the ordinances and ritual of religion; and, like them, they are those of whom 'all men speak well.' There was much in the outward righteousness of the Jew which was good in itself, and so also now, the opposition to the grosser forms of vice and social evil, and the charities of many are equally commendable; but if they are done with a view to establish their own righteousness, and to obtain the praise of men, those who do them are only blinded to their true need, and are made worse instead of better. It is not, indeed, the fashion now to