in truth, the clearness of their view only arises from its narrowness, and those whom they condemn as stupid see things which they do not.

You will have understood from the texts which I read at the beginning, that what I have said in explanation of the fact that Scripture support has been claimed on behalf of opposing doctrines was intended as preliminary to a discussion of the Christian doctrine of reward, there being some texts which speak of reward as entirely gratuitous, God's free gift; others which speak of it as exactly proportioned to work. Having two Sundays at my disposal, I have thought it best to confine myself to-day to what I had to say respecting the interpretation of Scripture, leaving the discussion of the doctrine of reward to next Sunday.

XV

REWARD ACCORDING TO WORK

"The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father, with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works."-MATTHEW xvi. 27.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."-EPHESIANS ii. 8, 9.

ON last Sunday I attempted to give some explanation of the fact that the advocates on both sides of a controverted doctrine are so often able each to bring forward Scripture texts in support of his views. At the close of my sermon I referred to the fact that when, for the complete statement of a case, propositions which mutually limit each other must be asserted, the method of the Bible, which is pre-eminently a practical book, is not to attempt to embrace both at once in a formal scientific statement, but to dwell on each in turn as the immediate needs required of those at the time addressed. I intimated that these general observations were intended to be

followed up by a particular application of them to the discussion of the Christian doctrine of merit and reward. The two verses which I prefixed as my text, suggest one obvious seeming opposition between different sides of the teaching of Scripture on this subject; and when the matter is thought over, another difficulty, less obvious, but not less perplexing, suggests itself, namely, that whereas in any scheme of reward according to work it seems almost a necessity that the recipients should form a continuous series, one member differenced from another by scarcely perceptible gradations, the Bible, as well as the theology founded on it, men into two great classes, gulf dividing the lowest on the one side from the highest on the other.

seems it, seems to divide an immeasurable

To commence, then, with the first difficulty. Neither of the two verses which I read as my text can be described as an isolated passage, or can be set aside as a chance utterance at variance with the general tone of the book from which it is taken. The first is a specimen of the language on the subject of reward which clearly predominates in Scripture, though one who uses the Bible chiefly for controversial purposes may possibly be more impressed with the latter; because it happens that St. Paul had

to fight very much the same battle against Judaising opponents that Protestants have had to fight with Roman Catholics, and so has had occasion to dwell on and enforce energetically some of the same truths for which we have been ourselves most anxious to contend.

Indeed, no very elaborate proof is necessary to show that any rational man who speaks of merit and reward as justly claimed by man from his Creator must use those words in a far different sense from that in which a man may be spoken of as claiming merit or reward from his fellow. We are most entitled to claim merit from another when we have done something for him which we had not been bound to do. If by our pains and labour we have conferred a benefit on him, it is reasonable to expect that he should be willing to confer on us some benefit in return, and if he has stipulated to do so, we can claim that return as a right. But the whole analogy breaks down when we apply it to our fulfilment of the Almighty's commands. What can we do for Him more than we had been bound to do? What is He the better of anything that we do for Him? If we believe in eternal life, and in the unspeakable good things which eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart

And Human works

of man to conceive, but God has promised to them that love Him, how can we imagine that works of ours, if ever so perfect, could be adequate to entitle us to claim a reward so far beyond the equivalent of our well-doing? what works of ours are perfect? must be seen from a great distance before any one can think of attributing to them perfection. If we are tempted sometimes to attribute that quality to the good deeds of some whom we admire from afar, what shall we say of those good deeds which we know most intimately—our own? Good works! Many of us would have to limit our claim to the merit of good intentions. For of the good resolutions we form how few are carried out to perfection! Some forgotten almost as soon as formed; some carried out for a time, but found too irksome to be persevered in; some fair-weather resolutions, sufficient when put to no unusual strain, but unable to stand against the storm of strong temptation. If, notwithstanding the assaults of indolence and other temptations, some few resolutions have survived and borne fruit, how small is the result compared with what might have been had we been more faithful! We have been entrusted with ten talents, and have, perhaps, one paltry talent to show as our gain.