of dividing all mankind into two such separate and widely opposed classes. What is the result of that? It engenders spiritual pride in ourselves, and it engenders an uncharitable and contemptuous demeanour towards our fellow creatures. Surely both the doctrines and the example of Christ would lead us to a different system. The more true and the more satisfactory method is this, to regard mankind as a mass of responsible beings differing from each other, some more, some less widely; passing through all the various and unnum- | bered shades and degrees, from the most advanced Christian, down to the most abandoned reprobate; between him who, through the mercy of the great Redeemer and the purifying | influences of the Holy Spirit on the soul, needs only the removal of death to fix him for ever on high among the glorified sons and heirs of salvationbetween such a one, and that desperate worker of iniquity, that unrepentant blasphemer, to whom even charity can assign no place among the children of hope. We believe, brethren, between these extremes, innumerable gradations of moral and religious excellences and defects are to be found. To draw one arbitrary line between the wicked and the good is to shock our sense of truth, and to act contrary to the spirit and to the letter of the Bible; and certainly the character of the two sisters of our text, would give countenance to no such separation. Observe, Mary is preferred by Christ, but Martha is not condemned; Mary is assured of her inheritance in heaven, but Martha is not excluded; both were good people, and, according to the light which it had pleased the fountain of all truth to shed from himself, both were good Christians. Have we not proof of this, brethren? Jesus, who knew the heart, loved both; both were equally sincere believers, and the belief of both was accepted—“ Jesus loved Mary and her sister." Now, on this point, we must in justice turn to the gospel of St. John, where the beloved disciple himself has enabled us to see both their characters in their true light, to appreciate and to admire them. Only, for one moment, I would digress first, just so far as to request the serious attention of those among my hearers, and many I am aware there are, who are acquainted with the beautiful and exquisite evidence of the truth of our religion, brought out and enforced in so satisfactory a manner by the great and renowned Paley; the evidence, I mean, of undesigned coincidences. The conduct of Martha and Mary on these two occasions, so opposite in their nature, recorded by two such different writers as St. Luke and St. John, seems to me to confirm in a remarkable manner the reality of those histories; the more minute and the less important the circumstance, the greater weight is added to this kind of testimony. In that most affecting narrative of the resurrection of Lazarus we see in Martha the same active anxious person, deeply occupied with whatever offered itself to her mind, giving vent to her feelings without restraint, and attracting the notice of her associates. In Mary we observe the same inobtrusive, the same retired, contemplative, and, perhaps, I may add, the same melancholy turn of character. Jesus was beyond Jordan when tidings came to him of the dangerous illness which threatened the life of Lazarus, and he resolves to come into Judea again, though the Jews of late had sought to stone him there; and in the mean time Lazarus died, and many of the Jews came to Mary and Martha, and comforted them for their sad loss. Some of these kind friends' bring shall never die. Believest thou this?" "She saith unto him, yea, Lord:" and then she adds, what the question did not require her of necessity to add, "Yea, Lord, I believe thou art the Christ, the son of GoD, which should come into the world." And immediately she runs back to the house and bids her sister come. word to the house of these mourning | life; he that believeth in me, though sisters, that Jesus is on his road to- he were dead, yet shall he live; and wards their village. Now, my breth-whosoever liveth and believeth in me ren, mark the conduct of these two sisters; how strikingly identifiable with what we have already seen was the contrast between them at this moment. "Then Martha," saith the Evangelist, the beloved St. John, "Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went out to meet him, but Mary sat still in the house." Martha would not wait till he came to the threshold, nor even till he entered their village; but hastened, at the first intimation of his approach, to meet him. Mary remained at home and indulged her grief in silence; nor was it till Martha had, roused her, as it should seem, from her stupor of melancholy, by telling her, what she seems to have been too abstracted before to have heard from the voice of the messenger when he declared the approach of Jesus, and that her Lord had called for her, that she stirred ;-she did not even leave the house till that message was brought to her by her sister, from Jesus himself. Well, the same identity of character is preserved in the scale throughout; they were both true believers, yet they showed their faith differently. Martha ever forward like St. Peter, addressed Jesus with a declaration of her belief in his divine mission: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of GOD, God will give it thee." Was ever faith stronger, or more clearly evidenced than that? And when Jesus assured her that her brother should rise again, she as immediately replies, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection of the last day." There is no want of faith there, brethren. "Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection, and the How different are the words of Mary. She fell down at Jesus' feet; and her tears suffusing her eyes, she could scarcely give utterance to her faith in the few first words of Martha: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died;" and her tears made Jesus weep. Of her no more is said, she seems to have been pouring out her soul in sorrow: but Martha no sooner hears that same Lord, in whose omnipotence she had just declared her implicit faith, command them to take away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre, than she im mediately interferes; "Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days." And she thus draws this gentle rebuke from him→→→ " Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of GOD?" This recals us to a similar kind of gentle rebuke of our Lord's in the text. In each case Martha was a sincere disciple, and a true believer; in each case she was hasty, impatient, and too anxious; but her haste in the former case was only temporary thoughtlessness, no sooner shown than forgiven; in the latter her anxiety was only to give her Lord a less unworthy welcome. In each case she was one whom Jesus loved. Still, brethren, she had much to reform-much to improve in her character before she could be, even humanly speaking, a perfect disciple, such as Jesus tells us we must be. | 'Be ye perfect even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect." Still, I say, the contrast was great between her and her sister. PRACTICAL admonition forcibly, though silently, conveyed by our blessed Lord's example, against such an exclusive spirit as leads us to regard ourselves, and those who join with us in our views of duty, as the only persons in the world right; and to condemn, and to despise others. The great historian of Athens, Herodotus, represents one of the favorable features of his own Countrymen, as contrasted with the evil state of Sparta, thus-that each man had liberality enough to allow his neighbour to enjoy his own opinion without interference, and to adopt that line of conduct which he best approved of, without molestation. Such too is the spirit of the Gospel. This Athenian writer did not mean to insinuate that either what was morally bad, or that whatever might darken the peace and the tranquillity of the state was left unrestrained; he meant only this, that when the individual was alone interested he ought to have the choice of his own conduct. Now, my brethren, were this principle to operate among Christians, we should not so often hear the hard and censorious reflections passed on those who differ from the censorers & we should not hear some of our fellow Christians so uncharitably classed among the irreligious, the lukewarm, the unconverted, who either have not, or do not profess to have risen to so high a state of spiritual excellence as ourselves. Nor, on the other hand, should we hear upbraidings, in terms which imply a suspicion of their neighbours' honest sincerity, or sound joy, from the man of eminent piety and pure heavenly mindedness. If any one, whose feet ever trod this earth of ours, had a right to set up an exclusive standard for those whom he would admit among his chosen friends, or those whom he would regard as his own real disciples, First, then, we have a most valuable surely it was the ever blessed Jesús. We will now proceed, with GoD's blessing, to THE MORAL AND RELIGIOUS INFERENCES WHICH WE THINK MAY FAIRLY BE DRAWN FROM THE INCIDENT, and THE CHARACTERS WHICH ARE HERE BROUGHT BEFORE Us. But I must first close this division of our discourse in the words of the pious Doddridge: How unhappily" said he, "was her good sister deprived of the blessings of those golden moments whilst hurried about meats and drinks, and tables and feastings, till she lost not only her opportunity of hearing the words of Jesus from his own lips, but she lost her temper also. It is indeed hard to preserve it without a resolute guard, amidst the crowd and clamour of domestic cares. Happy that mistress who can manage the concerns of her family with meekness, and composure, and wisdom, and adjust its affairs in such a manner as not to exclude the pleasures of devotion, nor call her off from the means of religious improvement. Happy that man who in the pressing variety of secular business, is not so encumbered and careful, as to forget the one thing needful, but resolutely adheres to this better part, and retains it as the only secure and everJasting treasure." The chief points, then, OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION to which we will address our thoughts, are THREE. And here I am fully aware, brethren, that a far more affecting discourse might be made by taking another, but I think not so correct a view of the subject. We should always, without thinking of the effect, go only as truth seems to lead us by the hand. social life, and, on the ground of living to GOD, exclude themselves from the cheerful enjoyment of civilized society. The example of our Lord, on other occasions besides the marriage feast, is exactly to the point, and is unanswerable. Not only does a christian who keeps aloof from social and ordinary intercourse of friends and neighbours, expose himself to the contracting of habits of a stern and hard and unamiable estimate of his fellow creatures; but (a point which ought ever to be present in the minds of Christians) he excludes himself from the pale of doing good, But he, who knew what was in mau, for that very reason, as it appears, conducted his mortal life on no such principle. He loved Martha as he loved Mary; and doubtless some whom our narrow views may incline us to exclude from the class of believers, to whom alone we would wish ourselves and our friends to belongsome persons whom we might treat with contempt, or with pity, may be still the objects of the parental regard of Jesus, to whom Martha and Mary were both equal. I cannot help, brethren, earnestly recommending every sincere and true Christian to be very, very care-"A little leaven leavens the whole ful, how he would make that heart sad whom the Lord hath not made sad-how he would take on himself to exclude from the class of believers those who differ from him in some particulars-how he would take upon himself the office of judge. Surely, the better and safer plan by far, is to leave our brethren to their own Master to leave their conduct to the judgment of Him who can see the heart. If indeed we see a man going wrong, it is our duty, with all the tenderness, and, at the same time, with all the honesty in the world, for us to try to bring him back; it is our duty to persuade him, it is our duty to pray to Gon for him, but it never can be the duty of a disciple whom Jesus loveth to pass censorious judgment on a fellow creature. The second practical lesson we would draw relates to the duties of hospitality. Not only are they most decidedly in error who would infer, that from Mary's conduct a secluded and a contemplative life is the most acceptable to GOD, and so sanction all the enthusiasm of hermits, and monks, and anchorites, not only are they wrong, but they too take a very imperfect view of Christian duty who would neglect the ordinary offices of lump." A good man in society gives a tone to it, which, without his presence, it might have wanted. An unusual abstinence from social intercourse, and from the duties, each in his station, of hospitality, this passage does not countenance: but it does, my brethren, read a most solemn warning against the curse and evil of luxury-against any practices of society which at all interferes with our religious duties-with the duties of prayer and of charity. It was a proverb among the rhetoricians of antiquity, that it is a very easy thing to praise the Athenians at Athens; and so it is very easy, brethren, for a Christian minister so to shape his discourse as that he shall, without sacrificing the truth, still please his hearers; but very often what they are most pleased to hear will be the least wholesome medicine to their souls' health. My Christian friends, allow me to speak freely with you on the point before us. Much as I reprobate that unworthy spirit which would rob a Christian of all the real enjoyments of social intercourse and hospitality, my conscience tells me that the danger among us in the present day lays towards the opposite extreme. I have long learnt how low to appre choose rather to extend our thoughts to many things, and bind ourselves to all." Brethren, how much more deserving of this rebuke is the Christian, who neglects the one thing needful? A heathen, by devoting his time and thoughts to the improve present comfort, and raise himself among his fellow men; but a heathen did not know whether his soul was destined, or was not destined, to perish with his body? The Christian knows he is to live for ever, and that his happiness through eternity will depend upon his care now. There is then, surely, brethren, only one thing needful, only one object on which our best thoughts should be constantly employed; I mean that one thing, the care of our souls. We must daily lift up our hearts to heaven, or we may never reach its blessed habitation to dwell there; we must withdraw our best thoughts from the cares and troubles of this world, or we may be pronounced by our Judge-oh think, brethren, for one moment, what a dreadful judgment that will be-we may be adjudged by Christ himself to have had our treasure on earth. ciate those declamations against the evils of our own time that we are continually now hearing, as they used to be heard in times of old; but, making every deduction, the evidence is so strong that luxury and self indulgence have of late years increased with rapid strides in every department of his mind, might consult his ment of civilized and refined life; and luxury and self indulgence in the excess are decidedly unchristian vices. We cannot, we need not particularize the points which are most obtrusive, most alarming, and most seductive. It is a subject of great difficulty and peculiar delicacy; let each person judge for himself. But let each master and mistress of a family never forget that they are responsible for the means afforded to their children and their dependants of daily Christian worship, and daily improvement in Christian knowledge; and that if they allow their engagements in society to interfere with their ordinary duties as Christians, as pilgrims traversing the wilderness of this world, where their luxury and their pleasures clash with the seasons of such family worship-or curtail those means of liberality and Christian beneficence which we call charity-or engross their time and thoughts, which are owed to higher and better things then it is at the peril of their own immortal souls. Jesus will love Mary, he may love Martha; but those who live in luxury and excess, such as we have described-those who are "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God," them Jesus cannot love. This leads us, lastly, to the third practical inference, that if we are anxious for eternal life, we must choose, lay hold on, and hold fast, the one thing needful. A learned heathen, speaking of the government of the mind, says that, "when we have the power of contracting our cares, and cleaving to one thing only, we The expression of our Lord is striking: "Mary hath chosen the good part," (for such it would be better rendered from the Greek rather than "that good part")" the good part," as though there was but one; she had fixed her heart on the pearl of richest price; and, through the blessing of her Saviour, she secured the prize. Saint Augustine observes, that Martha corresponded with this life, Mary with the life eternal; and undoubtedly there will be none of the cares, and anxieties, which perplex us now. What the joys of heaven will be, we know not; but we do know that they are beyond comparison greater-not than we can enjoy |