visible church, so far as profession is concerned, stand on this eminence. They cannot be hid: whether pure or corrupt, whether true or faithless to their vows of consecration, there they are, nominally joined to the people of God. They have entered into solemu covenant with the Almighty, and in the eyes of the world are identified with those who bear his likeness.

I. Let us look at the Christian in the exercise of some of the graces mentioned by our Saviour in the foregoing verses, and we shall see with what propriety he may be called the salt of the earth.

1. Witness the conservative power of the Church in a single direction. Whence comes the voice of peace that now begins to be distinctly heard among civilized nations? Whence that cry of indignation so widely and so loudly uttered against war and its fearful cost of human happiness and life? It proceeds from the Church of Christ-from that spirit of peace which pervades the religion of the Bible. In almost every sanctuary, and in thousands of dwellings throughout the land, prayers are continually ascending to God that there may be peace on the earth. Christian effort is busy in enlightening the public mind. Much of the language, and many of the arguments employed in favor of this state of things, are derived from the Word of God. The authority of that Word is urged, and the obligation of its positive requirements. War is denounced, not only as a physical, but chiefly as a moral evil. If, then, it is on the authority of the Bible that this reformation is principally urged, the movements that contemplate it are certainly to be traced to the followers of the Prince of Peace, and the influence of his religion upon the heart. The world may unite in these efforts, from the persuasion that its own interests are involved; but that such efforts do not originate in the spirit of the world, is evident from the fact, that in no country destitute of the gospel, as far as we know, has such a blessing as universal and perpetual peace ever been dreamed of; and also from another fact even more conclusive, viz.: that notwithstanding the revealed will and intentions of God, notwithstanding the moral evils of war, and the guilt of its prosecution when it can by any possibility be avoided, worldly men generally of influence and standing in this Christian land, so far as we can see, care not to have its ferocious spirit superseded by the gentler spirit of Christian forbearance, concession, and love. 2. Follow the child of God as he pursues other lines of conduct, and exemplifies in his actions other graces of character, all showing the fitness of the emblem here applied to him. Look, for instance, at a single one of the practical results of the disposition referred to by our Saviour when he says, "Blessed are the merciful." Follow the believer as he yields to the operation of this gracious temper of his soul. Mark the exercise of his

compassion, the restraining influence which it sometimes exerts over an individual who is tempted to sin against God. Go with him to the dwelling of poverty as he deals his bread to the hungry, covers the naked, and administers consolation to the afflicted. Those acts of Christian kindness and sympathy may, and in all probability often do save their objects from crime, and from that distrust of God in which it often originates. The neglected poor, there is reason to believe, are sometimes tempted to take unlawfully from the rich what Christian sympathy should have provided for them; and many crimes, especially in countries where the inequality between the condition of the rich and the poor is greater than in ours, may be traced to extreme want. If, then, the exercise of that compassion which the gospel inculcates does in any way ward off temptation and thus prevent open sin; if, like a ministering angel, it often brings to the poor man a better joy than that of the world, points him to the wealth of heaven, and guides him to its possession; surely those who exercise this temper deserve to be called "the salt of the earth."

3. And when we view Christians earnestly and prayerfully endeavoring to win souls from death; when, in answer to their supplications, and as the fruit of their labors, we see the sinner returning to God unburdened of guilt, divested of fear, baptized with the Holy Ghost, and rejoicing in hope of the glory to come; of those who have been instrumental of such blessed results we are constrained to declare most emphatically, "Ye are the salt of the earth."

We might gather other illustrations, did time permit, from the moral changes that have taken place in the world, in all ages, through the influence of the pious. We might speak of the fate of Sodom, or the world at the flood, as examples of the certain ruin that must overwhelm communities when the moral corruption that prevails is too powerful for the reforming influences that remain; and as proofs of the fact that the preservation of the race from entire corruption depends upon the practical piety of the righteous. When Abraham interceded for Sodom, God promised to save the city if only ten righteous persons could be found within it. And why did He make this promise? Probably because the fidelity of ten faithful servants of God might have arrested the progress of licentiousness, and worked a gradual reformation. But there was not even this small amount of conservative influence to be found; and God, in destroying the Sodomites by a special calamity, only anticipated by a brief space the natural consequences of their wickedness; as, left to themselves, they would doubtless ere long have been consumed by the fires of their own licentiousness. How widely would injustice, insubordination, intemperance, and licentiousness now pre

vail, and how completely would mankind be controlled by the darkest passions of their nature, were it not for the influence of those whose lives are regulated by the principles of the religion of Christ! Truly they are the salt of the earth, to whom the world is indebted for its progress in civilization; for those moral enterprises that have so signally benefited the race; for those examples and prayers which, as means, are efficacious to the conversion of sinners. It is the Church that secures to the world the blessings bestowed upon it.

It is the duty of the Church to labor for the renovation of the world. The Christian witnesses a mass of moral corruption around him. God has placed him in the midst of this mass, that he may act on it for good. How may he do this? By a conversation such as becometh the gospel; walking in wisdom towards them that are without; having his speech always seasoned with the salt of grace, marked by discretion and purity, and measurably consistent with his high profession.

II. Believers are also denominated "the light of the world." This title, which Christ elsewhere applies to himself, he here gives to his disciples. We see from this the relation which Christians sustain to their Supreme Head. They reflect his light, the light of the "Sun of Righteousness." They are workers together with him. From him they receive their principles of action, their knowledge of doctrine.

1. And here we remark: The Christian should be able to communicate to others the leading truths of the gospel; he should constantly illustrate the nature and power of those truths in a holy life.

Christ is preeminently the light of the world. Why? Because in all matters pertaining to the life of the soul he is a safe guide. He has told the sinner why he is lost, and how he may be saved. The depravity of human nature, the atonement made for sin, faith and repentance, and the agency of the Spirit in the work of conversion, are all distinctly set forth in his teachings.

In reference to all these leading doctrines of the gospel, it is highly important that Christians should have their own minds so enlightened as to be able to guide others. Without this enlightenment, how can parents lead their children in the path of life?-without it, how can any Christian answer the inquiry, "What must I do to be saved?" We do not say that private Christians should become learned in theological science; but we do say, they should become familiar with the Bible-should have clear views of all its leading and essential doctrines, so as to be able to communicate them to others. Thus only can they properly be called, in this respect, the light of the world.

But practical godliness is more important than the theoretical knowledge of doctrine. True, they ought to be combined; but

if there is defectiveness any where, let it be in the intellect and not in the heart. If the heart is savingly enlightened, the truth will shine out in the life. There is nothing so much to be deplored as darkness here. Said Paul to the Corinthians, "Ye are our epistle, known and read of all men; written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.” The present age surpasses that of the apostles in the facilities enjoyed for the diffusion of knowledge. The press multiplies, as if by miracle, the records of eternal truth; the Bible is translated into and printed in many of the languages of the earth; and the scene of Pentecost, when persons of different nations heard in their own tongues the wonderful works of God, appears almost to be renewed. But does the present equal that primitive age of the gospel in the number of living epistles that are scattered throughout the world? Is the writing of the Holy Ghost on the hearts of believers as plainly seen now as it was then? When we talk of poverty of spirit, meekness, forbearance, mercy, forgiveness, purity of heart, and the joyful endurance of persecution for righteousness' sake, the world knows not by experience what we mean, and men of the world will naturally look to our example to ascertain what these virtues and graces of character are. If, then, instead of meekness, they observe in those who profess to follow Christ impatience and pride; if, instead of mercy and compassion, they discover avarice and selfish indifference to the condition of others; if, instead of purity of heart, they discover the proofs of worldly-mindedness and sensuality, will they not err in the conceptions they form of religion and its influence? Who would not hesitate to say, even in the exercise of the largest charity, of many nominal Christians, "Ye are the light of the world,' because, instead of reflecting in their conduct the light of divine truth, they appear to be in thick darkness and in the shadow of moral death?

2. We have a conclusive argument in this passage against retirement from the social activities of life, and against that system of religion which recommends this as the best and most acceptable way of serving God: "Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Does not the Church of Rome practically deny this declaration of our Lord? Had Christ expressly mentioned the "great apostasy," he could not have alluded more plainly to one gross error of its system, viz.: that monks and nuns, in their cloisters and other hiding-places, offer to God a purer service than do those who despise not the social relations which God himself has instituted. Supposing these individuals to be truly and conscientiously engaged in the service of Christ, their lives to be exemplary, and able to bear

the test of the world's scrutiny, what right have they to conceal their light? Who has authorized them to refuse to the world the benefit of their holy living? Why keep secret what the world ought to know and see, if it be reputable and pure, and of good report? In religion, and in every enterprise that professedly recognizes its principles, and claims to be based upon them, nothing should be hid. Let all that is undertaken for God and his cause be performed in the light of day. This is the rule laid down in our text, as well as in the discourse of the Saviour with Nicodemus, when he says: "He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God." What shall we say then of that system of religion whose policy is to conceal many of the actions of its supporters; a religion that has classes and orders of men and women, who are bound by their vows to practise their goodness in secret? Must not a system so entirely at variance with the dictates and the strongest instincts of our nature, and opposed also to the express injunction of Christ, often excite the suspicion that many acts thus secretly performed will not bear the light; that the system itself, if not the characters of those who practise it, is both described and condemned in these words of our Saviour: "Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved"? Truth, spoken or acted, fears not the light; it always courts and challenges investigation; and no action should be purposely concealed that claims truth as its source, and the good of mankind and the glory of God as its end. Always and every where should the Christian let his light shine. He has no right to conceal it. The world is to have the benefit of all those actions which serve to exemplify the nature and influence of true religion. This advantage he cannot deny to those around him, without setting aside the appointment of Christ.

3. But our text brings us a step farther. "A city that is set upon a hill cannot be hid." The lesson here taught is, if religion really exists it cannot be concealed. Certainly this inference is unavoidable in regard to those who mingle in the busy scenes of life. We do not say it is impossible for individuals of real piety, under a mistaken sense of duty, to shut themselves up in cloisters and monasteries. While the thing itself is evidently opposed to the will and example of Christ and his apostles, truly converted persons may commit the error. But this only proves that there may be a sincere love of truth and a sincere effort to obey it, combined with serious misapprehension of what truth is. Witness the case of Luther: though it is worthy of remark that when the light beamed fully upon his mind, he came out into the world, and there let his light shine. He could not hide the talent which God had given him, when he saw there was a