trading with his talents, he had kept in mind that he was trading for his lord, and with his lord's

money.

And this is important for us to remember. God has so constituted the world, that we can hardly employ our talents at all without in some way furthering His designs. The most selfish merchant or agriculturist, whilst intent solely on his own gains, still adds to the comfort, the wealth, and the progress of the human race. The literary or scientific student, though he may be thinking solely of his own fame, yet, by his writings or his experiments, contributes to the enlightenment of mankind. They gain other talents, but it makes all the difference to their own characters, and to their reception by their great Master, with what views and in what spirit they have worked.

Hear how the possessor of the five talents was greeted. "His lord said unto him, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things,"-few in comparison with the greatness of God's kingdom-"I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'" The joy of the lord, then, which he was to share, was not, it seems, the rest of dreaming inactivity,* but of extended labour, honourable and blessed work, but still work.

"He also that had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.'

*There is no true rest but labour.-KINGSLEY.

His lord said unto him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'' There is no rebuke, no dissatisfaction expressed because his gains had been small-he had made the most of what he had to trade with, and his reward is assigned him exactly in the same degree as the other. In the parable of the Pounds the case is different. He who has gained ten pounds, has ten cities; he who has gained five, five only. But mark, each of these servants began with the same sum, therefore the industry and diligence of the gainer of ten pounds was twice as great as that of his companion, inasmuch as the one found the means of multiplying one pound into ten, the other only into five. God's rewards will be in strict discriminating justice, far indeed beyond the desert of any, yet proportioned to the zeal, labour, and suffering of each.

"Then he which had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed,"-scattered— "and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine."" One would have thought it would have been enough to disappoint his lord's just expectations of profit, without insulting him by giving him to his face such a character for injustice; and yet, is not this much the language of the heart oftentimes before God? "Religion is such a hard thing; there are so many different sects and opinions, that there is no knowing

who is right; and so I think it best not to trouble myself about it, but just to go on in my own way." Then as to charities, and especially charitable and religious societies, the excuse is often, "One never knows whether they do the good they profess, and so I have nothing to do with them at all." Do not these and similar excuses arraign God as exacting what He does not give us the means of doing? What is really wanted is more diligence, more zeal, on our part, more care and discrimination in the employment of our talent. And so we read of the objecting servant, "His lord answered and said unto him, 'Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed" -this, however false, is the opinion thou hast professed to have of me-" thou oughtest therefore❞— all the more- 66 to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury." The mention of the exchangers may possibly be intended to suggest that if he had not the ability to trade himself, he might have put the money out to interest with those who would have made something of it. And so those who, perhaps, have not much aptitude for independent works of usefulness, may avail themselves of the advice and co-operation of others. But the great moral of the parable is, that it is not enough, even if it were possible, to give back to God our talents as they were; to have done no harm, to have kept ourselves safe, and have led a life of mere negative virtue; we must restore the gifts lent us with interest.

The parable may help us to understand what is the true watching that is expressed-not standing still and doing nothing, but cultivating to the utmost our peculiar plot of ground, whilst ever looking out for, and desiring the return of our Master.

We may learn, also, another thing. We are often reminded in the Gospel of the danger of riches, and yet here the profitable employment of money in successful trading is surely sanctioned, whilst inaction and sloth are severely punished. How is this?

Well, there is danger in riches, danger in knowledge: great danger. Yet, if they are given to us, there is danger also in throwing them away, or in keeping them unemployed. An army advancing into an enemy's territory knows that every pass, every sweep of the hills, may bring them in front of the foe. Therefore they exercise all vigilance, send out reconnoitring parties, and keep well together, prepared for an encounter. Yet they go forward, for if they were to halt and stay where they are, they might be cut to pieces, or starved for want of supplies. So must we go forward in our duty, laying out our Lord's money, yet watching and praying always, and trusting to Him that He is no hard master, but one who "will with every temptation make a way to escape."

But we must look again at the sentence on the unprofitable servant. "Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.". This is

the same principle which was enunciated in the parable of the Ten Pounds-the principle, namely, that grace used is increased, and accumulates; grace wasted, disappears altogether.

"And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." May God in His mercy keep us all from this most sad and dreadful exclusion from His glorious kingdom! May we, as the apostle bids us, be "always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord."

SECTION LX.

THE JUDGMENT.

MATTHEW XXV. 31—46.

WE now come to the unspeakably grand and

solemn close of this, which may be viewed as

our Lord's last regular discourse.

"When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left."

There is much disagreement amongst expositors as to whether this passage describes the final and general judgment-the judgment of the quick and the dead at the coming in of the millennial kingdom