into your hearts, now and then, amidst the toil of business? Isn't it about some little one of yours? Isn't it the thought of some Willie or Charlie you have around your home, your hearth; one that climbs upon your knee, or who may be lying out there in yonder cemetery? Isn't that a sacred thought, that you would not utter here to-day in this hall? You keep that to yourself; that is your own. Oh, it is a very precious thought that, by and by, you are going to meet that little child that clustered about your knee. Now, I have a little song here that has just the utterance your little Willie would make. He is talking about the angels who will meet him. Now, while I am singing let us have it very still, if we can; and may the Lord bless it to every father here that is giving up all his thoughts to his business and none to heaven, none to the Lord, and not thinking of the hereafter very much. May this be the turning point of many a father's life; and may he say: "I will try to live for heaven-for that higher life; not all down here, but to the better life to which we hasten."

BIBLE READINGS.

OVERCOMING SELF.

For the past week we have been, at these noon meetings, looking at the obstacles that are in the way of working for Christ. Of course that has brought us to ourselves, for we are the only ones that can hinder the work of Christ in this city. He could not do many mighty works there on account of their unbelief; and if there is unbelief and coldness in our hearts, God is not going to do many mighty works here. But, to-day, I was not going to talk about unbelief, but about another enemy, perhaps the greatest of all enemies: and that is, ourselves. I think we will find, if we search our hearts by the light of the Holy Spirit, that we will find self mixed up with about all we undertake to do for God. We read in Corinthians 1st, part of the 31st verse: "Whatsoever ye do, do all for the glory of God." Do all for the glory of God! Now supposing we ask ourselves this question: Have we been working for God, with the right motive? Has it been God's, work, or our own, that we have been doing? Has self been crucified, and has God's glory been the uppermost thought in our hearts?

I was very much impressed some time ago, in finding this unholy ambition constantly coming out in the lives of those men, that Christ chose to follow him; and it seemed very strange that, after they had been with him three years, they had not got the lesson from him. It seems about the hardest lesson for us to learn. It seems about the hardest thing, to get to the end of self; but when we have got to the end of self, and self is lost sight of, self-seeking and self-glory thrown aside, and Christ and his cause are uppermost in our hearts, how easy it is for G d to use us. In the 9th chapter of Mark, 31st verse, are these words:

For he taught his disciples, and said unto them: The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him: and after that he is killed he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them: What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? While he was talking about his death and suffering, they had a dispute on hand. There was a falling out among the herdsmen. By the way, they had disputed among themselves as to who should be the greatest. Is not the same spirit abroad in the church to-day? Is not the great question too often, Who shall be greatest? Is not that one of the great obsta

cles we have to contend with. Who shall be greatest? And he sat down and called the twelve, and said unto them: "If any man desires to be first, the same shall be the last of all and servant of all. And he took a child and set himin the midst of them; and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them: "Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name receiveth me, and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me." And John answered him, saying: "Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us; and we forbade him because he followeth not us." There the same spirit is coming out again. He did not believe in his work. He did not belong to our party or congregation: he did not belong to our sect and party; and so we forbade him. There is a good deal of that spirit in these times. It lays down at the bottom. We want to build up our cause, and we have not charity enough to allow other men to use their own methods. So Adab and Medab prophesied, and they were compelled to suffer because they were not of the seventy. But God rebuked that spirit, as we see; and Jesus said: "Forbid him not; for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us."

What I can call your attention to is this: that while Christ was talking about his death and suffering at Jerusalem, these very men were discussing who should be the greatest. While Christ is rejected by the world, how many people are discussing the same question, Who shall be the greatest? What a strife it is; Who shall be the greatest; and who shall shine the most in this world! Oh that God would give us grace enough to get self under our feet; to get over this terrible self-seeking, and to get at the end of self. Now it seems singular, if you turn over to the 10th of Mark, 32d verse, the same thing occurs again:

"And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them; and they were amazed; and as they followed they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto them, saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and unto the Levites; and they shall condemn him to death; and shall deliver him to the Gentiles; and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him; and the third day he shall rise again." You would have thought that surely would have filled their hearts with sorrow-that they were going to mock him, and spit upon him and to kill him;a nd then, that he was going to rise again. You would have thought they surely would have been filled with astonishment; but see what took place. "And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldst do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should

can.

do for you? They said unto him: Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy glory." Who shall be greatest? Again, there they were seeking to be greatest, that they might have a seat on his right hand and on his left hand. "But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask; can ye drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him: We And Jesus said unto them: Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal, shall ye be baptized; but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it they began to be much displeased with James and John." Then, you see, jealousy came in there, and they were much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you; but whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister. And whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall

be the servant of all.

For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but the minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. He did not come to be administered unto but he came to administer. He came to be a servant, and now we want the spirit of the Master.

If you will allow me the expression, this eternal spirit of seeking to be great is one of the greatest obstacles to-day in the church of God. Oh, may God take it from our hearts, and may we have the spirit of the Master; may we know what it is to have the same mind that was in Christ, and he that will be great let him be the least of all. And when we have got at the end of this self-seeking, and are nothing in the sight of God, then we are fit channels for God to speak through. It says here in Jeremiah: "Seekest thou great things for thyself. Seek them not." Oh, how it has got into the church, and not only into the pews, but it has crept up into the pulpit, unholy ambition there, not so much for the glory of God but for our own glory. We like to see large congregations, and take the glory to ourselves, and then we cannot work; for God had decreed that no flesh shail glorify in his sight, and when flesh is crucified and we have got flesh under, then the Spirit of God can work, and we have got the glory. I can imagine some of you saying: "Of course, these disciples being with Christ, they very soon got the lesson learned; and by the end of Christ's ministry, they got complete victory over themselves." But we turn over to the 22d chapter of Luke, and we find in the 23d verse these words. It was that last night of the supper, and one of the saddest things that ever took place while he was here: “And they began to inquire among themselves which of them it was that

should do this thing. And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest."

There was also a strife among them, which of them should be the greatest-right under the very shadow of the cross. The very night he instituted that supper; the very night Judas had gone out to betray him, the eleven were up in that guest chamber discussing which should be the greatest. There was a strife among them. My friends, let us ask God to search our hearts and see if we have got any of that spirit in us. Let us see if we have any of that spirit that Christ's disciples had. "Who shall be greatest?" God could not use them then. If a man is filled with the Holy Spirit, there is none of this spirit there; none of this jealous spirit, "who shall be greatest," because if a man is full of the Holy Spirit, then there is no room for the world, then there is no room for self, then there is no room for unholy ambitions and unholy desires, then there is no room for self-seeking and lauding self; but a man will have the mind that Christ had, when he is filled with that spirit. Let us ask God to keep us from all jealousy and from all unholy ambition, and make us Christ-like in all our ways. "They shall learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and they shall find rest for their souls." It is a humble man that has rest for his soul; a man that is clothed with humility has rest; but the man that has not this humility of the spirit of Christ does not know what rest is. Some one sent me, a few weeks ago, a few lines written on that text, "Learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart." "Humility, the fairest and loveliest flower that grew in Paradise, and the first that died, has rarely flourished since on mortal soil. It is so frail and so delicate a thing that it is gone if it but look upon itself; and they who venture to believe it theirs prove, by that single thought, they have it not." Oh, may God, give us this humility that we have been talking about, that each of us may be filled with this humility, so that God can shine through us. Let us have that hymn, "Oh, to be Nothing." We have sung it once or twice, but I don't think we have it in our hearts. It is easy enough to sing it, but to live in the power of it in our hearts is another thing; and then, if a man don't have the position he wants, he will not get angry or jealous, but will say, "Lord, lay me aside, and take some one else." I want Mr. Sankey to sing that hymn alone:

Oh, to be nothing, nothing,
Only to lie at his feet,

A broken and emptied vessel.

NOTHING TOO HARD FOR GOD.

The passage which I select to-day is a part of the 32d chapter of Jeremiah, beginning with the 17th verse. "I prayed unto the Lord, saying, Oh, Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heavens and the