does an angel think when he passes by such an irreligious dwelling!

It is a mercy to find even one pious individual in a house. And whoever that distinguished character be-I would say to him-be thankful; be circumspect; remember every eye observes you; and every tongue is asking, What dost thou more than others? Labour to be the happy instrument of the conversion of the rest. Render your religion amiable: "Whatsoever things are lovely and of good report, think on these things.-For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?" But O how happy is that family, "where two or three gather together in his name," and know that he is "in the midst of them;" where the whole number" are of one heart and of one soul;" where all are connected together by claims more endearing than those of nature; by ties which death cannot dissolve, nor eternity impair. And such was this family.

But though these three were all beloved of our Lord, they appear to have differed from each other very considerably. Of Lazarus, indeed, much is not said. He seems to have been a serious, solid, established professor of religion. But the two sisters are more strongly marked;— more minutely characterized. Mary, it is probable, had been lately called. She was full of those pleasing, but often transient emotions which generally accompany the beginning of the Christian life. Wondering at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth," she sat at the feet of Jesus." Of a devotional taste, a contemplative turn of mind, she was disposed to give more

time and attention to her favourite exercises, than perhaps prudence would justify. The reverse of this was the defect of Martha. She was anxious, and eager. She was susceptible of domestic vanity, and therefore too fond of parade and expensive entertainment-"cumbered about much serving." She was also fretful, and by the loss of temper betrayed into such indiscretion as to break in upon our Lord's discourse, and petulantly to require him to send Mary to her assistance, and thus drew upon herself the rebuke of the Saviour: "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her." But our Lord loved Martha as well as Mary. He knew her frame: he saw kindness reigned in her heart, and that she was no less attached to him than her sister, though she had mistaken the best way of showing her esteem. And hence we should do well to observe two things:

First. That the real followers of Jesus may have their peculiarities, their mistakes, their imperfections. Christians are new creatures. They really differ from others, and the general tenor of their lives shows that they "have not received the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is, of God." But they feel infirmities; and too frequently give proof to those around them that they are renewed but in part. We do not mean to plead for sin-but it is obvious from the history of the first disciples of our Lord and Saviour that while the grace of God has a holy influence, it seldom if ever changes the constitutional complexion; and that while it sanctifies the powers of human nature, it does not give us new ones.

It renders the possessor open to conviction, and makes him willing to retract when he has done amiss; but it does not lay him under an impossibility of doing wrong. Hence a diversity of character in the church of God. Hence a variety of degrees in the spiritual life. Hence blemishes mixed with excellencies, and defects rendered the more observable by the neighbourhood of some very praiseworthy qualities in the same individual. And, hence, while religion appears to be divine in its origin and its tendency, we can easily discern that it is human in its residence and its exercise.

Secondly. We should learn to esteem and value imperfect goodness. Yea, an old divine goes farther, and says, "We should love one another, not as saints, but as sinners." Not that we are to love sin, or cease to reprove for it-this is not his meaning-but he would intimate that we are to be tender and pitiful; that we are to consider ourselves, lest we also be tempted; that we are not to be indiscriminate in our censures, but to praise as far as we can-that the strong are to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not please themselves: "For who hath despised the day of small things?-Behold the Shepherd of Israel; he gathers the lambs with his arm, and carries them in his bosom, and gently leads those that are with young.-Behold the Lord, mighty in battle: a bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory." Behold the Sufferer in the garden of Gethsemane; he compassionately apologizes for the infirmities of his followers: "What, could ye not watch with me one hour? The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Be ye followers of him as dear children." Remember he loved Martha, as well as Mary and Lazarus. But

II. How did he love them? I answer-as a friend-and as a Saviour. First. Love is a passion of human nature. It shone forth in our Saviour with peculiar lustre. This is to be explained by the congeniality peculiar to certain dispositions, by which they immediately attract each other and unite. Though the humanity of our Lord was real, it was also sinless: and, as his mind was perfectly free from every improper bias, doubtless nothing engaged the preference of his regard, but what was virtuous and of good report. The vicious, the sceptical, the worldlyminded, we may be assured had no charms for him, whatever were their accomplishments. There is one thing we may learn from this part of his example, viz. to justify the partiality of friendship. He would not have us shut up our bowels of compassion against any of our fellow creatures we are to do good, as we have opportunity, unto all men: but he teaches us by his own practice, that we are not bound to take every one into our bosom. We are at liberty to choose and select. Our Lord regarded all the apostles, but John is called the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was kind to all his followers; but it is said, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." But to know Christ after the flesh, and to enjoy his peculiar affection under the advantage of his human nature, was a privilege confined to few.

There is, therefore, secondly, another sense in which he loved Martha, and Mary, and Lazarus, and in which also he loved us. It is with the di

vine love of a Saviour: a love which existed long before we had a being: a love which sprang from no excellency in us, but was entirely self-derived a love not only the most undeserved, but the most costly and powerful. It led him to undertake our cause, to assume our nature, to suffer and die for us. "He bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, might live unto righteousness, by whose stripes we are healed. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend," but he has discovered a greater, he laid down his life for enemies: he "died for the ungodly; while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' The same love gave us the gospel, called us by his grace, pardoned all our sins for his name's sake. And the same love will perform all our reasonable desires; make "all things work together for our good; and keep us by his power, through faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." But this leads us—

III. To observe the manner in which he expressed his love to these three favoured individuals. Everything is not recorded; but several circumstances are noticed which will prove instructive and useful.

First, he visited them. This interview was doubtless often refreshing to our Lord himself. While foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nests, the Son of man had not where to lay his head;" he had no house, nor room of his own; and we have reason to believe, that sometimes at least, after preaching much, and journeying far, he was destitute of accommodations. Once we read, that "he went up into a mountain, and continued there all night in prayer to God."