know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil." We need not remind you, that this intimate knowledge which our Lord possessed of the church to which He then was writing, He possesses at this moment of every one of us. Many among you, brethren, are, no doubt, more than merely nominal followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; you have been taught by His Spirit; you are depending simply upon His atonement; you are endeavouring, by His grace, to express your gratitude and your obedience by a heart devoted to His will, and a life, in some degree at least, we trust, dedicated to His service. How encouraging, then, is the reflection that not one advancing effort which you have ever made in the way of holiness, not a sinful gratification which you have foregone, not an evil habit, or person, or thing, from which you have separated, or a

labour of love which

you have performed for His name's sake, of which He does not as distinctly say to you, as he here said to the Church of Ephesus, I know it, and know it with approbation, (for this is the meaning of the phrase as it occurs in the Scripture before us) "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience." Your gracious Redeemer knows them, indeed, as they really are, tainted with sin, full of imperfection, which no one will more readily acknowledge than yourselves; but then he knows them also, as the sincere, though feeble efforts of a child, anxious to manifest his love, and gratitude, and obedience, to an indulgent father; and that Saviour even

now

delights in every such work of charity or kindness, or ministering for Him, as He once did in the offering of that poor woman in Bethany, which worthless as it was, rejoiced His heart, and

received His

commendation, because

'

having been forgiven much, she loved much, and had "done what she could." But there is encouragement in this message for more than you who are enabled to work and to labour for the Lord Jesus Christ. Every class, almost every individual among His people, may find a word of counsel and of comfort here. Are the sins of an ungodly world a trial and a grief to you? and though you may not be able with truth to express yourself in the strong language of David, "Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law," yet do you mourn over iniquities which you cannot prevent, and which deeply wound your soul, because they wound your Saviour? this also, then, he knows, with approbation, "I know how thou canst not bear them which

are evil." It is a most satisfactory and

distinctive mark of our union with the Lord Jesus, when we can truly affirm,

9 Psalm cxix. 36.

every enemy of my Lord is beheld as

an enemy by me;

every arrow that is aimed at my Redeemer, pierces through my own soul also, and fills it with many sorrows.' But can you, on the other hand, behold the careless Sabbath-breaker, can you hear the oath of the profane, can you see the profligacy which fills our streets, can you read of, and can you know of, the thousands around you engaged in "evil, and only evil, and that continually," living to themselves and to the world, and forgetting the God who made, and the Saviour who redeemed them; and can you talk lightly of their sins, and be indifferent to their fate, and take as much pleasure in their society, as if they were the obedient followers of God, and preparing for His kingdom, and living to His glory? Then, brethren, we are bound to tell you, that you want one distinctive mark at least, which is never wanting in the true

people of God, the separation from them that are evil; your "spot is not the spot of God's children," for He says of them, "I know thou canst not bear them which are evil." How careful then should we be in the choice of our intimate companions and friends! Does God say that His people cannot bear the company of the ungodly; and do I love, and court, and associate with them from choice! Surely there must be something very wrong in the state of my heart, or I could not so differ from my Lord and His believing followers. If society were constituted upon Christian principles, it would not be borne, that the presence of the profane swearer, or the open profligate, the gambler, or the adulterer, should be tolerated, because his vices are gilded by wealth, or dignified by rank; such men would be as effectually banished, as the more vulgar sinners whom the laws of their country remove