and courage, with a formidable foe; to return home from the battle-field, laden with the honours of victory, and overwhelmed with the applause of his grateful countrymen. GLORY, it is a most indefinite word in this world's vocabulary, ever changing its meaning in conformity to shifting circumstances ! Now, is it possible, among these conflicting notions, to find out the true one? Is it possible, from among the myriad lives with which we are acquainted, to single out one life, and say, "This is the glorious life; no other life can be glorious, except in so far as it copies this alone?" It is possible. Read the life of Jesus, study the story of the evangelists in the God-man you will find the essentials of a glorious life in their very fullest development. 'Ah," some one may say, "but can't you come nearer to us than that? can't you point to some one, who though sinful, fallen, polluted like ourselves, rose above all downward tendencies, and made life a glorious thing?" I can, and I thank God that I can; I need not go further than the text to seek an instance of the very thing you require. Here is a simple record of a glorious life; let us now endeavour to analyze it. : The words point to 1. A life of absolute devotedness. It is not a selfish existence, but an existence linked to another existence, subordinate to another existence, ever devoted to another existence. "With God." Some maintain that God is identical with the visible universe; that sun, moon, and stars are but separate parts of Himself; that the earth, with the various forms of life with which it teems, are but different manifestations of the Eternal. Every man, every animal, every vegetable, every particle of inanimate matter, they say, are Divine; are parts and parcels of the Divine Being. Others maintain that every human soul has had an impersonal existence in the Divine Spirit from all eternity, and at death loses again its personality, and is absorbed for ever in the Infinite. These wild speculations, howunreasonable they may appear, have their foundation in an indisputable fact, the absolute dependence of all created being upon the supporting power of the Creator. "For in Him," saith Paul, "we live, move, and have our being.". This fact, which is so frequently overlooked, Enoch felt, recognized, and confessed; it was ever in his mind, and therefore he regarded his life as not his own, but God's-as not to be used in serving self but in promoting the glory of the Divine Being. Though not a part of God himself, though not destined to become a part of God; still he knew that he was a part of the universe which God sustained, and this knowledge constrained him to make pleasing God the one great object of his ambition. Man is never more 2. A life of steady progress. This is clearly suggested by the term walking. dignified than when he walks with a regular, firm, steady step; it is then that he looks every inch the lord of creation; you wonder not that other creatures should submit to his sway. But let him loiter about as if he had nothing to do, or let him run as if he were pursued, and he falls at once in your estimation. There is a touch of manliness about the very act of walking, which indicates a definite purpose, a reasonable aim, a complete mastery over one's self. You have only to conceive of a man walking and a man running, and compare these two conceptions together, in order to be impressed with the superiority of the one over the other. But the expression employed here has a wider meaning than this. "Enoch walked with God." This indicates progress. on earth as a part of duration. Take a man's life In this sense there is no stage in a man's lifetime in which he is at a standstill; he is ever on the move; no sooner does he arrive at one moment than he proceeds to another; and thus one by one the moments of his earthly course are steadily counted out. But the progress implied by a godly walk is something more than this, something which cannot be affirmed but of a very limited number of mankind. It is progress in knowledge, progress in holiness, progress in good works. It is an upward struggle, a heavenward course, a climbing up to the mount of God. At each stage the godly man loses some of his old imperfections, while at the same time he acquires fresh virtues; and thus he goes on from strength to strength, until at last he reaches the goal of perfect manhood. Ah my friends, what is the nature of the progress which you make? is it upward or downward? are you getting better or worse? do you feel that you breathe the pure air of mount Zion, or are you going deeper and deeper into the stifling atmosphere of the valley of destruction? 3. A life of blessed companionship. "With God." As a friend walks with a friend, so Enoch walked with God, for God was his constant companion throughout the journey of life; and this is perhaps the most prominent idea in the text. If you wish for a constant companion, there is only one that can satisfy your desire, and that one is God. Even the most faithful companion among men cannot be always with you; intervals will occur during which he must be absent; and even if it were possible for his bodily presence to be always with you, it does not follow that he would be at all times your true companion. But God is omnipresent, He is with you every day, every hour, every moment; the greatest solitude cannot exclude Him, it can only serve to intensify your consciousness of His all-pervading presence. The heavens declare His glory, the firmament sheweth His handiwork, day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. You hear His voice in the fury of the storm, you hear His whispers in the gentle breeze; the rolling deep proclaims His power, the murmuring brook talks of His tenderness; above, beneath, around, His glorious presence is universally felt. Nay, even though every communication between you and the external world should be cut off, He might be with you still, dwelling in your heart, revealing Himself to your inward consciousness. Now the blessed companionship of Enoch with God, which was a type of all true companionship, implied faith in God. And this faith, mark, was something more than mere belief in God's existence, majesty, and power; this belief all men in his time must have possessed; for that mad atheism which denies God's existence, had not as yet made its appearance. Enoch's belief in God's existence was accompanied by trust, by confidence, by unlimited reliance upon His faithfulness. This is godly faith, without which it is impossible to please God; for he that cometh to God must not only believe that He is, but that He is also a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Enoch's companionship implied also a certain degree of familiarity with God. infer this much from the tone of the words "walked with God." Still, there can have been no boldness, We |