Let me give you something in the way of definition. A proper highmindedness is that which sets the human mind above things naturally inferior to it, and which at the same time bids this human mind look upward to a higher mind and strengthen itself by the reception of what is freely offered us by God. A false and unworthy high-mindedness is that which disregards the mind's appointed and secondary place, and seeks to set itself above confession of sin, above dependence upon Christ, above faith in his word, above obedience to his law. We love a truly high-minded man a man who regards. the soul as of greater importance than the body, and who, therefore, can sacrifice physical comfort and endure hardness for the sake of intellectual or moral or religious good; a man who regards the great things of the soul as of more value than the little things, and who, therefore, can care less about petty slights, and personal ambitions, and intellectual achievements, than he does about the state of his heart before God and the eternal welfare of his fellow-men; a man who regards God's mind as greater than his own mind, and therefore accepts trustfully every word of God, whether he fully understands it or not; a man who regards God's will as the supreme will, and who, therefore, submits himself unreservedly to the allotments of God's Providence; a man who regards God's strength as the only strength, and who, therefore, claims no righteousness and hopes for no salvation except those which come to him through the atonement of Christ and the sanctifying influences of his Spirit.

Here is a high-mindedness that is worthy of praise, for it seeks the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at God's right hand. Such highmindedness as this is humble, believing, submissive, while yet it stands for God, and defies an embattled world. This was the high-mindedness of the Reformers, who feared God so much that they had no other fear; this is the high-mindedness of every minister of Christ who, in the strength of Christ, preaches his gospel as the only salvation of the world.

But there is another sort of high-mindedness which makes self the centre and standard, rather than God, and that self not the true self, but the lower and false self. Such high-mindedness esteems one's own physical comfort as more worthy of consideration than intellectual or moral progress, either in one's self or in others, and the men who carry this spirit into the ministry feed themselves, rather than the flock of God. He would be a poor soldier who should refuse to obey the order of his superior, because obedience might endanger his life. The chief value of life to a Christian soldier is that he may hazard it for Christ. A false high-mindedness overvalues the merely intellectual in comparison with the moral and spiritual,- in other words, it sets mind above heart. Petty errors of pronunciation, or spelling, or grammar, are more regarded than weight of argument, beauty of character, or the services of a life-time, and for the unity of a specious scheme of thought men sacrifice both history and ethics. This sort of high-mindedness constantly tends to over-esteem of one's own opinion. Toleration and love for opponents, reverence for the great thinkers of the church, consciousness of dependence upon the Bible and upon God — these fade out from the mind, and the soul is left bare and desolate as a garden when the autumn frosts have come. High-mindedness of this sort is rationalistic in spirit, but it is also a denial of the doctrines of grace. The man who does not feel the need

of God and God's revelation in his intellectual life, will not long feel his need of God and God's revelation in his moral life. He will come to believe in his own merits, and will deny the atonement of Christ, the regeneration of the Spirit, and the justification of the Father. Well for him if he does not go further, and set his own will above God's will, utterly breaking away from the restraints of God's law, as well as from the grace of his gospel.

The minister of Christ is peculiarly exposed to these dangers, and for this reason perhaps, among others, the word "high-minded" is never used in the New Testament in a favorable, but always in an unfavorable, sense. "Be not high-minded, but fear," says the apostle. I do not know any exhortation more needful to a class of young men just entering upon the work of the preacher and pastor. You are to be looked up to as persons of a higher education than the mass of your hearers; you are to be esteemed as better men than the mass, by reason of the very sacredness of your calling. If you have any tendency to be puffed up in your own esteem, the comparative isolation of your position will give abundant opportunity for increasing this tendency, and we unfortunately see in the ministry an occasional instance of an opinionated and self-willed man, who is very contemptuous of others, and whose whole aim seems to be to lord it over God's heritage. There are some natural checks upon this disposition, such as the total absence of ranks in the ministry, the fact that many a plain church-member knows more of his Bible and has more common sense in practical matters than his minister does, and the certainty that the proud spirit will meet with a fall. God usually takes care that the supercilious young minister is in various ways knocked on the head until the superciliousness is knocked out of him.

But how can we save ourselves this heroic treatment? God prefers to treat us more mildly, and will do so if we will permit him. I know of no way to escape, but by cultivating humility from the very start. And this we can do, to some degree, by considering its fundamental place among the Christian virtues. "What is the first grace of the Christian character?" was the question put to Augustine. And the answer was: "Humility." "And what the second?" He answered as before: "Humility." "And what is the third?" Still Augustine replied: "Humility." And he was right. Humility is the first, second, and third, of the virtues, because without it we cannot receive any other grace whatever from God. Humility is docile and receptive. But high-mindedness is arrogant, exclusive, unteachable, and shuts the door both to truth and to duty.

But we have a better incentive than any which the mere consideration of consequences could supply. It is found in the example of our blessed Lord. He who was highest took the lowest place. Divine Wisdom at the beginning of his earthly life consented to be taught of man, and divine Power at the end of his earthly life limited itself until it could endure the sufferings of the cross. Have we ever really considered what was the meaning of that cross? There in a few brief hours, and in a little spot of earth, were revealed the self-affirming purity of God, and yet the self-sacrificing love of God — a purity and a love which in themselves transcend all space and all time. Imagine for a moment that a cross could be erected that stretched from this earth to the most distant of the stars of space. Imagine a Being stretched upon that cross whose greatness surpassed that of all the visible universe.

Imagine an agony that lasted for longer periods than our minds can grasp - sighs of immeasurable duration, and drops of blood that took ages upon ages to fall. To some minds this would more fitly represent a divine suffering, than does the transaction on Calvary. But remember that such an atonement as this, though objectively it might be of infinite value, would yet be subjectively valueless for beings so limited as ourselves. We could not take it in, we should be only stupefied and bewildered at the contemplation. Therefore divinity has contracted itself into the limits of our humanity. God has brought himself within the narrow bounds of a human body and a human life. The atonement has been wrought in such a way that we can grasp it and be affected by it. Yet it is just as great in essence, as if the whole material universe were a cross, and all time were the duration of the Savior's suffering. For Christ is "the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world," and the cross is a revelation in time of eternal facts in the nature of God — God's hatred of sin, and yet God's compassion for the sinner.

Denunciations of pride will never help us to humility,- but the contemplation of the cross will. There we see the dreadfulness of sin,- for it brought death to the Son of God. But there also we see our sin judged and condemned forever, so that now there is "no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

"When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride."

In view of what He did, who "being rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich," we can give up all for his sake, can take the lowest place, can do the humblest work, to fullfil the purpose of his sacrifice, and to save the souls for whom he died. As you go out then into the active work of the ministry, my brethren, my last counsel to you is simply that of the Apostle Paul: "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross."

1887:

ZEAL FOR CHRIST.

BRETHREN OF THE GRADUATING CLASS :- You have spent three years with us in preparation for the ministry. Your instructors testify that you have been faithful in your work. We send you out with our blessing. We cherish high hopes for you. May he who has counted you worthy, putting you into the ministry, grant you a long, and happy, and successful career, in preaching the gospel and in winning men to Christ.

When I pray that your lives may be long, neither you nor I can forget

that one who began work with you is not here to-night. Neville graduated before you. He knows more theology now than we all. Somewhere, I doubt not, he is performing nobler service than he could have rendered here. His love of truth, his decision of character, his sweetness of spirit - these remain in our memory. Though dead, he yet speaks to us urges us not to mourn, not to idle, but to close up the ranks and march on.

The one word which I would give you as your watchword to-night is the word "zeal." It is a lofty word, and our Lord consecrated it when he said that the zeal of God's house had consumed him. And yet the word to many minds, in this age of easy-going indifferentism, has an ill sound. Let me clear it from misconception, by saying that zeal is not necessarily fanaticism. It is zeal for Christ, to which I entreat you. That zeal has none of the attributes of fanaticism: it is neither narrow, nor overwrought, nor hard. Fanaticism is narrow; it sees only a small portion of the field; it makes only a partial induction of facts. Zeal for Christ cannot make this mistake, for it has for its object Him who is not only the truth, but the whole truth of God. Fanaticism is overwrought; it is an exaggerated and extravagant enthusiasm; it throws into a single line the mental power and emotion that were meant to be expended upon the whole realm of duty. Zeal for Christ, on the other hand, can never be overwrought; for love can never love too much when it loves him; all human effort is too weak when matched with his infinite claims; strive as we may, we never can do enough to secure this highest of all ends - the triumph of Christ and his truth in the world. Fanaticism is hard; the sensibility and devotion which it pours out upon one limited part of God's creation it withdraws from all the rest; the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution show that an uninstructed conscience may become merciless, and may clothe the executioners of justice in hell-fire. Zeal for Christ, on the contrary, as it proclaims, so it is bound to manifest, the sympathy and love of God; is bound to distinguish between the sinner and his sin; is bound to have compassion upon all that are in error, that it may enlighten them and save them.

I do not mean to say that any zeal among men is absolutely pure,— that would be to claim that sinless perfection has been reached; and, alas, the imperfection of our views and the fact that our motives are mixed show that no such perfect state is ours. But we know that there was once an example of fiery, and yet sinless, zeal. We know that the pure flame of Christ's zeal has been to some degree enkindled in us. What I urge is, that our zeal for Christ may reflect and emulate Christ's zeal for God. acteristics were. First, there was an absolute faith.

Think what its charOne word of God was

of more account to Jesus, than all the words of angels or demons or men. My brethren, I would have you trust Christ and his truth, more than you trust all the world beside. Whatever philosophy may say, whatever oppositions of science falsely so-called may arise, whatever habit of skepticism may have become part of the mental structure of our generation, let us admit no doubts, listen to no parleyings, but rather set to our seal that God is true, though every man be thereby made a liar.

And then, secondly, Christ's zeal was distinguished, not only by an absolute faith, but by a passionate devotion. I urge you to give yourselves to the service of Christ, with the singleness of purpose and the total self-abandon

ment with which Christ gave himself to God. I do not need to tell you that Christ is God. You believe this. I would have you act upon it. Shall I give you a motto? Take this: Christo Deo Omnipotenti. Mean by it that to Christ, the omnipotent God, you consecrate yourself utterly, making no reserve, but giving to him all your powers in the utmost intensity of their exercise. O, it is no more than Paul has said before me! I might have taken this motto instead of mine: Mihi Vivere Christus -" for me to live is Christ."

I have urged you to imitate and reflect Christ's zeal that pure flame of absolute faith and passionate devotion. A vast and impossible achievement, do you say? An ideal never to be reduced to practice by any mortal man? True, if it came to us merely as law, and not as gospel; merely as command, and not as promise. I thank God that there is an easier way to fullfil the injunction and secure the blessing — an easier way than the hopeless way of self-moved and self-sustained obedience. It is by taking Christ himself into our hearts. His zeal can become ours, only when he himself becomes ours. But then, he can become ours, and like Paul, we can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us. Way of the simple! Wisdom of the meek! We have learned something of it in the past. May we resolve anew to-night that we will have no other wisdom and know no other way, but will "count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ!"

66

My dear brethren, it is with a heart of love and hope that I look into your faces for the last moments of our relation as teacher and pupils. What I have said to you is the greatest thing and the best thing I could possibly say. No archangel could give you a message whose substance should be grander, more momentous, more stirring than this; for this Christ in whom I have urged you to put absolute faith, and to whom I have urged you to show passionate devotion—this Christ is all and in all. There are two problems which lie before you for solution - the internal and the external, - and only Christ can help you to solve them. There is the problem of your own heart, your own personal sin, your own advancement in holiness, in short, your own spiritual life. Unless you can overcome sin within you, you can never overcome sin in the world without. But you can overcome sin within you, if you have Christ and his zeal. Why does not the ocean come up into the river channel and flood the river banks? Because the steady outward current drives the ocean waves before it, and takes its tides of fresh water far out to sea. How shall you prevent sin from overwhelming you and destroying you? By having so much of Christ's life within, that you are ever making aggressive movement against the evil, and so thrusting its forces from you. Zeal for Christ will leave no room or chance for the inflowing of temptation.

And then there is the external problem,- we must conquer the world without. There is sin to be convicted, and sorrow to be assuaged, the church to be comforted, the earth to be subdued, the kingdom to be given to Christ -a task as mighty, for hands as feeble, as ever the hands of Christ's disciples were in the first days of the church. And yet they "overcame through the blood of the Lamb," and so may we. Christ made them partakers of his zeal, and so made them "more than conquerors."

May his Holy Spirit communicate to you this zeal, and keep the fire of