I.-CHRIST'S REPLY TO PILATE'S ADDRESS. To Pilate's question, "Art thou the King of the Jews?" Christ says, "Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?" This is not said in the spirit of insolence or disrespect, for that would be foreign to.

His holy nature, but said, no doubt, as a warning to Pilate, not to be prejudiced against Him on account of the reckless charges of the intolerant Jews. "Speakest thou this thing of thyself?" Knowest thou anything thyself concerning my history to make you suppose that I presume to call myself a king in a political sense. We may legitimately use the words as suggesting an appeal to two classes of men in relation to Christianity? First: To the infidel. To the infidel we may say when he urges his objections to Christianity," Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell it thee?" (1) When he objects to the divinity of the Bible. When he talks of its difficulties and discrepancies, states how he thinks the manuscripts were produced, and how they were compiled all in order to show that the book cannot be divine, we say to him, "Sayest thou this thing of thyself or did others tell it thee?" Art thou stating all these things on hearsay, or hast thou thoroughly and honestly investigated the question for thyself? If thou hast not done this, be silent, it is a personal question. The men from whom thou hast heard thy objections, perhaps, never examined for themselves, but received them from others, and they from others too. Hush think for thyself. (2) When he objects to the doctrines of the Bible. When you hear him dilate on the absurdity of the incarnation, the atonement, the resurrection, ask him, "Sayest thou this of thyself?" Hast thou examined these doctrines so as to get an independent judgment? If not, hold thy tongue. In these questions every man should be "fully persuaded in his own mind.” We know of no better way to deal with moral infidels than this; silence them in their babblement by saying,

Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell it thee?" As for us, "we speak that we do know, and testify what we have seen." The words suggest an appeal to be made Secondly: To preachers. When you hear men talk nonsense, even blasphemy, in the pulpit in the name of the Bible, when you hear them advocate sacramentalism, reprobation, divine wrath to be quenched only by the blood of the innocent, the literal purchase of a certain number of souls to salvation by the mysterious agonies of the Son of God, and all such things as these, say to them, "Sayest thou this of thyself?" or, "Hast thou found out these things from the word of God by thine own devout, honest, independent, inductive study, or have others told thee? Hast thou not got all these horrid dogmas that misrepresent Christianity, outrage the intellect and shock the moral reason of mankind from others, from old theologies, hoary creeds, and floating traditions? man is a true preacher who does not utter the things which he has "seen and felt and handled for himself." Half the pulpits in England would be shut if the people asked the preacher, "Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others tell it thee ?" We have here—

No

There

II. PILATE'S TREATMENT OF CHRIST'S REPLY. are two things here worthy of notice. First: A haughty scorn that is always contemptible. Pilate answered, Am I a Jew?" Who does not see his curled lip and hear his arrogant tone in this ? "Do you suppose that I belong to that despised and conquered race? No,

I am of Roman birth, and represent Cæsar, not only the master of this petty province, but the master of the race." This is very contemptible. There is a scorn that is right and noble, a scorn for all that is mean,

and base and false. But to scorn birth is to the last degree despicable, albeit it is common. Those who are born in what are called the higher social circles, look with disdain upon the grades below, though from the grades below they all sprang, and by them they are all supported, and amongst them there are often those who, like Garfield, have a moral splendour before which all the brilliancy in castles and courts grows dim. Oh, Pilate, with all thy disdain for the men of Israel, there were greater ones among them than were ever found in Rome-Moses, Solomon, Daniel, Paul. Can you find their match in those who ever trod the streets of the imperial city? Another thing noteworthy in Pilate's treatment is, Secondly: A judicial procedure that is commendable. "Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee unto me, what hast Thou done?" With their miserable prejudices, and conventional distinctions I do not concern myself. Tell me from thy own lips "What hast thou done?" Let me hear the truth from thee, tell out all. Now this procedure from a judge is most commendable, common sense and common justice tell us that in all cases the prisoner ought to be thus treated; but, to the disgrace of our Court of Judicature, the mouth of the accused is closed; charges are brought against him in the court, these are urged with legal skill and oratory, but he is not called into the private presence of his judge at the outset, and asked, "What hast thou done?" Tell me the whole truth about thyself, especially in relation to the charge brought against thee.

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Sermonic Saplings.

CENSUS FALLACIES. *

"JUDGE NOT ACCORDING TO THE APPEARANCE, BUT JUDGE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT.”—John vii. 24.

A

E are greatly indebted to the public spirit and painstaking care of one of our local daily newspapers for the Religious Census taken last Sunday in our city. Quite a crowd of obvious reflections are started by a perusal of these columns of figures; some of these reflections inspiring congratulation and thanksgiving, some of them kindling grief and shame, and some of them stimulating vows of labour and of prayer. But without even seeming to disparage such lessons as will surely be deduced-lessons of denominational inferences, or of evangelizing dutiesI am concerned now to combat certain fallacies that a superficial study of these census returns is very likely to create

I. The first fallacy is-THAT THE ATTENDANCES AT

VARIOUS SERVICES DETERMINE THE NUMBER OF ADHERENTS OF VARIOUS THEOLOGICAL VIEWS AND ECCLESIASTICAL POLITICS.

I am able the more boldly to insist on this in a Nonconformist Church, because the census shows that, while there were 47,000 attendances at the services of the Established Church, there was the astoundingly larger attendance at services voluntarily sustained and free

* Preached the Sunday after a "Religious Census" of attendants at places of worship, had been taken in Bristol.