world says of us (meaning by the world our ordinary friends and acquaintances) will, in all probability, be in the main true at least as regards our faults. If it accuses us of any special failing, we may be tolerably sure that it has cause; for the world can know very little of individual character except by its marked features; and it is precisely these which are liable to exaggeration. When, therefore, we can see no error in ourselves, and yet are suffering as though we had erred, let us for once adopt the judgment of the world, as a clue to guide us in our selfexamination; and though we may see many extenuations which the world cannot see, but which God will doubtless accept, we shall assuredly see much also of hidden evil, for which to humble ourselves before our Lord with the cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner."

And one other suggestion may be given before we enter upon the method

in which self-examination may best be

carried on.

There are persons sincere, self-sacrificing, and humble, who by a fatal mistake as to the object of self-examination make it a means of retarding their Christian progress, and rendering the easy service of Christ a burden under which conscience sinks in despair.

They are told that God will only pardon sin when it is repented of, therefore they think that before they can hope for pardon it is needful to recall every sin of their past lives, in order that they may repent of it. They are also told that they must repent heartily, and with a depth of earnestness proportioned to their guilt; therefore they strive to view every action in its true light, and by this means to call up the amount of penitence which they think God will, for Christ's sake, accept.

But surely we do not in the Bible read that such a task was imposed up

on every penitent sinner before Christ would receive and forgive him. When the Magdalen stood at her Saviour's feet, and "began to wash His feet with tears, and to wipe them with the hairs of her head," we are not told that Jesus sent her away, bidding her remember every particular instance of sin, and repent of it in the exact proportion which was needful, and then return to Him and she should be pardoned. The blessed words of absolution, "Thy sins are forgiven," were uttered at once; and the penitent went forth in peace.

Doubtless, in that case, as in all other cases of genuine repentance, there was, as time went on, a memory of particular sins, and a special sorrow for those which had been most aggravated in guilt; but this memory and this sorrow would be the consequence, not the cause, of pardon. Repentance is a change of mind; and when that change

comes, when we hate sin, and long to forsake it, and turn to Christ, and cast the burden of our guilt in faith upon Him, His Word most solemnly assures us that we are forgiven; and to doubt that Word is in itself an offence.

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And what has been said applies also to the daily shortcomings of our Christian life. Were it otherwise, surely the yoke of Christ would be no easy yoke, His burden would be no light burden. The time devoted to religious duties would be spent in the effort to remember exactly how many times we had transgressed the laws laid down for us, and feeling would be crushed by the mental effort required to settle the precise amount of penitence which was due for each particular offence.

Religion, real religion, the loving dedication of the heart to our Redeemer, would be next to impossible; for how could we feel that He was our Redeemer if we were not sure of His

forgiveness? and how could we be sure if we had not remembered and repented in the degree required?

Self-examination then, it should always be remembered, is not a duty required of us before we can hope for pardon, but as giving us a knowledge of ourselves—it is a means of improvement after we have received pardon: and when we make it a burden instead of a means of improvement, it becomes a snare to us. It is perfectly true that it does also sometimes aid in stimulating feeling, but this is only when practised in a certain way, under certain circumstances. Ordinary self-examination is an effort of memory and reason, and memory and reason are by no means necessarily accompanied by feeling. On the contrary, they are often incompatible with it. So that a person may go through a very sincere and very careful process of self-examination, and be startled at the end by