all personal merit--as he presses it on their
attention that neither is he that planteth anything nor he that watereth,
but God that giveth the increase, he is unconsciously exhibiting to us an
example of that rare humility which is characteristic of all the greatest
and most effective workers; whilst in the vivid and expressive metaphors
of my text--ye are God's husbandry, God's building--he makes us to feel
the value and the dignity of each human soul.

It would be interesting to dwell on these calls to unity of life in
Christ, and the close connection between such unity and the spirit of
humility; in fact, we might say, the absolute necessity of the spirit of
humility and self-forgetfulness in individuals if there is to be unity in
the society. And we might apply the thoughts with much profit to our own
social relations, for they are never out of date; but I desire to turn to-
day to that which is suggested by these descriptive metaphors, the value
and dignity of each human life.

St. Paul pressed it on these Corinthians that their souls were nothing
less than the seed-field of which God Himself was the Husbandman, or the
temple built by His hand; and they could hardly have listened to such
language without being stirred to take care how they sowed in that field,
or without feeling the consequent value of their life in the sight of
God.

If they were thus the objects of the Divine care they could not be
thought of as insignificant units in a crowded city; or as living an
obscure life which was of no particular importance, as they might
otherwise have been tempted to fancy, as we are still sometimes tempted
to think about an individual life. This picture of each life amongst us
in its relation to God, as His seed-field or His temple, is a continual
reminder that where a human soul is concerned there is no such thing as
insignificance or obscurity.

As St. Paul thought of that little company--a company small and obscure
to the outward eye--what he saw in them was the temple of the Holy Ghost,
and the spiritual life that was breathing there was a Divine life; and
this intense conviction of the value of each soul and each society and
its consequent sanctity was a never-failing inspiration to him.

Through it he saw in every one who listened to his words, as he went from
city to city, a man created and endowed with a Divine mission and Divine
capacity, if they could only be roused.

It transformed every soul that