soul and a pure life.
It is a stately building, based deep on the broad foundation of the
truth as it is in Jesus; its walls rising, but not without our effort,
being builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit, and
having as the shining apex of its heaven-pointing spire 'unfeigned love
to the brethren.' The measure of our obedience is the measure of our
purity. The measure of our purity is the measure of our brotherly love.
But that love, though it is the very aim and natural issue of purity,
still will not be realised without effort on our part. Therefore my
text, after its exhibition of the process and issues of the purifying
which began with faith, glides into the exhortation: 'See that ye love
one another with a pure heart'--a heart purified by obedience--and that
'fervently.'

LIVING STONES ON THE LIVING FOUNDATION STONE

'To Whom coming, as unto a living stone ... ye also, as living
stones, are built up.'--1 Peter ii. 4, 5.

I wonder whether Peter, when he wrote these words, was thinking about
what Jesus Christ said to him long ago, up there at Caesarea Philippi. He
had heard from Christ's lips, 'Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will
build My Church.' He had understood very little of what it meant then.
He is an old man now, years of experience and sorrow and work have
taught him the meaning of the words, and he understands them a great
deal better than his so-called successors have done. For we may surely
take the text as the Apostle's own disclaimer of that which the Roman
Catholic Church has founded on it, and has blazoned it, in gigantic
letters round the dome of St. Peter's, as meaning. It is surely
legitimate to hear him saying in these words: 'Make no mistake, it is
Jesus Himself on whom the Church is built. The confession of Him which
the Father in heaven revealed to me, not I, the poor sinner who
confessed it--the Christ whom that confession set forth, He is the
foundation stone, and all of you are called and honoured to ring out the
same confession. Jesus is the one Foundation, and we all, apostles and
humble believers, are but stones builded on Him.' Peter's relation to
Jesus is fundamentally the same as that of every poor soul that 'comes
to' Him.

Now, there are two or three thoughts that may very well be suggested
from these words, and the first of them is this:--

I. Those that are in Christ have perpetually to make the effort to come
nearer Christ.

Re