gage_ attitude, and a sudden
impact comes upon him, over he goes. The boat upon a mountain-locked
lake encounters a sudden gust when opposite the opening of a glen, and
unless there be a very strong hand and a watchful eye at the helm, is
sure to be upset. Upon us there come, in addition to that silent
continuity of imperceptible but most real pressure, sudden gusts of
temptation which are sure to throw us over, unless we are well and
always on our guard against them.

In addition to all these, there are ups and downs of our own nature, the
fluctuations which are sure to occur in any human heart, when faith
seems to ebb and falter, and love to die down almost into cold ashes.
But, dear brethren, whilst we shall always be liable to these
fluctuations of feeling, it is possible for us to have, deep down below
these, a central core of our personality, in which unchanging continuity
may abide. The depths of the ocean know nothing of the tides on the
surface that are due to the mutable moon. We can have in our inmost
hearts steadfastness, immovableness, even though the surface may be
ruffled. Make your spirits like one of those great cathedrals whose
thick walls keep out the noises of the world, and in whose still
equability there is neither excessive heat nor excessive cold, but an
approximately uniform temperature, at midsummer and at midwinter. 'Stand
fast in the Lord.'

Now, my text not only gives an exhortation, but, in the very act of
giving it, suggests how it is to be fulfilled. For that phrase 'in the
Lord' not only indicates _where_ we are to stand, but also _how_. That
is to say--it is only in proportion as we keep ourselves in union with
Christ, in heart and mind, and will, and work, that we shall stand
steadfast. The lightest substances may be made stable, if they are glued
on to something stable. You can mortice a bit of thin stone into the
living rock, and then it will stand 'four-square to every wind that
blows.' So it is only on condition of our keeping ourselves in Jesus
Christ, that we are able to keep ourselves steadfast, and to present a
front of resistance that does not yield one foot, either to
imperceptible continuous pressure, to sudden assaults, or to the
fluctuations of our own changeful dispositions and tempers. The ground
on which a man stands has a great deal to do with the firmness of his
footing. You cannot stand fast upon a bed of slime, or upon a sand-bank
which is being undermined by the