souls, that He may raise up our men from their neglect or unbelief. Pray, and I guarantee we shall again have reason to cry out: "A great prophet is risen up amongst us, and God hath visited His people."
Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost.
Religion and Religionism.
" Every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." — Luke xiv. II.
SYNOPSIS.
Ex. : I. The spirit and the letter. II. Origin of liturgy. III. Human tendency.
I. Phariseeism: i. Religious controversies. 2. Gods remonstrance. 3. Pharisees' practice.
II. Third command: 1. Pharisaic precepts. 2. Gloom of sinners. 3. Joy of saints.
III. Gospel incident: 1. Christ and His enemies. 2. In spirit and truth, The first places.
Per.: 1. Rational Sabbath. 2. No monopoly in heaven. 3. Substance and accident.
SERMON.
Brethren, in the spiritual history of mankind two phases of religion continually present themselves: the spirit and the letter, interior sanctification and empty externalism, in a word, religion and religionism. No student of Scripture can doubt for a moment that the outward forms of religion have their place and their usefulness in the economy of salvation, for from the earliest times they have been established and insisted upon by God Himself. That God prescribed a ritual at all, was due, no doubt, to the exigencies of the occasion, for man's material and
