many? Be sure, that unless you take up His
cross, you will not share His crown. Be sure, that unless you
follow in His footsteps, you will never reach the place where He is.
If you wish to enter into the joy of your Lord, be sure that His joy
is now, as it was in Judaea of old, over every sinner that
repenteth, every mourner that is comforted, every hungry mouth that
is fed, every poor soul, sick or in prison, who is visited.

That is the joy of your Lord--to show mercy; and that must be your
joy too, if you wish to enter into His joy. Surely that is plain.
You must rejoice in doing the same work that He rejoices in, and
then His joy and yours will be the same; then you will enter into
His joy, and He will enter into yours; then, as St. John says, you
will dwell in Christ, and Christ in you, because you love the
brethren; and you will hear through all eternity the blessed words,
'Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these little ones,
ye did it unto Me.'

SERMON XXI. TOLERATION

[Preached at Bideford, 1854]

Philippians iii. 15, 16. And if in any thing ye shall be otherwise
minded, God shall reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, whereto we
have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the
same thing.

My friends, allow me to speak a few plain and honest words, ere we
part, on a matter which is near to, and probably important to, many
of us here. We all know how the Christian Church has in all ages
been torn in pieces by religious quarrels; we all know too well how
painfully these religious quarrels have been brought home to our
very doors and hearts of late.

Now, we all deplore, or profess to deplore, these differences and
controversies. But we may do that in two ways: we may say, 'I am
very sorry that all Christians do not think alike,' when all we mean
is, 'I am very sorry that all Christians do not think just as I do,
for I am right and infallible, whosoever else is wrong.' The fallen
heart of man is too apt to say that, my friends, in its pride and
narrowness, and while it cries out against the Pope of Rome, sets
itself up as Pope in his stead.

But there is surely another and a better way of deploring these
differences: and that is, to say to oneself, 'I am sorry, bitterly
sorry, that Christians cannot differ without quarrelling and hating
one another over and above.' And then comes the deeper home-
thought, 'And how much more sorry I am that I myself can