the
most Godlike of all the virtues, for God was love; and more than zeal,
more than knowledge, more than faith, it was "the mark" of the new
birth.

Peter McRae was evidently keenly disappointed, and his whole bearing
expressed stern disapproval. And as the professor proceeded, extolling
and illustrating the supreme grace of love, Peter's hard face grew
harder than ever, and his eyes began to emit blue sparks of fire. This
was no day for the preaching of smooth things. The people were there to
consider and to lament their Original and Actual sin; and they expected
and required to hear of the judgments of the Lord, and to be summoned to
flee from the wrath to come.

Donald Ross sat with his kindly old face in a glow of delight, but
with a look of perplexity on it which his furtive glances in Peter's
direction did not help to lessen. The sermon was delighting and touching
him, but he was not quite sure whether this was a good sign in him or
no. He set himself now and then to find fault with the sermon, but the
preacher was so humble, so respectful, and above all, so earnest, that
Donald Ross could not bring himself to criticise.

The application came under the third head. As a rule, the application to
a Fast Day sermon was delivered in terrifying tones of thunder or in an
awful whisper. But to-day the preacher, without raising his voice, began
to force into his hearers' hearts the message of the day.

"This is a day for self-examination," he said, and his clear, quiet
tones fell into the ears of the people with penetrating power. "And
self-examination is a wise and profitable exercise. It is an exercise of
the soul designed to yield a discovery of sin in the heart and life, and
to induce penitence and contrition and so secure pardon and peace. But
too often, my friends," and here his voice became a shade softer,
"it results in a self-righteous and sinful self-complaisance. What is
required is a simple honesty of mind and spiritual illumination, and
the latter cannot be without the former. There are those who are ever
searching for 'the marks' of a genuinely godly state of heart, and
they have the idea that these marks are obscure and difficult for plain
people to discover. Make no mistake, my brethren, they are as easily
seen as are the apples on a tree. The fruits of the spirit are as
discernible to any one honest enough and fearless enough to look; and
the first and supreme of all is that which we have been conside