seeking the praise of weak, ignorant, sinful mortals?

Let us seek this praise which cometh of God, though we shall not have
that sensible experience of it which the Apostles were vouchsafed. Let
us seek it, for it is to be obtained; it is given to those worthy of
it. The poorest, the oldest, and most infirm among us, those who are
living not merely in obscurity, but are despised and forgotten, who
seem to answer no good purpose by living on, and whose death will not
be felt even by their neighbours as a loss, these even may obtain our
Saviour's approving look, and receive the future greeting, "Well done,
good and faithful servant."

Go on, then, contentedly in the path of duty, seeking Christ in His
house and in His ordinances, and He will be your glory at His coming.
He will own you before His Father. Let the world record in history the
names of heroes, statesmen, and conquerors, and reward courage, and
ability, and skill, and perseverance, with its proud titles of honour.
Verily, these have their reward. Your names will be written in Heaven,
with those of St. Simon and St. Jude, and the other Apostles. You will
have the favour of Him whose favour is life. "The secret of the Lord
is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant[10]."

[1] Preached on the Festival of St. Simon and St. Jude.

[2] Eccles. xliv. 7, 9.

[3] Rev. ii. 2, 3.

[4] Rev. xiv. 18.

[5] 2 Cor. i. 4

[6] Rom. i. 8.

[7] Luke i. 48.

[8] Matt. v. 11.

[9] Luke xxii. 28-30.

[10] Ps. xxv. 14.

SERMON XIII.

Truth hidden when not sought after.

"_They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables._"--2 Tim. iv. 4.

From these words of the blessed Apostle, written shortly before he
suffered martyrdom, we learn, that there is such a thing as religious
truth, and therefore there is such a thing as religious error. We
learn that religious truth is _one_--and therefore that all views of
religion _but_ one are wrong. And we learn, moreover, that so it was
to be (for his words are a prophecy) that professed Christians,
forgetting this, should turn away their ears from the one Truth, and
should be turned, not to one, but to many fables. All this is
fulfilled before our eyes; our religious creeds and professions at this
day are many; but Truth is one: therefore they cannot all be right, or
rather almost all of them must be wrong. That is, the multitude of men
are wrong, so