century is, as of old, the rescue of a city. But our Jerusalem is the city where we live. To make this city clean and Christian, the home of universal opportunity, the abode of brotherly love, where the privileged share with the unprivileged, and the adversity of one is felt to be the adversity of all; where justice dwells, and honesty and good religion, and the laws of God are kept, and Christ is Master, that is the purpose of true knighthood and true manhood in this town. And he who aims at such a purpose will begin that reformation with himself, with a resolute minority of one.

THE FAILURE OF THE PHARISEE.

"Two men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other a Publican." - ST. LUKE Xviii. 10.

AND the two men, having said their prayers, returned to their homes, one with the blessing of God, and the other without it.

Yet the Pharisee was quite unconscious of his failure. No more complacent man walked the streets of Jerusalem. No man went up that day into the temple of God, or came down again, with a better opinion of himself.

That is an appalling condition of things, when one considers what it means; for human nature does not change much with distance of time or space, does not alter much with difference of speech or dress. If a citizen of Jerusalem could go about so blind to his fatal failure, the residents of other towns, closer to us, may walk along familiar streets, and in and out of parish churches, with just as black a shade over their eyes. It will be worth while, therefore, to look somewhat closely into this case, in order

to discover, if we may, the causes of this Pharisee's serene unconsciousness. The Pharisee, we will find, was blinded to his failure by the strong light of two kinds of success.

He had attained this desirable success, his neighbors all thought well of him. There is a temptation which accompanies that most delightful and satisfying approbation, the temptation to put compliment in the place of conscience. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you," because, unless you are upon your guard, you will take that flattering speech as the very voice of God. You will persuade yourself that you are approved of God because you are applauded by your neighbors. You will believe that you are doing your duty because most people think you are. And very likely you and your admirers will be quite mistaken. For success, as we define it, is not always satisfactory to God. His judgment is sometimes startlingly different from ours.

The Pharisee had also attained this other desirable success, he thought well of himself. He had some excellent reasons for thinking that he was an uncommonly good man. took himself, accordingly, at his own valuation. But nobody can be trusted to do that. How

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ever truthful we may be in general, we will tell lies to ourselves about ourselves. Nothing is so deceptive as self-deceit. The Pharisee does not appear to have doubted for a moment that God's estimate of him would agree entirely with his own. God, he thought, was a magnified Pharisee. Naturally we argue in that way, making God the superlative of man the positive. The bigot believes that God is a divine bigot; the liberal thinks that God does not care much about the things which are not of interest to him. But the only safe ideal of God is that which is based upon the character of Jesus Christ. God is like Christ; and in whatever respect we are unlike Christ, God is unlike us, and values things at a valuation different from ours. The Pharisee was not at all like Jesus Christ; and thus he was quite mistaken about God. He took the approval of God altogether for granted; and, while he least imagined it, he offended God.

There is only one failure which is greatly worth regretting, and that is failure with God. Sometimes failure with one's self is really no failure at all. No man was ever more emphatic in his belief that he had made a failure of his life than was Elijah. He desired to die, that

the earth might be no longer encumbered with such an utterly useless and defeated creature. But we know that Elijah was quite mistaken. Sometimes failure with others is no failure at all. No life ever ended amidst circumstances more plainly indicative of blank defeat than the life of Jesus Christ. Forsaken by his disciples, deserted by his friends, hated by all the orthodox leaders of established religion, condemned for sedition and for blasphemy, for violation of the laws of God and man, and hanging alone upon the ignominious cross, what wonder if the watchers there in the noonday darkness thought in their hearts that that was the failure of failures! But we know that it was the victory of victories. There is only one fatal failure, and that is failure with God. The Pharisee had failed with God.

Yet the Pharisee had great advantages. Those two eminent successes of his, while they did, indeed, offer strong temptations, yet brought with them, nevertheless, much strength and help.

That good opinion of the Pharisee's neighbors meant appreciation. Whenever this man did a good thing, or said a good word, somebody was sure to thank him for it. Apprecia