We will be Christians not in name, but in deed. Not for a time only, but always. One thought shall cheer us in sadness and nerve us in weakness, "_I have sworn and am determined to keep the judgments of thy justice_." ----------------- {124} Sermon VIII. The Two Standards. "No man can serve two masters." --St. Matt., vi. 24. (From the Gospel of the 14th Sunday after Pentecost.) There are two hostile camps pitched on the surface of the earth, and two great armies engaged in warfare against each other. The chiefs of these two armies are Jesus Christ and Satan, The war between them is not a new one. It began in heaven, when Lucifer and his companions rebelled against God. It broke out in a more deadly and decisive manner, when Jesus Christ erected his standard on Mt. Calvary, and from his Cross triumphed over the devil, while Satan, enraged at his defeat, summoned all his forces from earth and hell to an eternal war against the Cross. {125} This is a war in which every one must take part. Here no one can remain neutral; either for the Cross or against it--a soldier of Christ or a servant of the devil. You must choose your side. Which, then, do you take? Will you have Christ or Lucifer for your king? In the name of Jesus Christ, I call on you to renounce the infamous service of the devil for ever, and enroll yourself under the standard of the Cross, and I promise to give you good reasons for doing so. Listen, then, and make your decision. If the devil has the best claim, and offers the highest price, then follow him, and take his lot in this world and in eternity. But consider well what you have to look for, beforehand. If Jesus Christ is your rightful Lord, and heaven is worth having, then come out boldly on his side, and renounce the devil once for all. You cannot serve both, you must serve one; and the one whom you serve on this earth, will have possession of you for all eternity. {126} Survey, then, the two camps, the two standards, the two kings. On Mount Calvary see the Cross, the standard of salvation, rising above the camp of Jesus Christ. Look on the King who rules in this camp! Regard his features: they are full of majesty and humility, of power and of love, of authority and of compassion. Around Him the Blessed Virgin, the apostles, martyrs and confessors, all the saints and all the righteous, are grouped; and from his Cross He sends out his messengers into all the world, inviting all men to share his humility, self-denial, and suffering in this world, and his everlasting kingdom in the next.