+I. What a precious thing is opportunity.+--People talk about making time for this or that purpose. The time is really made for us, only we are too idle or too careless to use it for the proper end. Opportunities of usefulness are of frequent occurrence; they are wont to come and go with rapidity. They must be seized as you would lay hold of a passing friend in the street. +II. The whole of life is an opportunity.+--There is such a thing as a useful life, a true life, a noble life, though all lives must needs contain a multitude of neglected opportunities. As a series of opportunities its record is woefully imperfect. As one opportunity it is not utterly unworthy of the example of Christ. Let us have a thread of right intention running through life. Let us have an active purpose of benevolence--a constant design of love. The continuous opportunity of life must be utilised, if the particular opportunities of life are to be turned to the best account. +III. The field of beneficence is very wide.+--Wherever men are found it is possible for us to do them good. We touch only a few persons, but each of these is in contact with others. To do great things with great powers is easy enough; but things so done may be undone so. The glory of Christianity has always been that it does great things with small powers, or powers that men think small; and the results of its work remain. Good work done by many hands is better than the extended philanthropy of an individual; for what is this but the effort of one man to make amends for the neglect of a thousand? +IV. Though all men have a claim on our Christian benevolence some are entitled to a special share.+--A man does not become a better citizen when he spurns his own family and neglects his duties at home. On the contrary, the noblest philanthropist is the most affectionate of fathers and husbands, and he who loves most widely in the world loves most intensely in his own house. So it will be with us in our Christian charity. We shall begin with those who are called by the common name and worship the common Lord, and from these we shall go on, with our energy not exhausted but rather refreshed, to the great mass of mankind.--_Edward C. Lefroy._ _Doing Good._ +I. We must do good with that only which is our own.+--We may not cut a large and liberal shive off another man's loaf; we may not steal from one to give to another, or deal unjustly with some that we may be merciful to others. +II. We must do good with cheerfulness and alacrity.+--What more free than gift; therefore we may not play the hucksters in doing good, for that blemishes the excellency of the gift. +III. We must so do good as that we do not disable ourselves for ever doing good.+--So begin to do good as that we may continue. +IV. We must do all the good we can within the compass of our calling+ and hinder all the evil.