Once more, as to holidays. What a vast mistake people often make in turning a holiday into an occasion of solicitude; seeking for distraction at the expense of repose, and forgetting that the only central repose for wearied or jaded faculties is the reposing upon the Eternal. There alone is “the central peace subsisting at the heart of endless agitation.” People would get much more even of physical good from Sunday and holiday rests, if they used them first of all as occasions for returning to God and finding rest in Him. And this applies to the clergy no less than to the laity. “Be still, then, and know that I am God.” That is what we are to learn. Repose upon God quietly, and do daily the duties of the day, and bear daily the evils of the day, and, like Christ our Lord, though it be through cross and passion, we shall come to the glory which is predestined for us by God. And observe the phrase, “Sufficient unto the day is the _evil_ thereof.” Our Lord is not in any sort of way promising us that we shall not suffer trouble if we put our trust in God. What He tells us is simply that “According to thy day, so shall thy strength be.” We are in God’s hands. God gives us the evil and the good. We are only, like our Lord, to trust in His divine fatherhood; and doing our best to-day, exercising our judgement to the best of our power, we are to repose in His love. CHAPTER IX CHRISTIAN CHARACTERISTICS THE seventh chapter――the last which belongs to the Sermon――is occupied with a number of accessory topics. The character of the citizen of the kingdom of God has now been portrayed for us; the relation of this character to the old law has been explained; its main motive or principle has been described. Now there follow some characteristics which flow naturally from the relation in which the citizen of the kingdom stands both towards God and towards man. The first of these is the uncritical temper. “Judge not and ye shall not be judged.” THE UNCRITICAL TEMPER We should observe that in the parallel passage in St. Luke vi. this exhortation follows very suggestively upon a description of the character of God which corresponds to an earlier passage in St. Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. “Ye shall be the sons of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and the evil. Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful. And judge not,” &c. That is to say, God is not critical; He does the best for every one. He gives to every one the gifts he can appreciate. This is to be embodied in the temper of the disciple.