.

LOTH-TO-STOOP.
'Thy neck is an iron sinew.'-- _Jehovah to the house of Jacob_.
'King Zedekiah humbled not himself, but stiffened his neck.'-- _The Chronicles_.
'He humbled himself.'-- _Paul on our Lord_.
All John Bunyan's Characters, Situations, and Episodes are collected into this house to-night.

Obstinate and Pliable are here; Passion and Patience; Simple, Sloth, and Presumption; Madame Bubble and Mr.Worldly- wiseman; Talkative and By-ends; Deaf Mr.Prejudice is here also, and, sitting close beside him, stiff Mr.Loth-to-stoop; while good old Mr.Wet- eyes and young Captain Self-denial are not wholly wanting.

It gives this house an immense and an ever-green interest to me to see character after character coming trooping in, Sabbath evening after Sabbath evening, each man to see himself and his neighbour in John Bunyan's so truthful and so fearless glass.

But it stabs me to the heart with a mortal stab to see how few of us out of this weekly congregation are any better men after all we come to see and to hear.