of judgment.”  It was then that He said, for a word spoken against the Holy Ghost there is no forgiveness in this world, or in the world to come.

Our own hearts respond to the truth of this—­to call evil, good, and good, evil—­to see the Divinest good, and call it Satanic evil—­below this lowest deep there is not a lower still.  There is no cure for mortification of the flesh—­there is no remedy for ossification of the heart.  Oh! that miserable state, when to the jaundiced eye all good transforms itself into evil, and the very instruments of health become the poison of disease.  Beware of every approach of this!—­Beware of that spirit which controversy fosters, of watching only for the evil in the character of an antagonist!—­Beware of that habit which becomes the slanderer’s life, of magnifying every speck of evil and closing the eye to goodness!—­till at last men arrive at the state in which generous, universal love (which is heaven) becomes impossible, and a suspicious, universal hate takes possession of the heart, and that is hell!

 There is one peculiar manifestation of this spirit to which I desire
 specially to direct your attention.

The politics of the community are guided by the political press.  The religious views of a vast number are formed by that portion of the press which is called religious; it becomes, therefore, a matter of deepest interest to inquire what is the spirit of that “religious press.”  I am not asking you what are the views maintained—­whether Evangelical, Anglican, or Romish—­but what is the spirit of that fountain from which the religious life of so many is nourished?

Let any man cast his eye over the pages of this portion of the press—­it matters little to which party the newspaper or the journal may belong—­he will be startled to find the characters of those whom he has most deeply reverenced, whose hearts he knows, whose integrity and life are above suspicion, held up to scorn and hatred:  the organ of one party is established against the organ of another, and it is the recognised office of each to point out with microscopic care the names of those whose views are to be shunned; and in order that these may be the more shrunk from, the characters of those who hold such opinions are traduced and vilified.  There is no personality too mean—­there is no insinuation too audacious or too false for the recklessness of these daring slanderers.  I do not like to use the expression, lest it should appear to be merely one of theatrical vehemence; but I say it in all seriousness, adopting the inspired language of the Bible, and using it advisedly and with accurate meaning, the spirit which guides the “religious press” of this country, which dictates those personalities, which prevents controversialists from seeing what is good in their opponents, which attributes low motives to account for excellent lives, and teaches