This  truth  comes  to  light  when  we  read  our  text  with
the  emphasis  on  the  first  word.  "  Yi;  are  the  salt  of  the
world."  Not  Christianity  simply,  but  Christians  !  "Ye"
— not  alone tlie  doctrines  which  ye  preach — "  are  the  salt
of  the  earth."

Truth,  doctrine,  dogma  must  not  be  undervalued,  but
it  ought  to  be  a  prominent  thought  in  your  minds  that
Ye  are  personally  an  element  in  the  great  work  of  saving
the  earth, — not  your  creed  simply,  but  yourselves  !  Not
your  system,  but  yourselves  !  Not  your  Church,  but
yourselves  !


THE  SALT  OF  THE  EARTH  339

"  Do  I  not  support  the  Church  ?"  you  ask.  "  Do  I
not  pay  the  minister  -to  preach  the  faith  ?  Do  I  not  con-
tribute to  send  missionaries  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,
to  carry  the  Gospel 'to  the  heathens?  Do  I  not  con-
tribute to  publication  societies  and  religious  jour-
nals to  print  and  distribute  the  Gospel  ?"  Yes !  all
that  you  do.  You  ought  to  do  a  great  deal  more  of
that!  But  were  you  to  do  your  utmost,  still  the  truth
remains,  "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth."  The  world  will
not  be  saved  without  the  personal  influence  and  direct
labor  of  Christian  men  and  women.  Your  own  individ-
ual duty  can  never  be  done  by  proxy.
