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We may fairly compare the life of a Christian to the ascent of a mountain. Propose the text as a serious question.

I. SOME WHO ANSWER "WE SHALL" ARE YOUNG BEGINNERS. They have not yet tried the rougher part of the mountain. Be not overconfident. There is a sense in which to be weak is to be strong,

II. OTHERS SPEAK OUT OF SHEER IGNORANCE. "Oh," say they, "it is not far to heaven. It is a little thing to be a Christian. You have only to say, 'God be merciful to me,' and the thing is done." Oh, poor ignorant soul, your folly is too common. To the unaccustomed traveller, nothing is more deceptive than a lofty Alp. You think you can get to the top in half an hour, but find it a full day's journey. It is so with religion.

III. OTHERS THINK THEY HAVE FOUND A SMOOTH ROAD BY WHICH THEY MAY AVOID ALL ROUGHNESS. Take care, presumptuous soul, for the greener the path the greater the danger.

IV. OTHERS THINK THEY WILL BE SURE TO ASCEND BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY CARRY WITH THEM. This is the way in which the worldly-wise and self-sufficient talk, and those who are rich and cumbered with much serving in the world.

V. BUT OTHERS SEEM VERY SAD. Why mourn you? "Oh," say they, "we shall never ascend the hill of God." I should have thought you the very ones who would ascend. Why do you think you shall fail?

1. One says: "I am so weak, and the hill is so exceeding high. I can do nothing good. But God will help you.

2. I am so sorely tried, and the way is so rough." But the road to heaven never was anything but rough, so you may be the more sure you are in the right way.

3. "But I have been sorely tempted; and across my path there is a swollen torrent, and I cannot wade through it." But the Lord knows how to deliver thee. In one of the wild valleys of Cumberland we were rained up for two or three days. The little brooks had been swollen until they roared like thundering rivers. But I noticed, when we did make the attempt, that the sheep which fed upon the mountain side could spring from stone to stone, rest a moment in the middle, while the angry flood rushed on either side, and then leap and spring again. I thought of the text, "He maketh my feet like hind's feet."

4. "But I have lost my way altogether, I cannot see a step before me; a thick fog of doubt and fear hangs over me." We too have passed through such fogs. Let him not fear but trust in the Lord.

5. "But my woe is worse. I have been going down hill. My faith is not as strong as it was; my love has grown cold; my depravity has burst out. I am sure it is all over with me," In climbing a mountain it often occurs that the path winds downward for a season, But Christians never mount better than when they descend.

6. "But I am in such danger. I fear I shall fall." When a Christian looks down it is likely to make his head swim. Look up! The Scripture does not bid us run our race looking at our own tottering legs, but "looking unto Jesus."

VI. LOOK AT THE MAN WHO IS ABLE TO ASCEND THE HILL OF THE LORD.

1. He is well shod.

2. Girt about his loins,

3. He has a strong staff.

4. And a guide.

5. He marks the way. And oh! the joy when the sunset is reached.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

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KJV: Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?

WEB: Who may ascend to Yahweh's hill? Who may stand in his holy place?