resembles the grass, which no sooner springs up than it withers and dies. As long as they have some one to enliven their faith, as long as they have devotional excitement, they are happy and at peace; but when they no longer receive those external impulses, or when habit has deadened their effect, then the heaven of their souls is overcast with clouds, and storms begin to arise. Their peace has its foundation in the waters, and there is no firm ground under their feet. There is a foolish misunderstanding also among our Christians; they confound peace and idleness, regarding the sabbath-like rest which we preach, as a flat contradiction to that holy activity which ought to manifest itself in our lives, and on this account they reject with mistrust our invitation to the enjoyment of the sweetest fruit which grows upon the gospel-tree. Strange delusion! Have they not read in Philippians, "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus?" And in Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace?" Do they not remember also how our Lord himself has in a manner joined together peace and activity? for immediately after saluting the disciples in the words, "Peace be unto you!" he adds, "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." Indeed we cannot mistake what our Lord evidently intended to show us, that the latter injunction is the consequence of the reception of his peace. After he had breathed it into the hearts of the disciples, he gave them the commission to impart it to others in all parts of the world. It is like the honey on Jonathan's rod, enlightening the eyes; or like the bread which Elias received in the desert, making the knees strong. What gave Paul his. power to overcome the world, and his unwearied zeal for the service and honour of his Master? What inspired Stephen and James with courage to sacrifice their lives in the cause of the gospel? Was it not the peace of Christ which reigned in their hearts? While enjoying it no command was too severe for them to execute; no bulwark too strong for them to assail; no wall too high for them to climb; no sacrifice too great for them to make. Their whole energy and activity dedicated to the service of God was but the streamlet proceeding from the divine fountain of peace in their souls. "We see," says Luther, "that those who have a cheerful and contented spirit, and whose hearts are pervaded by joy and peace, have also strength and activity. Nothing is too heavy for them to bear, and their joy flows like a refreshing stream through their whole body, enlivening and quickening it." Solomon says also, "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance; but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken." Remember this, my brethren, and throw down that barrier of prejudice and blindness which has been built so foolishly to oppose the progress of the river of Easter peace. Rejoice because even on this side of Jordan a Horeb stands inviting your ascent, and do not let yourselves doubt that God has appointed you to commence here below that great Sabbath which awaits you above. Banish from your souls all false terror of Sinai; cast from you a diffidence for which there is no cause; and in child-like simplicity pluck the fruit which grew for you, and take with thankfulness that cup of peace presented to you by the Prince of Easter! THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 1 COR. III. 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? WELL may we be astonished at the terms in which the Apostle Paul speaks of the children of the new covenant. Never were such things written of the Old-Testament saints as are now written of the people under the gospel dispensation. What then says the apostle? He maintains that those who are regenerated are the temple of God, and that the Holy Spirit, the renewer of the world, has his dwellingplace within them. On another occasion also he says, "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?" Showing plainly that it is not merely the brethren taken collectively who are so, but that each member of the community is a temple. Let us now inquire what the apostle means when he speaks of the Holy Spirit and of his living temple; and let us contemplate the Comforter as resembling Solomon in building-Bezaleel in adorningand, lastly, Aaron in officiating as high-priest. I. The Holy Spirit builds; this is his occupation when we first learn to know him, and certainly we often behold him employed in it. He resembles the man in the wellknown parable of our Lord, who dug deeply; and like him also he lays the foundation of his house upon a rock. There is a city existing upon earth, which has nowhere its equal: it consists of holy sanctuaries and temples; it is invisible and yet close at hand; and the world contemns it, although it is the most glorious thing in it. The wings of Eternal Love are spread over it; heaven smiles on it benignantly; its walls and ramparts are of fire, and its foundations are firm as the eternal mountains. It is the city of the King of kings, and it is the office of the Holy Spirit to raise and extend it. He is a builder of temples; and in this point of view he stands in the same relation to Christ that Solomon did to David. The latter by his victories and conquests first rendered the building of the temple possible; he also provided the materials, and sketched the plan which Solomon put into execution. No one is by nature a temple; on the contrary, by nature we are the dwelling-places of an evil spirit, who has his work in the hearts of the unregenerated, and who blinds them so that they believe a lie. It is now the employment of the Holy Spirit to remodel this living charnel-house, and for this purpose he throws down and raises up; he destroys and creates anew. His instrument is the holy Scriptures; he makes the word penetrating and sharper than a twoedged sword; giving it power to make impression, and animating it with the breath of life. You know from experience how it acts; sometimes it strikes like a thunderbolt, and sometimes it flashes past; two houses stand together, the one is struck, while the other is untouched :Sunday after Sunday passes by, while the heavy-laden clouds of our sermons thunder and lighten over the heads of the people; but what good does it do? They pass away without effect until the Spirit direct them. Then indeed there is a change; the rain falls on the heart; the fiery flames descend, and the word strikes like an invisible sword, reforming and creating anew. It is melancholy to see a man going on unchanged, and in all respects the same as when he came into the world; but it is still more melancholy when this man is at peace with himself, and satisfied with his own condition. The curse rests upon his head, and he is at peace! He walks along entangled in the meshes and snares of hell, and—still he is at peace! He is the enemy of God, who is never contemned with impunity—and yet peace and tranquillity are his! Is not this terrible? It is a sure sign that the Holy Spirit has not yet begun to labour in his heart. It may happen, however, that he feels differently; his feelings may resemble those of a bird confined in a cage, which, at the approach of summer, beats with impatience against the bars of its little prison, because it feels that here is not its element, and that, if possible, it must away. When ye hear the voice of an invisible One whispering at every moment, "Ye must be changed, completely changed!"-when the words Death, Judgment, and Eternity, sound in your ears like thunder or the clang of a trumpet, and when there is an end of silence and tranquillity in your bosoms; then all this argues the approach of a blessed change, and that the Holy Spirit has begun his work in your hearts. When the sounds which you hear become still more distinct and articulate; when it seems as though some one thus addressed you, "Verily thou art a sinner!"-when a Nathan whom ye cannot see, brands you as guilty; then indeed ye must not doubt that the Spirit is there. When ye strive to drown the voice of awakening conscience in the noise and tumult of the world; but when from every corner ye hear a voice crying, "Adam, where art thou?"-when ye can no longer take refuge in the thought, "God is merciful!" for from the clouds is responded, "and just, and holy, and like a consuming fire!" -when you say to yourself, "I will try to amend!" but |