is that great doctrine, which is so fully drawn out in the Creed we have used on this day. On other days we remember other points of our Christian faith the birth of our Lord on Christmas dayHis Manifestation on the feast of the Epiphany-His Crucifixion on Good Friday-His glorious Resurrection on Easter day-His Ascension forty days later—the coming of the Holy Ghost, according to Christ's true promise, on Whit-Sunday. But to-day we celebrate, not so much one particular point in our religion, as that which is the very sum of it all. To-day we acknowledge God under each and every relation, in which He has been pleased to reveal Himself to us—as the Trinity in Unity as the Father that made; the Son that redeemed; the Holy Ghost that sanctifies us-and we say, This God is our God-we will have no other God but Him-He shall be our Guide unto death! Now, in speaking to you on so grave a subject as this, I must, at the first, confess our ignorance. What can creatures such as we know of the nature of the Deity! Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? It is indeed a great mystery that God should be Three and yet One-and with our limited minds it is useless to inquire How can these things be? But, brethren, there need be no stumbling at this doctrine. Many things in this world, many laws of nature, as they are called, many things in our own souls and bodies are hid from our eyes, are past finding out unto perfection. Is it wonderful, then, is it not rather what we should expect, if God's own nature remains to us a mystery? May we not be content to know only in part at present? Shall we not wait patiently for the clearer and for the larger powers which will be ours in another state of being? For now we see things through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known. There is much in And yet all is not dark even now. the doctrine of the Holy Trinity which is plainly adapted to our understanding at present-much that ministers to our deepest necessities-much that meets the yearnings of our hearts-much that may furnish us with a staff on which to lean for support and guidance in all our pilgrimage. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The communion of the Holy Ghost. Weigh well these words, and you will agree with me that what is revealed to us of the Holy Trinity, is revealed for our comfort-revealed to make us wise unto salvation. Let us dwell, for a few moments, on what is here said of each of the Three Persons in the Blessed Trinity. And, first, of the Love of God-how is this set forth in the name by which the First Person in the Godhead is named Father-our Father Who is in heaven. If any word could convey to us the assurance that God loves us, it must be this-For as a Father pitieth his own children, even so is the Lord merciful unto them that fear Him. Yes, and it is by this tender name of Father that God appeals to us for our affections-He would have us love Him, because He first loved us-He would have us not shrink from Him, and try to hide away out of His sight, but draw near to Him and trust Him-He would have us, prodigals though we may have been in times past, wasters of His goods, and self-banished through our wilfulness, from His presence, yet, in our exile, remember Him, and remember Him as a most kind parent-as our Father; and in that thought arise, and turn our faces homewards, and cry unto Him-Father, I have sinned . . and am no more worthy to be called Thy son! O, my friends, think, I beseech you, more of this! There is no peace, no happiness for any of us while we live estranged from God. He asks for our heart, and we give Him, too many of us, but lip homage only. We fear Him, but we hardly love Him! No wonder, then, if we are unfaithful and disobedient-for love alone has a constraining band-love alone will keep us with Him, and prevent our going astray, and satisfy us with the pleasures of His House, and fill us with peace and joy in believing! And therefore I say, cultivate more and more, the love of God in your souls. Learn to have pleasure in His worship. Look upon your attendance here not as a task, not as a duty, not as a mark of respectability, but as a privilege, as your reasonable and most delightful service-Look upon it as David did of old-Lord I have loved the habitation of Thy House, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth. My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God! And so, too, with your prayers at home, with your reading of the Bible, with your attendance at the Holy Supper, with every act that recalls God to mind, go about these not in a cold, formal, heartless manner, but with the affections kindled, and the heart interested, and a keen sense of God's exceeding goodness awakened in you. I have already urged, in proof of that gooodness, the name of Father, by which He desires us to address Him. A further proof of that love is present to us, when we think of the way in which He has provided for our redemption-God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life! And this leads me to a few words on the second Person in the adorable Trinity-Jesus Christ our Lord. The Apostle, in the text, prays that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may be with us. By which he means that we may know and understand, and profit by all that Christ has, in His free mercy and love, done for usor as it is expressed in our Prayer Book, "that by the merits and death of Jesus Christ, and through faith in His blood, we may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of His Passion." For that such is what the grace of Christ intends, is plain from this passage in 2 Cor. viii. 9-Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich. Yes, this is the work of the Second Person in the Trinity-It is by His humiliation-by His lowly life— by His cruel death that we are redeemed. He was made sin for us-suffered as though He were the chief of sinners-whereas He was perfectly righteous, holy, harmless, undefiled-suffered for us and in our stead-that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. How, I ask, can we be grateful enough? How can we ever estimate as it deserves the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ? The free grace-for what He did, He did willingly-under no constraint. No man took His life from Him, but He laid it down of Himself-He was the good Shepherd, that gave His life for the sheep! We cannot, I repeat, by any word, or any comparison we may use, set forth in its fullness the loving-kindness of our Saviour. But, what is of more practical good, we may, each by himself, dwell upon it, feed upon it in our hearts by faith, and frame our lives by it-learning by His example to deny ourselves and to care for others, and to be patient under crosses, and to spend, and be spent for our brethren. Lastly, I would speak, but very briefly, about the communion of the Holy Ghost. The end and object of our creation, and of our redemption, is, that we might glorify God by good and holy lives. This, says St. Paul, is the will of God, even your sanctification. And hence the part which the Holy Ghost has in our salvation. He the blessed gift of the other two Divine Persons-proceeding from the Father and the Son, has come into the world to complete the plan of man's redemption. It is from Him, that all good thoughts, all good words, all good works do proceed. He is that Spirit which, moving on the heart, stirs it up to will what |