comfort and an absolute sense of thankfulness, which makes the sufferer say with Peter on the Mount, "Lord, it is good for me to be here!" Now this is no forced or high-wrought feeling, such as has made some men bear a painful death with seeming triumph: such feelings will not go on quietly day after day, and year after year, when there is no one to admire them, or even to notice them. It is the mere common sense of Christian faith, and Christian piety; the fruit of the Spirit of God in the changed and enlightened heart. It is the mere habit of comparing this life with that which is to come, of looking steadfastly at God's promises, till they fill the whole heart with abiding joy and love: so that though the outward man perisheth, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. If it is very rare to see poverty born with such a spirit, we should remember, first, that there must be few real Christians among the poor in proportion to their numbers, just as is the case among the rich; for all inherit the same evil nature; and, secondly, that of those who are sincere Christians now, many have not been so very long, but have been led by the pressure of the world's evils to take up the hopes and comforts of the Gospel more than they had ever done before. Now, although such persons have become wise in time enough, we trust, for their soul's salvation, yet they must not be surprised if they do not taste

the full blessings of the Gospel here in this life. We cannot find such benefit in a thing which we only begin to learn when we want to practise it, as if we had prepared ourselves for the need by studying it before at our leisure. Habits cannot be changed in an instant; and, least of all, the habit of looking to worldly things for our happiness. He who has been accustomed to do so for many years of his life, when he sees his idol suddenly broken to pieces, and runs, for the first time, to seek for help of the living God, must not wonder if the regret and longing for what he has lost still continues to trouble him, if he cannot soon get familiar with the hopes and desires of the Gospel. Assuredly, it was not said in vain, that we should remember our Creator in the days of our youth; that we should prove ourselves in the armour of our Christian warfare while danger is yet at a distance, and not first essay to put it on in the alarm and confusion of the actual battle. He who went through life as a Christian, learning to look at the world from the beginning with a Christian's eye, would find himself strong in the strength of Christ to bear whatsoever was laid upon him, and would say with the Apostle, in perfect sincerity, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us; for I reckon the sufferings of this present time as not worthy to

be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

These, then, are some of the blessings which are given to the disciples of Christ in this life; and they are enough to make us think the language of the Prophet not altogether extravagant, even as applied to what particular Christians should enjoy before the general triumph of Christ's kingdom. A strength to overcome temptations, and a certain charm to sweeten the worst evils of life, are no inconsiderable benefits; and such, if we choose honestly to try it, we shall find Christ's Gospel. We may, therefore, justly sympathise with the Prophets in the warm language of thankfulness which they use concerning it.

SERMON VII.

EPHESIANS iv. 3.

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of

peace.

THE unity which St. Paul here exhorts the Ephesians to keep, is the object of our Lord's last and most solemn prayer for all his disciples. "I pray," he says, "for all who believe on me, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." And the Apostles, in the spirit of their Lord, are earnest on several occasions in recommending the same thing,-that we should be of one heart and one mind, forming all together one undivided Christian body. Now, it has happened with this as with others of our Lord's commands, that men have greatly corrupted it; and whilst scarcely obeying it at all in its most important part, they have applied it to other things which it has very little concern with, and have there strained it a great deal too much. I mean, that while the unity of spirit, which Christ and his Apostles

prayed for, has been felt very imperfectly; an unity of form and outward ceremonies, about which they have displayed no earnestness, has been required and commended in over measure.

The consequence has been, that Christians have not felt that real sense of brotherhood and union with one another, which flow from a consciousness of being engaged in one and the same most difficult contest, with the same temptations and the same enemies, the same object of their hopes and labour,—the same guide and comforter, and Saviour and God. But they have laid great stress on their all being arranged in the same way, holding the same opinions on all points connected with the Gospel, wearing in a manner the same garb, and speaking in the same language. So they have perpetually mistaken their friends for their enemies, and their enemies for their friends: they have quarrelled with the true servants of Christ, on account of some trifling differences which ought to have weighed nothing at all in the balance; and they have made common cause with selfish and worldly men, because they have agreed with them on points of form, although their spirit has been totally different from the spirit of Christ.

Let us see, then, what is the unity for which Christ prayed, and which St. Paul bids us endeavour to keep. Our Lord often said that he was going to establish a kingdom, which was to be in