Blessed light of love in the universe of the soul, beautifying and beatifying it till it completely glows with God! "God dwelleth in him and he in God."

II. THE ADDUCED EVIDENCE OF THAT ATTAINMENT. "Because," &c. This clause seems to belong both to our being made perfect in love, and our having boldness in the day of judgment. "As He is;"-for He is ever "this same Jesus." "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." From what He was in this world we learn what He is, and what we ourselves become in Him. The characteristics of Christ are essentials in concrete Christianity.

First: The meekness of Christ is reproduced in His followers. "Learn of me for I am meek," &c. St. Paul met his adversaries "by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." Divine greatness bowed in meekness. Not in self-exaltation, in much boasted "self elevation," is the greatest greatness seen, but rather in that long unrecognised and frequently injured excellence, "that shines without intending to be seen." Greatness is not the less greatness because it is unrecognised; neither can recognition add to essential nobleness and Christ-like grandeur of spiritual character and moral excellence. "The meek will He guide," &c.

Secondly: The endurance of Christ characterizes Christians. "Who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself." "He endured the cross.' Christian disciples

"endure as seeing him who is invisible."

Thirdly The truth-witnessing of Christ is seen in His disciples. "I am the truth." "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." So may every Christian say. "Be

true."

III. THE DIVINE DESIGN IN OUR EVIDENCED ATTAINMENT IN CHRIST-LIKE LOVE. "That we may have boldness," &c. First: This is not an evil boldness, or a boldness in evil. Eccles. viii. 1. It is not, (1) The boldness of ignorance. Ye

are "taught of God." (2) The boldness of self-sufficiency. "We are not sufficient," &c. (3) The boldness of iniquity. "The froward heart," &c. (4) The boldness of presumption. "After all say," &c.

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Secondly This is a holy boldness; Heb. x. 19. It is, (1) The boldness of fearlessness. "Perfect love casteth out fear." (2) The boldness of approving conscience. "It is God that justifieth." Conscientious Wallace was bold in his duty of judgment. St. Paul was bold in chains, because the Divine Judge approved him. God's judgment of us now anticipates future judgment. (3) The boldness of perfect sympathy and unity with the Judge. "He that con

fesseth me," &c.

SUBJECT:-The greatest Trials and the greatest Blessings.

"It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."-John xvi. 7.

Analysis of Homily the Five Hundred and Twenty-second.

THE following truths may be drawn from this passage :—

I. THAT THE GREATEST TRIAL MAY PROVE THE GREATEST BLESSING.

First: The departure of Christ from His disciples was felt by them to be a most grievous trial. He had been with them for three years; He had won their hearts, changed their whole history ;-both the inner and the outer. They were filled with sorrow at the prospect of His departure, and the whole of this last discourse of His was intended to

comfort them. "Let not your hearts be troubled," &c.

Secondly: The advent of the Spirit to His disciples would be the greatest blessing. He was "the Spirit of Truth." He would enter the temple of their nature, reproduce all the impressions that Christ had made, bring "all things to their remembrance," and would abide with them for ever. This Spirit proved the greatest blessing. His advent abundantly com

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pensated for the departure of Christ. Thus it ever has been, ever is, and will be. Great trials to the good tend to good. Thus was it with Abraham, David, Daniel, Paul. "Our light affliction which is but for a moment," &c.

II. THAT THE GREATEST TRIAL MAY BE NECESSARY TO THE GREATEST BLESSING. "It is expedient for you that I go away," &c. The departure of the one seemed necessary to the advent of the other. What rendered this necessary? To attempt assigning the reasons in the Eternal mind for this would be impiously presumptuous. Albeit, we can discover certain things which seem to us to render it necessary. What are they?

First: It seems to us expedient in order to give a spiritual reality in their mind to the biography of Christ. Never does the life of a friend come with such meaning to our hearts, as when death has removed him from the sphere of our observation. Incidents, actions, expressions, to which before we attached but little importance, come up to memory with freshness and meaning, almost as soon as we hear of his departure from the world. He is no longer outside of us, he gets enshrined in our hearts. Thus it was with Christ. When He departed, through the influence of the Spirit on His disciples, things connected with His life were brought up with a powerful vividness to which before they were utter strangers. He was no longer outside; but was formed within them "the hope of glory."

Secondly It seems expedient in order to dissipate all their material and local conceptions of His religion. So long as He was with them personally, they "judged after the flesh." Their religion was sensuous. The impressions which His form, His voice, His touch, would produce, formed the greater part of their religious experience. Even after His resurrection Mary wanted to "touch Him. They knew Him only "after the flesh.” His kingdom was to them local—confined to Judea-Jerusalem its seat. Spiritual virtue, the cause of truth, and the well-being of their souls, required

all these sensuous and local conceptions to be swept away from their minds. They required their religious ideas to be at once spiritualized and universalized. The departure of Christ's person and the advent of the Spirit would lead to this, and did lead to this.

Thirdly: It seems expedient to stimulate their minds to a study of the universal principles of truth and duty. So long as our teacher is with us in person, we shall be content to have our duty pointed out to us from day to day;-we shall do what he tells us without ascertaining the reason. Thus we shall be like children, content to move by verbal rules and by voices without. But when he is gone, there are a sphere and a stimulus for the use of our own faculties. We must then study for ourselves ;-" enquire in the great temple of truth all the days of our life.” Compare a mind moving by prescriptives, with a mind moving by principles.

Fourthly: It seems expedient, in order to throw the soul upon the right use of its own faculties. Whilst from first to last man's well-being is of God, yet His plan of blessing is by the right use of the faculties with which He has endowed us. Up to a certain period, parental watching and superintendence are indispensable to the well-being of a child; but if it is extended beyond the proper age, it becomes an evil. The law of nature is evidently that the parent, after a certain time, should withdraw, not his affections, but his exclusively supporting agency; so that the child may be brought to realize the importance of self-reliance. It is a wise law, yes, a kind law, though painful at times, which requires one child after another to withdraw from the parental roof, where everything has been supplied; and seek out whatever is needed for himself. It is so in relation to the disciples. I do not think that they would have made much advancement, if they had continued to depend upon the personal direction of the Lord, and not upon their principles and their actions. Look at them on the Galilean lake in the storm ;—where did they rest? not upon principle, but upon person.

After Christ had withdrawn, they began to feel the importance of ascertaining principles, and depending upon them. Take Peter as an illustration. Look at him whilst Jesus was yet on earth. When in the stillness of the night the Roman band approached Gethsemane, when his Master was bathed in tears and blood, he forsook Him and fled; and that very same night, with the spirit of a coward, he in the court, exclaimed before Caiaphas, "I know not the man." A few weeks roll away. Jesus has left the world; He has been crucified; He has been buried; He has risen from the dead; He has ascended to Heaven; He appears no more in the midst; they see not His form, they hear not His words;-He is gone; the clouds have received Him up out of their sight. The disciples now begin to examine for themselves: they meet, and read, and think, and pray, and thus grow in strength. The day of Pentecost dawns ;-men from all parts of the world are gathered together to celebrate that ancient festival. And now look at Peter;-look at the man who, a few weeks before, trembled at the question of a servant maid, standing up with an indomitable heroism before that mass of anti-christian men, and charging upon them the guilt of Christ's crucifixion. Acts ii. 22, 23. A few days pass on, and he is brought a prisoner before the very man who crucified his Lord, into the very hall where he too denied Him. But how different his spirit! Acts v. 28–31.

The principle, that the greatest trials may be necessary to the greatest blessings, illustrated in the departure of Christ and the advent of the Spirit, is capable of a very wide and general application to human history. It is often necessary for a man to lose his friends, property, health, and even liberty, to prepare him for the great blessings of eternal life.

III. THAT THE GREATEST TRIAL AND THE GREATEST BLESSING ARE ALIKE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF CHRIST. First: The greatest trial is under His direction. "I go away." His departure is a tremendous trial, but it is at His option. "I go away." There is no compulsion, no driving;