"orthodox creed"-has, nevertheless, the deep, and everdeepening conviction, first, that such creed is but a very small portion of the truth that God has revealed, or that man requires; and that no theological system can fully represent all the contents and suggestions of the great book of God; and, secondly, that systematic theology is but means to an end. Spiritual morality is that end. Consequently to the heart and life every Biblical thought and idea should be directed. Your systems of divinity the author will not disparage; but his impression is, that they can no more answer the purpose of the Gospel, than pneumatics can answer the purpose of the atmosphere. In the case of Christianity, as well as the air, the world can live. without its scientific truths; but it must have the free flowings of their vital elements. Coleridge has well said, "Too soon did the doctors of the Church forget that the heart-the moral nature-was the beginning and the end, and that truth, knowledge, and insight were comprehended in its expansion." The Editor would record his grateful acknowledgments to those free spirits of all churches, who have so earnestly rallied round him, to the many who have encouraged him by their letters, and to those, especially, who have aided him by their valuable contributions. May the "last day" prove that the help rendered has been worthily bestowed; and that the "Homilist" did something towards the spiritual education of humanity, in its endeavors to bring the Bible, through the instrumentality of the pulpit, into a more immediate and practical contact with the every-day life of man! Loughborough Park. DAVID THOMAS. CONTENTS. 0- All the articles in the Volume are written by the Editor, with the exception HOMILIES. The Sovereign of the Future Modern Preaching What Hinders the Gospel The Unreasonableness of People in Relation to the Pulpit Religion in the World. (By the Rev. D. G. WATT, M.A.) vi THE GENIUS OF THE GOSPEL. The Satisfaction of Manhood. (By the Rev. J. SPENCE, M.A.) . The Resurrection of Christ; or, the Vicissitudes of Truth Bartimeus, the Disciples, and Jesus; or, Suffering, Indifference, Active Religious Principle. (By the Rev. EDWARD THOMPSON) 192 viii Divine Vision Essential to Human Salvation. (By the Rev. J. M. JARVIE). Manna in the Heart. Glimpses of Jesus. The Message of Christianity. Words for the Heart and Life. The Con- The Essentials of Christianity. The Religion for Mankind |