to sympathy, to influence,—to a Christ-like mind,—to the highest seat in glory. Therefore, we are indeed predicating of every virtue, and every grace under heaven, that it is of God, when we make the simple proposition, “Love is of God."

I could not say it positively of any other thing, that it is of God. I could not say it of knowledge, that it is of God, though it may be. I could not say it of a good act, that it is of God, though it may be. I could not say it of happiness, that it is of God, though it may be. All these may be of a wrong sort, they may be in excess. cannot be in excess. No one can read this chapter and say that you can love any one in the world too much. Therefore we may say it with a singular emphasis, “Love is of God."

Love

Or trace the chain backwards. Why is any one,-why is St. John,-now in heaven? Because he loved God. Why did he love God? Because God put it into his heart. to love Him. Why did God put it into his heart to love Him? Because He chose him. Why did He choose him? Because He loved him. Why did He love him?

Because He is love.

So, it is all love, and love is all God. It resolves itself into one eternal axiom-" Love is of God."

Thank God, it is open to us all. All cannot be clever,— all cannot do much, but all can love. Every body can go about every day being kind,-saying kind wordsdoing kind things. It is that person who is growing into the divine. It is that person who is the real child of God. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and every one who loveth is born of God, and knoweth God."

If you are really leading a loving life, perhaps you have more of God in you than you think. Believe it, believe it, and it will help you to have more. If you are not leading a loving life, your religion is a fiction.

You will have to meet presently, and to do battle with, many strong things. And not very long hence, you will have to meet death, that mighty conqueror, death. There is only one thing strong enough to be antagonistic to death, you must take it out of God's armoury, "Love is strong as death.”

There are many things which you are learning every day in the world, brethren, but you come to this house,— remember it always,-you come to this house to learn "love." There is sure to be controversy enough out of doors; enter here, and bathe that controversy in love. Orthodoxy is of the Church,-dogmatism is of man,asperity is of the devil,-"Love is of God."

XIV.

The Power of the Spirit.

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."-ACTs i. 8.

WHEN of

HEN our Lord ascended to heaven, He expressly left His Church in the spirit and posture

expectation. In that spirit and posture of expectation, they passed the interval which we are now keeping, between His going up to glory, and the day of Pentecost. What that spirit and posture were, we are expressly told. In Jerusalem, assembling themselves together, -we are twice told this,-assembling themselves together "with one accord, in prayer and supplication;" i.e., either asking mercies, prayer; and deprecating judgments, which they felt that their sins deserved,—supplication: or rather, in petition for themselves,—prayer, and intercession for others, supplication. So they spent the appointed interval.

In respect to the interval, faith was exercised; for they were not told how long it was to last. Only faith was sustained; for thus much was told, that the promise should be fulfilled "not many days hence." And the assurance that if they would duly wait, the Comforter would come unto them, had been absolutely, and plainly, and frequently repeated.

Thus, then, ignorant, but trusting; weak, but leaning;

sorrowing, but in hope; the little company of the faithful

passed their ten days of trial.

vain, we shall presently see.

How they waited not in

But now, brethren, I wish, first, to impress upon you one thought; the attitude of expectation is the only attitude in which God intended His people should be, in any age of the world. The Jews, in expectation of the Messiah,— those under the Messiah, in expectation of the Holy Ghost, -those under the Holy Ghost, in expectation of the second Advent. Greater and greater blessings are always coming, always on the road, always at the door; and the more we expect, the more we shall command. Standing upon the tiptoe of expectation, the hand resting upon a promise, the eye of hope ranging along the horizon of prophecy; this is all our duty, and all our privilege. This is to be our state this day.

Let us take a waiting lesson from those ten days of faith and love. In our Jerusalem,-in the devout use of all holy things,-in holy places and sacred rites,-with one accord, in unity of spirit, and harmony of feeling and action among ourselves,—in the right exercise of earnest, believing, large-hearted prayer, we have to wait.

And oh! brethren, if we were all united thus, waiting for good things to come, how short might be the distance! how quick and how unspeakable might be some outpoured blessing! what conversions there might be on every side! what peace we should have within! what floods of the Spirit!-what tokens of God's presence!—what a speedy return of our blessed Lord!—what grand, glorious consummations might the Church command then; if only we were so waiting, in holy, united prayer.

Alas! alas! brethren, why are not these things so?

Why have we not great things? Because we do not expect them; or we expect, but we do not use holy means; or we use means, but we are not all in union; or we are all in union, but we do not besiege the mercy-seat enough with prayer and supplication.

It is very difficult, indeed, I believe it is quite impossible, to determine how far the disciples had received the Holy Ghost, before the marvellous descent which He made, upon the day of Pentecost. The question loses itself in a greater one;-How far the Old Testament saints had been acquainted at all with the reality and the power of the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity?

On the one hand, we are expressly told, that the whole time previous to that great manifestation which took place on next Sunday, was a time when "the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

While, on the other side, we know that it is impossible for any man to have faith at all, but by the gift of the Spirit. And David expressly prays, "Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me." How were the disciples able to love, and to confess, and to follow Christ, but by the Holy Ghost? And yet Christ Himself makes this distinction, speaking to these very apostles, concerning that Spirit, “He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you;" and His whole discourse concerning that Comforter, is as One who had not come, and could not come until He should depart from them. This is the difficulty.

The conclusion, perhaps, to which we must come upon this very deep point becomes a question of degree;-that there is a general, but that there is also a special gift of the Holy Ghost.