father or a mother of a family, who delayed to come to the Holy Communion until their children had left off vexing them? or a person who refused to come to Church, because he could not find a sitting exactly to his mind, or because he had something to say against the minister? Did you never know a person in service, or in some other situation in life, who avowedly put off serious thought, and turning to ALMIGHTY GOD, with this sort of speech," By and by I shall get a quieter place, or more leisure, or a home nearer Church, or companions who will not laugh at me, and then I will be more serious; but, for the present, it is no use to ask me?"

Surely, whenever we hear or see such things, we hear and see what must forfeit the blessing and favour of that GOD, who rewarded the devotion of His Apostles, while they had only the temple to worship in, and only Jews to worship with, by the gift of the indwelling SPIRIT. It is His will that people should set out from the spot whereon His Providence has placed them, be it favourable or be it unfavourable, and ask the way to heaven with their faces thitherward; sure to find it if they ask with obedient hearts. Let us depend on it, when we have said our worst against the times we live in, the Church or State we belong to, the companions among whom God has cast our lot, still our worst enemy and our most perilous struggle will be found at last within our own hearts. Let us patiently seek God's favour on our diligent use of all the means of grace which He has put within our reach, abiding in Jerusalem in the temple, and not seeking new ways for ourselves, and see (to use His own words by His Prophet), "if He will not open the windows of heaven, and pour us out a blessing, that there will not be room enough" in this world "to receive it,"-it will overflow into eternity.

Certainly, there can be no such encouragement besides to earnest repentance, to serious improvement, to patient continuance in well-doing, as the answer which God gave to those prayers, in which our LORD's disciples and His mother continued during the ten days from His ascension to Pentecost. The return of those prayers was, the HOLY GHOST sent down from heaven,-JESUS CHRIST coming by His SPIRIT, to save us one by one from the power of sin for the future; as He had before come in His own Person to offer HIMSELF an all-sufficient sacrifice for us, and so

save us one and all from the punishment of sins past. As St. Paul speaks, in the Epistle to the Romans," If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His SON, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life,"—by that heavenly life of His, which He communicates to us as Christians by His holy indwelling SPIRIT.

This should be very deeply considered, for it brings the mystery of Whitsunday much nearer home to us, than we are perhaps in general used to imagine it. Think of it in this way,that the most holy and Divine SPIRIT, GOD the HOLY GHOST, is come down, not only to enable the Apostles to preach the Gospel in all nations, whereby, as our Church thankfully confesses in the Communion Service for this day, we have been brought out of darkness and error into the clear light and true knowledge of GOD, and of His SON JESUS CHRIST :" not only is the light of CHRIST thus made to shine upon us by the coming of the HOLY SPIRIT, but we are also made, inwardly and spiritually, partakers of the life which is in CHRIST. We now know that the CoмFORTER is come to abide in the Church, so as that He dwells, personally and really, in every one whom HE HIMSELF by baptism shall have first made a member of CHRIST.

This is the constant doctrine taught by the HOLY SPIRIT HIMSELF in the writings of the Apostles : Ye are all the children of GOD by faith in CHRIST JESUS. For as many of you as have been baptized into CHRIST have put on CHRIST : . . . and because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the SPIRIT of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." And again," Ye are not in the flesh, but in the SPIRIT, if so be that the SPIRIT of GOD dwell in you. Now if any man have not the SPIRIT of CHRIST, he is none of His." St. Peter describes it as the very condition of Christians, that they are "elect according to the foreknowledge of GOD the FATHER, through sanctification of the SPIRIT, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of JESUS CHRIST." AS much as to say, the SPIRIT was to sanctify them, that is, to renew the image of God in them, abiding in them so as to make them partakers of the Divine nature: so might their obedience and good works be a sacrifice well-pleasing to GOD, being sprinkled with the blood of JESUS CHRIST. Thus also St. John makes the presence of the SPIRIT the very token of the abiding of CHRIST

among Christians, according to His own gracious promise when about to depart from among them. Hereby we know that HE abideth in us, by His SPIRIT which He hath given us." The visible coming of the HOLY GHOST, on the day of Pentecost, was the outward pledge of His invisible presence, and CHRIST's invisible Presence by HIM. Christians are thereby assured, to all generations, that their LORD has not left them comfortless, but is perpetually coming unto them; once for all in the Sacrament of Baptism, to make them members of HIMSELF, and from time to time in the other blessed Sacrament, to nourish and perfect in them that sacred Communion.

Such was the loving-kindness with which the LORD of old crowned His people, patiently waiting for it in the midst of His Temple; and though that precious and unspeakable gift be no longer to be waited for,-though it become already, and we dwell in the midst of it,—yet, even in this more perfect Temple, the Church and Household of the living God, we still have to wait for our perfection: we walk by faith, not by sight: we cannot yet be fully like CHRIST, for we do not yet see HIM as He is, but only through a glass, darkly: this very blessing, for which we are giving thanks, the indwelling of the SPIRIT, is altogether matter of faith; there are no open miracles to assure us of it, no inward feelings on which we can positively rely; the Word of GOD sealing His Sacraments is our only warrant for quite depending on it.

This being so, the same graces which the disciples of our LORD were called on to exercise between the Ascension-day and Pentecost, must ever be part of our special trial as Christians, a trial of which we shall be more sensible in proportion to our faith and seriousness. GOD keeps us waiting for His loving-kindness, for the full revelation of His glorious mercies, for the day when we shall know even as also we are known: and this our time of waiting will seem the longer to us, will practise us the more severely in patience and resignation, the more earnestly we are used to think of GOD, and to lay up our treasure in heaven.

Then, again, as to the other caution suggested by the words of the text: if the disciples were to wait for the COMFORTER in Jerusalem, in or near the visible Temple, much more ought we to take care how we wander in any way, even in thought, beyond

the bounds of the spiritual Temple, the Church of the Living GOD, the pillar and ground of the truth. As Christians, we hope and expect great mercies. God's Holy Scriptures are full of promise and encouragement to us, both as to blessings in store for the whole Church, and as to what we may look for ourselves, as individual souls, redeemed by CHRIST'S Blood, and made members of HIM by His SPIRIT. Let us so long and strive for these mercies, as never to forget the sort of persons to whom they are promised.

For example, with respect to those which concern the whole Church; every year shows more and more how great need there is of patience, since every year we seem to become better acquainted with the disorder and decay which so sadly prevail in CHRIST'S Kingdom; every year we may well fancy the Saints' voices crying out more and more sorrowfully, "How long, O'LORD, holy and true, dost THOU not avenge us of them that dwell on the earth?" And there are persons, and as it should seem, sincere ones, who are tempted by these appearances of disorder to take or encourage irregular ways of forwarding the good and holy cause.

Thus, whereas our LORD appointed that His Apostles only should send forth others to minister in His Church in His Name, many persons seem to think it wrong for this to be insisted on, in times and countries where there are many heathenish persons: they say, Why, when the call is so urgent, may not any person, that feels sincere in heart, take on himself the work of the ministry? If they were really as considerate, as I doubt not they are often well-meaning, it ought to be enough to answer them, that such means as they recommend do not answer to the inspired direction; that we must wait patiently for GOD to send His blessing, not expect to draw it down, like Saul or Balak, or other heathenish characters, by any enchantments or divinations of our

own.

Other instances of like disorder might be given; to all which the saying of the father of the faithful may be applied: “ My son, GoD will provide HIMSELF a lamb for a burnt-offering." His hand is not waxed short; HE has means enough to accomplish His purposes in His own good time; HE has no need of

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the irregular, disobedient, disorderly, any more than of the sinful man.

Pray then, and look, and long, and strive for the promised blessing and triumph of God's Holy Church; pray, and look, and long for the time, when the kingdoms of the world shall become the Kingdoms of our LORD and of His CHRIST, and when the earth shall be full of His knowledge as the waters cover the sea; when all the Church's children shall be taught of the LORD, and great shall be the peace of her children: but yet I say, do all that you do in the ways of the Church herself, for surely they are the ways of GOD, and to depart from His ways must be evil; and no appearance, nay, no seeming certainty of profiting ever so many of our brethren, should ever tempt us to break God's commandment, seeing how awful the censure is on those who say, "Let us do evil that good may come."

In conclusion, I may just say, that, as to particular individual blessings, which Christians, however unworthy, may venture to hope for, considering that God has made them partakers of this most unspeakable gift, His SPIRIT abiding in them,-first of all, it would be well to consider seriously with ourselves, how little right we can have, knowing all the evil we do against ourselves, to look for any peculiar grace and comfort; next, that God's offers, how large and gracious soever, are all held out to those who shall approach Him in His ordinances. Persevere in them, not so much caring whether they bring comfort at the time or no, and in time you will find your reward. The seed so thrown into the ground, though that ground might seem unkindly at first, will spring up and bud you know not how, bringing forth first the blade, then the ear, and after that, the full corn in the ear.

Persevere, in private and secret prayer, however little good you seem to yourself to feel by it. Do not leave it off for fear of becoming formal. If it be but accompanied with keeping of the commandments, it will do you good beyond the knowledge of man; just as a river, which seems to part with nothing of its water, and makes no immediate difference in the look of the ground just about it, may yet, in a silent and gradual way, feed and cherish the whole country round.

The same may be said of going to Church, and even of receiving