leavening the earth with His principles, sending abroad His truth among the nations, until the glory of the latter day appear, and His authority be made supreme, not as an outward power alone or chiefly, but as a power controlling and guiding the hearts of men,-subduing, through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, their evil lusts, pre-eminently of peace, when the swords shall be turned into ploughshares and the spears into pruninghooks, and men shall learn the art of war no more, because justice and righteousness shall prevail, and those fiery passions aroused by selfish greed shall be crushed and destroyed. We are advancing towards this golden age, and though the elements to be overcome may be many and conflicting, we know that it shall appear-that the time shall come when the earth shall be covered with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Let us seek, above all, that Christ may exercise this kingship in our own hearts. The kingdom of Christ is not merely an aggregate kingdom, attractive in its general aspect, but is perfect in all its parts. It is constructed, as the

works of God in nature, of particles, each of which has a perfect beauty of its own. It is a kingdom constituted of perfected souls, every one of which has been, through the trials and temptations of life, purified and prepared for its rest and glory. It is chiefly in the individual soul that we must seek that this power of Christ may be carried on. Let us yield ourselves unto the authority of Christ. He, as a living person, as a living man, having obtained power to rule over each. human heart which will willingly submit unto that power, reigns within us through the Spirit, if indeed we desire and hail His presence. He, as King of the soul, subdues our evil desires, stays our stormy passions, guards us against fiery temptations, cultivates within us the principles of holiness and all the beauteous graces of the Christian life, and makes us advance from day to day in the path unto life eternal. He rules us with a gentle hand, not with a stern forbidding authority, but in a spirit of love, drawing us towards Himself, making us to confide in Him, asking of us a reasonable service, and strengthening and supporting us in our feebleness on earth.

FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY.

"And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three ; but the greatest of these is charity."—1 CORINTHIANS xiii. 13.

T

HESE words close one of the most

striking chapters in the New Testament for the setting forth of the principles of Christian action. The apostle has been speaking of the various gifts imparted to the Christian church of his age,-apostleships, prophecies, the working of miracles, the gifts of healing, serviceable ministrations, the gifts of government, varieties of tongues—and, in allaying the natural envy that might arise out of the possession of such gifts, and the consequent confusion which might result, he points to the one gift which is superior to all, which all may possess, and which has the

power of uniting in a blessed harmony the gifts and offices of the various members, viz., charity, or love-that tree which bears so many and such goodly fruits.

This chapter, from its beginning to its close, seems as if it were a song from the regions of the glorified church in heaven. It opens with these thrilling words,-"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.". And, “Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge "—that is, am learned in all the doctrines of the Christian truth," and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, I am nothing." Then showing that mere almsgiving is not charity, if it be done for the sake of personal merit or adulation of men, or hope of reward in heaven-"Though I give all my goods to feed the poor, and have not charity, it profiteth nothing;" and again indicating that the crown of martyrdom hath but a dim lustre if that martyrdom be suffered from any motive but willingness to bear the burden of Christ -from any hope or merit purchased by it—

"Though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." And then separating this virtue into its various component elements, like the ray of light broken up into its beautiful colours in the rainbow,"Charity suffereth long, and is kind;" is not bitter or narrow in its feelings, ready at a moment to resent an injury, but large-hearted and generous, bearing much with evil, freely forgiving it, and showing a desire to pour forth its benefits upon the heads of others. Charity envieth not, hateth that disposition which leads men to repine at the better fortune of others, or to covet either their position or their goods, but maketh us to rejoice in their prosperity and to mourn in their adversity.

Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up;" or shunneth that spirit which leads men constantly to dwell upon themselves as if they were the centre of all things, and to be puffed up with those paltry conceits which are the evidences of a feeble and selfish spirit--not that men may not with true charity and dignity of Christian character assert their own power or position, but that this principle of charity is opposed to and in