perfect development of renewed and sanctified humanity The second Adam, the Lord from heaven, was the one perfect spiritual man. What you find centered in Him, you only find distributed, and in broken parts, amongst his people. There are, perhaps, inferior degrees or forms of spiritual life, not necessarily involving disease, and not capable of ever attaining the highest standard of spiritual beauty. There are people who in this world, from the make of their minds, from the unalterable conditions of their existence, will always exhibit something of rudeness and roughness; albeit without blame, and within measure good, holy, Godglorifying. And looking at the very first class of Christians we discern varieties.

"Interesting is it to study the natural peculiarities of these most honoured of the sons of men, and to see how from on high the Spirit hallowed their idiosyncrasies, and mellowed the fruits of their experience. To acquaint ourselves intimately with the Galilean sailor, brave but rash, deeply loving but not deeply thoughtful, trained on the sea-shore in a fisher's hut, and whose only learning was the law and prophets, and the holy hymns of David and the rest, which as a boy he had sung in his father's boat, making the rocks echo with those holy lays; and then to form a friendship with the Cilician tentmaker, who had all that sailor's braveness without his rashness-all his love, but coupled with a keener, broader intellect; who had read Greek as well as Hebrew poets in the city of Tarsus, and had studied the rolls of Holy Writ and the lore of Rabbis, at Gamaliel's feet. And then to enter the still more spiritual presence of that disciple whom Jesus loved, the tempestuous morning of whose life settled down into an eventide of summer calmness, who carried not his gentleness to the breast of Jesus, but found it there, whose eagle eye to the last

blenched not, but on the rocks of the Patmos isle let in light and glory to a heart of dove-like tenderness.

Anything like an exact notation of these differences is impossible. They cannot be described like vegetable and animal genera and species. They are individual varieties. Each has much in common with the rest. Not one has anything in which the others are totally deficient. A larger proportional development of some one quality seems the chief individual distinction. All the three apostles just mentioned were experimental; Peter was only eminently so. All were doctrinal; Paul was only eminently so. All were spiritual; John was only eminently so.

IV.

1. FROM this review we learn that the centre of Christian unity can only be found in the divine and redeeming Christ. In looking over Christendom, present and past, so as to note its varieties of religious thought, experience, and usage, at first it seems difficult to find any common basis of religious character; there are such discordant opinions. upon a number of abstract theological points-such different habits of thought about the meaning of Scripture-such various forms of worship and discipline. The centre of unity cannot be any particular creed. The Apostles' Creed, or rather that which commonly goes by that name, is considered by many evangelical Christians as too general for modern times. The Nicene and the Athanasian are open to exception on the part of numbers, because of their dogmatic metaphysical assertions on mysterious subjects. None of the reformed confessions, articles, symbols and declarations would carry with them the suffrages of all spiritual minds. Still more plain is it that no method of government, no ritual practices, can be a platform on which the whole Catholic Church may find a standing-place. In vain do

we search for anything central and supporting, when our thoughts pass from Him who is the ground of our own individual hope. We do not hope in creeds, or in polities, or in forms. We hope in Christ. Believing in Christ, on Christ, in and on the everliving Person who died once for all upon the cross: that is the phraseology of the New Testament; and in that, coupled with our own experience, we find the key to unlock the secret of Christian unity. It is Christ himself-the suffering, the interceding, the reigning, the sanctifying Christ. "Whosoever believeth in the name of the Lord shall be saved." I confess myself to be in an interminable labyrinth, without any clue,—to be in a dark chaos where there is not a line of order, as I reflect on the history of Christendom, without this idea. There is no unity. It is all disunion. But when I take up that idea, and insert it in the troubled mass of materials which my mind holds in solution fresh from the study of church history, it is just like plunging in a crystal-spiritual life is crystallized. I see that God's Church is made up of Christ-trusting, Christ-loving, Christ-serving, Christ-resembling souls. The idea of creeds and forms does not produce corresponding crystals, but the idea of Christ does. I find Cyprian, and Vigilantius, and Tauler, and Luther, and the rest differing, in most respects, save this, that they all extol Christ. All call Christ their Saviour-all hope to reach heaven through Him-all strive to imitate Him. Here they are one.

2. That the breadth of our sympathies should be coequal with the range of spiritual life.

Many would-be philosophers have shown a disposition to deny the title, and with it the rights of humanity, to the less favoured of the children of men. Negroes have been shut out of the pale. Bigots have played a like part in reference to Christ's Church. They have set themselves up

as pattern men and deviations from their type have been mercilessly negroed. They have arawn lines where God has not drawn any. They have put a limit to spiritual life at shades of character, where no such limit has been divinely set up. These creeds, these forms have been esteemed fountains of life, rather than their Saviour, who has been, and who is where their creeds and forms are not. Wherever I find Christ worshipped, believed, honoured, and served; wherever I see an humble reliance on Him for salvation; wherever I discern traces of his pure, gentle, meek, loving spirit; there I recognise a partaker of life through him— a child of God. There may be a good deal of discoloration in certain forms of Christianity, a complexion I do not admire any more than I do the black skin of the African; but if a Christ-like heart kindles the eye, moves the lips, and thrills in the hand of my less privileged and instructed brother, I should deny the Christ in him, if I denied he was a Christian.

And John answered him, saying, "Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name-and he followeth not usand we forbad him, because he followeth not us. And Jesus said, Forbid him not, for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part."

We have seen that spiritual disease may be where spiri tual life is. How far disease may go short of death, would be a terribly dangerous question for us to ask about ourselves, with a view to the toleration of personal sin; but sa the doctor never gives up the patient till he is sure he is dead, so we should never renounce the hope that something is left which may be a ground of healing in any poor fellow, however he may have fallen from truth and righteousness. Don't give up any backsliders, while there is a chance of reclaiming them. Follow them, and watch them.

with as much of a woman's love, and tenderness, and patience, as you can, by God's grace, get into a manly heart. Read that beautiful book, "English Hearts and English Hands," and mark how the excellent lady who wrote it, fanned up into a flame again the sparks of spiritual life, when they seemed choked and dead in the souls of the poor navvies.

Take the following example:

William W., after being reclaimed and reformed, fell into temptation. Some old friends reproached him for being too religious, and persuaded him to give them "a treat." He sold his clothes, and feasted his companions with the money. Stricken with remorse, he asked, “Where was the good of being pulled up to be better for a day or wo, only to go down the lower afterwards?”

"Tell him," said she, who proved to him a guardian angel," tell him that I shall stay here till he comes," taking her seat in one of the rooms of the house where he lodged. "A long time," she says, "passed. It was close upon the hour of the cottage reading. At length a slow unwilling step was on the stair. It was William's. The door was opened by his wife; and closing it upon him, she slipped away. He sat down with a sullen, desponding countenance, and made no answer to anything I remarked or inquired, until at last he said, in a low but determined voice, "It is of no use at all; I have sold my soul to the devil." "But he shall not have it, William; it is not yours to sell; Jesus Christ has bought it with His own blood. Oh! William, I must—I will have it for Jesus Christ." I could not say more, for my voice failed; but his whole countenance altered, like the face of a man from whom an evil spirit had gone out. The strong man bowed his head and wept. "What shall I do?-what can I do?" "You can pray: let us pray now." He laid his head on the table as he knelt, and cried like a child. He