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that are spoken to us," but act upon themaccept Jesus Christ as our own Saviour and Lord, and yield ourselves to Him and to His holy service.

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP. After the uproar was ceased Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed. . . . . And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea, &c.ACTS xx. 1, 4.

THERE was so much of the spiritual and the sacrificial about the character and the life of Paul, that we gladly dwell upon those touches that were human in his history. He leaned so much on his Divine Master's strength, and was so absorbed in His cause, that we carefully note the occasions when he availed himself of the friendship of his kind. He was not indifferent to the recognition of him granted by the "pillars" of the Church (Gal. ii. 9). His "spirit was refreshed" by the coming of Stephanas and his companions (1 Cor. xvi. 17, 18). He felt indebted to Onesiphorus, inasmuch as that disciple was "not ashamed of his chain in Rome, and ministered in many things to him at Ephesus" (1 Tim. ii. 16, 17). The desertion of Demas and of other disciples distressed him (2 Tim. iv. 10, 16). The coming of the brethren to meet him when on his way to the trial at Rome cheered his heart (Acts xxviii. 15). We do not wonder, then, that we read of this instance of fraternal affection. is worth while to consider

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I. WHAT CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP MEANT AT THIS HOUR. It was natural and wise that after the storm through which they had just passed (chap. xix.), and before Paul's departure from Ephesus, there should be a conference and a demonstration of brotherly love. 1. In view of what had just happened, it meant (1) sympathy with those who had run the greatest risks and suffered the severest injuries; (2) congratulation that in such deadly peril no life had been taken; (3) common thanksgiving to God that He had brought them out of that tumult without loss, and especially that He had preserved one invaluable life; perhaps (4) satisfaction and encouragement in the fact that the idolaters by their very resentment bore witness to the progress of the truth. 2. In view of the Apostolic future, it meant (1) a deep interest in the work to which Paul was about to address himself; (2) promise to follow him with their watchful

love and their earnest prayers; (3) commendation to God there and then. For there can be no doubt that this Christian fellowship was literally an adieu, that more than one of that company led the others in prayer for the guidance, the protection, the inspiration, and the blessing of God on behalf of their beloved friend and teacher. But what is

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II. THE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP SHOULD SEEK. If Paul with all his spiritual strength felt the need and the worth of human affection and Christian friendship, much more may we. Doubtless God could enable us to dispense with it, but this is His chosen way of working for us and within us. The interest, the sympathy, the love, the kindness of a true human heart is not only the type, but the channel of His own goodness and faithfulness. We need not, therefore, claim or wish to be able to do without it. We should seek it, for it is His will that we should avail ourselves of it. We should find it in some Christian Church or society with which we can connect ourselves. From the members of such a community we have a right to look for—1. Cordial recognition of our faith in Jesus Christ, and our attachment to Him and His cause; 2. Patience and help in our upward struggle, in our spiritual endeavour after excellency of character and blamelessness of life; 3. Sympathy in our difficulties, our sorrows, our defeats; 4. Cooperation in Christian work. Of those who accompanied Paul into Asia (ver. 4) we know but little, but it was not a little thing that they did accompany him, and render that great Apostle valued co-operation in his missionary work. Alone we can effect but small things; accompanied" and sustained by the fellowship and service of others we can accomplish much. But if we have a strong sense of our claim upon others for their friendship, it behoves us to weigh well what is

III. THE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP WE SHOULD OFFER. It is, we know, more blessed to give than to receive. And this blessedness is not confined to one sphere, it extends to all. It is true of Christian fellowship. We should be dissatisfied with ourselves unless we are extending to all whom we can reach the sympathy and the succour of a true brotherliness. 1. We should be approachable by all. Instead of repelling by our attitude, we should invite men to approach and to address us. If it is worth while to cultivate the manner which is appreciated in the

market and in the drawing-room, should we not count it to be a part of our Christian education to secure the bearing which becomes us in the Church of Christ? 2. We should be responsive. We may meet the advances of our brethren with a rigid formality, with a frigid politeness; we may meet them, if we will be like our Lord, with warm and genial cordiality. 3. We should seek and find those who need us-(1) The sick and the suffering who need the alleviation of a friendly visit. (2) The lonely who crave nothing so much as human intercourse, and to whom the exchange of the simple commonplaces is a real enjoy. ment. (3) The sorrowful and the troubled, to whom genuine sympathy, apart from any wise words we may be able to utter, is precious beyond all price.

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

OUR GREAT POSSESSION. Having hope toward God. . . . that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust. Herein do I also exercise myself to have a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men alway.—ACTs xxiv. 15, 16. THERE are many things it is good to have-a substantial provision for our necessities or (what is better) a good opening for remunerative work; a large stock of health, strength, spirit; intellectual power and a thorough education; kind kindred and "troops of friends." But there is one thing which it is far better to have than any or all of these; it may be considered

I. OUR GREAT POSSESSION: and that is "a good conscience" (chap. xxiii. 1), "a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men." Without this, all other things are unstable and seriously incomplete. Without this, human life is a long way below its true level, and the human spirit is destitute of its real strength and its chief glory.

This "conscience void of offence " means more than a sense of security or of sufficiency; for that may be wholly false, and the man who is comforting his heart with a delusion is to be pitied beyond all others. It means conscious rectitude, being right and feeling that we are right with our God and with our neighbour. Conscious rectitude toward God means-1. Being forgiven by Him, and being restored to His favour. It means, therefore2. The cordial acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour (John iii. 15, 16, vi. 39). And it includes-3. Living to serve and

honour Him, or the consecration of heart and life to His service. It does not necessarily include an absolute and unfailing integrity, an undeviating and blameless conformity to His law; for this is the attainment of a long Christian life or the fruition of that life in the heavenly kingdom; but it does include an honest and earnest endeavour to know and do and bear the holy will of God. Conscious rectitude towards man means-(1) Perfect honesty in all business transactions. (2) The discharge of those grave obligations which belong to the family relationship. (3) True neighbourliness in spirit, in bearing, in behaviour. (4) Sincere patriotism. (5) Cherishing the sympathy and showing the kindness which are due to the ignorant, the downtrodden, the destitute, the sad and the suffering, of the children of men. We cannot have a conscience void of offence unless we not only shun those courses and actions which positively injure and distress, but also do those things and sustain those relations which righteousness and mercy require at our hands. This statement of duty implies

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II. THE COMPREHENSIVENESS OF OUR RESPONSIBILITY : always," or in everything. It is obvious that there can be nothing too great for conscience to be concerned in it. But there can also be nothing too small. The realm of conscience includes the entire surface of human life as well as the full depth of human nature. It extends to every simple action, to every "idle word." It goes down to the hidden thoughts and the untold feelings that find their way into the secret chambers of our soul. All that is within us, all that proceeds from us, comes into its court and receives its verdict.

III. ITS WORTHINESS OF EARNEST AND PATIENT EFFORT. Herein "do I exercise myself." "I make it the continual care and study of my life." That we fail to become what God is expecting us to be; that we habitually do or say some things which He does not approve; that we fall short of the just expectations of those we serve; that we wound or irritate those with whom we come into daily contact-these things are not to be dismissed with a complacent shrug; they are not to be excused by a light-hearted reference to our constitutional weaknesses. If we are regularly grieving God, or constantly offending our neighbour, that ought seriously to trouble our spirit. We ought not to be able to endure it; we ought to give ourselves earnestly to

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the removal of that defect in our character, that blemish in our conduct. If we would not tolerate any error in the keeping of our accounts, or any obvious stain on our gar ment, or injury to our furniture, how much less should we permit any palpable fault or failure in our character, in ourselves? have a clear conscience, to be living a life of real loyalty to Jesus Christ and of faithfulness toward all around us. - this is an end for which we should willingly take any trouble, or give any time, or make any sacrifice that may be required. Daily, hourly "exercise," the strenuous and persevering endeavour of the soul, is well spent in such a cause, in the interests of our thorough spiritual integrity.

IV. A STRONG INDUCEMENT TO PURSUE IT. A clear conscience is a possession which, of itself, is simply, priceless. But Paul suggests to us that, "on this account," we should pursue it, viz., that "there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust." Soon we shall appear before our Lord and Judge. Soon all those worldly considerations which affect us so much now will be of absolutely no importance. Soon it will be everything to have lived aright, in the enjoyment of God's good pleasure and in the loving and holy service of our race. Soon we shall want to appear before the Searcher of hearts with a spirit cleansed of all that is impure, and clothed upon with all that is worthy in His sight. In view of the fact that life is swiftly passing into the shadows, and that the day of account is approaching, let us diligently and devoutly seek to attain to all purity of heart and all uprightness of deed before God and

man.

SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER
TRINITY.

THE CHOICE OF TROUBLES.

And David said unto God, I am in a great strait; let me fall now into the hand of the Lord, for very great are His mercies: and let me not fall into the hand of man.-1 CHRON. xxi. 13.

WHO is there that has not wished that God would give him the choice of the evils which he had to suffer; and who is there that would not have been seriously embarrassed if that wish had been fulfilled? But, it may be said, the text does not support that view. Does it not? 1. David was very much troubled when the time for decision came: he was "in a

great strait." He may have spent many, many anxious hours over the difficulty. 2. His choice was more devout in form than in substance; for, had he chosen defeat in war, he would still have been "in the hand of God." His victorious and pursuing enemies could not have carried their triumph one step farther than God consented. 3. It is highly probable that, after the choice was made, David was doubtful of its wisdom. These "Chronicles" leave much to our imagination, and we may well believe that when the King knew that seventy thousand of his subjects had died, and saw that Jerusalem was threatened, he changed his mind and wished he had chosen otherwise; probably he thought that, if he had done so, he might have suffered more, but his people less (see ver. 17). We may consider

I. THE ELEMENT OF CHOICE IN THE EVILS OF LIFE. Two things are open to us here. 1. One relates to the measure of trouble we experience. By healthy habits, by obedience to the laws of our spiritual and our physical nature, by keeping within the lines of wisdom and virtue, by commending ourselves to the approval of man and also of God, we may materially reduce the measure of evil which otherwise we should endure. 2. The other relates to the kind of trouble we are called to face. It is often left to our choice to decide whether we will meet the dangers, the difficulties, the temptations, the trials of our condition in life, or those of the opposite condition-whether those of ignorance or of learning, of loneliness or of society, of obscurity or of conspicuousness and responsibility. It may be timidity or cowardice that inclines us to the one, and high-minded courage that incites us to the other; or it may be modesty and wisdom that urge us to the one, and nothing better than an unhallowed ambition, or even an exaggerated sense of importance, that allures to the other. It behoves us, as we stand in front of the future, with our path in life before us, very earnestly to seek the guidance of God, that we may choose that course, the perils of which we may face with hope, the evils of which we shall endure with calmness and fortitude.

II. THE WORKING OF THE DIVINE HAND IN THEM. The measure and the nature of our troubles is uncertain. That they will come is as certain as anything can be. No 'good fortune," no sagacity, no caution will exclude them from the experience of life.

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1. Our preference in regard to their form. Like David, we prefer to feel ourselves in the hand of God rather than in the hand of men. We feel that our burden is heavier when it is due to human carelessness, and heavier still when due to human heartlessness and malignity. The severest aggravation of trouble is where the evil that has been wrought is the work of some near relative or some familiar friend, or some old colleague from whom we had a right to expect quite opposite treatment (see Ps. lv. 12-14). We feel that if we are to have suffering or sorrow we should much prefer the unaccountable sickness, or the unavoidable loss, or the inevitable bereavement which we can refer at once to the ordinary will of God. 2. The truth we recognize when we consider it. As we think on this subject we realize that all trouble is ultimately of God. (1) Much of it is penal, the just consequence of ill-doing, the outcome of those laws which originate in Divine holiness. (2) Much of it is disciplinary; it is the pruning, the refining process of Him who is seeking spiritual fruit; it is the ordering of the wise and faithful Father of spirits (Heb.

xii. 1-12). (3) All of it is permissive. If the sparrow does not fall without the Divine permission, how much less does the obedient son. or daughter suffer grief or pass through troublous times or go down to death without the sanction of the present and watchful Lord. So that, whatever comes and whencesoever it comes, we are free to think and say, "Thy will be done, Lord"; the trial never comes to us when we are not "in the hand of the Lord." 3. The attitude we should assume toward it. Even when we have to reproach ourselves, or even when we are obliged to condemn our neighbours or our ancestors as the immediate authors of our trouble, we may and we should accept it as that which comes in the providence of God. (1) We should bow submissively to His will who (to say the least) suffers us to be tried as we are. (2) We should seek from Him the sustaining strength which will empower us to bear all things unrepiningly and even cheerfully. (3) We should have an open mind to perceive, and an open heart to welcome the practical lessons which our heavenly Father is desiring to teach us.

SUNDAY IN

WILLIAM CLARKSON, B.A.

IN SCHOOL. THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.

THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST.

ACTS i. 1-12.

Ir will be interesting to note the reasons why Jesus did not ascend into heaven immediately after His resurrection from the dead, but remained forty days longer on earth. First: He wished His disciples to know beyond all peradventure that He was not dead, but living, and alive for evermore. To this end "He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs." Whatever His disciples may have thought of Him previously, they must henceforth know Him as the conqueror of death and hell. As to His Divine character and work, they could no longer cherish a shadow of doubt. Second: He desired to teach His disciples some things which hitherto they had been unable to receive. In particular, He wanted them to understand about His kingdom, to which they had previously attached all sorts of carnal notions. So it is written, "He spoke of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." Third: during these forty days He

planned the campaign which is to result in the conquest of all nations to the glory of His name. We cannot place too strong an emphasis on the parting injunctions here delivered to the disciples-and to us by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

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I. "He commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait." This was not an easy thing for them to do. Flushed with the memory of the glorious things which the Master had been revealing to them, they were doubtless in a mood to go everywhere proclaiming His kingdom. But return to Jerusalem, said He, wait." There were good reasons for this requirement. 1. It was proper that Jerusalem should be geographically the point of departure for the new order of things. "Salvation is of the Jews." "Go ye everywhere, beginning at Jerusalem." Here is the metropolis of redemption (Micah iv. 2). It begins. in Jerusalem, the capital of Jewry, and proceeds to Rome, the capital of the world. 2. The disciples needed a season of mutual con

ference and prayer. To hasten to their work fitfully and each for himself would be to court despondency and failure. 3. They were to "wait" for a special preparation. They were not yet ready for their work. It pays to be well prepared for anything, most of all for the work of the kingdom of Christ.

II. Our Lord in this last interview with His disciples gave them, with renewed emphasis, the glorious promise of the Holy Ghost. This was "the promise of the Father" (John xiv. 16; also xv. 26). The man who imagines that he can set about the affairs of the kingdom of righteousness in strength of his own will make a lamentable failure of it. Let him tarry at Jerusalem until he has received the promise of the Father. When the fire descends upon him, and he is endued with power from on high, nothing will seem impossible to him.

III. In this last conference of Jesus with His disciples He disclosed to them the plan of future operations. Had the attention of a passer-by been directed to the six-score or thereabouts who were gathered on Olivet on this occasion with the remark that these few working people-this feeble folk like the conies -were being organized for universal conquest, he would have pronounced it the wildest scheme that was ever heard of. Jesus not only gave the disciples to understand that He Himself was, through the influence of His ever-present Spirit, to take charge of the propaganda, but He issued clear and specific directions as to how it should be carried on. First for reasons already noted, they were to make Jerusalem their starting-point.

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Second: they were to wait for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. This was to mark their initiation into the dispensation of the Spirit, or new order of things.

Third: they were to proceed in their work with a clear understanding of the fact that their only power was from God.

Fourth the followers of Christ were to be "witnesses unto Him." Words in due season, spoken from the pulpit or anywhere else, are like apples of gold shining through the meshes of a silver basket; but a Christlike life is like a lighthouse on a rocky coast: multitudes are saved by it. All lives, indeed, are testimonies; every man on earth is lending his influence in behalf of truth or falsehood, for Christ or against Him. Character will out. Our creed is the thing we live by.

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Jerusalem and in all Judæa and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Observe, the disciples are not made responsible for the conversion of the world, but only for its evangelization. They are to see that the story of redemption is told everywhere; and God Himself will do the rest.

IV. Then cometh the end. "He shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." The consummation of the Divine plan for the deliverance of our sinful race is to be signalized by the second coming of Christ. 1. When? "It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father has put in His own power." This ought to be enough. The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. The appointed time is a state secret, and we cannot guess within a thousand years of it. 2. How? "In like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." In like manner His re-coming is to be a real personal advent. 3. What then? It behoves us to watch. Not to watch as do certain wiseacres, who lean indolently out of their windows with eyes towards the east, but as the Lord's faithful workmen, who have much to do and know that the husbandman may return at any moment. "Why stand ye gazing up into heaven?"-(D. J. Burrell, D.D.)

THE DESCENT OF THE SPIRIT.

ACTS ii. 1-12.

WE note five features in the gift of power which the exalted Lord sent upon His waiting Church.

1. The gift was supernatural. A supernatural factor was present. The mighty wind rushing down from heaven was the outward token of a personal energy immeasurably greater than any which belongs to man, an energy coming down from God to man. The luminous flame about their foreheads, like the Shekinah above the mercy-seat, was an unmistakable sign of the supernatural presence of the living God.

The supernatural force began at once to work within them. The incoming Spirit intensified and illuminated their perceptions, as an increase of oxygen brightens the flame of the lime-light. Peter's address, which immediately follows, shows how the Spirit clarified their mental vision. They understood the Gospel now as never before. At last they could appreciate the necessity and glory of the death, resurrection, and ascension of

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