the mighty waters; the trees of the field rejoiced before Him! And why all this? and for what spiritual end in the upward progress of man? Surely to attune his heart and mind to that spirit of worship, that reverential homage, that glad rejoicing before the Lord for which he, of all the creatures He has made, is most fitted; surely to bring him into sympathy with that spirit of devotion with which the universe is filled, where there rises continually the song, "Holy, holy, holy!" The highest moments of a man's life are when he worships, for they are the moments when he stands face to face with God; the noblest moments are when he worships, for it is then he freely and gladly gives himself to, and rejoices in, God as his chief joy. Jacob awaking from a dream of angels, and saying, "surely God was in this place;" David singing, "a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand;" Isaiah exclaiming, "Here am I, send me;" Paul caught up into the third heavens, and seeing things unspeakable; these men knew the deep joy of worship, the very gladness and ecstacy of it: they entered the city of God before the time, lost, and found themselves in God.

Life, growth, fruitfulness, beauty, special qualifications and special work, the offering up of all to God: this is the Gospel of the trees; good tidings of good to which it will be well for us to give heed. A living, fruitful, soul-beautifying faith: the moral and spiritual bestowments calling for corresponding activities, and the worship which is due from every creature to the Creator; from the redeemed nature of man, to Him who at such an infinite sacrifice redeemed him: is not this the end of our being, of every man who has laid hold of the hope set before him in the Gospel,— who has been brought nigh unto God by the Cross of His Son!

May our meditation on the Gospel of the trees bring us to a deeper sense of our need of the Gospel of the Cross, the blood of Christ which taketh away all sin. Rightly contemplated, they will so lead us, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, without whom Scripture is mere letter, and nature is dumb: the Trees of the Field will lead us to Him whose name is "The Branch," "The Plant of Renown." Amen.

GLASGOW.

PETER RUTHERFORD.

Homiletical Commentary.

HOMILETIC SKETCH ON THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN.

The Realm of Love the Sphere of Religion.

"SO WHEN THEY HAD DINED, JESUS SAITH TO SIMON PETER, SIMON, SON OF JONAS, LOVEST THOU ME MORE THAN THESE? HE SAITH UNTO HIM, YEA, LORD; THOU KNOWEST THAT I LOVE THEE. HE SAITH UNTO HIM, FEED MY LAMBS. HE SAITH TO HIM AGAIN THE SECOND TIME, SIMON, SON OF JONAS, LOVEST THOU ME? HE SAITH UNTO HIM, YEA, LORD; THOU KNOWEST THAT I LOVE THEE. HE SAITH UNTO HIM, FEED MY SHEEP. He saith UNTO HIM THE THIrd time, Simon, son of Jonas, LOVEST THOU ME PETER WAS GRIEVED BECAUSE HE SAID UNTO HIM THE THIRD TIME, LOVEST THOU ME? AND HE SAID UNTO HIM, LORD, THOU KNOWEST ALL THINGS; THOU KNOWEST THAT I LOVE THEE. JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, FEED MY SHEEP. VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO THEE, WHEN THOU WAST YOUNG, THOU GIRDEDST THYSELF, AND WALKEDST WHITHER THOU WOULDEST : BUT WHEN THOU SHALT BE OLD, THOU SHALT STRETCH FORTH THY HANDS, AND ANOTHER SHALL GIRD THEE, AND CARRY THEE WHITHER THOU WOULDEST NOT."-John xxi. 15-18.

EXPOSITION: Ver. 15.- "So when they had dined" (had broken their fast) "Jesus saith to Simon Peter." During the meal, perhaps, silence reigned supreme. There was the hush of reverent amazement. "Simon, son of Jonas" (John). It is noteworthy that Jesus does not call him Peter, which means rock, the high title which He had conferred upon him before his fall, but by his natural name. "Lovest thou Me?" "There are two Greek words alike rendered 'love' in our translation, but which have a different force. The love of this question áyaraç signifies

the love of will, of judgment,
or of moral feeling; nearly our
English word to prize. The
other is pic which is simply
affectional love, springing from
the natural sensibility. In His
question Jesus uses the former
word; in his answer Peter uses
the latter." "More than these."
Some say that Christ points to
the fishes, or the boats, nets,
&c., that is his worldly calling;
others, which is more probable,
to the disciples, who were
present. Peter had said, in a
somewhat boastful
boastful spirit,-
"Though all men shall be
offended because of Thee, yet
will I never be offended." (Matt.

HOMILETICS.—The subject of these words is the Realm of Love the Sphere of Religion. There are some who put religion in the realm of sensuousness. The mere excitement of the senses by paintings, sculpture, music, gorgeous rites, and tragic anecdotes, is regarded as piety; tears of mere animal sympathy are regarded

as the expressions of godly sorrow, &c. Some put religion in the sphere of logic. It is in some system of human thought, which men call orthodox, and nowhere else. Unless your intellect, however large it may be, will make its home in some little catechism or creed, you are more fiend than saint. And some put religion in the realm of external performances. If you attend your place of worship, pay all secular debts, subscribe to charities, you are a religious man. From the verses we may learn that the deep moral love of the heart is the seat of true religion. The question is, what is this love? From the passage we infer— I-THAT IT IS A SUPREME AFFECTION FOR CHRIST. Lovest thou Me more than these?" That is, more than these disciples love Me? aye, more even than thou lovest aught besides?" Observe, First: Religion is a paramount affection. It is not a common sentiment flowing in the ordinary current of emotions, sometimes rising into fervour and force and then passing away. It is either the master passion of the heart-the all in all—or it is nothing. Love never becomes religion until it grows into supremacy and becomes the monarch of the heart. Observe, Secondly: Religion is a paramount affection for Christ. "Lovest thou Me?" Not merely My ideas. It is almost impossible for men of intellect not to be ravished with Christ's ideas. Not merely My works. Who could fail to admire Christ's stupendous works of beneficence and compassion? Not merely My heaven. Christ's heavens, the house of His Father, where there are "many mansions," men may long for. But it is love for Himself that He demands. But why should Christ be loved supremely "more than these"?-more than father, mother, houses, lands, even these wonderful works of nature? (1) Because it is right in itself. Ought not the greatest benefactor have the most gratitude? The most perfect character have the highest admiration? The sublimest royalty to have the most absolute devotion? What benefactor is so great as He who gave Himself? What character so holy as He who died to "put away the sins" of the world? What authority so high as He who is the Prince of the kings of the earth? "He is exalted far above all," &c. (2) Because it is indispensable to man. Man's destiny, man's happiness depends

upon the object of his love. The object of his love becomes either the wing of a seraph to bear him to the highest heaven, or a millstone to crush him to the deepest infamy and woe. Hence the mighty reason of this paramount affection. From the passage we infer concerning this love

II. THAT IT MUST BE A MATTER OF CONSCIOUSNESS WHEREVER IT EXISTS. Both our Lord's question and Peter's reply indicate this. A man cannot be ignorant of his supreme affection, it is the spring of his activities, the central fact of his experience. Here are the criteria. The object of supreme affection is ever (1) The chief thought in the intellect, (2) The chief theme in the conversation, (3) The chief end in the design, and (4) The chief object in the desire. All the laws of mind must be reversed before it can be otherwise. Concerning this love observe

III. THAT IT IS THE QUALIFICATION FOR OFFICE IN THE EMPIRE OF CHRIST. After Peter's confession, which was sincere, solemn, and thrice repeated, Christ gave him a commission in His kingdom, and that was to feed His sheep. There are three things implied in this commission. First That Peter would meet with the spiritually needy in his future course. He would meet with hungry sheep and feeble lambs. The world abounds with those young, inexperienced, undisciplined, hungry souls. Secondly:. That Peter would have at his disposal suitable supplies for the needy. He could not feed without food. The doctrines he had received from Christ would be food. Thirdly: That Peter had the capacity so to present the supplies as to feed the hungry. Here was his work, and love to Christ was the qualification for it. Nothing can qualify a man properly to help souls but love for Christ. Learning, genius, eloquence-all will not avail without this. This is the only true inspiration.

Hast thou this supreme love, not for the theological, but for the personal and historic Christianity, friend? Is He who trod the shores of Galilee and the mountains of Capernaum, who died upon the Cross and ascended to heaven, the centre point of thy soul? Is He the home of thy spirit? Art thou in Christ?

LONDON.

Dost thou live in Him?

DAVID THOMAS, D.D.