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High Priest, He is still a Prophet teaching men, and, by His Spirit, knocking at the door of their hearts, and entreating an entrance. How solemn, and, at the same time, how comforting is this consideration! For what important purposes did not the resurrection of Christ take place? We say it was a testimony to the truth of what His whole life as subsisting between Christ and His had proclaimed,-we say it was a proof that He had overthrown the principalities and powers of darkness, we say it was an earnest of the resurrection of all His true people; but, oh! let us not forget to number this amongst its objects, that He rose to carry forward the offices of His Mediatorship to give effect through these offices to His own sacrifice-to bear the benefits of His redemption to the door of men's souls in all generations, and to ask an entrance.

race; in His unwearied patience under every refusal; in the expostulations, arguments, and appeals which, through His various ministries, He addresses to the sinner, that he may be induced to open his soul and let Him in.

III. But, in the third place, consider the communion which the text represents

people. "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." The voice has been heard,-the door has been opened,-the heavenly visitant has entered; and now we behold the most intimate, the most friendly, and the most cheerful fellowship.

Now, what is the first thing which strikes us in this imagery? Is it not the intimate footing on which Christ and His people are? There is no reserve in Him; and His entire cordiality gives no reasonable allowance for fear in them. Another thing which strikes us under this imagery is the comfort of the religious state. Both from the imagery here employed, and from other passages of Scripture where the Gospel dispensation is likened to a feast, it is plainly the design of the text to impress upon us the comfortable provision which God has made for His people; and it may be that by Christ's supping with His people is intended that satisfaction which He has in the converted heart, wherein " "He sees of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied."

It is desirable, however, that we should have some more distinct idea of that office of mercy, performed by Christ for the souls of men, which is here represented under the image of one standing at a door, and knocking for admission. And, in order to this, let me commend to your serious reflection these three methods in which He fulfils this work. In the first place, He does this by His Spirit, through His Word. In the second place, He does this by His Spirit, through the ordinances of His Church. And, in the third place, He does this by His Spirit, through His providence. In all these several ways He is continually carrying forward the offices of His Medi- Another thing which strikes us under atorship-seeking and obtaining for His this imagery is the complete harmony Gospel an entrance into the souls of men. subsisting between Christ and His peoHow tender is the Saviour's love! You ple. And it is of great practical importbehold it in the cross whereon, a peace-ance that we do observe this. In order to ful Lamb, He dies a sacrifice for sins. anything like satisfactory and profitable You see it in the tears He sheds at the grave of Lazarus. You hear it in His lamentations over Jerusalem;-in His saying, "I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep;"—and in His prayer, "Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory." But no less do you behold it in all the offices He is still performing for the human

fellowship between two persons there must be a general similarity in their views and tastes. Above all is this necessary with regard to moral things; for while a true friendship may exist between two persons, between whom there is a considerable disparity in the way of intellectual acquisition, this is quite inconceivable where the heart of the one is resolutely set upon evil, while that of the other is just as resolutely set upon

good. Great learning can play only an occasional part in the intercourse of life; but our moral views and feelings can never, even for a little, be held in abeyance without a special effort for the purpose. And so it is as true to common sense as it is to Scripture, that wherever there is fellowship with Christ there must be sympathy with Him in all that engages His moral affections; not necessarily with the might and the knowledge of His mind, for that plays no part in our intercourse with Him,-but with all that goodness and truth which He so dearly loves. We cannot, indeed, equal Him in the love of what is good, and even our conduct will be very imperfect; but we must never love what He hates, never be averse to what He desires, or delight in doing that to which He is opposed.

Such, then, is this fellowship in its more important features,-a fellowship which may be enjoyed in this world, but which can be fully realized only in that which is to come;—for it is there, and there alone, that, without interruption, and with entire affinity in all things, Christ will sup with His people, and they with Him.

There are persons in the world who profess that they cannot see that Christ and Christianity are inseparable terms, and who think they may be Christians even although Jesus is kept in the background of their thoughts and affections. I need not say how contrary all this is to the genius of the New Testament. But behold how strongly the current of this text runs against such fatal heresy ! It says, that the soul, till Christ enters it, is like a desolate house, locked and barred against all good, It says, that to hear the voice of Christ is the first symptom of returning virtue, and that to open the soul to Him is the first proof of a real earnestness after the beautiful, and the true, and the good. It says, that the entering feet of Christ crossing the threshold of the soul is the beginning of vital Christianity in you; it says, that Christ's dwelling in you is the continuance of spiritual life; and it says, that eternal fellowship with Christ shall be the realization of heaven itself. What

better proof, proof more strong, or more lovely in its portraiture, can we have that Christianity is inseparably bound up in Christ, and that to be Christ's man is the fulfilling of the religion of the New Testament?

Let us wisely yield, then, to the gracious lessons of this text, which are plainly these: that none can be a Christian unless he believe in and love the Lord Jesus Christ; that we must look to Him if we would be saved, since out of Him there is no salvation; that we must cultivate His fellowship by every available means, since apart from Him there is no growth in grace; and that what should cheer us most amid all the disadvantages of our earthly situation,—the loss of fortune, the death of friends, and the anxieties which every day brings with it,-is, that our release from this world shall only be the signal for the establishment of our fellowship with Christ upon an eternal footing inconceivably intimate and tender.

"I will run the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart.' Present this suit often; it is in His power to do it for thee. He can stretch and expand thy straitened heart, can spread and hoist the sails within thee, and then carry thee on swiftly, filling them, not with the vain air of man's applause, which readily runs a soul upon rocks and splits it, but with the sweet breathings and soft gales of His own Spirit, that carry it straight to the desired haven."-Leighton.

"Do not think the Judge condemns you when He chides you, nor think to half of His words; stand still, and see how read thy own final sentence by the first it will be in the whole event of things; let God speak His mind out; for it may be this sad beginning is but an art to bring in, or to make thee to esteem, and entertain, and understand the blessing." -Miracles of the Divine Mercy, (Jeremy Taylor.)

"True goodness is like the glow-worm except those of Heaven, are upon it.”— in this, that it shines where no eyes, Guesses at Truth.

THE EARTHLY AND HEAVENLY PARENT.

"Our Father which art in heaven."

"THE family" is God's own institution; and was the first-unless we except the Sabbath-ordained by Him for the education of the children of men. He brought the woman unto the man, and Adam said: "This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh;"-" Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife." Its importance to the well-being of the human race can hardly be exaggerated. It is the nursery of the state, of the Church, and of heaven.

So holy is the union of husband and wife, from which comes the relationship of parent and child, that it is likened to the union which subsists between Jesus the bridegroom, and His Church the bride. No lower measure, no lower kind of love, is set before the husband to his wife than the love of Christ to His Church; while her love and reverence, in return, is compared to the love and reverence which the Church owes her Lord.

When Jesus was dying on the cross, and thereby glorifying the government of God, He honoured in that hour the holy bonds of family when He considered His mother's sufferings and wants, and said: "Son, behold thy mother! Woman, behold thy Son!"

stance of religion—that we should be to Him as "sons and daughters," "children of God," He thereby intends us to learn something of the nature of the relationship subsisting between himself and His children, from what we know of the relationship subsisting between ourselves and our children. And so, upon the other hand, He would have parents learn how they should educate their children for heaven, by knowing how He educates themselves. Thus the true idea of home education is, to be in all things to our children as like as possible to what God is to us, to be reflections of Him in the family,-to be living witnesses for Him,-to be, in one word, godly or godlike parents.

In some respects a parent cannot help being like God. He is so by nature; for what is so vivid a picture of God, the Creator, Preserver, Provider, Comforter of His family, than the earthly parent, to whom the child owes its being; who upholds and guides its tot tering steps in infancy; supplies its daily returning wants; dries its tears; and yearns over it with a love which the child cannot fathom, and, for a time, but feebly comprehend, and very imperfectly return. Yet this may be called involuntary on the part of the parent, or, at least, instinctive, inasmuch as he does not in all this necessarily think of God at all, or desire to please Him, or to be like Him; but reflects His image as unconsciously as the beasts that perish, in their love for their young, reflect the glory of Him who created them with instincts so tender and beautiful, But when a parent knows God,-when he is himself a true child, in whose heart the spirit of adoption has kindled the holy flame of confidence and love, by which he can look up, saying: "Abba, Father !"—when he is "acquainted" with the character of that God, and the way in which He is Now, when He calls himself a Father, educating himself for eternity;-when he and desires-as the very sum and sub-has truly apprehended, in some measure,

The socialist who, with impious hand, would destroy this institute, displays greater ignorance, and, if successful, would produce more disorder in God's universe, than if he attempted and succeeded in putting his hand among the stars, and disturbing the power which kept them in that beautiful order which, to the ear of the understanding, is the music of the spheres.

Of all the names by which God has revealed himself, no one is so endearing to us, or more full of deep and tender meaning, than that of "our Father" in heaven.

the chief lessons which God imparts in His school, by precept and promise, by warning and encouragement, by tender mercies and severe chastisements, by long-suffering patience or sudden inflictions, and all to "train" himself up in the way he should go;-then has he so far discovered the true secret of the education which he should give his own child. The nearer he approaches that model of heavenly perfection, the more perfect will his home education in the family become; for the children will thus naturally rise from knowing the earthly to knowing the heavenly Parent. The one will be a reflection of the other, comparatively dim, no doubt, but still one of the truest on earth! The parent is a ladder, many a step of which will be broken, but still by it the child is enabled to climb upwards. The parent is the earthly pole around which it twines its early affections, and fastens its weak tendrils; and though it is perishing, and of itself unfit to be a permanent support, it may, nevertheless, lead the young plant towards heaven, and be its strength and stay until it finally reaches, and for ever clings to the "Rock of Ages !"

This is the high model, parents, which I would set before you! To live before your children, to educate them, that you may train them up, and gradually prepare them to know God from first knowing you; and thus to understand God's ways to themselves in after life from first learning your lessons in the home school. You may not be able to lead them far; but as far as you go, let it be in the right direction. You may not be able to teach them many lessons; but such as they are Jet them be in harmony with, and a right introduction to those deeper ones which God will afterwards impart. In what you are and in what you do; in your truthfulness, righteousness, kindness, firmness, forbearance, forgiveness, sympathy, watchfulness, justice, love; in your rewards and punishments; in your education, in short, be to them, as far as possible, what God is to you, and will be also to them.

All this assumes that the children have not reached those years of understanding

and thought when they are, as it were, out of your hands, and dismissed from your school, more directly to learn from God himself, and to act solely on their own personal responsibility, independent of your authority and immediate control. Until this time comes, they will look to you, and hear you, and understand you, as they can no one else; and you, the earthly parent, must be to them, for many a day, almost in the place of God. Oh! that they may be able, when they become acquainted with the great God as their Father in heaven, to recognize in His infinite glory the light which they saw truly reflected in that earthly form whom they first called by the same endearing name, and whom they first honoured and obeyed with reverential fear, believed and trusted with implicit confidence, and loved with heart, soul, and strength! Thus would the school of home be the school for heaven!

Parents! do consider this earnestly, and try and realize it. It is very true, that "the best men are but men at the best," and will come far short of this model of perfection. But it is Jesus who says: "Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." Remember that those who aim high, while they may not come up to the mark that is higher, yet come very much nearer it than those who aim at the ground.

You know how very unlike the training is which those parents, who even profess godliness, give their children to that I have been speaking about; nay, how often is it quite of an opposite character? Let me ask you a few homely questions on this point, to illustrate more fully and plainly what I have said.

Do you ever break your word to your children ?—If so, is this being like God to them!-Does He ever fail to keep His promises to you?

Do you give way to angry, unreasonable passion with your children?-If so, is this God's method with you!

Do you wish your children to be clever, wealthy, or prosperous, rather than to be good, and do you train them up accordingly ?-Is it for such ends God is first. educating you!

Are you hard, unfeeling, unsympathizing, unforgiving to your children? Is God so to you!

children could understand it, or return it; how inseparable it is from your hatred to their sins; and how it longs to impart to them every possible blessing!

Are you so indifferent as not to chastise your children when they require it? Is there no love in God to you like this, Will God thus deal with you! though infinitely deeper and more lasting?

Do you chastise from hate, and not for good?-Does He so deal with you!

I need not enlarge my catechism. You see, I hope, clearly, what is meant by educating your children in the spirit with which God, your own Father, educates yourselves.

But, perhaps, you ask me, how this can be accomplished? On this point I cannot here enter at any length. One or two hints, however, may help yourselves to obtain the truth more fully.

Learn first to be good children to your own Father in heaven, and this will best teach you how to be good parents to your own children on earth.

Would you, for instance, like your children to love you? Love, then, your own Father! Would you like your children to obey you? Obey your own Father! Would you like your children to open their hearts to you in sweet confiding intercourse; pouring out their sorrows; confessing their faults; telling you their wants; expressing to you their joys; and revealing to you their love? Do all this to your own Father! Follow out this train of thought for yourselves, and it will lead you to further light on your personal and parental duties.

And if you wish to have your affections, as children, kindled towards your Heavenly Father, you may learn, even from your feelings towards your own children, much to help you. You know the love which you bear them; how deep and real it is; how it began before your

You know what you would do for your children's good; how much you would sacrifice to make them happy; how their cry of distress would awaken your pity; and their prayers for help, though uttered with the imperfect lispings of a babe, touch your heart, and make you put forth all your strength to relieve them! Is there nothing in this which God, who made your heart so to feel, wishes to be a witness for himself?

"What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?" Would any of you, parents, so treat a starving child? No! "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" He who so spoke knew God His Father, and revealed Him to us.

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?" Mothers! you have no doubt of such love to your child; you only doubt of the reality of the love of God your Father to one of His own children! But what says He?

"She may forget; yet will I not forget thee!"

"They who love not, know not God; for God is love." "As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them who fear Him." Lift up your hearts in prayer, and say, "Our Father which art in heaven !”

CHRISTIAN BAPTISM AND CHRISTIAN EDUCATION.

"All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I'am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

I Do not here attempt to give anything | merely as connected with Christian Edulike a full explanation of the sacrament cation.

of baptism, but to notice it very briefly Let me remind parents of some of

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