spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. Brethren, again we call upon you to cherish this high and holy emotion, and pray you now to remember the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to give thanks to GoD for this unspeakable gift.

And then, my hearers, with regard to those of you who have no part in Christ, and as yet possess only that peace which is given by the world do you not here perceive how important and solemn are the lessons which are impressed on you? You have not what is substantial, but what is empty-you have not what is beneficial, but what is pernicious—you have not what is immutable, and will endure for ever, but you have what is changeable and perishing. And you shall perish with what you have, if you turn not for a subject of repose, and for a source of confidence to Him who died upon the cross. And let every worldling depart from the sanctuary this night with this in remembrance-that if he have not the peace of Christ, and possess but what is given him by the world, that, as GOD is true, he must everlastingly lose his soul. And is there one that can dwell with devouring fire? Or is there one that can dwell with everlasting burnings? Is there one whose heart is not ready and anxious to

receive the impression of truth, and the elements of mercy? Peace we set before you, and as the ambassadors of Christ, we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled unto GOD. Oh, brethren, without exception let us one and all come around the cross of our departed Redeemer, and cling to it, resolved that if we perish, there we will die; and yet, confident that the blood which spake from Calvary is yet speaking from the Shekinah and the throne, and is saying "Peace, peace, I give unto you." Believe, and this peace is yours: and he who spake in the upper room, where he celebrated the Passover with his disciples just before he went to be crowned with thorns, and to agonize upon the cross-he will send down the Spirit of his truth to whisper "peace be unto you." And when he shall come the second time without a sin offering unto salvation, and you shall gaze upon the splendours of his glorified and unveiled majesty, he will greet you even then by saying, “Peace I give unto you." And truly, that peace none shall take away, for it shall be perfected amid the glories of the skies. May the peace of GoD, which passeth all understanding, now keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

of the duty of their teachers to give all possible assistance to the understanding of them, which an acquaintance with the original and grammatical considerations may suggest. I have one observation of this character to offer on the words before us. The sense which has been often imposed on the passage, and which, at first sight, it might seem natural to suggest, is, that the Christian is here exhorted to take the word of GOD (that is, the Holy Scriptures) for a sword; which he must use under the influence and direction of the Holy Spirit: as it has been expounded by an able commentator, that "an exact and comprehensive acquaintance with the various doctrines, precepts, promises, and warnings of Scripture, and a readiness of recollecting and adducing pertinent texts on every emergency, will drive the tempter to a distance, and procure a final victory over him." Now to this sentiment every Christian must subscribe; but there are two fatal objections to drawing it from the words of the text. In the first place, the relative which " which is the word of GOD," does not refer to the word sword, but to the word Spirit; with which, and not with the former word, it agrees in gender. So that we must read it in this way: "Take the sword of the Spirit, which (Spirit) is the word of God." And secondly, another fatal objection would be, that the term translated word in this passage of Scripture, is never employed throughout the whole of the inspired writings to designate the written word; nor can it be honestly so rendered. It is not the logos, but the rema of God; which is an appellative, not of the written word, but of the Spirit. The obvious sense, I conceive, which the grammatical construction requires, is, not that the Christian should take the word of

for a sword, but that he should take the Spirit for a sword, and that the latter clause is explanatory of the nature of the Spirit as thus presented to us. The exhortation is therefore to be read in this way: "Take the Spirit in place of a sword, which Spirit may be designated as the word, the rema of GOD.

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This sense, which a strict adherence to the rules of grammar requires, is strongly confirmed by the construction of the whole passage. It is only natural that we adopt the same interpretation in this clause as in the preceding ones: and as we understand the Apostle to mean, by exhorting us to put on the breastplate of righteousness," that we should put on righteousness for a breastplate-and by taking "the sword of faith," that we take faith for a sword --and by taking "the helmet of salvation," that we take salvation for a helmet; so consistency of interpretation seems to require, that we should understand by taking" the sword of the Spirit," that we are to take the Spirit for a sword. It would be utterly opposed to all consistency to interpret "the helmet of salvation" in one way, and, in the same verse, to interpret "the sword of the Spirit" in another. I conclude then, that, as " the helmet of salvation" cannot mean the helmet which salvation uses (which would be nonsense), but must mean that salvation is itself the helmet; therefore, neither does "the sword of the Spirit" mean, as it is commonly interpreted, the sword which the Spirit uses, but that the Spirit is itself the sword which the Christian is to take.

Although it is with some reluctance I have spent so much time on a mere criticism, it would seem it could hardly be avoided in order to the application of the passage: but it

is so commonly considered as having reference to the Holy Scriptures exclusively, that it would scarcely have been fair to have given a different application without stating my reasons for it. There is, however, one other difficulty in the text to be solved, for which I must make a further demand upon your patience. In what sense are we to understand the expression," the word of GOD," as attributed to the Spirit? Why is the Holy Ghost called "the word of GOD?" It is important to remark, that where Christ is called "the word of GOD," it is always by a different word in the original from that which we find in the text. It is the same word which is used of Christ which we find used also to designate Scripture, and as, I conceive, for the same reason, Christ is called the Logos, or the word of GOD, because he is the full expression of Deity, the manifestation of GOD. He is, as the term means, the intelligible word of GOD; he is Godhead revealed, having been manifested in order that Godhead might be understood and comprehended by us. Now the distinction which one of the most exact dealers in definitions has drawn between the word logos, attributed to Christ, and the word rema, the term attributed to the Spirit, is this that whereas the former signifies the intelligible word, the latter signifies the articulate sound of the word-the one the meaning, the other the utterance of the meaning. Christ, then, is the word of GOD, inasmuch as GOD is seen in him, and expressed by him: The Spirit is the word of God, inasmuch as God speaks by the Spirit, and testifies of himself by the Spirit. Christ is the expression of God's perfect image, as the Apostle calls him in the Epistle to the Hebrews: it is the Spirit who acts and energizes to the display of that image; as it is written, "I can of mine own self do

nothing: as I hear, so I judge." And again, "Howbeit, when He the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth." Christ therefore is the word, inasmuch as he is the truth of God. The Spirit is the word inasmuch as he is the guide into the truth of GOD. Whatever may be known of God by us, is to be seen in Christ the eternal word: whatever is spoken or declared of GoD is by the Spirit as the word. The one implies the truth exhibited, made apparent to us-the other the truth acted. The subsistence of GOD is upheld and sustained in Christ: that subsistence is brought into a realized form by the Holy Ghost the word. It is the property of the Son of GOD, to give the Godhead person within the limits of the creature, so that the creature may know what GOD is: it is the property of the Holy Ghost, to give it life and being. If we would know what the Father's will and word is, we must examine what Christ said and did: if we would give life to that will and word, it is by the Holy Ghost acting and energizing within us. "He shall take of the things of Christ, and shall show them unto you," says our Lord.

Having thus given what appears to me the true explication of this difficult text, let me now endeavour to point out more particularly the bearing of the Apostle's exhortation to us. Although we may consider the whole of it as having especial reference to the period of distress to which the church shall be exposed just previously to her deliverance, still it may be considered as having a more general reference to the whole period of the church's suffering. I would therefore notice these words under their more general aspect.

The exhortation to take the sword of the Spirit, in the first place, is obviously a call to activity in the service of God. The Spirit is to be used by

every believer. To some of us it might, perhaps, seem enough that when the Christian is represented as the object of such great assault, when he is set as a mark to be spoken against, as an object of enmity in the world-when he is told that every effort will be made to draw him aside by subtilty, or to bear him down by force-we might suppose it were enough if he should stand his ground as a valiant defender of the truth, and prove himself imperious to all the weapons which men and Satan may direct against him; it might seem he had enough to attend to in managing his own defence, and that the most which could be expected from him, would be to make good his ground in the difficult circumstances in which he is placed. And such, in point of fact, is the estimate which the world in general forms of the Christian's duty. It is his going forth from this fixed post, it is his going beyond the defensive mode of warfare, and taking up an offensive position, that chiefly brings on him the opposition and hatred of the world. Especially in these days of false liberality, man might think what he pleases; and however, extraordinary his sentiments might appear, he would not only be allowed, but even be commended and applauded in standing up in their defence, if only he would be content to hold them for himself, and let other persons follow the kind of religion which they approve. If he would cast away his sword, and use his defensive armour only, no one would care: but this the exhortation before us forbids. "Take the sword of the Spirit." It is obviously a call for an aggressive effort. It is not enough that a Christian should repel an assault upon the truth; but he must strive to bring the truth to bear as a sharp weapon against the arrow which he meets

with. It is not enough that the Christian should bear with meekness the reproach, or the scorn, or the enmity of the world around him; but he must return good for evil, blessing for cursing, striving to repay the ill which he receives by dispensing to his enemies the blessings he himself enjoys. Such fruits must not cease even in the extremity of the evil day: even when the hand of persecution is the strongest and most pressing on the people of GOD-even then are they to wield this weapon of offence, and by the sword of the Spirit, aim to subdue souls to Christ. And often, my brethren, in ancient days, the sword of the Spirit so used was found mightily to prevail. There are not wanting many instances where in the very last extremity it was found efficacious in the work of conversion. It was scarcely uncommon in the early days of the church for the persecutor who had led the Christian martyr to the stake to feel the power of this spiritual weapon, even while his victim was burning, and, by a bold confession of the truth, himself to become the next victim to the faggot. Even in this more literal sense the blood of martyrs became the seed of the church. If then, even in these extreme circumstances, the believer is not to be altogether occupied in a selfish attention to his own concerns, much less is he to be so while the church as yet enjoys rest.

We cannot, I think, my brethren, contemplate the state of things around us in this land, and especially in this city, without recognizing the loud demand there is upon us now for the use of this spiritual weapon. Nor can we look around us, I think, without the conviction of the heavy responsibility which lies at our door as a Christian people in neglecting to use this weapon. Do we not know that within an hour's walk of us,