read the words as if they meant, "The flesh | thing more important in connection with the lusteth against the new nature, and the new sense of having God's guidance than obedience. nature against the flesh." But we see at once Are not most of our difficulties as to guidance from the context that the Spirit here is the to be traced to our want of thoroughness in Holy Ghost. We are to walk-not in the new yielding to the will of God, or to a want of nature—but in the Holy Ghost. We are to be faith in trusting Him to keep and defend us in led of the Holy Ghost. And again, in verse 22, the path of difficulty or danger that He opens the fruit-not of the new nature, but of the out before us. Constant guidance is certainly Holy Ghost-is love, joy, peace, &c. promised to the child of God in the Scriptures. "The Lord shall guide thee continually." But like all other blessings the enjoyment of this privilege depends on certain conditions. "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness.” "Following" means a continual stepping out with the two feet-faith and obedience. Believe what God says, and do what He tells you. In the Holy Ghost then, as the sphere of the believer's life, there is a continuous deliverance -a deliverance not only from the power of sin without, but from the power of the flesh within. The life of the trusting soul becomes then a walk of continuous triumph over the power of evil. But it is only as he lives and acts in the Spirit. But If, on the other hand, I lose sight of the Holy Ghost, and think only of my new nature as that with which the flesh is to be opposed, disappointment is sure to be the result. The flesh is in all probability far stronger than the new nature, and defeat follows. But if we meet all our enemies with God-God the Holy Ghostwho then can be against us? Greater is He that is with us than all those who are against us. Third, Momentary Strength. God does not provide strength simply to assure us that we are strong, but that we should use it for His service. Sometimes we have desired to feel strong before the moment of actual need has arrived. this God does not promise. He gives it not before, but at the moment. We cannot lay up a stock of strength. We cannot serve in the present with the power He gave yesterday, nor with the power He will give to-morrow. The water-wheel moves, not by virtue of the stream that has passed over it days ago, nor of the waters that are to flow over it in days to come, but by virtue of the stream that is passing over it now. So the believer, if he would work well, wisely, successfully, must be ever under the stream of Divine energy-the power that flows from the risen and glorified Lord. The power of His endless life is the true source of our strength. Fourth, Momentary Guidance. There is no We get into darkness in either of two ways-by holding back when He bids us go forward-or by rushing on before His leading. The great thing to see is that God's guidance is momentary guidance. He gives us enough light to take the next step, and when that step is taken more light comes. Now all these blessings are in Him, and we can enjoy them only moment by moment. And they are bestowed upon us not to make us feel happy simply, but to enable us to live to His glory, and to work for the extension of His kingdom. SUNLIGHT IN THE HEART. There is sunilght on the sea; All the chambers of my heart, For I have made thee whole." In the dust I leave my sackcloth, Thy blood hath won for me, Choose Thou for me my portion, My bitter and my sweet; The cup Thy hand doth mix me I will drink it at Thy feet; While I'm waiting for that moment, The brightest and the best, When Thou shalt stoop to lift me From Thy footstool to Thy breast. [Oh! ye who sit in darkness, Ever mourning for your sin, Open the windows of your soul, Let the warm sunshine in ; Every ray was purchased for you, By the matchless love of One Who has suffered in the shadow, That you might see the sun?] Lord Jesus! Thou hast bought me, Pointing upwards where Thou art; Ascending up to Thee; That those who do not know Thee, FOR every trial God sends, He gives sufficient grace for its endurance; but He promises no grace to bear anticipations with, and we little know how very large a portion of our mental sufferings arises from anticipation of trial.—Adelaide Newton. ABUNDANCE OF POWER.* BY REV. C. A. FOX. It is just the OUR subject is a very simple one. Presence of the Person of Christ in the midst of the heart, and in the midst of the life. It is He Himself who is the source of power, as well as of life. We have seen all around us to-day every hedge-row breaking out into bloom, the trees being covered with new shoots, the very grass breaking out into new life, flowers covering the ground under our very feet. We have heard the birds singing in fresh, new life. What is the cause of all the beauty in the natural life around us? It is just the power of the sun; as he turns towards our earth he arouses the new life and beauty. So, when the Sun of Righteousness turns towards us there is power and new life in these poor homeless homes of ours -our hearts. May we, then, just see Him to-day, and admit Him, and own Him, and know Him to be all in all. There are three points in connection with our subject which I would put before you the SOURCE of Power; the SECRET of Power; and the SIGNS of Power. I. The Source of Power is in this one word-Jesus. This MAN is the great Power of God!-"the Man Christ Jesus." Not like Simon Magus, who thought that the gift of God was to be purchased by money. Jesus knows that God's gift of power over sin must be purchased by blood; by His own precious blood. Remember that Pentecost was preceded by Calvary by only fifty days. It is a very solemn thing-this power purchased at the expense of the blood of Jesus Christ. He is the great power of God. Do you want power? Then will you permit this Man to reign over you? Wilt thou give this Man room? Wilt thou go with this Man? Will you be all His, always His, and only His? Then, indeed, you will be "full of power." That there is great power, and that God has power, Scripture is full of. As you know, there is the sevenfold ability of God. I will run through the passages briefly. First, He alone is able "to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof ' (Rev. v. 3, 5). I believe that this should really come first, for it is God, in the person of the Lamb, who is alone able to loose the sealed Book, and to show us the power of the Person within. Then * Address given at Crayford, April 18th, 1882. word here is a different one from the others, and means authority. But I do not see the distinction between them to be so sharp as some do. If Christ gives me authority, He also gives me power that is enclosed in that authority. Then He not only gives power for admission into, but He gives power over. comes His sevenfold power-(1) "God is able to make all grace abound towards you" (2 Cor. ix. 8). But what for? It is not that we may store it, or keep it for ourselves, but that we may spend it"may abound to every good word and work." This is His only reason in giving us grace. All grace is given to spend. Even the verse in Micah-"Truly" Behold, I give you power over all the power of I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord "-is the enemy" (Luke x. 19). He knows there is only given for this," to declare unto Jacob his plenty of power of the enemy all around you, “we transgression, and to Israel his sin" (Micah iii. 8). wrestle with principalities and powers," and He God gives fulness only for work and service. He does not make little of it, if you do. Then He not wants us to do great things for Him, for nothing is only gives power, but when? It is in my infirmities. small which is done for Him. Even the common, "Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my daily home things may become great with the glory infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon of God. "Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of me" (2 Cor. xii. 9). In our infirmities, just the God." Then be full of that power, my brethren. very things we are trying to escape; but if we did, (2) Then, when we have prayed, we find that He we should escape from the power of Christ. It is is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that just because we are so broken, and so powerless, we ask or think" (Eph. iii. 20). (3) Then, "He and we can do and are nothing, that the power of is able to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. Christ rests upon us. As in the holes and crevices iii. 20); even to make our poor, vile body like unto of the sea-cliffs the birds build their nests, so it is His glorious body. Then why not here and now? in the crevices of our wounds and our weakness, in (4) "He is able to keep that which we have com- the very brokenness of our being, that the Dove of mitted unto Him" (2 Tim. i. 12); but He is not God builds His house, and makes a habitation for able to keep unless we commit. Let there be a full Himself, so that there is room for even Deity to committal to Him now, and then believe that He is rest. Then He gives power to raise us up, even as able to keep. Strange that so many would rather He raised Christ from the dead (Eph. i. 19), and trust to keep ourselves than trust to Him to keep also to work within us (Eph. iii. 20); and, again, us. Then He is not only able to subdue and to He has power to garrison us, and keep out all other keep but (5) "He is able also to save to the utter-powers, to keep us secure within Jesus our fortress most" (Heb. vii. 25); that is, from the beginning of conversion to the crowning in glory. He hath promised, "My sheep shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My Father's hand." (6) "He is able also to succour them that are tempted" (Heb. ii. 18); therefore we must expect to be tempted. And (7) "He is able to keep from falling" (Jude 24). Observe in all this that God keeps the ability in His own hands, and thus forces us to keep very close to Him. He gives us the Person of Jesus, and to possess Him is to possess Power. He is the Resurrection-power in the soul, and that is to be endued with the Holy Ghost, because wherever He is, the Spirit rests upon Him; and where the Holy Ghost is, there Jesus is revealed in power. God is not only able to do all this for us, but He is able to give power to us. "As many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God" (John i. 12). I know the Greek (1 Pet. i. 5). We think Further, not only is God able Himself, and has power to transmit power, but there is also a fourfold power for each believer. He will with the temptation make a way of escape "that ye may be able to bear it" (2 Cor. x. 13). "If I were only in another place, or other circumstances, I should be able to bear. This temptation is peculiar to me, and I cannot escape." My dear friend, with every temptation there is a way of escape, that you may be able to bear. Cry to Him, and in answer He will show it you, and you shall be able to bear. There is a way of escape in all; and if there be not any other way, there is always the way of escape upward by prayer, right up into the bosom of God. Then He gives us power to "comprehend with all saints. . . the love of God" (Eph. iii. 19). Perhaps you think that is not much. My dear friends, it is very much. We want this prayer to be fulfilled in us. If we know more of the love of God to us, we shall understand more about loving Him and our brethren. Do you know the love of God? Love is power, and God is love. I want to know it more. O my Father, is there any father like unto Thee, to take the prodigal close to Thy heart and choke his words with Thy kiss, and to clothe him and feast him at once! I know Thee, O my Father, and there is none like Thee. Yes, and if we would only believe more in His love, and when we had done wrong go at once and confess it, we should have more power with others. Believe me the power we want is love; and if we love Him more, we shall overflow with love to others. We shall love at every pore, we shall conquer by love, we shall win by love, we shall endure by love, we shall go forward by love, we shall bear by love, for "God is love." (3.) Then we shall not only be able to comprehend, but able to stand. That is the ability He gives: ability to stand against all the wiles of the devil (Eph. vi. 11). And again, "able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked" (ver. 16). Why don't we stand, why don't we quench? To do it we must be armed in Christ from head to foot; we must stand behind our Shield, the shield of faith. God knew we could not use the shield quickly enough ourselves, and so He says, "I will be thy shield." "I am thy shield." Yes, and it was pierced on Calvary with every fiery dart, and now He loves to go out to battle before His children, and to receive and quench all arrows aimed at them. Stand behind Him then, and we shall be able to quench all. II. Now a few words on the Secret of Power. Knowledge is power: "that ye may know "that ye may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe" (Eph. i. 18, 19). Again, union is power. You know the blessed sevenfold "togethers" crucified, quickened, raised, seated, suffering, workers, and by-and-by glorified together. Food is power. I believe that many people cannot do God's work simply because they do not eat enough they do not feed on the Word of God. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of God, there is no life in you." I must eat continuously, always; there must be a constant sacrament going on between my soul and my Saviour. There must be evermore feeding on this bread. The Promise is power. The whole Bible is a great cheque-book, full of cheques waiting for you to fill in, and claim as you need it. Cash a promise, The Bible is my brother, if you are out of power. full of them. Take one, and hold it, and say, "Lord, here is Thy I.O.U., I have it from Thee, now fulfil it to me." Demand it of Him; claim it of Him. The Lord does love those who, in the simplicity of a child-like faith, come to Him with one of His promises, and say, like His own Son, "Father, I will." Again, Presence is power. To be with the Lord Jesus Christ, that is power. Suppose you were in debt and difficulty, and you had a rich friend with you, who you knew would be able and willing to relieve you, with what almost gladness you would open out to him all your huge, heavy debt, conscious that He was able to rid you of it. How soon your burden would go ! Now we have such a One with us here. Blessed Lord Jesus, art Thou here amongst us, or art Thou not? And if Thou art, shall Thy people now receive power from Thee? My dear friends, the power we want is simply the Presence of Jesus. Then the Spirit is Power. The Father is the source of power, the Son is the channel of power, but the Holy Ghost is power. It is the Holy Ghost flowing out through the broken heart of Jesus, by the channel of His wounds, out from the great Father-Heart of God, that gives the Church its life. He gives Himself to His people that they may know His power, and have His life. It is God's own self which is the life of His Church, and of each individual believer. He gives Himself to be your better self, so that you can say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Then, will you follow me here? Solitude is power. Not many believe this. Remember Jacob : when he was "left alone," he was made a prince. We must be alone with God, if we want to know what power is. There must be a seeking solitude. There was a man in a Welsh farm-house, and the time of the meeting had come, but he did not appear. They went to call him, and thought there was someone in the room with him, for he was talking. And there was. The Angel of the Covenant was there, and he knew it, and was pleading with Him, "I will not go down without Thee; I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me." And when he came down from his solitude with God, he bore on him the impress of having been with God, and he spoke with mighty power. Believe me, that beyond all other power is the power of the one who has the solitude of God about him, who bears in his looks the solitude of God. Yea, and sorrow is power; suffering is power. Oh, what golden gates of power God opens by the very anguish and pains of His children! Yea, further-and will you follow me here-Defeat is power. When we have known what it is to have failed, for instance, at some public meeting, or some class, and have gone home humiliated, we have felt that there is power in defeat, for it has cast us at the feet of Jesus, and humbled us in the dust before Him. And is there not power in being broken at His feet? I would add, DEATH is power. "Except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." This is what we want, to die outright to ourselves that we may live to God. Lord Jesus? letting your whole being be broken down, and crumbled together (as the word contrite means-contero), that God may enter all over, and take full possession, for there is nothing to keep out God. What hint shall I give for having this power? It is very simple; it is simply to abide in the Presence of Christ. But to abide means to abandon all else, and stand unprotected in His presence; to leave ourselves entirely at the disposal of God, that He may dispose of us as He pleases. There is also the dead weight of resistance. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Then there is also the stepping down off this broken self, and launching out into the deep, the naked, dark, deep of God. Do you know what it is to do this? Do you know what it is not to have a ray of light, nor one single step clear before you, and yet to step out into the dark, following Him? There is wonderful power here. Again, yield yourselves unto God. What is it to yield? It is to surrender. What is it to surrender oneself? It is to lean over just a little too far, so that you lose your own balance, and fall over into the hands of Jesus, until He has the entire disposal of you; it is to be at the mercy of Jesus. Oh, thus to lean over upon Him! Then I would add a word on the secret of power. It is like Jacob, when he was going to meet his brother, and wanted power to overcome him, he prayed, and when God dislocated his thigh, he just clung; and he prevailed, he had power with God when he was broken. A broken man has power as no one else has; and a broken Christ has power with God that He never had before. Then again, take Joshua. He had not to overcome a brother merely, but the great city Jericho. As he went out to look at its great walls he saw a man. "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? Nay, but as CAPTAIN of the I may add this word. You say you want power. Lord's host am I come." Then Joshua fell at His It is the Holy Ghost you want! You say you feet, saying, "What saith my Lord?" That again have not much, that the stream is shallow. is the secret of power. That is the way to bring lie down in it; let every part cover you, Let your down Jericho. That is the way to get victory; highest faculty, your peculiar talents, your best when I confess my weakness, and surrender all to gifts, lie flat in the stream of the Holy Ghost; be Him, then there is power. Joshua at the feet of buried, covered out of sight, then shall you be not Jesus will soon bring Jericho to the feet of Joshua. only ankle-deep, but knee-deep, and loin-deep-yea, Take one more example. We have had Jacob | self-deep, in the power of the Holy Ghost, and you overcoming a brother; we have had Joshua over-will be carried on with blessed, swift ease, because coming a city; now let us take JESUS overcoming God Himself possesses you, and you are entirely a world. He went through Gethsemane, and laid abandoned to God. Shall it be so to-day? His will alongside of His Father's, "Not My will, but Thine be done.' He was willing even to be separated from His Father. That was the agony of the bloody sweat; that was the cup of which He said, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me." And yet He surrendered His will, and said, "The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?" Could you bear to be separated from Him, if it were for the glory of God? "The weakness of God is stronger than men," yea, and the weakness of Christ is stronger than God! Are you attaching yourself to the person of this wondrous : Let me say this further; we talk of going out for power, but giving in our will is best and we can bear His Cross if we have had our Gethsemane before, and there surrendered our will to Him. III. I would add a few closing words on the Signs of power. One sign of a man filled with the power of God is that self is concealed. You can tell a man of power by this-that Christ is seen, and the man himself is hidden. The signs of power are just the signs of the Holy Ghost. How do you know your friend in the dark? It is by his voice. What is |