sound that do not reflect the oscillations of light. It is "line upon line, and precept upon precept," in nature as in grace; one may hear, and believe (Rom. x. 17); another may look and be saved (Isa. xlv. 22). The patient teaching Lord bears with us as with very little children. A solemn fact, true of the past of each one of us is this: the power to repulse light. Some surfaces will not reflect the light-waves which reach them, therefore they cease, and that object remains in darkness-black. "I am black" (Cant. i. 5). "The god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light ... should not dawn upon them" (2 Cor. iv. 4, R. V.); "dead in trespasses and sins." Then we come to the impossible of nature being possible in grace. "For ye were sometimes darkness, now are ye light in the Lord" (Eph. v. 8). "Seeing it is God that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts to give the light. (2 Cor. iv. 6, R.V.). That which was black, now, in the present, reflecting colour, each according to the gift bestowed upon him ; and for the future we have the picture it is of the "diversities of gifts" emanating from the one Divine Source! We have to reflect the light "we have seen," or echo the sound "we have heard," according to what we are, according to the nature He has bestowed on each of us. He would not have His people like " eggs in a basket," as one has said. We are not to imitate one another; but all are to give back-render to the Giver-what they have received at His hands. There is no inherent light in an object that reflects, and there is no inherent sound in a rock that echoes; each only yields what has been " seen or "heard." So it is with the Christian-the seer and hearer of spiritual light and truth. You may be able to reflect but one feeble ray, a single colour; let it shine back as from "a polished corner-stone." You may have but one note to sing, and that but a whisper on the breeze; but let it never be silent. If "the trees of the wood sing out," how much more you, "O ye of little faith!" Each one faithfully reflecting only his part, will not mar but make up the excellency of the whole, whose glory is of God alone. Also these rays or notes have strangely correspond-glorious contrast given us, not only power to reflect ing characteristics. The violet ray-the top ray of one ray, but to reflect Light as a whole, to be as He the spectrum, because most refrangible-is the high is: He is "the Light" (John i. 4). Some things. treble vibration of light; while the red, or lowest are so constructed that all the rays are reflected ray divided by the prism, corresponds to the deep together; and they are white. Such are the lily and bass vibration of ether; the former being formed of the snow. "His raiment was white as the light," undulations of the greatest rapidity, and the latter of those as slow as is possible to be apparent; yet this slowness is utmost speed! so far at least as "the unknown cause of visibility" has as yet been discovered. The blind are not altogether in the dark," with Him to behold His glory"; not only seeing when they tell us that certain chords produce Him as He is, but being one with Him as He is. certain colours to their mental vision, the deep "The glory Thou hast given Me, I have given blast of a trumpet being "like scarlet." There is them" (John xvii. 22). This is THE GLORY which a wondrous connection, and these light waves (if is the consummation of Grace; ability to reflect they exist) are luminous in motion and dark in light, being the reflection of His image, even as He repose, just as the sound-waves produce sound in is the "express image" of His Father. Such is the motion, and are silent in repose. "Two rays of glory of the "joy set before Him," and prepared light intercepting each other at opposite places will for us. Now broken rays; then the brightness of produce darkness;" so "two sounds intercepting light. Now trembling notes; then the harmony each other's oscillations in the same way will both of a full chord. Sound perfected, as it were a new be silenced." This is only a picture, a parable. It song before the throne" (Rev. xiv. 3) for ever and is as if God appealed to us in a two-fold manner to grasp one great thought, enveloped and developed in a double form; and if by one sense we cannot perceive it, that peradventure we may learn through another. Some substances reflect the oscillations of as snow (Matt. xvii. 2; Mark ix. 3); and HE says, "They shall walk with Me in white for they are worthy, . . . . clothed in white raiment," " as the lily" (Rev. iii. 4, 5; Hosea xiv. 5). ever. Not only A few words as to certain laws of reflection. Whether it be with regard to reflected light or reflected sound, an object must be in the light, if it is to reflect but a single ray; and within hearing of the voice if it is to echo but a single tone. Thus the absolute condition of shining is to "walk in the light" (Isa. ii. 5), and of echoing is to "hear His voice" (John x. 3). There is no other possible way of doing it, unless we substitute the false for the true. In relation to Light; some things are so transparent they let the light pass through them; others only reflect it back but even then some, such as paper, can be made transparent by oil, which fills up their spaces to a uniform density; thus they acquire the ability to transmit vibrations of light, and what can be for some things in nature we can have for "all things" in grace. "All"--the most unlikely can become Light transmittors, by the power of he Spirit. There is another thing-objects which absorb rays are dull, while those which reflect them are bright .We are not to absorb light; God wants LIGHT-REFLECTORS !-those who will give out freely what they have received. Take care you do not absorb light, use it for self, or keep it for selfyou will not be "a shining one" if you do so; you will not be "a light of the world" (Matt. v. 14); in your own world! Even deserts can dazzle as a sun! because each grain of sand reflects like a mirror. That is what God wants His Church to do, and His Church, as a whole, can only do it in proportion as each individual soul is doing it! "But we all, . . . reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord" (2 Cor. iii. 18, R.V.)—" as in a mirror ;" "a glass." Glass is transparent and sonorous; a good reflector of light or sound. God says: Reflect as in a glass. He wants the best we have. In relation to Sound, it is reflected when there is any object which forms a barrier to the soundwaves, and throws them back, thus causing an echo. I believe the Lord wants us to be just that a barrier which shall receive and echo His words, and pass them on to the world, so that they may "not return unto Him void" (Isa. lv. 11), and more than even that! When the echoing substance is very near, "the echo is blended with the original sound, and the two produce but one impression on the air"; thus we hear no echo in a small room. He would have it even so with us; He would have us so very near to Him that it should be one Voice, one sound that is heard, and heard alone; first, in the chamber of our heart no two sounds; and then issuing from it, till "there is no speech or language where their voice is not heard" (Ps. xix. 3). Again, the rarity of the air diminishes the intensity of sound; when the air is exhausted (e.g. in the receiver of an air-pump), it becomes almost inaudible. "Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God, . . . because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. ii. 11, 14). "They heard not the voice of Him that spake" (Acts xxii. 9). Lastly. Light is to the organ of vision what Sound is to the organ of hearing; and in each, as far as science has as yet penetrated, the atmosphere is the supposed communicating medium. The eye and the undulating ether bear the same relation to each other as do the ear and the vibrating air. And the Lord the Creator hath prepared each for the other, naturally and spiritually; and some are blind and some are deaf, through sickness or through sin. But the touch of the Healer availeth even yet. We need to have "opened eyes, that we may behold wondrous things" (Ps. cxix. 18); and we need bored, "digged ears," "to hear as the learned," "that we should know how to speak" (Ps. xl. 6, marg.; Isa. 1. 4). The Lord is here to do it for us, and to breathe upon us; for it is not only the seeing eye or the listening. car, but the Breath of the Holy Ghost that we need to render the Light visible, or the Sound audible, to our spiritual sense. In the inner secret chamber, first of all, and then flowing forth, freely as it is received, dawning upon the darkness and breaking in upon the silence of earth with heavenly light and the angels' song of "glory" (Luke ii. 9, 14); turning others "from darkness to light" (Acts xxvi. 18), and "holding forth the Word of Life" (Phil. ii. 16); transmitting rays and echoing notes according to our measure-each one faithfully—till God shall testify of us "ye shine as lights in the world" (Phil. ii. 15). Yea, verily, their sound went into all the world, and their words unto the ends of the earth" (Rom. x. 18); and yet not theirs, but His that sent them. We do not want any higher record than that-written in the annals of heaven! But we do want that. Then let us be TRUE-true to every ray of light, scorch us though it may; and loyal to every tone, cost us what it will to obey. Some eyes are just getting used to the Light-80011 they will begin "to see ;" and some ears are getting accustomed to Sound-soon they will recognise His Voice, if they are true, step by step. But it is a solemn thought: In proportion as we are not true, we sink into grosser darkness and a deeper silence than we were in before that ray or that note reached us, which we have not followed. May we learn to be true to the least glimmer of light we have, the faintest tone of sound we hear. "Faithful unto death" the death of everything that is not His life, which cannot die. This is being TRUE TO GOD; and for this-that we may behold and do, which means living, remaining in the Light; that we may hear and obey, which implies living, abiding, within sound of His voice-for this we need the fulness of His Spirit-a Pentecostal "wind" of the Holy Ghost-overwhelming our own souls and "filling all the house." Absolute loyalty to our King glorifies Him; and, for the glory of God's King, I believe He will fill us with the "fulness" we are seeking, yearning after; but Ile will not do it for anything short of that for anything beneath His glory. Meanwhile He is searching us, testing us, putting us in His crucible, to try what metal we are of Oh! may He find us true; meet to be trusted with His honour, able to be clothed upon with His "power from on high," that we may in very deed be "witnesses unto HIM," so impelled, constrained, by the "mighty rushing" of His Spirit, that we also "CANNOT but speak the things which we have seen and heard" (Acts iv. 20). "As the Spirit gave them utterance" according to "that which was spoken" (Acts ii. 4, 16). THE WILL. B. G. L. H. Ir is a holy will that rules the universe-a will in which loving-kindness is locked up, to be in due time displayed. It is a solemn thing that one and all creatures are at the disposal of pure will; but it all creatures are at the disposal of pure will; but it is not merely free will, it is the free will of the holy Lord Jehovah, and therein it is distinguished from the abstractness and apparent arbitrariness of mere will. For the theology of this, I may have been learning more as time has run on; but for the principle of its inmost nature, I believe that God taught it me during those three days at Aberdeen, when my will surrendered at discretion. I was taught of the will's independency through a most terrible experience. I learned the Divine Sovereignty once for all, as by a flash of lightning, and a mournful tranquillity came down. I felt that I had been blameable every way. The spirit was broken; and I remembered that the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and I looked up, and lo! the burden was gone!-John Duncan. ABUNDANCE OF PEACE-HOW TO ENJOY IT.* BY REV. EVAN HOPKINS. WHAT is the nature of this blessing? not only peace, but the abundance of peace; that is to say, Peace without limit, without scarcity, without restraint-Peace in all its fulness. Abundance in its depth and duration. A Peace which fully meets our needs, perfectly satisfies our desires-abundant Peace. Now, let us consider it in three aspects: in connection with Christ's work; in connection with Christ's rule; and then in connection with Christ's presence. I. PEACE IN CONNECTION WITH CHRIST'S WORK. The Peace of reconciliation. This is not an experience so much as a state of relationship; not something wrought in me, but something wrought for me. We may call it the work of peace. It is, indeed, a fact: one of the grand facts of Christianity. made. "Having made Peace through the blood of In Christ there is Peace with God. Peace already His Cross;" i.e., Peace between God and man. Not a feeling in my heart, but something wrought, apart from me, by Christ; something accomplished for me by Christ on the cross. True, when I am brought to a knowledge of my relationship, and of what He has wrought for me, there will be Peace in my heart. I shall have the feeling of Peace; but that is the effect, not the cause. The external fact, that Peace is accomplished, is the cause, and that is Christ's work alone. About this Peace it is not my purpose to speak, for we meet together to-day as those who, being justified by faith, have peace with God. We may not be as happy as we should like, and our experience may not be exactly what it ought to be; but, nevertheless, we have received by faith our sentence of justification from God, and we find ourselves transferred in relation to Him into a state of Peace. And the things which secure it to us, bring it within our reach, and make it permanent and abiding, we may say, with truth, are abundant -there is ABUNDANCE OF PEACE. II. PEACE IN CONNECTION WITH CHRIST'S RULE. "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end." That is true now spiritually as it will be literally hereafter. In a very real sense Christ's reign begins in the heart of the believer now. If we would know the blessedness of Christ's keeping, we must begin by knowing the reality of His reign. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth on Thee." What does this imply? That there has been entire submission to Christ's control. A man's heart is like a city. Is there peace or tumult? Is there order or confusion? Is there loyal submission or rebellion? That depends upon whose shoulders the government rests. If the believer is trying to manage himself, to take the government into his own hands, peace can never be established or abiding. There may be seasons of comparative tranquillity, but how often the rebels will be in revolt, and sin will be found to be too strong even for the renewed man. But if the Prince of Peace has come in-if the gates of the city have been thrown open to receive and welcome Him-if He has been enthroned in the heart-the city is at peace. Everything within will be under His control, and there will be abundance of peace. causes of this. had a thorn in the flesh, and I suppose that this is my thorn." Not so, brother. Stop a moment. Paul's infirmity was a weakness, but it was not a sin, or he could never have gloried in it (2 Cor. xii. 9, 10). That temper of yours is a sin. Call it by its right name. You ask, "What am I to do?" Well, instead of trying to control yourself, put yourself and your temper under Christ's control. Get down in the dust before Him. Do not strain to keep your temper under; that is what you have tried to do, but have found it too strong for you. Seek to get under Christ's controlling power. "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God." If you want to feel the benefit of the power of God's hand get under it. Humble yourself under it. We do not mind trusting; but we do not like the humbling process that often has to precede the trusting. If necessary, acknowledge your need before others. And the greater the humbling the greater will be your realisation of the abundance of peace. Christ is able to control that temper and to fill up with His strength the place where you are the weakest. When He takes possession, He controls, keeps under, and reigns as the Prince of Peace; and you then understand what is meant by the abundance of peace. Again, many are strangers to peace on account of the anxieties, the worries, the trials of daily life. Now what are you to do with these things? What is your present habit of life in reference to them? Are you trying to manage your own affairs, and carry your own cares and burdens? You will not How many who understand all about a right position, are very far from enjoying a right condition. They see and recognise their standing in peace, but they know little practically of an abiding experience of peace. Let me trace some of the First, there is rebellion within. Our desires, though perhaps to some extent sanctified, have not been brought wholly under Christ's control, and hence they are continually overstepping their legitimate bounds. Our wills, though to some extent subdued, are not wholly yielded to Christ-know what it is to be kept in perfect peace unless to His keeping and direction. Hence there is every now and again more or less resistance to the appointments, and purposes, and leadings of God. So long as this goes on there may be a kind of peace at times, but the heart will never know what is implied in the expression the abundance of Peace. you fulfil the threefold command contained in the fourth chapter to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say rejoice." "Let your moderation "-gentleness-"be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." "Be careful "-or anxious"for nothing." Do you rejoice in Him? Is your Take another point-the matter of temper--only moderation or gentleness known? And then, are a few seconds of ebullition of temper, and our con- you anxious about nothing? If so, what then? dition of inward peace is destroyed. Up to that" And the peace of God which passeth all underpoint you seemed to be making some progress, but that wretched temper got the mastery and spoilt it all! The grief and sorrow which follow do not put you back where you were before. What is to be done? You may say, "I have tried hard to control my temper; I have struggled and striven against it, but to no avail. The truth is it is constitutional. It is my infirmity. I read that Paul standing shall keep your hearts and minds thoughts-" in Christ Jesus." You have reversed this order, it may be, and have been trying to keep God's peace; but if you do what He bids you, He will undertake to do what He promises. His peace will keep you. The very things which you say it is impossible to keep, God undertakes to keep, namely, your heart (the seat of your affections) and your mind (the seat of your thoughts). He will control our thoughts, and so garrison them in Christ that they are brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. It is in Him as in a fortress that we find abundance of peace. But once more. Peace is often lost owing to conflict. Not necessarily owing to the conflict itself, but owing to the way in which the believer engages in it. How often the believer engages in the warfare on wrong principles, and uses wrong methods. The good fight is the fight of faith. Nothing is easier than to step out of faith into feeling; out of faith into sight or sense. What follows? At once there is failure. It is no longer a fight of faith. But when we are in our true position-in Christ, under Christ's control-we have the benefit of His Almighty power, and the force of the assault is borne by Him. He takes the strain and the burden; whilst the believer passes into His triumphs, and is kept in perfect peace through it all. The child of God then understands the meaning of Asa's words: "Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee." Against us? No; against Thee! Why? Because the battle is the Lord's. How often we have looked at the battle as ours, and have asked that man shall not prevail against us. But perhaps you are not wholly on the Lord's side; and this may be the secret of your failure. If you want continuous victory you must be on the side of Him who knows no defeat. "Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" said, Joshua. "Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." The question is not whether the Lord is on your side, but whether you are on the Lord's side. III. Once more, Peace in connection with Christ's presence. "These things have I spoken unto you that in Me ye might have Peace." In Me, not through Me, out of Me, or from Me, but in Me. The soul's dwelling place is the very presence of Christ, the secret place of God's tabernacle. It is in that dwelling place that the deepest, truest, and most satisfying peace is found. It is not so much what He gives as what He is. "He is our peace," and He says, "Lo! I am WITH you always even unto the end of the world." See "Thou art my how David testified to this fact. hiding place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." "My hiding-place," that is safety; "Thou shalt preserve me from trouble," strength; "Songs of deliverance," gladness. And Isaiah says, "Behold, God is my salvation! I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song." "My strength and my song." Many see the salvation and the strength, but they forget the song. If you have Christ formed in you the hope of glory you should have the song. Let there be gladness in all you do and say. We read in the 72nd Psalm: "In His days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth." No doubt that has fan important prophetic application, but with that I am not now concerned. I believe it has a very important spiritual significance. Do you give your days to Jesus as well as your talents? You say, "I am going to give this day to the Lord; but to-morrow I have some special business for myself!" Exactly. Oh! to have every day a day of the Son of man upon earth. That is the secret of continuous peace. To give Him always the pre-eminence. Every day the Lord's day; in which we say, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" "Thou shalt have full control." "Fulfil Thy good pleasure in me." Then shall we have abundance of peace. Let the presence of the Lord. in His people become a living bright reality. Then we shall find abundant and abiding peace. Let us now endeavour to answer the question, "How am I to enjoy this peace?" There are conditions. Some people object to conditions. But there are conditions in the matter of salvation. Faith is a condition. And so, when we come to the matter of holiness, and progress in holiness, there are conditions all along the way. First, then, I would say Let there be no reserves. In the end of the ninth chapter of Luke we read of a man who came to Jesus, and said, "Lord, I will follow Thee; but—" Many people go as far as that, and there they stop. They get the blessing only when the but is removed. One says, "Lord, I will follow Thee; but I do not want others to know it. The fact is, I am afraid, of being thought peculiar; I am afraid I shall be misunderstood. There are friends whose good opinion and esteem I greatly prize, and I am afraid |