and exertion, such as we find in the Syrian sect of the Euchites (or Messalians). Man, they said, can do and effect nothing, but must only let God work in him. It is true that the Christian must let God work within him; but this does not exclude the proper activity of man, only this activity must be animated and guided by the Holy Spirit, and to render it such, prayer must henceforth serve as the consecration of the Christian life. The Spirit of God is a spirit of power that makes those who resign themselves to him, with denial of their own will, to be his powerful, efficacious instruments, as he wishes them to be. From a life in God necessarily proceeds an activity in and from God. But that vain notion of the Euchites, of a rest exclusive of all activity, under the pretence of complete resignation to God (not the living God, but an idol, which men have made by the play of their morbid feelings and imaginings), proceeded either from a self-will which, through carnal sloth, shunned exertions that were not pleasing to the flesh, and would not bear the cross after the Redeemer, or from a pride which would not, confiding in the Lord, employ the means of his appointment, but would rather tempt him to work miracles. The Christian, whose whole life ought to rest in communion with his Saviour, and proceed from it, dare not say, "When does God begin to work, and when does man cease?" But he knows, that as the branch, separated from the living sap of the vine, withers, so, independently of his God, he can neither be nor do anything;-that all that is human in him must be animated and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Hence, Augustin says, against those who so misunderstood the doctrine of divine grace as the source of all good, that they excluded all human activity: "I would that those persons may not deceive themselves who say, Why should they preach to us, and enjoin us to depart from evil and do good, when we do not do it, but God works in us to will and to do? Should they not rather, if they are the children of God, acknowledge that they are led by the Spirit of God to do that which they ought to do, and when they have done it, thank Him by whom they were led; for they were led to

* See Neander's General History, vol. iii. p. 341. Standard Library dition.-TR.

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do, not to do nothing."* And Chrysostom says: 66 'Paul grounds the confidence of man on the certainty of the promises of God, since he says (2 Thess. iii. 3), But the Lord. is faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from evil;' that is, if he has called you to salvation, he will certainly grant it to you; but on the conditions on which he has promised it to you. But on what conditions has he promised it? If we are willing, and follow Him, not unconditionally, not so that we are as inactive as wood or stone. Justly, therefore, he says to them, We have confidence in the Lord touching you; that is, we depend on his grace, by which he again humbles them, and refers everything back to God.'

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Prayer, therefore, ought not to cherish sloth in human action and labour, but impart to all human action a divine power and consecration. Ambrose on Luke vi. 12, says: Here is an example given which thou oughtest to follow; for what must thou do for thy salvation, seeing that Christ passed all night in prayer for thee? What must thou do, when thou wishest to begin a good work, since Christ, when he designed to send out his apostles, first of all prayed?" "What is more blessed," says Basil, than to imitate on earth the choir of angels; at the break of day to apply ourselves to prayer, to extol the Creator with praise and thanksgiving; when the sun is fully risen, to go forth to labour, so that prayer accompanies it everywhere, in order to season labour with God's praises as with salt; for the refreshment produced by praising God gives joy to the soul, and drives sadness." Prayer ought to give the consecration to the whole day. "Knowest thou not, O man,' says Ambrose, "that thou owest to God every day the first-fruits of thy heart and of thy tongue?"†

away

Both Chrysostom and Augustin expressed themselves strongly against the false notion, that prayer offered in certain places was more acceptable to God. They asserted that man was near to God, or at a distance from him, according to the direction of his disposition; that in every place, provided the heart was turned from the world, man could equally approach to God. A Christian should be careful, not about

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Aguntur enim ut agant, non ut ipsi nihil agant.

An nescis, O homo, quod primitias tui cordis ac vocis quotidie Deo debeas?-Ambros. in Psa. cxviii. Serm. 19, § 22.

the place of prayer," says Chrysostom,* "but about the right kind of prayer." And Augustin says, "If those persons are unfortunate, who are afraid that when they return home they shall be disturbed by the vexation which the members of their household will give them, how much more unfortunate are those who cannot commune with their own hearts, lest their conscience should be disturbed by the sins that intrude upon them? Purify thy heart, that thou mayest be glad to commune with it. Put away the foulness of lustfree it from the contagion of ambition--the hectic fever of superstition from unholy and evil thoughts, and hatred-I do not say only towards thy friend, but thy enemy. Get rid of all these things; then enter into thy heart and thou wilt have joy. The purity of thy heart itself will give delight and excite thee to prayer. Thus, when thou comest into a lonely place, and stillness and quiet are there, it is a pure place, and thou sayest, Let us pray here;' the quiet in this place pleases thee, and thou believest that there God listens to thee. If, therefore, the quiet in the visible place pleases, why art thou not displeased with the impurity of thy heart? Enter within, purify all things, lift up thy eyes to God and he will hear thee." By what Augustin here says of purity of heart as a preparative for praying aright, he by no means intends to assert that man while on earth can attain to that perfect unalloyed purity of heart, and to that untroubled perpetual peace, which will constitute the blessedness of the life everlasting. He well knew, as he himself, a faithful examiner and inspector of the depths of the heart, experienced even to old age, that man below has continually to combat, striving after that which is before, and forgetting the things that are behind him, holding fast by faith his righteousness in Christ. On this account, he adds, "Call out and say, 'I sought the Lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.' (Psa. xxxiv. 5.) Wherefore? Because if thou art enlightened, if thou beginnest to gain here a good conscience, temptations do not cease, for some weakness still remains in thee, until the mortal shall put on immortality. God will purify all; he will deliver thee from all thy fearsseek Him.' By true prayer, proceeding from the heart, man

* Η δὲ παρατήρησις λοιπὸν μὴ περὶ τόπον ἔστω, ἀλλὰ περὶ τὸν Tρоπоν τns ενXñs.-Chrysost. in 1 Tim. 8, § 1.

" THE HEART PURIFIED AND ELEVATED BY IT. 259

therefore becomes continually more purified; and a purified man, who is transformed into the image of God continually from one degree of glory to another, must thereby be continually attracted to God in Christ as the only fountain of blessedness.

In conclusion, we would here quote the prayer of a man whose character for piety is sufficiently attested by it, as it has been preserved for us by Chrysostom: "We thank thee for all thy benefits which thou hast shewn to us unworthy beings, from the first day until the present, for those we know and those we do not know; for those that are manifest, and for those that are hidden; for benefits in actions and benefits in words; for benefits wished for or unwished for; for afflictions, for refreshments, for hell, for punishment, for the kingdom of heaven. We pray thee to preserve our soul holy, having a pure conscience, an end worthy of thy philanthropy. O thou who hast loved us so as to give thy only-begotten Son for us, grant that we may become worthy of thy love. Ο only-begotten, Ο Christ, give us wisdom in thy word and in thy fear; inspire us with the power that comes from thee. O thou who gavest thy only-begotten Son for us, and sendest forth thy Holy Spirit for the remission of our sins, whether we sin voluntarily or involuntarily, pardon us and impute it not to us ; remember all that call upon thy name in truth; remember all that wish us well, and those who wish the contrary; for we are all of us men.'

* Εὐχαριστοῦμεν ὑπὲρ πασῶν τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν σοῦ τῶν ἐκ πρώτης ἡμέρας μέχρι τῆς παρούσης εἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀναξίους ἐπιδεικνυμένων· ὑπὲρ ὧν ἴσμεν, καὶ οὐκ ἴσμεν· ὑπὲρ τῶν φανερων, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀφανῶν· τῶν ἐν ἔργῳ γενομένων, τῶν ἐν λόγῳ· τῶν ἑκοντὶ, των ἀκοντί· πασῶν τῶν εἰς τοὺς ἀναξίους ἡμᾶς γεγενημένων· ὑπὲρ θλίψεων, ὑπὲρ ἀνέσεων, ὑπὲρ τῆς γεέννης, ὑπὲρ τῆς κολάσεως, ὑπὲρ βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν. Παρακαλοῦμέν σε φυλάξαι τὴν ψύχην ἡμῶν ἁγίαν, καθαρὰν συνείδησιν ἔχουσαν, τέλος ἄξιον τῆς φιλανθρωπίας σου. Ὁ ἀγαπήσας ἡμᾶς ὥστε τὸν μονογενῆ σου δοῦναι ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, καταξίωσον ἀξίους γενεσθαι τῆς σῆς ἀγάπης· δὸς ἐν τῷ λόγῳ σου σοφίαν, καὶ ἐν τῷ φόβῳ σου, μονογενής, Χριστέ, ἔμπνευσον ἰσχὺν τὴν παρὰ σοῦ. Ὁ τὸν μονογενῆ δοὺς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμά σοῦ τὸ ἅγιον ἐξαποστείλας εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἡμε τερων ἁμαρτιῶν, εἴ τι ἑκόντες ἢ ἄκοντες ἡμάρτομεν, συγχώρησον, καὶ μὴ λογίσῃ· μνήσθητι πάντων τῶν ἐπικαλουμένων το ὄνομά σου ἐν ἀληθείᾳ· μνήσθητι πάντων τῶν εὖ, καὶ τἀναντία ἡμῖν θελόντων. Πάντες γὰρ ἄνθρωποί έσμεν.—Chrysost. in Col. 10, § 3 (Viri cujusdam sancti precatio).

CHAPTER VIII.

CHRISTIAN FESTIVALS.

As the prayers of Christians were not confined to any definite times, but their whole life was to be a continued prayer, so also their whole life was to be a festival-a day dedicated to their God and Redeemer. All the sabbatical and festive regulations of the Old Covenant were closely connected with the spirit of bondage and minority, since men were confined under outward ordinances.

The redeemed, who had received the spirit of adoption, no longer required such discipline. Hence the Apostle Paul appealed to the Galatian Christians who had allowed themselves to be seduced to make the Jewish festivals a matter of

prime importance in religion. "How turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements whereunto ye desire to be again in bondage?" The law of the sanctification of the Sabbath is, like the whole ceremonial law, abolished for Christians, and it can only be applied in a spiritual sense to the Christian dispensation, inasmuch as the Christian ought to sanctify every day as a day of the Lord, by a life founded on faith in the Redeemer, and on heart-communion with him. In opposition to the carnal Jewish passover connected with outward observances, the Apostle Paul says, "Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us." But he does not infer from this, Therefore you ought, instead of the Jewish feast dedicated to the remembrance of freedom from earthly, bodily bondage, to appoint a paschal feast in remembrance of your freedom from the service of sin by the sacrifice of Christ; no! your whole life, he would say, must be such a spiritual paschal feast, consecrated by faith to the redemption gained for you by the sufferings of Christ, while you strive to preserve the purification from sin bestowed upon you, and to keep from all the pollution of sin, from the dominion of which you have been freed by the Redeemer. "Let us keep the feast," he says, “not with old leaven," not with the leaven of sin, the nature of the old man, but as men created anew, with the new bread (the new divine life which we, as justified, have received from