"My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." "I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day—the night cometh, when no man can work." "I have glorified Thee on the earth-I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do." And that work which Christ would not be hindered from doing by the mingled superstition and hypocrisy of his countrymen-that work which he would not be deterred from doing by his own sense of danger and the fears of his disciples-the work which, having done, he presented as an offering which he knew God would graciously accept that work was continually giving.

Look at the history of our Lord's life. He received the ministrations of his followers, provision for his necessities, out of their worldly substance-he accepted and cherished the warm affection of their hearts; but these were not simply gratuitous offerings; they were drawn forth by his own higher and nobler gifts-they were the little tribute of their gratitude for favours unspeakable and immeasurable.

Christ gave that pure gospel of truth, that teaching concerning God, and man, and eternity, which expands the hearts and enlightens the understandings of the young; which makes the middle-aged and busy workers of the world tread on their laborious and anxious path rejoicing; which smooths the passage of the travel-worn and aged to the silent tomb, giving them angelic visions of a pure and holy world beyond; which comforts the miserable, which converts the sinner, which strengthens the weak, which fills the strong heart of faith with peace which no man takes away.

Christ gave the gospel of love-the gospel which teaches that "God is love," that men must love, that they must be neighbours unto the Samaritan, and must pray for them that despitefully use and persecute them. A gospel not before altogether unknown; for God had revealed it in all ages to some, to the wise and good who strove to do His will, and so

were permitted to see a larger and purer measure of His truth than their brethren. But this gospel of love was first embodied in a perfect example by our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ gave his life a ransom for the world-not only as he freely offered his back to the smiters, bore his cross, was nailed to the accursed tree, and groaned in the agony of his burdened and departing spirit; but he gave his whole life, in all its inapproachable divineness, in all the glory of his oneness with the Father, in all the fulness of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Whatever he was, however God had exalted him, he gave all to the great work of God which it was appointed him to finish. Whatever was demanded, he freely offered— nothing was withheld-nothing was given with murmuring and complaint; even his prayer that the bitter cup might, if possible, be taken away from him, ended in the deep submission of his whole self to God-"Not my will, but Thine be done."

We seem to understand his words, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends," in an imperfect, if not an unworthy sense, if we understand them simply of his bodily death upon the cross, pure and holy as was that sacrifice; they express the greater sacrifice of all his divine and living energies to the accomplishment of the Father's will.

God is the one great Giver, and Jesus Christ is his wellbeloved Son-one with Him in the holy work of giving. Freely he had received, freely he gave.

3. Our Lord sent forth his apostles to the same holy work of giving. “I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them me; and they have kept Thy word." "I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send

me." "And the glory which Thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved me." And to them he said— "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely ye have received, freely give."

They might accept such entertainment as people were willing to offer such supply of their necessities, such comfort of kindness, such solace of friendship, as the reception of their message should call forth; but they were to be essentially givers, givers of such good as they had received, preachers of everlasting truth, healers of men's bodily infirmities, and physicians to their sick souls. They were to take a full measure of what they had received, and to pour out liberally of their abundance. They were to give as Christ gave. And what is their history? We do not possess a full and perfect history; but so much of it as we do possess shews us their noble obedience to the command of their Master. The two apostles concerning whom the New Testament gives us the most information are Peter and Paul. And, both of them, how diligent in labour, how prompt in word, how fearless in danger, how uncompromising as to the truth, how firm to duty, how prepared to meet persecution, even unto death, sooner than cease to give of their spiritual abundance, received for the destitute! How ready they were with offices of kindness, how anxious for the absent in body and the infirm in spirit, is seen in their letters, full of instruction and affection. Nay, we read that they were willing to labour with their own hands, when need was, for the supply of their own and their companions' necessities, rather than hinder the gospel by seeming to have any selfish motives in its promulgation.

Tradition, which there seems no good reason for doubting,

affirms that they both suffered martyrdom for the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord: but whether this was so or not, is of secondary importance: we have ample proof that, after the example of their beloved Master, they gave the strength of their days, the ardour of their health, the powers of their bodies, and the energies of their minds, to the great and holy work of spreading the gospel among men. They gave to their brethren whatever power, whatever knowledge, whatever purity of heart, whatever enlargement and comprehension of mind, whatever clear and delicate perception of spiritual things, whatever tenderness of an enlightened conscience, whatever fulness of Christian love, they had been permitted to acquire; for they felt and knew that they possessed these things as stewards for their brethren.

And their genuine love and zeal provoked their disciples to a like practice of the Christian duty of giving. Contributions were ever ready for the needy, solace for the miserable, visits of mercy to those who were sick or in prison, a promptness and eagerness to minister to apostles and apostolic men, until, as St. Paul expresses it in his fervent language to the Galatians, they were ready, if it had been possible, to pluck out their own eyes and give them unto him. It was because the apostles gave all that they were and all that they had to the gospel, that they were such efficient ministers of the word, such successful followers in their Master's steps-that they secured such honoured places in Christian history, have been followed to this day by men's deep affection and reverence, and have a true apostolical succession in their devoted labours.

They gave all that they had received, and men accepted the gift; the word of God grew and multiplied, penetrating into the synagogue and the temple-into the palace of the Roman emperors and into their very prisons-into the shrines of Heathen superstition and the schools of Greek philosophy. Yea, and also, by means of its light and warmth, it found its

gladdening way among the enslaved, the degraded, the outcasts of the world, and taught them, too, the worth of every living soul, so that they lifted up their heads and saw that for them also redemption drew nigh.

It is thus, because the apostles and disciples of our Lord were one with him and with God, our Heavenly Father, from whom cometh down every good and every perfect gift, that the gospel was planted among men, that it has endured from generation to generation, and has greater and holier triumphs yet to come, when it shall draw home unto itself all the multitudes of the human race, shedding on all hearts "the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

4. To be one with God and Christ and his blessed apostles and disciples, Christians must be, as the faithful ever have been, givers. The command, "Freely ye have received, freely give," is not a particular command, suited only to the occasion on which it was first spoken; it is a command of universal obligation: the riches gathered into our own bosom must be distributed abroad. And, indeed, out of the spirit of giving, which is the pervading spirit of the gospel, have come all those various Christian institutions whose object is to cure the infirmities of men's bodies and the miseries of their alienated spirits. Nor, blessed be God, have these been confined to any single sect, age, or country. From the days of the apostles until now, men have understood that it is their duty to administer to their suffering fellow-creatures—and there has been a large performance of the duty. All have not performed it in the same manner, or by the same means, or with the same amount of good result; but the principle has remained indestructible. To give out of his worldly abundance, or even out of his poverty-to give out of his stored-up knowledge or his spiritual experience-to give his cheerful aid or his mourning sympathy-to give of such as he has to those who need, has been the impulse of every ardent and sincere disciple