clare in the hour of danger, "I know him not!" But it was not Peter's nature alone that was here disclosed by the touchstone. The very trials which dwelt in the breast of Peter the fallen, dwell also in my breast. Besides, Peter stands, not alone by the cross, as the only type of our common infirmity. Do you not there see the rest of the disciples, how they all crowd timidly together at an equal remove from their Lord? Not one of them has the courage to speak a bold word in behalf of the man of their heart, who hangs near on the accursed tree. If in the critical hour of trial Peter denies his Master, so do the rest all betray fear in like manner.

It is not necessary, however, that I should dwell only on the melancholy disclosures of the human heart called forth by the suffering Saviour. He was a touchstone to reveal to us, not only to what a degree the human heart was capable of obduracy, and shallowness, and inconstancy, but he also shows us how this same human heart may be rendered teachable and tractable under the influences of divine grace. For in spite of all the disciples' weakness, it was still plain that their faith had a firm foundation on which it fastened. What lay on the other side of the cross was at this time hardly even surmised by them. When Christ was borne to the grave, then was their hope borne to the grave also; but, oh, blessed experience, their faith was not borne thither with it. See how wonderfully this fact is indicated in the instance of Nicodemus. He who ventured to approach a living Christ only by night, now that he is dead, hesitates not, as we see, openly to bury him by day; and, when all hope is over, he confesses him publicly before the world. And then, when the grave has opened when the cross, this star with shorn rays, touched with the beams of the Easter morning sun, once more is clothed with radiance, how does the hope that was buried with their Jesus, rise together with him! How does the burden of the

little spark of faith, almost smothered by the

cross, shoot up again heavenward in a flame that was never more to subside. In view of these things, may we not affirm that if

one great drama of humanity was enacting upon the cross, there was still another at the same time acted out beneath it, of hardly less significance! Thus it happened that over against the noblest manifestation of human nature, as well as in it, and through it, there is made known to us what is in man.

If it has been shown that the manifestation of Christ was a touchstone of the hearts of men, oh, how should our love towards him, and also towards his true believers, kindle with fresh earnestness for it is according to the measure of our affection for Him, that we shall be judged in the end. Oh, thou blessed Saviour, thou hast demanded that we love thee better than father and mother. Thou wouldst not have demanded this of us, had not thy glory, thy grace, and thy truth been indeed deserving of such affection. Reveal thyself to us, then, oh, thou worshipful Redeemer! Reveal thyself to us in thine incomparable glory and beauty, in order that we may be strengthened to love thee with that all-excluding love which thou requirest! And fill us anew also with love towards thy members on the earth! Yea, may all who in this world but confess thy name, and are subject to thee in love and sincere devotion, be also sacred to our hearts; for thou, Lord, art the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth! Amen.

DISCOURSE XVIII.

THE FATHER DRAWING MEN TO THE SON.

My devout brethren, must it not strike us very painfully, to hear the words "My Saviour," "My Redeemer," repeated from so many thousand lips, and yet, if we ask a person, face to face, "How knowest thou that He is indeed thy Redeemer?" silence is the only answer we receive? And, strange to say, the very persons whom we are most sure to find in this state, are just the ones who dispute the most vehemently about CHRIST, and to whom much that is related of Him in the Scripture, and believed by the church, is utterly unintelligible. It is on such occasions that the word of the LORD comes to remembrance, which He spake when He once heard people of this sort disputing about Him in the temple; a weighty word in a time like this, when religious truths are so much controverted and so little understood, so much contended for and written upon and so little experienced.

The saying of the LORD, which I refer to, we read in St. John (vi. 43-45):

"Jesus, therefore, answered, and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all

:

taught of God.

Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."

In entering upon the consideration of this text with you, well might I exclaim: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." What deep mystery of mercy is that into which we are led; that He who hath created us, purposes by the powerful yet tender drawing of His Spirit, to lead us to His SoN. That the coming to Christ here spoken of, is not simply an outward coming, is clear. All those to whom Jesus addressed these words had already approached Him on their feet; but He spake of their coming to him with their hearts. In another expression of His, He implies that no man cometh unto Him who does not hunger and thirst: viz., where He says, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."—(John vi. 35.) The coming, therefore, of which He speaks, is that in which a man begins to taste and enjoy Him as a REDEEMER. In this manner it is, He says, that "No man can come unto Him, whom the Father has not drawn ;" that is, as the subsequent words explain it, who has not been taught by the Father, who has not heard and learned of the Father. This drawing of the Father to the Son, we will now proceed to examine more closely, in the light of truth.

I. It is in appearance a gracious gift for a chosen few, and, yet, in truth, it is as wide and universal as the atmosphere.

II. It goes through nature and human fortune; it goes through the human spirit, and human heart.

III. The Father draws, only we do not follow. The Father teaches, only we do not learn.

I. It is, in appearance, a gift of grace for a chosen few, and yet, in truth, it is as wide and universal as the atmosphere.

How like a holy mystery does that expression steal over the

soul—The drawing of the Father to the Son. Who does not feel, that in these words there are contained unscarchable depths? We understand not the mystery, only we encounter it; and the deeper, I may say the more inwardly we push matters home, the greater is the impression made on us of there being here a gift of grace, which others have not, solely because the Father has not drawn them; because, as we well express it, they are not constitutionally qualified for such experiences.

When we see the indifference of all other men towards the mystery of godliness; when we see how happy and how satisfied they are to live in the world without the Father and without the Son; they appear to us as men of a different order; and it seems to us incredible that the reason why they know nothing of the mystery of godliness, is simply because they choose not to know it incredible that the cause why so many know not the drawing of the Father, is simply this, that they would not suffer themselves to be drawn. As it is certain that every one who comes to the Son, has also been drawn by the Father, it follows with equal certainty, that he who does not come to Him, comes not because the Father has not drawn him. Is not this the unmistakable meaning of this declaration of our Lord? When Jesus said to them: "Murmur not among yourselves, no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him," does He not manifestly make a difference between those whom the Father draws, and those whom He does not draw? Does it not sound as if He meant to say: "Good people, what signifies your laboring and disputing? If GOD has once shut the narrow gate, you will surely never open it?" Thus it appears; and yet had it been so intended, would there not seem to lurk in these words a cold, unfeeling scorn? and who can tolerate the idea of scorn from the mouth of Christ? Who can refrain from asking: "Had it been so meant, why, then, is it written, and He upbraided their unbelief?" Why, then, did He again and again enter the company of those who were unable to open the narrow door, which the Father had closed? You