THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT

Collect.

O Lord, raise up, we pray Thee, Thy power and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins we are sore let and hindered in running the race set before us, Thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through the satisfaction of Thy Son our Lord, to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost be honour and glory, world without end. AMEN.

Epistle. Phil. iv. 4.

Gospel. St. John i. 19.

What a glorious thing life is! On this jubilant day when the "rejoice" of the Epistle sets the keynote it seems so good to live; to have "the dew of youth," to "drink of the brook by the way,' and to "lift up the head continually." Keep out of the arid flats; they are never the places to dwell in, no matter who calls you to them. We were never meant for a desert life; the desert should blossom as the rose; and even when it seems as dry as the valley of Baca, it may be filled with pools of water, limpid, beautiful, reflecting the blue of heaven. The hot breezes may not yet have blown about your life, nevertheless have the habit now of coming to the fountain of living waters.

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"Lo your redemption draweth nigh!" In the fullness of time, Jesus, Son of Man, is come. Isaiah foresaw Him more nearly than any of the old seers, but though each of the prophets saw something of His full humanity, not even John the Baptist had the yearning tenderness of the Saviour. John cried repentance only-reformation. One cannot imagine him eating with publicans and sinners, for a certain separation must be maintained by the reformer. The hermit prophet always arises when the world grows callous, or the Church corrupt. But the Good Shepherd is known and loved of His own; they, following Him, are ready to be baptized with His suffering.

The sin of the world was the source of our Lord's suffering; the Cross the measure of sin. There is much talk about the "Puritan conscience," that "awful sense of guilt." Can any sense of guilt be too great, if we hold fast the truth of God's forgiveness, His willingness to cleanse and receive us, to speak peace to us, if we repent, and hate the evil? This double sense of the call to holiness, and the difficulty of meeting it without God's great might, is the thought of the Collect of the day. Remember we do not look for redemption unless we have something of an exile feeling. That is not a morbid feeling, it is only the due sense of that eternal life, which we embrace and hold fast." The closeness of the spiritual tie exceeds in power the natural. Not weakening the claims of life's duties, or robbing it of its sweetness, but dominating all in

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superior spiritual force. To him who runs a race the thought of the goal is ever present; so, though hindered, we are always helped; though we strive our utmost in the race and the fight, our hearts are given to the peace that passeth understanding.

Almighty God, we thank Thee for the blessings of the past, the hopes of the future. Not always have we been thankful, never have we been worthy of Thy great goodness. The things which Thou hast denied us we have often longed for; what Thou hast given us we have often misused.

Create and make in us new and contrite hearts. May the work Thou hast given us be glorified by love to Thee; the trials which Thou shalt appoint be borne by us as Thy gracious chastening, working in us the fruits of righteousness. The guiding of the Star brought the wise men of old to the Light of Life, hidden in a manger. They found One who made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death. So may no place be too humble, no duty too small for us to feel that in it we may follow Him.

Be with us unto the end-even as our faith is in Thee.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Collect. Almighty God, who hast given us Thy onlybegotten Son to take our nature upon Him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; grant that we being regenerate, and made Thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by Thy Holy Spirit through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, AMEN.

world without end.

Epistle. Heb. i. 1.

Gospel. St. John i. 1.

The King comes in His majesty, scattering largess-His great supernatural gifts; coming that we might be assured of the source of these great gifts, that we might love Him personally, might no longer be as sheep, shepherdless. The reality of God's presence, the certainty of His unfailing help, His forgiving and transforming love are made known to man, for the Word becomes flesh. "We have seen and do testify," says John, and the history of near two thousand years bears witness.

Who are we, in our undesert, that we should question Him whose goings forth are from everlasting; He whose will is our good, if we love Him-a love that proves we are "called according to His purpose."

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Oh, the great difference between fatalism and this predestination of love, the personal ordering of a Father, whose children are known unto Him from the beginning! "In the volume of the book it is written of me; that I should do Thy will, O God." His will; yes, this is the secret of happiness; the obedience of a perfect trust, the search for the guiding hand, the firm clasp"apprehending that for which we are apprehended."

To-day we realize anew what it is to be thus allied to God, and not to the brute in us; to realize that in striving we seek to perfect this image of God in which we were made. How poor and ignoble seem our lives beside this call, the privilege of our daily renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord's perpetual question to us is not where are we, but what are we? Salvation consists in being saved from ourselves; from our petty meannesses and vanities and hates and lusts -to find our life in Him. Then man as man becomes sacred to us, and we love our fellows because He dwelt among them, laid His holy hand upon them, and they, "the least of these," stand in the glow of His love.

Some of this glory will be reflected on our faces also. I know there is a great difference between a natural gift and a cultivated grace, but still I contend that the sons of God when true to their high vocation are clad in charm. I would not drag down lofty character to the measure of