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Collect. O Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men; grant unto Thy people that they may love the thing which Thou commandest, and desire that which Thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.

Epistle. St. James i. 17.

Gospel. St. John xvi. 5.

The light of Easter past and Pentecost to come meet in the teachings of to-day. It is the central Sunday of Eastertide; that forty days when our Lord remained among men in the resurrection body.

The teachings of the Lord of Glory which the Church sets apart for us at this time are very deep and full, and our hearts burn within us as we walk with Him in the way.

"It is expedient for you that I go away that the Spirit of Truth may come." No longer the Man, Jesus, whose ministry is limited to Jerusalem, to Galilee or Samaria; but the Holy Ghost is sent forth by the Father and the Son, whom those who believe on Him will receive. Those

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believers He will guide, through them He will convince the world, because the prince of this world is judged.

All half truths, and men's worldly systems shall go down, be swept away because of their imperfections, be judged and pass; some in fire and blood, some through the dry rot of their own impotency, some only overcome by the heavens on fire and the earth melting with fervent heat; but the purposes of God shall be accomplished, the redeemed be gathered home, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth "wherein is no Temple," but the Lord God is the light thereof.

He, in whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning, has promised us final victory, has bidden us fix our hearts on the true joys to be found in Him. If we love what He commands, and desire what He promises, how inevitably connected are the two "wherefores" of the Epistle. Our unruly wills and our sinful affections are submitted to God's ordering, and we are at peace.

Blessed Lord, who hast called us by name, who hast manifested Thy tender love and care for us in all the varied experiences of our life; give unto us evermore to realize this Thine exceeding goodness and compassion towards us. We are so full of sin, so unruly in our wills, so prone to wander, to fill our days with empty frivolities.

Grant unto us such constant guidance as shall make us resolute in the midst of temptation,

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calm in danger, joyous in pain and serene in conflict.

Thou, God, art our hiding-place, our covert in the storm, the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. By the still influences of the Blessed Comforter Thy people have heretofore been guided. They have not tarried for man nor waited for the sons of men. May we be thus revived, strengthened and uplifted day by day.

Oh, make us to hear Thy voice, to love Thy commandments and desire Thy promises; to esteem as true joys those things that abide forever.

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Collect. O Lord, from whom all good things do come;

grant to Thy humble servants that by Thy holy inspiration, we may think those things that are good, and by Thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN. Epistle. St. James i. 22. Gospel. St. John xvi. 23.

To-day ushers us into the Rogation Days, preceding the Ascension. Our High Priest is about to enter the Holy of Holies, there to make intercession for us, and we bring Him our petitions, as He tells us in the Gospel: "Hitherto ye have asked nothing in My name. Ask and ye shall receive." Immediately after this Christ says "in the world ye shall have tribulation," showing that we were not to ask earthly happiness, or even freedom from trouble, but heavenly blessings, "the things that remain," which cannot be lost by death.

The Collect leads the way, pleading for holy inspiration in thought and guidance in act; that we may be doers of the Word, not hearers only. We are not set in vagueness of life, but bound by the Gospel rules, which result from the Gospel facts. When the bands of religious observance are loosening, on account of some overcoming affection or soliciting circumstance, or worse,

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some self-indulgence-recall the end of this course. Ask yourself "The work of Christ, do I live it? Am I a branch in that sacred Vine? "" The Cross is its symbol, the Resurrection its holy way; the Eucharist is its perpetual nourishment, prayer and the Word its quickening power.

The operations of Nature are closely analogous to those of the Spirit. The vital germ in everything controls the development of the natural forces and makes the form, now a clover blossom, now an oak, a toad, a tiger, a man. The same elements in all, the same energies in all; but the dominating life principle determines which it shall be, and just what it shall be.

In the wisdom of God there is harmony, it is a great whole. In nature the prepared machinery of our lower life of sense and instinct is made the groundwork of the higher evolution of the equally prepared work of righteousness. Christ, the perfect Man, coming into this same condition of animal mechanism, reveals the fullness of the moral idea, and sets forth the preadjusted harmony of the spiritual life. "Thou in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure." The King of Glory returns to that glory which He had before the foundation of the world; He will pray the Father for us, that where He is we may be also.

Most gracious God and heavenly Father, Thou hast spoken peace to our souls, and reconciled