guidance, entirely to God. This, as we shall see, does not prevent God from subjugating all that was in the man to the new nature; nor His using certain things which were in the man for His own glory. Let us not be unstable and unlearned, and wrest scripture to our own destruction: for some, because God dwells and works in man, would accredit the flesh and themselves thereby; so putting self above God and His grace, and that to their own dishonour: for He will not give His glory to another.

The verse, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John iii. 6)," proves that the blessed Lord owned not only two sources of being, "flesh," and "spirit;" but also two channels of wisdom, energy, and purpose.

I would now look (first), at the birthright portion of an individual so blessed; and, then (secondly), at his place in the body; and (thirdly, and) lastly, at the bearing of the teacher.

The doctrine of the Lord (Matt. vi. 16-34) teaches us that the purpose of the heart decides its state and its condition. If the glory of God, and subjection to His will, is the purpose of my heart-light, with all its attendant blessings, is mine. If, on the other hand, my inward purpose is to serve myself in any way, then darkness, and want of blessing, is mine. This flows out of the reality of Divine glory: GOD cannot deny Himself. If any have found grace to seek to subserve His pleasure, they hold their proper position as creatures, and they will find that He will not deny Himself. If any man will do God's will he shall know as to the doctrine. How many a soul has found a buoy in that declaration, as well as a just ground of humiliation as to itself, and a complete uncovering of the awfulness of its past voluntary insubjection to God. But, when so exercised, it learns that "this is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." (John vi. 29.)

"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which

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hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John v. 22-24).

Paul's word (Gal. iii. 26.) settles summarily both the principle on which we are blessed, and the character of the blessing: "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." The principle is faith-wise; the position into which we are brought is, that of being children of God. This is authoritative, and obliges us to judge all our doubts and fears as being dishonouring to God [Rom. iii. 4, Heb. vi. 18—20], and as proofs of the contrast between us and Christ. All blessing is ours already in Him; and are we too much occupied with our own feelings to think about Him? Nay; there is to the ruined, rest in Him. In Him, there is, to faith, Divine certainty of salvation for the lost. So also as to the blessing which they have as children, " And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal. iv. 6). The cry of "Abba" comes, even before they know the truth which justifies to their understandings its being addressed by them to God? Whence comes it? The Spirit in them is the spirit of adoption (Rom. viii. 16), and they are all taught of God (John vi. 45). They have, as babes among the children of God, an unction from the Holy One, that they may know all things (1 John ii. 20), and the Spirit has his own thoughts and modes of deduction (Rom. viii. 17): "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together."

2ndly. The believer's place in the body.

Life and blessing are my own: life and blessing too which set me apart in isolate Nazariteship to God, even the Father; to Christ who is the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete; and this, ere ever I have to do with another man. And more than that, the whole flow of my life and service is as an individual before God. I cannot, for a brother's sake, or for a fellow ser

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vant's sake, forget whose I am and whom I serve. saying this, I am not losing sight of the Father's heart being upon all His children; or of Christ being Head of the Body His Church; or of the truth of the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost making the church an habitation of God, through the Spirit, and displaying the union of the members in one body. Not so; but I am guarding against a very common abuse of these precious truths, by the which the individual acts towards the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, according to the low sunken state of those around Him, instead of acting towards his associates and before the world, according to that which is true in Christ in God; and true to my heart, at least if I have faith, through the Holy Ghost.

I now cite a few verses, as showing the individual dealing of Christ with the saved people, and the revelation to them of a Father's love.

Matt. x. 19, 20: "But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."

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John xiv. 19-23: "Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."

Eph. v. 18, 19: "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the

Lord."

1 Thess. iv. 9: "But as touching brotherly love ye

need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another."

I must now notice a jealousy which exists in some minds against the use of the word "revelation," in one sense and connection in which it certainly is used in scripture. Now, clearly all jealousy against what is scriptural, is prejudice and prejudicial, and flows from defective light and knowledge; it is prejudicial to the party under it, and leaves the soul exposed to error. In a day like the present, when the lightness and irreverent levity of man's self-sufficiency has impugned the reality of God's having written a book, which is a revelation-one can quite understand how a reaction has been produced in an opposite direction to that of the current of avowed infidelity; so that I attribute no wrongness of intention; yet, as a matter of fact, Christian men are often jealous of one scriptural use of the word reveal, and by their jealousy prepare fresh weapons for the enemy's hand against themselves and others.

My statement, then, is this: not only did God by revelation bring out truth, and place it by inspiration in the Bible, which truth man could never have guessed at without revelation-and this in vindication of Himself, and for the condemnation of man-whether men will hear or whether they will forbear-but, also, if the individual is to be blessed, God has to reveal the truth to the soul of the individual believer. For man (and much morefallen man) is not competent to take to himself, to understand, and to appropriate, even the most palpable, most distinct, truth which God has disclosed. But I will give some of the texts.

They are texts which I present to the simple reader, and leave them with him before the Lord, with the single remark, that they seem to me to prove that the use of the words "revelation," " reveal," etc., is not in scripture limited to God's bringing out, or setting forth, truth which could not otherwise have been known-but is extended also to the action of Christ, or of the Spirit of Christ, in pouring into individual souls truth which had been divinely revealed previously.

Matt. xi. 25, 27: "At that time Jesus answered and

said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." (Com. Luke x. 22, etc.)

Phil. iii. 14, 15: "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."

Matt. xvi. 17: "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

Eph. i. 15-17: "Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him."

Gal. i. 15, 16: "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood."

1 Cor. xiv. 30: "If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace." (See also 1 Cor. ii. 20.)

The reader may further examine for himself, the difference between, 1st, "The shining out from God, of truth;" and 2nd, "Its shining in to many hearts, and sometimes out again therefrom." (Luke x. 22; xvii. 30; Rom. i. 17, 18; viii. 18, 19.; Eph. iii. 5).

3rdly. The teacher given of God.

There is, in all true teaching, a present action of the

The question is not one of "experience" as men speak, but of the faithfulness of the Spirit of God, in giving power to the Word when man has found grace to turn his back to self, and set his face to seek God. It is this, and no more than this, that I insist upon; but less would not suffice for our blessing.