mony of the Holy Spirit. All through His ministry He taught them concerning Himself, and His Father, and Their unspeakable gift, as they were able to bear it :12 and after His Resurrection still more distinctly and fully. And at length, when they had heard His gracious words, so many as it pleased Him to communicate, had pondered them in their hearts, and had received several gracious earnests of the Spirit, the fulness of that blessed gift was communicated to them on the Day of Pentecost; and He, when He had come, brought all things to their remembrance whatsoever Christ had taught them; 13 and became a witness in them to the full catholic doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

II. I think a little consideration will also convince us that the truths of our most holy faith are received in the same order by Christian children. Very early in their lives, as soon, indeed, as they are able to learn, we teach them to believe in God the Father, who made them; in God the Son, who redeemed them; and in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth them. But long before they are able to understand the meaning of these words, they read or hear of the birth of the Holy Child Jesus, and learn to love Him for His meekness and goodness; they read of His fasting, and His miracles; they see Him comforting those that mourn, having compassion on the ignorant, and preaching the Gospel to the poor. And thus through the knowledge of His life on earth, they come to understand somewhat of the mercy, and the majesty of His Divine nature; 13 St. John, xiv. 26.

12 Vide St. John, xvi. 12.

"He

and then they find, as He assured His disciples it must be, "He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father;"14 at the same time the good Spirit within is ever moulding the heart of an obedient child for the reception of the highest mysteries, by those very contemplations of our Saviour's history and life, which, seeming to belong directly to His manhood, really are the means of communicating to them their truest knowledge of the Divine nature, in the Three Persons of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And thus I am quite sure every obedient Christian will find the words of the text to be true in his own casethat believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself." We need not one learned and wise, as the world counts wisdom, to prove to us the doctrine of the Holy Trinity; for we shall be all taught of God. Good children need not such proofs; the poor do not need them. He that believeth, hath the witness in himself. In the pure and spotless Redeemer, he believeth-in His holy life, in His allpowerful death, in His glorious Resurrection, in His eternal life in heaven. In the truth of His atonement, and the reality of the gift of life by Him purchased, he believeth with unshaken faith: if so, he "hath the witness in himself;" the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three distinct Persons, One undivided Godhead, is witnessed within him, with a clearness which no clouds of uncertain reasonings can overshadow. On the contrary, the glorious vision will ever open out more vividly before him, as his faith in his Redeemer 14 St. John, xiv. 9; and xii. 45.

is more true, consistent, loving; and he will ever see it reflected more distinctly from every page of God's holy word. Thus the divine and saving knowledge is communicated to our obedient little ones, even as it was communicated to the first disciples of our Lord.

Let us then, my brethren, consider how we may best be fitted to grow in this sacred knowledge, and how we may so deepen our faith in the Son of God, that the inward witness may become clearer and clearer to us, until faith is swallowed up in enjoyment.

A great portion of our time is passed by most of us alone. Thoughtful men are frequently alone, even in the midst of many companions. St. John the Baptist lived in the desert apart from the haunts of men; St. John the Evangelist, on the other hand, had his home among men, and the Blessed Virgin dwelt with him after our Saviour's crucifixion ; but both alike were frequently alone with God. Our Saviour came eating and drinking, and went about teaching and healing, surrounded by a multitude of men, and yet He frequently retired to spend whole nights upon the mountain top; and once was withdrawn for forty days and forty nights from all human society, dwelling with the wild beasts in the wilderness. So likewise every Christian dwells apart, in spirit at least, from his fellow-men for a large portion of his time. Much as we prize communion with those we love, we do not, nor can we always, have it; for many hours of almost every day we are lonely in heart. Now, these hours of loneliness are very often the time of our trial, as they were with

our Saviour in the wilderness: they are seasons of great good to us or of great evil. It is at such times as these that the Spirit beareth witness with our spirits of the truth of God, or the evil one tries us with his subtlest temptations. In these hours of loneliness the wicked man deviseth evil within himself, and when he cometh forth into the world he doeth it. At such times as these it is that they who wait upon the Lord renew their strength, and mount up with wings as eagles, by heavenly contemplations.1 15

I say, my brethren, that to many of us these lonely hours are times of great trial; but it is a trial we must all face, in a greater or less degree. Whether sitting in the house, or waking upon our beds, or walking by the way, or in the retirement of secret thought, when others are near, alone we must very often be; and then we must needs commune with our own hearts, and search out, for some purpose or other, our own spirits, and then we shall perchance find out what manner of men we are; and if then the tempter find us, thinking that he may overcome us in solitude as he overcame our first mother; if then multitudes of evil thoughts crowd upon us, and evil purposes try to usurp authority over us, yet we must face the trial again. There is no escaping it wholly; nor ought we to endeavour to do so: for our religion is untrue and unreal unless it can stand the test of solitude. Frequently, indeed, it may be our truest wisdom to escape from ourselves, and seek refuge from temptation in the society of our fellow15 Vide Isaiah, xl. 31.

Christians; and it is quite lawful for us to pray our Lord to have compassion upon our weakness, and since He knoweth that we cannot bear too much solitude, to provide us the fellowship of spirits who are sanctified by His love. Yet the hour of loneliness must come again, and we must face our trial. And if we face it bravely, it will be to us a time of increasing strength, as it was to him whose home was the deserts, and who there waxed strong in spirit,16 and was fitted for the great work which lay before him. Let us therefore beseech Himthat Greater One-who in the loneliness of the wilderness overcame and shamed the tempter, to deliver us in the hour of loneliness, and make it for us a time of strength, infusing into us the graces of His good Spirit, and drawing us more and more unto Himself.

Then, dear brethren, we may each of us find whether we have the witness in ourselves. For how should we hear His calm low voice in the tumult of the world? How should our spirits be fitted to receive the witness of His Spirit whilst they are agitated by the whirl of earthly cares and business? How should we even know what is within ourselves unless we are ourselves? A man may, by perpetual occupation, and continued dissipation of mind, escape many sore temptations to spiritual sins; but then his heart is closed against the higher influences of the Spirit of God; and the vision of God is hidden from his eyes by ever-changing visions of worldly interests. There is, indeed, a great difference in

16 Vide St. Luke, i. 80.