The Lord appointed other seventy also, that is, after the mission of the Twelve, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place whither He Himself would come. Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest. Here we may see something of that mystery of love wherein God works the great marvels of His grace-they are sent forth "two and two," that they may mutually aid and support each other; from whence, as in the instance of St. Paul, and St. Luke with him, faithful unto death, we have such beautiful instances of Divine union and concord, which is the strength of the Church. And oh, how sad a sign of these last days, that harmony is now so seldom found between two ministering together at the same altar! In the next place, we have all the Christian body united together in prayer with those that are sent forth, co-operating and associated with them in one heart and soul, as striving together with them in prayer; and both of these dependent on each other. The multitude are not saved without the labourers sent forth to gather, and the labourers are not sent forth without the prayers of the multitude. And, thirdly, these are by prayer united unto God, the Lover of concord; for it is said, "Pray ye the Lord that He would send;" and, again, it is of God in Christ, for our Lord Himself says, also, "Behold, I send you." All these are necessary; for if the Lord did not send them that go forth, unity would be broken; and if God sent them without the prayers of His people, their going forth would be for condemnation, for there would be no love. Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. It is I that send you forth thus to con

quer in unarmed meekness; it is "the Lamb" that leadeth, and therefore ye must go forth as lambs, and ye shall overcome the wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes, and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. Your labour cannot be lost; the Word of God shall not be void; "it shall turn to you again," and bring peace to your own bosom. The more destitute of human means, the more will ye look to the Lamb Who was slain for us, and find health in the great and good Physician, "by Whose stripes we are healed." Your peace which shall rest upon them is the peace which Christ gives, but it is through you, His ministers, that He bestows it upon "the son of peace.' For the son of peace may be in that house, but while separated from the Body of Christ he has not that peace, till ye entering in as the servants of Christ, and in His Name proclaim His peace. O peace beyond all price, mayest thou never by us, His ministers, be pronounced in vain!

And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Here again is another fresh bond by which all things are held together in Christ. Not only are the people to pray for their ministers, but also to support them. Thus are all associated together in one common endeavour to the furtherance of the Gospel, labouring together in mutual aid and charities. Nor can any Church flourish or abound in the grace of God, unless for spiritual blessings and gifts it restores things temporal. Not that this is needed, it may be, in the present times for the aid of your own immediate minister, but it is required most urgently for the

needs of the Church of Christ which is abroad. It is needful for the salvation of those that send, as well as for those to whom they are sent.

It is to this sending forth to preach that St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans applies the fulfilment of the text from Isaiah, for he says, "How shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace!" And surely in no part of Scripture are these words more fulfilled than in the Gospel of St. Luke, which so peculiarly declares peace to the penitent. St. John speaks of love, and St. Matthew of power, but St. Luke of healing and of peace, and of these in the highest and best sense-not merely of the kingdom of peace in a general way, but of that which our Lord gives in this mission- His own peace to each house, and to each in that house who is "the son of peace." As the prophet Isaiah adds, "that publisheth peace; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"—that Kingdom of God which is within. Such is St. Luke's

And how many on

Gospel and mission of good tidings. their knees since St. Luke wrote have prayed over the things which he alone mentions in his Gospel-of the Prodigal son; of the woman that was a Sinner that loved much; of the Penitent thief; of the Lost sheep; of the Publican in the Temple; of the good Samaritan ;-how many, I say, from that day to this, in praying over these have found peace!

Rom. x. 15.

SERMON LXXXIX.

Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles.

St. Jude 1-8. St. John xv. 17-27.

THE SACRAMENT OF UNION.

Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, LORD, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world 3-ST. JOHN χίν. 22.

N the Old Testament the Psalmist says, "The secret of

fear Him; and fle will

show them His covenant." But in the Gospel our Lord speaks to His disciples rather of love than of fear, "if a man love Me," is His answer to St. Jude; and He explains what this His covenant, the secret of the Lord is: "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." Now this answer of our Lord to St. Jude's question, taken together with the Epistle and Gospel for to-day, may teach us, that in days when "iniquity shall abound," the secret covenant of God will be found in brotherly union, in loving each

1 Ps. xxv. 13.

other, and loving God; thus the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, will be made known to His faithful disciples, although unknown to the world; and make their abode with them; according to our Lord's prayer, "that they may be one as We are One;""that may be One in Us." These two Apostles, thus taken together, may represent the sacrament of union; in maintaining that "faith once delivered unto the Saints;" for this faith they contended in life, and in death are not divided. Thus they teach us, that "joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine," we may be made meet for the indwelling of God.

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James; he was the brother of James the Less, the son of Alpheus and Mary; to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called, i. e. sanctified by the Father, preserved in the Son, called by His Spirit ; to all Christians, throughout all the world unto the end, mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. Threefold is the description he gives of them, and threefold the blessing of God, which he pronounces upon them, in which they are more and more to be "refreshed in the multitude of peace."

And now we may observe, that when our Lord spoke to His Apostles of "the mysteries of the Kingdom," which He said it was given to them to understand, He represented these to consist in great measure in the evil which should exist together with His Church; He spoke of it as of tares among the wheat; of the Word of Life being in a great measure wasted and lost. And four of the Apostles, St. Peter, St. John, St. Jude, and St. Paul, have borne solemn witness of this corruption which was to abound in the last days, and the beginnings of which they themselves witnessed. St. Jude's short Epistle