pose that there might be a connection between these things; that her idols were removed, that so she might seek to her divine Refuge, At least it will be profitable to us to reflect, when tribulation of this kind comes upon us, whether we have duly glorified GOD in our day of happiness? whether we have been specifically grateful for the blessing which He has now withdrawn?

III. To seek to CHRIST's compassion. If He would compassionate where He was not solicited, we may be sure He will not fail those who wait on Him. He is as near to us as He was to her, albeit not in the flesh. His love is not diminished now that He is in the land of love and the Bosom of love. His compassion, if we seek it, will bid us "weep not." Though He restore not our dead, He will refresh and guard them for us, (if we have loved wisely,) and us for them. And if— saddest lot of all!-we have reason to dread a final separation, none but He can give us strength to bear that calamity,

IV. To trust in CHRIST's omnipotence. Do we believe what we have just heard from the Altar? If not, our attendance here is mockery. If this be not true, we may lie down in our sorrow. To say, "Weep not,” if the Gospel be not truth, is insult to the mourner. He must weep; he ought to weep. Who would not weep for calamity without redress, misery without remedy? But if the history we have heard be truth, far other is the result. The SAVIOUR may say "Weep not" with authority, for He can dry our tears, for He is almighty. If almighty, He can perform all He has promised. The miracle at Naïn is the warrant of one

far greater, (Outlines for Easter-day and Easter Tuesday,) when the faithful shall be re-united; when there shall be no widowhood, no desolation; when the Church shall rejoice with her Bridegroom, and the severed bonds of CHRIST's love shall be riveted again and for ever. "He hath already, by what He hath done, given us tastes of what He will do. The power that can raise one man can raise a thousand, a million, a world. No power can raise one man but that which is infinite; and that which is infinite admits of no limitation." (Bishop Hall ubi supra.)

V. To be active in Christian duties. This is the mystical use of the history. Sin is a state of death, and we are commanded to arise from it by Him Who gave the commandment in the text. Eph. v. 14. We are carried forth by our sins, as the youth at Naïn by his bearers. Our mother the Church mourns over us, for we cannot be born again; we cannot enter a second time into that mother's womb, and be born: there is but one Baptism. (Eph. v. 5.) Yet JESUS, in compassion, meets us by the way; and those bearers at His call stand still, and His word comes in power, and we may arise, through repentance, confession, absolution, and the Holy Eucharist. And this spiritual resurrection must be maintained in holy works of obedience. These are the only tokens of life. S. James ii. 26. With these let us go on till we attain unto the resurrection of the dead. (Phil. iii. 11-14.) So shall the arisen LORD grant us the support of His SPIRIT, guard us disembodied in His hand, and speak hereafter, in the tones of comfort and love, "I say unto thee, Arise!"

LIX.

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.

Subject. Unity.1

Text. Eph. iv. 3.

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the SPIRIT in the bond of peace."

Illustrative Scriptures. Ps. cxxii., cxxxiii.; S. John xvii. ; 1 Cor. iii., xii. ; 2 S. Pet. ii.; S. Jude.

Illustrative Texts. Jer. xxxii. 39; Ezek. xi. 19; Zeph. iii. 9; Acts i. 18, ii. 42, 46, iv. 32; Rom. xii. 4, 5, 16, xv. 5, 6; 1 Cor. i. 10-13, xi. 18; 2 Cor. xiii. 11; Eph. ii. 18–22; Phil. i. 27, ii. 1, 2, iv. 2; 1 S. Pet. iii. 8.2

Principal Words. τὴν ἑνότητα τοῦ Πνεύματος.

THE text is the sum and centre of the wonderful and sublime Epistle for this day. Mark how the portion before ascends to it. Lowliness, Meekness, Longsuffering, Forbearance, Charity, are the steps to the throne of Unity. And then mark the gradation above.

1 This great subject is more or less treated throughout this work, particularly in Outlines for Second Sunday after Easter, II. 1. and Whit-Sunday, II. 2 (8.), but its vast importance, especially at the present time, requires an explicit examination.

2 Holy Scripture, and the writings of Fathers and Divines, overflow on this subject. The Treatise of S. Cyprian De Unitate Ecclesiæ is not quoted here, as it ought to be read entire. Barrow's Treatise on the Unity of the Church is valuable, not only for its argument, but for its apparatus of patristical authority.

Unity is the last link in the golden chain that binds. the children of earth to the throne of GOD. By unity we are portions of the one "Body," which is informed and sanctified by the one "SPIRIT;" partakers of the one Hope, which rests on the one LORD, through the one Faith, which is ratified by the one Baptism; that Baptism whereby we are made children of the one GOD; Who, while above all, thus pervades all, and lives in all. Such is the blessed and most stupendous view, revealed to us by S. Paul, of our exaltation in CHRIST. By its surpassing excellence and blessedness the Apostle exhorts us to keep it: showing us that, as the natural Body of CHRIST is one, so His mystical Body should guard that unity which she has received; as there is but one SPIRIT which sanctifies the whole Body, so in that SPIRIT should all the members be united; as we have but one common LORD, we should all love one another for His sake; as we have one faith, so we should not separate for trifles; as we have been baptized into the one Name, so we cannot sever ourselves from each other without severance from that most awful Substance, into which we were baptized. Our duty to keep this unity is enforced by reason and by command. The point for our consideration is how this duty may be most effectively performed. This, it would seem, will mainly depend on

I. Individual holiness. The unity of the text is, by its nature, Christian unity. From holiness, unity derives all its value. The most perfect agreement conceivable, if it be in error or sin, is so far from a good, that it is only an aggravation of evil. And from per૨ ૨

VOL. I.

sonal holiness collective unity derives, in great measure, its being. (Compare Phil. iii. 16, with 1 S John ii. 6.) Those who learn at the same perfect source, the Holy Scriptures, under the same faithful guide, against whom the gates of Hell shall never prevail, the Catholic Church, (S. Matt. xvi. 18,) and who do the same works of mercy, love, purity, self-control, are united in spirit, even before they know each other -and therefore are necessarily so when they meet. Holy people also pray for the unity of the Church, and that they may continue in it; and GOD hears their prayers; they strive too for unity, and GOD blesses their striving. Moreover, they are the only persons who constitute the unity of the spirit. Any unity composed by others is mere external unity-the lifeless body only. There is no fruit, if we abide not in CHRIST. (S. John xv. 4-6.) O brethren, who mourn over our unhappy divisions, bethink you how much of the evil may have originated from want of personal and secret holiness in ourselves! Had we been more attentive to this, we should have exhibited more of one type, and found ourselves naturally drawn closer to one another; had we been holier, our prayers for unity would have been at once more frequent and more influential! Let us mourn our own defects as private Christians, even before our miserable divisions, as those who profess one religion!

II. Knowledge. We must know the truth, before we can agree in it. Eph. iv. 13-16. Those who follow seducers, frequently do so out of ignorance. Knowledge of Holy Scripture, and of the sense in which it has been always received by the Church, is requisite