says the apostle, "being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted."

3. The duty is taught us in the constitution of nature. Here we find a general law of sympathy operating throughout the whole universe. Nothing exists for itself, nor confines its actions uninfluentially within itself. The moon, the stars, the planets, receive their light from the sun: the sea is regulated by the influences of the moon: the earth responds to the influences of the sun, becoming relaxed or confined in proportion to the state of the atmosphere, as those influences are emitted or withdrawn: the elements expand or contract as they are operated upon by each other. Sometimes the force becomes so great that thunder and volcanoes are produced by the explosions dependent upon the concussions of those elements. Divine wisdom has so ordained that all His works should be dependent upon each other, and should receive their vitality and productiveness from the influence of each other. In profound admiration we may contemplate those combined and sympathizing laws, and say with the royal Psalmist, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches."

Then if we examine the construction of our bodies we find the same principle carried out here. Every member and every part are dependent upon, and deeply sympathize with, each other. St. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, after describing the different parts of the body, and showing their union and dependence, says, "That there should be no schism in the body but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all members suffer with it: or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." The apostle proceeds to enforce by this argument the duty of Christians to be united and to sympathize with each other. "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." We are not only members of the one great family of God, but also members of the great body of Christ. The union therefore being so

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close, the duty becomes imperative: "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."

4. Again, the combination of the different portions of society is another argument for sympathy. There is no independent individual upon earth. Not only are we all dependent upon God, but we are also all dependent upon each other. "The rich and the poor meet together, the Lord is the maker of them all." The poor are dependent upon the rich, and the rich are dependent upon the poor. There is an unity of interest which binds the whole community of man together. The master and servant are connected for the common good. One trade cannot exist without the aid of another. There must be the seller, and there must be the buyer. Division of labour is absolute for the prosperity and happiness of society. The producer, the manufacturer, the transferer, and the consumer are bound by a chain of connected links, which, if severed, would cause incalculable confusion and distress. We cannot soon forget the misery caused by the suspension of the transfer of one article of commerce arising from the late American war: the same misery would be the consequence of any other break in the chain of society. This being the case, a sympathy is created between the different classes of society, which is become more and more recognisable, so that the rich are becoming to feel more generally for the state of the poor, and the poor are becoming more interested in the welfare of the rich.

Let us observe

II. The advantages of Christian sympathy.

1. It has a soothing influence on the mind of the sufferer. Think of a person in deep distress: perhaps he has suffered a great reverse of fortune by sustaining ruinous pecuniary losses; or he has been bereaved of the best and dearest member of his family; or by the insinuations and false charges of his enemies he has been calumniated to the damage of his good reputation, and the loss of position dependent

upon character; or he has been reduced by sickness to death's door, being the subject of excruciating pains and hopeless affliction; or doubts and fears may have arisen in his mind, sinking him into the depths of anxiety and despair. Oh how consoling to such a mind to be visited by a friend who, with a manly and Christian disinterestedness, can pour into his ears the language of fellow-feeling, of encouragement and hope! "A word spoken in season, O how good is it!" Solomon says, that " a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." When God gives to us, like He did to Isaiah, "the tongue of the learned," that we may "know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary," then are we made the instruments of comfort and strength to those who are bowed down with sorrow. When Job's friends came to mourn with him and to comfort him; if, instead of crushing him with words, they poured the oil of consolation into his wounds, they would have been a source of relief and the means of happiness to him in the midst of his troubles. In such cases a sympathizing friend is invaluable. To him we can unburden our hearts, and the load of grief is at least partially removed when he brings before us the promises of the Gospel and the encouragement of hope. Then we go on our way rejoicing, knowing that in addition to the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, we have another who can enter into our feelings and partake of our sorrows or joys.

2. It has a tendency to improve and strengthen our own graces. "He that watereth, shall be watered himself." There is a blessing connected with the discharge of such duties that no one can realise but those who devote themselves to the good of others. Mind acts upon mind, feeling upon feeling, grace upon grace. There is a reciprocity of strength and comfort by the reaction of sympathy. Whenever you do an act of kindness to another, it returns tenfold to your own bosom. Even the satisfaction of doing good fully repays for any self-denial made or pains taken. If in any way you have been the means of strengthening the graces, of adding to the joy, or of relieving the sorrows

of others; you have felt your own graces improved in proportion; you have been drawn nearer to God; you have been brought to love Him more, to serve Him better; you have been led to enjoy a closer fellowship "with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."

3. Thus we bear out in our conduct the principles of the blessed religion which we profess. Wonderful principle ! unknown to the world. It is not the offspring of nature: the most refined civilization does not produce it: the most cultivated education does not bestow it: it is a heavenly-born principle, dwelling only in the regenerate soul, and blessing only the society of Christ's followers. With them it inhabits whether they dwell in the polished city or in the desert wilderness. It is a plant of grace which charms with its lovely flower, and heals with its medicinal virtue. It sheds its genial influences amid the chilling snows of Greenland and the burning sands of Africa. The ice-built hovels of the Esquimaux, and the rustic wigwam of the North American Indian, are cheered by its rays. It awakens the tenderest sensibilities in the adamantine heart of the New Zealand cannibal, and touches the chords of compassion in the proud soul of the Chinese. The hearts of the children are by it turned to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Instead of ferocity and tyranny, sympathy has, in many homes, introduced the bonds of peace, and the rule of love.

Oh! blessed principle! when shall it flourish in every nation, in every city, in every home, in every heart! May God hasten the time, that we may all anticipate and enjoy on earth the holy feeling which is reciprocated in heaven.

405

Whit Sunday.

MORNING SERVICE.-Second Lesson: Acts x.

Verse 44.-"While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word."

WHEN the Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles on the Day of Pentecost, they were especially endowed with "power from on high." That power consisted in gifts which were partly temporary, and partly permanent. The temporary gifts of the Spirit were confined to the apostles, and those of their immediate successors who were designed to stand forth prominently in the ranks of early Christians. The permanent gifts were intended to be bestowed upon all Christians of every position from the days of the apostles to the end of the world. The temporary gifts comprehended the working of miracles, prophesyings, the gifts of healings, diversities of tongues, and the spontaneous interpretation of languages. Such gifts were absolute in the establishment of Christianity in the world; for since the Christian religion was destined to spread amongst the various known nations at the time, it was necessary that its early teachers should be furnished with extraordinary endowments to meet the exigencies of the circumstances. God, by His Spirit, supplies man's deficiencies. What cannot be done by human means is done by Divine agency; when the instrumentality of man can effect an object with the Spirit's ordinary aid, His extraordinary operations are withheld, leaving man to exercise the facilities placed within his power. Hence, when the preachers of the Gospel had the opportunity of acquiring the language of the people among whom they were located, and when the principles of religion were generally established in those various localities, the power of working miracles, and of speaking with divers

but