the principles, and not the name only, of God's children.

To work this great change in us,—to raise us from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness, is the part and office of the third Person in the Holy Trinity,-God the Holy Ghost. He is revealed to us in the Scripture for this end under several names:-the Comforter; the Helper of our infirmities; the Remembrancer, who calls all things to our remembrance whatsoever Christ has said,- takes of His and shows them unto us; our Teacher; our Instructor; the Spirit of counsel; the Spirit of knowledge and true godliness; the Spirit of God's holy fear.

To conclude. I trust, from what has been said, it will be clear to you that the great doctrine which this day brings before us,—the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity,—of Three Persons in One God,-Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,-is a doctrine adapted to our human wants; one that has in it all things requisite for life and godliness.

Let us use it for this end. Let us think of the doctrine now before us, not as a subject for curious speculation and discussion, but as supplying the ground and basis of a pure and holy life. While the world around us is full of disputes and doubts-doubts and disputes which are sapping, it is to be feared, for many, the

foundation of all belief-let it be ours, by very every means in our power,-by prayer, by the patience and comfort of God's word, by hearing it meekly and receiving it with pure affection,to build ourselves up more firmly than before upon this our most ancient faith,-upon God the Father, who made us; upon God the Son, who hath redeemed us; upon God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth us.

There, in a few words, we have the sum and substance of our Christian creed. That is the name- the threefold name- of the One Living and True God!

Ever since the Gospel came to this land, now more than 1300 years ago, this has been the form of confession of a true faith amongst us. They who have gone before us, our fathers in this place, and their fathers for many generations,-have been constant in their acknowledgment of the Triune God.

They trusted in Him-in Him revealed to them under the Three Great Persons-and they were helped. In sickness and in health, in trouble and in joy, in adversity and in prosperity,— to Him they went for succour and for guidance. They leaned on Him in life, and they leaned on Him in death. They have passed, in reliance upon Him, out of our sight. When they de

parted this life they committed themselves to His keeping, as unto their faithful and merciful Lord God. And now they lie each in his narrow house, waiting His lovingkindness even in the grave!

Can any

of you, brethren, wish for your souls. a safer, a surer, a stronger refuge?

Surely you will say as I do, on this day, and on every successive day that we are spared to see, This God is also our God for ever and ever; He shall be our Guide unto death!

SERMON IX.

FAMILY LIFE.

ST. MARK, vi. 3.

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at Him.

We have in this passage the fullest enumeration of our Lord's nearest relations: James, and Joses, and Juda, and Simon, the Lord's brethren; and His sisters, and His mother. They are all brought before us in a single verse, and though we hear nothing in particular about them, yet the fact that there were such persons, that our Lord had while He lived on earth these family ties, is not without interest for us, and may be turned, I trust, to our edification.

The text too itself has its own lesson. It shows us how the people of the place where Christ dwelt behaved towards Him-how they rejected Him, and refused to hear Him, and scoffed at and scorned Him, because of the outward lowliness of His lot.

It was at Nazareth, on the Sabbath-day, and He had gone into the synagogue to teach. St. Luke, in the parallel passage, gives us the actual subject of His teaching. There was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He

had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord! And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And then when the eyes of all that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him, watching what He would say, He added these brief but emphatic words: This day is this scripture-the scripture He had just read-fulfilled in your ears. It was as if He had said, The day of redemption is arrived; I am come to save you to the uttermost, to heal all who have need of healing, to break the chain of your sins, to proclaim glad tidings of peace, to set up God's kingdom of righteousness and justice in the earth!

That was Christ's message to the men of Nazareth, His own townsmen; and we know that He had the power to make it good. We know that He was able to save them to the uttermost.