resting goad, which men, in hate and rage, thrust against each other, and makes one the tormentor of the other. This is a consuming fire within, whose greedy flame is never satisfied-a worm that incessantly gnaws at the noblest seed of life. This is an ever-burning kindler of anxious care, of painful fear. The secret anxiety and disquiet cover themselves, perhaps, under the appearance of equanimity; they drown themselves in the rushing pleasures and in the so-called enjoyment of life; but, nevertheless, they are there. Give him who is hardened in his selfishness what his heart desires, offer to him all the treasures of the world, let all earthly glory gather about him-life is to him a waste, and his existence a burden. Yea; remove that soul, poisoned by hate and envy, into paradise, let it dwell in heavenly radiance, and every disturbance, every suffering remain far from him-paradise itself would become, to him who hates, a hell, and, in the midst of angels and blessed men, he would be his own devil. "Therefore," says John, "he that loveth-not his brother, abideth in death." Only he who loves is capable of true happiness of soul. O! if love were to have a perfect sway over us—if we could wholly and forever give ourselves up to the holy will of God; if his approbation were evermore to be before our eyes; if we were to live solely for the weal of our brethren-then should we have the stillest, holiest peace; then would our heart be broad and rich, and our neighbor's fortune and joy would at all times be ours, and his pains would be softer in our sympathies, because our participation would alleviate them; we should then have the holy consciousness that our communion with God is perfect, and every fear of God and of the mysterious future must vanish, and with it, every pain. For he who dwells in love, dwells in God, and God in him. Why, then, should not all earthly disquiet give place to the holy peace of heaven?

But let us confess, my brethren, such perfect love will, here on earth, never have an unchangeable home in our heart, but only sometimes come to us as a transient visitor. These are only inspired moments, when our soul is all devotion, and self-denial, and self-sacrifice; when our heart humbles itself in prayer before the God of love, that it may become wholly his; when we are ready to live for our neighbors, even if they, with coldness and enmity, turn away from us. Single beams of heavenly light are they which fall into the dusk of our earthly life, exalting, quickening, strengthening. But we are still too weak, too earthly, to hold them fast in their entire purity and clearness. There is something ever within us, that strives against them; and from without, the want of love, the injustice and the hatred of other men, ever anew awaken selfish impulses in our soul. The power of sin, though broken, is not yet annihilated. Our love is not yet perfect; and so there ever remains in our heart the remnants of selfish fear and sorrow.

Or does the apostle think differently? It almost appears as if he would require and expect from the Christian that the perfect love should mani

fest itself even within the limits of temporal life, as a permanent state and period; for he says, reprovingly, "Whoever fears is not perfect in love." And well might John so discourse, in the evening of a life so rich in love, consecrated to the service of God and of his brethren. Whatsoever obscures the purity of love, had almost wholly vanished from his heart; the image of the glory of his master which he had once beheld, and which had never after gone from his soul, the image of the glory of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, was reflected more and more purely from his holy life; the consummation lay close before him; then might his hopeful assurance grasp it, as if it were already present, just as the Apostle Paul, when he says: "I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith; henceforth is laid up for me the crown of righteousness."

But let the thought be far from us, that the apostle's word is in conflict with a truth which the consideration of the life of man preaches, no less loudly than the examination of our own hearts; but loudest of all the Christian faith itself, which knows of but a single perfect one upon earth, with the truth that the Christian life gains its true perfection,-that the love, which is its substance, appears in its full blessed might and greatness, only when the kingdom of God becomes manifest in its everlasting glory. "Therein," says John, "is love perfect in us ;"—this "is the precious fruit of true love, which unites Christians to one another, that they have joy in the day of judgment." They need not tremble before the Son of God, to whom the Father has given all judgment, but with blessed confidence they shall see him appear as Judge of the world. For their conscience gives them the witness, that, as he is the image of the Father, who is love, so they have been in this world in their most earnest endeavors,— so are they then-in that world, in a more perfect manner. "For it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him"-like him, wholly penetrated with love, as he is. Then only can we see him as he is, when we ourselves are wholly love; and, on the other hand, only when we see him as he is, can our love become perfect. Then will the last vestige of fear and pain have vanished; for perfect love has cast them out. In the most intimate communion with God and his triumphant church, the perfected ones drink, on and on, a blessed life from the stream of love. Far remote is every trouble; no discord of selfishness and hatred can here intrude; as every one is wholly love, and he finds in all others only love-all one in one love, in one blessedness.

My friends, there is something very great in the faith and hope of the Christian; but yet, higher than both stands the love. For only in love do faith and hope prove their truth, their divine origin; and they are destined finally to disappear, that only love may remain. If faith be not active through love, it is dead. If hope be any thing else than hoping love-if it have not the perfect revelation of love itself, for its main ob

ject-it is degraded to a low seeking for reward. Faith, and the knowledge springing from it, will cease when sight comes; hope will cease when its fulfilling comes; but love never ceases, as surely as blessedness itself can not cease.

So then the Christian life begins with love to God through Christ, develops itself in love for the neighbor, and is consummated in the perfection of this twofold love. Surely religion justly bears the beautiful name which is sometimes given to it, the name of the religion of love. Then may our life, too, deserve to be called a Christian life. May the weight of selfishness and ambition, of cold indifference to the neighbor's weal, and of bitter hatred toward those who injure us, more and more vanish from our heart, and love to God and our brethren gain a stronger and stronger sway within us, so that we also, when ere long the kingdom of love appears in its consummation, may be found worthy to share in its glory! Amen.

DISCOURSE III.

C. A. HARLESS, D.D.

DR. HARLESS combines in a remarkable degree the preacher and the scholar, the pulpit orator and the theological instructor. In both these departments he shone with distinction. For many years he was professor at Erlangen, Bavaria; then professor and university preacher at Dresden, where, as preacher, he showed himself a very able defender of the old Lutheran orthodoxy. From this position we believe he was removed by being made court preacher at Dresden, as Rheinhard was before him, for his pulpit eloquence. He was also for several years professor in the university at Leipzig, and at the same time preacher in one of the city churches. His appointment to these positions was considered an important event, from its bearings on the cause of evangelical religion.

Professor Harless, as before intimated, has the reputation of an eminent scholar, while he is also considered one of the most eloquent preachers in the German pulpit of the present day. Many of his sermons are characterized by great fervor, liveliness of imagination, figurative allusion, quickness of thought, and rapid transition from point to point, which is characteristic of the German preachers. He is firm in his attachment to the truths of the gospel, unshrinking in their avowal, and preaches with a decision and a power which it is difficult to resist. He is the author of an elaborate commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, which appeared in 1832. This has been cited, even by German critics, as a model commentary. It is no less distinguished for its orthodox character than for its logical and philological

acumen.

In 1842 Dr. Harless published a system of Christian Ethics, which in four months came to a second edition. He has also done much for learning and religion, as editor and writer for able periodicals devoted to the interests of Protestantism and pure Christianity, and in the preparation of a valuable theological Encyclopædia. The sermon found below is from his volume, "Christi Reich und Christi Kraft," Zwanzig. Predgtak. Stuttg., 1840. It is the ninth sermon: title "In Christo Freude allen Volke." It is a Christmas sermon; and Harless, like many other German preachers, discovers great ingenuity in the choice of texts and themes, and the way of handling, as a kind of necessity, from the fact that the Lutheran Church, prescribes a series of Biblical lessons-a pericope-for every Sabbath and religious festival of the year. As will be seen, the style is pure and elevated, while the course of thought is interesting and instructive.

JOY IN CHRIST FOR ALL NATIONS.

"GLORY to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to men." Thus spake the multitude of the heavenly host, and praised God on that night when the child Jesus was born of Mary in Bethlehem. In a manger lay the new-born infant. Little Bethlehem was his birth-place. In despised Palestine was the child born, at a time when the nations of the East and the West bowed before the majesty of Rome's universal empire. Night then wrapped the circle of the earth. But upon the spot where this infant was born, there shone the glory of the Lord. Not one among all the heathen nations then had any apprehension of what was signified by the birth of that poor infant in that despised land. But when, three hundred years afterward, the gods of the empire lay prostrate in the dust before the cross whereon he of Bethlehem had been hung, then was it known wherefore a divine glory had illumined the dark birth-place of this little child. It was not earthly pomp-not earthly power and might which thus constrained the world to homage. Jesus of Nazareth, as he was born in lowliness, so he died in shame. And yet this child, by the simple power of his name, subdued the distant. isles; before the brightness of his rising the darkness of the heathen world fled away; and at this day millions in every zone are with us bending their knees, and in company with the heavenly hosts are praising God, and celebrating the birth of this child, who came into the world poor and despised, in order that he might conquer a world with no other weapon than that of his love. Let our hearts exult and be glad! O Lord God we praise thee. We thank thee. Lord God we supplicate thee. Draw near to us with the fullness of thy grace, and bless this day's festival. Help us to think on thy word, and to experience its power in our hearts. Amen.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night," etc.-LUKE, ii. 8-11.

The Lord our Saviour, who has appeared on earth, and also is to-day in the midst of us, bless him who speaks, and those who hear, with holy festive joy. Amen.

"Behold I bring to you great joy, which shall be unto all people." Such is the message which the angel announced, and which from thence onward is borne through all lands. Joy to all people-this is the import of the birth of our Lord. For it is: 1. A divine message to the lowly. 2. Consolation to the fearful. 3. A satisfaction for the longing of each individual. 4. A revelation of salvation to the whole world. To these topics, drawn from the words of our text, let us endeavor to direct our attention, looking to God for his gracious assistance and blessing.