ERILY, verily I say unto thee, We speak that We

ye

ceive not Our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?-St. John iii. 11, 12,

TH

HE opening verses of this chapter speak of the new birth, the birth from above, by which man, fallen man, becomes a new creature. The verses which follow take us deeper still into the hidden purposes of God, and speak to us of Him through Whom this great work of renewing and regenerating has been accomplished. How very beautiful, how precious to those who feel their own sinfulness, are these words, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Well may Luther call them a "Bible in miniature!" We have known them from our earliest childhood, we have lisped them at our mother's knee; and now we are men, we turn again and again to them, deriving ever fresh comfort from them. "God so loved the world." Even when it was at enmity with Him, He loved it. When it was far off from Him, He devised means to bring it near. When the sources through which true life from God might be poured forth on man were closed, frozen up through man's sin, He opened them up afresh, melting the ice, and giving a free passage to the life-giving streams. But how was this great change wrought? God's love devised the means: "He gave His only begotten Son." Before the Saviour came, the poison of the serpent worked mightily in man's veins; great was his power over both the bodies and souls of men. But "for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." When He was lifted up, even "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," the way of safety was revealed; and though still we mark the "trail of the serpent," his power is broken, and if with firm faith and earnest prayer we look upwards, we shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

HEN cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto

TJohn, to be baptized of him. But John forbad Him,

saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered Him. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am welĺ pleased.-St. Matthew iii. 13-17.

THE

HE doctrine of the Trinity meets us over and over again as we read the Holy Scriptures. In some places it is distinctly stated, in others it is, as it were, taken for granted, and practical duties enforced through its means. In the passage before us, the doctrine is very plainly brought before us; we hear the Father speaking from heaven, we see the Son in the river Jordan being baptized by St. John, while the Holy Spirit descends upon Him like a dove. Three Persons in the One Godhead, "the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal." "Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost." This doctrine stands in the very forefront of our Christianity. It is indeed difficult to understand; but in our daily walk are we not met by difficulties at every step? Shall we then be faithless and unbelieving, because in revelation everything is not apparent and easy to be understood by our weak and finite minds? Our Lord tells His disciples that He "has yet many things to say unto them, but they could not bear them." So there are many things we cannot as yet bear to hear, and the full explanation of the Trinity is one of them. God has been pleased to unfold enough of this mystery for us to believe and adore. Let us make use of the knowledge which has been vouchsafed, and fresh sources of knowledge will be opened up to us as our minds become more enlightened and our spirits more capable of holding communion and fellowship with our God.

T you from evil.

HE Lord is faithful, Who shall stablish you, and keep And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.-2 Thessalonians iii. 3-5.

AGAIN

we have a passage before us that brings the work of the Three Persons of the Trinity under our notice. God the Spirit directs hearts-human heartsinto the love of God the Father, and into the patient waiting for, or, as it has been better expressed, into the patience of Christ, or God the Son. What blessed practical truths are here taught us. The guiding light of the Holy Spirit is within us, directing our hearts into the love of God. He is teaching us to see the love of God in Nature around us, and in His dealings with ourselves. When we are filled with thankfulness and praise in beholding the fair beauty of the works of God, it is the Holy Spirit that thus fills our hearts with praise, leading, directing us to acknowledge God's goodness and love. When we are filled with amazement and wonder at what God has done for our souls, it is the Holy Spirit leading, directing us to acknowledge God's goodness and love. When we are called on to strive against sin, and to endure hardships as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, the Spirit reminds us of the patient endurance of the great Captain of our salvation, and "directs our hearts," that we too may have a like patience, and endure unto the end. So long as we are in this life, we shall have battles to fight, difficulties to encounter. But why should we fear? God loves us; the Son of God has fought, suffered, conquered for us; the Spirit of God directs us. Let us be brave in the might of our Triune God. Let us press on with more patience and everincreasing faith. Let us fight courageously against error, and God's foes, and use the help which He so willingly gives. In the midst of toil and fighting, our hearts will ever be directed upwards, filled with patience and the love of God.

IN the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. -Isaiah vi. 1-3.

THIS passage has ever been looked upon as an Old Testament witness to the deep mystery of the Trinity. A modern writer says: "In that adoration of the Most Holy Three, who yet are One, by the veiled and mysterious Seraphim; in that deep self-abasement and misery the prophet, who, though a 'man with unclean lips,' had yet seen with his eyes the King; in that last enquiry on the part of the Divine Speaker, the very terms of which reveal Him as One and yet more than one, what a flood of almost Gospel light is poured upon the intelligence of the Elder Church."

The thrice-repeated "Holy" which one of the Seraphim cried to another, reminds us of our own Hymn of Praise. "To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth." How full of comfort are passages such as these. They bring us very near to the Triune God, in Whom we find a real Fatherhood, Brotherhood, and communion through faith. Well for us if we dwelt more on such passages, and tried to realise all they bring before us. As we contemplate the veiled Seraphim, covering their feet in blissful but lowly adoration, yet at the same time with wings extended ready to speed forth on messages of mercy, we cannot help having heavenly aspirations stirred within us, our hearts seem to be filled with a glowing love which nothing can quench, and an ambition after conformity to God and His blessed Will is formed within our breasts. We long for still closer communion with the Thrice Holy, and increased power and opportunity to work in His service. To us, as the faithful of the Lord, all these stirring passages belong, and we should make full use of them, that we may derive from them all the joy and consolation they are calculated to produce.

AND

ND when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.-Genesis iii. 6.

"AN soon lost through sin that glorious image of the

The malignity of Satan is soon manifested. He at once addresses himself to the task of bringing man into subjection to himself. He cannot bear to see undisturbed the innocent happiness of the God-created pair. He chooses his time, and instils doubts into the mind of Eve. Want of faith is the cause of almost all our troubles. Eve doubts the truth of what God said. She is induced to believe that there cannot be any harm in putting forth her hand to take that which appears so pleasant to the eyes; her doubt soon becomes unbelief. God, she thinks, cannot mean what He said; we shall not surely die; rather will we become like gods, and know both good and evil. She yields, puts forth her hand, and as she eats, knows that she has lost much and gained no lasting good, no pleasure worth possessing. We are all ready to blame Eve. We are ready to condemn her want of faith, and the rapidity with which she yielded to temptation. Instead of condemning others, let us look within. Do we resist temptation How often does our conscience tell us that we should avoid something that is contrary to the Will of God, and yet a moment afterwards we go and do the very thing it forbids? How often do we hear God's law declaring judgment against some sin, and we in our hearts doubt the Word of God, and try to excuse our sin by saying, God cannot mean to punish so severely so trifling an act? How often do we seek to soothe our consciences by saying to ourselves, "Though the means may be doubtful still a good end will be gained," instead of doing what God commands and leaving the conse quences to Him. Let us judge ourselves, but be very careful how we condemn others.