himself up to God, and acknowledge that what he hears has God's authority.

Such is Christian prophesying; such it should be made, on the one hand, by those who utter it; on the other, by those who hear it.

Since

First, we see that its nature is practical. the world began God has spoken to man for one purpose only, to make him better. Wisdom He has spoken to him: words of divinest wisdom; but they belong to that wisdom only which purifies the heart, and so makes wise unto salvation. But when we say that Christian prophesying is practical, we must take care not to limit the meaning of the word practical, so as to take only half of its proper signification. We must not suppose that there is nothing practical except what is given in the form of a command or rule: "Thou shalt not kill;" "Honour thy father and mother;" "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart;" and other such words. Every thing is practical which is calculated to affect the practice; that most so which is calculated to affect it the most. If then there be a way of addressing us more fitted to affect our hearts and lives than the way of precepts, rules, or commandments, that way may be justly called even still more practical. And it seems that there is such a way: either by putting before us facts tending to awaken hope and fear, or such as address themselves to our affec

tions. Not less practical then than the command to love the Lord our God with all our heart, is the truth declared by our Lord, that "in our Father's house are many mansions," and that "He is gone to prepare a place for us;" not less practical is His word, that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, to the intent that all who believe on Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

When I say, then, that Christian prophesying is practical, I do not at all mean that it should consist wholly of rules or precepts; for these are not the only, nor even the most powerful means of affecting the practice; but that, whatever means it makes use of, it should always bear in mind that they are means, and that its end and object is the improvement of the heart and life. Thus it is most highly practical to dwell on the promises of eternal life, and the threats of eternal death; to show on the one hand how much there is to hope, and on the other how much to fear. But it is possible to treat of these things in a manner that shall make them not practical, but curious; that shall leave on the mind not an impression of hope or of fear, but of amusement or interest offered to the imagination; and then there is a departure from the true character of Christian prophesying, inasmuch as this does not tend to edifying. Or again, nothing can be more practical than to

dwell on the love of God in Christ, on the most gracious promise that the Holy Spirit should abide with us for ever, that we might not be alone in the world with our own evil thoughts and desires, our temptations, and our tempters. Yet how possible is it to speak of these things in a way that is not practical; to raise questions about the connexion between Christ and the Father, between the Spirit and both or again, to turn the promise of Christ's abiding Spirit into a source of metaphysical perplexities, into attempts to distinguish between God's work and man's work; whether God's work can be resisted by us or no; whether our own is our own in any way or not. Then, again, there is a departure from Christian prophesying; for questions of words, questions that gender strifes, questions that perplex, that provoke the intellect to reason rather than the heart to love, may indeed have to do with the same subjects with which God's word has to do, but they are not themselves God's word, inasmuch as they do not minister to the edification of God's people; and not being God's word, they are not the true language of Christian prophesying.

Having thus explained what is meant by the word "practical," a word often used vaguely and in an imperfect sense, we may now follow St. Paul's description of the particular way in which prophesying is made practical; namely, that it

It must be convinced,

convinces, that it judges, that it lays open the secrets of the heart. Christian prophesying convinces. By "convincing" is meant overcoming an opposition, whether lurking only in the heart, or expressed in words. This opposition consists in a desire to justify ourselves. God speaks to us as to sinners, calling on us to repent and be saved. We resist this call; saying, or more often feeling, that we are not sinners; that is, not in danger of God's punishment; that we shall not be lost, even if we do not repent. This opposition must be convinced, must be overcome. to use our Lord's own words, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: that we have sinned,that we need to become righteous, that we shall be judged. And this conviction is effected by showing, on the one hand, what God requires of us, and on the other by appealing to what we have done. It is effected also mainly by appealing to Christ crucified; for if we were in no danger, or could have saved ourselves, why should Christ have died for us? When we are convinced by Christian prophecy, then we are also judged by it. It speaks of God's judgments, and we feel that they belong to us; our conscience hears, as it were, the sentence already spoken, the sentence which declares that the soul which sinneth, it shall die.

Then are the secrets of our hearts made manifest; it does not mean to others, but to ourselves.

We gain a knowledge of our hearts which we never had before. The light has broken in upon us, and shines into every corner of that which before was darkened. Were we so evil, and we knew it not? in such danger, and we thought ourselves so safe? This needs looking to. The man arises, and searches his heart thoroughly, to see what evil it contains, and of what sort; what it is that has blinded his eyes thus long; what idols he has worshipped and is worshipping; on what his trust has been placed, which has not been placed on God. Wonderful is the degree of self knowledge thus gained, and of consequent improvement. He sees his mind with all its weaknesses, and all its temptations. He says, My nature, I find, leads me to this fault; it is one which I must carefully watch against. My way of life exposes me to this temptation: it is here that I must especially pray for strength from God. Such a being I find myself; so endowed, so ruined; with such promises before me, and such warnings; on my way to an eternal portion, yet walking with blinded eyes and shackled feet, so that I can neither see the right road, nor follow it with vigour."

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Then falling down on his face, the man whom you, prophets of Christ, have so convinced, so judged, so made the secrets of his heart manifest to him, he will worship God, and confess that God