eralists ridicule us and call us bigots for holding so closely to the Bible this should be a strong comfort unto us, because the Lord foretold, so His disciples would fare, and because He has promised us great reward, saying: "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matt. 5, 11.

As a householder is to "bring forth out of his treasure things. new and old," Matt. 13, 52, I thought it not amiss to-day to speak of this opinion which sounds so well to the carnal ear and is peddled under the garb of liberality or even charity. That would indeed be a very convenient kind of religion, allowing every man to make his own creed and to use it for a soft pillow, persuading himself that he is sincere in his faith and nothing more would be required of him. That would leave the Bible pretty much out in the cold, and we should beware of so convenient a kind of religion. Where it prevails it will certainly cause the churches to be deserted, at least those in which the Gospel of Christ is preached right.

God has given us His Word in which He tells us who our Savior is and what we must believe in order to be saved, and He has commanded us to search the Scriptures, because in them we have eternal life. This Word and it alone is to be the guide and rule of our faith. Let us not be so foolish as blindly and carelessly to adopt what everybody believes, or what this and that man says. In all that we believe we should make sure that this Book says it, and whatever it says we should believe in all sincerity of heart and soul. Then shall we know the Father and the Son and have eternal life, even as the Son says unto the Father: "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Amen.

PENTECOST.

sent me.

FIRST SERMON.

TEXT: Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings. and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shail teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. John 14, 23-31.

Pentecost marks the finishing act of God's counsel for the redemption and salvation of man. When dying on the cross Christ had already finished His work. He had made full satisfaction to Divine justice for the children of Adam. By His suffering and death sin was atoned for, and by raising Him from the dead and exalting Him to glory at His own right hand, God the Father acknowledged that the work of redemption was performed to His satisfaction. When the Father crowned the Son of man with glory and majesty, this act demonstrated that the Father is reconciled to man, whose substitute and representative Christ was. But, though God was reconciled to the world, men were not yet reconciled to God. Exalting Christ to glory God had declared that He on His part was reconciled to man, but in order that men might enjoy the fruits of this reconciliation it was yet necessary that men, on their part, be reconciled to God. It was necessary that the recon

ciliation effected in Jesus Christ should be brought to the knowledge of men, and they should be induced to accept, appropriate and appreciate this reconciliation. In other words: After the work of redemption was completed, it yet remained that the Word of reconciliation be preached to the world, and that men be persuaded to accept this reconciliation and to reap its everlasting blessings. And to effect this the Holy Ghost was sent.

When the supper was prepared it yet remained for the Housefather to send messengers to communicate the fact, to invite the guests and to persuade them to come to His supper. Without the Holy Ghost this would not have been effected. Would the Gospel have been preached among all nations? Nay; for before they were filled with the Holy Ghost the disciples did not preach in the name of Christ crucified, they hid behind locked doors, and in public places they did not dare to speak the name of Jesus above a whisper. And even if the apostles would have preached the Gospel, if not the Holy Ghost had come to bear witness in and through their word, no man would have received it. To this Paul plainly testifies, writing in the 2d chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians: "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." If the Holy Ghost had not come to work on and in the hearts of men through the Word preached by the apostles, no man would have received their word. The Jew would have spurned it as blasphemy, and the Greek would have held it in derision as foolishness. But now the Holy Ghost works through the Word of the cross. By the law He breaks the hardness of the natural heart, and by the Gospel He teaches men and persuades them to believe in Christ crucified, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Therefore St. Paul writes in the 3d chapter of 1 Corinthians, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." Paul commenced preaching the Gospel at Corinth, Apollos continued it, but neither Paul nor Apolles converted the Corinthians; it was the Holy Ghost who made the Word effectual in their hearts and converted them

from the worship of dumb idols to the living God. Therefore Paul, in the same connection, tells the Corinthians, "Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building."

Beautifully does the church-father Gregory speak of it in this language: "Preachers are external teachers, the Holy Spirit is the internal teacher. Without this internal teacher preachers may cry out, but they cannot convert men to God, the Holy Spirit must impress the Word on the hearts." In vain were all preaching, if the Holy Ghost did not teach the heart of the hearers to know and to appropriate the salvation of God. If you see in the Gospel of Christ the wisdom of God unto salvation, if your heart finds peace and comfort in it, you shall know that it is not of the preacher, neither of yourselves, but it is the work of the Holy Ghost in you; for He it is alone who kindles faith and creates the love of Christ in the heart, teaches it to know spiritual things spiritually, and bringing to remembrance the words of Jesus, fills the soul with peace and comfort. After God has been reconciled to men by the sacrifice of Christ, the Holy Ghost is sent to reconcile men to God, making them partakers of salvation in Christ. And this He accomplishes by means of the Word and the Sacraments, as the Lord here declares, saying: " He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Therefore we should be grateful unto the Lord, because after going to the Father He sent the Holy Ghost, and whenever we occupy ourselves with the Word our prayer should be that this heavenly Teacher be granted us. Under His guidance let us briefly consider the latter part of this Gospel, in which the Lord presents:

Two REASONS, WHY THE DISCIPLES SHOULD NOT Sorrow, BUT REJOICE OVER HIS GOING TO THE FATHER.

I. Because "My Father is greater than I;" and

II. Because" the prince of this world hath nothing in Me."

I.

The four last verses of this text do not treat directly of the sending and the office of the Holy Ghost, for which reason they

are generally not so fully explained in Pentecost sermons. They are however an important part of that Word which the Holy Ghost is sent to bring to remembrance and, therefore, they are justly included in this text. Besides this, there are several things in these words which to many appear hard to understand, but which, when rightly understood, are highly comforting. For this reason I thought it not unjustifiable, to-day to speak on them in particular.

The chief object of the Lord's conversation with the disciples in the night in which He was betrayed, was, to secure them against taking offence at His great humiliation in His suffering and death, and to strengthen their faith; and indeed, there is no other extract of the Scriptures which could afford stronger comfort against offence in the cross of Christ, than this last sermon of the Lord. The subject of which He speaks is His going to the Father, comprising His suffering, death, resurrection and all His great deeds for our redemption and justification. Now when the disciples heard that He was going away their hearts were filled with sorrow, and to comfort them, the Lord sought to teach them the true meaning of His going to the Father. In the first part of this Gospel He tells them, if they would continue in His Word, He and the Father would come and would make their abode with them, and He would send them the Holy Ghost who would teach them rightly to understand His words and His works, and who would fill their hearts with the peace of God. Then He continues: "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you." These words indicated that He was about to tell them of still other benefits which His going to the Father would bring them.

The first which the Lord tells them is this: "If ye loved me ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." Did the disciples not love the Lord? Certainly they did; but their love was not pure as it ought to have been, it was tarnished with great defects. Their love was not the right godly, but rather a carnal love. A great factor in their love was the opinion that Christ would make the Jews a great and glorious nation in the world, and that they, His dis