vain; the money he was collecting would soon be squandered, or his son would be unfit for the position in the world to which his wealth would naturally entitle him. May we not understand by this figure how needful the renewing, sanctifying work of the blessed Spirit of God must be for those whom Christ has redeemed. His work being over, the work of the Holy Ghost begins. It is a work in which we are called upon to join. He works in us, and with us, and we must work with Him and by His strength; else though so great an inheritance has been purchased and bestowed upon us by the Son of God, we shall be no richer for it; we shall squander it away; we shall not be fit to enjoy it. My Christian brother, do you believe and embrace this truth? Are you ready to praise God the Holy Ghost for His share in the work of your salvation? Do you believe not only that Christ died for you, and so prepared for you a kingdom, but that He also sent down His most blessed and Holy Spirit to make you meet for that bright inheritance? O let not His love be wasted upon you; pray Him to live in you and finish His work in you; be careful lest you hinder that work; seek to help it forward by obedience and watchfulness; seek to be "renewed in the spirit of your mind."

You will find your desires for the renewing grace of the Comforter well expressed in to-day's collect. In that you confess that God alone "can order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men," and therefore you pray that He would help you to love that which He commands, and to desire that which He promises. This is the inward work which the Holy Spirit must do in you; this is the work which Christ our Saviour sent Him to do. He will do it by the supernatural power of His grace, by His divine spiritual might, by which He is able to transform and renew the spirits of sinful men. Our will and affections are unruly. Our will, by which we choose and determine what we will do, is like an untamed colt, difficult to be guided in the right path, and towards the right objects. But the Holy Spirit can strengthen us to rule this wayward and perverse will, so that it may be tamed down and made obedient to the holy law of God. Our affections too are unruly. They fix on wrong and unworthy objects. They lead us to love what is sinful and impure, and not those things only which are truly fit to be loved because they are holy and divinely beautiful. And the blessed Spirit can guide and rule these unruly affections, restrain them within due bounds, fix

them on things lawful and worthy to be loved; He can teach us and guide us to love that which God commands, and to desire that which He has promised. By nature we love our own way; by grace we may come to love God's way better; by nature we admire, and choose, and seek after the good things and pleasures which this world holds out before us; by grace we learn to love and desire far more those blessed hopes of eternal life which God has given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. This is the work of the Spirit, dwelling in our spirits, and giving to them a share in His own purity, filling them by degrees with His own light and gladness.

For such reasons it was expedient that Christ should go away and send the Comforter in His place. We want renewing as well as redeeming, we need the sanctifying grace which we can only have from the spirit of Christ "dwelling in us," and working in us. What we want is a divine gift, a gift above and beyond our human nature, a gift which shall make us more than men, and bring us nearer God by making us more like to Him. This is that good and perfect gift which, as the Epistle tells us, must be "from above, and come down from the Father of lights." All praise then to the Father, who sent

the Son to ransom us from death. All praise to the Son who, when He had finished His own work, sent down His Spirit to be for ever with His people. All praise to the Holy Ghost, who is still living among us, still working for our salvation in us, if we have not driven Him out of our hearts.

JOHN HENRY PARKER, OXFORD AND LONDON.

Tracts for the Christian Seasons,

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.

Christian Action.

To persuade men even to hear the Word is a hard matter; we have much ado to get them within the sound of the Gospel. Many shrink even from this the lowest step of the ladder by which we mount to heaven. The first thing we have to contend with is an unwillingness to hear. Speak of this duty to those that neglect it, and they will have an excuse ready at hand. As regards church, the weather, their clothes, the length of the service, the distance, a seat to their mind, their farm, their merchandise, something there is always in the way; they hope to be better soon, they have resolved to change-so they run on deceiving their own selves with such excuses for not hearing the Gospel preached as they will not dare to utter before the throne of God when they come to be judged at the last day. But let us take the case of those who hear.

Is it all well