April 9

John xiv.—15. If ye love me, keep my commandments:

16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;

17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

22. Judas saith unto him (not Iscariot). Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

23. 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.

24. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

25. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you;

26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

30. Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

31. 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.

What precious, wondrous words are these,—peace, comfort, the coming of Christ, the indwelling of the Spirit, the manifestation of the Father! We long for peace; we seek for peace; and, paradoxical as it seems, we strive for peace; but Christ here promises to give peace,—even the perfect, the ineffable peace which kept his heart through all his conflicts, trials, and sufferings. When our hearts are burdened with anxieties, cast down with sorrows, distracted with cares and fears, we sigh for comfort; we seek a friend to confide in,—a help, a refuge, a deliverer: but in the Holy Spirit is provided a Helper ever within call. Sometimes, perplexed with doubts, unsettled in our affairs, disappointed in men, we long for the certainty of truth, a permanent and satisfying love: and,

behold! Christ proffers his love so fully, so tenderly, so intimately, that it shall be as the coming of himself into our very hearts; and by the coming of the Spirit to abide with us, teaching us, guiding us, quickening us, he will make his presence known to the consciousness of every believer, as he could not were he to remain in person on the earth; and, more than all, God, who had been locked upon with distance and with dread, shall be recognized as a Father, and brought into near, constant, and reciprocal relations of love. All this is to be had upon the simple condition that we love Christ, and keep his commandments,—keep them in the spirit of love; since love is "not only the bliss of sensibility, but has the moral feature of the unity of will with the object beloved."

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 159, 166.

Blessed Saviour, we beseech thee manifest thyself unto us as thou dost not unto the world. May we know the peace of forgiveness, the joy of communion with thyself! We thank thee, O Lord! for another day. As we go forth to the active duties of life in dependence on thy promised aid and grace, grant us strength equal to our engagements; and in all things may thy glory be our first and final end! We pray, not that thou shouldst take us out of the world, but that thou wouldst keep us from the evil. In the midst of its defilements, help us to preserve our garments unspotted; amidst its manifold temptations, succor us by thy mighty grace; in all its dangers, let thy shield be over us; in its strifes and conflicts, grant us the peace of God that passeth all understanding,

and victory over all evil. May the Holy Comforter guide us into all truth, and lead us in ways of righteousness, for thy name's sake! Oh, may this family be one in heart and life in the service of God, helping one another in the way to heaven! May we live the rest of our life in the flesh by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us! Help us to do his commandments, and to dwell in his love.

Keep us to-day from all evil. May we acknowledge thee in all things, and fear to wander from thy paths! Bless all who are in affliction. Have mercy on our country, and continue unto it thy favor. Oh! pour out thy Spirit upon all men, and fill the earth with thy glory. We ask these blessings in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.