August 11

I Peter ill. — 8. Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous;

9. Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing, but, contrariwise, blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

10. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile;

11. Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

12. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

13. And who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good?

14. But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear:

16. Having a good conscience: that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil-doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

17. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing.

18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

19. By which, also, he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20. Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few (that is, eight) souls were saved by water.

21. The like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth also now save us (not the putting-away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ;

22. Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

Upon this passage chiefly rests the article in the Apostles' Creed, "He descended into hell," — a clause not found in the creed in its earliest form. Like the mention of paradise in the promise of our Lord to the dying thief, and again by Paul in describing his being "caught up into the third heaven," this passage gives intimations and awakens inquiries which it does not attempt to satisfy. In the matter of the future state, the Bible addresses nothing to curiosity; demands every thing of faith. The Scriptures seem to teach that spirits continue conscious after death; that they exist in separate states, being divided according to character in this life; that, after the final judgment, this separation will not

only be fixed, but will be enhanced by the augmentation of blessedness and of misery; and the natural and obvious reading of this passage is, "that our Lord, in his disembodied state, did go to the place of detention of departed spirits, and did there announce his work of redemption — preach salvation, in fact — to the disembodied spirits of those who refused to obey the voice of God when the judgment of the flood was hanging over them. The inference is not purgatory; it is not universal restitution; but it is one which throws blessed light on one of the darkest enigmas of the divine justice." Yet let it not betray any of us into forgetting that now is the accepted time, and now is the day of salvation.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 82, 103.

We come to thee this morning, heavenly Father, with hearts full of thankfulness for the mercies of the night. We have rested in safety and in peace under the shadow of thy wing. Thou hast kept us quiet from the fear of evil: nor sickness nor death, nor tempest nor fire, nor any calamity, hath overtaken us or our dwelling. How sure are the mercies of thy covenant, O Lord! All thy promises in Christ Jesus are Yea and Amen. Fulfil unto us, we beseech thee, these thy mercies and promises, and cause that this day we may rejoice in thy salvation.

Bless to us thy Word which we have now read. Oh! sanctify us by thy truth; and, while we receive its instruction and comfort in our hearts, may we carry out its precepts in our lives, and adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things! May we be just and true, loving and kind, gentle, forbearing, and forgiving, and so shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of life!

May every day witness some new victory over evil desires and passions within us, and over the evil that is in the world! By feeding upon thy Word, the bread of heaven, may we grow up into Him who is our Life and Head, even Christ! [Oh, may these children grow in grace as they grow in years and in knowledge! May they shun evil companions and evil ways, and walk in the way of thy commandments!] Keep all dear to us even as the apple of thine eye. Bless our neighbors, and send thy Spirit upon this whole community. Bless our rulers, and the schools and churches in our land. May all who rule, and all who teach, be led and taught by thee! Have pity upon the poor and the sorrowing; upon homes made desolate by famine, pestilence, fire, or war. Mercifully forgive our sins, and bring us unto the perfection of knowledge, of holiness, and of blessedness, in Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom be glory forever. Amen.