December 31

John xv. — 11. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

12. This is my commandment, That ye love one another as I have loved you.

13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

14. Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.

15. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

16. Ye have not chosen me; but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

17. These things I command you, that ye love one another.

18. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

19. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

20. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

21. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

22. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin.

23. He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

24. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen, and hated both me and my Father.

25. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.

27. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

Christ was a teacher, and gathered disciples; he was a master, and his disciples were his servants; he was a king, and these were also his subjects. But he chose a more close and endearing name to express the relation in which he would stand to his followers: "I have called you friends," — a title of affection and of confidence. But this relation of friendship would not cancel the obligation to reverence and obedience. The very proof of friendship would be found in obedience to the commands of Christ, and in fruitfulness in his service. Love is the devotement of self to the will and the honor of Him who has so loved and honored us. But the more nearly we identify ourselves with Christ, the more keenly shall we suffer from those that hate him. What men hate in Christ is the

light that exposes their sin, the truth that convicts and humbles them, the holiness that rebukes and condemns them; and the closer we come to him in character, the more shall we provoke the opposition of evil. The purity of the Church in its testimony for truth and righteousness, which is its power against the world, is what stirs up the powers of darkness against the Church. A chief function of the apostles was that of personal testimony to the life and works of Christ. As eyewitnesses, of course, they could have no successors; but the Holy Spirit, bringing the truth home to the heart, can make each believer a living epistle of Christ, known and read of all men.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 89, 104, 118.

Graciously bestow upon us, O heavenly Father! thy Holy Spirit, to quicken within us the Word that we have now read. Take away our ignorance, our hardness and coldness of heart, and our love of this present world. Enlighten our understandings; give unto us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. May we know thee as our God and Saviour, and glorify thee by the holy obedience of our lives! Grant that, being set free from sin, and made servants to God, we may have our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

O Lord! we beseech thee quicken thy Church to greater fruitfulness in thy service; and suffer not thy word to return to thee void, but bring multitudes to the acknowledging of the truth as it is in Jesus.

We thank thee for all thy goodness and thy

care. Thou spreadest our table; thou givest us life and breath and all things. O Lord! our souls, and all that is within us, would bless and praise thy holy name. As a family, we bless thee for our home, and for all the comforts and joys of our daily life. [May the children whom thou hast so favored in this house remember thee, their heavenly Father, and love and serve thee!] Be with us this day to guide and keep us.

O most merciful Saviour, our compassionate High Priest! pity all our infirmities; heal our souls' sicknesses; give us the joy of thy salvation, and a hope full of immortality. Strengthen us to live and labor for thee; and at length take us to rest with thee above, for thine own name and mercy's sake. And unto thee, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory. Amen.