the Lamb, and His servants serve Him."* The Him is their God, their Redeemer, their Sanctifier. They trust not in vain ceremonials, or self-offerings of any kind. They need no other light than that of their Lord God. They need no lesser light, either small or great. They need no candle, neither light of the sun. All is brightness to them. There is no darkness there. They have no idol set up called the Church, a figment of the brain, for which men band themselves together. There is no temple in the holy city (Rev. xxi. 22), for "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple thereof." He is both the temple and the light. "I," said our Saviour, "am the light of the world." And St. John writes, "This, then, is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." All born of God, and who dwell in Him, and have fellowship with Him, "walk in the light, as He is in the light."

All who walk in the light, and have fellowship with Christ, belong to the Church. However sinful they may have been, yet when they are led by the Spirit of God into fellowship with Christ, all their sins are washed away. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. viii. 1). They who walk after the Spirit are led by the Spirit, and "as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. viii. 14). There is a conflict ever going on between the flesh and the spirit, but those who are led by the Spirit of God are "in these things more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Rom. viii. 37).

Those led by the Spirit of God belong to the Church. But what is said in this same chapter of those not led by the Spirit of God? It matters not whether water-baptised, and thus a name given them whereby they are called Christians, but if they walk not after the Spirit which "is life because of righteousness," but * Observe the unity of God and the Lamb by the expression "Him."

walk after the flesh, and thus mind the things of the flesh, which “is death” (Rom. viii. 6), then the Spirit of God dwells not in them. "Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Rom. viii. 9). A similar declaration to this is found in many other parts of Scripture. The same great truth is taught in the parable of the vine. Our Lord says, "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered." And, again, those who abide not are utterly powerless, and the promises of Christ in no sense apply to them. The branch, except it abide in the vine, can bear no fruit. And our Lord says, without me "ye can do nothing" (John xv). All who abide not have no part or lot with Christ, have no fellowship with Him, and are not members of His Church.

The whole of the prophecies point to the perfected character of the Church under the present dispensation. Jeremiah, in the 31st chapter, prophecies thereof. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt: which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer. xxxi. 31-34). The whole chapter is of the character these words manifest, and it concludes by showing that the spiritual city shall be built to the Lord: "And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward

the east, shall be Holy unto the Lord; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever." In like manner does Isaiah prophecy of the Church under the second dispensation, that all "her children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of her children." That under this new covenant, when the seed of the Church shall inherit the Gentiles, though for a small moment God hath forsaken her, yet with great mercies will he gather her. "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed;* but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord" (Isa. liv. 10—17).

* This language has a double meaning; figuratively the mountains and hills stand for Churches. The Church is sometimes called "God's holy mountain," and the mountains and hills are put in contrast thereto, or in juxta-position therewith (Ezek. xxxvi.). God's "holy mountain" (Isa. xi. 9), or "holy hills" (Ps. xv. 1), is a figure standing for the true Church, or the true people of God; and mountains and hills are figures standing for congregations of men (Isa. lv. 12). This explanation, as many divines know, gives intelligence and meaning to the language of the Psalms, as well as to other prophetical parts of the Bible.

In conformity with these predictions of the older prophets of the perfected character of the Christian Church, St. Paul writes to the Hebrews, in the 8th chapter-"But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second." St. Paul then quotes the language of Jeremiah, to exhibit the predicted excellence of the second covenant Church.

St. Paul goes on to show that the first covenant had a worldly sanctuary, and a tabernacle into which the priests entered; "but Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come," under the second covenant "there is a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands" (Heb. ix. 11). The first was only a pattern of good things to come; but the latter is the good things come. The first was imperfect, the latter perfect. The first required an observance of ordinances, the latter is spiritual union. Under the first, no man dare approach unto God but the high priest once every year; under the latter, every man may come with "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus" (Heb. x. 19).

The purity and holiness of the Church seems to meet with contradiction, in the fact that our Lord spoke in the parables of good and bad being mingled in "the kingdom of heaven." This is a seeming contradiction. It is only seeming. To every godly man who believes in the verities of the Gospel it will be only seeming. Infidel men may attempt to trace in it contradiction. Notwithstanding this seeming contradiction even pious men have remained satisfied, without attempting to clear up the difficulty. Doubtless, say they, there is the Church holy and without blemish, the mystical Church, the Church triumphant, but the Church visible is composed of good and bad. And thus they make two Churches, and they claim for both to be in union with Christ. The Scriptures make no mention of two Churches in union, they

distinctly disavow it. They announce but one Church in union. And this Church is said to be composed of members of Christ's body, "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth even in Him" (Eph. i.). All gathered "even in Him" become members of His body, are His Church. This Church is declared to be holy and without blemish. Divines create another Church, composed of good and bad, which they call militant. And to justify themselves in this, they appeal to the existence from first of the several corrupt communities called Churches, and to the declaration of our Lord in the parables, that there would be good and bad to the end of the world in "the kingdom of heaven." As though corrupt parts could make up a perfect whole. Based upon this statement of our Lord, learned divines, even pious Christian men, have believed that national Churches were the affianced of Christ, that these were so many branches of a great whole to whom the Lord of heaven and earth was wedded. The Lord of spiritual life linked in such intimate union, as "bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh," with temporal decay! incorruption to corruption! the God and Father *

* However difficult to our comprehension the divinity of Christ,-the being very God, yet it is an undoubted truth. "The Son is equal to the Father as touching his Godhead," and he is mentioned by Isaiah as "the everlasting Father" (Isa. ix. 6) And the declarations of our Lord prove this truth. "I and my Father are one" (John x. 30). And, again, in answer to the demand of Philip, "Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us," our Lord said, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, shew us the Father?" (John xiv. 8, 9). And, again, “He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth Him that sent me" (John xii. 44, 45). This mighty truth, this truth of truths, the keystone of the arch, is again and again asserted by our Lord, and was the declaration which brought upon Him the accusation of blasphemy by the high priest before the council, "He hath spoken blasphemy;