out our own salvation, wliile God works in us. Oar duty is to yield ourselves to the operation of God, and to exert our faculties as though the effect desired were in our own power, and leave to his almighty, mystic co-operation its own gra- cious office. The man with the withered hand, did some thing when he stretched it forth, although the power to move was divinely given. It is vain for us to pray for the presence of the God of love and j^eace, unless we strive to free om* hearts from all e\il passions. Shall he vnth you ; shall mani- fest his presence, his glory and his love. This gives perfect peace, and tills the soul with joy unspeakable and full of glory. It is the restoration of the original and normal relation be- tween God and the soul, and secures at once its purification and blessedness. He who has the presence of God can feel no want.
12. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
The kiss was the expression of fellowship and affection. It was and is in the East the common mode of salutation among friends. A holy kiss, is a kiss which expresses Chris- tian communion and love. It was the usage in Christian as- semblies for the men to kiss the minister and each other, especially at the celel)ration of the Lord's supper. It did not go out of use in the Western churches until about the thii-- teenth century, and is still observed among some eastern sects. It is not a command of perpetual obligation, as the spirit of the command is that Christians should ex2:)ress their mutual love in the way sanctioned by the age and community in which they live.
13. All the saints salute you.
The saints^ in scrij-jtural usage, are not those who are complete in glory, but believers, separated from the world, consecrated to God, and inwardly pmified. This term, there- fore, exj^resses the character and the relations, not of a class among God's people, but of the disciples of Christ as sucl). They ai-e all, if sincere, separated from the Avorld, distin- guislied from men of tlie Avorld as to their objects of desire and pursuit, and as to tlie rules by whicli they are governed ; they arc consecrated to the service and worship of God, as a holy])eople; and they are cleansed from the guilt and con-