from the King of kings. They are of the blood royal of heaven. And though their present condition be a lowly one, their prospects are the brightest that hope ever painted ; bright- er than what eye hath seen, or ear hath heard. It doth not yet appear what they shall be ; but they know that when he shall appear, they shall be like him, for they shall see him as he is* But apart from these descriptions which encircle the saved family with such peculiar glory even here, their simple condition of being God's family calls for a little farther notice. For it is not outward circumstances that form, or give interest to, a home or a family ; it is the living pulse of affection that is beating there. Neither earthly pomp, nor earthly poverty, can materially alter the real inward character of that little circle of human hearts which man calls a family. Bright skies and sunshine can- not weaken or sever the bond ; neither can they allure them away from rejoicing in each other's joy and love. Dark days ind tempests cannot sunder them ; they do but make them gather more closely together, as being all in all to each other then. So with the family of the redeemed, It is not their outward circumstances or pros*
* 1 John iii. & 2
14 THE FAMILY.
pects that give them the name ; it is something far tenderer and deeper than these. It is the pulse of heavenly affection, throbbing through every member, and coming down from the in- finite neart above ; it is this that makes them what they are. It is under this aspect that God delights to look upon them. It is for this reason, especially, that he has given to them the name they bear.
The word family is a sacred one, even among the children of the world. There is a hallowed tenderness about it, which few, save the wickedest, do not in some measure feeL One of their own poets has thus expressed the feeling :
Beneath the foulest mother's curse
No living thing can thrive ; A mother is a mother still,
The holiest thing alive.
I by no means accord with the sentiment contained in these words ; the language is too strong. Still it shows the world's feeling as to the strength and sacredness of the family bond. And there is much of truth contained, or at least implied in it. No other earthly circle can be compared with that of the family. It com- prises all that a human heart most values and delights in. It is the centre where all human
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affections meet and entwine, the vessel into which they all pour themselves with such joy- ous freedom. There is no one word which contains in it so many endearing associations and precious remembrances, hid in the heart like gold. It appeals at once to the very centre of man's being, — his " heart of hearts." All that is sweet, soothing, tender, and true, is wrapt up in that one name. It speaks not of one circle or one bond ; but of many circles and many bonds, — all of them near the heart. The family home, the family hearth, the family table, family habits, family voices, family to- kens, family salutations, family melodies, family joys and sorrows ; what a mine of re- collections lies under that one word ! Take these away, and earth becomes a mere church- yard of crumbling bones ; and man as so many grains of loosened sand, or at best, but as the fragments of a torn flower, which the winds are scattering abroad.
All that is beautiful in human relationship, or tender in human affection, or gentle in hu- man intercourse; — all that is loveable and precious in the movements of a human heart from its lowest depth to its uppermost surface, all these are wrapt up in the one name of
16 THE FAMILY.
family. For close-knit bonds, for stedfasl faithfulness in love, for depth of sympathy, for endurance in trial and danger — where shall we find any thing that can be compared to the story of earth's family circles ? Conjugal love, parental love, filial love, brotherly love, sisterly love, — all are here. The many streams of human affection empty themselves into it, or flow out of it for the fertility and gladness of the earth.
We need not wonder, then, that this name should be chosen as one of the Church's pecu- liar names. God delights in it as the name by which his company of chosen ones is to be specially called. THE FAMILY OF GOD — that is the Church's name. As such he dwells in the midst of it, cares for it, and watches over it. His dealings with it are those of a father — fond yet strict — loving yet wise — sitting amongst his children, having his eye on each, and ordering in his gracious wisdom all the concerns of his household.
His heart is there ! Yes, it is in his church that God's heart may be said specially to be. There it unfolds itself in a way, such as it can do amid no other order of his creatures. There it shows itself in all its manifold fulness, such
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