' Life of Dr. MacGregor of St. Cuthherts, 289.
EPHESIANS V. 9 237
As the branch abides in the vine,
Through seasons delayed or long, Till its clusters of purple shine
And the vintage echoes with song; As tendril and leaf and flower
Partake the life of the tree, And further its use and power,
In bondage of growth made free — So, Lord, till life's ultimate hour,
My soul would abide in Thee !
As the ripples move with the tide,
Far over the world-wide deep, And, in union naught may divide,
One rhythm and purpose keep; As the lightest eddies of foam
Are held in that vast decree, And never a wave may roam —
So, Maker of shore and sea, Desiring no lovelier home.
My spirit would move in Thee!
As fragrance grows in the rose,
Of petal and bloom a part, A mystery no man knows
Enwrought in its innermost heart — So, through unsearchable love,
A wave at one with Thy sea, A branch Thine hand can approve,
A sweetness enshrined yet free. My God, I would live and move
And have my being in Thee!^
II.
The Varieties of Fkuit which the Light Produces.
"In all goodness and righteousness and truth." In Christ's garden tliere forms in clustered beauty and perfectness the ripe growth of virtue, which in the sunshine of His love and under the freshening breath of His Spirit sends forth its spices and "yieldeth its fruit every month." In it there abide goodness,
* Mary R. Jarvia.
238 THE FRUIT OF THE LIGHT
righteousness, truth — these three ; and who shall say which of them is greatest ?
In St. Paul's letter to the Galatians the fruit is divided into nine varieties, whereas in his letter to the Ephesians it is divided into three only. In the former the varieties are, " love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance " ; in the latter they are " goodness, righteousness, and truth." The former are more or less specific, the latter generic. In the Galatian list he is thinking of several Christian graces in detail ; in the Ephesian list he brings out a few great outstanding graces which are inclusive of many more. But the geometrical axiom that the whole is greater than its parts and includes them does not cover the ground. We dare not limit the elements that go to the making of a Christian character to nine or nineteen, for the sweetest graces referred to elsewhere by the Apostle are omitted from both lists. Faith and love are in the chorus, but hope is not ; peace and joy are in, but patience is not ; and no spiritual chorus can be complete, or is destined to create the most perfect harmony by the due proportion of parts, which leaves out such seraphic songsters as Hope and Patience, to say nothing of other graces omitted, whose presence always makes music. St. Paul formed his chorus of graces on the Galatian scale some years before he wrote to the Ephesians, and so to omit none now, he writes " for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteous- ness and truth." No grace is left out here, for the fruit grows and ripens in every garden of goodness — the melody of the Spirit is heard in every righteous ring of the honest heart, and the harmony is like the harmony of heaven without a single discord when truth is added.
The different kinds of fruit are not to be separated, but should grow on the one stem, should blend in the one character. So many of us are good on one side and not on another. One side of our life is sweet, while another side is sour. Or we have pity, but no hope ; we have tears, but no laughter. We are one-sided, lop- sided, and acceptable fruit cannot be found on every branch. When we live clear out in the light of Christ, the genial heat and radiance will make every part fruitful, and on every side men will see the bounties of the Spirit.
Goodness is the adjustment of our relations to God, righteous-
EPHESIANS V. 9 239
ness the adjustment of our relations to man, truth the adjustment of our relations to self. Goodness makes me worship, righteous- ness makes me act, truth makes me think. Goodness makes me look up, righteousness makes me look out, truth makes me look in. Goodness makes me see God, righteousness makes me see others, truth makes me see self. Goodness gives me a vision of the world above me, righteousness gives me a vision of the world without me, truth gives me a vision of the world within me. Truth is thus the man at the wheel, directing the ship, and bringing it safely to its haven.
^ As seen through the prism on which the rays of the sun fall, the " fruit of the light " is in all red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. These are loosely the primary colours, but strictly they are only three — red, yellow, and blue. These are the principal colours that we see tremble on the rainbow across the sky, but these primary colours are split up into many more as we watch them in their infinite variety in foliage and flower. And so the fruit of the inward light which is the result of a Spirit-filled soul, is in all goodness and righteousness and truth — the primary colours of the Kingdom, which divide themselves again into all the graces of the Christian life.^