II. In its duties —
The duties of the saints are,
1. To shine —
[It is justly observed by our Lord, that " no man lights a candle, to put it under a bushel or a bed ; but sets it in a candle- stick, that all who are in the house may see the light." It is not for themselves alone that the saints are endued with the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, but for God, and for their fellow-creatures ; for God, that his power and grace may be magnified on earth ; and for their fellow-creatures, who are to be benefited by their instructions, their influence, and their example1 Our responsibility in this respect is not suffi- ciently considered. But if we are stewards even of our earthly possessions, and bound to lay them out for God, much more are we "stewards of the manifold grace of Godk," and bound to administer freely unto others what we ourselves have freely received1 ]
2. To be receiving more grace from Christ in order to their shining with yet brighter lustre —
[It is from Christ that the Holy Spirit must be derived. It is " He who has the residue of the Spirit™." " The Father gave not the Spirit to him by measure11," but in all his immea- surable fulness ; and " out of that fulness must we all receive, even grace for grace0." This is strikingly represented by the prophet Zechariah, who, speaking apparently of the civil and ecclesiastical governors of his Church, Joshua and Zerubbabel, represents Christ in reality (for he is both the King and Priest of his Church) as the inexhaustible source of that golden oil, which is continually communicated by him to every lamp in
his sanctuary p By prayer and faith we must keep that
communication open, and entreat him, that, " as he has given us life, so he would give it us more abundantly " ]
We would take occasion from this subject to suggest
to you,
1 . An important inquiry —
[Are you Christians indeed ? If this question be too inde- finite, then I ask, Are you as lights shining in a dark place ? Surely this matter is not difficult to determine. You may easily see whether you are living like the world around you, or whether you are reproving others by the brightness of your example. This idea is proposed by our Lord under the figure of a "broad and a narrow way ;" the one easy and much trodden, the
' Matt. v. 14—16.
k 1 Pet. iv. 10. • Matt. x. 8. m Mai. ii. 15
n John iii. 34.
° John i. 16. p Zech. iv. 2—4, 11 — 14.
u u 2