sense; but the reception, in t.he mind, of the funda.menta.l l,octrines of the Christian faith by a.II professed believcirs. 2. Essentia.l oneness in aim and spirit; all being e.nima.ted by the same desire to promote the glory or Christ a.nd the elevation of man- kind; all having the sa.me spirit of earnestness a.nd holy expectation. 3. Readiness to concerle and co-operate. 'l'bere can be no good work without hearty union of forces, and there ca.n be no such combining without a cheerful rea.dine~s to concede to one another. Each must " esteem other better than himself." 4. Mutual esteem and affection. 'I.'bis can only be attained by a disposition to recognize and to honour all that is best in other people, and a determination to make the lea.st of anything tba.t is unpleasing or even unworthy. II. ITS ATTRACTIVENESS. (Ver. 2.) As fragrant a3 the sacred oil used in priestly consecration is the odour of brotherly love. And as an exquisite fragrance attracts whilst anything offensive repels, so the presence of unity in the Church is a constant invitation, unformed and voiceless, but influential and effective. No one will come to the community where discord is the prevailing state; many hearts will be won, many feet will repair to the circle \vbere peace and concord dwell. III. lTs BEAUTY, (Ver. 3.) It is as bc:1uLiful in the moral realm as the dew or: which the sun is shining is exquisite in the material. We admire unity when we see it. It shows the presence of the finest moral and spiritual qualities. It is the fair product of self-control, of obedience to the Word and will of God, of the study or the character and spirit of Jesus Christ. It is the reproduction of his own life. It is a spiritual result on which the eye of the soul rests with a pure and keen delight. IV. ITS VALUE AS VITAL TO ALL TRUE SUCCESS. (Ver. 3.) "There the Lord commanded the blessinii;," etc. There may be the appearance of success without it, but not the reality. Other, human qualities may command great congregations, l1uge contributions, elegant and commodious premises; but without the unity which our Lord requires in hi>! people, there will be no Divine blessing, there will not be tho communication of the" life for evermore," the eternal life which is born of his Spirit. No leader or teacher can over-estimate the value of the spirit of unity in the Church of Christ. No surrender of our own preferences can be too great to secure it. For nothing should we pray more earnestly : " Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; " Jesus himself prayed that " they all may be one." They who cannot achieve any great things in utterance or in organization may render essential service by hreMhing and diffusing a peaceful spirit, by promoting the unity which is the unvarying condition of ill real success.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-3.-Unity. 'I.'bis most delightful little psalm summons our attention to the exceeding excellence of this grace of unity, and by so doing it invites us to consider what are its elements and conditions. Now, we all of us have a general idea of what unity is; we need not labour nfter an exact definition, anu we are ready to subscribe our assent to the declaration of the psalm, and say of it," Behold, bow good and pleasant it is I" These two qualities do not alwayll go together; there arc many things that are good but are not at 1111 pleasant, and we know that there 11re many things which are plea<ant which are not at 1111 good. But of the grace of unity, both can be affirmed. Now, this will be seen as we consider- I. WHAT, HEBE:, THIS GBA0E OF UNITY 1B LIKENED TO, To the sacred consecrating oil with which tbn prieHts of God were anointeu (cf. Exod. xxx. 22-33). And 111s0 to the dew which descended on Ma unt Hermon. 1. Take these two similitudes together. 'l'hat which is cocamon to them h\ th is their so descending, flowing dowu, that, as in the case of the Loly oil, the whole person of the priest is sanctified by it; it descended from the head to the beard, and thence to the borders of the priestly garment, so that bis whole service was consecrated, and all bis members. An,l so with the dew on the lo[ty Hermon; it stayed not there, but descended-the word" descended" is used in each case, it is the key-word of the psalm, like the word "keep" in Ps. cxxi:-to the lower heights, and thence to the plains, so that the whole land, from H~rm?n ~u th~ north to Zion in the south, was blessed thereby. Now, the grace of umty 1s 1n this respect 272 THE BOOK OF PSALMS. [PB. oxxxm. 1-3,