Thus only can the electric chain be complctc,l; the healer a.nd the he:1.lc,l bo brought into vital contact. Directions must be complied with a.s the first oondition or physical hMling and of spiritual salvation. The best gift we have for our fellow-men ie the gift of the head and hMrt. This is lasting ; others perish in the using. We cannot lose the memory nor the blessing of good words. If we have no money t.o give in alms, we may make our fellow-man rich from our hORrt. Intelligence and sympathy are what 11ll men want, and none are thankless for. We reap ingratitude where wo ha,•e not really shown our heart. The best spiritual gifts recognize the worth of the recipient. Let us treat men llS our equals-beings possessed of will. There are possi- bilities before them; let us reckon upon them and believe in them, thus inspiring them in their weakness with such healthy belief. 2. The Divino power in the human means. We cannot command our fellow-men except in tho name of some authority which both he and we are subject to. He who can re~t his appeals upon the firm words, "By order," or "In the name of the queen," or the like, has a might over wavering wills. Rea.Uy to govern means first to have obeyed. The" Name" here signified a vast reality. "Jesus Christ of Nazareth I" ltis the symbolofall power in heaven and earth; supreme, unrivalled, purely loving and beneficent. As ministers of Christ, we are servants of the Almi~hty, channels of charity, agents of a kingdom that must prevail. This power will be felt both by words and deeds. The tones of Peter's voice thrilled; his bidding awoke the slumbering power of volition; finally his hand, joined with that of the sufferer, completed the union of the Divine agency to save with the sufferer's will to be saved. 'l'he wea.k feet and joints became firm; the whilom prostrate one h,l).ped up and i;tood; from this proceeded to walk; finally went with the healers into foe temple, exultingly to render praise to God. The thankful heart is the best sacrifice we can offer to God. Without it, the best crown of the blessing he designs to confer is not attained. If men see our state changed, but not our heart, God is defrauded of his glory and his due in us. The joy of the comforted heart is the best proof of the love of the Comforter. He means our freedom and our joy; what if we disappoint his thought, so that it flowers not and bears no fruit? IV. 'l'HE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CURE. 1. Popular observation. They identified the man. They compared his present and past condition. Comparison is the founda- tion of our knowledge of truth. 2. Popular reasoriing. 'l'hey argued that the change could proceed only from one cause, and that Divine. The quality of changes points to the qual,ity of the cause. Extend this reasoning, and the best, as the most popular, argument for Christianity is this: the changes produced by it in man's condition prove it to be of origin Divine. 3. Popular amazement and ecstasy. Such are the words of the historian. Wonder is the reflection of the unusual and the unexpected in the mind. And this passes into ecstasy or transport when through the sensuous the supersensual, when through the natural the supernatural, appears. If all the course of life were common and familiar, God would be forgotten. Were wonders incessantly repeated they w1Juld become no longer wonders, and their power were lost. God shows his band now and again that the spell of custom may be broken; hides it that we may reflect on what we have seen. Mingled fear and joy ever attend Divine revelations; fear in the thought of our utter dependence, joy in the thought that in that very dependence lies our hope and our deliverance.-J.
Vers. 11-26.-Witneiis of Pef-er to Jesm. A great congregation, in the mood of wonder and prepared to listen, is before him. He who had once denied his Master in a moment of weakness, is now enabled with great power to give testimony of him. L A DISCLAIMER OF INDEPENDENT POWER OR JIIEBIT IN THE APOSTLES. The note of a genuine mission. The false prophet and the magician neglect nothing that will enhance their supposed supernatural character. The apostles insist that they are but men, have no power of themselves, are the agents merely of a higher will. So, too, peculiar piety on their part is disclaimed. They did not aim at the reputation of saints; they refused to encourage the natural delusion that they m'llst be better than other men. This was not the way to popul.uity, but the simple course of honest witnesses for God. II. 'l'HE RECENT EVEBT TRACED TO ITS eoUBCE. 1. God is the faithful God, God ri Abraham, liiaac, and Jacob, God of their fa.there; these were dear and time-honoured CH, m. 1-26.] THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 108