;1rays again, ns he had prayed before, that that grace and peace may be multiplied; "men ought always to pray, and not to faint." 2. Where those blessings are to be fou-nd. "In tbe knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." "This is life eternal " the Loru ,Jesus said," that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou ha~t sent." Then~ is no spiritual life, there is no gra~e and peace, outside the sphere of the knowledge of God. ?ut the knowle?ge which is life is personal knowledge; not that exte:nal knowledge ".l'b1ch_ may be ga1~ed from books; but inner spiritual kn_owl~dge gai_ned by commu?10~ with the Lord m prayer anil holy sacrament, in the daily life of faith and self-demal, m the constant adoring contemplation of the life and death of Christ, in the habitual effort to live unto the Lord and to do all to the glory of God. St. Paul might well count all things but loss for the excellency of this know- le?ge; for the grace of God flows abundantly into the soul that seeks this heavenly w1~dorn, and ~h~ peace of God that passeth all understanding keepeth the heart that longcth for this mner knowledge of God and his Christ. 3. Our warrant/or expecting them. Grace and peace are very precious, above all that we can ask or think• we might shrink from asking for blessings so far above our deserts. But God bath c~lled us, the invitation comes from him ; freely of his own sovereign bounty he bids us come to him. He attracts us by his OWll glory and virtue, revealing to us his glorious attribute~, manifesting his love and power in the ceaseless activity of bis providence and his grace. Thus he kindles in the Christian soul the strong desire of the knowledcre of God, he satisfies that desire by the revelation of himself; and through that f~ll and holy knowledge, granted to them that hunger after righteousness, he gives them all things necessary for life and godliae$S-promises precious and exceeding great, precious beyond all price, inconceivably great in their grandeur and magnificence, and yet within our grasp, weak and helpless as we are, because the Divine power bath given them and the Divine word is pledged. 4. Their greatness. The gifts of God must be great and precious, worthy of the Giver; the blessings which come from the energy of the Divine power must be deep and sacred. They are twofold. (1) Escape from corruption. The world is corrupt-it Jieth in wickedness; it is lust, the sinful desire of the flesh, that bath corrupted the fair creation of God. And this corruption is all around us; we hear of its workings daily, we see its miserable defilement spreading everywhere; we feel its taint in our own souls. It is hard to escape from it. As God's angels once laid hold of the hand of Lot, and brought him out of the doomed city, and said," Escape for thy life: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed;" so now it is the Divine power only which can give us strength and resolution to escape from the many sins which do so easily beset us. (2) The mountain to which we must escape is the mountain of the Lord's house, the place where his honour dwelleth. We can be saved from the corrup- tion of the world only by being made partakers of a holineRs not our own. "He that is born of God cannot commit sin, for his seed abideth in him." To be kept safo from sin, we need the abiding presence and growth of the heavenly birth; we need, as St. Peter tells us, to be made partakers c,f the Divine nature. This seems so lofty a state as to be above our reach. The promise of the Spirit is a promise precious and exceeding great; it seems sometimes so great that we cannot lift up our hearts to receive it. "Will God indeed dwell with man?" we say in our unbelief. " Can these poor bodies of ours become the temples of the Holy Ghost?" But we have his blessed word, his precious promise; and we know that he is the God of truth. We have the assurance of his holy apostles; we have the experience of thousands of his saints who have proved in their inmost lives the deep reality of this heavenly gift; and something of its blessedness, it may be, we have felt ourselves, though our sin and our want of perseverance have sadly grieved the Holy Spirit of God. and interfered with the freo working of the new life within us. But "all things are possible to him that believeth." Let us believe his Word; he has given us the promises, that through them we might become partakers of the IJivine nature. Let us trust him; let us only do what he bids us, giving diligence to make our calling and election sure; and, doubt it not, but earnestly believe, he will fulfil liis holy promise: "We will come," saith the Lord; God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, will come and evermore abide with those humble, happy souls who love the Saviour Christ and keep his ·word. LESSONS. 1. Faith is precious exceedingly; the knowledge of God and of his Christ is eternal life. Let us earnestly seek those sacred treasures. 2. God has given us all on. r. 1-21.] THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 13
things necessary for life and godliness. Let us thankfully accept bis gifts and fait.bfol ly use them. 3. Would you realize that highest gift of all, to be made partakers of the Divine nature? 'fhen "love not the world: ... the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are not of the Father, but are of the world."