the fact of Christ's sufferings in the past and glories in the presmt, the better for their success And for the world. • III. THE LISTE?-.'TNG, GAZING ANGELA. "To look into" is literally" to bend the body so as to gaze upon an object," as the apostles did at the sepnlchre. 'l.'his graphic figure 111ay, perhaps, be a reminiscence of the quiet forms which sat the one at the head and the 0t.hcr at the foot where the body 0f Jesus had lain, as gazing upon a mystery and guarding a holy place, or it may even recall the cherubim bending wit.h outstretched and meetina "·ings abo,·e the mercy-seat. At all events, it speaks of the remoter and yet earnest interest which other orders of beings in other worlds take in the story of redemption. Men have the honour of proclaiming it, whether as prophets or evangelists. 'l'o them it belongs. He helped not angels, but he helped the" seed of Abraham." 'l'herefore they do not speak of it, but stand around, like spectators in some great arena, all silent and all eyes. Three great truths concerning angelic natures are here. They are capable of IMrning. 'l'hey too know God by his work which excites in them wonder and interest as it unfolds. The life and death of Christ, with the resultina salvation1 are a revelation of God to angels no less than to men, and, though they hav~ no share in the redemption, they have a share in the knowledge which the cross brinas to them as to us. From it far-darting beams of light shoot earthwards and upw~rds. It is the crowning manife~tation of the Divine nature for all worlds and orders of being, as for all ages. IV. THE ONE SPIBIT DWELLING IN PROPHETS AND EVANGELISTS. Not only is the theme the same, but the animating impulse also. The power by, which the prophet saw all the wonder that should be is the same as the power which sat in cloven tongue3 of fire on the heads of all the Church on Pentecost, and has ever since been the strength of every evangelist and of every Christian. Inspiration is not a past phenomenon, but the permanent possession of the Church. Nay, the Spirit which of old came for special purposes on selected men and tarried not with them, is now, as it were, a denizen of earth, for it is" sent down from heaven" once for all, to abide among us, touching all lips which humbly and prayerfully speak Christ's Name among men. And it was the "Spirit of Christ" which dwelt in the prophets, and which they ever called "the Spirit of the Lord." From the beginning the Word was God; the manifested Jehovah of the old covenant is the Jesus Christ of the new. He is the Lord and Sender of that Spirit which spoke through all the prophets; he is the Medium of all revelation, the Self-manifestation of God from eternity. It is Christ who binds all the ages into one, filling the past, the present, and the future. It is Christ who binds all worlds and beings into one, revealing and ruling for angels and men. It is Christ who is the 'l'heme and the Inspiration of all prophets and all teachers. To him cherubim and sera- phim turn with eager gaze. The goodly fellowship of prophets speak of him ; of him speak the great company who publish the Word. Let us, too, yield to the attraction of the cross, which binds all things in heaven and earth in golden unity. Let us gaze on those wonders of Divine pity and righteousness and love which have given to heaven a new conception of God. Let us open our spirits to that Spirit of Christ whose dwelling in our hearts shall set us free from sin and death. Let us cleave to that message which, in the history of his incarnation, death, and royal glories, brings to onr hearts the good news that sheds light over all the darkest places of our human expe- rience, and endows us with full salvation.-A.. M.
Ver. 18.-The Christian's hope. The grammatical structure of this verse marks out the principal command as being that to hope, while two subsidiary participial clauses give subordinate exhortations to girding up the loins of the mind, and to being sober, as accompaniments of and helps to this Christian hope. 'l'he true meaning of the injunction is given in the Revised Version, which substitutes" hope perfectly" for "hope to the end." Peter is not encouraging to persistence hut to completeness in our hope. 'l'he characteristic which he would have all Christians cultivate refers, not to its duration, but to its degree. Such a perfect hope is the only one corresponding to the perfect object on which it is fixed-the grace that will be ours when Christ shall ,;ome. The more clearly that object is discerned, the more vigorous will be the joyous anticipation which grasps it. But such strength of hope will not come of itself, h 1,ee<ls effort and diticiplioe, self-stimulating and self-restraint. cu. 1. 1-25.J TIIE FIRS'r EPISTLE GENERAL OF PKL'gft, 33