from the collection of ,brays ,advent   
,christian ,church in ,iberia1          
,missouri1 ,josephine ,paolucci and the 
,online ,distributed ,proofreading ,team
 at https3_/_/www4pgdp4net4             
,,with ,,god ,,in ,,the ,,world         
99       99       99       99       99  
,,by ,,the ,,rt4 ,,rev4 ,,charles ,h4   
,,brent1 ,d4,d4        ,,adventure ,,for
 ,,god4 ,crown #hvo4       ,,the        
,,consolations ,,of ,,the ,,cross4      
,small #abmo4       ,,leadership4 ,crown
 #hvo4       ,,liberty ,,and ,,other    
,,sermons4 ,crown #hvo4       ,,the     
,,mind ,,of ,,christ ,,jesus ,,on ,,the 
,,church ,,of ,,the ,,living ,,god4     
,small #hvo4       ,,presence4 ,small   
#abmo4       ,,the ,,splendor ,,of ,,the
 ,,human ,,body4 ,small #abmo4          
,,with ,,god ,,in ,,the ,,world4 ,small 
#abmo4       ,,the ,,revelation ,,of    
,,discovery4 ,crown #hvo4               
,,prisoners ,,of ,,hope4 ,crown #hvo4   
,,the ,,inspiration ,,of                
,,responsibility1 ,,and ,,other         

,,papers4 ,crown      #hvo4       ,a    
,,master ,,builder3 ,,being ,,the ,,life
 ,,and ,,letters ,,of ,,bishop          
,,satterlee4 #hvo4       ,,the ,,mount  
,,of ,,vision4 ,crown #hvo4  ,,longmans1
 ,,green1  ,,co4         99       99    
99       99       99     ,,with ,,god   
,,in ,,the ,,world  ,a ,series of       
,papers  ,,by  ,,charles ,h4 ,,brent1   
,d4,d4  ,,bishop ,,of ,,western ,,new   
,,york  ,,new ,,impression  ,,longmans1 
,,green1 ,,and ,,co4 #ci ,,paternoster  
,,row1 ,,london ,,fourth ,,avenue       
#cj,,th ,,street1 ,,new ,,york ,,bombay1
 ,,calcutta1 ,,and ,,madras #aiai       
,copyright1 #ahii1 by ,longmans1 ,green1
  ,co4  ,,first ,,edition1 ,,august1    
#ahii ,,reprinted ,,january1 #aijj1     
,,january1 #aijb ,,october1 #aije1      
,,february1 #aijh ,,august1 #aiaj1      
,,february1 #aiab ,,october1 #aiab1     
,,november1 #aiab ,,january1 #aiad      
,,february1 #aiaf ,,january1 #aiai      
,,to ,,my ,,friends ,,john ,w4 ,,wood1  
,,silas ,,mcbee ,,and ,,james ,l4       

,,houghteling     ,preface   ,charles   
,darwin says somewhere that the only    
object in writing a book is a proof of  
earnestness4 ,whether it is the only    
object1 may be a question2 it is        
certainly one object4 ,and the poorest  
book that ever went to press1 merits    
respect1 provided that its writer is    
sincere and speaks from conviction4 ,it 
is this and the sense that thought is   
not our own until we impart it to       
others1 that has encouraged me to write 
these pages--originally a series of     
papers prepared for the ,saint ,andrew's
 ,cross1 the organ of a ,society for    
which ,i am glad to profess publicly a  
deep admiration and affection4 ,often1  
more frequently far than is noted1 ,i   
have borrowed the thought and language  
of others to express my own mind4 ,i    
send out this little volume with the    
hope that1 before it meets with the fate
 of the ephemeral literature to which it
 belongs1 it may help a few here and    
there to take up life's journey with    

steadier steps and cheerier mien4  ,c4  
,h4 ,b4     ,contents   ,,chapters  ,i4 
,,the ,,universal ,,art                 
,page #a  ,,ii4 ,,friendship ,,with     
,,god--,,looking                        
#i  ,,iii4 ,,friendship ,,with          
,,god--,,speaking                       
#bj  ,,iv4 ,,friendship ,,with          
,,god--,,the ,,response                 
#bi  ,v4 ,,the ,,testing ,,of           
,,friendship                            
#dj  ,,vi4 ,,knitting ,,broken          
,,friendship                            
#eb  ,,vii4 ,,friendship ,,in ,,god     
#fa  ,,viii4 ,,friendship ,,in          
,,god--,,continued                      
#ga  ,,ix4 ,,the ,,church ,,in ,,prayer 
#hd  ,x4 ,,the ,,great ,,act ,,of       
,,worship                               
#ig  ,,xi4 ,,witnesses ,,unto ,,the     
,,uttermost ,,part ,,of ,,the ,,earth   
#aaa  ,,xii4 ,,the ,,inspiration ,,of   
,,responsibility                   #abc 
,,appendix--,,where ,,god ,,dwells      
#ace     ,chapter ,i  ,the ,universal   

,art   ,it is productive of much        
mischief to try to make people believe  
that the life of prayer is easy4 ,in    
reality there is nothing quite so       
difficult as strong prayer1 nothing so  
worthy of the attention and the exercise
 of all the fine parts of a great       
manhood4 ,on the other hand there is no 
man who is not equal to the task4 ,so   
splendid has this human nature of ours  
become through the ,incarnation that it 
can bear any strain and meet any demand 
that ,god sees fit to put upon it4 ,some
 duties are individual and special1 and 
there is exemption from them for the    
many1 but there is never any absolution 
from a duty for which a man has a       
capacity4 ,there is one universal       
society1 the ,church1 for which all are 
eligible and with which all are bound to
 unite2 there is one universal book1 the
 ,bible1 which all can understand and   
which it is the duty of all to read2    
there is one universal art1 prayer1 in  
which all may become well skilled and to

 the acquirement of which all must bend 
their energies4  ,active or dormant1 the
 instinct of prayer abides1 a faithful  
tenant1 in every soul4 ,the peasants who
 went to the ,incarnate ,one and said   
,lord1 teach us to pray1 were           
representative of a whole race1 a race  
which feels stirring within its breast a
 capacity for prayer1 but whose power to
 pray falls far short of the desire4    
,the instinct to pray may be            
undeveloped1 or paralyzed by violence1  
or it may lie bed-ridden in the soul    
through long neglect2 but even so1 no   
benumbed faculty is more readily roused 
to life and nerved to action than that  
of prayer4 ,the faculty is there2 no one
 is without it4 ,whether it expands1 and
 how1 is only a question of the will of 
the person concerned4  ,it is good to be
 quite honest and frank4 ,is it not so  
that the real thing that makes men dumb 
towards ,god is1 in the first instance1 
at any rate1 not intellectual doubt     
about the efficacy of prayer but the    

difficulty of it all--the rebellion of  
the flesh1 the strain upon the          
attention1 the claim upon the time8 ,are
 not the common stumbling-blocks in the 
way of prayer incidental rather than    
essential8 ,do men give up prayer       
because they are conscientiously        
convinced that they would do violence to
 their noble nature if they were to     
persist in its exercise8 ,nothing can   
release a man from the duty of praying  
but the profound conviction that it     
would be a sin for him to continue to   
pray4 ,and it might be safely added that
 any one thus momentarily caught in the 
toils of pure reason1 any one endowed   
with such a delicate conscience as would
 lead to this1 must eventually turn     
again with joy to the neglected task4   
,even the great agnostic scientist1     
,tyndall1 who1 of course1 had a very    
limited view of what prayer was capable 
of accomplishing1 and was in a position 
to perceive only one dim ray of its     
beauty--its subjective refining         

influence upon the petitioner--even such
 an one declares that prayer in its     
purer forms hints at disciplines which  
few of us can neglect without moral     
loss4#a  ,how to perfect the talent of  
prayer--that is the question4 ,bent upon
 this errand many wind themselves in the
 folds of complicated rules or bathe    
themselves in the vapour of fascinating 
theories1 all to no purpose4 ,or1 as in 
the case of most things worth coveting1 
they cast around for some easy way of   
attainment1 only to experience that     
where they looked for crowns to fall1   
they find the tug's to come1--that's    
all4 ,simplicity and courage are two    
virtues indispensable for those who     
covet to pray well4 ,especially must    
they be ready to embrace difficulty and 
court pain--and that through the long   
stretch of a life-time4      ,let no man
 think that sudden in a minute          
,all is accomplished and the work is    
done2--     ,though with thine earliest 
dawn thou shouldst begin it             

,scarce were it ended in thy setting    
sun4  ,let it be clearly understood at  
the outset1 then1 that though the art of
 prayer is a universal art it is the    
most difficult of all4 ,but even so this
 is not an excuse for discouragement or 
a justification of spiritual indolence1 
for a man's best desires are always the 
index and measure of his possibilities2 
and the most difficult duty that a man  
is capable of doing is the duty that    
above all he should do4  ,a moment's    
reflection must convince us that man    
cannot teach man to pray1 because of    
what prayer is4 ,prayer is man's side of
 converse with ,god2 it is speech       
,godward4 ,how passing absurd it would  
be for a third person to presume to     
instruct either one of two companions   
how to hold converse with his friend6   
,were he to venture the impertinence he 
would develop in his pupil the curse of 
self-consciousness--that is all4 ,we can
 learn to converse with men only by     
conversing2 we can learn to pray to ,god

 only by praying4 ,prayer is a universal
 art1 but there is only one ,teacher for
 all1 and ,he never teaches two persons 
in exactly the same way4 ,god's         
friendships are as diverse as the souls 
with whom ,he interchanges confidences4 
,these confidences must come from       
,himself2 none else can impart them4    
,there are certain great truths about   
prayer which may be formulated to good  
purpose--fundamental laws governing all 
fellowship with ,god1 laws to which all 
in common must give heed2 but beyond    
this one may not venture4 ,in the matter
 of prayer as in all else ,god reserves 
to ,himself the exclusive right of      
imparting ,his most intimate secrets    
directly to each separate soul1 having a
 separate confidence for each according 
to its capacity1 temperament1 and all   
those qualities which distinguish every 
man from every other man4  ,though we   
may have learned the fundamental        
principles of prayer from devout friends
 and teachers1 whatever we really know  

of prayer we have learned by praying4   
,even the mother1 at whose knee the     
earliest phrases of prayer were lisped  
out1 at the best only led us gently into
 the presence of ,god4 ,it is not too   
much to say that the ,church herself    
cannot do more than put the soul very   
near ,god and leave it there1 trusting  
that something will come of it4 ,the    
rest must proceed in direct course from 
the lips of the ,most ,high ,himself4   
,so delicate and subtle is the          
correspondence between the soul and     
,god1 so intensely personal a thing is  
prayer#b that we are often seriously    
hindered rather than helped by the      
blundering but well-intended efforts of 
those who would guide us to better      
devotion4 ,even to put a manual of      
private prayers into the hands of some  
persons who have not been accustomed to 
reach ,god through a book might be      
sufficient to mar the spontaneity of    
their approach to ,him and check the    
intimate relations with ,him which have 

hitherto always obtained4 ,because it   
suits one person's temperament to call  
in the aid of a manual it by no means   
follows that every one else should be   
presented with a copy of the book4      
,indeed happy are those souls who have  
always been able to speak with a        
reverent yet free familiarity with ,god1
 having nothing to aid save the vision  
of ,his face2 and the final aim of every
 good manual is to emancipate the soul  
into the joyousness of a spontaneity    
which is wholly devoid of blighting     
self-consciousness4  ,it ought to be    
further added that every one who        
regularly uses set forms of prayer      
should habitually incorporate into his  
devotions at least some words of his own
 which1 however poor and few1 yet are   
fresh and new from his heart4 ,of course
 what has been said about forms of      
prayer applies exclusively to private   
devotions4 ,when the great corporate    
life of the ,church speaks in worship it
 must be with one clear voice unmixed   

with the idiosyncrasies of the          
individual and summing up the           
aspirations of the best4 ,but of this   
later4  ,the world just now is sadly in 
need of better service1 but before this 
can be rendered there must be better    
prayer4 ,a low standard of prayer means 
a low standard of character and a low   
standard of service4 ,those alone labour
 effectively among men who impetuously  
fling themselves upward towards ,god4   
,in view of this it is a comfort to feel
 that no earnest man1 whatever be the   
stage of his spiritual development1 can 
be satisfied with his present           
attainments in his life of prayer4      
,fortunately for us1 here as well as in 
other departments of life the ideal is  
always pressing itself upon our notice  
and making the actual blush with shame  
for what it is4 ,and it is just because 
this is so that there is hope of better 
things4 ,the ideal beckons as well as   
condemns4 ,what if long steeps of toil1 
strewn with the stones of difficulty1   

lie in between6 ,god's home is far up on
 the hills1 and nowhere is ,he so easily
 found as in a difficulty4 ,as has been 
said1 prayer is quite the most difficult
 task a man can undertake2 but it has   
this gracious compensation that in no   
other duty does ,god lend such direct1  
face-to-face help4 ,man may speak wise  
words about prayer2 the ,church may bid 
to prayer2 but ,god alone can unfold to 
souls the delicate secrets of prayer4   
,the best help is for the hardest       
duty--the help that comes straight from 
the ,lord4  ,,footnotes3  #a ,on ,prayer
 as a form of ,physical ,energy4  #b    
,maturin4     ,chapter ,,ii  ,friendship
 with ,god--,looking   ,yes1 prayer is  
speech ,godward1 and worship is man's   
whole life of friendship with ,god1     
flowing out1 as it were1 of all that    
tide of emotion and service which is    
love's best speech4 ,it is by thinking1 
then1 of the nature of fellowship       
between man and man1 which is the most  
beautiful thing in the world excepting  

only fellowship with ,god1 that we can  
get substantial help in developing the  
life of prayer4 ,consider the ,christian
 fellowship of two noble characters4 ,it
 is the greatest love and the greatest  
usefulness1 and the most open           
communication1 and the noblest          
sufferings1 and the most exemplar       
faithfulness1 and the severest truth and
 the heartiest counsel1 and the greatest
 union of minds1--,jeremy ,taylor stops 
here only because he has exhausted his  
stock of sublime phrases--of which brave
 men and women are capable4#c           
,friendship is a full1 steady stream1   
not intermittent or spasmodic4 ,it is   
not something which lasts only when each
 looks into the other's eyes2 for       
distance sometimes endears friendship1  
and absence sweeteneth it4 ,it moves and
 expands the life even when the mind is 
busied with matters prosaic and         
vexatious1 even when there is no inward 
contemplation of the features or        
character of the absent friend4 ,and    

yet1 although friendship does not       
consist in face-to-face communication   
one with another1 it is in this that it 
takes its rise1 it is by this that it is
 fed4 ,fellowship is not the same as    
friendship1 but there can be no         
friendship without fellowship4 ,that is 
to say1 there must be certain definite1 
formal acts1 acts not made once for all1
 but repeated as often as opportunity is
 given2 such form the cradle and nursery
 of friendship4 ,in themselves they are 
not much--a grasp of the hand1 a smile1 
a simple gift1 a conventional           
salutation1 a familiar talk about       
familiar things--but they introduce soul
 to soul1 and through them each gives to
 the other his deepest self4            
,friendship between man and man is no   
vague1 intangible thing whose only      
reality is its name4 ,much less can one 
think thus of friendship with ,god4     
,friendship with ,god is the friendship 
of friendships4 ,while it lives on      
strong and true even when we are not in 

conscious fellowship with ,him1 moments 
of conscious realization and            
contemplation of ,his person1 character 
and presence are as essential to        
friendship with ,him as food is         
necessary for the sustenance of life4   
,there must be times of prayer and      
occasions of definite1 formal approach  
to ,him1 the more the better1 provided  
they be healthy and free4 ,it is not an 
arbitrary enactment that declares       
morning1 noonday and evening to be the  
moments of time when the soul of man    
should with peculiar intensity lift up  
its gaze unto the hills4#d ,one         
recognizes immediately the inherent     
fitness of having conscious fellowship  
with ,god at the opening1 in the middle 
and at the close of day4 ,in the        
morning1--because man's powers are then 
replete with life1 his will nerved to   
act1 his eye clear to see2 never is he  
so well able to gain a vision of ,god1  
whether in the solitude of his room or  
in the quiet of the ,church at an early 

,eucharist1 as in the first hours of a  
new day4 ,at noon1--because the soul    
like the body needs a mid-day rest2 the 
dust of activity and the distractions of
 business will have dimmed the morning  
vision before the day is full gone1 and 
it is good to refresh the nature by     
again1 if it be only for a brief moment1
 looking straight up into the face of   
the ,most ,high4 ,at night1--for the    
evening shadows find ,god's servant with
 soiled soul and drooping aspirations in
 sore need of that cleansing and cheer  
which the sight of ,god imparts4  ,and  
the life of prayer works in a circle4   
,the devotions of the morning give tone 
to those which come at noon and night1  
while the night prayers in turn         
determine the quality of the morrow's4  
,men usually wake in the temper of mind 
in which they went to sleep4 ,it is     
all-important to gain a clear vision of 
,god as the last conscious act before   
going to rest4 ,the founder of ,french  
socialism was awakened every morning by 

a valet who said3 ,remember1 ,monsieur  
le ,comte1 that you have great things to
 do4 ,but it is not men who aspire only 
or chiefly in the morning that achieve  
great things1 but rather those who      
aspire at night4 ,what is of nature in  
the morning is of grace at night4 ,the  
vision that comes easily at the         
beginning of the unused stretch of a new
 day is harder to see when              
disappointment and failure have clouded 
the eye of hope2 but it means more4 ,the
 men who attain the highlands of the    
spiritual life never sleep with the     
wings of aspiration furled4  ,of course 
,god is always with us1 always looking  
at us with searching yet loving         
scrutiny4 ,it would be impossible for us
 to be more completely in ,his presence 
than we are2 for in ,him we live1 and   
move1 and have our being4 ,but for the  
most part our lives are spent without   
much conscious recognition of the fact4 
,he will be no more present at the last 
day when we stand before ,his throne    

than ,he is now4 ,the only difference   
will be that then we shall see ,him as  
,he sees us2 we shall be so wholly      
absorbed by that consciousness that     
there will be room for no other         
consideration as1 ,god grant1 there will
 be no other desire4 ,but before that   
moment comes men must practise looking  
into ,his face by faith so that it will 
not be unfamiliar as the face of a      
stranger when the last veil is swept    
aside4  ,among men contemplation of     
another's personality is the requisite  
preliminary of fellowship with him4     
,fellowship can begin only when there is
 a mutual recognition each of his       
fellow's presence4 ,personality is the  
most powerful magnet the world knows2   
and the finer the personality the more  
readily will all one's best impulses be 
set in motion and attracted to it4 ,how 
vain then is it to attempt to speak to  
,god before the consciousness of ,his   
living1 loving presence has caught the  
attention and absorbed the mind--or at  

any rate until we have done our best to 
see ,him1 attentive1 sympathetic1 with  
,his gaze fixed upon us4 ,power to pray 
is proportionate to the vividness of our
 consciousness of ,his presence and     
personality4 ,when a man is talking to a
 companion his mind is occupied with the
 sense of the presence of an attentive1 
sympathetic personality rather than with
 the thought of the precise words he is 
going to use4 ,his fellow acts as a     
magnet to extract his thoughts4 ,an     
orator makes his finest appeal when he  
is least conscious of himself and most  
conscious of his audience4 ,just so then
 is it with speech ,godward4 ,the moment
 a man is assured that ,god's           
personality is present and that ,his ear
 is opened earthward1 speech heavenward 
is a power and a joy1 and only then4    
,many make prayer a fine intellectual   
exercise or a training school for the   
attention--this and nothing more4 ,they 
strain their utmost1 and doubtless they 
succeed well1 to understand each        

sentence uttered and to speak it        
intelligently4 ,their minds are on what 
they are saying rather than on the      
,person to ,whom they are saying it4    
,they reap about the same benefit as    
they would if they recited attentively a
 scene from ,shakespeare4  ,i will lift 
up mine eyes unto the hills4 ,the vision
 of ,god unseals the lips of man4       
,herein lies strength for conflict with 
the common enemy of the praying world   
known as wandering thoughts4            
,personality will enchain attention when
 the most interesting intellectual1     
moral and spiritual concerns will fail  
to attract4 ,if the eye is fixed on ,god
 thought may roam where it will without 
irreverence1 for every thought is then  
converted into a prayer4 ,some have     
found it a useful thing when their minds
 have wandered off from devotion and    
been snared by some good but irrelevant 
consideration1 not to cast away the     
offending thought as the eyes are again 
lifted to the ,divine ,face1 but to take

 it captive1 carry it into the presence 
of ,god and weave it into a prayer      
before putting it aside and resuming the
 original topic4 ,this is to lead       
captivity captive4  ,it is hard for     
those to see ,god's face who confine    
their contemplation of spiritual things 
to moments of formal devotion1 who1     
while occupied with material things1 do 
not explore what is beneath and beyond  
the visible1 who do not strive to       
discern the moral and religious aspect  
of every phase of life4 ,on the other   
hand the vision of ,god becomes         
increasingly clear to such as look not  
at the things which are seen but at the 
things which are not seen4 ,these may be
 exceedingly practical people1 people   
ever active in the commonplace duties of
 life1 but their wont is to cast        
everything into the upward sweep of the 
,ascension of ,jesus and everything is  
seen by them with the glow of heaven    
upon it4 ,of course they pray well4     
,after all the sin of inattention does  

not begin at the time of formal approach
 to ,god4 ,it only makes itself         
peculiarly manifest then4 ,if a person  
lives listlessly and does not put his   
full force into the ordinary duties of  
his life where the aids to attention are
 plenty1 how can he expect to command   
his mind at those times when it is      
called upon to make a supreme act of    
attentiveness and see ,him ,who is      
invisible8 ,a good man of our day#e said
 of himself3 ,my greatest help in life  
has been the blessed habit of intensity4
 ,i go at what ,i am about as if there  
was nothing else in the world for the   
time being4  ,here then are two obvious1
 simple and rational principles upon    
obedience to which hinges the ability to
 make one's own the growing vision of   
,god--the habit of spiritualizing the   
commonplace and the habit of attention  
in work4 ,whoever equips himself with   
them has made the best possible         
preparation for approach to ,god4 ,it is
 an indirect way of getting at things1  

it is true2 but often the method that is
 most indirect is the most direct4 ,it  
is certainly so in this case4  ,of      
course in considering the subject of    
,god's ,being one cannot wholly avoid   
the difficult question of personality4  
,it would be aside from our purpose1    
however1 to discuss the matter          
philosophically4 ,for all practical     
purposes there is ample and secure      
footing near at hand4 ,when by faith we 
look toward ,god1 it is not toward an   
immovable but beautiful statue we turn1 
not to an abstract quality or a tendency
 that makes for righteousness1 but to   
,one ,who looks with responsive gaze1   
,who notes our desires1 ,who heeds our  
words1 ,who lives1 ,who loves1 ,who     
acts4 ,it is a horrible and deadening   
travesty of the truth to conceive of    
,god as a great1 impassive ,being1      
seated on a throne of majesty1 drinking 
in all the life and worship that flow   
from the service of ,his myriad         
creatures1 ,himself receiving all and   

giving none4 ,though probably no one    
believes this as a matter of theory1    
when men look for ,god in the practice  
of prayer too often it is such a ,god   
they find4 ,and many can say with       
,augustine as they review moments of    
fruitless devotional effort in the past3
 ,my error was my ,god4#f ,the truth is 
that though a great tide of energy moves
 ceaselessly toward ,god1 it is but the 
shadow of what comes from ,him4 ,indeed 
,he is the ,source of the life which    
flows inward toward ,him as much as of  
that which flows outward from ,him4 ,he 
is undying energy1 with unerring        
purpose1 moving swiftly and noiselessly 
among men1 striving to burn eternal life
 into their lame1 stained1 meagre souls4
 ,he is the ,father that goes out to    
meet the returning profligate1 the      
,shepherd that follows the track of the 
wandering sheep4 ,man has never yet had 
to wait for ,him4 ,he has always been as
 close to man as man would let ,him     
come4 ,his hands have never ceased to   

beat upon the bars of man's self-will to
 force an entrance into starved human   
nature4 ,all this must be in man's      
conception of ,god as he approaches     
,him4  ,what above all gives to ,god    
that which enables man to see ,him is   
the ,incarnation4 ,in the ,godhead is a 
familiar figure--the figure of ,man4 ,it
 was this that absorbed the attention of
 the dying ,stephen4 ,the ,son of ,man  
standing on ,god's right hand1 was the  
vision that enthralled him as the stones
 battered out his life4 ,and it is this 
same vision that makes the unseen world 
a reality to men now4 ,humanity is there
 at its centre1 the pledge of sympathy1 
the promise of victory4 ,not by a flight
 of imagination but by the exercise of  
insight we can look and see the         
sympathetic face of the ,son of ,man1   
who is also the ,son of ,god2 and with  
the sight fellowship with ,god becomes  
possible1 the string of the tongue is   
loosed and we are ready to pray4        
,,footnotes3  #c ,works3 ,vol4 i4 #gb4  

#d ,ps4 lv3 #ag4  #e ,charles ,kingsley4
  #f ,for thou wert not thyself1 but a  
mere phantom1 and my error was my ,god4 
,confessions1 ,bk4 iv4 #g4     ,chapter 
,,iii  ,friendship with ,god--,speaking 
,quite a sufficient guide as to how ,god
 should be addressed is afforded by the 
,lord's ,prayer4 ,it was given by the   
,master in response to the earnest      
request of ,his disciples for           
instruction in prayer4 ,brief1 compact  
and complete1 it is as it were the      
,christian seed-prayer4 ,once let it be 
planted in the heart of a ,church or the
 soul of a child of ,god and it will    
grow into the glowing devotion of       
wondrous collects and rich liturgies4   
,indeed there is no ,christian prayer   
worth anything which does not owe its   
whole merit to the ,lord's ,prayer2 and 
the noblest liturgy of the ,church is   
but the expansion and application of the
 same4 ,hence it is the touchstone of   
all prayer4 ,by it the ,christian's mode
 of address to ,god is finally approved 

or condemned4  ,how important is it1    
then1 that a man should know the ,lord's
 ,prayer6--know it1 not merely as a     
formula1 but as the embodiment of the   
vital principles of converse with ,god4 
,the process of yore must be repeated by
 the disciples of to-day4 ,like their   
predecessors of ,galilee they must      
approach the unchangeable ,one and      
prefer the old entreaty3 ,lord1 teach us
 to pray4 ,nothing short of this will   
suffice4 ,then if they listen they will 
receive the familiar measures of the    
,our ,father as a new and personal gift 
fresh and living from the lips of       
,jesus4 ,it is good sometimes to wait   
still upon ,god between the sentences1  
and let the ,holy ,spirit apply each    
several petition to one's own special   
case and to all those interests which   
concern one's life--in sooth1 translate 
it into the terms of our own day and    
generation4 ,it is thus that the        
compressed richness of the ,lord's      
,prayer is unfolded4  ,the ,lord's      

,prayer is one of those most precious of
 things known as common property4 ,but a
 common possession to be worth anything 
to anybody must be related by every one 
of the multitude who claim a share in   
it1 each to his own personality4 ,before
 common property can fully justify its  
claim to be common1 it must become in a 
sense private by a process of implicit  
appropriation on the part of the        
individuals concerned4 ,so while the    
,lord's ,prayer ideally belongs to every
 child of ,god as the common heritage of
 prayer1 it actually belongs only to    
those who have recognized and used it as
 a personal1 though not exclusive1 gift 
from its ,author4  ,not the least       
important characteristic of the ,lord's 
,prayer is its simplicity in thought and
 expression4 ,surely it is not without  
significance that as it stands in the   
,english tongue it is the purest piece  
of ,saxon in literature1 a monument of  
clearness and simplicity4 ,god neither  
speaks or desires to be spoken to in    

grandiloquent language which belongs to 
the courts of earthly kings4 ,the       
difficulty that so many persons find in 
praying without the aid of some form of 
devotion is largely due to the          
impression that the language needed for 
address to ,god is not such as an       
ordinary mortal can frame4 ,there are   
four leading principles1 the first of   
which contradicts this misconception1   
that stand out in bold prominence in the
 ,lord's ,prayer1 and tell us what all  
speech ,godward should be4  ,sec4 #a4   
,prayer must be familiar yet reverent4  
,we are taught to address ,god as our   
,father4 ,what a host of intimate       
confidences this single word calls up6  
,there is no familiarity so close as    
that between child and father1 no       
sympathy so sensitive4 ,when ,scripture 
declares that ,enoch walked with ,god1  
whatever else it means beyond1 it means 
at least that ,enoch was able to hold   
familiar converse with ,god in prayer4  
,those who knew him could find no better

 way of describing his relationship with
 ,god than by drawing the picture of the
 familiar companionship of two intimate 
friends4 ,or again1 when ,abraham is    
termed the friend of ,god it implies1 as
 well as much beside1 that he knew how  
to speak familiarly yet acceptably to   
,god4 ,all this was long ago1 before    
man's full relation to ,god was made    
known4 ,the coming of the ,son of ,god  
as the ,son of ,man makes what was      
really deep seem shallow1 so mighty was 
the change that was wrought4 ,it is not 
merely as an ordinary friend that the   
,christian may speak to ,god1 but as a  
son4 ,filial relations are the highest  
type of friendship4  ,but familiarity   
must be chastened by reverence1 a       
quality strangely lacking in our        
national character4 ,it would seem as   
though in the boldness of our search for
 independence reverence had been largely
 forfeited4 ,the ,father addressed is in
 heaven4 ,that is ,he is where holiness 
prevails to the utter exclusion of sin4 

,so while we may tell out the whole mind
 it must be done with regard for the    
moral character of ,god and ,his eternal
 and infinite attributes2 with the      
familiarity1 not of equals1 but of lowly
 souls addressing sympathetic greatness 
and holiness4 ,to dwell exclusively on  
either one of these two considerations1 
,god's ,fatherhood or ,his infinite     
character1 will result1 on the one hand1
 in familiarity without reverence2 or1  
on the other1 in reverence without      
familiarity4 ,familiarity without the   
discipline of reverence is desecrating  
impertinence1 and reverence without the 
warmth of familiarity is chilling       
formalism4  ,sec4 #b4 ,prayer should be 
comprehensive yet definite4 ,in the     
,lord's ,prayer each petition gathers   
into its grasp whole groups of desires1 
and all the petitions taken together    
give shelter under their hospitable     
shadow to every need and every          
aspiration that belong to human life4   
,great gifts are asked for--,thy        

,kingdom come1 ,thy will be done on     
earth1 as it is in heaven4 ,in such     
requests we even claim things for ,god  
as well as from ,him4 ,the dignity of   
each several petition is marked4 ,we are
 taught to expect royal gifts from our  
royal ,father1 gifts worthy of members  
of that royal family1 the children of   
the ,incarnation4 ,the effect of the    
persistent use of these comprehensive   
petitions has filtered right through    
human experience and taught man to      
expect great things in all departments  
of life1 in science1 in invention1 in   
literature4 ,man's best desires have    
become a true measure of his            
possibilities4  ,the prayer that is     
shaped after the great model must not be
 timid or faltering1 but bold and       
aspiring4 ,it is a great mistake for one
 to be satisfied with praying for1 say1 
purity instead of ,thy will be done on  
earth as it is in heaven4 ,that is to   
ask for the crumb from the rich man's   
table when the rich man is beseeching   

you to sit by his side and share all    
that he has4 ,let us pray for purity by 
all means1 though not as if it were a   
flower that grew in a bed all by itself4
 ,we can get one ,christian grace only  
by aiming at all4  ,no less marked than 
the comprehension is the definiteness of
 the petitions of the ,lord's ,prayer4  
,each is as clear cut as a crystal4     
,there is no mistaking its meaning4     
,like the articles of the ,creed they   
are all too simple to be vague1 and they
 carry their meaning on their face4 ,it 
is a common fault in prayer to be       
content with a certain comprehension    
that abjures definiteness4 ,if the      
latter without the former can at the    
best make a character of but small      
stature1 the former without the latter  
can make no character at all4 ,take the 
one matter of penitence4 ,the mere      
admission of sinfulness1 as in the      
prayer of the publican1 is but the first
 moan of penitence4 ,a riper penitence  
rises from the vague to the definite in 

declaring the sins1 and not only the    
sinfulness1 for which ,god's mercy is   
implored4 ,true comprehension implies   
detailed knowledge and minute accuracy4 
,sec4 #c4 ,prayer should be social      
rather than individual in spirit4 ,our  
,father2 forgive us4 ,the our and the us
 warn men never to think of themselves  
as units1 or of religion as a private   
transaction between ,god and the        
individual4 ,god regards each as a part 
of1 and never apart from1 the whole     
race1 at the same time cherishing each  
part as though it were the whole4       
,consequently petitions for others ought
 to keep even pace with those for       
ourselves4 ,a moment's reflection shows 
how true philosophically the social form
 of prayer is4 ,so closely is the web of
 human life woven that what touches one 
touches two at least1 unless a man be a 
hermit1 when he is as good as dead4     
,even supposing one were to pray for a  
spiritual gift for himself alone and    
receive it1 it would at once become the 

property of others in some measure at   
any rate4 ,it is an inflexible law that 
the righteousness or the evil1 as the   
case may be1 which dwells in a man1     
becomes forthwith the righteousness or  
the evil of the society to which he     
belongs4 ,it is only common sense then  
to pray give us and forgive us rather   
than give me and forgive me4  ,of       
course1 this does not mean that ,i and  
me should never occur in our private    
prayers4 ,they must do so4 ,but ,i am to
 love my neighbour as myself on my knees
 as well as in society4 ,my neighbour is
 my other or second self to which ,i owe
 an equal duty of prayer with myself4   
,to link their or his with mine on equal
 terms is really to say our2 to ask for 
others separately what ,i have already  
claimed for myself is to be social      
rather than individual in prayer4  ,it  
would follow1 then1 that intercessory   
prayer is not a work of extraordinary   
merit but a necessary element of        
devotion4 ,it is the simple recognition 

in worship of the fundamental law of    
human life that no man lives or dies    
alone4 ,but intercession rises to       
sublime heights when it claims the      
privilege and the power for each child  
of ,god to gather up in his arms the    
whole family to which he belongs1 and   
carry it with its multifold needs and   
its glorious possibilities into the     
presence of the common ,father for      
blessing and protection4 ,it is grand to
 feel that the ,christian can lift1 by  
the power of prayer1 a myriad as easily 
as one1 that he can hold in his grasp   
the whole ,church as firmly as a single 
parish1 and can bring down showers of   
blessing on an entire race as readily as
 the few drops needed for his own little
 plot4  ,sec4 #d4 ,prayer must maintain 
proper proportions4 ,spiritual needs are
 paramount1 material are secondary4 ,out
 of seven petitions six bear upon the   
invisible foundations of life and the   
remaining one alone is concerned1       
directly at any rate1 with things       

material4 ,it is further remarkable that
 the latter is as modest as the former  
are bold4 ,the soul needs the whole of  
,god's eternal ,kingdom where the body  
requires but bread for the day4 ,the    
,lord's ,prayer does not teach          
asceticism1 but it certainly condemns   
luxury1 and implies that the physical   
nature requires a minimum rather than a 
maximum of attention and care4  ,with   
the vision of ,god above and the        
,christian seed-prayer well planted in  
the soul1 man can dare to hope that his 
speech ,godward will not waste itself in
 hollow echoes1 but will travel straight
 up to the throne of ,grace and bring a 
speedy answer4     ,chapter ,,iv        
,friendship with ,god--,the ,response   
,probably the greatest result of the    
life of prayer is an unconscious but    
steady growth into the knowledge of the 
mind of ,god and into conformity with   
,his will2 for after all prayer is not  
so much the means whereby ,god's will is
 bent to man's desires as it is that    

whereby man's will is bent to ,god's    
desires4 ,while ,jesus readily responded
 to the requests and inquiries of ,his  
disciples ,his great gift to them was   
,himself1 ,his personality4 ,he called  
,his apostles that they should be with  
,him4 ,the all-important thing is not to
 live apart from ,god1 but as far as    
possible to be consciously with ,him4   
,it must needs be that those who look   
much into ,his face will become like    
,him4 ,man reflects in himself his      
environment1 especially if he surrenders
 himself unreservedly to its influence4 
,in the case of ,god1 in ,whom we live  
and move and have our being1 the        
influence is not passive1 but active in 
impressing its character upon us4 ,it is
 not as the white of the land of snow   
which coats its animals with its own    
colour2 it is a ,person4 ,the complete  
vision of ,christ will mean the complete
 transformation of man--,we shall be    
like ,him2 for we shall see ,him as ,he 
is4 ,if there were no other conceivable 

result from prayer than just this1 it   
would even so be wonderful4 ,certainly  
that which we treasure most in          
companionship with an earthly friend is 
not his counsel or service2 it is the   
touch of his soul upon our own2 it is   
the embrace of his whole being that     
wraps itself about our whole being4 ,one
 may say then that the real end of      
prayer is not so much to get this or    
that single desire granted1 as to put   
human life into full and joyful         
conformity with the will of ,god4  ,this
 thought1 beautiful and true as it is1  
would be too intangible and too great a 
tax upon faith1 unless man had some more
 or less definite and immediate         
recognition of his heavenward appeals4  
,the ,old ,testament is a standing      
witness to ,god's consideration for     
human limitations and weakness4 ,he     
sometimes gave man less than the best   
because of the latter's inability to    
receive the best1 though ,he always gave
 as much as could be received1 until at 

last ,he gave ,his ,son4 ,now it is in  
this same way that ,he deals with ,his  
children of to-day4 ,at first the lesser
 gifts are sought for and given1 but as 
spiritual life ripens what man craves   
most for and what ,god is most eager to 
grant is that the ,father's will may be 
wholly worked out in ,his child4 ,trust 
so grows that there can be no such thing
 as disappointment regarding the way    
,god treats our petitions4        ,not  
,thy gifts ,i seek1 ,o ,lord2       ,not
 ,thy gifts but ,thee4     ,what were   
all ,thy boundless store     ,without   
,thyself8 ,what less or more8       ,not
 ,thy gifts but ,thee4  ,this frame of  
mind1 however1 belongs to the to-morrow 
of most lives4 ,for the present the     
lesser gifts are the best we are equal  
to4 ,and it cannot be too often or too  
strongly said that ,god has direct      
answers to prayer for every soul that   
appeals to ,him4 ,but many fail to      
recognize the answer when it comes      
because of inattention4 ,if ,god is to  

be heard when ,he speaks we must give   
heed4 ,it is no less a duty to wait     
still upon ,god than it is to address   
,him in prayer4 ,a one-sided            
conversation is not a conversation at   
all4 ,conversation requires an          
interchange of thought4 ,he who is one  
moment the speaker must the next become 
the listener1 intent upon the words of  
his companion4 ,the expectation of an   
answer to prayer is laid down as a      
condition of there being one4  ,sec4 #a4
 ,oftentimes ,god's answer is in the    
shape of an action rather than a voice4 
,when we entreat a friend to do         
something for us1 speedy compliance is a
 sufficient response to the request4 ,if
 we are certain of the person addressed 
no verbal assurance is required4 ,the   
character of our friend is the guarantee
 that the petition will be heeded4      
,when1 therefore1 ,god is petitioned to 
do1 we must look for an action rather   
than listen for a voice4  ,there are    
some requests the answer to which       

returns with the speed of a flash of    
light1 as1 for instance1 when we ask    
,god to give us some ,christian grace or
 disposition of heart4 ,the giving comes
 with the asking4#g ,a man may not be   
strong enough to retain the gift1 but it
 actually becomes his before he rises   
from his knees4 ,the rationalist will   
object to this1 that such an answer to  
prayer is nothing more than the         
subjective effect of a given attitude of
 mind4 ,granted2 but that makes it none 
the less the direct work of ,god4       
,secondary or scientific causes exhibit 
to the observer the method by which ,god
 fulfils ,his purposes4 ,the stone falls
 to the ground according to the law of  
gravitation1 but ,god is behind the law 
controlling it4 ,the distinguishing     
feature of the ,jewish mode of thought  
was the way in which it related all     
things to ,god's immediate activity4    
,the ,old ,testament is the book of     
,god's immanence4 ,the present attitude 
of mind leads men to rest in all causes 

short of ,god1 and even to forget the   
need of a ,cause of causes4 ,an earnest 
student of nature remarked upon leaving 
her microscope3 ,i have found a universe
 worthy of ,god4 ,she at least felt that
 a revelation of secondary causes was1  
at the same time1 a new revelation of   
the ,god of causes4  ,if it could be    
proved that all answers to prayer came  
according to the working of natural law1
 it would not eliminate ,god from the   
process1 or have any sort of bearing    
upon the efficacy of prayer4 ,all we    
know of ,god's method of work           
demonstrates ,his love of law2 and it   
would be no surprise1 but rather what we
 should expect1 to find that all the    
unseen stretches of life are equally    
within the domain of ,his law and       
order4#h  ,sec4 #b4 ,but when occasion  
requires1 the reply to speech ,godward  
comes in the shape of a voice4 ,in one  
sense ,god is always speaking2 ,he is   
never still4 ,just as in prayer it is   
not we who momentarily catch ,his       

attention but ,he ours1 so when we fail 
to hear ,his voice it is not because ,he
 is not speaking so much as that we are 
not listening4 ,we may hear sounds1 as a
 language with which we are not         
conversant1 but be unable to interpret4 
,or perhaps we are in the position of   
one who sits in the summer evening when 
nature is instinct with music1--the     
chirping of insect life1 the whispering 
wind1 the good-night call of the        
birds1--deaf to the many voices1 whereas
 a companion has ears for nothing else  
but what those voices say4 ,the cause of
 the former's deafness is that his      
attention is wholly absorbed by other   
interests4 ,we must recognize that all  
things are in ,god and that ,god is in  
all things1 and we must learn to be very
 attentive1 in order to hear ,god       
speaking in ,his ordinary tone without  
any special accent4 ,power to do this   
comes slowly and as the result of not   
separating prayer from the rest of life4
 ,a man must not stop listening any more

 than praying when he rises from his    
knees4 ,no one questions the need of    
times of formal address to ,god1 but few
 admit in any practical way the need of 
quiet waiting upon ,god1 gazing into    
,his face1 feeling for ,his hand1       
listening for ,his voice4 ,i will       
hearken what the ,lord ,god will say    
concerning me4 ,god has special         
confidences for each soul4 ,indeed1 it  
would seem as though the deepest truths 
came only in moments of profound        
devotional silence and contemplation4   
,the written ,word of ,god has special  
messages for the individual as well as a
 large general message for the entire   
,christian body4 ,the devotional use of 
,holy ,scripture is the means by which  
the soul reaches some of the most       
precious manifestations of ,god's will4 
,by devotional use is meant such a study
 as has for its ultimate purpose an act 
of worship1 or of conscious fellowship  
with ,him4 ,the ,bible reveals not      
merely what ,god was1 but what ,he is4  

,finding from its pages how ,he loved1  
we know how ,he loves2 learning how ,he 
dealt with or spoke to men1 we perceive 
how ,he deals with and speaks to us4    
,but our instruction in things divine   
must come to us from a ,person rather   
than a book1 though through a book      
perhaps4 ,if we approach the ,bible as  
we would approach ,bacon or ,milton1    
merely as a collection of the wise      
thoughts and actions of the dead1 it    
will never sway the life to any large   
extent4 ,holy ,scripture is separated   
from all other literature by the fact   
that it contains absolute spiritual     
truth and because its ,author1 as a     
living ,person1 always stands behind it4
 ,those who listen will hear the ,holy  
,spirit saying to them1 in direct       
application1 the same things that lie on
 the open pages as the record of what   
was once said to men of old4 ,meditation
 or the devotional use of ,scripture    
renders conscience1 that organ of the   
soul by which ,god's voice is received  

by man1 increasingly sensitive4 ,the    
,old ,testament days were full of men   
who could say ,thus saith the ,lord1    
with the same assurance that they could 
report the speech of a comrade4         
,doubtless ,god had many ways of        
speaking to the prophets1 but whatever  
these ways were and however special and 
singular1 they were based originally on 
those by means of which ,he addresses   
all men in common4 ,as a result of the  
,incarnation all the ,lord's people are 
prophets and the ,lord has put ,his     
,spirit upon them2 and they1 too1 ought 
to be able to say ,thus saith the ,lord4
  ,sec4 #c4 ,a third way in which ,god  
makes ,his will known to man is by ,his 
silences1 silences which are always     
eloquent4 ,as experience has taught us1 
silence can convey a message just as    
readily as speech sometimes1 or even    
more readily4 ,the silence of the       
,easter tomb was the first voice that   
told of the ,resurrection4 ,the loved   
disciple read the message of the orderly

 silence of the place where the ,lord   
had lain2 he saw and believed4 ,silence 
has expression and accent telling of    
sympathy1 rebuke1 anger1 grief1 as      
occasion may require4 ,the silence of   
,jesus before the importunate appeal of 
the woman of ,canaan1 was full of       
sympathy and encouraged her faith to    
rise to sublime heights4 ,whereas ,his  
silence before the accusations of ,his  
enemies during ,his trial was so        
eloquent as to establish ,his innocence 
even in the eyes of a ,pontius ,pilate4 
,and if ,god is silent now at times when
 we long for some sign from ,him1 it is 
because by means of silence ,he can best
 make known to us ,his mind4 ,his       
silence may mean that our request is so 
foreign to ,his will1 that it may not be
 heeded without hurt to the petitioner4 
,or1 on the other hand1 ,he may be      
luring on our faith and inciting it to a
 more ambitious flight4 ,or1 again1 it  
may be that ,his silence is ,his way of 
telling us that the answer to our query 

or petition lies in ourselves4 ,god     
never tells man what man can find out   
for himself1 as ,he never does what man 
can do for himself4 ,the result of      
giving a person what he should earn is  
pauperism4 ,as ,god will do1 nay1 can   
do1 only what will enrich human nature1 
it would be a contradiction of ,himself 
to answer what we can find out for      
ourselves1 or give what we can gain by  
our own efforts4 ,love lies within      
,god's silences as their explanation4#i 
,the mother refuses to answer her       
child's questions because the child by a
 little observation and thought can     
itself get at the truth1 and truth won  
by struggle is the only truth that we   
really possess4 ,if ,god is silent when 
we ask for new knowledge of ,his ,person
 and ,his love1 may it not be that it is
 because we are substituting books about
 the ,bible for an earnest study of the 
,bible itself1 which contains a full    
answer to our prayer8 ,or if1 when day  
after day we have prayed for the        

conversion of a relative1 no response   
comes1 may it not be that we have never 
put ourselves at the disposal of ,god to
 be the instrument for working out what 
is at once our desire and ,his purpose8 
,at any rate1 whatever be the           
explanation of a silence in this or that
 special instance1 ,god is never silent 
excepting when silence speaks more      
clearly than a voice4  ,so the sure     
response comes to speech ,godward in an 
action1 or a voice1 or a speaking       
silence4 ,the persevering1 faithful1    
attentive soul will never fail to       
discern ,god's answer to prayer1 nor be 
disappointed in the quality of that     
answer when it comes4 ,god is more ready
 to hear than we to pray1 and it is ,his
 wont to give more than either we desire
 or deserve4#aj  ,,footnotes3  #g ,st4  
,mark xi3 #bd4  #h ,cf4 ,liddon1 ,advent
 in ,st4 ,paul's1 p4 #bb4  #i ,i suppose
 that a constant vision of ,god would be
 an injury to almost all men1--that     
there are periods when even utter       

scepticism is the sign of ,god's mercy1 
and the necessary condition of moral    
restoration4--,r4 ,h4 ,hutton1          
,theological ,essays1 p4 #g4  #aj       
,collect for ,twelfth ,sunday after     
,trinity4     ,chapter ,v  ,the ,testing
 of ,friendship   ,of course1 friendship
 with ,god must be tried4 ,not only can 
true friendship stand any strain to     
which it may be put1 but it even needs  
to be thus tested in order to be solidly
 set4 ,it is like the knot that becomes 
more fixed and firm at each new pull of 
the cord4 ,the faith and affection which
 will cling to a friend when all the    
forces of disunion seem combined to     
bring about a separation1 are so        
tempered by the experience involved as  
to defy every conceivable enemy1 and to 
discover new depths of love and service 
in the fellowship that has been thus put
 to the test4 ,to enter upon just why   
this should be1 is not to the purpose4  
,it is a fact and law of the life of    
fellowship between man and man1 and man 

and ,god4 ,the force that threatens to  
break up the connection between ,god and
 man1 but by means of which that union  
may be consummated1 is temptation4      
,sec4 #a4 ,temptation is always an      
opportunity4--,there are two kinds of   
testing--that which proves a thing to   
discover whether it is what it professes
 to be1 and that which aims to bring out
 latent possibilities in the thing      
tested4 ,with the former there goes a   
sort of lurking suspicion that all may  
not be right1 as when a bit of metal is 
tried by acid1 or a big gun is proved by
 an excessive charge4 ,when a test of   
this kind is over the thing that is     
tried is just what it was before1       
neither more nor less4 ,no new quality  
is in the gift of the test4 ,with the   
latter1 on the other hand1 the result is
 different1 as when the silver from the 
earth is tried1 and purified seven times
 in the fire4 ,the quartz goes into the 
furnace and a stream of unalloyed metal 
flows out2 or to seek still another     

illustration1--the process by which     
steel is tempered4 ,here new qualities  
are given by means of the testing2 to   
the silver1 purity1 and to the steel1   
hardness and elasticity4 ,to this second
 form of testing belongs the element of 
trust rather than that of suspicion4    
,the material is so good1 that the      
workman has no doubt about its coming   
through the fire purer and more valuable
 than ever4  ,it is this kind of testing
 which the friends of ,god must undergo1
 the kind of testing which affords      
friends the very opportunity they need  
to become better friends4 ,it is not too
 much to say that man being what he is1 
there is no conceivable means excepting 
temptation1 which would give to him just
 those elements which are necessary for 
his progress toward ,god4 ,jesus was in 
all points tempted like as we are1      
primarily that ,his manhood might reach 
its full measure1 and this entailed such
 sympathy with the race as ensues upon a
 common experience4 ,atonement means a  

unity with ,god which has been achieved1
 not by a divine fiat1 but by a choice  
of the human will that has repelled the 
last attack of ,god's greatest enemy4   
,it is always so that in scanning the   
harsh features of a refining process1   
the happy result of the process is      
blurred and forgotten4 ,temptation is   
surely an assault to be withstood1 but  
at the same time it is an opportunity to
 be seized4 ,viewed in this light life  
becomes inspiring1 not in spite but     
because of its struggles1 and we are    
able to greet the unseen with a cheer1  
counting it unmixed joy when we fall    
into the many temptations which1 varied 
in form1 dog our steps from the cradle  
to the grave4 ,the soldier who is called
 to the front is stimulated1 not        
depressed2 the officer who is bidden by 
his general to a post of great          
responsibility1 and so of hardship and  
peril1 is thrilled with the joy of his  
task4 ,an opportunity has been given him
 to prove himself worthy of great trust1

 which can be done only at the cost of  
great trouble4  ,this is a true picture 
of temptation4 ,and the result of it all
 is a nature invigorated and refined1 a 
character made capable of close         
friendship with ,god1 to say nothing of 
the unmeasured joy that is the attendant
 of nobility of soul and stalwart       
,christian manhood4  ,sec4 #b4 ,the     
majesty of conflict with                
temptation4--,one is often depressed by 
the seemingly inglorious character of   
our temptations4 ,they are so mean1     
petty and commonplace4 ,if they had in  
them something to rouse in the heart    
that love of romance1 that is a saving  
element in human nature1 one could fight
 better4 ,now temptation has this very  
element4 ,but spiritual eyes are needed 
to discern the glory of the commonplace1
 the romance of the inglorious4 ,god has
 been trying with divine patience to    
convince men of this from the very      
beginning4 ,the story of the first      
temptation of the first human beings1 in

 its poetic dress points to the romance 
of life's struggle4 ,jacob's wrestling  
bout with the mysterious being by the   
river's brink1 is a view of the         
underside of any struggle against       
temptation1 as ,god sees it1 when the   
tempted one fights to win4  ,above all  
in the narrative of the temptation of   
,jesus in the wilderness1 is the majesty
 of conflict with evil made plain4 ,it  
is a record which exceeds in dramatic   
splendour the story of ,faust1 or the   
realism of ,pilgrim's ,progress4 ,and in
 it we arrive at the paradoxical truth  
that the temptations of ,jesus were just
 as commonplace as ours1 and that ours  
are just as glorious as ,his1--,his1 of 
course1 having a completeness which none
 others could have1 for the most        
complete temptation is the temptation of
 the most complete4  ,looking beneath   
the surface of the story1 we find       
ourselves face to face with the         
well-known temptations of the world1 the
 flesh1 and the devil4 ,wrapped in      

contemplation upon what ,his ,divine    
sonship involved1 ,he was driven into   
solitude1 and tempted1 as ,he worked out
 ,his life's plan1 to substitute evil   
independence for good dependence1 then  
to flee to the opposite extreme and     
substitute evil dependence for good     
independence1 and finally to disregard  
the means in ,his zeal for a righteous  
end4 ,these temptations are as common as
 humanity and as uninspiring as night4  
,could one have stood by when ,jesus was
 struggling with them1 doubtless nothing
 more would have been seen than is      
visible to-day when some man in         
loneliness1 with his eyes lifted toward 
the hills1 wins the mastery over himself
 and his unseen tempters4 ,yes1 the     
,master's temptations were just as      
commonplace as ours4 ,why1 then1 this   
fine dressing up of the commonplace8    
,because1 when in after days ,jesus told
 ,his companions of ,his conflict and   
victory1 ,he saw with the illumination  
of retrospect what at the moment of the 

struggle ,he could not see1 the glory of
 it all4 ,the story is not a fiction of 
the imagination4 ,it is a true picture  
of what occurred1 a revelation of the   
splendour that lies at the foundation of
 every spiritual contest1 a record of   
literal truth not perceived at the time1
 but clear to the vision after all was  
over4  ,after all was over--the mean and
 commonplace incidents of to-day1 form  
the raw material out of which is woven  
the romance of to-morrow4 ,the ugliest  
facts make the choicest romance after   
they have been tempered in the crucible 
of time4 ,ask a soldier how much romance
 there was when the fight was hot4 ,the 
sublime in battle is visible only from  
the vantage ground of victory4 ,often   
when the life of some humble and        
afflicted child of ,god comes to a      
close1 we see what was hidden from our  
eyes during his days on earth--the      
heroism of his career4 ,at first we     
esteem him stricken1 smitten of ,god1   
and afflicted4 ,afterward we admire the 

grandeur and largeness of the life that 
once seemed so narrow and lame4 ,before 
death the character of the affliction   
claims our attention2 afterward the     
character of the afflicted2 now the ugly
 fact and then the glory2 first that    
which is natural and afterward that     
which is spiritual4 ,consequently there 
are two methods of recording human      
history--bare fact1 concrete1 grim1     
commonplace2 its romance1 abstract1     
majestic and just as real4 ,we need both
 kinds of description--,gethsemane with 
its agony and gouts of blood1 and the   
wilderness with its dramatic imagery4   
,neither one is more real than the      
other4 ,if the wilderness had its grim  
side1 ,gethsemane had its romantic side4
 ,the ideal is realized1 when the real  
is idealized4  ,grant the truth of      
this--and who will gainsay it8--and it  
follows that while the temptations of   
,jesus were as commonplace as ours1 ours
 are as glorious as ,his4 ,s4 ,paul saw 
it all quite plainly1 when in radiant   

language he rolled out to his ,ephesian 
friends that superb call to battle4 ,be 
strong in the ,lord and in the strength 
of his might4 ,put on the whole armour  
of ,god1 that ye may be able to stand   
against the wiles of the devil4 ,for our
 wrestling is not against flesh and     
blood1 but against the principalities1  
against the powers1 against the         
world-rulers of this darkness1 against  
the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
 heavenly places4 ,there is nothing in  
the whole of ,scripture that makes life 
seem more splendid and glowing1 and yet 
the occasion is one of extreme peril and
 hardship--the moment of temptation4 ,it
 is not so that the scientific character
 of our age1 with its darting           
electricity and whirring wheels1 forbids
 romance to lift its head4 ,glory of the
 highest type will live as long as      
dauntless human souls aspire to ,god1   
let the world be as matter of fact or as
 evil as it chooses4 ,the only thing    
that can dim glory is the domination of 

sin in man4  ,sec4 #c4 ,so much for the 
splendid opportunity which temptation   
affords4 ,how to meet it is what the    
story of the life of the ,son of ,man   
makes manifest4  7a7 ,it is noticeable  
that neither by precept nor example are 
we encouraged to pray for the removal of
 temptation4 ,once1 it is true1 ,jesus  
expressed it as ,his desire that a cup  
of pain might pass from ,him1 but ,he   
conditioned ,his prayer--not ,my will1  
but ,thine1 be done4 ,god did not remove
 the cup1 but what was better still ,he 
gave ,him strength to drink it4 ,a      
prayer of ,s4 ,paul's was treated in    
like manner4 ,the thorn in the flesh was
 not withdrawn1 but it was transformed  
into a means of imparting spiritual     
vigour--,my grace is sufficient for     
thee4 ,it is said of ,pascal1 whose last
 years were full of agony1 that his     
malady became a new quality of his      
genius and helped to perfect it4        
,christian character as well as great   
genius has the power of elevating1      

transmuting1 serving itself by the      
accidental conditions about it1 however 
unpromising4#aa  ,this being so1 even   
,gethsemane is an encouragement to the  
man who is sore tried1 to pray for power
 to transcend his trial rather than that
 it may be swept out of his life by the 
hand of ,god4      ',tis life whereof   
our nerves are scant1     ,more life and
 fuller that ,i want1  and not exemption
 from trial4  ,the lingering on in life 
of a temptation1 which1 if not born of  
past sin1 at any rate has been          
intensified by self-indulgence1 affords 
us our only chance of expressing        
penitence to ,god for failure in loyalty
 to ,him in this respect or that4 ,how  
can the man1 in whom the fires of       
passion are dead1 express before ,god   
his sorrow for sins against purity in   
days that are gone8 ,it is easy to      
conceive of such a person entreating    
,god to give him back his temptation1   
that1 by a reversal of former decisions1
 he may prove the reality of his        

penitence4 ,so far as we can see1 the   
one chance a man has of regaining a lost
 virtue1 is through the very temptation 
by means of which he was robbed of it4  
,excessive resistance wins back1 slowly 
but surely1 what was lost by excessive  
indulgence4 ,what is needed is not      
freedom from but freedom in temptation4 
,this latter is possible for every      
,christian4  7b7 ,freedom in the life of
 temptation is achieved by meeting every
 enticement to sin with an upward rise  
toward virtue4 ,it is quite inadequate  
to beat off temptation4 ,we must spoil  
the strong man and possess ourselves of 
his goods4 ,one sad feature of life is  
that we always undershoot the mark1 and 
for the most part perfection in purpose 
results in nothing better than          
mediocrity in achievement4 ,it is the   
sure fate of the man that is contented  
to view temptation merely as an         
invitation to hell which must be        
declined1 that he will yield at least   
occasionally to the sin to which he is  

tempted4 ,only he who flings himself    
upward when the pull comes to drag him  
down1 can hope to break the force of    
temptation4 ,temptation may be an       
invitation to hell1 but much more is it 
an opportunity to reach heaven4 ,at the 
moment of temptation sin and            
righteousness are both very near the    
,christian2 but of the two the latter is
 the nearer4  ,walk in the spirit and   
you put yourself in such a position as  
to be unable to fulfil the lusts of the 
flesh4 ,meet the negation of sin with   
the affirmation of righteousness4 ,when 
,satan challenges you to wrestle with   
him1 turn about and wrestle with ,god   
for a blessing4  7c7 ,there is no reason
 to be afraid of temptation1 that is to 
say if it is not a temptation into which
 we have entered unnecessarily1 but one 
that is consequent upon the fulfilment  
of duty4 ,god does not allow us to be   
tempted beyond our powers4 ,but this is 
not all4 ,our fearlessness should show  
itself in our attitude4 ,we must meet   

our temptations face to the foe4 ,the   
temptations of ,jesus never struck ,him 
from behind but always smote ,him in the
 face4 ,there is only one kind of       
temptation which we are advised to run  
from1 and that is the temptation to     
fleshly lust4 ,evasion is for the most  
part a sign of defeat1 not of victory4  
,the man who would gain freedom in      
temptation must be       ,one who never 
turned his back1 but marched breast     
forward4  ,with this thought we leave   
the subject of temptation1 that strange 
mystery which proves man and makes him  
less unworthy of friendship with ,god1  
which is at once an opportunity and a   
snare1 glorious and commonplace4        
,,footnotes3  #aa ,walter ,pater4       
,chapter ,,vi  ,knitting ,broken        
,friendship   ,but the best of us do not
 always rise to the opportunity which   
temptation presents4 ,a gust comes for  
which we are not prepared1 and we are   
swept off our feet4 ,and the earliest   
penalty of sin visits the transgressor  

simultaneously with its committal--that 
depressing sense of loneliness and      
separation from ,god that has been the  
bitter experience of every one1 and that
 is so graphically represented in the   
story of the first act of disobedience4 
,every one who does wrong1 by the deed  
of wrong itself1 hides himself from ,god
 just as ,adam and ,eve did4 ,sin is    
acting apart from ,god1 a withdrawing of
 our allegiance from ,him1 an ignoring  
of ,his voice1 a snapping of the bonds  
of friendship4  ,when this unhappy      
experience occurs what are we to do to  
have the breach between ourselves and   
,god filled up and fellowship with ,him 
re-established8 ,it would seem natural  
to answer that as soon as we perceive   
that we have fallen we should pick      
ourselves up and go on our way without  
further thought about the dead past4 ,it
 is out of our reach2 it cannot be      
recalled1 and to dwell upon it is       
disastrous4  ,a man who has exercised a 
wide influence over ,english thought    

declared sin to be not a monster to be  
mused on1 but an impotence to be got rid
 of4 ,all thinking about it1 beyond what
 is indispensable for the firm effort to
 get rid of it1 is waste of energy and  
waste of time4 ,we then enter that      
element of morbid and subjective        
brooding in which so many have perished4
 ,this sense of sin1 however1 it is also
 possible to have not strongly enough to
 beget the firm effort to get rid of    
it4#ab  ,probably of the two dangers    
mentioned by ,matthew ,arnold1 the      
latter is the greater in these days in  
which an amiable opposition to sin as   
merely a pardonable flaw in human nature
 is so widely taught4  ,whatever risk   
there may be in looking sin squarely in 
the face1 and however difficult we find 
it to strike the mean between morbid    
brooding and a total disregard for the  
past1 there never yet was a man who     
achieved the royal dignity of ,christian
 character without a painful and        
thoroughgoing grappling with his former 

self4 ,men may strive to forget the past
 by weaving about themselves a web of   
absorbing interests4 ,but a day of      
reckoning must come1 as it came to ,adam
 and ,eve in the cool of the day1 as it 
came to ,jacob as he wrestled for better
 things that night by the plunging      
stream1 as it came to ,s4 ,peter when he
 went out and sowed the seed of a       
chastened character in scalding tears4  
,were relief from the haunting memory of
 badness the only thing to be           
considered1 a calm1 fearless            
scrutinizing of sins committed is the   
one cure4 ,the way to forget sin is to  
remember it before ,god--yes1 even to   
the deliberate raking over the ashes of 
the days that are gone lest some fault  
should escape observation4 ,a sense of  
sinfulness is the earliest indication of
 awakening holiness4 ,it seems as though
 the common idea concerning the         
repentance of the ,publican in the story
 of the ,publican and ,pharisee1 as told
 by the ,master1 were short of the      

truth4 ,surely there is no ground for   
thinking that ,christ commends the      
penitence of the ,publican1 who         
expressed his sorrow by saying ,god be  
merciful to me1 a sinner1 as being      
ideal4 ,far from it4 ,poor and weak and 
young as was this appeal1 it was        
infinitely more valuable in the sight of
 ,god and efficacious than the finely   
phrased self-laudation of the ,pharisee4
 ,penitence rises from a sense of       
sinfulness to a recognition of sins4    
,it is not hard to perceive why this    
must be4 ,the past strikes its roots    
into the present1 and until in some true
 sense the past has been undone it is   
bound to poison the motives and deeds of
 to-day4 ,of course when a thing is done
 it is done4 ,no amount of effort can   
undo it in the sense of obliterating it 
from history4 ,but it is not only       
possible but necessary that in intention
 it should be undone and that so far as 
can be its evil consequences checked4   
,with the aid of the imagination and the

 will the life that has been lived apart
 from ,god may be lived over again with 
,him4 ,this in ,his sight is to undo it1
 for the motive is the deed1 and        
intention is the most powerful of       
realities4  ,but this is not all4 ,it is
 a law of life governing all fellowship 
that transparent frankness is the only  
atmosphere in which friendship can      
exist4 ,a wrong committed ought to be   
followed by full admission of the deed4 
,and it is further noticeable that this 
admission is not dependent upon whether 
or not the person wronged is conscious  
of the wrong4 ,prudence demands1 though 
not nearly so widely as is commonly     
supposed1 that under certain conditions 
a sin against society should not be     
publicly confessed or even made known to
 the person chiefly concerned4 ,but     
where this happens the penitent should  
feel silence as a weighty penance1 and  
long for a day when he can throw open   
his life so that he will be seen to be  
just what he is4 ,we are only what we   

are in the sight of ,god4 ,it is a grief
 to many a holy man that because of his 
secret sins he is better thought of than
 he deserves2 and he will hail the day  
when all that is hidden will be         
uncovered and made known1 so that with  
the last veil torn from his character he
 will be able to join unreservedly in   
free and humble fellowship with all men4
  ,no ,christian man has any more       
warrant for trying to dissemble or cloak
 his sins before his fellow-men than he 
has for trying to do the same thing     
before ,god4 ,to rejoice when we see    
others attributing to us qualities which
 we do not possess1 or to congratulate  
ourselves when we escape detection--or  
at least when we think we do1 for as    
often as not men see our faults when we 
think they do not--upon the committal of
 some sin1 is to deepen that line of    
deceit that furrows most characters4    
,there is no social quality quite so    
splendid as transparency4 ,it is said by
 one#ac well qualified to speak of ,mr4 

,gladstone that the man in him leapt    
forward to express itself with          
transparent simplicity4 ,if he were     
subtle he showed at once why he wanted  
to be subtle4 ,and in spite of          
everything that could be said about his 
intellectual subtlety1 it remains that  
to the very last the dominant note of   
his character was simplicity--the       
simplicity of a child2 with the child's 
naive self-disclosure1 the child's      
immediate response to a situation1      
without cloak or disguise4  ,now it is  
just this simple1 childlike transparency
 that the ,christian must cultivate in  
every respect4 ,when it so happens to a 
man that he may not tell his wrong-doing
 to the person immediately wronged1 then
 let him go to some spiritual friend1 or
 to his pastor1 who stands as the       
representative of ,christian society1 as
 well as the ambassador of ,christ1 and 
share with him his grief4  ,the         
exception referred to above--where an   
open confession would result in social  

injury--does not at all alter the fact  
that perfect frankness alone makes      
fellowship possible4 ,more often than   
not when one friend tells another of    
some piece of petty meanness by which   
friendship has been marred1 the injured 
party already knows all about it4 ,the  
confession is not made to give          
information1 but to open up the soul    
that has sinned so that the process of  
healthy social life may be free to work 
again4 ,it is not wholly explicable1 but
 it is a law which governs human        
intercourse4  ,precisely in the same way
 this law works in the life of          
fellowship with ,god4 ,he knows more    
about our sins than we can tell ,him4   
,but by telling them over1 their        
occasion1 their guilt1 before ,him1 the 
soul is new-born into ,his love1 and the
 warmth of ,his compassion melts the    
emotions4 ,this is a first requisite in 
genuine personal religion--frankness    
before ,god2 and frankness among men is 
second only to it4  ,in requiring       

perfect openness of life from men ,god  
asks only what ,he gives4 ,he is ,light4
 ,there is no knowledge of ,his ,person 
which man is capable of grasping which  
,he does not offer4 ,he tears open ,his 
bosom and reveals the most sacred depths
 of ,his being4 ,he asks man to do      
likewise that fellowship may follow4    
,so far we have considered what man     
should do when1 whether for a moment or 
for years1 he has walked apart from     
,god4 ,he must review the past and in   
intention live it over again with ,god1 
turning his back upon everything that is
 amiss4 ,but this alone is incomplete4  
,the heart must receive some sort of    
assurance that the work of penitence is 
acceptable in ,god's sight4 ,there is no
 thirst of the soul so consuming as the 
desire for pardon4 ,a sense of its      
bestowal is the starting point of all   
goodness4 ,it comes bringing with it1 if
 not the freshness of innocence1 yet a  
glow of inspiration that nerves feeble  
hands for hard tasks1 a fire of hope    

that lights anew the old high ideal so  
that it stands before the eye in clear  
relief1 beckoning us to make it our own4
 ,to be able to look into ,god's face   
and know with the knowledge of faith    
that there is nothing between the soul  
and ,him is to experience the fullest   
peace the soul can know4  ,whatever else
 pardon may be1 it is above all things  
admission into full fellowship with     
,god4 ,it is not a release from certain 
penalties which the natural course of   
sin entails1 though it brings with it   
power and wisdom to endure and to use   
penalties so that they become means by  
which lost virtues are restored and the 
whole character reinvigorated4 ,the     
sense of fellowship comes out with      
singular force when for the first time  
the pardoned soul leaps out from under a
 weight of sin4 ,the joy of prayer1 the 
fearless approach to ,god1 the          
contemplation of ,his personal love--all
 this testifies to what pardon is4 ,the 
absolution of the dying robber on       

,calvary was not merely an admission    
into ,christ's privileges1 but a call to
 ,his fellowship and a speedy call at   
that--,to-day shalt thou be with ,me in 
,paradise4  ,the first awakening of the 
soul to a sense of pardon makes this    
very vivid4 ,but somehow as time goes on
 and repeated falls on the upward climb 
discourage the soul1 the difficulty of  
grasping ,god's pardon seems to         
increase4 ,confession is made and sorrow
 is felt1 but ,god's face seems hidden  
behind a cloud4 ,then is it comforting  
to remember that all clouds are         
earthborn4 ,the trouble is that we      
reflect our own impatience and          
discouragement up into the life of ,god4
 ,because we chafe under our almost     
imperceptible progress we imagine ,god  
does the same4 ,his first absolutions   
were full and generous1 but how can     
these later ones be so8 ,surely they    
must be grudgingly bestowed4 ,so we     
argue1 and the latest forgiving message 
of ,god1 a message as strong and full as

 the first1 falls upon listless ears4   
,the absolution that comes to the       
penitent after the seventy-times-seven  
repetitions of a sin is all that the    
first one was4 ,absolution is never less
 than absolution4 ,it always admits to  
fellowship so complete that it could not
 be closer4  ,,footnotes3  #ab ,matthew 
,arnold1 ,st4 ,paul and ,protestantism4 
#ac ,h4 ,scott ,holland4     ,chapter   
,,vii  ,friendship in ,god   ,friendship
 is not only with ,god but also in ,god4
 ,fellowship with ,god has for its      
corollary fellowship with man in ,god4  
,and the latter in the greatness of its 
dignity and privilege is second only to 
the former4 ,the religion of ,christ    
does not allow of one without the other4
 ,the ,church1 which is the divinely    
ordered means by which man is admitted  
into and sustained in his fellowship    
with ,god1 is also the ideal society of 
men4 ,god never considers men apart     
from1 but always as a part of1 a great  
social order--a social order that is not

 a concourse of independent units1 but a
 body instinct with life1 a society     
which is not an organization but an     
organism4 ,the description of our       
relationship to one another is couched  
in the same terms that tell of our      
relationship to ,christ--members one of 
another1 members of ,christ4  ,it is    
,god's will that the ,church should be  
coterminous with society1 and that the  
unity of life thus produced should make 
the communion of saints a reality on    
earth and not a mere theory4 ,past years
 have seen much earnest straining to    
gain a truer conception of ,god1 that   
fellowship with and love for ,him might 
be according to ,his will4 ,all this    
theological effort will be lost1 unless 
it is followed up by a no less strenuous
 effort to make the brotherhood of man a
 fact4 ,the ,master gave a new          
commandment of love1 a commandment new  
not in essence but rather in intensity  
and comprehension4 ,after the injunction
 to love ,god comes the equally         

unequivocal injunction to love          
man--,thou shalt love thy neighbour as  
thyself4 ,that is to say1 personality   
whether in ourselves or in others is to 
receive the highest reverence and       
consideration1 and that without any     
partiality4 ,humanity being full of     
diversity1 this commandment requires a  
most thorough and intelligent study of  
society and its elements4 ,heresies     
concerning ,god have been and are       
destructive of unity2 but heresies      
concerning man are productive of almost 
equal mischief4 ,if the first part of   
the commandment of love calls us to a   
study of theology1 the second demands a 
study of sociology--an old science under
 a new name4 ,it is worth while noting  
that the ,apostle who earned the name of
 the ,divine1 or as we would say the    
,theologian1 by reason of his familiar  
acquaintance with the deep things of    
,god1 was the same who felt that the    
appeal most worth urging with the scant 
breath of extreme old age was1 that men 

should love one another2 and he repeats 
this simple phrase until the world      
wonders--,my little children1 let us not
 love in word1 neither in tongue1 but in
 deed and in truth4  ,but it must never 
be forgotten that human fellowship and  
friendship must under the best of       
conditions be sectional and shallow1 and
 under the worst1 disastrous1 unless it 
be in ,christ1 that is1 in ,god4 ,the   
true ideal of human fellowship is       
realized only thus4 ,and it is such a   
unity as would be the outcome of        
fellowship in ,christ1 for which the    
,master prayed at the last4             
,ecclesiastical unity does not          
necessarily produce unity of life1      
though the latter must include the      
former in some true sense4 ,christian   
unity has a twofold basis1 the love of  
,god and the love of man4 ,this         
differentiation in the commandment of   
love1 is of ,christ's own making1 and   
cannot be ignored by ,his followers4    
,in considering the ideal human         

fellowship it is vital to remember that 
the spiritual1 here as elsewhere1 is    
built upon the natural1 the spiritual   
entering into1 interpreting and         
developing the natural4 ,and when the   
word natural is used1 that which is     
purely accidental and artificial in life
 is not meant1 but that which is        
fundamental and belongs to the very     
constitution of humanity4 ,for instance1
 trade relations and conventional       
institutions of whatever kind are       
evanescent4 ,to use them for a          
foundation is to build on sand4 ,an     
eternal fabric cannot gain coherence    
from a creation of man's whim or genius4
 ,indeed the institutions of commerce as
 well as all official intercourse1 can  
be constructed with effectiveness1 not  
to say justice1 only when built upon the
 recognition of the dignity of humanity 
and the sacredness of personality1 with 
equality of consideration for each4 ,and
 herein lies the solution of the whole  
social problem in all its ramifications4

  ,the fundamental relationship of life 
is such as springs out of that common   
humanity1 which1 in the last analysis1  
is a man's only absolute possession1 be 
he prince or pauper1 wise or ignorant4  
,and this humanity of ours is a precious
 possession1 not always perhaps for what
 it has actually become1 but for what it
 is in process of becoming1 or1 it may  
be1 only because of those latent        
possibilities which the ,incarnation has
 declared to be contained in that which 
is born of woman4 ,once armed with this 
thought1 ,kant's valuable negative      
advice never to treat humanity as a     
thing#ad but always as a person1 never  
as a means merely but always as an end1 
is in order4  ,it is one of the evils   
springing out of an intercourse that is 
so largely official1 that on all sides  
men are valued and thought of1 only or  
chiefly on the side of economic         
efficiency4 ,that is to say1 they are   
treated with only that amount of        
consideration which is due a machine4 ,a

 simple illustration will suffice4 ,the 
mistress of a household on coming down  
stairs one morning was greeted by her   
maid1 who was dusting in the hall1 with 
a ,good morning1 and1 ,do you know1     
,mrs4 ,z----1 that ,i have been with you
 five years to-day8 ,have you8 was the  
response1 ,you have left some dust on   
that chair4 ,the mistress boasted       
doubtless that she had reminded her     
servant of her place4 ,no further       
comment is needed4 ,the maid thought    
herself to be a person1 but was reminded
 that she was a thing4  ,again1 if the  
baker is thought of as a mere           
convenience for baking bread1 all       
demands he may make beyond those which  
will enable him to produce good bread1  
will be fiercely contested4 ,the        
conditions under which the bread is     
baked are a paltry incident1 provided   
they do not in any way discommode the   
consumer1 and the claim made by the     
journeyman baker for opportunity and    
means to realize the ,god-given         

ambitions of his manhood1 ambitions     
which perchance have nothing to do with 
baking bread1 is scouted in much the    
same way that a request to decorate a   
machine with gold trimmings would be    
scouted4 ,of course it is as wrong to   
ignore the former's claim1 as it would  
be right to ignore the demand for       
expensive and useless embellishments for
 a piece of machinery2 for one is a     
person and the other is a thing4  ,it is
 because men have been thought of as    
things1 that there are such plague-spots
 on the social body as sweatshops4 ,all 
movements that compel the attention of  
the consumer to a recognition of his    
relation to the producer as a person1   
are worthy of the most careful study and
 the highest commendation4 ,preferential
 dealing1 that is to say1 dealing       
preferably with such merchants as we    
know to have humane regard for those who
 produce and handle the goods offered   
for sale1 is merely a passing phase of  
the attempt to recognize as persons     

those who1 though far removed from us1  
yet touch our lives and minister to our 
necessities2 and the movement deserves  
support and encouragement because of the
 principle which actuates it4 ,when life
 was less complex than at present1 and  
the entrepreneur and middleman did not  
exist to obscure the relationship       
between consumer and producer1 it was   
easier to realize the responsibility of 
the one toward the other than it is now4
 ,however1 it is of elementary necessity
 that men should learn that the accident
 which hides one section of society from
 the easy observation of another1 does  
not lessen one whit the mutual          
responsibility which each bears towards 
the other4 ,nor does the difficulty of  
gathering information afford an excuse4 
,in these days of pertinacious          
investigation and organized experience1 
there is no set of conditions so complex
 as to baffle ultimately the determined 
investigator of social phenomena1 or to 
escape satisfactory adjustment4  ,once  

again1 the cry of the workman for a     
living wage1 is but an indication that  
the labourer is coming to a realization 
of the dignity and fullness of manhood1 
and is inviting others to share in this 
discovery of himself4 ,who can turn a   
deaf ear to his appeal1 excepting those 
who deny a man's right to realize       
himself8 ,the doctrine of the average   
wage1 that is1 the wage which is        
determined by a brazen law of one kind  
or another1 whether that to which the   
name of ,ricardo is attached or some    
other1 equally unmanageable1 is fast    
giving place to that of the living wage4
 ,the living wage is the evolution of   
the average wage2 the former phrase     
declares that men are requiring official
 dealings to be more humane than of     
yore1 as well as that the law of wages  
is not an almighty tyrant to which      
society must bow1 but a law which is    
more or less obedient to the dictates of
 man's will4 ,there are those among     
political economists who now maintain it

 to be more reasonable to claim1 that   
prices must conform to wages1 than wages
 to prices4 ,it is worth while adding in
 this connection that the living wage is
 bound to be progressive1 as the duty of
 treating men as persons and not as     
things1 comes to be more firmly imbedded
 in the public conscience4 ,some persons
 are ready to admit the justice of the  
theory of ,christian democracy1 though  
unwilling to accept many of its logical 
conclusions4 ,the promulgation of the   
principle of democracy in its mildest   
form1 creates new desires or awakens    
dormant ones in the undermost men1 and  
of course provision must be made for    
satisfying these1 else the doctrine     
which gave the desires birth is         
hideously cruel4 ,a living wage some    
years since1 had the phrase obtained in 
the language1 would have signified for  
the most part a wage sufficient to      
sustain animal life4 ,that is1 the      
wage-earning man would have been        
recognized as an animal but not a       

person4 ,or perhaps it would have meant 
a wage capable of creating economic     
efficiency1 in which case it would have 
indicated that the wage-earner was      
viewed as a thing4 ,now the idea        
underlying a living wage is a wage      
sufficient for the sustenance of human  
life1 of life in which there is room for
 freedom of choice1 and where the whole 
man is taken into consideration4  ,it is
 to the credit of society1 that so much 
earnestness is being expended to-day in 
the effort to humanize the various      
official relationships of life4 ,but it 
is a cause for shame1 on the other hand1
 that among ,christian men there should 
have been so deplorable a falling away  
from elementary ,christian principle1 as
 to make this effort necessary4 ,let it 
suffice for the present to insist that  
until men more generally recognize their
 fellows1 whatever be their position in 
life1 to be persons and not things1 wide
 fellowship at any rate is an utter     
impossibility4 ,and it is from this     

point that all attempts to solve social 
problems must take their beginning4 ,it 
might prove a useful experiment if      
occasionally1 for a short period1 we    
were to test our love for others by     
loving ourselves as we love them1       
treating ourselves as we treat them4 ,if
 it so happened that we were living     
reasonably near to the ,golden ,rule1   
our conduct would not have to be        
materially1 if at all1 changed to do    
this2 but if we happened1 on the other  
hand1 to be treating our neighbour as a 
thing when the experiment took place1   
there is no doubt that we should        
immediately become so unhappy and full  
of pain1 as to be incapable of          
prolonging the experience4  ,,footnotes3
  #ad ,that is called a thing to which  
no event can be imputed as an action4   
,hence every object devoid of freedom is
 regarded as a thing4--,kant1           
,metaphysic of ,ethics4     ,chapter    
,,viii  ,friendship in ,god 7continued7 
,the official temper of mind is by no   

means the only bar to wide fellowship4  
,exclusiveness and temperamental dislike
 are responsible for a great many sins  
against brotherly love1 and must be     
fought down by every true follower of   
our ,lord4 ,when men are left to        
themselves1 they gravitate into mutually
 exclusive groups composed of congenial 
classes or of congenial types4 ,but     
,christianity steps in and breaks up    
these little sets1 in order to blend    
them into one varied and splendid whole4
 ,the vision which ,s4 ,john had        
revealed to him1 was humanity in all its
 variety--out of every nation1 and of   
all tribes and peoples and tongues--but 
at perfect unity with itself1 a complete
 and harmonious family4  ,sec4 #a4      
,probably there is no temper of mind    
more difficult to master than that of   
exclusiveness4 ,in the evolution of     
society class differentiations have come
 into being1 differentiations which1 at 
the time of their appearance1 may have  
been a necessary phase of progress1 but 

which1 in the development of ,christian 
thought1 should pass away4 ,it would not
 be right or wise to contend for the    
immediate obliteration of all artificial
 distinctions in life1 for              
conventionalities are often social      
safeguards and have their place in      
civilization4 ,but surely the earnest   
disciple of ,jesus must array all the   
forces at his command against the       
continuance of customs that have been   
separated from their usefulness1 and are
 perpetuated only to be stumbling blocks
 to human fellowship4  ,the worth of    
conventionalism has for its supreme test
 the life and teaching of ,jesus        
,christ4 ,when ,he quieted the strife of
 the disciples1 who were filled with the
 ignoble lust of domination1 ,he        
inaugurated a new social order4 ,he that
 is the greater among you1 let him      
become as the younger2 and he that is   
chief1 as he that doth serve4 ,the old  
order made kings the recipients of much 
service1 the new calls them to give much

 service2 the old order led men to      
strive for honour1 the new inspires them
 to avoid honour unless bound up with an
 enlarged opportunity to serve2 the old 
order prized whatever privileges set men
 above and apart from their fellows1 the
 new seeks everything that will bring   
them nearer to their fellows4 ,so merit 
and reward1 privilege and               
responsibility1 greatness and service   
must never be separated4 ,where they    
have been separated in the past1 as well
 as where they are in the present1 the  
result is exclusiveness4 ,men cling to  
prerogatives which in common justice    
they have no real claim upon1 beyond the
 flimsy plea of hereditary right and the
 permission of society4 ,out of this    
have grown those groups of persons who1 
though possessing nothing but a very    
common humanity indeed1 would1 from a   
sense of superiority derived from a     
name1 or from the false prestige given  
by wealth and social position1 withhold 
their fellowship from all but a select  

few4 ,if men could but realize the      
cramping influence on character of      
exclusiveness1 how quickly would they   
hasten to divest themselves of every    
trace of the vice of snobbishness6      
,dives lived in exclusive society after 
death because he did so before death4   
,he was no farther from ,lazarus in the 
other world than he was in this2 the    
gulf created here was fixed there1 that 
is all4 ,and among the losses of the    
saved will be lack of capacity for wide 
fellowship4  ,the dignity of humanity is
 so great that nothing can add to its   
greatness1 excepting what ennobles human
 nature itself4 ,wealth1 social         
position1 mere intellectual attainment1 
no more deserve deference or homage1    
than do the tatters of a pauper or the  
ignorance of a dolt4 ,no man insults    
human nature or demeans his personality 
so much as he who bows down to these    
accidents1 excepting only the man who   
receives homage on the ground not of    
what he is but of what he has4 ,we may  

neither pay homage to1 nor receive it   
for1 any of those things which belong   
merely to time and of which death will  
strip us bare2 though piety1 spiritual  
wisdom1 and all forms of moral power1   
always and everywhere1 demand homage and
 reverence4  ,the true basis on which   
,christian fellowship is begun and      
maintained1 is our common humanity--that
 which is essential and not that which  
is accidental4 ,our ,lord drew men to   
,himself and had human fellowship with  
them1 by virtue of the completeness and 
attractiveness of ,his splendid manhood4
 ,he had none of the accidents of life  
to use1 and ,he was not weak without    
them4 ,he was the most refined among    
men1 and yet ,he found companionship    
among the peasant folk4 ,social         
differentiations did not enter into our 
,lord's reckoning4 ,he ignored them1    
reaching through them and past them4 ,it
 is touching to remember that one of the
 earliest companionships in ,paradise of
 the human soul of ,jesus1 was the      

resumption of almost ,his last          
intercourse on earth4 ,as the soul of   
the penitent outlaw and robber1 pale    
from the passion of death1 went into the
 society of ,paradise1 it was received  
and welcomed by the ,man1 ,christ       
,jesus4  ,it is a myth that the wise and
 cultured must confine their fellowship 
to the wise and cultured4#ae ,by means  
of literature men and women of high     
privilege1 have joined hands with those 
whose lives were bare of everything but 
character--with ,adam ,bede and with    
,uncle ,tom4 ,if this is possible with  
the creations of fiction1 it is capable 
of being widely true in actual life4    
,the richest human nature is often found
 in the most obscure places1 as the     
experience of every social worker from  
,edward ,denison to the resident in the 
newest settlement1 will testify4 ,true  
refinement is not the result of paltry  
conventionalism1 the flimsy creation of 
an artificial society2 true refinement  
is the inalienable possession of that   

character in which the ,spirit of ,god  
rules1 in which the material is made the
 handmaid of the spiritual4 ,at first   
men went out into the highways of the   
city1 armed with their privileges1      
thinking that they had everything to    
give4 ,but they soon learned that this  
spirit could only end in condescension1 
which is fatal to fellowship1 for       
fellowship means give and take1 and that
 the poor and unprivileged had much to  
give4 ,unless representatives from the  
different classes of society are        
contributing their special gifts to our 
lives1 life is poor indeed4 ,wealth of  
fellowship consists not in numbers1 but 
in variety4  ,when men reach out for    
wider fellowship1 they must not forget  
that no man ever yet won his fellows    
through his own interests4 ,he must1 by 
the subtle power of sympathy1 dive      
beneath the surface of other lives and  
court their interests4 ,even ,god failed
 to win men1 until ,he made man's       
concerns wholly ,his own by becoming    

,man4 ,for ye know the grace of our     
,lord ,jesus ,christ1 that1 though ,he  
was rich1 yet for your sakes ,he became 
poor1 that ye through ,his poverty might
 become rich4  ,sec4 #b4 ,temperamental 
dislike is another obstacle to          
,christian fellowship to be conquered4  
,it is something found wherever human   
nature is4 ,and men commonly excuse     
quarrelsomeness1 rudeness and other     
unchristian conduct on this score1      
though the excuse is by no means valid4 
,probably all of us are afflicted with a
 natural antipathy to certain kinds of  
temperament1 but at least we need not   
humour it4 ,it was part of ,god's       
design1 that human society should be    
enriched by variety of disposition4     
,that is a poor garden which contains   
but one kind of flower1 beautiful as its
 blossom may be4 ,true beauty consists  
in variety2 and monotony is the height  
of ugliness4 ,it is a reason for        
thankfulness that human nature is so    
wonderfully diversified that no two     

human beings are exactly alike1 and that
 there is a whole gamut of temperamental
 difference in the race4  ,now it is a  
part of the work of ,christianity1 to   
reconcile dispositions that are         
naturally antipathetic and jarring4 ,and
 the process by which this is brought to
 pass1 is probably one of the most      
beneficial disciplines to which men are 
subjected4 ,the ,church is a great      
mixing bowl1 in which all this vast     
variety is brought into close touch and 
blended together into a harmonious      
whole4 ,the very purpose of the one     
,church for all the men of faith in     
,jesus is that the necessity for        
belonging to one body--a necessity      
grounded on divine appointment--shall   
force together into a unity men of all  
sorts and different kinds2 and the      
forces of the new life which they share 
in common are to overcome their natural 
repugnance and antipathies1 and to make 
the forbearance and love and mutual     
helpfulness which corporate life        

requires1 if not easy1 at least possible
 for them4#af  ,that society is at once 
the most beautiful and the most powerful
 which is composed of the largest       
variety of temperaments1 exercising     
their various faculties in unity and    
mutual helpfulness4 ,some persons       
imagine that the most desirable         
parochial life is where all the         
parishioners are of one stripe1 instead 
of that in which there is a finely      
disciplined diversity4 ,a parish of dead
 uniformity would be comfortable but not
 educative1 quiet but colourless and    
insipid4  ,unquestionably certain       
natures are so constituted as to        
irritate us every time we come near     
them4 ,and unless we are very carefully 
on our guard we will not treat such     
persons justly or courteously1 much less
 will we be ready to render them        
delicate service4 ,quite unconsciously  
we exhibit our temper of mind4 ,there   
may be the determination not to allow   
our feelings to rise to the surface1 but

 nevertheless before we know it we have 
done the mischief2 and somehow the      
bitterness we entertain has been let    
loose1 not by a word or a look1 perhaps1
 but by some subtle telepathic or       
psychic influence which opens the secret
 of our soul to our companion4 ,there is
 nothing more infectious than a temper  
of mind4 ,it seems to leap out of one   
soul and impart itself to another       
without heeding the ordinary laws of    
transmission4 ,anger1 lust1 suspicion1  
dislike1 jealousy smirch not only the   
souls in which they lie restrained      
though not conquered1 but others that   
come within the radius of their         
wide-reaching influence4  ,fortunately  
this power of infection is not confined 
to evil passions1 but belongs even in a 
larger degree to those which are good4  
,and herein lies the remedy for         
temperamental dislike4 ,if we stop short
 at choking it down1 we can never make a
 friend of one whose disposition is     
naturally repugnant to us4 ,sooner or   

later our dislike will crop out and a   
gulf be made4 ,if1 on the other hand1   
the dislike is displaced by generous1   
full love--love that is a force and not 
a mere emotion--fellowship1 and         
eventually friendship1 will become      
possible4 ,there may be grounds often   
for our antipathies4 ,some people have  
the misfortune to be graceless1 awkward 
and repellant2 others are unattractive  
if not positively disagreeable to every 
one--bad-tempered1 perhaps1 or          
mischief-makers4 ,to educate these in   
,christian fellowship is probably as    
large a public service as could be      
readily rendered4 ,it is no great       
matter1 says ,jeremy ,taylor1#ag to live
 lovingly with good-natured1 with humble
 and meek persons2 but he that can do so
 with the froward1 with the wilful1 and 
the ignorant1 with the peevish and      
perverse1 he only hath true charity4    
,sec4 #c4 ,a third bar to ,christian    
fellowship is what1 for want of a better
 phrase1 may be termed a weakness for   

interesting people4 ,that is to say1 the
 humanity that is within easy reach     
seems commonplace and uninteresting1 so 
that men of our intimate acquaintance   
often appear to be hardly worth while   
labouring for4 ,hence it is a common    
habit to reserve our best thought1 our  
best manners and our best service for   
strangers1 making little positive effort
 to love and serve those with whom we   
are thrown into daily contact4 ,nowhere 
is human perversity more glaring than in
 the sad truth lurking behind the       
proverb3 ,a prophet is not without      
honour1 save in his own country and     
house4 ,the value of those who stand    
nearest to us is lowered by means of    
their very nearness4 ,on the other hand 
the persons who are outside our         
immediate circle1 however comprehensive 
it may be1 seem to be more interesting  
than the very average folk who are our  
ordinary companions4 ,we long for       
companionship with men of this finer    
type4  ,of course this is all a         

delusion4 ,human nature is full of      
interest wherever we find it1 that which
 is nearest as well as that which is    
farthest removed4 ,the men we would like
 to know and serve1 are no more worthy  
of attention than the men who stand     
shoulder to shoulder with us4 ,but those
 who have the largest claim upon our    
attention and service1 are our immediate
 friends and neighbours4 ,indeed the    
only way to arm ourselves against       
disappointment1 as the boundaries of our
 fellowship are enlarged1 is so to      
attach ourselves to the people near at  
hand as to learn the true dignity of all
 human nature and the almost            
unfathomable depths of every            
personality4 ,otherwise an acquisition  
in acquaintanceship will1 after the     
first glow of novelty has worn off1 only
 reveal one more uninteresting person4  
,sec4 #d4 ,there is one other duty that 
ought to be at least touched upon in    
this connection1 though it has been     
referred to in a former chapter--the    

duty of praying for others4 ,there is no
 more delicate service in the whole     
round of human action than that of      
intercessory prayer4 ,it is so hidden as
 to have a special beauty on that       
account4 ,while men are all unconscious 
that we are thinking of them1 we fold   
our arms about them and bring them up   
before ,god for blessing and guidance4  
,intercessory prayer might be defined as
 loving our neighbour on our knees4 ,the
 common objection1 ,what good can it do8
 ,will not ,god bless men just as much  
without our prayers as with them8 seems 
to have a certain amount of weight4 ,but
 a very little reflection shows that it 
does not amount to much4 ,even though   
intercessory prayer did nothing more    
than put us who pray in a desirable     
frame of mind toward those for whom we  
pray1 it would be an exercise of great  
value4 ,however1 as a matter of fact1 it
 accomplishes much more than this4      
,besides making our feeling of          
fellowship stronger1 it really brings   

something to those for whom we offer our
 petitions4 ,human life is as closely   
bound up on the spiritual as on any     
other side of our being4 ,it is quite   
certain that if we withhold the duties  
of service in other ways ,god does not  
supply our lack1 so far as we can see1  
but human life suffers through our      
neglect4 ,if all else in our experience 
is governed by law1 why should we       
believe that the spiritual part of life 
stands alone and is not affected by     
spiritual service8 ,there is from       
analogy every reason to suppose1 that   
those who are not prayed for suffer     
spiritual loss on that account4  ,but   
the immediate point to be made is that  
the height of ,christian friendship     
cannot be reached without intercession4 
,it has been pointed out by a spiritual 
teacher#ah that it makes a great        
difference in our feelings towards      
others if their needs and their joys are
 on our lips in prayer2 as also it makes
 a vast difference in their feelings    

towards us if they know that we are in  
the habit of praying for them4 ,there is
 no chasm in society that cannot be     
firmly and permanently bridged by       
intercession2 there is no feud or       
dislike that cannot be healed by the    
same exercise of love4  ,here1 then1 as 
in all else1 if we are to come anywhere 
near the ideal we must lift our eyes to 
,god4 ,friendship in ,god is possible   
only for those who bring society before 
,god in prayer4  ,,footnotes3  #ae ,cf4 
,browning's verses in ,prince           
,hohenstiel-,schwangau1 where the result
 of false culture1 or the abuse of      
culture1 is referred to3--      ,man is 
made in sympathy with man     ,at outset
 of existence1 so to speak2     ,but in 
dissociation1 more and more1     ,man   
from his fellow1 as their lives advance 
,in culture2 still humanity1 that's born
     ,a mass1 keeps flying off1 fining  
away     ,ever into a multitude of      
points1     ,and ends in isolation1 each
 from each4  #af ,gore on ,ephesians1 p4

 #ahi4  #ag ,works3 ,vol4 vii4 #fbd4    
#ah ,canon ,gore4     ,chapter ,,ix     
,the ,church in ,prayer   ,thus far     
little has been said of the more        
corporate aspect of the spiritual       
life--of army movements1 so to speak4   
,our minds have been chiefly on the     
duties of men in their individual       
capacity4 ,not that any one can ever    
behave so that he alone is affected by  
his output of energy4 ,whether          
consciously or unconsciously every human
 being that breathes1 according as he   
moves his will upwards or downwards1    
elevates or hinders his fellows4 ,the   
most secret passages of life should be  
traversed with reference to others1 in  
order that we may be ruled by that      
beautiful consistency which will enable 
us to act formally in public without    
readjusting our whole inner temper4     
,there will be no wrench1 no unnatural  
straining to become what we cannot be at
 a moment's notice1 but on the contrary 
merely an exhibition under altered      

conditions of the spirit which has all  
along actuated us4 ,for instance1 one   
who has not learned to pray hard for    
others and to ponder over their welfare1
 cannot hope to speak to men with any   
force on spiritual topics4 ,he has not  
cultivated the frame of mind that will  
give him power to do it4 ,if he tries1  
his words will most likely be irreverent
 cant or an empty echo4 ,it is only out 
of the fulness of the heart that the    
mouth can speak effective words4  ,in no
 department of life is this more true   
than in corporate worship4 ,the power of
 public worship is dependent upon and   
the outcome of healthy and faithful     
private worship1 to say nothing of the  
rest of the personal life4 ,those who   
have true personal religion will feel   
their life of devotion incomplete       
without common prayer2 a growing desire 
for public worship is an index of a     
man's deepening spirituality4 ,on the   
other hand1 when we hear men saying that
 they do not care for church services1  

that they can pray just as well at home1
 and so on1 it is safe to conclude that 
whatever fine-spun theories they may    
hold1 as a matter of fact they are      
suffering from spiritual atrophy1       
praying neither at home nor anywhere    
else4 ,private devotion whets the       
appetite for public worship4 ,and those 
who are in intention true to fundamental
 ,christian principles will not mistake 
the end of the ,church's corporate      
worship4  ,the assembling of the        
congregation is something far larger    
than the creation of a public occasion  
for saying private prayers4 ,there are  
numbers of persons who go through the   
whole service without a thought for any 
one but themselves1 sucking the liturgy 
dry of whatever touches their own       
immediate concerns1 but oblivious to    
those who kneel around2 and perhaps     
private manuals supply the place of the 
,prayer ,book4 ,such persons squeeze    
into their own cup all the inspiration  
that a harmonious concourse of men      

carries with it1 and make no return4    
,like the horse-leach's daughters their 
cry is1 ,give1 give4 ,could anything be 
more selfish or more anomalous8 ,there  
is no effort of imagination1 no kindling
 of sympathy1 no struggle to enter under
 the shadow of the prayer of the        
congregation1 so that they are as       
completely alone as though they were in 
a desert place4  ,nor is public worship 
a device for rousing in people a        
devotional frame of mind1 which will    
enable them to pray better by           
themselves4 ,doubtless one indirect     
effect of the great dignity and beauty  
of liturgical worship1 is to stimulate  
those who participate in it to a deeper 
devotion at home4 ,but public worship is
 a climax1 not a mere means to an end2  
it is the culmination of private        
devotion1 not its starting point4       
,without hidden spiritual effort1 it is 
a phantom of the real thing2 with it1 it
 is the matchless consummation of       
adoration1 prayer and sympathy4 ,under  

the least satisfactory conditions the   
congregation gathered in ,god's house   
has marvellous dignity2 the unity of    
movement1 the rich variety and the      
rhythm of liturgical expression         
characterize it as the most august of   
human assemblies4  ,but the             
possibilities of the ,church in prayer  
rise to their supremest height1 when the
 congregation is rich with the fruits of
 personal religion4 ,so closely woven   
are the public and the private phases of
 devotion that they are of a piece4 ,the
 power of the former is due to the hours
 of secret prayer1 the struggles with   
self1 the nerving of the will--in short1
 all that hidden discipline and training
 that lie behind the veil of private    
life4 ,out of this1 corporate worship   
emerges as effect rises out of cause4   
,however great1 then1 the private life  
of devotion is in which men pray to ,god
 in the guarded secrecy of their homes1 
it is only preparatory1 leading up to   
the service of the sanctuary4#ai        

,private prayer is the lesser1 public   
the greater2 the former is the exercise 
of the individual members with special  
regard to their own development1 the    
latter is the stately movement of the   
whole body in beautiful unison4 ,each   
member contributes to the whole what has
 been gained in private efforts2 each   
comes to give rather than to receive1   
or1 if it may be so put1 to receive     
through giving2 and of course a man can 
give only what he has gathered4  ,the   
glimpses we have of heavenly worship#bj 
reveal nothing but common worship4 ,we  
see no individuals standing apart from  
the throng1 absorbed in their own little
 expression of praise4 ,the ranks are   
unbroken1 and one united and uniting    
impulse thrills the whole4 ,the visions 
recorded by ,s4 ,john are visions not   
merely of ideal worship in its          
restricted sense of spoken prayer and   
praise1 but of the ideal life4 ,the     
fundamental idea of common worship      
consists in dependence upon ,god and    

fellowship with man1 and when all life  
is filled to the full with this twofold 
spirit1 all life will be worship1 and   
let it be said here with firm emphasis1 
that if we do not lift up our life to   
the level of our prayers1 eventually our
 prayers will be dragged down to the    
level of our life4 ,life in heaven is   
something more than one long ,sunday    
service2 it is the use of all powers and
 faculties in the spirit of worship1    
worship representing the highest and    
finest temper of mind of which we have  
experience4 ,so when we read the        
figurative language of ,s4 ,john1 we    
must remember that he is declaring under
 the symbolism of worship what the      
features of heavenly life are--the      
conscious service of ,god in a          
harmonious human society4  ,similarly   
here on earth common worship is a symbol
 of true life as well as a means of     
sustaining it4 ,the attention of the    
congregation gathered before the altar  
is fixed upon ,god1 and no stronger     

indication of the reality of brotherhood
 could be conceived than the visible    
assembly occupied in a common exercise4 
,when all our activities become         
saturated with the consciousness of ,god
 in ,his perfection1 and with the fact  
of the oneness of ,christ's mystical    
,body1 formal worship will be no more a 
necessity4 ,but that will be when heaven
 is reached1 for which day there must be
 some little waiting yet4 ,in the       
meantime it is vital that worship1 as we
 know it1 should not be an excrescence  
on life but a real part of it1 part of  
it as truly as the deep1 silent tide    
flowing between narrow banks is part of 
the same river which above and below is 
worried by rocks or widened into a lake4
 ,public worship should represent       
perhaps the most concentrated part of   
life1 but nothing unnatural1 nothing out
 of gear with work-a-day moments4 ,work 
should flow into worship as easily as   
the stream into the ocean4 ,there should
 be1 in all the business of life1 the   

steady application of ,god's laws1 and  
that underlying consciousness of ,his   
,person and ,presence which1 so far from
 detracting from the efficiency of our  
work or preventing full devotion to it1 
will intensify every energy4 ,the melody
 of the song is emphasized and supported
 by the accompaniment1 not lost in its  
multitude of sounds4 ,given this        
attitude of mind1 and what a simple1    
natural thing praise with the lips      
becomes6 ,and how sublime the uprushing 
flood of hymnody from an assembly of men
 of like mind6  ,again1 public worship  
ought to be the highest and not the only
 expression of parochial family life4   
,the assembled congregation is the      
symbol of an enduring ,christian        
brotherhood1 where mutual consideration1
 love and service form the unalterable  
watchwords4 ,to-day this thought is much
 obscured by the parochial family having
 so little reality outside the church   
walls4 ,this is especially applicable to
 city churches1 where congregations     

gather from the remotest localities4    
,the parish seems to be fast dying out  
and the congregation is taking its      
place4 ,the people who worship in the   
same building neither know one another  
nor1 in many instances1 desire to4 ,this
 is simply fatal to ideal public        
worship1 one purpose of which at any    
rate is to quicken and seal the sympathy
 that already exists as the result of   
intercourse in the outside world4 ,it is
 a grave responsibility for any one1 for
 the sake of what he may deem to be     
larger spiritual privileges1 to leave   
the church of the locality in which he  
lives and where his natural duties and  
friendships lie1 to go to some distant  
place of worship where fellowship is    
impossible4 ,ideally the worshippers    
belonging to the parochial family are   
all known to one another and in frequent
 personal contact2 they do not look to  
their clergy alone for spiritual help1  
but also to their fellow laymen4 ,all   
too often the clergy are supposed to    

have the sole responsibility of         
spiritually aiding the members of a     
parish1 whereas1 the laity1 whether they
 recognize it or not1 have almost an    
equal responsibility4 ,the clergyman    
does spiritual work1 not because he is a
 clergyman1 but because he is a         
,christian2 though his special vocation 
determines the exact form his work      
should take4 ,if there were more        
intelligent sympathy among the members  
of the congregation one with another1   
what strength would come to the penitent
 struggling to his feet1 what added     
power to the faithful6 ,many fail1 not  
because the clergy have been negligent1 
but because those who are termed the    
brethren have never extended a helping  
hand to support1 to comfort1 to cheer4  
,if a congregation were alive to these  
responsibilities outside of the church1 
what a glorious time would be the       
gathering within its walls--inspiring1  
thrilling6 ,indeed1 any one who tries to
 be unselfish and to act in the common  

concerns of life with reference to his  
neighbour's interests1 any one who has  
elsewhere learned ever so little about  
intercession1 cannot be unmindful when  
he comes to church of those who worship 
by his side1 strangers though they be4  
,by the exercise of sympathy1 sympathy  
which he has learned to kindle with less
 at hand to quicken it to life than that
 given by the living1 breathing forms   
near by1 he can bring close to him his  
fellow-worshippers1 moving into the     
shadow of their intercessions as well as
 calling them in to share his own4 ,it  
will be noticed that the usual order has
 been reversed in the foregoing4        
,usually men are urged to worship well  
that they may live well2#ba the         
proposition that has been made here is  
that men must live well if they would   
worship well4 ,it makes little          
difference which way the thought is     
expressed1 the mode of expression       
depending on the part of the circle at  
which we begin our course4 ,life runs up

 into worship and worship runs out into 
life4 ,each leads into the other4  ,the 
use of a liturgy is an added power to   
public worship4 ,it is only by          
liturgical aids that public worship can 
become common worship4 ,a liturgy       
delivers a congregation from the        
spiritual idiosyncrasies of a minister  
as well as disciplining those of the    
worshippers themselves4 ,the            
comprehensiveness and symmetry1 the     
saneness and dignity of the ,book of    
,common ,prayer are educative forces of 
enormous value4 ,left to themselves men 
lose the true perspective of things2    
they dwell too much on matters of       
secondary importance1 and become insular
 in their outlook4 ,a liturgy comes in  
as a corrective of these constitutional 
failings2 it confronts us with all that 
is vast in the realm of truth2 it calls 
us away from the consideration of those 
things over which we have pondered until
 morbidness has seized upon us2 it      
ministers that grateful rest which comes

 from the mind being freed from the     
contemplation of one set of interests1  
by being caught away by and absorbed in 
new and wider interests2 it rounds out  
the devotional life2 it invites us to   
lean upon the prayers of others as we   
desire them to lean on ours4  ,all who  
aspire to worship well in the           
congregation must note that the liturgy 
sets the tone for all devotions4 ,those 
who in private affect spiritual         
exercises foreign to the character of   
the ,prayer ,book of the ,church1 may   
get a certain emotional satisfaction for
 the moment1 but they purchase the      
luxury at the cost of weakening their   
power for common worship4 ,their private
 prayers form no preparation for their  
public prayers4 ,the clergy have it as a
 grave responsibility to see that the   
books of private devotion which they put
 into the hands of their people are such
 as fit into the ,church's system4      
,demeanour in the congregation is a     
small thing to think of after the great 

central theme that has been holding our 
attention4 ,but nothing is unworthy of  
consideration which bears on the        
perfecting of common worship2 and with  
two simple observations on demeanour    
this chapter will be closed4 ,first1    
regarding the self-consciousness that   
both distresses the soul and weakens its
 devotional power4 ,the sense1 while in 
the act of prayer1 of being observed by 
others1 is distracting4 ,but is it not a
 piece of conceit to imagine that we are
 being observed1 widely at any rate1 as 
well as something akin to an insult to  
those about us8 ,are we not implicitly  
charging them with neglect of duty and  
with irreverence8 ,after all they are   
probably occupied with their devotions  
as we ourselves should be4 ,the simplest
 way of conquering the distraction when 
it arises is to take the person or      
persons concerned into our prayers by a 
conscious act4 ,then in the second      
place1 as to our own behaviour1 it is   
only common charity to avoid singularity

 of conduct4 ,most of the ordinary acts 
of reverence which the individual may   
practise1 can be so unobtrusively       
performed as not to attract notice4 ,but
 when there is a danger of causing      
distraction to others1 as in a strange  
parish for instance1 it is more         
conducive to real reverence to omit than
 to observe them4 ,sometimes the best   
way to be loyal to a principle is       
deliberately to break a rule1 and if    
this suggestion be reasonable then why  
should not a person1 unaccustomed to    
ornate ritual1 fall in with any         
legitimate customs observed1 if he finds
 himself at any time in a church where  
such customs obtain8  ,,footnotes3  #ai 
,the writer does not hesitate to advise 
persons who are temporarily residing1 as
 is often the case during the summer1   
where there is no ,episcopal ,church1 to
 attend public worship1 once a ,sunday  
at least1 at the representative         
,evangelical place of worship of the    
community4 ,reading the ,church service 

at home by one's self is no substitute  
for public worship4  #bj ,as e4 g4 in   
,rev4 v3 #aa-ad4  #ba ,see p4 #g4       
,chapter ,x  ,the ,great ,act of        
,worship   ,the ,eucharist is the       
,church's great central act of corporate
 worship4 ,it would be strange1         
considering the origin of this wonderful
 mystery1 were it otherwise4 ,even those
 who regard it as a bare memorial of the
 historic occurrence of ,christ's       
,passion and nothing more1 however      
highly they may honour the ordinary     
round of prayer and praise1 approach the
 ,eucharist with unwonted awe4  ,of     
course no one conception of its         
character is complete1 as its various   
and stately names testify4 ,so bound up 
with the ,person of our ,lord is it1    
that1 as new treasures of knowledge are 
laid open concerning ,him who is the    
eternal ,son of ,god1 this feast of rich
 things is proportionately enriched to  
the participant4 ,says ,jeremy ,taylor  
in his quaint and reverent way3 ,the    

,holy ,communion or ,supper of the ,lord
 is the most sacred1 mysterious and     
useful conjugation of secret and holy   
things and duties in the religion4#bb   
,and withal it is1 in essence1 of all   
simple things the most simple--a meal1 a
 meal transformed and exalted1 it is    
true1 but still a meal4 ,however        
difficult the liturgy may be for        
unlearned folk1 the sacrament itself1   
the breaking of the bread1 is easily    
understood by every one1 even the least 
wise4 ,nor is it hard to reconcile the  
idea of a feast with this meagre meal of
 a morsel of bread and a sip of wine2   
for everyday experience has prepared us 
for the conveyance of great wealth      
through what has no intrinsic           
excellence4 ,if a scrap of paper can    
have the value of heaps of gold1 and1 by
 the law of association1 an age-worn    
trinket can become of priceless worth1  
it suggests no unreality to claim that  
under certain conditions a simple meal  
becomes a royal banquet1 filling heart  

and soul and mind1 and admitting into   
the very presence of the ,most ,holy and
 ,most ,high4 ,there is diversity in the
 explication of this act of worship1 but
 whatever difference of opinion there   
may be regarding its exact nature1 those
 most widely separated in thought will  
agree in this1 that it is a profound    
rite1 and that in it is spiritual       
wealth4 ,and in these days1 when at last
 men are beginning to perceive that     
truth is always greater than its best   
definition1 no one will contend that    
what he sees in the ,eucharist is all   
that it contains4#bc  ,the best         
commentary on the ,eucharist is the     
closing chapter of our ,lord's mortal   
career4 ,the ,son of ,man1 as ,he       
approached the ,cross1 drew nigh to that
 which throughout ,his ministry ,he had 
viewed as a goal2 the crucifixion was   
what ,he had been preparing ,himself for
 in all that ,he said and did throughout
 ,his human experience2 ,his whole life 
was indeed a long going forth to death4 

,he aspired to reach the moment when ,he
 would be lifted up from the earth4 ,he 
saw and predicted with composure all the
 horror and shame of the ,passion1 the  
betrayal and desertion1 the scourging   
and spitting4 ,but ,he saw even more    
clearly the dignity and wonder and      
majesty of the opportunity contained in 
it all1 and spoke of it with suppressed 
joy3 ,i have a baptism to be baptized   
with2 and how am ,i straitened till it  
be accomplished6 ,the ,cross would test 
to the full ,his obedience to ,god and  
reveal to what lengths ,divine love     
would go to redeem sinful man4 ,when men
 near the goal of their innocent        
ambition their cup of joy is full2 nor  
was ,christ's less than full4 ,in the   
first ,eucharist the pain of            
self-sacrifice for the time being was   
lost in the joy of self-fulfilment4     
,when ,he took the bread and the wine   
and said1 ,this is ,my ,body which is   
broken for you1 ,this is ,my ,blood     
which is shed for you1 ,he made the     

sacrifice of ,himself4 ,it is this act  
which separates ,his death from all     
other deaths1 transforming the          
crucifixion from a judicial murder into 
a triumph of self-oblation4 ,it is not  
the ,cross which explains the           
,eucharist1 but rather the ,eucharist   
which explains the ,cross4#bd ,eliminate
 the ,eucharist from the story of the   
,passion and our ,lord's death sinks    
from the atoning act by which the world 
is reconciled to ,god into a mere act of
 resignation to a painful fate1 to be   
classed with the death of ,socrates and 
like heroes4 ,it is the ,eucharist that 
enables us to say that the crucifixion  
was a sacrifice2 that however true it is
 that ,christ was put to death by sinful
 men1 it is a truth of greater magnitude
 that1 according to ,his repeated       
prediction1 ,he laid down ,his life for 
,his friends2 that the ,cross of        
,calvary1 and through it every cross    
that bows the shoulders of men1 has     
become the instrument of victory and a  

school of obedience and sympathy4  ,no  
act of ,christ was a mere personal      
experience4 ,the ,son of ,man1 as in    
loving sympathy ,he declared ,himself to
 be1 was the ,universal ,character whose
 life must needs concern and touch all  
other lives4 ,it was ,his expressed     
desire that ,his fellows should share   
all that ,he was and did4 ,he1 the ,son 
of ,god1 became the ,son of ,man that we
 might become ,sons of ,god4#be         
,therefore it is not surprising that1 at
 this the supreme moment of ,his life1  
,he should bid the representative group 
who companied with ,him1 and through    
them all men1 come in and participate in
 its power and joy2 ,he did not merely  
lay down ,his life1 but asked others to 
enter into ,his experience1 saying1     
,take1 eat2 this is ,my ,body1 ,drink ye
 all of this2 this is ,my ,blood4 ,for  
what is the import of this invitation   
but this8 ,associate yourselves with    
,me1--aye1 be one with ,me1 incorporated
 into ,me1 in this great moment of      

self-offering2 for ,i would present you 
a willing surrender in and with ,myself4
 ,the idea of at-one-ment was never more
 intelligible than in these latter days4
 ,we are becoming more and more         
conscious of how close-wrought are the  
fibres of the human race2 we recognize  
how the life of any one man affects the 
life of his fellows1 and how the        
individual can gather into his own soul 
the sorrows and joys1 the perplexities  
and aspirations of many people4 ,if this
 is part of the experience of a son of  
man1 it follows that the ,son of ,man1  
by the extension and completion of that 
quality which1 when found in us1 is     
known as sympathy1 if by nothing else   
beyond1--and the character of ,his      
personality tells us there is much      
beyond that is inexplicable--not only   
may but must take into ,himself and hold
 there for time and eternity the whole  
race--except so far1 alas1 as men       
struggle from the freedom of ,his       
embrace into the slavery of a false     

independence4 ,thus the ,eucharist is   
the divinely chosen means whereby we men
 are invited to enter into1 and         
consciously to appropriate the highest  
points of the victory of the ,cross as  
well as what lies beyond1--the          
resurrection life4 ,through it ,he      
shares with us ,his life-giving death   
and ,his deathless life1 ,his ,divine   
nature and ,his perfect humanity1 and we
 are accepted in the ,beloved4  ,the    
various titles of the sacrament of      
,christ's ,body and ,blood suggest its  
various aspects1#bf one of which1 and   
that the one that happily is most common
 in our ,church1 we shall consider--the 
,holy ,communion4 ,this title indicates 
the view of the sacrament which most    
readily appeals to the human heart4 ,the
 ,holy ,communion means1 of course1 the 
,holy ,fellowship--not a but the1 that  
fellowship which above all others is    
holy1 the end of which is to make all   
who participate in it holy4 ,it is      
fellowship with the ,father in          

,christ--not merely with ,christ2 that  
is not the whole of it1 for ,christ1 the
 ,son of ,god and the ,son of ,man as   
,he is1 is the ,way to the ,father4 ,nor
 is it an ordinary fellowship1 of which 
the fellowship of mere men is a complete
 image4 ,ordinary fellowship allows two 
lives to intertwine2 but here so close  
is the relationship that ,christ with   
us1 we with ,christ is inadequate to    
describe the intimacy1 and we in        
,christ1 ,christ in us1 phrases which no
 one dare to apply to any other         
friendship1 can alone tell the tale4    
,and we in ,christ not ,christ in us is 
the grander and more frequent phrase4   
,in ,christ tells of the unmeasured     
wealth of fellowship1 divine and human1 
which is the ,christian heritage2 it is 
the whole parable of the vine and the   
branches in two syllables4#bg ,this is  
the ,godward aspect of the sacrament4   
,and in this connection three things are
 to be noted3--  ,sec4 #a4 ,every fresh 
communion is a new point of contact with

 ,god in ,christ through the working of 
the ,eternal ,spirit2 each last         
communion means more than any of those  
which have gone before1 as even in our  
association with a human friend new     
qualities and untried depths of familiar
 characteristics are revealed in each   
successive act of intercourse4          
,friendship is taken up day by day on a 
higher level than formerly1 because of  
these new glimpses of the inner recesses
 of life which are caught from time to  
time as friends meet4 ,and frequent     
repetition of the sacrament ought no    
more to impair its value1 than frequent 
meetings the reality of friendship4     
,sec4 #b4 ,communion is only begun and  
not ended at the altar4 ,it is something
 more than a touch for a moment4 ,grace 
is not the infusion of some mysterious  
spiritual property1 which ,god having   
imparted leaves the recipient to make   
use of by himself2 grace is the gift of 
,god's personal working in the life     
through the indwelling ,spirit4 ,god    

never holds ,his faithful children one  
moment to let them go the next4 ,he     
enfolds us in ,himself with a tightening
 embrace1 as by loyalty to ,his laws and
 repeated acts of faith1 we expose new  
portions of our nature for ,him to lay  
hold on4 ,the sense of ,god's presence  
may be peculiarly full as we kneel to   
receive the heavenly food1 just as at   
the moment of meeting again one whom we 
love the emotions are deeply stirred2   
but by virtue of yesterday's communion1 
,god is as near at hand to-day as ,he   
was when we received the sacrament4 ,the
 ,holy ,communion would fail in its     
purpose if it made the presence of our  
,lord a reality only for the time being1
 and did not more fully introduce men   
into the ,divine presence as an abiding 
state4 ,the fact of ,god's immanence in 
us requires this conclusion4  ,sec4 #c4 
,the result of a faithful reception of  
the ,holy ,communion should be holiness 
in the common1 everyday life1 from which
 an incident1 the family meal1 is       

borrowed and transformed as the symbol  
and means by which all other incidents  
may be transformed4 ,so great a mystery 
demands all the majesty of a liturgy and
 the accompaniment of stately worship2  
and a dignified ritual attached to this 
representative1 this common act of our  
human life1 is most valuable as         
indicating the majesty of all that is   
commonplace when it is touched by ,god4 
,just as we consecrate certain times and
 seasons in order that all times and    
seasons may become holy1 so in the      
sacraments ,god has taught us to        
consecrate the simplest acts of ordinary
 life--the bath and the meal--as typical
 of the potential sacredness of all     
acts1 and as a means of sanctifying and 
ennobling them4 ,so the ,holy ,communion
 touches alike private life and life in 
society1 the life of recreation and the 
life of business1 and unless it         
transfigures each of these departments  
of human experience it falls short of   
its purpose4 ,let the business man      

remember that he strains to see and     
touch the ,most ,holy at the altar that 
he may see and touch the ,most ,holy in 
the market2 let the professional man and
 the man of letters1 the day labourer   
and the scientist each in his sphere be 
carried from the vision of ,god in the  
,eucharist to the abiding fellowship    
with ,god in his special vocation4 ,he  
who comes from ,god goes to ,god1       
whithersoever his steps may bear him4   
,the presence of our ,lord at the altar 
is special but not exclusive4 ,it is not
 a lamp lighted for a moment and then   
put out1 but a light which will         
illuminate all life1 and enable us to   
see at every turn the vision of         
omnipresent ,love4 ,it is one function  
of the sacraments to enhance1 not to    
dim1 the reality of ,god's immanence in 
all ,his works2 to train us to perceive 
and apprehend that      ,earth's crammed
 with heaven     ,and every common bush 
afire with ,god1--  a declaration which 
otherwise would be held to be but a     

poet's fickle fancy or a vague          
philosophical idea4 ,days are coming1 if
 they are not already upon us1 when in  
the midst of scientific progress and    
explanation in which men are prone to   
rest as final1 the believer's ceaseless 
theme must be the ,divine indwelling4   
,and the strongest and most telling     
means of keeping alive this truth for   
ourselves and others is the sacramental 
system of the ,church4  ,thus far we    
have been thinking of the ,godward      
aspect of the ,holy                     
,communion--fellowship with ,god in     
,christ4 ,on its manward side it is     
fellowship with man in ,christ4 ,as it  
sustains us in ,divine fellowship and   
lifts us continually into purer heights1
 so it assures us of our incorporation  
in the mystical ,body of ,christ1 which 
is the blessed company of all faithful  
people1 and inspires us to deeper love4 
,here again it is necessary to recall   
the original simple form of the         
sacrament1 a form so simple that1 as    

,bishop ,westcott says somewhere1 it is 
difficult in the earliest references to 
it to distinguish it from the ordinary  
family meal4 ,the brethren gather around
 the common table and partake of the    
common loaf4#bh ,and the use of the one 
loving-cup from which all drink goes    
beyond the customs of ordinary family   
life4 ,the ,holy ,communion1 which is a 
social act1 speaks of the transformation
 of social life4#bi ,just as the        
constant sharing of food at one table is
 the pledge of loyal service to one     
another on the part of all who partake1 
as well as a means of gaining strength  
to fulfil the pledge1 so the ,holy      
,communion is a pledge to mutual service
 and equipment for its accomplishment4  
,in ,christ a new relationship is       
established between man and man1 or     
rather an old relationship is deepened  
and consummated4 ,brethren after the    
flesh are made brethren in the ,lord4#cj
 ,family and national ties are very     
sacred and very close1 but they reach   

the full purpose which ,god designed for
 them only when they become the basis   
for spiritual kinship4 ,it is considered
 a dreadful thing1 and rightly so1 when 
men of common blood are at variance with
 one another2 nothing is more shameful  
than a family feud4 ,and on the other   
hand1 blood relationship is in itself a 
demand for the most loyal service that  
men are capable of rendering4 ,now      
through the sacramental life a kinship  
is established and sustained as real and
 as binding as that consequent upon the 
accident of birth2 so that for          
,christian to be at variance with       
,christian is as unnatural as it is for 
two of one family to strive with one    
another2 for ,christian to over-reach   
,christian is as treacherous as it was  
for ,jacob to steal ,esau's blessing4   
,the loyalty which those who are in     
,christ owe one another is the loyalty  
due among those who sit at the same     
board and eat of the same loaf1 among   
those in whose veins runs the blood of a

 common mother4 ,when men learn the     
reality and force of spiritual kinship1 
social problems will be solved and      
social evils will cease4  ,but a hasty  
glance has been bestowed in the         
foregoing pages on a mystery of         
unsearchable depth1 and many of its     
aspects have not even been noted4 ,the  
more obvious aspects are the ones upon  
which stress has been laid as including 
in them all others4 ,as with all other  
forms of approach to ,god1 so here1 what
 a man knows about the ,holy ,communion 
is that which ,god has taught him in his
 reception of the ,sacrament4 ,those who
 would fain plumb its depths must come  
frequently and preparedly to the feast4 
,nor is preparation a formal act4 ,it is
 unfortunate that some teachers make it 
so by laying insistence on a set form4  
,the best1 and indeed the only1 true    
preparation is an outcome of a full     
knowledge of the thing for which we wish
 to prepare ourselves1 just as the best 
thanksgiving for a blessing is the      

spontaneous utterance consequent upon a 
contemplation of the gift received4 ,the
 man who knows the spiritual            
significance of the ,holy ,communion1   
ipso facto knows how to prepare to      
receive it4  ,,footnotes3  #bb ,works3  
,vol4 viii4 p4 #h4  #bc ,it is not easy 
to be understood1 it is not lightly to  
be received2 it is not much opened in   
the writings of the ,new ,testament1 but
 still left in its mysterious nature2 it
 is too much untwisted and nicely       
handled by the writings of the doctors2 
and by them made more mysterious1 and   
like a doctrine of philosophy made      
intricate by explications1 and difficult
 by the apperture and dissolution of    
distinctions4--,jeremy ,taylor1 ,works1 
vol4 viii1 p4 #h4  #bd ,milne4  #be #b  
,cor4 viii3 #i4  #bf ,see a valuable    
little book1 ,some ,titles and ,aspects 
of the ,eucharist1 by ,e4 ,s4 ,talbot1  
,d4 ,d4 7,bishop of ,rochester74        
,rivington1 ,percival  ,co41 ,london4   
#bg ,bp4 ,alexander4  #bh ,cf4 #a ,cor4 

x3 #ag4--,we1 who are many1 are one     
loaf4 ,the one serious objection to the 
otherwise convenient custom of using    
unleavened bread in the shape of wafers 
is that the symbolism of the common loaf
 is lost1 and the point of contact with 
common life is somewhat obscured4  #bi  
,our ,church1 by the title adopted1 by  
the form of service used1 by the spirit 
of her rubrics where they touch upon the
 subject1 plainly declares it to be her 
intention that the ,holy ,communion     
should always be celebrated so as to be 
a social act4 ,the priest is not a mere 
representative of the congregation1     
doing things for them1 but a leader     
acting with them4 ,for the priest to act
 without the congregation is only less  
anomalous than for the congregation to  
act without the priest4 ,not that the   
whole congregation present should       
necessarily receive at any given        
celebration of the ,holy ,communion1    
though in the judgment of the present   
writer the ideal would be reached only  

thus4  #cj ,cf4 ,philemon #af4          
,chapter ,,xi  ,witnesses unto the      
,uttermost ,part of the ,earth   ,the   
breadth of the ,christian's vision is   
exceeded only by its height1 and his    
influence is coterminous with nothing   
less than the human fabric of which he  
is a part4 ,by faith man penetrates into
 the heaven of heavens and reaches the  
very presence of ,god himself1 a        
privilege and duty which belong not to a
 favoured few but to the race4      ,too
 low they build1 who build beneath the  
stars1  is a truth of universal         
application4 ,but just as the stars must
 not limit man's vision as he gazes up1 
neither must the horizon limit his      
vision as he looks abroad4 ,christian   
energy is not doing its full work unless
 it aims at touching the uttermost part 
of the earth4 ,that which is recorded in
 ,acts #a3 #hca tells of an abiding     
principle and not merely of a historic  
fact4 ,our ,lord is speaking through    
that group of representative men who    

witnessed ,his ,ascension1 to all who   
become his followers4 ,not the ,apostles
 alone but all ,christians are destined 
to be ,his witnesses unto the uttermost 
part of the earth4 ,it is only to be    
expected that those who have the power  
to explore the secrets of the divine    
,being1 will also have this lesser power
 of world-wide influence1 which after   
all1 great as it is1 is infinitely less 
aspiring than the former4 ,the same     
faith that enables us to love and serve 
our ,lord in heaven1 equips us to love  
and serve the men of the remote parts of
 the earth4 ,to have the former is to be
 heir to the latter4  ,men who imbibe   
this principle and make it part of      
themselves are said to have missionary  
spirit4 ,but it cannot be too strongly  
insisted that this spirit is not        
something over and above the common     
,christian character2 for it is not a   
possession which we are to claim simply 
because we are bidden to do so1 spurred 
to it by the icy purity of the law of   

duty4 ,the missionary spirit is inherent
 in ,christianity4 ,even though ,christ 
had never said1 ,go ye therefore1 and   
make disciples of all the nations1#cb   
even if ,he had not assured ,his        
followers that they were to be witnesses
 unto the uttermost part of the earth1  
it would have made no practical         
difference in the final issue of        
,christian truth4 ,the ,church would    
have been missionary just the same--,s4 
,paul1 ,s4 ,augustine1 ,s4 ,columba1 ,s4
 ,francis ,xavier1 would have striven   
for the ,gospel's sake none the less    
boldly1 none the less zealously4 ,the   
missionary is not a missionary because  
of a few missionary texts in the ,bible4
 ,he is a missionary because he is a    
,christian4 ,all ,christ's commands are 
invitations1 which merely put into      
concise language what the heart already 
recognizes as its privilege and joy4    
,the missionary commission#cc is the    
,church's charter1 telling all men of   
her right to dare to make ,christianity 

coterminous with humanity1 arresting the
 attention of those to whom the         
missionary is sent rather than acting as
 the sole motive power of the           
missionary2 from it we get definite     
authority1 and so a measure of          
inspiration1 but we do not rest upon it1
 as though it were by an arbitrary fiat 
of ,god that a ,christian were converted
 into a missionary4#cd ,the latter term 
tells of one aspect of the ,christian   
character1 that is all4 ,whoever accepts
 ,christ's ,christianity--the redundancy
 is necessary--forthwith becomes a      
missionary4#ce ,andrew needed no        
injunction to seek ,peter2 he did it    
because1 being a follower of ,christ1 he
 could not help it4 ,and if he had      
refrained1 he would have ceased at that 
moment to be a disciple4 ,christians1   
whether considered individually or      
corporately1 who are not missionary in  
desire and intention1 are ,christians   
only in name1 getting little from and   
contributing nothing to the religion of 

the ,incarnation4 ,if the foregoing     
contention be true1 the definition of   
missionary stands sadly in need of      
revision4 ,a missionary is an honourable
 title not to be reserved only for those
 who work for ,god in the waste places  
of ,his vineyard1 but the coveted       
possession of every ,christian who      
strives to bear a wide witness1 as well 
as deep1 to ,christ among men4          
,missionary service is a personal thing2
 it cannot be deputed to another any    
more than it can have something else as 
a substitute for it4 ,contributing money
 in order that others may be maintained 
in their missionary undertakings1 does  
not exempt the donor from personal      
service himself4 ,every ,christian is   
bound to strive to deepen and widen1 by 
the force of his personality in ,christ1
 the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,of course there 
is a narrower and a wider missionary    
spirit4 ,the latter is reached by       
faithfulness to the former1 here as well
 as elsewhere effective breadth         

beginning in depth4 ,all missionary     
power begins 7as well as ends7 in that  
unconscious witness#cf which the        
,christian character bears to ,christ4  
,so infectious a thing is ,god's truth1 
that to receive it is to spread it4     
,as one lamp lights another nor grows   
less1     ,so nobleness enkindleth      
nobleness4  ,ye are the light of the    
world2 ,ye are the salt of the earth4   
,and it is that part of the character   
which easily1 simply and naturally lays 
hold on ,christ1 that first sheds ,god's
 light abroad and becomes the           
preservative element of society4  ,it is
 further noticeable that the sphere of  
,christian influence as alluded to by   
our ,lord in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 
corresponds with the sphere of          
witness-bearing marked out by ,him in   
,his parting words before the           
,ascension--,ye are the light of the    
world2 ,ye are the salt of the earth2   
,ye shall be witnesses unto the         
uttermost part of the earth4 ,to        

recognize the fact that the ,christian  
life is the most invincible and the most
 permeating influence that the world can
 ever know1 is an enormous incentive to 
consistency and zealous devotion4       
,christian character is the only force  
which a man can both leave behind him1  
and take with him when he comes to die4 
,nothing can withstand it1 and nothing  
can check its career4 ,it is bound to   
impress all that it touches1 and it     
touches everything--the world1 the      
earth4 ,it is not too much to hold that 
unconscious influence always exceeds    
conscious influence1 the latter reaching
 the zenith of its effectiveness only   
when it has been transformed1 by        
constant use1 into the former4 ,it is in
 the home that the ,christian begins    
that witness-bearing1 which is destined 
to reach so far4  ,but the widest       
missionary spirit is inclusive4 ,it is  
not a substitute for home work1 any more
 than public life is a substitute for   
family life4 ,the former is the         

extension of the latter4 ,the disciples 
of the first days reached the uttermost 
part of the earth through ,jerusalem and
 all ,judaea and ,samaria2 while the    
disciples of these latter days must     
touch the bounds of the world through   
the parish1 the diocese1 the ,church of 
the nation4 ,nothing1 no matter how fine
 and striking it may be1 can take the   
place of loyalty to the duties that are 
nearest at hand4 ,church life may be    
conceived of as a series of concentric  
circles1 the innermost of which         
representing parochial relations1 the   
next diocesan missions1 then domestic1  
and the outermost circle foreign        
missions4 ,power to traverse the large  
circumference comes from faithfully     
treading the round of those that lie    
within1 beginning with that next the    
centre4 ,the only way to have power and 
to serve abroad is to live a deep full  
life at home1 and1 let it be added1 the 
only way to have large power and to     
serve at home is to cast the eye far    

abroad and wind the interests of a whole
 world around the heart4 ,and the       
spiritual force of the foreign mission  
field is no lying index of the spiritual
 condition of the home ,church2 it tells
 the tale as truly as the pulse reports 
for the heart4 ,it may be perfectly true
 of every other society of men that mere
 concentration is the secret of power1  
but it is not so with the ,church4 ,any 
ecclesiastical unit1 be it parish1      
diocese1 province1 or national ,church1 
which is content to feed itself on rich 
spiritual food1 without regard for the  
rest of the world1 will sooner or later 
be filled with disease and die4 ,however
 specious a form self-contemplation may 
assume1 it inevitably ends in ruin1 for 
it leads to isolation2 and what is      
isolation but the most awful and        
irretrievable of catastrophes8 ,the only
 true independence is that which is the 
fruit of interdependence4 ,a given      
,church may have all the appearance of  
life--there may be popularity1 large    

property1 handsome equipment and other  
signs of outward prosperity--but within 
there is nothing but death4 ,it is just 
as wrong and just as fatal to hold      
aloof1 on any plea soever1 from the     
common life of the entire ,church at    
home and abroad1 as it is to cut        
ourselves off from the ,church of the   
past by a denial of fundamental truth4  
,the former1 quite as much as the       
latter1 is a departure from ,apostolic  
,christianity1 and so merits the        
opprobrious name of schism4  ,it is a   
strange but inflexible spiritual law1   
that those who aim at anything short of 
the best according to their conception1 
as ,god has given them light1 will      
sooner or later come to grief4 ,it is   
merely a matter of time4 ,the hope of   
,christianity lies in its boldness4 ,the
 ,church is strong when she is daring1  
and only then2 her strength rises and   
falls with her courage--victory is      
faith4#cg ,what an inspiration to every 
parish1 the lowliest and poorest as well

 as the numerically strong and          
financially rich6--the uttermost part of
 the earth is within the reach of its   
influence3 ay1 more than that1 is in    
need of its prayers and its labours4    
,work for foreign missions is the climax
 and crown of ,christian life1 not a    
sluggish tributary to it4 ,and a parish 
will be in the vanguard of ,god's forces
 or far in the rear1 according as it    
rises to its responsibility in this     
direction or not4  ,there is an immense 
amount of untutored missionary desire4  
,that is to say1 there are vast numbers 
of ,christians whose hearts burn towards
 those who do not know ,christ1 but     
there is no man to teach them how to    
crystallize desire into prayer and      
action and let the stream of their      
desire run clear and full2 there are    
many others1 too1 who have a narrow     
missionary spirit and who linger in     
,judaea and ,samaria1 only because they 
have never been shown how it is possible
 to reach unto the uttermost part of the

 earth4 ,the fire is there1 but it      
smoulders for want of fuel4 ,men need   
direction for their missionary          
aspirations2 they need to be instructed 
in the work that is being done4 ,we     
cannot expect people to be interested in
 what they know nothing about4 ,if the  
cause of missions is presented as an    
abstraction1 and men are urged to give  
on principle1 the gifts that come will  
be such as cost the givers nothing4 ,and
 as for prayers--well1 there will be    
none1 for prayers cannot live on        
abstractions4 ,the clergy should be the 
leaders in making the missions of the   
,church a living thing2 and it is       
nothing short of a scandal that so many 
pulpits are closed to those who wear the
 title of missionary4 ,but whatever be  
the shortcomings of the clergy1 there is
 no more reason why ,christian laymen   
should be ignorant of the general       
features of ,church work in the far     
,west or in ,china and ,japan than that 
they should be ignorant of international

 politics2 and there is more reason for 
shame on account of ignorance in the    
former than in the latter case4 ,once   
waken men's interest in the work abroad 
as a concrete reality1 and there will be
 stronger prayer1 more numerous offers  
for personal service in foreign work    
from the best and bravest1 more liberal 
contributions in money4  ,it has already
 been hinted that not only does the     
uttermost part of the earth need        
,christianity1 but that ,christianity   
needs the uttermost part of the earth4  
,we cannot fully know ,christ until all 
the nations have seen and believed and  
told their vision4 ,the ,church of ,god 
is poor1 in that it lacks the           
contribution which the un-,christianized
 nations alone can give by being        
evangelized4 ,just as the speculative   
,east needed in the first days the      
practical ,west to balance its concept  
of the ,gospel1 and vice versa1 so it is
 now4 ,before we can see the full glory 
of the ,incarnation1 representatives of 

all nations must blend their vision with
 that which has already been granted4   
,every separate stone must be set before
 the temple reaches its final splendour4
 ,foreign missions are as much for the  
,church's sake as for the heathen's1 as 
much for the eternal profit of those who
 are sent as for those to whom they go4 
,no attempt has been made in these pages
 to argue as with men who do not believe
 in the widest missionary enterprise1   
for missionary spirit is not created by 
argument4 ,indeed1 many an objection is 
but the instrument by which persons     
convict themselves of being ,christian  
only in name4 ,there is no answer to    
what they say excepting1 ,of course you 
cannot believe in missions1 because it  
is evident you do not believe in        
,christ4 ,to believe in ,christ is to   
believe in missions1 missions unto the  
uttermost part of the earth4 ,it would  
be a shame to appear to apologize for   
what is of the essence of ,christianity4
 ,so we turn away from all smaller      

reasoning1 to the one great spring and  
impulse of mission work far and near4   
,the ,christian has to see those whom   
,christ sees1 for the follower looks    
through his master's eyes2 the          
,christian has to love and serve those  
whom ,christ loves and serves1 for the  
follower lives only in his master's     
spirit4 ,consequently1 he must see1 love
 and serve unto the uttermost part of   
the earth4 ,being a follower of ,christ1
 he cannot help it2 he does it for the  
same reason and with the same           
naturalness that the sun shines and the 
rose sheds its fragrance abroad4        
,,footnotes3  #ca ,ye shall be witnesses
 unto me both in ,jerusalem1 and in all 
,judaea1 and in ,samaria1 and unto the  
uttermost part of the earth4  #cb ,st4  
,matt4 xxviii3 #ai4  #cc ,st4 ,matt4    
xxviii3 #ai1 #bj4  #cd ,the following   
remarkable phrase occurs in ,bp4        
,andrewes' ,devotions3--,who i4 e41     
,christ hath manifested in every place  
the savour of ,his knowledge 444 by the 

incredible conversion of the world to   
the ,faith1 without assistance of       
authority1 without intervention of      
persuasion4  #ce ,the ,brotherhood of   
,s4 ,andrew is nothing more than an     
organized effort to fulfil a common     
,christian duty4  #cf ,cf4 ,emerson's   
verses on unconscious influence3        
,little thinks1 in the field1 yon red   
cloaked clown     ,of thee from the     
hill-top looking down2     ,the heifer  
that lows in the upland farm1           
,far-heard1 lows not thine ear to charm2
     ,the sexton1 tolling his bell at   
noon1     ,deems not that great         
,napoleon     ,stops his horse1 and     
lists with delight1     ,whilst his     
files sweep round yon ,alpine height2   
,nor knowest thou what argument     ,thy
 life to thy neighbour's creed has lent4
  #cg #a ,john v3 #d4     ,chapter ,,xii
  ,the ,inspiration of ,responsibility  
,the responsibility of the sons of ,god 
has been the theme of this book1 and the
 writer trusts that in dwelling upon the

 duties of the ,christian life he has   
not failed to bring out something of its
 glory and inspiration4 ,but the thing  
out of which we can gather the largest  
help to fulfil our responsibility is the
 responsibility itself4 ,if ,god dwells 
high up on the hills of difficulty1 ,he 
has a throne1 too1 in the heart of every
 claim made on human character4#ch  ,the
 presence in our life of a difficulty is
 a call to responsibility1 and the      
acceptance of a responsibility is the   
admittance into personal experience of  
,god in ,his triumphant march toward the
 great consummation2 it is              
correspondence with victory4 ,just as   
the glory of duty consists1 not in its  
immediate issue1 but in its performance1
 so the main inspiration for            
responsibility comes not from external  
goads and spurs1 but from the very thing
 which lies at our feet1 looking at     
first sight like a task given to mock   
rather than inspire1 to denude of what  
little power we have rather than to     

equip1 to undo the would-be doer rather 
than to be done by him4 ,responsibility 
without doubt is a task1 but much more  
is it an inspiration4 ,of course the    
measure of inspiration which it imparts 
is proportionate to the faith and       
courage with which it is approached4    
,responsibility handled with dilettante 
fingers will only cut and wound2 grasped
 in firm embrace1 it will bestow so much
 illumination and vigour that the pain  
which inaugurates the gift will be      
forgotten almost before the last ache   
has faded out4 ,and again1 it is not too
 much to say that the greater a         
responsibility is1 the greater is its   
power to inspire4 ,in other words1      
inspiration is always commensurate with 
responsibility4 ,as thy days1 so shall  
thy strength be4 ,in the common         
,christian duty1 which has been outlined
 in the foregoing pages1 so great is the
 responsibility imposed that nothing    
short of the highest conceivable        
incentive can carry a man through4 ,and 

the inspiration lies within the task and
 will declare itself only in the doing  
of the task4  ,even on the natural side 
man finds attraction and inspiration in 
problems1 puzzles and difficulties4#ci  
,no sooner is one problem solved or one 
difficulty surmounted than another is   
eagerly sought for and grappled with4   
,the spice of life lies in its          
antagonisms4#dj ,it is not the prospect 
of some reward of wealth or honour that 
carries men to the crown of their task2 
it is the joy of the doing1 a joy that  
is felt even in those preliminary       
experimentations which only pave the way
 to the real undertaking4 ,men--we are  
not thinking of butterflies--cannot     
exist without difficulty4 ,to be shorn  
of it means death1 because inspiration  
is bound up with it1 and inspiration is 
the breath of ,god1 without the constant
 influx of which man ceases to be a     
living soul4 ,responsibility is the     
sacrament of inspiration4 ,the miracles 
of ,christ1 whatever else they did1     

suggested new responsibility to the     
race1 opened up a new field of daring   
and enlarged the scope of human         
operations4 ,they encouraged men to     
attempt the impossible2 and without     
question the hidden but no less         
effective cause of all scientific       
development has been and is ,christian  
aspiration1 roused to its highest pitch 
by the marvels performed by the ,man    
,christ ,jesus4 ,christian faith has    
educated us to a belief that the first  
promise of order lies in the discovery  
of chaos1 and that every problem carries
 in its own pocket a key formed to fit  
the hand of man4 ,thus interest in the  
sorrows and perplexities of the         
multitudes rises from a nerveless       
compassion that of yore worked          
laboriously with its law-stiffened      
fingers1 to a wide-reaching ministration
 of power2 the secrets of nature become 
invitations to knowledge2 and effort    
that was once merely instinctive and    
random becomes rational and triumphant4 

,but ,christ enabled men to achieve what
 before they had only sighed after1 not 
by releasing from1 but on the contrary  
by adding to human responsibility4 ,he  
saw the inspiration of responsibility1  
so by making the latter great ,he made  
the former reach its height2 ,he        
equipped man to do the smaller duties of
 life by giving larger ones4 ,it will   
for ever hold true that to bring men up 
to their best1 we must call them to the 
highest4 ,they are to be won1 not by the
 promise of a gift1 but by a ringing    
call to duty1 not by something to eat1  
but by something to do4 ,one reason at  
least why ,christianity is bound to     
supersede all other religions is because
 of the supreme largeness of its demands
 on human character and the supreme     
inspiration that those demands contain4 
,the fault of most modern prophets is   
not that they present too high an ideal1
 but an ideal that is sketched with a   
faltering hand2 the appeal to           
self-sacrifice is too timid and         

imprecise1 the challenge to courage is  
too low-voiced1 with the result that the
 tide of inspiration ebbs low4 ,the call
 to each soul to contribute its quota   
toward the realization of the most      
remote ideal so far from being          
depressing is stimulating1 and a        
necessary goad to the promotion of      
individual as well as corporate         
development4 ,mr4 ,kipling's prophetic  
voice rings out above the ,babel of a   
garrulous age and inspires men in the   
only way they can be inspired1 by       
pointing out human responsibility and   
bidding men take up their burden4       
,go to your work and be strong1 halting 
not in your ways1     ,baulking the end 
half-won for an instant dole of praise4 
,stand to your work and be wise--certain
 of sword and pen1     ,who are neither 
children nor gods1 but men in a world of
 men6  ,clothed with the conviction that
 true inspiration lies in               
responsibility1 what better words of    
inspiration can this closing chapter    

bear than what will come from a final   
insistence upon the vastness of the     
ordinary man's spiritual responsibility 
and the grandeur of his opportunity8 ,in
 these days a true man rises            
instinctively to a broad outlook4 ,he   
does not labour for his own             
self-fulfillment and nothing more4 ,of  
course1 every act of self-sacrifice for 
the ,kingdom of ,heaven's sake helps    
toward that end1 for self-sacrifice for 
the promotion of whatever cause is      
always the negative aspect of           
self-fulfillment4 ,but ,christians      
strive toward the best not from selfish 
motives1 not merely because what ,god   
commands must be done1 but because ,he  
has opened up to our gaze a vision of   
,his world-purposes and shown us that   
obedience means cooperation with ,him in
 their fulfillment4 ,thus small actions 
become big with import4 ,personal purity
 means a contribution toward the        
solution of the divorce question which  
exceeds in its constructive influence   

the most wisely worded canon of         
marriage4 ,the commercial honour of the 
individual is the forging of a ward in  
the key that will some day unlock the   
closed door of the industrial problem4  
,faithfulness in spiritual duties in the
 most circumscribed life is a voice that
 reaches the uttermost part of the earth
 and gives its undying witness to all   
who have ears to hear4 ,loyalty and     
charity working hand in hand in the     
,christian soul will do as much as the  
most carefully framed and comprehensive 
formula of agreement1 to bring about    
that ,christian unity for which our     
,lord prayed#da when ,his time was short
 and ,his thoughts only upon that which 
was the objective point of the          
,incarnation4  ,whether or not men      
recognize the extent of their influence1
 that influence tells4 ,but what a      
source of inspiration and strength is   
lost when these things are hidden and   
one sees only the natural side of life1 
the prison-house of environment and the 

task without its incentive6 ,the        
,architect of life would have ,his least
 workman know the full plan and not     
merely that of the small bit of it which
 is his special care4 ,once to discern  
our personal relation to ,god's         
world-purposes is to be for ever purged 
of dilettantism2 is to be for ever      
emancipated from a certain religious    
littleness that shackles so many        
,christian feet1 and to move out into a 
breadth which involves no loss of depth2
 is to shake non-essentials into the    
background1 and bring fundamental truths
 to the fore1 where they can burn       
themselves into our very being2 is to   
receive a new motive for living and     
doing4  ,fired by a sense of large      
responsibility1 sustained spiritual     
effort on a high plane becomes possible 
for each in his own little corner4 ,the 
demand upon men to pray well1 to seek to
 make the moral life blameless1 and to  
deepen and enlarge the sphere of        
service1--in a word1 to aspire to the   

stars and reach out to the four corners 
of the world1 suggests privilege rather 
than hardship to the rank and file of   
the ,christian army4 ,the layman may not
 look to the priest as a vicarious man  
of prayer and of righteousness4 ,the    
priesthood is representative1 not       
exclusive1 in character and service4    
,the priest is a man of prayer not      
because he is a priest1 but because he  
is a ,christian1 his priesthood but     
determining the accidental features of  
his devotional life4 ,he is a holy man  
not because he is a priest1 but because 
he is a ,christian1 his priesthood but  
determining the sphere in which his     
holiness is to be expressed4 ,the priest
 does spiritual work not because he is a
 priest1 but because he is a ,christian1
 his priesthood but making him a leader 
in service1 primus inter pares4         
,faithfulness in prayer1 righteousness  
in life1 full spiritual service1 are the
 responsibility as much of the layman as
 of the priest4 ,failure in any one of  

these departments of life is as culpable
 in the layman as in the priest4 ,it is 
notable that of all the vows in the     
,ordinal1 whether in the ordering of    
priest or deacon1 or in the consecration
 of a bishop1 the majority are but the  
expansion of common ,christian duty and 
could be as well taken by layman as by  
cleric4 ,the functional peculiarities   
are as few as the representative duties 
are many4 ,the priestly life is mainly1 
though not solely1 the intensification  
of fundamental relations with ,god and  
man1 as the ,ordinal testifies1 and the 
ideal priesthood1 so far as it touches  
devotion1 morals and common service1 is 
but the perpetual and living reminder to
 the laity of what they should be and   
do4 ,there are many ready to decry      
sacerdotalism2 but few of these have    
sufficient logic to recognize that the  
more completely the ministry is denuded 
of all but its representative character1
 the more fully is the layman weighted  
with spiritual responsibility4#db  ,and 

spiritual work is as wide as human      
activity4 ,the tendency to make religion
 a department of life instead of the    
,christian synonym for the whole of     
life1 has given rise to such a          
redundancy as applied ,christianity4    
,the life of common activities1 social  
and industrial1 is as truly the sphere  
of religion as the sanctuary4 ,the      
natural is not the antithesis but the   
foundation of the spiritual4 ,first that
 which is natural and afterward that    
which is spiritual--by transformation1  
not by substitution4 ,the ,resurrection 
of ,christ is a parable as well as a    
fact4 ,and it is for the layman1 whether
 he be the thinker in his study or the  
labourer in his ditch1 to exercise his  
priesthood in the sphere of his         
occupation1 lifting to ,god for ,his    
transforming touch each transaction in  
which he is engaged1 recognizing that   
all life is divine1 and all business    
,god's business4 ,it is for the layman  
to enter into the bent of his age and   

train it to ,god1 not holding aloof from
 popular movements and ambitions1 but   
laying hold of them and labouring for   
their conversion and sanctification4    
,thus will the natural become the       
spiritual4 ,the witness that the world  
of to-day is most in need of is that    
which will testify that if ,god is the  
,god of the supernatural and            
extraordinary1 just as really is ,he the
 ,god of the natural and ordinary1      
revealing ,himself through and using    
common things as the general rule1      
turning to what is uncommon as the      
exception4 ,who can bear this witness so
 well as the layman in the home and in  
the market8 ,certain it is that until   
this is done and theology has become    
much more than now part of the web and  
woof of common life among common men1   
theological assent or ecclesiastical    
unity will accomplish but little toward 
unifying life in ,christ in any worthy  
sense4  ,this1 then1 is the ordinary    
duty of a ,christian layman4 ,it is not 

something optional1 to be assumed or not
 as we prefer4 ,it is what we must      
accept as our responsibility1 if we     
accept ,christ and look for acceptance  
in ,him4 ,the ,church of to-day is      
coming to recognize this more and more1 
and is settling down to the work before 
her with wisdom and zeal4 ,even beneath 
the reaction against organized          
,christianity1 which has appeared of    
late1 and partially explanatory of it1  
is moral earnestness1 an earnestness    
that deprecates that conventional       
religion which1 narrow in both its      
vision and methods1 fails to touch life 
with a hand of power4 ,men of action    
wish a ,christianity which is weighted  
with responsibilities4 ,here and there  
one finds a nerveless ,amiel who can    
speak fine phrases1 but who shrinks from
 responsibility4 ,and here and there1   
too1 is a doctrinaire philosopher or an 
idle onlooker who croaks of degeneration
 and declares that life lacks           
inspiration4 ,but all the while the     

workers1 with eyes gleaming with hope1  
plunge into the most hopeless problems1 
and reap their inspiration from their   
toil4  ,,footnotes3  #ch ,see ,appendix4
  #ci ,see ,prof4 ,william ,james in1   
,is ,life ,worth ,living8 ,too much     
questioning and too little active       
responsibility lead1 almost as often as 
too much sensualism does1 to the edge of
 the slope1 at the bottom of which lie  
pessimism and the nightmare or suicidal 
view of life4 ,the ,will to ,believe and
 other ,essays4  #dj ,see ,dr4 ,john    
,fiske in his recently published1       
,through ,nature to ,god1 where in a    
study of the ,mystery of ,evil1 he      
developes this thought most admirably1  
though making the unnecessary deduction 
that ,god is the creator of moral evil4 
#da ,st4 ,john xvii4  #db ,see          
,moberly's ,ministerial ,priesthood1    
chap4 ii4     ,appendix  ,where ,god    
,dwells#dc   ,there is no truth so      
thrilling as that which speaks of ,god's
 abiding presence1 not merely with but  

in ,his creation1 though ,he is neither 
limited by nor dependent upon it4       
,having created1 ,he sustains1 sustains 
from within1 so that the most recent    
manifestation of energy1 whether in the 
radiance of a sunrise or the smile on a 
child's face1 is not the reflection of a
 far-off movement of ,god1 but an       
indication of ,his present working4 ,god
 is behind the world of things1         
controlling and using all that is       
visible1 so that the voiceless speaks   
and the lifeless lives and imparts life4
 ,but ,his delight is among the sons of 
men4 ,he dwells in men1 making their    
bodies ,his temple and their souls ,his 
throne4 ,he dwells in nature because ,he
 dwells in man1 as well as dwelling in  
man because man is part of nature4 ,what
 will help a man to honour his own body 
and to reverence the bodies of others1  
more than the thought that the ,spirit  
of ,god fills the human frame as light  
fills the room1 leaving no part         
untouched8 ,it is not sufficient to     

think of ,god as being in some organ of 
the body--the most worthy part1 such as 
the heart or the brain4 ,god's ,spirit  
fills ,his temple with ,his glory and   
,his power1 making the least comely     
parts noble4 ,he sanctifies each member 
in the fulfillment of its proper        
function4 ,to misuse or abuse any power 
or faculty1 is to drive the ,spirit of  
,god from ,his chosen resting-place2    
whereas to surrender the members of the 
body and the faculties of the soul to   
,his influence1 is to lift up the whole 
man into increasing glory and beauty4   
,but it is not difficult to accept the  
truth that ,god lives within ,his       
wonderful creation4 ,the earliest dawn  
of religion perceived ,him in ,his works
 of beauty and majesty1--the sun1 the   
stars1 the river1 the tempest4 ,and if  
,he is immanent in that which is less1  
it is only logic to say that ,he must of
 necessity be in that which is          
greater--if in the world of things1 much
 more then in the world of men1 in the  

individual and in society4 ,but so deep 
is man's instinctive reverence1 so      
abiding his sense of unworthiness1 that 
it needed the ,incarnation to convince  
man that he was destined to become the  
heaven of ,god4 ,yes1 the heaven of     
,god1 for heaven is where ,god is rather
 than ,god where heaven is4  ,all this  
has become an elementary truth of       
religion4 ,only it has to be expressed  
in new terms from time to time4 ,the    
thought has to be recoined as the edges 
of language wear smooth1 that its force 
and value may be recognized4 ,the       
immanence of ,god1 as thus considered1  
is not difficult for men to accept1     
unless indeed they wander into the      
barren wastes of a deistic thought1     
which banishes ,god from life as we know
 it1 and makes ,him a transcendent      
unreality4  ,what does stagger men is   
the existence in a world in which ,god  
dwells1 of the dark mysteries from which
 none can escape1--the disastrous       
storms1 the difficulties1 the pains of  

life4 ,if1 they argue1 ,god dwells in   
the world1 why does ,he not sweep away  
these heavy shadows1 this over-much     
grief8 ,there is only one answer1 and it
 is this3 ,god does not annihilate these
 things because ,he has a high use for  
them2 ,he cannot destroy that which ,he 
can inhabit2 ,god dwells in the dark    
places1 in the wilderness1 in the       
storms2 ,he has taken possession of     
them1 and they are ,his just as much as 
the sunshine and the fertile land4 ,in  
short1 ,god dwells in everything short  
of sin1 even in the fiercest1 gloomiest 
penalty of sin4 ,the angel of vengeance 
is the angel of ,god's blessing for all 
penitents who will accept him as such4  
,when our ,lord came in the flesh1 ,he  
entered into every human experience to  
abide in it all the days4 ,he invested  
temptation1 so that temptation is       
henceforth man's highest opportunity4   
,he seized upon difficulty1 and behold1 
it becomes a revelation4 ,he invested   
responsibility till it became           

inspiration1 duty till it became        
privilege4 ,he wrapped ,himself in      
sorrow1 and sorrow is turned into joy4  
,he explored the darkest recesses of    
death1 and death is the gate to life    
immortal4 ,and these transformations are
 for all time4  ,it is a process of     
transformation1 let it be noted1 which  
these mysteries undergo4 ,it is not that
 the temptation in time is swept away   
and an opportunity substituted in its   
place2 but the temptation becomes an    
opportunity1 and man mounts upon it to a
 higher level of self-sacrifice1 or     
purity or honour4 ,it is not that the   
difficulty is burned up by ,god's fire  
and a revelation comes gliding in as a  
sunbeam athwart the ashes of the        
difficulty2 but the difficulty itself   
becomes the revelation4 ,the pain of    
,rebekah in child-birth as the children 
struggled in her womb1 made her inquire 
of the ,lord1 and ,god flashed back the 
reply from the heart of her difficulty3 
,two nations are in thy womb4 ,joseph   

brooded over the condition of ,mary1 his
 espoused wife1 until1 in the night     
vision1 the angel of the ,lord appeared1
 and said3 ,that ,which is conceived in 
her is of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,his        
difficulty became a revelation4         
,similarly the dominant feature of      
responsibility becomes not its weight   
but its inspiration1 of duty not its    
'ought' but its 'may4' ,and so it is    
with sickness1 and sorrow1 and death4   
,s4 ,paul's sickness1 whether it was a  
malady of the eyes or ,asiatic malaria  
is of little consequence1 became to him 
spiritual health and power2 ,my grace is
 sufficient for thee2 my strength is    
made perfect in weakness4 ,as for       
sorrow1 it is turned into joy1--the very
 thing that caused tears becoming the   
spring of smiles4 ,and death1 the king  
of shadows1 is shorn of its horrors and 
becomes the entrance chamber to         
introduce into the presence of the ,king
 of ,light4  ,the ,bible is full of     
phrases 7in the ,old ,testament1 of     

course1 they are prophetic1 pointing to 
,messianic days7 that tell of ,god's    
transforming power4 ,darkness shall be  
turned into light2 the desert shall     
blossom as a rose2 the barren shall be a
 mother of children2 the glowing sand   
shall become a pool2 and the thirsty    
ground1 springs of water2 the deaf shall
 hear1 and the blind see2 defeat becomes
 victory2 and the instrument of shame   
and torture1 the symbol of glory and    
joy4 ,and all this1 which1 through the  
,incarnation1 has become a fact in      
common life1 is a revelation of ,god's  
power1 not to say love1 which far       
exceeds in wonder whatever we knew      
before4 ,it is appalling to think of a  
power so strong that it can annihilate  
with the irresistible force of its      
grinding heel2 but it is inspiring to   
consider an ,almightiness that          
transforms the works of evil into the   
hand-maidens of righteousness and       
converts the sinner into the saint4 ,and
 it is this latter power which eternal  

,love possesses and exhibits4 ,he       
persistently dwells in the sinner until 
the sinner wakes up in ,his likeness and
 is satisfied with it2 ,he enters into  
the shadows and holds them until they   
become first as the morning clouds      
fingered by the earliest rays of the    
rising sun1 and eventually as the       
brightness of the noonday light4  ,but  
men must not accept this as a mere      
poetic fancy1 beautiful but not of      
practical value4 ,it is nothing1 if not 
a source of power4 ,we must experiment  
with our own difficulties1 sickness1    
sorrows--yes1 and our own death4 ,there 
are those1 ,christian scientists and    
others1 that espouse a false idealism1  
who meet the grim realities of life with
 a courage that is born of a lie4 ,they 
deny the existence of everything they do
 not like1 saying that sorrow and sin   
and death are not1 that they are        
phantoms4 ,they are not unlike the silly
 bird1 which1 finding itself hard       
pressed1 buries its head in the nearest 

bush1 and being unable to see its       
pursuers1 deceives itself into thinking 
that it is not pursued4 ,but things and 
actions are what they are1 so why should
 we desire to deceive ourselves8 ,the   
,christian's course of action is to say 
that these dark mysteries are real1 but 
the ,spirit of ,god in us will enable us
 to find the ,spirit of ,god in them4   
,our ,lord on the ,mount of the         
,transfiguration1 and later on in the   
,passion1 tells the whole story4 ,calmly
 contemplating ,his own approaching     
death1 which ,he had just foretold1 and 
bringing it before the ,father in       
prayer1 ,he sees the transfiguration of 
the king of terrors1 and1 in a blaze of 
spiritual exaltation1 speaks of ,his own
 decease so soon to be accomplished4    
,then afterward in the ,garden of       
,gethsemane1 on the way of sorrow1 and  
upon the ,cross1 ,he was in every detail
 the victor4 ,these final experiences of
 life did not seize upon ,him2 it was   
,he who seized them2 ,he wrung them dry 

of all that they had to give and for    
ever changed their character4 ,frowning 
monarchs they can never be to the       
followers of our ,lord1 but1 on the     
contrary1 powerful servants4 ,christ's  
victory was not in the ,resurrection any
 more completely than in the ,passion4  
,it was in the former because it had    
been in the latter4 ,good desires       
brought to good effect1 as the ,easter  
,collect puts it1 end in the            
resurrection of the body and life       
everlasting4 ,victory is not only a     
thing of to-morrow2 it belongs to       
to-day4 ,the ,christian's life is       
victory all along the line4  ,let men1  
then1 take their own hard1 grim1        
specific pain or difficulty1 and face it
 fearlessly and expectantly1 and they   
will find that the worst turns the best 
to the brave4 ,let them throw their arms
 about it1 and say with ,jacob3 ,i will 
not let ,thee go except ,thou bless me4 
,and1 lo6 they will find that their arms
 are about ,god and ,his about them4 ,if

 we pray ,god to sanctify our sickness1 
it is not that we expect ,him to touch  
it from without4 ,no1 we look for more  
than that1 much more4 ,we expect ,him to
 reveal ,himself out of the depths of   
the suffering1 so that the more         
earnestly we look at it the more clearly
 shall we see ,him and ,his ,face of    
,love4 ,men who have done this with the 
lesser of the dark mysteries will be    
quite ready when the time comes to act  
in the same way toward death1 and say   
triumphantly3 ,thanks be to ,god which  
giveth us the victory4  ,what is true of
 personal difficulties1 perplexities and
 sorrows1 is equally true of the sorrows
 of a world4 ,let men remember that     
those who hold back timidly or          
discouraged from hand-to-hand conflict  
with social1 political and industrial   
difficulties1 are forfeiting their share
 in the largest kind of revelation4 ,god
 dwells there1 in corporate sorrows1 as 
well as in those of the individual      
experience1 and1 if one may say so1 in a

 fuller measure4 ,the world needs brave 
men to-day1 men who are determined to   
see ,god wherever ,he is1 and ,he is in 
everything1 everything short of actual  
sin4 ,there is no philosophy so false to
 facts as pessimism1 except perhaps     
cheap and unthinking optimism4 ,it is   
only the ,christian philosophy that is  
equal to the situation1 a philosophy    
which ignores nothing1 howsoever        
gruesome1 but which sees ,god master of 
,his world1 and nowhere in such complete
 possession as in its darkest corners4  
,when ,god's storms come sweeping along1
 it is the ,christian alone who can lift
 his head1 look up1 and stand erect as  
they enshroud him1 for a ,christian     
cannot fear where ,god is4 ,elijah could
 not find ,god in the storm that swept  
by him4 ,but the youngest ,christian can
 do what the stern prophet of old could 
not2 he can find ,god in all storms1 for
 all storms are ,god's4      ,,laus     
,,deo  ,,footnotes3  #dc ,the ,bishop of
 ,ripon1 under the title of ,seeking and

 ,finding1 gives the following text and 
exquisite little poem as a ,diocesan    
,motto for #ahii3  ,master1 where       
dwellest ,thou8--,st4 ,john i3 #ch4     
,,the ,,quest      ,o ,master of my     
soul1 where dwellest ,thou8     ,for but
 one ,sovereign doth love allow1        
,and if ,i find not ,thee1 quite lost am
 ,i2     ,tell me ,thy dwelling place3  
this is my cry4      ,no travel will ,i 
shrink1 no danger dread1     ,if to ,thy
 home1 where'er it be1 ,i may be led3   
,not where the world displays its golden
 pride1     ,only with ,him1 ,who is the
 ,king1 would ,i abide4  ,,the ,,finding
      ,nay1 not in far distant lands1   
but ever near1     ,near as the heart   
that hopes or beats with fear2     ,my  
,home is in the heaven1 and yet ,i dwell
     ,with every human heart that loveth
 well4      ,not where proud perils are 
,i place ,my throne1     ,but with the  
true of heart1 and these alone2     ,so 
where the contrite soul breathes a true 
sigh1     ,and where kind deeds are     

done1 even there dwell ,i4      ,and    
those who live by love need never ask1  
,they find my dwelling place in every   
task2     ,vainly they seek who all     
impatient roam2     ,if brave and good  
thy heart1 there is ,my home4