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SUNDAY IN CHURCH.

BY REV. CANON HUTCHINGS, M.A.

WHITSUN-DAY.-EVENING SECOND LESSON.

"He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost."-ACTS xix. 2.

1. The necessity for the reception of the Holy Ghost is impressed upon us in two ways by Jesus Christ. He declared that it was expedient that He should go away, in order that the Holy Ghost might come and dwell in man (John xvi. 7). Although Christ had finished His meritorious work, its benefits could not be applied to mankind until the Divine Spirit took up His residence upon earth, thereby "infusing a soul into His mystical body," and giving birth to the Church. Further, Christ ordered His disciples not to begin their missionary labours, but to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with the Spirit from on high (Luke xxiv. 49).

2. This great Festival of Whitsuntide is distinguished in one way amongst others, in that it is something more than the commemoration of a past event. True, it does celebrate a past event-" the coming" of the Holy Ghost, and the extraordinary gifts which accompanied it, and the signs which gave evidence of it; but the same Spirit now still dwells among us, and descends invisibly into human souls. Our joy, therefore, is not merely retrospective, but in a present truth. The visible ministry of the Son of God ended with His Ascension, but it was the differentia of the Spirit's ministry to "abide" with us "for ever" (John xiv. 16). 3. The gifts of the Spirit were communicated to others, and were not the exclusive possession of those who first received them. There was "the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (Phil. i. 19) through sacramental ministrations, whereby the Church was increased, and souls were quickened by the Presence of the Divine Guest. Of the absolute need of such ministrations, the curious incident which is recorded in this evening's Second Lesson affords a proof.

Let us consider what was defective in these "disciples ;" and, how their need was met.

I. WHAT WAS DEFECTIVE IN THESE DISCIPLES? 1. Who were these people? They are called "disciples." Some think that this term implies that they had already some sort of relation to Christ, whilst others take the title in a general and indefinite sense. That they were Jews seems evident. They had received John's baptism, and this they would have done when they had gone to Jerusalem to keep the feast. They must have been baptized by John himself in Judæa, for John's baptism was only ministered by himself. This may be inferred from Holy Scripture (John i. 33 and iii. 22); and St. Augustine and others are of this opinion-that John's baptism was conferred only by himself, and "not by disciples or successors." There is no ground for the conjecture that these persons had been baptized by Apollos before he had been more fully instructed. 2. What, then, was wanting in these "disciples"? They had not received Christian Baptism, and so had not received remission of sins and the gift of the Spirit. The baptism of John did not confer grace, but disposed the soul towards the reception of it. "I indeed," the Baptist said, "baptize you with water unto (els) repentance"-that is, to excite the people to true penitence, and to prepare them by the ablution of the body for the cleansing of the soul-but "He," Christ, "shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire" (Matt. iii. 11). One is the baptism

which is of water only; the other, the baptism which is "of water and the Spirit” (John iii. 5). 3. Further, their knowledge was at fault. They had not been properly instructed about the Holy Ghost. St. Paul accosted them with the direct inquiry, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost?" And they answered, "We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost." We are not prepared to admit that wherever "the Spirit" occurs without the article, "the Personal Spirit" is not intended, but an influence or gift. Such a canon of interpretation is supposed to be required for the explanation of the text and of John vii. 39. But Jews, knowing nothing of Christ's teaching about the Holy Spirit, would know of the Holy Spirit as an influence or " operation," for the Jews gathered as much as this from the Old Testament. What they did not know about was the Divine Personality, and that that Divine Person could actually be received into the soul by sacraments of Christ's appointment. So in John vii. 39 it cannot mean that the Holy Ghost, as a gift, or operation, or influence from God, was "not yet" till Christ's glorification; for we read of the influence and operation of the Spirit from the first chapter of Genesis throughout the Old Testament. What it does mean is that the Divine Spirit, the Personal Spirit, could not take up His abode in the Church until His work in Christ was completed by His glorification; then, and not till then, the ministration of the Spirit, through the appointed channels of an organized society, began.

II. HOW THEIR DEFECTS WERE MET. 1. St. Paul administered to them Christian Baptism. It is plainly evident from this passage that the baptism of John was not enough. It did not bring them out of the old Adam into union with the New, nor impart to them the Holy Spirit. The account is brief; but if Aquila and Priscilla expounded to Apollos "the way of God more perfectly," no doubt the Apostle instructed these persons in the true doctrine of the Holy Ghost-His Divinity and Personality, His descent upon the Apostles, and the manner of the bestowal of His Personal Presence. 2. St. Paul completed the sacrament of Holy Baptism by confirming them. "He laid his hands upon them," and "the Holy Ghost came upon them." From what follows, we learn that not only the ordinary, but the extraordinary, gifts of the Spirit were communicated to them; for "they spake with tongues, and prophesied." 3. The question, what it was which led the Apostle thus somewhat bluntly to inquire of them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost?" has often been discussed. The Apostle does not appear to have detected their defective spiritual state by any supernatural insight or intuition. Nor, again, were the extraordinary workings of the Spirit so common or usual, even in the beginnings of Christianity, that their absence would betoken some sacramental lack. It has been reasonably suggested that the omission of some outward practice befitting Christian faith" called the Apostle's attention to their condition (Meyer). Perhaps some Christians in Ephesus had told St. Paul of the laggard state of these "out-of-date" sort of people. At any rate, they were teachable, and ready to be led on to the truth in all its fulness; and St. Paul, by instruction and by means of sacraments, brought them up to the true level.

III. LESSONS. 1. We learn how faithfulness even to a fragment of truth, imparted years ago, may prepare the way for Christ in the soul. 2. Further, on such a day as this we are reminded how essential it is to be fully instructed in the doctrine of the Spirit, and to be made His temple by Baptism and Confirmation. 3. Thirdly, though we may not look for the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, which do not sanctify, we possess, if we are in a state of grace, His ordinary gifts; and we should show them forth in our lives, as the first Christians manifested the Spirit's Presence so often by the exercise of miraculous powers. 4. The ignorance of these Ephesian "disciples " about the Personality of the Holy Ghost, and His transmission, may set us thinking

whether we have thoroughly grasped the truth about Him, and whether we believe in our hearts that He is given to us, when we rightly receive the ordinances of Christ's appointment.

TRINITY SUNDAY.-EVENING FIRST LESSON.

"And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground."-GEN. Xviii. 1, 2.

1. This Festival of Trinity Sunday, which forms the conclusion of Whitsuntide, is unlike all those Festivals which lead up to it, in that it does not celebrate any distinct historic fact of Christianity. The Nativity of Christ or His Ascension are events which took place at a certain time, so the Personal Presence of the Spirit was, we know, vouchsafed fifty days after the Resurrection; but the truth in which we express our faith to-day is timeless, for it concerns the Being of the Eternal God.

2. But the truth, though eternal, the "heavenly dogma" of the Trinity, was only fully revealed to man "in these last days." Not until our Lord gave the form of Baptism-" baptizing" "in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"--was the Divine life clearly and finally made known to man. The Jews received the doctrine of the Divine Oneness, which had to be engrained upon their mind, so as to be preserved in the presence of idolatrous nations or polytheistic beliefs. The revelation to Israel is summed up in the words, "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut. vi. 4). But, at the same time, there were glimpses of the mystery of the Holy Trinity, or of a plurality in the Godhead, which become visible through the light which the New Testament throws back upon them; and it is evident that the Church, in the choice of the First Lessons for to-day, has selected chapters in the Old Testament where some of those intimations may be found. This appearance of God to Abraham forms one of them.

3. There is one further remark to make before entering upon the immediate subject of the text. Our Church is commonly and rightly said always to appeal to antiquity in support of doctrine and practice. But in the prominence which is given to Trinity Sunday, it may be seen she believes that the Church, not only in the first centuries, but in all ages, is under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Thus the Festival of to-day is solemnly observed, though it can only be traced back to the tenth or eleventh centuries, and was not fixed for this Sunday until the days of Pope John XXII., that is, early in the fourteenth century.

We may take for points for consideration, the vision; the revelation; and the conduct of Abraham.

I. THE VISION. 1. There are many visions recorded in Holy Scripture; eg. we read how God appeared to our first parents (Gen. iii.); how He spoke to Cain (Gen. iv. 9); and so to Noah, Hagar, Abraham, Lot, Jacob,-all in the Book of Genesis. In this way He made man acquainted with "heavenly and Divine things" by some representation of a supernatural order. Those who believe in the existence of an invisible world will have no difficulty in believing what Scripture teaches about these Divine manifestations. 2. It is evident from the narrative, that the vision in this Lesson was what we should now call an objective vision; that is, it was not vouchsafed directly to the intellect or imagination, but to the eye of sense. Abraham "lift up his eyes and looked," and saw the "three men ;" as the three disciples saw on the mount with their visual organs their transfigured Master. 3. Abraham saw-"three men stood over

against him." He speaks of them differently as "men," and "angels," and "Lord." This is very mysterious. It would seem that "the Lord" appeared through the instrumentality of angels, and that they became visible through assuming the form of man. In the Epistle to the Hebrews (xiii. 2) there is an evident allusion to this event, and to the angelic nature of these visitors. Angels appeared as men; as they did at the sepulchre of Christ, and on the mount at His Ascension. They were permitted to clothe themselves with the human form as with a vesture, thereby bringing themselves within the range of human senses, and typifying the real union between the spiritual and material natures which the Son of God should achieve in the Incarnation.

II. THE REVELATION. 1. The opening words, "the Lord appeared to him," seem to teach, at the back of all, the Divine Unity. The patriarch's use of both the singular and plural pronouns in vers. 3 and 4 has been pointed out as a possible indication of oneness as well as plurality in these visitants (Wordsworth). At any rate, there is something very peculiar in Abraham's language. 2. The earliest patristic interpreters of the passage find in this "triad" of men a glimpse of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity; but, of course, the vision can only be used as a confirmation of what is already believed about God from the full revelation of the New Testament; and as such, this narrative is chosen by the Church as a Lesson to-day. 3. Similarly, when we have accepted the teaching of the Church and of the New Testament respecting the Divine Nature, we can find traces of a trinity in all directions, in "matter, space, energy, time." That space has three dimensions; and time is divided into past, present, and future; and matter is either solid, fluid, or gaseous, may be reflections or illustrations of the doctrine of the Trinity; so the cryptic characters of Old Testament history are deciphered by the light which the gospel throws back upon them, and become subordinate witnesses to the Mystery which we are dwelling upon especially to-day. They are of value as converging lines of evidence, which are seen at a great distance to be making for the same point; obscure indications-like the Hebrew plural (Gen. i. 26), which might have been only Nomen Majestatis, but when read in the light of Christ's teaching are discerned to be faint fore-gleams of future revelations about the Being of God. 4. Without entering upon differences of versions, it seems plain, from what has already been advanced, that Abraham speaks at one time as if there were three visitors; at another, one. And the whole doctrine to which we have given an assent to-day may be included in the formula of St. Augustine-"Tres et Unus" (Newman, Grammar of Assent)—there are Three Persons, but One Personal God. God "reiterates" His Personality in three ways, so that He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and religion, like Abraham with regard to the visitors, takes in turn the different aspects of the Divine Life-now the Unity, then the Triplicity, of the Divine Beingleaving to the theologian the work of combining and reconciling seeming contrarieties.

III. THE CONDUCT OF ABRAHAM. The wording of the narrative may be taken as indicating certain dispositions which are suitable on Trinity Sunday. 1. The spirit of inquiry. Abraham "lift up his eyes and looked." For the mind to fasten itself with attention and reverent inquiry upon the dogma is right. Upon those truths which we believe, we afterwards exercise reason; not with the idea of being able to fathom the Infinite, but for the purpose of knowing more and more of God. 2. Then, the earnest desire of going forth to meet whatever lights or unveilings of Divine things God may vouchsafe to us, is depicted by the patriarch in that "he ran to meet them." Visions," says an American writer, "bring tasks." What the understanding sees, the will must actively respond to. 3. Further, we read he "bowed himself toward the ground." There must be awe in dealing with Divine revelations.

NO. VI.-VOL. VII.-THE THINKER.

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The critical faculty must be held under due restraint by a holy fear and apprehension of the sacredness and mysteriousness of the Word and manifestation. 4. The proposal of hospitality on the part of Abraham towards these mysterious visitors, now apparently human, now angelic, now Divine, showed that richness in good works and readiness to distribute, that sociable disposition (1 Tim. vi. 18), which in creatures is a reflection of the diffusiveness of Divine beneficence, and is of great price in the sight of God.

IV. LESSONS. 1. To exercise faith and devotion before the throne of the Triune God. 2. To cultivate the disposition of the patriarch; to draw near to God with the spirit of humble inquiry, earnest desire, deep reverence, and with that loving hospitality which He is still willing to receive in the persons of the poor. "Who knows," says St. Ambrose, whether you are receiving God when you think it only a guest?" for the Lord has taught us, I was a Stranger, and ye took Me in." 3. To cherish a sense of the value of the Truth about God; for "this is eternal life, to know Thee, the only true God."

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FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.—EVENING FIRST LESSON.

'Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent."-JOSH. vi. 17.

1. We read in the First Lesson to-night how Jericho was taken and destroyed. The weapons of the children of Israel were "not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds " (2 Cor. x. 4). First, Joshua was encouraged by the appearance of "the captain of the Lord's host," probably the Archangel Michael, who said, "See, I have given into thy hand Jericho." The first verse of the sixth chapter, as it has been often observed, is parenthetical. Without touching the question whether this vision is that of a Divine or angelic being, it is evident, either way, that its purpose is to inspire Joshua with faith in the success of an enterprise which, viewed in relation to natural causes, must have seemed hopeless. Secondly, the people had to be tested by the strangeness of what they had to do in order to capture Jericho-to go six days round the city walls in procession, bearing the ark, the priests carrying rams' horns; and on the seventh day to "compass the city seven times;" and then, at the loud blast of the ram's horn and trumpet, the walls should fall down.

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2. The question has been discussed -Why did Joshua send spies to Jericho? Was there any lack of faith in this action? But Joshua only did what Moses had done before (Numb. xiii. 17). Or, again, he was justified in doing this, because it was act of human prudence" (Tostatus); Joshua, therefore, "did not sin in this." Apart, however, from the character of this scheme, there were two results from it-one, the increase of courage in Israel at the knowledge of the terror of the inhabitants of the land; the other, the rescue of Rahab, which is evidently the Divine purpose of this transaction.

3. There were two episodes in the taking of Jericho; one good, one bad—that of Rahab, and that of Achan. There is something picturesque and romantic in the story of Rahab; rich in spiritual and prophetic suggestiveness, but not devoid of moral difficulty.

Let us briefly consider the person; the action; and the lessons.

I. THE PERSON. 1. Rahab was an inhabitant of Jericho, a heathen woman, who lived amongst idolaters. She has, therefore, been regarded as a type of the ingathering