nite and entire consecration. Let one read of the astonishing change effected through his ministry in the morals and condition of his little flock in Waldbach, amid the wilds of Northern France; or let one ponder the exquisite story of the orphan girl, Louise Schepler, so impressed by the holiness and self-denial of this good pastor's life, that she begged the privilege of serving him without wages or reward, so long as she should live. The clue to his remarkable power may doubtless be found in a document which was left among his papers. It is long, but we give a paragraph which contains its pith and substance: "In the name of the Lord of Hosts, I this day renounce all former lords that have had dominion over me; the joys of the world in which I have too much delighted, and all carnal desires. I renounce all perishable things in order that God may constitute my All. I consecrate to Thee all that I am, and all that I have; the faculties of my mind, the members of my body, my fortune and my time. Grant me grace, O Father of mercies, to employ all to Thy glory, and in obedience to Thy commands. For ardently and humbly, I desire to be Thine through the endless ages of eternity. Should Thou be pleased to make me in this life the instrument in leading others to Thee, give me strength and courage openly to declare Thy name. And enable me, not only to devote myself to Thy service, but to persuade my brethren to dedicate themselves to it also."* Strasbourg, 1st of Jan., 1760. Renewed at Waldback, 1st Jan., 1770. We have given quite enough in these examples to exhibit the intimate and certain relation of personal consecration to spiritual power. But in all that we have said, we have assumed that the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier and Sealer of this consecration. Our Lord Jesus Christ here, as in all things, is our Pattern and Exemplar. "For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." Exemplar, we said. He is more than this He is our life. It is His divine nature working in us which can alone effect this great transaction. He acted in and through the Holy Ghost in His self-devotement"Who through the Eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot unto God." How much more must we rely upon that divine inworking! We need the Spirit by whom to seek the Spirit, Christ's consecration by which to consecrate ourselves, God's * Life of Oberlin, p. 26. ↑ John 17: 19. + Heb. 9: 14. Supreme gift, the Comforter by whom to give ourselves to God. Oh Holy Spirit, who dost make our bodies thy habitation; consecrate that in which Thou dost dwell, that it may be " a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work." "FAITH saves us; but how?-by making us aware of Christ, who saves. Faith does not make things what they are but shows us them as they are in Christ. Certain systems lay a pressure upon the subjective side greater than the spirit of man is at all times able to bear; working out all things from the depths of individual consciousness as if truths were not there at all until they are manifestly there for us. Happy for us if Christ can look there and find his own image reflected, however faintly; but we must look at Him, at the sun in the heavens, not at the sun in the brook, its broken and ever varying reflection." - Dora Greenwell. "IF we can learn aright how Christ was sealed, we shall learn how we are sealed. The sealing of Christ by the Father was the communication of the Holy Ghost in all His fullness to Him, authorizing Him unto and acting His Divine power in all the acts and duties of His office, so as to evidence the presence of God unto Him and appropriation of Him. So in God's sealing of believers He owns them and gives them His Holy Spirit to fit them for their relations, to enable them unto their duties, to act their new principles, and every way to discharge the work they are called to do. gives them the Spirit of power- of love—and of a sound mind. And hereby does God seal them." John Owen He |