PART II.

CHILDHOOD OF PHILEMON.

SECTION XII.

IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP.

TIMOTHEUS.-EPAPHRAS.

Timotheus. It is a judicious remark, I have read somewhere, that there is no greater danger in the end, than a too hasty profession in the beginning; not only is this observation completely verified in the experience of our friend, butI doubt not in thousands besides.

Epaphras.-You now see the vast importance of making sure of a real work of grace in the outset the child of God always begins with life, (1 John v. 12.) and wherever there is a gracious beginning, a glorious ending may be expected; you have then firm ground to go upon; you can then entertain the pleasing hope that your instructions, if required, will not altogether be lost.

An actual beginning in divine things, however, amounts to more than mere favourable outward appearances; it is the seed of true grace planted in the soul by the Holy Ghost; it is Christianity itself; and, though it appear at first but very inconsiderable, as a little leaven, or grain of mustard seed, yet, rest assured, it will increase-" For," says the apostle,

"being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. i. 6.)

But where there is no such commencement, there is no certainty; it is impossible to tell how the most favourable appearances may terminate. We have no scriptural warrant to believe; there is no immediate hope whatever. As well might we guide one who has not yet set out upon his way as hold spiritual converse beneficially or usefully with one who is in his naturally dead state; but when the principle of life is engrafted, and the babe in Christ is born, the actual journey of life is begun, and there is every assurance and outward pledge given that the young traveller will one day, under the guiding of unerring wisdom and grace, come to the end of his journey.

Timotheus.-The wisdom of this opinion is every day more apparent. I am more and more convinced of the fallacy of building upon good wishes,' good resolves, and words of fair promise; again and again it has all ended in the bitterness of disappointment, and who would be everlastingly deceived?

In all my intercourse with the different classes of society, I now prefer realities to uncertainties, and sure ground to distant, and, it may be, the greatest improbabilities; for who knows whether the individual in question is a vessel of mercy? and who will undertake to say, that it will ever please the Lord to bring the person right you are so anxious about; and who would, too early, put him down as even a hopeful Christian, and

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so outrun the wisdom of God and his gracious providence?

I have sometimes thought that the conduct of the Jews offers us a most wholesome lesson : when in captivity, though counted as prisoners of hope, (Zech. ix. 12.) yet there was no immediate cause of rejoicing; but when actual deliverance came, and the yoke of the oppressor was broken, and the foundation of the second temple was really laid, then, and not till then, there was great shouting. (Ezra iii. 11.) And why? Because they witnessed a beginning; and, from that circumstance, they justly gathered there would be an ending. And so it is in religion and with the grace of God in the soul-to begin truly, is through mercy, to end safely.

Epaphras.-But what is the special drift of these observations?

Timotheus.-The steadfastness and consistency -the apparent humility and meekness,-the patience and endurance of our friend Philemon has delighted me much; he has been subjected to many trials, as you may well suppose, and yet bears the cross manfully. He would rather, I firmly believe, lose his all in this world than lose a good conscience, or make shipwreck of his immortal soul.

But he laments its absence, and seems greatly to want Christian society. He begins to be treated coolly by all his relatives: he is looked down upon by his former friends: he is persecuted by enemies: the world knows him no

more.

Epaphras.-It has fallen out with him then as

the Lord says, "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John xv. 19.) So far, therefore, all is well: only, if the world knows him not, let him be willing to go through the world as unknown.

And is not this the lot of all Christ's followers? Need I remind you, however, that even the least of Christ's disciples is one of the great ones of the earth, being an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ, who is heir of all things;" still, for the present, we must be content to be counted as nothing in the earth. (1 Cor. iv. 13.) Were even a prince to come among his subjects disguised, or, were his subjects so ignorant as not to recognize their lawful sovereign, ought he to mind it?-ought he to care how they jostled him, or spake roughly to him?— ought this to perplex him, or disturb his peace? ―ought he not to be prepared for it all?—ought he not to smile at their ignorance inwardly, and so pass on?

Timotheus.-True; but does it not strengthen the hands that hang down to be introduced into the household of faith, and to be one with the great and growing family of our God. Surely it is a great means of growth in grace to use and seek the help one of another. Does not nature itself teach us this lesson? The limbs and senses of a man, you know, are not single, but twofold; and by this means they enjoy, as it were, sympathy and mutual fellowship. Our eyes assist each other to see, our hands to work, and our feet to

go, and thus must the man himself be assisted by his species. Stoics may imagine their self-sufficient maxims sage, and monks may betake themselves to a secluded life; but experience, not to say revelation, teaches us, that none but God himself is exempt from needing the help of another. And even the Most High delights in communion, and the most savage creatures of his power are not solitary; how much less is it good for man to be alone. The high require help of the low, and the rich of the poor, as well as the poor of the rich; the old of such as are young, and reciprocally of the young from the old; more especially do Christians require mutual help, for all the members of Christ are bound up by one mutual band of love; and does not the apostle say, "Let no man despise his brother;" and again, “neither let the foot say to the head I have no need of you." Moreover, all human beings and things are uncertain and unstable; we are all turned rapidly about, as by a wheel, in the course of Providence, and those who are on the pinnacle of elevation to-day, may be in the depth of misery and poverty to-morrow. When, therefore, any dear child of God wants comfort or counsel, aid or help, it is good to have both at hand. And is not the old adage true in a spiritual sense, no less than temporal, "a bundle of sticks bound together is not easily broken," and are not small measures of grace marvellously increased by constant fellowship, communion, and prayer; and do not we see the largest possessions wasted by distractions, or the want of strict unity? Christians should be like an army