of prayer, warranted by Him Who gave the most perfect; gestures in worship, sanctioned by His kneeling down to pray, and falling on His face: (S. Matt. xxvi. 39; S. Luke xxii. 41) all corporeal and outward means of edification whatever. To separate these from religion is like denying our LORD's humanity for the honour of His divinity. And there is an individual bodily sanctification. As His Body was a temple, (S. John ii. 21) so, too, ours, which are its members. (1 Cor. iii. 16; vi. 19.) We are commanded to glorify GOD in body as well as in spirit; (1 Cor. vi. 20;) and if we do not both, we do neither.

IV. In whose flesh the SAVIOUR came. He might have been formed from the dust, as Adam; or from the side of a creature, as Eve. But it was the wisdom of GOD to form His earthy dwelling by a natural birth from a supernatural generation. Of her who was chosen for this purpose, we cannot think too highly, so we think humanly, and, in blessing her, magnify the LORD, and rejoice in GOD our SAVIOUR. "For let that mouth be cursed which will not call her blessed! let the name of him be branded with everlasting reproach of folly, who will not prefer her in dignity before any queen or empress!" (Barrow, Sermons on the Creed, XXIV.) "Blessed she is! Elisabeth, by the HOLY SPIRIT, fell a blessing her when she came to see her; and she herself by the same Spirit tells us, all generations shall call her blessed. So we have sufficient example and authority to do it. And I hope we will not suffer the Scriptures to speak false, but do it: and do it to her

above all women. Most blessed; none so blessed." (Frank, Sermon XXX.) "We think and speak most respectfully of her, and do not ordinarily mention her name without a preface or epithet of honour, as 'the holy,' 'the blessed,' Virgin, and the like." "And if we could think of any other honour that we could do her, without dishonouring GOD the FATHER, and His eternal SON, we would most willingly yield it to her." . . . "We honour

the blessed Virgin as a most singular elect vesse. of GOD; as one in the highest degree, of all mere mortals, honoured by GOD; but therefore we will not yield her any of that honour that is peculiar GOD; for GOD Himself hath told us that He wil not give His glory to another." Isa. xlii. 8. (Bp. Bull, Sermons on Primitive Christianity, IV.) Not to deem highly of her whom GOD so blessed, and whom He pronounced blessed, would be withholding the homage due to Him. And there is s way in which we may honour her respectfully and safely. "It is the chief and truest honour we can do her, to esteem her great modesty and humility, to imitate her piety and grace, after her pattern conscientiously to reverence and obey her Son." (Barrow, ubi supra.) To tread her path of quiet obedience, virgin purity, childlike faith, implicit resignation, alike in prosperity and adversity; musing on the truths and mysteries of Revelation. To such souls angels still descend on errands of blessing; (S. Matt. xviii. 10; Heb. i. 14;) in such, CHRIST is still formed, (Gal. iv. 19,) and such He holds in parental regard. (S. Matt. xii. 50.) It is not because she was the

Mother of GOD that she is exalted to her present blessedness; it was on account of her holiness that she was chosen for the office; and to teach us that the lowest on earth may aspire to be highest in heaven; that it is the highest of all qualifications to "hear the word of GOD, and keep it." (S. Luke xi. 28.) "She is more blessed in bearing the Word in her soul than in her body." (Frank, ubi supra.) "This is to honour the Virgin indeed, when we conform ourselves to her in pure and virgin hearts: this, to celebrate the conception of JESUS, when we conceive Him afresh by a spiritual and mystical regeneration; this, lastly, is the only method, so to receive the glad tidings of His Incarnation, and to improve by that message of the angel, as by qualifying ourselves for the happy influences of His most meritorious Death and Passion, to partake in the glories of His Resurrection." (Dean Stanhope on Gospel for this day.)

1 That is, whereby He is born again in our souls, (the allusion being to Gal. iv. 19); not, whereby we are born again. This meaning is required by the metaphor; and Dean Stanhope's soundness on the subject of regeneration is quite clear in his Comment on S. John iii. 5, in the Gospel for Trinity Sunday.

XIII.

S. Mark's Day.

Subject. The doctrine of S. Mark's Gospel.

Text. S. Mark i. 1. "The beginning of the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST, the Son of GOD."

THOUGH Commonly received, it is not absolutely ascer tained, that S. Mark was the person mentioned in Acts xii. 12, 25; xv. 39; Col. iv. 10; 2 Tim. iv. 11; Philem. 24; 1 S. Pet. v. 13. That he is named in the last text, however, is nearly certain. But our Church has not committed herself to a decision on the point. The services of the day remarkably omit every one of these well known passages. It will be most then in accordance with her spirit to testify our gratitude to her for preserving this memorial of the holy Evangelist, and to Her Divine Head for having instructed us with "the heavenly doctrine of His Evangelist S. Mark," by resolving that, through JESUS CHRIST Our LORD, we will not be "like children, carried about with every blast of vain doctrine," but "be established in the truth of God's holy Gospel."

This heavenly doctrine of S. Mark differs not from that of the other Evangelists, or of the Prophets or

postles. If it did, it could not be heavenly doctrine. 1 Angel from heaven who should preach a new Gos1 would incur an anathema. (Gal. i. 8, 9.) The stimony of all the Scripture writers is one-the obet of all, one-and that, that we all should be one. ph. iv. 11-16.) Little do they know the value of ith, who know not that of unity-the unity of the ith. There is no diversity in truth. Error is vaous, differing, opposing: truth must be one, and its isciples will be one.

Nevertheless, though all the Scripture writers agree, et each of them seems to have had his province, his ubject, which he has peculiarly treated. Thus S. John speaks less of our LORD's miracles, more of His liscourses; he dwells on His Divinity, and on the grace of love. And thus S. Mark too has his peculiar lepartment assigned him in the work for which he was inspired. On some of these instances let us meditate.

S. Mark's Gospel then sets forth our LORD's Divinity and humanity in the clearest light; not in a doctrinal or dogmatical, but in an inferential and practical way. He places before us "JESUS CHRIST, the SON of GOD," -"the man CHRIST JESUS" (1 Tim. ii. 5), the human name, and the human office, with "the Son of God," the title of the Divine nature. (S. John v. 18; x. 33; cf. 36.)

I. S. Mark teaches indirectly the humanity of our LORD.

S. Matthew and S. Luke relate the case of the young ruler who called Him "Good Master,” and His reply, "There is none good but GOD." (S. Matt. xix.