a grieving of Christ’s Spirit, or a conformity to him.  And in such questions as concern the church, in the more narrow and common sense of the word, seeing that we are all members of the church, we should not neglect them, as the concern of others, but take an interest in them, and act in them, so far as we have opportunity, as in a matter which most nearly concerns ourselves.  We feel that we have an interest in our country’s affairs, although we are not members of the government or of the legislature; we have our part to perform, without at all overstepping the modesty of private life:  and it is the constant influence of public opinion, and the active interest taken by the country at large in its own concerns, which, in spite of occasional delusion or violence, is mainly instrumental in preserving to us the combined vigour and order of our political constitution.  And so, if we took an equal interest in the affairs of our divine commonwealth, our Christian church, and endeavoured as eagerly to promote every thing which tended to its welfare, and to put down and prevent every thing which might work it mischief, then the efforts of the clergy to advance Christ’s kingdom would be incalculably aided, while there would then be no danger of our investing them with the duties and responsibilities which belong properly to the whole church; they could not then have dominion over our faith, nor by possibility become lords over God’s heritage, but would be truly ensamples to the flock, the helpers of our joy, the glory of Christ.

LECTURE XXXIX.

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COLOSSIANS iii. 17.

Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.

This, like the other general rules of the gospel, is familiar enough to us all in its own words; but we are very apt to forbear making the application of it.  In fact, he who were to apply it perfectly would be a perfect Christian:  for a life of which every word and deed were said and done in the name of the Lord Jesus, would be a life indeed worthy of the children of God, and such as they lead in heaven; it would leave no room for sin to enter.  The art of our enemy has been therefore to make us leave this command of the apostle’s in its general sense, and avoid exploring, so to speak, all the wisdom contained within it.  Certain actions of our lives, our religious services, the more solemn transactions in which we are engaged, we are willing to do in Christ’s name; but that multitude of common words and ordinary actions by which more than sixty-nine out of our seventy years are filled, we take away from our Lord’s dominion, under the foolish, and hypocritical pretence that they are too trifling and too familiar to be mixed up with the thought of things so solemn.