higher spiritual life in man is our partaking of a divine nature. It is this consciousness which distinguishes a merely secular virtue from a character formed by religion. It is this which raises Christ above the philosophers; because this perception of the dependence of our highest self upon the will of God is, with him, not an occasional inspiration, but the abiding and central reality of his life.

And so, wherever his name is spoken, there are humble lives which, by this secret of Jesus, become capable of moral greatness. Persuaded of this divine. indwelling in man, you search after truth as for the thoughts of God written in his world. You may listen to conscience for the voice of the Eternal Right, and obey your inspiration to a life of loving self-gift to your brother man, knowing that this faint quickening of love in human hearts is the stirring within us of the love of God, which is over all, in all, and greater than all. To be a sharer in this universal communion, to eat of this bread coming down from heaven, this is our true humanity, this is Christ in us, the hope and glory. How solemn the privilege! Life is too short to reveal

How wonderful the gift! to us the full meaning of these unspeakable blessings. And the more we know of God through the revealing of his will in ours, the more we shall have of patience and of faith, of pure affections and heavenly hopes, and of that peace which the world can neither give nor take away.

MY FRIEND.

A

FRIEND I had, who when his heart was cold,

Warmed it, he said, with life-enkindling wine,

Made from no mortal grape, but of a vine

Planted by Christ, and never waxing old.

This wondrous man, when wearily and slow

A comrade walked, would make his shoulders bare,
And whisper, "Brother, put thy burden there."
He walked, he said, with Christ, and rested so.

Then one black day I knew my friend must die.
I wept and strove. My heart was torn in twain.
But he! he smiled like heaven upon my pain,
And said, "Would God thou wert as blest as I!"

THE INCARNATION.

"The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.'

.”—JOHN i. 14.

IN the celebration of Christmas there is something more than the celebration of a birthday. It is the birthday which stands for the most stupendous of all the Christian dogmas, the Incarnation. That babe in the manger is believed by millions of our fellowChristians to have been no less than the Infinite and Eternal God in human form. And this amazing event took place for what purpose? Simply "for us men and for our salvation." Through this miracle of the Incarnation - the source and parent of all other miracles a divine life is imparted, a holy spirit is given to man. Though the joy and gladness which such a doctrine would naturally inspire, might, one would think, be sensibly diminished by the reflection of an orthodox believer that this infinite condescension of Almighty God has brought salvation to but the small minority of men, yet, happily, the Christian is not obliged to contemplate all the doctrines of his creed at one and the same time; and, therefore, this doctrine of the Incarnation is essentially a message of great joy.

I shall now offer you some reflections upon this

doctrine as seen from a Unitarian standpoint. For, though I reject this doctrine as commonly taught, yet I think it not only merits a respectful consideration, but that, sympathetically interpreted, it contains the very essence of Christianity, and is full of vital and practical consequences for us all.

Notice, in the first place, that one's acceptance of Jesus as the divine Man, in the fullest and most orthodox sense, has no necessary dependence upon the manner of his birth as related in two of the Gospels. When the apostle called his Master the Son of the living God, Jesus answered that this knowledge had not come to Peter from any human source. There was no knowledge among any of the persons surrounding Jesus that his birth had been in any way exceptional. They knew him only as the son of Joseph, and frequently asked for some clearer sign of his divine authority. Even his own brothers did not follow him at first; nor is there anywhere in the record of his ministry the slightest allusion to the legend of the nativity as we now have it. Nor do John and Paul (from whom proceeded the exalted views of Christ's nature, which were the germ of the Trinitarian doctrine) ever allude to it. If, therefore, the alleged miraculous birth was of no help in convincing the earliest Christians, it certainly will not much help us.

To us the doctrine of the Incarnation does not rest upon the legend. But, as I believe, the legend sprang out of the faith and came after it, so the faith may stand when the legend is rejected.

Let us try, then, to see how this doctrine originated, and what it means for us.

Its origin was in the impression of Divine Power made by the life of Jesus upon his followers. He spake as never man spake. Men greeted him as the Son of the living God. They ascribed to him the power to heal the sick, raise the dead, call down fire from heaven, and thought him worthy to sit at the right hand of God, and judge the world. Will you say that all this was ignorant fanaticism?

But see how various was this reverence paid to Jesus, this sense of awe and wonder which he inspired. Mothers brought their children, that he might bless them. The people came to him with their sicknesses and troubles, pressing through the multitude and laying hold of his very garments, that they might touch this Messenger of God. See how the accusation of his enemies acknowledges the mystery of his nature. He is possessed of a demon, and not by any common fiend, but by the power of Beelzebub, the Prince and Emperor of them all. He has spoken blasphemy; he has made himself equal to God. See how the wretched malefactor at his side implores his help in heaven, and how the mocking voices that gather round his cross reproach the Son of God who cannot save himself, and, when they hear his sublime cry of anguish, almost look for the heavens to open, and for Elias, the Lord's avenger, to descend and deliver him.

And what was the attitude of Jesus himself toward these attestations, both of his friends and enemies,