The Reciprocal Character of Communion. It is wonderful to think how our blessed Lord emptied Himself of His glory, and came into this world, a Man.

"Thou would'st like wretched man be made In everything but sin."

It is thus that He has wrought redemption, through His perfect sacrifice in the death of the cross. Now He is risen and ascended to glory, and in the heavenly places; He not only has taken His seat upon His Father's throne to resume the glory which He had with Him before the world was, but He has entered heaven as Forerunner for us, as Head of the Church, His body. He came dawn and met our whole need as sinners; He has gone back to "lead our hearts to that blest place." He is there the measure of our perfect acceptance:"As He is, so we are in this world." Of all the blessedness that flows from this work and standing we do not speak here. It must suffice to say He will never be satisfied until He has us there with and like Himself. "Father, I will," is the pledge that nothing can prevent this.

Communion, of which we are speaking, is the enjoyment of the fruits of our Lord's work for us. This also has a twofold aspect, the earthly and the heavenly. As our Lord came to us to meet our need, where we were; and has opened heaven to us, where He has gone; so He desires to have communion with us as to our earthly needs, and then to take us into enjoyment with Him in the spiritual sphere where He is. This is expressed beautifully in the word to Laodicea, where, alas, He was outside the door. His offer is most touching. "If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20). Here our Lord gives the two aspects of true communion, "I will sup with him," He meets our own need; "and he with Me," He draws us into the participation with Him, in His thoughts, purposes, affections-amazing and precious truth.

"I will sup with him." Our Lord is not ignorant of nor indifferent to our earthly needs. He knows our ignorance, trials, difficulties, necessities-everything great or small is the object of His care. There is nothing too little to be occupied with that He does not desire to be brought into. How often when the burden is apparently insignificant have we found that we have failed in bearing it, and when it has been so heavy that we were compelled to cast it upon Him, He has never failed us. It is a blessed thing when we learn this, to have Him sup with us, to find that He loves to have us share our little affairs with Him, and ask counsel of Him, to own our dependence for everything upon His grace. There is nothing that properly occupies us that we cannot go through in His company. And how it would elevate the ordinary routine of life, if He had His rightful place in it all.

Let us make use of His most gracious offer, more and more. What a change it would make in the affairs of everyday life. We would have the supreme benefit of His counsel and service, and above all we would be in the proper state to enjoy His wondrous unfoldings of truth. There would be no separation of our lives into sacred and common. We would be free for the highest privileges as well as for the daily task.

"And he with Me." If it is a blessed privilege to have the Lord come into our little affairs, what shall we say of being privileged to share with Him in what is His great concern? It is a great thing to have Him guide and enable us where to go, what to say, what to do, to wear, to eat,-to His glory, but to have Him engage us in His thoughts, work and purposes!

The mind of Christ-with what is it occupied? What great and wondrous themes engage His thoughts! Into the details of this we could not enter here, but we know His thoughts are engaged with His Father's business. The will of the Father was ever-and is now-His delight. He is still saying, "How precious are Thy thoughts unto Me, O God; how great is the sum of them." In general these thoughts embrace the whole revealed truth of God, as found in the entire Scriptures ; specially as regards God's present work, they are embraced in the Gospels and Epistles. Here we have the opening of the Lord's mind to us. How immense, boundless, is its scope. To share with Him in these thoughts is grace beyond conception. Putting it very simply, the Lord calls us to the reverent study of the word of God.

The affections of Christ. The Lord not only makes known His thoughts, but He calls us to share with Him that love which passeth knowledge. This must not be separated from the other great truth, but is an integral part of it. To know the love of Christ we must know His word. But there is nothing coldly intellectual in that word; it is intensely moral, and permeated by divine love. The Spirit not only leads us into all truth, but sheds abroad the love of God in the heart. Farthest removed is this from mere sentiment, which degenerates into fleshly folly. Love is a noble, an elevating, divine reality. It delights in its object, desires its companionship, is concerned with its highest interests. Take all that is good and true and noble in a manly friendship, multiply it immeasurably, and you have a partial picture of the privileges suggested in sharing the affections of our blessed Lord.

The Interests of Christ. How full and varied are these, great and small. They are engaged first of all with the Father's will; but they concern His Church on earth. The winning of souls by the gospel is ever near to His heart. If we would share with Him, we will likewise seek to enter into these desires; we will have it much on our hearts in prayer, and be ready to labor ourselves and to have fellowship in the labors of others. We will care for His own, the weak, the lowly, the lonely, the sick. We will pray for and go after the wanderers. We will hear Him ever saying, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto Me." The welfare of the assembly will be near to our heart, for it is near to His. He loved the Church and gave Himself for it.

The Hopes of Christ. What is our Lord waiting for? How His heart is longing for the day when He will have His Church at home with Him! While He rejoices in the growth and spirituality of His people here, individually and collectively, He is waiting for the day when the pilgrim time will be over. He is also looking for the time when He can righteously deliver up a redeemed creation to God, even the Father. To sup with Him means to share in these hopes. May we know daily more and more of this blessed communion. S. R.