er, and to still wishes that
clamour, and to empty hearts that are full of earthly loves, and to
clear a space in minds that are crammed with thoughts about the
transient and the near, in order that the mind may keep in steadfast
contemplation of Jesus, and the heart may be bound to Him by cords of
love that are not capable of being snapped, and scarcely of being
stretched, and the will may in patience stand saying, 'Speak, Lord! for
Thy servant heareth'; and the whole tremulous nature may be rooted and
built up in and on Him. Ah, brother! if we understand all that goes to
the fulfilment of that one sweet and merciful injunction, 'Abide in Me,'
we shall recognise that there is the field on which Christian effort is
mainly to be occupied.

But that is not all. For there must be likewise the effort to
appropriate, and still more to manifest in conduct, the fruit-bringing
properties of that indwelling light. 'Giving all diligence add to your
faith.' 'Having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the
Lord.' We are often told that just as we trust Christ for our
forgiveness and acceptance, so we are to trust Him for our sanctifying
and perfecting. It is true, and yet it is not true. We are to trust Him
for our sanctifying and our perfecting. But the faith which trusts Him
for these is not a substitute for effort, but it is the foundation of
effort. And the more we rely on His power to cleanse us from all evil,
the more are we bound to make the effort in His power and in dependence
on Him, to cleanse ourselves from all evil, and to secure as our own the
natural outcomes of His dwelling within us, which are 'the fruits of the
light.'

III. And so, lastly, notice the specific fruits which the Apostle here
dwells upon.

They consist, says he, in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Now
'goodness' here seems to me to be used in its narrower sense, just as
the same Apostle uses it in the Epistle to the Romans, in contrast with
'righteousness,' where he says, 'for a good man some would even dare to
die.' There he means by 'good,' as he does here by 'goodness,' not the
general expression for all forms of virtue and gracious conduct, but the
specific excellence of kindliness, amiability, or the like.
'Righteousness' again, is that which rigidly adheres to the strict law
of duty, and carefully desires to give to every man what belongs to him,
and to