ir bases blend
indistinguishably into a continuous whole. Their tops are miles apart,
but beneath the surface they are one. And so the things that bind
Christian men together are the great things and the deepest things; and
the things that part them are the small and superficial ones. Therefore
it is our wisdom--not only for the sake of the fact of our unity and for
the sake of our consciousness of unity, but because the truths which
unite are the most important ones--that they shall bulk largest in our
hearts and minds. And if they do, we shall know our brother in every man
that is like-minded with us towards them, whatever shibboleth may
separate us. I spoke a moment ago about the separate pools on the beach,
and the tide rising. When the tide goes down, and the spiritual life
ebbs, the pools are parted again. And so ages of feeble spiritual
vitality have been ages of theological controversy about secondary
matters; and ages of profound realisation by the Church of the great
fundamentals of gospel truth have been those when its members were drawn
together, they knew not how. Hence they can say of and to each other,
'Elect together with you.'

Brethren, for the sake of the strength of our own religious life, do not
let us fix our attention on the peculiarities of our sects, but upon the
catholic truths believed everywhere, always, by all. Then we shall 'walk
in a large place,' and feel how many there are that are possessors of
'like precious faith' with ourselves.

III. Then, lastly, we may find here a hint as to the pressing need for
such a realisation of unity.

'The church that is in Babylon' was in a very uncongenial place. Thank
God, no Babylon is so Babylonish but that a Church of God may be found
planted in it. No circumstances are so unfavourable to the creation and
development of the religious life but that the religious life may grow
there. An orchid will find footing upon a bit of stick, because it draws
nourishment from the atmosphere; and they who are fed by influx of the
Divine Spirit may be planted anywhere, and yet flourish in the courts of
our God. So 'the church that is in Babylon' gives encouragement as to
the possibility of Christian faith being triumphant over adverse
conditions.

But it also gives a hint as to the obligation springing from the
circumstances in which Christian people are set, to cultivate the sense
of belonging to a great brotherhood. Howsoever solitary and surrounded
by uncon