imself. The quality of mercy blesses
him that gives as well as him that takes. The harsh judge of others
grows hard himself, while pity softens the pitier. Thus among the
happiest of people are those whose grudges and enmities have been
overcome by their own broader view of life. It is as though in the
midst of winter the warmer sun were already softening the frost. They
are happy, not because others are kinder to them, but because that
softer soil permits their own better life to germinate and grow. The
merciful has obtained mercy; the blesser has received the blessing.

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XXVII

THE PURE IN HEART

_Matthew_ v. 8.

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." That, I
suppose, is the highest and deepest proposition which ever fell from
human lips. Without the least argument or reasoning about it, as a
thing which is perfectly self-evident, Jesus announces that purity of
heart leads to the knowledge of God. Your character clarifies your
creed. A theologian who wants to be profound must be pure.
Consecration brings with it insight. The perfect knowledge of God is
to be attained only by the perfectly consecrated life. The human soul
is a mirror on which the light of God shines, and only the pure mirror
reflects the perfect image. What a word is this to drop into the midst
of the conflicting theologies and philosophies of the time, of the
disputes between the people who think they know all about God, and the
people who think they cannot know Him at all! Do you want to be {70}
sure that God is directing and supporting you in all your perplexing
experiences of life? You cannot see God in these things except through
a perfectly purified heart. Clarify the medium of vision, and truth
undiscerned before breaks on the observer's sight. A mile or two from
here skilful artisans make those great object-glasses with which the
mysteries of the stars are disclosed. The slightest speck or flaw
blurs the image, but with the perfect glass stars unseen by any eye
throughout the history of the world are to be in our days discovered.
It is a parable of the soul. Each film on the object-glass of
character obscures the heavenly vision, but to the prepared and
translucent life truth undiscernible by others breaks upon the reverent
gaze, and the beatific vision is revealed to the pure in heart.

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XXVIII

THE TWO BAPTISMS

_Luke_ iii. 16.

THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

Among the p