THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT 225 



The Lord lias had to endure many things 

 because of the hardness of men's hearts, 



and evidently He will yet have to endure 

 much more. Denominations in the past 

 have served a good purpose, no doubt, and 

 cannot be dispensed with yet ; hut they can 

 and ought to be made the agents of the 

 Spirit of God, rather than obstacles in the 

 way of the kingdom. 



Before the division in the Church can be 

 expected to give place to the world-embrac- 

 ing unity for which we devoutly pray, there 

 must be harmony among denominations. 

 The better condition will follow the proper 

 use of what we already possess. The first 

 thing to seek, therefore, is unity of the 

 spirit ; with that we shall realize unity of 

 organization as soon as it is desirable. Con- 

 cerning unity of the spirit I observe : — 



I. It is never the result of mechanical 

 contrivance. All the bishops ever ordained 

 cannot impart spirit. A million hands on 

 a man's head may leave him without the 

 unction from above. There is only one 

 place whence that can come, — from the 

 Holy One. Lambeth Conferences and 

 General Assemblies might sit until the 

 Judgment, and never show His presence. 

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