in that infancy of the Church, when before
the seal of the new dispensation was opened and trial began, "there was
silence in heaven for half an hour;" and "the disciples continued daily
with one accord in the temple, and in prayers, breaking bread from
house to house, being of one heart, and of one soul, eating their meat
with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour
with all the people[9];" while hypocrites and "liars," like Ananias and
Sapphira, were struck dead, and "sorcerers," like Simon, were detected
and denounced?

To conclude; let us thankfully cherish all seasons of peace and joy
which are vouchsafed us here below. Let us beware of abusing them, and
of resting in them, of forgetting that they _are_ special privileges,
of neglecting to look out for trouble and trial, as our due and our
portion. Trial is our portion here--we must not think it strange when
trial comes after peace. Still God mercifully does grant a respite now
and then; and perhaps He grants it to us the more, the more careful we
are not to abuse it. For all seasons we must thank Him, for time of
sorrow and time of joy, time of warfare and time of peace. And the
more we thank Him for the one, the more we shall be drawn to thank Him
for the other. Each has its own proper fruit, and its own peculiar
blessedness. Yet our mortal flesh shrinks from the one, and of itself
prefers the other;--it prefers rest to toil, peace to war, joy to
sorrow, health to pain and sickness. When then Christ gives us what is
pleasant, let us take it as a refreshment by the way, that we may, when
God calls, go in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights
unto Horeb, the mount of God. Let us rejoice in Epiphany with
trembling, that at Septuagesima we may go into the vineyard with the
labourers with cheerfulness, and may sorrow in Lent with thankfulness;
let us rejoice now, not as if we have attained, but in hope of
attaining. Let us take our present happiness, not as our true rest,
but, as what the land of Canaan was to the Israelites,--a type and
shadow of it. If we now enjoy God's ordinances, let us not cease to
pray that they may prepare us for His presence hereafter. If we enjoy
the presence of friends, let them remind us of the communion of saints
before His throne. Let us trust in nothing here, yet draw hope from
every thing--that at length the Lord may be our everlasting light, and
the days of our mourning may be end