but has its shadow of evil attendant upon it. And if we had only to
estimate by visible or human forces, we might well sit down and wrap
ourselves in the sackcloth of pessimism. 'We see not yet all things
put under Him'; but 'we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour,' and
the vision that cheered the first martyr--of Christ 'standing at the
right hand of God'--is the rebuke of every fear and every gloomy
anticipation for ourselves or for the world.

What a lesson of lowliness and of diligence it gives us! The jangling
church at Corinth fought about whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas was
the man to lead the Church, and the experience has been repeated over
and over again. 'Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? but ministers by whom
ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man. Be not puffed up one
against another. Be not wise in your own conceits.' You are only a
tool, only a pawn in the hand of the Great Player. If you have
anything, it is because you get it from Him. See that you use it, and
do not boast about it. Jesus Christ is the Worker, the only Worker;
the Teacher, the only Teacher. All our wisdom is derived, all our
light is enkindled. We are but the reeds through which His breath
makes music. And 'shall the axe boast itself,' either 'against' or
apart from 'Him that heweth therewith'?

III. Lastly, we note the incompleteness of each man's share in the
great work.

As I said, the book which is to tell the story of Christ's continuous
unfinished work must stop abruptly. There is no help for it. If it
was a history of Paul it would need to be wound up to an end and a
selvage put to it, but as it is the history of Christ's working, the
web is not half finished, and the shuttle stops in the middle of a