The lesson of this text is easier to grasp than the illustration itself- -Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days- -Ecc 11-1-. Applying this principle to gospel labours, we take the command issued, we embrace the comfort provided, and we consider the counsels implied.

Much of this sermon seems to bubble out of the preacher's heart, gushing forth with less of structure but more of force. It is not without organisation, but his first point concerning the believer's frequent need of quickening or enlivening is a swirling catalogue of need, flitting from thought to thought as he considers just how dependent we are on the Lord for his mercies. From human need he turns to divine grant, identifying the God of heaven as the one from whom all these mercies flow, and the channels down which he sends them. Spurgeon points us to the way of obedience, before reminding us of the particular seasons in which we might particularly seek this stirring in our souls by the Holy Spirit. As so often, Spurgeon's style seems to suit the mood of his sermon, the rhythm and arrangement of his words carrying us along even as readers, prompting us to go to our gracious God for his revitalising influence.

The creative work of God's Spirit through the preaching of the apostles brings into being a community of men and women who are marked out as Christ's disciples. This body of Christians is a believing, baptised, faithful, potent, united, loving, joyful, growing community, young but essentially complete in form and function. The infant church is and has what every church should long to be and have in its proper place and fashion, a model of vibrant Christianity.

Peter calls upon God's people to -consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.- God's patience lies behind the saving favour that every child of God enjoys and will enjoy. Here we think about the patience God shows before someone becomes a Christian, when they are becoming a Christian, and after they have become a Christian. Such contemplations fill the heart of a child of God with humble wonder, and-far from inciting the wicked to indulge their sin-should be the very thing which draw sinners to repent.

Spurgeon never goes very far Christ Jesus, in all his sermons or in any sermon. Here he is in his element as a preacher of the gospel of his Saviour- -It is mine to preach a Saviour in whom I believe, whom having not seen I love. I am looking to him now for everything, even as I would have you do. I see in him superlative beauties which I wish you to see, and I worship a divinity in him which I desire you to worship. I preach not to you an unknown God, or an untried Saviour.- You can hear the man's heart bubbling over with joyful faith which he longs to share, and in such a sermon we come close to the heart of Spurgeon, and see something reflected in him of the heart of Christ for sinners. Revelation, contemplation, instruction and adoration run on each other's heels through the sermon, and I trust will take root in our hearts as we consider it.

Continuing in our study of apostolic preaching, we note other features which come to the fore in Peter's preaching at Pentecost.--It is Christian and adoring, fervent, ardent, urgent, full of Christ. It is applied and direct, spoken boldly and plainly. It is affectionate and gracious, holding out gospel hope. It is blessed and fruitful, owned by the Holy Spirit to the salvation of thousands.--It is an enduring example, and gives us a great confidence.

Paul identifies something which delights an apostle's heart, something which Philemon does, and something in which we can all engage.--The great work is that of refreshing the souls of the saints. It is done by brothers, motivated by love. It may be done by all, with gospel inventiveness. It produces great joy and consolation when we see the progress of Christian love and labour in the hearts and hands of God's people.a

This is, in some ways, a sermon about fear. The introduction is fascinating, setting the scene for what follows by tracing out some of the ways in which change and novelty can disturb and unsettle certain people in particular, with the fears that can dominate some of God's people. Spurgeon responds with words of consolation, direction, and expectation. The whole is marked by realism about the experience of the saints, compassion toward those who struggle, courage in the face of opportunities and difficulties, and pastoral sense and straightforwardness about not succumbing to our fears. Distinctly helpful is his sense of the blessings that await in moving forward into new spheres, even with their challenges-the eagerness with which we can anticipate good things, and the anticipation that in all that comes to pass, our Lord Jesus shall be magnified in our eyes. In a time that seems to be marked by anxiety and even anger among God's people, when many cling thoughtlessly to what they think they know even at the expense of good things they have not yet known, Spurgeon's counsels come with timely force to our hearts.

Peter's preaching on the Day of Pentecost is remarkable because of the speaker, the occasion, and the result. It could be considered the first sermon of the Christian era, an enduring example of new covenant ministry. Here we consider three of several noteworthy features- this sermon is gripping and immediate, it is scriptural and reasonable, and it is doctrinal and instructive. All of these things should continue to characterise the preaching that God's ministers provide and that God's church expects.

In this passage, the Lord God of heaven condescend not only to offer the sweetest of mercies with freeness of his grace, but pleads those who hear to take his offer seriously. As part of his mighty reasoning, he moves from a natural likeness to a supernatural process. He speaks of the gift from heaven of rain and snow that do not return but water the ground, bringing both seed and bread, and likens it to the word which proceeds from his mouth to men's hearts, accomplishing his saving purposes. This is, to us, a word of affirmation, a ground of conviction, a point of instruction, a spur to supplication, a note of consolation, and a prompt to expectation.