network, bind us for good or evil, for weal or woe, to spirits of
light and of darkness; to principalities and powers in other spheres
and systems of being, from the lowest outcast in the unseen world of
criminals, up to Gabriel before the throne of God; while over all,
comprehending all, sustaining and harmonising all, is the great I
AM--Father, Son, and Spirit.

Consider, for example, how, according to the arrangements of the
Divine government, man is linked to man from the mere necessities of
his physical and social being.

In this aspect of our life it is evident that its whole history is one
of mutual dependence, and one in which we are compelled to receive
and to give, to partake and to share. We enter upon life as weak,
unconscious infants, depending every moment on other eyes to watch for
us, and other hands to minister to us, while we kindle in their hearts
the most powerful emotions, and unconsciously react upon them for joy
or sorrow. But we are not less dependent on our fellow-creatures for
our continuance in life from the cradle to the grave. There is not a
thread of clothing which covers our body, not a luxury which is placed
on our table, not an article which supplies the means of labour, not
one thing which is required by us as civilised beings, but involves
the labours and the sacrifices of others in our behalf; while by the
same law we cannot choose but contribute to their well-being. The
cotton which the artisan weaves or wears has been cultivated by
brothers beneath a tropical sun, and possibly beneath a tyrant's lash.
The tea he drinks has been gathered for him by brothers on the unknown
hill-sides of distant China. The oil which lights his lamp has been
fetched for him out of the depths of the Arctic seas by his sailor
brothers; and the coal that feeds his fire has been dug out by swarthy