The higher we rise in creation the greater the variety. All of God's works resemble himself in this respect, that they grow on us with acquaintance. In traveling over the Western plains, we first spy the Rocky Mountains rising up as a solid blue wall on the horizon, without variety, or individuality; but as we approch them, they break up into separate peaks, and ranges; and on reaching them, they are split into ten thousand forms of grandeur, with every conceivable kind of rally, canyon, and rugged beauty, and in whose echoing walls millions of people could hide. Thus it is with God himself, who is at first dimly discerned by the unthinking sinner as a vast unknown power, hanging in gloomy outline far off on the horizon of an unexplored eternity. But as the soul draws nigh through Jesus Christ, God suddenly looms up as a Personal Being; and drawing still closer, his mercy opens out in forgiveness and salvation, as a deep green valley suddenly opens in the mountains, and then when the soul pushes its way through the cleansing blood into "the second vail," there opens up multiplied and amazing and precious things in God, and like to the traveler in the mountains, the three Divine Persons stand disclosed like mountain ranges, each in distinct glory and majesty, and then the great and manifold attributes and perfections of our ever blessed God rise peak on peak in their white purity and loveliness, surprising and overaweing in seasons of prayer; and then there are deep, silent canyons in God's nature, in which we find such quiet resting places, where we can lay down our tired, aching hearts from the pursuit of bitter foes, and where the cries and the songs we send forth to God, are caught up by the convolutions of the mountain walls, and echoed back in startling answers to our prayers from the infinite heart, through whose capricious chambers we are traveling. What a constant wonder the living God is to those who search after Him. Now the more we know of His saints, the more we come to find out the great variety among God's servants, their different types, and classes, and species, and genius. In a savage state there is hardly any variety, but as men become civilized they break up into variety, as to dress, food, customs, language, thought, taste, gifts, industry; and the higher men rise in improvement, the more diversified they become. The same is true of any art, or science, or business; until one single branch of business is sub-divided into scores of special departments to be managed by specialists. It is all like a tree, starting with a single trunk, but branching off into thousands of twigs, and leaves, as it approaches full fruitage and maturity. There is a greater variety of sail vessels than there is of the towboat or the rowboat class, because sail vessels are a higher species. Now, when we come to the steamship class of vessels, which represent the soul's onward progress in the sanctified life, we find a still larger variety than in the sail boat class, which is a fitting allegory of the beautiful and marvelous kinds of religious experience and character wrought out under the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There is a unique personality in the depths of the human spirit which is never unfolded except in the warm summer zone of pure heavenly love. Have you not noticed that the lower Christians are in their experience, the more easily they are swayed by each other, and always go with a majority? But those Christians who are crucified with Christ, and live a life of entire faith, learn to stand alone, and develop a distinct variety of living.

In the previous chapter we treated of the transition from the sail ship to the steamer, which illustrates the transition of the believer from the merely justified state to the crucifixion of inward sin, and the incoming of the abiding Comforter. But as all steamboats are not of the same rank, neither are all sanctified Christians of the same type or rank in the great Kingdom of God. There is a class of steam vessels that are called '^coasters," not because they could not cross the ocean under favorable circumstances, but they are specially adapted to rivers, sounds, bays, and skirting along near the shore if they are at sea. Such are the side-wheelers or the huge wheel propellers on the Western rivers, and the small size screw propellers for coast service in commerce. There is a class of fully consecrated Christians that correspond with these coast steamers.

1, River and coast steamers are not constructed with special capacity for the storms and dangers of the high seas; and although they are genuine steamboats, and propelled by the same kind of power as the giant ocean craft, yet their makeup demands keeping near the shore. This is just the case with a species of sanctified souls, whose moral and spiritual makeup has not the capacity for the strain and heroism that other Christians may be called to. There are just as great differences in the capacity of different men's moral and spiritual nature as in the capacities of their physical or mental natures. Some souls have ten times, or a hundred times, larger capabilities for suffering, or loving, or trusting, or endurance, or humility, or discernment, or prayer, or pure worship, or spiritual fruitfulness, than other souls may have. Oftentimes truly converted, or even sanctified persons, are condemned by others for not doing what they really have no adequate capacity for doing. It is unscriptural and unphilosophical to say that even all sanctified Christians can have the same measure of love, or humility, or sweetness of spirit, or any other grace. One of the last lessons Christians ever learn, is to have real divine charity for each other, that wideness of tender consideration which makes allowances for the multiplied variety and different capacities of God's people. This lack of charity is almost entirely with souls who are themselves narrow, and inconsistent, and greatly lacking in spiritual capability. Divine grace does not reconstruct the constitution of the soul, or annihilate any legitimate faculty of man's being, and neither does it create any new organs, or any new capacity of soul or body; but cleanses, rectifies, illuminates and brings forth into consciousness and holy service the natural capabilities that are in the being by natural generation; for all the operations of grace work in us according to our makeup. Hence there are truly sanctified people, whose very moral constitution mark them out as coast steamers, or river and harbor saints, that in their very spiritual and intellectual build, cannot venture into those lonely and rugged forms of spiritual life and enterprises that larger-hearted saints are called to undertake.

2. Let us notice some of the shore lines under which these coast steamer Christians take refuge. There is a high bluff called "sectarian theology," under which these coasting saints constantly shelter, and they believe in that kind of sanctification, and only in that degree of grace, which is set forth in the special teaching of their church denomination. Now, remember that sound Bible doctrine is essential to any saving faith or progress in holiness; and the Bible is itself God's doctrine, but we now refer to those diversified interpretations which different theologians have given to scripture, upon which different sectarian churches have been constructed. A little coast steamer along the shores of New England, or Ireland, or Florida, would naturally be steered by the local shore lines where it was sailing, and in danger would seek shelter under the familiar bluffs nearby. In like manner a coast steamer Christian, even though he was sanctified, would be led by his natural capacity, to guide his thoughts, his faith, his testimony and service for God, according to the shore lines of his denomination, whether it was Episcopal, or Baptist, or Methodist, or Presbyterian, or Quaker, or any other special form of teaching. There are truly devoted souls who want to love God with all their heart, and be impelled by the indwelling of holy fire, who can never venture out in the great things of God beyond the shadow of their church steeples, nor drink in deep spiritual teaching, unless it is moulded in the good old phraseology of their denominational tradition.

Again, there is a promontory under which coast steamers take shelter called "ecclesiastical authority," and beyond the sight of which a great many little steam craft dare not venture. There are instances in the Christian life of downright cowardice, in which both ministers and church members back down from their great high calling, and forfeit a deep spiritual experience, and also a victor's crown at the coming of Jesus, by clinging to the threats of a hooting majority, or of superiors in office. But it is not always cowardice that causes some sanctified souls to be timid and conservative, and not to venture in their spiritual lives beyond certain established sectarian authority, for in many cases the soul has not the capacity for Apostolic boldness; and there are instances in which the religious authority may not prohibit the deepest spiritual life. Cowardice is sin, and if we fail to obey God in a clear principle because of some overshadowing human authority, we lose grace; but we are in this chapter referring to a class of coast steamer saints who are so constituted as to be deficient in true martyr mettle, and though saved from all sin, and living in pure love, they sail in shallow water and instinctively find their sphere of service under the protection of others, and whose faith must be sheltered by their church creed, and whose active service for God must be within the limits of permitted human authority. We never can tell when we meet these cautious shore-clinging saints, whether they are cowardly, or whether they are filling their proper sphere in the great Kingdom. Just as every ship in a great nation is not a battleship, so in the Divine Kingdom every saint has neither the capacity nor the calling to be a Paul or a Luther. So let us thank God for these coasting saints, who are impelled by the secret enginery of steam power to move hither and thither in shallow waters, doing the King's business, and making little excursions out in the ocean of divine things, though not entering those grand and sturdy experiences which are brought out in the ocean steamer or the battleship.