various scenes may be familiar to him. He would instantly ask, with serious and earnest desire for some true answer, how he could expect any but ill and fatal results to follow from his repeated, and oftentimes unwary, disobedience to the moral laws of the Great God, when he sees around him the sad and fearful consequences of the arduous disregard of the physical laws of the universe. He will argue, that as God is the God, not only of the dead, but of the living; that as He is the sole governor in the world, both of matter and mind, how can we but expect that He will visit with his displeasure, all those who contemn his authorized injunctions.

And he will also observe, that innocence does not always save a man from suffering the penalty of physical wrong, that where the parent has done that which is contrary to the established order of the world's governance, the effects have been visited upon the child, that indeed the "Lord God is a jealous God, visiting the sins of the fathers, upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." He must be struck with the seeming injustice of the case, and ask if the universe were under the rule of a just God, seeing that the wicked suffer not alone; but that their malefactions affect the condition of the upright.

Such an one might call upon us to account for this seeming anomaly. We might answer him thus:

The whole of the human race are bound together by great and common ties; so, that as one drop of water lies solved in another, and all united in one universal brotherhood; and one cannot cast a pebble into the pool, but that it will produce gyration upon gyration, flowing onward, and onward, till the whole body of waters is in commotion, there may be some necessity, why we should bear one another's burdens, if we feel one another's joys, which is as inherent in the constituted nature of things, as it is that two and two make four.

And, moreover, not only is there reason to think, that this present time finds itself bounden to each individual existing by common bounds; but the dispensations of Providence teach us, that this time is bound to all times, and bears important relationship to the first ages of the world; and not only so, but may in its sequences claim its full character, as is seen in connexion with the unborn ages of futurity. So that we who stand on this present brief moment, and cannot see the end from the beginning, may not be able to understand, how the infinite mind is

"From seeming evil, still educing good,

And better thence again, and better still,
In infinite progression."

But without staying to urge any further observations on our thoughtful friend, we may remark the fact, that it is a part of the divine government of the world, that vice is punished with terrible certainty and fearfulness; but that notwithstanding this ordinace, many individuals, by repenting of the course which brought on them evil disasters, are saved from much pain.

And, again, we find ourselves open to the just observation, that in many instances repentance is of no avail; that where a man has indulged in a long career of folly, and where he has only committed one rash act, repentance is often too late to afford any mitigation of the penalties already incurred; that the law must have its course.

And here we are at a loss for a reply. It is true that there are such cases, as those urged on our consideration; and from them it follows, that as we are under a government in which repentance is sometimes too late, what guarantee have we that in a future state, under the same governor, we may not find the severe and distressing influence of our moral dere

lictions mar our happiness, and destroy all hopes of high and noble action?

In vain we look into the constitution of the worldin vain we, in sorrow of heart, put the question to the everlasting hills, and the silvery pensive stars; the stillness of the first, and sad quick twinkling of the last, sympathize with our despair. And our final conclusion is this, "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God, on them which fall severity; but towards thee, goodness, if thou continue in goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." There is no voice beneath the skies then that can solve our doubt. No authority which can proclaim the intentions of the infinite God, with respect to his fallen and sinful

creatures.

Our only hope is in the revelations of the Great Creator himself. To Him we must come with our dark and hungry fears,—of Him we must seek the answer to the all-important question, Is there any forgiveness for the sinner? On the far distant past we hear the soft gentle murmur; it grows with the ages; at length, in no uncertain tones, it speaks out the great answer, the heart of humanity trembles with the grandness of the message, and in its Saviour's arms its throbbings cease; the suffusions of joy steal through every sensation, for "God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last times spoken unto us by his Son."

We come then to another fact. Did Christ speak the truth? If Christ can be convicted of uttering rash assertions, the hopes of all good men-nay of the best men-men, whose existence in this world has been the glory of humanity, have been fallacious; and we must return again to the miserable twilight of our former uncertainty.

Here two points arise. First, that to all great minds, the inferior must trust, before it can as

E

certain their truthfulness. This is well illustrated by the confidence which the less informed sailor places in the nautical skill of his captain. If the seamen of Columbus had not implicitly trusted to his guidance, they could never have discovered the truth of his assertions, about the existence of another continent. Again; if we would prove the good qualities of any friend, we must trust him. If the master would be certain of the honesty of his servant, he must trust him in the first instance, and run the risk of being robbed; otherwise, he will never know if his servant be honest or not. We may easily conceive how these illustrations may serve to shew the dependant faith, the confiding belief, we must put in the Son of God, before we can be sure of the veracity of his doctrines.

As Christ has said, "If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself." This is the first and principal method of becoming convinced that Christ spake the words of truth.

In the second place. If there be any one great event, which, altogether at variance with the usual and expected course of things, nevertheless, happens according to the prediction of the person who asks for our confidence, it would be a great inducement of belief in his general honesty. And where a great number of these events were predicted, and were all realized according to prediction, it would afford a general presumption of truthfulness, which nothing short of direct proof to the contrary could overthrow. We need not mention the several instances in the life of Christ, in point. One we will particularize-the prophecy that He should rise again. A fact so well authenticated, that even De Witte and others of the small school who resolve it into myth, cannot deny the sufficiency of the evidence. For these reasons, then, we turn to what Christ has said, with lively hope and cheerful expectancy. And the contrite spirit which

is desirous of knowing the mind of God, will, in the blessed Gospel of the Son of God, find that peace and refreshment which no other source can supply.

We remember the gentle Saviour, after He had been praying in a certain place, his face lit up with the radiance of divine wisdom, and his eye filled with the majestic dignity of the inspiration of a great truth, teaches his disciples to pray. Among the supplications there is this one: "And forgive us our sins; for we forgive every one that is indebted to us." And for further illustrations, He puts to them the simple question, "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone-how much more," He proceeded to say, "shall your heavenly Father give good things to them that ask Him."

On another occasion, when the quick and sensitive Peter inquires of his Lord, the forbearance he ought to exercise with respect to the transgressions of his brother; he is told, that not only ought he to forgive his brother seven times, but seventy times seven. And immediately afterwards, the Great Teacher endeavours to impress on their minds a sense of the manifold mercies of God, by reminding them that, "If ye forgive one another your trespasses, so shall your Heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses.'

ness.

And as the imperfections of man cling not to his Maker, how perfect and glorious must be his forgiveIt is no wonder to the man whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is covered, that the "peace of God passeth understanding."

We arrive, therefore, at this conclusion, that all manner of sin shall be forgiven unto the sons of men. This is a grand fact, which those who believe in Christ gladly receive.

But again, two important topics suggest themselves. How is this forgiveness obtained? Is it given to all indiscriminately, or only to a chosen few? And how can God be just, and yet receive into his favour those