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ton-on the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the surpassing wonders of his dying love. And such are not the views of those blessed inhabitants of heaven, who ponder, with unwearying earnestness, the mighty subject of redemption, and pour forth their raptures in songs of praise.

The work of redemption appears to be the greatest of all divine works, in view of the sacrifices and sufferings required to accomplish it. It cost no sacrifice on the part of Jehovah, to accomplish the work of creation. He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. But when the foundations of redeeming mercy were to be laid, he who "was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, must make himself of no reputation, and take upon him the form of a servant, and be made in the likeness of men, and must humble himself, and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." The Son of God must come down from his celestial throne, and clothe himself with human flesh, and toil and suffer in that world which he made, and sweat as it were great drops of blood, and expire upon the accursed tree;-and now, if here was not a waste of suffering an expense, needless and wanton, on the part of him who made it-who shall compare this work of redemption with the seemingly short and easy work of creation?

But there is another view to be taken of this subject; and it is that to which we are naturally led by the preceding discussion. The work of redemption is the noblest and best of all the works of God, particularly as it pours light upon the otherwise dark things of God, lays open the riches of his character, and makes the brightest display of his glory. In this respect, it rises far above the other wonders of his hand, and seems to set a seal, and shed a lustre, on them all. It is in this view, that the praises of redeeming mercy are celebrated by the sweet singer of our English and American Israel.

VOL. I.

"Nature with open volume stands,

To spread her Maker's praise abroad;
And every labour of his hands
Shows something worthy of a God.
But in the grace that rescued man

HIS BRIGHTEST FORM OF GLORY SHINES;
Here, on the cross, 'tis fairest drawn,
In precious blood, and crimson lines.
HERE THE WHOLE DEITY IS KNOWN;
Nor dares a creature guess,
Which of the glories brightest shone,
The justice, or the grace."
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4. There is reason to believe, in view of what has been said, that this earth is an object of intense interest to the inhabitants of other worlds. We know not that redemption has been accomplished in any world but this. Indeed, we have no reason to suppose, that such has been the fact. Why should it have been? Christ could add nothing to the glory or the moral effect of his sacrifice, were he to repeat it a thousand times. It seems necessary only that the story of redemption should be told in other worlds-that the wonders of mercy which have been accomplished here should be unfolded; and when this is done, the heart of the Deity is at once opened, and his glory beams forth upon other intelligences, as it does upon ourselves. And that this mighty subject has been unfolded to the view of myriads now invisible to us, and that, in consequence of this, their eyes are all turned, and their interests bended downwards upon earth, there can be no doubt.

This earth is physically but an insignificant part of the material universe; a little island in an infinite ocean of space-a little province of an unbounded empire. And yet we know, that to the inhabitants of other worlds, it is a most interesting spot. I have sometimes thought of it, not indeed as the sun of the created universe, but rather as the silver moon. It shines with a reflected light; but yet it is all radiant with the glory of God, and is pouring forth light upon a multitude of topics connected with the divine character and conduct, which otherwise must have remained in impenetrable darkness.

Redemption-whatever my readers may have been accustomed to think of it-redemption is the glory of earth. And it is glory enough for one world, to have been the theatre of such mighty achievements, and to be the centre of such engrossing interests. And Oh! why are not men more deeply interested in this great work of redemption! When the inhabitants of other worlds are so deeply interested, why are the inhabitants of this, so profoundly indifferent! Men, and not angels, are the subjects of redeeming mercy. It was for men, and not angels, that the Son of God came down, and died. And yet, when angels are all intent, desiring to look into these things, men neglect themmen trifle with them-men, in thousands of instances, care nothing about them! Shame on such unaccountable stupidity and blindness! The conduct of the great mass of

our fellow men in this life, in treating the mighty subject of redemption as they do, must render them the shame, and I had almost said, the scorn, of the intelligent universe.

5. It follows from what has been said, that the redeemed church of Christ will be an object of great interest and happiness in heaven for ever. The members of this church will appear in heaven, as the travail of the Redeemer's soul,

-as the trophies of his grace, and the purchase of his blood. They will appear there, as the special subjects of that stupendous work in which the moral universe is so deeply interested ;-as the medium through which the principalities and powers of heaven are becoming acquainted with God, and beholding his glory.

This church will also be an interesting object in heaven, on account of the peculiar character and relations of those who compose it. They will be seen to be a new order of worshippers, standing on a foundation, and cherishing feelings peculiar to themselves. They were once sinners, but they have been forgiven; lost, but they have been recovered; unclean and odious, but they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And they now sustain relations to the glorious Son of God more intimate and endearing than those of any other beings. They sing a song which none others in heaven can ever learn, and will have high and endless sources of enjoyment peculiar to themselves.

It is a great thing to be in heaven as an angel of light; but it will be a greater thing to appear there, as a member of Christ's renovated and ransomed flock. It is pleasant to angels to reflect that they have never sinned; but glorified saints will contemplate, with a sweeter sensation, the manner in which they have been redeemed from sin. It is pleasant to angels to behold the glories of the Son of God, and worship him as their Lord and Sovereign; but how much more pleasant to glorified saints, to rest upon him as their Saviour, and embrace him as their elder brother. It is pleasant to angels to look upon the ransomed church, and learn from it the wonders of redeeming love; but how much more delightful must it be to glorified saints to be themselves the subjects of this wondrous love-to feel its warming influence in their souls, and to pour forth their emotions of joy and gratitude in never-ceasing songs of praise.

My Christian reader, professed follower of Christ, are you expecting, ere long, to join this triumphant throng, and to be a partaker of this "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory?" How, then, does it become you to pass the time of your sojourning here? How should you tread this vain world beneath your feet, and rise above it in your affections and hopes, and be constantly aspiring, reaching after those nobler joys which God has in store for them that love him!

6. It appears from what has been said, that those of our race, who enjoy the offers of redeeming mercy, and slight them, and finally perish in their sins, will be among the most despicable and miserable of all the creatures of God. For it will be known through the universe what opportunities they have enjoyed, and what they have abused; what distinguished mercy has been shown them, and how they have slighted it; and of all the wretched inhabitants of the lower world, they will be regarded as least entitled to the sympathy and commiseration of their fellow beings. The degraded heathen will look far down upon them and say, 'If we had heard the same calls as you-if the privileges which you enjoyed had been bestowed upon us, long ago should we have repented in sackcloth and ashes.' And even the devils will stand aloof from these ruined despisers of Gospel grace, and reproach them with being more guilty and detestable than themselves. 'You have done that,' they will say, 'which we never did. We only transgressed the law of God; but you-fools that you were -you added to this a rejection of the Gospel. You slighted offers, and resisted means, and trod under foot the Son of God. Complain not, then, that your prisons are deeper than ours, and that you are doomed to sink under a severer condemnation.'

It is a dreadful thing to be a fallen angel, and to be reserved, as these angels are, in chains, under darkness, to the judgement of the great day. But it is a more dreadful thing to be a finally condemned and ruined sinner from under the Gospel. O yes, if I must go to the world of wo, let me be a demon of darkness-let me be any thing-rather than to stand in the miserable company of those who have beheld, and depised, and wondered, and perished, from under the glorious light and privileges of the Gospel. For such sinners must have reflections, tormenting reflections-they must have

sources of anguish, bitter anguish, which none other among the damned ever can have. They must be emphatically the reproach and the scorn of the universe.

Does the eye of any impenitent sinner fall upon this page, and run over these fearful, monitory words? O, let him beware, lest all the evil, and more than all that has here been described, fall speedily upon him! Let him be wise, and take warning while he may. The door of mercy is still open. The call of mercy is yet sounding in his ears. Let him yield then to the motives of the Gospel, and the strivings of the Spirit, and press into the kingdom of Christ, before the doors of this kingdom are closed upon him, and he is Lost for ever.

ART. VII.-ON SPECIAL EFFORTS BY THE CHURCH TO SUBVERT THE UNHALLOWED INSTITUTIONS OF THE WORLD.

By ELEAZAR LORD, Esq. New-York.

THE tendency of the Christian religion, by the sanctification of individuals, and by the public influence of its doctrines and ordinances, to reform the errours and vices of the surrounding world, is universally admitted. Whether the correction of those evils, however, is to be regarded as a direct and immediate object of Christianity, in any such sense as to render it proper that the influence of religion and the associated and public exertions of ministers and Christians should be specially directed against them, in distinction from their exertions in the ordinary use of the means of grace, and the usual methods of propagating the Gospel for the conversion and salvation of men, is a question of great interest, the consideration of which will, it is presumed, be deemed appropriate at the present time.

From the nature of the subject, it will be proper, in the first place, briefly to refer to the state of things at the period when the Gospel was originally published, and to the example of our Lord and his apostles.

I. At that period, the political, religious and social institutions and customs of the world, were wholly opposite to

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