with their historical contents than his Christian instructor. When he discovered the doctrine of justification by faith, he was overwhelmed with it, and he could not believe that any one had discovered it before, or, at least, so clearly as himself.

His wife, being ill, was obliged to go to the hospital, and her husband contrived to carry the Bible in a bundle of clothes, that he might read it to her. The priest soon heard of his having the Bible, and attempted to frighten him from reading it, offering him relief if he would give it up, and return to confession. He replied, "I should then be a hypocrite; I would rather die from want than become one. Since I read this book, I can no longer give up my conscience to another!" A lady, who called on him during a severe winter, found him in the greatest misery from the want of every comfort. She gave him some money to purchase firing. The old man attempted to fall on his knees to thank God for his great mercy in thus relieving him. The lady said, "But this need not surprise you: He that sent his own Son into the world to die for your soul, will surely care for the little wants of your perishing body." The poor creature elevated his eyes, with a very pleasing expression of face, and, after a pause, said, "Ah! madame, madame, there is the mystery; I cannot understand it! It is too great for my poor faculties!" "But you believe it?" "I adore it! May I tell you, madame, how my weak intelligence explains it? That God once made a beautiful and a perfect world: the evil spirit marred its loveliness; God could no longer say, in the complacency of his love, 'It is good;' still he loved his own work, and he must renovate it; and he did so in the form and work of his Son. These are my poor ideas.” The poor man had the calamity, soon after this interview, to lose his wife. He then used to sit alone by the light of his lamp, which, in fact, was only a cup of oil with a floating wick, to seek company and solace in his "world of wonders," and "treasure of

treasures."

COMPARISON NO CRITERION.

SOMETIMES perhaps thou hearest another Christian pray with much freedom, fluency, and movingness of expression, while thou canst hardly get out a few broken words in duty. Hence thou art ready to accuse thyself, and to admire him as if the gilding of the key made it open the door the better.-Gurnall.

A COMMON PRETENCE.

A GENTLEMAN who had been active in aiding a missionary collection, was met the following day by one of different habits, who chided him for the folly of which he deemed him guilty, in giving to such an object, and in such profusion. It was folly, he said, to be sending heaps of money abroad, to be spent, no one knew how, while there were so many unemployed starving poor at home. "I will give five dollars to the poor, if you will give an equal sum," said the Christian friend. "I did not mean that," replied the objector; "but," continued he, "if you must go from home, why so far? Think of the

miserable poor of Ireland." "I will give five dollars to the poor of Ireland, if you will do the same.” “I did not mean that either," was the reply. No, it is neither this nor that, which this class of objectors exactly mean; but simply to veil their covetousness by blaming the proceedings of liberal men, whom, if they could not condemn, they must, for very shame, in some degree imitate.

Fragments.

A LAW-SUIT was lately instituted in Spain, in which the heirs of a rich man sued the Church for the recovery of monies paid under the will of the deceased, to purchase, at the fair market price, twelve thousand masses for his soul. The priests, though they took the money, objected to the labour; and the pope, at their request, abridged it, pronouncing that twelve masses would be as beneficial as twelve thousand. The counsel for the Church, in answer to this allegation of non-performance of contract, produced the pope's certificate, that the soul had been delivered by the efficacy of those masses, and that value being thus received, there was not any breach of

contract.

There are three lights-of nature, of grace, and of glory. One great difficulty, that of the wicked's prosperity, which so perplexed Job, Daniel, &c., gives way to a single ray of evangelical light, which reveals a future life of reward and punishment. As the light of grace clears up difficulties which the light of nature could not, so will the light of glory clear up such as the light of grace cannot.

Pharaoh never complained of his heart's hardness, it was so hard.

The rich are the treasures of God for other men. The honour of distribution is given to them.

If Christians are no more moral than Pagans, yet Christians are irreligiously so, while Pagans are religiously so. Christians have not the sanction of their religion for their immorality; Pagans have.

A famous bandit, lately executed in Spain, wore a hair-cloth shirt, and about his person was found a rosary, a prayer-book, and a lock of hair of St. Dominic, besides a poniard, &c. He always placed a cross beside the bodies of his murdered victims, that he might not, as he said, sacrifice the soul with the body. He used to strew flowers on their graves, and offer prayers for their brief continuance in purgatory. The cross placed by them had been blessed. and was intended to help them to repel Satan, if they died not in a state of grace.

Joy is exceedingly connatural to true living religion. There cannot be a greater demonstration of it than this, that there can be no state externally so bad, that can make their joy unseasonable. That must needs be a very strong, predominant, and prevailing principle in anything, which converts and turns that which is of an opposite nature into nutriment to itself. Such is the joy that can even feed upon and maintain itself out of afflictions. God's people can rejoice not only when they are afflicted, but that they are afflicted.

Life exhibits little more than a funeral procession, where friend follows friend; weeping to-day, and wept for to-morrow.-Cecil.

essentially different from those of other menlet them by all means be pressed with the question, Why the Scriptures attach such weight to his sorrows above all others? But for ourselves, asserting as we do the Divinity of Christ, we escape from it altogether. The simple fact, that he appeared at all in the investure of humanity-that ever he tabernacled with men upon earth, becomes a wonder of humiliation when we consider that this was he who was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God. "He was in the world," says the evangelist, "and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." Impressive exclamation! Where is the man, the most illustrious in the annals of recorded fame, of whom it could be said by way of commendation-" He was in the world!" With regard to other men, they must have acted an illustrious part upon earth before they can establish a claim to public admiration. It is no commendation of them to say simply that they are men; but when God brings in his only begotten Son, he says, Let all the angels of God worship him;" and, "great without controversy is the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh."

We have sometimes thought that the great truth of the dignity of Christ's person has not been sufficiently kept in view when dwelling upon his history; and there are two passages in his life, which we design to bring at present more prominently under the notice of the reader, in order to verify the truth of this remark.

Let us advert, first, to that long interval of time which was spent by the Saviour under the roof of his parents in Nazareth. Altogether, our Lord was but thirty-three years and a-half in our world; and while only three and a-half years were employed in the exercise of his public ministry, the other thirty, constituting by much the largest portion of an existence so pregnant with the destinies of mankind, passed away in that lowly tenement without a single record left behind, even by the pen of inspiration, as to what was said by him or done by him. It is impossible that such an arrangement should have taken place without some great end being designed by it in the infinite wisdom of God for our instruction; and it is surely a desideratum in the practical improvement which has been made of the life of Christ, that so little has been said upon this, perhaps the most wonderful of all the facts connected with his life.

What a humiliation was here! He at whose name every knee should bow of things in heaven, or of things on earth, was then living unknown in this humble dwelling! Methinks I see him, as he passed occasionally through the streets of Nazareth, unnoted as any other of his fellow-townsmen, or as he sat alone at evening by the domestic hearth, while the eye of Him who made and who upholds the universe rested upon him, as the Son of his eternal and ineffable complacency. Think of his daily occupation. For when it is said that during these years he was subject to his parents, it is against all likelihood to deny (and why should we deny it?) that he was occupied in plying the trade of carpentry. And what a thought is this! to revert from what was done by him as the Son of God in the creation of all things, and reflect on what was now done by him as the Son of man. The inhabitants of our own country were thrown at one time into astonishment by the intelligence that the emperor of a foreign state was working in disguise in one of the English dockyards, and the fact is one upon which the worldly imagination delights to dwell, partaking as it does of the mar vellous; but, alas! men want the faith ne cessary to appreciate the infinitely greater wonders which occur in the history of our redemption. To suggest another reflection, what a trial was here of Christ's submission to the

will of the Father! He was vested with im measurable capacities of doing good, and we can all estimate what was the feeling of humanity (our Lord's was a true humanity) under the arrangement by which the Light of the world was hid in the bushel of the humble roof of Nazareth-by which for so long a period of years, he who was vested with Heaven's best gift of man, and had in himself the secret, so to speak, of the world's salvation, instead of being called out to walk in the high sphere which corresponded with that character, was commissioned to exemplify the lowly and every day duty of filial obedience. To compare small things with great, let us suppose that a man with missionary capabilities of a transcendent kind, and burning to go forth with the gospel to the extensive regions of China or Hindostan, should find, in the providence of God, that the duty he owed to his poor parents rendered it necessary that he should stay at home and occupy those hands for their support which might have ministered to the regeneration of an empire-if, in com pliance with this providential call, felt to be

mysterious, but clearly recognised, he should bury the purest and the strongest of all passions in his breast-we say that this would be a great submission indeed, rendered unto Him who will have obedience rather than sacrifice -rather than the costliest unauthorized offering laid upon the altar of the world's evangelization.

We hope that all will perceive the bearing of these remarks upon the objection which we have supposed to be brought forward, to the effect that the sufferings of Christ were not of such an unparalleled nature as is generally maintained. For this objection might be attempted to be based especially upon that par(ticular passage of his history now adverted to. Here it might be said was a long period of thirty years, by much the largest portion of his life, when he endured, to appearance, no suffering at all-when he was allowed to pass an undisturbed existence under the quiet asylum of a parent's roof-how much less suffering a lot was this than that of Joseph, for example, who, before he was permitted to enter upon his public course of usefulness, had to languish in one of the common prisons of Egypt? The answer is to be drawn from considerations such as we have mentioned; and with regard to any such example, by way of comparison, as this which we have supposed to be objected, it is a good instance of that forgetfulness we are too apt to indulge in, of the Divinity of Christ's person. An imprisonment, or some such vicissitude, may tell much upon the imagination, as in reference to one who is like unto ourselves, or it may tell much upon our carnal imaginations, which are apt to make more of physical than of moral suffering; but reflection will convince us that there was a truer grandeur of humiliation in Christ's subjection to the humble bonds of filial relationship, than had he been doomed to the heaviest chain of literal

incarceration. For ourselves, we desire with the deepest reverence to bow before the wisdom of God which provided in this manner for the sublimest enforcement of the humbler duties of humanity, by the same arrangement which exemplified the profoundest condescension of Divinity.

We had intended to apply the same process of illustration to another passage of Christ's history-the closing scene of his life. But what we have to say upon this point we shall sum up in one brief paragraph.

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be apt to conclude that, after all, it is not so dreadful a transaction as takes place when a sinner is called before the tribunal of almighty God, or finds himself enveloped in the drowning flames of Tophet. Yet this proceeds upon a complete misapprehension, as might be shown in many ways. The wrath of God constitutes the essence of supreme suffering wher ever it was endured the mere locality where it is borne signifies little; so that it was but a poor circumstantial advantage to Christ that the cross was planted in Calvary, and not in that region where, after all, no darker sensation comes down upon the inhabitants, than that which extracted the cry, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" But what we would further observe, before concluding, is, that, in finding fault with the particular form in which the suffering was made to fall upon the Surety, men go upon the very error which we have already condemned, of overlooking the Divinity of Christ's person. The heaviest punishment to the elect would have been to stand before the judgment-seat of God, for to man there is nothing more awful than to stand before the tribunal of the Almighty. But is was otherwise with regard to the Son of God. If he would yield the highest satisfaction to the law, then set him— not before the judgment-seat of his Father— for that would be to try him before his peers

that would be a dignified though an awful position; but set him before the bar of an earthly judge, and bear him away to a death which, with the accompaniment of the inward sense of God's wrath to the uttermost, partook of the deepest ignominy to which humanity can be degraded.

APOLOGIES FOR DISCONTENT ANSWERED. (Concluded from page 394.)

THE SEVENTH APOLOGY.

THE next apology is-1 meet with very great sufferings for the truth. Consider

1. Your sufferings are not so great as your sins. heaviest; where sin lies heavy, sufferings lie light. A Put these two in the balance, and see which weighs carnal spirit makes more of his sufferings, and less of his sins; he looks upon one at the great end of the perspective, but upon the other at the little end of the perspective. The carnal heart cries, Take away the punishment; but a gracious heart cries, Take away the iniquity. (2 Sam. xxiv. 10.) The one saith, Never any one suffered as I have done; but the other saith, Never any one sinned as I have done. (Mic. vii. 9.)

2. Art thou under sufferings? Thou hast an oppor

action at Calvary, the superficial observer may

Some of God's saints would have accounted it a great favour to have been honoured with martyrdom. One

said, "I am in prison till I am in prison." Thou countest that a trouble which others would have worn as an ensign of their glory.

3. Even those who have gone only upon the moral principles, have shown much constancy and contentment in their sufferings. Curtius being bravely mounted, and in armour, threw himself into a great gulf, that the city of Rome might, according to the oracle, be delivered from the pestilence, and we, having a divine oracle, That they who kill the body cannot hurt the soul, shall we not with much constancy and patience devote ourselves to injuries for religion, and rather suffer for the truth than the truth suffer for us? The decii among the Romans vowed themselves to death, that their legions and soldiers might be crowned with the honour of the victory. O what should we be content to suffer to make the truth victorious! Regulus having sworn that he would return to Carthage, though he knew there was a furnace heating for him there, yet not daring to infringe his oath, he did adventure to go. We then who are Christians, having made a vow to Christ in baptism, and so oft renewed it in the blessed sacrament, should with much content rather choose to suffer than violate our sacred oath. Thus the blessed martyrs, with what courage and cheerfulness did they yield up their souls to God! and when the fire was set to their bodies, yet their spirits were not at all fired with passion or discontent. Though others hurt the body, let them not the mind through discontent. Show by your heroic courage that you are above those troubles which you cannot be without.

THE EIGHTH APOLOGY.

The next apology is The prosperity of the wicked. Answer. I confess it is so often, that the evil enjoy all the good, and the good endure all the evil. David, though a good man, stumbled at this, and had like to have fallen. (Ps. lxxiii. 2.) Well, be contented, for remember

1. These are not the only things nor the best things; they are mercies without the pale; these are but acorns with which God feeds swine. You who are believers have more choice fruits-the olive, the pomegranate, the fruit which grows on the true Vine Jesus Christ. Others have the fat of the earth-you have the dew of heaven; they have a south land-you have the springs of living water which flow from Christ's love.

2. To see the wicked flourish is matter rather of pity than envy; it is all the heaven they must have. "Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation." (Luke vi. 24.) Hence it was that David made it his solemn prayer, "Deliver my soul from the wicked; from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure." (Ps. xvii. 13. 14.) The words, methinks, are David's litany: "From men of the world, which have their portion in this life, good Lord, deliver me." When the wicked have eaten of their dainty dishes, there comes in a sad reckoning which will spoil all. The world is first musical, and then tragical. If you would have a man burn in hell, let him have enough of the fat of the earth. O remember, for every sand of mercy that runs out to the wicked, God puts a drop of wrath into his vial. Therefore, as that soldier said to his fellow, "Do you euvy me my grapes? They cost me dear-I must die for them;" so I say, "Do you envy the wicked?" alas! their prosperity is like Haman's banquet before execution. If a man were to be hanged, would one envy to see him walk to the gallows through pleasant fields and fine galleries, or to see him go up the ladder in cloth of gold? The wicked may flourish in their gaiety a while; but when they flourish as the

1. The times are full of heresy. This is indeed sad. When the devil cannot by violence destroy the Church, he endeavours to poison it; when he cannot with Samson's fox-tails set the corn on fire, then he sows tares. As he labours to destroy the peace of the Church by division, so the truth of it by error. We may cry out, with Seneca, "We live in times when there is a sluice open to all novel opinions, and every man's opinion is his Bible." Well, this may make us mourn, but let us not murmur through discontent. Consider—

(1.) Error makes a discovery of men.

Error discovers such as are tainted and corrupt. When the leprosy broke forth in the forehead, then was the leper discovered. The devil is the father, and pride the mother of error; you never knew an erroneous man, but he was a proud man. Now, it is good that such men should be laid open, to the intent, first, that God's righteous judgments upon sinful men may be adored; secondly, that others who are free be not infected. I appeal to you, if there were a tavern in this city, where, under a pretence of selling wine, many hogsheads of poison were to be sold, were it not well that others should Know of it, that they might not buy? It is good that those who have poisoned opinions should be known, that the people of God may not come near either the scent or taste of that poison.

Also, error is a touchstone to discover good men; it tries the gold. There must be heresies, "that they which are approved may be made manifest." (1 Cor. xi. 19.) Thus our love to Christ and zeal for truth doth appear. God shows who are the living fish, namely, such as swim against the stream; who are the sound sheep, namely, such as feed in the green pastures of the ordinances; who are the doves, namely, such as live in the best air, where the Spirit breathes. God sets a garland of honour upon these. "These are they which came out of great tribulation." (Rev. vii. 14.) So, these are they that have opposed the errors of the times; these are they that have preserved the purity of their conscience; who have kept their judgment sound, and their heart soft. God will have a trophy of honour set upon some of his saints; they shall be renowned for their sincerity, being like the cypress, which keeps its greenness and freshness in the winter season.

(2.) Be not sinfully discontented, for God can make the errors of the Church advantageous to truth. Thus the truths of God have come to be: more confirmed; as it is in law, one man laying a false title to a piece of land, the true title hath by this means been the more searched into and ratified. Some had never so studied to defend the truth by the Scripture, if others had not endeavoured to overthrow it by sophistry; all the mists and fogs of error that have risen out of the bottomless pit, have made the glorious sun of truth to shine so much the brighter. Had not Arius and Sabellius broached their errors, the truth of those questions about the