THE experience of Luther has been given at length because the great reformer stands in forefront of Protestantism, a true and noble type of the real ripe, whole-souled Christian, very much abridged, and condensed, however, from the accounts given by his biographers. It is entitled to great weight as an example. Let not its force be broken by the thought that Luther was great, and a special instrument of God specially endowed. So far as salvation is concerned, Luther stood with us precisely. He was a man, and a sinner, as we all are. Faith in him and in us is the same thing, and Jesus is the same to all and for all in all time. The same rays of the sun of righteousness shining through the same tears of penitence, cause the same bow of the covenant to arch the same clouds of despair, in all ages and nations, and the same eye of faith discerns the promise and rests joyously upon it, in all persons, alike the great and the small.

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MERLE D'AUBIGNE.

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It will be observed that Luther's first light and comfort was in the forgiveness of sins; and the last and greatest, in the full apprehension of Christ as his sanctification. We shall have occasion to see the same thing in every instance as we go on. How this comes to pass we shall see very clearly when we come to speak of the philosophy of Christian experience.

With some, the force of Luther's example may be broken by the fact that he was bred in all the superstitions of Rome, and had a second shell to break through, after he was out of the first. We will, therefore, take another example: one from the ranks. of those bred in the full blaze of the light of the Protestant day, three centuries after Luther's time.

MERLE D'AUBIGNE

Was educated at Geneva, the home of Calvin and the stronghold of the Reformation. Calvin himself is not a better representative of the reformed religion, or a nobler champion than Merle D'Aubigne, the famous historian of the Reformation. His conversion was at Geneva, while in the university. The subsequent deeper work was several years later at Kiel in Germany. His conversion, together with others, a noble band, was by the instrumentality of one of the Lord's Scottish noblemen, Robert Haldane. some sort it was the payment of an old debt of three hundred years' standing due from Scotland to

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Geneva. Knox, driven from home by bloody persecutions, found refuge three several times in Geneva, and during the years of his stay there, while, doubtless, he imparted much of his iron energy and Scottish firmness; he certainly received much of the clear light of the Swiss mountain height so elevated above the murky mists of the Campagna, the Tiber and Rome. Right eagerly Robert Haldane sought to pay the debt, and God helped him, as the conversion of D'Aubigne, Monod, Gonthier, Gaussin, Rieu, and many more will testify.

Dr. Cheever, as quoted in the memoirs of R. & J. A. Haldane, speaks of D'Aubigne's conviction as follows:

"At this juncture it was that D'Aubigne heard of the visit of Mr. Haldane. He heard of him as the English or Scotch gentleman who spoke so much about the Bible, a thing which seemed very strange to him and the other students to whom the Bible was a shut book. He afterwards met Mr. Haldane at a private house, along with some of his friends, and heard him read from an English Bible, a chapter from the Epistle to the Romans, concerning the natural corruption of man, a doctrine in regard to which he had never received any instruction. was astonished to hear of men being corrupt by nature, but clearly convinced by the passages read to him, he said to Mr. Haldane, Now I do indeed see this doctrine in the Bible.' 'Yes,' replied the good

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man, 'but do you see it in your heart?' It was but a simple question, but it came home to his conscience. It was the sword of the Spirit; and from that time he saw and felt that his heart was indeed corrupted, and knew from the Word of God that he could be saved by grace alone in Jesus Christ."

The conversion of D'Aubigne was decided, clear and unmistakable. He himself speaks of it in his "Travelling Recollections in Germany, England and Scotland," chap. I., § 2., in these explicit words, "I had been seized by the Word of God;" (while at the university in Geneva ;) "I had believed in the divinity of Christ, in original sin, the power of which I had experienced in my own heart; and in justification by faith. I had experienced the joys of the new birth."

Of the later, deeper work he speaks more fully in the same connexion and just as explicitly. After his conversion he completed his course at the university at Geneva, was ordained, went to Germany; pursued study still further, first at Leipsic, then at Berlin, and then spent four years as a pastor over the French church at Hamburg. Several years had thus fled before the time came for the Lord to give him the final full knowledge of Jesus as all in all. It was on this wise. At an inn, in Kiel, he had planned and entered upon a journey with two of his old Genevan fellow students and fellow converts, to Copenhagen. They met at Kiel, a remarkable trio:

Rev. Frederick Monod settled at Paris; Rev. Charles Rieu, pastor of Fredencia in Jutland; and D'Aubigne. Steamboats were irregular; they waited at the hotel. D'Aubigne was then in the midst of a terrible struggle. Kiel was a university, and Kleuker, an old champion of the word and an experienced Christian; was Biblical professor there. D'Aubigne says, "I called upon him and requested him to elucidate several passages of Scripture for my satisfaction.* * * * The old doctor would not enter into any detailed solution of my difficulties. Were I to succeed in ridding you of them,' he said to me, 'others would soon arise; there is a shorter, deeper, more complete way of annihilating them. Let Christ be really to you the Son of God, the Saviour, the Author of eternal life! Only be firmly settled in his grace, and then these difficulties of detail will never stop you! the light which proceeds from Christ will disperse all your darkness.' The old divine had shown me the way: I saw it was the right one, but to follow it was a hard task.”

The Way. Yes, indeed! and the right one. Happy for D'Aubigne that he saw it! Happy that its hardness did not keep him back from it! While they waited at Kiel for the steamboat, they devoted part of the time to reading the Word of God together, a pattern for all detained Christian travellers. Rieu was chaplain. D'Aubigne says of him that he had even then far outstripped both himself