righteousness; those who are born of his spirit, and made inherently righteous; those who have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, entertained the stranger, visited the sick and the prisoner, will be separated from the wicked and merciless, who have wilfully neglected these duties; and to the one he will say, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," while the other he will sentence to go away unto everlasting punishment prepared for the devil and his angels, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Matth. xxv.

Q. What does our Lord teach of particular duties.

A. That the first and great command is this, "Love Jehovah thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy strength-and that the second is like unto it--" Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Matth. xxii. SS, 39. That there is no other commandment greater than to love God and our neighbour, and that on these two depend all the law and the prophets; and that we are to consider as our neighbour every fellow creature who is capable of receiving from us offices of humanity. Mark xii. 31. Matth. xxii. 40. Luke x. 37.

Q. What deportment does he enjoin in retirement and in our intercourse with each other?

A. He enjoins moderation of desire, purity of heart, meekness, humility, self-denial, temperance, liberality, gratitude, prudence, a fearless discharge of duty, secrecy in alms-giving and in prayer, a studious cultivation of peace,

the recommending of our pious acts by being reconciled to our brother, the sincere, gentle, docile disposition of children, repeated forgiveness of injuries, and such a love of our enemies as to return blessings, prayers, and acts of goodness for their execrations, hatred and unkindness. Matth. v. 3, 8, 5. xxii. 12. xvi. 24. xxiv. 49. Luke vi. 38, 35. xvii. 7, 18. Matth. vii. 6. x. 16, 28. vi. 3, 6, 18. v. 9, 16, 24. xviii. 4. xix. 14. v. 44.

Q. What does our Lord particularly condemn and forbid ?

A. He condemns and forbids hypocrisy, censoriousness and covetousness. He forbids not only murder, but hatred, reviling and causeless anger-not only adultery, but the unrestrained eye and lawless desire-he condemns profane swearing, but allows of oaths on soJemn occasions-he forbids polygamy, and restrains divorce to the case of adultery. Luke xii. 1. Matth. vii. 1,2. Luke xii. 15. Matth. v. 21, 22. xix. 18. v. 27, 28. Matth. xix. 5. v. 32.

Q. Was the system of duty taught by our Lord in any respect defective?

A. No-although it has been alleged to be so, by the enemies of Christianity.

Q. In what particulars?

A. In not having enjoined the love of our country; but the example of our Lord in the love he showed to his native land, and the Jewish people is itself a sufficient refutation of this charge, beside which his religion inculcates a principle more elevated and important, viz:

universal philanthropy without distinction of sector nation.

2. His religion has been said to be defective in not recommending private friendship. But in this particular his own example in the friendship he showed to the beloved apostle John is a sufficient answer, and his wisdom is evident in not recommending a virtue to which our feelings are by nature sufficiently inclined.

3. In not forbidding self-murder, but this is clearly comprehended under the prohibition in the law; "Thou shalt not kill" and,

4. In not enjoining active courage, which also is comprised under the injunction not to "fear them that kill the body" &c.

Q. Was there any thing peculiar in our Lord's manner of teaching?

A. Yes we are informed by the evangelists "that he taught as one having authority and not as the scribes." Matth. vii. 28, 29. When he visited Nazareth the second time during his ministry, the inhabitants of that city asked "Whence hath this man this wisdom Matth. xiii. 54. And when certain Jewish officers were sent to apprehend him they returned with the following excuse for not having obeyed their instruction, "Never man spake like this man." John vii. 46.

Q. In what respects did our Lord's manner of teaching, differ from that of other teachers before him?

A. The instruction of the Jewish Rabbies and of Greek philosophers were always confined to a few select pupils-Our Lord addressed his instructions to the people at large. His

style is therefore simple, sublime and pathetic, according to the subject of his discourse-his parables are numerous and beautiful beyond any thing recorded in history, and the moral with which they severally conclude, impressive in the highest degree.

Q. Did our Lord ever in his replies address himself to the thoughts of his hearers ?

A. Yes-he is said to have "known all men, and needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man," and the disciples in one place and the apostle Peter in another declare, "That he knew all things," In a very great number of instances we therefore find our Lord addressing himself to the thoughts and not to the words of his hearers. John ii. 23, 25. xvi. 30. xxi. 17. Luke vi. 7. vii. 39. Matth. xii. 22. ix. 20. John vi. 64. Luke ix. 47.

Q. Is there any thing else remarkable in our Lord's manner of teaching?

A. Above all other instructors, before or since, he is pre-eminent for turning every event however slight, and even questions proposed from motives of curiosity, to a moral and di On all occasions the improvement and happiness of his hearers appear to be his desire and aim.

vine use.

Q. Did not our Lord on some occasions instruct by actions as well as by words ?

A. On many occasions he made use of sensible emblems or actions, more deeply to impress his instructions on the hearts of his hearThus on one occasion he taught humility by calling to him a little child, and declaring

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that he who should humble himself like a little child would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. On another occasion he blasted the barren Fig Tree, to guard his followers against making a profession of religion without producing the fruits of holiness. On another occasion, the night preceding his crucifixion, he washed his disciples' feet, to instruct his disciples in that humble and kind demeanor they should exercise to each other; and by the emblems of broken bread, and of wine poured out-he instructed his followers to cominemorate the great sacrifice he made of himself, when his body was broken and his blood shed on the cross for the remission of sin."

SECT. 2. Of our Lord's Miracles. Q. What was remarkable in the miracles of our Lord ?

A. In the history of the Jewish nation many miracles are on record. But from the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, to the coming of Christ, a period of more than 500 years, miracles had entirely ceased. Those of our Lord, must therefore by their novelty have excited the greatest attention.

Q. Were they not very numerous ?

A. Their number exceeds the sum of all which are mentioned in the Old Testament as performed by the prophets of God. In his first circuit about Galilee, he healed "all manner of sickness and all manner of disease" among the people. During his second circuit round Galilee, he is said to have healed every sickI