never return, the one to his vomit and the other to his wallowing again in the mire. The case of all who fall, therefore, is a case of falling from only apparent, not real, grace. 3. It is said that the doctrine of the saints' perseverance weakens the motives for holy living. Having proved the doctrine true from the Scriptures, we are under no obligation to meet this objection. But we will meet it, by setting off one assertion against another. We assert, then, that it can produce this effect only in the case of hypocrites and self-deceivers. It may hasten the exposure of such, but as to real Christians, it renders them the more stedfast and devoted. It makes them realize what a great, solemn, glorious event it is, to be regenerate heirs of God ;—it conducts them away from all that is false and capricious in selfdependence, to the rock of ages. It makes them think less of themselves, and more of God. Hence faith, love, humility, gratitude, joy, hope, assurance, are all natural fruits of this doctrine. It operates as a charm of seven fold chords, to bind the believer's heart to his Saviour. Under its legitimate influence, he is no longer the victim of a pale and sickly caprice, but has a robust and manly constitution. He is stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as he knows that his labor is not in vain in the Lord."* ye Here then, strength and joy. heirs of *1 Cor. xv. 58, whence the waters of life eternally flow. Looking to Jesus, you are surely conquerors. It was for you, that the Godhead took on him the humiliations and sorrows of humanity; for you he sweat and agonized in the garden; for you his back was furrowed with the cruel lash, and his soul crushed with sins more cruel stroke; for you he hung in ignominy and torture on the cross: and will he after all abandon you? Will he trifle with his own tears and blood? Impossible ! "Grace will complete what grace begins, To save from sorrow and from sins; "Have Discouragements may sometimes thicken on your path, you may seem too feeble to grapple with them; but remembering the Father's will, that of all which he hath given to Christ he shall lose nothing, arms the feeblest spirit with omnipotence. you not heard, have you not known, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint."* Chris *Isa. xl. 30, 31. tians are to trust in God at all times-times of darkness, as well as light. We have heard of a certain people that chose to worship the sun, because he was a day-god. Supposing the sun quenched in the sea at night, they imagined their confidence and duties towards him then suspended, till another morning rose. Not so the Christian ;-he is to trust his God in the dark, as well as in the light. He is to be as confiding, as stedfast, as devout, in the gloomy depths of midnight, as in the splendors of high noon. Ye who have become sons of God by faith in Christ, what a privilege is yours! Children of an almighty and unchanging Father, before the world's foundations, you were his in purpose, you are now his in grace, and you are soon to be his in glory. As God liveth, it must be so. Your salvation does not depend upon yourselves. The mighty responsibility rests on no human will ;-no not on an angel's wing. It has been surrendered by faith to an omnipotent Redeemer. his arm is all-powerful, so is his grace inexhaustible. The rivers may cease to flow; the waters of the ocean may dry up ;-but the streams of Jehovah's covenanted love to his redeemed, will never cease; the abundance of his grace in Jesus Christ, can never fail. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word shall not pass away. As Courage, then. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. A few more conflicts, and all will be over. Your feet will stand on mount Zion, and the song of victory will be upon your lips. A few more hungerings and thirstings after righteousness, a few more tears, and the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed you, and shall lead you unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes. CHAPTER XIV. INTERMEDIATE STATE. DISCOURSING upon the end of life, the wise preacher said, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."* Two solemn facts are here announced-the return of our mortal bodies to their kindred earth, and of our immortal spirits to God. The former is that great debt, which all who live must pay. The strong men must bow themselves, and all the daughters of music must be brought low. The silver chord of life, which held together, as in wedlock-bands, the spirit and the body, must be loosed; the golden bowl, filled with earth's choicest dainties, must be broken,-the pitcher at the fountain, about to bear a refreshing draught to the parched lips, shall be suddenly dashed; the light of the eyes shall be quenched, desires shall fail, and the icy hand of death embrace the quivering frame. Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. But is this all? The Scrip * Eccl. xii. 7. |