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iraitation of his example? Depending on his arm för ftrength? Trufting in his merits and mediation for accep tance?

A child has a likeness. To whom are you like? Are you breathing after holinefs; after conformity to Chrift in your hearts? And are your lives conformable to the word of God; and example of Christ?

J. M.

A MEDITATION.

Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the Sun.

BE ftill, my foul, and fand amazed at the abounding

mercy of that God, who has called thee out of darkness into his marvellous light. By nature I was blind to all that is lovely, or of good report. I faw no beauty in the Saviour that I fhould defire him. My carnal mind was at enniity with the God of my life; I defired not the knowledge of his ways. Sin had fo darkened my understanding, that religion appeared a needlefs thing; yea, it feemed irkfome. But as the benighted traveller, who has journeyed long through the fhades of night, with pleafure beholds the returning day; fo, in a far nobler fenfe, was my foul enamoured and delighted, when the Sun of righteoufnefs fhone on my once benighted mind, difpelling the dark clouds of fin and igno rance, and reftoring me to the favour and friendship of God. Now religion is no longer a task, but a delightful privilege. Wifdom's ways are pleafant, and all her paths are peace. My Bible no longer lies covered with duft, but I read it with fweet delight, beholding Jefus in every page. This is a light unto my feet, and a lamp unto my path. The Holy Spirit takes of the things of Christ, and reveals them to me; and I find them fweet indeed, fweeter than honey, or the honey-comb.

Reader, art thou a friend of God; or art thou ftill going on in thy fin and rebellion against the Author of all thy mercy? If fo, living and dying without repentance, far better thou hadst never been born; for if born but once, thou must die twice. Without a new birth thou canst not enter the kingdom of heaven; for heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. But if thou art renewed by divine grace, and art walking in the light of God's countenance, thy light VOL. I.,

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is fweet indeed. To thee it is pleasant to behold that glorious natural luminary; becaufe in the light thereof, thou feest the variegated beauties that furround thee, each proclaiming its almighty Former, and each affording matter for meditation and praise. But when the Sun of righteoufnefs fhines into thy foul, it gives thee pleasure beyond the conceptions of the men of the world. Then thou haft joy and peace in believing. Jefus is precious unto thee; his name is as ointment poured forth. He is thy choiceft flower; the rofe of Sharon; the fairest lily of the vale; the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely.

Thy joy is to walk in the light of his face;
And ftill thou art talking of Jesus's grace.

R. C.

MR. EDITOR,

HAVING met with the following beautiful little piece, in manufcript, I have transmitted it for infertion in the Magazine; as it may probably, be acceptable to fome of your readers, who may have been called to fuftain a fimilar difpenfation in Providence. ERASTUS.

ON THE DEATH OF AN INFANT.

UR dear Francis was a lovely child; his little body beautifully fhaped; and, the openings of his infant mind were delightful to us, as the bloffoms in fpring. His fmiles had often filled our parental hearts with joy; and eight months' acquaintance had united our affections closely to him. At this time a friend called at our houfe- -a friend, whom we had long trufted, and always found most affectionate and faithful-his name is Jefus a name that must always be "as as ointment poured out." He faw we were unable to provide for our infant charge; and fo, without afking our leave, he took it away with him, knowing that when we became acquainted with his reafons and motives, we fhould rather rejoice than repine. But, mark his tenderness!

-At the fame time that he took our fweet darling to himfelf he left behind him, for our perufal and comfort, an account of what he had done, with his motives and reasons, expressed in a manner calculated at once to calm, compofe,

and fatisfy our minds. He therein affured us, that all he had done, he had done in love; that he would provide for our darling above all that we could ask or think; that the babe fhould lie in his bofom, and lack for nothing; that he fhould not have a want unfupplied, or wifh ungratified; that he should never be out of his fight, or feel pain or forrow more. At the fame time, he affured us of his ability to perform all he had promised; and added, that in a fhort time he would come again, and take us too, that we and our sweet babe might be happy together for ever and ever!-What can we fay in anfwer, but "Be it unto us according to thy word!"

ON THE IMMACULATE LIFE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

PART THE FIRST.

THE character and work of Chrift form a very confiderable part of the Gofpel embaffy. The attention of Christians in all ages has been defervedly drawn towards this important fubject. His Godhead, his manhood, his miraculous conception, his life, death, refurrection, afcenfion, and interceffion at the right hand of God, are topics, each of them full of the richest confolation to believers. There is nothing pertaining to Chrift which is uninteresting. It has lately ftruck my mind, that the immaculate life of Chrift is a fubject that has not been infifted on in our fermons and bodies of divinity in proportion to its importance in the evangelical fcheme. The thoughts which I have to offer upon this fubject will be contained in two parts. In the firft I fhall take a view of the evidences with which it is fupported; and, in the fecond, confider its connexion with the truth of Christianity, and of some of its leading principles.

The evidences by which the immaculate life of our Lord Jefus Chrift is fupported are as follows: First, His friends, who knew the most of him, and who wrote his life, describe him as without fault. The characters of men are often best esteemed by those who know the leaft of them. Like works of art, they will not bear a close infpection: But those who were most converfant with Jefus, beheld his glory, and loved him beft. Peter tells us, "He did no fin, neither was guile

found in his mouth.*" out a spott." Paul fpeaks of him as being "made fin for us who knew no fint." John teaches that "He was manifested to take away our fins, and in him was no fin||." And the whole company of the difciples, in their address to God, fpeak of him as "his holy child Jefus." Acts iv. 27. It is true, fome of the Evangelifts do not make exprefs mention of his perfect innocence; but they all write his life as faultlefs. There is not a fhade of imperfection that attaches to his character from the beginning to the end of their ac counts of him. This evidence derives peculiar weight from the evident impartiality of these writers in other cafes. They do not hide each other's faults, nor even their own. The imperfections of the apostles during Chrift's life upon earth, were numerous, and in fome cafes affecting; yet they nar. rate them with the greatest fincerity. Even those faults which are most degrading to dignity of character, and the moft mortifying to reflect upon, they never affect to conceal. They tell of their little foolish contefts for fuperiority, of their carnality in defiring an earthly kingdom, and of their cowardice in forfaking him in the hour of extremity; but never do they fuggest any thing to the disadvantage of their Lord and Mafter.

He defcribes him as "a lamb with

Secondly, his worst enemies have never been able to substantiate a single charge against him. Though our friends have the greatest advantages of knowing us, yet, it may be alledged, they are partial, and that the fcrutiny of an adverfary is moft likely to difcover our imperfections. Be it fo: It is to the glory of Chrift's character that it will bear the test of both. A public challenge was given to the Jews, his most inveterate enemies, to "accufe him of fin**,” and not one of them dared to accept it. That which adds peculiar weight to this evidence is the circumstance of Christ having juft before inveighed against them with the keeneft feverity. "Ye are of your father, the devil," faid he, "and the lufts of your father ye will do. He was a liar from the beginning-and because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." v. 44, 45. Under fuch charges from him, if there had been any fhadow of a ground for accufation, they would moft certainly have feized it. The apoftles gave nearly a fimilar challenge on behalf of their Lord as he had given for himfelf: They taxed their countrymen with "having denied the Holy One and the Juft, and preferred a murderer before

Pet. ii. 22. † 1 Pet. i. 19. 2 Cor. v. 21. || 1 John, iii. 5ą

**

John, viii. 46.

him*." How are we to account for the filence of thefe adverfaries? It was not for want of will; it must therefore be for want of power.

But there were fome who in the life-time of Jefus did aceufe him: They said, " he is a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and finners." They infinuated that he was ambitious. Jefus having declared, faying, "I am the light of the world;" they answered, "thou bearest record of thyfelf, thy record. is not true;" and the fame objection is repeated by a modern Jewish writert." They alfo charged him with blasphemy, in that he, being a man made himself God: And for this fuppofed blafphemy they put him to death. To the former part of these charges it may be answered, that they who preferred them, do not appear to have believed them: If they had, they would have made ufe of them, especially when challenged to accuse our Lord of sin. As to the latter part of them, I acknowledge, were I to embrace any system of Christianity which leaves out the proper Deity of Chrift, I fhould be unable to vindicate him. Either his words did mean what the Jews understood him to mean, or they did not. If they did, upon every hypothefis which excludes hisproper Deity, he was a blafphemer; if they did not, he ought explicitly, and with abhorrence, to have rejected the idea of making himfelf God. But, if I admit that he really was God manifeft in the flesh, all these objections fall to the ground.

It is worthy of notice that modern unbelievers are not very eager to attack the moral character of Chrift. Through all their writings, full of railing accufations on every other fub-ject, one cannot but remark a cautious referve upon this. Mr. Paine, who, in a talent of the highest importance to the cause of infidelity, I mean impudence, has had but few equals; even Mr. Paine declines this part of the business. Amidst all his rancour against revelation, he feems difpofed to follow the advice of Pilate's wife to have nothing to do with that just man. "Nothing," he obferves in his Age of Reason," which is here faid, can apply even with the molt diftant difrefpect to the real character of Jefus Chrift. He was a virtuous and an amiable man. The morality that he preached and practifed was of the most benevolent kind." Whether Mr. Paine can confiftently with thefe conceffions reject the evangelical history, we fhall by and by inquire; fuffice it at prefent to obferve, that though he difowns Jefus to be the fon of God, yet he ranks among the witnesses in † Mr. Levi.

* Acts, iii. 14.

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