blasphemer of Christ, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples, he became an active coadjutor; no longer a slave of Satan, but a child of God.

An exalted view of divine favour will ever produce genuine humility. Jacob, on his return from his residence in Laban's house, said, “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands." Gen. xxxii. 10. Moses, when he was called to lead the armies of Israel, exclaimed, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" Exod. iii. 11. Job under a sense of unmerited favor thus addresses God: "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee; wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." Job xlii. 5, 6. Similar is the language of David when he sat in his house; "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ?" 2 Sam. xviii. 18. And such will be the sentiments of all that are truly humbled on account of their sins, and who have been clothed with the beautiful garments of salvation-the imputed righteousness of Jesus: they love much, for much has been forgiven them. Numbered among the saints, they are now the beloved of the Lord. Not for works of righteousness which they have done, they are rescued from misery and raised to unspeakable honours, "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John iii. 1.

The theme of the Apostle's preaching was in accordance with his feelings. It was "the unsearchable riches of Christ." Saved wholly by the free, unmerited favor of God, he wished to communicate to others a knowledge of that grace to which he was so greatly indebted. By this phrase he includes all that Christ is to his church. Elsewhere he speaks of the exceeding riches of his grace, Ephes. ii. 7. and of the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, Ephes. i. 18. In Christ "dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." The Divine nature with all its essential perfections, the very same as are in the Father himself, dwelt substantially in Christ's human body.

O! what a fulness is treasured up in Christ! Eternity without a date, Infinity without a bound, Immutability without variation, and these super-added to that wisdom, holiness, goodness, and truth, which he distributes for their present and eternal happiness.

The blood of Jesus is of infinite value; it cleanses from all sin, removes every stain, and renders the believer glorious in the sight of God. From the perfection of his work and the value of his atonement, he is able to save the most guilty and the most vile. This is the fountain open for the house of David, for the lost sheep of Israel, and for sinners of the Gentiles, for sin and uncleanliness.

The righteousness of the Saviour is perfect and complete, extending to all the demands of the divine law, and forming the only ground of a sinner's justification before God.

The supplies that he bestows are unfailing; he affords grace to help in time of need. How suitable to the Christian in his present state, a stranger and a sojourner! Is he distressed? Behold! in Christ, inexhaustible consolation. Is he weak? In Him is everlasting strength. Is he in difficulties? Christ is the wisdom of God. This fulness applies to every state; he is the guide of the young, the prop of the aged, the comforter of the afflicted, the hope of the dying the blessings he confers are exceedingly glorious. Being justified by faith, his people have peace with God and access to his throne. Here they are dignified with the title of sons and heirs of God, preparatory to their being finally invested with eternal glory; the promises are their portion, and the Holy Spirit procured by Christ, is their instructor, guide, protector, comforter, and sanctifier. If the Spaniards, at the first discovery of Peru, were astonished at the specimens of gold brought to them by the natives, how great was their astonishment when they beheld vast tracts of country filled with the precious ore! If Christians are amazed at the display of grace bestowed upon them, how does their admiration increase at every new supply of that grace! Yet here, they see and know but in part, and if the riches of Christ be unsearchable here below, what will they be in the world above?

Many in the patriarchal age believed in the Saviour, and were enriched by his blessings. Many under the law looked through the Mosaic types and ceremonies, and rejoiced, like Abraham, at the day of Christ. Multitudes who listened to the prophets,

exulted in the Root of Jesse, and triumphed in the Branch of Righteousness. When Jesus was lifted up on the cross, numbers turned to him the eye of faith, and dropped the tear of repentance. In every age he has been the sinner's hope and the saint's triumph; but although thousands have been enriched by his treasures, his riches are still inexhaustible, and the last preacher that shall stand up will testify to the same blessed truth, that they are unsearchable. Angels have beheld them with admiring eyes; prophets have described them in glowing strains; Christians have regarded them with rapture and delight; ministers have expatiated on them with impassioned feelings, but in vain; they exceed the research of men and of angels: the lyre of the poet has been dull,-the eloquence of the orator has failed

"All are too mean to speak his worth,

Too mean to set my Saviour forth."

"The apostle Paul," says Dr. Chandler, " tacitly contrasts himself as an apostle with the priests of Diana. They were vɛwxpo keepers of the temple of Diana, Acts xix. 35; he was diaxoves, a minister of the gospel: they had the custody of the treasures belonging to the goddess, which were deposited in the temple; to him, who was the least of all the saints, employed in preaching the gospel, was intrusted the unsearchable riches of Christ;' a treasure infinitely more precious than all the riches in Diana's temple."

And now, my beloved young readers, what are the riches that engage your attention, and what the disposition of your minds? Like Paul, do you feel humility of spirit at the recollection of your guilt and unworthiness? He called himself, because he felt it, "less than the least," and was overpowered at the grace conferred upon him. God has visited you with grace in casting your lot in a land where Christ is preached, where the Bible is distributed, where the word of the Lord is precious to many. Look not on the riches of this world, which often make to themselves wings, and flee away; but covet and seek diligently, earnestly, perseveringly, the unsearchable riches of Christ. These will exist when those shall have passed away; these will satisfy, while those will leave àn aching void; these will comfort and console, while those, unsanctified, will pierce you through with many sorrows.

Let humility be your clothing and chief ornament; and when

pride would intrude itself, and render you unlovely in the sight of man, and unseemly in the eyes of God, think of Him who condescended to be born, to suffer, to bleed and die, who made himself of no reputation, that you might be exalted to honor and immortality; who became a man of sorrows that you might become a partaker of everlasting enjoyments; "for ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

Penryn.

R. C.

MAN'S KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW OF MORAL DUTY.

In this sin-blighted world, we can form but a feeble idea of the paradise of beauty which opened upon the eye of the great progenitor of our race; but from the remnants still to be seen in the world, we can faintly image forth what it must have been. We can imagine a world where peace, and love, and joy were universally prevalent; where there were sights of brightness and beauty, and sounds of sweetest melody; where nature wore an aspect of serenity, unruffled by tempests, putting forth her strength in full exuberance, and ministering endless delight to all the senses. In such a scene as this, an open manifestation was made of the perfections of the glorious Creator, and a single glance over the world of beauty and wonder would, intuitively, exhibit the evidence of wise and benevolent design.

But such is not the present state of the world. A withering curse has passed upon the land, converting many portions of it into barrenness: instead of the spontaneous exuberance poured forth over the new-born world, toil and labor are requisite for the subsistence of man. In the intellectual world, dark clouds of ignorance and folly have settled down upon the perverted understanding. In the moral world, there are "wars, and rumours of wars;" and cruelties and wrongs unutterable, infest the whole face of society. In the world of matter, again, the air is pregnant with unwholesome vapours; the stormy ocean engulphs within its bosom the puny fleets which man sends forth, vainly considering them to be trophies of his power; the lightning glances down upon tower and palace; the volcano scorches towns and cities with its fiery deluge; and lastly, death-stern and inexorable

death-with all its ghastly accompaniments, pursues all the families of earth conducting them, one after another, to the damp and noisome tomb.

Now, man as originally constituted, had worthy conceptions of the Divine character, and was conformed in every desire to the Divine will; he must accordingly have enjoyed happiness up to the full measure of his capacity, and the full extent of the Divine revelation he was permitted to enjoy. He was not only qualified for holding fellowship with God, but was also honored with special manifestations of his presence and favour. Arising out of this knowledge of the character of his Maker, he must also have had a corresponding knowledge of his will; he must also have felt a perfect disposition to do it. He must have felt that the perception of duty, and the delight in it, were inseparable. The principles of rectitude were, at that period, perfect in his soul; and the consequence of this was, that he was perfect in his conduct. But man fell from this state of purity and bliss. The materialism of creation-the loveliness of its scenes and landscapeswas, indeed, in a great measure untouched: but a blight passed over the moral world, and defaced many of its original lineaments: in fact, the very loveliness of the scenes around, must have reminded him still more strongly of the height from which he had fallen. His affections were alienated from God; and his nature degenerated, and was stripped of all its original holy sensibilities. The spring of moral purity in his heart was polluted, and his conduct underwent a most material change. There was no alteration, either in the principles or requirements of the law itself, or in the obligation of the subject to render it obedience; the change related to his knowledge of the law, as that knowledge was affected by the state of his heart towards it. The knowledge of it became dark, confused, and uncertain. Earthly appetites and depraved affections biassed and corrupted his judgment, so that the knowledge of it became in danger, if not of entire expulsion from the mind, at least of mutilation and corruption. Had man remained pure and perfect as he came from God's creating hand, it would have been understood and approved, loved and practised, by all the members of the great human family.

Some have asserted that revelation is a mere re-publication of the law of nature. But such persons forget that the gospel is