we can ever fear. These two classes of evils are still further distinguished by this circumstance, one of them necessarily injures the mind, the soul, the other does not. External and unavoidable evils, such as toil, care, pain, sickness, bereavement, do not injure the mind, they sometimes improve it. When they are over, the mind recovers from them, and is often the better and happier from having experienced them. The other species of evil wrong-doing, is pure, unmixed evil. It injures the mind. It not only destroys happiness, but it pollutes and degrades the soul. Its evil does not cease with the act, nor with its immediate outward effects. When these are over, its bad consequences still remain in the soul, a feeling of shame, degradation, self-reproach, and illdesert, and a diminished capacity for happiness, from any source whatever. Among these bad consequences may be enumerated the greater liability to do wrong again, whenever temptation is presented, and thus to involve the soul still further in suffering and guilt. There is this further distinction between them, outward evils must perish with the body, and therefore cease at death; moral evil, wrong doing, produces its effects upon the soul itself, resides in the soul, and of course must go with it wherever it goes, and abide with it wherever it abides.

Again, a great amount of outward evil may be brought on, and actually is produced by wrong doing. Much of natural evil is produced by moral evil. It would be amazing to see, were the whole connection of causes and effects revealed to our view, what a vast proportion of the outward miseries of mankind are brought upon

themselves by their own and each other's misconduct. What a large amount of the poverty under which the multitude of mankind continually groan, is brought upon them by idleness, extravagance and vice, and then what an amount of vice this very poverty reproduces. How many of the diseases and pains of men are induced by intemperance and excess. How much of the social disquiet which afflicts and disturbs society, arises from bad and ill-governed passions, from wrong desires, pursuits, and principles. In short, SIN is the great, the radical, the all comprehending evil of this world. Deliver mankind from sin, from its commission and of course from its consequences, and what a glorious world we might have! The whole present condition and future prospects of man would be bright and cheering.

We said that the class of moral evils were avoidable. They are avoidable because they depend on the will, the voluntary conduct of men. This then is the only salvation of which man is capable, the salvation from moral evil, from sin. Of no other salvation is he capable, because all other evils depend not on his will, or oh his conduct. They are for wise and benevolent purposes, the allotment of God. No innocence of life, no virtue of character can save a man from them. "The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly," "but in hope." Now, we ask, is not this deliverance of man from moral evil, from sin and its consequences, an achievement devoutly to be wished? What philanthropist, what benevolent heart, that earnestly desires the present and eternal happiness of his fellow beings, but must as ardently wish to see each individual

of the human race delivered from sin? 1 care not what his peculiar views, or creed, or principles, may be, he must wish to see sin the great scourge of humanity, destroyed. And so must every human being feel with regard to himself. No good comes on the whole, of doing wrong. That is our great trouble when reviewing the past, so we feel it to be our great danger in the future. The greatest blessing we can possibly experience is to be delivered from it, because it is the greatest bar to our happiness here and hereafter. This we believe to be the precise object of the mission of Christ, of all that he did and taught and suffered. "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."

We desire not

But our desires do not stop here. only deliverance from sin, but positive enjoyment. While we expect immortality we wish to possess happiness. This again is of two kinds, that which flows from outward causes, such as are under the immediate superintendence of Providence, and that which springs from doing and thinking and feeling right. For those sources of happiness which are outward, we are dependent immediately on God, and must be so forever. But he has hitherto not been wanting to us, and therefore if we are faithful to him and to ourselves, we have no reason to suppose that he ever will be. What a world he has given us for our abode! How richly is it stored with everything that can minister to our wants! In the progressive stages of our lives, what provision for our improvement and our enjoyment! In the relations of society, what scope for the expansion and gratifica

tion of the affections! He who has already done so much, can in future do anything for us our happiness may require. He who has thus prepared this magnificent world for our abode, may, when we have passed through its probation, provide an abode still more rich and resplendent, such as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the imagination of man conceived.

There is as we before said, another fountain of happiness in ourselves, doing right. This depends upon our own choice. And it is equally rich in happiness with the outward world. You have all tasted it. You have felt the blessedness of doing your duty. You have felt the satisfaction of doing what is just, in opposition to what would promote your own selfish interests. You have felt the holy calm and peace of a conscience clear and at rest. You have felt the glow of pleasure with which every act of kindness and charity and generosity is forever after remembered. You have felt the delight of sympathy with all that is good and pure throughout the universe. In short, in your better hours you have felt a sympathy with the holy benevolence of the blessed Jesus, who came to seek and to save that which was lost, and went about doing good. It is the design of his mission, of all that he did and all that he taught, to confer on you this happiness, all that satisfaction which springs from doing right, all that felicity which he enjoyed on earth and now enjoys in heaven, where he is reaping that reward which was set before him. He would accomplish this by making you like himself, by rendering you good and holy.

Now we ask if there be not something rational and

Does it not enlist Does it not seem

intelligible in this view of salvation? your best sympathies and feelings? an object worthy of the labors and sufferings of the great Messiah? Is it not freed from the common mystifications in which this plain and simple subject is involved by the technical phrases of metaphysical and theological language?

There is I know another view of salvation and the agency of Christ in bringing it about. We are aware that there are other views which make salvation an outward, coarse, material affair. Salvation by Christ, according to the Creeds and systems of divinity we have been examining, consists not in the moral and persuasive power he exercises over the mind, to reform, purify and strengthen it, to make it forever to enjoy the pleasure and happiness of righteousness, but to procure the pardon of sin for a certain number. In the language of the Westminster Confession, "Christ, by his obedience and death, did fully discharge the debt of all those that are thus justified, and did make a proper, real and full satisfaction to his Father's justice in their behalf." God justifies men, says this Confession, “ not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and" "accepting their persons as righteous; not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone; not by imputing faith itself, the act of believing or any other evangelical obedience to them as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves; it is