again burst forth in concordant joy, till the rapt soul forgets the mortal voices and the mortal instruments, and seems to catch the far off tones of the resounding Alleluias that ever rise, like incense, before the throne of God. And as the gentle strains of some simple melody have a power to touch the soul, and call forth tears of emotion and of gladness, thus does the heart of the simple-minded Christian respond to the voice of God that speaks from his own word, it feels the pure truth and worships its Lord aright, notwithstanding the difficulties with which ignorance, dulness, and prejudice beset its path.

It is with the spiritual, as with the material and intellectual world. We cannot look abroad upon the works of God's hand, without marking the adaptation of external nature to the peculiarities of the feelings within the heart. God's word is designed to meet the cravings of the immortal spirit, just as the visible creation is intended to harmonize with man as a creature of earth and time. It is manifest beyond a doubt, that the Lord who created the visible world, created it with especial reference to the characteristic features in the human mind. If we look but to one solitary example, the great truth is abundantly evident. The sensation of joy and

delight which thrills through our breast, when we see and hear the glorious phenomena of sight and sound in the universe, is an exquisite instance of the mutual adaptation of the material and the mental universe. We gaze upon the glorious landscapes in which the Lord God has heaped together the trees, and the rocks, and the running waters, and a sensation of delight comes over the spirit, strong and sweet, even to the calming of the tumultuous rollings of the troubled breast. There is an intensity of beauty in the brilliancy of the heavens at eventide, in the peaceful clouds that hover over and seem to watch the setting sun as he goes down to his nightly rest. Our spirit almost sinks beneath the feelings of mingled awe and gladness that come upon us as we look upon the boundless plains of the great ocean, or lift our eyes upwards towards the unclouded heights of the mountains which have stood still in unchanging majesty through all the turmoils and anxieties of the passing generations of men. There is scarcely a spirit to be found that does not feel the deep and mysterious influences of the summer sky at midnight, when the moon seems to look down in calm reproach upon the bitterness and the sin of this lower world, and with all the boundless distance that separates us from the

shining stars, there yet appears an unfathomable infinity in the dark depths of the firmament in which the silent orbs are hung. When the wild winds rush through the branches of the forest, and the clouds sweep rapidly over the face of heaven, we know not why it is, but our heart is glad within us, we participate in the energy that gives life and motion to the elements around us. Whithersoever we turn, there is proof that the visible world is designed for the human soul. The spirit within responds to the glories that are spread around it; we feel the might, the majesty, and the wisdom of the Omnipotent, even though our hearts and lives be godless.

And such is the voice of inspiration, as it moves the mind that is blest with genuine piety and sincerity. It yields unconsciously to the power of eternal truth, and becomes partaker of those very dispositions towards God and man, and towards itself, which the unsullied truths of the Gospel are designed to produce within it. The reverent spirit cannot but pay homage to the words of God, for the same Creator that formed the soul, dictated also the inspired declarations.

Hence also we draw a joyful hope that there are thousands and tens of thousands of immortal beings who, in the great day of judgment, will be

redeemed from eternal woe, though in this present life we dare not acknowledge them to be within the pale of that true Christian Church, out of which there is no covenanted salvation for sinners. We rejoice in the humble trust, that multitudes, whom for their heresies we cannot recognize as entitled to the full promises of God made to us in his Son, are nevertheless accepted by their Lord for the worthiness of our common Saviour, and will hereafter dwell with us for ever in the blessedness of heaven.

CHAP. II.

OPINIONS PREVALENT ON THE SUBJECT.

THE sentiments which prevail at the present day on the question of Church authority, assume many and various forms in the hands of their advocates. It will be well to commence our investigation of the topic, with an enumeration of the more important among them, that we may both understand their distinguishing peculiarities, and see how far they in fact merge into one another.

1. The doctrine of Rome on the subject asserts, that all men are bound to take their belief in matters of religion from the existing Church; that it matters not whether the articles of faith so inculcated be mentioned in the Scriptures, or no; for that the Church is not only in possession of certain truths made known to her by Christ and his apostles, which were never committed to writing by inspired persons, but that she is from age to age so directed by the Spirit of God, as to be enabled to interpret the written word without possibility of error.