to the States, but was now free. Through all these years and changes he had "kept the faith," and was still exercising himself with continued usefulness in the sphere which he occupied.

THE WAY OF LIFE.

"He that believeth shall be saved."-Christ.

How plain is the way of life; how explicit is the statement of the plan of salvation: "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." The apostle affirms, first, the great proposition of salvation, "ye are saved;" secondly, the primary cause of it, "grace;" and thirdly, the instrumental cause, "faith" and how carefully he guards against Pelagian confidence, "Not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;" and again he repeats it, "not of works, lest any man should boast." It would seem impossible to mistake the universal import of the New Testament on this its ostensible topic, but how many misapprehend it!-how many grope through long lives down to the grave with the Bible in their hands, ignorant

of its first principle, and never knowing that peace in believing which is its balm for the heart's wretchedness! The churches of whole lands have lost sight of the doctrine of justification by faith; lands, too, profoundly skilled in Scriptural exegesis. Alas, for the perversity of man! Though pervaded with depravity, dead in trespasses and sins, miserable and lost, yet would he presume to confront the throne of his Judge with pretences of merit.

Such were my reflections as I descended from the chamber of an individual whose life was flickering with consumption, like the expiring taper in its socket, and whose only solace for the future was the reflection that he had been just to his fellow-men. As his is not an uncommon case, its introduction here may be useful to others.

On taking a seat by his bed, I expressed my sympathy for his sufferings, and my hope that they were working out for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

He hesitated in his answer, and remarked that "death was dreadful to man under any circumstances."

"And yet," said I, "the sting of death is sin;' and Paul exclaims, 'O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks

be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.' The primitive Christians seemed to anticipate it as altogether desirable. The same apostle says expressly, 'I desire to depart and be with Christ;' and he represents the Corinthian brethren as 'willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord;' nay, as 'groaning' in 'this tabernacle,' earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with their house which is from heaven.'

66

6

'Yes,” replied the sick man; is not now what it then was.

"but the church

Still, God is merciful. I place my trust in him. I have endeavoured to live honestly, and I hope I shall die in peace."

I was startled at his defective views, for he had been the child of religious parents, and had faithfully observed the external duties of religion. I endeavoured to convince him of the depravity of the heart, and its utter unfitness for heaven without faith in Christ and the renewal of the Holy Ghost. My reasonings were evidently heard with reluctance, but I hoped with effect, and, praying for the blessing of the Spirit upon them, I took my leave, designing to call again after allowing him sufficient time for reflection.

He was born and educated in Massachusetts. With a strictly Puritan morality, he united the practical tact, general intelligence, and not a little of the metaphysical acuteness of NewEngland. At my first visit he showed quite a propensity to rebut my appeals by logical difficulties. It was my ardent prayer, as I went to his chamber the next day, that the Lord would enable me to strip from him that guise of selfrighteousness which, instead of the wedding garment, is the winding sheet of the soul, one, alas! in which many a self-deluded sinner has laid down in eternal death. I perceived immediately that my former conversation had produced an effect. He seemed anxious and inquisitive, but still unwilling to abandon his false reliance.

"But do you not think, sir," said he, “that an honest man will be saved?"

"Yes, a truly honest man, honest toward God as well as man, he who honestly conforms to God's terms of salvation; not one who is honest only according to the moral standard of the world, but he who lives by faith, for 'by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is he gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast,' and 'he that believeth not shall be damned.""

"But can there be much difference between

strict morality and piety?"

"The difference is vast. Look at a few particulars. Morality, so called, in its highest form, proposes nothing but present and future uprightness. True religion proposes this, but also the pardon of the past. The strictest moralist will admit that he has sinned in the past, but he makes no provision for past sin. Utter rectitude in the present and the future is no more than his duty; it can involve no supererogative merit which might be transferred to the past. What hope has he, then? The fatal plague spot, however small, is upon him. One sin introduced 'death and all our wo;' one sin unforgiven is a spring which, touched by the hand of death, will throw all his eternal destinies into ruin. The Christian has a provision for the past, for he believes in him whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.'

"Again. Morality is generally limited to relative duties, those which are mutual among men; these form but one class of duties, and though an important, yet a secondary class. Man has a higher relation than that which binds him to his fellows; he is related to God, and