confidence, it should prove in the issue that there is a God, the man is lost and undone for ever. If the Atheist, when he dies, should find that his soul remains after his body, and has only quitted its lodging, how will this man be amazed and blanked when, contrary to his expectation, he shall find himself in a new and strange place, amidst a world of spirits, entered upon an everlasting and unchangeable state! How sadly will the man be disappointed when he finds all things otherwise than he had stated and determined them in this world! When he comes to appear before that God whom he hath denied, and against whom he hath spoken as despiteful things as he could, who can imagine the pale and guilty looks of this man, and

how he will shiver and tremble for the fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty? How will he be surprised, with terrors on every side, to find himself thus unexpectedly and irrevocably plunged into a state of ruin and desperation!

"And thus things may happen for all this man's confidence now. For our belief or disbelief of a thing does not alter the nature of the thing. We cannot fancy things into being, or make them vanish into nothing, by the stubborn confidence of our imaginations. Things are as sullen as we are, and will be what they are, whatever we think of them. And if there be a God, a man cannot by an obstinate disbelief of Him make Him cease to be, any more than a man can put out the sun by winking."

ATONEMENT.

"Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood."-Rom. iii. 24, 25.

CHRIST'S atonement makes us one O untraceable ministry, O unwith God.

"CHRIST was delivered for all, is a true proposition," says St. Ambrose. "It is infidelity alone that can make it heretical."

looked for blessing, that the wickedness of many should be hidden in one godly and righteous Man, and the righteousness of One justify a host of sinners!-Justin

"LORD," apostrophises St. Au- Martyr. gustine, "when Thou diedst for Christ's Atonement and the Salme, Thou madest it manifest that vation of Man.-The relation of my soul was dearer to Thee than the atonement to the salvation of myself." the race manifestly involves a "WHAT need you concern your process which is both Divine and selves about the death of Christ, human. The human steps are asks Beveridge, "if ye do not natural, the Divine are superbelieve that He died to save natural. God and man alternate sinners ?" in the work. Each does what the

In the great work of our redemp- other cannot. Each is helpless tion, God did not send a Moses, or without the other. It is God's an angel, but "delivered up His grace and human weakness ceown Son," and so gave a price mented. It is a co-working, which infinitely above that which He frees the soul from guilt and lifts bought.-Farindon. the world to heaven.-Credo.

Man's Wickedness Hidden.Wherein is it possible for us, wicked and impious creatures, to be justified, except in the only Son of God? O sweet reconciliation,

God's Glory and the Good of Guilty Men Harmonised. - How should we extol and adore the wisdom which discovered a way to harmonise the glory of a holy God

and the good of guilty men! In but delivering Him up for us all], the salvation of the human family, Paul does not leave us long in God was undoubtedly moved by uncertainty, when he writes that a regard to both these ends. It is God set forth the Saviour as a an imperfect vision that sees but propitiatory sacrifice through faith one motive here. This subject may be compared to those binary stars which seem to the naked eye but one, yet, when brought into the field of the telescope, resolve themselves into two shining orbs, that roll in brightness and beauty around a common but invisible centre. Blessed be His holy name! He loved His own glory, yet He so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.-Guthrie.

in His blood. For the same reason He calls the Christ in His death the Paschal Lamb of Christians; for the paschal lamb also was originally a sin-offering. Manifestly he implies that by the self-sacrifice of Christ was really effected that which was symbolically represented by the Mosaic ritual. Such a covering of guilt before the eye of God was necessary on God's side for the manifestation of His righteousness, on Spirit, not Method of Atonement. account of the passing over of sins "When I see men busy about formerly committed, and indispenthe method of atonement," says H. sable for man, in order to procure W. Beecher, "I marvel at them. for him that blessedness which he It is as if a man that was starving had forfeited through his sins. to death should insist upon going There is consequently, according into a laboratory to ascertain in to Paul, a direct connection bewhat way dirt germinated wheat. tween the Lord's self-surrender and It is as if a man that was perishing the sins of the world. Not merely from hunger should insist upon by means of sinners, but on behalf having a chemical analysis of of sinners did Christ die; and the bread. How many books have consequence which this act at once been written, and how many ser- brings with it is that these sinners, mons have been preached, to show on their entering into communion how God could be just, and yet with Him, no longer need to die justify a sinner; how He had a for their sins. Death is the punishright to do it, and what were the ment of sin, and precisely from this relations of forgiving mercy to law. revelation of wrath are they These questions are not immaterial, delivered in Christ. Through His but the spirit of atonement is far blood we have redemption, and more important than its method. this is concentrated in the forgiveThe secret truth is this: crowned ness of sins, because in forgiveness suffering, love bearing the penalty is already contained (in principle) away from the transgressor, and every other blessing.-Van Oostersecuring his recreation. Love bearing love, love teaching love, ment." zee's" Theology of the New Testalove inspiring love, love recreating love-this is the atonement. It is the opening up of elements which bear in them cleansing power, inspiration, aspiration, salvation, immortality. It is the interior working force of atonement that we are most concerned in, though we are apt the least to concern ourselves with it."

True Nature of the Atonement. As to the true nature of this sacrifice [God sparing not His own Son,

was

The Jewish "Chipporah," or Atonement.-A deputation sent from the Church of Scotland to report upon the condition of the Jews abroad.

"We spread our mats on the clay floor at Jassy," they relate, "and attempted to sleep, but in vain. We cared less for this, however, because it was the night preceding the day of atonement, and we had thus an opportunity of seeing the curious ceremony which then takes place.

On the eve of that solemn day it is enforced by penal sanction: is the custom of the Jews to kill a "Cursed is every one that concock for every man, and a hen for tinueth not," &c. (Gal. iii. 10), every woman. During the repeti-"The soul that sinneth it shall tion of a certain form of prayer, die" (Ezek. xviii. 4). They have Jews or Jewesses moved the living broken that law, and are therefore fowl round their head three times, brought under His judicial disthen they lay their hands on it, pleasure (Psa. v. 4, 5; vii. 11; John as the hands used to be laid on the iii. 36), and threatened with "eversacrifices, and immediately after lasting destruction from the pregive it to be slaughtered. We rose sence of the Lord, and from the before one in the morning, and saw glory of His power" (Psa. ix. 17; the Jewish Shochet or slayer' xi. 6; Mal. iv. 1; Matt. iii. 12; Rom. going round to the Jewish houses, i. 18; 2 Thess. i. 7-9). All the waking each family, and giving attributes of God-not His holiness them a light from his lantern, in and justice and truth alone, but order that they might rise and even His goodness (considered as bring out their Chipporah' or embracing and providing for the 'atonement,' namely, the appointed general well-being of the universe) cock and hen. We walked about require that the penalty should be the streets; everywhere the sound executed. Not to exact the penalty of the imprisoned fowls was to be would be to repeal the law, to reduce heard, and a light seen in all the its sanction to an empty threat, dwellings of Israel. In two houses unworthy the veracity of God, and the fowls were already dead and to lower His government in the plucked. In another we came to eyes of all the intelligent universe. the window, and saw distinctly Men may repent, but this produces what was going on within. A no change in their legal relation to little boy was reading the prayers, the God whom they have offended. and his widowed mother standing They are offenders still, are equally over him, with a white hen in her guilty of all for which they stand hands. When he came to a certain charged; and there is nothing in place in the prayer, the mother their penitence which would make lifted up the struggling fowl, and waved it round her head, repeating these words,This be my substitute, this be my exchange; this fowl shall go to death, and I to a blessed life.' This was done three times over, and then the door of the house opened, and out ran the boy carrying the fowl to the Shochet, to be killed by him in the proper manner."

Necessity of Atonement.-God is the moral Governor of the universe. He has called into existence creatures who are, by the constitution of their nature, fit subjects for moral government. He has given to them a law-" a copy of His own eternal mind, a transcript of His own divine nature." That law

it morally right and fit in the Supreme Being to forgive their offences against His government. They may amend their lives, but present obedience can only fulfil present obligation; it can have no retrospective influence, nor in any way cancel the offences of former years. If God is to extend forgiveness to the guilty, it must be in a way that will satisfy the claims of infinite justice, and thus maintain in their full dignity, free from every charge of imperfection and mutability, the character of the Governor, the rectitude of His administration, and the sanction of His law. There is therefore no hope for sinful man unless it can be found in the atonement of Christ.-Field.

AVARICE.

"The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give."--Prov. xxx. 15. AVARICE has ruined more men pebbles and fagots, and on their than prodigality.-Colton. "POVERTY is in want of much," says Publius Syrus, "but avarice of everything."

"AVARICE," remarks Hughes,¦ "reigns most in those who have but few good qualities to recommend them. It is a weed that will grow in a barren soil."

BECAUSE men believe not Providence, therefore they do so greedily scrape and hoard. They do not believe in reward for charity, therefore they will part with nothing.

Barrow.

return changed these into money and ingots of gold, saying to them, "Take back your riches, and enjoy them on earth, as you regret having exchanged them for heaven!"

This story is represented on one of the windows of the Cathedral stand before St. John, with a heap at Bourges. The two young men of gold on one side and a heap of stones and fagots on the other.

An Example of Avarice.-An avaricious man will proceed to any lengths of crime that his desires may be satisfied. An instance of this is given us in the story of the It is sometimes of God's mercy death of Caius Gracchus. To any one that men in the eager pursuit of who would bring his head a reward worldly aggrandisement are baffled; '. was offered of its weight in gold. for they are very like a train A dastardly wretch snatched it from going down an inclined plane the hand of him who had been his putting on the brake is not plea-executioner, that he might himself sant, but it keeps the car on the track.-Beecher.

procure the prize. But before he delivered up the head it is said that he took out its brains and filled the cavity with molten lead, that when it was weighed his prize might be the larger.

The Avaricious Man.-An avaricious man will be little affected by the arguments of reason, philosophy, or religion. He is born and framed to a sordid love of Such devices do not come to light money, which first appears when but at rare and long intervals, but he is very young, grows up with there are schemes as dastardly carhim, and increases in the middle ried out under the sun every day age, and when he is old, and all by men whose only aim is to get the rest of his passions have rich. subsided, wholly engrosses him. The greatest endowments of the mind, the greatest abilities in a profession, and even the quiet possession of an immense treasure, will never prevail against avarice. -King.

Injustice from Avarice." Sir William Smyth, of Bedfordshire, who was my kinsman," relates King, "when he was near seventy was wholly deprived of his sight. He was persuaded to be couched by Taylor, the oculist, who, by agreeRiches or Heaven? Mrs. ment, was to have sixty guineas if Jameson gives a very pretty apo- he restored his patient to any delogue relating to St. John, which is gree of sight. Taylor succeeded in sometimes included in a series of his operation, and Sir William was subjects from his life. Two young able to read and write without the men, who had sold all their posses- use of spectacles during the rest of sions to follow him, afterwards his life; but as soon as the operarepented. He, perceiving their tion was performed, and Sir William thoughts, sent them to gather perceived the good effects of it,

somewhat relieved by my presence, and by the recollection of my character and office. His other married daughter had already arrived, and,

instead of being overjoyed, as any other person would have been, he began to lament the loss (as he called it) of his sixty guineas. His contrivance therefore now was how when I entered the room, was occuto cheat the oculist. He pretended pied in warmly entreating him, ere he had only a glimmering, and he departed this world, to cancel a could see nothing perfectly; for bond for a considerable amount that reason the bandage on his which he had lent to her husband. eyes was continued a month longer Upon hearing this, my guide, his than the usual time. By this means other daughter, as earnestly behe obliged Taylor to compound the sought him not to comply with her bargain, and accept of twenty gui- sister's petition, and thus to deprive neas; for a covetous man thinks no her family of what they thought method dishonest which he may themselves entitled to expect. Hesilegally practise to save his money. tating and trembling, he looked first Sir William was an old bachelor, to one daughter, then to the other, and at the time Taylor couched and finally to me, and entreated him had a fair estate in land, a me to persuade his daughters to large sum of money in the stocks, leave him in quiet, and afterwards to and not less than five thousand or administer to him some religious six thousand pounds in his house." instruction and comfort. One of Death-bed Avarice. "I once them, on the contrary, now appeared attended," says the Rev. Dr. Leif- to have brought me as an advocate child ("Remarkable Facts "), "at on her behalf, and wished me to the miserable death-bed of an in- use my influence on her side. It dividual who resided at a little was in vain, therefore, that I sought distance from my own neighbour- and awaited an opportunity to hood. He had amassed consider- question and instruct the sufferer. able property, which he tenaciously I more than once attempted to retained, and seldom broke in upon ascertain from him the state of his by liberality. Though he made a mind, but was interrupted by the profession of godliness, he lived renewed entreaties of his daughters principally to himself, and was addressed to their father, and their not rich towards God. Age stole altercations with one another. As upon him apace; and he was then his strength declined, theirs seemed naturally compelled to think of to increase; their eagerness rerelinquishing all he possessed, and specting the bond growing as their of leaving it amongst his surviving father's interest in the topic declined. He desired to turn to more imrelatives, who displayed great eagerness to lay their hands upon it. portant matters; they to fix him "After the service one Sabbath to this. It was not his approaching morning, one of his married daugh- death that troubled them so much ters, who belonged to my congrega- as the approaching decision by tion, entreated me to accompany death in the affair of the lent her to her father's sick chamber, money. Scarcely any scene could and, in the interval between the be more powerfully illustrative of services of the day, to soothe him the accursed passion of avarice. and prepare him for his last hour. Here were four persons present in Little suspecting the other object the chamber of death; the dying which she concealed under this man in vain, and very feebly, more general one, and which she hoped to by looks than words, supplicating find me instrumental in accomplish- repose; two daughters urging their ing, I consented. On our arrival respective claims in the very face of we found the dying man, propped death; and a minister of the Gospel up in his bed, wearing a perplexed deeply distressed at the whole, yet and anxious countenance, though unable to effect an alteration, and