Christianity, on the other hand, declares that salvation is not of works, but of grace. If we enter heaven, it must be through the merits of another, not through our own. The truth of this will appear on a little consideration.

The laws of a country require perfect obedience. Suppose a thief and murderer were to reform, this would not atone for the past: if he live honestly and in peace, he does no more than his duty. So it is with the Divine government. We have been breaking God's commands every day of our lives. Even if we could hereafter yield perfect obedience, it would not blot out the long black catalogue already recorded against us. But there is no man, even the best on earth, who is not daily adding to his sins. Tried by our own actions, every mouth must be stopped, and the whole world be found guilty before God.

The following illustration will explain, in some measure, how we are to be saved:

A boy was on the roof of a high building. Suddenly his foot slipped, and he fell over. In his descent, he caught a rope, and hung suspended in mid air. He could neither get up nor down, and it was evident that he could sustain himself but a short time. He expected that in a few minutes he must drop, and be dashed to pieces.

Just then a kind and powerful man, standing below the boy with extended arms, cried out, “Let go the rope, and I will receive you. I promise that you shall escape unhurt."

The boy hesitated a while, but at length dropped safely into the arms of his deliverer.

The boy's danger is a representation of our own. He could neither get back to the place from which he fell, nor descend in safety to the ground; if no one had come to his rescue, he must have perished. We can neither go back to innocence, nor make

atonement for our sins. As the boy was saved by the interposition of another, so we must be saved by Jesus Christ. The youth hesitated at first, doubting the proffered aid, but his faith afterward was the means of his deliverance. Jesus Christ says to us," Let go the rope of self-righteousness, trust in me and I will save you.' The believer thus responds :

"A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
On Thy kind arms I fall;'

Be Thou my strength and righteousness,
My Saviour and my all."

It is very humbling to man's pride to receive salvation as a free gift. He would fain merit it, in some degree, by his own good works, or at least render himself more worthy of the boon. Such a feeling is one of the greatest obstacles to the reception of the Gospel.

"If you tarry till you're better,

You will never come at all."

All the preparation required is to feel your need of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is true that we need to be cleansed from sin; but this must be done after we come to Christ-not before. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He invites the weary and heavy-laden to come to him. They are not first to try to get rid of part of the burden of sin. The course to be taken is well expressed in the following words:

"Just as I am,-withoub one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,-
O Lamb of God, I come!

"Just as I am,—and waiting not,

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O Lamb of God, I come!"

It may be briefly summed up in the cry, "Lord save me; I perish." Disclaiming all merit of our

own, we are to receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Like a drowning man, when a plank is thrown towards him, who first catches hold of the plank, and then rests upon it, so should we first take hold of Christ, or receive Him, and then continue to rest upon Him.

Salvation through grace is calculated to promote two feelings of the utmost importance-humility and love.

The more ignorant Hindus think the gift of a cow to a Brahman will secure heaven. It is equally vain to suppose that we can be saved through any other fancied good works. Boasting is entirely excluded by salvation through Jesus Christ, and the spirit of humility is fostered. Love is another feeling awakened. If a person whom we disliked saved our life at the risk of his own, would not the alienation be removed, and gratitude kindled? Thus it is with the believer in Christ. Formerly he regarded God as an enemy to be feared; now he looks upon Him as his greatest Benefactor. Every thing else will follow in the train of love. There will be unfeigned sorrow for past offences, and an earnest desire to avoid in future every thing displeasing to God.

Some may object that free salvation through Christ will tempt men to sin: they consider punishments and rewards necessary to secure obedience. But true love is the strongest of all motives. A mother watches over her child with far greater care than a slave who fears the lash, or a hireling who looks to his pay.

The believer, however, is not left to himself. Jesus Christ uses the illustration "I am the vine, ye are the branches." Through faith we are united to Christ, like a branch ingrafted upon a tree. We share in His life, and become animated by His spirit.

The absolute necessity of faith may be easily understood. Unless we believe that Jesus is able to save us, we shall not go to Him.

While Jesus was on earth, a man in deep distress said to Him, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Though the reader may only be able to

"Stretch the lame hands of faith and grope,"

let him go to Jesus, saying,

"Just as I am,-though toss'd about,
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
With fears within and wars without,
O Lamb of God, I come!"

Tennyson thus describes the sincere inquirer
"Who touched a jarring lyre at first,
But ever strove to make it true:
Perplexed in faith but pure in deeds,
At length he beats his music out-
There lives more faith in honest doubt,
Believe me, than in half the creeds.

He fought his doubts and gathered strength,
He would not make his judgment blind;
He faced the spectres of the mind
And laid them; thus he came at length
To find a stronger faith his own."

Two very important points in the above should be noticed. The inquirer was "pure in deeds." A man who indulges in vice of any kind cannot expect to arrive at the truth. Also," he fought his doubts." If a person is merely content to doubt without careful investigation, it is impossible for him to "find a stronger faith."

The most effectual way of getting all our doubts removed is to cast ourselves at the feet of Jesus. Let us tell Him all our wants, and they will be supplied out of His inexhaustible fulness. And let the reader go to Him at once. No preparation is necessary. This very moment Jesus is ready to receive you and to say, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."

A short prayer suitable to a seeker of salvation, will be found in the Appendix.

XXXII.-HOLINESS.

MAN requires more than mere pardon of sin. If a king were to remit the sentences of the criminals in a jail, all the thieves, robbers, murderers, and malefactors of, every kind, would be let loose. Would the people, however, be willing to allow them to enter their houses, and mix with them freely? Suppose that the doors, not of our prisons, but of hell itself, were thrown open-which shall never be ---but suppose they were, would the gates of heaven open to receive its inmates? No. Over them these words stand inscribed, "There entereth nothing here to hurt or to defile." From their company every spirit of the just would shrink with holy horror. If so, it is plain that it is not enough to be pardoned, to be justified. We require also to be purified from

sin.*

The need of sanctification has been admitted by thoughtful men in all ages; but the standard aimed at has often been imperfect, and the means employed insufficient. Most people are satisfied if their conduct is free from crime, and they are honest and benevolent. Others attach importance to religious observances. But all this is not enough. The outside of the sepulchre may be whited, while it is still full within of all uncleanness.

.

Christianity places before men the loftiest standard of holiness," Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Union with Christ is the channel by which it is to be attained. The agent is the Holy Spirit. The Trinity gloriously

* Abridged from Guthrie.