unalterable are these laws of nature, that any testimony of a fact which neither fills the one nor occurs in the other cannot gain the least credit, nay, cannot even be conceived, therefore cannot form a part of history. It has been said by some writers on this subject, that it would be unbecoming the perfect wisdom of God to make laws and then break them. Facts are realities that have actually addressed the Senses of some Individual, consequently conformed to the laws of Time and Space; and it is only when they are related to other persons that they constitute HISTORY. But, if every fact recorded in history could be established beyond the possibility of doubt, this would not alter the nature of these facts, which are real events, having arisen and vanished in time: as the birth, ministry, and crucifixion of our Saviour, each of which occurred at some point of TIME, or they could not have occurred at all.

Different, indeed, are the DOCTRINES taught by Jesus Christ. These divine truths, when once uttered, remain unalterably the same the strongest proof that they do not constitute any part of the changeable phenomena of nature, or exist, where nature does, in TIME and SPACE: they must consequently be out of the sphere

of things which are perpetually changing-that is to say, they are in ETERNITY, where no change can take place. Well, then, may we say that God's commandments partake of his own divine nature, and are, like his ineffable self, immutable. It must now indeed be evident that the DOCTRINES of Christ are precepts of a perfectly pure Morality-of universal application; and, when once acknowledged by REASON, though never perceived by the SENSES, are absolutely admitted by all reasonable creatures to form a code of divine laws, which admit of no dispute, but command instant CONVICTION: as, Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself- that is, be strictly virtuous whatever may be the consequences. These laws are divine laws, and placed by the Deity in the Reason of man, so that he who fulfils these commandments will feel conscious of having done his duty, and he who neglects them feel a moral unworthiness.

It must now be obvious that these are pure, immutable, and consequently divine or spiritual, laws, and commanding not only for men but for all beings endowed with Reason even of a higher order as

angels for they are the very constituents of that

:

faculty. The purity of these laws proves their divine nature, and must convince the most sceptical that they do not constitute any part of the mundane system; consequently they can only regard the soul, which every one acknowledges to be spiritual or immaterial, and therefore cannot relate to the material substances of this world. The inference is here strikingly powerful, namely, that these divine laws are implanted in our rational or moral nature, for the sole purpose that we should render ourselves worthy to be made partakers of that kingdom which is prepared for us from the foundation of the world.

If the view here taken of the New Testament is new, it most certainly is equally true; for that which is spiritual cannot be material, or subject to the laws of matter, much less can it be subjected to the records of history. Who shall describe or relate the particular operations of a power which they have never beheld? Who shall record the motives which actuate the soul, which no human eye can perceive, or pronounce on its immortality otherwise than through the reasoning faculty? He alone can describe or record the infinite powers of the soul who himself is infinite. It is therefore strikingly obvious that principles, which are

themselves infinite and immutable, require a very different kind of treatment from historical facts. To the SENSES and their ordinary mode of judging they cannot be submitted, for they ever elude their grasp. No one will surely be hardy enough to say that he has either seen or felt a principle. Then how is it that we are actuated by these all-powerful and invisible essences; that we respect and revere them more than all that can be offered to gratify the Sense? Reason must be the Faculty which takes cognizance of these perfectly pure, nay, spiritual and divine beings, which exercise such a powerful influence over our souls, and fit us to inherit the Eternal Kingdom of Christ.

Those, however if such there be- who prefer considering the Miracles as oriental forms of speech, or metaphorical illustrations of the new doctrine, instead of historical facts, have, indeed, an ample field from which to draw perfect moral precepts, always displaying the pre-eminence of the spirit above the flesh; thus confirming the Christian Doctrine, and establishing for ever the divinity of Christ: for instance, Christ walking on the water. This is, indeed, a figurative exposition of the whole doctrine, indicating that the soul or spirit is so superior to the body or flesh

that in all temptations it has the power of conquest, and final victory within itself: for "the kingdom of God is within us," and constitutes the moral part of man's nature, which manifests itself in conscience as the power that decides whether we have discharged our duty or not, and is very properly denominated "Pure PRACTICAL REASON." Indeed, there is not one Miracle which is not replete with moral information. The temptation in the wilderness is a forcible illustration. of the power possessed by man to overcome all the seductions of the inclinations, and steadily to adhere to the moral law planted in his Reason. It also affords a powerful lesson that, in our most pressing necessities, we ought to rely upon the favour and assistance of God, and never to lose our confidence in his goodness. Even the darkness which took place at the crucifixion is a beautiful emblem, implying that the Son of Righteousness withdrew from our terraqueous globe, and wafted himself to his own spiritual abode of eternal bliss: not, however, without leaving an indelible example of strictly upright conduct, and of a never-failing obedience to the moral law, which example, so far from being effaced by time, is sure to become more efficacious as enlightenment advances, and