and to any sinner He could say, "be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." (Matt. ix. 2.)

In these portions of Scripture we see that Christ testifies, respecting His work, three things; first, that He came in obedience to the will of His Father, that it was God who first loved us, and gave His Son to die for us. Secondly, that He came to fulfil all righteousness, and to honour the law. And, lastly, that the great design of His mission was to die a cursed death-the death of the cross, for the sins of a world lying under the sentence of death. Then let me here pause to ask, how these great truths should effect us? I wish, as I proceed, from time to time to press home to the conscience of any who may peruse these pages, the blessed Gospel as it is unfolded to us in the course of our investigation. I write, that those who read may believe; and, believing, be saved.

The work of Christ is the only foundation upon which a sinner can rest his hope with comfort to his mind, and safety to his soul; and, therefore, we cannot have too much evidence to prove the nature of that work; we cannot dwell too long upon it. To the sinner, each point of additional evidence should convey a new feeling of joy and peace; and every fresh proof of a Saviour's death for sin, should call forth a renewal of his confidence-strengthen his faith-enliven his hopeincrease his love; and ever lead him to glorify the God and Saviour who has thus lived and died for him. But, there are many whose minds are so hardened,

under the influence of sin, as to be unaffected by these truths. What, shall Christ Himself affirm, that He shed His blood for the remission of sins, and there be sinners who can listen with indifference to the proclamation? Shall He assure us that he came to seek and save the lost; and yet, receive no attention from those who are wandering from God, and ever in danger of falling into the pit of destruction? Strange doth it seem, but it is not more strange than true, that all which God has accomplished for man's salvation, has been by man not only neglected, but rejected with contempt, and treated with derision and scorn! God forbid that any of my readers should thus trample upon the blood of the Son of God; and, in casting away the thought of an atonement by His death, cast from him the only foundation upon which he can build a hope in his last hour; when, like a drowning man, he will eagerly seize upon anything within his reach, to save him from sinking into the abyss, which is ready to swallow him up.

But, though there may not be any of my readers who treat the blood of his Redeemer with scorn, I fear there are many who will listen with indifference to His overtures of mercy; and regard with apathy the testimony which He has given to the power and efficiency of His sacrifice. But let these beware that they do not too long disregard the remedy appointed for their soul's salvation; and so, at last, lose the blessing; and, with the more daring infidel, sink down

into perdition. Christ has died for all, that all who come unto Him may be saved; but we must come, we must believe His Gospel, we must be converted from dead works, to serve the living and true God-a change which we shall know has taken place, by the new hopes, new views of ourselves, and new views of God, which we shall have, or we cannot share in the glory which shall be revealed at His second coming. We must come to Christ, and put our trust, as sinners, in Him; then, by the merits of His obedience-His work and labour of love in His life and death-we shall live; all our sins shall be forgiven, and our souls endowed with everlasting life.

CHAPTER XII.

APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY TO OUR COVENANT
REDEEMER'S WORK.

"The glorious company of the Apostles praise Thee."

Te Deum.

THE declarations made by the prophets, and by Christ himself relative to His mission, having been considered, I must now, in order to give the whole Scripture testimony, turn to the writings of the apostles and inspired teachers under the New Testament dispensation, for their evidence.

Now, here we must be prepared to meet with clearer light, than has yet shone forth from God's Word; for, though we had Christ's own words, descriptive of the purpose for which He came, we had not the Gospel truth so distinctly set before us by Him, as it was afterwards by the apostles and evangelists. When Christ came, it was to commence the establishment of His kingdom, and, having done this, He delegated the work of settling the new order of things to the inspired apostles He left behind Him. And as Christ did not complete His kingdom with its laws and

government, so likewise, He did not make a full disclosure of Gospel truth; but left to His apostles the business of promulgating His doctrines, and building up the Church in the beauty and glory of the faith.

While the disciples followed their living Master, they were but partially instructed. They were treated as children, and carried on step by step, in the knowledge of Christianity. They had made great progress, indeed, when they knew and acknowleged that Christ was the Messiah; but, beyond this, they had scarcely gone a step; for, though Christ plainly told them of His death and resurrection, they displayed, at the time these events occurred, scarcely any evidence of faith in His declarations: and it was not until after His resurrection, in His private interviews with them, and still more clearly by the effusion of the Holy Ghost subsequent to his ascension, that He gave them those full instructions which they required, as teachers of

men.

It is, then, to the writings of the evangelists and apostles that we are to look for the fullest account of the accomplishment and end of Christ's ministry; but there we meet with proofs at every turn; and the testimony is so clear, that a child need not mistake the way of salvation, or the way-faring man, though a fool, err therein.

The witnesses now to be examined are credible, both from their endowments and position. Compared with what they were during the life of Christ, the apostles