leads the mind onward to His second appearance"He shall appear (he says) a second time, without sin, unto salvation." But to whom shall he thus appear? For whose full and everlasting salvation from every consequence of sin? "Unto them that look (that are looking) for Him!"

But, perhaps, the strongest proof of this kind is afforded in that finest compendium of the gospel scheme, contained in the Epistle to Titus, which, within the compass of four verses, develops the whole design, substance, and glory of Christianity.

In this splendid picture, which bears such unequivocal attestation of being drawn by a master hand, guided by the Spirit from on high-all is in perfect keeping there is neither redundancy nor defect-nothing could be removed, without manifest injury-and nothing added, with conceivable advantage to the general effect.

We have here the full development of the gospel scheme, traced from its first origin, in "the grace of God," to its final result, in the production of a " purified and peculiar people, zealous of good works." In contemplating this divine portraiture of the gospel, two things principally arrest our attention—

First-The pre-eminently practical character of Christianity; and, secondly, the peculiarly distinguishing hope of the Christian.

Let us, in confirmation, examine the picture more in detail. We see, then, the divine original of Christianity, the fountain from which it flowed-" the grace of God:" the divine stream flowing from that fountian-"salvation :" the divine lesson it is designed to teach-" teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present world:" the divine hope which sustains and sanctifies the believer" looking for the glorious appearing of the great God, and our

Saviour (i. e. the great God even our Saviour) Jesus Christ :" the divine sacrifice for sin, which is the alone foundation of that blessed hope; He gave Himself for us," and the divine purpose He had in offering up that sacrifice-" that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

See we not by this compendious, yet complete definition of the Christian scheme, that the religion of the gospel is essentially a practical religion-that the personal holiness, the perfect purification, of those who come within the sphere of its divine influence, is the original design and ultimate end-the commencing process, and crowning glory of the gospel. To accomplish this the grace of God appears-this is the essence of the salvation which it brings-this the purport of the lesson it is sent to teach-this the object which its blessed hope is given to promote-this the design in offering up Himself, of the Almighty Saviour it proclaims-and this the result effected by by the Holy Spirit, through the all-sufficient sacrifice it reveals.

And

And is it not equally manifest that the Apostle, from the place he assigns, in such a definition of the gospel scheme, to looking for the appearing of the-great God our Saviour, must have regarded this as the peculiarly distinguishing hope of the believer, in which all his brightest prospects ought to centre, and to which all his fondest aspirations should continually turn. is it not most instructive to observe, from the place thus assigned to it, what a pre-eminently powerful means St. Paul must have considered this hope to be, of promoting the believer's sanctification-stimulating and supporting him in his victorious conflict with worldly lusts-his zealous and unwearied devotedness to all good works!

Not less striking is the testimony of St. Peter, nor less practical the purpose for which it is introduced.

From the opening of the third chapter of his second epistle, it would appear that the subject on which the chapter treats-namely, the second coming of the Lord, was one which the apostle knew to have been earnestly inculcated on the minds of those to whom he wrote, as the subject both of prophetic announcement, and apostolic teaching; so that he writes only to "stir up their pure minds" by way of remembrance, that they might be mindful of a truth, whose importance they had recognised, and whose power they had felt. He seems anxious to confirm them in the faith of this glorious truth, and to guard them against the influence of any opinions, by which that faith might be shaken.

For this purpose he tells them, that in the last days there shall come profane scoffers, who, from not noticing the signs of the times, but observing the general course of events in the works of creation, and dispensations of Providence, to continue unchanged, will tauntingly ask, "where is the promise of His coming?" thus intimating, that as it is of the very essence of scoffing infidelity to disbelieve or disregard the second coming of the Lord, so, by contrast, a firm belief and constant and joyful anticipation of that event is of the very essence of Christian faith.

The Apostle then explains the cause of the delay of the Lord's second advent, and shows that, like the delay of the threatened deluge of old, it arises from the patient mercy of a long-suffering God-"not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance!" and therefore delaying to pour forth the threatened flood of vengeance, till all His children, the whole remnant according to the election of grace, are safely sheltered in the divinely-appointed ark.

But, as, of old the deluge, though its coming was

scoffingly disbelieved, and delayed in mercy, did at length, in an hour unexpected by the mocking infidels of the antediluvian age, suddenly burst forth, and sweep away a whole world of sinners, so certainly and so unexpectedly will the day of the Lord come, as a thief in the night; and a second deluge, not of water, but of fire, shall in a moment blaze forth, when the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the earth and all things therein shall be burned up.

But for what purpose does the Apostle present to their view this tremendous spectacle of the departing heavens, and the dissolving elements, and the burning earth? Why does he thus exhibit the universe in convulsion, and the world in flames?

Not to terrify the mind by the appalling horror, or to excite the imagination by the awful scenery, of that coming day of the world's dissolution!

No! the Apostle had a higher and holier object in view. "Seeing then," (he says,) "that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be, in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto, (or, as the original might be rendered, hasting,) the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"

Thus does he make this awful event a preacher of holiness as if he wished those to whom he wrote, while contemplating the approaching dissolution of the visible heavens and earth, to gather even from their ruins the most impressive motives for abounding in all holy conversation; and to hear, amidst the great noise of the heavens passing away, the crash of dissolving elements, and the groans of an expiring world, an awful voice crying out-" See what hath sin, the destroyer, done!" and thus proclaiming, by these manifested tokens of His righteous displeasure against un

godliness, Jehovah's solemn command—“ Be ye holy, for I am holy!"

But how, it may be said, could the apostle urge them to desire so earnestly the day of the world's destruction? Is not this an event rather to be contemplated by a believer, with awful, though not agonizing, than with eager and joyous anticipation?

The Apostle does not allow their minds to rest on it exclusively, as a day of dissolution, but a day of renovation of the restitution of all things-a day when, from the ashes of the old creation, a new and more glorious one shall arise. "Nevertheless, we," (he says,) "according to His promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth!"

But, now, mark again the sobriety of the Apostle's spirit. See how the veil is lifted up from the visions of futurity, only enough to subserve the interests of holiness, not to gratify the cravings of curiosity, or to feast the eye of the imagination.

What alone are we told with certainty of these new heavens, and this new earth? The only thing it concerneth us to know for practical purposes, for promoting a holy character and conversation

"Therein dwelleth righteousness."

And how eagerly does the Apostle seize this only distinctly-revealed feature of the beauty and blessedness of this new creation, as the ground of that most solemn and affectionate exhortation-" Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot,

and blameless.

As if he had said-Remember, beloved brethren, whatever else of external grandeur or loveliness may be stamped upon this new creation, its essential glory is that "therein dwelleth righteousness" that its very atmosphere is an atmosphere of holiness-so piercingly pure, that nothing sinful could live in its element,