blessed the experience of a life devoted to His service! Who would not follow Him, who would not serve Him, who would not die in His cause?-Happy, happy is the man who is all the day employed in the service of Jesus, and who knows no work but His! Well, well may he say, " Yea, doubtless I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Master-He is so good, so wise, so great, so humble, so mighty, so tender, so holy, so kind, so righteous, so merciful, so stedfast, so considerate, so gorious, so sympathetic, that I cannot but glory in Him unto the very death."

5. A perfect Example of Character is presented to us in the life of Christ. This elsewhere is undiscoverable. For Jesus was not only man, perfect man, but He was also God dwelling in man. He was thus incorruptible and infallible in His very constitution :-in the fountain of His character He was divine; in its medium or channel of exercise, human. In Him was every perfection of Godhead, in Him every grace of manhood-the source of the law and the end of the law in one dwelt in Him. His thoughts were perfect thoughts-His words were perfect words-His acts were perfect acts. His character was glorious, and it was also lovely-yea love was its glory. There were seen in Him the tenderness of the infant, the softness of the child, the warmth of the youth, the maturity of the man. He was meek and yet bold, humble yet majestic, gracious yet righteous, forgiving yet authoritative, courteous yet independent, affectionate yet faithful. He did good, but forbid its fame-He performed miracles, yet sought not their glory-He lived for God and for man, and sacrificed Himself on their behalf in the end, yet was He silent in His deed-He died as a sufferer, in true agony-He died as a conqueror, in true victory-He rose from the grave as the same Jesus-He ascended into glory as the same Christ-and He is now in the highest heavens, the "same, yesterday, to-day, and forever!"-Oh Blessed One! thou only perfect, unfallen One that ever trode this earth, how shall we speak of Thee as we ought! Be thou our "pillar of cloud" by day-our "pillar of fire" by night. Dwell, oh dwell in our sight! Be the light of our eyes, and the guide of our weary, wandering, stumbling feet! Blessed and Glorious Examplar! happy is the man that knoweth Thee! well may his soul rest from its heavy toils, for he hath found the home of holiness and peace-well may he sell all that he hath, for he hath found the Pearl of great price! There is perhaps nothing pertaining to Christ so despised amongst us as His example!Arise then and study your Lord's character-draw near to His

person, sit at His feet, hang on His words, drink His spirit, do His works, and walk in His steps.

6. To know Jesus Christ is to know Heaven begun on earth. The chief glory of Heaven is that of Jesus Christ at the right hand of God. The chief fellowship of Heaven is the Lamb that sitteth on the midst of the Throne. The chief song is to Him that "loved us and washed us in His blood." The character of Christ is the character of Heaven. The mind of Christ is the mind of Heaven. The people of Christ are the people of Heaven. Union to Christ is the key of Heaven. The Love of Christ is the power of Heaven. Obedience to Christ is the test of entrance to Heaven. The knowledge of Christ is the very pass-port to Heaven. For Christ will say to the rejected ones, "Depart from me-I never knew youye had no fellowship with me-I knew you not as my acquaintances or my friends!"-How blessed are they who already know the place to which they go, and where they are to dwell forever!-who have a daily foretaste of bliss and glory in the company of their beloved friend and Lord!-who can say of life that it is Christ, of death that it is gain—who regard departure from this life as presence with Jesusand who look forward to eternity, as being with the Lord Christ forevermore! Yet such is the blessedness of that man who counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus His Lord; to him earth is Jesus known by faith, and heaven is Jesus known by sight. How slight the transition, how glorious the change!

7. But we must now briefly sum up. We are still the creatures of time and space; and we must sum up the theme of eternity in one short hour. Christ is "All and in all" to His people, until they reach Heavenly Glory. Whatever they need as sinners to save them; whatever they need as believers to confirm them; whatever they need as children to mature, or as men to perfect them, is contained in Christ Jesus. He is their Prophet, Priest and King-their "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption." He is their Father, Brother, Husband, and Kinsman, Redeemer. They live in Him, they die in Him, they sleep in Him, they rise in Him. He is their Advocate and Intercessor, and Representative. When they form new ties on earth He blesses them; when these ties are sundered He supplies them. Thus is He the Husband of the widow, and the Guardian of the orphan, and the inheritance of him that hath no possession on the earth. He is the head of the body, the life of the soul, the delight of the whole man. But there is one engrossing relationship and a final one in which Christ stands to His people

He is their Judge. To His word they appeal now; at His throne they shall appear hereafter. By Him shall they be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and by His sentence shall they enter into the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world. He Himself also shall bear testimony as their chief Witness; and Oh! happy are the people who have the Son of God as a witness. for them in the great and terrible day of the Lord!

Reader! do we possess the excellent knowledge of this Christ? Have we personal acquaintance and true fellowship with Him? Once we were strangers to Him-do we now know Him? Do we know Him by His Gospel, by His Spirit, and by the experience of His grace? Have we trusted in Him, are we now serving Him, are we suffering for His sake, are we applying to Him for all that we need? Have we fellowship with Him as the Image of God to us-as the Saviour of sinnersas an affectionate Friend-as a gracious Master-as a perfect Example-as Heaven begun-as All in all to us for grace and glory? Oh, can we thus know Christ and not feel it, neither be conscious of the effects of such knowledge! If ye know Him in deed and in truth, then do ye love Him, and trust in Him, and delight in Him, and serve Him, and glory in Him -do ye not so? Do ye not seek his love more than gold, and desire his grace as sweeter than the honey-comb? Can ye be happy when He is displeased, can ye rejoice when He withdraws the sense of His presence from you? Is not His likeness your pursuit, and conformity to Him your only ambition? Do you not regard His cause as your own, and His glory as also yours? Do you not love the Bible that introduced you to Him, and the Gospel that manifested His love? Do you not bless the Father who gave Him, and the Holy Spirit who revealed Him? Do you not value the Providence of God which makes Him precious to you, and the ordinances that bring nigh to you His rich salvation? Oh, yes, we believe it is so with some of our readers. Your hearts glow under the sound of His name. Few ye may be, but blessed. Go, increase in this knowledge until earthly science shall seem but as your kneading-trough, and worldly business as the servant that ministers your daily food. Go, walk with your Lord, until you shall feel, and the world shall see, that the Son of God dwelleth in you and you in Him-until Heaven shall seem more desirable than earth-and until the intensity of your faith has prepared you for the extacy of beatific sight!

And, oh, come ye poor ignorant worldlings that know not this "Pearl of great price!" come ye, and buy without money and without price! What avail all your possessions if

ye possess not salvation? What benefit will ye derive at last from all your friendships, if ye enjoy not the friendship of a Saviour? Will the sun enlighten you in the way to Heaven, or the moon disclose to you the road to Hell? Will the stars reveal to your eyes the contents of eternity;-or can the lightnings make known to you a judgment to come? Will science justify you? Can business sanctify you? Has the world died for you?-Ye must leave this world as naked as ye entered it. What then will avail all that ye must leave behind you, or all that which worms shall eat?-Be wise my fellow men-be wise; sell all that ye have, rise up, and follow Christ. Behold Him that will lead you out from the curse, from sin, from death, from all evil. Behold him that will even now receive you, as a Saviour-receive you as you now are, and make you to be what now you are not! Behold him who waits to receive your guilt, and to give his own righteousness -who will give himself to you, whilst you give yourself to Him. Are you a persecutor? Come-for so was Paul. Are you injurious? Come-so was Paul. Are you a blasphemer? Come-so was Paul. Whatever you be, come! leave all that heap of vain dross, and come, and you will know the Christ, the Son of the living God. He will introduce you to the Father, and He will send to you the Holy Spirit. Happy then shalt thou be, O sinner!-Haste thee, haste thee-lose not even a day, or an hour of such bliss: haste thee-and the Lord be with thee!

J. M. D.

IV.-Sacred Literature of the Hindus.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

No. 2.

In this letter I purpose to make some quotations from the Hindu sacred books, showing their erroneous ideas in regard to the means of obtaining salvation. The professed end of all sacred books is to point out some way whereby the inquirer may find deliverance from sin, and acceptance with the Deity, whose perfections are delineated. Our sacred book points out but one salvation, and one way to it, even Christ; but the Hindu shastras point out two kinds of salvation, and many ways, though all widely differ from the word of God.

The first kind of salvation mentioned in the Hindu shástras, consists in sensual enjoyment, a birth in a king, brahman, or god's body, together with the pleasure of eating, drinking, and indulging all the passions.

The second, is that of absorption in to the deity, and thus being forever free from connexion with matter.

I shall first refer to some of the chief ways in which the salvation consisting in sensual enjoyment is to be obtained.

1. It is often asserted that by merely having the sacred books, salvation may be found. Thus (5 Bk. 8 Chap. 102) "Whoever hears these words of Hurri will pass over the sea of this world." The substance of the saving story to which the poet refers, is that Bharat Raja rescued a young deer, gave his whole attention to cherishing it, at length lost it, died of grief, and went into the body of a deer himself. It assuredly needs profound philosophy to show how salvation could result from such a story as this. Again (5 Bk. 16, 95) “ Hearing the words of the 5th book men will cross the world." The words referred to, are a long senseless dissertation upon geography. (6 Book 26, 391-2) "They who hear this story, or repeat it with their mouths, shall be free from disease, evil bands, and shall find knowledge to comfort the mind." The story referred to, is a speculative harangue about the human system. The 11th book begins thus: By these holy words of the Bhagabat, the misery of the world is to be destroyed." (11 book 1, 367,) "Such is the greatness of Krishna, that by hearing of his glory and perfections, men will cross this awful world." (11th book 1, 37-9.) “Those who hear this book, though they may be enemies to brahmans and gúrús, and very much fallen, the moment these words enter their ears all their misfortunes will be destroyed." Thus hundreds of quotations might be multiplied, where it is declared that by merely hearing certain shástra stories, deliverance from all sorrows incidents to this birth is found.

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2. Another way of obtaining salvation according to the shástras, is by worshipping the brahmans. Nothing can be more ingenious than the means these priests have taken to render their very names adorable. The duty of serving them is not enforced by precepts, which would seem to imply that its propriety had been disputed, but casually alluded to, as a well known and established duty. Every Hindu considers it as selfevident as that a man ought not to kill. Every important personage who figures in the Bhagabat is made to lavish great sums upon the brahmans. Every man who wishes to perform some great work first calls these holy men, and bestows gifts upon them. Every man whose virtues are exalted is praised most of all for adoring the brahmans. If a person is unfortunate, his misfortunes are attributed to some neglect of the brahmans. Brahmans must be called to marriages, births, weanings and deaths, when they are feasted and paid. To refer to some passages we may notice the circumstances that attended Krishna's birth. He was born of the wife of Basudeb in the prison, by whom he was brought by night and placed in the house of Nanda, who become his foster-father, supposing him to be his own son. It is said (book 10, 14) a crowd of brahmans assembled, having heard of the child's birth. Nanda beholding them worshipped their feet, and presented them garments. The brahmans joyfully sung the baids and fulfilled the customs of the east, by worshipping the gods of the fathers. Nanda in return gave ornaments and two lakhs of cows." The story concludes with an account of much music and dancing, and the brahmans blessing Nanda before their departure. When Krishna was weaned (10th book 7, 15) "Certain brahmans came and blessed both mother and child, Nanda being pleased gave gifts of cows and garments." When Krishna awoke he was in such a rage for the breast that he broke a large post by a kick of his foot; the brahmans were again called to consult the stars in relation to the accident, and they departed after receiving another fee. At marriages the services of brahmans are indispensable (book 10, 58, 25.) A rájá makes a wedding for his daughter. The brahmans, as was custom at seasons of rejoicing, are feasted by the rájá, for which they worship the gods of the fathers and speak peace." If a man dies, the brahmans must be called, feasted and paid before the friends of the deceased can receive

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