that, from the lips of the laity, however learned they might be, the prayer should never ascend, "Lord open thou mine eyes, that I may behold the wondrous things out of thy law." But that each should be content with such portions of it, as it might be the pleasure of the priests to dispense. There was the doctrine of justification by faith, without the deeds of the law, that was surrendered, and the one which includes pilgrimages, penances, and works of supererogation was substituted. Advertisements as to pardons, varying in price according to the depth of the guilt, or the number of the crimes, were widely circulated. In the name of the sovereign Pontiff, Leo X., forgiveness for money could be had any day, and anywhere. Relics were, also, in great repute; the shred of garment, lock of hair, bit of bone, or drop of blood, helped on the religious element, by inducing unutterable awe.

There were, however, those who, when great principles were thus perilled, came honorably to the rescue-those, who to the doctrine took heed; who held it in the highest repute-the holiest custody; and were prepared, rather than surrender it, to give up themselves -to surrender their lives. In Switzerland, there was Zwingli. In Bohemia, there was John Huss, who, though little known during his life, yet at length attention was drawn to him-drawn by the calm heroism which he indicated-drawn by the flames in which he perished. In Germany, there was not only the shrewd, high-principled, though "timid grammarian" Philip Melancthon, but the man of unshaken nerves, iron will, and indomitable energy, Martin Luther, who heeded little either the Pope's Bull, by which he was anathematised, or the August Diet at Worms, before which he was arraigned. In England, there was Latimer, Cranmer, and Ridley, with many others of humbler origin and feebler powers, but of equal holy hardihood, who, with unfaltering step, moved on, either to the prison in which they pined away, or to the stake at which they were burned to ashes. Many were the hands which were clasped, and many the exultant words which were uttered, as from Cardiff and Canterbury, Oxford and Smithfield, the flames ascended. There were giants in those days; men who rejoiced that they were counted worthy to sufferhazarding their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus.

And, as the doctrine of the Gospel was assailed during the early ages by the unfaithful in the Church, and the stern persecutor out of it-as "the pride of philosophy, the might of eloquence, the pomp of superstition, and the majesty of Imperial Rome" were united with the insidious assaults of those, who, while they professed to be Christianity's best friends were in reality amongst its bitterest foes; who secretly sought to undermine the common faith, who stealthily introduced the most dangerous sentiments-who privily

brought in corrupting theories-damnable heresies, even removing out of its place the foundation of our faith-denying the Lord that bought them; and as, moreover, the doctrine has been put in hazard, more or less in every age, so is its position one of peril still.

During the present century, out of the professed Church of Christ, and in connection with one of our most ancient seats of learning, two schools have arisen-one which deeply deplores the Protestant discussions with which the sixteenth century is now historically connected, which regards the reformation as an unsagaciously conducted, and ill-determined controversy—a broken limb, badly set-one which would, morever, with its high altars and ascending incense; its sacramental efficacy and apostolical succession; its devout genuflexions, and incipient confessions; take us repentantly back again to Rome. And another, which, in determining not to believe TOO MUCH, has made sad havoc of even the cardinals of Christianity, for it scarcely believes at all.

The one school is formed of Superstitionists, and the other of Sceptics. The present hostility, however, to the doctrine, is conducted with a greater degree of apparent seemliness than any with which the Church has been heretofore assailed. The majority of current doubters do not now indulge in the coarse rancours, immoral inuendoes, bald ribaldry, and unblushing blasphemy, of those by whom they were preceded. As a rule, the Bible is not now either spat upon, or sworn at; it is neither torn to bits, nor burnt to ashes. For it, its impugners, profess to possess some relics of reverence; they indeed speak rather graciously of the Bible; they only, as honest enquirers and candid critics, demur to the sovereign hold which it has unfortunately obtained over the hearts and habits of millions; and would promote, in relation to the matter, a rational re-action, by recalling its daily readers and ardent admirers back from the bibliolatry into which they have been betrayed. They think, that, for the ages during which it was written, it is a very creditable production; but that it was never meant to be always ahead of the advancing genius-the ripening sagacity of the world-that we, at least, with our numerous scientific, moral, and religious facilities, have outgrown it-that though the Bible is large, yet that we are larger-that in suitable deference to us, our ampler observation, correcter dates, truer science, and broader thoughts,-Moses and David, Isaiah and Paul, should court the rear-should pass to the shade-that, though they wrote much of history and ethics, of poetry and parable, of prophesy and of promise; yet that we are wiser than what is written-that, therefore, the book having done its work, and run its race, should no longer be allowed to meddle with the moralities, creeds, and destinies of humanity-that its voice should be permanently

it

silenced that it should be honorably heaved on to the shelf, and left there, with the no longer needed good things of the past; or, to change the simile, that to the dust it should be decently committed; a few honest sighs ascending, and a few graceful tears being shed, but that the regret should not include any wish for its resurrection, the resumption of its exclusive authority or earlier throne. And all this is done with an air of settled seriousness, seraphic devotion; the phraseology frequently employed in the articles written and volumes issued smacks of inspiration; bits of the abused Bible are dexterously woven into the coolest calumny -the most cutting comment.

Brutus approaches with his bland address, "My Angel Cæsar," then from beneath his cloak the treacherous dagger is drawn. The chance thus jesuitically secured, is eagerly caught at, and Christianity stabbed. Or, to take a name from a volume more sacred than the one from which we select a Brutus-Judas reappears; and what a spectacle! Though in his possession there is the price of innocent blood-for position is battled for salary retained-yet he has, in the midst of love's tenderest, because sacramental memorials, the audacity to ask, "Master, is it I?" The duplicity is ever so fond. The betrayal is remarkable for its apparent confidence and exquisite kindliness. Acts, in themselves, wide as the poles asunder, are brought into most unseemly proximity. He who bears the name of Christian minister, is now found, one day, impuging the authority of the Holy Scriptures -irreverently writing down the Pentateuch; and the next, ascending the pulpit, in order to take a text from the very volume the basis of which he had openly repudiated. Oh, the cant is consummate, or it would not thus be crowned with a kiss!

That which is right in doctrine, is now, on every side, beset by that which is wrong. No name, however ancient or honourable, exacts respect. Nothing is spared-no, not even the supports of inspiration, the foundations of our faith; for many are doing their best in demolishing them-they are busy digging them up. Some, having entered the arena of the remote, in relation to man, are asserting that the Mosaic announcement, that he was formed out of the dust of the ground, is, by the march of modern science, shown to be fabulous. They maintain that, if we will only take hold of the argument, just as they do, we shall soon clearly see how obsolete and untrustworthy, on this subject, are the utterances of the Book of Genesis. By a few steps, through quadruped, fowl, and fish, we should arrive at the point from whence we started-not failing to congratulate ourselves on the success achieved, in having traced our origin to the oyster! Lord Monboddo has shown, to his own satisfaction, at least, that our immediate kin-our proximate parentage-was a pair of monkeys! Choice discoveries these.

Others are teaching that the varieties of our race cannot be accounted for, on the principle that "God hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth;" but that there was a host of primal pairs, from whom have issued the multitudinous tribes and the diversified dialects of our race. Others, having relieved us altogether of the idea of a Personal Deity, leave us orphans. The prayer, "Our Father, which art in heaven," which went up from our lips in childhood, they maintain had no basis upon which to rest-that it meant nothing, that there was no parent Deity, no Father God. Others announce the Divine Fatherhood, but they do not honour the Son, even as they honour the Father; for Him no psalm ascends, to Him no prayer is offered. From His hand the sceptre is wrested, from His brow the diadem plucked. Others deny to the Holy Spirit both personality and divinity. He is regarded merely as an attribute, or an influence. Others maintain the utter impossibility of a written communication, or bookrevelation, of Jehovah's will; they teach that we intuitively ascer tain that will, and that our consciousness of God is our only or main guide that the revelation is inward, not outward. And so we might proceed to instance other forms, indicating the strong currents of questionable thought which are setting in. That these forms of scepticism are void of freshness, we admit. Years have elapsed since, on the Continent, they had lost the charm of novelty, having received the refutation which such learned and devout men as Vinet and D'Aubigne were prepared to give. It is little to the credit of our acquaintance with the theological controversies of the last half century, that we are so surprised at the weapons of recent assailants; as though they had never been elsewhere handled before-as though something very fearful had just been found out; whereas the story is twice-told, the changes are rung, the objec tions repeated-the case is one mainly of quotation. Alas! master, it is borrowed. Exceptions, arithmetical, chronological, ethnological, geological, and doctrinal, of the kind now agitating us, have long since agitated others. The case, however, is one which determines the responsibility, and should suggest the course, of those who are the understood exponents and guardians of revealed truth. Surely, at this juncture in the history of theological thought, from the walls of the menaced city no watchman should be absent. Of the posi tion which the hostile forces now assume, and the tactics by which they are distinguished, no officer, having charge of any section of the "sacramental host," should be ignorant. These are not the times when a minister only needs the good voice and suitable address, accompanied with a mere smattering of divinity-a string of well-worn words-hacknied and rhapsodical quotations about repentance, faith, and holiness-not the times that inaptness should be indicated in handling an ordinary argument. A vast field has

now to be occupied. The call is imperatively to battle. The armies of the aliens are all mustering, the trenches are dug, and the guns are pointed. They are evidently arranging for an aggregate assault on a large scale; they mean havoc. Soldiers of the Cross, be sure of your position; guard well your posts; take heed; let there be a careful and comprehensive survey of all the interests committed to you. Walk about Zion, go round about her, tell the towers and fortresses thereof; amid every menace, remember there is the munition of rocks. Take heed to that which is now so seriously assailed -the Record containing the doctrine.

You should be able to indicate, First, ITS NECESSITY. Sad indeed has been the position of those lands of the past-classical though they were-which had no revelation. They could rear massive pyramids, and prosecute arduous studies. They could challenge attention by the bravery of their arms, and the number of their victories. They could hold auditories, for hours, entranced by their oratory. They could construct systems, and found schools. But when they approached theology, or the divine science, they found themselves out of their depth. Philosopher, poet, sculptor, statesman, and patriot, all indicated their utter impotence-their views were crude, and their morals debasing. "The world, by wisdom, knew not God." Much may be learned from nature; but there are truths, which it is of importance for us to know, which it has ever failed to teach. "The entrance of Thy word giveth light." "Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name." "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul."

You should be able to indicate, Secondly, ITS GENUINENESS. The text now in use fairly represents that originally given. The task of proving this is not very onerous, though we have to span the period which lies between the present and a rather remote past-to bridge over seventeen centuries, so far as the later revelation, or the New Testament, is concerned; and thirty, in relation to the earlier, or Old Testament. The art of printing aids us in the argument. There are copies now in the careful custody of some of the libraries of England and Europe, which take us back at least three hundred and fifty years-copies agreeing with the version now in use. And when, as we go into the deeper past, we can derive no more assistance from type, we have forthcoming manuscripts in abundance, whose aggregate dates extend over at least one thousand years. These have been, by shrewd and laborious thinkers, industriously collected and carefully collated; and the conclusion arrived at is, that, substantially, we have the same Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Book of Revelation, which were originally in circulation. And as to the Old Testament, evidence of its genuineness is supplied by various translations made into the Arabic, Chaldaic, and other tongues; but especially from the