market. Productions augment the power of consumption. One book thoroughly digested, only intensifies the mind's desire, and widens its capacity, for another. Its receptivity is boundless; its cry for more will grow more vehement with the ages. The same is true of its powers of production. The body wears out with work; trees exhaust themselves by their fruit; the more your garden produces, unless you replenish its soil, the less its capability of production. Not so with the soul; its productiveness is increased by its productions; its soil grows richer in proportion to the fruit it yields. Did “Paradise Lost" exhaust the mind of Milton ? No! It only increased its power for countless productions of a sublimer kind.

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Secondly: There are arrangements in connexion with the soul's history which indicate this. There are three things which serve to bring out afresh some latent powers of the soul. A new relationship does it. The maternal feeling in which is wrapt a world of wondrous emotion, slumbers every female heart. Nothing is wanted but a new relationship to call it up. The first babe she presses to her bosom as her own, will open up this wondrous world of thought and feeling. Thus new social relationships unfold hidden powers of the soul, of which before there was no consciousness. New sceneries do it. What new and strange emotions have stirred our souls as we have stood in the presence of the wild and majestic in nature, or walked on the shore under the shadow of craggy cliffs, tottering beneath the weight of ages, whilst old ocean rolled her thunderous music in our ears! New engagements do it. How many a man, who in youth was regarded by his contemporaries of dull and feeble intellect, destitute of genius, a mere dolt, has been made a brilliant man, by some new occupation. Many a dull soul that delves in coal pits, would shine a bright star in our age, were he brought into a new and congenial enterprise. Now, to these three soul-developing forces— new relationships, new sceneries, and new engagements— the good man will be subject for ever. In the great

eternity he will be ever forming new relationships with orders of beings, of which, at present he has no conception; -high spirits in the universe of God. He will be ever visiting new sceneries; new phases of the creation will ever roll before his admiring eyes. He will have new engagements. There will be no monotony in the services of eternity. All will be fresh as the morning.

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Thus we see that from "glory to glory" is the destiny of the good. Well might John say, "It doth not yet appear we shall be." Eighteen centuries have rolled away since the apostle uttered those words, and he has been rising from "glory to glory" ever since; and yet if he were to write on the subject of his destiny to-day, he would still say, "it doth not yet appear what we shall be." The path of a Christian is like that of a traveller, who on a summer's morning scales some delightful hill; it widens and brightens as we advance.

GLORY.

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IV. CHRISTIANITY REVEALS THE AUTHOR OF HUMAN "Even as by the Spirit of the Lord." It is the essence of true and intelligent piety, to ascribe all that is good everywhere to the "Spirit of the Lord." In referring the moral elevation of man to the Divine Spirit, it does not follow that the apostle would not have referred all that is good and useful everywhere to the same blessed agent. There is no class of men whose ideas are more dishonoring to the Divine Spirit than those who restrict His agency the souls of Christian men. And yet strange to say there is no class of men more prone to a reckless uncharitableness in charging those with dishonoring the Spirit, who take a wider and we think a more truthful view of the subject. It is the essence of piety we say again, aye, and the dictate of true philosophy, to ascribe all good everywhere to the influence of the great God. Had Paul been asked, who brought from the midnight of chaos this world of brightness and beauty, teeming in every part with life in boundless variety, he would have said, "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Had he been asked about the

creation of the untold myriads of orbs that burn in the firmaments of immensity, he would have said, "The spirit of the Lord hath garnished the heavens." Had he been asked concerning the wonderful change that comes over nature, after Old Winter has relaxed his icy grasp upon her vitals, and genial spring has set in, he would have said, "He sendeth forth his Spirit and reneweth the face of the earth." Had he been asked about his own constitution, the organization of his own wonderful frame, and the faculties and susceptibilities of his own mysterious soul, he would have said, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the inspiration of the Almighty hath given me understanding." Had he been asked concerning the arts that bless and adorn the civilized life of mankind, he would have ascribed every building reared on true scientific principles, every field well cultivated, every government well organized, in fact every thing that is true and useful in the arts of life, to "The Spirit of God, which is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working." In fine, had he been asked concerning the good action even of bad men ;-such as Balaam, Cyrus, and Saul, he would have said that men do the true thing because "The Spirit of the Lord cometh upon them." Away then with the Spirit-dishonoring notions of those religionists who would limit the influence of the Spirit of the Lord to the cleansing from the heart the moral filth of the "dear people," the "favorite few."

In the text, however, Paul is speaking of the great work of man's restoration to the glories of moral excellence; and true to the conclusions of enlightened reason, and to the spirit of genuine piety, he ascribes this blessed work also to the " Spirit of the Lord." It is this Spirit that reveals to man the true glory in "the face of Jesus Christ," as in " a glass." It is He too, who takes off the veil from the eyes of the soul, disposes us so to behold with open face the glory, that we are changed into the same image "from glory to glory." To this Spirit then, the Spirit of truth, and holiness, and God, you must look my young brothers for true glory.

VOL. X.

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The spirit of mere worldly ambition, whatever the power of its inspirations within you, and whithersoever it may lead ; whether through the regions of commerce, the fields of war, the circles of fashion, or the halls of learning, will never conduct you to true glory. On the contrary, ever deepening degradation, and ever blackening disappointment, must inevitably await that immortal being who is led by the spirit of earthly aggrandizement. "Where the spirit of the Lord is, there," and there only," is liberty";-"the glorious liberty of the children of God."

My young brothers!* knowing that ambition-in itself a divine passion-is one of the strongest impulses in the breasts of youth, I have endeavored to show you what true glory is, in what direction it lies, and how it is to be attained. I would have you remember, that to be glorious is to be good, and to be good is to be like Christ. Godliness is glory. True religion is assimilation to the All-glorious God; nothing less. Heed not, my young brothers, the sneering sceptic, who would identify religion with the effeminate in thought, the morbid in feeling, and the mean in conduct. Heed not the proud ecclesiastic, who would have you believe that religion consists in the adoption of the metaphysical dogmas and sensuous ritualisms of his church. Heed not the sectaries, who would have you regard it as identified with the dippings or sprinklings, the rites or isms of their own little sect. I tell you that true religion is something independent of all these things, and transcending in glory the loftiest ideas of all; It is the assimilation of the soul to the All-glorious God. GODLINESS IS GLORY.

* This discourse was delivered to Young Men.

The Genius of the Gospel.

ABLE expositions of the gospel, describing the manners, customs, and localities alluded to by the inspired writers; also interpreting their words, and harmonizing their formal discrepancies, are, happily, not wanting amongst us. But the eduction of its WIDEST truths and highest suggestions is still a felt desideratum. To some attempt at the work we devote these pages. We gratefully avail ourselves of all exegetical helps within our reach; but to occupy our limited space with any lengthened archæological, geographic, or philological remarks, would be to miss our aim ; which is not to make bare the mechanical process of scriptural study, but to reveal, its spiritual results.

SECTION SEVENTIETH :-Matt. xxi. 23-26.

"And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.”

SUBJECT:-Intellect under the Reign of Wickedness.

RAPIDLY now grew the hostility of both the politicians and ecclesiastics—“the elders and priests"-towards Christ. Not only did every fresh miracle and discourse, but every incidental expression, and smallest token of interest displayed towards Him by the people, serve to fan into an all-consuming flame those fires of malignity which had been smouldering in the breasts of these officers, from the very commencement of His public ministry. Indeed it was in full flame now. It was burning with an irrepressible violence in the Sanhedrim at this moment. His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and the hosannas of the people; His cleansing