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�་ thus essentially different. But the grand source of disagreement lies here that the one party believe, in fact, that Christ justifies the sinner by faith; the other, that he only enables the penitent believer to justify himself, or to entitle himself to justification.

I can only say, in conclusion, May He who is emphatically the God of Peace, put a speedy end to such divisions, by leading all who profess and call themselves Christians into the way of truth, that they may hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life!

C. C.

FAMILY SERMONS.-No. CIV.

2 Cor vi. 17, 18.-Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

MEN readily admit the necessity of being virtuous in their conduct, and of acknowledging to a certain extent the moral precepts of religion. So far, therefore, the Chris tian instructor finds little difficulty in executing the high commands of his office: every feeling is on his side; every voice is ready to attest the propriety of his injunctions. He paints the beauty of virtue, and we admire it; he tells us of the joys of heaven, and we long to partake of them; he exhibits the deformity of vice, and we shrink from it with abhorrence: all is easy, and calm, and tranquil, on this natural, this philosophical ground; no jealous passion rises in the heart; no prejudiced ear is opposed to his mes sage: we resolve to be decent and reputable characters in society; we determine that our conduct shall be upon the whole dignified and virtuous.

So far all may be well and excellent. Let us now advance another CHRIST, OBSERV. No, 188.

step. We are told of the giddiness of ambition; of the frivolity of the world; of the vanity of a life of fashionable amusement. Here again, though we do not perhaps follow the lesson, we do not raise our voices against it: we allow it to be, upon the whole, reasonable, and correct, and Christian. As long as we are permitted to be of the world, to live in its general spirit, to practise its current maxims, and enjoy its usual gratifications, we are not seriously offended at being told that we need be somewhat guarded as to the extent of our concession; that it is best to be on the safe side; and that Christianity does certainly require some undefined instances of self-denial, though, compared with into nothing. what she allows, they shrink almost

But let us suppose the instructor goes farther: let us suppose that be follows up his holy message in all its important extent; teaching us, that not merely a little decent exemption from gross sins is neces sary, but that we must decidedly come out from the world, and be separate; that we must not touch the unclean thing; that the friendship of the world is enmity with God; that she who liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth ;what would be the reception given to his unwelcome message? The answer would, alas! in too many instances, be, "This is a hard say. ing; who can bear it?" One man would, perhaps, be hardened, and determine never to perform the duty, though he knew his salvation depended upon it; another would allow the necessity of being separated from the world, but would put off the period of his separation; another would justify himself with vain excuses; another, perhaps and, ob! may this be the case with each of us!-would not only perceive the necessity and infinite importance of the injunction, but would resolve, by the grace of God, to put it into immediate prac tice.

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means approve of being placed together.

To this end, let us,

I. Point out the way in which the true Christian is to come out from the world.

II. The blessed encouragement held forth in the text for so doing. I. The way in which the Christian is to come out from the world. But here a question arises, What is the world which we are to forsake? Were we to measure it only by the opinions of men, what diversity would there appear upon this subject! All would readily forsake something which they called the world; but few would forsake their own world-the scene at once of their delights and their temptations. The dishonest man forsakes the company of the murderer: the licentious forsakes that of the dishonest; the man of decent character that of the licentious. But may it not be that even this person of decent character is still a worldling -and therefore, however harsh the assertion, not a true disciple of Christ? This is possible, nay it is probable, and, in many cases, is too often certain. The world, then, includes all who, whether high or low, rich or poor, rude or elegant, are living to themselves rather than to God, for time rather than for eternity. In order to comply with the command of forsaking the world.

1. We must forsake its unholy pleasures.

2. We must renounce its unscriptural doctrines.

3. We must be separated from its general spirit and design.

1. The Christian is to forsake the unholy pleasures of the world. In what, then, do these consist? Alas! disguise and palliate it as we may, the enjoyments of the world may all be reduced to the brief catalogue mentioned in Scripture ; the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eye, and the pride of life. The difference of a little more grossness or refinement is the utmost, perhaps, that is found between characters who would by no

To forsake, then, the pleasures of the world, is not merely to soften them down, and refine them till they lose their vulgar aspect; it is not to mix up with them much that is sentimental and attractive; it is not to indulge in them only in a respectable and regular manner; but it is to come out from among them, and to be separate; it is to give up vanity, and pride, and selfindulgence, in all their forms, as much as open sensuality and gross corruption. It is to be new creatures in Christ Jesus; it is for old things to have passed away, and for all things to have become new; it is to find our pleasure, not in the world, not even in its apparently innocent amusements, but in God and heaven-in the contemplation of a merciful Redeemer, and an all-gracious Sanctifier-in the doctrines and precepts, the promises and rewards of the holy book of God.

2. This leads us to consider the next idea proposed; namely, that in forsaking the world we are to renounce its unscriptural doctrines. What, my brethren, are the common doctrines of the world relative to man and his salvation? They are short and simple; but they are not scriptural, they are not consistent with fact, and they will not conduct us to the kingdom of heaven.

Persons of the world, in general, view themselves as beings with a few faults or follies; too thoughtless, it is true, and too much engaged with temporal concerns, but still right at heart, and needing a Saviour only to make up for their de fects. What a change, therefore, must occur in the opinions of such an individual, before he can be said truly to admit into his heart the doctrines of Scripture! How must he view himself guilty and wretched in the sight of God, by reason of his sins! How must penitence soften his heart, and a knowledge of him self, as he really is, dispose him to

listen with interest to the kind message of a crucified Redeemer! Those vain excuses must melt into bitter tears; that hard heart must be broken: he must feel and know his own unrighteousness, and the denunciations of God's'wrath against his transgressions, before he can be said to have made a single advance towards renouncing the false doc trines of the unchristian world. Self-righteousness, and dependence upon his own works or deservings, are among the first things to be forsaken by the returning penitent. He must begin to adopt, in the place of proud and worldly sentiments, others of a more lowly and scriptural kind; of salvation only through the obedience and death of his Saviour, and by faith in him. He must take up the words of the publican, "Lord be merciful to me, a sinner!" not pleading his own merits, as by nature we all do, but the merits of the only-begotten Son of God, who gave himself a ransom for men.

3. In a word, as was mentioned in the third place, we are to be sepa rated from the world in its general spirit and design.

If there be truth in the Divine records, the way of the world is broad and easy, and many there are that go in thereat;-while the way to heaven is strait and narrow, and few there be that find it. Hence we learn, that the whole spirit of the world is wrong and inconsistent with the hopes,and joys,and conduct of one who expects a better and a heavenly inheritance. It is not a slight change, then, that is required; the forsaking of a few sins which happen to press hard upon the conscience; but, to use the expression of the Apostle, it is being " renewed in the spirit of our minds;" being "regenerated," "converted," "transformed," ""turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." It would be very possible for an individual to forsake the pleasures of the world, and become a hermit for life, with

out renouncing the spirit of the world. On the contrary, it is very possible to mix in society, as far as our station may require, and diligently to attend to the affairs of this life, without a worldly spirit. In order, however, to this, an important change of character is necessary. God demands from us our love, and our judgment, and our affections; but before we can give all or any of these, we must have renounced a worldly spirit-in other words, we must be the very contrary of the heedless beings who come under the scriptural description of the world. Are their hearts set upon things terrestial? ours must aspire to things celestial. Are they bounded, and engrossed, and absorbed with the concerns of the body? we must make the care of the soul, and the acquirement of the one thing needful, our highest object of solicitude. Do they love the things that perish in the using? we must seek objects eternal and incorruptible. Do they live by sense? we must live by faith. Do they consider themselves as having their portion here? we must live as pilgrims and strangers upon earth, looking for a heavenly city, whose builder and maker is God. The very frame and fabric, as it were, of our soul must be altered; a clean heart must be given us, and a right spirit renewed within us.

Thus have we seen something of the nature of what is meant by coming out and being separate. It is "to renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh."

II. We may now proceed, secondly, to consider "the blessed encouragement held forth in the text for so doing." "I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you; and ye shall be my sons and my daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."-What a divine compensation is this, even were we to endure every possible suffering and

indignity for the cause of our Redeemer! He hath himself told us, that there is no one that shall lose houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or lands, or children, for his sake and the Gospel's, but shall receive a hundred fold even in the present world, and in the world to come shall inherit life everlasting.

In order to discover the fulness of the blessing of God becoming our Father, let us examine what relation the Almighty bears to those who are of the world. He is their Judge; he is justly displeased at them for their sins: he is angry with the wicked every day. Or if we view him in any respect as a Father, it can be only as an of. fended one; ready in just indignation to cut them off for ever from his heavenly inheritance-a Father, indeed, whose pity and compassion are great who willeth not the death of his prodigal child, but whose laws have been so rebelliously violated, whose long-suffering has been so long despised, that at the last day all his once-offered mercy will but cause a greater aggravation to the punishment of the impenitent offender.

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Again; the relation which man bears to God, before the change of character spoken of in the text, is not that of a dutiful and happy son ;-it is that of a profligate and disobedient child-a voluntary and rebellious outcast from his Father's household, whose feeble arm has been raised against the Majesty of Heaven, and who has just reason to expect the displeasure of the Almighty in this world, and his eternal indignation in the next.

Such being the case of the worldling, we may the more fully appreciate the blessing promised in the text to those who come out of the world, and forsake it. God will be their Fa ther, and they shall be his children. We might, indeed, have thought we should be rejected as we deserve; we might have expected that, having loved the world so long, the Almighty would not now accept

the offer of our late obedience and affections. But in this, as in other things, his ways are above our ways, and his thoughts above our thoughts. He is willing even now to receive us: he waiteth to be gracious. It was a great and exalted blessing for Adam to have been created a child of God: but how much greater the promise, that we, who had forfeited all title to that distinction by our sins, may yet be restored; be adopted once more into the family of God, and become heirs of his everlasting kingdom! Come then out from the world, and its vanities; resolve, by the grace of God to dedicate yourselves to his service. Renounce your selves, and cleave with full purpose of heart to your Redeemer. For why did this Saviour agonize, and die, but that he might redeem us by his blood, and that in consequence we who name his Name, and call ourselves his disciples, might die also to the world and sin? Like the Apostle, then, let us die daily, continually mortifying all our evil and corrupt affections, and daily proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living, thus perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. If, in our attempts to do so, we find that temptation is strong, and our spiritual powers feeble, let us look up with humble confidence for the influences of that blessed Spirit, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; that Spirit who gave us the first desire after salvation, and to whom we must be indebted for every future assistance in its attainment. Let us remember also the reward; it is nothing temporal, or frail, or changeable; but it is that God shall be our Father, and we his sons and daughters to all eternity. "Behold, then, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God;" and while we admire the greatness of the blessing, let us earnestly endeavour so to perform the command in the text that by the grace of God we may become partakers of it.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ON FEMALE EDUCATION IN

IRELAND.

(Concluded from p. 434.)

THE third objection is one which
deserves serious consideration.
The New Testament abounds in
warnings, respecting the danger
of a too great love of human ap-
plause. This very sin is the lead-
ing feature in the often-repeated
condemnation of the pharisees.
Even, if the poisoned exhalation
passed over this world innoxious,
it is a vapour which cannot ascend
to heaven. It is therefore a sad con-
fusion of right and wrong, to render
human praise the spring of action,
or to point to it as a reward and re-
compence, and thus to substitute the
creature in the place of the Creator.
This topic suggests the notice of
another error, which seems to lurk
unsuspected, in connection with
labours in all other respects most
beneficial. In the public annual
catechetical examinations which
are held in some of the principal
towns in Ireland, the children be-
longing to charity schools are
mixed indiscriminately with chil-
dren of other descriptions, who
offer themselves at such examina-
tions. The appointed task is com-
mensurate with the powers of all:
perhaps the poor child has the ad-
vantage in having fewer objects to
draw aside the attention, and to
fill the memory. Accordingly, we
find, that in this competitory trial,
the children from charity schools
bear away in triumph a large pro-
portion of the premiums. But do
the feelings of exultation, which
this triumph naturally produces in
the poor child, consist with the
due cultivation of that obedient
and submissive spirit which is de-
manded both by the laws of God

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tions; but the advocates for the
system urge, that, as in the sight of
God all mankind are equal, it is
presumptuous to introduce the dis-
tinction of rich and poor into acts
of religion; and that to the rich,
the mixture inculcates a salutary
lesson of self abasement. In both
these positions there is a fallacy.
The examinations, though upon re-
ligious subjects and carried on in
a church, are as far removed from
being a religious act as the exami-
nations in the hall of a collegiate
institution. The examinations in
the church, like those in the col-
lege hall, are instituted with a
view to appreciate and reward the
comparative ability, knowledge,
and diligence of the candidates.
To the rich, the being thus asso-
ciated with the poor will afford no
lesson of self-abasement; although
it may sharpen the sting of dis-
appointment, to be supposed to be
inferior in capacity or application
to a charity child. The touch-
stone of pride is not applied by
our contact with persons decidedly
many degrees below us in life, but
by intercourse with those whose
stations nearly approach to our
own, and with whom that inter-
course may seem to place us upon
a

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level: The truly Christian child, under any circumstance, will be humble, because she knows that otherwise she cannot be the disciple of Christ. She is aware that in the word of God it is written, 'Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of Be not wise in your low estate. own conceits, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better If she be ignothan themselves." rant, or negligent, of these Divine precepts, her humility, however acquired, will be false and spurious; a mere delusive semblance, which conceals self-complacency

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