dence of the total depravity of human nature, and that mankind are under the sway of the prince of darkness. Kings and all the host of priests have found it their interest to foster delusion, and by physical strength they have shrouded themselves in darkness, and covered their kingdoms with a cloud of ignorance. It must be the duty of all those who enjoy the light, to do all in their power to dispel the darkness, to break the bands of moral slavery that fetter the bulk of mankind, to soften the miseries of their race, to endeavour the liberation of the slave, and, if unsuccessful, to bow with submission to the Great Disposer of events, and their reward shall be as sure and as abundant as if every effort had been crowned with success. Slavery, in all its darkest shades, is light, in comparison to the bondage of Satan; it terminates not at death; it is eternal slavery. No hope of relief to the wretched sinner: in life he bound his chains around him with delight; but now he must wear them to please his master; his fate is sealed: no potent arm can rescue him from Satan's dominion. In life he contemned the arm of might that was stretched forth to save; he would not have Jesus to reign over him; now he is left to his own deceivings, to drink the cup of his own mingling, and to endure the worm of conscience that never dies. There was a time when he was invited to drink of the water of life; but in hell there is not a drop of water to cool his tongue. Awful is the thought of eternal misery. How shall they who writhe with anguish at the amputation of a limb, endure the fire that quencheth not? Let sinners, who are yet in the land of the living, pause: still there is hope, if they break off their sins. Let them look towards Calvary's cross, and beg an interest in that prayer that was put up in behalf of the crucifiers of Jesus,-" Father, forgive them, they know not what they do," that they come not into this place of torment. That is a beautiful saying of our Saviour,-" If ye know the truth, the truth shall make you free." The man enlightened by its rays thinks and acts with freedom; he allows none to dictate to him in moral suasion; he bends to the word of God as to the charter of his faith and the rule of his conduct; by its light he walks surely. The fetters of prejudice, custom, and the world's opinion fall off; no longer is he a slave to vice, but is free indeed. He who is free, who hath been born again in Christ Jesus, who hath tasted the powers of the world to come, ought to rejoice in his freedom, and to be on his guard lest he sink again into slavery. How ought his gratitude to rise, when he contemplates, even in thought, the gulf of misery in which he might have sunk! To see himself snatched as a brand from the burning, and placed on the rock of ages, must overwhelm his mind in joy. The greatness of the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus we only see, when we contemplate the state of perdition in which those sink who are left to perish, and the great debasement which Jesus underwent that he might set the prisoners free. Who amongst the sons of the mighty, who amongst the potentates of the earth, would resign their exalted stations to be clothed in poverty, and dwell amongst slaves, that they might free them from their bondage? But he who was surrounded with the splendour of the heavens, and all the majesty of God, vacated his throne, and took upon himself the form of a servant, that he might seek and save the lost. When Jesus endured so much that he might redeem them who were sold under sin, any little exertion we can make to redeem our fellow-men from the yoke of bondage, ought to be done with cheerfulness and alacrity. The wicked will transgress and trample on the rights of men; but it is the privilege of the righteous to redress the grievance, to heal the wound, and to cheer with words of consolation the broken spirit. Death terminates the usurpation of man; the slave and his lord lie stretched in the dwellings of the dead, low in the silence of the tomb; as friends of ancient date, their dust mingles together as of the same mould. "There the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest;" but the conscious part of man still exists: perhaps the spirit of the slave may have gone to heaven, and that of his lord to hell. Should they both meet in the place of torment, where the master's power is for ever fled, how galling must it be to mingle with the spirits of his slaves, and be tormented with them for ever! Little do men think, when they are inflicting misery on their fellow-men, that the spirits of these men may be their torment to all eternity. If men would reflect on the responsibility of every action, they would tremble to trample on the right of their neighbour. God never relinquishes the rod of his justice; he will visit for iniquity; we must account for every idle word at the day of judgment. When Jesus suffered so much that the law might be made honourable, it should convince Christians that sin is that abominable thing which God hates, and that visitation must be made for iniquity. If their sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, they may drink deep of the cup of suffering to purify them from sin: "Without holiness none shall see God." How pleasant to cheer the bed of death,-to make the languid eye sparkle with joy,—to raise the drooping spirit to the hope of future rest! A |