mercy can be shewn to any human creature, it is only through faith in him, that those to whom he is made known can be saved. For his sake alone, because of his atonement and righteousness, shall we be accepted by God:-and this faith is his gift, and we must seek to obtain it by earnest prayer. A vague hope of the Divine mercy, while in our hearts and lives, we possess few, if any, proofs of that faith in Christ which "worketh by love," which makes us hate and forsake sin, is indeed a dangerous delusion, one of those "refuges of lies," under which, it is to be feared, too many seek "to hide themselves," but which must one day end in their eternal ruin, if grace prevent not. The source of this dangerous and too often fatal error, seems to be the want of a conviction of sin. We have all naturally exceedingly light thoughts of the evil of sin. If we do not "make a mock" at it, we regard it as of very trifling importance: we little think how it appears in his sight, who "is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity" without the greatest hatred and abhorrence. We would impiously make the Almighty such a one as ourselves, and suppose, that as we, alas! are ready enough to overlook sin both in ourselves and others, HE therefore," regardeth it not." But oh! let us look with the eye of faith to the cross of Christ, there, if any where, shall we be made to feel the exceeding evil, the dreadful guilt which brought agony and death to the Son of God, the "holy, harmless, undefiled" Jesus; there let us "look to him whom we have pierced, and mourn:"-there indeed sin appears to be "exceeding sinful." Let us humbly and fervently pray for that blessed Spirit, whose first work it is, to convince of sin." We shall never truly believe in Christ, till we are made to feel our need of a Saviour, and are convinced that we are under the curse of God, by reason of sin, from which he alone can save us. When thus taught of the Spirit, to know the evil of our own evil hearts, to feel that we are in very deed, what we often profess ourselves to be," miserable sinners," and

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that "the wages of sin is death," we shall no longer comfort ourselves with an unfounded hope of the Divine mercy: but we shall rather " flee for refuge to the hope set before us," casting ourselves by faith at the foot of his cross who hath graciously declared,-" him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out."

J. L. A.

LINES ON TEMPTATION.

WHY in devotion's consecrated hour,
Do thoughts unhallow'd flit across the soul?
Why does the sacred Table's mighty power!
Too briefly exercise its pure control?

While in the pious, or the moral page,

We seek the means to crush each noxious weed;
What cause does yet our vigilance assuage,
Still scattering tares, to choke fair virtue's seed?

Spirit of ill! thy wiles we here may trace,
That lured our parents from their blissful state;
Permitted tempter of their feeble race,
Thy heart still rankles with its ancient hate.

In vain, alone, we strive to make thee “ flee”

Christ's hand must "cast" thee from the troubled breast;
Come then, O Saviour! quicky set us free;
O send the Comforter! to give us rest!

"PERILOUS TIMES."

A Monologue.

I was thinking the other day about a question of our Saviour's in one of the Gospels, (Luke xviii. 8.) in which he asks; "when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" and, having looked for some assistance to a better understanding of it, I had found the place explained, as if it referred only, or chiefly, to the destruction of Jerusalem; (that is to say, to an event now passed above seventeen hundred years

ago.) That was pronounced to be the "coming of the Son of man" intended; and the expression, "on the earth," was said to be a bad translation of the Greek, and ought to have been, "in the land;" meaning the land of Judea. And certainly very fair reasons were given to show that this wonderful visitation must have formed at least a part of our Saviour's meaning; no doubt it was his first intention.

I could not, however, be content to fancy this the whole that was intended. So I put the text by in my memory, to be considered afresh, whenever any thing should turn up to throw a stronger light upon it. A few days after, the clergyman of the parish, in his sermon, happened to apply the third chapter of St. Paul's second epistle to Timothy to the existing state and complexion of the times. On going home, therefore, I naturally turned to this chapter, when it struck me as affording the very sort of help I wanted to give me a fuller understanding of the question just mentioned.

Accordingly, I put the two places together, and drew from them the following reflections: which I offer in this present form, in the hope of their being profitable to some others, in the same sort of way in which, by God's blessing, I think they have done good

to me.

"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" I think I see my way better now, (I said to myself) in regard to this same question. I never could bring myself to be satisfied, that such a question belonged only and entirely to times past. For, surely, all the terms of it not only admit a present application, but seem positively to call for it. For instance, "When the Son of man cometh ;"-who possibly can doubt there is a coming of the Son of man yet in store, if any credit is to be given to the Scriptures at all! These hardly speak more plainly or expressly, on any single point whatever; though they are equally express in saying, that it is quite uncertain

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when his coming shall be. Then, again, " shall he find faith on the earth?" We are all called upon to live by faith, and certainly I, for one, am living on the earth; and so are all my neighbours, friends, country

men.

The hinge of the matter seems to be, Are the Scriptures deserving to have credit given to them, when they speak in this manner? Let me endeavour to consider fairly, how far the language of our Saviour's question, and that of St. Paul's warning, when compared with a variety of things which I daily see and hear, appears to have proceeded from a spirit which knew the things to come: by consequence, how far it may itself afford a reason for believing, that Scripture is indeed the word of God.

"When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" The words of such a question clearly leave an impression, that, before any such coming, the faith of numbers will fail: nay, do they not seem too plainly to imply, that few will then be found believing, with such a faith as ought to be, in the Divine word and promises?

The time then, of this great event being uncertain, suppose the coming of the Son of man were to take place now suppose that he should come at once suddenly, upon the earth: would he find faith among ourselves? I am compelled to fear that he would not, generally; and for this plain reason. I must suppose

our Saviour here to mean a practical faith, because he evidently speaks of it as something good and valuable, (while he never does seem to think or speak of any mere profession: as, the "saying Lord, Lord :") and the generality of men (as it would seem) are not even trying to "live by faith;" that is to say, according to our Lord's directions.

This last is a point, which the apostle's warning, spoken of before, might serve to place beyond dispute, even if such a passage stood alone ;-for, what does he say? Know, that in the last days PERILOUS TIMES

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shall come for men shall be lovers of their ownselves, covetous, boasters," (when was there ever so much boasting and vain glory?) "proud, blasphemers,' (when ever were more shameful blasphemies, if by that word I am to understand "hard speeches," against GOD, and JESUS CHRIST, and HIS word and promises?" disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, incontinent, fierce, despisers of them that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." There is not one single particular, in all this dismal list, of which I cannot find direct instances at this day: and this, without the sin of judging others wrongly, inasmuch as there are public exhibitions of them almost every day, of kinds which cannot be mistaken!

I do not, indeed, suppose that the apostle, when he wrote the words just mentioned, was writing with an eye to any one particular time alone, to the exclusion of all others. At any rate, it is not necessary to suppose this; there may, perhaps, have been already several times in which his words have answered to the life, and there may yet be more such times to come. I do not therefore wish to strain the Scripture, or to fix the meaning of these words rashly upon my own times only. But it were unbelief and folly not to judge, that certainly they may afford a very serious admonition to ourselves just now for one time; if only we have eyes to see, and ears to hear. And if they are thus capable of giving us a warning, it will be well for humble minds to look, and to consider what the lesson is, which the apostle draws from them. Now, this I find to be, an exhortation stedfastly to persevere in a belief and trust in God's word. "Continue thou" (St. Paul says to Timothy)" in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of;-knowing that the holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Putting, then, our Saviour's question and the lan