enjoyed, of which man is susceptible. That he did not disown the power of circumstances, nor fail to surround his disciples with the best influences under his command, his history places beyond a doubt; but his view of moral influence was not limited to any exterior instrumentality; he saw in the human mind itself, a power superior to all outward appliances, a power for good or for ill of overwhelming efficacy; and he therefore addressed himself at once to this mighty principle, the original of all the triumphs of humankind, whether physical or moral. Nor do I entertain a doubt, that any effort must signally fail which, disowning or undervaluing the native and independent power of the human breast, seeks the good of man by the external force of improved circumstances.' Some good may result-but as a remedy for our moral disorders, and especially if designed to work out the elevation of character which the religion of Jesus purposes, little else than disappointment can ensue. All effectual moral reform must be begun, carried on, and completed in the hearts of individuals.

Let it not, however, be for a moment supposed, that while Jesus aimed to benefit individuals, he forgot or neglected the mass. His aim was of the most extended character, as befitted one who came with a message of mercy from the Universal Father. Nor is it the least original feature in his character, that he formed the grand design, and took effectual measures, to make his influence co-extensive with humanity. Never did so large or so benign a conception enter a human bosom, as that which filled and moved his who taught, lived, and died for the salvation of the human race. His was the only true philanthropy, the love of MAN, of man as man, of man irrespectively of country, age, or time. Like all the gifts of the Common Parent, the love of Christ bore the stamp of universality. And wide as was his heart, so wide and comprehensive were the principles which he expounded. If it were not a divine truth, it

would be a moral wonder, that the son of a Jewish carpenter, who had received no earthly influence from beyond the narrow limits of the bigotted land of Judæa, should have risen to the sublime idea of a universal moral regeneration, and so taught and lived as to establish principles which, in their triumph, must eventuate in universal happiness.

For a moment cast your eye on the spirit which he manifested, and one or two of the great principles which he offered to the world, in order to give effect to the great idea which was the travail of his soul. He is a Jew. Does he flatter Jewish prejudices?

Does he foster the antipathies of the nation? Does he encourage their fond hopes of religious supremacy? Excited and buoyed up as the Jewish people then was by the most pleasing and long-cherished visions, he might, had he chosen, have placed himself at the head of the popular stream, and probably been carried onward to a widelyextended earthly sway. He not merely does not seize the opportunity, he does not content himself with evading the current of national prejudice and pride, but he nobly sets himself to stem it. True, he paid his life a forfeit for his moral daring; but in failing to become a Jewish king, he proved the benefactor of the world. He opposed a narrow spirit of nationalism, in order to live a life and die a death of universal love.

He was the son of a peasant. Did he affect the favor of the rich and great? Was he ambitious of the adherence to his cause of the rulers of the land? On the contrary, two of the most decided features of his character were, the one, the boldness, the almost superhuman boldness with which he rebuked the scribe, pharisee, and priest, for their shameful misuse of power; the other, the extraordinary, the unparalleled devotedness of attention which he manifested to the poor, the ignorant, the outcast, and the sinful. His was emphatically a ministration of gentleness, peace, and love to the despised:

and neglected cottagers of Judæa. The poor have the gospel preached unto them-was his own triumphant evidence of the divinity of his mission. No! the moral influence of Jesus was thrown into the right scale. The world, he knew, would love its own. Power and wealth then, as now, needed no factitious aid. They are idols to which men are ever ready to bow the knee. Jesus loved and reverenced humanity, and, therefore, made the great stream of his influence to bear in favor of the poor. His attachment was not to the garb, nor the rank, but to the children of God, to the world within the breast of each-that world, of all worlds the most important; and his only question therefore was, where there was the greatest need, and the best prospect of doing good.

It was in entire unison with his own most tender and truly philanthropic spirit, that he taught and enforced, in many varied forms, that first great principle of his religion, that God is truly the Father of the human race. The very word is in itself a revelation-the disclosure of a whole circle of truths, and of truths which bear with a most cheering and beneficial influence on all our earthly relations, and on all the hopes and prospects which we can entertain, whether for the life that is, or that to come. If God is our Father, then is love the presiding, governing, and shaping influence of the moral universe. If the God of heaven and earth is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, then all his designs and measures must be in kind merciful, forbearing, loving and tender, like the designs and measures of his well-beloved Son. If God is our Father, then whatever clouds and darkness may rest upon his dealings, or on our own individual lot, they can be no other than the needful discipline of a Father's wisdom and benignity, and will in time roll away, and issue in the prevalence of unmingled and universal happiness. If God is our Father, then, though we his children may prove recreant

to our relationship, and unfaithful to our opportunities, yet he resteth in his love, is ever ready to forgive, and waiteth to be gracious; and the idea of appeasing his wrath, or of suffering the infliction of endless pains, is only not impiety, because it is the offspring of an unwilful and pitiable human weakness. And finally, if God is our Father, then is that other grand principle of Christianity true and full of meaning, that all mankind are brethren. The paternity of God becomes the basis of the fraternity of man. I know no other ground on which the relation of human brotherhood can securely The idea of a natural equality is a mere fiction, contradicted by undeniable facts. The reality of a social equality our own eyes assure us has no existence. But if it is true, as Jesus taught, that God is the equal parent of all, then all men are equal in his sight, all men are alike his children, members of his family, and possessed, in consequence, of equal spiritual rights, privileges, hopes, and destiny. Here, then, is a solid and satisfactory reason for cultivating a spirit of universal benevolence, and for doing good to all men, as we have, or can make opportunity for being merciful, as our Father in heaven is merciful.

rest.

Another instrumental truth which our Lord employed was, as set forth by him, of singular and surpassing efficacy;-Jesus took the doctrine of a future life out of the region of mythology, and placed it in the precincts of well-established truths. He taught it not only by word, but by the fact of his own resurrection. And the word and the fact were as much unexceptionable and satisfactory evidence, as striking and efficient modes of instruction; since for the trust-worthiness of the one, we have the pledge of the character of Christ; and for the establishment of the other, the general conditions of historical credibility. Had so good a man as Jesus was, merely declared himself commissioned to assert man's immortality, we should have possessed a stable founda

tion for our faith; but when both his assertion and his claims are verified by fact, by the historical fact that be himself rose from the dead,-rose as the first fruits of the whole human family, then we have the highest proof of which the subject admits, and are warranted in fostering our instinctive desire for the perpetuation of our being into full and unwavering assurance.

And so is it also a fact, that the idea of a future state of being now prevails in society not only more extensively, but in a form far more definite and operative than at any period anterior to the birth of Christ. For its native efficacy, however, we must revert to the primitive ages of the Christian Church, when entering the heart in full power, and settling there, it became the principle of a new life, and gave, in many instances, a power of endurance, and a power of self-control, such as no other page of history records.

Nor, I am persuaded, will the unbeliever himself deny, that a firm belief in a future state of conscious being must be as efficacious, as to the good man it is delightful. No other truth can exert so ennobling and purifying an influence on the heart and life. All our faculties assume a new aspect, our domestic affections become holy, our duties and interests of unspeakable importance, our whole destiny as interesting as it is elevated, when we regard ourselves as born and being educated for eternity.

And now tell me whether it is possible for any mere prudential-any earthly considerations whatever-to recommend benevolence as it comes enforced to him who is a true and consistent believer in Jesus Christ? It is impossible to conceive of influences-circumstances if you will so powerful as those which faith in him brings around the human being. The will of God; the purposes of his Providence; his mercy and love to each individual; the example and authority of Christ; the great issues of eternity, as well as of time,-all conspire