The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it, What Job here says of wisdom illustrates the extreme value of the earnestly desired something, and shows that it is neither to be confounded with the richest earthly possessions, nor purchased by them. And the fact that men have no name for it, until they have it actually in possession, shows conclusively that they are capable of having and enjoying a treasure which the world's highest ideas of wealth utterly fail to reach. It is this conscious capability, side by side with the equally conscious inability to supply the thing yearned for, that tosses the heart to and fro, and exhausts it with weariness, until it cries, "Vanity of vanities -all is vanity !" Amidst silken and golden luxury; under the canopy of gorgeous cunning work; in the halls of splendour, flashing and blazing with rarest mirrors; in the imposing assemblages of beauty, fashion, talent, and title; as well as in the plainer abodes of the myriad middle classes, and the still humbler dwellings of the millions who live by manual labour; this cry of bitter disappointment has been uttered. There is a vacant place in every human heart, and there is only one thing in the entire universe that can fill it. There is an inarticulate cry for happiness, surging habitually from the depth of every human soul that has not yet discovered the grand secret of repose; and there is one source, and only one, whence that cry can get an answer fully adequate to its utmost wishes, and even exceeding in generous liberality everything it imagined. The sense of want, is often painfully keen, sometimes most distressing. No form of words, either literal or figurative, is too strong to depict the crushing weight, the oppressive sorrow, the mental agony, which some men have endured within view of the imperative necessity for the supply of this want, and their own utter, absolute inability to do it. Surely this is the most startling of all problems in relation to human nature, that a man should be able to see his pressing need of something which he is unable, either by his virtue, or benevolence, or wealth, or anything whatever that he can either do or suffer, to procure for himself. Surely, this is a hard case-an insoluble problem, if there be not something in this description of it greatly exaggerated, if not essentially wrong. That there is neither error nor exaggeration in the representation rests upon the testimony of millions of the human race. We have not so much described as reported a fact so well known that the man who should take upon himself to deny its general accuracy, would be put out of the witness-box by the conscience of mankind. But whether the case be hard, the problem insoluble, is quite another question. It may be found that the stern difficulty which lies at the threshold of this region of thought is significant of something very beautiful, very sublime, which reflects upon man a lustre, and invests him with a dignity not otherwise possible. It is worth most serious inquiry, whether the impotence is not the moral finger-post to a strength unthought of, whilst the craving of the heart remains unsatisfied; whether the conscious inability is not a silent prophecy of divine help, ready to be vouchsafed as soon as the helpless one turns in earnestness to the Great Helper. The universal sense of want, may be a voice within, saying that there is One waiting to supply it, and that in its very nature, it is too great to be supplied from any visible source what ever. Such thoughts as these are worth cherishing, even apart from other considerations, if it were only from the fact that they suggest hope, and fall upon the spirit like a ray of golden sunlight upon thick darkness. For it is not too much to say that the conscious craving for some good thing is a proof that it is in existence somewhere; and that, if pos sessed, there would also be found real ability to enjoy it. In other words, it is hardly conceivable that the heart should yearn after the non-existent and the impossible-should pant for bliss which never was and never will be heard of in the universe. This thought is too wild to be entertained for a moment, for it amounts to the inconceivable proposition that the Creator has implanted in human nature a power which can never be used-a desire which never can be gratified. It is far more likely that we have dormant powers to be awakened into activity when that for which they are adapted shall come, than that we have any power for which it is altogether impossible to find appropriate exercise. If any reader, therefore, finds the question rising to his lips, What is it I want? let him not silence it as a useless fancy destitute of all moral significance, but let him encourage it until he is able to give it a perfectly satisfactory answer; for we venture respectfully to assure him of two things-that the question is profoundly significant, and that a sublimely perfect answer can be found. That answer is CHRIST. There is no substitute for Christ to satisfy the yearnings of the human heart. The keen edge of want will vex, and the consciousness of deficiency will be felt, until he take up his abode in the soul. Neither Church, nor creed, nor virtue ;-neither bishop, nor priest, nor pastor;-neither gold, nor power, nor influence,-can make up for the absence of the life of Christ within. "Have ye received Christ Jesus the Lord ?" is, therefore, the primary and all important question to put to a man, whatever his position or condition in society. Be he prince or peasant, senator or serf, that is the question which goes straight to the very heart of the matter, and brushes aside as impertinent all talk about this or that Church or brotherhood, whose officials pretend to keep the gates of the King's highway to glory. There is a mouldy air of old ecclesiasticism about all such pretences, whether they come from the scarlet hierarchy, or the last handful of dissidents, which contrasts strongly with the healthy and bracing atmosphere that surrounds the words of John, when he says, "As many as received the true Light, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." In the presence of this splendid oracle one breathes freely. The heart leaps with holy joy. Sons of God! Enough, O great and loving Saviour! More than this, we cannot want; less than this cannot satisfy. In this is the divine antidote to trouble-the assured pledge of all joy; for the love that adopts will never cool, never change, never die. Let us see how Paul viewed it in the midst of his troubles. Paul is a good authority in Church matters! He says, in that wonderful chapter (Rom. viii.), which is radiant with the light of the third heavens : " And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? Shall God that justifieth? Who is he that condemneth? Is it Christ who died; yea more, that is also risen again, who is also at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay; in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Whence this triumphant language, this bold challenge to the universe on the part of a man who was surrounded and confronted with every kind of trouble? Either he is the victim of wild fanaticism, or the subject of inspired certainty. Either he knows not what he says, or he speaks under the absolute authority of God. No middle supposition is admissible in this case. Now mark; what is the foundation on which this splendid superstructure is built? For the oracle speaks not in enigma, but with condensed logical accuracy, every step of which fits admirably into its place, until the grand climax is reached. The rock on which this inspired argument rests is the unchanging love of Christ to the "many brethren " of whom he is the first-born. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?" (Ver. 85.) That is to say, Christ's love to us (ver. 37)—" more than conquerors through him that loved us" -and, the crowning point, this is "the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ver. 39.) Now we grasp the glorious thought :-Paul's support amidst severe trials, the strong refuge where he sheltered when the storm burst, and the goodly weapon with which he challenged all comers, was the unalterable, unchanging, undying, everlasting, love of Christ to his body, the Church. With that in his heart and mind as a settled, firm, fixed truth, about which there could be neither question nor shadow of doubt, he was prepared for whatever might occur. It made him strong to do or or suffer, to toil or endure, to dare or die! The hunger of this man's heart was satisfied, for Christ was there," the hope of glory;" this man was not perplexed about what to believe, for he knew" whom he believed;" and the severity of his sufferings, instead of suggesting misgivings. respecting his relationship to the MASTER, is taken as a proof of the most endearing relationship, "For thy sake we are killed all the day long!" What a tender chord is touched here! The quotation from the prophetic psalm aptly illustrates the case; it expresses the thought of his heart: "I am suffering for the sake of one who loves me, who rests in his love, and will never cease to love me! It is a holy luxury, and I am thankful for it!" Here Paul is in fellowship with those who were in Christ before him. Ignominiously beaten, the apostles departed from the presence of their persecutors rejoicing that they were "counted worthy to suffer shame" for the name of Jesus. The moral grandeur of this, wins the admiration of every man whose esteem is worth having. Those who are capable of appreciating the truly heroic, will see in these facts an argument for our holy faith which, by itself, should put our doubts to flight when they rush upon us in some night of trouble. The gracious fact, that nothing shall rob us of the love of our beloved LORD, should fill us with joy unspeakable, and make us strong both for service and suffering in the cause of such a Lover, to whom be gloryO, how well deserved!-for ever and ever! INt A MISUNDERSTOOD TEXT. the authorised version of the Scriptures, Eph. iv. 7-10 reads thus: "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things." Upon this statement, especially that clause of it which represents our Lord as having "descended first into the lower parts of the earth,' doctrines have been founded which, to say the least of them, derive no support from other portions of Scripture, and appear totally at variance with the general tenor of revelation on the subject to which it is supposed to refer. It has been affirmed that the consciousness of the dead is implied in the expression, and upon this assumption marvellous things have been said about the living souls of the departed in Hades, or the intermediate state between death and the resurrection. That the souls of deceased persons are alive in some mysterious region of the universe is a notion which we, at least, hold to be unscriptural, irrational, and absurd,—a relic of pure paganism, which has, by some means, found its way into Christian theology, and keeps its sway over the minds of multitudes until this day. But we are not about to examine this theory here. If we can show that one of its chief proof texts must be taken from it, some little service will be rendered to the priceless cause of truth, as well as to the unity of doctrine which pervades the Bible. That clause in the Creed of the Church of England which says of our Lord," He descended into hell," always grates upon our ears. We can never listen to its recital without a conscious shudder. Let it be granted that the compilers of that instrument meant nothing more by it than that which is implied in the Hebrew sheol or the Greek hades, the majority in every congregation must be ignorant of the fact, and would be equally ignorant of the meaning of these words, if they heard them. "Hell," to the mass of our people, means the lake of fire and brimstone; the place, as they are taught, of torment to lost souls. If they think at all when repeating the Creed, that is what they think; and it is very mournful that such a fearful delusion should be perpetuated from generation to generation, in connection with the services of the sanctuary and the ministry of grace. We are glad to see that "the Reformed Episcopal Church" just constituted in New York, has expunged from the Creed the obnoxious words, "He descended into hell." May the example thus set be largely followed! for it is in every sense wrong and reprehensible to give any human being the monstrous idea that our blessed Lord, between his death and resurrection, descended, in a disembodied state, to a region of conscious suffering. But then, we are asked, what is meant by "the lower parts of the earth," to which the Apostle says that Christ descended? and as it is assumed that this expression means hades, and that our Lord's soul went there whilst his body lay in the grave, it is all important, in the interests of Scripture truth, that a correct answer be |