It has been often remarked, that those who are themselves bereft of reason, unconscious of their own aberration, deem those about them mad. It is so in spiritual things. The Bible represents the sinner as beneath the power of a moral insanity, "blinded by the god of this world," "bewitched that he should not obey the truth;" and yet it is never he himself that is mad, but those who believe and obey the gospel. “Paul, Paul!" said Festus to the great apostle of the Gentiles, when he had just made that manly defence before Agrippa, “thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad:" and no charges have ever been flung more unsparingly against the true followers of Christ than those of delusion and madness. Thus, this gallant colonel could beseech his sister to return to her senses, because she had avowed her simple, heartfelt trust in the precious blood of the Redeemer. The colonel was a man of upright, honourable character, and correct manners; he even thought himself to be a religious man, and passed for such in the eyes of the world. He was exact, and even rigid, in the performance of outward moral and religious duty; he was in the habit of assembling his family for domestic worship daily, but especially in the evening, he himself conducting the service, and reading the Bible and the prayers for the day. His house was kept under what might be called rigid discipline; such a thing as intemperance was never seen in it; and extravagant, lavish entertainments were unheard of. The sabbath was scrupulously observed; and perhaps no family in the country was more regular in attendance on the ordinances of the church, or more liberal in charity. In fact, he was looked upon as a perfect model for any one who wished to reform his life, and devote himself to the performance of his most sacred duties; and yet, with all this, he was a stranger to the truth. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned," 1 Cor. ii. 14. A protracted and painful discussion followed between the brother and sister. She dwelt strongly on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus; and declared that she had never enjoyed true peace of mind, or dared to approach God as a Father, until she fully comprehended the meaning of the word "truth;" and with it, on the one hand, "the long-suffering of God," and on the other, "christian holiness." She was right. There is indeed no true peace of mind, no liberty of access to God as a Father, until "the truth as it is in Jesus," the truth which reveals to us a long-suffering God and a gracious and all-sufficient Saviour, is received with all the simplicity of faith, and till, through the power of that truth, the germ of christian holiness is implanted in the soul. This is the secret of peace, of a "peace which passeth all understanding." Then, and only then, does God send forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father." 66 But, seriously, Eliza," asked the colonel, "where, how, and when came about this miracle, as you call it? Did it occur at home ?" "Do me the favour of taking this little book," said Lady presenting the colonel with a religious tract, entitled "The True Cross," "and, if at least you will do it for my sake, read these few pages. There, dear Arthur-and may God do for you what he has done for me!-you will learn what I was ignorant of; yes, so totally! Tell me, dear, will you read it ?" Won by her entreaties, and perhaps also impelled by curiosity, he gave the required promise, and shortly after took his leave, and returned home. "The True Cross" is one of those interesting and instructive expositions of evangelical truth which have proceeded from the pen of the excellent Dr. Malan, of Geneva. A traveller was reposing his wearied limbs at the foot of a cross erected at the junction of several paths on one of the highest points of the Jura, when an old man, whose appearance indicated that he belonged to the upper classes of society, approached, took off his hat, and bowed his head, scarcely covered with his grey hairs, before the cross. His adorations over, he accosted the traveller, and they entered into serious conversation. The old man declared himself to be deeply concerned about his salvation, and to have devoted himself mainly to the pursuit of it as the "one thing needful." The work, he said, was difficult; but other sinners had attained it, and why should not he, like them, be able to merit grace? Though his youth had not been irreproachable, his life had since his marriage been a course of honour and integrity; he had discharged the offices, and tasted the pleasures, of benevolence; and he had reason, besides, to reckon himself a true son of the church. Though conscious of imperfection, he hoped that God would be satisfied with what he had done, or endeavoured to do, to conciliate His favour; that is to say, he expected pardon and everlasting life as the reward of his works. Still he declared his belief that salvation was the gift of God, and that no one could be saved otherwise than through Him who died on the cross; but on being questioned further, he said he had always thought that Jesus was a Saviour, because he had saved our souls by his death on the cross, provided we did all that He had commanded us in his word and by the church. The traveller reasoned with the old man, and showed him that forgiveness was the gift of grace, and that it was useless and contradictory to seek it by any works whatever. The thing was done. God declared that he pardoned by an act of his good will, through Christ; and it was absurd to think of meriting the forgiveness which was thus bestowed. To seek it by the performance of any deeds, however good, was actually to relinquish the gift, and to remain unpardoned. Besides, such a view of Christ made him not a Saviour, but merely an aid. It rendered salvation just as much the sinner's own work as Christ's. The attention of the old man was directed to some of those portions of Scripture in which there are affirmed the fulness and sufficiency of God's mercy in Christ, and in which we are taught that salvation must be received by faith in the Son of God as a boon, and not secured as a right. Obedience would spring from such a reception of the truth; but it would be the obedience of gratitude and love, and not an obedience rendered for the sake of deserving heaven. The truth won its way to the old man's heart, and at length he said, "Now I am no longer deceived, and I see clearly that it has been through pride and hardness of heart that I have until this day rejected the grace of God in Christ; I refused to humble myself, and I wished to do something towards the acquisition of this magnificent pardon. Such was the root of the evil; and I confess it in the presence of that mighty Saviour whom I now adore as my Redeemer and my God. Yes, I believe, for He says it: Jesus is my Saviour; yes, my Saviour, and no longer my aid. No; I no longer believe by halves; but my soul reposes at the foot of the cross, in believing in Him with all sincerity, in believing Him with my whole heart, and in believing His promise also." had Such is a brief outline of the book by which Lady been brought to the knowledge of Christ, and which she now placed in the hands of her brother, in the prayerful hope that it would lead him to the only Refuge. It was just the book to meet his case. The same evening, when alone in his retirement, the colonel sat down to read the work. He did so with the firm persuasion that there could be nothing in it to afford instruction to him, and with the resolve to fortify himself against any influence which it could possibly exert. It was well for him that he fulfilled his promise, for the reading of that book became, in his own case, the means of just such a change as in the case of his sister he had treated with so much incredulity. But here is his own testimony: THE ENGLISH MONTHLY TRACT SOCIETY, 27, RED LION SQUARE, LONDON. "It was not merely from a sense of duty that I opened the tract, but at the same time with a determined resolution to be proof against any mystical influence from it: but first the contents interested, then captivated my mind, until I felt my conscience strangely affected with something quite new, which was greatly increased when Chapters IV. and V. pointed out to me my mistake about the word 'mercy,' which I had so often repeated in speaking of the salvation of God, but to which I had always been accustomed to attach the idea of merit on my part, and consequently of reward on the part of God. I did all in my power to divest myself of this 'superstitious idea,' as I termed it; and continuing my reading, I resolved to go on to the end, only that I might keep my word. I was soon made to see that God kept His also. I had got as far as the eighth chapter, which explains the word 'promise,' by showing all the Saviour has done, when, coming to that observation of the traveller, ‘Jesus is a Saviour, not a helper,' I felt absolutely ashamed--yes, ashamed, of the mistake I had hitherto been making on this subject, and rising, as if to breathe more freely, I repeated to myself, 'Not only a helper!' Then I clearly beheld the great difference which exists between a Saviour and a helper. Immediately I arrived at the conclusion, that since my religion aimed at meriting in some degree at least the approbation, and at last the reward of God, that religion, therefore, denied that Jesus Christ could be a Saviour, making him only a helper more or less valuable to me in proportion to my works. This discovery, which was like a mathematical demonstration to my mind, caused me the greatest uneasiness; and having taken up my book once more, I read again and again Chapter XII., saying and repeating with the old man, 'Yes, I refused to humble myself; yes, I wished to do something to obtain the mercy of God.' This gracious God then sent a ray of truth into my soul, to enlighten it. It was quite a new religion which presented itself to my mind; and this impression took such hold of my thoughts, that when I finished my reading, and came to where the old man and the traveller embraced each other as brethren in Christ Jesus, I involuntarily exclaimed with emotion, 'I am one with you; I also clasp you to my heart.' But I did not stop there, for I passed the night in re-perusing that tract, with still deeper but calmer emotion, and early in the morning hastened to send the three following lines to my sister:-"Yes! yes, my dear Eliza; I was dead-ah! dead a thousand times! but I have read your sweet little book, and God has made me understand it. I am now the object of his mercy. Yes, Jesus is a Saviour! He is also my Saviour! Oh, how I long to be with you-with you, my beloved friend, to glorify His holy name !'" There are thousands who, like the gallant colonel, believe in the divine mercy; but then it is a mercy which they are to. deserve. They think that their strict uprightness, their charities, and their observance of religious duties, constitute a sort of claim for the pardon of whatever imperfections may cling to them, and for the gift of every blessing which they may need. But the two ideas are diametrically opposite. That which we deserve can be in no proper sense the gift of mercy, for mercy is favour to the undeserving; and such pre-eminently is the mercy of the gospel. The good deeds of such men are not, perhaps, quite sufficient to secure for them salvation; but then they think Christ will make up every deficiency: that is to say, Christ is "a helper, not a Saviour." As well might the bankrupt, who is destitute of everything, talk of helping that kind friend who has generously come forward to meet the demands of his creditors; as well might the felon, justly condemned to die, talk of helping the king, whose laws he has violated, to forgive him. "We are all," says the prophet Isaiah, “ as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags," Isa. lxiv. 6. What can be clearer or more decided than the declaration of our Lord, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life?" John iii. 36. After having affirmed the facts of universal sin and condemnation, the apostle Paul tells us that we are "justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," Rom. iii. 24. "Christ is all," or nothing. If we do not build by faith on the solid and enduring foundation which He has laid in his own complete and glorious work, we build on shifting sand. Those beautiful lines of Cowper express most admirably the lowly, self-renouncing, dependent spirit of the true Christian : "Since the dear hour that brought me to thy foot, And cut up all my follies by the root, I never trusted in an arm but thine, Nor hoped but in thy righteousness divine: Howe'er performed, it was their brightest part . Like his excellent sister, the colonel could not be content to |