great commandment to love Him with all the heart, with all the soul, with all the mind, and with all the strength; that is, to give Him our whole heart, by loving Him above all things in heaven or in earth; by giving him our whole soul, in worshipping Him with pure and holy devotion; by giving Him our whole mind, in studying His Holy Scrip→ tures with incessant research; by giving Him our whole strength, in serving Him, by visiting the afflicted and distressed, the naked, the hungry, the slave, the fatherless, and the widow, and not neglecting the poor and the sick. Let the man, therefore, stand before the tribunal of God, and answer to this enquiry, "Hast thou done these things?" And should he answer, "I have been ho◄ nest in all my dealings with man: nor have I injur ed man;" then shall it be enquired, Why didst thou serve man? was it not to gratify thy own covetousness, to increase thy wealth, to prosper in business? Wast thou not smooth in thy words, and indefatigable in thy attentions, for thine own gain? And was it not from the fear of the laws of the land, that thou didst not injure thy fellow creature? And whilst thou hast thus broken my tenth commandment, from thy rising up to thy lying down, in coveting for thyself, what hast thou done for God? Where are the hungry, the naked, the stranger, the

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fatherless, the widow, the poor debtors, and the desolate thou hast delivered and succoured? Thou hast attended God's service on a Sunday, and looked solemn and righteous; but when has God seen thee in thy closet, in deep repentance for thy neg◄ ligence; in prayer, and thanksgivings for mercies which thou hast received? When hast God seen thy face, as a trembling sinner, till now? Go, thou unprofitable servant, into yon regions, where there is gnashing of teeth, and eternal destruction."

But, Mamma, I thought God was merciful, and that he was ready to pardon such sinners.

But, my love, God is holy, as well as just: in par◄ doning such sinners God would not be just, and his law would seem a mere plaything not to be obeyed; but, my love, every whit of the law must be obeyed. If a person be guilty of murder on earth, and brought before a judge on earth, to be tried by the law of the land; if there were no sentence of guilt, but all were mercy, there would be no justice and no law. The blood of the innocent would be unatoned for, and the earth would teem with crime. To prevent crime, the guilty is punished, and the innocent acquitted; therefore, to be just is to be merciful.

But, Mamma, you said that we could not, we had not the ability to keep the law.

And so I repeat; therefore I am about to shew you, that as one sinned, and by his sin brought sin into the world; so are we rendered unable, because unholy and imperfect, to keep the law, which is holy and perfect. But one was to come into the world, who should fulfil every whit of the law. By one, we were all saved. Now, my love, do you see God's justice?

Yes, Mamma, but I do not understand how that can be.

I must proceed, my love, to compare ourselves with the Jews, to make clear to you what is called the redemption of the world. You will remember, they were brought through the Red Sea. This was emblematical of their going through water, and being washed from their sins. They were then brought into the wilderness, where they were fed from heaven daily, and received water to drink, which accompanied them wherever they went. This is emblematical of our state in this world. We are in a wilderness, but are daily fed, and have our thirst also quenched. There they received the law, which required atonement; and here we receive the law also, and therefore require atonement ; and finally, they were brought into Canaan, the place of rest and so must we, I trust, my love, be brought unto the heavenly Canaan, which is the paradise of

the second Adam, who has obeyed the law for us, and is our atonement.

O, Mamma, pray shew me how?

Why, my love, when the Jews were in Egypt, in bondage, the sacrifice of the lamb and the blood delivered them; for every threshold on which that blood was sprinkled, the Lord passed over, and all those who were marked by that blood, and ate of unleavened bread, were delivered. It prefigured the death of the Son of God, by which we are delivered from the bondage of sin. I have already informed you, that the Son of God was crucified by the Jews. Of this event that was a type. It might appear strange to you that God should allow his own Son to be crucified. For this Son, who was the second Adam, was equal with God; nay, my love, he was God, and is called the Son of God, because he took upon himself this form; he was called the Lord, and this is the reason why he is called throughout Scripture "The Lord He is God." Therefore God could have destroyed the earth, in a moment, if it had been his desire, if he had not been merciful: but, my love, he promised that the seed of the woman should destroy Satan and all his works, and God is truth. He therefore permitted himself to be crucified, to be led to the cross like a lamb ; and there be made a free and willing sacrifice, by

shedding his blood for us, in order to perform his promise. So you see, my love, he was the Lamb that Abraham told Isaac, God would provide; and this is the Lamb, my love, which has been sacrificed for you and me, and for all the world. For to satisfy the justice of God, when man sinned, he was required to present his offering without blemish and without spot. This was the type, in the ceremonial law, of the offering of the Son of God. But, my love, there was no man on earth without blemish, or without spot; therefore, no man could be an atonement for his sin, or accepted as such by a holy God. It was therefore expedient that the law should be fulfilled,and a spotless, unblemished atonement offered. God alone was holy. He alone could apprehend and fulfil his holy law; he therefore came down, was made of woman, and thus was her seed, and in the form of man went through all the sufferings of the world for thirty years; obeyed every commandment, and then freely offered himself to be sacrificed, to atone for the sins of the world.

O, Mamma, how good God is!

And say, my love, how merciful, yet how just! What wonderful mercy, what graciousness! It is too great for our carnal hearts to contemplate.

But, Mamma, is the Son of God now dead?