that his Religion is true, but likewise that it is practicable, and he who assumed our nature, and had a fellow-feeling for all our infirmities, has shewn us our duty in every relation of life, and become at once our instructor and our guide. That character, which even his enemies have never ventured to impeach, attracts our admiration by its beauty, and disarms malice by its modest unobtrusive excellence. Never can we examine it too narrowly, or imitate it too closely. "Because, Christ also has suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps." Let us pause for a few moments to contemplate the character of the blessed Jesus. Let us endeavour to concentrate some of those rays of excellence, which were reflected from his humanity. How dignified, how divine, is his person and the As he walks in the fields, amid the works of purity of his conduct! In the words of inspiration, the Creator smiling around him, he inculcates the "He was holy, harmless, undefiled.” No unsublimest truths of his Providence and his love. hallowed thoughts ever rose in his heart. Nay, With what simplicity and affection does he breathe to indulge such thoughts, he enumerated amongst the words of divine wisdom! He who clothes the greatest of crimes. Contemplate his equani- the lilies of the valley, will he not much more mity. The storms of passion disturb not the clothe his children? And he who feeds the birds placid tranquillity of his soul. Him, no interest of the air, will he not protect and nourish those captivates, no ambition inflames, no fame dazzles, who love him? He recommended our love to each no grandeur allures. He is equally unmoved, whe- other by the example of his supreme love, “which ther the inconstant Jews, strewing his path with maketh his sun to shine on the evil and on the flowers, wished to make him their king, or raised good, and his rain to fall on the just and on the the inhuman cry, away with him, away with unjust." He inculcates upon us, mercy to our him." His mind is majestic, and serene as the brethren, by the mercy of God to us; forbearance unclouded heaven from whence he sprung. It is to each other, from his long suffering; and the tranquil as the ocean, which he stilled with his matual forgiveness of injuries, as we expect forvoice. By his abstinence, humility, and self-de-giveness from Him, whom we have all so frenial, he shews his contempt of the illusive pleasures, the vain honours, and the empty grandeur of this passing state. He beholds them, as the sun seems to view those fleeting vapours, that may conceal, but cannot add to his majesty and effulgence. Sublimer objects occupied his mind. Beyond the troubled horizon of this world, his eye rests on a region of purer bliss. From this vale of tears, he looks forward to that better world, where his Father shall wipe all sorrow from the eyes; and, amid the conflict and humiliation of present scene, anticipates his triumph at the right hand of God, where he shall obtain "a name, above every name." Ye! whose hearts are captivated by the riches, the pleasures, and the honours of the world, reflect, that he who had all these in his power, despised them as beneath the dignity of an immortal nature, and not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed

"Peace on earth, and good-will to the children of men." The star which pointed him out to the wise men, was the precursor of that "Sun of Righteousness that was to arise with healing under his wings." He appears amongst men, full of grace and truth; and though his enemies have assailed his doctrine, they have been forced to confess their admiration of his life. Yes, Christians, his mercy and his beneficence attest his divinity no less than the ancient predictions, and those miraculous works, which prove him to be the Son of God with power. He goes about continually doing good. His divine lips are opened only to instruct, and his blessed hands are unceasingly stretched forth in works of charity and beneficence.

the

to us.

Nor was that heart so pure and serene, without kindness and beneficence. His tranquillity was not the result of apathy, nor his temperance that of insensibility to the benevolent affections. The God-Man, is all love, all goodness, all beneficence. His whole life is a beautiful epitome of his divine and amiable Religion. How admirably does it accord with that dispensation of love and mercy, which he came to communicate! When angels announced his advent to the shepherds of Bethlehem, it was in songs of joy, which proclaimed,

quently offended.

He communicates the sublimest truths in the most beautiful and interesting parables, derived from the most familiar incidents in life, or the simplest objects of nature. From the brow of a mountain, beneath the canopy of heaven, he teaches the will of the Great Author of nature, who is not confined to temples made with hands. How full of affection are his words, "Blessed are the meek; blessed are the merciful; blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are the peace-makers." He is fond of the candour, simplicity, and innocence of little children, so congenial to his own nature, which unites to the simplicity of a child, the dignity and magnanimity of a God. "Unless ye become as little children," says he, "ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." He calls himself by the affectionate and humble appellation of the good shepherd, who came to gather the "lost sheep of the house of Israel." In him is fulfilled the ancient prediction, "that he shall feed his flock as a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."

Compassion and kindness flow from his lips. He weeps over the grave of a departed friend. His greatest miracle was wrought in proof of the most amiable sentiment which actuates the human breast. He felt for the poor culprit who was brought before him. "He that is without sin amongst you," says he, "let him cast the first

distresses of others touched his benevolent heart, and called forth his miraculous powers. He restored a daughter from the dead to the arms of her afflicted mother; and called a brother from the grave, to the embraces of his weeping and disconsolate sisters. But it was chiefly for the salvation of the souls of men, that he became on earth the "way, and the truth, and the life." This was the grand end of his mission; for this he lived, he suffered, he died; for this he ascended triumphant from the grave, leading captivity captive." With him a new era was to arise. "Truth was to spring out of the earth, and righteousness was to look down from heaven." "The crooked places were to be made straight, and the rugged places smooth." "Old things were to be done away, and all things were to be made new." The savage nature of man was to be humanized; the wolf was to lie down with the lamb, and the leo

stone." And he would "not send away the multitude fasting in the wilderness, lest they should faint by the way." And on that night on which he was betrayed, when his disciples, weary with watching, had fallen asleep, instead of guarding their master in the season of his suffering and his peril, he merely rebuked them in these gentle terms: "Could ye not watch with me," says he, "one hour,"- —a last, a parting hour! then, as if regretting the reproof he had just given, he immediately adds this apology: "The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak." Full of affection to his native country, he exclaims, "Oh, Jerusalem, (anticipating the judgments ere long to befall that devoted city,) thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy little ones together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!" "As he beheld from a mountain," says the Evangelist, "the city, hepard was to dwell with the kid. The wilderness wept over it." "Daughters of Jerusalem," says he, at another time, to the sorrowing females who deplored his fate, when he was dragged through the city, bending all the while under the weight of his own cross, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." What disinterested friendship! What divine composure! What love of his country!

His miracles, too, while proofs of his divine mission, were eternal monuments likewise of his love. They accord with that goodness by which his whole doctrine and life were so peculiarly distinguished; and, as one expresses it, "have a much stronger character of beneficence than of power." Unlike his predecessors, the prophets, he wrought no miracles of the severe kind, and his disciples wrought but few, and such only as were necessary to establish their authority, and to confirm their doctrines. He bade not, like Moses, the earth open to swallow up his enemies, nor, like Elijah, invoked the fire of heaven to consume the votaries of idolatry. In proof of his mission, the sun stood not still to prolong the slaughter of his foes; the sea rolled not back to overwhelm his enemies with its waves; the voice of the thunder accompanied not the promulgation of his laws; nor did darkness, lightnings, and tempests fill the people with terror. On the contrary, "the songs of angels chanted peace at his birth;" a heavenly voice proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son, hear ye him;" and the ocean sunk to a calm when he uttered these words, "Peace, be still." His sympathy evaporates not in unavailing expressions of pity; but every miracle he wrought, carried a blessing in its bosom to some distressed fellow-creature. In him were realized the prophecies of old," That the eyes of the blind were opened, the ears of the deaf unstopt, the lame leapt as the hart, and the tongue of the dumb was heard to sing." He wrought not one miracle for his own advantage, to relieve himself from pain, or to extricate himself from difficulty and misfortune. No, Christians, affliction and sorrow he bore without even a murmur; but the

and solitary place was to hear his voice, and be glad, and the desert to rejoice, and blossom as the rose. The voice of God was again to be heard in the gardens and in the groves, and incense and a pure offering were to ascend up on high, from the rising to the setting sun. Such are the blessed effects of that divine charity, which so eminently characterized the life and the dispensation of Jesus,

which is the queen of all the virtues, the bond of perfectness and the fulfilling of the law!" By this shall all men know," says he, "that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another.”

Nor was the character of Jesus less distinguish ed for sincerity and justice! He gives to every man his due, "provides things honest in the sight of men." "He did no sin, neither was guile found in his lips." The son of God pays tribute to Cæsar. In short, he who came to establish a kingdom not of this world, gives tribute to whom tribute is due, honour to whom honour, and shews a respect to human governments and institutions.

mixes

Neither were the sterner virtues of justice, temperance and self-denial combined in him with that ruggedness and austerity of manners, which frequently characterize the founders of new systems of Religion. He was mild, gentle and unassuming, and, though the eternal Son of God, demeaned himself as the humblest of men. Thus, he is compared to a Lamb without spot, to express the gentleness of his nature, as well as the immacu lateness of his sacrifice. He affects no peculiar reservedness of temper, but, on the contrary, in all the innocent pleasures of society, and his first miracle was wrought at Cana of Galilee, at the celebration of a marriage feast. He treats man suitably to his nature, as a being formed to live in society, and whose happiness springs from the proper exercise of all the amiable affections of his nature. Not, therefore, forbidding in his manners, he was so easy of access, that the very children, attracted by the mildness and benignity of his nature, flocked unto him, and he took them up in his arms and blessed them, saying, " of such is the kingdom of heaven." We find no barshness,

Nor was his piety less ardent than his beneficence. We find him proof against all the snares of the tempter, and all the wealth and kingdoms of the world will not induce him to deny his God. | "It was his meat and his drink to do the will of his father;" and with emotion He exclaims, " to do thy will I take delight, O my God." Apart from men, he frequently conversed with God; in the retired garden of Gethsemane, or in the solitary Mount of Olives, he often spent whole nights in prayer, and the silent stars witnessed the pious aspirations of the Son of Man. Christians, if Jesus so prayed, who had no errors to be corrected, or sins to be forgiven, as we have, then well may we. Well may we pour out our spirits in that prayer which is the revealed channel of divine communication, which wafts the soul to the heavens to which it aspires, and assimilates it to the object which it adores.

no rudeness, no selfishness or affectation in the | but rejoices in suffering, that he may promote character of Jesus. His is that genuine mildness the present and eternal happiness of others. and unaffected kindness of deportment, so differ- How great is Jesus in suffering! here he is nothing ent from that false politeness so common in the less than the God in humanity. Is he not subworld, and which frequently varnishes over the jected to hunger, to poverty, to persecution and basest qualities of the heart. Greatly, therefore, sorrow; oppressed, calumniated, despised? Is not do they mistake the true spirit of his Religion, his breast bare to every blast of affliction? Is he who consider it to consist in mortification, solitude not assailed by every art of malice? Was he not and privations, as was supposed by the monks and almost wholly destitute of those consolatory enanchorites of the early ages, who mistook the dearments of friendship, which alleviate, by tender doctrines of Plato for those of Christ. No, sympathy, the miseries of the unfortunate? Was Christians, we are to let our light shine before he not destitute of all the ease which wealth men, and genuine Christianity consists in that affords, and while the "foxes have their holes, universal goodness and benevolence which breathes and the birds of the air have their nests, the Son nothing but love to God and man. of Man had not where to lay his head." His good deeds, his labours of love, met not even with the animating meed of deserved approbation; and what is frequently unmeritedly bestowed on the statesman and the warrior, is denied to the most benevolent soul that ever appeared upon earth. Around the brow of Jesus no wreath of glory was twined. He was a friendless wanderer in this vale of tears, but the unspotted excellence of his own character bore him up under all the complicated misfortunes and afflictions to which he was exposed. It was this that enabled him in meekness, resignation and patience, to possess his soul. It was this that enabled him to display that exemplary magnanimity, that elevation of character, that trust in Providence, that cheerful resignation to his Father's will, which the heaven-born spirit of his Religion can only inspire. It was this which enabled him to show with what unshrinking fortitude he could carry himself amid all the troubles and persecutions by which he was assailed. In the palace of Caiaphas, the high priest, this led him to support the mildest dignity, the most sweet and amiable forbearance, though surrounded by bigotted priests, by malignant rulers, by a ferocious soldiery, and a low and brutal rabble. "When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not, but in all things submitted himself to Him who judgeth righteously." It was this that, in the garden of Gethsemane, even in the hour of his bitterest anguish, caused him to exclaim in these memorable words of resignation, "Not my will, O God! but thine be done." Finally, it was this which, at the Cross on Mount Calvary, when his enemies were inflicting upon him all that malice could devise, or cruelty inflict, made him pray with love all divine, for forgiveness to his bloody and implacable murderers! Well might the centurion exclaim, "Truly this was a just man; truly this was the Son of God."

His Religion is truth itself, and truth is in all his thoughts, his actions, and his words. That sincerity is ever the object of his praise, which gives life and energy to Religion, and lies at the foundation of all the virtues. Thus, the ostentatious hypocrisy of the Pharisees he reproves with more than his usual earnestness, and the prayer which he has left us as a model for our imitation, is the most simple, comprehensive and sublime. How divine is the prayer, that the "will of God may be done on earth, as it is done by the angels in Heaven;" and though he was soon to introduce a new order of things, a better dispensation, of which the former was but the shadow, yet we find him in the synagogues and temples of the Jews, paving a becoming respect to the institutions of Religion, which wise and good men must ever revere, as the cause of order, subordination, and instruction, among the great mass of mankind. Thus, to a mind the most comprehensive and enlightened, we find him uniting the utmost modesty, humility and simplicity.

If suffering be the grand test of the excellence of the Christian, in how sublime and interesting a light must our Saviour appear! It is affirmed by the ancients, that to behold a good man bravely struggling with adversity, and by patience overcoming it, is a spectacle on which even the gods look down with delight. But how much more admirable must he appear, who not only bears,

In short, Christians, what a character was here! What spotless purity, what unassuming modesty, what ardent, extensive, and unwearied beneficence, what sublime and fervent piety! what fortitude in adversity, what patience in suffering, and what resignation to the divine will! In the period of his humiliation, he evinced all the glory of unshaken magnanimity, and while he suffered the death of a man, he displayed all the fortitude and benignity of a God.

SCRIPTURAL RESEARCHES.

No. IV.

CAIN AND ABEL.

BY THE REV. JAMES ESDAILE,
Minister of the East Church, Perth.
"The Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering; but unto
Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect."

Such, Christians, is a short and imperfect sketch | interests of Christ's kingdom upon earth, and preof that excellence which the Apostles have hand-pare ourselves for the rewards and enjoyments ed down to us. From the obscurest source was above.-Amen. to arise that divine stream which was to refresh and beautify the earth. He who was born in a stable, laid in a manger, the heir of indigence and misfortune, despised by the rulers, and held at naught even by the vilest of the people, condemned as a felon, and executed as the basest malefactor, who exhibited in his life an utter contempt for all the honours, riches and pleasures, which are the darling objects of human pursuit, was destined to give birth to a Religion superior to the most perfect delinea-worship recorded in the history of Religion; and having tion of human wisdom, which was to supersede that of the Caesars, and spread itself to the remotest corners of the earth,-a Religion which was to give hope to the despairing, and consolation to the afflicted, to become the parent of liberty and civilization, to restore to humanity its violated rights, and to raise man to the true dignity of his nature. But it belongs to the divine wisdom to produce from causes apparently the most inadequate, the most sublime and magnificent effects. The feeble acorn which Jesus planted, has become a mighty tree, whose top reaches to the heavens, whose branches spread over the whole world, so that all nations may repose under its shade. The rock cut out of the mountain without hands, was to smite the image (of superstition,) and fill the whole earth.

Let this, then, be the great model of our imitation,-let this be the pillar of light to conduct the pilgrim through the perilous wilderness,-let it be the star to guide the mariner through the tempestuous ocean of life. Consider those as your greatest enemies, who would persuade you that Christianity emancipates you from the ties of moral obligation. For what end did Christ teach us such holy precepts, if we were not bound to obey them? or set before us such exalted virtues, if we are not bound to imitate them? Can we call Jesus Master and Lord, and yet neglect the duties which he has commanded? Can we contemplate such disinterested beneficence, without feeling our bosoms glow with kindred love, such dignified purity, without preserving ourselves from sensual and degrading indulgences, -such integrity and justice, without respecting the rights of our brethren, and the claims of our country,—finally, such sublime and fervent piety, without elevating our desires and our affections to the source of all excellence and perfection? If we contemplate him in all the beauty of his character, it must be the object at once of our admiration and love; we shall be attracted by its excellence, and imperceptibly be led to imitate what we love and admire.

Weak and imperfect as we are, we must ever come short of the faintest image of his excellence. Yet our souls will be ennobled by the object of our contemplation, animated by the virtues which we admire, and inspired with that love by which we are redeemed. By this alone shall we prove ourselves worthy of the Christian's name, advance the

THE offering of these two brothers is the first act of race, we need not be surprised at its early and universal its origin in the very cradle, as it were, of the human prevalence among mankind. We are not told whether they offered from the suggestion of their own feelings, or in consequence of a positive appointment by God; hence much controversy has prevailed on this subject, into which I decline to enter; and shall merely state in one sentence, the argument which appears decisive, in my mind, in favour of the divine appointment of sacrifices. It is this, that if sacrifices are of human invention, it follows as a matter of course, that fallen, apostate man could devise an acceptable method of ap proaching God: but the apostle tells us, that it was by faith that "Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain;" that is, he offered in the faith of some promised blessing connected with sacrifice; and whatever is of faith is not from the invention of men, but by the revelation of God.

I hold, then, that both the brothers offered in consequence of a divine command, or in dependence on a divine promise. What was it then, that made the dif explicit declaration already quoted from the words of the ference? It is needless to agitate this question after the apostle, who tells us, that the excellence of Abel's sacrifice consisted in the faith of the offerer. But we may probably discover, in the nature of their respective offerings, some features of the mind and feelings of the

offerers. "Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an under the law, and acceptable to God when offered in offering unto the Lord." This was an authorised offering a proper spirit; but it was an offering of thanksgiving rather than of supplication; and we may infer that it was offered by Cain as an expression of gratitude for temporal mercies, and that he looked to no higher blessings; in short, Cain's offering was one that might have thankfulness to the Giver of all good. But Abel's of been presented in the state of innocence as a symbol of fering was an expiatory sacrifice, which could not, by possibility, have been comprehended in the state of innocence. Abel by faith looked forward to that sacri fice which was to take away the sin of the world; and the very circumstance of his offering such a sacrifice, decided proof that infinitely more was revealed to our and of God's accepting it in honour of his faith, is a first parents after the fall, than is recorded by the sacred historian. This is not a defect in his writings, but a proof of the divine wisdom by which they were dictated, which guarded the great mystery of godliness against premature disclosure, but scattered marks and tokens the prominent feature in all God's dispensations since on every hand, that after ages might see that it was the beginning of the world.

In consequence of the rejection of Cain's offering, we are told that he "was very wroth, and his counte nance fell." From this, it is evident that he had experienced a grievous disappointment. What, then, can we suppose to have been his expectations, or why was his wrath directed against his brother? It was not that he envied his spiritual privileges; the man who really prizes these blessings cannot hate him who pos