reference to which the whole course of the world has been regulated; then, necessarily, must its evidence be two-fold correspondently to its character, and the discipline by which Mankind is prepared for its reception such as to familiarize them with each kind of evidence. That this result might have been achieved in a thousand different ways by the hand of Omnipotence, it is impossible to doubt. God might, unquestionably, had He pleased, have so ordered the world that His chosen people should not only have kept alive the faith in a continually superintending Providence, but also have traversed every field of speculation, and exhausted every hope which Man's reason could suggest, for the amelioration of himself and his fellows. He might, also, as easily, have miraculously interfered in the destiny of all the nations of the world, as He did in that of one small tribe. But it did please Him, up to the time of that event which we to-day commemorate, to govern one part of His creatures in one way, and the rest in another; to divide the labour in His vineyard, and demand from each their particular contingent towards the great work which was to be done. The historical evidence of the new Revelation was furnished by those whose whole history had been a revelation in act from its very commencement. Its moral evidence by those

others, who had been left to themselves, and had learnt how helpless they were. To the Jew

was entrusted the pearl of great price; the Gentile recognised its value. The Jew vouched that the remedy was Divine, the Gentile attested that the disease was mortal. Out of Jewry came a King, and Heathendom hastened to tender him the allegiance of the whole world.

And if it pleased God so to honour the Gentile world, as by its means to lay one part of the foundations of the eternal edifice of Gospel truth, surely it cannot be to the interests of Religion, or indeed other than detrimental to them, to seek to undervalue the work which has been so done, the labourers who performed it, or the instrument by which it was wrought. Human reason was certainly unavailing to show the one way which led to salvation; but it was human reason which proved that every other than that one led unto death. Human reason could not discover "the things which be of God," but it could recognise them, and do homage to them, and detect the falsehood of whatever counterfeit of them appeared. Indeed, if this had not been so, it is plain that a revelation could not have been made to Man at all; he could not have identified it as concerning him more than the beast of the field. Nay, more, it was human reason which, through its own strength, testified

to its own weakness;-which exhibited revelation, not as a supererogatory gift, but as the supply of a craving want;-which announced the coming of the Redeemer by proclaiming the necessity of redemption.

I

THE

DISPENSATION OF PAGANISM.

GALATIANS IV. 4.

But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

THE message which the Gospel announces to Mankind consists of two parts, neither of which, separately from the other, would warrant such a title as is emphatically given to the whole, "good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people." * These two parts are the forgiveness of past sins, and the emancipation from the dominion of sin for the future; manumission from a state of slavery to Satan, and adoption into the privileges of children of God. Both these blessings are distinctly promised to all who shall sincerely believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died for our sins and rose *Luke ii. 10.

again for our justification, and both are necessary to be taken together in order that the New Dispensation should fulfil the conditions required for Man's redemption. For we have seen that Man, such as he is by nature, is in the condition of a poor peasant, owing some rich neighbour a great sum which it is utterly impossible he should ever repay; and besides this, in such a needy state as to be compelled daily to borrow more. To one in this situation it could hardly be called good tidings, should the announcement be made that the whole of his debt up to the existing moment was cancelled, but that for the future he must provide for himself, as no more would be lent to him. Neither would it be good tidings to him to say, that his wants of the future would be provided for, but that he must somehow or other pay off, by his own efforts, the enormous debt he had already incurred. But if he were informed that both what was already owed should be at once remitted, and himself be placed in such a situation that he need not borrow more, then, indeed, would a most welcome message-a message of the most joyful tidings, have been brought to the poor debtor, and he would feel that words were too weak to express the fulness of his gratitude. Such is the condition of every one when the Gospel message is first delivered to him. Every