by the employment of those miraculous powers of which no one could have been ignorant, and was disposed from views of personal aggrandizement to favour his pretensions; at any rate it is plain he was endeavouring to learn what his designs and pretensions were; and hence, eagerly asked, catching, as it were, at his words, "Art thou a king then?" The answer, in which

Jesus claims to be a minister of the Truth, seems to have disappointed and perplexed him: "What is truth?" he replied; as much as to say, "what has truth to do with the present business? I wish for information as to your claims and objects;-what sovereignty it is that you pretend to, or aim at; and you tell me about Truth; what is that to the purpose?"

On this and on other occasions, our Lord points out Truth as, in an especial manner, the characteristic of his religion; "If ye continue in my words, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free:" "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life."—"They that worship God must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth."-" When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he shall

guide you into all Truth."-" And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the Truth." His great Adversary, on the other hand, is designated by Him as "a liar, and the father of lies." And the Apostles of Christ, in like manner, perpetually make use of the words "Truth," and "Faith," to designate the Christian reli"God will have all men to be saved,

gion: e. g. and to come to the knowledge of the Truth." 1 Tim. ii. 4. 66 Having your loins girt about with Truth." Ephes. vi. 14. "They received not the love of Truth, that they might be saved." 2 Thess. ii. 10. "Chosen to salvation, through belief of the Truth." 2 Thess. ii. 13. "After we have received the knowledge of the Truth." Heb. x. 26. "Ye have purified your souls in obeying the Truth." 1 Pet. i. 22. "The way of

the Truth shall be evil-spoken of." 2 Pet. ii. 2.

Hereby we know that we are of the Truth." 1 John iii. 19, &c. By all which, more, I conceive, was implied than that the religion is true, and is the only true one, and that faith in it is required; in the present day this would be implied by the very circumstance of preaching any religion;

but in those days the very pretension to truth,the very demand of faith, were characteristic distinctions of the Gospel: the Heathen mythology not only was not true, but was not even supported as true: it not only deserved no faith, but it demanded none. It was needful, therefore, to inform and remind men not merely of the strength of the Gospel claims, but of the nature of those claims;-to point out not only the force of the evidence in its favour, but its appeal to evidence.

Many, indeed, of our Lord's expressions concerning the truth of his religion, have a reference rather to the types and shadows of the Mosaic dispensation, than to the fables of the Heathen. mythology. As contrasted with these last, Christianity was Truth as opposed to falsehood; as contrasted with the Jewish system, it was The Truth, in the sense of " Reality," as distinguished from the emblems,-symbols,-representationsof that reality;-from the "shadow of good things to come," contained in the Levitical Law. In this sense it is that the Apostle tells us

See "Hinds's Catechists' Manual," (p. 264), a book which, in my judgment, no young clergyman or master of a family should be without.

"the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ:" and this also was probably the chief import of our Lord's expression, "the truth shall make you free;" i. e. free from the precise and minute directions, and burdensome ceremonial, of the Mosaic Law, which was instituted for the very purpose of shadowing forth, and preparing the way for, the glorious truths, or realities, of the Gospel.

This consideration, however, does not lessen the force of what has been said respecting the prominent place assigned to the "truth" of Christianity as characteristic of the religion. Its truth, in the sense of reality contrasted with type, and substance with shadow, implies its truth as opposed to falsehood also. It was the same quality that distinguished it from the more imperfect revelations of the "Law" on one side, and from the fictions and misconceptions of the Pagans on the other: "the truth as it is in Jesus" was to supersede both the heathen idolatry, by destroying it, and "the Law and the Prophets," not by destroying indeed, but by fulfilling them. And it should be carefully borne in mind, that

d Ep. to Ephes. iv. 21.

though the reiterated allusions to "truth" were in a great degree called forth by the strong contrast which the new religion presented, in this particular, to those at that time opposed to it, the characteristic itself must equally belong to the same religion at all times. The Gospel itself is always and every where the same; though particular times and places may require that this or that particular feature of it should be especially pointed out and dwelt on.

Even so, creeds or sets of articles, employed as a Symbol or test of orthodoxy, may vary, and have varied, according to the emergencies occasioned by the prevalence of particular errors; though the absolute and intrinsic soundness of the articles of faith themselves, must be always the same. Temporary or local circumstances are the cause, not of any Article's being or not being a part of the Christian faith, but of its being a part which it is needful or not needful to set forth prominently, and insist on.

This distinction, though so obvious, when stated, as to seem scarcely worth mentioning, is often lost sight of in practice. For instance, many even of the early Christian emperors were