death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled." God prepared for himself a body, and became the human sacrifice which was necessary for the expiation of sin. In the double nature of God and man, Jesus fulfilled his mission upon earth. His miracles evinced the power of God; his sufferings the infirmities of the flesh. "A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." 66 Sweet is that scripture to every mourner in Zion, which assures us that in all our afflictions he was afflicted. Isaiah lxiii. 9. His resurrection from the dead, his ascension in his incorruptible human form, prove that God did indeed dwell among us, and is now, according to his promise, at the right hand of God, interceding for us, pleading his right to us, whom he has purchased with his own blood. 6 Very God and very man,' still subsisting without confusion of natures or persons. The divinity and humanity concentrated in the same Almighty eternal Being. God's only, well-beloved Son, being thus born into a guilty world, devoted to such suffering and such expiation, must fill every reflecting mind with wonder, love, and praise. The day which commemorates this amazing event should be kept with holy joy. Believing that all is fulfilled for us, and that our salvation is no matter of contingency, being already wrought out and made sure, we may eat our meat with gladness, but not to excess. If we fulfil the lust of the flesh." Gal. v. 16. "walk in the Spirit, we shall not This day we are reminded of the glad tidings of great joy, of peace, and goodwill to man. Let us not celebrate it in the common way. Instead of loading our own tables and those of our domestics with superfluities, let us spread a table for the poor and needy, and let us tell them of Him who is the bread of life. It is an unchristian-like practice to celebrate the great nativity by feasting and gluttony. Yet how prevalent! How many in this guilty land render it an occasion of sin! How much money is lavishly squandered in Christmas-boxes to tradesmen, which tempts them to the ale-house and gin-palace, where one excess brings on another, and a whole train of evil consequences ensue! Were the same means which thus contribute to guilty excesses employed in feeding the hungry`and clothing the naked, in supplying the wants of the fatherless, and causing the bereaved widow's heart to sing for joy, we should be serving God instead of Satan-we should listen to and obey the voice of God instead of the voice of Satan. If we were really renewed in the spirit of our mind, consistency would appear in all our practice; but the fear of singularity, the dread of giving offence and being evil spoken of, often causes even God's children to act as if they were not his children. They say they must do even as others, forgetting that they are not to follow the multitude in doing evil, and being unmindful of the admonition, “Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what DECEMBER, 1839. 2 M is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Rom. xii. 1, 2. Is it right to enter into sinful compliances, in order to please that world which is at enmity with God? If we belong to the family of God, we may not hope to fare better than he did. We are taught not to expect it. "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." John xv. 18, 19. The hatred of the world, and the love of the brethren, are proofs by which we may try ourselves. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." If we feel in our hearts no love for the brethren, how can we be persuaded that we belong to the same family? If we be all one in Christ Jesus, the bond of unity cannot be broken. The love of Christ in us will constrain us to love one another. When this love is the spring and motive of our actions, and the edification of our fellow-creatures is our object, then we may become all things to all men, so as that we may gain some. God admits not of a mere profession of love; he requires it in deed and in truth. 66 Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us." Hence we are moved to pity and love the brethren, to relieve their wants, and to comfort them in their sorrows with the same comfort wherewith we ourselves have been comforted of the Lord. If our feeling towards them be different from this, it is because the love of God dwelleth not in us; and we have reason to doubt whether we belong to the same family, whether we be numbered among the purchased flock. In this case the celebration of the Redeemer's nativity can bring no joy to our frozen hearts. If we believe not, we are cut off from all the benefits of his coming in the flesh, and from all which he has done and suffered for the sin-stained soul of man. We may be compared to that lord who did not believe in the power of God to effect the deliverance which he had promised. "And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? "And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. "And so it fell out unto them, for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died." 2 Kings vii. 17-20. Thus it shall be: unbelievers shall see with their eyes the salvation of the just, while they themselves are cast out, and their cry will be that of lamentation and woe, while believers shall rejoice with ful-ness of joy for evermore. S. M. NIGHT. How soft is the echo Around the dark eaves, When the night wind is whispering Through clustering leaves; When, within the still dwelling, No sound can be heard, Though silence unbroken, And watchful with me, 'Tis the hour of all others When the fancy is free. Then the loved and departed, Come to me once more, And the changed, and the absent, Smile round as of yore; And the home of my childhood Appears to mine eyes, 'Midst its beautiful vallies, 'Neath blue summer skies. |