universal efficacy, of Christ's expiatory sacrifice be clearly shewn. That law of righteousness, to satisfy which Christ was degraded and crucified, will then be brought forward; its rigid enactments will be made known, and the actions of the whole human race will be judged according to the requirements of it. Then will it be seen, that the whole of mankind is convicted of having violated that law, that the whole human race is concluded all under sin, all pronounced to be guilty. The fearful penalties of transgression will, then, be made known and understood, and man will be fully convinced of the necessity of a Redeemer. Then will the glorious mystery of the Cross be fully revealed. Then will it be seen, that the law has been amply satisfied; that the full penalty for all transgression has been paid; that man is freed from all the penalties of all his transgressions; that Christ has become his righteousness, his justification; that the whole guilt of the whole human race has been wiped away and annihilated; that Christ has purchased the salvation of all men. But, if, at the final judgment, the human race is to be judged by the law of righteousness, and is to receive judgment according to the deeds done

in the body, where is the redemption from the curse of the law; where the necessity, where the benefits, of the sacrifice of Christ; and where can be found one man who shall be declared to be righteous and just? If, by the deeds of the law, shall no flesh be justified, how can any man be distinguished as having "done good?" And, if all are equally guilty, who are those that shall be separated from the rest as having "done evil?"

It seems to follow, then, from the preceding investigation, that the most consistent, and, indeed, the only consistent, view of the Christian scheme, is that which represents, man, as, by nature, and of necessity, utterly unable to fulfil the law of righteousness, and Christ as affording to all men, of every creed, and of every nation, and of every age, full, and perfect, and free, justification; which places all men on the same level with regard to merit, which represents all mankind as redeemed from the curse of the law, all as recipients of the benefits of Christ's expiatory sacrifice; by which, not only all things in earth, but all things in the heavens, also, are reconciled unto GoD; and which represents the gospel, as requiring from all those, whom it has reached, and by whom it has been em

braced, that lively faith which worketh by love," producing, as its natural, and necessary, fruits, love towards GOD, and love towards man.

Why, then, is man so anxious, that various degrees of guilt should be established under the Christian scheme, when he finds that all men are represented as being, equally, guilty? Why so solicitous, that the benefits of that scheme should be limited to a few, when he finds that ample provision has been made for the full justification of all men? Why is every creed of man founded on exclusive principles? Because, man is wise in his own conceit; because, his self-love prompts him to think, more highly of himself, and less charitably of others, than he ought to think; because, no man likes to confess, that he is utterly devoid of merit; or to acknowledge, that the rest of mankind are his equals in point of worth; and, because, he judges of the law of righteousness according to the rules of human legislation. Man, as we have already seen, has established a code of laws of his own appointment; in which, various offences are classified according to a standard and scale conventionally agreed upon among men, so as to exhibit varying degrees of

guilt, to which corresponding degrees of punishment are assigned. According to this code and this scale, man, sitting as an earthly judge, passes judgment on his fellow man; and he would fain believe, that a similar judicature will be established at the last day. But, in the first place, the eternal law of righteousness admits not of any degrees of guilt; it demands perfect and entire obedience; and it regards any one violation of its injunctions as tantamount to the violation of the whole law. And, in the next place, although there appears not to be any difficulty in deciding as to the comparative guilt of different individuals, if we measure their respective offences by the standard of human law; yet, it by no means follows, that we judge rightly, when we pronounce one man to be more criminal than another. No man is competent to sit in judgment upon man, even as regards the offences of man toward man. For man cannot apprehend the extent, or degree, of influence, which natural constitution of body, or acquired, or disordered, or accidental, constitution of it, or other physical causes, may have exerted upon the individual in question. He cannot fully estimate the extent, or degree, of influence, which

education, or example, or position in society, or other moral causes, may have exerted. He cannot form any estimate of the degree of temptation which may have led to the commission of the crime in question. He is, utterly, incompetent to apprehend, and to weigh, these several matters, so as to be able, justly, to determine, that the perpetrator of a crime of deeper die, is, actually, more criminal than he who has committed a more venial offence. As, then, all human law differs, so essentially, in principle, from the eternal law of righteousness; and, as all human legislation, must, of necessity, be liable to error ; so, cannot any inference be drawn, as to the character of divine legislation, from the faulty, and imperfect, legislation of man. If, notwithstanding the positive declaration, that all are equally guilty in the sight of GOD, the penetrating eye of omniscience, will, indeed, discover different degrees of guilt among those who appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; the Saviour-Judge may, assuredly, if such be His pleasure, award His free gift in varying measure, or degree, also. He may award, to some, higher degrees of happiness and glory than He will assign to others; and, still He may be the Saviour of