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faith in his blood," Rom. iii. 24, 25. We have peace with God by the blood of his cross. The tranquillizing effect produced upon the conscience, by a view of the atoning sacrifice and mediatorial engagement of the Son of God, is thus beautifully exhibited by the inspired writer of the epistle to the Hebrews; "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience," Heb. x. 19-22.

Among the pleasures of a good conscience may be included,

SECONDLY, The communications received. We should form a very inadequate view of the pleasures of a good conscience, were we to contemplate them only under a negative aspect, and to regard them as consisting merely in relief from apprehensions of evil. The peace introduced into the mind by the gospel of salvation is of a far higher character, comprising a great degree of positive enjoyment. Of its nature and its value some idea may be formed, if you consider the agency by which it is produced and maintained. Deriving its distinguishing character from its Divine Author, it is emphatically termed, "the peace of God," and is justly represented as passing "all understanding," Phil.

iv. 7. "Peace I leave with you," said Jesus to his disciples, "my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you," John xiv. 27. The kingdom of God, the interior dominion of the Father of spirits in the soul of man, is not only "righteousness," but also "peace and joy in the Holy Ghost," Rom. xiv. 17. What, think you, must be the value and the efficacy of that peace, in producing happiness, which is thus ascribed, in one passage, to the Father of mercies; in another, to the Divine Redeemer; and in a third, to the Spirit of grace? What think you of the happiness secured to the man, through whose mind and heart that peace is copiously diffused? What think you of a communication expressly intended and divinely adapted, to meet all the varying circumstances of the Christian in this present evil world? What

does he need? What does he desire? What, with a well-regulated mind, would he implore and expect? Not, surely, a perpetually extatic joy, a constant and overflowing fulness of delight. Bliss so rapturous belongs only to the state of celestial glory, which he has indeed the happiness of keeping steadfastly in view, but which he expects not to realize, while he continues to be an inhabitant of the present world. But that which he needs and desires, is a mind tranquil amid the agitating turmoil, and serene amid the perturbing troubles of these ever changing scenes. Such is the peace which the Saviour encouraged his disciples to expect! and such is the peace which we may

suppose to have ever reigned in his own unruffled breast, notwithstanding all the sufferings, and all the fatigues, and all the temptations to which he was exposed.

Is there, or has there ever been, within your minds, a peace of this pure and powerful nature, which must be known in order to be understood-which may be attained, but cannot be adequately described? Have you received, by looking unto Jesus, and experienced, in answer to the prayer of faith, the tranquillizing influences of his Holy Spirit? If so, you are no strangers to real and substantial happiness. Yet you have hitherto merely tasted of a joy, which, from its nature and its source, is capable of indefinite and perpetual augmentation. The Divine Giver has not affixed limits to the extent to which he is ever willing to grant this inestimable benefit. Pray then more earnestly, that it may be diffused throughout all the capacities of your soul, and that by its gently pervading and commanding influence, it may keep your heart and mind, through Christ Jesus!

Among the pleasures of a good conscience may be included,

THIRDLY, The habits induced.

He who has entered on the enjoyment of a good conscience will be solicitous to maintain a good conscience. Of this solicitude, and of the habits it induces, a noble exemplification is given us in the instance of the apostle Paul. In his defence before Felix, he thus describes the workings of his mind;

"Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men," Acts xxiv. 16. It is as if he had said, "It is my anxious concern, my habitual effort, so to conduct myself towards God and towards man, that my conscience may not condemn." Now in order that conscience may be preserved in a state favourable to those operations, from which alone can flow its legitimate pleasures, it is necessary that there be in perpetual exercise,

1. A habit of careful discrimination and decision.

The discriminations and decisions of conscience must be correct.

Plausible and eloquent representations have been made of the moral sense, which has been said to reside in every human breast, and to be an infallible criterion of right and wrong, acting with all the power and all the certainty of an instinctive impulse. Fair as seems this theory on the first inspection, it is vitiated and falsified by a thousand facts. While instinct is precisely the same in all the individuals of the same species, and among the inferior animals may be trusted as a safe and sufficient guide, the moral sense of mankind has led individuals, of different characters and different countries, to diametrically opposite decisions, and has been found continually to vary with nations, and customs, and laws. There was nothing in the moral sense of Saul of Tarsus, which condemned him for looking with complacency on the martyrdom of Ste

phen. There is nothing in the moral sense of the American Indian, which condemns him for taking the scalps of his enemies. There is nothing in the moral sense of the population of Ashantee, in Western Africa, to condemn them for sacrificing, at the funeral of a chief, a thousand human beings! There is nothing in the moral sense of many a man who calls. himself a Christian, to accuse him for devoting a part or the whole of the Sabbath, to the prosecution of his journeys, or the settlement of his accounts, or the pursuit of his pleasures, or the perusal of Sunday newspapers. There is nothing in the moral sense of others, which accuses them of sin in the indulgence of a spirit of calumny, and slander, and detraction. Of necessity, then, we must seek a higher and a more certain standard of right and wrong. But a life may be spent in the search, and spent in vain, unless we seek it in the word of infallible truth, which reveals the holy will and the holy character of God. There we shall find a criterion absolutely perfect, and universally applicable. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb. Moreover

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