Lamb of God, who has redeemed with His precious blood men out of every country under heaven, will survive when all the diversities of tongues shall cease, and be the common language in which the whole ransomed Church shall worship Him who sitteth on the throne and the Lamb for ever and ever?

"They be two things," says Lord Bacon, "unity and uniformity."* Uniformity is the offspring of tyranny, but unity is at once the fruit of freedom and its safeguard. A united Church is the natural protector of persecuted Christians, and in the fulfilment of this duty its unity is strengthened; not to add, that to "remember them that are in bonds as bound with them " is to realize in the reaction of sympathy one of the sweetest fruits of Christian love. The name of Sir Culling Eardley is associated with some of the most noticeable instances in which in our own times efforts have been made to rescue the persecuted from the terrible penalties which a lingering but still powerful intolerance seems delighted to inflict. The briefest advertence to the principal of these is all that we must now attempt; but it would be impossible to leave them altogether unnoticed, even in this hasty and imperfect sketch of his life. And it would be improper, in recording them, not to remark that the invaluable service he rendered to the cause of Religious Liberty was rendered in his capacity of President of the Evangelical Alliance. He found that institution admirably adapted to elicit the united voice of Europe in condemnation of persecution for conscience' sake, and its' members lent him their unanimous and willing aid.

(To be concluded in our next.)

Pity for Souls.

It is narrated in Grecian history, that when, on the occasion of his famous expedition into Greece, Xerxes looked down on the Hellespont, covered with his ships, and on the coast of Abydos, crowded with his immense army, his first emotions were those of exultation and joy. Very soon, however, he burst into tears. On being asked by his uncle Artabanus the reason of the change, he replied that he wept to think that of all the millions who composed that mighty host, not one would be found surviving at the end of a hundred years.

He was reminded by his uncle that there was a far more powerful reason for sorrow than the certainty that all that army would so soon be in the grave. Human life, he said, was so filled with trouble-trouble arising from the inroads

of disease and suffering, and from the changes of fortune,-that death was often welcomed as a thing to be especially desired. He deemed that a far sadder thing than that every man should die.

But there are thoughts which arise in the Christian's mind, as he looks on the vast multitudes of mankind, which are even sadder still. We mean those thoughts which are often forced upon him as he observes how men are involved in sin, and as he remembers that they are exposed to everlasting death.

The world in which we live is a sinful world. We can scarcely take up a newspaper without finding in its columns some story of vice and crime; and in almost every town there are buildings which exist solely for the reception and punishment

Essays.-Of Unity in Religion."

of criminals. How few circles are there | acknowledged him as the expected which have not to bewail the misconduct Messiah : "Hosanna; Blessed is he of some that belong to them! Even of that cometh in the name of the Lord: those who are scrupulously observant of Blessed be the kingdom of our father all the laws of society, there is only too David, that cometh in the name of much reason to fear that the great mathe Lord: Hosanna in the highest." jority are transgressing daily the laws Yet when he reached the brow of Olivet of God. and beheld the city, it was as though he heard not the acclaim of the multitude, and saw none of the demonstrations of respect with which they honoured him, for he burst into tears and exclaimed, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." We are not like the best and most faithful of God's servants, and we are not like the Master, unless we deplore the misery and ruin of perishing men.

We wish to ask you, dear reader, how you are affected by these facts. It is not unlikely that as you are injured, or as you see others injured, by the wrongdoing of evil men, you may be aroused to strong indignation; or, possibly, the keen sense of disappointment or personal loss may wound you deeply. But there ought to be awakened another feelingthat of tender pitying sorrow.

This is what David felt: "Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law." "I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word." Ps. cxix. 136, 158. When the children of Israel made and worshipped the golden calf at the foot of Sinai, Moses "fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: he did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all their sins which they had sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger." Deut. ix. 18. When Jeremiah saw the woes which were about to descend on Israel, he broke forth in the mournful and pathetic lamentation, "Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" Jer. ix. 1. There are some whom Ezekiel describes who "sighed and cried for the abominations that were done in the land." "Many walk," says the Apostle Paul, “ of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction." Phil. iii. 18, 19. There is a greater than any of these. Just before our Saviour's death, he was escorted in triumph by his disciples and the multitude from Bethphage to Jerusalem. They cut down branches from the trees, and strewed their garments in the way, and raised the shout of a king, and

There are strong reasons why we should be grieved on account of the wickedness which prevails in the world.

Think how all sin dishonours God. It was alleged as a solemn charge against Belshazzar, and as the occasion of his downfall,-" And the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." The Apostle Paul tells us that every man who sins comes "short of the glory of God." Sin dishonours God, because it is the virtual denial of his supremacy, the breach of his righteous law, the perversion of his goodness. Are you a Christian? Then this concerns you very deeply, for God is your father, your friend, your king; and it ought to grieve you much that men dishonour him. "I have been very jealous," said the prophet Elijah, "for the Lord of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away."

But every sinner is your neighbournay more, your brother. He may be very wicked; he may be deeply degraded; but, notwithstanding all his wickedness and all his degradation, he is

still your brother, for he is still a man, the New Testament to describe the lost and as your brother man he has a claim | spirit's woe,—everlasting fire, the blackon your love. But one fruit of love is ness of darkness, the worm that dieth not, pity, when its objects are in privation or the lake that burneth with fire and brim. suffering. Think, then, of the misery stone; but they are only figures, and they of sin. "The way of transgressors is express far beyond what can affect the hard." You see the drunkard, be- body-the pangs of a wounded spirit." sotted, "bound with the cords of his And we are assured that whatever the sins," with broken health and blighted doom may involve, it will be everlasting. prospects, and a wretched home. You The fires do not purify; suffering does look at him with disgust, and you con- not lead to contrition; there is no place demn him; but should you not pity for repentance; the woes are enduring him? However strongly you may con- as eternity. Do we think as we ought demn the profligate, is he not, with his to do about all this? Do we reflect, mind steeped in impurity, and his bones as we see our fellow-men in their sins, filled with the sin of his youth, a fitting that they are on the way to everobject of pity? You may feel it right lasting death? Are we not apt, in that the criminal should pay the penalty the endearments of social life and the of his crimes; but is he not still to be hurry of business, to forget that those pitied? But should not your pity extend with whom we thus meet are perishing? much further? There are others, gay And have we not good reason to believe and happy, filling their places in society that it is one of Satan's great aims to with the respect of those who know them, lead the Christian to take an inadequate but who are still the enemies of God. view of the sinner's ruin, and so to keep They are strangers to all true peace, and him back from earnest effort to save him? they have no joy that will last; no prin- Set it before your mind as an indisputable ciple of happiness that will survive the certainty, that the soul once lost is lost changes of life and the visitations of for ever. If anything will awaken your sorrow; no refuge to which they can pity, surely that will. betake themselves when the storm of trial beats on them heavily. With all their unconsciousness of the reality and extent of their privation, and though they would perhaps laugh at the thought of your pitying them, do they not truly deserve your pity? Leaving out all thought of the claims of God, and all consideration of the bearing of sin on the soul's everlasting ruin, there is enough in what men lose and in what they suffer on account of sin in the present life to make you deeply sorrowful.

But look beyond the present. Every sinner is an immortal being, and unpardoned and unrenewed he goes into eternity only to endure God's curse. In the very plainest and most solemn manner God declares, "All souls are mine, and the soul that sinneth it shall die." | Think what it is for a soul to die. It is not to be annihilated: it is to be shut out from heaven; it is to be exposed for ever to the wrath of God. They are appalling figures which are used in

But pity should be, in all cases where it is possible, a practical thing. Were you in any distress, you would think little of that commiseration which could expend itself in a few tears or sighs, when you knew that something might be done for you by the man who displayed this poor sympathy; and if any sorrow should be practical, our sorrow for sinners should lead us to do our very utmost for their deliverance.

It is an irksome task to bear unpleasant tidings, yet sometimes duty imperatively requires it; and he who refuses to bear them is justly chargeable with a breach of duty. If you marked on the person of some one to whom you were tenderly attached the symptoms of some disease which, unless remedies were promptly applied, must quickly prove fatal, you would not for the sake of sparing his feelings withhold the expression of your fears.

And when the soul is at stake, ought you to be less faithful? Should any one to whom you might have spoken

be able to say, "They never told me that | Would you not at once, if it were in your I was in danger?" Warn them. Do it power, rush up the stair and light the kindly; avoid everything either in word lamps? Much more, when precious souls or tone that is harsh; but do it firmly, are in peril, should you hold forth the and as though you believed what you word of life, that they may be rescued say. Tell them of the happiness they from everlasting death. lose; of the misery to which their way is tending; but most of all, how the end is death. God says to every one of usnot to ministers only, but to every Christian-as he said to his prophet, “Therefore hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.'

But you can do more than this-you can tell them of God's loving mercy. You can tell them how Jesus died to save them; how his blood can cleanse from all sin; how freely welcome every penitent sinner is to the blessings of his salvation; how certain it is that none can be cast out. You can tell them how gracious and how mighty the Holy Spirit is; how he can so renew their hearts that the love of sin shall be overcome, and how, instead, there shall be implanted in their hearts the love of all that is good; how he can fortify them against temptation, and raise them above the power of the sins that have most beset them, and make them true servants of God. And you can point them up to heaven, and tell them that Jesus will receive them there, if they believe in his name. The Lord gave you salvation that you might tell every perishing sinner within the reach of your voice that he too can be saved. His people are all of them to "shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life." And should not your love for perishing souls lead you to do your utmost? Suppose that you were standing on the pier of some harbour, on a dark and stormy night, when you knew that the gale was driving the ships on the breakers, and that, as you so stood, you heard from an ill-fated vessel the firing of guns as signals of distress. You could not see the vessel; but you knew from the sounds that it was fast drifting towards the rocks, and that, unless it changed its course, it must soon be dashed in pieces. Suppose that, as you looked up to the lighthouse, you found, to your horror, that there were no lights in it.

How earnestly men pray, who seldom pray at any other time, when the lives of those whom they love are in danger! Your child was dangerously ill. You remember how you prayed that he might be spared! The mother whose boy is at sea lies awake all night when the tempest rages, praying that he may not perish. Do you pray for those who are in danger of perishing for ever? They will never see themselves as sinners unless God convince them; they will never believe in Jesus unless the Spirit show them His glory; it is the hand of God's mighty power which must pluck them as brands from the burning. If we would have them saved, then, we must pray for them, that God would have mercy and save them. If we really and sincerely weep over their ruin, our tears will often be shed at the footstool of the "Throne of Grace," as we intercede with God through Jesus for their salvation. So Doddridge pleads:

"But where," perhaps you ask, "shall I begin? At home, we say, if any remain in your own dwelling unsaved,— husband, wife, parents, children, sisters, brothers. They have the first claim upon you. Do not suffer yourself to forget, as you enjoy their society and reciprocate with them the kindnesses of daily life, that they are not saved, and that were death to smite them as they now are, the separation would be everlasting. It will need great wisdom and much gentleness; you will have to watch for opportunities of speaking so as not to seem obtrusive, and not to excite their prejudices; you

of itself a sufficient reward; but beyond that, God promises that "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."

will have to be very guarded, lest any in- | with souls you have led to Jesus, were consistent word or act should mar your usefulness; and you must pray very fervently. Then there are friends over whom you have an influence. Use it to lead them to Christ. You can, perhaps, teach in the Sunday-school, or there may be places in the town in which you live tenanted by moral outcasts, to whom you can bear the light of life; whilst beyond there stretches the wide world full of immortal souls who are going down to death. Time speeds away. Your season for work is daily becoming shorter, and life is uncertain. Those for whom you are called to work may be to-morrow in eternity; and if not, they may be beyond the reach of any influences of yours. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Be encouraged. God promises that "your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord." Work and pray. You may never know the success of many of your endeavours till you arrive in heaven; but be assured that God will not suffer your toil to be in vain. To meet there

Beloved reader, it may be that you have never yet sought salvation. Others have pitied you, taught you, pleaded with you, entreated God for you-parents, Sabbath-school teachers, pastors; but though they have been so deeply solici tous about you, up to this very hour, you have " 'despised your own soul," and have never set yourself in earnest to seek for mercy. Let their anxiety reprove you. Thank God that you have had so many to care for you, and now make it your own first concern to “lay hold on everlasting life." Jesus waits to bless you. He offers you even now the free forgiveness of all your sins, the gift of His Holy Spirit to renew your heart-in one word, all that is included in everlasting salvation. Adore the grace which still sets wide open for you the door of life, and resolve that, by God's grace, you will enter TO-DAY.

The Laws of Hebrew Servitude applied to American

Slavery.

To do justice to the point to which I now invite attention, would require that I should enter more fully into details than the space to which I restrict myself would allow; but I can indicate within the limits of a few pages the grounds on which I believe that the Mosaic laws affecting servitude, if applied to American slavery, instead of supporting and preserving it, would bring it to a speedy and perpetual end. The one law of the Jubilee would bring it to an end within fifty years. And there are other laws which would work its destruction long before the dawn of the fiftieth year.

Take first the law of man-stealing. "He that stealeth a man and selleth

him; or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death." Ex. xxi 16. Under this law every negro slave in America is entitled to immediate freedom. When the man-stealer was put to death among the Hebrews, the man stolen was set at liberty. The original stealers of the ancestors of the present slaves in America have long since gone to render their account to God, and so have the originally stolen ones likewise. Now, without maintaining that the successors of the stealers inherit the doom of the stealers, I do maintain that the descendants of the stolen ones inherit the rights of their ancestors, the right to immediate. freedom. Had the law of Moses been