and obstinate in our iniquities, the Lord continues to dispense unto us the riches of His mercy with marvellous patience and long-suffering, and will do so till our rebellious spirit is wholly subdued. We may long resist His mercy, but it will triumph at last, and vanquish the most confirmed sinner. Such mercy is a tremendous power. It alone conquers the evil in our hearts. It alone can redeem the wicked world from the bondage of iniquity. To be assured of such love is all that we sinners need.

This is the true, the only true gospel of salvation the Parable of the Prodigal Son. You may give me endless doctrines and formularies and precepts, you may help me with books and priests, you may put me in the company of the best of men; I shall accept these with reverence, but they cannot convert my soul. They may, no doubt, do much good by removing doubts or by curbing some evil inclinations and propensities, or they may create a momentary spiritual excitement, and quicken the heart for a time into purity, joy, and earnestness; but they cannot deliver me from sin. Nay, they have scarcely any worth when we are in a state of complete depression and prostration, groaning under the crushing weight of accumulated iniquities, when we see nothing but darkness within and without, and retain vitality just sufficient to feel our utter helplessness and hopelessness, and when violent temptations daily prey upon our lingering vitality. Of what use are dogmas and external advantages to me when I am almost dead in sin, and have not the power to avail myself of such helps? Of what use are they when oft-repeated sin has made me despair of my salvations? Those who profess the most

correct doctrines of God and immortality, and possess a vast machinery of external aids to faith, must confess that these cannot convert their souls ; that however useful books and men may sometimes be, there is no salvation in them. We are thus led to look to God's mercy alone for our deliverance, and to acknowledge there is no hope for the sinner unless he puts his faith in the gospel of Divine mercy. Such gospel rouses us at once from our death-like prostration, and forms a tower of strength, in the midst of all our difficulties. It makes the poor rich, the weak strong, and the dead alive. It is an inexhaustible fountain of life, strength, joy, hope, and purity; and whoso has recourse to it, however sinful he may have been, finds his soul refreshed with a shower of spiritual blessings. Let temptations thickly gather around us, let the deepest gloom of despair overspread the horizon, could we only cling to the gospel of God's mercy, we shall be renovated and saved, for then we shall not have to depend upon our own resources, which are nothing, but God will work the miracle of the sinner's redemption with the almighty and all-conquering power of His mercy. He will vanquish our rebellious spirit, deliver us from temptations, and will make us humble and prayerful, pious and pure, in spite of ourselves. Hence I believe that the future church will not seek salvation in books or men, in ceremonies or articles of faith; but it will call upon individuals and nations to put their faith in the only true gospel of salvation-God's infinite and all-conquering mercy.

I have briefly described the general features of the church of the future,-its worship, creed, and

gospel. Before I conclude I must say a few words with special reference to this country. There are some among us who denounce Mahomedanism as wholly false, while others contend that Hinduism is altogether false. Such opinions are far from being correct; they only indicate the spirit of sectarian antipathy. Do you think that millions of men would to this day attach themselves so devotedly to these systems of faith unless there was something really valuable and true in them? This cannot be. There is, no doubt, in each of these creeds, much to excite ridicule, and perhaps indignation-a large amount of superstition, prejudice, and even corruption. But I must emphaticaly say it is wrong to set down Hinduism or Mahomedanism as nothing but a mass of lies and abominations, and worthy of being trampled under foot. Proscribe and eliminate all that is false therein: there remains a residue of truth and purity which you are bound to honour. You will find certain central truths in these systems, though surrounded by errors, which constitute their vitality, and which have preserved them for centuries in spite of opposition, and in which hundreds of good men have always found the bread of life. It is these which form even now the mighty pillars of Hinduism and Mahomedanism, and challenge universal admiration and respect. It is idle to suppose that such gigantic systems of faith will be swept away by the fervour of youthful excitement, or the violent fulminations of sectarain bigotry, so long as there is real power in them. All the onslaughts which are being levelled against them in this age of free inquiry and bold criticism will tend, not to destroy them, but to purify them and develop their true principles. The signs of the times already indicate

this process of purification and development; and I believe this process will gradually bring Hinduism and Mahomedanism, hitherto so hostile to each other, into closer union, till the two ultimately harmonize to form the future church of India.

The Hindu's notion of God is sublime. In the earliest Hindu scriptures God is represented as the Infinite Spirit dwelling in His own glory, and pervading all space, full of peace and joy. On the other hand, the Mahomedans describe their God as infinite in power, governing the universe with supreme authority as the Lord of all. Hence the principal feature of the religion of the Hindu is quiet contemplation, while that of the religion of the Mahomedan is constant excitement and active service. The one lives in a state of quiet communion with his God of peace; the other lives as a soldier, ever serving the Almighty Ruler, and crusading against evil. These are the primary and essential elements of the two creeds, and, if blended together, would form a beautiful picture of true theology, which will be realized in the future church of this country. As the two creeds undergo development, their errors and differences will disappear, and they will harmoniously coalesce in their fundamental and vital principles. The future creed of India will be a composite faith, resulting from the union of the true and divine elements of Hinduism and Mahomedanism, and showing the profound devotion of the one, and the heroic enthusiasm of the other. The future sons and daughters of this vast country will thus inherit precious legacies from Hinduism and Mahomedanism, and while enjoying the blessings of the highest and sweetest communion with the God of love, will serve Him in the battle-field of life with fidelity to truth and unyielding opposition

to untruth and sin. As regards Christianity and its relation to the future church of India, I have no doubt in my mind that it will exercise great influence on the growth and formation of that church. The spirit of Christianity has already pervaded the whole atmosphere of Indian society, and we breathe, think, feel, and move in a Christian atmosphere. Native society is being roused, enlightened, and reformed under the influence of Christian education. If it is true that the future of a nation is determined by all the circumstances and agencies which to-day influence its nascent growth, surely the future church of this country will be the results of the purer elements of the leading creeds of the day, harmonized, developed, and shaped under the influence of Christianity.

But the future church of India must be thoroughly national; it must be an essentially Indian Church. The future religion of the world I have described will be the common religion of all nations, but in each nation it will have an indigenous growth, and assume a distinctive and peculiar character. All mankind will unite in a universal church; at the same time, it will be adapted to the peculiar circumstances of each nation, and assume a national form. No country will borrow or mechanically imitate the religion of another country; but from the depths of the life of each nation its future church will naturally grow up, And shall not India

have its own national church? Dr. Norman Macleod, in expounding, last year, in this very hall, his ideas of the future church of this country, said emphatically that it would be a purely Indian Church, and not a reproduction of any of the etablished churches of the West. Though I differ from that learned and liberal-minded gentleman in