well as intellect, and thus Christ addressed all the principles of human nature at once, and made conquest of them all. The inauguration of Christianity as the religion of the world was taken out of the obscure localities of Nazareth, Capernaum, and the shores of the Galilean lake, and transferred to the capital of Judæa, there to be publicly performed by unwitting actors, and witnessed by multitudes who knew not the use which God was making of their obstinacy, prejudices, and blindness. That death in the sight of thousands, officially procured and officially ascertained, that rocky sepulchre, watched over by a guard of armed soldiers, only increased the wonder of the awe-struck world, when the sepulchre was opened and the Crucified re-appeared. That event clothed its witnesses with new power, and conferred upon them an authority which men had never possessed before. To the treasures of spiritual truth which they had derived from the. teaching of Christ, they now added a message from the spiritual world; they became the ambassadors of a risen Saviour. The power of moral conviction, which their discourses ever carried with them, was henceforth deepened and confirmed by the powers of the world to come.

The Gospel, thus corroborated from earth beneath and from heaven above, went on conquering and to conquer. It took a deeper hold on humanity than anything had ever done before; it was found to possess the power of spiritual renovation; it created men anew in the moral image of Christ; the evil passions of men were curbed and subdued, and reason and conscience were enthroned in their stead. A com

munity rose up, such as the world had never seen, such as no laws, no philosophy, no education could ever produce, and Paul the Apostle, the despised son of a persecuted race, by a few months' labor in the various cities of the Roman empire, through the spiritual power of the Gospel, accomplished a renovation of society which sages and lawgivers had for ages attempted in vain.

The blood of Christ, then, is the seal of the truth of his religion. By that religion, its teachings and moral influences, mankind are saved. And it is a true representation, though not in the common, material sense, where the Apocalyptist makes the multitude of the saints in light to celebrate his praise. "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

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DISCOURSE XX V.

REGENERATION.

MARVEL NOT THAT I SAID UNTO THEE, YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN. THE WIND BLOWETH WHERE IT LISTETH, AND THOU HEAREST THE SOUND THEREOF, BUT CANST NOT TELL WHENCE IT COMETH, AND WHITHER IT GOETH: SO IS EVERY ONE THAT IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT.-John iii. 7, 8.

THE importance of making a distinction between Doctrine and Phraseology is nowhere, perhaps, more conspicuous than in the language which is used in the New Testament concerning spiritual renovation, that change which Christianity is designed to bring about in the soul of man.

Make it

a figure of speech, as it was in the mouth of Christ, a phraseology in common use among the Jews and well understood by them, and it is reasonable and consistent; and it harmonizes with experience, justice, the nature of man, and the Divine character. But make it a doctrine, the very sum and essence of Christianity, and it arrays itself against reason, justice, and morality, and makes Christianity itself the revelation of unspeakable wrong.

Its original meaning is sufficiently explained

when we consider the manner in which it was introduced by Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus. It is not brought forward as anything new, but as a thing with which Nicodemus, as a Rabbi, ought to be well acquainted. "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" Nicodemus, as a Jewish Rabbi, well knew that the incorporation of a convert from Paganism into the Jewish nation was called a new birth, not because there was any change of personal identity, not because there was any change of nature or constitution, but because there was a change of religion, a change of faith, of habits, of association,—there was, in fact, the commencement of a new life. If the conversion were sincere, there was a change of character. Outwardly, the convert became by adoption a child of Abraham, and an heir of the promises made to him. Inwardly he became the spiritual child of Abraham, by faith in God and obedience to his laws. It was a saying among the Jews, "If any one become a proselyte, he is like a child new born." And again, "The Gentile that is made a proselyte, and the servant that is made free, behold, he is like a child new born."

Christ asserts, greatly to the surprise of Nicodemus, that just such a change is necessary in order that a Jew may become a Christian. The heathen proselyte became a Jew by circumcision. The Jew must become a Christian by baptism, and thus incorporate himself with the new Church which is now being established under the Messiah.

But this was not all. All Jews were not the spiritual children of Abraham. Those only were such who resembled him in character. As Paul after

wards beautifully expressed the same truth, "For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Christianity has to do with the soul, with the spiritual part of man. It has to do with character as well as profession. The soul of man is free, and is not controlled by the outward lineage of the body, nor yet by forms and ceremonies. Baptism itself is no certain guaranty of the Christian character. still leaves the soul free to choose its own actions and form its own character. The soul is free as the wind that blows. Allegiance to the Gospel must be spontaneous, and the process of spiritual renovation must be wrought out in the secret recesses, of the mind. Can any thing be more true, rational, and practical than this?

Interpreted as phraseology, it stands on the same ground with other figures of speech used in the New Testament. A state of sin is called death, and a recovery to virtue a resurrection, or a passing from death unto life. A state of moral degradation is called blindness, and redemption from it is called restoration to sight. Jesus carried the figure of spiritual death so far, as to call his Gospel his voice, by which he summons those who lie in the graves of moral debasement to spiritual life. Such figures mislead no one, while they are interpreted as figures. They add vivacity and force to the teachings of the Saviour, and generally to the language of the New Testament.

So long as the principle is kept in view, that