XIV.

THE CONFLICT OF DUTIES.

MATT. xxii. 37-40.

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets !"

THERE is but one Christianity; although there be in the Christian Church various opinions, parties, and sects, with regard to matters of Faith.

There is but one Christianity; and he who would be a professor of it-who would become a true Christian, must know how to unite in himself the two chief branches of religion, Faith and Works.

Works without faith are as little able to save mankind, as faith without works.

He who fulfils all his duties with strict conscientiousness; who does no harm to his brethren; who is agreeable, beneficent, and useful to every one that is placed in connexion with him; who even nobly sacrifices himself to the general good-and

yet has not faith, is to be pitied: for he is in truth a miserable being while he lives on earth,-tortured by doubts of every kind, and looking on the future with an unsteadfast eye. The believing Christian alone has a never-failing source of consolation in his breast--trust in Divine Revelation. The believing Christian alone has, through Jesus, courage in every change and chance of life, and cheerfulness in death. His faith and love raise him above the pressure of sublunary trouble, and impart to him that sublime confidence, which was wanting even to the wisest of the Heathens. It is only through the light of this pious faith, that the dark nights of his fate clear up; the system of the universe is expounded to him; the riddles of this earthly dream are solved; and there appears to him a Deity, loving all, caring for all, directing all by His wisdom, and blessing all with his grace and bounty; to whom we are permitted to cry, as the children of heaven, Abba Father! It is only through the word and blood of Jesus, that the precious pledge of the eternity of man's salvation, of the mercy of the Allgracious, and of the joys of a better world, after this perishable state, is imparted to the Christian. It is only by his religious Faith, that he is enabled to resist the storms of the world; and is at all times armed against the rebellion of his own passions. The most virtuous principles and resolutions have

no firm ground but this, and may easily be shaken if built on any other-for how powerful is the charm of seduction and example, and how weak is oftentimes our reason, when it is not supported by sound religious Faith!

But just as little as works, without faith in the Revelation of our Lord, are able to make us truly happy-even so is faith in Jesus unless it worketh by love.

There are, indeed, found, in the present day, as in the time of our Redeemer, far more men who hope to be saved through a bare faith, through merely uttering, "Lord, Lord;" through the observance of outward devotional exercises; through the stated offering of prayers; or through the excitation of religious feelings-than there are men who practically adopt Christ's doctrines of salvation, in virtuous deeds and thoughts, without believing in Him.

It is easier for the man who is slow to good, to speak good words, than to perform good actions. It is easier to him to observe outward customs, than to combat inward criminal inclinations. It is easier for him to rely on the intercession of saints, and the prayers of the pious,-upon the merits and the righteousness of Jesus,-than to do the will of his Father in Heaven, and to become perfect even as He is perfect. Men speak freely of the

wounds of Jesus; but to crucify their own flesh and its desires, that is, to put a restraint on their inclination to lust, to avarice, to ambition, to envy, to drunkenness, to calumny, to hatred—this does not so readily occur to them.

But, it is not your observance of devotional exercises; not external decorum; not the indulgence of pleasant religious feelings; not the saying of Lord, Lord;' not the "flying for refuge to the wounds of Jesus," and the use of other figurative expressions, which afford no clear idea :-it is not all this, or other fictitious aids, which can secure eternal happiness: but, says Jesus Christ, those who do the will of my Father in Heaven are acceptable to God. Not by their words, by their inclinations, by their declarations, but " by their fruits," that is by their deeds, "ye shall know them." (MATT. vii. 20, 21.)

It is true, the holy Apostles recommended Faith, in their writings to the Christian community at that time, and speak of it as the foundation of Christianity, of their hopes of salvation. Of the righteousness of faith,-of the fruitfulness of the Gospel,of the merit of the sacrifice of Jesus, they speak even more explicitly than Jesus Christ himself had done. But their object was first to convert Heathens and Jews to the Christian Religion. Upon these, who like the Galatians often fell away, they

were obliged particularly to inculcate faith in Jesus yet they did not neglect to preach, with equal force, the other principles of the Christian Religion. After they had explained in the first part of their epistles the doctrines of faith, then, in the conclusion of their writings, they urge most expressly the deeds or works of godliness. They named, they represented courageously, the series of vices which at that time were prevalent, and placed the Christian virtues in opposition to them. They exhorted to faith and to the love of God, but they solemnly declared, that, "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” (1 JOHN v. 3.)

In this, then, the true imitation of Jesus consists, that, as being born of God, we conquer the world, that is, our earthly, evil inclinations; and act with love and friendship towards mankind, as Jesus has loved, and still does love, each one of us." For if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar." (1 JOHN iv. 20.) If we are to perform our duties as citizens, as fathers and mothers, as husbands, wives, or children, it will often cost us hard contests with ourselves, especially if our self-love happen to be in question. It is in this contest that we are to conquer, and to show forth our Christianity.

Many an one says, 'I do what I can, and no