my brief comments upon the liturgy, that our Church professes to uphold the doctrines maintained by the primitive Christians—the "truth as it is in Jesus." You have often heard me avow my conscientious belief, that the charge brought against the clergy of the Establishment is totally without foundation; a charge of so serious a nature, that, if borne out, must inevitably bring the most imminent danger to the clergyman and ruin to the cause. It has been the unqualified assertion of some that we do not " preach the Gospel" to our several congregations— that we insist upon the efficacy of good works without sufficiently inculcating the necessity of a saving faith,-that thus we undervalue the merits of the atonement, and grievously abuse our trust. In examining into this charge, with a view to its refutation, it will considerably limit the range of our reflections, if we consider the doctrines of our Church under the two general heads

of faith and practice. We have, then, to prove that the Gospel is still preached, the same in substance as it fell from the hallowed lips of Jesus, and in consistency with the commentaries made upon it by his immediate followers.

What we contend for, as the substance of our preaching, is this-faith in Jesus Christ, as the meritorious cause of man's salvation, and the practice of those duties which he requires absolutely of all, without respect to the person of any man, who hopes to be saved through the merits of his sacrifice. It is asserted, then, that the ministers of the Church of England, insisting upon this union of faith and obedience in their hearers, do preach the Gospel; that, were they to inculcate upon the Christian disciple the necessity of either as wholly independent of the other, they would not preach the Gospel; for this obvious and intelligible reason, that

the Gospel requires of all its disciples a profession of belief in its contents, made manifest to the world by the practice of those good works, which are there said to be its fruits. First, we must endeavour to ascertain in what this faith of the Christian consists; and, secondly, in what manner he is to make known to the world the faith which he thus professes. Let the volume of inspiration and the revealed word of God be our guide and authority.

In the beginning God created man, formed him out of the dust of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of life. Man was furnished with all things that could contribute to the happiness of an earthly being, the enjoyment of which would be forfeited only on the transgression of a divine command. One single prohibition was enjoined him; this was to be the test of his obedience; on the observance or non-observance of this

command, depended the continuance or the close of the joys of Paradise. The evil hour of temptation came, and man fell from his original innocence. Assuming the form of the wily serpent, the wicked spirit prevailed with his victim to eat the forbidden fruit,-to disobey the mandate of his Maker, and to bring down from Heaven the anger and the curse of an offended God. Hence the origin of sin; in this, the fall of Adam from his original innocence, all his descendants are involved. The curse of death denounced against him is in force against all who have since been born into the world.

But in the very hour of man's transgression, God, remembering mercy even in his wrath, gave the promise of restoration to life and happiness. A future Saviour was then promised, who should effect man's redemption from sin and death, destroy the

works of the devil, and by his voluntary sufferings, by the shedding of his precious blood, propitiate the mercy of insulted Heaven. A peculiar people, the children of Israel, were destined to preserve and keep alive these glorious promises of a Redeemer. To him succeeding prophets pointed—in him all their predictions centred. In the fulness of time, God sent his beloved Son from Heaven; gave him to be born into this lower world; permitted him to be persecuted, scourged, and buffetted; to endure every species of ignominy and insult ; and to close a suffering life upon a torturing cross,a punishment the most cruel and disgraceful that could be inflicted. All this was permitted for purposes of mercy to fallen and miserable man ;-the Son of God underwent this humiliation for the redemption of a sinful world. The promise made to Adam was in that hour fulfilled," the seed of the woman bruised the serpent's head," and

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