unto life; and the Judge, who will maintain the scrutiny of the last day, and who does not now condemn, as we may gather from the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, has no word of condemnation awaiting him then, and he may stand among the glittering assembly of angels and the just made perfect, and exclaim with the apostle, "Who is he that condemneth? it is Christ that died; yea, rather, that is risen again; who is even at the right hand of God; who also maketh intercession for us " (Rom. viii. 34). Indeed, when we allow this thought to take possession of our minds, the energy which faith may exhibit is wonderful in the extreme; there seems a kind of omnipotency attached to this principle; as if we heard that saying repeated in the experience of each believer now, " Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." But let us observe how it is that faith summons all the faculties of the soul to the work of pleasing God in the way of the commandments; for if it be true that without faith it is impossible to "please God," then may we conclude that faith is pleasing and acceptable to the Supreme. Now the way in which faith acts against temptation is, by setting desire against desire, and thought against thought, thus bringing all things into subjection to the will of God. Evil desires must be opposed by good desires, and evil thoughts by good thoughts; the carnal mind is best neutralized by the grace of the Spirit. It is the work of faith to superinduce such motives and such resolutions as shall avail to this end. The Almighty acts by suitable means; and when, in the course of his dealings with his creatures, he declares that his people shall walk in his commandments and do them, he bestows right motives and right desires, and the greatest result is ensured. But when human teachers say that a man, in order to obey the commands of God, must reason himself into proper views of the Divine Holiness, it is like the making bricks without straw, and like gathering where there has been nothing strawed; and the issue of such a scheme of doctrine, leaving out, as it does, the essential elementsthe graces of the Spirit, by which a change is effected on the moral being of the soul-must carry its own refutation. It is, or ought to be, the very fault inherent and perceptible in the moral character of fallen man, that, in spite of what he knows to be the attributes of the Most High, he nevertheless goes against the whole of that array of perfect good, as manifested in the actings and outgoings of the great moral Governor. It is an aggravation in a man's guilt that he is acquainted with the perfections of that infinitely exalted Being, against whom he perversely sins, and yet goes on sinning. He requires something more than this; it is necessary for him that he receive new principles of action, by which, his nature as well as his conduct being altered, he may serve his Maker in holy obedience.

Virtuous dispositions were originally inherent in man's unfallen nature, and they must be restored, if ever he would become a partaker of the new creation. "Behold, I make all things new," is the mandate of Him who is possessed of infinite resources. The will of God must be obeyed in every part; to that end the creature must be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

(To be continued).

304

KNOX'S INTERVIEW WITH MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS.

BY THE REV. R. B. B.

"As soon as she was made acquainted with the manner in which he had attacked her, she summoned him to her presence. John Erskine, of Dun, a man of a mild and gentle temper, was the only one allowed to enter Mary's apartment along with Knox. The Reformer found his Queen in considerable agitation. Language so unwarranted and uncalled for again drew tears from Mary; and Erskine, affected by her grief, attempted to soften down its harshness," "&c.-Bell's Life of Mary Queen of Scots.

-Bell

"HERE, holy man, at eventide,
We joy to lay our state aside-
Nay, scat thee; let our converse be
From cold restraint apart and free ;
And thou, good Erskine, at our need,
Be witness of the cause we plead.

And caust thou, man of God, uphold
Their lawless part, that, reckless, bold,
And insolent, have dared intrude
Within the gates of Holyrood?
Our priests and people from the nave,
'Mid holy mass, they rudely drave-
*Trampled on consecrated gown,
And tore our goodly pulpit down!
Nay, more-the sacred shrine of God
Beneath their feet they daring trod,
And naught availed till close of day
Their torrent violence to stay!
Is this the welcome that ye give
To us and ours-
s-that we must live
In hourly fear lest ruthless men,
Like tigers fell from gory den,
Should sally forth, a prowling band,
To fright and devastate the land?
Is this the peace thy new-born zeal
Would tender for the public weal?
Is this the liberty of thought
In holy things Immanuel taught?
Fie, man of God! o'erhanging trees,
With fruits unsavoury as these,
Tho' planted in the goodliest soil,
But ill repay the planter's toil.
We marvel that an honest cause
Should bid defiance to the laws
Of God and man! The sacred word
Commands that such as bear the sword
Of justice, and with mercy sway,
Subjects should reverence and obey.

They even repented that they had not pulled down the chapel itself," &c.

Say, of such daring do we see
A willing advocate in thee?"

She paused, and, ere he made reply,
The tear, ere while her glistening eye
That starting filled, unbidden fell,
Her wounded dignity to tell.

He saw; but what from woman's tear,
Or human laws, should Christian fear?
Or why the courtier's language heed
When called the holy cause to plead ?
So reasoned Knox, and, with an air
Of truth, erect upon his chair

He drew himself-his wonted zeal
Kindling, as when the polished steel
From hardened flint, at midnight dark,
Calls into light the latent spark.

"My honoured liege (he boldly cried),
I dare not from thy knowledge hide
The sacred truth, nor basely swerve
From duty's narrow path, to serve
The purpose of a fleeting hour,
Unduly awed by earthly power.
I bid my flock His pleasure know
To whom we all allegiance owe;
To God alone I bid them pay
All holy homage, and obey,
From servile adulation free,
The earthly powers that haply be.
E'en so we read; but Christian sage
In holy writ no sacred page

Can find that bids the suppliant low
Before a senseless idol bow.
Can it the voice of reason be,
That man should make the Deity ?—
Claim the prerogative of Heaven,
And say, Thy trespass is forgiven,
I pardon thee?' Know thou, the day
Of darkness passeth fast away;
For man within that heavenly book
Asserts the liberty to look,

And judge how far the written word
And priestly homilies accord.

If haply man from human sight

Hath long shut out the hallowed light,
When next it falls upon the eye,
Pierces with keenest agony.

The light, that now o'erpowering seems,

Anon will fall with mellowed beams,

And lead the wanderer from God
Back to the paths our fathers trod;

For think not that the faith ye own
Was e'er to purer ages known-

That Paul or Silas bent the knee
To any but the Deity.

'Tis hoary Time, with darkling wings,
That o'er the mind his poison flings;
'Tis Satan's wiles, with wonted skill
To subjugate the human will-
The dying soul with unction ply,
To build her faith upon a lie,
And promise, for a golden fee,
To set the hell-bound captive free.
Nay, start not; for in language bold
The holy truth must needs be told.
Long have ye kept th' impatient steed
Vilely on husky chaff to feed;

And now what marvel if, unbound,
He trampling spurns the trembling ground,
And vengeance, in his playful freaks,
Awhile upon his master wreaks ?

So, when a riv❜let, clear and strong,
That wound the dewy meads along,
Back from its wonted wanderings pent,
Swells ere it finds the wished-for vent,
Then sudden bursts away to gain
Its devious way along the plain,
And o'er the land as loud it roars,
A seeming desolation pours:
F'en so awhile thine altars feel
The fury of this kindling zeal.
But soon its course the riv'let finds,
Its way with pristine beauty winds-
The meads a fresher verdure wear,
Unwonted crops the corn-fields bear,
And all admire the unmeasured good
Wrought by the wanderings of the flood."
He said then silent paused to see
The issue of his laboured plea;
But soon the charge, in taunting mood,
His fair antagonist renewed:

"And would'st thou, reverend and wise,

By trope and figure thus disguise

The naked truth, and plead their cause

That bid defiance to the laws?

The sword why need we longer bear
Of justice, if ye zealots dare,
With rallying banners lifted high,
The laws of order to defy?
Oh! if thine embassage be peace,
From such unseemly warfare cease;

And instant, in thy Master's name, A firm and holy peace proclaim." "What peace (he cried), when Jezebel The hapless votaries of hell With witcheries, Satanic wiles, And foul adulteries defiles? 'Twas cursed Jezebel's device From Israel's glory to entice His faithful worshippers of old By molten images of gold: Foul Jezebel that faith must bé That bids her votaries bend the knee, And homage pay to wood and stone Due to the mighty God alone! The vile invention of the foe, The frivolous pretence we know— Ye worship not! the plea how weak! Ye bow! ye bow! and madly break The high behest that bids us bend Only to God, the suppliant's friend."

"Well skilled art thou (she meekly said),
In paths of controversy bred,
With wiser heads in high debate
Thy vaunted faith to advocate.

Could'st thou but prove what slanderers say,
That we have left the olden way,
And none true worshippers can be
But such as wisely walk with thee,
We'd instant hasten to forsake
Our own, thy better path to take.
But who will grant thee, holy sir,
That Church infallible can err?
When from the high and beaten way
Lone travellers unwisely stray,

By tempting novelties beguiled,

They wander long in mazes wild.

Ere yet they reach their wished-for homes
The chill and treacherous nightfal comes;
Before them in the distant haze
A flickering light delusive plays;
Vain is the wish, the effort vain,
The beaten pathway to regain.
On onward hurriedly they go,
Till headlong in the gulph below
They fall, before the dawn of day,
To ravening wolves an easy prey.
The well-known path our fathers trod
In holy pilgrimage to God

We would not leave, but still prefer
The olden way, where none can err.