"Every thing conspired to make me happy. Whether I looked upon the heavens above, or the earth beneath, they sparkled with the Creator's glory; all creation seemed to smile upon my soul, and speak its Maker's praise. The fields broke forth into singing, and the trees clapped their hands. The glory of Lebanon was given unto them—the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, because of the glory of God, and the excellency of our God. In man, and beast, I saw the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, shine conspicuously.. I was filled with wonder, and felt the utmost tenderness and love for every creature God had made. With glowing admiration I have beheld, and with grateful praise confessed, the inimitable skill of his all-creating hand in the formation of a fly,, and the painting of a flower. More especially when I considered," This is not barely the work of God, but of my God, my father, and my friend. When I reflected on death, judgment, heaven, or even hell, it filled me with comfort; but above all,—at the name of JESUS, my heart took fire, and kindled into love."

To every mind not incurably sceptical on the subject of vital religion, this beautiful and vivid description, must carry evidence, at once of its reality and power. It is, indeed, convenient for those who place religion in a cold and barren orthodoxy of sentiment, or estimate the excellency of Christianity, merely by the superiority of its moral code to the ethics of a Seneca, or of an Epictetus, to represent such declarations of triumphant joy and confidence in God, as the language of fanaticism and mental delusion. They ought, however, to be reminded, that a prominent doctrine of Him, who spake as never man spake, is, 'Ye must be born again! And, though the announcement may pre

sent an aspect of as great mystery to them as it did to Nicodemus, neither its truth, nor its authority, can be affected by their unbelieving wonder. The spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba! Father!'-' the peace of God which passeth all understanding'—' the love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost'-joy unspeakable and full of glory,'—are among the emphatic expressions that occur in the sacred idiom, to indicate the strong consolations of the genuine Christian. And, apart from the perceptible influence of the Spirit of God, from recumbent trust on the sacrificial blood of the Redeemer, and conscious salvation in his name, it is apparent that such blessings can neither be enjoyed nor expected. If happiness is something experienced, a religion not experimental can, obviously, claim no alliance with true felicity. The hallowed exultation which Mr. Black felt, as the immediate fruit of his pardon, and adoption into the family of God, so powerful that it reflected its own radiant image on every object of his contemplation, making all nature to glow as in its primal bloom and beauty, is in just accordance with the sentiments and aspirations of the saints of God, as exhibited in the divine records. "There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness into my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased." "O send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles: then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy." The New Testament breathes the same spirit of holy and divine exhilaration ;-" Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ,

and rejoice in hope of the glory of God; and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also." "Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." Unless, then, the Gospel has come down to us stripped of its pristine glory, desolated of its joy-inspiring energy,—that is, unless it has ceased to be the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,' he who does believe with the heart unto justification, has the Spirit's testimony of his interest in the paternal love of God; he has

"What nothing earthly gives, nor can destroy,-
The soul's calm sunshine, and the heart-felt joy."

It is not, however, thence to be concluded that he is placed on an eminence above the reach of temptation. Exemption from the trial of his faith, is not to be anticipated by the Christian, on this side the goal of eternal felicity. His spiritual life, like the pillar that conducted the march of the Israelites in the desert, has an opaque as well as a luminous aspect; it is a tissue of temptation and of triumph. It is natural, indeed, amid the incipient joy of reconciliation to God, to think otherwise. The future, as well as the present, then receives its colouring from the ineffable peace experienced within, and exhibits naught to the mind's eye, but a boundless prospect of happiness. Christ appears to address the soul in that loveliest of poetry, "Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in the land." Who can wonder, if reposing thus under the tree of life, and regaling himself, for the first time, with its ambrosial fruit, the young convert should imagine that

conflict and sorrow are fled away forever, and that the current of his spiritual joy will hold on its expanding course, till it blend with that river, whose streams gladden the city of God. Soon, however, he learns from sad, yet salutary experience, that the paradise into which he has been introduced, is not inaccessible to the serpent.. The emancipation of the sinner, from the bondage of Satan,. is the signal for his mustering his militant legions to the battle, and making a desperate effort to regain, if possible, his lost supremacy. His fiercest assaults on the Captain of our salvation, were made immediately after the opening heavens poured the radiance around Him, and that illustrious attestation was borne to his dignity and mission, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him!" And if he does not display equal eagerness and impetuosity, in assailing those who have just been rescued from his power, it is not because his malignity does not prompt him to do so, but because he is held in abeyance by a stronger than he.' These remarks derive instructive illustration, from the sore temptations which Mr. Black sustained, not many weeks after the Lord had spoken peace to his soul. He was first tempted to question the reality of the work of grace in his heart. "Your joy," suggested the enemy, “is not the joy of the Holy Ghost-you do but deceive yourself; it is your own passions that are moved; you are no Christian still." This cloud was soon dispelled, by a renewed manifestation of the love of God, enabling him with unsuspecting confidence to cry, "My Lord! and my God!" But perpetual serenity did not succeed. A more portentous gloom gathered suddenly around his spirit ;-he was tempted to doubt the existence of God. And "with such power," he

says, I was this blasphemous thought injected into my mind, that I do not wonder St. Paul exhorts, 'Above all, take the shield of faith, wherewith ye may be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one.' They are well called fiery darts'; darts, because of the "suddenness, and swiftness, with which they fly,-and fiery darts, because of their inflammatory nature, setting on fire all the remains of corruption. However, I rejected the thought with the utmost abhorrence. But another soon followed,- You are no Christian, or such a thought could never have entered your mind; you, surely, are not born again.' With these suggestions I sometimes reasoned to my hurt. I did not always consider that it is no sin to be tempted, unless we make the temptation our own, by giving way to it. I was ignorant of Satan's devices. A few days after, the same suggestion struck me, as if it had been lightning from heaven. Instantly I cried aloud, Lord help me!' and it vanished in a moment. I now, in a small degree, began to learn, that the best way to vanquish the enemy, was, not to reason with him, but to fly to God, by prayer and faith. Here I always found help. One day, beginning to reason about my experience,-whether I was indeed a believer :-after great perplexity, I was sweetly comforted by these lines of Mr. Charles Wesley,

My Saviour doth not yet appear,
He hides the brightness of his face,-
But shall I therefore let him go?

And basely to the tempter yield?
No! in the strength of Jesus, No!
I never will give up my shield.'"

The cruel and unweariable adversary of his soul still pursued him. His next temptation was, to doubt his