by contrast with the seared and fallen glories of the garden.

It is the AMARANTH. Its stalk is erect, its leaf is green, and its flower lavish of perfume, while all else is buried in the grave of the year.

I turn to the world in which I live, and I see, revealed in living outlines, the image of this garden. The withering grass, the fading flower, the delusive dream, and the fleeting vapour, are among the emblems which the Scriptures furnish of the life of man; and they are no less just than beautiful.

But it was not always so. Not that the grass upon the banks of the river of Eden did not always wither; nor that the flowers which filled that garden of delights with beauty and fragrance did not always fade. They probably did. But there was, then, no decay or change in man; nothing in his original form or nature, of which the drooping grace and perishing glory of the vegetable world. were emblematical.

He was made in the image of God-IMMORTAL. His body was endued with undecaying strength and beauty. Moulded and fashioned by the hand of the great Creator, he stood in the midst of the life and glory of the new world-the master and monarch of all. To crown his bliss (which needed only this to make it perfect) there was

brought to him the woman,

fitted to be one with

him; bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh.

Sole partner and sole part of all his joys,

Dearer herself than all.

Thus this glorious creation was finished. The gorgeous heavens, the teeming earth, and the dark blue sea, with all their untold myriads instinct with life and motion, and

Our two first parents, (yet the only two

Of mankind,) in the garden placed,
Reaping immortal fruits of joy and love,
Uninterrupted joy-unrivalled love

In blissful solitude

But alas! in an evil hour they sinned against the holy being in whose favour was their life; and by this one dreadful deed, brought upon themselves the curse with which God had threatened them if they disobeyed his commands, and thus closed the door of mercy and hope against themselves and their posterity.

By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Sad change !-man, immortal, glorious, sinless man, is no more! In his place is a frail, guilty, dying creature, now trem

bling with fear, and now sinking in hopeless des

pair.

Oh fleeting joys

Of Paradise! dear bought with lasting woes.

And is there no hope? Must they go down to the grave and thence to the dark prison of the fallen angels? What apology shall they offer for their sin? On what ground shall they plead for mercy and pardon? Did they sin ignorantly or inconsiderately? Will they deny their deliberate design and fixed purpose to disobey God? Did they not believe the tempter rather than their Maker? Surely they have no one but themselves to blame for their guilt and ruin.

If they had supposed themselves guiltless, would they have fled from the presence of God when they heard his voice in the garden? No. It was the voice of conscience. It filled them with terror, and they fled to a hiding place. But it was all in vain, for there is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity can hide themselves. WHERE ART THOU ? said a voice that shook the earth.

Why hast thou hidden thyself from thy Creator, thy Preserver, thy ceaseless and boundless Benefactor?

"I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid, because I was naked."

"And who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"

Thus were his sins set in order before him, and while he was overwhelmed with confusion and dismay, he strove to cast the dreadful burden of guilt and condemnation upon her, whose safety and protection were once first in his anxieties. So sin-even one sin, hardens the heart and quenches the best affections of our nature. They were both guilty, both ruined, alike involved in helpless and hopeless misery.

Was it not so? Could they restore themselves to innocency and purity? Could they rise up again and enter into communion with God and be happy? If they had thenceforward maintained a life of obedience to all God's commands, would they have been as if they had never violated his perfect laws? Alas! There is no reparation for such an injury and insult to the holy government of God. The soul that sinneth it shall die, and no man can by any means redeem his brother from death or give to God a ransom for him.

But in that day of darkness there was light. Across that heavy cloud of despair a ray of light

beamed from the eternal throne. In great compassion the promise of a Saviour was intimated to them, though indistinctly; and while the stern sentence stood unqualified-DUST THOU ART AND UNTO DUST SHALT THOU RETURN, mercy and forgiveness were offered to them upon their repentance

and faith.

Faith in what? in whom? "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." This promised seed thenceforth became the star of hope to which the eye of penitence and faith turned, and every drop in the ocean of sacrificial blood which was shed through the succeeding ages of the ancient church, was a distinct expression of this faith, and a new seal to the covenant of eternal love and mercy. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and a host of patriarchs and prophets died in this faith, not having received the promises in their fulfilment, but seeing them afar off, and being persuaded of them, they embraced them and died in peace.

In fulness of time the promised seed appeared. God sent forth his Son, made of a woman-made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons; for to him gave all the prophets witness, that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.