but the Saviour went on to cheer them with the assurance, that they need not fall, but that the holy satisfaction which they felt in knowing they were His, and in the prospect of being with Him for ever, might shed its calm light over the whole of their earthly course, until it expanded into the richer and deeper bliss of the heavenly world. "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." (Verse 11.)

But what, it may be asked, are those "commandments" of our Lord to which He specially refers, and which we must "keep" in order to "abide in His love?" Doubtless, His statement should be viewed as comprehending all the precepts which He had inculcated during the course of His ministry. That ministry was marked, from first to last, by the earnest enforcement of duty, as well as by the clear unfolding of truth, and the rich and ample development of privilege and blessing. It was an object dear to the Saviour's heart, that His people should ever stand as "the light of the world," evincing, by their devout, upright, and holy lives, the reality and the depth of that inward change which they have experienced. Again and again He charged them to cultivate lowliness of spirit, though combined with a desire of all that is excellent and noble in feeling or character; to maintain supreme and fervent love to God; to embrace all mankind with unaffected benevolence; to be ready to forgive injuries; to delight in doing good to others, and especially to the poor, the afflicted, and the wretched; and to guard their hearts against the insinuation of unchaste desire or an absorbing covetousness. But, perhaps, while He wished now to remind His disciples of all the precepts which He had ever enjoined, He designed more especially to fix their regard upon two commandments of His, which are most intimately connected with the maintenance of the spiritual life. For, just before He uttered the words which we are considering, He had charged His followers to "abide" in Himself,—to maintain, by watchfulness, and prayer, and the constant putting forth of faith, that vital union with Himself on which their fruitfulness depended, and the severance of which would leave them as the withered branches of a vine, fit only to be burned. And, just after he had uttered them, He again adverted to that "new commandment" with which He had opened this conversation with the faithful eleven. "This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." (Verse 12.) Nothing can be more offensive to the Saviour, nothing can sooner cause Him to withdraw His complacency from those who once served Him, than the indulgence, on their part, of a bitter and hostile spirit toward their Christian brethren. In giving His life for our redemption, our Lord designed to gather round Himself a holy and peculiar people, who should love one another with a far more intimate and spiritual love than that which they cherish toward mankind at large; a love which supposes a common spiritual life, derived from Him their Lord and Head, and which implies a deep and holy sympathy of which the world knows nothing.

If, then, we would abide in the Saviour's love,-if we would have

His special complacency and delight at all times resting upon us,we must cleave to Him in self-renouncing faith, and maintain, in our intercourse with each other, "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Nay, more; we must have respect to all His commandments, and seek in everything to obey His will, and show forth His praise. Just as His life on earth was one continued course of service to the Father, as He invariably did the will of Him that sent Him, and subordinated all His teaching and all His actions to the Father's glory, even so must we do not our own will, but His; never presuming to deviate from His injunctions, and never losing sight of His glory as that in which we should triumph and exult. And just as our blessed Lord maintained this course of obedience in the midst of untold sufferings, till He had drunk the last cup of sorrow which the Father's hand held out to Him, and till, by submitting to the death of the cross, He had fully accomplished the purpose which He came to earth to effect; even so must we continue in the path of obedience to Him, though the services to which He may call us should be difficult and arduous, and though His hand should mix for us a cup of bitterness and anguish, until, at length, He shall call us to share His own rest and joy. "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love."

But who can adequately unfold the blessedness of abiding in the Saviour's love? Who can set forth this privilege in all its bearings, and in all its issues? It is a sweet and hallowed theme, but one which the most spiritual mind can only partially illustrate.

To be the objects of Christ's complacency and delight will alleviate the pressure of every sorrow, and sustain us in the hour of deepest affliction. When the clouds and storms of adversity darken our prospects, and chill our hearts,-when, instead of enjoying vigorous health, we have to endure weakness and languor,-when the dearest ties of earth are severed, and wounds which nothing worldly can heal are inflicted upon our spirits,-the assurance of Christ's special love will be our solace and our stay. If we can look up to Him as our unfailing Friend, and the very Portion of our souls, this will comfort and sustain us. Nor does He stand afar off in such seasons of trial and distress. He "comes" to us, to uphold and cheer us; He "manifests Himself" to us in a manner of which the world can form no conception. Thus He Himself has said, "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him." (John xiv. 21.)

Again, the special love of Christ to us will alter the character of death. The assurance of His friendship will diffuse peace through our souls when nature sinks and faints, and when we should otherwise be overwhelmed with agitation and dismay. Death is not, to the people of Christ, the unmitigated curse, or the full-armed enemy. It assumes a softened aspect; it is divested of its power to terrify and appal. Precious and full of truth are the words of the Redeemer :

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death." (John viii. 51.) Abiding in the Saviour's love, and sustained by the Saviour's grace, the believer is enabled to triumph even in the final conflict. How often have the lips of the Christian, as he has approached the closing scene, given utterance to the language of holy exultation!" Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." (Psalm xxiii. 4.) "The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. xv. 56, 57.)

And then, the special love of Christ to us will be the source of holy joy throughout eternity. The heavenly state is one of uninterrupted and perpetual fellowship with Him. There we shall see Him as He is, and reflect His perfect loveliness. He will reveal to us His glory, and lead us to sources of enjoyment which are ever rich and deep. The boundless extent of His resources, and the infinite efficacy of His mediatorial work, will be displayed in the glory with which He invests our entire nature. And as we dwell with Him in heaven, where no danger can approach us, and no sorrow can invade our hearts, our sweetest feeling will be the consciousness of His unfailing and eternal love.

Southampton.

HENRY W. WILLIAMS.

DOES REGENERATION IMPLY PERFECT HOLINESS?

DOES regeneration imply the restoration of the soul to a state of entire freedom from evil dispositions and tendencies ?-Perhaps everyone will admit that nothing unholy can enter heaven; that none but the spotlessly pure in heart can see the Lord. Now, to bring the subject the more directly before us, we ask, Is he that is truly justified and regenerated fully prepared for heaven?

This is a question which is eliciting discussion in certain quarters: and brethren, in opposition to the doctrine of Christian perfection as taught by Mr. Wesley, and received by the greater part of those connected with the various Wesleyan bodies, think themselves justified in asserting, that he that is born again is cleansed from all sin, and consequently prepared for heaven. From various considerations, we feel that we are compelled to dissent from this conclusion. While we believe that the regenerated man has within him all the elements which constitute the Christian character, and that grace reigns triumphant over all inward as well as outward sin, we also believe that in the merely regenerated soul there exist the "remains of the carnal mind." Although, in the exuberance of its joy, the newly converted soul may imagine itself freed from all that exalteth itself against God, sooner or later it feels, to its great sorrow, if not alarm, that there exist within its deep recesses dispositions and tendencies which would not be subject to the law of God.

It will not suffice to say, that these evil dispositions had no existence in the soul when it was first converted, but were the effects of some subsequent remissness in duty for they are generally felt before the soul has been conscious of any dereliction. They generally rise spontaneously within the heart; so that we are unable to trace their origin to any failure in duty. Indeed, so far are they from being evidences of a falling away from God, that the deep sorrow produced by their discovery is a sure evidence of a heart still true and loyal to its God.

We are aware that some-to avoid this difficulty, which their own experience, to say nothing of the testimony of the Scriptures, presents to their theory of the entire moral purity of the new-born babe in Christ-are accustomed to attribute these evil tendencies to the flesh alone; or, in other words, to the disordered and perverted action of the bodily appetites. To this there are two serious objections:

1. It makes the body the seat of sin;-which notion savours too much of the doctrine of the Gnostics, who contended that evil dwells in the body alone. We suppose that all will admit that the bodily appetites are not in themselves sinful; that they were given us by God for wise and benevolent ends; and that the evil consists in their perversion. But whence, we may ask, did the perversion of the bodily appetites originate, if not from the corruption of the soul? The soul is the grand regulator of the physical man. If it becomes perverted, it very naturally follows, that the bodily appetites will also be perverted; and, on the other hand, if the soul be purified, the bodily appetites will become pure in their tendency. We admit that the law of habit has much to do just here. We acknowledge that, even after grace has purified the soul, owing to deeply rooted habits of excess and perversion, these appetites do not generally subside at once into the channel of legitimate action: still, experience proves, that when the soul becomes purified, there being no longer any inward bias, the rightful supremacy will be regained, and these habits of perversion will lose their power.

2. We object, also, that some of the most powerful tendencies to sin have no connexion with the bodily appetites. How strongly do Christians often find themselves inclined to impatience, to resentment, to pride, and especially to unbelief!-and what agency, we may inquire, have the bodily appetites in producing these dispositions, which are in themselves spiritual? It is plain that, unless we wholly deny the existence of these spiritual sinful tendencies, we must admit that they come from a soul not wholly purified from sin.

But another objection is often brought forward; and, as it is thought by some to present an insurmountable difficulty, the cause of truth demands that we give it, at least, a passing notice. "All must

admit," it is objected, "that if the converted man die suddenly, and without any previous warning, he will be saved. If he is justified and regenerated, he certainly cannot go to hell; and, as we do not admit the doctrine of purgatory after death, we must conclude that he is prepared for heaven. But, as no preparation will fit us for heaven,

except it extend to the entire moral purification of the soul, he that is truly regenerated is free from all remains of the carnal mind." We think we have stated this objection fairly, and in its strongest light.

In reply, we beg to suggest that the objection, though seemingly formidable, is wholly without foundation; and that its seeming force lies in confounding a title to heaven with a preparation for heaven. We believe that it is generally conceded that justification implies a right or title to all the blessings which were forfeited by transgression; which blessings embrace not only heaven, but also a full preparation of the soul for heaven. That regeneration does not imply the entire moral renovation of the soul, the discovery of certain evil inward tendencies fully proves. Now, if a man is living in the exercise of all the faith possible, with the light which he now possesses; if he is living in the discharge of every known duty; (and without doing this he cannot remain in a justified state;) if in this condition he is called to die, God has bound Himself to give him, not only heaven, but also all that is necessary to make him meet for the heavenly state. God cuts short His work, completes the purification of the soul, and takes it to heaven; not indeed by an arbitrary process, but in virtue of a right, or title-deed, which He graciously grants the soul, in that He justifies it. Nor is this inconsistent with the doctrine of sanctification by faith.

Why it is that God does not ordinarily complete the work of the moral purification of the soul, so soon as all legal barriers are removed by the justification of the sinner, is, perhaps, one of the secrets of the Almighty, which we may never fully comprehend, at least in this world. We have shown, as we suppose, that the fact exists: and this should be sufficient foundation upon which to ground a firm belief that, in thus dealing with His children, God has in view some wise and benevolent end. Perhaps He sees it best for them, that, in the purer and brighter light of the regenerating Spirit, the inbeing of sin be discovered in all its deformity; that it be felt and lamented before He manifests the fulness of His glory, as "a refiner's fire," and a "purifier of silver." Perhaps, if God were at once to reveal to the penitent, not only the enormity of his guilt, but also the foul and deep-seated pollution of his soul, like the leper he would do nothing but cry, "Unclean!" In utter despair, he might refuse to look up to God, or to cast one trustful glance at the cross of Christ.

We have thus far referred for facts to the concurrent testimony of Christian experience; but, as we should be " men of one Book," we will refer to a few passages of Scripture, which, it appears to us, should set this matter for ever at rest. The Apostle, in his first letter to his Corinthian brethren, terms them "babes in Christ ;" and gives it as his reason for so considering them, that they were "carnal." They were evidently Christians; for his words plainly indicate that they were "in Christ.” And yet he charges them with a degree of carnality. In the seventh chapter [of the second epistle], he exhorts them in this language: "Let us, therefore, dearly beloved, cleanse ourselves from all filthi