THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER. JANUARY, 1844. A Holy Zeal for Her "little Children" the present Iope of the Church: a Sermon, &c. By JAMES SKINNER, A.M. London: James Burns. In every age of the world, and in every state of society, men are beset by the same dangers, and have to contend with the same difficulties. The forms of temptation may indeed be changed, but the end to be effected is the same; and it must be so, because the power of evil is no blind and senseless energy, unconsciously controlled and guided by external circumstances, but a personal agent, acting with deep and settled design, having a definite end, swerving not one moment from the pursuit of it, and bringing to bear on it the might of an Archangel nature,―fallen, indeed, and shorn of the glory of truth, but still powerful, still wise, still stedfast in purpose; a purpose evil now, as once it was good; the end changed, the means analogous, so far as evil can be analogous to good. The nature, too, on which he works remains unchanged. Man is man still, be his circumstances what they may. Christians of this generation, are, in their essence, much what Christians of the last generation were. Man's tempter need not look about for his weak points: he knows them well already. Many changes, truly, have we seen in the last ten years: everybody is aware of this; little else is talked about. Oh, blind man! oh, easily deceived, and quickly drawn aside from thyself to things around thee! The mass of men are unchanged: all are unchanged in a sense. Still men love to be at ease; they love to have their own way: they shrink from the narrow road: they love not to swim against the stream: and they are in the world still. The world, too, is unchanged: still it acts upon |