He hears the report with unfeigned pleasure, listens a terror to others, this demon of prejudice has too with the smile of approbation, the nod of assent; long possessed, and torn, and infuriated, even the he does not turn to the subject of human depravity, body of the church. "Spirit of love! descend, and to find ground and reason for discrediting the fact, expel the infernal usurper. Cast out this spoiler of nor does he search with inquisitive eye for some our beauty, this disturber of our peace, this oppoflaw in the evidence to impeach the veracity of nent of our communion, this destroyer of our honor. the testimony; he does not cautiously hold his judg- Before thy powerful yet gentle sway, let prejudice ment in abeyance, as if afraid of believing too well retire, and prepare us to believe all things that are of his neighbor; but, if the evidence amount to pro-reported to us to the credit of others-be they of bability, he is ready to believe the account, and de-our party or not-whether they have offended us or lights to find another and another instance of human not-and whether in past times they have done evil excellence, by which he may be more reconciled or good." and attached to the family of man, and by which he discovers that there is more goodness and happiness on earth than he knew of before. Charity hopeth all things." If the action itself cannot be defended, then love will hope that the motive was not bad; that the intention in the mind of the actor was not so evil as the deed appeared to the eye of the spectator; that ignorance, not malice, was the cause of the transaction; and that the time will come when this will be apparent. The strongest proof and power of love, in this mode of its operation, is its disposition to believe all good reports of an enemy or a rival. Many per- HOPE has the same reference here, as the faith just sons can believe nothing good, but every thing bad, considered; it relates not to what God has promisof those whom they consider in this light. Let ed in his word to them that love him, but to the them have once conceived a prejudice or a dislike; good which is reported to exist in our neighbors.let them only have been injured or offended, opposed In a report of a doubtful matter, where the evidence or humbled, by any one-and from that moment is apparently against an individual, love will still their ears are closed against every word to his cre- hope that something may yet turn up to his advandit, and open to every tale that may tend to his dis- tage-that some light will yet be thrown on the grace. Prejudice has neither eyes nor ears for darker features of the case, which will set the matgood; but is all eye and ear for evil. Its influence ter in a more favorable point of view; it will not on the judgment is prodigious; its bewildering ope- give full credit to present appearances, however ration upon our convictions is really most surpris-indicative they may seem to be of evil, but hope, ing and frightful. In many cases, it gives up evi- even against hope, for the best. dence as bright, clear, and steady, as the meridian splendor of the sun, to follow that which is as dim and delusive as the feeble light of an ignis fatuus. How tremblingly anxious should we be to keep the mind free from this misleading influence! How careful to obtain that candid, impartial, discriminating judgment, which can distinguish things that differ, and approve of things that are excellent, even in reference to persons that are in some respects opposed to us! This is candor; and a more important disposition of the kind we can scarcely imagine. Through that great law of our nature, which we call the association of ideas, we are too apt, when we have discovered one thing wrong in the character or conduct of another to unite with it nothing but wrong, and that continually: we scarcely ever think of him, or repeat his name, but under the malign influence of this unhappy association. There are reasons which make it wise, as well What we need is more of that power of abstrac-as kind, to believe and hope all things for the best. tion of which we have already spoken, by which we can separate the occasional act from permanent character-the bad qualities from the good ones,and still be left at liberty to believe what is good, notwithstanding what we know of the bad. Love does not speedily abandon an offender in despondency-does not immediately give him up as incorrigible, nor soon cease to employ the means necessary for his reformation; but is willing to expect that he may yet repent and improve, however discouraging present appearances may be. Hope is the main spring of exertion; and as love means a desire for the well-being of others, it will not socn let go that hope, in the absence of which all its efforts must be paralyzed. Presumptive evidence, however strong, is often fallacious. Many circumstances in the case may look very suspicious; and yet the after-discovery of some little event may alter the aspect of the whole affair, and make the innocence of the accused far more apparent than even his guilt seemed before. The various instances in which we have ourselves been deceived by appearances, and have been led by defective, though at the time convincing, evidence, should certainly teach us cantion in listening to evil reports, and dispose us to believe and hope all things. If, in accordance with the principles of revclation, the testimony of our senses, and the evidence of experience, we believe that there is none so perfect in the view of God as to be destitute of all flaws; we at the same time believe that, so far as mere general excellence goes, there are few so bad as to be destitute of all approveable traits. It is the business of candor, to examine, to report, to be- When we consider, also, how common is slander, lieve with impartiality, and candor is one of the detraction and tale-bearing, we should not be hasty operations of love. This heavenly disposition for-in forming an opinion; nor should we forget the bids the prejudice which is generated by differences anxiety which is often manifested by each party enon the subject of religion, and enables its possessor gaged in a contention to gain our alliance to their to discredit the evil, and to believe the favorable cause, by being first to report the matter, and to protestimony which is borne to those of other denomi- duce an impression favorable to themselves. Solomon nations and of other congregations. All excellence has given us a proverb, the truth of which we have belongs not to our society or sect; all evil is not to seen proved in a thousand instances, and which, be found in other societies or sects: yet how pre- notwithstanding, we are continually forgetting,pared are many persons to believe nothing good, or "He that is first in his own cause, seemeth to be every thing bad, of other sects or other societies. just; but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him Away, away, with this detestable spirit! cast it out out." It is a proof of great weakness, so to give of the church of the living God! like the legion our ear to the first reporter, as to close it against spirit which possessed the man who dwelt among the other party; and yet we are all prone to do this. the tombs, and made him a torment to himself, and | A plausible tale produces an impression, which no the lamb, the plodding perseverance of the ox, with the courage of the lion. It is no frivolous and volatile affection, relinquishing its object from a mere love of change; nor is it a feebie virtue, which weakly lets go its purpose in the prospect of difficulty; nor a cowardly grace, which drops its scheme, and flees from the face of danger; no, it is the union of benevolence with strength, patience, courage, and perseverance. It has feminine beauty, and gentleness, and sweetness, united with masculine energy, and power, and heinfirmities of the meanest, or will brave the scorn and fury of the mightiest. But let us survey the opposition, the difficulties, the discouragements, the provocations, which it has to bear, and which, with enduring patience it can resist. Sacrifices of ease, of time, of feeling, and of pro subsequent opposing testimony, though attended with far clearer evidence of truth than the first statement, can effectually obliterate. We know that every case has two aspects-we have all been experimentally acquainted with the folly of deciding till we have heard both sides; and yet, in opposition to our reason, and to our experience, we are apt to take up a prejudice upon ex-parte statements. Another circumstance, by which we are in danger of being misled in our opinion of our neighbor's conduct, is the mischievous propensity of many persons to exaggerate every thing they relate.roism. To do good, it will meekly bear with the Whatever be the philosophical cause, into which a fondness for the marvellous, and a delight in exciting surprise, may be resolved, its existence, and its prevalence, are unquestionable. Perhaps, we all like to relate what is new, and strange, and interesting; not excepting even bad news. To such a pitch is this carried, by those who are deeply in-perty, must all be endured: for it is impossible to fected with the propensity, that they never tell any thing as they heard it: every fact is embellished or magnified. If a neighbor has displayed a little warmth of temper, they saw him raging like a fury; if he was a little cheerful after dinner, he was tippling; if he was evasive, they protest that he committed palpable falsehood, if not perjury; if he had not been so generous in his transactions as could be wished, he was an extortioner, and devoid of common honesty. Nothing is moderate and sober in the hands of such persons; every thing is extravagant, or extraordinary. All they meet with, is in the form of adventure. Out of the least incident they can construct a tale; and on a small basis of truth, raise a mighty superstructure of fiction, to interest and impress every company into which they come. Undeterred by the presence of the individual from whom they received the original fact, they will not scruple to go on magnifying and embellishing, till the author of the statement can scarcely recognize his own narrative. How strange it seems, that such people should either not know or not remember, that all this while they are telling falsehoods. They do not seem to understand, that if we relate a circumstance in such a manner as is calculated to give an impression which, either in nature or degree, does not accord with reality, we are guilty of the sin of lying. Where character is concerned, the sin is still greater, since it adds detraction to falsehood. Many a man's reputation has been frittered away by this wicked and mischievous propensity. Every narrator of an instance of misconduct, not, perhaps, heinous in the first instance, has added something to the original fact, till the offence has stood before the public eye, so blackened by this accumulative defamation, that, for a while, he has lost his character, and only partially recovered it in the end, and with extreme difficulty. Remembering the existence of such an evil, we should be backward to take up an unfavorable opinion upon first appearance; and where we cannot believe all things, be willing to hope: such is the dictate of charity, and such the conduct of those who yield their hearts to its influence. exercise Christian charity without making these.He that would do good to others, without practising self-denial, does but dream. The way of philanthropy is ever up hill, and not unfrequently over rugged rocks, and through thorny paths. If we would promote the happiness of our fellow creatures, it must be by parting with something or other that is dear to us. If we would lay aside revenge when they have injured us, and exercise forgiveness, we must often mortify our own feelings. If we would reconcile the differences of those who are at variance, we must give up our time, and sometimes our comfort. If we would assuage their griefs, we must expend our property. If we would reform their wickedness, we must part with our ease. If we would, in short, do good of any kind, we must be willing to deny ourselves, and bear labor of body and pain of mind. And love is willing to do this; it braces itself for labor, arms itself for conflict, prepares itself for suffering: it looks difficulties in the face, counts the cost, and heroically exclaims,— "None of these things move me, so that I may diminish the evils, and promote the happiness, of others." It will rise before the break of day, linger on the field of labor till midnight, toil amidst the sultry heat of summer, brave the northern blasts of winter, submit to derision, give the energies of body and the comfort of mind: all to do good. Misconstruction is another thing that love endures Some men's minds are ignorant, and cannot understand its schemes; others are contracted, and cannot comprehend them; others are selfish, and cannot approve them; others are envious, and cannot appland them; and all these will unite, either to suspect or to condemn: but this virtue, "like the eagle, pursues its noble, lofty, heaven-bound course, regardless of the flock of little pecking caviling birds, which, unable to follow, amuse themselves by twittering their objections and ill will in the hedges below." Or, to borrow a scriptural allusion, love, like its great pattern, when he was upon the earth, goes about doing good, notwithstanding the malignant perversion of its motives and actions on the part of its enemies. "I must do good," she exclaims: you cannot understand my plans, I pity your ignorance; if you misconstrue my motives, I forgive your malignity; but the clouds that are exhaled from the earth, may as well attempt to arrest the career of the sun, as for your dulness or malevolence to stop my attempts to do good. I must go on, withCHARITY is not fickle, unsteady, and easily discou-out your approbation, and against your opposition." raged; not soon disheartened, or induced to relinquish its object; but is persevering, patient, and self-denying, in the pursuance of its design to relieve the wants, assuage the sorrows, reform the vices, and allay the animosities, of those whose good it seeks. It is as patient in bearing, as it is active in doing; uniting the uncomplainable submission of CHAPTER XV. THE SELF-DENIAL OF LOVE. "Love endureth all things." if Envy often tries the patience of love, and is another of the ills which it bears, without being turned aside by it. There are men who would enjoy the praise of benevolence without enduring its labors; that is, they would wear the laurel of victory with out exposing themselves to the peril of war: they are sure to envy the braver, nobler spirits, whose generous conquests, having been preceded by labor, | Mr. WILBERFORCE, ge we gain from these sources tears of gratitude by tend us to the skies, and be the work of inducing thhave arrived at the region tion upon earth to abolish ement of wisdom, the man beings; and ought to be of truth. gold by their grateful country my the apostle, has livered the nation from the greatestriking digres her modern history, she ever comme ever made. the greatest curse which she could & that love hands of retributive justice. Perhaps no u the latbook may be so fairly regarded as a beautiftshall ment on the expression, Charity enduretfcthings," as Clarkson's "History of the Abolitio of the Slave Trade." Twenty years of that good man's life were occupied in long and fatiguing journies, at all seasons of the year: in labors of an almost incredible extent, to trace reports to their source, to collect information, and to gather evidence; in braving opposition, bearing all kinds of ridicule, encountering savages, whose trade had made them reckless of crime, and thirsty for blood; in personal exposure, so great, that by nothing less than supernatural strength, granted for the occasion, would he have been rescued at one time from threatened and intended death. Nor was this the full measure of the endurance; disappointment the most bitter and discouraging often extinguished his brightest hopes; lukewarmness on the part of those from whom he had a right to expect the most zealous co-operation often saddened his heart, though it never paralyzed his zeal; and, to try his perseverance and put his benevolence to the severest test, his cause was of a nature which, by the sufferings it brought under review, was enough to sicken and turn from its purpose a compassion of less hardihood than his. What must that man have had to endure, who thus describes his feelings after the details of evidence furnished by only one of the thousands of days spent in familiarizing himself with the various scenes of the biggest outrage ever committed against the rights of humanity -"The different scenes of barbarity which these represented to me, greatly added to the affliction of my mind. My feelings became now almost insupportable. I was Derision is often employed to oppose the efforts agonized to think that this trade should last another of love by all the artillery of scorn. Spiritual reli- day: I was in a state of agitation from morning till gion, and especially that view of it which this sub-night: I determined I would soon leave the place ject exhibits, has ever been an object of contempt to ungodly men. Banter and ridicule are brought to stop its progress; the greatest profaneness and buffoonery are sometimes employed to laugh it out of countenance;-but it has learned to treat with indifference even the cruel mockings of irony, and to receive upon its shield-arm all the arrows of the most envenomed wit. Ingratitude is often the hard usage which love has to sustain, and which it patiently endures. Into such a state of turpitude is man fallen, that he would bear any weight rather than that of obligation.Men will acknowledge small obligations, but often return malice for such as are extraordinary; and some will sooner forgive great injuries than great services. Many persons do not know their benefactors, many more will not acknowledge them, and others will not reward them, even with the cheap offering of thanks. These things are enough to make us sick of the world: yes; but ought not to make us weary of trying to mend it; for the more ungrateful it is, the more it needs our benevolence. Here is the noble, the lofty, the godlike temper of charity: it pursues its course like the providence of Jehovah, which continues to cause its sun to rise and its rain to descend, not only upon the irrational creatures, who have no capacity to know their benefactor, but upon the rational ones, many of whom have no disposition to acknowledge him. Opposition does not disgust, nor persevering obstinacy weary it. It can endure to have its schemes examined and sifted by those who cannot understand them, cavilled at by those who cannot mend them, and resisted by those who have nothing to offer in their place. It does not throw all up in a fit of passion, nor suffer the tongue of petulance, nor the clamor of envy, to stop its efforts. in which I saw nothing but misery. I had collected now, I believe, all the evidence it would afford; and to stay a day longer in it than was necessary, would be only an interruption to my happiness and health." Who but a Christian phuanthropist of the highest order could have pursued such a career, year after year, and not be so wearied by labor-so disheartened by opposition-so disgusted by cruelty, as to abandon the object of his pursuit? Here was, indeed, a beautiful illustration of the "love that endureth all things." But a greater than Clarkson might be mentioned. Let the history of St. Paul be studied, and his suffering career be traced, and his declarations heard concerning his varied and heavy tribulations. "I Want of success, that most discouraging considera-think that God hath sent forth us the apostles last, tion to activity, is not sufficient to drive it from the field; but in the expectation of the future harvest, it continues to plough and to sow in hope. Its object is too important to be relinquished for a few failures; and nothing but the demonstration of absolute impossibility can induce it to give up its benevolent purpose. as it were appointed to death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ: we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellIf instances of this view of Christian love be ne- ing place; and labor, working with our own hands: cessary to illustrate and enforce it by the power of being reviled, we bless: being persecuted, we suffer example, many and striking ones are at hand.-it: being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the Few, very few, are worthy of being put in competi- filth of the earth, and are the offscouring of all things tion with that of Mr. CLARKSON, whose illustrious unto this day." "In labors more abundant, in stripes name, and that of his no less illustrious coadjutor, above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths subsequent opposing testimony sition to our reaea apt to take up will ever be pronounced recorded in letters of ted, and from ninspired all ht gs pe ess, en , in How ea- PERMANENCE is the climax of excellence. often has the sigh been heaved, and the tear been shed, over the perishable nature of earthly possessions. Their transient duration presented a painna- ful contrast to their great worth, and extorted the out, sorrowful exclamation, Alas! that such excellence fall should be mortal! The charm of beauty soon apon fades, the force of genius is at length exhausted, hem, the monuments of art decay; an incurable taint onds of corruption has infected every thing earthly, and pros- even religion itself does not confer immortality eight upon every thing that belongs to its sacred economy. relin- One thing there is, which shall remain for ever, are of for "charity never faileth;" and its permanence is eth all the crown and glory of all its other noble qualities. It is a truly immortal disposition-bearing no exclusive relation to earth or to time, but destined to pass away from the world with the souls in which it exists, to dwell in heaven, and flourish through eternity. gion. A man may change his opinions on some subjects-he may give up some sentiments once believed by him to be truth; but he cannot give up love, without ceasing to be a Christian. things.' And a greater, far greater than great apostle of the Gentiles, might be also introduced, as affording, by his conduct, a most striking illustration of this property of Christian charity. Who but himself can conceive of what the Son of God When it is said that it never faileth, we are not endured while he sojourned in this world? Who merely to understand, that being once planted in can imagine the magnitude of his sufferings, and the soul, it remains there as the centre and support the extent of that opposition, ingratitude, and hard of all the other practical virtues: that it will so reusage, amidst which those sufferings were sustained, main, is unquestionable, for its continuance is esand by which they were so greatly increased?sential to the existence of personal and social reliNever was so much mercy treated with so much cruelty; the constant labor he sustained, and the many privations to which he submitted, were little, compared with the malignant contradiction, resistance, and persecution, he received from those who were the objects of his mercy. The work of man's redemption was not accomplished, as was the work of creation, by a mere fiat delivered from the throne, on which Omnipotence reigned in the calm repose of infinite majesty: no-the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, as a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. The wrath of God, the fury of devils, the rage of man, the malignity of enemies, the wayward follies and fickleness of friends, the baseness of treachery, the scorn of official rank, and the many stings of ingratitude, calumny, and inconstancy-all poured their venom into that heart which glowed with affection to the children of men. Nothing turned him from his purpose-nothing abated his ardor in the work of our salvation. His, too, and above all others, was indeed a love which "endureth all things." Such is the model we are to copy. In doing good we must prepare ourselves for opposition, and all its attendant train of evils. Whether our object be the conversion of souls, or the well-being of man's corporeal nature-whether we are seeking to build up the temporal, or to establish the eternal, interests of mankind-we must remember that we have undertaken a task which will call for patient, self-denying, and persevering effort. In the midst of difficulties, we must not utter the vain cowardly wish, that we had not set our hand to the plough; but press onward in humble dependence upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, and animated by the hope of either being rewarded by success, or by the consciousness that we did every thing to obtain it: and we shall do this, if we possess much of the power of love; for its ardor is such, that many waters cannot quench it. Its energies increase with the difficulty that requires them, and, like a well constructed arch, it becomes more firm and consolidated by the weight it has to sustain. In short, it is "steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as it knows that its labor shall not be in vain in the Lord.” Nor does the apostle mean that it remains as the spirit of Christianity till the end of time, amidst every change of external administration; that it shall so abide is unquestionable. The genius of piety is unchangeable. This was the temper obligatory upon the primitive Christian; it is obligatory upon us; and it will be no less so upon every future generation. A holier and happier age is in reserve for the church of Christ; "compared with which, invisible though it be at present, and hid behind the clouds which envelope this dark and troubled scene, the brightest day that has yet shone upon the world is midnight, and the highest splendors that have invested it the shadow of death:" but this glory shall consist in a more perfect and conspicuous manifestation of the grace of love. It is in this, combined with a clearer perception of the truth, that the Christians of the millennium will surpass those of every preceding age. But the apostle's reference is evidently to another world: his eye was upon heaven, and he was looking at things unseen and eternal, when he said that charity never faileth." He was then soaring on the wing of faith, and exploring the scenes of eternity, among which he saw this celestial plant, surviving the dissolution of the universe, outliving the earthly state of the church, transplanted to the paradise of God, and flourishing in the spirits of just men made perfect near the fountain of light and love. To give still greater emphasis to what he says of its continuance, he contrasts it with some things, which, however highly valued by the Corinthian believers, were of a transient duration, and, there、 fore, of greatly inferior value to this. "Whether there be prophecies, they shall fail." By prophecies here, we are to understand inspired interpretation of the Scriptures; all new revelations from God, by oral or written communication, for the instruction and edification of the saints. These, so far from belonging to the heavenly state of the church, did not survive its primitive ages. The gift of inspiration was soon withdrawn, the oracle of prophecy was hushed, and all further responses from heaven were denied. "Whether there be tongues they shall cease." This, of course, refers to the miraculous power of speaking any language without previous study. This gift also ceased with the other extraordinary endowments of the primitive ages, and bears no relation to the heavenly world. Whether the communication of ideas in the celestial state will be carried on by speech, is, at present, unknown to us; if it be so, what the language will be is beyond conjecture. "Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away." This expression most probably refers to what is called, in the preceding chapter, "the word of knowledge," and of which the apostle speaks in the beginning of this chapter-"Though I understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and have not love, I am nothing." It means an inspired knowledge of the types, predictions, and mysteries, of the Old Testament, and of their accomplishment by the facts of the Christian economy. This, also, was among the signs and wonders which were to vanish away; which, having been granted as attestations to the divine authority of the word of God, and for the edification of the church, were discontinued when the canon of Scripture was completed and settled. Some extend the apostle's reasoning so far, as to include every kind of our present knowledge; which, as to its imperfect attainments, and inadequate mediums, and present modes of communications, shall be removed, and give place to a more easy and perfect method of acquiring truth, and a more entire comprehension of its nature and relations. nish. The knowledge we gain from these sources is not that which will attend us to the skies, and be sufficient for us when we have arrived at the region of cloudless splendor, the element of wisdom, the native land, and dwelling-place of truth. The introduction of this idea, by the apostle, has given occasion for one of the most striking digres sions from his tract of thought which he ever made. His argument only required him to state that love is better than the gift of knowledge, because the latter shall cease; but he proceeds to show why it shall cease, and ascribes its continuance to its imperfection: he then takes an opportunity to draw one of the most sublime contrasts to be found in the word of God, between our knowledge in the present world, and our more perfect comprehension of truth in the world that is to come. And why shall knowledge vanish away? because "We know in part, and we prophesy in part.” A part only of truth is made known, and, therefore, a part only is received by us. This may imply that there are many things we do not know at all. Who can doubt this? Upon the supposition that we are perfectly acquainted with all that is proper to be known, all that could be acquired by the aid of reason and the discoveries of revelation, still we should hear a voice, saying to us, "Lo, these are a part of his ways, but the thunder of his power who can understand?" There are, doubtless, truths of vast importance and of deep interest, which have never yet approached, and, in the present world, never will approach, the horizon of the human understanding. There are paths in the region of truth which the vulture's eye has not seen, and which are hid from the view of all living. As to the knowledge of the arts of the practical When, on his death-bed, the great NEWTON was sciences and of literature, this shall be lost and for- congratulated upon the discoveries he had made, he gotten, as utterly useless, and as bearing no relation replied, with the modesty usually attendant on vast whatever to the celestial state. Ye master spirits, attainments, "I have been only walking on the ye commanding geniuses, ye lordly minds, who shores of truth, and have, perhaps, picked up a gem exhaust the force of your intellect, and lavish its or two, of greater value than others; but the vast treasures upon themes of mere earthly interest- ocean itself lies all before me." This is strictly corsee here the termination of all your labors. Scho-rect in reference to the material universe, to which lars, poets, painters, sculptors, warriors, ye who as- the remark was intended to apply. Of natural truth, semble in the temple of fame, amidst the mightiest the ocean, with its depths, its islands, and the conproductions of human skill, to pay homage to each tinents and kingdoms to which it leads, is all before other, to receive the admiration of the world, and us. We have only looked upon the surface, and to immortalize your names-giving to your mighty seen some of the objects passing upon it: we have works the full measure of their value, in reference only seen a few land-marks, on one part of one of to earth and to time-admitting that, in this view, its shores; but the infinitude of its ample space, they are bright scenes in the history of man; yet and the innumerable objects which that space constill, in reference to heaven and its eternity, they tains, are yet to be explored. And with respect to are nothing less than nothing-and vanity. Not the spiritual world, although we possess, in the voan angel would turn to gaze upon the noblest pro-lume of inspiration, a revelation of the most sublime, duction of human imagination, nor will a plea be put in by a single inhabitant of heaven, to exempt from the destruction of the last fire the sublimest specimens of human skill. Myriads of volumes have been already lost and forgotten; myriads more are on their way to oblivion; myriads still shall rise, only to vanish;-and of all the accumulations that shall have been made by the time of the millennium, and which shall have been going on through the longest and the purest age of reasonnot one shall be saved from the general conflagration, as worthy to be borne to the heavenly world. "Knowledge shall vanish away." important, and interesting objects of knowledge: yet probably, there are truths of which, after all that divines and philosophers have written, we can form no more conception, than we can of the objects of a sixth sense, or than a blind man can of colors. "We know only in part." It is implied also that what we do know, we know but imperfectly. In some cases, our knowledge is uncertainty, and amounts only to opinion; faith is weak, and mixed with many doubts. We cannot exultingly exclaim, "I know;" we can scarcely say, "I believe." The object sometimes presents itself to our mind, like the sun seen dimly through a mist But not only shall the knowledge contained in-now appearing, and then lost again, in the density the scientific, and literary, and imaginative, productions of men vanish, together with the volumes by which it was circulated; but all theological works-our creeds, our catechisms, our articles of faith, our bodies of divinity, our works of biblical criticism, our valued, and justly valued, commentaries—our sermons, and our treatises-all shall va of the fog. Now a truth comes upon us, in a thin and shadowy form; we think we see it, but it is again obscured. We only see glimmerings. We perceive appearances, rather than demonstrations; dark outlines, not perfect pictures. And where no doubt undermines the certainty of our knowledge, what dark limits bound its extent : |