to live UNTO THE LORD; or whether they die, to die UNTO THE LORD? That charity which the apostle represents as the distinguishing characteristic of believers, is self-denying; it SEEKETH NOT her own. If any man, saith the divine Saviour, will come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF, and take up the cross and follow me. Whosoever will

save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose

his life for my sake, shall find it.

One would think it difficult, after such an explication, to be long in doubt as to the nature of one of the most decisive evidences of real religion. We can hardly turn to a page in the Bible, without being convinced, that' the grand distinction between true religion and false, is that the one is disinterested, the other is supremely selfish. For whether we be beside ourselves, says the apostle to the Corinthians, it is To GOD; or whether we be sober, it is for YOUR CAUSE. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and that He died for all, that they which live should NOT henceforth live UNTO THEMSELVES, but unto HIM WHICH DIED FOR THEM AND ROSE AGAIN. Those who are in the flesh, unbelievers, live unto

themselves; those who are in the spirit, believers, live unto Christ. There are but two moral characters that are essentially different, and this is the radical difference between them.

Here then you have another criterion of Christian character. It is not supposed that in the present state, we shall find self-denial unalloyed with selfishness. There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. Still, in the affections and conduct of every child of God, the spirit of selfdenial is the prominent feature. He who possesses most of this spirit, possesses most of the spirit of his Divine Master. In the same proportion in which the glory of God and the welfare of His kingdom take the place of personal advancement, does vital religion predominate in the soul.

I wish I could press this point upon the conscience of the reader as closely as its importance demands. The end of the Christian in the exercise of grace, is the glory of God, and not merely his own present or future happiness. The object at which he aims rises far above any thing that is confined within the limited circle of which his little self is the centre. Let the reader call

in his wandering thoughts, and inquire, Have I ever been taught to fix my heart on any thing infinitely more important than myself? Do not all my religious affections spring from some selfish motive? Is the desire of self-advancement, or the desire to advance the glory of God, the paramount principle of my feelings and conduct?

The Monastery and the Cloister, are not the only evidences that there is much of the show of self-denial where there is none of its spirit. We must look diligently into the nature of our religion, if we would not be deceived. Men may deny themselves in a thousand instances, from no other motive than that they expect to be the gainers by it. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. You cannot know whether your self-denial is genuine, or whether it is spurious, without knowing whether it is founded upon a supreme attachment to the glory of God. To deny yourself from a supreme regard to a higher interest than your own, is to possess the spirit of the gospel. Is this then the principle which regulates your conduct both toward God and toward man? Which do you pursue most, your interest or your duty? Which do you think of most, your interest or your du

ty? Can you sell all for the pearl of great price? Can you renounce your ease, your profit, your honour, when they come in competition with your duty? Can you renounce every thing which is inconsistent with the glory of God, and the highest good of your fellow men? Are these the natural breathings of your heart-Thy kingdom come! Thy will be done! Is the highest interest of this kingdom identified with the object of your highest wish, and your most vigorous exertion? Is the cause of Christ your concern? the dishonour of Christ, your affliction, the cross of Christ your glory? If so, you are not strangers to the spirit of self-denial. You are not without conclusive evidence, that you are born from above. The more you forget yourselves in a supreme regard for God's glory, the more will you advance your own interest, both in this world and that which is to come. But the more you

seek a selfish, private, separate interest, in opposition to the glory of God, the more are you seeking an interest which God has determined te destroy.

ESSAY XI.

SPIRIT OF PRAYER.

SAUL of Tarsus was once a hardened obstinate sinner. He styles himself the chief of sinners, a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious. But he was a chosen vessel. It pleased God, who separated him from his mother's womb, suddenly to arrest him in his career; and near the spot where he had anticipated the success of a commission armed with the most unrelenting virulence against the trembling Christians, to humble him to the dust. He had in all its strength and prominence, borne the image of the earthly; but now he bears the image of the heavenly. Behold, saith the testimony of the faithful and true witness, Behold, he prayeth! He is not now the persecuting Saul; but the heaven-born, praying Paul. The