then cast me away, but rather will receive me into His society. Thus I need no Christ,-although, if I admit the Scriptures to be a divine revelation, my philosophy is not sufficient for my salvation." You say, if I admit.'-O that you would rather say, Since I admit.”” "Oh! God;" cried the General with a deep sigh, "Thou wilt give me this since' also." Fresenius resumed; "Had we more time, I would willingly enter into a copious detail and exposition of the grounds of the Christian faith, as I have done long ago in the account of the conversion of Herr of Wunsoh, who died in a lingering consumption.” "Ah! Herr of Winsolt was my countryman and acquaintance; you must read me in the afternoon the most important parts of the treet." Most willingly, but, meanwhile, as you do not want knowledge, and your short time admits of nothing superfluous, let us take another way, and I cannot counsel you better than by bidding you pig for tuitu.”- Upon this, he took off his cap, raised his hands and eyes towards heaven, and prayed: "O Almighty God, I am a poor sinner, deserving damnation! yet grant me the faith that thy Son Jesus Christ died even for me, and that I can be saved only through Him." Then he asked, "Is that sufficient for salvation ? "—meaning, is faith in that truth, and resting on Christ alone, all that is required for a sinner's salvaFresenius replied, Yes, if it be living faith." "I hope it shall be so with me, more and more; I will carnestly pray that it may."

tion.

As the General was very weak, Fresenius now left him alone, saying he would go into another room, but would return whenever he desired to see him. He had not been long away, conversing with another officer on the state of the sick man, when he was sent for.

turbed or obscured since yesterday?" The reply was, "Neither disturbed nor obscured. There has not a doubt once crossed my mind; it is to me just as if I had believed from my childhood as I do now, and had never doubted. So gracious is the Lord Jesus to me, a poor sinner." He then prayed, and in his prayer made use of an appropriate verse of a hymn, thanking the Lord for his grace. He then requested Fresenius to write to his mother, and let her know that he left the world in the faith of Christ, and he being now called away to visit another who had been wounded in the battle, "Yes, go," said the General, "I must not let him be neglected on my account, but come back again as soon as you can."

As the day went on, Fresenius came back and for ward, and still ever found his soul occupied about the one thing needful. When he was sent for in the evening, the conflict of death had begun; only in a few lucid intervals they could hear his sighs and breathings as of one in prayer. At last, Fresenius, with those present, engaged in prayer for the dying man, after which he blessed him by laying on his hands, and while he was uttering the last words of the blessing, his spirit departed. "That day he was with Christ in Paradise."*

THE CHARACTER AND DOOM OF JUDAS ISCARIOT:

A DISCOURSE.

BY THE REV. JOHN HUNTER, A. M., One of the Ministers of the Tron Church Parish, Edinburgh. "And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now, he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; hold him fast. And forthwith be came to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master; and kissed him,"— MATT. xxvi. 47-49.

THE human mind, ny brethren, may be degraded by ignorance, misled by prejudice, debased by pas

After some time, Fresenius left him to go to dinner, But he was soon called back, and when he came, the General declared with great freedom before all the officers present, his faith in Jesus as the sinner's only hope. After this he requested to be permitted to partake of the Lord's Supper, that ordinance being administered to dying saints by the Lutheran Church, as it is by the Church of England. Fresenius put serious questions to him on points of doctrine, and in regard to real conversion; and after receiving satisfactory answers, gave him the Holy Supper, which he partook of with deep emotions of joy and thankfulness. Towards evening, he asked Fresenius to come again when his end was near, and remain till he died. This be promised to do; but was not sent for till next morning, as the General had got some hours of quiet sleep, and then had spent some time in silent prayer. He was very joyfully received, and immediately put the question, Is your faith in Christ and his atonement dis

to present before it, in a clear and luminous form, an instance of deep and complicated guilt, without inspiring it with feelings of moral indignation and abhorrence. This, amid the ruins of the fall, affords a faint trace of man's primeval dignity and glory; yet, alas, it only tends to increase and aggravate the measure of his transgressions. For we often behold him an utter stranger to the practice of the virtue which he approves and admires, and perpetrating the very crime which he so loudly and justly condemns.-The truth of this observation is strikingly exemplified in reference to the history of the traitor Judas. There is no discrepancy of opinion with regard to the character of this guilty and infatuated man. We all unite with one heart and one soul in pronouncing a sentence of the strongest reprobation of the gross injustice, the sordid avarice, the foul ingratitude, the infamous treachery, and the complicated wickedness by which his conduct was stained. Yet we frequently stand at the very edge of that labyrinth, into whose dark and gloony

* A full detail of this remarkable instance of the grace of God was published at the tunc, in the year 1759, at Frankfort.

abyss Judas was cast. There are in our own minds the embrvos of the same evil passions by which he was led to forsake the path of duty, and to wander into the mazes of error. Our hearts, like his, by nature rise in rebellion against the authonity of the Saviour, and are inaccessible to the attractive influence of his grace and love. And we are ever ready by our sinful passions and evil habits, for the sake of the most paltry bribe, to betray him into the hands of his enemies, "to crucy him afresh, and to put him to open shame." The history and fate of Judas, is a beacon designel by the great Author of our faith for our warning and admonition, and is fraught with lessons of the most interesting and instructive kind.

nances.

I. It teaches us, in the first place, that an individual may be possessed of the highest privileges and the most important advantages, for the acquisition of religious knowledge and the attainments of Christian holiness, while no salutary influence is produced upon the dispositions of his mind or the conduct of his life; and while he even indulges in the most open and flagrant crimes. The sacred historians have not narrated the early history of Judas Iscariot. Whether he possessed the advantage of devout parents and pious instructors we know not, but we have reason to believe he was educated in the belief and practice of the Jewish faith, and in the observance of its ordiHe was fully acquainted with the obligation of those sacred laws of justice, truth, gratitude, and benevolence, which were originally enraven upon the heart of man, and which are dearly unfolded in that moral law which God hath given for the direction of human conduct. During the ministry of our blessed Lord, Judas joined himself to the number of his followers, and was chosen by him as an apostle. From the lips of the holy Jesus, he was permitted to listen to the counsels of eternal wisdom,-the purity of Jehovah was unveiled before him, he learned the evil of sin, and the spirituality and extent of the divine law, he heard the voice of tender expostulation, of solemn denunciation, of affectionate admonition, and of earnest entreaty; and every argument was presented to his understanding, every appeal was made to his conscience, and every motive presented to his heart which was fitted to induce him to shun the path in which destroyers go, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in a present evil world."-The moral lessons of the Saviour were all enforced by the virtues of his life. Judas heard his public instructions, he beheld him in domestic society, he followed him into the secret recesses of retirement, and in every situation he witnessed the same ardent piety, unaffected humility, disinterestel benevolence, fervent zeal, unbending rectitude, and entire submission to the disposal of Divine Providence; the same assiduous attention to every relative and social duty, and the same meekness, gentleness, patience, forgiveness of injuries, and heavenly-mindedness. New, untried, and important circumstances might indeed at times exhibit

these qualities, even to his apostles, with a brightness and a splendour in which they had never beheld them before; yet it was their distinguished honour and exalted privilege, to trace the uniform consistency of our Lord's character; and they, with heartfelt reverence, acknowledged, that never man spake, and lived, and acted like this man, that truly this was the Son of God.

Judas was not merely intimately acquainted with the excellencies which adorned the character of our Lord as a man, he had also received those marks of distinguished kindness, which not only conciliate the esteem, but which gain the affections; and which, when proceeding from the wise and good, are fitted to render virtue dear to the heart. Jesus admitted Judas into the number of his confidential friends and followers; he unveiled in his presence the inmost feelings of his mind, and the tenderest affections of his soul; he patiently bore with his weaknesses, infirmities, and errors; united with him in prayer at a throne of grace; chose him as the almoner of his bounty to the poor and the afflicted; endowed him with miraculous gifts, and sent him forth as a missionary of his religion, and a herald of the glad tidings of peace and salvation to his fellow-creatures. Yet, possessed of all these means of grace, enjoying these inestimable advantages, and receiving these solemn admonitions and warnings, the heart of Judas remained hard as the adamant, and impenetrable as the flinty rock; and in him we recognise one of the guiltiest and most degraded of beings, whose history ever stained the annals of our race.

My brethren, let each of us beware lest we fall into the condemnation of Judas. We are very apt rather to estimate our own characters by the number and magnitude of the privileges we enjoy, than by the influence which these produce in purifying us from the dominion of evil, in refining and elevating our affections, and in imparting wisdom, consistency, and vigour to our daily conduct. It is a melancholy fact, but it is one which we must not conceal from your view, that there are many who have descended from pious parents, who have been introduced as members of the visible Church of Christ by the ordinance of baptism; who have been educated in the knowledge and practice of divine truth; who have beheld in the domestic circle the brightest patterns of godliness and good works; who have often listened to the affectionate admonition, and the earnest entreaty, that were dictated by a father's tenderness and a mother's love; who have daily joined in the impressive rites of family devotion; who have regularly perused the holy Scriptures; who have been accustomed to the decent observation of the Christian Sabbath, and who have constantly listened to the faithful, earnest, and experimental preaching of the doctrines of the Cross, and of the great principles of Christian faith and holiness; and yet, who have remained utter strangers to the reality of religion, and have even been disgraced by sins at which a heathen might blush. It is a frequent, and I believe a just re

mark, that the children of religious parents, and those who have possessed the privilege of a truly Christian ministry, if they essentially swerve from the path of duty, often manifest a greater hardness of mind and profligacy of conduct, than we are accustomed to witness in others who are more ignorant of Christianity, and more partially acquainted with its doctrines and duties. And the fact is easily accounted for. Constant contact with sacred truth, if it awakens not right affections, must necessarily render the mind careless, cold, and obdurate. To suppress religious conviction, man is ever ready to fly to the abodes of intoxication and debauchery. The Spirit of God may cease to strive with him, who has long resisted His holy motions; and he who has remained insensible to the warnings of Providence, and the invitations of grace, may be given up by the just and righteous decrees of heaven to a reprobate mind.

Are we then to undervalue or despise the advantages of early religious education, or of an attendance on the preaching of the Gospel? No, my brethren; they are the appointed ordinances of God; they are wise, excellent, and valuable in themselves, and they are the channels by which grace is generally communicated to the human understanding and heart. But still daily experience and the Word of God teach us the importance of discriminating between the possession of privilege and the conscientious improvement of it; between knowledge and faith, between profession and practice. Every man upon whom the light of the Sun of Righteousness shines, is bound to inquire whether he walks in that light, or prefers the darkness of ignorance and guilt. And he who knows the path of duty, is called to ascertain, whether he treads in it with a firm and undaunted step. We all naturally shrink from the thoughts of our own weakness, helplessness, and guilt; and are ready to imagine ourselves among the true Israelites, because we are of Israel,-to belong to the real Church of God, because we are among its visible members. But let each of us remember, that it is a divine spark which alone can kindle the flame of piety in our hearts; that true religion is not inherent, but implanted in our nature; that all that is good in the intellectual and moral, as well as in the natural world, descendeth from above; that the beginnings and progress of the spiritual life are of heavenly origin and growth; and "that Paul himself might plant, and Apollos water, but that God only can give the increase." This lesson can never be too often repeated, or too deeply felt, by pious parents and godly ministers, and by all who are zealous in promoting the cause of Christ in the world; and none of us can advance one step onward on our path to the heavenly Zion, without an abiding sense of our own weakness, and without humbly and implicitly looking for wisdom, grace, and consolation from the influences of the blessed Spirit. "When I am weak," says St. Paul, "then am I strong."

II. From the history of Judas we learn, that

the unrestrained and inordinate indulgence of any one appetite or passion, may, in some instances, slowly, and in other cases rapidly, lead to the entire corruption of the human character, and even to the commission of crimes of the deepest dye. While the heart of every child of Adam, by nature, is in a state of apostasy from his God, the original peculiarities of mental constitution, the mysterious influence of bodily temperament over our intellectual and moral powers, the force of education, and the operation of an endless variety of circumstances, may give a prominence to one quality or disposition of mind over all the rest. This has sometimes been called the master passion of the soul, and, when wrongly directed or guided, the sin that easily besets us. Reason may correct our early tendencies and inclinations; the situa tion of life in which we are placed may give a different texture to our sentiments and feelings; and the all-powerful and pervading influence of true religion, may direct them to higher and nobler objects of pursuit and enjoyment, may purity them from the dross of corruption, and may cause them to become the efficacious instruments of promoting our own improvement, and the benefit of our fellow-creatures. But man, proud, ignorant, and wilful, when left to follow the dictates of his own inclination, and the current of his passions. is ever ready to plunge himself into the most awful labyrinths of guilt and misery. This truth is strikingly exemplified in the history of the apos tate Judas. The love of gain seems to have been the predominating quality of his mind, the idol of his heart. Like the greater part of his countrymen, he probably looked for a temporal Messiah, who was to elevate his followers to wealth, distinction, and honour. He beheld the power which Jesus exercised over the elements of nature, and the diseases with which the human frame was afflicted; and he might not unnaturally conclude, that a being so richly endowed with heaven's choicest gifts might confer upon his attendants an authority and dominion far beyond the most sunguine hope of the mightiest of earth's potentates, It was in all probability motives of this selfish and sordid kind which led him to unite himself to the number of the followers of the Redeemer. He had hardly entered upon his office as an apostle, before we find him becoming the receiver and distributor of the money that was requisite for supplying the temporal wants of our Lord and his attendants, and contributing to the relief of the poor and the afflicted: and we are informed, by the sacred historian, that he fraudulently appropriated a considerable part of it for his own benefit. spirit by which he was animated is strikingly manifested, in the reproof which he addressed to a pious female, who, actuated by feelings of the warmest gratitude and affection, anointed the feet of our Lord with the most costly perfumes.

The

Why," said he, "was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?" And St. John tells us, "that this he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a