is laid open to his sunken eye, wearied and longing frame; he does not prolong his sufferings, by racking his brain as to the depth of the source whence the gracious supply springs up; he is not fastidious as to the make and shape of the vessel by which he is permitted to draw the refreshing and reviving draught. He stoops down at once, with unspeakable gratitude,—we speak from experience, we have suffered hunger and thirst in Eastern deserts,—and drinks in the, to him, "living waters." The sick man lingers not, for hours and hours, to analyze and examine the medicine, which his physician prescribed for him, before he takes it. He leaves the scientific inquiries for a more convenient time, when the medicine shall have produced the desired effects, and restored the patient to his former health and vigour. He is told, and he believes his earthly physician, that his recovery depends upon his taking the prescribed cup; he hesitates not, but does as he is told, and he reaps the benefit of his faith. The belated, benighted, and misguided traveller does not sit down to speculate, when all of a sudden a light springeth up before him, whence that beacon of hope took its rise, how it came to shine before him, and to light him in the way he should go. He does not bewilder himself with the unnecessary problems, as to what sort of light that is which shineth before him; he loses no time in any such superficial questions; he at once directs his steps towards that providential beacon.

No more does the conscious, sin-stricken individual stop to investigate all the allegories, emblems, symbols, and rites of a former dispensation, before he accepts the grace, mercy, and truth offered to him. Nay, he closes with the offer at once; and soon finds cause to adopt the triumph-song of the Psalmist :—

"Bless the Lord, O my soul:

And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;

Who healeth all thy diseases;

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;

Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies;

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things;

Thy youth is renewed like the eagle's." 3

"Christ is the end of the That is enough for the

law," the perfection, the completion! starving, thirsty, diseased, benighted 3 Ps. ciii. 1-5.

soul. Alas! experience has taught us that those who do not accept the light of that truth, do not only go astray themselves, but cause others to err also, both as touching the law in the Old Testament, and the grace in the New. "Christ is the end of the law." Would to God that some writers had given greater heed than they seem to have done to the words of the Apostle! It is an egregious mistake on the part of the Romanist and Freethinker-both extremes meet in this instance-to teach that the Christian system is a system of development! No such thing! "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness!" The Christian system was completed when Jesus uttered His last word on the cross, TeréλEσTau, "It is finished."

"Christ is the end of

III. The effect of that development. the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." To EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH. The immediate and everlasting effect of that development was to render the righteousness of the Law of universal applicability. The undeveloped system was exclusive, and expensive. Only the very learned and the very rich could lay claim to the fulfilment, in some measure, of the religious requirements of that system. Our readers must remember the insolence of the Pharisees, during the memorable feast of Tabernacles, when the crowd listened to Jesus, and the Chief Priests and Pharisees sent their officers to apprehend the unprecedented Teacher. The messengers were enraptured and solemnly affected by the transcendent force of the preaching and teaching of the despised Nazarene; they would not, they could not, touch so pre-eminent a Master over the "wills and affections of men." They returned to their senders by themselves. The Chief Priests and Pharisees naturally exclaimed, "Why have ye not brought Him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this Man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees. believed on Him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed." It was part of the undeveloped system. "Have any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed on Him?" The rulers, the rich and learned, who can afford to offer all the sacrifices prescribed by the law, who can "cast in much" into the

4 John vii. 45-49.

Temple treasury," the rulers and the Pharisees," who separated themselves to the study of the law, and the promulgation of the doctrines of that law,-have they believed on Him? "This people who knoweth not the law are cursed." They have neither the learning nor the wealth which are required, by our system, to propitiate an offended God!

But the immediate effect of the final development was to break down "the middle wall of partition :" "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH,"-to rich and poor, to young and old, to prince and peasant, to philosopher and serf, without exception. Henceforth it is "as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with the master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him." Even before our Lord uttered the comprehensive word TeréλeσTaι, He had already taught the truth which St. Paul taught the churches. He taught it to the unhappy woman of Samaria at the well of Jacob; He taught it when He "sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." Jesus taught the truth propounded in our text in the parable of the luxurious rich man and the sore-covered Lazarus; in the parable of the vaunting Pharisee and the contrite publican; He taught it in the parable of the householder and the hired labourers for his vineyard. He taught it when He sent back the two disciples of the Baptist with the following message :-"The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me." Jesus taught the lesson set forth by the Apostle when He lovingly said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy

6 Mark xii. 41-44.

laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Or, adapting the Pauline words, "For I am the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

THE STAR OF PEACE.

BY BEN. ABRAM.

CHAPTER I.-THE VOYAGE.

THE evening sun was casting his slanting rays over the mountains and valleys of the island of Jamaica. The Blue Mountain peak rose sharp and clear above the range which is called by that name, and its rounded outlines formed a striking contrast to the St. Andrew's Mountains, with their broken and volcanic surface, standing out boldly in the foreground. The rains of spring had covered the island with tropical verdure, and the eye rested with delight upon the green patches, which far up the mountain-side interspersed the primeval woods. Above, at various points, might be traced the coffee plantations, which were at that time. as prolific of wealth as any gold or silver mine of the east; and lower down, like gigantic reeds, rose the waving and feathery tops of the sugar-cane, which was an equal source of gain to the possessors of estates. Through the clear, tropical atmosphere the settlements and dwelling-houses might be seen sparsely scattered on the mountain ridges, and the flourishing town of Kingston, by a gentle slope, stretched over the lower part of the plain, till it reached the water's edge.

Here all was life and animation. The wharves and landingplaces were filled with the productions of the country which awaited shipment, or the merchandize which the mother-country sent in exchange. Some vessels were discharging their cargoes, others were being laden by gangs of negroes, whose merry laugh and frequent jokes gave the impression that the bonds of slavery hung lightly upon their minds and bodies. Some vessels were 6 Matt. xi. 5, 6, 28-30.

under weigh, with the object of clearing the harbour and taking a safe course ere they were hindered by the darkness of night. In the clear, deep waters sported myriads of small fish, among which the young sword-fish might be seen in vast numbers. The invigorating sea-breeze was still fanning the cocoanut-trees, which were dotted about the city and the coast, and the mariner homeward bound knew that in a short time the land or western wind would rise and waft his barque onward towards the shores of old England. The scene, when once beheld, could never be forgotten, both in the beauty and the variety of the objects which crowded on the eye in every direction.

A fine barque, deeply laden with sugar, was just about to put off from one of the central wharves. Sailors on the tops and on the rigging were busily loosening the sails, and some below were bracing up the yards. The captain on the after-deck watched the proceedings, and gave directions through his trumpet. The passengers appeared but few, and these were taking a last farewell of friends -some with the vivacity of those who had no strong tie to bind them to the land, and others with the emotion which none but those can understand who are about to be separated from their loved ones by a vast interval of distance and time.

To one group our attention may be particularly addressed. A middle-aged gentleman, with a wife several years his junior, were gathered, together with their children, in a rather secluded part of the ship. The children consisted of a boy in his thirteenth year, another of eleven, and a girl who might be ten. The mother's tears showed that she was about, for the first time, to part from those whom she most loved, and the little girl's flowed in sympathy. The muscular movement of the father's countenance made it evident that it was with no little effort that he mastered his feelings. The two approaching voyagers were the boys, who seemed to be wavering between the attempt to appear manly and cheerful, and the tears, which in spite of themselves, rolled down their cheeks.

But the last words of adieu and affection were suddenly checked by the cry of the captain, "Now, ladies and gentlemen, the vessel will soon be under weigh, you had better land without delay." The father placed a hand on each head of his boys, who bent reverently before him, as in a subdued voice he said,—