chains, and set thee free. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. There is no employment, no joy, no society, no place in heaven, for an unholy man. Heaven would be no heaven to the man whom the Cross has not made holy.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE RELIGION OF THE CROSS, IN DISTINCTION FROM RELIGIONS THAT ARE FALSE AND SPURIOUS.

RELIGION Consists in conformity to God, and the Cross of Christ alone produces that conformity. It is its own witness, and carries in itself infallible evidence of its divine origin. Those who are truly the subjects of it will never renounce it for a religion that is false; while those who are not truly the subjects of it are continually liable to renounce it for any false system that is more in accordance with their own corrupt and selfish desires. The religion of the Cross possesses some great characteristics, whereby it is known and distinguished from all other religions. The object of the present chapter is to exhibit some of these prominent and distinctive features. I say some of these, because we cannot exhibit them all without occupying time which we may not occupy.

The first great characteristic of the religion of the Cross is, that it is the religion of principle, in distinction from the religion of impulse. It addresses itself to the understanding and conscience, and makes no appeal to ignorance and superstition. Rich in truth, it sets before the minds of men the great objects of Christian affection and by thus enlightening the conscience, gives force and energy to the bonds of Christian obligation. It aims at carrying the heart by first convincing the judgment. Its

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great axiom is, "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." The faith it requires is not a blind credulity; nor is the obedience it enjoins, obedience to anything short of the truth of God. It is a religion founded upon the Holy Scriptures, and they alone are the test by which its genuineness is to be proved, because they alone are the rule of faith and practice, and by them will all men be judged at the last day. Religions that are propagated by the power of human laws, and are founded on the traditions and commandments of men, never aim at enlightening the conscience; while the religion of the Cross, "by manifestation of the truth, commends itself to every man's conscience in the sight of God." The only means adopted by the Cross to make men Christians, consist in exhibiting and enforcing its truths; and the only way in which men themselves become Christians, is by understanding these truths, and feeling their power. Our impressions of truth may be right or wrong, they may be permanent or mutable, advancing or retrograde, strong or weak; but the truth itself remains the same. Wherever the religion of the Cross, therefore, is experienced, and to whatever degree it is experienced, it grows out of the truths which the Cross reveals. Whatever a man's hopes and professions may be, if he neither perceives these truths, nor feels their power, he is no Christian. Just as the seed contains the tree, and comprehends the germ of all its future development, and gives character to the trunk, the branches, the leaves, the blossoms, the fruit-so do the principles of the Cross lie at the foundation of its religion. That religion is but the exemplification of its truths. They give the mind, the heart, the character, a new direction; they constitute the model on which all living Christianity is formed. They are not ineffectual

and abortive principles: wherever they are followed out in their legitimate results, they produce the same religious character all the world over. The principles of the Gospel are in themselves fitted to exert a wonderful influence. God revealed them for this purpose; and all who receive them intend and desire that they should exert that influence on themselves. Our principles do not grow out of our religion, but our religion out of our principles. We begin with principle and not with feeling. The religion of every man is just what his principles make it. We must have been very inattentive readers of the Scriptures, not to have remarked the frequency and force with which they express these thoughts. They instruct us, that "without faith it is impossible to please God." Paul based the duties of piety upon the foundation of its doctrines; and not until he had laid this foundation deep and broad, did he deduce the practical conclusion, "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." In his epistle to Titus, he urged him to constancy in inculcating the great principles of the Gospel, with the special view that "they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works." Common sense confirms the truth and importance of these instructions. The experience of good men shows nothing more clearly than that in whatever degree they possess the religion of the Gospel, and practice its duties, in the same. degree do they understand its principles and love to understand them. There are not wanting causes of religious excitement, where there is no religion. It is a very easy thing to interest and work up the sensibilities of men. Powerful and artful appeals to the passions and the imagination may do this; the pomp and solem

nity of exterior worship, the imposing grandeur and magnificence of its temples, its golden images and altars, its enchanting music, its rich vestments, and its myste, rious ceremonies, may do this; while in all this there may not be one great principle of the Gospel to sink into the soul. Wherever there is Christian emotion, there is Christian principle; and wherever there is strong emotion, there must be strong principle for it to rest upon, else it is spurious. Religious ecstacy without high reli gious principle is delusion. Ravishing sentimentalism is not piety. The great principles of the Cross, understood, believed, loved, and felt in their practical influence, constitute true religion. The self-conceit, self-righteous ness, self-complacency and false hopes of men cannot bear the scrutiny of truth; while the truth, in all the consistency and vigor of its principles, is the light, and life, and strength of all those hopes of which the Cross is the foundation, and that religion of which the Cross is the brightest example. The Cross utters the language of principle. No event was ever so emphatically expressive of principle, as that memorable scene on Calvary. It was not from impulse that the Saviour died. It was not for expediency, but for truth and principle. It was to illustrate and confirm the unchanging principles of his government, that "God so loved the world that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Another characteristic of the religion of the Cross is, that it is a spiritual religion, in opposition to a religion of forms. The religion of the Cross recognizes the existence of some form of religious worship; that is, it prescribes positive institutions, as well as moral duties. But they are very few, as well as exceedingly simple and significant.

They are comprised in the institution of the