highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men !'"'*

In this expressive hymn are contained the object and results of the religion of Jesus :-"Glory to God;"-Glory to Him who has made and who will preserve mankind; who has rescued his creatures from the tyranny of sin, and has offered them the joys of salvation. Give glory to Him by reverencing his works, especially that child formed to worship his Father, and to live for purposes great and lasting. Glory to Him, not only by prayer, by thanksgiving, by love and faith, but also by practice, by doing good to all men, by injuring none, by works of charity, beneficence, and philanthropy, well knowing that the Almighty is pleased to see his children happy, and to behold the dictates of piety exerted to their benefit.

"Peace on earth, good-will toward men."Away with hatred, strife, and bloodshed;-these are not the promises of the angels; these are not the fruits of Christianity; for these Jesus neither lived nor died.

John the Baptist now appeared. "Every valley," he cried, "shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."+

* Luke ii. 10, 11, 14.

† Luke iii. 5, 6.

While dispensing charitable precepts, a circumstance occurred whence an argument against our proposition has been deduced;* for when the soldiers asked of John, "What shall we do?" he answered, "Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages."+ This is an extraordinary sentence for the support of murder, deceit, and robbery. It is difficult to say how they could persevere in war without doing violence; and if it be said that the words-" be content with your wages," encourage the practice of war, then they also encourage the idolatry, and the oppression and cruelty, which were practised in pagan Rome.

But even allowing this passage to have its utmost weight, and to refer merely to the soldiers' conduct among their allies and companions, yet it by no means affords a plea for modern warfare.

In the first place, the question as to the lawfulness of war not being put to John, he was not invited to give any decision on the subject. Disinclined probably to interfere with civil matters, he merely offered advice which might invest them with a gentle and orderly demeanour, and might

* Grotius de Jure Belli ac Pacis, lib. i. c. ii. s. 7, 5. Paley's Moral Philosophy, c. xii.

+ Luke iii. 14.

See Barclay's Apology, prop. 15. s. 15.

D

tend to soften the asperities of that profession in which he supposed his auditors would continue. If it be asked why he did not profit by the opportunity to preach against war, it may as reasonably be inquired, why he did not lay open the crimes of polygamy, the worship of idols, and that horrible licentiousness which prevailed in a Roman camp?

Secondly, an answer may be at once given to this objection by simply urging that we are to obey Christ and not John. We should remember, that though he proclaimed the approach of Jesus, yet that John the Baptist did not belong to his kingdom. He was the last prophet under the old law, and his code of morals was, perhaps, formed according to the Jewish institutions.

And now our Lord himself appeared among mankind.

The Jews expected a Messiah who should be their temporal ruler and their monarch. They looked for one, who, as a warrior and a chieftain, should lead them forth to victory over their oppressive enemies, and, by his consummate skill, should trample every hostile people under their feet. He was to marshal numerous hosts under his triumphant banner, and by the sword to conquer the world. Their Saviour was to be clothed in purple, to wear the crown of gold or of

* Matt. xi. 11; Luke iii. 16; and xvi. 16.

laurel, and to be surrounded by the insignia of royalty.

of humble parents, he wretched stable. No

The Messiah came. Apparently the offspring first saw the light in a destructive tempest, no earthquake, ushered in his birth;-all was calm. A hymn of peace, sang by angels to a group of shepherds, proclaimed his approach. His mission was not to excite the evil passions of man, but to lay them at rest, and to summon into action the moral and intellectual faculties. He never raised the war-cry, nor joined in the shout of victory, but taught man to pray, to meditate, to offer hymns of praise. No city, surrounded by embattled walls, no stately palace, welcomed him as its possessor: he had not where to lay his head. The crown of royalty never graced his brows: a crown of thorns was fixed there in cruel mockery, but a halo of glory, surpassing the brightest gems, and fading not away, was also there. By him no sword was grasped; but in his hand waved the olive branch of peace.

He

Princes and kings bowed not before his throne; nor did captives swell his triumphant march. was "despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised and we esteemed him not . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities,

the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment; he was cut off out of the land of the living, and made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth."* Yes! he was not found expiring in the moment of a bloody triumph over his foes: he suffered, for the sake of his enemies, as a malefactor, a cruel and ignominious death upon the cross.

But, oh! what victory like his ? He subdued the vices of mankind, and led captive their passions. He gave freedom to the heart, the mind, the soul, and delivered from their gloomy prison the slaves of sin. Instead of destroying life, he gave it, here and hereafter. He gained the victory over death.

Jesus was himself the spirit of peace. Prophecies, ages before his arrival, angels at his birth, told of peace. His life, though spent amidst bloodthirsty men, and though a sacrifice to impiety, was in itself harmonious and tranquil. His doctrines breathe peaceful bliss in this world, and in the world to come. His last miracle was