ters, which abound in the so-called religious world. Surely it must be the duty of faithful ministers to point out the distinction, and to guard their hearers against self-delusion. But is it always so? The beautiful Intercessory Prayer of our Redeemer, as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of St. John's gospel, is full of the riches of the Covenant of Grace, and sets forth, in the most lively manner, the character and privileges of his people. We learn from the supplications of our Lord to the Eternal Father, that all true believers are the gift of the Father to the Son. "Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him."-Ver. 2. "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me.”—Ver. 6. 66 66 "I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine."-Ver. 9. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."-Ver. 11. 66 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory."-Ver. 24. These gracious petitions, which embrace all true believers, (see vers. 20, 21.) evidently declare that in the Covenant of Grace, entered into between the three Divine Persons in the Godhead, Jesus Christ had a people given to him, before the foundation of the world, which he should redeem unto himself in time, and glorify to all eternity. For this reason, the angel said, "His name shall be called Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins."* And to complete this act of mercy, Christ declared, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be."+ In unison with these supplicatory addresses of our Lord, he declared in the synagogue at Caper naum, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." "This is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." "No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him." "No man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father." "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. The natural heart is now, as it was when these blessed words were spoken. We read, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."+ They could not receive the doctrine of Christ; they were offended at him; they knew not the spiritual nature of true faith which can feed upon Christ as the nourishment of the soul. And in this our day, the more spiritual, the more experimental, any statement of Gospel Truth is, and the more it will be opposed by some who call themselves, "Masters in Israel;" and be derided by others, who pride themselves as being members of the Catholic Church. The heart, if unrenewed, is the same under every outward guise. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, all opposed the Holy Saviour. Jesus, by his word, speaks to us as he did to the Apostles: "Will ye also go away ?" O! that the constant language of our hearts may be, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."+ How anxiously should we guard against declension, remembering the words of our Lord to the presiding minister of the Ephesian Church: "I have * John vi. 37, 39, 44, 65, 45. + John vi. 66. somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."* The humble believer sees a fund of blessedness in these petitions of his Lord; and, while standing, by faith, on this immoveable Rock, he can say with joyful heart: "He hath set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God."+ In this Intercessory Prayer, we learn much of the character of Christ, as the Great Head of his Church. "Father,......glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." Ver. 1. "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."-Ver. 4. “I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me."-Ver. 8. "They have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me."-Ver. 8. "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world."-Ver. 18. "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee."-Ver. 21. "The glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one." Ver. 22. "That they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."-Ver. 24. "Glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Ver. 5. Jesus declared himself to be the Son of the Eternal Father.-(Ver. 1.) One with the Father.-(Ver. 22.) Glorious in himself before the foundation of the world. (Ver. 5.) The Prophet of his Church.(Ver. 8.) The Saviour of sinners.—(Ver. 4.) O! that I may ever receive the adorable Jesus, as God manifest in the flesh. With such plain declarations from the lips of Christ himself, how fearful it is that any should dare to deny his divinity. The fallen spirits did not commit this sin, for they confessed his Godhead: "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God ?"* The Saviour wanted not the testimony of Satan, therefore he "suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him."+ But to the deniers of his divinity, among men, mercy is offered, if they will turn unto him by faith and repentance. O! how gracious are the words of our compassionate Redeemer. "Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him." Saul, of Tarsus, drew his own character, and the Saviour's grace. "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief."§ The sin of Saul was, therefore, not the sin against the Holy Ghost, or he would never have been forgiven. "He did it ignorantly in unbelief." + In his Intercessory Prayer, Jesus points out the character of his redeemed people. 66 They have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me, are of thee."-Ver. 7. "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."-Ver. 14. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."-Ver. 17. 66 "I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth."-Ver. 19. may That they all may be one;.. .that the world believe that thou hast sent me."-Ver. 21. Ver. 23. Thus wrote St. John to the believing members of the Christian Church: "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world." "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." "If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."* How different is all this from nominal Christianity; from that religion of the world, which consists in the form of godliness without the power.Such religion, if, indeed, such it can be called, will never cheer the soul in a day of distress, nor support it in the hour of death. In this land of Bibles and Churches, persons are almost constrained to show some deference to religion. The man of the world goes to church once on the Sabbath; and, to keep up appearances, will, perhaps, attend at the Lord's table, once in the year. But his heart is not there. From the church he will stroll into the news-room, as if he could not too speedily obliterate the faint impression which the preacher may have made. The afternoon is passed away at his table, or on his horse; and his tedious evening is shortened by retiring earlier than usual to rest. His language is that of the Jews of old: "When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat ?"+ To such ungrateful members of the visible Church, how affecting is the language of the Almighty: "Have I been a wilderness unto Israel.' "O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee?" "Ye have wearied the Lord."|| In this Intercessory Prayer, the privileges of the true believer are interwoven with the petitions. “All mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them."-Ver. 10. * 1 John ii. 20.; v. 4. ; iii. 9.; iv. 11. Jer. ii. 31. + Amos viii. 5. | Mal. ii. 17. § Micah vi. 3. |