ments preceding, admitting that such is the love, required by the Saviour of the world, and rendered by all who believe and obey him, it becomes, at least, a reasonable question-Can such affection ever subside; or love, so devoted, ever expire?

Without perplexing ourselves with the questions, on this subject, which have engaged the attention of the schoolmen, and have been the matter of interesting debate (and, in some measure, the ground of denominational distinction) between two important sections of the Christian church, it will be sufficient, for the present purpose, to treat the subject in a practical way.

At the outset then, let us turn to the apostolic age for cases in point. Unhappily, they present themselves in abundance. Few are the epistles which contain no censures for the faithful, or which would leave the reader to conclude that the early Christians had all attained and become already perfect. Signs of declension and apostasy closely followed the planting of the churches. In some instances, the removal, or death, of an apostle was hardly waited for, before the mystery of iniquity began to work ;-a circumstance which elicited the

ANY DEPARTURE FROM THAT STANDARD. 17

cutting remark- "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another gospel," Gal. i. 6.

Of the early triumphs of Christianity, none was more remarkable than that at Ephesus. In that stronghold of idolatry, "so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed," that from a handful of disciples,—and those so ignorant of their own Scriptures that, previously to the arrival of Paul, they knew not whether there was any Holy Ghost,—the church so rapidly increased, that multitudes of the worshippers of Diana were converted to the faith, and many who had dealt in curious arts, (men whose compact with the devil, whether real or pretended, had sufficed to prove that they were "taken captive by him at his will,") not only abandoned their nefarious practices, but having embraced the Gospel themselves they put it beyond the reach of others to follow their pernicious ways, for "they brought their books together, and burned them before all men, and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." Nor was this all. For even "the vagabond Jews," pretenders to exorcism, finding their occupation gone, as a last expe

dient to save a sinking reputation, "took upon them, to call over them which had evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus ;"- -an incident which proves how deep a hold the truth had gained on the public mind. Yet, amidst all this prosperity, and while popular feeling was so strongly on the side of pure Christianity, did an apostle foresee that, after his departing, grievous wolves would enter in, not sparing the flock, and that of their own selves also, (a circumstance which may serve to show that apostolic succession, even at its fountain head, was no security from error,) would men arise, "speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them," Acts xx. 30. And, finally, to this very church, it was, that "He, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks," sent the affecting message"Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee; because thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent," Rev. ii. 4, 5.

Similar cases of defection, elsewhere, might easily be adduced, but it seems unnecessary.

Every intelligent sunday-school child already knows, that not a single country, or district, or city, or town, or village, mentioned in the New Testament, is now remarkable for piety. In fact, the globe itself contains not a single graveyard where the motive which would induce an enlightened Christian to leave his bones would be, that with kindred saints who, from the date of the holy sepulchre until now, had lived and died in that vicinity, he might share the slumbers of the grave and await the resurrection of the just. Throughout those interesting regions which were the father-land of prophets and apostles, and which were hallowed by the footsteps of God manifested in the flesh, a nominal Christianity, scarcely if at all preferable to the Mohammedanism by which it is surrounded, is all that remains of ancient piety. The only exception is found in here and there a convert, reclaimed by foreign zeal, to an earlier and purer faith.

To descend to modern days. A similar tendency, to spiritual decay, appears in the history of various religious bodies, which it is needless to specify. Numerous are the instances where the posts of confessors and martyrs, who went to prison and to death, "for the word of

God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ," have since been holden by men whose views of religion would justify no one in making for it, in that or any other form, the slightest sacrifice.

But, from communities we proceed to individuals. Of these, for the most part, the mention in the New Testament is so very brief, that all we can know about them must be gathered from a few words. Demas, who "loved this present world," 2 Tim. iv. 10, Diotrephes, who sought "to have the preeminence," 3 John 9, and even John, whose surname was Mark, "who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work," Acts xv. 38, were probably instances of religious declension ; cases in which the ardour of piety had been allowed to settle down into prudent zeal and questionable godliness. For that reason, the last was regarded, by the apostle of the Gentiles, as an unsuitable companion in his visits to the brethren, and he accordingly left him behind when he "went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches," verses 36-41. His subsequent conduct, however, appears to have restored him to perfect confidence; for we find the same apostle, who then declined his services, some