swered them all with equal clearness, modesty, and method. Alphonso then laying aside the polemic, had recourse to seductive offers, such as some of the good benefices of those to whom the corruption of the Christian Church has been, perhaps, chiefly indebted for its progress; but the pious divine opposed to these perishable advantages the judgment of God, the promises of Christ, the terrors and the glories of the world to come. Finding his brother immoveably fixed in his principles, Alphonso determined upon his murder, and he perpetrated the abominable crime under circumstances of the most heinous nature. Alphonso embraced him, affected to shed tears of tenderness, and forced him to guished above his fellows,-possessed of riches, of honours, of the greatest luxuries, and, as the world would say, of happiness. On the other, our attention is arrested by a poor creature in all the shipwreck of nature, destitute of friends, deprived of health, covered with sores, in want of every comfort of life, and, to all appearance, preeminent in misery. Suddenly the scene is shifted, the invisible world is revealed, and the same persons are presented to our view in circumstances the very reverse of those in which they were placed on accept of some money, while he was planning in what earth, and which are now rendered awfully interestway to effect his destruction. The perfidious wretching, from the consideration that, by the appointpretended to return to Italy, and he went in fact as far as Augsburg; but on the next morning he set off again for Neuburg attended by the assassin he had in pay, and to whom he purposed to give directions with precision, and in detail, relative to the execution of his bloody purpose. apart At the break of day, (March 27, 1546,) these two miscreants presented themselves at the door of the house where John Diaz lodged. The holy man was still slumbering. The assassin, on saying that he was the bearer of a letter from Alphonso, was admitted into the ment of his intended victim, while Alphonso himself remained at the foot of the staircase to be ready to give his aid in case of need, and to prevent any one hindering the accomplishment of the deed. John having been awakened, rose from his bed as soon as he heard that a letter had been brought from his brother. While he was reading it, the assassin gave him a mortal stroke with a weapon which he had concealed under his cloak. The martyr fell without uttering a word. A young Savoyard gentleman, who slept in the same house, either agitated with an ominous presentiment, or alarmed by the noise, rushed into the room. He found John Diaz dying, bis eyes turned towards heaven, and his hands fixed in the attitude of prayer. The young man, mastering the feelings of horror and grief which such a spectacle could not but inspire, administered to his friend the consolations of religion. John, though speechless, and in the agonies of dissolution, was able to express, by intelligible signs, the happiness of his mind. An hour afterwards, he expired. The fratricide was pursued and taken, but it was thought that he had performed an acceptable service to the Church, and he was, therefore, both pardoned and protected by the Emperor Charles V. But Alphonso, though he had escaped from the justice of men, could not flee from the retributive providence of God. A dreadful curse was upon him. He became a monument of misery. He was abandoned to the insupportable horrors of his mind; and he destroyed himself in a fit of despair. ment of God, they are absolutely unchangeable. "There was," we are told, " a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day." As the man was rich, there was nothing criminal in his using attire which was suitable to his station. In eastern countries the vestments of princes, and of persons of the first distinction, were usually composed of purple and of fine linen. The kings of Midian, the princes of Babylon, and Mordecai, whom Ahasuerus delighted to honour, were all thus attired. And it is evidently proper that our dress should, in some measure, correspond with our circumstances in life and rank in society. The criminality of this man, therefore, did not consist in his being clothed in purple and fine linen, nor even in his furnishing his table in a manner which corresponded with his rank, but in his making his riches subservient only to the gratification of his passions; in his adorning himself and his servants in the most gay and costly apparel, while he never thought of clothing the naked; in his faring sumptuously every day, while he forgot to feed the hungry; and in his overlooking even Lazarus, though laid at his gate, and daily exposed to his view. His life was too luxurious to be good. His table became a snare to him. In his fulness he denied God, and lived unmindful of the solemn account which he was one day to give of the talents with which he was intrusted. Let us now turn from him to one whose character and circumstances were of an opposite description: "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores: and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores." The name Lazarus, which signifies one who needs help of God, seems to have been given to this poor man, as descriptive of his needy and helpless circumstances. He labour of his hands, but even to walk about from was not only unable to support himself by the one place to another to solicit relief from the humane and compassionate. His emaciated body being covered with painful ulcers, he was carried from door to door, and was laid at last at the gate of the rich man. And where could he expect relief, if he found it not where there was so much He sought no great boon. He asked THIS, if it can properly be cailed a parable, is none of the delicious dishes which palled the rich man's appetite, but merely the crumbs which fell from his table, and yet even this pittance, the portion of the dogs, appears to have been withheld from him. The rich man could not but see him as he passed and repassed, but no hint is given that he ministered either in one way or another to his wants. No eye pitied him; the same spirit pervaded the whole family; only the dogs, as if to reproach the insensibility of man, came and licked His lot might seem hard, but knowing that God is wise, and gracious, and faithful, he calmly resigned himself to his holy will; and the sequel shows that, though the afflictions of the righteous may be many, the Lord will assuredly his sores. deliver them out of them all. II. Let us therefore attend to the difference of their circumstances in the future and eternal world. of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." That sad day at last arrived. For we are informed that the rich man also died and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments. No mention is made of the burial of Lazarus. He was, no doubt, thrown into some obscure grave without ceremony or delay. But the rich man was buried with great solemnity and pomp. The mercenary mourner attended his funeral, and the venal tear was shed on his tomb. But this was the last vain show,-the utter extinction of all his epicurean grandeur, for in hell he lifted up his eyes in torments. We have some reason to think that he was a Sadducee or Jewish infidel, and he appears to have adhered stedfastly to the principles of his sect. Imagining that death was an eternal sleep, his maxim was, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." But there is no infidelity beyond the grave. Now the dreamer awakes in torments, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. The parable proceeds, in the form of a beautiful dramatic scene, to relate a supposed conversation between Abraham in heaven and the rich man in hell. There may probably be in this part a reference to the fictions of the Grecian poets respect "It came to pass," we are told, "that the beggar died, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom." His weary pilgrimage in an inhospitable world at last came to an end. He died, but whether at the rich man's gate, in the house, or by the way, we are not told. Nor is it of the smallest importance. The issues of death belong to the Lord, and they are in no degreeing the abodes of good and bad men in Hades, or affected by the outward circumstances with which the state of the dead. These, according to them, it is attended. The soul of the righteous enters were contiguous, and separated only by an impasinto rest, whether the body is left on the soft and sable river or deep gulf. In such circumstances stately bed, or on the naked and cold earth. The they imagined that they often knew each other, day of this poor beggar's death was, in every view, and sometimes conversed from the opposite shores. better than the day of his birth. A guard of the The object of our Saviour obviously is not to holy angels, who minister to the heirs of salva- teach us that heaven and hell are contiguous, but tion, was despatched from heaven to conduct his to impress on our minds this great truth, that the soul to the mansions of the blessed. They had duration of the happiness of the righteous and of often waited on him during his progress in the the misery of the wicked in a future world, is eterthorny path of life, and now, with holy joy, and nal and unchangeable. Instead of inculcating this winged swiftness, they conveyed him to the bosom doctrine by mere authority, or deducing it from of Abraham, the entertainer of strangers, and the principles of abstract reasoning, he puts the argufriend of God. There is in this expression an ments into the mouth of Abraham, in answer to evident allusion to an ancient custom which was an earnest supplication of the rich man, for a small observed at feasts among the Jews and other alleviation of his extreme anguish. The sight of eastern nations, where the most favoured guest his illustrious ancestor overawed him for a mosat next the master, and leaned on his breast. ment, but no feeling could long predominate where Hence, we are told that John, the beloved dis- the sense of pain was so great. He cried and ciple, leaned on the bosom of Jesus as he sat at said, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and supper. We are here taught, therefore, that La- send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger zarus, who lived unpitied, and died unlamented, in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented was admitted into the company and fellowship of in this flame." What a sad reverse of circumthe father of the faithful, and of all the patriarchs stances is here! The man who was clothed in and prophets, to partake with them of that fulness purple and fine linen, and who fared sumptuously of joy which is in the presence of God, without every day, supplicates with the greatest earnestinterruption and without end. ness for a drop, the smallest drop, of water from the tip of the finger of Lazarus, to whom he had denied the crumbs of his table. The goodness of God which was displayed in the death of Lazarus, was no less conspicuous in prolonging for some time the life of the rich man. He had thus an opportunity of reflecting on the folly of his past conduct, of repenting of his sins, and of improving the important talents which he had hitherto abused. But he despised the riches of the divine goodness and forbearance, and by persisting in a course of thoughtlessness and sensuality, he "treasured up to himself wrath against the day and even with compassionate kindness. But Abraham said, "Son, remember that thou, in thy lifetime, receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art tormented." Here he reminds him of the prosperity and affluence which he had enjoyed on earth, and which he had so unworthily abused, and of the afflictions of Lazarus, and which he had borne with such exemplary patience and submission to the will of God. And, having compared their former states, he sets before him the strange reverse of their present circumstances: "But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." How beautifully are they contrasted together! Thou, in thy lifetime, receivedst thy good things, but now thou art tormented. Lazarus received evil things, but now he is comforted. Thus he vindicated the faithfulness and justice of the Judge of all the earth in blessing the one with so great happiness, and an inflicting on the other a punishment adequate. to his guilt. Both of them had their choice according to their different tastes and dispositions; the rich man preferred the good things of this life, though at the hazard of everlasting perdition; Lazarus, on the contrary, preferred, like Moses, a state of afflicted piety to all the pleasures of sin, which are only for a season, in the prospect of everlasting happiness hereafter. Nor could their character and doom be now changed. Hence the patriarch adds, " And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence." Finding that no relief could be obtained for himself, he remembered his surviving relations. He had five brethren, who now inherited his wealth, and who had probably been seduced by him, and imitated him in all his vices. Influenced, therefore, by natural affection, or fearing lest, if they should come to the same place of torment, their presence might increase his misery, he earnestly besought the patriarch to send Lazarus to warn them of the danger to which they exposed themselves. "Then," said he, "I pray thee, therefore, Father Abraham, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment." But this favour also was refused him. Abraham saith unto him, "They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them." Not satisfied with this answer, he urges his request with the most anxious importunity. "Nay, Father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will repent." The patriarch knew well that they would not, and therefore he puts an end to the conference, by this peremptory declaration: "If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither would they be persuaded though one should rise from the dead." By Moses and the Prophets are meant the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which were the only standing revelation of the will of God before our Saviour's appearance, and which furnished sufficient evidence of a state of future re tribution. And if those Sacred Writings are sufficient to convince us of this important doctrine, much more are the words of Abraham applicable to the revelation of the Gospel, which is said to have brought life and immortality to light on account of the clearness and certainty of its discoveries. We may, therefore, with stronger reason, affirm, that if such as live under the dispensation of the Gospel will not hear Christ and his apostles, neither would they be persuaded though one should rise from the dead, and inculcate this doctrine of a state of future rewards and punishments. Having thus considered the difference of the character and circumstances of these two men, both in this world and in the future and eternal world, it will be proper now to study very carefully some of the important practical lessons which this interesting passage in the Gospel history was evidently intended to convey. 1. From this subject we learn, that the conduct of those persons merits reprehension, who make a man's external circumstances the test of his character in the sight of God, and conclude that because any one is depressed by the evils of life, he is therefore an object of the divine displeasure. This disposition prevailed among the Pharisees of old; but it was not peculiar to them, for it appeared even in the disciples of our Lord. "Who," said they on a memorable occasion, "sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" Indeed, people of this disposition may be found in every age and nation. Hence, when the barbarians saw the viper fasten on Paul's hand, they said one to another, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, vengeance suffers not to live." Men will always be partial in their own cause, and more ready to acknowledge the justice of their neighbour's punishment, than the equity which is discovered in the afflictions with which they themselves are visited. Such a temper, however, is not only uncharitable as it relates to our neighbour, but presumptuous as it regards God. It does not become man to fathom the depths of Providence, nor the son of man to pry into the counsels of the Most High. Besides, the rule by which such persons form their estimate of the character of others in the sight of God is a false one, and consequently, their judgment must be incorrect. According to this standard, who would have scrupled to pronounce the rich man the happiest, and Lazarus the most wretched of mankind? This decision, however, is founded on a partial view of the case, and is far distant from the truth. Here the wicked often prosper, and have abundance; while the righteous are plagued every day. This is indeed a mysterious dispensation; but let us wait until we see the end of the Lord. A period approaches when a difference will be made when the one shall be comforted, and the other shall be tormented. 2. We are here taught, that death introduces the righteous into the mansions of happiness, and the wicked into the regions of misery and despair. Some have supposed that the soul sleeps until the resurrection, and is then admitted to the enjoyment of happiness, or consigned to misery. Others, as the Papists, affirm, that it enters into purgatory, and is purified and fitted for heaven by torments. But we are here taught that good men immediately after death enter into the joy of their Lord, and that the punishment of impenitent sinners is not delayed for a single hour. Lazarus died, and was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom; the rich man died also and was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes in torments. While his body was rotting in the grave, while his brethren were inheriting his substance, and probably imitating him in all his vices, his soul was receiving the wages of sin. Various other passages offer themselves in confirmation of this doctrine. Our Lord said to the thief on the cross, "To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise;" which intimated that his spirit was immediately to be glorified. Stephen, also, in his dying moments, said, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit!" which showed that he firmly believed his soul would be with Christ in glory immediately after his dissolution. And the Apostle Paul, as you may remember, "desired to depart and to be with Christ; " "to be absent from the body, that he might be present with the Lord." Now, does not this language plainly imply, or rather clearly express, that he confidently expected to be present with the Lord, as soon as he was absent from the body. How solemn, therefore, is a death-bed scene! We cannot in this world make any nearer approach to the world of spirits. Most of you have, at one time or another, witnessed this solemn scene with emotions which corresponded to the circumstances with which it was attended. Some of you have stood by the bed of the expiring saint, and have catched with eagerness the words which fell from his lips, while his heart was ready to faint, and his soul to take its flight to the world of spirits. You have heard him perhaps say, with looks which bespoke the sincerity of his heart: I was foolish and disobedient, the enemy of God, and the destroyer of my own soul; but his grace, which was exceeding abundant, arrested me, in my course of thoughtlessness and sin, and introduced me to the knowledge of that gracious Saviour whose blood cleanseth from all sin. In him alone I trust, to him I have committed my precious soul, and I hope that I shall never have cause to be ashamed. Hitherto he has helped me in every strait, protected me in every danger, sustained me in every affliction, and "I am persuaded that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate me from his love." "Blessed be his glorious name to all eternity; and may the whole earth be filled with his glory." When you beheld the marks of serenity and joy impressed on his very countenance, were you not instinctively led to say: "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my latter end be like his?" Guardian angels hover round him, and receive with joy his departing spirit, and conduct it in triumph to the regions of light, and love, and everlasting glory. Perhaps, at one time or another, you have stood by the bed of the dying sinner. While the righteous hath hope in his death, he is driven away in his wickedness. He clings to the world, and cries: "O spare me a little longer. O Death, I did not expect thee so soon, as I am not prepared to leave this world. I have committed many sins, and have not hitherto repented. I have greatly offended God, and have not yet made my peace with him. () go thy way, therefore, for this time, when I have a convenient season I will send for thee." But it is a vain thing to talk in this manner in the presence of the king of terrors, for he acts under the authority of the great Sovereign of life and of death, and can neither pity nor spare. He enters equally the palace and the cottage; and, in despite of all entreaties, and promises, and tears, he advances, and strikes his appointed victim to the heart. Then, "the sinners in Zion shall one day be afraid, and fearfulness shall surprise the hypocrites," and they shall look and call for help when none can deliver them. In this accepted time, therefore, forsake your evil thoughts and ways, and return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy on you. In this day of salvation, flee to the blood and righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the only secure refuge from the storm, and safe covert from the approaching tempest. 3. We are taught in this passage, that the future state of retribution is eternal and unchangeable, both as to rewards and punishments. "Besides all this," said Abraham, "between us and you there is a great gulph fixed. The happiness of the righteous is a fixed and permanent state of bliss, without interruption and without end. Every thing on earth is transitory and short-lived. "Riches take unto themselves wings, and fly as an eagle towards heaven." Honours depend for their continuance on the fluctuating humours of the multitude. Pleasures, by frequent repetition, produce satiety and disgust. But though the things which are seen are temporal, and therefore unsatisfying in their nature, the things which are not seen are eternal, and therefore fitted to fill the boundless desires of an immortal soul. Amidst all the afflictions and vicissitudes of this mortal state, the Christian is animated with the prospect of enjoying enduring substance," which neither moth nor rust can corrupt," and "a far more exceeding, even an eternal weight of glory." The spiritual water which Christ has given him, "shall be a well of water springing up unto everlasting life." The inheritance which he is called to possess is an inheritance "which is incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away." "The tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God," shall never cease to yield its fruits, nor shall the verdure of its leaves ever fade. The sun which enlightens the upper world shall never set, nor shall one ray of his glory be ever eclipsed by an intervening cloud. The moon shall never withdraw herself, nor shall she ever cease to send | human nature, which it is the object of this paper to forth her light. All these figurative expressions illustrate; nevertheless, it is employed by the Psalmist evidently describe a felicity which is uninterrupted when he contrasts the marvellous goodness of God and perpetual. In other passages, the perpetuity of the happiness of heaven is expressed in simple language: God "is from everlasting to everlasting" and the glorified saints "shall be ever with the Lord," in whose "presence there is fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore." How glorious are the prospects of the humble followers of Christ! They shall hold fellowship with their God, and with all the holy angels and glorified saints; and that fellowship shall know neither interruption nor end. They shall enjoy perfect happiness, and be able to look forward, through the succession of eternal ages, with an assurance that their happiness shall be always but beginning. Meditate frequently, my Christian brethren, on these delightful themes, and they will tend to moderate your attachment to the things of time, to make you go on your way rejoicing, and to fortify your minds against all the terrors of death. Let impenitent sinners also think on these things. Think how great will be your loss, if you are for ever excluded from the enjoyment of them and think how different your lot shall be from that of the righteous in the world which is to come. The Judge himself has declared, that the wicked "shall go away into everlasting punishment," but "the righteous into life eternal." The same word is here used in the original to express the duration of the happiness of the righteous and of the punishment of the wicked; and can we suppose for a moment that in the one case it denotes endless and in the other limited duration? Ah! no; it is expressly declared, that they shall be cast "into everlasting fire;" that "their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched;" that "they shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" and, that "the smoke of their torment shall ascend for ever and ever," and they shall enjoy no rest, day nor night. The unrighteous "shall not inherit the kingdom of God." They are not only excluded from happiness in consequence of a positive decree, but of an utter incapacity of it on their part. Where there can be no change of character there can be no change of state; because happiness and misery, in their general nature, must result from virtuous or vicious dispositions forming the inward temper and constitution of the soul. SCRIPTURAL RESEARCHES. No. XVIII. HUMAN NATURE. CHARACTERISTICS AND CONTRASTS. BY THE REV. JAMES ESDAILE, D.D., Minister of the East Church, Perth. "How great, how mean, how abject, how august, How complicate, how wonderful is man!"-YOUNG. "WHAT is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou visitest him?" This may appear a strange commencement of an essay on the dignity of with the natural weakness and worthlessness of man. In truth, it is only the spirit of Christ which enables man to maintain a dignified dominion over the other creatures in this world; where this spirit is entirely wanting, man's sovereignty must cease; indolence, voluptuousness, and selfishness, arm the hand of man against himself; he that will not work, neither shall he eat; he that would live by violence, rather than by industry, will soon be without victims to supply his cupidity; he that would doze away his time in inglorious ease, will soon have to struggle for existence with the more energetic animals, and the still more formidable insects, which seek incessantly for their food sistible instinct. Before such enemies the human race or for their prey, under the impulse of infallible, irremust fall, unless they walk in the way of God's statutes, and resist every feeling which suggests deviation from the divine commandment. Hear with what terrible grandeur these results are described in the Word of God: "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there: but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desoshall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And late houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces." Isaiah xiii. 19-22. All this has been fulfilled: Babylon has become a den for wild beasts of the fiercest nature, and for serpents with the most malignant poison; and the explorers of the ruins, without having the Bible predictions in their recollection, are often reminded of their danger by the fierce glare of some hungry wild beast, or the hissing of a poisonous serpent. The latest account of these ruins which I have seen, and probably it is the latest which has appeared, gives this statement: "In these sites we have seen the footsteps of lions, have observed jackals, and have been apprised of the presence of hyænas, porcupines, lizards, bats, owls, and other fierce or gloomy animals, in the caves and cavi |