The Hillsborough recorder., 1854-11-08
THE SUBSTANCE OF THE GOSPEL.

Whatahappy thing it's that the Cos
pei comes into so iftie compass! Often
have felt this when visiting the sick
and the dying. When lhave found the
mind incapable Of vigorous. expansive.
OF continuous thought. how thankful
have been that the Gospel is 40 short
and so simple; that the elementary
truths which give pace to the con.
science and hope to the heart, can be
stated in so few words There is d.
vine wisdom and divine kindness in
this. There are short sentences which
contain essentially. all that a sinner
needs to know, to give him q sense Of
pardon and confidence towards God.
."The wages Of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life, through Jesus
Christ, our Lord.D I" This Is a faith.
ful saying. and worthy Of all accep-
tation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save Sinners even the chief.
/" This is. the record, that God hath giy.
en- to US eternal life ;and this life is in
his Son. lie thath the Son hath life;
he that hath not the Son Of God hath
not life." These. and Others Of like
description, are precious sentences.
They are what the "dying man Of
God DIR. McAlI. 50 cmphatically demo.
minated the core, the very core, Of the
Gospel. Connected with this the strk-
ing fact that, in the hour whrch is sure
and common to all--the hour of natures
last conflict and most pressing exigen-
cy; the hour when the mind is shut up
70 one point, and that point peace with
God and hope for eternity-that in
that hour all minds come 10 be so pery
much on ievsl in regard to what im>
parts their confidence. II is the same
truth. in all its simpI' city, that gives
it to the greatest as well as to the
least. and to the least az we'll as to the
greatest. 1t is most instructive and
interesting to see how minds Of the
largest grasp aud mightiest power,
when they come to this hour Of trial
and Of final decision, when passing
through the valley Of the shadow Of
death, anticipating eternity, and con-
flicting, single handed, with the last
enemy, have recourse to the same
simple elements Of divine truth that
are the springs OF peace to the very
weakest Of the "babes in Christi /
have been struck with this in the bio
graphiss of some Of the most distin~
guishsd Of our modern diyines. Look
to the terms in which they express the
ground of their everlasting hopes. Al,
though. from previously knowing the
character Of their minds, you. Of course,
conceive thoughts Of higher order as
sociated with those terms, aud although
at times there May be corruscations Of
brilliant sentiment emitted, that indi.
cate undying light within, yet substan-
TALLY they are the very same in which
"poor Joseph" expressed the ground
Of his: 80 1t is faithful saying, and
worthy Of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sim
ners;' and why not Joseph p What
dying sinner can say more? / mean
not that the minds are equal-that
were folly; but that. as the greatest
and the least stand on the same ground
Of condemnation, they must stand also
on the same ground Of acceptance; so
that he who has traversed the whole
round of theological learning, has ex-
plered its depths and scaled its heights;
has argued with metaphysical acunen,
and illustrated, with. matchless elo,
quencs, all its points; has read and has
written volumes upon volumes, when
he comes to the test of dying hour,
is shut up to all the simplicity of the
faithful saying This is what he
needs, equally with the least and this
is what the least, equally with him, en-
Joys. And the perfectly childlike SUBJ
missiveness with which master minds
in Israel have avouched their reliance
on the most rudimental elements of the
truth. is among the marks Of its divi-
nifty. Itshows that, in the one point Of
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