The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1892-05-11

unites modesty and manliness, and
that commends the gospel of saliva
ton to men by the likeness of the
man to the Saviour.
But a little while before, the
great London preacher uttered his
last words commencing men to the
grace of God He was one of the
most conspicuous men In the world,
and by his death brought greater
grief to the inhabitants of the world
than any one man could bring.
And the immortal record which he
has made is not the outgrowth of
genius, or of learning, or of the
graces cf polished life that win
and hold our admiration, but of
conservation to the service of Christ.
that made him Indifferent to every
thing that did not subserve the pur-
pose of hOnOring the Master. The
greatness that comes through grace
is not lessening as the generations
pass.
The Perpetuity of the Covenant.
We praise God for the perpetuity
of the covenant of grace. Steadily
through the generations past his
plans have been developing. 1t
never was his purpose that sin
should have dominion over us: the
trial of the representative of the
race revealed the impotence of man
to resist temptation without the
support of the grace of God. "Sin
entered into the world, and death
by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned."
But this shall not be the eternal
doom of the race The tree of life
shall not be touched by man in his
fallen, sinful state, lest the aliena-
ton from God, by sin, be made
perpetual. The purpose of grace is
made manifest in the punishment
of sin. Sorrow, suffering, and sac
ritice are better than the hopeless
separation of man from God. 1t is
the purpose of God that where sin
abounds, grace shall much more
abound; and the earliest revelation
connects itself with the latest, that
God is not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to
repentance. Therefore the first
promise is to be perpetuated until
completely fulfilled, the seed of
the women shall bruise the serpent's
head )" therefore the atonement by
sacrifice shall never lose it's efficacy
so long as there is sin in the world.
Therefore in the fulness of time he
sent forth his Son, to be the pro-
pitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only, but for the sins also Of
the whole world. This atonement
reveals the grace Of God, who will
have all men to be saved 1t re-
veals the turpitude of sin, that can
not be cleansed but by the blood of
the covenant. 1t removes the curse
of sin by restoring the sinner to the
favor of God. it takes away the
condemnation of sin by uniting us
to Christ, and purifes our hearts
by the blood of Christ that cleanseth
from all sin. The history of sin,
of suffering, and of death is but the
perspective for the full view of the
grace of God that bringeth saliva
ton. The Lamb slain from before
the foundation of the world reveals
the reserve force of Divine grace
that can save man, even when dead
in trespasses and sins. GAS by the
one mans disobedience the many
were made sinners, so by the ODE
dience of the one shall the many
be made righteous" Original sin
and personal transgression alike
yield to him who was crowned with
glory and honor, that he, by the
grace of God, should taste death for
every man.
The Unalterable Record.
We praise God for the unalter-
able record of the history ofredemp-
ton that has come down to us
through the history Of the genera
tons
From time to time learned men
have devoted themselves to the
criticism of Gods word. The mat
ter and the style of the record have
alike been subjected to the most
minute investigation. In the earlier
pages of the history the critics
think that they have discovered two
distinct styles of writing. called
respectively the Elohist and Jebo-
visit documents, conjoined for the
production of the sacred narrative.
They go further, and suppose that
the author has gathered up certain
floating traditions and u1quiuu1afa1