Then I looked here and there for help for the poor man, not knowing from whence it could come. But the Lord had not forgotten him; for it came to pass, after he had lain awhile in this miserable condition, crying continually, "Lord, have mercy upon me, the chief of sinners!" that one came up to him, and plucking him by the garment, said, "Friend, what art thou doing here? arise, and hearken to me: I have joyful tidings to deliver unto thee, even tidings of great salvation to sinners."

On this, Goonah Purist looked up, and behold, it was a Feringhee who addressed him in these words of comfort; and the countenance of this person shone with gracious smiles, mixed with looks of tender love and pity. In one hand the stranger held a sacred book, on the outside of which were written these words, The Holy Bible; and the other hand was extended to the slave of sin, to raise him from the dust.

Goonah Purist then said, "Who art thou, my lord? and wherefore dost thou take an interest in the affairs of a wretch, vile as this thy slave? Am I thy son, that thou shouldst take pity on me? Rather leave me to perish in the dust; for I am not worthy of thy regard. Moreover, thy fair complexion bespeaks thee to be a stranger."

To this the other answered, "Knowest thou not that 'God made the world, and all things therein; that he made also of one blood all nations of men to dwell upon the face of the earth; and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation?" Acts xvii. 24, 26. Therefore, although I come from a far country, even from a country on which the sun scarcely looketh; nevertheless, I am thy brother. I come hither with a message of peace. I am sent unto thee from my own land, with a token of love, even with the covenant of Huzrut Esau Musseeh in my hand, who with us is called the Lord Jesus Christ. I am one of those appointed by my Divine Master, to gather together unto him from the streets and lanes of this city, the lame and the blind, the maimed and the afflicted. I have commision to 'seek that which was lost, and to bring again that which was driven away, to bind up that which was broken, and to strengthen that which was sick." Ezek. xxxiv. 16.

The messenger then delivered his token, and behold,

it was a letter of invitation, perfumed with myrrh, and within were written these words: "Come unto me; thou that labourest and art heavy laden, and I will give thee rest. Take my yoke upon thee, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and thou shalt find rest unto thy soul. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt. xi. 28-30.

Now the tears came into the eyes of Goonah Purist when he read these words of comfort, which sounded in his ears like "a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice." Ezek. xxxiii. 32. Nevertheless, not being able to conceive how such a letter of invitation should be directed to one who knew himself to be so vile and abominable; he made answer, "You know not, sir, how utterly filthy I am; how my past life hath been blackened and polluted by sin; and how, even now, from time to time, I fall into gross offences against the pure and holy law of God."

Then replied the messenger, "Knowest thou not, that 'the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin?'' 1 John i. 7. And saying thus, he lifted Goonah Purist from the dust. Then causing him to sit upon the grass, and placing himself by him, they discoursed together freely.

And first Goonah Purist opened the state of his mind to the Christian messenger-telling him, by what means he had been led to take thought for the welfare of his soul; to whom he had applied for instruction; and how, at length, he had been reduced to despair, perceiving no way opened for the remission of sins. "For," said he, of this I am deeply convinced that if the salvation of my soul is in any way to depend upon myself, it must assuredly fail; inasmuch as in me dwelleth no good thing. On this account, I have remained for a long time like a dove with its pinion broken, unable to rise and a stranger to rest."

The messenger replied, "I will not now detain thee, by pointing out the errors of those to whom thou hast addressed thyself in hopes of finding the way of salvation. We are taught to believe that those who live in ignorance of the true God will be called to account for that ignorance; inasmuch as, even in the darkest country and period, ‘God hath never left himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and glad

ness.' Acts xiv. 17. But, leaving these things for the present, I will endeavour to lay before thee the fundamental doctrines of our holy religion, even the religion of Christ."

The holy messenger then opening the sacred book, which he had placed respectfully upon his knees, began from thence to explain how the first pair, from whom sprung all the human race, were created in the image of God, immortal, ignorant of evil, and without sin-and how these, being tempted by the evil one to break the commands of God, had admitted into their nature the taint and poison of sin; by which they incurred the penalty of temporal death, affecting the body, and of spiritual death, by which the soul is eternally separated from God, the fountain of all joy. From thence the holy messenger proceeded to speak of the nature of this original sin, received as a sad inheritance from our first parents; showing how utterly the whole human race is corrupted thereby, insomuch that there is not one good, but "all are gone aside, all are together become filthy; there being none that doeth good, no not one." Psalm xiv. 3. He further declared, that it was impossible for man, by any effort of his own, to cleanse himself from this inbred impurity, or to make any atonement to a just and holy God, for the breach of his commandments; "since," added he, "it is written in this holy book, 'Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my trangression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Micah vi. 6, 7. And again, Though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.' Jer. ii. 22. From these passages and many others of a like kind," continued the Christian messenger, 66 we learn the inefficacy of all ceremonial observances, and the utter insufficiency of works to procure salvation." Hitherto," replied Goonah Purist, am I come. I fully comprehend the depraved and helpless state of mankind; and am now eagerly and anxiously looking for one who is able to effect the glorious work of man's salvation."

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To this his companion made answer, "He who is

able to do this, and who has, indeed, already accomplished it, is Christ the Son of God-God himself; one with the Father and the Holy Spirit."

The Christian messenger then proceeded to inform him, how, immediately after the fall of our first parents from their state of innocence, a revelation was made concerning the coming of a Saviour; and how the ancient patriarchs were taught to foreshow the atonement which the Son of God should make upon the cross for the sins of the whole world by the customary sacrifice of lambs, and rams, and other animals, chosen for that special purpose without spot or imperfection. He also pointed out those notices of the coming of the Messiah, which were given from time to time in the books of the prophets, with such particularity, that not only his nation and tribe, but even his very family, was foreshown. He was to be born of the descendants of Shem, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Judah, of the royal house of David, of a pure virgin, and in the town of Bethlehem. These various passages, with many others relating to the coming of the Son of God, were pointed out by the Christian messenger to Goonah Purist, in the books of the prophets, all of which, with the Toreet, or books of Moses, the Zuboor, and the Engel, are contained in the sacred book of the Christians.

He next proceeded to show the accomplishment of these prophecies: how Christ had actually become incarnate in the womb of a virgin; how he had dwelt thirty-three years on earth, being found in fashion as a man, yet without sin; and how, in the name of his brethren of the human race, he had accomplished the whole law of God, thereby obtaining a righteousness for us, which we could not procure for ourselves. He being infinite, yea, and one with God, took upon himself all our sins, even the sins of the whole world, and bore the punishment of them upon the cross, suffering such torments from the anger of God (which he endured in our stead) as no created being could have supported, -such agonies as made the sweat to fall from him like great drops of blood; yea, such as constrained him to cry out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Mark xv. 34.

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"In accomplishment of his great purpose, to wit, the salvation of man," continued the Christian teacher, "this divine Saviour gave up his own life, which no man could

take from him; and, after three days, he raised himself from the dead, the work of our justification being finished.

"This our mighty Redeemer," continued he, "is verily and indeed the true God, begotten from everlasting of the Father, who is God over all blessed for evermore. And herein is an awful mystery revealed to us by Scripture, incomprehensible to man. Strictly speaking, God is one. But in this one God there are three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are one, but their offices are distinct; and in the great work of man's salvation, each is equally engaged. The Father'so loved the world that he gave his onlybegotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." John iii. 16. The Son, by his death, joyfully accomplished the will of his Father, and gave himself a sacrifice for sin. The Holy Spirit, by his powerful influence, regenerates and sanctifies the believing sinner.

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Thus, by this glorious scheme of salvation, lost man being redeemed from the power of sin, of Satan, of death, and of hell, is fully restored to the divine favour. This is the message I have to deliver to you," added the Christian teacher: "and if you are willing to leave your father's house, your fleshly lusts, your earthly pleasures, and worldly friendships, and to follow Christ, you will assuredly be saved; but if you remain here, in this Valley of Destruction, you will as certainly sink into a place of everlasting torment."

Then answered Goonah Purist, "O sir, you have, indeed, delivered unto me joyful tidings. You have revealed unto me one worthy to be called a Saviour,one in whom I can put my trust without fear,-one who is able to save even me. He who raised himself from the dead, can, no doubt, raise me from the death of sin. But, sir," added the trembling sinner, "what must I do? whither must I fly? where shall I find this Saviour? for as yet I see him not; I know him not; still remaining as one blind. Tell me where I may go and join myself unto him: for I would, were I permitted, cast the whole burden of my sins upon him; since he only has power to sustain it. Yea, I would show him my leprosy, and open unto him all my sores, fully confiding in his power to heal me. But where, O where shall I find him?"

To this the messenger replied, "He will wash thee