ance from its oppressive power. Besides, what became of St. Paul's rich experience in the sixth of Romans? —- Instance: How shall we that are DEAD TO SIN live any longer therein ? Rom. 6:2. Does not this imply total separation from sin? as the soul is totally separated from the body at death, and has nothing more to do with it till the resurrection at the last day? Was not the pronoun WE" an inclusion of himself among the saved believers? And again: "Knowing this, that OUR old man is CRUCIFIED with him, that the body of sin might be DESTROYED, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is

dead is free from sin."- Rom. 6: 6, 7. By the "old man " and the "body of sin," he meant the entire system of corrupt nature, sinful self,-"crucified" and "destroyed;" truly so, as ever Christ was crucified to death. upon the cross, bleeding to death drop by drop, till he actually expired. That was his illustration,- his idea of the death to sin which he and others had experienced, and, indeed, which harmonized so well with what he had written to the Galatian church, some six years previous. "I am CRUCIFIED with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."-Galatians 2: 20.

But, after all this, to insist that the experience in the seventh of Romans was really his is monstrous. St. Peter says, "Grow in grace." Alas! what shall we say, if St. Paul retrograded so? But he did not! I call upon the eighth of Romans to bear witness! That one dash of his pen, in the second verse, is enough to blot out forever all the inferences which have ever been drawn against him, from the seventh of Romans! Hearken: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made ME free

from the law of sin and death." Well might one exclaim: "Until the most palpable absurdities and contradictions can be reconciled, those two opposite states can never exist in the same person at the same time." What thinkest thou? When there is so little against, and such a mass of evidence in favor of, full salvation, where is the impropriety of pressing its attainment upon justified believers? Has God FORBIDDEN us to be holy in any part of the Scriptures? O no! but he has commanded it in the Old, and renjoined it in the New Testament. "Ye shall be HOLY:

for I, the Lord your God, am holy."-Lev. 19: 2. And again: "Sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be ye HOLY : for I am the Lord your God."- Lev. 20: 7. Now turn to the New Testament. 1 Peter 1 : 15, 16.—“ But as he which hath called you is holy, so BE YE HOLY, in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." He has not forbidden our holiness, then, but enjoins it; and by St. Paul declares anew that it is HIS WILL our sanctification.-1 Thess. 4: 3.

But is his ability to cleanse us from all sin before death questioned in the Scriptures? No. They teach that he is able to save us to the UTTERMOST,- Heb. 7: 25; and it is declared that "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son CLEANSETH US from all sin." Mark that: "Cleunseth," in the present tense, not in the future merely, away in the extreme death-hour! Is there any hint that the blood of Christ receives any special cleansing efficacy from death? No; the above text disabuses it of that degrading insinuation.

Your reference to Eccles. 7:20 is worthy of notice. "For there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not;"- may not sin, as the learned Dr. Clarke says the word may be translated; he may sin,—he is liable to commit sin.

And again, 1 Kings 8: 46.-"If they sin against thee, for there is no man that sinneth not." The same learned critic quotes the Hebrew word, which is similar to that in Eccles. 7: 20, and renders the phrase, "For there is no man that MAY not sin,”- none that is not liable to transgress. That this was Solomon's meaning here, is evident from his supposition, "If they SIN," showing that they might or might not sin; which seems quite a contradiction, or, to say the least, an unnecessary proviso, if no man can live without sinning. What thinkest thou? Is there not evidence on the face of it that Dr. Clarke was right in his translation? It seems as if St. John looked towards Solomon's admission when he said, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye SIN NOT. And IF ANY MAN SIN, we have an advocate," &c.- 1 John 2:1. Here is a total prohibition of sin, and an admission of our liability to commit it, uttered in the same breath.

But suppose we drop the criticism, and take it as it reads; what then? It was spoken of those under the law. Is it equally applicable to those under the Gospel? Is our dispensation no better than theirs? Are our privileges on a par with theirs? He who says so knows neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Let us set the two dispensations a replying to each other, like the Jura mountains and the Alps during a thunder

storm:

"And Jura answers, through her misty shroud,

Back to the joyous Alps, that call to her aloud!"

Solomon: "If they sin against thee, for there is no man that sinneth not."— Now, John, reply!

John "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit

sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."- 1 John 3: 9.

Solomon: "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not."- Now, Peter, reply to that!

Peter: "For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath CEASED FROM SIN that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of man, but to the will of God."-1 Peter 4: 1, 2.

Solomon: "Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?"- Prov. 20: 9.-- Now, Paul,- now is your turn !

Paul: "But now being made FREE FROM SIN, and become servants to God, ye have your FRUIT UNTO HOLINESS, and the end everlasting life."- Rom. 6: 22.

Peter: "Purifying their hearts by faith."- Acts

15: 9.

John: "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not." 1 John 5:17.

You refer me to 1 John 1: 8, 10.-"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." To your remarks I reply: You should bear in mind the opinions St. John was combatir g. It was a blow at the errors of the Gnostics, a sect which prevailed at that time, some of whom affirmed that they were born pure and remained pure ever after, and therefore never had any need of the cleansing blood of Christ. These he told, right out, that they were deceived, and the truth was not in them. Others declared they had never sinned, therefore never needed any pardon; therefore the sufferings of Christ and his atoning blood were unnecessary. Against these John plainly thundered and lightened;

--for to tell a man he makes God a (6 liar," is to charge him with the most outrageous blasphemy; guilty of the highest and most daring indignity towards God; enough to make the sky of his soul black as the vault of hell charged with the thunderbolts of eternal wrath.

But what has all this to do with us? We neither believe nor assert such deceptive, blasphemous doctrine. We deny not that we were "born unholy and unclean; " therefore need the cleansing blood. We deny not that we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God, and therefore needed a Saviour in all his offices. This is not the point under consideration; but this,-whether we may be cleansed from all sin. St. John had just declared that "the blood of Christ cleanseth from ali sin';" and shows in the ninth verse, exactly between the two errors, that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Now, surely, when this is done, we may know it; and if we know it, can it be wrong, on proper occasions, to confess it to the honor of the cleansing blood? and should such be charged with self-deception upon such occasions?

But let us proceed. I have yet another question.

7. Is the necessary union between soul and body an INSURMOUNTABLE BARRIER?

No! for St. Paul prays, "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."—1 Thess. 5: 23.

Indeed, the believers in a death-bed purification virtually yield that point. Because the soul, if ever cleansed from sin, receives that salvation in connection with the body. The term "sinful body" is frequently used, we are aware;