PART III.

THE HIGHWAY TO ETERNAL LIFE.

And an Highway shall be there, and it shall be called The way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; no lion, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon; but the Redeemed shall walk there.

ISAIAH XXXV: 8, 9.

COMPLAINT.

"The way is long, my Father! and my soul
Longs for the rest and quiet of the goal:
While yet I journey through this weary land,
Keep me from wandering. Father, take my hand;
Quickly and straight

Lead to Heaven's gate,

Thy child !"

ANSWER.

"Is the way long, my child?

But it shall be

Not one step longer than is best for thee,

And thou shalt know, at last, when thou shalt stand

Safe at the goal, how I did take thy hand,

And quick and straight

Led to Heaven's gate

My child !"

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RELIGION.

"Divines do say but what themselves believe;
Strong proofs they have, but not demonstrative.
For were all plain, then all sides must agree,
And faith itself be lost in certainty."

-DRYDEN.

HERE is some truth in the thought conveyed in these lines. If, on all other subjects, "many men have many minds," the same is doubly true of religious subjects. Even St. Paul acknowledges that "great is the mystery of godliness," and such it surely is. Still, religion in its origin and nature is no more mysterious than a hundred other things with which we have to do in this world, and, therefore, it is not to be shunned or ignored on this account.

Besides, whatever men may say or think, religion. is one of the indisputable facts of life, and, therefore, is a proper object of study and investigation. As the world in which we live is a fact, so is God, its great Creator; since it is absurd to suppose there could be an effect like this, without an adequate

cause.

THE EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN SOUL.

The existence of the human soul and its immortal nature are facts of which every one is conscious