ment not only of his promises, but also of his predictions; and seek in the page of history to discover the original of that picture which we find drawn in our Bibles.'

CHAPTER II.

WHAT THE CHURCH WAS TO BE.

'TAKE each your Bibles, my dear children, and shew me what, according to our Lord's promises, and the declarations of his inspired apostles, was to be the character, what the general history of his church, until his coming again.'

Robert began by turning to Matthew xvi., and was about to read verse 17, but his mother desired him to begin at the 13th. "When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Phillipi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some Elias; and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall

not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." It strikes me, mother, that the power here given to Peter was awfully great; and his position a singularly honored one.'

It does not appear to me, my dear, that any peculiar privilege was conferred on this apostle, beyond the blessedness of being foremost to declare what God had revealed to him and his companions; that is, that their Master, Jesus of Nazareth was the expected Messiah, the Son of the Highest. This fact, and the divinity and kingship of the Lord Jesus, is the eternal truth on which the whole fabric rests. He is the Rock; He is the corner-stone, the sure foundation of the building, wherein which Peter, by name and in character, was a living stone, as he himself in his Epistle describes all believers to be.'

But the keys, Mamma; were not the keys here especially committed to Peter?'

If you turn to the next chapter but one, verse 18, you will see that the gift was not confined to any individual, but solemnly confirmed to the whole of the apostles; and therefore as Peter in the former instance spoke for all, so to him we find the answer addressed which was alike applicable to all. You have established the first point, Robert; that the Lord

has a church founded upon a Rock; and that against it the gates of hell shall never prevail. Have you any more to show?

. Yes; here in Matt. v., verses 14 and 15, it is written, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."'

There you see that the visibility of the church consists in its holiness, manifested by good works. There is more visibility in one small candle, well lighted, than in a forest of tapers to which no light has been applied.'

That is true indeed, mother; and I thank you for the hint. I want to be taught aright; to be kept from the instruction that causeth to err; and with this blessed Book in my hand I hope to find the plain path.'

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My dear boy, ask wisdom of God: it shall be given you, for he has promised it, and especially to the young. They that seek me early shall find me." Now I wait for more scripture testimonies as to the church. You have shown its foundation,

stability, perpetuity, and visibility. Can you find any predictions as to its history during the generations that should elapse between our Lord's first coming to suffer, and his future appearing to judge and to reign?

The leaves of all the Bibles were now in motion. Robert first quoted from the last three verses in the gospel of Matthew: "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

A most important and comprehensive passage, indeed!' observed Mrs. Willis. First, it sets forth our Lord Jesus as “ Head over all things to his body the church." It shews him possessed of all power, leaving none to be exercised, but in the lowliest subordination to him, by man or angel. The one, sole Mediator between God and man; every thing and every creature being put in subjection to him. Next, it enables us to discern what is indeed the doctrine that he has commanded and sanctioned; the acknowledgment of the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost, by baptism in the name of that most mysterious Unity, and the teaching of those things-of them.