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are unable to fulfil the law which he has appointed to be the rule of our conduct: this law requires perfect obedience, which we are unable to give. We are therefore subject to the penalty of the law, which is eternal death. Herein was the love of God displayed: Christ Jesus took upon him our nature, fulfilled this law, became subject to its penalty for others,' and washed away their sins in his atoning blood. God can now consistently with his justice pardon sinners. When, by the assistance of his Holy Spirit, they repent and believe in the Saviour, God accepts of his obedience to the law instead of theirs. Thus they receive the pardon of their sins, and become inheritors of everlasting life. This is a brief and imperfect sketch of the plan of redemption, at least as far as I comprehend it.

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"Consult the Scriptures, and your duty will be made clear. Address yourself fervently to God, that he would enlighten your understanding, subdue your stubborn and rebellious will, and change your corrupt affections. Pray that he may give you an interest in the atonement of the Redeemer, and make you pure and holy. And do not imagine that the blessed Saviour is unwilling to receive you: • Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.' Whosoever will, let him come and drink of the waters of life freely.' Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' 'His yoke is easy and his burden is light.' "O taste and see that the Lord is good;' that the ways of religion are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.' Unworthy as I am, feeble as

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my belief is in the Saviour, I would not exchange the peace I feel, from my trust in him, and from the consciousness that, by his intercession, God beholds me with favour and compassion, for all the honours, pleasures, and enjoyments of the world. Let me then press you (as I would urge myself) to be diligent in working out your salvation. Remember that if you perish, you will be without excuse. God forbid that this should be the lot of my dearest friend. Delay not, then, the great work of repentance till it be too late. Begin with the reformation of your heart and life -with the abstaining from every known sin, and the practice of every known duty; and let all your exertions be accompanied with sincere and fervent prayer to God for his grace, without which they cannot be effectual. May he who is abundant in mercy and grace, form our hearts to his most blessed image, and our lives to his most holy law, that when this mortal life is ended, we may be received into life eternal, through the all-sufficient merits of Christ our Saviour. Do not our hearts answer, Amen?"

This youthful attachment, productive of so much advantage and happiness to both, and exalted by an union with piety and virtue, was of brief duration. A letter was received from the father of Mr. Skinner, in the autumn of 1795, announcing the sudden and unexpected death of his son. There is something peculiarly simple and touching in the endorsement on the back of this letter, in the handwriting of Mr. Hobart: "Abraham Skinner, Esq. New-York, September 5th, 1795; containing infor

mation of the death of his son, my dearest friend; who was first united to me in the bonds of a close friendship, in the summer of 1793, at Princeton College.

"I did not receive this letter at Frankfort till the 14th September, the day I entered on my nineteenth year-melancholy birth-day!

"I write down these circumstances, from a wish to preserve, on a tablet more durable than memory, every thing relating to this melancholy event."

The letter itself is a burst of grief, which goes to the heart.

"MY DEAR HOBART,

"How shall I begin this sad epistle? My darling boy is now no more! Yes, my friend, his race, though short, is run; and he is gone, I hope, to meet his merciful God! O sad lesson! bitter cup, how shall I swallow it? I will-I will bow submissive to him who cannot err-who gave to me, and who has taken from me-blessed be his holy name! Teach me, O gracious God! to bear my affliction: support and strengthen me..

"But, amidst this direful confusion and distress, what a consolation that he had his reason almost to the last! and in his lucid intervals, very shortly before his dissolution, his expressions and ejaculations exhibited strong proofs of his resignation to the will of heaven, and a firm reliance on God, through the merits of a blessed Redeemer. Let these things, my friend, comfort you.

"Your letter of the first of September he received on his death-bed: it was read to him by his

mother; but the invitation came too late. You have our blessings for it. Though my child is dead, I know his memory will survive. He had a place in your heart, and it will not be effaced.

"On opening his desk this morning, the first thing that presented itself to me, was the enclosed scrap. I am induced to think it was part of a letter intended for you. Keep the essay-it is his last. Write me, Hobart-it will console me-it will give his mother some ease."

The following is an extract from Mr. Hobart's reply:

"Abraham Skinner, Esq.

"MY DEAR SIR,

Princeton, Oct. 9th, 1795.

"How can I feel otherwise than interested in the welfare of those who were so dear-to one whom I loved as my own soul? I sincerely hope and pray, that the weight of grief which overpowered you, has been rendered lighter by those consolations which a trust in the wisdom and goodness of the gracious Parent of the universe never fails to inspire. Never did a father lament the loss of a more amiable son. To cease to mourn altogether for it, is impossible. Religion requires us not to smother the feelings of nature, and while she permits us to mourn, she teaches us not to mourn as those who have no hope;' for we enjoy the blessed assurance, that the souls of those whom we love, exist beyond the grave; and we trust that the virtue and piety of him whose loss we lament, has procured him, through the merits of his Saviour, an

admittance into those blissful regions where 'sorrow and sighing are done away.' Thither let us aspire. Convinced of the uncertainty of earthly enjoyments, let us seek those which are at God's right hand; and we may then hope once again to enjoy the affection of him whose loss we deplore. Strangers and pilgrims upon earth, he has arrived before us at the end of his journey. He has left us to struggle with many difficulties in our pilgrimage. These he has escaped. Why then should we repine? His crown of glory was attained with little toil. Infinite Wisdom sees fit to try us longer."

I happened to be at Bishop Hobart's many years after this event, when he mentioned that the recollection of Mr. Skinner had just been called up in a most singular manner. In attending the funeral of some one of his connexions, the remains of his friend had been disinterred, and laid strewn before him, around the grave. Notwithstanding the lapse of time, it was an affecting and painful sight.

Just after Mr. Hobart had graduated at Princeton College, all the promise of his aspiring genius was on the eve of being blighted for ever, by an unexpected change in his pursuits. From the beginning, the whole bent of his mind had been directed towards the acquisition of knowledge. Childhood had been spent in assiduous study; reading was his delight; every species of information attractive to young minds was sought with avidity. After having passed through the preparatory stages of an academical education, in a way which encouraged the hope of success, and finally surpassed the fondest anticipations of his friends, he was induced, by

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