No. 66. THE VALUE OF THE SOUL V>Y REV. ft. 8. TAYLOR. That all men have sou's, few will deny. We feel that this is our superiority over the brute creation. We are just as conscious of something within us which thinks and reasons, as we are of the body it -elf,. Ail nations have believed in the existence of the soul, and hr;ve in the darkest regions of paganism, some faint, imperfect ideas of its immortality. In- deed no other truth is plainer than that man has a soul. If -we do not know this, we knOvv nothing as we ought. But while all believe the^fchave souls, how few act as though they realized their infinite value. How differently the mass of men feel on this subject from the requirements of revaltion, nay, from .the dictates of reason ! The value which God attaches to the soul appears from the fact that He gave His only begotten Son to save it. Would he bear so patiently with our ingratitude, our hardness of heart, and our rejection of Jesus, it' He did not see the ex- cellency of our soma and earnest Iv desire to snatch them from eternal burnings'? Would he -not leave us to sink into perdition t Would lie ao pathetically cry, "How shall I give thee up. Ephrain: ? how shall 1 deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make tu.ee ass Admah ? how shall I set thee as Zebo- im ?' ; How earnestly God pleads with us to be saved. Has he not warned us by the horrors of hell, and allured us by the happiness of heaven 2 Has lie not said He takes no pleasure in our death? Has He not brought every motive from the universe, from Himself, to bear upon our minds, in urging the value of the soul? And how does Jesus regard this matter ? Look at Gethse- mane and Calvary for the answer. For what did he bleed and die, but to save our gouls ? Was it, not the great burden of all his appeals to men while on earth, '"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Behold Him weeping over Jerusalem. What caused those tears but an overwhelming sense of the soul's value and of its danger ? So full was Jesus of this 'subject, that He could think of no other. It absorbed all his time, energy and effort. So valuable was the soul in his e.-teem, so capable of the highsst happiness in heaven or the deepest misery in hell, that He considered no sacrifice, no labor, no suffering, no ignominy, too great to endure for its salvation. The soul ! the soull tiiat was before his mind when he signed the cove- nant of redemption, when he threw asfide the regal glory of the skies, when He' first entered upon His public ministry, in every sermon and miracle, and forgetful of all else in his dying agonies, he only t.n ought of this, crying with joy, "It is fin- ished !" "I have achieved the work of the soul's salva- tion !" It was to save the soul that he rose from the grave and gave this commission to his disciples through eve- ry age, "Go ye into all thdBtarld and preach the Gospel to every creature/'' for, tremendous, overwhelming truth — "he that believeth not shall be damned !" It is the soul which imparts such earnestness to His intercessions for us before Ilia Father's throne. It is the soul which brings the Spirit from heaven to earth. To sanctify that soul from all its pollution, to enable it tore- pent, believe, love and pray, to inspire it with devotion to the Father of lights, and to make it tit for the "rest which re- maineth for the people of God," He enters our depraved hearts, and there takes up his abode. How e rnestly the Spirit woos us to embrace the offers of salvation. How He reproves us of sin, by afflictions, by expostulations from the pulpit, by a sense of God's goodness, by a. dread of His wrath, by the charms of Calvary, by the bliss of heaven, by the prayers of a pious mother, father, sister, wife, by the dying appeals of christian iriends, by sickness,- and by the stings of conscience while in solitude away from the giddy mirth of gay companions. Howoften the Spirit has convicted us of "sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come." Though we have so often grieved Him and grossly insulted this heavenly Friend, ye* he still continues to plead with us, earnestly be- seeching us not to destroy oar soul and body in hell. Why all this patience and the earnest entreaties so often address- ed to us, if the Spirit felt not the value of our souls, and de- sired not our salvation ? Why should the angels rejoice when but one sinner re- pents, if they did not feel the great interests at stake when they see the soul about to choose between heaven and hell, God and Satan? They are not said to rejoice over any- thing else. The fall and rise of empires, the inauguration and dethronement of princes, the discoveries of %cience, the inventions of art, the march of refinement and learn- ing, all produce no effect on their minds. From the po- sition they occupy, gazing at one time into heaven and then into hell, they see nothing comparable in interest to the salva- tion of but one soul from the bondage of sin. No doubt the "spirits of just men made perfect" in glory partake of the same feeling. We know that Moses and Eli- jah did descend from their shining seats, and lay aside tor a moment their celestial employments*, to converse with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, in reference to the death He should accomplish at Jerusalem ; thus evincing the deep concern in the work of redemption above all other sub- jects; for they knew that the salvation of the soul depen- ded on the atonement which Jesus should, offer. And could onr pious mothers, fathers, pastors, sisters, brothers, now in heaven, be permitted to hold converse with us, would not their whole engrossing theme be the salvation of the soul? What little interest they would feel in what so much engrosses our time and talents, How ardent their de- sires, how earnest their entreaties to have- us saved, What lessons they would teach of the value of the soul, as seen in the happiness of heaven and the misery of hell !" Even if we were permitted to converse with the lost in per- clition, they would be all alive to the value of the soul. How they would deplore the folly of our lives.- How they would warn us not to follow in their footsteps. - Did not Dives wish some one sent from the dead to warn his five brethren not to come " to that place of torment?" Surely if we could hear their awful description of the final misery of the wicked, we would at once repent of these sins which arc rapidly leading us to ruin. They would so alarm our fears as to make us cry, " Oh ! deliver me from the curse of sin. from the power of Satan." But the devil knows the value of the soul and blinds the mind to these solemn realities. For six thousand years he has bent all the energy of himself and his angels, to effect the ruin of the soul. Would he engage in such fierce con- tests with £Jirist in reference to the soul ; would he at every defeat try some new method of attack ; would he prolong^the warfare through such a protracted period; if he did not know something of the infinite value of the soul. On ! sirs ; the devil is so earnest, he pursues us so eagerly, he is so de- termined in his efforts to ruin our souls, because he knows what hell means, and what it will be for us to suffer without hope of relief the horrors of everlasting fire. This, in some measure, Christians feel, and hence they plead so earnestly with us to save our souls by flying to Christ. It is not that our conversion would make them hap- pier in heaven, for Christ will overflow their soul's with fi joy unspeakable and full of glory." But it is because they know the evil of sin, the shame, the woe, the despair, the eternal agony which only the conversion of the soul can avert. We often think hardly of the people of God for annoying us so much in a course of sinful pleasure by their entreaties and warnings. We may even regard them as our enemies. But is it not because the}' see our danger and wish to prevent our ruin. And who so much our friend as he who seeks to save us from the fires of hell? If you, reader, were but enlightened by the Spirit to see your danger, how earnestly you would cry, " What must I do to be saved ?" Why did Paul fall to 'the earth, and imploringly ask, " Lord, what will thou have me 'to do $*' Why did the hardened jailor and unfeeling thief so earnestly implore mercy ? God threw but a ray of light from eternity into their minds, and just one glimpse of the soul happy in heaven or writhing in hell, produced that change. So it would be with you if you could feel, as they felt, the value of your soul. Now, why is it that in heaven, earth and hell this deep concern should be felt for your salvation, and you alone, the one personally interested, be indifferent and careless? Is not the testimony of three worlds, — of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, — of angels and glorified spirits — of devils and the lost — of Christians and the awakened sinner — enough to show you the value of the soul ? Was ever truth established by such testimony? And oh! will you still neglect this great concern ? Your soul was made in the image of God. No where else is that image impressed, but upon the soul. This allies you to angels and to God himself. When the body moulders in the grave, the soul is the precious jew*d which can never de- cay, which was made immorta 1 , to shine in the diadem of Christ forever. Why then teel so much interested in the body and neglect the soul ? Why feed the one, and let the other famish for the bread of life ? Why clothe the one, and suf- fer the other to stand in naked deformity before the assem- bled universe at the bar of God, when the spotless robe of Christ's righteousness is so freely offered to cover all its shame? Why beautify the one, and deform the other? If the one must fall into the grave, the other must fall into hell unless you fly to the refuge of the cross. The pains endured by the body in the throes of death are not comparable to the agonies of the soul in the fierceness of eternal fire. Oh, for which should yoxx feel, for which will you feel, most pro- foundly ? And now, dear reader, what will you do with this priceless jewel ? Will you continue to abuse its powers and debase its grandeur? Will you fill it with pollution ? Shall its wonder- ful faculties be devoted to sinful purposesjintil in the world 6 of despair, they shall all combine to torment you forever; the memory recalling the bitter returnless past, as in the case of Dives; the conscience filling the soul with remorse ; the im- agination looking back to hopes once within your reach, but now withdrawn forever : and the heart having nothing to love and hatinc? itself for its foolish, guilty rejection of God ? What will it then profit you that you have run the whole round of pleasure ? You have pursued pleasures and they fled before you. When you reached forth yo lr hand to seize them they vanished into air. Even the pleasures you gained yielded bitter disappointment. They were altogether unsatis- factory. God has determined that nothing shall satisfy the cravings of the soul but communion with its Maker. In mercy he has so created your soul that nothing but His smiles can fill its Caching void " You have tried learning, riches, ambition, friendship, love, morality, a course of sinful pleasure; but in aUtke?e you found nothing but " vanity and vexation of spirit." Afflictions disturb your sweetest enjoyments. — The hand of death snatches awav your fondest friends. Etch- es make to themselves wings and fly away. Life itself draws to a close, and dreadful eternity is opening to receive you. — While you are saying " Soul,- thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry," suddenly you are alarmed by a voice from your neglected God, " this night thy soul is reqirii ed of thee ;" and then, what shud- dering to think of going all -unprepared to the judgmentl — What will now avail your worldly honors, pleasures, riches? How foolishly you have a^ted to sell your soul for naught. You now. know that your dmm is sealed to all eternity. You would gladly give property, friendship, learning, reputation, aye, life itself, to save your soul, but alas! alas! it is forever too late. My dear friend, you are in momentary danger of losing this soul of such priceless value. You are pursuing eager- ly the path which -lei "others to hell, and how are you to es- cape their fate while following their footsteps ? You have not yet been saved by God's method of salvation, and He will use no other, Your disease has not been removed by the remedy of the Gospel, and God will apply none but this Nothing but God's sovereign mercy, which may any rn/>ment change to wrath, keeps you from sliding into hell. No prom- ise rattle Bible affords you any ground of hope, as long* as you remain as you are, Your heart is becoming harder ; and yet you must 'eel in order to be saved. Your evil habits are daily becoming stronger; and yet, they must be subdued be- fore you can reach heaven. The devil is sowing new errors in yonr mind every day; and they all assist to keep out the light of the Spirit which is indispensable to your conversion. Great is your danger. We are commanded to warn you if we see the sword approaching. We solemnly tell you that we see its steady, swift approach, and urge yo