Almighty Spirit will render them subservient to his own glorious work." And they are the very sermons which we have every scriptural reason to expect that he will extensively bless. On the doctrine of redemption, in the second sermon, the author says, "Jehovah's redeemed family consists of all who shall be found to be in Christ; hence the transgressions and sins of all who shall be found not to be included in this family, are not blotted out; and are not blotted out, because not being in Christ, they are not justified by his grace. Their transgressions and sins remain upon them, and ever shall remain; and not being in Christ, neither clothed in his righteousness, they can never behold God as a reconciled Father in Christ. None but

those whose robes are washed white in the blood of Christ can have peace in time, or glory in eternity." And then, in the ninth sermon, he says, respecting the sovereignty of God in salvation, "The sovereignty of God, as manifested and vouchsafed towards his people, is the foundation of all the great and precious promises which his word contains. Free grace, and not free will, is the ground-work of our redemption; it is the rise and spring of all those spiritual blessings of which we are made partakers. Our love to God is the result of his love towards us; if he please to set his love upon any, they love him; and they are irresistibly led to do so in spite of all earthly opposition. "They shall call upon me," is the divine decree, "and I will answer," is the gracious promise. The Lord draws with the bands of love, and when he sets his love upon any there is no resisting him. This is the foundation of the praises of his saints." These two short quotations are quite enough to show what kind of divinity these truly orthodox discourses contain. All persons renewed by the Holy Ghost will at once see, in reading only one of these sermons, how scriptural are their opinions, how holy their influences, and how calculated to bring glory to God and Christ they are, beyond thousands of the popular effusions of this present sickly

Personal Reform. By the Rev. W. Hofacker, Deacon of St. Leonard's Church at Stuttgart. Translated from the German. London, published by B. Wertheim, 14, Paternoster Row. pp. 31.

THIS Sermon clearly shews the instability and unsatisfactoriness of all the boasted reform so much talked about at the present day; and that because the chief thing is left out, namely, true religion; and that all education will fail of producing any beneficial or lasting results that is not built upon Christ and his gospel. It is a simple setting forth of Christ as the author of all good, national and personal, who only can give happiness and life here, and eternal glory hereafter. It is a very profitable discourse.

A New Church Catechism, for the Use of British Protestants. Published by Richard Baynes, Paternoster Row, London.

This, like most of the dissenting trash of the present day, is no Church Catechism at all, but, generally speak

ing, a dissenting jesuitico-falsity, intended to foster the sin of schism, by referring to Scripture passages, which, when turned unto, have nothing whatever to do with the subjects treated of. It may satisfy persons who never think for themselves, but none else.

A DISCOURSE.

(Concluded from p. 185.) ALL those things that Christians should be careful for, together with

those that he should not be careful for, may be turned into so many requests. Then let these, your requests, be made known unto God. He is accessible at all times, and in all places; the poorest individual, if a believer, may approach his glorious majesty; your requests must be made known unto God for several reasons.

1st. Because none else besides God is able to make you careful for nothing, on the one hand, and careful for many things, on the other. God is not only able but willing to do all this: this he has fully shown, in a variety of ways, by not sparing his Son, but delivering him up to suffer for us. His great love to his people is manifested in this: God has commanded us to trust in him for all things. God is more ready to bless us than we are to ask. He has given us his word full of promises and directions in all cases. What God has done for others he is ready to do for us. He is always watching over us for good, is displeased when we ask little, pleased when we ask much. God has declared that he will be in quired of to do these things for us. Though God has bestowed so many blessings upon his people, he has an infinity of blessing in reserve.

The

Christian is to make his request known to God by prayer and supplication. Prayer and supplication are nearly synonymous, have the same meaning. He must then make them known by prayer and prayer, by constant, habitual, fervent prayer: God will fulfil all his requests as far as they are for his own No. v. VOL. 1.-New Series.

glory and the Christian's real good. It is written, "he will fulfil the desires of his people, no good thing will he withhold to them that walk

uprightly." No prayer ever ascended to God without bringing down the desired blessing or one equivalent to it.

"God never said to the seed of Jacob, seek ye my face in vain." But we must wait God's own time for the desired blessing, and we must ask in faith. When Sennacherib sent a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah, he received it and read it and went up into the house of Lord to spread it before the Lord. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said “O Lord God of Israel, who dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth, thou hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear and hear, open, Lord, thine eyes. and see and hear the word of Sennacherib, who hath sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands; now, therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God even thou only." (2 Kings, xix. 14 to 19, and Isaiah, xxxvii. 14 to 20.) This was a most alarming time, but Hezekiah resorted to the

Lord.

Isaiah was sent immediately to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, that which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib, king of Assyria, I have heard. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand, and when they arose early

in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses. Then Sennacherib departed and went and returned and dwelt at Nineveh," thinking that he had escaped. But though Sennacherib escaped for the present, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his God, instead of prostrating himself before the God of Hezekiah, who had destroyed his army, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his own sons, smote him with the sword. At the prayer, you see, of one man, Sennacherib and one hundred and eighty-five thousand of his army fell. Daniel prayed unto his God three times a day. We have seen the effects the lions did not injure him. David spent much of his time in this exercise. 66 Elias," saith St. James, v. 17 and 18, "was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months: and he prayed again, and the heavens gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit." The prayer of the meanest Christian is as acceptable to God as that of Hezekiah was. We are commanded to pray without ceasing, and

"Satan trembles when he sees,

The weakest saint upon his knees." Seeing, then, the great effects of prayer, let it be our care to be much exercised therein. I shall refer once more to Daniel, ix. 20, &c. "Whilst I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin (though he was one of the holiest men that ever lived), and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the holy mountain of God; yea my whilst I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding; at the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved." You see here, at the very beginning of his supplication, God began to answer, and sent

his angel to inform him of his designs. And, in x. 9, he says, that "he was asleep on his face, and behold a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands, and he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright; for unto thee am I now sent: and when he had spoken these words unto me, I stood trembling, then said he unto me, fear not Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard." From this we learn, that from the very time in which every one sets his heart to understand, and begins to chasten himself before God, his words are heard by God.

"Were half the breath that's vainly spent To heaven in supplications sent, Our cheerful songs would oftener be,

Hear what the Lord has done for me." We are not only to make our requests known unto God by prayer and supplication, but with thanksgiving, says the apostle. Here is another field for the Christian. He will be thankful for Christian preservation, for redemption, for the means of grace and for the hope of glory. He will be filled with thanksgiving for the privilege of making his requests known unto God by prayer and supplication. David (Ps. cix. 62, 164) says, "At midnight I will rise and give thanks unto thee, because of thy righteous judgments." This was in addition to the seven times a day that he tells us he praised God. How often do we hear David inviting the people of God, saying, "O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good, because his mercy endureth for ever." This will be the language and practice of every Christian who has tasted of the mercy of God. Daniel not only prayed, but gave thanks before his God. How often do we find St. Paul thanking his God for himself and for others. 1st. For himself, "O wretched man,' says he, " that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death;" then he adds, "I thank God through Jesus Christ." (Rom. vii. 25.) Here it may and should be observed, that not only are our prayers not accept

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able to God, but through Jesus Christ, so neither are our thanksgiving. "I thank God," says St. Paul, "through Jesus Christ." (1 Tim. i. 12.)" I thank Jesus Christ our Lord," &c. &c. Here St. Paul thanks Jesus Christ, a proof of his divinity. He thanks God also for others (Phil. i. 3.) "I thank my God," says he to the Phillippians, upon every remembrance of you, always, and in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy for your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this very thing that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ," &c. &c. In 2 Thess. i. 3, again, "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all towards each other aboundeth" and (1 Cor. i. 4.) "I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Christ Jesus;" and of Philemon, a single individual, he says, "I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, hearing of that love and faith which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints." The practice, then, of the people of God has always been to be much occupied in confession and prayer and thanksgiving.

How seldom do we hear, in the present day, thanks returned for mercies received. This was not the practice of the primitive Churches. It was not the custom of the Church at Philippi; if it had been the apostle would not have said to them: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. (Phil. iv. 4). The religion of St. Paul was very different,

otherwise he would not have had to say, "Thanks be to God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour by us in every place." (2 Cor. ii. 14.) Each of us might triumph in Christ as well as St. Paul, if we served him as he did. Before I leave this subject of thanksgiving, I will refer you to 2 Chron. v. At the dedication of the temple all the congregation were assembled, and the priest had entered; (13 v.) "And it came to pass as the

trumpeters and singers were as one to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanksgiving to the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals, and instruments of music, and praised the Lord saying, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever;" that then the very moment that they thanked and praised the Lord, the "house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord." (14.) So bright and glorious was the cloud that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud, for the Lord had filled the house of God.

unto

Now, though we must not expect the cloud of glory, yet we may expect the Lord of life and glory, who is ready to bless us now, if we from the heart are able to sing, "praised be the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. My Christian friends, then, "Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known God; and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Here is a delightful and a glorious promise, a rich reward to be enjoyed in this present life. It is absolute; you shall enjoy this peace, since you seek it. It is called the peace of God because it comes from God, God is its author. It is called the peace of God, because it is the purchase of the blood of the Son of God. It is called the peace of God, because it is wrought in the heart of the believer by the Spirit of God. It is part of the legacy of Christ to every one of his people: "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace." (John, xvi. 33.) "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you: let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." The world can neither give this peace nor take it away. Solomon (Prov. xiv. 10.), speaking of the righteous, saith, a stranger intermeddleth not with his joy." This peace which passeth all understanding cannot be described, is only known by those who possess it. (Rom. v. 1.) "Being justified by faith we have peace with God through

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