treating sin with indifference, and thinking that because he is delivered from eternal condemnation, he may in this world follow the inclination of his own carnal heart, and gratify all the filthy, abominable, and hellish propensities of his nature. Alas! alas! those who use such an argument give sad proof indeed, that they know nothing experimentally of what gospel liberty is, and that they were never delivered from the condemnation of the law. Why, the moment the trumpet of a gospel jubilee is sounded in the soul, and peace and pardon proclaimed through the precious peace-speaking blood of the Lamb-that moment sin receives its death-wound, though it does not die; and an unceasing warfare commences between flesh and spirit. "What do I see in the Shulamite-as it were the company of two armies." Two distinct principles are in operation within the man, which can no more harmonize than can light and darkness. The same nature, with all its sinful propensities, still exists, and will continue to exist, until this "vile body," as the apostle calls it, shall be dropped in the grave; but, though it lives it does not reign, for the promise of a gracious God and Father is, Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace." While in this tabernacle, therefore, the heir of glory "groans, being burdened." He carries about with him a body of sin and death; and feels himself to be a captive, an exile, a prisoner; hence, in the contemplation of freedom, he exclaims with the poet -ED.] "Welcome, bless'd hour of full discharge, That sets my longing soul at large; A FATHER'S REVERIE OVER THE CORPSE OF HIS INFANT CHILD. АH! BH, thou wast an engaging child; thy disposition was most amiable and lovely; and even now, though the cold and icy hand of death is laid upon thee, thou still retainest thy sweet-thy placidthy contented smile. Thine eyes, it is true, have lost their brightness; they are closed in a long, long slumber; but I would not wake theeno, my sweet boy. I would not call thee back again to suffer; no, no! The Lord has very mercifully called thee home just as thou wast embarking upon life's stormy ocean. He saw that it would be rough and tempestuous, and that the waves and billows would roll in rapid succession over thy head, and therefore he would not suffer thee to venture farther: but in great kindness, love, and mercy, hath called thee back again. And now, dear babe, thou hast escaped all the storms and tempests of this changing trying life; and thou hast thus early entered upon thine eternal rest. Blessed babe! I would not interrupt thy repose! I would not disturb thy quietude! I would not arouse thee from thy slumbers! No, no. Sleep on, sweet boy. And by and by I will come-I will follow thee. When my Master has done with me here, I shall be glad to hear his blessed voice calling me home. He called thee very gently, my boy! "One gentle sigh thy fetters broke, We scarce could say, 'He's gone,' Its mansion near the throne." A few hours ago, my lovely child, and thou wast here a little sufferer; thy head pained thee; and though thy little lips could not tell us, yet we knew thou wast suffering; but now, my boy! thy pains, thy sufferings have for ever ceased. No! thy head will never pain thee more; thy little temples will not throb again; nor will thy gums agitate and vex thee. Thou hast now vacated thy little earthly tenement, and thy happy spirit has ascended higher-higher-higher, until it has reached the abode of the blessed above. The ministering angels hovered around thee here below, and longed to see thee draw thy last breath, that they might conduct thee through yonder bright sky to their happy dwelling-place. Methinks I trace thee in thy flight; and though thy countenance is too animated and bright for me to gaze upon, yet I seem to hear thee, in accents of sweetest melody, inquire, "Where are ye carrying me? To what bright world am I going? What are these vast orbs by which we are surrounded?" "These,' methinks I hear thy celestial convoy anwser-"these are the little twinkling stars which illumine yonder lower world. Soon we shall leave them far behind, and enter upon a much brighter scene." But expression fails me, my son: I see thee gaze, and wonder, and admire; thou art holding sweet intercourse with thy celestial attendants, but thy language is far beyond my finite comprehension. Thou art, I know, talking about another, and a brighter, and a better world. And now methinks thou art arrested by the sounds of distant music; it is the echo, my son, of ten thousand times ten thousand voices, tuning their harps in sweetest melody. And they are singing, as it were, a new song, about One "who loved them, and washed them, and made them white." Ah, my son! thou wouldst never have entered that blessed abode, had he not lived, and died, and rose again. Thou wast "born in sin, and shapen in iniquity; and in sin did thy mother conceive thee." But his precious blood speaks peace; it cleanses from all sin. And thou didst need washing, my boy, though thou wast so very young; and thou didst need a robe of righteousness to cover thy naked soul. And this is what yonder happy company are singing about. But thou needest not that I should tell thee, for thou art infinitely wiser than I, though thou hadst no earthly tuition. Thou art now, I see, arrived at the gates of the celestial city. They are closed, and spirits in bright array are guarding them from every intruder. Where is thy passport, my son? Thine attendants cannot obtain an entrance for thee, unless thou hast a divine warrant. Thou hast no good work to plead-nothing in extenuation of thy guilt to express. Does language fail thee, and art thou fearful that, after all, thou shalt be turned back? Oh! exclaim, "Jesus died and rose again. His blood I plead; his righteousness I crave. On account of what he has done and suffered, I implore admittance." This, this is thy passport, my son; no other would have availed thee. And I now see the pearly gates fly back; and as thy happy convoy bear thee through, I catch a hasty glance of the bright myriads which are seated around the throne of God and the Lamb. The Lamb is seated in the midst of the throne; and his countenance-beyond expression glorious-is, if possible, lighted up with new joy, as he beholds thee, another trophy of his grace, fall before him, and cast thy blood-bought crown at his feet. Farewell, my son! imagination itself fails me. I leave thee in thy new and happy home, and return again to mingle a little longer with the sons of men. THE SHEPHERD BOY. COMFORT FOR BELIEVERS DESTITUTE OF A PREACHED GOSPEL. The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, who hath mercy on thee. Isaiah liv. 10. No, poor troubled Christian, whoever thou art, who, like myself, art placed in that situation where the pure Gospel is shut out from the pulpit whether of church or chapel, his loving-kindness will never depart from us. He is the Lord and changes not. He did not set his love upon us for any good he foresaw would be in us, but because it was his own good will and pleasure to set his love upon us and choose us in his dear Son; therefore it is all of his own rich, free, and sovereign grace, that we stand in such esteem in his sight, as to proclaim in his holy word such precious promises to comfort and support us on our pilgrimage. If it is his will to place us out of the sound of his preached word, he still applies the promises to our hearts by the written word, under the blessed teachings of his Holy Spirit. How many, it is to be feared, sit under the sound of the Gospel where it is faithfully preached, who have no pleasure (heartfelt pleasure I mean, as it is possible for it to please or amuse the head, without the heart), in the precious truths of it! so that a Paul may plant and an Apollos may water, still God alone, by his Holy Spirit, must give the increase. Thus we see, it is not the preached word (as such) can confer spiritual blessings or comforts on the hearers, any more than a person by reading the Bible can apply the precious promises therein contained to the people of God (his chosen, elect people) unto himself, without the Spirit's guidance. Because it pleases him to withhold such a blessing from us (as a great blessing it certainly is) who can say but it is in love? Might we not be led sometimes to trust too much on the speaker, and not set our affections on the Saviour, in a way of not looking up to him alone for soul comforts? Many go to such and such a place of worship, because a popular preacher is stated there; and it may possibly be a Gospel preacher (witness Romaine, Toplady, Hawker, &c., &c.) and how are they lifted up sometimes over others who do not attend the same place! There is generally a good deal of self at the bottom of this; so that I hope you will join with me in considering it as the best for us to be content in the station of life in which an all-wise Providence hath placed us, even if this privilege is denied. A wise and affectionate parent does not disinherit his child, because he bestows greater favours on others of his family. Only consider the advantage we have over our forefathers, who but a few generations back, dared not be found reading the Bible; and which is the case to this day where Popery predominates -ay, no farther than in a part of our sister country, Ireland, among the poorer classes of society. Oh, then! while we have this privilege left us, let us improve it by daily searching those Scriptures which point us to the Lamb for salvation; and by earnest prayer to be instructed in those things that make for our eternal peace, by the Holy Spirit's application of them to our hearts; and which, for our comfort, our blessed Lord himself, in the days of his flesh, assured his disciples he would send unto them for that purpose. As the doctrine of election is so much cried out against by most of the preachers of the present day, both in and out of the Establishment, as tending to "licentiousness" (whereas it is the only doctrine which tends to uphold sobriety and good order in the true sense of the words), I desire to say a word or two on the subject-not but that it has been much abler defended by other hands in the GOSPEL MAGAZINE, during the whole course of our late beloved Editor's (Mr. Walter Row) superintendence. The Lord himself has declared that "He will put his fear in their hearts (his elect people's hearts) that they shall not depart from his ways; and that a new heart" and a "new spirit will he give them." Hear with what grandeur he speaks, "This people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise." Observe, it is all the Lord's own work, "I will !" therefore it is not left to "man's free will," in his unregenerate state, to do so: although, when the change takes place by regeneration, he will then be "made willing" in the day of his power. Psa. cx. Paul settles the point at once, "We are created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained we should walk in them.' Read Titus, ii. throughout. Read the first and second chapters of Ephesians for farther confirmation on this point-"Ye are witnesses and God also, how holy, and justly, and unblamably we behaved ourselves among you that believe; as ye know how we exhorted you, and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory." 1 Thess. ii. 10, 11, 12. "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness but unto holiness;" but hear what he says in the very next verse, “He, therefore, that despiseth (he that charges my doctrine with encouraging men in sin) despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit." 1 Thess. iv. 7, 8. A very awful state to be found in when called to appear in the sight of God, if grace is not vouchsafed them for repentance in this life. Our Lord pronounces an awful sentence"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it وو were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.' Matt. xvi. 6. O that this might be the means in the Lord's hand of bringing some of this character to a sense of their iniquity in persecuting the people of God, who are scattered here and there around them, by charges of this description against the doctrine of "God's election," among the many other libels continually in their mouths against the truth as it is in Jesus. Our Lord forewarned his followers in Matt. x., what they must expect from the world; but he likewise takes good care to season the caution with promises of his presence. The reader will do well to read the whole chapter. A very young pilgrim will doubtless see something of his experience in it. Also read 1 Cor. iv.; it often makes such a one wonder why some of his acquaintance should so speak against the freeness of that sovereign grace of which he feels himself a partaker; but he will do well in that case to consider what the Scripture says, "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God." Rom. viii. 7. That is the true reason. We must not expect smooth roads through the wilderness. "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but (mark the loving promise) be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." At times we should sink under them, were it not for being assured that our dear Lord had conquered all our enemies by his death and resurrection; though they may annoy, yet they cannot destroy our souls. The doctrine of "final perseverance" is considered by many professors of religion to be an awful presumption; but "if the foundation be destroyed, what will the righteous do?" Some may ask, what foundations? When they do, tell them, such promises as are at the head of this paper; and "God hath chosen us (his elect) in Christ, before the foundation of the world." Eph. i. 4. "The Lord will not cast off his people, nor forsake his inheritance." Psa. xc. 14. "When the poor and needy seek water and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." Isa. xli. 17. By this last text of Holy Scripture, I think the case of those of the Lord's people who are out of the sound of the preached Gospel is plainly described; and that it is also especially recorded for their comfort. How like their state! Thirsting for the water of life, the poor and needy soul seeks at the appointed places for comfort, but finds none; the muddy waters he cannot drink-but mark the loving-kindness of the Lord, our compassionate Father-"I, the Lord, will hear them." His ears are ever open to our cries, and he knows our wants before we ask; yea, while we are yet speaking, he will both hear and answer, either the desire of our hearts, or give a measure of grace sufficient for us- I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." Here is the covenant, "I will," and "they shall." "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty: he will save, and he will deliver you." Zeph. iii. 17. He will sustain them as he did Israel of old in the wilderness--he brought them out of the rock, and the apostle says that rock was Christ (in type); so now, when 11 earthly means fail (such as our being out of the sound of the preached word) the Holy Spirit will lead us to Christ alone for all our comforts. He will not 66 |