،،

to rest upon his promises, believing they do not belong to me. My mind is often relieved by reading that eminent servant of Christ, Toplady's Essay on the various Fears to which the Lord's people are liable." Again I am all darkness, and my soul is continually brought into bondage on account of sin. I long to be delivered therefrom, and be enabled to realize my personal interest in the everlasting covenant.

I trust you will excuse my taking the liberty of thus opening my mind to you. May the Holy Spirit lead you to resume the subject you have this month commenced; and may you be enabled to bring forth something that may suit my case, and the case of others who might be exercised in a similar manner. May a triune Jehovah own and bless your labours, in disseminating the pure unadulterated truths of the Gospel. I am,

July 10, 1840.

Yours, I trust, in the best of bonds,

AN INQUIRER.

[WE should, dear "Inquirer," rejoice if the Lord were pleased to adapt the remarks made in our present leading article to thy case; but, if it be not his will, let this not discourage thee: he is a sovereign, and does as he pleases in these matters; and, if from the little comfort thou didst gather from the last Number of the GOSPEL MAGAZINE, thou hast been looking forward with anxiety to the appearance of the present, and secretly depending upon the services of the Editor, who is nothing but a poor frail mortal like thyself, it is not unlikely that thou wilt be disappointed; this may tend to shake thee off from creature dependencies, and induce thee to turn over the pages of the GOSPEL MAGAZINE with as much indifference as thou wouldst any other, from a conviction that God only can carry home its contents to thine heart with comforting, establishing power. But in reference to thy letter, we may tell thee for thine encouragement, that whatever Satan or thy unbelieving fears may suggest unto thee, thou never wilt "pass from time into eternity without a saving knowledge of Christ." Thou hast already a knowledge—and a saving one too-by which thou art convinced that he alone can save thee; in this knowledge thou art established by a feeling sense of thine "utter helplessness, the hardness of thine heart, and the stubbornness of thy will;" but a more blessed knowledge yet awaits thee-and that, in his own good time, the Lord will give thee-it is a knowledge of Christ in all the fulness, freeness, and completeness of his salvation, as exactly suited to thy lost estate and condition. When this knowledge is communicated, it will "raise the beggar from the dunghill, and cause him to sit among princes; it will compel thee to take thine harp from the willows, and enable thee to come and sing upon the heights of Zion." His loveliness-his glory-and the richness of his grace, shall occupy thy thoughts and thy tongue all the day long; and thou shalt speak of him, thy beloved, as the "chiefest among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely.”—ED.]

DEAR SIRS,

66

To the Editors of the Gospel Magazine.

At the recommendation of our esteemed pastor, who placed in our hands the first Number of your Magazine (No. VI.); and being so pleased with it, on account of its intrinsic excellence, style, &c., &c., we intend having two copies monthly, and to help to encourage you in your

undertaking, we shall bring it to the notice of other friends, some of whom have already ordered its supply.

I now beg leave to hand you a few verses,* on the passage you selected on which to found your remarks in the July Number; they were written many months ago, but if you think them (with the imperfections I am aware they contain) worthy of a place in your pages, they are at your disposal. I also send a letter written by the late Rev. W. HUNTINGTON, (and never published) copied verbatim from the original; which, from the respect I have for that eminent servant of Christ (who, "though dead, yet speaketh,") I should be pleased to see inserted in the pages of a really Gospel Magazine, should you so approve. With my best wishes for the success of your work,

*

*

*

* Poor Mr. D. has been brought up from the gates of death; numbers have died in town, but we must "die daily." The unwearied struggles of rebellious nature is a sad death to our shortlived comforts; were I but once free from this inbred enemy, and could but always resign and submit to the best of Fathers, who doth all things well, tranquillity and peace would be my daily and sweet repast; but this enemy is one of my own house, and when mortified through the Spirit in one branch of his operations, he breaks out in another—and never is he so busy as when I am going to engage in some religious exercise; "When I would do good, evil is present with me." If I decree a thing, it is not established unto me, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart: he demolishes all my plans of operation, mars my counsels, speaks up a hundred disagreeable things in the empire of providence and in the kingdom of grace, in order to get me to cavil at my Maker-in order to transport me under his powers, or to betray me into a spirit of bondage. Unbelief is always accompanied with self-will-it puts far away all good, and will belie the brightest evidences only for contention's sake, and to encourage murmuring. But truth hath said, that "that which is born of the flesh is flesh;" and our native enmity is what comes into the world with us by natural generation; and this enmity to God is attended with a love to evil, which carnal part often calls upon us for gratification; hence comes the daily cross, and denying one's self daily. But our old man is crucified with him, that the whole body of sin might be destroyed. Sin was condemned in Christ's flesh,

*See page 335.

and when the sentence of condemnation was passed upon him, that sentence was executed, and Christ gathered up his discharge at his resurrection; and we, having suffered the law in him ("I am crucified with Christ,") we were discharged and made free in and by the Surety. Hence we are complete in him, and without fault before the throne: without fault in the Representative; and without a debt in the Surety— having redemption in the Redeemer, pardon in the fountain opened, justification in his obedience, and sanctification by his blood and Holy Spirit. Hence it is that we are complete in him, being made one in him and with him-as surety and debtor are one, and as husband and wife are one. God made us so, for "he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are both of one.' He by his incarnation, flesh of our flesh, and we by regeneration one spirit with him. Looking here, my sister, affords hope and peace, but in no other object, nor in any other sense considered, can the believer lift up his head with joy. For in himself (that is, in the flesh) dwelleth no good thing; and as for the law, it is so holy, just, and good, that it will make no allowance for the old man of sin. Hence it is that legal terrors so often take hold of us to make us sick of every refuge but the strong hold. Hence the kind declaration and advice, "By the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water; fly to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope."

وو

Tender my kind love to your spouse, if he is at home. I did expect to see him again, but suppose he is busy. Dear sister, adieu; grace and peace be with thee, through Jesus Christ. So prays

DEAREST

Thine in the Lord,

TO A FRIEND IN AFFLICTION.

W. H., S. S.

I can truly sympathise with you in your trouble, and very much want to write you a word of comfort; but feel I am such a fool that I do not know how; you see the excellency of the power is of God and not of us. And as he has designed that we shall know this and feel it, he brings us into straits and difficulties, hedges up our way on every side, without a single hope of escape; and then when his blessed Majesty is pleased to open up a door of deliverance in his own way, oh, how conspicuously does the power of God shine forth! and we are constrained 66 to say, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be all the glory." Suppose that in all respects you went on quite comfortable, how pleasing would this be to flesh and blood; you would have no occasion to look to Him from whom cometh your help. He says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee," not "call upon me in the day of prosperity, in the day of ease and comfort." You say you are looking to him, and calling upon his name ; well, then, if he does not deliver, his word is not true. But this is where the difficulty lies, and I have no doubt you find it so.

We want to be

delivered in our own way. We feel persuaded that the Lord will be

true to his word, and that he will work deliverance; but then we are afraid that the means by which he does it will not be pleasing to flesh and blood. Is not this your feeling? Don't you feel persuaded that the Lord will do as he has said, and that he will answer your cries for help; and yet are pressed down with a fear that the deliverance he means to effect will not be what you wish? Are you not afraid that your time is not the Lord's time; and that he will first mortify flesh and blood, and carnal pride, and then show you the way? I have felt this hundreds of times; and really, when in my right mind, and able to judge and look over matters a little, I can make no more nor less of this than, that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. I do believe it is. And therefore, if this is your fear, don't be cast down about it; it is an evidence of sonship.

But there is another fear which presses upon you, and I know what it is: you are afraid that you have gone on in your own way, and have not asked counsel of God; have not waited for the moving of the cloud -for the way to be made clear. Well, this fear arises from the same source, it is the fear of the Lord—a filial, and not a slavish fear. When this fear presses upon the soul, what a mountain does this text appear— Oh, how it comes and stares us in the face !—“In all thy ways acknowledge me, and I will direct thy paths." How this text has harassed me; at times I have not been able to trace a single circumstance in which I have acknowledged the Lord, and how can I expect him to direct my steps? I could see that I had really followed the bent of my own inclination in everything; and although desiring to be directed by Him, I could see that my own feelings were uppermost, and I invariably fol lowed them. Yet, for all this, there is at times a secret hope and belief that there really was a desire—a desire to give all our ways up into his dear hands; and then comes a little hope from such a portion as this, "I will satisfy the DESIRE of every longing soul." Well, then, if God brings it down to a desire, cannot you say that in all your undertakings you really have had, at the bottom, a secret desire to acknowledge him, and be guided by him? I am sure you cannot say you have not. Then this is really and truly acknowledging him. The workings of a corrupt heart will strive for the mastery, and try to quench this desire; and they would too, if it did not spring from life. But then God knows it, and as it springs from life communicated by him, it is everything in his sight. We cannot believe that the desire is anything, because it is so buried in, and mixed up with, corrupt principles working within, that it appears to emanate from them; but God knows it, and to this he looks. Cheer up, then! depend upon it you have, really and properly speaking, in all your ways acknowledged him; and be assured that he will direct your steps. I know he will, and I am sure you will find that it will be all right; and the greater the difficulty-the more you are hedged up, the greater will be the display of God's love and faithfulness. This you will find as sure as God is in heaven. Oh! how sweet to be enabled, by Almighty power-for this alone can effect it

"To lie passive in his hands,

And know no will but his."

God grant you may be enabled to do so. I am very low myself. Faith is not much in exercise; but unbelief seems to carry everything before it. And I suppose it will be so all the journey through, till faith is swallowed up in sight; and unbelief, the devil, and our own hearts, can plague us

no more for ever.

TO THE SAME.

Ever yours,

E. F.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I deeply sympathise with you in your present trouble, for, in spite of all the "high ones," no affliction for the present is joyous, but grievous; NEVERTHELESS, it afterwards yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness in them who are exercised thereby. There must be the exercise, or else the sweet fruits will never be yielded; and, where troubles or affliction are not heavy burdens-too heavy for us to carry by ourselves— they do not exercise us; nor are they the means by which the sweet fruits of peace are made so endearingly precious to us after we have "suffered a while." I know what it is to be in straits and difficulties, and not to be able to see any way of escape; and yet the thing itself was no burden to me, because my heart has been as hard as a flint. Yet at such a time as this there is at the bottom an inward and deep-felt groaning for feeling. We see our danger by the eye of our understanding, but cannot feel it; and if deliverance comes at such a time as this, still the heart remains hard, there is no going out of thanksgiving-I mean HEART thanksgiving-the lips may move; nor is there any blessed incoming of sweet peace, because there has not been a deep exercise, but all is dead and wretched, and so remains until the heart is either touched with the finger of love, and so melted; or brought into deep exercise on account of some fresh trial: and then it begins to feel; and so it goes groaning on until either deliverance comes, or some sweet word of promise is sealed home upon the heart, on which it is "caused to hope."

As to my late trouble, you know what my words were " JEHOVAH JIREH. The Lord WILL provide." Oh, that my dear friend may have alike sweet words softly spoken to his heart! and then he will get peace even in the anticipation of his struggle; and when it is over, if a blessed Jesus reveals himself to him as his help, and shows him that it was He who has done it all, and calls him by his name, and enables him to set up a fresh Ebenezer, how will his mouth go down into the dust-how will he be melted—how will he hate self and sin, and love poor fellow worms, who are interested in the same mercy; and above all, how will he love, wonder at, and adore the dear hand which has made him more than conqueror. Dear friend! it WILL come, and I shall hear of it; and we will then join our notes of praise to him who had done for us far more exceedingly than we ever asked or thought; to whom be glory, Amen. Yours, in truth,

R. L.