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rently-promising crop. Here is the first ordeal. Then the binding, then the threshing, then the winnowing, then the crushing, then the baking. A trying process throughout; but most significant, spiritually, of that to which the Lord, in infinite wisdom and fatherly discipline, subjects the little tiny deposits of His grace in the hearts of His people.

Beloved, to sum up for the present the subject, how sweet is the thought that, as with Peter, so on behalf of all his tried and tempted brethren, Jesus has prayed-yea, Jesus, now intercedes in heaventhat "their faith fail not," be the ordeal to which they are subjected never so severe. His grace shall ever be found sufficient; and His own precious word by the prophet shall be verified, "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth."

Hence, however much amid fear and

Reader, here is our mercy. trembling, may we not venture to sing―

upon

"Let those that sow in sadness

Wait till the bright harvest come :

They shall confess their sheaves are great,
And shout the blessings home?"

And, oh, beloved, how sweet, at least at times, is the thought of the peace, the calm, the unutterable blessedness, that shall immediately follow the cessation of the test or the trial, assume whatsoever form that particular test or trial may! The moment the enemy has plied his last temptation-made his last thrust-hurled his last dart-thrown his last match upon the tinder of our vile, filthy, and abominable hearts -what a calm will there be !

Reader, you have doubtless at times been struck with the marvellous contrast which has followed the roar of the artillery, or the sharp, shrill rattle of musketry, at the sound of the trumpet-call, "Cease firing." How striking the silence! how wondrous the pause! Or, as you have witnessed in the distance the salute or sham-fight, the vivid flash, the booming of cannon, the dense smoke; then, at the given signal, the total cessation-the seemingly-unaccountable calmness and serenity. Nought to be seen but the receding cloud that just now enveloped the huge floating antagonists. Or, after enduring, as best you could, the rolling and the pitching and the plunging, for hours or possibly days, of the ship that has been conveying you across the mighty deep, oh, how exceedingly grateful has been the perfect smoothness or the calm or the stillness which indicates that the vessel has rounded the headland, entered the harbour, let go her anchor, or taken up her moorings!

Ah, beloved, this peace-this serenity-this beautiful calm-does but in the very faintest and feeblest degree set forth what the departure from trial and trouble and temptation is, and the entering eternally into "that rest that remaineth for the people of God." Verily," It is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into

the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

Beloved, we shall for the present close our remarks by quoting the annexed precious lines, which a kind correspondent has supplied, in a leaflet, published by Mr. J. Taylor, 31, Castle Street, Edinburgh. St. Luke's, Bedminster, March 14, 1868. THE EDITOR.

"SHE IS NOT DEAD, BUT SLEEPETH.”

LUKE viii. 52.

"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are ASLEEP, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which SLEEP IN JESUS will GOD bring with Him."-1 THESS, iv. 13, 14.

Он, call it not death!-it is life begun,
For the waters are pass'd, the home is won;
The ransomed spirit hath reach'd the shore
Where they weep and suffer and sin no more.
She is safe in her Father's house above,
In the place prepared by her Saviour's love;
To depart from a world of sin and strife,
And to be with Jesus-yes, this is life.
Oh, call it not death!-'tis a holy sleep,
And the precious dust the Lord doth keep;
She shall wake again-and how satisfied!
With the likeness of Him, for her who died.
As He rose again, she shall also rise
From the quiet bed where now safe she lies;
Then cheer ye, fond mourners, who sadly weep,
For happy are they who in Jesus sleep.
Oh, call it not death!-'tis a glorious rest,
"Yea," saith the Spirit, "for all such are blest;
They rest from their labours," their work is done,
The goal is attain'd, the weary race run.
The battle is fought-the struggle is o'er,
The crown now replaces the cross they bore,
The pilgrimage path shall no more be trod,
"A rest remains to the people of GOD."
Oh, call it not death!-it is true indeed,
The soul from the shackles of earth is freed,
'Tis true, that dissolved is the house of clay,
And the spirit unchain'd hath pass'd away;
'Tis true, too, the loved one hath gone before,
The home how darken'd, that knows her no more!
He chides not your grief, for Jesus too wept,
O'er the grave where His friend, a Lazarus slept.
But call it not death-a few short days o'er,
Ye shall meet her in glory, to part no more;
What a 66 blessed hope," lo! Christ shall appear,
For "the restitution of all things" here,
Then (if not till then) ye'll see her again,
When brought by the Lord with His glorious train,
Those "sleeping in Jesus shall be restored,
And so shall we ever be with the LORD."

E. E. H,

WHEREFORE COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS,"

Wayside Notes.

THE ANTIQUITY OF THE PROTESTANT RELIGION. "After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets."-ACTS

xxiv. 14.

BELOVED, we live in solemn and perilous times; thousands have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. God seems, on account of the wickedness of our land, to have sent a strong delusion among the people, that they should believe a lie. If we look even at the preaching socalled "evangelical," for the most part it is of such a milk-and-water character, that with it the Lord's people become sick at heart. God be praised that we have a few names in dear Old England which have not defiled their garments, and are not ashamed to declare the whole counsel of God. May the Lord support them in this trying time.

Then, again, if we look at the rapid advance which Popery is making in our country, we see the truth of Rome's declaration, "that England is now the arena where will be exhibited her conquests." Oh that our countrymen would take warning ere it is too late! It behoves us, then, beloved, under such circumstances, to be well grounded in the faith; and it seems laid upon us at this season to show from God's word that the spirit of the Protestant faith has been the same from the very foundation of the world and, although it may be true that the term signifies a protest against the errors of Rome, which were particularly manifest at the time of the glorious Reformation, yet the spirit of a protest against a false religion has been the same in all ages of the world's history. So also from the first the Lord has had a people, truly called in Paul's time "Christians first in Antioch;" but ages before this, as in the days of Jacob, called the children of Israel; and long before this, even before the deluge, called "sons of God." So, while titles have differed, the people of God have been the same; and, while terms have differed, the fundamentals of their holy religion have ever been unchanged. We know that this is diverging from the usual tenour of our monthly notes to you, beloved; but the signs of the times demand it of us. The beloved apostle Paul said, "After the way which some call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets;" to which declaration we add our hearty Amen and amen.

And now, beloved, may the Spirit of God guide us while we think of this important subject,

I. Doctrinally. II. Practically.

I. DOCTRINALLY.

That is to say, we wish to show from God's word the antiquity of those doctrines which Protestants hold dear, and consider the foundation of their most holy religion; and we will draw attention to,

The antiquity of the doctrine of the Trinity.-Moses (the inspired writer of the book of Creation) sets forth the Trinity. He declares (under the Spirit of inspiration) that "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Here is the First Person in the glorious Trinity. The

P

same mighty Person says, "Let us make man." Here is His own reference to the Second Person in the glorious Trinity. Then it is declared, "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Here is a distinct reference to the Third Person in the Trinity. Furthermore, that the children of Israel realized the Trinity is evident. It is said of them, that the Lord chided them at Meribah, because they tempted Him, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Exod. xvii. 7). Of which occurrence the apostle Paul writes: "Neither let us tempt CHRIST, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents" (1 Cor. x. 9). Nor can we doubt that the Trinity was realized by the Old Testament prophets and saints. For example: David prays for the Spirit of God; while Isaiah writes clearly enough of Christ, and of the Spirit of the Lord. Surely we need not multiply testimonies to prove the antiquity of this doctrine, and that God's people always acknowledged and adored the Trinity. But it may be said, "Well, but this doctrine is the doctrine of the Roman Catholic as well as the Protestant." Whether it be the doctrine or not, the papist emphatically dishonours the Trinity; for instance, the title of "vicar of Jesus Christ and head of the universal Church arrogated by the Pope, is an encroachment upon the supreme dignity of Christ, the only Head of the Church. It is a dishonour cast upon the Second Person, and therefore upon all. Again,

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The Lord Jesus Christ has ever been the Object of the faith of God's people.— We must believe from the Scriptures that from the time of Adam no man hath been saved but by Jesus Christ, the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." From the very earliest period He was revealed to many of the Old Testament saints, who saw by faith the Lord Jesus Christ, and their need of His atonement, more clearly than the disciples of our Lord who walked and talked with Him on earth. For instance: Abraham "rejoiced to see His day; and saw it, and was glad." David prophetically said of the Son of God, "Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." Long before David (in the time of Moses) He was announced as "the Prophet whom God would raise up unto the Israelites." Earlier still (in the time of Jacob) He was foretold as that Shiloh to whom should be the gathering of the nations. Nay, earlier yet (in the time of Abraham) His advent was an object of desire, as that Seed in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. And, if we go back to the time of Adam, our first parents were shown that salvation alone can come by Him, "as that Seed who shall bruise the serpent's head." Thus, from the foundation of the world to the present time, there has been salvation in no other; and "there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Again,

Protestants hold the sufficiency of the Scriptures as a rule of faith.-As states the apostle Paul in the passage which heads our paper: "After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets." Such believe that the law of the Lord is perfect; it wants nothing added to it, or taken from it. "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." And they bow to the will of Jehovah, who declares, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you." "Every word of God is pure." "Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar" (Prov. xxx. 5, 6). "I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If

any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book" (Rev. xxii. 18). "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is NO LIGHT in them" (Isa. viii. 20). "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them" (Luke xvi. 29). "The Holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Now see how Rome teaches the contrary, to this resting her faith in the traditions of the fathers, declaring the insufficiency of the Scriptures. Note her own assertions upon this point: "I most stedfastly admit and embrace the apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions; with the rest of the constitutions and observations of the same Church. All saving truth is NOT contained in the Holy Scripture, but partly in the Scripture and partly in unwritten traditions, which whosoever doth not receive with like piety and reverence as he doth the Scriptures, is accursed." And now, if we bring Rome's teaching to the test of God's word, how completely she shows herself to be the apostate Church! For instance, she teaches,

1. The prohibition of the reading the Scriptures by the common people.-Her assertion is, "If any one shall have the presumption to read or possess them without a written permission, he shall not receive absolution until he have first delivered up such Bible to the ordinary," while the Scriptures teach, "Seek ye the book of the Lord, and read" (Isa. xxxiv. 16). "Search the Scriptures," is the command of Jesus Christ (John v. 39). "I charge you," says Paul, "that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren." Again, Rome teaches,

2. The dogma of transubstantiation.-Her assertion is, " In the most holy sacrament of the eucharist there is really and substantially the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ; and there is a conversion of the whole substance of the bread into His body, and of the whole substance of the wine into His blood, which conversion the [Roman] Catholic Church calls transubstantiation," while the Scriptures assert that the body of Christ is in heaven, where it must remain until the end of the world: "Whom the heavens must receive until the time of the restitution of all things" (Acts iii. 21). "It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life" (John vi. 63). Again, Rome teaches,

3. The sacrifice of the mass.-Her assertion is, "I further profess that in the mass is offered to God a true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and dead. If any one say that in the mass there is not a true and proper sacrifice offered unto God, let him be accursed," while the Scriptures teach, "Without shedding of blood is no remission" of sins (Heb. ix. 22). "By the one offering [that is, of Himself] He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Heb. x. 14). Again, Rome teaches the error of

4. Auricular confession.-Her assertion being, "If any one shall deny either that sacramental confession was instituted by divine command, or shall say aught against the practice of secretly confessing to the priest alone, as it has been observed from the beginning, let him be accursed," while the Bible teaches, "I acknowledged my sin unto Thee [O God], and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin" (Psalm xxxii. 5). Again, Rome teaches,

5. Of a state of purgatory, and the need of praying for the dead.-Her assertion is, "I constantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that the

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