No spring there my thirst to allay,
"Who will give me to drink," is my cry,
Of the well by fair Bethlehem's way?"
The Saviour its waters did bless,

When to Bethlehem a stranger He came;
To cleanse from all sin, they possess
A virtue none other can claim :
Kings and prophets have prized it alone;
The saints of its excellence tell;

And sinners, its power that have known,
Praise the water of Bethlehem's well.

For Thy presence, O God! my soul pants;
Jerusalem when shall I see?

When shall I be glad with Thy saints,
From the bond of corruption be free?
Beset here by foes, when think

The Canaanites' rage to repel,

I faint, and cry, 66 Oh, for a drink

Of the water of Bethlehem's well!"

When I droop, thro' temptation's fierce heat,
Or dwell in the sun's scorching beams,
How I long for a shady retreat,

By the

place of broad rivers and streams!"
While the world its vain pleasure doth prize,
Of their wealth when its votaries tell,
My spirit in secret, oft sighs

For the water of Bethlehem's well.
With some weighty cross when I bend,
Or of langour and leanness complain;
When I weep o'er the loss of some friend,
Whom on earth I shall ne'er meet again;
Or, in Satan's dark hour when I sink,
And no promise the gloom doth dispel,
Blest Spirit! oh, give me to drink

Of the water of Bethlehem's well!

Refreshings of grace, Lord! impart;
In each trying case, let me sing,
"Spring up, oh, sweet well! in my heart,
To life everlasting there spring."

From the cold hand of death when I shrink,
And bid this frail body farewell,

Dear Saviour! then give me to drink
Of the water of Bethlehem's well.
Manchester,

A PILGRIM.

THE

OR,

Christian Pilgrim's Friend.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."Matt. v. 3.

"The election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded."-Rom. xi. 7.

EDITORS' ADDRESS.

WE again venture to address a few words to our readers upon matters not so much pertaining to our editorial labours as to the essentials of vital godliness; for our poor labours may be of little or of no account, but still we mean well, and believe that pieces by our correspondents have been owned of the Lord and blessed to some; so that the Gospel Ambassador has had a work to do, and, as it seems to be the will of the Lord it should be continued, we hope there is yet something more for it to do; and, as it will be now brought in great part under the management of other Editors, there is encouragement to believe that it will not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

In the present state of things we have delusions round about us, and which delusions are progressing at a most fearful rate : and how weak is the stand which the church makes against these mighty torrents! Surely the enemy has but little to do but sit upon the seven mountains, Rev. xvii. 9, and see his work going satisfactorily on, while true ministers of the gospel are scattered one from the other. The strength of these bearers of burdens is but little, and there is much rubbish, so that they are not able to build the wall, Neh. iv. 10. Nor are verbal or written agreements, or associations, or any relation whatever formed by man, of any use in this matter. All such proceedings tend more to make formalists and hypocrites than to make real Christians, and to feed pride and increase carnality rather than lessen the same. In all such associations the shrewd, the intellectual, and the crafty reign in all the delight of self-importance; while the feebleminded are turned into blind and humble servants: all of which is utterly opposed to the rights and liberties of each believer in the Lord Jesus. [JANUARY, 1848.

GOSPEL AMBASSADOR.]

B

We know of but one remedy for these evils which now make such havoc among the people of God, and it is a remedy which must commence and reign in the heart of every real Christian : and that remedy is, the power of godliness. The present state originates in carnality.

This then is the position into which we are brought upon this matter: we are brought to feel that there is no coming away from earthly to heavenly things only as God the Father draweth us; that we can do nothing without Him who is the hope of Israel; that it is the spirit that quickeneth, for the flesh profiteth nothing; that we can receive nothing except it be given from above: thus we can distinguish between the fountain of life being with the Lord, and its being with us; also between mercy and plenteous redemption being with him, and the manifestation thereof unto us.

It is, indeed, truly encouraging to us, even in our worst and lowest states, that with the Lord there is the fountain of life, mercy, and plenteous redemption; and that for those who partake of divine life there are mercy and redemption to forgive and deliver, there are also with him durable riches and righteousness; and that he will cause those who love him to inherit substance, and he will fill their treasures.

Thus, on the one hand, there are all the blessings which can be needed to bring out of all tribulation; and, on the other hand, riches and righteousness to supply, establish, and make for ever perfectly happy all who shall be saved.

This, we say, is a matter that belongs personally to every real Christian. Nothing but such a sight and sense of what they are, so to bring them into the dust before God; nothing but an increase of his fear before their eyes, more of his love in their hearts, so as to enable them to rise high enough to delight in the works, and wonders, and ways of the Lord, real poverty of spirit felt, real love to Him who giveth them all things richly to enjoy. What one promise is there throughout the Bible, which does not belong to those who receive the truth in the practical love thereof? Shall not those who love him be as the sun, when he goeth forth in his might? Is there not a kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Hath eye seen, or ear heard, or hath it entered into the heart of (the carnal) man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for them that love him? And is not every one of his new covenant eternal transactions indescribably endearing to the soul that is ready to perish? How amazingly does electing, redeeming, and saving grace come down to the uttermost of all our wants and woes, abolish and swallow up the whole, and thus bring the poor and needy on to ground that is firm, into circumstances good, and acceptance with God equitable and honourable!

In the flesh we have nothing but destitution, ruin, guilt, and misery, and wretchedness; it is in the Lord that we have righteousness and strength. How clear, then, is it that every good and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning!

Here, then, is our necessity-here is also the only source of supply. The next thing is the obtaining of this supply. The Lord, for wise purposes, has made this the most difficult part with us of this vital matter. The people of God feel that their weakness and worthlessness are alway with them; but the supply they have not always with them. The Lord's order of things is, to be enquired of for these things. While we know right well that there is much in feeling-in our besetments-in the rising evils of the heart-in temptation-in the long absence of the Lord-in the deadness and darkness prevailing in the mind, and in perplexities of various kinds, we know right well that there is much in these things to discourage in seeking after heavenly things; and herein lies the evidential reality of the faith and patience of the saints. They must be thus put to the test for he who has not love enough to winter with the truth, so as to take root downwards, will not be privileged to summer with the truth, or bear fruit upwards. He that endureth-however small his enjoyment of the truth--he that endureth in the love of the truth unto the end, the same shall be saved.

But, notwithstanding discouragement, there is infinitely more encouragement than there possibly can be discouragement. The word of the gospel comes with this question, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Is there any foe that he cannot and will not defeat-any evil from which he cannot deliver-any case which he cannot manage? And what can be more inviting than the encouragement given throughout the word of God, to seek him by prayer and supplication, and by all the means he has graciously given? We have in the word examples wonderful of prevalency with God by prayer; but it must be the prayer of faith, which worketh by love; for, to pray to God, in whose truth we do not believe, would be, in effect, asking the Lord to set aside his own counsels, to give up the order of his own kingdom, and overturn the welfare of his own people hence, the Lord leads his people to seek him after the due order. He brings them into depths of trouble, out of which they cry to him. He wounds and humbles, and that in many ways; some in one way, and some in another. Some are suffered to stumble; yea, it is written that some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, to purify and to make them white. They shall thus come into brokenness of spirit, and be made earnest with God in working out their own salvation with fear and

trembling. Of such an one it can be said, Behold, he prayeth. Others are tried by providence. They have much to endure in this respect, and weaknesses and evils within, before unknown, are brought to light, and the fulness and power of the gospel become more earnestly sought. Earthly charms are utterly spoiled; gourds are blasted; the pathway made crooked, rough, and thorny; their temporal meat obtained, as it were, from ravens; the present brook dries up; they are driven to some other place. The Lord will go before them, but they wander in a solitary way, finding no city to dwell in long together; and the Spirit witnesseth that in every city bonds and afflictions abide them; and all this is to show them what is in their hearts, to humble and to prove them.

Others, again, are much tossed about by the waves of temptation. They are beset with great fury; the enemy comes in like a flood upon them; they sink as between the waves, and are enclosed on every side; they reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end,—and shall thus be threatened apparently with destruction, until they cry unto the Lord, who alone can command the calm they desire.

Others, who may not partake largely of the foregoing trials, have, nevertheless, a thorn in the flesh somewhere, just tormenting and grievous enough to spoil their mere creature restingplaces, and to make them feel that they are still in the wilderness, and that their hope must be in the promise of that rest that remaineth to the people of God; and then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Ezek. xxviii. 24, "And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord God."

Others, again, are tried with much bodily affliction. What an empty, dreary scene the world appears unto such ! and when the dew of heaven is resting upon them, when they have a little refreshing from the Lord's presence, when divinely alive unto Him who died for them, and rose again, how willingly would they depart to be with Christ, which is indeed far better! But when the Lord hides his face, how trying then is the complicated burden of outward trouble! Bodily affliction, fiery darts from the enemy, and a whole body of sin and death within, what wonder that, under the pressure of such adversity, such should curse the day of their birth, or wish their lives had not been spared to drink of a cup so bitter; or thus to be like a sparrow, alone upon the house-top; or like a pelican of the wilderness, or an owl of the desert? yet the end will show the Lord to be very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Others are tried by persecution: so placed by providence as