his enemies a mortal wound, and dispersed by Christ. Believer, with will carry on the war against them what confidence mayest thou aptill at last he shall tread them proach unto God, seeing that One under his feet. Death, the last who is mighty occupies the office enemy, shall be destroyed. Al- of an Advocate. "If, as we are inready he has disarmed him of his formed in history, king Admetus sting, with respect to all his faithful was reconciled to Themistocles, servants, and in the joyful morning when the latter taking the young of the resurrection they shall have prince in his arms, presented him dominion over him. Then, to their to the father; shall not much more inexpressible joy shall that gracious a gracious God shew favour, compromise be fulfilled-"I will re- placency, and love to sinners, who deem them from death; I will ran- though unworthy in themselves, som from the power of the grave. yet bring the dearly beloved Son O death I will be thy plague! O of God in the arms of faith, saying. grave I will be thy destruction!" See, O God, our shield, and look Repentance shall be for ever hid upon the face of thine anointed." from mine eyes." "I have laid help upon one that is mighty!" It will appear, 3 From the prevalency of his intercession. On earth, during his abode here, in the character of the sinner's Surety, he did wondrous things; nor he is engaged less mightily in behalf of his people now he is in heaven. "He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God through him." And why? "because he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Jesus sustains many glorious characters-He is the King as well as Priest of his people. As the King of Zion he has a crown placed upon his head which shall never lose its glory; and as the Priest of God he wears the robes of righteousness, which shall never wax old or be laid aside. "He is a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." In heaven he intercedes with authority-" Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Psal. ii. 8. And in the same Psalm with my_text" He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make Him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth." ver. 26, 27. The treasures of divine love are reserved only to be opened and We now consider, III. The gracious consequences resulting from his appointment. These are beyond calculation great both as it respects the Sa. viour and the persons saved by him. We have dwelt too long upon the former heads of discourse to enlarge much on either; but passing by at present the glorious consequences resulting to the mighty Deliverer himself, because they might be collected in some measure from what we have said concerning his deeds, his triumphs, and his situation as Intercessor; let us dwell for a while on those unspeakable blessings which result to the sinner from the appointment of Christ to the office of Mediator. But where shall we begin, or how shall we enumerate them? Lift up thine eyes, O believer, to the heavens, and count the number of stars; visit the shores of the sea, and reckon the separate particles of sand which they contain; add to these the countless myriads of drops of dew which descend upon the grass. Do this, and then perhaps thou mayest be able to form some idea of the numberless blessings which result to the believer in Christ; but at present, though they may be enjoyed, they cannot be counted. They are new every morning, and fresh every evening; for every temporal as well as spiritual blessing is the | alone, for the blessing? What is result of this great Deliverer's there in man to influence Him who undertaking to approach unto God is almighty and self-sufficient to in the stead of sinners. But that I give up his own Son to be his might give you a short inventory Surety-to suffer and to die for of spiritual blessings which he has him? Nothing: but on the conprocured for his people, consider, trary every thing to rouse his inthat " through him is preached dignation, and to cause him to unto you the forgiveness of sins, swear in his wrath-"They shall and by him all that believe are not enter into my rest." And yet, justified from all things from which Oh gracious language, he says, "I they could not be justified by the have laid help upon one that is law of Moses"-their iniquities are mighty!" "Not unto us, not unto all pardoned their persons are us, but unto thy name, O God, be accepted as righteous before God all the glory!" Believer, reflect -they are adopted into his family upon these things; and as thou -sanctified by his Spirit-deliver- hast received the Lord Jesus, so ed from the tyranny of sin-fa- walk in him. Let thy light so shine voured with rich communications before men, that they seeing thy of love, to make them bear up good deeds, may glorify thy Father under the trials of the present life who is in heaven. For Christ gave -made partakers of a divine na- himself for us, that he might reture-invested with all the glorious deem us from iniquity, and purify prerogatives of the children of to himself a peculiar people, zealous God, and possessed of a good of good works. hope through grace, that if this earthly house of their tabernacle were dissolved, they have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; and therefore they look for a new heaven and a new earth in which dwelleth righteousness. Let the convinced sinner, 2. See the source from whence such may derive peace and comfort. Are you, my friends, awakened to a sense of your guilty state by nature and practice, inquiring with anxiety, what you must do to be saved? The answer is, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh These are a few of the gracious consequences resulting to the sinner from the appointment of this mighty Deliverer. But the riches of Christ | away the sin of the world." Thus are like himself, unspeakably great saith Jehovah, "I have laid help and glorious; and human language upon one that is mighty!" And can never represent them fully to therefore blessed are they that put view, for "eye hath not seen, nor their trust in him. ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." IMPROVEMENT. From this subject, let believers, 1. Learn the source of salvation. Has it not been clearly seen in our meditating on this portion of Scripture, that every sinner rescued from the jaws of destruction and made happy in the friendship of God, is indebted to grace, and to grace Let the careless transgressor, 3. Be warned. He that is the Christian's Deliverer, he is also a powerful Judge. Now he sustains the character of the Lamb of God -He will shortly appear as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, able to destroy his enemies, and punish those that reject him. Listen to his invitation-"Look unto me all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved." For thus saith your God, "I have laid help upon one that is mighty!" To the Editor of the New Evangelical which is the whole ground of SIR, Magazine. A good hope, through grace, of eternal life, is an invaluable blessing. It is the gift of God. Yet those who possess it will desire to direct the attention of others to it, that they also may enjoy its support and consolation. It must be admitted, that many are destitute of, and indifferent towards it. Christian benevolence prompts us to make some feeble efforts to exhibit its importance and value. Probably, a desirable end may be obtained, by introducing your juvenile readers into "the chamber all my consolation. The passage is very irksome and wearisome through strong pains of various sorts, which have all issued in an unintermitting fever. I am leaving the ship of the church in a storm, but whilst the great Pilot is in it, the loss of a poor underrower will be inconsiderable. Live and pray, and wait and hope, and do not despond; the promise stands invincible, that he will never leave us nor forsake us. Of WALTER MARSHALL, Death found him with his loins we have the following account. girded about, and his lamp burning, patiently waiting for the coming of his Lord. To those of his flock that were around him, who had come to witness his departure, he said, "I die in the full persuasion of the truth, and in the comfort of that doctrine which I have preached to you." last words, which he uttered with the hope and joy of a dying saint, were, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." His where the good man meets his fate." They may "see in what peace a Christian can die." The supporting influence of the gospel in death is eminently calculated to arrest attention, by demonstrating its divine origin and excellence. May it be an inducement to them to seek an acquaintance with its Author, doctrines, precepts, promises, and the great blessings it reveals! This is a branch of science which will amply remunerate those who cultivate it-may be pursued Of NATHANIEL TAYLOR, amidst all the avocations of life-we have the following interesting will adorn the young, and make the hoary head honourable, as well as render it easy and safe to die. May divine grace enable each of your christian readers to be "not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises!" Yours, &c. Towcester, Sept. 1815. JUVENIS. IN continuation of our extracts, we may observe of JOHN OWEN, D.D. A man to whom the christian church is deeply indebted for his many valuable writings: It is recorded relative to his last end, that, writing to a friend, he said, "I am going to him whom my soul has loved, or rather who has loved me with an everlasting love, been for years subject to severe particulars. The good man had attacks of the gout and stone, which he bore with the spirit of a Christian, under the discipline of his heavenly Father. After the last fit of the gout, from which he recovered, when he was told by a friend that he had uttered more bitter complaints than usual, he replied, "My extremity indeed was very great, but I had not one hard thought of God: and I have received so much benefit by my afflictions, that I reckon them among the greatest mercies of my life. Soon after his recovery from a very violent attack, he was unexpectedly seized again, and speedily fell a victim to the violence of the disorder. Sudden death appears to have been his wish; and the affecting | but glorious to the believer in sentiments which he expressed in Jesus. Let us pause in the midst the funeral sermon of Nathaniel of our pursuits! Remember that Vincent, who was removed in this we are mortal, and liable every way, lead us to judge that it was moment to the stroke of death. not to him an unwelcome mode of May we consider, expect, and prequitting life. "For my own part," pare for it! "Watch ye theresays he, on mature deliberation, fore; for ye know not when the I do not think it a desirable thing Master of the house cometh; at for a good man, who is ready for even, or at midnight, or at the death, to be worn away like a stone cock-crowing, or in the morning: by a long and continual dropping. lest coming suddenly he find you May my house and soul be in sleeping. And what I say unto order, and then the sooner it quits you I say unto all, WATCH." this vile body, and leaves this | Mark xiii. 35-37. wretched world, if in the twinkling 66 of an eye, so much the better! THE WORK OF SALVATION. To the Editor of the New Evangelical SIR, To which there is but one circum- ON PARTNERSHIP WITH GOD IN stance more that I should desire may be added, viz. that I may die preaching the everlasting gospel, or administering the Lord's supper. May my taper be blown out in the sanctuary! and may I presently pass, in an instant, from serving the church militant here on earth, to join with the church triumphant in heaven! But we must not be our own choosers, and should be certain that God will dispose all things in the best manner for them that are his."-Vide History of Dissenters, by Messrs. Bogue and Bennett, vol. ii. p. 223, 224, 241, 242, 248, 261, 262. THE letter of your correspondent SUNERGOS, p. 308, inquiring upon what grounds some modern teachers claim the honour of being "fellow-helpers with God," has not, I believe, been answered; but I am quite of his mind, that those who arrogate to themselves this title, should produce their right to it. Reflecting on the point lately, it brought to my recollection an anecdote, which I believe to be authentic, and which These extracts seem to address may possibly illustrate the matter us in the language of the Psalmist: in hand. In a journey through "Mark the perfect man, and be- Yorkshire, about four years ago, hold the upright: for the end of I had occasion to be at the popu that man is peace." Various in-lous town of Huddersfield, and struments are employed to lay the making some inquiry respecting "earthly tabernacle" in the dust. Whether our dismission from the theatre of life will be gradual and painful, or hasty and easy, we cannot ascertain. "It is appointed unto men once to die." Surely, sinners (as we all are) cannot declaim against the appointment as unjust-or doubt its reality amidst hourly proofs-or presume to determine the precise period; but once can the solemn event transpire. Awful is the issue to the impenitent and unbelieving sinner; VOL. I. the place, from a gentleman there, he told me that there was one circumstance very remarkable pertaining to it, namely, that every house in the town, except one, was the sole property of a nobleman who lived in the neighbourhood-but that this one belonged to an honest Quaker. The lord of the manor, anxious to possess the unrivalled honour of calling the whole town his own, has made repeated overtures to the Friend to purchase from him this single 3 A This inquiry appears to proceed from one who is a speculatist in matters of religion, or who has at most but an indistinct view of the doctrines of our Saviour; for all those who have ever felt the burden of sin, the need of a Saviour, or the fear of an offended God, will be able to declare that by prayer alone they were enabled to tell their Saviour those troubles unknown to all but themselves. tenement; but as often as the in his ordinances, but who live proposition is made, the latter without prayer.” never fails to meet it with the following provoking reply, "When any body asks thee, who owns Huddersfield, thou can tell them that it all belongs to thee and me!" The application of this anecdote to the point in hand, is too obvious to require illustration. If ministers of the word have any partnership with the Deity in the work of saving sinners, it can at most be only like that of the honest Quaker, in the proprietorship of the houses in Huddersfield, namely, in the proportion of one to a thousand! How far our modern divines are disposed to rest satisfied with this allowance of praise, I really do not know. But one thing is plain, that in this grand affair, Jehovah claims the unrivalled honour, Isa. lx. 21. Ixi. 3.; that both prophets and apostles unite in ascribing to him all the glory, 1 Cor. i. 29. Eph. i. 6. Rev. i. 6.; that the redeemed company disclaim all partnership in this affair, Rev. v. 12, 13.; and that Paul spake of himself and brother ministers of the word, as "fellow-labourers," or "workmen jointly employed" in God's vineyard, for such I understand to be his meaning in 1 Cor. iii. 9. and not as our translators have absurdly rendered the words, "labourers together with God.” Yours, &c. To the Editor of the New Evangelical A consciousness of guilt will bring the sinner to the throne of grace, and there with unfeigned contrition, he will utter the prayer of the Publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner." And if through the riches of infinite mercy a ray of hope be permitted to cheer the soul, will not the voice of prayer and praise ascend with more than usual fervour? Assuredly it will; and the sinner's daily petition will be that he may grow in grace, and increase in likeness to his dear Redeemer. But can he be a genuine Christian who neglects the command of his Lord, never asks for a continuance of that mercy which has upheld him so long, nor ever implores one blessing for his earthly friends and fellow sinners ? Surely not. A real Christian has ever need to pray; and the apostle's command is to pray without ceasSIMPLEX. ing. A Christian's spirituality, or progress in the divine life, must in the exercise of prayer; and I always be measured by his delight know no more certain criterion by which any professor can try his own character than this. The pleasures of sense may allure; worldly business may claim attention; nay, the more gratifying enjoyment of social intercourse may beguile; but no where will the "Are those professors to be Christian feel that calm delight, esteemed genuine Christians whose that sacred joy, so much, as when lives are strictly moral, who pro-secluded from the world, he retires fess to love the Saviour, have to his closet, there to commune attachment to his people, delight with his God. Where can he find SIR, |