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Winslow.

In keeping commandments and doing God's will,
The believer there finds the reward;

But far from my heart would I banish the thought,
That does the least merit afford.

My best of attempts are unworthy the name,
I nothing of good can perform;

But to glorify him who has done all for me,
It ever shall be my concern.

Dear Jesus! now grant me the needed supplies,
And in whatever circle I move,

May I keep thy commandments in deed and in truth,
And shew that thy precepts I love.

If I am upheld, it is, Lord, by thy strength,

For if thou should'st withdraw I must fall;
But my Jesus is first, and my Jesus is last,
Yea, my Jesus is all and in all.

E.

INTEREST IN CHRIST.
"I have all things and abound.”

IN Christ my friend, my life, my love,
I've all things and abound;
No richer stores are known above,

Than in my God are found.

Let earth possess the airy good,
Which worldlings think dwells here;
My soul has more substantial food

To live upon, by far.

Possessing Christ, I've all that's good,
More than the world e'er knew;
Yea, grace sufficient on the road,
And glory promised too.

In Christ I've pardon for my sin,
To give my conscience peace;
Again I've tried it, yea, again,

And feel it's power increase.
In him I've righteousness to hide
My filth complete from view,
Enough to fit me for his bride,
And reign with Jesus too.
He's all I need-my Rock and Shield,
My God, for ever so;
'Tis he equips me for the field,

And he will bring me through.
Here, here, my faith and hopes abide;
His fulness is the spring
From whence my soul is well supplied,
As on I creep and sing.

Give me but Christ, I'm satisfied,
While here to dwell unknown;
May 17, 1827.

And with him through the world I'll glide,

Not calling ought my own. There's nought on earth that's worth my stay,

My God's prepared a place, Where I, nor sin can bar the way,

Shall ever see his face.

There, Oh! to dwell with Jesus there,
The thought o'ercomes me quite!
How wond'rous then shall I appear,
A worm enthron'd in light!
Through hopes, and fears, and floods
of sin,

To gain my port at last,
And passing hell, the prize to win,
When death's cold stream I've past.
My trembling soul in tears of love,
Sinks at my Saviour's feet;
Oh! for those rapturous tongues
above,

To set forth love so great.
None sure had more his powers to

move,

To love and serve the Lord; And none in all the realms above,

Shall more his praise record. Hinder me not, all mortal things!

I press t'wards Canaan's ground; In Christ, in whom are all my springs, I've all things and abound.

A SOJOURNER.

THE

Spiritual Magazine ;

OR,

SAINTS' TREASURY.

<< There are Three that bear record in heaven, the FATHER, the WORD, and the HOLY GHOST: and these Three are One."

"Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

1 John v. 7.

Jude 3.

NOVEMBER, 1827.

(For the Spiritual Magazine.)

DEATH AND LIFE CONTRASTED, ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE REVELATION.

DESIGNED, UNDER THE LORD'S BLESSING, FOR THE COMFORT OF THE LORD'S PEOPLE.

"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."-1 Cor. xv. 22.

“As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."-John i. 12, 13.

"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."-Rom. vi. 23.

WHEN our earthly father Adam, first came forth from the creating hands of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, we read of a consultation upon that greatest of all his works, "And God (which in the original is a plural name) said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness, &c. so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Gen. i, 26, 27. Hence Adam became "the figure of him who was to come;" and the woman, who was afterwards formed out of his substance, was a type of the church which should spring from her loins. And the chief object for the church's consideration herein is, that Adam was created a type of Christ, and the woman a type of the church; and this blessed truth will appear more striking and manifest to the spiritual mind, by comparing what is related of the marriage union of Adam and Eve in Gen. ii. 18. and Eph. v. 22-32. where the apostle Paul having been led to speak of the duties of husbands Vol. IV.-No. 43.

Y

and wives, concludes, as if he had lost sight of every other object and subject, with saying, "this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." And further, when we consider Adam's wonderful conduct on Eve having involved herself in the transgression, when he perceived her ruined undone state, instead of fleeing from her and the temptation, he, for the love he bore unto her, resolved to perish with her, and therefore voluntarily, and with his eyes open to all the tremendous consequences of sin, involved himself in the transgression, and thereby brought death into the world; according to the word of the Lord, "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," or, dying thou shalt die."

Thus Adam's willing participation of his wife's transgression, became, as it was designed it should, a type of the "second Adam, the Lord from heaven," who voluntarily came down to the relief of his spouse, the church, taking upon him her nature, being " made in the likeness of sinful flesh," Rom. viii. 3. and virtually involved himself in all her transgressions, by freely and voluntarily taking them upon himself, and bearing the whole curse implied in the above denunciation for their sins. And this act of grace being," according to the eternal purpose which was purposed in Christ Jesus," we therefore find the Holy Ghost declaring by Isa, liii. 6. “ the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." And says Peter by the same Spirit, "who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree." Hence we clearly perceive, if divinely taught, that Christ hath taken away, yea, entirely blotted out, and cancelled all his people's sins, in all their transgressions; as was beautifully set forth in the type, presented to the Israelites on the great day of atonement, as related in Leviticus xvi. 20, 22. "And when he (Aaron) hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: and Aaron shall Jay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgres. sions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness." Now when we can spiritually discern the glorious antitype in this precious portion, which contains much gospel, we are enabled to rejoice in the sweet soul deliverance which it preaches, and are enabled to understand that passage which the Holy Ghost hath recorded, wherein he hath put the matter concerning salvation beyond all controversy, Rom. vi. 23. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

The nature of sin, in its consequent effect is such, that I am bold to assert no mere creature can enter into any thing like a clear apprehension of the same; it is 'reserved alone for God, and thus it is declared unto us in Jer. xvii. 9, 10. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I, the Lord,

search the heart, I try the reins." We, as creatures, can know nothing of the exceeding sinfulness of sin but in its effects, some of which are tremendously awful; but that is but seeing it as "through a glass darkly." The deepest sense we can attain to of sin, is by viewing it as committed against an infinitely" holy, holy, holy, Lord God;" and therefore as such it must be an infinitely inconceivable and unspeakable evil in its measure and tendency. Thus much, we know by sad experience, that " by one man sin entered into the world;" and sin in its very nature must necessarily lead to misery, and that eternal, unless the sin be entirely removed; and this Christ alone hath done or can do.

In the case of Adam and Eve this was undoubtedly done, they were regenerated and restored to favour and life eternal by faith in the promised seed, the Messiah, who should bruise the serpent's head. See Gen. iii. 15. Yet, notwithstanding this, their bodies and souls remained contaminated with sin and sinful propensities, until they laid their "vile bodies" in the grave. And of consequence it follows, that when Cain and Abel, and every other child was born, to this present moment, they were born, yea, conceived in sin; and this important truth (for such I consider it to be) David was well taught when he said, under a heart-breaking conviction of his state, Ps. li. 6. "behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." And Job, a more ancient believer than David, was no less divinely taught, when he asks that challenging question," who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one!" But he "who spake as never man spake," hath for ever silenced every infidel objection, when he declares the same truth, John iii. 6. “ that which is born of the flesh is flesh”—that is, man by nature, born of natural parents, is a mere natural man; he is carnal, corrupt, the seeds of sin, yea, of all sin, is derived from his progenitors; and even after his spiritual birth or regeneration, continues to vex and perplex him, till he throws it off in the moment of death; a welcome disunion. And when laid in the grave, we read, " it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power." 1 Cor. xv. 42-44.

There never was but one instance of a clean thing being brought out of an unclean; and that was Christ. Mary was, as others are, unclean by nature; she had no claims to a better nature than our own in any respect; she was as much a sinner in God's sight as others, and equally needed that Saviour whom, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, she was to compass, Jer. xxxi. 22. "How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter," to hew out to yourselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water; to establish your own righteousness, and not submit to the righteousness of God?" for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man," or the Mighty One; the same spoken of by the prophet,

Zech. xiii. 7." the man, my fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts." And that Mary needed the same Almighty Saviour is clear from her own declaration; and thus she spake, "my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name." Luke i. 46-49. And so the angel proclaimed his holiness, (a name which antichrist hath blasphemously assumed) saying, " that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

Though no words can adequately describe what sin is, in all its horrid and appalling consequences, yet we know by sad experience much of its nature; and we know by infallible teaching how it entered our world. Rom. v. 12. "Ey one man sin entered into the world." Adam was under the covenant of works; sin is the transgression of the law, or covenant of works; therefore when Adam transgressed, sin entered, not only into the world, but into his soul, and so into every one derived from him. We can only see sin by its effects, and those effects are most tremendous. It is needless to attempt drawing them forth; if we look within, with an enlightened eye, we shall not need a further account of those dread effects, which but for restraining grace would soon be manifest. Sin corrupts and renders the body necessarily mortal; therefore called "the body of this death." At the moment of writing these lines I feel the effects thereof; the seeds of mortality are working slowly and surely its final results; and this not because my body only is sinful and corrupt, but my soul is equally so; hence I cannot think a good thought of myself, my mind and your's being naturally propense to evil, and that continually: "the natural man understandeth not the things of the Spirit of God." No, though ever so wise in the estimation of the world, and understanding all those things in nature and art which are common to man; therefore every spiritually good thought (and there is nothing strictly good that is not spiritual) must come from an higher source than nature, however highly cultivated.

And this appears unanswerable by what the apostle James declares, that, "Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James i. 17. Hence that which is strictly good and perfect is not to be found in any creature, however exalted, whether in earth or heaven, but in God only; as Christ himself unequivocally declared in the gospel by Matthew xix. 17. "there is none good but one, that is God." Sin is the "law of our members." Rom. vii. 23. inseparably connected with our fallen nature. Again, the apostle calls it "the law of sin and death." Rom. viii. 2. So nearly allied are they as to be conjoined in all the children of Adam from whom both sin and death are derived, as sure as the sap is from the root of the tree. And its effects are no less awful and tremendous; these are sadly manifested in the world, when unrestrained by the

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