in his love, together with his designs of mercy towards the heirs of salvation, that nothing but looks of love ever were or ever can be manifested towards them; for the love of the God-man, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, is eternal; so that the soul that is once enabled to lay hold on Christ, in whom all the attributes of a triune God centre, if the soul is thus by the grace of a covenant God in Christ, and by precious faith enabled to apply the work of Christ to himself, as a poor, needy, and sensible sinner, such a soul is safe for eternal glory; and towards him the look of the triune God hath, and ever will be the look of complacency and delight, and not a look of anger. Such a soul is evidently one of those, whom the Father hath loved from everlasting; one of those God the Father made choice of, whom the Father gave to Christ, the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls; one for whom the second Person in the Godhead took humanity in union with himself; one of those for whom that humanity in union with divinity, obeyed the righteous law of God, as the head and the representative of God's dear children. Such a soul is one for whom the God-man Mediator lived and gave himself for their sins, that he might deliver such from this present evil world, according to the will of God their Father. Such a man is one for whom Christ died, was buried, was raised again for justification, (Rom. iv. 25.) for whom Christ ascended as his forerunner to God the Father's right hand, to prepare a place. One who is cleansed from all sin, and justified by Christ's obedience, and clothed with his righteousness; being regenerated by God the eternal Spirit, who hath his name written in the Lamb's book of eternal life, and is waiting to be taken home to God, to enjoy that eternal kingdom which it is the Father's good pleasure to give unto such, and for whom Christ will appear the second time without sin unto salvation; that where Christ is they may be to behold his glory, and so for ever be with the Lord. And, Sir, I think that Paul hath given a fatal blow to the doctrine of Arminianism, though it is not yet dead; for thus saith Paul," Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Heb. xiii. 8. Now, Sir, I should not have troubled you to give this a place in your valuable Magazine, but I feel it my duty as a constant reader of the same, to detect any thing that I may perceive of an arminian nature, as that doctrine is derogatory to the glory of a triune God, and to the real comfort of God's militant church; and as I feel much interest in your publication, that it may be kept pure in what it may from time to time contain, and thereby still remain superior to others. I hope Elah will take this as written in christian love, and not only Elah, but all the dear children of God who are so favoured as to read your Saints' Treasury. May 11, 1827. Dear Sir, I remain your's in Christ, H (For the Spiritual Magazine.) REFLECTIONS ON A BIRTH-DAY. "He hath done all things well." ALL hail! sacred morn; sweet remembrancer of a risen Jesus. Behold the immortal conqueror emerging from the gloomy prison of the grave, triumphant over all the powers of darkness, and victorious over all the combined adversaries of my soul. See him rising divested of all thy guilt, and freed from the claims of inexorable righteousness -under the radiant smiles of eternal justice, and the approving countenance of his divine Father. Rejoice, O my soul, salvation's work is finished! hell is conquered! and heaven's doors are opened to receive his ransomed spouse! And welcome, O my soul, the light of this glorious morn! This day thirty years ushered thee into life; and under the important consideration-awake, awake, O my soul,-arise all my powers, and pay the tribute of a grateful heart to the self-existent source of life, for a standing on the earth, connected with consequences eternally blessed and glorious. I joyfully salute the rays of this annual monitor that invites my meditation to muse on the by-gone years, and mark the manifold mercies of a gracious God. Truly my birth-day was the womb of all the wonderous events that have opened upon me, and therefore is an epoch never to be forgotten by me as a justly condemned, though now an honourably saved sinner. But, this natural birth-day derived all its importance from its being the type of a spiritual birth-day; the gracious entrance into life, eternally demands perpetual celebration, adoration and thanksgiving, to the infinite author of spiritual life. Bless the Lord, O my soul, extol his holy name, and all that is within me give unceasing praise. Oh! sacred dawn of heavenly day that will have no termination; precious moment, celestial hour, auspicious measurement of time, when the God of electing love said unto my soul-live. O thou harbinger and sweet pledge of endless felicity, shall not all my sanctified energies be called forth to welcome the sacred morn, when heaven sealed and enrolled me as an inhabitant of her ever-enduring city? And the wonders of an ever watchful providence, that guided thy youthful steps when exposed to a thousand snares and dangers, and often saved thee when death was about to close her doors upon thee. Mark, O my soul! the preserving care of an omniscient Father. Well may I look back at the Ebenezers on the road, and call to mind the cause of their erection. In surveying the pathway, I gladly use the language of a brother of old, "goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life." And though of late the dispensations of unerring and superintending providence have been cloudy, yet, they have yielded instruction truly profitable and blessed. All his movements proclaim his faithfulness; all his paths are mercy and truth; and all the wide range of his government shews the equity of his character, the wisdom of his procedure, the sovereignty of his reign, the abundance of his goodness, and the justice of his throne: and when I arrive on the shores of eternal rest, my disembodied spirit will gladly join in the song of Moses and the Lamb! Take up, my soul, the telescope of faith, and survey the matchless openings of celestial grace, that have broke forth more delightful and cheering than the great ruler of day on a benighted world. With sacred pleasure I recognize the solemn and blessed manifestations of a three-one God. What seasons of delightful fellowship and heavenly communion I enjoyed, when in simplicity I first poured out my heart to God: unknown to any that feared the Lord, I freely poured my sorrows into the bosom of my heavenly friend. When the first discovery of a bleeding substitute opened on the supernatural eye of my mind, and a sweet assurance of all my sins transferred to this sin-expiating victim-heaven rushed upon my thought-my eye was fixed in extatic gaze-all the powers of my soul were overwhelmed in love: my heart melted in wonder, and my bowels yearned over a suffering, bleeding, dying Christ. Oh! the inimitable grace of his heart, the condescension unutterable, and the salvation everlasting! For two years the sacred results of a finished salvation yielded unceasing delight; and the pleasures of an enjoyed gospel, in the special openings of it by the Holy Ghost to my mind, afforded the most delightful repast, and sacred foretastes of immortal blessedness. Jesus was all my theme, my thought, my talk, and delight; the bible my continual companion; Zion my chief place of resort; the saints the excellent of the earth, and my soul on the wing of expectation stepping into heaven and glory. These were the years of the right hand of the Most High, the remembrance of which warms my soul often with joy unspeakable. And gladly, O Lord, would I remember thee this day from the hill Mizar, where thou didst bless me with such enrapturing seasons of holy delight, and hindered the enemy's breaking in upon my peaceful happy soul. O halcyon days, sweet pledges of divine friendship, I look back on them as the sweet harbingers of immortal felicity. But notice the diversified leadings of him who teaches to profit: when the enemy of my soul came in upon me as a devouring blast, and withered away all my soul's comfort with his horrid suggestions, awful blasphemies, daring thoughts of infidelity, and vile representations too diabolical to mention; what discoveries of the mystery of iniquity were then made known! What a developement of inability to stand unsustained by an Almighty hand! How wondrous did the grace appear that again looked upon such a monster of iniquity! And how surprising the salvation that could reach to the uttermost of all my heaven-provoking crimes! This was an emptying dispensation indeed; how surprising the wisdom that could controul the worst of feeling to my greatest advantage! Look back, my soul, at the loving kindness of thy God, and notice the distinguishing favour that has followed thee like a refreshing stream in the desert, since that Vol. IV.-No. 38. D reducing season; how wisely and graciously has the Lord dealt with thee, in leading thee under a sound ministry. The two years thou didst hear the trumpet that gave an uncertain sound, thou wert favoured to hear the bridegroom's sweet voice in the secret places of the stairs, and behold his enlivening countenance through the lattices of his word. How mercifully did the Lord in his wonder-working way, through a gracious connected chain of circumstances, lead thee under a ministry eminently useful to a weakling in the faith. How divinely qualified was that man of God to teach a new born babe the way of God more perfectly, to take firm by the hand and experimentally shew him the great plan of eternal grace, developed in the everlasting gospel; how exactly suited, and powerfully blest was his ministry to my needy soul. And was not the hand of thy God as visible in leading thee under a ministry where the sublimities of the gospel in all its ancient provisions are thrown up to view! Where the infinite resolves of the eternal I AM are traced as the grand fountain of all spiritual blessings-his own self delight the supreme cause and moving spring of all; with all the sacred order, divine connection, delightful harmony, and sweet symmetry of the great system of peopling heaven by the wondrous interposition of the God-Man Redeemer! Truly, my soul, thou couldst not overlook these singular appearances of a covenant God, who hast led thee all thy life long, and crowned thee this day with his loving-kindness. Surely the lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places, I have a goodly heritage. The Lord hath done great things for me whereof I am exceeding glad! To particularize the countless mercies that have been strewed in my pathway, would sweetly engross the day, but the sabbath day calls for other employ. O Spirit divine, help me to pause on the sacred way mark, where thou hast encompassed me about with songs of deliverance, and to renew my thanksgivings for the innumerable mercies past. Before I close my remarks on a point of time so important, do not overlook, my soul, what abundant cause there is for the deepest humility and self-abasement before the Most High God. What has been thy life past, but a scene of emptiness and vanity? What sins in thought like the countless sands that crowd the ebbing shore; yea, to look at thy words and actions, were not the atonement infinite in worth and merit, the yawning abyss of perdition would soon swallow thee up. To look at thy prayers and services before God, only proclaims the value of the asylum, the blood of Jesus, that alone could shelter thee from deserved ire. Were not the grace of heaven as free, as sovereign and immutable, as it is; were not the redemption of Jesus as permanent and sure as it is; were not the energies of the Holy Ghost as irresistible and conquering as they are: farewell to all hope of continuing in the narrow way; adieu to all expectation of reaching ultimate felicity; but still we must rejoice in the great fact, by grace are ye saved"-saved at first-saved onward-saved homeward-daily, hourly, constantly, and finally. 66 "Grace the good work began, Grace shall my soul to glory raise, And grace shall wear the crown." "Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name be all the glory," must be the language of my soul even to heaven's gate; and when time is about to close her doors upon me, and nothing but eternity stands prominent to view, " Not of works" will then prop my hope, and, "He is able to save unto the uttermost," will then be the solid ground of my confidence in entering the world of spirits. To the God of all grace, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the infinite spring and absolute source of Zion's felicity, be all the praise of my salvation, from the dawn of life to its mid-day openings in everlasting fruition. Amen and Amen. Golden Square, London, Jan. 21, 1827. (For the Spiritual Magazine.) E. M. A LETTER, TO A BELOVED FRIEND AND BROTHER, IN THE KINGDOM AND PATIENCE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. My very dear Brother, ་ SINCE receiving your's, in which you take occasion to lament over the aboundings of iniquity, my mind has been much taken up with the words of our divine Lord: "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." If ever those words had, or are to have an accomplishment, it certainly must be in the day of awful degeneracy and open blasphemy in which we live; for of a truth, "Darkness hath covered the land and gross darkness the people." Infidelity (like Goliath of old) stalks abroad, casting fear and dismay through the camp of Israel, blaspheming the name of the most High, and defying the armies of the living God. But, while the children of this generation are so active in the service of their father the devil, and are not ashamed to wear his mark on their foreheads, the church of the living God appears to be asleep; a disease seems to have infested the whole camp; the man of sin appears to be making dreadful inroads with little opposition; and the ark is very near taken by the uncircumcised and unclean. But why should I dwell on the outward state of the church? let me come nearer home and see how matters stand there; for religion, my brother, is a personal thing, and what we must experience for ourselves: happy would it be for us, could we at all times realize (to our comfort) our characters, as the adopted children of the most high God, but, alas! how many perplexing fears and intimidating doubts do we experience, when we are ready to conclude, we have neither part nor lot in the matter. "The springs of comfort seem to fail, And all our hopes decline." |