then is it for believers to be dependant on the Holy Spirit, to intreat him daily to lead off their thoughts from themselves to Christ. And how delightful to behold a believer under the influences of the Spirit looking to Jesus, viewing him every step of his journey, depending upon him every moment, holding communion with him by prayer and praise, till his sun no more goes down, and the days of his mourning are ended.

Sunderland, Dec. 17, 1827.

(To be concluded in our next.)

CLERICUS.

(For the Spiritual Magazine.)

A WORD OF EXHORTATION TO THE AFFLICTED IN ZION. To my Afflicted Brothers and Sisters in Christ, your Brother sendeth greeting.

HAVING found through sovereign mercy, that these afflictions are amongst the all things that work together for good, shall I hide from my brethren how the Lord the Spirit makes them profitable, or keep back from you in what way they are made profitable? God forbid; for whatsoever I have spoken to you in secret (saith Jesus,) that publish on the house top.

It is now about forty years since God my heavenly Father was pleased to reveal Christ to me by the Spirit's teaching, as my God, Saviour, and Redeemer, and by his grace to deliver my soul from the curse and bondage of a broken law, from the guilt of all my sins, and to cast out the slavish fear of death. Lord! what shall I render unto thee for all thy benefits? I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. There is, undoubtedly, various ways by which the Divine Comforter is pleased to communicate to the heirs of salvation divine consolation; sometimes it is by christian conversation. And oh! that I could say when christian brethren meet together, whether in the house of affliction or at their other meetings, that Jesus and him crucified was the sum and substance of the conversation; then would they find such meetings more profitable to their souls, than simply condoling with the afflicted. Not that I write against such kind feelings, and sympathy with each other in affliction; no, for the apostle saith, “ weep with them that weep, and rejoice with them that do rejoice." And this great apostle declares, that the coming of Titus, and his conversation, was by the Holy Ghost made the channel of conveying comfort to him. "God that comforteth those that are cast down, comforteth us by the coming of

Titus."

But the way it pleased my heavenly Father to comfort me was in fulfilling that sweet promise of Jesus, "when he the Gomforter is come, he shall bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." For, lying in much pain, that blessed Com

forter brought to my mind the words of Moses to Israel of old,—and surely they are spoken to the Israel of God in all ages of the church, "Only remember the way the Lord thy God hath led thee by the space of these forty years in the wilderness." My mind was immediately led to consider the goodness, mercy, and long-suffering of my gracious God, to a poor, undeserving sinner. And oh that my pen

could write the sweet comfort brought to my mind at a review of the Lord's goodness to me! The various Bethels, the numerous deliverances of my God, were so fresh on my mind, that they appeared as it were (although many years have now passed) but as yesterday; till I could say, goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life. I was led to see the preserving goodness of my God in the days of my sin and ignorance; to have the first awakenings and teaching of God the Holy Ghost; the fears I laboured under, and the hard bondage in which I was made to serve; the buddings of hope till the sun of righteousness arose on my soul with healing in his wings; till my soul melted within me, and I could not forbear shedding tears, not of grief but joy, from a blessed enjoyment of the love of a triune God.

Oh, how precious did my Father appear in his everlasting choice of so unworthy an object! How precious was Jesus, when by faith I beheld him dying for my sins on the accursed tree! How sweet were the consolations of the Holy Ghost, in testifying of these things! Now I found by blessed experience that faith was the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen; the world was lighter than vanity in my esteem, yea, than the small dust of the balance. I thought, (forgive me thus writing) what can heaven be, more than what I now feel and enjoy? Oh, my afflicted brothers and sisters, I would say to you as Samuel to Israel of old, "only consider what great things the Lord thy God hath done for thee." This is a means by which God is pleased to bring peace and comfort to poor afflicted family. It is laid as a reproach on Israel of old, that they soon forgot his works: but, my afflicted brother or sister, canst thou wholly forget the wormwood and the gall the prophet speaks of ? Canst thou forget thy earnest cries, tears, and prayers, put up when thou felt worse than Egyptian bondage? thou forget the goodness of God in supporting thee under all thy temptations and distresses ? Canst thou forget thy hill Mizar? Are there no Bethels thou canst remember? Think on them; meditate on them; call to remembrance your songs in the night; and may I not say, as God did to Jacob many years after he met with him, "arise and go up to Bethel where thou anointedst the pillar at the first."

his

And canst

These by divine teaching will be a means of strengthening thy hand in the Lord, and filling thy soul with joy and peace in believing; and remember, afflicted sons and daughters of Zion, that your salvation from a body of pain, sin, and death, is nearer than when you through grace believed. Every furnace through which you are called

first

to pass (like the notches of the school boy, who earnestly longs for the time of return to his father's house, and cuts off one by one, day after day, till none is left,) must leave the number less. The good land is before us; he that hath promised is able to perform, and as willing as he is able; for this is his language, “Father, I will that all that thou hast given me be with me where I am, to behold my glory." Well might the apostle say, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time, (and Paul's were not a few,) are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." "For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath (fully) entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him.” If the foretaste and earnest be so sweet, what must the full enjoyment of God be?

Jesus hath

Be not, therefore, discouraged by reason of the way. gone before, and he will guide thee safe; he ever lives to make intercession for his blood-bought church. Be frequent in prayer. Prayer keeps an open intercourse with the God of heaven: and whilst pouring out thy humble petitions, be sure to acknowledge favours received from his gracious hand, and the Lord will pour in the oil and wine to heal and cheer thy drooping spirit. And should the enemy be busy with his cruel temptations, turn them into supplications, and tell thy gracious Lord what thou labourest under of fear or distress, and he will fulfil his promise: for the Spirit will lift up a standard against him and by confession, supplication, and prayer, thou shalt overcome that wicked one, and be more than a conqueror through him that loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might redeem it from all evil, and present it to himself a glorious church, having neither spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. O blessed, though afflicted, tried child of God, how secure the inheritance to all the spiritual seed of Christ!

And, O blessed God and Saviour, enable thy tried, tempted, afflicted children, to look more at the things that are not seen, by the natural eye, but are beheld, believed, and received by faith; that whilst looking through a glass darkly they may be changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord: so prays your afflicted brother,—

Dec. 1827.

A LOVER OF TRUTH. P.S. I intended to have written more, but weakness prevents, and my right hand almost forgets her cunning. My afflicted brothers and sisters in Christ, farewell!

(For the Spiritual Magazine.)

CORRESPONDENCE FROM NORTH AMERICA,
ADDRESSED TO A MINISTER AT ST. JOHN's, N. b.

My Dear Brother,

WITH great pleasure I acknowledge the receipt of your kind favour by Mr. Barton; and I return you my most sincere thanks for your valuable present of the volume of gospel tracts, and for the christian

66

regard you have for me, of which that present is a token. The beloved disciple says, we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." And although 1800 years have elapsed, since he declared this love to be a token of spiritual life, we find it to be no less a true token still. And Paul, that valiant champion for a free grace salvation, assures us, that we are taught of God to love one another. Yes, surely when Jehovah the Holy Ghost stamps his image on the heart of a redeemed sinner, and calls forth all the powers of his soul in love to God, who hath loved him with an everlasting love, he will be sweetly constrained to love the brethren: and I humbly trust that this vital principle unites our hearts, although we are strangers to each other's faces.

O my dear brother, when we look back to the hour when the heavenly Beloved rescued us from the paw of the old lion, 1 Sam. xvii. 34-35. and when we look around on a world lying in the folded arms of the wicked one, how should we call upon our souls and all that is within us to bless the name of our gracious covenant God, for his distinguishing love and mercy to us! I have thought much lately on the blessed privilege of believers rejoicing in the Lord, and joying in the God of their salvation, although every earthly good should fail. If our joy is only in the Lord, and we have no confidence in the flesh, this joy will be our strength, both for work and warfare. Nehemiah viii. 10. It is by being strong in faith that we give glory to God.

I bless the Lord that he has brought me acquainted (through your instrumentality,) with the writings of the noble few, who are employed by God in building the old wastes, and raising up the desolations of many generations, Isa. lxi. 4. Please to read the whole

chapter; it is a delightful portion to the spiritual taste.

very

small rem

I have sold a few of the gospel tracts: there is a nant here that esteem them very much; but arminianism is so prevalent that it is rather difficult to dispose of many.

The kindness and christian love which you have manifested toward my brother John and myself, emboldens me to introduce to you another of the family, my brother Daniel, (who lives in Wakefield) by begging your acceptance of a copy of a letter which I received from him as follows:

Wakefield, Jan. 1, 1827.

From Wakefield's distant wilderness I send,
With grateful heart, to greet my absent friend,
And little circle of relations dear,

And wish them with the new,-a happy year.
Remembrance often pleasing joys imparts,
And rivets friendship firmer on our hearts.
I oft in fancy view the wave-worn strand,
The western bounds of my lov'd father's land,
Where oft in youth, along the sounding shore,
I stray'd and heard the bursting billows roar;
In those rude scenes my infant fancy play'd,
And there my judgment more maturely stray'd.

A sinful creature bound to endless woe,
By nature prone the downward path to go;
Sin's bitter poison prompted me to rove
Astray from God, and counter to his love.
Amidst those scenes eternal love began
To teach my soul salvation's wond'rous plan,
In sovereign mercy reach'd an arm of love,
And gave my soul an unction from above.
Tho' absent long, I still could point the place,
Where I enjoy'd the visits of his grace,
But time's old rolling chariot hastes away
The scenes of youth, and nature feels decay :
Our vital lamps will soon extinct become,
And our freed spirits seek their native home.
I may be now saluting by my pen,

A friend these eyes shall ne'er behold again;
But oh! my friends, the monster's cold embrace
Can never break the ties of heavenly grace,
But from his power, ere long, the friends of truth
Shall rise triumphant in immortal youth;
Shall see the heavenly lover face to face,
And live for ever in his lov'd embrace.

Tho' here I'm call'd thro' floods and flames to go,
And journeyings often in the depths of woe,
His promise wings my faith and bids her fly,
And see prepared her mansion in the sky.
What tho' the tempter moves me to repine,
And murmur at economy divine,

Yet after all that has my soul befel,
I know my Jesus hath done all things well.
Away arminian trash-I hate to hear

Of man's free-will, and strength to persevere.
My strength is nought-I nothing am but sin-
By nature poisoned, filthy, and unclean;
And but for grace, against my natural will,
In Satan's chains I had continued still :

But sovereign love that knows no bound nor shore,
Has heal'd my soul, and sin shall reign no more,
While smiles of love from fair Immanuel's face
Afford me constant persevering grace.

The earnest of his love is not more sure,
Than that my soul shall to the end endure;
What love began, his power shall make complete,
His glorious promise ne'er was forfeit yet:
I work not now for life, as some believe,
But work from life, which daily I receive.
We follow now by glimpses of his love,
But shall unveil'd behold his face above;
There love divine shall be our endless song,
The eternal wonder of the blood-wash'd throng.

Having filled my sheet with what at present occurred to my mind, you will excuse my not answering more directly to some parts of your valuable letter. Let me hear from you every opportunity. Think much on these words, "Blessed are the people whose Aleim is Jehovah." Your's in an indissoluble tie,

Waterborough, Jan. 6, 1827.

DAVID PALMER.