presence there is fulness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

When the great apostle was caught up into the third heavens, and heard things that was not lawful to utter; so conscious was he of the impossibility to convey by language to his fellow travellers the glory of the scene, that he never attempts whilst writing or speaking, fully to explain its wonders, but contents himself with merely stating the fact as a divine reality, and presents it to the devout contemplation of his companions in tribulation, as the source of the purest delight and unmingled joy. The personal glories of the Redeemer were ever dear to his soul; his great, and noble mind delights to range over its mysteries, and to commend to every sinner that came within the sound of his voice, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person; in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Think, my dear young friend, of the ascriptions of praise rendered to this dear object of your soul's delight and salvation, by the spirits of the just made perfect in the heavenly Jerusa. lem; and of those divine honours spread at his footstool, by angels who have never sinned; and I am sure you will easily conceive how utterly impossible it is for frail mortality to behold one of ten thousand of the gems that adorn his sacred brow, or to gaze with a steady eye upon the splendor of his awful throne. Indeed in him appears snch a cluster of heavenly and divine beauties that whenever we attempt to fix our attention upon any of them, we cannot fail, by reason of the weakness of our faculties, to withdraw from the wondrous scene, and to confess,

"All over glorious is my Lord:

Must be beloved, and yet adored; His worth, if all the nations knew,

Sure the whole earth would love him too."

With these remarks alive upon my mind, I shall not vainly attempt to grasp within the compass of my weak understanding the whole of this incomprehensible subject; but would humbly presume, under the guidance of the ever blessed Spirit, to fasten my affections upon some particular feature in the character of him, whose name shall continue as long as the sun, that men shall be blessed in him, and all nations shall call him blessed; and may our souls, whilst thus employed, be satisfied with favour, and filled with the blessing of the Lord.

I would remind my dear friend, that when the prophet Isaiah was commissioned to refer to the coming of the Lord Jesus, he declared that his name should be called Wonderful, Counseller, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace; and O, how very blessed and suitable are all these names and offices to the poor guilty, heavy-laden sinner, whose language at the throne of grace is expressive of his inward feelings, when he says, "Lord, save; or I perish!" Every poor sinner whose eyes have been opened to behold the rock from whence he has been hewn, and the hole of the pit out of which he has been digged, prizes most surely the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Great Prophet, that possesses the tongue of the learned, that he may speak a word in season to him that is weary. None teacheth like our glorious Redemer; his disciples are made wise unto eternal salvation, according to that precious promise of covenant mercy, All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." To this dear object I would now direct your attention, praying that you may be daily under his divine teaching, whereby you may, in some measure, comprehend with all saints the heights and depths, the lengths and the breadths, and to know the love of God which passes knowledge.

Now, the suitability of the office

character of the Lord Jesus Christ will at once appear, when we remember, that by reason of sin all the powers of man are so depraved, and his intellects so deranged, that it is impossible, apart from the instruction of the Holy Spirit, for any of the guilty sons of Adam to know the things that make for their everlasting peace ; mark the testimony of the sacred word: Let no man deceive himself; if any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise; for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiIt is true God made man upright, but he soon sought out an invention to mar and deface the fair and spotless creation; and by one fatal act of criminal disobedience, introduced death into our world, and all the pain and misery with which it is accompanied; hence it is said, "Dark

ness.

ness

hath covered the earth, and gross darkness the people; from the crown of the head even to the soles of the feet, there is nothing but wounds and putrifying sores."

This wretched state of guilt and degradation renders to every convicted sinner the provision of the everlasting gospel exceedingly precious; hence we hear the psalmist praying, God

be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause thy face to shine upon us ; that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations."

Now I am sure my inquiring brother will readily admit that this is a correct representation of our fallen condition; and that, had it not have been for that counsel of peace, purposed by the sacred Trinity from before the foundation of the world, all the children of men would have perished by their iniquities, and sunk, by the weight of their transgressions, into the pit of endless despair; but, thanks be unto God, for his unspeakable gift, in the person of

his dear Son, who gave his life a ransom for many, to be testified in due time.

When the Lord first opened your heart to attend to the things which were sure to issue in the enjoyment of a full, a complete, and an eternal salvation, you immediately began to think, in the ignorance of your mind, the Lord was arrayed in robes of vengeance, ready to execute upon your devoted head his fiery, but righteous indignation.

The discovery, the feeling apprehension of the consequences of your crimes, and of the claims of Jehovah, as the God of inflexible justice, was the commencement of a life which God, that cannot lie, promised us in Christ Jesus, and which can never be affected by all the changing events of time; and was the harbinger of that peace and salvation that death or hell can never destroy.

From these remarks, I presume the value and absolute need of divine teaching is made evidently plain, and the preciousness of the office character of the Lord Jesus, as Prophet of his Church, is in some happy measure sweetly enjoyed by you; and may you, my dear companion, in the way to the heavenly Jerusalem, imbibe the same spirit, and evince the same determination as the old testament saints did, when they said, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his way, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

I must now close my remarks, confessing that little indeed has been said upon a subject of such vital importance; make up my omission by meditation and prayer; and may you daily be found sitting at the Saviour's feet, listening to the words of his lips, and cheerfully following the Lord Jesus in every path of duty and privilege, until we behold his face in

righteousness, and are satisfied when we awake up in his likeness; then lessons of instruction will be wanted no more for ever; the path of life will no longer be through a waste, howling wilderness, where we constantly require the care, and direction of a faithful guide, but having escaped all the toils and conflicts of the desert, and entered into the joy of the Lord, will then commence the never ending song unto Him that hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; unto Him be honour and glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

SERIES OF LETTERS WRITTEN BY THE LATE REV. HENRY FOWLER.

Addressed to a Deacon of Gower-st. Chapel. (Never before Published.)

No. 6.-To be Continued.

My Dear Friend and Brother,

MERCY and grace be with you. The continual hurry and bustle that I have been in, has baffled all my resolutions to write to the church; and this must be a short scrawl, as I have some miles to go to day, and to speak at night. I would be thankful to the Father of all Mercies for his goodness in restoring my health, in a great

measure.

In soul matters, I can say but little, having had much darkness and confusion to lament, and often no heart for any thing that is good. I have, however, been carried above

these things at times, and have found a little sweetness in prayer, meditation, and in preaching; but, like the dew, it soon dries up, and I fade again like a leaf; and my iniquities, felt within, or a sense of the past, like the wind, carries me away into a land where no water is—to a land of darkness, which is as the shadow of death. Were I to speak my feelings publicly and fully, I fear it would stagger many of my poor weak ones. I am ashamed of my staggering, impatience, and foolishness. I, being a minister, should be an example to the flock in word, in patience, in faith, and in doctrine. But, alas! I am not (either as a christian, or a minister) what I would be. It is, indeed, of the Lord's mercies that I am not consumed; it is because his compassions fail not.

Give my love to Mrs. Evans, friends Cant, Wigley, and all inquir. ing friends. In all probability I shall be home at our church meeting, next Thursday, if you find room in the chapel to meet in, which I hope will be the case. Grace, mercy, and peace be with you.

Stone-cross.

.

Ever Yours,

HENRY FOWLER.

The Evangelical Church; or, True Grounds for the Union of the Saints. By Darwin H. Ranney. A. M. 12mo. pp. 144. Mercury Press, Woodstock, Vermont.

UNION among the saints of God is what every sincere christian ardently desires, and would use every scriptural means to accomplish, remembering the apostolic declaration "He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how shall he love God whom he hath not seen?" But while he admits this to the utmost latitude, he is mindful at the same time of the command of Jehovah," Say ye not a confederacy to them that say a confederacy," but "Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate." He must therefore feel fully satisfied that those with whom he associates are brethren, members of the same family, partakers of like precious faith, believers in the same glorious truths, and expectants of the same blissful inheritance with himself: with any other professed disciples he will not, he dare not unite; nor in any period of the church's history was this distinction more requisite than at the present, when professors of every variety of creed are associated together in close affinity, having christian charity sufficiently dominant for excusing every heresy and embracing all characters, except that despised few who dare to be singular in their allegiance to King Jesus.

The work before us consists of six chapters. The first is a review of the prospect which is presented to the church by the prophetic penmen at the approaching millennial period; in which our author says, p. 14,- The conversion of the heathen world God

has made to depend upon the resources and prayers of the saints. Funds must be provided to give the Bible and the living preacher to every benighted pagan upon earth, and then God is to give salvation in answer to the united and believing prayers of his people." To this we object: the latter day glory does not depend on a supply of either money or preachers, but upon the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. God is a sovereign, and he may adopt and employ means if it so please him; but he is able and frequently does work without: and when his appointed time shall come, nation shall be born in one day!" and man, puny man, shall have no hand in the matter, for God hath declared, "I will work and none shall let:" and again," My people shall be willing in the day of my power;"not at man's caprice, nor doth God the Spirit wait for man to lead the way. We do not object to missions, but we contend that salvation is of the Lord, and of the Lord alone.

66 a

. In the second chapter Mr. Ranney furnishes his views of the true limits of the church, and the nature and obligations of Union.

The third chapter enters into an inquiry respecting the deviations of the modern church;-Baptism, and the relation it sustains to christian character. Under this division our author descants largely on the subject of Baptism: but as nothing new is brought forward, we will pass on.

The fourth chapter treats of creeds. We differ from the writer: we do not believe that any who are really taught of God will join affinity with such as do not harmonize on the important doctrines of the gospel. Mr. Rannay may endeavour to fritter down those blessed truths, which will

ever be offensive to mere professors; but not so the child of God, who, however anxious he may be for union amongst christians, is far more solicitous for communion with his Lord.

The fifth chapter is more particularly on the subject of discipline.

And the last chapter describes how the union here contended for is to be secured.

Our limits will not allow us to enlarge. On the whole, the Union so strongly urged in these pages, is unscriptural; it goes to bind men together in an unholy compact, by keeping back many of the grand doctrines of our holy religion, to meet the fashionable religionist, and cooperate in a worldly spirit to further professedly a spiritual object: but this cannot be we would say to our readers, "If the Lord be God, follow him; if Baal, then follow him."

The Sanctuary: Remarks on the Presence of God in his Ordinances, and on the Value and the Importance of Public Worship. 12mo. pp. 78. London: Palmer & Son.

THE writer of this little work has endeavoured to show the importance of a consistent decorum in, and due reverence for the places appropriated to the worship of God; and from thence infers that if those attending the public means of grace, were to behave more devoutly in the outward solemnities of public worship, they would be favoured with a greater measure of the influences of the Holy Spirit, sinners would be converted to God, and saints would grow in grace

and become more zealous for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom.

We think the author, who has not affixed his name, has made many very sensible and trite observations; but it must be remembered that while solemnity becomes God's house, the poet has justly expressed our views in these lines

The Bond Family Confuted, and the

Children of Zion Confirmed. The
Substance of a Sermon Preached at
Sunderland. By Samuel Turner.
8vo, pp. 16. London, Palmer and
Son.

This is a plain scriptural discourse. The text selected is Matt. xxiii. 27; and Mr. T. first rescues the passage from those false glosses with which legalizing teachers have so invariably beclouded it, and by which means many humble souls, whose spiritual perception has been but weak, have been much perplexed.

The preacher, by shewing the distinction between our blessed Lord while on earth, considered as the Son of Man, and as the Son of God, has in a concise manner cleared the passage from its apparent obscurity, and proved, that though the gospel is to be preached to all men, it will be embraced by those and only those whom the Father chose, the Son redeemed, and the Holy Ghost at the set time quickens. We recommend this Sermon as seasonable for the present day.