blood-bought line, sinners, and that of the vilest stamp, and of the blackest grade, and that all such shall, not may, but shall come to a knowledge of the truth, ere they quit this earthly ball, and shall one and all, from the infant in the womb to the oldest, grey-headed, elect, blood-bought sinner that ever shall be brought forth into this sinful world. There are no ifs, buts, nor maybe's, but positives: they shall enter through heaven's brilliantly pearly gates into the celestial city, and arrive safe in the boundless realms of everlasting joy and felicity there to be not only with, but like the dear Lord, to spend an eternity of glory with the glorious Three-One, Jehovah, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and all the bright angels, with the unnumbered millions of blood-royal happy souls, who are incessantly singing without a jarring note salvation to God, and to the Lamb,

But having undertook this task,
Thy blessing, Lord, I humbly ask
To guide my pen, and rule my heart,
That I from truth may not depart.

But I said at the commencement of this strange epistle, that I was once more about to write unto you; yea, dear brother, when I call to remembrance times that are gone by, when I sat within the sound of your voice, and heard with extatic delight, the glorious gospel of the blessed God, such as the Father's love, the Son's complete atonement, with the Spirit's operation, and the final perseverance of the saints, one and all, to eternal glory. Oh, how the ancient settlements were brought forth. and oh, how the delectable mountains, and the everlasting hills, with every concomitant, were brought forth, for the comforting of the poor tempest-tossed, devil-harrassed, and soul-perplexed child of God, and pointing out their only solid restingplace, which is none other than a

Where sin and death are known no more.'

"Oh glorious hour, oh blest abode :
I shall be near and like my God;
And flesh and sin no more controul,
The sacred pleasures of the soul."

Oh, my brother,

Don't you long, and pant, and sigh,
To be with Jesus ever nigh;
And at his lovely face to gaze,
Without a glass in open blaze?

I know you do, and ofttimes cry,
O bring, Lord, thy salvation nigh;
I could from all things parted be,
And long to dwell, dear Christ, with thee.

My loving friend, and brother dear,
May God your longing spirit cheer :
And fill your soul with joy and peace,
Till with you mortal life shall cease.

But what a flight my mind has taken. Oh my beloved,

Though ofttimes I sit down to write, But God the Spirit must indite; Though upwards thirty years at school, I find myself a downright fool.

atoning, law-fulfilling righteousness, working out, &c. &c. and at last expiring Jesus. Mind, I do not say, Godhead expired: no, no, I have not so learned Christ, although he was God and man by the union of the two natures; but Godhead never suffered, bled or died, but the manhood part did, and yet we cannot dissever the one from the other. Oh, the mystery of mysteries, which my finite mind shall never be able to fathom; but with all reverence I bow and acknowledge, and am constrained to cry out with one of old, "great is the mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh." brother, those sweet and soul-comforting blessed things, with the bursting the iron bars of death asunder, and arising from his silent recess, thereby being death's destruction; yea, dear brother, he perfumed the grave, and left an odoriferous scent, so that the blood-bought

Ah,

royal family have only to pass through the valley of the shadow of death, and their poor heads to lie down in peaceful slumber, until the morn of the resurrection; ah, the glorious morn without clouds, when soul and glorified body shall be reunited, when the brilliant golden massy gates of everlasting glory shall be flung wide open, to admit the blood-bought happy throng with King Jesus at their head, and then sit down and banquet with him, and spend an endless eternity in the unbounded realms of everlasting joy and felicity, where sin and sorrow, sighing and crying, with every other unpleasantness, shall be for ever done away, and God shall be our light, and our glorious sun, and the days of our mourning shall be for ever ended. Beloved, does not the thought of such amazing bliss, sharpen up your immortal appetite, and cause you to long for evening to undress, so to lie down with God, my beloved.

"Death is no more the king of dread,

Since our Immanuel rose ;

He took the monster's sting quite out,
And spoil'd our hellish foes."

So cheer up my brother,

If you have it in mind, Jesus himself preached this blessed doctrine in the

Christ rules the waves, and stormy sky; He'll land thee safe on Canaan's shore, Where waves and billows roll no more.

There never was one soul lost yet,
Whom Jesus bought with blood and sweat;
Therefore cheer up, the port's in sight,
Thou soon shalt land in realms of light.

Oh should the sun shine out most clear,
-And Jesus thy poor spirits cheer;
Thy bark will sweetly glide away,
To realms of everlasting day.

Should God grant me my heart's desire,
He'll fill thy soul with holy fire;
Then while thou 'rt crossing o'er death's
sea,

Thou 'lt sweetly sing, he died for me.

So cheer up, brother, do not doubt,
Thou 'It soon in glory blissful shout,
With all the blissful, blood-bought throng,
Where precious Christ is all their song.

disciples, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." May I humbly ask you, likewise, is he your foundation of hope here, and happiness hereafter? Then, "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto you; but ye are born again, not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God," 1 John v. 1. Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Remember ye then Deut. xxxiii. 4.

Truly, therefore, might it be said, "Neither are there any works like unto my works." His works are seven-fold, and perfect in every part. Hence, while all works of creatures must fail, the works of God our Saviour must remain for ever and ever. Look over a few of them for the

moment, and then say, "Who is a God like unto our God," doing his will and pleasure, both among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth, none daring to stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? The ancient and original work our Almighty Foundation accomplished, was, when in the everlasting covenant settlements, he received the church in all her members, from his almighty Father's hand, and betrothed her unto himself in everlasting union: "Thine they were, and thou gavest them me."

:

And

again, of his bride, he sweetly speaks, "I will betroth thee unto me for ever: yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord." His next work was that of the creation of this lower world, as a platform upon which all Jehovah's covenant purposes

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were to be transacted: · Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God; so that things which

are seen were not made of things which do appear for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible; whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers all things were created by him, and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.' Moreover, his works in providence are past finding out, although revealed on the divine page: “By me kings reign, and princes decree justice; by me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth." And again, "He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust," thereby giving us fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with joy and gladness." His works also in grace, oh how stupendous ! "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich," as God, yet, "because the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life-time subject to bondage." Thus by his holy incarnation, nativity, circumcision, baptism, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension into glory, he hath made an end of sin, and brought in

an everlasting righteousness, which is unto all, and upon all them that believe. And, depend upon it, as his in-dwelling Godhead, Deity or Divinity stamped eternal dignity upon the whole of his pure and per fect work, so is his most excellent Majesty glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Wherefore, "Him hath God highly exalted, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Je

sus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." And, once more, his works in glory above, of which we cannot now speak particularly, are past finding out, for " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him; but he hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit." In a word, his works, also, in the hearts, minds and consciences of his own elected, redeemed and regenerated people, are many and great, as fully witnessed unto, by all who are washed, and sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. All thy works, then, praise thee, O Lord, and thy saints shall bless thee; they shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

The next thing to be shewn is, Christ's promised reward for having finished his work of our redemption, from whence will be seen, how the heathen shall be given to him for an inheritance. "All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name."

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And who are these, think you Even none but those whom he hath made, and will make, new creatures in Christ Jesus. The nations of the earth, remember, were made one of another, from their fathers' begetting, and their mothers' bringing forth; consequently all were born in sin, and shapen in iniquity; while the Lord's people in all nations, are, sooner or later, by regeneration, made to know that they belong to "the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praise of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." How sweetly the Lord does himself open this out when declaring, "all that the Father giveth

me, shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out:" for I came down from heaven, "not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me and this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Do pray notice their origin, rise, progress and end: they were given to Christ, by God the Father, from everlasting, in his infinite acts of election, predestination, adoption, and acceptation in the Beloved, before the world began. Then, again, they were made one by the Son of God himself, as aforesaid. And once more, when born into this lower world, they are preserved in him, in their unregenerated condition, by God the Eternal Spirit, until he makes them willing in the day of his power, to be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. fore, thou art of this distinguished nation, then hath Immanuel indeed wrought a great and good work in Zion, whereby you are enabled to glorify him in your body and spirit, which are his. Then all nations, or people of all nations whom thou hast made to feel their guilt, sin, wretchedness and misery by the holy law of God, through the Spirit, shall come to thee for light, knowledge, health, and salvation from all that is against them.

If, there

But this is not the whole, inasmuch as that it instantly follows, "shall come and worship before thee, O Lord." Then, to prove in what way or manner this is to be accomplished, the prophet Isaiah affirms, by heavenly inspiration, "It shall come to pass in that day the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem." This great trumpet, to be blown in the gospel day, signifies the

gospel itself, so styled in contradistinction to the law, and is termed great, because it sounds forth all the great and grand truths of pardon by blood and righteousness in Jesus. Yes, they shall come when the Lord the Spirit begins his work within them, with weeping on account of sin, and supplication for mercy. "I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.” They shall come from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. "After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb." These having all been taught of the Lord the Spirit, do worship God in Spirit and in truth, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. "Who then shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest." Here, therefore, we have in what the true worship of God doth consist; for "the sacrifice of God is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." The Lord help us ever to bear in mind, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Wherefore as true and spiritual worship is an act of the spiritual mind when drawn forth by God the Holy Ghost: so are the elected, redeemed, and regenerated people of the Most High continually coming unto him with blessings of praise and salvation, you see therefore, no doubt, in one moment. Heb. xii. 18-24.

Neither is this all, for this branch closeth the precious promise, “and shall glorify thy name; "whosoever" then "offereth praise," saith the Lord, "glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God." To glorify Jesus, therefore, is not only to praise him with the lip, but also in the life, walk aad conversation. In the life of faith, as said Paul," the life which I now live in the flesh, is by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Faith, therefore, being nothing in or of ourselves, but simply an attribute in Jesus, so when he is pleased to dart a ray of it into our minds, our hearts are instantly drawn out unto him, “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Thus in his light we see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Lord, then, increase our faith. Again, his dear living children are taught to glorify his name by walking in him, rooted and grounded in love "established in the faith, abounding therein with thanksgiving." "Who is among you therefore that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." Thus we walk by faith, and not by sight. The Lord cause us therefore to walk before him in all well pleasing; not according to the oldness of the letter, but in newness of Spirit." And once again, we are enabled to glorify him in our conversation. "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name ;" and then