in the immediate vicinity of those individuals (I mean, ministers of the truth when I thus speak, as blessed be the name of the Lord, we have here and there those who know the joyful sound, among the various churches who would glory in being privileged to sit under the administration of free grace), but thus it appears to myself and many others, who would rejoice to find that they were mistaken in their conclusions, as they would not willingly charge them with indifference or lukewarmness in the glorious cause of truth. But we are certainly surprised that amidst the number of ministers visiting our place, there should never be found any of them on the side of God's sovereign and discriminating grace. We have the advocates of the various isms of the present day endeavouring to spread their poisons in the minds of the people, but never do we see or hear of any coming to spread abroad the savour of his name, who was given as the covenant to his people, and whose name is as ointment poured forth to those who have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Our town and the adjoining one does not contain less than 50,000 inhabitants, besides having a very extensive neighbourhood, and yet we have not a single church founded on the precious doctrines of free, personal, unconditional, and unmerited salvation.

We certainly have churches professing themselves Calvinistic, such as the Scotch Presbyterians, Independents and Baptists, but alas, Fullerism and Baxterianism is the prevailing system, and the glorious doctrines of grace are eclipsed by those who are the professed friends "of orthodoxy. I have never seen a more true portrait of the preaching of our place than is exhibited in your valuable magazine of Feb. 1834 (in a note on the 40th page), as it bears the very lineaments of the men who are cried up as the evangelicals of the town.

Thus have I given a specimen of the state of religion here, I leave it with you to make what use you please of it, should it be thought worthy of a place in the magazine. Perhaps you may find room for it, and the facts stated may induce you to take some notice of it, so as to use your influence with some of the ministers of truth, so as to induce them to become missionaries, and come over and help us.

I have thought that a society might be formed (something like what is called the Home Missionary Society) by the friends of truth, for the purpose of occasionally visiting those parts of the country that are destitute of the gospel of the grace of God, as by these means churches might be formed in various districts or towns, for I should suppose that there will be but very few large towns altogether destitute of lovers of truth; and there is but little doubt in my mind but that they might be gathered together by such means as have now been hinted at. Should any thing of the kind arise from these remarks, who can tell what good might be done. May the Lord who caused the light to shine out of darkness so shine into the hearts of his servants as to induce them to be constantly seeking the welfare of Zion.

Newcastle Tyne.

H. C. W.

PRAYER FOR OUR CHILDREN AND CONNECTIONS IN LIFE,

Subject to the secret and eternal will of God concerning individuals, consistent with the glory of God in the salvation of his elect, and supported by the general tone, temper, and disposition of the sacred scriptures.-A second reply to E. M.

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BEING from home at the time when this May Number of the Spiritual Magazine came out, many people both in town and country had an opportunity of seeing E. M.'s answer to my first reply to him, published in the Numbers for March and April, before I had. Some who knew my writing, and others who were told it was mine, declared E. M.'s anwer to be any thing but an answer; and supposing E. M. to have done his utmost, they consider my piece, on the fair general reading of scripture, to be with him unanswerable. This being the opinion of many "free grace believers in, and worshippers of God," it would seem unnecessary for me to make any further remarks on the subject; but there are a few things in E. M.'s lines that I beg leave to make a reflection or two upon.

E. M. says, 66 we must aim to understand each other, or our controversy is endless," page 135. If E. M. had but kept himself to this plan, his present piece would have been of a very different character to what it is. E. M. should not bear false witness against his neighbour, because that is very naughty; and is neither likely to end controversy, nor render it profitable; as sound argument and fair reasoning might. There may be place found for just sharp rebuke, but misrepresentation is generally wicked, and always injurious. E. M. has so grossly misrepresented me on the general ground of all the fundamental truths of the gospel, that it would be almost impossible for any reader of his piece (who is a stranger to me) to ascertain whether I am a believer in free, immutable, and eternal grace, and correspondent divine operations of the great Three in One, to the certain salvation of a covenant family, fore-ordained in marriage union and joint heirship with Christ to eternal life, through his perfect righteousness and atoning blood; or, whether I am a believer, chiefly in human self-will, and correspondent human works of the law, to salvation; but must most reasonably suppose the latter; although my labour has been very extensive in unsparingly preaching the former principles, pretty well as long as E. M. has believed them; and which I have plainly set forth in my former answer to E. M.

I really am totally at a loss to know how E. M., after setting down the doctrines of God's everlasting love to a people, his choice of them in Christ before the foundation of the world, his predestination of them to the adoption of children, constituting them his heirs and joint heirs with Christ; together with the correspondent doctrines of the gospel, of their certain and exclusive salvation; could have the barefaced effrontery to say, "now spiritual reader, VOL. X.-No. 124.]

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born of God,. THIS is what John calls freezing ideas of sovereigntyhigh-headiness-talking exceeding proudly," &c. page 136, 137; for this accusation is as false as ever Satan spoke since he has been a devil. Now, spiritual reader, let me persuade you to refer to, and read closely my former reply to E. M., and you will see that I have never once in any shape whatever, in any one of the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, which E. M. has laid down in his present piece as the ground principles of his belief, opposed him, nor do I now oppose him therein; but do maintain those doctrines, and have done so, as steadily and as dear for between twenty and thirty years, as E. M. ever held them in any one hour of his life. It is the inferences, and conclusions, that E. M. draws and deduces from the doctrines, that I have opposed, and do still oppose, as being contrary to the general tone, countenance, and disposition of Bible readings, relative to the circumstantials of the christian's life and connections here on earth. E. M. having said in his former piece which I replied to, "when I hear the saints praying for their children, it is hut their fleshly wills expressed-it is contrary to the revealed will of God," &c. This is what I called silly talk, and do now; for while I believe in election and the settled mind of God in covenant, as I do not know who the elect are, I am at liberty to bring my prayers, wishes, and desires to a throne of grace, submissive to the settled will of God in the hand of an "IF it be thy will, O Lord." Now reader, this is the point of controversy with E. M., and not the doctrines of the gospel, as he has falsely called upon you

to suppose.

E. M. says, all ifs are shoots of unbelief. This appears to me to be going out to sea at a desperate length without compass or helm; for the stock lays where the shoot comes from, and so according to this, there is a stock of unbelief even in the all-creating God in heaven, in the very life of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth, and in the immediately inspired apostles. All this must be, if all ifs be the "shoots of unbelief." But I must tell E. M. that there is a four-fold ground occupied by ifs. 1. There is the conditional, which the Lord spoke from heaven to Cain, saying, "if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted," Gen iv. 7. 2. There is the argumentative if, " if I be lifted up," John xii. 32. "If ye love me, keep my commandments," John xiv. 15. " If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain," 1 Cor. xv. 14. 3. There is the if of suspicion, "If it be so, why am I thus ?" Gen. xxv. 22. This third is the only kind of if, that at all occupies the premises which E. M. very daringly, and unwisely, (although, perhaps, by absolute necessity for his own peculiar notions) assigns for all ifs. 4. There is the submissive if, "if it be possible let this cup pass from me," Matt. xxvi. 39. "If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth," 2 Tim. ii. 25.

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On this very ground of the submissive if, I take my stand; as in the very tone, disposition, and countenance of these words of the

apostle, praying for my children and connections in life, with, If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. This was not the language of all-knowing confidence of what the will of the Lord either was, or was not; but it is the language of desire and submission of desire to the will of God. Paul knew what the will of God was at this time concerning his elect, as well as E. M. does now; but he knew no more of the will of God concerning the individuals referred to in this text, than I do of the will of God concerning my children and connections; and therefore, E. M. must now prove that Paul's desires were wrong; or else he will never be able to convince me that my desires for my children are wrong. And to maintain his ground, E. M. must also prove that Paul was now wishing God to change his mind; that his desires were vague and useless, and contrary to the revealed will of God; and that Paul was not walking out sovereignty, that he was not acting as a free-grace believer, and as a free-grace worshipper; and that he was acting contrary to election; and he must prove also, that this passage is altogether a shoot of unbelief." We shall be in a very strange plight presently, if we pay a little attention to E. M. and James the apostle; particularly if we consider them of equal authority; for E. M. says that "all ifs are shoots of unbelief," and he would have the whole perish. And the apostle James would not have the stock of submissive " ifs" destroyed on any account, but says, ye ought to say, "if the Lord will," James iv. 15. Now if the apostle James be right, and I am sure I do not know of any professor of faith in Christ (but E. M.) who is likely to say he is" intoxicated," or wrong; and his testimony we would not take; then no infidel was ever more opposed to the whole of revelation than E. M. is to a part of what is written; if we are at all to take him at his word.

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E. M. says, " Paul was intoxicated with the fine and tender feelings of our nature;" and he asks, "Can any one born of God believe Paul was spiritually sober, when he uttered this third verse," (Rom. ix. 3.) page 140. I think E. M.'s is an awful reflection upon Paul, as an inspired apostle of God; for these words were spoken with great solemnity, as the truth in Christ, his own conscience bearing him witness in the Holy Ghost. Thus the first verse is in the most solemn form of an oath, to the truth of what is said in the second and third verses; and yet E. M. awfully calls this "intoxication." First, because any thing like the countenance and disposition of this text, contradicts his contracted conclusions, as to desires and prayers for our children, subject to the will of God, which is by us unknown relative to individuals. Secondly, because E. M. can find but one acceptation for the word accursed, and that must be eternal destruction; whereas the word equally applies to separation from communion, as that of a member from a church of Christ, 1 Cor. xvi. 22.; and also to one devoted to an ignominious death, as that of hanging, &c. Deut. xxi. 23.; and also it applies to one given up to great hardships, reproach, shame, and

afflictions of an enemy, Isa. xliii. 28.; after the manner in which Samson was afflicted by the Philistines, Judges xvi. Now Paul was falsely accused of being an enemy to his nation the Jews, and that as such he left them, to their injury, and went among the Gentiles; and that his life spent among the Gentiles, was to the injury of the Jews, and a proof of his disregard; and that his fellowship with Gentile communities, was a further injury to the Jews, and proof of his total indifference to their welfare. Paul denied all this, and declared that he had great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart for them, and that he was ready always, if the will of God was so, to make any sacrifice relative to connection with the churches of Christ among the Gentiles; and although he should never be able to do them any good as the Lord's servant, yet, subject to the will of God, he had a heart's desire for them; and so have I, prayerfully for my children; and am warranted by the very countenance and disposition of all such things as these, through the whole scriptures; such as E. M. cannot endure in their true spirit and meaning. What Paul as an apostle of God repelled as a false accusation, would, it seems, be justly applicable to the so much more sober-minded E. M. And what Paul thought a reproach to bear, and defended himself against, E. M. perhaps, would wear as a proof of his being a much nobler free-grace believer and free-grace worshipper. E. M. says, "Had I been at his elbow." O dear, if the Lord had but thought to have made E. M. an apostle instead of Paul! should not we have been rarely blest? seeing the very Holy Ghost himself was Paul's immediate witness when he spoke the things that E. M. could have so much corrected, had he been only at his elbow; although the Holy Ghost was in his heart when his lips uttered what they did. I think if Paul was at E. M.'s elbow, he would say, conceited moth―arrogant worm!

The apostle says, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved," Rom. x. 1.: and this he said, when he knew them to be ignorant of God, ver. 3., and knew nothing about what the will of God concerning them individually was. And thus it is, according to the spirit and disposition of this passage, that my heart's desire and prayer to God is, that my children might be saved. This passage is of the same spirit and disposition with that in the ninth chapter; and was Paul "intoxicated" when he uttered this also? Was this spoken against the election will of God, or in disbelief of it? No, but in full confidence of the truth of it, in full submission to it, and so in perfect accordance with it. For although Paul knew and believed election, quite as much as E. M. does, yet by the ordination of the will of God, Paul knew nothing of the elected in an uncalled state, and therefore grace led him subject to the will of God in regard to individuals, thus to desire, preach, and pray; as I do, far and wide, among many people, and for my children. And as Paul also says, in the very same strain of feeling, desire, labour, and prayer, subject to the secrets of the divine will," IF by any means I