December 12.-In prayer this morning I was led to see the beauty of faith in reposing the whole soul on God. Surely, O Lord, thou requirest nothing of me but to believe on thee for all I want! I find the strongest dart of Satan is against my faith. He tells me, all day long, that I believe because I will believe, and not by the immediate gift of God-not by the operation of his Spirit. It seems that is the only hold Satan has on my soul. But was not my first word (when seven years old) an invitation to believe? "Who on Jesus relies, without money or price, The same is often applied to me now: and does not the whole Scripture lead to, and require, believing? Were not the Jews rejected for unbelief? Was it not esteemed hardness of heart in Israel because they would not believe the bare promise of God, and so enter into the good land? I feel a continual power to trust my all to Jesus, and the more I trust, the more it unites me to God. Then I do, I will trust him, though legions of temptations appear to hinder! What mercy! I have no temptation to sin !— no; my soul hates all that God hates! But every stroke is against my faith, as if I believed too much. I prayed the Lord to direct me to some book on the subject, and found, as soon as I rose from my knees, one which I never saw before, among my dear husband's collection. I opened it on this subject" Christ the example of our faith." The writer observes on these words, " He is near that justifies me: who shall contend with me?" that Christ is brought in, as if uttering them before the high priest's tribunal, when they spit upon and buffeted him. When he was also condemned by Pilate, then he exercised faith in God his Father: "He is near that justifies me ;" and as in his condemnation he stood in our stead, so in this hope of his justification, he speaks in our stead also, and as representing us in both. And upon this the apostle pronounces in like words, concerning all believers, Rom. ences,) comes, in doctrine, within a hair's breadth of the highest truths of the Gospel. Mrs. Fletcher, however, was preserved from this danger, and always found Divine aid in the exercise of faith. By it she overcame.--ED. viii, "It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth?" Christ was condemned; yea, hath died—who, therefore, shall condemn? We have this communion with Christ in his death and condemnation; yea, in his very faith. If he trusted in God, so may we; and we shall as certainly be delivered. Observe, Christ also lived by faith. We are said, John i, 16, to "receive of his fulness, and grace for grace," that is, grace answerable and like unto his, and so among others, faith. "To explain this-First, In some sense Christ had a faith for justification like to ours, though not a justification through faith, as we have. He went not out of himself to rely on another for righteousness, for his own was perfect: He was the Lord our righteousness.' Yet he believed on God to justify him, and had recourse to God for justification. He is near (says he) that justifies me If he had stood upon his own person merely, and upon his Divinity, there would have been no occasion for such a speech; but as he stood in our behalf there was; for what need of justification, if he had not been, in some way, exposed to condemnation? He must therefore be supposed to stand here at God's tribunal, as well as at Pilate's, with all our sins upon him. And so Isaiah tells us in chapter liii, God laid on him the iniquities of us all. He was made sin and a curse,' and stood not in danger of Pilate's condemnation only, but of God's too, unless he satisfied him for all those sins. And when the wrath of God for sin came thus upon him, his faith was put to it to trust and wait on God for justification, that he might take off those sins and his wrath from him, and acknowledge himself satisfied, and the surety acquitted. Therefore, in Psalm xxii, he is brought in as putting forth such a faith as we here speak of, crying out, My God! my God! when, as to sense, his God had forsaken him. Yea, at the sixth verse, we find him laying himself at God's feet, lower than ever any man did! I am a worm, and no man, a worm which all tread on, and no one thinks it wrong to kill ;—and all this because he bore our sins! "Now his deliverance and justification from all these, (to be given him at his resurrection,) was the matter, the business he trusted God for; even that he should rise again, and thus appear acquitted from them all. Se condly, Neither did he exercise faith for himself only, but for us also; and that more than we are put to it to exercise for ourselves: for he, in emptying himself, and dying, trusted God with the merit of all his sufferings beforehand; there being such a countless multitude of souls to be saved thereby to the end of the world. God trusted Christ before he came into the world, and saved millions of souls upon his voluntary offering and engagement, and then Christ at his death trusted God again as much.* In Hebrews ii, 12, 13, 14, it is made an argument, that Christ became a man like us, because he was put to live by faith, and the apostle brings in these words as prophesied of him, I will put my trust in him,' as a proof of his being so constituted. Now how should the consideration of these things help us to believe, since, in this example of Christ, we have the highest instance of believing that ever was. Hast thou the guilt of innumerable sins upon thee? Consider what Christ had, though not his own. Luther boldly says, 'Christ was the greatest sinner that ever was'—that is, by imputation. And yet he trusted God to justify him from all, and to raise him up from under the wrath due to them. Dost thou say, Christ was God, and knew he could satisfy; but I am a sinful man! Well, but if thou art one who castest thyself on Christ, and believest on him, thou art made one with Christ, and Christ speaking these words, He is near that justifieth, spake them in thy name as well as his own, for he stood in thy stead. It was only thy sins, and those of others, which exposed him to condemnation! and thou seest what his confidence was beforehand, that God would justify him. And if he had left any of them unsatisfied for, he had not been justified. But by his being justified from all sin, shall all sinners be justified who believe in him? Certainly for this very reason our sins shall not hinder * "Great is the mystery of godliness," especially in every thing respecting the holy Trinity. Eternity will be employed in developing the divinity and glory of our redemption. That the FATHER should become the God of the Son, by the incarnation! and that "God manifest in the flesh," should believe, obey, and suffer; and "through the eternal Spirit" thus " offer himself a sacrifice to God," in the truth of the nature which he had assumed--what a depth is here!" Angels desire to look into it." The whole universe is interested in it, and will be affected by it for ever.-ED. our coming to God. He then brings in those words, John xvii, For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth.' Showing how we possess all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus." I found a sweet and clear light shine on the above, and many other passages of the book; and praised God for the answer of prayer. In short, I felt we have all in Christ, and that they feel it most who believe most! December 28.-My soul seems entirely fixed on the glory of God! For some days that thought has been continually in my mind, O that I could really know that he did glorify himself in me !* If I was sure that all I feel is according to his will, then whatever sorrow or conflicts I endure, I should have a continual heaven. I entreated the Lord to show me what it was to glorify him; and in what manner the soul could bring him most glory. In a few days my prayer was in part answered. He showed me, if a lamp were set in the middle of a table, and several crystals around it, some more, some less clear, that the clearest crystal would best reflect the brightness of the lamp. As to my question, Which were the souls that brought most glory to God? I was taught that I must judge nothing before the time, for no true judgment could be formed till that day "when he should come to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe!" Then those who had been most emptied of self, most deeply humbled, and most fully prepared to receive and reflect the image of Christ, should eternally bear the highest resemblance to their Lord. I saw all good, all glory was in him, and nothing could bring honour to God, but our becoming nothing, that he might be all in all! I say I saw it, but I mean in a far deeper sense than ever I did before! O how short are words! I used to feel a pain in writing a diary because my words seemed to convey more than I meant; but now for some time I have felt just the contrary. I feel more than I can express. January 2, 1787.-My mind has been yesterday and to-day much affected with the thought of beginning a new year. This day five years I left Cross Hall in com * The "unction of the Holy One," giving a consciousness of our conformity to the Son of God, and to his word, can alone oestow or continue this high privilege.—ED. 66 pany with my dearest husband. O, what have I seen in five years! And what may I see before the end of the two next? Those words have been much with me for some days, Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." O that I may learn to do it in the most perfect manner! I am amazed at the goodness of the Lord in many things. I see him opening all my way before me day by day. He cuts out my work, and shows me how to employ every hour. My heavy affliction, which I continually feel from the loss of my dearest love, I do find power to offer up each moment to the Lord! Yea, I praise him in the midst of my sorrow that I have such a sacrifice to offer. What hath my Saviour done and suffered for me! I shall not repent when I get to glory that I have suffered a little for him. Though of all I have felt, nothing ever came near this! It has left the finest strings of nature bleeding! But all is well. I feel my mind drawn to live on that word, Thy will be done. In that I rest, and will for ever rest. My soul, wait thou only upon God, for of him cometh my salvation. A deep watchful spirit is what I am praying and waiting for. I mean that continual cleaving to Jesus, which is implied in that word,-Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. January 9.-Thinking this morning of my temptation, that my feeling of God is not sensible, and consequently my joy but weak, the following thought came to my mind, Do I not believe the whole world lieth in the wicked one, and that he leadeth them captive at his will? But was I conscious of his presence or power in any manner that could be called sensible? I was not. Do I not believe this was my own state? I do: I know I abode in the wicked one, and was led captive at his will. But I know I was in him, by the way and disposition I walked in. I walked in the way to hell, adding sin to sin; except when now and then a touch of God interfered. I walked in the disposition of loving and caring for life; I took my own care on myself, and sought my own happiness out of God. But I called all this following my reason, and my understanding, so that all the work of the wicked one on the spirit was invisible, and hidden from me. Now the apostle says, "As ye have rendered your members ser |