me; Rose Sunday morning Sept, 17, weak | the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord in body, labouring under some darkness thy God which teacheth thee to profit, of mind, careless in soul, followed by a which leadeth thee by the way that thou tempting devil, and an alluring world, shouldst go." Good and gracious God, sought the Lord by prayer, found some thou art a covenant-keeping, promiseaccess to a precious Jesus. He has fulfilling God to a thousand generations, told me that I should have tribulation. for thou art ever present with thy poor Went into the pulpit and spoke from family as we found it this morning, to Lam. i. 14, "The yoke of my trans- comfort, support, and strengthen our gressions is bound by his hand: they faith in the love of the ever-adorable are wreathed, and come up upon my Trinity to our poor souls, and to lead neck; he hath made my strength to fall, our faith to the glorious redemption of the Lord hath delivered me into their our incarnate God, that by thy own love hands from whom I am not able to rise to us poor ungodly sinners in the gift up." Found my mind dark at first, and of thy dear Son, thou mightest constrain the enemy much distressed and harassed us to love thee again. Spoke in the evenbut sometimes I am enabled to ing again from the same words. Jesus speak, pray, and resist the devil by the was with us of a truth, to teach us faith of my all-conquering Captain of to profit by his blessed Spirit. O salvation. Glory to his name, he brought Lord, we know when in our right mind me through this morning, and in mercy that every trial, temptation, cross, dark was pleased to bless us with his soul- and crooked path, trying providences, satisfying presence. Went in the af- with men and devils raging, together ternoon to hear Mr. B. Could not with all the heavy labour that is found in hear him with any power or satisfaction. our souls, between flesh and spirit, is for Spoke again in the evening from the profit. "For in all labour there is profit." same words. Surely the Lord was O Lord, enable us to bear it with patience. with me of a truth, and that to fill my poor This week brings with it troubles. earthen vessel with his heavenly treasure. Hold on faith and patience a little longer O Lord, what am I that thou shouldst and all will be over; for though we have so bless me, who of all thy creatures a powerful devil to encounter, an oppreshave sinned against thee most? O Lord, sing and cruel world to overcome, it is all of grace, free and undeserving a weak and infirm body to bear up under, The Lord was pleased to enable me to a body of sin and death to resist, dark separate the vile from the precious, and and trying providences to make out, the to deal out a portion to the hypocrite fighting of men and devils to stand and to his dear children; this makes against, darkness to walk in, and have no poor me the wonder and envy of men light, to mourn the absence of God, and and devils, and the safe protection of a pre- wait his blessed arrival, to carry the burcious Jesus is with me. O Lord, hold den of the Lord's family, and to meet thou me up and I shall be safe. Praise with many wounds in the house of thy Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen. friends, to bear the taunts of men and devils, and to fight through all in perfect weakness, to march to heaven with the wind of hell full in thy face, to believe all is right when nothing as to sense can be felt, to preach the word when all oppose, to believe all will be light when nothing but confusion and darkness is felt, and to conquer death at last; all this and much more I feel I have to fight against and overcome, and blessed be God shall be more than conqueror through faith in the blood of the Lamb. WednesRose Sunday morning, Sept. 24, read, day evening before preaching felt my prayed, and sought the Lord for fresh mind a mass of confusion, so much so grace, strength, and wisdom for the day, that I could not put up one petition that his name may be glorified, his peo-with any consistency. Went into the ple instructed, and the name of Jesus precious to our souls. Went into the pulpit and spoke from Isa. xlviii. 17. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, Wednesday evening spoke from the same words with freedom and liberty of soul, but grieved to see so few attend to the means which God has promised to bless, and to meet with his dear family, to comfort, refresh, and bless them with eternal life. O Lord, enable us to look to thy promise at all times, and with patience wait upon thee for the fulfilment of it in thy house of prayer, that we may not turn aside after others in this awful day of departing from the truth. pulpit according to God's promise, “I guide the blind in a way they know not, and in paths they have not known, I make darkness light and crooked things straight, these things will I do unto | that the eyes of our faith can behold in them, and not forsake them." O Lord, heaven or in earth. But, O Lord, what my sinful unbelieving heart is constrained is man, poor, proud, and sinful man in to acknowledge that thou art true, and himself considered, a hater of God and unbelief a liar, for thou wast pleased to an enemy to thy blessed Person; yet bless me this night with light, life, that spark of eternal love which thou liberty, and love, to speak from the same art pleased to implant in the hearts of words to the glory of God and to the en- thy dear family will be longing for thy couragement of our faith, hope, and love. sweet return, and endearing presence, Rose Sunday morning, Oct. 1, with which is better than life, as I am a poor the same words on my mind. O Lord, feeble witness of; for although the Philwhat a field is opened in thy precious istines had bound my soul, and the devil word for meditation, when thy blessed triumphed over me, and sin and unbeSpirit opens it to our dark understand- lief had fast bound my heart in its cold ing. Precious Jesus! thou wast sweet fetters, together with the soul being to our souls this morning, and was gra- shut up in the dismal dungeon of darkciously pleased to lead us by thy word ness, and all help and strength seem to and Spirit to thy blessed self as our fail us, as it did me at this time, so much only hope of salvation, and to manifest so that I laid down under the burden thyself to us as thou dost not unto the sorrowful and sad. But shall the midworld, and to visit us with thy heart-night darkness of the soul, the hardness humbling and soul-reviving presence. of our hearts, and coldness of our affecO Lord, this was a morning to be re- tions, together with the prison walls of membered by many of thy poor tried unbelief and dungeon of despair, with all family. Went again in the evening, the awful crew within our hearts which found fresh matter spring up in my soul are rebels to a man, and all determined from the same words, and it was a close to shut out thy blessed self, and fight discourse to the hypocrite, and a bless- against thee as long as they have breath, ing to the Lord's dear family, to keep and resist thy glorious reign, ever cause them from settling upon their lees. thee to cease to love thy family? O Lord, Precious Jesus, thou art the way, and thy love to them is unceasing, everlasting, only way, to eternal glory, through thy and eternal, for thou loved them before blood any righteousness, and thou only. ever they had a being in this world, when The Lord enabled such a poor blind sin- dead in sin, and will love them to all eterner as I to speak five times from this nity: neither shall all the bulwarks of precious scripture, and opened the heart sin, Satan, world, nor all the mountains of the people to receive it in the love of it. of difficulties, together with all the strong Wednesday, Oct. 4. Went to my room prisons and chains that the devil binds to read, pray, and meditate; but, alas! thy poor helpless family in, ever prevent what is man, a mass of confusion, blind- thy blessed self from running to their reness, and wretchedness, no help, strength, lief, and although unbelief, pride, hardnor power in and of himself, as I found ness of heart, and a stubborn will may it at this time by fearful experience; for be as so many keepers before the door my heart was fast bound and frozen by of the heart, to keep the soul in prison, sin, unbelief, and temptations; no love and the affections may be bound with the to God springing up without eternal chains of carnal ease and sleepy sloth, love to constrain; no burning of affec- yet thou, O Lord, as the mighty Angel tion without a sense of divine favour of the everlasting covenant of grace, will resting upon our souls, and the all- come upon us with sweet beams of eterpowerful voice of Jesus to open our nal light, life, power, and love, and shine hearts to receive the precious truth in into the prison of our souls, and smite the love of it; no understanding in the by thy power in our hearts and shed ascriptures until the blessed Spirit of all broad thy love in our affections, and raise wisdom and revelation is pleased to open us up quickly, enabling us by faith to them to us, and to lead us into the put on the sandals or shoes of iron and sweet mystery of Christ and him cruci- brass, the precious promises and the glorfied for us, as I found it before preach-ious garment of salvation, and follow Him ing. For such was the darkness of my mind, the hardness of my heart, and coldness of my affections, to an all-precious Jesus, he alone is the adorable, sweetest, and most delightful object with our loins girt about with truth, and our affections burning with love and gratitude to our all-gracious Deliverer and eternal Saviour, the chains fall off from our hands of faith and love, the first 66 ward of darkness is past by eternal light, | thy resurrection, more and more, day by Arise, shine, for thy light is come:" day, and everlasting praises shall rethe second ward is past of coldness, dead-dound to Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen. ness, insensibility, and hardness of heart, by a sweet sense of eternal pardoning love through a Saviour's blood, and the iron gate that leadeth unto the city of God's eternal rest, of which He is the founder and foundation both, opens to us of his own accord, even the gate of electing and predestinating love, in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord, this gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter." Oh, my soul, admire, praise, adore, magnify, and love a dear and precious Jesus, who was pleased to bring thee out this night in this glorious manner from the prison house, and to lead thee to speak from these words in a small measure-"Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures ?" O Lord, it is thy power alone that gives our faith, hope, love, and affections a glorious resurrection, which was the case with my poor soul at this time. Oh may we, as thy dear people, know thee and the power of Rose Saturday morning, dark in mind, lifeless in soul, followed by a tempting devil, and a distressing world. Went to my room to seek his gracious face who has said, "Seek and ye shall find;" which, blessed be God, is a truth, for he has never said to the seeking sinner seek ye me in vain, as I found it to the glory of his precious name, for on my knees the Lord the Spirit was pleased to give me a spirit of grace and supplication, which brought home and into my heart a precious Jesus; the hope of eternal glory meekened my spirit, humbled my heart, led me to self-abhorrence, strengthened my faith, encouraged my hope, and made all things straight for the time; but he was soon pleased to withdraw from me, and I left to mourn my wretched condition, and faint yet pursuing in reading and prayer through the day; but when night came was much darker than in the morning, and despair began to make head against my soul, owing to the much opposition I had to encounter from the powers of darkness, the world, cross providences, and outward persecution. FRAGMENTS BY A DEPARTED BELIEVER. (Continued from page 318.) fore, He having wrought all our works and THESE are the words of our precious Lord, and clearly show us that there is such a thing as having the light, and not walking therein; in that case darkness necessarily follows-a darkness which SO blinds our eyes, that we know not whither we are going. It is not necessary we should know. The Lord is acquainted with our path, and leads the blind by a way they know not. We know the promise cannot fail, that those who seek find; a broken and contrite heart the Lord will not despise. Yet, notwithstanding darkness will assail us, but the end of all things dawns, and in the last FOR want of diligence clouds often interconflict our surety was sore amazed. cept our communion with God. The "God will render to every man according intrude, and usurp the ascendancy in our enemy gains advantage, earthly cares to his works."-Rom. ii. 6. hearts. For want of diligence our ChrisHow blessed for us that Jesus has borne tian armour becomes unfit for use. In the heavy load! all our guilt was trans- consequence of our faith being at so low ferred to Him, and we are made the an ebb, we are not able to wield the righteousness of God in Him. There-shield of faith, and quench the fiery dart Keep thy heart with all diligence.”- of Satan. We must therefore keep the eye of faith firmly fixed on Christ, that we may be able to stand in the evil day; and having done all to stand;" which is not easy in the dark way-over many things we have to stumble, when the bright shining of the Sun of righteousness fails to illumine our path, and we are as a bottle in the smoke. How necessary to make our calling and election sure; to wait on the Lord, who hideth his face from the house of Israel. “The Lord trieth the righteous."—Psal. xi. 5. DAILY experience strongly attests the veracity of this declaration. The Lord tries our love to Him by withholding the blessed communications of his grace to prove us as He did his children under the Old Testament dispensation; even to prove and see what there was in them; and so He continues to prove our souls now, whether we still wait at his footstool, even when He seems to deny us; as He answered the woman (when she cried, "Lord,help me," with sincere and deep importunate need) "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Did she depart? Oh, no! Her faith was strong, and her faith re ceived that encouragement which the Lord will dispense to all his faithful children. When streams from the fountain cease to flow, our faith is tried by an apparent failure, and we are ready to exclaim, "Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up his tender mercies ?" The Lord tries us in our reputations, by suffering us to be misrepresented; with deaths oft in our souls, and no liberty of access to the throne of grace. We are tried with the prospect of grappling with our last foe, for want of power to plead with the Lord in earnest persevering supplication; we resolve to pray, but in vain; wandering thoughts and earthly cares prevent. Seek, and ye shall find.”—Matt. vii. 7. HERE is recorded the word of eternal truth, which can never fail. The promises are given to sustain our faith; on these we are to subsist, until shadows flee away, and calamities are overpast, and the true light now shineth, He will fulfil all that he has spoken. Oh, let us rest here, nor fear the rage of earth and hell, for we are secure under the shadow of the promises, where He makes his people rest. It is a sure Tower of defence, where our hope may securely fasten. A MEDITATION. THIS morning I received a letter from an honoured experienced servant of the Lord God of Israel, which opened with the salutation, "May the pillar of cloud guide you day by day, and the pillar of fire protect you by night.' دو It set me musing. Yes, it is well to walk by faith, and not by sight; to follow the cloud rather than to see the way open before. The cloud hides the future, the past lies open behind. We can look back along the path we have trodden with our feet, and from the experience of the past, gather strength and confidence to face the untried future. The soul can pause at its encampment this night, be it where it may, and review the incidents of its march hitherto. Perchance the later stages have been through a barren and thirsty land, where no water is; yet hath not that ROCK, whence flow the living waters, followed thee? and hast thou not, again and again, been made to drink of its reviving streams? In this retrospect, the eye may rest on yonder mountain-over whose summit and down whose rugged sides the labouring soul has toiled. Could it have seen that terrible obstacle barring its path, it would have fainted at the prospect; but then the cloud intervened, which now has passed over; and so much only of the difficulty and peril was unfolded at one time, as was necessary to call into exercise the faith given, and to enhance the preciousness of the SAVIOUR and DELIVERER who preserved and guided. Borne upon the everlasting arms, the steep and wearisome ascent was accomplished; nor could the foot stumble on the frightful precipice. Does the glance fall on yonder swollen torrent, which makes such an awful gap in the pathway? Could that have been foreseen, surely the soul would have turned aside, shuddering from the path; but the cloud led the way, and the width of the waters, and the violence of the Who plants his footsteps in the sea, .66 surely the darkness Among you that billows, terrible as they were in the gloom | urge the doubt, of obscurity, were encountered step by shall cover me. step; and clinging to the arm of Him-fear the Lord, that obey the voice of his servant, who is there walking in darkness, and that hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." It was the NAME OF THE LORD that dwelt among them in the wilderness in the pillar of the cloud by day, and in the pillar of fire to give light by night. And, blessed be the NAME OF THE LORD! He came manifest in the flesh, a light that whosoever believeth in Him should not abide in darkness. that deep and threatening affliction was safely gone through. Hath He not said, Though thou pass through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee ?" And shall He not do it? Hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? Blessed be his holy name, "Not one good thing hath failed of all the good He hath spoken; all hath come to pass." Look on yonder bog! It may be the soul has occasion to notice, how that its onward path would have been through that slough; but that the pillar of the cloud, unseen and unnoted providences led it aside. If so, let it bless and praise that mercy to which it is a debtor, that it hath not polluted itself as it would have done, had it not been prevented. But should it be that the soul has occasion to look at that morass of corruption and filth with loathing and disgust, as having wallowed through its mire, it must be constrained to own that it was itself alone to blame, for rushing away from its guide to follow the treacherous attractions of a brilliancy that emanates of corruption, and where dazzling light fades in an instant. If the soul is necessitated to contemplate such a scene, let it lay low in the dust, and pray that "the pillar of cloud may lead it day by day." It may be the pillar of cloud has rested this many a day, and that soul fretted by reason of its long tarrying in a dry and barren encampment, would desire to be moving forward; but spirit, in the exercise of faith, checks this "natural" impatience (which is the sin that doth so easily beset us) and desiring to run with patience the race that is set before us, waits the Lord's time, saying with faithful Moses, "If thy presence go not with us, take us not up hence." Is it a time of darkness on the soul, "wherein the beasts of the forest do roam ?" When horror and dread would Christ with his cross, is better than the world with its crown.-Dyer. A dead faith can no more cherish the soul, than a dead corpse can perform the functions of life.-Hart. One thought more! It is blessing with the portion of a child of Israel. On this wise did Boaz bless the daughter of Moab, who had come to trust under the wings of the Lord God of Israel. And according to his blessing, so was it fulfilled unto her; she had according to the rights and privileges of an Israelite. And shall a less gracious measure be meted out now to those who come to trust under his wings? Surely in the ever stretched-out wings of the cherubim on the mercy-seat, we have a gracious figure that these wings are ever spread to shelter all who flee to the mercy-seat. Yea, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings so tenderly, so carefully: as an eagle bears her young that cannot fly themselves. How very sweet are Scripture illustrations. Is the soul timid and lowly? here are the wings of a hen to cover and to cherish. Is it aspiring, and desirous to soar into the light unapproachable?— here are the eagle's wings to bear it up. Is it lamenting its vileness and uncomeliness?-yet shall she be like the wings of a dove, resplendent with silver and gold and so He beholds her comely with the loveliness He has put put upon her, and He calls her "his Dove, his undefiled One." And lastly, He, the Alpha and the Omega of this, as of all Scripture, soars up out of the tomb with healing on his wings. To Him be all honour and glory, now and for ever.Amen. Cherith, Feb., 1855. T. W. A man cannot dive unless he has been used to deep waters.-Huntington. A believer in a poor condition, resembles a fine picture in a broken frame.-Jenkin. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, I desire A believer talks and converses with God. to fight the Lord's battles, to his praise and -Hart. my comfort.-Romaine. |