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be brought to believe in Christ. He is also one of the "many whom God hath ordained to eternal life, and one of the “many for whom Christ shed his own most precious blood, and in whom the Spirit begins his good work of grace, which he will carry on and perform until the day of Jesus Christ. So that however poor and needy, afflicted and persecuted, they may be on earth, they shall ere long arrive safe in glory everlasting, and take possession of the mansions of bliss prepared for them from before the foundation of the world. For such alone, namely, the poor in spirit, are the saints of the Most High Ged, who shall take the kingdom, being heirs of God, and joint- heirs with Christ, whe shall possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and for ever. Dan. vii. 18; Rom. viii. 16, 17. I shall proceed in the next place to notice,

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Secondly, What this poor man did: "He cried." This is an indisputable proof that he possessed spiritual life; for as the dead in sin cannot praise the Lord, Ps. cxv. 17; neither can they cry unto the Lord, having neither the will nor the power, until they are made alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. And be it ever remembered, that neither this poor man, nor any other poor man, can give himself life. You hath He quickened," saith the apostle." The work of quickening is as much the work of God, as the work of salvation; therefore all do greatly err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God, who exhort dead sinners to perform living acts. It is solemn mockery and blasphemy with a witness; and however learned, elo. quent, and talented, such preachers and exhorters may be, I scruple not to say they are ignorant of the first principles of the gospel of Christ. The exhortations and promises in Scripture, belong exclusively to the election of grace, who are saved by grace, justified by grace, called by

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grace, and kept by grace, until they shall each and all arrive safe in the kingdom of glory, to sing the song of grace through an endless eternity. Now the phrase, He cried," is very common in the book of Psalms, and simply means that he prayed; hence saith David, in Ps. xxxix. 12, “ Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry;" and in Ps. lxi. 1, Hear my cry, O God, and attend unto my prayer.' Prayer, therefore, is the cry of the soul after it is quickened by the Spirit of God. I might here enlarge much, by noticing, 1. To whom this poor man cried. 2. How he cried. 3. When he cried, and 4, For what he cried: but suffice it to say, that he cried unto the Lord, in humility, in faith and in confidence, when in trouble, for support in, or deliverance from the same; and this is what all the poor in spirit do: they cry unto the Lord, repeatedly, earnestly and fervently, because he only can hear them and grant unto them the desire of their hearts. Many persons, cry unto the Lord occasionally and formally, and most persons however wicked, profane and profligate will cry unto the Lord with their tongues, when they are in imminent danger, and death stares them in the face, by saying," Lord have mercy upon us;" but they do not cry with their hearts; they do not cry unto God, because they love God, hate sin and desire salvation by Christ; no it is only because they are afraid of death, of a future judgment, and of eternal misery, and therefore they wish to live on earth as long as they can, and enjoy the falsely termed pleasures of sin: but such cries and prayers, God will not hear; in fact, a woe is pronounced in Hosea vii. 14., upon all who cry unto the Lord with their tongues and not with their hearts; the words of the lips are not what the God regards, unless they express the inward breathings and desires of the soul. pray extempore, or read a written

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form, but all is solemn mockery, if our hearts are not engaged and renewed by sovereign grace. We must be born again, before we can spiritually cry, and before our prayers will be received with acceptance, through the mediation of our altogether lovely Jesus, hence saith Solomon, "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight," Prov. xv. 8., and who are the upright? none but those who are complete in Jesus, and accepted by the Father in him, the beloved, and none else will ever be poor in spirit and cry to God for mercy. But we shall notice,

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Thirdly, What the Lord did for 'this poor man.” Our text saith, "The Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." 1. Then the Lord heard him. Now as God is present every where he sees and hears all that we say and do; no thought, word nor action, can escape his notice, for his eyes are over all the earth, beholding the evil and the good," Prov. xv. 3., nevertheless we read in John ix. 31., "That God heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth;" and the psalmist saith," If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Psa. lxvi. 18. Now God is said not to hear, when he does not approve nor answer; and when it is said that God hears the cries prayers of his people, the plain meaning in the first instance, is, that what they ask and pray for meets with his peculiar attention and approbation, bence saith the psalmist, Verily God heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my supplication." Psa. lxvi. 19., and in the next place it signifies that God answers their cries, or prayers, hence in this psalm it is said, The righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles." verse 17. Thus the Lord heard this poor man," in our text, and thus he will hear the

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cries of all the poor in spirit, for saith David, The eyes of the Lord are

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upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry." Psa. xxxiv. 17., and again," The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit," verse 18. I might here recite many examples of God hearing the cries of his people at various times, and in different places; and also repeat numerous promises which God hath left on record, wherein he assures us that he will continue to regard the prayer of the destitute and never despise their prayer, Ps. cii. 17, but as you can read them at your pleasure almost on every page in the sacred Scriptures; I shall forbear so doing at the present, and proceed to remark that the Lord " saved this poor man out of all his troubles." We are not told what his troubles were, whether temporal or spiritual or both; but it matters not of what kind they were, nor how many in number, for the Lord saved him out of them all. Now the Lord saves from trouble three ways, namely, 1. By supporting his chidren in trouble. 2. By keeping troubles from them, and 3. By delivering them out of trouble. 1. Then I remark that God sometimes saves people from trouble, by supporting them in trouble. You have no doubt read that the apostle Paul was sore' troubled with a thorn in the flesh, and that he besought the Lord thrice to remove it: which request the Lord answered, not by removing it, but by supporting him under it," My grace, (saith the Lord) is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness," 2 Cor. xii. 7, 8, 9., which was a fulfilment of Jehovah's promise to his church of old, As thy day is, so shall thy strength be," Deut. xxxiii. 25. It is no where said in the word of God, that the people of God, shall be exempt from troubles, but on the contrary, it is positively declared, that we must through much tribulation, enter the kingdom," Acts xiv.

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22., and Christ told his disciples very plainly, " In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world," John xvi. 33., but however great and many our trials and troubles may be, God has promised that we shall be supported under them, and finally delivered from them. That is a sweet promise which God hath made to Christ, and to all that are in Christ, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned neither shall the flame kindle upon thee," Isa. xliii. 2., and to whom this blessed promise is applied with power by God the Holy Ghost, they can each say with David, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

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But God sometimes saves from from trouble by keeping trouble from us, or us from trouble. We are told by an inspired penman, that "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards," Job v. 7, but we must ever remember that our heavenly Father can prevent as well as permit. The troubles we endure are all appointed and permitted of God, and we should have many more did not God prevent them, hence we read that more than forty persons at one time conspired to kill Paul, but they were prevented from putting into execution their evil purpose, by Paul being removed out of their reach. Saul often sought to kill David, but he was as often prevented. Good old Jacob at one time hastily said, All these things are against me," Gen. xlii. 36, whereas the trials and troubles he anticipated and dreaded never came to him, for God prevented them, and thus saved the patriarch from some if not all his troubles. We often imagine that our troubles are great, but however great they are, they would be still greater

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if God did not keep other troubles from us, or us from them. Hence the most tried christian in existence has abundant cause to be always thankful to God that his troubles are neither so great as they might have been, nor so numerous; for if God hath permitted many, he has also also, in great goodness, prevented many more.

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Lastly, I observe that the Lord saves from trouble by delivering out of trouble: "This poor man cried, (saith our text,) and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." This is not only said of one individual, but of all such like. In the 19th verse: Many are the afflictions of the righteous (Christ and his seed), but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." Numerous are the promises of God to this effect in the sacred Scriptures, and they have been as frequently fulfilled; as in the case of the Israelites passing through the Red Sea, Jonah when thrown overboard, Daniel when put into the lion's den, the three Hebrew children when driven into the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual, and in Paul when he was shipwrecked. All these, and innumerable more, were saved from their troubles by being delivered out of them. And God is as able and willing now as he ever was to save his dear people, therefore like the poor man we should cry unto the Lord in our trouble, for the Lord, as the apostle hath said, knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation."

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But, methinks, you will be ready to ask, How can it be said that God saves his people out of all their troubles, when some of them live for years in trouble, and many are surrounded with troubles all their days? I answer, There is no christian but what God has saved him out of some of his troubles; and though God may permit troubles to attend them to the very brink of the grave, yet no trouble shall follow him any further, for

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death is the time, and not before, when God shall finally and for ever deliver his people out of all their troubles. God has not promised a total deliverance before, therefore it will be an useless task should any one look for it. This earth, is not appointed, to be our rest. Heaven alone is the rest, which remaineth, for the people of God, Heb. 4. 9. and we must die to go there; therefore, whatever troubles, God may not see fit to deliver us out of, whilst we live, he will support us in them, till we die, and then, we shall leave all our troubles, enemies, sin and corruption, behind us, and ascend to that place, where there is fulness of joy, and to God's right hand, where there are pleasures for evermore, Psalm xvi. 11. Hence when John, saw in a vision, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, standing before the throne, and be. fore the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands? he asked who, they were, and whence they came! And one of the elders, said unto him. These are they, which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him, day, and night, in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them, unto living fountains, of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes," Rev. vi. 9. to the end. Once more, and finally. This poor man in our text, cried unto the Lord, in trouble; but we are not to infer from hence, that it is not needful, for the christian, to cry unto the Lord, at any other time; by no means. only proves to us the necessity of our crying unto the Lord in trouble, be

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cause rone else can support as in nor deliver us from the same. We should cry unto the Lord as often, and as fervently, when out of trouble, as when in trouble; hence we are exhorted to "pray without ceasing," 1 Thess. 5. 17. Prayer is necessary, at all times, yet, it is not meritorious, at any time. God does not deliver his people, because they cry unto him, or as a reward of their crying. No. They cry unto him, because they love him, and therefore delight to obey his precepts, and God hears, and answers them, because he loves them, and delights to do them good. In conclusion then let me exhort you, to "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests, be made known, unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts, and minds, through Christ Jesus." Philip. iv. 6. 7.

A COPY OF A LETTER FROM A MINISTER TO HIS WIFE.

Dear Wife,

I RECEIVED your kind letter, and I feel very much concerned about the illness of our dear little Hephzibah, my dream was true, for I not only dreamed she was on fire, but when I put the fire out, she was full of pimples underneath her; having the scarlet fever, and then the measles has explained my dream; do write my dear as soon as you can, for I feel very anxious to know how she is. As it respects myself, I have been, and am now very unwell; last Lord's day I felt very unable to stand in the pulpit, I had a violent pain in the chest, and I was so faint, that I felt as if my life was going from me, and I was very sick with the phlegm, which I think relieved me a little; and now I am almost distracted with pain in my teeth and face. B-will either be my grave, or I shall be better in health,

which I do not expect, "But is there any thing too hard for the Lord?" May the good Lord teach me, that I may learn "in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." I never was in such a place for hypocrites, and empty professors during the during the whole course of my ministry; they appear to have light enough to see their way to hell but not to heaven, I never met with such opposition, storm and sunshine, in any other place, during the whole course of my life; for the serpents have hissed, the dogs have barked, the lions have roared, the bears have growled, the cunning foxes have snarled, and have been taken in their own craftiness, the wolves in sheep's clothing, have had their skin torn from their backs, the whited sepulchres have been levelled, the green leaves on the top have been dug up, and dead men's bones, and rottenness have been exposed. But in all the battle with this host, I have fought without any arms, or armour, of my own For the weapons of my warfare, have not been carnal, but spiritual, and they have been mighty, through God, to pulling down of strong-holds." "For it is not by might, nor by the power of the creature, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts." But this is not all that has been done, but also the worms have had the dew and the children have been born crying for mercy and have sucked the sincere milk of the word,

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The prey has been taken from the mighty, and the lawful delivered." For the prisoners, have been sent out of the pit, were there was no water, by the blood of the everlasting cove nant, the lame has taken the prey, the tongue of the stammerer has spoken plainly, the tongue of the dumb has been singing, the whole has been wounded, and the wounded has been healed, the sinners in Zion have been afraid, fearfulness has surprized the hypocrites, and the Lord has enabled me, by his grace, to rush into the enemy's camp, sword in hand, without any strength of my own, shout

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ing out, "There is no other name, under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved, but the name of Jesus." The Lamb and his blood is the only thing by which we can overcome, For Christ is all, and in all." The shout through God's power, made the walls of Jericho fall, and a goodly number has been taken, and brought to Immanuel, how many I cannot tell you at present. Notwithstanding all this good news, pei secution has been very bitter against me, by the corruption-men who make sin their experience, not Christ, and many of them live and rest in it, and sit down, and admire themselves, and condemn all those to perdition, who do not; but we can as soon be saved, by righteous-self, as sinful-self, unless we have a better foundation than either we must perish. There is salvation in Christ, and in nothing else; and nothing but damnation out of him. For he that is without the knowledge of God, is without Christ, and without hope, for he is the only hope that is sure and stedfast. But whatever persecution I have met with none of these move me, neither do I count my life dear, so that I finish my course with joy and the ministry I have received of the Lord Jesus." I have been constrained to say with wonder, what has God wrought; you know, my dear, we cannot expect to have any thing else from iron hearts, but iron usage, for the best is a briar, and the most upright a thorn-hedge. No rest or peace is promised, us but in Jesus only. Oh, when will that blessed day come, when we shall be beyond the mountains of leopards, and the lions' den, and gaze upon indescribable beauties, and boundless glories of God, and the Lamb. We shall not only be spectators, but we shall be like him, and enjoy the same perfect happiness, that he enjoys for ever, but while we are in this timestate we are in his hands, and in his heart, therefore all is and will be well with us.

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W. C.

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