A DIALOGUE BETWEEN MR. O., AND MR. T., ON SPIRITUAL SUBJECTS.

BY THE LATE JOHN RUSK.

Continued from page 128.

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Hence you read, with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield; again the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, which truth makes us free, and in searching God's word, we are led to see, that God is on our side, and if God be for us, who can be against us? Truth is to be our shield and buckler, and truth says, shall not be tempted, above that we are able, and that he knoweth how to succour them that are tempted, and to deliver the godly out of temptation," and, take the helmet of salvation; an helmet is a steel or iron cap, to guard the head. Peter says, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation ; I remember once hearing Mr. Huntington make this remark,' why is this helmet, which guards the head called the hope of salvation, which hope is in the heart? I will tell you, suppose you have got the truth never so clear in your head, yet if you have it not in your heart, an heretic will baffle you out of it all, but if in the head you believe election, and have made your calling, and election sure; if in the head, you believe in the atonement of Christ, and this blood hath cleansed you, and so on with the other doctrines, this good hope in the heart, is the helmet that no devil, or heretic can baffle you out of, although they may throw you into confusion;" but Christ Jesus, is this helmet, hence he is called that blessed hope, and he is God's salvation, to the end of the earth, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; we do well to notice two things, and that is this, the word and the Spirit must always go together, so that, let any man bring forth what doctrine he may, if it is not in God's word, he is not guided by God's Spirit, for the Spirit always July, 1845,]

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works with the word, but never contrary to it, and how needful this is in contending for the faith. Stephen, he brought forth God's word, and he was a partaker of God's Spirit, neither could they resist the Spirit by which he spake, but gnashed with their teeth, and then stoned him to death. Well, Christ calls this sword his, hence he tells the pharisees, that his ord hath no place in them, and Paul call this Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, for he was anointed with the Holy Ghost above his fellows; lastly "praying always with all prayer &c, but every petition must go up in his all prevailing name; now these young men understood this armour, and also what it was to lay their hand of faith upon Satan, and to remember the battle that our Lord had with Satan, and in this way, and no other they overcome the wicked one; but take notice of this, a complete victory we never shall have in this world, for although Satan is conquered by the Son of God, and although by faith we are enabled to resist him, yet Satan is suffered to go on to distress, torment, vex, and do his utmost until death, and in the great day he will be well rewarded, for this destruction is not annihilation, O no, this Satan would like, but it is everlasting destruction, and this destruction is prepared for the devil and his angels, hence he said to Christ, we know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God, art thou come to torment us before the time?”

T-What a dreadful being Satan must be, and how fast he holds all the human race, as Paul says," the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." What a mercy, friend O, to be translated out of the kingdom of Satan, into the kingdom of God's dear Son, and seeing there are so few (comparatively) that know what this is, what debtors are we.

0.-I will now come to the last, and highest stage, in the school of Christ, and that is to treat a little

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about these fathers. John speaks it twice, I write unto you fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning, now by the beginning you and I are not to understand that ever God had a beginning, no, he is from everlasting," from everlasting to everlasting thou art God," Psalm xc. 2. but by the beginning, we are to understand, when time first took place, when God created all things, and therefore you read as follows," in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," an Arian may be ready to say, ah, that was God the Father, but I say that it was a trinity of persons in God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or else what propriety is there in these words, "let us make man &c." If there was but one person in the Godhead, it would be in the singular, and not in the plural, and then it would be read, I will make man, but John settles this point, hence he says, " in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, the same was in the beginning with God;" John i. 1, 2. and this Word was the Son of God, or God the Son, "for there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one," and the Holy Ghost also was at the creation, hence you read, " by his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens, &c," this then is what we are to understand, by the beginning; again it appears that angels were made before man, but all in six days, for in six days, God made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that in them is," and the devil is said to sin from the beginning, and he certainly did, when he tempted our first parents; thus the Arian is proved to be a fool, for we have proved a trinity of persons, hence John says, the Word was with God, that is, with God the Father, what, a demi-God, or a human soul? away with such blasphemy, no, the Word was God, a divine person equal with the Father, for as Isaiah saith, with whom took he

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counsel &c," and then the Holy Ghost the Spirit of God moved upon face of the waters." Again, beginning particularly alludes the first manifestation of Christ our first parents, for as before observed" in the beginning was the Word," and the promise was after the fall, "the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," that is" a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel, God with us," that holy thing shall be united to the Word, and bruise the serpent or Satan's head, hence John says, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, (that is, heard his voice, for he has spoken life to our souls,) which we have seen with our eyes, (that is, the eyes of our understandings have been enlightened,) which we have looked upon, (as Israel looked on the brazen serpent, so have we looked upon the Son of man when lifted up, and felt virtue in thus looking) and our hands have handled of the word of life, (that is, our faith has held him fast as the church did: I held him fast, and would not let him go &c, Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life &c,) for the life was manifested and we have seen it, (as Moses did, although it is invisible) and bear witness (agreeable to what God says by Isaiah, (ye are my witnesses,) and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Fa ther, and was manifested unto us," 1 John i. 1, 2. Once more, as it respects this beginning; all our experimental knowledge altogether depends upon the Holy Ghost," who

moved upon the face of the waters,' "let that therefore abide in you, which ye heard from the beginning, if that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father," and then John tells us what he means, but the anointing which ye have received of him, abideth in you, &c., and even as it hath taught

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you, ye shall abide in him;" thus you see something of that knowledge which John as a father or elder had arrived to; namely to know him that is from the beginning, and it is a most blessed thing to have our souls well established in the glorious doctrine of the ever-blessed Trinity; not merely as a creed, which thousands have, but a saving knowledge of these truths as John had. But I will, as the Lord shall enable me, treat about these fathers, and remember this one thing, that they never arrive in this world to fleshly perfection, neither are they without changes, let that be remembered once for all; hence John, who was a father, says, "if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts," &c. First then, a father is one that can go before all the rest in experience of God's truth, he has travelled the road and is well acquainted with it, and therefore he is able to instruct others; this term, father, is like the founder of a thing, the inventor, as Jabal was the father of such as dwell in tents, and such as have cattle, and Jubal was the father of such as handle the harp and organ, and I believe, that John was one that had a rich experience, and was made very useful in writing to God's family, first, to little children, to encourage them, telling them that their sins were forgiven them, for Christ's sake, and he had great discernment in detecting error, hence he speaks of false prophets, antichrist, &c., and shews in what way they are to be known; he writes to the young men, and tells them not to love the world, &c., he well knew the craft of Satan, and therefore tells them, All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," &c., cautioning them against what they must expect. Paul was another of these fathers, and if you read his epistles, you will find what a large experience he had of God's truth, and what he suffered. Peter was another, hence Peter says, "the elders which

are among you, I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed," and if you read his epistles, you will find how he treats of the trial of faith, enforces gospel obedience, speaks of Christ as the only foundation, of God's calling his people in consequence of their election, then of the sufferings of Christ, then of resisting Satan, after this of false prophets and their awful end, and then of the day of judgment, and the thousand years reign. Now I have mentioned three, but at the same time I believe that all the prophets and apostles that were true, I say, that all these were fathers.

T-I wonder, that you bring in Jabal and Jubal, for what has that to do with experimental christians, who are taught by God's Spirit.

O.-I only mention them to shew who the application of father is applied to; namely, such as have wisdom, and can go before, able to instruct others; but I will proceed to the second thing, which belongs to a father, and that is, he is one that has a family of children, consequently he is a married man, and this is true respecting these fathers, for they are married to the Lord Jesus Christ, Rom. vii. 3, "ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another even to him, that is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." Christ is called by Isaiah, the Everlasting Father, and such as are married to him, he is pleased to take some of them, and make them eminently useful in his church, in begetting others to a knowledge of the truth, and Paul was one of these: hence he tells the Church at Corinth, "for though ye have ten thousand instructors, yet have ye not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus, (mark that), in Christ Jesus, (there the marriage union) I have begotten you through the gospel." Timothy he calls," his

own son in the faith," and, many others. Thus you see, that a father in Christ is one of large experience, is united to Christ Jesus, is blessed with a great share of spiritual wisdom and understanding and instrumental in begetting others. But thirdly, a father, literally should be one that loves, and is tender over his children; hence Paul, when writing to the Thessalonians says, "but are gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children, so being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us." And this is no easy thing except when love is in exercise: hence, Moses complains of the Lord's laying the burden of all the children of Israel, upon him, saying, " have I conceived all this people, have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child," &c. Numb. xi. 12. you see what a different influence Moses was under at that time to what Paul was; thus a father, spiritually, when under the sweet influence of grace, is very tender and full of love to his children in the faith. Fourthly, a father literally, should see to the feeding and clothing of his children; this is a natural cause: now Paul was one of these fathers, in a spiritual sense, and therefore he feeds his children, some with milk, "I have fed you with milk, and not with strong meat, for ye were not able to bear it, neither are ye now able." You see how tenderly he acted towards them, and what wisdom God gave him, as Christ told Peter, who was another of these fathers, féed my lambs, feed my sheep," bu how can any man do this, that has n ot travelled the road himself, all suchf can do, is to bring forth the letter o truth, but the let ter killeth, but if a man is sent of God, and a father in Christ, he can tell about his first seeking the Lord,

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and what hard work he found at the strait gate, after this he can tell how happy he was in his first love, and that he expected that it would continue, then he can tell of his being weaned from the milk, then of going into the field of battle, and of the cruel treatment he had from the world the flesh and the devil, and the worst of all, his own heart, well after all this he gets more and more established, his hopes stand firmer and these storms do not shake him as formerly. His faith groweth and his love to the Lord, and he tells what he feels to others. God gives him a door of utterance and makes him useful to the souls of men, in communicating the same Spirit, and thus he is a father, and is never more at home than when he is telling others what God has done for his soul, and the Holy Spirit furnishes him continually, leads his mind to the ancient settlements, when the covenant was made, leads him to see and feel his eternal election, the righteousness of Christ, the atonement, leads him into all the office and covenant characters of Christ, step by step, and constantly leads him out of self to live wholly upon Christ, so that as one of these fathers said, "Out of his fulness be receives grace for grace," and such are well established in several things. First, in the fall of man, by a con. stant feeling the plague of their own hearts, as Paul did, O wretched man that I am." Secondly, in grace, that they never will be any better, but that all they have they are indebted to God's grace for. Thirdly, in righteousness: that all Christ's becomes theirs by imputation, and they are quite at a point, that this is the one and only way, and they rejoice in it. Lastly, God blesses them with much wisdom and knowledge, so that they well understand the way he has led them, and feel a growing delight in it, and if they do not in this, they cannot in any thing else. Wisdom and knowlege is the stability of their

times, &c. But I would mention another sort of food, not only milk, or all comfort, which the babes have, sucklings and children, but there is strong meat also, hence he says, "Strong meat is for them of full age, which by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern good and evil;" you know as well as I, that it will not not do literally to give to a baby, what you give to a grown person; no, each have their proper food; now here are some that have had their senses exercised, and here are sharp trials and conflicts from every quarter, all that former comfort which they once had, seems lost, and only like a dream; well, they come to hear the word, and God is pleased to lead the preacher to describe; God's work, and he first shews how God begins, and he leads the soul on to his first love.

(To be Concluded in our next.)

To the Querists, with remarks on their propounded Queries, in June number of the Spiritual Magazine.-Page 128.

BRETHREN, I am one of the favoured readers of "the Spiritual Magazine," among many thousands of christians, with yourselves, and being continually instructed, comforted, and strengthened through it, by the Holy Ghost's various ministrations, I am constrained in his bless ings at times, to write a few lines for insertion, in gratitude, humility, selfdenial, christian charity, and filial reverence, before the Holy Ghost, and the Father, and Christ, one God; praying the same may be rendered a blessing to his elect family on earth. In these enjoyments, I am inclined to present remarks, as requested, on "Three Queries." your

The first is," Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they

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receive you into everlasting habitations."-Luke xvi. 9.

In order to arrive at a right understanding, in any measure of the above sentence, your first query, we must be assured, by and in the Holy Ghost, that the person who spake the words, was our Lord and Saviour, God the Son, Incarnate, Immanuel; the Man Christ Jesus; and know the same was and is, a parable, spoken to his disciples, the twelve apostles, with others assembled, together with enemies, especially the scoffing pharisees. Moreover we must be assured that the parable now speaks, and will speak, to peoples through time, in judgment, and mercy, for a blessing to his ransomed peoples, especially his public witnesses, pastors, ministers, and missionaries, called stewards, See Gen. iii.; xv. 2; Titus i. 7; 1 Cor. iv. 2; Rev. xxii. 14. 21. Furthermore it is necessary in order to properly understand the parable, and to interpret the same, as your propounded query, to be assured that in the multitude of stewards, there are some, unto whom the Lord gives qualifications for stewardship, to endure for a time only, and those stewards, not being regenerated, enter into Satan's temptations, and fall into mischief, that is, unholy, unjust acts and deeds, against the Lord, against his word and ways upon earth; proving themselves to be designedly mischievous, and unjust, and in consequence, as the Lord says, " May be no longer stewards." Luke xvi. 2.

Therefore let us, who in the divine blessing, are faithful, regenerated stewards with our households and congregations, look upon and hear our blessed Lord, addressing his disciples by parables, at length, before he uttered the parable which is your first query.

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We observe, "He said unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward, and the same was accused unto him, that he