in union with those who say, our lips are our own, who is lord over us?" Psm. xii. 4; but as the blessed Spirit carries on his work in their souls, he gives them not only fresh discoveries of the need of salvation by rich and sovereign grace, but opens up to their enlightened minds the blessings of salvation, and leads them to admire its glorious plan, and I must say, and know it to be a most substantial truth, that the plan devised by the Eternal Three, to save their souls, so exactly suit their case, that they can well understand the language of Mr. Ryland in his 118th hymn, which reads thus

Thus, beloved in the Lord, we see that it is the sole prerogative of God the Spirit to empty the elect sinner, and then give him faith to believe that God our heavenly Father has deposited in the Son of his love an ample provision for poor law-wrecked self-ruined, insolvent, perishing sinners, which is true. He fills their souls with craving desires after what he has in reserve to bestow upon them; he brings them to his sacred feet as poor needy sinners, there they plead, though in very broken language, the rich merits of a Saviour's blood for their acceptance before the throne, nor can their pour souls find rest till his blessed Majesty speak peace to their much distressed spirits, which in his own blessed time he will do. So I repeat it again, that the same hand that wounds must bring the healing balm. True it is, that they are sometimes left to try false physicians, false doctrines, false refuges, a false world, false friends, and a false heart. Do you that are

in the hearing of my voice, know what it is to travel in this intricate path? but though I propound this question, I do believe that some of you bave known what those bitters are, and could well enter into the feelings of Job, when he exclaimed, "Miserable comforters are they all." But oh what a contrast there is in the feelings when the Lord the Spirit speaks home a sweet promise to the soul, the darkness that before enveloped the mind, the hardness, the bondage, the guilt, the temptations that the poor sinners laboured under, like a mighty flood pass away, whilst faith, love, meekness, connected with a sacred confidence that all has been well, and all is well, and all shall be well with the soul. At last the poor sinner can well understand the language of the church, and that feelingly, when she said "My beloved spake, and said unto me, rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away, for lo, the winter (the darkness that enveloped thy soul) is past, the rain or floods of affiiction are over and gone, the flowers (the sweet graces of the Holy Spirit) appear on the earth (we have, said the apostle, these treasures in earthen vessels), the time of the singing of birds is come (thou, said the psalmist to God, hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto God, Psm. xl. 3). and the voice of the turtle (the Holy Spirit) is heard in our land." Song ii. 11, 12. And whilst the blessed Comforter spreads his odoriferous perfume over the souls of every spiritual Levite, they can "set to their seal that God is true," John iii. 33, yea faithful to his pro.. mises. "I will (says God) pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring, and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the name

of Jacob, and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel," Isaiah xliv. 3, 4. And again, they can say with the psalmist, "I was brought low and he helped me : return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." Ps.cxvi. 6, 7.

Having thus far briefly shown the characters that may, with propriety, be said to be on the Lord's side, I proceed next to notice the war they are engaged in. I have before said that the Levitical tribe were an eminent type of the spiritual Israel of God, and this is true, not only in their strict attendance upon their service in the tabernacle, but in their obedience to the Lord in going forth to war; and this our text clearly shows; no sooner was the inquiry made by Moses, who was on the Lord's side, than they willingly obeyed his voice, and came forth with a determination to do whatsoever the Lord commanded. But the war which every spiritual Levite is engaged in, is twofold, internal and external, and it is a certain fact, that every spiritual Levite, the moment he receives the spiritual bounty money, which is, life from God the Holy Ghost implanted in his soul, enlists for life to fight under the banners of the King of kings, and Lord of lords; and, mysterious as it may appear to some, the longer they live, the greater discoveries they have of the malicious nature and power of their potent adversaries which rise up in hostility against them,and of the impossibility of their making any progress in the war without the special aid, or mighty power of the Great Captain of their salvation. This humbling lesson will not suit those who, as they affirm, never doubted their interest in Christ since they were delivered from under the law, and brought into the liberty of the gospel. They tell us that they always live above trials and afflictions

relative to their knowledge of the great things of the kingdom, they cannot stoop so low as to mourn and groan under a body of sin and death. But is this language in unison with the sayings of the spiritual warriors recorded in the word of God? Surely not; "Thou, (said one to God) didst hide thy face, and I was troubled, fearfulness and tremblings are come come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me, and I said, O that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest (from this war)," Ps. lv. 5. Again, under the hidings of the Lord's countenance, the man of God exclaimed, "Will the Lord cast off for ever, and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies ?" Ps. lxxvii. 7, 8,9.

What those towering professors will say to such language as this I know not, but I bless the Lord that I have the witness in my heart that I have travelled this intricate path, and it is in unison with the experience of all the living family as recorded in the volume of inspiration. I well remember the wormwood and the gall, that my poor soul had to taste when the Lord withheld the dewy blessings of his grace from my soul. It was a day of darkness and great distress; the temptations of the satanic powers were dreadful beyond description. It was, from the very acute sensations that pervaded my mind, that led me to repeat the language of Job, when he said, "O that I knew where I might find him; O that I was as in months past. Job xxix. 2. And as my consolations had been previously great, so my sorrows must be great also: and it is a truth, beloved in the Lord, that all the Lord's people must experience in a measure the same, in order that they may appreciate the blessing

re

of

which Jehovah has in reserve for them; the word of God abounds with expressions which are in unison with their feelings; and in spite of all the opposition which they feel from their internal enemies, the blessed Spirit prompts those souls to peat them before the throne of grace; such as the following, "I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land." 66 Hear me speedily, O Lord, my spirit faileth, hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; cause me to know the way wherein I should walk for I lift up my soul unto thee." "Deliver me, O Lord, from mine ememies, for I flee unto thee to hide me, teach me to do thy will, lead me in the land of uprightness." "Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake, for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble," Ps. cxliii. 6. to the end. The prophet Jeremiah knew what these dark paths were, when he said, "for these things I weep, mine eye runneth down with water, because the Comforter which should relieve my soul is far from me," Lam. i. 16. The apostle Paul calls this warfare wrestling against the wiles of the devil, &c. I know not but what some of you may be ready to ask, what I know of those internal conflicts now, seeing what I have been speaking about transpired nearly twenty years since? I must tell you the truth, that I am still a warrior, I may say every day I rise, and do believe I shall, all the time that I sojourn in these low-lands of trouble: how it is with you I know not, but I must tell you how it is often with me, that as soon as I am awake in the morning and my senses returned to their proper centre, so that I know where I am, I sensibly feel two contrary principles in my soul, which oppose each other; the apostle felt the same, when he said, "the spirit

a

lusteth against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit, and these are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." But I feel confident of this one thing, that you that have been engaged in this war many years, have or shall have to bless the Lord, that ever you entered the list with those of whom it is said, "that it is through much tribulation they enter the kingdom of heaven." I have often thought of the sayings of Mr. John Ryland, when speaking of the Lord's goodness to his people that are mourning his ab sence which reads thus

And this I know that he can tell,
To feed his saints with hunger well,
His wisdom understandeth how,
To make them by desertion grow.

Again; the captain leads them forth to war against those who oppose his prerogative in the peculiar choice of his people, and who labour though in vain to undermine Zion's foundation and try to bring into disrepute the glorious doctrines of grace, by raising up an evil report of this good land where clusters of blessed promises in much abundance hang for every spiritual levite, that by precious faith enters into Christ, who is the restingplace of his redeemed. We read that the Levites shewed lenity to none: I will repeat part of our text again, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every every man his companion and every man his neighbour," and Moses in pronouncing his blessing upon the different tribes speaks thus, with reference to the tribe of Levi," and of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy Holy One, whom thou didst prove at Massah and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah, who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor know his own

children," &c. Deut. xxxiii. 8, 9. Let us inquire what inference may be drawn from this part of holy writ, for surely there is a spiritual meaning annexed to it; those (if there be such here) who think that they are authorised from this part of God's word to evil intreat and maliciously abuse their fellow creatures, especially those who are dear to them in nature's ties, greatly err; it is not men's persons but the spirit they are of, that the Holy Ghost teaches and instructs every spiritual Levite to oppose; and in this war, when grace is in lively exercise in their soul sand the honour of God is felt at heart, they shew lenity to none, that is, to no spirit that rises up in hostility against the blessings of God's salvation, that centers in a precious Christ, and against the powerful operations of God the Holy Ghost in the hearts of the chosen seed, and against the everlasting love of God the Father to his elect, his solemn and sovereign decrees, his awful threatenings against those who live and die in their sins and the certainty of all his chosen jewels ultimately overcoming all adverse powers by the blood of the Lamb. I say they are by the captain of their salvation made wise to discover those enemies, and made strong to wield the sword of the Spirit against them. But let me ask you in whom is the spirit of the living God, in whom he planted his fear, so much so, that you can concur in the language of the great apostle of the gentiles, when he testified, yea openly declared in the face of those who sought to impede his progress Zionward, that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it was (and he had felt the same) the power of God unto salvation, to every one that was taught by God the Holy Ghost to believe the truth as it is in Jesus: I say let me ask you that are thus clad with holy zeal, for the glory of God, if you come in contact with one who is altogether opposed to

those precious doctrines that you at times feel more dear to your soul than life itself, yea more pre

cious than gold, or thy necessary food, let them be whom they may, let them be father or mother, wife or children, or brethren according to the flesh, if you hear them pour contempt upon the truth of God, the works, ways, and people of God, and substitute in their stead, the doctrines of free agency, universal redemption, duty faith, &c, you must, if your souls are in good health, rise up against this spirit, and undauntedly defend the blessed truths of God, and take the sword of truth in hand, telling that if they live and die, fighting against the sovereignty of the great Jehovah, their souls will assuredly sink into the shades of irrecoverable woe. This spirit of holy zeal for the honour of God was very prevalent in the camp of Israel, when the Lord brought them through the Red Sea, and set their feet upon dry land; thy right hand (said they) O Lord, is become glorious in power, thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy; and in the greatness of thine excellency, thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee; and one of those spiritual Levites who was a faithful warrior in Zion's cause, made no reserve in saying, that if any man loved not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed; again he lifted up the sword of truth, against those who affirmed of him, that he thus said, let us do evil that good may come, whose damnation (said he) is just. Romans iii. 8. Again; the Levites went to war under the special direction of the God of Israel, with holy instruments;" Numb. xxxi. Now the name of Levi signifies joined, united or coupled; and thus it was with them, they were joined to the Lord's cause, and to each other, when they went forth to battle; and as they had a " thus saith the Lord" with them, they were sure to meet with success in this. I consider they

the

6.