come forth. Have you not witnessed these things. I have, over and over again. Oh, my dear friends. God's family are such fools; Solomon says "that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child." Well, blessed be God although they are such fools they are still children and God's children too, and for these the Lord Jesus intercedes, and he will come and save them, for the same Jesus which was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Let us just glance at the personal work of the Lord Jesus; and where shall we begin? why, say you, where God began, to be sure; and where is that? why, in the dateless date of all eternity. Well, then, let us just turn to the 8th chapter of Proverbs, begin. ning at the 22nd verse, it reads thus, "the Lord possessed me in the begin ning of his way, before his works of old" read to the end of the 31st verse. Now, here is blessedly set forth the personal work of the Lord Jesus; and, my dear friends, the scriptures, taken as a whole, speak every where the same truths. The Lord Jesus was set up in eternity, and the church was set up in him; yes, and blessed in him too. How do you prove that? Why, here it is, chapter and verse; read it for your. selves: Ephesians i. 3, 4; "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ; according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world," &c.; yes, beloved, from all eternity; blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ; this was all done in eternity; but in the fulness of time, that is, at God's appointed time, not a moment sooner, no, nor a moment

later, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law; but do mark this, it was all done in the purpose of God in eternity. That is more than four thousand years before his incarnation; and we believe that

during that time, before his incarnation, the Lord Jesus often revealed himself to his people in an angelic form. He was seen in the fiery fur nace with the three Hebrew children; and we read in many parts of scripture of the angel of the Lord appearing to different individuals; and I believe, in many of them, it was the Lord Jesus in an angelic form. Jesus и as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world," he was SO indeed in God's purpose or decree, which is the same thing; and this was prefigured and set forth under the law in various ways; and thus was the Lord Jesus preached to the people; even in the garden of Eden, Christ was revealed to Adam's soul; and from that time, all through the four thousand years, till his incarnation, he was made known, seen, and believed in by his people, and through whom they held communion wich God. Through faith Enoch walked with God; and in the 11th chapter of the Hebrews, we have a long list of worthies, who all lived and died in the faith, and to all of them, more or less, was displayed the personal work of the Lord Jesus; and let me ask you, my dear friends, what can give you or me any real rest, but a heartfelt experience of this personal work of our most glorious Christ witnessed and felt in our own souls; if ever your soul or mine is saved and gets to heaven, it must be in this way; there is no other. It is true men may assent and consent to these things'; yes, indeed, they may, and yet have no salvation; it is not head knowledge, but heart experience; it is the personal work of Christ in the soul, and which has been displayed for more than six thousand years; it is this, and this only, that can give us any solid ground of hope. Do you know any thing of this work being wrought and carried on in your souls? If you do not, yours is indeed an awful state; but I do feel persuaded there are some now in the presence of

manner as ye saw him ascend up into heaven the work is done, death is completely unstrung. the victory gained, and the dear Lord's ascension was an open display and an open triumph over his enemies and ours. As the Lord ascended, so shall all his saints; where I am, said Jesus, there also shall my people be; if I go not 'away, the Comforter will not come; but if I go away, I will send him. Jesus did ascend, and the Holy Ghost came down, and immediately there followed some of the glorious effects of his ascension; and when the Holy Ghost has finished the good work, and the last elect vessel of mercy is brought in, then down will come this world, the top stone brought forth with shouting, and sinners receive their everlasting doom. Oh, but say some, he is not willing that any should perish; no, nor more he is, and blessed be God, we know what is meant by God's not being willing; we do not take these words as many do, and thus give the lie to scripture, by saying that Christ died for those who will never be saved; no, but we believe he is not willing that any should perish for whom Christ died. The sins of the whole church were laid upon Christ; he bore them all; his death was their ransom; they are free, and shall never come into condemnation. "I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish." People may talk about Christ's dying for the whole world, and we believe he did; but it is the elect world, there's the difference, not the world at large, or every individual; there is a world within a world; if Christ died for the whole world, as some contend: we could prove from this book that the whole world must be saved, but it is not so. I lay down my life for the sheep. Let me ask, are all sheep? are there no goats? You know that sheep are not goats, nor goats sheep, nor do we believe that a goat was ever turned into a sheep; no, there is an ever

lasting distinction between the one and the other; read the 25th of Matthew; it is the elect world that is spoken of, as we have proved to you many times from the word of truth. Had we time, we might speak of the glorious advent, the second coming of the Lord Jesus, at the final con. summation of all things; when he will send his angels to gather his elect from the four winds or quarters of the earth; but as time is gone, we must come to a conclusion, and, if the Lord will, perhaps may take it up again at some future opportunity. May the Lord bless, if his pleasure, the few hints that we have dropped, and I add no more.

I HAVE frequently thought that one of the sweetest and soul refreshing mercies of the everlasting covenant, is that of christian communion: and what exercise I would ask can be more adapted to soften down the cares of the wilderness, and to inspire our souls with holy courage, in the way to our Father's house above, then when the children of the most High, are enabled, under the influence of a spirit of life in Christ Jesus, to contemplate the sufferings of the Redeemer, and the glory that will follow. I am aware the children of God, now, are very backward in the exercise of that freedom of intercourse, which characterised primitive christians in their day; of them it is said, "And they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought of his name." But why I would ask are the lips of the saints so criminally closed and sealed, whilst blessings more numerous than the drops of morning dew, are constantly descending to replenish

our weary spirits, whereby we are comforted and blest; alas, the cause is plain, for to be carnally minded is death, whilst to be spiritually minded is life and peace. My brother, I am sure there is a happy connection, between the spirit of meditation, christian communion, and soul prosperity, indeed unless the things of God became familiar and sweetly enjoyed, in the exercise of devout contemplation, and holy breathing after heavenJy realities, our conversation will be dry and insipid, and will not minister grace unto the hearers, consequently it may be asked of us, as it was of some of old, "How is it, that thou being a king's son, thou goeth lean from day to day."

With an earnest desire to avoid falling into this unhappy state of feeling, I have taken up my pen to communicate to you a few thoughts upon the wondrous theme, Christ Jesus the Lord, and him crucified; and what can a poor, ignorant sinner like myself say upon a subject that is dark through brightness, and which confounds the purest intelligence, even of angels in glory?

How can one so blind, so stupid, so vile, and sinful conceive a thought upon a subject so infinitely great and glorious? Of myself I can do nothing; but oh what a mercy it is, that an ample provision is made in the eternal covenant, for all the ne cessities of those, who by rich and abounding grace, have fled for a refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them in the everlasting gospel. And do observe my friend, the effect produced in the mind of the sinner when the Holy Spirit arrests the rebel in the midst of his way, in which is made manifest the evil of his heart, and seals home upon his conscience the sentence of condemnation. Take one scripture as a key to explain the mystery of God's dealings with his children, and the mighty effects that follow, when the sinner is turned from darkness unto light, and

from the power of sin and Satan unto God; that is a most blessed truth, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;" inasmuch as it contains in its very bosom, every blessing for the life that now is, as well as that which is to come. Liberty, to a poor captive, sold under sin, is a blessing exceeding in value, ten thousand worlds; for we are not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb with. out blemish and without spot. See the greatness of this mercy, as mani. fested towards us, even when dead in trespasses and in sins; at that time we were without hope, and without God in the world; and had it not have been for the display of almighty love, should have been left to have filled up the measure of our iniquities, and so in the end have reaped the bitter pains of eternal death,

"Preserved in Jesus when
My feet made haste to hell,
And there should I have gone
But he doth all things well,
In his dear bosom now I see
Eternal thoughts of peace to me."

It is well my brother, to look to the hole of the pit, out of which we were digged, for never could a change so mighty, as to be translated, from the power of darkness, into God's marvellous light, be effected by any power less than his, who rolls the stars along, who speaks and it is done, who commands, and it stands fast for ever. I am not now amusing myself with a vision out of my own heart, but only testifying that which I have seen, handled, tasted, and felt of the word of life; for never was a poor sinner, chosen by love divine, more ignorant of himself than I was, and with more fixed determination, to fulfil the desires of the flesh, and of the mind, proving that I was an open, and an avowed enemy to God, by wicked works.

Well I remember the time when

first a ray of divine light entered into my soul, whereby the hidden evils of my heart were made manifest, the blackness and enormity of which filled my mind with terror and despair. This was the commencement of a life that never can expire; the dawn of that cloudless day, the light of which will never go out. Nay, my brother, every such intimation of a Saviour's love, and every time a sweet promise is applied to our hearts, should be regarded as a certain pledge and foretaste of that blessedness, the full enjoyment of which will constitute the bliss of immortality, in which will be everlastingly exhibited the love, grace, and power of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Yes, the love of the Father, as fixed upon our deathless souls from before the foundation of the world, will ever prove to the church of the living God a fountain of unmingled, uninterrupted joy. Hence that very sweet scripture, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but God loved us, and gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life." Christ Jesus, that dear Saviour upon whom I have cast my soul for life and salvation, appears to me to be the brightest expression of the Father's glory; in whom we have redemption, through his blood, even the forgiveness of all our sins; it is here as through a glass darkly, even the soft rays of his humanity, we can gaze upon the uncreated splendour of eternal realities, and thus through the .medium of the man Christ Jesus, our elder Brother, we have confidence into the grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory, which is yet to be revealed, at the coming of the Lord Jesus, with all his saints. Apart from this blessed salvation, there is no light in the sinner's understanding; his heart is as hard as the nether millstone, his conscience seared das with a hot iron; his mind earthly, sensual, and devilish; yea, all his

powers, mental, and bodily, his ears, his eyes, his hands, his feet; in one word, body and soul are under, by nature, the fearful dominion of sin and Satan, the spirit which now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience; this view of man's fallen, degraded, and hopeless condition, endears to my heart the work, and person of the Redeemer," Who hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light," by the shedding of his most precious blood; and where else could I look for salvation, sufficient to meet the extremity of my case, but in Jesus; no, as dear Hart, says,

"None but Jesus, none but Jesus
Can do helpless sinners good."

And, indeed, it is only whilst gazing upon him as the Lamb of God, and repairing to him, as unto the great high Priest of our profession, that hope springs up in the soul, and joy flows in like a river; then the fruit of a Saviour's death becomes sweet unto our taste, and it is then, and only then, we can triumphantly exclaim, He hath delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling, causing me to walk in the light of the living."

How sweet and delightful the strain,

Salvation by grace to repeat; Shall sinners redeem'd e'er refrain,

Who stand as in Jesus complete. From Him, as the fountain of life,

His saints their existence shall draw, And live, tho' encompass'd with strife, For Christ is the end of the law.

I perceive my paper is nearly full; and, alas, what have I said upon a subject of such infinite importance; verily nothing; indeed, when I attempt to grasp with my weak understanding the glories of redemption, delivering a sinner from the bitter pains of eternal death, I feel it is something like attempting to measure the circumference of the sun, or to count the drops of the morning dew.