or reading, I am really not certain whether such consolation was divine or arose from my own excited feelings. I am now speaking of those consolations after I felt the anger of God; his love and his anger were real; no delusion. This faith that believes at all times I have not, neither do I understand it. They say that God has given it to them. I wonder what proof they have of it, if it produces no feelings of joy and gladness in their hearts; for the Scripture saith, "Believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." (1 Pet. i. 8.) Several things puzzle me. I think if I could only be certain of some Scriptures being the word of God, and not of those who wrote them, I should be saved; and if they be in reality the word of God, if I am not saved, then I have misunderstood those Scriptures altogether. How Rom. viii. 30, can agree with Heb. vi. 4-6, I really do not know; and if some of your correspondents will explain it, I shall be obliged; and also answer this question; how a man, who has been blessed with the forgiveness of his sins, can all his life afterwards hate and detest the doctrine of election and final perseverance? This seems to me so self-destructive, that I cannot comprehend it. July 24, 1838.

A REMARKABLE PROVIDENCE.

ANXIOUS.

'A

"There was, some years ago, not far from this place, a very able preacher, who for several years preached with great earnestness and success the doctrine of the cross; and who, on that very account, was violently opposed. One of his opponents, a well-informed person, who had for a long time absented himself from the church, thought, one Sunday morning, that he would go and hear the gloomy man once more, to see whether his preaching might be more tolerable to him than it had been before. He went; and that morning the preacher was speaking of the narrow way,' which he did not make either narrower or broader than the word of God describes it. new creature in Christ, or eternal condemnation,' was the theme of his discourse; and he spoke with power, and not as a mere learned reasoner. During the sermon, the question forced itself upon this hearer's conscience, How is it with myself? Does this man declare the real truth? If he does, what must be the inevitable consequence ?' This thought took such a hold upon him, that he could not get rid of it, amidst any of his engagements or amusements. But it became from day to day more and more troublesome, more and more penetrating, and threatened to embitter every joy of his life; so that at last he thought he would go to the preacher himself, and ask him, upon his conscience, if he were really convinced of the truth of that which he had lately preached. He fulfilled his intention, and went to the preacher. Sir,' said he to him with great earnestness, I was one of your hearers, when you spoke a short time since, of the only way of salvation. I confess to you that you have disturbed my peace of mind, and I cannot refrain from asking you solemnly before God, and upon your conscience, if you can prove what you asserted, or whether it was an unfounded alarm.' The preacher, not a little surprised at this address, replied with convincing certainty,

that what he had spoken was the word of God, and, consequently, infallible truth. What then is to become of us?' replied the visitor. His last word, us, startled the preacher; but he rallied his thoughts, and began to explain the plan of salvation to the inquirer, and to exhort him to repent and believe. But the latter, as though he had not heard one syllable of what the preacher said, interrupted him in the midst of it, and repeated, with increased emotion, the anxious exclamation, If it be truth, Sir, I beseech you, what are we to do?' Terrified, the preacher staggers back. We thinks he, 'what means this we?' and, endeavouring to stifle his inward uneasiness and embarrassment, he resumed his 'exhortations and advice. Tears came into the eyes of the visitor; he smote his hands together like one in despair, and exclaimed in accents which might have moved a heart of stone, 'Sir, if it be truth, we are lost and undone!' The preacher stood pale, trembling, and speechless. Then, overwhelmed with astonishment, with downcast eyes, and convulsive sobbings, he exclaimed, Friend, down on your knees; let us pray and cry for mercy! They knelt down, and prayed; and shortly afterwards the visitor took his leave. The preacher shut himself up in his closet. Next Sunday word was sent that the minister was unwell, and could not preach. The same thing happened the Sunday following. On the third Sunday, he made his appearance before his congregation, worn with his inward conflict, and pale, but his eyes beaming with joy, and commenced his discourse with the surprising and affecting declaration, that he had now, for the first time, passed through the strait gate. You will ask what had occurred to him in his chamber, during the interval which had elapsed. A storm had passed over before him--but the Lord was not in the storm; an earthquake-but the Lord was not in the earthquake; a fire-but the Lord was not in the fire. Then came a still small voice; on which the man enveloped his face in his mantle, and from that time knew what was the gospel, and what was grace."—Elijah the Tishbite.

SPIRITUAL CORRESPONDENCE.

TO THE EDITORS OF THE GOSPEL STANDARD.

Dear Messrs. Editors,-Having been a constant reader of your valuable periodical, the Gospel Standard, from the commencement, and a well-wisher for its spiritual usefulness, will you allow me, through its pages, to acknowledge the enlargement I have felt in reading the writings of many of your correspondents, and the sweet communion I have felt with them, Mr. Philpot especially. I should be glad, therefore, if he, Mr. P., would be kind enough to offer a few thoughts on the following passage in the 16th chap. of Isaiah, and the first clause of the 4th ver.; 'Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler." By inserting this as early as convenient, you will greatly oblige me, and that the Lord may go on to prosper and bless your labour of love, is the sincere desire of, Yours in the best of bonds, Kingsland, Nov. 5, 1838.

66

F. J.

Messrs. Editors,-In reading a piece in your last number, by "A Smoking Flax," I really thought it was my own experience, for when the Lord was pleased to open my eyes to see the spirituality of the holy law, I really thought that hell was ready to receive me. I had been for a length of time under legal convictions, seeking to work out a righteousness wherein I might appear before God; but, when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died-died to all hopes of ever attaining to salvation by anything of my own, and thus was left with nothing but the cry of the publican, "God be merciful to me a sinner," for the law condemned every evil thought. I now began to seek more earnestly, and went to hear many preachers, but could get no comfort, till at last Mr. Gadsby coming to Dunham, I was inclined to go and hear him, when, to my surprise, he described my feelings as I could not have described them to any body, for I did not know what was the matter with me. In conclu

sion, he said, “If there be such a soul in this place, I would say, If the vision tarry, wait for it; it will come, it will not tarry.' These words gave me a little comfort, for they were accompanied with a power which is more than fancy-a power, which, I believe, never attends the word of letter-preachers. I went on for several months between hope and despair, till the Lord was pleased to bless me with a sense of pardon, by speaking peace to my soul, filling my heart with a joy unspeakable and full of glory, at a time, when, in my own eyes, I was the vilest being on earth, wishing I had been any thing rather than what I was, which was a manifest proof to me that salvation is alone of the sovereign free grace of God.

That the Lord may bless your labour, and grant unto you, and to all his tried servants, more of the anointings of his Holy Spirit, is the prayer of

Dunham, 1838.

A BETTER COUNTRY.

A WEAKLING.

"And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city."-Hebrews xi. 15, 16.

can.

There are several parts and divisions into which the verses which I have taken as my text might be divided. But, as I am not in the habit of confining myself to divisions and sub-divisions, I shall endeavour to take up the words as they stand, and treat them s briefly as I The characters spoken of seem first to strike my attention, denominated by the plural pronoun they. What were they? They were pilgrims and strangers; a true mark by which the Lord's children are ever known. My reader, are you a pilgrim and a stranger sojourning in this wilderness world? Is the world and its vanities to you a mere bubble? Is worldly company, worldly conversation, and worldly pleasure, a trouble to your soul? Are you hated by the world, by ungodly men, and mere professors of religion, because you will not mix with them in their devilish and damnable ways, but are determined, by the grace of God, to come out from among them, and

be separate? Do you feel yourself to be a stranger to the world when you enter into it after your business, to which you may be lawfully called, to the man of it, to the mere professor, as I before observed? If you are really one of the characters in the text described, you will say, yes. And more than this, you ofttimes feel a stranger to yourself, and a stranger to the people of God. But let me tell you, you are not. God has taught you, in some measure, to know yourself. And God's children are your best, nearest, and dearest friends on earth. And, at times, you cannot deny this; neither dare you, lest you should dishonour the grace of God by which you are called, and which alone made you become a pilgrim and a stranger. You are come out from a country, and you are not mindful to return again. What! return into the world again, and into its vanities? What! wish you were not in a converted state, under the blessed reign of sovereign, saving, and eternal grace? "No, no. Bless God," say you, "I abhor the idea. I desire to feel humbled before him, and render praise to his blessed name, that ever he should make me to differ from those who are dead in trespasses and sins." It is said, "they might have had opportunity." Why yes; the world, our own hearts, and the devil, are here still; and you could follow them, and would too, were it not for invincible grace, which causes you to hate their ways, and "desire a better country, that is, a heavenly." I readily grant, that through the deceit of your own abominable, devilish heart, you may, and do, in your foolish fits, as the children of Israel did, when they talked about the onions, the garlicks, and the flesh pots of Egypt; and as Asaph did, when he said, "I envied the prosperity of the wicked." But he said, when he remembered his folly in so doing, "So foolish was I and ignorant." Nevertheless, at the bottom you must confess that, in your right mind, you hate yourself for ever wishing in the least for the honours, profits, and pleasures of this world of sin. A better country you desire; you wish for a heavenly one. How do you manifest your desire? I answer for you; in various ways. You endeavour, before God, at a throne of grace, to pray that the blessed Spirit would make known to you your own interest in the covenant of grace, which is a heavenly one. You want, and earnestly pray that it might be made manifest in your own conscience that you are an adopted child of God, an heir of heaven. This is the main thing you wish to know for yourself. You feel a love towards those whom you believe to be heavenborn, and heaven-bound. You embrace and receive them as brethren and sisters in the faith of Christ, and fellow-heirs of the grace of life eternal, reserved for all the elect of God, who are made recipients of it while here on earth, and to enjoy it, unmolested by sin and Satan, in eternal glory. You also manifest it in the attendance on the means of grace which God has appointed; in attending to the ordinances instituted, so far as the blessed Spirit leads you, and establishes you; in your daily walk and conversation before an ungodly world and the church of God. You desire to walk uprightly and conscientiously before God and man. God's honour lies near your heart. You highly prize his own-sent ministers for the truth's sake. You love a searching ministry. You can bear, and wish to be cut to the quick, rather than be deceived. And many more proofs I might mention, but the limits of this work will not allow me.

Lastly. "God is not ashamed to be called their God." O, my brother companion in tribulation, look at the amazing condescension of the triune God of Israel. What, not ashamed of such hell-deserving, base, treacherous, muckworms of the earth as you and I are? Ama

zing, wonderful, astonishing grace! Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth! that the eternal God should ever take notice of sinners; contrive a plan, in his infinite wisdom, by which they shall be inheritors of eternal life, who well deserved eternal death; choose them eternally in Christ Jesus, and declare that he will never be ashamed of them, nor be ashamed to be called their God. And why? because he hath prepared for them a city. With respect to the city, I would refer you to the 21st chapter of the Revelation of John, in which you will find a full description thereof; and concerning the enjoyment and employment of the citizens, the following words will suffice: "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 thirst any more, neither shall the sun (of persecution) 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."

May the Lord bless the few thoughts, so far as they are written consistently with his will, for Christ's sake. Amen.

Mildenhall, Oct., 1838.

EDITORS' REVIEW.

A PENSIONER.

An Address to the Church of Christ, on the Unity of the Spirit. By R. C. Chapman. Medes.

This is a sermon on the Unity of the Spirit, that is, the unity of churches. The author's text is from John xvii. 21, which we do not believe at all applies to his purpose. He speaks much about things as they should be and ought to be, but there is little or nothing said, in a proper way, how things are to be accomplished. Much is said about outward and fleshly unity, but nothing rightly said about an inward and supernatural unity of spirit. He labours much in diverting the streams into various channels, but never ascends to the Fountain. He crowns effects and buries the cause. He says, one great reason why we have not the unity of the Spirit, is unbelief, the Goliah of the day; and the reason why we believe so little of Christ is, we have not enough of the prosperity of Zion at heart. Thus, if we have the prosperity of Zion at heart, it produces faith, and faith the unity of the Spirit, and, of course, the matter will be right. This is putting the cart before the horse with a witness. The writer has far too much universal and fleshly charity about him for us. The fact is, he has hold of the wrong end of the string. He speaks about things, and about truths, but he does not enter into and delineate things in that living and vital way that will do the church of God good. When a living soul reads it, he will feel a great something lacking in it, and yet he will hardly be able at first to tell what. But the fact is, it wants vitality, life, and power; consequently, we cannot recommend it to living souls as a living piece.

Epistles of Love, designed for the Comfort of the Children of God. By C. Drawbridge.-Highams.

We think this pamphlet of Mr. D.'s one of the best of his tracts we have seen. It is principally of an experimental character, in the form of letters or epistles to friends. There is some true and good