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pains they take to set off their persons, and the contemptuous manner they carry themselves towards the poor tried servants and people of God, having men's persons in admira tion because of advantage:" shews their profession is only a mask; and when the Almighty shall take this paint off, such will appear rottenness, and dead men's bones. The real cause of this conduct in preachers and professors, is the want of a change of heart; such have not the root in them, and therefore they bring forth no spiritual fruit, Luke viii. 14. Let such professors know they are far from the way of peace, though they may cry peace to themselves! God, says one, is patient towards the wicked that by their means he might try the righteous. He burns not the wisp till he hath scoured his vessels, nor lays by his hammer, till he hath formed some of the matter into excellent fashion. He useth the worst of men, as rods to correct his people, before he sweeps the twigs out of his house. But we need not dread men, since we have one to restrain them; nor fear devils, since we have one to chain them. It is to no purpose to dissemble, for sooner or later truth will come out; and a "lying tongue is but for a moment." The iniquity that is concealed under an outward shew of godliness, will be discovered, perhaps in this world, as Judas was, and Simon Magus, but if not, it will in the great day, when the secrets of all hearts shall be made manifest, Rom. ii. 16. If men's religion prevail not to conquer and cure the wickedness of their hearts, it shall not always serve for a cloak. The day is coming when hypocrites shall be stripped of their fig leaves. It is an experimental knowledge of being saved and a prospect of future glory, that gives a little alleviation from our woes, and tends to lessen our sorrows in this vale of tears. In this world of sorrow, the heaven-bound traveller has to encounter sharp winds, beating tem

pests, and swelling surges, well nigh, in his apprehension, swallowing him up. It is then his unspeakable happiness to find Christ a sufficient shelter, a rock of refuge, into which he runs and is safe. Not unfrequently he is the subject of temporal distress and affliction, destitute of many of those comforts and enjoyments which some of the enemies of Jesus so abundantly possess; perhaps at the time under the afflicting hand of his heavenly Father. The world of professors at once pronounce their judgment: An evident token of perdition, say they. But though hated, despised and persecuted, let him remember, that as Christ was here, so he shall be like him there :

'His people are, he was here,

An object of contempt to men, And when he shall again appear, They shall be like him then.'

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It is hard, but they will think there must be something essentially wrong where God thus visits with sorrow upon sorrow; they judge by appearance, not righteous judgment. They know nothing of light in darkness; calm in the midst of storm: how should they then see, that it is all in love? Many a time does the believer turn from all these, to his covenant God, rejoicing that his witness is with him, and his record is on high. How precious is Jesus at such seasons! Now is the time for the ex. ercise of faith, like Abraham, against hope to believe in hope; judging him faithful who hath promised. He carries his burden to the Lord, pours his sorrows into the bosom of Jesus, and knows what it is when all created streams are dry, to drink at the fountain, to draw consolations from thence, that infinitely outweighs all his sorrows. The bread of sorrows is sometimes the saints' daily bread; our Saviour himself was a 66 man of sorrows." Let us not therefore be afraid of the cross, for when we bear it, it bears us, and when we refuse to

take it up, we refuse the staff of every christian pilgrim, and the weapon of every christian soldier. Christ lived and died in sorrows, and" for suffer ing death he was crowned with immortality," resolved to take all his children to the fellowship of the same sufferings, that they might have a participation of his glory. He also hath designed to present us to God, dressed in the same robe, and treated in the same manner, and honoured with the marks of the Lord Jesus." He hath predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son." And if under a head crowned with thorns, he were to bring to God members circled with roses and down, and who had been clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptously every day, as triumphant members in the militant church, God the Father would reject them; he will not own those who are so unlike our elder brother for we are members of the suffering Lamb of God, who hath said, "if we suffer with him we shall be glorified with him together." The outward gifts of God are not always the proofs of his love; yea, sometimes are bestowed in displeasure. How foolish then are they, who measure God's love by temporal bene. fits, and are ready to applaud empty professors prospering in wickedness, and to neglect and treat with contempt, God's poor and afflicted people. If an angel, says one, were sent to find the most spiritual saint, he

would probably not find him among the rich and great, living in a splendid mansion, but perhaps a cripple in a poor-house, whom the parish wish dead; and humbled before God with far lower thoughts of himself than others think of him, "For God hath chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom." What will become of those who are cruel and unmerciful to God's servants? The cries of the injured will be heard, the sin of the injurious will be punished. They

that shew no mercy and kindness to them, shall find none. Matt. xxv. 45. The children of God, the children of faith, live another life, breathe another atmosphere to what the children of this world do. I conceive the worm that crawls the earth, and makes the dust her habitation, has as clear a conception of the life and enjoyments of the human race, as the natural man has of the spiritual life and enjoyments of the true believer. This is an hard saying, say they, how can we bear it? It is wrapped in mystery to human reason, for they have no faith to penetrate the covering, so that it is beheld by them with indifference or contempt, and so it is at this present time. His great work of salvation is little esteemed, and his person less; for though some may talk of him as a Saviour, yet as to his beauty and glory they see it not. And here lies the amazing dif ference between the mere nominal professor and the real christian; the one is in total darkness, the other has had his eyes anointed by the heavenly Physician ; the scales are fallen off and he beholds Jesus, the sight of whose glory darkens every earthly object, so that could the believer have the eye of his faith habitually, unwaveringly fixed upon him, he might defy all the powers of earth or hell to draw away his heart; when the soul is drawn out upon Christ, under the teachings and anointings of the blessed Spirit, to see the perfection of his finished work, the glories and beauties of his person, with his oneness to, and interest in all he did and suffered; his sin and imperfection is then swallowed up, and he is enabled to look above and beyond all he finds without, and feels within, and to rejoice in God his Sa. viour; these are happy seasons, and though clouds will sometimes intervene and darken the prospect, yet, soul-cheering truth, our sun till shines, his light is not diminished, or his heavenly rays affected by the thick

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vapours that hang over our visions, he remains the same, shining with undiminished lustre, though we perceive him not. God is a sovereign in all his dispensations, not only does he call his people by free and sovereign grace, but he pours down his refreshing showers just when and where he pleases; we cannot command a single spiritual influence, it is a great point that the believer should be kept sensible of his own weakness, and insufficiency to do any thing of himself, therefore to that point the Lord will keep him; there are times when the Lord hides his face from his dear children, they seek him, but they find him not; ordinances that are used to invigorate and refresh their spirits, are now barren; they read the word of God but it is a sealed book, bow the knee at the throne of grace, but their prayer appears shut out, and they go on mourning all the day long, hang their harps upon the willows, almost despairing of singing any more of the songs of Zion in this strange land; ever they are aware their souls are made like the chariots of Aminadab, saith the church of old, they sing, "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream, then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing." The faithfulness and truth of Christ, which was their support when walking in darkness, is now their triumph and boast; in the worst- of seasons the Lord never leaves his people, they may be always sure of promised support, so that when they cannot rejoice he enables them to rest; and it is no small mercy, to be able to leave our comforts with our God, to acquiesce in his will concerning these also, to be satisfied he is doing all things well, on the immutability and unchangeableness of his covenant God, the believer meditates with peculiar pleasure, he knows himself to be as variable as the wind, changing with January, 1246.]

every changing breath, there is nothing could support his mind under the daily view he has of himself, but a persuasion of the faithfulness of Jehovah the more trials the saints have passed through in their way to heaven, the sweeter it will be to them when they arrive there, when the travellers are got safe at home, the inns appointed for them by the way for their supply are shut up, the candles are put out when the sun is risen, and the tabernacle used in the wilderness is folded up, when the temple of glory is come in its room; they will have an eternal rest in God, who is the centre of their souls; there they find the satisfaction of all their desires, having full enjoyment of God, and uninterrupted communion with him. This is the point unto which till the soul come, it will always be restless; its rests, for he is the last end, and the soul can go no further, it cannot understand well, or pesire more, but in him it has what is commensurable to its boundless desires. This is the happy end of all the labours of the saints, their toil and sorrows issue in a joyful and eternal rest. Hallelujah.

Who are they clothed in radiant white, That stand around yon glorious throne, Their garments of celestial light,

Pure with a lustre not their own?

Those are the saints who once below,

Walked in the path their Master trod; Midst pain, and mockery, and woe,

And searching flames they sought their God,

Through his dear might who once was slain.

Firm as the burning stake they stood; And washed from every guilty stain,

Their garments in his precious blood.

Therefore around the throne they stand,
And in his holy temple shine;
Rich in the joy of his right hand,

Robed in his righteousness divine.

There they can never hunger more,
Nor ask the cooling draught in vain;
For he will living waters pour,

And heal from every earthly pain.

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IF my letter did you good, yours did me no less, and should have answered it before, but I have again been in deep conflict; but as you observe, "the Lord alone is the lifting up of my head." Oh I do begin to experience the unchangeableness of his love; already, I can set to my seal, in many ways, that God is true. Yesterday morning I had a sweet sense of his love by the renew ing of his promise, to my yet in a great measure unhumbled heart. I have had monntains of proud and fleshly corruptions to contend with, which I have asked the Lord repeatedly to subdue; but in wisdom he has suffered them to molest, that I might know the bitterness of sin, and the sovereignty of his power as to the time as well as the manner in which he relieves. It is the promise of his all-conquering grace that alone supports me; his wills and his shalls are my props. It was reading Ezek. xxxvi. xxxvii., that I had a sweet glimpse of his face, and saw the kindlings of his love toward me, wherein he promises to cleanse his people from all their filthiness, and then to put his Spirit within them, and cause them to walk in his statutes, and to keep his judgments and do them; then he says, They shall remember their evil ways and doings, and be ashamed and confounded, and shall loathe themselves in their own sight; and the land that was desolate is to be tilled and sown, and shall become like the garden of Eden: but not for any good that is in us, but for his holy name's sake; and he will be glorified by us to do these things for

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us. This would discourage me, if ever this was left to my option; but blessed be his name, he has not left it to our choice, whether we will have him to reign over us or no. He has promised to pour out npon us the Spirit of grace and supplication, and he is to reign as King and Shepherd; as King to rule and guide, and as a Shepherd to preserve from harm. What dignity and condescension blended in one character. And in chap. xxxvi., I discovered, that the work of regeneration in the soul, is not accomplished all at once; there is the shaking of the bones, which I conceive to be the alarms of conscience; then he causes the breath to enter, which I take to be the love of of God, which saves from death, and imparts life; then he says, he will lay sinews upon them, which must be strength to move in the divine life. Then he will bring flesh upon them, and cover them with skin; the latter I take to be the robe of righteousness which Christ wrought to hide our nakedness. I was much straitened to learn that the whole work is of grace, from first to last, as it is said of him, by one of the apostles," He is the author and finisher of faith." Your remark on the conversion of the heart, appeared very clear to me that was a fresh burst of light to me, which drew forth fresh gratitude from all the painful dispensations of his dealings towards me; much has been lopped off, and much, I fear remains. I had never seen that portion of scripture in that light before; in fact I drew comfort or instruction from the whole of your letter, for which I thank God. Oh, when he takes possession of the heart by love, what want we more. Oh that his visits were longer and more frequent. Sometimes I am so cold and dead, I have scarcely a desire after him. must conclude abruptly, for I scarcely know how I have penned this together, I have written it at many different times. Ms. L- - being ill,

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but seriously, I hope it will find you all well, and if the Lord disposes your heart to write again, I shall be glad. With my love to all, I remain your affectionate sister,

A. FISHER.

EXPERIENCE OF A SISTER IN THE FAITH.

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'Satan cannot rob us,
Though oft he has tried,
That heart-cheering promise
The Lord will provide.'

A YOUNG person with whom I was acquainted and to whom I was very much attached, tried to do me all the injury she could, when she had it in her power, though pretending to be very friendly inclined towards me, once said to me: I have been to hear a man of the name of Chamberlain, and he explained the scriptures different to all others. I questioned her as to whet he said. She replied; He remembered the time when he dare Lot say the Lord's Prayer, be. cause he could not call God his Father.' questioned her further, as to what he said, but this was all she could renember. This was just my case, for I dare not say the Lord's Prayer, and it caused a great desire in me to har him; bat before I had an opportunity, he left London. The Lord's timewas not yet come; but bless his name for ever, he remem bered me in ay low estate, because his mercy enureth for ever. My friend then to me, she had been to the Wesleyan Capel: they promised to pray for her, which pleased her greatly, and she aid, You know the prayer of the righteous availeth much. I replie: I feared their prayers would not be any benefit to her. This caused br to be offended and our acquaintance was at an end. I believe it was the Lord's will to me from creare friendship and creature props, the I might seek

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after him. One Lord's-day I walked up to London with Mr. The said, as we walked by the way: Margaret. you see many are coming and going hut few are in the right way. I wished I was, but held my peace. He again said: There is every encouragement in the scriptures for those who are led to seek; and the Saviour says, "He that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." I still kept silence, but thought it was of no use his speaking to me, for I had sinned away the day of grace, as I did not turn when my friend requested me; the Lord now had rejected me, and I had come too late. We went into Providence Chapel, and heard Mr. Burgess, from this text: "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways; but a good man shell be satisfied from him. self." He made this remark in the course of his sermon: When I was a young man, I was of a gay turn of mind, and when under convictions I went into company in order to stifle them, and get rid of my trouble. But it was of no use, for in the midst of such laughter the heart was sorrowful, and the end of such mirth was only heaviness, for I always returned with my burden heavier. was the first that ever touched my case, and the first minister, I ever mourned the loss of. As in the week, I sat at my work, weared in body and mind, fearing I should perish for these words came to my

ever,

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mind: My thoughts are not your thoughts. nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." pondered this in my heart, but had no understanding into this scripture. I could not believe that such was the low estate in which I was. The Lord had thoughts of peace to my soul. About this time I received a letter informing me of the sudden death of my brother; he was very

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