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believe me it is with much pain I have written it, and felt more heart than strength. I hope you will read it carefully, and lay it by, and after I am dead and gone, it may not be in vain. I can write no more. God bless you, so prays your affectionate father,

JOHN RUSK.

COMFORT FOR SENSIBLE SINNERS.

If the reader is one of the above characters, perhaps these lines will be of use to him. Not that the writer has any power to make them so, but as the Holy Spirit often makes use of weak things in building up, he may do this in the present case, and then the reader may obtain, what the writer much desires be should, joy and gladness; and sorrow and sighing, in some measure will flee away.

All have sinned, therefore, all are sinners, but though this is the case, all are not sensible of it. By a sensible sinner, I mean one who experiences it to be his own individual case from what he sees and feels within. His evidence does not rest upon the evidence of others, but from what he feels of the nature and tendency of his own heart, such an evidence, out of the truth of which, all the world cannot persuade him.

Nor has he come at this knowledge by the use of the means only, He may have had deep impressions made upon his mind while using the means, as sitting under the sound of the preaching of the word; but it was not that word. nor that preaching alone, that savingly convinced him of his sinful state. Others attended who were not wrought upon in the way he was. There was a secret power went with the use of the means, and made them that to him, which, at that time, they were not to some, and which they never can be to any, without the application thereof

by the Spirit of Power, for he shall convince of sin.

It is not at all an uncommon thing for those who are thus made to feel their state, to suppose that they are so great sinners they cannot be saved. They do not doubt that Christ can save them, but they often doubt whether he will; therefore, it is very proper that endeavours be made to comfort them, nay, it is a duty, as the Scripture saith, Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people."

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The first means of comfort is the work itself. I do not intend that there is any comfort in the nature of the work, for that would be contrary to reason, for it would be supposing the same thing to be a cause of grief and comfort at the same time, which is absurd. What I intend by the work itself being the first means of comfort is this, that it is the occasion of comfort. For the Spirit to convince of sin is the commencement of a design. The design of Jehovah, in the dispensations of providence and grace, is the bringing many sons to glory. and this design includes in it all things necessary for the glory of God, and the salvation of these many sons. It is quite necessary to our glorifying God, that we be sensible we owe everything good to his sovereign and distinguishing grace; but this is far from being our state of mind till we are convinced of sin, and the Holy Spirit has engaged to do this, that we may be able to ascribe the whole of our salvation, without any reserve, to the praise of the glory of his grace.

I am taking it for granted that your convictions are real; not the effect of the terror and alarm of natural conscience, but of mental light. I do not mean to say you have no fear, and feel no terror or alarm, but these are effects of the infusion of divine light. By this light of the Spirit you see the splendour and holiness of God's perfections, and your own total depravity. You have

been led, by this discoverer, to shrink into nothing; and so clear and convincing is this light, that what you thought was your comeliness, is turned into corruption. Now, though there is nothing comforting in this state of mind, as the Spirit is working as a Spirit of bondage, yet, it is the beginning of good things; and, if seen as such, it will be the occasion of comfort.

2. From the provision of pardon. The sensible sinner is now keenly and necessarily anxious to be saved, that is, to ascertain his own personal interest in the salvation of the Son of God. He now becomes an anxious inquirer indeed; not after the gains, pleasures, and amusements of the present world; no, these are very indifferent and trifling matters with him; if he had them all, nay, the whole world itself in his possession, or at his command, they could not remove his pain and uneasiness of mind; and, if he had them in his disposal, he would willingly part with them all for that which would alleviate him of his present burden. Perhaps he may, in his present state of mind, though he does not afterwards, suppose that there is something for him to do to procure pardon; some condition for him to perform in order to obtain the enjoyment of this great blessing. This appears to have been the state of mind of the jailor, when he asked the question, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved."

The jailor might fear that there was no pardon for so great a sinner as he was and felt himself to be; and no doubt this is often, if not always, the case with the election of grace, under their first awakenings, and perhaps, at intervals, with some of them through the whole course of their lives; nor is this to be wondered at when we consider the weakness of their faith, and the powerful temptations of the adversary of their souls. But such are to be comforted: comforted with the declaration of the

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pardon of all their sins, not of one or two, or a hundred, or a thousand, but of all sins; past, present, and to come. Does their uneasiness arise from this, that they fear they are not the persons whom God will pardon? Let this then be first attended to. Whom do you think he will pardon if not you? Will he pardon the vir tuous, as some are called, the learned, the rich, the great, the statesman, the senator? Some such people as these, we hope, have been pardoned. We hope we shall meet some of these classes in our Father's house above; but then they were not pardoned on account of their goodness, or riches, or learning, or greatness. There was no more reason in what they were, or had, or did, that God should bestow upon them this great blessing, than there is in you, and you should know (you will if you do not) that there is nothing of this kind in you. Whom do the scriptures say he pardons ? Whom do they encourage to believe in the partion of sin? they not the penitent, such as, through grace, you find yourself to be? You will find this to be the case if you examine the bible, nay, more, you may there see that God by his Spirit works repentance in his people, that he may, consistently with his character, pardon their sin. One would suppose, therefore, that where he gives repentance there he bestows pardon. Now, this is truly the case, as will appear from reason, as well as from scripture. God the Holy Spirit only can bring sinners to true repentance, by which they are brought into considerable trouble and anxiety of mind, such as none can remove but the same divine agent; and is it reasonable to suppose that he would be the author of their convictions, by which they are brought into so much grief and fear, and not bring them out of them ? It is not, I think, consistent either with divine goodness or faithfulness to implant in our minds an apprehension of eternal

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danger, and an intense desire for deliverance through the blood of Christ, and then leave us without satisfying the desires which he alone could raise. This may be sometimes the nature of the conduct of man, but cannot, I think, be agreeable to that of God. This, perhaps, is the reason, at least it is one, why he asks the question, "Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth," and says, where he begins a good work he will carry it on. This passage of scripture will set the matter in a clear light: Acts v. 31. Him hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins." From this, it is evident that repentance and remission of sins are not only the gifts of God, but where he gives one, he also gives the other. If there is not an inseparable connexion between repentance and remission, why has the Holy Ghost so united them? The plain meaning, to an unlettered man, and for these the scriptures were chiefly written, is, that where the one is wrought, the other, some time or other will be given. I say, some time or other, for I know not how long it may please your heavenly Father to detain you under a spirit of bondage; perhaps not long, perhaps a considerable length of time. He has a time for all his works, and he not only will not forget you, but when his time to remember you is come, you will not be neglected. A sense of pardon and acceptance, my fellow-traveller, in the beloved Redeemer, will be your portion by and by. It is your privilege to believe this now, and you will have a sense of it in God's good time; then, for a season, you will walk in the light of the Lord. Your comforts will not be uninterrupted, nor is it to be expected in this world, but all your spiritual enjoyments here are pledges and earnests of that solid and undeviating happiness which will be your portion in the world to come.

Let the conscious sinner then wait
March, 1846.]

and expect, and expect and wait. He will, I have no doubt, wait in the use of appointed means, both public and private. Let him wait, looking and expecting. Looking unto Jesus; and, remembering, while he looks, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, the chief of sinners, and that, through divine grace, he is sensible he answers that character; and let him assure himself, that he who made him thus a truly sensible sinner, will, by and by, bring him into the liberty of the sons of God.

The convinced sinner may not only be unhappy from his thinking that he is not the character whom the Lord will pardon, but from the nature and number of his sins. Indeed, it is this, I think, which is the chief reason why he supposes that the Lord will not pardon him, for if he believes the Lord will blot out his transgressions, however great and numerous, of course, he cannot doubt the acceptance of his person. But the consideration of this part of the subject must be deferred to a future paper, as this, perhaps, will take up as much space in the Spiritual Magazine"

as can be afforded at one time.

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"Your sorrow shall be turned into joy." John xvi. 20.

THIS life is the weary pilgrim's time of trial, and he is often cast down in his feelings, on account of the roughness of the road, and the darkness of his way. Christ's words are applicable to every regenerate child of God: "Ye now therefore have sorrow :" we all find that part of Christ's legacy true, "In the world ye shall have tribulation;" it is impossible for it to be otherwise with any of God's children. The mind is prone to take the gloomy side of

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its filth, the latter with vanity and pride. Neither is he exempt from suffering in providence, indeed many a child of God has been staggered, and cried out, "all these things are against me," when his way seemed hedged up, and he did not know which way to take. In providence the children of God suffer, as well as the world; here one event happens to all, no line of distinction can be drawn. One that is in Abraham's bosom, sat at the rich man's gate full of sores, begging for the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Many of the most spiritual saints, are suffering now in their circumstances; dark and mysterious providences, are the common lot of God's children, a truth which can only be solved in the sovereignty of God, who will do all his pleasure; yet, as the judge of all the earth, will do right. It is painful to flesh and blood; our hearts are too treacherous, to be trusted with the glittering dust of this world; therefore, not many mighty, not many noble after the flesh, are called; God hath chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven; the rich are not rejected for their riches, nor the poor chosen for their

things, and though the believer is as-
sured, that the Lord will bring all
his children to bliss above, yet how
often he feels cast down, in conse-
quence of his fears, as to his own
personal religion, or the
religion, or the strange
scenes of internal and external trial,
which open to his view. The world,
as our dear Lord told us, will ever
love its own; but that which is spi-
ritual, and from above, will ever be
opposed by the world, the flesh, and
the devil: and this will be in a
variety of ways, and by various cir-
cumstances, but all aiming at one
end. So long as we carry about with
us a body of sin and death, so long
we shall have to combat with so
mighty an adversary, as the prince of
the power of the air, who worketh in
the children of disobedience; we
must expect trials of various kinds,
to prove and to humble us. God's
dear people, may be under the hidings
of his countenance, but can never be
banished from the love of his heart.
Distances of place may separate us
from our dearest friends, and from
the place of our nativity; but it is a
glorious truth, that it is neither a
wilderness, a river, a sea, nor a moun-
tain, that can ever sever a saint from
his God for the encouragement of poverty.
:
whom it may be said, that neither
the wilderness of unregeneracy, the
river of corruption, the sea of de-
pravity, the mountain of guilt and
sin, nor the depths of Satan, can
ever separate from the love of God;
and these things when received into
the heart, will never lead the soul to
sin, that grace may abound; for if
any take license from these glorious
truths, to sin, "they are in the gall
of bitterness, and bond of iniquity;"
and dying in that state will be lost
for ever. James i. 15. Perhaps
most of our trials, after we are called,
are to wean us from ourselves to
Christ. The believer in Jesus has
two enemies, which cause him many
a bitter pang: sinful, and righteous
self; the former plaguing with all

But his infinite wisdom hath so ordered it, that his family which he loved from eternity, chose in and gave to Christ, should have but little of this world. All that is of this world, is an enemy to spirituality of mind, and communion with God. Let not the brother of low degree complain of his lot, he may not have so many outward comforts, as they who are exalted amongst men of the world, who have their portion in this life; but I have no doubt he has peace of mind, much more than to repay him for such little deprivations; remember he hath chosen you to a kingdom, where there is durable riches and righteousness,; this world is not good enough for you, otherwise you would have it; "he will supply all our need," though not all our

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wants. We have a great blaze of profession at the present day, but very little of vital godliness, among preachers and professors; for the greater part are looking for gain from his own quarter, and are seeking for honour one from another, and not that honour that cometh from God only; by their fruit ye shall know them." For their practice out of the pulpit, is contrary to what they preach in it. A well known popular preacher, not long since in his sermon, said, there were some that would hear the truth proclaimed in its fulness, but they are dirty in their lives, they are filthy in their =practice, they are licentious in their conduct; they hold truth in unrighteousness. If we were to judge him from his words, we should say, he was a very holy man. But alas, he has for years out of the pulpit, been a liar, and back biter, to injure others and raise his own reputation. Can there be any thing more dirty than a lying tongue? no, it is the image of the devil," who is a liar from the beginning, and the father of lies." By the grace of God we stand, and when our covenant God reveals himself to us, we can say, we count it an honour to suffer for his name's sake. We cannot help lamenting over the sad state of profession, but we have no room to boast; but rather for shame, when we look upon him, whom we have pierced. Moses chose to suffer with the children of God, rather than enjoy the riches and splendour of a court, seeing those things which are invisible to the natural eye, but plainly beheld by the eye of faith. Job lost his family and property, yet his latter end was better than the beginning. And as the Lord does not willingly afflict, or grieve his children, there is a needs be for every pain they feel. When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. In this there is a great difference, between the world and

the church. The devil leadeth them captive at his own will and theirs; they are not plagued as the sons of God are, for God scourgeth every son whom he receiveth; some seem to have a deal more than others, yet in reality, they who seem to have the most, may have the least, outwardly it appears so, yet every heart knows its own bitterness. Some seem to have many stripes; a stripe will come and take away a dear child, the next a wife or husband, then another will come, and take away property; still there must be severer stripes yet; like as the Lord said to Ephraim, which I conceive to be the severest of all, let him alone, let him go on frowardly, let him be filled with his own ways, let him try for a while, what he will get by his backslidings; I will hide my face from him, he shall be sore with wounds, and bruises. It is hard work for the poor tempest-tossed soul, when in this state, sin plaguing within, Satan without, long nights, and dark days, no love-tokens, no visits; but this all from a tender Father, who will heal him, and restore comfort unto him. What a welcome reception does Jesus meet with, when he comes after such seasons, how we weep, when he shows us his hands and his side. What a suitable Saviour he appears, what gloryings of heart love towards him, what soul. tremblings, and sin-hating feelings are in exercise, what communion and fellowship with the Father, through the Son, under the teaching, unction and influence of God the Holy Ghost, by which we are filled with "joy unspeakable, and full of glory." It is the very spirit of holiness, and grand climax of faith, to groan under a body of sin and death; in the midst of a patient endurance, to hail the prospect of deliverance, and to claim and appropriate all the fulness of Christ, while in the clay tabernacle; to fill empty earthen vessels, to sink very low in ourselves, to have no hope in ourselves, to despise our own life,

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