POETRY. ANTIQUITY. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."-John i. 1. LONG before the world's creation, Or our father Adam's fall, Christ, the church's near relation, Husband, Brother, Friend, and all, With the Father, Did in sacred oneness dwell. He was present, when foreviewing How the tempter should prevail, God determined our undoing Should his glory more reveal : So in covenant Ordered how and whom to save. Then our glorious Mediator Shewed himself our cov'nant Head, And prevailed with our Creator To accept Him in our stead : Substitution Thus secures our souls from death. Thus th' eternal generation Of the Saviour we perceive; From of old the sure Foundation Of all those who now believe : Nor against it, Shall the gates of hell prevail. Weak believer, see thy standing, Ever one with Christ thy Head : Both eternities commanding, "Who shall pluck you," he hath said, "From the keeping, Of his own almighty hand?” Power and goodness thus extending, With their God, who loves them still: Oh the freeness Of such unexampled love. JOSEPHUS. A SONG OF PRAISE. LORD, do not say I love thee not, And thou wilt not me love, Because thy gospel cov'nant grace Doth me so little move. "Tis true, I love thee not enough, Enough who can thee love! Thou never canst be loved enough, I do not love thee as I would, But how, I wonder, did I come O God of love make good thy word, THANKFULNESS. Is not the hand of God in this? I reap the fruit of God's design, I blindly guessed, but he foreknew ; The bow is drawn by feeble arms, Except the Lord the city keep, Buildings are Babels, cities heaps, B. When thou send'st curse or flame; And lab'ring heads that promise fruit, Oft bring forth wind and shame. But thou hast crown'd my actions, Lord, With good success this day : This crown, together with myself, Lord, who art pleas'd to prosper me, M. And what thou dost demand, Ye angels of the Lord, Ye saints that are above, And all redeemed souls on earth, Praise ye this God of love. D. W. THE BELIEVER'S SORROWFUL PLAINT. LORD! didst thou triumph o'er the grave, Lord! didst thou manifest thy grace, Oh! let me see thy smiling face, And I shall never die. Lord! dost thou deign my cause to plead, Lord! let me hear thy pardoning voice, When I this mortal clay shall leave, Walworth. SUBSTITUTION. CHRIST did contract with God, Before the world began, J. G. To save from sin, from hell and death, In time, distressed man. God's justice was most strict, The debt must be paid down; But man by sin God's image lost, Which was his strength and crown. "Take up thy sword and slay This enemy of mine," Did justice say, when 't was enraged : But Christ stept up in time. "O justice," stop thy hand, Our Saviour kindly spake, Come, sheathe thy sword in me, A HYMN. COME, let us set to angels' work, Thanksgiving is a heavenly work, To thank and praise the Lord most high, On earth 'tis sweet work too. Let all the world shout at the just, God will be their high tower, And such a fort, that all the world Shall ne'er one saint devour. Of silly babes and sucklings weak, Thou mak'st the church so strong, That it confounds the gates of hell That seek to do it wrong. My thoughts are much too big for words, When to thy heavens I look, And view the moon and stars most high, Thy glorious lovely book. Then bless, my soul, and all my powers, As ye were born to do, the saints Through Christ he pardons all our sins, He hath the keys of hell and death, He in his kindness bore the cross, Bless, bless, my soul, that Lord and God His benefits of every hour, Who can count in an age? For this his loving-kindnesses, D. B. 66 66 AND ZION'S CASKET. For there are Three that bear record in heaven, the FATHER, the WORD, and the HOLY GHOST; and these Three are One."—1 John v. 7. Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."-Jude 3. 'Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.”—1 Tim. iii. 6. SEPTEMBER, 1849. THE GOSPEL PULPIT. CHRIST'S AMEN TO THE BITTER CUP. A SERMON, FIRST PREACHED AT ELY IN 1651, And now taken from a rare little volume of Discourses, entitled, "The Sect Every where Spoken Against." BY CHRISTOPHER COB. "He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass except I drink it, thy will be done."-Matt. xxvi. 42. PASSING by any remarks at this time on the previous part of the verse, we come at once to consider the concluding sentence, namely, "Thy will be done." After all means used by Christ to avoid this cup, after all strivings, entreatings and prayings, "O my Father, if possible let this cup pass;" yet he at last submits: " Thy will be done." In the conclusion he bows, and submits, and is made to cry out, "Thy will be done." In this saying there is so large, and vast, and deep a thing contained that truly it swallows up all things else heaven, and earth, and all creatures are as nothing before this will of God; all things must come to bow, and be crushed, and lie in the dust before it. Alas, it will make the sensible heart to shake and tremble, and the ears to tingle, to September, 1849.] For hear and see what Christ thus submits unto, what he gives consent to, in saying, "Thy will be done." An unfathomed depth of submission and bowedness of soul lies up in it-to take up all sufferings, and sorrows, and miseries that can befal. more plainness I have branched out the subject into seven particulars, which Christ here submits to, and to which all the saved ones must consent, and follow in the same steps: in which seven particulars ten thousand miseries and sufferings are laid up, which no heart can conceive nor tongue express; what all they must pass through that go to life, and shall be made to drink of the brook in the way, before they must lift up their heads. In this saying, Thy will be done; he submits to be betrayed by one of his disciples; one of his own house lifts up himself against him, one that ate of his bread, and was his familiar friend, as it is expressed by the Psalmist, "We took sweet counsel together, and walked in the house of God as friends." And this is a wonderful misery to take up: "Had it been an enemy I could have borne it, but thou, my friend, my familiar," &c.; this cuts to the heart. This very case befals the soul in which truth is. There is something that sticks near to it, a friend that lies in its bosom and is nursed and favoured by it; something that walks in the house of God with it, and pretends K K to be for God and truth, and pleads hard, as if all were intended for the soul's good; and this will be a sad day, when this very thing shall be found to be the betrayer; and yet this Christ submits to, when he consents, Thy will he done. Further, He submits to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. And here are seven great aggravations of misery. 1. They are a multitude into whose hands he is betrayed. This flattering and smooth-mouthed be-. trayer, this Judas that comes with a kiss, and salutes, Hail Master; a great multitude is at his heels; he brings in a whole troop after him. Oh that you could read the thing in yourselves, in the work upon your own souls. For there is all this to be fulfilled, if you go in the same way with Christ, and tread in his steps; if you drink of the same cup, as all the saved ones must for there is no other way to life but to be planted into the likeness of his death; the likeness in all cases, though not the very same particular trials that he had. And now this you shall find true, that whenever this Judas that betrays the soul gets in; when by his counsel, or wisdom, or flatterings and fair promises, that cursed betrayer gets in his foot, and betrays the soul with a kiss; then he lets in a multitude of enemies against us, then come in the swarmings of wickedness: " They compassed me about like bees," saith David; then come in all the floods of ungodliness, and make the soul afraid; then all the fountains of the great deep are broken up, and come with violence, ready to sweep away all before them; then the sea brings forth abundantly all manner of creeping things; then a night presently overtakes the soul, and all the beasts of the forest creep forth, strange monsters and things we never saw before, mire and dirt and strange wickednesses appear that we never thought This betrayer had been in us. down to death, the house appointed for all the living, which all the saved ones must pass. 66 2. This multitude come armed and provided against him with swords and staves and herein lies a great mystery, if ye were able to read it: "Thy rod and thy staff sustain me," saith David. The enemy also hath swords and staves to destroy: and, mind, there are staves as well as swords. Now staves are dull weapons, and though they may bruise, yet they kill not: and this is a great aggravation of the misery, that the sword may not come alone, suddenly to cut off, and make an end; but there are staves too, that bruise and mangle the soul, and yet touch not the life, but it must hang in death. And this Job cries out against: "O that I could find the grave, then should I be at rest." Aye, but in those days, it is said, men shall seek death, and it shall fly from them. They cannot die. And this wonderfully adds to the misery, that the soul is wounded, and cut, and pierced, and yet cannot reach to die: the staves keep off the sharpness of the sword, that it doth not quite kill. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, the true light which the enemy makes use of, that searches, and cuts, and judges, and finds guilty every where, and leaves no thought unjudged: and this sword would soon cut off were it let loose. "Thou writest bitter things against me," saith Job. And this, though it be cruel, yet it would seem easier to the soul in that day, and under that anguish, if it might but go on to make an end: "Then should I yet have comfort," &c. saith Job. But there are staves too, that keep off the blow from coming to the heart: there are secret hopes from the devil steal in, and get up, do the soul what it can, that so it cannot die, but lies thus miserably tossed to and fro, and can get no ways, as David cries out, "Thou hast beset me behind and before,” that the soul can neither get to God nor from God, neither to death nor from death. O Lord, who can read the riddle! 3. This multitude lay hold on Christ, and lead him away. They are too potent and strong, and he hath no might nor strength to withstand them: "This is your hour, and the power of darkness:" but it is the day of his weakness, his wings are cut so that he cannot get away. He cries out, "I am a worm and no man, a scorn and reproach among the people." And this the soul shall find true in itself. There is a time when Christ is strong and can get away from them, a time when the soul could deal with its lusts, and curb and beat them in whenever they appeared; and, like Samson, whenever the Philistines came to bind it, it could but arise, and shake itself, and get loose again. Aye, but there is a time when Samson's strength is departed, and the Philistines prevail, and carry him by force, and put out his eyes, and make him grind in a mill, and he cannot withstand: such hold do sins lay upon the soul. "They take such fast hold on me that I cannot look up," saith David. And again, speaking in the name of Christ, My sins are gone over my head as burthen too heavy for me to bear." They stick close to the soul, so that it cannot get loose. They stick as the flesh to the bones, so that the soul is no ways able to shake off these lions and tigers and devouring beasts that lay hold upon it; it is impossible for the soul to get them off, but it is led captive, and made to serve and follow whither this wicked rabble will lead it. And here Job cries out, "That which my soul refuseth to touch is made my sorrowful meat." And so Paul cries out, that he was a slave, and sold under sin; and that which I hate, and would not do, that I do, saith he: such a strange attraction is there a 66 |