Spirit, and received, as all other blessings are, by a self-renouncing faith in Christ, confidence in the fidelity of God, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. It will be God's work, God's gift. God will be sought unto for its bestowment, and, when received, God will have all the praise. Many have prayed to God for this rich and establishing blessing in the language of one who was himself convinced of its attainableness, and thus expressed what we believe to be his scriptural desires and convictions:

"Confound, o'erpower me by thy grace;
I would be by myself abhorr'd;

ALL MIGHT, ALL MAJESTY, ALL PRAISE,
ALL GLORY, BE TO CHRIST MY LORD.

"Now let me gain perfection's height;

Now let me into nothing fall;

BE LESS THAN NOTHING IN THY SIGHT;

AND FEEL THAT CHRIST IS ALL IN ALL."*

* Whether the Wesleys were right or wrong in their views of Christian perfection, one fact, a most undeniable one, ought never to be forgotten, that they considered this great work as most intimately connected with the mediatorial work of Christ, the atonement made by the shedding of his most precious blood, and the powerful operations of the Spirit as given by Him who had "received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost." Whether this doctrine of perfection be a true doctrine or not, not even they who think that we are in error, can read what either of the Wesleys says on the subject, and contend that it is a Christless perfection. One hymn has been quoted above. We give part of another; and that for two purposes: first, the explanation of our own views, which, in the following verses, are so clearly and impressively stated; and, secondly, because though most of our readers will know the hymn, (Large Hymn-Book, 351,) yet, by God's blessing, it may be useful to them to read now, in connexion with these remarks on the general subject, its weighty, animating, and instructive language. It can do no one any harm thus to pray :

"Come, Holy Ghost, all-quickening fire!

Come, and my hallow'd heart inspire,

Sprinkled with the atoning blood:

Now to my soul thyself reveal;
Thy mighty working let me feel,

And know that I am born of God.

"When wilt thou my whole heart subdue ?
Come, Lord, and form my soul anew,
Emptied of pride, and wrath, and hell:
Less than the least of all thy store
Of mercies, I myself abhor;

All, all my vileness may I feel.

"Humble, and teachable, and mild,
O may I as a little child

My lowly Master's steps pursue!
Be anger to my soul unknown;

Hate, envy, jealousy, be gone;

IN LOVE CREATE THOU ALL THINGS NEW.

It is remarkable that our Lord, among those references which he made to the Comforter whom he promised, towards the conclusion of his ministry, to send forth when he had returned to his Father, gives one promise of spiritual manifestation, the fulfilment of which he makes dependent on previously-existing love, previously-maintained obedience. This promise deserves especial consideration. It occurs in John xiv. After several references to "the Spirit of truth," our Lord says, "He that hath my com mandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him." On hearing this promise of manifestation, "Judas, not Iscariot," wondering how his Lord could be manifested to his disciples so as that the world should not perceive it,―for as yet the veil was not so removed from his heart as that he could understand the doctrine of spiritual and inward manifestation; he looked for one that, being external, should be visible to all within its range; and therefore "saith unto him, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Now, in those parts of the Epistles of the New Testament which present to us the various aspects of the dispensation of the Spirit, nothing can be plainer than that salvation is of grace; and justification is by faith, not of works. We believe with the heart on Him

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who justifieth the ungodly;" not those who love Christ, and keep his commandments. And as we are justified, so also are we adopted, restored to the filial relation. By faith we receive the adoption of sons; and because we are thus "the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," "God hath sent forth into our heart the Spirit of his Son, crying, Abba, Father.” It is as "justified by faith," that "the Holy Ghost," in this his first bestowment as Comforter, "is given unto us," that, as coming unto Christ weary and heavy-laden, we may have rest given to our souls. But here is previous love, previous obedience; and, as subsequent to such love and obe dience, here are the Father and Son coming to us, manifested by the Comforter, and abiding with us. In looking, therefore, for such richer and abiding bestowment and manifestation as that of which we have spoken, we look for nothing unscriptural, nothing which is not in strict accordance, not merely with the general analogy of faith, but the direct promise of Christ. Indeed, were we required briefly to state, by the citation of one or twỏ passages, the general character, the purpose and tendency, of the declarations of the Scriptures of the covenant of mercy, whether given in the form of declarative doctrine, promise, or precept, we should do so by adducing texts which assert, that all our salvation is of God, and that God saves

"Let earth no more my heart divide;

With Christ may I be crucified,

To thee with my whole soul aspire ;
Dead to the world and all its toys,

Its idle pomps, and fading joys,

BE THOU ALONE MY ONE DESIRE !

"My will be swallow'd up in thee;
Light in thy light still may I see,
Beholding thee with open face;
Call'd the full power of faith to prove,
Let all my hallow'd heart be love,

AND ALL MY SPOTLESS LIFE BE PRAISE."

abundantly, saves royally and gloriously; so that however greatly sin hath abounded, yet does grace much more abound. He has prepared, not a bare supply, but a rich feast; and it is to this, as his own free gift in his Son, that his perishing, moneyless creatures are invited. The great promise is salvation,-absolute, unrestricted, full salvation. "The Redeemer comes to Mount Zion;" "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved;" and therefore "upon Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness." And thus, in the figurative, but most significant, language of the older dispensation: "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD: and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts." (Zech. xiv. 20, 21.) The language of both Testaments is, in its meaning, precisely the same. In the older Scriptures we read, "Let Israel hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him there is plenteous redemp tion, and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities;" or, as it may be said to be opened and expanded by St. Paul, he shall "purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Our Lord, during his own ministry, declared, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." And after the Holy Spirit had been poured out, the same view is placed before the church in yet more glowing terms; God is declared to be "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."

To quote all the passages of Scripture which encourage the believer to seek and hope for this fulness of salvation, would far exceed the limits we must in the present paper observe. We will put down a very few at full length, and refer the reader to more in the margin; at the same time, earnestly requesting him carefully to read every one, so as to have the whole series before him,—as far, at least, as the quotations. He will be then prepared for the argument and conclusion which, in our own judgment, they suggest and establish.

Whatever communications might be made to mankind respecting the method of salvation, what might almost be termed its "official disclosures" take their rise from Abraham, and the covenant made with him and his seed, literal and spiritual. This was the covenant of universal religion, which remained in full force, as such, when the Mosaic covenant was given to the Jews as a nation. And to this covenant the Jewish Church was always called to look, as well as to the national one; and more especially when spiritual blessings were the subject. "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity? He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." Here is sin pardoned, and iniquity and sin subdued and destroyed; that is, salvation through the remission of sin. And in reference to this the Prophet adds: "Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." And precisely thus did the plenarily-inspired Prophet, in language whose outward form participates of the symbols of the Old, and the clear grace and truth of the New, Testament, proclaim the advent of the Messiah, and declare its solemn purposes: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as

he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, which have been since the world began to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he sware to our father Abraham.” And the grand purpose of this covenant is declared to be, "Salvation by the remission of sins." Men, in our Lord Jesus, are to be saved by being pardoned. What, then, is this great covenant salvation, on which all enter who obtain "redemption in the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of their sins?" Even this, "That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life." By "forgiveness of sin," we obtain "inheritance among them that are sanctified."

In what manner, then, do the covenant scriptures speak of this salvation? In terms the most exalted and encouraging, fully harmonizing with the texts already quoted from the Psalmist, the Evangelist, and the Apostle, respecting plenteous redemption from all iniquity, the possession through Christ of life more abundantly, and the ability of God, according to the power actually working in us, to do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. The language of Zacharias is plainly of this character. We are to be saved from our enemies, even from the hand of all that hate us, that so we might "serve God, without fear, in holiness and righteousness, before him, all the days of our life."

Are we surprised, then, to meet with such passages as these?

"I am the Almighty" (all-sufficient) "God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." (Gen. xvii. 1.) "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27.) "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jer. xxxi. 33.) And what is the law of God, but that which governs all intelligent being,-the law of love? This is spoken from the mercy-seat itself, and by all the wonderful revelations and promises of the mercy-seat it is enforced. It is the law addressed to redeemed man, and connected with the merciful promises of redemption. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." "And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." (Deut. vi. 5 ; xxx. 6.)

Thus viewing the plenteous redemption which the covenant of grace and love reveals, and the great salvation which it promises, we shall not, in one sense, be astonished at the weighty and comprehensive prayers which we find in the Epistles to the Thessalonians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews, and which the Apostle was inspired both to address to God in behalf of Christian believers, and to place on record, that believers might-and in faith-address them to God for themselves. The reader is referred now, 1. To Eph. i. 15-23; iii. 14—21; 2. To Phil. i. 9—11 ; 3. To Col. i. 9—14; 4. To Heb. xiii. 20, 21; and, 5. To 1 Thess. v. 23, 24; connecting this last prayer with verses 16-18, just preceding, dwelling particularly on that mental state, in what it necessarily supposes,

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implies, and comprehends, in which the soul" rejoices evermore, prays without ceasing, and in everything gives thanks;" this being solemnly declared to be "the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us." And thus viewing the will of God, not only as that which is to be done by us, and observe the description of the service of God, in order to which he saves us with his covenanted salvation, as described in the passage already quoted from the inspired hymn of the father of John the Baptist,-but as that which is to be experienced by us, as Rom. xii. 2, "that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God ;" turn to Col. iv. 12, and mark the prayer of Epaphras, likewise put on that scriptural record given purposely for the instruction and encouragement of faith, and especially in its connexion with our prayers. Epaphras, in few words, gives the entire substance of the solemn addresses to which we have already referred; and observe, too, how he prays, as if conscious that his prayer was in complete harmony with the divine purpose to hear and answer: "Always labouring fervently you, in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." In one sense, we have said, we are not surprised to find such prayers; that is, when we consider them in reference to the uniform statements of Scripture on the plenteousness of redemption, the greatness of spiritual deliverance, the fulness of the divine salvation. And yet, under another aspect, they are most astonishing, exhibiting, as they do, the richness of the divine purposes in Christ Jesus concerning us, the treasures of grace and blessing stored up for us in Christ, and which, in Christ, we are called to inherit. Even had not the language of St. Peter (2 Peter i. 4) been an inspired declaration, as it is, we should have called it which it likewise is a perfectly accurate conclusion drawn from a full and lengthened consideration of the whole series of revealed statements, from the days of Abraham to his own, "Whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises;" as on all subjects on which we need them, comfort in affliction, &c., so especially in reference to the great subject of salvation from sin; "that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."*

* As a specimen of the character of these declarations, let the reader form for himself a series from the following passages, in addition to those already quoted in the course of these papers :

Gen. xv. 1; Num. vi. 22-27; Deut. xxvi. 16—19; xxxiii. 26-29; Psalm i. 1-3; xxvii. 1-6; xxxvi. 7—11; lxiii. 1—8; lxxiii. 23-26; xxiii.; lxxxiv. 11, 12; cxxxviii. 7, 8; Isai. xxv. 6—9; xxvi. 3, 4; xxxii. 15; xl. 28—31; xlviii. 17, 18; lxi. 10, 11; Joel ii. 28, 29, 32; Matt. v. 3-20, 43–48; xi. 2830 (especially last clause of 29, as distinguished from last clause of 28).

The Epistles may be taken generally, referring especially to their latter, and usually more practical, portions; always remembering, that not only do evangelical commands refer to principles and dispositions, as well as to actions,-but that as evangelical promises imply duties, so evangelical duties imply promises. Reading these, we may say, with the ancient Father," Give what thou commandest, and then command what thou wilt." We may just specify Rom. xii.; 1 Cor. xiii.; 2 Cor. v. 13—21; vi. 14—18; vii. 1; Eph. vi. 10-18; Phil. iv.; Col. iii. 1-17. We might go on till we quoted all. We only, in conclusion, refer to that wonderful portion of the New Testament, combining the simplicity and profundity of " divine philosophy," the Epistle of John.

We trust our readers are sufficiently acquainted with the word of God, to be able with facility, and rapidly, to take the review we have suggested; and that they perceive our object, to bring before them the general character of scriptural statement on the subject of the redemption of man from iniquity by Him, the incarnate Son of God, whose blood cleanses from all sin. It is not merely that separate texts say such and such things; but that so many do so, under such varied forms of expression, and VOL. II.-FOURTH SERIES. 4 M