IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO THEN CAN BE AGAINST US?

To Mr. A. Triggs.

MY VERY DEAR FATHER,

66

As it has pleased our gracious Lord in holy sovereignty to grant you enlargement in himself to me-ward, so I desire by his power and for his glory, still to linger with you in the field of holy contemplation which the Lord has blessed and made fruitful unto us. It is true, as Daniel says, "there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets," and maketh plain to the children of the kingdom those mysteries which are stumbling-blocks to those who judge after the flesh; the way of the Lord is strength to the upright, but destruction to the workers of iniquity." That which is the power of God to them who are saved, is foolishness to them that perish. It is still, as of old, Ishmael mocks at Isaac, and Tobiah and Sanballet practise to terrify Nehemiah; but the bondwoman and her son must be cast out, for Isaac is the determined heir, and the blessing comes by way of faith and not of flesh: and the enemies are at length much cast down in their own sight, for they find the work is of God; and though they say even a fox should break down the stone wall, yet it is proved that what God doeth men or devils cannot overthrow, and what he has purposed they cannot prevent. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands, breaks in pieces all imagined strength and excellency of the creature, and shall still prevail and prosper. The Lord's wonders are accomplished not by human might or power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts; and whoever despises the day of small things, he does not, having promised that the little one shall become a thousand, the small one a strong nation, the weak be as David, and the lame take the prey. Goodly words these to such feeble folk as I, whose very heart doth leap with joy to find that strength, preparation, and ability, are all of the Lord and not of us; and so at his charges we go forth on his errands, and never. did the faithful God disappoint an expectation of faith, and never will. Carnal reason may taunt, "I know the pride and the naughtiness of thine heart," &c., but says faith, "What have I now done? Is there not a cause?" and turning away from fleshly conference, goes right on to the victory; not in Saul's armour or David's might, but in the power of him by whom he slew the lion and the bear, and whose honour was dear to David's heart, so that his soul kindled with indignation to hear the armies of the living God defied by that uncircumcised one, so great of flesh and trained to war: and as we behold the stripling return with the streaming head of the monster man, we exclaim, "Who is so great a God as our God!" who works by weakness, and lays the prowess of the mighty at the feet of a comparative child? And now sense would think that after such a glowing conquest David would go on in easy triumph to take possession of the promised king

dom; but the Lord's thoughts are not as our thoughts, his word is a tried word, and the faith of his people must be tried as with fire. My heart loves to follow the man after God's own heart in all his wondrous wanderings, from this fight of faith till the day he went up to Hebron at the word of the Lord, and was acknowledged by Judah as Israel's king. See him hunted like a partridge on the mountains; see him acting the madman before the king of Gath; see him with his motley group in the cave of Adullum; and see him all but delivered to his enemy by the treacherous Keilahites, whom himself had saved from their foes; and sense says, Can this be an ascent to the throne? Yes, says faith, and a right one too, though it was rough and steep. And see faith hold back flesh in that cave where Saul lay defenceless in David's power; and he cut off the skirt of his robe, but hurt him not. And see faith again restrain flesh, and triumph gloriously, when he took the cruse and the spear from his bolster, but would not suffer a hand to be raised against the Lord's anointed. Ah! no; David would rather wait till his head was covered with hoary hairs before it wore the crown, than he would have a hand of flesh put forth to raise it to his brow. His confidence was in the Lord his God, nor did he disappoint him, but in the due time fulfilled every word he had spoken. And have not we, my Father, in our spiritual course, seen and felt much that bears analogy with all this? Has not many a prospect and a promise gone so clean behind the cloud, that sense would have said it has gone out in utter darkness? But faith still viewed the Promiser, and owned him faithful still. And is there not couched here something of that death you speak of which we must come to, that we may understand the full force of those words, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall live; and he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die?" And yet, as you say, be in deaths oft, but live through them all; so that though death come upon the promises, and the prospects, and the feelings, yet He, the real life, remains the same for ever, nor shall one word of all his promise fail. 'Tis he that hath the Son hath life, to live not in himself (as first we vainly try), but live in life, and go through many seeming deaths unhurt, believing in his God. Ah! much beloved, we truly find strange is the pilgrim-life, and strange the pilgrim-way to flesh and sense; it cavils, murmurs, questions, while faith moves on at God's command, and sees his wonders; the waves divide to let his people pass, and then roll back in majesty to engulph their foes. The heavens rain manna, and the rock teems water, because he wills thus to sustain his Israel till they come to the place he has provided for them; then the walls of Jericho cannot stand the encompassing of faith, and the power of the God of faith, but down flat they fall without a creature blow. Further on, the sun and moon obey the bidding of Jehovah by the mouth of a man of faith, and they stand still (Josh. x. 14, 15) as commanded, to lengthen the day of battle, that the victory may be completed. Also upon the affrighted foes come down the hailstones as messengers of death, and these destroy more than the sword. Again,

when a great multitude came against his people, he heard their cry, inspired their hearts to praise him before deliverance came, in faith of what he would do (2 Chron. xx. 21-24); and while they sang he fought, causing their enemies to destroy one another, so that Israel had only to come forth to behold the slain, take the spoil, and assemble in the valley of Berachah again to bless the Lord. At another time he sends an angel in the night to deal destruction to the vaunting foe, who dared to say it was in vain to trust him (2 Kings xix. 10—35); and then again his people saw thousands of the mighty laid prostrate in death by him who fought for Israel, and who on another occasion made the very enemy provide for their emergency, and the besiegers relieve the besieged; not by opening the windows of heaven, as unbelief taunted, but causing an alarm in the enemy's camp which made them flee for their lives, and leave all their treasure behind and when according to God's promise and faith's expectation, plenty came in at the gate, unbelief, or the unbeliever, got trod to death in the triumph (2 Kings, vii. 2—18, 19, 20), and saw the thing accomplished, but never had the benefit. It is a fearful thing to provoke and dishonour God by questioning his word, as it is blessed to honour him by trusting, when there is nothing but himself and his word to encourage that trust, all else seeming to say it will not, cannot be. These nega

tive prognosticators and dark appearances may shake flesh, but as you blessedly say, faith heeds them not; it is quite straight forward and right onward; and while honouring its author by believing his promise, can plead his honour for the fulfilment of the promise, and is not made ashamed, for—

"His promise is yea and amen,

And never was forfeited yet."

The faithful God never was a barren wilderness to faith, never a land of drought. And to recount all the wonders he has done, and faith has witnessed, were as endless as to number the sands on the shore, though as invigorating as to drink the waters of the well of Bethlehem. But after all the battles gained and wonders wrought, faith's dear delight is Bethlehem, Gethsemane, and Calvary. There are all wonders crowned, all victories overmatched; there he comes forth on whom our help was laid: the Word made flesh, our champion in our nature, who in the day of battle turned not back, whose own arm wrought and brought salvation spite of earth and hell. And when through death triumphantly he went, destroying it and him that had the power of it, that is, the devil, we do not see the sun stand still to light him on to victory; but it withdraws its beams when he who placed it in its orbit deigns to die. No aid of creature arm in that great conflict, no borrowed light to enliven that deep gloom; through all that death and darkness ever was he goes in love, to take away the power to harm those loved ones for whom he suffered thus: and now they follow him unhurt, the sting is gone. "The sting of death is sin "—he was made sin, and made an end of it. "The strength of sin is the law "—he is

the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. So faith sees not only the Sun of Righteousness set in blood, but also arise in glory; such a glory as needed not the brightest rays of the natural sun to add to its splendour, for before that had risen Mary was at the tomb but He, the resurrection and the life, had already come forth from the womb of the morning, possessing the dew of his eternal youth. Our day had dawned, and faith walking in the day stumbles not. Our sun had arisen to go down no more, and it was a morning without clouds; and here faith finds the certainty and fulfilment of all the promises, not in the cloudy creature, but in the glorious head, " for all the promises are yea and amen in Christ Jesus," and hence his own dear words are always made good to faith, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you;" "Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full;" "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." What illimitable enlargement faith finds in Jesus, and yet how it shuts out every bit of the creature; so that while we triumph in his conquests, enjoy his victories, and view with wonder the foes he has slain, we find that no flesh can glory in his presence, for all boasting is thus excluded except in himself, and here we may boast and glory all the day long.

My paper is ended-the subject but beginning. Jesus full as ever; and as he dwells in the heart, and it in him, it seems like the widow's oil, runs till there is not a vessel more. You will not ask, Where dwellest thou? for you will see that I am one of those feeble folk who dwell in the rock, where bread is given and water sure; to the Lord be all the glory. My heart gratefully acknowledges your quick and welcome reply; it is very sweet and full. I have no mind to raise objections, but confess myself a learner still, sitting at the feet of Jesus in much ignorance, saying, Lord, what I know not teach thou me. I often wonder that you have written to me so long, but am wont to lay up this correspondence and many other things before the Lord, as Moses did the rods, and then what is his own buds, blooms, and is fruitful, and the rest I wish to wither. Excuse the prolixity and weakness of this, how far beneath the subject which has lately been dearer than I can express. I must leave you, but it is in the valley of Berachah, praising and looking for more wonders of love. Forgive the many blunders, thought sometimes flows too rapidly, and volumes could not tell the fulness of his love and glories who died on Calvary's tree. Love to you from dearest Mother and Mary. Adieu, my Father, with love in Jesus,

Ever yours affectionately,

RUTH,

Nottingham, October, 1845.

The least of all.

THE CASE OF ELIZABETH EDWARDS NOT SOLITARY.

NoT solitary? No; for I know of another, and that perhaps more fearful and dreadful than hers. That is sad, very sad indeed; but this I conceive to be sadder still, and yet to have hope in its end. And when we see the rod thus laid upon the back of our brethren, may we hear and fear the same, lest we also be chastened; for truly as a father chasteneth his naughty son, so the Lord chasteneth those who walk disorderly before him. And may we also know to draw out our soul to the hungry and hopeless, to the naked and houseless, and by no means hide ourselves from our own flesh; for as these afflicted ones are members with us of the same body mystic, so need we in sympathy care for and be tender to them as to our own flesh and bones.

I had not now taken up my pen but for the pieces of those two correspondents who have opened up the cruse, and entered into the nature of this affliction. The first, who referred to the circumstances of the case, and the scriptures bearing on the same, has shown that there is a cause why the Lord does so afflict his people. But "J. Wade's " piece in particular enters both into the cause, the case, and those truths which define the nature of the judgment. And as this fearful calamity is not generally understood, I feel I must bring that little light the Lord has given me, lest I too put my candle under a bushel, and quench the Spirit of my God.

The case to which I refer has occurred immediately under my own eye, and is one by and through which I have learned much of truth at another's expense. And for the comfort of Mrs. E. (if comfort she can take) I will give a brief outline of this wondrous event. At the time that my mouth was first opened for the Lord, there was among my hearers a native of Ireland; who having been some time in this country, had renounced Popery and become a Protestant, and I should hope more than nominally so; for by attending the ministry of one termed evangelical, she became so far a follower of the Lamb as to come in for that share of persecution which the prophane ever deal out to the conscientious. After hearing the things the Lord had taught me, and seeing the change produced in some minds, her soul appeared to be under deep concern, and her vain confidence removed, so that she sank in the mire. Deeply agitated, and apprehensive of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, she closely questioned me to know what she must do to be saved; and one evening, as I was speaking from these words, "Turn, oh backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto you," the subject had very great hold on her mind, and she felt as she never had before. Soon after this she visited me, to inform me that her soul had undergone a very great change, and that these words, "I am married unto you," were power