We all like sheep continually stray, and turn to our own ways; i.e., we continually sin. But though we commit the sin, the Lord doth not charge it home to us as believers; for he hath laid it on Christ, who hath thrown it into the depths of the sea. "The sins of Judah shall be sought for, and they shall not be found." Sins are called debts in God's word, and if it hath pleased Him actually to transfer these debts to the account of another who has paid them, where would be the justice of making the sinner responsible for them? What is usually confounded, is the clearance before God, and the clearance in the court of conscience. The former is past, finished, completed, and done; never to be added to, nor taken from ;-the latter is now going

on.

The sinner once purged, hath no more conscience of sin, and should ever be put in remembrance, that he hath been purged from his old sins (2 Peter i. 9). Nevertheless, he contracts fresh pollution every day; insomuch, that all his righteousnesses are filthy rags, and therefore he has need of the constant and renewed application of the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, as was typically preached by our Saviour in washing his disciples' feet; but he refused to wash the head and hands of Peter, as he was already clean, and needed not, save to wash his feet only. This also appears clearly (1 John i. 7), for the former part of this verse, certainly describes a manifested child of God, since he is one that walks in the light, and has fellowship with his brethren, and yet does not live without sin; but for his comfort it is added, “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Not hath cleansed, or will cleanse, although both these are perfectly true; but the truth conveyed in this text is, the present and continued application of the blood of Jesus to the conscience. Under the Levitical law, it was declared that whosoever touched a dead body of man or beast, was to be counted unclean. For the cleansing of such unclean persons, the ashes of the red heifer were laid up. All that were engaged in burning this heifer, were to be counted unclean till the evening. The ashes of this heifer mixed with running water, were to be sprinkled on the unclean person. Although we are not in bondage to such elements as these, yet being left on record in God's word, they preach to us great truths when the Holy Spirit is pleased to unfold them. In Romans vii. the apostle dwells on the power of indwelling sin and corruption; and in the 24th verse, he complains of the body of this death, or as it is in the margin of the Bible, this body of death; from whence it appears, that the state of a child of God, may be correctly set forth thus. He is renewed in the spirit of his mind, and has a new nature by which he is alive to God, and as such, cannot sin, as he is born of God. But he carries continually about with him, a dead body with its carnal mind, which is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

He is, therefore, continually defiled with the contact of this dead body; but for his cleansing, there is provided something better than the ashes of a red heifer, as it is written in Heb. ix. 13, 14, "If the

ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the Eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God."

As long, then, as we are in the flesh with the mind we shall serve the law of God, and with the flesh, the law of sin; and yet, sin is not imputed to us, although we commit it; for "There is no condemnatian to them that are in Christ," and who are manifested as being in Christ, because they walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. God dealeth with his sons who walk after the Spirit, not as a judge, but as a Father. A judge would say, Pay what thou owest, and receive the just reward of thy deeds." A Father says, "Whom I love, I rebuke and chasten for the profit of my children, that I may cleanse them from their idols, and their filthiness." The Father in whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named, hides his face for a little moment, in order that his children may see his displeasure at sin and rebellion, and we shall find it a bitter thing to depart from God's ways.

The Father chastens in love, that he may work godly sorrow in the hearts of His children, and humble them under his mighty hand; but still he ever remembers them as his dear sons appointed to eternal glory, and for that end, made accepted in Christ. "Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since 1 spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord" (Jer. xxxi. 20).

The truth then, is, that God was in Christ reconciling his people unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Our God is not reconciling himself unto his people, for he never was at enmity with them, although they were enemies to him. He was indeed at enmity with their sins, and this caused Christ to exclaim when bearing the mighty guilt of his people's sins, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken

me?"

The word "world" in the above passage (2 Cor. v. 19), can certainly only mean the world of God's elect-i.e., God's people; not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, even as many as the Lord our God should call, who are redeemed to God by the blood of Christ, out of every people, tongue, and nation.

May the Lord keep the eye of faith fixed on the divine Substitute and Surety of his people, that we may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having our own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is of the faith of Christ.

Believe me, in the love of the truth, and in the everlasting bonds of the Gospel,

Stockwell, October 15th, 1846.

Yours very faithfully,

J. W. GOWRING.

A PAGE FROM CRISP.

(Referred to in the previous pages).

LET me tell you, beloved (I would to God you could receive it according to the manifest evidence of Scripture) God no longer stands offended nor displeased; though a believer, after he be a believer, sins often, yet, I say, God no longer stands offended and displeased with him, when he has once received Christ; and unto them, saith God, "Fury is not in me 19 (Isa. xxvii. 4). And in Isaiah liii. 5 (among many other notable expressions of God's being well-pleased towards poor sinners through Christ) he saith, " He was wounded for their transgressions ;" you have this admirable expression of the effect of his wounding, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:" satisfied, here, is as much as pacified; they are all one. The travail of the soul of Christ makes God such amends for the sinfulness of believers, that he can no longer stand offended and displeased with them. If God doth remain offended with them, there is yet some of their sinfulness remaining to be taken away, that his offence also may be taken away. All their sins must be taken away from them, and all offences will be removed from them. But, except God will be offended, where there is no cause to be offended (which is blasphemy to speak) he will not be offended with believers. For I say be hath no cause to be offended with a believer, because he doth not find the sin of the believer to be the believer's own sin, but he finds it the sin of Christ; "He was made sin for us; God laid the iniquities of us all upon him; the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin; He bare our sins in his own body on the tree;" and if he bare our sins, he must bear the displeasure for them. Nay, he did bear the displeasure, the indignation of the Lord; and if he did bear the indignation of the Lord, either he did bear all, or but part; if he did not bear all the indignation of the Lord, then he doth not 66 save to the uttermost those that come to God by him," as he is said to do (Heb. vii. 25). I say, not to the uttermost, because here is some offence, some indignation left behind; and for lack of taking this indignation upon himself, it falls upon believers. So that either you must say, Christ is an imperfect Saviour, and hath left some scattering of wrath behind, that will light upon the head of the believer; or else you will say, he is a perfect Saviour, and takes away all displeasure of God; then there remains none of it upon the person of a believer. Beloved, for my part, I understand not what clouds are in the mind and judgment of other men; to me, it seems there is no truth more abundantly cleared in all the Scriptures, than this one truth of

the transferring of our sins, and so the offence for them, wholly upon the back of Christ; and thus a poor soul hath rest from the indignation of God, as Christ takes the burthen off from his shoulders. There is a two-fold burthen-first, in sin itself; and secondly, in the indignation of God for it. Who can bear this indignation of his ? Christ alone,

and he hath borne it.

Yes, but you will say, "Is not God offended at the sins of believers, when they do commit them? Hath Christ taken away the offence against sin, by his death?"

I answer, no, therefore do not mistake yourself; there may be easily a mistake, for lack of serious pondering the words I deliver. I have not said, God is not offended with the sins that believers commit; but God stands not offended with the persons of believers, for the sins committed by them. He hath that everlasting indignation against sin as ever; and as there is the same contrariety in sin against his nature, so there is the same contrariety in God's nature unto sin. All contrarieties have a mutual contrariety against each other as water is contrary to fire, so fire is contrary to water; as sin is contrary to the nature of God, so the nature of God is contrary to sin; there is an abhorrency of God to that sinfulness, but not an offence in God to the person that commits that sin, because the offence of God for that sin, hath spent itself upon the person of Christ; and by having so spent itself, there remains none of it to light upon the person of a believer, Christ having borne all this offence for sin. And therefore, as I said before, either grant Christ hath satisfied the Father, that he is pleased in his beloved Son, according to Christ's own speech; either grant this, or say Christ hath not done all.

In Matt. iii. is heard a voice from heaven at the baptizing of Christ, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." He doth not say, with whom I am well pleased, but in whom I am well pleased; that is, in whom I am well pleased with you. Though in our natures, and in the sinfulness of them, there is matter of displeasure, yet in Christ for all this, God is well pleased with us; and yet there is none of God's indignation against sin lost in all this, because he is not offended at all with the believer-for he hath satisfied his own offence in his Son, more fully than he would have satisfied it in our own persons; we must have been everlastingly suffering, before God would have been fully satisfied. Now, therefore, as the payment of a great sum all at one payment, and at a day, is a better payment than by a penny a year till a thousand years be out, mark what I say-so Christ's satisfying the Father at once by one sacrifice of himself, is a better satisfying of him, than if we should have been infinite days in paying that which his justice requires, and his indignation to sin doth expect. So here is no derogation to the loathsome nature of sin, and the purity of God, and the great offence God takes at sin; but only here is the transaction of it from the person of a believer, to the person

of Christ himself, that willingly took this upon him-and not only did he take it upon him, but it was according to the determinate counsel and purpose of God that he should do it; nay, the pleasure of God, "It pleased the Father to bruise him" (Isaiah ĺiii. 10).

THE WOMAN OF CANAAN.

A SERMON BY R. HALE, A.M., VICAR OF HAREWOOD; PREACHED HAREWOOD CHURCH, MAY 24, 1846.

IN

"Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour "-Matt. xv. 28.

BEFORE I Comment upon these words, spoken by our divine Lord to a gentle woman, it will perhaps be found interesting to the congregation, if I read a portion of the context, and comment upon it as I along.

go

It appears in the foregoing chapter, that our Lord had been sojourning for a time in that portion of Judea, called Genezaret; where he had performed many miracles (Matt. xiv. 35, 36).

Such was his divine power, that even a touch of his garment was sufficient to heal a disease; a remarkable instance is recorded by Luke (Luke viii. 43-48).

It seems when His fame went forth in Genezaret, a great number from all parts, were brought to him to be healed.

Men will go any distance, and like the poor woman just mentioned, spend their money on physicians, that they may be cured of their complaints; but it was no proof by these people coming to Jesus from all parts to be healed, that they believed in him as the Son of God to save them from their sins, or even as the Messiah foretold by the prophets, for his miracles did not always produce this effect. It is recorded by John, that "though Jesus had done so many miracles among them, yet they believed not on Him" (John xii. 37); and then he refers to the prophecy of Isaiah to show, that not being of God, they could not. They could not believe, because that Elias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them" (John xii. 39, 40).

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