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Matt. xiii. 45.

A SPIRITUAL Merchant is one quickened Eph. ii. 1, from a state of death in trespasses and sins-a living man. He is also a diligent man-diligent in seeking, Matt. xiii. 45, and acquiring 2 Pet, i. 5, and diffusing Matt. xxiv. 45, the knowledge of things of incomparable value, Job xxviii. 15, 19.

You may know a true Merchant First, by the goods in which he deals Matt. vii. 20. Secondly, by the port to which he trades. Thirdly, by the manner in which he conducts his business.

1. He deals in gold, gold tried in the fire Rev. iii. 18-the doctrine of Scripture being more precious to him than gold, yea than much fine gold Psalm xix. He deals also in pearls. Having found the pearl of great price, the Saviour of his soul Matt. xiii. 45, by the enlightening of the Holy Ghost, it is his hearty desire to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. iv. 6. He deals in wine and oil. Ps. xxiii. The latter makes him of a cheerful countenance: the former makes him December, 1840.]

fruits and spices. Sol. Song iv. 13, 14. The love of God shed abroad in his heart Rom. v, love of Christian brethren 1 John v. 1, precious faith 2 Peter i, lively hope, which is the fruit of faith 1 Peter i. 2, perfect peace which nothing can shake Isa. xxvi. 3, and other fruits Gal. v. 22, (which can be preserved in any climate) are the goods which he constantly advertises. He deals also in fine linen. Christ and his righteousness is a garment which is unto all and upon all Rom. iii. them that believe, which clothes them all Gal. iii. 27; which clothes them effectually Rev. iii. 18; and which makes them just in the sight of God. Rev. xix. 8. He deals also (Isa. lxi. 10) in jewels, and other beautiful ornaments, 1 Pet. iii. 4, which though out of fashion, are incomparably the most graceful that human beings can wear. All these valuable commodities the spiritual merchant does not possess for the sake of shutting them up in his warehouse. On the contrary, he disperses them and gives them to the poor Psalm cxii. 9: nor is he ever so well pleased, Col. i. 4, as when customers will deal with him, and take them away. Strictly speaking, none of these goods can be said to be the

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property of our merchant. 1 Cor. iv. 7. They belong to his master-for whom he acts as an agent or steward. 1 Cor. iv. 1.

II. Our merchant trades to a distant port which is very far off. Isa. xxxiii. 17. Isaiah lvii. 15. It is a very rich port. Isaiah lx. It is a very free port.

Those who trade thither are never put under quarantine as if they were suspected persons, but are immediately admitted to all its immunities. Heb. vii. 25. There is a perpetual trade-wind Rom. viii. 26; there is a strong convoy Ps. cxxi. 5; and the trade is profitable Prov. iii. 14, 15, and delightful Prov. iii. 17.

The trade itself is delightful: but there are circumstances, both foreign and domestic, by which it is hindered -for there is no separating difficulty from a commercial life.

What are the foreign circumstances which hinder our merchant's trade? There are smugglers 2 Cor. xi. 13, who deal in contraband goods; who contrive to procure a large sale for their pernicious and counterfeit articles Gal. i 6, 7; who boast of their connection with the most ancient mercantile house in Christendom: but who, on examination are found to be little better than imposters who "go about with lies." Ps. xl.

Therefore our merchant is obliged to wear a sword by his side, Heb. iv. 12, and to plant fortifications round all his warehouses. This is but reasonable. Will an ordinary merchant leave all his goods at the mercy of thieves and robbers? He is not so simple. Luke xvi. 8. He knows that what is worth possessing is worth defending: and therefore he takes care to be well supplied with great guns and small arms by sea and by land. Go on board one of the East India Company's ships, and you will find her well furnished with guns. Land on her colonies, and you will find that batteries, and troops well appointed with muskets and bayonets will be

among the first objects which meet your eye.

Should our spiritual merchant be less careful? Or are his goods less valuable and less worth preserving than those possessed by merchants trading to the East Indies? A merchant of great eminence, well known on the exchange, who had been engaged in very extensive business, Rom. xv; xix, and who had been perfectly just in his commercial dealings, Acts xxiv. 16, issued many years ago, circular letters to all inferior traders trading on his principles, warning them that there were many thieves and robbers, who would if they could, plunder, rob, and spoil them Col. ii. 8, of their fine linen, and of all their treasures. And the same merchant gives a particular description of the arms, offensive and defensive, which are to be used in these burglarious skirmishes. Our merchant therefore is both authorized and required by the principles of his charter, to draw his sword to attack ANY spiritual thief whatsoever he may be, or seem to be Gal. ii. 6, whom he may find endeavouring to deprive him of the things which are freely given to him of God. 1 Cor. ii. Only he must take care that he himself be clothed, on the right hand and on the left, with that sort of armour which is musket proof. 2 Cor. vi. 7.

What is the domestic circumstance which hinders our merchant's trade? It is that he has a dishonest servant in his own house. This servant has a very bad character. He imagines "only evil continually." He is always doing all he can to vex, injure, thwart, hinder, and ruin his master. Rom. vii-15; Gal. v. 17. His master suspects, Ps. xix. 12, fears, and hates this servant of his, Rom. vii. 11: detects him in a thousand acts of treachery every day, Gen. vi. 5: but cannot discharge him. He can only live in hopes of being one day well rid of him. Rom, xvi. 20. In the

meantime this powerful enemy (for he is an upper servant) occasions the poor merchant grief and sorrow inexpressible. Rom. vii. 24.

III. You may know a true merchant, moreover, by examining (for he is not one who fears or resists inspection) his books, bills, and correspondence. One book above others (which has made him wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus, 2 Tim. iii. 16) he chiefly uses. Privateers (who hoist false colors) profess great attachment to this book: but in reality derive their instructions from other books in their own counting house. Not so with our spiritual merchant. From his great and best

book he makes daily entries in another kind of book called his memory. Col. iii. 16. As for his bills they are his sole dependance. Take these from him and you make him a bankrupt. But this is impossible. Jer. xxxii. 40. They are well attested. The impression of the seal is firm-the signature is clear. Jer. xxxi. 31; Heb. vi. 16— 19; Eph. i. 13. Thieves cannot come near them. Matt. vi. 20. Fire cannot hurt them, for they are locked up in a strong box Ps. cxix. 11, which is fire proof. 1 Cor. iii. 13. These bills came to our merchant, not by trade but by inheritance. They were his before he was born, Eph. i. 4, and are the title deeds of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. 1 Peter i.. Thus, though our merchant had originally no private property of his own, he is rich, Rev. ii. 9-even to an unsearchable degree. Eph. iii. 8.

All that he has, however, he derives from the pure liberality of his master, Eph. ii. 8, 9, without whose instructions he dares not stir a step. Psalm xxvii. 11; cxliii. 8. Hence he becomes a man of much correspondence. Many are the communications which he receives and sends. Over and above the stated dispatches which he sends off regularly three times a day, Ps. xcii. 2: lv. 17, evening, and morn

ing and at noon, (some merchants send off regular dispatches seven times a day, Ps. cxix, 164,) he is continually and" without ceasing" watching opportunities 1 Thess. v. 17, to hold some short communication with his master on business of importance. His master peremptorily insists on this close correspondence, Luke xviii. 1, and effectually constrains our merchant to continue it, 2 Cor. xii. 9, maugre all hindrances without and within, Rom. vi. 14.

Feniton Rectory, Devon.

H. E. HEAD.

SERIES OF LETTERS FROM REV. E. PARSONS OF CHICHESTER, TO A FRIEND. Letter 3.-To be continued.

My very dear Sister,

MAY the best of blessings rest upon you and yours through our dear Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

us,

And

I received your kind epistle. first, I adore my most loving Father in Christ Jesus, for giving me, (a poor vile sinner) a place in the heart of you his dear child; surely this is one of his covenant mercies, which is by no means to be overlooked by and especially in this day when the excellent of the earth are rare to be found: for my part, I would rather hear from, or be in company with, or receive into my house, heart, and affections, one of these, however mean poor or despised, than all the world's grandeur or glory; because the former brings life, the latter death.

O how oft does the lovely Jesus visit us with his heart-attracting, soul-dissolving presence, when we talk of Him by the way, and He speaks to us by his power, saying,

All hail." Faith is communicated to our hearts; eternal love burns in our souls to his adorable person; we, by the power of his grace, lay hold of his blessed feet, and will not let him go, until he bless us with a full persuasion of his being the crucified and risen Jesus, and that for us.

Oh how sweet to be brought into the banqueting house, and, in the eternal light of the Spirit, to see the banner of eternal love unfurled and streaming over our heads; yea from pole to pole, over all his dear family. But what makes it doubly sweet to us is, when we read the glorious motto on it for ourselves, which is, "Yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love;" and his loving-kindness made known to us in the Spirit, makes us willing subjects and soldiers of our mighty King and Conqueror, Jesus. This we meet with sometimes at a throne of grace, in the ordinances of his house, in his precious word, amongst the dear children of his kingdom, in writing to each other of his goodness and mercy; and sometimes, like good old Jacob, in some secret spot, where no eye but God's, and the poor sinner's, is witness to the happy meeting. Surely the silent walls that now inclose me, if they could speak, would tell more than poor stupid I can of this precious sight, feast, and banquet; for here, and in many more sacred spots, has God in unequalled mercy, in the dear Son of his love, met with hell-deserving me, and by the power of his grace enabled me to surrender myself a willing subject to him, come life or come death: so much so, that I believe by his grace I could have burned every bit of flesh from my bones with the greatest cheerfulness, and spilled every drop of blood in my veins, for that precious Jesus who had spilt every drop of his loving heart's blood for so ungodly a sinner as I and even now I am called to suffer much for his name's sake, from the powers of darkness; an oppressing world; the rage of men and devils; false, deceitful brethren; much pain of body at times; heavy work in the ministry, owing to the much opposition from a deceitful heart and unrelenting devils, together with base and hardened hypocrites; and the very face of providence frowns and

looks black over my head; and all seems to work counter to the promise of my kind God and Father: and the devil, by these and many more things, strives hard to prove to me that the hand of God is gone out against me; unbelief sides with him, and says, they are as so many manifestations of it. But even now, my dearest and loving sister, by his grace would I offer up my life upon the sacrifice and service of yours, and the church's faith; and although he tries me on every hand, and in ways that no mortal upon earth knows any thing of but his blessed self, and his poor nothing worm; yet, as you sweetly say in your letter, it is the love of a father to a poor rebellious child; and Oh, how light when I am enabled to put them in competition with my manifold sins, and what he has promised to me hereafter in an eternal world above through his dear and well beloved Son. “ Surely he does not deal with us after our sins; nor reward us after our iniquities : for as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that fear him." It is of his mercies that we are not consum. ed in hell, by the thousands of sins within and without. And he that cannot lie has said, "I will never leave you, and never forsake you;" and was he not to make good his promise to me, a poor sinful helpless worm, I should sink often, and that to rise no more; even this would have been the case no longer ago than last Sunday, for I had a host of devils to go through, bound in spirit, full of darkness and confusion of mind, a body so weak I could scarce drag it about, my own wicked heart saying I could not go into the work, with swarms of carnal reasonings and evil surmizings; and sometimes have even had the text taken from me by the devil while speaking; but glory to our all-conquering Saviour, he has brought me through many times with a high and an outstretched hand.

All praise be to his name and grace

invincible.

Oh, my dear sister, this grace that is fast ripening thee for eternal glory, (as I see by your sweet letter,) will bring you safe to eternal rest. O my dear sister, thy afflictions have made thee alive to thy God with a witness. Pray write again as soon as you can, and overlook my base ingratitude in not answering yours before; for believe me, whilst I read it, the tears of joy and gratitude flowed to my ever precious Jesus. Dear sister, the Lord is with us, for some are crawling out of their holes like worms of the earth; others are stript naked and longing for the best robe; some are looking out of obscurity, while others are feeding on the fatted calf; some get the blessing and go off with it, while others are enlisted under the banner of everlasting love; some are walking in darkness and stand in need of strong meat, but other's stomachs are so proud that they reject the sweetest food. Pray for me my dear friend, that I may be enabled to give out a portion of meat in due season. May the best of all blessings rest upon you, and yours. So prays your willing servant. Amen

E. PARSONS.

SERMONS ON THE EPISTLES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA.

BY THE LATE REV. SAMUEL EYLES PIERCE.

(Never Before Published.)

SERMON VI.

"Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."Rev. iii. 12, 13.

IN the former epistle, we had the Lord Jesus Christ reproving the

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church of Sardis for coldness, deadness, and too much indifference under divine, heavenly, and spiritual things. It has been already observed, that the state of Christ's church in the present day, is represented unto us in that epistle. And it seems to be alluded unto by the prophet Zechariah in these words; "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. But it shall be one day which shall be known unto the Lord, not day nor night: but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light." Zech. xiv. 6, Which passage is thus explained that man of renown Dr. Gill. The light of the present time is fitly described as being neither clear nor dark; not so clear as in the first times of the gospel, nor so dark as in the darkest times of popery, or as it may be before a brighter day appears. It is one day, a remarkable, uncommon day; known to the Lord, how long it will last, and to him only; not day nor night, not clear day, nor dark night, but a sort of evening twilight; and at evening time, when a greater darkness may be expected to be coming on, it shall be light, a blaze of light shall break forth, and that to such a degree, that the light of the moon, which at most is the light we now have, shall be as the light of the sun in its meridian splendour; and the light of the sun shall be as the light of seven days could it be collected together; so great will be the difference between the gospel light as now, and as it will be then, that is in the Philadelphian church state, or the spiritual reign of Christ.

It is this state of the church which we come now to consider: in and during which period, all those glorious prophecies are expected to receive their full accomplishment. That all things shall fall down before him, (that is, before Jehovah Jesus, who is King Mediator, and whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,) and his dominion endureth throughout all ge