THE EMBARRASSED BROTHER RECEIVED AND RELIEved. "If thy brother be waxen poor and fallen in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him, yea, though he be a stranger, that he may live with thee."-Lev. xxv. 35. THERE is a secret in that religion which the Lord the Spirit is the author of, and which no man can experimentally know unless it is freely given to him from heaven, John iii. 27. Now some of those blessed mysteries I consider are treasured up in the language of the Holy Ghost at the head of this paper, and may it please his sacred Majesty to open thern up to the mind of him that is about to write, that both him who writes and they, who are taught of God, that read, may rejoice together. The first thing that attracts our attention is the rise and progress of the Jews. The word of inspiration informs us, that they were at first few in number, but ultimately increased to a great multitude. And thus it is and was with reference to the spiritual brethren of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Who that is truly spiritual, and reads the sacred word, but must conclude that in ancient times, The remnant then was very small But that after the ascension of our Lord from the grave, we find that on onǝ occasion, The Holy Spirit did display His power on that auspicious day; Again, by the right of circumcision the Israelites were distinguished from all other nations. And thus it is with the true spiritual Israel of God, who are, as the apostle says, the true circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. The Jews, also, had the reproach of the nations around, who delighted to bring them into disrepute. And is not this equally the case with the Lord's redeemed family, who have the censure of those who are strangers to vital godliness. And I might go on to shew how the brethren the Jews were a striking type of the people of God, but I proceed. Secondly, What we are to understand by "the poor brother," or the "brother fallen in decay," &c. Sure my spiritual reader will admit that there is a spiritual meaning annexed to it. Now the fair inference to be drawn from the subject before us is this, that there was a time when this poor brother was once in prosperous circumstances, at which time he did not want the assistance of the brethren whom the Lord had blessed with his bountiful providence. So if we take a spiritual view of the subject, we may say of all the brethren beloved of God, there was a time when they did not feel their need of the least spiritual blessing. If the writer refers to his own personal experience, he can have no just claim to say that his feeling and practice, when under Satanic influence, was one whit better than that of Pharoah, when he said, "Who is the Lord that I should obey him;" or with those who had the hardihood to affirm, that their lips are their own, and, Who is lord over us? Ps. xii. 4. Oh the sad state that man is in, Further, if we speak of persons falling into decay, whether we refer to bodily afflictions or embarrassment in circumstances, they do not, gene. rally speaking, become so all at once, but by little and by little they become poor. We often behold, from observation, when the hand of the Lord is stretched out against a man, to take from him his little all that he has set his heart upon, his rebellion often rises exceeding high, and he labours When their eyes are open; All the living family know in a measure what is contained in the hymn I have just referred to, or, to keep to the words at the head of this paper, they know what it is to fall into spiritual decay, just like a man that is afflicted with a consumption, whether the disorder is slow or rapid, he ultimately wastes away to a mere skeleton; so the poor sinner feels, who is taught by God the Holy Ghost; and it is from his teaching he discovers what the law requires, and the impossibility of his obtaining salvation upon the ground of his own obediI am sure when once this life from God is experienced in our souls ence. the disease is surely fatal, and, as I observed before relative to a man's body wasting away, so the whole body of a man's mere profession is sure to fade away, for he shall know what is contained in the following passage of holy writ: "When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died," to all hopes of being saved by a covenant of works. He sees his righteousness is thin, I now come, thirdly, to show who those rich brethren represent, and how they cordially receive the poor brethren. I shall begin by noticing the nature of their riches. They are all of a spiritual nature, and they are said to be rich in faith, James ii. 5, and rich in good works, 1 Tim. iv. 18. These riches, also, are said to be durable, Prov. viii. 18. It is said, again, that they have these treasures in an earthen vessel, which sometimes is called a house, as it is written, "Wealth and riches shall be in his house, and his righteousness endureth for ever," Psalm cxii, 3. It is "the Lord who is rich in mercy," Eph. ii. 4, that makes them prosperous; and as for themselves, they feelingly confess and say with a rich brother, "O Lord our God, all this store cometh of thine own hand, and all is thine own," 1 Chron. xxix. 16. Now the Lord the Spirit gives to these rich brethren a penetrating mind, so much so that they have a very keen discernment in judgment of spiritual thiugs, and the voice of the Lord is with them, "Try the spirits, whether they be of God." The truth is, they are not satisfied with trying men's words only, for many will acknowledge they are poor, &c., who never knew, from the sacred teachings of the Leader of spiritual Israel, what it is to be poor in spirit. But when they have these poor brethren declare what God hath done for their souls, they feel a plea sure in listening to their complaints, I say, when they speak feelingly of what their poor souls felt when condemnation was by God himself sealed upon their souls; this unites their souls to them; and the reason is obvious, because they have travelled the same painful path. Moreover, it is said of those rich brethren, that the Lord hath spoken to his people by their mouth in ancient times, yea, and he doth still make them the honoured instruments in his holy hand of dropping a word of comfort to his poor, afflicted people. Are they hungred and in want of heavenly food? these brethren cited above will take them into their spiritual affections, and, instrumentally, feed their souls with spiritual blessings. Have they contracted a debt that is exceeding great, and feel the famine spread over their souls, and not only so but have gone under the all searching scrutiny of Moses, who has burned up all that they vainly thought would pass current in Sion's street? these rich brethren take them into their prayers before a throne of grace, and direct them to Jesus, who hath done all things well, in going to the end of the law. Yes, said one of these brethren in times past, he (Jesus) in love to poor, law-wrecked, self-condemned sinners, hath maguified the law and made it honourable, Isa. xlii. 22. Are they naked, or, in other words, do they feel their own righteousness to be but fifthy rags, Isa. lxvi. 6? these brethren are commanded to bring forth the best robe, even the imputed righteousness of Jesus for every returning prodigal. These rich brethren are a striking type of the preachers of God's salvation; these by the ministry of the word visit their poor brethren when in prison, in their feelings, and when they are like the psalmist, shut up and cannot come forth to praise rhe Lord for his great mercy towards them; they are received into the church below, and shall ultimately be received into the church above. If my spiritual reader take the text with its connection, he will perceive all this was to be done freely, they were to receive nothing for their kindness towards the poor brother, for Jesus said unto his disciples, "Freely ye have received, freely give," &c., and we know A free salvation suits the poor, But we come, lastly, to notice what is said to the stranger: he was to receive the same comfort and be treated in the same manner as the Israelite, when he was brought into the same affliction, which is to shew, The gentile sinners that believe All that they stand in need; Great Wakering. W. WESTHORP. A FRAGMENT. Oh, the blessedness of the marriage state in Christ. If a woman is bound to her husband so long as he liveth, and the husband to his wife; Jesus my Husband, my Maker, my Redeemer, ever liveth; and I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. And though I have played the harlot with many lovers yet will I go and return to my first husband, for I am his in an everlasting covenant which cannot be broken. And I praise thee, blessed and eternal Spirit, for the sweet account which thou hast caused thy servants to give of it, that thereby we might know it, and through thy almighty teaching, believe unto salvation. AFFLICTION LIGHTENED. Dear Friend, THESE few lines come with my kind love to you. But, dear friend, you must excuse my not wri ting to you before, because I have felt myself unable to sit to write sometimes, and at other times I could not bring my mind to it; but I have embraced this opportunity at last, and may the Lord make it a profit to you. As your desire in your letter was, that the Lord would still continue his love towards me, and make his love manifest in me; and, dear Lord, all this hath he done for me, and much more, for he hath again set my feet upon a rock; and though the temptations of the world and the devil have, with cunning devices, strove with all the power that in them lay, to have driven me from that Rock, but the Lord hath shewn me, that his strength is sufficient for me, and hath enabled me to stand against all the fiery darts of the wicked one. He hath sent his promises at times home with such power to my soul, that he hath given me the sword of the Spirit to fight against every spiritual enemy that might arise. Dear friend, when I think on the loving-kindness of my God, it seems to humble me as in the very dust before him, to think that he should have satisfied me, an unworthy worm of the dust, in the prospect of my poor soul, with the hope of spending an endless eternity with my blessed Saviour, who hath satisfied the vengeance of God, through pouring out his blood to the very last drop. Oh, that God by his Holy Spirit, should ever have given a rebel like me to see, that the paths I once was walk. ing in led to death; and after he had truly convinced me of the danger I was in, through the want of an atonement for the sins that I had committed, he then directed me to the Lord Jesus Christ, and shewed me the efficacy of his blood and righteousness, and his great willingness to receive and pardon all who are brought unto him. And thus he is manifesting his love unto me now, and showing me his love in such a manner, that it makes me long to be February, 1845.] for ever with such a Friend. He has truly so satisfied my soul in my affliction with his love, that I can join with one of old, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." And he hath satisfied me in such a manner with his gifts and graces, that my soul hath rejoiced within me, feeling in such a happy frame that I cannot describe. But, my dear friend, when I look at my affliction, and view my dear Father's hand in it, beholding it as the rod of his love, and looking upon myself as the cause of it, for most assuredly there is a needs be for it, or my Father would not afflict me; so that, looking on it as laid upon me for some good end, it may be to ripen me for glory, can I then but say, let it be either for life or for death, it is for God's glory, let his holy will do whatsoever he may concerning me. Your loving friend in the Lord, ON JUSTIFICATION. The Holy Scriptures run altogether this way: "They which receive abundance of grace," Rom. v. 17. Here is faith, the hand to receive; here is abundance of grace received. So that a believer not only receives grace in his justification, but much grace. So Rom. iv. 16: "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace." Here, observe, that to be justified by faith and by grace, is all one in the account of the Holy Ghost. And this way of grace makes the promise sure to all the seed, that is, to the whole election of God: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace," Eph. i. 7. In the former verse the apostle was speaking of the saints' acceptance in the Beloved, that is, in Christ, the God-man; and in this verse he shews the riches of grace flow down in free forgiveness: "That in ages to come, he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his great kindness to us through Christ Jesus," chap. ii. 7; that is, in all succeeding ages, to the end of the world. Grace, through Christ, might flow down for the free justification of all those that should believe, as at verse 8, "By grace are ye saved, through faith." Now this way of justification drowns all men's excellencies: as when the sun arises there is no need of candle, even so when the Sun of Righteousness arises, as Mal. iv. 2, then doth man's own righteousness fade away, and disappear, and is as the morning cloud and early dew that soon passeth away, that so free grace may the more illustriously appear in this work of free justification: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us," Rom. iii. 5. Here all works are denied, that grace may take place altogether in this work, "that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life," verse 7: as if the apostle had said, that believers, through the free grace of God, having the guilt of their sin removed, and Christ's righteousness imputed, should be made "children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ Jesus," Rom. viii. 17. And if we look into Isa. xliii. 25, there we find the great God thus speaking, “I, even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake." Here God writes an I on this work; he looks on it as his prerogative royal to pardon sin, and that not for any worthiness in man, but for his own sake. He will not give the glory of his free grace to any other; nay, poor man has nothing of his own, but must be beholden altogether to free grace: "And when they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave them both," Luke vii. 42. Here free forgiveness is on the throne, and "reigneth, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord," Rom. v. 21. Oh, then, let all saints say as the prophet, "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage; he retaineth not his anger for ever, becanse he delighteth in mercy," Micah vii. 18. And thus we find the Holy Scriptures |
