His being made sin. What was Christ, when He was made a curse? The Husband of His Bride, who entailed the curse. Did Christ endure the curse? Yes! Where is the curse now? There cannot possibly be any either over Him or His Bride. If there is no curse, what is there? Nothing but eternal blessing. What was Christ when the law was magnified and made honourable? The Head of His Body, the Church. What is the consequence? The law is established in the ONE heart of love, which cannot cause a breach. What was Christ when He gave up His invaluable life? The unoffending Head of the offending members, suffering the just for the unjust; so that all that He did they did in Him. What was Christ when He rose from the dead? The resurrection and the life of His Church; she, therefore, is in resurrection life-union to Him. In a word, When Christ was conceived in the Virgin's womb, the Church was there too; when He was brought forth, she was brought forth; when He lay in the cradle, she lay there too; and, so on to the garden, cross, tomb, and into the holiest of all; so that when God raised Him from the dead, or He raised Himself, the Church was raised too. It may be objected to by some in arguing, "But each member of the Church must die." We answer, No! impossible! Granted, every child of God sleeps in Jesus; but they cannot die any more, being the children of the resurrection—Christ. PEKAH. JUDGMENT WITHOUT CONDEMNATION. "Judgment must begin at the house of God."-1 PET. iv. 17. THE quickened convicted soul, arrested and imprisoned under the law, is filled with guilty fears, meditations of terror and horror; and oftimes rebellion and despair; sometimes the old accuser of the brethren stirs up in the poor guilty sinner's heart blasphemy, which makes him tremble before God. Some poor souls lie longer in this dungeon or prison than others before the spiritual assizes come on, when their particular cases are brought into the court of conscience, where they have to meet their witnesses face to face before the Judge. Satan, our great adversary and accuser, pleads that the poor culprit be tried by the law of Moses-the code and body of the law given by Moses-and makes a great bustle in the court of conscience concerning holiness,-the holiness of the law of Moses. While the poor guilty sinner is in prison and bondage under the law, the devil preaches the holiness of the law to him, and tells him that, "Without holiness no man can see the Lord." For he considers Moses to be his friend, while Satan can keep him under the law of Moses, which pronounces curse and death for sin. In the meantime, Satan enforceth his own law-which is the law of sin-stirring the evils of our corrupt nature to enjoy the sin of the flesh; yea, to wallow in sin! If he can entice the poor convinced sinner into acts of sin, to drown sorrow and stifle conscience, he has his aim, and is satisfied. But the life and spirit of God being in the quickened soul, it is again awakened from this opiate sleep of spiritual drunkenness, with twofold worse horrors of conscience; and, like the "maniac" among the tombs, is almost ready to wound, cut, and destroy itself, being enraged to a degree of madness for its folly; and yet can find no power in itself to cease from sin, or be holy before God. Thus the poor culprit soul is brought to the bar of justice-" judgment begins at the house of God"—and the great adversary comes into the court subpœneing all his witnesses against the poor guilty soul: such as the sins of his youth, secret sins, and rebellion and treason against the majesty of heaven. At this tribunal the devil grins maliciously against the poor culprit, as if sure of gaining the cause; yea, makes as sure of it as he did of that in the court of conscience with Judas, and many others; and when the solemn sentence of death is passed it rings through the conscience as the knell of death. But just as the infernals are expected by the poor sinner to come and drag him away to darkness, eternal death, and perdition, a mild, merciful, and heavenly voice is heard in the court, "Deliver him from going down into the pit, for I have found a ransom." Instantly the "judge of quick and dead," like Joseph in Pharoah's court, discovers Himself to the condemned sinner as his own brother; and as Joseph said unto his brethren, "I am Joseph thy brother whom ye sold into Egypt-who was then the chief judge and viceroy of Egypt--so now, since Christ's sufferings and victories, He, our Brother is the judge of all—“ all judgment is committed unto the Son "-making Himself known to the sin and self-condemned one, by saying, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; I am Jesus thy brother; it is I, be not afraid." And as Joseph fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck, so Jesus comes near to us, makes Himself known by a revelation of His love and mercy, causing us to weep in His embrace, while His heart of love melts, as it were, over us poor weeping sinners, whom He is not ashamed to call, brethren. O, the sweet tokens of His love! O, the meltings of heart that takes place between Christ and His brethren, when He makes Himself known to us as Joseph did to his brethren! All the Egyptians were sent out of the room when the mutual love-weeping took place between Joseph and his brethren; so the world,-worldly people in "this Sodom and Egypt" know nothing of the secret and holy relationship between Christ and His brethren, nor their heart-meltings and love-weepings; for the Egyptians are out of the secret. After Joseph had thus made known himself, his brethren were no more afraid of him; so when Christ is made known to us as our Brother, we are no more afraid of Him; for He comforts us exceedingly with His words, saying, "It was not you that sent me hither, but God, to save your lives by a great deliverance. Then are we glad and willing-He having all the rich stores of the covenant of grace under His hand-that He should be our Judge, and rule over us. We then say, "The Lord-even our Brother and Friend-is our Judge; the Lord is our Lawgiver; the Lord is our King, He will come and save us. But notwithstanding all this that we have received at the good hand of our Spiritual Joseph, Satan, our great adversary and accuser will, after a time, bring his lawsuit on again, and renew his witnesses against us, which causes us to tremble again. But after the Judge has heard all the accusations of the malicious witnesses, some true and some false, He says, "All that you bring against my brethren, you brought against me when in your country, and I did not resist you: you accused me, judged, cast, and condemned me, and hanged me on a tree; and I died for my nation and people, bare all their sins in my own body on the tree to save them; and delivered them from law and justice, curse, condemnation, and eternal death. Therefore, in bringing your witnesses against them, and again accusing them, you accuse me, who died the just for the unjust, to bring them to God." "He is near that justifieth me, who is He that contendeth with me? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth me, and they are justified in and with me; who is he that condemneth? I throw out the bill and dismiss the case; go home to your own den, thou accuser of my brethren; and your iniquity shall come down upon your own pate." Then the old adversary goes into a great rage, and says, "Where is Moses ? Where is Moses? If no one else will accuse them I am sure that he will, if he can be found." He then would raise a fierce dispute with Michael, our sweet Prince, that standeth up for His people, concerning the body of Moses, and his law to condemn us, though both Moses and the tables of the law are put into the ark, and buried in the death of Christ, who is risen again as our Gospel Lawgiver, Judge, King, Justifier, Advocate, and Intercessor. The devil, pharisees, and all legal preachers get into Moses' seat to condemn us; and they may sit there as long as they like-till the last judgment day—and be condemned themselves. The saints come not now to the judgment-seat of Moses, much less to the judgment of the devil and his legal jury. Under all difficulties, sins, and sorrows, we come to the judgment-seat of Christ, since He, our Brother, is our Judge and Lawgiver; and His law in Zion is "the law of the Spirit of life," faith, love, liberty, and kindness, who saith, "Children, love one another." And if any of us do wrong, we must suffer for the wrong; and if we wrong one another, and injure each other, we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one of us may receive the things done in his body," while we are in the body on earth; that is, chastisement in love and faithfulness, that we should not be condemned with the world at the last day. Leicester, June 4th, 1859. WILLIAM GARRARD. "YEA, WE ESTABLISH THE LAW." "I will give THEM a new heart, and they shall not depart from ME." "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. shall we that are DEAD to sin, LIVE any longer THEREIN. How "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men, TEACHING US that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should LIVE soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; LOOKING for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might REDEEM US FROM ALL INIQUITY, and PURITY unto HIMSELF a peculiar people, ZEALOUS of GOOD WORKS." What vile calumniation this from ful, then, For man to slight his Maker! Instinct in Brute creation draws forth the admiration Father to a son beget love in return. And when to needy contrite sinners The heart the fear of sinning. The soul that Feels God's love, has godly fear: To God's decrees, shall it be thought, much Almighty ever-drawing love to them, Trifling thought, much more of action, can And by His Spirit led. Great is the cause, and Great the sequel too. The dove, in plaintive Reciprocated quick by him, lures her Swift move her willing steps with his; coherent Notes from her mark his attractive powers, Thus the awakened soul Now wedded is the soul to Christ in Life, through death, to all eternity. Thus saith the Lord: "Fear not, for I am with Thee; I have called thee by thy name, thou Art Mine. All that I have is thine. Since thou Wast precious in my sight, thou hast Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine, and Glorified in them: Keep through Thine own Name those whom Thou hast given me ; that DIVINE TEACHING. MY BELOVED BROTHER IN DIVINE UNITY,-I cannot refrain sending a line to thank you very warmly for taking so much trouble in writing the answers to our queries. I have enjoyed reading the epistle very much; my faith has been fed, and strengthened thereby. A very clear view of the TWO SEEDS was given me about two years ago, when I solemnly but plainly saw how those who are not the seed of Christ are the children of the devil; and that thus the whole world is divided; so that at the resurrection, to every seed will be given his own body. I cannot describe my feelings respecting the seed of satan; but still I had never seen what you have now written upon the fall, &c. No, my brother, I did not think Christ took flesh to become a Bridegroom; but, because He was the Bridegroom of His Church, He would take her nature to redeem it from the effects of the fall. Thus they were no more TWAIN, but ONE flesh: she, bone of His bone, joined to Him and one Spirit. He, therefore, came to seek and to save that which was lost, even His Own BONE; and, by the Spirit's power, bone comes to His bone. Through what the Lord has enabled you to write, new light and blessedness beams upon my soul, which, I believe, the Lord will make clearer. For this I shall now wait before Him, well knowing that we can receive nothing, except it be given us from above. I deeply feel my own ignorance; but He, who is the Wisdom of God in a mystery, is made Wisdom unto me, and will be more and more revealed to my joy and the divine glory. I join you, dear brother, most heartily, to praise and bless the Lord that we are of the "seed" which shall serve Him, and be accounted to Him for a generation; even the seed of the upright, which shall be blessed for ever. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us; but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth sake." O, the sweet wonders of union! union eternal, union vital, and union experimental. By the latter we come to know the things that are freely given to us of God; and thus the house of Israel possess their possessions, live in their inheritance ("I am thy part and thine inheritance"), and find great joy in telling to the King's house within what abounding plenty is found in this glorious Dwelling-place; so that we, who before were starving through famine, now feed on the finest of the wheat, are satisfied with the honey out of the Rock, drink of the wine which cheereth the heart of God and Man, and have that heavenly anointing which makes our face to shine; bankrupts and beggars are raised from the dunghill, and set at the royal table to banquet with the King, while His banner love sweetly waves over our favoured heads. 66 'O come let us sing unto the Lord a new song;" "for He that is mighty hath done unto us great things, and holy is His name. "They shall sing in the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord in the midst of them." د, May the Lord deliver us more and more from all carnal reasonings, and grant that we may in His light see light more clearly. Christ is the true light, and "if we walk in the light as He (the Father) is in the light, we have fellowship one with another; and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." This is Covenant blood, and by it the Covenant children are brought forth from the pit in which there is no water; and by it the |