he is my life and my salvation; the Holy One of Israel ;' 'the God of the whole earth;' the Lord of Hosts!' and bless a covenant God for that salvation which is in Christ, against which the gates of hell' shall never prevail.

While the Lord is carrying on these things in my soul, and cutting off worldly prospects and dependances, he sweetly leads me to his feet, and one half hour's communion with him from the mercy seat, in a day of darkness and soul-trouble, is worth more than ten thousand worlds of vanity and sin. (Psalm lxxiii. 25.) Thus the Lord makes his glory dear to my heart, and is all that is worth living for in this vain and empty world of sin and woe; and while the Lord is thus pleased to teach, lead, and keep me, I hope to follow him in the regeneration,' and to 'show forth the praises of him who has called me out of darkness into his marvellous light.' (Isaiah xxvi. 3, xxvii. 3, xliii. 21, liv. 13; Psalm cxxi. cxxv. 1, 2; Hebrews xiii. 20, 21; 1 Peter ii. 9.) And when the Lord shall have accomplished his will and pleasure in me below, I shall, according to his own word, 'be with him,' to 'see him as he is;' John xiv. 3 ; Col. iii. 4, and with sweet melody join the delightful song ' unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion, for ever and ever. Amen.' Rev. i. 5, 6.

RECENT THOUGHTS

ON THE FREE MERCY OF 'THE GOD OF LOVE AND PEACE' TO POOR SINNERS IN THE SON OF HIS LOVE,' AS SET FORTH FIGURATIVELY IN

THE VISION OF THE DRY BONES

TO THE

PROPHET EZEKIEL,

AND RELATED IN CHAPTER XXXVII, WITH SOME FAINT VIEWS OF ITS BLESSED AND PEACEFUL EFFECTS IN THE SPIRIT AND CONVERSATION OF THE SONS OF PEACE.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God: every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that lo veth not knoweth not God; for God is love.' 1 John iv. 7, 8.

'God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace are ye saved.)' Eph. ii. 4, 5.

THE HOLY GHOST in the sacred word, compares our poor nature in its lost and ruined condition to a helpless infant, cast out in its filth and blood, to the loathing of its person. (Ezek. xvi.)-as being spiritually wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked ;' (Rev. iii.) corrupt, filthy, abominable, workers of iniquity,' and without the knowledge or fear of God; (Psalm xiv.) alienated from the life of God;' being past feeling, and working iniquity with greediness;' (Ephe. iv.) haters of God,' 'inventors of evil things, implacable, unmerciful;' (Rom. i.) a degenerate plant of a strange vine.' &c. &c. (Jer. ii.)

To show that the children of God are alike partakers of the same awful depravity, it is written, and you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;' (Eph. ii.) and by the prophet Ezekiel compared to bones,

'dry bones,' without spiritual life, dead in trespasses and sins.' Lo! behold! mark their condition, Lo, they were very dry.' Surely nothing could more fully set forth the destitute, dead, helpless state of our poor ruined nature in the fall, as being destitute of spiritual life!

In this low and lost estate, disjointed, scattered, and exposed in the open valley-destitute of a shelter, a refuge, a heart to desire one, or life to feel the need of one ; in my view, there is not a stronger evidence of spiritual death than insensibility and ignorance of it, and a denial of the awful truth. Indeed there seems as much life literally in a dry bone, as there is life spiritually in the soul of a sinner 'dead in trespasses and sins.'

It shows great ignorance and vanity in any, who, by free mercy, are made partakers of spiritual life, to set at nought any poor sinner, forgetting we were children of wrath even as others.' The apostle seems to remind us of this where he says, remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh,' aliens, strangers, 'having no hope, and without God in the world,' ' children of wrath even as others,' &c. (Eph. ii.)

The question the Lord asked the prophet seems often to rise in the mind, in meeting such numbers who appear destitute of any spiritual life in the fear or true knowledge of God, Son of man, can these bones live?' And his answer should be ours, O Lord God thou knowest.' The proudest Pharisee, the basest sinner, in a state of nature, are equal as to spiritual life or merit in the sight of God, are open to his most free mercy and power, and capable of receiving the operations of his Spirit under the proclamations of the gospel of peace and salvation, as the dry bones under the ministry of the prophet, under the special command and blessing of the Lord, (Matt. xxviii. 19; Mark xvi. 15, 20.)

This subject opens a blessed encouragement to the servants of the Most High God,' who from a deep sense

of the importance of their message, go forth in the authority, the name, strength, and blessing of the Lord God of Israel.' To those who experimentally know the power and strength of sin, the hardness, opposition, aversion, malignity, bitterness, and enmity of the heart of man to the sovereign mercy of God, what could encourage a hope of life and reconciliation, but precious faith in the free mercy and power of God, to give life and blessing, while prophesying to the dry bones, who shall say but the Lord may speak life into the heart, 'O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'

I would not dare to pervert the sacred word, but it has struck me in reading this and similar passages of Ezekiel's ministry, where similar expressions are used as in the beginning of this chapter, The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, (see also viii. 9.) that the prophet was himself passing under the hand and spirit of the Lord in soul-experience. By his being caused to pass by them round about, it may seem to point to these soul-humiliating seasons, into which we are so frequently led by the Spirit-down into the painful discovery of our poor wretched and ruined nature; similar to what the apostle saith of his experience in Rom. vii. also in chapter viii. 32, 'ourselves also which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves.'

In my view, there appears great wisdom in this, that the Lord should employ poor sinners in the ministry of reconciliation and peace-men of like passions taught by one Spirit, led experimentally into the secret of a fallen state, with continued and still deeper and deeper heartsickening views of Self and sin; also of the glory and blessedness of the great Redeemer and redeeming lovewitnesses that can testify, 'that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you.' In viewing this subject, even in the letter of it, surely no man, if only in possession of natural reason, (without special grace) could at

tribute the life and resurrection of these dry bones either in whole or in part to themselves; or say there was any virtue or comeliness in a dry bone, a dead sinner, to attract or merit the favor of the Most High.' It was without any condition or a single act of the dry bones— they were wholly passive, the more receivers of the mercy, not workers, but the workmanship of God.' (Eph. ii. 10.) It was an act of pure grace, the richest love.

O, who can say what it is for God to love a sinner! 'Dead in trespasses and sins,' words cannot set it forth. A sinner made partaker of the rich favour, cannot utter it. (Psalm cvi. 2.) The apostle calls it the exceeding riches of his grace'-the extent of our loss and depravity, who can know it? (Jer. xvii.)—a life of disobedience, who can judge of the awfulness of its guilt in the sight of God? Yet the love of God exceeds the whole. Where sin abounded grace did much more abound.' Mercy rejoiceth against judgment.' Mercy exceeds all the enmity of the carnal mind, and overcomes the aversion and and stubbornness of the heart. It found its way into the heart of Saul of Tarsus, when (as himself saith) he was 'exceedingly mad' against the disciples, or rather Jesus in his disciples (Acts xxvi. 11.)--yet it exceeded and abounded over all the determined opposition of his dreadful heart.

What an amazing strength of love and mercy must there be in the heart of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,' that it should break forth in acts of pure grace and love upon his enemies, inflamed and mad with sin against him-surely it 'passeth knowledge.' 'God who is rich in mercy,' &c. This is the blessed spring and source of all life and mercy. It issues forth from the fulness of his heart, in the greatness of that 'love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sin,' without life to feel the need of it, consequently unsought for by the dead. But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were