one, and devoted to everlasting destruction, if no better was provided for thee. Hence arose all thy unhappiness and misery. The Lord gave thee a new heart, a new spirit, a new house, in which thou didst “ groan being burdened;" cry, being distressed; sigh, being oppressed; earnestly panting and wrestling for "Christ being formed in thee, the hope of glory." Thou dost remember the period, and through eternity thou wilt not forget how "the angel of the covenant," on wings of love, appeared to thee in the time of thy distress. Oh how very precious was that blood which cleansed thee, and healed thy broken spirit. Oh how very precious were those words: "Thou shalt be mine in that day when I make up my jewels;" while thus saith the Lord to the truth of them constrained thee to sing :

"Enough, my gracious Lord,

Let faith triumphant cry;

My heart can on this promise live,

Can on this promise die."

Unlike the stranger, perhaps I shall not be so happy in it." Thou wast happy in thy new abode, dwelling in Christ, "the secret place of the Most High," and as an "inhabitant of the rock" thou didst sing (being "brought out of the horrible pit and miry clay") that "new song" which thy Lord put into thy mouth, who appeared to thee " as a lamb that had been slain, and wears His priesthood still." Think, my soul, of the comforts in it. Many a time has the Messenger of the Covenant visited thee since He translated thee from the kingdom of darkness into His own " kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." True, thou hast had many temptations, trials of various description. Perplexed and cast down, thou hast heard thy compassionate Friend say, "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man taketh from you." But, ah! how base, how ungrateful have I proved.

My soul, hast thou not cause again and again to ask thyself the question, "Is this thy kindness to thy Friend?" To thee "belongeth shame and confusion of face." Lord, make me meet, as Thy temple, for Thy Spirit to dwell in continually; that "pride and self may fall, and Jesus Christ be all in all.”

My soul, look forward to the resurrection-day, when thou shalt inhabit a body pure, like unto His who purchased thee with groans, and sweat, and blood. Oh, how happy then wilt thou be! Oh, what comforts wilt thou then enjoy! As a king, thou wilt wear a crown, and gladly cast it at the feet of thy dear Elder Brother, who is "King of kings." As a victor thou wilt wave the palm of victory

"Ascribing thy conquests to the Lamb,
Thy triumph to His death."

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As a songster, thou shalt tune thy harp to the immortal praise of the "great Ancient of Days." Thy sun shall no more go down." Thy eyes shall no more fill and overflow with tears, for God, with the tender and gentle hand of love everlasting, shall wipe them all away. Thy present "light (though now they sometimes feel heavy) afflictions work for thee a far more exceding and eternal weight of glory."

"Millions of years my wondering eyes,

Shall o'er Thy beauties rove;

And endless ages I'll adore,
The glories of Thy love."

"But what will it be to be there ?"

Chatham.

A WEEPER.

THE CLUSTER PRESERVED;

OR, THE SECURITY OF THE CHURCH IN HER GLORIOUS HEAD THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

A SPIRITUAL SALUTATION UPON THE OPENING OF THE NEW AND INTERESTING YEAR, 1865, TO THE SPIRITUAL OLD MEN AND OLD WOMEN WHO FOR VERY AGE LEAN UPON THEIR STAFFS IN THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM, AND TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS THAT PLAY THEREIN.-Zech, viii. 4, 5.

IN the name of Him "that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and to whom the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers" (Isaiah xl. 22), we meet you with our accustomed greeting upon the opening of this new era in which by the wheel of time shall be shown more of that mystery which from ages and generations, has been hid in God, but is now revealed unto the saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is "Christ in you the hope of glory." And, beloved, is it possible that a greater subject can demand our attention than that glory which is so great in our salvation, and in which the whole three Persons in the Godhead are alike interested, as exemplified by their joint work in the glorious economy? Thus we read of God the Father in His eternal act in choosing both the Lord Jesus and the Church in Him, and calling upon the Church so to receive Him as his Chosen One: "Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth" (Isa. xlii. 1), and in confirmation of this sweet truth the very enemies of the Lord Jesus while they rejected Him as the Messiah, in the same moment acknowledged that when Christ should come, He would be the chosen of God (Luke xxiii. 35). So also is the Church in every individual member spoken of also: "Ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people" (Exod. xix. 5).

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Likewise the Son of God in His great act of redeeming that Church unto Himself, an act that could have been performed by no other person : For thy Maker is thine Husband; the Lord of Hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel" (Isa. liv. 5); and such are the wonders of redemption which He has accomplished, that not only are we saved from wrath and damnation, but have restored unto us our forfeited inheritance, in making us willing in the day of His power as the Son of God, who as the mighty Redeemer has and does still plead our cause, and the Man whose name is the Branch, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins. Nor less so God the Holy Ghost, the Glorifier of the Lord Jesus Christ, who, now the great work is finished and its almighty Author returned to glory, is come down as the promise of the Father, to bear witness in the hearts of the redeemed that as a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning He would in the divisions of Reuben convince them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to come: and to His hands alone the whole efficacy of the mystery of redemption is committed.

Beloved, was it enjoined upon Israel of old that they should observe the month Abib, which should be unto them the beginning of the year, and remind them of their deliverance from Egypt, which was to be unto them a feast of unleavened bread, in which the great type of the Lord Jesus, the paschal lamb, was to be eaten? If this event was so important to the Old Testament believers, how much more this unto us when that "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men " (Eph. iii. 5), as it is now revealed by the Spirit, wherein all men are led to see "the fellowship of the mystery, which from the

beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God" (Eph. iii. 9, 10); and in this revelation of "the manifold wisdom of God" in the Person of the Lord Jesus as Jehovah's salvation unto the ends of the earth, do we not discover the personalities of the Godhead in becoming witnesses to these great truths, the morning stars sung together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, when contemplating the great work of creation? But, when the great Repairer of the breach in the glorious character of the God-man, with all the events connected with His mysterious Person were opened up to view, the development of the unsearchable riches of both grace and glory was produced in "the manifold wisdom of God." The past year, beloved, has grown old and worn out, and, though only numbering 366 days, might be said to have died of old age, and with it also have died out all its accompaniments, sins, sorrows, losses, and crosses, with all temptations and trials, and we stand upon the shore of 1865 assured that the Egyptians we saw yesterday we shall see no more for ever. The mercy is that while time rolls onwards, it cannot roll backwards, or from its vast vortex throw up the mire and dirt it has swallowed up. We can never be too thankful unto the Holy Spirit for those tokens of love He has given the Church in revealing this "manifold wisdom of God" in the Person of the Lord Jesus, which drew forth the amazement of angels, who, though not able to comprehend the vast subject " God manifest in the flesh," yet possessed a desire to look into these things, and even the holy men and prophets of old were only enabled by the Spirit of Christ by whom they were taught to inquire and diligently make search, that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto us by them, even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, and is now made manifest unto the saints (Col. i. 26); and now, forgetting the things that are behind, putting our feet upon the necks of the whole " army of aliens" of the gone-by years, we would enter upon the new figures of time's tablet, 1865, with an increasing desire to know more fully "the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory" (1 Cor. ii. 7,), so confirmed is every day's experience that the world by wisdom knew not God," the wisdom of this world with the princes thereof coming to nought, while the revelation made known unto us is from the Spirit of God who searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God, the greatest of whose work is the glorifying of Christ, in His Person and work unto His people, thus the sweet promise given to the Church of old, “And the Redeemer shall come unto Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord" (Isa. ix. 20), which like all the other promises is based upon the everlasting covenant entered into by the three Recorders of heaven, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and which gives vitality to those words we wish to usher in the new year of 1865, to form one household word through the same, as we march on our way without breaking rank.

The Lord give grace unto each and every one of His dear family upon the opening of this new year, to understand and know the things that are freely given to them of God, so that their being in time and well-being in Christ from eternity, without any predisposing cause whatsoever, is from Him who has made us new creatures in Christ Jesus-given us to be branches in Him, the true Vine. Yea, everything that appertains to the new creature must be from Him. Their new birth is said to be "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of the will of man" (John i. 13); and after the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeareth, the renewing of their minds takes place, “not by

works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us" (Titus iii. 5, ), which is shed abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Thus Jesus is both the light and life of their quickened state; and surely the Holy Ghost would have the Church not lose sight of this when He reminds her that He (that is the Lord Jesus) is made of God unto her "wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor. i. 30). Surely here is the mystery of the new wine being found in the cluster, and not destroyed because a part of the Vine. "I am the Vine (saith Jesus) and ye are the branches ;" and nothing can exceed the beauty of this similitude; and had not Jesus said it Himself, who would ever have thought of referring it to Him, although the Church had been informed of it by line upon line? the Lord Himself having declared His intention of bringing forth "His servant the Branch," directs attention unto Him as "the Man whose name is the Branch" (Zech iii. 8; viii. 12); and, further speaking of the Gospel dispensation, when the glories of Christ as God Man should be revealed, saith, "And on that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious" (Isa iv. 2). And who shall question but the dying patriarch saw somewhat of this when speaking of the foal being bound to the vine, and the ass's colt unto the choice vine, washing his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes (Gen. xlxi. 11; Matt. xxi. 7). And the inspired Zacharias tells us that the visitation of this Dayspring Branch "was to perform the mercy promised" (Luke i. 72), or to preserve the cluster. He sent redemption unto His people, "and there (in Him, that is in Jesus) hath He commanded the blessing, even life for evermore," and, though the Church of God, "as a lily among thorns," is beset with legions of enemies and troops from hell of every description, and compassing her on every side, still the man clothed in linen-having the writer's inkhorn by his side-is looking on, well knowing it was a choice vine (Isa. v. 2), "a noble vine, wholly a right seed" (Jer. ii. 21). The blessing was in it, and its clusters would appear; it must not be destroyed.

With the largest and warmest of the affections of my new heart to the regenerated family of God, for whom this salutation is alone intended-for none others will feel the least interest in the things it contains-for the words of the Holy Ghost are not yet become obselete, "The natural man receiveth not the things of God"-to them would we, upon the opening of the new year, more particularly draw attention to this cluster of preservation, as giving all the life and power to every other cluster incorporated with it. This being the cause, the glory of Christ, all others the effects flowing from it; and there is nothing more blessed for the child of God than to be taught the same by the Spirit of God. God's own glory, in the person of His Christ, being the first and last design in all things, of which He is so jealous, that He will not give it to another; and this glory is reflected back from the Church, as they are made to appear the objects of His love and mercy: "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. i. 6). Let this be the specific in constant use throughout the year; it will be a never-failing antidote against all the hidden evils that may float upon the surface of 1865; and, if well-digested and fed upon day by day, will bring the soul into that state of the Church, as expressed by the Lord Jesus, when "eating His pleasant fruit" (Song iv. 16); Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon ” (Song iv. 11).

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Farewell, beloved. Having passed the summit of time's eminence, our rapid descent loudly proclaims that we shall soon cease our salutations by the way,

and shall be called to drink the new wine of the cluster in our Father's home above. We feel so satisfied with all the way both you and ourselves have been brought, that, standing upon the verge of an unseen world, we can only look back with gratitude, express our thankfulness for every storm and sunshine we have seen pass over us, and step into the presence of Him who has gone before, and taking possession of our mansion, over the entrance of which is inscribed the name of One whose right it is to inhabit. Cheer up; yet but a little while, when the canker worm, the palmer worm, and the mildew of the low land, shall pass away, and the new wine found in the cluster, with its blessing fully enjoyed, and to strengthen thee in the way, pluck a sweet cluster which shall yield the seed of the pomegranate and the fruit of the vine, upon the ground that shall give her increase, and under the heavens that shall give dew; for the Lord will cause the remnant of His people to possess all these things (Zech. viii. 12). Doubt not the Lord will crown the year with a blessing for His servants' sake, so the former troubles shall be forgotten, and for ever hid from thine eyes (Isaiah lxv. 16).

London.

A STRIPLING.

EPISTLES OF CHRIST.

EVERY epistle must have an author; it could not make itself. It is so with Christ's epistles; for of such it is said, "Ye are His workmanship." He is the author of their life, of their faith, and of their salvation.

Some persons after they have written letters are ashamed of them, and repent that they wrote them. It is not so, however, with Christ and His epistles; for of them it is said, "He is not ashamed to call them brethren."

Letters are sealed with different seals. All Christ's epistles bear the same seal, even that of the Holy Spirit.

The contents of a letter are in the mind of its author before committed to paper. Christ's epistles had a grace union with Him before the world began ; and He then knew them to be His by virtue of the Father's gift: hence He said, “All mine are thine, and thine are mine." His from all eternity, and will be His to all eternity.

A person forms the intention when, where, and how to send a letter before he sends it; and this illustrates Christ's determination as to when, where, and how His epistles should be sent into this world. "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world." Dear Christian friend, you are not in your present position, however painful it might be, by accident; for there are no accidents in a Christian's life. All your times, whether painful or pleasant, are in His hands.

Some letters are valued highly, not only on account of what they contain, but owing also to the parties from whom they were received; it may be a parent, a brother, a sister, or dear friend. Each of the Divine Persons in the ever-blessed Trinity sets a high value upon all Christ's epistles. When the Lord's people are in their right minds, they, on this account, highly esteem each other, although the world does not regard them; which, as regards them, is far from being a bad sign.