Third. The object. What has offended the Most High God? Sin, cursed sin; which has been aimed at his throne, been committed against infinite holiness, violated the law of the Holy One, abused the rights of justice, and filled the mind of man with enmity against his God. This dreadful evil, unless covered with the mantle of love,-washed away with blood divine,-through grace truly repented of, and freely forgiven by the mercy of God, through the atonement of the Redeemer, will surely sink the soul lower than the grave. When the returning prodigal came to his father, he said, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." So the convinced sinner, when he returns to Jesus, comes with weeping and lamentation; sin stares him in the face: he fears his sins are too great and too many to be forgiven. But who, I ask, is to set limits to pardoning mercy, or who shall prescribe bounds for atoning blood? (Matt. xii. 31; Luke vii. 47.) Let the true penitent therefore rest on the atoning sacrifice of Christ, with humble hope that sin will be forgiven and peace bestowed, through him, who has said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," Matt. xi. 28. Dear reader, have you and I ever so repented of our sins, as to hope for mercy?

Fourth. The means. We are told that Christ is exalted a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance; and we are quite aware that he does give it, or no sinner would ever have it.

Judgments may alarm, distressing providences may terrify; yea, a sinAugust, 1840.]

ner might return from the dead, to tell of the terrors of the damned in hell, but unless Christ gives repentance, and the Holy Spirit works it in the heart, there will be none. But there are means by which he is pleased to work. The preaching of the gospel is one: "Then came John, preaching and saying, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Matt. iii. 1, 2; Peter preached, and three thousand sinners repented of their sins; Paul preached, and the Lord opened Lydia's heart. Sometimes a word in private, the prayer of a good man, or the reading of a tract, have been means which God has honoured to bring sinners to himself. The Eternal Spirit works by means, both in the conversion of the ungodly, and in comforting those who believe. Dear reader, use the means which God has given you, with humble hope, that in his own time he will bless them to your neverr-dying soul.

Fifth. The end. The salvation of the soul is the great end the Holy Spirit has in view when he works repentance in the heart. For the manifestation of this he forgiveth iniquity, transgression and sin, gives holy peace, and himself becomes the earnest of joys to come, to the truly penitent, blood-washed, justified, and sanctified soul. Thus the soul is brought to love God, to view with adoring gratitude the wonders of Calvary, to rest on the atonement, and to draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation, and then to live in heaven for ever.

Bagshot. A COUNTRY MINISTER.

LETTER FROM AN OLD DISCIPLE TO A BROTHER PILGRIM.

My well-beloved Friend,

YOUR's dated the third instant I duly received, and felt an inward glow in my spirit while perusing its savoury contents, being well persuaded that it was the overflowings of a gracious heart, under the sacred teachings

BB

of God the Holy Spirit: for although at times I feel as dark as midnight, and as barren of all goodness as the mountains of Gilboa; yet being, through sovereign mercy, made a partaker of spiritual life, and having received in my measure a small portion of that divine illumination, which hath constituted me (though once sitting in darkness, and in the region of the shadow of death) a child of light; I am enabled to discern that my dear friend is certainly emerged out of his native darkness, and that he is now under the saving teachings of the Holy Spirit of all truth, by which he is now constituted one of that blessed number whom the Almighty claims as his own: as the royal Psalmist testifies, He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death," Ps. lxviii. 20. For though not as yet established in the faith of interest, so as to be enabled to say, My Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation;" nor yet enabled with the Spouse to claim the blessed Redeemer as your own, as she did when she was describing him to the daughters of Jerusalem, "This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend," Song v. 16: yet you are under the same divine tuition, and are enclosed in this great and precious promise, "And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place, and he shall be for a glorious throne to his Father's house. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his Father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups even to all the vessels of flagons," &c. Isa. xxii. 23, 24. Now it appears evident to me, that all your hopes and expectations, for present happiness and future blessedness, are with their whole weight hung upon Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, for he is this nail fastened in a sure place.

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This is manifestly the true state of the case, according to the import of your letter. And this opens before

you the large field of gospel promises, and as your faith grows, (for grow it will by due degrees, it being an incorruptible seed,) you will be enabled to gather fruit unto eternal life; for it is left upon record, in a promise for the encouragement of every seeking, thirsty soul, Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth," Hos. vi. 3. In thus "following on our success is certain in the issue; but its certainty depends not so much upon our going out in the exercise of grace, as upon the Lord's goings forth from the morning of eternity in his purposes of love, mercy, and faithfulness-in his choice of us from everlasting— and in the gift of us to his dear Son, who did engage in covenant love to gather in the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and to feed his purchased flock like a shepherd. And this work of gathering poor lost sinners to himself, his blessed Majesty hath been carrying on from age to age, and will continue to carry on, until the last vessel of mercy shall be brought into his fold.

When the Spirit of life enters into the heart of a poor sinner, the first cry of the quickened soul is, "What must I do to be saved?" and in this troubled state the poor creature conceives he must do some great thing in the way of working, being at that period ignorant of God's way of saving sinners. Thus the three thousand quickened souls under Peter's first sermon, cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" So Paul, when the Lord arrested him in the way to Damascus, "trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" So likewise the poor Philippian Jailor, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" In these instances we may perceive the general actings of poor sinners when spiritual life first takes possession of

them. Hence it appears evident that the sinner's working arm is useless; and it would be equally useless to bid him believe, unless it pleases God to attend the bidding with his divine power, and to bless us with faith for He alone is both the author and finisher of genuine faith, the beginning and end of all our salvation. When therefore, under the Holy Spirit's teaching, we are thus led to supplicate with the apostle, "that God would fulfil in us all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power," &c. we may then be assured of good success sooner or later. Thus it manifestly appears that supplicating or begging is the only way to obtain the muchneeded and much-desired blessing; and when thus blessed with precious faith, we shall want a confirming increase and continual supply of it, together with every other grace, even to the end of our days.

When Peter dedicates his second epistle, he begins with an address to "them that have obtained like precious faith with himself," and shews the means through which this precious grace was obtained. He then goes on in the fifth and two following verses to teach us a choice lesson in the rule of addition, which to learn profitably will take us up and occupy our whole lives; for although we shall not have the same ground exactly to go over again, yet we shall be called to endure many and fresh conflicts with the world, the flesh and the devil and so skilful and so active are these our inveterate enemies. that there will be no cessation of arms until, as Mr. Hart says, in his 106th hymn, death ends the conflict,

:

"I'll bear th' unequal strife,

And wage the war within;
Since death, that puts an end to life,
Shall put an end to sin."

Every victory we obtain in our warfare is ascribed to faith, according to John's testimony. "For whatsoever

is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

I have gone a roundabout way in my imperfect manner, with a desire to show my dear friend that it is not by our own works, either in whole or in part, but by that faith which is of the operation of God, that we obtain every victory in our spiritual warfare. You complain of barrenness, dryness, and a want of energy in your soul, to press through the surrounding crowd of obstacles that impede your progress in running the race set before you. The same complaints daily attend me, and I find no recourse, no relief, but by "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith ;" and this way of contending with our enemies is long in attaining and there is one lesson the dear Saviour teaches all his disciples, which we dull scholars are long in learning, namely,

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Without me ye can do nothing." This is a short but not an easy lesson to learn, seeing we are so slow of heart to believe; but we gather it up by degrees in our experience, as we move on in the christian race.

Another mark or evidence by which we may prove that our faith is of the right kind, may be known by the effects it produces, as the inspired apostle testifies, "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything. nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love," Gal. v. 6. This was truly exemplified in the case of Peter. We have his noble confession of faith in Matt. xvi. 16, and the Lord's blessing upon him in the three following verses. After this we read how through the force of temptation poor Peter denied his Saviour, as He predicted to him before-hand. Here we see what a deep abyss of misery this vessel of mercy was plunged into; but one propitious look from the Lord preserved him from sinking into despair. On the morning that Jesus rose from the dead, a cheering message was conveyed to disconsolate

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Peter from the sepulchre (Mark xvi. 7). After this, at the sea of Tiberias (John xxi), the risen Saviour provided a dinner for his disciples; and after dinner Jesus saith to Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" This question was thrice repeated, and Peter's final answer was, "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee." I just mention this instance, to show how invariably true faith may be known by its fruits. And the beloved disciple gives us the substance of the whole matter in one verse," And this is his [God's] commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ; and love one another, as he gave us commandment," 1 John iii. 23.

Thus I have attempted to show, in my poor dark manner, something respecting faith and the working of it; and that "without faith it is impossible to please God." That it is the free gift of God bestowed upon all his children; and that it is to be obtained by humble prayer; and is se. cured to all the redeemed family, by the oath and promise of Israel's faithful and unchangeable God. Now, my dear young friend, in the midst of all the hindrances and discouragements mentioned in your letter, there is no other way of obtaining redress in those grievances, but by prayer and supplications at the throne of grace; and your success in perseveringly attending to this one thing is certain and sure. And let it be remembered, that the prayer of the upright is the Lord's delight. Moreover, real prayer does not consist in words orderly arranged; the sure promise of God runs thus, "I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication," &c.: and I believe the most acceptable and most prevalent prayers of God's people, (as private individuals,) are sighs, groans, tears, desires, longings, thirstings, pantings, &c.; or, as David expres

sively wraps it up, " The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise," Psalm li. 17. These marks and evidences are all noticed in the scriptures, with promises suited to them all. And it is a source of much encouragement and consolation, when we can properly meditate upon it, that we can come with our multiplied complaints unto the omniscient God who knoweth all things: as David acknowledges, " Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee." This is confirmed by the mouth of the Almighty himself, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters; for I know their sorrows," Exodus iii. 7. Therefore in concluding this fragment I will only add the counsel of one who knew the profit accruing from his exhortation: " Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus," Phil. iv. 6, 7. my sincere thanks for your kind invitation to visit Galilee, but this must be deferred until the weather is more fine and settled, as my health now is but indifferent, and I cannot bear much fatigue. I remain, most affectionately your's, in the best of all bonds,

QUERIES.

Accept

JOHN KEYT.

[The following queries have been sent to us from various individuals who profess to have been benefited by perusal of the Spiritual Magazine; and who state that they will feel obliged by some of our Correspondents giving their thoughts on the same. Should any be disposed to do this, we have only to request them to remember that brevity is indispensible.-Ers.]

Visits to and from Jesus, on the most Interesting Occasions and in the most Hallowed Moments of Life, by Robert Hawker, D.D. 18mo. pp. 108. London: Palmers.

THAT was a grand mistake which the Reviewer in another magazine made when, some months ago in a notice of a publication by Dr. Hawker, he termed his writings lean, bony, skinny, and sugary. The observations were, at the time, pointed out to us; and as sixteen years ago the venerable Hawker, at our particular request, wrote for us the first communication, to introduce the Spiritual Magazine to the church; we were asked if we did not mean to defend his writings against such traducers. No, no, we said, if his writings will not defend themselves let them fall: time will partially shew, and the great day will fully develope, whether they have not been made by the Holy Spirit, to God's children, just the very opposite of lean, bony, skinny, and sugary. We had another reason for hesitating to notice this attack: the writer was not unknown to us; and though he so often runs far away ahead of the Holy Spirit's guidance, yet, as we trust he has known somewhat of the blessed Spirit's teachings, he will, in God's good time, be curbed, and res

trained, and brought back again; and as he slowly treads, experimentally, the road, which with railway speed he now theoretically flies over, he will have cause, with shame and confusion of face, to mourn over his rapidity of tongue, rapidity of pen, and censoriousness of spirit.

It is a very improper method to measure one man's writings by ano. ther's: to the word and to the testimony; that should be the only standard. William Huntington may be deep, grand, and experimental; but because the Holy Ghost, in the bestowment of his diversity of gifts, was pleased to qualify Robert Hawker for other work, in another part of the vineyard, is the one to be elevated on a pinnacle, constructed only of the mangled character of the other? They who do so, condemn God who giveth to every one severally as he will. Both were honoured instruments for great usefulness. Those to whom either one of them, as a minister or a writer, may have been most blessed, will doubtless, for themselves personally, esteem that one the highest and they are justified in so doing: but when in their right mind they will not slander the other, because of the individual usefulness to themselves of the first. As one as wisely expressed it, ministers are but pipes, channels