The Non-commission of Sin Peculiar to the Elect. A Sermon. By C. Drawbridge. 12mo. pp. 12. London: Higham.

A good Sermon, shewing the Author to be a scribe well instructed. We extract the following as proof. "Dear children of God, here is the way which is called, the way of holiness, over which the unclean shall not pass; but it shall be for those who have weak hands and feeble knees, who are of a fearful heart; who are often blind to their own interest in Jesus, and cannot behold it, until the sun of righteousness open their eyes and reveal it to them, who are deaf to the glad tidings of salvation; crying all these things are against us, until Jesus open their ears to hear what the Spirit saith to the churches; who are at times so lame that they are obliged to dwell in Meshech, until Jesus command them to take up their beds and walk: who are so dumb that they cannot utter a word of prayer, praise or confidence

to God until he that made man's mouth is with their mouth, to teach them what they shall say, Exod. iv. 12. This way of holiness is for such, it is for you, therein. you shall run and not be weary; walk, and not faint. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall the word of the Lord be that goeth forth out of his mouth; which is revealed in his written will, and proclaimed by his living servants in your hearing, it shall not return unto him void; but it shall accomplish that which he pleaseth, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto he sent it. And ye shall find in your experience, that instead of the thorn and brier, the fruit of the curse; there shall come up the fir tree, an evergreen emblem of uprightness, and

the myrtle-tree, an evergreen emblem of loveliness and sweetness; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, á precious memorial, and for an everlasting sign, (that your sins are cancelled and righteousness is imputed;) that shall not be cut off, Is. Iv. 10-13. Rejoice then dear saints that it is written of you, The righteous shall flourish like the Palmtree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing, Ps. xcii. 12-14."

A Brief Account of the Earthquake which occurred near Axmouth, Devon Dec. 25, 1839. 8vo. pp. 16. London, Nisbet.

Containing authenticated statements in reference to the event, accompanied with appeals and exhortathat it is the harbinger of more tretions founded upon the author's idea mendous visitations of a like паture.

The Christian Triumphant in Death, a Sermon, occasioned by the Decease of Mr. David Nasmith, by Thomas Lewis. 8vo. pp. 40. London, Houlston and Stoneman.

Mr. Nasmith was more than emi nently useful in establishing some re ligious societies, which have been productive we are informed of much good. In connection with this fact it is gratifying to read his own words on his death-bed::"There is nothing but the simple truth that will be of any avail to us in extremity: I am a sinner, Christ is my Saviour; I can let all else go: the finished work of Christ is all my hope." Such a confession speaks louder than the preacher's eulogies. The Sermon is not such as we can recommend.

HE STOOD BY HIMSELF."

Written after hearing Rev. Mr. Easterbrook at Gower Street Chapel, Feb. 9. 1840.

He stood by himself all alone in his pride,
With his heart and his knee unbending;
For he felt not his need of the Crucified,
To shelter from woe never-ending:
He stood by himself, with a lofty brow,
And the boast of a sinless perfection:
On what he had done, and what he would do,
Erecting a claim for protection.

He stood by himself: Mighty Father not there,

Beamed thy sunshine of favour paternal; Unregarded fell back his petitionless prayer, Too presumptuous to reach th' Eternal: Thou hadst said, none without an oblation shall come,

But all shall a sacrifice offer;

He stood by himself: who shall reckon the

doom,

Which hangs o'er the head of the seoffer.

He stood by himself: Great Redeemer, un

known

Was the worth of thy free intercession ; He was rich and he wanted no Lamb to atone, He was whole and despised the Physician: He was clothed in his own works, and asked for no more,

For he thought the soiled robe was all brightness;

And ignorant he was sick, naked, and poor, He rejected thy garment of whiteness.

He stood by himself: Holy Spirit thy power, Had ne'er melted his obdurate bosom; Where cultured with care as a favorite flower, Sin had swelled from the bud to the blos

In vain their long scroll of good works they will plead,

Their doom will be settled for ever.

He stood by himself: when I bend in thy sight,

Let it be with the tear of contrition; And Spirit of prayer do thou for me indite, The language of every petition: Do thou Great High Priest sprinkle golden perfume,

Thy merits all prevalent, endless; And assure me when I to the mercy seat come, That I do not draw near to it friendless. Rezeneb.

STANZAS.

"Let the inhabitants of the rock sing."— Isa. xlii. 11.

"They are men wondered at."-Zech.iii.8. "They shall sing in the ways of the Lord." -Psalm cxxxviii. 5.

From Zion's holy mountain,
I hear a sacred song ;
Where pilgrims seek the fountain,
Who unto Christ belong :
They lift their voice to heaven,

And raise their notes above;
And thus by them is given,

All praise to sov'reign love. They once could find no shelter,

Cast out, abhorred, despised; In sin, Christ saw them welter,

By him they were advised: They heard his voice with pleasure, When he said to them "Live;" He gave them heav'nly treasure,

To him, all praise they give.

Men here, oft at them wonder,

They differ from the world; Their bonds are broke in sunder,

And sin is from them hurled :
Jesus took all their burden,

And bore it on the tree;
He there procured free pardon,
For all who to him flee.

In every clime and nation,

Through east, west, south and north; He gives the inclination,

And draws his chosen forth:

"Whoever will, come hither,"

His cheeriug voice doth say; Though earthly comforts wither, "Behold in me your stay."

"I am the Rock, your refuge
In every trying hour;
I'll save you from the deluge,

And keep from Satan's power: Though once your heart was hardened, And would not have control;

I all your sins have pardoned,
I freely love your soul."
"T is thus they Christ inhabit,
He sweetly dwells in them;
Thus they rejoice to have it,
For all are one with him:
Thus they are found rejoicing,
Partakers with their Lord;
They scorn the world's enticing,
For heaven's their sure reward.

Thus in this world abiding,

Though they in Kedar dwell; Still in the Lord confiding,

They know all will be well: He is their glorious portion,

Which ne'er can fade away; They fear not hope's abortion,

But onward speed their way. Then whether land or water,

Be that o'er which they ride; Though time with them grow shorter, They safe in Christ abide : For God the Holy Spirit,

Keeps them in perfect peace;
In works they have no merit,
But feast on heav'nly grace.

Thus they have cause for singing,
While in this world they dwell;
And in them still is springing,

Life from salvation's well :
Soon, hope will in fruition,

Be lost on yonder shore; Where Christ will give admission, And they go out no more.

When there, how great their wonder, That e'er they safe arrived;

Freed from the laws loud thunder,

Of every fear deprived:

No atom of their glory,

Can sin e'er take away;

They'll ever sing the story,

"Christ lov'd through all the way." Clift House, Bristol.

J. HARDING.

THE NAME OF JESUS.

Jesus, thy name salvation brings,
Thy name my soul triumphant sings!
Arise, ye guilty, he 'll forgive:
Arise, ye needy, he 'll relieve.

To save from sin he shed his blood,
He died to bring us near to God;
Let every saint fall down and know,
None but our God such love could shew.

C. N. S.

MY HEART AND MY FLESH CRIETH
OUT FOR THE LIVING GOD."
Psalm lxxxiv. 2..

No vision surprising I crave,
No voice to my natural ear;
No strange revelation to have,

No wonderful language to hear:
I know thou art not in the wind,
In the hurricane, tempest, and storm;
'T is with a still voice to the mind,
Thy miracles thou dost perform.

But I cannot, I dare not assert,

That thou, my Beloved, art mine; Although thou hast melted my heart, Although at my sins I repinę!: Though Thomas reproaches may bear, Like Thomas, Lord, I must entreat; Some manifestation to share,

Of thy side, and thy hands, and thy feet. Reveal thyself, Lord, unto me,

As thou dost to thy children reveal ; Oh let me thy countenance see,

Thy presence and love let me feel : Let me hear thy soft whisper within,

There is nothing can gladden me more; That this heart which is wounded for sin, Thou hast wounded that thou mayestrestore. When the scroll of my sins is unrolled, And I sink, Lord, almost in despair; The fountain, then, let me behold,

Say, Saviour, in thee I 'm all fair: In my bosom, say," Let there be light," Bid the winter give place to the spring; Let the voice of the turtle delight,

And melody welcome my king.

I wait at the posts of thy door,

Hope, delayed, seems just ready to die; I knock, I have oft knocked before, Oh when wilt thou answer my cry: Say, Son, all thy sins are forgiven, I suffered for thee on the tree; Oh when will this foretaste of heaven, This rapture be granted to me. Bright star of the morning appear, Sun of righteousness shine on me now; The sound of thy chariot I hear, Oh why is its coming so slow: The wilderness longs for thy light, The desert desireth to bloom; The harvest already is white, Redeemer and Ransomer come!

A YOUNG DISCIPLE.

66

A FRIENDLY MEETING BETWEEN BEGGARS AND PRINCES.

"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the unghill, to set them among princes."-1 Sam. ii. 8.

Ir is to be lamented by the called family of God, that we live in a day when the glorious truths of the gospel are but little known and felt, for if they were more felt, the recipients of the same would shew how they came by them, and frankly acknowledge what situation they were in previous to those unequalled blessings reaching their hearts: this was true with reference to the person that uttered the words at the head of this paper. The Holy Ghost informs us that she was a woman of a sorrowful spirit, and the leading cause of her sorrow was her barrenness; and thus it is with the spouse of Christ, the unfruitfulness of soul is a great grief to her mind, and what adds to the pangs that tear her heart, in her dark seasons of soul desertion, is that Satan and his emissaries endeavour by all possible means to augment her affliction, with Where is now thy God:" this was Hannah's experi

ence.

The foregoing chapter informs us April, 1840.]

that Peninnah, the wife of Elkanah, was a bitter adversary of Hannah's, and delighted much to see this saint of the Lord in her fruitless condition; but what an infinite mercy it was that the vigilant eye of omnipotence was watching all her movements, the Lord had put a cry into her heart, and not all the powers of darkness could stop her from pouring out her complaint before his Sacred Majesty. But what was the supreme wish and the warmest desire of her soul panting after? God's unerring truth before us, informs us it was for a manchild; and thus it is with the bride the Lamb's wife, she feels the need of this precious gift, she wants to bring forth by faith the holy child Jesus.

There is something in this part of the history before us that holds forth the greatest encouragement for the tried children of the Most High, that is, we find although Hannah's barrenness was of long continuance, yet the Lord redressed all her woes, and ultimately gave her the desire of her heart; then was her heart enlarged over her enemies and she rejoiced in his salvation. It was whilst the goodness, mercy, and faithfulness of Jehovah was the theme of her heart, she broke out in holy rapture in the

L

words at the head of this paper, and said, "He (the Lord) raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes," &c.

The first thing that presents itself to our notice in the text, is, the poor. True, it is, that sin has so defaced all the human species, that the appellation, in a certain sense, belongs to all men (Eccles. iv. 14); but there are few, comparatively speaking, that are poor in spirit. What an awfully blind condition must they be in, who call evil good, and good evil, darkness light, and light darkness, and that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (Isa. v. 20).

But what is it, say you, to be poor in spirit, for such are said to be blessed (Mat. v. 3)? To illustrate this, I will refer you to that ever memorable portion of the good word of God in the gospel by Mark,-" If thy hand (saith Jesus) offend thee, cut it off, it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to be cast into hell." But what life is this? it cannot mean the haven of endless repose, where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are for ever at rest, for nothing maimed can ever enter there (Eph. v. 27); then the life referred to here, is most assuredly supernatural, it is called by the Apostle "newness of life," Rom. vi. 4., or a new life. But when does the elect sinner enter into this life? The reply is, When life, spiritual life enters into him. This is that life that discovers to the beføre deluded sinner his maimed condition; he feels his puny arm of free-will dried up completely, and the great light, which in all probability he boasted of before, is felt to be nothing but gross darkness: he finds the law to be spiritual, and requires a perfect satisfaction. My reader, was you ever taught thus? if so, you know what poverty of spirit is.

I proceed, secondly, to make a few

observations relative to the dust, as recorded in the words now under consideration. This metaphor appears to some very insignificant in its literal meaning, but when the blessed Spirit makes a disclosure of any part of God's word to the redeemed of the Lord, then a beauty is seen in that scripture which the soul never saw before, and the Lord has all the glory.

Dust, then, is that which covers the face of the ground when the showers of rain have been suspended from the earth; how often do we see it lay motionless upon the surface of the earth, until the wind arise, and then it flies in all directions, so much so, that we cannot proceed on our journey without being greatly annoyed. And another thing there is that is worthy of our notice, and that is, that not all the men in the world, with all their wisdom, can stop the dust from annoying us, or troubling each passenger till the wind cease. Thus it is with the elect sinner, while he lives at a remote distance from God he feels not his sin, which the dust is a striking emblem of, till the wind of the Spirit arise, or in other words, till the Spirit breathe into the soul the breath of eternal life: then he knows, from painful experience, what the man of God meant, when he spake of the commandment coming, and sin reviving (Rom. vii. 9), for

Sins concealed, of crimson hue,
Are by the Spirit brought to view;
Till Jesus give the sinner peace,
'Tis then the wind and tempest cease.

Again, dust is spoken of in the scriptures of truth as a token of humility:

:- -"Behold, now (saith Abraham) I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes," Gen. xviii. 27.; see also Job ii. 12.

Before I speak of the friendly meeting of the poor beggars and the princes, I must, in the third place, notice the dunghill, where the self