Lord, what wait I for? It is true I have riches, honours, a crown and kingdom, but is this the portion I could be content to sit down with? No, no; my hope is in thee, deliver me from all my transgressions. Let them that love the world enjoy it, but Lord, pay not my portion in such adulterate coin, but in pardon of sin and peace of conscience, this is what I wait for. It is God's favour that the subjects of the King of heaven desire, rather than his preferment. We are both poor and miserable in the fullest possession of the creature, unless God himself be our portion. It promises to ease us of our cares, yet it doth but multiply them, like drink to a man with the dropsy, so far from slaking that it inflames the thirst. Riches are not food, but fuel to our desires, and are far from satisfying. They do not allay our appetite as bread when received and digested, but inflame it as oil doth when cast into the fire. They never make good to the enjoyer what they promised to the expectant. Like Jonah's gourd, when most needed then they wither.

As the believers' afflictions increase without, so do their consolations within (2 Cor. i. 5). The snuffing of the candle makes it burn the brighter. Never do God's spiritual nightingales sing more sweetly than when the thorn is at their breasts.

Saints are indeed made of precious metals, yet they are too apt to lose their edge; hence it is that God sharpens them with afflictions. He beats and bruises his links to make them burn the brighter; loads his choicest ships with sufficient ballast to make them sail the steadier ; bruises his spices to make them send out an aromatic savour (Heb. xii. 10). God bestows more hewing on his stones because he intends they shall adorn the building. God means to build high upon them, therefore lays his foundations very low. He esti

mates these diamonds at a high rate, therefore he spends much time in cutting and polishing them. Their afflictions, though lasting, will not be everlasting. Though the night be dark and long, yet there will come a day-break and comfortable dawn; our God will not always chide, neither will he contend for ever.

Our greatest extremity and distress is God's opportunity for deliverance. In the mount of difficulty God will be seen as our deliverer (Gen. xxii. 14). Heaven will make amends for all at last; then every tear shall be wiped away. The pleasantness and secu, rity of the port will more than make amends for the danger and difficulty of the passage. And this is that wherein faith triumphs, as knowing that he that for Christ's sake, in obedience to Christ's will, in conformity to Christ's word, in aiming at Christ's glory, wears the sharpest crown of thorns here, shall by Christ have his temples encircled with a crown of glory hereafter, and bask in the eter nal sunshine of God and the Lamb for ever. Hallelujah. Amen.

If inward conflicts press me sore,

And pain me much, and bow me quite; Still let me rest on Jesus' power To put these bosom foes to flight. In darkness when I pensive go,

And see no sun or star appear, Instruct me how to trust thee so,

And wait till day-light draweth near.

Should famine cast a meagre stare,
And thrust his head within my door;
Still let me trust in Jesus' care

To feed and clothe his helpless poor.

Should pain o'er my weak flesh prevail,

And fevers boil within my breast, And heart, and strength, and reason fail, Be yet my soul on Jesus cast.

In every trial let me be

Supply'd with all-sufficient grace; My spirit calmly stayed on thee, And sweetly kept in perfect peace. Westminster.

W. C.

JESUS THE SINNER'S REFUGE.

THE promises of God are, like the God of all promises, faithful, eternal, and true; and the objects interested in them are faithful, eternal, and true also, in their divine and holy relationship, for Jesus hath so vitally united himself with his family, and effectually atoned for them, and completely saved them, that they stand as the very oath and promise of God. The church of God is so closely connected with God in Christ Jesus their Saviour, that when you speak of them (the church) you speak of Jesus; and when you speak of Jesus you speak of them; for he that toucheth the church toucheth the apple of God's eye.

All the trials that the church of God have to pass through are of divine appointment, and they are accompanied in and through them by their Elder Brother and eternal Friend Jesus. The bride and the Bridegroom cannot be separated, for Christ and his church are one.

Weak, and simple, and fearful child of God, fear not, for thou art shielded by a good and faithful Friend, who understandeth all thy weaknesses and fears, and is able and willing to deliver and protect thee, for he is a wall of fire round about thee, that keeps thy foes at a proper distance, and will not leave thee to thyself, but will be thy Guide and Friend, fight all thy battles; and when thou art weak He is strong, for he is mighty in battle and strong to save. Thou mayest oftentimes feel and fear thy weakness, but look ye to the strong for strength, and run to the Rock Jesus, the safe shelter for all the sons and daughters of Zion. Here in this blessed Tower are all the children of Zion secured. Foes may threaten, but blessed be God that is all they can do. The infinite and ever-loving Jehovah is the wall that surrounds Zion: "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so is the Lord

round about thee." This, and this alone constitutes both her security and her rest.

Eternal and ever to be adored God! thy love is like thyself, passed finding out. For thy church to feel really and truly happy, they must sink into nothingness, and be found living, moving, and dwelling in Thee, who art their life, their all, their unchangable Friend and God.

O thou sweet Spirit descend into the souls of men, and lead them to see that true and vital religion is not to be found in themselves, but in their Head, Jesus. Frames and feelings are very good in their places, but they are broken reeds to trust to? Jesus is the only Rock that can support the believer when temptations and trials make head upon him. Here the soul can rest and is safe! Here she can stand secure, bidding her foes defiance, and laughing them to scorn! Look ye sons of Zion to this strong and only Refuge! Jesus is the only name under heaven, and his salvation the only salvation that can save Zion from destruction! I have laid in Zion (says Jehovah) for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone;" he who trusteth here is safe, he who resteth here can never perish! This blessed Stone hath withstood the storms of hell, and the persecutions and the scoffs of men; but he still remains the same, the immoveable Rock of Zion-the God of truth and of love!

Rejoice then, fellow believer, at the love and wisdom of thy heavenly Fa ther; that Father who has placed thy salvation upon the Rock of eternal ages, and hath pledged his honour to save thee, free from all expenses to thyself, and to present thee without spot and without blemish, by the righteousness which is in Jesus! Do not attempt to degrade him by trusting in thy frames and in thy feelings, for they cannot redeem thee, but trust to the work and to the righteousness of a mighty Saviour, who

must be thy Rock, thy eternal refuge and thy all. Then thy peace shall be like a river, and thy hope be eternal and safe! Then canst thou say, This is my Rock, even the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob!

Jesus is the only, and blessed be God, the true Rock upon which Zion is founded. Here believers should look and trust, depending upon him who is able and willing to save, and will not cast away. Here the weakest trembling soul may find shelter beneath his sweet arms of love! Here, poor sinner you may pour forth all your woes, tell your blackest tales, and he will listen and forgive, for he is all love; his very name is love, his office is love, and all his ways are lovely.

Blessed refuge! and blessed, yea thrice blessed are those souls who are found resting on this rock-Jesus! Kingston.

E. D.

OPENING OF ZION CHAPEL, WATERLOO ROAD.-REV. A. TRIGGS.

ON Lord's-day, May 9, Zion Chapel, Waterloo Road, was opened for divine worship by the Rev. Arthur Triggs, late Minister of Trinity Chapel, Plymouth. Mr. Triggs selected for his text that portion of the word of God recorded by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the church at Rome, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek," Rom. i. 16. the commencement of the discourse Mr. Triggs stated some few particulars relative to his removal from Plymouth and the leadings of providence which occasioned his settlement at the above-named Chapel. The building, which is most spacious and commodious, was very crowded. Collections were made at the close of each service towards liquidating the expenses necessarily incurred in putting

At

Messrs Editors-My Dear Sirs,

A few days since I was favored, by loan, with some numbers of your valuable periodical. I had never before seen any part of the work in the form of the new series. Will you allow an unknown, an obscure, yet a sincere friend to congratulate you on the circulation of truths so sacred, so spiritual, so refreshing and establishing as those which adorn the pages of" Zion's Casket."

It is, unquestionably, highly desirable that things should have appropriate names. My humble opinion is that your periodical is not unaptly designated. Truly its name is attractive, consequently prepossessing and engaging. But, sirs, how often is it that names are too imposing. When this is the case the title page

deceives and succeding pages disappoint. Zion's Casket," it must be allowed, is a title more than a little calculated to raise the anticipations of Zion's poor; who are supremely desirous of being experimentally enriched with the conveyable treasures of love, grace, and blood. Such most assuredly turn over the pages of the Casket with prayerful and longing expectations. And is it so that they find your periodical to be more nominally than substantially a "CasCasket"? I have confidence and pleasure too, in saying No. Unwilling as I am to appear in the dress of an egotist, I may notwithstanding, perhaps be allowed humbly express my convictions and feelings on a subject, which to me is so deeply interesting, as the one in question. For, were I able, I have no inclination to divest myself of the hallowing impression, that I have seen not your Casket only, but the reality, lustre, and incomparable worth of some of its precious, precious, very precious jewels. Jewels, honored sirs, are invaluable things. A casket without them is comparatively if not absolutely worthless. Hence the casket most plentifully stored with them is doubtless of the greatest value in itself, and will be of the greatest experimental and practical value to those who, as poor and needy, supremely desire to realise the unsearchable riches of Christ." To these the jewels in your Casket cannot fail to be vitally interesting. Their sacred radiance, sparkling glories, and unmatched excellences, as viewed in the light of precious faith, will most sweetly charm the hearts of the saints, even to exultation and transport. Yes, dear sirs, it is jewels, not corruptions, which make so extensively glad the souls of the chosen, redemed, and quickened family of the Lord of hosts. Prodigiously erroneous is the idea of being rich through the vile workings of the one; but felicitously correct is the impression of being

happy by the possession and enjoy. ment of the other. The one makes a rich saint poor: the other a poor saint, allow the phrase, rich :—rich in faith;-rich in a heart-felt acquaintance with the person, offices, work, triumphs, grace, and promises of Immannuel; rich in the ineffable sweets of communion with the sacred Three; rich in cheerful obedience to Christ's loving commands; rich in victory over the world, hell, corruption, sin and death: rich in prospect of ultimately" reigning in life," crowned with all the imperishable realities of glory; immensely rich, at last, in actual possession, with their glittering crowns on their heads, their splendid robes on their persons, their heaven of all delights in their souls, and immortal hallelujahs rolling from their tongues.

Having some confidence in the truth of these sentiments, it was with emotions of no inconsiderable plea sure and satisfaction I read your editorial remarks on the paper of " A Constant Reader." A subject, in relation to the well-being of saints, of vast importance. Properly and scripturally to analyze it, certainly demands the exercise of judgment, experience, and decision of no ordinary degree. Nicely to distinguish be tween the self-gratulation resulting from the operations of the Adam nature in its prodigiously strange concatinations, and the blessedness, the legitimate consequence of the glorious triumphs of grace, over all those abominations, is appropriate work for such of Christ's favored servants, whose minds are rich with

tion that all unctious and blessed christian experience proceeds from a heart-felt acquaintance with the efficacy of the blood which cleanseth from all sin;" the conquering energies of that grace which makes the most gigantic corruptions quail before it; and the omnipotent triumphs of that cross, in the virtue of which the panoplied believer confronts all the armed legion of hell. But I must restrain my pen, otherwise it will run on and carry me very far beyond my original design. I desire, for your Casket of jewels, an extensive circulation, and a sovereign and abiding lodgment in the hearts, affections, and highest esteem of the redeemed of the blessed Jesus.

I am, honoured sirs, with apology for my prolixity, your's sincerely,

[Do we not in our present correspondent

recogrize the author of a little book, which we remember reviewing many years ago, entitled "The Nature of Spiritual Declensions," &c.? We insert this letter only in consequence of thinking so, for otherwise flattering epistles like this, gratifying as we must acknowledge them to be, are by us seldom published. Our opinion of that little book, however, was so high, that we have long been desirous of hearing more of the author, and shall feel honoured in ranking him as one of our correspondents. EDS.]

"Is mixed communion at the table of the Lord incompatible with the word of God? and if so, in what respect ?"

Our brother James Castleden, of Hampstead, I know can give an explicit and scriptural answer if he would do so. I am satisfied it would be strictly conscientious. For my own part I am decided that there can be no scriptural separation at that table, apart from unbelief in the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, and yet I am really a Baptist: there will be no separation in heaven.

I beg also to observe that at one place where I have the pleasure to minister the word of life on Wednesday evenings, a young woman, to whom an ungodly man is paying his addresses, has been proposed for membership; but alas, she has desired to postpone the union with the be called to account for marrying a church for the present, lest she should man of the world, to whom she is attached. It would afford me great pleasure if you or some one of your correspondents would write a piece on the subject (Numb. xxxvi. 6; 2 Cor. vi. 14) for the pages of your Magazine. It might be the means of doing good in this, and probably in many more instances of the kind.

I have this year procured in my circle the sale of the Casket to six different persons, who had never seen it or even heard of it before, and the two females referred to above are among the number. Would to God that more of the advocates of the Free Grace Gospel (the only gospel of Christ) would exert themselves more to disseminate such a work. And I can but congratulate the proprietors on the manner they have hitherto propagated the undefiled truth of the word of God. May they be still upheld to hold on their way, and praise and glory must thereby redound to the great Three-one Jehovah.