go, this is the part of the good tidings which I understand to be expressed by the words "to proclaim liberty to the captives: and its outward visible manifestation in the present life, is deliverance from sickness and from the power of the devil, to which reference is made by Peter in these words, "who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil"— that is, not demoniacs alone, but diseased persons; whom Jesus spoke of as "bound of Satan ;" and when he healed diseases, he said "Thy sins be forgiven thee." Disease, and pain, and disablements of whatever kind, are parts of the captivity and thraldom into which sin hath brought flesh; and Jesus therefore shewed himself to be the destroyer of the captivity, the leader of it captive, by healing all manner of sicknesses and diseases; and when he sent his disciples and Apostles to preach the Gospel, he gave them the like power; and the church hath the like powers still, if she would stir them up by faith and holiness. In the same words in which Christ gave her power to forgive sin, he gave her power to heal diseases; and for both she is responsible; and they are linked together inseparably in the very words of the commission, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. xviii. 18); which is the figurative way of expressing the same truth plainly set forth in these words, "Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained" (John xx. 23). It is not the nature of my present calling, of an interpreter, to go into particulars; otherwise I could shew, from the Scriptures of the New Testament, that all evils, not only in the body of man but in all nature, are spoken of as parts of the bondage of Satan from which Christ hath delivered us. Take this as an example: "And the Seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (Luke x. 17-20).

"And the opening of the prison doors to them that are bound." The former refers to the living, and this, I think, referreth to the dead. A life of sin, and a death of corruption, are but two parts of the same captivity and bondage, and yet well worthy to be mentioned separately, the one being the consummation of the other; and, accordingly, the Gospel which the Apostles preached consisted of two parts: "They preached Jesus, and the resurrection ;"-Jesus, the holy Child of God, who had given himself a ransom for all, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of

the world; and the resurrection, the seal of God that all flesh should rise again at the word of the Son of Man, and receive judgment from his hand according to the works which they have done, whether they have been good or evil. Christ's resurrection opened the gates of death: "Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. ii. 14). And the sign and proof thereof was given at his resurrection in the deliverance of the dead saints: " And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many" (Matt. xxvii. 52, 53). These saints, who had long lain bound in the prisonhouse of the grave, were at the resurrection of Christ set free, and gave demonstration of their freedom by appearing in the city of Jerusalem to many who had known them in their lifetime. If I err not concerning this difficult passage of Scripture, the persons who were seen were but a small part of those who then arose; so many as might authenticate to their former acquaintance the marvellous work of resurrection which Christ then wrought upon a very great scale. I do not presume to give any positive deliverance upon so very obscure a point of doctrine; but it is clear to me, that as Christ during the days of his flesh gave a foretaste of his great forgiveness of sin, against the days of refreshing, so at his resurrection he gave a foretaste of that first resurrection when death shall be swallowed up in victory. How many then arose with him, whether all the saints or only a part of them; and according to what rule the distinction was made; and where their raised bodies now are, and in what service for God and for his church they are occupied; we undertake not to inquire, but simply give it forth as a literal accomplishment of the word which is now under consideration—namely, that Christ was anointed to preach the opening of the prison-doors to them that are bound. I am confirmed in this interpretation by the command of our Lord to his disciples, when sent forth to preach the Gospel, to "raise the dead" as well as to heal the sick, and that "in every city" whither they should come. This he did himself in the power of the anointing, and he deemed it essential to the preaching of the Gospel that the same power should reside in every one who went forth from his side on that Divine legation. And surely it was intended that it should have so continued for ever, and that every anointed preacher should have gone forth clothed in these garments of life; but, alas! our utter unbelief hath brought us so low as that we can hardly lift our eyes to the elevation where Christ walked, and intended that we also should have walked. Most certain it is, that this power of

raising the dead was exercised in the churches of the first two centuries frequently, as is evident from the following quotation from the writings of Irenæus, who died in the year 192. He is writing against two noted heretics of those times, Simon Magus and Carpocrates; and says of them, that "they are far from doing any thing like the raising of the dead, as our Saviour did, and as the Apostles by prayer did; and among the brethren often, when the whole church in any place, using much supplication and fasting, have besought it, the spirit of the dead returned, and the man is given us, to the prayers of the saints ....and, as we have already said, the dead are raised, and do survive with us many years." The very thought of such a thing, the desire of it, the prayer for it, is now esteemed blasphemy in our church, which boasts of Welsh as one of her chief worthies; of whom it is certainly recorded, that, after very long prayer, his young pupil was restored from the dead. "When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

The interpretation which hath been given of these last two clauses-that they are applicable to the healing of diseases, as the sign of the bondage of sin removed from the living; and to the raising of the dead, as the sign of the resurrection at the coming of the Lord-is confirmed to me by the answer which Jesus rendered to the disciples of John, when they were sent by their master to inquire, "Art thou He that should come, or look we for another?" This question Jesus answered by performing on the instant such acts as were demonstrative of his being the Christ, or the Anointed One of God: and that he had this passage in his eye is manifest from the words quoted from it-"To the poor the Gospel" (glad tidings)" is preached." The narrative is thus given by Luke: "And in the same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me" (vii. 21-23). It is clear to me, that these works of relief and deliverance, which he wrought upon the sick and the possessed and the dead, are the accomplishment of the words before us, "to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison-doors to them that are bound." And I believe that this sign should never be wanting unto the preaching of the Gospel; and that the same unction of the Spirit which enables me to preach the Gospel would, if my faith were rightly exercised upon the word of Christ, qualify me likewise for healing the sick, dispossessing devils, and raising the dead. And I have the authority of Christ himself for so believing; who thus speaketh

:

to me, and all commissioned preachers-and they were his last words spoken on the earth :"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark xvi. 15-18). I ask if it be possible for words to convey more solemnly and distinctly, to all believers who shall go forth and preach the Gospel, the power and privilege of working the same works which Christ wrought, and "greater works than these?" (John xiv. 12). Being fully persuaded of these things, I am much grieved at the present low estate into which the divine order of preachers hath come. For myself and for my brethren, I am grieved at the heart because the unction of the Holy Ghost resteth so little upon us, and we are such slender and inefficient witnesses unto the name and power of Jesus. I feel that I myself am in the condition into which the Lord brought his disciples after his resurrection, as recorded in Luke xxiv. 44-48: “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. I know that I have received this enlightening from risen Lord; and not I only, but as many ministers in this land as have had grace to stand up for the true flesh of Christ, and his coming in glory, and the testimony of Moses and the Prophets concerning him. But I have not received that power which they are immediately after commanded to wait for: "And, behold, I send the promise of the Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." This is what we want, and ought now with all earnestness to pray for. I with my church am doing so, and doubt not to receive. The light which Christ hath given me in his truth, and which I am endeavouring to use for his glory in all ways of preaching and of publishing abroad, is my assurance that he will bestow upon me the power also; and for it I can pray without fainting and without doubting. I know that these words will be read by many preachers who are in the like case with myself; and for their sakes as well as for my own have I

my

all

so written. I have the good of Christ's church at heart; and I reverence the ordinance of preaching, all low as it is fallen. My Lord, speaking in my church by the Holy Ghost, hath taught me more and more to reverence this holy ordinance of the preacher, to which in my own person he hath, in his infinite condescension, paid so much honour in the sight of all my people. He hath not cast off his faithful preachers and ministers, but waiteth to be gracious and still more gracious to them. And only the more earnestly waiteth he, because the powers and authorities in the ecclesiastical polity have become a mass of Babylonish confusion, and a house of Babylonish imprisonment. Therefore let every man reverence a faithful preacher and a faithful minister, in whatever denomination he be found; for verily Christ doth reverence all such. And let no one set light by their office, or separate from their authority, but cleave to them steadily, for the Lord assuredly doth so. But let us ministers be ashamed and sore grieved for the low estate in which we are, and in which our flocks are kept in consequence thereof: for, if we do not humble ourselves on this account, we are proud and self-sufficient, and seeking our own vain glory, and not the glory of our great Master and the good of his people. In such humility and hope I desire to possess my own soul, and to occupy my ministry, till the Lord fill me with power unto overflowing.

[To be continued].

THE CHURCH'S EXPECTATION.

THE perplexity which exists in the minds of many respecting the church's expectation, or the hopes we are warranted in cherishing in these our days, arises simply from paying too great a deference to the word of man. Did we, like the mariner, who never steers without his chart and compass, consult our Bible, and bring every thing to the law and to the testimony, we should not be brought into such perplexity as many now are. In turning, then, to the word of God, we find that the church's expectation, or the hope which is set before her under the present dispensation, is, THE COMING OF THE LORD TO JUDGE THE WORLD; when He, who once appeared amongst us in great humility-who took upon him our nature, even the seed of Abraham; and was made like unto us in all things, sin only excepted the God-Man Christ Jesus,-who was also persecuted, even unto death, by the world; and who is still persecuted in the members of his mystical body-shall come in glory and majesty to separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from