I will proceed to illustrate my ideas of the work of grace in the soul in confirmation of the fact, by way of spiritual proof. First by spiritual sight. The faint glimmerings of light gently begin to dawn; its rays at first are very feeble, but sufficient to convince him he is a sinner and needs salvation; he then beholds men as it were like trees walking. Mark viii. 24. Once he was blind, and his eclipse was so total, that he could form no conception of the blessedness of spiritual life; nor could he comprehend a description of himself as a sinner, and Jesus as a lovely and all-sufficient Saviour suited to his case, more than a man literally blind from his nativity, could conceive of the varied colours which compose the beauteous bow expanded o'er the etherial heavens. He was once equally dark to spiritual perceptions and discernments, but now he is light in the Lord. Eph. v. 8. Divine light by regular but imperceptible gradations, increases to the eye of his faith, whereby he is led on to discover by greater degrees the extent and enormity of his sins, as committed against the God of his life, and under a consciousness of his sinfulness he is led to a throne of grace to seek for mercy. In the glass of the law he sees with trembling awe his manifold sins of omission and commission, committed in the days of his ignorance, and now against the light, knowledge, and conviction of his mind. In that perfect and unerring standard, the true model or luminous transcript of divine purity, he beholds his state as a vile transgressor to be entirely hopeless, wretched and undone. At length he is brought to acknowledge the justness of his sentence, and that fiery law of Sinai, which cuts off every subterfuge of legal hope, and condemns him; becomes a schoolmaster to bring him (like a criminal in chains) to Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness, as his only safe refuge and hiding-place from the storm, and asylum and covert from the tempest which overwhelms him. And at Calvary's foot he is made fully sensible that he must justly perish, unless mercy is granted him "without money and without price." In this stage of his experience he beholds something of the preciousness of Jesus, and of his all-sufficiency, and willingness to save; of the former fact he has no doubt, however his faith may waver; as to the latter, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," is his exclamation. He feels himself to be a ten thousand talent debtor having nothing to pay, and therefore is conscious of his need of a full Christ, and all he has and is to his redeemed people; he sees the emptiness and vanity of sublunary good to effect the peace of mind he is seeking after, and is in some measure weaned from self, while he is led to gaze on Calvary's cross. (To be concluded in our next.) A FRAGMENT. If a saint were in heaven, and saw not Jesus there, he would say as Absalom said to Joab, "wherefore am I come from Geshur?" it had been good for me to be there still, unless I may see the king's face. DEAR SIR, (To the Editor of the Spiritual Magazine.) YOUR insertion of the following in your valuable publication, will much oblige, Your's in Christ, Sunderland, Oct. 12, 1825. CLERICUS. REASONS WHY TRUE BELIEVERS SHOULD NOT FEAR. Ir is a sweet and consolatory thought that God is not unmindful of the fears of his people. He sees all the workings of their minds, and sympathizes with them under all their distresses--He encourages them by his gracious promise, saying, " fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God." But then comes particular reasons for which they should not fear. They should not fear on account of their trials; because they are all appointed in the everlasting covenant. This precious truth calmed the fears of David, "he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.' In this covenant all the trials of the saints are appointed; the nature of their trials; the time when they shall occur; the means by which they shall be brought about, and the effects which they shall produce. And what tends to render this truth so refreshing is, that they were appointed by their heavenly Father, and at the time when he appointed them to salvation. Their trials must therefore issue from love, and be designed to promote their present and everlasting welfare. This consideration should cause believers to dismiss their fears. Trials must befall, but they are all appointed by him, who loved them with an everlasting love with confidence then they may say, "I will trust and not be afraid; my times are in the hand of my God, and all his paths are mercy and truth!" Believers should not fear on account of their enemies; for they are all in the hand of the Lord. The saints are often prone to view their enemies as clothed with a kind of omnipotence; they are ready to say, how shall I stand against such an enemy? But their fears are unwarrantable. The combined powers of darkness cannot touch them without their Father's permission: he holds their enemies in the hollow of his hand, and turns them whithersoever he pleases to effect his purposes. Yea, so great is the power of God that he can supply his people from the table of their enemies, and make them the most useful to his saints, who are the most opposed to them. Why then art thou afraid, O believer, of a man that shall die ? Listen to the promise of thy God, "no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper!" Look at all creatures as in the hand of God, and then you will adopt with joy the language of Dr. Watts When men of spite against us join, Believers should not fear the want of outward support; for God can and will supply them. The children of God often forget their heavenly Father's promise, "Bread shall be given, and thy water shall be sure." They forget that in every age the Lord has supplied the wants of his saints, and will ever be mindful of his covenant. Suppose they are poor in this world, yet their God can command all nature to supply them. And Jehovah not only can supply the wants of his people, but he will do it. They may be brought very low, but their extremity shall be the Lord's opportunity: he will open a way which they never thought of, and provide for them in such a way, that his hand alone shall appear in the supply. Fear not then, O poor believer, the Lord knoweth thy walking through this wilderness, and he will give meat to them that fear him. Believers should not fear death; for it is their introduction into eternal glory. No sooner does death execute his commission upon them, than they are "absent from the body, and present with the Lord." They enter into the eternal kingdom, and enjoy all those blessings which were provided for them in the covenant. Their doubts and fears, their trials and temptations, are at an end, and joy and peace fills each breast: to this happiness death introduces every child of God. Why then should he fear that which will convey him home? why should the captive fear that which will give him eternal release? Death, whether it comes to him in a sudden or gradual manner-whether it meets him exercised with fears, or filled with joy, must be blessed, for living and dying he is the Lord's. Fear not then, O believer, to go down to the grave; for thy covenant God will go with thee. Death to you will be only a sleep; and the day is fast approaching, when "they that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." THOUGHTS ON THE FOLLOWING BLESSED PORTIONS OF GOD'S MOST HOLY WORD. All things are yours. 1 Cor. iii. 21.-We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Rom. viii. 28. WHAT a fulness of blessing is folded in the bosom of the former; and how graciously is the value thereof set forth in the latter! O my soul, praise the Lord for his glorious manifestation of the greatness of his love! Had he commissioned his servant to declare that all things in nature were ours, our highest strains of praise would have been far too low, properly to adore him for his great goodness in such a gift: but in the passages now before thee, thou hast what far, very far, yea, infinitely exceeds such an assurance,a declaration without limitation or exception of the gift of all things, whether apparently good or evil. We are ever ready to lay our claim to what comes under the former class, and find no difficulty in imagining them very profitable, although our hearts are seldom found adoring the gracious bestowing hand; but when it pleases the Lord to put us in possession of some of those parts of our estate, which through the becloudedness of our perception appear not calculated to yield us any enjoyment, we are apt to think otherwise. These words being applied and opened by the Holy Ghost, the believer is enabled to view with composure, the most unpleasant circumstance which distresses either mind or body, together with his most malignant foes, the world, the flesh, and satan. Before this light broke in upon the soul, he feared by their united policy and power, they would cause him to forsake even his profession of the truth, to blaspheme his Lord, and be the means of his final perdition; now he finds them all included in this most glorious catalogue of his possessions, not indeed left for him to manage and govern, but restrained, turned and guided by his omnipotent Lord, who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will for his own glory, and, what is inseparably connected therewith, the well-being of his children in this life and in that which is eternal. Being established in these precious truths, there is not a circumstance in the Lord's providence, on view of which he would not say, thy will, O Lord, be done, however trying to nature; and would always be found blessing his Lord, that in love to his soul he has spared not his fatherly corrections, which he sees to be equally necessary with his caresses. This is the constant state of his judgment, though it be not always in full exercise: yet he is sometimes indulged with such sweet passive submission to his Lord's will, and added to which, such active acquiescence, as that in the midst of affliction, persecution, temptation and distress, he is enabled triumphantly to exclaim with a modern poet "How blessed is all that I meet! From fear of adversity free; I find even sorrow made sweet, And in prospect of fresh exercises he is ready, eyeing Christ in all, to cry out, come, Lord Jesus, come quickly! Should these remarks be made a blessing to any weakling in the family of our Lord, it will be a sufficient motive of thankfulness that it has pleased him in even so small a degree to make useful, in the promotion of his glory and the welfare of his church, one so utterly unworthy of the least honour. ELDAD. July, 1825. A FRAGMENT. Children is sometimes a name common to all the saints, to all the sons and daughters of God; and thus a babe-saint is a child and among the children; and a father-saint is but a child and among the children. VOL. II.-No. 20. 2 D (For the Spiritual Magazine.) ON THE MARTYRDOM AND DEATH OF STEPHEN. (Concluded from page 176.) He is STEPHEN'S mind was sweetly engaged with Jesus, for he found him to be the centre of all blessedness and perfection. And Paul in the near views of eternity, breathes out, and be found in Him. Now being in him, we must die in him; and we must be with him after death, to behold his glory, and to enjoy him. It is our misery to look at death, and an entrance on an unseen state, without looking at these in Christ. He hath conquered death-he hath destroyed it -he hath abolished it-he hath consecrated it as the passage to life everlasting-he knows all contained in it-what is felt when the separating stroke is given-what will take place on our entrance into eternity-himself was separated in his body and soul by death. Therefore as he has himself passed this way, he knows how to feel for his people in the article of death; how to guide them very safely through; how to sustain their minds; how to comfort them. most exactly suited to them. As to eternity, we need not trouble ourselves therewith; we are only going home to our father's house. As to the state we shall then enter upon, it is the state of glory, which will suit our disembodied minds as well, and be as truly acceptable unto us, as it is for us now to enjoy the Lord's presence, and enjoy communion with him in any of his holy ordinances. And should it be the case with any of us to be in glory without any warning of it, by disease, and fall asleep suddenly in the arms of death, even that would be to us no other than what often befals us in an acceptable way, as it respects our communion with the Lord. We are sometimes favoured in a very unexpected way and manner, with a divine visit. As it respects being out of the body, we can exist very comfortably without it for a season. Nor can we enter into the state of glory, except we are unclothed of our mortality. Stephen, though he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, yet he must fall asleep in his body, or he could not be admitted into the state of glory. And most assuredly, when all nature sinks, and all the springs of natural life ceases with us, our Christ, who makes our cases his own, and promises never to fail, nor forsake us, will be then unto us all we need. The martyr before us, was engaged in prayer: he was calling on God, when his enemies were about to put a stop to his life. It is very proper work and employment for a dying saint. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God. Their stoning him did not hinder him from calling upon Christ. Nor did it hinder Christ from being all to him he needed. His prayer was the very language of his heart. well suited to his peculiar case. It was very simple. It was the breathings of his mind. Thus the most blessed testimony is afforded of the sweet spirit manifested by this martyred saint, for now being It was |