let Husband, Father, Brother, and perpetual Friend, who "sticketh closer than a brother." If you shew your regeneration by the love you bear to, and the good offices and help which you afford to those whose names are in God's book of life, whom he loves even as his own dear Son; who are always in his remembrance, and of whom he has as personal and exact a knowledge as if their names were really recorded in a book. If you can and do rejoice in Christ Jesus, as your Lord, and Saviour, and Redeemer; in his greatness as being God, equal to him, and therefore able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him; in his fitness to be a Mediator, and to make reconciliation for sin; in that fulness of grace stored up in him for you; in his resurrection, which was for your justification, and an earnest of your own; in his ascension into heaven, as there receiving gifts for you; and in his cession at the right hand of God in your nature, where he ever liveth to make intercession for you. If, while the men of the world are grasping after the honours and the gains of it; seeking the praise of men rather than of God; making provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof; and under injuries received seeking rather for revenge than for reconciliation. If, while this is the pitiable state of the unregenerate, you, beloved brethren, are enabled through grace to your moderation be manifest; that you sit loose to the things of the world; regardless of the praise of men, so that you please God; cautious of giving way to "foolish talking and jesting, which are not convenient;" bearing injuries with patience, rather than seeking for revenge, and putting the best construction upon evil words spoken of you by others. If you are a people often on your knees, on whom God hath "poured the spirit of grace and supplications," and in those best moments you can come boldly to the throne of grace, like Jacob, wrestling with God in prayer, saying, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me;" and while you there tell him all your wants, and all your fears, and all your troubles, you are able to cast all your cares upon him, and submissive to his will can say from your hearts, those words so often uttered by others with unmeaning lips, "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And if while you pour forth your prayers to God, for those blessings he has stored up for you in covenant, you feel your hearts swell with gratitude to him for the unmerited mercies you have already received, and offer him "the calves of your lips," Hos. xiv. the sacrifice of praise, the warm overflowings of grateful hearts, saying, in the words of David, "Bless the Lord, O my soul! and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction, and who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and with tender mercies." Psalm citi. 1. If this be your state, my beloved brethren, my joy and my crown, I can speak comfortable words to you; under the influence and by direction of the Holy Ghost, I can assure you, that "the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." I do not suppose by the peace the apostle here speaks of, he means that peace among themselves which God calls his people to, and requires of them, and which he alludes to when he says, "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body." Col. iii. 15. No doubt the saints in effectual vocation are called to peace among themselves by God, who is "the God of peace;" by Christ, who is "the Prince of peace; and by the Spirit, whose fruit is peace; and through the gospel, which is "the gospel of peace ;" and into a gospel church state, which lies" in peace, and righteousness, and joy in the Holy Ghost." And the saints being "one body, though many members, ought to be in peace; and peace should rule and bear sway among them; for it is unnatural for members of the same body to quarrel with each other. But yet, alas! this is not always so, for by reason of the sin and corruption that remains in them, after they are called, the saints do not always preserve that peace among themselves to which they are called; and there have been contentions among the most eminent servants of God. And this was the case between those two great saints, Paul and Barnabas, for it is mentioned in the fifteenth chapter of the Acts, that when Paul proposed to Barnabas to go into every citty, where they had preached the word, to visit the brethren, and to see how they did, they disputed about who should go with them in their journey; and it is said the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other; and Barnabas, from whom bye the bye better things might have been expected, for his name denoted that he was "a son of consolation," and not of dissension; "Barnabas left Paul, and sailed into Cyprus, with Mark; and Paul went into Syria with Silus." Well, then, the peace of God of which the apostle speaks, and which he promises to the saints at Philippi, is not that peace among themselves, to which the saints are called, for we have seen that it is sometimes broken: whereas the promise is that the peace of God shall" keep their hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." By this "peace of God," then I suppose the apostle means, that peace of conscience, which the saints enjoy from a sense of their peace being made with God, by or through Christ; that they are justified by his righteousness, and that their sins are atoned for by his sacrifice. And this peace is said to be," through Christ," because it is founded upon, and springs from him; and as he "received gifts for men," so this among others, and he gives it. My peace I give unto you, said he, not as the world giveth give I unto you." This peace is not to be acquired by any thing a man can do ; for it is a pure free grace gift of Christ to his people, and is a true, solid, substantial peace; an internal peace, out of the reach of those who persecute the body; a supporting peace, which carries the people of God cheerfully through all the difficulties and trials which they have to contend with in the world, and which supports them in the last solemn hours of life, when all human comforts fail. And this peace quite passeth the understanding of natural men; they know nothing of this peace, or what this tranquillity of mind means; it is a joy which they are strangers 66 to, and intermeddle not with: and when private christians in conversation, or ministers in the public ministry of the word speak of it, they are usually designated enthusiasts or fanatics. It must needs be unaccountable to them, that such men should have peace who have so much trouble, and are so much reproached, afflicted and persecuted in the world, and that it should keep their hearts and minds in the midst of tribulations. May the Lord bless this portion of his word to us, my dear Sir, and grant us more and more of that peace which the world cannot give nor take away. May he "extend peace to his church as a river." Isa. lxvi. 12. May he extend to us a copious, abundant, overflowing peace, so that like David we may say, 66 our cup over." Ps. xxiii. Believe me, dear Sir, in the best of all bonds, (For the Spiritual Magazine.) ON SPIRITUAL WORSHIP. runneth ELAH. Of the numerous attendants on the public services of religion, it is to be feared that few, very few, are alive to the importance of what they professedly engage in. Of one class, many render constant attendance, merely to pass away an hour or two of that day, to them the most irksome of the seven; others, because it is customary, and, to a certain extent, disgraceful to be found in the neglect of a practice so universal; numbers, either to make a display of their own vanity, or observe that of their friends: and probably by far the bulk of this class of persons, if asked a reason for their regular attendance on the means of grace, would be quite at a loss for an answer-so liable are the most important and dignified privileges to be trifled with and contemned. The characters described, not making pretensions even to spurious spirituality, cannot be correctly described as woshippers at all. Another class of attendants, and it is to be feared in the present day a very numerous one, is composed of those who may be denominated, "outer court worshippers," who scrupulously and zealously attend to all the externals, but never enter the inner, the spiritual sanctuary. Of these, are those who are fully satisfied when outward forms are cautiously adhered to; but whose carnal minds evince extreme displeasure when the least punctilio is neglected; their whole rule of worship comprizes nothing more than time, place, and form of worship: and of them Jehovah declares, in vain they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men! Others there are, who are then fully satisfied when their natural feelings are excited, and who, it caused, either by the pathos of the speaker, or solemnities of the scene, to shed a few tears, imagine their souls have been feasted: such persons mistaking the false fire of natural excite ment, for the influence of the Holy Spirit, neither examine nor enquire whether what they have heard be accordant with divine truth; and will often express approbation with principles the most discordant, if the favourite effect be but produced. There are other individuals, as remote from spirituality of worship, who possessing a tolerable judgment in the letter of truth, visit the house of God merely to examine the orthodoxy of the preacher; and when satisfied of this, are willing to pay constant attendance, imagining all the ends of worship are answered-neither watching the influence of truth upon their own minds, nor desiring to feel its warmth and energy in their own souls. Spiritual worship is in every respect different from all that has been stated above; it has a glorious object to whom it is directed; it is produced in every instance by a divine agent; it proposes a gracious, a glorious end. 1. The object of spiritual worship is the One True and Living Jehovah, subsisting in three glorious Personalies. "The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father." By this interesting name we understand the invisible Jehovah revealing himself in the person of Christ, Godman Redeemer, as the appointed Mediator; through whom he manifests himself to his saints, by whom he speaks to them, and in whom he accepts their persons, their petitions, and their praises. Through him every revelation, in time or eternity, must be made from God to his church; and through him we have access by one Spirit to the Father. Under the ceremonial law a variety of significant emblems were appointed, to represent Christ as the way of approach to the Father, and to describe the object and nature of worship; and so peculiarly adapted were the types to their antitypes, that to deviate from the commandment, as to place, time, order, or persons, was criminal. We have now no need of these; Jehovah has appeared in our nature, in our world;-in our nature the glorious Mediator has entered the holy place not made with hands, hath rent the vail of the temple in twain from the top to the bottom, and warrants us to come boldly to the throne of grace. Since Jehovah is the sole object of worship, how encouraging is it to his saints, to hear him say, wherever I record my name, there will I come and dwell, and bless people. my On the other hand, this truth presents a solemn warning to all professors. To how many may it be said, ye worship ye know not what; and, probably, if most of our religious altars were to receive an inscription descriptive of the character of their devotees, it would be, “To the unknown God!" It is not only needful that our worship be addressed to the true object, to avoid idolatry,—it is also essential to the character of spiritual worship, that it be induced by a spiritual principle, which leads us to consider, 2. Spiritual worship is produced by the agency of the Holy Ghost. "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” The spiritual worshipper enters not the sanc tuary to pay respect to his stated minister, nor with the expectation of receiving that from the man, which can only be communicated by Jehovah, but to hear what God the Lord will say to his soul. His spiritual desires are created by the Holy Spirit; his petitions indited by him; his praises inspired by him; his heart opened by him, to receive what his Lord has to impart: hence, his feelings differ alike from the phrenzied heart of the enthusiast, and the cold indifference of the stoic. The blessed Spirit applying the truth with power and demonstration, at once communicates light and warmth, knowledge and enjoyment. As the rays of the sun upon our atmosphere put the gross particles in agitation, and produce day with all its genial attendants; so the divine agent, by the power of an inward revelation bringing home the glories of the Sun of righteousness, in the testimony of the truth to the mind, dispels the clouds of darkness and error, and with the knowledge of Christ, communicates the love of Christ to the spiritual affections of the "new creature," filling him with joy and peace in believing. The necessity of divine agency to spiritual worship is evident, from the state of every man destitute of its quickening and illuminating power; and, further, because the Holy Spirit alone can abstract the mind from earthly objects-afford it a true consciousness of its necessities--bring into action spiritual desires-direct to the proper object for the fulfilment of them-and communicate the true knowledge of God, and the Father, and of Christ. Seeing we are thus dependant on the blessed Spirit for all true preparation of heart, how graciously has our Lord instructed us-If ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much rather shall your Father who is in heaven give his Holy Spirit unto them that ask it! 3. Spiritual worship is designed to accomplish a glorious end. And in this, as well as every other respect, differs from the carnal and selfish views of the mere formalist. Jehovah hath appointed his worship for his own glory, as well as the spiritual welfare of his own people; and so wisely are these gracious and glorious designs blended, in the divine administration, that the former cannot be sought, but where the latter is attained. The deluded votaries of idolatry are required to lavish all their wealth on their false object of adoration; the equally deluded votary of mere will-worship, performs his task with the view of rendering something to Omnipotence; but the spiritual worshipper is conscious he has nothing to give, but all to receive: for even the praises of God's saints are induced by a direct communication from Jehovah, in the very act of praise. The true worshipper waits upon the Lord to renew his strength-to find food for his soul-to behold the beauty of the Lord in the person of Jesus-to be instructed in his Lord's will-to receive spiritual consolation-and to render praise for mercies received. Thus God is glorified; glorified in strengthening the weak, in imparting bread of life to the hungry, in revealing the glory VOL. II.-No. 24. 2 U |