THE Spiritual Magazine ; OR, SAINT'S TREASURY. John V. 7. "There are Three that bear record in heaven; the FATHER, the WORD, and the HOLY GHOST; and these Three are ONE." "Contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints." Jude 3. (For the Spiritual Magazine.) ON THE CERTAINTY OF THE SALVATION OF GOD'S ELECT FAMILY. " Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation.” Isa. xlv. 17. THE Lord has had a people in all ages of the world who have lived as witnesses for his majesty, amidst his bitter enemies and the abounding errors of the day; and no doubt but to the end of time he will be graciously pleased to scatter some precious particles of salt upon the earth in proof of his unparalleled love and matchless grace. There is much said in this our day about salvation, and many contend for it as a conditional thing; and indeed there are but few who are charmed with an absolute and unconditional salvation, as founded alone in the worth, blood and power of the great Emmanuel, and which excludes all the vain boastings of human agency and creature exertions. Thousands there are, who believe that all men have an equal share in this great work, and that it lies at the creature's door either to embrace, or reject, the righteousness of Jesus; but the scriptures do not say, Israel may be saved, they positively affirm that they shall be saved in the Lord, not with a conditional, but with an everlasting salvation. Israel is a name often used to express the Lord's elect people, who were anciently and eternally predestinated to life and salvation, according to God's eternal purpose which he purposed in himself before the world was; and all this beloved family must and shall be saved, for Christ has said, "All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me;" and blessed be his dear name, this text has annexed to it, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." The great Shepherd will bring all his lambs and sheep to rest at last on the sacred pastures of endless glory, where they will bask in the sun-beams of his favour, and dwell in endless tranquillity. In considering the nature of salvation, I shall briefly notice it under VOL. II.-No. 16. K three particular heads; and, first, I will notice the glorious plan of salvation, as anciently devised in favour of the church. This will lead our minds, my spiritual reader, to the ancient hills and mountains of Jehovah's eternal purposes, in which the sacred Three are discovered to us as acting in favour of the elect. A project is that by which things are properly organized, indeed without a well contrived system nothing can appear but disorder and confusion. We read of the many devices and inventions of man, but the eternal purposes of Jehovah shine with incomparable lustre in the word of life. The purpose of God in election is not what our subject so immediately leads us unto, yet we know none are benefited by redemption who were not interested in election. The purpose of God involves all that belongs to God's people, which goes under the name of fore-appointment, whether we consider them as the objects and subjects of election, redemption, or regeneration. But to notice salvation by purpose, is for us to have a due apprehension of the divine glories of our blessed Redeemer, in which the worth, value, and riches of all he did and suffered, intrinsically laid; and also to have a due sense of the awful state of his church which was foreseen, in whose favour and upon which consideration the covenant of grace was made. According to the free will system the covenant was spurious, or, to say the least of it, Jehovah is here represented as giving an extravagant specification as to the number of persons in whose favour it was made; for they say all men were equally interested therein, and if this were true it would prove the person of the Father to be unjust as a lawgiver: if Christ covenanted for all, why are not all saved? A wise architect has to consider the dimensions and cost of an edifice; thus the Lord laid the plan in his own infinite mind, and his wisdom in this respect shines with infinite lustre. It is necessary that the quality of the materials and the distance from which they are to be brought should be well considered; thus the Redeemer well understood the quality of his people, as well as their quantity, and could not be mistaken as to the horrible pit into which they would fall by transgression. Again, it is necessary that a builder should be possessed of wisdom to plan a building, and power and worth to carry the same into effect; thus the Lord Jesus possessed wisdom sufficient to contemplate all the personal inconvenience and tortures he should have to endure, in order that his people might be saved, and he possessed sufficient power cope with all his people's enemies and the rebellions of their hearts; and seing there was no lack in point of wisdom nor power in him, it is a glorious argument in favour of the salvation of his people. Hence we find when he contemplated the great work, and even death and the grave, he exclaimed, “Ỏ death I will be thy plagues! O grave I will be thy destruction! repentance shall be hid from mine eyes;" which language fully expresses the perfection of his knowledge as to the awful consequences of his people's transgressions, and also that holy determination of his sacred mind that whatever evil might befal to 66 him in prosecuting his designs of love, that he would not repent. When the heavy indictments were specified in the court of heaven, and the black list was examined, the Saviour closed the business by saying, I hate putting away; and thus his people's security and everlasting salvation was made a matter of absolute certainty. In a natural sense if a pair are wedded according to the established laws of this land, we find that all responsibility devolves upon the husband; so in like manner all the debts of the church were laid to the account of the Saviour who loved his church, and at length gave himself for it. The person of the Father appears in covenant order as a lawgiver, opening the fair claims of justice in vindication of the holiness of his character; and the Lord Jesus voluntarily undertook the cause of his people to execute the plan drawn, in order that the law might be satisfied, and that the people of his choice might be everlastingly saved; and in the fulness of time all the stores of this salvation are evidently discovered to the elect by the holy Ghost, whose office it is to take of the things of Christ and reveal them to the heaven-born. But I proceed, in the second place, to notice the means by which this salvation was accomplished; and here I would enter the sacred field of revelation with profound reverence. The great power of God is discovered in creation, but the love and mercy of heaven is only discovered in the tremendous work of salvation: this is a work which as far exceeds all others as the sun does a wax taper. We read of many warriors who have headed an army, and done great exploits with the enemy; but in the work of redemption we behold the great Emmanuel conflicting with legions of enemies single handed, "for of the people there were none with him." Other warriors muster all their strength in combating their foes, but this Almighty Hero laid aside his glories awhile, and was wrapped in a body of sinless infirmities, and was crucified through weakness. No champion ever had such a host of opposers as Christ had, nor were their foes of the same complexion. We find satan, the world, and the curses of a broken law, all stood against him, and from the manger to the cross his life was a scene of trial and woe; hence he said, all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Was ever sorrow like unto my sorrow? It tends to embellish the work of salvation in our view, when we consider the dignity of the person who effected it; in which we are led to view him both God and man in one person. All the angels in heaven, if they had been expelled from their habitation, could never have atoned for one sin, but the blessed Redeemer, travailing in the greatness of his strength, though his glory was veiled in our nature, was competent to effect the great work; and admitting all the cattle upon a thousand hills had fallen as victims and bloody sacrifices, yet they would all have proved insufficient. Hence, the blessed Redeemer wore those laurels of triumph that angels, or offerings, could never obtain. The transcendent glories of his obedience admirably rise to view, when we consider the helpless condition of his people; for they are not only miserably depraved, but are brought by sin into that condition out of which they never could have delivered themselves. The obedience of the creature has nothing to do with a sinner's justification before God. When we consider that heaven never could be inherited on any other footing but the active and passive obedience of Christ, we find him to be the only way by which sinners can and must be saved; and the only deliverer, who could bring an offended Father and offending children together upon equitable terms. The work of Christ appears marvellously great, when we observe the method used for its ever-memorable accomplishment. The work did not lie in the Saviour's visiting this earth like some noble monarch, to display himself in state, attended by celestial train-bearers, but it lay in a life of sorrow and privations; hence he said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." The Lord Jesus is called the desire of all nations, and this appears very brilliantly in his character; for though we are not to suppose from hence, that every individual in every nation possesses a desire after him, yet we find the good old prophets and patriarchs all had their eyes fixed upon him, as the polar star whose appearance they longed for; and even the events of his glorious incarnation appear marked with importance, for, whilst ungodly men were as hard as adamants, yet we find the heavenly hosts ushered in the glorious exhibition with songs of triumph; and even the planetary system was decorated with an intelligent star, to lead the wise men to the place where Jesus lay. (To be concluded in our next.) (For the Spiritual Magazine.) GRACE EXALTED IN THE LIFE AND DEATH OF AN AGED SAINT. Dear Sir, ISRAEL's triune covenant God hath said, that his righteous children shall be had in everlasting remembrance, and that every poor sinner when effectually called by his grace shall be watered with the heavenly dew and rain of Jehovah's everlasting favour, so that thereby the righteous shall hold on his way. Let the way of his elect be as rough, dark, chequered, or afflictive as it may, yet no good thing of all that the Lord God hath promised, shall be withheld from his dear bloodbought family; for our blessed God saith, to the comfort and encouragement of the redeemed, while travelling through this world of sin and woe: Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, (mark that blessed word, poor, tempted, pilgrim; Oh! it is very sweet, when spoken home to the heart by God the Holy Ghost,) the Lord your God; for he hath given you the former rain, (or, grace at first conviction) moderately; and he will, according to his covenantpromise, Ezek. xxxiv. 20. cause to come down for you, (yes, even for you) the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month, that is, in due season, to ripen the soul by grace, for glory. As I have at times felt my poor, thirsty soul, refreshed when reading or hearing of the Lord's beloved ones being taken by his kind, tender hand, from the fight of faith in militant Zion, to the glorious rest of Zion above, to the blissful bosom of our adored Emmanuel; I thought, dear sir, that through your very valuable pages, though coming from the weakest and meanest hand that can use a pen in his cause, that he may condescend to bless the following honest, simple statement, to the support, comfort, and encouragement, of some of his weeping, doubting, halting, fearing babes; who may be pressed to the earth with the manifold difficulties of the way, the fear of death, or of coming short at last which you know, Mr. Editor, are the common feelings of all the Lord's household, especially those who are feeble-minded, or weak in the faith. Your's in gospel love, A POOR AND NEEDY MAN. About forty years ago it pleased the Most High to call by his grace, as the blessed effect and proof of his everlasting, electing love, Mrs. J. H. she being then without the public means of God's grace, had no one to show her the work of God upon her soul, and her judgment, as is the case with every poor sinner when first quickened, was much confused; yet the good Lord led her on to seek his face by earnest groans and sighs, and, sensible of her lost and ruined estate, to pray to God for mercy,-which is the effect of divine life in the soul. hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.” weeping and with supplications will I lead them." Thus was this heaven-bound soul kept in the way, yet having no satisfaction or comfortable knowledge of her state, till the great head of the church was pleased to send his servant, Mr. H. into these parts, under whose ministry the Lord raised her mind to hope. "You "With Many years after, God sent another of his faithful ambassadors into this neighbourhood, Mr. B. this good minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, preached many times in this place; his labours were much blest, and especially in the establishing, strengthening, settling, and comforting this holy matron; as she often said with much anxiety and pleasure. He once in particular spoke from St. Paul's words to his dear son Timothy, having a form of godliness, but denying the power, &c. She said that this discourse, under God, set her feet on the rock, Christ, and established her goings; and the Lord put a new song into her mouth, even praise for evermore. This sweet hymn was then, and to the end of her days, often her song, 66 Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone, Him whom I fix my hope upon, &e.-" Many times since I have had the pleasure of an acquaintance with her, has she, even when much afflicted, burst out in singing,"Lo! glad I come, and thou, blest Lamb, Shall take me to thee as I am; |