This was so clearly revealed to David, that he said, "I shall be satisfied when I awake in Thy likeness." To which every quickened soul will say, Amen. And this brings us to the second meaning of the word. 2-To make holy.

We have already shown that no effort of the creature can produce this. Yet is it written: "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord;" which is this sanctification; this setting apart for a holy use: as it is written: "This people have I formed for Myself, they shall show forth My praise." Fear not, worm Jacob, Thou art Mine, I have redeemed thee. We therefore pray, Work in us to will and to do according to Thy good pleasure. And Thou hast said, O Thou Spirit of holiness, I will work, and none shall hinder; I will beautify the meek with salvation; I will clothe you with the robe of righteousness. Grant us, we beseech Thee, these evidences of our souls' acceptance in the Beloved, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

This doctrine of setting apart and making holy, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, has ever met with opponents: for unregenerate men know nothing of it. And this is no wonder, for our Lord, speaking of the Holy Comforter, said, "Whom the world cannot receive, because it knoweth Him not." But said He to His brethren, "Ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you." Others seeing it clearly written in the sacred word, attempt to substitute a creature holiness. But this is a lifeless thing, and contemptible in the eyes of those who know the true sanctification of God the Holy Spirit, let the pretenders be who they may.

Heirs of God by adopting grace, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ in all the blessings of the everlasting covenant: and herein is the fellowship of the saints, being partakers of the same Holy Spirit; for that faith which is the gift of God, has to do with the deep things of God, as the Holy Spirit guides the soul in the apprehension of the truths of God; and this knits the children of God in one: and they are emptied from vessel to vessel, and have union of spirit with many whom they have never known in the flesh-with prophets, apostles, and saints, who have long passed away.

"In glory soon, with Christ their King,

His saints will ever dwell,

And the blest covenant ever sing,

In all things ordered well.

Grace first contrived the way.

To save rebellious man ;

And all the steps that grace display,

Which drew the wondrous plan."

Kent.

In concluding of this sacred subject, I would say that every renewed manifestation of the work of grace in the soul, reveals more and more the infinitude of the love of God to His one church; and she glories

in her covenant Head, saying, “Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that he that glorieth may glory in the Lord.”

Camberwell.

"The holy intercourse begun

Between our souls and Thee,
Enlarge, O Lord, and carry on
Through all eternity.

How great that love, how fixed that plan,
That God's eternal Son

Must bleed, must die, to seal that love
That in His will began!

Fix us, O Lord, in these great truths;

Their wonders yet display ;

Till on the mysteries we gaze,
In everlasting day."

Mote.

J. TAYLOR.

CHRIST SUITED TO ALL CONDITIONS. Surrey Gardens, Godalming, Surrey, August, 21st, 1864.

To Mr. Austen,

S

O my dear kind and affectionate friend is still alive, and a resident in the dark region of the shadow of death, in which death makes sad ravages daily amongst our fellow mortals ; and where accumulative diseases combine to reduce us to our native dust: and the language of the ever yawning grave is, "It is not enough.' Yes, he lives! and why? because the supreme Life-giver and Life-preserver says, Let brother Austen live and because He travels " in the greatness of His strength, mighty to save" him. And notwithstanding he is at present sojourning in Mesech's land, and formerly resided in the tents of Kedar, now, having removed household, he is living in one of the tents of Shem, dwelling with the great householder Himself,-which is the place appointed for all living souls. And brother Ahas found (in answer to prayer) that he has a long lease, and is to live with Him for ever, and to go no more out, Rev. iii. 12: but like David, live in the house of the Lord for ever, Psalm xxiii. 6. Yes, sought and found Him at home, and has been welcomed to come and dwell under His shadow, Psalms xci. 1. Happy man! you have found the Messiah of whom Moses wrote. You have found Jesus the heavenly pearl of great price. Yea, you have found the incalculable treasure which is hid in the field of the gospel. You have lived to see, feel, and know God's accepted time, and that now is the day of salvation. O my brother, what shall we render to the Lord for all His benefits! Say, what? Why; thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!

The shadow of that great Rock is so cooling and refreshing in this dry, barren, thirsty land. The Rock gives water, too, to cleanse from filth, and to satisfy the thirsty soul; and is a sure defence against the withering blast of breath of the terrible ones, when it is like a storm against the wall; and is a shelter from enraged hearts and flaming tongues, which James saith are set on fire of hell. Jonah had a nice gourd, which sprang up in a night, and soon withered,

because it had a worm at its root. But one glorious shelter sprang up in eternity, and no worm can get at its root, because it is the tree of life. He is like a green bay tree. His leaves yield a fragrance which subdues the stench of sin and corruption, and a balm to soothe the griefs of a wounded spirit; possessing rare virtues to staunch the bleeding of a broken heart, and to stay the corroding plague sores; and an oil famous for the removal of all pains and poisonous venom, infested by the bite of the fiery flying serpent. Unlike Jonah's gourd, His leaves are always green, as His root is in Deity, consequently out of the reach of every worm: no blast can cause His leaves to wither, for they are shot up far above all heavens; spreading a canopy of glory over all the celestial inhabitants, shedding profusely unutterable delight and ceaseless felicity upon all there: and distilling fructifying graces from His fulness upon all His children on the earth. His fruit is better than gold, and He yields twelve manner of fruit: first, life; second, faith and hope; third, love; fourth, joy and peace; fifth, godly sorrow for sin and true repentance; sixth, long-suffering; seventh, perfect righteousness; eighth, power for the faint; ninth, spiritual understanding; tenth, perfect atonement; eleventh, sanctification and heavenly-mindedness; twelfth, justification, and many others included. Joseph's fruit was better than gold; his father and brethren probably had plenty of that, but they could not live upon it; and gold cannot purchase Immanuel's fruits. Come, and buy and eat, without money and price, is the gospel proclamation, Isaiah lv. And what an unspeakable privilege to be one of his brethren, and to have all his fruits as a gift. Surely, how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty; His corn shall make His young men cheerful, and His wine the maids.

The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we have beheld glimpses of His glory in the gospel; and He not only dwelt among us, but He is like us in all points, (sin excepted) and is not ashamed to call us brethren. Joseph said, "I am your brother;" and Jesus said, "Go tell my brethren." O the unspeakable mercy to have the incarnate God for our Brother! and notwithstanding our being afraid sometimes to call Him our Brother, He is neither afraid nor ashamed to call us His brethren. We know Him in part only: He has perfect knowledge of us. He knows the weakness of our faith, and how we are often baffled by unbelieving fears; how poor and feeble, and how slack-handed we become; how unable we are to fight that three-fold enemy, the world, flesh, and Satan. He knows how prone we are to wander from Him, the God we love, how often we backslide in heart. But for all this, His word to Paul and to us is, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." O what a mercy! how often are we empty of good, and full of evil. But He is always full of grace and truth, and full of compassion that cannot fail. How often through worldly anxiety we forget Him and His superabounding goodness. But He says, "I will not forget thee." What a mercy is this. He says we "ought always to pray and not to faint"; but He knows we are poor silly creatures at prayer, and that Satan often fills us with carnal thoughts, when we endeavour to address the Lord in secret, so that we scarcely know where we are, or what we are saying. But He says, "I will pray the Father for you." O what a mercy. Often we lose sight of Him,

and feel none of His refreshing grace, but a dry, hard, barren heart, cold and benumbed affections, wandering over the earth and earthly things. But He saith, "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice." How often we feel powerless to all good, cleaving to the dust, inactive and motionless to spiritual things, and consequently comfortless. But He saith, "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come unto you." He saith, "Look unto me and be ye saved." Oh what a mercy. Thus have I scribbled on. Please accept it as a token of my kind regards to yourself and Mrs. Austen. Yours for Christ's sake,

T. WELLAND.

THE FRUITS OF UNION WITH CHRIST. 4, Splidts Street, St. George's, East, London, May 24th, 1878.

My dear Brother in loving life union with our precious Jesus, Grace, mercy, and peace be with you and yours.

P

ERHAPS you may have thought what a long time since I had a note from my old friend Franks. Well it is; but I have been very ill, and absent from my dear people three sabbaths; but the dear Lord was with both them and me; and ever will be; so we suffered no loss, but were led to glorify His name in His visitation of love and mercy: for His mercies are new every morning and fresh every evening. Great is His faithfulness. Thus while the wicked are like the troubled sea, and we also have a feeling sense of it within, for in our flesh dwells no good thing, yet with our mind we serve the law of God. Being strengthened by His Spirit's might in our inner man we say, It is the Lord, it is my loving Father, He knows His beloved Son. Our precious Jesus dwells in our heart, and is continually opening His mind and will to us by His good Spirit the Comforter, in that grace and truth revealed in the word as a Friend: as He hath said, "I call you not servants but friends, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth but all that I have heard of My Father, I have declared unto you." Oh, the mercy for Christ to declare Himself to be our Friend. Oh, the blessedness for Him, in the witness of the Spirit, to declare in our hearts we are His friends. Well, we can and do delight in the union, and rejoice with thankfulness in the mercies daily accruing from it.

I often say to my dear people, Oh, the blessings arising from the knowledge and enjoyment of the vital union between our precious Jesus and our daily life. Ours is a life of dependence; it is God's design it should be so, for His own glory and our comfort and consolation. This He communicates unto us as He instructs us by His good Spirit in the way of righteousness. Every dispensation, from the least unto the greatest that we are exercised with, the voice of the Lord is in it. The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see Thy name. Hear ye the rod, and Who hath appointed it. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven, and it is declared that it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. But as ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so doth the sweetness of a man's

friend by hearty counsel. Who is the wonderful Counsellor? but Christ. Who is the Friend that loveth at all times? but Jesus, a Brother born for adversity. "Thine own Friend and thy father's Friend forsake not, neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity; for better is a neighbour that is near, than a brother far off." Ah, my dearly beloved He is a neighbour indeed. He was to the man that fell among thieves, and so He is to us, and ever will be, to perform the act. I do find the word of the Lord precious daily, to give me instruction in my inward parts, and thus my soul cries out, "Order my steps in Thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Uphold me according unto Thy word that I may live, and let me not be ashamed of my hope."

It is a mercy to be thus engaged continually in holy communion and fellowship with our dearest Lord. He hath all power in heaven and in earth; all things render obedience to his commands, and yet how fond is our nature in looking at the things that are seen for our comfort. Well, it cannot rise higher than its source. But we are born from above; our record is on high; our place of defence is the munitions of rocks; our bread shall be given and our water shall be sure. The Lord hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings. It hath pleased our God that in Him all fulness should dwell, that of His fulness we should receive and grace for grace. This turns our captivity like the streams in the south; this causes us to look up. One of old said, “Then remembered I the word of the Lord.". O, how precious to be thus comforted and instructed by our dear Remembrancer, as the Psalmist expresseth it, "I will remember the works of the Lord, surely I will remember Thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all Thy work, and talk of Thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary." Ah! that is the place, my dearly Beloved. "Who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doeth wonders; Thou hast declared Thy strength among the people." It is a blessing to live in the belief of that this God is our God, and that our God is the God of salvation. Thus we are comforted with joy and peace in believing, in the Holy Ghost. "As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you, and ye shall be comforted." Yes, and in our own home too, even that home which is in Jerusalem. I mention it twice that our souls may keep it in remembrance. This is our place of rest where we keep holy day, even the day of salvation. I find the grace of God which daily bringeth this salvation to my poor soul teacheth me the benefit of living in it. It ministereth that instruction to me that I need to keep me in the way of peace, and that is to trust in the living God, and O, I still desire to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here mine eyes see my Teachers, commune with Them, and They with me, and I hear Them say, "This is the way, walk ye in it." This power is exercised in the heart in the renewings of the Holy Ghost: thus He sends His word and healeth

us.

Ah! my dearly Beloved, there is nothing keeps our souls in peace but as the mind is stayed on Him that has made peace, and as He is revealed in our hearts. He is our peace. This is our victory over the world even our faith. daily receiving Jesus, daily living in life-union with Jesus, as the power of God unto salvation. This communion and fellowship strengthens us in our inner man; thus believing in Jesus His strength is