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A FEW WORDS FROM THE EDITOR TO HIS FRIENDS.

chariots of fire; but then, we are as bad as the prophet's servant, we cannot see one of them until the Lord graciously opens our eyes; and it was the happy lot of Elisha to see Elijah safely seated in one of these glorious chariots; so that with astonishment he cries out- My father! my father! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof; and he saw him no more.' Mark you, it is said, 'Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven,' Ah, his removal was sudden. Sometimes the Lord sends a chariot with double horses as it were; and fetches up a saint in no time; but frequently the ascent (to flesh and sense) appears to be long and hard; nevertheless, know you this, that these heavenly messengers delight to wait upon, to watch around, and to minister unto the saints of God; read these precious words, poor soul, and the Lord seal them upon thy heart-there shall no evil befall thee; neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling, for he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways; they shall bear thee up in their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.' Oh, could we see this ladder; and the angels of God upon it; "Could we but climb where Moses stood, And view the landscape o'er; Not Jordan's stream, nor death's cold ficod Should fright us from the shore." But the faithful ministers of Jesus Christ are called angels; and I believe these angels on this ladder signify the Lord's dear sent servants as well: especially mark, it says, ASCENDING AND DESCENDING ON IT.' Not descending first, but ascending first. Now, to be sure, when God the Holy Ghost doth come to call a sinner by grace, he finds him in the earth; all over dirt, and mire, and sin; but then as the Holy Ghost creates light and life, and produces love and power within him, so he begins to ascend, as Watts says in those deep words,

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"Buried in sorrows and in sins,
At hell's dark door we lay;
But we arise by grace divine,
To see a heavenly day."

I can say most solemnly when the Gospel came to me; when the Lord Jesus was revealed in my soul, I was in a dark pit of ignorance and sin and knew not God, neither did I care for the salvation of my soul. But, for years, yea, for above twenty years, what ascendings and descendings have I been the subject of! Many days and parts of nights did I use to spend in holy meditation upon the Word of God, until my soul has been carried up into the sweetest enjoyments and spiritual pleasures; and I am sure I have sunk again into such terror, darkness, and distress of mind, as to be ready to die of grief; but, I am compelled to say, and do desire to say it, to the praise of the glory of God's grace, that goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life; and I hope, yea, I most earnestly pray that I may dwell | he house of the Lord for ever.

The

following beautiful language of Ambrose Serle, doth not only illustrate and set forth the truth in Christ, but it is the very image of my spiritual mind; of the true living family of God, he says-" Ye were sometimes darkness (says St. Paul to the Ephesians,) but now are ye light in the Lord;' and this is the fruit or effect of the Spirit, who supplies the soul with that heavenly oil, which capacitates the soul to shine with heavenly light. For this reason, it seems, that the twelve tribes of Israel, representing the elect of God, are called Urim and Thummim [lights and perfections,] which were precious stones, with the names of the tribes engraven (not written) upon them, and placed upon the breast of the high priest, to shew how near and dear the faithful are to their Redeemer, and that their names shall never be blotted out. They are lights, because they are formed to admit the rays of divine light, as a precious stone is for the free admission of the natural and they are perfections, because they are perfect and complete in Christ, as the precious stones were upon the breast of the high priest. United in one plate, that grand assemblage of stones, called

:

the fulness of stones, all set in pure gold, was named, what in our Bibles but which perhaps more justly might have is rendered, 'the breast-plate of judgment,'

been rendered the seat of the decree,' from the midst of which responses were given concerning the welfare of Israel. Thus, the redeemed are one compact frame of jewels, without defect or redundancy, Conjoined with perfect purity, borne by the Redeemer on his bosom, and the seat or rest of the divine decree; for in them all the determinations of grace and providence are ultimately fixed and concentred; and, according to their welfare, is every answer to prayer given. Christ, their true highpriest, bore their names on his shoulders to support them by his strength, and on his breast to endear them by his love. Exodus xxviii. 12-29. Herein is the promise, made to Levi of old, fulfilled to the spiritual Levi, devoted to God, 'thy Thummim and thy Urim are of the person, having mercy upon thee.'"

But I must abruptly close these remarks by a brief application of the apostle's words to myself-"I say the truth in Christ, I lie not; my conscience bearing me witness' that in all my labours, my one great desire is to be useful in spreading abroad the glorious Gospel of the blessed God; and in being instrumental in administering comfort to the afflicted saints of God. In the prosecution of these labours I have (at times) great heaviness, and sorrow in my heart, arising out of a sorrowful remembrance of my base departure from the ways of the Lord, and from a frequent discovery of the abiding wickedness and weakness of this body of sin and death in which I at present dwell. That the Lord may uphold, direct, pardon, and sanctify both you and me-is the fervent prayer of

Your's truly, THE EDITOR.

A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT FROM A LITTLE ONE.

Macgowan's Dying Discourse.

57

my will are one; 'tis all right, yet mysterious. We are to part here; but, we shall

FROM the seventh part of "Bunhill Memo-meet again!-You cannot conceive the plea

rials, edited by J. A. Jones," we make the following extract from the account therein given of the late celebrated John Macgowan, a baptist minister, who died in 1780.

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Reynolds, pastor of the Baptist Church at Cripplegate, has given us a vivid description of the blessed frame of his mind during his last illness. He says, Mr. Macgowan was one of the most valuable Christian companions I ever had the honour of an intimacy with. I frequently visited him, when he took occasion, as opportunity offered, of opening to me his whole heart.-At one time he was in great darknes of soul, and lamented exceedingly the withdrawings of God's presence. Two things, he said, had deeply exercised his thoughts. One was, how those heavy and complicated afflictions which God ⚫ had seen fit to lay upon him, could work, so as to promote his real good; and the other, that God, his best friend, should keep at a distance from his soul, when the Lord knew how much his mind was distressed for the light of his countenance. 'O' said he, turning to me, and speaking with great earnestness, 'O, my soul panteth for God, for the living God; his love-visits would cheer my soul, and make this heavy affliction sit light upon me. The presence of Jesus, my Redeemer, I cannot do without-I trust he will return to me soon-yea, I know he will, in his own time; for he knows how much I need the influence of his grace.'--In this conversation he mentioned the depravity of his nature, and what a burden he found it :My heart,' said he is more and more vile every day I have such humiliating views of heart-corruption, as weigh me down, I wonder whether any of the Lord's people see things in the same light I do.' And then turning to me, he said, ' And do you find it so, my brother?' Upon my answering him in the affirmative, he replied, 'I am glad of

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that.'

"The next time, which was the last of my conversing with him, I found him in a sweet and heavenly frame; his very countenance indicated the serenity of his mind. On my entering the room he exclaimed, 'O my dear brother, how rejoiced I am to see you!-sit down and hear the lovingkindness of my God. You see me as ill as I can be in this world, and as well as I can be whilst in the body. Methinks I have as much of heaven as I can hold !' The tears of joy, like a river, flowed from his eyes; and his inward pleasureable frame interrupted his speech for a time. He broke silence with saying, 'The work will soon be over-you see what you also must soon experience. But death, to me, has nothing terrific in it;-I have not an anxious thonght;-the will of God, and

sure I feel in this reflection, viz., that I have not shunned to declare (according to my light and ability) the whole counsel of God;

-I can DIE on the DOOTRINES which I have

preached ;-they are true,-I find them so. Go on to preach the gospel of Christ, and mind not what the world may say of you!' All the while I sat silent; and rising to take my leave, fearing he would spend his strength too much, he immediately took me by the hand, and weeping over each other, we wished mutual blessings. Upon parting he said, 'My dear brother, farewell-I shall see you no more.'-Thus (continues Mr. Reynolds) I left my much esteemed friend and brother; and the next news I heard of him was, that on Saturday evening, his immortal spirit left the body, to go to the world of light and bliss, and keep an eternal Sabbath of rest, with God, angels and saints."{ [How blessed is the good man's end! How comfortable to feel that we are panting for the same God, and travelling to the same kingdom of glory.- ED.]

A WORD OF

Encouragement from a Little One.

Dover, Nov. 27th, 1848. MY DEAR BROTHER IN THE LORD:-Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, and with all the dear flock of Jesus, worshipping his dear name at Carmel. My dear brother, I have often wished to send to you, feeling confident that you would be glad to hear from one of your little ones, and as it has pleased God to preserve my unprofitable life, and I trust has given me a good hope through grace, I wish to tell you that I have experienced the fulfilment of his holy promise, that in all places I will be with thee;' and I hope that you will take encouragement as well as I from that sweet declaration, because it is not in some places, on the mount, or in the sunshine, but in the darkest seasons, and in troubles of every kind, yea, in all places. I can truly say,

"Thus far my God has led me on,

And made his love and mercy known." I was near to Rochester for twelve weeks but there is not a chapel of any kind there; but I found a little band united and dwelling together in love at Chatham, under a faithful man, Mr. Jones; the chapel is called Enon. I sat down with them at the feast, and found it a very good opportunity, for we had a few thoughts on his name, 'Immanuel, God with us.' What a mercy, brother, that he does not despise us, but says, 'Come, let us reason together.' I

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A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT FROM A LITTLE ONE.

pursued by hell, and panting for mercy's living, healing, cooling stream. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad that it hath pleased the Father that all sufficient grace should dwell in, and flow from the all-precious, and ever-adorable Immanuel, whom the Holy Ghost has revealed in our hearts as the sinner's friend,-the Scripture's fulness,-salvation's fountain,-and the saint's fitness.

know not what I should do without such a | and abound in the salvation of a poor, poldear friend; I often feel my ingratitude to luted, perishing sinner, possessed of satan, him so much, and my worldly mindedness so great, that I think I will give it all up, and not make any outward profession of his name, for I think if I was really born of the Spirit of God I should have a more tender conscience, but I am like the waves of the much tossed about. I was very glad to find on board the Vessel some packets belonging to you, my brother, and I do hope that every time she sails into our port, we shall find John Stenson's mark in the rich cargo.

That you have been led to the "Rock of Ages,' as your hiding place, dwelling place, resting place, and glorious meeting place, may well make your hearts rejoice amidst all the storms and tempests, difficulties, disappointments and distresses, yea, moreover,

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True, 'tis a straight and thorny road,
And mortal spirits tire and faint;
But Jesus is the Mighty God,

I am glad to inform you that my wife has heard Mr. Edgecombe much to profit, since she has been at Dover, and I have heard him two Sabbath-days, and I believe him to be a man very zealous for the truth, not scrup-oppressions, opposition and persecution you ling to testify the truth, and divide between have to encounter and endure on your jourthe sheep and the goats. My mind is much ney home. exercised respecting getting a living here, but I trust my God bid me come here, and I humbly hope he will please to supply my every need, both for tine and eternity. Please to give our kind love to all our dear brethren and sisters in the church, for notwithstanding my darkness and unworthiness, I believe the church of God in Carmel loves us for Christ's sake; and thank God for this testimony, for it is one of the marks of God's elect, that they love the brethren, and

are loved of them.

If you, or your dear partner should be willing to come to Dover at any time, we shall be happy to see you, and make you as comfortable as we can; we have a very pleasant little house under the heights of Dover, and have got a good sea view. We hope the Lord will keep and guide both you and us, for we often feel that we have a deep sea before us, and dread heights above us. You will please to accept our thanks for your letter to Mr. Edgecombe, and if the Spirit of God will be pleased to move you to write to us, we shall be happy to hear from you, and may the dear Lord guide, direct, and bless you and your's, is the prayer of

Your brother and sister in the Lord,
JOSEPH AND ELIZA DAVIS.

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Who feeds the strength of ev'ry saint."

May you constantly be fed with the finest of the wheat, with honey from the rock,the hidden manna which descends from the skies, (small and sweet) covered o'er with heaven's dew;-may you daily eat of the fatted calf, and of the slain Lamb, neither forgetting nor regretting, that love divine has ordained that the bitter herbs shall be eaten therewith. Yet,

"Since all that we meet

Shall work for our good,
The bitter is sweet,

The med'cine is food."

The Lord grant, that submission to his so-
vereign purpose, and resignation to his
righteous pleasure in all things, may pre-
vail in the sharp and sore conflict your
inward feelings experience, under the pain-
ful exercises of your perilous pilgrimage, so
will you rejoice in the reigning power of
Him that is able to do for us exceedingly
abundantly above all that we can either ask
or think.
We know that

"Bastards may escape the rod,
Sunk in earthly vain delight;
But the new-born child of God,

Must not, would not, if he might." For it is given unto the children of promise, who are the heirs of salvation, not only to believe on the name of Christ, and to suffer for his sake, but also to esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; hence, they can take joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that they have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

I have received a letter from our brother Edgecombe, seeking your dismission from the church at Carmel to the church at Pent

THE EXERCISES OF A LIVING SOUL.-LINES.

59

Side, which shall be attended to at our next | could not so much as once conceive what meeting. Give my christian love to him. I that God and that comfort was, with which trust God's work is being manifested by the I have been refreshed. Holy Ghost in his ministry, so will he have to adore and bless the covenant God of his salvation, who conducted his feet to Dover for the solemn purpose of employing him in fishing for men, not for their goods, but for their good.

And now, my dear brother and sister in the faith and hope of the gospel, while I most affectionately commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, praying for you that you may be enabled to live humbly, to walk wisely, and to act unblameably before God, before angels, before the church, before the world, and before devils, 'looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Let me earnestly intreat your constant remembrance of me at the throne of grace, and believe me to be sincerely,

Your's in Christ Jesus,

Chelsea, Jan. 18th. JOHN STENSON. P.S. We had a blessed watch-night at Carmel, well attended, good.tea meetings, special and solemn prayer-meetings, felt life in the ministry, and God's peaceful and quickening presence in the midst of us. Text at midnight, And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive.' Joshua xiv. 10. Yes, alive in his ways,-alive for his work,and alive by his word. O! what a monument and miracle of grace am I! Praise Amen.

the Lord.

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The Exercises of a Liying Soul.

1. Or all the temptations that ever I met with in my life, to question the being of God and the truth of his gospel is the worst, and the worst to be borne; when this temptation comes, it takes away my girdle from me, and

removeth the foundation from under me: O! I have often thought of that word,' have you loins girt about you with truth:' and of that, when the foundation is destroyed, what can the righteous do?

2. Sometimes, when after sin committed, I have looked for sore chastisement from the hand of God, the very next that I have had from him, hath been the discovery of his grace. Sometimes, when I have been comforted, I have called myself a fool for my so sinking under trouble. And then again, when I have been cast down, I thought I was not wise, to give such way to comfort; with such strength and weight hath both these been upon me.

3. I have wondered much at this one thing, that though God doth visit my soul with never so blessed a discovery of himself, yet I have found again, that such hours have attended me afterwards, that I have been in my spirits so filled with darkness, that I

4. I have sometimes seen more in a line of the Bible than I could well tell how to stand under; and yet at another time, the whole Bible hath been to me as a dry stick; or rather my heart hath been so dead and dry unto it, that I could not conceive the least dram of refreshment, though I have looked it all over.

5. Of all fears, they are best that are inade by the blood of Christ; and of all joy, that is the sweetest that is mixed with mourning over Christ: O! it is a goodly thing to be on our knees with Christ in our arms, before God: I hope I know something of these things.

6. I find to this day seven abominations in my heart, 1. Inclining to unbelief. 2. Suddenly to forget the love and mercy that Christ manifesteth. 3. A leaning to the works of the law. 4. Wanderings and coldness in prayer. 5. To forget to watch for that I pray for. 6. Apt to murmur because I have no more, and yet ready to abuse what I have. 7. I can do none of those things which God commands me, but my corruptions will thrust in themselves. When I would do good, evil is present with me.'

7. These things I continually see and feel, and am afflicted and oppressed with, yet the wisdom of God doth order them for my good. 1. They make me abhor myself. 2. They keep me from trusting my heart. 3. They convince me of the insufficiency of all inherent righteousness. 4. They show me the necessity of flying to Jesus. 5. They press me to pray unto God. 6. They show me the need I have to watch and be sober. 7. And provoke me to pray unto God, through Christ, to help me, and carry me through this world.

Lines,

Composed on laying the Foundation Stone at the Enlargement of the Baptist Chapel, St. George's Road, Manchester, by D. Denham.

This stone in certain hope we lay,

That God will here enlarge his house
And in his own appointed way,

Accomodate his royal spouse:

Here may the gospel's joyful sound,

Be heard by sinners far and near,
And grace much more than sin abound,
In this enlarged house of prayer.
Long may this edifice remain

As an asylum for the saints;
And through the Lamb on Calvary slain,
Here may they lose their sad complaints-
But should the truth from hence remove,
And error once admittance gain;
May God both just and jealous pr
In letting not one stone remain.
To W. Gadsby, Pastor, and
G. Greenhough, Deacon.

H

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SUKEY HARLEY'S KNOWLEDGE OF A DIVINE EXPERIENCE, ETC.

SUKEY HARLEY'S

Knowledge of a Divine Experience.

feel

MR. CREASEY of Sleaford, has published 'a
short account of the Life and Conversion of
Sukey Harley, of Pulverback near Shrews-
bury. It is a quaint but savory little tes-
timony descriptive of the work of grace in
fetching out of the horrible pit one whose
name is written in Heaven. We can only
give part of a letter she wrote to Mr. Bourne.
She says- You ask me, Sir, if I am able
to perceive many changes in my mind.
Yes, I should think I have; when darkness
comes and God hides his face, dear,
so distressed, so distressed; it's dreadful to
be without God; I cry till he comes down.
My Jesus comes to me, I cannot go to him ;
I mourn, I cry, it's all the trouble I know,
when my God hides his face it is not for
long at a time; I could not live sometimes
an hour, sometimes two, not for a whole
day. It's very seldom a whole day, perhaps,
but God visits me some part of it. He
seldom goes for long at a time; it's dread-
ful sickness, yes, that's my heavy trouble.
When he comes to me again, he takes all
trouble away; all distressed thoughts, let
the sorrow be what it will. He comes in
the midst of all, turns all to joy, nothing
can hurt me. It's the devil, and the old-
dwelling sin make the sorrow: the devil
claps in, all joy is gone then, but Jesus
comes and drives away the devil; then what
joy I have, what comfort when I can look up.

I tell them the truth; when I have liberty from the God of heaven then I can go; I can go without any fear then; I donna' fear man, I want nothing else, but liberty from the Lord; if he donna' give me liberty I am dumb; I canna' speak one word.'

Lines on the Death of Mr. T. Dawes.

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We would not wish thee back again, from thy bright
Nor ask (if possible) to leave awhile the throne of love,
Though angel-accents on thy tongue, our spirits
might delight,

And thou reveal the secrets deep of that fair land of
light.

But we would pray the Lord for grace, to trace thy steps below.

to know;

in his name,

As sheds around thy memory's shrine a more than

mortal fame.

We would not wish thee back again, relying on his

word,

Who taught thee well and long, to wield the Spirit's
two-edg'd sword;

Who made thee more than conqueror amid the
mortal strife:
Transformed thy weakness into strength, thy dark-
ness into light.

We would not wish thee back again, tho' oft thy
form appears

To memory, as it lately bent beneath the weight of

My heart was very hard last Saturday; well, I could na' break it, I could na' melt it, I mourned, I grieved; when my Redeem-Such warmth of life's devotedness within, our souls er came, he did it, he melted my hard Such clinging to the cross by faith, such glorying heart. I found such a place of scripture this morning, I felt as though every word was written to me. Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God has led thee these forty years in the wildernes, to humble thee, to prove thee, to know what is in thine heart.' Oh! I read these words, I mean the whole chapter; they were spoken to me, I gave them to my husband, I gave them to my daughter; I marked these words in my Bible,I would wish to remember these words and to mark them for ever, I must tell you, Sir, the mercies of my God to me, his tender mercies: how he blessed his word to me. It is very precious when the Lord blesses his word to my soul; Sir, you speak about my talking to others, Sir, I am this sort of woman, I canna' speak nothing till my Jesus comes and puts words into my mouth; then I can speak, O yes, I can speak then. You say the grace of God in you is something. But I'm the ignorantest, poorest creature, I canna' find a place in the Bible, I canna' find one verse, I canna' find one hymn, nor nothing; this is what I am, Sir; I do na' forget poor sinners, when the Lord bids me I can talk to one or another; but till he bids me I dare not open my mouth. What I speak to them is according to my own experience.

years;

While glory beam'd around thy brow, and sparkled
As if thou heard'st thy Saviour's voice, inviting to

in thine eyes,

the skies.

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