ened and confirmed. He now joined the little flock of believers; and, having the love of God shed abroad in his heart, was deeply anxious that all around him, especially his parents and wife, should enjoy the same blessing. He told them, with effective point and simplicity, what God had done for his soul; and first his father, and then his mother, followed his example by giving themselves to God, and uniting with the church. Thus, in his own domestic circle, began a course of active piety which he continued to pursue till laid aside by the infirmities of extreme age. For many years he remained at Seaton-Ross, labouring with unwearied diligence in the cause of God. "Those were happy days," he bears grateful witness. "We had two prayer-meetings every week, besides the Sunday services. We went from house to house throughout the village, and very few refused us. The Lord poured out His Spirit. Our congregations increased, the houses were filled, and the Society was more than doubled." In consequence of the increase of members, a new class was formed, of which Mr. Voakes was appointed to take the oversight; and herein the Lord blessed him, and made him at blessing.

Yet, in the meanwhile, he had to contend with difficulties, which pressed heavily during the early part of his residence at Seaton-Ross. His family-expenditure increased; the price of corn, and of provisions generally, was uncommonly high; and his income was small. Soon after his conversion, he and the other tenants of a certain RomanCatholic gentleman received notice to quit their respective occupancies; the object of which was to gain an increase of rent. This was a heavy stroke, as it was with much self-denying care that he could then "provide things honest in the sight of all men." At the appointed time he repaired to the steward, and found that his neighbours were all "advanced;" but, to his great surprise, he was told that his rent would be reduced nearly one-half! He returned home with a thankful heart, and to the end of his days regarded this as a signal interposition of Providence in his behalf. The good hand of his God was upon him for good, and he was blessed in his basket and in his store. After more than twenty years' residence at Seaton-Ross, he took a farm at Breighton, a small village in the Howden Circuit; where there was no religious service of any kind, and only one person (an old woman) who made any profession of seriousness. In this moral wild he found out a backslider, and prevailed upon him to set out afresh for heaven. They commenced a prayer-meeting, to be held at their houses alternately their neighbours heard of it, and came-till the houses were filled. The Spirit of the Lord was poured out upon the people, who then freely opened their doors for worship. Soon a Society was formed, and nearly thirty began to meet in class: one of these subsequently became an acceptable Local Preacher, and continues to this day, highly respected throughout the Circuit. So grew and prevailed the word of grace, while provision was made for the yet wider cultivation of the field around; even as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither,

:

but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater."

After six years spent in this place, Mr. Voakes had the offer of a farm at Holme, a large village in the same Circuit, containing now eighteen hundred inhabitants. The members at Breighton, who looked to him as their spiritual father, laboured hard to prevent his acceptance of the offer. His own remark is a suggestive one :— "I turned from the counsel of my kind and affectionate friends, (whom I dearly loved,) considering that the best of men are liable to err; and resolved to take counsel of the Lord. But I have been often tempted since to think that I was deceived."

Methodism had long been established at Holme; and our friend appears to have anticipated great pleasure in being associated with those who had been long travelling in the way to the Mount Sion. He accordingly removed, but did not find the enjoyment he had expected. The inhabitants were scattered over a large tract of land, many living more than three miles from the chapel; and his own residence was nearly two miles distant. The condition of the church, moreover, was by no means prosperous. There was the absence of that religious warmth to which he had been accustomed. various disappointments," he writes; "and felt the words,

'Lean not on earth,

A broken reed at best; but oft a spear,

"I met with force of the

On whose sharp point peace bleeds, and hope expires.'"

His spirit was much oppressed; but he began to work there as he had done at Seaton-Ross and Breighton; and a few godly men joined him in his efforts. Prayer-meetings were established in different parts of that extensive parish, all of which he made it a point of duty to attend. He took charge of a class about two miles from his own residence, which he met on the Lord's day. Signs of improvement were erelong visible. "The blessing of the Almighty," he remarks, "attended our meetings. The houses where we assembled for prayer were crowded; and the Lord came down as rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.' Many were brought out of darkness into light, and turned from the power of Satan unto God." The Society was greatly increased, and a second class was committed to this good man's care. He had now to travel every Sabbath ten miles at the least, to attend his class and the public services. Every evening during the week, except Saturday, he attended a religious service, generally, a prayer-meeting. In this department he was eminently useful, often extemporizing in appeals to the people with great effect. Never shall I forget," said an excellent Minister, when addressing the Local Preachers of the Howden Circuit some years ago, "never shall I forget the telling exhortations which I heard forty years ago from that man of God, Robert Voakes."

It is scarcely needful to remark, that neither the solidity of his inward religion, nor the activity, earnestness, and consistency of his

life, exempted him from trials. In temporal affairs he still had severe struggles. The farm at Holme was much larger than the one which he had left, and even larger than he had intended to occupy; a person engaging at the time to take some of the land, who in the event declined to do so. Capital was not equal to the consequent demand. During the second year at Holme, an unusual prevalence of wet and cold checked the progress of the crops, and resulted in serious loss to the cultivators of the soil. In this Mr. Voakes shared, to a very large extent. Not only so, but many of his cattle died, and other calamities followed. Cares now came, as he himself sometimes said, "like a wild deluge." It was no trial of a day, or of a single unpropitious season. Years passed on in the painful struggle, while Satan sorely tempted the Christian soldier to throw away his shield. Many were witnesses of what he suffered outwardly; but what was felt within none but God and his own soul could estimate.

In consequence of his piety, zeal, and usefulness, the authorities of the Circuit put his name on the Local Preachers' Plan. This was done without his consent, nor does he appear to have known at the time anything about the matter. After much thought, and much prayer, he made the attempt, with fear and trembling; and he continued to fill his appointments with punctuality as long as his strength permitted. These labours proved highly acceptable, and were made a blessing to many. His subjects were appropriate, his style plain, his manner earnest, and his spirit affectionate.

At his own request, he was at length relieved from the care of his class at Bursea; but he continued to meet one at Holme,—which for many years retained its character as the most prosperous in that Society. He laboured for God till between eighty and ninety years of age; when he was compelled, by infirmity, to retire from active life. But his heart was still in the work, and he delighted to the last in recommending religion to those about him. At the age of eighty-five he thus wrote: "As the Lord in His great goodness and mercy hath spared my unworthy life to this advanced period, I feel, with the poet, that

'Tis greatly wise to talk with our past hours,

And ask them what report they bore to heaven.""

He then recorded many interesting particulars of his long pilgrimage, and closed by magnifying the faithfulness of Him who has said, "And even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you :"—"Blessed be God, who has answered my prayer, and fulfilled His promises. Now I live in comfort, in peace, and harmony. My mind is relieved from the cares of this world.

""Tis all my business here below

To cry, Behold the Lamb!

'Happy, if with my latest breath
I may but gasp His name;

Preach Him to all, and cry in death,

Behold, behold the Lamb!'

Blessed be God, who hath brought me through the fire, and through the water; and has crowned my hoary head with loving-kindness and tender mercy! To the glorious, holy, blessed THREE-ONE GOD be all the glory, world without end. Amen, and amen."

It was a high privilege to listen to the breathings of his truly devout soul. He retained the use of his faculties, and continued to the last to manifest the cheerfulness which had characterized him through life. Toward the close he suffered much; but he was always happy, and always ready to testify the goodness of the Lord. "I love the Lord," he would often say, "and I love them that love Him." On the 27th of January, 1857, being in the ninety-fourth year of his age, he fell asleep in Jesus, respected by all, and loved most by those who knew him best. He had been a Methodist about seventy-two years; during which period he had filled the important office of Class-Leader about seventy-one years, and that of Local Preacher between thirty and forty.

J. B.

"THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN HELL.” *

(PSALM XVI. 10.)

THE Messiah speaks. This is evident from the tenor of the whole Psalm, from the primary meaning of the passage itself; and all doubt is dissipated by the testimony of two inspired men, namely, Peter and Paul. The former says, that David "being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption;" and the latter says,-" Wherefore he saith also in another Psalm, Thou shalt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: but He, whom God raised again, saw no corruption." (Acts ii. 30, 31; xiii. 35-37.)

The Divine Saviour had just given expression to His confident persuasion that His flesh, namely, His body, in a state of separation from His soul, would rest in safety; and the verse before us furnishes the reason of His confidence: "For Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption."

The Messiah speaks to Jehovah, His Divine Father. As Jerome often exclaims while expounding this Psalm-Vox Christi, vox Christi, ad Patrem. The language shows that the Messiah had a soul—a human soul-as well as a material body. Some people are apt to

"Christ in Gethsemane." See SELECT LITERARY NOTICES.

woe.

suppose that the Divine nature of Christ animated His human body, taking the place and performing the functions of a human soul. There was an insignificant sect in ancient times who entertained this notion; but it is manifestly incorrect. If the Saviour did not possess a human soul, He could not have been a man; for it is the soul that makes the man. He had complete humanity, and was in all respects like unto us, with the solitary exception that He had no sin. "In all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." (Heb. ii. 17.) But observe what the Divine Saviour says to His Divine Father about His human soul: "Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell." In hell! Was Christ ever in the place of woe? Many theologians have entertained such a notion. It has been supposed that our Saviour went from the cross to the abode of the lost, in order to preach the Gospel to the human inhabitants of hell, and thereby to afford them another opportunity of being saved. This idea is not only untenable, but absurd. Were we to entertain it, we must suppose that there is a way from hell to heaven; but we are assured that there is no bridge across the gulf that separates the realms of bliss from the regions of When the rich man in the parable lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, "he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." (Luke xvi. 23-26.) The present is the only accepted time, and the only day of salvation; and hence sinners upon the earth are entreated to "seek the Lord while He may be found," and to "call upon Him while He is near." (2 Cor. vi. 2; Isai. lv. 6.) Moreover, the Saviour Himself assures us that the " worm " of the lost "dieth not," and that "the fire is not quenched." (Mark ix. 43-48.) The Creed commonly called the Apostles', in which the Saviour is said to have "descended into hell," may have suggested this opinion, and, undoubtedly, tends to foster it in the minds of some of the members of the Church of England. Those who entertain the notion that our Lord went down from the cross to the place of woe, appeal also for proof to the following passage :-"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (1 Peter iii. 18-20.) Au enumeration of the many interpretations which have been given