melt as the summer's dew; angels may cease their harpings; and the eye that flashes with heaven's glory may become dim-but Christ "shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied!"

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Nearly six thousand years have rolled their stream into eternity's vast ocean, and during this succession of ages, unnumbered myriads have entered the New Jerusalem. But the Saviour's conquests are not finished many of the purchase of his love are now "scattered abroad;" they are the sheep of a far distant fold, and these also he must bring, and they shall yet hear his voice. Navigators will continue to plough the ocean; travellers will explore the interior of unknown regions; and commerce will delegate her servants to secure and prosecute her interests; and these all shall be the pioneers of the cross, though they mean not so, neither do their hearts think so." The gospel, like a sea of glory, will roll its sacred waters to every shore where a ransomed sinner shall be found, and nothing shall effectually impede its progress, or stops its course, till heaven and earth shall utter the glad response, "Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!" Till this period shall arrive, the wheels of nature will travel onwards, and the conservation of the world will be perpetuated; then the key-stone will be brought forth to crown the edifice of illimitable grace: then "the ransomed of the Lord will return to Zion with everlasting joy upon their heads;" and then, with rapture known only in the pavilions of glory will they be heard to say, "Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he has saved us; this is the Lord, we have waited for him; we will be glad, and rejoice in his salvation!"

"So shall we be ever with the Lord!" "With him"-freed from sin, from pain, and death! "With him"-to learn the mysteries of his dying agonies! "FOR EVER WITH THE LORD!"

O! when my heart anticipates the sight

Of GOD INCARNATE, wearing on his side,

And hands, and feet, those marks of love divine,
Which he on Calvary for me endur'd,

All heaven beside is swallowed up in this;
And He who is my hope of heaven below,
Appears the glory of my heaven above!

DESMIOS.

FRAGMENT.

ASSURANCE is a sweet motion of the soul, steadily resting by faith upon the mercy of God, through the merits of Christ, with a full and unshaken expectation of all that is promised. It is a victorious conclusion against the strength of doubting, whereby the mind of a believer is persuaded, and upon good grounds settled, concerning his personal interest in Christ, and all the blessed benefits connected with eternal salvation. Yea, it conquers doubtings, answers arguments, and clears the evidences unto the soul against the many suspicions which often arise; so that it may be called, full assurance of understanding, of hope, and of faith.

ORIGINAL ESSAYS.

LVI.

THE BENEFICIAL TENDENCY OF SANCTIFIED AFFLICTIONS.

EVERY true christian is a worshipper of the eternal Jehovah in his trinity of persons, peculiar to his natural mode of existence. The revelation which he has made to us of the relationship unto which he has adopted us in the person of his dear Son, is the only infallible book that we can read, in which we are instructed how to act in this present life. Without the scriptures we should be ignorant of our duty to God and man. And if the Holy Spirit were not given to us according to promise, we should be destitute of evangelical meetness to do the will of God. The separation of the adopted heirs of life by a supernatural creation of them to bear the image of Christ, is the innocent occasion why they are exposed to peculiar difficulties in this evil world. But we must also keep in view the sovereign decision of Almighty God concerning of us in Christ Jesus our Lord; for it is very evident, that the calamities of life are not meant merely to torment us, but they are directed by the wisdom, and controlled by the power of God to promote our spiritual conformity to his will.

Since therefore the disciples of the Lamb of God are made partakers of a divine nature, it is beyond all question certain that they cannot walk through the streets of life without meeting with enemies who will molest them in their way home to their Father's kingdom and glory. That distinctive principle of operation which lives in them, that is denominated "eternal life given to them," is the vital spring of the holy character which they wear before God amongst the sons of men. This visible distinction cannot exist without observation; and when wicked men behold it, they detest the people who are thus clothed by God with the garments of salvation. There was nothing in the person and conduct of the immaculate Redeemer which could be a just cause of offence to his erring creatures, when in his incarnate state of being he was working for his church the robe of righteousness, yet his spotless innocence was an occasion to draw forth the enmity of the Jewish priests and rulers to put him to death. Shall we therefore who are still the subjects of sin, think to pass through this world without meeting with opposition from Satan, the world, and sin? It is impossible! For the closer we walk with God, the more strikingly shall we be separated from the unrighteousness which appears in the life of the ungodly man.

We must not forget the graces of our sanctified state, were given to us to be used by us in the way that God has commanded us to employ them. We are not ignorant that we have no native dispositions VOL. VI.-Nɔ. 70.

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of mind to "love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, and pray for them that despitefully use us, and persecute us." Yet it is a part of our duty to act according to the authority of our Lord. It is not impossible for us to obey his will, for the favor of God which is the root of our relation to him, is also the ground of our obligation to practically delineate the positive virtue of the christian dispensation. Our Lord did not overturn the kingdom of darkness by an arbitrary exercise of his omnipotence, but he destroyed the principle in which it was founded by a just use under the law of the perfect purity of his person, so that Satan was vanquished by him in that way which God approves, and the church admires. We cannot succeed in our enterprises but as we are disposed to act in a righteous way; nor will this conduct shield us from distress so long as we are in the body, but it will be acknowledged by God, and it will be serviceable to the church.

It appears then that there is a certain portion of trouble assigned by God for all his children; and it is also certain that no prudent measures that we may adopt can lessen the quantity of trials to which we are exposed. In many instances a conscientious observance of the will of God will be misconstrued by our brethren in the Lord, for we cannot always make our motives evident to those persons with whom we are associated; and they for the want of evidence to satisfy their minds of the goodness of our intentions, will oppose the designs which we are desirous to execute. This is not always the case. Some persons there are in the church of God who are little disposed to regard what is right in his sight. In such circumstances it is better then to seek direction from the word of God, that we may learn and practice our duty. To have the possession of and to cultivate the mind of Christ in trying seasons, is better, far better for us than to have the command of the whole universe.

Our great Redeemer has mercifully and justly removed the curse of the law from us, by making an atonement to divine justice for our sins. There is therefore no penal evil in the sufferings we endure: we are already reconciled to God by the death of his Son, and beneath his cross we sit, and we find it to be a healthful shade from the scorching rays of persecution. Indeed our conformity to Christ in all things involves the idea that the pains of nature are used by God to cramp in us the energies of sin, and to raise us to exhibit the sanctifying spirit of the gospel in our conduct. We shall always be under obligation to the Redeemer. The man who is best acquainted with his own state as a sinner, will be most inclined to renounce self-confidence: his foolish and wicked heart having betrayed him again and again, he dare not trust in it; and the diffidence of his mind will dispose him to act in that way that shall be least offensive to his fellow men. "Even Christ pleased not himself." We therefore may justly expect to be called upon in this life to make many sacrifices for the truth. We are nowhere in the scripture taught that we shall evade perplexity; but we are informed that God will be

with us in trouble. The present mixed state of society will not admit of perfect joys; they are reserved by God for another state of being. That the Lord could keep many things at a distance from us in this life, which are very distressing to us in it, we have no reason to doubt; but since every event that is now taking place, is a part of the whole scheme of wisdom that is bottomed in the unity and perfection of the triune God, the perfection of truth pervades all the acts of divine power and mercy by which we are upheld in existence, and every want is supplied. We are not independent creatures, and we cannot be placed in any circumstances in which we can do without God. Although sin has ruined the human family, yet there are but few of the heirs of grace who are disposed to carry the principles of the gospel out in all the bearings of them upon our minds and conduct. We admit in theory that "God performeth the things that are appointed for us, and many such thing there are with him ;" yet in our practice we act as though God had left the world to the wild uproar there is in it, and our conduct, with respect to the accomplishment of his unalterable counsel, is the converse of the creed for which we contend.

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If we were more attentive to the genius of the gospel dispensation than we really are, we should learn many useful lessons that would be serviceable unto us in the hour of temptation and distress; for it is not an unjust requisition that the man of the world makes, when he demands from the friends of the Redeemer different conduct than that is which they constantly express towards God. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." What a lovely scene would it be to behold all the real disciples of the Son of God in the different spheres in which they move, conforming themselves to this order of things which has been wisely appointed by Almighty God. The qualities of mind peculiar to the christian state, are finely delineated by the children of God in afflicting circumstances, when they are more concerned that the rights of the divine government should be maintained, than that their troubles should be removed. It is true that the spirit and temper cultivated by the heirs of life will not be approved by the men of the world, but they will be necessitated to notice the conformity of life, which appears in their actions; and this will extort from them a confession that the nature of the evangelical dispensation is divine, and the tendency of it is to spiritualize the children of God. When the ancient disciples of the Redeemer were summoned before the Jewish sanhedrim, they took notice of them that they had been with Jesus.

There is no event in the whole course of our life that takes place, and finds us divided from the person of our eternal Saviour. We have a vital being in him, and he is connected with us in a peculiar manner; therefore as our persons and graces are in his keeping, and

he has an accurate knowledge of all that is comprehended in our spiritual state, as well as what can arise from it; we may conclude that so long as we are members of his mystical body, there is not any thing that can possibly hurt us. This connection with the Son of God is the vital cause why we are upheld in our spiritual state of existence. Since therefore the origin of our union with him is founded on the love of God, it is certain that every evil thing that happens in this world, is directed by infinite wisdom, to promote the benefit of all the saints. We have no native fitness to submit to the decision of God, nor have we any strength to endure his chastisement. How tenderly does God deal with us as a gracious Father, by first imparting life to us, and then exercising of his paternal rights, according to the relation in which we stand to him. When a man of the world is plunged into difficulty, he has no " strong tower" in which he may dwell, until the trouble which assail him shall be removed; but the christian has a constant habitation in which he safely resides, and in which he will be found when the world shall be in a general conflagration. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Happy, holy men, who are found in such a state of being! Ye are for ever connected with your Saviour in the love of God your Father, nor shall you ever be removed from it while the heir of all things "upholdeth all things by the word of his power."

However difficult it may be for the christian man to maintain his standing in the world, so long as the influence of the person, headship, and mediatorial work of Christ can be shed upon him by the Holy Ghost, stand he will, for God will stretch forth his hand against the wrath of our enemies, and his right hand it will save us." If we were placed at any time in such circumstances as to be beyond the pale of divine protection, so that the influence of the reign of Christ could not reach us, we might then despair of help; but God has anticipated all our wants, and he has also made us one with his Son; so that the personal possessions of our Lord are communicable to his impoverished brethren, and the conveyance of his riches to us by the eternal Spirit is commensurate with the design of God towards us, and they sanctify us suitably to wait upon him in hope of final deliverance from sorrow.

The tried saint who has waded through the waters of tribulation, and who has had communion with the Lord in them, will evince in a striking manner his conformity to him, "by walking even as he also walked." We conceive that not only does God brake down the power of sin in us, by controlling of our sorrows, but we affirm, that the same holy influence which effects this also, evangelizes the spirit and temper of our minds. To reduce the power of inbred sin, is but the negative part of the reign of heaven: the positive intention of God is to prepare his children to live for ever in the heavenly world. The christian character of which we have spoken above, is formed by God to continue eternally in existence. Every part of