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to pronounce hastily! (1 Cor. ii. 6.) They were full of eyes without, for are not the saints of God very watchful? Watchful, because they have a cruel foe? (1 Peter v. 8.) Watchful, because "they know neither the day, nor the hour, when the Son of Man cometh" (Mark xiii. 37).

Dearly beloved brethren, see 1 Thess. v. 6; Col. iv. 2. Once more, may we not learn something from the four likenesses of the Cherubim ? (Ezek. i. 10.) The lion is fearless; so, while the righteous lives with Jesus, he "is bold as a lion" (Prov. xxviii. 1; Heb. xiii. 5, 6). The ox is patient of labour; and so, while he lives with Jesus, the righteous continueth patient in well doing (Rom. ii. 7). Again is it not written, Isa. xl. 30, 31. But I am afraid of pursuing the subject. Even when most advanced we shall but "know in part" (1 Cor. xiii. 12). Even here, if we forget the things which are believed, and press forward unto the things which are before (Phil. iii. 13), we shall see much more in these

wondrous types than we do now, for we shall " grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Peter iii. 18).

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But oh, how blessed shall be the time when we no longer see through a glass darkly, but face to face!" Then shall we realize to the full, the meaning of the Cherubim of pure gold, which, resting upon the Mercy Seat, ever were lighted up by the Shekinah, for then, purified from all dross, made like unto Jesus, shall we for ever, in virtue of His finished work, "be with the Lord" (Rev. xxi. 23, 24).

Beloved brethren, do none of you covet this blessedness? Are you "outer court" worshippers? May grace, sovereign grace, make you fly to the horns of the Brazen Altar! May grace, sovereign grace, wash you, plunge you, hide you in the waters of the Brazen Laver! Hath the Lord showed mercy upon you? Are you of the "chosen generation," the "royal priesthood," who, eating of that altar, washing in that laver, do enter into that Holy Place? May grace, sovereign grace, cause you to feed upon the Shewbread, so to wrestle with Israel's God in prayer at the Altar of Incense, that, shining like lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, you may indeed be a golden candlestick, fed by the oil of the Holy Ghost. For then, brethren, even here you shall pass through the veil, and, resting upon Jesus, united to Jesus, never separated from Jesus, you shall walk in the light of Jehovah's countenance, and know that "peace of God which passeth all understanding" (Phil. iv. 7). Truly as the Cherubim were of beaten gold, so "must" you," through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts xiv. 22). But "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. viii. 18).

BETHESDA. In a world like the present, full of misery because full of sin, multitudes of folk, impotent in soul, should be found in the cloisters of ordinances, and under the means of grace. Jesus loves those places. These are His favourite haunts. Here He comes to heal and to impart blessings; and that not to one only at a season. In His blood a sovereign efficacy is found for all who are washed in it. He cures the guilt of sin, destroys its dominion, roots out its sting, and raises from the death of sin. And He doth all in so gracious, so condescending, so sovereign a manner, as cannot but endear Him to every heart.-Hawker.

THE QUICKENING VOICE.

BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF A SERMON PREACHED IN THE PARISH CHURCH OF EAST KENNETT, JULY 19TH, 1842.

[DEAR BROTHER,-In moving old papers, I have lately come upon the annexed sermon, which I wrote from the lips of the Rev. William Bleeck, of Huish, thirty-one years ago. He is still living; and, though a very aged man, still preaches the same blessed and God-glorifying truths. I think you will like it for the GOSPEL MAGAZINE. Huish is a very retired village, and the good pastor is little known on earth, except in his immediate neighbourhood. I don't think any work of his has ever been published. Yours in covenant bonds, J. F. PINNIGER.]

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live."JNO. V. 25.

THIS is a verse full of spiritual meaning. Some of you, perhaps, think that it refers to the resurrection of the natural body; but "the hour is coming, and now is (says Jesus), when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live!" So that it seems probable that some of those to whom Jesus spoke were regarded by Him as dead. And equally probable is it that some of those to whom I now speak are dead-dead, though they know it not. But by nature man is in a state of death: "In Adam all die." We are, in truth, all born dead. To some of you this may seem a riddle: it is, however, in a spiritual, not a natural, sense that men are dead. And in this sense we shall arrive at no very uncharitable conclusion if we say that the majority of those to whom Christ addressed the words of my text were dead. Neither will the assumption be more uncharitable, if I regard the majority of those to whom I am now speaking as being in like manner dead. True, I cannot say who are dead and who are not so, as no created being can positively know this in our present state. We know, however, that the flock of Christ is comparatively a "little flock;" and that so strait is the gate and narrow the way which leadeth unto life that, although many will seek to enter in, yet shall they not be able. It is only here and there one, whose body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, whose heart is immovably fixed on things above, and who lives no longer to himself, but to "Him who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood." So that, if the majority of the world be spiritually dead, what ground is there for supposing that a great part of this congregation is not in like manner dead? As I have before said, all men are, in a spiritual sense, dead-wholly destitute of the life of God in the souluntil born again and quickened by the Holy Spirit. May it not be inferred, then, that the majority of my present hearers are still in this their natural state?—since, were it otherwise, you would not fail to "let your light shine before men," and thus evidence that you have been indeed "delivered from the power of death and darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son." Our text tells us that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." Who knows that the hour is not now come when Jesus, by His Spirit, will speak to some of you-some who up to this period have been wasting their natural lives, forgetful of God, and willing slaves to Satan and to sin? "The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear." Strange that the dead should hear! Yet none else can

hear. And when any of you shall be enabled to reckon yourselves among the dead, to you will also be evidenced the power and the privilege of being "alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." It is, however, only He who is "the Resurrection and the Life" that can say with any effect, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise!" And it is only He who once said unto the deaf ears, "Ephphatha; that is, Be opened," who can enable any of you to hear and receive His cheering invite, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Observe, He speaks to those who are weary and heavy laden; to those who feel their sins a burden they can ill sustain; to those who are truly wearied with the weight thereof. And all who are thus made acquainted with their burden have received life, and are enabled to repair to that Source whence alone they can obtain relief. Then, and not till then, can they hear and receive the invite, "Come unto me." They want no rest till then. Whilst they were "dead in trespasses and sin," they knew nothing of the burden of sin, like as a dead body in the grave feels nothing of the weight of earth beneath which he is crushed; but, when Jesus speaks, sin becomes intolerable-they "hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." And may I not hope that such were, and are, some of you? That you have been dead, and are now alive? Called from darkness unto light by the word of One "who spake as never man spake?" I cannot but hope that there are indeed some such here, who, although once in darkness, are now light in the Lord. To you I say, "Walk as children of light;" "let your light shine before men;" let them "see your good works," to the end that they may give glory to that "Father of lights, with whom is no variableness," and from whom alone cometh "every good and every perfect gift." You have heard the voice of the Son of God. I will not doubt this fact. Only let me ask, How did you hear? Did you go about to seek God before He sought you? Or, rather, were you not surprised in an hour when you thought not of it? Did you set about putting yourselves into a way wherein your fleshly zeal told you God might be found? Or, rather, did not Jesus pass by, and, seeing thee polluted in thine own blood, say unto thee, Live? The truth is, "God said, Let there be light, and there was light." The Word of God came with power; and, though you were dead, you heard His voice; though in Adam you were dead, yet in Christ were you made alive. Carnal men will tell you, that this voice of the Son of God may be resisted. They know nothing at all of the matter. "To be carnallyminded is death." "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him." The views of the natural man are limited by God to the things of time; he knows nothing truly of the spiritual world. He may conjecture and speculate if he please; but "no man knoweth the things of God, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." "We speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, that cometh to nought." Rely upon it, when God speaks, the voice will be a powerful one; even the dead will hear it and be made alive. And with you to whom this life has been imparted, how different is the case now from what it once was! You have been dead, but are now alive. Convinced of your state of death, you have heard the voice of the Son of God; and, having heard, you live. Alive unto God through His beloved Son, you now enjoy the privilege of communing with Him, praying to Him, talking with Him. Whilst in a state of death, you talked not with God;

you prayed not to Him; you held no communion with Him; for you knew not Jesus, who is the only way of access unto God: "No man cometh unto the Father but by me." There existeth no possible communion between darkness and light. Of the truth of this latter assertion, you who have been quickened into spiritual life can bear testimony; indeed, you alone can do so. There was a time when, as with St. Paul, you verily thought with yourselves, that you had whereof you might trust in the flesh; but, when it pleased God to call you by His grace, your eyes being opened, you for the first time discovered the existing space between one "dead in trespasses and sins," and the same being when made alive unto God by the Spirit of His Son. You are now enabled to see that, previous to the Spirit's work on your soul, you had never once approached acceptably unto God, inasmuch as you have effectually learned this lesson: (6 they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Speaking to you collectively, as members of our national visible Church, if these things be so, is it not worth while for all of you to ascertain, if possible, whether Christ, the Son of God, has ever spoken to you-whether He has ever knocked at the door of your hearts and found admission? For, remember, Jesus does not dwell within you, and you yourselves be unconscious of such a Guest. "Know ye not," saith St. Paul, “how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates ?" One especial sign by which you may discover if your bodies are become temples of the Holy Ghost is the contention you meet with from the devil. Christ having driven Satan from his throne in your heart, that arch-adversary is ever on the watch to regain his lost position. Day and night will he harass you if you belong unto Christ; day and night will he be continually besetting you. Having, moreover, on his side your old nature of sin and the whole world to boot (for he is the "prince of this world"), you will find a pretty considerable array of powers-visible and invisible-all in league to drive the Holy Spirit from His newly-occupied abode, and to render your last state worse than the first. But fear not; this warfare is an inevitable appendage to your being allied unto One who "is mighty to save." Satan may strive; but, if you possess spiritual life-life from above-you will assuredly come off victorious. Christ is your Life; and it is a Life which can neither be commenced, continued, nor destroyed, but by an almighty Power, which the devil, with all his united forces, will never be! Mighty indeed he is; almighty he never was, nor will be. "Fear not, therefore, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."

That this spiritual conflict is the portion of those whom Christ has chosen can be well attested both by Scripture and experience; and, if you have heard the voice of the Son of God in this warfare, you will find yourselves inevitably engaged. If you know nothing of this contention between the old man of sin and the new man of grace, be assured your hearts have never been penetrated by the piercing word of the Son of God. You are still-to all saving purposes-dead; dead in sin, and satisfied with your state; and whilst you thus continue you will know no conflict. As long as Satan rules paramount within you, you will be free from his harassings; indeed, he will soothe you with promises of good to come, crying, Peace, peace! Oh, that you may be enabled to ascertain by strict inquiry whether you are living unto Satan -dead whilst you live-or whether you have within you that light which lighteth every man that cometh into the spiritual world! If you possess

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that light, rely upon it (as I have already told you) a mighty and distressing conflict awaits you. Many of you have probably read Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress.' Do you remember the fight between Christian and Apollyon? Now this is the kind of combat in which each one of you, if children of the Most High, will, sooner or later, be called on to engage. To prepare Christians for this fight, St. Paul tells us we must have "on the whole armour of God." He further tells us what that armour is; and no sooner are we enlisted under the banner of the cross, than we find ourselves accoutred to meet the foe. The girdle, the breastplate, the sandal, the shield, the helmet, and the sword, are all within and around us; and once thus armed, we shall cease not to use our weapons till victory be proclaimed over hell, death, and the grave.

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The important question, then, which I would ask is, Are any of you engaged in this spiritual warfare? Remember, no natural man knows what this warfare is; he knows nothing of a spiritual conflict; in short, he knows nothing whatever of that which is going on in the soul of the Christian. The poor burdened disciple of Christ is ever contending against the enemies of himself and Master; he scarcely finds a moment's entire cessation from hostilities. True, God's Word speaks of such a thing as ease in Zion." There is, however, a woe attached to ease therein spoken of. No ease does the Christian find in these conflicts with "the powers of darkness;" his consolation is, that all things "shall work together for his good," and that every combat shall tend to the glory of the Captain of his salvation. Now, has Christ ever spoken to any of you? and have you heard His voice? and do you now live? Or, is the hour come; is it this very hour, in which the Son of God is speaking, and in which some of you hear the joyful sound? Oh, how happy would it be for you all if you were this moment enabled to "hear the voice of the Son of God," and, hearing, to live for ever! As to putting you on any plan or process by which you may induce the Son of God to speak the word, "Arise from the dead," I know of none. The language of the Gospel is, " By grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." The work of salvation is all God's work, from the beginning to the end. Man may try to buoy you up with the idea that you have natural powers, with which you may resist Satan; or that you can put yourselves upon a system by which to gain the favour of God. If Satan can only see you thus self-satisfied, he will be very easy concerning you; nor will he trouble himself, or torment you, whilst on that track, well knowing it to be only a ramification of the wide gate and broad way that leadeth to destruction.

From Scripture we learn that there are two tracks only in which we can go that which leadeth unto life, being very narrow and found by few. The multitude-they who are in a state of nature, still "dead in trespasses and sins"-cannot but be in the broad track, or Christ's words are untrue, "Narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." To the world at large, sin in its varied forms is ever pleasant. The world loves sin and the father of sin—that is, the devil: "Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." How, then, is it possible for lovers either of the world, the flesh, or the devil, to be at the same time lovers of God! The language of Scripture is, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Look at any unregenerate man, he best you can select-one that is outwardly observant of morality, sobriety, industry, and neighbourly acts of kindness, and whose life as

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