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but which nobody can truly define. No!No!! No!!! It is a positive, a permanent, a peculiar, a powerful possession of the sinner by Jesus Christ, through the supernatural and omnipotent energy of the Divine Paraclete. SEPARATION! SANCTIFICATION! SALVATION! These are the three great watchwords of the gospel dispensation. Why, then, should men try to turn the Bible into a kind of cold, calculating philosophy? There is an old veteran in Wales who generally takes his great walking-stick with him into the pulpit; and not unfrequently when his soul is all on fire with some solemn gospel theme, he will take up his stick and thrash the pulpit as hard as he can, until the chapel rings again, and the people are aroused to no small Mr. John Cox, of Woolwich, has, for years, degree. Now we do not wish to see this been preserved in a respectable position as an spirit of wild Welch enthusiasm either in our author and a preacher; and all we desire of pulpits or in our publications: but if men him is to abandon his half-hearted Arminianwill preach the gospel, we want them to do it ism, and to preach the gospel in all its fulness with all their heart and soul: and if authors-laboring thereby to warn ungodly men, and will write on Bible matters, we require proof to comfort Zion. of their earnestness, their sincerity, and their singleness of eye. This is an age of religious book-making and if the books made were filled with those "better things which accompany salvation," we should bid them God speed with all our power :-but how far men are authorised to manufacture, remodel, and amalgate Biblical matters, so as to suit the tastes of the times, is to us a solemn question.

that the Father giveth me, SHALL COME TO ME; and him that cometh to me, I will no wise cast out." The sixth chapter of John's Gospel is both Christ's new covenant law, and his out-spoken gospel testimony. To that revealed law of a covenant God-to that irrevocable testimony of the great Days-Man, and to all the prophetic and apostolic witnesses to the same-the Holy Ghost points"TO THE LAW AND TO THE TESTIMONY-if they speak not according to this, it is because there is NO LIGHT IN THEM." The gospel is straightforward, it is discriminating, it is conclusive. He is not a faithful gospel minister, in whose testimony these essential attributes of the gospel are not found.

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A VOLUME containing two sermons by John Cox, of Woolwich, on the death of the late William Savory, of Brighton. If we can do nothing else, we hope to gather out a few pleasing facts connected with the life of that very quiet, and good man, whose memoir is contained herein. We could not say all that John Cox says: for instance, John says in one of these sermons-page 27-" Whoever hears the gospel SHOULD accept it: whoever accepts it, should do so heartily and constantly. This shews its value." What worse than stupid nonsense this is! If the value of the gospel is to be tasted by the hypothesis John Cox here lays down-that is, "Whoever hears it should accept it," and "whoever accepts it should do so heartily and constantly,"-if this proposition is to define the value of the gospel, why, then John Cox knows very well such a text would say, There is comparatively no value in the gospel at all." John Cox knows as well as any other minister, that scarcely one in a dozen, perhaps not one in fifty, of those who hear the gospel, ever receive it, or prove it to be "the power of God unto salvation." We fearlessly charge the author of "Our Great High Priest" with a sad perversion of the sacred commission which he professes to have received.

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ZOAR CHAPEL,

WILLIAM STREET, EAST INDIA ROAD, POPLAR.

THE above chapel, formerly occupied by the
Wesleyans, was taken by the church and
congregation under the pastoral care of Mr.
R. Bowles. Three sermons were preached on
the opening day, Sunday, March 25th, 1855;
that in the morning by Mr. C. W. Banks;
afternoon by Mr. J. Wells; and in the even-
ing by Mr. S. Ward. Also on the following
Tuesday, the 27th, a sermon was preached by
Mr. John Bloomfield. After which, a tea
and public meeting was held. A large num-
ber sat down to tea, (the tea tables furnished
gratuitously by the members of the church).
The public meeting was then held.
Bowles presided, and after prayer by Mr.
Cause, stated the leading features in the
providence of God in bringing them to the
place, and affording them all that temporal
aid, enabling them to meet the demands
made upon them for the purchase of fixtures,
&c. The following ministers then severally
addressed the meeting: Messrs. Wyard,
Bloomfield, Chivers, Chislett, W. H. Wells,
and J. Martin. After singing, Mr. Shipway
spoke a few encouraging words, and concluded
with prayer.

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Mr.

We have great pleasure in being able to state that our mountainous difficulty has become a plain before our great Zerubbabel. We beg to acknowledge the receipt of £1 14s. 2 d., collection from the friends at Enon Chapel, Chatham; 5s. in stamps, from Mr. T. Jones, and 7s. 42d. from a few friends at Virginia Chapel, Shoreditch. Total amount of donations, collections, and proceeds from tea meeting, nearly £20; leaving only a debt of a few pounds, which is being paid off by weekly subscriptions. We hope, therefore, in a few weeks to meet the remaining balance; and at our next public meeting to record the mercy of our covenant God, in manifestively going before us, giving us reason, with Abraham, to call the name of the place "Jehovah Jireh," in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

WHAT IS IT TO SIN WILFULLY

AFTER RECEIVING THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH?

How very distinctly different are all the internal workings of that man's mind in whom the Spirit of God does not dwell, and the quick emotions, the jealous fears, the deep anxieties, the eager pantings, and the fervent breathings of that man's soul wherein CHRIST is formed as the hope of glory! A careless and a cold indifference to Divine things, reigns in the former: an hallowed and constant concern to be right,-essentially, spiritually, and practically right,-in the sight of God, is ever, more or less, exercising the heaven-born feelings of the latter. A flood of thoughts of this description have filled our spirits while perusing A Sermon upon the Sin or Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost," preached by the venerable Joseph Indge, minister of the Particular Baptist Meeting, Holy-rood-Street, Chard. This voluminous discourse was originally published at oneshilling and six-pence. A re-issue of it at six-pence per copy, is now to be had of Houlston and Stoneman.

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On the title-page, is written this one sentence-" Suited to these last days of the Gospel." And with the greatest confidence we can recommend ministers and real Christians of all degrees carefully to read this discriminating epistle, with all its notes.

A lively hope that we may render good service to many of our readers, induces us to give the following extract.

The subject, is "The sin against the Holy Ghost." Many observations and divisions arise herefrom: among them we have the

annexed:

"The persons who commit this sin against the Holy Ghost are described further by their sinning wilfully after the knowledge of the truth received by them, 'If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth.' Now the main thing that lays upon us here, is to show what the Holy Ghost means by this wilful sinning.

"Observe 1st. It is not meant of falls into sin which the regenerate are subject to after being truly converted to God, truly brought to believe in Christ; for the regenerate or true believers are not at all spoken of in the text, nor are the sins they fall into at all the subject of the words; but they are the carnal, reprobate, knowing professors of Christ's Gospel that are spoken of, and that sin against the Holy Ghost which they alone are capable of committing: it is a fact that the regenerate, true saints of God, are the subjects of sin and the workings and prevailings thereof, and subject, even in the hour of temptation to fall into great sins, as David into lying at times, into adultery and murder on another occasion; Solomon into the love of many strange women which turned his heart from God; Peter into that great sin of denying Christ with oaths and curses; in which sins Vol. XI.-No. 125.-June, 1855.

their wills may be much engaged for the time; but not one of them are capable of this sinning wilfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth in the sense referred to in the text, for this is the sin against the Holy Ghost which they never can commit, no, not any of them; and which we plainly shewed from 1 John v. 16-18.

"The observation that arises from hence

is for the comfort of every true believer in Jesus Christ from the least to the greatest, every poor sinner brought to depend on Jesus Christ for salvation, and as the effect thereof to fear God out of love to his name, and keep his commandments, though the subjects of falls into sin through the workings thereof in them, and of sorrowful hearts in consequence;-for you are not the persons spoken of in the text, no more than David, Solomon, and Peter were under their falls.

"But 2ndly. We must show what is meant by this sinning wilfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth as in the text, For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth.'

"Observe then 1st. It is a determined sinning, or sinning with the full determination and bent of a man's mind to sin, knowing it to be sin; having the whole of his mind engaged therein out of love to sin, and malice in the heart against God, his will, and people, and whatever belongs to him; and therefore is peculiarly the devil's sin who sinneth of his own, or out of the full bent of his own wicked spirit or mind: thus Christ says to those sinners against the Holy Ghost among the Jews, Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do; (or, are determined to do :) he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.'

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"Observe 2ndly. This wilful sinning is a continuing or going on in this determined way of sinning, out of choice, and against all reproofs and exhortations to the contrary, and that without remorse of conscience; for such as are left of God to commit this sin against the Holy Ghost are hardened, Hardened through the deceitfulness of sin,' which Paul cautions these professing Hebrews or Jews against in chap. iii. 12, 13, 'Take heed, brethren, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin: thus showing that professors are they who fall into this sin against the Holy Ghost, and that none but such as are professors can fall into it; therefore he chose these professing Hebrews or Jews to write to concerning this sin who had had such clear light of the ministry of the apostles.

"Now take notice of several things which serve to explain what this wilful sinning is,

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which those who commit the sin against the, Holy Ghost are the subjects of.

"1st. Then it is a sinning and determining tó go on in sin in the full knowledge of that which we commit being sin.

"2ndly. It is a sinning without any particular temptation to move a man to sin, out of a mere love that a man hath from the hardness and impenitency of his own heart (Rom. ii. 5.) unto sin as sin. It is a transgressing without cause, as David says, Psalm XXV. 3, where he prays against such, that they might be ashamed or confounded.

"3rdly. It is a sinning against all light of the clear Gospel shining upon men in the doctrine, precepts and reproofs of the same; and in the holy life and walk of true saints, who receive that gospel and live according to it, which are continually moving those that hear and see the same to live holily instead of living in sin. So that those that have not one time or other had the clear light of the Gospel cannot sin this sin against the Holy Ghost.

them; and so is the world blest with many temporal blessings; so it is that none of these fishes of the sea, or fowls of the air, have any interest in eternal things. And so, my good Theophilus, you will find that many whom you once took to be Christians prove (now that your eyes are opened to see) nothing but high flying pharisees; or grovelling covetous beasts of the earth; or mere fishes of the sea of this world: all these creatures differ in form, and taste, and pursuit, but still all belong to earth's elements; some more gross, and some more refined, but among them all, the soul that is born of God, can find no companion or communion while among them. You will see leviathan, and behemoth, the devil and the pope, but at these you must not be alarmed, for at the very most, they can kill only the body, while they themselves must come to perdition. You will find in the salvation-arm of the Lord all the victory you need; he will not leave you long to battle alone with your enemies; he will leave you to have a try to silence the storm, to cast out the devil, and remove satan from your right hand; and when you are fairly beaten out of your false confidence, he will then appear for you: and so runs the promise, and "God shall bruise satan down under your feet shortly."

"Now the regenerate, God's true people, true believers, are the very clean contrary to all this, even as the children of God are contrary to the children of the devil; for that which they know of the will of the Lord, they determine in the strength of the Lord to do or practise, being heartily grieved But while these fishes of the sea, and beasts because of the flesh dwelling in them that of the earth, and fowls of the air, do in one they cannot do or practise the will of the sense represent the world, they do in another Lord as they would. (See Romans vii.) And sense represent (as is seen in Peter's vision, these who are thus God's true people do use Acts x.) the people of God in their state by the light of Christ's Gospel which they have, nature. But the Gospel of the blessed God and all the precepts and reproofs given by will reach them all; yes, however deeply the true ministers of the word or others, as buried in the sea of this world, however well as the example of true saints, to turn monstrous they may be as sinners, however from all sin, yea, the very appearance of evil, lofty others may be, yet shall the word of and practise righteousness, and which they truth entangle one, stop another, bring another labor after continually in their way heaven-down into the dust, and conform them all to

ward.

"These then are the reprobate carnal professors of Christ's Gospel referred to in the text, and the worst of them, even those who sin the sin against the Holy Ghost that are spoken of here as sinning wilfully after the receiving the knowledge of the truth."

EXPOSITORY

EPISTLES TO THEOPHILUS.

LETTER XII,

THE leper, as I observed in my last, was, before he was brought into the camp, to be sprinkled seven times. Now, you will not understand me, as supposing for a moment, that these seven sprinklings bore any direct reference to the seven days creation; but that I am merely availing myself of this circumstance to set before you the more fully that work of God upon the mind, which brings it by degrees to a true knowledge of that perfection which is established by the (new) creation of God. Under this view I will go on to notice sprinkle the

5th. Here you would behold on the fifth day sea and air abundantly peopled. Yet, among them all you find no companionship. They are a figure of the world: God blessed

much, may be said upon this matter, but I the likeness of the Son of God. Much, very must hasten on to sprinkle the

6th. What do you see now? A perfection you have not seen before. You see Adam, the figure of him who was to come. I need not here remind you of the many respects in which Adam was a type of the Saviour; but one of the chief, was that of his federal relation to, and headship of, the whole human race - for they are all his offspring. The 5th of Romans, and the 15th of Corinthians, are a most wonderful, solemn, and at the same time, beautiful illustration of this vast and eternal matter. Those contrasts are most instructive; we cannot, either in our experience or judgment, be too well established therein.

We have set before us there, death reigning by sin, that is by the one offence of Adam, the deed is done, finished and completed, and that entirely independant of any one of, or of all of Adam's offspring. Look you well to this matter, for if you err here, you will err everywhere. This one entire death in Adam, is the root of all evil, and unless we get at the root, it is not likely to be rooted up. This death is two-fold, personal and legal; that is, first, the soul and body, while not literally dead, are as to condition, dead in sin-that is, dead to God, having no communion with him; second, dead le

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gally, or according to law. This law is (through sin) an everlasting barrier between God and man. It is a law of Divine supremacy, firmer than creation; the heavens and the earth may pass away, but not one jot or tittle of the law can fail. It fixes between God and man an unfordable gulf. Little do men think how helpless, how ruined, how lost, how curst they are in that relation in which they stand to eternity; and although they may know what they are in their personal transgressions-if for instance, a man be a swearer, a liar, or a drunkard, he knows he is all this but the root, his death in Adam, is hidden from him: therefore it is when by the workings merely of the letter of the word, and of natural conscience, he becomes religious, his religion is in reality like himself a thing of nought; the hidden concupiscence of the heart is not truly ploughed up, and his outward reformation, if he be but sin cere, satisfies him. He will adopt the terms: regeneration," "born again," and "Christ in you, the hope of glory;" but never rightly receives the word of eternal life, nor can he endure a ministry of the Spirit, but will seek a ministry that will soothe him in his dead-letter religion-a ministry that does at the same time flog him tremendously; for if the minister do not turn himself into a kind of drover, and goad the people along well, he will soon get out of the good graces of these doctrinal, deadletter professors, Such will put you in mind of one of the despatches of a Chinese general, some years ago, who, when the English had defeated him, entreated the Emperor to punish him for being defeated; this certainly was a strange sort of request, but it is like these whip-loving professors. With them, to get a good exhortation-beating, is the very gist of hearing well, not that they are a whit the better for it, but they love to have it so it is more congenial to their feelings, than would be the real root of the matter.

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But you, my good Theophilus, have not so learned Christ; but are brought to feel and know that in Adam you are dead, in the senses above stated, and that you can be delivered from this double death only by regeneration and the substitutional work of the new covenant; and as the death in the first Adam is personal and legal, so life in the second Adam must be personal and legal also; and as our death in Adam was relative before it was personal, so were our life and justification in Christ relative before it was personal. Nothing but electing grace could give this antecedent relationship to Christ; and none but the election will obtain it; the rest will be, or rather are, blinded.

And the apostle is very careful to set before us not only the awful truth of our death in Adam, but also that "it is not by the righteousness of many that many shall be made righteous, but by the righteousness of One, by the obedience of One." And therefore it is that before the foundation of the world the election of grace were constituted complete in him; and as we had no personal or natural existence before we were born, so we have no spiritual existence personally until we are born of God. That law spiritual existence we had before the fall, we have lost by the fall

and that spiritual existence we had in the first Adam, was only such as was natural to the soul in its primeval state, and was spiritual only in as far as the law was spiritual; and therefore it was not supernatural spirituality, but only natural; and so the apostle reckons it-the first Adam natural, the second Adam spiritual. Here spiritual will mean that Divine life which Christ is in and to the soul, a life superior every way to the life of holiness we had in the first Adam. has no glory, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

The one

And the law is made to enter the conscience, that the offence might abound; but where the law abounds to condemn, the gospel much more abounds to justify; and where sin has abounded to make guilty, grace has much more abounded to pardon; and where death hath reigned, grace much more reigns; for sin can reign only unto death; but grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life.

But Adam was also a type of the Saviour, not only as the head of all his offspring, but also as the husband of the church. I may here just remind you of the current observations upon this point, though no doubt you are well acquainted with them-viz., that the woman when formed out of Adam, was not formed out of his feet, because she was not to be trodden under foot; not from his handsshe was not to support herself; not from his back-she was not to bear the burden; not from his head-she was not to bear rule; but from his side, near his heart; and near that heart, and dear to that heart ever to remain. It is the second Adam that fulfils all these conditions. Will he ever tread that church, which he loved and gave himself for, under his feet? Will he ever leave her to support herself? Will he ever cease to be her Strength ?-will he ever leave her to the burden of her sins? Has he not himself taken the burden? He bore her "sins, in his own body, on the tree." And in her right mind will she ever wish to rule over him? her desire will be unto him, that he would rule over her; for his banner over her is love. Will she ever cease to be near and dear to his heart? Never his love is like himself-it is eternal.

No:

But to come back to our subject-the leper. All the washings, and sprinklings, and ceremonies, led on to the perfection of his health and cure. This perfection is especially denoted by the number seven: and so sprinkle the seventh will bring this part of our correspond. ence to a close.

And if perfection of place and state were not entirely of God, where should we be? He will therefore take care that not one particle of the leprosy of sin or mortality shall be left, but will present us with exceeding joy before the eyes of his glory; pure even as Jesus is pure; every department both of place and state is perfect; Jesus gave not up his life until he could say, "It is finished?" Not anything can be added to it; this work has in it the perfection both of manhood and of Godhead : the law is met in its original requirement and in addition to this, is honored with all the excellency of eternal divinity, for the

Saviour, as God and man, honoured the law, and atoned for sin; hence he is called, "Jeho vah our righteousness;" and, again, "Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." So that nowhere does the majesty of the law shine forth as in the work of mediation. All that the Saviour did was done in infinite and perfect love to God and man; and if love be the fulfilling of the law, and if the Saviour fulfilled it according to the dignity of his complex person, then what must be the glory of his righteousness, and the excellency of his atonement? May it not well be written, "That he is the end of the law for righteousness ?" Wherefore then attempt to serve the law, seeing it is done and completed for you? Now unto him that worketh not at the law, but believeth on him, that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted to him for righteousness, and it is clear that if the Lord justify any one at all, it must be the ungodly, for there is nothing else to justify, for apart from the righteousness and atonement of Jesus, even the blameless and zealous Saul of Tarsus is nothing but a man ungodly; every one, without exception, is by nature carnal, sold under sin; and for the law to justify such would be to justify sin and ungodliness. Such, therefore, can be justified only by that atonement which takes away sin, and by that righteousness which "fulfils, magnifies, establishes, and honors the law of God. Therefore, it is by faith, that it might be by grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed.

it any wonder that it should be written, that Having then such a foundation as this, is "he that begins a good work in us will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ ?"-that "the Lord will perfect that which concerneth us?"-that "his mercy endureth for ever?" -and that "he will not forsake the work of his own hands ?" And will not also the resurrection of the body be in every way perfect? But I will not here touch upon that wonderous subject, but hope in due time to give one whole epistle thereon.

Now, as the Saviour hath established perfection of state personal, so he hath established a perfection of place eternal: for the new heavens and the new earth are finished, and all the hosts of them. Jesus hath ended his work which he wrought and made, and now rests from all his work which he hath wrought -and this is that sabbath that remaineth to the people of God-a day of blessing, and nothing but blessing, a day set apart, sanctified and made meet for saints in light, as they are made meet for that; and as the temple of old was dedicated and sanctified by sacrifice; so heaven is dedicated to the saints by the blood of Jesus, he entered, and thereby prepared not the holy place made with hands, but heaven itself by his own blood; and whatever blessedness there may be in heaven to which his atonement does not reach, that would be blessedness we could never possess. But, my good Theophilus, here your comfort stands Jesus hath ascended far above all heavens and opens all the departments of Paradise: "in my Father's house are many mansions," but not one can be reached but by his atonement,

even angels can ascend only by the Son of Man.

And as he hath thus prepared a place for us, we also are prepared for that place by the same blood of the Lamb which hath prepared the place for us: he hath sanctified the people with his own blood.

This, then, is the perfection towards which we are to press; this is the prize of our high calling of God; this will be our crown of life, of righteousness, and of glory; "therefore, Í reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed "` in Theophilus, and even in A LITTLE ONE.

CRUMBS OF MERCY.

DEAR SIR,-A short time ago, I was on a
visit to London, where I intended to stay some
time, but was seized with a dangerous illness,
which at one time threatened my life; and it
was deemed advisable I should return to the
country, and for a time pay all the attention
I could to my health. "God's ways are not
word of God, teaches us that "
our ways;" and experience, as well as the
the way of
man is not in himself, neither is it in man
that walkest to direct his steps." By the
blessing of the Most High on the means used,
I am able now to walk out and enjoy the
with which I am surrounded; but neither
warm beams of the sun, and the rural scenes
the presence of Him who dwells in the bush!
sun, nor landscape, nor singing of birds, are
sufficient to make me happy one hour, without
I feel more and more the need of his all-sup-
porting arm, to guide me through life's thorny
maze, and 'tis His smiles alone

"Can cheer this dungeon where I dwell;" and if

"He in the darkest shades appear,
My dawning is begun."

And as the Poet beautifully describes it,
"His smiles can gild the shades of woe,
Bid stormy troubles cease,
Spread the fair dawn of heaven below,

And sweeten pain to peace."

For many years, I have gone mourning without the sun, and who can say the bitterness, the distress, the almost black despair of those days of darkness and desolations: nothing on earth would give me comfort; the Bible, and good books, (my former companions in alĺ my joy and sorrows,) I now looked upon as my enemies, and shunned the only source where comfort was to be had. I was wretched: the heaven's appeared closed against me;go back into the world I could not; that was a greater terror to me still! O where could I go! If I attempted to pray, guilt stopped my mouth; despairing of ever again behold. ing the light of God's countenance, I was repeatedly driven back with these words, "Now will I laugh at your calamities, and laugh when your fear cometh." "How oft would I have gathered you as a hen doth her chicken, and ye would not ;" and, O! how

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