it for my father's sake. I carefully put the book away because of the giver. It rested for two years perhaps, and one day, when coming across it, thought I would bring it down stairs. I was already the subject of serious impressions, and as father had loved the hymns so much, felt I would read them: and I think I may truthfully say they read me. I saw such beauty in them, that seldom a day passed without reading them. We were then hearing a legal gospel, and in process of time were baptised. Several years after that, the chapel was to be repaired, and so was closed for three weeks. A friend of ours, a Wesleyan, invited me to attend their service, which I promised to do; but before Sunday came I thought I would go and hear the men preach I used to hear, when I didn't understand them. So I went, and the preacher was dear Mr. Walker (now in glory). The text was, "He that believeth on Me, (the Son of God,) out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." The hymns sung were dear Hart's. The first was,

"God thus commanded Jacob's seed," &c.

I was rivetted to the spot, and felt," This people shall be my people, and their God, my God." I still feel the same love to these blessed truths, and think, "Why me, Lord, why me? who am so unworthy of the least of Thy mercies." But I must ask pardon for having thus extended my subject beyond the limits of a letter, but one thing led to another before I was aware of the fact. Again allow me to thank you for your kind letter, hoping to yet receive many more of them. Also for the "Black Lamb," which is a beautiful story, and so scriptural. It was so very kind of you to a poor unworthy creature, who is so far behind in experience with you and all the Lord's people. I will, if you please, close with your commencement, as they are favourite words of mine: "Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." And with dear Christian love to dear Mrs. Green, Miss Colebrooke and yourself, I remain,

MR. G. OAKSHOTT.

Affectionately yours,

M. C.

THE MINISTRATION OF THE GOSPEL.

A LETTER BY MR. W. CROUCH.

Beloved and most esteemed friend,Pensbury, Kent. HOULD my health and strength continue as good as at the present, and the good Lord be pleased, I shall be with you on Lord's Day evening next: there, according to my poor ability, to speak the holy Word of the Lord amongst you:

being sure that my aim amongst you is this: that our Lord Jesus may be glorified, although my very weak effort may, and does appear, not only in the eyes of others, but even in my own, as if so great a thing would never be accomplished by such very small means. But the Apostle Peter, for the encouragement of such as myself, has said, "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any minister let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ." Whether I speak of God in the unity of the Godhead, or trinity of Persons, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or the names, perfections, and works of God, I would it may always be according to the lively oracles. Or should I speak of His purpose, counsel, or rule in heaven, or upon the earth, then may it be according to the Scriptures of truth. The righteousness, justice, or judgment of God is a subject that, to my view, is very great and grand, and demands much of my attention. To understand, and believe and acquiesce in this is no small part of theology; and the man who can rightly handle this is no mean theologian.

It was no small part in the work of the Lord Jesus to do, and set justice and judgment upon the earth. And when we see this "Just One" suffering for the unjust, we may be sure that there is therein that which is purely, strictly, severe and terrible in the administration. And when we see Him released from the prison of the grave, and ascended up on high, received amidst such congratulations and seated upon the throne of the right hand of God, we may see righteousness shining in its heavenly lustre and glory, and beaming forth with perfection indeed. The offence of sinners is of the highest magnitude, the suffering of the Surety must therefore be without its parallel, and the satisfaction be the most complete. 'Tis right when Hart sings: "Through Jesus' blood the righteous God is reconciled to sinners." And towards man how marvellous that, when and where the offence does abound, grace through the satisfaction of Christ has much more abounded! No less is the mercy of God a subject, so great, grand, high, and sublime, that this also is very engaging, and demands much of my attention also. I see it is dammed up without Christ, His sacrifice and blood, that nothing else can be experienced by sinners dying in their sins, but to suffer the vengeance of eternal fire, and this all in righteousness. While through Him, His sacrifice and blood, mercy hath obtained such a vent, that its flowings are great, full, free, rich, and eternal: meeting and continuing so to do in the worst, the very worst, and most miserable cases of sinners that can be found here upon the earth. O how I delight to proclaim that God is merciful even to the forgiveness of sins; and how I delight to encourage poor sinners

to hope in the Lord, because He is merciful, and that with Him is: plenteous redemption.

Myself, Mrs. C. and family are as well as usual (but not without trouble), and hope this will find you the same. Our united love to yourself, Mrs. G. and family, to all our friends with you; and, believe me, that I have you in continual remembrance, and am, yours to serve,

Mr. Gorringe.

W. C.

SPARKS FROM THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION. December 24th, 1882.

My dear Friend,

S there any wonder when we consider how utterly short all man's claims fall, that Paul, after enumerating his privileges and claims as a Jew, and his merits, as a so-called religious character, should say of them all, "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith?" And hereon, and nothing else, was Paul's assurance of his citizenship grounded. Hereon must our assurance rest, if we wish to take up these words and say, "Our citizenship is in heaven." A new birth by the power of the Holy Ghost, faith in Jesus, and the possession of Christ as our alone righteousness, are the only grounds on which the word of God warrants us to build our hopes of this glorious inheritance. Having these, our assurance may be complete, since the life thus begun is, we are again and again told by our God, an everlasting one, and since that union with Christ, which makes us possessors of Him, and all that is His, is one which through eternity can never be broken asunder. We are therefore warranted in saying, "Our citizenship is in heaven;" not only shall be, but is. We are not yet inhabitants of heaven, in its fullest sense; but we are its citizens, and we look for, as our home, that city whose builder and maker is God.

Oh, how glorious the means whereby a dead sinner becomes partaker of the Divine nature, and thus a partaker of the heavenly calling, and a free-born citizen of heaven. It is by residence; for believing in Jesus we are made one with Him, married to Him that is raised from the dead, (Rom. vii. 4). And therefore, as the bride becomes solely by virtue of union with her husband a joint possessor of all his rights, so does the sinner;

once and for ever united to Christ, become a joint-heir with Him (Rom. viii. 17), Whose home and property are all in glory. It is by merit, and by merit which God Himself, the searcher of hearts, recognizes as perfect, by a righteousness which the light of glory will only serve more fully to display in all its beauty. That merit, that righteousness is Christ, Christ Himself, Christ the righteousness of God, given so freely, so entirely to everyone that believeth, that the sinner who thus trusts in Jesus can say, "In the Lord have I righteousness" (Isaiah xlv. 24), "He is the Lord our righteousness," (Jer. xxiii. 6); "He is made of God unto us righteousness" (1 Cor. i. 30); “He was made sin for us Who knew no ́sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. v. 21). And this righteousness is" upon all them that believe," (Rom. iii. 22); for they "are justified from all things" (Acts xiii. 39). Such are the blessed statements of the scriptures of God. And you will thus see how in Christ the believing sinner acquires by birth, by residence, and by merit, a perfect title and claim to be recognized as a citizen of heaven. It was from Jesus, the crucified and risen Saviour, that the light shone upon Paul; from Him Who says, "I am the light of the world." There was the power of Christ. And so it is with souls now. It is the light from heaven that streams in upon a soul, and brings it into subjection and captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Yours very affectionately in Jesus.

To Mr. Pepper.

A SILENT ONE.

AN

ANTIDOTE.

BEING SOME COMMENTS ON THE FUTURE PUNISHMENT OF THE UNGODLY,

AND ITS ETERNAL NATURE.

66

ONE who have experienced a knowledge of the terror of the Lord" (2 Cor. v. 11), in the shape of spiritual convictions, and have been delivered from going down to the pit, by the applied ransom of the Saviour's atoning blood, can possibly find pleasure in contemplating the damnation of their fellow sinners. To be resigned to, and acquiesce in the sovereign will of God in His disposal of His creatures, as that which, whether in the way of wrath or mercy, must be just and righteous, is indispensable to His being glorified, however near or dear those creatures may be to the believer's flesh and blood. And this proper feeling may exist in connection with the greatest personal solicitude for their spiritual welfare: because while this life lasts, it is impossible to know (unless by some special revelation, such as is rarely

communicated), that any one in particular, however vile, is "appointed unto wrath," and not "to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."

But with this leaning to the side of mercy in the feeling and desire of his heart, the true christian would not willingly minister to a false hope, either with respect to the present or the future of the impenitent. He knows that without "repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ," sinners must die in their sins and perish for ever: whatever may be the nature of that PERISHING. He is confident that "the wicked will be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God:" whatever that "HELL" may consist in. Nor would any faithful witness wilfully seek to blunt the edge of the Divine threatenings, by mitigating the nature or extent of those denounced sufferings which await, in another world and state, all who die out of Christ.

To examine the meaning of Holy Writ in its declarations on every point of revelation, is becoming and wise. But conclusions which diminish the hope of the righteous, or excite that of the wicked, should be viewed with the darkest suspicion, and not hastily committed to print. For anything whose tendency is to "strengthen the hands of the wicked in his wickedness," is not likely to have the mind of God, or to be the result of the Spirit's teaching. Anything which serves to create in the breasts of the ungodly the assurance that, at the worst, their torments shall have an end in utter ANNIHILATION; their very existence be stamped out for ever and ever, is, on the very face of it, open to the most solemn question, as to whether the Holy Spirit can mean this in His utterances on this point.

We

The

At present we cannot go into the matter exhaustively. should not have broached it at all; but we are grieved to find in a pamphlet before us (which has reached us from different quarters, and which is written, as we believe, by a good man), another contribution to the abounding works on the subject of the final and irrevocable extermination of the ungodly, body and soul. author's honesty we do not impugn; that he is grievously at fault in his understanding of scripture, and unwise in the selection of his subject for discussion, we are assured. In vol. ii. pages 349-352 and 363-365 of this Magazine we dealt with the ungrateful topic; but we will add a few words on the following points to guide those who may wish for further light on the painful subject.

I.—The use of the terms LIFE and DEATH in scripture, the latter comprehending destruction and all its kindred phrases.

II. The application of the adjectives ETERNAL or EVERLASTING to life and death.