doctrines, however great that knowledge may be, will never constitute the possessor a godly person, nor prove that he is so. They are like the foolish virgins, who had lamps, and had trimmed them; but having no oil, they soon went out. Arminians say they must have had oil, else they could not have gone out. Indeed; well the word of God says, “they took no oil with them,” (Matt. xxv. 3;) and I had rather believe that than all the men in the world. But let us look at it. - Is it not possible to take a lamp, trim it, put in the wick, &c., and make it look very nice, and yet have no oil; so that when the wick is lighted, it just makes a bit of a flash, and then goes out for want of oil? So it is with professors in general. They never had any oil; no divine life or unction of the Spirit; a mere external profession; not a particle of the grace of God. Their character is described in 2 Tim. iii. 1–8. A form of godliness, both in doctrine and practice, men may have, and at the same time deny the power thereof. I need not tell you who they are that creep into houses,” &c.; some of you are well aware of some of that description, who are “ever learning, and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” And nothing short of the same almighty power that built the world can accomplish it. God communicates to the soul what it never had before. The great Head of the church began his ministry with this solemn statement: “Ye must be born again." This new birth is a heavenly one. Hence they are said to be born of God. With divine life and light he quickens the dead soul, and causeth it to see and feel what it never saw or felt before. He stamps his image on the heart, shines on it, and in God's light it discovers to us the hideous image we wore before. We sicken at it, groan under it, and are led to cry vehemently for mercy. We are made partakers of the divine nature, of the communicable holiness of God; and when this change takes place, the man becomes a new creature. All hell can never make him what he was before; nor could all the angels in heaven have accomplished the change. This change, that constitutes us godly, is made more blessedly manifest to us as God is pleased to shine on it, and to bring this passage home to the heart: “Now to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Real godliness discovers to us our ungodliness, and we sink, and are a stench in our own nostrils, and feelingly cry out, “Unclean, unclean!" And when we are favoured with faith to view God's loveliness, in the face of Jesus Christ, and, under the divine unction of the Spirit, feel our own interest in it, and enjoy its soul-transforming power, (2 Cor. iii. 17, 18, iv. 6,) it wraps up our souls, and we are wrapped up in him. Whenever this takes place, the sinner becomes an envied man. The devil knows it, and will soon be up in arms against him. Perhaps some of you will say, I don't see how the devil can know. Well I'll tell you. We read of the unclean spirit going out of a man, but finding no rest, he goes back again, finds the house empty, swept, and garnished." It no furniture in—no grace, no spiritual life, no vital faith, no thing but an empty profession. But when God takes a sinnd, he does not give the devil an opportunity of going out, but he turns him out, delivereth the soul from the consumer, and sets up his own kingdom in the heart. Satan well knows the difference between going out and God turning him out. When he goes out, he can go in again when he pleases; but when he is turned out by a stronger than he, he is barred out; and when thus barred out, he will do all he can to plague and horrify the poor soul, but he cannot reign; he may tear and worry him, but he cannot devour him; for he cannot undo what God has done. The spring head of all vital godliness is the Lord Jesus Christ, all centres in, comes from, and leads to him. The godly man is made partaker of his communicable nature, and clothed in his righteousness, and thus stands complete in him.-W. G. EDITORS' REMARKS. "A Man in a Maze" has certainty amazed us. He says he "is happy to find Christ formed in him the hope of glory," and that he "feels assured of all his sins being blotted out by the blood of Christ;" and then asks if "this is an evidence of his being a child of God." To which we reply, it is one thing for a man to imagine these things, because he has a natural faith in them as truths clearly revealed in the word of God, and another thing to have them revealed in the soul by the invincible power of God the Holy Ghost. We believe, that in this awful day of profession of truth without the power of it, there are great numbers who can boast of being real Christians, predestinated to glory, and who can fly up leagues higher in a presumptuous confidence than a poor broken-hearted sinner dare venture to look. Their mouths are full of the glorious truths of election, and a complete salvation all of grace, and how precious it is. Yea, more, some of them can see as clearly as the noon-day sun, that God is the author of sin, and a number of other things that a poor soul with the life and fear of God would tremble to suppose; but yet, if you come to the quickening, teaching, and anointing energy of God the Holy Ghost, you will find they are too high to stoop to be much concerned about those things. They believe in election, and that is enough; they believe in God's faithfulness, and that is all-sufficient. But a true child of God cannot stop here. We cannot believe it possible for a man, by the glorious teachings of God the Holy Ghost, experimentally to feel that Christ is formed in him the hope of glory, and that his sins are blotted out by the blood of Christ, and yet, while he enjoys this glorious truth under the unction of the Spirit, be at any loss to know whether or not this is an evidence of being a real Christian. To such a soul the Spirit itself beareth witness that he is a child of God, (Rom. viii. 16,) and he is carried far beyond anything of a doubt or a fear. We would advise "A Man in a Maze" to examine closely between God and his own conscience, whether his confidence pri a heated imagination, or the divine power of the Heb he is sure to crumble into nothing in while his soul will burst forth in solemn praises to God and the Lamb. Nor need he wonder if, after such a visit, when the blessed Spirit withdraws his glorious unction, he has all the hosts of hell upon him, with buts, ifs, and hows thrown about him in a thousand directions, till he is well-nigh distracted; yet he shall outride every storm. But if it be a presumptuous confidence, and not the work of the Spirit, it is a dangerous precipice from which many fall into the pit of destruction, and fall never to rise again. What does OO mean by styling the tottering walls of an old building, "Blest sanctuary ?" There is as much holiness in an old barn, though it may not have been honoured with a Bishop's tread. To call any building a " blest sanctuary" is mockery, more especially one erected from the proceeds of robbery; for the Lord says he "hates robbery for burnt offerings." EDITORS' REVIEW. A Sermon on Christ Crucified. By John Foxe, the Martyrologist. -Bennett. This sermon was, we believe, preached in the open air, in 1570, by John Fox, author of the celebrated Book of Martyrs. It was about the time that Great Britain was mercifully delivered from the thraldom of Popery, and is a faithful testimony against those accursed errors. There are many expressions in it of which we do not approve, but still it contains many precious sayings; and taking into consideration the time at which it was preached, it is truly decided, and worthy of notice. The Ministering Workman, and a Description of his Work.Bennett. We sometime ago declined noticing this work, because of its high price; but as we understand the publisher has reduced the charge, we have now glanced it over. It professes to give a description of the work of a minister of Jesus. and lays down "Jehovah's sovereignty, in all his righteous dealing with his creatures," as the "fundamental principle." This is a goo foundation, a foundation against which the gates of bell shali never prevail; and the superstructure which our author has erected throughout, as far as it goes, good, and in many parts beautiful to the creature about his own doings,-tell him it is his duty to in Jesus, and to love him, and to accept of his offered grace It is nothing ex will make his pride swell more and more. than bolstering up the hypocrite, and causing the repr into the marriage supper, without a wedding garme we say, Amen! But still we want the power, aud strength of man to give. Ministers will be of in tried family, unless they are taught by interna.. work before us contains some very MANGA sermon, cutting the discouIH SU monition we should like a few hundreds of our parsons to read; for truly we lament to say that we hear very few whose ideas, either in whole or part, are not picked up from Dr. This or Mr. That; and the nearer they approach the letter of truth, if they have not the power of it in their own souls, the more, as a matter of necessity, are their discourses the oozings out of dead men's brains. On the whole, the "Ministering Workman" is a good work of the sort, and we think deserves perusal. We find that Mr. Drawbridge continues issuing his tracts. No. 13 was lately published, and we like it quite as well as the former ones. He unties some hard knots, as regards the literal meaning of the word, but has very little to say about the experimental feeling. The tracts are more for upsetting Arminians than edifying the church; but still we are persuaded they are the best Tracts now afloat. The author, we understand, writes not for pecuniary profit, but expends the whole produce of his sale, after defraying expenses, in gratuitons distribution. POETRY. A HYMN. Endless blessings on the Lamb! And, in his set time and way, A SOLDIER. The following lines were occasioned by the death of Mr. Edward Vorley, for 31 years pastor of the Church of Christ at Ebenezer Chapel, Leicester. AN ACROSTIC.—EDWARD VORLEY. E lecting love, eternal, rich, and free, O wretched man! I oft have heard him cry, UNWORTHY. CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HAND. Submissive make me be, O Lord! in me thine holy eyes, In me is nothing good; The vessel form'd, I must conclude, When Christ is form'd within, In me there's all that's base, In Christ its opposite I trace A fool; in Christ I'm wise, I God's election know; They come, dear Lord, from thee; Clay in the Potter's hand, It must be right for me. OMEGA. REDEMPTION. "In whom we have redemption through his blood."—Eph. i. 7. The Spirit eternal implanting the word, In Jacob's lost seed, by the breath of the Lord. His innocence, see how the lily displays; Then who to the charge of his chosen shall lay |