Angels were stooping from above, And paused amid their high acclaim, The fall'n is raised, the lost is found!' PREPARATION FOR JUDGMENT. 66 'Prepare to meet thy God." E. M. WITH a true Christian, the work of preparation is never stationary; having put on the righteousness of Christ, to which alone you are looking for your acquittal before God, your heart will be for ever going forth in offices of Christian love and holy obedience, a love becoming daily more fervent, an obedience daily more devoted and entire; your communion with the Almighty daily becoming closer and more spiritual, that, by the holiness and frequency of the meetings between God and your soul, that intimate knowledge may be established, which, constantly exercised in the courts of our God on earth, shall prepare you to enjoy the perfect services of the courts above. It was the striking observation of a holy man, of a former age, to his surrounding friends, when his death was rapidly approaching, "For fifty years I have led a life of continual preparation for this hour; every beam, every rafter, every stone in my house has witnessed my daily and intimate communion with the Lord God of my salvation." I trust the beams of your chambers can bear such a blessed testimony as this to the frequency and fervency of your intercourse with the Lord. The life of the Christian is called in the word of God, "a hidden life;" their Redeemer is said to give them to eat of the "hidden manna.' It is not a mere attendance upon the outward ordinances of God which can realize such expressions as these. There must be something more than this in the Christian life; there must be the spirit of fervent secret prayer; of close and intimate communion with heaven, of which the world knows not, or knowing, would perhaps ridicule and condemn; there must be moments, when even the most inter esting topics of time must be excluded from the thoughts and from the heart, and we must bring ourselves to think of God in Christ, and to commune with Him, as a man thinketh of, and communeth with, some dear and distant friend. Some may consider this as enthusiasm; alas! it is a sad proof of the coldness of our spiritual affections, that such a term should be by any so utterly misapplied. But of one thing I feel assured, that if an angel of God were this hour to summon us into the Eternal Presence, these are not the hours which, upon a backward look at our past lives, we should wish diminished; nay, I would go further than this; I would say that, if there be any hours, if there be any moments, in that backward view, upon which we could look with comfort, they would be the hours so passed, the moments so spent with God within the veil; those little intervals which have been stolen from the business and pleasures of time, and have been dedicated to eternity. If this be true, and I believe neither your judgment nor your feelings will contradict me, be persuaded to increase those hours; be intreated to be more often found at a throne of grace; enter more frequently into your chamber, and shut your door, and withdraw from the noise of an idle world, and commune with your heavenly Father in secret, and meditate on his revealed word, and become more acquainted with Himself. The beams and rafters of our houses will, we fear, even in our best estate, have much to testify against us; they will have witnessed many idle and unprofitable words, many unchristian tempers, many unholy actions. O let them also testify to many unquestionable evidences of our spiritual union to our Redeemer, to the outpourings of our souls, to many aspirations after a closer walk with God and Christ. THE NEW CHURCH. No. III. Rev. H. BLunt. PERHAPS some who may have read the account of the new Church thus far, may conclude that there was little more to do a good minister, a large, attentive, and affectionate congregation, a full school, a clerk, and singers-what more could be required to complete this church? I shall endeavour to answer this question by stating the further exertions of our good pastor. He considered that no church was complete, however full and attentive, unless the sacraments were duly administered and properly attended to. His next step therefore was to point out to his people the nature of baptism, and to exhort parents to bring their children to receive this blessed privilege. He had reason to fear that many had never even thought on the subject; and that having lived so many years far from a church, and having had no instruction respecting this sacrament in particular, they were ignorant of its importance and blessedness. He pointed out to them the meaning of a sacrament, that it contained two parts, the sign and the thing signified, and warned them not to put the one for the other; but to bring their dear little ones to be received into Christ's visible Church, and so to be in a state to receive all the good things promised to them. The people read in their Bibles that Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me;" and "they brought young children unto him." They did not hesitate; for with their Bible and minister both saying the same thing, they brought their children. But they did not think all was then done that was necessary to their salvation. They knew that it was only through prayer, and by the strivings of the Holy Spirit within them, that the word had been made effectual to the saving of their own souls, and to their second birth. Then our minister admonished his young people to attend his instruction in order to meet the good Bishop for confirmation; and, as they were old enough to know right from wrong, to take upon themselves all that their sponsors had promised for them. Then he prayed us to come to the Lord's Table. I desire to be deeply humbled, when I confess that twice (perhaps oftener) I came out of church, not feeling able to communicate, because I did not feel fit; and yet if God had so ordained, I must have appeared before Him. Oh, what a vain excuse is this! and yet I fear many still make it. Our dear pastor followed us with his eyes, and looked upon us with pity. It must have been a sad sight to him, after all his instruction and prayers for us. His Sundayschool teachers, too; alas! how unfit for the office. But God gave us more grace the next time, and five of our family joined themselves to the people of God; and then our good minister seemed as much affected as ourselves. It was a day to be remembered by us as a family. He told us the bread and wine signified the Body and Blood of Christ; and as bread and wine nourish the body, so did Christ strengthen the souls of all those who by faith. saw and received Him in that Sacrament. We had now a Church within a Church. Our pastor now wished to see the effect of our Christian profession, and gave notice that it was his intention, on a certain Sunday, to preach a charity sermon for the Sunday schools, and so afford us an opportunity of letting our light shine before men, that they, seeing our good works, might glorify our Father who is in heaven. The collection was made, and all the respectable persons in the neighbourhood came, and between thirty and forty pounds were obtained. This sum provided books, paid the master, and rewarded the best children, and left something in hand, because we could not contemplate the same results every year. All seemed to prosper. But a cloud was seen, and though it did not burst at once, yet it came, as it seemed to us, far too soon. Our minister had been with us nearly three years, when we heard that his youngest and last pupil had finished his education, and was leaving home: then came a fearful foreboding of consequences. We knew we must part with our kind teacher and friend, because the stipend would not maintain a clergyman, and our congregation was very poor, and at times required much assistance. At length the fatal separation. came, and we understood a few weeks were all that remained before we were to be as sheep having no shepherd. Our pastor never mentioned the subject,-he could not, his heart was too full, and he knew how much he was beloved. But one Sunday, in the afternoon, he seemed more than usually devout in the prayers, and at the same time more agitated. He took his text, and then all knew the meaning of his agitation; and the words "Finally, brethren, farewell," &c. had I scarcely passed his lips, before one universal sob told the grief of his congregation. He told us to live in love and peace as heretofore; that he had fed us with milk, and not with meat; that we were babes in Christ; but he trusted he was free from having the blood of any required at his hands. The time was come when he must be parted from us; but he should bear us on his heart wherever his future lot was cast, and he hoped to meet many of us in glory. That he took that opportunity of saying "Farewell" to all, and that he should make no farewell visits to any; that he could never minister to us again, and that this was his final separation from his beloved people. Now I for one would not believe he never intended to see us again. I went into the vestry, and said, "Surely, my dear Sir, you do not mean all you have said? You will come and preach again to us at some future time, when the pain of this sad separation has passed away?" His answer was,— "Never." 66 What, not a sermon for your poor children?" "Never; my frame is not equal to another scene like this. But," he said, "I will write to you. cannot talk to you, but I have much to say. May the Lord be with you! Farewell!" And so we parted, never to meet again on earth. But I trust there is a meeting in reserve for us. In about two years from that time, this excellent servant of God entered into rest, after having been married one year, or perhaps a little more. I received a letter from him in a day or two after our interview, and, in my next, hope to make you acquainted with some of its contents. Now, if any who take the trouble to read this have ever parted from a minister, from whom they have heard the Gospel with pleasure and real benefit, I need not tell them that it is true heartfelt sorrow, and that conscience is continually bearing witness to the many opportunities not improved as they ought to have been; and that a time will come when we must meet our teachers again: and oh! fearful thought, they also may bear witness against us! Let me affectionately urge all who read this, to take every advantage of their present opportunities; and if they have a good minister, not to pain his heart by careless indiffer |