STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS:

OR,

THE PREACHER IN BED, AND THE PREACHER IN THE PULPIT.

WHO has not heard of good old Daniel Rowlands-a Welsh George Whitfield? A man mighty through God in pulling down the strong holds of Satan-travelling for years, and preaching the Gospel to thousands of souls. Great as this man was, he sometimes felt his weakness, and feared his want of ability so much, that he was ready to faint by the way. Read the following extract :

"One Saturday evening, while Rowlands was walking before his house, he appeared very distressed, and depressed in mind. When he met his servant, whom he treated as a brother in the Lord, he addressed him by his Christian name, and said, that he could not preach the following morning, because he had nothing to say to his people. 'Oh, dear Mr. Rowlands,' said the servant, do not say so; for who else can we get?' He still continued to say the same thing, that he could not preach; and said besides that the Lord had not given him anything to say to them. In this distressed state of mind he continued until he retired for the night.

"The following morning, when the servant went into his room he was awake but in bed; and there was a book on a chair close to his bed-side. The servant told him that it was time to rise, it being then about seven o'clock. After waiting some time, he went in again and found him still in bed. He then reminded him that the time for going to chapel was drawing nigh. But his answer was the same as the preceding evening that he could not preach, and that some one else must be sent for. But the servant used every reason he could think of to induce him to rise and dress himself; and then he went out, hoping that he had succeeded, It was now drawing towards ten o'clock, when the service at Llangeitho chapel was to begin, and the people were flocking there in great numbers from every direction. After a short interval the servant entered into his bedroom again, and found him as before in bed, and still saying that he could not preach that morning. However, the servant somehow or other prevailed on him this time to rise, and assisted him to dress, which was not usual: for he seemed to have lost all strength, and almost the use of his limbs. But after he was dressed he was still unwilling to go to chapel; and would not have gone had not the servant brought him there very much against his own will.

"When they reached the chapel that part of the service previous to the sermon was nearly gone through. The servant was under the necessity of helping him into the pulpit. I knew,' said the servant, "if we once got him into the pulpit everything would be well.' And neither he nor the congregation were disappointed. When he began his sermon he appeared very feeble, the voice low, the limbs relaxed, and his whole frame trembling. By degrees he revived and gathered strength; and in less than ten minutes he was preaching with unusual vigour and uncommon power and dignity. His words were like flashes of lighting, spreading over the whole assembly, both within and without; for there were nearly as many without as within. The effect on the whole congregation was very remarkable. Hundreds of them could not express their emotions, but burst forth into loud praises before he had gone half through his sermon, but continued singing, praising, and rejoicing for hours."

Bible Lames and Bible Places.

NO. I.

[We are promised, from the pen of the Author of The Closet Companion, a series of papers for CHEERING WORDS, illustrative of Persons and Places recorded in the Scriptures of truth. We hope they will be found edifying to our readers.] We commence with

"And thou shalt call his name JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins.”

ОH, love divine! love unparalleled to man's rebellious race. JESUS! O, blessed name! Sinner! doth it ever engross thy thoughts? hath it ever charmed thine ear? or is it unto thee a word without meaning-a name without savour, and the sound of it an empty, cheerless, sound? Sad, indeed, then, is thy condition; and sadder still will be thine eternal doom, if thou art summoned to the awful tribunal of God, without being interested in that glorious name-the name of JESUS.

name;

But listen for one moment, while I shall speak to thee of this and first, I would say unto thee that there is "salvation in none other; for there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved;" for him, and him only,

"hath God exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance unto Israel, and remission of sins." Nay, it was because he was thus exalted, that his name was given unto him by God the Father; for thus saith the messenger of God-"Thou shalt call his name JESUS; for he shall save his people from their sins." What! then, art thou a sinner, and unacquainted with the name of Jesus, the merits of Jesus, and the salvation of Jesus? and canst thou lightly and carelessly say, "God is merciful; and on this ground I hope to be saved?" O, forbear this vain hope, deluded mortal! for its foundation was laid by the prince of darkness; and if God, for Jesus' sake, prevent not, that same prince of darkness, who now buoys thee up with this delusive hope, it will slide its foundation from beneath thee, and thou shalt find that there is nothing beneath that, to keep thee from dropping into hell. Dost thou not believe my words? Then, if thou wilt permit me, I will tell thee what the Word of God says; and of course thou wilt allow that to be true. Well then, turn to Thess. xi. 1, 7, 8, and thou wilt there find that "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ-who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." And now turn to the last of St. Mark, and there read the words which were spoken by that kind and gracious Jesus, who poured out his soul unto death, that as many as believe in him, and come unto him, might be saved; but who said concerning his gospel, "He that believeth and is baptised, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned;" shall be cast into hell, with all the nations that forget God." But hell! O, dreadful place! its fires are fed and kept alive by the avenging wrath of God-of God and the Lamb; that Lamb of God whom thou despisest; that Jesus whose name thou castest out as a reproach; upon whose blood thou dost trample; whose salvation thou dost cast away from thee; for to disbelieve is to despise; and to despise is to perish for ever.

But canst thou bear to think of going down to hell, where devils and damned spirits will be thy tormented and tormenting companions, and where the gnawing, undying worm of a guilty conscience will be the hottest hell within thee? What do I hear thee say, "The thought of it is more than I can bear?" Away, then, to thy chamber, and there, before that God whose mercy can

save the vilest of the vile-before him, I say, plead for pardon and salvation through the name of Jesus. Turn from thee! no poor sinner; God will never turn from that soul who, in sincerity, and by faith and repentance, doth plead the name of Jesus. But is thy malady so great that thou fearest there is no balm in Gilead, whose virtue can cleanse thee of thy stains-no Physician who can understand thy case? Ah, poor sinner, think not so, but go and seek it at the mercy-seat, and thou shalt find that the name of Jesus, through faith in his name, shall not only give thee relief, but make thee whole; for in that name there is balm for wounded consciences, succour for tempted souls, deliverance for those whose feet are entangled in the snares of the enemy, pardon for the guilty, strength for the weak, comfort for the wretched, and peace for the mourner; for that blessed name, as the poet hath said, is

"A sovereign balm for all our wounds,

A cordial for our fears."

May God, in infinite mercy, enable thee, poor sinner, to trust in the name of Jesus; for he who trusts thereon shall not fall short of heaven.

THREE GREAT DOORS.

AND

"CHRIST ALL IN ALL."

THE cream of some of the custard cups in ancient Christendom, is selected for Cheering Words. The following precious morsel is from the pen of the venerable Christ-exalting, salvation-expounding Bridge. He says:

"There are three great doors that must ordinarily be opened, before converting grace can get into the soul of man. The door of a powerful ministry; a large and an effectual door is opened. The door of the ear-He openeth the ear and sealeth instruction.' The door of the understanding and of the heart; Lydia's heart was opened. Now if you look into the Scripture, you will find that Jesus Christ hath the opening of all these doors. He hath the key of David; he openeth and no man shuts, and shutteth and no man openeth.' Rev. iii. 7. In the 1st of the Revelation, and the 18th verse, he says, that he hath the keys of hell and of death.' No man goes into the grave, but he opens a door to let him in; and no man goes to hell, but Jesus Christ he locks him up there; he locks him up there unto all eternity. If he did not lock him in he would

not be there unto all eternity. So that whatsoever grace or holiness there is in any man's heart, he opens the door, he lets it in, it is by his ordering and his sending thither.

་

"And, beloved, if Jesus Christ were not the great Lord-Keeper of his Father's wardrobe, why should those names and titles be given to him, which you find so frequently in Scripture ? Cast your eyes where you will, you shall hardly look upon anything, but Jesus Christ hath taken the name of that upon himself. If you cast your eyes up to heaven in the day, and behold the sun, he is called the Sun of Righteousness.' If you cast your eyes in the night upon the stars, or in the morning upon the morning star, he is called 'the bright Morning Star.' If you behold your own body, he is called the Head, and the church the body. If you look upon your own clothes, he is called your raiment: 'Put ye on the Lord Jesus.' If ye behold your meat, he is called bread, the Bread of Life.' If you look upon your houses, he is called a door. If you look abroad into the fields, and behold the cattle of the fields, he called the Good Shepherd; he is called the Lamb; he is called the fatted Calf. If you look upon the waters, he is called a fountain; the blood of Christ a fountain. If you look upon the stones, he is called 'a Corner Stone.' If you look upon the trees, he is called 'a Tree of Life.' What is the reason of this? Surely, not only to way-lay our thoughts, that wheresoever you look, still you should think of Christ; but to shew, that in a spiritual way and sense, he is all this unto the soul. And you may observe, that these titles and names, they are not barely and nakedly given to him; but still with some speciality, some mark or other. He is not barely called the Shepherd, but the Good Shepherd. He is not only called a Lamb, but the 'Lamb slain from the beginning of the world.' He is not barely called the Light, but the true Light,' the Light of the world. He is not barely called bread, but 'the Bread of Life.' Now you know why Adam at the first gave names unto the creatures; according to their names was their natures, was their conditions; and Adam, our first father Adam, was not mistaken when he gave the names. And do you think Christ, the second Adam, when he gives these names unto himself, that he is mistaken? Certainly he is not mistaken: he is all this. And therefore, as the apostle speaks, you read it, Christ is all in all.' But better, he is all things in all persons, or all things in all things: he is all things. Whatsoever good there is found in any man, it is from Jesus Christ. Surely may one say, "The Lord is our Strength;' surely may we all say, 'The Lord is our Strength, the Lord Jesus is our Righteousness.' Whatsoever grace or holiness the saints have, they have it from Jesus Christ."