moment he persevered against so many disadvantages, added fresh lustre to the strength of his faith in the promise of God. It was acting a similar part with that of Job-" Though he slay me; yet will I trust in him.'

4. The resolution, "I will not let thee go," implies a determination to make the best possible use of the present favourable opportunity.

God was now near; the day was dawning; the necessities of the Patriarch were urgent; and none but God could supply them. All that was dear to him, therefore, for time and eternity, was suspended upon that hour! Accordingly, neither the discovery which Jacob made of the omnipotence of the angel, by the touch of his joint, nor the sense it gave him of his own weakness, nor the acute pain with which it was probably attended, disposed him to relinquish the contest. He was now more than ever convinced, that the person to whom he clung, not only with the arms of his body, but with the arms of his faith, was able to bless him in the most effectual manner. He knew that he had every thing to expect from the grace manifested in this interview, and that every thing would be lost, if it was broken off, without the desired blessing; and, therefore, he is resolved not to lose so good an opportunity as the present." I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."

These are the particulars in the resolution of Jacob, worthy of the imitation of Christians under circumstances similar to his.

Have you, Christian reader, any difficulties to encounter, in adopting the resolution, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me?" Are your enemies numerous, subtle, and powerful? So were Jacob's. But the greater their number and might, the greater did he feel the necessity of urgency at a throne of grace for strength. Therefore, as you would disconcert the plans and paralyze the power of your adversaries; as you would obtain the victory, and glorify the God in whose strength you are to achieve it, wrestle with God by prayer and supplication. Not only put on the whole armour of God, but pray always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.

Are you overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and pollution ? Does conscience smite you for having offended God, and crucified afresh the Saviour? and are you, therefore, ashamed and afraid of drawing near to God for his blessing? But what stronger argument can be presented for your applying to the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness? Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Without the application of the merits of the blood of Jesus, your guilt will sink you down to perdition. Therefore, cry mightily, for justification by the blood which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel.

Are you tempted by Satan to cease from importunity, because you have, in times past, experienced delay ? still persevere; "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." Habakkuk ii. 3.

Do a deathlike coldness and indifference pervade your heart and affections? Do you feel a sense of weakness and unworthiness, in consequence of the wounds and filthiness of sin? Recollect the weakness and unworthiness of Jacob, and, at the same time recollect, how, notwithstanding that weakness and unworthiness, he wrestled still. Let not discouragements prevail, nor your hands hang down for such reasons as these. Say not that your difficulties are greater than those of others. This is the common suggestion of unbelief; and even, if the suggestion were true, it affords you a peculiar opportunity of glorifying God; of acknowledging his faithfulness; of paying practical homage to the person and work of Christ, by your earnest and importunate wrestlings.

Consider too, for your encouragement, that these pressing exercises are so far from being considered as the boldness of presumption, that they are peculiarly pleasing to God. They are a sweet-smelling savour in his sight. Listen to the language of Christ to his Church and people, "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet

is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely."

The tears of

the praying, mourning Christian are collected in Christ's bottle; and in them he sees the travail of his soul, the fruits of his Spirit, and is satisfied. Therefore say, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."

Consider also the inestimable value of the blessing for which you ask, and the peculiar necessity of your case in reference to it. It is the blessing of Him who endured the curse; the blessing which will remove the guilt, the power, the defilement of sin; the blessing which will secure all the benefits of the covenant of grace; the blessing which the Lord bestows in this world, and in that which is to come. These blessings you need. Without them you perish. Can you then endure the thought of letting the Angel of the covenant go, until you receive the blessing? Can you be contented without an interest in Christ? Are you willing to be led captive by Satan, and your own devouring lusts? Are you willing that you and Christ should part for ever?

Then let no mere lip service satisfy you at a throne of grace.. When the Saviour admits you to converse with him; when (if the expression be allowable) He is upon speaking terms with you-and his word declares his willingness to bless, and not to curse, be importunate. Let thine heart overflow with fervent desires; and manifest some of the ardour which glowed in the breasts of Scripture saints, when they said, "As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" Psalm xlii. 1, 2.

As you would be encouraged to adopt the language, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me," consider the success which attended it, in the case of him who first made use of it. Jacob wrestled, and he prevailed. V. 27. "And the angel said unto him, what is thy name? and he said, Jacob," which signifies supplanter; and was calculated to remind him of the dishonest mode in which he attained the birthright. But God had now forgiven and forgotten his past failings, and therefore

he said, "thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel." By this change of name he published his act of oblivion for past offences,-destroyed the association of his name with artful and fraudulent management,—and ever after connected it with an event honourable to God, and a blessing to himself. For Israel signifies "a princely prevailer with God." Imitate Jacob's example, and you shall realize Israel's "The angel blessed him :" and if you manifest the same importunity, He will bless you. Wrestle like Jacob, and you shall prevail with God like Israel.-Wrestle like Jacob, and you shall realize the fulfilment of the promise,—the seed of Jacob shall never seek my face in vain.

success.

EXTRACTS

From the Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.

[We think proper to publish the following document, which we believe has never before been printed, and of which few copies are extant; and we intend it as an introduction to a number of short Essays, which we purpose to insert on the principal doctrines which have recently been so much contested and misrepresented.]

THE consideration of the references on Mr. B.'s Creed,

&c. was resumed.

Ordered,―That Dr. M'Whorter, Dr. King, Dr. Green, Mr. Armstrong, together with the moderator, (who was Dr. John B. Smith) be a committee to form a minute on the subject of the references before the General Assembly.

The consideration of the reference relative to Mr. B. was resumed, and after some amendments made on the draught brought in by the committee, it was adopted, and is as follows, viz. The committee appointed to take into consideration cer

tain references and inquiries from the Synod of the Carolinas, relative to the publication and import of a creed, the preaching of false doctrine, and the use of indecent language, by the Rev. H. B. beg leave to report:-That having carefully examined, and seriously considered, the subjects submitted to them, they remark, upon the first article of the creed aforesaid,

That Mr. B. is erroneous in making disinterested benevo lence the only definition of holiness, or true religion; because this may perplex the minds of those not accustomed to abstract speculations, is questionable in itself,-and may convey the idea, that an absolute God, or a God out of Christ, is the object of the highest affection to the renewed mind.

Upon the second article they remark,-That Mr. B. has confounded self-love with selfishness, in an abstract speculation calculated to puzzle plain Christians, and lead to unprofitable disputes.

Upon the third article they remark,―That the transferring of personal sin or righteousness, has never been held by Calvinistic divines, nor by any person in our church, as far as is known to us; and therefore, that Mr. B.'s observations on that subject appear to be either nugatory, or calculated to mislead. But with regard to his doctrine of original sin, it is to be observed, that he is erroneous in representing personal corruption as not derived from Adam; making Adam's sin to be imputed to his posterity in consequence of a corrupt nature already possessed, and derived from we know not what; thus, in effect, setting aside the idea of Adam's being the federal head, or representative, of his descendants, and the whole doctrine of the covenant of works.

It is also manifest that Mr. B. is greatly erroneous in asserting, that the formal cause of a believer's justification is the imputation of the fruits and effects of Christ's righteousness, and not that righteousness itself; because righteousness, and that alone, is the formal demand of the law, and consequently the sinner's violation of the divine law, can be pardoned only in VIRTUE of the Redeemer's perfect righteousness being im