The advanced, with deep humility and unceasing praise to the God of infinite wisdom, who has brought them to see more of their own hearts, and more of the treasures laid up in the unsearchable riches of Christ-not ashamed to tell unto those who love the Lord, what he has done for their souls-not satisfied with present attainments-not wearying in well-doing, but perseveringly seeking the help of the Holy Spirit; by whose almighty power, their rising sun will shine brighter and brighter to the coming day.

The elders, to the glory of God, and when the chief shepherd shall appear, they shall receive a crown of glory, a crown of righteousness. Their earthly work completed, they will enter into the joy of their Lord, (where those who are coming after will soon arrive) to spend an eternity of bliss with Him who hath chosen-Him who hath redeemed-Him who hath guided and kept them to the end to the everlasting praise of Him who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever.

My brethren,

Let us pray, that as our Elijahs are taken from us, it being a hard thing to ask a double portion of their spirit; let us pray that the Lord may appoint some Elishas to come forth, to receive the falling mantles, and by his help continue to brandish the sword of the Spirit with firmness, meekness, and love; fearlessly testifying to the Truth as their predecessors have done.

The Lord help his believing people to walk as becometh his redeemed ones-to Him be all the glory for all things; but as he appoints instruments to perform his will, and some he places in more distinguished offices than others; we are bound to hold such. in reputation. To our much-esteemed Editors, then, I would address my last word,—not in the garbled language of sycophancy and flattery, which I know they equally, with myself, abhor; but from the feelings of a grateful heart, and under a sense of the goodness of our God, I would praise him for having kept them, for such an unprecedented number of years, at the head of one publication, true and faithful to Himself. We are entered upon another portion of time, the end of which will conclude 1837. I may never again be permitted to address to you, or you to read, another line I wish you prosperity in the name of our blessed Lord. I beg you heartily and sincerely farewell, and I do most fervently pray that, if it accord with his uncrring will, he may ena. ble you, for his truth's sake, to give to the Gospel Magazine your Last Word.

Truly may you address your brethren, writers, and readers, in the language of our beloved brother Paul. Philip. i 21-29.

I cannot let the year close without entreating the supporters of the Gospel Magazine to rally round the "standard for their truth," to continue to support our respected Editors, who have for so many years been upheld by the Lord. It is an evil day of delusion and

error, and we are bound, for Christ's sake, to prize a publication where the despised doctrines of the cross are permitted to be brought forth in their nature, simplicity, beauty, and strength.

Dec. 1. 1837.

A FEMALE WANDERER IN the Wilderness.

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THE GOD OF ALL GRACE.

THE grace of God has furnished the saints of God in all ages of the world, with a most blessed subject for meditation and conversation; hence it is, that the sacred scriptures so frequently speak of God as the God of grace; and Paul informs us that God is exceeding rich in grace, Eph. ii. 7, and exceeding abundant in grace, 1 Tim. i. 14. But Peter, as if he would exhaust language in his description of God, styled him the God of all grace, 1 Pet. v. 10, and at this time I design to consider some of the different kinds of grace of which God is the true source, the original fountain, the divine author, and the only giver; and—

1. I remark that God is the God of electing grace; hence, saith the apostle," Even to then, at this present time there is a remnant according so the election of grace," Rom. xi. 5. so that God's grace, or his free, unmerited, sovereign, and everlasting love and favour, was the first and sole cause of the " many," of Adam's posterity, being ordained to eternal life, Acts xiii. 48, therefore, saith the apostle to the church of the Thessalonians, "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through the sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth," 2 Thess. ii. 13; and to the church of the Ephesians he also writes, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before God in love," Eph. i. 4. So that it is plain that God is the God of electing grace; for he first fixed his love upon a part of the human race, then chose or elected them in Christ, that they might for ever be pure in his sight, notwithstanding their fall in Adam; and in due time, each and all be brought safe to glory to reign with him in interrupted bliss for ever. Whilst then, the hypocrite, pharisee, and false religionist are condemning the doctrine of God's electing grace, as a horrible doctrine; and speaking all manner of evil both against it, and the men who preach it, let us, brethren who know our election of God, 1 Thess. i. 4, join to bless and praise the God of electing grace, knowing as we do, that if God had not chosen us, we should never have chosen him, but remained at an infinite and eternal distance from him, John xv. 16.

2. God is the God of adopting grace. Many tell us that we are not adopted into God's family, till we believe; but Paul tells us that we are predestinated to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will: to the praise of the glory (mark) of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved, Eph. i. 5, 6. These words immediately follow Paul's

declaration of our election in Christ Jesus, before the foundation of the world, so that adoption is as ancient as election, and when it is said, "Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," Gal. iii. 26, it evidently means that we are made VISIBLY God's children, when we are brought to believe in Jesus Christ. We are as much the children of God before we believe as after, but before we believe we do not know it; so that when faith is communicated we are made acquainted with it, hence saith the apostle, "Because ye are sons, (mark not to make you sons) God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father," Gal. iv. 6. A father when he teaches his child to call him father, does not thereby make it a son or a daughter: No; but because it is a son or a daughter, and he is its father, he therefore wishes it to know and acknowledge him such; so God has adopted all whom he has chosen from everlasting, to be his children, and therefore in due time they are taught to know him to be their covenant God and Father in Christ Jesus, and to call him so, hence it is written by Isaiah, and quoted by our Saviour, "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children," Isa. liv. 13;

John vi. 45.

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3. God is the God of justifying grace; hence, saith Paul to the Romans, being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," Rom. iii. 24, and to Titus, "Being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs, according to the hope of eternal life," Titus iii. 7. So that as it was grace that chose and adopted us, it was the same grace that justified us in the person of our most blessed Jesus, from everlasting; and it is by the same grace that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, whereby we are rendered blameless and without condemnation, in the eye of law and justice, Rom. viii. 1. It is the same grace that applies the blood of sprinkling to the conscience, and thereby justifies the believer internally, Heb. ix. 14; 1 Pet i. 2; and it is the same grace that enables him to walk outwardly as becomest the gospel of Christ, and thereby justify himself in the eyes of men, angels, and devils; hence it is written, "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world." Titus ii. 11, 12. Thus we give the lie to our enemies who tell us that we may live as we list, and do as we like, for as the apostle wisely asks, "Shall we sin, that grace may abound? God forbid! how shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?" Rom. vi. 1, 2. 'Tis true, some of the greatest saints in every age of the world, have fallen into very great sins; but the account of the same is left on record in God's word as a beacon, to warn and caution all succeeding christians to the end of time, from trusting in themselves, and boasting in their own strength, and to teach them the necessity of God's grace to keep them every moment, and their need of continually praying in the language of David. Hold thou

me up and I shall be safe," Psa. cxix. 117. The fall of every saint of God speaks to christians personally in the language of the apos tle, "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall," 1. Cor. x. 12. How very blessed is that scripture, "Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation," 1 Pet. i. 5. O Holy Spirit and blessed Comforter, apply the same to the hearts of each of thy children, and may we ever remember that it is the only wise God our Saviour who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to whom be glory and majesty, dominion, and power, both now and ever, Amen," Jude xxiv. 25.

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4. God is the God of sanctifying grace. The people of God are sanctified. 1. By God the Father, "The Lord (saith the Psalmist) hath set apart or sanctified him that is godly for himself," Ps. iv. 3. and Jude addresses his epistle, "To them that are sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Christ Jesus, and called," Jude i. 2. They are sanctified by Christ, hence Paul addresses his first epistle to the Corinthians," Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints," I Cor. i. 2. and he assures them that "Christ is made unto them sanctification," verse 30. To the Ephesians he writes, " Christ loved the church, and gave himeslf for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water, by the word, &c., Eph. v. 25, 26; and to the Hebrews he writes, "Wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate," Heb. xiii. 12. 3. They are sanctified by the Holy Ghost, "And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God," 1 Cor. vi. 11. Now all this proceeds from God's grace, the grace of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. It is the free love and favour of the Trinity in Unity that is the foundation of all our happiness both here and hereafter, therefore "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name we give the glory," Ps. cxv. 1.

5. God is the God of saving grace. Thus it is written" By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast," Eph. ii. 7, 8. and again," Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began," 2 Tim. 1. 9. Where then is boasting? The Pharisee may boast of his righteousness, the formalist of his goodness, and the moralist of the mercy of God; but the christian boasts only in the Lord. He is taught to see, believe, and confess that if he is saved at all, it must be entirely by and through the free and sovereign grace of God. He knows that he is a lost, helpless, and hell deserving sinner, and that God might ere long have doomed him to the abyss of VOL. III.-No. I.

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woe; but he rejoices to know that "Where sin abounded grace did much more abound," Rom. v. 20. The grace of God flowed freely from his bosom to the objects of his choice from all eternity, and for this reason alone, he purposed in himself to save them all eternally from sin, death, hell, and the grave, and as the poet sweetly sings,

1

6. God is the God of quickening grace. The people of God as well as the rest of mankind would live and die unconverted, if God by his regenerating grace did not quicken them; hence the great apostle of the Gentiles saith that God separated him from his mother's womb, and called him by his grace," Gal. i. 15, and to the Ephesians he writes, " But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ," Eph. ii. 4, 5. Thus it is obvious that it is grace alone which maketh the difference between the converted and the unconverted. Therefore, the Christian, instead of boasting like the Pharisee of what he does, &c. and of being better than others, adopts the language of Paul, and says, " By the grace of God I am what I am," I Cor. xv. 10, and with the poet he joins in singing,

7. God is the God of believing grace. Hence it is written, that Apollos helped the disciples much, "who had believed through grace," Acts xviii. 27. There is no saving faith without grace. Grace is the root, Faith is the stem, Hope and Love the branches, and Good Works the fruits of this Divine Tree. As it is grace that quickens and enlightens, so it is by the same grace we are enabled to believe in Christ to the salvation of our souls; and to put our whole trust and confidence in God for all that we need both for time and eternity. The devils believe, but they also tremble, whilst the Christian believes and rejoices. True faith which is the product of God's grace in the soul, makes him bold, courageous, and fearless; hence the language of David is the language of every believer, when faith is in lively act and exercise. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Ps. xxiii. 4.

8. God is the God of strengthening grace; hence the promise of God is not only to Paul, but to every christian, in every age of the world, "My grace is sufficient for thee, and my strength is made perfect in thy weakness," 2 Cor. xii. 9. And As thy day is, so shall thy strength be," Deut. xxxiii. 25. Let us then in every time