law of the Lord, because it cannot keep pace with it, it shews that the fretting leprosy is began, that self gratulations and fleshly confidences are giving way; and give way they must too, let the cost be what it may, "that no flesh should glory in his presence." Nor will the Lord spare for your crying until he bring you into your right mind; he will thus chasten you while there is hope. (Prov. xix. 18.) There is no hope, as we say, beyond the grave; therefore, he will well discipline you before you come to the grave, that you may have hope in your death as well as in your life, and for the day of judgment as well as for eternity. Do you ask, what is to become of your own righteousness altogether? The answer is that it must be burnt in the fire of tribulation, and in the furnace of affliction; (Lev. xiv. 52,) for "the Lord hath a fire in Zion and a furnace in Jerusalem;" and as you cleave so closely to the old remnants of your own free-will importance, not only must the garment itself be burnt, but you yourself must be brought into the fire, or you will never part altogether with self, never renounce all confidence in the flesh. Your own righteousness must be burnt to ashes, and you may set down and mourn over your loss, and feel yourself to be not a brand plucked out of the fire, but a brand just brought into the fire, with this question for your solution, "is it meet for any work? (Ezek. xv. 4.) and I well know what your solution will be, you will say, work indeed, I am meet only to prove to myself, and to others, and to God my righteous judge, what a poor, sin-burnt, worthless, lost mortal I am. But then a ray of light comes, a whisper, a still small voice is heard, and I commune with mine own heart, and think within myself, well such poor consumed brands have been plucked from the fire, (Zech. iii. 2.); and therefore if I am not meet for any work, yet grace can save me, and that which suited Joshua when he stood before the angel of the Lord, clothed in filthy garments, will suit me; and, therefore, if I escape, it must be in the same way that he did: it is the Lord alone who in the strength of electing grace, must put satan under my feet, and clothe me with change of raiment, and give me a standing better than that which he gave to Joshua as a Levitical priest, for his standing in the official sense, was with an if thou wilt walk in my ways; but I want the security given to Abraham and all his believing seed, wherein, as the Lord could sware by no greater, he sware by himself and this oath is in Christ-"the Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." Psalm cx. 4. And he that began the good work will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Here we have the oath of the Father, the priesthood of the Saviour, and the perfection of the work of the Holy Ghost; here is a three-fold cord which cannot be broken; here are those bands of a man, the man Christ Jesus; here are cords of love which will keep us walking in the ways of the Lord, even "from strength to strength, until every one shall in Zion appear before God." Here the yoke of bondage is taken from us, and meat is laid unto us, even that meat which endureth to everlasting life. Such are the truths, and such is the standing, and such is the freedom, and such is the fellowship, with God into which you will come. But if our own righteousness be as the leprous garment, so are our poor bodies like the leprous house; "the body is dead because of sin;" and as the leprous house was to be broken down, and carried away into an unclean place, so our poor bodies must come down and be carried away into the land of corruption; this is the humbling and unclean place to which we must come; it is true there are men called bishops, who think they can consecrate certain spots of that earth which the Lord hath cursed; but, alas! "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? not one." No-we must still say to corruption "thou art my father, and to the worm thou art my mother and my sister." Job xvii. 14. My father because I have sin, and consequently corruption in my parentage; the worm is my mother because my mother was but a poor earthly mortal like myself; my sister because mere mortal relationship is compared with the heavenly relationship, but worm with worm. Be not, my good Theophilus, offended because I write thus; for I know these truths are humbling, and hard to flesh and blood; but, nevertheless, not only are such truths laid home to the heart, but it is, I trust your desire, that it should be so; and so you feel upon this matter, as did the Psalmist when he said, "Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days; what it is, that I may know how frail I am." Psslm xxxix. 4. But as the house was to be taken down under the direction and care, and management of the high priest, so it is that we are in the hands, and under the care, of the great High Priest of our profession; and just so sure as sin has brought us down, salvation shall raise us up; just so sure as sin hath brought death, wrath, tribulation, anguish, and corruption, just so sure shall we have life, and love, and consolation, and rest, by him who is the resurrection and the life. Whenever the dear Saviour spoke of his sufferings and death he always at the same time spoke also of his resurrection; I do not think the Gospels(Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John,)—make any exception to this rule; and sure I am, that if the holy and blessed Spirit of God is pleased to enable us in this, as well as in other respects, to be followers of him who endured the cross, we shall find it truly good so to do: the enemy would have us look only at the clouds, at mortality, and death, without looking at those rays of heavenly glory, which throw a glorious light upon the whole scene, and reveal to us a state of things infinitely better than that which sin destroyed. Why, then, should we fear either to live or to die-our earthly house will be earthly or leprous no more, for "mortality shall be swallowed up of life." But not only must the leprous garment be burnt, and the leprous house broken down, but the leprous person who, wore the garment, and who dwelt in the leprous house, must also be tried, and tested, and cleansed. IN THE MILL-HEAD RIVER. With a Brief Comment on the 2nd of Acts. It required on the part of the high priest, BAPTISING ON CHRISTMAS DAY great care to distinguish the real disease from the semblance of the same: there were two things especially by which to judge: the one was that it must be deeper than the skin; you will meet with plenty of skin deep professors, whose convictions of sin are too shallow to make real heart work of it, they do not truly know their own hearts: the disease, or rather conviction of it, is not deep enough to shew them their real condition before God; the word of God has not been to them sharper than any two-edged sword: the hidden sores of the heart are not laid open; their sore does not run in the night, and cease not, which as you go on you will find with yourself to be more and more the case. When the Lord hides his face from you, it is night-then it is you will learn still something more of the plague of the heart, that it is as rotteness, and that there is no soundness in your flesh and as with persons with disease literally, they have almost a kind of sympathy with the disease itself, so you will not feel all the self-loathing that you could wish-this will stagger you, but it will at the same time humble you before God. You will wonder at yourself, that while men are telling you, that the love of sin in the believer is entirely slain, your experience will tell you to your face, that after the flesh you have the same, if not more, love to the things of the flesh than ever you had-and herein will be the difficulty of the conflict, for it is very easy to renounce that to which we have no liking: what conflict is there in such a case? The Apostle, therefore, sets forth the conflict as being as lively in the part that is against us as in the part that is for us; so that if faith, and hope, and the love of God in the heart, be for us, the evils, on the other hand, which are in our members, war against us, and so contrary are these one to the other, that not only can we not do the things that we would, but go on to do the things that we would not: thus it is, there is the will of the spirit and the will of the flesh, one against the other. But this distinction between flesh and spirit does not destroy individual responsibility; for whatever is done, whether good or bad, is an individual act, and this every quickened conscience feels. I mention this because I wish you to keep clear of that spirit of presumption into which some, in this matter, have fallen, and have thereby become triflers, unhallowed, and anything but earnest, with either God or their own souls. Therefore I wish, my good Theophilus, ever to remember that "God is not mocked, for what a man soweth, that shall he also reap." "It is he that goeth forth weeping, shall come again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him," They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." May such be our path; then I am sure, the lines will fall to us in pleasant places, yea, we shall have a goodly heritage." I hope of this heart-work you will hear a little more next month, from December 6th, 1854. A LITTLE ONE. Martin, of Walkern, to his sister in London. I been expecting a line from me before this. Can one delight afford: Without thy presence, Lord." I never spent such a Christmas Day in my life; and perhaps may never spend such another. It was a day which I hope will be long remembered with thankfulness by many. This day I spent at Radwell Mill, on the borders of Hertfordshire. Here I baptised fifteen persons -seven females and eight males. Seven came from Ashwell, and eight went from Walkern. There is a large and most beautiful piece of water there; and they were baptised in the Mill Head. Mr. Sears, of Clifton, Beds., gave a most excellent jand Scriptural address at the water side. After the baptising was over, I think about thirtywhich Mr. Sears administered in the most or more-partook of the Lord's Supper, solemn and affectionate manner. He spoke very blessedly at the table. As I was the last that had to dress, they commenced before I came down stairs; and as I was going up the passage into the parlor where they all were, their voices, seemed like a little heaven on the solemnity of the time, and the harmony of earth. How beautiful Watts describes it in that sweet hymn of his "Lord, how delightful 'tis to see," &c. After this was over, my kind-hearted friend and brother Flitton (the master of the mill) gave us all, at his own expense, a good dinner of plumb pudding and boiled round of beef, and leg of mutton. I should think forty-or more-stopped to dinner. May the Lord reward him for his kindness. I got home safe about a quarter to six o'clock in the evening; then went to chapel, and preached from these words-"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." I first noticed, the world there spoken of. Secondly, the filthy condition of absolute necessity of the sin of this world this world, by and through sin. Thirdly, the being taken away. Fourthly, the Person who took it away, and how he took it away. Lastly, the solemn injunction of John "Behold the Lamb of God," &c. I found it a most blessed opportunity; and I felt if my strength would have held out, I grant that the seed may not be lost. I hope could have preached till midnight. The Lord you will not keep back from attending to the ordinances of God's house. May the Lord enable you to take up your cross and follow the dear Redeemer through the ordinance of baptism. The first New Testament church that ever was formed was a Baptist church. You read the 2nd chapter of Acts carefully and prayerfully, and set man on one side, both good and bad, and read the Word of the living God. First, look at the characters-the very murderers of the dear Redeemer. Read on, and you will find them next pricked IN the HEART, and crying, "What must we do?" Read on a little farther, and you will find Peter fired with zeal and love to their immortal souls, preaching to them, and pouring into their bleeding hearts the rich consolations of the gospel: nor did he preach in vain, nor they hear in vain; for they gladly received the word, and were as gladly baptised. Read on, and you will find them continuing stedfastly in the apostle's doctrine, and in fellowship, in breaking bread, and in prayers; and fear came upon every soul. O, my dear sister, if you love the Lord-if you revere his word, stand no longer without; go and tell what the Lord has done for your soul, and cast in your lot with the despised Baptists. What a world is this!-Wars, and rumours of wars! Surely, the end of all things is not far distant. I sometimes think I shall livenever to die. O, what a day! A day of gloominess, of clouds and thick darkness. The sun shall cease to shine, and the moon be turned into blood. Then the world - both professing and profane- will awake from their slumber; then will they call for the rocks and the mountains to hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the WRATH OF THE LAMB -no longer the Saviour of sinners. But their cries will be of no use; "The elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the heavens roll together as a scroll;" the solid rocks will blaze like melted wax, and the rivers will be like rivers of oil; and then this weary old earth, polluted and defiled with sin, shall heave up its last and final groan; then there will be " 'a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Then "sorrow and sighing will be for ever done away; and the inhabitants shall no more say, I am sick; but the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." May the Lord bless and comfort your soul, is the prayer of your affectionate brother, Walkern, Dec. 27, 1854. J. MARTIN. THE RANSOMED IN GLORY. AN ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF MRS. BETTS. (See the EARTHEN VESSEL, Jan., 1855.) ANOTHER happy spirit's fled From these dark regions of the dead: "Farewell, bright sun and silvery moon, She left her darksome, tiresome clay, "Come, sister spirit, let us rove "See! from that fount beneath the throne, To feed your soul, and feast your eyes. "We need no sun, nor waning moon, "The frigid poles, and burning zones, And Pleiades that melts his bands; All have their bounds, which time shall move, But where's the bounds of Jesu's love? "The king of day shall lose his road, "Those rolling orbs, that shine afar, "Beetles and worms!" she needs no more, And through this light pure spirits shine, Leicester, Jan 17, 1855. A FIVE-FOLD DESCRIPTION OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD: OR, WHO ARE THE REAL CHARACTERS SPOKEN OF IN HEB. VI. 4-9? For it is impossible for those who were once | enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God. But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.".-Heb. vi. 4---9. [DEAR BROTHER.-My object in sending you the following is not to provoke criticism; but simply that I may make known to the Lord's people that which I believe God the Holy Spirit has taught me in reference to that portion of his holy Word above named. I may, in all probability, have read this portion many times; but never took particular notice of it until a short time since, when I thought it seemed to infer that a real child of God might fall away, and that to such a degree, as never again to be brought back. As such a conclusion is directly opposed to the general tenor of the word, and as the doctrine of the saints final perseverance in grace is so plainly proved, the view I was tempted to take of the passage caused me much perplexity of mind. In this dilemma, I searched every book in my possession; and asked the opinion of every friend near at hand; but could find nothing to satisfy me, as the general opinion seemed to be that the apostle there referred to a mere professor; but the description he gives I could apply to none but a real heaven-born soul. As a last resource, I went to HIM who wrote the book; and asked, according to the apostle's advice, (James i. 5), for wisdom and understanding. That which I firmly believe the Lord taught me, I now send to you. Some may ask, "How do you know it was the Lord taught you?" I answer, 1st, from the remarkable way in which the subject was opened up to me; 2ndly, because I have a firm conviction upon my own mind that it was from him; 3rdly, because, a few days after, a friend lent me a volume of "Horne's Biblical Criticisms;" and there I found, to my surprise and delight, that he (who was a man not only deeply taught of God, but also well acquainted with the original), had been led to take a very similar view of the subject. If the Lord will make use of anything I write, to the comforting or establishing of any of his dear saints, to his name shall be all the glory. B. D.] IN giving a few thoughts upon this important portion of God's Word, I purpose, 1st, noticing The characters who are here spoken of 2nd, The declaration made concerning them. 3rd, The arguments used by the apostle in support of the assertion. South Chard. First, then, we notice the characters who are here spoken of; which (in my opinion) are the children of God. The apostle gives a five-fold description of them, which we do well particularly to notice. First, They were once enlightened. This signifies that light has been given, or knowledge imparted; and I do not know of one instance in which a mere professor is thus spoken of. True, we are told of Balaam; that the Spirit of God came upon him; that 1855. his eyes, which had been shut, were opened; and that he knew the knowledge of the Most High. So that he uttered many most glorious things respecting the coming Messiah. Yet we do not read that he was enlightened so as to arrive at a knowledge of his own state as a sinner before God; which I think is what the apostle means by the words under consideration. And in this same Epistle(chap. x. 32)-we find him speaking to the church of Christ, and speaking of them as having been illuminated; which word certainly signifies something very similar, if not the same, as the word "enlightened;" and if I am not mistaken, the same word is used in the original, but translated differently. Now, if my reader will take the trouble of referring to the following portions, he will there find that the natural man-whether professor or profane-is spoken of, not as being enlightened, but in darkness.-Isaiah 1x. 2; Psalm lxxxii. 5; John xii. 40; Isaiah ix. 2, and xxix. 18. Many more texts might be quoted, but the above are sufficient. Before we go any further, let me ask thee, reader, hast thou ever been enlightenedor, art thou still in nature's darkness? I do not ask how, when, or where you were enlightened; for perhaps, like myself, you might not be able to answer those questions; but can you, with the blind man and myself, join and say, "One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see?" If so, we shall, I think, be of one opinionviz., that we were born blind, and in darkness; that we continued in this wretched state until the dear Saviour passed by, according to his eternal purpose, and opened our eyes; and now, as a proof of our eyes being really opened, and also of our being in reality enlightened, we see things we never saw before, some of which cause us much sorrow, and others much joy. As regards ourselves, we see that we are very great sinners, having broken the law in ten thousand times ten thousand different ways and times-that we cannot save ourselves in any way; and that the garment of which we were once so proud, and which we thought was so pure and so perfect, is not only torn, and ragged in every part, but it is so filthy and abominable, that rather than appear in it any longer, we would prefer to be found naked. But-blessed be our God! this is not necessary; for our precious Christ has, we find, wrought out for us such a glorious and perfect robe, that one of old, seeing us clothed in it, gave expression to his admiration and wonder, by saying, King's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold." "The Again. Our eyes being opened and enlightened, we see beauty where we never saw it before. We once looked upon the dear Redeemer as being without form or comeliness; but now we see such beauty and C 2 loveliness in him, that we cannot find words | apostle's description of the character referred to express our admiration. He is the to-They were made partakers of the Holy 66 Altogether lovely." What I have seen Ghost. Some tell us that this simply means since being enlightened by the Holy Spirit's influence, is a subject upon which I should like to say more; but I must not longer dwell here, except to say to those who never have been enlightened, that if they remain in that state, they must for ever dwell in the land of darkness, where the children of darkness have their eternal residence, and where the prince of darkness does for ever reign. The 2nd description given of the character spoken of is, They have tasted of the heavenly gift. In great mercy, the Lord does bestow upon his people many good and perfect gifts; but the greatest of all his gifts is his only begotten SON, who is here referred to in language most expressive. First, he is spoken of as a Gift, to signify that the blessings which are in him are not to be purchased, but freely given. Second, by way of distinction. As we receive many gifts from God, he is "THE HEAVENLY GIFT;" denoting that he came from heaven; and that his doctrines, and his finished work, lead to heaven. But, further still, as there are many heavenly gifts, he is, Thirdly, called "THE heavenly Gift;" to signify that he is the greatest; yea, the sum and substance of all heavenly gifts. I think nearly all of my readers will agree with me that this heavenly Gift means Christ. Therefore, I shall proceed to make a few observations upon what is meant by TASTING of the heavenly Gift. As none can either taste or eat unless they have life, our Lord makes eating his flesh and drinking his blood, a proof of life. (John vi. 53, 54). And as it is by eating, that we taste, so by eating the flesh of Christ, we taste of the heavenly Gift. We must not suppose that the child of God is an eater of wafer gods, as the Papists say; but it is by faith we eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God. To taste is to know a thing by experience; thus we are said to taste of death, when we have passed through it; and, to taste that the Lord is gracious, when we have experimentally known his grace. Some may say that the apostle speaks of those who only taste; but that the real Christian eats until he is filled. If, my friend, it has been your happy lot to eat until you were satisfied of the Paschal Lamb, bless God for it; but take care what you do with, and what you say about, the poor tasters; for, depend upon it, there are many of the Lord's family, who would be glad if they could, with assurance, say, that they had tasted of this heavenly Gift: but few, comparatively, can go further than say, that they have tasted of him: therefore don't cut off these poor tasters; perhaps, some day, when the sun does not shine quite so bright upon you, your memory will get bad, and the path in which you have come, rather dark, then you will not so easily remember the banquetting-house, and the feast of fat things, and will begin to question whether or not even you have ever tasted that the Lord was gracious. We come now to notice the 3rd part of the that they were made partakers of the Holy Ghost in his extraordinary influences, and in no other, as in the cases of Balaam and Saul; but as we are not told by God that such is the case, I do not see any reason why the boundary should be set here; for as the saints are made partakers of the heavenly calling, and that calling is by the influences and operations of the Holy Spirit, so they are made partakers of the Holy Ghost. And I do not know of one single instance in which mere professors or hypocrites are spoken of in this way; nor do I believe that the Holy Ghost has any immediate convincing influence upon any, excepting those who are the Lord's elect. 4thly, They have tasted of the good word of God. By the good word of God, we are to understand, that which he has revealed to us in precepts, promises, and doctrines, as his will; it may be divided as follows: First, the good word of his law. Second, the good word of his gospel. And both of these the child of God either has, or will taste of. First, he tastes of the good word of God's law: i.e., he comes into an experimental acquaintance with it; and finds, to his surprise, that it is exceeding broad; that it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and that by it he stands condemned before God. Then in the Lord's own good time he tastes of the good word of the gospel of his grace; which, after the bitterness of the law, is indeed sweet unto him. as the Christian passes on his journey, he ofttimes tastes of the good word of God, both in promises applied, and promises fulfilled; by which he is strengthened, encouraged, and made to go on his way rejoicing. And Now, in tasting an article of food, we find these three things connected with it:-1st, By tasting, we come to a knowledge of the particular flavor and properties of that of which we partake; so, spiritually, by application of a promise, we, for the first time, come to a knowledge of the sweetness, preciousness, and suitability of that particular portion: we never saw so much beauty in it before, and seem quite surprised that it has so long escaped our notice. Second, by tasting or eating, our hunger is appeased." I do not say that by tasting the good word of God, our hunger is entirely taken away-although some may have been so satisfied as to say, "It is enough;" yet I think generally the people of God have very strong appetites; and although they may sink into very dark, and careless frames, yet they do not entirely cease to hunger. If they come into darkness, it makes their spiritual appetites keen-if into distress, or affliction, it has the same effect; and even when feasting upon the heavenly manna, they do not become satiated, but the more they eat, the more they want. Yet their hunger is appeased, although not satisfied; neither will they be satisfied until they awake up in his likeness. Thirdly, by tasting and eating we obtain |