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their ways or follies. This obscures our evidences, and must fill us with apprehension. Dejection, on account of any of God's deal ings, will produce it. When we indulge hard thoughts of him, and think he deals hardly with us, we lose the benefit of the rod, and have less evidence that we are God's children. Till we submit, we must sigh in vain. We have also suitable counsel administered to these persons. He that is walking in this uncomfortable condition," let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." This is your only cure. Trust in the Lord,-stay upon him,-He will bear you up and deliver you. If you have been dishonouring him by your self-righteousness, and your falling into sin, you must just humble yourself before him. You must trust in his name; so your iniquity will be taken away. Let not the aspect of Divine Providence disquiet you; let the Lord be your stay, and he will strengthen your heart: "wait, I say, on the Lord."

God will do all things well. You must then, like Jonah, in his extremity, still make application to God. When in the fish's belly, he says, "I am cast out of thy sight, yet will I look again towards thy holy temple." He had been looking there be fore; and now he must look again. So do you look again towards his holy temple; he will save you.

URIEL.

REMARKS ON THE PROPER EVIDENCE OF
A WORK OF GRACE.

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I HAVE observed that, though we are under the necessity appealing to apostolic authority, in proof of the possibility of knowing our election of God, some writers have manifested strong objections to the propriety of ascertaining this fact in our own cases, by a conformity to their spirit and practice; lest, as they express it, by carrying the marks of a renewed state too high, we should discourage and intimidate the weak. But it has struck myself, and probably some others, that, if it be needful to avail ourselves of the experience and testimony of the inspired writers to convince gainsayers, or to satisfy true Christians on that head, why should we hesitate to apply to others what was an evidence to them of a justified state? For can it be right or safe to try to give any satisfaction, as to this particular, in a way different from that in which they obtained it, and have stated it? Or need we fear any bad consequences to the weak and sincere, from referring them to that spirit and practice which was, with holy men of old, the satisfactory evidence of a renewed state, and of an interest in the inheritance above?

Much stress is sometimes laid, by way of evidence of a work

of grace, upon the Spirit's convincing of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. But it is pretty certain, that ever since the spirit of truth was poured upon the apostles, and other believers, many have been thus far convinced, by their instrumentality, that never yielded to it, nor were saved by it. And there has, moreover, so much occurred under our own observation of a work resemb ling this, that has turned out nothing permanent and substantial, that we must probably advert to the continued effects of such conviction,, in obedience, subjection, and conformity to the Divine Will, to discover, with more certainty, a genuine saving work of the Spirit from its counterfeits.

One apostle has taught us, that if we know that God is righteous, we know that every one that practiseth righteousness is born of him. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the Devil; whosoever practiseth not righteousness is not of God; for he loveth him that followeth after righteousness, from the real love of it; and hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments, from such a state of mind. When we are exhorted by another to put off the old man, and to put on the new; to mortify our corrupt passions and inclinations; to exercise ourselves unto godliness, and to set our affections on things above, it seems quite natural to apply a conformity to all of this kind, to the evidence of being a new creature in Christ, which is peculiar to the man that is truly in him, by the Spirit of holiness and of life. And when a third has taught us, that adding to our faith, godliness, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, &c. is the sure way of obtaining evidence of our election, we ought to conclude, no evidence can be depended upon as authentic, where these are overlooked or neglected: and if for them to live was Christ, in order to death being a gain, it cannot be unscriptural to unite the necessity of some such life with the evidence of a saving change in our case also.

Nor need we, I conceive, be under any apprehensions of discouraging the sincere, by urging to these as the prescribed way of securing legitimate proof of a justified state; because such a life is no more than the avowed proper use of those supplies of grace, promised and secured to all who are willing to seek them.†

It would indeed be difficult to shew a sterling undeniable work of grace, upon apostolic authority, without including in it a conformity to apostolic example. "I am crucified to the world with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me; and the life I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God," &c. "I through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God," &c. They knew they loved their Lord, from the affection they felt for him, the delight they had in him, and the pleasure they experienced in keeping his word. And they unquestionably meant this proof of their sincerity to be

*Acts xxiv. 25. Heb. vi. 4—6.

+ Luke xi. 9, 10 John i. 36.

applied to others, with the same view as they made use of it for themselves.

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At any rate, we ought to be cautious how we propose any thing beneath this, as the trial of a gracious state, lest we make not a sufficient discrimination between such a state and what an hypocrite has been known to attain to. These have begun in the spirit, have run well for a time, have known, God, or rather been known of him, have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of Christ, have partook of the holy spirit, and tasted the good word of God, &c. from that word being sown in their heart, and have been taken for real Christians, and treated accordingly by men of much judgment and experience in the divine life..

In a word, nothing short of sowing to the spirit, of striving to enter in at the strait gate, and of pressing toward the mark, in this way, to apprehend that for which also they were apprehended of Christ, would satisfy the apostles of the certainty of their election and calling. In the practice of this, with the love of Christ in their hearts, it was obvious they were under grace : and so far and so long as we follow them therein, we have an undoubted right to conclude on the safety of our state as truly, and with the same certainty, as they. And whether this method of stating the evidence of our election do not savour more of divine authority, is not more applicable to the case of the upright, and more likely to stir up their grace to lively exercise, than that which overlooks it, some of your correspondents, I hope, 'will take the trouble to show, the first convenient opportunity. I am respectfully, dear Sir, yours,

Knaresborough.

H. K.

REFLECTIONS ON MORAL SLEEP.

It is high time to awake out of sleep. Rom. xiii. FF." SLEEP has been justly called the Image of Death; for while the body is under its influence, there is a total suspension of animal motion; a disconcertment of the mental functions, and, of course, an incapacity for transacting the affairs of ordinary life.

What sleep is to the body, sin is to the soul. It is rendered altogether lethargic by its operation; neither terrified by the threatenings of the law, nor allured by the promises of the gospel. There is a dread insensibility pervading all its powers, notwithstanding the imminent danger to which the sinner is exposed.. Being under the condemnatory sentence of a violated law, rendered obnoxious to the just wrath of an offended God, and, liable every moment to be summoned before his awful tribunal," to have the irreversible sentence past, surely the words address

themselves most solemnly to all such, -"It is high time te awake out of sleep!"

In order to improve the subject a little, let us run a parallel between natural and moral sleep: and first, as to the season in which the body lies chiefly under its influence. "They that sleep," says our apostle elsewhere, "sleep in the night:" so it is with the sinner. It is during the dreary night of nature's darkness, in which the faculties of the soul are fast locked by the soporific powers of sin. Nor can any human effort awake the senseless sinner, till the same voice that raised Lazarus from the grave of death, addresses his conscience with irresistible energy, by saying "AWAKE, thou that sleepest; and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee life."

In natural sleep there is, in most, an uncommon propensity to dream. And, is it not so in the moral sense? What are the pursuits of mankind in general, but so many extravagant, though waking dreams? do they not illude the mind, mislead the judg ment, and, if the sleepers are not timely awakened, tend to ensure the destruction of the immortal soul? Let one instance, amongst many others, serve to elucidate this solemn fact: Was not the state of the rich man in the gospel a most infatuating dream; who thought there was no higher degree of happiness to be attained, than what consisted in gorgeous apparel, a sumptuous table, and an elegant retinue? But what is the next intelligence we hear of him?-that " in Hell he lifted up his eyes!" O fatal delusion! Most miserable transition! May the words be impressed with all solemnity on the consciences of all modern dreamers about worldly bliss," It is high time for you, O sinners, to awake out of sleep!"

As dreams are natural to all ages, so it is in the moral sense. The young dream that they shall live a prodigious number of years, enjoy life in all its gratifications, and when they approach to hoary hairs, it will be expedient to bestow a few reflections on futurity; when, perhaps, the seeds of some fell disease are now springing up, and soon will sap the foundation of the young constitution; laying the fabric low in the dust, from whence it was formed. Therefore, all that can be said respect. ing the prospects and expectations formed in the youthful mind, is, "Behold, it was a dream!"

Would that these fanciful excursions, called Dreams, were confined to younger minds only! But, when we observe mature age and hoary heads equally exposed to them, what shall we say? When the sensualist dreams that his supreme happiness consists in the gratifications of depraved appetites! the pleasure-taker in frequenting operas, theatres, balls, and assemblies! the ambitious in ascending the ladder of fame and honour! and the covetous in augmenting his hoarded treasure! we view them with pity, and would warn them with affection, by saying, "It is high

time to awake out of sleep;" the night (of this present state) is far spent, and the day, the awful day, of eternity is at hand!

But the warning originally given, is equally applicable to the professing as to the worldly class of the individuals of mankind ;' and perhaps was primarily addressed to the former. That pros fessors are addicted to slumber, is a truth too obvious to be denied, and deeply to be lamented:-hence a spirit of watchfulness and prayer are so frequently enjoined in the sacred scriptures. And as this drowsiness arises from various sources, to enumerate a few, may (under divine influence) tend to guard the professing Christain against its insidious attack.

Worldly case and prosperity have a considerable tendency to induce spiritual slumber in the soul. Very few indeed are equally awake to their spiritual and temporal interests. How many have been observed to walk humbly with their God," manifesting a sweet savour of the gospel in their Christian conversation, when kept in a state of daily dependence on his providence for a supply of their external wants; who, when raised to outward prosperity or independence, have sunk into spiritual drowsiness and inactivity! They, Sampson-like, have slept on the lap of the Dalilah of worldly prosperity; and, when they awoke, found to their cost, that they had been deprived of their spiritual strength and vigour.

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Worldly association is another source of spiritual slumber in professors. Whilst they are "walking as becometh the gospel," in company with the "excellent of the earth," they find, as iron sharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his friend;" and the hallowed fire of divine love on the altar of the heart is brightened thereby. But when there is an unnecessary coalition with the "men of the world, whose portion is in this life," a participation of their enjoyments, and approbation of their manners, how soon does the salt discover it has lost its savour!" and, however active the professor may appear in the transactions of worldly concerns, it will be evident to a discerning eye, that respecting the things "pertaining to the kingdom of God," the soul is in a drowsy and slumbering state.

Lastly: Anxious solicitude about present things, is unfriendly to spiritual watchfulness in professors. How many, like Martha, are careful about many things," when the one thing neccfnl" is too much neglected! Instead of living by faith daily for soul and body, family and concerns, for time and eternity, there is a perpetual perplexity about temporal affairs, which causes the soul to "cleave to the dust," and proves the source of spiritual drowsiness respecting eternal concerns. Such, surely forget Him who hath said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee;" and again, "Cast thy burden on the Lord,” and he will sustain both thee and it. Add to all this, that a neglect of private prayer and public ordinances, tends to lull the soul into a state of spiritual slumber. Prayer and watchfulness are always 4 G

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