appearance in themselves; such will not mistake him in his appearance, but will assuredly own him and confess him in them who own him in themselves. This is the ground of the saints' knowledge one of another, their knowledge of Christ in themselves; in the knowledge of him in themselves they know one another: but all who hate his appearance in themselves, they will also hate them in whom his appearance is loved and received in uprightness; and they that hate the light in themselves, will also hate him and them, wherever he appears. John iii. 18 to 20.

So all love the light, and bring your deeds to it and walk in it, and then in the light you will see more light; and then in the light you shall see the children of the light, and shall love them.

And here you may see how that persecuting spirit wrought against Christ and his followers, and how these persecutors covered themselves with the holy men's words that were past, but in the mean time persecuted Christ that was amongst them ; and after Christ was crucified and risen again, and ascended, and the promise poured upon his disciples, if you have a mind to take a view how the same persecuting spirit in its instruments fulfilled what Christ had forewarned them of, then read these Scriptures-Acts iv. 1 to 23; Acts v. 17 to the end; Acts viii. 1, &c.; xi. 19; xiii. 50; Rom. viii. 35; Gal. v. 11; vi. 12; 2 Tim. iii. 12; 2 Cor. xii. 10; 2 Thess. i. 4, &c. Here it may be seen how the words of the Lord Jesus were plentifully fulfilled, and the apostles and followers of the Lord Jesus were exceeding glad in the fulfilling of the words of the Lord Jesus, and they took pleasure in suffering for him and with him, who was with them through and to the end of all their sufferings, their exceeding great reward, joy and peace in the midst of their greatest sufferings. For as with him they suffered, with him also did they reign, rejoicing exceedingly that they were accounted worthy to suffer for him, not only the loss of all things in this present

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world, but also gladly and joyfully embraced cruel tortures, even death itself, for his sake, that they might live with him for ever! And in all ages since it hath been the portion of such from the world, as Christ said, "In the world ye shall have trouble or tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace;" and we find and have found it to be so in this our age, wherein we live, we meet with troubles and tribulations in this world, but in him is our peace and our joy; and he is the strength of our salvation, and exceeding great recompence and reward, beyond all our sufferings, which are not worthy to be compared with the present joy and peace already witnessed in him, and much less worthy to be compared with the joy of that everlasting crown which is set before us, and laid up for us and all who shall keep the faith to the end! So to him over all be the glory, honour and praise, dominion and obedience, who is the author and finisher of our faith, and of all who believe and abide in him. Amen.

PATRICK LIVINGSTONE.

ABERDEEN PRISON.

CHRIST JESUS, THE EVERLASTING COVENANT OF LIGHT WITNESSED TO, AND DECLARED TO BE GOD'S SALVATION TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, AND HIS PRESENCE AND WORK IN AND WITH HIS PEOPLE IN ALL THEIR SUFFERINGS HELD FORTH.

THE Lord Jesus is given for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness from the prison house. "But this is a people robbed and spoiled, they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses; they are for a prey, and none delivereth and none saith Res

tore. Who among you will give ear to this? who will hearken and hear for the time to come." Isaiah xlii.

6, 7, 22, 23. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, bécause the Lord hath anointed me to preach glad tidings to the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, &c." Isaiah Ixi. 1, 2, 3. And David prayed, saying, "Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name. The Lord despiseth not his prisoners. The Lord executeth judgment for the oppressed, he giveth food to the hungry, the Lord looseth the prisoners." And he prayed saying, "Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee." Psalm cxlii. &c. That thou mayst say to the prisoners, Go forth, to them that are in darkness Show yourselves." Isaiah xlix. 9. And Christ preaches liberty to the spirits in prison. "From heaven did the Lord behold the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner."

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Here you may all see what the devil's prison is, and who are his prisoners, bound with his chains in his prison house. The souls of men and women are his prisoners, and people's hearts are his house, where his dark power rules. So the evil one makes the hearts of people the place of their imprisonment, wherein he sets up his power of darkness, wherein he imprisons the souls of people, and binds them in his prison house of darkness, in his chains of darkness within themselves. Here is Satan's strong hold, and house wherein he rules as a prince, and seeks to keep all within in his evil peace under his power of darkness. And therefore he who is the prince of darkness cannot abide the light, because his kingdom is a kingdom of darkness, and his power stands in darkness; and so long as people live under his power of darkness in their own hearts, they are his prisoners, bound in his chains. But as Christ Jesus, the Prince of life and light comes to be believed in, and received in his light in your hearts, the prince of darkness cannot stand in you, but his peace will be broken and he cast

out. Therefore above all, this prince of darkness cannot abide the light nor the opening of the eye, for the eyes of people's minds opening which he hath shut and blinded, then they will look to Him who hath opened their eyes, and will also look upon themselves, and see their souls prisoners to the prince of darkness in his prison house of darkness, bound and fettered with his chains of darkness; and looking unto Christ, he will not despise but regard the sighing of the prisoners. When the soul once looks up with the right eye opened by Christ, and seeing itself thus lying in darkness, in prison, in chains bound, and not able to move from under these chains, nor to come out of that prison house-then, I say, the soul thus awakened and made sensible of its state, comes to see the great need of a Saviour, and begins to sigh and groan after liberty from the sense of its condition; and breathings ascend up unto God, for deliverance out of this prison house of darkness and from under these chains of darkness. The soul thus visited can find none that can bring it out of the prison house of darkness, but Him alone who is given for a Covenant of light to open the blind eyes, who hath thus far opened the eyes to see itself in prison: to him must the soul look for the bringing forth out of the prison house. He that hath opened the eyes to see the captivity, he must proclaim liberty to the captive soul, another cannot do it; he it is that can open the prison doors, and loose the chains, because he is the Lord that executeth judgment for the oppressed: he it is that giveth food to the hungry soul. He is that Lord that looseth the prisoners, who will not shut out the sighings and true groanings of the prisoner, they come before him, the sighing of the needy and the cry of the poor he will not despise; though the oppressor do not hear, nor doth regard, yet, will the Lord God arise, for the sighing of the needy and for the cry of the poor; and from heaven will the Lord behold such, though they in their earthen tabernacle live upon the earth, the place of their pilgrimage; and he will say to the pri

soners Go forth, and to them that are in darkness Shew yourselves. Glory to the Lord God, who hath made us partakers of these holy things: our eyes hath he opened to see these things in our own souls; praises to him for ever, who is the holy anointing oil, who hath anointed our eyes which were covered over with darkness, whereby our eyes were blinded. He hath opened our eyes to see our souls in prison, and in the prison house of darkness, wherein our souls were snared in holes of darkness, and hid in the dark prison houses of Satan, and (by him, the usurper,) spoiled and robbed, and for a time, dispossessed and disinherited of our right of life in God our Father and Creator, who made us in the first Adam in his own image and after his own likeness; which through transgression in the first Adam we lost. But in Christ we were visited again, who is the Light of the world, the Saviour of the world, the way to God again, that lighteth every man coming into the world, that with the light we might believe in him the Fountain of light; who found us out where we lay, a people robbed and spoiled, and snared in holes, and hid in prisons of darkness, by Satan and his ministers; and we were for a prey, and none amongst them all, of all the idol shepherds, said Deliver, or could deliver their own souls and much less ours. From heaven did the Lord behold us where we were scattered, and he opened our eyes and let us see our scattered condition, and begot in us a true travail after deliverance; and many have been the deliverings the Lord hath delivered us withal, who hath not despised our true sighings and groanings after him, and his delivering arm. For he let us see that it was he that had opened our eyes to see what we saw of our condition, and he let us see there was not another that could deliver us but he alone, that had let us see our condition in that measure we saw it. And the Lord did arise for our help, and hitherto hath helped our feet out of the mire and clay, and brought us to know him to be the