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her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.' The witnesses for Christ have continued to give their testimony, and though they have been slain, denied the rites of sepulture, their ashes, like those of the immortal Wickliffe, cast into the river, whose remains were carried by the Swift into the Avon, and by the Avon into the sea, their testimony has been borne from town to town, and country to country, and, received among all people, and kindreds, and tongues, and

nations."

tion, from the martyrdom of her husband, from extreme poverty, notwithstanding excessive toil, from the illness of all her children, and the death of one of them, whose grave she had to dig with her own hands, and with a funeral service improvised by herself, but unique for appropriateness and fervour, ought to have been received into the bosom of the universal Christian Church with all love and honour. How humiliating is the statement made by her own lips, that a Christian minister, who had the means A remarkable correspondence is shown of relieving her distress, offered to obbetween the conduct of the native In-tain for her a monthly allowance if she dian professors, and those of the first ages:"It was sometimes the case, during the Pagan persecutions in the first ages of Christianity, that after the act of apostasy, the persecutors denied to their victims the immunity from which that apostasy was to have saved them. Similar scenes have been re-enacted in India. Some who have dishonoured the sacred name of Jesus, have reaped the harvest of retribution immediately, and have failed to obtain the miserable remnant of time for which they were willing to barter their souls, and thus have afforded their enemies the fiendish gratification of destroying alike both soul and body. This tragical history has also reproduced some of those remarkable scenes witnessed in former times of persecution in the history of the Church. In a moment of weakness, some Christians, through the fear of death, have given way, and, like Peter, denied the Lord, but like that apostle, have afterwards repented of their sin, and renewed the Christian profession for which they were ready to die. These penitents, like Cranmer, have revoked their recantation, and, looking to the Saviour for mercy, have been ready to lay down their lives for His sake."

would join the Church of which he was a minister, and abandon the Church to which she conscientiously belonged. This man, whose name we are not careful to discover, did as much to dishonour the name of Christ as the poor woman had done for its honour. What could be more unlike the loving spirit of Christianity than to look on such a noble confessor, and refuse her support unless she abandoned one section of the universal Church and passed over to another? She would indeed have been a most valuable addition to any Church, and no censure is due to the minister who would have been glad to welcome her within his particular fold; but what language shall be employed to characterize the narrow spirit that allowed this martyr's widow, herself a sufferer for Christ, to remain in destitution unless she denied one article of her creed, which she, whether rightly or wrongly, regarded as a part of the faith for which she was willing to die? We are satisfied that the Church whose number this gentleman appears so anxious to augment, will render him little thanks for attempting to enlarge its numbers by a sordid bargain with a poor starving woman, who had been reduced nearly to death Here is a case of sectarian bigotry, by her privations and sufferings among which is deservedly held up to universal the heathen population. Conduct like censure:-"This narrative (of Fatima) this in the presence of Mohamedans and does not close without recording one Hindoos cannot but prove a serious imfact which must give unmitigated pain pediment to those who might be disto every Christian who reads it, to what- posed to submit to the claims of ever section of the Church he may Christian truth. There can be few belong. This Christian heroine, whose attractions for a heathen in that caricaname must henceforth hold a high place ture of Christianity that divides it into among the holy women who have brought septs and clans, who have no loving honour to the cause of Christ, after charity for each other, and who regard passing through scenes of great afflic-as aliens all who say Sibboleth, when

wise.""

they ought to pronounce the orthodox | danger, but the pundit declared otherShibboleth. No one is fitted to represent the Church of Christ in India who has yet to learn that we, being many, are one bread and one body,' and who is not prepared to rejoice in the triumphs of all who are casting out devils in the sacred name of Jesus, though they follow not in the party to which he belongs."

An instance of holy courage:"What an encouraging indication have we of the vital power of the divine Word, and what a type of its future triumphs, in the fact that the storm had scarcely passed over Futtehgurb, when a high-caste Brahmin came forward to profess his submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact is thus related :- A pundit, who had originally instructed the missionaries of this station in Hindustani, a very high-caste Brahmin and learned man, who had read the Scriptures before the outbreak, presented himself to these two gentlemen, soon after their arrival the other day, and asked to be baptized, as he was prepared to become a Christian. Of course, as they did not know the pundit, to be able to judge of the sincerity of his desire for baptism, they postponed meeting his request. The singular part is, that this man, urging his wish, said that he did not wish his conversion to be a secret; on the contrary, he desired his baptism might take place in the most public manner, before all people, when assembled at a fair held close to Futtehgurh. The missionaries referred to the probable

We have in the following a good illustration of the parable of Seeking for Treasure :-"When the captain returned from the hills, Hera showed him the book, and told him she understood it was one of our Christian books, and she should like to read it; but, as every native does, she first wanted her master's order to do so. He told her he would not forbid her doing , but she must not ask him any more. ut it. She saw he did not wish her to read it, and therefore she did not. In her box the book remained for twelve years without her opening it. One day, in going to the box, the book attracted her notice, and she thought she would take it out, and see what kind of a book it was. Her heart at this time, she says, was sorrowful. She read a little, and liked what she read. She continued to read till she had read it entirely through. This book was no other than the New Testament. This was nine years ago. She says, that having read through the whole once, she began it again, but this time she read only a small portion, and thought over it for a long time, when a little light broke in upon her mind, and she began to pray that God would make her to understand what she read. In this way she went on reading and praying for three years and a half, when, to use her own expressive words, 'her faith became strong and firm.'

ON THE PROSPECT OF LOSING AN ONLY CHILD.

JESUS, if thou dost ask my child, I would not say thee nay;
And oh! may I be reconciled to feel as well as say,
With my whole heart, "Thy will be done,"
Though thou shouldst take my only one.

It is no trifling sacrifice which thou dost ask of me,
Unless thy grace the strength supplies I cannot give it thee;
But strong in that imparted power,

I can endure e'en such an hour.

I fondly hoped my child to rear, a witness for his God,

A labourer in that blessed sphere which sainted ones have trod :
But who am I, that I should be

The chooser of his destiny?

Perhaps it is an infant lyre which waits for him to raise,

Perhaps the choirs of heaven require an infant's voice of praise:
If it will bring more praise to thee,

Then take him, Lord, in infancy.

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ઃઃ

THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF UNION WITH CHRIST,

BRIEFLY UNFOLDED FOR THE EDIFICATION OF THE BELIEVER.

(Continued from page 32.)

THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE UNFOLDED.

word "spirit," though it may be used to signify generally what is immaterial in human nature, does more specifically denote only that Divine essence which is communicated in regeneration.

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THERE is nothing that really militates | signify only one part of man, so the against the doctrine we have thus laid down, in the fact, which we have no wish to conceal, that there are some few passages in the New Testament (the Old Testament, of course, does not recognise the distinction; forasmuch as light and immortality are brought clearly and fully "to light" only by the Gospel), in which the terms "spirit" and "soul" seem to be used interchangeably, or as being synonymous with one another. For instance, we find the Virgin Mary saying (Luke i. 46, 47), "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." Again, in Luke viii. 55, we read, concerning Jairus's daughter, that "her spirit came again, and she arose straightway." Paul also (2 Cor. vii. 1) exhorts the Corinthians to "cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit," and, above all, in the history of the crucifixion, all four evangelists assert that Jesus yielded up the spirit." Whereas, it is quite obvious, that in the three former cases the word "spirit" is synonymous with "soul;" and in the last and most important, the soul of Christ must at least be included under the general denomination of "His Spirit. Still, such a secondary sense of the word "spirit" can no more deprive it of another and more specific meaning, than it does in the case of the word "soul" itself, which we know is frequently used, even in Scripture, to signify a human person, including body as well as soul. As when it is said, "The same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts ii. 41). And that in the ship with Paul " were two hundred threescore and sixteen souls" (Acts xxvii. 37). We are certainly warranted, therefore, in concluding, that as the word "soul" may sometimes signify the whole man, but does more properly

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* See Matt. xxvii. 50; Mark xv. 37; Luke xxiii. 46; John xix 30.

If the doctrine which we have thus "laid down be true, it has a most important bearing on the much-vexed question (often discussed in the pages of the moral "Gospel Magazine") of the obligation of every unconverted man who hears the Gospel, to believe in Christ to the saving of his soul; or, in other words, the question of "dutyfaith." It is usual with certain modern, and, in the main, "Evangelical," writers, represented by DR. WARDLAW and DR. PAYNE, who strenuously maintain that it is the "duty" of every one who hears the Gospel (i.e. their Gospel) to "believe," come to Christ," &c.; to make much of a distinction which they draw, and which is, in fact, the backbone of all their arguments, between what they call "natural, or physical," and "moral" inability: the latterrepresented as a want or depravity of will-being, they assert, the only inability under which the sinner labours. This notable discovery appears to have been first made by the celebrated Richard Baxter, and was subsequently adopted by Andrew Fuller and some other renegade Baptists, through whom it has now obtained a wide and general acceptance. Now, of course we do not intend to assert that it is a physical inability which prevents the sinner from believing. A man, we are quite ready to admit, does not believe with his arms or his legs, and, therefore, it is not the having lost the use of his limbs which incapacitates him from believing. But what then? Can there be no inability besides a physical and a moral inability? If, as we have endeavoured to prove, regeneration is the introduction of a new and distinct essence into the man-if, as M'NEILE asserts, a believer differs from an unbeliever, in possessing, besides the

DR.

act or function of the spirit ;* the unregenerate man is, as the apostle declares plainly, "soulical," having not the spirit; and, therefore, the unregenerate man is not merely morally, but spiritually unable to exercise faith. Accept the doctrine here set forth, then, and dutyfaith is effectually overthrown; reject it, and it may be difficult to meet the argument of its advocates.

body and soul common to both, a spirit | ever, to put it in a sylogistic form, is the peculiar to himself-then there certainly may be, and we are bold to affirm there is, a SPIRITUAL INABILITY attaching to the unregenerate man, between which and a mere moral inability there is as wide, yea, a far wider distinction to be drawn, than between a moral and physical inability. Let us not confound things that differ. Only physical ability is adequate to the production of physical acts; only moral ability is adequate to the production of moral acts; and, in like manner, only spiritual ability is adequate to the production of spiritual acts. Faith, how

(To be continued.)

* See the "Gospel Magazine,” March 1858, p.p. 132, 133.

[THE following are from the pen of our esteemed correspondent E. B. M., widow of our late beloved and venerable friend, the OLD PILGRIM, of BIRMINGHAM. Her style-easy flow-and the soundness of her views, will, we are sure, commend itself to every true spiritual reader. These pages are admirably adapted for enclosure, and a variety may be had, at a moderate price, of the writer, Mrs. Moens, Bath Row, Birmingham. Whilst the truth is thus propagated, pecuniary assistance will likewise be rendered to a most deserving person.-ED.]

"I WILL TRUST, AND NOT BE AFRAID."
How sweet, while journeying homewards,
To get a glimpse of heav'n!
And hear my Saviour's cheering voice
Pronounce my sins forgiv'n.
Blest with this sweet assurance,
Afflictions are but light,
For each is sent in cov'nant love,
And therefore must be right.
When press'd by sore temptations,
My soul is much dismay'd;
Oh! whisper to my trembling heart,
""Tis I; be not afraid."
Let but Thy presence cheer me,
The darkest path I'll tread;
For nothing ever can divide

The members from the Head.

When overcome by weakness,

Be Thou my strengthening guide,
Speak some sweet promise to my heart,
And needful grace provide.
Refresh my weary spirit

With tokens of Thy love;
And lead my soul to purer joys
In yonder world above.
Birmingham.

The affections of the unrenewed man are as an unruly horse, that either will not receive, or violently runs away with, the rider.-Boston.

Heaven is worth dying for, though earth is not worth living for.—Hall.

THE OUTER AND THE INNER LIFE.
The outer life I live below

'Mid scenes of sin and sorrow,
Is toil and conflict, pain and woe,
And caring for the morrow.
Poor sordid life! a living death,

Toiling for things that perish;
Oh! why thus spend thy fleeting breath,
And fading comforts cherish?

My inner life is hid with God,

In bonds of love eternal,
And when that love is shed abroad,
I dread no foe infernal.

I rise beyond the things of time,
And realize my portion,
My peace is great, my joy sublime,
And strength in due proportion.
My inner life securely rests,

Though all be dark around me,
And if by Satan sore oppress'd,

He cannot then confound me.
Christ is my life! in Him I live,
In bonds of vital union;
And hope to live beyond the grave,
In perfect, full communion.

E. B. M.

Easy, good-natured, affable men, whose hearts are nevertheless unrenewed by divine grace, may be compared to ripe plums and apricots, which, however soft and smooth on the outside, yet have a hard stone within.-Anon.

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WAYSIDE NOTES.

as we turned again to pace up and down that platform, we reflected as follows:

Tarry thou the Lord's leisure." A VERY salutary and wholesome injunction, beloved; for, oh! impatient one, how often are you and I found saying in spirit, "I cannot tarry the Lord's leisure, for He is so tardy in acting. I shall surely be destroyed before He will deliver me out of this trouble. He must have forgotten to be gracious this time. His eye never can be upon me now, or He would surely save me from impending danger. His mercy is clean gone for ever."

Silence! silence! rebellious one. Silence! silence! my own impatient heart. "Tarry thou the Lord's leisure." Depend upon it, He never forgets the people of His sovereign electing choice. He has not forgotten you. "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord." You will see then, beloved, the subject for us this month is a waiting faith; and believe me, it is experimentally thrust upon us. The Lord has placed us in a position especially to need it, and is causing us to know and feel that "whom He loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.

An incident that has recently crossed our pathway will illustrate what we understand by "a waiting faith."

It was a cold, frosty morning when we arrived at Reading; having to journey on by a branch line, we had to wait some three-quarters of an hour at the station of that place. As we paced up and down the platform, our eye rested upon a respectable looking man, having rather the appearance of a servant, and yet without the drab coat and appendages which are usually worn under such circumstances. He had placed himself in a position of readiness to meet the up train. After pacing up and down, at least a dozen times, and wanting some one to talk to, we addressed this person, asking him which way he was journeying. His reply at once came home upon us with power. He said, "I am waiting for my master, sir." Oh! thought we, that is a hallowed position; waiting patiently for the master's arrival, not moving till he appears; and

Now, 1st. That man is in a waiting posture, with this idea uppermost-the arrival of his master. If a faithful servant, he will not be found leaving the spot, and running hither and thither, but will be quietly on the look out. Supposing he was in a state of nervous excitement, and when he heard the distant whistle, ran to and fro, the probability would be, he would meet with some accident; all he can do will not hasten the train; if he is wise he will be seated, and patiently wait till the train is due. And never have we found any use in those convulsive and nervous movements we have made from time to time. Nay, far from it, one and all have been signal failures. We know some would say, "To sit still is to be no better than an idler;" but we have lived to prove it, after all, to be the wisest position. And the dear Lord, by disappointing all our personal efforts to do something, says, in unmistakable language, "Tarry thou the Lord's leisure; I have something yet in store for thee only wait." Hallowed position! it never was disappointed yet. No; He will come in His own best and wisest way, at the very nick of time; and then how manifest the result! how mighty the consequence! how glorious the deliverance! Verily, waiting for Him will be fully recompensed; for with a precious Christ there is always a present as well as an eternal "recompense of reward."

be,

Oh! then, beloved, shall not our cry

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'Oh, make me wait thy holy will,
And let my trembling heart be still:
And though I can't thy purpose see,
All must be well, if ruled by thee?"

But hark! we hear the panting of a distant train, and our friend is on the move with his eye directed towards the sound. Presently the train arrives: all is bustle and confusion, which, when somewhat subsided, we behold our friend alone still, and apparently disappointed. What can it mean? Upon inquiry, we

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