huge mass of individuals, densely crowded together; and at the door stood my deacons, looking at me in mute amazement, and I just whispered to them as I passed, "Here's a good congregationis there not ?" But I took my place, and began my subject: oh, you might have heard a pin drop all the time ! I felt the Lord was present, giving "testimony unto the word of his grace;" and on closing, I gave notice, that the lectures would be continued each Sabbath afternoon. Now, a man of a most profane character, who never entered a place of worship, but whose Sabbaths were spent in drinking and other gross sins, happened to meet with my placard, announcing that a lecture on the "flying angel" was going to be delivered, and thinking it would be a very good play, determined to go, if only to turn the thing into ridicule; so, at the appointed hour, he bent his steps towards the theatre, yet, from a strange feeling, quite inexplicable, would not enter, so he climbed up to wards a little open window, and what he heard made hím linger, and the longer he lingered, the more loath he was to go, so he staid to the last, and went home-pricked to the heart! On the following Sabbath, back he went-still had not courage to enter in, but stood at the same little window listening, and weeping as he listened. There was a -marked change in the man's habits, from the first memorable moment of hearing the words of eternal life; the arrow of conviction had entered his soul, and the cry for salvation put unto it. Now, his wife, a very ungodly woman, wondered what had brought about this change in her husband- he had given up swearing and drinking, and she often heard him praying alone. She had heard of the preaching in the theatre-perhaps it was there he had gone; so the next Sunday she asked to accompany him, and together they went to hear the Gospel. He no longer stood without, but went in with the crowd, and oh! wonderful to relate! the word came home with power to the soul of his wife, who continued to attend every lecture with him, until their close. A desire for family prayer was laid upon her heart, yet she had not courage to name it to her husband, until in a most remarkable manner the proposition came from himself-he too, having been deterred from urging it before, expecting her opposition. And now in this family, where sin had abounded, grace began much more to abound. The first time I went to visit them I saw the placard of my lectures, framed, and hanging on the wall of the poor man's cottage; and thankful am I to be enabled to add, that this individual is now a consistent follower of Christ, a useful member of my Church, diligent, earnest, faithful. His wife, too, has become a spiritual help-meet, and they are both monuments of grace; brands plucked from the burning. This is but one instance out of many of the blessing resting upon my preaching in the theatre. H. SERMONS BY THE "OLD PILGRIM," OF BIRMINGHAM. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.”—HEB. xi. 28. THE believer thus having been chosen | pains and sufferings may cause many, in Christ Jesus, redeemed by his own many a pang; still, one in Christ, noprecious blood, led by the Holy Spirit, thing can really shake the blessings; knows and feels, in God's own time, the and the believer, not living upon priSpirit witnessing with his spirit, that he vileges, frames, and feelings, is not, like is a child of God, an heir of heaven, yea, the weather-cock, turned by every wind fellow-heir with Christ. He knows the of doctrine; but firmly fixed upon the unspeakable privilege of being adopted Rock-" Christ, and Him crucified;" into the family of God; he knows his nothing can separate him from the love oneness with Jehovah, in Christ; he be- of God, which is in Christ Jesus our lieves, he rejoices, and knows" all things Lord. This enables him to look forward work together for good ;" try, oh hell, to death, with holy joy, not only as being to pluck him out of my Father's hand. the end of all his struggles; for he Poverty may come, and hard to bear; | knows, that even then the promise stands 66 worketh in you to will." sure, "My grace is sufficient for thee;" | particular redemption; the text tells me, but, his sins having being done away by Christ offered Himself to bear the sins the precious offering, death has lost its of many. Rather I would speak of, and condemning power; the grave its final to those who feel an interest, or even victory: death, instead of being the king the desire of an interest, in Christ bearof terrors to his soul, will sweetly unite ing their sins. If you have a desire after him to Christ, in a sinless state; and it, blessed are ye: For it is God that then we shall, both soul and body, reIf He has united, be for ever with the Lord. Dearly beloved, poor, afflicted child of God, ah! know ye not the inexpressible blessing of Christ, bearing our sins? It was to obtain for you, and for me a glorious liberty, ushering us here into the knowledge of the perfect law, and to enjoy glory-glory with the Lord. Raise, then, your drooping spirits; not a stroke, but in love; not a pang, but in mercy; not a frown, but there is a smile behind; not in affliction but it whispers, "God cross." You want to go a round-aboutis LOVE." He will not suffer his beloved child to wander, therefore He chastens it—“_nevertheless, his lovingkindness will He not utterly take from Him" (Jesus) and in Him, not from any of his chosen, blood-bought, adopted children; therefore you can rejoice in tribulation, leave your moans, and fears, and sorrows to the world; let them enjoy their trash of this earth" your treasure is in heaven. Your redemption draweth nigh; a few more thorns, a few more claps of the law, flashes of conscience, or of hell, may, for a moment, disturb your soul; Christ, the end of the law, Christ, Satan's conqueror, death's plague, He has overcome, and obtained for you, a blissful entrance into that heaven of joy and glory, whither all the waves of affliction, and storms of trial, are wafting you; and where your soul, in God's own time, shall sweetly rest in the arms of Jesus, and blessedly, and for ever, experience what it means"He kissed me with the kisses of his mouth," and shout for ever "Hallelujahs of glory." Thirdly. Let us see the persons whose sins Christ bore. دو : دو دو "The many Some people tell us, that those places in Scripture which speak of Christ dying for all, mean that He died for every individual of the human race, if they will but come to Him: if this be true, it is strange that all should not come and be saved. If Christ shed his blood for all, then one of two things must be trueeither the blood of Christ is not of sufficient value, for all are not saved-or, if the blood of Christ be sufficient worth, it has been spilt in vain-for certainly all are not saved. But I am not going now in the defence of the doctrine of way of your own making, whilst Christ cuts off all this, and simply says, " Believe, and thou shalt be saved." I know that the Eternal Spirit alone can, and does work this in your heart; but who, I pray, gave you a desire? who, but He? And with that desire, think you He withholds the power to believe? Oh for a deep feeling of the power of the Eternal Spirit upon your soul! that power which will truly cast down your vain devices, and foolish imaginations, and lead you in simple faith to say, Abba, Father, I am thine. Many of God's dear people are convinced that they are Christ's, and yet are often wretchedly cast down; their sins they feel such a bar in the way to enjoy happiness. I am not going to say, that sins do not, in many ways, prevent your enjoyment of God's love: for sin will ever be that abominable thing that God hateth, and which every one born of God will hate: but as I have said before, If Christ did bare your sins, you have no longer to bear them-nor their iniquity, nor their punishment. Now remember what the Lord saith, Psal. ciii. 12, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." Here you see Christ blessing the Jehovah for the salvation of his Church, even during their time-state; and pray why should it be otherwise with you? Again; look_at the 8th of Romans, 29th verse, whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate." If the Omniscient God, who knoweth the hearts, and trieth the reins, foreknew you, do you think He saw these things, these sins, this very sin, or not? If He did not foresee it, He cannot (I For would say it with holy reverence) be the Omniscient God! but if he did (as certainly was the case), then, He knowing you would fall into such and such a sin; still did predestinate and foreordain you to be conformed unto the likeness of his Son. If so, then there is no more condemnation for you. Your doubts and your fears are alike, useless and sinful, as arising from unbelief; but, I would repeat, tears will flow fast, repentance will be deeply felt, when you do wander from God, not for pardon, but as a fruit of God's pardoning love to you. The Father's eternal love to you as a part of his Church, is the fountain of your salvation. You-the Church of Christ throughout the world—are the many for whom He died; He taking you into union with Himself, became Surety or bondsman for all your debts. The Holy Spirit bringing you into his family, all these are! Glory be to Jehovah, the Security of his dear people, He enables them to believe, believing they know, that He that hath the Son, hath the witness in himself (1 John v. 10). Then, my beloved, draw near unto the Lord in holy confidence? you belong to the many, whose sins the glorious Christ did bear! storms and trials may roll and threaten destruction, God's everlasting arms are still underneath you, the Eternal God is your Refuge. A few more rising and setting suns, a few more blasts and tempests, and you come off more than conquerors through Him that loved us, and be for ever with the Lord. (To be continued.) THE DEAD RAISED TO LIFE. After acquainting her with the object of my visit, I asked would her husband like to see me. She went up to enquire, and returned in haste to say, “Mr. R▬▬▬would be most glad of a WHEN I was Secretary to the Bible So- But I kept my seat, however, and ciety many years ago, and a Curate in calmly said, "Do you know what the an Eastern county, I found that a res-new-birth spoken of in the Bible means? pectable farmer of an adjoining parish, If not, I will try to explain it to you who had been punctual in the payment from Scripture, and my own experience. of his subscription, had not sent it as The new-birth is tre work of God upon was his custom. So mounting my horse the souls of God's people, whom He one fine day, I started to give him a call, loved before the world was made; wherea distance of about five miles. When I by sinners, such as you and I are, by had reached his house, his wife came out, reason of the fall of Adam, become feeland told me he was very ill. ingly sensible of their lost and ruined state. This change wrought by Divine power upon a poor sinner dead in trespasses and sins, is called in Scripture a new man; because it is altogether foreign to us-puts us into a new state, and we begin to see and feel what we never did before. This new creature has eyes to see what the wants of the neverdying soul are, and a voice to cry unto God for their supply, in sighs and groans, when no words can be uttered; this new man sees sin, and hates it-sees holiness afar off, and loves it, and tries to follow it. Old ways, old sins, old delights, must now be parted with, and nothing seems desirable or worth looking after but the pardon of sin, peace through the blood of the cross, and a holy walking with God. Now, there are great varieties in the way the Lord deals with the visit." I found him in bed, and to all appearance extremely ill. As soon as I entered, he said, "I am very glad to see you; I want you to give me the sacrament." وو My friend," said I, “you are quite a stranger to me. I know nothing whatever of the state of your mind; and from my own parishioners, when in your dying condition, I always first try to ascertain whether they have any serious concern for their souls; whether they are in any measure taught of God, before I partake with them of the Lord's supper." The man looked up at me with a wrath-soul of a sinner; but I now speak from ful countenance, and said, OF 1193 as to the way the Lord has led me. The word of God says plainly, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God;" therefore I ask, what do you know of this | to hell. He remained in this state up to work of grace upon your soul? If you have realized any of these secret signs of the new-birth, then you are a fit subject for the Lord's supper; if not, I advise you to let it alone." After adding a little more upon the nature of the new-birth, and its blessed effects upon the soul, I left the house. A fortnight after this, I was disturbed early one morning by a violent knocking at my door. I jumped up to know what was the matter, when the servant told me a man had come five miles in a chaise, to fetch me to see his brother, who was very ill, but would have it, he could not die till he had seen me. In a short time I was ready; and seated in the chaise beside the brother of Mr. R―, who though a very intelligent man, seemed utterly in the dark about Divine things, and yet appeared deeply affected by the new state that his dying brother had been brought into within the last few days. "A short time," said he, "after your visit and long conversation with my brother about his soul, he became greatly concerned about his state as a dying man. He constantly said he was ignorant of all you described; and if some change was not brought about in his heart, he must go 6 last evening, sighing and groaning because of his sins, at which time he became so much worse, that his wife, myself, and children, stood round his bed, expecting that every breath would be his last, when he suddenly revived and said, If you were to stick knives into my body, I should feel no pain. I'm a pardoned child; the Lord has revealed Himself to me; I can't express the happiness I enjoy.' Turning to me, he said, Brother, I shall die in thirty-six hours; sond for Mr. C, that I may tell him how blest and happy I am."" When we reached the house, we found Mr. R- breathed, and that was all. But when I entered the room, and his eyes fell upon me, his countenance beamed with joy, and he exclaimed, Oh, my friend, I am glad to see you once more in the flesh, to tell you how gracious God has been to my soul, in blessing the words you spoke to me. He has revealed Christ to my heart, and soon I shall be with Him for ever.' وو The dear man continued praising and blessing the Lord for his distinguishing grace during the whole of my visit; and at the close of the thirty-six hours, as he predicted, he passed out of time into eternity. L. THE OLD SHEPHERDESS, TO WHOM CHRIST WAS PRECIOUS. "C MY DEAR SIR,-If you deem the en-conscious where she was going; spent closed suitable for the GOSPEL MAGA- the hours of the day in her arm-chair, ZINE, I shall feel obliged by its inser-wrapped up in flannel; eat and drank but tion. I am, my dear Sir, MARGARET GRAHAM was nearly one hundred years of age. In early life she had learned to value the Word of God, and, being regenerated, was brought to repentance, and saving faith, in the Lord Jesus Christ. She had been for many years a follower of the Lamb of God, and a lover of the truth as it is in Him, but advanced age had left her blind and nearly deaf; unable to walk or stand, except when supported by others; she was carried to bed at night, apparently un little; and never spoke, unless spoken to; and then the low mutterings of her voice rendered what she said unintelligible to her friends. Her Pastor had long ceased to visit her under an impression that she was incapable of deriving ary consolation from his visits; but one evening when walking with two friends near her lonely cottage, one of them said, "Let us go and visit the old shepherdess." We found her in her arm-chair, and apparently in good health, though she sat motionless. The Pastor drew his chair near her, and raising his voice, said, "You are still in the body ?" E Here we have," he said, a specimen of human nature in the last stage of decay; and it is a most affecting sight, as it reminds us of the possible state to which we may be reduced." Perhaps, a friend said, "if you make some reference to Jesus Christ, the spirit will awake from its mental lethargy; and we may have a proof that faith outlives the loss of the senses, and the decay of the passions; and maintains its ascendancy, even when the intellect seem incapable of exercising the faculty of thinking." He then said, in a still louder tone, Is Christ precious to your soul ?" There was now a voluntary movement through her whole frame, her countenance suddenly glowed with an inimitable smile, and, extending her hand, she said, Is that my revered Pastor? I am glad you have called to see me once more. Is Christ precious to my soul; Yes, unspeakably. It is a long while since I thought on you. My thoughts are now all fixed on Christ. I can't think on any other subject than his death and his intercession. My fellowship with Him is now undisturbed; and I long to see Him, when I shall be like Him." "Your mind does not now wander back to the scenes of your youthful days?" No reply. He then repeated his former question, "Is Christ precious to your soul?" when she again broke forth in a most impassioned speech, 66 "Yes, He is precious. I feel his love shed abroad in my heart. I long to see Him, when I shall be like Him. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. I say, more than they that watch for the morning." "You trust in Him ?" No reply. "You still trust in Christ for salvation, as you were enabled to do when you first believed ?" “I trust in Christ for a full, free, and complete salvation." "Shall I pray with you? No reply. Indeed, though various questions were proposed to her, in a distinct and audible tone, yet unless the name of Christ was introduced, they excited no attention, her mind having become dissociated from every other subject of meditation. "What a striking illustration does this venerable saint supply," said the Pastor, "of the Apostle's expression, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." |