Some Thoughts to Close the Year With. “WONDERFUL weather!" said I to myself, as we sailed out of the Great Western Dock, Saturday afternoon, November 7, 1868. The sun is shining, the country looks delightful; and in a snug cabin, well filled, all seems comfortable for the time being. The trees have been stripped of their blossom and their fruit; the hedges have lost their leaves; and the corn-fields, like myself, have nothing left but the dry stubble. Still the scenes are sober and seasonable, the air is refreshing, and, having left London for a day or two, I will not carry it with me into the country if I can help it. I have a message to carry to Whitestone; and. as Paul says "The husbandman must be first partaker of the fruits," I will be thankful if I can gather a little fruit for my own soul, thus while rolling over one hundred and fifty miles, I may, with David, say: 46 "My meditation has been sweet." Sour enough have been my thoughts and feelings for many months; but, as Micah said, when speaking of men: "The best of them is a brier; and the most upright a thorn hedge;" so I can see it is in proportion as we look to, and bear unduly upon them, we pierce ourselves through with many sorrows; but if these wounds lead us more fully to the Great Physician; and if, in His tender compassion, He heals and helps us, I, for one, pray that in a nobler and in a sweeter song we may unite with all the sincerely sanctified, to "Crown Him Lord of all." Four-and-twenty years have I laboured in the monthly issue of this "EARTHEN VESSEL." I have thought sometimes it would have been better for me if I had never known this sort of work at all, but it is just possible some good may have been done hereby. Of one thing I am certain; in myself and in others, I have proved that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; and none of us can fully know it. Leaving all the rubbish of these earthly things, I will endeavour to close up this volume by writing a few lines upon those great words with which Paul closed his Epistle to the Romans, where he says: "And I am sure that when I come to you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ." While I have been pushing through difficulties, preserved from dangers, and proving the Lord to be a merciful and faithful High Priest, those words of Paul have, instrumentally, been very kind to me in leading me gently up four of the most delightful steps which form part of those ascensions whereby the grace of God carries souls into the paradise of the third heaven. Let us take our stand upon each of these steps for a moment, and may we blessedly realize the fact that we are going from strength to strength, in the sweet anticipation that we shall at last appear before the glorious King in Zion, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. The first step is "the GOSPEL of CHRIST." The second is "the BLESSING of the Gospel of CHRIST." The third is "the FULNESS of the Blessing." The fourth is, the assurance, the confidence, of the Apostle :-"I A A AM SURE THAT when I come to you, I shall come in the FULNESS of the BLESSING OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST." "The Gospel of Christ" is the first sacred position a seeking sinner can take in his coming up from the wilderness. This Gospel, or Good News, is called "the Gospel of God" because it is good news from the high, and lofty, and eternal throne of Almighty God. It is a revelation of His mind, will, thoughts, and covenant; of which THE FATHER TO THE SON did speak; and all these things the Son made known to His disciples, that they might hand them down to us. I have thought the whole Trinity did preach the Gospel in a most glorious spirit and manner to David, and, through David, to the Church in all ages, when he was drawing near to the end of his days. Surely, in David's case that promise was true, "At evening-time it shall be light," and if any one requires an explanation of the "light" there promised, he may find it in the first few verses of the twenty-third chapter of the Second Book of Samuel. Let us, however, come to this in its order. THE GOSPEL is the first thing. And when Paul is writing to the Thessalonians, he says :— "Our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." (1 Thess. i. 5.) In about three weeks Paul's preaching was the means of the experimental salvation of many Jews, Greeks, and honourable women; then Satan raised a storm against him; he was compelled to fly; those in Thessalonica, however, fully proved that the Gospel was THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION; hence, in addressing his letter to them, Paul could say what perhaps but few can say, "KNOWING, BRETHREN BELOVED, YOUR ELECTION OF GOD; for our Gospel came unto you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance," &c. ; and "ye became followers of the Lord, and of us; having received the Word in much affliction, and joy of the Holy Ghost." That is one of the most perfect expositions of the Truth as it is in Jesus, you can meet with. Let us take a four-fold view of THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD in few words; the details of each may be worked out in meditation and careful study. 1. The instrumental ministration of the Gospel. Paul says, "OUR GOSPEL," that is a word of great meaning-"OUR GOSPEL." It is a term to distinguish it from all other Gospels. Talk ye of severity in denouncing error? Why Paul curses both angels and men, if they dare to bring any other Gospel. Mark you his words, wherein is implied this one special feature-all perverters of THE Gospel of CHRIST are only TROUBLERS of the Lord's people :-" There be some that trouble you.' Who are they? Those who "would pervert the Gospel of Christ. Then comes Paul's decision, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you, than which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." "Well, well, Paul," some may say, "angels do not preach the Gospel." "As we said before, so say I now again— If any MAN preach any other Gospel unto you than that YE HAVE RECEIVED, let him be accursed." What, then, will be the end of thousands who fearfully ignore the most essential foundations of the Gospel of the glorious Christ of God? There are Gospels of OMISSION. Ministers leave out the sovereignty of God in the great matter of salvation. They leave out the electing love of God, His covenant of grace, and His absolute predestination of His people unto eternal life in Christ; and any Gospel which is not based upon the sovereign, the electing, the predestinating love of God in His Son toward all His people, is a Gospel without a foundation; it must fall, and all who build their hope of heaven in such cobwebs must surely fall also. Some ministers leave out the essential Divinity; or, the perfect humanity; or the substitutionary character of the atoning sacrifice of the eternal Son of God; and these omissions are fatal-they are negative blasphemies-and all who live and die in them must perish; for thus spake the infallible preacher: “If ye believe not that I am HE ye shall die in your sins." (John viii. 24.) There are those who leave out the distinct personality and eternal coequality of the Holy Ghost, as the essential power whereby fallen man knoweth himself to be a sinner, and is truly led to Jesus as his Saviour. There are Gospels which leave out the experiences of the living in Jerusalem. Some men hurl their contempt upon the inward trials of the saints; "Away with your fears," say they; "Away with your feelings! Never mind your inward self! Leave it. We will not preach these things at all." If in the natural world men should say, "Away with the wind! Out upon the atmosphere! Down with the fogs, and the vapours, and the dark portentous clouds, we will not have anything to do with them," no greater knave would such a man prove himself to be than is the preacher who blusters about, and rails against the breaking up of the fountains within; who talks as though sin, was nothing, Satan nothing, the deceitful heart nothing, the hiding of the Lord's face nothing, the fiery trial of faith nothing, the broken heart nothing, unanswered prayers nothing. Ah! the ministry which comes not into the pains on one side, and the pleasures on the other side, of the children of God, can never be a nursing or comforting ministry. It leaves out that which unites and cements the saints of God one to another, and to the living truth of a Triune Jehovah. Leaving out all proper references to ordinances and moral obligations of believers, are omissions Paul was not guilty of, as you may see by reading his epistle to the Ephesians to the end; and his other letters beside. There are Gospel's of unauthorised ADDITIONS. Man's free-will, the creature's duty-faith, and the fatal denials of many solemn truths, render totally void the gospels of many men. We tremblingly, sorrowfully, refer to these things, but necessity seems laid upon us, "Woe be unto me, if I preach not the one only true Gospel." And this I affirm is called "The Gospel of God," and a more sublime illustration of it, in Old Testament times, you will not find than that which David had in the even-time of his life. The place is 2 Sam. xxiii. "Now these be the last (prophetic, or inspired) words of David." The man is described in his four-fold character. "David the son of Jesse said: the man who was raised up on high; the anointed of the God of Jacob; and the sweet Psalmist of Israel said." There is his four-fold character. Now comes the DIVINE AUTHORSHIP of THE TRUTH; that is THE GOSPEL in the Old Testament, the original form of it; wherein the harmony, the unity, and the eternity of each and every Person in the adorable Trinity is clearly and beautifully seen. David says 1. "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue :" 2. "The God of Israel said :” 3. "The Rock of Israel spake to me.” There are the Three-One ever blessed Authors, Revealers, and Proclaimers of the Gospel. Then comes the three essential parts of the Gospel. There is 1. The CHARACTER of the blessed Messiah; “He that ruleth over men must be JUST; ruling in the fear of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the JUST ONE, the Righteous One; He is ordained to rule over men; and all this He does in the knowledge, and for the glory of God. His character being thus emphatically expressed; we have 2. His three-fold advent, wherein you may see the nature of the light promised in the eventime to all the ransomed. Four hundred years of darkness rolled over the world, between the closing up of Malachi's prophecy, and the incarnation of the Son of God. Darkness long and heavy lay upon the people. Then came the first advent, “He shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth." Imperceptibly, gradually, and invincibly, the Sun of Rightousness did arise; and did shine forth, with healing of every kind in His wings. That was His advent from the womb of our nature. The second was His advent from the grave of our deserved death; there He is a morning without clouds. The clouds of the fall, the thick clouds of the wrath of offended Deity against the church's sins, the clouds of persecution and of heavy sorrow lay on Him; but they were all buried in the grave; all left behind in the death; and in the pure and perfect freedom of His own essential and mediatorial righteousness, He commenced the day of His priestly and intercessory reign and rule as "a morning without clouds." And when this predestinated and heavenly-measured rule shall cease, His last advent will bring forth all "the dead in Christ;" "as the tender grass, springing out of the earth, by clear shining rain ;" so shall the bodies of the saint spring out of the earth; the bridegroom's voice will be heard, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away;" and as from the silent tomb the bodies of the ransomed shall arise, as the happy souls shall to their glorified bodies be for ever wedded, angels shall with them join in the expressive chorus, "The winter is past! the rain is over and gone! the flowers appear on the earth! the time of the singing of birds is come! the voice of the turtle is heard in the land!" And, again, the holy welcome shall be heard, "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away!" Oh, that will be to " come away" indeed, from earth to heaven, there to dwell in the house not made with hands, and that will be joy unspeakable; and full of glory. 3. The third part of the Gospel of God, revealed unto David, by the adorable Trinity is expressive of the then imperect state of the church; and of the settled, the secured, the sealed, and all-sufficient fulness of His salvation-" Although my house be not so with God," (not yet like the morning without clouds, as she shall be,) "yet, hath He made with me," (His Son, His servant, His bondsman, His Messiah, His Covenant-head; made with me, on behalf of all them that are given to me, and in the full view of my fulfilling all righteousness) "an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure." A careful consideration of the oft-repeated descriptions of the nature God Himself gives of this covenant, will be the safest means of ascertaining the true meaning of the word, "Our Gospel came unto you, not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance," working affliction in the first part, but resulting in the realization of joy in the Holy Ghost and to search further into this shall be the aim of my future effort, if the Lord permit. THE LATE MR. JOHN FOULSER. THE following letter is from the widow of one of our Bethnal-green friends, and a deacon of the Church at Squirries-street, for some few years. Mr. and Mrs. John Foulser were both honourable seals to the ministry of the late Mr. Smithers. After his decease they united with us as members of the same church, in Unicorn Yard. In both of them we ever found sympathy, kindness, and true Christian conduct. Among the many good friends whose mortal remains we have lately laid to rest, have been those of quiet, steady, and faithful John Foulser; whose loss we certainly mourn over, as doth his devoted and deeply attached Our friends Elijah Packer, sisters Moss, Cox, Protheroe, and many others are gone. Afflictions of a heavy kind are bearing others of us away : "Oh! may we live to reach the place, Mrs Foulser says: "DEAR PASTOR AND FRIEND,-With sad and mournful pleasure I attempt to give you an account of the death of my dear departed husband. Of his life I cannot say much; he was not, like myself, blessed with believing parents; but, I think, like Isaiah of old, his heart was tender. I have heard that his mother would say, 'I really think my John will be religious; she, poor thing, not knowing or caring what religion was. On our first acquaintance, he once asked me if I would go with him to a place of amusement? On my refusing he said, ‘I will never ask you again;' he kept his word, and went with me regularly to Squirries-street chapel. I perceived the Spirit of God was with him. The Lord blessed him there; in the year 1849 he joined the Church (hence his attachment to that place). He was naturally very reserved. I never could get him to talk much. I have wondered if it were possible that it might be form without the power. I have sometimes seemed to forget my own soul's salvation in anxiety about his. His attachment to the house and cause of God was strong for twenty years; he was deeply attached to the ministry of Charles Waters Banks; most firmly believing in salvation by grace alone; which subject he would dispute with any one. I have often heard him say, 'You would make it appear that the Lord has less power than we have.' "When I felt sure he would not recover, I did for months beg and pray the Lord to favour me with some sure and unmistakable testimony |