"And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints." To bear the opposition, and to see and witness the prosperity of the adversaries of the truth in the world, for here's their prosperity indicated, making all nations drink of their doctrine, and drink into their spirit; and the saints must bear this patiently. "Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God," In contrast to the traditions of men, "And the faith of Jesus;" that is, they keep the faith of Jesus by the commandments of God, if you can understand that. A good many in our day have a faith in Jesus Christ, but that faith in Jesus Christ is held by the doctrines of men. Now it is one thing for you to believe in Jesus Christ by the doctrines of men, and another thing to believe in Jesus Christ by the doctrines of God, by the commandments of the blessed God. All the Jews had a belief in the coming Messiah; but when the Saviour came, and preached the doctrines of God, they all with one voice said,, "Away with Him, away with Him." Now if they had believed in the coming Messiah by the commandments of God instead of the traditions of men, the would have received Him. See then how great the mercy of being delivered from error, and brought into the truth. "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." I shall once more say it, and some of you love the doctrine; if any of you are Pharisaic enough to hate it, God have mercy upon you for it, namely, that the good works of the saints of God shall follow them, but not one of their evil works; for he shall present them at the last without spot, fault, or wrinkle, or any such thing. And there's one good work that will follow them all, infants and all, and that's their right reception of Jesus Christ. If an infant dies, it dies by the will of God, and the Holy Spirit brings into the soul of that infant the grace of God, and that infant receives into its soul a life that is eternal, embodying in that life the Son of God, and God himself, the new covenant, and all that pertains to eternity; and when that infant's soul departs, it finds itself in the sweet order of the new covenant. And that good work of rightly receiving Jesus Christ shall follow all the saints. But we hope that will not be the only good work that will follow us; we hope and trust that the Lord will enable us to show a great deal of sympathy and kindness to his people, and to the poor of his flock, and to the world at large, and these works shall follow us not as in any way forming part of our salvation, but as evidences and testimonies that we were sincere in our profession, that our faith was not a faith without works, but a faith with works. "And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle." All the remaining part of this chapter refers literally and historically to the destruction of Jerusalem; but while it refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of the land of Canaan at large, it does not refer to that only, for one judgment represents another judgment, and the judgment that follows is always more tremendous than the judgment that preceded it; just the same as the glory that will follow with you will be greater than that you have yet seen. The state of the sinner gets worse and worse, the state of the saint gets better and better; the path of the one gets lighter and lighter, the path of the other gets darker and darker. The one goes from weakness to weakness, the other from strength to strength; the one goes from unbelief to unbelief, the other from faith to faith. Here is the mighty contrast between the two. Therefore He that sat upon the white cloud here is none else but the Lord Jesus Christ appearing in his judicial character, destroying Jerusalem, and desolating the land of Canaan; but this is not the only meaning, he will come by and bye in a more tremendous way. READY TO SAVE. BY SAMUEL COZENS. MY BELOVED SISTER IN CHRIST,-As you are a prisoner of hope, shut up in affliction's chamber, and cannot come forth into the ways and ordinances of Zion, I will send you an ex-prisoner's testimony to the Lord his deliverer. You will find it in Isaiah xxxviii: "The Lord was ready to save me." Thus said Hezekiah when he was recovered of his sickness. He talked a very different language before he was recovered. The furnace of affliction will bring out the awful dross of our depraved nature; but as the refiner is ready to save the precious metal from the furnace at the proper moment, so Christ is ready to save the precious sons of Zion, comparable to the most fine gold, from their FIERY trials, when those fiery dispensations have accomplished the end designed. You may depend upon it the thermometer of God's purpose is in every furnace regulating the heat, and when the clock of God's decree strikes the hour of our deliverance, we, like Israel of old, shall come out of the iron furnace. Thus we are enabled to glorify God in the fires; when we submit to the cross that is to crucify us; when we possess our souls in the fire that is to consume our wood, hay, and stubble. We must have a vast quantity of these combustible things to need so many fires ; the fact is, we are like a forest; if the wood is cut down and consumed, the roots will sprout again; and we are like the grass field, if mown this season, it will want mowing again next. The Church is compared to a garden, and I think nothing so fully represents our need of constant discipline. Late in the autumn, after the fruit gleanings, the poor garden looks only prolific in weeds and rubbish ; well, so it is; but the fruit-producing roots are there too; and the gardener will come and cut down, and dig up all those vile things, and burn them away, and that is generally done IN the garden. Well, I have forgotten my text-"The Lord was ready to save me." I must write you another line upon that. Yours, very sincerely, SAMUEL COZENS. 13, Lincoln Street, Bow Road E., Nov. 17th, 1864. GOLDEN FRAGMENTS BROKEN-BUT NOT LOST. BY MR. SHARNBROOK. ALFRED PEET, OF "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost."-John vi. 12. 86. HE who judges and condemns himself upon God's footstool, shall be acquitted and absolved from God's throne. 87.-Self-denial makes a man consistent; therefore, learn to take up thy cross. 88.-Consolation in religion does not depend on the Christian but on Christ; not on the members, but on the Head; but in proportion as we walk with the Saviour will be our peace. 89.- True religion is doctrinal, experimental, and practical; if we possessed only doctrinal religion it would lead to antinomianism; if only experimental, to enthusiasm; if only practical, to Pharisaism; therefore, if we would be partakers of the religion of Jesus all three must be united—we must not attempt to separate them. 90.-Were we free from the in-being of sin there could be no conflict; and if no conflict there could be no victory; and if no victory there could be no triumph; and if no triumph there could be no thanks to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 91.-A man, in whom dwells the Holy Ghost, is, if God send him, qualified to preach the everlasting Gospel, although he hath no human learning. But a learned person cannot preach the Word from what he himself hath experienced without Divine teaching. 92.-Hard words are like hailstones in summer-beating down and destroying what they would nourish were they melted into drops. 93. To fall one step short of heaven is to fall into hell. 94. A wicked man is at peace with the world and at war with God; a righteous man is at peace with God and at war with the world. Easy it is to decide who will conquer. 95.-Zeal should not be too hasty either to censure or commend, where knowledge has not run before to send back a command. 96.-Were there no hell to be delivered from, nor any heaven to be enjoyed hereafter, I prefer the ways of God to the ways of sin. 97.-I pray for humility, but cannot always approve of those means which the Lord makes use of in order to make me humble. 98.-When human assistance fails, and the world frowns most, then are the smiles of Jesus most precious. 99.-Neglect of duties cannot thrust us out of the covenant, and dissolve our union with Christ. Yet, like a ghost, it will haunt and terrify us. Secret neglects are like to produce public defects. 100.-Sin, though it cannot damn a justified sinner, yet the commission thereof doth strike a spark of damnation in the conscience. When Christians stray they feel the rod; But Jesus makes each sudden fall Productive of some real good To the repenting humbled soul. CONSTANT SUPPLIES IN A BARREN WILDERNESS, AND GOOD LIVING FOR HUNGRY SOULS. BY WILLIAM HENRY EVANS. (Concluded from last month.) Secondly. There is everything consistent with sound reason in this determination, as will be seen when we think, first, upon the perfection of God's wisdom. He has a very intimate knowledge of us. How this cheered the Psalmist "He knoweth our frame; He remembereth we are but dust." He who formed us, and orders our path, knoweth full well the strength of every bone, the capability of each muscle, and the tenderness of each nerve. Surely we may trust His word more than Satan's lies. Art thou ready to cry out, "I shall surely perish by the hand of this Saul?" Well, then, let us hear what were the last words of David: "The sorrows of hell compassed me about. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and He did hear me; and my cry did enter into His ears," 2 Sam. xxii. Read the entire chapter, poor doubting soul, and then see if Habakkuk's determination was not agreeable to sound reason, though at complete variance with carnal reason. But this is not all: think again upon the continuance of His Omnipresence, and remember that His eye never slumbers nor sleeps, he wearies not in His watchfulness; it is not limited to place, neither does it vary with time. Is it not declared that the eyes of the Lord are in every place? Ah, do I hear some tried believer say, my way is hid from the Lord. Oh, wait, dear brother, till the shadows flee away; for thou hast a perfect right to trust in the shadow of His wings till the calamities are overpast; for the darkness hideth not from our God, day and night are both alike to Him. And for the further strengthening of thy confidence, thou wilt find a very suitable promise Isaiah 1. and 10th verse; also, Isaiah xl. 27th and 28th verses. Read for yourselves, and remember that the Lord's eyes run to and fro through the earth; first, to watch thine enemies--you will never perish from this quarter. The hairs of your head are even insured, much more your entire body, and very much more your soul. Second, He watches you; and 'tis a mercy 'tis so. 'Tis only because His eye keeps us or we should ruin ourselves. Remember how it rested upon Peter, and preserved him from impenitency; while the reverse is seen in the case of Judas-and fearful was the consequence. And, thirdly, His eye rests upon the trouble itself. "He sitteth as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He will purify the sons of Levi," Malachi iii. 3. Therefore, thou mayest adopt the sentiment of the prophet, saying with Job, chap. xxiii. 10, "When he has tried me I shall come forth as gold, for He knoweth the way that I take. Thirdly. Consider His love-this is where I want to rest. Oh, there is nothing quiets the soul so much as the thought, the feeling, that it is a Father's hand that smites, that His arm rules, and His heart of love guides; or His love regulates and manages all our affairs. 'Tis resting in the love of God that keeps down rebellion, crucifies the flesh, and enables us to say, ""Tis the Lord, let Him do as seemeth good in His sight." Oh think, as did the good man years gone by, how great that love was which made thee a rational creature instead of a toad; but above and beyond, think of that love which has made thee a child of God, and taught thee to trust in His name. Hast thou no brother or sister, child, or dear relative, still in nature's darkness? Where are the companions of thy youth? Have not some filled up the measure of their iniquities, and with a shattered constitution gone to an early grave, and passed to their last account? And who hath made thee to differ? Think of that love which so orders all events for thee, that they tend to thy real profit; and as thou thinkest, may God the Spirit strengthen the pinions of thy faith, and enable thee to say Though dark be my way, since He is my guide, Though cisterns be broken, and creatures all fail, And lastly, consider the all-sufficiency of Jehovah in Himself to make thee happy. Oh, what tongue can tell or pen write of that inexpressible joy there is realised in the soul as it is raised above all creature ties and earthly things, and finds its home, its joy, peace, and all in Jehovah Jesus, who is the God of our salvation. Here faith triumphs. 'Twas this feeling which enabled the Christian widow to triumph, when her best furniture was a broken table and stool; her only companion in the wretched hovel a dying husband; and her richest food a glass of water and a dry crust; we say it was the all-sufficiency of Christ which enabled her to triumph and say, looking at the scanty meal, " I have all this, and Jesus Christ." Dear tried child of God, there is a blessedness in hanging upon the Lord; we have sipped from its fulness; that sip at times has been as much as the earthly house could contain. What will it be in eternity, when we shall gaze upon His person, and for ever discover fresh glories in himself! Yours affectionately, in Jesus, WILLIAM HENRY EVANS. A SONG IN THE NIGHT. Pastor of the Baptist Church, Ashill, Devon. WHAT though the green vine and the pomegranate languish, The dark page of Providence blotted with anguish Be written in dark lines with wormwood and gall. And what though the friend round whom twined thine affection, Now shuns thee as one with some deadly infection, And what though the powers of the dark one assail thee, The arm of the loving One never can fail thee, Who quenched the fierce flame in the streams of his heart. O, hush the low murmur, the angels are listening! Thou seest not the face beaming tenderly o'er thee; |