all the members of his mystical body.-Believer! thou art founded on Jesus by that wisdom, which was never yet baffled; and kept on the Rock by that power, against which nothing can stand: firm is the foundation, and equally secure the building. "Shout thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee!" 34. ZION'S FURNACE. As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?--Ps. xlii. 10. 1. THUS Satan and blind unbelief, Prolific source of all my grief, And bleeding conscience smarts. 2. A thousand baits my foes can find, To plague and exercise my mind, And render dark my path :— Well, these must come and last and end, 3. But, ah! the cross seems hard to bear, 4. Captain of my salvation, hear! Without thy strength I cannot stand, Hold me with thine all-pow'rful hand, God has chosen his beloved ones in the furnace of affliction; to attempt, therefore, to escape the chosen path is to no purpose. Satan is a sworn enemy both to Jesus and his elect; and Beelzebub, the prince of devils, is sure to call forth his troop, and assail that soul who is translated out of his kingdom. These attacks of Satan are not so much without, as they are within; nor so frequent in the day, as in the night: when the Sun of Righteousness shines forth, the beast re H tires to his den, out of sight; but when the shadows of the evening are stretched over the believer, Satan takes the advantage of his forlorn situation. And, sometimes with a horrible roar, so terrifies the believer as to make the hair of his head almost stand erect, yea, his poor heart to faint; and faint he would, were it not for the kind assistance of him, before whom devils tremble. Jesus makes a way for all his dear, tempted members to escape the temptations of hell, be they ever so black and horrible in their nature. The Holy Ghost, also, who dwelleth in them, invigorates the new man with a renewal of strength, light, and understanding; he prompts the believer to pray and to resist Satan, stedfast in the faith: When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. P 35.0 kono ZION's HIGH PRIVILEGE. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah. ---Ps. lxxxvii. 3. 1. FROM the Great Redeemer's fulness 2. One with Jesus, without blemish Now before the throne of God: Jesus, their eternal lover, Bought them with his precious blood. 3. Thus they stand in God's completeness, 4. God, whose word cannot be broken, Stands engag'd their foes to quell; In the bonds of love unchanging 5. He that rules the vast creation, Guides the meanest of his flock ;— Call'd a chosen generation, Shelter'd in th' eternal Rock. 6. Soon the world shall be dissolved, Then the saints, of God beloved, He'll to realms of bliss convey. When the world oppose and lay things to the charge of the children of God, which they know not, it is an infinite mercy to have the approbation of God and conscience, and the testimonies of his truth on their side. It seems to me impossible for a believer to understand his high privilege, and, in any measure, live up to it, and speak of it, without being represented, by the children of the bond woman, as enemies to good works, or antinomians. A man who thinks he can hold the truth forth, in all its dignity and splendor, and yet escape the detested name antinomian, must be very skilful indeed! more skilful than either Paul the Apostle or Jesus of Nazareth. Many in the present day are determined to keep, what they term, "the middle path;" avoiding the grosser parts of arminianism on the one hand, and the terrific (to them) doctrines of calvanism on the other: But, leaving such terms of distinction, let such remember that there is no medium between life and death; and, though they attempt to unite principles as opposite as the poles, their labour will bring no glory to God, and as little peace to his dear elect: He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. |