lar " (1 Cor. xii. 27); ye are all one body of Christ and members in particu- | willing to look to and believe_in_Christ in the day of Christ's power, Psal cx. 3. Hence the promise of Christ is, "All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me, and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out" John. vi. 37. Blessed promise made by a blessed Jesus to all his blessed children, who were blessed in him before time, blessed by him in time, and shall be blessed with him through all eternity; "for when Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory," Coloss. iii. 4. And, This union is so firm and strong, 4. They belong to Christ because they are the purchase of his blood; hence the commission to the ministers of Christ is feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood". (Acts xx. 28); they are therefore not their own, but they are bought with a price (1 Cor. vi. 19, 20), even the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Pet. i. 19). Great was the price to justice due, And this was the fountain that was to be opened for sin and uncleanness predicted by the prophet (Zech. xiii. 1); for saith Paul, we have redemption through Christ's blood, the forgiveness of our sins" (Eph. i. 7); and saith John, "the blood of Christ cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John i 7); hence the song of the redeemed will be, "thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Rev. v. 9). 66 7. They belong to Christ, because Christ hath engaged to bring each and all of them to reign with him in glory everlasting. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." John xvii. 24. Therefore it is that the saints of the Most High, or those who belong to Christ, shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom, Daniel vii. 18.. for ever, and for ever. And how can it be otherwise, since Christ said, "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand," John x. 28; and saith Paul, speaking of the resurrection of the Saints, that "they that are Christ's shall rise in the likeness of Christ at his coming, and shall be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall they be for ever with the Lord," 1 Cor. xv. 23, 1 Thess. iv. 17, Phillip. iii. 21. Thirdly, we will briefly notice the blessedness of those who belong to Jesus, And, 5. They belong to Christ because he hath ransomed them from the enemy, who took them prisoners when Adam fell: hence it is said he gave his life a ransom for all " (1 Tim. ii. 6); that is not for all the world, but for all the 1. They were loved and blessed by God, many who belong to him (Matt. xx. 28), in his Trinity of Persons, from everlastor all who are his children, and foras-ing. The Father loved, and blessed much as his children are partakers of them, and therefore chose, justified, sancflesh and blood, Christ also himself took tified, preserved, yea blessed them with part of the same; that through death he all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus, bemight destroy him that had the power of fore the world began. Eph. i. 3, 4, 1 death, that is, the devil: and deliver them Cor. i. 2, 1 Pet. i. 2, Jude i. Rom. viii. who through fear of death were all their 33, &c. life-time subject to bondage" (Heb. ii. 14, 15); and all this he did to fulfil his covenant engagements and promise, I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: 0 death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes (Hos. xiii. 14). دو 6. They belong to Christ visibly, and manifestively so, when they are made The Son loved and blessed them, and therefore engaged in the counsels of eternity, to be their Surety, Saviour, Redeemer, and Advocate; Rom. viii. 23, and 1 Pet. i. 19, 20, Matt. i. 21, 1 Tim. i. 15, &c. The Spirit loved and blessed them, before all worlds, and therefore agreed to quicken, regenerate, comfort, teach, lead, and guide them all safe through the wilderness, into the kingdom of inexpressible and inconceiv able glory prepared for them, John xiv. | 16, 17, 26, and xv. 26, and xvi. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. &c.. 2. They are loved by God, in and through time, and shall be to all eternity, John xiii. 1. Hence it matters not of what family we belong, nor in what age or clime we are born, live, or die, if we belong to Christ, we are the object of God's unchangeable love, and who shall separate us from his love? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, saith the Apostle, none of these things shall, for "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord," Rom. viii. 35, to the end. All who belong to Christ are washed in the blood of Christ, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, rejoice in the name of Christ, taught by the Spirit of Christ, live and feed on Christ, enjoy communion with God through Christ, delight in the ways of Christ, glory in the work of Christ, admire the person, offices, and characters of Christ, zealous in the cause of Christ, and love his house, his word, his worship, his service, and each other, and "the eternal God is their refuge, and underneath are his everlasting arms," Deut. xxxiii. 27. May we not then truly say, "Happy are all those who belong to Jesus, who are like you, oh people saved by the Lord, who is the shield of your help, the sword of your excellency! and your enemies shall be found liars unto you, and you shall tread upon their high places, Deut. xxxiii. 29. In fine, all who belong to Jesus, are well provided for, in and through time and to all eternity. Philip. iv. 19, Rev. vii. 15, 16, 17, and they are each and all kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation, 1 Pet. i. 5. God is their sun and shield, he will give unto them grace, and crown that grace with glory everlasting, Psal. lxxxiv. 11. Therefore be not cast down, but lift up your head with joy, for your redemption draweth nigh, Luke xxi. 28. Never mind the many trials, troubles, afflictions, and persecutions, which you are sure to have to endure, 2 Tim. iii. 12, if your life is prolonged, for " as your day is, so shall your strength be," Deut. xxxiii. 25, and out of them all, the Lord will most certainly deliver you at death, when you will for ever be freed from all that may now annoy, teaze, vex, perplex, and trouble you, 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. Therefore I cannot better conclude, than in the language of the apostle "Therefore let no one glory in men. For all things are your's; whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are your's, And ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's," 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22, 23. NUMERIST. Hull. A QUEEN. "And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions." 1 Kings x. 1. MY DEAR FRIENDS,-Have you ever at- I ploys, in order to lead poor sin-burdened tentively read that most interesting and attractive part of God's word in which the portrait of the queen of Sheba is delineated? and has it not often struck you, that her meeting with king Solomon presents us with a vivid representation of what takes place when the soul that has heard of Jesus, the true Solomon, the Prince of Peace, is brought into his presence, and her communings with him commence ? How did she hear "of the fame of Solomon ?" I do not know; but surely God's wisdom is wonderfully revealed in the numberless methods which He em sinners to hear of Jesus! Oh! what a proclamation of God's wisdom and power will that be, when those who have been led to seek the heavenly Solomon, shall recount to each other, in a world of eternal bliss, how and where they found their Jesus. What is the history of the natural life compared to that of the spiritual? Of how little account will it be esteemed, where our cradle stood in this world, when the blood-bought, Spiritbaptized family, in the world to come, relate to each other, where the Omnipotent Spirit of the Lord caused the first pulsations of the new life to be felt, and where the spot was situated, to which they can look back as to their real native place and say, “There I was born, there I began to live!" Of how very little importance is it, my fellow redeemed ones, where and what we are at present. Some of you, perhaps, far from your earthly native country, think of scenes of childhood, of friends ever dear, though no longer near; others muse on prospects blighted, hopes disappointed; and some again, weary of the rude storms of life, are well nigh losing all courage. But let me admonyou to lift up yourself in the strength of the Lord, and to behold of how little import all these transitory events, all these passing trials, all these fleeting tribulations are to those who having heard of the fame of Jesus, have come to Him, and can rejoice, notwithstanding all these things, in Him as the Hope of Glory. ish shall be recited in heaven's high courts, by souls who, triumphing in endless glory, as the crowned conquerors of a perished world, shall unbosom to each other the sweet experience they have had of the Lord's grace in causing theni to hear of the fame of Jesus. Dear souls, have you ever sat down among a knot of saved sinners, holding sweet and sanctified communion with each other, while telling what the Lord has done for their souls, and ever and anon repeating the commencement of that strange history, which none can know, but those who have been made partakers of Jesu's grace and Spirit? Have you ever attended such " a Church-meeting," and enjoyed such "ministry ?" Then you have had a foretaste of heavenly joys, and soon you shall know all the secrets of the Lord's whole family. Come ye, to whom the Lord has given Yes, all that now sickens and de- the pen of a ready writer," and who presses your heart, will soon for ever be have been brought to hear of the fame forgotten; but sure I am that it will be of the heavenly Solomon, forget your a glorious chapter in the celestial history trials and your cares, by looking at the of God's people which shall include all bright prospect before you, and let the the events, the guidings, and the lead-readers of the GOSPEL MAGAZINE be ings which caused them to hear of the fame of their heavenly Solomon, with whom they will then be for ever, and for ever. Ah, it will be a wondrous mixture of joy, of admiration, and of adoration, which will fill the hearts of the auditors, when the act of our God and Saviour made acquainted with the history of your proper, your second birth. Let others, still without, thereby learn to come to Jesus; Let His fame be published abroad, and His praises be shown forth, because He has called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. To be continued. A PLEA FOR THE BONMAHON SCHOOLS. "CAST thy bread upon the waters;" sow the | Fear not, though rank and noxious weeds may good seed far and wide, And watch not thou despondingly the fast receding tide; choke the sterile ground, And not one bud of faith or love in all the field be found; The springing of the tender blade thine eyes The Gospel in its purity, was never sent in vain, may never see, But still, though thou behold it not, a harvest there shall be. Cast thy bread upon the waters;" thou shalt not sow in vain, Thy God in his appointed time will bring the golden grain; Although the seed thou scatterest be watercd with thy tears, It shall yield sweet songs of thankfulness in many future years. See how the patient husbandman that tills the stubborn soil, Will wait and watch through dreary months the produce of his toil; Through chilling blasts, and wintry storms, he toils unceasingly: Shall they who sow the Gospel seed, less courage have than he? Nor empty shall the word of God return to Him again. Nor while thou carest for the soul, forget the body's need, But follow in the steps of Him who did the hungry feed; If this world's wealth be given thee, hoard not the golden store, But scattter with a liberal hand its blessings to the poor. O help them for that Saviour's sake, who left His glorious throne, To make the riches of His grace to needy sinners known; For will He in His gracious love the smallest mite contemn, If given with a willing heart, and trusting faith in Him. E. J. THOUGHTS ON THE INCARNATION. "Great is the mystery of Godliness.”—1 Tim. iii. 16. PERMIT me to remind the readers of دو 66 Well may we then chaunt forth, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given." Bethlehem's Babe, the mighty God, whose goings forth (for the salvation of his people in will, purpose, and pleasure), have been from of old, from everlasting. His going forth was prepared as the morning, and He came unto us as the rain; as the latter and former rain unto the earth. Yea, “He came down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth." Thus sang the prophet, "Your God will come; He will come and save you." This was the righteous Branch promised, who is the Almighty Builder of the temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the glory; "in whose days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby He shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness." "So when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law." "God thus sent forth his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh;" or, as my old Bible expresseth it, "Damned sin in the flesh." Oh, the mercy of mercies, that "He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities, and bare our sins in his own body on the tree;" the body the Father prepared Him, which the Holy Ghost created, by overshadowing the Virgin, without the intervention of a human father, and which God the Son took on Him; even the seed of Abraham, and not the nature of angels; was 66 'made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the SON of God, with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead ;" and is, and was, and must remain over all, "God blessed for ever. Amen.” Worship What! O what views and thoughts must Jehovah the Father possess of Jehovah the Son; that "when he brought forth his first-begotten into the world, He said (and still saith), Let all the angels of God worship Him; confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols. Him all ye gods;" who is, and must for ever remain "the praise of all his saints, even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him (and he a God near unto us in our very nature, and in our hearts by faith); praise ye the Lord." And what his estimation of his mediatorial work, in his amazing humiliation, the righteousness He wrought, the Divine atonement he made, the battle He fought, the victory He won, the enemy He vanquished. "Behold my servant | feeble are necessary." "The Lord hath whom I uphold (or rely upon to do my chosen Jacob unto Himself, and Israel work); mine elect, in whom my soul de- for his peculiar treasure." And "he that lighteth; whose glory is great in his sal-toucheth them, toucheth the apple of his vation; honour and majesty hast thou eye." Let these sayings suffice to show laid upon Him." Who addressed his Jehovah's estimation of his dear people. Father thus, "I have glorified thee on But to return to the Incarnation. How the earth, I have finished the work which interesting a subject for contemplation thou gavest me to do." Who but Jeho-to the heirs of salvation, the union of val can properly estimate the salvation the two natures hypostatically in his which the Person of his dear Son, ac- adorable Person; consequently He is complished in our nature? Then his both God and Man, God of the substance dear people, when taught of God the of his Father before all worlds, Man of Spirit, rely wholly and altogether here. the substance of his mother, born in the "For other foundation can no man lay;" world, perfect God, and perfect Man. and they embrace the Rock for want of "a shelter, into which the righteous run, and are safe." But though we know it is of infinite worth, yet can we not know its full value, our minds are but finite, his salvation infinite. I love the incarnate mystery, But who can unravel? None; nei ther angels nor men. "Great is (even now and evermore will be) the mystery of Godliness." It cannot be compreAnd what Jehovah's estimation of his hended ever, "God manifest in the flesh." dear people, who are all mystically one "No man hath seen God at any time : with Him, in glorious union to his Al- the only-begotten Son which (not only mighty Person, complete in Him, accept- was, but) is in the bosom of the Father, ed in the Beloved, and constituted one He hath declared him." "And no man with Him for evermore; loved with an knoweth the Son but the Father; neither everlasting love, interested in his rich knoweth any man the Father save the salvation: " washed, pardoned, sancti- Son." "If we receive the witness of fied, and justified in and through his pre-men, the witness of God is greater; for cious blood; clothed in and with his this is the witness of God which He hath consummately perfect and most glorious testified of his Son; and it is the Spirit righteousness, in which they stand free that beareth witness, because the Spirit from sin, and clear from blame-" per- is truth." fect in Christ Jesus, to the praise of the glory of his grace.' A few of his com-thoughts (though volumes have been, mendations of his dear people will show how high they stand in his esteem. "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath sinned." Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." "Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee." "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob; neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel." "And they shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day when 1 make up my jewels." Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." "Blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenlies in Christ." "Predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself." And "those members of the body which seem to be more I would therefore conclude these few and might be written on the all-mysterious subject--for it is inexhaustible, and incomprehensible) with that memorable saying of John, viz., and we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is true; even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." And may the Lord refresh our souls often, with meditation sweet on the incarnate God-his love, grace, mercy, and wonderful salvation, as we progress on through the wilderness, until we shall see Him as He is. So prays one who rejoiceth in Zion's prosperity alway, December 7, 1855. W. BIDDER. |