real prayer is of the Holy Ghost, and is an essential and indispensable feature of Divine life. Upon this principle it is that you need not exhort the quickened sinner or the burdened saint to pray. They must pray, because prayer is the very element, the distinct atmosphere, in which true spiritual life is nourished and maintained. St. Luke's, Bedminster, June 9, 1869.

THE EDITOR.

THE FEAR OF DEATH REMOVED.

THOU speaketh of the fear of death, its ghastliness and gloom,
And dreary shadows flung across the portals of the tomb;
Thou sayest that the best of men must tremble like the grass,
When from the loved and lovely earth to unknown worlds they pass.
Thou picturest the love of home, the light of childhood's eye,
And askest who can leave such things with no heart-breaking sigh.
My heart was pained, and oft I thought "Can this be true of those
Who have on Jesus cast the guilt and burden of their woes ?"
Till, as I mused, the truths of God, like beacon fires at night,
Gleamed forth from Scripture's vivid page upon my aching sight:
"I know that my Redeemer lives, and, though my flesh must die,
By dying He shall swallow up the grave in victory—
Aye, in the shadowy vale of death no evil will I fear,

For Thou art with me-'
-Thou, my God, to animate and cheer."

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So sang the patriarchs of old before the vale was riven,
Which from the pilgrim fathers hid the open gate of heaven;
But hark! what clearer tidings now our songs of triumph swell!-
Christ Jesus hath abolished death, and holds the keys of hell;
He lives, and whoso trusts in Him shall never, never die-
He lives-this mortal shall be clothed with immortality;
The portals of the tomb are burst, ye ransomed captives sing,
"Where's thy victory, O grave? where, darksome death, thy sting?"
No wild dreams these-I speak of things which oftentimes have been,
Of parting words which I have heard, and death-beds I have seen;
Of a long-loved father, circled by his children and his wife,
With every joy to gladden earth, and bind him unto life:
Who calmly said, "My children must not stay me from my rest-
My work is finished, and I long to rest on Jesus' breast;
Death cannot part me from His love-Lord Jesus, it is Thou-
I have no fear, my children, for my Lord is with me now."
And gentle girls, too, have I seen, who seemed for earth too frail,
Tread with a firm confiding step adown that lonesome vale;
Aye, and on childhood's pallid lips have words of triumph played,
And tiny fingers, clasped in death, told, "I am not afraid."
But why speak on of scenes like these, when every heart must know
Some parent, partner, brother, child, who trembled not to go,
Where Jesus' steps had gone before, and He Himself is nigh,
Whispering above those boisterous waves, Fear nothing; it is I."
Ours is the grief who still are left in this far wilderness,
Which will at times, now they are gone, seem blank and comfortless;
For moments spent with loving hearts are breezes from the hills,
And the balm of Christian brotherhood like Eden's dew distils;
And we whose footsteps and whose hearts so often fail and faint,
Seem ill to spare the cheering voice of one departed saint.

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But oh, we sorrow not like those whom no bright hopes sustain,
For them who sleep in Jesus God will with Him bring again;
Love craves the presence and the sight of all its well-beloved,
And therefore weep we in the homes whence they are far removed:
Love craves the presence and the sight of each beloved one,
And therefore Jesus spake the word which called them to His throne;
"Father, I will that all my own which Thou hast granted me,
Be with me where I am, to share my glory's bliss with Thee."
Thus heaven is gathering one by one, in its capacious breast,
All that is pure and permanent, and beautiful and blest;
The family is scattered yet, though of one home and heart,
Part militant in earthly gloom, in heavenly glory part:
But who can speak the rapture when the circle is complete,
And all the children, sundered now, before their Father meet?
One fold, one Shepherd, one employ, one everlasting home,
Lo, I come quickly!" Even so, amen! Lord Jesus, come!

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REV. E. H. BICKERSTETH.

Wayside Notes.

LORD

"SALVATION IS OF THE LORD."

"He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He hath set the world upon them."-1 SAMUEL ii. 8.

BLESSED Lord, what poor empty things we are of ourselves; how utterly unable to grasp at anything that is spiritual by human wisdom. How brought to nought we often are! surely to make us feel our dependence upon Thee. Shut up in prayer, shut up in conversation, shut up in preaching, shut up in writing, until it is with us as it was with Lydia whose heart the Lord opened. Then how all is changed! what a glow is felt within! how the icy frame melts before the sunlight of truth, and the green pastures are seen. For this we pray. O Lord, let it be so with Thy poor worm now, as he once more in Thy good providence takes up the pen to testify of Thee. Precious souls are on the look out for spiritual unfoldings of Thee, and who is sufficient for these things? Be Thou, gracious Spirit, with the writer, by guiding into all truth, so that Jesus' dear name may be honoured and glorified.

Beloved, as we open that precious treasure, the word of God, the eye rests upon the portion which heads our paper, and it seems so suitable and sweet to one who is frequently feeling his poverty and nothingness. Now we know that in the early ages of the world it was considered a dishonour with the woman not to be a mother, and this dishonour being particularly felt by Hannah, she prayed to the Lord that the stigma might be removed; and the Lord favoured her in a special manner, for she became the mother of a servant of the Lord, and a prophet of the Most High. When she prayed in the temple for this blessing, Eli thought she had been drinking wine, for her lips moved while her voice was not heard; but it was not so, and she said, "Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto." Then Eli answered and said, "Go in

peace, and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition." Beloved, we pause here to ask you whether you do not know what it is to let the lips move in prayer while the voice is not heard by any that surround? Oh those precious inward wrestlings, those groanings that cannot be uttered! for no words we can use can convey their burden; those upliftings of heart to the throne of God, and the felt peace and intercourse and joy which results. It is the walking, seeing Him who is invisible, and the talking with Jesus, which makes our hearts burn within us. But to return. Again is poor yet favoured Hannah seen in the temple, her prayer answered, her blessing in her arms; and how melted and gracious are her words now to Eli. "And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him: therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And she and her husband worshipped the Lord there" (1 Sam. ii. 26-28). And then, her soul full of gratitude and joy, she bursts out into that memorable song of thankfulness: "My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies: because I rejoice in Thy salvation." And further on in her song of praise she sings: "The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich He bringeth low, and lifteth up. : He raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He hath set the world upon them" (1 Sam. ii. 7, 8). There is no doubt that her language had reference to her own circumstances; but it may have a wider scope, and we may look at,

I. The position of man by nature, in the dust and dunghill.

II. The awakening of the Holy Spirit makes him aware of his degraded state by nature, and he is led to see himself as in a bankrupt position.

III. The almighty power employed to bring him out of that condition. "He raiseth". -"He lifteth." It is an act of sovereign grace and

mercy.

IV. God putting His people into a place of security and dignity. "Hath set them among princes."

V. The purpose of God in this wonderful display of His goodness and mercy. "To make them inherit the throne of glory."

VI. Who dares to gainsay His work, and say unto Him, "What doest Thou?" for "the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He hath set the world upon them." Beloved, there is a grandeur and sublimity in this subject that we pray the Holy Ghost to unfold.

I. The position of man by nature--in the dust and dunghill; for it does appear to us that Hannah in her song preaches the important and humbling doctrine of the fall, which it is highly necessary to understand and realize before we can come to a saving knowledge of divine things. And Scripture is plain enough upon this fact: take one passage for instance, "Wherefore by one man sin entered into the world, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Nothing can be plainer, and yet the tendency of the present age is to proclaim just the contrary, even to worship and exalt humanity. What was the prophet Isaiah instructed by the Lord to declare? "The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the

flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isa. xl. 6-8). This is humiliating to human nature, but nevertheless it is a fact that cannot be too strongly insisted upon, and we must upon scriptural grounds believe that man is born in sin and shapen in iniquity; in other words, born a sinner, with no inherent good in him nor power to change himself from such a condition if he had the will, which by nature he never has: for the carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Let us then, dear reader, be clear upon this point, or we build upon a false foundation. Dust and dunghill seem strong figures to use to describe our position by nature; but when we feel what it is to be a sinner, and behold in the world the consequences of sin, I think you will agree with us that no term can be too strong to describe the degradation of human nature through the fall of Adam our federal head. "And unto Adam the Lord Jehovah said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. iii. 17-19). And that you and I and all the children of men are included in that condemnation is evident from the passage already quoted. "Wherefore by man sin entered into the world, so death hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." And now, beloved, let us come to

II. The awakening of the Holy Spirit, which brings a man to see his degradation, and leads him to acknowledge himself a bankrupt.-Because by nature a man does not feel this: "Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Rev. iii. 17). Now when mighty grace lays hold of man, he finds this to be true. Well do we recollect in personal experience that when a young man, sitting under the smooth ministry of a soft preacher, that we thought we were doing God's service, and really had within us "a most excellent spirit;" but, when led in the providence of God to listen to the searching testimony of the late dear Joseph Irons, our excellence all vanished, and we discovered that there was nothing good in us, but that "from the sole of the foot even unto the head there was no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores;" so that when divine grace melts, and the divine Spirit begins to teach, and the Lord opens the heart, we behold ourselves verily as perfect bankrupts: a debt of accumulated sins is shown us on the one side of the balance-sheet, and on the other "no assets." We have "nothing to pay," and there is the law taking us by the throat, and demanding "Pay me what thou owest," and nothing but condemnation stares us in the face; but oh, how gracious of the Lord not to leave us here! our extremity is His opportunity: and now He begins to show the awakened sinner His method of salvation. And this leads us further to,

III. The almighty power which alone can bring the sinner out of this degradation-"He raiseth". “He lifteth.”—During a late visit to the sea-side

we were standing on the top of one of the white cliffs of dear okt England, with the broad blue ocean outstretched before us; upon looking down upon the rocks covered with sea-weed that skirted the coast, we discovered something moving. A closer inspection led us to see that it was a human being, so tiny and insignificant that we could scarcely discern what it was; and we thought in carrying up the eye to the blue canopy of heaven, "As I have been looking down upon that lowly one, God is looking upon us that He sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers-that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them as a tent to dwell in. What an immeasurable distance there is between Him and me!" And this led us to think of how our dear Redeemer must have " stooped to conquer;" the Lord of glory descending to earth that His people might ascend to heaven; the Lord of glory dying a wretched death that His people might live a glorious life; the Lord of glory vanquishing hell that He might open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. He raiseth-He lifteth. Oh, this is a raising indeed, this is a lifting-up! And this leads us to think of

IV. Jehovah putting His people into a place of security and dignity, “to set them among the princes," and, as David adds, " even with the princes of His people" (Psalm cxiii. 8). Oh, we do love a religion that brings security; it appears to us that anything else is not worthy of the name. There is no security in the joint-stock bank of free-will; a run upon it at any time must bring it to ruin. To have to depend upon the caprice of the creature is an uncertain income indeed; it may be stopped at any moment, and leave the recipient a pauper. But, when we come to the work of the Eternal Three, settled, ordered in all things, and sure, this is firm standing. We can go with our cheques to this "free-grace bank," and they will never be dishonoured. We can draw, and draw indeed; there is a sufficiency for all our needs, and for the need of all who are drawing, or ever will draw, from that eternal treasury. Well, now, salvation did not bring security, and eternal security too, we venture, with all reverence to our God, to assert it would be unworthy of Him; and yet how many in the present day are preaching a universal and uncertain salvation, depending upon the acceptance of the creature, and, when accepted, upon his will to retain it. Truth has indeed fallen in our streets; but, beloved, we have not so learned Christ.

"Eternal was the choice of God,

A sovereign act indeed;

And Jesus, the Incarnate Word,
Secures the chosen seed."

if

And then not merely has Jehovah put His people into a place of security, but also of dignity" hath set them among princes." Now,

The

1. Princes are of royal blood.—And so are the Lord's dear people. blood is the life; and they are blood-relations to the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is a wonderful mystery, but Scripture authorizes the assertion; for Jesus calls and owns His Church as "His sister, His love, His dove, and undefiled one." And again,

2. Princes wear regal robes.-And the Lord declares concerning them, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment." And what change of raiment is, Isaiah tells us: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of