shall be known that I am your father by my dealing with you, for he hath not dealt so with any other nation as with his chosen one, whom he hath loved and redeemed, and taken into union with his blessed self. Not only has he condescended to make our interests his own, but take part of our nature with all its infirmities, sin only excepted, for we are told that because the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself took part of the same, for saith the Holy Ghost by the apostle, "it behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high pries over the household of God:" and I rejoice that he is still before the throne in our nature and can still have compassion on his poor timid fearful wayward family. Nor is this all, for by the impartation of his divine nature to our souls, we become one with him in his divine nature, because it is a part of himself, and therefore like him holy, as he is holy, righteous as he is righteous; and therefore John says, that which is born of God cannot sin, hence the necessity of being born again to receive this divine principle, because this and this only can enjoy divine realities, and bow to the will of its divine author. This constitutes all real and vital godliness, and without it all our religion is but a farce, and will never save our souls; but all that are born of God, and taught of God their utter ruin and lost condition, their utter inability to save themselves, and feel they must perish unless they are saved by the free unmerited rich grace and mercy of God: these, every one of them, however black, guilty, and depraved they may feel themselves, and however low they may sink, he will raise them up to sit with him in heavenly places-and why? because they are one with him. Your present position, poor soul, proves it, for he has not dealt so with any nation but his elect, his chosen, his beloved bride; therefore thou art one with him, he has thy interest at heart more than thou canst have, and is only waiting till his appointed time to be gracious. Yet he says he will be very gracious unto thee, and cause thee to swim in this broad river, which he himself set forth so sweetly in that precious golden chapter, the seventeenth of John, where the precious Lord even tells his Father that the glory that he had given him he has given them, that they may be one (even as we are one); and in another place describes it, and gives a positive assurance that we shall know it for ourselves, saying, "At that day (the appointed day) ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." And as if this was not enough, he says, "And because I live, ye shall live also." Truly my soul exclaims in wonder and amazement with the dear poet whom I still sincerely love for his works' sake: ·

"And is my soul and Jesus one,

In everlasting ties?

Oh, matchless mercy, grace divine,
And love that never dies."

Oh, stupendous thought, blessed security, one with Christ, eternally one with him; a part of himself, of his flesh and his bones, and our life hid with him in God the Father, bound up with him in the bundle of eternal life, always beheld by God the Father in union with him all fair, holy as he is holy, righteous as he is righteous, without a spot or blemish: for saith he by Balaam, "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel." And why, "because the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king," even king Jesus, "is among them." Ah, yes, here lies the blessed security of the ransomed church of God, their being one with Christ; this is the foundation of all her blessedness (love, eternal love union) from whence all her new covenant blessings flows. It was this, so to speak, that involved

the eternal Son of God, and laid a necessity upon to go through what he in infinite love to his bride and to his eternal Father undertook; nothing more was laid or inflicted on him than was measured out to him in the covenant compact, when he so graciously answered in foresight of all his pain, sufferings, deprivations, and ignominious death, "Lo! I'come, to do thy will, O God." As man, it was this infinite love union which stimulated him under the immense pressure of his beloved bride's enormous load of sin and guilt, as well as the joy that was set before him; for none of the floods of wrath that were poured on him could quench it. Oh no, blessed be his dear sacred name, it burnt above it all, till he triumphantly exclaimed, "It is finished," redemption's work is done, justice is satisfied, the law is magnified and made honourable, and all the perfections of Deity glorified; the full price is paid, his much-loved bride is eternally free. It is this infinite love union that causes him to bear with her base manners in this wilderness, for he himself gave the royal law that a man should not put away his wife though she be an adulteress. Yea, he saith, "He hateth putting away;" nay, more, he declares that he will never put her away, for he hath betrothed her to himself for ever, and in the betrothing of her to himself, bound himself in solemn oaths which can never be violated or made void :

"Oh union sweet, oh union strong,

'Tis solid rock to rest upon;"

because it can never, no never dissolve. Not only is it the security of the church in time, but throughout eternity; there would be no security for our remaining in heaven even in a glorified state, if it were not that these glorious rivers run through the blissful plains-election, divine relationship, and eternal union-any more than for the fallen angels who kept not their first estate. But we are told that the river of life is there, from whence all these rivers proceed. May the streams of these rivers refresh and make glad our souls while we are passing through this barren land to our Father's house above, where we shall drink full draughts of bliss from the glorious Fountain Head, prays your unworthy sister in the sweet bond of eternal union,

R. S.

THE TRUTH IN LOVE.

To the Editor of the Gospel Magazine.

BELOVED EDITOR,

In prospect of the opening of the new year, I say, "O come let us sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done excellent things; his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory.' "Thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." This is our unchanging mercy, whether in sorrow or joy; and not only so, but Jesus, the triumphant conqueror, and the giver of victory is Jesus Christ the same our peace, and hath made peace through, the blood of his cross; and as this is truth, and we having an heartfelt experience of the same by the demonstration of the

Spirit and power, and being new creatures in Christ, so we at all times, in all states and circumstances, live in him without sin, in peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I feel a desire, by your permission, to drop a few hints on the statement of your correspondent "R.," which initial I take to be of the feminine gender; whether it be Rebecca, Rachel, Rahab, or Ruth, I cannot determine, but I freely call her sister, beloved of and in the Lord, and rejoice with her in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, in the fulness of the salvation we have in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory, who hath saved us in himself with an eternal salvation, put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and he was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him ; and as the Lord in his sovereign mercy hath realized these truths in our heart, we rejoice that sin is a nonenity; and the Lord saith, "In that day shall the iniquity of Israel be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; and as the conscience hath been purged by the blood of Christ from dead works, so we at all times go on in the strength of the Lord, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, and live and walk by faith in Jesus the Son of God, Emanuel, God with us.

I now observe, without murmurings or disputings, that I think our sister mistook the end the "Lover of Truth" had in view; for I believe he had not a thought of defending me, but rather a defence of the Gospel; nor do I see with our sister that he hath totally failed in the attempt. I confess I was much pleased with his statement of truth, but I fully agree with the statement of our sister relative to the perfection of the Church in Christ, and her total depravity in herself, and I bless the Lord that in much mercy he hath not let me vary from the truth of the same, for more than thirty years in the experience of it.

I desire to draw the attention of our sister to, and also to consider calmly her sayings relative to the word "complex;" for I do not, yea, I cannot see that the word is applicable either to the person of Christ, or a believer; it is a hackneyed phrase, common in the pulpit and among professors, but that does not substantiate it for a truth; and as I am fond of the dear old book of words and meanings, I think it the safest rule to walk by in matters of such importance. There we have it declared that Christ is God manifest in the flesh; not a composite, neither a complication or collection, but Emanuel God with us; and the believer is set forth very different to a complex person. "The flesh against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other." There is no complexity spoken of hereby, but contrary, as also the old man and the new-the carnal mind and the spiritual—the law of the mind and the law of sin in the members; and the Lord Jesus declares the non-complexity in its true nature, saying, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit;" and Paul also saith, "But though our outward man perish, the inward man is renewed day by day." Complexity is inadmissible in these truths, neither is it applicable to the words "nature and grace ;" and a composition or complexity of natures

in the person of Christ, is not in accordance with the Scriptures; each nature is in its separate essence without complication or mixation; God and man, the great mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh. It is very blessed to search the Scriptures, as, saith the Lord of glory, "They testify of me," and to receive the truth; and it being mixed with faith, enables us to speak in Scripture language concerning things that differ, and I feel persuaded our sister will receive these hints in love as they are written.

As to exparte views I cannot plead guilty, as I have no dictionary to inform me the meaning of the word, nor have I experienced any attacks from "those who love the truth in all its parts;" nor can I admit that the Church in her fall "partook alike of the nature of the devil and the beast," because the word of the Lord does not say so; and for the words" impartation of a new principle," I would say, we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus; nor can I restrict sin being no part of our "regenerated nature," but believe also that sin is no part of our nature as sinners; sin made us sinners, and filled us with vitiosity and corruption, and death came by sin; but we had the very nature in Adam that we have now before he fell, and if sin be admitted to be a part of our nature, God must be the author and creator of it, as he is our Creator; and so God created us with a sinful nature in his own image, and if sin is part of our nature as God's creatures, and sin was not in us at the creation, then there was a deficiency in our nature; besides if sin be a part of our nature, and Christ the Son of God took our very nature, as the Scriptures declare, then he must have taken a sinful nature, which was one of the damnable heresies propagated by Irving, "bristling thick with sin as a porcupine with quills." I know our sister disclaims this, and upon due reflection will see that she hath used a phraseology in some things not in accordance with the word of God. I am very fond of what Paul saith, "Sin that dwelleth in me;" and it is a well-known fact that the dweller is no part of the house; it is the dweller that brings the house into disrepute, and is the author of all the noise, confusion, and evil in the house; and in our tabernacle the leprosy is from the dweller, and not from any defect of the builder; and though our nature is sinful, yet our nature is not " sin in essence,' nor could ever sin approximate the divine nature we are partakers of.

These things are plain to them that have understanding, and right to them that find knowledge; and relative to the fact stated by our sister, I rejoice in the Lord that I can say I neither preach nor believe corruption in its working to be an evidence of salvation, nor perfection in the flesh to build on; in felt sin I know there is bondage and legality, yet I declare there must be a knowledge of it and its guilt, by the work and power of the Spirit, before there can be a felt need of salvation, and a felt experience of the fulness and blessedness of the same; and I also believe in perfection and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. My employment is more with the plough and hammer than with the sickle that is in the hand of One who knows how and when to use it, even Jesus the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, our

Redeemer, Advocate, and Intercessor, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, who loved me and gave himself for me. Amen. Having written in love for edification, I add, the Lord only is worthy to be praised, and to be had in reverence of all them round about Him, for he only is our refuge, strength, and shield, who is made of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; and a knowledge of him never opens the door of "practical Antinomianism," but such adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things, and glory only in the Lord. Peace, love, and joy abound in our hearts, and prosperity to the beloved Editor.

I was reading the GOSPEL MAGAZINE for December, and was surprised at finding a piece by "W. F." in answer to Mr. Hewlett on "The Extent of the Law of Moses." Really the village grazier appears to have struck a new light on the subject; and it is a great wonder this new light never appeared before; but the old proverb says, "better late than never," and so it is, if it really can be established as a truth, the possibility of which I very much doubt.

We all know that man's condemnation can be established without the law of Moses, for God has put a law in every man's conscience, and he knows (even if he has never seen nor heard of a Bible) when he does right and wrong (Rom. ii. 14, 15). But we must abide by Scripture, and the first passage I would produce is Rom. iii. 19, "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law that every mouth may be stopped, and all (the Jewish nation ? O no! but) all the world may become guilty before God." Now I am not going to strain this "all the world to an unlimited extent; but can "W. F." say that it means only the Jewish nation? I trow not. He certainly seems sadly afraid lest it should get beyond the Jewish threshold. When the postman has a letter directed to John Smith he does not take it to Joseph Brown. We must therefore consider to whom this epistle was directed-"To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called saints" (Rom. i. 7). It is well known that the saints in the Church at Rome were composed of both Romans and Jews; and Paul says, in Ch. iii. 31, "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid : yea, we (believing Gentiles and Jews) establish the law;" but "W. F." says, the Gentiles have not, and never have had anything to do with it. But let us go to the 7th of Romans, where Paul is speaking of a legal life and death, "Know ye not, brethren (for I speak to them that know the