Amid the diversity which exists, in the spiritual attainments and growth of true believers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it cannot be reasonably supposed, that these hints, on the mental exercise, which precedes and attends the reception of ability truly to worship Almighty God, will be in every point applicable unto all; yet, they may be said to portray, in a greater or less degree, the experience of many, who, like the believers formerly, worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil. iii. 3.)

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It is probable that some individuals, in whom the work of regeneration has been begun, and who are in the practice of waiting upon God in assemblies for public worship, may not always receive such a supply of spiritual food as their own apprehension of their wants leads them to expect. May these not be discouraged; may they duly consider, that the Lord knows better than they do, what is best for them. He sees what will conduce to the progress of that great work, which he has begun in their souls. For a wise and benign purpose, he introduces his children to a state of poverty of spirit; the tendency of this discipline being to increase their faith, and to establish them more firmly on the " sure foundation." Therefore, ye who hunger and thirst for the bread and water of life, be not dismayed on account of the apparent smallness of the portion sometimes, yea frequently, dispensed unto you. Should it be no more, figuratively speaking, than a crumb of this bread, or a drop of "living water," if received with thankfulness, it will be found sufficient for the present need,-sufficient to strengthen you still to trust in the Lord,-still to wait upon him in faith, and with a lively hope in his goodness and mercy. Now, the revival of this faith and hope, when felt after much mental labour and conflict, whether in religious assemblies or at

other times, how precious to the tribulated soul! The Lord's holy name be praised, for all his mercies to them who love him with the whole heart; and who are engaged, although frequently under a feeling of many discouragements and infirmities, to worship him in spirit and in truth!

It must not be supposed that all who are in the practice of sitting in silence, in assemblies for public worship, are benefited in the manner above described. It is only the awakened mind, the mind, in which the work of regeneration is in some degree begun, that is capable of truly waiting upon God in silence, under an exercise of faith and love towards him. Yet, there is ground to believe, that, in numerous instances, unbelievers in the name or power of Jesus Christ, being induced, some of them probably by mere curiosity, to enter a silent religious assembly, have been awakened, and their minds greatly contrited by the divine power, although not a word has been spoken in the assembly. And this visitation of the love of the Redeemer, has proved the commencement of the effectual working of his grace in their souls.

D

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.

REFERENCE having been made in these pages to the death of our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ on the cross, and the benefits resulting therefrom to mankind, the Writer is inclined to enter a little further into this very important subject; and his sentiments respecting it being well expressed in Barclay's "Apology for the true Christian Divinity," he inserts the following extract from that work. See Prop. vii. Sec. 3.

"We consider our redemption in a two-fold respect or state; both which, in their own nature, are perfect; though in their application to us, the one is not, nor can be, without respect to the other.

"The first is the redemption performed and accomplished by Christ for us, in his crucified body, without us: the other is the redemption wrought by Christ in us; which no less properly is called and accounted a redemption than the former. The first, then, is that whereby a man, as he stands in the fall, is put into a capacity of salvation, and hath conveyed unto him a measure of that power, virtue, spirit, life, and grace, that was in Christ Jesus; which, as the free gift of God, is able to counterbalance, overcome, and root out, the evil seed, wherewith we are, naturally as in the fall, leavened.The second is that, whereby we witness and know this pure and perfect redemption in ourselves, purifying,

cleansing, and redeeming us from the power of corruption; and bringing us into unity, favour, and friendship with God.

"By the first of these two, we that were lost in Adam, plunged into the bitter and corrupt seed, unable of ourselves to do any good thing, but naturally joined and united to evil; forward and propense to all iniquity; servants and slaves to the power and spirit of darkness; are, notwithstanding all this, so far reconciled to God by the death of his Son while enemies, that we are put into a capacity of salvation, having the glad tidings of the gospel of peace offered unto us, and God is reconciled unto us in Christ, calls and invites us to himself. In which respect we understand these Scriptures:-He slew the enmity in himself. He loved us first. Seeing us in our blood, he said unto us, Live. He who did not sin his own self, bare our sins in his own body on the tree. And he died for our sins, the just for the unjust. (Eph. ii. 15; 1 John, iv. 10; Ezek. xvi. 6; 1Pet. ii. 22, 24, and iii. 18.) By the second, we witness this capacity brought into act, whereby receiving and not resisting the purchase of his death, to wit, the light, spirit, and grace of Christ revealed in us, we witness and possess a real, true, and inward redemption from the power and prevalency of sin, and so come to be truly and really redeemed, justified, and made righteous, and to a sensible union and friendship with God. Thus, he died for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity;' and thus, we know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death.' (Tit. ii. 14; Phil. iii. 10.) This last follows the first in order, and is a consequence of it, proceeding from it as an effect from its cause; so as none could have enjoyed the last without the first had been, (such being the will of God,) so also

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can none now partake of the first, but as he witnesseth the last. Wherefore, as to us, they are both causes of our justification: the first the procuring efficient, the other the formal cause."

If, then, it be absolutely requisite to our complete redemption, that we should individually believe in, and submit to, the admonitions of the divine light or Spirit of Christ, which the Scriptures abundantly declare is given to every man, to lead him from the power of Satan unto God; how desirable is it, that among all professed Christians, no doctrines should be embraced, nor any ordinance or institution relative to ministry and worship set up, and practised, the tendency of which is, to divert their attention from this internal teacher, or in any degree to obstruct or restrain its influence. An attentive perusal of the New Testament will show, that one of the principal objects of the ministry of Jesus Christ, and also of his Apostles, was to turn the attention of the people among whom they laboured, to this divine gift, as their teacher and guide in the way to everlasting happiness. And surely, this should be a principal object in the view of every professed minister of Christ in the present day; for the Christian religion is, in itself, the same now as it was in the apostolic age; yet, alas! great is the degeneracy from the light, life, and power, among its professors, especially in respect to doctrine and worship.

Yet, the Lord our God is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." (Exod. xxxiv. 6.) His will is, that none should perish, but that all should return unto him, repent, and live. And when the professors of religion shall more generally be convinced of the inefficacy of lifeless forms and ordinances, and shall earnestly desire the experience of the soul-sustaining life and power of vital Christianity; then