the Holy One of Jacob," (by giving Him all the glory) Isa. xxix. 22, 23. May our united prayer be, "Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children: and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it," Ps. xc. 16, 17. Should the Lord grant our petition, (and why not?) then indeed we shall have a Happy New Year. Hail! brethren, in this opening year, May all in holy faith and fear, God's wondrous works review. For favours past, O may we bless His holy Triune name; "Not unto us, O Lord," we cry, But to Thy love alone, We owe the grace which brings us nigh According to Thy kingly state, So let Thy mercy be ; We owe our all to Thee. We'll glory in the boundless love We'll look to Thee to guide us through Life's mazes to the end; Without Whom we can nothing do: Thou art the sinner's Friend. Be walking in Thy faith and fear, Be with us when we come to die ; When heart and flesh shall fail; When Thou our dust shalt raise ; Thy ransomed people then shall view For this eternal weight of bliss, T. EDWARDS. A REMINISCENCE OF HUNTINGTON. Dear friend, W E are indeed highly favoured with so eminent a gospel minister, and there are times in which I feel the benefit of it: but sabbath evening, while he (Mr. Huntington) was describing the grace of the fear of the Lord, I thought, Surely I can come in here. He described it to be that that would not let a man go on in a sinful course: but the man in whose heart it is, considers himself under the narrow inspection of the Almighty, and is continually surrounded, as it were, with the all-seeing eye of God, so that he dares not do anything that he knows to be wrong, nor to profess to be any more before men, than what he really is in the sight of God; and where this fear is that soul shall never depart from God. found a good deal of comfort from what he said. I I am going to write to you a little of a discourse from 1 Sam. xxx. 6. "But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." The royal Psalmist was at this time in the hottest furnace that ever he was put into ; he had gone through many sharp and fiery trials, but this was a singular one. After Saul had been twice delivered so wonderfully into his hands, he falls into a violent fit of unbelief, (a disorder that all my Master's family are very subject to) and declares after all that he shall one day perish by the hand of Saul; therefore, says he, there is nothing better for me, than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines, and Saul shall despair of me to seek me any more in any coast of Israel. And with that off he goes, and his little army with him, consisting of 600 men. He goes to the little city of Gath,, where Achish the king cordially receives him, (so true is it when a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.) But David thinking it too much to dwell in the royal city with the king, begs him to give him some little place in the country, where he and his men may reside, which the king consented to, and gave him a little city called Ziklag, which after pertained to the kings of Judah. They had not been long here, before the Philistines began to gather their armies together, to go up to war against Israel, and now Achish calls upon David and his men to go up to the battle with them against Israel. This was a sharp trial indeed, especially as the king had shown him such uncommon kindness; he hardly knew how to refuse him, but gives him no positive answer, but an evasive one (very unbecoming a saint of God); he tells him that now he should see what his servant could do: and then he and his men fall into the rear of the Philistine's army. But when the lords of the Philistines passed by and saw David and his men in the army, they asked the king what those Hebrews did there, &c. But David carries on his dissimulation further yet, and asked what he had done that he was not to go and fight against the enemies of his king, when at the same time he dared not! It was at the peril of his conscience to draw a sword against either his father-in-law or any of his household. I have always said that the Almighty is sure to resent such dissimulating conduct: this you may see in Jacob, who took advantage of his father's blindness, and assumed the name of Esau to get the blessing; afterwards Laban took the advantage of him in the night, and gave him Leah instead of Rachel, and thus it came home to him. And David found what the prophet Isaiah says to be true, that the Lord God of recompences will surely requite. David and his men return to their city, and find they are stripped of every thing, and the city set on fire. It is a sad thing in such times of distress, to have none but a parcel of infidels to deal with, as most likely the greater part of David's men were, for they turned against him. There, say they, you told us you were the anointed of God, and we believed you and have followed you through a sea of suffering; and the people spoke of stoning him. "But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." This he did by prayer and by exercising confidence in Him. He called to Abiathar the priest. In all our approaches to God, we must make use of the High Priest of our profession, or we shall never succeed. "Whatsoever ye ask the Father in My name, I will do it.” All power in heaven and earth is given to the Son of God. He is the Heir of all things. The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof. All things are made subject unto Him. He In has ascended far above all heavens, that He might fill all things. Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. All things are put under His feet, God only excepted: so that whatever trouble may be, whether in providence or grace, whether spiritual or temporal, grace here or glory hereafter, all must be received out of the fulness of the Son of God. Prayer does not consist in words; but when the heart has conceived trouble, it is as the psalmist says, to pour out the soul before God, to speak so as to ease the mind in distress; casting all the burden upon the Lord. God bless you. C. CHALLEN. THE UNCTION RECEIVED, AND KNOWLEDGE ATTAINED. TWO SERMONS BY THE LATE MR. TURNER OF SUNDERLAND. ON LORD'S DAY, DEC. 22ND, 1848. "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." 1 John ii. 20. MORNING'S DISCOURSE. |HE first word in my text is what is termed an adversative conjunction, and shews that it is connected with what goes before and yet is different. The apostle tells them that they "had heard that Antichrist should come." (It had arisen in its embryo form in the early christian church. It broke out among those who had professed the truth of the gospel; but who afterwards apostatised from it.) This is a tremendously awful state, for it respects those who "have sinned after they have received the knowledge of the truth," &c. They had managed under Satan their master to make such a profession as to be received into church-fellowship by John and the rest of the apostles, "whose fellowship was with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ." These had had the holy commandment committed to them; they had such a knowledge of the gospel that they gave their assent to and approved of it, and it was accompanied with such a reformation, that, with the soundness of their creed, and consistency of their conduct, they had caused John to receive them into communion. But, says he, "they went out from us: they were not of us, for if they had been of us no doubt they would have continued with us," &c. The latter clause the apostle speaks with wisdom and prudence. The going is into damnable heresies. They denied Christ to be the Son of God, but viewed Him to be an impostor, and endeavoured to persecute His doctrines, His cause, and His people, and bring Him and them unto universal contempt. And some, though they might have escaped error as to doctrine, and acknowledged the Father and the Son with their covenant engagements, and their covenant work, yet though they retained this knowledge they went back into those evil practices that the knowledge of Christ and His truth had for a time delivered them from. The Holy Spirit declares there are some "that by works deny Him," and these are enemies to the cross of Christ. This would not have been the case had they been "of us :" "but they went out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not all of us." Because there were 66 some who for a time (not being leaders, but led,) that from simplicity, want of love and strength of faith were seduced, but in God's time were brought back. There may be some who were 'of us" who have gone astray, yet the Good Shepherd will go after them. They have been misled in doctrinal points by the powers of oratory, till it pleased God to discover to them their deception, and to restore them. And some have been seduced into evil practices and evil connections: and none but God knows how far a real saint of God by evil companions, temptations of Satan, and snares of the world, may backslide or fall; and my text shows the reason why those were preserved from such a state. "But." It connects what goes before, and contrasts between their state and the state of those whom John says went out from us: and the reason why they were preserved was, "but ye have an unction from the Holy One." What I have in view is to treat of this unction generally, then shew its meaning as opposed to the verse before my text; and that from scripture and experience-for real experience is the work of the Spirit of God, as the scripture is the Word of God, and is a copy of the Word written by the Spirit upon the fleshly table of the heart. "We compare spiritual things with spiritual"-that is, the work and the Word of God-and such as are blessed with wisdom and prudence will take heed thereto, and when we find them agree there is a sweet satisfaction. "But," in opposition to those who have gone out from us, and shown themselves enemies of the cross of Christ; "but ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things," in consequence of that unction. This Holy One is Christ. "Ye denied the Holy One and the just and desired a murderer." He is the holy, harmless and undefiled Lamb of God, and even the devils were compelled to give this testimony. "We know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God." This unction alludes, I have no doubt, to those things under the old testament, which were types and figures of better things to come, which the apostle sums up in these two; Christ Himself (which takes in His person), His covenant characters and His covenant work, all which were represented by the prophets, priests, and kings, belonging to the house of Israel: "Christ being come a high priest of good things to come," &c. This is summing up the whole of that dispensation, which was all to represent Christ, and all those persons, works, and blessings which belong to and flow from Christ. Every person or thing under that dispensation consecrated to God, were anointed with His unction or oil, and as it respects persons, it was a mark of those persons being appointed by God to peculiar offices. In the mind of God, Aaron was purposed to be the high priest, David to be king, and Elisha to be a prophet; and in order to show that those persons were by God appointed to those offices, the oil gave the outward mark, and God backed it by an effectual change in the person. When Samuel anointed Saul to be king of Israel, it is said "he became another man;" not a converted man, but God having appointed him to be king, in making such a change from the low sphere of life, a shepherd, He furnished him with wisdom, courage, strength, and fortitude, to fulfil the office to which he was appointed; and this was more particularly the case with David, for when Samuel anointed him, "the Spirit of the Lord came upon him," &c., and this I do not take to be his commission, but the Spirit furnishing him with courage, wisdom, &c., fit for the office of king and captain of his people; for we are not to suppose that this related to their conversion, for Saul lived and died a stranger to Christ and His salvation. This unction being the outward sign of God's appointmeut, it is used in a gospel sense for that purpose: "Unto Him who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in His blood," &c. The truth is, that this holy oil or unction, signifies the Spirit Himself, with His fruits or graces, which were set forth by the spices of which this oil was composed, and this distinguishes and preserves you from that which of your own nature you would be as liable to, as those who have gone out from us, and turned their backs upon us; and to prevent this ye have received this unction from the Holy One, &c. In First of all, we must trace those spoken of, "Ye." It signifies that it pleased the Father of His sovereign discriminating grace (for He declares to Moses, "I will have mercy upon whom I will," &c., so then "it is not of him that willeth, or of him that runneth, but of God who sheweth mercy:" that is the great first cause), it pleased Him to appoint a number of Adam's race to be the subjects of the Saviour's kingdom here, and that they by His Spirit and grace, shall reign over all opposition and every enemy to that kingdom, till they are brought to sit upon the throne of Christ, and reign there for ever and ever. consequence of this appointment, He sent His Son, that He might be the Captain of this salvation, and therefore anointed Him to be King over His hill of Zion, which is His people: "I will say unto Zion thou art my people." There is this difference between the type and the thing signified; there were many anointed with oil upon whom it had no internal effect, nor did God accompany it with His blessing as to others: there were many false prophets and vile kings, and it is impossible that oil mingled with spices could make a change of the heart. But God accompanied the anointing with the gift of His Spirit, to furnish them. with abilities for the office. What Paul said of the blood of lambs and goats is true of this oil: It is impossible for that to communicate any power to those anointed. This unction with which they were anointed, as well as with blood, was to show the application of the Spirit with which the King of Sion was anointed without measure; 'He was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows :" which I take to be when He ascended into heaven, where He was made both Lord and Christ. Then He received the Spirit without measure, that He might communicate to His fellows what none but Himself was able to do. This holds forth this truth, that every soul whom the Father in His purpose has designed to everlasting life, becomes in God's own time distinguished, marked out, made known to be the object of His appointment, by the Spirit being communicated in measure, implanting His grace in their hearts, true light in their understandings, spiritual life in their souls, the fear of the Lord, precious faith, circumcising their hearts to love God, and filling their hearts with joy and peace, which whosoever hath, hath everlasting life. When this unction comes they are furnished by that to the offices of prophet, priest, and king, which God makes all His people by this unction. It is the Father's purposed gift and His promised gift, but it comes to us through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ, for had He not travailed in His sufferings and death for the salvation of sinners, that Spirit would not have been sent. Not that there is the least uncertainty in it, but these are the means which He makes |