CORRESPONDENCE.

It is difficult for one to

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59. "H. G. B.," Peckham. judge for another in the matter to which you refer. Each one must act before the Lord, and be guided of Him as to the best method of working. As a rule, it is the best way to study scripture apart from the idea of having to preach. It is not good always to be reading for others; one is in danger of falling into the mere business of sermon-making, which is very withering to the soul. It is well to go to the word on the principle set forth in John vii. 37, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." We only speak of the principle, not the strict application of the passage. We should betake ourselves to the fountain of holy scripture, not to draw for others, but to drink for ourselves. Then we shall be always full, always ready for the Master's use. Far be it from us to encourage any one in a random, haphazard way of speaking on scripture. We believe such a habit to be ruinous to the soul of the speaker, and worse than wearisome to the souls of the hearers. The apostle's advice to his son Timothy is salutary to us all," Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (1 Tim. iv. 15, 16.) The "profiting" is sure to "appear" if the habit of meditation be diligently cultivated; but if one goes to a meeting with a sermon ready prepared, it may not be the thing which the Lord would have spoken at all. No doubt, the Lord can and does guide His servants in study and preparation beforehand; He can fix their minds upon the right subject, and teach the right method of handling it. He is so good that we can count on Him with fullest confidence in all things. But we have to watch against the habit of making ourselves up for an occasion, on the one hand, and against idleness and indifference on the other. May the Lord bless you, in your own soul, and help you in your work!

60. "A Reader," Halifax. We consider it perfectly scriptural "for three or four Christians who happen to be on the Lord's day, in a village or town where there is no assembly, to remember the Lord, in the breaking of bread."

61. 'A. S. O.," Reading. There are very false notions afloat as to the point to which you call our attention; and

very many, like yourself, are troubled thereby. We are continually asked about the "unpardonable sin," and the

sin against the Holy Ghost." If you will read carefully Matthew xii. 24-32, you will see that our Lord speaks of "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost," of which the apostate Jews were guilty. For this there was and could be no forgiveness. What could be done for those who not only rejected the Son, but resisted the Holy Ghost, and attributed His blessed operation to Beelzebub? They could neither be forgiven in the "age" of the law, nor in that of Messiah. In short, it is wholly a question, in this scripture, of the apostate nation of Israel, given over to hopeless perdition. We know that, just before the opening of the millennial age, there will be a repentant remnant for whom a fountain shall be opened, and who shall be the nucleus of the restored nation. But this is far too wide a subject to enter upon here. We merely add that we judge it to be a temptation of Satan to lead you to imagine that you have committed "the unpardonable sin;" for you may rest assured, dear friend, that you have never been guilty of any sin which cannot be cancelled by that blood which cleanseth us from ALL sin. Many find difficulty in 1 John v. 16. "There is a sin unto death." This we believe to be a question of God's governmental dealings. We learn from 1 Corinthians xi. that God visits His people with sickness and even death itself because of their ways; but in neither of these passages is there any thought of “ an unpardonable sin." We do not believe that any sinner, in this acceptable year, this day of salvation, is beyond the reach of the pardoning love of God, and the atoning blood of Jesus. Those who reject the gospel shall be given over to a strong delusion." (2 Thess. ii. 10-12.) But that terrible moment has not yet arrived. The day of vengeance" is held back in God's long-suffering mercy.

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62. "J. C. H.," Purton. The subject is hardly suitable for "Things New and Old."

63. "A Constant Reader," Bristol. Genesis ii. 7 proves the grand foundation of the immortality of the soul, “Man became a living soul." This was not the case with any other creature. If ever a moment could arrive in the which the soul shall cease to exist, then is there no force, no meaning in Genesis ii. 7. We need hardly say there are numberless other proofs; but this one is quite enough for us.

THE WORK OF GOD IN THE SOUL.

(Part ii.)

HAVING in our paper for July, glanced at two of those modes in which the Spirit of God works in the soul to produce a sense of need, namely, by convicting the conscience of guilt; and by pressing upon the spirit the just dread of danger; it remains for us to consider a third method which is by giving the heart to feel the utter vanity and unsatisfactoriness of all that this poor world can offer, in the way of pleasure or enjoyment.

This is, by no means, uncommon. We may frequently meet with very matured Christians who will tell you that they were brought to Christ, not so much by a sense of guilt, or a dread of danger, as by an intense longing after a certain undefinable something—a painful void in the heart—a sense of weariness, loneliness, and desolation. They felt a blank which nothing in this world could fill. They were heart-sick and disappointed. No doubt, they felt and acknowledged the broad truth that they were sinners; and, moreover, when they looked in the direction of the future they felt that there was, and could be, nothing for them but eternal misery and torment. But then the great prominent feature of the divine work in them was not so much conviction of sin or a fear of punishment, as a feeling of utter desolation and dissatisfaction. They found themselves in that condition of soul in which the study of the book of Ecclesiastes afforded a melancholy gratification. They had tried the world, in every shape and form, and, like the royal Preacher, had found it to be "vanity and vexation of spirit."

Now, we must be prepared for this variety in the ways of the Spirit of God. We are not to suppose that He will confine Himself, in His blessed operations, to any one particular type. Sometimes He produces, in the soul, the

most overwhelming sense of guilt, so that the heart is crushed to the earth, and nothing is felt, seen, or thought of, but the vileness, the heinousness, and the blackness of sin. The dark catalogue of sins rises like a great mountain before the vision of the soul, and well nigh sinks it into despair. The soul refuses to be comforted. Shame and confusion, sackcloth and ashes, are felt to be the only suited portion of the guilty one.

At other times, God sees fit to bring before the soul the terrors of hell, and the awful reality of spending an eternity in that region of unutterable gloom and misery. The dark shadow of the future is made to fall upon the brightest scenes of the present; and the thought of the wrath to come so presses upon the heart, that nothing seems to yield the smallest relief or comfort. All is deep, deep gloom and horror.

And, finally, as we have said, in other cases, the divine Worker is pleased to awaken the soul to the painful discovery and consciousness that it is not within the compass of earth to furnish a satisfying portion for an immortal spirit; that all under the sun wears the stamp of death upon it; that human life is but a vapour that speedily vanishes away; that if a man were to live a thousand years twice told-were he to possess the wealth of the universe-could he concentrate in his own person all the honours and all the dignities which this world could bestow -were he at the very highest pinnacle of power-were he renowned, throughout the wide wide world, for genius, for intellect, and for moral worth; in a word, had he all that earth could yield or mortal man possess, the heart would still want something, there would still be a painful void, there would still be the cry, "Oh! for an object."

Thus varied are the operations of the Spirit of God in the souls of men. No doubt, there may be a sense of guilt, a fear of danger, and a painful consciousness of the emptiness and vanity of all earthly possessions and enjoy

ments, altogether apart from any divine work in the soul; but we are now occupied only with this latter; and we feel the deep importance of being able to discern and appreciate the work of God's Spirit in the human heart, as also of seeking to help it on. We greatly dread anything like human interference with the progress of the kingdom of God in the soul. There is danger on all sides. There is danger of casting a damp on young converts; and there is danger of mistaking the mere workings of nature for the action of the Spirit of God. Nor is this all. We are frequently in danger of running directly counter to the object which the Lord has in view in His dealings with the soul. We may, for example, be actually seeking to extract the arrow which He is sending home to the very centre of the soul: we may be seeking to cover up a wound which He would have probed to the very bottom.

All these things demand the utmost vigilance and care on the part of those who take an interest in souls. We are, all of us, liable to make the most serious mistakes, either in the way of discouraging and repulsing souls that ought rather to be fostered and cheered; or, on the other hand, of recognizing and accrediting as of God what is merely the fruit of religious nature working. In short, it is a serious thing to put our hands to the work of God, in any way; and He alone can give the needed wisdom and grace in each case as it arises. And He will, blessed be His name, give abundantly to all who simply wait on Him. "He giveth more grace." Precious word! There is absolutely no limit to it. It shines, as an exhaustless motto, on our Father's treasury door, assuring us of the most ample supply “for exigence of every hour."

Let us not, therefore, be discouraged by the magnitude and seriousness of the work, or the danger attending it. God is sufficient. The work is His; and if He deigns, in His marvellous grace, to use us-as He surely doesas His co-workers, He will liberally furnish us with all