REFLECTIONS ON JOHN i. 17.

Of his fulness have all we received."

O be a partaker of the fulness of Chrift is the highest privilege to which man can be admitted; the believer enjoys a foretafte of it here, and when he arrives in the etermal kingdom of the Lamb, he will be continually receiving fresh measures of that inexhauftible fulnefs, which will be the fource of all his joys, and the theme of his fong for ever. -Jefus Chrift is revealed in the fcriptures, as poffeffing an infinite fulness in himself, both as God and as the God-Man Mediator.

Chrift poffeffes infinite fullnefs as God.-Deity is unqueftionably the fource of all good; we have, therefore, only to prove that Chrift is God, and it carries with it fatisfactory evidence, that in him are infinite treafures of grace and mercy. It will be needlefs to multiply quotations, as one clear fcripture proof is as fatisfactory as an hundred to the man who receives the fcriptures as the word of God. We are told that "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily*:" that is, the whole nature and attributes of God dwell really and fubftantially in Christ's human nature.

But let us more particularly confider the fulness Christ poffeffes in his covenant relation to his people, as their God-Man Mediator, poffeffing infinite grace and the Spirit above measure†, and communicating this grace to his people, who come as empty veffels to be filled, and are enabled in their measure to manifeft his fulness, by the variety of gifts and graces he difpenfes among them, till he brings every member to his full fpiritual ftature, and then gives them an abundant entrance into his kingdom of glory. The church being called the fulness of Chriftt, his myftical body cannot be complete without the full and complete falvation of all its members.

When the Holy Spirit has wrought faving convictions in the heart of a finner, he who before thought himself wife, now fees that he was ignorant of the things that concern his most important interefts: but it is his happiness that in

Col. ii. 9. ↑ John iii. 34. ‡ Ephes. i. 23.

Chrift is the fulness of wisdom; he is encouraged to plead his ignorance at the throne of grace, and to pray earnestly for wisdom to direct his fteps: the Lord hears and fpeedily anfwers his prayer; the word which he reads and hears with faith is applied to his heart by the power of the Spirit, and becomes truly "a light unto his feet, and a lamp unto his "path."

But it is not merely at fetting out on his spiritual journey that the believer needs this fulness of wisdom; as he purfues his course he continually meets with difficulties, which make him utterly at a lofs how to proceed, and would caufe him to turn back into the world, but that he has recourfe in every time of need to him who at first imparted wisdom, and whofe affurance he can rely on for direction till he arrives at his defired haven: he is brought by this wisdom to fee his utter incapacity to fulfil the holy law of God, which he is breaking every moment of his life; and to caft himfelf entirely on that perfect righteousness by which Jefus fulfilled the law as his furety. Relying by faith on that word of God which declares him juftified by the righteoufnefs of Chrift imputed to him, he now beholds fin in its native deformity, as hateful in the fight of God; and looking unto Jefus for the grace of fanctification, prays that he may be made holy in heart, which will not fail to produce holinefs of life; and being engaged in a continual warfare, while connected with the prefent evil world, he lives by faith in Jefus, who imparts continual fupplies from his fulness, (by which he is enabled to refift and watch againft fin) and will not fail to give the victory over every enemy; having, as the great Captain of Salvation conquered death, and him that had the power of death, and redeemed his people from the curfe of the law, by becoming a curfe for them, when he made a full and perfect atonement for their fins on Mount Calvary; and finished the work of redemption, blotting out the hand-writing of ordinances that was against us, nailing them to his crofs; the believer receives of the fulness of this redemption with unfpeakable joy, after the dark feafon of firft convictions, when he was, perhaps, brought to the borders of defpair, but is now light in the Lord.

He lives upon the fullness of this redemption from day to day, having by fin forfeited all title to the mercies of God, both for his foul and his body, he now enjoys the forfeited poffeffion redeemed by the blood of Chrift; he receives temporal mercies as the purchase of that blood, and ftudies to use them to the glory of his Redeemer; but his most important concerns are thofe of his foul; concerns which are

not bounded by the period of the prefent life, but which extend to eternity: as a finner he was banished for ever from the prefence of God; but he is now brought nigh to him by the redemption of Chrift. When faith is in exercife, this excites continual joy, and while he enjoys a fenfe of the love of his Redeemer, he anticipates the happiness of heaven while in this lower world; but his adverfary, the devil, will not long fuffer him to continue in peaceable poffeffion of this enjoyment; he will firft fuggeft earthly mindedness, and watching for his halting, tempt him to backflide from that God to whom he is under fuch infinite obligations; when brought to a fenfe of his backflidings he is humbled under the conviction, and has continual recourfe to that blood of atonement which cleanfeth from all fin; and God having promised to heal all the backflidings of those who return unto him, he holds on his way receiving out of the fulnefs of Jefus as he ftands in need, till he is taken by his Lord to enjoy the fulness of his prefence, where no enemy fhall interrupt him, but all fhall be harmony, peace, and love, for ever.

J. T.

A SOLILOQY.

This foul of mine was never made "For vanity and luft."

WATTS!

ND yet, O my foul, what are thy pursuits, what are thy hopes! Thy pursuits are folly, and thy hopes worldly. Yet gold is not wanted: covetoufnefs is not thy foible. Thou doft not delight in fcenes of wickednessno, but thy crime is a too great inattention to thy eternal concerns, and a much greater folicitude for the pleasures, tho' not for the riches, of this tranfitory world, than is confiftent with the noble nature of an immortal being. For well thou knoweft, that this world is but a ftate of probation, a fhort pilgrimage, a fleeting paffage; that this life will but appear as a tale that is told, in comparifon with the life, the eternal life, we are about to enter.

Oh! my foolish wandering heart, why are thy feelings fo congenial with the world? Can it promife thee a length of years? can it enfure thee one moment?-no! then why VOL. II.

3 K

let its folly captivate thy better affections. It will begin with entertaining, but where will it end? In entailing contempt, mifery, and defpair upon its votaries. Strange that man, the moft favoured of all the creation; man, who is the image of his Maker; that this highly favoured man fhould be the most ungrateful of all the works of his Maker's hand; flighting his bounty, grieving his Spirit, rejecting his offers of falvation, and eager for nothing but the ftraws and duft of earth. And when he has gained the height of his ambition, what is the amount? vexation, difappointment, and remorfe. His riches, his honours, will fly fafter than they were accumulated, and nothing will be left him but regret for mis-spent time; and one little fpot of earth where he muft lie down, and terminate this glorious fcheme of.worldly wisdom!Oh, my foul, flee from the wrath to come, no longer procraftinate, but fly to the Rock that is higher than thou

art.

However the Chriftian's path is ftrewed with thorns, oh! my God, enable me to chufe the narrow way that leads to life. O let me not be loft in defpondency, let me not be frightened at the hill Difficulty, nor at the dangers that befet the way. O God! keep me alike from pride and despair, and at last, bring me to the gate of the celeftial city, where

(O glorious state! Oblest abode !)

I shall be near and like my God.

SOPHIA. T.

SIR,

LETTER FROM JUDE A.

To the Editor of the Evangelical Magazine.

The annexed is an extract of a Letter from a young man belonging to the British Artillery, who went with Sir Sidney Smith into the Eaft. The pious ftrain in which he introduces his letter, and other circumftances, have induced me to trouble you with a copy, which, if you think worthy of a place in your excellent Magazine, you will be fo good as infert, and much oblige, Sir, Your's, &c.

Dundee, 30th April, 1800.

Z. T.

P. S. The letter is directed to his father in this town.

(COPY.)

Bethlehem, (Judea,) February, 1800,

DEAR PARENTS,

EMBRACE the prefent opportunity of fending you a few

lines, hoping they will find you in as good health as they leave me thanks be to God for this, and all his other mercies fince I left Europe. For the hand of God has been with me, as will appear from the fequel, ever since I left my native country; for in all the viciffitudes and troubles that have attended our paffage from Ireland to the coast of Egypt, and from that through the Red Sea, until we arrived in Judea, 114 miles from Jerufalem, the prefence of the Lord has been with me, both day and night. Bleffed be his holy name, he has been pleafed to lead me into the knowledge of redeeming love, and give me to experience the power of his glorious gofpel, and of his almighty grace, fo that I may walk in the light of falvation through a Re, deemer.

When I received your laft letter, we were under orders to march to Cork, where we embarked for Egypt, the 2d of August 1799, on board the Royal Sovereign, of 110 guns, in company with the reft of the fhips under the command of Commodore Sir Sidney Smith, to act against the French on the coaft of Egypt. We paffed through the German Ocean to the coaft of France, and then to Gibraltar: we had fine weather for ten days in fight of Italy, until we came to Malta, on the 18th of September. All this time we did not know our deftination; but on the 19th, a frigate came to the Commodore, to inform him that fome French thips. of war were off the coaft of Egypt. We were then given to know our deftination was Turkey, to learn the Turks the art of managing the great guns, with other branches of the art of war, which is our prefent employment. We had fine weather for five days, to pafs along the coaft of Egypt, for we could not land at any place in that country, it being all in the hands of the French, commanded by General Buonaparte however, the city of Acre was at this time befieged by the above-mentioned army, confifting of 30, 000 men. The city is fituated upon the borders of the Red Sea, in Syria, and is the fame where the Chriftian kings loft fo many men, when they attempted to take it from the Infidels in the holy wars. We were obliged to land at the port town of Aleppo for fresh water, where we embarked again,