heard some very talented men call it a damnable error, and declare that the Lord Jesus Christ never preached it.

J. When men are engaged in the service of Satan, the more talented they are, the more capable they are of doing their master's work; but to say that Christ never preached the doctrine of election, is like the rest of their flesh-pleasing, God-insulting statements. Now if we turn our attention to Luke iv. 16, we there find that the dear Lord began to read in the synagogue of Nazareth part of the 61st chapter of Isaiah, and having read, he closed the book and sat down, and he then said unto them, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears;" and the people appeared all attention, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. He knew their hearts, and he knew that the doctrine of discrimination would fill them with wrath and indignation; nevertheless, he preached it; as it is written: "But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong." (Luke iv. 25-29.) Thus we find that this very pious congregation, which before appeared all attention, rose up in wrath, and led him to the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. Now I have no doubt that thousands in our day who profess to be very pious would do just the same, had they the same opportunity; for the doctrine of God's discriminating grace is so humbling to the pride of man, that the stiff-necked, self-righteous, or, in other words, the self-pious, pharisee, cannot bear it; but when the Lord reveals this truth to the conscience of a sinner, it excludes boasting in self and of self, and says to the conscience, "Who made thee to differ from another; and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou didst not receive it?" (1 Cor. iv. 7.) The glorious doctrine of election is one branch of the law of faith, which excludes boasting; (Rom. iii. 26, 27;) for in the great things of eternity, all creature boasting must be excluded, and the Lord alone exalted. I believe that were it not for a cursed principle of pride, which even lurks in the child of God himself, panting for creature honour, we should neither have nor require so much furnace work as we do; but the dear Lord is determined to try his people; and he takes a variety of methods in doing it, in order to withdraw them from their fleshly purposes, and to hide pride from them; and, bless his precious name, the whole of his dealings with them are in connection with his eternal, electing, discriminating love and grace; "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

S. Yes, my friend, and such professors of religion who are without chastisement, whereof all God's people are partakers, are bastards, and not sons. True it is there are some men who profess to believe in electing grace, who give too much proof that they never received it in the love and power of it; therefore they can boast of their unshaken happiness, and look down with a degree of disdain upon God's poor, doubting, tempted, distressed, mourning children. There are men of talent, too, who can boldly preach the letter of the truth, and yet can vauntingly say to God's poor distressed and mourning children, "You must come up to me, for I cannot come down to you." But we find no such proud, swelling words either from Christ or his apostles. These boasters give too much room to fear that they have leaped into the doctrines of truth without their ever being brought with divine power to their conscience as suited to their condition.

J. Well, friend Samuel, I do not envy such men, nor wish to get up to them; for however high they may have climbed, and however incapable they may be of stooping to the case of the poor and needy mourners of God's family, I hope the dear Lord will never suffer me to meet them on their self-exalted summit. But when such men have spent all their presumptuous ammunition against God's poor broken down, rooted up, fearful, tried, and mourning children, God's word abounds with encouragement to them; and if, at your leisure, you will read the following portions, you will find both their case described, and encouragement given; so that God, in his blessed word, and at times by the unctuous power of his Spirit, comes down to their case: Ps. lxxii. 12; cii. 17-21; Isa. xxxv. 3—6; xli. 10— 18; liv. 4-8; lxi. 1—3; Matt. xi. 28; Rom. xv. 1-5; 1 Cor. ix. 22; 2 Cor. i. 4; 1 Thes. v. 14; Heb. xii. 12, 13. But it is not necessary for me to multiply portions of scripture upon this subject, as the word of God abounds with them, and the God of the word will be graciously pleased to listen to the groans of the poor needy sinner who is of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at his word. (Isa. lxvi. 2.) Lofty, proud man may think himself too high to stoop and come down to the state and case of the poor needy sinner, but the blessed Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. (Ps. xxxiv. 18.) Bless his precious name, he will hear their groaning, and spare them, and save them. (Ps. cii. 20; lxxii. 13.) He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength."

S. Thanks be to the Lord that it is so. Honours crown his brow, he delights to help those who appear to have no helper. But these self-exalted men can have no fellowship with those tried souls who are feelingly walking in the path described in the 38th Psalm, nor in the line of experience marked out in the first twenty verses of the third chapter of Lamentations. No doubt they would call it coming down to dung gate; but I have been there more than once, and, through the riches of God's grace, have found in the end the suitableness and preciousness of the Lord Jesus Christ to such a burdened, troubled, bowed down, and loathsome wretch.

J. So have I, and I really do not regret it. But let us return to the solemn subject of God's discrimination. I think you said you had heard very talented men say that the Lord Jesus Christ never preached that doctrine; but, in addition to what we have already brought to prove that he did, let us turn to Matt. xi. 24-26, where it is written: " But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." Now, whoever are meant by the wise and the prudent, and whoever are meant by the babes, the Lord Jesus Christ thanks the Father for hiding the truth from the one and revealing it to the other, and his gracious Majesty resolves the whole into God's sovereign pleasure: "Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." And again; "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John x. 26, 29.) Here we are told that some believed not because they were not his sheep; but his sheep heard his voice and were blessed with eternal life, and can never perish. And again: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out." (John vi. 37.) Now these are solemn, absolute declarations. And further, the dear Lord says, I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." (John xvii. 9, 10.) Indeed, the whole chapter is full of discriminating love and grace, and it is the blessed will of Christ that all that the Father hath given him shall be with him, that they may behold his glory. There is a glorious oneness between Christ and his people, and the Father; as it is written: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." (John xvii. 20-24.) "This people God has formed for himself, and they shall show forth his praise." (Isa. xliii. 21.)

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S. Yes, and Peter dedicates his first epistle to God's elect people. But we need say no more upon this subject at present; it is a secret mine which runs through the whole volume of inspiration, and blessed is the man whom the dear Lord is pleased to bring to a spiri

tual feeling of its contents. I have detained you much longer than I at first intended, but I hope you will excuse me.

J. There is no necessity for any apology; the conversation has been both sweet and profitable to my soul.

S. Well, brother, if it meets with your approbation, and the Lord spares us, I should like, at some future time, to have a little conversation upon some other branches of God's blessed truth.

J. With all my heart; but at the present farewell, and the peace of God rule in your heart.

S. Farewell, and may a divine unction rest upon your conscience. W. G.

FELLOWSHIP OF THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.

My dear afflicted Brother,-Your conflicts have been very sore and painful since I saw you, a time never to be forgotten by you in this vale of sorrow. Many have been your changes and afflictions since I have known you; but the time is fast approaching when we shall enter into rest eternal, where sorrow and sighing shall for ever flee away. I am glad the Lord has given you a hope of your dear wife's eternal safety. O what a blessed change for sinners saved by grace to leave this wilderness for a paradise; this earthly house for the bosom of eternal love; the guilt of sin, the burden of self, and the thrusts of Satan, to enjoy, without a cloud between, the Father's loving smiles; to have rejoicing instead of weeping, light instead of darknesss, praising instead of repining, and sweetly to magnify him instead of rebellion; to have carnal enmity utterly slain, the leprous house, with its rotten timbers and hollow strakes, entirely taken down, and the ransomed soul enter into eternal peace, where the voice of the Canaanite shall never be heard, nor any shaft from hell affright; where our sun shall never more go down, for there shall be no night there; for the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed us, and lead us to fountains of living waters, and God shall wipe all tears from our eyes. Then shall we heartily ascribe all the glory of our salvation to God and the Lamb. (We are sorry to hear Mrs. W is so poorly; afflictions are her lot in this world, but she must join the throng above that shall no more say, "I am sick." If we did not need our Father's rod he would never use it. All his ways are wisdom, love, and faithfulness, and sometimes we can say, "Dear Father, still lead on." Mr. much better; we had some savoury talk respecting the foundation of our hope, and our hearts got warm toward one another.) You want to know how I got on at B-; and I know you will rejoice when I tell you that I was favoured with one of the most blessed visits from the Lord last Saturday night that ever my poor soul enjoyed. I felt in the evening a poor guilty empty fool; the thoughts of the Sabbath would crowd in, but I felt a poor restless wretch quite uufit to speak to the people. I took a solitary walk, in the course of which some feeling sighs were pressed from my

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afflicted soul; and in about half an hour my mind was led out in sweet meditation respecting Jesus suffering the bitter pangs of wrath, being offered up a sacrifice instead of his church, and he sweetly and powerfully made it known to my poor soul that he loved me, and gave himself for me. O how my soul was melted in contrition, meekness, and godly sorrow at his dear feet! I grieved for grieving him; I looked by faith on him whom my sins had pierced, and mourned for him. Truly I had fellowship with him in his sufferings, and was almost dissolved in love and blood. I saw him roasted in the flame of wrath for me, a monster; bruised in agonies, sweat, and blood for me, a rebel; giving his back to the smiters and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; groaning in the garden, extended on the cross, shedding his precious blood; his righteous soul and his pure humanity held up by indwelling Deity til all the poisoned arrows, formed by the church's sin, spent their deadly venom on him, our precious Sacrifice, and fell powerless at our Conqueror's feet; and all this for me, the vilest sinner in or out of hell. How did I praise and magnify the sacred Three-in-One! I could not loathe sin enough, debase self enough, nor love and exalt my God enough. Confession flowed freely, and pardoning mercy, through his precious blood, flowed more freely still even to guilty me. The knife of holy indignation was put to the throat of all my carnal lusts; Esau was crucified and trampled under my feet, and Jacob's will was good enough to make a full end of him, and never more be pestered with his hellish din. As you might expect, I could glory in nothing in the pulpit but the cross of Christ, and speak of God's great compassion to great sinners, and how sweetly brands plucked from the jaws of deserved death could crown him Lord of all; and I do hope that many got a blessing.

My dear brother, we have partaken of each other's joys and sorrows; our souls were first knit together, and the joint oil flowed, when we were enabled to confess our faults and compare notes, walking from brother W-'s to G-, and we shall spend an eternity together. O what blessed, employ to praise and magnify our God, who hath remembered us in our low estate, and whose mercy endureth for ever.-Believe me to remain your affectionate, though unworthy, brother,

Welwyn, June 22, 1838.

TRUTH IN AMERICA.

D. S.

The question is sometimes asked, "Is there any truth in America?"

As far as our information goes, we have every reason to believe that truth is very little known or preached in the United States; but we have received a sermon from that part of the world lately which has rather interested us, and of which we have, therefore, made copious extracts. Its author, Dr. Froligh, appears to have