sins past, present, and to come." And more particularly addressing his hearers, he warned them from looking any where than to the blood of Jesus, and if they looked to and believed in that blood, their redemption was secure. He derided the doubts and hopes of any who thought themselves unredeemed, for they had only to believe: it matters nothing of their past, present, or future life, "they had but to believe they were redeemed, and they were safe, for God did not want holy people in heaven, he had his holy angels, it was sinners he wanted there." He earnestly warned the congregation from deluding themselves with hopes and hoping, as it was one of the great delusions of the devil; for, said he, "what can be more dangerous to the soul than to say they hope they shall be saved, for they were to take redemption now ;" and furthermore, "it was wrong to pray for our redemption, as it was finished. We might so have prayed when Jesus was on earth, and it doubtless would have been right, but as now redemption was done, we had but to take it and be saved from all our sins, past, present, and to come. This is, Sir, the principal and leading part of the discourse, and a true detail of what was said. When I looked round on the various persons, and thought of the various characters which formed the congregation, my heart was pained within me, for surely, I thought, this is not preaching to the people the "words of this life." The soul-satisfying, God-glorifying truth of having a full redemption in the sight of God, from sins past, present, and to come, is not conveyed to the soul by a mere belief in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; for, if I may speak herein, while I now can sing "Sins present, past, or sins to be, Can never rend his love from me," it was not learnt in a day or two, or in fair weather, or walking in the light of his countenance. It was by terrible things in righteousness, and after the fountains of the great deep had been broken up, and from many and many renewed manifestations of his pardoning love; and this I say, that though I feel "Now free from sin, I walk at large; This Breaker's blood's my soul's discharge; Low at his feet content I stay, A sinner saved, and homage pay." Yet I cannot help praying to know more of Christ as my redemption, and am so taught that I feel the need of a daily redemption and as for not hoping to be saved, I often find my desires going out in the words of an old-fashioned hymn: "My soul into thy arms I cast; And there was one deeper taught than Mr. S or I, has left it on record, "We are saved by hope." Now, Sir, in writing this, I wish not to indulge in a censorious spirit, I wish to make every allowance that a public speaker can wish, or the hearers freely allow; but when he repeats over and over again the same remarks, we cannot but conclude that they are in reality his mind on the subject matter of the discourse; and now I am obliged with much sorrow to say, that, from first to last, the sermon was awfully defective. The person, work, and ministry of the Holy Ghost was not once mentioned; the internal supernatural work of believing by the demonstration of the Spirit with power, was never alluded to. Oh, no, it was only to consent-only to believe in the redemption through the blood of Jesus, and it mattered not what state you were in-how you lived; you have only to take the redemption and you are secure; surely on cool reflection, the speaker would start back from his own statements, and the fair inferences to be drawn. What! have I only to believe-does it not matter how I am, or how I shall live? Why the vilest wretch, wallowing in all manner of sin, can believe with an historical faith, yea, it is even less than the faith of devils. But will it suit the soul, who, feeling the working of a guilty conscience, is striving to escape from the avenger of blood, and who, in an agony, is inquiring if there be any hope? Will it suit the soul, who, having tasted and felt the word of life, and known the peace that is sealed with blood, yet has since fallen by his iniquity, and who, feeling himself such an ungrateful, disobedient wretch, and fearing that all he has known and enjoyed of divine things was only a fair show in the flesh, and, instead of being able to take redemption or any blessing, is afraid to take any comfort. He trembles to think that his wound may be healed slightly; he puts his hand upon his mouth, and his mouth in the dust, and pours forth his burdened mind with, "God be merciful to me a sinner." No, it will not, for "True belief is more than notion, Something must be known and felt." And rather would the sincere believer, one taught of God the Holy Spirit, be emptied from vessel to vessel, than be allowed to settle on his lees, or rest in a false peace; for nothing but a feeling sense of the godly motions of the Spirit, taking of the things of Jesus, and revealing them to the soul, will give or cause peace in the mind; and I am bold to say, that those who rest in anything short of it, know not the secrets of pardoning love; and this I know in contradistinction to the preacher's views, and by Christian experience in the light of God's most holy word, that the soul who has found redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of sins, has a divine nature within that pants after holiness, longs to be holy, prays to be kept from sin that it may not grieve him, trembles at his own depravity, delights in the will of God, and whilst he groans, and from the heart too, that the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, yet he sometimes rejoiceth that the Spirit lusteth against the flesh; and whilst he knows in part the mystery of iniquity, he earnestly prays to know more of the great mystery of godliness; and whilst he glories in the Lord that nothing can separate him from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, he has learned by many a painful lesson, that it is an evil and a bitter thing to sin against God; and experimentally feeling that without Christ he can do nothing, he knows the value of the prayer of the royal Psalmist: "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me by thy free Spirit ;" and again" Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God;” “ Thy Spirit is good, lead me into the land of uprightness." We know what Paul said: "I will therefore most gladly glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me;" and I could multiply proof to show that ""Tis a sign of life within, To groan beneath the plague of sin." I have not penned or written what I have, with unkind feelings. I know that amongst you there are many who are indeed lovely and of good report, and those too who know how to sound the alarm over the Bleeding Sacrifice. But it is to discharge my conscience, and to bring again to the preacher's mind what he himself will be sorry should so unguardedly be stated. I earnestly hope he will be led by the Holy and Eternal Spirit into the mind of Christ; and I venture to express a hope that he would copy the noble Bereans, as I thought that there was a great falling-off in that respect. To conclude, I would not for a moment have it thought that I would limit the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God. Blessed be God, I feel my own need of a full and free salvation. I like that gospel which scorns condition, breathes salvation free as air. But I cannot be content without an unction from the Holy One, and must have the work and ministry of the Holy Ghost prominently maintained, and a feeling sense of having "received the atonement."-Commending you, dear sir, to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, I am, in the bonds of the gospel, yours affectionately, &c., THEOPHILUS. [The above Tract to which we have given insertion, speaks, we think, sufficiently for itself. It is certainly a striking confirmation of the remarks that we made some time since upon the views and sentiments of the Plymouth Brethren; with this difference, however, that it gives us even a worse idea of them than we had before, and unmasks their deceptive doctrines more completely. We will just run over a few of the leading points, assuming, which we may safely do, that it is a faithful representation of what was really delivered. 1. We were struck with the thought, how delusive are a few crude notions about unfulfilled prophecy, and how they mislead the mind where there is no experience! Had the preacher known any thing of felt mercy and tasted deliverance, he would not have represented the blessed saints as waiting for a time future to begin their song of praise to the Lamb. What! are "the spirits of just men made perfect” dumb, and does a sight of the King in his beauty kindle no song of rapture? He was better taught who said, "But when this lisping, stamm'ring tongue Lies silent in the grave, Then, in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing Thy power to save.' If upon earth, when the Lord brings the soul up out of the horrible pit and the miry clay, he puts a new song into the mouth, (Ps. xl. 2, 3,) that tongue will not be dumb in glory. 2. The crude and unscriptural notions of the Plymouth Brethren concerning redemption, are in this little tract clearly shown. The killing of the Paschal Lamb in Egypt, and the sprinkling of its blood on the lintel and doorposts, clearly showed the specialty and personality of redemption. Was it not confined to the children of Israel? But this ignorant man talks of the angel not stopping to "ask if an Egyptian dwelt there." There was an express command given that "they were to take to them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house; every man according to his eating shall make your account for the lamb." (Exod. xii. 3, 4.) This effectually confined the Paschal Lamb to the children of Israel. Again, the sprinkling of the blood upon the lintel and doorposts was typical of the sprinkling of the blood of Christ upon the conscience. But there is no evidence that the children of Israel in Egypt “believed in the blood of Jesus, and that redeemed them from sins past, present, and to come." They were not believers in the spiritual sense of the word, neither were they redeemed from their sins, for "their carcases fell in the wilderness," and "they could not enter in because of unbelief;" and "God sware unto them in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest." (Heb. iii. 17-19.) They had indeed a Sandemanian faith-just such a one as the Plymouth Brethren preach and teach-for we read that "the people believed;" (Exod. iv. 31;) but it was not "with their heart unto righteousness," for they soon forgat his works, and they waited not for his counsel." (Ps. cvi. 13.) Nor did this Sandemanian faith keep them from rebellion, fornication, and idolatry, for "they joined themselves to Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead." 3. "He derided the doubts and hopes of any who thought themselves unredeemed, for they had only to believe." Well might David say, “Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud." But to deride the doubts and fears of the tempted and tried is no mark of grace. To sit in the seat of the scorner is a fearful spot. But these doubters "have only to believe." And so a man with a mortal disease in his vitals has only to get himself cured; and one who cannot swim, when he comes to a broad and rapid river, and is pursued by an enemy, has only to get across. But what ignorance it betrays in the poor deluded creature who could so prate about "only believing!" and how clearly it shows that he knows nothing experimentally of what the faith of God's elect is. We need not pursue this subject any further; nor should we have introduced it had it not struck us that thus to expose error is sometimes profitable. Among our numerous readers we may have some quickened souls who are weak and wavering, and perhaps feel a secret leaning to the doctrines and ways of the Plymouth Brethren. For their sake chiefly have we re-opened this subject, and we hope it may convince them that such preaching and teaching is contrary to the word of God, and the teaching of the blessed Spirit in the soul.-EDS.] OBITUARY. Dear Brother in Christ,-You wished to hear of Thomas C. and I have been requested by the friends of F. to write to you. He fell asleep in Jesus at twelve o'clock on Tuesday night. I was there by three o'clock in the afternoon, and was with him most of the time, till within half an hour of his departure; and such a blessed sight I never before witnessed. When you were there, it seems that he was labouring hard for breath, and there was nothing more to be observed in him than what are the fruits of the first man's transgression. Mrs. C. told me that in the course of the morning he said to her, "I shall soon talk to you all." It seems by this that he had some forebodings on his mind of what he was about to be favoured with. After this, he cast his eyes upon his daughter Elizabeth, and said, ""True religion's more than notion."" And not long after, he spoke of the love of God as an everlasting love. When I went in he was as you saw him, but awake. Perceiving how hard he laboured for breath, I said to him, "The battle will soon be over." He looked hard at me, and, speaking very strong, said, "The devil, the devil is gone, and this is the victory, even our faith! It is all of grace, free grace; love, everlasting love!" He was then enabled to speak so that he might he heard at the bottom of the stairs or farther, and went on after this manner: "Thou dear Redeemer, dying Lamb! O praise him; you can't triumph enough. He shed his blood to redeem my soul from death; he redeemed my life from destruction; he died to redeem my soul from hell. I am redeemed not with corruptible things, no, not with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ." He repeated these words At times he was waked several times, until his strength failed him. up either by his throat being stopped by phlegm, or by being a little convulsed, and as soon as he had strength to speak he went on in the same strain. There were six or eight of his religious friends present most of the time, besides his wife and several of his children. While I was standing by the side of his bed, he looked at me with great earnestness, and taking hold of my hand, said, "The Lord bless you with faith, bless you with hope." Then, speaking louder, he said, "Bless you with love for the good of his people." At another time, looking round upon us with a wonderful and pleasant countenance, he said, with strong emphasis, "I wish all your souls were as A short time after this he turned his eyes happy as mine.” towards his chidren, and addressing them and his wife, said, "I can now resign you all into the hands of my dear Redeemer." This was followed I was very glad with a most fervent and earnest prayer for them. to hear this, for it was only last Monday week that I spoke to him on the subject of resignation, and he lamented the want of it, though He said very when first he was taken ill he had a measure of it. Most of what he said little for the last hour or two before he died. was in the course of the afternoon, and did greatly melt our hearts. We much admired the grace and goodness of God to his poor dear servant. We with the hymn, And wondrous in our eyes." I remain, yours affectionately in the Lord, Mayfield, August, 1839. POETRY. W. A. Dear Editors,-The two following poems I have sent for insertion in your Standard. Their author was, when alive, a minister in Mr. Huntington's connection, and preached at Hitchin for forty years. A LOVER OF GOOD MEN. EXTRACT FROM A POETICAL LETTER TO A FRIEND. Your dainty dish came safe to hand I often think it can't be true, |