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THE

GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

"COMFORT YE, COMFORT YE, MY PEOPLE, SAITH YOUR GOD." "ENDEAVOURING TO KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE." "JESUS CHRIST, THE SAME YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND FOR EVER.

WHOM TO KNOW

VOL VII.]

IS LIFE ETERNAL."

APRIL, 1847.

[No. 76.

THE LORD'S PEOPLE.

"I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord."-ZEPH. iii. 12.

BELOVED, there is no chance-work in the matter; it is not by mere accident that you are left where you are, and as you are. Nor is it the act of any creature, nor even by you own act; but it is purely of and by the Lord. Joseph felt this particularly, when, after the Lord had begun to unravel some of the profound mysteries in which the opening of his career was enveloped, he said to his brethren (Gen. xlv 5), "Now therefore be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life;" and again (v. 8), "So now, it was not you that sent me hither, but God." Hence we see that, however unlawful the conduct of Joseph's brethren, the Lord made use of it in order to bring about his own pre-ordained end and purpose; and in his wise over-ruling of their misdeeds, is to be seen the fulfilment of Psalm lxxvi. 10, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain."

Therefore, in the higher and more important sense, all that befals the children is by the personal act-by the royal pleasure-of God

M

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THE

GOSPEL MAGAZINE.

"COMFORT YE, COMFORT YE, MY PEOPLE, SAITH YOUR GOD." "ENDEAVOURING TO KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE." "JESUS CHRIST, THE SAME YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND FOR EVER.

WHOM TO KNOW

VOL VII.]

IS LIFE ETERNAL."

APRIL, 1847.

[No. 76.

THE LORD'S PEOPLE.

"I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord."-ZEPH. iii. 12.

BELOVED, there is no chance-work in the matter; it is not by mere accident that you are left where you are, and as you are. Nor is it the act of any creature, nor even by you own act; but it is purely of and by the Lord. Joseph felt this particularly, when, after the Lord had begun to unravel some of the profound mysteries in which the opening of his career was enveloped, he said to his brethren (Gen. xlv 5), "Now therefore be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life;" and again (v. 8), "So now, it was not you that sent me hither, but God." Hence we see that, however unlawful the conduct of Joseph's brethren, the Lord made use of it in order to bring about his own pre-ordained end and purpose; and in his wise over-ruling of their misdeeds, is to be seen the fulfilment of Psalm lxxvi. 10, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain."

Therefore, in the higher and more important sense, all that befals the children is by the personal act-by the royal pleasure of God

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their Father. Who sent the Israelites down into Egypt? God. And who into Babylon? The same God. Who put Daniel into the lion's den? Jonah into the whale's belly? Peter into prison? (we are speaking, brethren, in the particular or full sense of the word). Jehovah, Daniel's, and Jonah's, and Peter's covenant God and Father. The more immediate cause-the idolatry of the Israelites, or the rebellion of Jonah, is not what we now have to treat of-as the forerunner of their sorrows; but what we have more immediately in view is, the fatherly care, as well as wise and gracious discipline, of our God concerning his children. Wherever they are, they are by God's will, and whatever they are, they are equally so by his pleasure. We abominate the idea. that anything like accident attaches itself to the footsteps of the flock. All is wisely and lovingly arranged. God hath chosen their inheritance for them (Psalm xlvii. 4). He hath determined the bounds of their habitation (Acts xvii. 26), perpetually fulfilling that encouraging promise, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shalt go, and I will guide thee with mine eye." And David in sweet connexion, after taking a summary of the whole, while comparing the mere worldling's, or prosperous man's estate with his own, says (Psalm lxxiii. 24), "Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory."

What then can be so comforting to the mind, dear sorrowing reader, as the thought, that God thy Father hath placed thee in thy present trying position? first, as God, he is too wise to err; and, secondly, as thy Father, he is too good to be unkind. But thou hast doubts, it may be, that he is thy Father; and herein seems to be the weight of the trial. Whilst in this state of doubt, thou art feeling as if the trial itself would be nothing-comparatively nothing-couldst thou_but realize the fact, "He is my Father-my Lord and my God." It is astonishing how well thou canst argue in defence of thy God-his veracity, his faithfulness, the superaboundings of his love—when thou art bringing it to bear upon others; when thou art addressing thyself to the tried and the tempted, and the sorrowful of the fold, upon whom thou seest the mark of childship; it is amazing with what fluency thou wilt speak-how argumentative thy language-how touching and forcible thine appeals! and yet let but the same be addressed to thyself— use but the same arguments-bring forth the same appeals, and thou art either dumb under the influence of unbelief, or giving expression to thy manifold fears, that such grace and such mercy were never designed

for thee.

Ah! beloved, there never yet was a soul that stood forth in a bold and unflinching advocacy of the grace, and love, and faithfulness of Jesus, but what sooner or later shall be brought to a knowledge-and a precious soul-comforting knowledge too-of his own personal interest therein. So to speak, the Lord never employs one in his vineyard without paying him his wages; and the hire that a soul advocating the

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