I. Perhaps I do not. I never looked at the thing very closely.

P. But you should look at it closely : it is of the utmost importance in connection with your salvation. Till this point be cleared up, you cannot enjoy, in happy fulness, the peace of God that keeps the heart and mind. Can you give the same idea in other phraseology?

I. I do not know that I can.

P. Are your sins forgiven, think you? I. I am afraid not; I much wish to know that point.

P. If your sins were forgiven, would that bring you any nearer to the obtaining of mercy, think you?

I. I am not exactly able to say. P. But would not the forgiveness of sins be just the obtaining of mercy? I. Perhaps it would.

P. When a man commits a breach of the laws of his country, by which he forfeits his life, and the Sovereign pardons him, what takes place? Does he not receive mercy?

I. I should think so: he does certainly. P. Can you doubt? Is not pardon the fruit of the mercy-the expression of mercy? Had justice taken its course, could he have obtained mercy without his being pardoned?

I. No; I do not see that he could.

P. Well, then, is not mercy pardon? Is not the bestowment of pardon the exercise of mercy? Do not both terms mean the same thing?

I. I should think so; that did not occur to me before.

P. Now, then, just apply the principle to yourself. Is it not written in Isaiah,

"Let the wicked man forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him turn to the Lord, for he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon"? Do you see that pardon and mercy, in this remarkable passage, are actually conjoined, as two stages of the same process? I. It is beautiful. I understand it, I think.

P. When the "wicked man" does as he is here commanded, are not "mercy" and "pardon" immediately extended to him?

I. It seems clearly so from that Scrip

ture.

P. If God be true, must it not be so? The subject receives the fullest confirmation from the New Testament. Paul tells us, "There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus;" and that, "being justified by faith, we have peace with God."

I. The obtaining of mercy, then, is evidenced in the withholding of the threatened punishment?

P. Exactly so.

Se

You have an illustration in the case of the Ninevites: because of their wickedness, destruction impended over them, and, at the fated hour, would inevitably have fallen upon them. They repented, and the bolt of Heaven was stayed. They "obtained mercy.' likewise you-if you have really repented, and with your whole heart believed the record the Father hath given concerning his Son are forgiven your trespasses. In proof of this, you may examine the whole New Testament Scriptures. The fact of the forgiveness of the believer is everywhere, there, either set forth or assumed. In the Apostolic Epistles the disciples are taught to believe this; this they did believe, and they enjoyed the consolation flowing from it. Why should not you? It is a great mistake to suppose that men who repent and believe still remain under condemnation, or to suppose that this awful point is not settled till the final judgment. The New Testament shows everywhere that the primitive believers were filled with peace and joy. Now, this peace and that joy are founded in the forgiveness of sins. How could men have peace who were still unpardoned? How could men experience joy on whom the wrath of God was still abiding?

I. But my difficulty is, how I am to know the fact of my forgiveness. P. "Know the fact"! You are to ascertain the fact of your repentance and

faith, and, fully satisfied of these, as of your own existence, to credit the testimony of God concerning all who thus repent and believe. No more is required -no more is allowed-no more is to be sought-no more is to be found. To look for more, in the shape of an impression, or a voice from heaven, is preposterous; and to believe or imagine for a moment that you have received it, is perilous delusion!

I. But I am afraid, lest I should be mistaken.

In

P. It is proper you should, since it is as possible as it is awful to be so; but if you be deceived, it must be by yourself: you must know it, for you must be the doer! But, indeed, self-deception is only another name for hypocrisy. strict speech, there is no such thing as self-deception. Others may deceive you; you cannot deceive yourself, however you may act a part that may have all the effect of deception. He who is an unbeliever is aware of it; he who is a hypocrite knows it.

I. Are there no marks that may help me?

P. "Marks"! Yes; the faith that lays hold of the promise always slays.the enmity of the heart, and brings love into it-a love leading to the service of the Lord, the hatred of sin, the pursuit of holiness, and prompting the person to “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God." PASTOR.

THOUGHTS ON THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. "Every plant that my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up."-MATT. XV. 18.

[** We had occasion, some time back, to call attention to the secession of the Rev. Mr. Dodson from the Church of England, and to the masterly publication in which he assigned his reasons for the momentous step he had taken. Mr. Dodson, since that time, has, in some measure, although not wholly, withdrawn from society. We hope, however, he will, by-and-by, come fully out, and blend himself with the hosts of the living God, where he will soon find the place which is due to him. It is a pity that talents and character such as his should be lost to the cause of true religion. We are glad to learn that he sometimes appears in the Dissenting pulpits of his neighbourhood, and that to excellent effect. He did so lately, in a discourse from the above text, which, we understand, he declined, although urged, to send to the press. We are, therefore, all the more glad that an intelligent correspondent has enabled us to give,

with full and verbatim accuracy, the closing portion of it, which will be read with delight and instruction by multitudes. The testimony here borne is such as the times require.-ED.] So much for doctrine; but the text holds equally with regard to Churches and Institutions. Yes, it is true of all visible societies of men professing the religion of the Gospel, and claiming to be God's people. It is quite true of these, that 66 every plant which our Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up." There are Churches in the world which are plants that our Heavenly Father hath not at all planted; and others, again, which He has planted only in a small part; whilst, perhaps, there are not many which He has planted entirely and in every respect.

There is one Church in particular (the Church of Rome), of which we do not hesitate to affirm, that it is not at all a plant of God's planting. We cannot allow that it is a Church of Christ. Yea, rather, it is the Church of Antichrist. Having apostatized and fallen away from the true doctrines of the Bible, and become the promulgator of every delusion that Satan would promote, or human corruption incline to, the Church of Rome is no longer a Church of Christ. It is not a plant of our Heavenly Father's planting, but a tare which Satan has planted, and which is, therefore, to be rooted up. As the Apostle, indeed, expressly teaches, when he declares that "the Lord shall consume" this wicked system "with the breath of His mouth, and destroy it with the brightness of His coming.' Yea, that "with violence," (as a great mill-stone cast into the sea) it "shall be thrown down, and be found no more at all."

But there are other Churches which are not plants of God's planting. Alas! undoubtedly there are many such!Churches less corrupt than Rome, it may be, and yet so corrupt, both in doctrine and in practice, that it is impossible to regard them as of God's planting, or to cherish the belief that they can abide the day of the Lord's coming, or stand when He shall appear. Perhaps, indeed, there are few Churches in which there are not some things that need correction-some "commandments of men"

taught "for doctrines"'-some things

received and done which are not of God -some things enjoined which Christ did not enjoin; or allowed, which He does not allow. I say, there are, perhaps, few Churches in which what is base and

earthly does not alloy the precious and the heavenly. But what of that? We look not for perfection in anything which man teaches. Where there is man, there is sin. There is, however, a wide distinction between a system, or an institution, to which evil is incidental, and one of which evil is an inherent and essential part. As there is a wide difference between a well-constructed machine which works somewhat heavily, because of the dust which clogs its wheels, and a machine that works scarcely at all, because it is ill-designed, made of bad materials, and ill put together: so, also, there is a vast difference between an Institution that goes somewhat heavily, through the weaknesses, infirmities, and sins of those who compose and work it, and an Institution which almost, if not altogether, fails of its high end, because its various parts (its laws, principles, and constitution) are directly opposed to that end.

She

It is one thing when evils come in in spite of the system; and quite another thing when they are provided for by the system, and come in through means of it, and as its direct consequence. The latter is the case in the Church of England. In this Church evils do not merely arise incidentally, and through human infirmity; but they are provided for, and rendered inevitable by her system. They are received as fundamental principles, and blended with her very constitution. Thus it plainly is (not now to advert to other matters) in regard to doctrines. The authorized teaching of this Church, we hesitate not to say, is error. teaches error, and tolerates truth. Yes, it is not many months since the first living_authority-the highest Ecclesiastical Court in the land-decided, virtually, that the Established Church teaches error, and tolerates truth! For, what was the acknowledged virtual judgment of the Court of Appeal in the Gorham case? It was this: that, whilst those persons must be tolerated as Ministers of the Established Church, who teach salvation by Christ through faith, yet the real doctrine of that Church is rightly expounded only by those who teach the doctrine of Baptismal Regeneration; i.e., of salvation by the Priest through the Sacraments. And, in fact, that the Prayer-book explicitly teaches this sacramental doctrine, no unprejudiced, and, at the same time, candid, person will deny. We know that, only a few days since, Dr. Pusey, in his letter to the

Bishop of London, expressed himself as follows: "While that precious jewel, the Prayer-book, remains, you cannot weaken or destroy Tractarianism. It was out of the formularies of the Church that Tractarianism arose. It was cherished by our English Divines. Tractarianism was entirely the birth of the English Church. Its life must be coexistent with the formularies in which it is embodied." (!)

So, then, the fact is this: the Prayerbook is the birth-place and home of Tractarianism! Such is the English Church. False doctrine not merely creeps into it unawares, but forms a part of its constitution. Consider then, and say, whether this Church is, or is not,

a plant of our Heavenly Father's planting?" And then observe what our text teaches, that a Church with doctrines, or practices, or government, or a discipline,-all, or any of them, at variance with the Bible-being (so far as it is so) a "plant which our Heavenly Father has not planted"—is to be rooted up! Yes, such a Church may endure for a time; it may serve some of the present purposes of God's providence, and so may be allowed to continue cumbering the ground for a season; but remain permanently it cannot, and will not. Its sure destiny is (when it shall have done the inferior work allotted to it) to be cast aside by God, to make room for a purer system. God may tolerate it for a time-nay, it may even languish on till the Lord's coming and last judgments; but then, if not sooner, "when the King" of the Church" shall come in" to "gather out of His kingdom all things which offend,"-then (if not sooner) this Church's "battlements, which are not the Lord's, will be taken away," and she will be "dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel;" yea, cast away as a broken vessel," in which is neither "pleasure" nor utility.

And then, in her place, will stand up a Church of God's planting: a Church composed, it may be, of many Churches joined together in happy Christian union: a Church, supported not by kings and parliaments, by laws and bayonets; but a Church whose "walls will be salvation, and her gates praise; her officers peace, and her exactors righteousness:" Church on earth conformed in all things to the pattern of the heavenly city: a Church accordant in all things to the Divine will, and serving the true interests, temporal and spiritual, of mankind,

Such a Church we long to see; and many signs seem to show that its advent will not tarry long. Amongst which signs, assuredly, not the least are, the ever-increasing darkness, corruption, and false teaching of the present Establishment. These things show plainly, that that Church is "waxing old, and is ready to vanish away;" that, as it is utterly unfitted to fulfil God's high purposes of mercy to men, so it is equally unfitted to endure that great and final storm which is soon to shake all earthly institutions; and that it will soon, therefore, be "taken away," to give larger place to "those things" which are of God, and "which cannot be shaken." Yes, so it is. When Christ shall come to "thresh the mountains," to "shake the kingdoms," and to sift and try all earthly institutions-then those Churches which are holy and Scriptural will remain; but those which are corrupt and earthly will be taken away; for "every plant which our Heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up."

The text was lastly applied to individuals to Christians of Satan's planting, and of God's planting; to the manbaptized, and the God-baptized; to the baptism with water, and the baptism with the Holy Spirit. It was shown that the latter alone will not be rooted up, but will "stand in the judgment, and be gathered in the congregation of the righteous;" whilst the millions upon millions of Christians who have never received the Spirit's regenerating work upon their souls, will be rooted up, as dead plants or noxious weeds, and cast away.

GODLY FEAR.

THE prayer of the Christian habitually will be, "Order my steps in thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. -"Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." Holy fear is a constant preservative against in-bred and inwrought sin, a safeguard to the purity of the mind amid all the temptations of life. "Blessed is the man that feareth alway." The mind, like the sea on a calm summer's day, may appear all smooth and unruffled; but let the bottom be stirred by the dragging of an anchor, the surface will soon appear covered with slime and dirt. Such is the mindunsound at the bottom, corrupt, defiled; all prepared, by the touch of temptation, to send forth the scum and froth of unhallowed activity.

Godly fear in exercise is a sure indication of healthful piety; it is the touch of the Spirit on the springs of the heart; it is the life of the Spirit within; it is watchfulness in action; it holds the mind in obedience to the law of faith; it claims God as its author; and governs, by its holy influence, the first outbreakings of sin. The want of this grace exposes the heart to floods of temptation, and is the forerunner of great and impending evils. The command is urgent, imperative: "Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long."—" Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." A neglect of the Divine precept is followed by inward declension, lukewarmness, indifference, cold formality, and earnest seeking after God. As the growth of earthly pursuits gains an ascendancy, in proportion does grace decline, and the evidences of union to Christ all but fade away. Whatever gifts or attainments may have characterized the Christian in his previous course, or zeal in the cause of religion, no sooner does he begin to relax in holy fear, and yield himself to follow other objects with a keen relish, than his spiritual barometer falls, and a low temperature chills all his once earnest career in a loftier and holier cause. The mildew has fallen on his soul, and, while he slept, the enemy has sown his tares.

Some Christians, under the pressure of severe trials, either by personal losses, family disasters, bereaving providences, failure of health, blighted prospects, think they do well to be angry, and forget their obligations to their Divine Master. The heart is fixed on the trial, instead of being fixed on God. The bush on fire attracts their sight, but not God in the bush. They dwell perpetually on the cross in question, and insidiously and stealthily the adversary gains ground; and instead of godly fear, behold disquietude, anxiety, fretfulness, murmuring, discontent, vexation, and want of resignation under the rod, as if God had not a right to prune the trees in his own garden, and lop off the exuberant and unproductive branches. They have forgotten the command, to pass the time of their sojourning here in fear; and by constantly dwelling on the trial sent to prove their faith and allegiance, they are tossed to and fro on the dashing waves of temptation, exposed to the storm and breakers. Were it not for the Divine Steersman, how many a noble ship would be wrecked against the rocks