saints in light, who have been redeemed out of darkness, through the operation of the Spirit of judgment and burning, by which the cloud of sin and iniquity has been dispelled, to the unveiling of the Sun of righteousness, let us seek to know of having wrought in us the love of the brethren, which is the evidence of our having passed from death unto life. And in this love we shall be restrained from carrying ourselves aloft, exulting over those who may have fallen into weakness and error, and brought into exercise and travail of spirit on their account, desiring that they may be quickened, and made alive to their situation, and need of repentance and newness of life.

The effectual working of reformation has ever been through the exercise of fervent charity, on the part of those who have been instrumental therein, and nothing short of a submission to its restraints, and attention to its constraining power, can ever fit us for the service of Truth; for the faith which we profess works by love, both in and through us, to the purification of the heart; and this faith is our victory over the world, whose spirit is opposed to its power and exercise, in breaking down the walls of partition between those who should be of the one household; in subjecting the spirit of persecution, in destroying the power of enmity, and overcoming all that is opposed to the reign and dominion of Christ, the true and living seed, which bruiseth the serpent's head, and getteth us the victory over all the power of the accuser.

This faith, which is the gift of God, is only attained, and maintained, through deep suffering, whereby our own sufficiency and wills are subject to the power and will of God. And his power is love, and his will is mercy, through which he seeks to draw us unto himself, that we may be made the partakers, as well as the instruments thereof to others. The whole plan of salvation is one of love and mercy, and none can be instrumental in promoting its righteous cause, but through the exercise of these heavenly virtues, which must be the prompting, as well as the principle of action, in all our endeavors to promote the advancement of truth and righteousness in the earth.

Persuasion and entreaty must be the weapons of our warfare, if we expect our labors to be crowned; for we cannot strive

lawfully in the spirit of accusation and persecution, whatever may be the cause in which we have enlisted. And it is more unseemly and offensive for professing saints to be engaged in persecuting esteemed sinners, than for the open enemies of Christ to persecute his friends and followers; for in the former case there is hypocrisy and deceit, by which others may be misled, regarding this as the fruit of the Spirit, while in the latter there. is consistency, and therefore little or no danger of harm to any but the persecutors themselves.

They that live godly lives in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution without retaliation, for patient suffering is the ground, as well as the evidence, of Divine acceptance. We must suffer with Christ, if we are permitted to reign with him. "And," said he, "blessed are they that are not offended in me." And again: "Because ye have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." Let it be remembered, that "that which taketh offence, is the same with that which falls." Wherefore it behooveth us to keep humble and patient, receiving and bearing with meekness whatever sufferings may be permitted for the trial of our faith, and the purification of our hearts.

The Lord is still trying his Church and people, in various ways, and blessed are they who are enabled to endure to the end; for he will have an afflicted and proved people to serve and honor him. If we cleave unto him through heights and depths, he will cleave unto us; but if we forsake him, either in prosperity or adversity, he will forsake us. The Church of Christ has ever been a suffering body, made up of crucified members, who have been transformed by the renewing of their minds, whereby they have been enabled to prove what is the perfect and acceptable will of God, and to perform or suffer it, according to his purpose.

Wherefore let none despise the Church, because of the trials and provings through which it is called to pass; for in due time she will be exalted, as the members of it are preserved in faithfulness, to its adorable Head. Zion shall yet arise from the dust, and put on her beautiful garments, and many shall see it and

rejoice in the day of her redemption and salvation, in which the call shall be renewed by the Holy One of Israel, "Come unto me, all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved." The world shall no longer triumph in beholding "the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place"-scorn and contempt, envying and strife, discord and division, in her midst—when the Lord shall arise in his majesty and might, for her deliverance and help, in answer to the prayers of his saints, which are ascending before him, as incense of a sweet smelling savour.

That a brighter day will succeed the darkness through which we have been passing, as we are faithful to the direction of Truth, in profiting by the lessons of the past, there cannot be the shadow of a doubt, on the mind of any true believer. Sorrow cometh with the night, but joy and rejoicing return with the morning. Wherefore let us not be faithless, but believing; trusting in the Lord, who will bring it to pass, as our confidence and delight are in him alone; let us seek to become imbued with that perfect love which casteth out all fear, and prepares us to embrace in its arms the whole human family; for this is without partiality, and without hypocrisy, without dissimulation, bigotry, straitness, or deceit.

The tendering and uniting power of Gospel love must yet be known to break in pieces our hardened hearts, melting them together into the oneness of Christian fellowship and sympathy, before the coming of that day when all wranglings and janglings, wars, persecutions, and divisions, shall be known to cease, and instead thereof the reign of harmony and peace, such as was known when the "stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." There must be experienced the subjugation. of the creaturely will, wherein we are led to contend for the uttermost farthing, being more unwilling to forgive a brother, than Christ is to forgive us; who more often forgiveth us ten thousand talents, than we forgive a fellow-servant an hundred pence.

We must experience him who is the resurrection and the life to be formed and have the dominion in us, if we would that our conduct, conversation, and even our countenances, should witness for us the new birth unto righteousness, begotten through

deep suffering and travail of spirit; that Christ is not still crucified in our hearts, through an evil covetousness, whereby self is raised into dominion, seeking its own pleasure and honor, and not the things which are Jesus Christ's—self-denial, patience, meekness, and long-suffering for the glory of God, that he might be exalted in and through us, to the honor of Truth, and the praise of the Gospel, which is preached in every creature, by the Holy Spirit, "teaching, that denying all ungodliness and the world's lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world, dealing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God."

If we know these things, happy shall we be if we do them; but if we continue in transgression, crucifying the Lord of life and glory afresh in our hearts, through the entertainment of the spirit of covetousness and enmity, by which self is exalted above all that is called God, then shall we continue to have sorrow upon sorrow, being forsaken of him who will not dwell with impurity, but whose habitation is in righteousness, wherein God alone is honored and praised in all his works. He will not dwell in a divided heart, which is seeking to serve him and Mammon, but with him alone whose eye is kept single to his glory and honor, ascribing unto him all wisdom and power, dominion and praise, both now, henceforward, and forever, which are his due from the souls which he hath created for the purpose of his glory, not only throughout all time, but during the endless ages of eternity.

But have not many been seeking some other way to the kingdom of heaven, than that of the cross and self-denial, following their own wills and ways, and seeking their own honor, through self-exaltation, more than the honor of God, through self-sacrifice; not willing to suffer with Christ for his body's sake, not disposed to acknowledge the brotherhood of the whole human family, through the exercise of kindness, condescension, and love, condescending even to men of low estate, according to apostolic exhortation; but rather seeking to draw party lines, and build up partition walls, to the exclusion of those, from even outward association, who are not of one mind with ourselves in all particulars, but are nevertheless aiming at the same thing?

What but a desire to escape from necessary sufferings, and a willingness to forsake the posts which have been assigned us, as the servants and followers of a crucified Saviour, has led us to shrink from every man speaking truth to his neighbor, telling him his faults between him and himself alone, instead of sounding it abroad, and seeking to punish him by raising a prejudice or party against him, thus violating the order and spirit of the Gospel, which seeks to gather and restore, and not to scatter and divide? "If a man be overtaken with a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one, in the spirit of meekness, remembering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

How contrary to the example and precepts of Christ and his apostles, and to the witness for God in the hearts of the servants and followers of Christ, is the hardness and roughness of manner, and the apparent coldness of feeling, which have found their way among the professors of his name; causing them to reproach the Truth by their distant and forbidding demeanor, not entering into the kingdom of love and peace themselves, and hindering those who are about to enter; standing, as it were, at the gate of the city, and frowning upon those who fain would enter by the right way, because of some feeling of prejudice or enmity.

But is not our own wickedness correcting us, and our backslidings reproving us, until, through the plagues which have been sent amongst us, we may hope for the removal of the hardness of our hearts, whereby we have been prevented from journeying forward in the worship of God, as in days that are past, when the candle of the Lord shined round about us, delighting us with the brightness of its light, in which we were enabled to behold, with clearness, the path cast up for us to walk and dwell in?

For want of keeping in the simplicity of the Truth, darkness has, for a long season, overspread the house of Israel; and by resorting to the armor of Saul, confusion has spread throughout our borders, even as at the building of Babel, when the Lord confounded the language of his rebellious children, and frustrated their endeavor to make for themselves a visible way to the kingdom of heaven. Know ye not that the kingdom of