Abraham's faith, wherein it is said, "His faith was counted to him for righteousness," occurred when there was no written word; but must have been spoken by the Holy Spirit into his inmost soul? "And He brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now towards heaven and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be." "And he believed the Lord." The word was in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. That is a very notable text, "For the divisions of Reuben there was great searching of heart;" even so there will be the cry, "Search me, O God, and see if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

So likewise Jacob, when lying asleep on the ground, it was spoken into his soul, "The land whereon thou liest to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and I will be with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest."-And the Lord fulfilled his word.

III." AND THE BLOOD." Now here we must be very particular, and while we dare not advance anything on this solemn point but what we have experienced, we hope to prove it is also a witness, and a powerful one. The first time I ever experienced its power was walking along a quiet road: the subject of the destroying angel passing through the land of Egypt was laid in my spirit, and I was led to see that Jehovah, by the salvation of Israel, by the blood of the passover, pledged His word, that He would pass by every soul in the great day of His wrath upon whom the blood of Christ is found sprinkled; and the blood was to me for a token, and I rejoiced in hope of the glory of God. Some years after this, under a burden of guilt on my conscience that I could not sleep, early in the morning I was reading in the prophecy by Isaiah, and I came to these words, "I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions, and will not remember thy sins," and I was led to see how precious that blood must be in the sight of God the Father to satisfy his justice and his holiness, and my burden of guilt was removed, and my peace restored. On another occasion, years after, going to work at three in the morning, this line of Kent's hymn was powerfully impressed on my mind,

"This breaker's blood's thy soul's discharge."

And for some ten minutes it was joy unspeakable, and I under the anointing could say, "He loved me and gave himself for me;" it was a precious testimony.

Some considerable time after this my soul was brought into a wilderness state, and a horror of great darkness and very trying circumstances came upon me, so that I was on the borders of despair, nor hope, nor comfort could I find. In this state I was in for some months, when one morning, going to my employ along a very quiet road, I was led to turn this verse into a prayer.

"Thy precious blood, thou Lamb of God,
Can make this load of guilt remove;
And thou cans't bear me where thou fliest
On thy soft wings, Celestial Dove."

And, in a few minutes, my soul was delivered by those words

coming with power and savour, "Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, and ye shall go forth and grow up as a calf of the stall." Peace flowed like a river, and many, many times that summer did the Lord make His word a

witness and a testimony in my soul; a time like Jacob's Bethel, never to be forgotten.

Now 'tis said these three agree in one, that is one positive testimony of our redemption, of our forgiveness, of our acceptance in the Beloved. I said in my remarks on Enoch it was a very testing point. Remember, reader, the words, "Before his translation," and "Before death," are one and the same thing; 'tis the oil of grace, the Spirit's testimony we have been writing upon; and also remember that when the bridegroom came, as related in the parable, the foolish virgins had no oil in their vessels and their lamp of profession went out.

"He comes, He comes to call

The nations to His bar,

And take to glory all,

Who meet for glory are."

The reader must forgive my having spoken so much of my own experience on the "blood;" but on so important a subject I would say with the beloved John, "I write unto you of the things I have tasted, and handled, and felt of the good word of life." May the Lord the Spirit bless this feeble attempt to speak forth the praise of a covenant God. Reader, if you can set your seal to either of these witnesses you will join with me in these words,

Camberwell.

"A debt of gratitude I owe,

That I can never pay;
Not while I travel here below,

Nor when I am called away."

JOHN TAYLOR.

The Coming and Kingdom of Christ.

WE commenced last month a brief notice of Mr. JAMES GRANT's new volume, "The End of All Things," and gave some few paragraphs from his long and interesting Preface. We have promised, in the next place, to give a few extracts, and then to consider some of the expositions of some Scriptures which have been quoted and expounded by the author of this seasonable and extraordinary work.

It is remarkable, turn which way you will, that diversities of opinion, and directly opposite views, respecting "the Coming and the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ," are everywhere to be seen; and good men, wise men, men of immense research and of large reflection, are battling one with another on this increasingly controverted theme. How is this? The Bible is open to them all; the Word of God is read and studied by them all; and from that one pure, heavenly, original, harmonious, and unmixed stream of Revealed Truth, they all profess to fetch the authority and the evidences for coming to decisions as opposite as the north is to the south.

How is this? we ask again. The same HOLY SPIRIT is presumed to be the Teacher of them all. They have faith in the Divine Personality, in the absolute necessity, and in the sacred anointings of the ONE most blessed REVEALER of CHRIST and of HIS KINGDOM. There is not one of

these wise and worthy testifiers of the coming glories of Christ, but fully believes that word which JESUS spake " When HE, the SPIRIT of TRUTH, is come, HE shall lead you INTO ALL TRUTH." Yet it is not easy to conclude that the several contrary deductions drawn from the same Treasury are all according to TRUTH. The Rev. P. Gell, of Derby, and the Rev. E. Nangle, of the Achill Missionary Herald, are, on this subject, antagonistic to the greatest degree. Mr. Gell says-" The seven last plagues being spent, nothing but peace can follow! Even the day of Armageddon is gone for ever; and until the thousand years are fulfilled, and until Satan is loosed, no more will the clash of arms be heard in these countries of revelation and prophecy." Mr. Nangle says: "Mr. Gell is only looking through the glasses of his own theory”—and these glasses being either deceptive, or turned the wrong way, false inferences are derived: inferences, Mr. Nangle conceives, having no analogy to the actual state of things as now existing.

The present condition of Europe-in a political point of view; the present state of the churches-in an evangelical or spiritual sense; the low state of religion in the various communities of Christians, on the one hand, and the multiplied mockeries and mummeries of the Romish Church, with worldly monopolies and bold infidelities, on the other hand; all too plainly indicate confusion, commotion, and destruction more dreadful than can well be imagined.

How is all this disagreement and discordant teaching to be accounted for? Has the HOLY SPIRIT, in His special and powerful teaching, departed from the Church? Has the LORD withdrawn his life and lightgiving unction from the great bodies of professing Christendom? This is our fear. Splendid buildings are erected; sensational services are conducted; intellectual discourses are delivered. But where is the vitalising voice heard, "Come from the four winds, O breath; and breathe upon these slain, THAT THEY MAY LIVE?" Oh, Echo answers, Where?

There is another fear long exercising our minds respecting this clashing of thoughts and testimonies of men. We hesitate not to avow our conviction that ministers are drawn away from the plainly revealed doctrines of grace, to speculate, and to attempt to dive into, the future development of the Divine economy. Have any of these great exciters of the Christian mind ever rendered permanent good to Zion? Have they ever secured a growing and harvest-like prosperity to themselves?

We write from feelings most painful. Our zeal for the Second Advent-the Personal Reign of CHRIST-was unbounded. A dark cloud for a time eclipsed the whole. We have thought of Edward Irving, of Thomas Hughes, of John Cox, of many more. How they penetrated into the deeps of prophecy; how they peered into the future; and yet, whether thereby the Church of Christ has been really benefited, or their anticipations realised, it is difficult for us to determine.

Mr. James Grant, in his new volume, "The End of All Things," comes forward like a man with the balances of the sanctuary in his hand. He takes up heaps of human testimonies, and puts them into the scales of Divine Revelation and Spiritual Judgment; and having carefully weighed them, he assigns to each its proper place. Hence, although with all he has written we may not be satisfied, we hold most assuredly

that his labour in this branch of godly literature will be a happy service to thousands whose minds are unsettled by the conflicting theories of the many writers.

We secretly anticipate the pleasure of giving the Church-when we have patiently heard this highly-gifted pleader-an irresistible and incontrovertible chapter or two on "The Coming and Kingdom of our LORD JESUS CHRIST." It must, however, be by little at a time.

Our predictions in THE EARTHEN VESSEL for last month, of the great and general interest which Mr. Grant's work would excite, have already been verified,-nearly the whole of a large edition having been disposed of in less than six weeks.

AN AGED SAINT GONE HOME.

MR. W. DWELLEY, late of Plymouth, fell asleep in Jesus on Thursday, October 17, 1865, being within a few days of being eighty-nine years of age. Our departed friend was first convinced of his state as a sinner, from a statement made by a female in his hearing, to the effect, that for all the sins a person did commit they would have to answer for them before Almighty God. This was as an arrow which pierced his heart; or, to use his own expression, at hearing these word his own soul sank within him. From that period he became a praying man, and a seeker after righteousness. He first made an open profession of his love to Christ by uniting with the Church then meeting at the Old Tabernacle, Exeter street, Plymouth; from which place he followed "the ark of the covenant of God's truth in several removals, until it settled in Rehoboth chapel. There he sat under the ministry of the late Mr. Denham; who, upon his removal to London, was succeeded by the late Arthur Triggs. To both of these ministers, he appears to have acted in the double capacity of clerk and deacon. He followed Mr. Triggs to Trinity, where he continued to fill these offices, to the end of his ministry in Plymouth; abiding at Trinity chapel through its several changes, until he removed to Howe street chapel, a short time after Mr. F. Collins settled there, now seven years since, where he continued to worship until the period of his death; and on many occasions he has borne testimony to the special profiting of his soul under Mr. Collins's ministry. His remains were interred in Plymouth Cemetery, followed by a number of relatives and friends, when a solemn service was conducted by Mr. F. Collins.

Our late beloved brother made a profession of Christ for sixty-five years. The Lord upheld him through all the vicissitudes, afflictions, temptations and infirmities of this life, without his ever swerving from the true Gospel. Among his old and valued friends were the late Dr. Hawker and George Doudney, and his family. During life, he sought for the living truth; and in death he was satisfied that the truth had made him free, and that all was right for eternity. Thus, after eightynine years travel in the wilderness, he was called by the Lord of the heavenly country to take his place among the glorified throng in the immediate presence of God, where there is fulness of joy, and at his right hand pleasures for evermore.

The Children's Friend for 1865, is a book to please the children, and of great help in training and teaching the little ones, in all things useful to them, for time and eternity. The conductors of the work have displayed considerable zeal and ability in producing a volume so very handsome; and so full of pictures, poetry, and pieces suited to the school and the nursery. Our little family groups spend hours over The Children's Friend; and to all who wish to present their children with a nice literary present, we say, call at Partridge's Book Saloon, 9, Paternoster row; and there they will find we have not said one word too much.

A Letter to the Editor of The Gospel Standard appears in No 80 of The Gospel Guide; and, although we are shutting out nearly all communications on the subject, we must call attention to the letter we have named. So dreadfully distressing are the consequences of this recent controversy, that some ministers are literally driven from their pulpits, and posts of usefulness through it; and the enmity of many people is so injuriously exercised that mischief is working in all directions. There is but one out of two courses hopefully to be adopted. We must (1) either patiently and prayerfully submit to be slaughtered; and sentenced to excommunication; or, (2) the churches must band together, and memorialize, petition, and pray, the leading parties TO MEET TOGETHER, to hold special conferences for examination, and for explanation; and then if their differences can be adjusted, let them call one large public meeting; let confessions and concessions on all hands be given where they consistently can; and let ministerial reconciliation be recognized, where they can be really, religiously, and truly realized. Why should not Mr. John Foreman, Mr. Wells, Mr. Philpot, Mr. Collins, and a few more, if necessary, be urgently requested by the churches to assemble together; and to endeavour to cease all further contention; and to strive to the utmost to secure a bond of union between the servants of Jesus, stronger than has ever existed? Surely, it is high time for those ministers whose earthly course is nearly exhausted to shew their people, their churches, and the world at large, that they can forgive, and unitedly work together, not to pour contempt upon ministers, but to impart comfort to the people. One line from one letter out of many will shew this feeling is in the hearts of not a few. An aged saint says, "How very much is my heart grieved to hear of the quarrel of those two champions for truth; and sure my eyes do even flow with tears; it is such a stumbling block to my poor frame, as I have reaped good to my poor soul for many years under them both; not less than forty years by Mr. Foreman, and more than thirty from Mr. Wells. Sure enough the devil is in all this. I pray that much prayer may be put up to the Lord for them."

j

Old Jonathan's volume for 1865, is a grand display of picture and of print, of spiritual, mental, and artistic power; rich people should fill all the cottages, and public places in the kingdom with these wholesome and pleasing papers.

1866-The Armourer for January, with a supplement, is, we think, the strongest appeal to the judgments of the people yet issued, In some Gospel views and decisions respecting ordinances we do not agree with Mr. Hampden; but in his efforts to get the poor righted, and the Protestants aroused we think he is aiming at right ends. We cannot read such words as the Armourer contains without trembling for our country, and feeling deeply anxious for the people who cannot be deceived; but live only in the truth of God.

Suited for

Cheering Words. The volume for last year, consisting of 190 pages of choice Christian reading for 8d., bound in a pretty fancy cover. a small present.