Page images
PDF
EPUB

THE CORNISH WOMAN'S DREAM.

[ocr errors]

THE CORNISH WOMAN'S DREAM.

THEREFORE, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." The impossibility of obtaining solid scriptural peace in any other way is beautifully illustrated by a dream which was related to me by one of the members of a christian church with which I was connected while in Cornwall. The whole may be depended upon as a matter of fact.

A woman, in one of the mining districts, had been awakened to a sense of her danger as a sinner against God, and she became greatly concerned to have her sins forgiven, and be at peace with him. She resolved to alter her course of life and live as a true Christian, thinking thereby to secure peace of mind. She attended to various outward duties, and strove to regulate her life by the precepts of the moral law, but still she was a stranger to peace of mind. She found God's "law to be exceeding broad," and that in many things she brought herself under its curse. Her distress increased, until one night she dreamed she was laid on some slender boughs over one of the mine shafts, which continued to give way under her, and she was every moment in danger of descending into the awful abyss beneath. She became greatly agitated at her perilous situation, when she heard a voice from below, saying, let go your hold, I will save you. She hesitated, but finding it impossible to retain her position much longer, she disengaged her hands, and fell into the strangers arms. To her surprise she found herself safe, for she was in the arms of the Saviour. She at once applied the dream, to her spiritual condition. She thought she had been trusting in her own works, which were constantly giving way under her like the boughs over the shaft, rather then in the adorable Saviour for pardon and peace. She now saw that the only way of obtaining that which she had sought in vain by her own righteousness, may be obtained by coming to Him as a poor guilty perishing sinner, and trusting simply in Him for pardon and life. Through grace she was enabled to renounce all dependence upon herself, and cast herself upon the Saviour; the result was, that she experienced the truth of the Apostles words, "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Are there any of my readers seeking to be justified in any other way? Like the Cornish woman they will find that on which

POETRY.

they lean for repose to be giving way under them, while they remain suspended over the bottomless pit. But if they will listen to hiin who says "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," they will know the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. There is salvation in no other, for "there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."

B

Devon.

C.B.

Poetry.

"DO YOU EVER PRAY?"

AN aged man, who had been a sailor, has for some time been under visitation by one of our friends. On the cover of one of the tracts left with him, were the words, "Do you ever pray?" to which, on its return, the following lines were attached :

You ask now, "Do you ever pray ?

I answer, Lord, with shame,
My knees are scarcely ever bent,
To call upon thy name.

Thy pardon, Lord! nor on me frown;
Nor let me more transgress:
Come send thy Holy Spirit down,
And change my heart to flesh.

'Till then, O Lord, I must remain
Strange to myself and thee;
Then help me to be born again,
And set my spirit free.

Have I forgot in distant lands,
When hurricanes prevailed?

Our ship was lost, with every hand;
Yet I alone was saved.

POETRY.

Now from this time I humbly wait,
To Jesus' throne thus driven,
Until he says, "Thy sins are great,

But now they are forgiven."-J. H.

In a subsequent conversation, he said that the words "Do you ever pray? had impressed him, and induced him to write the above. He was invited to the sanctuary, where he is now a constant attendant, and has become a member of the church.

[blocks in formation]

ANECDOTES, SELECTIONS, AND GEMS.

Anecdotes, Selections, and Gems.

CAPTAIN TAVERNOR. 1663.-Notwithstanding the dangers to which the preachers of the gospel were exposed, they continued their labours with persevering faithfulness; even proclaiming their tidings in the open air. Mr. Prescott, pastor of the church at Dover, was preaching in a field, and Captain Tavernor, at that time governor of Deal castle, was led by curiosity to conceal himself behind a hedge. In this singular situation he heard the message of salvation: the truth of Mr. Prescott's doctrine so powerfully convinced his understanding that he became a convert to the faith, into which he was baptized in 1663. Two years after, he resigned his commission as governor of Deal castle, became a General Baptist preacher, and was for many years the faithful pastor of the church at Dover. Mr. Tavernor suffered much on account of his non-conformity; he was not only frequently taken from the meeting-house while preaching and had before the magistrates, but in several instances was harassed by warrants to take away his goods. Wood's History of Baptists.

THE INCARNATION OF THE SAVIOUR was one of the most important, one of the most glorious events that ever took place in the revolutions of time. The Lord of Glory took up his dwelling in mortal flesh. The purposes and promises of God relating to this wonderful transaction were then fulfilled. The fulness of the times was then completed, and God sent forth his Son made of a woman. Angels descended from heaven to bring the joyful news. A multitude of the heavenly host made their appearance on the occasion. Celestial music was heard by mortal ears. The glorious messengers had no sooner delivered the glad tidings, than they united in one of the anthems of heaven. The morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy; "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good-will towards men." The Sun of Righteousness was now to arise and shine upon a benighted world, and a new star appeared in the heavens, as a signal of this brighter day. Wise men from the east, taught of God to know the significancy of this sacred token, came, under the guidance of its shining rays, to present their gifts, and pay their adorations to the new-born Saviour. Such is the history of his birth. Abraham, the patriarch, rejoiced in the distant prospect of this day; he saw it by faith, and was glad.

FAWCETT.

"CHRIST DIED FOR US."-How great were our crimes, that could not be wiped off by the works of a pure creature, or the holiness of Christ's life, but required the effusion of the blood of the Son of God for the discharge of them! Christ in his dying was dealt with by God as a sinner, as one standing in our stead, otherwise he could not have been subject to death. For he had no sin of his own, and "the wages of sin is death," Rom. vi. 23. It had not consisted with the goodness and righteousness of God as

ANECDOTES, SELECTIONS, AND GEMS.

Creator, to afflict any creature without a cause, nor with his infinite love to his Son, to bruise him for nothing. Some moral evil must therefore be the cause: for no physical evil is inflicted without some moral evil preceding; death being a punishment, supposeth a fault. Christ having no crime of his own, must then be a sufferer for ours. Our sins were laid upon him, Isa. liii. 6. or transferred upon him. We see then how hateful sin is to God, and therefore it should be abominable to us. We should view sin in the sufferings of the Redeemer, and then think it amiable if we can! Shall we then nourish sin in our hearts? This is to make much of the nails that pierced his hands, and the thorns that pricked his head; and make his dying groans the matter of our pleasure. It is to pull down a Christ that hath suffered, to suffer again; a Christ that is raised, and ascended, sitting at the right hand of God, again to the earth; to lift him upon another cross, and overwhelm him in a second grave. Our hearts should break at the consideration of the necessity of his death. CHARNOCK.

SALVATION ONLY BY CHRIST'S DEATH.-Though a man could weep as many tears as there are drops of water contained in the ocean, send up as many volleys of prayers as there have been groans issuing from any creature since the foundation of the world; though he could bleed as many drops from his heart as have been poured out from the veins of sacrificed beasts both in Judea and all other parts of the world; though he were able, and did actually bestow in charity all the metals in the mines of Peru, yet could not this absolve him from the least guilt, nor cleanse him from the least filth, nor procure the pardon of the least crime, by any intrinsic value in the acts themselves; the very acts, as well as the persons, might fall under the censure of consuming justice. The death of Christ only procures us life. CHARNOCK.

CHOICE SAYINGS

FROM STEPHEN CHARNOCK, 1684. HAD not sin entered, there had been no occasion for the death of the creature, much less for the death of Christ.

Ir God would have accepted a satisfaction less than infinite, he might as well have pardoned sin without a satisfaction at all.

THE Son of God voluntarily exposed himself, and stood as a screen between the consuming fire and the combustible creature. To see the Son of God hauled to death for sin, is the greatest piece of justice that ever God executed.

Facts and Hints.

THE best moral suasion is the influence of consistent conduct. RESPECT yourself and others will respect you.

EVERY man is respectable who pays his way.

THE worst estate of a man is that in which he loses the knowledge and government of himself-when he puts an enemy into his mouth to steal away his brains.

HEALTH is the poor man's wealth, his capital, and stock in trade. Take care of it, and don't waste it.

« PreviousContinue »