To a Friend.

MY DEAR BROTHER IN UNION AND ONENESS IN OUR MOST GLORIOUS COVENANT HEAD, THE LORD JEHOVAH our RighteouSNESS,

Grace, mercy, peace, and love, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, be with you and all the Lord's elect family with whom you are associated in the bonds of the everlasting Gospel of Christ, who was set up from vast eternity, whose delights were with the beloved ones of the Lord, according to his abundant mercy treasured up in him for his beloved bride, the Church, before the foundation of the world. I am truly delighted to hear of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and toward all his elect family around you, with whom you are associated in the indissoluble ties of love and blood; whom I sincerely love in the Lord: I therefore rejoice greatly to hear of your being steadfast in the faith, grounded and settled in the truth as it is in Christ, uniting together in Christian love to build each other up in the Lord, bearing each other's burdens, and so fulfilling the royal law of Christ. How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in the unity and spirituality of the everlasting gospel, in the bonds of perfectness in Christ, striving together for the faith once delivered to the saints! It is like the precious ointment upon the head of (Aaron) our most glorious High Priest, the Lord our Righteousness, that ran down upon the beard, even extending to the skirts of his garments, thereby embracing the whole body elect in one eternal grace union. Hence, dear brother, they are united to Christ their living Head in all things, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth after godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. He was therefore fairer than the children of men; grace was poured into his lips; and God hath blessed him for ever, that every covenant blessing treasured up in him may be supplied to all the members of his mystical body, according to their needs, out of his inexhaustible fulness, with grace to answer grace. Hence, beloved in the Lord, what cause we have to rejoice in the Lord! yea, and again I say, to rejoice, for such a glorious, unmerited provision made for us!

We therefore owe an everlasting debt of gratitude to a Triune Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for this eternal provision made for the Church of the First-born, whose names are written in heaven, which is founded upon the everlasting, electing, and unchanging love of God in Christ, chosen, blessed, redeemed, sanctified, saved, justified, and accepted in virtue of their ancient and eternal union to, and oneness with Christ. Hence, the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance; and they shall remain so for ever, being graciously and sovereignly treasured up in Christ Jesus their elect Head, as the choice ones of Immanuel, ere time commenced, or Adam's dust was fashioned to a man. Hence, said the dear Lord, "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand." He voluntarily became responsible for them as their surety and daysman, and effectually performed every covenant engagement on their behalf, and fulfilled every condition and requirement in their room and stead, and satisfied divine justice in the work of obedience, magnified the law and made it honourable, made an end of transgression and brought in an everlasting righteousness, and put away sin, original and actual, by the sacrifice of himself. Hence, dear brother, what an unspeakable blessing to be made partakers of the person, work, blood, and righteousness of Christ," in whom we have redemption through his blood, and the forgiveness

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of sins, according to the riches of his grace!" yea, with a full assurance of our being made partakers of the inheritance amongst the saints in light. We may, therefore, boldly say with the Holy Ghost by the Apostle (Rom. viii. 1), "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Hence, beloved, God the Father cannot condemn you because he is well pleased and satisfied with the blood-shedding and righteousness of Christ. The law cannot condemn you; it is fulfilled, magnified, and made honourable. Justice cannot condemn you; it is fully satisfied and effectually appeased. Sin cannot condemn you, because Christ has saved you from it. Satan cannot condemn you; he is a conquered foe. The world cannot condemn you; He (the Lord) has overcome the world. Conscience cannot condemn you; it is purged by atoning blood. Angels, men, or things cannot condemn you, because the love of God is shed abroad in your heart, and Christ is formed there the hope of glory. Hence, dear brother, cheer up! the very complaints you have made in the latter part of your letters are clear and distinct evidences of your election of God, and of your being "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." There is no real cause for desponding, nor has any strange thing happened to you, beloved, more than is common to all the redeemed, regenerated family of the Lord. Abraham, the father of the faithful and the friend of God, had a horror of great darkness fall upon him (Gen. xv. 12); Job had darkness in his path (Job xix. 8); he said (xxiii. 8-10) "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him he hideth himself on the right-hand, that I cannot see him. But he knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." The psalmist said, "Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deep, so that I am shut up and cannot come forth." Hence, the heart thus exercised knoweth his own bitterness, or the bitterness of his soul; but, blessed be God the Holy Ghost, who has added in the same portion, for the comfort of the Lord's tried family, "and a stranger" to the plague of his own heart "doth not intermeddle with his joy." Hence, dear brother, you must have tasted the joy of salvation, or you would not be so much like the man after God's own heart, who said (Psa. li. 12), "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit." Psa. cxvi. 7: "Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." Hence, beloved, however you may be cast down in your mind, and your soul refuse to be comforted, and you may say with holy (Job, chap. vii. 11), "I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul," I still say, cheer up, my brother, and look at the authoritative power of God in the word of his grace. Psa. xxx. 5: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psa. xxxiv. 22: "For the Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants; and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate." Psa. xlii. 11: "Therefore, why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for thou shalt yet praise him who is the health of thy countenance, and thy God." "For the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek, he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to comfort all that mourn in Zion," by proclaiming the word of eternal truth, which the Lord Jehovah condescends to apply with power to the heart and souls of his dear people, and thereby "to give unto them the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the

spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." In all things, therefore, he shall have the pre-eminence. "What shall we then say to these things? if God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not give us all things freely, which are treasured up in him for his heurch before the foundation of the world?" Rest assured, my brother, that he who hath wrought you for the selfsame thing is God, and he will never leave you nor forsake you. I am truly thankful to the Lord for that my last epistle was the means in his hands of comforting your soul, and that you and the Lord's tried and tempted children around you so highly approve of, and delight in, the great and glorious truths therein advocated and held forth. To God be all the praise! I thank my Covenant God and Father for inclining you and dear Brother G to send me so many kind and spiritual letters: since my last epistle they have been very comforting to my mind, under the many trials I have had to encounter. I can truly say, that since I have been in this part of the vineyard I have had hard work of it; what with fightings without, fears within, Achans in the camp, and wolves in sheep's clothing, I have found that nothing short of the whole armour of God was sufficient to protect me against the continual attacks made against the cause of God and truth; but being clothed in this armour, blessed be God, it is impervious to every assault which Satan can make, in whatever form it may be made; so that " no weapon that is formed against thee," said the dear Lord, "shall prosper, and every tongue that riseth up against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn." "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." Pray remember me when you go in before the King; I humbly beseech you to continue to beg of his most glorious Majesty, that dear Saviour, to continue his mercies toward one so truly unworthy, and to make my case and circumstances his own; there are none of his children that can need his compassions more, and none that deserve them less. But here I may observe, that his royal clemency will have the longer scope for the exercise, when making the riches of his grace shine upon such a one. And now, my dear brother, I commend you and yours to him and the word of his grace, which is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before his throne in glory; and may God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, comfort, and keep you all steadfast, immoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labour cannot be in vain in the Lord.

With my best Christian love to yourself, dear Brother G, and all the Lord's elect family united with you, and believe me, my dear brother, yours truly, in the bonds of the covenant of grace, and the everlasting gospel of Christ, C. D. GAWLer.

Devonport, July 4th, 1845.

"SOVEREIGN GRACE O'ER SIN ABOUNDING."

MY DEARLY BELOVED FRIEND,

I write these few lines, hoping they will find you well in health, and flourishing in your soul. Bless the Lord, it leaves us as well, and, indeed, much better than might be expected under the bereaving stroke we have lately met with. Oh, my dear friend, the Lord has been better to us than all our fears; he has made good his word on our behalf, that as our day, sohas our strength

been; and here we raise our Ebenezers. "Hitherto the Lord has helped us." Blessed be his dear name, for ever, and ever; he has brought us through fire and through water, and I do believe he will at last bring us to a wealthy place. The path of tribulation must be kept open, and it is the will of the Almighty that I should walk in that path. Sometimes I can both see and feel that although it is a rough way, it a right way, and I believe at times that when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. I have lost a very kind and affectionate husband, the greatest earthly comfort that ever the Lord bestowed upon me; yet, blessed be his dear name, he has not taken away his blessed self; though I mourn my loss, yet I sorrow not as those without hope, being fully assured he sleeps in Jesus.

The dear Lord in his tender mercy, was pleased to set his soul at liberty, on Sunday morning, August 12th, nine days before he died. Such a deliverance I never saw before; he was well in health then. His soul was like melted wax. He was afraid to go to chapel, fearing he should disturb the people; he, however, did go, but could not attend to anything that was said; his soul was so filled with joy and love, that he could scarcely contain himself; he said "O Father, I now know the reality of true religion! I often used to wonder how people could talk, but I do not wonder now, for if I should hold my peace, the very stones would cry out. Oh, what love dol now feel to God, and all his dear children! I cannot express the love that I feel! Oh, this is joy unspeakable, and full of glory! He hath poured out to me such a blessing, that there is scarcely room to receive it." His affections were completely dead to this world and everything in it. He did no more work after this. When he got up on the Monday morning, he said, "I shall not work to-day, this is jubilee day, and my hands are delivered from the pots; I shall keep holiday; the servant is freed from his master." He sang that hymn, "The year of jubilee is come, return, ye ransomed sinners, home." I was afraid he would die, he really seemed as if he were in heaven; he exclaimed several times, "What can heaven be more than I now enjoy! Surely I must be in heaven!" He prayed the Almighty to stay his blessed hand or his poor frame could not bear it. He said, "My dearest Lord, thou knowest that my poor body must sink under this unutterable bliss that I feel; stay thy blessed hand a little until I get above, then I shall have no clog nor anything to interrupt me there." He awoke about four o'clock on the Tuesday morning, and said to me, "My dear, I think I am going to be taken from you." I said, "I hope not;" he replied, "I believe I am, for I think no mortal can live under what I now feel; I seem as if I was wafted into the third heaven; I see and hear unutterable things. I do not pretend to revelations, I do not say that; but I see, as it were, chariots and horses of fire, preparing to take me home." He was completely delivered from the fear of death, and exclaimed, “Death, I am no more afraid of thee. Afraid, no! I would gladly welcome death with as much pleasure as I ever did the nearest and dearest friend I have on earth." And then he exclaimed, in raptures, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Into thy hands I commend my spirit, for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, my God." I cannot tell half what he said, but I can never forget it, as I before stated; he was very happy all the Monday, and continued so all Tuesday, until after dinner about five or six o'clock he was beset with a violent temptation which lasted at times all the night. He said, "The old enemy seems determined to have me after all, though I know he never will." On Wednesday morning he was very happy, quite calm and composed. A friend coming in, asked how he was, he said, "I am happy, all is well, there is no guilt on my conscience." He was so afraid of sinning, that he said several times, he had rather die than sin against so good a God, who had done such great things for him. On the Thursday. morning he got up as usual, and came down to breakfast; he said he fe

weak, but was very happy. "Here I am, Lord, do with me as seemeth good with thee; I am willing to be anything, and willing to be nothing; willing to live, and willing to die; willing to go with thee, my dear Lord, to prison or to death." He was so overcome with his feelings while he was speaking of the goodness of God to him, that he nearly fainted in his chair; he continued very happy until dinner time. A friend or two calling, he conversed with them of the goodness of God, and of the love that he feit for them, for Christ's sake, in such a manner, that I believe they will never forget. He took his leave of them in a very kind and affectionate way, as if it were the last time, and so it proved, though we little thought it then. He walked in the garden after dinner, and asked me to go with him, which I did; he was exceedingly happy, and talked of the goodness of God to him; he observed, "I have no wife, I have no children, have no house, I have no land, I have nothing, I want nothing, I have Christ, I want no more; he is mine, and I am his; I know it; I feel it.' I said to him while we were in the garden, "I am sorry to see you look so poorly, I fear you are not well." He said, "What, cannot you give me up?" I replied, "No." 66 Well, then," he said, "I wish you could;" he added, "I can give up my body, soul, and all that I have, and all that I am, into the hands of that God who has redeemed my soul from destruction." He was taken ill soon after; walked in, sat down, and never took notice of us more. It was a disorder in the head; the doctors say it was matter formed on the brain. He was very violent three days and nights. It required three men to hold him in bed. Afterwards he became very calm, and continued so until Tuesday morning, on which day, about ten o'clock, he breathed his last.

Oh, my dear friend, this was a trying day to me, indeed. I am left with six children, and a poor afflicted body. I seemed as if I had lost all in this world, and so I have felt ever since at times. I feel no pleasure in anything beneath the sun, though I bless the Lord I have good friends. Mr. Newton is as kind as if he were my own father; and my dear brother Francis is like a father to the dear children, but still they cannot make up my loss. I hope, my dear friends, you will remember me before the Almighty, for I need your prayers, and those of the dear people of God; pray that I may be kept submissive under his hand, and be brought to kiss the rod, and he who has appointed it, and be enabled to say at all times the Lord has done all things well. I remain, yours,

H. NEWTON.

[The above interesting account was found among the papers of a deceased aged friend. We give it verbatim. That the enemy of souls will take advantage of the disease which was the more immediate cause of death, to suggest that the individual was under some illusion of the brain, prior to the illness which terminated his life, we are quite prepared to expect. Such are among the pitiful expedients to which Satan, working upon the unbelief and natural scepticism of the human heart, resorts; but it is the Church's mercy to know, that ofttimes when the Lord is about to bring any of his servants into severe trial and exercise, he is graciously pleased to give so full, clear, and blessed an evidence of his divine favour and compassion, as to dispel all darkness, remove all doubt, and, for the time being, to give the soul the most undoubted evidence of the sterling nature and divine reality of the Lord's distinguishing mercy; yet these self-same visitations are afterwards, most probably, to be tested like precious metal, by fire; so that the higher the soul has previously risen in sweet confidence and blessed assurance, the lower it will appear that he shall sink in darkness and doubt; all to show that the work is not of the creature-not of man's will or power-but of the Lord alone, who