for ever; unchangeable in his love, and ever will prove himself what he ever has been, A Friend that sticketh closer than a brother." Oh! my friends, that we may be enabled more to trust him.

Secondly, I shall speak of oppression. This arises from various causes. A sense of original sin will cause it. I believe David felt this, when he said, " For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease; my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted." And when the child of God feels a keen sense of this, it will cause great oppression, and he will be bowed down greatly. Another thing that will cause great oppression is from the power of Satan. Pharaoh was a mighty oppressor to the Israelites; the king of Babylon was a mighty oppressor; and many others. But put them altogether they were nothing to be compared to the great enemy of our souls. It is said that our dear Redeemer went about" doing good, and healing all that were oppressed with the devil;" and it is written, "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord, and set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." David also complains of this oppression: "Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" Oh! how he tries to despond and sink the soul, and sets before the poor soul, as Mr. Hart says,

"All that is dismal in this world,

Or in the world to come." Another thing that will cause great oppression is affliction of body. This, my dear friends, you are aware I know much of. How much the enemy at times presents to me those who are not so afflicted, and sets me to envy those who have the use of their limbs, &c., whereas I am obliged to be dependant to others to assist me in almost every thing, This causes great oppression of spirit; but through

mercy there are times when I would not change with any person in the universe.

Again, another thing to cause oppression is cross and trying providences. But there are many other things that produce it. But from whatever source, however, our troubles may arise, we shall ever find the Lord to be a refuge in times of trouble." Now although we have often proved it thus, when we get into fresh exercises, we can no more enter the refuge than at the first time we were enabled so to do it is every time a fresh act of faith, under the divine influence of the Lord the Spirit, and we shall have to prove our utter helplessness to step one step towards it.

Painful I know it is, but such is the experience of God's needy family. And in reality it is our greatest mercy that such promises are to the poor and needy, to those who cannot help themselves; to such God says, “ He will feed the strong with judgment," and, the rich he will send empty away;" also, they that know thy name will put their trust in thee, for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee."

This

This

In Exod. xxxiv. we find the Lord proclaiming his name to Moses :"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth." precious name of " long-suffering" has been very sweet to me of late, and what Peter says is in accordance therewith-" And account the longsuffering of God salvation." name also refers to Christ-" Thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee." And our happiness consists in our knowledge of this precious name, which knowledge is made known when the love of God is sweetly shed abroad in the heart; and then by love we are constrained to love. This was the cause of Mary's getting the box of precious ointments, and anointing the Saviour. And thus all they who

know His precious name will put their trust in him. And why will they? Because God says they shall: "I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord." Here is the foundation of our hope. Oh, blessed security! And what God the Father wills is equally the will of the Son: and this the blessed and Holy Spirit effectually works in the hearts of all the elect, to believe all the exceeding great and precious promises, and the blessedness of these are described in the following texts

What need we, my dear friends, of sweeter and more blessed assurances, But some of those who are weak in faith, may be asking, How may I know I am this seeker? As I love to feed you, I will drop a few hints. 1. By thirsting: Do you thirst after after God?" Hungry and thirsty their souls fainted within them, then they cried unto the Lord," that is, sought him; and, as David says, As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God! My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God, when shall I come and appear before God." Have you felt, poor sinner, this thirsting? then I can tell you it is an evidence of divine life.

Another thing is the desires : "With my soul have I desired thee in the night;" and again, The desire of our soul is to Thee, and the remembrance of thy name." Now if you desire an object, nothing but the attaining of that object will satisfy you; so I would ask any seeking soul if any thing short of obtaining Christ will satisfy you? Oh, no, you will say, nothing in this world, or if I had a thousand worlds, Christ is all I want.

"It lives and labours under loads,

Though dam t it never dies."

Like the palm-tree, the more you load it the more it grows. True faith can never be too much pressed: it rises above and through all opposition. It will be found to be so from Genesis to Revelation; and, blessed be God, I know it to be so by sweet experience. and so do many of you, dear friends.

These characters God will never forsake: and I speak it with deep humility, but God must cease to be God if he could do otherwise. Hear his own words: 'Once have I sworn in my holiness that I will not lie unto David, his seed shall endure for ever."

God is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent." Oh! most blessed promises. May you and I, my dear friends, have much of the comfort thereof, is my most earnest desire. Amen. Lewes.

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

M.

The Rev. J. Cartwright, from Mount Zion Chapel, Devonport, commenced his labours as the stated paster of the Church of Christ assembling at Mulberry Gardens Chapel, Pell Street, Ratcliff, Highway, on Lord'sday, Feb. 20, 1842. in the room of the Rev. Robert Stodhart, who has resigned.

Mr. George Wyard, late of Over, Cambridgeshire, has accepted the pastoral charge of the Particular Baptist Church meeting at Soho Chapel, Oxford Street, late Mr. G. Coomb's

THE SEVEN DISPENSATIONS.

The Antediluvian—the Patriarchal-the Wilderness-the Temple-the Christian-the Millennial-the Glory.

III. THE WILDERNESS.

THE sighs of his Israel from Goshen arise, The voice of oppression ascends to the skies; Now, now, saith Jehovah, my arm I will bare, And Israel shall see that I listen to prayer: Go, Gabriel, and Amram's young infant conceal,,

My vengeance on Egypt by him I'll reveal. Obedient the seraph to Memphis descends, And Pharoah's own daughter young Moses befriends.

But royalty's glitter, its pomp and its show, Cannot make him his lineage forget or forego: He sees an Egyptian an Hebrew oppress, And instant his arm is upraised to redress; Then fearful, for safety to Midian retires, And wisdom to fill his high mission acquires.

When rescued from Egypt, with Canaan so

near,

Why led'st thou thy people the wilderness road,

Oh! why was the desart selected by God? Why crown not the foreheads, now flushed with delight,

With the promised possession so nearly in sight?

Why give not at once the free sceptre to those, Who are shouting hosannas o'er God-conquered foes?

'Tis well in their history, Saviour, I see The way thou hast led and art still leading me. Like them in captivity, darkness, distressWith sin a hard task-master told to oppressIn slavery, worse than Egyptian, I dwelt, In love with my chains and enamoured with guilt;

Till a tempest disturbed my monotonous night,

And my eyes lost the scales which perverted their sight.

Strange scenes passed around me of sorrow and care,

And the world I had loved seemed the home of despair.

Oppression rode o'er me, and mocked at my grief,

With none to deliver, God sent me relief:
I ransomed, stood praising, and saw the wild

POOR sinners now lift up your voice,
Gladly in Jesus' name rejoice,
Who once came down to bleed and die,
To save our souls from misery.

Joyful, poor saints, sweet anthems sing,
To Jesus our exalted King;
Who to our souls salvation brought,
And Oh, your Jesus changeth not.

When he expired on Calvary's tree,
'Twas the sweet year of jubilee;
He crushed the powers of sin and hell,
That all his saints with him might dwell.

Immanuel our full ransom paid,
When on the cross he bowed his head;
And "Finished," said, poor soul, for thee,
And thus proclaimed sweet jubilee.

But Oh, ye saints, when Christ arose,
He conquered all our hellish foes;
The victory gained o'er death for ye,
And gave us all sweet jubilee.

Since Christ the glorious victim stood,
And for our ransom shed his blood;
Oh may our souls before him fall,
And crown King Jesus Lord of all.

Oh! think of that thy Saviour drank for thee, A deep unfathomed cup of agony.

Think of the wrath of justice, mighty load, Which He endured to bring thee night to God;

Behold his sufferings, when upon the tree, Guiltless he died to set the guilty free!

He died that thou mightst live in records high,

Is the fair charter of indemnity:

Thy debts are cancelled by his love divine, Then at thy transient griefs canst thou repine ?

Faint not beneath the rod-a token mild

That thou indeed art God's beloved childBut bless the affliction, sent by sov❜reign love, To lead thy wandering feet to realms above.

Christ bore the wrath of God, that thou mightst be,

Exempted from it through eternity : Thus love directs each stroke thou 'rt called to bear,

And all chastisements mercy's aspect wear.

And he is thine, with all his gifts and grace, Thy life, thy portion, and thy dwelling-place; And he'll sustain thee, fly to him by prayer, And on him cast each overwhelming care.

Thy sky may be o'ercast, but whence thy fear?

Faith can discern the promised rainbow near; With grateful heart then kiss the chastening rod,

And bless thy faithful, omnipresent God.

EMMELINE.

ON OPENING A PLACE OF WORSHIP.

Oh, thou most blessed sacred Three,
The holy glorious Trinity;

E'en God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit-Three in One.
Now condescend in love to shine.
Upon this little tender vine,
Which thou hast planted, by thy hand,
In this dark desert barren land.

Thy providence hath brought us here,
To dedicate this house of prayer;
Then dearest Lord vouchsafe to shine
Upon this little church of thine.

May we in love and union be,
Upheld by the great sacred Three ;
Till we shall meet on that blest shore.
Where sin is known and felt no more.

ANGELS, REGARDED AS MINISTERING SPIRITS TO THOSE WHO SHALL BE HEIRS OF SALVATION.

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"-Heb. i. 14.

WITH regard to the subject of Angels, we are so dreadfully prone to idolatry, that there is danger (as the frailty of the holiest men may evince Rev. xxii. 8), of putting them in the position of Him of whom it is written-There is one God and one Mediator between God and Man 1 Tim. ii. 5, the man Christ Jesus. If men have been so miserable as to worship Bede and Becket, and even their bones, how much more will they not worship-angels ever bright and fair?'

On the the other hand, it must be owned that Scripture reveals not a little concerning angels. And while we adhere to Scripture we cannot err. We may therefore consider the visible agency of Angels, first as affording some illustration of that divine work which is carried on in the heirs of salvation without such visible agency; and secondly as affording some fore-shadowment of the future glory of the latter.

I. (1). Angels have been sent to
April, 1842.]

humble our pride. Eliphaz the Temanite seems to have been unacquainted (no uncommon case) with the effects of the fall, and with the extent of sin, original and actual. Much he dwelt upon his own comparative innocence. In short he wished to justify himself before God. But "a thing was secretly brought to him, and his ear received a little thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, fear came upon him, and trembling, which made all his bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before his face, the hair of his flesh stood up. It stood still, but he could not discern the form thereof: an image was before his eyes." He heard a still voice, the import of which was to admonish him, that as far as merit was concerned, he was a guilty, lost, and condemned creature. Job iv. 12. &c.

What Eliphaz learned in his preliminary fit of consternation, is taught to the heirs of salvation by the more ordinary (though supernatural) working of the Spirit of supplication, Zech. xii. 10, and self-loathing Ezek. xxxvi. 31. And the word of God is to them instead of the nocturnal visitor.

L