How it is I know not, and how it will be, is a greater mystery; still my body is greatly enfeebled, and the mind all abroad, my memory and understanding in divine things locked up, and the key lost to sight; but faith sees it hanging at the Lord's girdle, and prayer will fetch it down. Oh! blessed privilege this, which the work of faith with divine power effects for the lost sheep of the house of Israel! But I must close, desiring to be kindly remembered to your dear wife and children, and to any of the brethren in our most holy faith. Believe me in the bonds of covenant love, yours truly, Deal, May 10th, 1846. POWER BELONGETH UNTO GOD. J. R. To my much esteemed Friends for the truth sake, although I feel myself utterly unworthy to be called a friend by them, feeling more fit to be kept in solitude than to have converse with any one of the quickened family of God, lest by any means they should drink into the same spirit. The others plainly tell me, the less I speak about what they call error, but what I call eternal realities, the better. Alas! "truth is fallen in the streets, and equity cannot enter." What changeable creatures we are! At times we have a little 66 warmth in our souls, feeling the love and blood of Christ, so that our hearts in a measure are broken, and we are enabled to lie at the foot of the cross, press it to us, and say from the bottom of our hearts, Father, thy will be done!" But how soon is this changed, and we feel the chilly damps of death! Our hearts become quite cold and hard, and altogether in a kind of a stupor, so that we seem not to press forward to where Jesus is, having no breezes to waft us thither. The sensible drawings of his love seem to be suspended, and we seem to lie on the ocean of life in a becalmed state; so that rather than make for the harbour of rest, we drift farther away by the ebb tide! Well might the poet say, "More the treacherous calm I dread Than tempests bursting o'er my head,” knowing full well that in those becalmed states there was very little going out of heart and affection after the Lord; while, on the other hand, when things pressed with grievous weight upon his soul, necessity compelled him to cry unto the Lord for deliverance, and in this manner brought him near to the Lord of life and glory at a throne of grace. It is written of Israel of old, that when they were at rest from their enemies round about, they soon forgot their God; but when they were in trouble they cried unto him, and he heard and answered their cry by delivering them. Afflictions our flesh does not like, and so said the Holy Ghost by the Apostle, "That for the present they were not joyous, but grievous." But when the soul is led through them, and the Sun of Righteousness has arisen with his benign influence upon the soul, thereby giving a light to the soul to see light in God's light, the other part of the sentence is then understood, "But afterwards they yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby." How little going out of heart to the Lord do we find when in those becalmed states, and what a going out of heart and affections after the world! What an enticing bait it holds out, and how soon our unwary feet are taken in the snare, yea, and entangled fast, before we know it! We seem, indeed, to take but little notice until a time of trial comes, until we are brought to the bar of judgment in this life by the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit, and the light of truth once more shines in. And blessed be God it is so, that we should not be condemned with the world hereafter. I know not how it has been with you lately; but I can assure you such a treacherous calm has pervaded my soul since I last wrote, that I have hardly known what to make of myself. Such a deadness has come over my soul, such a feeling of unconcernedness, and as though I must be altogether a stench in God's nostrils, and was unfit for the company of his children, could I have had it, lest they should be infected by me, and drink into the same spirit with which I was possessed. These things seem hard to be reconciled by me with being a true follower of the Lamb. It has indeed been a sad change to me. I pray God there may soon be a change, that I may feel his presence with me. I seem to be as the poet hath it in these two lines: "What a motley wretch am I! When at Jersey, I searched the place to see if there was any certain sound, but could find none; and the effect it had upon me was such that I felt I could have wept. I never felt the like before. And since I have been here, I have looked about to see if I could find anything. One man went on doctrinally very straight for a time, but that was all. Another I was a little interested with, I hope I shall hear him again; as it was, at the time I felt no power with the word; but this I must leave at present. But of what use is all the talk, unless the power is there? Power is what I want; a power under God's most holy word both read and preached, so that it may have an abiding-place in my soul. I want power, too, in prayer, not only to pour out my soul's complaint before the Lord, but, like Jacob, to prevail also, and obtain the blessing; which power seems to be very much withheld. Prayer is much talked of, but this test of its being indited by the Spirit is but little looked at. However, it is a sign I feel unable at times to rest without, that God does hear my cry by giving answers of peace. The worst of it seems to be that, at times I do seem to rest satisfied without it. "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power," say the Scriptures; and one' would think that if we were possessed of any true spiritual life, such a passage at these times would cut us keenly, and cause us to search and try our ways, and to know how we came into them, for many of them are ways that are not good. How often do we make great mistakes in respect of our spiritual estate, and put natural feelings for spiritual ones; and until the time of trial comes, we are not aware of it. Well may we, when in our senses, bless God for a time of trial. We put blessings for curses and curses for blessings, bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, and forget that truth which the poet speaks, "Trials make the promise sweet, Trials give new life to prayer; Lay me low and keep me there." But cowardly flesh does not like it, and starts aside; the cross it cannot bear; the way of self-denial does not please it. When things go on smoothly it will then do very well for it, but the spirit is starved. 66 What danger there is on every hand, even in prayer, lest we be left to ourselves! And what a mercy to us-ward it is, that God in his mercy is like himself, always the same : My loving-kindness will I not take from them, nor suffer my mercy to fail." May you be blessed with real blessings. Yours in gospel bonds, Guernsey, September 14th, 1846. J. O. 66 INQUIRY. Messrs. Editors,-I desire simply to ask a favour of you through the Gospel Standard. Do you think it unbecoming the children of God to thank him for temporal mercies? For there is one in this place who thinks we are quite wrong to pray for such things in public meetings. But when the dear Lord favours me with a temporal promise, and says, Thy bread shall be given, and water shall be sure," and gives me precious faith to believe it, I can no more help thanking God for these temporal mercies than I could when he first proclaimed liberty to my captive soul,-when he spake with almighty power to my heart, "Thou has redeemed my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling." This is fourteen years ago; and I have had such conspicuous answers to my poor feeble prayers from the Lord, as the God of Providence as well as the God of Grace, that I cannot help thanking him for temporal things. think it worth your trouble, an answer to this will greatly If you oblige, Yours affectionately in the Bonds of the Gospel, Sept. 16, 1846. ANSWER. Two questions seem mixed in the above Inquiry. J. L. 1. Is it right to ask God for temporal mercies? 2. Is it right to thank him for temporal mercies when received? Scripture and experience must decide these questions; and to our mind they clearly do so in the affirmative. When David was driven from Jerusalem through the rebellion of his son Absalom, he was alarmed at the tidings which were brought him, that Ahitophel had joined the conspiracy against him. But he cried to the Lord, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahitophel into foolishness." (2 Sam. xv. 31.) Was not this a prayer 66 for a temporal mercy; and did not the Lord hear and answer the prayer in a most signal and marked manner? Again, did not Jacob pray for a temporal mercy when he cried to the Lord?" Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children." (Gen. xxxii. 11.) And did not the Lord hear his prayer, and give him the deliverance that he asked of him? Other instances may be found in the case of Moses at the Red Sea, (Exod. xiv. 15,) of Hannah, (1 Sam. i. 11,) of Elijah, (1 Kings xviii. 42—45,) of Jehoshaphat, (2 Chron. xx.,) of Nehemiah, (ii. 4.) In fact, the Scriptures are full of prayers for temporal mercies, and abundantly record temporal deliverances. If it should be objected that our instances are from the Old Testament, under what was, in a measure, a temporal and carnal dispensation, we will quote, as an example from the New Testament, that of the church at Jerusalem praying for Peter's deliverance when in prison. (Acts xii. 5.) Was not this a prayer for a temporal deliverance? and did not the Lord signally answer it by sending his angel to set Peter free? 66 66 6 66 But precept and promise are alike in favour of prayer and thanksgiving for temporal mercies. The precept runs, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Phil. iv. 6.) Every thing" is a very comprehensive expression, and must embrace temporal as well as spiritual necessities. Nay, the word of caution that precedes it, Be careful for (or literally, anxious about) nothing," evidently shows that the apostle had his eye upon those temporal cares and anxieties which so often distract the mind of God's people, and which the Lord himself had warned them against. (Matt. vi. 25, 34.)* Look at the length and breadth of the precept quoted: In every thing by prayer and supplication," &c. Is not this abundant warrant for a child of God to go to the throne of grace with everything that burdens his mind? And though we cannot for a moment compare temporal wants with spiritual wants, temporal trials with spiritual trials, or temporal mercies with spiritual mercies, yet we are fully warranted in saying, that a child of God is welcome to the throne of mercy with all his trials, temporal as well as spiritual. Say that a child of God has a large family, is out of work, has no money to pay his rent or discharge debts incurred, not through extravagance, but really to keep body and soul together,-to tell such a poor, burdened, distracted creature, that he has no warrant to ask God for temporal mercies, is to strike the dying dead. He is compelled to cry to the Lord, whether he will or not, for he has no other help or refuge to flee unto. But promise runs in the same channel as precept, "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 1. 15.) "But my God shall supply all your need according * The words "Take no thought," so much used by the Lord in the above passage, is exactly the same in the original as "Be careful." (Phil. iv. 6.) to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philip. iv. 19.) There is no limitation in these promises to spiritual things. It does not read" In the day of spiritual trouble," nor "All your spiritual need." Whatever be the day of trouble," temporal or spiritual; whatever be the "need," whether of body or soul, a full, clear, decisive warrant is given in the word of God, that he will deliver out of the one, and supply all the other. But what little must the objector to prayer and thanksgiving for temporal mercies know experimentally of a God of providence! How admirably he must cut and carve his own temporal path! How amply sufficient for his own protection and guidance through the thorny anxieties that distract so many of God's family! How deep his wisdom, how great his strength, how infallible his plans and purposes! How thanklessly too must he receive all temporal favours! Health he must consider as due to his excellent constitution; for food he must thank the plough, and for clothing the loom. He, of course, never begs a blessing at meals; never at night asks the Lord for sleep and preservation from temporal perils; and in the morning never thanks him for his kind and watchful care during the night. He has enough to do to congratulate himself on his own carefulness. His morning sacrifice is to his own net, and his evening incense to his own drag. Huntington's " Bank of Faith" he must burn; and Warburton's experience of temporal deliverances he must cut out from the "Mercies of a Covenant God." No sun of providence gilds his path; no sweet emotions of gratitude for temporal mercies thrill in his bosom. In all temporal matters he says, with the fool, in his heart, "There is no God." How far in public, such as at prayer meetings, it may be desirable to dwell much upon temporal mercies, may be a question. Many a child of God, who is really in temporal trials, is mute then, lest he seem begging of men. Thanksgivings seem best suited to privacy and solitude. But there will be times and seasons when these things will be introduced, from the weight with which they press upon the heart; and who dare say, with all the mass of evidence so conspicuous in God's word, that such prayers and thanks are carnal? At any rate, the example that we have brought forward of the church praying publicly for Peter's deliverance from prison fully warrants petitions for temporal mercies when the Lord's people meet together for the worship of God, should it be laid upon the heart and conscience of any poor child of his. We feel that we have drawn out these observations to an unnecessary length, and spent too much time and space upon a subject so plain and palpable. Still it may seem advisable, when such inquiries are made as we have here attempted to answer, to reply to them as fully and as clearly as we can, even at the risk, occasionally, of needless and wearisome prolixity.-EDs. The Lord giveth grace that he may give grace, and we are to receive grace that we may receive grace; grace is the only reward of grace.— Rutherford. |