we shall draw, as the Holy Ghost opens it to us, grace and mercy to help in time of need.

'He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment.' Dear Hannah's words have often struck me, 'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' She was fetching her life, nourishment, and unction from the right quarter. In the way of thy judgments have we waited for thee.' Poor soul, thou mayest think that thou art in that intricate, trying case that it is impossible thou canst be delivered. But there is the same God now, that maketh a way through the sea. There is a blessed reality in that portion of God's word (and his people are brought blessedly to realise it), 'Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.'

'He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.' O how he does watch over his church and people, to preserve them, and to keep their feet from falling! And how he is pleased to snatch them away from it at times if they are nibbling at some error. For we are poor frail creatures; and if the Lord leaves us for one moment, it is one moment too long. And there is that in us which makes us proud of our gifts, of our attainments. There is not a more dangerous place for a man to be left in, than trusting in his own heart, and leaning to his own understanding. There is more hope of a fool than of him. Even one that fears God may be left for a time on that pinnacle of pride; but the Lord says, 'If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.' But, if left on the pinnacle of pride, there is not a heresy but we may run into. O what a blessing then is godly simplicity! Erskine says,

Rather than suffer pride that swells,

He'll bring thee through the fire,

Of fears, temptations, little hells,

Thy Husband saves by fire.'

He saves a vessel of mercy from being dashed on the rocks of error, and thus laying a trap for himself and others of his fellow-men.

'And preserveth the way of his saints.' O the preserving mercy of God! He will keep his vineyard by night and day, and watch over it. The hand of God is upon the land, and upon his church. And it is very precious to have a feeling of his omniscience, when we can say, 'Thou God seest and knowest me.' The wise men saw a star in the east guiding them. You may take this as a positive rule, where a man walks fearingly, he walks safely. He feels he cannot

preserve himself, or understand his own errors, and that the word of God is a mystery: and he is obliged to beg of God to unfold the mysteries of his truth. Such a man walks with many down-castings: he walks safely: and God will in his own time shew him he is not following a vain show.

May God graciously be pleased to bless this feeble attempt to break the bread of life.

Brighton.

THE GREAT FORERUNNER.

AMID the changing scenes that move,
Of sorrow, sin, and carking care,
Oh! have we now a friend above?
Is Jesus our Forerunner there?
Have we a case he cannot touch,
When trials seem too large a share?
No! underneath his arms are such
As prove thy great Forerunner's there.
Temptations strong, and fiery too,
Through this benighted world he bare,
And now he sits on high for you,
As Jesus thy Forerunner there.
Then, precious Saviour, let me prove
In mercy thou for me dost care;
Give tastes of everlasting love,

Thou glorious, great Forerunner there.
Sometimes my fears run high indeed,
And then I call on thee in prayer,
That thou wilt for me intercede,

As Jesus my Forerunner there.
Oh! shall I then come short at last,
All my profession be a snare,
Find I am from thy presence cast,

Thou precious, great Forerunner there?
Dear Lord, I cannot bear the thought;

In pard'ning love, O let me share!
To sing through grace that I am bought
By Jesus, my Forerunner there.

R. H.

THE LORD'S TEACHING.

MY DEAR FRIEND,-I thank you for your kind communication, and I would thank the Lord if anything coming from me, so weak and foolish, should be in any way a help to you. I know the Lord has 'chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty,' which is no small consolation to me at times, when deeply troubled with the knowledge of my own foolishness and weakness. Your letter bears the marks of one that is following on to know the Lord, yet meeting a crowd to check your pace; and well it is so, for Berridge says,

'But such as seem to run the race,

And meet no crowd to check their pace,

Are only rambling still;

Not fairly enter'd on the list,

The gate and narrow way they miss'd,

Which lead to Zion's hill.'

The Lord promises all his children shall be taught of him; and one evidence of being his, is to desire and pray for his teaching. 'If any man lack wisdom,' (and God's people are sensible of this,) 'let him ask of God,' and this they do by the Holy Ghost, whose breath in them is thus expressed, 'That I may know him.'

The blessed Spirit is our guide into all truth, and as he instructs me I find a heavenly simplicity in truth, and a divine harmony in the work and ways of God. Mercy and truth, righteousness and peace shine forth therein, which allure and win the heart. The spirit of wisdom and understanding is given, drawing the heart after Christ in longings, wants, desires, and prayer. The scriptures testify of him, and we want to search them and know the truth. But in the pursuit of heavenly wisdom and knowledge, Satan meets us, opposes and hinders by all allowed means. Sometimes urging us to attempt by our own wisdom what we should seek by prayer from God. It is his work to make the exercise of every grace as difficult as he can, and stir up within us much opposition to it. What we have received from above he will sometimes flatter us with, and seek to puff us up with vain-conceit of having attained to something. He knows 'pride goes before destruction;' and when the Lord hides his face, Satan accuses us of what he has infused, and by such and various other means he will bewilder and perplex. Perhaps his fiercest opposition and greatest hostility is to spiritual prayer, as therein

we often feel our greatest necessity, and find extreme weakness, unbelief prevails, the heart condemns us, and Satan accuses us; how many sins will appear when we are on our knees; how often he will seek to feed and please the flesh, and serve ourselves, when the spirit would seek to serve and please God; his perseverance in such opposition produces weariness and discouragement; he would have us turn to something carnal or sensual for relief, and we have often proved the flesh is weak;' but in our weakness the Lord's strength is made perfect, and we feel the need of patience; and our patient endurance and steadfast continuance in the path of so much tribulation, and opposition to what the flesh desires, is of the Spirit, who helps us to mortify the deeds of the body, and discovers our life in the midst of the strife, and denying of self. His unseen influence keeps us waiting, when we see no hope; and gives a secret prop to faith, when we faint, For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.' Goodwin says, 'God stamps an instinct upon the regenerate toward Jesus Christ, as he did on the creatures to enter the ark.' Sin, Satan, and the world unite their power and influence to hinder, hurt, wound, and turn aside those who come to Christ, and God overrules all these malicious designs to hinder, makes their wounds, grief, affliction, misery, and guilt the means of bringing them to him for mercy, pardon, righteousness, and peace, by which means pride is brought down, the loftiness of man made low, and the Lord alone exalted. This is teaching which profits, we learn somewhat of the mystery of iniquity in our depraved nature, read our ruin and the certainty of everlasting destruction, but find our recovery, deliverance, and everlasting salvation in the mystery of godliness; and as faith, hope, and love abound herein, we can sing of mercy and judgment unto the Lord, and glorify the matchless grace which so freely saves, and feel in our very soul, 'Salvation is of the Lord.'

I am just leaving home for a week, and am unwilling to delay this till I return. Excuse my breaking off so abruptly. Accept my sincere good wishes. May your soul prosper and be in health. The Lord keep you from the evil of the world, fulfil in you the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power.

Brethren pray for us.-Believe me, yours faithfully in the hope of the gospel,

Walsall, Oct. 19, 1867.

C. MOUNTFORT.

A FEW PARTICULARS OF THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ELIZABETH FOREMAN, WHO ENTERED INTO REST, JULY 2ND, 1885, AGED FIFTY-FIVE YEARS.

My dear wife was born at Yalding, Kent, on the 6th April, 1830, of God-fearing parents; but it pleased God to take away her dear mother by death when she was about twelve years old, and she was placed out in service at an early age.

Being naturally of a quiet, reserved disposition, and fond of retirement, she was, as she often afterwards expressed it, mercifully preserved and kept from many of those outward and gross sins which many of the Lord's dear people are permitted to fall into, and in consequence thereof they have to go groaning with many a broken bone to their grave. I believe that she was the subject of many solemn thoughts of death, judgment, and eternity even in her childhood. She often spoke of the first solemn impression she had as regards her state as a sinner in the sight of a holy God, which was once when going indoors to speak to her mother, and not finding her, she crept upstairs, where she discovered her mother on her knees in prayer: To use her own words, she said such a solemn feeling seized her, that, for the first time in her life, she saw and felt what a sinner she was, and unless she was brought to know and feel what real prayer was, she must be lost eternally. From that time it seems a work was begun which brought her out from the world, and brought her to love and seek after the company of the Lord's people, and by grace to choose them for her own people.

When about twenty years of age, believing the ordinance of baptism to be right, she was baptized by Mr. Day, and joined the church at East Farleigh, where she continued a member for over twenty years. She was not the subject of so deep a law work as some, neither was she brought to feel such sweet deliverance in her early life; and this was often a source of much sorrow, and many tears to her, when hearing others speak of the blessed helps and deliverances they had found in the way. How often have I heard her say, 'O that I knew my beginning was right! Lord, do not let me be deceived.' But though her beginning seemed small as compared with others more favoured, her latter end greatly increased, and blessedly proved that it was God's own work and effectual calling indeed. She was truly a woman of a sorrowful spirit, and her walk and conduct proved that she was kept with a tender conscience in the fear of the Lord.