sion, and may our Conference be found one of the blessed instruments employed by our coming Redeemer for the preparation of the Bride, that she may joyfully go forth to meet Him.

The subjects selected for consideration are: ANALOGY BETWEEN THE WORD SENT AND THE WORD WRITTEN.-Compare Isaiah xlix. 2, with Heb. iv. 12; Isaiah lv. 11, with John xvii. 4; John ix. 5, with 2 Peter i. 19; Deut. iv. 2, with Col. ii. 8-10.

THE SERVICE OF THE FATHER IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SON.-Compare Psalm xl. 8, with Rom. vii. 22; John vii. 18, with 1 Cor. vi. 20; Acts x. 38, with 1 Cor. xv. 58; John iv. 34, with 1 Peter iv. 1, 2.

Hospitality will, as heretofore, be provided for those brethren who will kindly signify to me, on or before Saturday, September 26th, their intention to be present at the Conference, and their need of accommodation during their stay.

I am, my dear friends, yours affectionately in the hope of the Gospel, SAMUEL ABRAHAM WALKER,

Rector of St. Mary-le-port, Bristol.

The Conference will, as usual, assemble (D.V.) in the Victoria Rooms, Clifton, each day at eleven o'clock, a.m., and at seven p.m. Dinner (for which tickets, at 2s. each, will be issued during the Conference) will be provided within the building at half-past one o'clock, and tea at five. The intervals between the meetings will, as heretofore, be devoted to prayer meetings, Bible readings, addresses, free conversations, &c.

Our local friends are reminded that meetings for prayer will be held at the Victoria Rooms, on the three Friday evenings, September 18th and 25th and October 2nd, preceding the Conference, and also on Monday evening, October 5th, to ask the Lord's blessing on our proceedings.

FAITH AND FELLOWSHIP.

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."-JOHN viii. 31, 32.

to

THESE verses contain a warning and a promise. First, as to the warning, "If ye continue in my word." Not that any who believe in that word will ever cease to be Christ's disciples, "My sheep shall never perish;" but St. Paul would appear to explain this best in Rom. ii. 7, "To them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal life." The warning is needful to stir us up continued active obedience, and abiding in the truth, as well as living up to our privileges conferred upon us as the disciples of Christ, carefully avoiding any error opposed to the truth of God's word, by bringing it to the test of that word, and showing, by our life and conversation, that we adorn the doctrines we profess to believe. Second, as to the promise, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Blessed freedom is that of the sons of God. St. Paul says, speaking of the new nature, "Sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under grace." 'Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness." "But now, being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" (Rom. vi. 14, 18, 22). By continuing in the word, we shall also have freedom from the world, since the closer we live to Christ the less entangled we shall be by its follies. We shall have no relish for

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it; and, more than that, this freedom will give us greater boldness, causing us to let our light shine, instead of hiding it under a bushel. We shall be as a city set upon a hill, which cannot be hid. St. James tells us something of this freedom (chap. i. 25), "But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." We are no longer the bond-slaves of Satan, led captive by him at his will. It is true he will harass and torment us so long as we are in the flesh; but, when we are enabled to use the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith, meeting him with a "Thus it is written," we shall come off "more than conquerors through Him that loved us," and "gave Himself for us."

W.

COMMUNION WITH JESUS.

AGAIN, dear Lord, to Thee I turn my eyes,
From this lone wilderness of brooding night;

Oh, bid my heart in warm affection rise,

To where Thou sit'st enthroned in peerless light,
The joy of countless angels pure and fair,
And spirits of the just made perfect there!

Sometimes I think my raptured soul can hear
The thunder of the everlasting song;
Like far-off music steals upon my ear

The distant echo as it rolls along;

While shining ranks to faith's faint vision seem
Like glimpses of some bright and happy dream.

Among that white-robed throng shall I be found,
When all Thy ransomed saints before Thee meet?
Shall I with golden harp Thy praises sound,

And cast, with them, my crown at Thy dear feet ?
Shall I, though now so vile, Thy glory see;
And dwell in heaven's eternal joy with Thee?

Dear Lord, was ever grace and love like Thine,

Which brought Thee down to such a scene as this?
That Thy polluted, ruined bride might shine
For ever like Thee, in Thy home of bliss;
Clothed in her pure and costly bridal-dress,
Thy marriage gift, Thy spotless righteousness.

The fiery deluge on Thy soul that fell,

The wrath of heaven poured on Thy guiltless head;
The cruel cross, the pains of death and hell;

These could not quench the matchless love that led
Thy faithful heart to leave Thy throne on high,

For her, Thy chosen one, to live and die.

O Jesus, let me lean upon Thy breast,
Through all the changes of life's fitful day,
And, finding there my everlasting rest,

In that dear refuge sweetly pass away;
Beyond the bounds of earth and time to rise,
And join the Church triumphant in the skies.
Scarborough.

W. S. ROBINSON.

Pilgrim Papers.

THE RICHES, MULTITUDE, POWER, AND TRIUMPHS OF THE LOVINGKINDNESSES OF THE ETERNAL THREE IN GOD;

AS SEEN IN THE

LIFE AND EXPERIENCE OF THE "OLD PILGRIM."

(Continued from page 416.)

OUR new meeting-house, being finished, was opened for public worship in the month of May, 1831, and, having had so much opposition from high and low, rich and poor, in raising the building, the Lord gave us one portion to cheer and strengthen our hearts; and that portion unfolded the secret of our daily and ultimate triumphs, and that portion was the keynote or motto for our morning meditation on the day of opening: "Hitherto the Lord hath helped us." How sweet it is in life's journey to trace the love, grace, and mercy of the Three in Jehovah, that every day and all the day long prevents, supports, supplies, and defends us. To see these things in the Lord's light will constrain us at every step in every stage of our time-state journey to give all glory to the Lord as we find it in our motto, "Hitherto the Lord hath helped us."

While this building was in progress some scoffed, intending to shame us; others threatened, hoping to intimidate us: but through all the Lord stood by us to strengthen us, so that the house is completed, and some who are present can see inscribed upon every stone composing the building this God-glorifying testimony, "Hitherto the Lord hath helped us." Our motto for the evening was, "Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high." This day was a day of joy and gladness to many poor, needy, heavy-laden, sin-sick souls; some of whom upon their dying bed confessed that it was then and there that Jesus manifested Himself to them, as the "chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely." But to the fat and the strong-some of which were present as spies at the opening-it was a day of rebuke and trouble. To us and in us the Lord fulfilled that gracious promise, "Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart ;" and to and in our enemies was fulfilled the gloomy threatening, "But ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit." And here it must not be forgotten that the work of a solicitor's office is oftentimes very galling to a tender conscience; but my employer and his sons, who had a knowledge of my pedigree and profession, did all they could to ease and sweeten the bitters. This familiarized them with me, and me with them.

After a time my employer's eldest son, who had married a young lady from the neighbourhood of the place of my birth, brought her home and introduced her to me in the office, with, "There, my dear, that is Mr.

-, of whom I have been speaking." The lady, tripping across the office, came to my desk, and, looking into my face, said, "Oh, how grieved I am to see you obliged to labour in a solicitor's office. Does it not grieve you?" I said, "No, Madam, it is no grief to me; I can sometimes sing

"There is mercy in every place;

And mercy-encouraging thought!-
Gives even affliction a grace,

And reconciles man to his lot."

is not grieved,

The husband replied, "No, my dear, no; Mr.
because he thinks none will go to heaven only poor folk." I said, “Mr.
P-, how dare you to make such a statement? You know it is an un-
truth; you never heard me utter such a sentiment all the years we have
been conversant together." When I had spoken I saw the lady's coun-
tenance fall, the reason of which might have been because of my warmth
in resenting the unjust charge. When leaving the office her ladyship
requested that I would go up to the Abbey in the evening when I left the
office, for she was anxious to have more conversation with me when alone.
When the office was closed I went to the Abbey, and by the butler was
introduced to the lady, who had been waiting, and, from all appearance,
had been preparing for the interview. She strove with all the carnal
arguments she could muster to persuade me that my views of the truth of
God were erroneous and dangerous, but that her opinions must be right;
because all the learned men of the nation were of the same opinion. "Let
us hear, madam, what the Lord has to say about learned men: 'I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nought the understand-
ing of the prudent.' The world by wisdom knew not God.' 'God hath
made foolish the wisdom of this world,' or the wisdom of men.
You see,
madam, that all the wise men in which you glory, as being on your side,
and all their wisdom touching the Scriptures of truth, are and is a blank;
nay, it hides and conceals, rather than reveals, the things of God: and
this was to Jesus a matter of spiritual rejoicing, as it is written,_' In
that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and
the prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for
so it seemed good in Thy sight.' Again, you say, that your opinions
harmonize with the opinions of the wise men of the day. May I be
allowed to ask, What is meant by an opinion? Does it not generally
signify imagination or a notion? But by the power of sovereign grace
I hope I have been experimentally taught that

"True religion's more than notion;
Something must be known and felt.'

This something, which the immortal poet has said must be known; men
cannot in any other way be brought spiritually to know it only by feeling.
Notion is superficial and fleeting, but feeling is sinking, rooting, and
abiding; the power of oratory will achieve the first, but the infinite
of Omnipotence only can produce the second.

"Notion's the harlot's test,

By which the truth's reviled;
The child of fancy finely dress'd,
But not the living child.'"

power

I saw that my plain dealing was distasteful; therefore upon religious matters this was my first and last conference with this lady.

For nineteen years I continued with the same people, preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ; and, although it was in much weakness, yet the strength of the Lord's salvation was made perfect in that weakness. Some would come to hear, if possible to pick up matter to sport with, but would return home crying for mercy. One gentleman, an adept at sporting, who compelled many of his workmen and women to labour on the day of rest, although himself and family would go to a place of

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worship-this gentleman inquired of a friend of mine what the people. were called who attended to hear that strange man whom everybody spoke against? My friend said, "You had better come and hear him for yourself, then perhaps you might know what we are." After a few days the said gentleman met this friend, and said, "Oh I have found out what you people are; you are the chosen people of God." "Well," said my friend, if it is so, you are very kind in going to church every Sunday, and praying for God to make us joyful." "I go to pray for God to make you joyful? No, don't you believe it." "Well, sir, if my statement is not true, then words have no meaning, or you ask for what you do not feel you want, nor do you wish for others to be the partakers." "But I do not know what you mean," said the gentleman. "Then I will try and explain what I mean," was the reply. "After repeating the creed, and what is called the Lord's prayer, does not the minister or priest stand up, and say among other sayings, 'Endue Thy ministers with righte ousness ?" And do you not, in your response, say, 'And make Thy chosen people joyful?" Now, if there is any God-honouring sincerity in your heart, as there is a glorious meaning in the words, and we being as you say, the chosen people of God, then you must pray for Him to make us joyful."

One young gentleman who esteemed himself as being very religious and very wise, came to hear, and he left filled with spite, and saying, "that if there was any one place in hell hotter than another he was very confident that would be the place into which the preacher must be thrust." Some months after he had pronounced upon me this dreadful doom, he was seized with a consumption, and then he was brought to feel the power and preciousness of those truths which in his health he hated and despised. Sitting in his company one Lord's-day afternoon, he made a confession that to the doctrines of sovereign grace his hatred was unbounded. In reply I said, "But what think you about the matter now?" "Oh," said he, "it is well for me that things are exactly as you describe them to be, and I do rejoice and am glad. Ah, woe be to me for ever, if salvation was such a jumble as I used to think it to be." For miles round the pulpits were made to ring with exhortations and cautions, warning the hearers to avoid coming in contact with such a dangerous fellow; that his doctrines were damnable, that they came from hell. Now, if the doctrines which I love and preach do come from hell, then the devil must be the author of them; and, if the devil is the author of them, then what can we say to the madness of one of these cautioners who said, "That if God was such a God as that fellow describes him to be, I would rather be in hell with the devil than in heaven with such a God as that."

My then employer took a young man whom he had trained to his own profession into partnership with him. This young man was an Independent itinerant minister, and, at his earnest request, I supplied the pulpit for him one Sunday evening. When this was known, the association of ministers appointed a day to hold a special meeting, and to call this young minister before them to rebuke him for suffering such a daring Antinomian, as they were pleased to call me, to occupy his pulpit. I was ignorant of the tumult which my preaching had produced until the afternoon of the day of their meeting. In the afternoon of that day our new partner came into the office, bringing with him an Independent minister whom I knew. Taking his stand a few yards from my desk, he said,