on that account. "Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God, and such were some of you" (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10, 11). In writing to Titus, Paul also says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy he saved us." Mr. Philip does not need to sing with Dr. Watts 66 Why was I made to hear His voice, Oh, no! the wonderful qualifications of sobriety, and industry, and simple-heartedness, drew the attention of God upon him, and he gave him to Christ, and Christ chose him upon that ground; not as "merit," -oh no, keep that word out of the way, but " as morals." There are difficulties in my creed," says Mr. Philip. I think there are difficul ties indeed, which he will never get over; but still he likes his creed better than he does Christ's creed, Paul's creed, or Moses' creed. Surely Mr. Philip is the wonder of the age. So much for the, "ascertained rule" of divine sovereignty. For a moment, let us allow that Mr. Philip's position is right, that the "preference" is given to the "sober," &c. "Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?" (1 Cor. iv. 7). Did Mr. Philip make himself what he is? Will he say if he had been born in New Zealand, that he has sufficient moral power within himself, to raise himself out of heathenism or cannibalism? I believe he has not that power, and that he would have made as great, as voracions a cannibal as any in the world, if his lot had been fixed amongst them. If he is moral, which I most sincerely believe he is, it is because he had his existence in England, not in Žealand, in the nineteenth century, not in the first century, when men wear proper clothing, and not when they painted their skins; when there are schools, and not when ignorance prevailed. A long train of providences going before led to the happy circumstance under which he had his first existence, which has made all the difference in him, as well as in all others,—so that we may say, "Where is boasting, then? It is excluded" (Rom. iii. 27). Is there no display of sovereignty in all this? Where is the rule of preference? Can Mr. Philip tell us why these advantages were granted to England, and not to New Zealand? Were our forefathers better than New Zealanders? Mr. Philip does not go back far enough, to find the rule of divine sovereignty, or he would not talk about "giving the preference to sober, industrious, simple-hearted men," when God himself must have even made them what they were to his own hand. The fact is, Mr. Philip may give his circle to the wind for the good it is,-whilst his new discovery, or "ascertained rule," which he says, 66 you cannot help seeing," is all "nonsense, or something worse, .༩ hap-hazard theology," in the strongest sense; contrary to Christ's own words, and contrary to facts. Nov. 6, 1846, T. W. GITTENS. LEGAL REPENTANCE AND GODLY SORROW. To the Editor of the Gospel Magazine. DEAR MR. EDITOR, Desirous that truth should triumph, and for myself, that I should be led into all truth, and not being able to receive all the doctrine taught in your last Magazine, on the vital subject of repentance (of which I hope I have some saving experience), I venture, though with diffidence, to submit to your notice, either to confute or admit, a few remarks thereon. The leading part of your article, stating that true repentance flows alone from the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Father hath exalted to bestow it, has been a most precious truth to me in days that are past; but where you state that pardon precedes repentance, it appears to me like saying, that healing goes before wounding-cure before disease-forgiveness where there is no crime; for surely it is of sins that the apostle bade the people to repent, that they might be blotted out, or, in other words, forgiven; and while all that have been favoured to feel it will most readily admit, that repentance, flowing from a sense of forgiveness through the sufferings and death of the atoning Lamb of God, is the most godly, the most pure, the most pungent, sin-hating, and self-abasing; yet I think none ever experienced this heavenly grace, but such as have first repented of sin, on account of its own intrinsic evil. But what saith the Scriptures? Refer to David before Nathan, as God's mouth gives him the heart-cheering portion, "The Lord hath put away thy sin." There is David's repentance flowing forth in the bitter wailing, "I have sinned against the Lord." Next, the precious doctrine taught in Job, "If any say I have sinned and perverted that which was right, and it profiteth me not (there is repentance), he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. There is pardon following. Indeed, to me, this seems to be the universal order set forth in all the Scriptures, on the subject, but which are too numerous to quote. John preached the baptism of repentance, unto the remission of sins; and how full to this point does Peter's command to Simon Magus appear, Repent of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee." And with regard to the case even of Peter, which you quote-I cannot think that the look the Lord then gave him was so much one conveying pardon, as kind condemnation, such as the prophet prayed for when he said, "Correct me, but with judginent; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing." It appears clear to me, from the context, that this was a look to convince him that he had fallen into the sin, which, a little while before, it was said that he would, whereat, as every one does in whose heart the fear of God is in exercise, 66 he repented, and wept bitterly. Again, John says, "If we confess (which certainly takes in repentance) our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins;" and confirms the doctrine in the next verse, If we say that we have uot sinned" (or if we do not repent), there is nothing like a sense of pardon coming to us. On the whole, it appears to me, from Scripture, clear as the sun at noonday, that repentance for sin is a narrow wicket, or dirty slongh, as regards feelings, through which all must, and do pass, before they come into the wealthy placeof a sense of pardon, throngh atoning blood; yet, if any can prove me in error herein, and my speech nothing worth, I am open to correction, and anxions, in all these things, to know, What is truth ? I do not know that I should have troubled you with my poor scribbling, but that I verily think your doctrine alluded to, calculated to make sad those whom the Lord would not have made sad-to wit, mourning souls, tasting somewhat of the sinfulness of sin, and fearing eternal ruin thereby, yet anxious to know their interest in the one eternal, soul-saving, wrath-appeasing, God-pleasing, Sin-offering. Now these have not got a sense of pardon, and you therefore say they cannot have repentance unto life; and God teaches, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Yet the Judge of quick and dead says, "Blessed are they that inourn, for they shall be comforted. So that, my dear brother, you must, I think, be wrong. As one desiring the edification of "the body," and that the Lord may abundantly bless you, and give you a right understanding in all things, for the grace of God and of his blessed Son Jesus Christ, and the savour of the Holy Ghost that is in you, Affectionately yours, Staffordshire, Nov. 1846. 1 am A SON OF PEACE. [God forbid that we should ever make sad those whom the Lord would not have made sad." Nothing is further from our desire-nothing would give us greater grief.-Our correspondent is right as far as he goes; but his epistle falls short of that repentance to which, in the paper alluded to, we had distinct reference-namely, that true Gospel repentance, or holy compunction and deep heartfelt sorrow for and on account of sin, that flows from a sight of Christ, founded upon that one beautiful testimony (Zech. xii. 10), "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him," &c. Now, there are thousands of the children of God who have known the former repentance, that of which our correspondent speaks, who have not yet been led into a full realization of the latter. This is yet in reserve for them; and those who have thus been indulged will bear us out in the assertion, that whilst it is a distinct sorrow from that legal repentance that "weeping and supplication under which they are led," according to Jer. xxxi. 9, it is at tue same time a mourning-a bitterness-a weeping-time, at once so new, so savoury, so precious, that the soul seems absorbed in its holy wonder, love, and adoration of Christ, as standing forth in a glorious revelation of Himself as that sinner's own particular Advocate, Daysman, Redeemer-his Friend-his portion-his All in all! For the time being he is bathing in an ocean of "love, blood, and salvation," and whilst he "weeps to the praise of the mercy he's found," he seems lost in a world of wonders : he forgets, as it were, himself-his sineverything, but Christ and Him crucified. This spot becomes to him as a mount of transfiguration; he is caught up into the third heavens; hears-sees-unspeakable things; things which no finite language can describe, nor any but those who have been led unto the same sacred spot can comprehend. It becomes a time and a place only to be surpassed by the glorious breakings of an eternal day, and the burst upon the ravished soul of the full vision of God and the Lamb. For such an auspicious visit as this, our correspondent may yet be waiting, but let him hope on, and weep on; let him even in this respect, sorrow not as those who have no hope;" for ere he may be aware, his waiting soul may be indulged with such a precious faith's view of Christ, in the depths of his love-the boundlessness of his grace-the strength of his arm-and the fulness of his salvation, and that in its personal application; as shall fill him with all joy and peace in believing; so that he shall sing with the poet "Thus whilst His blood my sins displays, In all its blackest hue; Such is the mystery of grace, It seals my pardon too." ED.] JESUS SPEAKING PEACE; OR, THE DEATH-BED EXPERIENCE OF M'GILL, A PENSIONED SOLDIER. Ir the reader will refer to page 54 of the last Magazine, he will see that in the Journal then given under date Jan. 6, I met with a man "far gone in consumption.' Through the boundless mercy of our God, I have more to tell about him. His name was M'Gill. He was a pensioner from the army, upon sixpence a day, aged about 45. Since Christmas he came over from London by one of the steamers, as a deck-passenger; was six days and nights on the voyage; and, as he informed me, "but for one of the sailors taking him, and sealing him near the funnel, in the warm, he must have perished." I wil now, under dates, give a brief detail of my visits, and in every case furnish the reader with the precise words he uttered. In depicting death-bed scenes, a solemn responsibility devolves upon the narrator, to let the individual speak for himself. To supply language is to misrepresent; to colour or exaggerate, is to trifle with the solemnities L of a dying hour. A biographer's motto should be, "I will say what the man said, and leave the reader to judge for himself." (Extracts from Journal). Wednesday, Jan. 13.-Visited the poor consumptive man whom I met in the road. Found him in an upper back-room, seated by the fire. He received me with a hearty welcome; and as I strove to set before him, in simple language, man's lost and ruined state, and the way of salvation by a precious Christ, he listened with an earnestness that gave me comfort. There was not that need of effort to make him understand which I so commonly find here. There was an evident acquaintance with the leading truths of the Bible; and thus the ground was in a measureprepared. Indeed, if I ever felt the privilege of persons in general, both young and old, being permitted and enabled to read the word of God, it has been since I have been in Ireland. Did visitors know what it was to talk to men and women of fifty, sixty, and even seventy years of age, as ignorant as Hottentots of the simple truths with which every Sunday-school child is familiar, they would say, that at least some good had been effected by their being taught to read; that it was better still if they had been taught, and were allowed to read, their Bibles; and rich indeed the mercy of God, in the sovereignty of his grace and love, should He, during any period of their lives, take of any of these truths with which the mind had been familiarized, and seal them home upon the heart, to the glory of His own great and adorable name! Monday, 18th.-Visited M'Gill to-day. Found him sitting up. When asking after his state of mind, he said it was comfortable, or composed. I inquired, "Upon what ground, for it was an awful thing to have a false peace." He said, "The priest had been." The wife explained, "The priest was here on Saturday, and anointed him; and since that he has been resigned or contented," (I forget which the words were). I felt grieved-sick at heart. When I could speak, I said, "I do not come here to say anything against any man, as a man, but out of real concern for your soul. I dont wish unnecessarily to distress you; but you are a dying man; and no creature, nor can any system, help you. It is God alone can forgive you, and prepare you for that great change which awaits you. It is only the forgiveness of sin, by the application of the precious blood of Christ, that can give you real and slid peace, and properly fit or prepare you for a dying hour." He looked at me with an intensity of concern. "I am afraid of your being deceived," I added. "I tremble lest you should have a false peace. No creature can help you: 'tis God alone." "Ah! but," said he, with much simplicity, "may I not love to hear of the word of God? I knew it in my younger days; but since that I have gone into temptation." "Yes, but God alone can forgive you. How is it that you are spared? Why have you escaped the dangers of a soldier's life? Why not cut off in battle? Doubtless you have |