REVIEW. The Perfect Law of Liberty; or, the Glory of God revealed in the Gospel. By William Gadsby. Third edition, 8vo. pp. 167. Manchester, J. Gadsby; London, E. Palmer. THIS is a third edition of a work which has been long before the church. The author contends for the believer's complete deliverance from the moral law, as a rule of conduct; but while he thus pleads for the liberty of the christian from the law of works as given on Mount Sinai, he in no way detracts from the preceptive part of God's truth as revealed in the gospel. Mr. Gadsby is a writer of considerable talent, and though not a man of education, proves himself in this work to be well acquainted with his subject; and those who may differ from him, must admit that he as strongly advocates a consistent walk and conversation being evidential of the christian character, as the warmest advocates for the law as the believer's rule of life can possibly do. Such of our readers as have not read the work, will do well to peruse it it contains much argument. We subjoin one extract on the preceptive duty of the christian as deduced from the "Perfect Law of Liberty." "This law contains a perfection of precepts. Has the christian to do with the world, and the men of the world? Yes; for if he would be free from the world he must needs go out of the world, 1 Cor. v. 10. And is it the christian's lot to be evilly entreated in the world? Do men persecute him, and despitefully use him? Can he be at a loss to know what mode of conduct it becomes him to take under such circumstances? Surely not, unless he feels unwilling to acknowledge that the gospel is his rule of life. "But I say unto you, love your enemies; bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you; and pray for them that despitefully use you,' Matt. v. 44. Can the christian be at any loss to know by what method he is to get the comforts of this life? The gospel gives us to understand, that however small a pittance we may be able to get in an honest way, we ought not to take any dishonest or dishonourable way to increase it. "Let him that stole, steal no more; but rather let him labour, working with his hands," Eph. iv. 28. Whatever we are able to provide, whether more or less, this is the rule by which it becomes us to obtain it, viz. in an honest way. How shocking when the world has any reason to say, "there goes a dishonest man; he counts himself a saint, but if you deal with him, he is sure to pinch and grind you some way or other." We ought not so to act in fact, where is the proof of real christianity when this is the case? If such a charge be just, I am persuaded that such a professor must go upon a ground in direct opposition to the truth of God to prove his christianity by; and of course he must build upon a bad foundation. The language of the gospel is, "Provide things honest in the sight of all men. Study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing," Rom. xii. 17. 1 Thess. iv. 11, 12. It becomes saints to be cautious, very cautious, how they act before the men of the world, that they may give them no just cause to speak evil of the cause of truth; but if it be possible, as much as lieth in them, to live peaceable with all men. : "Does the child of God feel his mind too much entangled with the things of the world? Hear the language of the gospel: "Love not the world, neither the things of the world," 1 John ii. 15. Is the christian rich in this world's good? "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate,” 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18. Is the christian poor? "Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee," Heb. xiii. 5. 1 Tim. vi. 6-11. Does the believer stand in the capacity of a servant? "Let as many servants as are under the yoke, count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrines be not blasphemed," 1 Tim. vi. 1. Eph. vi. 5-8. Does the christian sustain the character of a master? "Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that ye have also a Master in heaven," Col. iv. 1. Eph. vi. 9. Is the believer in a married state, and does the female christian, as a wife, want to know how she ought to act towards her husband? "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body: therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be unto their own husbands in every thing," Eph. v. 22-24. Col. iii. 18. Is the christian a husband? Let him not be a tyrant, nor once dream that the wife is to be trampled upon: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish: so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies; he that loveth his wife, loveth himself," Eph. v. 25, 28. Col. iii. 19. Is the christian a child, having parents living? Children, obey your parents in the Lord in all things," Col. iii. 20. Eph. vi. 1. Is the christian a father? "Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” Eph. vi. 4. Col. iii. 21. You will find in 1 Tim. chap. v. instruction given to widows, children, and even nephews; and in 1 Cor. chap. vii. to the married and the unmarried, to the widow and the virgin. "Do you ask how it becomes you to act as members of the church, and the household of faith? "Let us consider one another to provoke unto love, and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching," Heb. x. 25. "Neither be ye called masters, for one is your Master, even Christ, and ye are all brethren,' Matt. xxiii. 8-10. "Now I praise you, brethren, that ye keep the ordinances as I delivered them unto you," 1 Cor. xi. 2. "Let all things be done decently and in order," 1 Cor. xiv. 40. Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous," 1 Pet. iii. 8. Are there any members of the church unruly? They are to be warned, (1 Thess. v. 14.) Do any walk disorderly? "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the tradition which he received of us," 2 Thess. iii. 6. (See the whole of the chapter.) Is the christian at a loss to know how he should act in case of personal offences? Let him attend to the advice of his Master in the gospel, and he will do well. "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother; but if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican," Matt. xviii. 15-17. In a word, such is the gospel that if a church wish to act according to the rule given them, they will find a sufficiency to direct them in all their deportment both in public and private, to ministers and people, to officers and private christians in every case.' Meditations on the First and Second Chapters of the Canticles. By a Minister of the Gospel, 8vo. pp. 108. London, Shaw. These Meditations may be read with much pleasure and profit. The writer makes many pertinent comments on each verse, highly devotional, and well calculated under the unction of God the Eternal Spirit to lead the believer in his retirement to familiar converse with his God and Saviour. We have inserted one Meditation on the eighth verse of the first chapter, as a fair specimen of the author's style. ،، Thine heart, O my Lord! inclines thine ear to hear. Thou canst have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way, although thou knewest no darkness of error; for thou wast holy, and art so, perfectly, eternally, unchangeably! but thou art our near kinsman; thy love and grace made thee stoop to be one of us; for thou wast made flesh, and art the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power! Thou lovest to open to us the bosom of the Father, all whose counsels are in thee fulfilled, and whose utmost glory is manifest in thee. Thou art my Prophet, thou Lamb of God! and I love to learn, because of the lesson, and because of the Teacher. Lord, my soul hangeth upon thy lips, for I cannot know my path but by thy light, nor pursue my way but as thou dost stay my feebleness and check my wandering. My need compels me, and thy love constrains me therefore, I draw near; and thou dost not upbraid me because I boast no wisdom, but confess my foolishness; thou dost rather commend me, for by my poverty thy riches are manifest, and thy soul delighteth to shew me all the loving-kindness of thine heart. Behold me, Lord! the work of thine hands; not only thy creature-for by his Son Jesus, God made all things-but also thy new creature, quickened when dead in trespasses and sins, without will or power to take hold of thee, to look unto thee, or to touch even the hem of thy garment. Now by thy Spirit quickened and created anew, behold me, wrought by thyself after thine own image. Forsake not, then, the work of thine own hands! Neither wilt thou leave me-for thine eyes look with joyfulness upon thy children, as with a heart above a mother's; thou dost consider me, and dost watch over me with tenderness, but without alarm—and thou dost in equal truth and love entitle thy church the fairest among women: each one is fair and lovely in thy sight; and I, among the rest, can say, “I am black, but comely." I know thou hearest me, and what is thine answer? Hear it, my soul! thy Lord, thy Beloved bids thee go thy way, by the footsteps of the flock. Hast thou dreamt a dream of a bed of roses and path of flowers? Through much tribulation must thou enter the kingdom-start not aside; for see the foot-prints of thy Lord; and such was his cup as only himself could drink and drain, full of gall and wormwood, of thy sin and curse; and now, since thou art for ever free, because he was taken for thee from prison and from judgment, and stood thy surety in place of thee, be of good courage, and shout aloud, "I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me;" and again, I cry aloud the cry of faith, "I can do all things, through Christ, which strengtheneth me.” "Thy case, my soul, is no solitary one, for the same afflictions have been accomplished at all times in each member of Jesus. Of old was it said, 66 'many are the afflictions of the righteous ;" and again, "the Lord trieth the righteous;" and in this present time of peace, when persecutors are held in with the Lord's bit and bridle, so that the earth is no more drunk with the blood of the saints, even now, go join thyself to the flock, draw near the shepherd's tents, thou wilt see the poor and afflicted people still poor and afflicted, but rich and blessed, for they trust in the name of the Lord. And indeed thou lovest the temple and dwelling-place of Jesus, which is his church he enters and sits there upon his throne, high and lifted up, and is the glory in the midst; there he shines forth not confounding us, but giving light and life to all-all eyes wait upon him, and he satisfies us from his fulness. My soul, consider thy profit and blessedness in dwelling by the shepherd's tents, for it is thine both to hear in the church, and in fitting time to speak. Seek humility from thy Lord, and thou shalt be able both to learn and to teach, to give and receive, to weep with them that weep, and to rejoice with them that rejoice-so wilt thou sweetly beguile the time until thy brief course be fulfilled, and shalt daily grow up into Christ, thy Head, in all things! The Doctrines of Free and Sovereign Grace, being the Substance of Two Sermons on the Seventeenth Article, preached in Witton Church, Northwich. By J. W. Gowring, B. A. Curate of Witton, 8vo. pp. 44. Northwich, Carnes; London, E. Palmer. The preacher of these Sermons, has selected for his text Eph. i. 4, 5. After a few introductory remarks, he proceeds to the subject proposed for consideration, viz. the Seventeenth Article of the Church of England, and in a decided and bold manner advocates the doctrine of predestination and election, with their connected links, as set forth in the Homilies and Liturgy of the Church of England. Such of our readers particularly as are in that communion, will welcome the Curate of Witton as an unflinching advocate of free and sovereign grace; and all who desire the extension of Zion's cords and the strengthening of her stakes, will unhesitatingly pray that the Lord may bless the labours of this his servant in that part of his vineyard where he has placed him, and to which we would say, amen. POETRY. "Ye must be born again."-John iii. 7. A thoughtless sinner once I was, But was alarmed by those words, Their meaning I could not divine, I read, but read in vain, For still those words would follow me; I tried all means to banish thought, I tried the pleasures of this life, But mirth was daily spoiled, with My life a burden was to me, Which made me oft complain; Where'er I went it follow'd me, "I must be born again." My body sick through grief of mind, For still it on my mind did dwell, Dec. 16, 1826, "Ye must be born again, (said Christ,) And then in mis'ry ever dwell, Prevent it by thy grace, I cried, Nor did I cry in vain; For God in mercy said, "poor soul, "New born to know thy sinful state, "To love the Lord with heart and mind, I lost my burden and distress, "Being born again," I bless'd the Lord, And hope ere long with all new born, O what a meeting that will be, JOHN BAILEY. THE Spiritual Magazine ; OR, SAINTS' TREASURY. "There are Three that bear record in heaven; the FATHER, the WORD, and the HOLY GHOST; and these Three are One." Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." OCTOBER, 1834. REFLECTIONS ON JOHN xix. 34. 1 John v. 7. Jude 3. "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side; and forthwith came thereout blood and water." IN this very circumstance we are shewn how wonderfully and wisely our Almighty Lord permitted the arch-enemy of God and man to defeat his own malicious intentions. The very wound which was opened in the side of our immaculate Redeemer by the Roman soldier, spoke forth the indubitable proofs of his Messiahship, and the prophecy was then fulfilled, which says, they shall look on Him whom they have pierced." The first promise recorded in scripture was of a Saviour, and it was given as soon as man by sin needed a Saviour, and before he had offered one cry for pardon and mercy. We read in Isa. vii. 14. the prediction of his miraculous birth; "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” We shall find, if we search the scriptures through, that every jot and tittle of the types, shadows, and prophecies, relating to the life, suffering, and death of this Immanuel were all fulfilled. When he said, "it is finished !" and gave up the ghost upon the cross, he shook the gates of hell to their very foundation. Now were the prophecies of Zechariah xiii. fulfilled, which spake of that great day. "In that day shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness." Again, in the 6th and 7th verses, "And one shall say unto him, what are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, these with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man, my fellow, (the words of supply are left out) saith the Lord of Hosts, smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." This VOL X.-No. 127.] 2 P |