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answers to the truth of it. When, for instance, the Word of God declares our sin and misery, if we believe the report, we shall subscribe to the truth of this; it will humble us in secret before God, bring us upon our knees in deep confession of sin, and put us upon supplicating divine mercy. So, when the word of God speaks of salvation through Christ; when it declares that Jesus is the only Saviour; that he "bare our sins in his own body on the tree;" that his righteousness is "unto all, and upon all them that believe,' for their justification, and the like; if we really believe the report, we shall cordially receive these glad tidings. We shall look to Christ by faith; to his blood to wash away our sins; and to his righteousness to justify us before God. There will be a real application of the soul to Jesus. We shall desire, with the Apostle, to "win Christ and be found in him." (Phil. iii. 8.) It is the great object, the one thing needful. Faith in Christ acting powerfully upon the believer's heart, makes him alive as to spiritual things; and in his conversation with the world the believer will be conscientious and upright, that he may "adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." This is to believe the report, and is well expressed by the Apostle, Rom. x. 10; " For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

The question, "Who hath believed our report?" is put to show that but few, comparatively speaking, believe the Gospel. Most persons rest satisfied with hearing it; no impression is made on their hearts; the word preached does not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that hear it." (Heb. iv. 2.) Jesus put such a question, Luke, xviii. 8; "When the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on the earth?" It is

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a rare thing to find faith, true faith on the earth, for men's hearts are so full of the world and the things of it, that there is no room for Christ and his Gospel. If a report be made of some earthly matter, however improbable or however foreign it may be to the case of those who hear it, many will be found to give it attention; but how few are there to whom the Gospel is indeed "glad tidings of great joy!"

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The question is also a complaint: the Prophet lays it to heart, and is deeply concerned that the report should not be received. Every faithful messenger is interested in the reception of the Gospel, not for his own credit, but from regard to the glory of God and the good of souls. "Brethren," says St. Paul, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved." (Rom. x. 1.) It is not enough to publish the Gospel report; the faithful messenger desires to see it received into the heart by faith. As the sower is not content with barely sowing the grain, but looks with anxiety to see the green blade appearing in the earth; and as the gardener is not satisfied with planting a tree, but expects it to bear fruit at the proper season; so the sower of the word of God waits with anxious hope to see the fruit of his labours, at the same time that he is fully convinced that God only can give the increase.

For, after all, faith in Christ can only be wrought in the heart by the operation of the Spirit of God. "To whom," saith the Prophet, "is the arm of the Lord revealed?" Christ is the arm of the Lord, and there must be a revealing of him to the soul in order to produce saving faith in his name. Let the reader ask himself, whether he is conscious of such a revelation of Christ to his own soul; whether the Spirit of God, making the Gospel of Jesus effectual, has

brought him to believe in Jesus, and to follow him in newness of life. If not, the Gospel report will not be believed; and if it be not believed, it will be more tolerable for those who have never heard it, than for those who have heard it without its producing saving faith within them. The question, then, with which this chapter begins, is one which should cause great searchings of heart. Am I the person who has sat from year to year under the sound of the Gospel, and remained without saving faith in Christ Jesus? Has the report, the glad tidings, that Christ came into the world to save sinners, sounded only in my ears, but never reached my heart? Have I been living as an unbeliever, while I professed myself a Christian? O consider this, ye who are conscious in yourselves that such has been the case with you! and may the Lord stir you up to pray for the grace of God, that if the Gospel report has hitherto reached only

the outward ears, it may henceforth reach the heart, lest you fall after the same example of unbelief.

But if, through grace, you have believed the report, pray__that others may believe it also. Blessed be God, in our times, by means of the Bible and Missionary Societies, the Gospel report is spreading far and wide; so that in answer to the question, "Have they not heard?" it may be replied, "Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." (Rom. x. 18.) While, therefore, according to your power you contribute to the spreading of these glad tidings in the earth, lift up your heart in prayer to God, with whom is the residue of the Spirit, that his mighty arm may be revealed wheresoever the Gospel comes; and that, according to his promise, "all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our God." (Isaiah, lii. 10.)

LITOREUS.

MEMOIR OF DAVID NICHOLAS.

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DAVID NICHOLAS, the subject of the following account, was born at Almeley, in Herefordshire; and though early instructed in the knowledge of divine things, was unacquainted with the power ligion, until he had attained the age of eleven years. Very often was the arrow of conviction infixed on the heart of this dear child; and frequently did he return from the house of God with a mind apparently much awed with the importance of the truths he there heard: these impressions were not, in the first instance indeed, abiding, though eventually they produced the desired effect. He was to the period of his death a regular attendant at the Sunday school, and always expressed, with much feeling, his obligations to God, for teaching him by such means to

JULY 1822.

know the things pertaining to his future, his everlasting peace.

At the commencement of the year 1819, it pleased the all-wise Disposer of events to afflict him with a painful swelling in his right arm; and the disease at length wore so alarming an aspect as to render the amputation of the limb necessary. The dear boy at first manifested some degree of reluctance to submit to so painful an operation; but was soon enabled by grace to acquiesce in what he felt to be the will of God concerning him. Sweetly did he reason with himself on the subject, saying,

66 What is the loss of a limb to what Christ suffered? How do I know but my right hand may be a right hand of iniquity? And if the loss of my arm be the means of saving my soul, I don't

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mind what I suffer." Though deprived of the means of gaining his daily bread, in faith he sung,

"The Lord my shepherd is;
I shall be well supplied."

The evening before he was called to pass through the furnace of trial, he stated to his mother the wish he had, that "the last act of his arm should be a good one." He therefore transcribed a prayer as expressive of his own feelings; the latter part of which, however, was indited by himself. The prayer was as follows:

"I believe, my God, that thou art my Father, who hast given me the life of nature and grace, and from whom I expect that of glory. I rejoice with myself, for having so wise, so great, so powerful, and so good a Father; and I am exceedingly grieved for having degenerated from my being, and for having made myself the slave of the devil. O adorable Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee! I am not worthy to be I called a child of thine! But receive me, I beseech thee, among the number of thy servants, and treat me as one of the meanest of thy hirelings. Receive me, Father of mercy, into thy family; and do not throw me eternally out of thy presence! Thy Son, our Saviour, has assured me, that it was for sinners thou sentest him into the world; pardon, then, a poor sinner, who asks mercy; and do not destroy a soul for which thy beloved Son suffered infinite torments and death! O Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me without drinking it! Deliver me from the pains which I feel, and restore me to my health. However, let thy will be done, and not mine. Amen."

As the latent principle of corruption is discernible in the most holy characters, so this dear child was permitted to discover, during the moment of suffering, some ir

ritability of temper; thereby showing, that though he was new born by grace, he still retained the features and dispositions of his natural birth. But surely, it must be added, that few would have endured equal pain with the like submission.

By the blessing of God attendant on the means used for his recovery, he soon became quite well, and with renewed health (be it observed) he possessed renewed desires to serve the Lord. But little David's "days were determined;" and few, alas! were to be their number; for, in the autumn of 1821, the seeds of early death sprang up. He now seemed absorbed in thought respecting the future. Such, for a time, was the natural reserve of his disposition, he could not be prevailed on to speak of the state of his mind to any one. He, however, who made the dumb to speak, soon enabled this poor child to declare the great things he had learned, and, as a humble disciple in the school of Christ, to follow on to know the Lord. He said to his mother one day, "What do the Pharisees mean by being saved through their own righteousness? It is but our duty," he added: " when we have done all we can, we have even then need of the righteousness of Christ. When I read the Commandments, I find I have broken them all." A fortnight before his death, the enemy of souls much distressed him, and he cried out, "I am a vile, miserable sinner! O mother, pray that I may have more patience! I feel my patience going." Yet soon were the clouds of darkness dispersed by the rising of the Sun of righteousness on the soul of this dear child. Coming down one morning, he said, "O mother! I cannot tell you what a night I have spent. I am willing to live or die, as the Lord pleases; I resign myself into his hands, that he may do his will by me and in me. I have been look

ing at the pains of death, and my body being smothered in the grave, which is very distressing to nature. But, blessed be God, he has given me to look beyond the grave.

"This race we all are running now;
And if I first attain,

You too your willing head shall bow,
You too the prize shall gain."

Being one day in great pain, his mother said to him, "What do you want, my dear?”—“ O," he replied, "strength from the Lord! Give me into the hands of the Lord. O health, or heaven! God be merciful to me, a sinner!" His mother spoke to him of the happiness of heaven, when he said, "That comforts me." On a friend's remarking to him, what a blessing it was to have so good a mother, David replied, "Yes, and I have a good God too." At another time he said, "The Lord has promised, that as long as he afflicts me, he will raise me up friends, so that I do not murmur." The night before he died (to the astonishment of all around him) he, in a most melodious manner, began singing, "Glory! Glory! Glory! I am going to glory. O mercy, mercy! I am going to mercy. Father, I shall be saved yet!" And on the following day his spirit did indeed enter those bright mansions, for he peacefully resigned his breath to Him from whom he first received it, on the 29th of November 1821, aged only twelve years and seven months.

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In the narrative of this little boy, many interesting reflections present themselves to the mind. The sentence is gone forth, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." And in the execution of this solemn command, we may learn the direful effects of sin, in that it hath brought death into the world," sparing neither young nor

old, rich nor poor; alike destroying the king and the peasant, the infant of days and the old man of years, for all have sinned; yea, all were brought forth in iniquity." But it is the Christian's privilege to view the picture of mortality through a different mirror. In the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we behold sin (death's bitterest enemy) removed, the curse transformed into a blessing, and death made the medium of entrance into eternal life. "Christ died that we might live, and rose again that we might be justified.' Had not the Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep, not even the tenderest lamb of the fold could have escaped from being offered on the altar of sacrifice.

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This memoir also affords another among the numberless instances of good accruing from the institution of Sunday schools. The work is assuredly of God. Though the soil of the youthful mind oftentimes remains long barren and unfruitful, yet if the seed of the kingdom be diligently scattered, and watered by faith and prayer, we have the promise of an abundant harvest. Let not those, then, who are labourers of the great Husbandman, be weary in well-doing; for in due season they shall reap if they faint not. In the day of our solemn and universal meeting, many will appear as trophies of redeeming love, and acknowledge before men and angels that they owe all their blessedness, under God, to the pious counsels and affectionate admonitions they received at a Sunday school. That such may truly be the case, is the fervent desire of one who feels a lively interest in the present and eternal welfare of the young; and to God above shall all the glory be ascribed. Amen. March 7, 1822. MINIMA.

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ON CONCERT FOR PRAYER.

To the Editor of the Christian
Guardian.

MR. EDITOR,

A RESPECTABLE Minister of the Church of England published lately a judicious tract upon this subject: it was republished also in two respectable monthly magazines in Scotland, and I hope it will be well known in England. It gives much pleasure to many Christians in the United Kingdom, and is indeed the good old way. Ministers and private Christians have sometimes agreed, that on a certain day or hour they would unite in public, private, or secret prayer, in behalf of the interest of religion, the pouring out of the Spirit, the spread of the Gospel, the conversion of the rising generation, &c. This was observed by the Rev. Samuel Rutherford, Professor of Divinity at St. Andrews, and Member of the Westminster Assembly; by Lady Kemmure, an eminent Christian in Galloway, in 1634; by some New England Churches in 1712; by the famous President Edwards and others in 1742; and afterwards by Messrs. Maclaurin, Gillies, and others; and in 1758, by Romaine and other Ministers of the Church of England. Upon a motion made at the Baptist Association, Nottingham, June 9, 1784, for meetings of prayer for the revival of religion, and the extending of Christ's kingdom in the world, "it was agreed, that in all our churches," says Mr. Andrew Fuller, we would at least set apart an hour on the first Monday evening in every calendar month to meet together in our respective places: these meetings have been kept up in our churches for nearly seven years (1796), and, we trust, ever since; during which period several other churches of different denominations have united in observing them." Some worthy Mi

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Mr. Faller, by particular desire, drew up an excellent tract on this occasion, en

nisters in the North Highlands did, in 1820, enter into a concert of the above kind in their closets every Saturday evening †. Their agreement runs in the following words: "We undernamed Ministers, having been providentially brought together in the house of one of their number, and being led to converse in the most serious manner about the duty, privilege, and the efficacy of uniting in prayer to God for the revival of religion and the prosperity of the Church of Christ, did agree to set apart one and the same hour every week, to be employed in that solemn exercise, by each in secret, in their respective houses; thus being united, though not in place, yet in respect of time and the object of their supplications." With this view imploring the blessing of God on their humble and deliberate purpose, they fixed on the hour from seven to eight o'clock on Saturday evening as convenient and suitable; and they recommended the following as proper subjects of meditation and petition on that occasion, viz. 1. The presence and blessing of God with each other in their soul concerns, and in their domestic and ministerial relations. 2. The revival and growth of piety in their own and in each other's flocks. 3. The raising up of duly qualified pastors in our church, and the settlement of such alone in vacant parishes. 4. The spread and triumph of the Gospel in our own land, particularly the Highlands, and throughout the world. 5. The prosperity and encouragement of the numetitled, "Persuasives to a general Union in extraordinary Prayer for the Revival and Extent of real Religion." This well deserves to be reprinted.

The reader will have the most satisfacwards, entitled, "A humble Attempt to tion from a performance of President Edpromote explicit Agreement and visible Union of God's People in extraordinary Prayer." A new edition is lately published by the Rev. Mr. Sutcliff, of Olney.

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