that the Holy Spirit abides with every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But what we desire particularly to press, just now, in the language of the Scripture before us, is-the claim thereby demonstrated to an ABSOLUTE OWNERSHIP of the Christian by the Lord Jesus Christ. 'And ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price! Therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.' (1 Cor. iv. 19, 20.) It is clear from this passage that believers have no rights of their own-that is to say, apart from Christ. It follows, therefore, that when selfishness, in any form, is manifested in our life, we are defrauding the Lord that bought us! Yet it is far from the Lord's wish that we should consider ourselves as bondmen, in the abject sense of the term, for he has made us free. 'Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free;' again, 'For, brethren, ye have been called into liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh.' (Gal. v. 1, 13.)

The thought of the Lord's ownership, with which the Holy Ghost delights to refresh us, arises from our marvellous association with our Lord as members of his body. Just as a man reckons upon the spontaneous willingness and absolute devotedness of his hand or his foot because they are his; so the members of Christ should be quick to understand and unhesitating to obey their Head, the Lord of all, because they are His. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.' (Eph. v. 30.)

Ponder and pray over these wondrous truths, beloved in the Lord. They are unspeakable gain to all who receive them.

REVIEWS OF RECENTLY PRINTED SERMONS BY EMINENT PREACHERS.

[Under this head we propose to examine, in the light of Scripture, some of the sermons which come under our notice, or to which correspondents draw our attention. Let us state distinctly that we shall in no case be influenced by personal feeling for or against the preacher; we take account only of his doctrines and teachings. We shall prefer to deal with the discourses of those who are deservedly esteemed, remembering that in Scripture the faults of the most approved are the most unsparingly dealt with. We entreat our readers to give us credit for entire freedom from personal bias.]

2. A Sermon preached by the Rev. H. P. Liddon, M.A. in St. Paul's Cathedral. Jan. 22, 1865. For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul?' Matt. xvi. 26. There are two grievous faults very manifest in this discourse

1. The speaker uses so much eloquence in describing the successful labours of the men of the world, and (in his estimation) the grand results achieved, especially by Englishmen, that the natural pride of the human heart is necessarily aroused-the very thing most calculated to hinder the reception of God's truth.

2. Throughout the discourse there is an evident forgetfulness of the Lord's declaration, 'Ye must be born again.' Though Christ is spoken of as the Saviour, yet salvation by works is the chief theme. The multitude are taught that a soul may be lost by 'the conscious dishonesty that looks God full in the

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'face, and then asks just one halfpenny too much for a pound of sugar'!! This is NOT Christ's doctrine. We must give the same unqualified condemnation to another statement. Speaking of Jesus on the cross, the preacher said-'from his open wounds there flows a stream of life-giving power to his 'sacraments.' This is quite opposed to the word of God, which declares that the soul is saved through faith in Christ, and that alone. The Word gives no power to sacraments. Yet how useful a servant Mr. Liddon might be if careful to adhere strictly to the teaching of his Master, is evidenced by the following powerful appeal, the force of which is however lost where it stands in his sermon, through that which surrounds it. 'Do you know and feel that to live, except for God-to live in forgetfulness of the endless future, which is before the soul, is a vast 'folly-a mistake so gigantic that no other mistake in the world can rival it? And yet something holds you back-habits, friendships, cherished plans. You can seem to climb the summit of Pisgah, and wistfully gazing at the land of promise, almost resign yourselves to die beyond the Jordan. What shall it profit-that delay, that clinging to that which you have already condemned? What shall it profit when for you time is no more, and you have entered upon eternity?'

3.

A Sermon preached by the Rev. W. M. Punshon, M.A. in the

Liverpool Road Chapel, Aug. 28, 1864. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.' Gal. iv. 18.

In this sermon the preacher sweetly dwells upon the tender anxieties of a true minister in watching over the flock of Christ. He thoroughly enters into the feelings of the Apostle Paul detailed in the epistle from which the text is taken.

that in itself it is neither morally excellent nor Concerning the nature of zeal, the speaker shows morally blameworthy. It becomes Christian zeal only when it springs from Christian motive, when it is displayed in a Christian manner, when it is 'used for Christian ends. The great constraining 'motive of Christian zeal, as of every other grace or energy that is hallowed, is "the love of Christ 'shed abroad in the heart."'

We could quote much more, forcibly pointing out the effects of misdirected zeal, leading to persecution among professing Christian churches. Mr. Punshon omits, however, to state that something else is needful to the right exercise of Christian zeal; that is to say, besides love there must be knowledge-knowledge as to the mind of God. Christendom is full of the monuments of mis-directed Christian zeal, in the production of which love has been very manifest. Zeal may prompt and love may temper, but the Christian will ever fail in the rightful exercise of zeal if not directed by the Word of God.

The conclusion of the sermon is, alas! calculated to mislead. The preacher looks to Christian zeal as the means for bringing in the reign of Christ on earth. This is his fancy-picture-The church itself, in growing purity and strength, becomes the do

minion of ever-ripening authority; the world, changed by the Word, as the living epistles speak it, bows its rank, and its intellect, and its pride, before the feet of Jesus;-he reigns.'

Oh, that Mr. Punshon, with many other gifted preachers, would search the Scriptures, to see whether these things are so. We declare, most solemnly, that the Word of God is entirely opposed to such doctrine. Let those who maintain it cite one single passage in its favour! The world will never accept the reign of Christ until the awful tribulation (Rev. iii. 10) has passed over it. The gospel has been preached for eighteen hundred years, yet the world is as much at enmity against God as when Christ died! Of course, we rejoice to know that an innumerable company have been rescued from it, and that thousands among the living have obtained salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. But these are no longer of the world, though in it.

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No wonder ministers of the Gospel look complacently upon the world, many, alas! being ready to meet it more than half way, while they delude both themselves and their hearers with the hope that preaching can change the world, though the Word says it is ruled by the Prince of the power of the air.' Our Lord declares Satan to be the Prince of this world." How can preaching dethrone him? Christ must come forth, as he will, to overthrow the usurper, and put all enemies under his feet. What saith the Scripture ?' 'There shall come in the LAST days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as from the beginning of the creation.' (2 Pet. ii 3, 4.)

While we are to go on with preaching, to the conversion of those who believe, we are to look for the return of Christ himself. The world will become worse, not better, until He comes.

4. Sermon by Mr. C. H. SPURGEON, "Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit," Jan. 22, 1865.

TEXT-'And he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood by him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thy iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by."-ZECH. iii. I-5.

The preacher rightly tells us that Joshua is primarily the representative of the children of Israel, and that the action described sets forth the restoring grace of God, as afterwards to be manifested in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true, too, as he says, that we may very properly take Joshua as a type of all the people of God-first, in their natural condition of sin and faultiness-afterwards, clothed (not with the imputed righteousness of Christ, as Mr Spurgeon says, but) with Christ himself. He is 'our righteousness -we are accepted in' him.

The preacher then goes on to denounce, very properly, all who claim to be priests, as descendants of

the apostles, and all their pretensions to priestly power. All believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are by him made 'kings and priests to God.'

Then come some of Mr Spurgeon's sad mistakes He says- Yet notice where it is that Joshua stands to minister; it is before the angel of Jehovah. You and I can never stand to minister before Moses, the Mediator, under the law; much less before Jehovah himself, for even our God is a consuming fire.' Mr Spurgeon is wrong both in fact and deduction. While Joshua was clothed with his filthy rags the did indeed stand before the angel, who facing Joshua, was a screen between him and God; but as soon as he was divinely clothed 'the angel of he Lord STOOD BY.' So with the Christian believer; when he was in unbelief, and consequently in his sins, Christ stood between him and the Holy God. Through faith in the Saviour his defilements are removed-done away with- the blood of Jesus Christ his (God's) Son cleanseth from ALL sin.' 'As He is so ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.' This is far above the poor thoughts set forth above by Mr. Spurgeon. Who would not rather have the Word of God than that of man?

Again, the preacher, in setting forth Christian service, is just as contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture. He says, 'Gracious God, I bless thee, 'that I have not to present my sacrifice directly to thyself, else thou wouldst consume my sacrifice and me with the flames of thy wrath; but I present what I have before thy messenger, the angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus, and through him my prayers find acceptance, wrapped up in his prayers; 'my praises become sweet as they are bound up with bundles of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia from 'Christ's own garden; then I own myself standing in him, am accepted in the beloved; and all my poor, defiled, polluted works, though in themselves only objects of divine abhorrence, are so accepted and received, that God smelleth a sweet savour. 'He is content and I am blessed.'

Let us contrast Scripture with the above.-'For by one offering he HATH PERFECTED FOR EVER them that are sanctified....And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more....Having therefore BOLDNESS to enter into the HOLIEST by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated FOR us, through the veil, that is to say his flesh; and having a high priest over the house of God; let us DRAW NEAR with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.' (Heb. x. 14, 17, 19, 20, 22.)

This is very different. The Christian is shown to be perfect in Christ, and is accordingly invited into the holiest; and whenever he realises his standing by faith, he may draw near' boldly. Of course, if a Christian has sin upon his conscience, and has not confessed it, he cannot draw near with a true heart, and consequently cannot draw near at all. If we see a brother in such a case, let us remember that 'If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.' We are thus consoled about him, and are confident that he will, sooner or

later, be restored. Meanwhile, it is our duty to wait upon such an one in love, and seek to wash his feet with the water of the word. (John xiii. and xv. 3.) How grievous to hear a Christian talk such nonsense as that of having his prayers wrapped up in the prayers of Jesus.' Let Mr Spurgeon look at the words of his Lord-such, for instance, as John xvi. 23, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever YE shall ask the Father in my name, he will give you.' Again, I say not unto you that I will pray the Father; for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.'

In page 52 of the sermon before us there is much unscriptural teaching, but our space forbids any attempt at analyzation. In page 53 there is a happy conception put out.

But on turning over the leaf we come to an assertion not at all in keeping with the Word of God. The preacher says, speaking of the temptations of Satan, Whenever I get depressed in spirit, or the 'liver is out of order, or the head aches, then comes 'the hissing serpent, "God has forsaken you; you ' are no child of God; you are unfaithful to your 'master; you have no part in the blood of sprinkling,' and such like things. You old rascal! if you say as much as that to me in my days of health, when my blood is leaping in my veins, I 'shall be more than a match for you,' &c.

This is grievous! So Mr Spurgeon has confidence in flesh and blood! Now we can understand our brother's many mistakes. How different is the 'Word.' 'Rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.' 'Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,' and so forth. We commend to any who heard or have read this sermon the passage at Eph. vi. 10-18. Let them contrast the language of inspiration with Mr Spurgeon's utterances to the prince of darkness.

At pp. 56, 57 we find a sorry dissertation on the advantages of Calvinism as compared with Arminianism. This is not preaching Christ; the Bible knows nothing about 'isms,' neither ought the followers of the Good Shepherd.

with us,' and if we yield to the promptings of the old nature, we shall desire to forbid such to labour in the name of Jesus. Notwithstanding the above unmistakable injunction, believers have, ever since the church was founded, been seeking to put down those who followed not' with them.

If such an inclination or practice could ever be justified, surely it was when our Saviour was upon earth. There would seem, indeed, to have been something very defective in the one whom John found using the name of Jesus, without companying with those whom the Lord had called to follow Him. To forego personal association with the acknowledged disciples of the Master, and apparently to stand apart from the Lord himself, would seem to human judgment most censurable, and the exercise of ministry under such circumstances quite out of place, and to be forbidden. Yet the Lord says, 'Forbid him not; for he that is not against us is for us.'

It is noticeable that he who had thus interfered was John the beloved. It might have been love for Jesus and jealousy for his name that thus guided the judgment of the disciple who was usually so quiet and gentle, and so glad to lean upon his Master. But however prompted, the judgment of even the most approved disciple must always prove a failure until he take the Lord for his counsellor. John's decision which seemed so sound, and which still commends itself to perhaps the majority of Christians, has to be absolutely reversed when submitted to heavenly wisdom. We forbad him,' says John. Forbid him not,' says the Lord.

How little did John expect such a reception of his report! he doubtless looked for a full approval from Jesus, or he would not have been so forward to recount the incident. May we meekly accept the lesson. We are called to 'patience' and 'longsuffering;' our plain duty is to refrain from interference with any who preach Christ. We may, in love and gentleness, point out, that personal fellowship with the Father and with his Son' is far above labour. But even in cases where there is the neglect of these higher teachings of the Holy Spirit, and there is a walking apart from the Lord, yet if they are working in the name of Jesus, 'Forbid not.'

Let any, however, who decline the personal guidance of Christ, and the fellowship of those who call upon the Lord out of a pure heart,' reflect that, though they are not forbidden to labour, they get No word of approval from the Master. Much less can he commend such as continue in association with hypocritical professors in these last days, 'having the form of godliness but denying the power thereof." The Lord may permit such to go on in service, because His 'gifts and calling are without repentance.' He has, moreover, a right to their labours. But what says the Master of one who engaged in service without personal communion with himself and his disciples? Forbid not; for he that is not against us is for us! This is the best that can be said; such an one is not against us! We are not to expect— Well done, good and faithful servant' in such

a case.

REPORTS OF SCRIPTURE MEETINGS.

'Search the Scriptures.'-(John v. 39.)

(RAWSTORNE MEETING ROOM, No. 47, Rawstorne-street, Goswellroad, Wednesday, April 19, at half-past Seven.)* John viii. 20-24.

Jesus spake these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple.' It was remarked by a brother present, that, in the divinely-appointed place of gifts was God's gift, his only-begotten; but how little man valued the Gift and all He brought with him to give! He brought bread, and fed the multitude, but the multitude walk no more with him when he proceeds to speak heavenly wisdom; he brought light, and gave it to the man who had been blind from his birth, but the Jews put out of the synagogue all who admit him to be the light of the world; he brought life, and raised Lazarus, and they were ready to send Lazarus back again to the dead; and at last they slew the gift himself,-all God's gifts in one! On this occasion he is giving wisdom, and they take up stones to cast at him!

Then said Jesus: I go my way.' Christ's way, said a brother, was to the Cross, and thence to glory, whence the believer looks for him again, to take us to be with him in the glory. Yes, remarked another, Christ had first to taste of death, and abolish it for all them that believe.

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'Ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins.' This 'seeking' for Jesus was supposed by one brother to indicate the posture of the Jewish nation, who still profess to look for the Messiah, but are, like their forefathers who rejected the Nazarene, dying in their sins. An enquirer wished to see how the text Seek and ye shall find' could be reconciled with this passage; to which a brother remarked that where seeking was done in faith and according to knowledge, (i.e. God's Word) it would be blessed, but where it was prompted by ungodly fear or was flowing in an unscriptural direction, no blessing was to be expected. When once the master is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us: he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence you are.' This no doubt expresses the seeking of those who, when the Lord has taken his church up from the earth, are left behind to the tribulation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.' (Rev. iii. 10.) The same "brother considered that when truth has been thrust before a man, as it was before these Jews, he might afterwards 'seek'in fear, not in faith, and die in his sins.

A remark was made that it was difficult to define faith. Faith is the reception of Christ into the heart, and these scriptures were referred to as tests-Faith worketh by love, We love Him because He first loved us.' Therefore if we love Christ we may be sure that we believe in Him and are saved by him.

'Ye cannot come.' Dying in their sins it is impossible for the unbelieving to stand in the presence of the Holy One. The conversation then diverged from the subject in hand to a very useful gathering up of the light of Scripture on the power of Satan over all who continue to walk according to the flesh, and his extreme vigilance and subtlety in attempting to hinder the work of grace in the Christian. (UNION HALL, St. John's-square, Clerkenwell. Lord's Day Evening, April 23, 1863.

The Christian meeting held here each Lord's day evening has at present under consideration the epistle to the

Meetings for the spiritual investigation of the Scriptures are also held at the above room each Saturday evening at Half-past 7 o'clock, and each Lord's Day Afternoon at 3 o'clock. We shall be glad to hear of and report other Scripture Meetings conducted on the principles laid down in the answer to our Correspondent, "James J. J., Crewe."

Hebrews, the portion on the above-named occasion being Heb. iv. 11-16. It was observed that there were three kinds of rest for the believer. First, the rest given to him in salvation. Secondly, the rest obtained by taking the yoke of Christ. Thirdly, the heavenly rest reserved for him in the Father's house. That which is presented in this fourth chapter of Hebrews is the second-named condition of rest, which the believer is exhorted to labour to enter into, words which seem to involve a contradiction. But the truth is that in bearing the yoke and burden of Christ (thus labouring) we are enabled to enter more and more fully into God's thoughts about real rest-nay, more, we participate in the enjoyment of God's rest-For he that is entered into his (God's) rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.' The believer ceases from all those works which self originates, and rests in the finished work of Christ, realising God as working in him to will and to do, and himself as but an instrument.

'Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.' The believer ought not to seem to come short of it.

which follow, but pressure upon our space renders us unThe meeting proceeded to consider the important verses able to give more than this very inadequate notice.

COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL BY
ST. JOHN.

(Written expressly for this publication.)

IN the Gospel given us through the instrumentality of the disciple whom Jesus loved,' there are strongly-marked characteristics which attract the spiritual Christian to a frequent perusal of its pages. Its grand themes are Light, Love, and Truth. These are seen in the person of Christ as well as expressed in his doctrines. This sacred narrative also gives prethe grace, of God, shining forth in his Beloved Son. eminently a constant manifestation of the power, as well as

But there is also a special difference between John's Gospel and those written by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In these last three the stream of Salvation is, as it were, pent up until after the actual crucifixion of Christ, whereas in the book before us, the broad River of Life flows out from the third chapter to 'whoever will.' John gives us at the beginning of our Lord's ministry his teachings based upon accomplished redemption, as though he had actually suffered for sin. This is not so in the other Gospels. In Luke xii. 50, for instance, we hear the Lord saying 'I have a baptism to be baptised with, and how am I straitened until it be accomplished."

The Disciple whose joy it was to lean on the Saviour's breast while the others were more taken up with the wonderful works seems to have been drinking in the deepest spiritual truths, of Christ and His dealings with the Jews in the then state of things. Doubtless John went very much with the others while events were in progress. But afterwards, when writing an account of those occurrences and doctrines which impressed themselves most deeply upon his own soul, he shows us how that the Lord, from the very outset of his ministry, taught that the lifting up of the Son of Man on the Cross would bring Salvation to all who should believe in Him. He records to

our great joy that the Saviour himself brought in the Stream of Mercy, which God was free to extend only as a consequence of the work of the Cross, though that work was not in fact accomplished, until the end of His course. Enough that Christ had said, 'A body thou hast prepared me, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.' The work was done; it was determined in the counsels of God; and the Lord acted upon his predetermined sacrifice making the promise as effectual as though the cup of wrath had been drunk. He had power on earth to forgive Sins.' Bearing this in mind, let us open the first chapter, and may we meekly learn of the Holy Spirit.

Ver. 1, 2.-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; the same was in tho beginning with God.' What a mysterious commencement!