To Mr. P——

Mr. P.’s singular statement of his case — Conclusions questioned —

Illustration — The effect of my faith in Mr. P Witness of the

Spirit — “The Spirit speaketh expressly” — The Bible the voice of the Spirit — The blessing apprehended in the promise — Faith in a dark hour — Resignation,

Dear Sir, — I am hardly disposed to say that you can really and fully believe, and yet not be in possession of “either joy, peace, or even satisfaction.” Either your statement of yom* case does not convey to my mind a correct view of your mental state, or your faith must he in some manner deficient. You say that you now “reckon yourself dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” If you do thus reckon yourself dead unto sin, and alive unto God, then you in reality now know that you are dead unto sin, and alive unto God. Can you be assured of this fact, and in verity rest in the knowledge that you are even now free from the law of sin and death, and at this moment one with Christ yom- living Head, and yet not even feel satisfaction in this blessed state?

There may be such a thing as to thinh we believe, or to hope we do so, and yet not in reality give the hearty and entire assent of the mind. To believe God, and yet not to Icnow that we believe, is morally impossible. It cannot be otherwise than

Fniits of Faith in Man. Illustration.

that “he that believe th hath the witness in himself.” Let me give an illustration. Brother P

has a father who is a minister of the gospel. You write mc word that your father deceased yesterday-morning at five o’clock, in the triumphs of faith. You add, ^’ Please have this inserted in the Advocate.” I believe your word as heartily as though your living voice had sounded in my ear, and the ft’uit of my faith is at once manifest. My heart is touched, and in my eyes gather the sympathetic tears. My husband enters, and, in haste to enlist yet another sharer in your sorrow, I say,” Brother

P ’s father is dead he died thus,” <fec. He now

wishes you to make an announcement of the fact in the Advocate. He believes, without a thought of doing otherwise, in consequence of the confession I have made of my faith in you, and perhaps, without even looking at your letter, goes to the Advocate office, showing the effect of his faith in you, even though his knowledge of your word has reached him through a second person.

Here are faith and its fruits, inducing a confession which is to tell upon the hearts of hundreds; for the wide-spread circulation of a public journal vdW bear it to the hearts of multitudes to whom he has ministered, producing, perhaps, corresponding effects on each, and all this is the result of my faith in your written word.

Had I not had an internal conviction that what

The Witness of the Spirit. “The Spirit speaketh expressly.”

you had written was in verity so, that is, the witness in myself that I believed you, would I have taken such a responsibility upon myself as to have authorized this announcement? Yet in all this I have not been in anywise immindful of the fact that the Spirit itself heareth witness with our sjnrit,^* testifying to the truth of the word. This must ever be the case. It would involve strange and irreconcilable contradictions, such as would greatly dishonor the God of the Bible, to say otherwise. But is not the entire voice of the Scriytures the voice of the Holy Spirit? Never was there a more incontrovertible truth uttered than this. In the presence of God, angels, men, and devils, I would fearlessly utter it. Myriads of men in all ages have, in reliance on this fact, been sanctified through the “belief oi the truth,” and are now enjoying the fruit of their faith in that world of glory of which the Spirit speaks through the Scriptures. Devils also rely on facts revealed in the Bible as the voice of the Spirit, and their faith also produces effects, for they believe and tremble. To me it seems wonderful that this fact, namely, that the Scriptures are expressly the voice of the Spirit, should be so little felt, though so generally acknowledged. Paul, referring Timothy to some Scriptural assertions, says, “The Spirit speaketh expressly on this wise,” &c. Yet if one is admonished to rely upon the written word as in

Faith always brings Power. A Mountain of Gold

verity the voice of God, the answer may be with surprise returned, “What, believe without any other evidence than the word of God!” 0 when will the truth fully obtain among professors, that” prophecy came not of old time by the will of man, but holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost r

Let me tell you, my dear brother, to the praise of the God of the Bible, that in my experience I find faith always brings power. I apprehend the lively oracles as the words of the living God, and to me the Bible is not a “dead letter,” but spirit and life. When I kneel in my devotions before the Lord of heaven and earth, I spread out before me that WORD, by which he hath said I am to be judged at the last day; and conscious that it is only the Spirit which indited the Scriptures that can give them life-giving energy, I wait only on God, humbly believing that

“God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.”

Every promise of God, as one hath said, is worth more than a mountain of gold. I search as for hidden treasure, to know what promises are suited to my condition, knowing that such are given to me, because Christ hath purchased them for me, and all the promises of God in him are yea and amen. The designs of God are frustrated, and his name dishonored, if I refuse to call them mine, and

Faith in Dark Hours. Confidence.

to claim the proffered benefits, after being by the Spirit brought to sustain this character, in answer to the intercessions of Jesus.

I am endeavoring to trust in the Lord at all times, and under all circumstances. To the glory of his name I will say, that I believe I have been enabled to confide as unwaveringly, under dark dispensations, as under those more light and joyous. If all were light, then there had been no tests of faith. But it has not been so. I thank the Lord that some of the most instructive lessons I ever received have been painfully acquired. I do not remember to have been brought through one trial, however contradictory circumstances may have appeared, but that I have been enabled to rest in the assurance, that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” I fully believe that my covenant-keeping God will keep that which I have committed to him unto the perfect day. But I would not dare choose the way in which I am to be kept; this I leave to God, with a sure trust and confidence that he will lead me through just such

“Trials, in number, measure, weight,”

as will best show forth his praise, by exhibiting

his power to sustain. Even so. Lord Jesus. Amen.

At the end of life’s journey may I, with the

spirits of the just made perfect, meet my dear

brother P. Though we have never seen each

other in the flesh, yet, doubtless, there we shall

A Memorable Day. The Bridegroom.

meet as kindred spirits — ay, even as children of one Father, in our Father’s house. Yours, as ever.