ETERNITY. (Translation of a German Hymn composed by Wülfer.) Always thy centre,―ring immense,— Mark well, O man, Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! Mark well, O man, Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! The thought of thee, in pain, how dread; Mark well, O man, Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! With joys consoled for all his ill, He lives to praise God's goodness still! Eternity! Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! A moment's pleasure sinners know, Through which they pass to endless woe; A moment's woe the righteous taste, Eternity! Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! How long thou art, Eternity! O man! I warn thee,-think on me,- For I, the sinner's woe shall prove, Mark well, O man, Eternity! AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO SEEKING SOULS. Psalm xxii. 26; Amos v. 4-6, 8; Luke xi. 9. Is there within thy heart An earnest, real desire, Jesus to know by saving faith, Is there within thy mind A constant aching void, If all your works do fail True confidence to give, On Jesus you shall sweetly rest, Who for salvation long, [thrall, And dost thou feel that thy poor soul From feeling sin, and guilt, and In hell will be destroyed? Is sin thy daily grief, Doth it torment thee sore, Continually distrest, And dost thou want to feel within That are in such a case as this, With all created good, That Christ shall be their song. Whom from among the human race Then, every needy, poor, Desiring, longing soul, No trial, great or small, Shall e'er thee overcome; Work faith within thy heart, A LOVER OF ZION. THE GOSPEL STANDARD. No. 255. MARCH 1, 1857. VOL. XXIII. MATT. v. 6; TIM. I. 9; ROM. XI. 7; ACTS VIII. 37, 38; MATT. XXVIII. 19. MOURNERS IN ZION COMFORTED. (Concluded from page 41.) Now, have not some of you here to-night been afraid of dying suddenly, of being run over, or of being cut off by some disease or fever, and going to hell, after all your profession? So that you who really have grace find that your religion has cost you something! You have had deep exercises of mind about the reality of it. You have been brought also to feel the Lord's chastenings and rebukes for sin; for, depend upon it, "if ye are without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." O! what a deal of pride we have; and what trials do we need to deliver us from its influence! What dross we have, and how we need the furnace to purge and remove it away from us! And, therefore, the Lord says, "I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God." But many are saying, "The Lord is my God," to whom he has never borne any testimony that they are his people, nor sent into their heart the Spirit of adoption. And if you ask them for the proofs of it, they cannot give you any account of the way and manner in which the Holy Spirit broke in upon them; nor give you any description of convictions of sin which they have felt at any time. But they will presumptuously use language which they do not feel, and say, "Our Father, which art in heaven," with many expressions of which they have never felt the power in their own souls. Now, for years I could not make use of these words. But when the Lord was pleased to visit my soul with the sweet manifestations of his love, I could say it then, and found it very precious to me. But, still, I can see how it is with most people; how they go on in a form of religion, mocking God by their vain repetitions. And when the soul has this Spirit of adoption given unto him, he can then call God his Father; as it is written, "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father," for they are heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ." So that it is the Lord that appoints unto the soul "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, and the oil of joy for mourning." 66 D Now, if any of you were to say that you can praise God, it would not satisfy me, because I know that there are so many beginning to praise before they have been in heaviness. They will get into joy before they have had mourning. They will speak of mercy before they have experienced their misery; talk of pardon before they have felt their guilt; speak of healing before there was any wounding; and shout victory before they have been in the battle! Therefore, when "judgment is laid to the line, and righteousness to the plummet," they are found wanting, and it is made evident that they have been built up in nothing but presumption and notion. But those that are "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord," will bless and praise his holy name. For they are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that they should show forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light." Such as these who are called out of darkness into his marvellous light will show forth God's praise; "for he hath purified unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." And I believe those who can say with David, “He hath delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling," will be a people that are manifested as the children of God. You will be able to make them out, and they will be taken notice of that they are the true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are a people that will not be grasping after gain, nor striving to get the world's goods into their possession, and heap up riches to themselves. If they have food and raiment, they are content. They will hunger and thirst after the enjoyment of Christ's presence. They want tokens of God's favor, for that is better to them than all things else beside. They see vanity and emptiness stamped upon every one and every thing else; and then they say, "Let worldly minds the world pursue, It has no charms for me; But grace has set me free." Christ is precious to such souls as these. And they "count all things else but dung and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ's love;" and can understand what Paul meant, when he said he was "in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better.' But though this is the case sometimes, yet I believe all the Lord's people feel the warfare, and find there is a great fight of afflictions to be endured; for, "the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that they cannot do the things that they would." But they are said to be "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." Now, Jesus says, "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up." But those plants which he hath planted shall bring forth much fruit. Herein God is glorified by his people bringing forth much fruit; and they are brought to bless and praise his holy name for the riches of his grace towards them. And it is said, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.” He will be glorified by his dear people. He will have them to honor him upon the earth; and he hath ordained them to bring forth good works. As saith the apostle, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." And this is the appointed way. There is no way of obtaining the victory but through this. For, if a man is trying to overcome the world, sin, or Satan, in any other way, by his own strength, or by free-will notions, like the Romish church, it will only leave him where it found him. Paul says, "I labored more abundantly than they all, and yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." It was the grace of God that wrought all these things in the apostle, and it is the same influence that produceth good works in every one of the living branches. Jesus himself says, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.' So that the grace of God will influence the Lord's people to do good works, and to bless and praise his dear name. He has made them his peculiar treasure. He will cause them to love as brethren, and be kind to one another. He will give them a tender conscience, by purging it from dead works, to serve the living God. For the Lord says, "This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.' will watch over and protect them from every evil, that nothing shall hurt or harm them. He says, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise up against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." He But, now, have any of you that are here to-night, love to the brethren, and are you dead to the world? Are you living to God's praise, and desirous of glorifying him in all that you do? or are you seeking your own happiness in the gratification of the things of time and sense? Have you any evidence in your souls that you are justified freely by the riches of God's grace? Is there any proof in your life and conversation that you have been called by the Spirit of God, and that you are bringing forth fruit to the honor and glory of his great name? If you have any of these marks and tokens, then are you "the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified." But some will say, many that are called of God will indulge in sin, and bring forth but little fruit to God! Then I say, if they are his dear children, he will visit them for it, sooner or later. For he says, "If my children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes." He is not going to let them sin cheap; they will surely have the rod of correction for it! And when the devil has succeeded in drawing them into sin, through the power of temptation, it will not be long before he turns round upon them to accuse them. will say, "What! you go to the chapel, and pretend to be one of the Lord's people, and yet commit such a sin as this? Why you are He |