CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH.

Dear and Honoured Brother, Yours I received, and return you thanks for it.

I rejoice in the Lord's lovingkindness to your soul, and that his hand is with you in your work. May the Lord continue these great favours and increase you with all the increase of God. Indeed, my dear brother, it is our happiness and glory to feel much of God in our hearts. It is Christ within, inwardly enjoyed unto a living conformity to him that makes the soul happy. I am entirely of your mind that religion don't consist in disputes, but in inward sensation and experience. And lamentable it is that, in the age wherein we live, there is so much resting in head knowledge without heart experience; and where the truth of grace is in the heart, that there is so much resting in past experiences, without an earnest concern after growth in grace, and an increase in the knowledge of Christ, or a daily fellowship with Christ in his death and resurrection, with full joy and holiness. O! what holy, happy Christians should we be if we were earnestly concerned about a daily knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus in its power and efficacy on our hearts, and reducing the same to an answerable practice in our lives!

That religion which consists only in head knowledge, without heart influence, is little worth. Nor is that religion which exalts inward sensation to a neglect of outward revelation much better; nor without knowledge (the knowledge of gospel truths) the heart cannot be right. We must first know to feel, and feel to do, if what we do in religion is right, either as to the inward actings of our minds, or the outward actions of our lives. This is the sum, my dear brother. The Lord Jesus Christ and his blessed truths revealed in the gospel without us must first be revealed by the Holy Spirit within us before we can feel the happy influence of God's salvation in our hearts. And so far as Christ and his truths are revealed in us, so far we are constrained to abide therein by facts, to cleave thereto in love, and to bear witness for the same, both in word and deed in our lives.

Disputes in religion for dispute's sake, for humour's sake, are no better than vain jangling, idle contention, a wretched misspense of time, a neglect of the power of godliness, and a means to promote ungodliness and irreligion. Disputes in religion to advance error and destroy the truth are abominable. But disputes in religion for truth's sake, to advance the truth against rising error are commendable and profitable. Such kind of disputes, maintained by the inspired penmen, we have instances of both in the Old and New Testaments. To such kind of disputes the saints are exhorted, even to "contend earnestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3.) And the happy fruit of such disputes is the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, and the downfall of Satan's, the establishment of saints in the doctrines of Christ, the deliverance of their souls from the

falsehoods advanced by the father of lies, and the overthrow of men of corrupt minds. Such is the infinite wisdom and grace of our dear Lord Jesus, as the Head and King of his church, that he would not suffer errors to appear if he did not deign to overrule them for his own glory and his people's good. When the prince of darkness with his powers make war with the Lamb, by advancing error,-darkening, shaking error, our Lord thereby will more abundantly manifest and confirm his truth and the faith of his people therein. While, then, in an especial manner he calls the spirits his servants, his witnesses, to lift up the standard of truth against error, and to fight valiantly under him, their great Leader, who for this end came into the world, to bear witness to the truth. And our Lord will honour those who are his witnesses, his warriors for truth in the earth.

An absolute opposition to all disputes in religion is an apparent artifice of Satan; and the manifest design of the enemy herein is to darken the Redeemer's glory by a cloud of error, and have none to stand on Christ's side, on the side of truth, to fan the air and drive away the smoke of the bottomless pit.

Perhaps, my dear brother, you may wonder I speak thus; but I would guard your mind from that snare into which others have fallen. R. and O. were drawn off from appearing on the side of truth by [the cry] "No dispute in religion," until they lost the truth. And a sad account I have in a letter lately received from a friend at —. The tenets spread very fast in that place, so that many proselytes are made, and hereupon persons most sadly give up the truths of Christ, and say they will have nothing to do with doctrines or principles in religion.

May the God of grace bruise Satan under your feet, and after all your sufferings by his temptations stablish, strengthen, settle you! May he deliver you from every evil work, and preserve you safe unto his heavenly kingdom.

The grace of Christ be with your spirit. Into his arms I commit you. Pray for

Yours most affectionately in Jesus,

ANN DUTTON.

THE Countenance of David (Ps. xlii. 5) is sick; there is death in his face, when God is not the light of his countenance.-Rutherford, SONGS in the night are not, cannot be, of nature's making, but are the sole gift of the heavenly Comforter. (Job xxxv. 10.)—Bishop Hall.

OFTENTIMES holiness in the heart is more known by the opposition that is there made to it than by its own prevalent working; the Spirit's operation is known by the flesh's opposition.-Owen.

THE greatest of earthly contentments will be of no worth nor use in heaven; neither can they of themselves any way add to the comfort or thriving of a spiritual life here on earth.-Dorney.

CHRIST is wholly for miserable sinners; life, pardon, righteousness, peace, strength, joy, glory, "without money and without price."-Hardy.

THE FOUNTAIN OPENED.

BY JOHN RUSK.

"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness."-ZECH. XII. 1. IF I were to confer with flesh and blood, I should write no more; for "what can be said more than has been said? Your eyes are getting bad, and the outward man, through the troubles of life, greatly breaks." All this is true in one sense; but when I consider that the weak are to say, "I am strong,' that there are unsearchable riches in Christ, and that we are told to cry after knowledge, to lift up our voice for understanding, to seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasure, to be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, &c., these things encourage me to press on through all and every opposition.

A month or so back this text in Zechariah was sweet to me, and I spoke about it to some friends, but had no intention then to write upon it. But our ways are not God's ways. The subject is very copious, and I, as usual, feel myself a fool; but it does not depend upon me, but on the wisdom, power, and grace of the Holy Spirit, who is to be a Spirit of revelation and understanding in the knowledge of Christ, to testify of him, glorify him, and guide us into all truth. "It is not you that speak, but the spirit of your Father that speaketh in you." And as he has already blessed me at this work, and has promised that we should still bring forth fruit in old age, there is great encouragement for me to persevere, notwithstanding everything bears so hard against me.

This prophet Zechariah was the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, and he lived in the days of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was king over the realm of the Chaldeans. And God sent him to Jerusalem in the eighth month in the second year of Darius, exhorting them to turn from their evil ways. But we all know who know our own hearts that such exhortations are lost upon us, except God displays his power.

After this, he has a vision of a man riding upon a red horse amongst the myrtle trees, &c.; which certainly meant the Lord Jesus visiting his church and people, those who had been well humbled and brought down in a low place.

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In the second chapter we have an account of the Lord's measuring Jerusalem, and of the redemption of Zion. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo! I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord,"

In the third chapter the prophet has a view of Joshua, the high priest, standing before the Lord, clothed in filthy garments. By which we are not in the least to suppose that he was so literally. No. And if he was, such things alone are not offensive to the Lord. Poor Lazurus on the dunghill, full of wounds,

and the dogs licking them, was not offensive to the Lord. But the true meaning is that Joshua had on his own righteousness, which the church by the prophet Isaiah calls "filthy rags," and which Paul calls "dung and dross." This gave room for Satan to accuse Joshua; but the Lord said, "Take away his filthy garments, and clothe him with change of raiment; which was no other than the perfect and spotless righteousness of the Son of God, Jehovah Jesus. And then the devil is sent off, as he always will be.

In the fourth chapter he has a view of the two olive trees, and the two anointed ones.

The fifth chapter speaks of Babylon's ruin, and of the flying roll; by which I understand the curse of the law. "And it shall come, saith the Lord, into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name; and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof."

Blessed, therefore, are all those who are delivered from that law and its curse by faith in Christ Jesus.

In the sixth chapter he has a glorious view of Christ the Branch, that he should build the temple and be a priest upon his throne.

In the seventh chapter the prophet reproves their hypocritical fasting, when they oppressed the widow, fatherless, stranger, and the poor, and made their hearts harder than an adamant.

In the eighth chapter the Lord encourages them to the building of the second temple, and shows that he will be with them. In the ninth chapter the prophet has a glorious view of the coming of the Lord Jesus into the world, and says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.'

In the tenth chapter he speaks of Judah being restored, and that God is to be sought to, and not dumb idols; not the dumb literally only, but also such as Isaiah speaks of dumb dogs that cannot bark; and such were these. They spoke vanity, told false dreams, and comfort in vain; and such work as this is going on in the day in which we live, for this nation swarms with hypocrites and false teachers.

In the eleventh chapter the prophet speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the poor of God's flock being fed, which they ever shall be, for he will not suffer the souls of the righteous to perish. "I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock," &c.

In the twelfth chapter he speaks of the outpourings of the Spirit, agreeable to the prophet Joel, and of the blessed effects of it-namely, a looking on Christ, whom we have pierced, and mourning; and this is real repentance, evangelical and wellpleasing unto God.

Having just glanced at the chapters preceding our text, let us now, as the Lord shall assist, come to the text.

I. Treat of the characters that this promise is made to.
II. The promise itself.

III. We will treat of the day which then took place, and also of the day that particularly concerns us. "In that day shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness."

And then, IV., we shall close the subject with a few remarks. I. We are to treat of the characters that this promise is made to, for it was by no means universal; let the Arminians say what they will, the Bible knows nothing about that universality. That is a palpable lie, and Satan is the author of it. Now, as the promise is made to the house of David and likewise to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, if this is to be understood in a literal sense, what have you and I, reader, to do with it? It is of no use to us, for we are not belonging literally to David's house, neither do we pretend to say that we are of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for we are Gentiles. Besides, David will help us out in this himself, for he expressly tells us that his house was not so with God. But if this promise of a fountain opened to the house of David meant literally, then all certainly would have been with God. 66 Although my house be not so with God," &c. (2 Sam. xxiii. 5.) For after David's fall the sword never departed from his house, and he had some of the worst children that ever lived, and also many hypocrites were about him. See Ahithophel with others. Then we are sure that it does not mean literally. I need not enlarge here; you can read the account in Samuel respecting David's house. And as to being of the inhabitants of Jerusalem literally, of what use would that have been? It is true the Jews were a highly favoured people; but when they rejected the Messiah and put him to death, God cast them off, and then they are not called Jews in God's account. Hence he says by Paul, "He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh." See again, "I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan." (Rev. iii. 9.) And thus the Lord wrote upon them, "Lo ammi," saying, "Ye are not my people, and I will not be your God." And then we are brought in, we Gentiles. Thus as Paul says, "Blindness in part is happened to Israel." And this has gone on for many generations. "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king," having despised and rejected King Jesus; "and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim." But after this (with the fulness of Gentiles which is not yet come) they are to return and seek the Lord their God and David their King (or Christ Jesus, of whom David was a type); "and they shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days." (Hos. iii. 4, 5.)