it is clouded and obscured, it nevertheless breaks out again with augmented splendour, and will continue to shine with increasing brightness, until emerging from the shades of death, he appears as the sun in the kingdom of God, diffusing the radiant and eternal lustre of Christ-like perfection.

Another passage decisive of this truth recorded in Job xvii. 9., deserves our attention. It is "The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger." Here is a Christian under the figure of a traveller; his life is a journey to the celestial Canaan'; and it is declared he shall hold on his way; neither thieves, foes, want, or weakness shall cause him to fall, but he shall endure to the end. It is also intimated that he shall be distinguished by upright conversation in life, and wax more powerful in goodness; for as hands are emblematic of action, so "clean hands" of purity of conduct, and he that evinces purity of conduct shall not be weaker and weaker but stronger and stronger.

Various passages of the same character might be quoted; but of this there is no necessity for illustration, seeing all readersof the Bible must be conversant with such passages as "They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever; as the mountains are round aboutJerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people, from henceforth, even for ever" (Psalm cxxv. 1,2.) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me ; and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any" ("man" is not in the original)" neither shall any" (man or devil) "pluck them out of My hand" (John x. 27, 28). "This is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day; and this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day"-(John vi. 39, 40). And again; Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ'-(Phil. i. 6). We are "persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord"-(Romans viii. 38, 39). Because "He has loved us with an everlasting and unchanging love"-(See Jer. xxxi. 3. and Mal. iii. 6). Were there no further reasons for believing the steady, onward, and continued progress of the true believer, notwithstanding difficulties and dangers beset him, we should still cherish the hope of his enduring to the end, and receiving a crown of life.

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2. The perfections of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, constrain us to believe that the subject of Divine grace will enter eternal glory; that the period will arrive, when the sincere disciple of Christ shall be delivered from all that mars his peace, and beclouds his character, and wear the glorious likeness of His Redeemer; shall enjoy the bliss that is the necessary consequence of deliverance from sin and conflict with sin, as well as that which results from the vision of God in the heavenly state. The perfections of God are incomprehensible; but although we could not discover, and cannot now fully comprehend Him although revealed by the disclosure of His attributes, yet we can grasp by faith that view of His character which is the ground or foundation of internal peace. We know that God is love, without change; holiness, without iniquity; wisdom, without folly; and power, without limits. The believer is the object of Divine regard-"I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee." This love is not mutable and changeable, but eternal. He "is of one mind, and none can turn Him;" consequently, the saint who is interested in this love, as a saint, never can be an object of Jehovah's hatred. Nor will he, as the wisdom of God has provided for his eternal welfare, and Omnipotence is his defence, be allowed to fall a prey to any foe, however crafty or potent, or be stopped in his progress by any insurmountable obstacle. The love of God prompts his salvation; the wisdom of God has devised his salvation; the justice of God is honoured in his salvation; the mercy of God is glorified in his salvation; the omniscience of God discerns all that is opposed to his salvation; the faithfulness of God is pledged to his salvation; and power of God removes all fatal opposition to, and preserves him in a state of

the

salvation. "He is kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." The perfections of God are therefore a firm foundation, on which we build our hopes of being preserved through the trials and vicissitudes of life, so as to be eventually introduced into the glories of the heavenly state.

"Thou

3. The promises of God warrant our belief of the final perseverance of the genuine believer. They, in their separate and collective characters, are expressions of the unchanging and unchangeable love of God to His people; whose love is not only intense but eternal. A few of them are as follow-"I will put My fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from Me"-(Jer. xxxii. 40). shalt call Me 'my Father,' and shalt not depart from Me❞—(Jer. iii. 19). Rocks may crumble into dust, mountains uprooted may depart, and the heavens be melted away by fervent heat; but God is still the same, and His covenant unbroken. He is "not a man that He should lie, or the son of man that He should repent." He may afflict and try us for our good and His glory, but He will not forsake -(See Psalm lxxxix. 28-34). "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee"—(Isaiah liv. 10). A woman may be so unnatural as to forget her sucking child, and so unfeeling as to have no compassion on the son of her womb, but God "rests in His love." He will neither forget nor forsake them who are His children by regenerating and adopting grace. "Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me; can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee."(Isaiah xlix. 14, 15). "He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee; so that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me”—(Heb. xiii. 5, 6.); and justly conclude, 'The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away"-(Isaiah xxxv. 10.)

4. The purpose of God is a pledge of our preservation. From the perfections of God as revealed, we should expect that His designs in Providence and grace were all the effect of determinate wisdom. This is increased by the promises He has made of preserving grace and eternal glory to His believing people, and confirmed by His own Word. "My purpose shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure." "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called; whom He called, them He also justified; whom He justified, them He also glorified"-(Rom. viii. 28). The commencement of this work is God's purpose or foreknowledge; the manifestation of His purpose is their calling; the result of their calling is justification; and the upshot of the whole their glorification. "He hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling; not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" —(2 Tim. i. 9). They who are called according to the purpose of God, are "saved and called;" they are justified, and will eventually be glorified. It is a call from sin to holiness; from hell to heaven; from Satan to God. And this purpose will be accomplished. Satan may oppose; the world will marshal itself under his banner, and the treacherous heart will too frequently second their united efforts; but all in vain, for He who has called you to Himself will keep you for Himself. The very things that seem to be most inimical to your best interests shall under His government "work together for your good.'

5. The union of the church to Christ is a pledge of our eternal salvation, which implies the certainty of perseverance. This union is a union made in purpose before the foundation of the world. Eternity beheld us the object of the Father's love, His chosen in Christ; it witnessed our predestined union to Him long before the heavens and the earth were formed. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath chosen us in Him before the

foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." Are we endowed with faith, which is the gift of God-(1 Cor. xii. 9. Phil. i. 29. Eph. vi. 23. ii. 8), which is Divine in origin (Acts xviii. 27); a fruit of the Spirit-(Gal. v. 22); wrought in the soul-(Col. ii. 12. Heb. xii, 2), and a proof of our justification-(Rom. v. 1. Acts xiii. 39); of our adoption -(Gal. iii. 26); and so of our being heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ -(Rom. viii. 17)? It is because God hath blest us already in Christ, through whom, according to His purpose, this grace, which is indissolubly connected with salvation is bestowed-(Mark xvi. 16, &c.)

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This union is a covenant union, in which Christ and His Church are viewed as one people; they the body, He their Head and representative. Mention is frequently made of Christ's people. Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power" -(Psalm cx. 3)—is the language of the Father to the Son. "He shall save His people from their sins"-(Matthew i. 21). Christ sways the sceptre of universal empire to give them salvation. He thus addresses the Father-"Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He may give life to as many as Thou hast given Him" -(John xvii, 2). The Father" gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all”-(Eph. i. 22, 23). One passage more; "All that the Father giveth Me, shall come to Me, and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me; and this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day''-(John vi. 37-39).

These passages prove that Christ has received a people from the Father as a charge, to preserve, and raise up at the last day. This people, as the verse following teaches us, are believers. It follows, therefore, that all true believers will be glorified; that a day is coming, when He shall say, "Behold, I and the children whom Thou hast given Me." It appears that this is the result of Christ's dying for and regenerating us by His Spirit. For in our redemption

(1). There is a transfer of guilt. "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all"-(Isaiah liii. 6). "Who was delivered for our offences"-(Romans iv 25). "We pray you, in Christ's stead be ye reconciled to God; for He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him"-(2 Cor. v. 20, 21). "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree"-1 Peter ii. 24).

(2.) There appears to have been an exchange of sufferers. Christ "hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God"-(1 Peter iii. 18). He did this in compliance with the covenant of the Father. For it is written of Christ, that He saith when He cometh into the world, "Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a body hast Thou prepared Me; in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come, (in the Volume of the Book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all"(Heb. x. 5, 6, 7, 10). He did this in compliance with the Father, and in the time and circumstances He had predetermined. For Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, the Jews took, and by wicked hands crucified and slew" (Acts ii. 23). Hence He was cut off; not for Himself, but for the people—(Dan. ix. 26). "Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. For (says the Father,) He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of My people was He stricken" —(Isa. liii. 5—-8). Christ was substituted for us, laden with our guilt, and died to expiate our guilt according to the will of the Father; by whom He was not only “delivered for our offences, but raised again for our justification." And this our Lord did willingly, and not by constraint. Christ loved His church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing"-(Eph. v. 25-27; Rev. i. 5; John x. and John xvii).

(3.) It appears, thirdly, that there is not only a transfer of guilt, and an exchange of sufferers, but a removal of evil from and an impartation of blessings to believers through the sufferings of Christ. "By His stripes we are healed"—(Isa. liii. 5). "God having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved; in whom we have redemption through His blood even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"-(Eph. i. 5—7). "God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us; much more then, being now justified by His blood, shall be we saved from wrath through Him." From these passages it is evident that the healing of our souls—the forgiveness of our sins-the justification of our persons-and our acceptance as children with God-are all attributed to His death.

It may be observed that this union is not only one of election in Christ, and covenant representation by Christ, and of union by nature to Christ—(Heb. ii. 9-18)-in order to His obedience unto death in our behalf-but that it is a vital, a spiritual union. Christ now lives; and since He has discharged, as the Surety of the covenant, all the conditions of the covenant in our behalf, He dispenses, as the Mediator of the covenant, all the blessings of the covenant-(See Psa. lxviii. 18; Eph. iv. 7-16; John xvii. 2; Acts v. 31, &c.; Heb. ix. 15; Heb. viii. 6-13); and therefore sends down and dwells in our hearts by the Spirit. From this union, then, of Christ with us by nature as our covenant head, in whom we are chosen to eternal life, by whom we have been redeemed from the punishment we deserve through His sufferings for us and bearing it in our stead, and from whom we have received the Holy Spirit to live and abide in us to keep our faith and hope alive, we infer that all believers shall finally persevere, as the result of God's purpose and the fulfilment of God's promises to us, through our Lord Jesus Christ. We look up to Him with humble confidence, for that measure of grace, that paternal guidance, and those providential favours, by means of which we shall " fight the good fight," keep the faith, and eventually arrive in the glory of God, to praise Him for ever and ever. Matlock Bath,

F. PERKINS.

TABLE OF THE EPISTLES.

The following table gives a view of the time when, the place where, and the order in which the epistles of the New Testament were written, so far as the most patient investigation has been able to determine.

Opinions are divided as to why the latter epistles are called "Catholic," or 66 General. "" Some think it is because they contain a general doctrine; and others because they were addressed to the churches in general.

For further information see the Tract Society's "Commentary;" volume 6 (Romans to Revelation); page viii.

N. R.

(FOR THE EVANGELICAL REGISTER.)

THE contents of the sacred Volume are of a miscellaneous character. It contains poetry and prose, history and prophecy, doctrine and precept, sermon and proverb, threatening and promise. Now it treats of God, and then of man; here of nations, and there of individuals. How interesting are the simple, touching, and affecting narratives, which are inscribed on the page of inspiration! Joseph and his brethren, is a most interesting piece of biography, and as deeply instructive. With such an example as this to copy, we think we cannot do better than occasionally to present our readers with a sketch of departed excellence. And as female excellence is developed in the page of Holy Writ, it is worthy of a place in a miscellany, that designs to spread principles which are evangelical. Females ardent in the cause of God, zealous for the salvation of souls, and devoted to the cause of the Redeemer, have existed. On their own sex, and (as the influence of the Christian lady is not small) on the other sex, their example may powerfully tell. The probability of usefulness is so great, that the sketch of such a character is desirable.

The readers of this periodical, who are interested in the life and times of the late Countess of Huntingdon, will find equal pleasure in perusing some memoirs of a lady as devoted, although not so distinguished; Lady Willielma Glenorchy, a contemporary with the Countess, who sometimes worshipped in her chapels, and listened to the preachers in her connexion, and who in many respects resembled the Countess-the character now selected to adorn our pages and instruct our minds. This lady was the younger of the two daughters of William Maxwell, Esq. M.D., of Preston Kirkcudbright, Scotland, whose fortune was great, and character respectable. She first drew the breath of life on the second of September, 1741., a few months after her father's death. In consequence of the death of her father, the important and interesting duty of her education was discharged by her amiable mother, and in a very superior manner. She, as well as her sister, after the marriage of her mother with Lord Alva, which transpired about twelve years after the birth of Lady Glenorchy, were indebted to his kindness for many comforts and enjoy

ments.

The Misses Maxwell (both Mary, afterwards Countess of Sutherland, and the subject of this sketch,) were celebrated for their beauty, accomplishments, and amiable manners." Their fortune, attainments, dispositions and endowments, procured them the esteem and admiration of many. Of Lady Glenorchy it is said"Her mind was strong and vigorous, yet polished and delicate; her memory was retentive, her person interesting, her behaviour affable, her imagination lively, and her temper excellent." Doubtless she was much indebted to her kind and indulgent mother, whose watchful care over her during her earlier years was incessant; but from her, as she was both lofty and ambitious, it is probable, she ac quired that taste, which was pleased and delighted for a time with the follies and gaiety of fashionable life.

When about twenty years of age she was married to John, Viscount Glenorchy, the only son and heir of John, the third Earl of Breadalbane. Not long after their marriage Lady Breadalbane departed this life at Bath. Upon which Lord and Lady Glenorchy, accompanied by Lord Breadalbane, set out for the continent and made a tour of Europe. Having spent some time in France, they proceeded to Nice, where they were deprived of the presence and society of Lord Breadalbane, who was called home by the death of his sister. To Italy they bent their way, and visited the land celebrated for victory, and eloquence, and song. After two years spent in travel on the continent, they returned to the land of their birth, acquainted with the world, but strangers to God.

On their return to Britain, Lady Glenorchy followed the example set by her compeers, and plunged into a life of amusement and frivolity. But she found no solid peace in the pomp and splendour of high life. The public places resorted to