he ought to have set himself; namely, on the judgment seat; and, by his wise parable, made him condemn himself, which he ought to have done before. These God judged and chastened, that they might not be condemned with the world.

God not only keeps his court in the believer's heart, and the spirit of judgment there; but his house of correction also. God purges the daughter of Zion and Jerusalem by the Spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning; hence he keeps his fire in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem, Isa. xxxi. 9. Those whom God judges he chastens; and this fire and furnace are to purge away the dross and tin. Many a time have I escaped that terrible furnace, by judging and condemning myself. And, though sometimes the process has continued for several days, yet I followed it up,. and could not, would not rest, till pardon was obtained, conscience quieted, and peace restored; and sometimes this has been done even in the pulpit; there the word has come and healed me. Whereas some are in the furnace almost all the year round, they hardly ever make straight paths for their feet; but that which is lame is turned. out of the way instead of being healed, Heb. xii. 13. "From all your filthiness, and from all your idols," says God, "will I cleanse you." This he does at conversion. But dross and tin still remain, and the furnace is prepared for this; "I will purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin," Isa. i. 25. The Spirit of judgment, and the fur

nace of affliction, are continually at work in Zion. Cold and lifeless frames; ingratitude for mercies received; yielding to unbelief, and listening, to Satan; murmuring and rebelling at the daily cross; deadness in the service of God; being often selfwilled and soon angry; speaking hastily and unadvisedly with our lips; indulging evil and unclean thoughts; being stubborn and sullen under the rod, with many slips and falls into sin. Hence the complaints; "Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love; thou hast a name that thou livest, but art dead."

My people are bent to backsliding from me.” “Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart." Hezekiah judged and humbled himself, and so escaped the furnace; "Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah," 2 Chron. xxxii. 25, 26. "If we would judge ourselves we should not be judged." Upon every sinful frame and miscarriage God calls us to the bar of equity:

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Come, now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool," Isa. i. 18. When these things are strictly attended to, solid joy and lasting consolation is established in the soul. "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with

fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world." The testimony of conscience and the enjoyment of peace are inseparable; and by attending to these a man walks with God, He walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity," Mal. ii. 6.

But God

Some indiscreet ones of the Lord's household are like some men who are embarked in several branches of business, and, being often cast down in their own minds, fearing they are going back, omit taking stock, lest a right knowledge of their affairs should sink them lower. will bring all his children to book; and, if they shun the bar of equity, he will bring them to the bar of judgment, and put fresh wrath and terror into the law, and hold up that hand-writing against them; "Enter not into judgment with thy servant," says David. "Thou writest bitter things against me," says Job. If we will not judge ourselves, the Lord will judge us; and if we will not reason with him he will make us hear the rod, and who hath appointed it; and then the question is, "Hast thou not procured these things to thyself?" Then into the furnace we go, kicking and plunging like a wild bull in a net, full of the fury and the rebuke of our God; and here he keeps us till we can say from the heart, "Not my will, but thine be done." "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned, against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judg

tens us,

ment for me; he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness," Micah vii. 9. By these means is the iniquity of Jacob purged, and this is all the fruit, to take away his sin. Faith gets a fresh discovery of the atonement of Christ, and a fresh application of it by the Spirit. If this is not the case, we come out like a fool brayed in a mortar. It is not a deliverance from the furnace, but is intended to confound us, and to keep us in fear and suspence; doubting whether the furnace is not going to be heated hotter. When God takes us in hand, and judges and chaswe are sure of this furnace. I will bring them through the fire, and will purify them as silver is purified, and try them as gold is tried; and make a man more precious than the golden wedge of Ophir, Isai. xiii. 12. But my dear brother will say, 'If all our dross and tin are to be taken away, how comes it to pass that so much still remains? "When I would do good, evil is [always] present with me." No furnace that I have yet been in has ever removed the inbeing of it from me.' No; if the vessels of mercy were ever thus effectually and perfectly purged, there could be no more conscience of indwelling sin. But the root that bears galland worm wood still remaining, the furnace remains. I can find that the furnace purges me from my evil frames; but not from the inbeing of sin, which betrays me into these evil frames. Self is daily to be denied; the war between the law of the mind and that of the members remains, and is sure to be, more or less, directly

or indirectly, the daily cross that a child of God has to take up. On account of these things the spirit of judgment remains in Zion. To subdue sin, and to keep grace in the throne, is the cause of this fire and this furnace in Jerusalem. Self-examination is to the believer the business of every day; and every bill that conscience files against us is intended to bring us to the bar; and, upon trial, that which is disallowed, disapproved, bewailed, lamented over, and which is a cause of grief, and which makes us groan for deliverance, is no more we; "It is not I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." We are complete in him; without fault before the throne; and clean every whit, notwithstanding these things. And now, my dear brother, in observing these things; "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." "Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work, to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever, amen." So says yours, in the unity of the faith, and in the bond of love,

W. H. S. S.