church at Kedington, near Haverhill, a mite towards enlarging the tent, and to make room for the little boys and girls who are left without the happy privilege of Sabbath-School instruction. Beloved friends, arise, and write to the pastor and deacons of the Baptist church at Kedington, care of John Dillostone, the nurseryman; and smiles from off the lasting hills shall cheer thy homeward way.

I love to think of some days I have spent in the service of the Gospel. Let me give you a line or two respecting the ninth of October, 1864. It was arranged I should, on that day, commence my more stated labours in Squirries-street chapel, in the Bethnal Green-road. On the Thursday evening previous I delivered my last sermon in Bethel, Old Ford; and my departure therefrom has been a trial, and a conflict, most severe; every step of which I am inclined to write out some day, if the SPIRIT of LIFE shall lead and help me.

Before going to Bethel chapel that evening, the words of Paul were given to me:"AND WALK IN LOVE!" and in a good spirit I spoke of the great principle of VITAL GODLINESS-LOVE IN THE SOUL; and then of the practice-" And WALK IN LOVE," but how very little good has resulted therefrom, I shall not now trouble to think about. But while of some I say nothing, others there were who, on my leaving them, looked at my words like these:

"We love each other-yet, perchance,

The murmurs of dissent may rise;
Cross words may chase the tender glance,
And unkind flashes light our eyes:
Still-let us for each other pray-

Hoping to see a brighter day."

Ere the Sunday morning's sun arose, two beautiful scriptures came; and with them to my work I went; and I will tell thee what they were. The first was this, "Let my Beloved come into His garden: and let Him eat His pleasant fruits."

Out of a crowd of precious things which from this Scripture flowed, I only give you one. It is the Singleness and the Sufficiency of the spouse's desire. She only asked that HE might COME;

because in Him, and with Him, there was all that heaven could give; and she could heartily sing

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"All my capacious powers could wishda
In HIM doth sweetly meet.

Nor to my heart is life so dear,
Nor friendship half so sweet."

In this one thing all pardoned saints agree with them CHRIST is everything Let HIM come; and it doth suffice,

More than Himself He cannot give,
And I desire no mere.'

Tell me, thy heart, dear brother John, is not this the church's prayer, Let my Beloved come into His garden?" and is not that prayer answered? In Kedington, I feel suro it has been many times. As I have stood in that pulpit, I have realized the glory of God in my own soul; and I have seen the faces of old fathers and mothers, and of young people, shine brilliantly with joy and I hope the great day will declare good to souls has been done; not by me only, but by the pastors specially. Brethren Powell and Murkin have not laboured in vain, as you well know. As soon as our morning service was over, I flew away to Wimbledon to preach for my brother Luke Snow, who has built a pleasant little house for God, and freely preaches the Gospel there. I had a good time with excellent Luke, a doctor of divinity beyond a doubt, for God has made him useful in bringing souls to Christ, and in feeding and establishing them in the truth. Of him and his place and people, a nice little map might be drawn, but here I have not room now. On returning to Squirries street that evening, the words of Paul were in my soul, "We preach not ourselves, but CHRIST JESUS the LORD; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." After sermon, we had the ordinance of the Lord's Supper; and tokens that Jesus had come into His garden, were proved by not a few. My soul was favoured to be free; and, although in this removal some think I have acted wrongly, to me it appeared imperative; and how I have aimed to "walk in love," may be known by you when next you see THE VILLAGE PREACHER.

"HOW AM I TO KNOW THAT I AM CHRIST'S ? "

MR.

R. JOHN GRACE, of Brighton, preaching a sermon the other day at Lewes, said,

"If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Christ's, how am I to know, sir, that I am Christ's? I will tell you: "If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His." That is an answer to it at once. The Spirit of Christ! what is that? The indwelling of God the Holy Ghost! the working of the Spirit upon the heart; the spirit of the fear of the Lord; the spirit of wisdom; the spirit of prayer and supplication, which God has promised that He will bestow upon all His people. Therefore if you have these, it is well with you. Now take another. This text I am going to quote would cut up half the religion of the day,-half? I do not know but what it would cut up seven-eighths of it: "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." But, say you, I am not in the flesh; then, blessed be God! for I am no drunkard, nor swearer; I have been a person of very religious habits, and I have been a member of a Church, I would have you to know. I will tell you another thing; you may be a member of a Church, if you like; and you may be a Calvinist, too, and hold the creed, and the doctrines of grace in your judgment, and yet be "in the flesh." Oh! say you, solemn thought! True, true! If God the Spirit has never taught you, and quickened you, you are in the flesh; and while you are in the flesh, you cannot please God.

When young in the things of God, I used to walk about, and the simple prayers I used to put up were something like these"Lord, do not let me die in my sins!" Lord, do make known to me that I have an interest in thy salvation !" "Remember me with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people, O visit me with thy salvation!" "Lord, do say to my soul, I am thy salvation!" This was the sort of language I used; and I verily believe if God had not quickened my soul into life, and given me some evidence of being taught of Him, I never should have put up such prayers.

But what a mercy it is to be taught of God. "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children." Have you done this? Has the Lord displayed His grace to you? Do you ever sit at His feet? Are you a disciple of the Lord's Christ? Paul was a disciple of Gamaliel : he was well taught in the Jewish law. Are you really taught of God? Can you come and prove that you are, by the teaching of God's Spirit, one of this "inheritance?" Ah! what a mercy, dear child of God. Now I say that all religion that is of God comes to this. If anybody were to say to me, "Oh! sir, I do so desire to know that I am one of the people of God, that I have an interest in these things;" I would ask them a question, Do you recollect what David says? "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after." You may depend upon it, if God has made you in earnest to desire these things, you will seek after them. "Seek after them"-but where? say you. In the public means of grace; you will seek as for hid treasure in the word of God; you will seek for it at the throne of grace; an ejaculation will often come up from your heart, "Am I taught of God ?"

Like a poor woman I knew, now in glory, when she was once in great distress of soul, she knelt down in a little shrubbery, and with great earnestness cried out, "Lord, I beseech thee, have mercy upon me." There was a gentleman passing just at the time, but she did not observe him; and he put his hand on her, and he said, "My good woman, if God had never had mercy upon you, you would never have cried like this." He gave her half-a-crown, and went away. That woman found mercy of God, and I recollect her telling me of the work of God upon her soul; how she went out into a field once, in great distress of soul, and cried to God for mercy, saying, she would not go home till she had obtained that mercy. The night came on, and she thought, "Ah! I must return home now, and I must die without mercy; but," said she, "while I was speaking, the Lord broke in upon my soul, with these words, Woman, thy sins, that are many, are all forgiven thee; thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace. Then, she said, she could not go; she was compelled to stop, and bless and praise the Lord, and dance, and make merry with the thing of God.

"OH! THAT I KNEW WHERE I MIGHT FIND HIM,' JOB. xxiii 2.

O that I knew where I might find
My Father and my God;
I'd plead his everlasting love
Tho' now I feel his rod.

I'd tell him of his former love,

I'd plead his special_grace;
But ah! he's gone, my Lord is gone;
His ways I cannot trace.

I forward go, but he's not there,
I backward go again;

I seek him on the right and left,
But seem to seek in vain.

Sometimes I seek him in his house,
Where others sing and pray;
I oft go mourning to his house,

And mourning come away.
Sometimes I seek him in his word,
But almost in despair-
Oh! what a dreadful path is this;
Ah! were you ever there!
Sometimes I feel no heart to pray,
And think to pray no more;
And then again I think I'll try
Once more at mercy's door.

I go--but still no comfort find;
My soul's as dark as night:
How dark and dismal is the road
When Christ is out of sight.
Then Satan vaunts, and tells my soul
That I'm a cast-away:
Ah! who in such a frame as this
Can either praise or pray?

In this sad state I've often been;
Then like poor Job I've cried,
Oh! that I knew where I might find
Some shelter where to hide!
But Jesus knows my wretched state,
He knows I fear the rod;
Ah! sure the Lord has found me out,
But I can't find my God.
But when my Jesus shines again,
His presence makes me bold:
Ah! then I see God's furnace is
To purify the gold.

Lord, cleanse my poor polluted soul
From dross and filth within ;
And let me feel thy furnace, Lord,
Burn nothing but my sin.
D. HERBERT.

The Old Man at Southery.-"The Village Preacher" is a little unhappy at not being able to visit, and preach at, Southery, as requested; but the church in London could not, at present, allow of it. He hopes before very long to see Brand Creek and Southery again, and to give the Old Man's portrait in extenso. Meanwhile, may the mercies of the Lord be on all the saints in those retiring places.

To be published with the December magazines, price 2d.; or in stiff covers, interleaved with plain paper for memorandums, price 4d., THE BAPTIST ALMANACK FOR 1865.

Post free to any address for thirteen stamps,

A Carte de Visite Portrait of "The Village Preacher.” Robert Banks, 9, Crane court. Fleet street, London.

London: Printed by ROBERT BANKS, 9, Crane-court, Fleet-street, E.C. Published by G. J. Stevenson, 54, Paternoster-row, E.C; sold by most Booksellers.-Price One Halfpenny.