the Christian's ability to persevere to the end in holy obedience to the law of God?

Several inspired declarations of his word answer this question in the affirmative; all representing his people as the temples of the Holy Ghost. (See Rom. viii. 11; 1 Cor. iii. 16, and vi. 19.) Here is the effectual corrective of evil; here the all-powerful stimulus to good. God fulfils his own promise to his people, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people," 2 Cor. vi. 16. The religion of Jesus is called emphatically "the ministration of the Spirit," 2 Cor. iii. 8. He (the Holy Ghost) keeps the mind of the believer, in proportion to his diligence in the use of the means of grace, open to the sweet and salutary influences of that word which is profitable for all things; "able to make men wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus," 2 Tim. iii. 15; "the power of God, through faith, unto salvation," Rom. i. 16. To the Holy Spirit of God are to be traced equally the believer's power to obey what the word commands, and to enjoy what it promises. The Spirit and the word thus act in harmony, as the wind impels the vessel which the chart directs, or as the air gives appetite for the fruit which the tree affords.

Whilst "the Lord the Spirit" has, in the first instance, by the effectual application of the word, brought about the conversion of the sinner, it is just as much his office to make and keep the mind of the saint capable of deriving from that word spiritual sustenance and strength. "The love of God," says the apostle, "is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us," Rom. v. 5. In the doctrines, promises, and precepts of the New Testament, the renewed soul, under the Divine influence in question, finds abundant food for gratitude and love. Such a soul feeds on the fact that Jesus Christ "was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification," Rom. iv. 25; that he "ever liveth to make intercession" for us, Heb. vii. 25; that there is "now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit," Rom. viii. 1; but that, "being justified by

faith, they have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ," Rom. v. 1.

On the whole, then, if the "only gay" will be sufficiently their own friends to make the investigation now suggested, it is presumed that they will find abundant reason to believe that to be" only gay" is to be really condemned, and that to be scripturally religious is to be really safe and really happy; nay, that apart from being thus engaged in the service of God, there is no real safety, and no solid, nor even rational happiness.

It is presumed, too, that the more minutely and impartially the only gay examine the subject now brought before their view, the more they will be convinced that here the portion of all but God's people is merely an alternation of evils-unsatisfied desires-delusive hopes-feverish anxiety-disappointed ambition -mortified pride-and, perhaps, frequent self-reproach. To say the least, some or all of these things, in the case of every worldly person, form the alloy which detracts from and deteriorates, not merely the pleasures of sense, but also, the certainly less gross, yet not always less dangerous, pleasures of mere unsanctified intellect.

High intellectual powers, not laying themselves out in the study of the Divine word, the contemplation of the Divine character, and the enjoyment of the Divine love, are regarded by God, not only without complacency, but, as misemployed talents, with strong disapprobation. How little He esteems the highly endowed mind, either for its own sake, or in consideration of any earthly distinction it can secure, or any earthly purpose it can advance, we may safely infer from the fact that He has often vouchsafed a large measure of those mental qualities which the world so much admires, where the personal character is such as to command no respect. And, after all, what is the most boasted intellectual pre-eminence which ever distinguished the mind of man? what, but a spark, as it were, struck off from the infinite fulness of God's unlimited and uncreated intelligence?

Nay, into what utter insignificance must all human powers of mind shrink, even when compared with those of higher orders

of created intelligences. Of the precise point of view in which God regards such powers when not devoted to his service, he informs us in the 1st chap. of the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, from the 17th verse to the end. He there pronounces the highest wisdom, not thus sanctified, in his estimation, mere folly. So thought his apostle, (see 1 Cor. ii. 4 ;) and so, in proportion to their spirituality, think all God's people.

Finally, to have rejected for such happiness as the world in any of its forms can offer, or as unrenewed nature in any of its pursuits can realize,—to have rejected, we say, for such happiness, the salvation of the Gospel, and to recollect how often, how earnestly, and freely that salvation had been urged on their acceptance, must surely aggravate the eternal self-reproach of those who reject this offered blessing. Not being the Saviour's followers here, the Scripture tells us that they can never be his companions hereafter. His language to all such will be, “I never knew you," Matt. vii. 23.

Yes, their mental anguish will, no doubt, receive a fearful addition, from the conviction that perfect and unending happiness was once offered to them, "without money and without price;" that it was once said to them by Him who cannot lie, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be saved," Acts xvi. 31. If, from the individuals to whom, more especially, the present pages are affectionately addressed-the "only gay"-nothing more can be obtained, surely they will not refuse to devote one passing minute to the inquiry,─With what confidence, dying in our present state, can we, in the last struggles of expiring nature, commit our souls to a God whom, up to that solemn moment, we have not loved-not honoured--not enjoyed? Or, with what degree of holy composure and joyous anticipation can we, when standing before the bar of the great "Judge eternal," tell Him, as we have often told our fellow-creatures, that we were 66 ONLY GAY?"

J. F. SHAW, BOOKSELLER, SOUTHAMPTON ROW, LONDON.

J. & W. Rider, Printers, Bartholomew Close, London.

is an

THE Conversion of a sinner from the error of his ways event which, effected under any circumstances, is deserving of the most serious attention. It is nothing else than the salvation of a deathless soul-the placing of an immortal spirit in that moral condition in which it will be for ever safe, holy, and happy. Considered in this point of view, it is an occurrence which has no parallel in the transactions of time, and the final consequences of which can only be unfolded in that eternity which is the ultimate destination of every accountable being. But though the simple fact of the soul's regeneration be thus momentous, it must be admitted, that the interest which it excites may be increased in its degree by the peculiarity of the circumstances under which it takes place. When we see the power of the gospel arresting, in early life, the fugitive mind in its fruitless wanderings after earthly happiness-delivering it from that fatal charm by which it was led to perishable objects-leading it into serious reflection, humble enquiry, earnest prayer, and simple affiance; when we behold the subject of it carried steadily forward in a short but rapid course of advancing holiness, till the sustained sufferings of a transitory life terminate in an early but triumphant death ;—our attention is fixed; we see of what human nature, even in the present fallen state, when under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, is capable; and we glorify the grace of God. In the following narrative, the reader will find no remarkable event of providence, according to the ordinary acceptation of the term; no astonishing development of precocious genius; nothing to gratify a taste for the marvellous: it is simply a delineation of the Divine procedure, by which a youthful convert was prepared for an early transition to the skies.

Henrietta Charlotte Raït was the fourth daughter of Colonel and Mrs. Raït. At a very early period of her life she was taken to the islands of the Mediterranean, where her father was stationed in the discharge of his professional duties, and where she remained till she had entered her thirteenth year. Her mind, during this period, was instructed in the elementary principles of divine truth, by a parent who had herself known and felt their importance. Her disposition was docile and amiable, and rendered her an object of marked attachment to the domestic circle of which she formed a part.

In the year 1829, Colonel and Mrs. Raït returned to their native country, and determined on fixing their residence at Southampton. They were influenced in a considerable degree

in this selection, by the desire of placing themselves and their family under a ministry which they approved, and which, having been, under God, the instrument of spiritual good in former years to some of the members of their domestic circle, encouraged the hope that other parts of it might share in similar results. In the choice of a residence, too many are influenced by any motive rather than by a regard to the spiritual interests of themselves or their families. The convenience of a market, the salubrity of the air, the beauty of the surrounding scenery, the circle of visitants to whom they may be introduced, are subjects of grave consideration; but the proximity of a faithful ministry of the gospel, and the accompanying advantages of the means of grace, are the last and least in their thoughts. The effect of acting on this principle must be most detrimental as well for parents and children: with this example of worldlymindedness before them, it cannot but be expected that the bosoms of the younger members should be strangers to serious reflection; or, if it has been produced, that it should be speedily effaced, and the mind be engrossed with the vanities of this passing world.

Henrietta accompanied her parents to their new abode. The glow of health played on her cheek; her countenance, expressive of all the kindly feelings of her spirit, had that charm which mere beauty never can impart. Yet it is but an act of justice to affirm, that whatever admiration her personal attractions might excite in others, there appeared in her no indications of that vanity which makes even loveliness appear unlovely, and mars the beauty which it aims to adorn. There was in her no affectation, no assumption on account of personal endowments or family connexions: all was simple, natural, and ingenuous; and the frank and open countenance was an appropriate index of her unsophisticated mind. A person unacquainted with vital religion, contemplating Henrietta at this period, might have enquired, "What lacketh she yet?" Young, artless, amiable, an obedient daughter, an affectionate sister, what more is required? And yet, in a spiritual point of view, she lacked much-possessing not "the one thing needful." She was destitute of all that could render her acceptable to God, or prepared for eternity. In her heart, there was as yet no genuine repentance for sin, no living faith in a living Saviour; nothing of that state which the apostle calls "being crucified to the world," Gal. vi. 14; no ardent aspiration after that which is to come. Lovely and loved as she was in the estimation of her fellow-creatures, she, nevertheless, in the sight of Him who judgeth the heart," was