what did he suffer for me! I am not left. He has said, 'I will never leave thee, never forsake thee.' He is with me. I know that my Redeemer liveth. Not my will but thine, O Lord, be done. 'Jesus can make a dying bed Soft as downy pillows are."," These are but a few of the expressions by which, with a countenance beaming with cheerfulness and gratitude, he testified his acquiescence in the Divine will, and his experience of Divine consolation; and when, after any lengthened exemption from severe suffering, the prospect of his recovery was alluded to, his answer uniformly was, " If my Lord has anything more for me to do, I am in his hand." And then, in reference to those whom he had been accustomed to visit, he would sometimes say, "O that I could have them all brought here, that I might tell them how precious Jesus is to me now; that I might urge them not to put off seeking him. Oh, how wretched my state if I had now to seek for hope. Tell them not to delay." But it was in reference to that world, on the verge of which he seemed to be, as it were, detained in order to prepare him more fully for its enjoyments, that his feelings seemed to be at times too strong for any other utterance than tears. Sometimes he would observe, "Indeed, it doth not appear what we shall be. For many long years have I been looking forward to this season, and these circumstances, when I should be waiting to depart, and to be with my dearest Lord; yet even now I desire to say, 'All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come.' O blessed hour! I shall see him as he is, not through a glass darkly, but face to face; I shall be like him; I shall be for ever with my Lord. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." Often would he, when speaking on the glorious vision of the Redeemer in the unseen world, exclaim, 666 The more thy glories strike mine eyes, Thus, while I sink, my joys shall rise, His sufferings were mercifully ter minated on the 7th of September, 1850, when, there is every reason to hope, that as for him to live had been Christ, to die was gain,-to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord. In addition to the above slight sketch of the Christian course of our departed friend, some of the traits of his religious character seem to require a passing notice. Though his physical constitution was but feeble throughout life, his natural affections were strong and lasting. His piety sanctified all these af fections, and rendered them conducive to his own personal holiness. He was deeply affected by the loss of his parents, and frequently referred with great solemnity of feeling to their removal, and to the time of his own departure. Thus in reference to his mother, he writes: "I have been thinking much of my dear mother, who has been dead four years to-day. Oh what wonders have presented themselves to her view in the course of that period in the eternal world; how sweetly has she been employed, I hope, in celebrating the praises of her Redeemer! Methinks I see her clothed in white, with a crown on her head, and a palm in her hand, standing before the glorious throne of the Lamb, and there uniting with the thousands and tens of thousands in ascribing salvation and honour unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever. If this be her situation, what glory beams in her face, and what loveliness in her countenance! for whilst upon earth she displayed such a gentle disposition, that it might be truly said, that the spirit of the meek and lowly Jesus dwelt in her." And again, in reference to his brother and sister, whose graves he frequently visited, and there mingled weeping with prayer, he thus writes: "I have been this day thinking a great deal about my dear departed brother and sister, who are often upon my mind, and I feel as though I could not give them up at present. Every day I feel their loss more deeply. How much do I long for that happy day when we shall meet again to part no more. Whilst I am in this wilderness, I cannot serve my Saviour as I would, for I find that sin is mixed with all I do. Oh that I were released from this body of sin, for then I should be happy. If there should be no other happiness in heaven than the deliverance from all sin, this will be happiness indeed. We shall be in the presence of the Most High God. There shall I see his face, And never, never sin; Drink endless pleasures in.'" His views of Divine truth were clear, consistent, and evangelical, and their influence eminently practical. He placed a high estimate on the public means of grace, and throughout life endeavoured to make all worldly arrangements subservient to his securing the benefits they conferred. His en gagements in business were of a kind in early life to require his attention till a late hour on Saturday evenings, yet he looked forward with pleasing anticipation to the early prayer meeting on Sabbath mornings, and expressed regret when illness kept him away. The earnest and hallowed feeling with which he was accustomed to look forward to the Sabbath appears in the following brief extract from his own diary, under date April 8, 1820, and presents a striking contrast to the conduct of many in similar circumstances. "I am now closing another week, and looking forward with pleasing anticipation to the Sabbath. Oh! that it might be a Sabbath indeed to my soul. Let me begin the Sabbath ere it arrives; let me strive to get near to God this night in the closet, and hold communion with him in spirit. I feel myself much fatigued in body this evening, but to-morrow I shall have a sweet day of rest from all worldly occupations; and should I be permitted to enter upon an eternal Sabbath, I shall see my dear Redeemer as he is, and in his presence find fullness of joy, and at his right hand pleasures for evermore." Thus it is seen, that the secret of his delight and benefit in the public ordinances of religion, arose from his private communion with his own soul and his Divine Lord. It was this life of religion in his soul, thus nourished and strengthened by continual access to the only source of all spiritual life, that enabled him to persevere also in endeavours to do good under difficulties and discouragements by which others would have been deterred. This ennobled all his efforts, which were put forth as unto the Lord, and not unto men. He considered no personal exertion by which he could show kindness to others as beneath his attention. If he could promote his Saviour's praise, imitate his example, act so as to hope for his approval, lead some who were miserable and careless to seek his mercy, he was satisfied. He did not refuse to sacrifice his own ease and comfort, and at times to expose his health, to disregard the opinion or even the misrepresentations of others, so that some poor family might obtain the needed meal, some dreary widow's heart be made cheerful, some desponding sufferer listen to the words of comfort and of hope. This was the business of his life, and he followed it with the activity and perseverance with which the miser seeks and hoards his gold. It was his meat and drink, his pleasure and reward, and it was as catholic as pure. He would have felt it derogatory to his Christian reputation, and dishonourable to his Lord, to have asked the applicants for his benevolent regard, which place of religious worship they attended, or to what school they sent their children, before he attended to their claims; and if he afterwards discovered that they did not worship under the same roof, or that their children were not taught in the same school as that with which he was more immediately connected, the discovery made no alteration in the interest he felt, or the kindness he exercised. This caused his death to be regarded as a general calamity by the poor. It was felt, that though he might not be missed from the parties of conviviality and gaiety, he would be missed in the cottage of the needy, in the lonely dwelling of the widow, in the chamber of the sick, or at the bedside of the dying. The poor and the afflicted felt that they had lost a personal friend, and their grief was as sincere, as it was extensive. Multitudes followed with tears his mortal remains to their last resting-place, over which a plain stone has since been erected, bearing the following inscription: SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF SAMUEL BRADLEY BRIDGE, Esq. Who departed this life on the 7th of September, 1850, aged 52 years. He was a dutiful son, a faithful brother, an affectionate husband, a humble and devoted servant of Christ, as well as a kind and constant friend of the poor. His influence was exerted chiefly for the benefit of others, cheered and supported by the hope of the psalmist "I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness." Psalm xvii. ver. 15th. A sermon was preached to a large assembly in the Independent Chapel on the following Sabbath, from the 4th chapter of the 2nd of Corinthians, 17th and 18th verses, which he had himself suggested as suitable, should it be deemed desirable to make any public reference to his decease. The children in the schools mourned his removal; and one, the daughter of a poor widow, a young girl, formerly a Sunday scholar in one of the schools, but now a ser vant in the family of a pious clergyman, when informed in a letter of his death, sent back to her mother the following lines, which she had written on the occasion :— Heaven has received another saint, Jesus has called his servant home, To dwell with Him in heaven, Not long ago he walked on earth, A pilgrim travelling home, His Father's will alone. He taught the young to seek the Lord, His body lives no longer here, When it shall glorious rise. But though his mortal frame is dead, Before the eternal throne. Then weep not ye who mourn the loss That ne'er shall have an end. He rests within his Saviour's arms, He's with the happy band. He never more can feel a pain, His sufferings all have ceased, Fit for the marriage feast. And then you'll meet your friend in And all with Christ shall be ON THE JUSTIFICATION OF A SINNER BEFORE GOD. JUSTIFICATION, in its literal import, signifies the declaring or pronouncing a person innocent who has been falsely accused of crime. He who is accused of crime must stand condemned as blameworthy, in the opinion of all who believe the accusation as true. If, however, on examination it shall be found that the accusation was false, and without any foundation in truth, the accused party will then be clear: he will then be acquitted from the charge of blameworthiness, and will be freed from all condemnation. He will, in fact, be justified, and his justification will be on the ground of his own innocence. Justification, in its scriptural import, supposes guilt, and stands opposed to condemnation. Thus, God is said to justify the ungodly-and those whom he justifies are freed from condemnation. Sin, as an offence against God, and a breach of his law, deserves his displeasure: sinners, therefore, deserve to be excluded from his favour. But God, in justifying those who believe in Christ, frees them from condemnation, and places them in the same 'relative position as if they were not guilty; or as if they could be pronounced innocent. He fully and freely forgives all their sins, accepts them as if they were perfectly righteous, and makes them heirs, according to the hope of eternal life. Thus, justification is a change in the relative position of a sinner; a change from condemnation to acceptance,-from being a child of wrath to the privilege of being an heir of glory. e | as But it must be obvious that this is not the import of the term, as used in Scripture in reference to the justification of a sinner before God. For by no process whatever can any of the human family be pronounced really innocent. The accusation of crime, brought against mankind, is not a false one. Our guilt is real. The accusation brought against us is clearly proved. Conscience testifies to the truth of Scripture, "that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Every mouth must be stopped, and the whole world pronounced guilty before God. This, then, is the scriptural and acknowledged condition of the whole family of man. Yet, as the term justification is used in Scripture to denote the great and important blessings obtained through the work of Christ (for all that believe are said to be justified), we infer that there must be some resemblance between the literal import of the term and the scriptural one. This resemblance, we maintain, is to be found in the consequences. God treats those whom he justifies as if they really were innocent; or as if they could be justified on the ground of innocence. He grants them those privileges which perfect innocence could always secure. Now the Scripture assures us that this change is effected through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. The work of Christ, then, is the ground of justification, or that subject for the sake of which God justifies the ungodly. The reason of this method of justification is worthy of consideration. If justice had been allowed to proceed in its natural course, every sinner must have reaped the reward of his own iniquity; the penalty due to his sins must have been inflicted on his own head. And thus the authority of the Great Lawgiver might have been vindicated, and the stability of his laws maintained. But God had designs of mercy to our fallen race. His compassion was moved towards mankind. Some expedient, therefore, must be devised whereby all the ends of good government could be answered, in the forgiveness of the guilty; and all the claims of authority and law vindicated, in accepting those who deserve to die,-such an expedient as shall leave the law of God in its full force, and maintain the authority of the lawgiver, as clearly and forcibly as if justice had its natural course in the punishment of the guilty. Now this expedient we have in the death of Christ for our sins. "God hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." "Him God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for (or in) the remission of sins." Christ suffered, the just one for the unjust. This, then, is the grand expedient by which all the ends of good government can be maintained, all the rights of the lawgiver can be vindicated, and all the claims of authority and law sustained, when the violations of the law are freely and fully forgiven. It is the method whereby God can be just, and yet merciful; righteous, and yet show himself ready to pardon: whereby he condemns sin, and freely forgives the penitent sinner. It is, then, the method of salvation, which commends itself to our reason and judgment as well as to the feelings of our hearts. of the Divine testimony, but the belief or persuasion that the death of Christ is suitable and sufficient for salvation, and that salvation through his death is free for all who desire to be saved thereby. The belief or persuasion of these sub. jects of the Divine testimony will be accompanied with trust or confidence in the promises of life in Christ; and the surrender of the heart to the will of the Saviour. Those that believe may not indeed see the reasons why God should have chosen such a method of saving sinners, but they are sufficiently convinced of the suitability of the plan, and of its being appointed by God, to make it the ground of their confidence and the medium of their access to God. Thus exercising faith in God's method of saving sinners, and making it the ground of their hope, they are accepted. By thus believing in the testimony of God concerning Christ, they become connected with Christ, and have fellowship with him in the merits of his death, and the perfection of his righteousness. With the exercise of this holy principle of faith, God is pleased to connect the forgiveness of sin and a title to eternal life. Such are justified, and being justi fied have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, then, we conclude that the first, the primary evidence of our being justified, must be derived from the inward consciousness of our belief in the suitability, the sufficiency, and the freeness of the work of Christ for our redemption; or from the inward con Further, the justification of a sinner is to be by faith, for those that believe, and those only, are said to be justified. The simple fact of Christ's having suffered in our stead, does not, in itself, place any sinner in a state of justification. Though his death is that subject for the sake of which God justifies the ungodly, yet justification is obtained only on believing, he that be-sciousness that we sincerely approve of lieveth is justified. The faith which justifies, is the belief of the Divine testimony concerning the person and work of Christ. It is not, indeed, the belief that Christ died for any one in particular; for this is not the subject God's method of saving sinners by the death of his Son, and trust in it for our own individual salvation. July 15, 1851. M. S., Falkenham. |