tidings of great joy." The door was reluctantly opened, as it were between joy and fear. Having deliberately seated himself, he said: "I am come to show you what great things God has done for me. He loved me with an eternal love. He redeemed me from the curse of the law, and the threatenings of vindictive justice. He saved me from the power and the dominion of sin. He cast out the devils out of my heart, and made that heart which was a den of thieves, the temple of the Holy Spirit. I cannot tell you how much I love the Savior. Jesus Christ is the foundation of my hope, the object of my faith, and the centre of my affections. I can venture my immortal soul upon him. He is my best friend. He is altoge ther lovely-the chief among ten thousand. He is my wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. There is enough in him to make a poor sinner rich, and a miserable sinner, happy. His flesh and blood is my food-his righteousness, my wedding-garment-and his blood is efficacious to cleanse me from all my sins. Through him I can obtain eternal life; for he is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person-in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He deserves my highest esteem, and my warmest gratitude. Unto him who loved me with an eternal love, and washed me in his own blood-unto him be the glory, dominion, and power, for ever and ever! For he has rescued my soul from hell. He plucked me as a brand out of the burning. He took me out of the miry clay, and out of a horrible pit. He set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings, and put in my mouth a new song of praise and glory to him! Glory to him for ever!-Glory to God in the highest! -Glory to God, for ever and ever! Let the whole earth praise him!-Yea, let all the people praise him.” It is beyond the power of the strongest imagination to con ceive the joy and gladness of this family. The joy of seafaring men delivered from being shipwrecked-the joy of a man delivered from a burning house-the joy of not being found guilty to a criminal at the bar-the joy of receiving pardon to a condemned malefactor-the joy of freedom to a prisoner of war,is nothing in comparison to the joy of him who is delivered from going down to the pit of eternal destruction. For it is a joy unspeakable and full of glory. In speaking from these words I. We would notice Christ's mission into the world to destroy the works of the devil. II. His qualifications for that important work: He is both God and man-the Son of God most high. III. The awful state and condition of those people, who love the things of the world more than Jesus Christ-who join the Gadarenes in saying unto Christ, Depart from us. According to the best information we can obtain, there are at present in Wales, 250 Baptist meeting-houses, and about as many other stated preaching places, for lectures on Sunday and week day evenings, which are regularly supplied with the preaching of the gospel by Baptist ministers, not once a month, but every week, and in some places, three or four times a week, besides Lord's-days. This is owing, not only to the number, but also to the diligence of the Welsh preachers, and to a plan which is there adopted to defray their travelling expenses, as well as an acknowledgment of gratitude from the churches for their labors of love. Although the Welsh churches do not give much to their ministers, yet an instance has never occurred of their letting a regular minister, in good standing, go from them without giving him something. The travelling preachers receive a stated sum for each sermon, so that a man of strong constitution, who can preach twice every day, as Christmas Evans, John Elias, and others do, would receive a considerable amount for his services. For this purpose the churches have a fund, or treasury, into which the people cast their contributions, so that no collection is made when the minister is present. The whole number of Baptist communicants in Wales, is about 35,000. Alban, Aaron, and Julian, suffered martyrdom, Constantine embracing Christianity, The Saxons driving the Welsh from England into Wales, Baptist principles maintained by the Welsh, from the year 68 to the pre sent time, The Baptists in the Vale of Carleon, The difference between the ancient Baptists, and the Baptists who de- Page 6 8 9 10 11. 12 14 14 18 19 19 |