Duke University Libraries Your soul-is i Conf Pam 12mo #943 [for the soldiers. ] No. 16, YOUR SOUL— IS IT SAFE ? A QUESTION FOR EVERY ONE. YOU HAVE A SOUL. If an aged stranger should meet you, and earnestly inquire as to the safety of some earthlj- object you most dearly value : "Mun, your property, your character, your family, are they^sife ?'' "Child, your father, your mother, are they safe?" "Mother, your child, is it safer are you sure of it?" the question would at once arrest Your attention, and excite a crowd of hurried and anxious thouglus^m your mind. Who is this stronger ? what has awakened hh^ma'uifest 'earnestness '.' and why does he address this inquiry to irieT . He knows what I pos- sess, and what I most dearly value. Does he know of some danger of which I am ignorant ? ('an he tell me any way of averting or escap- ing it ? Would you not say to him, "What know you of my property, or my character, or my child ? What is the danger you intimate \ whence docs it come ; and how can it be removed ?" Dear reader, a stranger addresses you in this little book, and earn- estly asks the still more momentous question : "Your soul — is it safe r" 1 He knows that you have a soul, and that that soul is in danger, He can tell whence that peril comes, and how it may be averted, and your soul be safe for ever. Will you not give one brief hour's attention to him ; go with him through these pages, and see if a man who has been reading and thinking about the human soul for forty years may not be able to teli you something of that soul, of its condition, its perils, and its preciou- ness, that you do not know ; or at least, by God's blessing teach you to give to these things a deeper attention than you have ever given ? You have a Soul. It is not your body, not your life, but a spirit that is distinct from, and independent of both these. You are not mere matter, however wonderfully organized ; you have miod, and consciousness, and will ; you can reason and resolve, but mere matter <~annot do this. You are not a mere animal, that can see, and feel, and hear ; you can understand. You can conceive of things that are pure- ly spiritual, of angels and of God ; but only a spiritual nature can have any idea of spiritual objects. A material mirror cannot reflect mind, but only things that have form or color, that are material like itself. Your soul is independent of your bodily senses, for it often cor- and contradicts their testimony. To the eye the distant hil is but a little mound, and the twinkling star a shining speck; but to the mind one is a Wist and lofty eminence, and the other a glorious world. In the" solitude of your chamber, and amidst the silence and ness of night, when no object meets the eye, no sound fills upon the car. and no bodily sense is I, awake or asleep, there is some- thing in you that can see through the gloom, and range beyond the that holds your body, can revisit former scenes, recall past associations, and recognize the forms and hear the voices of distant 01 departed friends. Now, it is not the eye, the ear that does all this ; not matter, but mind; not the body, but the soul. The mind is often happy while the body suffers, often vigorous when the body is weak; and may it not live when the body dies? All the conscious and intelligent beings of whom we have any knowledge are spirits — devils, and angels, and Qrod. You are a con- scious and intelligent being; and should not this lead to the conclus- ion that you are a spirit too? David evidently felt this when he said, "Into thy hands I commit my spirft;" and Jesus, when he adopted the words of David; and Stephen, when he said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." What did the^e coVn initio (. \o dy Was it the body — the material part? Was it the breath, the last portion of air they inhaled? Oh, no ; it was their souls, their conscious and immortal being. "Abraham gave up the ghost, and was gathered to his fathers ;" but how was this? lie was not buried with them ; iheir graves were far away in Mesopotamia and Chaldea, ami his in Canaan; but his soul departed to the assembly of the blessed, and was gathered to his pious fathers. Paul believed that he was a spirit, distinct and separ- able from the body, and said, "We are willing rather to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord." Sfes.; and you too have a. soul — you are a spiiit ; your body is but the earthly house, the mor- tal vestment of your soul. Is that spirit safe? You have a SOUL, an IKUQ r : ; it. can never die —never cease to think and feel, to enjoy or Buffer. Absolutely and essentially, " (5od only hath immortality," but he hath conferred immortality on you. The desire of eternal existence is inherent in man, is prevalent even amidst the Ignorance and superstition of heathenism*, and (lod has implanted this desire in the human heart. Did he inspire that, wish only to disappoint it? Did he awaken this, the noblest hope of in in, for naught'' No earthly creature but man looks and longs for im- mortal existence, and if'he is not immortal, his loftier conceptions and aspirations a:c hut capacities of deeper wretchedness — the I ■■•, that lie has a conscious existence, and that he. is destined to lose it for ever. Dut it is not, it cannot be so. The moral nature of man involves the necessity of bis ftilure ex- istence, (iod must have, had some wise and holy purpose in the Creation of such a being as you are — must have had a definite will concerning your character and cThiduct; and that purpose and that will arc revealed to you in his holy word. Your attention and obe- dience to that Word, or your neglect and violation of it, must be f»l- by reward or punishment. Were it not for the expeetati in > t a future state, there would be no moral government. Every form ol Bclf-mdulgcnce and sin would be fearlessly perpetrated, and all and happiness would disappear from this world, if the: e were i pectation of a world to come. Th- . of God indicates and insure-- the immortality of your souj. Wise and Kind and just ;& he is, sin must be dwobedience t# bis will, and dishonoring to his government! Yet th A bad are, as to this world, equally favored and afflicted. Virtue avif'ts ne earthly calamity, ami vice insures no preseftl punishment. Can this.be the end Of the one 1 , or of the other? It is impossible — imp the character of God. There mustb « a future world — a in reckoning and recompense. Yes, d oul is immortal. Your body may decay and die ; all itswondei- iclure be disorganized, and all its line and vivid sensibilitts ho i longer see, nor the ears hear, nor the nerves nor the heart pulsate. Impassive and insensible as the c'.ods that it, it will not feel the pressnre of the foot that treads upon its lowly bed, nor the touch of the spade that turns Up the moid. dust; but your sou! will yei be • . its peremptions more clear. and its sensibilities more vivid than when in this earthly dwelling; it will live in bliss or woe, in heaven or hell for eveiv That soul is you — your nobler self. Is your soul safe? You have a sen,, a PRECIOUS soul. Precious in its own nature, and of gr< .-. ious capacities; it can think and know and will, and To man in a savage state, bodily vigor and brutal _c are the noblest quaftt'es, though in these he is equal y some of the beasts around him ; but to civilized and educated man, intelligence; knowledge, is afar nobler attribute of Ejects of his knowledge are the tests of its real VVhat then Can be so ennobling as the knowledge of God? ul is capable of knowing ' I reciousin Its very immortality! This endows it with a kind of infinitude, and impresses upon it and incalculable worth: it will continue for ever. Even ten] • . ■• valued by their dur- ation : a cottage in perpetuity is worth more than a palace for an hour; k life of ordinary enjoyment is better than a moment of cestacy ; what ta1 consciousness, a power to think and learn, to acquire and enjoy for ever? This is the capacity efyour pacity gibes' to it inconceivable importance and pre- ci'Hisness. You may learn the worth of your soul by considering how it is estimated b}' wiser and holier beings than yourself. Ghd rnhtm it. So precious was the soul, yea, your M)ul, to him, that its interests occupied his thoughts in the nasi nity, and fee foresaw its ruin and provided for its redemption. As soon as sin had blighted the soul of man, he commanded the sacrifi- cial altar to be raised, and the bleeding victim offered, as the hopeful shadow ofth icrifice to come; and as priest after priest roin- I at that altar, and prophet afte ' prophet unfolded the plan of , all proved and illustrated God's high appreciation of the ▼alue of the soul, and showed that its salvation was at once the warm* •est desire of his gracious heart, and the grand object of Ins eternal providence. Set •how Christ values the human soul. He paid, "What shrill it prot.t a ni:m, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" And his entire history proves that to him souls were far more precious than wealth, or ease, or honor, or life, or worlds. "The redemption of the soul is precious." Who is able "to redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him?" Only Christ ; and "He e.ave himself for us ;" "laid down his life." Nothing else was of sufficient value. "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." S e how angels valve the soul. Ever the friends of man, they re- joiced in his creation, witnessed his fell, watched the history of hie redemption. They estimate the worth of souls by their own experi- ence of bow much holy spirits can enjoy, and by their observation of what fallen spirits can suffer. The salvation of a soul is, t<> them, a fact of tremendous importance. They watch for the first tear of pen- itence, the first cry for pardoning giace ; it touches all their hearts, and is told through all their glorious !egions ; and ''there is joy in the presence of thi- angels of God over one sinner that repenteth" — joy, loftier bliss, and louder s.ongs in heaven. And why ? Is it that some new system of world* is created ; or some other order of intelligent being- called into existence ; or some mighty enemy of God and good subdued and punished? No; but that a fallen man is created anew ; that the good Shepherd has brought back a wandering sheep ; that a prodigal son has returned to his eternal Father ; that one precious soul is saved tVom the wrath to come. And you have a soul. Your body — those hands and feet and eyes, that heart and head, are yours ; but they are not you. You move those limbs, hear through those ears, and see through those eyes; but your soul asserts its superiority lo them all. That soul can range where those feet have never trod — can perceive what those eye* have not seen, nor those ears heard - can apprehend and hope for future and eternal joy, when your ''earthly house of this tabernacle" is mould- ered into dust. You are a spirit, an embodied spirit, yet a spirit im- material, immortal, and precious beyond all human calculation. Haw you rightly appreciated and cared for the welfare of your soul? What portion of your attention, what part of every day have you given to its interests? What efforts have you employed,, what prayers have you offered for its salvation? But why do 1 ask this? Does that soul need your care? Is it exposed to evil? Can, its eternal happiness be in dangei? Oh, yes; the evils and enemies that threaten it are many and mighty ; and the ruin they threaten is irretrievable and everlasting. YOUR SOUL IS EXPOSED TO DANGER. Danger to our earthly interests in vaned according to the source from whence it arises, and the objects it assails. Is it our character it threatens ? This may be injured by mis- understanding or misrepresentation on the part of others, or by mis conduct on our own part. Is it our property that is endangered? This may be lost through improvidence in us, or through failure or dishonesty in those with whom we have to do. Is it life that is in peril ? This may he destroyed by internal disease, or outward vio- lence, or by the inflictions of offended justice ; and this last idea, the dangers of life, we will employ as an illustration of the perils which threaten the immortal soul ; only premising that the death of th is not the extinction of its being, but the loss of its happiness. Your tout is depraved, is sinful ; and sin is the disease ol the soul. Bin impairs the vigor of the soul, disturbs its healthful action, and disorganizes its vital powers; and if its influence be not arrested by some sovereign remedy, its effect will be daily aggravated, and ultimately fatal. The healthful condition of the soul is love to (rod, devotedness to his service, and dependence on his bless- ing. But where on earth is tie soul in this condition now? Look around on the masses of mankind, and see the proofs of a universal depravity. It pervades all ranks of human society, from the'. I to the lowest ; it spreads itself over OUT common nature; and in the strong and startling words of eternal truth, '-The whole he d is Kick, and the whole heart faint ; from the sole of the foot even unte the head there is no soundness m it." Look witliin, on your own spiritual condition, and say, do you love God, and serve him as he requires, as you were intended lo do, as aa intelligent and favored creature should? No; you are conscious that you do not. Hut how is this V your soul is fallen, depraved, diseased; and that spiritual malady is ever increasing, enfeebling your better purposes, defiling your heart, and displaying its stranger symptoms in vour life : that disease will at length be fatal ; and unless it is arrested by the hearing greet of God, it must issue in eternal death. Were your body under the action of some dangerous affliction, you would seek the aid of the highest skill, and submit to most nauseous medi- cines. Have you so readily and anxiously sought for your iiaeased soul "the balm that is in Gilead, :>nd the Physician there?" Your smd is exposed to external danger. Though no disease should enfeeble the powers, and threaten the destruction of your natural life, yet it nii'jht be imperilled by external evils. 'What avails the; health of the hardy seaman when the sunken rock, or the boisterous wind, or the towering wave, sinks his vessel and himself in the mighty deep? And what the strong arm and courageous heart of the brave soldier, when the gleaming aword or the whistling bullet strikes him down in death? Nay, what the vigorous tread, and the happy antic- ipations of the homeward traveller, when the robber's weapon pierces lo his heart ? Would you be safe if exposed to the potion of a tainted atmosphere, •r the contagion of a deadly pestilence ? Yet such is the dangerous influence of the worldly and wicked habits and examples that sur- round you on every hand— the all but unviv. rsal neglect of religion and (J. Ki, blighting all holy fueling and heaven ward thought and noble purpose The very commonness of irreligion is its greatest power for evil ; it appears like the assumption 6f singular wisdom, or the abandonment of Christian charity, to deny the piety and safety ofthe majority of mankind, though God has said, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil." Would you be safe travelling through an unknown country, amid many devious ways, all but one of which were deeply perilous? Would conflicting testimonies as to the one safe way ally your anxiety? Would it not augmvnt your danger if the false ways were ever the fairest and the most frequented I Well, such are the perplexities and the perils of the journey of life; "for strait is the gate and narrow* is the way which leadeth unto life; and few there be that find it"— yea, none, « ithuut the chart of truth and the teaching ofthe Holy Spirit Would you he *«/ of God. Though no disease within, no foes without, should endanger our natural life, that life may be forfeited by crime, and righteously sacrificed by offended justice. The unhappy prisoner in yonder cell is in perfect health, and uo hand of unlawful violence is armed against him; yet his hoursare numbered, and to-morrow he must die. Do not think that the refe- rence is inciting or inapplicable ; however humiliating, it is just and appropriate. Then' is a higher authority than human governments, and there arc laws more imperative and unchanging than the laws of man. "There is a God that judgelh in the earth." His 'law is holy and his commandment holy, just, and good ;"and you have offended that God, you have violated that law, and aie exposed to iis tremen- dous penalty! Guilt is the universal character of our fallen race ; 'all have sinned," "the whole world is become guilty before God," "and judgements come upon all men to condemnation." You. my dear reader, are a criminal under sentence of death— the death of the BOUI. It may he you have not seriously thought cf this, though you have often said to God," We have done the things we ought not to have done;" or, it may he, you have felt your guilt, and said, "Enter not into judgment with thy servant, Lord ;" but in either case the fact is the same : you are a sinner, and as a sinner, you are righteously condemned. The doomed criminal may sleep in peace through the last hours of life— may (".ream of joys gone by, or joys to come ; but justice is ever vigilant, and the instruments of death are ready : he will awake, but to die. So the sinner may slumber in imaginary security, and bright visions of life and pleasure may delight his heart, but his "damnation slumhereth not ;" he will " awake to everlasting shame," will "die in Ids sins," and "lift up hiv eyes in hell, being in torment." Is not all this true? Is it not written in the hook of truth? Are not you a fallen creature, depraved, spiritually diseased I Do not evil influences surround and threaten you f Is there not guilt oa your conscience? Then is your soul, mifc? Oh no, nor can it ever be, "unless .--ome gracious power shall subdue your depravity, shield you from the malice of your spiritual enemies, and save you from the righteous condemnation of God. All this may be done for you; God is able and willing to do it; and, all this being done, your soul would be safe for ever. Did you ever seriously reflect on these things; ever make the value and danger and possible salvation of your soul the subject of deliberate 8 and deep, and solemn examination and inquiry; ever determine to ascertain what reason you had to hope for future happiness? If not^ you have neglected the first and most momentous duty of life. Thought, deep, earnest thought, on the state and prospects of your soul is the first step in rational religion. There are myriads now liv- ing in sin whom one hour of solemn inquiry and fervent prayer might, humanly speaking, have brought to God ; yea, myriads in hell, whom one hour of such ho y exercises might have led to heaven. Do we, in saying this, seem to you to undervalue or forget the necessity of divine influence to change the heart? Then you mis- take the means by which the Holy Spirit operates, and the way in which his gracious power must be sought. It is in such moments of solemn reflection that divine influence is impurted and on such anxiously inquiring souls that the blessed Spirit descends. This happy relation between reflection and return to God, and the re- ception of his blessing, is beautifully illustrated in the parable of the prodigal. "And when he came to himself, he said, I will arise, and go to my father ; and when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Oh yes, God marks the hour of solemn reflection, helps the purpose of returning to himself, and hastens to meet and bless tho coming soul. It is true, then, that one hour of solemn thought may save a soul. Try for yourself the blessed experiment. Give an hour, and give it now, to sjlf examination and earnest prayer. God will meet, and help, and bless you ; and the result may be the salvation of your soul. 9 YOUR SOUL MAY BE SAVED. To warn a person of an unavoidable danger, or an inevitable cal- amity, would be not merely useless, but positively cruel. Who would tell the happy child of the weaknesses and pains of thoso diseases that are Incident to its early life ? Who would wish that the playful lunb could foresee the slaughtering knif; ? Niy, who would awaken the sleeping criminal, only to point out to him the horrors of that ignominious death to which the morning's dawn will light him ? Do you ask, 'Then why do you tell the sinner of his depravity and danger and fearful condemnation ?" I answer, "Because that de- pravity may be subdued, that danger may be averted, and that sen- tence of condemnation may be cancelled ; yea, exchanged for one of pardon and blessing." Yes, my dear reader, your soul may be saved. Do you ask, "Whereby shall I know this?'' The Bible ever contemplates man as a sinner, and addresses him only as a sinner ; it is to him "the word of salvation." All its revelations are the unfoldings of the work of human redemption ; all its invitations say, "L ok unto me, and be saved ;" all its precepts, "Wok out your own salvation ;" and all its promises, "Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense ; he will come and save you." Divine mercy has provided a salvation that meets all t'ic necessities of our lost condition ; and the gospel clearly reveals and freely offers that salvation to all men. The great work is accomplished, the eter- nal blessings are prepared ; and the graci ms invitation is uttered. "Come, for all things are now ready." What does fallen man re- quire ; depraved, endangered, and condemned as he is ? T iere mast be pardon for Lis guilt, salification for his impurity, safeguard from his enemies here, and a home of rest and joy and glory hereafter ; and all these God has provided for you. The atonement nfChri*t insures forgirenes* *o every one who be- lieves in Him. Forgiveness is the great want of the condemned criminal. What to him are the cheerful light and the vital air ; the flowering spring and the fruitful summer ; the glow of health and the words of sympathy ? He must Nave mere}' and pardon, or the shad- ow of death rests like a dark cloud on all that is bright and beautiful around him. So it is with the condemned sinner. Nothing but divine forgivi»- ness can help or cheer him now, The awful sentence is written in that holy book; is whispered by the voice of conscience; is read in mystic characters upon his chamber wall, "Oh, wicked man, thou shalt surely die ;" and nothing but pardoning inerey can meet his case. That mercy is presented to him in Christ. He "came into the world to save sinners ;" -'gave himself for us;" and there is "redemption through his blood, ev.cn the forgiveness of sin." He stood in our frtcad; "suffered and died for u~;" honored, by his perfect obedience, the law we had broken • and averted the curse we had merited by on- during it on our behalf. 10 Now, God can "bejust, and thejuslifier ofhira that believeth;" and a full and free forgive nes is offered to every sinner who trusts in Christ His sins are "blotted out," he "is justified from all things," he has "peace with God," and "tliere is, therefore, now no condemnation. * The uniform and definite language of the gospel is, "Believe, and be saved:" for -'whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life."' Trust in Christ then, and your soul will be safe — safe, from the judicial consequences of sin, the wrath and curse of God, and condemnation to eternal woes. Oh, reader, think on your guilty and doomed condition ; and receive and rejoice in this great and blessed truth, that "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." "Ileie,. sinners, yon may heal your wounds, And wijie your sorrows dry ; * Trust in the mighty Saviour's name, And yuu shall never d:e." Yes, your soul may be save! ! The Holy Spirit will sanctify your nature, if you liumoly asl- TiU~* influence. Pardort is not enough for the happiness of the diseased criminal ; he wants health to enjoy the blessing of freedom. Res- cued from condemnation and released from the fetters of his prison- house, if disease still prey upon his vitals, the life that mercy has granted to him is but "a time to die!" Nor is divine forgiveness alone sufficient for the happiness of degenerate man ; be needs purity of heart Pardon may rescue him from the anger, and restore him to the favor ofGodV but it alone bestows no capacity for the enjoyment of that favor. The merit of Jesus redeems the believing sinner from hell; bui the renewing and saniifyjng power of the blessed Spirit must prepare him for heaven. Now, this gracious influence is offered every believing soul in answer to prayer. Ah, what riches of mercy are. here! God will repair the moral ruin which we have wrought in our hearts; will restore the purity which our sins have destroyed; redraw on our souls his own lovely image, which we had obliterated; raise our grovelling •. flections again to himself and heavqjp, and make us "meet to be partakers of the in- heritance of the saints in light" Hear his gracious promises: "And T will give them one heart, and I will put a new Spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out cf their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them : and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." "Will he do all this forme?" you ask; Yes, for you, and for every praymg soul. How tenderly does Jesus meet and obviate the poor sinner's natural and painful doubt. Fathers, who have felt paternal tenderness; and children, who have known a lather's love, listen to the words of your Redeemer: "Ifye, then, being evil, know how togive good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him V 11 Do you ask how the Holy Spirit acts upon the mind, to enlighten and purify and coinfori it ? J. sus answers you, The wind bloweth il I'isteth, and thou hearcst the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it eo • eth, and whither it goeth: even so is every one that is born of the Spirit." That divine power can renew and sanctify the mind is a truth not hard to believe, though the mode of its operation may be impassible to comprehend- God formed that mind— formed it in "the beauty of holiness ;" and surely he can form it anew, and restore it to its primi- tive condition. Thai the Holy Spirit has done this, is proved by in- ahle examples; the Bible is full of the memorials of his renovat- ing power. All the knowledge and purity and virtue that adorned iracters of patriarchs and prophets and apostleaand < hvistians, ■:ies are written in the word of God, were ti this divine and mighty influence; and all the excellences that dis- tinguish living believers from their fellow-sinners, and from l heir former eelres, are the fruits ofthe same gracious power. That gra Cious power can give life a;;d health and holiness to your soul ; can impart to you that real inward piety which is the earnest aid th ginning of life eternal. Yes, your sonl may be saved, not only from .■ful curse, but from the fatal power of «ih; may not only 1 be pardoned but purified ; not only entitled to heaven through faith in the righteousness of Jesus, but prepared for heaven by "ihe power of the Hoij Ghost ;" and you may say, with the gratitude the ap istle, ■' According to Ids mercy he saved us, by the washing ot n, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Yes, your soul may be saved, only pray. "Re-new 'nine eves, and form my ears And mould my heart afresh ; Give me new passions, joys, and feara, And turn the stone to flesh." The power of God mil shield you from nil your spirUml/oet. Let the condemned criminal be forgiven ; let him go forth, to liberty, in ner'ect health have to breathe the pestilential air ol some 1, infested by ferocious beasts, and inhabited by powerful and merciless enemies, his life is still in danger So would it he with r loned and renewed soul, if if were not ''kept by the power ot God'"' 1 1 is kept and ever shall be; ami herein is its safety. Do von say, '■ But cannot 1 keep myself? 1 am free to will and to w t" Alas dear reader, you are not so free ; for "the world, the fl^l, . dl," are in league against you. You are influenced by the opinions and habits of those around you ; you are subject to divers lusta and passions ; " Bod without the help of God, y* a will tive bv the devil at his will." "i < u have lost your spirit- ual liberty and your moral power by sin ; and you cannot keep your- telf from the dangers that threaten you. ' lb, yen ask "If I am pard««nod and renewed, am 1 not able to ward off the attacks of my spiritual Fo. s ?" No ; net by you* own Strength, even then. Hear the acknowledgments ol the apnstle : "We are not sufficient of ourselves to do any thing as ol ourselves ; 12 our sufficiency is of God ;" "When I would do good, evil is present with me — how to perform that which is good, I tind not." I And "a law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bring- ing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members." It is through too much dependence upon themselves, and too little on the grace of God, that so many professors, and even Christians, fall into sin. The self dependent are ever in danger ; and the soul that humbly and steadfastly trusts in God is always safe; hence the singular and paradoxical saying of Paul, ''When I am weak, then am 1 strong." Your spiritual enemy is too cunning and loo mighty for you. He is an angel, though a fallen one ; and still he has an angel's intelligence, and an angel's power. He has studied the human heart for nearly six thousand years, and intimately knows all its diversities of de- pravity, the avenues by which it may most readily be assaulted, and the means and motives that will most easily seduce it from religion and God ; and if you do not simply and constantly depend on '-power from on high," he will accomplish your ruin. But the gospel tells you of unsleeping eyes that will watch over you, of everlasting arms that will encircle you, and of almighty power that will shield you from harm. It assures you that "they (hat trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever." Yes, your soul may be safe ; but this cannot be, unless you believs in Jesus, and simply and heartily rely on the merit of his sacntice. It cannot be, unless you seek, in earnest prayer, the influences of the Holy Spirit, and yield your heart to his transforming power. It cannot be, unless you reuount-c all self-dependence, and rest aione on the safe keeping of God. Clien your safety will be inviolable ; it will be guaranteed by all the infinite perfections of Jehovah ; by his un- changing love, his almighty power, and his eternal truth ; and yon may sing — "Finn as the earth thy gospel stands, My Lord, my hope, my trust; If! urn found in Jehus' hands, My soul can u e'er be lost. 13 YOU MAY KNOW THAT YOUR SOUL IS SAFE. 1r 1 could tell you of seme certain way of insuring the safety of the earthly things that are dearest to you, your personal comforts, your property, your beloved relative? — if I could unfold some infallible method of averting disease and death from you and yours, with what attention would you listen to the disclosure ot the happy plan, with what eagerness would you adopt it, and with what ecstasy rejoice in the confidence that the dear objects of y< ur greatest care were secure from every harm. Will you be so earnestly attentive — will you so eagerly adopt the prescribed means, and so deeply rejoice in the hope of security, while I tell you how you may be assured that your precious pool is safe, and safe forever? Yes, secure from the condemnation of God, from the deadly power of sin, from the malice of its spiritual foe.-, and from the dreadful miseries of hell. You may suppose your soul is already safe, but that supposition is no certain evidence of it* seem 'city. It may be,that your confidence is more the result of indifference than of enlightened and earnest inquiry, the mere delusion of a spiritual slumber, in which the threatened danger is do! seen, nor the gracious warning heard ; and d learning of secu- rity and happines, you may cry, "Peace, peace, when sudden destruc- tion comcth upon you, and you cannot escape." Or the confidence may be the result of ignorance of the character of God, and the guiltiness of sin, and the way of salvation through Christ; ignorance of that awful justice that "will by no means clear the guilty ;" of that righteous condemnation which has" passed upon all men, because all have sinned ;" and of the nature of thai £uth by which alone the sinner can obtain pardon and salvation in the work of theKedecmer. You may thinic your soul secure while it is in eternal peril, unless saying, "Thy testimonies are my counsellors," you carefully inquire and examine and ascertain what is the appointed and only ground of safety, and how that "Rock of ages" can be reached and relied upor. Do not think that confidence of security is necessarily a state ot salvation. Beware of delusion here ; for, "He that never doubted of his state, He may, perhaps— perhaps he may too late." Oh, beware of delusion here ; remember it is your soul that is at Ktake— it is its happiness for ever : and there are false hop s — there are "refuges of lies," and you may go, the victim of delusion, to the very gate of heaven ; tor (.'hfist has said, "Then shall ye begin tw say. We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and ihou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, 1 know not whence yc.arc." Do not understand me to mean, on the other hand, that »n assurance of safety is essential to the salvation of your soul. No ; the trembling child is as ?afe, in the impregnable citadel, as the mightiest hero, though it cannot ui.derstand the strength of the bulwarks whirl; shelter it. The shipwrecked mariner is safe when ho reaches the land, though the darknef-s prevents his recognizing his native thot« H and the humble foul tint (rusts in Jesus is secure, though he rmy doubi whether ho is really in the" hiding-place, fiom the wind, and the covert from .tli " Ids the actual p iner'a Boul, and not his perception of that position that constitutes the reality of iU humble trusting faith, and and not the rejoicing of it:, the firmness of th vi rock, and not the full assurance of the hope that rests upon it. which insures salvation. Yet, to know that 1 am safe, is necessary to ray present hap- . though it is not so to my eternal bliss. Then how we know thai our souls are In this inquiry we must Utterly discard all hums s, all the deductions and di '.' picre reason, is to ; be or to be enough for the safely of a soul. We n 9 only I character and. will of. the great La". 'at his . ■ final decispn will be giv< n, and he will decide according to his o ■!, law, • .ml not according to the judgment of his creatures. All our in tips matter must be gathered from the assurances and llhisl upples of his holy word. Let us pondei that blessed bpok together then ; and if I cannot ou into those h 7 peace where shii.es the "full assurance of'hope," i may, by the help of God, bring you to that humbler point, where you will have, and fepl ( that you have a right to hope. t blessed word tells us that, by. Christ, "all that believe are ;" that" there is therefore, now no con- nation to them that, are in Christ Jesus."' II •.-.,■ j ou felt your sinfulness, your lost condition as a sinner, and " tie 1 . 10 lay hold Up >u the hope set before VOU?" Is it the i solemn 'utterance of your heart, " Lord, snt me, or I perish I" "Other re r, .i£<> have I none, Ilaaps my helpless soul on thee ?" rp| Vi , ' »ice in the assurance of God, that ''whosoever U not perishj brJt have everliStinglife ; n, and in " 1 give unto fiuin eternal life, and they shall ncv ■ t shall any pluck tiiem out of my ban I." Your soul safe! < ^ • Have j ou experienced a. change of mind ? Is j our mind enlighten- ed to perceive the paramount importance of, spiritual an I ■ yousay 1 "0 'C thkig 1 know, that whereas 1 was blind, ,,u heart been rene ected to God and Chi-t and heaven? T! if God in your Boul, and rejoice in his blesK- \Toyounow humhly depending on the' help of GocUo strengthen vo „ t ,, ,)«) his holy will, and to i from the power of your spiritual enemies? Is the habitual fueling of' your heart dependence, a, d its daily prayer, "Hold thou me up, and I Then vou arc "kept by the power of God;" "underneath thee are the ever- Lstii - arris ;" and vou inav rejoice in that eternal Safe- kTCpThg, and 15 say, "I »tn persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor ante's, nor princi; powers, nor things nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor- to separata us from the lave of God, which is in Olirist Jesus our Lord.'*' Oh yes, relying on tho a( :' Jesus, renewed by hfo Spirit, ?:il :onfidiog in his rare, your soul is safe Aodnow ; dear reader, is rouR »0 rot slight this mo- ment ms question ; do not shrink from it ; you, it may be. or have only occupied your mini low of your more serious moments ; then how can you expect to know that your soul is sat'w ? you are seriously saying, "Oh that I had this happy C I i- y I hope to obtain it ?" How haVe you sought it V It is not the reward of indolence, or of occasional and he i ;.i!-. \ on must diligently use the appointed means of grace ; must re d and study the holy word with attention, humility, and prayer. "Search ihe Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eter- e, and thej which testify of ME." There alone you 16 can learn the requirements of his holy will, the provisions of his merry, and the spirit and character of his Hue disciples. You must attend the ordinances of divine appointment, not occa- sionally, but constantly ; not for half the Sabbath, but during all its hallowed hours. You are contented or compelled to £>ive the whole of s!a days to your worldly interests ; you must give at least the seventh with equal diligence to your bpiritual welfare, nor act nor feel as if temporal things were more necessary or more precious than eternal things. You must "pray without ceasing;" be frequent and earnest and importunate in supplication to God ; must ask for light and purity and hope, as the hungry ask for food, the 'suffering for ease, or the dying for coi'tinucd life. You must make religion the business of your life, your daily life. No business is so important ; none will so certainly succeed, nor yield such rich returns. There i- holy wisdom — that which maketh "wise unto salvation : v ' and "if thou seekest her as silver, and searches! for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find, the knowledge of God." There is a teaching Spirit, one that "search- thai) things, even the deep things of God j 1 ' and if you seek ;.:;.] ask his instructions, "he will lead you into all truth," will "take of the things of Christ, and show them untoyou." There are evidences, definite and infallible evidences of ersonal piety ; and if you study and understand and culivate them, you may know^thntyou "have pas- sed from death unto life, and shall not come into condemnation." Yes, there is yet a Pisgah in the wilderness ; and though the ascent, to it he steep and tiresome, the devoted and determined soul may reach its top, and see the far-off glories of the heavenly Canaan. Yon may know that your soul is safe. Dear reader, look again through these simple pages, and listen to their cautions and instructions and exhortations, as to the voice of a kind and faithful friend, one who has prayed, and will yet pray that the perusal of this little book may, by the blcssrng of Almighty God, lead you to care for the eternal welfare of your precious soul, to seeV. and nod in Christ its present and everlasting salvation,, and to KNOW THAT YOUIl SOUL IS SAFE. Hollinger Corp. pH8.5