The following lines are from the pen of a young man of high promise who has been called away to an early grave. The scene is a moor in Ayrshire, Scotland, about half a mile south of the river which gives name to the county, to the moss, and to the town situated on its banks near its junction with the Atlantic Ocean. Ayrshire, even now, abounds with godly people and able evangelical pastors; and has had a succession of faithful witnesses in past ages. "The Lollards of Kyle," before the dawn of the protestant reformation, resided in its middle district through which this fine stream flows. During the tyranny and persecutions of CHARLES II., there dwelt in this shire many pious patriots, who were, of course, obnoxious to the government: and they were charged with undue partiality for their Presbyterian brethren of the Netherlands, whom Charles was anxious to put down. In Holland, persecuted Scottish men found a refuge; and from its seminaries, the Covenanters obtained a supply of ministers for their comfort and edification. On the 22d June, 1680, the Rev. Donald Cargill paid a visit to Mr. Richard Cameron, an eminently pious man, educated and ordained in Holland for the ministry of the oppressed Church of Scotland. These champions of religious liberty drew up a declaration of their principles, and the object for which they contended, against the arbitrary misrule under which the patriot groaned. It was a masterly production, and they affixed it to the cross of Sanquhair. Hence, it is known as a public document, under the name of "The Sanquhair DECLARATION." The council took the alarm; and General Dalziel was ordered to scour the country, and inflict vengeance. He was fitted for deeds of blood. A demi-savage himself, brought up in the barbarous Muscovite service, he did not shrink from the task. A body of one hundred and twenty dragoons, under Earshal, discovered the wild glen in which the houseless exiles waited on the ministry of Mr. Cameron. A party of Covenanters, consisting of forty foot, and twenty-six horsemen, were surprised while singing the psalm. After a brave resistance they were all either killed on the spot or wounded and made prisoners. Richard Cameron was among the slain. THE VISION OF AYR'S MOSS. In a dream of the night, I was wafted away To the moorlands of mist, where the brave martyrs lay; 'Twas a dream of those ages of darkness and blood, All bloody and torn, 'mong the heather was lying! 'Twas morning and summer's young sun from the east, On Wardlaw and Carntable, the clear shining dew Glisten'd sheen 'mong the heath-bells, and mountain flowers blue. And far up in heav'n, near the white sunny cloud, And Well-wood's sweet valley breathed music and gladness; Its daughters were happy to hail the returning, And enjoy the delights of July's sweet morning. But, ah! there were hearts cherish'd far other feelings; Who saw in the beauty of nature but sorrow, For they knew that their blood would bedew it to-morrow! 'Twas the few faithful ones, who, with Cameron were lying, Their faces grew pale, and their swords were unsheathed, They sung their last song to the God of salvation! The hills with their loud hallelujahs were ringing ; Though in mist, in darkness, and fire they were shrouded, The muskets were flashing-the blue swords were gleaming- When the righteous had fallen, and the combat was ended, A seraph unfolded its doors, bright and shining; On the arch of the rainbow the chariot is gliding! VOL. I. JUNE 1, 1831. NO. 2. II. The Lord Jesus is perfect ly fit to be the appointed centre of fellowship among the saints of all lands. In order to bring together into one great communion of life, intelligence, and cordiality, rational creatures detached by conflicting tastes, opinions, and interests, the head of the system behooves himself to be desirable, beneficent, exalted, and powerful. In whomsoever these qualities exist in an infinite degree, every thing is confessedly found which becomes the moral centre of the spiritual world. Christ possesseth such fitness for his station. Sent of God, the people are gathered to him. 1. He is infinitely desirable. As a friend and a chief, he stands unrivaled. He is the only Savior from sorrow and from sin. Every way adapted to the condition of our fallen race for the purposes of effectual recovery from condemnation, he is the pearl of great price, and is therefore emphatically denominated by the spiVOL. I. JUNE, 1831. 6 The Creator of the world has provided for the preservation and government of the material system attractions which bind the several elements into distinct masses, and which connect toge ther the several bodies so cohe ring by their tendency to a com mon centre. The union of the moral system is by a voluntary attraction. “Draw me, we will run after thee.' It operates not by force or without consciousness. The object is seen. Its fitness for the purposes to be accomplished appreciated, and therefore it is desired. The God of mercy and of truth would not have proposed as "the desire of nations," a Savior who is not, in all respects, qualified to accomplish the deliverance of those who trust in him. What sort of a Redeemer is necessary? Such a one as is provided. He is alone. "Besides me there is no Savior." We need a Savior, who is possessed of the divine nature; for a creature can do nothing effectual for our redemption. We need a Redeemer, who is distinct from the Father's Person; and so capable of being sent by him, and accepted by us, as a mediator between us. We need a mediator who is truly man, to identify himself with his people, to obey, and to suffer in their stead. We need one who is in fact a person in the most perfect sense of the term, a divine person himself, proper and distinct from every other, to be a fit representative of elect persons in covenant with God. One only proper person, yet God and man, in two distinct natures, that he may do all the work himself; the Second person of the Godhead, that, he may of right be sent by the Father, for our redemption, and may, of right send the Spirit to us for our sanctification, in order, that, in the enjoyment of the blessings of redeeming love we all might have access through him, by one spirit to the Father. Such a Savior is desirable to the nations; and such is David's Son and Lord, Jesus Christ the Son of God. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. There is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Such a Savior as this we need. Every one of these specifications is essential to answer our necessities. We can dispense with none of them and be saved. He is perfectly fitted for the mighty task of reconciling sinners to God. In nothing is he deficient. The person of Christ is infinitely perfect. To them that believe he is there. fore precious. Thou art fairer than the children of men; Grace is poured into thy lips. Yea, he is altogether lovely. Let a sense of his excellency, and of our own great need, lead us to him as supremely desirable. Encouraged and directed by the experience of others, let our affections rest upon him: and let this be our language; "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." 2. He, in whom the people of God unite, is infinitely beneficent: therefore to him should the people be gathered. "He is able to save to the uttermost. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Lord, to whom shall we go; thou hast the words of eternal life. The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Earthly benefactors shrink from a comparison with him. His dominions are universal; his resources boundless, and his liberality unceasing. He acts out the benevolence of his heart in filling his creatures with good, distributing by no ordinary rule, by no human standard of beneficence. "They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." It is impossible, indeed, to think deliberately upon the omnipotence of Jesus Christ, in connection with his supremacy over the whole creation, and his tender invitations to us to draw near to him, without feeling a perfect conviction of his beneficence. His works of providence, in the ordinary economy of the world, in his extraordina ry interpositions in favor of his church, and in his dealing with his people personally, clearly show how great is his goodness. His works of grace, in both voluntarily undertaking the task of ransoming sinners with all its tremendous consequences, and in executing that task to the satisfaction of divine justice, and for the certain salvation of every one that believeth, clearly show how great is his goodness to the chil. dren of men. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." The It ought not to be represented as unworthy of the glorious gospel, that Jesus Christ should in. vite his people to share in his bounty for their personal good; nor ought it to be charged as a sin upon his people, that they approach him with express intention to draw from his fullness. theory is far from being accurate, which excludes from religion the prosecution of our own best interest. In this there is no iniquity. The law never pronounces it mer. cenary, selfish, and sinful to treat with the Redeemer for gold, that we may be rich, and for raiment, that we may be clothed. The iniquity lies in the opposite principle -in disobedience to the invitation, "Come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." A sound mind, enlightened by the gospel, prosecutes and secures his own true interest. Jesus Christ, too, presents to us the wonders of his liberality as a reason to his people for cleaving to him with their whole soul; and he urges the same consideration upon those that are afar off, as an inducement for them to draw near to God. This, to be sure, is a motive addressed to the desire of personal felicity; but is it, therefore, immoral? "It is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life." If, in receiving the gift of God, we insure our self preservation, is our faith, on that account, an exercise of unholy selfishness? Godliness is great gain; does it, therefore, cease to be a virtue? or does the blame lie in knowing that godliness is profitable, or in acting upon such knowledge? No! no! no! brethren. It is not culpable to know what is true, or to act upon such knowledge; it is not culpable to believe in Jesus Christ, with express design to escape the hell which we have deserved, to enjoy the Heaven which he, not we, merited. We exhibit the beneficence of the Son of God not only as a legitimate motive for loving him and serving him, but also as an attribute, without which the reasonable creature could not, ought not, receive him and rest upon him for salvation; without which confidence in him must be a contradiction. "No man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church." It is not by cold calculations of good will to beings remote from the apprehension of our faculties, that the word of God enlightens the understanding of the children. Here, there are no indefinite abstractions to chill the heart. The command respects realities. Eve |