NO. 179. 

THE 



' WAY TO BE SAVEB. 




And be called for a light, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and 
said, What must I do to be saved? — Acts, 16: 29, 30. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

AND SOLD AT THEIR DEPOSITORY, NO. 144 NASSAU-STREET, NEAR 
THE CITY-HALL, NEW-YORK ; AND BY AGENTS OF THE 
SOCIETY, ITS BRANCHES, AND AUXILIARIES, 
IN THE PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS 
IN THE UNITED STATES. 



2 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED 



SUFFERINGS OF MARTYRS. 

John Philpot, a firm and steady believer, having im 
dergone repeated examinations before some of Queen Ma 
ry's bishops respecting his religious opinions, boldly assert- 
ed them in opposition to the prevailing errors of that time, 
for which he was pronounced a heretic and committed to 
close confinement in Newgate prison. He went to the jail 
with cheerfulness, saying to those about him, " Ah, good 
people, blessed be God for this day." During his impri- 
sonment, he wrote numerous consolatory and instructive 
epistles to his friends, encouraging them steadfastly to keep 
the faith which was once delivered to the saints. To one 
he says, " The world wonders how we can be happ} r in 
such extreme misery, but our God is omnipotent, who turn- 
eth misery into felicity. Believe me, there is no such joy 
in the world as the people of Christ have under the cross. 
I speak by experience, therefore believe me, and fear no- 
thing that the world can do unto you. What greater glory 
can there be, than in that conformity to Christ which af- 
flictions do work in us ? God open our eyes to see more 
and more his glory, in the cross of Jesus Christ, and make us 
worthy partakers of the same ! All the tribulations of the 
world are not worthy of the eternal weight of glory which 
is prepared for them that do with patience abide the cross ; 
wherefore let us be strong with the strength of him that is 
able to make us strong. Christ, whom we profess to have 
put upon us, is the strength of God ; and how can we be 
weak where Christ is? Embrace that which is perfect, and 
joyfully look for the coming and cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ increase 
in your hearts the faith of the gospel, which is your eternal 
inheritance, and the Holy Ghost comfort your spirit with 
all spiritual consolation to the day of the Lord ! Amen." 

Philpot having been condemned to suffer death, after 
several months confinement, was called upon by the deputy 
sheriff one evening while at supper, and requested to make 
ready, for the next day he should be burned at the stake. 
He answered, u I am ready ; God grant me strength and a 
joyful resurrection." In the morning the Sheriffs conduct- 
ed him to the place of execution. On coming to the stake 
he kissed it, and said, " Shall I disdain to suffer at this stake, 

No. 179.] [See page 3 of cover. 



NO. 170, 



THE 



WAY TO BE SAVED. 




He called for a light, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and said, 

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED ? Acts, XVi. 29, 30. 



To be saved, is to be delivered from a course of eternal 
sinning, and eternal suffering. It is to be changed into 
the perfect image of God, and raised to a state of eternal 
holiness and bliss in heaven. 

To be saved, then, is a great thing, and to know the 
way to be saved is of great importance. The soui is im- 
mortal. It must exist somewhere, for ever. Were there 
only a possibility that it might exist for ever in hell, if 
would be important to know the way to be saved, and to 
take that way. No person can feel that he is to exist foi 
ever, and yet view it as unimportant whether he u to exist 
in heaven, or in heli. The contrast is too great, the in- 
terest involved too moment uus, and the duration too lone 

Vol. 6. K 6 



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THE WAY TO BE SAVED. 



[244 



to be viewed without deep emotion, by any man who feels 
exposed to the one, or desires to obtain the other. Sin is 
that abominable thing which God hates. It thrust the 
angels out of heaven, and bound them in chains under 
darkness to the judgment of the great day. It shut the 
gates of paradise against the parents of our race, and open- 
ed upon a world darkness and woe. What must it be 
to spend eternity in sinning ; and enduring all its conse- 
quences, without mitigation, and without end. 

Pain is hard to be borne, for a single year ; and if in- 
tense, for a single day. The stoutest heart will droop 
under it, and wither like the flower cut down by the 
mower. What must it be to bear eternal pain, raised to 
the highest pitch of endurance, admitting of no alleviation, 
and no possibility, or even hope of an end ! You cannot 
conceive of the anguish of intense suffering here, unless 
you feel it. You stand and see the writhings of a sufferer, 
or you hear his dismal groans, and imagine that you un- 
derstand his anguish. But how amazing the difference, 
when that anguish comes on you. It has a reality, and it 
has an intensity, which you before never thought of, and 
against which you cannot stand. 

There is something dreadful in dying, even the death of 
the body, only for a single hour. That deep hollow groan 
w r hich echoes from a deathbed, tells of pangs unutterable. 
What is it, then, to die the death of the soul ; in anguish 
which mortal eye never witnessed, and in horrors which 
mortal heart never conceived. Oh, thafris destruction from 
the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power. Add 
to this, eternity, and the cup of wretchedness overflows. 

To this eternity of unraingled wretchedness every im- 
penitent sinner is now exposed. Nothing but the brittle 
thread of life, which may be sundered at any moment, 
keeps him from the world of woe. 

" This," says one, " is true. I have long, in some de- 
gree, felt it, and I have had no rest. I am a great sinner. 
I have sinned against great light, and great love. I have 
sinned a long time. My heart is very hard, and I some- 
times think, that for me there is no hope. I fear I have 
sinned away my day of grace. I deserve to perish ; and 
unless God have mercy, I must perish. I know that Je- 
sur Christ died; the just for the unjust ; that he was wound- 



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THE WAY TO BE SAVED. 



3 



ed for our transgressions, and bruised^ for our iniquities; 
and that he bore our sins in his own body on the tree ; 
and that the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 
I know this, because God has declared it, and I believe 
what he says. I know also, because he has declared it, 
that the wicked will go away into eternal punishment. I 
feel that I am wicked, exceedingly wicked, and should I 
for ever perish, I know that it would be just. But I can- 
not dwell with devouring fire, I cannot inhabit everlasting 
burnings ! I wish exceedingly to escape, and I know that, 
if I do, it must be quickly. What must I do ? When the 
jailer asked Paul this question, he said, Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ himself said, He 
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. But what 
is it to believe ? Can you tell me ?" 

I can. It is to place such confidence in Christ, as to 
feel that what he has said is true ; and to treat it as true. 
It is that confidence in him which will lead you to act as 
if what he has said is true. This confidence you ought to 
repose in him. He is altogether worthy of it. And you 
ought to do it, without any delay. So long as you feel 
and act as if what he said is not true, you treat him as if 
he were a liar ; and thus greatly aggravate your guilt. 

" I know this," you say. " I hope I do feel that what 
he says is true ; that not one jot or tittle of it will fail. I 
wish to treat it as true. And what shall I do ? I wish 
you to tell me ; and to tell me all, that I must do to in- 
herit eternal life. V 

By the grace of God, I will. And may the Holy Spirit 
enable you to understand, and to do it, that your soul may 
live. 

It is plain, that, would you be saved, you must do all 
that is essential to salvation, except what you have already 
lone. I ask you, therefore, what have you done ? Have 
you broken off the practice of all known outward trans- 
gressions ? Is there no such sin, in which you continue to 
live ? If there is, and you continue in it, you will certainly 
perish. God has opened no way m which any man who 
continues, knowingly, to indulge in outward transgressions, 
can ever be saved. You must break off all those, or you 
must perish. 

Do you say, " I have broken off the practice of all 
known outward sins ?" 



4 THE WAY TO BE SAVED. [216 

Have you broken off also the practice of secret sins I 
Is there no transgression known to you, and to God in 
which you continue habitually to indulge ? Are there' no 
feelings, that you habitually cherish, which you know to 
be offensive to God ? If there are, and you continue in 
this course, you must perish. Do what you will, so long 
as you continue to regard iniquity, even in your heart, 
(*od will not hear you. You will not advance toward 
heaven, but constantly toward hell ; and will ripen to be 
an outcast from the presence of the Lord, and the glorv of 
his power. J 

Do you say, " So far as I understand my own heart, I 
have broken off the indulgence of whatever I know to be 
sin, both secret and open. It appears to me that I loathe 
it, and wish to be perfectly free from it ?" 

Have you also begun the practice of all known duties I 
Is there no duty which you feel that you ought to perform, 
which you continue knowingly and habitually to neglect ? 
if there is, and you continue in such neglect, you will be 
lost. The neglect of known duty is sin.' And should you 
Keep {lie whole law, except in one thing, and yet continue 
knowingly, habifualiy, and perseveringly, to neglect that, 
you would perish. 

Are you in the stated, habitual practice of secret prayer ? 
Do you daily withdraw from the world, and ask God, in 
spirit and in truth, for Christ's sake, to teach you what 
you must do to be saved? If not, how can you expect 
ever to know ? You come to me, who am only an instru- 
ment in his hand, and ask me what yon must do ; but if 
you do not go to God and ask him, you break his com- 
mand ; you dishonour him ; and, continuing this course, 
have no reason to expect his blessing. 

Do you say, "I am in the habit of daily secret prayer ? 
I do go to God, and ask him, for the sake of Jesus Christ, 
to teach me what I must do ?" 

Do you also daily listen to his voice, that you may ob- 
tain his answer ? Do you go to the Bible daily, feeling 
jhat it is the voice of God, speaking to you ; and for the 
purpose of learning his will, that you may do it ? And 
when you know what he declares, do you heartily believe 
it ; and because he declares it ? And when you know 
what he commands, do you engage, without delay, in per- 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED, 



6 



forming it ; for the purpose of glorifying God, and doing 
good ? Is there no command of God, which you feel to be 
binding on you, or which you would feel to be binding on 
you, if you daily read the Bible, and heartily believed it, 
which you are not attempting to obey ? If there is, and 
you continue this course, not even attempting to do the 
known will of God, or to have respect to all his com- 
mandments, you will certainly perish. Faith you may 
have, but it is not that which overcomes the world. Hope 
you may have, but it is not that which purifies you as God 
is pure. And it will not, in the day of trial, be an anchor, 
sure, or steadfast ; but it will be as a dream, when one 
awaketh. 

Do you say, " I see my error, and stand condemned ; 
there are commands of God, which I know to be binding 
on me, that I have not yet attempted to obey ?? 

No wonder, then, that you are in darkness, and the sha- 
dow of death. He that knoweth his master's will, and 
doeth it not, continuing his neglect, will be beaten with 
many stripes. The neglect of known duty is sin, as really 
as the commission of known crime. And if it be allowed^ 
habitual, and continued, will as certainly destroy the soul. 

" I see my difficulty," you say, " though I daily pray, 
or attempt it, and daily read the Bible ; though I think I 
believe what I find there, and expect to see its fulfilment. 
I must acknowledge, and I know that the fault is all in 
me, there are some duties which I have not attempted to 
perform." 

Is there not another fault ? In those that you have at- 
tempted, have you not regarded yourself, in doing them, 
more than God ? 

u I fear I have." 

And is there not also another ? Have you not trusted 
for what you need in order to perform duty, and to be ac- 
cepted in it, rather to yourself, than to Jesus Christ ? 

Do you say, " It may be so ;" and ask, " 13 there in 
my case no hope ?" 

I answer, This will depend upon what you are willing 
to do. 

What then are you willing to do ? Are you will- 
ing to surrender yourself, and all that you have, to Jesus 
Christ, trusting in him for whatever you need : and com 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED, 



mitting yourself and all that you have to his guidance and 
disposal ? For the sake of glorifying God, promoting your 
own salvation, and the salvation of your fellow-men, are 
you willing to make the service of the Lord Jesus Christ 
the great business of life ; and that to which all other 
things, which come into competition, shall gi\*e way ? Are 
you willing henceforward to be governed, in your feelings 
and actions, by the will of God ; daily to go to him, by 
humble and believing supplication, in the precious name 
of Christ, and ask him to teach you ; and daily, with a 
childlike, docile spirit, search the Scriptures, that you may 
ascertain his whole will ? And when you do know his will, 
are you willing henceforward to do it ? For the sake of 
glorifying God, and doing good, are you willing, whatever 
ii may cost you, and whatever may be the consequenceSj 
when you know his will, to do it ? Are you willing to 
attempt it ? Do you say, can you say, in the presence of 
Jehovah, " So far as I know the feelings of my heart, I 
am willing ?" 

When, I ask, are you willing to begin ? Fix your 
mind on this point. When are you willing to begin to 
make it your grand object to do the whole known will of 
God ? Are you willing to begin now? If you are not will- 
ing to begin now, you are not willing to begin at all ? If 
you think that you are, you are deceived by looking at 
things at a distance ; just as a dishonest man is deceived, 
who thinks that he is willing to be honest at some future 
time, but is not willing to be honest now : and just as an 
intemperate man is deceived, who thinks that he is will- 
ing to be temperate at some future time, but is not willing 
to be temperate now. You are not willing ever to begin 
to do the whole will of God, if you are not willing to 
begin now. 

Are you then willing to begin now ? Can you say, in 
spirit and in truth, " So far as I know my own heart, I 
am willing to begin now ?" 

HOW LONG ARE YOU WILLING TO CONTINUE ? Can 

vou say, " By the help of God, trusting in his grace in 
Jesus Christ to enable me, I am willing to continue even 
to the end ?" 

If so, there is, in your case, hope. You may be saved. I 
will tell you how. By manifesting this icillingness in actions. 



219] 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED. 



7 



Give, without delay, yourself and all that you have to 
Jesus Christ, resolving, in his strength, that, by the assist- 
ance of the Holy Spirit, you will live not unto yourself, 
but unto him that died for you, and rose again. Break off, 
without delay, whatever you know to be sin, because it is 
offensive to God, and ruinous to you. Engage in what- 
ever you know to be duty, for the sake of glorifying God, 
and doing good. For the sake of becoming like him, let 
it be henceforward your grand object to learn his whole 
will, and to do it ; trusting wholly in Jesus Christ for what- 
ever you need, both to do this, and to be accepted in it. 
Continue this course to the end of life, and you shall be 
saved with an everlasting salvation. God will be your 
portion, and you shall not want any good thing. He will 
guide you by his counsel, and afterward receive you to 
glory. You shall see him as he is, and be like him, to 
everlasting ages. I will tell you why. 

This breaking off of all known sin, because it is offen- 
sive to God, and ruinous to you, is repentance. This en- 
gaging heartily in what you know to be duty, for the sake 
of glorifying God, and doing good, is obedience. And sur- 
rendering yourself, and all that you have, to Jesus Christ, 
trusting alone in him for whatever you need, is faith ; that 
faith, which has subdued kingdoms, wrought righteous- 
ness, and obtained promises ; stopped the mouths of lions, 
quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of tue 
sword, out of weakness been made strong, waxed valiant 
in fight, and will, wherever it is exercised, overcome the 
world, the flesh, and the devil, and come off conqueror, 
and more than conqueror, through him that loved us, and 
gave himself for us. 

Trust then in Jesus Christ alone, for ichatever you need, 
and go forward, without delay, and without ceasing, in the 
path of known duty, for the sake of glorifying God, and doing 
good. A.nd God himself declares, that you shall not want 
any good thing. 

" But may I," you say, " may I, who am so polluted, 
and so guilty, trust in Christ ; and for his sake receive 
freely whatever I need ?" 

I answer, you may. And it is your indispensable duty 
now to do it. And then, though your sins be as scarlet, 
they shall be white as snow, though they be red like crim 



5 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED. 



[220 



soa, they shall be as wool. Behold the Lamb of God, 
that taketh away the sin of the world. The blood of Je- 
sus Christ cleanseth from all sin. And he that cometh to 
Christ, however guilty, will in no wise be cast out. This 
is his own declaration, and you are bound by every thing 
dear in heaven, and every thing dreadful in hell, now to 
treat it as true. Cast then all upon the Lord Jesus Christ; 
and make it henceforward your grand object to learn the 
whole will of God, and to do it; for the purpose of glori- 
fying him, and doing good. -Let nothing hinder you from 
beginning to-day, and continuing through every future day 
of your life. And when absent from the body, you shall, 
through boundless grace, be present, with the Lord; and 
shall mingle with ten thousand thousand in that everlast- 
ing anthem. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from 
our sins in his blood, and hath made us kings and priests 
unto God and his Father, to him be glory, and dominion, 
for ever and ever. 

In view of the foregoing directions, which will lead to 
heaven ail who follow them, t remark, 

1. That w* see one reason why no more persons, un- 
der the light >t the Gospel, feel then need of Jesus Christ 
Thev do no* make the business of serving him their grand 
concern They do not daily go to God, and ask him to 
teach them ; nor do they daily listen to his voice speaking 
to them in his word, that they may learn his will for the 
purpose of doing ,jt. If they did, and would attempt, in 
spirit and in truth, to break off every known sin, and en- 
gage in every known duty, for the purpose of glorifying 
God, and doing good, they would feel their need of Jesus 
Christ. In view of that law which justly requires them 
to be, at all times, holy as God is holy, and perfect as God 
is perfect, would they make it their highest object to obey 
it, they would feel their need of Christ; that in his aton- 
ing blood, his perfect righteousness, and his effectual inter- 
cession, must be all their hope. 

2. We see a reason why so many who, under the light 
of the Gospel, are convinced of sin, are not savingly con- 
verted ; but after being awakened, return again to stupid- 
ity^ and die in impenitence. It is because they continue 
to indulge in what they know to be sin, and to neglect 
what they know to be duty. They do not even make it 



221] 



THE WAY TO EE SAVED. 



9 



their chief object, in every thing to do the known will of 
God. They do not even attempt it, for the purpose of glo- 
rifying him, and doing good. But knowing his will, they 
neglect it ; and they continue to neglect it. This hardens 
the heart, blinds the mind, grieves away the Holy Spirit, 
prevents their conversion, and fixes them in everlasting 
impenitence and unbelief. Hence we see, 

3. That when a person knows the will of God, not even 
the want of good motives is the least excuse for his con- 
tinuing, a single day, in any thing to neglect it. Because 
his motives in neglecting, and thus disobeying the known 
will of God, are always bad. And as long as he conti- 
nues to disobey, his motives will continue to be bad. And 
continuing to disobey a little longer, till death comes, he 
will cut off the possibility of a change in his motives, and 
thus render their badness eternal. 

Suppose he who had continued idle till the eleventh 
hour, and w T as thus in an almost hopeless condition, when 
the Lord said, Go thou into the vineyard, had said, " If I 
knew that my motives would be right in doing it, I would;' 5 
and had remained idle, in opposition to the known direc- 
tion of the Lord, until the day of working was past ; would 
he not most justly have failed of receiving the reward, and 
been punished as a wicked and slothful servant ? 

Suppose he to whom his Lord said, Thou oughtest to 
have put my money into the bank, and then at my com- 
ing I might have received mine own v»th interest, had 
said, " I could not do it ; or if I had don* it, my motives 
would have been wrong and offered this as an excuse 
for his neglect ; would it at all have lessened the empha- 
sis of that deserved and tremendous sentence, Take from 
him the pound ; — and cast ye the unprofitable servant into 
outer darkness : there shall be weeping, and gnashing of 
teeth ? Why is he overwhelmed with this tremendous per- 
dition ? Because, when he knew his Lord's command, Oc- 
cupy till I come, he did not do it. He sought for excus- 
es, and disobeyed a known command. He did not do 
what he ought to have done, for the purpose of honouring 
his Lord, and setting a good example before his fellow 
servants. He did not even attempt it. And the guilt of 
ihis, instead of taking it entirely to himself, he attempted 

to cast on his Lord, But no part of it belonged there. It 

Vol.6. ' 



10 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED. 



[222 



fill belonged to himself; and he will have to bear it, and 
its consequences, for ever. When God commands any in- 
dividual, that individual ought, without delay, to make it 
his grand object in all things habitually and persevering- 
ly to obey, for the purpose of honouring him, and doing 
good. No one has, or can have, the Least excuse for con- 
tinuing knowingly, habitually, and perseveringly to dis- 
obey God. And if he does, he will cut off himself from 
all hope, and sink down under the accumulated guilt of an 
eternal self-destroyer. For; 

4. A way is opened, at a great expense, even of the 
precious blood of the Son of God. Salvation is procured, 
and freely offered, to all, without money and without price. 
All things are ready. Even the chief of sinners is invited, 
nay, commanded and urged to come and partake- The 
Spirit, and the bride, say, Come ; he that hears says, 
Come; and whosoever will, may come, and partake of 
eternal life freely. But, 

5. In order for this, men have something to do. They 
must have so much confidence in Christ as to feel that 
what he says is true, and as to lead them to treat it as true. 
They must break off what they know to be sin, though 
dear to them as a right hand, or precious as a right eye. 
They must engage, whatever it may cost them, and what- 
ever may be the consequences, in doing whatever they 
know to be duty, for the purpose of honouring God, and 
doing good. And they must trust, for whatever they need 
to do this, and to be accepted in it, not in themselves, nor 
in any creature, but in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let any 
person on earth undertake, without delay, habitually and 
perseveringly to do this, and he will lino* that lie has enough 
to do, and enough to last him as long as he lives. It is a 
most reasonable service that each one should do this. And 
if any one, when pressed w r ith the known commands of God, 
says that he has nothing to do, depend upon it, he wishes 
to do nothing. And, continuing to the end of life to do 
nothing for God, whatever may be the reason, when he 
knows what God commands, he will sink down to hell, 
with the whole guilt of endless destruction upon his own 
head. 

And this destruction will be rendered unspeakably more 
dreadful, by his having, all his life, refused to walk in o 




223] THE WAY T6 EE rfAVEEK 11 

way which, at an infinite expense, God had opened ; which 
was plainly pointed out to him, and in which he was en- 
treated, and commanded to go ; and which, had he taken, 
and continued therein, would have led him to glory. As 
he looks upward, and sees what he might have been ; 
looks downward, and sees what he must be ; as he casts a 
last lingering look upon the brightness of celestial glory, 
and the songs of the redeemed die away on his ear, as he 
sinks downward deeper, and deeper, into blackness of 
darkness, his cup of wretchedness will be full, and will 
overflow for ever. 

Spirit of all grace, cause the Reader to feel the guilt 
and danger of continuing in any sin ; and, without delay, 
to turn unto God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory 
for ever and ever. Amen. 



HYMN. 

Far from the utmost verge of day 

Those gloomy regions lie, 
Where flames amid the darkness play— 

The worm shall never die. 



The breath of God — his angry breath, 
Supplies and fans the fire j 

There sinners taste the second death, 
And would, but can't, expire. 

Conscience, the never-dying worm, 
With torture gnaws the heart ; 

And w T o and wrath, in every form, 
Is now the sinner's part. 

Sad world, indeed ; ah, who can bear 

For ever there to dwell — 
For ever sinking in despair, 

In all the pains of Hell ! 



12 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED. 



224 



HYMN. 

Sinners, the voice of God regard, 

'Tis Mercy speaks to-day , 
He calls you, by his sovereign word, 

From sin's destructive way. 

Like the rough sea that cannot rest, 

You live devoid of peace ; 
A thousand stings" within your breast, 

Deprive your souls of ease. 

Your way is dark, and leads to hell ; 

Why will you persevere ? 
Can you in endless torments dwell, 

Shut up in black despair ? 

Why will you in the crooked ways 

Of sin and folly go ? 
In pain you travail all your days, 

To reap immortal wo ! 

But he that turns to God shall live, 
Through his abounding grace : 

His mercy will the guilt forgive 
Of those that seek his face. 

Bow to the sceptre of his word, 

Renouncing every sin : 
Submit to him, your sovereign Lord, 

And learn his will divine. 

His love exceeds your highest thoughts ; 

He pardons like a God ; 
He will forgive your numerous faults, 

Through a Redeemer's blood. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

ASKBRXCAir TRACT society*, 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED 



3 



seeing my Redeemer did not refuse to suffer the most vile 
death upon the cross for me V He repeated several psalms, 
prayed, and when he had given money to the officers who 
had served him, they bound him to the stake, where, like 
a lamb; he yielded his soul into the hands of his faithful 
Creator. 

About the commencement of the year 1556, seven per- 
sons suffered martyrdom together at Smithfield, submitting 
to the tortures of death by fire, in preference to abandon- 
ing their faith in Christ, the rock of their salvation, which 
was more precious to them than all the enjoyments of this 
life. Thomas Whittle, one of the number, exhorted his 
friends to perseverance, by his letters written during his 
confinement, from which the following are extracts: viz. 
" I cannot but praise God most earnestly when 1 hear of 
your constancy in the faith and joy in the cross of Christ, 
which you now bear and suffer, together with many other 
good members of Christ, which is a token that by Christ 
you are counted worthy of the kingdom of God. This 
cross that we now bear hath been common to all the faith- 
ful, from Abel hitherto, and shall be to the end ; because 
the devil, having great wrath against God and his Christ, 
cannot abide that God should, for his manifold mercies, be 
lauded and magnified, and Christ be taken and believed 
upon for our only sufficient Redeemer, Savior, and Advo- 
cate : and therefore, because we will not deny Christ, nor 
dissemble with our faith, but openly profess the same be- 
fore the world, he seeketh by all means to stir up his wick- 
ed members to persecute and kill the bodies of true Chris- 
tians. Wherefore be of good comfort through Jesus 
Christ, for He that is in us is stronger than he that is in 
the world. Oh the incomparable good things and heavenly 
treasures, laid up for us in heaven by Jesus Christ, for the 
obtaining whereof we ought to think but lightly of all tem- 
poral grief and transitory afflictions I — Oh the bottomless 
mercy of God toward us miserable sinners! — may he vouch- 
safe to plant in my heart true repentance and faith, to the 
obtaining of the remission of all my sins, in the mercies of 
God and merits of Christ his Son. The same faith for 
which Abraham was accounted just and Mary blessed, 
whereby also just men live, the Lord God our loving 
Father increase and establish in you and me, to the obtain- 
ing of eternal life in our alone and sweet Savior Jesus 
Christ.* Amen.V ^ [No. 179. 



16 pages.] 



THE WAY TO BE SAVED* 



The Wonderful Love of Christ 

Come, let me love ! or is my mind 

Harden'd to stone, or froze to ice ? 
I see the blessed Fair One bend, 



And stoop t' embrace me from the skies. 

Oh ! 'tis a thought would melt a rock, 

And make a heart of iron move, 
That those sweet lips — that heavenly look — 

Should seek and wish a mortal love ! 

.1 was a traitor, doom'd to fire ; 

Bound to sustain eternal pains ; 
He flew on wings of strong desire, 

Assumed my guilt, and took my chains ! 

Infinite grace ! almighty charms ! 

Stand in amaze, ye. rolling skies ! 
Jesus, the God, extends his arms — 

Hangs on a cross of love, and dies ! 

Did pity ever stoop so low, 

Dress'd in divinity and blood 1 
Was ever rebel courted so, 

In groans of am expiring God ? 

Again he lives ! and spreads his hands, 
Hands that were nail'd to torturing smart ; 

tC By these dear wounds !" says he ; and stands, 
And prays to clasp me to his heart. 

Sure I must love ; or are my ears 

Still deaf, nor will my passions move ? 

Lord ! melt this flinty heart to tears ; 
This heart shall yield to death or love. 

Dr. Watts' Lyrics. 

No. 179. 



