commercial credit by a miserable subterfuge or a paltry lie. Our streets will cease to echo at night with oaths and ribaldry. Our literature will be baptized with a holy fire. The good old lesson will then be learnt, which seems now in some danger of being forgotten, that to be poor is not to be ignoble, and to be rich is not to be great; that the truest wealth, and the noblest, is that which every mind may have and none can rob, every heart garner and none cursetruth, wisdom, faith, goodness, and piety, against which there is no law. A KEY TO THE ADULTERATION OF OUR DAILY FOOD. By WILLIAM DALTON. 16mo. London: Marlborough and Co., 4, Ave Maria-lane. Two years ago, Dr. Hassall's exposures of adulterated articles startled many housekeepers out of their propriety. Bread sold in the shops was found to be mixed with mashed potatoes, alum, "hards," and sulphate of copper; cocoa and chocolate, with Maranta, East India, and Tacca or Tahita arrowroots, tous-lemois, the flours of wheat, Indian corn, sago, potato, and tapioca, while the colouring matter was found to be venetian red, red ochre, and other ferruginous earth; and, mirabile dictu! snuff, with the chromate of potash, chromate of lead, red and yellow ochre, red lead and oxide of lead, carbonate of ammonia, lime, powdered glass, and powdered orris root! Mr. DALTON has compiled the Key from the evidence given before the Committee of the House of Commons. The facts scattered throughout will help housekeepers to distinguish genuine from impure articles. Correspondence. THE COLLEGE LIBRARY. To the Editor of the General Baptist Magazine. DEAR BROTHER,-I have pleasure in acknowledging, through the Magazine, the presentation of the following books to our College:-Lord Macaulay's Critical and Historical Essays, half-bound, 2 vols., presented by Mr. Wright, of Coventry; and Buttman's Greek Grammar, presented by Rev. W. R. Ste venson. I take the liberty of adding, that the College Library is singularly destitute of modern works, which are needed for constant reference by the students. The want of one work, Dr. Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, is especially felt. His other Dictionaries, for advanced students, were a great boon, and the one above-named would be equally serviceable. Baptist College, Sherwood Rise, Nottingham, March 11, 1858. Yours sincerely, W. UNDERWOOD. IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS. IN ANSWER TO A QUERY. To the Editor of the General Baptist Magazine. "Is the righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer? If so, in what sense? And what are the proofs of this doctrine from the word of God ?"-Repository for March, p. 110. Answer:-The way by which sinful man may be justified in the sight of the holy and ever blessed God, is a subject that may well employ the most thought ful consideration. In this every child of Adam is deeply interested, and no one should rest satisfied till he has answered this question to the repose of his own mind. That it is possible for man, though a sinner, to be justified with God, it is evident from the scriptures of truth. Without divine revelation there would be no reason to hope for this great blessing. Man, having rebelled against his Creator and violated his allegiance to the King Eternal, could have no hope of reconciliation and restoration to a righteousness characterised by any device of his own, without the gracious interposition of divine mercy. But the word of truth assures us that mercy has interposed and devised a plan by which God can be just and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus. In the simple reception of this great truth, and a confiding dependence on it, as it is variously stated in the scriptures, many, no doubt, have felt great peace and joy in believing, without any particular analysis of what it is that is believed, or how it is that this justifies the sinner in the sight of God. And in the general proclamation that Christ died for sinners, and an earnest exhortation to sinful men to trust in him as the only Saviour, no doubt a truly evangelical and useful ministry has been maintained for years, without determining in any more particular manner the ground of justification. Nay, more, the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the believer has been denied; while all that is intended by this expression, by the most sober and thoughtful theologians has, in other words, been declared in a warm and energetic manner. It Must it not be admitted, that no one, as a sinner, can stand accepted in the presence of the Holy Lord God? Will not divine justice repel the sinner from the all-holy presence? Before he can be welcome there he must be justified or esteemed just, either in his own works or by imputation. By his own works no sinner can be justified: this is the decision of both reason and scripture. must then, if at all, be by the imputation of something else. The only question then that remains: Is it faith considered in itself, or is it faith as it fixes on Christ, and appropriates him in his obedience unto death? I cannot point to any text of scripture which says, the believer is justified by the imputation of Christ's righteousness. It must indeed be admitted that the letter of scripture favours the idea that faith is imputed for righteousness. But, faith in what? Does not this imply the imputation of Christ's righteousness, according to the full explanation of the gospel plan of salvation? In the general current language of scripture, God has been graciously pleased to constitute faith the ground of justification and salvation. But, not faith in general, or faith in anything. It must then be faith in something definite, or in some particular object. The divine promise, it may be said, was the ground on which Abraham's faith was fixed. True; that is his faith in the promise of his seed to come; that is, as the apostle says, Christ. Gal. iii. vi. 16. So faith may be said to be imputed for righteousness, as it is imputed as the ground of healing, when our Lord said to those that were healed, "Thy faith hath made thee whole;" or, "Thy faith hath saved thee:" that is, it was as the hand that received the benefit. Faith fixes on Christ as the only Saviour who has done all that divine justice requires for its own glory and integrity, while it, as well as mercy, awards eternal life to the believer, not for the merit of his faith, but for the meritorious work of Christ. Thus the sinner, believing on Christ, is justified by grace, through faith: that is, accounted just, and is accepted into the favour of God, not as a sinner, but as a just person, for the sake of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God contemplates the work of his dear Son, and for the sake of this, graciously receives the penitent believing sinner into his favour. What is this but to impute what Christ has done to the believer? Thus righteousness is imputed to the believer; not, surely, the righteousness of his faith, but the righteousness of God by faith.-Phil. iii. 9. It is not on account of faith, as a righteous act that the sinner is justified, and thus the whole law, by a kind of compromise of faith for obedience, considered as fulfilled and honoured, but, by faith as appropriating Christ, in whose obedience unto death the law is magnified and made honourable. To suppose any one justified by faith, as an act of obedience, amounts to much the same as the Apostle in his own case deprecates when he says, "May I win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law; but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." The faith that justifies by the gracious constitution of the gospel connects the believer with Christ; so that divine justice contemplates him as in Christ, one with him. There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. He of God is made unto us, righteousness. He is then the Lord our righteousness. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. He has imputed our sins to Christ, who became an offering for sin, that Christ's righteousness might be imputed to us, believing in his sacrifice of atonement for sin. In this representation, there are to be considered the substitution of Christ for us, he gave that which was due from us; the Father's acceptance of what Christ performed in our stead, as performed on our behalf, as the creditor accepts what a security pays on account of the debtor, and places it to the debtor's credit, or sets it down to his account, that is, imputes it to him as if he had himself paid it; and a participation in this by faith. This is what is here meant by the imputation of Christ's righteousness for justification. Thus the believer is complete in Christ, justice is satisfied, and mercy is exalted in his salvation. In this gracious plan in which Christ as the sinner's sacrifice of atonement is appropriated by faith, God is honoured in his justice no less than in his mercy, while the believer becomes the object of his complacency and favour. The believer is reconciled to God, and with holy exaltation sings, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."-Isaiah lxi. 10. In this spotless 1obe only can sinful man hope to stand accepted in the day of final judgment. In prospect of that day when every one must give account of himself unto God, the thoughtful mind is overwhelmed with apprehension, when it reflects on numerous infirmities and sins, which cleave to us. In himself the believer sees nothing that can relieve the fearful prospect; but, his alarm subsides, and confidence is reassured when he considers that divine justice and mercy contemplate him in Christ. By this gracious arrangement the honour of divine justice is secured, and the believer delights in the law of God after the inward man. The law is not made void through faith, but fulfilled, as it is a faith that works by love and purifies the heart, which unites the soul to Christ. Cheerful obedience to all the divine will flows in the life of the christian that is restrained only by the infirmities of the flesh. When these are removed, the soul, justified by faith and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, will ascend to heavenly glory as its congenial element. Without any formal division I trust your readers will be enabled to see that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believer for justification before God, and that this is the doctrine taught by all the scriptures which speak of the way of justification and eternal life. May it not only be understood, but personally enjoyed by every reader. March. J. J. Obituary. SMITH LEE was born at Collier Syke in 1792, and died in peace at Low Fold, near Queenshead, July 5th, 1857. Our departed brother did not enjoy, in early life, the advantages resulting either from secular or religious instruction. His Sabbaths were generally spent in the summer with other youths, in rambling through the fields or in the woods of Shibden-dale; yet, during this dark period of his life, in which he seldom attended a place of worship, he would sometimes admire those that he saw wending their way to the house of God, and wish he were like them, and at one time his impressions were so strong that he actually went into a wood to pray. Being tall for his age he entered, when very young, the 1st. West York Militia, and served till peace was made, when he returned home, and shortly after married Mary Hanson, of Green Lane, who survives to mourn his loss. About that time the church at Queenshead immersed its candidates in a baptistry situated in a field called Ing Head, belonging to one of the friends. On a certain Lord's-day brother Lee had agreed with two of his companions to go to Bradford, and to spend the day there; but, as there was to be a baptism at Ing Head on that morning, they resolved to see it before they set out. What he heard on that occasion from brother John Midgely, who addressed the spectators and baptized, made so deep an impression on his mind that he afterwards, when on the road to Bradford, said to his companions, "Well, I have agreed to go with you to-day, or I would not have gone, but I will tell you this, that, next Sunday, I shall begin to attend the Queenshead chapel regularly." He was true to his resolution, and after giving evidence of his conversion, he was himself baptized at Ing Head, October 5th, 1817. The outward manifestations of the inner life of the departed were remarkable for their uniformity. At the beginning he declared his purpose to attend the Queenshead chapel regularly, and he did so attend up to the time of his affliction. He was one of those who might always be depended upon at the public means of grace. He was equally regular in attending his week evening prayer or experience meeting, and he frequently united with other brethren in going to hold prayer meetings with the sick or aged. The meetings of the church were also regularly attended by our departed brother. In 1832 he was chosen to be one of the deacons of the church, and he used that office well to the end of life. Thus, it will be seen, he endeavoured to sustain both the public and private means appointed by the church for its own edification and the conversion of sinners. Our departed friend clearly understood and highly valued the truths of the gospel. "I have always," said he to the writer during his affliction, "endeavoured to keep in view and to hold fast the leading truths of the gospel, such as, 'that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again, according to the scriptures.' He felt, he said, that he had been, and was then, a great sinner; but that "this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Patience, fortitude, and resignation were pleasingly manifested during his affliction. He was willing to live or die, as it might please God. His mind, he would say, was neither lifted up nor cast down, but was peaceful rather than joyful; and in this state of mind he died, peacefully falling asleep in Jesus, to be for ever with the Lord. The late Smith Lee had a high regard for moral and religious truth. He dared to form an opinion, and when formed to act upon it. He was a man in whom great confidence might be placed, as a friend and brother. He was naturally slow of speech, but his judgment was sound, and his opinions were given generally correct. May these brief statements assist us in remembering a dear brother departed till we meet again. MRS. W. WHITE, the subject of the present sketch, was born at Timberland, Lincolnshire, on the 18th of February, 1796. From her youth up, she was strictly moral in her deportment; but not till her advancement to maturity did she experience a spiritual change of heart. At about the age of twenty-four, accidentally falling in company with Miss Butters (now Mrs. Newling), she was invited to attend the ministry of Mr. Everard, then pastor of the church at Spalding. His preaching was eminently blessed to her soul. She felt that she lacked the 66 one thing needful," and earnestly sought for a personal interest in the blood of Christ. Up to this period she had been attached to the Established Church, in which her father officiated as clerk; but now, having become thoroughly convinced that the doctrines she heard from her new minister were according to godliness, and being treated with the utmost christian kindness by her female friends in connexion with the Baptist church, she resolved to secede from the establishment. After joining the church under the pastorate of Mr. Everard, for whom she entertained the greatest veneration, she became exceedingly active and zealous in the cause of Christ, and during her long course of thirty-eight years was unwavering in her attachment to the people of God. She became at once a Sabbath school teacher, and afterwards a visitor in connexion with the Benevolent Society, an office in which she most delighted, and which, from the kindliness of manner and general sympathy, she was eminently qualified to fill. Her visits to the bed side of the poor and afflicted will long be remembered by many. Her conversation was frequently most spiritual and elevating, while, as a friend, she was truly sincere, never betraying any confidence reposed in her. Her manner of life was marked by deep seriousness, and a growing conformity to the will of God. As a wife she was most affectionate, and as a mother devotedly attached to her children. She regularly retired three times a day for secret prayer, which was often agonizing in its character. During the last few years of her life she was subject to violent fits of coughing, which tended greatly to debilitate her frame; but regardless of her own delicate state of health, and frequently in opposition to the urgent remonstrances of friends, she would engage in visitation amongst the sick. On her return home, being expostulated with on account of her absence, she would not unfrequently reply, "Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business." To all selfishness she appeared an entire stranger, and nearly to the close of life" went about doing good." Her last visit was to the house of one who, she had reason to fear, was acting inconsistently as a member of a christian church, and who, it is hoped, will be reclaimed by the expostulations and admonitions of our deceased friend. About a week before her death she caught a severe cold, which produced violent coughing fits, attended by symptoms of fever. On the following Sabbath morning she was in her place in the sanctuary, but long before the service closed she was obliged to return home, and towards evening was so ill that medical aid was procured. This, however, was of no avail, for she gradually sank, and at intervals on the Monday and Tuesday she appeared insensible. On the morning before her death she rallied, and when surrounded by her sorrowing family her language was at times of a remarkably elevated character. When asked by them how she felt, she replied, "I never suffered so much in my life as I do now, but the Lord is my light and my salvation, and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, thy rod and thy staff comfort me. I know that I am a poor sinner, but I also know that my Redeemer liveth. O my sweet Saviour, my sweet Saviour, thou art the strength of my heart and will be my portion for ever. After a pause she exclaimed, "Comfort ye my people, comfort ye my people saith your God. O God bless the church, bless the church, purify the church." On seeing some of the family weeping she said, “Weep not for me, but for yourselves: for I know that my Redeemer liveth." After a short pause, alluding to her pastor, she said, "God bless him." To a female friend who was weeping she said, "Be a mother to my children. Oh! my dear children," and observing that one of them was absent, she said to her husband, "Look after him, watch over him." She then sank into a kind of stupor, attended by frequent rambling and difficulty of breathing. These symptoms produced increased alarm in the family, and on the physician entering the room he whispered, the struggle will soon be over. Soon after, however, to the surprise of all, she said, "O how happy!— 'My willing soul would stay In such a frame as this, These were her last words worthy of note. Very soon after, she fell into a doze and spoke no more, but softly and gently breathed her life away, without a struggle or a groan, on Wednesday evening the 17th of February, at eight o'clock. "She is not dead but sleepeth." |