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taught there."" Well, my Lord," said Kingston, "may God support you! To you I owe the knowledge of the truth; for I was an adulterer before I heard your instructions."

He was led to execution on the morning of the 9th, in a cloak belonging to one Ingram, at whose house he lodged, a hat on his head, and a staff to support him, having contracted rheumatism in his confinement. Being forbidden to speak to the people, he looked cheerfully on those whom he recognized, or lifted up his eyes devoutly to heaven. Arriving at the great elm before a college where he used to preach, he smiled at the stake and faggots, and kneeling down prayed for half an hour on the clauses of the Creed. In the midst of his supplication, a box was laid before him, which he was told contained a pardon if he would recant; but he cried, "O, if ye love my soul, away with it, away with it!" He then added this emphatic address: "Lord, I am hell, but thou art Heaven! I am a sink of iniquity, but thou art a merciful Redeemer! Have mercy then on me a wretched offender, according to thine inestimable goodness. Thou that art ascended into beave heaven receive me, albeit so unworthy, to share thy joy, where thou sittest in equal glory with the Father. For well thou knowest why I suffer, and why the wicked persecute thy servant: not for my sins against thee, but because I will not allow of their wicked doings, to the polluting thy blood, and denying that truth in which by thy Spirit thou hast instructed me. I have endeavoured, as thereunto ealled, to set forth thy glory. Thou seest, my Lord and God, the torments prepared for me. What is impossible with man is possible with

thee. Therefore, strengthen me of thy goodness, that in the fire I break not the rules of patience; or else assuage the terror of the pains, as shall seem most to thy glory!"

He prepared himself for the stake by giving the cloak to the Sheriffs, that it might be restored to the owner; but wished to die in his doublet and hose, which was prohibited, and he was stript to the shirt, which he decently disposed. A bladder of gunpowder was fastened under each arm, and between his legs. Three iron hoops being prepared to fasten him to the stake, he put one round his waist, saying, "I am assured this will do; God will enable me to endure without so much fastening." At first the faggots being green, and the wind blowing away the flame, his legs were only scorched. More fuel was supplied, when his lower extremities were burnt, while his vitals remained untouched; yet he prayed mildly, "O Jesu, receive my spirit!" then wiping his eyes in agony, he cried, "For the love of God, give me more fire!" The executioner excited more flame, but still he survived. He then beat his breast till one arm fell off, when he continued beating with the other, and moving his lips in prayer; nor did he expire till he had borne his torments for nearly. three quarters of an hour.

Among some excellent letters written during his confinement is one to his beloved Anne, whom he had sent over with his children; to Bullinger. This friend wrote him a long epistle from Zurich, full, of godly consolation and exhortation to the English confessors of Christ to persevere, fight the good fight, and be faithful unto the end; as Christ was their Captain, and all the prophets, apostles, and, martyrs, were their fellow soldiers.

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THE POOL OF BETHESDA.

JOHN, v. 2-4.-Now there is at Jerusalem, by the sheep market, a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease hệ had.

AMONG the wonders which existed in Judæa, in the time of our blessed Saviour, may well be reckoned the pool of Bethesda; of which the evangelist St. John has here given such a particular description. The word "Bethesda" signifies the house of mercy; and this pool was so called, no doubt, on account of the mercy of God which was displayed there in healing many of the impotent persons who came to its waters for relief. For the accommodation of those who came, five porches were built, in which the sick might wait with greater convenience for the expected blessing. The numbers who came or were brought to this "house of mercy" were very great, and consisted of persons afflicted with all kinds of incurable diseases; for it was a house of mercy, not merely for the cure of any particular disorder, but for all kinds of maladies to which the human frame is subject. The means of cure were altogether miraculous. The pool did not contain water of any medicinal quality; it had no natural efficacy to heal, nor would the mere bathing in it have produced any good effect; but its healing power was communicated at one particular time by the immediate interposition of God. " For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the

water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." Such was the pool of Bethesda; and as almost all things under the Jewish dispensation were typical of good things to come, so this pool may be considered as a striking representation of the Gospel salvation, and of the means which God has in mercy appointed for saving sin-sick souls by Jesus Christ.

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1. The pool of Bethesda was open for the healing of all manner of sickness and disease: so in the Gospel there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. "In that day," saith the prophet, " there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness." (Zech. xiii. 1.) This fountain is the blood of Christ, which, as the Apostle St. John testifies, "cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John, i. 7.) Here then is a striking resemblance between the pool of Bethesda, which was open for the cure of all diseases, and the Gospel pool-the fountain of the blood of Christ, which is open for the cleansing of all sin. the pool of Bethesda diseases of long standing, of great inveteracy, and which had baffled the skill of physicians, yielded in a moment to the miraculous power of the waters, if they were used at the appointed season, and according to the directions given. In like manner, sins of long continuance, of the deepest die, of great power, and corruption, so that no human aid can remove them, are washed away in the blood of Christ, if the sinner comes and applies in God's appointed way, with a penitent heart and lively faith. And as the pool of Bethesda was for the cure of all diseases, so it was open to all who came to be healed; in like manner, the fountain of Christ not only " cleanseth from all sin," but it cleanseth all who come to it: " for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John, iii. 16.) " Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Rev. xxii. 17.)

2. The name also of this pool was very significant of the Gospel salvation. It was called "Bethesda," the house of mercy: in like manner, the way of salvation through Christ is a dispensation of mercy. It is through the mercy of God that a Saviour came into the world; or, to use the more emphatic words of Zacharias, "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (Luke, i. 78, 79.) God might justly have left the whole human race to perish in their sins, as he did rebel angels; but in mercy he interposed to rescue fallen man from that dreadful state into which sin has brought him. As it was mercy which led the Almighty to send an angel down at a certain season to the pool of Bethesda; so it was mercy that induced him to send his only begotten Son into the world to save sinners. "In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." (1 John, iv. 9.) And as it was an act of mercy in God to send his Son into the world, so it is an act of mercy when any sinner is brought truly to believe in him, and to follow him in newness of life. "But God," says St. Paul, "who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together, and made

us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus." (Eph. ii. 4-7.) Every poor diseased person that was healed at the pool of Bethesda was an instance of divine mercy, and so is every poor sinner that is saved through Christ. It is in mercy that the sinner is led to feel his lost condition by nature, and his need of a Saviour. It is through mercy that he comes to Christ seeking salvation in his name: through mercy that he finds acceptance with God; that he obtains deliverance from his sins, and a good hope of everlasting life. It is through merey that he is enabled in some measure to live to the glory of God; for he is "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." (1 Pet. i. 5.) It is through mercy that he finishes his course, and gets to heaven. It is all mercy; and thus the way of salvation through Christ is like the pool of Bethesda, a dispensation of mercy to all those who actually receive benefit thereby.

3. The accommodation for the sick at the pool of Bethesda may remind us of that provision which is made according to God's providence and grace for bringing sinners acquainted with their Saviour. The pool of Bethesda had five porches for the accommodation of impotent persons, that they might be always at hand to receive the benefit at the appointed season when it was to be conferred; that they might be upon the spot to seize the favourable opportunity, and wait for it without inconvenience and danger to themselves. In like manner, God has so ordered it in his providence, that there are means appointed for bringing sinners acquainted with the Saviour. We have reason to be thankful for that external provision which is made for the admi

nistration of divine ordinances, and for the comfort and convenience of those who come to them. It is no small benefit, but a great blessing, that there are places set apart for divine worship, and a settled ministry appointed to preach the Gospel; for without this institution many would never hear of a Saviour. Every place in which (as our church says, Article XIX.) "the pure word of God, is preached, and the sacraments duly administered according to Christ's ordinance," may be compared to one of the porches at the pool of Bethesda: and as the impotent persons who lay in those porches were "waiting for the moving of the water," so those who feel their spiritual maladies come to the house of God, and "wait for his loving-kindness in the midst of his temple." They come to the means of grace as poor, guilty, miserable sinners, feeling their need of the Lord's healing power upon their souls, and earnestly seeking it in Christ Jesus. Many indeed come to divine ordinances without any such thoughts in their hearts, because they are "whole, and need not the physician," as persons who might walk to the pool of Bethesda, and sit down for a time among the sick who lay there, without feeling their need or desiring the benefit of a cure; but those who really come to the house of God to receive benefit to their souls, feel in their hearts, as well as confess with their lips, that "there is no health in them."

4. The case of those infirm people at the pool of Bethesda was an emblem of our spiritual maladies, which can only be healed by Jesus Christ. The description given by St. John of the sick at the pool of Bethesda, shows that they were labouring under diseases which were incurable by human means. "In these (porches) lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water." No

physician can restore the impotent whose strength is gone, or give sight to the blind, or feet to the lame, or soundness of body to the withered; for such disorders are past cure by any human skill, and can only be healed by the immediate power of God. Just so is our own condition as sinners. We are by nature impotent, without strength or power to help ourselves. We are blind in our understanding, for "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Cor. ii. 14.) We are also blind to our real state as sinners, blind to our danger, as exposed to the wrath of God and the curse of his law, and blind to the only way of salvation through Jesus Christ. We are halt, not being able to stir one step in the ways of God, or the road to heaven. And we are withered, for all the faculties of our souls are with regard to spiritual things dried up, and our hearts by nature barren of all that is good. In this situation have no power of ourselves to help ourselves:" no human aid can do us any good, and none but Jesus can effectually help us. Our recovery must be the effect of divine power; and when we feel that this is indeed our condition, we come to the means of grace as the impotent came to the pool of Bethesda, waiting for that divine power whicht alone can restore us: we come as guilty for pardon, as helpless for grace; in short, as sinners for salvation, and as waiting for that salvation only in Christ Jesus.

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5. The means of cure at the pool of Bethesda were peculiar. "An angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." The cure was effected by the immediate power of God, and according to his own will. So in the conversion of sinners to God, the Holy Spirit must accompany the word with his mighty power to make it effectual. As bathing in the pool of Bethesda would have had no effect at any other time than when the angel troubled the water, so the word of God and his ordinances will have no saving effect upon the soul without the influence of the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit must descend from heaven and breathe the breath of life upon our dry and barren souls that they may live." (Ezek. xxxvii. 9.) The Spirit, like a refreshing breeze in a hot and sultry climate, must blow upon the garden of God, according to that beautiful prayer of the church, "Awake, O north wind, and come thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." (Cant. iv. 16.) Without the Spirit's influence, the word of God would be but a dead letter; the ordinances, pools without water; prayer, a lifeless form; and all the means of grace barren and unprofitable. No sinful soul would be healed; the diseased would not be strengthened; the sick would not be restored; the broken not bound up; that which is driven away would not be brought back; the lost would not be sought out and found; nor would any spiritual benefit be derived from the use of the outward means. But when the Spirit's influence is poured out in the appointed means of grace, the Lord evidently fulfils his promise, " I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick." (Ezek. xxxiv. 16.) When the Spirit's influence is vouchsafed, holy ordinances and means of grace are like the pool of Bethesda, when the angel came down and troubled the water; the word becomes quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword;" sin

ners are pricked in their hearts and turned to God; believers are strengthened and refreshed; waiting on the Lord, they renew their strength (Isaiah, xl. 31); in the vale of misery they find a well of living water; and thus "they go from strength to strength," until at length they appear before God in Zion. (Ps. lxxxiv. 6, 7.) If then we desire to have the ordinances to be the means of grace to our souls, we should pray earnestly for the influence of the Holy Spirit to make them so; for without that, an external attendance on them will no more benefit the soul, than step-ping into the pool of Bethesda when the angel had not moved its waters, would have healed those who sought relief in that unauthorized manner.

6. At the pool of Bethesda, an immediate application was necessary to receive the benefit. As soon as the angel descended into the pool and troubled the water, the first who afterwards stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. Delay would have left the diseased person in the same state that he was in before; and what does this show, but that an immediate application should be made to the Saviour. " I thought on my ways," says the royal Psalmist, "and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste and delayed not to keep thy commandments." (Psalm. cxix. 59, 60.) When a man is really concerned about his soul, and in earnest to flee from the wrath to come, he loses no time in seeking the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. He cannot trifle with his soul under the means of grace, or hear of a dying Saviour without making immediate application unto him. It is the careless, the unconverted, the worldly minded, and the hypocrite, who neglect from time to time this great salvation. The man that really feels himself to be a sinner deserving God's wrath and ever

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