FOR THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES. Utica, N. Y., April 22, 1845.
BROTHER BEEBE:—It is now a long time since you have received anything from me, and having a small remittance to make, I will, by your permission, drop a few lines through the Signs to the church of God scattered abroad.
Beloved brethren, it is declared in the Scriptures that Jesus Christ is precious to them that believe, and every person taught of God, I know, will heartily respond to such declaration made by the Apostle, and from an experimental acquaintance with such truth, and the holy stirrings of a principle of grace in their hearts will say, Amen. The preciousness of Christ to his people, consists I apprehend, in those sweet and blessed relations he sustains towards them, and in all these there is an exact suitableness to all their cases and wants, for, let the child of God be presented under whatever similie he may in the scriptures, we find the Lord Jesus bears a corresponding relation to him; for instance, is he called a child? Then Christ is his everlasting Father: is he spoken of as a sheep? Then Jesus is his Shepherd; is he presented as a subject of the kingdom of heaven? then Messiah is his king, to rule in him, over him, and for him. The Holy Ghost hath employed a wide variety of imagery, to set forth the glories of Christ and the precious characters he bears, and among the many figures presented, that of a Rock seems truly grateful and endearing.