asmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." On the other hand, those that are condemned, are not rejected because of their errors in faith, or their neglect of prayer, or devotion of any sort; but because they had not performed these duties to their fellow creatures. "I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not." (Matt. xxv. 42, 43.) Hence it is evident, that this feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and relieving the distressed and the stranger, is not a mere cold and dead morality, having nothing to do with religion; but it is the highest, and holiest manifestation of the Christian life. These are the great religious duties of man; in fact, the only works by which we can be accepted of God. Without them, all forms and prayers are but mockery, and faith itself, though strong enough to remove mountains, is absolutely nothing. To the promotion of these works, therefore, should the energies of the Christian church be devoted.

We come thus, to the precise point at which we would direct the present article. How are these all important Christian duties to be best and most efficiently performed? Shall it be left to isolated, fragmentary, individual exertions? or shall it enter into the organic structure of the church, and be made a matter of united, combined, and systematic effort? That individual men and women may practise these duties in a private capacity, and that they are bound so to do, there can be no doubt. But is this the best and most efficient method, so that the church, as a body, can in safety and in duty leave the matter to be thus done? These are interesting questions, and it is not presumed that there can be much doubt in regard to the true answer. In former times, when it was thought that each man lived for himself alone, and that he had little affinity with his fellow men, it was natural enough that each should think he could work by himself in the best manner. But in these days of union of man with man; when the power of associated action is well understood; when combinations of every kind, and for the furtherance of every human enterprise are springing up all

over the world, and surmounting obstacles that had been deemed insuperable, it is too late to question the fact that any work can be done far better, and more efficiently, by united and concentrated, than by isolated, individual efforts. The various reform-movements of the day may read the church an impressive lesson upon this subject. They are moved onward by the power of associated action. Disturb the associations formed in these movements; throw any one of them back to depend upon the unorganized efforts of individuals, and it requires no spirit of prophecy to foretel that it would inevitably languish, if it did not positively die. Union is strength, concentration of effort is an immense augmentation of power,-are truths that the world has come to understand; and if the church does not understand them, then are "the children of this world wiser than the children of light."

If the churches of this day are barren of good works, in this respect, it is not because there is not benevolence enough among the individuals of which they are composed, but because they have not called out that benevolence into a regular and systematic labor, in the field of good works. They have combined, indeed, to defend the faith, but have left the works to be done or undone, as time or chance might determine. Churches there are of every shade and hue of faith. But what are they doing? Nay, as churches, what do they propose to do? If we examine the canons of the Episcopal Church; the long discipline of the Methodist Church, North and South; the doings of Council and Synod in the Presbyterian Church; the articles of Consociation in the Baptist Church; or the blank paper, on which our own organization ought to be written, we shall find enough of every thing, except that which ought to be most conspicuous there, to wit: regular and systematic provisions for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and ministering to the stranger in his distress. The lines and boundaries of the faith are clearly defined. Argus-eyed watchmen are stationed at every turn, to hunt out heresy with keenest scent, and preserve the faith of the church unimpaired; pains and penalties, duly provided, for each neglect of worship, or of prayers; forms and modes of trial for all sorts of errors of opinion; and means of operation in

abundance for propagating the faith,-such as Missionary, Tract and other Societies; all these abound. But who is to give bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, and clothes to the naked? Who is to visit the sick, and minister unto them? Who is to care for the widow, and the fatherless, and visit the prisoner in the darkness of his solitude? Where are the funds consecrated to these holy purposes, and the hands that are to distribute them? The solemn truth is, these great duties, by which churches as well as individuals are to be justified, if justified at all, are most shamefully neglected, and scarcely enter into all the purposes for which our churches are organized. And the practice is such as might be expected. Is a poor mortal deprived of the comforts, or even the necessaries, of life? The church, as such, moves not. It has no machinery for such cases. If an individual moves in the matter, it is well; if not, no one is in great danger of being called to an account for a neglect of duty; for the church is too busy in preserving the faith, to meddle with the matter of enforcing good works. If sickness lays its hand upon the husband and the father, the church may, indeed, give him the benefit of her prayers; but she will leave it to some individual or benevolent society to watch over him and feed his hungry children. And when death comes, the church may pray for the soul, but will leave others to bury the body, and provide for the widow and the fatherless. When we reflect upon the subject, in this light, and remember how little these works, by which we must stand or fall, enter into the organic purposes, or are practically exemplified in the doings, of our churches, it is difficult to resist the conviction that the sentence of condemnation is, and must be, written against them. Lean and wasted skeletons, that they are; there is not enough of life and strength in their withered arms to bear a loaf of bread to the hungry, or a cup of water to the thirsty; and there is little before them but the prospect, that they will eke out a miserable, sickly existence, as idle cumberers of the ground, and then die, and give place to those who will work, as well as believe and pray.

We insist that the individual man should abound in good works; and that the leading object of a church, as such, should be to give efficiency and system to labors for

human good. The church should be formed and organized, having among its paramount objects the feeding of the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and relieving the distressed. To this, all else should be subservient, for this is the true Christian life.

And then, the church should consist, not of a few individuals, but of a whole congregation of believers in Christ, who should be banded together, and labor systematically, and regularly, for the melioration of the condition of suffering humanity.

Should it be objected that there are many in every congregation who are unfit to belong to a church, the answer is, that this depends entirely upon the idea of what the church is. If the term church is understood to mean a band of Pharisees, puffed up with the notion of their own righteousness, and ready to say to all others, "Stand by thyself, for I am holier than thou;" or if it means a board of inquisitors to sit in judgement upon other mens' consciences, and decide of orthodoxy or heresy; to find motes in a brother's eye, uncaring for the beam in their own; if this is a church, then it is probable that there are many, in every congregation, who would be considered unfit to be members; though, God help them, if they are not good enough for such society, it is difficult to decide where they should go. But if the church is, what it ought to be, a body of humble men and women, who feel their own imperfections, and are ready to say, "God be merciful to me a sinner;" and if they are associated as they should be, in doing good, in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and distressed; then it is apprehended there are comparatively few who may not engage in such works. We would be extremely unwilling to hinder any man from working in this manner. Rather, should we see Satan himself bearing food to the hungry, and drink to the faint and the thirsty, we would feel disposed to say to him, Well done! thou old father of sin, for once, thou hast done a good deed; and if thou never doest another, it is thy fault, not ours. It strikes us that a man's fitness or unfitness for the church, depends upon the probability or improbability that he will perform the duties he engages to perform when he enters into the compact. If he will perform these works, then will VOL. VII. 29

he receive from the Master, the plaudit, "Well done, good and faithful servant." If he will not perform these, then let him be cast out.

We do not say that the church should have no other object in view than the relief of outward suffering. The cultivation of the spiritual and moral faculties, the diffusion of religious light and knowledge, the dissemination of the faith of the gospel, and the practice of devotion to God, are all objects requiring a place in the organic structure of the church. But, then, all these are but the means for the promotion of that pure and undefiled religion which finds its purest manifestation in "visiting the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and keeping oneself unspotted from the world" and that is a fatal defect, which leaves these out of the objects contemplated in the church compact.

We are happy in the reflection that a movement has been made in our denomination, whose object it is, to unite our people in churches, which shall be formed upon what we regard as the true Christian basis, and for legitimate purposes. We commend the subject to the attention of all Christians, and especially to the ministers of the reconciliation, to whom we may justly look for an example of good works.

I. D. W.

ART. XXIII.

The Rose of Sharon.

The Rose of Sharon; a Religious Souvenir for 1851. Edited by Mrs. C. M. Sawyer. Boston: A. Tompkins, and B. B. Mussey & Co. 1850. 12mo.

As the holidays approach, and we look about us for some suitable present for loved ones at home, or for absent friends, a book which shall combine beauty with instruction and good influences is generally sought. Among