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these facts, and the doctrines built upon them, and, therefore, we should be on our guard, for we must ourselves partake largely of the characteristics of the age in which we live, and which we are appointed to instruct.

In relieving the mind of care.-As a means of relieving the mind of the cares and sorrows of ministerial life, the efficacy of prayer has always been felt and avowed. Every heart knows its own bitterness, and a stranger intermeddles not with its joy; but ministers have trials peculiar to themselves-trials inseparable from those labours which they voluntarily assume, and almost equal to those honours which come from above. Who in the Church is offended and they burn not? What that is unpleasant can occur without finding its way to them, and creating a depressing influence upon their minds? Moreover, their hearts are often made the receptacle of the sorrows of their people, which must add greatly to the burden of life. It is also my conviction that though there is nothing expiatory in human sufferings, yet, ministers often suffer for the sake of the church and the world, and good men in all ages have so suffered, and by these sufferings they have been, like the Captain of our salvation himself, fitted for usefulness and honour. Therefore, my brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations in the discharge of your duties as the stewards of the mysteries of God, knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience; remembering, however, to walk humbly with God in frequent and fervent prayer, lest these trials should work fretfulness instead of patience, and disgust with mankind rather than compassion for the ignorant and they that are out of the way. Amid these trials it is well to think of Him who went about doing good, who bore the contradictions of sinners against himself, who, when he was reviled, reviled not again, and who, in front of toil and danger, or after any severe conflict with sin and mankind, Sought strength and consolation from God. Very frequently after many hours spent in hard toil or keen controversy, attended with little success and less gratitude, and when his wasted frame solicited repose, he retired into the desert or into the mountain, "and continued all night in prayer to God." What his supplications at these times were we are not told, but it is highly probable that they related to the increasing perplexities

which crowded his path, and, to the vexing and depressing influence which the hardness of men's hearts produced upon his spirit; at any rate he thought it more important to refresh and invigorate his spirit with communion with God than to recruit his body with food and repose. On the day following he had to meet the multitude, and to work amongst them and for them, by preaching, prayer, and miracle, just as though they had shown no ingratitude towards him, no loathing of his doctrine, no contempt of his claims. Have not ministers to do these things? Are not the coldness and oppo sition of the week to be forgiven and forgotten when we enter the sanctuary on the Sabbath day? Are we not to preach to men with the affection, as well as the fidelity of a brother? Are we not also in private life to meet men who have done us much injury, and who, if they live, intend to do us much more, with the meekness and gentleness of Christ? And how can these things be done except by the aid of the spirit of Christ, obtained by fervent prayer? Add to this also the increase of vigour which communion with God brings into the soul, and which is felt in the relationships of life and the exercises of the ministry. Prayer makes men calm and forbearing in seasons of provocation, successful in selecting topics for the pulpit, apt to teach, fertile in illustrations of God's word and in expedients for the advancement of his cause, and, skilful in detecting and exploding those refuges of lies in which men seek safety and quiet. Around the pastor eminent for the exercise of prayer the church will grow up in faith, in love, in purity, in activity, and, in meetness to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

In bracing the mind for future conflict. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. It is well to draw encouragement from the trials of the past, but it is not well to anticipate the trials of the future. Still it is not always possible to do so; and what is so well calculated to fortify the mind against impending storms as active communion with God? "He is the covert from the storm, the hiding-place from the tempest, the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." "He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings

as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.' The calmness and dignity with which our Lord received the traitor Judas and the ruffian band that attended him, is strangely contrasted with the extreme distress of mind which he expressed immediately before he prayed, and yet the calamity that was before him was not lessened in the smallest degree. He had, however, received, and probably through the angel that ministered unto him in that awful hour, certainly in answer to prayer, an assurance that his strength should be equal to his day. Is it not our own fault and offence if we do not, in similar circumstances, receive similar assistance in answer to similar importunity in prayer?

In creating revivals of religion.-The exercise of prayer is most likely to lead to an adequate estimate of the worth of the soul, because it divests the mind of all earthly images, and gives its regard exclusively upon the work of redemption and the glories of heaven. It is the best means of promoting and maintaining a revived state of religion in our own souls and in the Church, because it brings down the Divine Spirit The descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was as truly in answer to prayer as it was in fulfilment of ancient prediction and the more recent word of our Lord. The disciples were met together with one accord in one place. Each heart was exercised with longing expectation of the promised Spirit, and with ardent supplication for it; for they all felt that there was a significance in recent events which the Spirit alone could reveal, and, that they had a work to perform for which he alone could prepare them. Among the most extraordinary things that attended the feast of Pentecost were the prayers which preceded the giving of the Spirit, which were prompted by a just estimate of ancient predictions, surrounding circumstances, and impending labours; and, many times since then, the events of providence have surrounded good men with circumstances which powerfully impressed the mind with the need of the Spirit, accompanied with ardent desires to obtain it, and, these emotions expressed in believing and persevering prayer to God have brought down showers of blessings; and when there shall be equally just appreciation of the equally impressive circumstances which now encompass us, there will be prayers equally importunate, and blessings equally abundant.

In surveying public affairs.-Ministers of religion have a duty to perform to society, as well as to the Christian community over which they preside; and they are sensibly affected by national events and the affairs of the Church universally. By them the tendency of society, the progress of truth and error, infidelity and crime, freedom and despotism, peace and war, science and religion, are closely considered; and the bearing of these things upon the triumphs of Christianity and the glory of God are matters of deep and constant solicitude. He cannot be a faithful watchman on the walls of Zion who limits his regard to those that are within the city; and it is not possible for any man to survey constantly and comprehensively the world at large without fears and perplexities of mind which can be allayed only by communion with God. In one of his discourses our Lord points out innumerable evils which he declares should overtake the Church in her history among men, all of which have taken place already, and will probably be repeated in future ages, which indeed are characteristic of every age in some degree, and which press most heavily on ministers; and he directs our attention to prayer as our great source of consolation and stability. Calamity in the largest and most minute manifestations, covering the whole earth, embracing every interest of men, is depicted in that celebrated discourse. Anarchy at home-nations warring against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms. -the hand of God shaking the earth, and hanging dreadful signs out of heaven

false teachers vexing the Churchfiery persecution raging against the faithful-treachery in the domestic circlemen betrayed by those nearest to themministers brought before kings and rulers for the sake of Christ, cast into prison, tortured and slain with the sword;-these and other calamities are depicted in glowing colours; but, at the same time, we are assured that the prayerful spirit shall remain in the midst of all, calm, confident, and successful. "Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand before the Son of Man," Luke xxi. 36. Now, if prayer be the thing most calculated to keep the mind calm, confident, and hopeful in the severest trials that can overtake the minister, and those interests with which he is most closely and tenderly identified, as a matter of course it must be most

effective in those subordinate evils which exercise his faith, patience, and hope. The mighty spirit of good which prayer brings into his heart keeps effectually at bay the mighty spirit of evil which works continually in the world, and sometimes in the Church. No one can stand between him and the throne of grace. Nothing but his own unbelief can prevent the strength and consolation of God from finding their way into his soul; and while he continues in the exercise of prayer, no subtlety shall beguile him, for of none of the devices of Satan shall he be ignorant; no power shall master him, for greater is He that is for him than all they that are against him; no forbidden fascination shall allure him from truth, for his mind shall be constantly directed "into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ;" while the varied discipline of life shall gradually prepare him for joys unspeakable in heaven.

CONCLUSION.

May I, therefore, my revered brethren, while thanking you for the part you have assigned to me in these services, and for the attention you have been kind enough to pay to my thoughts on this important subject, exhort you to 66 pray without ceasing;" to be mindful of the many bright examples of prayer recorded in God's word, and chiefly of the Son of God, who prayed oftener and more earnestly than any one else, in whose prayers on earth and in heaven you are assuredly included; of the splendid examples of the results of prayer, in the revival of piety in the Church, and the enlargement of religion in the world; of the powerful and happy effects of prayer in your own soul, in seasons of depression and of toil; of the necessity of prayer in the present day; of the forlorn state and character of those who restrain prayer before God; of the command of God that you should pray, and of his engagement to answer prayer— "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, believing, ye shall receive"? Matlock Bath. T. M. NEWNES.

THE SOUL.

"What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

THE soul is immortal, immaterial, incorruptible,-destined either for eternal blessedness or endless woe; and yet,

with the inconceivable nature and value of the soul, how little interest, comparatively, is felt for its everlasting happiness! Were an angel of light to visit this lower world, and mix in professedly Christian society, and listen to the usual tone of conversation, what would be his surprise to hear so little spoken on that one subject which fills all heaven with wonder and delight! And yet it must be allowed that, even in Christian Churches, among members who have forsaken the world to follow Christ, very little interest, in proportion to the momentous question, is felt or manifested for the salvation of souls. And to what is this mainly to be attributed? Whence all this lukewarmness, apathy, and indifference? How can we account for this sluggish action, where we are naturally led to expect vigour, zeal, earnest and persevering labour? The answer to the question must be candid, open, decided. The cause lies in the low vitality of Christian Churches, the want of healthful piety, the stunted growth of religious principle, the amalgamation of the gold with the dross; the blending of things divine with things which perish; the world, in fact, where the golden candlestick ought to be. How great the contrast, when we are told that the angels in the presence of God rejoice over one sinner that repenteth. How vast the change in the upper and glorious world, where the angelic host, who never tasted redeeming love, nor were ransomed by the blood of the Lamb, rejoice over the conversion of fallen sinners! How deep must be their interest, how fixed their gaze on the spectacle of the weeping penitent, crying for mercy at the foot of the cross! how surpassing all our conception, the deep and thrilling song of praise, when new trophies of Divine grace are added to the glorious army of the Church militant. They have heard the song of the redeemed in heaven; they have seen them washed in the blood of the Lamb; they have witnessed their bright forms arrayed in the righteousness of Christ; they have caught the sounds of overwhelming love. Unto Him who hath washed us in his own blood, be glory, and power, and wisdom, and dominion for ever. They are eyewitnesses of their perfected redemption, their complete happiness, their fervent love. This wonderful and glorified state brings glory to God, exalts the blessed Saviour, and is the conception of his own pure mind beyond the comprehension of

the brightest seraph in his presence. And here is to be traced the source of the interest they feel for the salvation of sinners. Could we, for a short period, be translated to the third heaven, and witness the thrilling accents of redeeming love-could we gaze on the assembly of the spirits of just men made perfect could we see each eye fixed, each heart full with love, each countenance radiant with joy, each crown glittering in the reflected radiance of the Saviour's glory, bathed in the pure ocean of light-all singing one song, all melodious on one theme, all blended in one divine harmony, without one jarring note to interrupt the swelling chorus of the ransomed host,-what would be our astonishment to pass from the heavenly scene, to contemplate again the Church militant on earth! Alas, what divisions to witness! what contentions on things empty as the air! what time misspent on immaterial and unprofitable subjects! what bitterness where there ought to be charity! what disunion and discord! what importance attached to those things which God esteems light! what alienation in various sections of the Church! what want of pure, heartfelt interest in their separate and individual prosperity! what an answer to our Saviour's prayer, that all his followers might be one! The solemn truth appears in all its sober reality, that the Christian Church is torn and rent by endless divisions, and, what is still more sad to contemplate, the mildew of cold indifference is passing over the garden of the Lord, and, instead of the green and refreshing verdure, we observe the sickly hue, the blighted plants, the wasted form, the decay in the roots. The one idea and supreme object, next to personal religion, ought to be the salvation of others. The command is clear, decided, emphatic: "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."

Ministers of the Gospel are encou raged to this work, not merely by the public proclamation of the truth, but by private intercourse with their hearers. We find, in the 20th chapter of the Acts, the example of Paul setting forth his mode of ministration among his hearers, as the most effectual to accomplish the great end of his ministry. In the twentieth verse we read, "And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying, both to the Jews and

also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." And, in the thirty-first verse, "Therefore watch, and remember that, by the space of three years, I ceased not to warn every one, night and day, with tears." Here was the secret of the Apostle's success in the work of conversion, seeking by every means to win souls to Christ, by private, continued, and persevering labours. Here is presented an illustration of the powerful ministration of the truth, not in word only, but in deed and in truth, commending it to every man's conscience in the sight of God. We perceive the great Apostle of the Gentiles, sowing in tears, exhorting to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, warning them of their danger, not merely in public, but separately, individually, personally, face to face, as if resolved that no opportunity should be allowed to escape, without preaching Christ, and Him crucified, to dying, helpless sinners, that they might escape the wrath to come. If an apostle, endowed as he was with qualifications of the highest order, so travailed in birth for the salvation of souls, and ceased not daily to enforce, by precept and example, his divine message; how instructive is such a course to all who preach the Gospel to follow him, and, by personal intercourse with their flocks, to strengthen and sustain the public ministration of the truth. The servant of the Lord, at such a season, when alone in the presence of the unconverted, while agonizing in spirit over the condition of the ungodly, can preach heart to heart, beseeching every one, with the message of mercy, to flee from the wrath to comepleading, for Christ's sake, the escape to the city of refuge from the destroying angel. How much real good has been effected by household preaching, private ministration, the secret, but powerful, appeals to the conscience, when even the most urgent and faithful exhibitions of Divine truth from the pulpit have failed to accomplish the object so earnestly expected! Wherever primitive Christianity and her practices are thus enforced, we shall not fail to perceive a progressive growth of healthful piety, a vigorous action in the Church, and zeal in full operation, like the leaven, spreading from the centre to the circumference, diffusing a heavenly influence on every side. Church members, from their position, are expected to come to the help of the Lord, and to seek, with all earn

estness in prayer and effort, to win souls to Christ. Their responsibility is equal to their ability. They are light-houses to point the way to heaven. They are placed in the garden of the Lord, as husbandmen, to toil, to labour, and go forth to cultivate the barren ground, which is full of thorns and briars fitted for the burning. All have their talent-all are accountable to their Master-all are exhorted to occupy until He shall come to judge their faithfulness, their steadfastness, their constancy in well-doing. The unprofitable servant is to be cast into outer darkness, because, knowing his Lord's will, he has neglected to do it. A faithful Church is a working Church, diffusing the sweet savour of life to all around scattering the blessings of heaven to the dark, the benighted, and ignorant, who are perishing for lack of knowledge. Prayerful activity characterizes their every movement; and as they sow to the Spirit, in proportion will they reap in the coming fruits of righteousness. When a deep and powerful awakening is felt for the salvation of precious souls, it is then that the breezes of heaven are descending in answer to prayer, bearing along their course a healthful influence, quickening the dead to life, and raising them to the joyful hope of a glorious immortality. How much may be done by a living Church to carry forward the gracious designs of the Gospel! How wonderful that fallible men should be entrusted with so great a commission! How vast the danger of neglecting_the trust committed to their charge! How impressive the fact, that all united to Christ as their living Head, are to be judged hereafter according to their ability. Sabbath-school teachers may also attest their love to the Redeemer by the exercise of a watchful care over the minds of the young. While they are sowing the seeds of Divine truth, let them remember the amount of influence they are continually exerting, either for good or evil, according to the degree of labour and self-sacrifice made on behalf of their precious charge. It is no mean distinction to occupy the position of Sabbath-school teachers; and according to the means employed in instilling into the minds of the young the saving truths of the Gospel, and the anxiety felt to bring them to Jesus, will be their responsibility to Him who has committed to them their high commission. Beset as are the young with snares on every side, how needful especially is the exercise of Chris

tian vigilance in those who watch for their souls!

Parents occupy a most responsible situation. They are the appointed channels to convey the golden stream of truth to the hearts of their children: To pray and watch, and labour in love for their souls, is to be their daily work. The authority and influence of parents are to be used in training up their children for God. Example and precept, holy consistency and effort, are all to be kept in daily exercise. God said of Abraham, "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment," Gen. xviii. 19. In the parental rule, patience, wisdom, kindness, forbearance, and firmness, are essentially needed. Childhood is the fittest period for the formation of character. A branch is bent more easily than the full-grown tree. There is more hope of success in winning the soul to Christ in the progress of youth, than when many years of sin have tended to harden the heart in its full vigour. In the morning of the day we are to sow the seed, watered with tears, in humble dependence on the Divine blessing, and in the full exercise of holy faith. Thus, in every condition in the Church, in families, in the world, we are to have one object prominently in view, the salvation of the soul; and when all our energies are bent to secure this high, ennobling, and glorious end, we may rest assured our best and fondest hopes will be realized. How much of our time is frittered away, and for ever lost, on vain, delusive, and idle speculations, when souls are perishing in ignorance of the truths of revelation! How apt are the Lord's people to forget their mission-to spend and be spent for the good of others, and to live as burning and shining lights, to point the way to heaven! Let us take

heed unto the word of exhortation.
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye
stedfast, immoveable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, inasmuch as ye
know that your labour is not in vain in
the Lord.”
F. S. G.

Tiverton, April 29th, 1851.

HOW TO GET RID OF A MINISTER.

BY REV. DR. HUMPHREY.

SUCH improvements have been made in the art, within these last few years, and it is now so well understood, that any

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