all wisdom, that he may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, striving thereunto according to his working which worketh in him mightily.

All this is twofold. The work of overcoming the world is, for each Christian, of necessity, divided into the work of overcoming the world within and the world without. Overcoming the world within-the remaining passions and lusts of the flesh-is growth in grace, is personal piety, is becoming perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. Overcoming the world without is preaching the Gospel to every creature; is the missionary work, first Home, then Foreign. Therefore these two works, that of personal piety and of Missions, are just the two equal branches of the same root. Neither is any less or more inevitable, as a matter of principle, than the other. Neither is any less or more involved than the other, in the very root and fatness of the essential vitality of christian life. There is no separating them so as to estimate the one as above the other. It would be as absurd to attempt to honor the right lobe of the lungs above the left, or the left auricle and ventricle of the heart above the right, as to say that one of these developments of christian activity is any more needful to the healthy movement of evangelic life than the other. They are one in the principle and feeling out of which they grow; and they so act and reäct upon each other that neither can complete itself without the other. The real Christian finds himself, in his own measure and place, just as imperatively drawn and driven to that feeling which led Paul to say," Necessity is laid upon me, yea wo is unto me if I preach not the Gospel," and which compelled Peter and John, after the good deed done to the impotent man, to reply to the veto which the Jewish authorities would put upon their further speech for Christ, "We can not but speak the things which we have seen and heard;" as he is bound to say, with Joseph, when tempted to transgression, "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God," as he is bound calmly and eternally to follow the dictate of the grace which bringeth salvation, "teaching us that, denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world."

The moment one becomes a regenerate child of God, that moment he enters into the Lord's prayer, and its brief formula becomes instinct with life to him. He understands it now. He can not help breathing it forth in tremulous yet jubilant syllables. It so covers all the length and breadth and depth of his new necessities, that he at once understands that the same divine Being who has created him unto newness of life, made that prayer to be the epitome of the desires of that life. But as he commits his soul to its petitions he finds them bearing him outward toward his fellows, as well as upward toward Jehovah. "Our Father;" "give us this day our daily bread;" "lead us not into temptatation, but deliver us from evil;" here he finds himself led into the expression of desires that are as broad as the race, that can not be satisfied until all the children of earth also say, "our Father." Nor can he beg that God's will "may be done on earth as it is in heaven," without some kindling of a missionary spirit; while no where in the prayer, or out of it, is he informed that the forthgoing and converting element of the christian life is any less needful to the integrity of the soul before God, than the interior and self-sanctifying element. Nor is there any thing in christian experience to suggest this. How true a type of genuine piety was the history of that converted slave who, when his master upbraided him for leaving his fiddle for the active labors of Methodism, replied: "Oh! master, what is good for my soul might be good for every body's soul; and Christ died for all, and oh! he wants all, and mustn't I help him?" And how touching is the record of that other field hand, poor and with a wooden leg, who, when the pastor of his church was calling over the names of the faithful, to find how much each would give to the missionary work, hobbled up to the desk and laid down one package folded in a bit of soiled paper for himself and another for his wife, and another for his children—$15.00 in all— and when his pastor said, "I didn't ask for the money now," replied: "Ah! massa, take it now. God's work must be done, and I may be dead by and by, when the time comes to pay."

How significant, also, was Christ's threefold command to that disciple whose trembling return he desired to quicken into an eternal assurance of faith:

"Lovest thou me? Then-if thou wouldst prove thy love, and furnish everlasting evidence of the reality of thy professed new consecration-feed my lambs, feed, feed my sheep." The Church also, in the midst of all her faltering and blundering, has never failed to recognize the superior beauty of the life of those in her ranks who have most felt the pressure of missionary duty, and who have even almost forgotten the claims of their own souls upon themselves in their intense appreciation of the claims of others-like the soldier whom Napoleon saw at Eylau hurrying on to the charge with the bleeding stump of his left arm, from which a shell had just torn the fore-arm and hand. "Stay, my good fellow; go to the ambulance and get your wound dressed," said the Emperor. "I will," replied the grenadier, so soon as we have taken that church !"

The work of Missions, Home and Foreign, then, has just as close and vital relation to our individual acceptance before God, as the work of personal holiness. We are not to ask: "Can we afford to give labor and money to convert others?" any more than we are to ask: "Can we afford to be holy?" We are bound to do both; yet the one no more really than the other. Our love to Christ as a personal Saviour, binds us to do both; yet the one no more than the other. Personal piety is no more really the natural subjective than Missions are the inevitable objective fruit of Christianity. That the Church understand and feel this, is the great necessity for the conversion of our land and the world. Nobody doubts that there are Christians enough in the world now to convert it all to Christ, if each would but comprehend that his personal acceptance before God hangs as really on his outward labor as on his inward states of feeling. If each man in this audience went home and set his own house thoroughly on fire, New York would be burned up clean before morning, the Fire Department to the contrary notwithstanding. So if these men and women here who love Christ, will but go home and set their hearts thoroughly on fire with missionary zeal, a holy conflagration would be kindled that no earthly power could quench. If each would be a Home Missionary to his own house and neighborhood, and a Foreign Missionary (by alms) to the destitute elsewhere, the Millennium would begin here and now. And if the Church could be made to look upon Missions as a necessity, and not as a luxury of her life, children now living should see the farthest deserts rejoice and bloom as the rose.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Death of Hon. Benjamin F. Butler.

The friends of this Society have already been apprised of the decease of the Hon. BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, LL.D., of this city, which occurred at Paris, on the 8th of November, 1858; and the journals of the day have paid their tribute to his eminent services and worth. We allude to the event, to express our sense of the bereavement which this Institution has experienced, and to record a fact, showing his deep and long continued interest in its operations. He was one of its earliest and most liberal patrons, and for thirty years has been a most valuable counselor, an earnest advocate, and a steadfast friend. In 1832 he was elected one of its Board of Directors, and for the last twenty four years has been one of its Vice Presidents, presiding frequently at its Anniversaries, and contributing the aid of his polished eloquence, in the enforcement of its claims. In 1832, while engaged in the practice of law at Albany, he addressed to the Secretary the following letter, which we commend to the attention of our readers, on account of the noble project it announces, and the christian spirit it breathes.

"MY DEAR SIR:-From your last Report it appears, that the average expense of maintaining the missionaries in your employ, so far as it devolves on your

Society, is a little more than $100 per annum. It is probable that it will not, in any year, exceed $150. Under this impression, I take pleasure in proposing to defray, during the present year, the expense of one of the laborers to be employed by you; and I inclose my check for one hundred dollars, to be applied to this purpose. The balance shall be paid at your next anniversary, on ascertaining the average sum. And I desire to be considered as engaging to continue this contribution, so long as Providence shall enable me to do so without injustice to my family or others; subject, however, to the further qualification, that your Society shall faithfully adhere (which I doubt not they will) to the evangelical and catholic principles which have thus far distinguished their operations. I can not sufficiently express to you the happiness I feel in the belief, that I shall thus be enabled, through the medium of your Society, to fulfill the duty of preaching the Gospel to my fellow men. To the guidance and blessing of God, I fervently commend, not only the missionary who may be employed by this contribution, but all the laborers in the service of your Society. May they be men of sound principles and exemplary piety-thoroughly qualified for all their important duties-full of faith, and wisdom, and enlightened zeal!

"May they be kept from all strife and contention, from all improper interference with political or other extraneous concerns; from ambition and intolerance; and from every thing, in a word, that is repugnant to the spirit, or the precepts, or the example of their Master! And may the Spirit of truth direct, and accompany, and bless all their ministrations; and thus secure to them, both here and hereafter, the joy and the crown of those who 'turn many to righteousness,' and who shall shine as stars in the firmament forever.'

"I am, dear sir, with sincere and affectionate regard, your friend and brother. B. F. BUTLER."

This pledge has been faithfully redeemed, during the past twenty six years. Amid the engrossing cares of his profession, in the bustle and excitement of political life, at his post in the Cabinet of the National Government, he has not forgotten his purpose, "through the medium of this Society, to preach the Gospel to his fellow men." Nor has he required to be reminded of his pledge, but regularly, twice a year, he has called and laid his check on the Treasurer's desk. He rests from his labors, and his works do follow him. The fountain of living water, which he has opened in the wilderness, will flow on, in ever widening streams, through all the future; while he has gone to receive, what he invoked upon the missionary laborers he employed, "the joy and the crown of those who turn many to righteousness." On whose shoulders will his mantle fall?

The Future of our Country.

At a low estimate, the present territory of the United States is able to sustain 300,000,000 of inhabitants, and it would not be extravagant to rate its ability as high as 500,000,000.

With the density of Russia, we should have 80,000,000.

New England,
Middle States, 66

France,

66 123,000,000.
170,000,000.
500,000,000.

660,000,000. "1,150,000,000.

With a rate of increase decidedly inferior to that of the ten years ending in 1850, we should number, in 1900, 110,000,000; and with the lowest rate of increase that is at all probable, we shall count not less than 75,000,000.

It is altogether probable that, if the country succeeds in maintaining the purity of its political institutions, in one hundred years its population will number more than 250,000,000; and the child is born who shall read the reports of the census which shall sum up that aggregate, while grandchildren of those now entering upon the duties of citizens, shall then be in the maturity of their powers, and occupying the most responsible stations in the gift of a nation nearly ten times as numerous as our own is now.

But what changes, within that hundred years, must have come upon the places with which we are familiar. New England will have been compacted of large towns and villages, and the sound of her factories and her church bells will mingle from end to end, and from the lake to the ocean. Every torrent of her mountains, and the very tides of her marshy shores, will have been disciplined to carry her machinery. She will be one close-knit body of living intellect and force, pouring forth her emigrants, still, to newer territories, and, with the arms of her commerce, and with her moral influence, taking hold on the ends of the earth.

The Middle States will be a fruitful garden, their mountains crowded with miners, their towns with mechanics, their broad slopes blushing with orchards, their hill-sides flecked with countless herds, their rivers bearing the burthens of an immense trade-a populous, beauteous, fruitful clime, filled with manifold labor and enjoyment.

And the great West! Those silent prairies, those far-reaching streams, those broad lakes, those princely lawns and parks, those primeval woods, those innumerable herds and flocks, those endless railroads, those countless steamers, those multiplying factories, those villages-the growth of a night-those cities -built in a year-those armies of emigrants, those toiling teachers and missionaries! What is the meaning of all these things, and what do they say to us? The onward march of that wonderful land is one of the most solemn and affecting sights that the world can show. What shall the end be? Who will feel the pulse that is to beat from the spring of the life that is taking to itself body and form, now, measure its energy, and prognosticate its courses?

But the mountains are crossed! The Pacific gleams in the horizon; the plains behind, once barren, are a watered garden; the furrowed slopes before are still ploughed for gold; harvests wave in all those valleys; a new world has been created along the shores of the Western ocean; a new commerce vexes those "peaceful" seas; new thoughts invade the slumber of nations beyond; new visions rise upon the souls of hoping millions. The world is encircled with strong bands. Each ship that comes to Atlantic or Pacific shores, brings with it a thread that helps to bind some other nation to this, and which vibrates with ceaseless, mutual influences. A network of correspondence has been woven. Teachers and ministers, the Bible and books of human lore, have found a home in every clime. Example is contagious, and nations have caught new flames. Words uttered in the center of this continent, find an echo in Australia and China. The Word of God "has free course," and His kingdom whose right it is to reign, is coming with power!

BUT THESE GLORIOUS RESULTS WILL NOT BE REACHED, UNLESS OUR COUNTRY BE THOROUGHLY EVANGELIZED.

Our industrial, commercial, and political growth is founded on our spiritual progress. Temporal prosperity can not be permanent among an immoral people; and morality is only religion in practice. Good rulers will not be elected by an irreligious nation; and bad rulers will neither make wise laws nor execute any laws justly. No lasting empire can be built upon wickedness. Self-interest will not hold people together. It is a solvent, not a cement. Jesus Christ is the rock around which these shifting sands must gather. Against this storms will beat in vain; and all waves and commotions in the world's broad sea, will but serve to drive wanderers to this haven, and to accummulate here the fragments of weaker empires, broken off by tempests of revolution, or worn away by the ceaseless inclemencies of oppression. Let the spirit of Jesus Christ rule in the heart of this people, and become the immutable center and the controlling element of its character, and it will constitute an adequate basis for any possible increase, and will secure the happiest and completest rounding out of all that a nation should be or do. The nation that builds on God rises on eternal foundations. The nation whose end is in God, has laid hold on an immortal destiny. The nation that seeks first the kingdom of heaven, shall find that all other things are added to it.

DIRECTORS FOR LIFE

OF THE AMERICAN HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

This mark (*) designates those who have deceased.