On Monday evening, June 24th, 1861, a devotional meeting was held in Dover-street chapel, Leicester. On Tuesday morning at ten o'clock the Association appointed its officers. Rev. Farmer Chamberlain, of Fleet, Lincolnshire, was chosen vice-chairman, and Rev. Edward Bott, of Barton Fabis, Leicestershire, Minute Secretary. Rev. Isaac Stubbins, our bighly esteemed and eminently successful missionary from Orissa, took the chair, and gave his address. After adverting to some of the rules of the Association, he referred to the remarkable_coincidence that two persons from India, himself and G. F. Cockburn, Esq., Her Majesty's Commissioner of Cuttack, should be selected to preside, the one over the sittings of the Association, and the other over the Annual Foreign Missionary Meeting; and that he himself, while mindful of the duties of his office, could not sink the missionary in the chairman. He then laid before the brethren in an admirable and forcible way, the claims of a mission to the Khonds, a people inhabiting the bill country of the province of Orissa; showed that this was not an attempt to found a new and independent mission, unsupported by our present missionaries, but an attempt to enlarge under their auspices and counsel an old one; that no society possessed such facilities for its establishment as our own; that our missionaries for many years past had urged its feasibility, and that one now out in the field had volunteered to go among the Khonds; that co-operation might be expected from Christian Europeans in India; that the Khonds themselves were anxious for the missionaries to settle among them; and that, except through the Orissa Mission, there seemed little likelihood of these sunken people ever receiving the gospel. A very deep impression was made by this appeal, and led to the after decision of the Committee to send out at once Rev. Thomas Bailey, an accepted candidate for missionary labour, to accompany Rev. J. O. Goadby to the first new station at Russel Khondah. The chief topic of business on Tuesday was the one so long and so eagerly anticipated-the union of the two sections of the Baptist Body. Business of lesser interest seemed sadly in the way. A general buzz of excitement followed the introduction of the more important question. Those who thought the distinctive features of our denomination were imperilled, or who anticipated little else than absorption, pure and simple, into the larger body, were not slow to communicate their fears. Ministers and representatives from all parts of the Connexion took part in the debate, among whom were Revs. Dr. Burns, W. Underwood, R. Hardy, J. B. Pike, J. C. Jones, T. Goadby, T. Watts, W. Jones, G. Hester, F. Stevenson, Esq., and others. It has seldom been our lot to hear in any Association debate, more terse and vigorous addresses, or replies more pointed and trenchant. At first there seemed no possibility of anything like a unanimous vote; but as reply followed reply, and explanation was added to explanation, opposition gradually fell away, a oneness of feeling pervaded the assembled brethren, and when the vote was taken for the subjoined resolution, a whole forest of hands was held up in its favour: 'That a closer union of the evangelical Baptists of this country is most desirable; and that this Association will rejoice in the constant exhibition of the union that already exists, and also in extending this union as far as it is practicable, for the honour of our one Lord, and the greater efficiency of combined operation.' Less than this would not have reflected the sentiment of the assembled brethren, and more than this was not at present possible. In the evening of Tuesday, the Annual Home Missionary Meeting was held in Dover-street chapel, T. D. Paul, Esq, in the chair. Addresses were given by Revs. H. Wilkinson, of Norwich; B. Wood, of Bradford; J. Holroyd, of Barton; and T. Goadby, B. A., of Coventry. The last speaker gave a long and interesting account of his recent visit to Canada and the United States. On Wednesday the public services were held, and the annual committees of the Orissa Mission and the Notting. ham College assembled. The morning service was held in the spacious chapel in Archdeacon-lane, and was very numerously attended. Rev. Caleb Springthorpe, of Heptonstall Slack, read the Scriptures and prayed, and the Rev. J. J. Goadby, of Lenton, Nottingham, preached from 1 Peter i. 24, 25. As this sermon will shortly be in the hands of our readers we need not stay to give any abstract. noon service was held in Dover-street The whole of Thursday was devoted chapel. Rev. T. Wilson, of March, to business. The report of the College Cambridgeshire, read and prayed, and was read immediately after breakfast. Rev. T. W. Mathews, of Boston, It was during this morning sitting Lincolnshire, preached from Ephesians that the greatest excitement prevailed. iii. 8. The crowded audience listened More students had been received than with rapt attention to our esteemed the College premises would accommobrother as he showed that He who was date. The premises were not in every unsearchable could not be less than way so convenient as could be wished; God, and that if God would manifest and the question was mooted-Shall forth any portion of this unsearchable- we arise and build? After a lucid exness to the human family he must position of the whole case by the needs become man. The Annual secretary, various resolutions were Missionary Meeting was held in the passed in favour of providing increased evening, in the Temperance Hall, C. F. accommodation and purchasing the Cockburn, Esq., in the chair. Ad-premises. Nor were the means wanting. dresses were given by Revs. H. Ash- A noble stream of generosity burst forth; bery, of Sheffield, J. Clifford, of London, now in the gallery among the ladiesGiles Hester, of Long Sutton, J. P. now below among the ministers-now Mursell, of Leicester, and our three among the laymen. Before the close missionaries. The collection amounted of the list of promises, including what to upwards of £24. A fuller report of had already been given at Wisbech, this meeting will be found in the the munificent sum of £1,650 had Missionary Observer. been guaranteed. About £2,300 are needed; and an appeal will be made to the churches for the remainder. The Nottingham College Committee was sitting during the time of the morning service. From the report it appeared that the financial condition was unusually good, there being over £80 in hand. Four young men were received on probation. Attention was drawn to the desirableness of securing an enlargement of the present house accommodation, and, if practicable, of purchasing these or other premises for the College. Since the College business has grown so large and is still growing, would it not be better to devote a whole forenoon to its consideration? Would it not ensure more time for deliberation, and prevent the unspeakable annoyance to the preacher and hearer of repeated interruptions during the morning service? The Foreign Missionary Committee met in Friar-lane chapel in the afternoon of Wednesday. It was gratifying to find that the balance against the Society was less than £10. The subject The Association letter on the nonattendance of influential members at our prayer-meetings,-Rev. T. Watts, of Wisbech, the writer—was read at twelve o'clock. A deeply-interesting and searching letter, and one that the Association earnestly desired should be read by every minister to his own people. We look forward to its appearance in the Minutes with eager expectation. On the much-debated question of the support of our denominational institutions a lively discussion ensued. After the report of the Committee appointed by the last Association had been read, the resolutions were taken seriatim. Only two were adopted, and these with some slight modifications. It never occurred, however, to any of the brethren to mention that the rejected resolutions are virtually noted upon in the management of every insti tution. The resolutions agreed to were: | the terms already agreed to, for the (1) That there be added to the statistics next five years.' in the Minutes a tabular statement of the sum contributed by each church to the support of each institution. (2) That the resolution of the Wisbech Association of 1860, namely, that this Association regards it as the duty of all the churches in the body to support the three recognized institutions of the Connexion, viz., the Home Mission, the Foreign Mission, and the College.' -be printed in connexion with the statistics year by year. The Editor of the Magazine having made some statement as to his past engagements and tenure of office-it was agreed without a dissentient voice That the Magazine be committed to the hands of the present Editor, on The arrangements for the next Association are as follows: the place of meeting, Halifax, Yorkshire; the preachers, Revs. W. Jones, of Derby, and Rev. F. Chamberlain, of Fleet; the chairman, Rev. J. C. Pike; the subject of the letter: What practical measures can be proposed for effecting a closer union between the two evangelical sections of the Baptist Body,' and the writer Frederick Stevenson, Esq., of Nottingham. The sittings of Thursday were protracted till ten o'clock in the evening. After votes of thanks to the friends at Leicester for their hospitality and kindness, the chairman closed the meeting with prayer. GOD'S FATHERHOOD AND GOD'S HOME. THE term father is suggestive of en- But in the opening passage of His sublime model prayer who was the Truth, we have brought before us another Father, not of earthly mould, but higher and loftier, and infinitely remote as a Father in perfection and excellence from the worthiest fathers that ever trod this earth; and that Father is God. But how is God our Father?' some may wonderingly ask. We answer, By grace.' It is a relationship that God has been pleased of His own accord to propose to man. It is the nearest advance of condescension to the creature that God can make. It is the fullest proof of the fullness of His love. It is the tenderest and grandest manifestation of that deep boundless grace that moves His heart. It is a movement towards man spontaneous, wonderful, undeserved, and altogether supernatural. It is what angelic imagination in its greatest flights never dreamed, and what the loftiest created intelligence could never have speculated. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this; but rejoice thou earth, yea sing for joy, for God thy Maker has become the Father of the children of men.' Such is the glorious revelation of His first begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord. We further add that the term father' does not refer to lineal descent but to something higher and nobler. We are all His offspring by creation, but only those who have been renewed by heavenly grace come into the full A Conditional Relationship. enjoyment of the realities, joys, and I exaltation of God's Fatherhood as marvellously revealed and developed in the economy of Divine love by Jesus Christ. It is a conditional relationship, as you will readily perceive by reading 2 Cor. vi. 17-18, Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.' Here we have God declaring Himself to be willing to receive those who surrender companionships, friendships, and connections that are ungodly, or any pleasure, practice, or business that is unsanctified or unclean, to sustain to them the happy relation of Father, and to confer upon them the filial relations of childhood. But before a sinner can share in the rich blessings of God's Fatherhood, he must show to the 'Trier of the reins' full renunciation in heart of sin, and the flesh, and the world. It is also a relationship of assimilation. It is a relationship of nature, but not of human nature, as John i. 13 emphatically declares, Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' It does not spring out of any natural condition of humanity whatever, but out of assimilation into the divine nature received at our conversion, as says Peter, 'Partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.' This new condition of our spiritual being, the new direction of its affections, thoughts, and habits: the new moral energy that inspires its aptitudes, instincts, and powers, and uplifts it heavenward and Godward is effected by the potent and vitalizing operation of the Holy Ghost. It is no less true than marvellous that the elements which the Holy Spirit in His operations introduces into the heart of a believing soul, possess a power that steals into every recess, and pervades whatever it touches and converts it into the divine. As like begets like, as every cause produces an effect stamped with its own exact proportions, as fire 285 converts into fire whatever it consumes, so the Holy Ghost by the operative energy of His own nature produces, or rather photographs, the likeness of God in nature and character upon Jesus-trusting souls. The normal sinfulness and bias to evil is broken up, and the soul in its habits of thought and aspiration, of experience and conduct is renewed and readjusted, and sustained in that renewal and readjustment by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost. We grant most readily that we cannot explain the precise manner in which the Spirit acts-The ways of the Spirit are too high for us, we cannot attain unto them.' When we can find the philosopher who can expound to us all the deep subtle processes of nature that exist around us in multitudinous variety, even then we shall be utterly unable to comprehend the philosophy of the Holy Spirit's movements in the conversion-birth of a sinner. And no marvel. The flower that blooms at our feet, graced with the loveliest tints and spiced with the sweetest odour, in the manner of its growth and fragrant breathing is a problem to the wisest. The lark that fills heaven with its praise is moved to song by instinct, but that instinct in its workings is an unriddled marvel to the greatest men. The light cheers us with its heat and brightness, yet the nature of its elements steadily refuses disclosure to the most scientific investigators. The telegraphic connexion that subsists between the outer world of matter and the inner world of mind by the medium of the brain is known but not understood. It is a palpable unyielding mystery to the most astute metaphysicians. If then the world around us and in us, puzzles us with mysteries at every step and wherever we gaze, shall we, ought we to be surprised because we cannot ascertain and understand the ways of the Spirit in the birth of a child of God, and hesitate in our faith? The wonder is not so much because we cannot comprehend the Divine philosophy of this marvellous transformation of a child of the devil into the child of God; the wonder is, that God will become Our Father' at all. It is a condescension | human relationships and circumstances? passing the power of language to set forth. It is a love beyond the ability of calculation to measure or poetry to sing; and of all stupendous marvels this is infinitely the greatest. It is the peculiar glory of the gospel to reveal this wondrous mystery. We do not find God revealing Himself in the character of a father to the saints of Old Testament times. We do not read that they knew Him by such an endearing name; nor do we find them addressing their prayers or ascribing their praises to Him as their father, but as their Lord and God. It was only by such grand and solemn names that they knew Him. Even in the 'Book of Psalms' we find no song and no supplication acknowledging such a tender relationship in God to man. They sing of His Majesty and righteous government, or invoke His wrath or mercy. It was not their privilege to know this under their preparatory economy, venerable and glorious as it seems to us. It was reserved for the Saviour who came in fulness of time to reveal and develop into distinctive clearness and loveliness the Fatherhood of God and the filial relationship and likeness of believers in Jesus unto their heavenly Head. This relationship is one of exalted privilege. In this grand gospel revelation and development of childhood to God, what a superior blessedness and what a transcendant honour is conferred upon Christians. They rise far above the godly in enjoyment and dignity who lived in the starlight of patriarchial ages, or in the moonlight of Judaism. They live in the sun's splendour of God's loving fatherhood. What a sublime argument for boasting of and publishing the advantages of Christianity. Do we not often hear our fellow-mortals boasting of their descent, of their relationship to the noble, the great, and the heroic? Do we not often hear them playing with eloquent pride upon the genealogy of their ancestry-ancestry hoary with age, and whose lineal records travel back into the dimness of past centuries? Do we not often hear of wealth, fame, ducal titles and coronets, peerage and royalty, giving elevation and glory to But what is their value and eclat when remembered in comparison with filial relationship to God? A cipher is their just mark of value. Think of the incomprehensible greatness of God, of the dazzling Majesty of His Being; unbeginning eternity, His lifetime; Omnipotence the range of His power, His knowledge extending in its ma jestic sweep to eternity and infinity, His presence occupying the immeasurable vastnesses of immensity. Think of the boundless profusion of His beneficence, of the peerless, spotless glory of His holiness and love; and then tell us what ancestry ever united in itself a duration and a greatness so rich in marvel and so dazzling in magnificence, or what relationships can boast as sociations as wealthy in brilliance and nobility, as perpetual in continuance as sonship to God? But again; in all childhood there is heirship, and so there is possessed by every child of God this natural right. This is sweetly set forth by the spirit-guided_pen of St. Paul in his letter to the Romans viii. 17, If children then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ Jesus is Our Father's' eldest son and our elder brother. What unutterable condescension! Oh how He loved and died to make brethren of us; and mark, He loves us still. He is willing and anxious for us to share the heir. ship to His Father's inheritance. He died to buy it for us, and earnestly prayed to His Father before His death for this oneness, this joint beirship and joint participation. What is the precise nature and extent of that heavenly inheritance we cannot tell; but this we know, it will be worthy Our Father' and his eldest Son, and give infinite satisfaction to His redeemed children. If his possessions around us afford any illustration of what it will be, we may rest assured that it will be beautiful and resplendent. How happy then we should be in the dignity and hopes of our celestial childhood. With what joyous pride we should refer to the love and blessedness of God's Fatherhood. How we should love, praise, and revere His name. Listen; hear you not that mortal there singing what his father's might has done, and |