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overflowing with faith and love, is acceptable to the "high and lofty One." But if there be among his professed followers any who present no oblation, how does the Omniscient view them? They have no treasury for God; they lay by nothing in store for him; they bring no present for him in their hand, nor lay up any in their house. In all they possess there is nothing designed especially for Him, unless connected with some selfinterest. They may think, indeed, that the church to which they belong is doing much; and they may expect to pass with acceptance on that account. But what theology, what logic, is this? The church is bountiful; therefore every member is bountiful! Do such expect to die with the mass?-to be admitted into heaven with the mass? Is it not written that "every one of us shall give account of himself to God?" And does not the same authority order that "upon the first day of the week every one shall lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him?" We see also,

2. That this Divine method is feasible. -In regard to many plans there is doubt whether they will operate well in practice, because it may be difficult to carry them out. But there is no difficulty in regard to this; for only one person is concerned in carrying it out. He is not dependent on any one but himself; none need inquire whether the whole church, or any considerable number, or even any other one, will do it: it is a personal matter. Nor can any one say he is not able; for it is only to "lay by in store, as God hath prospered" you. It is the simplest of all methods. Let there be but a willing mind, and you will do as the Gentile churches did in relieving the poor saints at Jerusalem. A willing mind makes a cheerful giver, and "God loveth a cheerful giver.'

3. The Divine method is for the best interest of the Church.-Let every member try it at once. It will give new views to many on this most practical subject; it will greatly enlarge the mind; it will put every one on a desire to arrange his

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affairs with system; it will tend to inspire every one with energy; it will fill the heart with joy. It will give an unwonted impulse to all religious feeling and action, and to the common business of life; for, as you adopt this Divine method, you will feel, more than ever before, that you are living for God, for the church, for the benefit of souls, and for a vast eternity. Your meditations, your prayers, your plans, your whole manner of life, will be improved. You will at once become more like Christ in your regard to the great work of evangelising the world; (and in many important respects the aspect of the world, of time, and eternity, will be changed.) You will aim at higher, nobler, more enduring, and more glorious objects; for you will more readily understand the mind of Christ, and more justly estimate the superlative excellence of his kingdom and glory.

4. This Divine method, carried out, will furnish abundant supplies.--If one halfpenny a-week from a million persons would furnish one hundred thousand pounds, as the contribution of the poor, what an abundant supply will be furnished when the more able and the rich shall lay by in store, as God has prospered them! If every one should adopt Jacob's vow, what an income would annually flow into the Lord's treasury! For every ten shillings, one shilling; for every hundred pounds, ten pounds; for every thousand, a hundred! But we are not to suppose that the more able will be content to give no larger proportion than the poor. Where much is forgiven, the love will be much. Where the Lord bestows bountifully, he expects to reap bountifully. And the pious soul that receives much from the Lord delights to consecrate much to him in return.

5. This Divine method affords a test of Christian love. In some parts of the world a man becomes a Christian at the risk of his life. It was generally so, during the first three hundred years after the Christian era. And thus were verified the words of Christ to his disciples: "Ye shall be hated of all nations for my

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DIVINE METHOD OF RAISING CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS.

name's sake." He added, "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life for my sake shall find it." | But what is the test of love to Christ, at this time, and in this land? It is not the name of Christian. So many are called Christians, that the name is far from being a term of reproach. It requires now no self-denial, no sacrifice, no cross, to assume the name. What, then, is a test of Christian love? Orthodox doctrine? Moral duty or religious forms? Penance or abstinence? Frequent exercises of prayer, preaching, or efforts to persuade sinners to become converts? No: these may exist where there is no saving faith, no love which would rather die for Christ than forsake him. Here is a test of Christian love,-to hear the command of Christ, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature," and to say, "Lord, here am I; send me," and to go; or, on ascertaining that one is not qualified to go, yet to be willing to do as much at home, and deny himself as much, and suffer as much, as he that goes. This is Christian love; and this is precisely what is needed at the present time. You will, then, as a true yokefellow, work shoulder to shoulder with them who toil abroad; pray as they pray, feel as they feel, and hope as they hope. It is not, indeed, a test of striving unto blood, but it is as surely a test. We admit, indeed, that all this might be done without love to Christ. A man might "give his body to be burned," without charity; but this alters not the nature of the test. It still stands good for this purpose; and by this must Christian love, at this day, and in this land, be tried.

We ask, then, finally, Shall the Divine method be adopted and pursued?-For one, I answer in the affirmative. I will not preach to others what I will not do myself. I have weighed this matter; and I beg you to allow me to say, without being thought ostentatious, that I have practised this method, substantially, for about thirty years. I do not say, that I have literally laid by, on the first day of the week, as God has prospered me;

but that I have done the same, as to the general amount. I do not say that I have loved Christ, or his cause, or the souls of men, or denied myself and suffered so much, as I might have done. But I do say that I have, during these years, devoted a certain proportion, (a tenth, at least,) of all that God has given me, to his treasury. And I wish to bear testimony, that the Divine method is good. It impresses upon the Christian a sense of personal responsibility; it is feasible; it is good to the one who follows it; it enables one to do his part in contributing to evangelise the world; it is a test of Christian love. I urge every one to adopt and pursue this method. The single fact, that it is of God, is sufficient to recommend it to every one that loves God. Then the fact, that it is called for at the present time, to sustain and carry forward the Missionary enterprise, should recommend it to every one who loves Christ and the souls of men. It proposes that something be done; that it be done now; that every Christian should do it, and continue to do it. It is no oppressive method, but one of equality and proportion; it is no partial method, but one to be adopted by every Christian; it is no fitful method, but one to be pursued steadily, as based on Christian principle; it is no unsuitable method, but one adapted to the exigency of the times, and adequate to all the demands of charity; it is no novel invention, but it has stood the test of ages. Nor is it just now discovered, for it is written in the ancient records. The author of "the Great Commission" urges it, as appropriate to the present wants of the world, as well as of Divine authority. We expect of our Missionaries as much, at least, as this Divine method requires. And why should not every one of us do as they do; and bring all our love, and self-denial, and practical energy, to bear upon this heavenly enterprise? "Who, then, is willing, this day, to consecrate his services to the Lord," and to a perishing world? His God be with him, and make him a blessing to thou

sands of millions! Amen.-(Sermon by the Rev. Elisha Yale, D.D., of New York, U. S., with slight alterations.)

THE Society employs among the heathen, at the present tinie, 165 European Missionaries, and 603 European and Native Assistants.

The number of Stations and Out-stations supported by the Society in different parts of the world is 439; connected with which there are 131 Churches.

Upwards of 50,000 children are placed under instruction in their Schools, and 15 Printing Establishments are supported.

The Income of the Society, for the year ending the 31st March, 1846, was £69,976 168. 10d. Its Expenditure for the same period, £74,497 78.

SIR CULLING EARDLEY SMITH, Treasurer. REV. A. TIDMAN, Foreign Secretary. REV. J. J. FREEMAN, Home Secretary. Blomfield-street, Finsbury, London.

EXTRACTS ON PRAYER.

A CHRISTIAN Sustains a personal relation to God, has personal wants, sins, and obligations, and feels it, therefore, both his duty and his privilege to go and speak to God alone. To this he is enjoined by the highest authority: "But thou, when thou prayest," says Christ, "enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly," Matt. vi. 6. The word "closet," in the original, signifies chamber, warehouse, or even cellar; in short, any secret place; and some suppose our Lord designedly employed a word of such latitude, that none might omit prayer under pretence that they had not a proper place to which to retire. Place is nothing, disposition in prayer is everything. "I will," said the apostle, "that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands." Blessed privilege! There is no place in which it is suitable for a Christian to be found, in which it is unsuitable for him to pray. Rev. J. A. James.

There is very little danger in these days of feeble devotion, engrossing secularity, and active zeal, of spending too much time in the closet; the danger lies on the other side. Everything connected with religion, except public meetings,

VOL. XXV.

which very often have very little of religion in them, must be short; short sermons-short prayers-short meditations short devotion-short books-short religion.-Ib.

Christians oftentimes do not pray in faith; and yet this is prescribed, and prescribed, too, as the condition of success, James i. 6. To pray in faith means a firm persuasion that, through the mediation of Christ, we are authorized to pray; that our prayers are really heard; and that, in spiritual blessings, we shall have the very things we ask; and in temporal ones, those, or better. Many persons do not care about success through carelessness; others do not expect it through despondency; but faith, after looking up for the blessing, actually looks out for it. Effectual prayer is not mere clamorous importunity, but believing expectation. We must not knock at the door of mercy, and then walk away in despair, but wait in hope,-Ibid.

The life of man should be a life of devotion, he should habitually maintain communion with God; and between his spirit and the Father of his spirit, there should be the closest intimacy. Devotion should be the breeze which should waft him over life's ocean. The Christian's

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communion with God is not limited to, bent, if the arrow of prayer is to reach

the hour, termed "the hour of prayer." He is frequently in the Spirit-he endeavours continually to maintain a prayerful frame of mind. If he be diligent in business, still he is fervent in spirit; if he partakes of providential favours, in everything he gives thanks; and when he surveys the loveliness of nature, kindling into ecstacy, he cries out, "All thy works praise thee, O God, and thy saints shall bless thee." To a spiritual mind surrounding objects will furnish matter for prayer and praise; and how often at the eventide does the Christian enjoy a season of refreshing! The tranquillity and soothing lull of a summer's evening steals over his soul, and "he who looks through nature up to nature's God," cannot gaze on the giant fragments scattered around him-on the calm and unruffled surface of the lake, embedded by the lasting mountains, in the bosom of which the beauties of the surrounding scenery are mirrored-he cannot look on the green earth, and the azure sky, or stand so near the ocean as to listen to the roar of its waters, without a holy feeling coming over him. Earth is the sanctuary where he now prostrates his spirit, and worships God. This is the hour of prayer.-Rev. T. H. Bevis.

Prayer is not the language of fear and dread, but of love and confidence. It is not a groaning extorted by the pressure of mere misery, like the howling of wild beasts, to which, indeed, the Lord likens the petitions of wicked men in their sorrows, Hos. vii. 14; but it is the breathing forth of our wants with an affectionate confidence in Him who alone can supply them. The more clearly we realize the character of God as our reconciled Father in Christ, and our relation to him as his children, the more we possess of the element of the spirit of prayer.-Rev. J. A. James.

True prayer is the language of the soul; the bow of the heart must be fully

the skies. Always remember your great Advocate, who stands before the throne. Trust him with your cause, rely on his intercession, and all your petitions shall arise acceptable, because of the plea by which they are urged; a plea which takes its rise from Calvary; a plea which renders irresistible the prayers of the infant and the aged man; a plea which he who is surrounded by the praises of a multitude which no man can number, always listens to; a plea which engages the power of Omnipotence, and secures the favour of the Most High.—Rev. H. Bevis.

Prayer, like Jonathan's bow, returns not empty; never was faithful prayer lost at sea; no merchant trades with such certainty as the praying saint; some prayers, indeed, have a longer voyage than others, but then they return with the richer lading at last.-Gurnall.

The longer a believer hath neglected prayer, the harder he finds it to pray; partly through shame for the soul having played the truant, knows not how to look God in the face; and partly through the difficulty of the work, which is doubly hard to what another finds who walks in the exercise of his graces. It requires more time and pains for him to tune his instrument when all is out of order, than for another to play the lesson.—Ibid.

Great is the power of prayer. The conversion of sinners and the edification of saints will generally bear proportion to the fervent wrestlings of God's people. It is a certain symptom of revival, when a spirit of prayer is poured out from on high; on the other hand, it is a sure test of a declining church, when a spirit of prayer is restrained. Christ delights to be entreated; when church members have no employment for him, he begins to go away.—Aum.

We may judge of the state of our hearts by the earnestness of our prayers. You

cannot make a rich man beg like a poor man; you cannot make a man that is full cry for food like one that is hungry; no more will a man who has a good opinion of himself, cry for mercy like one who feels that he is poor and needy.Dr. Payson.

The symptoms of spiritual decline are like those which attend the decay of bodily health. It generally commences with loss of appetite and disrelish for spiritual food, prayer, reading the Scriptures and devotional books. Whenever you perceive

these symptoms, be alarmed, for your spiritual health is in danger; apply immediately to the great Physician for a cure.-Ibid.

Prayer is living with God; and if founded upon right principles of religion, puts us upon searching the heart, leads us to the knowledge of our wants and weakness, and fixes us in dependence upon God. Nothing is more easy, as a bare duty or lip-service, and nothing more difficult, than the performance of it in truth and sincerity.-Adam.

THE SPIRITUAL CONFLICT. DR. CHALMER'S ON ROMANS VII. 18-25.

Ir may be asked, "How could the holy apostle take to himself all the turpitude that is here described? Could all this be true of the man whom Christianity claimed as the noblest of her champions?" Yes, there was a fight in his case and it turned out ultimately a successful one-between the grace of God and the corruption of nature. This is a mystery of the Christian life which the world understandeth not. It is not able to divine why there should be every day more profound humility and more positive holiness; why the Christian should be more sensible of his worthlessness, while the worth of his character is building up to eternity. Just in proportion to the felt prevalence of the one principle is the felt hatred of the other. A sense of poverty is the impulse which sends him to the fountain of abundance; and his detestation of sin is the best guarantee that it "should not have dominion over" him. Hence, we are not to be perplexed if we read of his " delighting in God in the inward man," yet mourning over his "vile body."

He has no confidence in himself, but he rejoices in the Lord Jesus: "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

He is in "weakness and fear and in much trembling," but when he is "weak then he is strong;" for when he feels his own weakness, "the power of Christ" is made to "rest upon" him, and thus it is that he "glories in infirmity."

There is a great deal of poetry in the hymns of Cowper, but not so shrewd an acquaintance with the realities of the Christian conflict as in those of another author who has little pretensions to poetry, but a profound acquaintance with the arcana of the Christian life and character. I refer to the Rev. John Newton, one of whose hymns, as being very appropriate to the present subject, I beg leave to read:

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