organization; and a single trial fairly made will convince the most incredulous that it is not merely possible, but, in the great majority of cases, easy thus to render most valuable aid to missions.

Nor let it be imagined that the multiplication of collectors will merely divert or divide the stream of Christian benevolence, which previously flowed broad and deep through one channel, that it will only substitute several rills for a single river without increasing the supply of the sacred element. Experience has demonstrated the contrary. It has shown that the amount of annual subscriptions and congregational collections, a portion of which, it may be supposed, would be abstracted by the collectors, instead of being diminished, is actually increased by the good spirit which an efficient association generally excites. And when we consider how small is the amount thus obtained from each individual, how few of them, but for an active collecting agency, would have been obtained; and how beneficially the presence and labours of a band of devoted collectors operate upon the home and social circles in which they move, we could not expect any different result.

Here, then, is a simple method by which ministers may render incalculable service to missions. In many congregations this vein of precious ore lies exposed upon the surface; and in others, the labour of excavation would be very light. It is so in some of our large manufacturing towns and districts, where, though the contributions are handsome, they consist very much of a few generous donations from the rich; and where the productive classes are often in the receipt of weekly wages exceeding the earnings of the same class in other parts of the country. Were all our congregations in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and some other counties thoroughly organized, it would be comparatively easy to add hundreds, possibly thousands, to the mission treasury. And ministers in those parts could not ren

der better service to the cause than by promoting this object; and by attempting to do so, they will soon discover that there is no lion in their way, that the difficulty of enlisting agents is a vain imagination, that not a few are ready to work as soon as they solicit their service. This is especially the case with the young, many of whom happily are much interested in the missionary enterprize, and most willing to promote it.

If these remarks are founded upon truth, and if it is correct, as the writer is firmly assured it is, that little more is requisite to raise the income of the London Missionary Society to such a point as will free its directors from embarrassment, and enable them not merely to sustain, but enlarge their missions, than the resuscitation of decayed or declining associations, and, where necessary, the formation of new ones; then upon the ministers of our churches there rests a weighty responsibility, for let them but determine it, and the thing will be done.

Their influence earnestly applied is quite equal to the attainment of this end. Is it then too much to ask at their hands that they will devote to it their best efforts? Let them forthwith convene the ladies, or young people of their congregations, or both, and place before them the high claims and urgent wants of the Society; let their names be enrolled as collectors; let a secretary and collector be appointed; let collecting books, cards, and boxes be supplied to them, and two or three simple rules laid down for the regulation of their future proceedings; let there be a careful canvass of the whole congregation for annual, quarterly, or weekly contributions; let a meeting of the Association be held at least every three months, at which the sums collected are paid in, and the pastor is present, and, ere long, such fruit will grow and be gathered as will gladden the heart of the minister and his people, exert a most beneficial influence upon all classes, exemplify what Dr. Chalmers called "the power of

the Bible is valuable, it is valuable merely as containing the contributions of the earnest and foreseeing men of the Hebrew nation to the general stock of truth;-contributions, which are unusually pure, penetrating, and profound. Such is the rationalism of the day, which, from wearing the garb of reverence for man's nature, and respect for God, is captivating the young and ardent, the worshippers of human reason, and the lovers of novelty, and in its mischievous power is rapidly taking the place of the old and wornout infidelity of the last century.

We do not for a moment deny that in this theory there is much that is wise and beautiful; but, as a whole, we boldly affirm that nothing can be more one-sided than its reasoning; nothing more falsified by history than its conclusions. With great dexterity, it so weaves together truth and falsehood as to construct a fabric, which appears fascinating and sound, and is, in consequence, far more likely to impose on the superficial than if it were unmixed and absolute error. It eagerly seizes what is in its favour in the constitution of man, and silently leaves unnoticed all that is against it. For, even if it were allowed that a few minds have the power of thus discovering truth, and then do submissively yield to its teachings; is this the case with the multitude? Have they these quick perceptions of the true and the Divine? Do they go in quest of God, and is their tendency upwards, aiming earnestly and constantly at virtue and purity? Alas! the very reverse is true, and the assertion of the apostle is verified by all wisdom, that man by wisdom knew not God." But the admission cannot be made. The greatest and most refined of human intellects, when destitute of direct teaching from God, have formed the most grotesque ideas of truth and duty. Surely, at the time when the pyramids were built, or those wonders of grace and

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beauty-the Grecian temples, arose to be for ever after models for the imitation of the world; or when Homer, and Eschylus, and Sophocles, wrote their immortal poems; Herodotus and Thucydides their histories; or Aristotle and Plato their philosophy; at those epochs in the history of the world, the intellect of man, his genius and taste were as fully developed as now,—and yet, what were his conceptions of truth, of morality, and of God? Do not the humblest of those who possess the light of revelation look back with wonder at the speculations of these men of mighty genius, and struck with their bewilderment and folly, gratefully exclaim,— 'We thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that whilst thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, thou hast revealed them unto babes; even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight?"

And, indeed, although our time and the occasion forbid us to attempt a full and elaborate confutation of the theory, yet, a moment's reflection will convince us that there are several points in which Rationalism, which is only another form of natural religion, must fail.

1. For example, in its teaching, the moral attributes of God must be brought out to view much less clearly than his natural perfections; his purity, truth, mercy, and justice, much less distinctly than his power, wisdom, and love. And yet, these are the parts of his nature which need to be brought out into the most striking light; to be thrown into such prominence as to compel the attention of man, because they are precisely those features which he wishes to forget or deny. And hence, though there may be glimpses of these attributes in the works of creation, and in human society, which do much to enlighten a pure and thoughtful mind, they are totally overlooked by mankind in general. Indeed, it is chiefly from man's own nature, his ideas of justice, virtue, truth, and faithfulness, that he concludes that these

exist in the character of God, and forms any distinct conception of his moral perfections. Thus, the Deity of human reason necessarily becomes a magnified and improved likeness of the mind of man; in which, of course, there will be mingled human imperfection and frailty, as well as human beauty and excellence. Undoubtedly, when man was in an unfallen state, when he was perfectly pure and good, this process would lead him to correct ideas of his Creator; and, believing the Eternal to be possessed of every excellence of his own character, only in an infinite degree; the kind of attributes being gathered from the features of his own mind, the extent of them from the measure of the universe, he would form some adequate conceptions of the Divine character, and thence deduce some accurate notions of the Divine will. But, since man has become corrupt, to ascend thus from himself to God, would be to arrive at the conception of a Deity full of contradictions and imperfections; more monstrous than even his own character, because all his incongruities and follies would be multiplied and enlarged. Thus has it ever been, apart from revelation. Whether you look to the religions of the Eastern or Western world, of the Hindoo or the Greek, the Mahometan or the African,—you will find no delineation of the perfections and will of God, on which your mind can rest with the slightest satisfaction; nor is it until you leave the domain of natural religion, and come to the sure word of testimony, that you meet with a Deity who commands, at once, your respect and your love, and constrains you to say, "The Lord, he is God: the Lord, he is God!" How is it, then, we are entitled to ask, if man is competent to find out God, and decipher his will, apart from Christianity, that he has never done so? How is it, if natural religion teaches the moral perfections of the Supreme, that the lesson has never been correctly

learned? How is it, that those alone who live in the lands of the Bible form any accurate conception of their great Creator? If it be replied, that many who do not believe in the divinity of the Gospel, have yet the most exalted notions of Deity; we rejoin that those notions have their origin in Revelation, have been diffused from it through the whole of society, and been interwoven with every system of education; and that thus, these proud philosophers have, indirectly, drawn their ideas from the very best book, which they repudiate or slight; and, having been, dishonestly, guilty of pillage, then meanly deny the theft. To place the Bible, then, on the same footing as the world of nature and mind, is a gratuitous assumption. We are warranted in concluding that it is not the simple progress of human society, but the light of Divine inspiration, which has revealed the character of God; and, that He has permitted human reason to try its utmost, and fail in this, when it has succeeded in almost everything which it has attempted beside; that all may see and acknowledge that, from the Gospel, and the Gospel alone, can God and his truth be correctly learnt.

2. And again, though much may be gathered from nature, providence, and human society, respecting their glorious Author, yet it is in the way of inference and deduction, of observation and reasoning; and if our conclusions are to be sound, our observations must be accurate, and our reasonings solid and consecutive. When we look at objects through such a medium as water, every ray is deflected in its passage to the eye, and we gain an erroneous idea of their appearance and form. When we behold scenery enveloped in mist, every person and every tree, every house and every hill, wear the most grotesque and startling shapes, and thoroughly mislead us as to their real outline. Now, that man's judgment is greatly at fault cannot be denied, and if we look at the various

manifestations of Deity through the defracting medium of human passion, or the deforming mist of human prejudice, is it not certain that our conclusions will be deceptive and erroneous; and, do we not need some other source of knowledge to correct our mistaken impres sions, and to open up to us clear and accurate views of the God whom we are required to serve?

3. Still further, one of the universal convictions of the human family is that they have offended the God who formed and who governs them, that they are exposed to his condemnation, and need his forgiveness. Hence, there is scarcely a country in which sacrifices have not been offered to appease their angry deities, whilst some have been ready even to "give their firstborn for their transgressions; the fruit of the body for the sin of their soul." Thus, conscience loudly and faithfully testifies to the universality of human guilt, and anxiously inquires whether and where pardon can be obtained? To such inquiries nature is silent, or returns, at best, a doubtful reply. If the restoration of interrupted health, and the antidotes to countless evils, imply that God is accustomed to remedy the various ills of humanity, still it is always by the employment of means, of the most appropriate kind, and readily furnished from the storehouse of nature; but where are the suitable means to be found for the recovery of lost virtue, or the salvation of a ruined soul? That God is a Being of infinite decision in the punishment of transgressions, sufficient intimations are supplied in the daily sufferings and calamities of mankind. That he is most inflexible in the maintenance of his purposes, the fixed and unalterable course of nature implies. Whether, therefore, he will tolerate any deviations from his law, or pardon those who have dared to transgress, none can with certainty affirm. All depends on his sovereign pleasure, and on that alone, and there

fore, none but he can decide this doubtful point. If, therefore, he has not spoken in a manner more distinct and explicit than by the voice of nature, man can never know whether he has more to hope or to fear;-the present must be all uncertainty, and the future all gloom. Is it not, then, of vast moment, that this uncertainty and gloom should be dispelled, and that on this subject, which, from its importance, infinitely transcends all others, we should have information distinct and unquestionable? And, if so, how can it be secured, but by revelation? and how, then, can revelation be superseded by the vague discoveries or reasonings of natural religion? No; thanks be unto God, that we have a revelation; that, what human reason could never have discovered, Infinite Wisdom has designed to make known; and that, we now can read with joyful hearts, "Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy to all them that call upon thee." The darkness which oppressed our spirits is henceforth banished; life and immortality have been brought to light by the Gospel; and we behold "God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to them their iniquities." Our hearts exult at the announcement; our eyes brighten at the news; and, whilst some may proudly decline such a remedy-and others may deny its necessity or its worth-we cling to it as our only hope, grasp it as our richest treasure, and exclaim with gladness and with joy, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!"

4. Finally, man does not spontaneously do what is right; on the contrary, his earliest tendencies are in an opposite direction. In his childhood he perpetually does what he knows to be evil, and in after life in spite of the most clear and cogent convictions of duty, he will deliberately violate those convictions, if any passion is to be gratified, any seeming advantage to be gained.