is presumed scarcely any one will deny, that the missionary spirit,—or, in other words, the ardent desire and full purpose of heart to carry out the design of the Saviour, and to extend the blessings of his religion to " every creature," is an essential element of a good minister of Jesus Christ, and a necessary means of exerting that influence, and realizing those objects without which his labour must be comparatively valueless and vain. Destitute of this, he will continually find himself confronted and condemned by the declarations and design of the gospel. His very position, as a herald of Heaven's mercy to man,-his engagements, as an expositor of the beneficent scheme of human redemption, his preaching, if it be apostolic,—his prayers, if they are conformed to the model prescribed by his Master,-will only convict him of gross and glaring inconsistency, unless his labours and his life are directed and devoted to the great purpose for which Christ died.

But upon this point we cannot dwell: it being our object, not to show the necessity of this spirit to the character of the minister, but the influence it will exert upon others, when it is largely possessed and constantly discovered by him. For it may be most confidently affirmed, that never is sanctified sympathy transmitted from the pulpit to the pew, from the lips of the preacher to the hearts of his audience, with a rapidity and force more truly electric,-never does the aphorism, "Like priest like people," receive a stronger or more valuable verification, than when ministers, "much impressed themselves" with the urgent wants of the world, and the imperious claims of Christ, endeavour to indoctrinate their hearers in missionary sentiment, and to infuse into them their own spirit. And that which stamps this truth with singular importance is the fact, that the influence thus exerted will act with most effect upon the very classes whose sympathy and co-operation we most desiderate, the devout, the intelligent, the reflecting, the high-principled, the

conscientious, the ardent, the energetic, and the young: classes which not only constitute the vitality and strength, the brain and heart, the bone and muscle of the communities to which they belong, but which, by the means now specified, may also be made the spring and support of missionary operations.

Now, if this be so, the connection of ministers with missions must be most direct and intimate. And there is ample evidence to confirm this conclusion. None, it is presumed, who know anything of the history of British churches, will question the fact that ministers, not a few, have, mainly by the maintenance and manifestation of a missionary spirit themselves, created and sustained in their congregations such a measure of zeal and liberality for the spread of the gospel, as to invest those congregations with a character of their own, and to raise them into distinction, if not preeminence, for their apparent devotedness to this glorious design. Whether some ministers are more embued than others with this good spirit, is a point which we need not discuss here; but one thing is very certain, that they seem to be so. There appears in their conversation, their preaching, their prayers, their various efforts to interest and enlist others in missionary service; their desire to honour, and, when assailed, to defend the institutions and agents by which this great work is performed; their reluctance to entertain or listen to unwise and superficial comparisons between the different fields and kinds of Christian labour, and their resolute resistance to all schemes and movements which would clash with the great commission, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;"-these, with many less prominent, yet sufficiently obvious, indications of their bias and aim, make it evident to their people that they are heart and soul in the missionary enterprise.

Now the bearings of such a manifestation, both upon ministers and missions, are in a high degree important. We can, however, within our present limits,

In the first place, it will prevent evils both to the Minister himself and to the work in which he is engaged. A minister's comfort and usefulness, all know, are mainly dependent upon his own spirit and conduct. Let there be, or let there but seem to be, any serious defect in these, and his gifts and labours will become, by so much, the less effectual. Nor is this true merely of moral, it is equally so of ministerial deficiencies. And to this category will be assigned the apparent want of a missionary spirit.

Amongst the first to take advantage of this will be the discontented,-a small class it may be, but one that delights in detraction. These persons are keen to discern, and eager to denounce, the defects of their minister, and eminently capable of compensating for the paucity of their numbers, by the untiring activity with which they prosecute their purpose. Let him, therefore, but furnish occasion, and they will not be slow to improve it. Like certain parasitical creatures which discover, by a ready instinct, any part of the body which is debilitated or diseased, and fasten themselves upon it with determined and destructive tenacity, these dissatisfied spirits will soon detect the weak points in the pastor's character, and derive from them satisfaction and support. And whatever his defects may be, they will immediately become the admirers and advocates of the opposite excellences. If therefore the pastor appears to fail in the point now under consideration, though possibly his detractors never before discovered concern for the salvation of the heathen, or zeal for the universal spread of the gospel, his supposed deficiency in these respects will marvellously transform them into zealous supporters of missions,-filled with concern for the apathy of their minister, and loud in their denunciations of his criminal neglect.

And, if there be ground for such a charge, can we wonder that discontent should strike its roots therein, and gather

whatever his motives, will a complainer of this class be left without sympathy and countenance from wiser and better men. Even though he be a hypocrite, if his accusation is just, it will lay hold upon minds of a very different order from his own, and diffuse dissatisfaction far and near. That minister can know but little of human nature who is ignorant of the fact, that the infirmities of good men give influence to bad ones; or who is surprised to find that his moral power and ministerial status had suffered from the absence of that living, earnest, energetic spirit for the propagation of the gospel, which its Divine author exhibited and demands.

But while defectiveness in this respect forms a strong position for the party who assails, and invests even meanness and malice with seeming truth and dignity, the true missionary spirit is a mighty safeguard to the minister,- a sea-wall from which the turbulent waves of discontent will be driven back in fretting foam and empty murmurings,—a moral element, in which detraction becomes paralysed. Let the soul of the minister be evidently full of the spirit of missions,

let all about him see and feel that, in this respect, he resembles his Master,that to serve Him and to do good, on the widest possible scale, is the fixed and fervent desire of his heart,-and those who otherwise might have disturbed his peace and damaged his position, will, at least, be awed into silence, if not transformed into friends.

But there is another class upon whom absence of the missionary spirit in the minister will act with most injurious effect. It is the ardent and excitable, who have received the truth and deeply feel it, that the cause of missions is the special care of Christ, and that he has commended it to the love, and solemnly committed it to the hands of his servants. Strong in this conviction, they naturally desire and expect from all who plead his cause and preach his word, ministrations and measures corresponding with this great design.

And they are unquestionably right in doing so consistency and Christianity confirm their claim. A servant of Jesus, who in this respect shows but little of the spirit of Jesus, must sink in the esteem of those who love his salvation, and ardently long for its universal spread. Let such, then, filled with a sense of the surpassing importance, and sacred obligations of missions, find the instructions of their minister on this point scanty, his exhortations feeble, his movements measured, his coldness manifest, and the result may be easily foreseen. It is quite possible, indeed, that, in the conclusions formed, and the consequences which follow, injustice may be done to his motives and character. With more zeal than truth, discretion or charity, inferences may be drawn and judgments pronounced, which equity would not warrant. But opposite evils do not always neutralize one another. And although, mingled with correct views and much good feeling, there may perchance be folly and rashness, petulance, pride, and passion, these faults in others will be no set off to his own. And as, moreover, amidst the imperfections of those who condemn him, there is yet that which will command respect, he cannot despise it with impunity, nor easily impair its influence. In the main point at issue between him and his accusers, truth and right are with them. He has chosen an exposed | position, and he is without adequate defence. Though the opposition may be excessive, or even intemperate, its origin and object are so unquestionably good, as to warrant some degree of ardour, and to secure for it no small measure of charity, sympathy, and support.

Now no minister who wishes to "make | full proof of his ministry," can afford to lose the confidence, or to alienate the affections of this valuable class. Many of them constitute the vitality and hope of the society over which he presides, and of the religious institutions by which the designs of Christianity are to be practically promoted. Others, indeed, may sustain him,-but nothing can com

pensate for the loss of those whose hearts beat and burn with strong desire to spread the gospel. But there is no reason why they should be thus repelled. Let them but see in us the earnest purpose, the glowing ardour, the practical power of the missionary spirit, and they will yield their hearts and energies to our hands; and, an element which is perhaps expending its force in angry complaints, will submit itself to be tempered by our prudence, employed under our guidance, and controlled by our will.

But there is yet another class, whose cordial countenance the pastor must possess, would he prosper, upon whom his hold will be comparatively slight, if he discovers but little of the spirit we now commend. These are the more reflecting, spiritual, and truly devoted members of his flock,-the persons who, by thought, reading, and prayer, have had the missionary sentiment, and the feelings which spring out of it, wrought into the texture of their minds, into all the habitudes and actings of their inner life. These may be few, and they may be silent,-for they are persons who estimate too highly the ministerial character, and are far too much concerned for the honour of religion, to say aught that might injuriously affect either. But they mourn in secret over the sad deficiencies which they discern, and cannot cherish towards him in whom they appear that high esteem, that cordial confidence, which they would desire to feel, and without which his relation to them will be of little worth.

But closely allied to the avoidance of evil is another benefit which the missionary spirit in ministers will almost invariably entail. It will awaken admiration. Let a well-instructed people, impressed with the importance of missions, see and feel that their pastor is intent on promoting them, and their approbation and esteem will form part of his reward. "Our minister," will they say, with unmistakeable satisfaction, not perhaps unmixed with a dash of self-complacency, "our minister is quite a missionary man!"

And the feeling thus created, valuable on many accounts, is chiefly so for the sake of its practical results. It is something better than a mere sentiment, or a personal attachment; it is a transforming, a motive power. Admiration will produce sympathy,-sympathy imitation. Let the people see that their pastor "has a mind to the work;" that "he has thrown his soul into it ;" and that he does it "with his might;" and if they do not regard his conduct with complacency, they will at least refer to it with commendation, and what many approve, some will imitate. Thus the minister will gather around him a band of coadjutors, who, having caught his spirit, are ready cordially to co-operate in his designs. These, at first, may be few in number, but their character and cause will give them influence. They will cheer his heart and uphold his hands; their conduct will raise or create the right standard of Christian effort and liberality; their zeal will become diffusive, it will provoke many, till at length comparatively few will stand aloof from the holy enterprise; the cold and calculating will begin to feel an unwonted glow of Christian benevolence, and to relax their close and covetous hands; while the church and congregation will attain to the honourable distinction of being truly missionary. This is no fancy sketch, but one of which, happily, there are examples not a few.

These consequences of the missionary spirit in a minister might suffice to show its practical value; but there are others which should not be overlooked. It is, for example, essential to the efficacious employment of the direct means which it is presumed he will use, at least to some extent, for the furtherance of the gospel. Such means he cannot wholly neglect, without invalidating his claim to the ministerial character. If for no better reason and from no higher motive, he must, in deference to public sentiment, seem to take an interest in the blessed enterprise, which Christ has committed to his Church. He must counte

nance the institutions which are formed for this end; in his preaching and prayers, make some allusions to the universal diffusion of the gospel; consent to an annual service in furtherance of this design; preside at the missionary prayer-meeting, and appear to approve the course of those who collect the requisite funds. Happily, these are now deemed necessary duties in a servant of Christ. But their mere perfunctory performance will avail little. To be consistent and thoroughly influential, they must be instinct with that zeal and devotedness which their great purpose justifies and demands. Let those who hear us, when we commend missions, or pray for their success, listen, under the conviction that we are not hearty, or at least not earnest, and our advocacy and example will exert but little influence over them. Under God, the power we put forth in this cause must be generated by our spirit. If there be no central heat, there can be no radiation; but if our own souls are fired, our burning words will spread the sacred flame, and our every effort will have power.

Nor should it be forgotten, that this spirit does not merely impart unwonted energy to ordinary means, and render the missionary machinery, which it moves, instinct with life, but that it is singularly suggestive of expedients for the accomplishment of its designs. Private Christians, whose hearts are set upon helping the cause of Christ, frequently show this, by their ingenious devisings: but the same spirit will appear in the minister, from the manner in which he presents its claims; from his fitting and forcible references to it in social intercourse; from the tact and pleasant words with which he meets excuses, and overthrows objections; from the deviations which he occasionally makes at missionary prayermeetings out of the beaten track, and the various quarters whence he has gathered such intelligence as is best suited to feed the sacred flame; and sometimes from the suggestion of new modes of operation, more adapted than

And, in concluding these remarks, it may be added, that the missionary spirit in ministers is a spirit of power applicable to many other precious uses, beside that at which it directly aims. As numerous institutions of Christian beneficence are confessedly the undergrowth of the great missionary tree, springing from its roots, and nourished by its life, so will it be with the missionary spirit. It is

To every person of elegant taste, of sterling excellence, of real piety, there is no name dearer than that of Cowper. It is connected with the most interesting and grateful associations. It is identified with all that is pure, amiable, engaging, and lovely. It is ever fresh and ever fragrant. The writings of William Cowper are essentially English in their character, and the spirit which they so clearly and fully embody. There is no sentimentalism. There is no affectation. There are no airs assumed. There is no gaudiness. There is no fear of giving offence by the free and fervent expression of sentiment. Every thing is simple and luminous-pure and benevolent bold and decisive. We never read a line or sentence in the compositions of the Bard of Olney that we should wish to erase. We never peruse a passage which would call up a blush on the cheek of virgin modesty and innocence. We never examiné a paragraph involving any great subject or principle, and regret the inexplicitness, the timidity, or the disguise of the writer. In reading even the smallest and most unpretending productions of Cowper, we perceive what his honest sentiments were. Nothing is kept back from false delicacy-from an unwillingness to run counter to the opinions and predilections of others. We

have the outpourings of his full, manly, vigorous mind; and, above all,

"We see the poet's heart."

He always wrote as he felt, and he felt intensely. His thoughts assume the character of emotions. Nothing is coldly expressed. We have the development of his inmost soul; and hence the charm communicated to the productions of one of our most favourite bards; the zest with which his compositions are ever perused; and an obvious and powerful reason why his writings will be uniformly valued by the intelligent, the amiable, the benevolent-by those who are lovers of home those who are wedded to country life-those who are thoroughly English in their character - manly, straight-forward, and uncompromising→→ and those especially who appreciate and admire high and pre-eminently Christian principle.

Among the compositions of the author of "The Task," no productions of his mind are more deservedly popular and more highly estimated by the thoughtful and pious than his Letters. They have been universally read and universally admired. They unfold all the nice and characteristic qualities by which superior epistolary communications are marked. They interest persons of every age, every