while reading the following passage, which they will readily recognise as a specimen of the ordinary style (and nothing beyond it) in which, while he was yet with them, he was wont to give utterance to the feelings of his heart. They will feel also that the words of the then retiring minister express the feelings of the expiring pastor: "To whom can a minister, retiring from his charge, better commend' the people of whom he once had the oversight, than to God,' the God of Israel, the God of the Christian church, the God whose word of promise and support has never failed? He is your great refuge and solace! Earthly shepherds are valuable in their place, and the affection existing between them and their flocks is often, as it is in our case, of the tenderest and most ardent character; but still, they are not to occupy the place of God. They are not the rock on which the church is built. They are helpless and erring creatures, and derive from Him only the little strength they possess. I commend you to God, my dear brethren. May his gracious love be your solace and your joy! May you ever exult in the richness of his mercy! May his infinite wisdom preserve you from doubt and error! May the everlasting arms of his might be underneath you! In man you are in peril; in God you are safe. Keep close, therefore, to him. Meditate much on his glorious character and his righteous dealings. Enjoy sweet fellowship with his Spirit. Live in the daily consciousness of his approval. Cast every care you have upon him. If troubled with the world, if annoyed by your own wicked heart, if friends deceive you, if your own children and acquaintances should prove a spiritual hindrance, or if you are in any anxiety about his own church, about the minister with which that church is hereafter to be connected, O! let me entreat you to lay all these sources of care at the feet of God. Unbosom yourselves to him. Tell him the burden of your heart. Put all things under his wise and gracious disposal, and you shall never, never suffer any disappointment." In thus testifying to the sufficiency of Divine grace in all the seasons of weakness, anxiety, affliction, and tribulation to which believers are liable, he could speak from personal experience. For, though a young man, he was not a stranger to trials: he passed through deep waters repeatedly, after entering on public life. The causes of these need not be enumerated, some of which were of too tender a nature to be recorded. But amidst them all he was enabled to "act the Christian," and to “endure, as seeing Him who is invisible," whose "way is in the whirlwind and the storm." Mr. Jones was a pastor in the fullest and best sense of the word. He laboured sedulously, and that beyond his strength, not only in his study, but in the pulpit ; nor did he permit the large demands perpetually made upon his time and strength, in his own chapel, schools, and various benevolent societies, to prevent his being a cheerful and frequent visitor of the chamber of sickness. His sympathy with, and attention to, the afflicted, without "respect of persons," was very marked towards the close of his life. As a member of the Hants Association, his loss will be deeply felt; evincing, as he ever did, the most lively interest in all the objects which that Association has so long and so successfully been labouring to promote. In the half yearly meetings of the county ministers, his talents and character ever commanded universal respect; his wisdom and prudence ever secured the confidence of his brethren and fathers; his willingness to work, and his gentlemanly bearing, gained for him, not only the esteem, but the affection of all. In the county of Hants, as in other counties, there are to be found both weak churches and needy brethren in the ministry. In these our friend always manifested a deep interest and tender sympathy, the remembrance of which will long embalm him in the grateful recollection of many. It may bere be interesting to quote a few sentences from a communication received from the Christian friend with whom Mr. J. resided during the last nine months of his life: "He was a most valuable and delightful addition to our family circle. His amiable temper and engaging manners greatly endeared him to us, his intelligent conversation instructed us, and his excellent spirits and uniform cheerfulness diffused pleasure and joy whenever he appeared. In him we always found a sympathizing friend and a kind and judicious counsellor. I had constant opportunities of observing his devotedness to his great work. He was always laying out plans of usefulness, and setting an example of unwearied activity. In the true sense of the word, Mr. Jones was a philanthropist : no one could have a greater love for his species than he, or be willing to make greater sacrifices for the poorest of his flock." To many who were favoured with only occasional opportunities of intercourse with this beloved young minister, and those limited to public services, with all the ordinary excitement connected with them, it will be gratifying to learn from the foregoing testimony, that their exalted estimate of his moral worth, their high anticipations of future usefulness and growing eminence, and their admiration of his Christian cheerfulness, holy consistency, unaffected meekness, and unfeigned humility were in perfect harmony with his habits, manners, and spirit when at home. (To be concluded in our next.) MINISTERS AND MISSIONS. MUCH as ministers may effect for missions, by the manifestation of the spirit appropriate to so important an object, this object cannot be secured by any single means. To bring our people to a just appreciation of their obligations in this respect, and to quicken into active operation their best principles and affections, fact, argument, and appeal should be frequently presented to their understandings and their hearts, and the unrivalled power of the pulpit must be consecrated to this glorious service. To this topic, therefore, we shall now advert. Although nothing about to be advanced should be supposed to imply that missions have no place in the ministrations of any who worthily fill the sacred office, there are, it is feared, reasons for the inquiry, whether in all cases this subject occupies that place to which it is entitled, and which it must hold in the teachings of the pulpit, ere the minds of our people are earnestly and steadily turned towards it, and their influence and wealth brought under its practical control. That such themes as the great commission and the world's conversion deserve and demand from the ministers of Christ something beyond a casual reference, or an occasional commenda tion needs no proof. And if their claims are seldom presented, and, when presented, with but little of that argumentative power and persuasive urgency which carry conviction and command obedience, the people will but dimly discern their duty, and will render very inadequate aid to the glorious enterprise. And but slight consideration is requisite to show that the place assigned to it in "the counsel of God," and its connection with His designs, with the work of Christ, and with the welfare of the world, are such as to entitle it to peculiar prominence in our preaching. Now it is sufficiently obvious that the claims of missions upon ministers cannot be met merely by an anniversary service. Such a service, indeed, may have great value, and, in the present state of things, it is quite indispensable. But it alone will yield only a small quota of what is due to God and man from those who are "put in trust of the gospel." For let the Deputation be as effective as could be found, and the impression made by him as favourable as could be expected, no great reliance, surely, can be placed upon a stranger's visit or a mere annual appeal. And it may be confidently inferred, when such is the case, that there is something seriously defective either in the state of the people, or in the proceedings of their pastor. Nor is it conceivable that any minister, possessing that influence over his flock which is necessary to secure the ends of his ministry, who had wisely and steadily taught and trained them to "serve their generation according to the will of God," could be thus dependent upon the stirring words of another, and the stimulating services of an anniversary. Whether they so regard it or not, ministers thus placed ought to feel that their position is humiliating, and that the past demands revision if it does not deserve reproach. We decry not these periodical exercises. On the contrary, as will appear in a subsequent paper, we estimate them at a high mark; but if they are relied upon as the chief means of promoting the spirit of missions at home, and the spread of the gospel through the world, surely, surely there must have been some defectiveness in the teaching or efforts of the minister which it behoves him to search out and supply. Now this is indisputably the case, if missionary sermons are seldom heard except at such seasons, and if the minister then devolves this duty upon another. For, however welcome the visit and valuable the services of a deputation, he is not the chosen guide of that people, and his voice is to them the voice of a stranger. That, therefore, which he communicates should not supersede nor supplement, but simply confirm the ordinary instructions of the pastor, and deepen the impressions which he had previously produced. And if, in any instance, the anticipated visit of a deputation should induce the minister to dispense with missionary sermons, as a necessary part of his own preaching; if he accustom himself in this way to devolve upon another a duty which he himself ought to have fulfilled, then such deputations are rather an evil than a good, and can scarcely be regarded as anything but an injurious appendage to the ministry. For, what is the consequence? Thus, steady action is super seded by a single effort; frequent admonitions, by an annual appeal; "line upon line and precept upon precept,” by a set discourse or some missionary details. Surely, such a plan must prove a failure; and if much reliance is placed upon it, as a means of sustaining the zeal and devotedness of a congregation, the result will painfully demonstrate its unsuitableness and insufficiency. It is not the sudden rush of the hailstorm, but the frequent falling of the soft shower, which saturates the soil and renders it fruitful. While, then, we do not depreciate the aid of deputations, let it not be, to any considerable degree, our dependence. Let our own course, as ministers, be such throughout each year of missionary effort, as to prepare their way, and to create in our hearers so deep an interest in their object, as to secure for them a cordial welcome and certain success. If the facts they detail are striking, their reasoning conclusive, their appeals impressive, let them merely strike a chord already strung and tuned by the pastor's skill, and the varied and telling tones of which will, by the sam me hand, be continued throughout the succeeding year. It is his to make the anniversary services effective. If, by repetition, amplification, addition, and enforcement, he earnestly endeavours to perpetuate and deepen the impressions then made, these periodical engagements will prove of incalculable worth; but, apart from such co-operation, let the stranger-advocate be as eloquent as Apollos and as fervent as Paul, his passing appeal will exert but little power. It is not an infrequent complaint that in many missionary zeal is a fitful and failing thing; created by and largely dependent upon extraordinary means and exciting circumstances; and rather resembling the mountain torrent, which soon spends its force and leaves its channels dry, than the running brook, whose living waters never stay their gentle flow. And is there not truth in such lamentations? Can we be ignorant of facts which demonstrate that though for a season, and especially after exciting | The platform, doubtless, may, on special services, liberality and effort appear to occasions, rival the pulpit, or even surpass have shot up with rapid growth, and to it; and upon a select few the power of have attained a sudden and surprising the press may be supreme. But, for popumaturity, this was a symptom, not of lar and permanent effect, preaching is strength, but of weakness-the sure pre- still the mightiest means which can be cursor of immature development, rapid brought to bear upon the majority of those decline, and early death. As in all this who frequent our sanctuaries. And this is there is no vitality, there can be no per- true not merely of the preaching of the manence. Such unwonted activity can be few gifted men, whose power to interest only created in certain minds, and that and impress, as rare as it is great, places too merely when they are moved by them, in this respect, at a far remove strong stimulants, just as galvanic in- from their brethren. It is equally true fluence upon dead animals can only be of all who worthily fill the sacred office, made evident so long as the vital current for it is not by dazzling splendour or retains some portion of its heat. Let stirring eloquence, but by the lucid exthe blood cool and coagulate, and the hibition, the earnest and especially the conductor of the electric fluid will be oft-repeated enforcement of the will of applied in vain. Christ, that the most precious, because the most permanent results are secured. Numerous facts prove this. Were it proper, the names of living ministers might be mentioned who, with ordinary gifts and solely by the means described, have formed a people, in devotedness, activity, and beneficence, far exceeding some others presided over by men of superior endowments, and whose congregations, had they been as well trained and taught as those of their less distinguished brethren, might have as far surpassed them in influence and contributions for the world's salvation as now they sink below their elevated, their Christian standard. The reason of this is sufficiently obvious. The mass of our hearers reflect but little, and if we would constrain them to think and judge and labour in sacred matters as they ought, we must act with greater power upon their minds from without. And more than any other means, sermons quicken the intellect of such persons, give them sentiments, and to a large extent make them what they are, in so far as they know and do the will of Christ. Ceasing to act upon this class from the pulpit, we shall cease to act upon them at all. What, then, must be the loss, the waste of power which might be easily created and applied to the universal spread of the gospel, when the advocacy of this And much as all this may pain, should it surprise us? Certainly not, if the minister, by the imperfect development of that part of Divine truth which bears upon the work of missions, has, undesignedly indeed, but not the less certainly, trained his people to wait for annual services and to depend upon their stimulating influence. If "the hand of the diligent," and no other, "maketh rich," the pastor who would surround himself by a people continuously zealous, active, and liberal in the spread of the gospel, and who, through their generosity and labours, would obtain the requisite means for this end, must, by the full discussion of missionary topics, and the earnest enforcement of corresponding obligations, do his utmost to keep before them that standard, to indoctrinate them in those sentiments, to subject them to that authority, and to foster the spirit and form the habits which will bring in their train the willing service, "the effectual prayer," the liberal offering, and "the living sacrifice," which Jesus Christ claims from all his servants. In further confirmation of these sentiments, there are two considerations which should have weight. The first of these is the extensive influence of the pulpit. Other influences, indeed, are at work. great cause is all but restricted to anniversaries, and the obligation to pray, contribute, labour, and live for the world's conversion, enforced only for the sake of augmenting a yearly collection. And, surely, it will cause no surprise, unless we have expected to reap where we did not sow, should we find, in congregations so circumstanced, that the knowledge of many on this subject is extremely circumscribed, their interest in it slight, and their contributions alike disproportioned to the demands of the great enterprise and to their own ability. While, however, these remarks apply to the majority of our congregations, there is one large section of that majority which as yet Congregationalists have but slightly interested in this great object-the poor. But other communities have in this respect succeeded where we have failed, and we may confidently affirm that, in no results of his labour, is the plastic power of the preacher's hand so felt by them, and seen by others, as in giving form to their opinions and characters. In a few instances, indeed, this has been done; and the results are not merely important to the missionary cause, but such as prove that this class may be reached by the means now recommended. And, were the influence of the pulpit applied as constantly in all cases as it is in some, subscribers from amongst the operatives, instead of being few, would be so numerous as considerably to swell the total contributions, and possibly to surprise some of us who had not previously estimated the large totals which are easily raised in small sums. Let ministers but make the experiment; let them, for a single year, frequently illustrate and earnestly enforce missionary obligations, and they will soon mark, with mingled astonishment and satisfaction, the swelling tide of holy zeal and the rapid growth of their people's liberality. But loss of power is not the only consequence of this omission. That consequence is sometimes worse than negative. Should ministers rarely enforce the claims of missions, such neglect will operate upon not a few with all the force of a dissuasive. By an unsuspected process they will thus be led to regard the noblest work which men can perform for God or the world, as amongst the secondary or outstanding obligations of Christianity, to which its professors may or may not, as circumstances favour or inclination moves, direct their energies and devote their possessions. And as they find that others account them and even their pastor consistent followers of Christ, though they evince no earnest care to carry out his cherished designs, or even live in the practical disregard of his most imperative commands, they soon become habituated and even hardened to this false position. True, indeed, the suspicion may occasionally haunt them that the great Master of the vineyard, when he comes seeking fruit, will expect from them that which they have not produced; but such a surmise will be too transient and unimpressive to operate a change, or even to create a pang. Nor can we wonder at this, when, on the one hand, we calculate the force of the motives which militate against the claims of missions, and, on the other, the feebleness of the ministerial efforts employed to overcome it. If, while selfishness and the worldly spirit are continually at work within them, the judgment, the conscience, and the affections are seldom pressed and plied with antagonistic considerations, should it surprise us that some settle down in a self-satisfied state, and fondly imagine that they obey the law of Christ, when the utmost they do to fill the whole world with his truth and glory is to drop a casual copper into a missionary box, or an annual shilling into the plate at a public meeting. But low as this point is, it is not the lowest to which some such uninstructed professors will descend. So little are they prompted by conviction and constrained by love to spread the gospel, that, without much difficulty, they may be converted from heartless friends into active foes. Indeed, it is quite conceiv |