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the holy and devoted Flavel. striking coincidences, in relation to the dissolution of these two like-minded servants of the Lord, ought not to pass unnoticed. Flavel died of an apoplectic seizure; so did the subject of this memoir. Flavel exchanged earth for heaven after only a few hours' illness; so did our departed friend. Flavel finished his earthly course on the 26th of June; and so did the venerated pastor whose loss we now deplore.

The prominent features in the character of Mr. Stenner were such as must have been readily perceived by those who were favoured with the opportunity of intercourse with him, and especially by those who were blessed with his friendship.

As a Christian, every one who knew him must have recognised him as emphatically "a good man," and "full of the Holy Ghost." Of his genuine piety, and entire consecration to the Saviour, none could possibly doubt.

Rigid conscientiousness was stamped upon everything that he said or did. He acted, evidently, from a uniform regard to what is right, without yielding any homage whatever to the claims of an imaginary expediency. In connexion with this peculiarity, a high sense of honour influenced him. Everything verging upon meanness he utterly abhorred. A phrenologist, who once heard him, remarked afterwards to a friend,— "That man is incapable of a dishonourable action." Whatever opinion may be entertained as to the grounds on which, in this particular instance, that judgment was based-of the correctness of the judgment itself there cannot be a question.

Our departed brother was remarkable for his unsophisticated straight-forwardness. Nothing could exceed the aver sion with which he regarded craft and double dealing. His own conduct was, invariably, transparent as the light.

Great disinterestedness also marked his character. Of this quality his whole

course may be contemplated as a beautiful manifestation. Many were the sacrifices which he cheerfully made for the cause of Christ. The bearing of any transaction upon his own personal interests was generally the last consideration he entertained.

He was a man, too, of deep and tender sympathy. Largely was he gifted with the capacity of not only feeling for, but with, his fellow-men. To a great extent he was able to "rejoice with them that do rejoice, and to weep with them that weep."

And who, of those who knew him, is not aware of the benevolence by which our lamented friend was characterised? Never was he happier than when employed in helping others. The kindness of his heart was also seen in the unwillingness he always manifested to listen to evil reports concerning any one. How many a time has he subjected the bearer of such reports to strict examination as to their authority and origin! And how uniform was his disinclination to believe anything unfavourable respecting others, unless, by clear and satisfactory evidence on the point, compelled!

Mr. Stenner was eminently a happy Christian. Some professors of religion are perpetually gloomy; supplying, by their tones and aspect, materials by which the worldling frequently attempts to justify the libellous accusation, that "religion is a melancholy thing;" but not so was it with him. He was ever cheerful. The habitual smile upon his countenance has been remarked by many. Beneath the influence of this joyous feeling, he was generally disposed to look at the bright side of things. And in the case of unfavourable occurrences transpiring, instead of hopelessly brooding over them, he would immediately inquire after the practical means for procuring their alleviation or removal.

He was, most obviously, a man of prayer. This was the secret of his strength, and peace, and joy; this was the element in which he breathed; this was the region in which he felt at home.

He had power with God, and prevailed. And the evidences of his communion with his Father were frequently well nigh as apparent, as was the heavenly glory which yet rested on the face of Moses after he had descended from the mount of God.

As a minister of the Gospel, the subject of this sketch possessed many quali ties which inspired those who knew him with admiration, confidence, and love.

His preaching made evident the fact of his attachment to the doctrines of the glorious Gospel. He was no theorist. He indulged not in speculation. He allowed not the truth as it is in Jesus to be moulded or modified by the dogmas of a so-called philosophy, whether of home or of foreign growth. Christ crucified was his constant, pervading, central theme. Justification by faith, and the work of the Holy Spirit, were topics very dear to him, and on which he loved to expatiate. At the same time, whilst rejoicing in proclaiming the rich grace of the Gospel, the claims of holiness, which that Gospel so perpetually enforces, he delighted to announce. His theology was what might have been anticipated from an early and rather ex. tensive acquaintance with the Puritan divines, though somewhat modified, in recent years, by the study of later writers, such as Fuller, Wardlaw, and Payne, to whose productions he was much attached.

Great simplicity of aim distinguished the pulpit labours of our lamented friend. Never did he exhibit-either in style, or delivery, or thought—any indication whatever of a desire to shine. His one object was usefulness. He ever handled the great themes of religion, therefore, in a manner which clearly proved his own sincerity, and the earnestness of his solicitude that others should think and feel as he did on these momentous matters.

His ministry was marked, too, by peculiar faithfulness. He knew not how o flatter. To saint and to sinner, to the

rich and to the poor, he proclaimed with affection, but yet with unflinching fidelity, the simple truth, let the proclamation gratify or grieve. Well might he have said, at the close of his career, “I am pure from the blood of all men; for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."

It is a gratifying consideration that these peculiarities marked his ministerial character from the very commencement of his career to its close. A letter of kind sympathy, addressed to his afflicted widow, by that excellent minister already named-the Rev. Thomas Scales, of Leeds-embodies such an interesting proof of this, that an extract or two may be deemed appropriate. "Mr. Stenner and I," writes Mr. Scales, "entered Hoxton within a few days of each other, about the beginning of August, 1806, and for three years we lived together in uninterrupted and intimate fellowship. I know not any one of my fellowstudents in whom I reposed so much confidence, or to whom I could so freely disclose the religious feelings and exercises of my mind; and he was equally frank and open and confiding as to his own spiritual exercises and conflicts. There was always much of earnestness and fervour, as well as deep and unaffected humility, about his piety; and I still retain in pleasing remembrance the highly experimental character of his prayers. I well remem

ber also his strong and ardent attachment to the great and glorious truths of the Gospel, and the evangelical tone of all his preparations for the pulpit, which made him very acceptable to many of the more serious congregations which we supplied at the time. He would have been a most suitable and congenial successor to the pious and spiritual Flavel, had he been called at once to follow him, for, in many respects, though separated by a long interval of time, they were kindred minds, and entertained, no doubt, kindred views and feelings. It was, I am

persuaded, from the very first, his firm and resolute purpose to be faithful in his ministry, and his cherished and fondest desire to be made useful in it; for, strongly did he feel the 'passion for saving souls;' and many, I trust, will be his joy and crown of rejoicing."

The members of the church and congregation at Dartmouth know well enough what the subject of this memoir was-as a pastor. How diligently did he labour for their welfare! How affectionate was he in his intercourse with them! How sympathising in their trials! How wise, and judicious, and parental were his counsels! How absorbed was he in his great work—the salvation of his flock, and the glory of his Master! To all this they and theirs can testify-as, indeed, they have done, by their many tears!

As a philanthropist, Mr. Stenner was eminently devoted, and eminently blessed. His benevolent solicitudes for the welfare of his fellow-men were most active and untiring. And they were most expansive too. He sought the good, not merely of his own congregation, but of the town. Hence the various societies he founded, and assisted in founding, for the purposes of education, clothing, visiting in sickness, communicating the Gospel to our mariners. His influence, too, was felt most beneficially throughout the neighbourhood, as is abundantly evident in the neat little edifices for worship erected at Dittisham, Stoke Fleming, and elsewhere. Nor was his anxious zeal restricted to the neighbourhood,-but, through an extensive portion of the county it was manifest. His brethren in the ministry well know how actively and judiciously he cooperated with them in the various plans of the South Devon Congregational Union. Indeed-to measure aright the benevolence of his heart, it must be recorded that the world's happiness was what he sought. Hence the readiness with which he aided, and induced his people to unite with him in aiding every

hallowed project, which, by sending out tracts, or Bibles, or missionaries, aimed at the world's salvation. When he first went to Dartmouth, scarcely a single society - if any society if any existed, to help in ameliorating the misery, ignorance, and vice of man. But not long had he

laboured there before he sought to introduce improvement. And of most of the benevolent and religious institutions which that town now possesses, he was either the joint or sole originator. The Sabbath school, the "Sick Child's Friend," the Benevolent Society, the Society for Civil and Religious Liberty, the School of Industry, the British School, the Bethel, the Religious Tract Society, the Bible Society, the London Missionary Society, and others, all owed their existence and beneficial influence, more or less, to his devoted zeal. Of several of these institutions our departed friend was secretary at the time of his death. Nor ought the anxious and successful efforts to be forgotten, which, in 1841, he dedicated to the erection of the beautiful and commodious chapel in which his congregation now assemble, — an edifice which, as he most earnestly desired, the God of Zion will, we devoutly trust, still smile upon, making it a blessing, not to this generation only, but to generations yet unborn!

"I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."

It will, doubtless, gratify the readers of this sketch to know, that the beloved widow (sister of John Venning, Esq., of Norwich), and the weeping flock are already comforted: God having graciously provided for the vacant pastorate. The Rev. John Flavel Stenner, Withybrooke, near Coventry-the only son of the late Rev. Thos. Stenner-has accepted an affectionate and pressing invitation to become the successor of his

devoted father. As the names of those two honoured men,-his remote, and his immediate, predecessors,-Flavel, and Stenner, meet in him, so may their com

bined excellences and successes characterise his course and ministry!

W. T.

I. MAN'S SPIRITUAL NATURE. To the sensualist, it is misery to be thwarted in the gratification of the appetites. To the intellectual, it is misery to be hindered in the pursuit of knowledge. To the moral, it is misery to neglect the doing of what is right. The merely sensual have no conception of the habitudes of the intellectual. The merely intellectual have no conception of the habitudes of the moral. The moral are they who rise above the intellectual, as the intellectual are they who rise above the sensual. He who seeks his well-being according to the laws of his nature is not without the lower appetites; but he keeps them in their place by the guidance of his reason: neither is he without the intellectual tendencies; but these, too, are kept in their place by the authority of his conscience. From this height, where he fulfils the noblest functions of his nature, he may rise to unmeasured degrees of the sublimest good. He loves himself. He loves his neighbour. He loves God above all. Then his own delight in the consciousness of fulfilling the law of his nature is enlarged by the sympathy of all virtuous beings; and the love of God, which is unutterable, fills him full of joy.

Such is our spiritual nature. These are the "things of a man" which are known by the "spirit of a man which is in him." These are his capacities. They belong to every man. Were the law of this nature obeyed freely, heartily, constantly, and universally, where would be the darkness of ignorance?

where would be the perversion of taste? where would be the bondage of sin? where would be the wail of misery? In such a nature we see the likeness of God. Who could be its author, but He who knows all things, who is the original of all Beauty, whose Goodness is perfect, and whose Blessedness is for evermore? why should He create such a being as man knows himself to be, but that he might be a partaker of the Divine felicity, to irradiate the universe with his Creator's glory? (Page 21.)

11-SALVATION OF THE LORD.

Leaving, then, all discussions which belong to the metaphysic rather than to the theologic, we find no difficulty in tracing the broad practical distinction between that which is done by the Son, and that which is done by the Spirit, in the salvation of men; and however conscious we may be of our inability to determine matters lying far away from the present sphere of the human mind, we have no misgiving in our faith that it is God, and God alone, who saves us. We read that the Father sends, gives, pours out, the Spirit; and that the Son sends the Spirit; and that the Spirit "proceedeth from the Father;" but we do not read that the Father proceedeth from the Spirit, or that the Spirit gave his Son We read that through the Son we have access by one Spirit unto the Father; but we do not read through the Spirit we have access by the Father to the Son; neither do we read that through the Father we have access by the Son to the Spirit. We read of being pardoned for the sake of Christ. We do not read

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of being pardoned for the sake of the Father, or for the sake of the Spirit. The same practical distinction, it is well known, pervades the New Testament. (Page 83.)

III. THE CHURCH A SPIRITUAL

FELLOWSHIP.

By the coming together of separate spiritual men, the church is builded, a

living temple, a 'habitation of God through the Spirit." The church of God is not a human corporation, a visible institution, or a kingdom of this world: it is a spiritual organization, the handywork of the Holy Ghost; only the spiritual can belong to it; only the spiritual can discern it; only the spiritual can obey its laws, enjoy its immunities, or discharge its functions. From within itself, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, guiding each member "according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body to the building up of itself in love," it" grows up into a holy temple in the Lord," "a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (Page 149.)

1V. GRACE THE ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF CHRISTIANITY.

Our deliberate belief is, that the essential characteristic of Christianity is— Grace, through a Mediator, renewing man by the Holy Ghost. So we read the book. And it is among men who so read it, that we see Christianity standing out as a distinct power, a living reality, subduing, yet exalting; piercing, yet comforting; humbling man as nothing before God, yet making him mighty against all evil, first within his own bosom, and then in the wide world around him. (Page 199.)

V. THE CHURCH A DIVINE INSTITUTION.

The Church of Christ is not a society, nor a confederation of societies, in which the "will of man" has force. Divine

worship is not the display of human tastes; the preaching of the gospel is not an effect of genius. The triumphs of religion are not gained by worldly influence. Whatever latitude may be given to the consecration of rank, or wealth, or intellect, or imagination, or of anything that man can be, or that man can hold to the service of God in this world, it should be kept in perpetual remembrance by Christians that nothing outward is religious, unless it be the manifestation of the inner life which is nourished by the Holy Spirit. We know how costly and how attractive the embodiment of men's ideas of religion have been. We dare not say that architecture, and music, and high eloquence, and solemn ceremonials have always beenor that they have never been-the outworkings of a truly spiritual devotion. Nor dare we say that meagreness, and deformity, and meanness, and bad taste, are either proofs of superior spiritualism, or signs of stinted service, or of defective reverence. It were well for all men to watch the drift and tendency of modes of thinking on those subjects. That is a far-reaching exhortation, that warns not to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God; presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable worship." (Page 234.)

us

VI. THE FATHERS NOT AUTHORITIES IN THE CHURCH.

Instead of appealing to the most ancient documents, and the only authoritative standards of Christian truth, the advocates for church notions are evermore appealing to the Fathers. Those who are taught by the Spirit may well demur to that authority, and refuse to have such questions so determined. They may admit that the writers styled Fathers are competent witnesses of facts coming under their own observation. They can listen attentively to these be