cultivate the utmost harmony of feeling, and the most affectionate interest toward each other; more especially in all things which concern their common religious advancement and spiritual welfare. But how different is the real aspect of the Christian world from these intended results of our holy faith! As yet, how little have mankind been influenced by the kindly and benevolent precepts of Christianity! The body of professing believers is in all things the reverse of a wellcompacted and mutually sympathizing family. Sectarian names and party distinctions are almost indefinitely multiplied; the nominal Church of Christ on earth is divided and sub-divided on every controvertible point; nay, do not mutual hostilities, and personal recriminations, and alienated affections, predominate, where all should be harmony, and unity, and peace?-Dean Ramsay.

Grace produces in every believer a unity, and a unity it will always produce. But a unity of what? of opinions? of forms and ceremonies? of dress and phraseology? No; but of something infinitely superior-a oneness of reliance, of inclination, of taste, of hopes and fears, of joys and of sorrows. Though divided and distinguished from each other by a thousand peculiarities, they all hate sin, they all "hunger and thirst after righteousness," they all "follow hard after God," they all feel the spiritual life to be a warfare, they all confess themselves to be only "strangers and pilgrims upon earth." Thus, with circumstantial diversity we have essential identity; the substance is unalterable as the modes are various; the dress changing with times and places; the figure, the members, the soul, always the same.-Jay.

UNITY.-Consequence of not Holding

He who holds not unity holds not the law of God, holds not the faith of Father and Son, holds not the faith unto salvation.-St. Cyprian.

UNITY.-Evangelical

Very true, there are minor differences, but yet there is real unity. Ours is not a unity like that of the waters of a stagnant pool, over which the purifying breath of heaven sweeps in vain. Ours is not the unity of darkness, like the cloud-covered midnight sky, where neither moon nor star appears. Ours is not the unity of a forced conformity, such as is found in polar seas, where eternal winter has locked up the waves in fetters; but rather, evangelical unity is like the fountain flowing ever fresh and free from the rock; like the rainbow that combines the seven prismatic colours into one glorious arch of promise spanning the heavens; like old ocean's unfettered flow, as its waves rush in, in all their majesty and might, "distinct as the billows, but one as the sea."-Weir.

UNITY.-Prayer for

Every true Christian may, and indeed ought, to offer in the house of God, with the deepest, sincerest devotion, the beautiful prayer of our liturgy, that "all who profess and call themselves Christians, may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life." And in their more private devotions, they ought to pour forth the earnest desires of their souls, that the God of peace and order would send forth His Holy Spirit to compose and calm the turbulence of all jarring, discordant elements;that He would promote in His own Church, redeemed and purchased by the precious blood of Christ, that spirit of unity, subordination, and of love, which, as it will characterize the Church in heaven through all eternity, so should it be a distinguishing feature of the Church on earth, that men of the world should

be compelled to exclaim of its members as did the Gentiles of believers in primitive times.-Dean Ramsay.

UNIVERSITIES.-The English

With these venerable seats of learning are associated some of the greatest names that have adorned the senate and the Churches, and that have given our country a world-wide renown for its brilliant literature and scientific achievements. Here the scions of our nobility are taught, and receive, in a great measure, their mental moulding; and here, as the schools of the prophets, the youth of every rank, destined to fill the pulpits of the Established Church, imbibe, for the most part, those principles which they are henceforth to disseminate over the length and breadth of the land. As the mountains rise above the hills, so are these ancient seats of learning among the schools. They are still entitled to their old distinctive appellation-" the eyes of England."-T. Pearson.

UNIVERSITIES.-God has His

God has His universities in this lower world. Here He educates His family. Here they graduate. The Son of God Himself studied here; and here He was qualified to assume the reins of universal government.-Howels.

UNIVERSITY.-An Excellent

One of the best universities, and one far too much unvisited, is the retired apartment of suffering poverty-the cottage or the garret of the afflicted; and one of the best lectures in divinity, and most fruitful of Christian conferences, is conversation on the things of God with those "poor of this world" whom "God hath chosen rich in faith." Many a minister has there first learned the lesson of saving knowledge for his own soul, and thence has carried the best lessons which he could give to his people.-E. Bickersteth.

USE-in Connection with Speech.

Use is the judge, the law, and the rule of speech.-Roscommon. USE.-Square Thyself for

Oh, square thyself for use! a stone that may

Fit in the wall, is left not in the way.—Archbishop Trench.

USEFUL.-The Way to be

Be useful where thou livest, that so men may
Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still:
Kindness, great parts, and good plans are the way

To compass this. Find out men's wants and will,
And meet them there; all worldly joys grow less
In the one joy of doing kindliness.-G. Herbert.
USEFULNESS.-Benefits Derived from

Nothing in this world is so good as usefulness. It binds your fellow-creatures to you, and you to them; it tends to the improvement of your own character; and it gives you a real importance in society, much beyond what any artificial station can bestow.-Brodie.

USEFULNESS.-God's Way of Preparing for

When God means to make a man useful in the world, He generally sends him first through fire-He puts him into the forge and on to the anvil-and often He chastens most whom He loves best.-H. W. Beecher.

USEFULNESS.-Opportunities of

How often do we sigh for opportunities of usefulness, whilst we neglect the openings of Providence in little things which would frequently lead to the accomplishment of most important usefulness!-Crabbe.

USEFULNESS.-Pleasure Derived from

It is a great satisfaction, at the close of life, to be able to look back on the years that are past, and to feel that you have lived, not for yourself alone, but that you have been useful to others. You may be assured, also, that the same feeling is a source of comfort and happiness at any period of life.-Brodie.

VARIETY.-The Necessity of

V.

The wants of the soul are varied, and sermons adjusted to these wants must be correspondently varied. Not only must divers characters be diversely treated, but the same individual must have different susceptibilities appealed to, different emotions excited, so that the entire soul may be edified. Is it not a law of intellectual education to exercise all the faculties? So is it the law of moral education to exercise all the graces; and they cannot all be exercised by one style of preaching, more than all the mental faculties by one subject of study. Dieteticians tell us that we must have a variety in our food or lose vigour of body, and that those tribes who confine their diet to a single article, however nutritious it may be, are stunted and short-lived. What then must be the state of the spiritual system which is fed from some pulpits, Sabbath after Sabbath, year after year, by one and the same kind of nutriment? It will be thought so, but it is not extravagant to say that there are ministers who discourse nearly fifty Sabbaths of the year on only two or three subjects. Whatever their text, whatever their introduction, whatever their purpose, they slide into the same hackneyed strain. Their minds have worn a channel, and flow into it naturally and of course. Not that they always use the same words, or adopt the same plan, but the whole genius of their sermons is the same, and losing the individual characteristic of every doctrine, they merge it into one tiresome generality.-Professor Park.

The art of all arts, the science of all sciences, appears to me to be the art and science of directing men, the most varied of beings, and the most changeable. Some have need to be nourished with milk-the most simple and elementary lessons; but others require that wisdom which is spoken among them that are perfect-a stronger and more solid nourishment. If we should wish to make them drink milk, and eat soft herbs-the nourishment of the feeble-they would be dissatisfied, and assuredly with good reason, not being strengthened according to Christ.-St. Gregory.

VARIETY-in Unity.

Every composition which is designed to gratify the mind should have the property of variety in unity. A sermon which repeats continually one and the same idea, under one and the same aspect, soon becomes wearisome. While possessing one leading thought, this should be variously developed, variously established, brought out under various aspects.-Dean Goulburn.

VEHEMENCE—sometimes Allowed.

The world will allow of a vehemence approaching to ecstacy, on almost any occasion but that which, above all others, will justify it.-R. Cecil.

VEHEMENCE.—The Substitution of

He who attempts to substitute noise or vehemence for earnestness, is guilty. of pretence. The rewards of righteousness are righteousness in every condition of life.-Percival.

VICAR.-The Kind-Hearted

He was very kind, and loved to sit
In the low hut or garnished cottage,
And praise the farmer's homely wit,

And share the widow's homelier pottage:

At his approach complaint grew mild,

And when his hand unbarred the shutter,
The clammy lips of fever smiled

The welcome that they could not utter.-Praed.

VOICE.-The Best Kind of

Every voice has its bell-note, which makes it a bass voice, a tenor, or a soprano, each with immediate gradations. The middle voice, or tenor, is the more favourable for preaching; it is that which maintains itself the best, and which reaches the farthest when well articulated; it is also the most pleasing, the most endearing, and has the largest resources for inflection, because being in the middle of the scale it rises or sinks with greater ease, and leans itself better to either hand; it therefore commands a greater variety of intonations, which hinders monotony of elocution, and re-awakens the attention of the hearer, so prone to doze.-Professor Bautain.

VOICE.-Conversion Promoted by the

A man when first turning from sin to God, hears a voice; but it is behind him; he seeth no man; he feels a blow in that voice which others take no notice of, though externally they hear it too. They heard only a voice, and so were astonished; but this man, like St. Paul, hears it distinctly as the voice of Christ, and so is converted.-Bishop Reynolds.

VOICE. The Management of the

One of the first objects of attention is the management of the voice. It is plain that we should so speak as that we may be well heard: the ancient wizards muttered as though they distrusted their own words-Isa. viii. 19. It is equally plain that we should speak agreeably, so as to move the audience we address. By the former we raise or convey ideas, and by the latter we excite emotions. The quantity of voice must be sufficient for the whole space occupied; and, when a voice is naturally weak, it may be brought to a sufficient strength by degrees, as I perfectly know by experience.-Dr. Sturtevant.

Distinctness of articulation contributes more, perhaps, to being well heard and clearly understood than mere loudness of sound. The quantity of sound necessary to fill even a large space is smaller than is commonly imagined; and, with a distinct articulation, a man of a weak voice will make it reach further than the strongest voice can reach without it. To this, therefore, every preacher ought to

pay particular attention. He must give every sound which he utters its due proportion, and let every syllable, and even every letter in the word which he pronounces, be heard distinctly, without slurring, whispering, or suppressing any of the proper sounds.-Dr. Blair.

A variety of usage should be employed, one style being made to relieve the other; the low and gentle being relieved by the even and regulated, and this again by the lofty and impressive.-St. Augustine.

Where there is more voice, more emphasis, or more gesture than there is feeling, there is waste, and worse-powder beyond the shot.-Dr. J. W. Alexander. VOICE. A Monotonous

As nothing is so wearisome and distasteful to the audience as that monotonous voice or delivery which "flows muddily along," so nothing is so fatiguing and detrimental to the preacher himself.-D. Moore.

VOICE. A Musical

A voice

That seemed the very sound of happy thoughts.-W. Wordsworth.

VOICE. The Power of the

The human voice, of all the voices in creation, takes the first rank, because it is the primary organ of the soul. Who has not witnessed its mighty influence upon the feelings of a large assembly? Skilfully guided, it has kept a congregation for a long time hanging with breathless attention upon its whispered words, and immediately bursting forth, it has thrilled it with the awful vehemence of its thunders. There is no power like that of the human voice for electrifying and influencing the multitude.-Dr. Davies.

VOICE.-The Soul Reveals Itself in the

The intellect of man sits enthroned visibly upon his forehead and in his eye; and the heart of man is written upon his countenance; but the soul reveals itself in the voice only, as God revealed Himself to the Prophet of old in "the still small voice."-Longfellow.

VOICE. A Sympathetic

It was not the cold, clear voice of one giving advice and warning from serene heights to those who were sinning and struggling below, but the warm, living voice of one who, fighting for us, and by our sides, and calling on us to help him and ourselves and one another.-T. Hughes.

VOICE.-Tone of

Once in the pulpit, it seems to be taken for granted that no effort is required to give the truth distinctness. Words are strung on to words and any tone of voice is deemed appropriate. But this is a great and fatal mistake. Everywhere else men speak: they speak at the bar and in the senate; but not in the pulpit. The preacher speaks as nobody in the world ever spoke; he shouts, chants, or sings, without modulation and without feeling. This artificial, false tone should be abandoned immediately, and a natural, true delivery assumed; then like the man who has a great cause to plead, or one who is moved with a strong passion, the preacher will be always true-true even to grandeur.-Mullois.

I perceive that almost every minister in the pulpit speaks in a voice which he never uses on any other occasion; and I am well assured that it is that which