way in which effort can be made, is demanded to this enterprise, by the great Head of the Church, and by the exigency of the case. It is by no lukewarm feeble efforts that such a vast undertaking can be accomplished. It is not to the mere blast of the trumpet, feebly followed up by puny attacks, that Satan will surrender his empire. Our efforts must be such as proceed from men hearty in the work, who have well weighed the undertaking in which they engage, and the amount of opposition they are likely to meet with, and who wish to play their part like those who shall not be ashamed before Christ at his coming.

The church has yet much to learn with respect to this matter. We rejoice in the efforts now made,-they are a great advance on those of the former generation. We despise not the day of small things, and would be perfectly satisfied with it, were these small things the utmost which the capability of the church would enable her to attempt. Then it might be said of her, “ She hath done what she could,” and this would be high praise. But when we see the claims of the world attended to in preference to the claims of God— when we see professed Christians expending much more in keeping up their station in life, as it is phrased, than in promoting Christ's cause, as if the world's favour could secure our happiness, or its condemnation doom us to misery, the church has yet much attainment to make. She has wealth and agency in store, misemployed or unemployed, while her plans are languishing at one time for want of funds, at another for want of agents. Surely such a state of things is a most inadequate response to the claims of the Saviour. Brethren, you can do much to wipe away this reproach from the church, and place her in her proper position towards the missionary enterprise. Do what you can, that the blood of souls be not on your hands.

But your personal devotement to the labour of the mission-field is required of you, as well as such associated efforts with fellow Christians. It is only an individual here and there who seriously lays to heart this duty, at least it is only a number miserably small who are found to betake themselves to the high places of the field. But surely, brethren, it is a consideration binding on all, in what way can I best spend myself in the service of God? And, were this consideration generally and conscientiously entertained, a noble army would soon be found ready to wage the holy warfare. If the writer may be pardoned a personal reference, the point with him in going forth to the mission-field was simply a question of duty. He saw the Gospel within the reach of all at home; he saw whole nations lying in the unbroken night of heathenism abroad, and he therefore felt called to go far away with the message of divine mercy. It is true there is much to be given up in taking this step ;-kindred and country, the enjoyments and aids of Christian society, and even in many cases the comforts of civilised life. And much must be encountered in planting one's self in the midst of heathenism; customs and scenes which vex the soul must be daily witnessed; a lifetime of arduous, and, it may be, unaided labour, so far as human aid is concerned, may be expended seemingly without fruit, and many discomforts and harassments borne, of which those who have not experienced them know nothing. It may even be that danger and death have to be braved. But estimating at their utmost the good relinquished and the evil encountered, there is nothing, there can be nothing, to deter from duty those who profess to have given themselves up, soul and body, as living sacrifices on the altar of God. If they have been in earnest in this consecration of themselves, none of these things will move them. Ah, brethren, when we begin to confer with flesh and blood, our faith grows feeble and our hope dim, difficulties are

magnified into impossibilities, and discouragements into prohibitions. In some cases, it may be, God has so ordered our lot, in imposing on us duties and binding us by ties, which in consistency with Christian principle we cannot renounce, that we are plainly not called to enter the mission-field; but we think such cases are by no means general, and therefore occur as exceptions. Or it may be that the qualifications necessary for undertaking the duties of the work are denied to us; but we fear that in most instances the disqualification exists only in the apprehension of individuals, and is originated by a disinclination to exile one's self from home and church.

Much has been said respecting this point-the qualifications of missionary agents; and it may be that some entertain the idea that there is something very peculiar required, which therefore can be possessed but by few. The labours of the mission-field, it is true, are in many respects different from the duties required of the pastors of fully organised and long established Christian communities; but we do not see that any peculiarity of qualification is required on this account. Such as approve themselves at home able ministers of the New Testament, would approve themselves abroad as able missionaries; for a short time and a little experience would soon adapt them to the circumstances in which they might be placed. In some parts of the mission-field, the literary accomplishments which are demanded at home may not be necessary, while in other portions these, and more if possible, are all required; and in all greater firmness of principle, more self-reliance, and a greater amount of prudence are requisite, than are indispensable to a pastor at home. The reason of this is obvious. At home the pastor ministers to a congregation united with him in the faith, many of its members, it may be, experienced Christians, who appreciate his labours, and support him in them; while, at the same time, he has the office-bearers of the church to share with him its management and responsibilities. His brethren in the ministry are, moreover, always at hand to give him their counsel in any difficulty, and that strength which union always confers, so that he is far from being left to depend on himself. With the missionary it is most frequently far otherwise. He is alone with himself and God. His brethren are so far separated from him, that but very unfrequent intercourse can be enjoyed, and he ministers to a people who have for the most part no sympathy with him in his great work. If he is privileged to number a few converts as the fruit of his labours, their direction and government must rest entirely on him; and, even in the erection of a place of worship, he must very frequently assume the responsibility and management. Thus every thing depends upon himself, both as to the spiritualities and the temporalities of his mission. In his own unaided strength he must stand, and by his own unaided wisdom guide himself, or fail. Hence, one may not succeed as a missionary who might have occupied a place in the home ministry with usefulness and honour. His mind may be enfeebled by the heathenism by which he is surrounded; his heart may fail him, bearing alone the burden and heat of the day, or an imprudent step, which the counsel of a friend might have prevented, may ruin the hopes of his mission, for he is the representative of his religion in the land of darkness, and with him it stands or falls.

Thus, if the mission field requires not the most accomplished men in every case, it requires men who are mentally the strongest. It may be, that in this we magnify our office; be it so, if the magnification does not exceed the truth, there is no call for apology in so doing. And with all, there are no more vigour nor accomplishments required than are, or may be, possessed by many of the young men in the church, who have never seriously enter

tained the thought of giving themselves to the Lord's work in the foreign field. But why should it not be entertained, brethren? Is it that the Lord has no need of your services in this field? Is all the empire promised to Messiah yet won to him? Are all the nations of the earth delivered from the bondage of Satan, and rejoicing in the light and liberty and hopes of the Gospel? Such questions sound like mockery; but why is it, then, that so few are found to come to the "help of the Lord," of those who consecrate themselves to Him in the everlasting covenant? Except in a few exceptional cases, physical disqualification cannot he urged, for missionary settlements extend from Greenland to the equator, are found in every climate, and under every sky; and it so happens, that each of our principal societies has its stations widely scattered, so that an extensive field lies open to the selection of locality by any one going forth. And as little can mental disqualification be pleaded, for, in selecting his locality, the missionary, at the same time, selects the kind of labour in which he will engage. Why this backwardness then? The truth must be told,—it is a disinclination of heart, a lack of devotion. There is too much love of the world, and of the things which are in the world, yet to be found among us, brethren. This clogs the soul in its aspirations after entire devotion to God, and its efforts towards duty. Our churches need a baptism of the Spirit from on high.

The vows of God which are upon you surely require of you to take into your serious consideration the consecration of yourselves to the Lord in the field of missionary labour. These vows, as commonly interpreted by the conduct of Christian professors, do not extend to this; but, permit me again to warn you, brethren, that it is not the average character of Christianity, as it prevails among us, that is to be the measure of your attainments, nor the average rate of effort that is the rule of your devotion. It is in the sacred records we have the mark of our high calling, in the example of our Saviour. It is high time that the church awake to this conviction, exalt the character of her christianity, and shine forth clear as the sun, casting her life-giving rays far and wide over the benighted nations.

That there is this lack of devotion, is manifested even by the conduct of the great majority of those brethren who have sought and been put in trust with the ministry of the word. How few of them seriously contemplate missionary labour; how many of them are content to wear out a life of greatly less usefulness at home, rewarded, it may be, with little prospect of success, and with but partial opportunities of discharging their office, while the boundless waste of heathenism stretches, unreclaimed, to the ends of the earth,—as if their commission were void beyond the boundaries of the church in which they received it, or the country in which they were called to it. That commission surely demands of them that they fulfil their trust, wherever there is most need, and the cause of their Great Master can be most effectually promoted.

We apprehend there is a feeling on the part of many young men, fresh from their academical studies, that in entering the mission field all their attainments would be thrown away, and all opportunity of acquiring literary distinction lost. But in many parts of the mission field there are languages to reduce to writing, the Scriptures to be translated, a literature to be formed; and who is more than sufficient for these things? In these there is surely enough to task the highest talents, and exhaust the richest attainments. And what a noble field of usefulness do they open up? By these an individual worthy of his high task may leave the impress of his mind on a nation beginning to be born, and mould its heart and intellect through the succeed

ing ages of time. Did worldly ambition, whether of the politician or literary man, ever contemplate an aim so wide and so noble as this? And, as to renouncing the hope of literary distinction,-a thing hard to be relinquished by many a noble mind, however rarely realised,—should not this, with every other selfish aim and emotion, be consumed by the flame of Christian devotion, that Christ may be glorified in the salvation of souls? And, indeed, until we make an unreserved sacrifice of self, we are disqualified for the highest usefulness, and the noblest distinction,-the distinction of turning many to righteousness.

You live for the world, brethren. Next to securing your own soul's salvation, your great duty here is, to seek the salvation of your fellow men, of every kindred and of every tongue. Having secured for yourselves this "one thing needful," you are not at liberty to give your after efforts to the securing of the comforts, or wealth, or power, or pleasures, of earth, as the next great business to which you are called. No, this is not your rest. If true to your name, you seek not your portion in the things of time. You are journeying to the "land, of which the Lord hath said, 'I will give it you."" But oh, what multitudes of fellow-mortals have never heard of this land. What myriads are passing on to eternity, ignorant of the great Redeemer of men! To you God has given the records of this knowledge, and He calls you to go forth and impart it. He has appointed you the almoners of his mercy to perishing men; and there is every consideration impelling you to an urgent, zealous, faithful discharge of this trust. The first and second great commandments of the law call you to this. The countless evils which war, rapine, and every means of destruction which Satan devises, and inflicts upon humanity; the unnumbered thousands of the devotees of heathenism, passing day by day into a miserable eternity; the groans of a weary world; all the claims which God and man have upon you,-call you to this. Oh then let no consideration of self or the world interpose between you and your duty, or clog your efforts in it. You shall receive your portion in heaven, brethren, if found faithful here. You shall enter into your rest there. Now is the time for active duty; and, it may be, for suffering. Now, you can work for Christ in seeking the salvation of souls; and whereever these souls are to be found, go to them with the news of the great salvation. It is this only can bring back a revolted world to God and to happiness; and it is you only who can go forth with the glad tidings. Brethren! think on these things. FRATER.

CHRISTIANITY AND SECULARISM CONTRASTED IN THEIR INFLUENCE ON PRACTICAL LIFE.

Ir is boasted by Secularists that one benefit of their system is, "that its issues can be tested in this life;" while, with Christianity, they assert it is quite different. Although not disposed to erect secular utility measured by our own minds into a certain test of truth, yet we have no objection to try Christianity and Secularism by this standard, and to stake our faith on the result. To us, the evidence seems so clearly in favour of the former, that we can only account for the pertinacity with which Infidels maintain the benign influence of their unbeliefs by attributing it to the domination of passion over reason. It thus, at first sight, seems a needless work to place the two formally in contrast: the disparity is so striking, that every man whose judgment

has not been warped by strong prejudices, and whose heart has not been chilled by vice, must perceive it. But the times demand what must appear to many a superfluous work. The reason why we are obliged to give "line upon line, and precept upon precept," in enforcing practical truth, renders it equally necessary to meet every form of error, whether new or resuscitated, and prove its worthlessness as well as inconsistency; while the fact, that Infidels themselves are clamouring for the application of the test of utility, shows, that the present is a favourable opportunity for exhibiting the value, in so far as regards this life, of the teachings of Him who spake as never man spake.

In the discussions which have lately taken place upon this subject, the real point at issue has been frequently overlooked by the Infidel. The question does not involve the consideration of the consistency of creeds as matters of belief, but only of their practical influence. Every attempt, therefore, to invalidate the unity of Christianity as a system—to confound its teachings with those of Judaism-or to deduce from the facts which it reveals, doctrines contradictory to its clear declarations, is wholly irrelevant. In a discussion upon the Divine authority of the Bible, this would be pertinent; but is altogether out of place when the question is one of social utility.

Viewed in this light, the points of contrast between Christianity and Secularism are numerous and striking; but we must restrict our attention to a few. To be able to form a correct judgment on the question, it is necessary to look for a moment at the leading characteristics of mankind. These form the material which must be moulded. All proper education consists, not in the vain attempt to create a new mind and heart in man, but in training aright the powers and dispositions he has. Now, that there is much evil in the world none can deny; that men are more prone to it than virtue, is equally evident; and that selfishness is a prominent feature of human character, admits also of no doubt. To make the social state what it ought to be, men must have and exercise thorough mastery over themselves, and recognise as a solemn truth the universal brotherhood of man. That system is, therefore, the most beneficial which gives man the greatest moral strength -opens up the purest and most lasting sources of happiness—has the most ennobling influence upon the affections—and invests the social principles with the greatest sanctity.

Now, it cannot for a moment be disputed that Christianity forms the noblest character. Whether we test this by a consideration of its principles or an appeal to facts, the conclusion is the same. The men who have been most distinguished for personal purity and benevolence to their fellow-men, have been those who drank deepest of Christian truth. Their energies were first quickened into activity, and their hearts filled with holy love under its influence. The reason is obvious-the moral precepts of Christianity are plain and comprehensive; whereas Secularism is compelled to appeal to utility as the test of right and wrong. We grant that whatever is right is useful; but it by no means follows that what we conceive to be useful really is so, or determines what is true. Moreover, since from the stand-point of Secularism, the sphere of morality appears narrowed, and we can only apprehend some of the consequences which follow from our actions in this life, utility is altogether inadequate as a rule. It must vary with the moral habits and tastes of men. Morality and conventional customs will become interchangeable terms. The chief good of one may be, as we often see it is, the highest evil of another. Uniformity of moral principle being thus de