itself; and Messrs. Moody and Sankey are again here, as devoted and wise in work as ever. Altogether we think the attitude of the churches shows that they are intent on doing sustained and well directed service, not only within, but far beyond the lines of accustomed labour. And the need is urgent that something more should be done.

The statistics of returns recently made at Newcastle, Liverpool, and Bristol, of attendance at public worship, show that the increase of the population is greatly in excess of the increase of attendance at public worship, to say the least. The enumeration reveals the fact that when it was taken five persons out of six were not found in any place of worship. This is an alarming state of things; and evidently something more is needed besides endless church and chapel building, to reach the people. What that is, the good sense of every earnest Christian will, we think, suggest to him. Thirty years ago the religious Census conducted by Mr. Horace Mann, which showed that one-third of the population held aloof from public worship, led to a vast effort by the churches, our own included, to overtake the spiritual destitution by building chapels and schools; but now the question is forcing itself on our consideration-and it is a grave one, one that every Christian worker should ponder on his knees-how to get the people to attend the places provided for them. Where does the failure lie?

To turn for a moment to the political situation of the country, we believe the Government never stood better with the public than it does now. The successful working of the Irish Land Act is greatly strengthening its hands. The Eastern Question is at rest. Afghanistan is settling down to law and good order. The Transvaal is quiet. The Irish Land League is paralyzed. Mr. Gladstone has dealt the Fair Trade League such blows, that it cannot be expected to survive. His speeches at Leeds, those of Mr. Chamberlain at Liverpool, and Sir William Harcourt in the North, have heightened the enthusiasm of the people on behalf of the cause of the Government; and both at home and abroad the political sky is clear, and no threatening clouds, so far as we can see, are gathering for us anywhere.

November 14th.

THE

BIBLE CHRISTIAN MAGAZINE.

-:0:

EARTHEN VESSELS.*

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”—2. CORINTHIANS iv. 7.

NE of the most effective means for the diffusion of Christianity is the preaching of the Gospel. This means. has been decried, and again and again it has been said that the pulpit has lost or is losing its power, and that if Christianity would hold its own, or make aggression on the world, it must trust to some other method for its propagation. There has been an idea that the daily paper, the weekly and monthly periodical, the solid quarterly, and the more pretentious volume are to supersede the ministry, which Christ himself appointed. We believe the persons who hold such opinions are making a grand mistake. While we hail the press as a valuable worker in the kingdom of God (though it is often employed in the cause of evil), we cannot for a moment believe that in itself it is sufficient for the end to be accomplished. Nor can we admit as true what is said, viz. "That the pulpit has lost its power and influence." Never have there been so many sitting under a Gospel ministry as now. It is exercising a saving influence over the souls of multitudes, it is helpful to the spiritual life of multitudes of others, and not a year passes away without vast numbers being brought from the world's wide wilderness into the Church of Christ. There are weaknesses in it no doubt, weaknesses patent to every observer, and weaknesses which none feel more acutely than those whose duty it is to minister

A sermon preached at Holsworthy, in June last, to the District Meeting, the Members of which unitedly requested its publication.

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in holy things, but, even if the pulpit were weaker than it is, and really languishing, we should not be willing to dispense with it. As it is possible for you to have a revived Church, so it is possible for you to have a revived ministry; indeed, a revived Church would ere long produce a revived ministry. As long as the Church exists, and there are souls to be converted and trained for Heaven, so long will the Christian ministry be needed.

Paul had high views of this ordinance of God. He looked at it as requiring the highest qualifications of mind and heart on the part of all who engaged in it. Among other things it needed purity of soul, singleness of aim, straightforwardness of conduct, and an ever-abiding sense of the presence of God. But none of these qualifications would ensure the universal acceptance of the truth. There were those from whom the Gospel was hidden, not from any defect in the Gospel or its ministration, but from a willing enslavement to Satanic power. (See verses 3 and 4.) While however there were those who rejected it, there were some who received it, and in their hearts it was a regenerative and redemptive power: their triumphs were peculiarly sweet to the heart of the Apostle, and on them he delighted to dwell. Let us consider,— I. THE CHARACTER OF THIS GOSPEL.

Paul calls it a treasure. The term treasure is used to denote something of intrinsic worth, or that which is high in human esteem. Human treasures vary according to the knowledge, capacity, tastes, dispositions, habits and customs of men. That which is a treasure to one is not to another, that which is esteemed in one age may not be in another, that which is a treasure in one country is not in another, and that which is a treasure in some circumstances may not be so under others; but here is a treasure suited to all men, to all ages, to all countries, and to all circumstances. It is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is described in the preceding verse as light. "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." And the Gospel, which is light, is a treasure not only because of what it is in itself, but because of its rarity. "It is unique, unparalleled. There is none like it, there is none resembling Amongst all the books in the world there is but one Bible. Amongst all the systems of religion there is but one Christianity. Amongst all the saviours of society there is but one Jesus. Amongst all the methods of moral and spiritual renovation, there is but one that is effective.

is there salvation in any other,'" &c.

it.

Neither

The Gospel is a Spiritual Treasure.-Most human treasures are of

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a material kind. They are intended for our physical nature. should be remembered, however, that man has a soul as well as a body, and that the soul is the highest and noblest part of man's being. By it he has the capacity to know, to love, to enjoy, and to serve God. It is endowed also with immortality. Thus the soul is the most precious of all created existences known to us. price paid for its redemption places it beyond the shadow of a doubt, while Christ speaks of it as beyond all competition or comparison. "What shall it profit a man," &c. A treasure then that ignores the soul and that makes no provision for its requirements cannot be the best treasure for a man to possess. While it is gratifying to be surrounded with material good and to ha ve all necessary social blessings, you must have something for the heart. This treasure is for the heart. "It does not despise the body, but is promotive of its healthy existence; it does not ignore the mind, but provides for intellectual thought and elevation; its principal provisions, however, are for those spiritual necessities which are inseparable from soul existence."

It is an Enriching Treasure.—If a man possesses material good to any great extent, you call him rich. He is said to be rich when he possesses a few thousand pounds, when he inherits so many broad acres, when he can command for himself the comforts and luxuries of civilized life, when he occupies a high position in the social circle yet it is possible for such a man to be really poor; he may be poor in knowledge, poor in love, poor in sympathy, poor in heart, poor in enjoyment, poor in all that constitutes real blessedness of being. Where wealth abounds you often find a degraded animalism, a selfishness that is really contemptible. There is much better wealth than that of earth. While there are rich men that are really poor, there are poor men that are actually rich,—“ Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?" Lazarus, with all his poverty and affliction, was a richer man spiritually than the grandee of the palace, with all the magnificence of his wardrobe and the sumptuousness of his table. The Gospel makes every man rich who embraces it, rich for this life, and for the life to come. It blesses him with Divine favour, and is not that to be rich? It exalts him to Divine sonship, and is not that to be rich? It makes him a partaker of the Divine nature, and is not that to be rich? It adorns him with the beauty of holiness, and is not that to be rich? It gives him the Holy Spirit as his indwelling Comforter, and is not that to be rich? makes over to him as his undisputed possession all the promises of God's word, and is not that to be rich? It imparts a meetness for

Heaven, and for the fellowship of the skies, and is not that to be rich? It assures him of "an inheritance that is incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away," and is not that to be rich? These are real riches, they are "the unsearchable riches of Christ." It is a Satisfying Treasure.-You would not think much of a treasure, unless it afforded you some satisfaction. If it did not impart rest, or comfort, or security, or delight, you would be as well. without it as with it. The gold that many men have in their coffers is not of the slightest use to them, and never will be. Earthly good can only be of service in proportion as it is rightly used, and when men hoard in selfishness, that which is intended for the general welfare, they pervert the gifts of God and effect their own ruin. But there is no earthly treasure that can be named, that is capable of giving to the human soul that happiness which the Gospel gives. You may inherit the mines of India, California, and Australia, you may live in the most splendid mansion that human skill can construct, you may surround yourself with the choicest literature of the ages, you may have friends in abundance, and delights without number, and yet your soul may be in a state of absolute starvation, hungering and thirsting for satisfaction and rest. These things cannot purchase absolution from guilt, pardon of sin, an unstained conscience, a sanctified heart. They cannot deliver you from the wrath of God, or confer on you a hope of Heaven. But these are the very blessings that are bestowed by the Gospel, and the result is a "peace passing all understanding," and a "joy that is unspeakable and full of glory." "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." The youth has greater satisfaction in this treasure than he could have in all the pleasures of the world. It gives tranquillity to the man of mature years and business responsibilities. It has consolations for grey hairs and growing infirmities. It gives a beauty and a glory to life's decline. It turns the hovel into a palace, the cottage into a mansion, and causes the widow's heart to dance for joy. All the real happiness that streams through human souls to-day is of Gospel origin. Its source is "the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." Well might Paul call upon believers to "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again to Rejoice."

It is an Abiding Treasure.-(1.) It is abiding in Itself.-Whatever may be the changes taking place in society, however serious may be the revolutions of empires, the Gospel of Jesus admits of no alteration or change. It is always the same. Like its Divine Author it is immutable. This idea is presented by the prophet, when he says, "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field; the grass withereth, the flower fadeth :