beneficial merely; not what a christian is at liberty to do, or, if inconvenient, not to do; not matters which depend upon our ability, or means, or supposed capacity. They are elements of christian character and life; the fruits and evidences by which the Spirit witnesses that we are born of God; acts of worship; acceptable sacrifices unto God; and means ordained by him for the spiritual good of his people and his own glory through them. They are not acts of charity, the promptings of impulse. They involve the integrity and growth of christian character. They are invariable and universal. Like faith, repentance, prayer, and praise, they will be manifested by every christian, and by every church according to that which they have and are. Inactive, selfish and uncharitable they cannot be, for "it is not to be presumed," as has been said, "that God gives an individual or a people a soul niggardly from meanness, parsimonious from covetousness." These acts and exercises of christian life must, therefore, in all cases, be developed according to our resources. No christian liveth unto himself. No church liveth unto itself. If they do, they will dwindle, languish, and like the heath in the desert that knows no water, remain stunted and dwarfed, and finally perish.*

And is not this the reason why so many christians and churches do actually live at such a poor dying rate, so cold and languid, so barren and unprofitable?

A fouler vision yet, churches of light-
Light without love, glare and the aching sight.

They look to themselves, not to Christ. They consider their own things, not the thing that are his. Like the fearful and unbelieving sinner, they are seeking for peace, and prosperity, and blessing, not in the way of cheerful and confiding obedience, but as direct gifts from God. They can do little, and therefore they do nothing. They can give but a small sum, and, therefore, give none at all. Their influence is limited, and therefore they roll it up carefully and hide it in the earth. They cannot grow and strengthen and mature because they are "always learning, and never come to the knowledge of the truth," always desiring and never "doing the will of God," and, in so doing, receiving his promised blessing and assurance.

*"The use of our property furnishes one of the most striking developments of the heart. We are bound, therefore, to make use of it to show our love for God-our attachment to his cause. It is the most efficient method within our reach of declaring the glory of God to a world of sinners. It shows the subjection of our selfishness, and the triumph of the Spirit of grace in the heart, and over the life. It brings to view, as nothing else can, the heaven-born principle of benevolence in its control of human conduct. It shows the transforming power, and the unspeakable beauty and loveliness of the religion of the cross, and speaks strongly to the hearts and consciences of men, to turn unto God, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance."

They sit cold and shivering, lean and hunger-bitten, rubbing their hands together and wishing they were warm, instead of rising up, and invigorating and warming their hearts by acts. and exercises of christian charity and well-doing. May He who is to dead bones, dead bodies, dead hearts, dead souls, dead families, and dead churches, "the Resurrection and the Life," breathe upon us the word of his life-inspiring, love-enkindling and power-awakening Spirit, and from these dry mouldering bones, whitening in the sun, raise up children to perfect his praise, and an army of self-sacrificing soldiers to fight valiantly for the cause of truth and righteousness.

And so it ever will and must be. He that liveth to himself shall not prosper, and cannot be happy, and that church which liveth to itself shall not receive the blessing of the Lord. The eternal law of God's government in nature, providence and grace, will so determine it. "Faith without works is dead." "To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly, while from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he seemeth to have. He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all-sufficiency in all things, may abound in every good work."

What blind infatuation, what deplorable ignorance is it, then, for any christian, minister, or church, to plead weakness, feebleness, poverty, and manifold necessities and wants, as a reason for living in inactivity, forgetful of this unalterable relation between sowing and reaping, labour and recompense, liberality and reward. Self-denial, sacrifice, and the contribution of our property according as God hath prospered us (not grudgingly, for the Lord loveth a cheerful giver,) are made by Christ essential to our christian hope and happiness. The poor widow gave but a farthing, but it was "all that she had," and she gave it and was blessed. The churches of Macedonia out of their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of liberality, and were blessed. And so must every christian and every church give, and labour, and pray for the kingdom of Christ and the salvation of the world, if they would receive the full blessedness of the gospel. There is not a member of our churches in this country that could not spare something and lay it by in store, weekly, for this divine cause. There is not a member, in any of our churches, that could not increase, or double, or multiply an hundred fold, what he now offers to Christ, if he really believed that in so doing he would please him, profit himself, and bring a rich return of blessing to his own heart. There is not a minister who could not so present this matter to his people as to lead the weakest and most impoverished congregation in

our land to feel that it was a duty, a privilege, and a blessing to give, and to give freely, in proportion to their means and other expenditures, to the work of the Lord. And there are thousands of our largest and most liberal givers, who, were their minds thoroughly imbued with the conviction that they are agents, stewards, and trustees for Christ's kingdom and gospel, and that the blessing comes far more in giving than in receiving or increasing gain, would increase their contributions and their efforts, in some cases thirty, in some sixty, in some an hundred fold.

ALL CAN DO SOMETHING.

"Why should not all the godly membership of the Church take their share, according to their varying capacities and opportunities, in this blessed work, some in one way, and some in another? If I cannot speak, I can carry with me a tract, or perhaps I can read to those who cannot read for themselves. Methinks that the churches will never be in a sound condition until somewhat of such a state of things be realized-till this development in the application of doctrine to practice is realized-till the membership of our congregations become not only hearers of the word, but, in the peculiar gospel sense, doers also; for surely Paganism itself can scarcely be so hateful to a righteous God, as the barren orthodoxy of mere abstract belief, and idle talk, and unproductive profession. Ah! were this better spirit to prevail more widely through all Protestant churches the spirit that would prompt men to be not receivers only, but dispensers also of what they had received-the spirit that would lead all ecclesiastical bodies to make the doing of some active work for the Lord, in his own vineyard, as indispensable a condition of church membership as the abstract soundness of a creed, and the outward consistency of moral life and conduct, what a strange and happy revolution would soon be effected! how soon would infidelity and home-heathenism be cast down! what a new spirit of ennobling self-denial would be evoked! what a spirit of large-heartedness, which would flow forth in copious streams in behalf of a perishing world! Were this realized, we might then suppose that the dawn of millennial glory was upon us. But, alas! alas! though the horizon seemed already reddening with the dawn, the churches of Christ are still mostly drowsy and fast asleep. Ah! it is this that saddens my own spirit. Of the cause of Christ I have never desponded, and never will. It will advance till the whole earth be filled with his glory. He will accomplish it, too, through the instrumentality of churches and individual men. But he is not dependent on any particular church or men. Yea, if any of these prove slothful or negligent, he may in sore judgment

remove their candlestick, or pluck the stars out of the ecclesiastical firmament."

THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SECURE PROSPERITY AND PEACE, HERE AND HEREAFTER.

Liberality, activity, and devotion to the cause of Christ, is the true way to personal prosperity and peace, and to the favour and blessing of God. In the kingdom of heaven, as in God's moral government, obedience and reward are correlatives, and inseparably conjoined, even when apparently divided. In loving and living to God, we truly love and live to ourselves, and promote our own happiness here and hereafter. We are under obligations to seek and to secure our best interests, however, in that way alone which God has pointed out. A righteous, enlightened, and sanctified love of ourselves, is made the measure of our love to others. A man not only may but must love himself. This he must do, by acquiring a perfect knowledge of his relations to God, and his law, and of the paramount importance of the honour, glory, and kingdom of God, and of what is spiritual and eternal, over all bodily and temporal interests. Whatever pertains to the salvation of our own soul, its sanctification and growth in grace, and its everlasting felicity, we are under primary obligations to work out, according to the will of God. And as this is to be done by activity, sacrifice, service, and liberality, in the cause of Christ's universal reign and triumph, as surely as by reading the Scriptures, by prayer, and praise, every christian is bound to be as faithful, as hearty, as zealous and exemplary in the former, as in the latter. This is essential to the right and required love of self, to personal salvation, and to our own individual christian character, hope, happiness, and heavenly recompense. It is only in this way a man can truly love God, be made a partaker of the divine nature and of the divine benevolence, overcome the spirit of worldly selfishness, which is idolatry, subdue all self-will and all self-opinionated prejudices to the authority of God's will, as made known in his word, and lay hold firmly of eternal life, secure "the pearl of great price," "the treasure hid in the field," 'lay up treasure in heaven," gain "an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom," make sure of "an eternal weight of glory," "reap abundantly," "be great in the kingdom of heaven," "build upon the foundation" of a good hope in Christ Jesus, "gold, and silver, and precious stones" that shall abide for ever, transport his riches to heaven. be followed by his good works in their ever-during results, shine forth as a star of brilliant glory in the firmament of heaven, and having well and faith

*Dr. Duff.

fully employed his talents for the glory of his Lord and Master, receive a crown of righteousness, and be applauded with the welcoming gratulation, "Well done, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

This shall take thine hand, and lead

Thy steps to find thy Saviour in his poor;
Yea, thou shalt find him in the cry of all;
And Lazarus, who lieth at thy door,

Hath friends above who walk the heavenly floor,

And he shall sue for thee, and thou shalt find

That thine own prayers gain wings and readier soar,

No more blown prostrate by the wandering wind,

And light unknown before, shall touch thine eyelids blind,
Such is the blessed courts that are above,

Within the living centre of all space,

'Mid their blest companies shall find a place
Where God himself reveals his glorious face.

This assuredly is the only way in which a man can work out his own salvation, which is his one great business here below, by living, labouring and praying, by giving and sacrificing so as to secure permanent and everlasting riches, "where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal."

And yet, under the delusion of laying up treasure for children and friends-a temptation and a snare to drown them in perdition and in sloth, and in prodigality and vice-oh, how do men, yes, even christian men, live poor, and meanly, and niggardly, and die poor, and go into eternity poor, with few or no friends to welcome them, no works to follow them, no treasure exported before them, and no inheritance invested in heaven! Yes, look around the church of which we are each members, and of how many we may say, as has been strikingly said, here is an acquaintance of ours, and he has been spending the energy of a very good understanding, of exceedingly strong will, or well formed habits, in conducting business and making a fortune. He owes no man anything. He assists the struggling poor. And he says, I have invested something for every one of my children. But what, we may ask such an one, have you invested for yourself? You ought not, with all your love for your children, to think only of them. What do you propose to invest for yourself? This is the question, and it is a business one. You have but one way of investing money permanently. You may invest it in houses, or in lands, or in banks, but when the great fire comes that will burn all that up, and your beautiful mansion will be no more to the flames than the dust you tread on, what portion of your property is invested for yourself, and will reappear after the fire, to enrich you forever? None, but what you have given up to Godliterally and absolutely none but what you have consecrated to