might demonstrate the physical impossibility of the predicted fact, and the poet might exercise his wit in contemptuous ballads on the doating enthusiast. All this I think likely; and to sustain it all, year after year,-to preach without success, to oppose apparently the intelligence as well as the frivolity of the age, to act only to become a by-word and a jest,-this would require a faith of no ordinary character; and Noah's actual perseverance in defiance of it all, proved his to be distinguished by incomparable strength.

The last circumstance from which we illustrate the faith of Noah, is the calm confidence with which he committed himself to the Supreme protection, at the time of the actual catastrophe. It is true, this confidence would be greatly encouraged by two circumstances, by the miraculous approach of many animals to the ark, and the commenced infliction of the threatening judgment. Both of these would assure him that he had not been deluded by imaginary impressions. There was still, however, a demand for firm and steady faith, as, at the moment of first entering upon danger, we often experience misgivings, which in prospect we anticipate not. After his protracted trials of another kind, this moment arrived to Noah. He was called to the commitment of himself to the Divine disposal in a way which none had ever been called before. His work was finished, his testimony given,-the world and himself were about to witness the truth or falsehood of his personal predictions. I know not but that a rabble attended his entrance into the ark, and shouted defiance to his warnings, and taunted him with the necessity he would soon find, of leaving his romantic retreat, and returning to the very same scenes he had been dooming to destruction. But he persevered,-too sensibly persuaded both of the faithfulness of God and the infatuation of mankind. "He entered the ark," says the historian, "and the Lord shut him in." What a moment must that have been! What a feeling must have succeeded this act of security! "The Lord shut him in." What a new and indefinable sensation must then have absorbed his mind! He had taken his last look of the world and man; he was, now, if we may so speak, sensibly suspended upon Deity. The windows of heaven and the fountains of the deep were opened; the elements descended, and the waters advanced; now, perhaps, numbers of those who had rejected his testimony were heard crowding to the ark, expressing penitence and imploring aid, when it was too late; at length, one by one, the voices were hushed; the water was perceived to prevail, to destroy each individual as he became too weak to grapple with their force,-till, rising over all, extinguishing for ever their importunity,-diffusing the silence of death,- and lifting the ark from her foundations, the prophet would feel the increasing necessity of reliance upon God, as he felt left alone amid the ruins of nature, abandoned to the agitated element, in danger of being tossed by contending currents, or dashed upon some yet uncovered elevation.

Our remaining extract will be from the sermon which exhibits the "Sentiments suitable to Strangers and Pilgrims." Having explained what it is to be a stranger and pilgrim, who they are that are truly such, and the importance of frequently calling to mind their present condition, our author proceeds to show that pilgrims, "in a strange country, learn the necessity of direction," both as men and as Chris tians; and referring to the means by which they may obtain direction as Christians, offers the following judicious advice :

Fix firmly in your minds, as the foundation of all your reasoning, that you do know what is the will of God in general-namely, your sanctification. You do know, whatever else you may be ignorant of, that, at all times and under all circumstances, you are to seek God's glory—that is, the display of his grace in you-by making the pursuit and the augmentation of personal holiness your supreme concern. You know this. You know it to be a plain and

primary truth. This truth, therefore, you are to take, and to apply as a test, to every path that opens before you, and to every inducement that presses you to enter it. Will it assist or obstruct my sanctification? Will holiness be promoted or endangered? If obviously and greatly promoted, the matter would seem to be determined, as this would ascertain its consistency with what you know to be the Divine will. But if there should be danger, you will say, how am I to act? This, I imagine, is the great point, for it is only on account of such an apprehension that I can conceive any thing like peculiar practical difficulty to be felt. How you are to act, then, I should reply, will depend upon circumstances. A Christian may certainly be called to occupy a post of great personal hazard; but it will be, very obviously, for the performance of some important duty, or the accomplishment of some act of distinguished benevolence. If neither of these can be pleaded, the dangerous position must be shunned; if they are felt not to be effected, it must be resolutely left. Close examination, in connection with the application of the test to which we have referred, would appear to be requisite under every form which this enquiry could assume. Its different aspects might perhaps be presented in the following manner. Here is danger: What is to be obtained by my exposure to it? If conscience reply, "nothing-nothing but personal enjoyment; perceptions of delight, innocent perhaps in themselves, but which to you might be injurious in their influence, and would soon be difficult to resign;" in such a case the way is clear. The man knows his sanctification is the will of God; he does not know that these indulgences are, which seem so likely to draw away his heart; nay, in the very fact of that likelihood, he has all the proof he should require of its being his positive duty to avoid them. Again. Here is danger: What is to be obtained by my exposure to it? If conscience reply, "there is danger, but, by watching against it you may be safe, and, if so, your position will afford you great facilities for very important benevolent exertion;" then, it would seem, the man might attempt the trial, because he knows it is the will of God that he should do all possible good to others, consistent with the preservation of his own virtue. But, suppose we go a step farther; suppose we allow the trial to have actually been attempted, and imagine the man to be comparing the probability of the future with the recollection of the past; and suppose conscience then says, "whatever may be the power of useful exertion, which your position is supposed to confer, observe, that the trial has been made, and that, too, not only without success, but with personal injury; you have suffered more in yourself than you have accomplished for others: the difficulties are conquering you, you are not prevailing against them to the ultimate accomplishment of the benefit you proposed." In such a case the path of duty would seem equally clear. The man knows his sanctification is the will of God but he does not know that it is the will of God for him to effect that specific object which he had previously planned.-In short, in all cases, perhaps the first suggestion of the conscience and judgment may be relied upon, and followed with safety. There is a quick and instinctive sense both of duty and danger in a well regulated mind; the Christian seldom errs while he promptly obeys it; he is seldom perplexed, perhaps, till he has silenced, in some degree, this internal monitor; till he has listened to temptation as well as to conscience; till his feelings have acquired an improper control, and have given to Reason herself a tongue of sophistry by which to plead their cause, and to divert him from a manly obedience to his purest and primary impulses."

The preceding remarks and extracts will be sufficient to guide our readers in forming a correct judgment of the work; and will, we trust, induce many of them to purchase it for their own perusal and improvement. At the conclusion of the volume there are two very valuable sermons on Justification, which are particularly worthy of attentive perusal, especially by those who "minister in holy things."

Rarely have we read a volume, which has so completely commanded the approval of our judgment. It is replete with excellencies of the highest order, and if carefully read will command the admiration of every intelligent, true hearted, Christian.

THE JUBILEE SERVICES OF THE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. Held in London in the month of September, 1844. 8vo. 136 pp. JOHN SNOW.

THE London Missionary Society, having nearly arrived at the completion of the forty-ninth year of its existence, the directors of the Society thought, that the commencement of the fiftieth year of its operations ought to be celebrated by a series of special services, and that an appeal ought to be made to the friends of the Society; to signalize the year of its Jubilee by extraordinary contributions to its funds. Accordingly, it was arranged, that in London three jubilee sermons should be preached, on Monday and Tuesday, the 23rd and 24th of September, and a Public Meeting be held in Exeter Hall on the following day. The volume before us contains the sermons which were then preached, and the addresses that were delivered.

The Rev. James Parsons was appointed to deliver the first sermon ; and the topic assigned him was-The claim which God possesses on the devoted services of the Young. The following was selected by the preacher as the text, "A son honoureth his father: if I then be a father, where then is mine honour?" The sermon clearly exhibits, and powerfully enforces, the claims of Jehovah to the consecration of our services, for the advancement of the interests of truth and righteousness. The peroration furnishes an admirable example of pulpit eloquence. After having urged his hearers to immediate selfdedication to the service of God, the preacher addressed his hearers in the following impressive and appropriate terms.

We proffer you language to express your vows." I yield my spirit to my Father as the just tribute to his authority and tenderness, trusting that He will accept me through the mercy of Jesus, and that though I deserve it not, he will make dignity, usefulness, and happiness to be mine. I will honour Him, that he may honour me; and henceforth I live only to seek the honour that cometh from God. What the world calls honour. I forswear and despise. I ask not for the laurel crown, or the triumphal chariot: I ask not for the orator's eulogium, or the poet's praise: I ask not for the shout of popular adulation, or the gorgeousness of courtly splendour: I ask not for the memorial of the painter's canvass, or the sculptor's marble: I ask not that for my departure there should be chanted the hallowed dirge, that over my ashes should be reared the storied urn or animated bust, and that my remains should rest as among the great ones of the earth, in the abbey or the cathedral, to receive the visits of successive generations, while my name is chronicled in the annals of nations. No; grant me but the approbation of my God, grant me but the enjoyment of His favour, and the prospect of His recompense, and for these I pass by earthly pomp and greatness, and count them but shadows: here do I devote my ambition, having life and all concentrated on this one end; and it shall be the charm of my existence, the spell from which I will not be disenchanted, and under whose power I will pass to my immortality,-that He has pro

F

mised, THEM THAT HONOUR And now, ye servants and sons of God, with

ME I WILL HONOUR.', My Father, I render all

honour to thee: I am whom I am become one in the bonds of covenanted mercy, sound the trumpet of Jubilee over my converted and consecrated soul !"

The second sermon was preached by the venerable Rev. William Jay, at Surrey Chapel. The text was: "EBEN-EZER-hitherto hath the Lord helped us." The preacher shows, I. That this Institution was WORTHY of Divine aid. II. That Divine aid has been AFForded. III. The means of its IMPROVEMENT. The discourse is every way worthy of its highly esteemed and much respected author. It affords beautiful and comprehensive views of, the principles, operations, and duties of the Society; and contains much of true catholicity.

The concluding discourse was delivered by the Rev. Dr. Thomas Raffles, at Craven Chapel. The text, or motto selected, was the word FORWARD," taken from the words of Jehovah, Speak unto the children of Israel that THEY GO FORWARD." In the introductory observations, the preacher gives a brief statement of the circumstances connected with the formation of the Society. He then refers to the occasion on which the words, from which the text is taken, were uttered; and then explains and urges the Society "FORWARD," by the following general considerations: I. YOUR WORK IS BEFORE YOU. II. YOUR AUTHORITY IS DIVINE, AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY IS TO GOD. III. THOUGH THE OBSTACLES BE MANY, AND THE DIFFICULTIES FORMIDABLE. IV. CHEERED BY THE CERTAINTY OF ULTIMATE SUCCESS. These topics are explained, illustrated, and urged with all the energetic eloquence, for which the, talented and liberal-minded, preacher is justly celebrated,

The speeches delivered at the Public Meeting, we judge, are reported at full length. All of them are good, several of them are excellent in a very high degree; but most of all we are delighted with the speech of the Rev. J. A. James. We should be glad if we could afford space to lay it entire before our readers; but we must give two short extracts. The first refers to the importance of prayer. Mr. James justly asks:

But is money all we want? Shall we build our hopes upon the amount of property we have in the funds? Shall we calculate our future success by the thousands that we may collect on this or any other occasion? We are lost and ruined, and deserve to be so, if we do. The Jubilee trumpet, that sends us to our coffers, must send us also to our closets; and those sounds which are convening us at public meetings, and upon platforms, must gather us, in the spirit and power of prayer, round the throne of the heavenly grace. We want money-money we must have; but we want prayer more even than money. We have more of everything still than we have of prayer; we have more sermons, more speeches, more meetings than we have of prayer: and, possibly. could we look into the secrets of the Divine mind, and the counsels of eternity, we should find that it is a want of prayer that has perhaps lost us Tahiti, a want of prayer that has lost us Madagascar. (Hear, hear.) Yes; and dark as the present is, I have such confidence in the power of prayer, that if the whole church of God should rise in the attitude, the power, the faith of believing supplication, we should regain Tahiti, and Madagascar would be ours again. (Hear, hear.) The key that unlocked the doors of the prison in which the apostle Peter was confined, and gave him to a trembling church, was be

seeching supplication; and for one, I could have almost wished, that instead of turning our attention to a government that has had either not the power, or not the will, to help us, more than it has done, we should have turned our exclusive attention to a Government that has omnipotent power to assist us, and infinite grace to give us all we ask. (Hear, hear.) Oh! Christian ministers, and Christian friends, we want three-fold more of money, but we want ten-fold more of prayer! (Hear, hear.)

Just and valuable as are these remarks, the following addressed to ministers are equally true and important.

"My honoured and beloved brethren! upon us depends, under God, the success of the effort which is now being made for the London Missionary Society; upon us depends, under God, chiefly, the success of the Society in all its future operations. I tremble for myself, I tremble for you, as I utter this awful sentiment; it depends upon us, under God, mainly, whether the blessing shall ooze and trickle upon the world in scanty and occasional drops, or whether it shall flow in mighty streams. We are icebergs to the cause, or we are central fires in the midst of our people. The character of the people is cast in the mould of the pulpit; let us recollect this in reference to the missionary cause, and to every other cause that is, in any measure, connected with it, or with the sacred interests of religion. Think of the power of the pulpit; we teach hundreds, perhaps thousands, of living, acting, and immortal minds at once. single sermon may be an electric shock, that shall cause all these to feel, to vibrate, at the same moment, in the cause of the Redeemer. Oh, my brethren! let us look up for grace to fulfil the expectations that are formed of us; and how are we to help the cause, but by taking it into our own hearts?

A

How important a sentiment was that which was addressed to us from the pulpit last night-the zeal of a missionary is the zeal of every Christian! but with much greater propriety might it be said, "The zeal which is in the soul of the missionary, should be in the soul of every minister.' It was told us, and how truly! that our churches ceased to be Christian churches, if they ceased to be missionary churches; and that they never will cease to be missionary churches till we have ceased to be missionary ministers. Let us take it into our hearts; let us interweave it with the whole course of our public instruction; let us make it a topic of social intercourse; let us communicate information; let us consider ourselves the flamens, trusted with the sacrifice; if the sacred fire go out upon the altar, the crime of the extinction will be laid at our door. Let us look well to the missionary cause, by looking well to the state of our own flocks, and seeing that they prosper; for it is they that supply the springs to the missionary cause. These springs lie in our churches, our congregations, our Sunday-schools; and if we neglect these, it is like the folly of constructing vast, complicated machinery for water-works, while the riverhead and reservoir are neglected. (Cheers.) Let us trust our people-they may be trusted. Mine have often disappointed me, but has always been by doing more than I expected them to do. (Cheers.) There is a mine of wealth in every church; all we want is a courage to go down the shaft, and the skill to explore the vein. Trust the pulpit; trust the God that sends you to the pulpit; you go in the name of Jehovah for money, you go with the Bible; do not appear to be like men that distrust your people, your Bible, or your God. There is money, if you will try for it, and if you try for it, you will get it. But do not be abashed; do not be afraid, if occasionally you meet a spectral form of antiquated cautiousness now and then lingering about our churches, who, when we talk of a collection, looks frowningly, shakes his grey locks, and mutters in sepulchral voice, “Bad times, number of collections." (Laughter.) Do not be afraid to go on; these are now but rarely found, and they will be found still more rarely. Deal as respectfully and reverently with venerable ghosts of a departed age as you can, but do not let them turn you from your path."