by sincere repentance. Hence it is easy to perceive, that so far from forming an excuse for the sinner, it is the very thing which constitutes his guilt.

4. It is of great importance that the doctrine of the Spirit's influence in regeneration should be frequently and fully brought to view.

It can hardly be necessary to remark, that in all attempts to promote the conversion of men, they must be fully instructed in their duty, and be urged by all the considerations of duty and interest to the practice of holiness. They must be taught that it is their indispensable and immediate duty to return to God by repentance, and become holy in heart and life.

And it is equally important that the great doctrines of revelation should be presented, and explained, and urged, because they furnish the only correct principles of moral conduct. The doctrine of the Spirit's influence in regeneration, as presented in the Bible, is the only solid ground of hope concerning our dying world. Let the gospel be preached in its purity-let the appointed means of grace be employed ever so diligently and perseveringly, still, without the blessed influences of the Spirit none will be converted to God. Though Paul plant and Apollos water, unless God grants the quickening and renewing influences of his Spirit, there will be no increase. And we have no reason to expect his influences, any further than we honor him as the exclusive agent in giving "a new heart and a new spirit."

The faithful and devoted minister derives from this doctrine his principal encouragement to labor, and the only well-grounded hope of success. He will, therefore, find it peculiarly profitable to his own soul to ponder much upon it in his study, and to have it deeply engraven on his heart. It will sustain him under all his spiritual conflicts, and cheer and animate him in his efforts. And he will find it profitable also to spread it out to the view of his people. The direct tendency of it is, to preserve Christians from spiritual pride, and to excite them to that fervent, believing prayer which is the means of bringing down the best of Heaven's blessings upon our guilty race. And it will stimulate them also to diligence and perseverance in laboring for the conversion of their fellow-men; because it holds out the only encouragement for Christian effort.

Let it, then, have its proper place and its due share of attention in our ministrations-let it be presented in all its practical bearings, as it is presented in the Bible; and we need not fear the result. If some should abuse and pervert it to their own destruction; the same may be said of every precious truth of revelation. God has owned and blessed it, to the salvation of vast multitudes in times that are past; and we have no reason to doubt that he will own and bless it in times to come. But let this doctrine be obscured and blotted out,-let the Holy Ghost be no longer openly and heartily acknowledged as the exclusive agent in shedding abroad the love of God in the hearts of fallen men, and we may write upon the gates of Zion-"The glory of our God is departed."

MALACHI iii. 3, 4.--And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

THE text is one of the many prophecies which have a peculiar reference to New Testament times. It announces what will be one of the most distinguishing characteristics of the Millennium. The Christian ministry will be purified, that they may offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. The subject will lead us to inquire,

I. What are some of the corruptions from which the sons of Levi will be purified at the commencement of Millennial glory?

1. They will be purified from every species of gross immoralities. In some ages and nations, even those who minister in holy things have been the subjects and the promoters of abominations the most gross.

A large portion of the Roman Catholic clergy were, at the era of the Reformation, personally and professionally, in secret and in broad day, the perpetrators of almost every crime. Nor is there any portion of the church, established or dissenting, which has not at times had men officiating at their altars, and sometimes standing high in popular estimation, who were living in the practice of iniquities which cannot be named; and even in our own day, intemperance in eating and drinking has marred the usefulness, and destroyed the lives of many in the ministry who were men of talents and extensive influence. But no such stain will adhere to the character of those who shall be the honored instruments of proclaiming the glad tidings of salvation in the purity and glory of the latter days.

2. The Divine appointment, with respect to the ministry of reconciliation, both under the old and new dispensation, was, that those, who should be thus employed should be at a great distance from all secular concerns. But this is VOL. VIII.--2

very far from having been the case hitherto. Even a pope of the last century could say to a young priest embarking for America, "May the Lord in his goodness save you from the temptation and the curse of attempting to get rich." There have been and now are in the United States (as well as in other countries less favored with spiritual privileges) many professedly devoted to the ministry in holy things, and yet almost exclusively employed in concerns purely worldly. They own and manage plantations-they have their attention almost wholly engaged from Monday morning to Saturday night--about crops, and various kinds of cattle, and servants and merchandise. Some are deeply engaged in commercial speculations, and in political discussions; and there has been such a thing as a minister of the gospel being a contractor for carrying the mail and for managing the post-office establishment, even on the Sabbathday. But such things will not be known when the sons of Levi are purified.

3. The ministry, according to the Divine directions, are to give themselves to reading and studying; but their time, and their talents, and their literary acquirements are to be the Lord's property, and are all to be devoted to the development and to the application of God's great plan of salvation. And there is ample scope here for the movement of the most exalted and improved intellect. Yet the history of the church, particularly since the era of the Reformation, is full of the accounts of sacred time and talent being employed about almost every thing else, rather than Divine things. Protestant Germany, during the greater part of the last century, and many of the residences of the English clergy during the same period, have furnished a vast quantity of learned lore, which in the furnace of the refiner will be ascertained to have been dross, or base and hurtful metal. An awful waste of talent--a most criminal perversion of the sacred office.

4. The mere polite and fashionable preacher and pastor shall have no place among the sons of Levi, when Jehovah shall sit as a refiner. The approved guardian of immortal souls and of Christian morals will then have a more effectual way of recommending himself and his Master to the young and to the gay, and to families in easy circumstances, than by being skilled in vocal or instrumental music, (good acquirements!) or by being always prepared to give an opinion on the latest work of fiction, or by being the most expert and entertaining in a party of pleasure. Yet preachers and pastors of this character have been in some places highly esteemed for their works' sake!

5. Ever since the days of the Apostles, there have been, as there were in the Corinthian church, divisions and schisms among the professed followers of the Redeemer ;--but these could never have been continued, had they not been cherished in some form or other by the ministry. Some Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or Diotrophes has always been the rallying name of a party influence in almost every generation and every district. This is peculiarly so at the present day. Among the six thousand preachers of the gospel in these United States, it is a melancholy fact, that there is so little ministerial confidence; and in many cases this want of confidence is most evident among those of the same denomination, and living in the same neighborhood. Hence slander and evil speaking in all their disgraceful forms exist in some places, even among commissioned servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. This certainly will not be the state of things at the commencement of the Millennium, when God will make his new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, and put his laws in their minds and write them in their hearts; the great law of love-of love to God and love to man-will be written very legi

bly upon the hearts of those, whose special business it is to explain and enforce this law.

It is truly melancholy to think of the envies and jealousies which, in family and private and neighborhood intercourse, mark almost every moment and every action of some of those who are set to watch for souls. And it is still more melancholy to cast an eye over the length and breadth of the land, and to wit ness the amazing waste of ministerial talent and of ministerial effort and even of ministerial piety, in brother opposing brother in their efforts to do good, and to advance the interests of Messiah's kingdom. Such a state of things can never be consistent with Millennial purity and glory. By some means or other, the sons of Levi as a body will, at the commencement of that period, be purified from all that pride, and selfishness, and meanness, and malignity, and folly which at present form a prominent feature in not a few who minister in holy things, and who might otherwise be eminently qualified for the great and good work.

A full review of the corruptions of the Christian ministry would suggest, 1. Proofs almost without number of the depravity of human nature,——of the deceitfulness of the human heart,--and of the absolute necessity of the special influences of the Holy Spirit.

2. That the preservation of the church from age to age is nothing less than a standing miracle, a special illustration of the promise, "Upon this Rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

3. That while any of these corruptions are cherished to any great extent by those who are invested with the sacred office, the iniquities of the fathers will in some way or other be visited upon their children. See Matt. xxiii. 34.

II. Let us consider, then, the importance and necessity of this purification. 1. Man has always been more or less under the influence of religion. He is by his very nature, in this sense, a religious being. Hence all nations and tribes have had their ministers of religion. And with very few exceptions every individual, in every age, and in every state of society, and among all classes of men, has readily acknowledged its infinite importance.

2. The ministers of religion have always, to a great extent, given character to the community. In the whole history of the Christian ministry particularly, the state of morals, and piety, and literature, has always corresponded with the personal character of the body of the officiating clergy; and from the very nature of things, and from the whole structure of society, the attainments of any considerable portion of the Christian community, in any thing that is valuable, can never exceed the attainments of their spiritual guides. "Like priest, like people," has always been, and always will be a self-evident proposition. Hence it follows, that nothing of that purity and peace, and high intellectual and moral character, which have always been expected to form the distinguishing glory of the Millennium, can ever be realized, till the ministry of reconciliation as a body shall be eminent in every Christian gift and grace.

3. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, in its enlightening, regenerating, and sanctifying influence, is the last and the only hope of our ruined world. All the devices of men, under pagan, and Mahomedan, and Christian, and infidel forms, have been fully tried; and they have all failed, and been found inadequate. And the wise and reflecting of almost every land are now fully convinced of this.

4. The institutions of the gospel are all, in their nature, well adapted for

elevating human character, and promoting human happiness. And when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (and not till then), there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain; that is, all round the globe.

5. The institutions of the gospel are one great whole; but a living and properly qualified ministry is the great and important institution. The living ministry is that, which is, with God's blessing, to give life and efficiency to the whole.

6. Of the many thousand accusations and objections which have been brought against the preachers of the gospel individually, and as a body, not one has ever been urged against the true Scriptural character of a gospel ministry. All these accusations and objections go upon the supposition that the ministry or the individual is not consistent with the Christian standard. And it must be acknowledged that much occasion has been given for many of these charges. But let the sons of Levi be purified-let them as a body present themselves in their true and proper character, and they will act in the moral world, as the rain, and the dew, and the sun, and the thunder do in the natural world. Their heavenly authority and their value to the world will be no longer even a matter of doubt.

Let us consider,

III. The means by which this purification of the ministry will be accomplished.

1. It is very probable that there will be some visible and awful dispensation of Providence made to bear directly on this point. The language used in the text and context is exceedingly strong. Read the whole passage (1-5). Compare this passage with some other passages, such as Ezekiel viii. 7–18, and ix. 5, 6; Zechariah xi. 15-17, and xiv. 12; Rev. xix. 19-21; the cases of Nadab and Abihu, Numbers x. 1, 2. and of Eli's sons, 1. Sam. ii. and iii., may also be studied in this connection.

It is evident that the period for the full accomplishment of the declaration in the text is at no great distance. Less, perhaps, than one generation from this date. All acknowledge that the judgments of Jehovah are to fall very heavy upon the kingdoms of the world, and upon Antichrist in all his forms, in order to usher in the purity and the glory of the latter days. It is not therefore probable, that the individuals who have been leaders in the corruptions which have debased the Christian ministry, will escape this visitation.

In what particular form this visitation may be made, we cannot even conjecture. Every attentive reader of ecclesiastical history may however find examples of visitations of this kind in almost every Christian land, and in every generation; and the man who has been conversant with the lives and characters of preachers for thirty or forty years, may find from personal observation a considerable number of illustrations of the principle. It is not to be denied, that even in the United States, this goodly heritage of Zion, a large portion of the present preachers and pastors, are lamentably deficient. They have their legal standing among the sons of Levi, but give too little evidence of possessing the real spirit of their office. Let such be warned of their danger. The day of visitation is at hand.

2. But the great and effectual means of this purification will be, a general and powerful effusion of the Holy Ghost on the rising generation. The brethren and fathers now in the sacred office, whether qualified or unqualified, whether they have been faithful or unfaithful, will soon go the way of all the