"shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied"—and the very "ends of the earth shall repent themselves and turn unto the Lord"-but when and in what progression, who can say? Happily we, my dear Brethren and Christian friends, have nought to do with this-ours is the obedient ministry, the patient charity, the work of faith and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" whom, assuredly, "all shall know from the least even to the greatest."

In conclusion let me be permitted to offer a few practical remarks immediately bearing on our own position as the professing people and ministers of God in a heathen land.

For you, my dear friends, who occupy, as the avowed worshippers of God and church of the crucified Saviour, your various stations in the world-lay to heart, I beseech you, the solemn truth that it is not on the preachers and ministers of the church alone, but on the whole body of believers, the obligation "to adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour" rests. The ministers are few, but you are many; they have comparatively rare occasions of exhibiting the justice and integrity in dealing, the charity and kindness in the ordinary affairs of life, to which all Christians are called; let then your daily lives, as they are more directly brought under the notice of the surrounding heathen, in the intercourse of worldly business, exemplify the efficacy and purity of the doctrines which we preach. This they may hear listlessly, reject superciliously, or disregard without examination, because it is new, is opposed to their superstitions and evil habits, demands inquiry, sacrifice and self-control; but the general exhibition to them of a Christian temper, the constant presence among them of men of integrity incorruptible, of piety unquestionable, of purity unsullied, of self-command unvaried; of men ever 66 shewing forth out of a good conversation their works with meekness of wisdom,"-teaching them the essence of christianity in gentleness and disinterestedness, in active benevolence and unfeigned regard to the Saviour you acknowledge and the revelation you receive-this cannot fail of conciliating their esteem, attracting their attention, wearing away their prejudices, and winning many to the acknowledgment of that more excellent way which you profess. A word in season, too, judiciously spoken-a religious tract opportunely presented a prayer devoutly raised to the Spirit of light and conviction, will then assuredly be followed, you may well believe, by a divine blessing, silently perhaps, but surely operating on some with whom you have intercourse. Less than this cannot satisfy the claims of the Redeemer on your gratitude and devotion; less than this cannot establish a solid peace in your own

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consciences, nor be your security in the great day of account. And who can calculate the mighty results that would follow on the general employment, by professing Christians among the heathen, of such means for saving themselves and them that behold their daily life, and spirit, and behaviour? O Christians! acknowledge and feel your solemn responsibility; and if you have any regard for God's honor, any love to a dying Saviour, any pity for the blind and perishing idolators and Mussulmans that surround you, sunk so low at once in demoralizing superstitions and soul-wasting idolatries, be alive to your duty and your calling, and let me say too, to your privilege and glory; and by all means labour to save some;" speak a word for God as occasion serves; be not diffident to reprove sin; shrink not from the task of telling to the poor heathen within your influence, of the wonders of redeeming love, of what the Lord hath done for your own souls and what he is willing to do for theirs; employ a due portion of your substance for God; you are not called to preach, but you are called to aid those who do, by your willing contributions and ready support; you are called openly to profess and religiously to maintain the spirit of the gospel, "to walk worthy of God as His dear children," to "let your light so shine" that the very heathen around you," seeing your good works, may be constrained to glorify your heavenly Father." You cannot preach, but you can pray you may not stand up in the assemblies, either of God's people or the heathen, but you may talk privately to one and another, reprove sin, counsel to purity, honesty and truth; and, above all, you may in the most effectual manner promote the cause of God, both in the circle of your own connexions and society and before the heathen, " by patience, by pureness, by knowledge, by faith, and love, and uprightness, by the works and armour of righteousness, on the right hand and on the left."

Never for one moment forget that the cause of missions lies with you in the first place. If you derive from the commerce and Government of India your earthly good, is it a great matter if you strive earnestly to repay it by imparting in return the spiritual good of the gospel of Jesus? Yet if we were to measure the regard for missions felt by the professors of the gospel generally in this city, by their small attendance on these missionary occasions, we should, it may be feared, draw some seriously afflicting conclusions. But we receive it as a sign that it is otherwise with you at least, who are now, and who are usually present, at these monthly meetings for prayer and mutual exhortation. Maintain your interest in their returns by studying your deep concern in them, your calling and obligation to put your hearts and your hands to the holy and charitable work; and labour also to excite others, in the circles of

your acquaintance, to take the subject into their serious consideration likewise. Thus may you effectually promote the extension of your Redeemer's kingdom, hasten the blessed reign of truth, righteousness and peace upon earth, and powerfully contribute to the fulfilment of your frequent prayer that "God's kingdom may come and his will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven."

To you, my reverend Brethren, I address myself with caution and hesitation, as knowing how far more competent than myself so many among you are to give "the word of exhortation." But receive it nevertheless, for His sake whose is the message; and whilst you solemnly review your own responsibility, take encouragement to redoubled diligence, and zeal, and circumspection, from the promise that " He will always, even to the end," be with those who sincerely labour in proclaiming his saving name to every creature; never for one moment failing to remember that you preach in vain if you preach only, however wisely, diligently or perseveringly; all the exhortation to a holy Christian life addressed to the people applies with equal force to us. Oh! it is a fearful thing to stand up to proclaim the truth of God unto fellow-sinners, where the shadow of a doubt remains as to our own entire conversion to God, and where our hearty devotedness to his service is not testified by all the life of godliness. "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord, when he cometh shall find well doing?"

Perhaps it might have proved more interesting to you, my Christian friends, generally, had I taken a review of the Indian or some other mission; but in fact, from amidst many avocations have I been called upon to address you; and unfurnished with the necessary sources of particular information on the one hand, as well as quite unfamiliar with the mode in which these occasions have been usually improved, on the other, I thought it best to take up the principle of missions, with our individual obligation and responsibility, whether as a people or as direct missionary agents, and must trust to your kind indulgence, and to yours, my dear Brethren especially, for the line of address I have accordingly adopted. May the good Spirit of God descend into our hearts and make them " as the heart of one man," in spiritual discernment of our privileges and our duties, in holy zeal for God our Father, in devout gratitude to the Saviour, and in active earnest pity for the souls of the perishing multitudes around us; and then, I am confident, our meeting together this night will prove to have been for good to them, to us, and to the church. Amen and Amen!

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III.-Paul's Prayers answered. Part 1st.

"-Making request if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey, by the will of God, to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; that is, that I may be comforted together with you, by the mutual faith both of you and me.”—Rom. i. 10, 12.

Two traits in the Apostle's character are apparent from the above quotation, both of which our present object requires to be noticed. 1st. His resignation to the will of God. He wished, if it were God's will, that he might be able to visit Rome. He never had been there: yet having heard much of the faith of the Roman Christians, he was naturally anxious to see them. But he was willing to give up this gratification, if such appeared to be the mind of the Lord. Delightful as was the anticipation, he had no desire that it should be realized, if it led him out of the path of duty. This was like the apostle in all other things. No one can read his history and writings without being convinced, that he was ever ready to abandon every liking and desire of his own, when these did not harmonize with those of his master. That alone was pleasing to him which was pleasing to God. 2ndly. His object in wishing to go to Rome. This, it appears, was a strong desire both to impart and to gain spiritual good, verses 11, 12. Rome was the grandest city in the world, and it was full of the most interesting curiosities; but it was neither that nor these the apostle wanted to see. Not that he was destitute of the taste and learning necessary to enjoy the sight of such wonders; but he was otherwise employed. His pursuits were spiritual; and it was for the promotion of these, and of these alone, that he wished to visit the metropolis of the world.-The application of these two observations will come afterwards.

Now for the apostle's prayer. It consists of four parts: 1. His desire to visit Rome" by any means." 2. His desire that he might have" a prosperous journey" thither. 3. His desire to be made instrumental in the impartation of spiritual good to the Christians there. And, 4. His desire to be made the recipient of similar blessings through their instrumentality. Such a prayer, and offered by such a man, we may be certain was not neglected by him who is denominated the prayer-hearing God and happily for us, the scriptures prove that all was answered to the very letter.

True, the apostle's petitions, as is frequently the case with those also of others, were not answered in the way he expected; but still they were answered. 1. He got to Rome, though it was as a prisoner. But having expressly left the means" of getting there to God, we may be certain he did not complain

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of this. 2. He had "a prosperous journey" thither for though he suffered shipwreck by the way, was subjected to long fasting, and was in danger of his life from the soldiers who guarded him, yet he was favored on board the ship with a most cheering vision from God, was instrumental in doing great good at Melita, and was probably the means, by his preaching and conduct, of the ultimate conversion of the whole 276 persons who sailed with him: at least, it is difficult to say what else can be the meaning of the words, "Lo! God hath given thee all them that sail with thee." This was being prosperous with a witness. In all probability, useful as Paul had hitherto been, he had never in his life before been so honored in such a short space of time. Prosperous his journey was not, indeed, in the way he expected; for it is likely that, in praying, he thought of nothing more than a safe journey; but this kind of prosperity was not to be compared with that, nor would he have given up the one for the other. 3. He was instrumental

of great spiritual good to the Christians at Rome, though this too in another way than he expected. His prayer intimates nothing more than that he wished to be able to do good to those already converted, by increasing their spiritual gifts. And so he was, but how? not by the usual mode of preaching to them and of the laying on of hands; but by appearing among them as a prisoner. The former was what Paul anticipated: the latter, we may venture to say, never entered his mind. Yet read his own relation: "Many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." Was not this imparting to them some spiritual gift? And in addition to this, having been permitted, though still a prisoner, to preach in his own hired house, he was instrumental in increasing the number of the members of the church, and that too by some characters of considerable influence. "Some," it is said, "believed the things that were spoken;" among whom was Onesimus: and elsewhere, in a letter written by the apostle himself, during his captivity-"all the saints salute you, chiefly they of Cæsar's household." This was indeed imparting to them some spiritual gift. This was enlarging their numbers by men of note from the citadel of Satan himself. 4. He was "comforted" by the saints at Rome, though this also was under very different circumstances from those he expected. It is not likely that he contemplated needing comfort as a prison

* We cannot agree with L. in this interpretation-nor do we perceive the difficulty. The general sense of commentators is that only which appears upon the face of the relation, that as Paul was to be preserved, so his fellow-voyagers should, by the same means which secured his life, secure theirs also for his sake. Just so had there been "ten righteous men in Sodom," it would not have been destroyed for "the ten's sake."-Ed.