nous as the sun, with one simple import, have yet depths of meaning and sources of difficulty, which have never been thoroughly explored; a circumstance which favors the idea that both have for their author the same unfathomable God. And yet, so far as these depths of meaning and these sources of difficulty are found in the Bible, modern unbelief chooses to regard them as hiding-places of mere absurdity, or as involving somewhat like direct contradictions. It thinks to make the Bible stultify itself, and even contradict itself. Nay, it aims to set the Bible at irreconcilable variance with Nature, and thus to show that, as Christians claim God as the author of Nature, they must give up God as the author of the Bible. Strange, that deep meaning and open difficulties in Nature should but stimulate the learned to humble docility, patient observation and intense diligence in their labors to find out what is unknown, and to harmonize what seems conflicting; while the same, or strictly analagous things, when met with in the Bible, should, with so many of them, have no other effect than to whet ingenuity and quicken the hope of success in their efforts to make mystery appear synonymous with absurdity, and apparent discrepancy tantamount to flat contradiction! Yet so it is; and to effect its purpose, learned unbelief explores all the works of the Creator and all the records of dead nations. We prophesy that its labors will be fruitless. Its own investigations have already gone far enough to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that God has hidden in His works and in their history a light, which, when fairly eliminated, will be found illustrative of all the deep and dark things of revelation; shining into every corner of obscurity, and irradiating every point of difficulty in the Bible, until the identity of its authorship with that of Nature becomes more than ever indubitably manifest. And what learned unbelief has thus unintentionally accomplished, equally learned Faith is purposely carrying forward. Indeed, it is becoming, and it must growingly become, one of the great labors of sacred learning, progressively to seek and bring out the true light from Nature and her history, in order to clear away all dimness from the grand truth that God is the one Divine Author both of Nature and of the Bible. True Christian philosophy-philosophy baptized with the holy spirit of humility-must continue,

more and more frequently to go as a patient, docile and diligent inquirer to Nature and her history; and as unbelief, in the pride of his speculations, attempts to array the Works and the Word of God against each other, that heavenly antagonist must seek and bring forth, ray after ray, the needed light, until in a flood of illumination, it falls on the Divine Records, as they lie both in Nature and in revelation; and until it leaves not another lurking place for the dark spirit of doubt and cavil.

It is true, that, in this progressive work of demonstrating an identity of authorship in Nature and the Bible, few of the ministers of the gospel can ever become pioneers. Still, they should all, or as many as possible, become followers in that work. They should know enough of physical science, to use with advantage the results at which other Christian scholars have arrived. It would be sad for a minister of Christ to rush into a world filled with unbelievers, who make this kind of learning their boast, without any acquaintance with their methods of attack and with our means of defence. David, indeed, would not meet Goliah in the cumbrous armor of Saul. Neither would he meet that giant without a weapon, which, though simple, was yet wisely chosen; and in the use of which he was perfectly skilled. In the war between Christianity and Unbelief, there is a Philistine of more than "six cubits and a span," to be slain; and the Christian David, though he will throw away the armor of Saul-the weapons of a carnal policy-will yet need not only a fullness of the Spirit and of trust in God, but also the well-chosen shepherd's sling and the five smooth stones from the brook; the weapons of wiselyselected, well-proved knowledge; of humble and sanctified, yet still human knowledge; a sling for the stones of the brookaye, and even for the rocks of the mountain; a practical mastery of the science of all God's handiworks. With such unencumbering aids, He, who presides unseen over the contest, may well be expected to give victory to Truth; leaving at last the dead Goliah of unbelief to be beheaded with his own sword; the slain giant of Infidelity to be cut in twain with his own weapon.

Experience evinces the need, in our day, of thoroughly and VOL. L-4

of practically learned ministers. The tendency of the Rationalistic School, both in Europe and in America, demonstrates, it is true, that many speculations, in abstract, metaphysical Theology, have no better effect than that of showing the folly of mere human wisdom. In an opposite direction, however, the experience of those Christians who once held human learning in low estimation, and taught their ministers to rely almost wholly on the teachings of the Spirit, has shown that, in this, as in other things of the moral world, there is a medium; and that real Christianity and true Science should always go hand in hand, mutual supporters, because natural allies. Wo!especially in our day-wo to the Church, which either abjures the simplicity of the gospel in its idolatry of human reason, or despises the aids of learning in its looking after spiritual teachings! If the former temper would but fill the Church with baptized unbelief, the latter would expose Christianity to the pity which is justly felt for voluntary ignorance, and even to the condemnation which is deservedly denounced against mischievous extravagance. The ministry of the Church can never be too learned-especially in its practical mastery of the modern physical sciences—so long as it is content to sit childlike, at the feet of Jesus; washing its learning in Siloa's fountain, and sanctifying its reason in the spring of revelation.

Such, then, is the present great want of the Church in our country. She needs a large numerical increase of truly pious and seasonably learned ministers. The deficiency in numbers is really alarming. The deficiency in that kind of piety, which has in it God's enlightening Spirit, and which, therefore, can withstand all the blinding arts of modern theological error, is painfully apparent. And the deficiency in that kind of learning which looks to the present state of science more closely than to the history and literature of the past, and which, therefore, can meet successfully the polished scepticism of modern scholars, is serious beyond all ordinary conception. The view which has been taken brings strongly before our minds the question as to

II. THE MEANS OF SUPPLY.

How can this great want of the Church be most effectually supplied? In answering this inquiry, we shall go as little as

possible into what may be called the secular, and as far as we may, in such an article as the present, into what may be termed the spiritual aspects of the case. That is, we shall endeavor to look at this point in the light under which it may be supposed to present itself to the Divine Head of the Church.

Antecedent, then, to the means of supplying the want in question, is the source whence those means are to draw the needed supply. And for this source we shall not think of looking below the effectually commissioning grace of God; a grace, commissioning men not merely by an external authority, but specially by an internal fitness. God must send forth the right kind of laborers into His harvest, or none such will go. All that go without his sending are nothing worth; generally they are worse than nothing. All true laborers go because God has sent them; because his Spirit has fitted them for their work, and because His Providence has thrust them forth to do it. They go because they cannot stay. God sends, and when He sends they run.

But God sends by means. Our business, therefore, is, while keeping in view the Divine Source of supply, to ascertain and use the Divine Means of supply. What, then, are these means? The Supreme Head of the Church sums them all in one word, PRAYER: "Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest that He would send forth laborers into His harvest."

That this injunction was designed to prescribe the Church's ordinary means for obtaining her needed supply of true spiritual harvesters seems evident. For at the time when Christ saw the harvest-field whitening for the sickle, and the harvest itself ready to perish because "the laborers were few;" and when the sad sight moved him to utter the injunction which we have cited, he had in his hands "all power, both in Heaven and on earth," and by a mere word might have called thousands to his work, as he did Peter and Andrew, James and John, Matthew the Publican, and Paul the Pharisee. Why then did he not continue to exert his power by similar calls? Why did he not teach his Church permanently to depend on a direct exertion of his power for her needed supply of faithful, spiritual harvesters? In answer to such a question, we may reasonably believe that although such a mode of supply would have been

easy for Himself, yet it would not have been safe for his people. For them, it was best to labor as well for their spiritual as for their bodily food. Not only for the seed of the Word and the fruits thereof, but also for the sowers of that seed and for the reapers of those fruits, they were wisely and beneficently directed to labor; and what may seem strange to some, the only way in which they were directed to labor, both for the seed and its sowers, both for the fruit and for its harvesters, was by PRAYER. This, however, we are warranted in believing is an equally sure, and, for the Church, a far more beneficial means of supply than would have been a permanently direct and miraculous call to the ministry. God's part is, by Divine bequest, to give each of His ministers the true spirit and power of his commission; and by a Providential propulsion to send him forth to his work. The Church's part is to pray that a sufficient supply of ministers may be thus furnished and thus sent. Her prayers are her authorized draughts on the Divine Source of supply. By means of her prayers God purposes to thrust forth the army of her preachers. By prayer she may gather into her body the Omnipotence of her Head. Without prayer she is powerless. Without prayer she may have great orators, but not God's "laborers." Without prayer she may have men bearing an external commission, but not ministers moved by a Divine sending. For such ministers as she needs she must labor in prayer. To prayer Christ has sent her; and in no other way may she expect the work of His Spirit in filling her with His power, and the work of His Providence in replenishing her with His laborers. So far as she needs true ministers, prayer is her only means of supply. Christ has prescribed no other. The ordaining hand is, indeed, to be laid on the head of the sent; but this confers not inward fitness on either the head or the heart. This fitness is God's gift; but He gives it into no other hand than that of prayer.

But what is prayer? In obtaining her needed supply of true ministers, is the Church to do nothing but utter the words of petition? Is prayer nothing but words? Or is it nothing but words expressive of hearty and believing desire? We do not so understand the matter. All true prayer includes appropriate action. We say not merely that every true prayer should