universe, and that he, as a moral agent, was responsible for all his conduct; he felt conscious that, as the noble powers of his soul could not be satisfied with sublunary things, nor be confined in their contemplations to this life, he was designed for higher and holier purposes on earth, than the gratification and aggrandizement of self, and that he was destined for an immortality of being beyond the grave; he felt satisfied that God alone could fill the mind as a suitable subject for deep and solemn study and contemplation; that he alone was worthy of the affections and homage of his heart, and the service of his powers: and with this knowledge, and these views and feelings, he placed himself, and all he possessed, as a "living sacrifice" on the altar of Jehovah. Thus, having chosen God for his portion in preference to the world, and having made the promotion of God's glory, and the advancement of his cause, the great and settled object of life; he could with propriety say, "O God, thou art my God."

As it was with David, so it is with the christian. We dare not act so presumptuously as to claim the blessing and protection of God, until we have devoted to His love and service, our souls, our bodies, our all. The Christian feels that he is not his own: he sees that the blessings lavished upon him in rich abundance, and eminent profusion, all emanate or flow from God's goodness and benevolence; and in return he consecrates his all to "Him, to whom his more than all is due." His heart, mind, affections, will, time, talents, property, influence, all, he places on Jehovah's altar, and whilst presenting himself as a sacrifice to God through Christ, he says;

And having thus made God the object of his worship and homage, of his desires and pursuits, he feels that Jehovah, with all His attributes, perfections, and fulness, is made over to him by promise, by covenant, and inheritance; so that he exultingly exclaims, "O God, thou art my God, and I will thank thee: Thou art my God, and I will praise thee."

G.

66

AUGUSTINE ON GRACE.*

Grace," says Augustine, "is a gift, in which three things are implied:He who gives-he to whom the favour is givenand the manner in which it is bestowed. First, he who gives in the perfection of a sovereign, ought to give of his own, and must be in power and situation to give what he confers. He

*Communicated by W. WooLCOCK.

ought to be supremely good, to give willingly; he ought to be supremely powerful, to give liberally; and to be supremely independent, to give without the hope of return; otherwise it is a barter, and not a gift. Secondly, he to whom it is given, ought to merit nothing of him that gives. If he deserved it, the withholding of it would be injustice. And the receiver ought to be in extreme poverty and indigence, otherwise he might refuse and reject the favour. Thirdly, with regard to the manner of conferring the grace, it ought to be freely given; for what is given of constraint is regarded as an extortion: a gift should supersede merit, lest the merit should require the recompense. It ought even to precede the desires, the hopes, and request of him who receives it, because in all those ways the recipient may assume a plea of merit. All those qualities associate in the word grace; and they all are found in the unspeakable gift of the Son of God, and in the redemption of mankind by Jesus Christ."

BIOGRAPHY.

MEMOIR OF RICHARD GRIFFIN.

RICHARD GRIFFIN, the subject of the following remarks, was a native of Winchelsea, in the county of Sussex. For many years he lived according to the course of this world, following its maxims and customs, and sought gratification and happiness, by mingling with his associates in gambling, resorting to places of worldly amusement, and attending the mad rounds of dissipation. I learnt from his own lips, that at one period of his history he was sometimes engaged with others in concealing contraband goods, and that some fearful affrays have taken place between the smugglers and revenue officers, which have not merely terminated in wounds, bruises, and imprisonment, but in death itself. And it appears, that in his carnal state, he was daring and determined. However, being arrested by affliction, and pressed hard by adversity, his wife ventured to remind him that they were not living as they ought-that she thought God was angry with them, and that they ought to attend some place of worship. He acknowledged the reasonableness of this, attended the parish church, and reformed his conduct in part, but still remained destitute of the one thing needful; and up to the time that preaching was introduced into the neighbourhood of Pett, by the Bible Christians, where he then resided, he and his family were living without hope, and without God in the world.

The following circumstance led to the opening of his house for preaching. Mr. Griffin was in the habit of taking vegetables round the neighbourhood with a horse and cart for sale, and one day he stopped at the Black Cottage, where preaching had been introduced, and while engaged in the house talking with a warm-hearted Christian, by the name of Matthews, the horse, though quite blind, started off at full speed, came in contact with a fence, and broke the harness

and cart in pieces, so that he could proceed no farther. This led to fur ther conversation, and J. Matthews who was in the habit of charging the devil with every thing that went wrong, endeavoured to comfort Mr. Griffin by telling him that it was the devil's work; adding, "Never mind; the Lord will make it up to you again." This led to a further conversation on the subject of religion, which resulted in Mr. Griffin's offering his parlour for preaching, if Mr. Moxley would accept of it. It was gladly accepted, and arrangements were made, there and then, for preaching in it on the following Sabbath. But he has informed us since, that it was a week of severe conflict to him. IIe sometimes repented that he had offered the room. At other times he thought others might get good if he did not himself, and therefore he would let them come. But the members of his family were greatly annoyed at the thought of having Methodist preaching in the house: one was going out into the barn; another was going to shut himself up into the garret, &c. However, the time came, and they all attended the preaching, a circumstance that they can look back upon with pleasure to the present hour, inasmuch as the word preached proved the power of God unto salvation, to several members of the family, as well as to many others; and hundreds of times since, our departed brother has thanked God for inclining his heart to open his house to receive the Bible Christian preachers. But a storm of persecution by this time was raging fiercely in the neighbourhood, and Br. Grif fin had to dismiss the preaching from his house, or quit his farm, and after consulting the friends he did the former, according to their advice. Nevertheless his zeal was unabating, and it was not long before a neat little chapel was erected at Pett, principally through his influence and exertions; and no doubt scores will bless God for its erection, although the cause does not at present flourish as much as we could desire.

Br. Griffin was a man of perseverance, and generally carried out what he took in hand. One of his most intimate friends observes;~~~ "No doubt the cause hath cost him scores of pounds, but he, (Br. Griffin) used to say the Lord made it up to him again in some way or other. Indeed he was constantly doing something in this way. He had made up his mind, with the assistance of others, and a little help from the Missionary Committee, to wipe off £40 of the debt of Pett chapel last year, had not death removed him. I hope his mantle will fall on his sons, and that they will carry out what he proposed." When I first visited Pett, he conducted me from the chapel to his house, and gave me to understand that was my home when I came that way. All seemed to be glad to see the preacher, and he was received with smiles. I was pleased to be introduced to such an interesting and kind family. It is indeed a good home, as many of the brethren who have laboured in this mission can testify.

The family altar was reared in the family, and Brother Griffin was a lover of the Bible. He read it often for himself, and in the family twice and thrice every day; and neither the bustle of harvest, nor the visits of his neighbours, prevented him; every thing must give way for family worship, and God blessed them and their substance. As a man of business, his word was his bond; and in all his dealings he enedavoured to keep a conscience void of offence, by acting VOL. XXI. THIRD SERIES.

F

fairly and honestly. As a christian he was simple, sincere, zealous, firm, and decided; but being naturally of a warm temperament he stood in need of constant watchfulness. He was very industrious and worked hard; in consequence of which he was considered by some to be too anxious about worldly things; but I believe it was not with a view to lay up treasure on earth, but that he might stand clear of the world, by meeting all his demands, and paying every one their just due. He was esteemed and respected generally by his neighbours, and the following letter from Esq., his Landlord, sent to Br. DAVIS, our Circuit Steward, will show his opinion respecting Br. Griffin, and the church from which he conscientiously dissented;- "Dear Davis. Till I read your note this morning, I had not heard of poor Griffin's death, though from the accounts I had of him, I was in a great degree prepared for it. I always deeply lamented that so earnest and sincere a christian, as I am fully persuaded he was, differed from me in his religious opinions, and was induced to leave that church wherein he might most undoubtedly through the merits of his Saviour have advanced towards the attainment of that everlasting salvation which I believe he now enjoys. Yet observing as I now have done for some years, his single-mindedness, and his earnest desire after what he conscientiously believed to be right, I have long felt the deepest respect for him, and feel thankful for the kind remembrance he had of me and mine on his death bed. As far as my knowledge can lead me to form an opinion, I think he abstained from severe censures and unchristian remarks on those who like myself are sincerely attached to the Church, in the faith of which I hope to live and die. In this all would do well indeed to follow his example; for we may be perfectly assured that such revilings (which are, alas! far too common) savour strongly of the self-righteous pharisee, and are unworthy of such as call themselves the followers of the meek and lowly Jesus,-of Him, who even when he was reviled, reviled not again. Though I trust not unmindful of my own manifold failings, yet I earnestly wish I could impress what I have written on those who not only leave the Church of their youth, but see fit in their own sad short comings to visit with no humble and christian spirit and censure those who still keep within its hallowed ranks. Believe me yours truly, &c."

This letter (though breathing perhaps a little of the spirit that the writer would fain condemn in others) clearly shows that in his opinion, our departed Brother was a devoted christian, notwithstanding he had left the church of his youth.

Brother Griffin found by experience that the christian's life is a warfare. He was at times powerfully assaulted by the great enemy of souls, and had some severe conflicts. Not long previous to his death he was powerfully tempted to give up his class, in consequence of a little unpleasantness in the society; and talked about leaving the cause. However an old friend of his very providentially happened to visit him about this time, quite unexpectedly; and afforded him much encouragement, hence he pursued his way rejoicing.

The last time I saw him at the chapel, was on a Sunday afternoon. His countenance beamed with brightness, and his eyes sparkled with joy. I saw he was delighted, and at the close of the service he said "I did not think of coming in the evening; but it has been so good

this afternoon, I think I shall come again." His last illness was short, only of nine days' duration. His sufferings were great, and his pain acute; but he was exceedingly happy. Brother DAVIS informed me that he did nothing but pray and praise. When any one asked him how he was, he replied, "What do you mean, my body or my soul? I know nothing about the body; my soul is happy and I hope I shall keep preaching Jesus as long as I live." (Which he did with but little intermission.) For two nights and a day he continued to preach Christ, to the astonishment of all who heard him ; and his hands were lifted up in token of holy triumph, till death approached and executed its office on the body, and the spirit fled, and the lifted hands dropped.

Thus died Brother R. GRIFFIN, of Bronchitis, on February 18th, 1855, aged 65 years.

What is preaching? is a question to which there would probably be as many replies, as to What is truth ? Almost every minister, and almost every man, has his own taste, and his own standard, and his own weight, and his own measure on this subject. One man thinks, that to preach means accurately to divide a given topic, logically to illustrate it, and to observe a perfect but cold propriety through the various steps and stages of the discourse. This is the mechanical plan of preaching. Another imag ines preaching to be the exposition of a particular passage of scripture, bringing out from it all that is in it, and nothing more. This is the textual idea of preaching. Another cares not a straw for a sermon, if it do not contain a train of rigid argumentation, diversified by occasional bursts of party rage, and strong squirts of the odium theologicum. This is the polemical idea of preaching. Another likes no preaching but what contains a string of appeals, and queries, and adjurations, unconnected with principles, un

supported by reasonings, and loose as a rope of sand. This is called, though falsely, practical preaching. Another wants a sermon to be a series of electrical shocks, one burst from beginning to end, the clouds returning after the rain, and no cotton so thick, and no conscience so hard, as to exclude or resist the perpetual tumult. This is the clap trap idea of preaching. Another wants flowers, whether natural and fresh from the soil, or artificial and faded, it does not matter; if he do but give flowers, and hear them rustling about his ears, in the breeze of brilliant declamation, he is quite satisfied, whether they keep him languishingly awake, or lull him into dreamy repose. This is the florid, or Corinthian idea of preaching. Another is content with exclamations: he is not pleased unless every other sentence begin with "oh!" the interjection

ah!" has to him a peculiarly pa thetic sound; it seems to melt into his midriff like snow; and that preacher would be his Magnus

* Communicated by G.