servance required of moral purity and social duties alone, that the path of life is rendered so narrow, and that man is so reluctant to enter upon it. The difficulty consists not so much in the evils which lie around him as in those which spring up within him. The control of sinful appetites and desires does, indeed, demand his constant care and vigilance; but it is the pride of his heart which presents the chief obstacle. He cannot bear to be told that his nature is a corrupt, a fallen, a sinful nature; that the carnal, or, in other words, the natural mind, is at enmity with God; that if he seeks to be reconciled with God, he must seek it alone through the merits of a Redeemer. To him, not to his own doings, however diligently he may labour in the regulation of his own mind, or in the service of his fellow-creatures-to his Saviour he must refer the whole merit and the whole efficacy of his salvation. That Saviour hath said that "he came to seek and to save them that were lost." And every man who would be his disciple, let him be the wisest and the most virtuous of men, must believe that he himself was one of those lost creatures whom Christ came to save. He must not only acknowledge with his lips, but in his heart he must feel, that in the sight of God his best deeds are nothing worth; that however they may tend, as they certainly will tend, to make him happier upon earth, they have no power whatever to raise him to heaven.

very

Nay, more than this; if he trust to himself, if he indulge himself in setting a value before God upon anything he does, these deeds will be the instrumental cause of his ruin. They will lead him from that gate through which alone he can enter, and will carry him farther and farther in a wrong direction. His good works will never bring him to Christ; but if he lay hold on Christ in sincerity of faith, he will easily and quickly bring him to good works. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is emphatically called the door of the kingdom of heaven. No man cometh to the Father but by him.

Neither have we yet described the full extent of that humility to which the heart of man must bow before he can be a disciple of Christ, And the part which remains to be told will, perhaps, to many minds, appear much harder than what has been already stated. For in thus turning from the lying vanities of selfrighteousness to the true and living God,

saith our Lord, "except my Father draw him." To God, then, be our thanks and praise rendered, as the giver not only of our natural, but of our spiritual life. He is, as the church often confesses, the author of all godliness. "Of his own will he begat us with the word of truth." "It is God that worketh in us, both to will and to do of his own good pleasure." His grace brought us to the knowledge of the truth; and unless we resist or neglect his gracious influence, in spite of all the powers of darkness, his grace will preserve us in it.

WHY ARE NOT OUR EFFORTS MORE SUCCESSFUL?

Ir will be said, as it has been often said, "that God is a Sovereign; that he will choose his own time and way to execute his purposes; that he will do as it pleaseth him; and that, as all our endeavours avail nothing without his aid, we must wait his time." Let us beware lest, in making these statements, we encourage a line of conduct wholly unwarranted by the sacred volume. It is too evident that such remarks have often been the sure tokens of indifference and inaction, and that their tendency has proved pernicious in the extreme. We are fully prepared to admit the sovereignty of God, according to the Scriptures; but we are equally prepared to contend that in the exercise of that very sovereignty he has established an intimate connection between prayer and diligence on our part, and the bestowment of the blessing on his; that he has expressly promised to give his Holy Spirit to those who ask; and that whenever his people sincerely and earnestly desire any spiritual blessing necessary to their edification and advance, and believingly pray for it, using the instituted means, it will assuredly be granted to them. If, therefore, in any given instances, success has not followed exertion, or but in a very limited degree, instead of taking refuge in the Divine sovereignty, it would be wiser and more scriptural to inquire whether our measures were such as the word of God would approve and sanction; whether in using them we combined the utmost activity with a humbling sense of dependence; whether, not satis

fied with the bare performance of duty, we set our hearts on the attainment of the great and ultimate objects of true Christian zeal; and whether we sought the needed influence with that lively faith which the Almighty "delighteth to honour." That God is faithful is an unquestionable truth: his people must be faithful too-faithful to conviction, to duty, and to privilege. "The Lord is with you, while ye be with him."

AN AFFECTIONATE SPIRIT. WE sometimes meet with men who seem to think that any indulgence in affectionate feeling is a weakness. They will return from a journey, and greet their families with distant dignity, and move among their children with the cold and lofty splendour of an iceberg, surrounded with its broken fragments. There is hardly a more unnatural sight on earth than one of these families without hearts. A father had better put out his boy's

eyes than to take away his heart. Who that has experienced the joys of friendship, and knows the worth of sympathy and affection, would not rather lose all that is beautiful in nature's scenery than be robbed of the hidden treasures of his heart? Who would not rather bury his wife than bury his love for her? Who would not rather follow his child to the grave than entomb his parental affection?

Cherish, then, your heart's best affections. Indulge in the warm and gushing emotions of filial, paternal, fraternal love. Think it not a weakness. God is love! Love God. Love everybody and everything that is lovely. Teach children your to love; to love the rose, to love the robin, to love their parents, to love their God. Let it be the studied object of your domestic culture to give them warm hearts, ardent affections. Bind your

whole family together by these strong cords. You cannot make them too strong. Religion is love-love to God -love to man,

LIVE-LET LIVE-HELP LIVE.

THERE are three sorts of people in this world, who may be characterized by the monosyllables above. First, there are those who take for their motto, Live-live, regardless of others-live, if others die-live for one's self and to one's self. Such persons care for nobody but themselves; they think of nobody else. They have got on in the world, it may be, without much aid from others, and others must get on as they can, or stick by the way; it is all one to them, it is none of their business; they are not their brother's keeper. These are supremely selfish men. There is another class of men among us, whose motto is, Live and let live. They are glad to have their neighbours live and prosper; but it must be without their help. Their first and great inquiry is, Who will show us any good? How will this affect my interest? Shall I gain anything by it? If such men can be quite sure that anything they may do for another will return ultimately to their own benefit, they will cheerfully lend a helping hand. And in some cases they will even help a friend in need, if persuaded that it will in no way operate to their disadvantage or inconvenience. Otherwise they are as deaf as dead men to all who approach them. These are simply selfish men.

There is yet a third class of men-choice spirits-whose motto is, Live and help others to live. They are not inattentive to their own affairs or their own interests; but they seek not their own exclusively. They are not merely willing to let others live around them, but they are willing to help others to live, and even to subject themselves to inconvenience and trouble

in order to do this. And all this they will do without first stopping to ask, Shall I get my reward? If I lend a crown, shall I get two in return? They are men who act either from the impulses of kind and generous dispositions, or men whose principles of action have been derived from the teachings and example of Him who "went about doing good," who sought not his own, but the things which were another's; who was never unmindful to do good and communicate as he had opportunity. These are truly benevolent men.

We now leave it to each reader to say which is the best man, and to which class he himself belongs.

GOING TO PARTIES OR TO CHURCH. WE are a strange people! An invitation is received for father, mother, daughters, &c., to a snug party. It is accepted. The day comesthe hour approaches-alas! alas! "it rains!" What is to be done? The mother's silk will be spoiled, and the daughters' hair disordered past endurance. A coach is hired, all is well; the expense is a trifle, and the disappointment could not be endured. Sunday morning comes; the bell from the sanctuary summons us to

"Welcome the day that God hath blest,
The type of heaven's eternal rest."

A slight rain is falling, and all around is wet and dreary. Father feels a disinclination to go out; mother has a slight cold; and daughters cannot show off their finery. A coach is so expensive too. The party is an attraction too

native but to remain as pastors after their efflciency has ceased, or to throw themselves wholly on precarious charity, by which they are frequently left to experience the most afflicting destitution.

Myself and the brethren who have sent me hither do not lose sight of the pleasing fact that there are already in existence several funds which afford aid in such cases. We know there is (e. g.) "The Associate Fund," "The Board Fund," our own "Union Fund," the Fund arising from the CHRISTIAN WITNESS, whose success in the first year of its operations has very far exceeded our most sanguine expectations. In addition to these there are also various county societies, more or less efficient in their particular localities. In all these we rejoice; but they are altogether inadequate to the emergency. Besides the aid they afford, nearly all assume the form of alms; and there are amongst us numbers of high-minded, yet humble-spirited pastors, who would feel the asking of alms almost as humiliating as the destitution to which they are reduced is afflicting. But why should I go on describing the evil, or showing the desirableness of something being done to mitigate, or, if possible, remove it?

Still it will be asked, Where is the remedy? What can be done efficiently to meet this exigency, the existence of which all must admit and deplore?

It will be now my duty, secondly, to lay before this meeting the outline of a plan which, if carried out, will, I trust, go a great way towards supplying this great desideratum.

Permit me, then, dear brethren, with great deference to suggest if it may not be possible, in addition to the sources already referred to, to create a permanent fund by donations, testamentary bequests, and other similar means, "the interest of which shall be appropriated to the lowering of the annual premium to be paid by ministers on attaining a given age?" Let there be, in fact, a regular annuitant society, open to all ordained ministers of our denomination, possessing the advantage of having the premium so reduced by the means now suggested, as shall be likely to come within the reach of all ministers who may wish to avail themselves of it.

There cannot, I think, be a question but the only reason why a much greater number of our ministers do not subscribe for an annuity in the Dissenters' Assurance Office and others of a similar character is, "that the annual payment for that purpose is so high as to preclude the possibility of their so doing." Whereas, could a plan be adopted to reduce the annual premium to something like ONE-HALF of the usual amount now paid, I cannot help thinking it would go a great way towards meeting the difficulty, and induce a large majority of our poorer ministers to avail themselves of the advantages thus presented.

In different parts of the country there are local societies of somewhat similar character, which prove of incalculable benefit to those whose privilege it is to be interested in them. Thus (e. g) there is the "Gloucester Benefit Society, for the relief of ministers, their widows, and their orphans." A standing fund exists of between £5000 and £6000, raised at first in the way I have suggested. An annual subscription from each congregation connected with it, and a subscription of one guinea from the minister, constitute membership, and his widow becomes

entitled to an annuity varying from £30 to £40, according to the number of widows for the time being and other claims upon the funds. This society, however, is of but very limited extent, and intended principally for widows. Now might not this be taken, to a certain extent, as a model on which to form a society on a large and general scale? But I really fear nothing efficiently can be done until a considerable fund be created, so as very much to reduce the usual annual premium.

I

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I venture therefore to suggest that a vigorous effort be made in connection with this Union, through the entire kingdom, to raise a sum of not less than £20,000, to be regularly invested, the interest of which shall be applied to the reducing of premiums to be paid by ministers for securing an annuity on attaining a given age. This, I suggest, should form the nucleus, the starting point of the society. And now, thirdly, as to the practicability of this part of the business. I would venture to ask, notwithstanding all the other claims which are pressing upon us, cannot this be done? would repeat the question, cannot this be done? It surely can be done, because it ought to be done; and only demonstrate that it ought to be done, and I am certain in this day of unexampled Christian enterprise it will be done. As I have before stated, it will not be questioned that a great number of our excellent and devoted ministers are obliged to continue as pastors of churches for years after age and infirmities have rendered them every way inefficient. have perhaps spent the greater part of their days, and exhausted the whole of their energies, among small and poor congregations. In many cases they have had large families to support, and found immense difficulty in obtaining for them food and raiment, and consequently have never been able to make the slightest provision for old age. In the great majority of cases it is utterly out of the question to urge on such congregations the desirableness of subscribing for an annuity for their minister, since all they can raise is very inadequate to the supply of his present necessities. Now, however much this is to be deplored, arising, as it inevitably must, out of the circumstances of such churches, the remedy for it clearly is to be found in the voluntary, or, what we believe is the same thing, the scriptural principle fully carried out, which enjoins "that the strong should bear the infirmities of the weak," that we should "help to bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." It charges them that are rich in this world's goods that they "be rich in good works, ready to contribute, willing to communicate." And surely when an object like the present, admitted on all hands to be one of pressing necessity, is presented to them, will not the rich and benevolent members of our denomination be ready to contribute, and that too on a scale so liberal for creating such a fund as shall enable every minister of our denomination to subscribe for an annuity on attaining an age to be specified by himself, and varying according to his annual payment? I am fully aware that the first question suggesting itself will be, "How can such a fund be raised?" But, brethren, let us look at the magnitude of the object, its pressing exigency, and then say is the difficulty of raising such a sum to present an insurmountable obstacle in the way of our going forward with such a pro

ject? Can we raise annually, and principally among our own denomination, some £70,000 (and would that it were quadrupled!) for our Missionary Society, and shall there be any real difficulty in raising once, and then have done with it, £20,000, which would have the effect of saving from humiliating destitution numbers of our most devoted ministers, and enabling them to contemplate a season of old age freed from that deep, yet not unnatural anxiety by which they are now so often depressed? Could our beloved brethren, the Wesleyans, raise some £200,000 as a Centenary Fund? Then look at what our honoured and not less loved brethren of the Free Church of Scotland have done, and are still doing in this very way! Could the children of our sabbath-schools raise above £6000 for a Missionary ship, and shall the raising of such a sum as this throughout the whole of our body be looked upon as difficult? Is it in the north of England-is it at Manchester, whose merchants are princes, that I am seeking to obviate this difficulty? Sure I am that if it can only be shown that such a sum will really meet the case and supply the desideratum, the appeal need but be made and the response will be ready and efficient. Besides, we all admit that charity should not only begin at home, but that it should be bestowed on the most deserving objects. Now, so far as the charity of this scheme is concerned, what objects in the whole range of benevolence can be found more deserving than those devoted and self-denying brethren who, amidst great personal privations, have been giving themselves to the great work of saving souls among the poor of this world? Brethren, I trust the time has arrived when something can be done, and when something will be done. There must be a beginning somewhere. A benevolent writer in the CHRISTIAN WITNESS for May, and who signs himself "J. H., High Wycombe," makes this truly noble proposal. In referring to the general question, he says, "As one of the difficulties, perhaps the greatest, arises from the want of a proper fund, could not this be obviated, at least in some degree, by ministers themselves? It is well known that some of them are not wholly dependent on their people for support, and if twenty of this number, of which I should be happy to make one, would subscribe £200 each, or even half that sum, a beginning might be made. Such a step on the part of my brethren, I should hope, would induce some of the rich laymen belonging to our churches and congregations to come to our assistance; and then, so far as the necessary fund is concerned, the object will be accomplished."

Upon this the excellent editor makes the following energetic appeal: "Brethren, ye who possess this world's good, what say you to this proposal? We will answer for you-you deem it good; and when the matter is brought before you in a tangible shape, you will not be wanting. Our excellent correspondent speaks of difficulties; we see none but those of our own creating. Abandon it in despair! We have not in good earnest yet begun! Despair! No! the term is not in our vocabulary. With combination, patience, prudence, perseverance, common sense, and prayerful exertion, we entertain the fullest confidence that the Independent churches may clothe themselves with a moral strength incalculably superior to that of any other system known among men. Its ministry will then,

when preparing for service, actually in the field, and no longer fit for labour, become a special object of its care."

My principal object, dear brethren, in this paper, is to raise a discussion on the subject generally, hoping it may lead to something really practical and beneficial towards accomplishing a great object, the necessity of which has been long and deeply felt. I shall now sit down, after suggesting

1. That a competent actuary be engaged by this Union to calculate the probabilities and prepare tables of premiums to be paid according to the respective ages and annuities subscribed for, taking into account the advantages arising from the interest of a fund of £20,000.

2. That, in the event of a society being formed, it may be open to all ordained ministers of our denomination, who are not engaged in any secular business, that of schoolmaster excepted.

3. That, after the first two years, no minister who is above forty years of age shall be allowed to subscribe for an annuity.

4. That a committee of not less than seven be appointed to carry into effect the object thus contemplated.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ORIGINATING NEW CHURCHES, BOTH IN TOWNS AND COUNTRY DISTRICTS, AS WELL AS OF ASSISTING SUCH AS CANNOT REACH SELF-SUPPORT; AND ON THE BEST PLANS TO SECURE THESE OBJECTS.

By A. Wells, London.

THE first means ordained by the Saviour for spreading and establishing his religion in the world is the preaching of the gospel; the second is the formation of churches. By the first men are to be converted; by the second the converted are to be gathered and organized. The first work is the sowing of the seed; the second is the harvesting of the fruit.

Churches are the ordained depositories of the gospel. In them its truths are to be maintained, its institutions observed, its blessings enjoyed, its results exhibited. Also through churches the gospel is to be perpetuated: it is to obtain the continuance which in human affairs is secured in societies, but is found impossible of attainment through the medium of dispersed individuals, however numerous. Moreover, by churches the gospel is to be propagated: they are to spread, as well as to preserve it. From them it is to sound forth and flow abroad all around. Churches are to supply the zeal, the men, the money, required perpetually for the arduous work of diffusing the gospel far and

near.

It is to be observed that for this representation Divine authority and apostolic precept may be pleaded; therefore preaching the gospel and forming churches take precedence of other methods for carrying on this great work. Other plans and movements may supply most valuable, indeed indispensable assistance; but they are still subordinate. These, which Christ ordained, and apostles practised, stand first and pre-eminent.

Further, in a country like ours, in such a period as the present, and for a body of Christians circumstanced as we are, the gathering of