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Even in temporal things God will be generally most liberal to those professors, who are most liberal in their efforts for the good of others; but in spiritual blessings it will also be so. Those souls are always the most happy and flourishing, that do most for the souls of others; and those are always low and languishing, that care for none but themselves. Some will not attend leaders' meetings, where plans are formed for promoting the prosperity of the church, because their minds are sometimes hurt others will not labour in a Sundayschool, for fear they should not be able enough to take care of their own souls: but the souls of such people can never prosper. We take the best care of our

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own souls, when we do the most for the souls of others. "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendereth to poverty." The way to increase our talents is, not to bury them, but to use them. If we want to grow in knowledge, we must teach: if we want to grow in love to God, we must work for him; if we want more love to souls, we must do good: if we want to be a thriving, healthy, happy church, we must "strive together for the faith of the Gospel."

If all professing Christians would take the advice of the Apostle, what a glorious church we should have; and what wonders would be wrought in the world. We should spread on the right hand and on the left, and nothing would have power to resist us. Religion would run through the earth like fire. It would climb the hills, and run through the valleys, and cross the seas, refining and purifying all things; nor would it slacken its pace, or cease its operations, till it had pervaded and renovated the whole earth. If Christians of former ages had taken the advice of the Apostle, the world would not have offered to our view such a mournful spectacle as it offers at present. There would not have been a land without Bibles, or schools, or teachers, on the face of the globe. War would have been almost forgotten before this; and slavery would have been wrapped in its shroud ages ago: knowledge and plenty would have blessed all the ends of the earth, and the millions of mankind would have been enjoying an earthly paradise. And only let professors of the present day take this advice, let us renounce the dictates of selfishness, and devote ourselves with all our might to the work of regenerating and blessing mankind, and we shall soon see happier days. Let us employ our property, our time, and all the influence of our various talents in the work, let us lay aside the expensive fashions and and the selfish customs of the world, and let us show to mankind an example of perfect temperance and charity,-let us prove to the world that we think it our duty to live, not for ourselves, but for the good of onr fellow-men,-let preachers preach the whole Gospel in all its fulness, and urge it faithfully upon their hearers, and let all the members join them in reducing its precepts to practice, and we shall soon see glorious changes. Infidelity will be shamed out of existence; corrupt systems of religion will be scattered as dust before the winds; the superstitions and idolatries of pagan nations will retire from the earth; the power of the Gospel will be felt in every human dwelling, and its blessings will be enjoyed by every heart of man. Let us arise, my friends, from our guilty slumbers. Let us try how much we can do. Let those that can preach, preach; let those that can write, write; let those that can give, give. Let the parent attend to the religious training of his children; let the young bestow their labours on the Sabbath-school, and assist the operations of the societies for sending through the earth missionaries, and bibles, and tracts; and let us unite our labours, and prayers, and sacrifices as one man, and God will assuredly prosper us. Satan will not be able to hold mankind in his power another generation. The usurper shall be thrown from his throne; his kingdom shall fall like lightning from heaven; and the miserable and perishing millions whom he has held in bondage, shall wake to liberty, and life, and joy. A song shall burst forth from millions upon millions of happy voices; it shall sound through all lands;

and it shall swell to heaven-"Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth; and the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God and of. his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever."

PROPOSED DISCUSSION AT LIVERPOOL.
CLOSING LETTERS. I.-MR. FINCH TO MR. LEYLAND.

Mr. John Leyland,
SIR,

151, Mill Street,

Liverpool, 10th January, 1855.

I sent your note of the 5th instant to Mr. Barker, with the "Defender," and have this morning received from him the following reply to your note, and also to the article about the Liverpool Free Protestant Association.

(Copy)

January 9th, 1855.

My Dear Friend, I and my wife have made up our mind to leave England for America, about the 24th March, if we can get our business affairs settled by that time. A Discussion with Rutherford in April therefore is out of the question. What liars the Christians are! How many, and how big

lies they have crammed into a couple of pages!

Yours, very respectfully,

JOSEPH BARKER.

P.S. My discussion with Grant is to begin on the 22nd. If this is not a sufficient answer to that lying article in "The Defender," falsely so called, I beg to refer you to the enclosed copy of my answer to Dr. Baylee's letter, which more than meets all that is worth replying to in that article.

I have inflicted on myself the lost labour of reading the whole of that worthless paper, the first number of "The Defender," and my opinion of it is, that it is written without talent or judgment; that it defends falsehoods, that its proper name therefore is "The Offender," that it will live as many nights as days, and that unless it greatly improves, it will not remain in existence many of either.

I believe that Mr. Rutherford will be very glad that he can now escape the infliction of a discussion with Mr. Barker. That we are deprived of this pleasure in Liverpool, is entirely owing to the interference of Dr. Scott's friends, and the delays of your committee, as every possible facility has been afforded for a fair discussion, by the executive of the Liverpool Free Protestant Aasociation.

I am, yours, &c., &c.,

JOHN FINCH.

II-MR. LEYLAND TO MR. FINCH.

Liverpool, 10th January, 1855.

Mr. John Finch,
SIR,

I am in receipt of your letter of yesterday, and regret exceedingly that we are deprived of the pleasure of listening to a discussion between the Rev, Mr. Rutherford and Mr. Barker; owing to Mr. Barker not being at liberty to hold it at the time proposed by Mr. Rutherford.

* In our next we shall endeavour to notice this enclosed; and by and by will enquire who are the liars ?

friend

However, I regret still more deeply that you and your Mr. Barker, should have so far lost all sense of propriety and gentlemanly conduct, as to make use of the offensive language contained in your letter. Mr. Barker says (in the letter of which you send me a copy), "What liars the Christians are!" And this you call "a reply" to the article about the Liver pool Free Protestant Association! Certainly it is a sweeping assertion, but I confess I am totally at a loss to know his reasons for making it. It will not apply to true Christians most assuredly. But I find your letter to me, dated 29th July, 1854, throws some light on the matter. You say OF YOURSELF, "I am a Christian." Now as you do not belong to those who are generally included in the term, possibly you are connected with "the body of Christians" your friend Mr. Barker refers to. I do not know.

With regard to your very ungentlemanly language respecting the article in "the Defender," about Liverpool, and the first number of the magazine itself, I beg to inform you that I have forwarded an exact copy of your letter to the Rev. Mr. Rutherford, and I have no doubt justice will be done you in an early number. Let me, in concluding this correspondence, express my hope that you will again read over your Homily on Charity," which you gave our Young Men's Christian Association, in the letter I have already referred to, and that YOU will become a little more charitable to those who differ from you, and not make use of such phrases as lying Article."

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Possibly it might also be beneficial to Mr. Joseph Barker if you were togive him an opportunity of reading the Homily referred to.

Meanwhile, I remain,

Yours, respectfully,

THE GOSPEL AND MORALITY.

JOHN LEYLAND.

From Chalmer's address to his parishoners at Kilmany.

"And here I cannot but record the effect of an actual though undesigned experiment, which I prosecuted for upwards of twelve years among you. For the greater part of that time I could expatiate on the meanness of dishonesty, on the villany of falsehood, on the despicable arts of calumny; in a word, upon all those deformities of character which awaken the natural indignation of the human heart against the pests and the disturbers of human society. Now, could I, upon the strength of these warm expostulations, have got the thief to give up his stealing, and the evil speaker his censoriousness, and the liar his deviations from truth, I should have felt all the repose of one who had gotten his ultimate object. It never occurred to me that all this might have been done, and yet the soul of every hearer have remained in full alienation from God; and that even could I have established in the bosom of one who stole, such a principle of abhorrence at the meanness of dishonesty, that he was prevailed upon to steal no more, he might still have retained a heart as completely unturned to God, and as totally unpossessed by a principle of love to Him as before. In a word, though I might have made him a more upright and honourable man, I might have left him as destitute of the essence of religious principle as ever. But the interesting fact is, that during the whole of that period in which I made no attempt against the natural enmity of the mind to God, while I was inattentive to the way in which the enmity is dissolved,-even by the free offer on the one hand, and the believing acceptance on the other, of the gospel salvation,while Christ, through whose blood the sinner, who by nature stands afar off, is brought near to the heavenly Lawgiver whom he has offended, was scarcely ever spoken of, or spoken of in such a way as stripped Him of all the importance of His character and His offices, even at this time I certainly did press the reformations of honour, and truth, and integrity among my people: but I never

once heard of any such reformations having been effected amongst them. If there was anything at all brought about in this way, it was more than ever I got any account of. I am not sensible that all the vehemence with which I urged the virtues and the proprieties of social life, had the weight of a feather on the moral habits of my parishioners. And it was not till I got impressed by the utter alienation of the heart in all its desires and affections from God; it was not till reconciliation to Him became the distinct and the prominent object of my ministerial exertions; it was not till I took the scriptural way of laying the method of reconciliation before them; it was not till the free offer of forgiveness through the blood of Christ was urged upon their acceptance, and the Holy Spirit given through the channel of Christ's mediatorship to all who ask Him was set before them as the unceasing object of their dependence and their prayers; in one word, it was not till the contemplations of my people were turned to these great and essential elements in the business of a soul providing for its interest with God and the concerns of its eternity, that I ever heard of any of those subordinate reformations which I aforetime made the earnest and the zealous, but I am afraid at the same time, the ultimate object of my earlier ministrations. Ye servants, whose scrupulous fidelity has now attracted the notice, and drawn forth in my hearing a delightful testimony from your masters, what mischief you would have done, had your zeal for doctrines and sacraments been accompanied by the sloth and the remissness, and what, in the prevailing tone of moral relaxation, is counted the allowable purloining of your earlier days! But a sense of your Heavenly Master's eye has brought another influence to bear upon you; and while you are thus striving to adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things, you may, poor as you are, reclaim the great ones of the land to the acknowledgment of the faith. You have at least taught me, that to preach Christ is the only effective way of preaching morality in all its branches; and out of your humble cottages have I gathered a lesson, which I I pray to God I may be enabled to carry with all its simplicity into a wider theatre, and to bring with all the power of its subduing efficacy upon the vices of more crowded population."

CONVERSION OF A SOCIALIST.

Towards the end of the voyage, when suffering severely from the effects of fatigue and care, I received the following letter from a young man, ahout twentytwo years of age, who had received some education, and whose appearance and manners were rather prepossessing, but, who, though so young, had, by his great folly, and criminal waywardness, brought a heavy load of guilt upon his conscience, and subjected his relations to much shame and suffering. The letter is dated Dec. 23, 1842:

"My dear father died when I was about two years old. My dear mother, who still lives, and who fears the Lord, endeavoured to bring me up in His fear, I was sent to Mr. J's sabbath-school; and I shall not forget the instruction I there received in my youthful days, while I have the power of memory. My dear mother used to direct my mind to the Scriptures, and especially to the qook of Proverbs. She was acquainted with Mr. L-, and used to send me to their house when I had got off any thing by heart from the Bible, when Mr. S. L. used to hear me, and give me very good advice; which, if I had but taken how happy I might have been!

"At twelve years of age I was apprenticed. My master was far from been a religious man, and cared not how I spent my sabbaths,-whether I went to a place of worship or not. I forgot all the good advice of kind friends, and used to break the sabbath by going on the water, andpursuing many bad ways. At nineteen years of age, I left him, and was pushed into the wicked world, without any care for my soul. At this time I was working for a Mr. J. LMrs. L. senior noticed me, and wished me to go and see her, which I did. She gave me some very good counsel, which though I sadly neglected, I can never

forget and have often reflected upon it since I came on board this ship, and am grieved at my heart I have acted so contrary to it. That kind and very pious lady recommended me to go to Mr. B's chapel; which I did for some time. But my heart aches when I think how I forsook the house of God, where I had found profit,-closed my eyes to the light, and my ears to the instruction of the Holy Scriptures, and the Divine ordinances; and, although I was getting a very honourable living at my trade, working for a good master, and might have done as well as any young man in every respect, yet I, like a madman, threw away every privilege and advantage, and brought misery upon myself, and on my best friends I brought sorrow,—and most of all upon my mother!

"I joined some wicked companions; was soon led into all manner of wicked ways; became dishonest; got into prison; came out again no better; and was soon taken up for another robbery; was tried, and sentenced to seven years' transportation: and here I am, grieved, and now, I hope, humbled before God. "Up to the night of Nov. 2nd, when that dreadful storm was sent by the Almighty, I continued, notwithstanding all I suffered, quite hardened, and as thoughtless as ever. But on that night I was very frightened, and expected the thunder and lightning were sent to destroy all of us wicked creatures, and I expected to die; but I knew I was not fit to die, and I should go to hell with all my sins on my head unpardoned. The terror of mind I felt I cannot tell. All the day following my past sins stared me in the face; and I felt I needed some one to save me from the dreadful doom which I richly deserved.

"It was then I thought of Jesus Christ, of whom I had heard, but had almost entirely forgotten: and to the Lord Jesus Christ I was directed to lift up my soul, by my messmate, who lay by my side, and exhorted me to search the Bible, that I might there read of His great love to the worst of sinners. I read the 1st, 3rd, and 15th chapters of John's Gospel; and I thank and praise the Lord, I have found, to my soul's comfort and peace, Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write, Jesus Christ, to whom I was enabled to come, just the vile wretch I felt myself to be; and He did not turn me away, but received me just as I was. And now I love Him, I hope, and I put my whole trust in Him for my salvation.

"I feel very weak and very ignorant; but I bless God I feel I get fresh strength as I am enabled daily to come to the Lord, with humility, I hope. I sincerely thank Him for the great good I recieved through your instrumentality. I delight to hear you explain the Scriptures to us, and find great profit and comfort; and I trust through grace to persevere in this good way. And I believe that to all eternity I shall have cause to praise God that I was placed under your care on board the Earl Grey.

"Please let me ask you to pray for me, that I may be kept holy, and humble, and useful to my fellow-men. Oh, may I be a useful and a respectable man where I am going, and wherever I may spend my days!

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May the Lord support you under all your sorrows, and give you peace, and you a great blessing to us all, is the prayer of your grateful, and humble, and obedient servant,

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"J. S."

Of one thousand and sixty-five prisoners who have, in five different voyages, been conveyed under my superintendence to the Penal Colonies of Australia, fourteen only had been educated at a sabbath-school; of which J. S-, was one. His history reminds us of the duty and responsibility of masters in reference to their apprentices and shopmen. How immense the amount of good which the truly pious, prudent, and zealous master may be the means, through believing prayer and the supply of the Holy Spirit, of effecting for those whom God has placed under his authority and moral influence! This is a subject which all masters are called to consider; to consider in the light of Scripture,-in the light of the judgment day,-in the light of a guilty world on fire, and melting

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