they might all be one, that the world might believe that the Father had sent him. The salvation of the world seems in a measure to be dependent on the union and oneness of the Church; and if England be destined to be the benefactress of the world, and the ambassadress of mercy, then the spiritual prosperity of our national Zion cannot but be a matter of the deepest moment. It stands connected with the well being of man and the glory of God. It has to do with the destruction of the powers of darkness;-it has to do with the triumphant march of the Gospel chariot;—it has to do with the accomplishment of the purposes of Him who wields the sceptre of the universe, and who sits upon his throne, King of kings and Lord of lords;—it has to do with ushering in the voice that shall break in upon this sin-burdened world;-it is finished, and the mystery of God shall be completed. And if it be so, surely the prosperity of our Church, as having so important a bearing on the universal Church, must call forth your prayers and your efforts. But time warns me to draw to a close. I cannot, however, do so, without reminding you of your own responsibility. I would call upon you, as men, to feel for your fellow men. I would call upon you as patriots. There may be questions of difference on other subjects, and we may push our opinions too far; but we are in no danger when the principles of Christianity call upon us to lend our aid. If it be true that righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people, then to bless our country is to evangelize it. If it be true that he who holds in his hands the destinies of the universe, and who is Prince of the kings of the earth, hath once taught, by the overthrow of Jerusalem, the moral lesson which it reads to all nations, that religion has to do with the best interests, prosperity, and stability of a people, then can we in no way more manifest our love to our country than by enabling our Church to fulfil the solemn trust for which she is established. O! that her admirable system were fully carried out; for I do believe that, next to the gift of his Incarnate Son, and the Word of his Grace, the English Church is the greatest blessing God has bestowed on this land. Christian patriots arouse yourselves, therefore, and show your patriotism by your Christianity. And I would appeal to you on the ground of your churchmanship. Would you have your Fathers' temple long to continue your's, and hand it down unimpaired to your children's children, then seek to render your Church lovely and amiable in the eyes of all men. Labour for her best reform, even that of her spiritual efficiency. Enable her to extend her care to all, and provide for all; that she may be not in name only the Church of England, but in deed and in truth, the Church of the mighty population in our land; and numbers, yet unborn, may rise up and call her blessed. But, finally, I appeal to you on the ground of your common Christianity; and in this I would merge every other plea. What is Christianity but the religion of mercy, and what is the office of the religion of mercy but to step in to the salvation of perishing, dying, and yet deathless souls. Oh! brethren, by the value of the soul which is beyond the power of numbers to compute--the soul that shall survive yonder sun, when his light shall be extinguished in the funereal flames of the universe the soul, for whose redemption Jehovah's fellow became incarnate, and agonized, and died, we plead with you to aid the Church in her God-like work of saving souls. But I know you will never care for the souls of others till you have been concerned for your own. me then to ask the all-important question-what is the state of your soul before God? The redemption of the soul is precious-have you found that redemption? To be lost when salvation was purchased, and is freely offered, will involve a suffering, as it does a guilt, beyond the power of thought. You may read somewhat of its fearfulness in the mysterious agony, which wrung from our substitute, when prostrate beneath our heavy load, the sweat of blood, and extorted the dolorous cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Suffer Contemplating such a scene as this, do not the words come home with a thrilling force-"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?" But if, brethren, you have been taught the value of your own soul-if you have experienced the preciousness of Jesus-if the love of Christ constrains you, then we know you will feel for others. And, O brethren, is there not something overwhelming in the thought, that every human being has a soul whose lifetime is eternity; and however degraded, however humiliated he may be, he wears a nature which the Godhead assumed in order to save, and which, therefore, must rise again; though if he be not joined in one spirit with the Lord, will only be to the resurrection of damnation. And, finally, Christian brethren, let us guard against indulging a spirit of indolence, from the vain plea, “Am I my brother's keeper ?" God says, "All souls are mine:" as his property, therefore, he will hold us accountable for the good or the evil our influence may have exerted upon them; and never let us forget, in all our efforts to save sinners, that God alone can give the blessing. Be it our's, therefore, while we labour, to pray-and oh! for the spirit of prayer-that the Lord of the harvest would bless the bishops and pastors of his flock. It is common to complain of the want of talent, and devotedness, and diligence in pastors ;-have we ever brought them to the throne of grace-have we really prayed the Holy Spirit to give them knowledge and understanding of his Word, and to us, simplicity and godly sincerity to receive it? It may be we may often have retired unmoved in our own feelings, unaffected in our own hearts; not because the fault was in the preacher, but in ourselves. We have not had the hearing ear and the understanding heart; and we have not had because we have not asked. And for the same reason, it may be, our efforts for the good of others may have been powerless. We would especially, then, urge you to prayer; and while we rejoice in your co-operation in this and every good word and work, yet we entreat your prayers. Brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified. Put God in remembrance; plead with him. Awake, awake! put on strength, O arm of the Lord ! awake, as in the ancient days, in the generation of old; and never cease your prayer, till the fulfilment of the promise shall convert it into praise-when the Lord will comfort Zion-when he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord, when joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 161 VALUE OF A FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, A SERMON Preached at Christ Church, Salford, October 21, 1835, OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF THE REV. H. STOWELL, M.A., TEXT.-"Elisha saw it, and he cried-My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more."-2 Kings, xi. 12. GREAT was thy loss, Elisha! when thy father-prophet was taken from thy side. Thou didst indeed behold his ascent to glory: didst see him seated in one of the twenty thousand of Jehovah's chariots sent down from heaven to convey his servant to his throne. Yet thou couldst not but mourn for thine own bereavement and the bereavement of the Church. We sympathize in thy lamentation. Thou well mightest feel, and keenly feel, that thou wast left alone in the days of Israel's trouble. The people of Israel knew not sufficiently to appreciate the loss they had sustained in the departure of him who had been the bold reprover of Ahab, the strong consoler of the widow, the faithful prophet of the Lord. Yet great was the gain and the glory of Elijah. And in the rapture of his body and his soul to heaven" he had this testimony that he pleased God;" and we have an evidence of God's favour, and his approval of the religion of his faithful servants. his God has vouchsafed the peculiar tokens of his love to his people in various ways. While he has communicated grace to individuals, he has so regulated the conduct of his grace as to minister to the security, comfort, and edification of the Church. No doctrine is more fundamentally important to believe than the final resurrection of the dead. Not to mention the multiplied arguments and direct assertions of Scripture on that point, we hold that the translation of Enoch, in the patriarchal dispensation-the rapture of Elijah in the Levitical-and, above all, the ascension of Christ himself in the Christian-are so many direct assurances and exemplifications of the certainty of that doctrine. this is not the view of the subject on which I mean to dwell. I confine myself to the letter of the text, and its application to the object that I have before me. Our Lord asserts, (Matt. xi. 11.) "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist, notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." We may confidently affirm then that whatsoever descriptive appellation may be given to any prophet of the former dispensation must be applicable, in the fulness of its force, to faithful authorized ministers of the latter. As in those corresponding offices there was nothing of privilege, so also nothing of dignity or authority abated in the transfer from Jewish to Christian times. I have taken then the lamentation of Elisha as applicable to the present occasion, on which I purpose to offer you a few remarks in connection with the death of one who was so well known to many of you, and in whose departure you are particularly interested, because it involves your own beloved pastor in a most afflictive bereavement. I have received a kind permission to engage in this duty, not because I am prepared to deliver what it is usual formally to style a Funeral Sermon, but simply with design to give utterance to the feeling of affectionate sympathy in the loss sustained during the temporary absence of your minister on this mournful occasion. "My father, my father!" exclaims Elisha, in expressive acknowledgment of the bereavement that he privately and individually had sustained. The breaking up of the paternal and filial relationship cannot but be a distressing event under any circumstances. When the survivors are young in years-their being, without protector, cast upon the wide unfeeling world, is a condition desolate indeed, universally acknowledged to demand the commiseration of every Christian mind. When they have grown up to man's estate, the world sees no reason for compassion-but the loss is as acutely felt. They have come to know the value of a counsellor, the staid judgment of ripened years, and have delighted to seek and to follow the advice, as well as the example of one in whose |