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stead of mournfully sharing in our spiritual weakness and defeat, may triumphantly partake of our spiritual might and victory.

If to these considerations, more directly affecting our mission to the Jews, be added the position of our missionaries in the midst of the moving nations their position in the eyes of Protestants, Romanists, Greeks, and Mohammedans-the hope of their being widely influential for good when all institutions are shaking, and all opinions are sifted the argument becomes doubly forcible of their need and ours for the outpouring of the Spirit. One of the prophetic descriptions of the earth being filled with the knowledge of the Lord, is preceded by woes, of which the last few months afford striking examples. (Hab. ii. 6, 7, 9, 13, 14.) "Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!" These curses on exalted individuals taking effect, the masses also of the population are represented as making a laborious but desperate effort for their own happiness; and when they have failed, the Lord interposes to manifest his own grace and glory, and the power of his salvation to every one that believeth in Jesus. "Behold, is it not of the Lord of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Such descriptions and such connexions, while they warrant no positive conclusion regarding the period of the world's history at which we have arrived, seem to authorize the hope of some remarkable outpouring of the Spirit after the people, by a longer or shorter process, shall have wearied themselves with saying, "Who will show us any good?" and have found that their all is vanity and vexation of spirit, and shall have been exhausted with their sore and fruitless labour in the scorching fire of their own inventions. In the midst of such scenes our missionaries are placed, and there we are placed along with them; and in such a crisis it does indeed become us with unwonted and united earnestness to cry, "God be merciful unto us, and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us; that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations:" even till with assured confidence, we are enabled to infer and embrace the answer, God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him."

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A. MOODY STUART,
Convener.

Free Church of Scotland.

REPORT

OF

THE NEW COLLEGE.

1848.

EDINBURGH:

PRINTED BY JOHN GREIG, LAWNMARKET.

EXTRACT from RECORDS of the GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the FREE

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

At Edinburgh, the 22d day of May 1848 years. Sess. 6. Which day the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland being met and duly constituted. Inter alia,

The General Assembly having called for the Report of the College Committee the same was given in by Dr Cunningham, the Convener, and read.

The Assembly having heard the Report, reserve the discussion of the matters therein referred to till Wednesday, when the various subjects relative to the College will be taken into consideration, as already agreed upon.

24th May 1848. Sess. 9.

The Assembly having resumed the business of the College, called for the Report of the Sub-Committee on College Buildings, which was given in and read by Mr Monteith, the Convener.

The General Assembly called also for the Report of the Sub-Committee on Bursaries, which was given in and read by Professor MacDougall, Secretary to the Sub-Committee.

The General Assembly next called for the Report from the Committee on Classing Returns for Overtures, in so far as respects returns to the Overtures anent the extension of Theological Education, which was given in by Mr Gray, the Convener, to the following effect; viz. That the following Presbyteries disapprove of a Hall at Aberdeen,-Auchterarder, Greenock, Irvine, Linlithgow, Lockerby, Selkirk, Edinburgh, also Orkney by overture-eight: That the following disapprove of extending at present, Cupar, Kelso and Lauder, Kirkaldy, -three That the following consider extension desirable, and should be carried out as soon as possible, Arbroath, Dumbarton, Dundee, Dunblane, Dunfermline, Elgin, Fordyce, Forfar, Paisley, Perth, Tongue, Shetland, Lanark, also Hamilton by overture-fourteen: That the following approve simpliciter, Aberdeen, Aberlour, Abertarff, Alford, Ayr, Ellon, Garioch, Glasgow, Haddington and Dunbar, Stirling, Strathbogie, Turriff, Dunoon and Inverary, Kintyre, St Andrews, also Fordoun by overture-sixteen: That the following Presbytery consider it desirable, but that the time has not yet come, Biggar and Peebles : That the following Presbyteries have likewise made returns, which did not fall under any of the above classes, Deer, Meigle, and Brechin—three.

The Assembly having entered on the consideration of the matters brought under the notice of the House in the Report of the College Committee, submitted on Monday last, in reference to the Curriculum of Study and the extension of Theological Education, the following motion was made and seconded :---

"That the General Assembly being deeply impressed with the importance of establishing and maintaining a high standard of qualification for candidates for the ministry, approve generally of the Theological Curriculum for the New College, as proposed in the Report of the College Committee and farther, the General Assembly are of opinion, that the Church is not called upon at the present to make provision for extending the means of Theological Education by establishing another Divinity Hall.”

The Assembly having been addressed by several members of the House, adjourn the farther discussion of the subject till the evening.

Eodem die. Sess. 10.

Mr Hog, Convener of the Sub-Committee on Bursaries, submitted an additional statement, which he deemed should be considered as an Appendix to the Report already given in; and the Assembly order it to be recorded.

The General Assembly having resumed the discussion relative to the College, another motion was made and seconded:

“That the General Assembly having heard returns from Presbyteries relative to the College Report, and in particular, on the extension of Theological Education, approve of the principle affirmed in the majority of said returns relative to the same, and do now resolve, that the means of Theological Education provided at Aberdeen by an Act of the General Assembly held at Inverness in 1845, and which that Act implied an intention of extending in due time, ought to be extended so as to prepare candidates for the ministry for receiving licence; and they remit to a Committee, to report to a future diet of the Assembly, what additions ought now to be made to the Theological Institute at Aberdeen, and whether any and what additional provision shall be made with the same view at any other University seat; and in respect that the Report of the College Committee contains various important suggestions, which have not been considered by the Church, on the subject of the Curriculum, remit that part of it to Presbyteries, with instructions to transmit their returns to the College Committee on or before the 31st of March 1849; and farther, direct the said Committee to make arrangements for teaching Hebrew at Aberdeen."

A third motion was made and seconded:

"That the General Assembly, while they fully recognise the duty of raising the standard and improving the character of Theological Education, and while, in particular, they are deeply impressed with the importance of promoting the efficiency of the Theological Institute in Edinburgh, with especial reference to the exigencies of the age, are at the same time of opinion, that the great object of providing a well-educated gospel ministry for this Church, national as it is in its character and claims, cannot be adequately attained by means solely of a central Divinity Hall in the metropolis; and with a view to ascertain how far it is possible, with reference to the pecuniary resources of this Church, to take immediate steps for extending the means of Theological instruction more fully than heretofore, appoint a Committee to consider the subject, and to report to a subsequent diet of this Assembly."

The discussion having been continued at considerable length, the vote was called for, and the second motion having, with consent of the House, been withdrawn, it was agreed that the state of the vote be first or second motion, the motion last made now taking the place of the second; and the roll being called,

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