promises which relate to the 'pouring out' of his Spirit. These declarations bring God very near to his church. Perhaps, indeed, the most illustrious instances in which our God makes bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations,' by throwing off that veil of mystery which so often hides it, are found in the struggles and triumphs of his religion. The history of his church is, for this very reason, chiefly, the most magnificent part of the world's story. The trials and the contests of the truth, of which she is the ground and the pillar, considered in connection with its endurance and unfailing vigour; the holy blood which has consecrated, the virtues which have illustrated, the great characters which have advocated it; the darkness it has dissipated; the enmity over which it has triumphed; the blessings it has showered upon earth; the number of our race it has glorified in heaven;-these and many other views might be taken, which so powerfully tend to maintain in us the conviction that there is in the church, a mighty and constant working of him that filleth all and in all,' as to forbid the intrusion of any creature into this hallowed enclosure, except as the most humble instrument in his hands. Yet, even here, also, is God often put far from us, or so many other agents are placed between, that our sense of his immediate operation, is either destroyed or greatly enfeebled.

Christianity, it is allowed, is to become the religion of the world; but then its ultimate prevalence may be easily accounted for, because Christianity is a rational religion, and the world is becoming enlightened by education. Great characters appear at intervals to revive and restore the faded lustre of truth, and the languishing influence of piety; but then, as it has been said of Luther, nature planted in him the elements of vigorous character; success flattered his first attempts to resist his superiors; political circumstances favored the changes which he meditated; and thus we have the whole philosophy of the Reformation! A Wesley appears; he is naturally ambitious;' circumstances give to this mental quality a religious and a beneficial direction; he has the skill to turn them to account; and here is the complete rationale of the whole revival of religion in our day, and in these lands! Missions to the Heathen will succeed, because they derive their influence upon barbarous and semi-civilized nations from the superior intellectual power with which they are associated, the arts they communicate, and the connection which they establish, by means of commerce, with nations far in advance as to all the useful and refining institutions of society!

Such are some of the views on these solemn subjects with which men amuse themselves; but I see nothing in them answering to the import of the text, 'In Him we live, and move, and have our being; or to the declaration, that he worketh all in all.' this point, indeed, as on several before mentioned, we allow, that in what is thus urged there is much truth; but the truth is either

distorted, or turned into efficient error by the absence of other truths with which it ought to be connected.

True, Christianity is a rational religion; but if it is to make its way by the force of that consideration alone, why was it not at first most readily received by the wisest and best-disciplined minds, rather than by the unlettered and superstitious? True, circumstances have an influence upon the characters and conduct of men; but the characters and actions of holy, gifted, and devoted men, create circumstances which they do not find, and that by the grace of God, which is mighty in them,' and which works in their hearts and lives, that holiness, love, and zeal, by which, under the preparing influence of God, great masses of men are influenced. True, missions to the Heathen derive, in many cases, great aid from superior intellectual power in the instruments; from the knowledge of useful arts which they introduce; and the connection into which they bring nations in an inferior state of civilization with the more cultivated states of the world; but then do we need nothing more direct than that divine arrangement which has associated these circumstances together in the way of providential government, to convert a soul from the error of his ways,' to turn the Gentiles from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,' that they may obtain remission of their sins, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified?

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Surely, my brethren, God is not thus far from us' in reviving, restoring, and diffusing the influence of his religion. For what is that religion? Not the letter,' but the Spirit;'' a ministration' of the Holy Spirit himself. What are its iniicters? They are indeed men, but not men left to be formed or influenced by mere circumstances; they are called,' separated unto the Gospel of God,' and derive their energy as instruments, when it is saving, from him who has promised to be with them alway, even to the end of the world,' and to use and overrule all circumstances for the accomplishment of their high vocation. If God is not in his church, where then shall we find him? But he is there by peculiar inhabitation, by special operation. To make this manifest, he descended in the visible tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost; to assure us of it, he hath said of Zion, 'This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell; for I have desired it. I will clothe her priests with salvation, and make her saints joyful in goodness.' To show what he has to do in raising up eminent instruments, he met with Saul of Tarsus on his persecuting errand to Damascus, seized, in the very camp of the enemy, the instrument fitted by natural endowments for his purpose, and bound the energies of that great and ardent mind to his own cause for ever. To show that he is in his church, he has defended it against united earth and united hell; to convince us that a power above all that is human is there, often when it has been 'minished and brought low,' and its root has been almost invisible in the earth, it has shot up into growth without

human aid; and, in despite of human scorn and neglect, waved its branches in the winds, and again defied the force of all the storms of heaven. To show that he is in his church, the mighty primitive power of the Gospel, which is characterized as 'the power of God unto salvation,' remains unabated to this day. It still pricks men in the heart;' it wounds, and it heals; it converts and sanctifies; it raises its shield of determined integrity against all temptations; it quenches earthly desires; it lifts the soul to holy converse with God; it gives a triumph over death, as complete and glorious as when Stephen 'fell asleep, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;' and it affects all these wherever it is preached in simplicity, and in recognition of the immediate coöperation of God with the instrument, and there only. Nor is the scene of its trial, the grand experiment, if we may so call it, confined to one place; it erects the monuments of its saving efficacy on all the shores of earth, and among the various tribes which inhabit them, that all the world may know that God is with us, and that the shout of a King is among us.'

A few practical remarks may close the whole.

1. If God is so 'near to all that truly call upon him,' be encouraged, then, thou dark and mournful spirit, to seek him until thou find him. Though thou see him not, 'feel after him,' in desire, in prayer, in the exercises of faith, however feeble. Thou canst not be more desirous to find him in his manifested character as God forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin,' than he longs to reveal himself to thee. Say with David, 'I wait upon God; my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope; I wait for him more than they that wait for the morning;' and thou shalt not be disappointed. 'He is near that justifieth;' 'his word is for ever settled in heaven,' 'and it shall come to pass, that they shall seek me and find me, when they seek for me with all their heart.'

2. Let us all be encouraged by this blessed doctrine to seek a closer and more intimate fellowship with God. May I find him in my closet? Then let me seek him there with all the earnestness of desire. May I find him in his temples? Never may I rest in the shadows and forms of outward services, which, when rightly understood, are but the tracks through which I must fly to put my trust under the shadow of his wings.' May I walk with God? Let me aspire after the high, the hallowing privilege, to see the Invisible; to know how it is that Christ dwelleth in the hearts of believers by faith; how he manifests himself to his disciples, and not unto the world.

Finally, let us confidently trust the whole affairs of his church with him. From that he is never far.' He has hitherto preserved, and will finally glorify it in the sight of all nations. 'Kings shall bring their glory and honor into it; her walls shall be salvation, and her gates praise.' Still nearer may he be felt through

all her courts, by all her ministers, in all her ordinances, till she 'girds herself every where with strength,' and shines forth in perfect truth and holiness, as the light of the world,' 'the joy of the whole earth,'

A SHORT MEMOIR OF JOHN GARRISON, ESQ.

Late of Brooklyn, Long Island;

TOGETHER WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF METHODISM IN THAT PLACE:

BY THE REV. NOAH LEVINGS.

SHOULD any apology be thought necessary for embracing in the same paper both the topics named at the head of this article, it may, perhaps, be a sufficient one to say, that the life of Mr. Garrison, during the whole of his Christian course, was so identified with the history of Methodism in Brooklyn, that it seemed to the writer difficult, if not improper, under existing circumstances, to give the one and not the other. A fair opportunity also thus presents itself of doing both at the same time, and perhaps with the greater advantage. Mr. Garrison is now no more he is gathered unto his fathers-he sleeps in Jesus,-and God has wiped all tears from his eyes. This solemn dispensation of Divine providence, so deeply interesting to the church of God, and especially to the bereaved family of the deceased, has afforded us an opportunity of testifying our respect for the memory of one who, amidst all the vicissitudes which marked the history of the church in his day, undeviatingly adhered to those principles of Wesleyan Methodism by which our communion is distinguished.

We are not in possession of the information requisite to enable us to give a minute and detailed account of the early years of Mr. Garrison; nor is it indeed necessary. There are very few men the incidents of whose lives, prior to their conversion to God, possess sufficient interest to be worthy of record. That important event, however, is, in the history of man, the beginning of months.' It forms a new and interesting era, and is worthy of being indelibly engraved not only on the memory, but also on the records of the church. There are, indeed, grounds of a general similarity of character among all men, both before and after they are brought to God. And although circumstances in the details of human life may doubtless constitute shades of difference among men in an unregenerate state, yet, in one respect at least all mankind are alike before they are brought to the knowledge of the truth: All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.' One and the same evil nature actuates all. The carnal mind is enmity against

God; it is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be.' And the change by which we are brought from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, is not more marked and evident than is the identity of new character formed by it. For being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' And 'being made free from sin, and become servants to God, we have our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.'

These remarks may serve in place of a particular account of the infancy, childhood, youth, and early manhood, of the subject of this memoir. We infer from them, as a given point, that he was a sinner in common with other men. Indeed, he ever spoke of his early years as having been spent not only in neglect of the duties of religion, but also without God and without hope in the world. A favorite expression with him was, I am a sinner saved by grace.' And while his account of himself was doubtless true, in fact, it tends the more fully to show, how correct were his views of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and how deep and genuine were his convictions of it, as existing in himself.

Mr. Garrison, according to an account found in his own handwriting, and subscribed with his own name, was born at Gravesend, Lond Island, August 25th, 1764. While quite young, his parents removed from Gravesend, and fixed their residence in Brooklyn. Soon after this his father died, and he was left in the care of his mother.

It is peculiarly interesting to us, who live more than half a century from the period when Methodism was first introduced into the United States, to look back and reflect upon the lives and labours of those single hearted, holy, and zealous men of God, through whose instrumentality he wrought such wonders in the land. It is a most pleasing duty to aid in the least degree in snatching from under the descending cloud of time, any scraps of the early history of Methodism, which may be obtained either from old records, or from the memories of the few yet living, who saw the foundations of the first temple laid. And we shall find these fathers and mothers in Israel far from being backward to communicate what they can remember on this interesting subject. The very mention of the names of the first preachers they saw and heard, and through whose instrumentality they were brought to God, throws a glow of pleasantness over their aged countenances, and for a moment seems to annihilate the years that have rolled between. They fancy themselves in the midst of those early and happy days, and with an eloquence peculiar to the tongue which speaks from the abundance of a full heart, they recount the wonders of divine grace, speak of the piety, zeal, and diligence, of the early preachers, together with their persecutions and sufferings for Christ's sake.

There are yet living a remnant of the first class ever formed in Brooklyn. From them we learn that the first Methodist preacher,