You

your sake he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." know the height from which he stooped. You know the depth of humiliation to which he descended; that he found no resting-place between his throne and the cross. You know for whom he did this; for his enemies, his destroyers. You know that he did this voluntarily; that he was under no necessary obligation to endure it; that his own love was the only obligation; that he welcomed each indignity, invited each pang, made them a part of his plan of condescension. You know how earnestly he prosecuted the work of our salvation; that in every step he took he was only gratifying the compassionate yearnings of his own heart; that he assumed life for the express purpose of laying it down; that though he saw as from a height the whole array of duty and trial which awaited him, the only emotions which he evinced at the sight were a self-consuming ardor to reach the cross which stood at the end of his path,-a holy impatience to be baptized with that baptism of blood. You know the object for which he did it all, for your salvation; that he might pour his fulness into your emptiness, his riches into your poverty; that he might raise you to heaven, and share with you the glories of his own throne.

You know this; not, indeed, in the sense of comprehending it; that is impossible, for it is a love which passeth such knowledge. But you know it by report; you have heard of it. It is the theme of the universe. Heaven resounds with it; the church on earth is full of it; the eternal Father commands it to be published throughout the world. And so amazing is it, the bare announcement of it should be sufficient to transform selfishness itself into disinterested love. But you know it experimentally. You can look back on a time when you were in a state of alienation from God bordering on perdition: you have been plucked as a brand from the burning; and now you are looking forwards to eternal life with Christ in heaven; and you know that you owe your deliverance, and all your hopes, to the grace of Christ. You know what he endured for your redemption, that he loved you, "and gave himself for you;" and will you withhold from him any thing in your possession? Can you believe that he died for you? that, in dying, he wore your name upon his breast? that his heart cherished the thought of your happiness? that he made himself poor to enrich you? and will you not freely contribute of your worldly substance to diffuse the knowledge of his grace?

Did he employ his heavenly powers solely for your salvation, lay himself out for your happiness? Yes, saith he, "For their sakes I sanctify myself. I set myself apart, I appropriate all I have and am to the work of their salvation." And he did so. When did he ever go about but to do good? When did he ever open his hand but to bless? or weep, but in sympathy with human woe? What object did he ever pursue but that of benevolence? imparting life to the dying, pardon to the guilty, purity to the depraved, blessings to all around him. "Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." He was the author of riches, and the heir of all things; but all he possessed he gave for your salvation, and all that you possess you should employ for his glory. You enjoy a portion of this world's goods; consider the use which He would have made of it, and copy his divine example.

Did he not only employ his heavenly powers, but actually deny himself, suffer, die for your happiness? He pleased not himself. He endured the cross, despising the shame. He poured out his soul unto death. Himself he would not save. He would not come down from the cross. O! how did he for a season annihilate himself! How did he take our place, take our curse, and endure it all! That was compassion. That was looking on the things of others. That was benevolence, disinterested, unparalleled, matchless benevolence. Let this mind be in you. Never can you hope to equal it, for it is infinite,-the grace of a God: but so much the greater your obligation to approach it as nearly as you can.

Christian, you know his grace,--you feel it. How much owest thou unto thy Lord! Do you ever attempt to compute the mighty sum? Endeavor to realize the idea; and if then you feel any reluctance to consecrate your substance to him, it can only be on the ground of its utter insignificance. But he asks for it as an expression of your love,—yes, he asks for it. He comes to you every time an appeal is made to your Christian liberality, and, as he turns on you a look of benignity and love, he inquires, "Lovest thou me?" And as he points to that portion of your property which ought to be devoted to his cause, he asks you

again, "Lovest thou me more than this?" If so, devote it to my cause, consecrate it to my service. And he saith unto you the third time, "Lovest thou me?" If so, "feed my lambs, feed my sheep" support my poor; aid my interest in the world; encourage every effort made to bring home my wandering sheep; think of the millions of them that are perishing, millions for whom I died; shall my love be defrauded of them? shall I not behold in them the travail of my soul and be satisfied? By the love you bear to me, and by the infinitely greater love I bear to you, imitate my love; and you know the extent of that," you know the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich."Harris's Mammon.

MISSION SCHOOLS.

Of the missionaries of the A. B. M. Union, lately designated to Assam, one to be stationed at Gowahatti and the other at Nowgong, (p. 431, last vol.,) the proposed diversity of employments as they are generally regarded, gave occasion in the Instructions of the Executive Committee to remark on their essential oneness both in process and end. Mr. Stoddard, who has been set apart to the gospel ministry equally with his missionary brother, is to be placed in charge of the Nowgong Orphan Institution. This, it was judged, was no essential departure from the work originally contemplated by him and to which it is believed he has been called of the Divine Spirit; but, on the contrary, a more effective, though it might be a more unassuming, method of doing his ministerial work. At the same time, Mr. S. would not be restricted from the occasional discharge of the more public duties of the ministry, according as Providence and his just interpretation of it might direct him. The views expressed by the Committee as above alluded to, it has been suggested, may with propriety be spread before the readers of the Magazine; and we shall accordingly subjoin a few paragraphs from the Instructions, bearing upon the subject of MISSION SCHOOLS.

Having stated the respective avocations of the missionaries, and the expectation entertained by the Committee that they would each abide in his own calling wherein he was called ;” “whether ministry, that he would wait on his ministering; or he that teacheth, on teaching;" the Committee proceed to say :—

Let it not be inferred, however, that the kinds of labor here designated, preaching and teaching, are so essentially distinct in character as they would at first seem to be. It is a distinction rather in forms,-the same spirit, the same object, the same often result, though different of operation. And even this difference of operation, where in both departments the right processes are faithfully adhered to, is a difference but in part and that secondary.

Much has been said, abroad and at home, of the relative importance of preaching and teaching; and many excellent hearts have been troubled lest in the founding and multiplying of schools, the great work of evangelizing should be departed from, and ministers, called to the apostleship of the gospel, "should leave the word of God, and serve tables." This solicitude, highly commendable in itself, has partly arisen, doubtless, from a misconception of what preaching or teaching is, in missions among the heathen; transferring to those terms there the meanings which they bear here. But preaching among the heathen is emphatically and preeminently teaching; it is instilling knowledge, elementary religious truth, drop by drop, into minds with difficulty and by patient skill laid

open to receive it. It is, first, disciplining these minds, teaching them to think, distinguish and reason, and furnishing them with new means and facilities for right acquisition and impression; and then communicating and iterating this elementary truth, even as they are able to bear it. And teaching, at least as it is conducted among the missions of our own connection, is one of the most effective forms of preaching, if by "preaching" we mean, so to exhibit truth as to "make wise unto salvation." The whole history of our mission schools is a blessed exemplification of this. They have been signally nurseries of piety, and, in its noblest sense, of sound learning. The word of God has "dwelt in them richly," and the Spirit of God has quickened the word with a regenerating and sanctifying power.

It was said by a late lamented missionary, the Rev. Mr. Bullard, “A large proportion of the pupils," referring to a Karen school under his own immediate care, "are either professed disciples of Christ or the children of pious parents, when they come to the school. Those who are not pious, generally become Christians the first or second term of their studies." It is the last declaration to which we would direct attention;—pupils who are not pious on entering the school, generally become Christians the first or second terms. This delightful result Mr. Bullard attributed to "the sowing of seed abroad,” i. e., from house to house or by the way-side, and not in chapels or schoolhouses. He ought rather to have said, "This sowing abroad is an essential preliminary to the gathering of a school, and an excellent preparative to the ensuing spiritual culture." But of what avail would it all have been, if the school had not been in the care of Christian teachers, and if the paramount object of the teaching had not been to impart the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, which is life eternal? True, the parents of the children, for the most part, were pious, if the children were not; and this, with the knowledge and susceptibility to truth consequent to it, inust have been a valuable auxiliary to the faithfulness of the teacher. But removed from the influence of their parents and taught by heathen teachers, the pupils would have speedily relapsed into the darkness and stupidity of their first ignorance.

A principal hindrance to the saving operation of divine truth, whether in Christian or heathen lands, consists in the things which prevent its ingress into the understanding and the heart, and its abiding there. Give the truth a lodgement, and it will, ordinarily, in some form or other, assert its power. The leaven will disclose its presence, if once hid. And hence a primary question with all missionaries is, How reach the understanding and the heart? how deposit the seed of the word, and keep it there, till it germinate and grow? The answer is, Preach the word. As said our Lord, who knew what was in man and how to enlighten, and move, and save man, "Preach my gospel to every creature." Publish the glad tidings orally, face to face; where eye shall meet eye, and heart heart. Preach in the house and by the way, in the solemn assembly or by the river side, in the chariot or in the prison. And why preach? Because the voice and the eye are God's appointed ministers to reach the understanding and the heart; and because, being so appointed and adjusted to each other, they are faithful fellow-helpers, and cannot, one or the other, forego their mutual aid without virtual self-despoliation. But does not the religious teacher preach? Does he not with voice, and eye, and heart, labor to convey to the understandings and hearts of the little group around him the facts and principles that concern "the life eternal?" And does he not labor to do this in circumstances most eminently propitious to success? Apart from the heathen world around

and all its corrupting abominations, with nothing pandering to the eye or ear that shall clog "the entrance of the word that giveth light," or "catch away" the bountifully scattered seed, he plies his work day after day and week by week, with line upon line and precept upon precept, upon the same understandings and the same hearts,-and those minds and hearts least overrun with noxious weeds and least scorched and blackened with the raging of heathen lusts, -till the waste becomes a garden, and buds and blooms of richest promise, and the early ripening fruit, begin to appear.

Substantially the same process, to be successful, must be diligently prosecuted by the preaching missionary, though with inferior advantages. His pupils are abroad in the busy haunts of men, worldly, heathen men, and in the midst of sights and sounds unspeakably abhorrent and unimaginably vile. The hearers may be numerous, but of all ages and occupations; and they are ever shifting. He preaches the gospel, but they are listless; the seed falls by the wayside, or on the rock, or among thorns and thistles. Birds of the air gather it, briars and thorns choke it. He needs to prepare the soil. The preacher must in effect, if not in form, act the teacher. He must call aside the arrested inquirer, must teach him day by day, and gradually upraise his mind from the stupor and feebleness of heathenism by gradually infusing into it, in their simplest elements, the light and power of the gospel. This is the ordinary method; and if there are exceptions, it is when God in some marvellous measure has already prepared the way before him.

It will have been noted, that the teaching of which we speak as being practically one with preaching, is of a specific character, and the mission schools in which it is prosecuted are of a specific cast. The schools are in charge of religious teachers, and either taught by the missionary or subject to his immediate supervision and control. They are, strictly speaking, evangelical schools, and the teaching is evangelical. The main subjects of instruction are moral and religious truths, things pertaining to duty, grace and salvation; and the great object of all the teaching, beginning, middle and end, is the manifestation to the minds of the pupils, of the glorious gospel,-that God may "give the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ." It is a widely different thing to multiply heathen schools under heathen teachers, for intellectual culture simply, with a view to individual aggrandizement or even the general elevation of social life;-as though civilization were of necessity or right the precursor of christianization, and not its consequent. The true method as we hold it, the divine method as presented in the bible and abundantly sustained by all missionary experience, is, first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then all other needful things. And if this method be reverently followed, it matters little what the form of evangelization or where the place, that is to say, what the kind of labor; provided it be adapted to time, character and circumstance, and provided also that it be in pursuance of arrangements mutually made (by the missionary and those on whose behalf he labors), and be prosecuted steadily and to a suitable extent.

WHY IS THE GOSPEL NOT MORE SUCCESSFUL IN THE PRESENT DAY?

We are sometimes told, that the socialism, jesuitism, puseyism, and infidelity of the day, are chargeable with the sin of retarding the spread and success of

the gospel; and that the press has latterly poured forth sentiments so irreligious and demoralizing, that religion, abashed, retires in shame. But to whatever extent these evils may have weakened the energies, and crippled the efforts of Christians, I cannot regard them as furnishing a solution of the question now under consideration; such evils may be made the ineans of chastening the church, but they cannot be any real hindrance to her success. The truth is, the church herself is in fault. Might she not, if faithful, have prevented these evils from growing to their present extent? Have they not matured under the shade of her own indolence? Is it not clear, that she does not exemplify that devotedness, piety, and energy, so manifest in her early history? Why is this? Is the human heart grown less susceptible of divine and saving impressions? Does the world at present withhold facilities it once offered for the spread of the gospel? Or does satan now present such a front of opposition, that the church is unable to proceed? Might we not account for the fact, that the gospel, latterly, has not had its former success, on the ground, that the Spirit has withheld his power? It is evident that the church at present, has not so many indications of divine approbation, as she had in her primitive and subsequent history. The apostles were powerful in preaching the gospel, and made deep and permanent impressions on the strong holds of sin. The disciples, too, enriched with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, and walking in the fear of the Lord and comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. The Holy Spirit was the strength, the soul, the life, the energy of all their efforts. He qualified the office-bearers, sanctified the members, and builded them up a temple for the Lord. The history of the church, is the history of the Spirit. In his grace, the primitive Christians were able to meet and confound their enemies, successfully to rebuke sin, and triumphantly to erect the standard of the cross, in despite of all opposition. We widely distinguish between the extraordinary and the ordinary operations of the Spirit. The influence needed, is that which converts the soul.

But what reason, it may be asked, have we to believe that the Spirit has in any measure withheld his power from the church? Has she sinned against him? We reply, we think she has. He may be grieved in many ways. He is grieved, when his influence is resisted, when it is ascribed to other agents, or when it is denied to be absolutely indispensable to the faith, repentance, and salvation of men. The antediluvians sinned in the first manner, the Jews in the first and second, and who can say to what extent the church may not have sinned in all three? At least it may be asked whether she has sufficiently acknowledged the Spirit in her efforts to extend the gospel? whether she has not wofully neglected to honor him in her success? and whether Christians have not frequently proceeded, as if the Holy Spirit had no connexion with religion whatever?

The operations and influences of the Spirit are fully and clearly detailed in the bible; although of this, some modern theologians seem hardly aware. In their sermons, and other theological productions, they may perhaps assign a due prominence to the character of the blessed Father and Son, but not unfrequently manifest a woful indisposition to exhibit the office and agency of the Holy Ghost. Now why is this? Why is it that his presence is not more frequently entreated in prayer? And how is it, that he is so seldom mentioned, with due regard to the importance of his work, in the preaching of the gospel? The honor of the extension of the gospel and the conversion of men, has been too frequently ascribed to human efforts. The platform, the press, and the pulpit, have been loud in their praise of the church, and have seldom failed to ascribe to her societies, and other agencies, much of the glory and success that were peculiarly and justly due to the Holy Spirit. But God will not with impunity perinit his glory to be given to another. Moses was not allowed to enter Canaan, because he honored not God at the rock; and Herod, for a like offence, fell under his displeasure. The highest honor which the church can assume in the salvation of men, is the blessed privilege of preaching the gospel. Whenever she advances beyond this, she moves out of her province, and sins against the Holy Spirit, who, in just displeasure, withdraws his influence, and refuses to acknowledge her efforts.

The church complains of her want of success. Has she then been looking for it in the right direction? Has she been fighting the battles of the Lord with his own weapons? Or has she not, trained in the schools of human discipline,