the purpose of promoting his glory in the world. Let us see whether God or Mammon, whether the promotion of the best interests of mankind or "the lust of the flesh and the pride of life," rule supreme in their hearts. That man who refuses to come forward with his wealth, when it is proved to be requisite for the purposes alluded to, ought not to assume the name of a Christian. He has never felt the influence of that divine maxim of our Saviour, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." He virtually declares, that "laying up treasure on earth," providing fortunes for his family, keeping up a certain rank in society, and living in luxurious abundance, are matters of far greater importance than the approach of the Millennium and the regeneration of the world. If a man is in doubt with respect to the existence of religious principle in his soul, I know not a better test than this, by which to try the sincerity of his Christian profession: Is he willing, at the call of God, to give up a portion of his possessions to His service, and even "to forsake all" to prove himself "a follower of Christ?" There is a certain class of religionists who are continually whining about the low state of religion, and the wickedness that prevails among all ranks; and there is another class who are frequently talking about the calculations that have been made respecting the predicted period of the "latter-day glory;" but when you ask any of these classes to put their hands in their pockets, in order to supply means for improving society and hastening the approach of that glory, they will rebound from you as the north-poles of two magnets rebound from each other, and will tell you, with an air of apathy and spiritual pride, 'that the spirit is not yet poured out, that man can do nothing of himself, and that God's time is not yet come.' If Christians were uni. versally to act upon such views, the predicted glory of future ages would never be realized. "It is not for us to know the times and the seasons which the Father hath reserved in his own power;" but we know that it is our present duty to consecrate to the service of God and the good of mankind all the powers and faculties with which we are invested, all the energies we are capable of exerting, and all the treasures not essential to our comfort, to carry forward the building of the Spiritual Temple, and to 66 prepare the way of the Lord."

In short, it is now more than time that true Christians were rising above the false maxims of the world, the calculating spirit of commerce, the degrading views of the sons of avarice, and the pursuit of earthly honours and distinctions, and acting in conformity to the noble character by which they wish to be distinguished. Let them come forward in the face of the world, and

declare by their conduct, and their noble generosity, that while they enjoy and relish the bounties of the Creator, they despise the vain pageantry of fashionable life, with all its baubles, and are deter mined to consecrate to rational and religious objects all the superfluities of wealth which have been hitherto devoted to luxury and pride. Every Christian hero should be distinguished in society (whether he be sneered at or applauded by the men of the world) by his determined opposition to worldly principles and maximsby his abhorrence of avarice-by his active exertions in the cause of philanthropy-and by the liberal portion of his substance which he devotes to the cause of education and religion; and the Church ought to exclude from her pale all who refuse, in this way, to approve themselves the disciples of Jesus. Better have a Church composed of a select band of a hundred "right-hearted men," ardent, generous, and persevering, than a thousand lukewarm professors, who are scarcely distinguishable from the world, and who attempt to serve both God and Mammon. Such a select band of Christian heroes, in different parts of the Universal Church, “shining as lights in the world, in the midst of a perverse generation," and-exerting all their influence and power in counteracting ignorance and depravity, and promoting the dif fusion of every branch of useful knowledge, would do more to prepare the way for the approach of the Millennium, than ten times the number of a mixed multitude of professing Christians who are sunk into a state of apathy, and have little more of religion than the name. Their influence would be powerful in every circle in which they moved-they would make the rich professors of religion ashamed of their parsimony and their indo. lence they would induce the lukewarm Christian either to come cheerfully forward with his wealth and influence, or give up the profession of religion altogether, and take his stand at once among the men of the world; and they would stimulate the young generation around them to consecrate the vigour of their lives to such holy activities. They would doubtless be sneered at by the licentious, the avaricious, and the gay; and even by the proud and wealthy ecclesiastic, who has never imbibed the spirit of a Neff or an Oberlin, but every one who is conscious that "his witness is in heaven, and his record on high," will look down with a becoming indifference on the scorn of such men, and "hold on his way rejoicing."-"Who, then, is a wise man among us, and en dowed with knowledge,"-" to whom God hath given riches, and the power to use them?"-let him come forward with his stores of knowledge and his treasures of wealth, and dedicate them to the service of the Most High; and bring along with him a few

more congenial minds to embark in the same undertaking, and great shall be his reward. "For they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."

It is said, that when the town of Calais, after a siege of twelve months, wished to surrender to Edward III. he demanded that six of the most considerable citizens should be sent to him, car. rying the keys of the city in their hands, bareheaded and barefooted, with ropes about their necks, to be sacrificed to his vengeance. This cruel demand threw the inhabitants into a state of unutterable consternation, and they found themselves incapable of coming to any resolution in so distressing a situation. At last, one of the principal inhabitants, Eustace de St. Pierre, stepped forth, and declared himself willing to encounter death for the safety of his friends and companions; another, animated by his example, made a like generous offer; a third and a fourth presented themselves to the same fate, and the whole number was soon completed. Shall such a sacrifice as this, extending even to life itself, be cheerfully made; and shall we not find as many Christians in every town willing to sacrifice the third, or fourth, or at least the tenth part of their property for the good of mankind, and the regeneration of society? The offerings, in ancient times, for the service of God, far exceeded any thing that has yet been attempted under the Christian economy. The gold and silver alone, offered for the rearing of the tabernacle, amounted to upwards of £300,000 of the present value of British money, besides the brass, the shittim wood, the linen, the embroidered curtains, the oynx stones and jewels, and the regular tithe which every Israelite annually paid of all that he possessed. When the temple was about to be erected, David, along with his princes and captains, contributed no less than 108,000 talents of gold, and 1,017,000 talents of silver, which amounted to more than 900 millions of pounds sterling; and the expense of the sacrifices offered on this occasion amounted to several hundred thousand pounds.-1 Chron. xxii. 14.-xxix. 3-9. These offerings were a tribute of gratitude to God, the original bestower of every enjoyment; and hence, David, when he blessed the Lord before all the congregation, declared, "All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. All this store we have prepared to build an house for thy holy name cometh of thee, and is all thine own." The tithes, or tenth of their income, were designed as an acknowledgment that they had received their estates from his free gift, and held them by no other tenure but his bounty. They were a kind of quit-rent annually paid to the Great Pro

prietor of the soil, for the maintenance of his worship, and the instruction of the people. And why should not the estates of Christians be viewed in the same light, and a similar portion of them be devoted to the same purpose? The tenth of the incomes of the inhabitants of Britain would annually amount to many millions; yet all that has been collected by the British and Foreign Bible Society, the most popular of all our religious institu tions, during thirty years of its operation, is only about two millions of pounds. Notwithstanding, however, the general apathy which exists on this subject, I am disposed to indulge the hope, that, ere long, thousands of Christians in different parts of the Church, will come cheerfully forward and consecrate, not merely a tenth, but in many instances, one-half of their substance, for carrying forward the designs of Providence for the reformation of the world. Such offerings are nothing more than what is requisite for accomplishing this grand object; and when such a spirit of liberality becomes general in the Christian Church, we may confidently expect that the happy era is fast approaching, when the light of divine truth shall shed its radiance on every land-when "The glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together-when the wilderness and the solitary place shall be made glad, and when righteousness and praise shall spring forth before all nations."

The inhabitants of New England, I am confident, will be among the first to set such a noble example to every other na. tion. From small beginnings, they have advanced more rapidly in religious and intellectual improvement than any other people under heaven; but they have not yet attained the acme of improvement, "neither are they already perfect;" but "must press forward to the mark," without "looking back" with self-compla cency on the advancement they have hitherto made, and "stretch forwards towards those things which are before." There are, perhaps, few circumstances in the history of mankind more remarkable than the landing of the persecuted pilgrims of New England on the rock at Plymouth, and the important consequences which have been the result of the settlement of that small and distressed colony. About a hundred individuals, driven from their native land by the demon of persecution, landed at that point, near the middle of winter in 1620, with prospects the most dismal and discouraging-fatigued by a long and boisterous voyageforced on a dangerous and unknown shore on the approach of the most rigorous season of the year-surrounded with hostile barbarians, without the least hope of human aid-worn out with toil and suffering, and without shelter from the rigour of the climate; so

that, in the course of three or four months, forty-six of their number were carried off by mortal sickness. Yet this small band of Christian heroes laid the foundation of all the improvements in knowledge, religion, liberty, agriculture, and the arts, that distinguish the New England States; which now contain a population of nearly two millions of souls. Through their instrumentality, and that of their successors," the wilderness has been turned into fruitful fields," hundreds of cities and towns have been founded, colleges and splendid temples have been reared, civil and religious liberty established on a solid basis, the education of the young, and mental and moral improvement, promoted to an extent beyond that of any other nation upon earth. These circumstances, furnish a proof of what a small body of persevering and wellprincipled men can achieve in the midst of difficulties and discouragements, and a powerful motive to excite us to engage in every holy activity. And I trust, the descendants of these pilgrims, animated by their noble example, will rise to still greater heights of intelligence and virtue, till knowledge become universal-till moral evil be completely undermined-till "righteousness run down their streets like a river," and till the influence of such moral movements be felt among all the families of the earth.

CHAPTER XIII.

Principles on which a National System of Education should be established.

In attempting to establish any new system, however excellent, many obstacles and impediments present themselves, arising from the feelings, interests, and preconceived opinions of mankind. In establishing such a system of education as we have described, one great obstacle would arise in this country from the interests and conflicting opinions of religious sectaries. Religion, which was intended by its Author to introduce harmony, and to promote affection among mankind, would, in all probability, be brought forward to interrupt the noblest efforts of benevolence in the cause of of universal instruction. Every sectary would be apt to insist on its perculiar dogmas being recognised, and especially those which are more directly patronised by the State would prefer a double claim for the superintendence and control of all the arrangements connected with the education of the young. Such conflicting elements and party interests have already prevented the establishment of institutions which might have proved beneficial to the