income of the American Board, as a measure of that interest, does an average contribution of a shilling each, on the part of the members of the churches which it represents, betoken any very ardent, self-denying devotion to this work? Does the average attendance at the monthly concert, or the average number of young men who offer themselves for this service, indicate any excess of zeal on account of it? Has not the work of missions as prosecuted by us, been for years at a stand in the apparent interest of the churches? We have had various means of incitement to bring us out of this state of fixity, but in vain. We have felt the pressure of debt; we have aroused to shake that off, and now we are very cautious not to undertake so much as to run the risk of debt again. The Providence of God has opened vast fields before us; nations hitherto inaccessible, have been brought within our reach; and to this incitement of demand, is added the incitement of glorious, unparalleled success; the shouts of the reapers are heard from the plains of India and of Persia, and from the shores of the Euxine. And still the work drags here at home; it is doubtful each year whether the churches will do as much as they did the last; it is a problem, by what economy shall the Board keep out of debt; and that, when in a single day, we might bring together from the churches in New York, or in Boston, fifty men who could jointly defray the annual expenses. of the American Board, without feeling the cost. Is there not then a hindrance to this work, which has not yet been reached? And where shall that hindrance be found, but in that very skepticism which has now been exposed?

Such skepticism paralyzes the arm of the church. It indisposes those who indulge it, for the use of the means necessary in carrying on such a work. If one is in doubt, whether the heathen would really be benefitted by the gospel, if he does not feel that they are in perishing need of it, of course he will do little or nothing to send it to them. If one is in doubt whether God really intends to accomplish the conversion of the world to Himself, whether it is His will that the Gospel should be everywhere propagated, of course he will scarcely make an attempt to evangelize the world. If one is in doubt whether this is the time for engaging in this work, he will not engage in it heartily, if at all. If one has little confidence in the present means, he will act with little energy, or keep aloof from such impracticable schemes. Thus the work is crippled on every hand by unbelief. Unbelief, besides restraining the energies of the church, incapacitates those who indulge it, for appreciating the work of the Lord, and for rendering Him the glory which is His due. In this way, it puts a restraint upon Divine influence, as well as upon human energy. God will not dishonor Himself, by courting the confidence of those who, like Israel of old, are unbelieving, in spite of all His marvel

lous works. Viewed as a check upon Christian activity, and an obstacle to the operations of the Holy Spirit, unbelief must be confessed to be the great hindrance to the missionary work.

III. But if skepticism be the main hindrance to the missionary work-a work so approved of God in His Word and providencehow unreasonable and wicked is it, for any to indulge in such a state of mind.

Look at the course of Providence in relation to the missionary work; especially at events of recent origin, within the range of our own observation. In no period of the history of redemption, not even when preparing the fulness of time for the Messiah's advent, has the providence of God been more marked than of late years, in its bearing on the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. What facilities have we for communication with all parts of the world; with what security can missionaries now labor in almost any part of the globe. How has the British empire, like the Roman empire of old, made a highway among the nations and across the seas, for the advance of Christianity! How large a portion of the globe "appears to be placed by Providence, at the disposal of Christendom!" Is it nothing in relation to our work, that India has fallen into the hands of Great Britain, rather than of Russia or of Rome, and that a more wise and liberal policy pervades the counsels of her rulers? Is it nothing that the pride of China has been broken by a rod of iron, that her ports are open to the commerce of Christian nations, and that tolerance is granted to their faith? Religious toleration we have, too, in Turkey, guarded by the sovereign edict, though sometimes evaded by the shifts of private malice. No system of religion but Christianity in some form, is now gaining ground in the world. The most ancient, extensive and powerful systems, Brahmanism, Buddhism and Mahometanism, are evidently waning. Christianity alone is vital, is aggressive, is advancing. The providence of God in respect to this work, would form one of the most interesting chapters in the history of His government. Never has He stamped any work, as more peculiarly His own. It has the seal of His Spirit. Against such evidence that this is the Lord's work, as is furnished by the whole current of His providence, is it not unreasonable, and even presumptious, to doubt it? In view of the recorded prayers of holy men, for the coming of Christ's kingdom, prayers indited by the Holy Spirit, or taught by Christ Himself; in view of the predicted triumphs of the gospel, yet unaccomplished; in view of the unrevoked, unlimited command of Christ, "Go, teach all nations," is it not wicked to give place to unbelief? No Christian can be skeptical in this matter, innocently. While he is doubting whether the heathen are in danger,' they are perishing by thousands; while he is doubting whether God intends the salvation of the world, His providence pauses,

as it were, reluctantly, in the mighty work; while he is doubting whether this is the time for action, the seed-time of the millenium is wearing away; while he is doubting whether the work can be done at all, he is making it sure that it will not be accomplished by this generation. How cruel to the heathen are such doubts as these. Wo to the world, because of the unbelief of the church.

This unbelief is disastrous, in proportion to the interests at stake. The salvation of millions from eternal death, is at stake here. To accomplish a work so vast, there is needed a faith which shall grasp the principles on which that work proceeds; which shall firmly ally the soul with Christ and His cause; which will scarcely brook a doubt or fear. A faith that falls short of this, falls short of the work, falls short of the demands of God in His providence. God is indicating to His people His readiness to do mighty works by their instrumentality. We see signs of His coming no less portentous, than if huge meteors blazed along the sky, and the flaining host were marshaled there for battle. The stars in their courses, fight against the enemies of God. Christ is abroad among the nations, dashing them together like vessels of clay, or stilling the noise of war and the tumult of the people. There is no mistaking the signs of these times. Great changes are at hand. All things are tending toward the higher development of man. The world is full of revolutions; revolutions not merely of blood, but in the thoughts and habits of men, in the policy of nations, in systems of education, of religion, of government, in everything affecting the welfare of the race. We are nearing the moral crisis of the world, when after so long a struggle, the social, intellectual, political and moral elevation of mankind, may be finally secured. Satan is driven from one hold to another, and foiled at every turn. Expedients are failing him. He stirs up war, and it becomes the occasion of spreading the kingdom of peace. He excites persecution, but instead of exterminating the saints of God, it brings about full liberty of conscience, and favors the organization of independent Christian churches. He panders to superstition, by devices so successful in the dark ages, but only provokes another reformation in the land of Luther. His old arts will not serve him now. He rages up and down in the earth, like a wild beast, driven from his lair. He lashes himself into fury, knowing that his rage is impotent. He calls upon his ancient allies, but they are gone. The four great monarchies are fallen. The Babylonian empire, the Persian, the Macedonian, the Roman, all are gone. There is no great power of the earth, by which he can now hope to strengthen his cause. The gods of ancient Greece and Rome are gone; Jupiter no longer thunders; the sounding chariot of Mars no longer shakes the sky. Thor, too, and Odin, have departed.

The Scandinavian deities are buried in the oblivion of their worshippers. He turns to the thirty million gods of India; but they are filled with consternation, at walls and temples deserted, at Christian schools and churches springing up around them. He looks to the shrine of Buddh, but the high-priest of that widespread system, is mourning over its weakness and decay. He turns to the region of the false prophet; but Islamism is under bonds to the Christian powers of Europe. He comes at length to his long-tried and faithful ally at Rome; but even he is yielding to the new order of things, and imbibing the spirit of the age. Nay, the triple crown itself, is endangered by the populace. Thus, the great adversary is made to feel that his hour is well nigh come. The last links of the chain that is to bind him in the pit, are being forged. Hell stands aghast at the impending ruin of her chief. The interest of heaven becomes intense, as a new seal is opened, and another trumpet is about to sound. Shall this be the blast of victory? Shall the shout come up, "the kingdoms of this world are the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ?" What can hinder it! Satan, with all his forces crippled, his allies beaten and deserting, his ingenuity exhausted, his malice spent, must now be crushed. Ah, he has one hope left! He knows man too well to fear. Again and again has God led His people to the verge of victory, and they have turned back, like İsrael, from the border of Canaan. Again and again have powerful and well-directed assaults on the kingdom of darkness, failed in the midst of success, because the men were wanting, and the spirit was wanting, to improve the advantage. The last hope of Satan is in a timid, doubting church. He scatters distrust and fear among God's people. They hesitate, they fall back. Their skepticism checks the auspicious onset, prolongs the reign of darkness, abandons the world to guilt and wretchedness; and while God would give a millenium to earth, it gives a jubilee to hell!

ARTICLE IV.

THE RELIGION OF MERIT AND THE RELIGION OF

GRACE.

By REV. ROBERT W. HILL, East Bloomfield, N. Y.

THE Institutions of our Divine Redeemer, are marked with peculiar energy and life. When he spake, men felt and confessed the commanding influence of His words. Under His simple announcement of the truth, and His searching faithful application of it to their hearts and lives as before God, they were constrained to admit, as if wrought upon by some supernatural agency, the presence of an all-pervading Omniscience, and to do willing or reluctant homage to an invisible, mysterious irresistable power, dwelling in and energizing His instructions. How profound was the impression left upon the minds of the people, at the close of His sermon on the mount. No power of art or rhetoric had been invoked to catch the ear or move the hearts of the listening multitude; no appeals were made to the passions; no allusions to questions calculated to arouse the spirit or stir up the popular mind, and secure an immediate strong response from such an auditory. It was a calm serene dignified utterance of spiritual and heavenly truths-the simple statement and application of the leading principles of His kingdom. And yet what other preacher ever secured such an impression by a similar exhibition of truth? They "were astonished at His doctrine; for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Hence also the confusion of the soldiers that were sent to apprehend Him, who were suddenly and irresistibly deprived of all power, to execute their commission. "Never man spake like this man." His instructions burn upon the conscience; expose and bring to light the hidden recesses and secret workings of the heart; winnow the chaff from the wheat; separate the precious from the vile. With what power of demonstration did He sweep away men's refuges of lies, and establish His own pure and sublime doctrines. With what power of discrimination, and power of classification, and power of illustration, did he judge of human actions, and run the great separating lines of human character and destiny, and constrain the world to see and confess, and feel the truth of what He said! His simplest illustrations were most convincing, and brought the truth home to the judgment and conscience of the hearer. A simple narrative was sufficient to expose hypocrisy, and teach sincerity, and

Mat. 7: 28, 29.