world shall be restored to order and clothed with beauty; and this miserable world be filled with joy and rejoicing.'

"And in the production of these effects there exists a mystery, similar to that which presents itself in the doctrines of the gospel; for strange to say, it is the promulgation of those doctrines which are opposed to the prejudices and peculiarities of unregenerate men, and which cut up by the roots the doctrine of the moral efficacy of works, which are at the same time productive of the existence and extension of good works! Piety in practice, is continuous and commensurate with purity in doctrine; and purity in doctrine destroys all pretensions to human merit or ability, either in generating or continuing grace. While the descendants of the Reformers continued to preach the inherent and original depravity of man, and salvation by faith through the imputed righteousness of a Redeemer, applied to the heart and conscience by the direct and immediate agency of the Holy Ghost, their church and society was like the garden of God, because their conduct reflected the moral brightness of Jesus as transmitted by his soul-purifying doctrines; but no sooner did 'philosophy falsely so called,' usurp the place of the gospel, endeavouring to make the revelation of God conform to the heart of man, instead of conforming the heart to the gospel, than the whole scene became changed. An adulterated gospel was accompanied by a spurious morality, and down and downwards they went, hand in hand, until Christ was dethroned and Christian morality scouted. For a proof of this I would refer you to Geneva-to many parts of Germany-to Cambridge, and other portions of New England, and to the Arian Synod of the North of Ireland.

"1. From this subject we may infer the importance of a faithful gospel ministry, seeing its duty is to warn every man.' He who bears the cross of Christ in the occupancy of the gospel ministry, should have that soul-ennobling love of his Master and of man, which will enable him to present the truth fully and fearlessly to every man's conscience. Coveting the moral regeneration of his hearers more than their gifts, and fearing the loss of their souls more than the loss of their smiles, he should present the truth in all its naked and unvarnished simplicity-in all the fulness of its promises, and the dreadfulness of its sanctions to every man.' Fear should not deter him; love should embolden him; the desire to stand with unbloody skirts before the throne of judgment should prompt him, and his allegiance to the King of glory should continually stimulate him to be faithful even unto death, that he might' present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.'

"2. This subject also exhibits to us the importance of an able gospel ministry, seeing its duty is to 'teach every man in all wisdom.' Before all things it behooveth every gospel minister to be taught by the Holy Ghost, that in the light of his instruction he may see the truth, and in the warmth of his genial influences he may apply it. Next to the light and heat of the sun of righteousness, he should possess an active and cultivated mind. He who leads an intelligent people, should himself

"We have a rare and striking instance of the union and effect of this doctrine and practice in the 'Hollis professor' of divinity in the University of Harvard! Mr. Hollis endowed a professorship expressly for the support of the evangelical doctrines of grace, even specifying those doctrines with a precision which seems needless, unless all moral honesty should depart from the land. Mr. Hollis died-the University of Harvard departed from its original purity of doctrine, until it became a Unitarian Institution; and so exactly did their morality subside with their doctrines, that they have actually in the face of the world, taken this endowment, and perverted it from the known and expressed will of the donor to the support of Unitarian heresy!”

be intelligent; and he who would teach all men in all wisdom,' should himself be taught. An ignorant teacher is a solecism in sense and science; in morals and religion. I do not mean that he should be able to garnish the sword of the Spirit with those flowers of rhetoric which rather militate against, than minister to its efficiency; nor that he should be fond of dabbling in those cold and caustic metaphysical speculations which blunt, at once, its edge, and harden the heart upon which it is intended to operate, but, on the contrary, that he should possess a vigorous intellect, enriched with knowledge and warmed by grace. If it be truth, and truth only that can save, and not untruth, however sincerely administered or received-he who ministers should be able to discriminate between them. But as a man may preach truth and nothing but truth, and yet be one of the most successful agents of the prince of darkness by withholding the truth-the peculiar evangelical truths of the gospel-he who ministers should be faithful to present the whole truth.

"3. We here see the great end and aim of a faithful and able gospel ministry, viz. to 'present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.' What a glorious embassage, to prepare souls for Jesus! What a glorious system, the working and operation of which of necessity tendeth to the perfection of individual and social happiness! Surely the gospel minister who possesseth the faithfulness and ability which the call and the culture of the Holy Ghost produceth, may afford to bear the frowns of fortune and of friends-to live a life of reproach and hardship, and if needs be, die in poverty and be buried in beggary, when he recollects the dignity of his work and the glory of his destiny! that he is working for God and working with God, and that he yet shall be like God, for he shall see him as he is!'

"And surely it behooveth society to cling with all its energy to that system which Almighty God has lowered to earth that he might raise earth to heaven! If this angel of the covenant hath come for the express aud only purpose of presenting every man perfect in Christ Jesus,' would not policy, as well as duty and love, urge every man to embrace it with a determination not to let it go until it bless him.

"For twelve years, brethren, I have laboured, with what faithfulness and ability I possessed, to preach these truths in this church. And standing upon the elevation and responsibility of this twelfth anniversary among you, I feel the high and holy enthusiasm, as well as the fearful obligation, which my station and my message are calculated to produce. Twelve years have I endeavoured to preach to you this gospel in the church and in the family-in the social circle, and by the bed of sickness. And while I feel, more deeply than you can appreciate, my want of faithfulness and wisdom, commensurate with the great work in which I have been engaged, it would argue a destitution both of gratitude and humility, not to acknowledge that God has accompanied the ministration of his own 'glorious gospel,' weakly and unworthily as it has been dispensed, with an approving blessing. I have seen God, in that period, increase the church more than fourfold; I have sat beside the dying couch of parents and of children who have died 'in the Lord,' and have wept with you in your griefs and rejoiced with you in your joys, until we have become, both as a church and congregation, a numerous people.* And all this has been accomplished, not

"As a specimen of the support and success which the various benevolent and religious efforts of the day have met with in this congregation, I would mention the

by might nor power, but simply by the preaching of these mysteries of a crucified Jesus.

"On this anniversary I take the opportunity of acknowledging your kindness and Christian courtesy towards me. I came among you twelve years ago a stranger and you took me in, and with loving-kindness you have all treated me, and invariably treated me, to the present hour. We have known nothing, in all that time, but harmony, and have seen nothing but increase of members and mutual affection. For this, under God, I present my thanks, while I would solicit you to pardon whatever I have done, or whatever you may have thought I have done, unnecessarily, to wound your feelings, or in any way to injure you, in body, in spirit, or in soul. And here also, let me testify my belief, that for this harmony in heart and action, we are indebted to the simple presentation of the doctrines of our standards.

"But, brethren, while we rejoice in the gospel of Jesus, and in what God has wrought by it for us, both in strengthening us in numbers, and cementing us in harmonious feeling and action, yet it may not be concealed, when we look over this beloved congregation, that there appears abundant reason for sorrow and heaviness of heart. Do I not see some respected parents in this assembly who have not yet attained the hope of glory? Do I not see many a beloved youth who is living professedly without God and without Christ, and without hope in the world?' Do I not see some, to whom God has given his blessings with a princely liberality-men of wealth-men of cultivated intellects -men lovely in their characters, and beloved for their moral worth, who have never yet sought that perfection of character which is to be found in Christ Jesus? Yes-there is in the midst of this fruitful heritage, a sterile sahara-a moral desert, upon which, though the same sun has shone which has warmed hundreds of others into spiritual life; and the same gracious showers have descended which have nourished and ripened others for glory, yet to this day it remains a sandy desert-a flinty rock, dry, barren, and verdureless.

"Beloved brethren, you are not as I found you, either as it regards place or character. You are now twelve years nearer to the bar of judgment-resisting grace, you are of necessity more hardened than you were then-and the probability is now much greater than it was twelve years ago, that you will never be saved. Never be saved! live without God-treasure up wrath against the day of wrath, and finally ripened by sin, die—and be lost!

"But is this necessary, O sinner? Are you so desirous of the company and occupation of lost spirits, as to generate a necessity for your souls to go to hell? or is it necessary, because the riches of the glory of this mystery,' cannot save you? Ah no! the grace of Christ can enrich your poverty, be it never so deep-and the blood of Calvary can cleanse your souls be they never so polluted-and present you, 'perfect in Christ Jesus,' notwithstanding all your opposition and all your delay. Sinner, dear sinner, come then, for all things are now ready'-the blood of Christ to wash you-the love of God to accept you-the heaven of God to harbour you. Before another similar anniversary occurs, you and I may meet at the judgment bar; I to account for my faithfulness in' warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom,' and fact that, to my knowledge, not one connected with the communion of our church, is at present, engaged in manufacturing or selling ardent spirits. Since this benevolent effort commenced, one distillery and seven stores owned by persons belonging to this congregation, have discontinued this business."

you to give an account for the manner in which you have received and used this talent of a preached gospel. Beware then of trifling with present time and present privileges, for upon their use depends Eternity, with its inexpressible and eternal wo, or its unimaginable and endless glory!

"Christians, your day is short, and the work of Jesus committed to you is great, and glorious, and urgent. Reflect brightly his light and let it radiate in your actions all around, that 'men seeing it may glorify your Father which is in heaven,' and that having your work done and your lamp burning, when the call is made, the Bridegroom cometh,' you may be found 'perfect in Christ Jesus.'

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen."

CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE.

Written on catching a glimpse of the clear azure, as seen, in the distance, between dark and gathering clouds.

Why is the Christian chained
To this beclouded spot,

When scenes at hand, and scenes afar,
Proclaim his painful lot?

There, wide and cloudless views
Bespeak a world of light,

While here the brightest ray that gleams
Scarce dissipates the night.

Here, clouds and storms molest
A dark and straitened way,

While there dwells calmness undisturbed,
Midst boundless fields of day.

Here, trammels bind him fast
To a contagious clod,

But there are scenes that fire the soul
To soar and cleave to God.

Then why is he thus chained
To this beclouded spot,

When scenes at hand, and scenes afar,
Proclaim his painful lot?

To answer moral ends

He's kept awhile below;

Reason and scripture jointly prove
It is, it must be so:

To look, by faith, above,

For energy divine,

And, as the heavenly influence grows,
To let his graces shine:

To yield, and thus improve

In resignation sweet;

And, by earth's cross, for heaven's crown,
Daily to grow more meet:

To show the power of grace
To stem the tide of sin,
And, by the force of holy love,
The sons of men to win:

To view, awhile, through storms,
Sunshine and calm above;

Then, with more zest, from pain and grief,
To rise to joy and love.

These are among the ends
Which, rightly understood,

Prove that the Christian's trials "work
Together for his good."

Then let him not repine,

But "drink the cup that's given;"
So shall he, e'en on earth enjoy
A quickening taste of heaven:

Till, presently unchained,
Grateful, he'll soar away

To share and swell the bliss that gleams
From glory's cloudless day.

Then "faithful unto death,"
Let him himself employ

In deeds of love, till Christ shall say,
"Enter thy Master's joy."

[Evang. Mag.

Miscellaneous.

THE PENGUIN AND ALBATROSS.

We have found the following interesting and instructive article of natural history in a daily newspaper-The author is not mentioned. We have modified a single sentence.

The feathered tribe are very numerous on these lonely isles of the southern hemisphere, both in the South Seas and in the South Pacific Ocean. Of penguins there are four kinds which resort to the Falkland Islands, viz. the king penguin, the macaroni, the jackass, and the rookery. The first of these is much larger than a goose; the other three are smaller, differing in appearance in several particulars. They all walk upright, as their legs project from their bodies in the same direction with their tails; and when fifty or more of them are moving in file, they appear at a distance like a company of juvenile soldiers. They carry their heads high, with their wings drooping like two arms. As the feathers on the breast are delicately white, with a line of black running across the crop, they have been aptly compared, when seen at a little distance, to a company of children, with white aprons tied round their waists with black strings. This feathered animal may be said to combine the qualities of men, fishes and fowls: upright like the first; their wings and feet acting the part of fins, like the second; and furnished with bills and feathers, like the third. Their gait on land, however, is very awkward; more so than that of a jack-tar just landed from a long voyage; their legs not being much better adapted for walking than their wings are for flying.

The next most remarkable bird to be found on these shores is the penguin's intimate associate and most particular friend the albatross. This is one of the largest and most formidable of the South Sea birds; being of the gull kind, and taking its prey upon the wing. Like many other oceanic birds, the albatross never comes on land except for the purpose of breeding; when the attachment that exists between it and the penguin is evinced in many remarkable instances; indeed it seems as firm as any that can be formed by the sincerest friends. Their nests are constructed with great uniformity near to each other; that of the albatross being always in the centre of a little square, formed by the nests of four penguins.

When a sufficient number of penguins, albatross, &c. are assembled on the shore, after a deliberate consultation upon the subject, they proceed to the execution of the grand purpose for which they left their favourite element. In the first place, they carefully select a level piece of ground, of suitable extent, often comprising four or five acres, and as near the water as practicable; alwas preferring that which is the least encumbered with stones, and other hard substances, with which it would be dangerous to have their eggs come in contact. As soon as they are satisfied on this point, they proceed to lay out the plan of their projected encampment; which task they commence by tracing a well defined parallelogram, of sufficient magnitude to accommodate the whole fraternity, say from one to five acres. One side of this square runs parallel with the water's edge; and is always left open for egress and regress; the other three sides are differently arranged.

These industrious feathered labourers next proceed to clear all the ground within the square from obstructions of every kind; picking up the stones in their bills, and carefully depositing them outside of the lines above mentioned, until they sometimes, by this means, create quite a little wall on three sides of the rookery. Within this range of stones and rubbish they form a pathway, six or eight feet in width, and as smooth as any of the paved or gravelled walks in New York Park, or on the battery. This path is for a general promenade by day, and for the sentinels to patrol at night.

Having thus finished their little works of defence on the three land