man's undying interest therein, these great facts of human nature are too strong for modern criticism. While men live and labour, and sin and suffer, they will eagerly crave and welcome that old gospel, which, I trust, it will ever be your delight, as it is your calling, to proclaim within these walls. Whatever be new in the form of your teaching, let the matter of it be old. And remembering that not only does the gospel disclose the one divine remedy, but is also itself the best unfolder of its own plan, see that you model your preaching after the Bible ideal, beginning where the Bible begins, and ending where it ends; making that central which it makes central, and subordinating all else to that; laying well the ground of your teaching in the sad facts of human guilt, depravity, and inability, and building thereupon the blessed doctrines of grace; presenting the truth in its own fine proportions, and in its various and perfect adaptation to human need; showing how it covers the whole facts of human life and experience, and how it supplies the requisites and the guarantees for a steady and progressive advancement in the divine life; blending in your prelections the doctrinal with the practical, the general with the particular, and showing how the gospel, while a liberal dispenser to all, has his own portion to each individual soul; in fine, carrying on your hearers, step by step, and from stage to stage, of their Christian course, and, as you do so, ever holding up the cross as the governing power in the whole spiritual movement, like the pole-star, which, wherever men sail, and whithersoever they traffic, holds the commerce of the world in its eye.

Need I say, secondly, that not only must you faithfully report the message entrusted to you, but you must seek to enforce it,- -more especially by the power that resides in you as a man and Christian. Of course the message itself will carry its own testimony to an eager and susceptible listener; but God has so tied together the messenger and the message in the moral effects produced by preaching, that the two cannot be separated without producing results that are either impotent or injurious. Speaking generally, I might observe that all that you are in yourself and in your attainments ought to give effect to your preaching. Your scholarship, your wide reading, your culture, your mental force, your knowledge of human nature, your sympathy with modern thought, etc.,-all these will have their place in the cumulative moral effect, as tending to give freshness, precision, livingness to your thought, as well as that modern tone and colouring and direct practical force competent to one who makes daily use of eyes and ears,--who is a modern among his books, and a living man among living men. But, passing by those elements of effectiveness, or rather simply taking them for granted, let me remind you in a sentence how immensely, how incalculably, the force of your message is multiplied by personal example and influence. When a Christian man speaks Christian truth from a pulpit, being what he is, he speaks it with a power that is quite unique. It is not merely that he commands the force derived from the undoubted earnestness of the moment, which, as it comes from conviction in the speaker, is likely to produce conviction in the hearer, but behind this there is all the momentum produced by that energetic thing called personal godliness. This, when it becomes the seconder of the speaker's appeals, sometimes gives the force of arrows or cannon-balls to feeble utterances,--yea, more frequently it resolves itself into that power of the Holy Ghost by which the word spoken is felt to be not the word of man, but the word of the living God. And this power of personal godliness not only ever stands behind the speaker to give force and efficacy to what he says, but it becomes a constant sermon, preaching for him at all times, silent or speaking becomes the generative force by which he moves others to good,-a sort of standing testimony, or living body of Christian evidences, which, while the good man lives and labours, lifts up its protesting voice against prevailing ungodliness, and gives the lie to the sneer or the scoff of the infidel. this it does not the less effectually, that the influence of the godly minister's character is often not so much obtruded upon public notice, being rather silently diffused through the general life of the community, like the purity of the atmosphere, or the fragrance of flowers.

And

All this leads up to my third and last remark, which I shall do little more than NO. II. VOL. XXII. NEW SERIES.-FEBRUARY 1878.

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announce, this, viz., that if you would do real work for God,-effective work,you must be a man of prayer. It is only under this condition that the gospel can become the power of God to your hearers-the power of God unto salvation. The saving power of God operates in and by your message; but how? Only through God Himself giving testimony to the word of His grace. And as this testimony is the result of a divine operation that takes place in the mind of both speaker and hearer, in the one case giving utterance to the truth, and in the other giving it entrance, so the preacher's first and last appeal must be to that divine Spirit who at first inspired the saving message, and whose office it now is to make it spiritually intelligible and convincing. Without prayer, you are powerless as a preacher, for all your success is drawn from the region of the divine energy; and indeed, when you consider your work as a whole, and the position in which that work places you as standing between the living God and the souls of sinful men,-that God in you and by you may accomplish in them His saving power,-it will more and more appear that prayer must be the very atmosphere in which you live your life and perform your ministry. The more you realize the importance and magnitude of the task set before you, the more will you feel your need of divine wisdom and divine support, and the more earnestly will you seek them. You will not be deterred from your work by the greatness of it, or by the formidable character of possible or conceivable difficulties. These difficulties are there to be overcome. If they were less than they are, you would in all probability be less able to master them, for you might then be tempted to lean upon an arm of flesh for that which, rightly measured, can only be accomplished by the omnipotent grace of God. This day, in view of the future and of the duties that lie before you, you may be tempted to say, 'Who is sufficient for these things?' But it is good for you to take this measure of your work and of yourself in relation to it, for it is when you most distrust yourself that you are led to repose the deepest confidence in God. In this deep confidence trust you will begin your work and carry it on from day to day. And if, in the outset of your ministry, or at any time in the course of it, you should feel discouraged by difficulties or borne down by the sense of weakness, let this thought come to you for comfort, that such painful experiences are the price we have to pay for the blessed discovery of God's grace as being that which is always sufficient, and which, when perfected in us, is only made perfect in our weakness.

And now, in addressing a few words to the congregation, I trust I shall not be misunderstood if I should err on the side of brevity, as if that implied that the counsels and encouragements that might be addressed to you were fewer or less full than those that have been addressed to your minister. It is precisely because your duties and privileges run parallel to his, that I do not again traverse the ground I have already gone over, but trust rather to your power of self-reflection and self-application to give to the remarks already made, that turn that will make them profitable to you as well as to your minister.

This remark being made by way of explanation, I shall now content myself with three observations.

And first, having called your minister to do very special work in this town,—the work of extending and building up God's cause in this place,-I trust you will give him all manner of encouragement and help in this work. If he is to succeed with any measure of success, and with such measure of success as we from his character and gifts anticipate, it must be mainly through the power which he is enabled to wield through his pulpit ministrations. I trust, therefore, that you will not depend upon him doing, or doing more than is needful, that work which belongs to you as much as to him, and which, when your hearts and hands are united, you will be able to accomplish so well, if not without his personal co-operation, at least with only so much of it as is necessary to make you feel his hand in all your spiritual movements, and with so little of it as will still make him feel that the best of his time and strength is still reserved for his study. What I mean is, that it is impossible for him both to preach well every Sabbath, and at the same time to be found itinerating those streets so many hours almost every day, in the effort to lay hold of and bring under the means of grace the careless and ignorant round about

your doors. Both minister and people must do their best to fill this house of God; but this will be best done by each taking their own way,-your minister by the powerful advocacy of Christian truth which you have permitted him to excogitate and elaborate in the secret processes of silent meditation, and you by charging yourself with the duty of seeing to it that, as your minister has found for you a sermon, so you have found for him an audience.

Secondly, in prosecuting the work of Church Extension in this place, I trust you will do so in a right spirit, especially in a spirit of brotherly goodwill to neighbouring congregations and Churches. I think I may say for you that your great object in associating together as a distinct congregation is to advance the cause of Christ in Galashiels, and this in such a way that your growth as a congregation will not affect injuriously, but otherwise, the interests of other Churches. In doing this, you are not forbidden to cherish a denominational spirit. I trust you will be loyal to your distinctive principles as a portion of the United Presbyterian Church, and faithful in maintaining and extending them in so far as you are able. Nor are you forbidden to cultivate those feelings and sympathies that will prompt you to have a very special regard for everything that concerns your welfare as a congregation. All this, however, must be kept in strict subordination to that which ought to be the aim of all the Churches and of all the denominations, as they attempt, each one of them in its own way, but all together in friendly sympathy and co-operation, to accomplish the work of our common Lord. There is a rivalry that is admissible into Church life, but it is not the rivalry that is begotten of selfishness or of the desire to prosper at the expense of others. It is such rivalry as co-exists with mutual esteem, as it provokes to emulation in a cause in which the services done by each are a common good to all. In giving utterance to these sentiments, I am sure I am only expressing the mind of the presbytery, both in respect of the spirit that animated them in inaugurating this Church Extension movement, and also in respect of the spirit in which they would have you carry it on. I would only say, in conclusion, that if you would grow as a congregation,-in numbers and in spiritual force and influence, it must be as the result of a growth that is inward. Your own spiritual life, therefore, must not be neglected under the ministrations of the sanctuary and other means of grace enjoyed by you of a more private kind. It is only on the condition of there being life in your souls,earnest, energetic, growing life, that you can become the spring of life and healing to others. Where there is vital godliness welling up from the heart of a Christian people, it operates, and cannot but operate beneficially, diffusing sweet and wholesome influences all around, like unto what you sometimes see in traversing the country, where, in the midst of some barren waste, you come upon a spot of delicious greenness, and learn that the creator of this verdure is some pure and living spring that bubbles up from beneath. And if springs of piety can thus make themselves felt when welling forth in this quiet and unstudied way, may we not expect from you, when you combine and organize your spiritual resources,—when you take the spiritual life and energy that God has given you, and turn it into channels where it will become serviceable and powerful, like unto the flowing river, which, mark you, is not only living but moving,-lives because it moves, and because it moves it makes the most of its vivifying energy, turning mill-wheels in its progress, and creating a fruitful and smiling valley wherever it flows?

what

I close these remarks by congratulating you on the very encouraging circumstances under which, as pastor and people, you begin your history to-day. You have many well-wishers who bid you God-speed on your heavenly errand; you are united among yourselves, and full of hope and courage; and, over all, you have the benediction of a Master who is wise and strong and kind. As yet you are but a little flock; but if so, you have all the protection and encouragement that belong to feeble things and small beginnings. I will not speak of you, however, as few or feeble, lest I might misrepresent you. Were this your actual condition, I think I might construct a very fair prophecy out of it, as I called to mind the number of grand results that have shaped themselves out of small beginnings,-called to mind that all great growths are but mustard-seeds at the starting. I might even have reminded you that God seems to have a special delight in beginning His great

enterprises in a feeble way, or at least in a way that seems utterly incommensurate with the grand results that are to follow. But I will not offer you the sympathy that would better find its justification were we here to-day to inaugurate a much smaller and feebler movement than you represent. Although an infant congregation, you have never known the feebleness of infancy. You start to-day a goodly company,-not numerous, certainly, but strong in that in which numbers are often weak,—strong in union, in heartiness, and in zeal for the cause of Christ, together with no small measure of ability for carrying it on ; and I trust, too, strong in all those higher elements of spiritual force, which are the guarantee that you will grow both visibly and spiritually,—that the history you begin to-day will be a history honourable and enduring,—a portion of God's everlasting memorial when He writes up the people, that the tree, as yet only a sapling, which this day we water with our prayers and benedictions, and invoke the blessing of God to rest upon it, will become as a tree of life to many, and under its broadening shadow will afford rest and refreshment to very many souls for generations to come.

SOME OF MY IMPRESSIONS OF A TRIP TO JAMAICA AND BACK. (Continued.)

I HAPPENED to witness a Presbyterial visitation at Brownsville. It was the first of the kind that had taken place, and it took place on a week-day. The congregation was summoned to church at a certain hour. They turned out well, men, women, and children, the elders occupying a long seat nearest the platform in front of the pulpit. This was what would be called in Calabar language a palaver day. The object was to inquire into the state of the congregation financially and otherwise, and to stir up to more liberality in giving for the cause of Christianity, and greater zeal in other branches of Christian duty. The Presbytery met; the proceedings in church were opened with the usual services, and a discourse by the late Mr. Hanna, whose brief ministry was full of vigour and full of promise. Then, after various questions had been put and answered respecting congregational affairs, the elders were called up, one by one, and asked such questions as these: Have you been regular in visiting the members of your district, the sick especially? Have you held any meetings with your people? Have you talked with any anxious ones? Have you had to deal with any backsliders? and so on. Then each one in turn would stand up unhesitatingly, and make a speech longer or shorter. One would say he had done what he could, though sensible of many shortcomings and sins; another would frankly confess he had been very remiss, but if God spared him, would be more careful in future; one said he would hold prayer meetings oftener if the people would make better roads to their houses, there was no getting at them. This, I noticed, produced a good deal of half-uttered indignation in some of the congregation. It was amusing to see how their feelings changed as a popular or unpopular elder rose to give an account of his stewardship. I wonder what the effect would be if calling the elders to account in presence of their people was made the practice at home? The meeting proved very successful. There was an improvement noticed in the collections on Sundays afterwards; and one interesting result was that at a fixed hour every evening the church bell was rung, calling all within sound of it to family worship in their houses.

I may say here that I think very highly of these poor negroes. They have never yet had a fair chance of showing what they are capable of. Religion is congenial to them. They do love their spiritual teachers. Their devout men have a remarkable power of expressing themselves well in prayer or otherwise. They are fond of religious talk, and quote Scripture with correctness and propriety. Is it wonderful that they have many sinful infirmities—that they may be found sometimes cunning, false, thievish? The wonder rather is that so many of the good qualities of a man and a Christian are shown by a race that have been treated for generations like dogs. For take the noblest race on earth, treat them as despicable, and they will become so. How does God treat us? He treats us as most valuable creatures, and it is only when we begin to feel that that we begin to be ashamed of sin. Let us treat the negroes as God treats us, and they will soon advance to the front rank of human races.

Owing to the extreme heat and the rain, I was not able to go about amongst the people so much as I could have wished. It was the hottest time of an exceptionally hot year; it was the rainy season also; and as I wished very devoutly to disappoint the expectations of friends at home, who were quite sure that I would get sunstroke or yellow fever, I exposed myself as little as possible. But there were few men in the congregation or district whom, in one way and at one time or other, I did not meet and converse with. Generally they seemed intelligent, sober-minded, warmhearted. In that district drunkenness scarcely exists, and the immorality common in most other places has almost been shamed out of countenance. Within a radius of five miles from Brownsville Church there are four others, Baptists or Methodists; but a good many people living retired in the jungle attend no place of worship. I have been told that none are so well instructed in religious things as those connected with our Presbyterian congregations. The Baptists and Methodists are more anxious to excite emotion than to impart knowledge. In truth, their ministers generally may be excused for not imparting much knowledge, for they possess scarcely any. Very many of them are black men of poor education and high excitability; and the few who are genuinely good remain so briefly in one place, that in general the impression they make soon passes away. Few Episcopalians seem to have a care for giving either impulse or instruction in religious things to their black brethren. They would seem to be in doubt whether negroes have souls worth saving, or any souls at all. Our Presbyterian missionaries aim at raising religious feeling on the basis of sound Bible knowledge. In pursuing this aim they have toiled most laboriously, and they have not laboured in vain. Some blame them for not producing greater results in so many years' time; but their accusers do not seem to know the kind of work they had to do, and the amount of work they have done. By merely working on the feelings of the people they might easily have formed large congregations, built large spiritual houses without any foundation, and produced a black ministry of a very zealous and inefficient kind. But they preferred to act on the safe principle of rearing nothing except on the solid rock. Consequently their work has not been noisy, but it has been genuine ; the results are not showy, but they are satisfactory to all who know anything about them. Some would have you leave these black people to annihilation, and call your work of saving them as foolish and hopeless as the attempt to make ropes of sand. Others, again, tell you that you have done enough for them; that a white ministry is too expensive for them to have it, and they must provide cheaper material for themselves or want-none speaking so who have had true information or personal experience in the matter. The negro is capable of as high things as the white man has reached; but a black ministry before it can be trusted would be an unspeakable disaster to the Church.

Brownsville Station was founded by Mr. Watson, a veteran in the mission service, whose praise I heard sounded wherever I went in Jamaica. In Kingston, in Lucea, at Brownsville, not a few made kind inquiries after him, and recalled with much gratitude the eminent services he had rendered them in bygone years. Especially in the country districts, where his earlier efforts were made in times of slavery, I found his memory most fondly cherished by the old, and his name, in the eyes of the young, illuminated with something like the glory of romance. I met old men and women who told me how nobly he advocated their cause, and imperilled himself for their sakes in times of political tribulation.

At Brownsville there is a veteran missionary still. His hair has grown grey in a service of about 36 years; but his eye is not yet dim, nor his natural force abated. His piety-not less than his years, 81-makes him revered by all in the district, as the patriarch Abraham must have been by his numerous household. He is a seer among them; and they repair to him for counsel in difficulties of all kinds, as they did of old to the Lord's prophet, saying, 'Let us go up to the hill to the man of God.' He is a remarkable man in many respects for his activity and energy of body and mind, being so old-for his indomitable perseverance-his mechanical inventiveness and skill-his learning-and if I put it last, not least, his Christlike simplicity and generosity. He would set himself to rebuild the church as readily as he would preach in it, if it should be destroyed by fire, earthquake, or hurricane. He visits the sick, holds prayer meetings, mends roads, builds bridges, makes sun