confined and limited to the relations of the present life. It is holiness-moral resemblance to God and union with him, and the wellbeing springing eternally therefrom. That this is more important to every intelligent moral being, than all things besides, will not be questioned. That this is what the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ is fully set upon, is as conspicuous as the glory he left in heaven, or the cross he bore on earth.

Here then is the good in question ;-Recovery from sin, and restoration to holiness, among the children of our race. This is the sublime result Christ would secure. He wills that the entire resources of earth and time be appropriated to secure it. For this he made them. To this end, therefore, we are to direct our single aim in the use we make of every thing under our stewardship. All that we have of time, property, intellect, learning, influence, is to be used first, last, and wholly, with a view to realize this result, on the broad scale of the world.

Let us now look into this great practical concern a little more minutely. We have before us this conclusion, that recovery from sin, and restoration to holiness among the children of men, is the grand object at which we are to aim ;-that to this we are to appropriate, in the most effectual manner possible, every thing within the range of our stewardship. Can we go back from this conclusion, except we go back from the gospel? Let us see, then, how it will apply in practice.

That we may cultivate holiness in curselves and others, and bring forth moral resemblance to God, the process of life and action must be sustained. A measure, therefore, of time, thought, property, &c., must be appropriated to the preservation of life and health. Also to produce and cultivate holiness, there must be knowledge. Something, therefore, must be applied to the acquisition of learning. And, furthermore, to the production of holiness there must be the means of grace. Consequently a portion of our time, property, &c. must be enployed to furnish these means. These three things-the means of life and health, the means of mental cultivation, and the meaus of grace, constitute what are otherwise and may properly be called our wants, wants that are actual and real, and not factitious-not such as are imaginary, or as arise from fashion or habit. These must be supplied, that the purposes of our being may be answered. And that the purposes of our being may be answered, they must be no more than supplied. Where they are, there is a perverted use of the things under our stewardship. We lessen our ability to sub

serve the interests of holiness, by misapplying the means we have of doing it.

I come, then, to the very interesting, important, and perhaps difficult inquiry,-what, in the gospel sense, is a proper provision for these wants? That it is all a man can possess himself of, in every practicable way, and through the whole of life, no one will pretend. If, then, a proper provision for our wants is not to be limited by our ability to possess, by what is it to be limited? I answer, by considerations derived from the known purposes of our being, and from the instructions of the Bible. What do we need, best to subserve the design of the Lord Jesus Christ in our creation;-what does the Bible teach us that we need?

As to the kind of provision necessary, nature itself, in the general, decides. So too, in the general, nature decides the amount, for the time present. The difficulty, then, so far as there is any, relates to the particular point of provision for future wants. And here, if I mistake not, the matter goes very far towards deciding itself. And the more I reflect upon it, the more am I constrained to think it tends to a right decision :-I mean, a decision, which, if practically applied, would fit us best to answer the purposes of our being;-would best harmonize with the spirit and current instructions of the Bible.

I say, then, we cannot make provisions for our present wants, which shall not involve a measure of provision for the future. Your suit of clothes is a provision for the future. So is your carriage, your house, your shop, your farm, your trade, your stock in business, your profession. Yet all these are indispensable, in the several places, to the supply of the present wants. Of necessity, then, there must be, for the supply of the present, a sort of stock, or capital,-consisting of ability to labor, a trade, a farm, a store, a profession-any, or all of these together,-out of which present supply can be drawn. And, if it is now inquired, to what extent this stock, or capital, may be enlarged, the answer is, to such an extent that the current income of it, when properly worked in all its parts, shall be sufficient to meet current wants from year to year. Of course, where there is more of one kind of stock, there will be less of another. And as it is more or less productive, the amount must vary; the whole capital being to be limited, not by its nominal valuation, but by its productiveness-its current income. This, as a general rule, it is believed is dictated, both by a proper view of the purposes to be answered by our being, and by the general tenor of Scrip

ture teaching. And to treasure up, beyond this, substance of any kind, merely to hold it in reserve for the possibilities of an uncertain future, is probably, after all our thoughts of justifying it, without warrant, save in those maxims of worldly prudence, which have lost sight, alike of the God of the Bible, and the God of providence.

Here, however, let me say, that in applying this rule, every individual should act with discretion, and a regard to circumstances in several respects. As modifications of the rule, I

have three remarks to offer.

First, regard should be had to the contingency of all, or any part, of the stock from which present supply is derived. For example;-one man's income, sufficient to meet his current wants, may arise principally from his trade,-another's, from his profession,-another's, from his real estate. Here are different degrees of contingency. The mechanic or the professional man dies, and this income ceases. The income of the real estate survives its owner. This circumstance should doubtless be regarded.

Secondly, foreseen changes in the measure of a family's current wants, is a matter entitled to be regarded. Example: -such may be the number, ages, or circumstances of a man's children or dependants, as to indicate, with a high degree of certainty, that a few years will materially change the measure of his wants. Such a case calls for discretion. Our danger, however, will be, that we bend the rule too far, rather than not far enough.

Thirdly, regard should be had to the place a man occupies, or the branch of business he is in. Some kinds of business, if undertaken at all, require the investment of more capital than would be necessary merely to produce an income sufficient to meet present wants. May the Christian undertake such business? I answer, yes;-But it must be with this view, sacredly observed,-that the extra capital, in itself and in its income, is the Lord's, and is to stand for the promotion of holiness. And it must be done only on this principle, that the current income from year to year, will be worth more, to the treasury of the Lord and the cause of holiness, than the present use of the whole. Just as a committee, or society, with liberty so to do, might take funds out of the sacred treasury, and invest them in some peculiarly productive capital, because the continued income would in the end subserve the interests of holiness, more largely than the immediate application of the capital itself. The greatest ultimate amount-the greatest sum total, of influence in favor of holiness, is THE AIM, to which every thing is to be surrendered.

With these modifications, and let it be carefully observed that each of them involves a general principle,-I turn again to the rule. We are to hold something that is available-call it property, consisting of time, health, estate, trade, profession, influence any or all of these united, to such an amount that the current income of it, when properly improved, will be sufficient to meet current wants. We come, then, to this conclusion;-All that Christians possess above this amount, is a surplus fund now in the hands of the church. It consists of time, ability to labor in the vineyard of Christ, property, intellect, learning, influence, the whole amount of which is to be regarded as sacredly due to the cause of holiness. This surplus fund is the true and proper measure of the present ability of the church to promote that cause. And of this fund of ability, no man can take any part, and appropriate it to himself, without losing his innocence. If Gabriel should do it, his hands would be stained with sacrilege. It would be robbing Christ's kingdom, of the means he has provided for its advancement, and appropriating them to the purposes of an individual interest, set up in distinction from his.

Who, then, is prepared to be on the Lord's side ?-Who is prepared, in the spirit of earlier and better days, to do his duty? This fund, in all its parts-as well the time, the influence, the strength to labor, as the property, must be faithfully applied, if Christians would stand guiltless. Nor must it be applied with reluctant hands. God loveth the cheerful giver. It must be applied without grudging, as were the offerings of the Israelites to the building of the temple. It must be forthcoming, as fast as with a discreet economy it can be expended. They, whose charge it is to devise measures for spreading the gospel, must be at liberty to feel that this whole fund of time and means is actually at their disposal, and to be handed over as fast as they can mature plans for judiciously applying it.

If such is the actual ability, which, at this moment, the church is possessed of, and under obligation to put forth, as fast as room can be made for it ;-then pause a moment and see how far short is actual performance, of actual means and ability!-yea, how the actual power of the church transcends its own estimate of that power! Let us pray, that on this subject our sons and our daughthers may prophecy, that our young men may see visions, and our old men dream dreams, -that on his servants, and on his handmaidens, God will pour out his spirit, and that the eyes of them that see may not be dim. Look not only at the church collectively, but at families. What a power there is in the hands of individuals,

of the extent of which, they never had one serious thought!of their duty to employ which, they never felt one serious conviction! Yet, there are men among us, whose ability to give enlargement to the king of holiness, surpasses that of the great Apostle of the Gentiles,-abating simply his inspiration and his miracles. They have the means and opportunity of bringing more to pass than he possibly could. Start not at such a thought. Put his spirit within them; let them feel its yearnings-impelling them to high and holy enterprise, and how would they come out upon the world. By educating pious youth for the ministry, and supporting missionaries, they might occupy, each a hundred pulpits. By means of the press, each might speak a thousand languages, with ten thousand different tongues. By the present facility of communication, they might draw the corners of the earth within their reach. Taking advantage of concurrent sentiment and concurrent operations, they might immeasurably increase their power, and the amplitude of their results. In a word, you have only to teach them, like Paul, to contemplate men and things, as they stand related to eternity rather than time,-you have only to fill them as he was filled with the love of Christ, and to make them determined, as he was determined, to know nothing, save Jesus Christ and him crucified; and their greater ability to give enlargement to the kingdom of Christ, would soon be tested by its fruits. M.

MINISTERIAL QUALIFICATIONS.

The purity and prosperity of religion, have always been in proportion to the intelligence and piety of Christian ministers; while its corruption and decline have uniformly been preceded by a failure of ministerial qualifications. It is also true, that a season of unprecedented prosperity in the church, is the most favorable opportunity for the introduction of many opinions and practices, which ultimately contribute, to impair the dignity, the purity and the usefulness of the ministerial character.

Both in view of the prosperity of the church and the peculiar dangers which now threaten its peace and purity, nothing can be more important, or more desirable, than an intelligent, pious and discreet ministry and it should be the united effort of all the friends of religion, to raise the standard of ministerial