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Churches in the metropolis, and in earnest and continuous efforts to gather men to the Lord Jesus.

But the year has closed. Its seasons of gracious visitation are over, though their influence remains; and as we enter upon another year we should rouse ourselves to inquire into our duties, and then apply ourselves to the discharge of them.

Among these we may first advert to the diligent cultivation of personal piety. It is an obvious truth, but one of which we cannot too frequently remind ourselves, that all our influence for good depends on our maintaining a close personal walk with God. The hallowed excitement of the services of the past year must be followed by the earnest and continuous application of our minds to the things of God. The new life which we have derived from the Spirit of Christ, and which has been invigorated in seasons of united prayer and holy aspiration, must be nurtured by secret fellowship with God, bringing us more and more under the transforming influence of His character as revealed in the Incarnate Son. The resolves which we have formed, as we have listened to spirit-stirring addresses, must be renewed calmly and thoughtfully in the silence of retirement. Every day we should place ourselves afresh, without reserve, on the altar of self-dedication to God: every day we should look for the abundant grace of the Spirit to consecrate the offering which we thus present, and to enable us to make our whole life a course of sacred service, that we may indeed be "priests unto God." Some of us can remember hallowed seasons, in years gone by, in which, after contemplating the rich provisions of the Christian economy for our sanctification, we united to sing,

"If so poor a worm as I

May to Thy great glory live,

All my actions sanctify,

All my words and thoughts receive;
Claim me for Thy service, claim

All I have, and all I am.

"Take my soul and body's powers;

Take my memory, mind, and will;
All my goods, and all my hours,

All I know, and all I feel;

All I think, or speak, or do;
Take my heart ;-but make it new!

"Now, O God, Thine own I am;

Now I give Thee back Thine own;
Freedom, friends, and health, and fame,
Consecrate to Thee alone:

Thine I live, thrice happy I!

Happier still if Thine I die."

But we want that this state of feeling should be habitual; that it should be maintained amidst the vicissitudes incident to this probationary life,-amidst the depression of sorrow and adversity, as well as amidst the joys of prosperity and outward comfort,-amidst the changes of feeling, too, which alternations of vigour and languor, of health and sickness, cannot fail to induce. The holy purpose of self-dedication may be steadfastly maintained amidst all these fluctuations. Even when the waves of sorrow roll over our spirits, there may be a deep under-current of sacred peace combined with entire devotion. "Wherein," says the Apostle Peter, "ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations; that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ."

It is important to remember, too, that our piety, if it is to retain a healthy tone, must be sustained and guarded by the devout study of the Word of God. It was a beautiful arrangement of the Conference recently held in the City Road chapel, that the very first subject selected for consideration was Sanctification through the truth; and all who were present will long remember the instructive and eminently practical remarks made on it by the Theological Tutor at Richmond. To the written Word we must turn, to obtain clear views of the nature of holiness, and to understand the development of Christian principles in the varied relations and activities of life. The heart-searching precepts of that Word must be pondered by us, again and again, if our inward life is to be maintained in its freshness and strength, and to be manifested in our whole demeanour and conduct. But this is not all. It is the truth of God which forms the nourishment of our spiritual affections. They who have just entered upon the Christian life are charged by the Apostle Peter, "as new-born babes," to "desire the sincere milk of the Word," that they might "grow thereby;" and St. Paul's habitual prayer for the Churches was, that they "might be filled with the knowledge of" the will of God, "in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that they might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." Our Lord Himself, also, as He was just about to enter upon His deepest sufferings, prayed for His Apostles and for all His people, "Sanctify them. through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth." Of that truth He is HE Himself the Centre. In Him we have the completed revelation of the Father's character and purposes: and the great facts of the mediatorial scheme not only supply the strongest motives to

obedience, but afford themes of hallowed contemplation which influence all the actings of our spiritual life. Christian holiness is represented in the New Testament as the result of an inward life derived from our risen Lord and Head, through the communication of His Spirit: and the truth which relates to Him— the truth which may be said to be summed up in Him, for He is Himself" the Truth," as well as "the Way and the Life,”—tends directly to invigorate that inward life, as well as to direct its manifestation. Another obvious consideration-so obvious, indeed, that it scarcely needs to be urged at length, but so important that it ought not to be passed over-is, that, if the year upon which we are entering is to be one of real usefulness on our part, we must, as individual Christians, maintain an unblemished character before men, and show, in our whole bearing and conduct, that we are "not of the world, even as" Christ was "not of the world." One feature of the teaching of the New Testament on the subject of holiness is, that while it is the result of a direct action of the Spirit of God upon the soul, it will ever manifest itself in a course of sustained obedience. The Gospel knows nothing of an inward life which is not developed in the habitual practice of universal righteousness. All "good works," all works that are right and morally beautiful, will adorn the deportment of those who are really in Christ. "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." "Now the God of peace...make you perfect in every good work, to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works." In considering the instrumentality by which the world is to be won to Christ, we are sometimes in danger of overlooking the importance which our Lord Himself has assigned to the practical development of heaven-derived principles and affections in the lives of His people. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." If the example of professing Christians presents nothing beyond what might be traced to worldly motives, regulated by a high sense of integrity and honour, or if it is wanting in the consistency which results from the harmony and union of all right principles,-the plan of Christ

is not carried out, and an essential part of the instrumentality by which His kingdom is to be extended is wanting.

When we pass from the maintenance and development of personal piety, on the part of the members of the Church, to the direct efforts which they should put forth to lead others to the Saviour, we naturally think, first of all, of the accessions which the Church should be continually receiving from the young people of our Christian families. To our minds, a special interest attaches to the baptism of the children of Christ's people; and with everdeepening satisfaction we read the words, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." We love to reflect, that the provisions of redemption meet us as we come into this world, and that it is the plan of Christ that the "little children" of His people should grow up within His Church, so as to be brought under all its sacred influences. This is a consideration which may well engage the attention of Christian parents. They are bound, not only by the general principles of our religion, but by their own solemn act, in bringing their children to be baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity, and thus introduced to the visible Church of God, to make the whole system of their training and education tend to this result, that, as soon as they are capable of it, they should for themselves embrace the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour, and then stand forth to avow His name, so as to be admitted to the full privileges of membership among His people. Fidelity to the plans of Christ would ensure the cultivation of family religion; and the blessed effects of this would tell powerfully upon the interests of His kingdom. No duties, indeed, require greater wisdom than those which devolve on parents, as their children gradually rise to manhood and womanhood. The union of kindness and firmness, which should ever characterise parental discipline, is then to be displayed in new forms. There is, of course, a limit to the restraints which parents should seek to impose on their children, as they advance to years of maturity; but, during the whole period in which they are able to watch over the formation of their children's character, they should surely endeavour to guard them from associations which would undermine or impair their religious convictions,-to keep them aloof from those amusements which would indispose them to the exercises of devotion, and give them a taste for the gaieties of the world, and, above all, to induce them, by affectionate appeals, as well as by a consistent and attractive example, to come to a decided closure with Christ.

From the consideration of family religion, we naturally turn to those important organizations which are now, almost everywhere,

connected with our Churches,-our Sunday-schools. One of the most pleasing features of some of the revivalistic services of the past year and we may specify, in particular, those held in the town of Hull-was, that our Sunday-schools were specially visited, and direct appeals were made by ministers to the elder scholars, at once to yield themselves to Christ, and to seek forgiveness through His blood. The success which attended such appeals is a cause of devout gratitude to God, and should afford encouragement to persevering effort in this direction. There is a deepening conviction, we believe, among those who take the lead in carrying on these invaluable institutions, that they should not only contribute to train the young to the careful study of the Scriptures, but should be made to bear directly upon their personal conversion. If both these objects are attained, it is impossible to estimate the good that will be effected. The youth of our congregations will rise up to honour the Lord Jesus, and to devote to Him all the freshness of their energies; while the love of the Divine Word, and the habit of sacred study, which they will have acquired, will guard their piety, as well as minister to its growth and maturity. We echo the desire of thousands of Christian workers when we pray that this year may be marked by special gracious visitations in our Sunday-schools, and that the highest purposes which they have in view may be largely accomplished.

But the year upon which we are entering will be distinguished, we doubt not, by earnest and repeated efforts, on the part of all our Churches, to arouse the careless, to lead the wavering to decision, and to reclaim the wanderers. That influence from on high which has been realised in the assemblies of Christian officebearers was designed by Him who vouchsafed it to reach to others, and to reveal its power in the conversion of many who now stand aloof from our religious ordinances. But the enterprise upon which we enter, as we go forth to win others to the Saviour, and to leaven with Christ's own truth the whole mass of humanity, is a difficult and arduous one. It is a solemn fact, disclosed to us in the Divine Word, that there is a vast empire of evil, presided over by a mighty fallen intelligence, all the agencies of which are put forth to counteract the designs of the Lord Jesus, and to keep men from Him. Satan, alas! is still "the god of this world." He instigates the idolatry, he promotes the error and the vice, which darken and pollute this earth; he marshals the forces of evil, and arrays them against Christ and His people; and he uses the attractions and allurements of the world to plunge men yet more deeply into guilt, and to alienate them, yet more and more, from the desire of spiritual and heavenly good. This con

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