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THE

CHRISTIAN WITNESS

AND

Congregational Magazine.

1868.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

THE PROFITS OF THIS WORK ARE DEVOTED TO THE BENEFIT OF
AGED MINISTERS.

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PUBLISHED BY JOHN SNOW & CO., 2, IVY LANE,
PATERNOSTER ROW.

1868.

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PREFACE.

In closing our year's labours, we have to acknowledge, and we do it with grateful heart, the good hand of the Lord our God upon us. He has favoured us with the assistance of many able writers in our endeavour to instruct and benefit our readers; and He has given us the satisfaction of knowing that their and our labours have found a large measure of acceptance with ministerial and other friends. As to the future, we shall endeavour to profit by the experience of the past, and hope to render our "Witness" more interesting and useful than ever. The ladies who have enriched our pages this year, especially "Marion," and Miss Marie Sibree, are prepared to help us still. The papers "On the History of Congregationalism in the Counties of England" -papers which are themselves worth more money than is charged for the entire magazine will be continued. And we propose to devote more space to the consideration of questions affecting both the principles and the practices of our Churches-such as the practicability of a Congregational Sustentation Fund, the now much-debated subject of the Admission to Membership, and what we may call the Consolidation of our Churches, so far as Consolidation is practicable without Presbytery. To many of our brethren we have no doubt the discussion of such questions as these will render the "Christian Witness" more acceptable and valuable. We are deeply conscious of the difficulty of the task we thus assume, and can hope to perform it aright only by the wisdom which cometh down from above.

We have endeavoured to turn the departments for the young and for the busy to good account, and shall persevere in so doing, we hope with still greater success. In the general departments-Historic, Biographic, Theologic, and Practical-there are so many brethren in various parts prepared to help us that we forbear mentioning any names.

We have said little, perhaps too little, during these four years, of the benevolent object to which the profits of the "Christian Witness" and the "Christian's Penny" are devoted. But we now very earnestly appeal to our Churches for such help to our "Aged Ministers," as is so kindly and generously rendered to the Widows of Ministers and Missionaries by means of sacramental

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