as such from its resemblance to the type:-and in order that this may be effected, union between its ministers and people-love for the truth— unity of principle and purpose, must go hand in hand, as being indispensable to its proper identity of character. While the minister, on his part, faithfully, fearlessly, and impartially introduces the sublime truths of the New Dispensation to the people, in its illustrated doctrines, its invitations, exhortations, warnings, precepts, expostulations, and promises, not shunning to declare the whole counsel of God, and feeling the force of the words,-" If thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, his blood will I require at thine hand," he is not scared from his purpose by the chilling influence of the cry as of old, "Prophesy unto us smooth things; utter deceits." While he thus endeavours to act as a wise "steward of the manifold gifts of God" which are contained in his Word, until called to render up his office and to give an account of his stewardship, the people on their part should work with him; and they will if they are influenced by the sacred dictates of the pure doctrines they profess to have received; nor will they neglect to assemble themselves together with those who keep holy day; but they will, by their attendance, contribute to remove from the eye of the casual beholder the appearance of an assembled few, which is calculated to excite in the mind of a stranger who witnesses this "nakedness of the land," the idea that desolation has marked it for its own. In a word, they will, by their love for the truth, and by their punctuality in attending the earthly sanctuary of the Lord, individually exemplify the words of the Psalmist,-"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go up unto the house of the Lord: my feet shall stand in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem." "Lord, I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.”

But it is lamentable to know that there are some who, by their conduct in this respect, lead one to conclude that they fancy they pay the minister a high compliment by their presence, and that it is quite a condescension on their parts to give him a hearing. They appear not to know that the advantage or disadvantage is all on their own side. By their attending worship in a proper state of mind, they may enjoy "a feast of fat things;" they may "satisfy the soul as with marrow and fatness;"-whereas, on the contrary, by their habitual non-attendance, they bring "leanness into their souls." But where a reciprocity of mind or mutual love, with unity of action, exists between the minister and people, then, and then only, may a reasonable hope be entertained of the establishment, the extension, and the permanency of a church in * Ez. xxxiii. 8.

any locality. Then will the minister behold the happy results, under the divine blessing, of his studious and intense application for the instruction of the people, and of his sincere efforts, Sabbath after Sabbath, to enlighten and to do them good; and thus he will see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied, while the people realize for themselves the gracious promise,-"They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasures."

Reverse the picture; and then we behold how appaling is the very idea of anything approximating to a disunion between minister and people; between the pastor and his flock. What a breach is then open for remark; and what an exposure is held up to the surrounding world, exaggerated in its detail! How readily is the finger of scorn then uplifted against the whole body indiscriminately; how soon are the shafts of the enemy secretly hurled against the whole church! Occasion is given to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme; and although the reputation of the minister may be untarnished, yet, from the sad defect of genuine piety and the life of true religion in the people, and their consequent coldness and apathy in promoting the cause of truth, from which state all the earnestness, ability, and active zeal of the minister could not arouse them, the most unpleasant reflections are often cast upon him. Or, to speak in figure-should the vessel be driven on rocks or quicksands by some adverse wind, while the inmates are madly determined to sleep out the storm; nevertheless, those who have maintained this reprehensible and dangerous neutrality, not unfrequently attribute the subsequent catastrophe to the unskilfulness of the pilot. Where is the minister who, in occupying such a position as this, does not feel the tremendous responsibility of such a charge? The truth is, that as every member of the human body, even to the finger, has its proper use to perform; so that the hand cannot say to the head, nor the head to the body, I have no need of thee; so, in the body of the church, every member in particular should perform some use which is in his power to perform. How did Nehemiah build up the wall of Jerusalem after it had lain in ruins about an hundred and thirty-six years, and was a reproach and an object of derision to the surrounding nations? Nehemiah did not carry on and complete the work alone-but we read as follows:-" So built we the wall; for the people had a mind to work. 'The work was great and large," and the people had a will to assist in the work; they were herein united in heart "as the heart of one man ;" they were one in purpose, and by their united efforts, under the direction of Nehemiah, the work was accomplished. What would be thought of

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an army, the half of which deserted their leader in the field, while the enemy, taking the advantage of the position, gained the victory? Would sober reason conclude that the leader should be condemned, whose hands had been thus weakened and his skill rendered useless? And further, What if a mutiny should break out in the camp ;-what if deep plots should be laid for the purpose of embarrassing the wisest and most judicious plans of its leader, and of thwarting every purpose he could possibly devise for the general good, and thus, a defeat should ensue? Is the inefficiency of such leader to be assigned as the cause of the defeat? Should the blame fall on his devoted head? Or, rather, are not the disastrous consequences to be attributed to the perfidy and opposition of the mutineers, who deliberately planned and occasioned the defeat, by rendering his courage and his skill powerless? "Divide et impera;" divide and govern, is the subtle policy of the enemy.

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With regard to the Church :-every thing should be carefully avoided which has the least tendency to lead to a division among its members. The apostolic injunction is," See that there be no divisions among yourselves." And again :-"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them."* For whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions; are ye not carnal and walk as men?" (or, according to man.) "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." It is of great importance that we should be ever on our guard, lest fell discord raise its hydra-head within the hallowed precincts of the church. How desirable it is that unity be carefully and long preserved inviolate and unbroken! Nevertheless, even the purity of the doctrines we profess does not invariably operate as a preventive to party spirit and disunion in particular cases. "It must needs be that offences come." True Christianity is liable to abuse; and the disgrace is thereby entailed upon its professors, when mere theory and profession is made the substitute for its vitality. Have we not, in such instances of divisions in the Christian world, seen the painful effects of that universal law of retaliation which is ever moving on silently though surely, independently of the foresight of mortal man? In the history of fallen churches, have we not seen them left like a cottage in the wilderness, or like an oasis in the desert; or scattered here and there "as sheep having no shepherd;" the derision and by-word of their enemies, writhing under the stroke of their wound?

* Rom. xvi. 17. 1 Cor. i. 10, and iii. 3.

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The fall of others should be our warning, individually. We should, much as in us lieth," avoid its recurrence in the slightest form in the New Church militant of the Lord.

The history of societies and of churches convinces us that no society. can flourish unless the interests of the minister are, as it were, bound up with the people's, and the people's with his. A mutual coöperation in the respective duties on the part of each, will assuredly, under the divine blessing, be productive of extensive good. There are certain duties incumbent on a minister of the gospel; and there are matters in which he should be allowed to exercise his own discretion in common with the freedom readily granted to every one of his people. And as there are cases in which, by his interference, he may overstep all proper bounds as a minister; so, on the other hand, there are particular cases relative to himself, and yet connected with his office, in which he alone is competent to be the proper arbiter and director, and in which the interference of others would be quite ill-judged and out of place. Another idea which occurs to my mind, and in which, there are many who will bear me out, is this, that very little, if any, allowance is made by some hearers for the possible physical indisposition under which the minister may labour as he less energetically than usual addresses them. They seem (at least for the time) to forget that as he is a man "of like passions" with themselves, so, like them, he is subject to bodily pain and infirmities;-that he has not bones of brass, nor sinews of iron. These observations will also apply to his mental states and circumstances, as is justly remarked and ably illustrated in the first article of the Intellectual Repository for March. It may be beneficial to read attentively, and inwardly digest, the whole of that article, from which I give the following quotation, as bearing upon this subject (page 86):-" When the private individual is sad and sick at heart, either from mental states or untoward circumstances, he can stay at home, or he can speak or be silent, as suits his inclination; but the minister has no option; although his state be individually dark and drear, he must seek the fulfilment of the promise, and get his understanding raised for a time above his feelings, that officially he may become the instrument of enlightening and animating the people."

Making occasional visits in the society over which he presides, in all cases of necessity, but especially in cases of sickness;--imparting private instruction to the ill-informed, as often as cases may require ;—these, in addition to the necessary preparation for the efficient and faithful discharge of his official duties on the Lord's day according to his ability; united with a life in agreement with the divine precepts according to his state and capacity, will, it is presumed, exonerate such a one from the

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charge of a dereliction of necessary duties. And yet, however closely he may approximate to this description of character, it is possible that his reputation in other respects may sometimes be at stake. In avoiding Charybdis he may strike on Scylla. I allude to too frequent, ill-timed, and "uncalled-for" visits. This has been sometimes made to form a ground of objection as offensive as not visiting at all. It may wear the appearance of obtrusiveness, and it has been construed into the love of hearing some new thing," or a wish to pry into the private affairs of others. This, therefore, the judicious minister endeavours to avoid. "giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed." Solomon has said "Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house, lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee." And the poet says" An object ever pressing dims the sight." And truly if the greater portion of the week were thus spent, in such proportion necessary study must be neglected, and then, where is the preparation for the expected efficient instruction on the Lord's day? The above writer has said-"Fools will rush in where angels dare not tread." The words ars probably understood by different minds in different senses; but who that is observant of human nature in its varying phases, has not, in some sense, seen the words verified? For instance :-We know that impudence or ignorance will force its way at any hour, and obtrude itself upon the domestic circle, and the privacy of families, regardless of inconvenience; and that, although no disapprobation of such abruptness may be expressed in the presence of the intruder, it is not forgotten when he has made his retreat. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth, and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!" Hence prudence and experience teach a minister the necessity of a strict regard to propriety in this respect also.

Great is the diversity of states of mind with which the minister, in the course of years, is brought in contact. The envious, churlish mind, withholds commendation even where it is due. And so contagious is evil in all its forms, that the natural mind, in its unregenerate state, is ever ready to add its quota of detraction even to an unkind word spoken of the minister by the disaffected (especially if their deeds have been reproved); or to take up the subtle inuendo, "and fashion it with the graving tool of a cunning workman " into a most hideous form. But the better informed and better disposed among the people, are not to be deceived by the attempt. They are bold to assert the contrary, and zealously to defend and sustain it. Thus, two contending parties are formed, and differences commence which are often the inlets to