"It is one of the fairest productions of the human soil, the cordial of life, the lenitive of our sorrows, and the multiplier of our joys, the source equally of animation and repose." No wonder we weep at the removal of a firm, fast friend, a friend at all times,-a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 4. But there is yet a narrower circle, the innermost of all. The family is deprived of its head, say of its mother. How near, how precious this relation, there is only another nearer, that we sustain to God. Oh, my mother, truly I am bone of thy bone, and flesh of thy flesh. It was on thy bosom my head was first pillowed. It was the music of thy voice that first soothed my sorrows. How often have thy eyes beamed gladness upon me! Who can compute the number of a mother's prayers, or sound the depth of a mother's tenderness? Who can calculate the anxieties of the maternal heart? Oh, the sleepless hours which our mothers have had on our account. What true-hearted son or daughter but can say, "Forget thee, oh, my mother, never, never; sooner shall my right hand forget its cunning." When, therefore, we look upon such a near relation in death, and remember that head can plan for me no more, -those lips will speak to me no more, that heart will never more beat with anxious concern for my welfare, we sorrow, though not as others who are without hope. We now indicate those considerations which, when rightly meditated, tend to moderate our sorrow. To the bereaved, whose hearts are ploughed up with grief, we would say, "Think also of these things." It is a truth to be devoutly acknowledged as a great fact_"to die is gain." While you feel the ravages of death, close not your eyes to the light which the glo rious gospel sheds upon the future; for "since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." We ought neither to disgrace our manhood, nor dishonour our christianity. We sorrow that is natural; not as others without hope that is christian. It is ours to say, "Oh, my friend, thou art not lost, thou livest with the spirits of the perfect and the blessed. Our souls look for the day when we shall see thee again, and then shall we be ever with the Lord." If we are followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises, our departed christian friends have only preceded us to the home of the blessed. We too are "to the margin come, and soon expect to die." In this view they are rather to be envied than regretted. We are yet on life's troublous sea, exposed to its storms and tempests. They have cast anchor in the haven of rest; and now, as we descry them on the shore of immortality, they seem to say, "Slacken not sail yet, At inlet or island; Straight for the beacon steer, Your If the church on earth has lost a member, the church in heaven has received an addition. Death is not exclusion from the church, it is a dismission from the church below to the church above. Your pious friend, lost to earth, now mingles with the throng celestial. He has joined the heavenly brotherhood,-is one of the family in heaven. friendship with deceased friends is only suspended. Death occasions a parenthesis in it that is all. The friendship of earth is only as the preface to the volume-the volume of its glorious history is yet to come; wherefore comfort yourselves with these words. You have other members of your family in heaven, perhaps, a brother, a father, as well as a mother. Perhaps ere this they have together bowed at the footstool of the Eternal, to thank him for all the way in which he had led them. They anticipate your arrival. You will not disappoint them. "They mourn the dead who live as they desire." 99 It should be especially remembered, that the saved have escaped all the sorrows incident to mortality. We journey through a vale of tears. The sorrows owing to our many infirmities, our peculiar mental temperament, our conscious imperfections, our worldly trials, our spiritual conflicts, our painful disappointments, those arising to us because our house is not with God, and those coming upon our spirits because men keep not God's law, are entirely done away. "They shall hunger no more; neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.' All the sources of sorrow are dried up for ever. Surely if the turn of a straw would bring our friend back again to earth we would not do it. No, sainted spirit, since thou hast dove-like laved thyself in the river of death, to nestle for ever in the bosom of God, there rest! Furthermore, the soul has reached its home its holy, happy, immortal home. The scriptural representations of the blessedness of heaven are so abundant, that, to use the illustration of Dr. Hamilton, "It is not like star coming forth after star, each beautiful, and a resting place for the eye; it is as the mighty firmament in all the depth of its concave, and with all the constellations of its glory, covering and perplexing the eye at once." A life in heaven, oh, what is this? It is the exclusion of all known and positive evils. It is the enjoyment of all known and positive good. There you see the soul in all its pristine glory, its intellect all light,-its heart love,-its life unsullied purity. Its life flows on, "From its mysterious urn a sacred stream, Well might the prince of essayists say, "What a grand and consoling idea is that of death! Without this radiant idea, this delightful morning star, indicating that the luminary of eternity is going to rise, life would, to my view, darken into midnight melancholy. Thanks to that fatal decree that dooms us to die,-thanks to that gospel which opens the vision to an endless life, and thanks, above all, to that Saviour who has promised to conduct the faithful through the sacred trance of death into scenes of paradise and everlasting delight. If you are fatigued with life's journey, see, yonder is the palace divine, the angel friends, and the region of ever-blooming flowers, are nigh. It is not far to God; be patient, go on, and live for ever." "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope." Chesham. HINDRANCES TO CONVERSION AND CHURCH MEMBERSHIP. BY THE REV. JAMES SMITH. "Them that were entering in ye hindered."-Luke xi. 52. The Lord Jesus never brought an unjust charge against any, nor could he be charged with a want of charity, or with defective orthodoxy. His views were clear, his heart was kind, and yet he says to some, "Ye enter not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." He refers to his kingdom, his church: some were affected, concerned, and thought of coming to him, and joining with him, but "they were hindered." Are any hindered now? Are there in our churches and congregations, those that hinder souls from coming to Christ, or joining with his people? We fear there are, and in every department of the church. Let us look,First, at the pulpit, what do we see there? Perhaps the preacher is cold in his manner, perplexing in his style, and formal in his devotions, this proves an hindrance to many. They want to see warmth, to understand clearly, and to feel that while the preacher is in prayer, he is hearty, earnest, and desirous of their salvation. Unless our doctrine is sound, our manner energetic, our appeals pointed, our prayers fervent, and the whole unite to prove that we are in downright earnest, we shall hinder some. Let us look, Secondly, at our deacons, what do we observe here? Are they men full of the Holy Ghost and of faith? Do they say, by their regular and early attendance, by their bland and pleasant manners, by their constant activity and attention to all who attend the place, that they desire the conversion of souls, and the increase of the church? Are they first at the prayer-meetings, first in the public services, making it evident that their hearts are set upon the prosperity of the cause? If not, they will hinder some. Next to the preacher, people look to the deacons to be grave, temperate, devout, active, and thoroughly devoted to God. But when deacons are worldly-minded, proud, lordly, cold, distant, and patronisers of worldly amusements and carnal pleasures, it must be said of them, "Those that were entering in ye hindered." We have heard of deacons who give balls, have dances, frequent concerts, and yet often neglect prayer-meetings, church-meetings, and visiting the sick; can it be any wonder, if the churches to which such deacons belong, dwindle, decline, become worldly, formal, and inactive? Let us look, Thirdly, at the members of our churches, and what meets us here? Here is one well known for his love of money and hard dealing; there is another who habitually gives way to his unholy temper; there is another who practises deception in business, because it is the custoin of the trade; there is another who is never seen at the prayer-meeting; there is another so much like the world that if we did not see him at the Lord's table, we never could think that he made any profession of religion; there is another as cold as marble, to sit by whom is like coming into contact with an iceberg; and there is-but I forbear, let every one look into his own church; yea, let every one look into his own heart, and at his own conduct, and then say, "Is it any wonder that our churches do not flourish?" I fear the professing church of Christ has much to answer for. It will not do to resolve it into the sovereignty of God alone. Prosperous times have been holy times, praying times, acting times. Ours are telling times, giving times, but something more is wanting. We have hosts of undecided persons in our congregations, and hosts of halfhearted persons in our churches. Many have attended our places for years, and have never been pointedly spoken to by one of our members as to the state of their souls. The minister preaches, but they never second his efforts. They seem to fancy that it is no part of their business. The gospel of Christ is hindered; the question is, who hinders it? Paul was deeply concerned lest he should (1 Cor. ix. 12); but many professors now have no concern about it. They live, and speak, and conduct themselves, as if it was no concern of theirs. Souls are hindered, but who hinders them? The lawyers did once, but other classes differing from the lawyers do now. There is that marble statue that you see at the sermon but nowhere else, who speaks to no one, appears to care for no one, he hinders. There is that covetous man, who never comes to prayer-meeting lest he should miss taking sixpence, he hinders. There is that glumpy, gloomy, uncouth professor, he hinders. There is that light, vain, trifling professor, he hinders. There is that proud, scornful, disdainful looking character, he hinders. There is that dressy body, who spends all God's money at the -haberdashers and drapers, so that she has none left for God's cause, 'she hinders. There is that little tattling, tale-bearing, scandalising woman, she hinders. There is that inflammatory, fiery, scolding professor, she hinders. But where shall we end? Every inconsistent professor, who has not the mind of Christ, who does not copy his meekness, gentleness, activity, devotion, zeal, self-denial, and intense concern for the salvation of souls, in some measure hinders. Here is the cool and calculating, there the dashing and the daring; here the bold and conceited, there the fearful and shy; here the self-willed and lordly, there the close-fisted and covetous; and all these hinder, being stumbling-blocks in the way. A church composed of such members resembles the rocky desert, not the pleasant garden; a cold ice-bound islet, not a beautiful sun-lit field; a barren plot covered with thorns, not a well cultivated vineyard; a shabby, rotten, miserable-looking hovel, not the well-built, roomy, cheerful dwelling. How can we expect people to admire, desire, or seek union with such a church? True, few may be so bad, but in proportion as they, in whole or in part, resemble it, they hinder. Our churches must be happy, and happy-making churches, if they are to flourish. There must be freedom, fellowship, love, unity, peace, individual interest, and united concern felt for all who come into the congregation, or can be induced to come in, before we can expect them to be what we desire to see them. Ministers may preach, authors may write books, lively christians may enquire and complain, but something else is wanting. Every churchmember must realize his responsibility, must agonize with God, must endeavour to persuade men, must lay aside whatever is forbidding and repulsive; and all must follow "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest or venerable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report," before we can expect our wishes to be fulfilled. Ministers must be holy, energetic, simple, sound in the faith, with their hearts set upon the conversion of sinners, and the edification of the saints, or, like the lawyers, they will hinder. Deacons must be spiritually-minded, active, sober, courteous, intent upon the church's prosperity, full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, or they will more or less hinder. Church-members must continue steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, every one must take his own place and keep it, every one must ascertain what is his own work and do it; every eye must be fixed on God's glory, every heart must rest on Christ's finished work, every hand must be employed in God's service, and each must esteem others better than himself, no one seeking his own things, but every one the things which are Jesus Christ's, or they will in some degree hinder. Brethren, are we not more or less guilty? Do not our imperfections stare us in the face? Ought we not to humble ourselves deeply before God? Should we not set about an immediate reformation? Let us realize our sin, confess it before God, get it pardoned through the blood of Jesus, set out afresh in divine strength, purposing most solemnly, that the time past of our lives shall suffice us, that we have wrought the will of the Gentiles, and determine that, let others do as they will, we will be very careful lest it should be said of us, “them that were entering in ye hindered.” Byrom-Street, Liverpool. "Take up the stumbling-blocks out of the way of my people."-Isaiah lvii. 14. Alas! that there should be so many stumbling-blocks in the way of God's people. We refer not now to those hindrances which the ungodly place in their path, nor to those which arise from their own hearts, but to the stumbling-blocks thrown in the way of weak and trembling, though genuine, disciples, by the church itself. Those Jews might be superstitious who would not willingly tread upon the smallest piece of paper, because, they said, the name of God might be on it; yet it may suggest to us how careful we should be not to set the foot of pride on any;-there may be some work of grace there that we know not of, the name of God may be written on that soul we trample upon,-it may be one which Christ has estimated so dearly as to have redeemed it by his precious blood, therefore let us not wound it, let us not despise it. Our design, however, is not to dwell upon the many stumbling-blocks which distress the feeble knees of Christ's disciples-the babes in his family the lambs in his fold; but to advert to one which has been a hindrance and discouragement to many gracious souls: we refer to the custom of many of our churches who INSIST UPON A PERSONAL RELA TION OF THE EXPERIENCE OF CANDIDATES BEFORE THE WHOLE CHURCH, PREVIOUS TO THEIR ADMISSION TO FELLOWSHIP. On this, and every other subject connected with the doctrines or discipline of the christian church, we should enquire, not what is the custom, or what are the humanly constructed articles of the church, but "what saith the Scriptures?" Yes, and what say they to the point? for while we justly repudiate the method of our Pædobaptist friends, when they adduce passages of Scripture in defence of Pædobaptism altogether irrelevant, such as those concerning circumcision, the sprinkling of many nations, and Christ's taking little children in his arms, we have smiled when, upon asking some sticklers for custom in our churches what authority they had for demanding a personal relation of experience from candidates, they have very gravely cited the language of David, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul" (Psalm lxvi. 16). It would surely be a waste of time to attempt to prove the irrelevancy of this to the purpose for which it has been adduced; suffice it, then, just to remark, David did not say this in the vestry of a Baptist chapel, nor previous to baptism and admission to a christian church! neither was it the language of a young convert, but of an old experienced saint, writing, and not speaking, for the edification of the church in all future ages. The only other passage we have heard perverted to justify the unscriptural stringency of many of our churches, is the language of the apostle, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ" (Rom. i. 16); insinuating that it is only pride and false shame which lead any to hesitate to "come before the church," as it is called. Surely we need not remark that this, no more than the language of David, was not spoken by Paul with reference to his admission into the church! yet to such wretched subterfuges are those driven, who make "the commandment of God of none effect by the traditions of men." Then, as there is neither precept nor example for this compulsory requisition, we may ask, Is it expedient? Does it answer any valuable |