2. In the felicity of his subjects. In some cases the people are but weakened in proportion to the power of the prince; dominion is enlarged by a deluge of blood. But the glory of Christ's kingdom is not dimmed by the tear of the orphan, nor soiled by the blood of the warrior: the bloodless victories of the Lamb introduce happiness to all who are subjugated; all those who are conquered by Immanuel have exchanged ignorance for knowledge, bondage for liberty, poverty for riches, ignominy for honour, misery for happiness.

3. In the perpetuity of his reign. Earthly crowns are composed of gold, jewels, and precious stones; yet these will decay, and their wearers soon vanish. The crown of Immanuel, like himself, is imperishable; of bis government and peace there shall be no end; no end in time, no end in eternity.

Let the subject be improved, (1st) For the purpose of alarming the enemies. Against whom are you fighting? Your best Friend, Maker, Redeemer, Judge. Who ever fought against him and prospered? Are you seeking promotion in the service of sin ?

Go to the wise man and ask what that promotion is. Shame shall be the promotion of fools. Be wise, and kiss the Son; submit to his sceptre that you may not be broken by his iron rod. (2nd.) For the encouragement of the friends of Christ. We may yet have many and many a struggle: but the cause is God's; and what saith he? "His enemies will I clothe with shame." God is with us of a truth. Are not numerous armies commissioned ? are they not coming forward to the help of the Lord against the mighty? All christendom is on the move. See the missionary bands, composed of troops of all denominations, and exhibiting the trophies of the Redeemer's power, the spoils of satan's kingdom: idols, once the gods of the nations, are arrived as pledges of the final triumph of the Saviour. Each christian is to act his and her part in this glorious war; and if not called upon to go forth personally, yet you are called upon to contribute towards the support of those who are; and this is not so much a duty as a privilege. Let each labour while he prays, “Thy kingdom come."

ANGELS around the sapphire throne,
In yonder realms of light,
Clothed in their native beauties, shine
With lustre fair and bright.

They cast their shining coronets

Low at Jehovah's feet,

And glowing, sing his lofty praise, With voices clear and sweet.

Hark how their symphonies arise,
While happy myriads join

To bless their Lord who thus bestows
A honour so divine!

But who are they with waving palms
Before the throne of God,
Who cluster nearer to that throne
Than angels ever stood ?

They once were sinners, but the Lamb
Atoned their debt to pay;
They washed their garments in his blood,
And cleansed their stains away.

"Worthy the Lamb," they ever chant, "Who stooped to bless our race; Who made us kings and priests to God, And saved us by his grace."

Their love burns with intenser flame,
Louder than all they cry;
And hands once mortal from the lyre
More grateful thanks supply.

Thus strains of loftier music roll,

And themes more sweet are sung For pardoning love, than highest notes Raised by angelic tongue.

J. HORNE

Down from the willow bough My slumbering harp I'll take, And let its silent strings

To heavenly themes awake:Peaceful let its breathings be, Soft and soothing harmony.

Love, love divine I sing;

O, for a seraph's lyre, Bathed in Siloa's stream,

And touched with living fire; Softly sweet the strain should be, When I sing of Calvary.

Love, love, on earth appears!

The wretched throng his way: He beareth all their griefs,

And wipes their tears away:Soft and sweet the strain should be, Saviour, when I sing of thee.

JESUS! thou Lord of all, Thy name would we extol,

He saw me as he passed,

In hopeless sorrow lie, Condemned and doomed to death,

And no salvation nigh :

Long and loud the strain should be, When I sing his love to me.

"I die for thee," he saidBehold the cross arise! And lo! He bows his head-

He bows his head, and dies? Soft, my harp, thy breathing be, Let me weep on Calvary.

He lives! again he lives!

I hear the voice of love-
He comes to soothe my fears,
And draw my soul above:-
Joyful now the strain should be,
When I sing of Calvary.

Through endless days.

On all thy mercy falls,
Thou hast redeemed our souls,

Thy power the world controls,
Thee we will praise.

Full of all truth and grace,

For all of Adam's race,

Both great and small,

Incarnate love we see,

MRS. SOUTHEY.

John Snow.

THIS neat little book comes very opportunely at this juncture, when we fear the rage for war is increasing. Some men are like the tiger, which becomes more ferocious when it tastes blood. Dr. Massie, in introducing his reflections to his readers, says:—

"It is but too manifest, that the honours and present advantages of military service may blind even benevolent minds to the miseries and criminality of war. The rank and pay, the promotion and renown, which are the prizes of a 'bloody war,' may tend to soothe the stings of an accusing conscience; but the nation, who have all these

to contemplate the cost more impartially, and form a more correct judgment. Contractors and mercenaries may accumulate fortunes and enrich their families, at the expense of a misguided people; but the day of reckoning will surely come, and such riches will be found no provision against the evil day, or preparation for the world to

come.

The thoughts and sympathies of the christian will probably be furnished with material congenial for reflection in the following pages; and the author will have the gratification of being numbered among the few whose voice, though not for war, is yet raised in the service of his country, and whose prayer is for the manifestation of that kingdom in whose days the righteous shall flourish, and by whose influence, it is promised, peace shall abound so long as the moon endureth."

Gleanings from a Pastor's Portfolio. By H. J. Betts. London: Houlston and Stoneman. 18. 2d., stiff cloth covers. A MINISTER of the gospel, who is an observant man, has many opportunities of gathering up some of the numerous facts and incidents, remarks and sayings, that are strewed around him in the various publications of the day. Mr. Betts has here presented us with some of his gatherings, and they come to us quite fresh, for he dates his brief preface, "May 12, 1854," in which he says:

"The title of this little book is a faithful index of its character. It contains "Gleanings" from a stock of good things, which have been accumulating in a Christian "Pastor's Portfolio" for several years. The reader may perhaps ask whence they originally came. The gleaner cannot answer further than this, that he has casually found them in different parts of the great field of truth. Many of them are old, but he ventures to think, as good as they are old; others are new, and, in his estimation, are as valuable and interesting as

those which have been known and admired

for years.

THE name of Jacob Abbott, as the writer of a new book for our children, is a sufficient passport for it into their hands. Here are two more from his prolific pen; written in that interesting style which is sure to engage the delighted attention of the young reader to the very end, and only causing regret when he gets there. Though not on the face of them religious, their tendency is excellent and in that direction. How delighted should we have been, when young, to have had such books as these put into our hands! Surely the next generation of men and women will be wiser and better than their fathers have been, for they have far greater facilities for obtaining knowledge and wisdom than we had. We ought to mention that these books are illustrated by numerous spirited engravings, and are as handsome in their appearance as they are entertaining in their contents.

Jane Rutherford; or, the Miner's Strike. By a Friend of the People. London: Clarke, Beeton, and Co.

THIS is another volume of the "Run

and Read Library." The design and tendency of the tale is good, and the author tells us that the circumstances are strictly true." We have often been puzzled to know how some of the working men of England are to be taught wisdom. Certainly, in some of their movements they act more like children than men. Without wisdom they were born, and without wisdom they will surely die, if they continue to allow themselves to be led by certain interested and restless agitators, who, vampire-like, live on "strikes" and "turn-outs." "A fair day's wages for a fair day's work" is what every man ought to have, or try to obtain. But how, is the question. Not by "strikes" certainly, if all past experience is worthy of any regard. On the other hand, woe be to those selfish and unfeeling masters who drive those extremities, and will not listen to their whom they employ to such desperate reasonable requests.

O Tempora! O Mores! or, a Word to the Wise on the use of Tobacco and Snuff. London: Houlston and Stone

man. 18.

THE writer of this pamphlet has collected a considerable amount of information on the nature and use of tobacco and snuff. The facts he furnishes are curious enough, and some of them startling. We are told that Catherine de Medicis, who instigated the Bartholomew massacre, was the first snuff taker-that Sir Walter Raleigh was the first English smoker, and that King James sacrificed him because of his love of the herb-that Popes have issued bulls against its use— that in Russia the noses of smokers were cut off, or a pipe bored through them— that in Switzerland "Thou shalt not smoke" was added to the seventh commandment. Quotations from King James's "Counter Blaste of Tobacco" are given, in which the "British Solomon" says:-" And, farther, besides all this, it is like hell in the very substance of it; for it is a stinking loathsome thing, and so is hell. And, finally, were I to invite the devil to a dinner, he should have three dishes: first, a pig; second, a poll of ling and mustard; and, third, a pipe of tobacco for digesture."

EVANGELISTS—THE WANT OF THE AGE. DR. HALLEY of Manchester—our readers are acquainted with the name, if they gone towards

know not the man-has "

Rome." But let them not be alarmed, he has gone in the company of Dr. Raffles and other friends on a visit to the East, and so they took Rome in their way. No: we should sooner expect Dr. Halley to turn baptist than papist. Indeed, we received an intimation, some months ago, that he had turned baptist, but we were slow to believe it and so did not give currency to the report. But to the business before us. Dr. Halley was appointed at the last autumnal meeting of the Congregational Union to be chairman of the next meeting in London in May; but owing to his absence Dr. Brown of Cheltenham was requested to supply his lack of service. Dr. B. assented, and at the London meeting in May delivered, as chairman, a most admirable address, from which we select a few important paragraphs.

"We now glance at our present position, and attempt an estimate of our future work. It has been no intention of ours, in the remarks which we have offered to pourtray, our churches as perfect, or to consider either our past history or present state as sufficient to satisfy us. Very far from it. Much in our condition appears to demand immediate and sincere humiliation before God, accompanied with special prayer, that the spirit of piety, for which our forefathers were so honourably distinguished, may be revived and extended. Still, that wonderful volume of statement and statistic, prepared for publication by Horace Mann, sufficiently proves that there is nothing in our present position of which we ought to be ashamed, or through which to be discouraged; but everything calculated to stir us up to new and nobler efforts, confident that the success which the Lord has afforded us in the past, is only a pledge of far greater and more Divine blessings awaiting us in the future. And have we nct, in the same volume, sufficient information to move our inmost souls? Properly to be impressed with our responsibility,

and to be constrained to its amplest discharge, we mention two facts. In million and a-half of immortal beings our country there remain more than a for whom the means of grace are not provided, and who are, if not as destitute as the heathens of Central Africa, at least, in multitudes of instances, far more depraved. While there are above the means actually provided, are in the five and a-quarter millions who, with constant habit of neglecting all the ordinances of the Gospel. Five millions and a-quarter! more than two Londons of godless men and women; nearly seven millions in all of boiling, burning, accumulating sinfulness-still existing, disthroughout our land. Well may we ask, honouring God, and destroying humanity What can be done? Our Denomination, indeed, may neither be able nor be expected to do all; but shame upon us, if we do not our part!

and much more will, doubtless, be effec"Much has already been accomplished, ted by the erection of new places of worship, by our Metropolitan Chapel Building Society'-an institution whose history strikingly illustrates what may be done by a few earnest, rightminded Christian men, united together with a simple desire to do the Lord's work; and by the English Congregational Chapel Building Society,' which has commenced its career under the most pleasing auspices, and from which we anticipate the most favourable resultsSocieties, both of them, which well deserve and ought to receive all possible encouragement. Great good has likewise resulted from both day and Sunday-school efforts; from the labours of Scripture readers and City Missionaries; from tract distribution and Christian Instruction Societies. But as yet all have fallen short of the mark. More must be attempted-and what must it be? Churches must be brought to feel that on them vast responsibility is placed, that wealthy Christians, educated and intelligent members, yea, every gift and grace enriching the churches, are the bestowments of God to be used for the world's conversion.

"More fully to develope the resources of our churches, we cannot say that we

ers

are prepared to recommend, to any extent, new agencies; our organisations are already numerous, and by increased support may be made far more efficient. If our minds dwell upon any instrumentality beyond those now in use, it is to suggest our belief, that we still lack among us one class of primitive labourthe class of evangelists; men especially qualified and sent forth to the highways and hedges, to the districts, and into the dens of heathenism; and who by open-air preaching, by domestic visitation, and by stirring personal appeal, labouring in distinct localities for a season, and gathering the nuclei of future congregations, may then go on to other parts, leaving to men more adapted to the pastorate, the duty of raising the future superstructure of useful churches. The same class of brethren might also prove great blessings in visiting for a season declining churches, and in awakening and reviving them, as well as in arousing into a livelier existence the whole neighbourhood in which they are planted. We speak it with great deference to the opinions of others, and with a sincere respect for the perfect integrity of their purpose, when we affirm the conviction which has been forced upon us, that a thousand-fold more good would be done by this direct Christian work, in saving the masses from damning doctrines and soul-ruining infidelity, than by all that controversy can achieve, however complete its arguments or masterly its management. But here, as in other fields of usefulness, the difficulty meets us, Where are the men? Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.'"

From the address of Dr. Brown, which was excellent throughout, we have only selected what was adapted to our heading. At the close, Mr. Alexander, among other remarks, observed:

"I am exceedingly glad that our dear brother has made the remarks which distinguish his paper this morning in relation to the Christian ministry; and I do hope that those remarks will tend to rouse our minds, to render us more simple in preaching the Gospel of Christ Jesus to perishing sinners, and that they will enable us to aim aright, to have one object in view,-the conversion of

souls to Christ. The man who has that one object before him, with simplicity and godly sincerity, will be sure to be an acceptable and a useful preacher. And although there has been all this stir and excitement belonging to the present time, this disposition to go-a-head, and to go without the head-although there is all this, I think that the simple preaching of Jesus Christ never was more regarded at any time than it is at this time. Instead of despairing, I would hope and believe that every one of us who will make that his aim,-to do what he can in simple, fervent, beseeching language, to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ,-will be successful."

Mr. Binney, with regard to the Evangelist question, observed:-"I do not know exactly in what sense we are to take the suggestion which our friend made concerning an order of primitive agents called Evangelists, but which are not possessed by us in our churches, but which it is, in his opinion, exceedingly desirable that we should possess. It is a question which is very difficult and very large; but I do not know what is the precise idea, and the exact sort of personality which is called up in our brother's mind by the term. If it refers to Timothy, Titus, and such like, there is this to be said, that they were certainly over the Presbyteries, and used an influence in the churches which is not exactly the idea which we attach to the term Evangelist; for you know, that Evangelists are considered with us to be inferior in position to regular pastors. Then the question is, how are these men to be sustained, and how are they to possess that influence which they ought to have in order to exercise the power necessary for a full discharge of his labours." Mr. B. then referred to the recent resignation of Dr. Leifchild, and wished that he had retained the pastorate with a younger minister to assist him in preaching, himself only preaching occasionally. "And being so situated, he might have gone about and taken a visitation of the churches for three months in the year as an Evangelist, and have been the means of doing them a deal of good. That would be my idea of an Evangelist. I do think, dear brethren, that the chasm between the College and the pastorship needs to be filled up by association-not as co-pastors-with the elder and more experi