advocate of Evangelical Reform, has been expelled by the last Conference. The following letter will show his state of mind under his persecution. After speaking strongly respecting the course pursued towards him by his persecutors, he says:

"But I dare not doubt the promise of God, All things work together for good.' I cannot at present give you a detail of all the events which have placed me in my present position, but I shall briefly describe my present circumstances. Though I have been troubled on every side, yet I have not been distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. Blessed be God, I still retain a powerful sense of the Divine presence; I am cheered with his smile amidst all my earthly difficulties: the more pressure without, the more peace within; the delightful assurance which I feel, that God will open my providential path, inspires me with confidence and joy; so that I may boldly say, 'The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.' Those who take the side of Conference, appear to have been straining every nerve to reconcile the minds of the people to their proceedings. I have been told that Mr has been going from house to house to lessen my influence; Mr also, and others have been actively engaged in the same busi

ness.

For my own part, I am quite determined to act from honourable

motives, and from Christian principle.

I know not what will be the result of my present labours and sufferings, but I depend upon the promise of God, and here my soul finds good anchorage. I have commenced as a Christian Missionary both at Rochdale and Bury; I have never yet solicited a single individual to unite with me, but I believe that God will open a door for me in both the above towns. I have experienced some difficulty for want of suitable rooms to preach in, but having been favoured with fine weather, I have been engaged in holding forth the word of life, under the wide-spread canopy of heaven. Of late I have attended every evening in the old Marketplace at Bury, and my soul has been mightily blessed whilst lifting up my voice for God. Hundreds have

listened apparently with devout attention, and I believe that I can say with the Apostle, The things which happened to me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel.' I intend to pursue my present plan, and I sincerely hope that God will make my feeble labours an abundant blessing. I have never yet been disturbed in my open-air services except on one evening. There was a publican who supposed that I was delivering a temperance lecture, caused me some annoyance, but his violence was restrained, by the kindness which the multitude manifested towards me. Amongst other abusive words he demanded from me, who I was addressing? I told him I was addressing publicans and sinners. This announcement was well received, and I was allowed to proceed without much confusion, and I have not met with any public opposition since. Being in much haste, you must excuse me from writing more at present. I remain, yours affectionately, in the tribulation of Jesus,

Civil government, government by force, can never be perfect; its perfection would be its annihilation.

Government cannot be reformed, except by the people becoming intelligent, virtuous, Christian; and yet a people cannot become intelligent, virtuous, Christian, without bringing civil governinent to an end. I believe that civil government is necessary to the present state of society, and yet I do not believe it necessary for Christians to take part in government: just as I believe plagues, fires, and poverty are necessary, and that yet it is not necessary for Christians to have any thing to do in causing them.

RELIGION, AND THE MEANS
OF RELIGION.

Ir is one thing to be religious, and another thing to attend to the means of religion.

To sing hymns, to pray, to hear sermons, to read the Scriptures and other good books, to keep or go into the company of good people, to meet with them in church meetings, class meetings, to eat bread and wine in commemoration of the death of Christ, to distinguish the Sabbath from the rest of the days, as a day of rest from common labours, and to spend its hours in singing, praying, hearing sermons, and reading religious books, to have a sincere belief of Gospel doctrine, and correct notions respecting Gospel subjects, are not to be religious; these are only the means of religion. Religion itself is something beyond all this; something higher, better, more solid, more substantial, more divine. Religion itself consists in a right state of mind towards God and towards man, towards earth and towards heaven, and in a right behaviour towards God and towards man. Religion consists in love to God, and in love to all mankind; in obedience to all God's laws, as inculcated by Jesus Christ, in the cultivation of all those holy tempers, and in the imitation of all those holy and benevolent habits, which constitute the character of Christ.

"Pure and undefiled religion," according to the Apostle James, "is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world." It consists in purity and benevolence, in avoding evil, and in doing good.

To be truly religious is to be like God; and "God is love."

To be religious is to imitate God; and God is "good to all; his tender mercies are over all his works." "He causeth his sun to rise on the evil and on the good; he sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." "He doeth good to the evil, and to the unthankful."

To be religious is to be like Christ, and Christ was the image of God. Christ was the brightness of the Father's glory; God manifest in the flesh. He was the exemplification of God's character, and his works were an exhibition, an illustration, a representation of the principles and proceedings of God's eternal and universal providence.

To be religious is to be like Christ, and Christ was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin and sinners; he was meek and lowly in heart; he was full of tenderness and love, and he spent his life in going about doing good.

To be religious is to be so influenced by a belief of divine truth, as to be brought to love God and to love mankind, and under the influence of that love, to try in all we do to please God, and to promote man's welfare.

It does not matter how many hymns a man may sing, how many prayers he may say, how many chapters he may read in the Bible, how many sermons he may hear, how many religious meetings he may attend, how often he may eat bread and drink wine in remembrance of Christ's death,-it does not matter how careful he may be to employ the Sabbath in what are called religious exercises, or acts of devotion,-it does not even matter how great his faith may be, how correct his notions, how vast his knowledge, nor how abundant his gifts, unless he be governed in his conduct by love to God and love to man, unless he have in him the mind that was in Christ, and walk as Christ also walked.

The Apostle Paul is very plain on this subject. In his first Epistle to the Corinthians, xiii, 1-3 he says, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all

faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

Singing hymns, offering up prayers, hearing sermons, reading good books, attending meetings of religious people, a belief of the truth, and correct notions, are not to be despised or neglected; they are of great importance as means of religion, or as helps to religious improvement: but they are only means, and unless they tend to make us more like God, and more like Christ, they can do us no good.

When the Scriptures of the New Testament speak of the things which render us pleasing to God, and which prepare us for a better world, they do not mention meeting in class, subscribing human creeds, the observance of the Sabbath, singing hymns, offering prayers, hearing sermons, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Christ's death; they speak of a renovation of the whole soul, and a transformation of the whole character. They speak of some of those things as necessary, such as prayer, assembling with God's people, attending to the instructions offered by Christ's ministers, but they speak of them only as means, as the means of preserving or increasing love to God and love to man, of promoting the growth of those holy tempers, and the perfection of those holy habits which formed the mind and character of Jesus Christ. Even faith, and a knowledge of God's will, are spoken of as nothing, in themselves, their worth and usefulness are represented as consisting in the influence which they are cal culated to exert upon men's hearts and lives, and if they fail to turn the soul to purity and love, and to form the life to labours of benevolence, they are nothing. "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what

doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Wilt thou know then, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."* The Apostle Paul goes farther, if possible, in the words already quoted. Though I understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."

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Faith is important, and so is hope; so important that we are said to be saved both by the one and by the other: Eph. ii. 8, &c. Rom. viii. 24. But still their importance is that of means; their usefulness is in their tendency to kindle and to feed the flame of love; and they can only so far contribute to our salvation, as they succeed in making us like Christ, in filling us with love, and in making us fruitful in good works.

The usefulness of faith and knowledge is to be estimated in the same way as the usefulness of seed and manure are estimated by the farmer: and the usefulness of hearing sermons, singing hymns, reading the Scriptures, meeting in class, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Christ, is to be estimated in the same way as the farmer would estimate the usefulness. of ploughing, harrowing, sowing, and fencing namely, by the crops which they produce.

The farmer would regard his seed and his manure as worthless, and he would regard his ploughing, his sowing, his digging, his fencing, as lost labour, if they brought him no increase of grain. And we ought to regard our knowledge and faith; our singing and praying, our hearing and reading, as lost labour, except so far as they make us better in our hearts and lives; more pure, more loving, more diligent in our endeavours to do good, more peaceful and resigned in suffering evil.

When, therefore, we would examine ourselves, to learn how we stand with respect to God and to the eternal world, we ought not to ask so much, How much time have we spent in singing hymns, in offering

James ii., 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 24, 26.

prayer, in reading good books, in hearing sermons, or how regular have we been in attending religious meetings, and abstaining from labour on a Sabbath-day? we ought rather to inquire, What kind of tempers do I show? What course of life do 1 pursue? Am I kind, gentle, meek, forbearing, merciful, patient? Am I truthful, honest, just, temperate, faithful, benevolent? Am I like Christ? Am I aiming in all things to please God, and to benefit my fellow men? Am I growing in a conformity to Christ?

Even religious feelings are nothing, except so far as they tend to make us more loving and godlike in our tempers, and more steady and diligent in our endeavours to please God, and do good to our fellow

men.

Feelings are to the soul like winds to the sails of a vessel. The winds are nothing, if they do not carry forward the vessel; and feelings are nothing, unless they carry forward the soul in holy love, and holy labours.

Some people confound pleasant religious feeling with love to God; but "this is the love of God," saith John, "that ye keep his commandments."

We are not therefore to reckon the amount of our love to God, by the strength of our religious feelings, but by the amount of our labours and sacrifices for God's cause, and for the welfare of his creatures.

And sorrow for sin is nothing, except so far as it leads to reformation of life. Sorrow for sin, even godly sorrow, is not repentance, though it worketh repentance.

A man must not reckon his repentance, therefore, according to the sorrow which he has felt, but according to the effect which his sorrow has had upon his heart and life. If his sorrow has led him from sin to holiness, it has been of the right kind, and the right quantity; if his sorrow has left him earthly, sensual, devilish; a slave to the world, the flesh, and sin, it is nothing.

Repentance, faith, conversion, are all nothing, except so far as they result in a life of obedience to the law of God; the law of holy, universal love.

If you would know whether you are truly religious, you should study

the discourses and the history of Christ, and compare yourselves by them.

You should not try yourselves by the laws of men; they are always imperfect, and often evil; nor should you try yourselves by men's examples; they are often faulty. The only perfect standard of true piety is the law of God, as inculcated and exemplified by Christ Jesus.

It is to the neglect of Christ's discourses and example, in a great measure, that the present low and imperfect state of the professing world is to be attributed. I can hardly believe it possible that so many professors could err so greatly, with respect to the nature of true religion, if they were carefully to study the discourses and the example of the Saviour.

There is very little of what many professors regard as religion, in the Gospel; and there is but little of what the Gospel exhibits as religion, among the great mass of professors.

How little do you find in the discourses of Christ about attending religious meetings, singing hymns, public prayers, hearing sermons, religious feeling, orthodox opinions, &c.; and yet how many place a great part of their religion in these things. What a great deal do we find in the Gospels about doing good, about patiently bearing evil, about meekness, humility, self-denial, mercy, peace and equity, trust in God, and superiority over the world; and yet how little do we find of these things among many professors.

The fullest exhibition of true reli gion given by Christ in any one of his discourses, is that which was given by Christ in his Sermon on the Mount. On our attention to the principles of that discourse, Christ makes our eternal destiny to depend. To obtain therefore a correct view of the nature of religion as inculcated by Christ, we cannot do better than examine this discourse. What is the picture which the Redeemer gives of those who shall be accepted and blessed of God? What is the course of conduct which the Redeemer marks out for those who would secure eternal life?

The portrait of a truly religious man, as given by the Saviour, is as follows:

PORTRAIT OF A TRULY RELIGIOUS MAN, AS DRAWN BY CHRIST HIMSELF.

1. He is poor in spirit. He is not desirous of wealth. He is not afraid of poverty. If he be rich, his riches are employed in doing good; if he be poor, he is resigned to the will of God. He knows how to abound, without being proud or extravagant; he knows how to suffer lack, without anxiety and discontent. He is dead to the world, and the world is dead to him. God is his all in all.

2. He mourns. He laments the dark and unhappy state of the world; he sighs and cries on account of the prevalence of iniquity. He is afflicted and troubled, but he bears his lot with patience, and is content to wait for the fulness of his blessedness in a future world.

3. He is meek. He receives insults and injuries without rage or revenge. When he is reviled, he reviles not again; when he is struck, he strikes not again; but calmly and quietly commends his cause to God.

4. He hungers and thirsts after righteousness. His desire is not after wealth or honour, after power or pleasures; but after a fuller resemblance to God, and a stricter conformity to his will. And he longs for the conversion of his fellow-men, and for the spread of truth, and righteousness, and joy, throughout all lands.

5. He is merciful. He pities the distressed, and, according to his ability, ministers to their relief. As he has opportunity he does good to all men, especially to the household of faith. He feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, visits the sick, is a father to the fatherless, a husband to the widow, and a friend to all. He pities men's souls, and labours to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. He is tender towards people's feelings and faults. He can bear with transgressors; and forgive his foes.

6. He is pure in heart. His motives are pure; his object in all things is to please God, and bless mankind. His affections are pure. He is not enslaved by fleshly lusts, or by earthly idolatrous love: his

affections are placed on God and on heaven, and his love of mankind is pure and heavenly.

7. He is a peace-maker. He is not only peaceful himself, but he tries to promote peace among others.

8. He is persecuted and slandered for his good conduct; but he is not discouraged. He regards reproach as glory, when it comes upon him for his attachment to Christ and persecution for righteousness' sake, he regards as an occasion of joy.

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9. He has nothing of selfishness about him. Whatever he has that is good, he shares it freely with his fellow-men. While he receives God's gifts with thankfulness, he shares them among his fellow-men with joy. He is a general blessing; he does good to all he comes near; and every place in which he lives is the better for him. As the salt communicates its savour to every thing it touches, so the Christian communicates good to all with whom he has intercourse. As the sun sheds down his light and influences on the world beneath, so does he labour to diffuse around among his fellow-men the light of truth and the influences of piety. He endeavours to communicate the light of truth, and the influences of piety, by the use of his tongue and of his pen, as he has opportunity; but he labours still more to let his light shine by his good works. His tongue is not silent; his pen is not still; but his life is his principal sermon; his good works are the principal means which he employs to bring men to glorify God.

10. He is no antinomian. So far from wishing to be without law, he places himself under the law in its most perfect state, as completed by Jesus Christ. Nor is he partial in his respect to the law, receiving one precept, and rejecting another. He respects the least of Christ's commandments; both obeying them himself, and teaching others to obey them.

11. He not only does not kill, but he refrains from anger. He crushes murder in the seed; annihilates it in its first elements. He is gentle towards all men, and in all circumstances. He will not use reproachful, contemptuous, bitter, or violent expressions. He will not call bad