Robert McCheyne. She told me that those who read his letters and sermons had a very faint idea of what he was. She said to me, "If you have read all his works, you just know nothing at all about him. You must have seen the man, and heard him, and known him, and have been in company with him, to know what a man of God he was.'

Furthermore, giving ourselves wholly to these things will bring happiness and peace to our consciences. I speak now amongst friends, and not amongst worldly people, where I should need to fence and guard and explain what I mean. I shall not be suspected of holding justification by, works by those I see before me. I speak of such a good conscience as the apostle refers to: We trust we have a 66 'good conscience." (Heb. xiii. 18.) To have this good conscience is clearly bound up with high aims, high motives, a high standard of ministerial life and practice. I am quite sure, that the more we give ourselves wholly to the work of the ministry, the more inward happiness, the greater sense of the light of God's countenance, are we likely to enjoy.

The subject is a deeply humbling one. Who does not feel, "My leanness, my leanness! my unprofitableness! how far short I come of this high standard!" What reason have we, having received mercy, not to faint! What reason have we, having been spared by God's long suffering, to abound in the work of the Lord, and to give ourselves wholly to our business! The grand secret is, to be ever looking to Jesus, and living a life of close communion with him. At Cambridge, the other day,

I saw a picture of Henry Martyn, bequeathed by Mr. Simeon to the public library. A friend informed me that that picture used to hang in Mr. Simeon's room, and that when he was disposed to trifle in the work of the ministry, he used to stand before it and say, "It seems to say to me, Charles Simeon, don't trifle, don't trifle; Charles Simeon, remember whose you are, and whom you serve." And then the worthy man, in his own peculiar way, would bow respectfully, and say, "I will not trifle, I will not trifle; I will not forget."

May we, in conclusion, look to a far higher pattern than any man-Martyn, M'Cheyne, or any other. May we look to the Great Chief Shepherd, the great pattern, in whose steps we are to walk! May we abide in Him, and never trifle! May we hold on our way, looking to Jesus, keeping clear of the world, its pleasures, and its follies, caring nothing for the world's frowns, and not much moved by the world's smiles,—looking forward to that day, when the Great Shepherd shall give to all who have done His work, and preached His gospel, a crown of glory that fadeth not away! The more we have the mind of Christ, the more we shall understand what it is to "give ourselves wholly to these things."

What is Our Position ?*

MY REVEREND BRETHREN,

I trust that I may confidently bespeak your indulgence, and claim an interest in your prayers. I address you at the close of a meeting of unparalleled interest, which has now lasted for two days. Your minds are naturally wearied, after a continuous strain upon your powers of attention. The field of topics suitable to an occasion like the present has been already traversed by the three beloved brethren who have preceded me. Like strong reapers, they have swept that field clean, and have only left a few stray ears for me to glean behind them. Above all, I am anxious that the closing address at this meeting should in no wise mar the effect of all that has gone before. The last portion of the banquet ought to leave no ill

The following address was delivered to a large clerical meeting, held at Weston-Super-Mare, under the presidency of Archdeacon Law, in the month of August, 1858. It was originally delivered from rough notes, and has been considerably abridged by the reporter. This must account for the elliptical and fragmentary style which it in many parts assumes.

savour on the palate. The last note of the music ought not to be out of harmony, and jar upon the ear. Once more, then, I say, help me by your prayers.

In searching for a subject which may form a suitable conclusion to our meeting, I have naturally turned to what the Puritans would have called its "uses and application." I wish to put the question to your minds,-Where are we, as evangelical members of the Church of England? What is our present position? What do the times in which we live especially demand of the evangelical clergy? What are we going to do when we leave this meeting and return to our respective homes? What new thing are we going to take up? To what practical point can we bring the whole of these proceedings?— The profound remark of Bishop Butler will naturally occur to your minds. He tells us, that passive impressions, often repeated, gradually lose all their power. Actions, on the contrary, often repeated, finally produce habits in the character. I trust the result of this clerical meeting will be actions, and not merely impressions. What, then, are we going to do?

I am not ashamed to speak of the evangelical body as a distinct and clearly defined body in the Church of England. It is an historical fact, that there always has been such a body. It flourished in the days of our Reformers, and under Jewel and his brethren in Elizabeth's time. It maintained its existence in the early days of the Stuarts. It was weakened under Archbishop Laud. It almost expired in the times of the later Stuarts, William the third, Ann, and the two first Georges. It revived in the times of William

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Romaine, Henry Venn, Berridge, Grimshaw, Wesley, Whitfield, and others who laboured with them in the middle of the last century. From that time it has gone on growing, and I hope it will continue to grow a hundred and a thousand fold.

What then is the position in which the evangelical body stands at the present day? I will begin by pointing out reasons which exist for thankfulness to God for our position. I desire to look first at the blue sky.

We ought, for one thing, to be thankful for what God has done for us in the last hundred years as regards our numbers! Romaine used to say, that at one time he did not think he knew more than twenty ministers in the Church of England who preached the whole Gospel. Now they are numbered, not by twenties, but by hundreds, and I hope I may add, by thousands. We cannot, at the same time, shut our eyes to the fact, that the influence of the evangelical body has increased together with its numbers. Some person has said, that Exeter Hall is one of the five great estates of the realm. There are Queens, Lords, Commons, and the Times newspaper, and the fifth estate is Exeter Hall. We may receive the saying for what it is worth. It has truth in it. It is a striking fact, that a powerful paper like the Times is frequently obliged to confess that the evangelical body in the church has a voice, and a weight, and some effect on the movements of such a country as ours. An evan

gelical clergyman is no longer proscribed as a contemptible, fanatical person, as he used to be seventy years ago. Great statesmen have thought it worth their