fying unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works; He went about doing good, and in no way of benefiting mankind did He more rejoice than to seek and to save that which was lost; He healed indeed every bodily disease, making both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak, but herein was his glory,- the mighty work which he had received of the Father,-to invite the heavy laden children of men to come to him, that they might learn the lessons of heavenly wisdom, and find rest unto their souls.

The same generous objects were uniformly and indefatigably pursued by our Lord's Apostles; to them was given grace to preach among the Gen tiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; their zeal for the glory of God and love for the salvation of the souls of men, urged them, through evil report and good report, with holy charity towards those who had changed the truth of God into a lie, to proclaim his eternal purpose of extending to all kindreds of the earth a knowledge of salvation through the same Redeemer. Their success in the great cause of truth was ever the source of the purest consolation, the happy earnest of fu ture promise; gladly did they spend and were spent in turning men from idols to serve the living God; and in the progress of the triumphs of the Gospel they exulted over their converts with true Christian love, as their hope, and joy, and crown of rejoicing, for the truth's sake which

dwelleth in them; neither amid their suffering and trials had they any greater joy than to hear that their children walked in the truth, holding fast the form of sound words, and adorning the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things.

A generous zeal for the salvation of all men is the Christian frame of mind. In devout and zealous attachment to the revelation of the divine will, and in gratitude for the light we ourselves enjoy, Christian love prompts us to rejoice in the promotion of Christian faith and Christian practice. We perceive and understand how excellent the fruits of Christian knowledge, and in kindness to our brethren, and in pity to the ignorant, we wish they could be persuaded to receive the love of the truth. Surely, if we value as we ought the inestimable privileges of the Gospel of Christ, the first desire of our hearts will be to spread the blessing far and wide, and to increase it for the benefit of others. Have we ourselves freely tasted of the tree of knowledge, and shall we withhold its precious fruit from the less-favoured children of the same Creator? Have we been brought out of darkness and error into the clear light and true knowledge of God, and shall we not in deep gratitude for this unspeakable mercy be filled with a desire constantly to preach the Gospel, and boldly with fervent zeal to teach men, and to lead them into all truth? If the early worshippers of God never failed to build an altar at every

varied station of travel or of settlement, shall the Christian be less anxious to fulfil the distinct injunctions of the Founder of his faith, and to proclaim the universal Gospel to every kindred and nation? Little can he have felt the burden of sin, or have contemplated the awful sacrifice which infinite justice has required, who shall not ardently desire that all may come to the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour by whom they are redeemed? Little can he have entered into the exceeding love of the Son of God, who gave his life a propitiation for our sins, and not ours only, but for the sins of the whole world, who shall not rejoice in the blessed charity of espousing the cause on earth which the Redeemer ever liveth to accomplish in heaven?

Such is the source and ground of rejoicing, which is one of the most appropriate characters of Christian love; and upon these principles it is, I apprehend, that the Church of England seeks to embody her faithful and zealous children for their joint and more effective co-operation in the diffusion of Christian knowledge. Of the great duty thus imposed on us I have the less occasion to speak; but in pleading the cause of our present assembling, allow me more particularly to bring before you the objects which these societies propose to themselves, and the measures by which they hope to accomplish them. If the promotion of righteousness and truth, in opposition to ini

quity and error, be the bond of our union and the crown of our Christian rejoicing, doubtless our first and principal aim will be, in casting forth our seed upon the waters, to recur ever to the holy oracles of God, in order to correct corruption of doctrine, and purify decay and degradation of character. The Bible is the rule of our faith and conduct, and from that fountain of divine knowledge, ever pure and clear, are we to draw the waters of everlasting life. We remember the emphatic prayer of our blessed Lord for his chosen followers, Father, sanctify them with thy truth, thy word is truth. We remember too, on the authority of the Holy Spirit, the awful denunciation of woe to every one who shall add to, or take away from the words of the Sacred Book. By the free circulation of the Word of God, we reasonably trust, under the divine blessing, to teach the way of truth in purity unto those who are ignorant, and to bring back into the fold many who have erred and are deceived; we lay the foundation of holiness in the treasures of heavenly knowledge, and are anxious above all things that men should take their direction through life from the holy Scriptures, which are acknowledged to contain all things, whether of doctrine or of precept, necessary to make them wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. But while we thus value the inestimable gift, and assert the principles upon which the reformed Church of Eng

land has always stood, we cannot but be sensible how unhappily the word of salvation has been sometimes misrepresented by the perverseness of man, and brought to substantiate all the varying and discordant modes of faith and worship. With the Bible then we are prepared to circulate also that sound and scriptural application of the leading doctrines of the Gospel, which forms the Liturgy of the National Church; the Prayer-book we deem not only of essential service in enabling the poor to join their brethren in the same offices of prayer and praise, but as eminently calculated to direct and assist the silent operation of the Word on the understanding and heart, and to guide the feelings in soberness and truth.

The effect of a sound faith and pure worship is to superinduce a corresponding practice; but as men are too apt to rest contented with general notions of religious obligation, and too often neglect to apply the precept to every particular of their own conduct, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge has prepared with eminent care and caution a set of religious tracts, enforcing the leading duties of Christianity, addressing the word of exhortation to every age and condition of men, and applying the sharp and piercing word of revelation to the various sins which most easily beset our fallen nature. And what higher praise can be given to the Society, or what stronger claim for your liberal patronage, than the anxious