have, in the paper entitled REFORMATION, which he left behind him in an unfinished state; the two points of "personal reformation" and "secret prayer," being all that are embraced in it. It is a paper that should be a vade mecum with every minister and preacher who wishes to imitate the self-jealousy of the apostle, and, like him, to "keep under his body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when he has preached to others, he himself should be a cast-away." Of his skill in tracing and detecting the influence of depravity on the workings of the human heart, he made large and most effective use in his ministrations: in truth, it was a principal feature of his preaching ; and, in his pastoral letters, we find it pervading all his appeals to the unconverted, and his affectionate counsels to the believer. He seems to have excelled in grasping with a firm hand, and dragging out to light every subterfuge which his impenitent hearers might make use of to justify their continuance in a state of rebellion against God: and, after tracing, to its every lurking place in the heart, the rejection of divine mercy by the proud rebel, he would follow up an exposure of all the sinner's futile pleas, by driving home to his conscience the truth, that, should he perish, the guilt and the shame would be all his own. "Be sure of this," he would say, "that ye will only have yourselves to blame if ye awake in hell. You will not be able to plead God's secret decrees, nor the sins of your minister, nor the carelessness of your godly neighbours-you will be speechless. If you die, it is because you will die; and, if you will die, then you must die." He would anticipate objections, and show, in reply to them, the freeness and the fulness of the Saviour's love. -: He thus counselled a brother, who was to take charge of his congegation in his absence in Palestine Expound much it is through the truth that souls are to be sanctified, not through essays upon the truth. Read the Bible for your own growth first, then for your people." In thus directing the manner of another's ministrations, he very accurately described his own. His preaching was very much of the expository cast, for he wished rather to follow the primitive usage, of exhibiting at length the mind of the Spirit in the word, and then applying its instructions to the conscience, than to follow the modern fashion of some preachers, who select a passage of Scripture, only for the purpose of founding on it their own ingenious speculations. "Hence, when one asked him, if he was never afraid of running short of sermons, he replied, No: I am just an interpreter of Scripture in my sermons; and when the Bible runs dry, then I will.' And, in the same spirit, he carefully avoided the too common mode of accommodating texts, fastening a doctrine on the words, not drawing it from the obvious connexion of the passage. He endeavoured, at all times, to preach the mind of the Spirit in a passage; for he feared, that to do otherwise, would be to grieve the Spirit who had written it. Interpretation was thus a solemn matter to him." His practice was, after announcing the text, to show the position which it occupied in the context, and then, stedfastly keeping in view the unity of his subject—an indispensable requisite to good preaching-to bring out the doctrine of the text after the manner of our old divines. This done, he divided his subject into its several parts; and, from the analytical character of his mind, his divisions were generally felicitous, and fitted, in an interesting and memorable way, to bring out the spirit of the passage which he sought to illustrate. The giving out of his own inward life formed, to a great extent, the staple of his preaching. The prayer, "Enlarge my heart, and I shall preach," was the type after which his sermons were constructed. He gave out, not merely living water, but living water drawn at the springs that he had himself drunk of. Hence the connexion, as his biographer remarks, between the closeness of his communion with God, and the vigour of his ministrations. He maintained the importance of diligent preparation for the pulpit:-" Beaten oil," he once said, "for the lamps of the sanctuary." But his preparation consisted fully as much in prayer as in meditation, or in writing. When the Sabbath morning came, the sermon was thrown aside, and preparation for the sanctuary was sought exclusively in devotion. This feature of his ministry would, doubtless, save it from monotony; would impart to it the variety and the virtue of life; and would throw around it the charm and unction which always attend experimental preaching, when it is controlled by a profound acquaintance with Scripture and the human heart. But we cannot help remarking, that the too exclusively experimental character of his discourses was a blemish in his style of preaching. Truth must be exhibited objectively, as well as subjectively; and the understanding must be enlightened and instructed, as well as the conscience impressed, and the heart awakened. That he preached a full salvation ready for the chief of sinners, is abundantly obvious: that he proclaimed the gospel instead of doctrinising about the gospel, is also plain; and we would refer to one discourse among several included in his remains, as supplying an admirable specimen of effective and powerful gospel-preaching, rivalling, we had almost said, in its fervent expostulations with the sinner, and its copious exhibition of the excellence of a freely-offered Christ, the well-known "Jerusalem Sinner Saved" of the author of the Pilgrim's Progress (we mean the discourse on Prov. viii. 4);—but that his deep acquaintance with the human heart and passions often led him to dwell with greater length on those topics by which the sinner might be brought to discover his guilt, and on the marks which would evidence a change, than on the "glad tidings" themselves, is admitted even by his admiring biographer. There is, accordingly, a meagreness of solid instruction in many of those specimens of his sermons which have been published under his biographer's sanction (we do not refer to several posthumous publications, which have dealt, somewhat unjustly, in our opinion, by Mr M'Cheyne's memory,) which leads us to rate them very low, as pieces of christian teaching designed to make the man of God perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Were we disposed to point out other things which cast a shadow across the brilliancy of Mr M'Cheyne's fame, we might allude to the inaccuracy of his interpretations of Scripture, of which his memorials supply not a few proofs, betraying an imperfect acquaintance with the principles of sound and correct exegesis: to the juvenile cast of expression which he occasionally employed; and to the mannerism which must have been fitted to offend a taste that had not been familiarised with the peculiarities of the school to which Mr M'Cheyne was attached, and which goes far, we believe, to explain the facts of which his biographer complains, namely, that he found few companions in his sphere of labour who thoroughly sympathised with his aims and feelings, and that he was even the object of opposition on the part of brethren. We might allude also to his frequent absence from the duties of his own watch-tower; to his preference for the exciting labours of the evangelist to the more sober every-day toil of the pastor; to the undue abridging of the time devoted to his ministerial services which his multitudinous wanderings rendered unavoidable, and which at length drew forth the murmurs of his flock; to the occasionally injudicious length of his sermons-an evil into which he fell in consequence of his preaching being sometimes in a great degree extemporaneous; to the leaning towards something like fanaticism which he betrayed in the terms that were dictated by him to the Supreme as those on which he was willing to continue among his flock when invited to another field;-but on these things we have no heart to dilate, even though our space allowed us We would rather dwell on such points as the following, in which he is worthy of being held up to imitation by every minister of Christ, but which we can only enumerate;-his own sense of the deficiencies of his ministry, his being always the minister, his manner of conducting his visits to the sick, his interest in the young convert,-his holy tact in addressing and reaching the hearts of his youthful hearers,-the encouragement which he gave to Sabbath schools, his delight in preaching, his unwearied activity in seeking to win souls, his mode of dealing with applicants for communion, his wisdom in treating the cases of inquirers,-his jealousy of praise,-his fears lest he should become an idol to a people among whom his ministry had been signally successful,—his superiority to the littleness of envy, so that he rejoiced in the success of one who was the means of producing an extensive awakening among his people,-and his desire for union among the followers of Christ, despite of minor differences. Let all who, like him, would "live so as to be missed," strive to follow him in these and other traces of his steps, in so far as he followed his divine Master, and plead with that Master his own gracious promise," He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness." W. T. ON SELF-DEDICATION TO THE CAUSE OF MISSIONS.* Ir is unnecessary for me to enter into any definition of the term selfdedication, among such individuals as those by whom I am now surrounded. I doubt not it is perfectly understood, and shall therefore proceed to make a few observations on self-dedication to the cause of missions. In our present circumstances, this is a subject of considerable importance to us, and therefore demands our most series consideration. Most of us are looking forward to the time when we must become teachers of others, and are now prosecuting studies necessary in order to fit us for discharging our duties in this capacity. The present, therefore, is a very * Delivered at a soiree held by the members of the Secession Students' Missionary Society, in connexion with the university of Edinburgh, by a student of philosophy. important period in our history, as much depends on the course we take, and the manner in which we pursue it, for our success as teachers in after years. To mark out a particular course for ourselves, and to pursue it with zeal and diligence, depending on divine assistance, earnestly sought by prayer, is then our duty as wise men. This, too, is what our christianity teaches us; and the men of the world know well the necessity of so acting, in order to be successful in their various undertakings. At the same time, we must take care not to be so bound up in our particular plans, however much trouble we may have bestowed in devising them, that, when some turn in the course of providence puts it out of our power to pursue them as we had desired, we shall become paralysed. On the contrary, we must expect such vicissitudes; but always endeavour to make them as subservient to our purposes as possible, ever keeping our eye fixed on that which it was our object to attain, when first we entered on the course. In this way, we may often seem to make but little progress, yet there is every probability of our one day or other reaching the desired end. Without some such method, we shall very much resemble a mariner, who, on leaving port, only turns his prow towards the deep, having no destination in view, nor any chart to guide him through the trackless ocean. It is probable that each one here has, to some extent, a particular object in view in prosecuting a literary course of study; yet, with many of us, this may be of such a general character, as to have little influence on our movements, so that we depend more on contingent circumstances than on any definite purpose, for stimuli to excite us onward. It is to be feared that some students, if asked why they are pursuing a literary course, could not give any very satisfactory reason: perhaps others might tell us they intend to become preachers; but there seems to be so little. resolution in the matter, that they are ready to leave the course whenever opportunity offers. These things ought not so to be. There should be a zeal and determination to advance; steadiness of purpose, which will not be overcome by every little difficulty; eager desire for the rescue of perishing souls, goading us onward; love to the Saviour as our actuating principle; entire consecration of ourselves to his service; and determination that, whatever others may do, we will serve the Lord. I trust a goodly number among us are moving forward under such influences as these: but, Have we deliberately considered their importance in connexion with the cause of missions? is a question worthy of our special attention. In entering on our course of study, have we resolved, in the strength of God, to qualify ourselves for being instruments in his hand, for turning sinners to the Saviour, wherever, in his providence, he may seem to call us? Or, have we resolved to serve him, if he will not seek to send us beyond a certain sphere, within which we are quite willing to be at his disposal? This may seem a strange question for me to put; but I think it quite in accordance with the subject on which I have been asked to speak; and it is the more necessary, as there seems to be a serious mistake on the part of many, in respect to self-dedication to the cause of Christ. If the former has been our resolution, we have done well in making it; but, if the latter, it is high time for us to reconsider the matter. Such offerings God will not accept at our hands; they are abomination to him. We must either be wholly his, and entirely at his disposal, or we had better been hewers of wood and drawers of water all our days. Fellow students, the present state of the church, and of the world, calls for something more decided of us than a general resolution respecting missions. I do not consider it the duty of all of us to resolve to become missionaries, in the literal acceptation of the term; but it is the duty of every one to keep the missionary cause very prominently before his own mind, and to endeavour, as far as he can, to excite others to greater exertion for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. I am firmly persuaded, however, that it is the duty of every one of us, prayerfully to consider whether or not he ought to dedicate himself entirely to the work. It would be well if we would seriously ponder this question in the spirit of the apostle of the Gentiles, and with earnest desire to perform the will of our Master, inquire, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Were this really done, is it likely that brethren in America would have to continue calling, "Come over and help us," without many responding to the call? or that in Jamaica, our missionaries would have to yearn in vain over the fatherland of their infant churches, because reinforcements could not be found to relieve them, that they may advance upon the enemy? Would the church at home, then, have to go over the length and breadth of our land, exclaiming, by means of periodicals, Who will go for us? and have to wait years ere one be found willing to embark in this glorious enterprise? Certainly not. Doubtless, God would say to many, Come, for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. Nor do I think it sufficient that we simply resolve to pursue our appointed course to the end, and then, if there be necessity for our going to distant lands to tell the wondrous story of redeeming love, to be willing to do so. On the contrary, I believe it is the duty of some of us to dedicate ourselves now to the work, if we have not already done so; and, during the rest of our studies, keeping this ever prominently before our minds, to endeavour to qualify ourselves for this particular kind of service. It is a great mistake to suppose that no special training is neces-sary to fit us for being efficient missionaries. Is it probable that any one who has never seriously thought of engaging in missionary work during his curriculum, will enter on it with such resolution and preparedness of mind, as one who has often pondered over it, and looked at it in all its bearings? It cannot be. Circumstances may occur, by which individuals, having finished their studies, may be induced to dedicate themselves to missionary labour, although they never seriously thought of so doing before. But with how different feelings must he enter on the work, who, for a series of years, has had his heart fixed upon it, and all the while has been training his mind to that lesson which to many seems so difficult to learn to leave father, and mother, and houses, and lands, and country for the sake of Christ. Bearing in mind the words of the Saviour, " He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me," we should naturally expect to find professed followers of Jesus more ready to give up all for him: yet alas! it is oftentimes seemingly the contrary. There are, however, noble exceptions, and few more so than that which I doubt not is engraven on every heart here. I refer to Waddell. NO. IV. VOL. III. X |