the faithful labours of their pastor, the Rev. James Smith, and on their own exertions in the Sabbath-schools, in the systematic distribution and loan of tracts, and in the visitation of the sick, they trust that this densely populated neighbourhood will yet, for some years longer, have the benefit of the gospel fully and freely preached in its midst, and brought home to the hearts of many now living without God and without hope.

The prayers and sympathies of those who anxiously care for the souls of the perishing, are earnestly solicited, and their occasional attendance on the public services would encourage.

THE SABBATH A FRIEND.

1. To Education. Compare countries with,

and without the Sabbath. Its ministrations

powerfully quicken and invigorate the human intellect, while a vast amount of knowledge is communicated.

2. To Government. Where are the honoured Sabbath and despotism co-existent? It shows the nature of human rights-adapts laws to actual wants and circumstances of mancreates a conscience that sustains laws, and qualifies men to make, as well as obey, laws.

3. To Health. By promoting cleanlinessby furnishing needful rest for body and mind -by promoting cheerfulness and elasticity of spirits, through its power to produce a peaceful conscience-by its subduing influence over the hateful passions of men.

4. To Good Morals. By keeping in sight the character of God-by unfolding the claims of His holy law-by creating a distaste for unlawful pleasures-by creating a public sentiment that frowns upon immorality-and, through that sentiment, causing wise and effectual laws for the suppression of vice and crime.

5. To Piety. By causing a right view of God to prevail-by constantly pouring on men's minds those great elements of piety, the divine truths of revelation- by thus generating all right affections toward God and man-by shadowing forth and pointing men to the Sabbath of heaven, the rest that remaineth for the people of God.

Therefore the Sabbath is the friend of the nation-the family-every man's friend, and never fails to repay true and devoted friendship for it with the most precious blessings for time and eternity.- The Christian Treasury.

CONGREGATIONAL UNION OF ENGLAND AND WALES.

THE Thirteenth Autumnal Meeting of the Union will be held in Northampton, on Monday, the 13th of October next, and three following days.

On Monday evening, the Preparatory Meeting for Prayer will be held.

In the forenoons of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, Meetings for Conference will be held. The Chair to be taken by the Rev. John Kelly, of Liverpool, at half-past nine o'clock, precisely. The Conference on Wednesday morning will be devoted to a consideration of the subject of the Congregational Board of Education on Voluntary Principles, and its claims on the support of our churches.

On Tuesday evening, a Public Meeting in favour of British Missions will be held.

On Wednesday evening, a Public Meeting will be held for the Illustration and Enforcement of Congregational Principles, in connection with the Union.

On Thursday evening, the Annual Sermon will be preached by the Rev. Dr. Raffles, of Liverpool.

this occasion, and desiring hospitable reception, All brethren intending to be present on are requested to inform the Rev. Edmund T. Prust, Northampton, of their intention. GEORGE SMITH, WILLIAM S. PALMER, Í Secretaries.

ORDINATION SERVICES.

WENDOVER, BUCKS.

ON Wednesday, the 23rd ult., Mr. J. T. Bartram, late of the City Mission, was publicly set apart to the work of the ministry,

at the Independent Chapel, Wendover, Bucks, the church assembling at that place having given him a cordial and unanimous invitation friends dined together at the residence of the to become its pastor. Several ministers and late pastor, Rev. H. T. Holmes; and a teawhich about 130 friends attended. In the meeting was held in the school-room, at afternoon the service was opened by Rev. Robert Ann, of Marsh Gibbon; Rev. W. Gates, of Aylesbury, then delivered a very able discourse on The Nature and Design of a Gospel Church;" the usual questions were asked by Rev. R. Ann, and the ordination prayer offered by Rev. Thomas Aston, of Wingrave; the charge was delivered by Rev. R. S. Short, of Retford, Notts; and the concluding prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Avery, of Aston Clinton. In the evening the service was opened by Rev. R. S. Short, and the Rev. H. F. Holmes (who had been for eleven years the pastor of the church), delivered an excellent discourse to the people. The attendance was good, and a very solemn and devotional feeling seemed to pervade the auditory.

On Wednesday, July 2nd, Mr. Daniel Smith, LL.B., was ordained to the pastoral office in connexion with the Independent Church, Whitehaven.

The Rev. Francis Watts, Theological Professor, Spring Hill College, delivered the in

The Rev. Watson Smith, Wolverhampton, delivered an eloquent and impressive charge to the newly ordained minister, and in the evening the Rev. Archibald Jack, North Shields, preached an eminently practical and powerful discourse to the church. The ministers of the town, of all denominations of Dissenters, were present, and most of the ministers of the county. The Rev. P. H. Davison, Cockermouth; Barker, Maryport; Perfect, Aspatria; Evans, Ulverston; took part in the ordination services.

PROSPERITY AT HOME.

Chester, 4th August, 1851. DEAR MR. EDITOR, The man who makes a mistake as to the number of chapels built by our body in one year, when he has "The Congregational Year Book" in his possession, can plead no excuse.

I have that book, and read the Chapel

THE JEWS.

forgotten it; yet I have no excuse to plead In this case I am glad I was mistaken, and I hope "Middlesex" will forgive me.

My friend C. F. V., who wrote the gentle reproof in the August Magazine, will please to accept my love and thanks.

I can only hope that this blunder will give greater publicity to the noble fact that, "the entire number of chapels in London, built, building, or projected, during the last three years, amounts to at least twenty; the united cost of which cannot be estimated at a much smaller amount than a hundred thousand pounds. RICHARD KNILL.

THE REV. JAMES READ,

Late of the Western College, Plymouth, entered on his duties as the pastor of the Independent Church in Chard-street, Axminster, on the 10th of this month, August, with promising prospects of success, the successor of the Rev. Richard Penman.

BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL AMONG THE JEWS, CRESCENT PLACE, BLACKFRIARS.

EXTRACT of a Letter to the Editor, from the Rev. P. E. Gottheil, a Missionary of the above Society:

"The object of my writing these lines, is to draw the attention of the readers of the EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE to a certainly not uninteresting field of labour, and, if possible, to enlist their sympathies and prayerful exertions on behalf of that field-I mean the Jews residing in the south of Germanyespecially in the kingdoms of Bavaria and Wurtemberg. They amount, in the first kingdom, to sixty thousand, and in the second about ten thousand. The British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews, has had the privilege of opening the Missionary field in the kingdom of Bavaria, and has intrusted me with the charge over the many thousands of my kinsmen according to the flesh residing in that kingdom, that, by my humble labours, and the blessing of God resting on them, some of them, at least, might be brought to the knowledge of the truth, and thus become also my brethren in the gospel.

"The state of the Jews in those parts is of the utmost interest;-I should say that it is in a state of transition, of ferment: old notions, old prejudices, which have been handed down from generations past, are losing their hold on the mind, and giving way; time

honoured institutions, customs, and habits, are tottering in the presence of a new and unwonted light, which is bursting upon them from quarters which have hitherto had no access to them; all this, and more, must needs exert a great influence on the Jewish mind. As an instance of the change which that mind is undergoing, I can here only mention one or two facts. Perhaps few of the Christian friends are aware of the great abhorrence in which, for centuries past, the very name of Christ was held amongst the Jews. It is not more than half a century ago, that no Jews dared so much as to take the name of Jesus into their mouths; they were even prohibited from ever allowing it to cross their minds. On passing a church, they dared not look at it, not enter it, not cast an eye on the cross at the top of a steeple; to touch or look at a New Testament, study the language of the Gentiles, or imitate their manners and habits. Such and similar things were the views of the Jew then. What are they now? Not only is the name of Jesus getting daily more familiarized to their minds: they do not object to read the New Testament, were it only to find in it some discrepancies, either in history or doctrine, wherewith to combat against the preaching of the gospel; and along with this, there is no more an objection amongst them to go into a Christian church, nor to converse with a Christian. A thousand different circumstances, now-a-days, tend to bring Jew and Gentile closer to each other; and in proportion as predilections wear away, and false im

pressions are removed, the path of duty is clearly seen by the Gentile. I am confident that the way will be smoothed, and the time arrive, when both Jew and Gentile will be, made one in the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor is it a small thing to hear-as I have heard ita Jew, distinguished for learning and piety, enlarge on the warmth, the fervour, and the zeal that pervade the words of Paul, and of the affectionate love, and noble, unsurpassed benevolence which mark the character of Christ; to extol the conduct of a consistent Christian, and deplore that so few who bear the name of Christ, do glorify his naine by their lives; to see another diligently perusing the New Testament, not for the purpose of arguing against it, but for the purpose of exposing the fallacies and the unscriptural character of Romanism; and, again, another betraying in his preachings plainly enough that he has our Lord's Sermon on the Mount pretty well by heart-and the great moral lessons set forth there are, indeed, worthy of all acceptance, and deserve to be practised.

"It would be easy for me to multiply these facts, as they come out in different shapes and on different occasions. How much, for instance, is done by the influence of Christian schools and seminaries, which are now attended by many young from among the Jews, a thing also unheard of before. I myself have had the joy of hearing the voices of the dear little ones, mingling in the praises to Jesus sung by their Gentile fellow-pupils, join it with all their hearts, evidently delighted to be permitted to do as their little fellows from the Christians did! And how much can be done, and, I trust, in some cases is done, by Christian teachers on behalf of youths more advanced in years and understanding! The Christian teacher-if he is such in truth-will make every single subject he handles subservient to the furtherance of the gospel, and to the glory of God. He has thus much, very much, given into his hands; and who can tell the result, but God? "I was speaking before of the Jewish mind being familiarized with gospel truths. I might have said more; it is being familiarized with the fact of Christ having, in reality, been in existence; of his having taught and worked miracles, and at last died on the cross. I must again remind the reader, that ever since these events (of Christ's living, &c.) took place, they have been either entirely negatived by the Jews, or distorted in such a manner as almost to make it impossible for them to be recognized. Such was the state of opinion even in my own dear parents' time. How different is it now! There is no doubt now entertained as to the truth of the facts of the gospel record; they are spoken of as facts, and they are felt to be facts,- stubborn things,difficult to be contended against.

History is read and studied by the Jew, and in it the faithful record of Christ's life and death, and may be (if the book be based on Christian principle), also his resurrection. How much all this must tell on the Jewish mind is evident. And it is the observation of all concerned, that there is a shaking and a wavering in the Jewish mind, that the things of old are losing their hold, and that thereby a vacuum is created, as well as a desire to fill it up. And this, sir, is the point which, at this time, I should like to impress on the readers of the EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE. There is a desire to have that vacuum filled up, to have something new, in place of the old things which are vanishing. And it is with the Christian to see it rightly supplied, to see the new train of thought directed into the proper channel; and if the Christian should not do it, why, the world is ready to do the work for him, in a way of her own, but not for the good of the wavering and parched soul! This, sir, is no surmise, but a reality and a fact. The world has already taken hold of that mind, and turned it to its purposes, because the church has not been alive to her duty, nor on the look-out for the children which the Lord had prepared unto her. Hitherto, it may be said, the Lord has been working, for he has rolled out here one and there another from among the Jews; and many of those rescued souls have proved a blessing to the church, and an ornament to the cause of Christ.

"But I must not extend this letter to a much greater length. I could have mentioned many other facts, but reserve them for a future letter, in case the readers of the EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE should take an interest in the cause as a whole, and in the locality in which it has pleased God to place me as an humble labourer in his vineyard.

"Meanwhile, and in conclusion, let me remind evangelical Christians, that all Missionary labour is not as effectual as it might be, if accompanied by the prayers of the people of God. I have often felt this when abroad, and surrounded by difficulties; and I have felt comforted in the idea, that whatever come to pass, prayer and intercession is made for me by the brethren. If the Lord is thus enlisted on my side, who or what can hurt me?

"Oh! that a larger measure of prayer were poured out on behalf of the ancient people of God! It would, I am sure, in return, prove to many Christians, aye, to many churches, as life from the dead! Pray for the peace of Jerusalem-they shall prosper that love thee!

"Believe me, dear sir,

"In the bonds of Christian fellowship, "Truly yours,

"PAUL E. GOTTHEIL."