If the commands, and promises, and threats, an d warnings, and examples of inspiration do not constrain you to give, are you a Christian? This will, probably, be one of the tests of character recognised at the judgement of the great day. How will you endure it?

But you must not only give, you must do it systematically. Act on the apostolic plan of laying aside once a week; at least, do not abandon this, till you have devised a better.

Do you inquire how much you must bestow? The Scripture answers, "Freely ye have received, freely give." Much is said about the difficulty of determining the proportion. Love knows no measure — no formal rules of proportion. Where it reigns in the heart, — where Christ and His kingdom are esteemed above wife, and children, and friends, and self, and all things else, there is very little probability of mistake, no party concerned can be unreasonably aggrieved, or in the least injured.

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Alas! how little have the more opulent Christians thus far done in the performance of this branch of their duty. What they have given has generally been a small part of their surplus income, none of which could be spent, and all of which, had it been bestowed, would not have been felt. Luxuries have seldom been reduced.

The exuberance of comforts has not been touched, of course, self-denial to do good would be deemed preposterous. What a violation of the express will of God! The common adage has been,

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keep what ye have, and, if possible, accumulate more" while the command of Christ to “sell that ye have, and give alms," is, probably, not known, by the majority of the rich, to exist in the Bible.

"The scanty rills of charity, which at present water the garden of the Lord, and the ingenuity and effort employed to bring them there, compared with the almost undiminished tide of selfish expenditure which still holds on its original course, remind one of the slender rivulets which the inhabitants of the east raise from the river by mechanical force, to irrigate their thirsty gardens ; the mighty current meanwhile, without exhibiting any sensible diminution of its waters, sweeping on in its ample and ancient bed to the ocean.*" How animating is the prospect of coming ages! These "scanty rills" will swell into mighty rivers, while not even a "slender rivulet" will be diverted to "selfish expenditure."

*"MAMMON". - which work every Christian ought to read.

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE next speaker was one of those "that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters. He had visited many heathen countries, and been conversant with the missionaries at different stations.

There is one point connected with the subject under discussion, said he, about which I have heard the opinion of many missionaries. I refer to the co-operation of laymen engaged in secular pursuits, in evangelizing the world. I have scarcely been in a foreign port, where I have not met with men from Christian lands engaged in business. These persons are found wherever they can reap advantage from their worldly professions. After remaining some time in a place, they not only feel themselves at home, but are regarded, by those around them, as naturalized citizens. They gain the confidence of the natives, and become influential. They are looked up to with respect, and their opinions are sought for with avidity. I have been in countries where

these persons had become so popular, as to receive from royalty itself marks of honourable distinction. Now, the missionaries have often inquired, why Christian merchants and mechanics might not pursue the same course of life, from the motive of glorifying their Redeemer, and benefiting their fellow-men. They could certainly engage in the same employments, — they might, probably, secure the same confidence, and, at the same time, they could make all their relations and honours subservient to the progress of Christianity. I have known a few persons in heathen countries who acted on high religious principles, and it is impossible to tell how much good they accomplished. It is not only their personal exertions which render them useful, but the countenance and assistance they lend the missionaries. It is in this last mentioned respect that their presence and influence are exceedingly desirable. Being on the spot, and acquainted with every event which occurs, they not only become greatly interested in the salvation of the heathen, but are prepared to improve every opportunity for its promotion. For my own part, I cannot doubt that Christian communities among the heathen would produce the most desirable effects.

There are several stations where the number of missionaries and native assistants are sufficient to

test the influence of such communities. They present in embodied forms before the heathen, the benign operations of the gospel, and the blessedness to which it is the design of the missionaries to raise them and their countrymen. This is one object. Another advantage lies in the vastly increased amount of agency which such numbers would employ for the benefit of the heathen. Each individual of such a society would be capable of performing the same labour which occupies the principal time of the missionary. They need not preach the gospel but as far as they had leisure; they could teach, and converse, and distribute books, as well as attend to those secular duties which the mission might require, or their own engagements demand.

Such a number, too, would necessarily employ in their service many natives, all of whom might be brought under a system of Christian instruction. In every view I am able to take of this subject, it strikes me as highly important. I wonder that it should have been so long overlooked by Christians. The principal objection which I have heard urged against communities of this kind is the uncertainty of their support. In many places the merchant, and probably the mechanic, might support themselves. If there should be any risk, as might be the case, in some countries, where their