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Cwrtt Ardilvw Vtattrli Univmity ArekiVH Tha tmagaa appaaring hara ara tha bast qaality poaalbia eonaidartng tha condition and iagibility of tha original eopy and fn kaaping with tha flimlng eofitraet apacif icationa. ^ Original oopiaa in prlntad papar covara ara filmad beginning with tha front eovar and ending on the laat page vAth a printed or iiluatratad impraa* aion. or tha baek eovar whan apprbpriata. All otHbr original eopiae ara filmed beginning on the firat page wfth a pHmad or Illustrated imprea* aion. and ending on the laat page with a printed or illustrated impreasion. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain tha aymbol -^- (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha aymbol ▼ (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charta. etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included> in one expoaura are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, aa mahy .frames as required. The following diagrams iliustrata tha method: ,, ^ ■m ■ . L'ekahtplaira fHiM lut reprodult grica » •• :;i^ • g*nAroeltA da: TlwUiilirtClMWilisfiitMiiiArdilm * Vidtfii Univtnlty Artbivfi .■■«"■. Lea Imagaa auKrantaa ont «tA raproduitee evec le plus grand aoin, oompta tenu de ie condition et da la nattet* da raxemplalfa flim4<'at en eonformit* avfO laa conditions du contrat da fllmaga. ^.^Laa axempleiree orlginauK dont la couverture en pepier ett„lmprim*e aont f ilm4a w commenpaht par la p^mler plat at an termlnant salt par le dernlAra page (l|ul oomporte une empreinte d'impr^ion ou dllluatrationi aolt par le aeeond platrpalon la eaa. Toua lea autraa axemplairaa orlglNiBUx aont ffllmAa an eommanpant par la pramldra papa qui comporte line empreinte d'Inilpraaaion ou dlllusuation at an tarminai la damlire pag^ qui comporte une telle empreinte. *'*!.' Un dee aymbolaa auivanta apparattra svr la . dami*re Imege de cheque microfiche, selon le caaN la aymbole -»- signif ie "A 8UIVRE". la ^ aymboia V signMla "FIN". — - Les cartas, planehas. tableaux, etc.. pauvent litra fiimto * das taux da riduction diff«ranta. ^ Lorsqua le document eat trop grand pour Atra reprodult en un aaul clieh4. li eat film* * partir da Tangle aupAriaur geuche. de gauche * drolta. et de haut an baa. en ftrenant ie nombre d'imeges nAcesaaira. Las diagrammes suivanta iiiuatrant la mAthoda. & afi L ..- f,H' 1, ■ TABOR; 0% THE CLASS MEETING. A |Km mm M iXpptal; ▲DBU88XD TO HE AEEBS OF * THE WESLEYAN MINISTBI* AMD AmonOVATILT DBDIOATII) . ''^ ^ TO tai COKOUOATION Of FISKBft BTBin OBAPU, CUBU8LB. BYWILLIA AM^Hb RLEY PUNSHON, wsiLBVAH Mananm. TORONTO: , PtJBLISHfiD BY O. B. SANDBBSON, AT THE WESLEYAN CONFERENCE OFFICE, 9, WlQUJNOTOl^, BUmiNGS, KING STBEET. ' . 1855. Price ad. eMhj flperlM; taOtperMOO. b Miflr^j^Ten, M pp., Ml nek, or 7s. M. p« dOMB. '■t:. li .■ --ff- • , . V 1. X 'V 1 addi •' frhe ihiBstance of the foflowing address was j$^^||gest«rd by a. eonyersation. held between the Minister^ and 0£Bce-bearers of the Carlide Circuit^ at their last Quarterly ^Meeting — ^a daf^ which those who were pnyileged to attend its sessions will not readily forget-^-distinguisbed as it was for harmony of-^ounsely for una- nimity of purpose^ and for that large me$\sure of Divine influence which made it to all present a blessed means- of grace. That it may> in its present foW minister to the prosperity of our beloved Zion> is the writer's ope hope, and fervent prayer.] October, 1848. W ■! ( *■'■., % TABOR; OR, THE CLASS-MEETINa \, "8. the icb % aa- ice it red V M If any of you, dear friends, had been privileged to witness ihe scene which once hallowed the summit of Tabor j-rif you bad seen the Saviour baptized as the King of Glory M*" you had »* feared as you entered into the cloud ;"— if you had beep a favoured listener to that heavenly converse ;— if you had been thrilled, as Peter was, by the upliftings of wondrous hope and unfoldings of gracious purpose, as 'Mhey fpake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem ;"— who of you could hav% withheld the deep-felt expression of gladness, « Lord, it is good to be here I"-^who of you could have re* strained the desire to build, iipon that sacred spot, the "taber- nacles" of remembrance and of rest f Dear friends, there is yet an institution in whose observance the humblest Christian talks with his Master, an^ with his Master'« followers ;-— that institution is the <* assembling of our* , selves together*' for the purpose of church communions-there is yet a place upon eartb where some relics of that excellent / glory linger, where the experiences of that mount of blessing are not all forgotten— that place is^ pious and properly con- ducted Class-M6eting. Many a time has the writer of this brief address felt its salutary influence, to gladden the soul m seasons of intensest trial, to»en<»urage the failing spirit in heavenward progress, to brace and nerve the mmd lor difficult duty, and with a grateful recollection of these, its Tabor- pleasures, he*^commends its, advantages to you. **I believed, therefore have I spoken*" We do not claim for the Class-Mesting an essentially divine origin, although it would be difficult.to doubt that an overruling Providence presided at its birth, and has kept it in operation until now. The mind, which devoutly remembers that with God there is nothing trivial, will readily acknowledge that when J6hn Wesley, ministering merely to present necessities, and with no foresight of the future, called together at their k^ -^ V- * ? T '' «is V i^"^ •- '^^sajw 'dkiti^i^^iu. s -,-ai£«i^^i¥^VsA* -f~ii^^«^V«^ A>^-^h^u.^^4>*£^ ..' own request <* eight or ten persons in London/'— -there «irere m heaven an efe that marked->-and a love that biased the deed. ** A thing- ii Kieat or little only fa a mort«l'i thinking. It is bat the littkneH of man that aeeth no greataeM in a trifle." Marjc the tenor of the language which tells of the riite of the «< United Societies,** which, founded upon scriptural principles, ! have now expanded into a flburij$lilng church :— -. ^ ^ -^ ** In the latter end of the year 1739, eight <>r ten persons eame to me in' ' London, who appeared to be deeply convinced of sin, and earnestly groan- ing for redemption. They desired, (as did two or three more the ne kt day) that I would spend some time wiUi them in pnyer, and advise ihem hw, to flee from the wrath to come, which they 8i|w continually hanging oVer their heads. That we might have more time for this great worii,rapo . pointed a day when they might all come together ; which, from hencefor> ward, they did every week, via, ouTkarsifaiy, in the evening. To three. • and as many more as desired to join with them, (for their number increased daily.) I/gave those advices from time to time which I judgedmost needrai forthem; and we^ways concladed our meetings with prayer suited to their several necessities.** • How forcibly does this remind ui of the days of Malachi, when *♦ they that feared the Lord spoAre o^en one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard,— and a book of remem- brance,"— i perhaps beyond all others of a supplemental character, has been signally honoured by the blessing of God. . You, as hearers of our nUnistry, are doubtless aware that membership in one of these Class-Meetings is indispensable to constitute union with Methodism, and, that those only, who statedly attend these seasons of Christian fellowship, are ■i ■ v. ** accredited and rightful communicants of our Church/' Wri- ting as Methodista wecondemn not other sections of the church . universal. It may not be their vocation. They certaiirly do no> prize it as their privilege. For ourselves, however^ for the benefit of our own ramily, we are free to confess an ardent attachment in this matter to the *• good ways" of our fathers. The Class-Mdeting is storied of old. it is associated with our traditional and sacred records of the*^ master spirits of early Methodism — those larg^e-heargid men "of whom tlie world- was not worthy." It was to them as the blest Elim of palms and fountains to the desert wayfarer ;— and such is the sanctity >^t>f affection with which we regard it, that it compels the prayer and that, not with bated breath, but with the loud voice of earnest entreaty ;— God forbid the day should ever dawn when the Class-Meeting shall cease to be recognized as the distinc- tive badge of men^bership in the Methodist branch of the (bhurch of Christ. Let us be guarded here. We do not believe, nor do we affirm, that connexion with the Class-Meeting, is necessarily an indicatioi^^pf piety, or of that right state of beait which is acceptabl6«[he sight of God. There may be^'— there prob- ably are,'*^Shbers amongst us of whom we are " in doubt," .and over whose defective consistency we mourn. It is not surprising, when there were "carnal walkers" in the Corin- thian Church, and even a Judas amongst the twelve. But where is there an equal vigilance to prevent the recognition of improper persons as members f In what Church in Christen-/ dom is there manifiwled greater fidelity an^^lem'nit^ in mat/- ters of experience and practice 1 Thi charge of encouraging Mxed fellowship, which has been so injuriously cast upon our ministers, is unwarranted and untrue. True^ our only reiquire- mei^t is « a desire to flee from the wrath to come." ^ut what does'thls mean t Ho^ is it manifested 1 It is not the careless confession, in which there is no heart,-^nor the emotion of the man, who repents to-night and sins again to-morrow, — nor yet the mere feeling of remorse, the Juda^ike penitence, which worketh death. There must be « repentance tpwards God,"-^ the deep and abiding penitence — the strong conviction of per- sonal guilt and danger — the **' broken heart" which is God's chosen sacrifice— the godly sorrow, which chastens the entire character— the whole oT the emotions comprehended in thev expressive word — eontriiion. None, in the judgment of our Church— as embodied in her inimitable Rules — sincerely feel this desire but they who bring forth its " fruits n^et for repent- Wr ■' ance''— the crushing sense of. Ingratitude— the cnreful avoid- ance of evil— the earnest enquiry ifter good— the sirtmilssive search for truth— and the restless anxiety which refuses to be satisfied without the experience of its power.- None but these, therefore, are interested in this address. Do not mistake us.— We invite you on the ossumption— and that assumption is in- dispensable—and that assumption is all that is indispensable — that you are thUs desirous to •» flee ff am the wrath to come." We want not, nay, we dread, an unconverted church. We V are jealous of accessions that may pollute its purity. The careless, and the profane, and the trifling, and the selfish, alas ! that we have such hearers ! our invitation passes by.— Dearly as we wish their welfare, we dare i otlinvite them, in their present state, amongst us.— ♦• They have nor part nor^ lot in the matter." But we believe there are thousands of our» hearers in different parts of the land, whose hearts God hath touched,— who are hopeful and promising as to religious im- y pression, and manifesting a ceaseless concern for their souls ; ' — and it is to them we make our appeal. . Dear friends, those of you that are in such a case, to this membership we invite you. We have watched for you with . eager solicitude. We have yearned over you with a Pastor's yearning. Upon your spiritual state, we have expended many, ^ - an anxious thought, for your spirituel^^feHoT^ we have breathed ■ many a fervent prayer. We rejoice to see you in the sanctu- ary, but we would have you glad us with youa presence at our family festivals. We see you standing at the threshold ;— we . wish you to cluster roiftid the hearth-stone, a«d to be warmed ; at the fire. Perhaps you have not adequately considered the advantages of ibis invaluable fellowship, ^yill you lend us your attention Ibr awhile to a brief enumeration 1 1. Th$ Class-Meeting induces aelf^aminatioru Thought- lessness is the great sUi and inveterate habit of the' world. — The natural man presents the "remarkable spectacle of a soul afraid of itself, afraid to stay with Itsett^lone, still, and attentive." He may perhaps have parleyed soinetimes with^ his immortal spirit, aAer the manner of some lordly nobleman speaking to nn old servant of his house: — "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry,"— OP, haply, some adventurous one set out with the fixed intention of visiting his heort's secret chambers, but ^\a feelings were like those of one who entered a gloomy l\:. and long-desorted tntnsion.- To hif disordered imngincition strange tremors shock the arras, unearthly echoes sounded, from the stair, apparitions met the straining .eye-ball upon every landing, — - • , ** For over all th^ro hunff a cIou(] or feur, A MQse of mvBtery the apirit daunted, ' And aaid, aa plain as whisper in the ear, i The place is haunted !*' and he retirq^ afirighted, w^h the big, cold drops lipon his brow, and it must be a powerful motive that will tempt him into those chambers ogttin. Kay, the Lord's accusation against his ancient people i» chargeable to a great extent upon , his people now, ^My people do not consider.'^ How apt is the Christian, the heir of a nobler liH^-^-the professor of a living faith, to neglect the examination of himself 1 The countless activities of t^is utilitarian oge have been all temptations, to wl|/ich his busy spirit has been but too pxone to yield. The engrossing influence of busjnete, the onward^arch of intellect, the absorbing strife of politics, even the enterprises of religious philanthropy, have oil, in turn, contributed most sadly to hin- der the practice of self-communion. The active has banished the reflective ;— and it is to be feared that there are professors of religion, who strangely reckoaall the moments spent upon themselves as so much toasted time, Wordsworth has entered his indignant protest against the intrusion of a railway to dis- turb tbo serenities of Grasmere and Rydal. Oh for some ^spiritual laureate — some sweet singer in Israel, ^ decry the multiplied excitements, which tramp and rattle through the offended *< lake-district" of mii\d ! My friends, the Class- Meeting will <*lead you beside these still waters." No right- fninded and devotional spirit dare enter it without some kind of Belf-enquiry — some examination of himself — »*whether he bo in the faith.^' During the week, it may be, when the strife of competition has waxed fierce, and the race jif human pur- suits was going vigorously on, your thpughts Wer^ hurried into the midst of them,- until they were bewildered even to exhaustion I but . now the Class-Meeting is at hand, and the mind retires iiito its sanctuary, and continues with itftplf and with its God. It is like the court' day of the soul, when the 8teward*concwlence takes cognizance of all the teYiants, and brings them respectively beneath their Master's eye. How searching that enquiry] How hallowed that communion ! ** Another week of my probation has fled» What.record has it hornet What blessings has it sct^itered from its wings? '■'mWI^-m^^^ \ >lj-^- What deliferancM have I eiperienced 1 What banretiiiaTe I won t What have been my umissions, heartr^anderings, sins t Am I holier, more spiritually-minded 1 Havie I a nobler scorn of the world! a more earnest avarice for heaven I— The henrt , must be the better for enquiries like these, made searchingly, and in the spirit of prayer. Then perhaps heavenly thoughts will troop upon us, like the descending visitants of J^cdh's diream, — and it may bu — who knows I that we may entertain angels unawares ;"or better still, some kind-looking stranger may join us on our Emmaus-travel and ** make our hiaarts burn within us as he talkelh with us by the way." These are nq^ trifling blessings, and of these the Class-Meeting is indirectly the procurer, because it in some sort eomfeU self-communion, and thus induces • habit, which may be as powerful for good as foi'mer babita were powerful for evil. II. — The Ciast-Meetiiig promotes gratitude, Love-^the love of gratitude — is the essence of religi^— the (irst> feeling •f the regenerate soul. It springs electricS^ the mind of the believer at bis first sight of Jesus. Authority cannot command it. Terror cannot frighten it into existence. All the thousand- fold appliances of worldly wisdom cannol create it. There must bfe a perception of love in God — a sense of his good^ will — a view of the crucified as well as of the cross before it be enkindled. «* We love him decaiisc he first loved us.*' This feeling of gratitude, thus aroused, is too deeply grateful lor description. Langunge is but a mockery. Illustration fails. It is beyond a figure, and without a parallel. Who sees not the danger that nn emotion like this, if hidden th the breast^ shoi^ld spend itself by .its own continuity 1 Gratitude is not like the mountain avalanche, which gains intensity from repressionr— it is rather like the fire, wWchimpriBonnient ex- tinguishes,— or the air, which, pure and free, is the refreshing breath of heaven ; — but, fouled by confinement, is the blast of {iestilence and death. Contemplation upon God's boundless ove tends naturally to expression. ** While I was musing^ the fire burned, then spake I with my tongue." Now the Class* Meeting furnishes the most appropriate occasion for tms-ex- pression of praise. There are enough Ip tedeem from pnvacy, and nm enough to exclude the notion of a family, and it would be difficult to find a more legitimate sphere, in which/the full heart miy utter its thanks, unfold its hopes, and breathe ito .prayers. Nay, can ttjere be gratitude without thiVthankfal acknowledgment ! — Is there not enough in the dealings of ^\ N V h< your Heavenly Father to compel it T The grace which lored you from the beginning*-the vititalione of mercy which have - lighted your patli — the beamt of promise ihat have sfaope upon your hend^ho kind heart that hat borne with vour wauder- inge — ^the beckoning l^nd which restored yi^ju.wheh you went astray — are they not constraining you t If we were permitted to anticipate the objection which tl\e rebej, hfart sometimes whispers, ** I cannoUipeak," might we noUniiyt^Ah, friends, ' get the love of GodThed abroad within you, and it ^ill fill your mouth with arguments. Wondrous is the pcwvej* of this surpassingly nvghty theme. It makes the lips of tbeataimmerer eloquent, and the heart of the diffident bold. U nder it|B inspir- ing influence knowledge kindles on the countenancer-prais« flows from the. tongue — and the most timid and retiring are transported^nto the invitation of the Psalmist, •♦Come all ve t hat fear Go3, and I will deelon what he bath done for r ny soul." ' ' ■ - "i ' ■ ft - , ^ ■ - ■ Wh—The Clati-Meeting reeognttei brotherhood, , It is n mighty truth which God has written upon the universe, and stamped enduringly upon the great heart of humanity, that •* No man liveth to himself.'* Tbe''world is a vast miiss of de- pendencies. The feeblest woman or the humblest peasant exerts ajn influence which must be felt in the great brother- hood of mankind. It is'a precious appointment of Piovidence that it has in spme sense made our very selfishness benevolent, -^hat it has bound us, at peril of losing our own enjoyments, to care for the necessities of others, — and that it haHJextraieted^ the most, satisfying elements of public hagpiness pt>m th^ joys \ and perils pf individual lot. The heart, b)r a law of its consti- \tution, must have something to w!)ich*it can attach itself. Its nblems are the summer-tendril and the clasping ivy. It was ^ver formed for the hermitage or the roonastery-trand ^oii Bt do Tiolence to all its exquisite charities, before it will en- tirely denude itself of all objects of solicitudie and love. The rMeeting here ^omeA in to supply a great want jof nature. It concentrates the leeling of brotherhood— prevents it from ^iVittereclaway invagueaad sentimental generalises— and gives it\ definiteivObject and aim. If the church is jihe temple, the CIas9rMeeting is an inner and sacred encloswe. If the church isXthe populous city, the Class-Meeting is the united family, where love is throned in the heart and'confid^nce nestles in the roof-^ee. Every faithful leader will iropi/ess upon his flock, and every devoted member will tal|* care^to feel, that, while the church at large claina s hi s philanthropic s ymp a thy -^r; ■ng, the affections of the christian are as warm, as those of any man. The charitieflKof life, and of love, / '•§ %' i ■ •t 11 / ; and of home, flourish as endearingly in the mind of the chris- tian as anywhere, and he has that intense yearning for sympathy which characterizes universal man. Here again, the Class-Meeting supplies a great want of nature. It is com- posed of a band of wayfarers, met for the express purpose of sympathizing with each other in the struggles and perils of their common journey. How often hns it opened up a weekly heaven, amid the dull and clouded atmosphere of sinfulness ^^■' and time! One is sorely tempted. The temptation presses ^ hard upon his spirit, with such mighty fascinations is it elad, ^^•"^ > " _in such newer blasphemy does it prompt him to indulge, that he thinks surely this is a <» temptation that is not common / to men." But at the Class that week a fellow-tfaveller relates the bitter experience of the same suggestions, and the blest ^ experience of deliverance from their power, and a new song is put into his mouth, and he goes on his way rejoicing. Another is bowed down bengath the influence of a tempt|ition adjusted with such ntcetv to his peculiar besetnient as to be almost irresistible in 1t^' apf)(*als,— but the. weekly season of fellowship has come-i*and the words of the faithful leader are "words in season,** and One mighter than the leader js there, and a glance at his pure countenance, a touch of his invigorating hand, and he is nerved for the conflict, and spurns the assaulter away. Another has been stricken with a spiritual paralysis,— a wearisome torpor has seized him, a strange in- difference has come upon his soul— and as, in the Class^Meet- ing he tells his'lale of halfheartedness and sin, amid the counsels of the faithful and the prayers of the pious, the glorious presence of the Saviour bursts in light upon the chained one, and in all the strength and nobility of spiritual- life— he «« walks** afresh **'with God*** And who can tell the beneficial influence to the Zionward • journey er— when persons of all ranks, characters, and ages unite to testify tfiat ** the same Lord over all is rich in mercy unto all them that call upon him r* Perhaps there is an aged pilgrim who for years has walked and fainted not. Many a hill of Difficulty has he climbed, many a. valley of Humiliation has he trodden— he has tales to tell of wary walkings on en- chanted ground— of hair-breadth escapes out of the net of the Flatterer—aye, and of ravishing prospects from the Delectable mountains and from the elevations of Plsgah ;— and, while his eye brightens and his voice falters, he tells also that he has never repented his setting forth oik pilgrimage, and that the pleasures are sweeter, and the toils less irksome, than when, . , ■ » - A -■.:■■■■■■ "A > 12 ' in youth, he grasped the palmer-stifi) and strapped on the sandals. Is it hothing to be favoured with the testimony of such an one, and to sit under bis sbadbw with delight! — to have our rash judgments rebuked by his ^perience, and our faith confirmed by the ardours of his imperishable hope? There is a young convert there^ it may be, who has recently realized a wondrous change, even ** from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." Kehaaf found ** peace and joy in " believing;** and the new-found gladness that is within>im steeps the sky in brighter blu^ and decks the ea^h with bonnier green j and, blushing at his own fervour, he pours • forth in the Class-Meeting his ascriptions of praise. The old man hears and is reminded of the|iday8 of his first love — it is like a snatch of the music that used] to thrill the soul of yore, and, in a moment, memory has painted the iirst conviction — the early struggles— the doubt that jhararaed his young mind — the triumph with which he hailed its d^parturch— and, above all, the eventful momentwhen joy l^roke through his Swimming eyes as he believingly said *vMy mutual and. glorious benefit— -the perience of thiei lg9d'— the «ged cfa enthusiasm of the young 1 And ihen there is one Sympathy on this head which it would be nnpardonable in us to omit, and that is the sympathy of praye|>. Who can be lonely or despairing, even in this wilderness-werld, with the conscious- ness that there are hearts praying for him 1— heVrts of those ' who are animated by simitar hopes, and depressed by similar fears, and who are bound by their membership to "make in- tercession for** the household of faith *< according to the will of God?'* My friends, if there we^ no other disadvantage in your present anoinalous position as aloof from the church of Christ, than this— that by your separation you deprive your- selves of the Church's pragert'^theTe is a fearfulness in tlo thouffht which might well cause you to reflect and tremble. Pesolate indeed is the spirit— cursed as the dewl^ hills of *Gilboa— for which noprayer ascends, on whose behalf no kn^e is bowed to heaven. .Rich in his penury is poverty's poorqjst child, if his portion is the supplication of the faithful ! Happy ihe lonely watcher upon -the gallant vessers deck, if over the waste of waters the wife of bis bo9pm prays ! Never is a heart orphaned,K>r divoiced utterly from hope and heaven, if in some ' extremest corner there arises one yearning spirit's prayer. And if individualprayer can do so much, what must be the csfiect of many I My fir iend% we would be almost content to rest the \ father!'* Who sees not the ^oung instructed by the ex- rmtu And quickened by the m.! Cf! *« 18 cf; tei, who|,e matter here, this one advantage should so overwhelm- ingly constrain your decision. Bold indeed must you be in self-confidence, in infatuation, in SIN, if you refuse to avail yourselves of the r^mpathy of Prayer. Oh 1 by evei^ motive which your souls will acknowledge as having either sacredness or power, you are adjured, against the evil day, to ensure for yourselves the~<^ffectual fervent .prayer." V. The ClMt-Meeting eoi^esaei diseiplethip. Every be- liever isx^lled to ufitneat for God. You cannot have forgi^ten iiow largely our Savioui impresaed-upon his immediate disci- ples Ihe duty of "not being iwhamed of him," and of ^confessing him in the sight of men.'* You will also recollect how the apoBtle of the Gentiles makM confession to be on a parallel With faith in that memorable passage, **If thou shalt cohfesiufith thymotUh the Lor4 Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him irom the dead, thou shalt be «aved^ For whh the heart man hielieveth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,*' Such confession cannot be adequately made either by mere verbal acknowledgment or exemplary obedience, it cap-«niy be made by a solemn dedication *< to God's people according to his will.** Your solitary «* witness** of obedience, or of faith — ^is lost like an invisible atom in the air — it is the union of eoch paiticle, in itsnlf insignificant, that constitutes the ** cloud" of witnesses which the World can see. Ask yourselves, we pray you, whether this is not just the element that is laokitig in your re- ligious decision. You are desirous to flee from the wrath to come, you have yielded in some measure td religious influence, you are endeavouring to ** square your useful, lives below by reason.an* by grace,'* you have even felt at times some -emotions of religious joy, and yet you are not permanently happy. Why ! Because you liave been, pardon the word^ traitorous to the grace of God, ia that, like Hesikiah.of old, you have not ** rendered again according to the beneit done unto you." You have long been espoused to Christ, and cherish with joy the secret remembrance of your betrothal, but your non-confession has spoiled it alt, for the voice of law does not recognize clandestine marriage. O remember how seriously vou peril, by your present conduct, the interests of yoursouls ! You are like a venturous traveller, who plimm unaided ond alone into the tangled thicket, whose every bush may hide an assassin, whose every tree may cover a robber. You are like a ship that has voyaged from the fleet, idnd forsaken the con- •■^:r ■V a- ' ^ -^ . voy, and if a storm should krise, where are the friendly hands tolaunck the life-boat or to rescue the perishing 1 You are like a soldier, who, eonfi ling in his own prowess, spurns the discipline of the regiment and passes singly through the armies of the aliens, and ii he «Aotf/(i, be surprised and stricken, where are the^ generous comrades to cover his retreat, or bear him from the field, or '* bind up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine.1" Nay frieinds, for we can hesitate no longer, we must deliver our soul— God REQUIRES this public dedication. He must not only have the eBlightened approval of the head, and the loyal allegiance of* the heart, but Me ^ordial embrace of the hand^-^nl we dare not refrain from the expressnon of an opinion, founded- we believe, upon the requirements of the law of God, that so long asArou keep aloof from his people^ and are not united in connexion with some branch of^his visible churchy YOU ARE NO'F SAFE— YOU ARE IN E^ANGER. \V« believe in the present state of the antagonist armies of\ truth and enott Neutrality is Oppoeition. **He thatXis not for us is against ust^and the transition is a very natural one to tl^e belief that connexion with some visible branth op{he Church of Chl'isl As necessary to salvation. We say ttnt wh)it church—God forbid that we should trammel the 'conscience oK any one — but /as right-hearted Methodists, Methodists from \ conviction and^ preference, we should be guiltily wrong ifiir^ dared not, ami aid not recommend our own. It is not our business, it is not our wish to make proselytes* We would not descend from our elevation, we would not leave our vantage-ground to do it. *> We have not so learned Christ." With other churpfaes we have no quarrel. We regard them— > all who hotd the head,— «s " houses of the Lord,'' and (^eartily do we wish them God speed. ** Let there be no strife between our herdmen and theirs." But we differ somewhat in our notions of spiritual agriculture, and haply, it is our vocation to reclaim some waste lands that they would not think worth the tillage. You will not blame us, therefore, if while we do not disparage their communion, we prefer our own. Broad prin- ciples of philanthropy, however expansive, never root out the love of home. He is a churl, who cannot warm himself at any hearth but his own i — and he is only half a man, who is not, after all, loudest in praise of his own ingle nook, and of the comfortable blaze that mantles from his owi\ fire. Upon jum we have a claim. You are haunted by no scruples as to tne validity of our orders, or the purity of our doctrines.— By Sll^H**.* J*"?* *' "*'\?* - 16 your attendance upon our ministry you have accorded us yeur free and generous preference. •< If we are not apostles unto others— yet doubtless we are apostles unto j^ou."— Be no longer outer-court worshippers. — Eind yourselves to us by a tenderer tie. Come into our church. Approach the inner shrines of our worship. — Attach yourselves to our Class*^ Meetings, and you will find the^ to be as the ** upper room" renowned for the rushing wind* and for the cloven tongues of flame. . Now, dear friends, what is your decision t Bring all your objections, all the thousand excuses which the unwilling heart coins J— the fear of m^n,— the inconsistency of professors— the dread of ridiculer,--the apprehension of falling,— the re- pugnance to declare God's dealings with you ;— weigh them in the balances of the isanctuary ;^8nd ask yourselyes I entreat you, in the name of God, and under the impression of , hra eye— « Shall I deem these apologies sufficient in the article- of death, and when the light of eternity shall flash upon the doings of time? 5ear friends, our task is done. This address has been written in many weaknessess, and in much prayer. Read it in a similar spirit, and ask God in the secrecy of your com- munion-closet to teach you his will. Change is the great law of the present state of being. The autograph of decay is graven upon temple, and tower, and time. Our friends have feded and fallen in>6ur sight, »• who hath not lost a friend V Ourselves are dying creatures. He who writes, and you who reiid, will speedily pass to the judgment Already the broad T^°j "2**^ "'^ "P^ "*♦ "°*^®'' **^** shadow meditate and dedde. Everything around you seems to urge a recog- nition oTthe ;^t importance of the claim. The wiles of the inemy, thd^ceitfujnesses, never yet fathomed, of the human heart,--the pferils of the yet untravelled future,---the awfulness of wandering onward agonized and toUhoul a praying J^iend,— the blessings of christian communion,— -the helpfulness of rich and mellow experieW^he absolute, requirement of God,-*- all, as with the voice)>f many watei;s, awell the forcefulness of our last appeal, whichNve now fling forth upon your souls, and may heaven clothe it Wh Power : "COME WITH jUS, AND WE WILL DO Y(S feoOD, FOR THE LORD HATH SPOKEN GOOD CCfN^ERNI]|G ISRAEL." W.il. P. ». H. BCKfLiT, FEUITn, •'OUABDIAIl" rowmnxH'. \ , m ' > ^ -1. \*" \. BOOKS l^LISHED AND SOLD BT G. B. SANDEBSOK, AT THS WSSLXTAir BOOK ROOM, HO. 9, KINO tpOXTf -ro»tON-ro.* HELPS TO A LIFE 6F HOLINESS & USEFULNESS! OB, BfiYIVAL MISOELLANIBS, BY BBVKRBND JAMBS OAPOHBT. Ttalrty-Meoiid TbooHutd. frlMto. ■^ *■ Forwarded by man 10 uf part of the PioTfBMOotMt^ of 4i.fd. I ' ' u. ■ * ■ -" ' '-■■■ FAITI & ITS BFFSCTS; Ol, ftAGlBfrS FIOI IT POSTFOLIO, BY MBS. PHOSBE PALMSB. TwvmtytUHL Tkmwammi, Prie«ai.3d. THE WAY OF HOLINESS, WITH H0TE8 BY THE WAY, BBINO A NABBATIVB Of REUOIOUS BZPBBEBNCB, ko^ 9Y MBa FH(BBE PALMES. EimuE BSTonon TO miy i fusext to ircmsTUH fuenii^ BY MB8. PHBBt BY RBV. DANIMi WISB, AJI^ Flftli Th««awi4.; . ; / FaKalfctA; <|lLTla.tC Vyjnrarded4^ niaB atteaape price. «f My paiseroia PioviMet fteeoTpqaiagB. ' ■ , ' \ ■ '■ .-.. VL ; LOVEST THOU ME j '-'r. oa, ■ , . THE BELIEVEft'S COHFAjnOIt IN HIS HOURS OF BBtF-BXAlUNATIOlf BY BBV. DANIBL WISB, A.lf. ' - • iteVMthTlioaaaiid. Pike la. Sd.i Oil la. •«. Rirwariad by awU a« tlw nmit ptke. to aay fart of e» of f ni>n. •.•" •; ■ ■■ ■ ■ vn. ■■■-•.■ ■ ■ - -. TABOE; ORj THE CLASS MEETING. A PLEA AND AN APFEAL: ADDBESSEO TO HEARBBS OF THE WBS'^ * - LBYAN IHNISTRV. ...:,^.^:^rJ\-^,.\-.:^i;t BBV. WILLIAM M. PCKSHQN. '■*- Stiff Ooren, Mpacea, M. aacb, or Ik. fd. per dosea.