more sure. Because the twinkling of the distant star may serve barely to break the deep gloom of midnight, and perchance direct the steps of the bewildered traveler, while thousands less wary fall into unseen dangers and perish, shall we shut out the light of the sun, and say it shall not be given to illuminate the path of the wanderers, and guide them to a happy destiny? A cold-hearted and selfish philosophy may say this; but it is not the language of Christianity-the offspring of Heaven's own benevolence, as wide and deep as the immensity of human guilt.

These, then, are the facts which it behooves the church deeply to consider. The heathen are in a state of guilt and spiritual death, and are liable to divine wrath. Few, very few will probably be saved without the light of the gospel. They possess essentially the same intellectual and moral powers that others do, and are equally capable of being benefited by religious instruction. The preaching of the gospel is the great and efficient instrumentality which God has ordained for the conversion and salvation of the world. Therefore the church should feel the liveliest interest in the diffusion and influence of gospel truth by means of the Christian ministry. Imperative duty is binding upon all to give of the abundance which they possess, to supply the lack of those who need.

Toward the accomplishment of so desirable a result as the subjec tion of the entire world to the benign influence of Christianity, every Christian must look with the most intense and pleasing anticipation. His confidence in the excellence and power of the gospel, in the bene. volent regard of God to the whole world, and in the certainty of those promises which have respect to the final and complete triumph of the cause of Christ, gives such reality to his hope as causes him to lose sight of those difficulties which so readily discourage the speculative and cold-hearted formalist. His conviction of duty, and the universal and warm benevolence which animates his bosom, will not allow him to remain an idle spectator of the advancing triumphs of the Redeemer's kingdom. If he cannot enter the field himself, he can at least give an influence which will facilitate the entrance of others. His prayers, his counsel, and a portion of his earthly substance, may accompany and sustain them in the enterprise; and in this labor of love he will have the satisfaction of knowing that he is acting in concert with the Saviour himself, whose Spirit shall animate, and whose power shall sustain him in the work; and who has promised that his "labor shall not be in vain in the Lord."

The interest felt in the conversion of the world should be common to the whole church, forasmuch as all Christians would participate in the joy occasioned by such an event.

The conversion of one sinner is cause of joy to the angels, and doubtless to all holy beings in the universe who are made acquainted with the fact. Connected with the joy of Christians, however, there are some considerations which probably cannot be appreciated by angels. The child of God remembers that he was once a child of wrath. Having tasted the bitterness of sin, he knows by personal experience the blessedness of redeeming grace. As he deprecates the guilt and misery from which he has been delivered, he desires the salvation of those who are still guilty and miserable; and a measure of that joy

which he felt in his own recovery to the favor of God, he feels in the recovery of others. The first shout of triumph uttered by the redeemed sinner is responded to by the joyful acclamations of the church on earth and the church in heaven. The nearer we approach, and the more intimate we become with those objects and events which give us pleasure, the greater will be the satisfaction we derive from them. The occurrence of a single desirable event, though distant by time or place, occasions a degree of joy. If several such events transpire, and especially if they happen within our personal observation, or meet with parallel eircumstances in our individual history, the joy will be proportionally increased. But it will be greatly enhanced if they have been brought about through our voluntary and active instrumentality. A portion of our interest is thereby invested in them, and the good they secure becomes in a measure our own. Such precisely is the interest which the church has in the evangelization of the world. No event within the possible range of human history is so much to be desired as this. Its importance no language can describe, and no finite conception fathom. It fills all heaven with an interest as pure and intense as the flame of love which glows in the bosoms of its holy inhabitants. It has won the profound attention and compassionate regard of the Deity himself, and called forth the most amazing displays of his infinite attributes. The glory which God thereby secures to himself is the happiness of all holy beings; and in proportion as this glory is made manifest, the song of praise from the innumerable hosts of angels and redeemed men swells with thrilling accents of joy.

The co-operation of the church is essential to the evangelization of the world, forasmuch as it is to be accomplished in answer to prayer. The dispositions which the gospel inspires are in perfect harmony with the duties which it commands. The benevolent and earnest desire awakened in the heart of the Christian for the salvation of others naturally prompts him to pray for it; and prayer, we know, is the great duty of his life. It is identified with his character, his prosperity, and his obligation to God and the world. It is true that God only can effect the work of saving souls; and it is for this very reason that we are required to pray for it; for prayer is founded not only upon command, but upon the promise and sufficiency of Jehovah. The atonement of Christ, ample as it is in the provisions of its mercy and power, could never effect the salvation of sinners, without the efficient agency of the almighty Spirit working in the heart for the reception of saving grace. God, we know, could do this independently of all means except his own unseen energy. He might enlighten the benighted nations of the heathen world without a Bible, without a missionary, without the prayers of his church. But he has not done it; and we have no reason to hope that he will. It is not his way of working; and what he does not choose to do, we may reasonably suppose he cannot consistently do; though, absolutely, nothing is impossible with him. The conversion of the world is his work; and the prayers of his church are among the means he has chosen for its accomplishment. Prayer, though simple in itself, is mighty by its association with the infallible promises of God's word. It makes omnipotence its own, and draws to its aid the influences of an infinite agency. In the duty of prayer, the church possesses a treasure and

wields a power infinitely more important to the world than the accumulated wealth of ages. The eternal happiness of unnumbered mil. lions is to be, in a measure, the result of her efforts. Like Moses in his supplication for rebellious Israel, she may turn aside the avenging sword, and prolong the forbearance of Heaven.

Without prayer all other means would be inefficient. We can have no hope that our efforts, well adapted as they may be in other respects, will ever be successful in this enterprise, unless accompanied by fervent prayer, and a firm reliance upon the efficient agency of the Divine Spirit. Nothing is to be undertaken, nothing expected without it. But with a confident appeal to the God of all grace, we need despair of nothing within the limits of the divine promises; and difficulties which are magnified into mountains when seen through the mist of human philosophy, dwindle into insignificance when illuminated by the rays of heavenly truth. Every blessing we hope for is to be obtained, and every effort we make is to have a favorable issue.

Who is to wield this mighty instrument? Who is to hold the key which unlocks the treasury of infinite riches? In answer to whose prayers is the gospel of reconciliation speedily to run and be glorified among all nations, and a revolted and ruined race be won back to obedience and salvation? To the whole church in unity, and to each member respectively, is this responsible duty committed-to the private Christian, as well as to the public minister of the sanctuary. Ministers, indeed, above all, should be men of prayer. They are heartless who preach without it, and their preaching must be as heartless as they. They need the influence not only of their own prayers, but the prayers of their flocks; and many, we doubt not, have been straitened in their work, and limited in their usefulness, by the neglect of those whose duty it is to sustain the ministry by fervent and unceasing appeals to the throne of grace. If St. Paul, with the advan. tage of plenary inspiration, needed the prayers of the church in order that through his ministry "the word of the Lord might have free course and be glorified," how much more those who have far less of supernatural endowments! There is too little interest and too little confidence in prayer, because we lose sight of the connection, the certain and infallible connection, between the means and the end. We are too apt to presume upon divine mercy, and blindly hope that it will accomplish all that was intended, independently of subordinate instruments. Let us never forget that it is as much within our province to build up the kingdom of Christ by means of faithful, persevering prayer, as it is within the province of God to build it up by means of the efficient agency of his Holy Spirit. Jehovah has condescended to place himself within hearing of the voice of prayer, and to give or withhold his choicest blessings as his creatures shall utter or restrain the expression of their wants.

It was doubtless in answer to the prayers of the church, united to the faithful labors of the apostles and their associates, that the gospel triumphed so gloriously in the early age of Christianity. Every triumph of truth in Christendom, and every conquest gained in heathen lands over superstition and idolatry, is in answer to prayer. Not a sinner is converted from the error of his ways; not a missionary of the cross goes forth from the church to plant the Christian

standard in pagan lands; and not a trophy is won to the Saviour by missionary effort, but we have a demonstration that God hears and answers prayer. And as the gospel shall spread wider and still wider, till every continent and island shall hear the joyful sound, and become vocal with the hosannahs of Zion, we shall behold in all this the fruit of Christian enterprise, and the benefits secured to the world in an. swer to Christian prayer. For though other means concur to hasten the day when "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord," yet they would be utterly inefficient without prayer. It is this that

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gives spirit and life to the entire system of Christian effort. brings down strength into the racer, and he seizes the prize. It fills the sails of the vessel which carries the heavenly freight. It fans the flame which consumes the stubble, and enlightens the world." What is the duty of all conjointly is the duty of each separately. It is in vain to expect that others will or can perform what is required of us; or that the faithfulness of one class of Christians will supersede the obligations of another. The ministry can no more perform those duties which are especially binding on the church than the church can perform the peculiar duties of the ministry. And as prayer would fail to secure its entire purpose without preaching, so preaching would lose its interest and effect without prayer.

The missionary in his distant field of labor, amid toils and difficulties unknown in Christian lands, especially needs the sympathies and prayers of his Christian brethren at home. Within the range of his moral vision is presented a wide and cheerless waste, with nothing to awaken hope in the heart of benevolence except the unfailing promise of the ever-present and almighty Redeemer. Dangers beset his path, and discouragements obstruct his efforts. He feels most impressively how unavailing must be the wisest arrangements and the most strenu. ous exertions to check the flood of ungodliness, unless that God who repulses the proud waves of the ocean shall utter the voice of his authority, and make bare his almighty arm. Who is more likely than the missionary to feel his dependence upon almighty grace, and ap. preciate the value of prayer? Who has stronger claims upon the sympathies and supplications of the whole church? On no part of the system of Christian enterprise is so much reliance to be placed as on faithful prayer to the Source of all good. It infallibly secures the only influence which can give success to missionary effort. No discouragement can destroy its energy-no obstacle can prevent its ultimate triumph. Nor does distance weaken its force, or retard the promised answer. As quick as thought can ascend to the throne of grace, and as certain as the divine infallibility, the answer to prayer can wing its way to the distant field of missionary labor; and, like the dew of Her. mon, fall upon the parched and barren soil, causing it to produce a rich harvest of fruit, to reward the tears and labors of the spiritual husbandman.

And when the church shall fully come up to her duty, and from every part of Christendom send forth one universal and unceasing cry to the Lord of the harvest, we may confidently expect, not only that many more laborers will enter into the field, but that such success will crown their labors as has not been witnessed since the apostolic age. Band after band of devoted missionaries will go out from the church,

sustained and encouraged by the prayers of the faithful; and "one sacred sweep of benevolence beyond another will be presented, till the circumference of the globe itself is at last comprehended," and all nations made to exult in the triumphant reign of the Prince of peace. The relation which the church sustains to the great work of evange. lizing the world is manifest by the influence it has in forming the character of its ministry.

Nothing can be more important to the successful prosecution of the missionary enterprise than the suitable qualification of those who are employed as special agents in this work. We may multiply men to the greatest desirable extent; we may send out a sufficient number to occupy the entire length and breadth of the heathen world; yet what will it avail unless they are truly imbued with the spirit of Christ, and possess the peculiar and essential qualifications of ambassadors of Heaven? They may have the advantages of physical and mental endowments-all indeed that may be necessary for the mere labors and privations of a missionary life: they may possess such acquirements as will enable them to call to their aid the auxiliaries of language and science; and have skill to confound every opposer of the Christian faith, and show the absurdity of heathen superstitions: they may be thoroughly versed in all the doctrines and institutions of Christianity, and go so far as even to win men to the profession of faith in Christ, and gather them into visible church-fellowship; they may possess all these advantages, and proceed thus far in building up the outworks of Zion, without essentially advancing the spiritual interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, or promoting the final welfare of souls. Christian ministers-especially Christian missionaries—should be men of deep and ardent piety, who regard the honor of God and the salvation of souls as objects of paramount importance; who act from a deep conviction of responsibility to the great Head of the church and to their fellow-men; who will cheerfully sacrifice their all for the sake of Christ, and count it their highest honor to be employed anywhere and in any manner, so that they may win souls to the obedience and salvation of the gospel. Men, "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," will go forth with zeal and confidence, employing the weapons of their holy warfare with such success as will prove their mission to be of divine appointment.

To secure these qualifications to the ministry is of the highest importance both to the church and to the world; and it is manifestly a question of no common interest, by what means the personal holiness and zeal of ministers may be so elevated and confirmed as to secure the greatest possible usefulness. To God, indeed, it primarily belongs to fit them for their work. He it is who calls them to the field, and furnishes them with all necessary spiritual endowments; yet it is equally true that in this, as well as in other things, God works by means, and that his people are his chosen agents. To them, under his own special direction, he has committed the training of the heralds of mercy. They are to supply the requisite number from among themselves; and by the influence of prayer, and counsel, and holy example, fit them for the sacred calling. In the fruits of sanctified affections they are so to exhibit the reality and power of vital godliness as shall prompt those who feel that a dispensation of the gospel is committed