you, but under the shelter of the Cross !-none of the blessings of the New Covenant for you, but by faith in the blood of the Cross! Flee then to that Cross! to which you are directed by monitory sounds from all parts of the Universe. Heaven and Hell concur in regarding it, as the only Refuge for lost sinners. We too, would take our stand there, and feel the saving power of Him who bore our sins "in his own body on the tree." And we would exhort poor, lost sinners, of every class, in the words of the Baptist, to "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world." As in the Camp of Israel, when the flying fiery serpents had stung the Israelites, the dying people were directed, by the prophet of the Lord to look on the brazen serpent, in order to their recovery; so, now it is the province of God's Ambassadors to urge the sin-stung soul to look to the Cross and be saved. It is still, look and live! Then let us, Look and live! My brethren, let us all Look and Live! Look and Live FOR EVER!

A MINISTER'S WIFE.

THE duties of a minister's wife do not differ essentially from those of the wife of any other Christian. The domestic circle is the important sphere of woman's activity; and the duties that engage her there, must, on the whole, be considered the same in every private family. The time of a pastor's wife is as much needed and occupied at home as that of any other wife, And no minister, who understands the conditions of his permanent influence for good upon the people of his charge, will desire her to exchange her duties, imposed by God, for such labours as a false spirit of the age demands. The official duties of the ministry belong to the husband; he has been ordained to the work; his wife is his helpmate in this particular calling. Hence she need not be the president of every benevolent association in the congregation; nor need she go from house to house to pay pastoral visits. To visit the sick and the afflicted, and mingle with the poor and the rich families of the congregation, is indeed a part of her duty; but not of the first importance. She ought to sympathise with her husband in his studies, in his pastoral life, and in his trials; manage all his domestic affairs to the best advantage; cheer and console him in his dark hours; and go hand in hand with him, so far as the position of her sex will allow, in his endeavours, by the use of all proper means, to promote the interest of Christ's kingdom. Her life should indeed be exemplary; but so should that of every Christian wife be. She should be zealous in every good work; but not in those which belong to the ministry,

No one will deny that her position is different from that of a layman's wife. She is indeed a city set on a hill. But none of the duties of a wife cease to be hers, because her husband is a minister of the Gospel. She should be the wife of a minister; this is all that is, her whole character and life should be adapted to the solemn vocation of her husband. In this respect only is her position peculiar; yet important in the highest sense of the term.

The husband should be a pattern of a minister and a pastor; not of female cultivation and refinement. His wife should be a pattern of a minister's wife, not of a female pastor or of a female reformer. The position of woman is as elevated, and her power for good as great, as that of man. If their proper relation, however, be destroyed, both are at the same time ininsulted and degraded,

Let a woman be a woman, and a man be a man; but woe to the world when women become men, for then men will become women.-Ger. Ref. Messenger.

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GERMS OF THOUGHT.

DIVINE FELLOWSHIP.

"And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with the Son Jesus Christ."— 1 John i. 3.

THE word 'fellowship,' as used in the New Testament, seems to denote communion, participation, to share with, the enjoyment of something in common. Christians, have fellowship one with another." They are subjects of a common Lord, common experience, a 'common salvation,' and a common destiny. They 'assemble themselves together,' and 'speak often one to another' for their common benefit. Hence a Christian church is 'a fellowship of saints.' They have not only fellowship with each other, but 'with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.' They have communion, participation with God. Fellowship with the Divine Being, however, does not mean equality with Him. Men generally associate with their equals. The Deity cannot do this, for He has no equal. He is infinite, we are finite. Though we commune with Him, the disparity remains. Nor does it mean that we share everything with God. In the physical universe God performs His work without man. The sun rises and sets, the sea ebbs and flows, the earth rolls and the seasons return; the thunder roars and the lightnings flash; the inundation sweeps the valley, and the tornado tears up the gigantic trees on the mountain side without the intervention of man. In His moral government man is frequently His agent or instrument, but never His counsellor or associate. Nor is the fellowship in an equal degree, man's participation being circumscribed by his nature. This fellowship is

I. BY FAITH.

'No man hath seen God at any time.' He can neither be seen, nor heard, nor felt. He has neither colour, tangibility, nor audability. It is not a fellowship of sense, but of faith. The just shall live by faith.' Even those manifestations of God of which the senses take cognizance, are appeals, not to sense, but to intelligence and faith. We walk by faith, not by sight.' God must ever be, to a spirit enshrined in flesh, an object of faith,-faith not without, or in opposition to intelligence, but intelligent faith.

II. INTELLECTUAL.

'Come and let us reason together.' Religion is a reasonable,' or rational, 'service.' It must be done with the understanding.' God has appealed to the intelligence of man through the physical universe. "The heavens declare the glory of God.' And this, had man been a rational creature merely, might possibly have been sufficient. An intelligent being he is, and something more; so mere intelligence will not compass the whole of his nature or his wants. The intellect perceives and approves of God as manifested in the physical works of his hands. Human reason, on rational grounds, is satisfied, and delights to hold fellowship with God. Reasoning may pervert the subject and clamour for something more, but the unvitiated light in man corresponds with the evidence without, and 'God is seen by mortal eye.' "I hear thee in the summer breeze,

See thee in all that's pure and fair;

Thy whisper murmuring in the trees,

Thy breath, thy Spirit everywhere."

The soul communes with God in His Word. 'O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.' It contains a more direct and specific revelation of God. It adapts itself to the diversities of men's nature, states of feeling, and circumstances. The written text is the unerring standard of appeal in all ages and in all nations. It is clear, full, and infallible on the great question of man's salvation, and through it the human soul holds fellowship with the Father, and with his son Jesus Christ.' God appears

to man's intelligence by the inward revelation of his Spirit. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man, to profit withal.' It is the office of the Spirit to convince men of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment;' and then to 'receive' of Christ, and 'shew it unto' his people. The revelations of the Spirit correspond substantially with those of the Word, for the Word is generally the instrument of his operations. He brings the truth to our remembrance, applies it with power, and helps our infirmities.' We live in the Spirit,' walk in the Spirit,' are filled with the Spirit,' and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

III. MORAL.

It is a communion in which the heart is largely concerned. Man is a moral being. This quality is his distinguishing excellence. Mere intellectual fellowship therefore will not suffice. There must be exercise for his affections, his conscience, his imagination. 'My son, give me thy heart.' 'With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. The heart is vitalised, and sanctified, and filled with the love of God. The soul is blessed with a delightful consciousness of the Divine presence, as clear and satisfactory to the moral sense as revealed truth is to the understanding. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' It becomes a sharer of the nature and purity of the Divine Being. Believers are partakers of the divine nature,' and 'partakers of his holiness.' There is, then, sympathy, deep and earnest, with the moral plans of God, and conformity to all his moral precepts. There is harmony, though not equality, between the soul and God, with whom it holds fellowship. There is harmony of will, of feeling, and of purpose, and this, in great measure, is both the philosophy and the design of the plan of redemption. But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' IV. EVANGELICAL.

The soul communes with God and Christ, or with God through Christ. 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' Man, in his original state, held fellowship with God like a child with his father. There was no need for a special medium or mediator. Created as man was, it was natural for him to hold communion with his Father. But his sin has altered his position. He can no longer hold fellowship with God in virtue of his original relation and capacity. This privilege has been irretrievably forfeited. He can neither claim nor regain it. Hence the necessity of a special arrangement of a Divine interposition. There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.' Christ is the medium of approach to God, and of blessing to man. He is the only way' unto the Father. The Bible may be received as a divine revelation; the ordinances and institutes of religion may be conformed to; but if Christ, as our Mediator and Saviour, be rejected, the soul cannot hold fellowship with God. He can admit us into His presenee only according to the provisions of the evangelical system.

V. EXALTED.

It is fellowship with God, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; creator, preserver, and governor of all worlds;-with Christ, who is the brightness of' the Father's 'glory, the express image of His person,' who in all things has 'the pre-eminence; with the Holy Ghost, the comforter and sanctifier of souls-with truth, purity, benevolence, and all that is just, good, honest, lovely, and of good report. It is the noblest, sublimest, and most elevated fellowship unto which man can attain.

VI. INTIMATE.

God dwells in us, and we in Him. 6 Christ in you the hope of glory." A man in Christ. It is not a cold, distant, formal, reserved fellowship, but living, cordial, and intimate. It is a communion of mind and of heart, of

nature, sympathy, and object, vastly more intimate than the nearest, tenderest relation among men.

VII. PRACTICAL.

The Christian becomes a 'co-worker together with God.' He communes with Him in his closet, his family, and in the ordinances of religion. He renders active service to the cause of God, and dedicates his all to Him. Every institution calculated to honour God and benefit man has a share in his sympathy and support. 'Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.' He is a man in the world, leading it on and elevating its moral character; but not of the world in its spirit and tendencies. "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Time, talent, influence, and wealth are consecrated to the service of God and the happiness of man.

VIII. PERPETUAL.

In sunshine and in shade, in prosperity and adversity, in health and sickness, at home and abroad, alone and in company, the Christian can hold fellowship with God. Nothing need separate him from the Saviour, but every event of his life may, by the blessing of God, lead him nearer to the spring of all his joy. He will finally hold fellowship with God in heaven, where he will see him as he is.' This communion will be direct and intimate a fellowship not of faith, but of sight.' It will be on a large scale, beholding Jehovah 'as he is'-in the fulness of his glory and perfection. It will be eternal, for at God's 'right hand there are pleasures for ever more. 1. How great the loss which man sustained by sin!—a loss for which nothing can compensate, for nothing can yield the same amount of good as fellowship with God.

2. What a privilege to be restored to this fellowship! How precious is Christ through whom we enjoy 'fellowship with the Father,' and are made 'partakers of the divine nature and holiness.'

BIOGRAPHY.

C.

FRANCIS GATENLEY OF STOCKTON-ON-TEES. "BIOGRAPHY is a feeble struggle with death." But it is a struggle that is in many instances worth making. It is prompted by some of the best instincts of our nature, as well as countenanced by the intimations of holy Scripture. Our hearts cling to the memory of dear friends, and when we can no longer retain themselves among us, we are anxious to procure their likeness and enshrine the story of their history, as well as the portraiture of their character, in imperishable writing. It is the Book of God that has said, both that "the memory of the just is blessed," and, "that the just shall be had in everlasting remembrance." How much of the sacred book is itself biographic! Neither is there any branch of human literature that is more interesting and instructive than well-written biographies.

It is an agreeable task that is imposed on the writer, inasmuch as he whose life I have to sketch was one who ought not to be forgotten-one in referenee to whom the spontaneous tribute rising to the lips of all who knew him is," Francis Gatenley was a good man.' "He was not blessed with extraordinary mental endowments, though he had native shrewdness and good common sense, nor by civic honour or distinction, though an upright citizen and an honest man; but he was distinguished by more than common moral excellency and by genuine spiritual worth. He had been a true Christian for the third part of a century, and his glorious triumph over the last enemy was a meet and sublime finish of a life well spent. "Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace."

Francis Gatenley was born at Carthorpe, a village in Yorkshire, April

2nd, 1802, and died at Stockton-on-Tees on the 19th of January, 1857. His father was a pious Episcopalian; his mother a devout Methodist. His life, until fourteen years of age, was spent under the parental roof, and beneath the watchful guardianship of the parental eye. That eye was remarkably observant, and the discipline to which Francis was subjected remarkably strict. His mother won strongly on the affections of young Francis, and he cherished an affectionate reverence for her name to the close of his life. He was a grateful and reverent son. He never remembered disobeying his parents but once, when he went to a village Fair contrary to their commands. He was severely corrected for it, and such was his regard for their authority, that such correction never needed to be repeated. Naturally he had a very kind and warm heart, though his manner was often shy, reserved, and cool.

From the quiet home of his childhood and the rustic scenes of his native village, he removed to Leeds, when he was fourteen years of age. Here he learned the trade of a grocer, and had the advantage of living with an elder brother and sister, who were pious and consistent members of the Methodist Society. It was while residing in Leeds, witnessing active domestic piety, and attending on a faithful ministry, surrounded by religion in its imposing and attractive aspects, that he became the happy subject of "the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." He ever remembered with sincere gratitude to God his religious privileges and enjoyments at Leeds. He has even been heard to say, that he would rather have lived on bread and water, enjoying such happy religious fellowship as was his privilege at Leeds, than have been surrounded by all the luxuries of this life, where there was spiritual barrenness. "To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

He removed from Leeds to York, about the close of the year 1822. While there he was in the employ of one man for more than seven years. When he left York for Stockton, in 1830, his employer presented him with a beautiful gilt pocket Bible, "as a mark of esteem due for the faithful discharge of his duties, as shopman, for upwards of seven years." During his stay at York he was a member of the Methodist Society, and sought to do good by labouring as a Sunday-school teacher and a prayer leader. He was very punctual in his attendance on his duties in these offices, and unwearied in his efforts to do good.

At the formation of the Protestant Methodist Society, in 1827-sympathising with those who left the parent society as ill-used men-he united with them, and to the close of life remained a sincere friend of liberal Methodism. On removing to Stockton, at the latter end of 1830, and finding no separated society, rather than forego the pleasures and advantages of Methodist means of grace and Christian fellowship, he again united himself to the parent Society, by whom he was soon appointed a leader of a class. Here he pursued the even tenor of his way, enjoying the confidence of his Christian brethren, and working in harmony with the Church, until the memorable Methodistic year of 1835. During that year the Methodist Societies were extensively agitated on matters of Church government, A letter appeared from Stockton in the "Christian Advocate" newspaper. Brother Gatenley was suspected as its author-and because he refused to satisfy the superintendent minister and others that he was not its author, he was declared to be no longer eligible to fill the office of Leader. The members of his class, all, with one exception, sympa thising with him as a man unjustly condemned, requested him still to meet them, which he did for four months. As the ministers and officers refused to re-instate our departed brother, four local preachers, one leader, and several members of Society, out of sympathy with him and the principles for which he suffered, voluntarily withdrew from the Methodist Society, and in the month of October, 1835, formed a