which virtue can be maintained is by knowledge. And knowledge, not of speculative truth, which imparts no light, and exerts no influence over the moral sense, but such knowledge as the Holy Scriptures alone contain-the knowledge of God, of the moral law, of the plan of salvation, and the retributions of eternity. Such is the universality and power of the corrupt passions of our nature, that no external force can restrain their exercise. The power must be the moral power of truth, and the Spirit of God. Such, too, is the sluggishness of all good feelings, that no excitements other than those which flow from the Scriptures, are adequate to call them into exercise. The effect on the individual of the knowledge of the Scriptures is to expand his mind, to purify and restrain his moral feelings, to raise him in the scale of intellectual and moral being. Go into the abodes of ignorance; contrast the state of the immortal minds there presented, with that of those on whom the word of God has exerted its appropriate influence. How vast the difference between spirits of the same nature and of the same powers. The benefit, however, is not confined to this general elevation and improvement. It is the best possible preparation for the saving reception of the Gospel. This is a fact which rests on long-continued and often-repeated experience. The power and success of the Gospel in the ordinary course of God's dispensations (which is to guide our conduct), are uniformly, where other things are equal, in exact proportion to the attention bestowed on the religious instruction of the young. It is from the class of scripturally educated youth that the church receives her largest and most valuable accessions.

those districts, countries, and ages, in which children are best instructed, that true religion most prevails. If this were not the case, it would be an anomaly in God's government; it would destroy all incentive to duty, which he has enjoined, to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; it would be falsifying the declaration of his own word, as to the general result of moral culture, and dissolving the connexion which he has established, in the moral as well as the natural world, between causes and their appropriate effects. Of all the advantages which one man can bestow upon another, none can be compared with securing for him an education under the influence of the Bible. Of all the injuries which one man can entail on others, the greatest is to shut out from them the light of truth; to allow them to grow up far from the influence of the word of God. Let your minds rest upon this point. Let the conviction fasten itself upon you, that you can in no way do so much good, in no way more effectually promote the salvation of your fellow-men, than by educating them by the Bible. He who feeds and clothes the body does well, but he who furnishes the soul with the aliment of truth, and the habiliments of righteousness, does infinitely better. We are bound, therefore, in view of the value of the human soul, considered as an intellectual, moral, and immortal being,

to do all we can to bring the truth of God to bear on the forming stage of its existence.

2d. Influence on society. The soul of man is not formed to commence and run its everlasting career between high walls; neither influencing others, nor receiving impressions from them. No individual is thus isolated. He acts, and is acted upon, in ten thousand ways; and the character of society is the result of this reciprocal influence of its members. The only way in which we can promote the virtue and happiness of the community, is by operating on the individuals of which it is composed. Every well-instructed and pious mind which we are instrumental in raising up, becomes a source of knowledge and healing influence to all around. Our own interests, and the interests of our children, and of the world, are deeply concerned in the increase of such morally educated men. On them, the order, purity, and happiness of society depend. In this country, where the majority of the people have in fact, and of right, all power in their hands, it is self-evident that our political existence depends on the moral character of the people. This is a sentiment on every man's lip, and should be in every man's heart. As the influence of free institutions, in elevating the intellectual character, and the social condition of the mass of the people, in developing their resources, and increasing their power of usefulness, is undeniable, it becomes a moral duty to ourselves, and to our country, and to the world, to do all we can to perpetuate them in the midst of us. We now stand forth the prototype of nations, imparting impulse and direction to their efforts. If we fail, and fail we must, unless our youth be made acquainted with the Scriptures, we shall be accountable for all the evil that failure must occasion.

The position of our country, however, is not only interesting, as it exhibits the first extended experiment of free institutions, but as here the church and religion are unencumbered, and left to sustain themselves, under God, upon their own moral power. We have not a doubt of the ultimate success of this trial. We would not for the world have it otherwise. If Christianity cannot live and thrive unsustained by the state, it is not of God. But how it shall live, and to what extent it shall flourish, God has wisely and mercifully made to depend on the fidelity of his people. It is through them he works in sustaining and advancing his cause. On us, therefore, rests the tremendous responsibility of carrying on this work. If we do not our duty, the cause cannot, according to God's appointment, prosper. And in no way can we so effectually subserve its interests, as in promoting the cause of biblical instruction.

The career which we are destined to run as a nation is lofty. From our relative position; from our extent of territory; from the character of the people; from the nature of our institutions; from the identity of our language; from the state of civilization-our influence among the nations, and on the world, must be unprecedently great. Shall it be for weal or woe? Shall it be to disseminate error

and vice, or truth and virtue? Shall it be to lead on the van in the moral conquest of the world, or shall it be to oppose the progress of its Redeemer, until we ourselves are cast off, and trodden under foot? The answer depends on the character of the young; and this, on the mode of their education, unless God means to convert the world by miracles.

We commend this subject to your hearts and efforts. We hold up the cause of Sunday-schools as intimately connected with that of religious education; as one of the main hopes of our country. We call on all who love the cause of the Redeemer, who desire the virtue and happiness of their fellow-men, and the salvation of their souls, to address themselves to this great work, in humble dependence upon God, and in the full assurance that their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.-Amen.

ARTICLE VII.

EDUCATION IN THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

ADDRESS BY THE REV. DR. CANDLISH.

*

On February 8th, 1846, a crowded meeting was held in Free St. Andrew's Church, Dundee, for the purpose of hearing an address from Dr. CANDLISH upon the Educational Scheme of the Free Church.

The MODERATOR briefly stated the object of the meeting.

Dr. CANDLISH then came forward. You have rightly stated, Sir, he said, that this is the beginning of a series of efforts, which we propose to make throughout the country, for the purpose of fulfilling the task imposed on us by the General Assembly,-namely, the giving of information in reference to the Educational plans of the Free Church, and endeavouring to awaken an interest in that cause. Allow me now, in introducing my subject to you, to make a brief reference to the past. Let me briefly review the way in which the Lord has led the Church hitherto, in order to show how clearly the Providence of God has shut us up to this educational movement.

I cast my eyes back along the period of my own ministry-a period of not more than twelve years-and I find in that brief period a succession of what may be called eras in the history of the Church of Scotland. When I began my ministry in that Church, she might be said to be in the position of a reviving or a revived Church. In

*This able and instructive Address from one of the most gifted men, whom God has raised up to bless the Free Church of Scotland, will command the attention of our readers. The introductory remarks are retained on account of their historical value. It will be seen that the Church of John Knox has not embraced the absurd dogma that education is exclusively a Government affair. The Free Church of Scotland has set up religious schools under her own care. Their number at present amounts to about 500, besides two Normal Schools, one at Edinburgh and one at Glasgow, and a College at Edinburgh.

the year to which I refer, the year 1833 or 1834, we might say that the Church was enjoying the benefit of that blessed revival which it pleased God to bestow upon this country about the beginning of the present century-I refer of course to the revival of Evangelical preaching, and the increase within the Church of Evangelical Ministers. During the last century the Church of Scotland had her full share of the blight which came over all the Churches of the Reformation in this land. She lapsed into deadness and formality, and the preaching of very many of her ministers was little better than a half-Christianized heathenism. But it pleased God, about the beginning of this century, to grant a revival of the evangelical spirit. The number of her evangelical ministers who faithfully preached the word and laboured for souls was greatly increased. So much so, that at the time to which I refer, they became the majority in her courts, and, instead of the days when there was only a comparatively small remnant who faithfully preached the doctrines of grace, we saw a majority of ministers, who, according to human judgment, preached faithfully the gospel of the grace of God. This, Sir, I call the reviving period or era of the Church, and to that succeeded the second era, viz., the Reforming. It followed from the principles which the evangelical ministers always held, that the moment they became the majority and obtained the management of the church's affairs, they should set themselves to carry out the work of reformation. And, accordingly, the first step which they took was to establish, so far as it was in their power to do, the rights of the Christian people. During this period the evangelical majority reformed many abuses in the Church. They restrained the exercise of patronage, they sought the settlement in parishes of pastors according to the mind of God. During this period, too, they rectified a great abuse,—namely, the separation which had been made of the pastoral work from the government of the Church, and they admitted all the ministers of the Church to seats in her courts: and during the same period the Church fully established her great missionary undertakings to the Jews and to the Gentiles. Well, this work of reformation was going on, but it pleased God that it should now give place to another work, which I might call the work of Contending or of Testifying. For as the reformation proceeded within the Church-as the great work went on and prospered-the enmity of the powers of this world was aroused, and an arrest was laid upon the Church's progress and amendment. And then the position of the Church was changed, and what I may call the era or period of Testifying or Contending began. During this period the Church was called to contend with the civil power in maintaining those privileges which Christ has conceded to his Church, and which we thought the civil government had also ratified in this land. That work also came to an end-the time of Contending came to a close, and the fourth period, the period of Protesting began. Having exonerated our consciences by all competent means, and maintained our privileges to the last, nothing re

mained but to renounce our connexion with the civil government, and to depart from that alliance with the State which could be no longer maintained without sin. And God, blessed be his name, gave us grace to maintain our testimony, and, after our separation from the State, called us to be a Witnessing and testifying Church—witnessing for Christ, for the crown rights of the Redeemer, as supreme Lawgiver of his Church on earth, and against the encroachments made upon the constitution of the Church by the inroads of the civil power. But, blessed again be the name of our God, he did not leave us long, not even for a day, occupying the position of a mere testifying or witnessing Church-a position eminently fitted to engender spiritual pride and spiritual sloth; God in his providence brought us through that position, and made us not merely a witnessing but a Working Church. He gave us work to do, instant, immediate, which could not for a single day be postponed. He gave us from the commencement an adherence of the people of Scotland large beyond our most sanguine anticipations he gave us all the missionaries to the Jews and to the Gentiles-he gave us many teachers, whom we were bound to support, and to our people he gave a spirit of liberality which made them ready to come forward to the help of the Lord. In these circumstances we had no time to pause. The Church was thrown at once into her new position, and called to labour diligently at whatsoever her hand found to do. And according to the grace with which God has blessed us, churches have been built, and ministers, so far as God has given them, have been planted in congregations. And now God in his providence is calling the Church to enter another era or period. Our work hitherto has been one of self-preservation, of self-provision. But now God has given our Church stability-in so far as any institution in these days can be called stable-God has given us stability in the land, and we are no longer to care merely for ourselves—we are called now to care for coming generations. This is precisely the era at which the Church of our Fathers has arrived. We have passed through the era of Revival, the era of Reformation, the era of Contending, the era of Testifying and of Protesting, the era of working merely for our own immediate subsistence, and now we are called to another period, viz., the period of consulting for the permanence of the Church in this land, and for her continuance to the generations yet to come. And on this plain principle, brought out by this brief review, I base my advocacy of the Educational Scheme of the Free Church of our Fathers.

Another remark which I shall make here in connexion with this review is, that it shows the time to be fully come for the Free Church to take up her present position in reference to education. It has been often felt by all who have been to any extent engaged in the recent strugglings and contendings, and workings of the Churchour minds and hearts, I say, have often been greatly relieved by the consideration, that at almost every step we were driven from our