accomplished; so, while most thoroughly recognising the Divine Spirit as the sole author of saving good, in connexion with the preaching of the word, we would yet insist that all possible attention be paid to the scientific adjustment of the truth preached to the existing state of the heart of man. We cannot help thinking, that it might do a preacher great good to go over his discourses after their delivery, and consider, on the one hand, what may have been defective in passages that seemed to fall flat and dead on his audience; and, on the other, what may have been suitable in passages that seemed to be listened to with interest and effect. Here he may find a passage where the exposition was not sufficiently clear, there an illustration which was successful, because it brought home important truth to the bosoms and business of men, and lodged it among their very busiest thoughts; here a tedious repetition, there a naked brevity; here an unrelieved abstractedness, there a needless fulness of illustration; here a want of scriptural proof, there a pointed application of a text; here a short and successful assault on conscience, there a laboured and obscure attempt to send something home, of which even he himself has but a vague and imperfect apprehension. Nor is it merely the adaptation of particular passages of his discourse to the end sought to be attained by them that he will have to study. The general structure and bearing of the whole will also claim attention, and much may require to be learned or unlearned in regard to this. The proper length will be made matter of conscientious determination; a due admixture of doctrine and practice, of exposition and application, of solid thinking and lighter illustration, of substantial food and of savoury viands to make that food more palatable, will all be aimed at. Probably he may discover that one of his greatest difficulties is to do what as a student never occurred to him-to keep hold of the attention of his audience. Or he may find (as has been alleged by some) that the people are disposed to attend at the commencement of the discourse, and at its close, but that the central part is usually allowed either to lull them to sleep, or to a mood so listless as to be virtually the same. Fresh thoughts, genuine emotions, and natural tones of voice will ever be found effective methods of keeping hold of the attention of an audience. Some resort to the excessive use of anecdotes, and to tones of voice adapted rather to children than to men and women; but without altogether discarding anecdote, we believe it will be found, that the fresh and earnest thoughts of an honest Christian heart, delivered in natural tones of voice, will seldom fail to arrest the attention of any congregation.

This leads us to say something on the management of the voice. The human voice is an instrument of very great compass and power, but that power can be developed only by great cultivation. That its cultivation is little attended to by public speakers in this country, and among the rest by ministers of our church, must be universally admitted. What should be aimed at is, not the acquisition of artificial or theatrical tones, but the practice and development of simple

and natural. To be able to modulate the voice without difficulty, so that it shall be solemn, pathetic, rousing, indignant, persuasive or thrilling, according to the occasion, is an acquisition of the greatest importance to any public speaker. It is very certain that the sermons of even sincere and earnest preachers often lose much of their effect through unskilful management of their voice. In many, there is a tendency to a noisy loudness, a sort of sustained thunder, very different from the "still small voice" which the prophet recognised as the voice of God. In others, the tendency is to whine or sing— a practice which, from its want of manliness, should be altogether discountenanced. Perhaps there is something in the very nature of the pulpit-that uncomfortable box, often perched so high above the level of the congregation, and forming so unusual and unnatural a position-and also in the large area which the preacher's voice has often to fill, and in the length of time during which it has to be continuously exerted, unfavourable to the use of a plain and natural tone of voice. Certain it is, that this tone is not by any means common, and that the tendency of most preachers is to get into a forced and unnatural key, which, once acquired, it becomes extremely difficult to lay aside. Young preachers would do well to pay much attention to this. Should it pass without notice at the commencement of their course, the likelihood is, that by the time it begins to be recognised by them as important, some unnatural tone will have been acquired, which it may take years to back out of. And it is not merely in the delivery of sermons that this matter is important. Who has not observed how beautifully some ministers read the Psalms and the Scriptures-how the rich, expressive voice becomes a commentary on what is read, alike beautiful and impressive; and how solemn and suitable the tones of some voices are in prayer! Our having no liturgy in the Presbyterian Church makes it the more important that these parts of the service should be carefully and skilfully performed by the officiating minister. We pay little enough attention at best to the development of devotional feelings in public worship; surely it is incumbent on us, at the very least, to render the few aids which our system does afford to devotion, as efficient as possible.

We are reluctant to extend these remarks much further, otherwise we might have been disposed to say something on the other departments of pastoral work; such as visiting the sick, conducting prayermeetings, catechising, teaching classes, and the like. For acquiring practical skill in all these departments of labour, the charge of a small preaching station seems to afford many facilities. The congregation is commonly not very large, and the time of the superintending preacher not so thoroughly occupied as in a full pastoral charge. In the latter case, there is commonly such a constant round of duties and engagements, as to tempt one to feel satisfied when one gets through them in any way, without considering whether they might not have been done much better. Practical improvements effected in the art of preaching, in such cases, are more the result of

a sort of instinctive approximation to what is suitable and effective, than of any scientific or deliberate consideration of the necessities of the case. A preaching station seems, on the whole, the most favourable position for a preacher anxious to acquire practical skill in all departments of ministerial labour, and conscientiously bent on getting his whole powers, intellectual, moral, and physical, so trained and exercised, as to enable him to serve his Master through life with his very best.

With these views on this important subject, it seems to us very strange that any young preacher should be reluctant to accept the charge of a station, or should deem himself buried, or his prospects of promotion impaired, by his being located for a considerable period at any station, however small, or however remote. If wise even for his own interests, there is no situation he should be more eager to accept. Let him employ himself there in such ways as we have tried to suggest; let him become known in the locality as a diligent, zealous, pains-taking man, of an earnest, evangelistic spirit, whose heart is really in his work; let him be remarked as an improving and advancing man, who is acquiring more and more skill and readiness in all departments of his duty, and gaining more and more of the confidence of both ministers and people; sure we are, that the light of such a man would not long remain under a bushel; his service would be eagerly sought and highly prized; and the congregation that secured them would get a real treasure.

ARTICLE IX.

HINTS ON MINISTERIAL PIETY.*

BY THE REV. JOHN WITHERSPOON, D.D.

RELIGION is certainly necessary, in the most absolute sense, to the faithful discharge of a minister's trust; and for the same reason, it is of the greatest importance to his success. True religion seems to give a man that knowledge, which is proper for a minister, to direct and turn into its proper channel the knowledge he may otherwise acquire. It seems necessary to make a minister active and diligent, upright and impartial, happy and successful.

On this subject, I must give you the following particular advices: I. Do not content yourselves barely with sound principles, much less turn religion into controversy, but seek for inward, vital comfort, to know in whom you have believed, and endeavour after the greatest strictness and tenderness of practice. When I desire you to look for

Dr. WITHERSPOON, whilst President of the College of New Jersey, was also Professor of Divinity. These "Hints" are extracted from one of his "Lectures on Divinity."

inward, vital comfort, I do not mean that you should wholly suspend your preparations for the ministry, or immediately lay aside thoughts of it, because you have not all that clearness and satisfaction concerning your own state, that you should both desire, and endeavour to attain. There is hardly any principle so good, or any so clear, but it is within the reach of temptations, and capable being of perverted. Some being deeply concerned, that it is a dreadful thing to preach an unknown Saviour, and not feeling reason to be wholly satisfied with themselves, have been thrown into doubts, and embarrassed with scruples, and have given up wholly that sacred office, to which they seemed both inclined, and called; this seems to be taking a very unhappy, and a very blameable course. If such fears had excited them to give all diligence to make their calling and election sure, they would have been properly improved. But laying aside the thoughts of the ministry only on this account, seems to carry in it a supposition, that they either do not intend, or do not hope ever to be better. It is certainly to the public a much greater calamity that there should be a bad minister than a bad man of some other profession, but to the person himself, if he die in an unrenewed state, it will bring but little comfort. I would have you upon this subject to observe that real Christians have very different degrees of comfort, and that if we examine the sacred oracles with care and accuracy, we shall find what is termed assurance is just the grace of hope in lively exercise. It is called the assurance of hope, Heb. vi. 2, as well as elsewhere, and as every real believer has some degree of hope, which makes him rest and rely on Christ alone for salvation, as he has offered in the gospel, so perhaps there are not very many who have such a degree of steady and firm assurance as to exclude all doubting. I know there are some that have taken it up as a principle, and make assurance even in this reflex sense, the essence of faith, but when it comes to experience, except the phraseology itself, I do not find they differ much from others.

I mentioned to you particularly, strictness and tenderness of practice. This is of the utmost moment, as the fruit and evidence of real religion. All principles are valuable but as they produce practice. But to explain strictness and tenderness of practice a little, observe that the expression of tenderness, is borrowed from that passage of scripture found 2 Kings xxii. 19, 2 Chron. iii. 4, where of Josiah it is said, "because thine heart was tender," &c. : it signifies a heart easily susceptible of conviction, and obedient to reproof. When this is applied to the carriage of one devoted to the service of the ministry, I think it implies, 1. The strictest watchfulness to discover sin and duty, and a disposition to obey the dictates of conscience with respect to both. 2. A concern to avoid, not only what is in itself directly and certainly sinful, but whatever is but doubtful, aecording to the apostolic doctrine, "he that doubteth," &c. 3. A willingness to abstain from lawful things, if liable to exception, or likely to be matter of offence.

II. A second advice I would give you upon this subject is, that you should remember the importance of the exercises of piety, and the duties of the closet. As there are no forms of prayer with us, the habit of closet devotion is necessary to give a minister fulness, propriety, and fervency in prayer. This for his own sake also, he should attend to, for it is necessary to the preservation and improvement of the spiritual life. Pray without ceasing, says the apostle, intimating that the very spirit and temper of a believer, should be that of dependence upon God, and deriving by faith from him every necessary supply. In order to recommend it particularly to you, I would observe, that it is peculiarly necessary to be begun in early life; perhaps there are few if any instances of persons coming to a greater degree of fervour in devotion, or attention to the duty of it in advanced years, than they had in youth. There are many particulars, in which an aged, if a real Christian, will insensibly improve; he will improve in meekness and humility, in prudence and judgment, in attention to Providence, in purity of principle, in submission to the divine will; but fervour in devotion must be begun early, while the passions are strong, and continued by the power of reason and habit. Perhaps you may think it of small moment, yet some very judicious and experienced Christians have given it as a rule upon this subject, to be strictly punctual and regular in point of time, and even place.

III. Early fix, and study under the influence of those principles, which should animate all your future labours in a concern for the glory of God, and love for the souls of men. If these are the principles of study, they will keep you from mistaking the way, and having taken early and deep root, they will bring forth fruit more abundantly in after-life. Living by faith, is extremely proper for cultivating these principles. Keeping the whole system of revealed truth in view, will show its moment, and particularly what is revealed concerning the eternal condition of men, cannot fail to fill us with a concern for their welfare.

IV. Be diligent to acquire every necessary qualification; and yet study self-denial in the use of them: this is one of the most important, and at the same time, one of the most difficult attainments. It is comparatively easy to avoid vain glory, if at the same time, we indulge in sloth and negligence. But to meditate upon these things, to give ourselves wholly to them for the glory of God, and the good of souls, without having it in view to serve ourselves, this is real excellence, and here lies the greatest difficulty. Form yourselves to a true taste and real knowledge; let your capacity want no improvement, that it may be more useful, but beware of studying only to shine.

V. Lastly, guard against the temptation, that is most incident to your state and situation, particularly, making the exercises of piety, and the ordinances of the gospel, matter of science and criticism, rather than the means of edification. When students begin to learn