because not yet "strong in the Lord," through the faith of this, and therefore not weakened of the strength which is but the sooner hurrying thee down that awful descent, whose certain goal is "the place of weeping!"-come and taste a joy whose seat is far deeper than where the smiles of this poor world are born, in whose very "laughter even there is heaviness."

Come, aged man!-whose step is tottering, and in whom "desire fails:" for, alas! you may not yet "know Him who was from the beginning." Come and take that which will "strengthen the feeble knees," and make the sun of your last day of life, were it this day, to set in peace!

Come, O poor man!-and let your heart be replenished with the "true riches," and "forget your own poverty, and remember your own misery no more."

Come, O rich man!- Alas! not yet "rich toward God," know "the unsearchable riches of Christ," lest, whilst

thou art saying, "Soul, take thine ease," the word go forth, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee!"

Come, O bruised, smitten heart!-thou mourner for the dead,—thou widowed indeed, to whom not to live, but to die and follow, is now all thy desire,-come and know "the Comforter," that can go deeper than even thy wound, and "pour in the oil and the wine," even the hope and the joy of re-union, without intermission and without end!

Come, "weary and heavy-laden" ones all, for the earth is full of you, and have all your weariness rested, and lay down here the loads that are otherwise crushing you into the dust. Yea, come all! Come now! There is a way, there is power, there is room! "For the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," (Rev. xxii. 17.) Amen.

THE CHURCH A WITNESS FOR GOD IN THE

WORLD.

"There is an earnest infidelity abroad, that will certainly not be settled by the school arguments which we childishly suppose may be effectual to convert the lazy infidelity of our upper and professional classes into solid faith. Toiling and suffering men want to know, not how the world was governed thousands of years ago, but how it is governed now, whether there is any order in it,-whether there is any one who can and will rectify its disorders. They must have plain, straightforward answers to these questions. They will listen to no talk about a future state, unless we can tell them something about their present state. They will listen to no arguments from Paley, or Watson, or Hengstenberg, or Gaussen, to prove that such a work must be inspired or Divine. If it is,' they say, What message does it bring to us? Is it one of despair, or of hope,-of bond age, or of emancipation? Speak it out, if you know what it is. We will listen, if it is what we want, however little we may trust you who speak it. We will not listen if you bring ever so many arguments to prove your powers, your

(To be Continued.)

right to dictate, or your skill to argue,if you do not make known to us that which will shew us the path in which we are to walk more clearly-which will explain why we were sent into this world, and how we are to live in it.' This tune goes manly. To words like these, I believe we can make answer. The Bible, as I think, is a friend who comes to men in their prison; the Church, as I think, does stand by during the interview,whether as a jailor to hinder intercourse or not, I will try to explain. The Church, it seems to me, exists in the world as a witness to mankind, that there is a continual, divine, gracious government over it, as a witness to each nation that God is not less a King over it than He was over the Jews; and that there has been a more complete revelation of His government-of the mode in which it is carried on-of the purposes which it designs to accomplish, than that which was made in old time; but one which does not in the least set that revelation aside, or make it obsolete for us. The Church is to tell men, that the more completely divine any government is, the more human it is, that it belongs to all common eircumstances, ordinary interests, actual

business. The Church is to tell men, that if God was a Redeemer of old, He is a Redeemer now,-that if He was the Judge of kings, priests, nobles, in old times-if He called then to account for their cruelties, punished them for their superstitions, reproved them for their exactions-He does so still. The Church is to tell men, that if God, in other days, took cognizance of the bag of deceitful weights, and of the sins of the employer who kept back by fraud the wages of the labourer, He does so still. The Church is to teach men, that society exists for the sake of the human beings who compose it, not to further the accumulation of the capital, which is only one of its instruments. The Church is to declare, that any civilization which is not based upon this godly principle, will come

utterly to nought,-that all the real blessings which have flowed from it, have proceeded from the acknowledgment of this principle,-all the curses which have accompanied the growth of wealth and luxury, from the forgetfulness of it. The Church is to declare, that the spiritual and eternal kingdom which God has prepared for them that love Him, is about seen now, and that they may enter into it; and that His government of this spiritual and eternal world does not make them less interested for the earth which He has formed for the habitation of man, in which He watches over him and blesses him, and which He desires that he should till and subdue, according to the command which He gave him on the creation day."--Maurice on the Old Testament. (Oct. 1851.) Preface, p. 19.

FRANCE.

Hospitals or charitable institutions,......... 939 Boarding schools for young ladies,.......... 1012 Small colonies of Sœurs de la Charité,... 3379 Establishments of Frères de la Doctrine, 761 Missionary establishments in the interior, 48 Clerical colleges,.......... 203

We have seen the formation of a school, in almost every hamlet, sending its militia into prisons and hospitals, establishing everywhere small colonies of brothers and sisters, to whom youth of both sexes have been consigned; imparting the bread of charity to the poor, and enticing them, in every way possible, into the churches. In short, their missionaries, educated in five large establishments, have landed on every shore, and supplies are sent them by millions. The receipts of the Propagation of the Faith, the greatest Catholic Missionary Society,

• Extracted from paper in "Evangelical Christendom," read by Rev. E. Pressensé of Paris at

the London Meeting of the Evangelical Alliance.

amounted, in 1850, to 3,309,646 francs. Neither is this all. The places of worship have never been more brilliant, or better filled; although a large proportion of the best Roman Catholic families enter them not. Never was the pageantry of its ritual more apparent. Never, in our times, have more celebrated preachers mounted its pulpits. In fact, never has it been so much encouraged to say,

"I am the religion of France-the definitive form, from which no one must depart!" All this by no means alters our opinion; we are no less ready to say to its partisans: "No, you have not the definitive religious form. France is, in reality, not yours; and, notwithstanding appearances, you are marked, as in the forehead, with the sign of a church which must fall. Your organization is great; canals may be completely dug; they may be numerous, and skilfully crossed; but the water which they bring to us is not the water which our thirst requires. It may, for a moment, deceive, but it can never satisfy." In a word, if Romanism be apparently strong, it is not so morally, or in reality.

2. Enterprises of Romanism in France.

Nothing can be more skilfully devised than the numerous Roman Catholic enterprises in operation amongst us. They comprise everything in human life; they include every situation, and every age; they are applied to every kind of suffering. A mere glance of the eye over our tabular statement of the differ

ent communities, will first shew that the principal efforts of the Church are concentrated on the education of the young. It will be perceived what a number of schools are conducted by the sisters and brothers of Christian doctrine. To which must be added, a great number of nurseries and asylums for children of the earliest age. Boarding schools are also provided for young ladies of the upper classes, (such as the establishment of the Sacred Heart at Paris, or rather as Ladies of Instruction at Puy,) and in every part of France. Smaller colleges and free colleges have increased, as we have seen, till they amount to 188. Certainly they ought to have increased still more. At the last meeting of the colleges in Paris, several divisions were obliged to be suppressed in the colleges of the State for want of pupils; on the contrary, in the free colleges, or where greater facilities are afforded, or life is made much more agreeable, they have increased. Let this suffice as to the education of the young. But old people also find asylums provided for them; as the infirmary of Marie Thérèse, at Angers. The Hospitalier Sisters and the Sisters of Charity fill the hospitals; there are also a great number of hospitals annexed to the Roman Catholic Church itself. The sick poor thus become subjected to its influence. It

has likewise instituted the Sisters of our Lady of Good Help, for the more wealthy sick, where nurses are trained for attending persons at their own houses. Numerous institutions are likewise formed for foreigners, under the care of the sisters. The house of the Good Samaritan, at Caen, may be mentioned as an example. The sisters of St. Joseph entirely devote themselves to the care of the blind, the deaf, and the dumb. There are few prisons but what have their Sisters of Charity and Mercy. Asylums are everywhere open for repenting prostitutes. The Care of the Good Shepherd, at Angers, has establishments throughout France, specially directed to the same object. Romanism not only thinks of those already fallen, but of those also who are in danger of falling. Work, under the direction of the sisters, is provided for poor young girls, and orphan children are carefully taken care of. Even houses are open for domestic servants out of place. Such is the house of the Sisters of Mercy at Angers. Young girls, who are houseless, are taken care of till they can find employment; such is the design of Saint Blandine at Metz. Thus are asylums provided for all the miseries of social life. It is no less so towards those sufferers who, from want

of courage or true comfort, aspire to leave society altogether. The 561 monasteries in France offer them an asylum. Neither is this all; those who wish to retire from the world, without entering upon the life of a monk, may likewise have their desires gratified. They can go into houses of mere retreat, such as that of Fontenay le Cerute, in Vendée, open to persons from the world, who would live in retreat.

Hence it appears that Roman Catholic proselytism is almost endless in its resources. Nothing has been forgotten to contribute to its triumph, employing likewise a zeal at once skilful and ardent.

3. Foreign Missions-Lyons Society.

The organization of the society is thus conducted :-To render the collection of monies more easy, every tenth subscriber is authorized to receive them. He pays the amount into the hands of another, authorized to receive ten such amounts, or 100 subscriptions; he, in his turn, pays his subscriptions into the hands of a third person, who is authorized to receive ten subscriptions of similar amount, or 1000 subscriptions. Two councils, one at Lyons, and the other at Paris, composed of both clergy and laymen, divide the amount amongst the different missions. Communications relative to the labours of the missionaries are arranged and published at Lyons. Such information is printed six times a year. Every tenth subscriber receives a copy; the number of copies, therefore, circulated, exceeds 160,000.

The Receipts of the Propagation Society of the Faith amounted, in 1850, to 3,309,646f. 45c.; towards which France contributed 1,907,916f. 33c. The expenditure was 3,220,748f. 86c.

Since 1822, more than seventy bishops, or new vicars-apostolic, have been made. Roman Catholic missionaries are to be found in China, Cochin-China, Japan, Tartary, Central Asia, and India. The college of Palo-Pinang serves as a kind of Institute for Missions in Asia, Missions have increased at the extremity of the Red Sea, and in the Caspian Sea; they are also sustained in Syria, Palestine, and Asia Minor; also at Beyrout and Aleppo. They have likewise been established in Africa; at Tunis, Tripoli, Alexandria, Cairo, on the ruins of Hippo, in Guinea, and at the Cape of Good Hope. In Northern America likewise, the French Colonies, the United States, and Australia. The Society for the Propagation of the Faith has gone also into the Protestant countries of Europe, as Sweden