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Observer, June 1, '71.

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simple and blameless they may be in their personal life, their anxiety for the well-being of the Church is so loudly expressed whenever her temporalities are threatened, and so timidly and hesitatingly evinced when huge inroads are being made upon her doctrine and ritual. (Hear, hear.) Will any of us soon forget what took place in the other House, when the disendowment provisions of the Irish Church Act were being discussed in committee? (Hear, hear.) No doubt the right rev. prelates thought they were doing the Church a service. If so, it was a saddening illustration of the effect of the system upon their minds. I do not like to describe it in words, nor need I do the bishops that unkindness for there are but few members of this House who will not remember the sense of pain and shame which it excited in their breasts. * I implore the House not to look upon the question I have so inadequately brought under its consideration as one of merely speculative interest, and not of serious practical importance. It may appear so to superficial observation just at this moment. But, Sir, it is neither rampant Radicalism nor sectarian fanaticism, but conservative prudence, which counsels us to profit betimes by the lamentable occurrences which we are witnessing abroad. The same causes out of which sprang the political tornado which is devastating unhappy France exist in this country, though in a more latent form. The cloud no bigger than a man's hand is visible on the horizon. It may be some years hence, or it may be sooner than we think, that a stormy conflict of principles relating to social matters will darken and trouble the political atmosphere-but, Sir, it does seem morally certain that through that ordeal which will try the strength of our national institutions to their very foundations we, as well as continental nations, are destined to pass. The worst thing I wish for the Established Churches of Great Britain is that before that time comes they may be safely moored out of the reach of political billows, and beyond the ordinary sweep of political passions, I would have all branches of the Church, which, after all, are united in the same root, fulfilling in that day those functions which are best adapted to exalt men's motives, moderate their aims, soothe exasperation, and tone down popular clamour. And I fear, Sir, I greatly fear, that no Church will be in a fair position to do society this priceless service, which leans, eitherfor her influence or maintenance, upon political support. (Hear.) The first forked flashes of revolutionary fire are sure to be attracted, and always have been attracted, by political Churches. (Hear, hear.) Í would fain see them all rescued from that danger. In their proper and divinely appointed sphere, they are more likely to be out of the way of man's wrath, and will be better qualified to win man's respect and affection. Sir, it is with a simple view to these great and beneficent results that I now move the resolution which stands on the paper in my name. (Loud and long-continued cheering.)"

THE LAW OF GROWTH.

We have attained our present position, as individuals, by growth. We are not created full-sized men, but commence in the weakness of infancy, and by degrees, almost imperceptibly, we add to our substance from the food we receive; and thus develop from infancy to, childhood-childhood to youth-youth to manhood; never standing still; and though, after arriving at manhood, the body may not seem to grow, yet it is still maturing and consolidating, until we reach what we call the prime of life.

Observer, June 1, '71

And as it is in the physical, so it is in the intellectual, the moral, the spiritual; none are brought into existence in a moment of time, as by a miracle; but each take their high position by growth-by gradual development.

And this is in accordance with the general plan on which the universe is arranged. Geology shows the different strata deposited, some by crystallization and some by sediment from the water; with all the varied effects produced by earthquakes, volcanoes and other pent-up forces, until finally the earth becomes the fit habitation for man.

So in the vegetable world; the grain from which we make our daily bread does not fall from heaven, ready to be taken to the mill, or to be put into the oven. It is first the blade, then the ear, before it is the ripe grain in the ear. So with the mighty oak of the forest,-first an acorn, it is only by a steady-we were going to say a patient-growth, it is enabled to reach its defiant limbs out against the storm, and hold its head unmoved amid the devastations of the fierce tornado.

God might have made this world all ready peopled with its teeming millions; surrounded with all the advantages of modern civilization,everything furnished to hand,-steamboats crossing the oceans, or ascending the great rivers; railroads spread like network over the land, bringing far-off places near to our doors; telegraph wires in a thousand ramifications, like the nervous system in the human body; gold and silver and iron and coal deposited at convenient distances on the surface of the earth; schools and colleges ready furnished and filled with book and maps and charts and apparatus, illustrating all knowledge, and bringing the arts and sciences, philosophy and theology, all down to the grasp of the commonest mind.

Or, easier still, God might have created all the millions of earth's inhabitants by one fiat of His will-in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, with an intuitive knowledge of all the arts, the sciences, the philosophies, the theologies, which have been reached by six thousand years of patient toil and study; every one, at once, being endowed with all knowledge, with all science, with all philosophy, without any labour or toil or study on his part.

We often lament that there is no royal road to learning; that the study of books is so wearisome to the flesh; that we cannot have an easier path; that every science and every improvement is so hedged about with difficulties that learning and advancement are at best an up-hill business. What years it takes to master one study-to fathom one science; and then only to end in mysteries which the greatest cannot fathom. Why could it not all have been made easier.

Why is it that the Christian is not exempt from all these trials? Why must his path be marked with trials and temptations and difficulties; with poverties, with necessities, with distresses; with fire and with sword and with blood; with fines and imprisonments and with cruel scourgings? Why could not his path be strewn with flowers and crowded with the abundance of the fruits of the earth? Why must he endure such a contradiction of sinners against himself? Are these mercies to be enjoyed? Are these blessings to be coveted?

We need God's word to lift up the veil which hangs over the destiny of the world. Then, in the light of His revelation, all becomes clear which before was dark, God's ways are not as our ways; nor His thoughts as our thoughts. In that word we see one grand plan or purpose, which indeed had been hidden through the ages; but was made manifest in Jesus Christ.

Observer, June 1, 71.

And when this plan or purpose is studied, we find the same great method which is discovered in the other parts of His works. The Christian life is a growth. A man is not in an instant converted, made perfect and taken to glory. He has to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He has to add to faith virtue; to virtue knowledge; to knowledge temperance; to temperance patience and godliness; to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity.

And we might say the whole economy of man's redemption is a growth. The seed of the woman did not bruise the serpent's head on the day in which the promise was given. It was not at the beginning, but once in the ends of the ages that the promised seed appeared to put away sin by the offering of Himself. Neither did His church come at once into a full knowledge of the truth; it was not at first known unto the sons of men as it was afterwards revealed unto His holy apostles; there was a long service under tutors and governors-the law was a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. And, after the church came to the full stature of a man, it was some time before the mystery was fully understood, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and of the same body and partakers of the same promises in Christ.

Nor was Jesus himself, though the Son of God, exempt from this great law. He must take upon Himself the form of a servant; He must be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; He, though a Son, must learn obedience or submission by the things He suffered. He-the Captain of our salvation-must be made perfect through sufferings; "ought not Christ to suffer and so enter into glory?"

And now we see Him highly exalted and a name given Him above every name-angels, thrones dominions, principalities and powers subject to His will and expecting till even His foes shall be made His footstool!

And as with the Lord, so with His people; if we suffer with Him we shall also be glorified with Him together.

"Made like Him, like Him we rise."

As he humbled Himself, so must we humble ourselves. As He laboured, so must we labour. He was in all things made like us that we should be made like Him.

Think of being co-labourers with Christ. Think of being more than conquerers through Him who loved us. Then think of sitting with Him on His throne, as He has overcome and sits with His Father, on His throne.

The Christian must labour, must suffer, or he will cease to grow. His is not a life of sloth. He must be a faithful

"Soldier of the Cross,

A follower of the Lamb."

He must first suffer before he can be glorified. He must bear the cross before he wears the crown. And it is his work to make known Christ to a dying world. From the Christian must sound out the word of salvation. God has ordained that by the church shall be made known the manifold wisdom of God.

Let this work-this growth-begin in early life. Let it begin in the family; let us encourage it in the Sunday school; in the church let us build one another up in our most holy faith, that we be no more children but may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ, until we attain the full stature of a perfect man in Christ Jesus.

Observer, June 1, '71.

And when we are labouring in teaching the young and those who are out of the way, let us not be discouraged, if we see not immediately the fruits of our labour. Let us remember that this is a growth. The husbandman hath long patience till he reap the fruits of the earth. That good seed you cast abroad may be long hid, and the ground may seem barren; but let us not be weary in well doing, for in due time we shall reap if we faint not. Be not discouraged with the most unlikely and unpromising scholar. Remember Saul of Tarsus, who once was a destroyer of the churches, yet he became the great Apostle to the Gentiles. What a growth! And how know you but what those forces, which now seem acts of rudeness in some scholars, with whom you are almost impatient, may be the pent-up forces, which, in after life, shall be expended in abundant labours and untiring efforts in the service of the Lord?

Nor let us be discouraged by suffering. The trees on the mountain sides are made hardy by the mountain storm, so that they heed not its wrath. It becomes a part of their growth; they gather strength from their wrestlings with the tempest. The stately tree which raises its lofty branches in luxuriance, nourished in the rich valley, a stranger to hurricane and tempest, is poorly fitted to stand by its rugged friend on the mountain side, and bear the brunt of the storm. Let us not, then, envy the rich and the luxurious; but be content with patient toil-make it part of our growth-like the ancient saints who gloried even in tribulation; knowing that it worked patience and experience and hope-developing a higher growth in the Christian life.

Neither let us be discouraged by the difficulties of learning. That is not much appreciated which is obtained without an effort. To the resolute there is pleasure in climbing the hill of difficulty. Nature's treasures are hidden only to stimulate enterprise. The man who has mastered a science feels happier then he who reclines on a couch while it is all explained to him by another. The difficult lessons we have learned in our youth are treasures for life. Our intellects have been expanded and have grown and gained strength by their exercise.

And it is the same in the cultivation of our moral and religious faculties. We remember the first struggles of a feeble faith, when we cried, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief, until we became strong in faith, giving glory to God. We remember our first prayers which were like the first utterances of a child, crying Abba, Father. We look back to our first exhortations, which were with much fear and trembling. And now-after some years of experience-though unprofitable servants, we can say, Hitherto the Lord hath helped us !

This is a part of our growth. We count not ourselves to have attained, but we press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Then we shall lay hold on that for which Jesus Christ laid hold on us. Now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know, even as also I am known. It is not likely that we shall stand still after attaining the world to come ; the same law of growth which brought us thus far may go on fitting us for greater fields of activity and heavenly employment, and unfolding to us new and greater glories; even as in this life we advance in heavenly knowledge and wisdom and in usefulness. "I came that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

F. B. SCOTT.

Observer, June 1, '71

A BIRMINGHAM CHURCH.

ONE of the Birmingham Daily Papers is presenting a series of Pulpit Photographs. The minister and people of the pretty old Church of Edgbaston have been recently exhibited upon its broadsheet. Passing over the outside description we reproduce the leading features of the inside work

"The ringers have ceased that monotonous solo on a single note, which is called 'the dressing bell,' and as if glad to have done with a performance which frights the neighbourhood from its propriety, and alarms nervous people into the fear of being too late for Church,' have burst out into a mad, merry chime, which sounds as if 'grandsire triples' were careering in wild delight after triple bob majors, and the whole peal had got into a melodious tangle in consequence. A few clean Îittle Sunday-scholars, with bibles nearly as big as themselves, buzz about the doorway, but move dexterously away when the beadle's footstep is heard in the far distance. Presently a brougham dashes up to the gate, and with the assistance of Jeames,' dazzling in crimson plush and spotless drab, out steps a 'miserable sinner' in dress of purple silk trimmed with flounces and bouillons, a rich velvet paletot, and a bonnet of many hues. The 'miserable sinner' sails gracefully into her pew, and, by and bye, come other miserable sinners,' some in costumes á la pannière, others in sweeping trains, all made gorgeous by the aid of the Temple of Fashion. They follow each other so rapidly that there is quite a rustle of silks—a perpetual frou-frou-and the air is pervaded with a fragrance of Ess bouquet wafted from tiny handkerchiefs that look like lace cobwebs. They are ushered to the seats by the beadle-a man radiant with brass buttons and irreproachable white necktie-which latter he wears, it may be presumed, to show that he is distantly connected with the sacerdotal office. He does what he can to alleviate the physicial discomforts of the comfortable penitents.' But the beadle wears boots, and sometimes the beadle's boots creak, so much so that we should have been tempted to dub him the 'creaking beadle,' only that his white neckerchief forbade such undue familiarity with one of the church fixtures.' We believe we are betraying no secret in stating that most of the ladies who attend Edgbaston Church are sufferers from spinal complaint. Such a wholesale misfortune demands our liveliest sympathy. Happily, a device has been thought of by some ingenious friend of miserable sinners,' which consists of a portable backboard, against which the fair sufferers can lean with some pretence to comfort. It is only the number of these boards (which are covered in crimson cloth, and project over the backs of the pews) that gives one any idea of the extent to which this dreadful affliction prevails among the congregation. How very brave and self-denying of them to go to church at all, when they might reasonably make their complaint a pretext for staying at home. Any one who would be rash and rude enough to say that the backboards were only used lest the 'miserable sinners' should disarrange their Grecian bends,' would deserve to be horsewhipped for the base insinuation.

The interior of Edgbaston Church is even prettier than the exterior. It is more than pretty-it is beautiful.' The decorations are warm in colour, chaste in tone, and nicely harmonised. The storied windows, richly dight,' the polished timber roof-pieces, and the ornamentation of the ceiling-panels, are all details of a revived medievalism upon which the eye can rest with satisfaction. A beautiful interior, indeed-replete with