put together. Perhaps this would be extravagant; but let any one consider the position which pastors occupy, the access which they have to the hearts and consciences of the whole christian community, and the influence which they actually wield in all the religious movements of the age, and he may perhaps be convinced, that I should not be far out of the way. Point me to the churches which are doing most in proportion to their ability for the spread of the gospel, and without knowing the names of their pastors, or ever having heard of their moving a finger, I am prepared to say, that it is greatly through their influence, or that of those who immediately preceded them in the same office. On the other hand, where there is a dead church, and next to nothing is cast into the treasury of the Lord, depend upon it, the pastor, if they have one, and unless he has lately come among them, is exceedingly remiss in his duty, and nothing better can reasonably be expected, till he bestirs himself. If three quarters of a million of dollars is contributed annually in this country to support the cause of missions in its various departments, I have no doubt, three fourths of the money at least comes. through the direct and indirect agency of the christian ministry; and if ministers of all denominations were to do their whole duty, and exert all their influence, I have as little doubt, that the contributions of the church would be doubled in a short time.

Do you ask me how this mighty influence is to be exerted? I will tell you. If you have a truly benevolent and missionary spirit yourself, you will infuse it into others. You will press the subject upon

the members of your church in private conversation; you will advise and persuade them to take religious magazines and newspapers; you will induce as many of them as you can to attend the monthly concert ; and in order to make it as interesting as possible, you will diligently collect and arrange the latest missionary intelligence; will exhibit maps of various countries and stations where the light begins to shine, and will lay yourself out so thoroughly in preparing for the concert, as not only to show how deeply your own heart is interested in the cause, but to make every christian feel that he sustains a great loss in staying away. You will also frequently plead the cause of the Bible and of missions, with all the eloquence of which you are master, before your whole congregation, and will make the salvation of the heathen a subject of prayer every Sabbath day, from the beginning of the year to the end of it. These, my son, are some of the ways in which you can make your influence felt to the ends of the earth, to the end of time, and through everlasting ages.

But you must not rest here. You must enforce your precepts by your own liberal example. You must give, as well as exhort others to give, and you must give more in proportion to your ability than others do, or you will not be likely to bring them up to a high standard. You must in this way stir them up to a holy emulation. Be it, that some are unreasonable, and require more of their ministers than they can spare from their small salaries. This is always to be expected. But while they can hardly hope to satisfy everybody, and should "consider it

a small thing to be judged of man's judgment," let them "devise liberal things,"-so liberal, as "to provoke many to love and good works," who might otherwise do little or nothing.

I am very affectionately, &c.

MY DEAR E.

LETTER XXXIV.

I am afraid you will think me too minute, if not quite tedious in my paternal advice; but there are a few suggestions more which I wish to make, before I close this series of letters.

And first, let your ministerial example sustain and enforce your preaching. Beware that you never suffer the laxness of the former to depress the standard of the latter. This I fear is sometimes done. It is easy to see, that a minister may be deterred from insisting upon certain duties and condemning certain habits and practices, by the consciousness that in so doing he must condemn himself. How can a pastor, for example, look his audience in the face and preach against intemperance, with a full clear voice, if he indulges, at the same time, in the use of wine or any other alcoholic beverage? Or against travelling on the Sabbath, if he does the same for his own convenience? Or against balls and assemblies, if he allows his own children to attend them? Or against extravagance in dress, furniture and equipage, if he vies with his fashionable neighbor in show and expense? How, if he does not restrain his own children and strive to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," can he reprove other parents for neglecting the religious education of their children? If he is close-fisted,

how can he exhort his people to be liberal? If he does not rule his own spirit, how can he preach from Prov. 16: 32? Or from 1 Tim. 6: 9, 10, if he covets riches? Or from Titus 2: 6, if he is not sober-minded? If a minister were to go but once to hear some celebrated play actor, what good would it do for him ever to preach against the theatre-or if he were to appear for half an hour at a horse-race, who would ever from that day forward be deterred from going by any thing he could say against the demoralizing sports of the turf?

I am not ignorant of the answer which has sometimes been given, "Let the people mind my preaching and not my example,”—or in different words, perhaps, "They ought to do as I say, not as I do." This may be very true indeed; but it is a miserable get off for a minister. He ought conscientiously to live up to the rules which he inculcates, or to abandon the pulpit and betake himself to some other employment. I once heard of a pastor, who rode ten or fifteen miles on Sabbath morning for an exchange, and having delivered two powerful discourses against Sabbath-breaking, ordered his horse and rode all the way back again immediately after the close of the service. This I presume was remembered as the improvement or particular application of the subject, long after the sermons themselves were forgotten. Now, my son, if you deem it your duty to preach against travelling, or sailing on the Lord's day, as I am sure you will, let your own example bear you out, and give all the weight it can to your exhortations. Never be found in any public conveyance, whether