Society," such information would, doubtless, at once give place to hope, and they would in all probability readily, and at once, contribute that which they had previously withheld, and thus would the Church Building Society be the means of effecting a good, on the existence of which, as I have before hinted, perhaps depends the happiness of their immortal souls.

Let us, however, throw aside probability, and revert to actual fact, and we shall find, if I mistake not, that, in the year 1832, this very church was enlarged in the proportion of at least one-half of its present dimensions, by the direct and indirect instrumentality of this most useful, perhaps, of all societies. By such an act have many free sittings been introduced into a church where there were formerly few or none; by such an act are many among you now enabled to worship God according to the religion of your forefathers; and, therefore, by such an act, not only would the Church Building Society be, but by such an act the Church Building Society actually has been, instrumental in effecting a good, on the existence of which may very-very probably depend the happiness of your immortal souls. Therefore, brethren, do I now call upon you to evince your gratitude to God, to make some compensation for the boon which you have received, by responding to the appeal which I am now making in behalf of your fellow creatures. By the enlargement of your own church, and by the erection of the new church in a neighbouring parish,

you

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which has been effected by similar means, you are now provided with ample room in the sanctuary of the Most High, where Christ, the Son of the Eternal, is ever present in the midst of those, be they two or three, be they hundreds or thousands, who are assembled in his name. You, therefore, brethren, I now exhort, I now entreat you, all of mean, not the rich and the wealthy alone, but even the poor, the very poorest among you, who are not dependent on the bread of charity, to give something of what you possess towards the cause which I am now advocating. Every farthing which the society has possessed, has either been given or promised; and more than this, more promises have been made than can be fulfilled, unless the funds of the society be replenished. By the Queen's Letter the society are represented very naturally to argue, that "from their experience of the last twenty-one years, as well as from the growth of the population in almost every part of the kingdom, unprecedented in former times, they are persuaded that similar applications, and in still greater numbers, of the most pressing urgency, will continue to be made." And whether we regard the densely peopled districts of the country, where almost millions occupy the space of thousands, and thousands of hundreds; or whether we look nearer home, in the parishes which adjoin, or which are not far distant from this, where the population, though not large, is nevertheless scattered over an immensity of space; to whichever of these facts we direct our attention, we must at once perceive that

thousands, nay millions, are prevented from doing as we are now doing from assembling themselves together in God's house, a place so peculiarly gifted with God's presence. In neighbouring parishes, with which I am, and with which you, perhaps, are still better acquainted, sabbath after sabbath passes away, more especially during such rainy and inclement weather as has so very generally prevailed of late, without three-fourths of the population of these parishes ever presenting themselves in the house of God, the distance of this being so great from their respective homes, that oftentimes it is almost impossible to accomplish it. The consequences of continued absence from the house of God, of such neglect of the purposes of the sabbath as too frequently attends this absence, whether wilful or otherwise, are too notorious to be here particularized. The man who neglects God on the sabbath, will most assuredly neglect him during the week; and he who neglects God on the sabbath, or in the week, will neglect, nay he will too frequently defraud his neighbour at all times; at least he is too frequently ready to defraud him, if he thinks he can escape the strong arm of the law in so doing. Now when we consider that against such glaring and truly lamentable defects as these, the society before us provides the almost only conceivable remedy, and the degree of success which attends this remedy so materially depends on the success of such appeals as this which I am now making, and on the amount of such collections as follow them,

what more, brethren, need I say to persuade you to do something on the present important occasion? Either at the church door after the service, or in the vestry room on Sunday next, where I shall be ready to receive the contributions of those who may now be unprovided, you will have an opportunity of imitating, according to your several abilities, the example of the Roman centurion, and proving to yourselves and to God, whether you, who have been born of Christian parents, and who have been made Christians by baptism, are insincere in your profession, or whether you are possessed of that vital and practical faith which was so remarkable in one born a heathen, and which was so lauded by the Son of God. You are not, each one of you, called upon to build an entire church at your expense, for this would be unnecessary, and impossible in the case of most. The centurion, being invested with authority in a Roman province, had probably more than ordinary means at his disposal; for aught we know, he may even have been enabled to employ certain materials belonging to his government, and many of the soldiers under his command, in the erection of the synagogue. Much, however, clearly depended on his own inclination, and this inclination tended to the honour of the true God. You are not, therefore, asked to do any thing which is unnecessary or impossible. You are not required to do the precise act, though you are required to evince the religious feeling, and to follow the most laudable example of the Roman-the Heathen Centurion. You are re

quired to give something, and the "how much" I leave to your own consciences and your own abilities. In the name of God, brethren, whose minister I

am, I ask you, I urge you, to lend a helping hand in this case of distress; to give, at least, this one proof of your sincerity, which, if it exist, will hereafter be approved of and rewarded by Jesus Christ.