lence, and refusing to bear a part in accomplishing the end at which they aim, the spread of the gospel through the world.

7. There is one other thing, more important than any yet mentioned to the prosperity of a congregation; it is the presence and blessing of the Holy Spirit. Without this, all other means are of no use. Paul may plant and Apollos water; but it is God who giveth the increase. And where the increase of God is not given, there is no spiritual prosperity. It is little that a congregation may deem itself strong in wealth, in numbers, in union, and the possession of all outward accommodations and means of grace. In the enjoyment of all these advantages, many a congregation has been smitten with spiritual decay, and sunk into imbecility and weakness. It is the presence of God in his house that constitutes its real glory, and makes it the gate of heaven to those who worship there. It is his Spirit, attending the ministration of his word and ordinances, that renders them profitable to the people, and builds them up in faith and love. And no minister or people should rest satisfied with outward advantages, however perfect they may be, nor think themselves prosperous, when the work of spiritual edification and conversion is not going on.

When this is the case, it is certain that there is something wrong, and the evil, whatever it be, should be sought out and removed, and no rest be taken till the presence of God be restored, and his Spirit is felt to be near, in those secret, yet mighty influenees, by which he subdues all things to himself. And when those influences are granted, then is prosperity enjoyed in the highest and best sense. The pastor, quickened and encouraged in his work, preaches, with peculiar unction and power, the truths which are unto salvation. The church arises and shines, her light being come, and the glory of the Lord being risen upon her. The congregation feels the mighty presence of God, and is awed into silence and thoughtfulness before him. The Sabbath, the sanctuary, the place of conference and prayer, and all the means of grace, seem invested with a divine and all-subduing power, and many are seen coming forward to join themselves to the Lord in the bonds of an everlasting covenant. So it is when a congregation is favored with the presence and the Spirit of God. All obstacles fall before him; and his truth, clothed with his power, goes forth from conquering to conquer. Here is the only sure basis of spiritual prosperity. As revivals of religion are our only hope for the conversion of the world, so are they for the prosperity of religion in any religious society. Their cessation, even for a short time, brings on declension and decay, which threatens utter desolation; what then would be the consequence of their entire suspension ? Vital religion would become extinct in our churches; and "churches without vital religion are but the splendid sepulchre of souls, and the gateway to hell."

Having thus pointed out what seem to us some of the most essential means of congregational prosperity, what remains, my friends, but that we commend them to the special regards of the religious society which takes possession to-day of the place in which its future worship is to be paid to the Most High God? It is well, my brethren, that you have erected this goodly edifice, and furnished it with all that is necessary to the comfort and convenience of public worship. It is in good keeping with your own substantial prosperity, and with the sacred object to which you have dedicated it; and it may well be regarded as among the means of rendering you a prosperous congregation.

But, my friends, you will not forget, that all this expense of property, and display of art and taste, will be in vain, if you look not beyond your outward accommodations; if you enjoy not the presence of God in the services which are here to be performed. With devout thankfulness, then, for past favors received from the hand of your God, enter this new temple, which you have erected for his praise, with fervent and united supplications, that he would enter it with you, and here abide forever to bless you with his presence and his love. Let that same gospel be continued to be preached here, under the influence of which you have been raised up from small beginnings to become two bands, and have now found it necessary for your accommodation, to provide this enlarged and more convenient place of worship. The saving power of that gospel has often been proved in the midst of you, by the repeated revivals of religion which you have enjoyed, and by which great numbers have been gathered into the fold of the Savior on earth, and prepared for his kingdom in heaven. Let not that gospel be exchanged for another, which is yet not another; but continue, as in time past, to desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Let the church realize the end for which it was organized and has an existence in the midst of this community; and let its members, from this day, rise up to a higher standard of piety, and strive together, in their prayers and efforts, for the salvation of the rising generation, especially of the lambs of the flock who have upon them the seal of the covenant. If you would have the means of grace, which you hope here to enjoy, effectual to build you up in holiness and make you meet for heaven, attend upon them with constancy; attend upon them with seriousness and religious veneration.

With the return of every Sabbath, and at other times as you have opportunity, repair, with grateful minds, to this sanctuary to meet your God and Savior, and receive from him the blessings which he ever waits to bestow upon true worshipers. And while you are thus blessed with hearing the joyful sound of the gospel, and are cheered on your way to eternity with the hope full of immortality, forget not the condition of perishing men around you; but seriously set about the work of saving them, that they may share with you in the joys and hopes of eternal life. Go out, in the spirit of your Mas

ter, into the highways and hedges, into the streets and lanes of your town, seek out the poor and the neglected, the unwarned and the ignorant, and bring them to the house of God, that they may hear his word and live.

Nor forget the poor, dying heathen, but pity them as the Savior pitied you; and strive, with others, to send to them the blessings of the great salvation. And withal, let your prayers ascend up to God daily, that he would pour out upon you his Spirit, to give efficacy to the means of grace, and revive his work among you with power and glory. Set your hearts upon this as an attainable blessing; and remember that it is a blessing essential to all spiritual prosperity. Pray then for the effusions of the Holy Spirit upon you. Welcome this mighty, this gracious, this all-subduing Spirit to your bosoms, to your families, to your church and congregation, and let the opening of a new place of worship be signalized by the commencement of a revival of religion. This will do more to make you a prosperous and happy people, than all other means combined. The Holy Spirit dwelling with you, a preached gospel will be to you a savor of life unto life. The services of the Sabbath and of the sanctuary will be instinct with life and power, and build you up in truth and love. Sinners awakened from the sleep of death, will turn their feet into the path of life, and come here in growing crowds, to devote themselves to their Redeemer and God. The aged, as they pass from the stage of life, will rejoice to see others rising up to fill their places as the servants of God; and parents, as they descend into the vale of years, will be happy in seeing their children treading in their steps, and preparing to follow them to heaven. Thus blessed with the presence of God's Spirit, you will be built up on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone, and can never fall. You will be safe amid all changes, and safe forever. The Lord will plant his banner over you, which is love; and so long as that floats above your sanctuary, the gates of hell will not prevail against you.

Hear, then, fellow immortals, all of you, the word of exhortation. As you have dedicated this house, so dedicate yourselves to God, and take refuge, every one, beneath the pavilion of his mercy. Then, when this temple, in which we now feebly attempt the high praises of God, shall be crumbled into dust, when all the monuments of art and works of man shall be consumed by the fires of the last day, you shall bow and worship in a temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, and forever adore the hand that formed it, the grace that conducted you to it, and the Savior who fills it with his presence and glory.

SERMON CCCXXII..

BY REV. JOHN S. C. ABBOTT,

PASTOR OF THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN NANTUCKET.

RECIPROCAL DUTIES OF PASTOR AND PEOPLE.

"Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers."-Acтs xx. 28.

THE time was when the pastoral union was invested with a degree of permanency which it has now unhappily lost. It is my prayer that it may speedily be restored, and that, if it be the divine will, the relation into which we have entered may not be severed till death shall sever it. Though we know not what an hour may bring forth, I would hope to resign my body to the dust of your burial ground, and there, as a faithful pastor, sleeping in the midst of his beloved flock, await the resurrection summons.

It seems important, upon this occasion, that we should reflect upon the reciprocal duties of pastor and people.

1. The preaching of the gospel is the pre-eminent duty of the christian minister. It is expressly to preach the gospel, that the ministry is instituted. It is the voice of the living preacher, urging with all the powers of heart and utterance the love of the Savior, and the dread sanctions of futurity, which God blesses to the upbuilding of his church. All other duties should be subservient to the necessary preparation to preach the gospel. Hundreds of immortal souls are each Sabbath assembled to hear the divine message. The christian minister is God's ambassador to them. And with whatever abilities he may be endowed, he must consecrate all to the faithful enforcement of religious truth. He must diligently study, that logic may give precision to his address-that sound argument may fortify -that illustrations may adorn and illumine-that simplicity may make the opaque transparent-that rhetoric in its noblest sense may captivate the conscience and the heart. The word of truth must be rightly divided to "give to each a portion "—such a portion as each

one needs. How difficult this? Some of his hearers are engulfed in the vortices of false philosophy; some whirling in the wild career of utter godlessness and guilt; some deceived with false hopes or deceiving with false pretences; some stupid, with conscience seared and heart of granite; some tender, affectionate, trembling—with crushed and fainting spirit feeling after God. To meet these wants requires thought-long and anxious and prayerful study. And the faithful christian minister must consecrate the best hours of every week to this infinitely arduous work.

And yet he must engage in other studies besides immediate preparation for the pulpit. He must search the scriptures in their original languages; he must keep up a general acquaintance with the literature and the rapidly advancing science of the day; he must furnish his mind to encounter the unbeliever and the errorist on their own ground, and to defend the gospel; he must keep himself informed respecting the great moral movements of the age; he must not forget the mighty power of the press-that the world demands a christian literature, that it is the duty of some of the christian ministry to endeavor to supply that want.

These duties demand, that at least every moment of the morning hours be consecrated uninterruptedly to study. These hours should be held sacred from any encroachment. The people should feel that their pastor, in all his studies, is toiling for them, and they should cordially co-operate in securing for him the unbroken hours of the morning.

2. The christian minister must also visit his people. Without this, though learned, though eloquent even, he cannot be in the highest degree useful. By personal acquaintance alone can he ascertain the temptations, the conflicts, the trials, the spiritual condition of the members of his charge. He must visit, not a few families merely, but all his flock. He must sacrifice, if necessary, the attractions of friendship and of congenial habits and taste, to his duties as a laborious and impartial parish minister, who must account to God for each soul entrusted to his care. And especially wherever poverty lays its heavy hand, or age is crushed with infirmities, or the suffering invalid, with weak and perishing body, lingers on the bed of pain, or the widow's heart is bleeding with anguish,-wherever there is any one bowed down beneath the burden of life, it is there, there peculiarly that the christian minister is bound to go.

There are probably more than two hundred families connected with this large congregation, all of whom must be visited. The sick and bereaved must be visited often; weddings must be attended, and funerals. There are days of sickness and of storms when no visits can be made. The reception of parishioners and other friends, and various family cares, necessarily engross an important portion of one's time. There are public duties of associations and councils and societies of benevolence, which claim attention. And seasons of re