writing that passage on this poor heart of mine, and then wafting me like a stray leaf back to the shores of old England, to utter this great truth-this all important truth: "The necessity of a larger measure of the Holy Ghost in the ministry, in the Church, and in the world."

Hear the circumstances that led me to these shores:The step was not taken on the spur of the moment, but was the subject of calm deliberation, during several months. Our conference of 1839 was held in New York; that year I was appointed to Whitehall, New York.

I began to reflect upon the propriety of choosing a wife, but while indulging in this purpose, for some reasons I cannot explain, my heart became very hard, the Lord seemed to depart from me, and my soul appeared now to be mantled in the thickest gloom. God, who had honoured me with such intimate communion with himself since my conversion, apparently left me to battle it out alone.

My distress and gloom were so great, I could not unpack my library, nor arrange my study. I began to reflect on my unhappy state of mind. The world was a blank—a bleak howling wilderness to my soul, without the smiles of my Saviour. In fact I could not live, but must wither away from the face of the earth without his comforting and satisfying presence. With many tears I besought him to reveal again his face to my soul: that if my purposes were crossing his, to show me; and whatever was his will, I would at once, by his help, yield my soul unto it. "Lord God," I said, “if

my

will crosses thy will, then my will must be wrong; for thine cannot but be right." Now I cared not what he commanded me to do, or leave undone, I stood ready to obey. I felt assured clear light from God on some point would reach my soul; but I no more expected such an order as came soon after, than I expected He would command me to fly upward and preach the gospel in another planet. During three days I cried to God without any answer. On the third day, in the afternoon, I obtained an audience with the Lord. The place was almost as lonely as Horeb, where Moses saw the burning bush. It was under the open sky, a considerable distance from the habitations of men-steep rocks and mountains; deep forests, and venomous reptiles surrounded me. Here, and in a moment, the following passage was riven me to plead :-" And the Lord descended in the cloud,

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and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty."-Exod. xxxiv. 5, 6, 7. I took hold of this; many of the words were as fire, and as a hammer to break the rocks in pieces before the Lord. The fountains of tears were opened, and the great deep of my heart was broken up. I left the place, however, without receiving any light; but my heart was fully softened and subdued, and I felt assured I had prevailed in some way with God. I was confident light and direction were coming; but of what nature I could not tell. This was on the 9th of July, 1839. The same evening. about twilighteternal glory be to God-when reading in a small room adjoining my study, a light, as I conceived from heaven, reached me. My soul was singularly calmed and warmed by a strange visitation. In the moment I recognised the change; the following, in substance, was spoken to my heart, but in a manner, and with a rapidity I cannot possibly describe every ray of divine glory seemed to be a word, that the eye of my soul could read-a sentence which my judgment could perceive and understand :- "These matters which trouble thee, must be let entirely alone. The will of God is, that thou shouldest visit Europe. He shall be with thee there, and give thee many seals to thy ministry. He has provided thee with funds. Make thy arrangements accordingly; and next Conference ask liberty from the proper authorities, and it shall be granted thee. Visit Canada first; when this is done, sail for England. God shall be with thee there, and thou shalt have no want in all thy journeyings, and thou shalt be brought back in safety again to America."

The above is far beneath the dignity and grandeur of the revelation. It was like the breaking forth of the noon-day sun at midnight. I fell upon my knees before the Lord, and, oh! the sweetness of the communion I then enjoyed with God. My sky was cloudless. My rest of soul unutterable. I arose from my knees, uuder the strong conviction, that God had called me to take this tour.

The time for the sitting of Conference arrived; I presented

my request, and a resolution was passed, that I should have liberty to visit Europe. The Spirit's operations are true. II. THE SPIRIT'S OPERATIONS MAY BE QUENCHED. You cannot stop the sun in his course. You cannot roll back the tide. You cannot stop the raging tempest; but you can quench the Spirit's operations. For God's government over you is quite different to that exerted over mere matter; He does not govern you as he governs the sun, the tide, and the tempest: His government over you is a government of motives a moral government. Quench not the Spirit. You may extinguish this holy fire in many ways:-Neglect to put fuel to the fire, and it will go out ;-cover it with ashes that no air can get to it ;-pour water upon it, and it will go out. The Spirit of God is easily grieved. Do not quench it. "But," says one, "I have quenched the Spirit, for my heart is as hard as a rock." Are you willing to give up sin? Have you any desire to be saved from sin, from hell to heaven? If so, you have not quenched the Spirit, you may be saved.

There's a backslider here; you were once happy, you loved the house of God; 'tis a mercy that His influences are not totally quenched. There is an importance about that uneasiness in your mind. There is something about you with which you are not acquainted. Ah! that may be the last uneasiness you may ever have upon earth-the last time the Spirit may ever strive with you, if you do not give your

heart to God.

A young man once said, "After I have been to the ball, I will give my heart to God." The Spirit was making the last effort with him. He went to the ball, and died on the floor. As others have been damned, you may be damned. Take care! take care! Quench not the Spirit.

There's a man who is a tippler, he goes on tippling, tippling, till he tipples into hell. Brandy, rum, gin, and such intoxicating drinks, are the devil's agents. Thank God for teetotalism.

A man on the Hudson river was very unhappy, under a concern for his soul. He said to his wife, "I am very unhappy." She succeeded in turning his attention away from his concern for his soul; he died unhappy.

A man came to chapel sometime ago; the word came under a luminous burning agency upon his soul, which made

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him say, "I cannot stand it;" so out he went to a dramshop, where he had some liquor; he said, "I think I can stand it now." He went to the chapel again, but the word, was too much for him; he went out again, got some more drink in the morning he was found dead. You won't burn your bodies out perhaps; but you will swear perhaps. You will lie perhaps; you will break the Sabbath perhaps; you will practise uncleanliness perhaps; you will neglect to pray perhaps. In any of these ways you may quench the Spirit. What will be the consequences if you grieve the Spirit? You will be able to disbelieve the bible,-to be an Infidel,―to look upon hell as a scare-crow,--on heaven as a fairy land,the character of God as a fiction, you will be able to launch forth into boundless Atheism, you will be able to go quietly down to the grave, without any concern about it, at last you will drop into hell. Those who quench the Spirit of God, do it at the peril of their damnation.

Now let every one in God's presence kneel down, let every head be bowed before the Lord, and let every one that can, say after me, "I renounce the devil and all his works.' "I promise, God being my helper, to leave my wicked companions, and go down into the school-room, and use every means in my power to secure the salvation of my soul."

CHRIST THE ORACLE OF GOD TO MAN.

BY THE REV. A. CAMPBELL, of AMERICA.

Duet. 18 c. 18 v.-"I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee." Matt. 17 c. 5 v.-"Hear ye him.”

It is impossible to give more than a mere outline in one discourse, of these two sublime passages of scripture. There is in them much matter of a high and sublime order; they' point us to Christ; indeed, much of the Old and New Testament are employed in giving a beautiful and holy character to Jesus Christ. His name is called the word of God; in the beginning was the word. John presents him again, in the conclusion of his apocalyptic vision, as the word. Rev. 19 c. 11 v." And I saw the heavens opened, and behold а white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful

and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew, but he himself; and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the word of God." On his head were many crowns; first he had but one, and that one was a crown of thorns, but in the end he had many crowns sparkling with jewels, richer than ever gleamed in diadems of mortals;-gems, immortal gems, that sparkle in the light of heaven. Sinners saved by grace. In the beginning was the word;-in the beginning of time,-the morning of time,the birth of time, the first movement of time,—or, before time, back in the solitudes of eternity, when the print of no footsteps was found in the vast universe, when no voice echoed his praise, when no created nature existed. All things were made by him, and without him was not even one thing made which was made. In him was life, he was the life; and this life was the light of men,-light emanating and becoming the light of men. In the affairs of men, if a person is wanting to fill some office of high responsibility, we look about for one possessing name, title, rank, and fitness. A being possessing life in himself, possessing name, and titles so distinguished, possessing qualities, and relationship so high, was eminently filled for the high office about to devolve upon him. We have invited you to consider the great Redeemer, as understood in various senses.

1. A sentence, a precept, a truth delivered, is called an oracle; it is intended to guide, to direct, to act as a word, The whole scriptures are called the lively oracles.

2. The place where the truth is uttered becomes an oracle. Solomon's temple, the most holy place, the whole room-where the responses of God, the truth of God, were given, was called the oracle. Come with me for a moment into this holy oracle, we may now enter; it is not death to do so now; no, the veil is rent. Leave the congregation in the outer court, in solemn, silent prayer. Close the veil behind you. How solemn this place! How profound the stillness! You are now alone with the priest and God. Do you see that little chest? The lid of it is pure gold; look within it; you see it contains two stones with the ten commandments, the law written upon them. What is that chest called? Why it's the mercy seat. What does it