work) of accomplishing a vast amount of good. The ordinances of Heaven are scarcely more certain in their operation, than are those laws of moral influence which go to assure such a laborer of his ultimate reward. And what has been said of the reformer may, with equal pertinency, be applied to ministers of the gospel. The truth is, every gospel minister is a reformer;-one whose duty impels him to go beneath the surface of things, and to lay the axe at the root of the tree. He seeks to dry up the stream of human wickedness, by first drying up the prolific fountain;-to reform the lives and manners of men, by securing the sanctification of their hearts. Still, in all this important work, his instrumentality consists solely in exerting a moral influence,—in dispensing the truths and motives of the gospel,-in endeavors to enlighten, convince, and persuade. And his success may be expected to depend (under God) entirely on the strictness with which he adheres to the established laws of persuasion. Without such an adherence, he may be a man of respectable talents and acquirements. He may be a man of piety, and may preach the truth. He He may make it his reliance, that he does preach the truth. But, in all ordinary cases, it will be a vain reliance. The truth, thus dispensed, it may be feared, will harden rather than soften. It will be more likely to repel than persuade. By preaching the truth, the gospel minister conforms to one law of persuasion, -a law important and indispensable, we admit; still, it is but one. There are others, let him remember, to which he must conform, or the appropriate results of preaching will not ordinarily be realized." Nor let a minister think to evade this conclusion, by pleading the needed influences of the Holy Spirit. For how are these influences generally bestowed? In accordance with those laws of persuasion which God has appointed, or in contempt and violation of them? There can be no question here. God is, indeed, a sovereign in the dispensations of his grace, but not an arbitrary sovereign; and we find that, in all ages, he has proportionally blessed the labors of those ministers who have adhered to the laws of influence which he has established, and withheld his blessing from those who have violated them. The most honored and successful laborers for Christ have invariably been those who, in matter, manner, character, and every thing else, have most faithfully observed the laws of persuasion. Let, then, the Christian minister acquaint himself with these laws, and adhere to them as strictly as though his entire success depended upon them; while, at the same time, he feels that all his springs are in God, and that without his accompanying Spirit and blessing, he can accomplish nothing. Let him, first of all, secure the confidence of his people; their confidence in him, as a scribe well instructed in the doctrines and duties of religion,—as a man of piety and truth,-as their devoted and untiring friend. Let him gain this confidence by deserving it; and having gained it, let him never abuse it. Let him so live and labor, as to continue and increase it. Let him preach to them the truth, with all plainness and fidelity, and in a manner to arrest attention, reasoning with them out of the Scriptures, and urging home upon them the facts and motives of the gospel. And not only so, let him rightly divide the word of truth, adapting it to the circumstances of individuals, and giving to each his portion in due season. In manner as well as matter, let him study to show himself approved, avoiding every thing which will be likely to obstruct his message, and adopting uniformly that mode of address which will be most likely to impress and enforce it. Let all his intercourse with his people, and others, be in strict accordance with the truths he delivers, so that he may not undo, out of the pulpit, what he has been enabled to accomplish in it. Let him persevere in this course, without weariness or discouragement, dispensing line upon line, and precept upon precept; trying one expedient after another, and ever looking to God for his blessing; and the blessing of God will not long be withheld. Such a minister is wise to win souls; and souls will be won. He will be honored here, in turning many unto righteousness, and will shine hereafter as the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever. ARTICLE III. METHODISM. Centenary Reflections on the Providential Character of Pp. 32. THIS pamphlet is a eulogy upon Methodism. The writer is very happy in ascribing the rise and progress of this wonder-working scheme to Divine Providence. Probably there is one person in existence, who thinks it was equally providential that Mr. Stevens was raised up, just at the right time, to spread out before the world the excellences and glories of Methodism, at the termination of the first hundred years of its existence. We have read the pamphlet with some care, and must confess that we were not very much pleased with it. The style is too much like the declamation of a young academician. Facts in it have received an unnatural coloring, which might, we allow, arise from ignorance; but which savors of something else not quite so excusable. As an example, we quote from the first page the following sentence: "After embodying in our ranks almost unequalled numbers, among whom have been men of singular greatness, such as are always alike the products and characteristics of a truly great cause; after, not only carrying the barriers which debarred us from equality with other sects, but placing ourselves in the front rank, we are closing our hundredth year." It is well known by those acquainted with the subject, that in Great Britain the Methodists bear no proportion to the regular Dissenters, either in numbers or influence. In the United States, if statistics carefully taken are to be believed, the Methodists do not stand foremost. Let them labor "with the exulting energies of young manhood," and we will cheer them, and rejoice in all their success: but, at the same time, let us have the simple truth. The whole of this pamphlet seems to us to be written too much in the spirit of boasting; and the writer appears to have mistaken the pictures of his over-heated imagination for reality, and undoubtedly concludes the public will do the same. We wish them, however, to be undeceived. We suppose Mr. Stevens thought his praises of Methodism would not be complete, except he bestowed one withering frown upon Calvinism. We can assure this gentleman, that though Calvin published to the world some sentiments which the Baptists have always held. dear, yet we are not ambitious to be called Calvinists, for two reasons:-1st. Our denomination had sealed with their blood their belief in the truth of those very sentiments hundreds of years before Calvin was born. 2d. We do not agree with all the sentiments of that great man, though we revere his memory. Was Mr. Stevens ever informed, that upon the points in Calvinism to which he would object, St. Augustine, and the Reformer of Geneva, though they lived twelve hundred years apart, and were of different communions were exactly agreed? If this gentleman, in his zeal for Methodism, should write, and publish again, it might furnish a little diversity for him to attack the former instead of the latter. However, lest Mr. Stevens should get into a mistake, we would just remark that the Pope canonized the Bishop of Hippo, and anathematized the Reformer of Geneva. But this does not seem to us a sufficient reason why every advocate of free-will should join the enemies of vital godliness in swelling the chorus of curses against Calvinism. The opinion we have formed of the followers of Mr. Wesley, from an acquaintance with some of them for nearly fifty years, will not allow us to suppose that the performance of Mr. Stevens will be very popular with them. Adulation may be rendered so fulsome, that those who might be flattered by moderate praise, will nauseate it. We hope that they have too much good sense, to suppose that their sect includes every excellence, and shuts out every defect. As good men, they may wish it were so; but as they, too, are heirs of the common defects of human nature, it cannot be uncharitable to suppose it does not. In this conclusion I suppose they will generally concur. Two considerations made us somewhat reluctant to enter upon the task before us. One was, we saw that we could not execute the design, without seeming to detract from the merit generally awarded to Mr. Wesley as the originator of Methodism. Why should we disturb the peaceful repose of the long-departed? No doubt, Mr. Wesley was a good and useful man; but his real character was not likely to be correctly described by Mr. Stevens. Homer was content to give to Achilles the credit of daring and resistless might in the battle-field; and to Nestor preeminence in counsel; but Mr. Stevens invests his champion with both, and thrusts every other individual who has lived since the time of the apostles into the back ground. We cannot quite accede to this. We suppose that Mr. Wesley's mind was not of the first order. It is true, he had a pretty good education. He was remarkably careful in his diet, and provident of time. The first of these gave an opportunity for a full play for all the physical and mental energies which he possessed; the second saved him from the necessity of ever taxing his powers too much in any given space of time. He possessed ardent love to the Saviour, and a deep sense of the worth of souls; and the ruling passion of his heart was a desire for the salvation of men. In consequence of the regularity of his course of life, he enjoyed a green old age, and his labors were lengthened. out beyond those of most men. He is represented as speaking moderately low, deliberately and distinctly, yet evidently feeling what he preached. He introduced into his discourses much narrative, describing where he had been, and what he had seen. He abounded in anecdotes, stories of ghosts, preternatural appearances and omens. His discourses were short, frequently not more than twenty or five and twenty minutes long, consequently not very fatiguing to the preacher. Perhaps there was no mental quality in which Mr. Wesley failed more than he did in accurate discrimination. We see this illustrated in the specimens we have of his doctrinal views. Great want of discrimination appears, in his persuading himself that the Scriptures taught that justification was by the works of the law, and that sanctification was instantaneous, by the Spirit of God, independent of obedience by the individual sanctified. This defect occasioned him much trouble during life, and throws a shade of inconsistency over his writings, and has greatly perplexed the more discerning of his followers since his departure. But the |