ment declares, that salvation is a spiritual and an eternal good. What his idea of salvation was, Paul has himself set forth, when he spoke of "the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory," and when he uttered the affectionate desire of his benevolent heart, in writing to the Corinthians, "this also we wish, even your perfection."

Christian salvation, then, is the full realization of Christian excellence, and the end thereof eternal life. It is doing as Christ did, and feeling as Christ felt, that by sharing his cross we may share his crown. It is taking him, not in name but in reality, for our teacher, guide, and pattern. It is hearing his words as the words of God, thus honouring alike the Father and the Son. It is coming unto God by Christ, in the way of God's appointment, as sinners to a merciful Father, with contrition in the heart and supplication on the tongue; it is bringing forth fruits meet for repentance; it is the abandonment of all masters, and declaring in the life as well as by the lips, "one is my Master, even Christ." Yes, it is the renunciation of all rule but the rule of the divinely appointed Head of the Church; it is the renunciation of the law of sin, of the law of the world, of the law of custom, of the law which, by the influence of habit, men are to themselves -of every idol fashioned by art or man's device, however exquisite the workmanship, however honoured the name, however venerable the age—the idols which science falsely so called, has created the idols which our wishes have helped our imagination to body forth-the idols which, in setting up human authority as paramount to, or above God's word, men first made and then worshipped, these, and whatever others that have more or less usurped God's dominion in man's breast, must be unsparingly renounced, "casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

Christian salvation is such a growth in grace, as conducts to the full stature of the perfect man in Christ. It brings forth to a rich and mature harvest, all the better elements, the charities and sympathies, and devotional affections, of nature; and to them it adds a force, a consistency, and a loveliness, derived from the influence of grace. What in temperament or habit is wrong, it rectifies what is low, it raises-what is impure, it refines what is weak, it strengthens; supplying new motives, ele

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vating the standard of excellence, exhibiting the perfections of the Saviour, till "the man of God is perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work." It is, in a word, the Gospel transferred to the fleshly tablets of the heart; it is "Christ formed in us the hope of glory;" the excellences of Christ, that is, graven on our souls, his graces having become our graces, our mind united to his, and our heart fraught with love and reverence towards him.

I may make the full meaning of salvation more clear, by a few instances. Here is a youth, who prides himself on his intellectual acquirements, on his rank in society, on the opulence of his kindred. He stands in need of salvation, however rich in good he may think himself to be. Rank is a talent given not to encourage vain-glory, but to be improved, that an increase of influence might lead to an increase of beneficence. Opulence is a blessing or a curse, as it is used; designed indeed to multiply happiness, but too often perverted to the injury of the possessor, and, in all cases, to be considered as a loan rather than an absolute gift, as a prompter to piety and beneficence, than the food of self-esteem. This youth, as the youth in the gospel, lacketh one thing; and that is, the power of salvation. He is in want of the enlightenment which gospel principles would afford him. He sees his possessions in the light of the world, and not of the sun of righteousness. That luminary would change all the aspects in which they appear, and make him view. rank, opulence, and learning, as so many monitors-schoolmasters to bring him to Christ. In intellectual superiority, there is more than an ordinary temptation to forget God in the esteem of self. I am not one to undervalue or proscribe the cultivation of the mind. No; I believe that mental energy conduces to Christian salvation. The fulness of the Gospel blessing cannot be enjoyed, but in the full and well-proportioned cultivation of all the higher powers of man; and he is truly saved, who unites to a devout soul and a kind heart and a strong and consistent principle, a well disciplined, vigorous, and enlightened mind. But there must be a union of these. Learning without piety, may bring repute; but it is not salvation. Its treasures, as were of old those of the wise men from the East, must be cast down at the feet of Jesus. The Gospel must be the presiding influence over the whole man, dictating the view in which every possession is to be regarded, and turning every possession to account, for the

increase of piety in the possessor, and the increase of good to those over whom he has influence. Such is the work of salvation, in this case.

Another may be supposed, in which, as in the last, the great duties of justice and mercy are observed, and the tenor of the conduct irreprehensible; but the law of the world divides the empire of the heart with the Son of God. And the more need is there to warn such persons of their want of salvation, because they are too apt to derive satisfaction from the consciousness of the general rectitude of their deportment. I do not say that they are out of Christ, but I do say, that other lords have dominion over them, and that salvation has a most important work to perform in them; to save them, that is, from the authority of an empire which is contrary to that of Christ, and therefore baneful to the Christian; which cannot fail to tarnish their graces, to vitiate many of their actions, to impair at once their peace and their influence, to retard the progress of the Gospel, and abate their eternal happi

ness.

I may take a family, regular in their attendance, on Christian worship, diligent each in his calling, but disunited and jarring for want of that warm and well-regulated affection which, however prompted by nature, Christianity only can perfect. Oh, what need of Christian salvation in this case! What a charm, what a comfort would Christian love shed over such a family! It would double every joy; it would abate every pain; it would expel a legion of vexations, and introduce a continual succession of delights, in the interchange of kind words, kind acts, kind wishes, and kind looks. Now, let no one think that these things have nothing to do with Christian salvation. They are of the essence of real religion, however some may have degraded them with the name of amiable sins. Family love, springing from Christian principle-and difficult will it be to find any constant and enlightened family love, that does not spring from Christian principle-family love springing from Christian principle, is that bond of perfectness spoken of in the Scripture, which binds all the vir tues together in close and golden ties, and makes good Christians and good citizens, by making good and happy fathers, mothers, and children. The work, then, of salvation, my dear Friend and Brother, is in its application to the Christian minister's charge, as various as the indivi

duals of which it consists. The end is, temporal and eternal happiness-not that poor and meagre happiness which is but one remove from misery, but the full and overflowing peace and delight of which the soul of man, with its varied capacities of enjoyment, is capable; happiness flowing from a mind conversant with God's works and ways, taught to see God in all things, and all things in God-and from its own thoughts, penetrated with the sacred conviction, that under God's eye and direction, all things are working together for good; happiness flowing from a heart warm in love to the whole brotherhood of man, and yet warmer and kindlier to the church of Christ, and those in whose joys and sorrows it has often beaten with the fond pulsation of kindred and friend; happiness flowing from a soul glowing with devout gratitude to the great Spirit of the universe, its creator, benefactor, and friend-feeling, and exulting in the emotion, feeling its alliance with its heavenly Father, and lost in joy and wonder at the thought of spending a blissful eternity in a nearer intercourse with Him and his Son, and in an interchange of good with good men of every age and nation.

The end, I say, of Christian salvation, is-temporal and eternal happiness; the operation varying in each disciple, but needful in all. In one case, you, my dear Friend and Brother, will have to speak of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come; to discourse mildly, affectionately, yet earnestly and firmly, of the terrors of the Lord, and the wrath of God on impenitent sinners. But circumstances, I hope, will make this a strange work to you, and leave you at liberty to follow the dictates of your own heart, in beseeching men to be reconciled unto God, and drawing them by the gentle cords of love to sit at the feet of Jesus Christ. But in this ministration of gentleness and affection, you will need to vary your efforts according to the condition of your charge. All things are not for all men. In this case, a spur will be needed; in that, a check. Here you will have to rouse, there to soothe; here to foster the growth of Christian principle, there to withstand the encroachments of the world; here to speak peace to the troubled spirit, and there to awaken and alarm the slumbering conscience; here to offer the hand of a friend to the young, and there to stay the aged pilgrim's staff; to cement the bonds of family affection, to remove occasions of misunderstanding and strife, to

solve doubts, to stimulate inquiry, to encourage the exercise of thought, to emancipate the mind from prejudice, and the heart from fear; to touch the chords of piety placed in the soul by the hand of God, and make all its powers vocal with love to its Creator. In all these and similar things, you will be effectually promoting the great end of your life, your own salvation, and the salvation of those who hear you; they are, each and all, parts of one great instrumentality, of which the purpose is to honour God by blessing man.

(To be Concluded in our next.)

THE CHRISTIAN PIONEER.

GLASGOW, MARCH 1, 1832.

After

THE Seventh Anniversary of the opening of the Unitarian Meeting-house, Greengate, Salford, Manchester, was held on the 25th and 26th of December last. The Rev. Henry Acton of Exeter, preached three times on the occasion. About one hundred and -twenty friends assembled after the service on Monday morning, in the School-room connected with the Meeting-house. partaking of an excellent dinner, they were addressed by their respected friend, Richard Potter, Esq. chairman; by the Revds. Henry Acton, John R. Beard, minister, J. G. Robberds, J. J. Tayler, W. Gaskell, T. May, W. Turner, Jun. G. Lee, and by Messrs. J. E. Taylor, G. Gill, P. Eckersley, and Thomas Potter. The services of the eloquent preacher, and the addresses of ministers and friends, combined with the friendly spirit that prevailed on all sides, afforded the highest gratification, and conduced, we have reason to believe, largely to the edification of those who were privileged to hear them. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Thomas Potter, with that benevolence which distinguishes him, offered to guarantee the support of an Infant School, in the School-room in which the company was assembled. He and his family have since, we learn, contributed munificently towards the object; and there is no doubt, that with the aid of friends, this, as most Sunday School-rooms might be, will soon be employed during the week for the benefit of the infant poor. On the Monday following, the School-room was crowded to excess by two hundred and fifty children belonging to the Sunday-school, about one hundred of their parents, and many of the Congregation, when an address was delivered by the minister, to the children, their parents, and the teachers; prizes to the number of forty, were distributed, and the scholars supplied with refreshment.

ON the 9th of January, the Unitarian Christian Congregation of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, assembled in their Chapel, for the purpose