of a stream of water; that this approached to | you are pleased to call offers of the gospel. his very chin, but whenever he attempted Come, friend James, listen to me kindly and to drink, it immediately receded from him. seriously. Now you know that in the Bible, Also, a tree loaded with beautiful fruit, the we read of all spiritual blessings being given branches of which reached down to his head, before the foundation of the world,' and that but whenever he attempted to reach the fruit, they are given to a chosen people.' And, the branch immediately sprang from his reach. besides, look even at the absurdity of Christ This fable was, no doubt, intended to set forth offering to die for you-of God the Father positions, into which thousands, in human offering to choose you-offering to write your life are brought. name in the book of life-the Holy Spirit offering to quicken you - the Lord Jesus looking down from heaven, and offering to stop Saul of Tarsus, asking whether he would be stopped or not-Jesus Christ offering to raise the dead; and so, if they do not choose to rise, they cannot be raised.

To tantalize: to torment with a show of pleasures which cannot be reached.'-Walker's Dictionary.

Now, if Tantalus could have reached the water and the fruit, then he would not have been tantalized; and so, if men have power to receive the gospel, then it cannot be said that the message is tantalizing; and, on the other hand, if Tantalus had been as dead physically, as men by nature, are dead spiritually, then the stream might have come to his chin, or over his head unheeded, and the fruit of the tree might have knocked at the door of his lips quite unregarded; and therefore, in either case, where is the tantalization ?

-

Jesus, according to your doctrine, has power to damn without the sinners consent; but not power to save without both the consent and the help of the sinner. Truly, James your gospel appears one like your tantalizationa very nothing. Well, let me tell you, that no hyper Calvanist will tell you that it is not the duty of all men to believe the Bible, fear God, and honor him, as their Maker, their Judge, and their Preserver. No high CalThen, again, if we take the lexicographical vanist will tell you, that men have not power definition, it will lead to the same conclusion; to receive the gospel in the letter of it, and for, if to tantalize be to torment with a show as far as mere natural conscience can go, and of pleasures, which cannot be reached; then, this is morally and socially good, but there is if men on the one hand, have power to reach no salvation in that; no! not a particle; we them, where is the tantalizing? And if, on are not saved by receiving the letter of the the other hand, men be spiritually dead, then word, but by being born of God; and until spiritual things are not a shew of pleasures the ground be thus prepared, the seed can to such at all,-they are dead, and therefore, take no saving root; all the men in the have neither a true gospel hunger, nor a true world may be converted to-morrow to the letgospel thirst: where then is the tantalizing ?ter of the word, and every one of them the So then, if men have power to receive the gospel, where, I say is the tantalizing? And if, on the other hand, men be dead in sin and enmity against the true gospel, where is the tantalizing ?

I do not, Mr. Editor, wish to tantalize your correspondent, but I again say, to whom is the mission-preach the gospel to every creature' a tantalizing message; for, if all men, as I have said, have power to receive it, then it does not tantalize them; and, on the other hand, if all men be spiritually dead, then the dead know not anything: the message cannot tantalize them.

Now, if men were not spiritually dead, but merely spiritually powerless, and all were hungering and thirsting after the righteousness of Christ-hungering and thirsting after mercy-longing and seeking for pardon by his eternal atonement-agonizing to read out their eternal election of God, and earnestly seeking daily fellowship with God, and yet none of these things were intended for them, then the command to 'preach the gospel to every creature,' would indeed be a tantalizing one. But, are all men thus looking to God? Yea, let me here say, that all who are thus hungering and thirsting, are blessed, for they shall be filled.' Where then, again I ask, is the tantalization?

Your correspondent calls himself James.' Well then, my good friend James, let me say to you, that the very nature of salvation's blessings, precludes the possibility of what

next day be in hell. All believing which does not arise from regeneration, is only natural. Such believing is not the faith of God's elect, and therefore cannot save the soul.

Space does not allow me to enlarge; or, friend James, your enquiry involves another question-namely, 'what is the gospel ? The gospel is the revelation of a covenant ordered in all things and sure; of which covenant Jesus is the Mediator; his Holy Spirit the Witness; and the election of grace the partakers; and is to be preached to every creature, for a twofold purpose. First, to take out of Jews and Gentiles a people ordained to eternal life; and, secondly, for the moral and temporal good of others.

Thus, then, friend James, there is no tantalising; there is no such thing as offered grace; and there is no power in man to help himself to a saving possession of the gospel; for the flesh profiteth nothing, it is the spirit that quickeneth.' Just look at yourself, with your three nothings, and worse than nothings; because they are errors, lies and delusions. No tantalizing! no offers! no power in man to savingly receive the gospel! these are your three worse than nothings. I am sorry to see your Apostolic name so associated, that is if you be on the side of man, instead of being on God's side, for my name also is James, only I am

JAMES THE LESS.

Our Young Men in the Ministry.

[A Brief Review written while riding from Brighton to Portsmouth, October the 7th, 1858.]

A PAPER announcing the Jubilee of Mr. J. A. Jones was this day put into my hands. Mr. Jones's ministry has extended over half a century, and nearly eighty years has he been a stranger and a pilgrim in this world. But few men have so long a period allotted to them; but few men abide so unflinchingly by the foundation principles of the gospel, as Mr. Jones has done; and we were thankful, on his behalf, to find him on his jubilee, surrounded by many of those most earnest ministers of Christ who are now honorably standing in the church of Christ. Antiquity, has, for us, great attractions, whether it be seen in buildings, in books, in true believers, or in the venerated servants of God. We rejoice, therefore, in the happy Jubilee enjoyed at Jireh. Equally do we desire to be thankful in witnessing the uprising of some excellent young men whose promising advent as pastors and preachers, is one of the best evidences that our Lord is still carrying on his great work; that his eyes are still watching over his Sion-that his ascension gifts are still given out to his people; and that all things are working together for the churches good.

Encouragement to young men in a work so holy and solemn, is needful; it is biblical; it is in strict analogy with the practice of good, great and gracious men in all ages of the world. ENCOURAGE HIM;' has been the text on which some of the best of men have expatiated when addressing churches relative to their duty toward their pastors.

What an example of encouragement has the great I AM' given us in his ordination charge administered to Moses! Poor Moses put in many excuses touching his unfitness for a mission so weighty and divine, but the Lord overcame them all. How rich in meaning and how full of instruction is that sentence, and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God!' and how full of holy fear, reverence, and deep 'abasement, must every sinful man feel when the Lord God of Sabaoth calls him into his service ? But do carefully mark the tender, the confident, the oft repeated manner in which the Lord encouraged Moses to his work-' Come, now, I will send thee.' 'Certainly I will be with thee.' Go, and gather the elders of Israel together.' 'Say to them, I will bring you up out of Egypt. Now, therefore, Go, and I will be with thy mouth; and teach thee what thou shalt say.' What more could Moses desire? Still he aims to fling back the commission; he "is not eloquent; neither before the Lord called him, nor since he called him." How does the Lord meet this apparent difficulty? 'Is not Aaron, the Levite thy brother?' know that he can speak well; also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.'

importance to be received by us. The fainting spirit of the called servant, and the great comfort given forth by the GREAT COMMANDER, are facts which we would press home upon the minds of all who now stand as seekers for the ministry; or as established ambassa dors in the church. There is one feature in the present uprising ministerial army, which has given rise to serious reflections in our own spirit. It is a determination, on the part of many of our young men, to throw off some of the old trammels by which numbers have been bound; and to go forth in the strength of the Lord-more fully, more extensively, more ev angelically, more practically in what may be termed 'the out-works of their commission! William Huntington, for a deep, sound, dis criminating, vital, soul-restoring ministryand John Gill, for clearness, for decision, and for unanimity, as regards doctrines, ordinances, principles, and precepts, have had their representatives, decendants and successors in the British Churches during a good part of the last half century; but John Gill and William Huntington would have spurned from their presence many who have professed that the mantle of one, or of both of these great and good men had fallen upon them. Beside, the multiplication of churches, the large number of young men willing to preach the gospel; and the amazing and manifold amount of effort put forth by other sections of the professing church; these things combined, have (under God, we hope), stirred up the hearts of not a few of our young men to go forth more widely in the fulfilment of their great mission. We do heartily pray for 'good success' to attend them; we do as devoutly pray that no popular excitement, no unhea venly emulation, no anti-gospel thirst for numbers-will be permitted to lead them from a powerful contention for those immortal elements, and essential gospel revelations for which our fathers shed their blood, and laid down their lives. To watch over; to warn, if necessary, and in all right and righteous paths, to encourage our younger brethren, shall be one part of our future work, the Lord himself being our helper.

These thoughts have freely issued out of an interview with a friend in Brighton, whose conversation turned upon the happy success at present attending the ministry of our highly esteemed brother in Christ, Joseph Wilkins, of Queen-square chapel, Brighton, whose recently issued Sermons on Sin, Death, the Separate State, and the Resurrection, have excited some attention; which also we must more fully notice. The pastor of the BapItist chapel, meeting in Queen-square chapel, Brighton, needs no encouragement from us now. It was our privilege to be the Lord's instrument in removing him from the quiet village of North Bradly, in Wilts, into a few

In all this, there are lessons of immense

places of usefulness where the Lord rendered him a great blessing to many believing souls. The steady and substantial progress, selfimprovement, and ministerial prosperity which has attended Mr. Wilkins-furnishes another striking illustration of the apostle's words'God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.' It is a fact that there are at this time, two comparatively young men in our churches, both named Joseph Wilkins; both industrious, hard working, zealous, useful and growing men in the ministry of the Word of Life; one at Chatteris, the other at Brighton. In both these young men we have thorough good specimens of that entire dovotion, that earnest search after the two greatest of all pursuits, the knowledge of the Lord, and the good of souls, that excellency of character, that sound christian spirit, and that decision for gospel truth, which justify us in our notice of them. The sermons referred to, will be reviewed another day. In the early part of this number, we have given an article on a sermon by Mr. Wale, of Reading; and in subsequent pages the brethren Pells and Pascoe are noticed. With a word or two this paper must be closed. A letter from Mr. Henry Hutchinson, the pastor of the Baptist Church at Bedmond, Herts, informs us of the great necessity there is for erecting a new chapel in that village. This fact is confirmed by another letter from our excellent brother in the ministry, Mr. John Kealy, of Oakley Cottage, Upper Cheyne Road, Chelsea; who has generously aided in the commencement of a subscription for the new chapel. Mr. Hutchinson's ministry is rendered useful-the old chapel is too small; and extremely unhealthy: we pray for help in a movement so absolutely needful. thus encourage young men whom the Lord has given us.

Let us

Wolverhampton, Bilston, Willenhall, and other adjoining places have recently been a little excited by the public ministrations, of a young friend, MASTER JOHN TURNER, a youth 16 years of age; whose preaching has been blest to many. A highly respected brother in Christ assures us that the preaching of this youth has been sound, wholesome, savoury, and pleasant; he preaches the Gospel of Christ, and, multitudes flock to hear. We are promised some portions of his sermons; therefore, hope to prove this is heaven's work.

Recognition services, at the present time, are numerous, On Wednesday, Oct. 20th, Mr. Samuel Cozens was publicly set apart to the pastorate of Warboys. He has a large field open before him; and a good foundation laid for him. We cannot this month give the details. On Thursday, Oct. 28, Mr. Joseph Palmer, (late of Hounslow,) was settled as pastor of Romney Street Baptist Chapel, Westininster. A large number of our metropolitan pastors were present. Of this brother, and his ministry, we may give some notices in time to come. Our London Churches are getting filled up. Some excellent brethren have been supplying the vacant

pulpit at Blandford Street; and there are hopes that another young David, or a Joshua, may soon be at home in good earnest there. A busy day in Gospel Zion appears to be looming before us. Of Mr. Wilcockson, of Beulah Chapel, Somerstown, correspondents have written favourably; his 'excellent Witness,' and earnest ministry,' are in reserve for our readers.

If our readers are disposed to blame us for thus noticing young men in the ministry; this must be our apology-to a great extent, our churches have been on the decay; the many requests which reach us for useful pas tors, prove to demonstration, the scarcity of men under whose ministry the causes may hope to arise. We therefore, rejoice with trembling; because while we hail with pleasure the advent of any young men among the ranks of faithful preachers, we are not blind to the strong temptations of the present times to slide off into a popular course which, although it may excite, will not, establish men's souls vitally in the four essential streams of undying truth. We mean (1) Vital Union

to the Son of God; for branches of the True
Vine we must be; or we perish for ever. (2)
Faith in the fulness and sufficiency of the
work and worthiness of Christ to save unto
the uttermost. (3) A Spirit-wrought sense of
our personal interest in the dear Redeemer,
drawn from the internal teachings and new
covenant sealings of the Holy Spirit. (4) An
absolute reliance upon the covenant of grace,
the Christ of God, and the promises of heaven
for all that ever can be required. Oh! that
we all may know and cleave to these things,
pray for them, faithfully preach them, and in
our practice, show we possess them; these are
the aims and the desires of the reader's devo-
ted servant,
THE EDITOR.

BAPTIST CHAPEL, LOOSELEY ROW,
NEAR PRINCES RISBOROUGH, BUCKS.

The anniversary services of the above cause were held on Wednesday, October 13th. The morning was very wet, consequently a thin attendance; however, brother Bloomfield delivered a very animating and soul-cheering discourse on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. In the afternoon, the chapel was very full, on which occasion brother Pells preached with great earnestness, and deep solemnity of feeling, on the sufferings of Christ and the triumphant results. The evening was dark, but the place was filled to overflowing, and many stood outside, and seemed as happy as though it had been summer-time; great attention marked the audience whilst the preacher, (Mr. Bloomfield) preached with much energy and warmth of feeling concerning heaven as the inheritance of the saints, and their meetness for it. We trust it was a good day to many souls; and it is hoped these brethren will come again, if spared till 1859, much earlier in the season; when, if multitudes flock to hear the word preached, both may be honourably employed in preaching Christ to the people: the one inside the chapel, and the other in the open air. Brother Cawse, of Wycombe, took part in the services of the day. Here is a good Sabbath school.

MR. JOHN PELLS,

AND THE

CAUSE AT SOHO CHAPEL.

'HOPFUL the prospect is cheerful at Soho! A very suitable under shepherd appears: through the ministrations of John Pells the word is enjoyed-sinners aroused-saints comforted-blessings are poured down-and signs of increasing prosperity hover in the future. These things ought to rejoice the hearts of all

the saints.

I should suppose, John Pells is a man o'er whose head some 30 winters' cold winds have blown. In stature, he is short, slightly inclined to corpulence; has a very pleasing countenance-easy and cheerful manner-a broad, high and intelligent forehead, crowned with dark curly hair-a clear, full-toned voice -a free and distinct delivery, and, withall, a loving disposition. He was formerly connected with the church at the Surrey Tabernacle; and has labored in the ministry at Tunstall and also at Clare, in Suffolk, at both places he was much blessed and very highly esteemed. The deacons of Soho, having heard him spoken of in high terms, arranged for him to supply the vacant pulpit for a Sabbath or two. The result of this was a three months' invitation; and this period drawing to a close, a special church meeting was called for Sunday, Oct. 3, to take the sense of the members as to giving Mr. Pells an invitation to the pastorate. The result being-out of 140 members present, 139 invited him to accept the pastoral care of the church; the other one did not vote pro. or con.; so that I think we may say-John Pells received the unanimous invitation of the Church: which he has accepted; and a public service will shortly be held to recognise him as their pasO Lord, send now we beseech thee, send now prosperity.'

tor.

But, I am to give a few notes respecting the Sunday School connected with the church at Soho, that is my professed object, Mr. Editor, -but I know your good nature will excuse this digression, especially as it is 'good news.' On Tuesday evening, Oct. 5th, then the annual meeting of Soho Chapel Sunday School was held-Mr. Pells occupied the chair; and was supported by a good bench of bishops, among whom we noticed the brethren Attwood, Bloomfield, Davies, Field, Hawkins, (of Bradford) Hazelton, Wyard, and Woolacott. After singing and reading, Mr. Hazelton very earnestly and solemnly prayed for the divine presence-noticing the position of the church and pleading for prosperity on its recent choice. The CHAIRMAN was glad to see so many. He certainly should not occupy their time, but would just notice one fact: out of the thirteen teachers in the school, nine were members of the church; and he had great hopes that the other four would not be long before they were compelled also to bear testimony to the Lord's goodness to them.

A report was then read by the Secre* See 'Hopeful's Address' in October number.

tary, Mr. E. FALKNER, Jun., which reviewed the proceeding of the past year in a very able manner. One short extract we make which has reference to teachers' prayer meetings-the report stated: The teachers' monthly prayer meetings, held on the afternoon of the 2nd Sunday in each month have been regularly held, and generally well attended. The object of the meeting being to ask the blessing of God upon the past month; and to seek his aid and guidance for the future. Respecting financial matters, the school has a little debt of some £78-but with a band of such persevering and active teachers, that little matter will soon be removed, we are sure.

MR. WOOLACOTT, in moving the adoption of the report, said: I am the oldest London Baptist pastor; thirty- five years to day I became a London pastor; I was pastor eight years prior to that; and eight years prior to that a member of a church; and eight years before that a boy in a Sunday School. I am now, and hope while I live, ever to be a Sunday School teacher. I congratulate you, sir, on your position. I had the happiness of taking part in the ordination of the late George Comb, perhaps may live to see you ordained. I will just give you an account of a little Sunday school girl of our's. About fourteen months ago, a little maiden left our Sunday School. She had been adopted by a loving aunt, and left England for New York. God mercifully took them safe across the bosom of the great Atlantic. She was received kindly; and soon, by her loving manner, became a little favorite. It was about the time that she arrived, that the great revival meetings were being held in that country. She, with her aunt, attended some of these meetings, and it is plain that they were a great blessing to her: she said, 'O aunt, how much better are these meetings than parties." On one occasion, as her aunt was passing her bed-room door, she heard her pleading at a throne of grace-she was earnestly seeking for a blessing. This convinced the aunt she was a praying child. She then had several interviews with the minister of the church, which resulted in her being proposed for baptism. The aunt, about this time writing to me, says, I have no doubt at all as to the genuineness of the child's christianity. About the time she was to join the church, she was suddenly taken ill. Her conversation was of heaven. In referring to her friends in England, while on her dying bed, she said, 'they will be glad to hear that I love Christ.' Her whole conversation was of Christ and his love. After a short illness, she died in the full hope of the faith of the gospel. She was a child in our Sunday school and my granddaughter.

Mr. HAWKINS, of Bradford, spoke of the importance of Sunday school teaching: in many cases the Bible Society's efforts would be fruitless if not for the Sabbath school : often in the country, and no doubt it was the case in London, many persons had the Word of God but could not read it; the Sunday school taught the people to read, and then provided them with the Bible to read. We do not now ask, if it is right to have these schools