soever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." In this work of spiritual cultivation we are to be found "giving all diligence." And in this solemn language is the absolute necessity of such diligence enforced: "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." To dependence on God in Christ, therefore, and to earnest prayer for "the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," without whom ye can do nothing, add continual watchfulness, and a careful, welldirected activity. "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence, to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." Let the unwithering leaf, and the seasonable fruit, show to all that you are indeed planted by the rivers of living water. Herein is God glorified, even that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye indeed be, according to the full design of Christ, both in heart and in life, his disciples.

The subjects, thus considered, call us to be thankful to God for the religious advantages we possess, and for which we are entirely indebted to his grace and providence. Holy Scripture is his gift. Religious ordinances are his appointment. The covenant of promise, instead of being confined, in its external administration, to any one nation, is thrown open to all; and, by the continued ministry of the word, its actual light and influence are becoming more and more general. But long have they dwelt in our own country; and we, as born within their range of blessing, may say most truly, "The lines are fallen unto us in pleasant places; we have a goodly heritage." Think upon human nature as it now is; then think upon the forms of error into which men have wandered. Conceive of the influence which any of them must have on man's character; then look at the light of the Gospel, and its provisions of mercy. Can you ever sufficiently praise the love which has done such great things for you?

Your parents were disciples of Christ before you; and in your early infancy, fearing God, and loving the child whom God had given them, they brought you to his house; and there, in the sacred ordinance of baptism, the covenant of promise was, as it were, sealed afresh, in God's name, in its reference to yourself. You have now, not only the promise as it is in the word, declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord, but sacramentally confirmed to you, in your own person.

But not its promises only: its obligations and precepts were thus renewed. And in reference to all this have you, at least generally, been trained up,-it may be with much care, with many and most earnest prayers.

Have you, then, personally, and for yourselves, sought and found

that union with Christ to which the Gospel calls you, and to which all its previous arrangements were designed to conduct you? You are Christians outwardly: are you Christians inwardly? You believe the articles of the Christian faith: have you with the heart believed unto righteousness? You worship along with some congregation of believing men, where the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments are duly administered; but are you members of Christ's holy and universal church,-of that family, part of which is in heaven, part in earth, but of which all the members partake of the same divine life, and sustain the same relation to their divine Head? Forget not your responsibility. Much is required, where much is given. Let your privileges be improved, and neither tongue can tell, nor mind conceive, the height of blessedness to which you may come. Neglect them, and it shall be more tolerable even for Capernaum and Jerusalem in the day of judgment, than for you.

There are three directions which must be addressed to those who are truly, and in the highest sense, the disciples of Christ.

1. By serious and particular reflection on the subject, let them cherish a powerful and abiding conviction of the necessity and importance of glorifying God. The more they love God, the more clearly will they themselves perceive the inexpressible glory of his name, the more intensely will they desire that it may be perceived and acknowledged by others. He is infinite perfection. Of him and for him are all things. The creature is necessarily dependent on him. The highest, s well as the lowest, proceeds from him, and is by him sustained. We live, and move, and have our being in him. He alone is essentially independent, eternally self-sufficient. He is our being's source; and ought, therefore, continually to be our being's aim. It is the true dignity of our nature that we are capable of knowing God, and of making him the ultimate object of every action and movement. And to bring this exalted faculty into exercise, according to the very law of our nature itself, is our highest duty. All excellency resides in him. He is greatness, majesty, beauty, goodness. We are made capable of admiring and loving; and whatever may be loved and admired is found, either originally and supremely in God, or, if existing in the creature, existing as derived from him, and with the limits imposed by creature finiteness. The creature reflects the glory of God. In God it shines forth with original and undecaying splendour. That we perceive this, that with our whole soul we consent to it, is implied in the love of God. To express this, what is it but an expression of the humble, the reverential, but the ardent, love, which "the first and great commandment" enjoins? Our fallen nature loves and admires itself, and seeks for love and admiration from others. Our new, our regenerate, nature loves and admires God, and desires that he may be loved and admired by others. As we are all his creatures, we shall desire to live in affectionate fellowship with all; and the more they have of his image, the more will they have of our love. But must in proportion to our love

will be our desire that God may be glorified; that is, that his matchless excellency may be seen, admired, and acknowledged by others. And this the Scriptures represent as distinctively the religious disposition, as its opposite is essentially the sinful one. "Let God be glorified in all and by all!" is the spontaneous expression of the regenerated soul. And as we are, by his will and power, created intelligent, willing, and active beings, by all suitable means are we to seek that this disposition be established and growing.

2. But acknowledgments merely verbal are insufficient. They are, in fact, unnatural. He who desires that God may be glorified, desires likewise for so is he constituted by his adorable Creator-his own happiness. If man sins, and closes his state of probation in impenitency, God will be awfully glorified in his punishment. But the soul cannot desire misery. He who desires to glorify God, therefore, will desire and will seek both to have fellowship with him, and to resemble him. He will desire to be holy; and, by the active holiness of his life, he will seek both to glorify God himself, and to induce others to glorify him. Obedience may be called one form of worship. We obey God in worshipping him; we worship God in obeying him. In worship, our heart speaks, and our lips. In obedience, we say the same thing in our lives. Holiness is practical adoration. It is only another way of showing forth the praises and virtues of God. We reflect, as a mirror, the glory that thus makes us glorious by shining upon us; and we do so, not that we may be admired, but He in whose light we are thus permitted to live.

3. But it is only by abiding in Christ that we can thus continue. The nature we receive from the first Adam is self-seeking, self-loving; that alone which we have by virtue of a believing union with Christ, is God-seeking, God-loving, God-honouring. Abide, therefore, in him; and give full effect to the promptings of your new nature, and to the explicit commands of Scripture. Be clothed with true humility. Let every action declare your love to God, your submission to him, your desire that he may be honoured. Not only obey, but obey most carefully. You are trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. And when is he most glorified, but when the tree is "filled with the fruits of righteousness?" The healthy tree does this naturally. In you, careful cultivation is necessary. Your actions are your fruit. Aim at this, that every action be right, and as right as your attention can make it. And that you may have constant power for this, "abide in Christ." Live in him by faith and prayer. Severed from him, you die. Abiding in him, you shall enjoy the care of the heavenly Husbandman. Grace and providence shall work in you and upon you, and all that you may bear much fruit. So shall you glorify God. So, indeed, shall you be Christ's disciples.

* Όπως τας αρετας εξαγγείλητε. 1 Peter ii. 9.

MISCELLANEOUS COMMUNICATIONS.

METHODISM IN FORMER DAYS.*

I. BOOTH-BANK, CHESHIRE.

(To the Editor of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine.)

"SALUTE the brethren which are in Laodicea," writes St. Paul, in one of his Epistles, "and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house." In the infant days of Christianity, the dwellings of its converts were frequently consecrated by the worshipping assemblies of the believers. Honoured mention is, in this respect, made, in the New-Testament Scriptures, of Aquila and Priscilla, of Philemon and others. The term "church" is, indeed, invariably used, as designating the assembly, rather than the place.

In the adoption of a similar practice, we trace, in the earlier periods of Wesleyan Methodism, an interesting coincidence. The churches of the Establishment having been closed against its venerated Founders, they, with their devoted coadjutors, eagerly embraced every providential opening, to preach among men "the unsearchable riches of Christ;" and many were the houses in which the "faithful" of that day were accustomed to meet, to hear with meekness God's holy word, and to "worship before him."

One of the oldest "church-houses" of this kind, in connexion with Methodism, is situate at Booth-Bank, a hamlet in the parish of Rostherne, and county of Chester, on an estate the property of Sir John Chetwode, Bart.; and has been in the occupa

*It is intended, under this leading title, to

tion of the Cross family upwards of ninety-eight years.

Here, until the erection, in the immediate neighbourhood, of a neat and commodious chapel, religious services were statedly held, a small yet steady society was gathered together, which, "from one generation to another," has perpetuated "the faith; whilst from this homely spot, as an irradiating focus, the light of sacred truth diffused itself around; so that not a few of the neighbouring societies may be traced to this domestic sanctuary, as the "mother church."

John and Alice Cross, grandparents of the late occupant of the farm, entered upon the spot in 1744. Alice was one of the first Methodists in the neighbourhood of BoothBank. She was a woman of great mental energy and undaunted courage; and, after her conversion, she became a heroine in the cause of truth. Her first efforts were directed to the spiritual welfare of her husband; who, though "a quiet, sober man," was yet a stranger and an enemy to the truth. "John Cross," appealed she, when leaving home for worship, with her straw hat in one hand, and the door held by the other, "wilt thou go to heaven with me? If thou wilt not, I am determined not to go to hell with thee." Her forcible appeals, supported by the consistency of her deportment,‡ were happily successful. John was led to inquire after God, and event.

give occasional insertion to papers, referring ually became a true disciple. Their

either to persons, places, or events, which may be considered illustrative of the history of Methodism. Such a record, we doubt not, will furnish a delightful repast to all who feel interested in the rise and progress of that revival of Christian doctrine and discipline, in which the Rev. John and Charles Wesley, with their faithful helpers, were, under God, such efficient instruments; and which has been, and continues to be, so signally owned by the great Head of the church.-EDIT.

house was opened for the reception

The chapel, which will accommodate from two hundred to three hundred hearers, was opened August 24th, 1834. In 1838 a gallery was erected, and the chapel re-opened, March 12th of that year.

+ See an interesting account of Alice, from the pen of the Rev. John Pawson, in Mr. Everett's "Methodism în Manchester," page 63.