These are only a very few of the reasons, for the limits of this address will not admit of enlargement, which should call the Christian church to united prayer.

The motives which were urged in former invitations, to which you are referred, abide with increasing force.

It is enough now to say that the Lord has encouraged us to persevere in prayer, by His gracious answers,-that the increasing ac tivity of papists and of infidels are powerful calls upon his people to awake from their slumbers, and arouse themselves to their Divine Master's service. Whilst the signs of the times bring his words to remembrance with almost invincible power,"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments."

The following suggestions are respectfully offered to assist those who are desirous of uniting in this general concert for prayer.

1st. Let Christians follow the example of our blessed Lord, (Mark i. 25,) who rose up a great while before day for secret prayer. Let them thus secure the blessing of him who says, 66 Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

2nd. Let them call upon the Lord in their families, for his Spirit to be poured upon themselves and their households, their neighbours, their country, the ministers of the Lord, the churches of Christ, the remnant of scattered Judah and outcast Israel, and upon the Gentile world.

3rd. Let the ministers of the Lord afterwards privately meet with their brethren of their own communion, in earnest prayer for themselves, their flocks, the whole body of Christ, and the world at large; and then specially consult together upon the most effectual means for hastening the coming of the Lord's kingdom, and particularly for the continuance of such a general concert for prayer, that the year may proceed according to this devout commencement.

4th. Where circumstances will admit of a morning service, let the congregation be assembled, and in addition to the appointed prayers and a suitable sermon, let all who are devoutly disposed partake together of the supper of the Lord; or,

5th. As may be more convenient, let the whole congregation meet in the evening for public worship, and let an appropriate discourse be preached.

May the Lord accompany these means of grace, or such others as may be adopted, with his abundant blessing. Oh! may it indeed be a season of special refreshment from the presence of the Lord.

Let this be the prayer of all who read this paper, and as the new year is now approaching, it would be a great kindness if

those who approve the object, and have influence over the press, would republish and circulate this Invitation, which any one, into whose hands it may fall, has full permission to do.

Peace be with all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.

Thus prays their affectionate brother and servant in the Lord,

JAMES HALDANE STEWART.
St. Bride's, Liverpool.

SURREY MISSION.

At a special meeting of the committee of the Surrey Mission Society, held at Stockwell Chapel, Oct. 30, 1839, to take into consideration the present embarrassed state of the society's funds; it was resolved unanimously,

First, That the members of the committee now assembled, consider the present an appropriate opportunity to record their undiminished attachment to the object and constitution of the Surrey Mission Society. To express their satisfaction that, for the period of forty-two years, during which the society has existed, its catholic principle has never been violated; and, especially, to offer devout thanksgivings to the God of all grace, who has made the society instrumental in introducing the gospel into many of the villages of Surrey; in the distribution of Bibles and religious tracts, the establishment of Sabbath-schools, and the supply of faithful evangelists, by whom Christian churches have been formed, consisting of those who have given satisfactory evidence that the gospel of Christ has been made the wisdom and power of God to their salvation.

Secondly, That the committee have received, with deep regret, a statement of the liabilities and resources of the society, from which it appears that its pledged expenditure to Lady Day next, exceeds its probable receipts to the same period, by the sum of 1707. So large a deficiency cannot but excite their most anxious solicitude, as it will not only prevent the extension of the society's operations in numerous villages still destitute of the faithful preaching of Christ, but will place the committee under the painful necessity of proposing the withdrawment of another missionary at the next annual meeting, if the income of the society is not previously augmented.

Thirdly, That, in order to prevent a measure so disastrous to the unenlightened villages of the county, and which would be so severe a reflection on the friends of the Redeemer resident in Surrey, the committee earnestly appeal to Christian ministers and

MINERS' CHAPEL, SHROPSHIRE. On Friday, September 13th, interesting services were held in connexion with the opening of a new chapel at the Bog Lead Mines, Shropshire. These are situated at the top of a mountain, sixteen miles from Shrewsbury, inhabited only by a few hundreds, nearly the whole of whom are employed in the works. This effort to supply religious instruction originated with the miners themselves, who have, for some time, contributed from their earnings to a fund established for the purpose, and occasionally given their labour during leisure hours.

With the generous assistance of the proprietors of the Mines, Messrs. Cross, Walker, and Co., of Chester, a neat and commodious chapel has been erected, the opening of which excited more than ordinary interest. At an early hour the mountain sides were covered with vehicles of all descriptions and pedestrians, and presented a striking contrast to their usual solitude. The romantic scenerythe appearance of the assembled miners,

dressed in their best costume-the neat edifice, erected in such a secluded spot for the worship of God, and the sound of the mining bell, inviting to the house of prayer, imparted peculiar interest to the day. Two sermons were preached on the occasion. In the morning by the Rev. Thos. Weaver, the venerable minister of Swan-hill chapel, Shrewsbury; and in the afternoon by the Rev. Samuel Luke, of Chester. The chapel was well filled at both services; in the afternoon to overflowing, and the collections amounted to 301. 18. 4d. It was truly gratifying to see the miners, a race of men too generally characterized by rudeness and vice, evincing the liveliest interest in the proceedings, and cheerfully contributing for the most part silver at the collections.

ORDINATION.

Rev. W. Warden, A.M., Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

This interesting event took place on the 10th of August, when the Rev. Mr. Mann introduced the service with prayer and the reading of suitable portions of Scripture; the Rev. Mr. Giles, of Newport, delivered the introductory discourse, and received, from the lips of the newly-elected pastor, a most satisfactory account of his Christian experience and religious belief; the Rev. Mr. Guyer offered up the ordination prayer; and the Rev. Dr. Morison gave the charge. In the evening, the Rev. Caleb Morris preached an appropriate discourse to the people.

The day was most animating to the numerous circle of Christian friends, who had repaired to the island, to encourage Mr. Warden and his friends. We very earnestly entreat all the friends of the gospel to look with a friendly eye to Ventnor. The debt of the chapel is now entirely cleared off; but the schools are not yet built. Sixty or seventy pounds more than is now in the hands of the treasurer would warrant the friends in beginning them. Cannot this small sum be raised?

CONTINENT.

REVIVAL OF RELIGION.

MY DEAR DR. MORISON,-I send you the enclosed, not to trespass on your good nature, by asking you to insert it in the Evangelical if it appears too long, but to give you the option of so doing if you think

its interest sufficient to justify you in so doing. I am yours most sincerely, ALEX. HALDANE. To the Rev. Edward Bickersteth, Rector of Watton, Herts.

Auchingray, Sept. 4, 1839. MY DEAR SIR,-Among the valuable books with which you kindly presented me

during your late visit to Edinburgh, I turned with interest to the work you have published under the title of A Voice from the Alps. I rejoice to find that, in the midst of your other useful labours in the missionary cause, you have not been unmindful of Continental Europe, and that you are desirous of stimulating the zeal which has of late years been kindled in the breasts of British Christians, in behalf of those countries where the candle of the Lord had been well nigh extinguished.

In the "Voice from the Alps," I found an address to a clerical meeting, by the Rev. R. Burgess of Chelsea, which contains an account of my own proceedings at Geneva, altogether erroneous. Mr. Burgess has doubtless been misinformed on the subject; but his mistakes have been shared or adopted by Mr. Meston, in his recent "Observations on the present State of Religion in France." To prevent the farther currency of those mis-statements, which, if uncontradicted, will be repeated by others, I shall first notice the errors into which these gentlemen have fallen, and then briefly relate the leading circumstances connected with my residence on the Continent, in which the hand of the Lord may be clearly seen, to the praise of the glory of his grace.

The narratives of Mr. Burgess and Mr. Meston alike confound dates and circumstances. It was not in 1818, as stated by both of these gentlemen, but in 1816, that I went to Geneva. Mr. Drummond and I did not labour there together, as it would appear by their accounts. Mr. Drummond did not arrive in Geneva till two days before I left the place.

I was not "armed with religious tracts and addresses," as Mr. Burgess affirms, but with the Word of God. The distribution of tracts is in general highly to be commended; but in the circumstances in which I was placed at that period in Geneva, I should have considered such weapons but ill-fitted to assault the strongholds of Satan. Far from finding" but few voices to respond to my appeal," as Mr. Burgess and Mr. Meston both intimated by the blessing of God, I found many. And, instead of not appearing" to have met with success" during my stay, according to Mr. Meston, the success with which the Lord was graciously pleased to accompany the testimony borne to His truth, was very remarkable; and, perhaps, the more so, because it was, so far as I know, the first, after the termination of the war, systematically and publicly borne on the Continent, by any one from Britain, to the grand distinctive doctrines of the Gospel. Dr. Malan "raised his voice in behalf of the truth," not, as they assert, "after," but before, I left Geneva. The following brief narrative of my proceedings

on the Continent may illustrate the gracious providence of God, and prove an encouragement to others to speak out boldly and fully, as they may have an opportunity of declaring the whole counsel of God.

For many years I had cherished the idea of going to France, with the view of doing something to promote the knowledge of the Gospel in a country in which I had been three times before as a traveller. Accordingly, when the return of peace rendered my design practicable, I went to the Continent. Being, however, unacquainted with a single individual there, and therefore unable to arrange any particular plan of action, I feared that my object might prove abortive; and in consequence, when asked, before I left Scotland, how long I expected to be absent? I replied, "Possibly only six weeks." The Lord, however, was pleased to open a wide and effectual door, leading me in a way that I knew not, and my residence abroad continued about three years.

On arriving at Paris, involved, as it appeared, in Egyptian darkness, I soon perceived that I had no means of farthering the object of my journey in that great metropolis. Unexpectedly, however, I met with Mr. Hillhouse, a gentleman from America, of whom I had not before heard. He had landed at Bourdeaux, and, travelling through the south of France, had gone to Geneva, and thence to Paris. Having passed through Montauban, where the French Theological Protestant Faculty was founded by Napoleon, he had there, and in other places, inquired respecting the Protestant ministers, and he communicated to me all his information on the subject. He told me, that at Geneva there were only two individuals to whom I could have access, the one, a pastor in advanced years; the other, not a pastor, but what is termed a minister; and that nearly the whole of the other pastors were Arians or Socinians.

Finding no opening at Paris, I immediately set out for Geneva, hoping that something might be done through the two individuals referred to by Mr. Hillhouse. On my arrival, I called on the pastor alluded to, the late M. Mouliné, and conversed with him on the Gospel. He was very kind; but appearing to acquiesce in all that I advanced, discussion on any point was out of the question, and no progress was made. Being, therefore, unable to discover means of usefulness at Geneva, and finding on inquiry that the young man also spoken of by Mr. Hillhouse had some time before removed to Berne, I repaired to that city, where I found he had been ordained a pastor. He was not an Arian or Socinian; but, although very ignorant respecting the Gospel, he was willing to inquire and hear

concerning the great truths which it reveals. I remained in Berne about eight days, during which he came to me every morning at ten o'clock, and continued till ten at night

in fact, as late as it was possible for him, the gates of the city, beyond which he lodged, being shut at that hour. During the whole day I endeavoured to set before him, as far as I was enabled, every thing relating to the Gospel, and have good reason to believe that the word spoken was accompanied with the blessing of the Lord. I was afterwards informed that, subsequently to my departure, he conversed with his colleague, the other pastor of the church, on the subject of our discussions, and that, in considering what had been advanced, they arrived at the conclusion, that it must be the true doctrine of salvation.

I hesitated whether I should return to Geneva, but at last resolved to do so, having heard of two Prussian clergymen, who had recently been in England, and were passing through that town, with whom it was supposed I might have an opportunity of conversing on the Gospel-and also of a pastor at a little distance in the country, who, my new acquaintance at Berne informed me, would listen to my statements, but would "draw himself up and not answer a word." To Geneva I accordingly returned. With the Prussian clergymen I found no satisfaction in conversing; and although I subsequently did not experience the reserve I anticipated in the pastor just referred to, yet I had not the gratification of meeting him till after a lapse of some time.

I, however, again visited M. Mouliné, with whom I had before conversed, who, as formerly, was very kind, but with whom I could make no progress. From all I could learn from him, Geneva was involved in the most deplorable darkness. It was, as Mr. Burgess observes," an unbroken field of labour," with a "fallen Church:" Calvin, once its chiefest boast and ornament, with his doctrines and works, had been set aside and forgotten, while the pastors and professors were in general Arians or Socinians. Some exceptions among them there were, including M. Mouliné, who held the divinity of our Lord Jesus, and I believe loved and served him according to their light; but that light was so obscure, they were on the whole so ignorant, so incapable of rightly dividing the word of truth, that their preaching was without fruit. They preached neither Law nor Gospel fully, and their doctrine did not seem to affect the consciences of their hearers. A small prayer-meeting had for some time been held, in consequence, I believe, of a visit of Madame Krudner to Geneva, and, by one belonging to it I was

afterwards told, that, sensible of their want of knowledge, they had prayed that an instructor should be sent to them, and that their prayer, they now believed, was answered.

Being unable to meet with any person with whom I might converse on the Gospel, I resolved to quit Geneva without delay, and proceed to Montauban. The Lord, however, is often pleased to overrule our purposes by occurrences which in themselves appear trifling, and thus to bring about results that could not have been anticipated. M. Mouliné had politely offered to conduct Mrs. Haldane to see the model of the mountains, a little way out of town, and with this object he promised to call on us the day following. In the morning, however, we received a note from him, saying, that having suffered from a severe headach during the night, he was himself unable to come, but had sent a young man, a student of divinity, who would be our conductor. On this providential circumstance depended my continuance at Geneva, which I had been on the point of leaving. With this student I immediately entered into conversation respecting the Gospel, of which I found him profoundly ignorant, although in a state of mind that showed he was willing to receive information. He returned with me to the inn, and remained till late at night. Next morning he came with another student, equally in darkness with himself. I questioned them respecting their personal hope of salvation, and the foundation of that hope. Had they been trained in the schools of Socrates or Plato, and enjoyed no other means of instruction, they could scarcely have been more ignorant of the doctrines of the Gospel. They had, in fact, learned much more of the opinions of the heathen philosophers, than of the doctrines of the Saviour and his apostles. To the Bible and its contents their studies had never been directed. After some conversation, they became convinced of their ignorance of the Scriptures, and of the way of salvation, and exceedingly desirous of information. I therefore postponed my intended departure from Geneva.

The two students with whom I first conversed brought six others, in the same state of mind with themselves, with whom I had many and long conversations. Their visits became so frequent, and at such different hours, that I proposed they should all come together, and it was arranged that they should do so three times a week, from six to eight o'clock in the evening. This gave me time to converse with others, who, from the report of the students, began to visit me, as well as leisure to prepare what might be profitable for their instruction. I took the Epistle to the Romans as my subject;

and this portion of Scripture I continued to expound to them during the winter, and to dilate on the great doctrines which it unfolds.

After having proceeded in this manner about a fortnight with these eight students, I was earnestly solicited, in the name of the other students, to begin anew, in which case I was assured that the rest of them would attend. I accordingly complied with this request, and during the winter of 1816 -17, and until the termination of their studies in the following summer, almost all the students in theology regularly attended, and God was graciously pleased to accompany his own word with power. In addi tion to the general knowledge which all of them acquired, a goodly number soon appeared to be turned to the Lord. Some of them have now finished their course with joy, and, like MM. Rieu, Gonthier, and Henry Pyt, have left behind them the blessed assurance that they are now in the presence of God and the Lamb; while others have, in like manner, evidenced the reality of the work of grace by the stedfastness of their faith, and the abundance of their ministrations.

Besides those who attended regularly, some who did not wish to appear with the students came at different hours, and in conversing with them at those times, or after finishing the public course at eight o'clock, I was often engaged till near midnight. Others of the inhabitants of Geneva, unconnected with the schools of learning, and of both sexes, occasionally visited me in the afternoon to receive instructions respecting the Gospel.

The impression produced at Geneva was, by the blessing of God, so great, that discussions became frequent on the great truths connected with salvation. The pastors and professors in the Faculty heard of the doctrines I was inculcating, and the manner in which I spoke of their false doctrine. They began to preach openly against what I taught, and I as plainly controverted what they taught, collecting their arguments, setting them before the students and others to whom I had access, comparing them with Scripture, and labouring to refute their destructive heresies. They insisted that men were born pure, and spoke of the Saviour as the first of created beings; and I opposed and refuted such errors and blasphemies. They taught that the Gospel was useful, but not indispensable to salvation; and adduced the case of Cornelius, as an example of a man accepted of God without the knowledge of the Gospel. I proved that this was an egregious misrepresentation of the fact, and that the history of Cornelius formed no exception to the uniform doctrine of Scripture, that there was no other way

VOL. XVII.

of salvation but by faith in the Saviour.* It was not, then, by avoiding controverted subjects, and simply dwelling on truths common to the professing Christians, as some good men have recommended as the proper course to be pursued on the Continent, that I laboured to raise up the fallen standard of the Gospel at Geneva. It was, on the contrary, by not shunning to declare the whole counsel of God, so far as I was enabled to do so: it was by dwelling on every doctrine of the Bible, whether it was controverted or not, or however repulsive to the carnal mind, and by confronting and bringing to the test of Scripture every argument levelled at my instructions by both pastors and professors.

I

In this manner matters proceeded at Geneva till the middle of the summer of 1817, the period which terminated the studies of the theological students. The pastors attempted to instigate the government to banish me from their canton; and when this proved unsuccessful, it was proposed to the "Venerable Company" that I should be cited to appear before them to answer for the doctrines I was inculcating on the students. On this, it was observed by one of them, "Vous ne gagnerez pas grand chose par cela!" (You will not gain much by that!) and the matter dropped. At the same time they did all in their power to prevent the attendance of the students. have since that period conversed in this country with M. Gaussen, and in answer to my inquiry, How was it that the pastors failed in this attempt? he replied, That this was the first blow that had seriously affected them, and although they were anxious to adopt every means in their power to prevent the students from coming to me, yet they found it impossible; because if strong measures had been resorted to as the penalty of disobeying the prohibition, the students had resolved to leave their profesThe pastors, however, did not cease to labour to counteract the effects of the change that had taken place in the minds of so many of the students, and particularly by framing the Réglemens," May 3, 1817, cousisting of certain articles, which every student was ordered to sign before he should be "consecrated," and which were intended to exclude from the pulpits of Geneva the doctrines which they so violently opposed, and particularly the doctrines of the Godhead of the Saviour-of original sin-of grace and effectual calling -and of predestination. In spite of all

sors.

64

See the case of Cornelius fully discussed in vol. iii. p. 344-389, of the writer's "Expos tion of the Romans, as contained in the chapter on the "State of the Heathen destitute of the Gospel." See also "Remarks on Mr. Scott's View of Cornelius," vol. i., third edition of "Exposition," pp. 355 -359.

3 F