shouldst ask thyself what thou doest here to-night, in the midst of this people; and while the question is being asked, may the Lord lead thee to see his great love in Jesus Christ, and may the time of silence be the time when thou shalt find the Saviour. To the believer I suggest these thoughts. We meet for unity; think of what thou mayst have done in the past to put the brethren at variance; of the hard thoughts thou hast had; of the unkind words; think of thine own want of diligence in God's work; thy want of perfect love to Christ Jesus, and humble thyself, and pray that from henceforth thou mayest contribute to the good of the church of which thou art a member, and to the benefit of other churches, and to the unity of all churches of which Christ is the head. I do aver, God the Holy Ghost being our witness, that we have met together to seek union; seek union with each church of Jesus Christ, and with the Master himself. Let these two or three minutes be occupied with penitence for former disunion, and earnest cries that God may knit us together as one man, and give us such a blessing that there may not be room enough to receive it. Let us pray." After two or three minutes spent in silent prayer, Mr. Spurgeon led the assembly in devotion. Mr. Spurgeon: "I will now call upon our dear brother Mr. Landels to say a word or two, as he may be moved; pray for him, that every word may be blessed to those who hear." Mr. Landels: "Dear brethren, we know that the Lord has been here in answer to prayer; we may surely expect some blessed answer, as so many Christian hearts are united in common supplication at the throne of grace. We know what prayers have done in days of old; how, when the disciples were me together with one accord the Spirit came down like a rushing mighty wind, sitting on the brethren like tongues of fire, firing all hearts with love, and nerving them all with power to go forth and work. We know that God changes not, and as of old so now he will fulfil his promise; may we not expect, therefore, in answer to our prayers, a large outpouring of the Divine Spirit? Many of us feel, too, that it is a blessed thing when so many have been brought together from scores of churches, to seek unitedly the divine blessing upon the efforts which are being put forth. That union, as Mr. Spurgeon has said, has been pointed at in the wishes of many for some time past: to-day there seemed so earnest a desire for it, that all little objections were speedily overborne. Surely that is a token for good. I think our past disunion has been our disgrace; many good works have languished for want of the help that we might have afforded had we been united; reproach has been brought on the cause of Christ. I feel we are all verily guilty in this matter, and had we forgotten self more, and sought the advancement of the cause of Christ, there would not have been these obstructions. It is a matter of thankfulness that these are removed. Men and women who have access unto the Father, bought by the blood of the Son, inspired by the same Spirit, should ever be one in heart. It seems to me to have been a happy inspiration coming from the Author of all good, to lead to so many ministers to come together to-day; it is a matter of devout thankfulness that a spirit of love has presided over our assembly, and guided us not only unanimously but heartily; it is the provision of a gracious Providence that we have this spacious place to assemble in, where so many can come together in prayer; not often have so many united together as have united now in offering prayer to Almighty God, so many prayers going up with one voice: all this, I think, is an earnest for good, an intimation that God will do great things for us yet, take away our reproach, and send down his blessing upon us for evermore. We know that our union will tend to nothing without the divine blessing; but then all good will come in answer to united prayer; we have only to ask that we may receive, to seek that we may find, to knock that it may be opened to us; and when our divisions are healed, at least one great obstacle has been taken away. If we do not grieve the Holy Ghost, if we put away all bitterness, and wrath, and clamour, and evil speaking, and cherish that love which flows from the Spirit, then we may expect to see a mighty result. But, dear brethren, as you have heard to-night, very much of the result for which we look depends really on individual religious life; if our churches are to be better, we must be better, we must rise above our selfishness; and you members, too, must seek to rise above yourselves, and enter into the Master's work with greater consecration: we must have our business engaged in with the conviction that all our gains are to be consecrated to Christ's service, and we are to glorify God by our daily occupation: we must feel that the work of winning souls is the great work unto which we are called, and that end must be sought in all we do. I believe that great good may result from our meeting together time after time for common supplication, and to deliberate upon the means to be adopted for our Saviour's cause; but it will all depend on the spirit in which we come together, each of us bringing so much of the divine fire in our own souls that we can kindle it in others, and making all our energies in sacrifice to our Master's cause. How many souls around us are perishing! How little we have done to rescue them! to set before them the Saviour in all his fulness, and freeness, and sufficiency! We must take a more decided part in the great work of winning souls. Let us now, as we appear before God's throne, think of the sin of the past and confess it in the moments of silent devotion, let us pour out our hearts, and where there is any consciousness of being wrong, there let us say, 'I have been wrong here, I have been wrong there, in fact I have been wrong altogether.' Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, humbly seeking divine help that in time to come we may render nobler service, may realise blessings to ourselves and be the means of imparting them to others. Oh that the Divine Spirit in all the plenitude of his power may rest upon this people, and grant that our prayers may return in showers of blessing on our head! Oh that those who may still present our prayers may be more earnest that God may lift up the light of his countenance upon us, and give us peace.” Mr. Spurgeon: "Beloved friends, I think we must say, 'Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.' I shall call upon Brother William Olney to pray for us ministers, and as I ask him, I call upon every faithful soul here, and I speak the language of our brethren here, do I not, my brethren? when I say, 'pray for us?' 939 Mr. Olney prayed. Mr. Spurgeon: "We must now give up the rest of the meeting to the one great prayer for the conversion of sinners; may the Lord guide our brethren to draw close to the throne, for after all we shall not think we have a blessing, unless we see the increase of the Church. We will sing a verse of that hymn, "There is a fountain fill'd with blood.' God bless it to those who sing it. Now to the work of prayer; may I ask special brevity? I will call upon Mr. Bloomfield and Mr. Stott to pray, and then I shall be thankful if our brother Brock will read a few verses of God's Word, and if he should be moved, perhaps he will say a word or two to sinners." When Mr. Bloomfield and Mr. Stott had engaged in supplication for the conversion of sinners, Mr. Brock read Romans x. 1-13. Mr. Spurgeon: "All who know the Lord will sing an invitation to sinners. I have read of a son who ran away from home, and when he came back he was afraid to enter into his father's house. It was evening, and he listened outside the door, and he heard the family within singing a hymn, which had in it a reference to their hope that he might return; this encouraged him to enter the house. Now, sinner, outside mercy's door, shivering in the darkness to-night, thank God it is not the outer darkness for ever yet; now be comforted while you hear your brethren sing these words: From the Mount of Calvary, Again let us unite in prayer. Our dear friend Mr. Tucker will plead first, and Mr. Offord will follow him." When Mr. Tucker had prayed, Mr. Offord said, “Before I further lead your devotions I shall recite one Scripture; "Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.' I feel led to say one word on that, and it is, that we may humble ourselves and pray for sinners at one and the same time.” Prayer having been offered, Mr. Spurgeon said: "I think we have felt the spirit of prayer; sinner, do you not feel in the atmosphere of hope? Hast thou no prayer for thy soul? Are eternal burnings such as thou canst bear without trying to escape from them? Is Christ so little esteemed that there is no desire in thee toward him? May he bring thee to trust him now. We will solemnly sing one verse, and then I shall ask two more friends to pray." Mr. Clifford and Mr. Lewis then wrestled in prayer after the congregation had sung, "Just as I am, without one plea, Save that thy blood was shed for me, When the two prayers were finished, Mr. Spurgeon again said, "I could not let you go without a manifestation that we intend unity. I should like an audible Amen from the ministers. We do desire to unite as pastors who love each other in the Lord; as many of us as do will say, Amen." This was responded to by the ministers. "And, Christian brethren, down below church officers, we can all say, I trust, we love one another; if so, say, Amen." The elders and deacons answered to this appeal. "And then, you who love the Lord, members of our churches, do we agree in this matter? As many of you as feel that you love each other in Christ say, Amen." The people responded most solemnly, AMEN. Although past the time we must sing this verse: 'The head that once was crown'd with thorns Is crown'd with glory now; A royal diadem adorns The mighty Victor's brow."" The benediction was then pronounced, and the assembly dispersed. SOON Work of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. OON as the Metropolitan Tabernacle | therefore, for Mr. Spurgeon to send his College began to assume a definite form, and promised to become a permanent institution, prejudices arose in certain quarters, and objections were urged against it. The Baptist denomination, it was alleged, had already made sufficient provision for the Collegiate training of its ministers; its colLeges were capable of enlargement if required; but even in their present state they were with much difficulty sustained. The formation of a new college would excite jealousies and divisions in the denomination. A difIerent class of preachers would arise both in sentiment and acquirements that would introduce new elements of counsel and of action that might tend to weakness and decay. Would it not be better, students to one or more of the existing It |