pressed to me his thankfulness to the Almighty for safely landing them in eternal glory; "where," he said, "I shall shortly meet them, to part no more." Amongst other things in conversation, he said, with peculiar energy, that the Lord was about to accomplish great changes in the world; that in a short time, wars would prevail by sea and land, and multitudes of people be destroyed; that if I lived until the year 1836, I should witness the occurrence of strange and mysterious events; that he trusted the power of Antichrist would be shaken to its foundation; that there would be an overflowing of light, liberty, and love; and that the dispensation of the glorious Gospel would diffuse its enlivening beams to every part of the world. He said, "I shall not then be here, but I shall be above; and from thence look down to see the glory of the Lord amongst mankind." One of his near relations told me that this venerable man was so highly favoured with divine communications, and has been so absorbed in God, as not to be conscious of the presence of his family in the room with him; but, with hands and eyes lifted up to heaven, he would be repeating, "Glory, glory, glory be to God for ever and ever! Amen. Amen."

The language of my soul at this time was that of Mr. Alleine :"O thou most merciful God, for the sake of thine only Son, I beseech thee to accept of a poor returning sinner, now prostrating himself at thy feet. I have by sin fallen from thee, and am by nature a child of death, and by practice an heir of hell; but of thine infinite grace thou hast promised mercy to me, in Christ, if I will but turn to thee with all my heart; therefore, upon the call of the Gospel, I am now come in, and, throwing down my weapons, submit myself to thee. And because thou requirest, as the condition of my peace with thee, that I should put away mine idols, and renounce all thine enemies, I here from the bottom of my heart forsake them all; firmly covenanting with thee, not to allow myself in any known sin, but diligently to use all the means that I know thou hast appointed for the death and utter destruction of all my corruptions. And forasmuch as thou hast, of thy unbounded mercy, offered most graciously to me, wretched sinner, to be my God, through Christ, if I would accept of thee, I call heaven and earth to record this day, that I do here solemnly vouch thee for the Lord my God; and with humble veneration bowing my soul under the feet of thy divine Majesty, I do here take thee the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for my portion; and do give up myself, body and soul, for thy servant, promising and vowing to serve thee in holiness and righteousness all the days of my life. And, since thou hast appointed our Lord Jesus Christ the only means of coming unto thee, I do here, upon the bended knees of my soul, accept of him, as the only new and living way by which sinners may have access to thee; and do here solemnly join myself in a marriage covenant with him. O blessed Jesus, as thou hast had mercy on a filthy, lost sinner, I joyfully embrace thee in all thy offices: I renounce my own righteousness, and do here avouch thee for

the Lord my righteousness; I do renounce my own wisdom, and do here take thee for my only guide; I renounce my own will, and take thy will for my law."

(To be concluded in our next.)

DIVINITY.

AN ADDRESS TO THE YOUNG MINISTERS

WHO WERE ADMITTED INTO FULL CONNEXION WITH THE
WESLEYAN-METHODIST CONFERENCE:

delivered auguST 6TH, 1834, AT THE CITY-ROAD CHAPEL, LONDON:
BY THE REV. RICHARD TREFFRY.

Published at the request of the Conference.

My dear BrethREN, FOR more than half a century, the practice has prevailed among us, of furnishing the young men who have been formally admitted into our body with a few words of advice, adapted to their circumstances as Christian Ministers. This was formerly done by individuals selected from among our senior Preachers; who were supposed, by their age and experience, to be most qualified for the work of giving suitable instruction to their junior brethren in the ministry; and most solicitous that the doctrine and discipline of Methodism, in all their purity and simplicity, might be transmitted to future generations: and I distinctly recollect, thirty-eight years ago, standing at the foot of this pulpit, and receiving such instructions, some portions of which are fresh in my memory even at this day. But in the year 1813, a rule was made, which rendered it imperative upon the President of the Conference for the preceding year, to address to the Preachers, who had been received into full connexion, "in the presence of the congregation, an appropriate charge." No apology, therefore, on my part, is necessary, for the liberty I take in speaking to you on the present occasion. May the Lord give us his blessing, and crown this service with his special presence!

When I consider the great responsibility, and peculiar perils, incident to the work in which, by the great Head of the church, you have been called to engage, I feel disposed to select as the ground of my present remarks, some passage of a specifically cautionary and monitory character; and the more so, because a prevailing consciousness of this responsibility, and a salutary watchfulness against such dangers, will not only be likely to render you secure, but will insure to you a progressive improvement in your personal characters, and your ministerial qualifications. An admonition of St. Paul to Timothy seems very suitable to my purpose. You will find it in the first Epistle to Timothy, the fourth chapter, and the last verse: Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine." The first part of this advice referred to Timothy in his personal, and the second in his ministerial, character; the one to his conduct as a Christian, the other to his office as a Preacher. Nor do I know of any advice within

the whole range of revelation, that is reiterated more frequently, and in more varied forms of expression, than this, "Take heed unto thyself." It is found in the writings of the Old and New Testaments, of the Prophets and Apostles; and even our Saviour himself deemed it of sufficient importance to leave it on record for the instruction and admonition of mankind. Allow me then to say,—

1. Take heed to your bodies. I do not think it beneath the dignity of this place to remind you that some of the dangers to which you are exposed, are such as affect the body. The caution in the text may therefore be naturally supposed to involve the duty of caring for your health. Timothy was most probably an afflicted man he had his "infirmities;" and from the circumstance that St. Paul recommends him to "use a little wine," as an antidote to them, we may infer, that they were not moral but physical infirmities,-not of mind, but of body. Hence it is evident, that even the Apostles themselves were ordinarily bound to employ the usual means for the preservation of health: they could occasionally work miracles, and heal the most inveterate diseases; but they were not always invested with this wonder-working power. Paul could not heal Trophimus, and therefore left him sick at Miletus; nor could Peter heal his wife's mother; nor could Timothy, by any supernatural agency, counteract the influence of his physical infirmities.

It would not be improper in this place to suggest to you the value of health, in promoting your personal comfort. But I prefer to assume a higher ground; and to remind you, that, apart from the considerations of usefulness, health is the highest natural blessing with which you can be entrusted; and your responsibility is proportioned to its importance. If any express scriptural confirmation of this view were necessary, it might be gathered from the figures employed by the Apostle, to illustrate the sanctity of even the bodies of believers. They are, he tells us, "members of Christ," and "temples of the Holy Ghost;" and though the inference which he draws from these representations respects the purity with which our bodies should be preserved, yet a reverent care of them seems equally to be implied in it. If he who defiles the temple of God renders himself a subject of the divine displeasure, surely he who negligently allows it to fall into decay, or who rudely shakes its walls, cannot hope to be held guiltless.

And if to this consideration, you add the claim which God has upon you to employ your health for the special benefit of the church, the subject rises in importance. As ordinary Christians, you are not your own; you are bought with a price, and on this fact is grounded the duty of glorifying God with your bodies, as well as with your spirits, both of which have been the subjects of this costly purchase. Nay, more: you emphatically are not your own; you have ceded all right to yourselves; you have transferred to the church of God, the claim on all your powers of body and soul. This day have your vows been made in the presence of your brethren; and, having been long betrothed, you are now married

to your great office; these vows have tacitly, if not explicitly, bound you to devote your physical powers to the service of the sanctuary; and any prodigal expenditure of your health is a breach of your contract,-a con tract recognised by the church in heaven, and registered by the church on earth. Need I then urge upon you the necessity of the obligation? You are not the men, I most conscientiously believe, to interpret those cautions as warranting a sickly effeminacy, or an unmanly selfindulgence. Some of you have already, for the work of the Lord, been brought nigh unto death; you have been ambassadors to the Heathen and your labours in foreign and inhospitable climes have enervated your frames, and cast a sickly hue upon your countenances; and to one of you, I may say, "You bear about in your body the marks of the Lord Jesus; you have been imprisoned in a colonial jail, for your unflinching adherence to your ministerial duty." With grateful delight the church ranks you among her confessors; nor do I doubt, that, should the period ever arrive, in which others among you shall be called to the endurance of still more severe and more complicated calamities, you will rejoice to be counted worthy to suffer for your Saviour's sake.

It must be allowed that a Minister's life is a life of peril; and especially a Methodist Preacher's life. It is true that in this country he is not in danger from the rude attacks of lawless and riotous mobs; the arm of violence is not now raised against him; he can generally pass unmolested through the land. Yet he is in labours more abundant; he preaches more sermons than almost any other Minister, and frequently in houses crowded almost to suffocation; and, after having engaged for hours in the work of his Master, he has to go, streaming with perspiration, into the chilling atmosphere, to face the bitter blast, and encounter the pelting hail, or the drifting snow-storm, in his way to his humble habitation. I was lately in company with a Minister of our body, whose "eightieth year was nigh," who declared, that he had preached from two to five sermons daily, for six weeks in succession, besides travelling through a great extent of country in the depth of winter. There are many things in a Methodist Preacher's itinerant life, which I need not particularize, that can scarcely fail to sap the foundation of the strongest constitution, and destroy the most vigorous health, without a due degree of care and precaution. There may be special cases when self-preservation must be merged in the welfare of society, and when physical evil may, by a marvellous process, generate moral good; but health is too serious a thing to be unnecessarily sacrificed. There is a zeal without prudence as well as without knowledge; and he who expends a more than ordinary share of physical and mental energy in the service of the sanctuary, ought to be fully persuaded in his own mind, that he is doing God service, and that such a sacrifice will be acceptable in his sight.

Many of you whom I have the honour of addressing are young; your health is good; your constitutions are strong; and your native vigour has never yet been wasted by disease. But young persons, for want of

experience, are frequently presumptuous, and presumption induces incaution, and hence they unawares rush into danger. Therefore take heed to yourselves; and while on the one hand you guard against a needless self-indulgence, be no less cautious on the other, in watching against a prodigal exhaustion of your physical powers. Afflictions must come; they are the never-failing lot of humanity: but do not antedate their arrival. Consider how easy it is to entail diseases upon your constitutions, which you may carry with you through life, and which may affect posterity no less than yourselves. And should any of you be laid aside from the active duties of itinerancy in the morning of your days, and be obliged to eke out life on the scanty pittance allotted to invalids, then how bitter the reflection will be, that, but for your own culpable imprudence, you might be still sounding forth the word of the Lord, and preaching righteousness to great congregations!

It is foreign from my design to furnish you with rules for the preservation of your health; that is the business of the Physician, rather than the Preacher. Let it suffice for me to say, that by attention to diet, and exercise, and rest,-by orderly habits, and well-regulated conduct,—you should labour to ward off the attacks of disease; and if you make these matters the subjects of conscientious care, we may reasonably hope that, in general, you will be, by God's providence, preserved to bless the church, and enlighten the world.

2. Take heed to your souls.-This is naturally suggested by a consideration of their incalculable value. For what is the body to the soul? What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the frail and corruptible casket to the rich and imperishable jewel which it contains? What is a mass of animated mould, however exquisite in organization, or perfect in symmetry, compared to an intelligent spirit, stamped with the indelible character of immortality, and designed by its great Creator to flourish in immortal youth, and triumph in existence ? And if the care of an object, and the interest for its welfare, should bear a proportion to its excellency and value, how high, how entire, and how all-absorbing, should be the care of your souls!

"The soul's high price is the creation's key;

That is the mighty hinge on which have turn'd

All revolutions; whether we regard

The natural, civil, or religious world."

Every argument which has been employed to induce you to be solicitous upon the subject of your health, is applicable in a higher degree, and with a more commanding emphasis, to this noblest object of human responsibility. Considerations of your own happiness, your high trust, the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus, your vows to God and his church, all urge upon your attention the great duty of taking heed to your souls.

That you have already regarded the spiritual welfare of your souls, I cannot doubt. You have made a good profession before many witnesses VOL. XIV. Third Series. JANUARY, 1835. C