How

shall I say, what subject shall I choose? How shall I rouse that stupid conscience, which seems proof against every alarm? shall I speak so that not a sleeper may remain among us?"— Speaking of the Mediatorial Scheine, he said, "Do you, my dear friends, understand the fitness, the reasonableness, the beauty, the kindness of the plan? Here is the very hinge, the fundamental beauty and glory of the Gospel. I wish you to understand, and to feel it;-if you understand it aright, you must feel it, powerfully feel and admire it. God has given his "only-begotten SoN,"-JESUS,the Brightness of his Glory,-his Beloved SON ;-he has given him to die for your sins; and in this he has at once displayed the greatest hatred of the sin, and the greatest mercy to the sinner. It is designed at once to humble and to support the Christian; to humble him first under the sense of his own guilt, and then to raise him up in the joyful assurance of pardon and reconciliation. Oh! where is the wretch whose heart does not overflow with inexpressible gratitude, whose soul does not swell with a rapture too great for words to utter, too high for the tongue of an angel to declare ! I have, my friends, often been alarmed and grieved at the strange unconcern which so many discover for the peculiar doctrine of the Gospel of CHRIST: I should be unworthy the name I bear as an Ambassador of Jesus, if I were unconcerned in a matter in which his dignity, and the good of the souls of men, are so much at stake. I have endeavoured to lay before you the wisdom, and beauty, and fitness of this plan if you see and feel it in the same manner in which my heart sees and feels it, you will not be able to contain the rising emotions of wonder and love; you will feel a heart-compelling power in the doctrine of the Cross, beyond the force of language to express. Alas! I well know, that an attempt to explain it to one who has never felt it, is, and must be, for ever in vain. No! you must be humbled, you must be laid low under the conviction of guilt, you must have passed through the discipline of a broken and a contrite spirit, and then, I will venture to affirm, you will feel and acknowledge a something, a divine, inexpressible something in that scheme, which will be matter for your constant admiration and hope in this world, and for your constant meditation and praise in the world to come. O, my Brethren! my soul is full: I could with pleasure stay here: you will bear me witness, that this is my favourite subject. I have built my eternal hopes upon it: here I stand, blessed be the name of GOD, firm and dauntless. I see, I feel, the stamp of Heaven :-that GOD gave his only-begotten SoN, appears to me the highest possible display of infinite wisdom, and of infinite, matchless, boundless love. JESUS is the sinner's friend, the sinner's hope! Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!”

In such strains did this eloquent Preacher enforce the necessity, and declare the blessedness of the atonement, and preach "CHRIST crucified, to the Jews" indeed, "a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, CHRIST the power of GoD, and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor. i. 23, 24.)

VOL. I. Third Series. FEBRUARY, 1822.

M

After some time, DR. BARNES removed to Manchester, and was succeeded, in the pastoral charge at Cockey-Moor, by the REV. JOSEPH BEALEY, brother to the subject of this memoir. For many years MR. RICHARD BEALEY continued to attend upon the ministry of his brother, and formed a valuable member of his church; until his brother embraced Socinianism, or, according to the modern designation, Unitarianism; when he deemed it his indispensable, though painful duty, to withdraw himself entirely from all connexion with the church at the Moor, and to refuse to listen to doctrines, even from the lips of a beloved brother, which "denied the LORD that bought him."

On his secession from the Presbyterian Church, in August, 1812, MR. BEALEY joined the Methodist Society, for which he had long entertained a cordial esteem, and whose preachers, for several years, he had hospitably received under his roof, partly from the high opinion he had formed of their piety and usefulness, and partly from the event of his second marriage with the daughter of MR. JOHN MARSDEN, of London, who still survives to lament her loss.

On uniting himself to the Methodists, MR. B. appears to have entirely dedicated himself to GOD; and that strain of piety, and those christian graces, which had before adorned his character, became still more evident and illustrious. His desire to apprehend all that for which he was apprehended of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, rendered him diligent and incessant in every public and private duty; whilst the conviction he had of the presence of GOD, and of the infinite importance of religion, was strongly marked in all his conduct; and his very looks and manner, especially in devotional exercises, bespoke the earnest and solemn feelings of his soul.

His inflexible Integrity formed a prominent feature of his character; and whether transacting the common business of life, or rendering to CESAR the things that are CESAR's, or conducting the affairs of the religious society with which he was connected, he knew no guile, attempted no concealment, nor shrunk from any duty because it was difficult or unpopular.

His Humility was unaffected and profound. He accounted himself "less than the least of all saints; and when any opportunity presented itself of conversing with any of the followers of the REDEEMER who appeared to enjoy much "fellowship with the FATHER and with his SON JESUS CHRIST," he gladly sat at their feet, and rejoiced to receive instruction from the poorest or most illiterate of the children of God.

(To be continued.)

THE SUBSTANCE OF A SERMON

Preached in Liverpool, on the 30th of July, 1820, before the Conference of the Ministers late in Connexion with the REV. JOHN WESLEY, BY JOHN EMORY,

The Representative of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America.

Continued from page 27.)

1 CORINTHIANS, I. 21-24.

For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not GOD, it pleased GOD by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach CHRIST crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, CHRIST the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

HAVING shown the insufficiency of human wisdom, I proceed to examine,

II. The means by which it pleases God to enlighten and save the world.

I purpose to confine myself to those which are suggested in the text; the first of which is the novel and sublime plan of sending Apostles through the world to preach.

"After that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not GOD, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save," &c."The Jews require a sign, &c., but we preach."

What the Apostle means by the "foolishness" of preaching, is sufficiently explained in the 18th verse. "The preaching of the cross," of salvation through the blood of the cross,-of CHRIST crucified," is, to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God." If you can discern nothing but foolishness in this doctrine, it is only one more awful proof of your perishing condition. That ST. PAUL had no intention to represent this preaching as really foolishness, or to countenance foolish preaching in fact, is too obvious to need a remark. No man was ever farther from such preaching than himself; nor was any man ever more guilty of that foolishness of preaching of which he speaks.

But taking the term "preaching" in its proper sense, and keeping in view its original nature and design, as exhibited in practical operation by this great Apostle and his associates, how admirable a plan does it unfold to us, how admirable a system of grace in the economy of God, for the illumination and salvation of the world!-To preach in those days, was to go forth, and lift up the voice as heralds;—to proclaim, as from GOD, the good news of the kingdom of heaven. It was to proclaim it " publicly, and from house to house, night and day, with tears; obtaining help from GOD, and continuing to witness

both to small and great, saying none other things than those which MOSES and the Prophets did say should come :-that CHRIST should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles." It was to be "instant,-proclaiming the word,-to open the eyes of the people, and of the Gentiles; to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of SATAN unto God; that they might receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified, through faith, which is in CHRIST." It was "making known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, the mystery which had been hidden from ages and generations, which is CHRIST in you the hope of glory; warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that they might present every man perfect in CHRIST JESUS." This was the preaching of the apostolic age.

But I have said, that the institution of a Ministry on such a plan, and with such objects, was both novel and sublime.

There are, indeed, many instances on record, of persons travelling in quest of knowledge;-of persons going into different parts of the world, in order to obtain it, and then returning to impart it to their disciples. But where was there an instance before, of persons travelling through the world, in order to communicate knowledge to mankind? The Jewish economy itself was partial, as well as temporary. The Jews might have proselyted some of the heathen among them, or of those who might choose to come among them; but they had no command to go through the world to propagate their religion, and to proselyte the nations. The world was left to itself, in order to exhaust its resources, to humble its pride, and to show its insufficiency, unaided by revelation, to attain a saving knowledge of God. At first, the Gospel itself was preached to the Jews only; and JESUS expressly commanded his Apostles not to go into the way of the Gentiles, nor to enter into a city of the Samaritans. But after his resurrection, all things being then prepared, and his disciples fully instructed unto the kingdom of God, he communicated to them the full extent of their commission, in those memorable words, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature: "Go and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. "And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." "And they went forth and preached every where, the LORD working with them, and confirming the word with signs following."

This was a new era in the history, both of religion and of knowledge. It was the era of the institution of a Ministry, chosen and commissioned of God, for the instruction and conversion of the world; and that Ministry was itinerant. The object, and this mode of accomplishing it, are both divinely sanctioned. Here, too, the question is settled, respecting the propriety and the duty of sending the Gospel to the heathen. It is no longer a moot-point: among Christians it admits of no debate. The great Head of the Church

has settled it. Hear ye Him. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." This is His will: and, until this is done, His will cannot have been accomplished.

But, "Who is sufficient for these things?' this mighty task?

Who shall perform

If the question be put to man, if he be the judge, he answers : “The learned,—the philosopher,—the orator. If it can be accomplished at all, these only can accomplish it." But how different are the thoughts and ways of God!-Notice, secondly, the description of persons whom he selects for the execution of this great design. "We preach." And who are ye?

It is not my intention to enter here into the general question of the Ministerial Office. The time would not admit of it; nor does the subject require it. But there is one view of it which is essential to a just portraiture of the leading feature of the text; and to this only I shall ask your attention.

The Apostle certainly does not admit, that the instruments whom it pleased God to employ in this Ministry were foolish and ignorant, any more than he admits the foolishness of their doctrine, or of their manner of preaching it. Yet it was obviously his design to show that the whole system was devised for the express purpose of humbling human pride, the pride of learning, the pride of speech, the pride of birth, the pride of wealth, the pride of power,—and every other sort of pride that swells and blinds man's foolish heart; and, at the same time, to secure the glory of his salvation, as is due, to God alone. It is in the continued developement of this view of the subject, that he adopts the language of the following verses: "Ye see your calling, Brethren, that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,-but 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; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath GoD chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence.—We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. And my speech, and my preaching, was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the SPIRIT, and of power; that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. For CHRIST sent me to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of CHRIST should be made of none effect."-Hear his reason, my Brethren; and mark it well. It unfolds to you, at once, the whole principle of the subject:-" Lest the cross of CHRIST should be made of none effect." By how much an infidel would despise the cross of CHRIST, by just so much God is careful of its honour. His glory he will not give to another. I hope not to be understood as intending to detract, in the slightest degree, from the just use of human literature. There was a PAUL