A THIRD Source of supply for the Christian ministry, must be found in those young men of piety and talent, who are already educated, or in a course of education for the other learned professions. When God commanded Moses to deliver his message to Pharaoh, Moses replied, "O my Lord, send I pray thee by the hand of him whom thou wilt send;" but by this answer the anger of God was kindled against his timid and reluctant servant. We have no desire to see every pious and well-educated man employed in the ministry of the Gospel, nor is every such man qualified for the service. Such men are needed elsewhere, as well as in the sacred ministry. Yet ought the question to be deliberately presented to the mind of every well-qualified young man, Whether he can the better serve God and his generation by engaging in some one of the other learned pro

fessions, or in the ministry of his Son? This is the only question which a conscientious man will look at. Private interests must be laid aside, and this single question considered, in the light of God's truth, God's providence, and the realities of eternity.

There is no miraculous call at this age of the world, to the work of the ministry. Whether one is called to it, is neither more nor less, than whether, upon a full view of the subject, it is his duty to enter it. Like every other question of duty, this is to be decided by those leadings of Divine Providence, which indicate to an ingenuous and obedient mind, what his Heavenly Father would have him to do. What are these indications? Are they not a heart sincerely devoted to the service of God,-an honest purpose of living to his glory,—a willingness to be devoted to him, in that way in which we may probably perform the most essential service,-together with those naturaltalents and opportunities and means, that fit us for this employment. To be conscious of these things, or to have a prevailing consciousness of them, must go very far toward producing the conviction in every honest mind, that the best service he can perform, is to honor his Maker by preaching the Gospel of his Son. It will be very difficult to keep such a man out of the ministry; his conscience calls him to it;

his heart calls him to it; God calls him to it; and unless obstacles which cannot be surmounted obstruct his path, he must obey the call. Yet is this conviction not the creature of mere impulse; a mere impression, produced by supposed supernatural influences. It is just

the deliberate conviction of a devout mind, adopted in full view of all the light it can obtain, after having sought counsel of God and man, and after no small schooling and self-discipline. Many a young man has entered the ministry under the influence of mere impulse, whom a little experience has taught that he is not fitted for this laborious employment. It may be with reluctance and some mortification that he abandons it; but if he perseveres in a service to which God has not called him, it must be with a discouraged heart. What the Saviour said to those who followed him without anticipating the sacrifice of so doing, may with stronger propriety and greater emphasis, be said to every young man who is directing his thoughts toward the Gospel ministry."Which one of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost?"

These remarks may not be turned to good account by all who read them. The object of them is not to discourage young men from entering the sacred office; but rather to encourage. The unhappiness is, that they may pre

sent discouragement to the very minds which they ought to encourage and stimulate. Like the discriminations between genuine and spurious piety, the dart which was aimed at the false professor is felt most deeply by the more diffident and humble. Self-diffidence is no proof that a man is not called to the sacred of fice; on the other hand, it is one of the more welcome and delightful indications that God designs him for a service in which "he that planteth is nothing and he that watereth is nothing."

Among the considerations which ought to operate on every man who is balancing this great question, we place in the foremost rank the power of the pulpit, and the intrinsic importance of the Gospel ministry. We do not depreciate other departments of human labor, nor other professional vocations; we would that they were all occupied by godly men. We honor them all and have reason to honor them. There is a vast amount of splendid talent, and acquirement, and not unfrequently acquirements, and talent, that are sanctified and devoted to good ends, brought to all the learned professions.

It is greatly desirable that our universities and colleges should be under the teaching of men deeply imbued with the spirit of Christianity. Where this service has attractions for the Christian mind, we would be slow to en

tertain the doubt, if such a mind is in its proper place, in the instruction of the young. It is a most delightful fact that so many men of high qualifications for their office, are found in our seminaries of learning, who are not less the honored professors of Christianity, than of literature and science. Nobly in our youthful land are such professors doing their exalted work, and winning their unwithered laurels. Long may they do so, and cast their honors at his feet who was crowned with thorns!

The medical profession in all its branches, has deserved attractions. From the dexterous management of magical incantation of ancient times, to the more sober investigation of times less ancient, and the still more solid deductions of the inductive philosophy which have been extended to the study of the animal economy in our own days, this department furnishes a beautiful and brilliant comment upon that spirit of accurate observation and unwearied research, of which there are so many living and illustrious examples. A Christian physician is an ornament to his race, and treads in the steps of that great and Almighty Healer, whose miracles of healing were the precursors and attendants of his miracles of salvation. Many there are of this character in the land; it is deeply to be regretted they are so few; and that in so