SERMON.

"AND THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM."-Matt. xi. 5.

THIS striking declaration of our Saviour has always been verified in the preaching of the Gospel. It has always been a preaching of glad tidings to the poor. But it is not till recently, and in our own country, that special attempts have been made in the form of "free churches," "city missions," and "a ministry for the poor" in cities, to fill up the appointed measure of Christian instruction.

It is the ministry for the poor in cities, to which I now wish particularly to draw your attention. And when I thus state the object, I suggest, perhaps, in the very name which this undertaking bears"the ministry for the poor"-the greatest objection to it; viz., that it is specifically a ministry for the poor; that it singles out a particular class, whom it is the true policy of our political institutions, as well as of Christianity, not to separate from their more fortunate brethren, but to blend in the common mass of society, and to raise to its common privileges and duties. It is, probably, the best answer to this objection, that the institution of a ministry for the poor is expressly designed, and must have the effect, to raise them to intelligence, virtue, comfort, and respectability; and thus to diminish that particular class of the indigent for which it is exerting its power. I say, that particular class; for I think it ought constantly to be

kept in mind, that by the poor, we do not mean, nor does our text mean, to designate persons who have no property. It is not the bare condition of poverty, for which our Christian sympathies are demanded; a condition which, comparatively speaking, is scarcely a misfortune; a condition in which some of the loftiest individuals of every country are found; but it is the character of mind, the depression, the desperation, the vice and misery, which that condition too often brings with it. It is not the poor in fortune whom we are considering in this case, but the poor in mind, the broken in spirit, the bowed down in heart and hope. It is the cause of such that I would plead before you this morning, and particularly with reference to that remedial institution, which is commonly denominated the ministry for the poor, or the ministry at large, in cities. With this view, I would direct your attention, in the first place, to the moral importance of cities.

This is a subject, I am inclined to think, which has never among us received any just consideration. And yet it seems to me not unworthy of notice that it is upon cities that our Saviour fixed his special attention, whether for encouragement or rebuke. "Oh! Jerusalem! Jerusalem!" he says, "how often would I have gathered thy children, even as a hen gathereth her brood under her wings, and ye would not." And again, "Wo unto thee, Chorazin! wo unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth and ashes."

The commercial, the civil and military importance of cities has not failed to attract the public attention. They have been regarded, and very justly, as the cen

tres of political influence, the dispensers of public wealth, and strong holds in war. The party leader has canvassed for them, the financier has cherished them, the military commander has built walls and battlements for their defence. Meanwhile, an enemy has always been found to intrench himself within them, more dangerous than a thousand beleaguering armiesI mean vice, dissipation, dissoluteness. Has the philanthropist given any just heed to this moral condition of cities? Have the children of light looked to these central points of influence as wisely as the children of this world-the politician, the tactitian, the financier? On the contrary, good men, I think, have been accustomed to feel as if it were the inevitable destiny and doom of cities to accumulate within themselves, fearful masses of irremediable wickedness and misery. Though cities are indeed the mighty centres of moral influence the very posts where the great moral battle of the world is to be fought, yet the philanthropist and the reformer have passed them by in despair, have consented to give them up to the enemy, vainly thinking to hold the world against them.

Vainly thinking thus, I say; for I maintain that it is impossible to reform and purify the world, so long as cities are suffered to remain the strong and unbroken holds of corruption. It is not to be forgotten, indeed, that cities themselves embrace a considerable portion of mankind; so that if all the rest of the world were made pure, and a broad and separating wall were drawn around the vices and miseries of cities, the work would be but half done. But the material consideration is, that no such separating wall can be drawn around them As well might you cut off the heart from the arteries

in the human system; as well might you wall up the ocean, and forbid its winds and vapours to spread themselves over the land, as to build up any moral barrier against the infectious example of cities. Where power, wealth, splendor, fashion, refinement, and accomplishment are, there the eyes of every country must and will be directed for example. And let it be added, that in a country like this, where cheap newspapers are spreading every species of intelligence, and where, it would seem, that almost the entire population is travelling, every season, to and from the cities, the importance of their example is incalculably increased.

But let us contemplate this moral influence of cities a moment in detail. A man comes from a distant part of the country-a trader, perhaps,-to your city. It is impossible that he should not be much impressed with what he sees around him-business, life, fashion, equipage, all upon a scale so much more splendid and luxurious than that to which he has been accustomed. He is obviously placed in a state to be strongly influenced; a situation more favourable to that end is scarcely conceivable and influenced too, not by a mere outward spectacle. It is not the brick and mortar, the splendid mansion or entertainment, the service of plate or the rich costume; but is the spirit of society living and breathing through these forms, that steals with a subtler influence into his mind. The public opinion-and

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say it with emphasis-the public opinion that prevails in cities is, from their position, more pervading and powerful than any, other public opinion in the world. If our visiter to the city finds those who live in the splendid mansions around him, living simply, temperately, virtuously; interested in the best welfare of