THE
CHURCH OF ENGLAND MAGAZINE.
| UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF CLERGYMEN |  | OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND. |
| “HER FOUNDATIONS ARE UPON THE HOLY HILLS.” | ||
| Vol. X. No. 263. | JANUARY 9, 1841. | Price 1½d. |
CONTENTS.
| THE CHRISTIAN’S OBLIGATION TO SEEK THE SPIRITUAL BENEFIT OF OTHERS | 17 |
| SACRED PHILOSOPHY.—CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL THEOLOGY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM | 19 |
| THE SECURITY OF GOD’S PEOPLE: A SERMON | 25 |
| THE GLORY OF THE SAVIOUR’S TRANSFIGURATION | 29 |
| THE CABINET | 31 |
| POETRY.—LAYS OF PALESTINE | 32 |
| MISCELLANEOUS | 32 |
THE CHRISTIAN’S OBLIGATION TO SEEKTHE SPIRITUAL BENEFIT OF OTHERS.
By the Rev. Thomas Bissland, M.A.,
Rector of Hartley Maudytt, Hants.
There are some hearts little, if at all, impressedby the solemn requirements of theAlmighty; so dead, in fact, to everythingwhich relates not to the objects of time andsense, that they are unaffected by the scenesof vice and of the misery which is its consequence,every where presented to their notice.It is not until the mind is under the graciousinfluence of the Spirit of God, that men feelany anxiety to stop the torrent of evil, andendeavour to become the humble instrumentsof converting the sinner and saving his soul.Many, in fact, who feel deeply interested intheir neighbours’ temporal comforts and prosperity,feel little anxious to supply theirspiritual wants; and to this may be tracedthe opposition which is not unfrequentlymade, even by professing Christians, to institutionswhich have a direct tendency to improvethe moral and spiritual condition ofthe human race.
Now there are many reasons which inducea truly converted man to labour for thespiritual benefit of others. First, there isthe dishonour which men, in an unconvertedstate, cast upon God. This feeling operatedon the mind of the psalmist, when he exclaimed(Ps. cxix. 53), “Horror hath takenhold of me, because of the wicked who forsakethy law.” For when men forsake God’slaw, they declare that they are little impressedwith a sense of the divine majestyand infinite goodness of the Almighty; thatthey are not anxious to know his will;