they should be individually convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judment; or do they need a Teacher, a Guide, an Assistant in prayer, a Comforter, a Sanctifier: all these, and other offices too numerous to mention, are graciously undertaken by the Holy Spirit. The declaration of our blessed Lord to his disciples was, "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when He is come, he will convince the world," not the Jews only, but the Gentiles of all descriptions, "of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not in me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and show it unto you." (John, xvi. 7-14.) Again when converted to the religion of our Saviour, are love, peace, gentleness, faith, goodness and meekness, essential graces of the Christian character; these are "the fruit of the Spirit;" (Galatians, v. 23.) by Him also "the love of God is shed abroad in the heart." (Romans, v. 5.) In the outward administration of the Church also is it important that ministers should be raised up, properly qualified to instruct mankind. Are wisdom, knowledge, fidelity, order necessary. "All this worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every one severally as he will.” (1 Corinth. xii. 11.) Indeed, so extensive are his gracious offices, so great is this gift which our blessed Lord has procured, and which our Heavenly Father freely bestows, for his Son's sake, that the promise of the Holy Spirit includes every blessing. Thus in St. Matthew (vii. 11.) it is said, "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him." In the corresponding passage of St. Luke, (xi. 13.) the expression is, "give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him;" as if the gift of the Holy Spirit included all good things. When, therefore, our Heavenly Father is pleased to shed forth in an abundant measure the promised blessing, nothing will be impossible. The mountains will flow down at his presence, nations will be born at once, and the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, even as the waters cover the sea. Let it be remembered also, that this power and grace of the Holy Spirit, to effect great blessings, are not theoretic notions, they have already been witnessed. It is to His divine agency that we are to trace the success of the Gospel in the first ages of the Church. When the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost, three thousand sinners were converted under one discourse. When His divine grace accompanied the preached Gospel at Antioch, nearly the whole city came together to hear the word of God. (Acts, xiii.) Without His aid the most eloquent discourse of the Apostle Paul, delivered with the greatest earnestness, and with the most tender affection, had only this effect," Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian;" (Acts, xxvi. 28.) but when the Holy Spirit acted, "the multitude were of one heart and one soul, and great grace was upon them all." (Acts, iv. 32 and 33.) And though in later times we have not the same inspired testimony, in proof of this power and grace, yet we are not without credible historical evidence of great revivals of religion, which have evidently arisen from a remarkable effusion of this divine influence. Thus it was, at the time of the Reformation, Luther, and the other great reformers of that day, ascribe the glorious work then performed to this cause; and thus it has been, at subsequent seasons, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. (See Milner's Church History and Gillie's Historical Collections.) Such being the fact, is not this power and grace of the Holy Spirit a strong reason for a general union for prayer, that the Lord may again favour us with this unspeakable blessing? To trust principally to our own efforts instead of uniting heart and soul to call down the exertion of this Almighty energy, is like attempting to water our fields from our own little cisterns; instead of looking up to Him who "gives the early and the latter rain ;" even to Him "who visits the earth and waters it, and greatly enriches it with the river of God, which is full of water." (Psalm lxv. 9. O, let us entreat the Lord again "to send a plentiful rain, to confirm his inheritance when it is weary." (Psalm lxviii. 9.) III. A third reason for this union for prayer is, THAT THE SCRIPTures PREDICT A DAY WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT SHALL BE GIVEN IN A VERY ABUNDANT MANNER; AND THAT THIS BLESSING WILL BE PRECEDED BY EARNEST PRAYER. Thus it is written in the Prophet Joel: (ii. 28, 29.) "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions; and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids, in those days, will I pour out my Spirit." So, in the Prophet Isaiah: (xliv. 2.) "Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring." Again, in the Prophet Zechariah: (xiv. 8.) "And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the former sea, and half toward the hinder sea: in summer and winter shall it be." The Prophet Ezekiel (xxxvii. xlvii.) also emblematically predicts the same blessings, in the vision of the dry bones, and in the vision of the living waters proceeding from the Sanctuary. In all these passages of Scripture, expressions are used, which give promise of a very large effusion of divine influence. "I will pour my Spirit upon all flesh," upon every age and station; upon their sons and their daughters; the old men and the youth; the servants and the handmaids. I will pour floods upon the dry ground;" not sending this living water in a scanty measure, but like the bursting forth of the mountain torrents which spread on every side. "In summer and in winter shall it be" a continued supply; not affected by the heat of summer, or cold of winter. "The breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet--an exceeding great army:" (Ezek. xxxvii. 10.) not a few scattered converts, but a vast multitude, like the Eastern armies. If it should be said that these promises have received their fulfilment in the first ages of Christianity; it is only a partial fulfilment, their complete accomplishment is yet future. It is evident that this is the case with the prophecy of Joel: for, when St. Peter referred to it, on the day of Pentecost, as then partly taking place, he stated that the promise of the Holy Ghost was "unto them and to their children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (Acts, ii. 38, 39.) Evidently implying that the future posterity of the Jews and the Gentiles were included in this prediction. The same is equally true as to the prophecy in Ezekiel; (xxxvii.) for, when this prophetic vision is fulfilled, it is said that the dispersed tribes of Israel shall be reunited, that they shall be restored to their own land, and that the Messiah shall be their king events which have not yet happened. Upon reference to the context, the same observation will appear equally applicable to the prophecies in Zechariah. They are connected with predictions evidently not yet fulfilled. We are therefore authorized by Scripture to look for a much greater effusion of the influences of the Holy Spirit than has ever yet taken place. The Gospel day, in this view, may be compared to the progress of the natural sun; it began its course clear as the morning; its progress has been mixed; shining at different times and in different places in its first splendour, and then obscured by intervening clouds; but when it reaches its meridian height every cloud will pass away, and "alt flesh shall see its glory," and all shall feel its blessedness. For, wherever the river comes, to return to the Scripture emblem of the Holy Spirit, every thing shall live whither the river cometh." (Ezek. xlvii. 9.) To desire, therefore, and confidently to hope for a general outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not an enthusiastic notion. It is to give credit to the testimony of God-to believe that what God has promised he is able to perform. And to ask Him to fulfil His promise is only to do that which he has encouraged and directed His people to do. For, where these gracious promises are made, commands and invitations to prayer abound. As the past history of the Church exemplifies, that it is in answer to prayer that the children of God have received their blessings; so their future mercies are to be granted in the same order. It has pleased God, in a very remarkable manner, to reveal this in His word. Sometimes, for instance, we meet with promises to give the spirit of prayer, as in Zechariah: (xii. 10.) "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced." Sometimes there are predictions of a lively earnestness and general excitement to the act of prayer; as in the same Prophet: (viii. 21.) "And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also." Sometimes this predicted zeal is so great as to annihilate the differences which had previously subsisted amongst the believers. "For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion, unto the Lord our God." (Jer. xxxi. 6.) Here it merits notice, that the former prejudices of the worshippers at Mount Ephraim or of Samaria, (See John, iv.) against Jerusalem, should cease. The very priests of the Samaritan temple are ready to go up to Zion to worship, and to invite others to accompany them. O blessed emblem of that harmony which shall yet subsist among the true followers of the Saviour! "When Ephraim shall not envy Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim !" (Isaiah, xiv. 13.) When Christians shall no longer harass each other with strifes about words, but "all shall call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." (Zeph. iii. 9.) Sometimes we find strong injunctions to unceasing prayer connected with promises to give this earnest spirit. "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace, day nor night. Ye that make mention of the Lord keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (Isaiah, lxii. 6.) How remarkable is this expression, give Him no rest; as if our great Advocate would excite his Church to unceasing supplication, till the blessing was obtained-charging his people not to rest themselves, nor allow Heaven to rest, till their suit was granted; all wrestling in prayer, like Jacob, and saying, as with one soul, "I will not let thee go except thou bless me." (Genesis, xxxii. 26.) Such an expression is only equalled, or, rather, surpassed, by another injunction: "Ask me of things to come, concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me." (Isaiah, xlv.) Command ye me! As if prayer overpowered Omnipotence: or, rather, as if our heavenly Father only desired to hear the voice of his children. That when they cried He could refuse them nothing. Command ye me! Sometimes, again we meet with promises to answer prayer: "Before they call I will answer; and whiles they are yet speaking I will hear." (Isaiah, lxv. 24.) And yet, with all these encouragements to prayer-however free the promises, and however undeserved the blessing, still without prayer, or without thus expressing our own unworthiness and our entire dependence upon the grace of God, we have no reason to expect the blessing; since, after the most gracious declarations, the Lord gives this assurance; "Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." (Ezekiel, xxxvi. 37.) Surely, if we combine these Scripture declarations, that God has promised a very abundant measure of the divine influences of his Holy Spirit, and has connected these promises with earnest supplications, they form a very strong reason for the church of Christ being united in fervent prayer. (To be concluded.) For the Christian Herald. PRACTICAL EDUCATION--No. IV. LETTER FROM FORTUNATUS TO HIS GRAND-DAUGHTER. MY DEAR GRAND-DAUGHTER, It seems to me but a short time since I heard of your birth! Now you are in your teens, and will, if your life is spared, directly be a young lady! I have watched your growth and improvement, with no small share of interest. Many things, as you have advanced in age, have given not a few scattered converts, but a vast multitude, like the Eastern It it should be said that these promises have received their fulfilment in the fest ages of Christianity; it is only a partial told.e. their complete accomplishment is yet future. It is evident that this is the case With the prophecy of Joel: for, when St. Peter referrer ar rom the day of Panecost, as then partly taking place, he stated in the arise of the Holy Ghost was "unto them and to their care au a al that are * even as many as the Lord our God shall call in .39.) Frakondly splying that the future posterity of the Jews and the Gentiles were anche in this previction. 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