"Thirdly. They are to take care that the Church's Contributions are such as they cught to be. In cider to which, they should set a good example themselves, cnccurage the liberal, and in meekness reprove the strait-handed; whose reprcots are an ordinance of God, which he will certainly own and bless.

"Fourthly. They are to take care of the Table of the Lord, that the bread and wine be such as it ought to be.

"Fifthly. They are to take care of the minister's table, that he and his may want nothing; remembering how worthy the labourer is of his hire; and that such as are taught shou'd communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things; Gal. vi. 6. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto, &e.

"Sixthly. They are to take care of all Christ's Pocr; that they have what is fitting both for feed and raiment, with other necessaries of life. Wo to such churches and Deacons as starve Christ's Poor. Should not the devil's poor be starved, much less should Christ's?

Seventhly. They are to visit the poor, and to pray with them, when need so requires, as well as for them, but not exclusive of other members. It is a most useful word, Lut little practised, Jam. v. 14. Is any sick among you, let him call for the Elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, &c. and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall rave him up, and if he have committed sins, they shall be for

given him.

"Eighthly. They are to take all the care they can that Covetousness and Prodigality have neither of them any room in a church of Christ. These are two extremes carefully to be avoided in a church of Christ: Christ's followers should guide their affairs with so much discretion as to avoid each of these extremes.

"Ninthly. They should pray that the Rich may have a bountiful Eye, and a liberal Hand, and the Poor a contented Heart; for when such rich and such poor ones meet together in a church of Christ, how sweetly do they live together.

"Tenthly. Their Prayers for the church should be, that God would bless it in its basket and in its store, that there may be bread for the eater, and seed for the sower. The prayers of all and every member is God's ordinance, for the bringing down of temporal blessings on the church of Christ but the Prayers of the Deacons are so in an especial manner.

"Eleventhly. They also should be examples unto the flock in their persons, wives, and children.

"Twelthly. They should no more be sharp than double-tongued; neither should they be strait handed, nor hard-hearted, nor given to much wine; but lovers of hospitality as well as the pastor. And the apter such are to teach, and to comfort, and to reprove, the better.

Thirteenthly. Deacons should not slight Christ's poor, but remember whose poor they are, and how they are honoured and esteemed by the

Lord Jesus Christ; who, in his eye, are some of the excellent of the earth, "Fourteenthly. Nor should they snub or grieve Christ's poor, for by so doing they would grieve Christ's Spirit. Nor,

'Fifteenthly. Should they pinch and straiten them, but take care they have such things as are convenient, remembering how liberally, poor as well as rich, are provided for in the Gospel.

"Sixteenthly. The Deacons should not misrepresent Christ's poor, either to the pastor or to the rich. Nor,

"Seventeethly. Act partially towards Christ's poor, taking care of some with the neglect of others; but remember they are dear alike unto the Lord Jesus Christ: pity and sympathize with them, so as to help bear their burdens, and as much as may be encourage their faith and patience.

"An inference or two, and I have done. As,

:

"First. Hence learn that your Deacons need Prayer, as well as the Pastor whose office, as it is useful and difficult, so it is honorable; and when filled up as it ought to be, it brings down a blessing upon the whole Church. The rich are the better as well as the poor for faithful Deacons.

To conclude: as careful diligent Deacons, whose hearts are engaged in their work and office, bring down, most remarkably, a blessing upon themselves and families; so careless Deacons, who regard the honour more than the duty of their office, and take little or no pains in the discharge of their trust, are sooner or later attended with a blast, and it is generally a very sad one, and reaches their families as well as themselves; their children smart for their carelessness."

DR. BIBER ON THE ORDER OF DEACON AND ITS REVIVAL,

"Our Church, preserving the apostolic distinction of ministerial orders, has an order of Deacons; but instead of being a distinct order, ministerial to the Episcopate, auxiliary to the Presbyterate, her Diaconate is a mere transition state, and that too short to insure that maturity of age and ripeness of growth in Christ, which the very name of presbyter implies. The deacon is in fact nothing more than an incipient presbyter; the young presbyter, a contradiction in terms, nothing more than a deacon prematurely advanced to the higher degree, which he has not had time to purchase for himself.

"With regard to the revival of the order of Deacons, as an inferior grade of the ministry, permanently brought into action, in aid of the pres byterate, the recent endeavours made in some localities, to meet the crying want of instruction in the way of salvation to an ignorant and spiritually as well as physically destitute population, by the employment of Scripturereaders, sufficiently attest the necessity of an increased supply of labourers to go forth into the Lord's harvest.

"Persons so engaged in large parishes, those now officiating in cur churches as parish-clerks, and parochial school-masters, are all employed in the work of the Church in that particular sphere which properly belongs to the diaconate; and there can be no question, that by affording a scope for the exercise of ministerial gifts and graces to persons whose means and previous education do not enable them to qualify themselves for the ministry according to the present standard of literary attainment, many able and efficient instruments, for the promotion of the kingdom of Christ would be retained in the Church, who are now driven to swell the ranks of dissent. Who can doubt for a moment, that there are hundreds of devoted hearts throughout the land, who would be thankful to be allowed to labour in the Lord's vineyard, though in the humblest station, and who, albeit unable to pass an examination for a B. A. degree, would yet do more for the salvation of souls, and the spiritual efficiency of the Church, than the numerous younger sons who run through a college education with a view to take orders, because they wish to belong to a gentlemanly profession, and they know that their elder brother has a family living to give away, or sufficient political influence to help them to a turn of the patronage of the Lord Chancellor.

"The objections raised against such a revival of the order of deacons, As a permanent and inferior order of the ministry, are chiefly two. One is, that it will be impossible to procure funds for their maintenance. But it is not fair to draw inferences, from the scantiness of pecuniary support at a time when every active effort in the service of the Church meets with obstruction and discouragement, as to the liberality which her members shall evince, when they shall see new life infused into her system, and a way opened for making her in reality what she is in theory. The other objection, that the admission of an inferior class of men to the ministry would have the effect of detracting from the gentlemanly character of the profession,' is answered by simply stating what it amounts to. It is contended, that souls unnumbered are to be left to perish for lack of knowledge, and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, bestowed upon the Church by Christ for the work of the ministry, are to be withheld from men willing to go forth as zealous labourers, in order to-what? to keep those who, as Christ's servants, and servants of His Church, are to be lowly in heart, a step or two higher in the scale of worldly distinction!"

From "The Supremacy Question ;" or, "Justice to the Church of England," an Appeal, &c. for the necessary work of Church Reform. By G. E. BIBER, L. L. D. Published by F. & J. RIVINGTON, 1847.

ON THE LITERARY QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE OFFICE OF DEACON.

The requirement for the first Deacons were, that they should be "men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom; (Acts vi. 8) that is, men of integrity, seriously minded and judicious-intelligent

Christian men, who might be able assistants to the higher orders of the ministry, especially for that very important part of the ministry in Christ's Church, the care of the poor.

Whilst amongst the learned Greeks, Romans, and Jews of the carly days of Christianity, the Apostles were regarded as "unlearned and ignorant men-(Acts iv. 13), yet to them was granted the gift of tongues, and the power of working miracles, so that they were heard "to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance." (Acts ii. 4.) "And when there arose certain of the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen, they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake"- (Acts vi. 9, 10.) And the notable miracles done by the Apostles were manifest to all them that dwelt at Jerusalem. Such facts could not be denied—(Acts iv. 16.) Hence it will be generally allowed that the literary qualifications of the Apostles and their associates, in the early Christian church, for the efficient discharge of the duties of the ministry, were of an high order, although they were miraculously conferred, instead of being acquired by the ordinary incans of years of preparatory study. But unless in the present day, persons can satisfactorily prove that they have, in a similar manner with the Apostles, been miraculously prepared for the work of the ministry, it does appear necessary, that sufficient evidence should be given to competent judges, of the possession of sufficient literary attainments duly to qualify the candidate for Deacon's orders, for discharging in an efficient manner the very important duties of the sacred office.

The extent of the literary attainments or qualifications for the office of Deacon, it will best become us, in the present position of the question, to leave untouched, that the Right Reverend the Bishops and the heads of our Universities, who have hitherto so wisely maintained the literary character of the clergy, may so direct the studies of the candidates for Deacon's Orders, that with God's blessing, and influenced by the Holy Ghost, they may become able helpers of the Bishops and Priests, to whom is committed the dispensation of the Gospel and the ministry of reconciliation.

ON THE SYNAGOGUE OF THE LIBERTINES, AND CYRENIANS, AND ALEXANDRIANS, &c. Acts vi. 3.

"Those Synagogues were the schools to which the Jews of those nations sent their youth to be educated in the Jewish learning. Now those who were tutors and professors in these Synagogues, seeing the Gospel grow, and the rulers conniving at the growth of it, and fearing what would be the consequence to the Jewish religion, which they were jealous for,

being confident of the goodness of their cause, and their own sufficiency to manage it, would undertake to run down Christianity by force of argument. It was a fair and rational way of dealing with it, and what religion is always ready to admit : "Produce your cause, saith the lord, bring forth your strong reasons." Isaiah xli 21.

"But why did they dispute with Stephen? And why not with the Apostles themselves? (1.) Some think, because they despised the Apostles as unlearned and ignorant men, whom they thought it below them to engage with; but Stephen was bred a scholar, and they thought it to their honour to meddle with their match. (2.) Others think, it was because they stood in awe of the Apostles, and could not be so free and familiar with them, as they could be with Stephen, who was in an inferior office. (3.) Perhaps, they having given a public challenge, Stephen was chosen and appointed by the disciples to be their champion, for it was not meet that the apostles should leave the preaching of the word of God, to engage in controversy. Stephen, who was only a Deacon in the Church, and a very sharp young man, and of bright parts, and better qualified to deal with wrangling disputants than the apostles themselves, is apponted to this service. Some historians say, that Stephen had been bred up at the feet of Gamaliel, and that Saul and the rest set upon him as a deserter, and with a particular fury made him their mark. (4.) It is probable that they disputed with Stephen, because he was zealous to argue with them, and convince them: and this was the service which God had called him to."-From Matthew Hemy's Exposition on Acts vi. 9.

MOVEMENT IN THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH TOWARDS THE RESTORATION OF THE ORDER OF DEACON.

A correspondent from this Diocese forwarded some printed documents extensively circulated, and from which the following extract is taken :"I fear that, from long habit in our Church of England, our people have been too much in the custom of looking on the Order of Clergy as one, in place of regarding them distinctively as three. Our Bishops are seen by comparatively few, and Deacons are so mixed up with the Priests, as not to be distinguished by the mass of uneducated worshippers. We have therefore, practically exhibited the teachers in the Church as one Order to the people, in place of testifying to the wisdom of God, whose revelation has explained to us that they should be three. This latter surely should have been our duty as a portion of His Church."

My Correspondent a lds: "The American Church has recognised the want of a more extensive and efficient Diaconate, and taken same steps to supply it. The Bishop of Exeter has made a move towards the same end. Why is he solitary? The bishop of Norwich, in a recent debate in the House of Lords, expressed himself favorable to the design. The Bishop of Oxford, when Archdeacon of Surrey, advocated the same cause, Thousands upon thousands, whom an efficient Diaconate might train in faith and piety, are perishing for lack of knowledge in our wealthy cities and populous towns.

"Surely the subject calls for devout and serious consideration from the Heads of our National Church !"