but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." Let the ministry of this day know whence is the hope of the church and of the world. "It is not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." That Spirit has richer and more copious blessings to bestow, than have ever yet been enjoyed on earth. "The sphere of his operations shall yet embrace the world; he shall ere long become the soul of the world; the great animating spirit of mankind, leading them as with one heart and one hand to crown the Savior Lord of all." With its eye fixed upon this great truth, and its heart filled with the spirit of it, nothing is too great for the ministry to expect, and nothing too difficult for it to attempt. Its strength is an almighty Agent, an enlightening, quickening, transforming Spirit; and the powers of earth and hell must fall before it.

7. The present is a day of great religious enterprise ; and it is demanded of the ministry, that it enter, with earnestness and zeal, into the various plans which have been formed for extending the kingdom of Christ through the world. We are not of those who dream, that the millennium is just at hand. This, a few years since, was a favorite theme of discourse; and in almost every address before benevolent societies, it was urged as a prominent motive for effort, that the glory of the latter day was beginning to dawn. That day, we believe, will yet rise to bless this dark world; a day of surpassing brightness, when error and evil shall flee from the earth, and the empire of holiness be established over the whole family of man. But before the coming of that day, many a conflict is to be endured, and many a hard battle to be fought and won. The elements of evil may yet combine and wage fierce war against the kingdom of Christ. The great enemy of God and man will not yield his empire without a long and desperate struggle. Indeed, one has but to look at the present state of the world to be convinced, that ere he shall come whose right it is to reign, there must be such overturnings in the earth as have never yet been witnessed. The elements of society, even of christian society, must be extensively broken up, and pass into forms better adapted to the reign of holiness. And then, the whole heathen and infidel world, with the immense masses of evil that overspread the earth,-against all these, long and bitter war is to be waged; and during the conflict, before the victory shall be gained, the courage of ministers and the faith of christians may be greatly tried, and the hearts of many fail them for fear, and in looking for the things that are coming on the earth. But the day of victory and of tri

umph will come; and distant though it may be, we may regard the benevolent operations of the times as preparatory to its glorious dawn.

The duty of the ministry in regard to these operations is obvious. It is called to give them its most efficient encouragement and support; to enforce their claims upon the prayers and charities of the church, and as far as possible engage the whole christian community in doing good. Every convert to Christ should be trained to the spirit of the age, and made to feel from the first, that he is to live for the great object of doing good. The charities of the day may and ought to be regard ed as a most important means of grace, by which the piety of the church may be elevated, her moral energy increased, and the graces of her members made to shine more brightly. Through this channel the surplus wealth of the church is to be drawn off and turned into the river of life which is for the healing of the nations. The worldly prosperity which distinguishes the present day will destroy the church, if she cannot be made to employ her resources in spreading the gospel through the world. If a minister would see the tone of piety elevated among his people, sinners converted and christians made what they ought to be, his helpers in the work of the Lord; let him take a lively interest himself, and lead them to take a lively interest, in the benevolent operations of the day. The church, that cares and prays and contributes for the progress of the gospel and the conversion of the world, is the church on which the smiles of God will especially rest, and in the midst of which the Holy Spirit will dwell with his richest and most abundant gifts. Here the ministry is called to apply its best and most efficient influence. "Ready unto every good work," should be its motto. To Christ and his whole church, to the world redeemed by his blood, all its energies should be devoted. It should possess a large and generous heart, which can take in the wants of the world. Far from confining its cares and efforts to a single parish, it should act on the principle of a great fellowship of labor and love; it should send its influence abroad as widely as possible, and do all in its power to fulfill the last great command of the Savior,-Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And for its encouragement amidst its cares and toils, let it cheer itself with the assurance, that it is not alone in the great work of saving men. Mighty agencies are engaged on its side; agencies that have come down from heaven, with heaven's light and power; come to create all things new, and which will not cease to operate

till ignorance and error and sin shall be driven from the world, and the earth become vocal with the high praises of God.

It is not a vain hope which we indulge, when we speak of the kingdom of Christ as destined to subdue all things to itself. It is as certain, as that Messiah reigns king on the holy hill of Zion. We often fear and tremble when we see the agitations and changes that are heaving every thing around us. But let us remember, that the design of providence at present is to "overturn, overturn, overturn," till he shall come to whom the dominion of right belongs. The times of our Savior were times of agitation and change. So it was at the Reformation, and so it has always been, when any important improvement was to be made in the state of the church and of the world. The aspect of the times is, indeed, in many respects, dark and lowering; but his faith must be weak, who does not see the bow of promise circling the cloud, and read in it happy omens of a happier day. It is in vain that men resist the progress of events, or build babels for themselves. They are broken one after another, "like waves upon a stormy sea. In the midst of confusion there is a principle of order, and its mighty workings amid the chaos of the times, are not hidden from the eye of faith. "The foundations of Messiah's empire are laid," his glorious kingdom is rising, all things are in progress, and hasten on to the final event.

Let the ministers of Jesus, and all who love his kingdom, stand in their lot, heedful of the signs of the times, and endeavor to adapt their spirit and movements to the spirit and movements of the age in which they live. The great concern should be, amid the agitations and heavings of the day, not to be swept from the moorings of truth and charity; but to stand firm to first principles, on the middle ground of right and love, equally removed from the tendency to opposite extremes, which marks these times. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, and drawing divine help from the Holy Spirit, let the heralds of the cross, with the courage and hope becoming co-workers with God in God's most noble work, bring to their ministry their concentrated powers of intellect and affection, and live and labor for the one great object of glorifying the Redeemer and saving the souls of men. Let them dismiss every inferior interest and every diverting pursuit, and take the frame of their spirit and the measure of their duties and sacrifices and toils from the love of Jesus in the work of salvation; from the worth of the souls for whom they are appointed to watch, and from the hastening scenes of that eternity, to the glories or ter

rors of which both they and their people must soon be introduced. With these things duly impressed on their minds, the servants of Christ would have no heart for any work but the work of their Master; no anxiety but the anxiety of being accepted of him; no rivalry but the rivalry of winning souls to him, and no joy like seeing his kingdom rise and his glory filling the earth.

ART. VII.-HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL VIEW OF CASES IN THE INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES.

1. CASE (casuatio) is a mode of inflecting nouns, or names, to denote their accidents, or the accidental relations which they hold in discourse.

2. Cases (casus) existed originally, and that in considerable abundance, in the Indo-European languages, as appears from the more ancient and leading tongues.

3. The following table exhibits the number of cases in various languages:

Lappish
Turk.

Languages not Indo-European.

Nom. Voc. Dat. Acc. Abl. Loc. Inst. Gen. Negat. Fact.
Nom. Voc. Dat. Acc. Abl.

Gen.

Note. The cases written in italics are inferred from obsqlete and adverbial forms, and do not exist as a part of the regular structure of the language.

4. The system of cases, which the progenitors of the IndoEuropean nations appear to have had in view, and to which they have approximated, more or less, is the following. Adverbial cases of internal, or higher spiritual relations: 1. Nominative, including nominative and vocative,

2. Dative,

3. Accusative,

4. Modal.

Adverbial cases of external, or lower physical relations :

5. Ablative,

6. Local, 7. Terminal, 8. Instrumental. Adnominal case:

9. Genitive.

These, for the sake of convenience, we shall denominate the Indo-European cases.

§ 5. The theory of this ancient system of cases, as deduced from the laws of language and the principles of the human mind, we shall now attempt to elucidate, commencing with the more simple cases.

Local Case.

The most obvious relations, which would present themselves most readily to the human mind in the very infancy of society, are those of place. No person, who has not paid particular attention to philological pursuits, can be aware how deeply the idea of place, enters into the original structure of language. A large number of words, originally expressing place, have been transferred by analogy to express other ideas. Most prepositions primarily denoted place. The pronouns, both personal and demonstrative, are supposed to have originated from this idea.

The most simple relation of place, is that of rest in a place, or the answer to the question where? This gives rise to the local case.