Excerpt from A Discourse at the Annual Examination, of the Students in the Theological Seminary, Columbia, S. C., July, 1839 Ihave chosen a subject so vitally important to success in the Ministry, and to the prosperity of our Churches, as to claim our special attention on this occasion. As this Institution is chiefly designed to furnish an able; eflicient Ministry, it must be deeply interesting, not only to candidates for the sacred office, but to all the churches in our connexion, to inquire what are the true causes of the languishing, discouraging state of our Zion, and to discover, if possible, the real obstacles which so greatly'hin der ministerial success and efficiency In attempting to give a brief general view of the circumstances which have exerted an influence so disastrous, my remarks will have direct reference to our denomination in this State. My personal knowledge of the condition of our churches in the adjoining States, is not sufficient to enable me to decide. In what degree they are affected by simi lar evils. While thus our attention is directed to the state of the Presby terian Churches in South Carolina, minute accuracy of informa tion must not be expected. But as I have spent thirty years in the Ministry, in this State, some general knowledge upon this subject must have been obtained; and as my attention has been directed to the official records of the past, and the present, I trust that a plain and candid statement of my views and impres sions, in relation to this matter, will not be regarded as obtru sive or inappropriate. If it be true, that our churches, throughout the State, are generally in a feeble, declining condition, and that the labours of our Ministers are not crowned with much visible success; it is surely incumbent upon us all to discover, if possible, whether there may not be 0pinions, habits or practices, preva lent among us, which have a most pernicious tendency to blight and destroy our spiritual prosperity. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.