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 EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH 
 
 AS FORESHADOWED 
 
 m 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY. 
 
 BY 
 
 ]\I. CHISHOLM, M. D. 
 
 HALIFAX : 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA PRINTING COMPANY. 
 1892. 
 
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 INTRO]:) UCTION. 
 
 Ix this lecture, wliicli was delivered before the Y. M. C. A. 
 students of Dalhousie College, I have been letting the light of truth 
 fall upon — 1st, The Christian's Standing in Christ ; "ind, His Stand- 
 ing in the Clnn-eh of Christ ; 3rd, His Hojie in tlie World. That 
 the truth gave pain goes without saying. This was to be expected, 
 if not hoped for. 
 
 My success in this respect is some encouragement in giving the 
 lecture to the public. Besides, since IJaghot says tiiere is no pain 
 like the pain of a new idea, the pained ones will have a chance to 
 resort to argument instead of detraction. " , • 
 
 Then the Presbyterian Church, like all other churches, needs the 
 truth. At one time, in S(;otland, she passed a statute prohibiting 
 any one l)ut the duly licensed from expounding the Scriptures ; and 
 forbidding lay religious meetings, other than family worshi}), as being 
 to the ]irejudice of the public ministry. That statute is now observed 
 in the breaking of it. Not so with its parent, wdiich is none other 
 than the principle enunciated in the Confession of Faith, ('hap. 
 XXVI r.. Section IV. : " There be only two sacraments * * neither 
 of whicli may be atlministered by any but by a minister of the word 
 lawfully ordained." The light of truth must be concentrated upon 
 this principle until it appears tuo dark to retain its place in the 
 confession. Christians must be made to realize their stand, 
 ing in the Church of God. The reformation has left nothing 
 to be exi)lained as to the (Jhristian's standing in Christ. Not so, 
 alas ! as to his standing in the Church. This must be remedied so 
 that the weaker sections of our land can worship and admin- 
 ister the ChristiMU rites with as much liberty as the early 
 Chiistians enjoyed, and with the same facility as the synagogue 
 exemplified. This boon Christ gave to his church. Of this boon 
 the antichrist robbed it, and with thi« boon the Reformers failed to 
 re-endow it Here surely there is much land yet to be possessed. 
 But the lineal descendents of those who closed the mouths of our 
 forefathers and filled the wells are not the ones to lead in the van. 
 
2 
 
 The PresV>yteriaii Church needs consistency. To be consistent it 
 must enforce the old statute, or disown its parent. It must now, as 
 then, prevent believers from meeting together for edification in the 
 ;ab9eiice of ordained ministers, or allowing them to come together ; it 
 miusfc also allow them to ])reak bread in obedience to and remembrance 
 of their absent Lord. What a boon such a privilege would be, more 
 especially to those who seldom see ordained ministers. What a 
 victory for satan when this privilege was wrested from the children 
 of God ! Who will raise a voice in their behalf? For to do so is to 
 incur the odium of many of \7h0m we should exj)ect better — things 
 that accompany salvation at the least. 
 
 But the embargo upon the children of faith applies as well to most 
 of the eldership, and consequently is a flat contradiction of a funda- 
 mental doctrine of the church, viz , the parity of the eldership. One 
 class called teaching elders, who yet may be teaching youths, are 
 empowered to "dispense " (an anti-scriptural word surely). Another 
 class who in all respects may answer to Paul's required qualifications, 
 are simply allowed to assist. 
 
 Finally, the Presbyterian church needs spiritual power. It has 
 been remarked that our students have more spiritual power before 
 they are ordained than after. This is not to be wondered at. For 
 the words tiot licensed, not ordained, stand between God and the 
 services of his sons just as the words, it is corban, stood between the 
 Jew and his children's obedience. The one narrows the provisions of 
 grace, as the other narrows the commands of God, and because of its 
 blighting spiritual results is a far more heinous sin. But the 
 inventors of " it is corban " worshipped him in vain, what of the 
 inventors and supporters of *' not licensed ?" 
 
 Surely it is a pressing duty to free the church from this doubly 
 fatal error. Its enormity is my plea for devoting so much time to 
 overthrow it. Veritas prevalebit. Dagon must not stand before the 
 ark of Jehovah, no matter how many uncircumcised Philistines may 
 be found to uphold it. 
 
THE) EjARI^Y GHRI^TlAN GHUI^GH. 
 
 SOURCES OF INFORMATION, UNCERTAINTY OF POST-APOSTOLIC 
 
 WRITINGS. 
 
 1'^HE Early Christian Church may be studied either it\ the liglit of 
 Old Testament prophecy or New Testament description, or Post- 
 Apostolic narrative. The light reflected by the last is dim and 
 uncertain. The authorities acquainted personally with the apostles 
 are either very few or none at all. And yet to many minds the 
 general concei)tion of what the Christian church should be is 
 moulded more J)y what those few uninspired men have narrated than 
 by what the Divine Spirit has written. It has been so in all ages. 
 The natural heart sighs for the things that be of men more than the 
 things that be of God. In view of this we can adore the wisdom of 
 that Providence which has drawn a vail over the days innnediately 
 succeeding the lives of the apostles. No effort of ours can lift that 
 veil. Did we try it we should have our labor for our pains. I shall 
 not, therefore, trouble you much with the writings of the Early 
 Fathers. We have a more sure word of prophecy to which we do 
 well to take heed, and the barreness or absence of early Post- 
 Apostolic writings was no doubt planned in order to make that word 
 still more precious to enquiring minds. Through it I purpose to 
 treat of the Early Christian Church. 
 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT A KEY TO THE NEW. 
 
 Nor will I confine myself chiefly to New Testament narrative, 
 however bright the liglit which that throws upon our subject. 
 Artists say it is easier to trace the outlines of an object from its 
 reflections in water than from the object itself. And since the (JId 
 Testament is a reflection of the New, it may be easier for us to trace 
 there the outlines of the Christian Church than in the New Testament 
 itself. 
 
 It is well-known that Zwingle's views were decided against the 
 doctrine of transubstantiation ^ v a vision pointing him to a jjassage 
 in the Pentateuch. Awakening, out of his distracted sleep and com- 
 paring the passage dreamed about, It is the Lord's Passover, Avith 
 the other which perplexed him, " This is my l)ody," he saw in the 
 one a clear exposition of the other. It, ^. e., the feast is called the 
 Lord's Passover, though it was simply to commemorate that Passing 
 over. This, i. e., the bread is called His body, though it is simply 
 to commemorate His body broken. An Eastern figure of speech 
 simply, which the philosophical Gentile mind construed as a reality. 
 How many errors might liave been avoided if Gentile philosophy had 
 not taken the place of the Old Testament Scriptures. 
 
 [On this point Adolph Saphir says : The Pagan and Gentile 
 element in the church has been the source of theoretical heresy and 
 practical apostacy ; and not even the reformation has entirely got lid 
 
of tlic rJt'iitih', tliou^'h it freed itself nearly altd^'etlier from the i)agan 
 element. Salvation is of the .lews, and to (Jentilise flewish facts 
 and id(?aH is to falsify the Crospel, in order to please the (ireeks who 
 desire wisdom. Our theology, even that of holievers. is far too 
 aV)stra('t, unhistoi'ical, lonking at ddctrines logically instead of viewing 
 them in conneetion with the history of the kingdom and the church. 
 It is dai)hetic, not Semetic, it is Roman, logical, widl arranged, 
 inethodizetl, and scheduled, not Eastern, according to the s]»irit and 
 method of the Scri]>tures, which hreathes in the atmosj)her() of a 
 living (Jod who visits His j)eo])le, and is coming again to maniiest His 
 glory J.* 
 
 TlIK Ol.n TE.STAMLNT A rUol'IIETIC ALLFAJORY. 
 
 I shall, therefore, treat of the (Christian Church as foreshadowed 
 in Old Testament i)roi)hecy. When I .^-peak of Old Testoment 
 projthecy, I do not mean what is generally accepted .is the ])rophetic 
 books. All the hooks of the I'ihle are pro])hetic, the char.icters al.so, 
 even the names [and y(;t, strange to -ly, " the historical, Jewish, 
 prophetic character of Scriptures was ncf clearly ajiprehended hy the 
 Ke forme rs " (Saphir). St. laud's writings should certainly have 
 taught them, for many of these are simple exi>osiiions of ( )ld Testa- 
 ment allegorical jtro})ht-cies]. 
 
 Take for instance (Jal. iv. 22 — Imu- it is written that Abraham 
 had two .sons, one hy tlu; hondwoman, the other hy the free woman, 
 but he who was of the l)ondwoman was l)"rn after the H(!sh, but he 
 of the fi'ee woman was by the promise, which things are an allegory, 
 for th(;se women are two covenants, one frftm Mt. Sinai hearing 
 children unto bondage, which is Hagar — for the word Hagar means 
 in Arabia Mt. Sinai — and she answer(;th to the fFerusalem which now 
 is, f<jr she is in bondage with lier children, but the .Jerusalem which 
 is above is fr(!e, and she is our mother. 
 
 "Which things are an allegory." What things? .Just what the 
 ajjostle refers to as allegorical 1 Some would have us lieli.ve so. It 
 reipiires, however, but a moderate (h'gree of s[)iritual vision to see 
 that mucli more than this is allegorical. All these things happened 
 to them for tyjjcs, and it is a jirolitahle exercise for the Bible 
 stiuU'nt to discern the antityi)es of all these things recorded in the 
 Old Testament. It takes for instance l)ut a moderate degree of 
 8})iritual intelligence, with some of the Early Fathers, to see that 
 the first chapter of Genesis is tyjiical as well as historical, typical too 
 ill a double way. One being a rejiresentation of God's work of grace 
 in the individual, the other of His operations in the world through 
 the ages or dispensations on to the Eternal Sabbath. 
 
 Nor does it require much spiritual insight to see in Cain with his 
 bloodless sacritice, hloody hands and fugitive steps in the land of 
 Nod, a striking picture of the self-righteous Jews who murdered 
 their brother after the flesh, and consequently became homeless 
 wanderers over the face of the earth. How vividly too is the sad 
 history of the Jew foretold in those hopeless words of Cain : And it 
 shall come to pass that every one that tindeth me will slay me. 
 
 \& 
 
 *NoTB.— Portions within brackets were not read. 
 
What ro.vler of history too that knows how retribution has overtaken 
 the Jowi^li persecutors, hut has been struck with the jjrojjlietic 
 nature of these words : Therefore wJiosoever slayetli Cain, vengeance 
 shall be taken on him sevenfold, 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT NAMES PROPHETIC. 
 
 The name of the land into which C'ain was driven is also ])ro- 
 phetic ; for it means wandering, and the land of wandering has ])een 
 the Jews home ever since. 
 
 Other Scripture j>ro[)er nam(^s are not less projjhetic. The word 
 Tfagar, the apostle tells us, was the Ar.d)ian name for Mt, Sinai, of 
 which she was a type. The word Melcliizedek is by interpretation, 
 the apostle tells us, King of Ilighteousness ; and after that also, 
 King of Salem, which is King of Peace, both names being eminently 
 tyi)ical of the oftii^es of liim who was made a i)rie.st forever after the 
 order of Melchizedek. The word Ham means the sunburnt one, and 
 no doubt the son of Noah, who bore this name, is a type of the 
 children of privilege, wliose souls are darkened by \niim])roved rays 
 from the sun of KighteoUvSness, Ham again was the father of 
 Canaan, which means trader. So the sunburnt ones — the Gospel 
 hardened l)ecome the fathers of the Gospel traders — the Judases who 
 are ever ready to sell their religion for gain. 
 
 Time would fail me to follow these names further, however pro- 
 fitable and interesting the vista opened up before us, but 1 must 
 mention a few more of the most prominent typical incidents, as 
 paving the way to my subject proi)er, 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT INCIDKNTS PROPHETIC, 
 
 Abraham, offering up his son Isaac, is a vivid ty])e of the Et(!rnal 
 Father offering up his son Jehovah. In sending his servant for a 
 wife for his son Isaac, we have a type of God the Fatlnu' sending out 
 the Holy Spirit to gather in from all nations those who shall form the 
 church, the l)ride of Christ. The womb of Rcbeccah is a type of 
 the Christian in which the two natures Esau and Israel are always 
 striving for the mastery, and the elder, the old man, shall serve the 
 younger, dacoli, the heel catcher or supplanter, is a type of the 
 natural heart which goes out after the world, while Israel the prince 
 M'ith God, is a type of the renewed man who is made a king and 
 priest unto God. The three stages in the life of Jacob represent the 
 same number of stages in the history of Israel, At home with his 
 father, deceptive and greedy, a fugitive in l^adan Aram suffering and 
 growing rich, returning to Palestine and enjoying the land. In this 
 case the first two is a matter of history, the last is a matter of i)ro- 
 phecy, which now is receiving its fulfilment. .Joseph as a type of 
 Christ, the coming deliverer, is exceedingly beautiful and clear. So 
 also is Moses, Here I need but mention their names. 
 
 Time would fail me to follow this subject further, I have said 
 enough for my present purpose. It will surely deepen our reverence 
 for the Scriptures and exhalt our conception of God's over-ruling 
 wisdom, when we find that the deep things of God in connection 
 with redemption have been pictured in allegorical representation by 
 the lives and names of the men, the places and incidents which are 
 
■ 
 
 6 
 
 <l('S('ril)(Ml ill Old Tcslaineiit stnry. 1 liavf often onvicd tlu^ .low for 
 hi.s wondifrful history. Wnt wlicii I find that I»h was simply a poiunl 
 in tlu; hands of (lod to delineate what the (nsntih; has attained to, a 
 storeoHcope throu^di which tin.' dei^p things of KetlcMiiption an? made 
 to stand out in iiold pictures, then my envy is swallowed up in 
 admiration and adoration for his (Jod. 
 
 THI-: TAHKUNAriiK TVIMCAIXY 1'|{<»P1IKTK: OF HETTER THINGS 
 
 TO COMK. 
 
 With Moses we arrive at that which is s|)ecially and fully typioal 
 of our Hul)ject, the ('hiistiiin Church. His life is an epoch in the 
 history of redemption. Until now (rod was simply a visitor to man 
 u])on the earth, lleiicefurth he dwells moiig nii'ii. He provides for 
 himself a haliitatitm and s])ecili('s how le may ])'■ ajtproached, and 
 how he may l)e served. Not, hovever, hefore he shews how man 
 must he redeemed. H(! cannot dw(dl among tlu^ unredeenuHl. Hut 
 when the Pas(dial Laiiih was slain and its^hlood spriukle(l to save the 
 slaves of l''gypt, then the cloud of glory (overshadowed the redeemed 
 ones, and (lod communed with them from above ihe mercy seat. 
 
 Hut the redemption from Egypt was a picture of a greater 
 reilemption, and when that is accomplislMMl (lod has greater blessings 
 for His jx'ople than simply dwelling among them. Formerly he 
 dwelt with them, now he dwells in them. " And I will pray the 
 father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide 
 Avith you forever. Even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot 
 rec(>ive, l)ecause it seeth him not, neither kiioweth him, l)iit ye know 
 him for he dwelleth 7vith you and shall be in vou." — John 14 : IG, 17. 
 
 A TYPE OF THE CHUHCH. 
 
 As a result of redemjition from Egypt we have the tabernacle in 
 the wilderness. So, as a result of the greater redemjition from sin, 
 Ave have the (Jhurcli of God in the world. As the lamb represents 
 Christ, so the tabernacle erected ])ecanse of the lamb shiin in Egypt, 
 represents the church reared because (of the death accom])lislied in Jeru- 
 .saleni. As the taljernacle was reared in the dessert, covered and indwelt 
 by tlie Divine presence, carried for forty yeors in a crooked course, 
 owing to failures onward into the land of promise, so the Church of 
 God reared in this world indwelt by the Divine spirit overshadowed 
 by its head, has its course through the world from Pentecost to the 
 Promised Millennium. The tubernacle therefore was a distinct type 
 of the Church of God. 
 
 A TYPE OP BELIEVERS. 
 
 The tabernacle was also a ty])e of believers individually. It was 
 a pattern of things in the heavenlies, and here the believer is said to 
 be .seated. Covered with a cloud of glory, and filled with the Divine 
 presence, it carnes the mind down to the scene in the upper chamber 
 in Jerusalem, M'here the Divine spirit fell in manifest form and 
 rested upon each of the disciples. KnoM' ye not that ye are the 
 temples of the Holy Ghost 1 And so the believer is seated in 
 heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He is exhorted to be filled with all 
 the fulness of God. He is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, even if it be 
 in invincible form, and he is a pilgrim passing on his way heaven- 
 

 ward. ITo is, therefore, a iiiiniaturo taheriuutlt? i)assir.r» from Kgypt 
 to Canaan tliroiigli thu vvihleriH'SH of life. 
 
 A TYPK OF THKIlt STANDING IN riHUST. 
 
 If till! tal»»!rnacle he viewinl in its j)arts and in its worship] kts, 
 tliu privilej^'es of hcdievers, as well as the provisions of j^raee, will he 
 more (clearly seen. The parts (»f the tahernael(! were composed of its 
 framework, covering and fnrniture, its woishippers of ))riests and 
 Levite.s. Speaking gcMierally, the framework and worsliippers are 
 types of })(ili(!Vers. The High l'ri«!st htsinga type of ('hrist tiusir luMid. 
 
 In ac(;ordan(;e with this the aposth; I'eter refers to helievers as 
 lively st(jnes l>\iilt up, a spiritual iioiisc, an holy jjriestliood, to oiler 
 up spiritual sacritice.^, acceptahle to ( lod hy .Icsus Christ. 
 
 The coverings arc types of Christ as the rightcMiusncs.s oi his 
 peopl'}, and the furniture, of Christ as the way of access to, and 
 communion with, the Father. 
 
 The frauK.'Work consisted of {H hoards, or jtosts, of accacia wood, 
 connected together l)y lifUicn hars (»f the same m.iteria'i, all overlaid 
 with gold, Kach hoard was to have two tennons, which were 
 received into sockets of silver, which were laid on the sands of the 
 dessert. The sockets were nunle out of money, i. e., tin; half sheckel 
 of the sanc^tuary, which was levied on rich and ])oor alike. The rich 
 shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a 
 sheckel, which they give as an ottering unto the J^ord to make an 
 atonement for your souls. Thus each post was hewn from a dessert 
 tree, covered over with gold, and stood on atonen>ent money. So 
 each heliever is a tree from the dessert cut down, then covered with 
 Christ's righteousnesss, and standing thus in that covereil position in 
 the sight of Ood on the ground of Christ's at onement. Therefore 
 now theie is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. 
 [*' Would you he a post in the temi)le of Cod, then you must suhmit 
 to he cut ilown, taken from your old root and i)lanted on the smitten 
 rock."] 
 
 THE PRIESTHOOD OF AARON'S HOUSE A TYPE OF THE PRIVILEGES 
 
 OF THE FAMILY OF FAITH. 
 
 But the heliever is more than a covered ]>ost or living stone in tlie 
 wall of God's spiritual tahernaclc or temi)le. He is also a priest 
 serving within it. And his head is .Jesus Christ in this relation as 
 He was his chief corner stone in the other. Here he otters up 
 spiritual sacrifices acceptahle to (^od hy Jesus Christ. Ye are come, 
 says the apostle, to the church of the tirst-horn. Prototokoon — the 
 plural — literally the church of the first-horn ones. The allusion here 
 is significant By hirthright the first-born were the priests of the 
 family. This continued until God cliose the Tribe of Levi instead. 
 And I behold I have taken the Levites from among the children of 
 Israel instead of all the first-born. The church of the first-born, 
 therefore, means the church of God's ap|)ointed |)riests. 
 
 But now also the veil of the temple is rent, and the believer 
 enters into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. There he communes 
 ■with God. There he receives of his fulne.ss and grace for grace- 
 There he is filled with all the fulness of God. 
 
8 
 
 HUMAN ORDINATION TO AMY PRIESTLY OFFICE SUPERFLUOUS 
 
 AND UN8CRIPTURAL. 
 
 Having, therefore, boldness to enter into the iioliest, what 
 priestly services could not the early Christian engage in"? If he took 
 part in the highest, who can deny his riglit to officiate in any 
 down to the lowest 1 The ajiostolic history and writings contain 
 nothing that can be construed in denial of such a right. On the 
 contrary, it contains much that clearly demonstrate it. The episthis 
 overflow with it, and the Acts of the Apostles contain many incidents 
 in corroboration of it. They thr.t were scattered abroad uj)on the 
 persecution that arose about Stei)hen went everywhere preaching the 
 word. Fidly aware of his priestly standing as one of the first-liorn 
 ones, Philij) preached to and baptised the Samaritans. Others 
 went as far as Phenice, Cyi)rus and Antioch, preaching the Lord 
 Jesus, and the hand of the Lord was with them, and multitudes 
 turned to the Lord. Ai)ollos too acted upon his ])riefeuy standing 
 when he went forward in partial ignorance to teach the things of the 
 Lord as he knew them. Nor did he wait for further authority than 
 than he had <lirect from (rod, before setting out to help the brethren, 
 convincing the -lews. The brethren who went with Peter to 
 Caisarea demurred not to baptize, though not previously ordained. 
 The disciples of Troas neglected not to come together on the first day 
 of the week to break bread, though they Avere simply disciples. 
 The Corinthian church observed all the ordinances of Christianity, 
 though there seemed to be no officials among them who might be held 
 res])onsible for their unseemly feasts. 
 
 I might go on indefinitely to shew that the early Chiistians 
 attained to the fulness of life and liberty, privilege and res])onsibility 
 set before them in shadow and substance by Moses and the Piojihets. 
 But it is unnecessary to proceed further, for it is adnutted by most 
 that no one had a monopoly of Divine things in the early church. 
 The editicati'>n of the church says Xeander was the common work of 
 all believers. • 
 
 A royal pri(!stliood under Christ the hi^h priest, a company of 
 first-born ones, and those, too. children of Abraham, the friend of 
 Go<l, the only limit to their usefulness was the limit of their ability. 
 Every one traded with the talents which God gave him, and no trials 
 for license, no Presbyterial or Episcojial ordination were looked upon 
 as requisite or neces.>*ary to beyin and carry on any work for God. 
 The true coin fresh from God's mint required no human tinkering to 
 give it currency in Christ's kingdom. In process of time, however, 
 the lustre of God's coin became tarnished. The glory departed from 
 the tabernacle. Delievers fondled with Avorldly Delilahs and lost 
 their light, their privileges, their strength and their power. Satan 
 sent his minions to usurji their prerogatives, and the darkness of 
 death settled over the Church ol God. 
 
 Renan, looking at the gradual development of the Hierarchy out 
 of the primitive democracy, calls it the most profound transformation 
 in history and a triple abdication. The congregation committing its 
 power to a college of Presbyter.s, then the college to its president or 
 bishop, and finally the bishop to the pope. 
 

 9 
 
 Tlioro is no possible (;once|tti(Hi of a l)eli(!vci' liighor tlian tlia*' 
 which is typified l)y tlie, Jewish tahernaele, for it was the dwelling 
 place of (rod. When this c'onee})tion takes firm root again in 
 Christendom, if it is ever destined to do so, then, and not till then, 
 shall we see the kingdom of ( lod and His Christ advancing as rapidly 
 as it did in the early days of Christianity. 
 
 '■ THE SAME TRUTH ESTAHLISIIED BY JEWISH I'RECEDE.VT. 
 
 This liigh concejjtion of the priesthood of all ])elievers was more 
 
 than foresli.idowed in Judaism. It had its roots in the initiatory rite 
 
 of circumcision and its co-relative feast the passover. These two, 
 
 though in many respects analagous to baptism and tlie supper, were 
 
 not in any way committed to the i)riesthood of Aaron. Every parent 
 
 circumcised liis own children, and every family ate the passover 
 
 . rt. So in the early cliurch ; tlie spiritual parents baptized their 
 
 spi 'itual children, and every community or family of such children ate 
 
 - supper. Not even the a[>ostles had a mono[)oly of the two sacra- 
 
 ents. As dispensers and celebrants the word of Cod does not 
 
 now them. Paul very emphatically repudiates any such monopoly 
 
 .vhen he says that lie was sent not to baptize, but to preach the 
 
 gosp(d. [The other a])ostles said we will give ourselves wholly to tlie 
 
 ministry of the word. It was no lowering of prestige, nor any 
 
 impairment of usefulness, to be guided by Jewish precedent as 
 
 respects circumcision and the passover.] 
 
 THIS TRUTH EXEMPLIFIED IN THE .SYNAGOGUE. 
 
 The princifjles and practice foreshadowed l)y the priesthood in the 
 tabernacle were exemplified in the synagogue to an extraordinary 
 degree. And if Christianity ha<l obtained a home in Judaism it is 
 very (questionable if the church should (!ver have come under the heel 
 of a priestly hierarchy. The soil of Paganism on the other hand 
 afforded a favorable nidus for the growth of clericy. Tiie synagogue 
 was simply a largo family where men of age and experieiu;e ruled, 
 and where the people learned, or were taught, to exercise their gifts. 
 Its object seemed to be the development of j opular zeal for, and 
 knowledge of, the Scriptures. That object was well accomplished. 
 Historians testify that wherever the Jews wandered they exhibited 
 the minutest knowledge of their sacred writings. Josephus says 
 that every Jew could boast of knowing the Scriptures as well as his 
 name. He also says that the Rabbis who oc(nij)ied so much of their 
 time with traditions, were not ashamed to consult the jteo|)le who 
 merely studied the law. The synagogue service was eminently fitted 
 to procure this. It gave due prominence to the well-kiKJwn law that 
 exercise develops while idleness cramps, destroys and wastes. Hence 
 the fact that no one was ordained to teach or minister. That, in the 
 words of Neander describing the early church, was the common 
 work of all believers. The elders who ruled were ordained, but 
 beyond that there was no ordination. Nor coidd there be consistently 
 with the objecit for which the synagogue was instituted. Was it not 
 so also in the Pearly Christian Church 'i Read through the Acts of 
 the Apostles and the diH'erent epistles, and by the time you are 
 half through you will be compelled to say that in this too the 
 
16 
 
 synaijoguc formotl the moilcl of tlio Early Christian Church. And 
 now if you turn up thci word .syna^o<,'ue in your Concordance, and 
 road up all the passages refiM'ring to it with their conneccions, you 
 will jiave a fair idea of the liherty enjoyed by the peo[)le, for 
 the exercise of their gifts. And if you contrast that liberty with 
 the hid(!-bound olticialisni observed in our churches to-day, you will 
 have a fair idea of how we are fallen from primitive lines ; how far 
 the UKxhd diti'ers from its reputed cast. 
 
 It would be well in addition to this to read what Canon Farrar, or 
 (rcike, or Ederslunm, or some other reputed authority, says of the 
 synagogue. How clastic, comprehensive, and suited for the pur})ose 
 for which God reared it. Ten Jews was the number named as 
 necessary to start one. It was considered incumbent on that number 
 to maintain one. No })rophet, priest or scribe, was needed. The 
 older men of experience were appointed as rulers or elders, for the 
 office of the elder was to rule. The peoi)le ministered, i. e., they read 
 selections from the law, the prophets, and the i)salm8. Some of these 
 were expected to expound, or it might be to preach, if able. From 
 5 to 7 of the people were thus trained at every Sabbath service. The 
 man who was selected to read the prayers was known as the 
 messenger of the congregation, the angel of the church. And it is 
 conlirmatory of tin; close identity of the synagogue and Christian 
 Church to find tlie saiiu? term used when God addresses the churches 
 of Asia Minor. In i\w. synagogue he was the congregation's spokes- 
 man to (jod. In the church He is made spokesman to the people. 
 To the angel of the church of — write. 
 
 Tnese particulars, taken in connection with those already referred 
 to, will show how well suited was the synagogue for a wandering 
 ])eople. How easily established and maintained. It will explain 
 how James could say of Moses tliat he hath in every city them that 
 ])roach Him, being read in the synagogue; every Sabbath lUiy. It will 
 i'Xi)lain how Jewish synagogues in apostolic days dotted the Roman 
 Empire, and how the apostle could use them so freely for the spread 
 of Christianity. 
 
 I will say nothing here of the marvellously wide-spread dispersion 
 of the Jews, only to ])oint to it as a wonderful exhildtion of the 
 Divine wisdom which scatterotl them in order to oi)en for the gospel 
 through the synagogue a door of ready access to the Gentiles. 
 
 If, therefore, the principles foreshadowed by the tabernacle and 
 exhibited in the .synagogue permitted small Jewish comi)anies in 
 exile, to have and to hold religious .services ; if they permitted the 
 holding of these services and the observance of those rights, which 
 were the counterparts of our Christian sacraments, without the aid, 
 assistance or presence of prophet, priest or scribe ; and more than all, 
 without the assistance of the Holy Spirit, as we now have Him, what 
 excuse could be oHered for the want of Christian services and 
 ordinances in any corner of the Koman world 1 Why should 
 Christianity be compelled to say non-possum under any conditions 
 then existing when Judaism flourished very often under appalling 
 difficulties'? Was the church fettered with forms and formalism 
 while the synagogue was free from either 1 He who over-ruled the 
 
11 
 
 planning of the synagogue to woik so admirably, would he not 
 exhibit similar wisdom in planning his church 1 Were Jews free to 
 read, pray and preach in the synagogue without ordination 1 And 
 were Christians compelled to bo ordained before doing oitlu^' ? We 
 empliatically deny any such reflection upon the founders oi the 
 Christian Church. There was no more ordination to ministry in the 
 Christian Church than there was in the synagogue. There certainly 
 was ordination to rule, but those elders who ruled are never called 
 teachers or ministers. They are often called bishops or overseers, Init 
 that was nothing more than they were in the synagogue, where; they 
 watched over the people in their worshii). 
 
 PAGAN ERRORS DISPROVED. 
 
 (a) But some one says to me that the Presbyters were the mins- 
 ters of the Primitive Church. Very well, then, you must accept 
 the consequences of your assertion. If yon want to be a niinister 
 you must wait till you have the divinely re(iuired (pialitication. You 
 must wait till you are the husband of one wife, having your 
 children in subjection under you with all gravity. I fancy that 
 most of us would like to have the congregation before the wife, 
 or at any rate before the blessedness which generally accompanies 
 her. I have seen these qualihcations ipioted to prove the cele- 
 bioy of the clergy, and the fellow made (piite as good a shewing 
 as those who quote them to prove that our college graduates were the 
 class of men which Paul had in his mind when he penned these 
 words. 
 
 {b) Did Paul then put the cart before the iiorse ? My objector 
 will at once answer no, and try to reconcile matters by saying there 
 were two kinds of elders, ruling and teaching elders, quoting in ])roof 
 that much teased passage. The elders that rule will have in double 
 honour especially those that labor in word and doctrine. Very well, 
 if there were two kinds of elders there should be two classes of 
 (pialifications, or at least there ought to be something to sliew that 
 the teaching elder was exempt fiom the qualifications necessary for a 
 ruling elder. Is such the case 1 If T pause for an affirmative reply, 
 I pause forever. 
 
 The teaching elders then were men who superadded the exercise 
 of their gifts to the duties of their office. To them, as well as to 
 others, applied the injunction : As each one hatli received the gift so 
 let him minister. Their duties as offic(!rs si)rang from their age and 
 experience, giving them natural wisdom and caution ; their duti<'s as 
 ministers from the grace of (lod, giving them spiritual understanding; 
 and here they were exactly on the same level as all other believers. 
 Every ruler might be a teacher, and often had to, but every teacher 
 could not be a ruler for want of the divinely required (pialiHcationa. 
 The gift of teaching or prophesying was not hanq)ered or fettered by 
 the externals, which are essential to rnling. A mere vouth could do 
 the former, it reijuired social weight to do the latter. 
 
 (c) *' Was not aptness to teach one of the required quaiitications f 
 my objector still queries. I answer yes ; but aptness to teach does 
 not constitute one a teacher. His official duty is sinq)ly to rule 
 
I 
 
 ■ : 
 ! I 
 
 |l ' 
 
 12 
 
 or oversee, and in the exercise of that function one can easily see 
 how requisite aptness to teach sometimes would be. Paul dwells 
 \ipori this in annther })hice, shewing the imjiortance of heinf:; able to 
 convince l)y sound doctrine the gain sayers, whose mouths must be 
 stopped 
 
 ((/) But, were not the elders of Ephesus commanded to feed the 
 church of (jlod over which the Holy Ghost made them overseers. 
 The word for feed here is Poimainein, to she])hord, to care for as a 
 shepherd, tend, govern, feed. The elders of the synagogue did all 
 this, and yet they were neither its ministers nor its teachers. As a 
 ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church I do this, or ought to do it, 
 and yet 1 am neither a teaidier nor a minister in virtue of nly office. 
 The office of a shejiherd is to care for the sheep. Put to care docs 
 not mean to coddle. To care means to develop in the widest sense. 
 He would bo a ])Oor care-taker who wo'^-ll not send the sheep out to 
 do their own feeding. The walk in a out of pasture, the grazing 
 and chewing, would be so much exercise to give relish for food and 
 help assimilation. Why hav^ we so many spiritual dyspeptics 1 
 Why have we now so many weaklings as compared with the giants of 
 primitive days 1 Just because with all our boasted knowledge they 
 understood shepherding i.-etter than we do. They led the sheep in 
 and out of pasture, and allowed them to do their own grazing, chew- 
 ing and digesting. We keep them in a pen and serve them with 
 meals of food already cut and chewed and digested. And if our 
 (,'ffiminate sheep ha])}>en to leave its pen, if it should stray beyond 
 reach of its coddling .she})herd, what a picture of woe-begone 
 wretchedness is ])resentetl for our gaze. What sad bleatings fall on 
 our ears. What wailings from the unweaned corners of our land. 
 
 If you want to see the two processes, compare Ephes. iv., 2, in 
 the original and in the authorized version. In the original it reads 
 correctly translated. lie gave some to be apostles and some prophets, 
 and some euangelists, and some pastors and teachers, unto, or with a ' 
 view to the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministering, for 
 the building up of the body of Christ. The idea here being that he 
 gave these to perfect the saints for working, whether that be minis- 
 tering or building up the body of Christ, He therefore gave them 
 to care for the sheep, to develop them, and not to coddle and dwarf 
 them. The authorized version reads : He gave some * ■"■ pastors and 
 teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministering, 
 for the building up of the body of Christ. In other words, He gave 
 them to coddle the sheep. They, the pastors, are to do everything, 
 and all the people have to do is to fold their hands and a|)plaud. 
 
 The apostle knew nothing of 'this in the synagogue whore he was 
 reared, and his language correctly understood does not in the least 
 imply it. The edification of the ])eople in the synagogue, as well as 
 in tlie church, was the common work of all believers, and this 
 developed them into scriptural giants. The Presbyters official work 
 was overseeing Not ministering, or teaching or preaching. To 
 quote from Shatf : In the Apostolic Church preaching and teaching 
 were not confined to a particular class, but every convert could pro- 
 claim the gospel to unbelievers, and every Christian who had the gift 
 
13 
 
 could ])ray and teach and exhort in the congregation. If, then, the 
 c<lifi':ation of the churcli was the common work of all helievers, it 
 follows that in the church, as in the synagogue, there was no 
 ordination to that work. 
 
 («) Thii separation of liarnahas and Paul is often advanced to 
 prove ordination, l)ut that simply proves that helievers have a right 
 to interfere in tlie case of men wlio are not in their proper sphere or 
 calling. Of l>arnal)as we have no particulars, hut of Paul we are 
 told that God orden^d him oil" to the (Jentiles on the day of his con- 
 version. " I have appearad unto thee ft)r this ])nrpose to appoint 
 thee a minister and a witness * * * delivering thee from the 
 peoi)le and from the Gentiles, \uito whom now 1 send thee." 
 Plaiidy tluui he was not in the . work to which God c; ..y. him 
 while minist(!riiig to the church in Antioch, and it became neces- 
 sary for the spirit to shake his nest, as it were. They were both 
 preaching and ministering l)efore this. Neither of them waited 
 to be ordained before doing so. And this action of the proph(!ts 
 and teachers was simply necessary, because they we -e not now 
 doing the work to which God called them. As well expect the 
 house of Aaron to wait the call of Israel after being already 
 called of God, as exjjcct a primitive believer to wait to he ordained 
 of men after his tongue has already been touched with a coal from 
 the altar. 
 
 (/) Lastly, the case of Timothy is advanced to prove ordina- 
 tion to ministry, but this proves too much, f(»r Timothy in this case 
 receives a supernatural gift, the bestowal of which is not se«ui 
 through the hiying on of hands nowadays, no matter how much 
 claimed. '. '^ ' 
 
 All these contentions for ordination to anything but ruling is 
 simply so much of a display of ignorance of Jewish institutions, 
 under the Old T<!stament dis])en.sati<ui, ignorance also of tht^ ridation 
 of Christ's body to him as the head, and of the laws of spiritual life 
 in the Church of God. [ \ most wonderful (>xhibition of this igno- 
 rance is made by the framers of the Confession, or at least by their 
 assistants, in giving lleb. v.^ 4, to j)rove the truth of sect. 4, Article 
 XXVII. The j)assage reads : " And no man taketh this honour unto 
 himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron." What honour 1 
 That of ottering for sin, as th(! previous verse shews at a glance. 
 But here it is (quoted to prove that no one may dispense sacraments 
 but lawfully ordained ministers of the Word, fiom which it is to be 
 inferred that dispensers of sacraments are otterers for sin. Surely 
 Milton had good cause to detine the presbyter of his day as a priest 
 writ large. An article which recpiires such propping shoud not 
 be allowed to remain in the Confession one hour.] Certainly 
 there were pastors and teachers in the Primitive church, but the 
 gateway into those offices was not through the Presbuterate 
 any more than the door to the Leviticid office lay with the 
 elders of Israel. In both cases the choice and gift was (iod's, 
 and that altogether apart from human choice or ratification. 
 God hath set the members in the body every one as it pleased 
 Him. Not as it phrased the presbuterate or any other ate. Christ 
 
u 
 
 f?avo tlio gifts, and he holds the sUrs in his right hand. The door 
 into any office in the early cluu'eh was the free exercise of such gifts 
 as (vhrist hestowed upon every Iteliever. Thus each on(! found his 
 place and his sphen; as easily and n;iturally as water tinds its own 
 hivel. Thus Moody in one day found his sphere, and so also 
 Sj)urgeon. [So also should you. You must trade with the talent 
 whi(di God gave you, iuid not bury it under a napkin of non-licentiate 
 and non-ordained. Licenti.ite implies non-licentiate. It makes one's 
 blood run cold to think of it.] [The tabernacle as the place of 
 worshij) has an important l)earing on this point. " In all places 
 M-iiere I record my name 1 will (!ome unto thee and I will Hess thee." 
 These i)laces in the wilderness were indicated by the clo id. Where 
 it sto[)ped there the tabernacle was reared, and there the house of 
 Aaron sacrificed. Where does He record His nnme now 1 " Where 
 two or three are gathered together unto (e i s) my name there am I 
 in the midst of them." The two or three with Christ in the midst 
 are i)rie8ts on a liigher platform of service than was the house of 
 /\aron. What })resumptuf>us impiety then to say to any of them : 
 We have not ordained you, and therefore you dare not perform such 
 and such acts of (.'hristian service ; you dare not baptize ; you dare 
 not break bread. So these; priests are compelled to look away from 
 Christ, their centre of attraction and soun.'e of worship, to man and 
 his inventions. 
 
 Here the (juestion may be asked, why there should be ordina- 
 tion to rule and not to ministry (teaching, etc.) The answer 
 goes down to first ])rinciples. The qualifications for ruling were 
 obtained by prolonged contact with the world of nature, giving 
 caution, prudence, foresight, method and social influence. These 
 were antecedent, and not to l)e obtained through spiritual exercises 
 ill the church. No one was debarred from getting them by any 
 choice or action of the church. It wa^ otherwise with the qualifica- 
 tions for prophecying (i. e., speaking ui edification, exhortation and 
 comfort). These were to be obtained and (hiveloiied by exercises in 
 the assembly. The object then would be to throw the assembly open 
 to all, thiit all might be schooled. As Ihe apostle says in 1 Cor. xiv. 
 31, which is the spirits' directory of worship, "Ye may all prophecy 
 one by one that all may learn and mH may be exhorted." The setting 
 api»rt of a few to ihis <luty would therefore be sul)versive of on6 
 gi'ciit purpose, at least, for which the eirly Christians met for 
 worship. This Was their only Theological Hall, and it surely had 
 the advantage over ours of being freely open to all sorts and conditions 
 (jf Christians. Nor can it be denied that it takes no less than (til to 
 meet tfie needs of all .sorts iind conditions of men. A church which 
 has but one slot, and that a mighty iiarrow one, through which to run 
 her messeiigeis, falls doubly shoit of her mission. A nation which 
 woul<l so reduce an army in raising it, and so crii)ple its equipment, 
 would have a poor shew for existence or conquest. The early Chris 
 tians were wiser than that, being Divinely taught.] 
 
 There was no fear either of over-(!rowding. The world was each 
 one's parish, and hy the time the whole of that i>arish was evange- 
 lized the fulness of the Gentiles .should have come, and the Lord 
 
15 
 
 would have returnod to His vincyiird. Kvory soul born into the 
 kingdom was so much to hasten that fulti'v^s and bring near(!r that 
 coming. This was fuel to the Hre which burned in tb ' l)reasts of tin; 
 early Christians. The Kre continu(!d to burn while the fu«'l lasted. 
 The fuel gave out when the church began to make :i home in the 
 world. When she began to say, " Where is the promise of His 
 coming r .. 
 
 TIIK christian's HOPE. 
 
 t 
 
 One more truth from the tabernacle and I am dom,'. A truth 
 this too which was clear a.s the apple of the eye to the primitive 
 church, but which our ])resent Christianity barely tolerates. I refer 
 to the truth of our Lord's imminent coming. This truth was most 
 clearly foreshadowed )>y the movements of the High Priest on the 
 day of atonement. It is not conjecture, but the spirit's inttirpretation, 
 which rej)resents Aaron the High Priest as a type of Christ. He 
 went inro the holiest with the blood of a bullock to make atonement 
 for himself and his house. Then he comes out and kills the goat of 
 the sinoffering, which is fur the })eople. H(! then brings its l)lood 
 within the veil and does with it as he did with the blood of the bul- 
 lock, sprinkling it upon and Ix^fore the merely seat. Put though lie 
 has gone in and sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat as a .sin 
 offering for the peoj)le, still is their sin not put away till he comes 
 out again and confesses it with his liands upon the head of the scape 
 goat? During ail tl. time tliat he is within th(! veil the people an; 
 watching anxiously for his re-appearance to confess their sin and bless 
 them. This blessing to them is tlu; crowning act of his priestly 
 services, the act which shews Cod's acce])tance of his Mediatorial 
 work. So with the great High Priest who has gone into the heavens 
 witli his own blood to make atonement for the sins of his people. 
 For the forgiveness of those sins he has already made abundant 
 provision, but that {)rovision will not b(; dispensed to his people 
 Israel as a nation before he again comes out from within the veil. 
 Tlien shall they look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn 
 as one mourns for his first Ix'gotten. Then, and not till then, will 
 Israel as a nation confess the nation's sin, receive forjiveiuiss and be 
 blessed with promised blessings. As Isracd watched for the return of 
 the High Priest to bless them, so the early chuich waited for the 
 coming of Jesus from within the veil, and they were abundantly 
 justihed for a.ssuming this waiting attitiuh'. Jesus is scarcely 
 received out of the discijihis sight by the cloud before He commis- 
 sions two angels to tell thcMii of His coming. This sanu' »Iesus whi(;h 
 is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye 
 have seen Him go into heaven. Tiiis coming formed the early 
 church's song of victory. It buoV'd them when cast down ; it 
 cheered them when dejecti d ; it supported them in atliiction, and it 
 maintaii.ed their ])ilgrim character when worldly temjitations would 
 otherwise allure them. 
 
 Nor can we wonder at their inti-nse longing inr His coming even 
 on personal grounds. Many of them knew their Saviour after the 
 flesh, and thuugh His Divine character would sometimes flash out 
 upon them, as it did upon Peter, intuitively impelling them to keep 
 
16 
 
 at a distance and avoid ovor-diie familiarity, y<'i^ we know frorji tho 
 c:i8e of the loved ai)oi-'tle and the family of IJethany that such close 
 I'aniiliarity in ni.iny cases existed. As friend witii friend, so Jesus 
 communed with his followers, the communion being so much swciiter 
 and irresistibly attractive beca\ise of his spotless humanity. 
 
 How they mourned his ab;^ence when held under the power of 
 death it is not difficult to conjecture. But here there is no room for 
 conjecture, for the record of the discijdes' sorrow is written with an 
 unerring pen. What manner of communications are these which ye 
 have one with another as ye walk and are sad ? i^es, the absence of 
 the Master's person was to them a very tangible cause of heart-break- 
 ing sorrow And then when he re-ai)peared and vanished was he not 
 j)rej)aring them for the future ? Not only the future vanishing but 
 the future re-oppearing. And when those sad words, " I go to 
 my father," were fulfilled, was not this fulfilment a pledge of the 
 fulfilment of the rest of His promises. I will come again and receive 
 you to myself. The prouiise of His coming was to them as much a 
 reality as the promise of His going had proved to be to their 
 experience. The one had received its literal fulfilment, and so with 
 equal reason would the other. l)eside.s, the apostle even held out the 
 hope of His coming as an incentive to the Early Christian Church. 
 The Gentiles we are told turned to (iod from idols to serve the living 
 Cod, and to wait for His .Son from heaven. 
 
 Why then has the Lord delayed His coming'? Simply I believe 
 because the church has nut kept in the attitude of waiting. Here 
 again we have a word of prophecy to which we do well to take heed. 
 I refer to the fact that the forty years wandering was (nving to the 
 sin of Israel. And I have no doubt but the sin of the chiirch, the 
 narrowing of the channels of Cod's grace to the world, to a certain 
 few, has caused the delaving of His coming. Had the church con- 
 tinned as it began, making a fully equipped missionary of every 
 believer, the fulness of the Cer tiles would have come in very shortly 
 after iho apostolic age, and the world would now be enjoying a 
 niillenium of blessedness ujider the personal reign of Christ. 
 
 Many reject this view as being too material. I would ask such if 
 there was anything strictly material in (Christ's bodily presence after 
 His resurrection ? That life of His after death, was it, or was it not, 
 material ? And we are tokl that the same Jesus who went up should 
 also come down. I would ask them if there was anything very 
 material in the transfiguration upon the mount, which transfiguration 
 was a miniature picture of Christ in His kingdom. iSix days pre- 
 viously He had sf' ' there be some standing here which shall not 
 taste of death tih ^.ley see the Son of Man coming in his kingdon). 
 On the mount he fulfills His word to Peter, James and John. VV^is 
 there anything incomprehensibly material in the cloud of glory and 
 in the risen and changed saints talking with Jesus, earnests these of 
 the resurrected and changed at His coming, as Peter and James and 
 John represented Israel within hearing distance, while down below 
 are the people as representing the (Jentile world. Was their any- 
 thing impossibly material in the cloud of glory over the tabernacle, 
 and in Moses communing with God within the sanctuary. Is there 
 
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 o\v 
 ny- 
 
 anytliinj,' iiupossil)ly material in the fact that Ilis deh'ght is with the 
 sons (jf nK'H, oi' in the voice from heaven sayin<^, heluilil the tahernacie 
 of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall he 
 His iJ(!()|)le, and God himself sliall be with them and be their God. 
 The early church did not think so. The J)ivinily inspired apostles 
 did not think so, and it is with wh-it they thon<,dil, and not with 
 what modern savants think, that ^^ 3 now have to do. 
 
 T will end here, not l)ecause niy subject is exhausted, but because 
 my time is limited. I have endeavored to shew from the tabernacle 
 the early Christians standing,' in Christ. That he standi^ before God 
 on the ground of atonement, covered with Christ's righteousness ; 
 so that now God sees no iniquity in Israel, no perversity in .Jacob. 
 I have also endc ! ored to shew tiie early Christians standing in the 
 Church of Christ. Represented by the priesthood of Aaron, as 
 chosen and ordained of (iod, they required no further ordination to 
 preach the gospel, administer baptism, the counterpart of circumcision, 
 or celebrate the supper instead of the passover. These rites were in 
 no ways bound up with officialism either in Judaism or in early 
 Christianity. 
 
 Finally, I dwelt on the early Cliristians attitude or hope, sliewing 
 that Christ's coming was the ol)ject of the church's hope, as Christ's 
 atonement was the object of Jier faith. We, in our day generally 
 speaking, use the word hope in a different sense to that in which it 
 was used in apostolic days. They used it in connection with the 
 salvation of their bodies. We use it in connection with the salvation 
 of our souls. This to them was a simple matter of faith, and having 
 believed it there was no longer doubt but assurance, and what they 
 were sure of they could not be said to hope for. The object of their 
 hope was Christ's coming with the consequent blessings of resurrection 
 and reign. 
 
 As preparatory to all this, I endeavored to shew the typical char- 
 acter of Old Testament story : a field of investigation too little 
 explored in the present day. If I have added to your zeal for a 
 deeper knowledge of God's Word I shall consider myself abundantly 
 rewarded. 
 
 I close with a passage from each of the heroes of the Jewish 
 exodus : '* There remaineth yet much land to be possessed, go in and 
 possess the land." 
 
 ere 
 
AF^PENDIX. 
 
 It will not he forgotten that my letters in the Prp.Hhyterinu Witiiexn, 
 entitled '• What is Wrong," were followed hy a resolntion in the Synod 
 appointing a Committee on Methods of Working, The finding of that com- 
 mittee was exceedingly disappointing, inasmuch as it did not hejin at the 
 heginning. It did n :)t commence, as it should, with the laws of spiritual life 
 and growth in the body of Christ, framing its recommendations with a view 
 to giv'e these laws full effect, adapting the machinery of the churcli to the 
 provisions of grace as revealed in the New Testament, To do its work 
 thoroughly it could not have stopped short of recommending the rejection of 
 the article in the confession which robs the children of (Jod of their heaven 
 born privileges — their standing in the church of (!od as kings and priests. 
 Having put my hand to the plow, I may not rest short of formally moving to 
 obtain this. How to proceed I have now under consideration, but tiie 
 Presbuterate may rely on being very soon called upon to decide between the 
 word of CJod and the Confession of Faith, upon the standing of believers in 
 the Church of (iod. With this object in view, and to supply a demand for 
 my letters I append a few of them. 
 
 THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
 
 To show forth the Lord's death till He conie, forms an important part of 
 every Christian's duty. It is a tcriptural method of working which the 
 Synod's committee has not noticed, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do." 
 Actuated by this desire. I can imagine in many sparsely settled and secluded 
 portions of our land two or three of (iod's children reading Luke 22, or 
 I. Cor. 11, where they are commanded to shew forth His death till He come. I 
 can see them upon the first day of the week proceeding like the disciple in 
 Ajts XX., 7, to break bread, to remember their Lord and shew forth His death 
 according to His own appointnient. They meet and read " For I have 
 received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord 
 Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread ; and when he had 
 given thanks. He brake it and said. Take, eat. this is my body whicl) is broken 
 for you : thi'* do in remembraiice of me, . . . for as often as ye ett this bread 
 and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come," With heart 
 felt gratitude and filial love they proceed to obey their Saviour's last command. 
 And now they realise the truth of the promise, " wherever two or three are 
 gathered in my name there am I in the midst of them." But suddenly their 
 communion ia broken. There steps in a man with lofty mien. From under 
 a fold of his toga he pulls out a volume and reads: "There be only two 
 sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the gospel ; that is to say, baptism 
 and the Supper of the Lord ; neither of which may I: ^.ispensed by any but a 
 minister of the word, lawfully ordained.'' (Conression of Faith, Chap. 
 
19 
 
 XXVII., Sec. IV.) He then rebTikes them as being impiously irreverent, and 
 threatens them with ecclesiastical punishment for obeying their Divine 
 Master according to the letter of His own aj)j>ointment. i'he meeting is 
 broken. In much doubt and perplexity the children of (iod hie homeward. 
 They become laan, weak and incapabh; ; for tha pain of disol)odience is the 
 highway to ruin and death. 
 
 This is not imaginary. It is all a reality, for now, a-^ in our Saviour s 
 day, the traditions «)f the elders, the commandments of men, make ni none 
 effect the coiinnandments of (Jod. The popery nf l'rot«!Hlanlism clogs the 
 wheels of evangelistic truth. Erring David stops the ark and (Jod breaks in 
 upon Israel with spiritual death. 
 
 One would like to imagine a meeting with a different endin/ ; a me ting 
 in which the word of (Jod is victorious over the traditions of men. Yon say 
 of the sacraments, " Neither may be dispensed by any but a ministcM- of the 
 word lawfully ordained." (.'on y(,u tell us then why Paul was baptized Ity a 
 certain disciple named Ananias, and not by one of the apostles or by some 
 other lawfully ordained minister of the wor<l? Can )ou tell us why the 
 Samaritans were baptized by I'hilip, lawfully ordained to the deaconship and 
 not to the ministry of the word ? ('an you tell us why I'etiir commanded 
 certain brethren from Joppa to l)aptize Cornelius before preparing them for 
 that duty by first ordaining tlujin to the mini»lry of the word '.' And as to 
 the Lord's Supper, can you shew one passage of scripture where lawfully 
 ordained ministers of the word ate entrusted with the duty of dispensing it? 
 What i)assage entitles them to a monopoly of administering it 't Why then 
 did Paul encourage the disciples of Tro,»s, and give them the imprimatur of 
 his presence and preaching, when as was their wtmt they came together upon 
 the Hrst day of the week to break bread? How is it that when we attempt 
 to f(»llow fkcir c.xiunpli' you come to forbid us ? Our duty, as well as yours, a 
 duty for which faitli qualifies us. is to do this in remembrance of Him, and if 
 in addition you have been called to the ministry of the word, why do you 
 not rest satisfied With attending to your ministry as Paul did to his? The 
 Supper is closely related to the passover. It was instituted imme liately after 
 the passover feast. It commemorates and shews forth what the passover 
 typitied. But in the passover feast there was no interference from priest or 
 Levite. Every family by itself was to keep it. " Ami it shall come to pass 
 when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by these services? 
 that ye shall say. It is the sacrifice of the Lord's pat^sover. " Beautiful pro- 
 vision for perpetuathig religion in the family. Where in our present 
 Christianity is there anything approaching it ? Is its discontinuance indicated 
 by the time, place or mode of the institution of the Supper ? The early 
 disciples broke bread from house to house. But this you deny us. You 
 make Christianity more priest-ridden than Judaism. Why do you lay your 
 hands upon the church in the family as well as upon the church in every 
 sequcscered corner of our land ? 
 
 There is a pause. The children of (iod wait for a reply. But the 
 Bachelor has none to give beyond quoting the committee's finding, " that 
 there is nothing radically defective either in the system of the church or its 
 administration." And so armed with nothing but the article in the confession 
 and the committee's finding, he bows himself out of the meeting, whereupon 
 they start out afresh with the .35th paraphrase. 
 
 And after thanks and glory given 
 To him that rules in earth and heaven ; 
 That symbol of His flesh he broke, 
 And thus to all HU followern spoke. 
 
 One would like to imagin** a meeting ending so victoriously for the truth, 
 but alas there be too many Galatians among us to permit of it. We be all 
 too much in bondage to ordinances. We be followers of David more than of 
 God. God's directions as to the carrying of the ark David ignores. He pro- 
 ceeds after his own fashion, new carts and that sort of thing, in place of the 
 sons of Kohatn, the result being death and disappointment. Can we expect 
 less when Christ's order in the church for shewing forth His death, carrying 
 

 20 
 
 tluH ark of teHtiiiioiiy, Ih i^iionMl. Tin; ciiuroli affcu-tH to tlinpcMino through 
 certain iiumi tliat which ChriHt Iiuh heHtowud as a |)ri»ili'g«' ami irnposf^d as h 
 duty upon all In-licvt^rH. Mucii is said against Koinanisin for denying the cup 
 to the laity. How nineh more, vvitii its csxtra light, may he said against 
 I'roteHtantiHin for denying hoth «;up and h)af to all believers? Hut then 
 ])avid, the man after <!odsown lufart, e'red : and it need not surprise us if 
 men of less note, the frameiH of the Confession and the memhers of the Synod 
 committee, shruild tirr also Hut see the diMerenee. David ipiickly rt-covers 
 him of his error ; Protestantism sticks to hers with a tenacity worthy of her<) 
 wor»hip|)erK. 
 
 The church makes much of preaching, and goes to vast expense to Ht 
 men after her fashion, for that Divim; calling, hut tliere is another modti of 
 preaching just as Itinding, which can he accomplishecl iiy nu^n who are not 
 orators. To the Christian there is nothing like the Supper ; and peihaps to 
 those outside there is nothing that ap|)eals so "ongly. It is not the speak- 
 ing or preaching, hut the memoriiils of rede .iption that so a|)peal to the 
 senses and touch the heart. Hence the Divine wisdom of those words, Do 
 this in remend)rance of ine, Do this : it is not dispense this, nor yet 
 administer this : Him|)ly, do this. No classical education or profundity of 
 intellect recpiisite, simply faith to discern the I^ortls hody. Such faith as is 
 to he found in many lonely corners where oratory will never flourish. Let it 
 he allowed to grow into lively exercises, and the (ropsecjuent fruits of the s|)irit 
 will do more to conimend {'hrist to the ungodly than all the gold of Ophir, 
 added to all the learning of Kgypt. " Wliatsoever He saith unto you, do." 
 They do. The water becomes wine. Tiie guests are su])plied and Christ is 
 glorified. What an object lesson for His children to all ages I Suppose our 
 forefathers had carried with them acroa.' the sea that liberty with which 
 Christ makes His people free ; suppose they were as little in bondage to 
 ordinances as they wished to be, to civil encroachments ; au[)pose when they 
 landed and scattered themselves in lonely groups over the broad face of 
 America they had followe<l the primitive preciedent of giithering themselves 
 together on the first day of the week to break bread : suppose the waterpots 
 had been filled according to (Jod's a|)pointment ; what think you would be the 
 measure of blessing which would accrue to themselves, and flow over to their 
 neighbors and down to posteiity I l^ut we are in the m dst of a new exodus 
 Our sons go out from us into the lonely wastes of the far west, and the 
 seething cesspooLs of the nearer south. What shall they be when they get 
 there? O^ses in the deserts, centres of attraction and growth, or ephemeial 
 gourtls wilting like that of Jonah under the hot winds of worhlliness and 
 temptation? Shall they go out complete m Him or cripjded by ecclesiastical 
 fetters ? But what shall our mission stations and weak congregations at home 
 be I Are they still to be spiritually starved l)ecause the bachelors are iew 
 and far between? May we not say to them as Peter said to the cripple at the 
 beautiful gate, " Silver and gold have we none. In the name of -lesus Christ 
 of Nazareth rise up and walk." 
 
 We t-hould not be wise above what is written, aiul it certainly is not 
 written that the autcmomy of any church hangs upon the presence of ordained 
 ministers. The very opposite in truth is to be inferred from this fact among 
 others, that He g-*ve evangelists, pastors and teachers, vvith a view to perfect- 
 ing the saints for the work of ministering, for the bui'ding up of tlie l)ody of 
 Christ. " Whatsoever He saith unto you, do." 
 
 " There is not to reason why, 
 There is not to make reply." 
 
•2[ 
 
 " WHAT IS WKONf;?" 
 
 I»V AN KI^DKK. -III. 
 
 In iny last letter I Hhuwed how the ApoHtolic cinircli inod'illed ufter tho 
 >yniig()giu' u'ovetiii)^ I'liriicslly tlu; hcst ^it'ts, i^.spcciiilly tlmt cf prophnsying, 
 inmli' UNt! (tf tliostj ^ifts to the eilitic;aioii, exlioratioii uml i oiufoi-t of tho 
 I'huieh and the conv(!isi(Mi of the Wuihl. I nlieweil that, with the rise of 
 aiitii:hiist, (aiitichristoM in.steail of Christ), the coinnion exeroiat! of tliose 
 ^iflH fell into piie.stly lumdH. for what ih nioie natural than that the man of 
 win having put hini«elf iustiuil of Christ, Hhoiihl put IiIh a^'ents instead of tho 
 Hob' Spirit ': Henceforward the ihui\ h eeasi'd to he cditied Ity all its inemhers 
 - the nienihers of Christ's hody speaking as the spirit giive lliein utterance. 
 Tlio priest, instead of the Holy Spirit, i)ecaine the channel throu^^h which 
 the things of (Christ were being dealt out to the faithfid, and accord ng to an 
 unalterable law the unexercised inendiers of the body shrivelled and died. 
 Hence the long night of death in the Dark A^es. I shewiil that the lieforrned 
 church of Calvin and Knox returned so far to apostolic usage and the practi- 
 cal exhil»ition of the priesthood of all believeis as t( institute the weekly 
 exercise oi' pi'ophesying ; and that out of the reennting and drilling groui'd 
 thus provided, Scotland was served with the gospel of Christ. I shewtid that 
 these prophecy meetings were placed under ecclesiastical l)an, and the work 
 of edifying the (diurch and pi-eaching the gospcd transferred from individual 
 believers to an ordained ministiy. I shewed that but for the society meetinga 
 of the Covenanters, this sin of (juencliing the spirit in the assend)ly of 
 believers would have ended in an ordain'.- ' i'sthooil, and that again in the 
 restoration of antichrist. 1 can tnke you ii. ^nis province to a wliole nettle- 
 ment of Komanists who were all Presbyterians when they landed on our 
 shores. And if you asked them wliy, tluiy niight point you to our church 
 standards. People got it in their heads that for a layman to preach the 
 gospel was to otl'er strange tire unto the Lord, and as to their administering the 
 sacraments, why, it would be nothing less than the embodiment of sacrilege. 
 And yet unquestionably those Scotcli innnigranta ought to have administered 
 all the ordinances of religion among themselves. Is it not time, Mr. K<litor, 
 that tile church were rousing itself to undo tins? There are companies of 
 be ieving Presbyterians scattered through our land very much in the same 
 condition as tlu se S(!otch immigrants — destitute of ordinances so far as our 
 church can supply them— in bondage as to its decrees or polity, and ignorant 
 of the principles underlying the synagogue service upon which the church 
 was originally modelled. In primitive days these weak sections would 
 become centres of life and evan, 'lization, whereas now they go out from us, 
 or wither and die. Why should it lie so when the spirit of life has not 
 changed ; and the word of truth has not lost its power, and ('hrist has not 
 ceased to be the Head of his body the church ? What hinders the outflow of 
 the life of Chiist to every section of his body ? VVhat hinders the connnoii 
 operations of .^is spirit? What hedges in and hinders the ministrations of 
 the spirit by sih ..cing the publican Matthew and uncanonizing the tisherman 
 Peter until they all come up to the measure of the stature of the learning of 
 Paul ? Is there no burying of talents, no covering them up with napkins, 
 because the church has missed t' dmplicity of Christ and the laws by which 
 the growth of His body in its moot distant niendiers is secured ? And what 
 of the reckoning and the excuse which we as otfice-bearerb have to ofler ? 
 " Thy gifts were rough and uneducated ; they could not read thy word in 
 Hebrew and Greek, and though they were powerful in the Scriptures, we 
 closed their mouths by statute, we forbade them to preach in thy name, to 
 baptize or eat bread in thy name." We even in times past forbade them to 
 meet in thy name. Mr. Edit-^r, when I look at these things in the face, 
 horror takes hold on me. 7."'. slain of the daughter of my people rise up 
 before me. I cannot have their biood upon my shoulders by seeing the evU 
 and not exposing it, by seeing a remedy and not prescribing for it. I will 
 treat of the remedy again under the head of *• What is Right?" 
 
22 
 
 WHAT IS RIGHT? 
 
 "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." There are now 
 scores of our students lalioring in the weaker sections of our land. Many no 
 douht will he owned by Hod in the conversion of souls, and when winter sets 
 in they will leave their spiritual children and their work with an aching heart. 
 Why '! They see a long term of silent Sahhaths awaiting the scenes of their 
 earnest labors. They see the sheep without shepherds, while many colored 
 wolves are prowling round. They have already had experiences of how these 
 wolves tear up the tlock, and their hearts are sad at the thought that what 
 hiis so often happened will so soon happen again. But they have no remedy, 
 and at the church's call otl' they march to college, leaving the sheep to their 
 Tate. What 1 Yes, to their fate, for so the Presbyterian church with its 
 " educated ministry " cares for its mission stations. If thesH students knew 
 God's remedy for such newly planted churches, and if the church pioclaiined 
 it, how confidently woulil they commit these charges to God and the word of 
 His grace, which is able to build tiiem up, and give them an inheritance 
 among them that are sanctified. What is (ilod's remedy ? An educated 
 ministry ? If so it would not l)e wanting, for believers are members of His 
 body, and receive their nourishhient in viitueof the fact, that he ascended 
 upon high, led cajitivity captive, and tjare gifts unto men. What gifts ? 
 His word, His .spirit. His people, (iiven these in any locality, what then ? 
 We have all the elements of life and growth of which the word of (iod takes 
 any cognizance. His people are His body wherev'cr they are assembled. His 
 spirit is their life :nd blood, and His word is their food. Who disputes this? 
 The church How ? By introducing another element which may be personi- 
 fied for convenience as a Bachelor of Arts. Well, the Bachelor has a very 
 higli opinion of his own imjjortance, though somet'mes alas the sheep do not 
 know his voice. But the sheep are igno/ant, forsooth, and will starve not 
 knowing how to eat, unless the Bachelor teaches them. The word will not 
 nourish unless the Bachelor mixes it, yes, and seasons it as well. The spirit 
 will not enlighten and vivify unless the Baciielor guides it. The syndwls of 
 Christ's body do not represent Him unless the Bache'or breaks them. He in 
 shoit is the channel through which the life of Christ is conununicated to 
 believers. And so our out-stations are allowed to starve in the cold of winter 
 because our Bachelor is at college ; and all this, while (iod's gifted ones are 
 rusting in our c ngregations. Iniried out of deference to the personified 
 Bachelor. What I ask is all this but the quintessence of Popery ? " Speak- 
 ing of these buried ones," 1 heard a catechist say, *' that he never wished to 
 open his mouth while that young man was round, and yet there he is rusting 
 by the streams of Vletapedia, or somewhere else. A premium on learning, 
 but a terrible discount upon the gifts of the ascended Redeemer. Let ua 
 briefly consider the laws of life and growth in the members of Christ's bo ly, 
 or rather the manifestations of life in those members. They are shut up in 
 some lonely spot alone with God's word, which is their food, and the Holy 
 Spirit, which is their guide. What then? They forget not theassembl ng of 
 themselves together as the manner of some is, but they exhort one another. 
 They organize by appointing elder men as officers (not as orders) who shall 
 have the oversight, and rule well, or in addition labor in word and doctrine 
 accird ng to the measure of faith, and as the spirit shall give them utterance. 
 Being met together, they read the word to which they give heed as to a lamp 
 that shiiieth in a dark place. To each one, not to the elders only, but to each 
 one, is given the manifestation of the spirit for that which is profitable. To 
 every one is given j^race according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 
 Having then gifts, not the Bachelor mark, differing according to the grace 
 given them, they prophecy. What does that mean? He that prophesieth 
 spaketh to edification, exhortation and comfort." They break bread and 
 minister to fme another. Such in bare outlines is the manifestation of life in 
 the body of Christ when not hampered by a fourth element which I have 
 personitied as the Bachelor of Arts. The company of believers who thus 
 

 23 ^ 
 
 meet to break bread, exhort, edify aiul comfort one another, being thrown 
 upon the Mord under the influence of the Holy Spirit, are developed. They 
 become powerful in the Scriptures, and thougl) the Bachelors call tlieiii 
 ignorant, others see that they have been with Jesus, and are moved by His 
 spirit. They are powerful in ])'rayer. What a contrast to a congregation 
 Avhere one man does all the preaching on Sundays, and with his elders a 1, or 
 nearly all, the lecturing and jmiying on Wednesdays. What a brood of 
 lichens such a system is calculated to rear I Believers who can scarcely open 
 their mouths for the Lord who brought them I 
 
 The manifestation of life in these believers is not confined to their own 
 circle. They conmninicate the spirit. Talk of a Ijisiiop communicating the 
 Holy Ghost. lo is a gratuitous assumption. But these are a royal priest- 
 hood, a chosen generation, and they shew forth the virtues of Him who called 
 them out of darkness into his marvellous light. They go everywhere witiiin 
 reich preaching the gospel. The word is accompanied with power, tho.se 
 who believe are received into fellowship and are baptized with their house- 
 holds. The saints are multiplied in geometrical |Trogrcssion, and the whole 
 world is dotted with churches. And all this while the ]5achelor is hugging 
 his Honier, and <lrean\ing of Cicero and Demosthenes as indispensable 
 requisites for preaching the gospel. The life mau'fests itself also in (-election 
 and distributi(m. They are all at it, but they all cannot lie always at it. The 
 spirit who saith in the 9tli of Acts that they were all scattered aliroad except 
 the apostles, and that they that were scattered abroad went everywhere 
 preaching the gospel, says also in the Kith of Acts, " Separate me Barnabas 
 and Saul to the work, whereunto I have called them." To whom whs this 
 said? To apostles? What vantage ground this would give the Bachelor, 
 but the word of (lod gives him not one inch to stand on, which is not given 
 to the cojnmon artizans of Antioch. The prophets and teachers of Antioch, 
 itself newly planted, separate Saul and Barnabas. And so in every congre- 
 gation not hampered by the Bachelor the believers develop special gifts. One 
 becomes powerful in exhorting, edifying and comforting the liretliren ; 
 another in evangelizing and adding to the chu-cl. till it dawns upon the com- 
 pany of l)elievers thwt soine of these should be set apart wholly to the work 
 to which the Holy Ghost has called them. This is (iod's ordinary way of 
 recruiting and setting men apart for his harvest. What is our way ? Joining 
 the church, going to college, learning how to write sermons, and then learning 
 how to read them. The one .system buds like the rod of Aaron ; the other, 
 unless there happens to be grace in the heart, deludes and hardens like the 
 learned magicians of Pharaoh. 
 
 For Bachelors of Arts as such I have every respect, but for Bachelors of 
 Arts as usurpers of the believers standing before (iod,and as " narrowers" of 
 the channels of grace, I have the most profound antipathy and contempt. 
 
 LABORERS FOR THE 
 THEM ? 
 
 HARVEST. WHERE SHALL WE FIND 
 WHO SHALL SEND THEM? 
 
 L In selecting the twelve, and probably the seventy, the Lord of the 
 harvest passed over the scribes and Pharisees who were the schoolmen of 
 Israel. The world by wisdom knew not God, and it were folly any longer to 
 trust to it. He therefore chose the common people who knew the Scriptures 
 — the weak things of the world. Paul in the spirit of his Master determined 
 to know nothing among the Corinthians save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 
 Who that has known Christ in His power to save, cannot, and may not, pro- 
 claim that Saviour to others? Some of the most effectual sermons are like 
 Paul's speech, mean and contemptible, and many obscure but effectual 
 preachers would still be styled babblers. But it does not follow that those 
 who simply know the Scriptures are weak or contemptible. The contrary is 
 true, for the Scriptures thoroughly furnish the >nan of God unto all good 
 
24 
 
 works. Those so furnished are (iod's own specialists, commissioned from 
 above to labor in the harvest. The shoemaker to his last, and the man of 
 (iod thoroughly furnished )»y the Scriptures unto all good works is a case 
 in point. 
 
 Those who stipulate for the education that be of men as a necessary 
 equi})ment for preaciiing the (Jospel or interpreting the Scriptures, nuike 
 mucli of the learning of Paul. These forgot that Paul was l)rf)Ught up at tlie 
 feet of (i:imaliel and ignore; what that rearing implies. When a young Rabbi 
 asked his uncle whctiier, since he had thoroughly mastered every aspect of 
 the law, lie might not study (ireek Pliiloso])hy, the old Rabbi referred liim to 
 the words of .loshua. which enjoin meditating in the law day and night, 
 adding : (Jo search for tlie hour that is neither day nor night ; in it thou 
 mayest study Greek I'hilosophy. How wonderfully the scales have turned 
 since then, seeing that an aspirant foi' the ministiy is now presented with a 
 course of study, which practically says to him when it is neither day nor 
 night, thou mayest study the Scriptures. 
 
 Paul's lil)eral eilucation is argued froni the fact that he (pioted some 
 words from a heathen poet, as if everyone who (pioted Shakespeare must have 
 had an all-round education. It is also urged from the profound depth of his 
 reasoning when writing to the diffd'ent churches ; as if the things that lie of 
 men, such as literature and art, were l)etter (juallHed to train the mind than 
 the things that be of God as revealed in His word, even when these things are 
 Rabl)inically obscured by human traditions. A Pharisee of the Pharisees, 
 Paul's schol'Stic education was rigorously confined to the law of God and 
 that superabundance of Rabbinical rubbish by whioh it was made of none 
 effect. Such otlu'i- education as he received often falls to the common lot of 
 humanity. In any case, the choice of Paul from among the literate of the 
 day was exceptioiuil, and the exception jiroves the rule. 
 
 The (Jospel cliariot has long been harnessed to two steeds, one the educa- 
 tion that l)e of men, the other tiie education that be of (Jod. It drave 
 heavily down the ages. 'I'ruth to tell, the stteds have not been very con- 
 genial ; and even now thei'e be some wondrous kicking in unlooked for 
 quarters. One steed would ilrag the chariot l)ack into heathendom, that its 
 benighted occupants sitting at the feet of some enlightened worshipper of the 
 moon in Japan, might begin to learn the eliMi.ents of Christianity. On its 
 break neck pace it would throw Moses out of his .seat and shake the breath 
 out of all his colleagues. Would it not be as well to cut his traces and let 
 him go headlong to perdition apart from the carriage. Would it not be wise 
 to tru.st the cari'iage to the other steed since (Jod has declared that his word 
 is sufficient to thoioughly furnish the man of (Jod unto all good works. At 
 least since the haivest is so great, and the need so pi'essing and the time so 
 short, would it not be well to send regenerated men forth with nothing to 
 their backs but common education, common sense, and a simple course of 
 Biblical theology. 
 
 The Lord of the harvest also passed ovei' the house of Levi. This is 
 most significent. Formerly the choice of (Jod fell upon Aaron, and he and 
 his family became (Jod's appointed laboi'ers in holy things. But now Christ 
 makes choice of the common peop'e and henceforth tliey become (Jod's 
 laborers for the great harvest. Those who ignore them are guilty of the 
 gainsaying of Core. The Held is so wide, the work is so great, and the need 
 so pressing, that it can never be overtaken by college graduates. And truly 
 the Lord of the harvest never intended that it should. The defensive as 
 well as the offensive armour of their warfare is of a totally different kind. 
 Having their feet shod witii the preparation of the Gospel of peace, their 
 loins girt about with truth, taking the shiehl of faith and the sword of the 
 spirit, they are perfectly eijuipped for labor in the harvest and fighting the 
 good fight of faith, though they be no graduates of science, literature or 
 philosophy. These assuredly were not contemplated as essentials in the com- 
 mission : Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. 
 The equipment for all time was, " Lo, I am with you alway even unto the end 
 of the age." 
 
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