gent in business, fervent in spirit." They see not that the business meant in this passage is not the business of the world; but, as said Jesus, "My Father's business." They laud "a thorough business man," because he is making plenty of money; not because he will "visit the fatherless and the widow in their affliction : not because he will "feed the hungry and clothe the naked." It is an honour to be diligent in business; but this merely will not make one's bed in his sickness. "I have lost a day," said the pagan emperor Titus, when he called to mind that he had that day done no one any good. How many days do our millionaires lose! yea thousands upon thousands do the same, whose end of life seems to be only to heap together riches, or to enjoy what they have. Enjoyment is right, according to the mind of God; but then it must be in His way. Do what is right in the sight of God, and "thou shalt have praise of the same," and this praise will be thorough enjoyment, such as selfishness knows nothing of. There is an utter mistake as to the great business of life. Solomon made essay of all the good this world can afford, and none knew better than he how to accomplish it. Now what was his verdict?" Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Decay is written on all earthly joys, unless they are based on doing the will of God. He is a beneficent employer; His wages are eternal life, eternal joy, eternal glory, and He has made these, and all good, to centre in His Son Jesus Christ. The Father's heart is reached through His Son; make Him your friend, and your interest in the court of heaven is secure for this world and the next. Such is the testimony of your affectionate A WORK OF FAITH. CHAPTER VII. REVIVAL TIMES. FATHER. The waves FEW dates may give additional interest to my notes, as they will shew to those of my readers vho remember the times of wonderful blessing in various arts of the world a few years ago, a coincidence in ime the remarkable blessing which the Lord so raciously gave me being just at the time when He was ranting so much blessing in so many places, ears 1857 to 1863 were very remarkable for the " f blessing" which spread over so many districts, both t home and abroad. In the United States of America, the spring and summer of 1857, many earnest hristians were lamenting the intense worldliness which prang up, and the coldness of professing Christians, ith the barrenness, too, which chilled the labourers the Lord's vineyard. The more earnest few were irred up in prayer here and there throughout the tates, and that without any arrangement, or even knowdge of each other's feelings. God answered, in Sepmber 1857, by the commencement of a season of exampled commercial depression; this grew to a ost disastrous panic and loss, which went through all le States. Ruin seemed to stalk through the land. any hundreds of banks and private firms of merchants ner. and tradesmen were bankrupt, and the very basis of public credit seemed to be shaken. Then the blessing from the Lord began to come in answer to the earnest prayers of many of His people. It was noticed throughout the commercial disasters, that even the public secular papers admitted that they had no other explanation to give of the causes for the wide-spread calamity, than "THE VISITATION OF GOD." In November and December of 1857, and January 1858, Christians were stirred up to earnest prayer in various parts. The spirit of prayer spread rapidly and extensively. In February the answers began to come. All classes of men and women thronged to the meetings, and numbers were brought to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, were at first the chief centres of the blessed work. The noon-day prayer meetings in New York alone were attended by over twelve thousand daily. The general practice now prevailed of naming at the meetings particular cases for the prayers of the Lord's people. In thousands of cases such prayers were answered in a most remarkable manWhilst all this was going on, the Lord was leading me out into His blessed service; through what is called "heavy loss," I was brought to receive great spiritual gain, and through circumstances which had been growing up for many years, I was in full communication with America-both the United States and Canada-and received early and full intelligence of what the Lord was doing. I had correspondents in New York and Philadelphia, and also in Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec. In Canada I had special interests; for I had purchased a few hundred acres of land in that country, and was intending to go and dwell on it. It was in the end of March, and throughout the month of April, 1858, that I heard of great blessing from the Lord in Toronto and Montreal. In Canada, just as it had been in the United States, the prominent feature was the earnest spirit of prayer. The blessing came at meetings for prayer, and not so much under the regular preaching of the gospel; the gospel was of course declared; but the blessing came not so much through the regular statements of ordinary discourses as in the short and pointed addresses given at the crowded prayer meetings. In the following year (1859) there was the remarkable awakening and conversion of thousands of persons throughout the north of Ireland. In the midst of this there arrived in England from Loodiana, the request for united prayer of Christians throughout the world. This was invited to take place for a week—the first week in the year 1860. Many thousands of saved ones will have occasion to praise the Lord for ever, that His great mercy in His dear Son brought them into the possession of eternal redemption in that and a few succeeding weeks. The Lord gave me the unspeakable privilege at that time of spending almost every hour of every day in gospel testimony, and of witnessing the great power of truth in bringing so many sinners to the precious Saviour. But I would like now to put some dates in my own narrative, beside those I have already given in connection with the general awakening in America and elsewhere. It was in 1857 that my worldly circumstances altered. In May, 1857, I removed to Barnstaple, and in May, 1859, I again removed, and took up my residence at Lynmouth. There I continued to reside as a centre for my increasing evangelizing work, until I removed to London in May, 1866. From May, 1857, until the week of prayer in January, 1860, I was continually occupied in the preaching of the gospel at the two places, Barnstaple and Lynmouth, with all the district for many miles around each place. For a part of that time I kept a memorandum of the meetings held, and in a lettter written in the end of 1860, I find the following statement:-"Up to August, 1860, preached 1,620 times, chiefly in the counties of Devon, Somerset, and Cornwall, and circulated about 750,000 tracts." It was all through these various efforts that the Lord's power was so manifest in bringing persons under the sound of His word, and awakening and converting sinners. I never in those days had any difficulty in procuring an audience, and there was opportunity for speaking often many times in the day. The plan adopted was to travel through a particular district. Sometimes the Lord gave me the advantage of a conveyance; but more frequently it was on foot. I would arrange to arrive in a large village, perhaps in the middle of the forenoon, and there stand up in the middle of the village street, getting, in a few minutes, a large group around me, chiefly of women and children. Then journeying on, I often managed to be at another village or town at the dinner hour of the working population; and I generally got a great many to listen. These meetings were always short. Often in the middle of the afternoon, a third meeting was held, and then in the evening the largest and longest meeting of the day. It was not scores only, but hundreds of cases of awakening, I know through these efforts. I have seen, again and again, the whole of my congregation in tears, as I have simply told them "the story of the cross." At I hope to say something in another chapter about the remarkable times in 1860 and succeeding years, and also to give further details of interesting cases. present I would close with a few statements about the Lord's dealings in the supply of temporal means. Many of my readers are interested in the fact that all has been done, and still continues to be done, in faith, looking only to the Lord for such temporal supplies as He may see fit to incline any of His people voluntarily to send. I would, therefore, ask them to admire with me the love, and grace, and faithfulness of our Father in heaven in sending me, by the hands of several hundreds of His dear children, the following total sums cach year within the years named :— with me and my family on the occasion of my heavy losses. In the beginning of the same year, by the efforts of a few friends, I had bibles, testaments, books, and tracts, to the value of £200, put into my hands, to be circulated in Canada. On that subject I must write in another chapter. In March, 1861, my eldest daughter and second son went to Australia. Their intention was mentioned to a few friends by one or two brethren who knew us intimately. Here again the hand of the Lord was seen, for £70 or £80 in money, and a quantity of articles towards their outfit, were sent for them. I have lost the account I had of that matter, and cannot therefore mention precise particulars; but certainly about £90, in money and articles together, was sent us on that occasion. In August, 1865, my third son followed to Australia; his brother settled there having, through the mercy of the Lord, succeeded in worldly occupation, invited him out to join him, and sent him £40 towards his passage and outfit. Kind Christian friends again sent me, in money and articles, about £30 more, so that he went out well provided with all that was required. Thus it will be seen that, whatever the trials which may come upon the Christian, it is no vain thing to trust in THE LIVING GOD. From 1857 to the end of 1865, the Lord sent me in answer to prayer £3760 16s. 10d., for that is the total according to my previous statements, In another chapter I will shew what the Lord has done since that time. Say not, my soul, "From whence His method seldom guessed; His wisdom is sublime, His heart profoundly kind; God never is before His time, And never is behind. Hast thou assumed a load, Which few will share with thee? And art thou carrying it FOR GOD, And shall HE fail to see? Be comforted at heart, Thou art not left alone Now, thou the Lord's companion art, Soon, thou wilt share His throne." SIGNS OF THE TIMES. T is said that the ballet-master of a French theatre is 'training a monstrous snake,' to take part in a ballet, the scene of which is laid in the Garden of Eden." So we read in the Daily Telegraph. It seems to be blasphemous; but is it any wonder that " Play-wrights" make stock in trade out of Scripture declarations, when others who profess to be Christians, and even preachers of religion, set aside the main truths on which Christianity is based? The bible throughout is just filled with the statements of man's total ruin-his guilt and con demnation, as well as his degenerate state, and of God's great remedy in the substitution of the Lord Jesus Christ in the place of the guilty. Both these facts are denied by increasing numbers, and those who do so, still retain their standing in the various religious bodies. Mr. Voysey is being dealt with in his church courts; but what has he said or done more than hundreds are saying or doing. He is more of an out-spoken man; he has not shrunk from boldly declaring his opinions. Many-even an increasing number, have all his opinions, without his honest boldness. Those alluded to are generally found holding together three unscriptural views 1. That man is not born in sin, with a degenerate nature. 2. That Christ did not die a sacrifice for sin. And 3. That the punishment of the wicked is not eternal. It would be well if true Christians were aware of all this, and took heed to what they hear. These evil views are held in various measures; some go further than others, as some are more bold than others; but we should desire nothing less than a full statement of the true gospel-the revelation of the grace of God in Jesus Christ. The increasing numbers led away by the opinions referred to, and the inscrutable dealings of God in His providence, removing by death, or silencing by illness so many faithful men, appear to be leading on to the solemn times of which we read:-" Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land; not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord and shall not find it." (Amos viii, 11. 12.) Another correspondent, writing from Birkenhead, asks for the insertion of the following: PAGANISM IN NEW YORK.-The American Christian Review states that a festival in honour of the Roman god Mercury, has been held at the house of a wealthy citizen in New York, and in which several ministers participated. The Rev. Dr. Osgood, one of the guests, states in the Liberal Christian, that on entering the apartments devoted to the rites of the evening, he was requested "to dip his hand in a vase of water, and to be crowned with a wreath of flowers, and to wear a golden harp upon the breast." Such was the order of the evening, and the rooms were nearly full of guests thus adorned. There were generals, admirals, poets, editors, lawyers, merchants, divines, all in that strange rig. The rites consisted in the "singing, procession of priests, the lustration, sacrifice, unveiling of the statue, speeches, poems, banquet, libations, sentiments, recitations," etc. "Two of our preachers," adds Dr. Osgood, THE OFFICE OF THE PRIEST. Ezekiel xliv. 13. THE OFFICE OF THE APOSTLE. Romans xi, 13. Read at the Christian Union Institute, Nov. 11, 1869. HAVE connected these passages as the heading of our subject this evening, simply to contrast the great distinction between the instrumentality which our Saviour God appointed, under the old covenant and the new, for the working out of His one great purpose, the salvation of sinners by the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have no intention of even referring to the context in Ezekiel, nor to the particular occasion when Paul so grandly spoke: "Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office." I desire rather to lead the consideration of those present on this occasion, to this most important fact, that God's purpose, in shadowing forth Christ as a propitiation for sin, in the sacrifices under the law, needed a priest to stand between Him and His people. But when the fulness of the time was come, and in Christ we received the adoption of sons, Christ became High Priest of the good things to come, and by His own blood entered in once έpátal into the holiest. Here was the end of the priestly system, so far as any earthly and literal representation was concerned. In the heavens, indeed, He continueth our High Priest for ever: on earth, we are spiritually an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 1 Peter ii. The Hebrew word for priest (Cohen) has its root in the verb Cah-han, to stand up-as before God; Geso the priest mediates between God and man. senius gives the Arabic "to presage or predict—so a prophet or soothsayer: hence one who undertakes any one's cause, he who stands up in any one's matter, and labours in his cause. The signification of priest is kindred in the Hebrew, inasmuch as prophets and priests were alike supposed to intercede between the gods and men." I prefer to take the Arabic meaning, as arising out of the Scripture meaning, rather than to assume, as Gesenius does, that the Arabic represents the original or primary one. The first mention of the word, is Melchisedec, a priest of the most high God. The short account of him certainly gives us the idea of his standing up, as God's priest, to bless Abraham. In the next few uses in Genesis, the marginal reading is prince; as Potipherah, priest or prince of On. Before the time of Moses and the law, the head or prince of any family did, no doubt, stand before God as the offerer of the sacrifices. So it naturally came out under the fuller development of the law of sacrifice, in Exodus and Leviticus-the idea of prince subsiding into the more peculiar office of the sacrificer. It would be needless, as it would also be wearisome, to explain at any length, that both amongst heathen nations, as well as in the Jewish history, sacrifice was the distinguishing characteristic of the priestly office, although various incidental duties attached also to it; yet they were all subsidiary to the great act of sacrificing to God for the remission of sin, and to the cleansings which were needful, both for the sacrifices, and the results of them. Everywhere the priest stood before God, with the blood of the sacrifice, to make intercession for the people, and all was done as a type or shadow of that one great sacrifice made by God's anointed one on the cross of Calvary. In the prophetic Psalm cx., the words, "Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec," give us the double priestly and kingly power of the type, and prepare us for Paul's application of the words to our Lord Jesus Christ, as our eternal Priest and our King of Righteousness. I am not aware, that throughout the prophets there is any different light thrown on the office of the priest; and we come at once to consider what authority may exist under the new covenant for any use of the term. And here it may be observed, that in Christ Himself centres the double office of High Priest and Apostle. "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." In Him was fulfilled every part of the typical service rendered unto man and God, by the high priest and his assistants. From Him radiated every attribute of the Apostolic office, for preaching the gospel to all mankind. The old covenant is, in its nature, full of sacrifice for sin, offered by the priest as mediator. The new covenant is replete with the purpose of God, to send His servants unto the people, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance amongst them that are sanctified by faith that is in Christ. And every aspect of the apostolic office is centred in Him who is our Head in all things. Now it seems needless, at least it should be needless, to say, that as in this realm of England, Christianity was introduced before it was utterly corrupted by the sacrifice of the mass; so we had no name in our own language, throughout its various changes, for him who offered up to God the so-called sacrifices. While the Latin church adopted the heathen term sacerdos, and the eastern church, early in its corruption, retained the word used by the Evangelist, to express the real Hebrew Cohen, the minister of God's temple service and sacrifices, our language, and even the French, rejected both the idea of 'e pevs, and the name of sacerdos. Milton said, "New presbyter is but old priest writ larger." I must take the converse of this expression, and say, New priest is but presbyter writ small. This ought to be sufficient to engrave on the mind of every Englishman, that there is no truth in the assumption now continually made, that the very title of priest conveys the Hebrew idea of sacrifices. This is simply a lie of the devil, suggested through his ministers transformed into ministers of righteous ness. And now, in very few words, let us consider the simple fact, that in no one single instance, is either the name or the office of the priest applied to any one of the apostles of the Lord, or the disciples made, either in large numbers after the day of Pentecost, or throughout the history of the early church, as conveyed either in the Acts, or in the Epistles of those apostles. Many titles are used by Paul, to express the office of the Christian minister : Apostles, as sent by God. Ministers, irnpérns, in relation to their labour and working power. διάκονοι, in respect to their ready service (from running) AεTouрyo, in regard to their public ser vice. Stewards, oikovoμo, as they distribute God's gifts. Servants, douλoi, denoting the utter devotion of the servant of God to his Master. Prophets, popηrns, declaring God's will. Overseers, (ETLOKOTOL,) Elders, (TрEÇẞÚTEρоι,) Shepherds, (Touéves,) Evangelists, Teachers, (didaσkáλoi.) Yet not once is there an intimation of any relation of the Christian minister to the priestly office. For it would scarcely be maintained that the use of the verb hierourgeo in Romans xv. 16, is other than purely figurative. "The grace that is given to me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel to the Gentiles, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost." The use of priest in the New Testament is conflned: 1st. To the old Jewish office, in the Gospels and Acts. 2nd. To the Epistle to the Hebrews, where it is exclusively used in demonstrating the right of our Lord to the Melchisedec priesthood, to His abiding a priest for ever, after the power of an endless life. 3rd. In the Revelation, it is three times conjoined with kings, and is applicable to the whole body of the true saints of God. It is not used in any of the epistles of Paul; but the office is twice ascribed by Peter, as in the Revelation, to the whole body of the redeemed Christians: "Ye are built an holy priesthood," &c. Seeing then the absence, the remarkable absence, of this word in the history of the Christian ministry, while we may well wonder at the modern assumption, both of the word and office, we may at least thank God and take courage, that His everlasting truth has been so hedged in by the wisdom of the inspiring Spirit, that we are really without excuse, if we do not resist the encroachments of an aspiring hierarchy, who would enfold the fascinated laity by such ideas as the following:-"Oh, let no shrinking from the honest and faithful use of divinely descended powers that come to the church and to her priest from the holy words and breath of Christ; let no base fear of worldly objection, or scorn, lead a priest of God to grudge to his dying brother the clear, outspoken, ringing words of holy absolution which the church has put into his mouth, which the sad sinner humbly and heartily craves, which his faithful, full confession has earned," &c. We read with mournful sadness this expression of modern thought on the ministry of reconciliation, converted into the Romish figment of priestly absolution, worse even than the assumption of the priestly office, yet necessarily proceeding out of it. It has been said, with regard to all Romish error, that there is ever an underlying truth, and that therefore their assumption of priestly office indicates some underlying sense in which there is a measure of truth, and it is asked, What is the gainsaying of Korah, of Jude 11. I think that in this matter it is quite sufficient to take the ministry of reconciliation committed unto us (2 Cor. iv. 18) as the great truth, which is turned into error by the overlaying of that truth with the figment of the sacrificial priesthood. The antilogia of Core, i.e., his opposition to God's appointment of the Aaronic priesthood, is paralleled by the Popish priesthood simulating the true Christian ministry. I said that I had no intention of referring to the context of the text in Ezekiel; but I would point out the solemnity of the truth taught even in that text itself. Ver. 12: "Beeause they ministered unto them before their idols, and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore have I lifted mine hand against them, saith the Lord God, and up they shall bear their iniquity." Ver. 13: "And they shall not come near unto Me, to do the office of a priest unto Me, nor to come near to any of My holy things, in the most holy place; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed." Thus we see that any mere assumption of the office of sacerdos, even in Jewish times, was rejected by Jehovah as worthless; much more, then, in the present day must any such assumption be vain and lishonouring to Him who is Spirit, and requires all who come to Him to worship Him in Spirit and in ruth. We can but say that it is a most unfortunate prolivity in the English mind to persist in receiving raditional ideas concerning words, and we carcely hope now to sever the meaning attached by ordinary members of the church, to the word riest, as the same word used in the Old Testament criptures, and to restore to it the thought of an lder, while preserving the word priest. I should like utterly to get rid of the word from ur Anglican terms, and banish it, with sacraments, nysteries, and other ecclesiastical, but non-scriptural words, from our services, our colloquies, and our thoughts. And thus on the occasion of this subject, as on all other occasions, I desire strenuously to urge on the consideration of those who are present, the paramount importance of using the Holy Ghost's words to express the Holy Ghost's teaching. Kilburn. Lo SAMUEL HANSON. LOOK ONWARD. OOK ONWARD! Christian, though thy way Might live in endless day! LOOK ONWARD! to that blessed time, LOOK ONWARD! to that glorious rest, "BRIGHT MORNING STAR!" we wait for Thee, And all the glories of the place, Where through the riches of Thy grace, Come, Jesus, then, and take us home! Port Albert, Victoria. D. M. M. MORRISON. THE VOICE UPON THE MOUNTAINS. N consequence of our request in the last number of this publication, we have received letters from 132 of our friends and correspondents. They decide (under God) in the proportion of about twenty to one, that "The Voice upon the Mountains" shall remain as it is in price, and substantially the same in form. Various suggestions are made on matters of detail, and these shall all receive the most careful consideration. Our friends have also done much to help us, and to relieve from the anxiety which pressed upon us. A deficiency, however, still remains in respect to the expenses of the publication, and we pray God to incline the hearts of other Christians-especially such as are looking for the Lord's second coming, to send in additional subscriptions. That a deficiency should accrue, is not much to bǝ |