with this Divine arrangement is a sin, it must be admitted, as worthy of condemnation as Sabbath-breaking; for the same Being who instituted a Sabbath of rest one day in seven, also commanded that on other days man should till the ground. When God, looking down from Heaven his dwelling-place, saw his chosen people (the children of Abraham) performing the work of brickmaking in Egypt, instead of being engaged in their original occupation of shepherds and tillers of the ground, he sent Moses with power, and brought them forth into a land flowing with milk and honey, that his will with respect to them might be carried out; and we may see what was the nature of that Divine will or purpose in the following section of the commandments, given to the Israelites long before they were in possession of Jerusalem :

"Honour thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee."-Exodus, c. xx., v. 12.

The state of human society is greatly changed since the above was uttered; and is it not very evident that since redemption, the destruction of the temple, and since Jerusalem was devoured by the locusts (as prophesied), and the Jews dispersed, the laws, commandments, and ordinances being abolished, it has become a mockery of things sacred to teach the gentile nations, or even the Jews in these days, that by honouring their parents (the duty of every one) their days shall be long in the land which the Lord has given them, when millions have not an inch of land in their possession, or ever will have till death asserts their claim to an amount sufficient for their burial, which is in truth to thousands their only jubilee? Yet we read,

"The land shall not be sold for ever; for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me."-Leviticus, c. xxv., v. 23.

And as "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," men should feel responsible to him as stewards for the use of it. We look up to the Universal Bounty for the increase, and the cultivation or tilling of the ground should be performed according to the rules laid down by him for our guidance; and these rules for human labour would be found to be no more than a necessary and healthful exercise for man; while the times appointed for rest and refreshment-one day in seven, one week in seven, and one year in seven-would be opportunities amply sufficient for the recreation of the mind and body of man, by enabling him to view and acquire a knowledge of the wonderful works of nature, or of human effort in literature, science, and art.

Inasmuch, then, as God established for his chosen people a Sabbath of rest, and as the laws both civil and ecclesiastical of modern civilised nations are formed to maintain such an institution, and inasmuch as such seasons of rest are an obvious law and necessity of man's nature, therefore the Sabbath of rest, we think, should still be observed, be it done consistently with God's will and commandments with respect thereto. The reward of obedience, however, will be in this life only, the necessary rest will prove a blessing to those who can take it; but whether men observe the Sabbath or observe not the Sabbath, their actions in that respect can in no wise affect their eternal salvation. Man is not saved by the observance of laws, and customs, and Sabbaths, but solely by the grace of God, for he has been bought with a price, even the blood of Christ the Saviour. Man could not have saved himself, nor could he observe such laws, though laid down by express command of the Deity, as would prevent human degradation and deformity.

In reference to the evils of the non-observance of the Sabbath, we must further remark, that if refusing to rest from labour one day in seven be a sin, as is represented by the Sabbatarian, the refusal to rest from labour one whole year in seven must also be a sin, for the same Voice which commanded the observance of the one established the other; and it must also be sinful to refuse to cultivate the land, which God prepared for that purpose, and commanded man to till,—and to refuse or neglect to remove any barriers which prevent those who wish to do so from complying with the will of God in this respect, and by using their labour on the land avoid the evils of their present lot, which are fast hastening them to premature graves. Sabbaths for man, and Sabbaths for the ground from which man was taken and to which he must return, are necessary sanitary arrangements. Let the vineyard of the Lord be the world's nationality. Let the Jews, whom the Lord called his own people, have their landed property, which God gave them for a possession throughout all generations. Arts and sciences began with Cain's race of vagabonds and outcasts, who were people of the same race whose language was confounded at the building of Babel. Not so with the Jews: they retain the language peculiar to them in whatever part of the world they wander; and they, though in exile from the land which God gave their fathers, as a mark of his especial favour, remain as a body strangers to many of the unnatural labours in which other races are found to engage. Let the

Sabbath be kept according to the will of God; it was intended as a blessing, "the Sabbath was made for man," and as a blessing it should be enjoyed; the body should rest from its labours, and the mind be free from its cares, that the whole man may be re-created, refreshed, and fitted for the toils of the future. God kept this Sabbath of rest when his work of creation was finished,

"It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."-Exodus, c. xxxi., v. 17.

Man is naturally fitted for the healthful toil of tilling the ground, and such labour would enable him to breathe the pure air, and in the times of refreshment appointed for him he might behold the works of nature. If the will of God were performed, human deformity would be unknown, and men would go down to the grave full of years and honours; the land duly refreshed with rest, would yield a bounteous harvest of superior quality as the reward of human industry. Now the weary body, after six days of excessive labour, vainly endeavours to enjoy the Sabbath of rest; and then the mind is assailed by the reproaches of those who for every trivial act (Sabbath-breaking for instance) which they deem an offence, deal out damnation with profuse liberality. The words of St. Paul should be brought to remembrance in such cases,-"Let no man judge you in what you eat or drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the full moon, or of the Sabbath days."

We again state, in concluding this subject, that the Israelites were the only people who received the express command to observe the Sabbath, and that was previous to redemption, when that people were under the law; and that the laws, ordinances, and commandments, were of necessity abolished by the death of Christ, otherwise there could be no redemption. No man can be saved by the law, even were it possible for him to observe it; man is saved by grace only, which has been purchased for him by Christ, and whosoever, as St. Paul teaches, justifies himself by the works of the law is fallen from grace, which is to be eternally lost, because Christ to them has become of none effect. He who putteth himself under the law shall live in it; he becomes as a debtor for the fulfilment

of the law, which being impossible, his own works will be his condemnation, for by them he will be judged, he having refused the proffered mercy and grace of God. Hence we must perceive the folly of making

the observance of the Sabbath a religious obligation. It is not an institution established by Christ or his disciples, and it cannot be the duty of Christians to observe it as if it were essentially a part of their religion; nevertheless, as rest like labour is a law of man's nature, we regard the Sabbath as an institution necessary for the relaxation of the mind and body of man, and would hold it inviolate for the enjoyment of those who toil.

BAPTISM OF JOHN.

"And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

"As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth

;

"And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”—St. Luke, c. iii., v. 3-6. There are two baptisms to be considered, the baptism of water and the baptism of the Spirit; and unless the former be complied with the latter cannot be obtained. The baptism of John was the baptism of repentance "for the remission of sins," thus preparing the way of the Lord to regenerate mankind by the baptism of the Spirit. "Repent and be baptised," cried the voice of John in the wilderness; which command, together with the words of Christ, "I am the way," and " Ye must be born again," manifest the two baptisms, of the water and the Spirit. The baptism of John must of necessity be the forerunner of the baptism of the Spirit, which latter it was not in the power of John to dispense, or of any other man; and no one can receive the baptism of the Spirit without first complying with the command of God, by bowing with humility to the primary law of "baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," as proclaimed by the living voice of the Forerunner in the dark wilderness of human error. This baptism of repentance for the remission of sins was to prepare the way of the Lord; for by that baptism man becomes acceptable to God, who then grants unto him the baptism of the Spirit. This second baptism is called also the "new birth," which is not a birth according to the laws of nature, for man is not born a second time

of flesh and blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the will of God; and the humble submission to the will of God manifested by those who participate in the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins is contrary to the will of the flesh, or the will of man. Thus the first smart felt by man from the infliction of the rod of God is in chastisement by humiliation of his evil inclinations inherited from original corruption. This outward sign of submission is indispensable, as there is no other way of preparing the way of the Lord by making the path straight for the Spirit of enlightenment, which man receives when he is re-created or born again. Herein we mark the difference of the two baptisms, which were founded almost together, the one being a little later than the other. This was necessarily so, for the baptism of the Spirit could not have preceded the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; the baptism of the Spirit is a sign and proof of forgiveness, which could only be manifested when repentance had made straight the way; neither could John baptize with the Spirit, as that is the especial prerogative of God. The baptism of John is an outward sign of human obedience to the will of God, the seal of man's solemn compact with his Maker, an indispensable ordination, the breaking of which becomes a mockery of things holy, and too often leads to open blasphemy against the majesty of Heaven.

Let us consider the nature of the evil which the institutions of Christianity were designed to eradicate. God made man pure and perfect; had it been otherwise, we cannot suppose that he would have commanded man to propagate and replenish the earth, for that would have been to multiply corruption, and to fill the world with impurity. But the purity of the nature of man was destroyed, and became impregnated with evil at its source. Had this been otherwise there would have arisen no cause for the second or new birth, by which man is regenerated. Christ told Nicodemus, " Marvel not that I say unto you, Ye must be born again." Men, however, do marvel, like Nicodemus, not knowing what manner of spirit they are of. [St. James tells us to " try the spirits, whether they be of God;" but if not of God, of whom can they be?] Now those who have been baptized effectively in baptism after John's ordination, have thereby prepared the way for God to receive them as his new-born adopted children, born of water and the spirit ; and of such Christ has said, "Even as I am so shall ye be." To those