DO THIS.

Practice of the Apostles.

christian ceremonies; an example unparalleled, we believe, among the founders of religions. There is something peculiarly striking in this point of view, in his manner of instituting the celebration of the supper. Instead of having a sort of code drawn up, specifying the various parts of the ceremony, the kind of elements to be used, the frequency, and the attending circumstances, he simply says, at the close of his last supper, as they were about to depart,-" Do this in remembrance of me.' THIS. One word contains the whole description. He could not have left it more vaguely and indefinitely expressed; and they who press the forms of Christianity, while they forget its spirit, cannot be more pointedly reproved than by asking them to contrast the clearness, the point, the emphasis, the discriminating precision, with which Christ pressed spiritual duties upon men, with the unconcerned and almost careless air, with which he dismissed the whole subject of the most solemn ceremony which he established, with, "Do this, in remembrance of me."

After our Savior's death, the apostles, animated by the same spirit, gradually established modes of church government for the exigencies of their own times. They modified them as occasion required, and so careful were they to leave no record of a mode, which might subsequently be made a rule, that no ingenuity has been able to make out any one consistent system, from the various partial directions they gave. And even could this be done, it would be no authority for us. I repeat it,-if a clear and consistent system of church government and of modes of worship could be deduced from the practice merely of the apostles, it would be no rule for us. We are bound to believe the assertions of inspired men, but not by any means to imitate their practice. Their practice was often wrong; though this is not what we here refer to. It is because the circumstances in which they

Forms of worship.

Example of Christ.

Changes necessary.

were placed, the state of society and the condition of the world were peculiar, and from the very nature of the case, they must have been left to make arrangements adapted to their circumstances, but which would be inexpedient in ours. Their practice, therefore, even where we admit they were right, is of no binding obligation on us. So that, though we are bound to believe what the Apostles said, we are not bound to do what they did, unless we are placed in the same circumstances. In fact, if we are to go back at all, for the authority of practice, on this subject, we ought to go back to the fountain head, and imitate the Savior himself; that is, employ none but itinerant preachers, and send them out two and two! 'The conclusion is irresistible.

No. Nothing can be plainer, than that Jesus Christ meant to secure the spirit of Christianity, and to leave to each age and nation, the regulation of its forms. He adopted one mode,- the one suited to his purpose. His apostles immediately adopted another, which they changed as circumstances required; and it has gone on changing ever since, and it will go on changing probably until the millennium, when modes and forms of worship will be as various and as unnumbered, as the domestic and social customs, of the human race, divided as it is, into a thousand nations, and dwelling in every variety of region and clime.

The narrow-minded view, which would have fixed in Judea, eighteen centuries ago, a system of organization to be adopted by all the races of men, and to continue unchanged for forty centuries, would have worked incalculable mischief. Emergencies continually occur, demanding new efforts, on new or modified plans. Sometimes great denominations arise thus, and accomplish what existing organizations could not have effected. At other times gradual political changes so alter the genius, and character, and habits of a people, that the external

Common error.

One great denomination.

Disastrous results.

form in which Christianity embodies itself must change too. It is the spirit alone that remains stationary and common in all.

And yet nine-tenths of nominal Christians, all over the world, are firmly believing and sincerely wishing, that their own denomination may extend and swallow up the rest, and become universal. But let us consider a moment, what would be the result, if such were the case. That one universal denomination would soon have leaders. It might, or might not be so constituted, as to have them in name and office, but it certainly would have them in reality. Grant, if you please, that this first set of leaders are really humble, devoted, honest Christians; what sort of men would be ambitiously looking up to their posts, and begin to struggle and crowd for the succession? Why there can be no moral effect more certain, than that in such a case, four or five gen erations would place worldly, selfish, ambitious men at the head of the religious interests of the world! We have had one terrible experiment of the effects of one great denomination, to illustrate this reasoning. God grant that the dark day may never come again.

It was the spirit of Christianity only that our Savior urged. He proclaimed forgiveness to all who would abandon their sins, and return to God, and keep the great moral law, which had been enacted for the general happiness. He proclaimed the fact that forgiveness was sure, and thus opened the door of hope to every man; but he did not say much about the dark path of sorrow and suffering which he should himself have to tread, in order to open the way. It seems as if, with the delicacy which always characterizes ardent love, he would not inform men of the sufferings he was about to bear for them. He told them they might be forgiven, but he never reminded them of their obligations to him for pur

Christ's sufferings.

Human nature.

The way to study it.

chasing their pardon. Even his disciples, till they came to see him die, had no conception of his love. They learned it at last however. They saw him suffer and die, and inspiration from above explained to them something about the influence of his death. They had enjoyed its benefits long before, in peace with God, forgiveness of sin, and hope of heaven; but now for the first time, they understood how those benefits were procured. It is hard to tell which touches our gratitude most sensibly; the ardent love which led him to do what he did, or the delicacy with which he refrained from speaking of it, to those who were to reap its fruits. He did all he could to save men, and then, in his interviews with them, spent his time in trying to persuade them to consent to be saved. His sufferings he left to tell their own story.

CHAPTER IV.

HUMAN NATURE,

OR THE SAVIOR'S RECEPTION AMONG MANKIND.

"We will not have this man to reign over us."

In the last chapter we considered our Savior simply as a Teacher; hereafter we shall have occasion to look at him more particularly as a sufferer. In the meantime, we must devote a few pages to considering the reception, which the principles of duty he inculcated meet with among men.

This brings us at once to the study of human nature; - and the way to study human nature, is to look at it as it exhibits itself in the actual conduct of mankind. If we examine it thus, we shall find it presenting itself in a great many alluring aspects Look, for instance,

The village.

Morning.

The wife and mother

at any of those quiet villages which may be found by thousands in every christian land. When day dawns, the gray light looks into the windows of a hundred dwellings, where honest industry has been enjoying repose. The population is grouped into families, according to the arrangement which God has made, and while the eastern sky reddens and glows by the reflection of the approaching sun, there is, in every dwelling, a mother, actively engaged in providing for the morning wants of the household which God has committed to her care. There is a tie around her heart, binding her to her husband, her children, her home, and to all the domestic duties which devolve upon her. These duties she goes on to discharge, though they are ever renewed and ever the same. She does it day after day,- three hundred and sixty-five times this year, and as many more the next, and the next, perhaps for half a century. What patience! What persevering industry! and all, not for herself, but for others.

At the proper time, all the families of the village assemble, each in its own quiet home, to receive their food. The breakfast hour for one, is the breakfast hour for all. Each conforms to the customs of the others, with as much regularity as if these customs were enforced by penal laws. Every one is at liberty, and yet, in all the important arrangements of life, they all agree. And how is this agreement produced? By the regard which every one has for the opinions and feelings of the rest; a feeling which we cannot but look upon with pleasure; and it reigns in all human communities, and has almost boundless power in regulating established customs, and preserving the order of society.

We next see our villagers going forth to their respective labors. You will observe them issuing from their various dwellings, and repairing to their work, with as much regularity as if on a preconcerted signal. The