education in India is respectfully called to this important object, and their aid most earnestly solicited. The support of one child, including tuition, books, &c., &c., is about 24 Rupees per annum. Of the 21 schoolmasters and 10 ushers, 14 are Christians, the rest are heathen, but they are pretty well instructed in the principles of christianity, and most of them are also well inclined towards it. The inspecting schoolmaster is a christian, and discharges his duties to my satisfaction. Like the catechists, they learn every month a portion of scripture by heart, which is explained to them at the monthly meeting. They are at present learning the Acts of the Apostles. With many of them it is only caste which hinders them from embracing the truth openly. 5. Preparandi. In this class there have been during the last half year from 8 to 12 persons, partly christians preparing for immediate services among the congregations, and partly heathens, preparing to be schoolmasters. The latter are usually but one or two. They are all on the premises and are daily instructed, chiefly in the word of God and in doctrinal and historical Catechisms. They have also had some exercises in Chronology and Geography, as also in Tamil Grammar. They learn daily a portion of scripture by heart, which is explained to them. They are at present going through the Epistles to the Corinthians. At the evening meetings for prayer the harmony of the Gospels is read and explained to them. Sarkunan, the principal teacher of our late seminary, renders me great assistance in this department. 6. Finances. The monthly expenditure for the Mission, myself and family included, amounts to about 800 Rupees, a small sum indeed in proportion to the work; but not so, when it is considered that we, not being connected with any Society have to look to individuals for it; and therefore we would earnestly solicit the kind assistance of such of the Lord's people whom he has blessed with means so to do. But it has been remarked, "Why do you write for money, when your catechists promised you to go on in their work as before, whether you could give them salary or not?" But I would ask whether it is right to leave the labourer, who is worthy of his hire, to suffer want? as I know that the circumstances of the people are too poor to support their Teachers. Or should he be necessitated to spend his time and strength which he otherwise would spend in the Lord's service in providing for the support of himself and family, while it is the privilege and duty of the children of God to promote their Redeemer's cause? It must also be remembered, that exclusive of our personal support, we want aid for erecting prayer-houses, procuring books for the schools, catechists, preparandi, &c., &c., not forgetting the desirableness of having a girl's school in the Mission Compound, as was mentioned in No. 4. I would therefore say, what thy hand findeth to do, do it quickly, cheerfully, liberally, for it is more blessed to give than to receive Conclusion. At the end of the year, if the Lord please, I intend to give an account of the income and expenditure for this Mission, as also of the working of the Native Societies mentioned in my last Report. I now conclude with commending myself, catechists, congregations, schools, preparandi, &c., &c., to the prayers and sympathy of the christian church. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ dwell in us richly, and may we all be enabled to live to his glory. Amen and Amen. ENGLAND. (From the Catholic Mag. for Feb. 1840.) "Be it therefore known to all men by these presents, that an order of Catholic Preaching Brothers is about to be formed in England, which will send out its missionaries to all parts of the kingdom, not to sow the seeds of enmity, but to preach the Gospel of charity and peace, to explain the real doctrines of the Catholic Church, and expose the misrepresentations by which they have been assailed. Such a body of men, appealing to the sober sense of candid Englishmen, cannot fail, in the present enlightened and inquiring age, to produce the most fafavourable impression; and our own experience convinces us, that our doctrines require only to be known to be estimated as in our view they ought, by every sincere Christian, The result we fear not and may God defend the right." POETRY. [The following poem is remarkable for its vigour of expression and just application of prophetic language; and not less so from occurring in the pages of Blackwood, where one would scarcely expect to meet with anything of so scriptural a character. pointed out to our notice by a friend. ] A SOUND on the rampart, A sound at the gate; I hear the roused lioness On Zion's proud tower; For behold! the day cometh, Shall cover thy name; Of death shall be driven; By mortal, shall burn; Thou to dust shalt return. 'Tis the darkness of darkness, Of that midnight shall roll Through that life-chilling haze: No torch from the roof Of the temple shall blaze, But, when Israel is buried In final despair, From a height o'er all height, Her great Sovereign be there! MALACHI. Then the sparkles of flame It was first From his chariot-wheels hurl'd, Of the god of this world! Then, captive of ages! The trumpet shall thrill Thy monarch shall come. Like the soul from the tomb ! Who rushes from Heaven? And the lightning his path. It carries a sword: 'Tis ELIJAH! he heralds The march of his Lord! Earth, earth, shalt thou stand, 'Tis the day long foretold, 'Tis the judgment begun; Gird thy sword, Thou most Mighty! The idol shall burn In his own gory shrine: With the olive shall bloom, The great kingdom is come! UPON THE DEATH OF HIS FIVE CHILDREN. SWEET blow the gales along the early May; Each pensive cowslip shuns the eye of day, And hides five crimson prints her heart within. So breathe fair hopes, from heaven, around my head; My grateful tears they waft to his fair rest; dead, So pensive memory views my much loved breast. So soft the Spirit breathes, with healing sweet; In tears of blood my Lord, my love, I see; He droops his anguish'd head, while at his feet I see five bleeding wounds he bore for me. THE INQUIRER. MAY, 1840. What saith the Scripture?-ROм. iv. 3. ON ORDINATION. No one who is at all observant of what is passing in the world around him can fail to notice an important contest now going on-a war of opinions and principles; on the one hand a desire to keep men's minds in subjection for the sake of advantage; and, on the other hand, a spirit of lawlessness and insubordination, arising from the natural impatience of man when under subjection. This contest has ever been going on in the world-and probably always in the church-at least we learn from the epistle to the Galatians, that the apostle Paul foresaw the danger of it. The desire to bring the mind into bondage to Jewish principles, which he calls "the elements of the world" (chap. iv. 3), was even then exhibited, and he shews the Galatians that they were "called unto liberty" (chap. v. 13), but there was a danger of their using this their liberty for an occasion to the flesh. In other words, that there was a danger of their opposing the attempt to bring them into bondage by a spirit of lawlessness, which is equally opposed to the spirit of Christ, which is a spirit of obedience, the obedience of sons. Jesus came not to do his own will, but the Father's-and he taught his followers to say "Thy will be done." The doctrine of ordination, as usually held, appears to me to be intimately connected with the spirit of bondage, or Jewish principles-and I propose to shew this in the sequel; but while shewing it, and opposing it as that which is opposed to Christian liberty, I desire especially to avoid encouraging anything approaching to a spirit of lawlessness. I shall refrain, therefore, from joining in the common cry of priestcraft, self-interest, and the like-but will endeavour to try everything simply by the word of God-and I trust the reader will patiently bear with me in the examination, remembering that subjection of soul to God's word is that which is above all needed by Christians. It is of little consequence what man says on any subject, but of immense importance what God says on every subject. The points I propose to examine are the following: 1st. Is there any ground in Scripture for the opinion, that it is not proper for any one to PREACH THE GOSPEL to the world without having first received human ordination or appointment, or being sanctioned by some human tribunal. 2nd. Is any such previous sanction requisite in order to justify an individual teaching IN THE CHURCH. After examining these points I shall shew that there are precedents in Scripture, not only for preaching to the world, and teaching in the church, but also for BAPTISING, MEETING with brethren at the LORD'S TABLE, and caring for the children of God, according to the ability he may have given, without any such ordination, or, indeed, without ordination at all. 1st. As to PREACHING TO THE WORLD, I make the assertion without fear of contradiction, that there is not one single passage in the whole Bible which shews that the laying on of man's hands, or anything analogous to it, is required to give an authoritative title to preach the Gospel of Christ; and further, that there is no account in Scripture of any one ever having been ordained for this purpose, save by CHRIST himself. In order to prove this assertion, I shall bring forward the most eminent preachers whose histories are recorded in Scripture, and shew that there is no account of their having been humanly ordained for this their work. At the outset I admit the term "ordain to be in Scripture, but never as giving authority VOL. III. C C to preach. It is connected exclusively with elders and deacons ; and a man may be an elder or a deacon without preaching at all. When I speak of ordaining, I simply take the common idea of its being performed through a human medium. I admit that no man can preach in the Spirit without being sent and ordained by Christ, and qualified by the Spirit's gift--but I maintain this is all that is necessary; and anything beyond this is merely traditional, and unwarranted by Scripture-nay, more, that it is a positive denial of, and interference with, what properly and exclusively belongs to Christ and the Holy Ghost. Many attempt to prove ordination, according to the popular notion of it, from Christ's ordaining; but all that this proves is Christ's title to ordain. This is not disputed; but, where has Christ lodged this power? Is it lodged in another? If so, where in Scripture? Certainly not in the passage which is usually brought, viz., Christ's last commission to his apostles (Matt. xxviii. 18, 19), "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations," &c. Nothing is there said about their ordaining others to preach; and it is evident that the apostles did not so understand it, for we never find either them or the elders in the New Testament ordaining any to preach the Gospel. God has an authority and a sovereignty in these matters, never committed to man in any dispensation. Attempts to establish human ordination to preach, from the fact that our Lord ordained the seventy and his twelve apostles, must fail, unless some Scripture can be produced investing others with the same authority, or some precedent shewing that the authority was exercised, and these we shall find are both wanting. It will be borne in mind, that the remarks here apply simply to preaching. There are different gifts-"all members have not the same office." Let us first see how this matter stood in the Old Testament. The preachers we read of there were the prophets. There were many prophets-but we do not find a single instance, amounting to anything like what is pleaded for on this subject in the present day-they were simply called of God, and went forth without waiting for, or receiving, ordination, or authority from any source whatever, save God. Any one well acquainted with his Bible must be aware of this; and if he will examine, he will find confirmation of it in every case. Who, for instance, ordained Enoch, whose prophecy we have in Jude? Who ordained Noah-that "preacher of righteousness ?" Who ordained Moses and Samuel? Were they not simply called by God, and required to carry His message often to an unwilling people? Before Jeremiah was born, God ordained him to be a prophet to the nations: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee; and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations" (Jer. i. 5). If such a one as Jeremiah were to rise up this day, would his ordination be acknowledged? Would the churches wish him God speed in his mission to the nations, or would they consider him duly authorised to warn the people? How would the prophet Amos be received in these days? He was a gatherer of sycamore fruit (see Amos vii. 14). "Then answered Amos and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdsman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit. And the Lord took me as I followed the flocks, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel." It is to be feared if another Amos were now to be called from the flock to prophesy or to preach, he would get but a cold reception, unless he first spent some years at college, or came with some other recommendation than the message of truth which he brought. If these cases will not satisfy, we have another in Ezekiel. Who commissioned him besides God? (see Ezek. i. and ii). If these men had been stopped till they shewed human credentials, their mouths would have been shut for ever;and truly, if the "rebellious people," the priests and elders, could have stopped their mouths, they would. What was the conduct of Moses when there came a young man unto him to testify against Eldad and Medad, who were prophesying in the camp? "And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of the young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them." And Moses said, "Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them" (Num. xi. 28). How different from this is the spirit and conduct of many in the present day! Would they rejoice in the prophesying of an Eldad, or would they receive the reproof of an Ezekiel or Jeremiah, who were commanded to speak to a rebellious people, "whether they would hear or whether they would forbear?" God said by the latter, "The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully; what is the chaff to the wheat?" (Jer. xxiii. 28). Those who resist such are resisting the Spirit of God. The very idea of human ordination is contrary to reason and common sense, because the prophet represents the truth of God against all evil and apostasy. His is the place of testimony from and for God, and he is to know nothing else in the matter. If it be true that no man is to preach God's word without authority from man, supposing the sources from whence ordination were to come were all heretical, or their own traditions were to be a rule in some things, in such a case what would a faithful prophet have to do? not surely to remain silent until ordained; if so, he would have to remain silent for ever:-as a faithful prophet he must obey God, and not man, though all the world should seek to stop his witness. Is God to have no prophet to speak his word faithfully, to declare all his counsels ? How absurd the idea that God is to be subject to the rules of man, or that his ministering servants should go forth commissioned and restricted by worms of the earth-how degrading the thought that a servant of Christ, commissioned by him, should not be free to declare his word without asking leave from man. If man's power be acknowledged to give permission to one commissioned of God to preach, it must also be acknowledged to withhold permission; and then in what a position must the servant of Christ be placed? If, after all, he is to disobey the power which has refused permission, he had better never have asked it. Let us now consider what the New Testament says on this subject. In the 7th chap. of Acts we have a sermon preached to the Jews by Stephen. There is nothing miraculous in it, save the power of the Spirit by which he spoke. It contains a simple recapitulation of the history of the nation, without any new matter or revelation. Who was Stephen?-a deacon! What is the office of a deacon? We have its nature stated in the 6th chap. verses 2-4. There is nothing of preaching in this; on the contrary, it would rather appear to be excluded, it regarded "tubles” —“business”—settling the temporal or secular matters of the church; the seven were appointed, that the apostles might give themselves up to prayer and the ministry of the word. Stephen has, however, God's word, and he faithfully declares it. Would a churchwarden be allowed to say a word, by way of preaching, if he had it? Would he not rather be told to mind the tables-that the ministry is the calling of others? If we turn to the 8th chap., we find Philip, another of these seven, preaching the Gospel at Samaria, verse 5, "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them." Peter and John did not spurn the work of the deacon: they went down to confirm his testimony. But the testimony for Christ was not confined to deacons and apostles. The apostles remained at Jerusalem, we find in verse 1st, when the rest of the church (laymen) were scattered abroad; but they had also a word, and they preached it everywhere. Did God own this? He did most manifestly (see Acts xi. 21). "And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord." How irregular would all this appear to a regular, ordained minister in these days! What! preaching everywhere! without bands or surplice-without a college education or license-without having been first ordained by laying on of hands, and having received authority from thence to preach the word of God! It may be more vulgar, despised, and irregular in the eyes of man; but I confess I think the good old way is to be preferred, and we should seek to try modern inventions and substitutes by the steps of the first labourers in the field. Certainly the office now-a-days is more respectable, and there is more to be made by it; but if our desire is simply to preach Christ, we should give up those considerations: they are bad appendages to the cross. But we will pursue our inquiry; and we shall find that every instance recorded in the New Testament serves only to strengthen the ground here taken, namely, that God's call is all that is necessary to give a title to preach the Gospel, though it requires no little energy of the Spirit to maintain it. Apollos' is the next lay case I would refer to (Acts xviii. 24-28). How simply this man's history is given : A certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus;" he taught diligently the things of the Lord, and spoke boldly in the synagogue. He knew, it is true, only the baptism of John. Aquila and Priscilla knew more. What did they do?-request him to desist!! No-they took him unto them, and expounded the way of the Lord more per 66 |