has been begun, prosecuted, or consummated by either the principal or the interest accruing from any sale of indulgences, however consecrated in the memory of past ages, or admired by my contemporaries. They are the consummation of impiety and inhumanity.

We shall now leave the city of York without noticing its other grand episcopal edifices-its ALL SAINTS, its HOLY TRINITY, its ST. LAWRENCE, ST. MARGARET'S, ST. MARY'S, or even its Centenary Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in St. Saviour Gate, the largest in the city, made for 2000 people-with a most pious organ, that only cost £500, or some $2,500. Here, too, as almost every where else in England, the old Presbyterian church is converted into a Unitarian chapel; and, strange to tell, the Primitive Methodists in Grape Lane occupy the Baptist church erected in 1780.

The Archbishop's Palace being some three miles from the city jail, we did not see, and had but a moment to view the ramparts of the Ouse Bridge and sundry other antique things. But in all Eng. land we saw no such arch; nor is there, I am told, in England or the world, any one stone arch, equal to that in Chester stone bridge, being over 200 feet in one span. But my sheet is full and you are tired.-Farewell!

A. CAMPBELL.

DISCIPLINE.-No. V.

THE religious exercises of the primitive churches having been evidently so intimately connected with the order and forms of the Jewish synagogue, it becomes a matter of much importance in the inquiries we are making into the proper organization of a Christian congregation and the true formal administration of its affairs, to consider with some minuteness the details of the synagogue worship. The rise and occasion of this institution are variously conjectured by historians; but the most probable conclusion seems to be that, which dates their origin about four hundred and forty-four years before the birth of the Saviour, and makes the example of Ezra, in publicly reading the law, when it was restored after the Babylonish Captivity, the occasion of its introduction. When Ezra had completed his edition of the law, the people called on him to. read it publicly to them; and a platform having been erected in one of the broadest streets in the city, when the people were assembled together to welcome in the new civil year by the celebration of the feast of trumpets, he ascended into it with thirteen principal elders as SERIES III-VOL. V.

14*

interpreters, and proceeded to read in the original Hebrew, the thirteen elders rendering period by period into the Chaldee, then the vulgar language of the people. The reading of the law in this impressive manner convinced the people of their many transgressions, and as they had been led into these, mainly through ignorance of its precepts, they resolved at once to provide for the regular public reading of it in every city, so that the people might hear.This was at first done after the example of Ezra-out of doors, in the open air; but the inconvenience often experienced from inclement weather, soon led to the erection of houses or tabernacles for this purpose; and these, in process of time, became places of resort, not only for hearing the law, but for various acts of devotion-in short, the synagogues of the nation.

These places of worship, by the days of the Apostles, were not only exceedingly numerous, many of them being found in every principal city, but were well established by an organization at once uniform and efficient. Every thing was done in them with the greatest regard to order, and by a fixed and well arranged system. We have examined with care the historical lights we have upon this order and arrangement, drawn from various sources, Rabbinical and Talmudical, and with as mnch brevity as is consistent with perspicuity, shall proceed to give what we have learned concerning them.

1. Wherever ten free men, of full age, and leisure regularly to attend on the synagogue, could be found, there a synagogue should be built; but it was a fixed rule that unless this number of persons were present, no part of the synagogue worship could be acceptably performed. These ten pe: sons were called Batelnim.

2. Three days in every week, Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, were set apart as synagogue days; besides their national holidays, which were also to be observed, whether fasts or festivals, with appropriate synagogue services. Saturday being their Sabbath, was of course dedicated to worship; but Monday and Thursday were observed by the appointment of the elders, since, by a mystical interpretation of water to mean law, they supposed Exod. xv. 22, where it is said the Israelites were in great distress in their journey through the wilderness, being three days without water, to signify that the people ought not to go three days without the hearing of the law. On each of these three days they had three meetingsone at the hour of morning sacrifice, (9 o'clock, forenoon;) one at the hour of evening sacrifice, (3 o'clock, afternoon;) and one at noon.

According to some, they had also a fourth hour, at the first close of night, because the evening sacrifice was still burning.

3. The synagogue service consisted of prayers, reading the scriptures, and expounding them or preaching from them.

4. To effect these objects, there were appointed in every synagɔgue six ranks of office-bearers:—

First-The rulers or elders of the synagogue, (Aphchisunagogos.) Of these there was a plurality, as appears both from Mark v. 22, and Acts xiii. 15; and, according to Lightfoot, there were always three. These were selected without regard to the sacerdotal order, and were solemnly set apart by the laying on of hands. Their business was to see that all things were done decently and in order; to prescribe to the reader the lessons for the day, and to indicate to the congregation their appropriate part in the ɛervice;-in short, to order and direct the exercises of the house. It is also said that they had a certain civil power over minor matters between members of the synagogue, and the power of ordaining ministers.

Second-The minister or angel of the congregation, (shelih hetsebur.) This officer, Prideaux thinks, was one of the rulers, to whom was assigned a special part of their joint duty. He labored among the congregation in word and doctrine, prayed, preached, sometimes kept the book of the law, appointed the readers, designated the sections of the Prophets to be read, and stood beside the readers and overlooked them, to see that they read aright. Hence he was also called (hegen,) episkopos, or overseer.

Third-the Deacon or Almoner. There were usually three of this rauk, and their business was to collect alms for the poor and appropriate them to the needy. These alms were gathered from three sources:-1st. Two or three of the deacons went round the town with an almond-dish (lethmehui) every day, and collected what they could for "the world”—that is, the poor Gentiles. 2d. In the synagogue there was placed a poor's chest, (lekupe,) in which, on Sabbath days, the charitable put what they could spare, for the relief of the poor Jews. And 3d. The alms from the field, or the gleanings of the corn-fields,—of the vintage, &c.

Fourth-The Thurgemin, or interpreter, who stood behind the reader, and translated the portion read from the original Hebrew into the vulgar tongue.

Fifth and Sixth-These are supposed to have been the Doctor of the divinity school and his interpreter. This school was commonly attached to the synagogue, and in it the traditions were taught by the Doctors, who, for the purpose of inspiring the people with a

deeper sense of their dignity, always spoke in an under tone to an interpreter.

Thus organized, the Jewish synagogue was evidently well adapted to the great purpose for which it was instituted-the instruction of the congregation in the law and the development and enjoyment of a spirit of dovotion among the Jewish nation:-in the fulness of time, may we not also conclude, a providential arrangement preparatory to the more easy and untrammelled introduction of the great and more glorious organization of the Christian church?

Having thus briefly presented its office-bearers, let us now consider for a moment the details of its service. This, as before stated, was prayer, the reading of the Prophets, and such expositions and remarks as the passages read might seem to call for or suggest.— The congregation being assembled and seated, the males and females apart, with their backs to the east and all facing the officers, who sat with their backs to the west, the minister of the congregation rose, and with him the other officers and all the congregation. Having ascended into the pulpit, the congregation standing in an attitude of solemn devotion, he proceeded to offer up public prayers. These were very numerous. Those most generally used in the synagogues were, in the days of the Saviour and his Apostles, the Shemene Oshre, or the eighteen prayers supposed to have been composed by Ezra; and, after the commencement of the Christian dispensation, a nineteenth, added by Rabbi Gamaliel, against the apostates or Christians. At the end of each of these prayers all the congregation, male and female of age, said, Amen!

After these nineteen prayers, considered the most solemn part of their exercises, followed the repetition of their phylacteries, three portions of scripture-found in the iv. Deut. 4 to 9 verse-xi. 13 to 21 v., and xv. Numbers, from the 37 verse to the end. These were repeated, however, only twice-a-day-morning and evening-and only by the males of free condition-women and servants being exempt. They were also interspersed with short prayers; and next,

came

The reading of the law. For this purpose the law was divided off into fifty-four sections, to suit the number of weeks in their intercalated years—being reduced by adding two or more short ones together, to suit the number of weeks in the common year. Thus every year, commencing at the feast of tabernacles or the first Sabbath after, they commenced anew the reading of the law, and proeeded regularly through according to the arrangement of the sections. But as only one section was read per week, and the law

must be read each synagogue day, they adopted this order. On Monday morning they read one half the section for that week-on Thursday morning they read the other half, and on Sabbath day they read the whole section over again, both in the morning and evening; so that those who had leisure to attend the synagogue during the week, might hear the whole section read three times; and those who could only attend on Sabbath days, could hear it twice. There were various readers appointed in every synagogue; -on some occasions as many as seven participated in reading one section-and on no occasion could a section be read by a fewer number than three. These were called upon in succession, by the angel or minister of the congregation, according to his pleasure; and when he had summoned one to the desk he always accompanied him with the roll of the law, showing him the portion for the day, and overlooking him as he read. He never desired the reader to proceed, however. till himself bidden by a ruler.

Thus was the law read regularly in the synagogue till the time of the persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes. Among other restrictions laid upon the Jews by this bitter persecutor, was an inhition, under heavy penalties, of the reading of the law. This led to the introduction of the prophecies, which, not being included in the decree, were divided off, in like manner as the law had been, and according to the same order, regularly read in its stead. After the reading of the law was restored by the Maccabees, the reading of the Prophets was still continued, and the two were read conjointly in their corresponding sections, down at least to the time of the Apostles; for it is said that Paul entered the synagogue at Antioch, and after the reading of the law and the Prophets, stood up to speak, and more generally in Acts xiii. 27, with xv. 21, that this was done every Sabbath day.

As the law was read in the original Hebrew, and the common language of the people after the Captivity was Syriac, it became necessary to call in the aid of an interpreter. This officer stood beside the angel and reader, and translated the section read. If it was the law, the reader paused at the end of every verse, till it was translated; but if the Prophets, then he read three verses together before pausing for the translation.

After the reading, next in order came the expounding of, and preaching or exhorting from the sections read. While the reading of the law required always the officers to stand, it appears from the example of our Saviour, Luke iv. 20, that, in expounding, they resumed a sitting posture; yet Paul, we are told in Acts xii. 16, when