as the world gives, do I give." Its bequests are not rich legacies. But the sufferings of the Christian are all blessings in disguise. The sufferings of earth and time are not worthy to be compared to the glory, the bliss, and the beauty, to be revealed, developed, and enjoyed in us. What think you, Bro. Clement, of "the creature,” and "the earnest expectation of the creature," here spoken of.

Clement.-By the creature, I have been led to think the apostle alludes to the body, or mortal portion of our present personality; and by vanity, its frailty.

Olympas.-This is, Bro. Clement, a difficult passage, and largely debated by our most profound critics and commentators. Volumes have been written on it. It belongs to the passages called, by critics, loci vexatissimi; vexatious, perplexing, intricate passages. The drift of the passage is easy and definite; but what means this ktisis-creature, or creation? What precise idea should we attach to it? is the question. It occurs but nineteen times in the New Testament, and is, in the Common Version, once rendered ordinance, once building, six times creation, and eleven times creature.

Prof. Stuart, after writing twenty-five octavo pages on this passage, leaves it as he found it--a perplexing passage.

I concur with him, that ktisis means either the act of creation, or the thing created. It means the creating, and the thing created; the action and its effect. It means the human race, and it may mean the human body--the mortal part of man. We sometimes use the word creature in contempt. This would meet your view of the passage. The mortal part of man, his body, is subjected to frailty and corruption; and the passage might be safely construed to suit this view. The human body is doomed to corruption, not as a matter of choice, but it has been, to the Christian, made acceptable, in the hope of being raised incorruptible. Indeed, the whole creation-that is, the whole human race, as Stuart, and some other interpreters understand it, mankind universally--have been longing after a higher and happier state. Even Christians, too, in their highest. state of present perfection and happiness, are groaning, being burthened, for the manifestation of the sons of God in their incorruptible and glorified bodies; not, indeed, that they might be divested or unclothed, but invested, or clothed upon with their house or spiritual body, which is to be from heaven.

Aquila.--That sounds very harmonious in my ear. It is in accordance with what the apostle elsewhere says, as you have quoted, and suits, in my judgment, the spirit and scope of this passage. We are all waiting, in hope, for the adoption, namely, "the redemp

tion of our body;" not for the redemption of the soul, for that we now have, but for the redemption of the body. What an argument this, clear and invincible, for the separate state! The body returns to its origin, the earth; the spirit returns to its origin, God, at death. How accordant with the words, "Absent from the body, present with the Lord." But now we (our spirits) present with the body, are absent from the Lord. Here we walk by faith, hereafter by sight, for then we shall see him as he is. We patiently must wait that day.

us.

Olympas. And, Bro. Aquila, "the spirit helps our infirmities," for we often sigh for what we know not. We are like an afflicted child, we cry, and know not for what we cry. But the Spirit of God rightly interprets these cries and groans, and makes intercession for We, therefore, wait patiently for the adoption, for the apokalupsis-the revelation of the sons of God. Here our sonship is invisible and unappreciated, even by ourselves. Hence, we look forward to the full development of that glorious relation, when we shall appear to ourselves, and one another, as the sons or children of God.

Aquila.-Truly we are well said to be saved, or sustained in our present trials, by hope. Let us, then, patiently wait for the day of our deliverance. But let me ask the question, Does the Holy Spirit, in person, act the part of an intercessor for us? Is not Jesus our intercessor?

Olympas.-The Spirit of God is said to do for us what he has, in bearing witness to the truth which he imparted, inclined, and enabled us to do for ourselves. Hence, the Spirit of God being the cause of those desires in us, when our spirits express them to God in harmony with his teachings, he is figuratively said to intercede for us. That this is not a personal, or official intercession of the Holy Spirit, is indicated in the words, "He that searches the hearts of believers, knows that the desires arising in them, and expressed by them, are the fruits of the Spirit of God, and not the offspring of their own spirits." Our unutterable feelings, emotions, and desires, are properly interpreted by the Holy Spirit, for he knows what we mean, and what we desire and ask, infinitely better than we do. Hence there is a meaning in the inarticulate groans of a saint, which he himself cannot express. He knows not what he wants. But the Spirit of God having, by the truth and promise of the gospel, occasioned these desires, comprehends them; and God the Father, to whom all prayer is ultimately directed by the Spirit, and through the Son, understands, receives, and answers these inar

ticulate signs, and groans, and desires of the saints, being in accor· dance with his will.

Olympas. I am pleased to say, that in this view of the passage you have the concurrence, if not of the multitude, certainly of the most ancient and celebrated interpreters, from the Greek Chrysostom down to the present day.

"All things," then, "work together for good, to them that love God;" and these are they whom he purposes to save-those both of Jews and Gentiles, whom he has called according to purposes and promises announced from the earliest annals of the world. God's eternal purpose and counsel is, that his people shall finally be conformed to the image of his Son, as like to him as the younger members of a family are to the first born. And those so predestined, he has called, is calling, and will call till time shall end; has justified, is justifying, and will justify; has glorified, is glorifying, and will glorify. The apostle places all in the past tense, with reference to the time he wrote. But only with reference to that time, because the family is still a growing family. And as he had done so he is doing, in calling, justifying, sanctifying and glorifying, with high rank, dignity and honor, all who obey the gospel; all who are really the called of God through Jesus Christ; for none are effectually called but those who obey the gospel.

Since, then, God has done so much for his people, who can be against them, to harm or destroy them! He sent his Son, his dearly beloved and only begotten Son, the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person, and the upholder of all things. He came into our world, lived, died, rose again, and ascended into heaven for us, and now intercedes for us. Who, then, shall, or who can, separate us from the love of Christ? His love is almighty, immutable, and eternal. Shall trials or afflictions on his account, to which we are now exposed; shall distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword? Nay. In all these we more than triumph, through him that loved us.

Hence, every enlightened, sanctified, and devoted Christian may say, and will say, "I am persuaded that neither death nor life; neither angels, good or bad, nor principalities, nor powers, spiritual and antagonistic; neither things present nor things to come; neither height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is (revealed to us) by Christ Jesus our Lord!"

As soon might we attempt to adorn the lily of the valley or the rose of Sharon; to perfume the aloes, myrrh, and cassia of Arabia

Felix; to beautify the ruby, the sapphire, or the diamond, that glowed on the breastplate of Aaron, as to present in more appropriate, more intelligible, or more impressive terms, the sublime and glorious climax with which the apostle concludes this section of the epistle. A. C.

CHRISTIAN BAPTISM, WITH ITS ANTECEDENTS AND

CONSEQUENTS.

SUCH is the title of our book on baptism, now being stereotyped.

The important question of Christian Baptism is yet, with many, an undecided question. With many, too, it has been decided wrong, because decided on human authority, or on partial evidence, without personal and proper examination. Neither Christian faith nor Christian character can be inherited, as the goods and chattels of this world. There is no royal or ancestral path to faith, piety, or humanity. Whatever truly elevates, adorns, or dignifies a human being, must be, more or less, the fruit of his own efforts.

Five points are necessarily involved in this discussion, essential to a rational and scriptural decision of the question. These are: 1. The action, called baptism. 2. The subject of that action. 3. The design of that action. 4. The antecedents; and 5. The consequents of that action. These are distinct topics, each of which must be scripturally apprehended in its evangelical import and bearings, before this solemn and sublime symbol can be truly enjoyed in its spiritual influences and importance. And such is the prominent and imposing attitude in which its Author placed it, when, in giving a commission to his apostles to convert the nations of the earth to him, he makes this the consummating act of their preaching Christ-of converting and evangelizing the world. "Go," said he, "into all the world, convert the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Misconceptions of this institution are, it has been often remarked, more or less connected with misconceptions of the whole Christian institution, and lay as the sub-basis of the present apostacy from original Christianity. By the grand "Mother of Harlots" and delusions, it has been degraded to the rank of a mere rite or ceremony, SERIES IV.-VOL. I.

22*

and made a door of admission, wide as the whole world, into the bosom of what is impiously called "The Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church of Christ."

In view of this, the following treatise discusses the whole subject, in what its author esteems its natural and logical order, placing before the mind of the reader each and every point in its proper position and relative importance to the whole institution. This gives a somewhat miscellaneous appearance to the volume; but, in view of the whole premises, will, he hopes, make it more really useful and satisfactory to every reader, so much interested in the subject as to give it a candid and careful perusal.

The author regards the antecedents and consequents of Christian Baptism, as furnishing not only much material for profitable reffection, on the part of every earnest inquirer after the truth and design of Christianity, but as also furnishing arguments in support of the divine origin, authority, and value of Christian Baptism, necessary to an intelligent and satisfactory decision of the much litigated questions, What is Christian Baptism? and What are the benefits thereof?

He has condensed a very large amount and variety of materials on the special questions, What is Christian Baptism? Who are its legitimate subjects? and What its specific design? into as small a space as possible, not desiring to say even a moiety of what he might say on the premises. Much of what is said is designed to be suggestive to the mind of the reader, rather than to leave him nothing to do but to read what is written; to open to his mind the unwasting fountains of light and knowledge contained in the Divine Records of eternal wisdom and providence, that he may see, in the clear, full, and certain light of God's own book, the glorious scheme of redemption, as indicated in the precious and sublime symbol of Christian Baptism. The continual agitation of this subject is important and benevolent, so long as unscriptural views of it are not only entertained, but made the bitter root of discord amongst good men, and of schism in the Christian profession. Truth ever gains, and error uniformly foses, by discussion. The results of the discussions of this subject during the last thirty years, are at least the addition of a hundred thousand persons to the profession of "one Lord, one faith, and one baptism;" and, so far, has contributed to the triumph of truth, the union of Christians, and the conversion of the world. We, therefore, commend to the blessing of the Lord, this new offering on our part to the advancement of truth in the world, and as an humble means of promoting the cause of Christian union and co-operation amongst all who love Zion, and seek the peace and happiness of Jerusalem.

A. C.