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Sabbath, "Every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people."

Nothing can be more conclusive of the universal and perpetual character of the law of the Ten Commandments than this, that not fewer than seven of them, when incorporated in the Jewish code, had this awful addition made to them. As given on the tables of stone there was no penalty mentioned. The transgressor was simply left in God's hands, to be dealt with as God in the great judg⚫ ment might determine. But as given to the Jewish nation these laws were to be maintained by the Jewish magistrate, and the infraction of them to be punished with death. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." "Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy." "Honour thy father and thy mother." "Thou shalt not kill.” "Thou shalt not commit adultery." In the decalogue these laws stand alone in their majesty, binding on the world, to be enforced as the Lawgiver may please. In the constitution of the Jewish nation they were enforced with the penalty of death.

It was not the law of the Sabbath alone, it will be observed, that was thus enforced. It was only one of seven that was so enforced. In each case the penalty was new, but the law was old. In each case the law had existed without the penalty, and might so exist again. And this is what we believe has taken place. The law remains the law, "Thou shalt have no other God"-the law, "Thou shalt honour thy father and thy mother," the law, "Thou shalt not commit adultery,"—and equally, and on the same ground with these, the law, "Thou shalt remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy,"-each of them remains; but the penalty of death has passed away with the Jewish code, of which it formed a part.

To us, then, it is plain that all arguments against the existence and obligations of a Christian Sabbath founded on the specialities of the Jewish law, are irrelevant and aside the mark. As well argue against the perpetual obligation of the law, "Thou shalt have no other god before me," or the law, "Thou shalt honour thy father and mother," because in the Jewish Commonwealth these laws were punishable with death. We shall return to this subject to illustrate the grounds on which we identify the Lord's-day with the Christian Sabbath.

Ir is some consolation to one who is unable, at present, to take other work on the Lord's day, that he is thereby liberated to visit the Churches occasionally, and to unite with them in the service of truth, the service of prayer, and the service of praise. To serve God by opening mind and heart and conscience to His truth is most purifying, and to unite with His people in solemn, earnest prayer is most needful, most comforting, but to join in the people's service of praise, to let your heart be lifted up and carried on the tide of the common emotion, while some hymn of hope, and trust, is uttered,—that is the most blessed part of worship, and it is of that I would speak.

I should like to impress on those who kindly read these words one great lesson, which the psalmody of London Congregational Churches has recently taught me more powerfully and certainly than I had ever learnt it before. I knew it before, but never saw it so clearly or felt it so strongly. And yet, it is only the simple lesson, that this "service of song" (1 Chron. vi. 31), this "sacrifice of praise" (Heb. xiii. 15), can

be happy and blessed in this part of public worship.

I have to describe the case of three Congregational Churches in which the psalmody is evidently enjoyed by the great mass of worshippersenjoyed not as a musical treat, but as a service, a sacrifice, a sweet communion of saints. No Christian can attend these places without feeling what I have said to be true. But mark, that these results have in each case been obtained, not by the introduction of some wonderful tune book, which possesses the power of charming the people into the singing of praises-for in each of these cases a different tune book is used-and not by the purchase of a costly organ with many stops-for the largest of these Churches and that which has the fullest voice of the people uses no musical instrument and does not even organize a choir. But these happy results have been obtained, Ist, by a frequent awakening of conscience from the pulpit on the duty and the joy of offering "by Jesus, the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name," and, 2ndly, by dedicating a large portion of time through several years to the humble labour of teaching the people themselves to sing.

In the Church which I shall call D, the tunes were simple and sound, and the music moved with a quick pulse. Everybody was singing around me. I could hear the dear children's voices pouring down from their gallery, some of them singing the alto part. I

could hear the minister from his pulpit throwing out his voice with the people's in the spirit of simple hearti ness. I could hear the Christian women, who stood on the platform below the pulpit, and who, like the daughters of Heman, were appointed for the ministry of " song in the house of the Lord." And I could could

hear the organ, not like a separate voice, but like a spirit pervading and filling the harmonies of the people. The hymn was ruling the music. I gave my own mind also to the hymn, and yielded my heart to the mighty stream of sympathy which was flowing by. Oh! that the organ had always kept its place, but it sometimes came out upon us, treading down our voices like a blundering elephant, and filling the place with a great harsh sound. Where I sat, in the gallery, I did not hear much singing in "parts." There was probably more down stairs. But there must still be, in that congregation, many persons to whom God has given low voices, and who cannot sing unison in high-pitched tunes, who should be taught to read music, so that they may sing the bass or alto. The tune-book which they use is printed in the tonic sol-fa as well as the established notation, so that the poorest and the least musical may learn to take their parts.

The tunes were admirably well suited to the character of the hymn, because they were adapted to the hymns, in no haste, just before the service, and by no coterie of persons wanting to try a pretty tune which

He

worshipper who opens his hymn-book finds also the tune before him. has both hymn and tune in his hands, without the discouraging awkwardness of having to hold two books at the same time.

The editor of this book

-a book so extensively used by the Evangelical Congregations of the Church of England, that its printer once told me that he was "always printing it"-says in his preface; "The music, it will be seen, appears invariably in company with the words, agreeably to the universal usage of our own country in the period succeeding the Reformation, and in modern Germany. Este's collection, in A.D. 1592, was found in every church pew, and was in general use; for the power of reading from notes was not then rare, but a general acquirement. The advantages of this arrangement are obvious and manifold. The clergy are spared the weekly trouble of selecting the tunes; the choice of music inappropriate to the words is avoided; a due variety of chants and tunes is secured; the people know the music they will have to sing, and by practising it at home can become thoroughly familiarized with it; and above all the melody becomes associated and intertwined in the people's minds with the psalm or hymn. The benefit of this last result is incalculable. No sooner is the hymn given out than the tune starts, at the same moment, to the memory, and, conversely. The tune suggests the hymn. The hymn calls to memory the tune."

I think that the part of the service in this church which was sung with the greatest fulness of voice-the greatest earnestness and fire-the truest worship, was the prose "Psalms for the

and profaneing yo Sabbath." Through the blessing of God, his ministry excited attention, and aroused a spirit of inquiry among the people. Many became the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ; and, in proportion as they advanced in their apprehension of the spirituality of His kingdom and religion, the forms of the Establishment became distasteful to them.

Many of Mr. Mr. Yeamans' converts began to assemble in private houses for free worship and mutual counsel. Two such places are particularly referred to, "William Listun's house, a glover, near Lawford's gate;" "and Richard Langford's house, a house-carpenter in ye Castle." "At these two places they mett mostly; where they did Cry day and Night to ye Lord to plucke downe ye Lordly Prelates of ye time, and ye Superstitions thereof; which prayers ye Lord heard and graciously Answered in his time; although first he suffered them to pass through sore afflictions, and they were Scattered up and downe, that is most of them." The work thus begun was promoted by the labours of two other clergymen, one of whom was the rector of Llanvaches, Monmouthshire, the Rev. William Wroth, who, says the author of the Records, "for ye Powerfullnesse and efficatiousnesse of his Preaching, with an Exemplary holinesse of his life, was Called ye Apostle of Wales; for ye Papist and all sortes almost honoured him for a holy man." In the year 1639 he founded a separate" Church at Llanvaches, which proved the mother Church of the Nonconformists of the Principality. The

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*"The Records of a Church of Christ meeting in Broadmead, Bristol," p. 6. Edited by Rev. N. Haycroft, A.M.

other clergyman referred to was the Rev. Matthew Hazard, who probably officiated as lecturer in several of the churches in the city. While doing this he appears to have, encouraged his converts to meet with other pious people privately "to Repeat sermonnotes," and for prayer. Among them was one very remarkable woman, who deserves to be specially mentioned on account of the influence she exerted over the early Nonconformity of Bristol. She was the widow of Anthony Kelly, a grocer, one of the earliest of Mr. Yeamans' converts. We are told "she was like a hee-goat before ye flock; for in those dayes Mrs. Kelly was very famous for Piety and reformation, well knowne to all, bearing a liveing testimony against ye superstitions and traditions of those dayes, and she would not observe their invented times and feasts, called Holy days." This " gracious woman," "at his, and ye importunity of ye good people, was marryed" afterwards to Mr. Hazard, and used the increased influence of her new position to advance spiritual religion. These private meetings continued for about twenty years amidst much persecution, one being held in Mr. Hazard's own house. At length the bolder members of these assemblies resolved on separation from the Establishment altogether; and, in the year 1640, "these five persons, namely Goodman Atkins, of Stapleton, Goodman Cole, a butcher of Lawford's Gate, Richard Moone, a Farrier, in Wine-street, and Mr. Bacon, a young Minister, with Mrs. Hazzard," entered into mutual covenant to walk together as a Church of Jesus Christ. At first they met in private houses; but, at length, in the year 1671, they fixed their place of