hope through grace." Believers, no doubt, in every age, have been surrounded in this world with troubles innumerable; indeed, one trouble after another follow them like the waves of the sea; but there is a sufficiency in Jesus in the midst of them all; and as our afflictions abound, our consolations will much more abound through Christ.

Reader! are you a stranger to these truths? Have you never thought of death, judgment, and eternity? Has the thought of you appearing before the judge of all the earth given you no consideration? If so, think on your awful state before it be too late. Remember you are among the number of whom it is said, "It is appointed unto men once to die;" and if you die the death of the wicked, your irreversible doom is for ever fixed. Come then immediately to Jesus, just as you are. He is able, and ready, and willing to forgive the chief of sinners. Believe then in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. W. B.

Dundee, February, 1850.

A PARABLE.

IN ancient times there were many worshippers in the city of Damascus ; and they were divided into two bands; one of them assembled in the Market Place, and the other in the street which leadeth to the northern gate. And these two were diverse one from the other

Now Damascus was a famous city, and many strangers came from all countries to visit it; for it was celebrated above all the cities of the east, and and the inhabitants were had in reputation for their wisdom, and they were withal very religions.

Now there came five men from Gilead to Damascus, to learn wisdom, and to see the worshippers, and to know the certainty of all those things which had been so much noised abroad

And as soon as they came to the city they went with great eagerness to see the assemblies. And, behold, when they entered the assembly in the Market-Place they were astonished at all the grandeur which they saw. The people were all arrayed in rich apparel, and the house was large and dazzling to look upon. And the ruler of the assembly was high lifted up above all the people, and he was clothed in a long robe, such as no one used but himself, and which he only used when he was in that place. And he spake with great pomp and authority; and whatever he said the people all admired; and no man dared to contradict his words. And when he read the ancient book he expounded them, and every one said he had spoken right, and that none but he understood them.

And the men of Gilead wondered much to see the people so ignorant, and the man who was lifted up so wise.

And it was told them, saying, this man is nourished up by all the people in splendour; he is fed from the richest food, and dressed in the finest apparel, and lodged in the most magnificent habitation, to make him a perfect ruler. And the people are never tired of enriching and adoring him, for he is held sacred in their eyes. And the men of Gilead wondered greatly at all these things.

And when they had seen the rich assembly, they desired to see the other which was near the northern gate. But the men of the city said to them,

the people of the northern gate are many of them poor people, and the building wherein they assemble is not magnificent, and they do not adore and enrich their ruler. Yet the men of Gilead would not be persuaded, but were anxious to see them. And it was told them that the ruler of the assembly had removed to a distant city, and they were going to appoint another in his room. So the strangers went to see.

And when they came they found it as it had been told them, that many of them were poor people, and that the house was not magnificent. HowHowbeit some of their dwellings were magnificient.

And when the men of the assembly had all met together, they began to choose a ruler. And they laid hold of a certain old man, whose name was Eleazer, and said to him, Eleazer, thou must be our ruler, but he held his peace. Nevertheless they urged him, and at last he consented.

And they said to him, Eleazer, hearken diligently: and he gave attentive ear. And they said, Eleazer, thou must be constant in all thy duty, and see that all others do their duty also, and if any neglect their duty, we shall hold thee guilty. And the old man bowed his head.

And thou shalt teach us constantly out of the ancient books, and thou shalt labour diligently therein. And we shall not adore thee, as the men of the Market-Place adore their ruler; for the men of the Market-Place are men of prejudice, but we are men of principle.

And thou shalt labour constantly for us, but thou must not expect us to labour for thee thou must labour both for thyself and us, for it so written in the ancient books.

And when thou dost labour for us, thou must not think thyself a labourer, but when thou dost work for thyself, thou art a labourer, when thou labourest at the desire of others, thou art worthy of hire, as a labourer, but when thou labourest at our desire, thou art not worthy of hire, for then thou art not a labourer.

And thou must walk very humbly towards us, and serve us; but we shall not walk humbly towards thee, nor serve thee, for we are not men of prejudice, we are all men of stern principle. And the old man again bowed his head. So Eleazer became their ruler, and he laboured for them and for himself, and they laboured for themselves only, according to principle. But Eleazer was ready to faint beneath his double burden.

When the men of the assembly saw this, they gathered themselves together, and said, Eleazer is unable to carry his burdens, and if he has no assistance he will fail, and we shall lose him: we must needs help him.

So these good men gave Eleazer a little help, for they were moved by pity's sake, and for their own sake; but they would not help him for his work's sake; for they were not men of prejudice, they were men of stern principle. Now when the old man had received a little help, he was able to totter on beneath his two burdens. Yet he was grievously bowed down, and all men pitied him.

And after many days the men of Gilead returned from Damascus to their own city. And they told the people of Gilead all that they had seen, and about the men of the two assemblies, and their rulers; and that the one were men of prejudice, and the others men of principle.

And when the men of Gilead heard these things, they wondered greatly, and lifted up their voices and said. The men of prejudice make their ruler a priest, but the men of principle make their ruler a sacrifice.

To the Editor of the Christian Advocate,

Dear Sir,-In reply to the query of Chronos, in your February number, relative to the apostleship of Matthias, it does not appear that the Eleven had any authority for his election, nor that he ever was numbered as one of the Twelve.

It is said, (Acts i. 23-24) they appointed two, and prayed to the Lord to shew them whether of the two he had chosen. From the manner of casting lots, and the way in which the question was put, it is evident that one of the the two must have been chosen, whereas, they ought first to have appealed to the same Lord, to show them whether any one at this time should be chosen. Men often act thus in religious matters; and on that ground this incident is very instructive. The apostles at Jerusalem had not at this time received the gifts from on high, to qualify them for the work to which they were called. Their duty was to remain in Jerusalem, waiting for power from on high. They could not then use the formula-"The Holy Ghost said," &c. as was afterwards used by the church when it deliberated to send out messengers to preach the word, (see Acts xiii. 2; xv. 28) for the Holy Ghost was not then given.

About a year after the selection of Matthias, we find the Lord himself electing an apostle to succeed Judas, who had fallen from his ministry-in the person of Saul of Tarsus. Acts ix. 1-31. Paul was not an apostle of men, neither did he receive his commission from men, (an evident allusion to the choice of Matthias by men) but from God, as Ananias told him when he was sent to open his eyes, Acts xxii. 11-16, "The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. See Gal. i. 15–24; Cor. xii. 1–21. Paul's subsequent conduct in the apostleship leaves no doubt as to who the twelfth apostle was. Of Matthias we learn nothing afterwards, and it is quite evident that the apostolic body never exceeded twelve in number. See Rev. xxi. 14.

B. C.

[REMARKS.- Much as we admire the force and perspicuity of the above reply, we do not nevertheless consider the arguments conclusive. Our reasons for so thinking we shall now state.

1. It is intimated that the Eleven had no authority for the election of Matthias. If it is intended by this they had no direct or special revelation to that effect, perhaps it may be true; but by no means certain. But we do not consider such a special revelation necessary. The Eleven well knew from the previous instructions of the Saviour that the number of Apostles, as chosen witnesses, must be TWELVE. See Mark iii. 14; and Luke vi. 13; xxiv. 48. To this appointment Peter evidently refers, and considers this, together with their present circumstances, as sufficient authority for proceeding in matter according to divine direction. And we have no grounds whate for suspecting his judgment in the matter, for all those present seem to h been perfectly satisfied that his reasoning and arguments were true, an interpretation of the prophecy in Ps. xli. 9; and cix. 8. were e ***

If the prophecy in Ps. xli. 9, foretold the deation o Juca pointed with equal clearness to the appointment of a successor.

If Scripture, therefore, had already pointed out the course to be pursued, a new and distinct revelation was unnecessary.

P

It is now too late for us therefore to doubt the correctness of the premises or the conclusion.

2. Peter and the other Apostles knew also the qualifications necessary to be found in a successor to Judas. These are expressed in verses 21-22.

As Jesus himself had stated the requisites, in the passages before cited, there could be no mistake about that matter; the only difficulty lay in selecting the most proper person. This in its very nature, must be done by living men, guided by the principles already recognised. They accordingly selected two; perhaps the only two who possessed all the qualifications, and not improbably the two who were most intimate with Jesus during his personal ministry, and best acquainted with all his proceedings. In a word, we have no just grounds to question the wisdom, prudence, and propriety of their proceedings on this occasion. Their conduct in the matter throughout, appears to be guided by the Spirit of God, and not by worldly wisdom.

Our correspondent's objection,-that they ought to have ascertained "whether any one, at this time, should be chosen," amounts to nothing, unless he could shew that Peter was not admonished of God to take steps in this matter. The circumstances altogether seem to favour the opinion that he was so admonished. (Comp. the narrative with ch. xiii. 2.) Moreover, the very nature of the affair demanded immediate attention. They were now waiting the promise of the Father, which they knew would soon be realized, but in order to its complete fulfilment, the number twelve must be made up. His objection that they selected only two, is equally groundless. It is not said in the narrative, but it is not improbable that they may have pursued the same course in the matter as Joshua did in the church of Israel. Josh. vii. 16-18.

Be that as it may, they sought direction of God, and obtained it. The lot, which was sacred, and was an immediate appeal to God, at once settled the question, and Matthias was numbered with the Eleven. Words which, in our opinion, fully confirm the Apostleship of Matthias.

3. Paul being the twelfth Apostle is a mere assumption. There were twelve Apostles, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel; (Rev. xxi. 14.) Nevertheless, as there were virtually thirteen tribes, so there is nothing incongruous in Christ's appointing a thirteenth Apostle, and giving him a special commission. Paul seems never to have looked upon himself as the twelfth Apostle, but rather as emphatically the Apostle of the Gentiles. His words in Gal. i. 1, being "an evident allusion to the choice of Matthias by men," appears to us far-fetched, and quite arbitrary. Matthias was not chosen "by men," but by Christ himself, who answered the prayers of his servants by guiding the lot.

We have now stated our reasons for differing from our correspondent, but our readers must judge for themselves.-ED.]

OBSERVATIONS ON JAMES v. 14-16.

To the Editor of the Christian Advocate,

Dear Sir,--Your correspondent, Eliza, says that James v. 14-16 is a passage much used by the Mormonites, and desires to know the meaning of it.

I beg to say that it is, I believe, misunderstood by most, and awfully perverted by the sect referred to. It refers, I am satisfied, to a case peculiar to the apostolic age-the age of miracles-when diseases, directly from God, were inflicted upon those members of the Christian church, whose conduct merited such chastisement; not indeed for their "destruction," (although, if impenitent under their infliction, it resulted thus) but for their "edification," or reformation. 2 Cor. x. 8. In some cases the disease proved mortal; in others it was miraculously cured in answer to inspired prayer—" the prayer of faith." The inspired (see Parkhurst, Whitby, and others) prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Such as had the power of working miracles-a power which no Mormonite can display in the present day when sent for to a sick and penitent brother, presented by an impulse of the Spirit-" the prayer of faith,"-for the removal of the sickness or disease, which was "not unto death." The inwrought or inspired prayer availed to this end. But if the Christian brother continued impenitent and unreformed under the divine chastisement, the elders would receive no impulse of the Spirit to ask for his recovery, and therefore are directed not to do so. 1 John v. 16. From the case of the incestuous person (1 Cor. v. 5) and others, it may be inferred, that those only were "sins unto death,' which were unrepented of. The phrase, "delivered unto Satan," (1 Cor. v. 5, and 1 Tim. i. 20) may be understood of a direct infliction of punishment, and also of excision from the church; for, to be delivered back to the world, the territory of Satan, was called a delivery over to Satan. From 2 Cor. ii. 8, it appears probable that this person had become penitent, and was restored to the church of Christ. In 1 Cor. xi. 30-32, the apostle speaks of some of the congregation at Corinth, who were either sickly or who slept. Such as had fallen asleep-who had died in consequence of eating and drinking condemnation to themselves-had "sinned unto death," died in impenitence. Hymenæus and Alexander, Paul delivered unto Satan, that they might learn not to blaspheme. 1 Tim. i. 20. The following passages may also be referred to, in illustration of the subject,-Num. xii. 1; 2 Kings v. 27; John ix. 2; and Acts v. 1-11. Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture; and those parts which are most transparent will usually assist in throwing light on such as are, at first sight, obscure. W. D. H.

"

ON HEBREWS ix. 27-28.

To the Editor of the Christian Advocate,

My Dear Sir,-It gives me much pleasure to find from your March number, that this important portion of divine truth is engaging the attention of your readers and correspondents. It is well worthy of investigation; and I hope before you close your pages against the discussion of it, it will have been relieved of much of the obscurity that has long hung around it.

Your correspondent A. J. appears to have the same opinion as is expressed in the Advocate, New Series, p. 11, namely, that the apostle is contrasting the priesthood and sacrifices of Aaron, and the Aaronic worship, with the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, who was of the order of Melchisedec, or first-born. It cannot be denied that this is the foundation of the apostle's argument. But A. J. does not appear to have followed the