PRIVATE THOUGHTS.

REASONS FOR THANKFULNESS AND SUBMISSION.

Ir is a duty which I owe to Him under whose "mighty hand" I am placed, and, like all other duties, it involves a large amount of practical benefit, to compare my deservings and His dealings, my sins and circumstances, the transgressions which attach themselves to me, and His mercies and judgments. If I find, as will assuredly be the case, that I have deserved "evil," and not "good," at the "hands of the Lord," the fact admonishes me not to receive the tokens of His loving-kindness with indifference, and not to murmur when He " causes grief."

Let me reflect upon the simple continuance of my life in the present world. According to the sentence of the Divine law, death is the adjudged demerit of transgression. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."—"The wages of sin is death." I cannot doubt for a moment being "concluded under sin ;" but doubt it or not, die, I know I must, sooner or later, for "death hath passed upon all men, for all have sinned." To be deprived of life is justly regarded as the greatest of all temporal punishments, and hence, by wise governments, it is only inflicted upon the worst of criminals. Natural instinct prompts me to use every endeavour to preserve life: "skin for skin, all that a man hath he will give for his life." But let me keep in mind that sin has not only subjected me to the first death here, implying the separation of the soul and body, but to the second death hereafter-that death which consists in the separation of the whole man, body and soul, from the presence of God, and the delights of His kingdom, to dwell in regions where an endless alienation from all happiness and hope prevails. What, then, does the simple continuance of life in the present world betoken to me? but that I have not received "the due reward of my deeds." I am out of such misery, nay, I am not only out of it, but favoured with the use of those means of grace, by the wise improvement of which I may never be in it. Men, under the dispensation of the Gospel, are regarded as "prisoners of hope." It assures them of present pardon, if they will but penitently seek it, and of eternal life, if they will but resolvedly prepare for it, so that, instead of "going down to the chambers" of the "second death," they may be rescued from it, to mingle with the redeemed of God here, and with the angels of light hereafter, to "drink of the river of His pleasures," and enjoy the radiance of His uncreated glory. Should I not, then, having this privilege within my reach, who am by nature a child of wrath, say with the Jewish monarch, "The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day?"

Let me reflect, also, upon what is implied in the "life which I now live in the flesh," being "by the faith of the Son of God." He who is "rich in mercy" for Christ's sake has removed far

from me all that is fearful in the "curse of the law," though some of its bitter ingredients, for a little while, I may have to taste. The great blessing of "redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins," is the present effect and recompense of faith, and a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" is its future crown. "This is the generation of them that seek Him," in the way of his word. They are 66 no more strangers and foreigners" to God, but members of a family justified and renewed. They are removed from His bar to His bosom, and will ultimately be elevated from the kingdom of grace to the kingdom of glory. The sons of God are the heirs of heaven; "if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus." Their happiness will not be a passing gratification, nor their dignity like the transient blaze of human glory. When the vapour of this life shall have fled away, and time shall have ended its days, they will be in possession of an "endless life," enjoying an immutable blessedness. Are these, then, my circumstances? have I these prospects? Surely, if so, it becomes me "to serve the Lord with gladness," to be "thankful unto him, and bless his name;" and to act upon the maxim of Christ, in relation to all earthly and sensitive good, compared with that which is spiritual and Divine, " In this rejoice not, but rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven."

But I ought not to forget the circumstances in which I frequently "live, and move, and have my being." Suppose there is the experience of the peace and joy of the Gospel, and that I " abound in hope by the power of the Holy Ghost." Suppose, then, that life were continued unto me for the present, under the constant pressure of outward adversity; still, remembering my deserts, I should have the strongest reason to say, "Blessed be the name of the Lord," "the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly heritage." But life is not a scene to me of continued adversity. It has to every man many pleasing intervals of enjoyment and repose. It has its "green pastures," and its walks "beside the still waters," as well as its rough and thorny paths. Providence sometimes smiles upon me in a special manner. I have food to eat, and raiment to wear, and every necessary comfort within my reach, health with its bloom, friendship with its joys, buoyant spirits, and mental vigour. The body is free from pain, and the mind from anxiety. The schemes in which I engage prosper, and the persons whom I love are near. And "is any thus merry? let him sing psalms." Let him not forget the "Father of Lights," from whom cometh "every good and perfect gift." Let him not be infidel or ungrateful, but rather say, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits?" to which the response is plain, "Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the Most High."

I will now take a view of my present Christian life as a whole. If it has its pleasures, it has likewise its pains. It is a scene of trial, a state

of discipline. "What son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" I am conscious, however, that while "innumerable iniquities compass me about," the chastisements I endure are in comparison slight and few. The former are as countless as the waves of the sea, the latter are as rare as the storms that beat upon its breast. The former are as numerous as the leaves of the forest, the latter as occasional as the lightning that scathes its trees. I have to recollect, also, that my follies are not only many but aggravated, while the chastisements of God are not only few, but beneficial, never intended to be injurious, but instructive and amendatory, and always actually so when sanctified by the Spirit of grace. Pining sickness, family bereavement, and temporal losses, have brought home to my mind, with all the force of a sensible conviction, the vanity of the world, and the value of religion. I have been brought to see the folly, as I never saw it before, involved in the “two great evils," that of "forsaking the fountain of living waters," and that of constructing "broken cisterns which can hold no water." Thus taught by the correcting hand of God, and acting in accordance with the teaching, the effect has been, that the "time past of life has sufficed" to have walked negligently, and the time present has been more wisely employed. As then, He chasteneth me, not for His pleasure, but for my profit, "I will sing of mercy and judgment, unto thee, O Lord, will I sing." I ought to be dissatisfied with myself, till I am brought into a state of thankful submission to the "Father of spirits," for no principle but one of good-will, no motive but one to promote my best interests, can actuate Him, in His dealings with me.

FURTHER REMARKS ON COLOSSIANS II. 16, 17.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE.

DEAR SIR,-In Common, I believe, with many of your readers, I have perused with deep regret, the two articles in your numbers for March and May, entitled "Critical Remarks on Colossians ii. 16, 17;” the object of which is to prove that the Ten Commandments have been annulled, and that the observance of the Lord's day rests upon no Divine authority whatever, and is consequently not binding upon Christians. I had hoped to see some reply from an abler pen, to the rash and dogmatical and flimsy criticisms of the unknown writer; but, being disappointed in this respect, I have snatched a few moments to draw up some counter remarks upon the passage in question, which are at the service of your readers. I have not undertaken to refute the various unsupported and erroneous assertions scattered over W. S.'s papers, but have confined my remarks to the main point-the vindication of St. Paul from the false gloss which represents him as having made void the law. I am yours very faithfully, JOSIAH CONDer.

The first thing to be observed in this much perverted passage is, that the leading idea relates, not to the observance of days, but to the subject of meat and drink; that is, to ritual observances connected with eating and drinking. In this respect, the passage is strictly parallel with that in Rom. xiv., "Let not him who eateth not, judge him who eateth.... For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." But, as in addressing the Romans, so here, the apostle connects the question of the lawfulness of eating and drinking with the observance of sacred days. And so close is the apparent connexion, that Koppe explains it by saying "Some believed that it was their duty to abstain only on certain days from eating flesh." That the observance of certain days as feast days or fast days in respect of food, is chiefly, if not exclusively referred to, can scarcely be doubted. This construction of the passage in the epistle to the Colossians is confirmed by the way in which év μévei is brought in; not immediately after the verb, its natural place, according to the view commonly taken of the import of the admonition, but as if introducing a clause exegetical of the preceding words-"Let no man judge (or condemn) you in meat or in drink, either in respect of a festival or of a new moon, or of sabbaths." There seems no reason why the words " in respect of" should have been interposed at all, unless the "meat and drink" had respect to the ritual observances on such days. What, then, were the ordained observances? The following are the passages in the Old Testament which bear upon the subject:

Numb. x. 10.-" Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God."

1 Chron. xxiii. 31.-[The office of the Levites was] "to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number." 2 Chron. ii. 4.-" And for the burnt offerings morning and evening on the sabbaths and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts."-So 2 Chron. xxxi. 3.

Ezra iii. 5.—" And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord."-So Neh. x. 33.

Isaiah i. 13, 14.-" Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth."

Ezekiel xlv. 17.-" And it shall be the princes' part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel."

On comparing the apostle's language with these passages, can there remain a reasonable doubt upon the mind of any reader, that he alludes to the ceremonial observances upon the sabbatical and other festivals, which belonged to the Levitical institutes, not to the observance of the Sabbath itself? How differently does the same prophet who speaks in the name of Jehovah, of new moons and sabbaths as being unacceptable and vain, refer to the religious observance of the Sabbath!

Isaiah lvi. 2.-"Blessed is the man that doeth this (keepeth judgment and doeth justice;) that keepeth THE SABBATH from polluting it, and keepeth his hands from doing evil." 6. "Also the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the SABBATH from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant: even them," &c.

Isaiah lviii. 13.—“ If thou turn away thy feet from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call THE SABBATH a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and shalt honour him," &c.

In these latter passages, the keeping of the Sabbath is classed with the most essential marks of integrity and piety, as a duty of primary obligation; and to show that the ceremonial observance alone is not intended, the prophet describes the true Sabbath-keeper as delighting in the day consecrated to the Lord, thereby connecting the spiritual duty with the state of the heart. Nothing is said here of new moons and festivals, because they were institutions of a wholly different character. Is it not a reasonable inference, that, when we find sabbaths spoken of in immediate connexion with new moons and other set feasts, THE SABBATH cannot be intended, but only certain ritual (it may be weekly) observances?

This view of the subject is further confirmed by what the apostle adds-" which are a shadow (an adumbration) of future things, but the body is of Christ." Understood of meats and drinks, of feasts and sacrifices, this declaration is easily explained. They were a shadow of that kingdom, or of the blessings of that kingdom which is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. So we read Heb. x. 1, that "the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image (or substance) of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make the comers there unto perfect." The sacrifices were a shadow of the future blessings of pardon and peace, procured by the one offering and perpetual intercession of the Divine high priest. All this is clear; but when we attempt to apply the declaration to festivals, new moons, and sabbaths, in what sense they were a shadow or type of future things is at least not obvious. All that can be said is, that they were part and parcel of a symbolic ritual and a typical economy, which were to be done away in Christ. Apply the words to the Sabbath itself, and the meaning becomes still more enigmatical, not to say wholly inadmissible. Of one of the greatest possible blessings bestowed upon man, which our Lord declares to have been "made for man," and which is equally necessary to both his physical and his moral well-being under every dispensation, it is hard indeed to understand how it can be termed "a shadow." With as much propriety might the Decalogue itself be called a shadow or a type. It is true, as the worship of God on earth may be regarded as in a sense emblematical of the more perfect worship of the heavenly world; so, the Sabbath may be regarded as emblematical of the perpetual rest that awaits the people of God. But who