most of them constantly itinerate. Many are without local charge, but preach around in their neighbourhood, never going far from home. Others have a more extended circuit, and ride ten, twenty, fifty, or a hundred miles, to their places of appointment. The number known to have been ordained by the laying-on of hands by the Presbytery is 342; not thus ordained, 67; unascertained, 175. Their salaries range from nothing up to 1000 dollars per year; the latter sum is only obtained by a few of the most prominent preachers. The average is from 150 to 300 dollars per annum. Thus, as will be seen, most of them are of necessity compelled to combine some other calling with that of preaching, in order to gain a livelihood. Many of them labour hard and lead a life of self-sacrifice, while others, who have property, devote their time and money also to the work. In regard to the number of people who attend on the ministrations of the adventual preachers and receive their doctrines, no certainty can be attained, as no enumeration has been made. As an approximation to the true number, however, Mr Taylor assumes that the number of members in second-advent churches will average as many as in the other small denominations, whose average ministry is about equal to that of the Adventists,-viz., about six hundred. The average of these other sects is ninety communicants to one preacher. This would give the adventual churches a membership of 54,000; and supposing the number of believers, as compared with attendants, to be as one to three-the usual average in churches-and allowing that not over 550 ministers are actively engaged, the whole number of persons who listen to their preaching cannot be less than 150,000. The second adventists are well supplied with books, newspapers, and periodicals which advocate their peculiar views, and during the last twenty-five years many millions of pages of their literature have been circulated and read.-Boston Journal. Poetry. THE CHILD OF DAY. On this bare ocean-islet, While the slow waves softly play, I am looking for the dawning, 'Mid the shadows and the silence The pale, pure light is springing, Shall I close my eyes in slumber, Shall I cleave to shades and darkness, Shall I love earth's blazing torches, NOTICE. All readers of this Journal are most earnestly besought to give it room in their prayers; that by means of it God may be honoured and His truth advanced; also, that it may be conducted in faith and love, with sobriety of judgment and discernment of the truth, in nothing carried away into error, or hasty speech, or sharp unbrotherly disputation. BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF PROPHECY. OCTOBER 1861. ART I.-THE DAY OF THE LORD IN THE EPISTLES In accordance with the demands of a proper arrangement, we should now proceed to consider Paul's teaching in regard to our Lord's peculiar kingdom. But as many of the separate subjects which we are at present discussing are connected chronologically rather than logically, the order in which they are arranged is of less importance; especially as this series of remarks appears, as it were, by piecemeal, and at long intervals. For the present, therefore, taking for granted the restoration of the Jews, we say that there is nothing in Paul's teaching adverse to the following proposition,-"That the Jews, when restored under the kingdom of Christ, shall be distinguished by a superiority over the other nations of the earth, and by certain forms of worship peculiar to themselves, while Jerusalem rebuilt shall be the civil and religious metropolis of the world." We do not say that the apostle teaches these things expressly; we only affirm that there is nothing in his writings inconsistent with them. It is held by some, that in the kingdom of Christ as it shall exist in the future-for as to the present time there is no controversy-Jews and Gentiles shall stand absolutely upon the same level; and this is maintained with considerable vehemence, and great confidence of assertion by Dr David Brown, in his book on "The Restoration of the Jews," to which we shall advert in so far as it bears upon the present subject. He insists much upon the " catholicity" and "spirituality" of gospel worship-terms which are very vague, and which he ought to have defined. What is meant by "catholicity of gospel worship?" Does it mean that in the kingdom to come, Jews and Gentiles shall believe in the same Saviour and worship the same God? This sense of catholicity is perfectly consistent with the proposition above stated, and is, indeed, the proper meaning of the word. Does it mean that they shall have precisely the same form of worship? This is the point at issue; Dr Brown seems to take it in this sense, and thus quietly begs the question. We doubt, however, if it can be shewn from Scripture that a catholic Church, in this sense, shall ever exist upon earth before the consummation of all things. Again, what is meant by "spirituality" of gospel worship? Does it mean that feature of it which consists in its being offered through ceremonies few in number and of little externality? This is not a necessary feature of spirituality at all; and it may be questioned whether it is safe to use the word in this sense, without defining it, and thereby shewing that it is used in a merely negative sense, and therefore improperly. Spirituality of worship consists in the right exercise toward God of the graces of the Spirit, as faith, love, reverence, desire, &c., in acts of worship of His appointment, be the outward form of these acts what it may. It is not produced by few external rites, nor is it necessarily diminished by many. Dr Brown makes a remark bearing upon this subject, which is worthy of attention, although it has been sadly forgotten by himself throughout a considerable part of his book, viz., that "to what extent, or in what particulars, externalities of any kind have been abolished under the gospel for men yet in the body is not to be determined by any presumptions of ours," as, e. g., by presumptions about the catholicity and spirituality of gospel worship. "You cannot disprove the externalities by dwelling on the spirituality of the new covenant. It is spiritual, but under what limitations must be determined solely by Scripture." We fully agree with this; and shall therefore examine the passages adduced in support of the view, that "there are no ceremonial distinctions in Christ," or, "that Jews and Gentiles are placed by the work of Christ on a footing of perfect equality before God, not only in point of acceptance, but as members of the Church visible," and that in all time to come. He affirms that no language can express this more clearly than that of the apostle in Eph. ii. 14, 15, 19, "He is our peace, who hath made both (Jew and Gentile) one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition beThe words in italics in the quotations within inverted commas are Dr Brown's. * tween us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances. . . Now therefore ye (Gentiles) are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." The apostle does not mean "merely that the Gentiles have now access to Christ and salvation as well as Jews. Christ and salvation were never inaccessible to Gentiles. The ceremonial barriers placed them in a more disadvantageous position in this respect than the Jews; but that was all. And it is just these ritual disadvantages which the apostle says have been taken out of the way, to make room for a new incorporation of both into one fellowship, leaving all things common as pertaining to the city and house of God." Now, whether salvation during the Mosaic economy was or was not inaccessible, not "to Gentiles," but to the Gentiles generally, depends upon the Divine procedure-for we shall not speak of the Divine purpose, though the result proves, that as they did not generally come to Christ, He was designed to be, and therefore actually was, inaccessible to them. But if God made an offer of salvation to them generally, during the time of the law, then it may be held to have been in some sense accessible to them; if He did not, then it was inaccessible. We say nothing of their natural depravity, enmity, and inability, or of the fact that no effectual means were ever brought to bear upon them so as to overcome these; but we say that Christ and the way of salvation were never made known to them. It may as well be said that salvation was accessible to the natives of Australia and America before these continents were discovered, or to any other nation that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death before the era of missionary enterprise, upon whose ears the sound of the gospel never fell, as that it was accessible to the Gentiles generally under the Old Testament. Whatever may be done by theoretical hairsplitting distinctions to shew that, in some sense, such nations were not shut out from salvation, it will still remain incontrovertible that, unless the light of nature be sufficient, Christ and salvation were to all practical intents and purposes utterly inaccessible to the Gentiles generally. Had they called upon the name of the Lord, they should certainly have been saved; but "how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent?" Was there any provision in the law for missions to the Gentiles? None; on the contrary, the particular enactments and the whole spirit of the law were fitted, and therefore intended by God, to confine |