them. Has he required a strict observance of the letter, or permitted a lax adjustment as interest or convenience might dictate? We are not left in doubt about this question, as the divine administration is uniform through all the pages of Revelation, of which a few examples must serve, in addition to that already given.

The history of Abraham's sacrifice will furnish us with an impressive illustration. To try his servant, God said unto him: "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Look at this command for a moment. It seems to have been so worded as to provoke disobedience or evasion. "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest." Why recount these special endearments in such a trying hour? What so well calculated to put rebellious thoughts into the mind of Abraham? How they would sharpen his understanding to search out reasons for evading the strict observance of the command. How cogently he could urge the prohibition of the moral code, "Thou shalt not kill!" The law of parental relation would stand out with unusual sanctity; nor would the promises of the covenant be forgotten, all of which would be rendered a nullity by a literal observance of this command. If there ever was a time when a positive injunction of the great Lawgiver could have been trifled with, by some evasion or substitution, this was the occasion. Had Abraham swerved from strict conformity to duty, the moral sentiment of mankind would have justified him, but not so would God have accepted his service. It is an instance showing that what is highly esteemed among men, may be an abomination in the sight of God.

There is, perhaps, no instance in all history when the heart is so deeply touched with sympathy for one in trial, as when we listen to the artless question of Isaac, "My father, behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" But how quickly this painful emotion gives way in admiration of the sublime confidence and submission of the patriarch, when he replies, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering." After this we watch the building of the altar, piling on the wood, and binding the mute victim with no swellings of the heart; and even the flash of the raised knife does not cause a painful apprehension. God has not required too great a sacrifice of a confiding faith, nor enjoined an impossible performance on a loving heart. No, no; rather he has given a sublime occasion to exemplify implicit obedience, and to prove that seeming impossibilities melt away before a living

faith. We are prepared for the divine approval and intervention which immediately follow: "Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.' This was the answer of a good conscience, obtained not by quieting its clamor by some substitution, but by a faithful and prompt obedience. It is strange that so many, in other respects good men, can so highly commend the "father of the faithful," and immediately turn away, and in a matter which neither taxes their affections nor tries their faith, treat a divine command, just as explicit in its requirements, as a non-essential, or adjust it to their whims or convenience. Abraham was not only the father of the faithful, but a striking example of ready and unquestioning obedience.

The history of Saul and the Amalekites furnishes us with another impressive illustration. The Lord's command was, "Now go, and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare thou not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." Mark how specific the command; utter destruction,-nothing is to be spared. This instance of God's wrath has been a standing objection in the mouths of infidels, being denounced as most barbarous and cruel, in which they have imitators when there is far less cause of justification; no infant and suckling is in danger of slaughter, it is only a burial in the liquid grave in likeness of a Saviour's death; but to bar the act which God commands, their cry is, "He will have mercy, and not sacrifice." How well this plea, added to a professed piety, served for Saul's justification, the sequal will show. Saul returns from his mission, and pleads his faithfulness: "Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way the Lord hath sent me." But the prophet replies: "What meaneth, then, this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" "We have brought them," replied the king, "to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal." His pious intent does not cover his act of disobedience. "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." "Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." No after repentance of Saul, nor importunity of Samuel, could change the judgment against his transgression. Neither the sanguine nature of the commission, nor the pious motive which led to a failure in performance, availed to cover the disobedience. Have our Pedobaptist friends half as reasonable excuses for their manipulations of the rite of baptism? Uzzah's good intent to steady the ark did not save him from the

consequences of disobedience. He touched the holy thing, and died for his temerity.

The building of the Tabernacle is a more striking exemplification of the principle under discussion. Its construction and furnishing are most minutely described, and patterns given of every piece to be used, the materials and color described. Now for the absolute completion and proper use of the Tabernacle, it was of very little importance whether its tenons, taches and loops were made exactly as described, or that the covering of skins should be dyed red; but the repeated injunction is, "See that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount." The reason for this exactness is given in the eighth chapter of Hebrews. It was to serve "unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." As God made himself known by shining forth from the earthly tabernacle, where every thing was the expression of his will in its building and appointments, so "out of Zion, the perfection of beauty," he would shine forth in the beauty of holiness. The perfection, not of adaptation of tenon and socket, loop and tach, but of heart to law, act to command. Thus in a loving obedience we would have in the church the "shadow of heavenly things," when all is love and perfection of conformity to the divine will.

Now, if the law exacts such careful observance to avoid a penalty, how much more should those who are seeking a heavenly tabernacle be careful to observe all things which a gracious Saviour may require! He who disregarded a command in forming a pin or dying a covering, was deserving of condign punishment; how much more then is the guilt of those who tamper with or neglect the gracious commands of our blessed Lord and Saviour! His commands are not grievous nor burdensome; they are not indistinct and incomprehensible. He does not ask too much, nor ask it out of place. If ye love him keep his commandments.

Thus we have set forth the nature of the two codes, establishing the preemptory character of a positive precept, a principle which runs through and vitalizes them all. From their very nature they must be specific, or there can be no responsibility or obedience. To this rule there can be no exception in the civil or divine code. The number of times a thing is repeated does not change the relations of authority and observance. The same exactness required in the first observance must be regarded in all subsequent acts. The priests in the temple must offer the daily sacrifice after the same ritual day by day. Many of the terrible judgments inflicted on the children of Israel were sent as direct penalties for tampering with a prescribed

service. They offered strange fire, profanely used the fat of the sacrifices, other than Levites thrust themselves into the priest's office, they presumptuously touched the holy vessels, or looked with a profane curiosity at the hidden things of the sanctuary. For all of these innovations the transgressor had his plausible excuse, but none availed, and the example ought to teach a lesson not to incur the same condemnation. The guilt was the same, whether the form of the act was changed, or the assumption of the duty by an unauthorized person. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them!"

Baptist are not sticklers for a quantity of water, the manner of its use, nor for the age of the subjects of baptism. God has fixed all these by a positive and specific law, and they are jealous only for the authority of God, and the integrity of the commands of Jesus Christ. SIDNEY DYER.

PHILADELPHIA.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

The Psalms. By CARL BERNHARD MOLL, D. D., General Superintendent in Königsberg, Prussia. Translated from the German, with additions, by Rev. C. A. Briggs, Rev. J. Forsyth, D. D., Rev. J. B. Hammond, and Rev. J. F. McCurdy; together with a new version. of the Psalms and philological notes, by Rev. T. J. Conant, D. D. New York: Scribner, Armstrong and Company. 8vo. pp. 816. 1872.

The demand and the supply of commentaries on the Psalms seem to be about equal. During the last twenty-five years, students of the Scriptures have been unusually interested in the lyrical parts of revelation, and have pressed their claims upon the scholars of both continents for the gratification of their wishes. Some have desired little more than a literal and accurate translation, itself a kind of exposition, with such practical reflections as would stimulate their faith and inspire their hopes. And they were gratified by Tholuck and by Barnes. Others felt the difficulties connected with the Hebrew text, with the date, authorship, and occasion of particular psalms, and were aided by Perowne and Delitzsch. Others still cared for little more than an accurate translation, deeming themselves able to clothe the bones with flesh. They have therefore enjoyed Noyes, or Conant, or Ewald. Satisfied that no one can do everything, they have contented themselves with selecting, as a guide to this precious part of Scripture, the one best suited to their needs. The work of Dr. Moll, chosen by Dr. Schaff "as one of the best parts in LANGE'S Bible-work," seeks, by the aid of American translators, to