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porary puts it thus:-Bishop Kidder, in his "Demonstration of the Messias," lays down four rules that he says ought to be observed in all efforts to convert the Jews to Christianity. These rules are all good; but for our present purpose we quote only the second, which is as follows:-"Avoid teaching doctrines against common sense." This rule commends itself to our judgment so forcibly that we are constrained to move that it be applied in all efforts to convert Gentiles as well as Jews. We see no good reason for confining it to the descendants of Abraham. There is, in our mind, no doubt but that the frequent violation of this rule has been, and is, one of the greatest hindrances to the progress of Christianity.

The religion of Christ, as we find it on the pages of the New Testament, is pre-eminently a simple, common-sense like thing. As taught in the creeds, and from many modern pulpits, it is anything but that. A few instances suffice to illustrate the truth of this statement.

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1. The Bible presents man's condition after the fall as one of sin and alienation from God. But it represents the sinner as being able to hear hence, God has spoken to him; as being able to reason hence, God has presented motives to him for his consideration, whereby he may be persuaded to turn away from sin and pursue righteousness.

Creeds, on the contrary, represent man in his fallen condition as being utterly unable to hear, think, reason, understand or act in religious matters; in brief, that he is as helpless, spiritually, as a dead man is physically. He is blind who does not see in this a violation of Bishop Kidder's rule. Common sense would immediately decide that a man in such a condition is not responsible for his failure to turn to God, and cannot rightfully be punished for his sinfulness.

2. God holds a man responsible for not believing. Jesus says, "He that believeth not shall be damned." Yet modern theology teaches that faith is not the act of the sinner, but that

it is something wrought in him by the direct power of the Holy Spirit. Common sense says that it is nonsense to talk of God damning men for not doing what the Holy Spirit must do for them.

3. The word of God, in harmony with reason and common sense, teaches that faith is the power which moves men to action in all departments of life. A man going in the wrong course, meets a friend, who convinces him of that fact, and shows him the danger of continuing in that direction. The lost man, believing what his friend says, changes his mind, and then his course. But many of the spiritual guides of the people teach the following order of events in coming to God:-1st, Baptism; 2nd, Repentance; 3rd, Faith. The child obeys God; after a while it repents of its sins; and after this it believes! And yet we wonder that the people are not all converted!

4. Christ's death, according to the New Testament, made salvation possible to all men. But only those who believe and obey Him are saved. The popular way of presenting that subject now is, that Christ's death paid all the debt we owe, and cancelled our sins, and the sinner has only to believe that fact; whereas, if he does not believe it, then for him it is not a fact, and he must pay the debt himself! This also is vanity, and contrary to common sense.

But why continue to enumerate these inconsistencies ? There must be a return to the simplicity of the Gospel as it is in Jesus" before the world is ever converted.

1. That in the judgment of this meeting the principles of religious liberty are seriously violated, while there are large districts of the country in which the only elementary schools receiving assistance from the State are connected with the Established Church, and are maintained for the purpose of promoting its interests, so that Nonconformist parents are unable to secure education for their children, except by sending them to schools under the practically irresponsible control of the clergy of the Establishment; and this injustice will be rendered more flagrant by the introduction under Lord Sandon's bill of a compulsory law.

2. That clause 12 of Lord Sandon's bill, authorizing Boards of Guardians to pay out of the rates the fees of children attending denominational schools, sanctions the sectarian application of public funds, and is open to every objection applicable to the 25th clause of the Act of 1870. That clause 12 is especially objectionable, because, combined with the compulsory clauses of the bill, it will largely increase the attendance and the income of inefficient denominational schools at present struggling for existence, and which, but for the aid de

rived under this measure, might probably be closed; thus securing the establishment of School Boards.

3. That the gravest objections exist to entrusting the managers of denominational schools with the administration of a compulsory law; that, therefore, clause 24, under which the local authority may delegate its powers to other persons, should be so amended as to provide that no such power shall be exercised by persons who are also managers of denominational schools.

4. That this meeting objects to the bill Lecause, as the result of investing Town Councils and Boards of Guardians with the administration of a compulsory law, but withholding from them the power of erecting new schools, the future extension of the means of education in all the districts which the bill specially contemplates can only be secured by the multiplication of denominational schools under the control of private managers. The bill will, therefore, delay the creation of truly national schools, because administered by public responsible authorities.

5. That it is absolutely essential, in order to establish and maintain religious equality, that Nonconformists should have a voice in the direction of the schools which they may be forced to send their own children, and that to secure this end it is necessary that in every district there should be a School Board, with a school under its management accessible to all the inhabitants of the district.

6. That all grants of public money in aid of schools under ecclesiastical and irresponsible management are wrong in principle, and that it should be a condition of receiving any grants from public funds that the school should be placed, during the hours of secular instraction, under the control of representative Boards.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN SCOTLAND.-The Annual Meeting of delegates and others from churches will be held in 41, Brown Street, Glasgow, on Friday, 14th July, at ten o'clock. Remittances to be sent to Mr. John Thomson, M.D., 8, Millerfield Place, and letters regarding business of meeting to Mr. James Nimmo, 2, Hope Park Crescent, Edinburgh. JAMES NIMMO, Secretary.

THE name only of Christ does not make a Christian, but he must also possess the truth as it is in Christ; for many there be who walk in Christ's name, but few who walk in His truth.

Editorial Notices.

A. B.-We see no reason to conclude that the Editor of the Baptist referred to the churches composed of those who are known as Disciples of Christ when he wrote of the fewness of those who declare there is "no salvation without baptism." We therefore shall offer no protest. The Disciples are not named. The description does not fit them, as we do not hold that only the baptized can be saved, and the Baptists do recognise both ministers and churches who teach all we hold on the subject, as may be seen by the last "Handbook." The description applies to the Christadelphians, but not

to us.

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Observer, June 15, '76.

THE

WOMAN'S WORK.*

THE thought may have occurred to the minds of some persons that the duties of Christian women are rather acquiescive than executive, and that our church operations afford but limited spheres for labour to such as desire to be actively engaged. Of the many mistakes to which human nature is liable, surely this cannot be regarded as the least, for whensover the Christian woman desires to be usefully employed she need not long want openings in which she may work successfully for her fellows and for God.

The records of the church are aglow with noble examples of devoted women who, amid the struggles and triumphs of Christianity, have dared to do and to suffer, and by noble self-denial and unwearying solicitude have cheered and soothed the troubled minds and strengthened the feeble knees of those who have borne the heat and burden of the day. The Apostolic records afford numerous instances where the services of women were employed. The helpers of the Apostles were not men only, but faithful women too, such as those whose names are mentioned in the last chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans.

True it is that Apostolic regulations for public teaching in the Church of Christ withhold from woman the exercise of functions which men are required to cultivate; but so pre-eminently useful were her labours in those spheres which the Holy Spirit opened up to her, that the church early employed her agency in special work and the records of her devotedness and loving zeal abound with instances of self-denial and success which appeal to all ages for emulation and raise a monument of honour to her name before which all earthly glory pales. It might, perhaps, be deemed inopportune or a matter of supererogation now to enter into details respecting that which woman has already accomplished, or to glance even briefly at the numerous spheres in which she has laboured, or to attempt to direct attention to all those philanthropic and evangelical enterprises which she so nobly adorns, the spirit of which vetoes that mistaken aim of dedication to God practised under the conventional system; neither might it be deemed prudent here to enter the arena against those advocates of Woman's Rights whose agenda now challenge the consideration of statesmen, in order to criticise the questions of equality, or to hint the possibility that the exigencies of society do not require

An Address by J. JOHNSON, at the fifth Annual Meeting of the Sewing Society connected with the Church in Charles Henry Street, Birmingham, May 29.

her finer sensibilities to confront the rugged outlines of political strife. I may say, however, that, apart from the more immediate activities of church work, there are social relationships in life which woman sustains that call for the exercise of powers which she only can put forth, and which nature has assigned to her.

As a sister, as a daughter, as a sweetheart, as a wife, as a mother, she may prove either a blessing or a curse; for, for all these capacities she is so gifted that the wise direction of her influence may secure present and future happiness to those with whom she is concerned, or its misdirection plunge them into the beginning of sorrows.

As a sister she may exercise that amiability of temper and benignity of deportment which shall disarm the prejudices and rebuke the evil practices of an ungodly household, and by a little leaven of holiness and gentle Christian correction heal the backslidings of a wayward brother or direct the steps of a thoughtless sister.

As a daughter she may carry her religion into the home, so that her parents shall feel the power of her consistency, and be constrained to improve and, may be, to imitate, finding in her

at all times a vessel of honour sanctified for the Master's use.

As a sweetheart she may win by her amiability and attractiveness so complete a control over the destiny of another that to him her wish shall be law and his happiness or misery, present and eternal, bound up in her proceedings. This may present no matter for serious thought to some who to-day are disporting themselves like the bee which gathers honey from every opening flower; But the tantalizing playfulness of girlhood in this respect has been a rock upon which more than one vessel has been wrecked. Many who have now entered upon the sear leaf of life will bear upon the tablet of their memory till its closing scenes sad remembrances of the fickleness or vice of thoughtless youth. In this capacity, as a rule, woman may by her inherent charms lead on in the pathway of holiness or beguile into the vortex of ruin. What a solemn responsibility, then, rests upon her, lest one departure from the right path in yielding to the enticements of her lover to enter upon scenes of pleasure condemned by conscience should make another easy, until the giddy round shall bewilder and engulph them both; whereas, obey the natural instincts of true womanly affection, and gently yet firmly resist, and you may go hand in hand through life, loving and beloved, until glory shall crown it all. Have a care, then, whilst steering for the haven of eternal

rest, that you run not the ship upon the fatal rock, that the deep waters of affliction roll not over your soul.

As a wife she has to minister to the comfort of her husband, and watch over his fortunes, and enter into his joys and sorrows as being her own; to tend him in his sickness and administer the consolations of true womanly love. Is he a Christian, then has she to second every good work of his hands, and encourage him by precept and by example; but if not, then must she seek to win him to God by her "chaste conversation coupled with fear."

As a mother she may hold the destiny of unborn generations in her hands. Here she enters upon a work the most joyous and blessed that can engage her attention, with the assurance that faithfulness to her charge will ensure her rich reward. Every mother should remember that while she is nourishing the life of her child from her own body she is developing and educating the faculties of the man. Upon her mainly devolves the training of the mental and moral powers. Public schools and seminaries are auxiliaries designed to aid, but not to supersede, the work of home. It is there the seed is sown, and from that seed must she look for the harvest. With what anxious solicitude, then, should she watch over the expanding powers of the child, in order to the correction of wrong tendency not only in the manner of walk physically, but morally, considered. The first school the child attends is the mother's; the first tutor is the mother; the first Sunday-school teacher is the mother; the first lesson learned is the mother's; the first sermon preached is by the mother. The mother is everything to her child; and not only so, the child everything to the mother; and as the dawning faculties of childhood ripen into the comprehensions of youth and manhood he is prepared to look up to Another, in whom he "lives and moves and has his being," and to recognise in God the perfect attributes of a heavenly Parent.

To all the agencies employed by good and holy men for the suppression of vice, for the relief of misery, the reclamation of the lost and the outcast, the diffusion of the principles of moral rectitude and uprightness, and the securing of a higher standard of Christian character, we wish Godspeed; but let us not forget that these are not designed to substitute, but only to supplement, the work which should be begun and carried on in every household. Your daughters are not meant to grace the ballroom, or to become the receptacles of the complimentary nothings so prevalent amid the scenes of gaiety and danger, or to be prepared by the superficial accompaniment of modern

society to adorn the boudoir or coterie, or glide about the mansions of the great. The great thing is to prepare them for the stern realities of life, in order that the duties they may have to discharge in the future may be confronted with some degree at least of acquaintedness with their nature, and this must be begun at home. Then let the sweet and holy influences of maternal solicitude accord with the vital consequences dependent upon an intelligent appreciation of the duties of the mother.

Besides those enumerated there are other spheres in which woman can make her influence felt for good or for evil. Of these I will mention only a few: as a companion in pleasure excursions; in the workshop; in the warehouse; as a servant or a mistress; as a governess, teacher or pupil-in all these capacities she may so behave that right principles shall receive an impetus, or wrong ones a check. A thoughtless word or action, soon forgotten, may bear fruit unto death, whilst a word fitly spoken may bear fruit unto life eternal.

In addition there is a wide field open for woman's work more immediately associated with the Church of Christ. Every disciple of the Master is expected to be a worker. The Church is a hive which must not harbour drones. There's work for all, and so varied is it in its nature that there's just that kind of work suited to the capabilities of every member; so that none can plead an excuse for idlenesss.

Woman's efforts as a Sunday-school teacher have been greatly blessed. She can instruct in the rudiments of the Word, and point the She can young to Jesus. reason with the doubting, expostulate with the careless, reclaim the erring. She can caution the inexperienced against dangers peculiar to their age and sex, advising in times of sorrow when disappoint

ment or loss throws a cloud across their horizon. She can teach them to prepare and repair their own attire, and by delicate suggestions secure the adornment becoming their station and their means. In the visitation of the sick she can carry comfort and consolation, and such that only woman can. In the distribution of tracts she can exchange the soothing words of grace for the tale of troubles and the tears of pent-up grief.

In connection with some churches there are "Mothers' Meetings," whose chief aim is to give and receive aid, that the manifold duties of the Christian mother may be lightened by the teachings of experience, and to afford a refreshing season of in a grace brief from the routine of home and to receive in some measure that assistance which elsewhere may be sought in vain, and by a united drawing near to the Throne

escape

Observer, June 15, '76.

of Grace for the more immediate purpose of invoking Divine aid, in order that the training of their families may be in unison with their desires.

Another department of female labour is to be found in the "Sisters' Sewing Meeting," like the one in connection with this place, the anniversary of which we are this evening met to commemorate, the object of which, whilst affording spiritual aid to such as attend by means of devotional exercises and the judicious selection of reading matter calculated to interest and benefit, bears more directly upon the temporal relief primarily of such of the sisterhood whose time or abilities prevent that measure of attendance to and performance of the duties of their position which may reasonably be expected. This latter aspect of the matter may be regarded as twofold: first, to work for such that cannot themselves do the work which legitimately falls to their lot, either on account of incompetency, family circumstances, or over-pressure; second, to instruct those whose education in this particular has been neglected, in order that they may be enabled to meet the lawful demands made upon them in a manner creditable to themselves and comforting to those to whom they are united by the various ties of nature.' And what right-minded woman would not infinitely prefer to be taught to do her work to having it done for her? Of such knowledge one may be justly proud. There is, therefore, no reason for any sister in the fellowship of this church to suffer reproaches for untidiness, or the discomforts of a consciousness of inability to perform the work which fairly falls to her lot.

This society, then, commends itself to every female in the church, and appeals in strains of eloquence which must find an echo in the souls of all who rightly estimate the value of true womanly dignity and influence. To the deserving poor it says-Come, and we will help

you.

To the overburdened it says-Come, and we will share your labours. To the incompetent it says-Come, and we will teach you. To those who cannot attend it says-Send, and we will work for you. To the competent it cries-Come over and help us. To those who cannot attend, but have means, it cries-Support us in our work. To each and to all it saysBrethren, pray for us.

Besides these, your minds may suggest other fields of labour wherein woman may shine, for such are the changes of life that to every ready hand there is present work to do. It may not be the Amazonian task of defending a citadel, or the ostentatious dispensings of vast wealth, or gliding like an angel of mercy through the

wards of hospitals, or wiping the death-sweat from the brow of stricken fellow-creatures, or swaying large audiences with eloquent appeals. Your name may never be written on the scroll of earthly fame, or yourself universally lauded as the benefactress of mankind. But, remember, it needeth not these public displays of philanthropic spirit to secure the commendation of Him who "went about doing good," yet was the "despised and rejected of men;" for His piercing eye breaks through the flimsy pretences of outward seeming, lays bare the secret motives of the heart, and is not dazzled by the grandeur of the great nor deceived by the plaudits of the many. Give but a cup of cold water "In My Name," and the deed shall be inscribed on the imperishable scroll of Heaven -In My Name. In my Name. IN MY NAME. There is the test and secret of its value.

THE PRIEST AND THE DISCIPLE OF CHRIST.*-No. II.

Priest. In contrasting Apostolic religion with what you term the apostacy of the present day, you have brought certain strange things to my ears; and you must pardon me for saying that you seem to be a setter-forth of strange gods. I would know, therefore, what these things But in the first place, as you seem to belong to none of the various communities of the Latin or Greek churches, nor yet to the Lutheran, nor Episcopal, nor Baptist, nor any

mean.

other Protestant sect of Christians with which I am acquainted be kind enough to inform me which branch of the church you belong to, and what is your creed?

Disciple. With great pleasure, for it is equally a privilege and a duty to give an answer to every man that asketh me a reason of the hope that is in me. Allow me to say then, that I belong to no branch of the church whatever, for I am a branch myself; and there are just as many branches of the church as there are true Christians: "I am the vine," says the Saviour, and "ye" (my individual Disciples) "are the branches." I am surprised at such a question.

P. The object of my question is to ascertain what body of Christians you are a member of. D. Do you read of more than one body of Christians in the Bible? There is but one body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, for by one Spirit are ye all baptized into one body." (1st Cor. xii. 13 and Eph. iv.

Written in Jerusalem as the record of a conversation with a Priest.