LETTER III.

Mr. EDITOR,

In continuation I come to the calling, and appointment, and qualifying of the apostles of Christ. In the gospel by Matthew (chap. x.) it is thus related, "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out; to heal all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease." At verse 5 it is said, "These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand; heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." It will be readily admitted that these powers were very extensive with which Jesus invested his apostles when he called and ent them forth so to preach; and especially when the

Lord added, " He that receiveth you receiveth me." It is not my intention at present to show the reason why the apostles were at that time limited in their work-why they were not to go into the way of the Gentiles, nor into any city of Samaria.

My chief design is to show that when our Lord sent forth his apostles or ministers upon any errand, whether limited or extended, he gave them power, and that power was spiritual and miraculous. In this case their mission extended no further than this, "Preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this purpose (Mark vi. 7.) it is said, that " he called unto him the twelve and began to send them forth by two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits;" and Mark iii. 14., we have the object defined more particularly of the twelve being so called before the Lord's crucifixion and death-" He ordained twelve that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils." And it is further shown by the Lord, that it was needful that they should be with - him, and so become witnesses (see John xv. 26). But "when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father even the Spirit of Truth; which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me, and ye also shall bear witness because ye have been with me from the beginning." Therefore in reference to this promise, when the day of Pentecost was fully come, Peter declares (Acts i. 21.) in order to supply the place of Judas, "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us-beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up

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from us-must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." Thesc scriptures serve to show that when the Lord called, ordained, and sent forth the apostles, he gave them powers, gifts, and miracles for the due performance of the work which he had committed to them. We next proceed to the more extended and enlarged commission of the Lord to his servants; Go ye therefore and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo I am with you alway even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matt.xxviii. 19. This is a very positive direction connected with a special promise, "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world:" that is literally translated, even unto the consummation of the age. And the true meaning of what the Lord promised in these words, is most clearly explained by another scripture," And he said unto them, go ye unto all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe in my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken to them he was received up into heaven and sat on the right-hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." Mark xvi. 15.

Thus scripture most clearly explains what the Lord did mean by this phrase, "Lo! I am with you alway," that when the apostles went forth and preached, the Lord was working with them, and confirming the word with signs following: not that the apostles went forth until they were endued with power from on high on the day of Pentecost; for although the Lord is said to have sent them forth, and Luke (xxiv. 45) writes thus, “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures," yet the Lord expressly tells them (verse 49), " Behold I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." Thus the testimony of these three sacred writers, goes to explain the vast powers of the heavenly commission which was given to the apostles, that they as ambassadors of the King of kings, should proclaim it to the nations of the world. Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things, Luke xxiv. 46, 47. The apostles having been thus called and appointed by the Lord Jesus before his ascension, did remain at Jerusalem for the fulfilment of that other promise, namely, the promise of the Father. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloyen tongues, like as of

fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." And while some were amazed and doubted, and others mocked, Peter standing up said, "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the LAST DAYS, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, &c. ;" and again (ver. 32), "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear."

The examination of the scriptures up to this point, most clearly proves a divinely appointed ministry, an inspired order of men, a miracle-endowed priesthood. We have not only got the declarations of the Lord and the promises of the Father, but we see the performance of that which was promised; and in the recorded Acts of the Apostles, we shall find most ample testimony confirmatory of the whole fact. I have thought it desirable to trace these events in their order, and to present to the mind the origin of apostolic offices.. And I again repeat, that God never sent forth an imperfect, fallible, uninspired ministry. The Oxford party claim succession from these apostles: do not let us denounce them without inquiry, how do we know that they are not successors to the apostles? how do we go about to disprove this? let us see what kind of standard there is; let us see how any come up to it. We must first enquire who and what kind persons the apostles were; who sent them; how

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