THE DIARY OF THE LATE T. W. MATHEWS. No. X.-His Baptism-With Edward Irving. June 3rd, 1831.-This day has been indeed a day of trial, for Von Bülow was sent by God with another message to me about baptism. Oh my Jesus! I do feel as if there were much I neither could or would give up for Thee. Lord, just deliver me from the devil and from my accursed self. : June 9th.-I am astonished and grieved to find myself so totally destitute of information on the subject of baptism. I have begun to write on the subject, that I may, by the mercy of God, be brought to believe it better. I feel as if I were kept out of the blessing by not being baptized as those dear people are in Mecklenburg. Von Lucken has been twice since I last wrote, and we have also had Von Bülow frequently but though I am not able to answer them, I am not satisfied that they are right, nor do they completely satisfy me about the Abrahamic covenant and the circumcision connected therewith. I have not only as yet great aversion to the dipping, but also, it seems to me, as if it were not the baptism mentioned in the Scriptures. But 0, may I die to myself and to the world by the cross of Christ to be filled with the universal will of God, to have Christ living in my heart by faith. Oh Jesus Christ, fill me with Thy promised Spirit. If I am wrong, how very wrong am I, who know so much, and yet am not driven of the Spirit: and if I am wrong, in what a state is the wretched, ignorant, wicked, dying world! June 10th.-This day I was baptized; and it took place in the following manner. I had long been troubled in mind on the question whether I was doing the will of Him on whom depends my eternal all. Often in prayer I felt myself not in that happy condition which I might expect, and I felt it was because I was not in the Lord's way. Von Lucken was here; and a person of the name of Vogel, a poor woman, said she could not live any longer without being baptized; and the time and place being fixed on, Von Bülow came this morning while I was yet in bed, and said that if I chose to come he would wait for me; so I ran with all convenient speed to their house, my heart deeply cut with doubts and half sort of intention that perhaps I should be baptized too. And while they read and prayed together, and took a little breakfast, I felt as if I must. Bless the woman who was thus willing to come forward in the name of the Lord, not knowing what might betide her! I went along, with strange feelings, to a certain water, a mill-dam, and there the woman, assisted by Mrs. Von Bülow, dressed herself decently in a white gown, Von Bülow himself got ready, and he then walked into the water, the woman following him; he then pronounced the names of the Sacred Three, and put her under. It made my heart sob; I let him come out again and dress himself in part, my heart in the meanwhile feeling a fire which nothing could quench, a torment and a torture indescribable. Have I not courage to follow such an example? Am I to let such an opportunity go by unimproved? Can I not trust the Lord with my wife, my little church, and the whole world? I cannot do anything of myself; I shall not be less likely to have Thy blessing with this than without it: my wife will be more willing to be baptized by me than by Von Bülow. I said aloud, Oh, I could almost wish myself baptized; but I am afraid to cut the knot in this manner. I fell down on my knees in agony, and cried on the Lord Almighty. Von Lucken cried for mercy. I rose and said, "I will be baptized. Von Bülow went into the water again, and I followed. I neither felt the cold nor the water, nor anything else, but I felt myself disburdened of a load from my inmost heart. We went to Von Bülow's house again, thanked the Lord, and then I went to be alone. His baptism exposed him to troubles more severe than any that preceded not only was Mr. Von Bülow, who baptized him, cast into prison, but search was made by the police to apprehend and imprison Mr. M., from whom he saved himself by escaping from Hamburg. The following extract from his diary refers to this event:-"Oh what should I do without a God in whom I could place the most implicit confidence as loving me independently of myself altogether. With regard to the police and all sorts of persecutors, I feel as if the Lord is indeed strengthening me. I cannot want what is good for me, even though, as in Mark vi. 8, I be sent out with nothing but a staff." At this time a Captain S. invited him to accompany him to London, which invitation he accepted, and in June, 1831, left Hamburg for our metropolis. Securing lodgings in Southampton Buildings, in the very heart of the City, he remained there until August of that year. Early in his visit to London he went to hear the celebrated Edward Irving, to whom, at the close of the service, he was introduced; and the following extract from his diary not only gives an epitome of the sermon, but also the result of the introduction: July 3rd.-Went at eleven to Mr. Irving's, and heard him preach from Ephesians i. 23, when he showed how Jesus was the Head of His church, but that the church was itself subordinate to certain officers appointed by Christ. "He gave some to be apostles," etc. In the afternoon he explained part of 1 Cor. xiv., the various gifts of the Spirit, especially about tongues, wherein he clearly proved to me that these various tongues were the Spirit speaking through the men to God, and were certainly not comprehended by any man, nor by the person himself; and that there is a spiritual fellowship with God that is not intellectual. In the evening he preached from the new heavens and the new earth. He showed that this promise was in Isaiah lxv., which passage of Scripture he explained at large. Among other things, he spoke much of new moons and Sabbaths, in which all flesh shall go to worship before the Lord. No Sabbath now, and no new moons, because there is no place, “neither on this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem," but everywhere. But, then, when He shall come again, there shall be a place, and consequently there must be times of assembly, etc. He said the Lord's-day was by some people made into a bondage by their legality; and though a holy day, yet yesterday was fully as holy, and to-morrow would be so too. I in my study, and my servant in the kitchen, are equally engaged in holy duties, or they should be such. After the morning service, I was introduced by Mr. David Ker to Mr. Irving, and we went together to Mr. Irving's house, where I was indeed kindly received, and feel myself at liberty to go there as often as I please. Oh Lord, unite us. THE LATE T. W. MATHEWS. 97 Leaving London in August, he paid a visit to Orston Hall, near Grantham, the residence of his sister, Mrs. Middlemore, a firm adherent to the Church of England. She was at first somewhat suspicious of the strange views he had embraced; but in a short time her mistrust was removed, though she was bitterly grieved at his preaching in the Methodist chapel of the village. Whilst visiting at his sister's, he made the acquaintance of Mr. Booker, of Nottingham, in whose house he preached. From Orston Hall he went to Shields to see his father, when two letters reached him from Hamburg, calling upon him in the name of the church and of the Lord to return to his field of labour. On receiving these letters he wrote the following in his diary:-"Lord, let me know only Thy will; let the church know Thy will. Show us what to do there, and suffer us not to contravene Thy will. Teach me to suffer with joyfulness. Grant that I may not relish the things of the world, but the things which are of God. I beg Thee, O my Saviour, to fill me with Thyself, and let me be influenced by no other spirit than Thine own." In September he left Shields to spend a little time with his much attached friend, Thos. Erskine, Esq., of Linlathen. When here, he writes, "On reviewing my diary about the beginning of the year, I see how recently I desired that I might be allowed to visit England, and come to this very place where I now am. I have received this desire of my heart, and I find it good to be here. Blessed be my Father for this; but this is not all I want; it is only a means to an end." Though Linlathen and the society of the profound Mr. Erskine had their charms, Mr. M. could not resist the call to go and preach the gospel; and so not only in the hall of Mr. Erskine's residence, also in the mansion of the late Archibald Stirling, Esq., of Kier, and in every city, town, village, hamlet, house, or wheresoever an opportunity presented itself, he was found preaching the free, full, joy-inspiring gospel he proclaimed a week before he died. At Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth, Glasgow, Helensburgh, Port Glasgow, Greenock, Glenlyan, Paisley, Roseneath, Campbelton, and many other places, with untiring energy he bore witness for the Master. And in visiting the latter town a few months ago, for the purpose of hearing our brother Moody, it was with mingled feelings I remembered that forty years before-in that market-place, and under the shadow of that antique granite cross, brought thither centuries ago from the lonely Isle of Iona-my honoured predecessor held up that other cross, whose shadow falling upon the whole nation is quickening it into life and power. A PRESCRIPTION.— -Will our readers mix this ingredient with their next glass of wine before they drink it? It is not the utterance of an "intemperate" teetotaller, or enthusiastic minister, but of a medical man, bound by no pledge. Dr. Richardson, F.R.S., concludes his sixth lecture on Alcohol thus:-"This chemical substance, alcohol, an artificial product devised by man for his purposes, and in many things that lie outside of his organism a useful substance, is neither a food nor a drink suitable for his natural demands. Its application as an agent that shall enter the living organization is properly limited by the learning and skill possessed by the physician-a learning that itself admits of being recast and revised in many important details, and perhaps in principles. If this agent do really for the moment cheer the weary, and impart a flush of transient pleasure to the unwearied who crave for mirth, its influence (doubtful even in these modest and moderate degrees) is an infinitesimal advantage, by the side of an infinity of evil for which there is no compensation, and while the evil is promoted from its root, no human cure." How a Christian man can be puzzled to find out what course he should take in such cases we cannot see. OWING to a peculiar affection of the eye, some persons are incapable of seeing certain colours. Dr. Dalton, the famous chemist, was affected in this way. To his sight a stick of red sealing wax looked green as grass, pink seemed light blue, and crimson appeared the colour of mud. For all other purposes the doctor's eyes were good enough, but certain colours he could not discern, even when they were placed before him in broad daylight. He was colour-blind. We suspect that the "mind's eye" sometimes suffers from a similar failing. We know men whose mental vision (good enough in all other respects) always misleads them when they come to look at certain colours or aspects of Scripture truth. Take the case as it refers to baptism. The importance of this ordinance is very manifest to us. In Matt. xxviii. 19, Jesus issues the command, "teach all nations, baptizing them," . e., baptize them if they believe, as it is written, "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved"-Mark xvi. 16. Now, since by this solemn command it is the preacher's duty to baptize believers, it is of course the duty of believers to be baptized. We can no more doubt this than we can doubt the truth of one of Euclid's axioms. This command is rendered more important by the fact that He who gave it had such a great abhorrence of anything like ritualism, and that He singled out for special contempt the "washings" practised by the Pharisees. But why seek for any proof whatever of the importance of Christ's command? That it is His command is surely enough for all who profess to love Him. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." When a command was given to "The Light Brigade" in the Crimea, though the soldiers knew it to be a blunder, it was "Their's not to make reply, Their's not to reason why, Such obedience Captain Jesus expects from all His followers. He never makes a blunder. His commandments are neither grievous nor needless, and those who decline to obey them have a question to answer, which ought to make them shake in their shoes. It is this, "Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"-Luke vi. 46. "It is highly necessary," says a high authority, "that we remind ourselves how great presumption it is to make light of positive institutions of Divine appointment." To say, in reply to one of Christ's commands, "We really don't see the importance of it," is more than we should like to answer for. You "don't see the importance of it?" Why herein is a marvellous thing. The eunuch of Ethiopia could both see the importance of baptism, aud see in it, not an irksome duty, but a glorious privilege; hence he said, "What doth hinder me to be baptized?" To the apostle Peter it was so important that he anticipated it as we do a wedding, challenging any to "forbid the banns." "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized?" And Paul, though he had been awfully dark before concerning Christ, the moment he was converted, cried out, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" The Lord makes no exception in his case, any more than in the case of the humblest believer. The first thing He would have him do, and the first thing he did, was to be baptized. (See Acts ix. 18.) And yet professors of religion are found who say, "We can't see the CHRISTIAN FREEDOM AND PAPAL CLAIMS. 99 importance of baptism." They can see other truths as plainly as we can. They recognize clearly enough the Divinity of Christ. They believe in justification by faith. They can understand the importance of the Lord's supper; but they say (and since they are all honourable men, we are bound to believe them), "We can't see the importance of baptism." What is the reason? They are colour-blind. They can see every other shade of truth, but they cannot see baptism, because their "mind's eye" is so singularly affected as to be incapable of appreciating water colours. JOSEPH FLETCHER. CHRISTIAN FREEDOM AND PAPAL CLAIMS. BY REV. DAWSON BURNS, M.A. A GREAT statesman has recently issued a pamphlet of much intrinsic value and living interest. He has impeached that spirit of aggression and absolutism now known as Ultramontanism, which long ago took possession of the Papal Court, and which, having slumbered since the middle ages, has revived of late years in the form of Encyclycals, the Syllabus of 1869, and the Decrees of the Council of the Vatican. The insolent pretensions of the Medieval Popes to Infallibility and Imperial Supremacy, have now been recognized and converted into Articles of Faith, a denial of which subjects the denier to the anathemas of the Romish Church. It has been Mr. Gladstone's aim to trace the bearing of this Ultramontane development upon the civil allegiance of Roman Catholics; and so complete is the evidence he has furnished that their allegiance is now made practically dependant on the papal will, that Monsignor Capel and others who have attempted to answer him have but confirmed the conclusions he had reached. Whether, in case of a collision between British Law and Papal Mandate, Roman Catholics would obey the former and disobey the latter (as Lord Acton intimates) the event can alone decide. It is enough for the argumuent, that the Church of Rome now claims subjection from her members in questions of "morals," concerning which the State may and must legislate, so that at any time a conflict of authority may occur. But in the present paper I will abstain from further notice of these political relations and contingencies, and restrict our view to the religious considerations involved in the arrogant assumptions of the Romish See. The claims of the Papacy are more repellant and abhorrent to us as Christians than they can ever be to us as British citizens; and the warning of St. Paul to the Galatians, "Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage," is peculiarly applicable to us as the spiritual descendants of those who, at the time of the Reformation, broke loose from Rome, and emerged from the "house of bondage" into which Romish ecclesiasticism had then enclosed ignorant and bewildered souls. The old article will be again popular, the old lines will again be drawn, and it will do us no harm, but much good, if we clearly discern, on the one hand, in what Christian Liberty consists, and how the Papal System is ever seeking to rob us of those spiritual franchises with which Christ Himself has graciously endowed us. CHRISTIAN FREEDOM-WHAT DOES IT INCLUDE? Our reply is-1. Freedom of Christian Profession. He who believes upon Christ is free to confess Him by word and deed. This profession is both a duty and a privilege. It is alike the irrepressible impulse of the Christian's soul, and the irreversible command of the Christian's Saviour. It cannot fail to make its allegiance known; He cannot acknowledge an allegiance which is not avowed. They who will not confess Him before men will not be confessed by Him before angels. But the Papal See or System-the things are not identical-forbid this profession to be made, except in the way and on the terms it prescribes. It declares that no man has the right to confess Christ, unless he first acknowledges the Pope to be Christ's Vicar; and, as if its presumption could know no bounds, it proceeds to set its seal of anathema on any one who refuses to admit its power of consigning recusant souls to eternal destruction. What mark of |