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fore let that which he spake be read, for whatever he did not speak we should not venture upon."

2. What were the principles and sentiments of these Christians in respect to themselves?

They viewed themselves as soldiers on active and arduous duty in an enemy's country; and as such they looked not for ease or personal gratification, or permanent possessions in this world. Says Tertullian, (ad Mar. c. 3,) "We have been called to a knighthood of the living God, and we took the soldier's oath at the time of our baptism. No warrior goes with all his conveniences and out of his chamber to battle; but from the camp, where he is inured to hardship and accustomed to all kinds of inconvenience. Even in peace, soldiers learn, by labor and toilsomeness, to bear the hardships of war, being constantly under arms, exercising themselves in the field, and throwing up trenches. So, ye blessed ones, regard every thing that is hard to you as an exercise of your mental and bodily powers. Ye serve in a good camp, where the living God is your general, where the Holy Ghost directs the camp-exercises, and an angel's life in heaven, eternal glory, is the victor's reward."

Like soldiers on active duty, they expected to endure hardship, to encounter fatigue, to be ready for every sacrifice, to avoid all the snares and stratagems of the enemy to draw them from their duty, and to look for cessation from toil and danger, to expect the reward of victory, only when the campaign should be over. This idea kept them always watchful, careful, willing to encounter fatigue, and to practise self-denial.

Further, they viewed themselves as the priests of God, placed in a polluted world to sanctify it, to be purified temples in which the Holy Spirit might dwell, safe from the contact of surrounding corruption, to be purified channels in which the sweet influences of heaven, the rills from the river of life, which surrounds the throne of God, might freely flow to purify a world which lay in wickedness.

"We," says Justin Martyr, (Dial. Tryph. 355,)" are the true high priests of God, as God himself testifies, when he says that pleasant incense and a pure offering shall in every place among the heathen be offered to him. (Mal. 1: 11.) He receives offerings from none but his priests. Prayer and thanksgiving only, brought by the worthy, are genuine offer

SECOND SERIES, VOL. IV. NO. I.

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ings well pleasing to God; and those Christians alone are in a condition to give." Says Ireneus, (iv. 20,)" All the righteous have the sacerdotal dignity." Says Tertullian, (de Orat. c. 28,)" We are the true worshippers and the true priests, who, praying in the Spirit, in the Spirit offer to God the prayer which is his due, and is well-pleasing to him. Such prayer, coming from a heart full of devotion, nourished by faith, kept pure by a blameless life, made glorious by love, and accompanied with good works, we must with psalms and hymns bring to the altar of God; and it is all which God requires of us."

Celsus objected to the Christians, that they had no temples, nor images, nor altars, like the professors of other religions; and Origen appropriately replies, (against Celsus, Lib. V,)" He sees not that with us the souls of the righteous are the altars from which, in a true and spiritual manner, offerings well pleasing to God ascend, prayer from a pure conscience. The images and gifts worthy of God are not made with hands, but they are formed by God's word-they are the virtues by which we are conformed to the Fist-born of every creature, in whom is the ideal of all righteousness and wisdom. The most glorious image, elevated far above the whole creation, is truly in our Saviour, who could say of himself, The Father is in me. (John 10: 38.) But also in every one of those who according to their power imitate him, is the image of him who hath created him, as it proceeds from looking to God with a pure heart. And generally all Christians seek to erect in their hearts, such altars and images-not the lifeless, emotionless things of idolatrous worship, but those in which the Spirit of God may dwell, which unite themselves with its life. This the sacred Scriptures show when God promised the righteous, I will walk among you and be your God, and ye shall be my people (Lev. 26: 12); and the Saviour, when he said, If any man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him." (John 14: 18.)

This idea kept them always deeply serious, pure minded, and careful to do nothing, to make no compliances with the customs of the world, which they supposed would injure their influence or soil their purity as priests of the most high God. For this reason they would never accept the subterfuges which heathen magistrates offered them, for the pur

pose of evading the laws that required them to join in idolatrous worship. Some would offer to give them a certificate that they had sacrificed when they had not; but this they always declined, as being as much a denial of Christ as the sacrificing itself. When they were required to burn their Bibles, some magistrates would tell them that they might seem to comply with the law by burning other books instead of their Bibles; but such a law they would not even seem to obey; though they were scrupulous to obey the magistrate in all his requirements which did not come in direct conflict with their obligations to God. Says Tertullian, "We pray for all our emperors, that long life, a quiet reign, a brave army, a faithful senate, a true-hearted people, a secure government, and every thing which a man or an emperor can wish, may be theirs."

There was then no such distinction between clergymen and laymen, that compliances which would be acknowledged improper in the one would yet be considered harmless in the other. They were all equally the priests of God, and as such they felt their responsibilities, and as such they endeavored to keep themselves unspotted from the world, and always to maintain the grave and serious demeanor becoming in a priest of the Most High. Says Tertullian, (Monog7,)"We are priests, called thereto by Christ. The supreme High Priest, the great Priest of the Heavenly Father, even Christ, when he clothed us with that which is his, (for as many of you as are baptized have put on Christ, Gal. 3: 27,) hath made us kings and priests to God and his Father." (Rev. 1: 6.) "We are deluded if we imagine that that is allowed to the layman which is not permitted to the priest. Are not we laymen also priests?" (Exhort. c. 7.)

3. What were the principles and sentiments of these Christians in respect to their brethren?

They viewed their brethren as their fellow-soldiers in a small and compact army, destined to a difficult and dangerous service, where the success and safety of the whole depended on every man's doing his own duty in his own place; where the exertions of every one were needed; and where each soldier felt the necessity of all the support and encouragement which every fellow-soldier could give. With these views there was strong attachment, mutual depend

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ence and confidence, and a desire to make the most of every one's efforts, instead of a contentious, fault-finding, and censorious spirit.

Again, they viewed their brethren as their fellow priests, consecrated with them to the same holy work by the shedding of the same precious blood, to minister together at the same altars while here on earth, and to wear like garlands, and sit on equal thrones in the kingdom of God above. Hence there was strong mutual sympathy, affection and respect throughout the whole body of believers. They felt that they were human and had human infirmities, that the excellency of the power must be of God and not of man ; but so intimately connected were they in feeling, interest and effort, that if one member were honored, all rejoiced with him, if one were afflicted, all suffered with him.

It was an amazing spectacle to the selfish pagans of that age, to see that Christians, though entire strangers to each other, the moment they met were on the footing of familiar friendship, and each was always ready to give any thing he possessed to help a brother's necessities.

To those pagans who expressed astonishment at this disinterestedness of Christians towards each other, Tertullian says, (Apol. c. 39), "Your brethren also are one by the rights of a common mother and a common human nature, though you like bad brothers have denied those rights in respect to us. With how much more right, then, may we view ourselves the brethren of those whom God our Father acknowledges, who have received the same spirit of sanctification, who have been rescued from the same abyss of ignorance, to the same light of truth? We who have but one heart and one soul, can have no hesitation to share our earthly goods with each other."

About the middle of the third century, several Christians, male and female, from the Numidian churches in northern Africa, were taken captive by the bordering savage tribes. The Numidian churches were too poor to pay the full ransom demanded, and applied to Carthage for assistance. It was readily granted, to the amount of nearly $4000, and sent to them with a letter from Cyprian the bishop, from which the following are extracts, (Neander, Denkw. I. 340.)

"We could view the captivity of our brethren no otherwise than as our own, since we both belong to one body;

and not only love, but religion also, excites and strengthens us to redeem in our brethren the members of our own body. For the apostle says, 'know ye not that ye are God's temple, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Cor. 3: 16.) We must then, even if affection were not sufficient to induce us to help our brethren, we must here reflect that the temples of God are in captivity; and these temples of God ought not by our neglect to remain long in bondage. We must, with all our powers, seek, by our obedience, to gain the approbation of Christ, our Judge, our Lord and God. Since the apostle Paul says, as many of you as are baptized have put on Christ, so in our captive brethren we must see before us Christ, who hath ransomed us from the danger of captivity, who hath redeemed us from the danger of death, him, who hath freed us from the abyss of Satan, who now remains and dwells in us, to free him from the hands of barbarians; with a small sum of money to ransom him, who hath ransomed us by his cross and blood: who hath permitted this to take place that our faith may be proved therebywhether every one will do that for another, which he would wish might be done for himself, if he were the one held in captivity by the barbarians. We wish indeed that no such thing may happen in future, but should it happen, to prove the love of our hearts and try our faith, neglect not to inform us of it; for be assured that our whole church prays to God, that no such calamity may happen, but should it occur, we will joyfully and liberally aid you."

4. What were the principles and sentiments of these Christians in respect to the unconverted world?

The unconverted world was, in their view, in a state of moral ruin, but a ruin for which an effectual remedy had been provided, a remedy that needed only to be applied to effect the desired cure. Unconverted men were sinners estranged from God, and exposed to eternal separation from him, a separation which would be to them everlasting destruction; yet they were the same kind of men with themselves, having the same nature, the same wants, the same susceptibilities, and as capable as themselves of being made meet to become partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Hence, though ill-treated, abused, and shamefully persecuted by their fellow men, they still treated them with respect and affection, as the creatures of their heavenly

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