and efficient, must possess a clear and intelligible constitution. In this respect, as we have seen, the present Association fails. The constitution is vague. It professes great catholicity, and yet excludes some of the best of men. It professes a high standard of Christian feeling, and yet admits some who act on very antichristian principles. Here is something which wants rectifying. The basis needs to include a firmer moral element, and a broader doctrinal one. Again, secondly, an efficient Alliance must have defined objects before it. This is the secret of all strength and all vigour in every kind of association in the church or in the world. Let us take an example from both. The Anti-Corn-law League adopted a clearly-defined object. Instead of spending its strength in abstract discussion, it concentrated its energy upon one point, and, in a few years, changed the destiny of our empire. Again, the controversy in the Scottish Church was of a similar nature. The dissentients adopted a clear and broad practical principle, that of the headship of Christ in his church; and it was by keeping this in view, as the main point, that they stood together as one man in the whole contest, and displayed a vigour of action rarely equalled in the history of the past. Thirdly, an efficient Alliance must be above suspicion as to the character of its influence, Such a suspicion has been much excited in the present case by its starting with a theological formulary; and the past evils of subscription, it must be admitted, have been amply sufficient to justify it. How, then, are these evils to be

avoided?

"To this question we answer, that if we took up the principle of forming an Alliance on the ground of Christian duty, instead of Christian doctrine, very much of the evil complained of would be at once obviated. Christian duty is a thing much more definable than Christian doctrine; it appeals more directly to the moral sense of mankind, exhibits the Christian spirit in its beauty, and has the additional advantage of marking out the main directions of religious action which we have to follow. Articles of faith are apt to become dead formulas; practical principles are always living germs of truth. The one conduct the battle of controversy into dry abstractions, the other lead it against real concrete abuses.

"To make our meaning perfectly clear, we shall draw the plan of a Christian Alliance on the basis now recommended, only premising that it must not be looked upon as matured or, by any means, complete. All we hope to do is to suggest the subject, and commend it to the consideration of our Christian brethren of every denomination.

"BASIS OF A CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE GROUNDED UPON RELIGIOUS DUTY. "I. Duty to God.

"1. We acknowledge our obligation daily to worship and supremely to love the living and the true God; to adore him in his perfections, and submit in all things to his will.

"2. We acknowledge our obligation to take the word of God as the sole and sufficient ground of our religious faith, and the best guide of our daily practice.

"3. We acknowledge our duty to vindicate the revealed truth of God against every attempt to withdraw it from the world, or to weaken its authority in the church.

"4. Redeemed from sin, and reconciled to God by Jesus Christ, we acknowledge our obligation not to live to ourselves, but to make the interests of the spiritual kingdom of Christ paramount to all other.

"5. Regarding Christ as our only mediator and supreme Head in all things, we acknowledge the obligation of obeying his laws, of following his example, of trusting his mercy, and yielding him the whole homage of our lives.

"6. We acknowledge the obligation of seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit to enlighten our understandings, and aid us in the performance of every duty.

"II. Duty to Ourselves.

"1. We acknowledge the obligation of studying the will of God from whatever source it may be known, and of exercising conscientiously our private judgment in the vast concerns of personal religion.

"2. We acknowledge the duty of banishing all indifference as to what is truth from our minds, and all unlovely affections from the heart.

"3. We acknowledge the duty of yielding up our minds to the influence of the truth as far as we are enabled to grasp it, and of acting out the principles it dictates.

"III. Duty to Mankind.

"1. We acknowledge the obligation of embracing every man as a brother equal with ourselves in his natural rights here and his prospects hereafter. "2. We acknowledge the duty of exercising our influence to shame and oppose all oppression that militates against the laws of nature, or the personal responsibility of the oppressed.

3. We acknowledge the duty of condemning religious persecution all over the world, of vindicating the sanctity of conscience wherever infringed, and of employing only spiritual weapons in aught that is connected with the religion of Christ.

"4. We acknowledge the duty of condemning and discouraging all sectarian bitterness or assumption, and all attempt at gaining domination the one body over the other.

"Without, as we have said, professing this sketch to be matured or complete, we shall briefly answer the main objections which may be urged against it, and point out the advantages which it manifestly includes.

"It will be, probably, objected by many, that the above plan of an Alliance leaves out a distinct reference to some of the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel. We reply, by asking, What end is gained by giving a summary of our belief in dogmatic form as the basis of a Christian union? Do the members of such a union become more convinced of the truth when they see so large an agreement in it? Not at all. And if they did so, they would be building their faith upon a very treacherous evidence; for many things of a highly doubtful character have been subscribed to by well-nigh the whole of Christendom. Or, is the unbelieving world, perchance, likely to be impressed in favour of the truth by such a scene? Far from it. It knows already that these persons, formed into close alliance, are all attached, perhaps, from interest, to what they regard as mere empty dogmas; and looks upon such a united assertion of them only as a new manifestation of intolerance, of credulity, or, perchance, of policy. But let us come together on the broad basis of Christian principle, asserting our great obligations to God and to mankind; and the power of Divine truth becomes at once manifested.

"We are not prepared, however, to admit that the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel are essentially excluded from such a basis as the above. We should rather say that they are essentially implied in it. We think it quite possible to form a statement of Christian duty of such a nature, that every essential element of the Gospel shall be involved; and if so, the doctrines of Christianity, instead of being suppressed, will be presented in such a way as to produce no division in the church, while they exert a mighty moral influence upon the world. If the real spirit and power of Christianity is exemplified better by such a statement of duty, it is certainly worth while to sacrifice a little of our attachment to the phraseology of our symbols, in order to secure such a result. Living Christianity is of far more value, than all the feeble representations of it which human ingenuity has devised.

"Again; it will be objected, perhaps, that the proposed basis does not identify the movement as Evangelical, that it might admit men of a very unsound theology. Now, first of all, we must be very cautious not to attach a

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too rigid idea to the meaning of the term Evangelical. The word itself, as we have shown, embraces even now a very considerable latitude of real inward sentiment; and by a little further inquiry, we may find the essence of Evangelical religion to exist in many who stumble somewhat at our phraseology. In so broad an association as that which a catholic alliance proposes, we must not draw too rigid a line of demarcation. The benefit intended to be realised by so doing is far more than counterbalanced by the unhappy narrowness to which the platform is reduced, and the disputes that are necessarily engendered. This being premised, we would next inquire, What dangerous enemy could we expect to enter the gate, when it is guarded by a full and expressive standard of Christian duty ? Can a real foe to truth have much sympathy with such a cause? May we not, on the contrary, prescribe obligations which no unchristian man will care to perform? Assuredly, if the duties of the true Christian are nobler, higher, more perfect, and more Evangelical than that of any other man, there can be very little danger in making them the test of association, and very little chance of bad men pressing forward to join it. No plan whatever, perhaps, could guarantee absolute purity in the present world; but, if the doctrinal test be compared with the practical, we believe the latter would be exposed to far less painful abuses, than those under which the former has already begun to groan. But let us suppose, that some who fall a little below the Evangelical standard did enter the fold, where would be the great evil produced when they come with so strong a guarantee, as the basis must ensure, of moral integrity ? May not association with others on terms of brotherly affection tend to benefit their minds, and bring them nearer to the bosom of the Universal Church? At any rate, should entrance by any chance be allowed to some few, whom it might be thought better to exclude, still the Association could not be so much lowered, or the world so much scandalised as it now is, when those who come professing the full standard of faith stand convicted before the bar of public opinion of abetting immorality in Christian practice.

"In conclusion, let us just glance at the positive advantages of the plan we have proposed :

"1. It prevents the disagreement which doctrinal articles are sure to engender. It states a few plain practical Christian principles, which all who cherish the spirit of the Gospel can sympathise in; and holds up, not an artificial and verbal unity, but the true bond of agreement between mind and

mind.

"2. It reminds the whole church of her duty to cultivate personal holiness and Christian zeal. The terms of fellowship being stated in the form of obligations, present everything in a practical light; showing that religion is not only a profession, but much more—a life.

3. It points out the particular spheres of Christian action to which such an alliance should direct its energies. Opposition to those who withdraw the word of God from the world, or sap its authority; sympathy with the slave and the oppressed; death to all religious persecution in every land; antagonism to religious domination, &c. Here are noble objects of Christian activity; and all conveyed in the very terms of the association.

"4. Perhaps the greatest advantage of such a plan of Christian alliance would be its moral influence on the world. It is a deliberate conviction, which we share in common with many others, that the moral influence of the Evangelical Alliance hitherto has been small. . . . . Little do mankind at large care for creeds and confessions, however vigorously they may be asserted; little do they care for assemblies which are to end in expressions of affection between those who never ought to have been divided. But let Christians awake to feel their obligations, and pledge themselves to fulfil them; let them enter into a solemn covenant, come what may, or cost what it may, to carry out the principles of righteousness between man and man; to give to every

human mind its rightful liberty to worship God according to the dictates of its own conscience; to put down all unjust oppression by the weight of moral influence; to shame bigotry into forbearance, and hatred into love; and who can measure the moral power with which such an alliance would descend upon the nations of the world? Long, long has the Christian church been assembling, from time to time, to define its creeds, to determine the exact meaning of the Bible, to set limits to that which knows no limit at all-the freedom of the human soul. When shall we see her met together in solemn conclave, to ponder her duty to God, and to perform her great obligations to mankind? when shall we see her bid the truth be free, and, under the influence of this new liberty, fly to the succour of a sinful and a suffering world? Here were a scene, the moral meaning of which none could misunderstand; here were principles which would tell upon the whole mass of humanity with an energy hitherto unknown; here were an exemplification of the power of the Gospel, which would make the oppressor tremble and the holy rejoice.

"In fine, let any one look at the state of Europe as a whole,-we would rather say, at the state of Christendom,-and say what it is that Europe, what it is that Christendom, demands. Are its real wants touched upon by an alliance constructed upon the principles which have been adopted? We fearlessly answer, No. Christendom does not want a council to decide upon the fundamentals of Christianity; for such a decision, when it is put forth, falls powerless, like every other set formulary, upon the minds both of the believing and the unbelieving. Neither does it want to be taught, by a great profusion of gentle words, the duty of brotherly love. This is already self-evident. While the churches and confessions of almost every country unite in professing the most approved articles of faith, and the formal acknowledgment of the duty of charity, the whole of these countries are groaning under tremendous moral evils, from the want of seeing Christianity embodied in living principles. Look at Italy. Centuries may roll round as they have done, and we shall proclaim our formal Protestantism there in vain, while the mind of the people is the slave of the Papacy. But Italy is not proof against the principles of moral truth which are finding their way now over the world. Italy may soon understand what it is to be a man in the sight of God; and if we would bear down upon the dread superstitions under which she groans, we must open avenues for such principles to work into the public mind. This would lead on a reformation, while the outcry of Protestant zeal, and the almost malignant exposure of her petty persecutions, only deepen the prejudices which already exist. Every other Catholic country can only be really influenced by a Christian alliance in the same manner. Whether we look to France or to Ireland, the only way we can hope to act upon them is by Christianising the spirit of the age, and rolling in upon their shores the great ideas of moral responsibility, which God himself is bringing out more and more to bless and purify the world.

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Again, we want Christian alliance to resist the inroads of infidelity. But how can this be done? Not, we venture to affirm, by first laying down the right of private judgment, and then fixing the doctrinal points to which that judgment must conform. Infidelity is apt to infer the weakness of our side from the effort we make to assert our dogmas. If we are to meet the infidel successfully, we must show him that Christianity is superior to everything else, in its moral elevation and its practical power over mankind. If we came together to show that Christianity originates the highest thoughts of the age; that it is ever in the van of human civilisation; that it inspires the most earnest purposes and most vigorous actions to which the mind of humanity at any period can reach; we should leave infidelity little to stand upon.

"Last of all, the whole church wants much, and hopes much, from Christian alliance for herself. She wants to learn, principally, the true bond of union between her members. But does the present alliance teach this? We fear

not. The basis it has adopted, as we have shown, creates division. Then as to the show of love it exhibits, we feel sorrow, rather than joy, at the attempt to warm the heart of the whole Christian brotherhood by such means. All our emotions, if they are natural and abiding, flow from certain ideas, and are based, accordingly, on fixed principles. The love which the present alliance excites is an unintelligent, and, if we may use the term inoffensively, an unprincipled love. It says, 'My brother, give me thy hand: I will love thee from henceforth.' It ought to know that it is not this sentimental expression of affection which the church wants; she wants to be taught her duty to the Gospel, and the justice, the stern justice, which mind owes to mind. With regard to the individual state of the churches of Christendom, what they long and pant for is life. The phrases of a dead orthodoxy move not the soul, and the spirit with which our forefathers combated the errors of Popery is dead. We have truth to develope as well as they; and if we would respond, as they did, to the demands of our age, we must embody in our lives and our actions the living principles which God is now bidding us evolve from the spirit of his religion.

"We say to those who now compose the alliance, Reconsider your past decisions, and view them in the light of expansive Christian principles. Upon you is resting a vast responsibility. Let the next meeting find you ready to place your alliance upon a basis which shall engage the sympathies of the whole church, and show that you are in earnest to the world. If your union, then, shall have light enough, and love enough, to satisfy the outery of the age for a true catholicity, it is well; if not, we hold ourselves in readiness to proclaim ANOTHER ALLIANCE, which shall gather around it the moral energy that the church and the world alike require."

The author is evidently a clear-headed and able man; and his pamphlet cannot fail to exert an extensive and beneficial influence for the end which many are anxiously desiring to attain.

OBSERVATIONS ON JOSHUA X. 12–15.

AN article in the October number of the BAPTIST RECORD is designed to show that the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th verses of the 10th chapter of Joshua, respecting the sun and moon standing still, are an interpolation. Respecting some of the sentiments in that article, I beg to submit a few brief observations.

I. Respecting the miracle itself, let it be observed, that, of its kind, it is not alone in the Scriptures. The miracle performed for Hezekiah, described in the 20th chapter of the 2nd of Kings, and in the 38th of Isaiah, was similar. In one case the sun stood still, and in the other went back. Now, if the difficulties suggested by the science of astronomy require us to blot one passage out of the Scriptures, they must require the removal of the

other.

II. The manner in which the miracle is said to have been performed is brought forward as an objection against the whole account. It is spoken of as though, without suitable prayer, Joshua was represented as performing the most stupendous wonder in his own name. By turning to the passage, however, it will be observed, in the 12th verse, that Joshua spake to the Lord: and, in the 14th verse, that it is said, the Lord hearkened to the voice of man.