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V^
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THE
FOELOEN HOPE;
AM
Uii/^
APPEAL TO THE CHURCH,
ON
THE IMPROPRIETY OF USING FERMENTED THINGS
IN THE SACRAMENT.
BY JAMES MILLER, GUELPH,
Author of " Protest aq mnst Sons of Temperance."
Psalm cxix. 18 — " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of
thy law "
/ -:
TORONTO:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY J. CLELAND,
1853.
■i'fl
■^A
I
THE
FORLORN HOPE;
AN
APPEAL TO THE CHURCH,
oir
THE fflPROPRIETY OF USING FERMENTED THINGS
IN THE SACRAMENT.
BY JAMES MILLER, GUELPH,
Author of " Protest against Sons of Temperance."
Psalm cxix. 18—" Open thou mine eyes. that t mav behold wondrous things out of
thy law,"
TORONTO:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTfiOR, BY J. CLELAND,
1853.
'■{'■I ,] i
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APPEAL.
When the Total Abstinence Society commenced its glorious work, its
most strenuous opponents were the ministers and professors of Christi-
anity : not because they did not see that the object of the movers was
good, and would, if carried out to the extent contemplated, be the means
of producing a great reformation in Society, but because of their own
ignorance of the soirit of the Bible, and the design of its Author ; and
because they confounded wine that was evil and wine that was good,
making no difference between them. They set up a hue and cry be-
cause they thought the religion they professed was in danger in case
this new light prevailed ; and those who follow in their wake, without
any principle or regard for truth, and adopt their opinions and inter-
pretations, continued the uproar ; although the new course was the only
road which would lead to sobriety, which they could not gainsay or
contTsdiot.
These lights of the world being under an eclipse, could throw no
light on us till the obscuring object was removed by the efforts of Tem-
perance men ; and unitedly have they toiled, and hoped almost against
hope, until now they have no controversies on any of their doctrines.
The Bible has been successfully cleared of the charge of encouraging
the use of intoxicating beverages. But at the commencement il was
not so. The ministers of religion taught ' ^t the wine and strong
drinks recommended in Scripture were intoxi>;atmg. If they were,
then they give the lie direct to the inscription on every page, or rather,
the subject of the text is a direct contradiction of the inscribed design.
Without the aid of revelation men saw it proved to them daily, that in-
toxicating liquors did not increase the happiness of man, but his misery.
That heathen who God called by name, one hundred years before he
was born, saw that it made those great men, to whom he was cup-bearer,
like madmen, and refused to drink of it, although the custom was that
he should drink of it before giving it to them ; that their suspicions of
poison might be hushed, he saw, without the aid of revelation, that it
was injurious, while we, with it as a people, did not take the trouble to
enquire into the nature, quality, and effects of the wines and strong
drinks recommended in the Word of Life, but take it for granted that
they must be intoxicating. Now it h in this way that the Bible is to
the Jews a stumblingblock, and to the Qreeks foolishness ; for if the
Bible is of God, and that it is, every page declares, the history of natiorj
declare, in their rise and progress, their decline and fall, the comin'^ of
the Mtssiiih, tho rise of Antichrist, and his fall, (which God, of his infi-
nite mercy grant, may soon take place, to rise no more.) These, and
many other things, prove, that its prophec'es are true, and what better
evidence can we hnve ? lie who penned the whole of it says of himself,
" I am the Lord, God, merciful and gracious, long-sufTering, and ahun.
dai t in goodness and truth ;" and one of his inspired servants says of
him, " the Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his
works." Now, with ail the evidence we have of the benevolence of the
Au hor of the Bible, how can we come to the conclusion that He re-
commends a drink thai, without the aid of revelation, we could and
would n^ject if our natural judgments were exercised ? Is it not saying
that, in our fallen state, we can find a better way than God has pointed
out?
The opposers of Total Abstinence f[om intoxicating liquors have
asserted such things as the following : Intoxicating liquor is a good
creature of God. ft rejoices the heart of God and man. It was made
by our blessed Redeemer for making the marriage party of Cana in
Galilee, merry. It was prescribed by the Apostle Paul to Timothy.
It was roconimended to those in distress, ready to perish, and of a heavy
heart. It is made u^e nf as a figure to convey a knowledge of the
Gospel of salvation. It is the emblem of the Redeemer's blood, shed
for many for the remission of sins. And other things were said of it
that have been proved false. [ propo«e to say but little on the first five
of these assertions, and to dwell a little longer on the two last, as they
seem to me of the greatest consequence ; for if fermented wine is a proper
emblem of our redemption, then salvation means thraldom worse than
Egyptian, and Christ's blood must polute us more and more.
I take up the first of these assertions, namely, that '* intoxicating li-
quor is a good creature of God," and will endeavor to shew that it is
not. Those things that God created fur the use of man he made perfect ',
for he pronounced everything that he had made very good ; and after
man's corruption by sin, those things that he had given for his bodily
nourishment were made use of as emblems to confirm the doctrine they
were to observe and keep in their minds: he used them to teach them
the means he had decreed he would employ for their restoration to his
favor — the shedding of the blood of those beasts that he gave them for
food, was confirming what he taught literally, that without a substitute
to sufier the penalty of death, in their stead, they would have to un-
dergo the sufferings of def th to all eternity. In the ordinances given
by Moses, the lamb had to be perfect, showing that the substitute of
man must be so also. It was also commanded, that nothing fermented
should be eaten or be in their houses during the seven days of the
Passover week. I therefore conclude, that the fermenting or the being
in a diseased state of those things that were for the food of man being
prohibited in God's ordinances, should make us deny on all occasions,
because of this evidence from the Bible, that fermented things are
good creatures of God ; seeing we have as good ground for the con-
elusion a§ we have when we deny that God is the author of sin. The
perfect similarity in the grape before its being pressed out to man be-
fbre he sinned, Dr. Lee, in hii ** Sacred Writings rescued from Impious
Perversions," says, speaking of the grape: "These beautiful little bot-
tles are divided into compartments or cells, the yeast or glutin being
separated from the saccharine matter, in order to prevent fermentation,
as the fruit hangs on the tree. It is because of this simple provision
that grapes can be preserved either in their ripe, fresh condition, by
carefully preventing them being bruised, and keeping them in cool, dry
cellars, or in the form of raisins, by allowing the sun to evaporate the
water."
Some such condition were man's faculties in before he sinned, and
as delicate were the partitions that separated one faculty, feeling or de>
aire from another, that a fall was sufRcient to cause them all to run
into another, and prevents us now often distinguishing between our
duty and inclination. The fact of the wine in the cluster being termed
a blessing in the Bible, and the fermented article being forbidden in
God's house, goes clearly to prove, that neither sinful man nor fer-
mented things, are good creatures of God, according to his own word.
We will see this more fully before our task is done.
The second in order of the assertions I would take up and value ac-
cording to its merits, is, " that fermented wine rejoices the heart of God
and man." If gladness and madness mean the same thing, then I might
let it go as proved indisputably ; but this I must deny, because 1 know
from observation that they are very different. Laying aside my own
convictions in the matter, and taking the Bible for my guide, it tells
me that wine is a mocker — strong drink is raging ; it gives examples
of abominable sin committed under its influence. It cruelly mocked
Noah — took away his consciousness ; his son saw his nakedness, and
told his brothers without, thinking they would join with the Devil's
best agent and him in mocking their father. But blessings were
showered on their heads and on the heads of their posterity for their
tenderness and aflfection, and curses on Ham for his conduct, which
are endured by his descendants to the present time. Lot co>iimitted
abominable sin under its influence. Who will tell us that his heart
was gladdened, or that God rejoiced in beholding the scene ? Nadub
and Abihu were slain before the sanctuary for oflfering strange Are be-
fore the Lord, which he commanded them not. Such an instance of
will-worship and its*consequences may very well lead us to enquire,—
Why did they do it ? Surely something prevented them '* putting differ-
ence between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean ;" some-
thing banished from their minds the severity of God's punishments on
any transgression of any of his laws. They knew the command given
to Moses : «' And look that thou make them after their pattern, which
was shewed thee in the mount." They had seen the mount of God ;
they had heard the thunders of Sinai ; they had seen the people plagued
for worshipping the calves. They were honored above all the elders of
Israel ; their names are recorded in onnexion with Moses and Aaron,
in the invitation to come up unto the Lord, after them the seventy
elders, " and worship ye afar off Then went up Moses and Aaron,
Nabad and Abihu, and they saw the God of Israel ; and upon the no-
bics of the children of Israel he laid not his hand ; also they saw God,
and did eat and drink." Were they not honored more than tho elders?
But mark their sin, and read tho law given by Moses just after tho nar>
rative : « Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou nor thv sons with
thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die.
It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, and that yo
may put difference between holy and unholy and between unclran and
clean. And that yo may teach the children of Israe' "^1 the statutes
which the Lord hath spoken unto them by the hand of -"ses." God
rejoiced in them, and did them good, until they sinned, and in accord-
ance with his just and righteous dispensations he punished them. Our
Saviour says : *< To whom much is given, of ihem much shall bo re-
quired." Ho says, also, «' Woe unto thee, Chorasin, woe unto thee,
Bethsaida ; for if the mighty works which were done ii. you had been
done in Tyre and Sidon, thoy would have repented long ago in sack-
cloth and ashes." There is no sign of rejoicing in (he cast) of Nadab
and Abihu, although it is evident from their conduct, and the context,
what it was that led them astray. The opinion of Jews and Christians
is the same ; that is, they were intoxicated when they offered strange
Rre. I will say no more now on this part of my task, but will go on
to the next assertion, that " tho wine" (meaning intoxicating wine) " was
mad« by our blessed Redeemer for the purpose of making the marriage
f tarty in Cana of Galilee, merry." If we conclude that it was such a
iquor, a pure and delicious and nourishing beverage, such as would
be newly pressed out of the grape in its ripe state, which the word of
God pronounces a blessing, then it could not be intoxicating: It was
not similar to fermented wine, because there is nothing so hateful to
God as corrupt matter; and we cannot think that Christ made a. liquor
for his friends which he had repeatedly forbidden. He shut heaven
against drunkards ; and can we think that he would make a large quan-
tity of the liquor that intoxicates, and give it to his friends after they
had well drunk? If it was intoxicating that had been provided for
the feast, then the providing a large additional quantity of belter wine,
which, according to the taste of the present day, would mean stronger
of alcohol, then, I say, the act would be worthy of a demon. But the
learned amongst the teetotallers have proved that the term " well
drunk" means filled with drink, but it does not necessarily imply — in-
toxicated.
The prophet Haggai, in reproving the Jews for not rebuilding the
house of God, reminds them of the scarcity of provisions amongst the
people, and in doing so, assures them that it was God that withheld a
plentiful supply of his bounties ; and in stating the punishment they
were enduring, he says: " Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink."
Now, it would be a strange thing indeed if the fulness of drink in this
passage meant drunk, in the sense we use the passage now-a-days.
When the Ruler of the feast tasted the water that was made wine,
he called the bridegroom, and saith unto him : " Every man at the be-
ginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then
that which is worse j but thou hast kept the good wine until now."
Would to God that we oould get some of such wino, that our tastes
might be elevated from the abominable liquors now used and called
good ! From what he made at the '^ef^timing, and whnt he has made
since, and is continuing to make, in acuurilaiioo with the laws of his own
framing, and by the rule of all his acts, glory to his Father and good
to man, we may judge whether the water after it, by the word of his
power, was made wine, was intoxicating or not.
Again, it was prescribed by the Apostle Paul to Timothy. Who
can doubt that it was the pure unfermented juice of the grape that
he meant, that that is pronounced, when in the cluster, a blessing?
Unless there were medicinal and nourishing qualities in it, the Holy
Ghost would not have called it a blessing. Who can think for an in-
stant that it could be fermented wine, when it is well known now that
all the nourishing and beneficial qualities are destroyed by that pro.
cess?
In the Proverbs it is said, " Give strong drink unto him that is ready
to perish, and wine to those that be of heavy hearts : let him drink and
forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more." Some learned
men, who were influenced by veneration for the word of God, and love
for the best interests of mankind, have come to our liclp, and proved
beyond a doubt that wine, when spoken of in commendation, always
means unfermented and unintoxicating ; and what is meant in the
Bible by strong drink, would be much better understood by us if trans-
lated sweet drink — the liquor was boiled to a syrup, and the sugar
was strong in it. I take it to mean such a wine as he made who went
about doing good ; for otherwise the poor distressed son of adliction and
poverty would not forget his condition, and his misery would be in-
creased while breath remained in him. It must mean wine and strong
drink that will restore him to hope when he is almost perishing with
hunger.
AAer the system is reduced by famine, newly pressed out wine or
sweet drink are the most proper for gradually restoring ihs stomach to
healthy action. Strong food would be very improper, until some
strength was acquired ; after that, strong food may be safely taken.
Let him drink and forget his poverty ; let him comfort himself with
the thought that he will be restored to his wonted health and strength,
by the kindness of his king : for remember this is part of the instruc-
tion given to Lemuel by his mother ; every sentence shews that she
desires the happiness of her son's subjects, and the restoration of the
famishing ot;es, and because she desires it, she gives the necessary in-
structions. But if we think that it was such stuffs as are by us called
wine and strong drink, then it would be plain that the poor man's
death was contrived, and that speedily. I think all will clear the
mother of the king of the imputation of compassing the death of any of
her son's subjects, from the character of the instructions she gave him,
which are all on the side of virtue, mercy, and good, good govern-
ment.
Again, it was made use of an a figure to convey a knowledge of the
gospel, the glad tidings of salvation. Isaiah 25 ch. 6 v. <* And in this
8
mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat
things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of
wines on the lees well refined." Under this metaphor the ancient peo-
ple of Israel were given a description of the salvation by a Redeemer
and the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost, which were to be
made known over the face of the whole earth, and felt by every fallen
son and daughter of Adam ; and unless they knew what hunger and
thirst were, and the enjoyment of a good substantial meal, and a cool-
ing, subduing and allaying beverage, they could have no idea con-
veyed to them of the eflects of the gospel on him who had once longed
for the salvation of his soul, but now enjoyed all the consolations that
man can in this state of trial
English grammar supports me in this conclusion. It says, a meta-
phor is founded on the resemblance whioh one object bears to another ;
it is a comparison expressed in an abridged form. Care should be
taken that the metaphor be clear, that the resemblance be not difficult
to discover. This allegory is understood then to convey to those it wai
preached to a full knowledge of what the world was to enjoy under the
preaching of the gospel, more particularly the sanctifying influences
of the Holy Spirit — a change of heart. The same thing is prophesied
by Isaiah in other places, by difi^rent figures, and in the literal sense,
Jeremiah prophesies the same thing — Ezekiel again and again. " God
will put a new heart and a new spirit into his people, and take away
the stoney heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh ;" and
what is more than all, from which we cannot but conclude that it was
preached by all the prophets, from the beginning down to Christ him-
self, when he is speaking to Nicodemus, expresses astonishment at his
ignorance of the prophesies ; it is severe reproof: " Art thou a master
in Israel, and knowest not these things ? Christ came to abolish death,
and has brought life and immortality to light in the gospel."
We are told in the New i'cstament, that the fruits of the spirit, or
the effects of the gospel, are love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance : these are the cfllects of the
gospel on the soul that receives it. Now, I ask, could the wine in the
allegory be a proper flgure of the gospel, if it was fermented, and con-
sequently intoxicating? It could not It must be a sobering wine to
represent a sobering gospel. The workings of sin in the heart of man,
and the working of a fermenting liquor, are a perfect likeness of one
another. Man, in eating the forbidden fruit, is as the grape when
burst in the skin ; he felt that he was naked ; he was stripped of the
covering that would prevent him returning to the dust whence he was
taken. The bursting of the covering is the first thing that takes place
in the grape ; decomposition then goes rapidly on, unless it is arrested
by some process or other. How like the human race ? We, by our in-
clinations, our lusts unchecked, would not stop short of eternal death.
The fermented article is a perfect resemblance of fermented man.
Yes ! we have fallen divines ; ministers of religion tell us so ; the Bi-
ble tells us so ; our own selves know it ; and if the grace of God arrests
us not in our career, our doom is sealed. If we are not refined as the
of
wine in that verse was refined, we will be lost forever I go to a little
book, « The Wine Question settled," and find that the refining was a
filtering process, by which the glutin was taken away, and by that
means tk3 wine was rendered more liquid, lighter, sweeter, and more
pleasant to drink. How like th» effects of the gospel on the truly con-
verted man ! The love of sin is conquered in him ; he has no longer
pleasure in it — he feels the weight and the sin that more easily besets
him, and flies to the cross of Christ, and lays his burden of glutin,
yeast, or ferment (sin) there, which is continually striving for the
mastery, and asks grace to help in every time of need. See the striv.
ing in a vessel containing a fermenting liquor ; why iron hoops are
made to give way, often ; and the Christian, with all his striving, bursts
out in passion and sin. But the process of refining is a progressive
work, and so is sanctification ; the wine will not be lost; neither will
the sanctified man.
If we are not yet convinced that the wine was a sobering cordial that
the Prophet considered a fit emblem of the Gospel, let us consider the
matter a little further : let us suppose that all kinds of wine were ban-
ished from the earth, and all the effects of all the various kinds forgot-
ten by mankind, and that we had all the graces of the Holy Spirit, and
that all the consolations of the glad tidings of salvation were ours by
the assurance of faith, at the same time that our bodies were subject
to fatigue and depression from toil and exhaustion, and that we were
informed by a divine messenger that after a certain period of time the
Lord would cause to grow a tree, the fruit of which would contain a
drink that would have a similar effect on our bodies that rel^'frion had
had on our souls ; it would refresh us at labour, quench our thirst, still
the beating of our hearts, nourish our whole bodies, and induce a calm
sleep that would restore the system to vigour, and enable us to renew
our exertions with comfort, and make us happy in the thought of such
a blessing in prospect. Would we not then count up all the items,
name them over, and from each endeavour to anticipate similar com-
fort to our bodies, making the gospel the thing representing and ^he
wine the thing represented 1 We would say, religion has calmed our
fears of death and hell. - Wine will calm our agitated bodies and pre-
vent fevers and death. Religion has subdued our passions that were
driving us to ruin. Wine will cool our heated blood and sober our
excited nerver. Religion tells us to throw the burden of our sins on
Christ by faith. Wine will be a substitute for all other beverages,
and excel them in every particular. Religion tells us of another
righteousness than our own, which when made over to us, gave much
joy and cause for gratitude. Wine will be a gift of God, earnestly to
be desired, eagerly to be sought after, never refused. I ask, are the
same effects produced on the drinkers pf fermented wine or any other
intoxicating liquor, for it is for the alcohol that is in them that they are
drunk ? We are told by ministers of the gospel, that fermented wine is
meant ; if it is, then a command to drink abundantly is given that they
who are strangers to the gospel may be made to learn the knowledge
of it. We may search in vain for as great wickedness in any of the
«
V9
I i
infamous characters mentioned in the Bible. We have a horror in our
minds at the wickedness of Jezebel, when Ahab told her that Naboth
would neither sell his field to him nor exchange it for another. She
asked him haughtily, " dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel.
Arise and eat bread and let thine heart be merry, I will give thee the
vineyard of Naboth the Jezrelite." She did so, and the end of Naboth
was accomplished — men were soon found ready to sell themselves to
the wicked woman ; but mark the difference — Jezebel is not the one
who gives the information necessary to take his life — she hires children
of Belial, those furious and obstinate in wickedness, to swear that Na-
both blasphemed God and the King. But this expounder perverts God's
holy word, and makes it encourage abominable sin ; he goes to the dis-
tiller, brewer, and trafficker in the unholy poison, and tells him that
the word of God tianctions and encourages the manufacture and sale of
fermented things ; that the Gospel of the Son of God is likened to a feast,
and one of the ingredients in it is fermented wine. And because the
part of the earth our lot is cast in does not grow grapes, we are obliged
to cause those things to ferment that will ferment, and so produce those
liquors that have the strongest resemblance to fermented wine. He
gives them leave, nay, commands them ; and lest they should be doubt-
ful in their minds, he assists them. And if the gospel is to be received
for food and drink to our souls, for consolation and gladness, a very
proper conclusion is, we must receive the wine, or the thing our country
produces instead ; for if we do not know the gospel, nor its effects on our
souls, nor wine nor its effects on our bodies, then the making use of the
wine in the allegory conveys to us nothing. Jezebel was a heathen, a
worshipper of Baal, and better could not be expected of her, tor might
was right in her eyes, but now with us, might does not constitute right,
but God's law is to be obeyed, and we are to shun the very appearance
of evil, and this is what is preached to us by this teacher. With what
darkness is he shrouded : he calls evil good, and good evil, and does not
know it, and yet he seems to know it, for he says he does not drink of
alcoholic liquors himself, and condemns it whenever he sees it drunk.
If he occupied any other position in society he would be less dangerous,
he would not be tolerated by the public, he would &oon be silenced.
But as he is, people are afraid to shew him the right way.
An instance in one particular, similar to this course of conduct and
preaching, is when our Saviour cast a devil out of one that was blind
end dumb, the Pharisees ascribed the power to Beelzebub the prince of
the devils, making out that Christ was in league with the wicked one.
And when it vas to serve a purpose, the arch-fiend could dispose uf his
imps to serve that purpose. A wider difierence does not exist between
the power by which the devil was cast out and the opinions of the
Pharisees, than there is between the effects of the Gospel on the Chris-
tian and the effects of the liquor on the drinkers; 'tis because he comes
to us with " thus saith the Lord," that men are afraid to attack his
opinions, but it is our duty to examine the spirits whether they are of
God or not, and reject them if the evidence is contrary. There is this
difference : the Pharisees were open enemiesi but this man is a profes-
sed friend.
Lt
Low^
they
the 01
ducel
of the
true
allpd
wined
^
II ♦
Let • juppose that otie goes to the Roman Catholics of Ireland, or
Lower Canada, and tells them that he has another gospel than the one
they have; which he wishes to preach to them-^-it will mstruct them in
the only way of salvation — will purify their hearts and minds, and pro-
duce such a change that they will rejoice evermore. And the 6th verse
of the 25th chapter of Isaiah contains a prophecy of the new gospel, the
true word of life, in the figure of a feast which the Lord would make to
all people on the holy mountain, the fat things full of marrow, and the
wines on the lees tvell refined, are to shew from their strengthening and
reviving effects on the body, the excellent character of the Gospel on
the soul, the graces imparted and the joy produced. If they were told
that the wines on the lees well' refined, were well fermented, they would
soon tell the missionaries of the new Gospel, " we will not Lave your
gospel, for it is but a short time since we were much addicted to fer>
mented and distilled liquors, and found them very injurious, so much
I 80 that many of our nearest and dearest relations lost their properties,
ruined their families, their characters and lives were sacrificed through
this beverage. And if your gospel resembles that, as you say it does,
why Fathers Matthew and Chinique have put us on our guard against
your gospel, and have shewn us a far better one, that wherever they go
is received with gladness and beloved, and very aonvincing it is too, for
our homes are happier, and we are leading much pleasanter lives ;
therefore, " we seek no change, least of all the change you would bring."
Experienced Christians, I ask you, wherein do Christ's graces and fer-
mented wines resemble one another ?
I go on to my principal object of enquiry, the propriety of using fer-
mented things as emblems of Christ's body and blood, broken and shed
for many for the remission of sins, in the sacrament. The institution
of the first supper should be our guide in this matter, which took place
on the same night in which the Saviour of the world was betrayed.
The Paschal supper being ended, Christ took bread, of such bread as
was on the table, " gave thanks and brake it, and gave it to his disciples,
and said, Take, eat, this is my body." We are told by Christ himself to
" search the scriptures." The first thing necessary to find out is, what
kind of bread was it that was on the table ? The answer is, that kind
that was used at the Passover, then we must go farther into the remote
ages of the world. Do not tell us that every thing is dark and unc&i*-
tain, th'^re we will not believe you. Say not the unmeaning rites and
ceremonies of Moses' institutions should not take up our attention in
this fifty-ninth century from the creation. There is nothing from the
bej»inning of Genesis to the end of Revelation commanded more posi-
tively than the observance of the Passover, nor is any thing connected
with it \eii in doubt^ every thmg is minutely described. Exodus 12,
15 : " Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread, even the first day ye
shall put away leaven out of your houses, for whosoever eateth leavened
bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut ofi"
from Israel." In the fifth verse of this chapter the lamb is described,
" Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year, ye shall
take it out from the sheep or the goats." Verse 8 : " And they shall
eat the flesh that night roast with fire, and unleavened bread, and with
bitter herbs shall they eat it." Verse 10 : " And ye shall let nothing
of it remain until the morning, and that which remaineth until the
morning ye shall burn with fire." If we would take the trouble to
enquire into the character rf the sacrifices and offerings commanded in
the laws of Moses and meaning of them to the Israelites at the time, as
well as the sense we should take out of them now, a rich treasury of
truth would be opened to our inspection. We may not be able to dis-
cover a resemblance in every one of the rites of the law to some parti-
cular truth in the Christian system, but the more wo search the more
will we find. The sacrifices were all to be ofiTered df perfect animals,
there was to be no sickness, lameness, nor any spot or blemish about
them. The Paschal lamb, bulls, rams, goats, kids, all were to be per-
fect, and any of them that were to be eaten by the priests or people,
should not remain over night lest they should begin to ferment, and so
loss their excellence, they were all types of the Saviour, who was
without blemish or spot of sin. He did not ferment, he had no lust to
strive against in himself, he saw no corruption.
We should not let any passage of holy writ pass unexplained that we
can 'have explained by other passages of the Bible, especially those
commands that the breaking brought the sentence of death on the trans-
gressors. The Paschal lamb, in its full meaning, is explained to us
from every pulpit, but our preachers give us no reason for the prohibi-
tion of leaven, although the same punishment was to be inflicted on any
that even had it in their houses. There must be very weighty reasons
for the banishing leavened things during the seven solemn days of the
Passover. Leaven must be unholy, evil, bad in some particular — one
thing is certain, it did not come from God's hand in that state — it is not
procured from any vegetable or animal till death has taken place and
is decaying fast. We saw before that the destroyiu'/ of any good thing
is disowned of God, and as we go on with our enquiries we will see that
he lays it at the devil's door. In the forbidding fallen vegetable or
animal matter in his sanctuary, in his ordinances he impressed on the
mind of his people the decree that man, fallen, sinful man, in his present
state, had no access into the presence of his Creator. Emblems are
used to impress, by different means, the one thing, that our thoughts may
be kept continually in exercise, that at every turn we may be reminded
of the things we are never to let slip out of our minds. Emblems of
Christ and of ourselves are presented to us on almost every paj^e of the
Bible. There is nothing too hateful or disgusting to be used by the
inspired writers as emblems of ourselves ; this is to teach us what we
are in God's estimation, vileness, corruption, vomit, as smoke to the
eyes, filth, dung. 1 need say no more, for they are in every person's
Inouth, and repeated daily.
If leaven was looked on by the Almighty as an emblem of sin under
the old law, we can see no reason why it should not continue to be the
emblem of sin under the Gospel dispensation. All. the truths they were
taught by emblems, were preached to them in the natural, literal mean,
ing ; all the difference in their case and ours is, that they lived before
our
Savi
back
it w
Itdi(
Pass
and
coul
18
id, and with
I let nothing
th until the
e trouble to
nmanded in
the tin)e, as
treasury of
able to dis>
some parti'
h the more
}ct animals,
smish about
e to be per-
I or people,
ent, and so
', who was
d no lust to
led that we
ially those
n the trans<
Eiined to us
he prohibi.
(ted on any
ity reasons
lays of the
jular — one •
; — it is not
place and
good thing
ill see that
getable or
sed on the
lis present
blems are
ughts may
reminded
nblems of
age of the
ed by the
s what we
>ke to the
jr person's
sin under
) to be the
they were
ral mean,
ed before
our Saviour's, we live after his appearance on earth. He wts their
Saviour, they looked forward to the fulfilment of his work, we look
back. There wa^ equal efficacy in his merits for them as for us, but
it was intimated to them that the sacrifice and oblation would cease.
It did cease when Shilon came, and the Lord's Supper is to us what the
Passover was to them, a commemoration of the redemption. The bread
and produce of the vine used at the last celebration of the Passover,
could only be such as was lawful at the first Passover, and what was
used at the last Passover was what was used at the first Lord's Supper.
After our blessed Redeemer's sending those who enquired of him the
way to eternal life, to Moses and the Prophets, giving his high sanction
to all that they had commanded, we cannot think that he deviated from
the law in the observance of the Passover. He says to the Jews " ye
tithe mint, anise and cummin, but neglect the weightier matters of the
law, these ought ye to have done and not leave the others undone."
We will see that it is not only in the Old Testament but in the New
also that leaven is used as the emblem of sin. Christ bids his disciples
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, that feeling
that pufil'd them up and deceived them, that pride that said '' stand by
thyself, come not near to me for I am holier than thou." The Apostle
Paul in speaking of the incestous person to the Corinthians, says, '< and
ye are puffed up, your glorying is not good, know ye not that a little
leaven leavens the whole lump," which means giving his own words,
that " Evil communications corrupt good manners. Purge out there>
fore the old leaven." In using as a fig'ire the custom am:)ng the Jews
at the time of the Passover, of cleansing their houses of all corrupt and
corrupting matter, the Apostle gives additional force to the injunction
to purge from their society the person who had brought this scandal on
the Church of God. He shews us that they understood well that leaven
and sin are synonymous terms with Grqtl when he is teaching his people.
" That ye may be a new lump as ye are unleavened," that is that your
society may be free from any one that may bring reproach on the pro.
fession ot Christ. *' As ye are unleavened, as ye are sanctified, as ye
are chosen of Grod out of the world, therefore you are not to keep com-
pany with any that is called a brother, if he bears any of the characters
that are mentioned in the 11th verse of the 5th chapter of this 1st Cor.
inthians, " with such an one no not to eat." Therefore let us keep the
feast (that is Christ's new institution or continuation of the old) not with
the old leaven. The kind proper for observing the old feast is the kind
he here enjoins them to keep the new one with, and he adda the spirit
with which their minds are to be inspired — literally no malice or wick>
edness was to have place in their hearts, but sincerity and truth.
I contend that he is giving instructions to the Christians in all future
times to observe the ordinance in the spirit and letter too of the law.
The apostle is here following up the humbling command given by our
Saviour, in his sermon on the mount, when he taught the multitude,
saying, " Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there remem-
ber that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before
the altar and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and thea
u
14
'.ii
i )
1;. !
come aAd offer thy giil." Christ is addressing the one who has done
the scandalous thing — Paul is speaking to those who are on their guard
against the tempter. Christ is addressing the individual — Paul theChuroh,
leaving no room for either to say this is not directed to me.
At the time that Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles, it would seem
that the early Christians observed the feast of unleavened bread, from
the expression he uses on two difierent occasions. Acts 12th chap. Srd v.
" Then were the days of unleavened bread," and chap. 20th 6th v.,
*< And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened
bread," plainly intimating that they were to them the days of unleav-
ened bread, the slaying of the lamb being done away with, and the
feast no longer called the Passover as it was named by the Evangelists
in their histories of Christ, while he was on the earth. Jeremiah 6th c.
16th v., " Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see and ask
for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall
find rest for your souls."
< Ignorance of the word of God often leads us to make wrong comments
on passages, which if properly understood, would be of great benefit to
us if explained in accordance with the spirit of the Bible. The 11th
chapter of 1st Corinthians is taken by the opponents of the advocates
of our unfermented wine in the Sacrament to build their opinions on,
whereas if they would lay aside their prejudices and examine the pas-
sages, they would see that the Apostle is reproving them for another
impropriety they were guilty of. They had met in the Church and
displayed their wealth to the offence of their poorer brethren — they eat
and drank abundantly, for which he reproves them sharply in these
words :— '• What ! have ye not houses to eat and to drink in, or despise
ye the Church of God and shame them that have not ? What shall I
say to you — shall I praise you in this, I praise you not ? He knew well
that when his Lord and master instituted the Supper, that it was after
he had along with his disciples eaten the Passover, and therefore a full
meal was not proper. He says, " If any 'man hunger, let him eat at
home, that ye come not together unto condemnation," which shows that
it was in kind, not in such a large quantity as would satisfy a hungry
person, that the proper observance of the Lord's Supper consisted. In
allusion to this erroneous practice he says, 20th verse, « This is not to
eat the Lord's Supper." And referring to this practice and the prac-
tice of the other Apostles in the 16th verse of the 10th chapter, he says,
" the cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ, and the bread which we break is it not the communion
of the body of Christ ? He had before told them in the 5th chapter, that
leaven should not be used on this sacred occasion, and here he refers
to the articles he and the other apostles used, by laying a particular
emphasis on the Cup of Blessing which we bless, and the bread which
we break. With overwhelming force he might tell us in referring to
the bread and wine we use, *' This is not to eat the Lord's Supper."
There are but two verses in the Bible in which Heaven is made use
of as a figure to convey the knowledge of anything desirable ; they are
Matthew 13, 33, and Luke 13, 20 : *< The kingdom of heaven is
like
meal
powJ
own!
woul
of t(
AstI
Net
and I
woi
but
ove<
15
has done
leir guard
leChuroh,
>uld seem
sad, from
ap. 3rd y.
th 6th v.,
ileavened
unleav-
and the
angelists
ah 6th c.
and ask
ye shall
omments
lenefit to
fhe 11th
dvocates
lions on,
the pas>
another
roh and
•they eat
in these
shall I
lew well
as after
re a full
n eat at
>ws that
hungry
ed. In
s not to
te prac>
le says,
I of the
munion
er, that
refers
'ticular
which
ring to
er."
de use
ey are
ven is
I
I
like unto leaven which a woman took and hid in two measures of
meal, till the whole was leavened." Now, it was for its penetrating
power on the mass in which it was mixed, converting the whole into its
own likeness, that it w]^s made use of as a figure to show how the gospel
would spread in the world : it was not to illustrate any of the doctrines
of the Bible, but merely the conversion of mankind to another system.
A stone cut out of the mountain without hands, overthrew the image, in
Nebuchadnezzar's dream, was to show the king that his government,
and others that would come after his, must give place to another that
would continue forever. It taught no doctrine— no article of faith-
hut merely that another power would reign supreme and universally
over the earth.
Every view we can get of the temperance movement leads us irre>
sistibly to the oonolusion, that the hand of God is at work in it. Drunk,
enness had overspread Christendom : the liquor was in every house,
till some lovers of humanity commenced a movement to suppress the
vice. God, by his providence, was saying to them, then, " Come, and
let us reason together." The Temperance Society — the moderation
pledge.— the allowing of wine, beer, and such like drinks— were the
order of the day, but the stronger liquors were prohibited. This state
of things Continued but a short time, when it was found necessary to
adopt total abstinence. But here the Bible was brought in to oppose
its progress, and infidelity was charged on the instruments of this hea.
ven-born work. If anything deserves well of Christians in the present
day, it is this movement : " Let us never despise the day of small things ;
let us examine all things, and hold fast that which is good." After the
Bible was opened to us by those who had courage to examine the doc-
trines, whethr* they were of God or not, being convinced that they
were, they were then endowed with courage to attack the practice of
using fermented wine in the sacrament ; and though those churches
that have adopted the use of unfermented wine in the sacrament, may
have done it without knowing all the reasons that the all- wise God had
for forbidding ferment in the eating of the passover, yet, when they be-
lieved that intoxicating wine was not a fit emblem of the blood of
Christ, and discontinued it, who knows but that He who will come to
judge the quick and the dead at the last day,.will accord to them the
blessing Thomas missed : " Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet
have believed." The same thing may have been said : we know that
it is acted on to this day, by the Churches of the reformation of this
movement, and the promoters of it, what Gamaliel said to the council :
" Refrain from these men, and let them alone ; for if this council, or
this work be of men, it will come to naught. /
And now, when we see it increasing in importance till it has become
one of the most influential societies in our country, in spite of all the
opposition that was and is raised against it, may we not conclude that
it is of God ? Afler it has convinced all that it is benevolent in its ef.
fects— that it raises man far above the reach of that misery he was sur-
rounded with, and had within him when he indulged in the wine cup— >
can we say it is of man, fallen man ; the imagination of man's heart is
!
i;l
only evil, and that continually ? or can we say it is of the Devilt He
never devised any good thing. « Then it came from him who is the
Giver of every good and perfect gift. The steps of a good man are
ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way."
The ministers of religion have some of them been true prophets, but
the greater number wore false prophets, and the people have followed
the councils of the majority. Just as the Jews dia in the days of Jere-
miah, have the people done in our day. The few have preached peace
and safety in abstaming from the wine cup and falling into the ranks of
total abstinence ; that society, not professing to have directly in view
the fflory of God, the salvation o^ souls, nor the purging from the
Lord's table the improper elements used : but the result has far ex.
ceeded their expectations ; peace exists where rioting abounded. The
God of love can alone give peace ; and where peace exists, the glory
of God is advanced. Many of the reclaimed have sat at the feet of
Jesus : His word is their delight ; and they have liberty, which is only
enjoyed under the yoke of our blessed Redeemer. Exactly similar
were the views of the Babylonians : they knew nothing of the true
God. It was only the glory of their own empire they sought, and the
forming into one all the nations of the earth, that science and art might
be improved, and that under one head, and having one common interest,
there might be universal peace, uniformity of laws, and other advan-
tages that could not exist under a different state of things. Little did
they think that the subjeciing of the Jews to their yoke would be the
means of preventing that people's ever degenerating into idolatry again?
As little did the teetotallers contemplate the banishing fermented things
from the Lord's table : indeed, they knew not that Christians were in
error at all. The true prophets preached peace and safety to the peo.
pie, if they would submit to the Babylonish yoke. The few ministers
now preach safety and comfort in abstinence from intoxicating liquors.
The false prophets told the people not to serve the king of Babylon :
the many of our teachers tell us that total abstinence is not according
to godliness. The king of Babylon confessed of a truth : it is, that
** Your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings." The total abstinence
principle now confesses that the Bible guides to sobriety, and teaches
abstinence from all that is evil. The king of Babylon set up a golden
image in the plain of Dura, and commanded all people, nations, and
languages, to fall down and worship it. There was no argument used
with equal success to the purse persuasions of the advocates of total ab<
stinence. Money — gold — gold ! consider the pocket : the saving of a
penny a day will amount in a year to a pound, a half pound, a groat,
and a penny. Thus it was a golden image ; or one of the images held
up for our worship was gold. The king of Babylon ruled over an em-
pire consisting of all people, nations, and languages. The total absti-
nence society consists of members of all the various denominations
known amongst us, and is as mixed a mass as that ruled over by Ne-
buchadnezzar — all the ans, ants, ics, ists, ers, arians and alians that
can be named amongst us. Lutherans, Moravians, Protestants, Catho-
lies, Methodists, Baptists, Quakers, Unitarians, Presbyterians and Epis-
i
eviH He
ho is the
I man are
phets, but
) followed
s of Jere-
led peace
» ranks of
f in view
from the
IS far ex*
ed. The
the glory
le feet of
;h is only
^ similar
the true
t, and the
art might
1 interest,
er advan-
Little did
lid be the
ry again !
ed things
were in
the peo-
ministers
\ liquors.
3abyIon :
ccording
t is, that
bstinence
1 teaches
a golden
ions, and
lent used
total ab.
ing of a
a groat,
iges held
r an em<
tal absti*
ninations
by Ne-
ans that
3, Catho-
nd Epis>
17
copalians, names unknown to that proud king, but known to us as hii
conquered nations, were known to him. The three children were cast
into the burning fiery furnace, and came out unhurt. Every article
in the teetotal creed was tried, so to speak, in a furnace of fire, heated
by the malice of the wicked one seven times more than it was wont to
be heated, and the smell of fire passed not on it ; for in the midst of the
fire men saw plainly that the word of God and his providence were
about the work.
We may yet, in the providence of God, have to lie in the Lion's den.
But those who put us in will have to take U9 out again, and confess, as
Darius did, and *' make a decree, thut men tremble and fear before the
God of Daniel ; for he is the living God, and stedfast forever, and his
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be
even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs
and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the
power of the 'ions." The Babylonian power only existed as long as it
was necpssary for the punishing of the Jews and for the convincing of
them that the God of Israel was the true God. The total abstinence
society will only exist as long as it is necessary to banish from the
table of the Lord the emblems of corruption. The living (Jod would
never have suffered the land of Shinar to exalt itself over the land pf
Canaan, which is the glory of all lands, had not the land of Canaar
been sunk lowpr in crime than all other lands, their privileges consid-
ered. The Christian Church would not have been sunk into a lower
state of drunkenness than others, had not the ordinance been changed.
The temperance society would not ha/e arisen amongst us, but for this
degeneracy. The ministers of religion, after the society had acquire<i
strength and position in the community, urged all to unite themselves
to it — recommended strongly all who were in dangor of drinking to ex.
cess to sign the pledge. But, O ! how blind they were to their own du-
ty, and to the extent of the work that was given them to do ! Was not
their commission to the extent of all moral tendencies, as well as to the
Violation of any positive and direct law of God 1 " Avoid the very ap-
Searance of evil," was a command to them, as well kr to their flocks,
[ow, if the drinking of intoxicating liquors has an immoral tendency —
if it leads to excess in sin — surely part of their work was to preach
against it altogether. It is well known that nine-tenths of the crimes
that are brought before the tribunals of our country, large and small,
from the Queen's Bench to the Magistrate's Court, are caused by the
drinking of intoxicating liquors. Do not the ministers of religion, in
giving over to the Temperance Society (a Society distinct altogether
from the Church) tiiose who use the liquor — aye, and those who do
not use it, too, when they urge them to take the pledge, give up nine-
tenths of their work ?
" Grod's threatenings are not vain words." Has he said, and will he
npt do it ? Lev. 10. 9. " Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou nor
thy sons with you, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation,
lest ye die." Hab. 2. 15. " Woe unto him that givest his neighbor
drink, that puttest thy bottle to him and makest him drunken.*' They
IS
have done it since the reformation, the much boasted of reformalion.
Who among us has not known ministers of the gospel, of the greatest
talent and purest theology, fall down before the demon, intemperance f
and member:} of high standing in the church so debased by drunkenness
as to be deprived of the privileges they once enjoyed ? Isaiah 42. 2&.
" Therefore he haih poured upon him the fury of his anger and the
tttrongth of battle, and it hath set him on fire round about. Yet he
knew not : and it burned him ; yet he laid it not to heart." Most fully
do the words "yet he knew not," describe our condition. "And it
burned him," the sufferings, "yet he laid it not to heart." The self-
l)linded state of our minds as to the cause of all the misery we have en.
dured. Is. 9. 13. "For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth
them :" v. 16. *• For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and
they that arc led of them are destroyed :" v. 17. " For all this his anger
is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." This is God's
way of punishing mankind : he leaves us to the fruit of our own doings.
Thus he did with David. Mis injury to Uriah's bed is punished by
Absalom doing so to his. The reformed Churches are punished by
drunkeniioas, because they have brought fermented things into the
house of God. David sinned seer- tly, but was punished befjro the
sun — before all the people. Our churches sinned within the walls of
God's own house ; but the drunkenness of the office-bearers is public ;
It is no secret. Through their sin the enemies of the Lord were made
to blaspheme. Let us not say thoir ignorance or their overlooking the
kind of elements to bo used as emblems of Christ's broken body and
shed blood, will be an excuse for them, and will save them from punish>-
ment. God appointed sacrifices for sins of ignorance in the old law,
and our Mediator thought it necessary to plead for hiscrucifiers, though
they were ignorant of their sin and thought they were doing God ser-
vice. Those who were then saved, and those who are now saved, are
saved in spite of themselves and their sins. The leavened bread in the
.sacrament is in spiritual food fed out to the churches of Luther, Calvin
and Knox. We see it in the Arminianiism and other errors that have
filled all the existing denominations that have branched out from them.
Leaven adds no nourishing quality to the flour, neither do man's, fallen
man's efforts, add to the efficacy of Christ's finished work.
Where the doctrines of free grace have been most efficiently preach-
ed, there has drunkenness rioted. In Scotland, that has laid the flat-
tering unction to her soul, that she has^ continued to enjoy the purest
system of religious instruction, there the greatest quanti'y of ardent
spirits is drunk. By a statement made in the papers, the average in
England drunk by each individual was four pints, in Ireland six, and
in Scotland twenty pints. God gave them, at the Reformation, the
stronger doctrines of the Bible, and as ff there was some mysterictij
connexion between the alcohol and the doctrines, they have dwelt to-
gether in their strength. May we not say that some such council was
held in the unseen world as was held in the dayaofAIwb? "Who
will persuade Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead ?"
Some spirit has persuaded the Christian Church that intoxicating 11-
le
oformalion.
he greatest
mperanoe f
runkenness
iah 42. 2&.
ger and the
It. Yet he
Most fully
•« And it
The self.
ve have en.
hat snniteth
to err, and
is his anger
lis is God's
)\vn doings,
unished by
iinishcd by
!s into the
befjro the
walls of
> is public ;
were made
looking the
n body and
•om punish',
he old law,
lers, though
g God ser-
saved, are
tread in the
her, Calvin
s that have
from them,
lan's, fallen
itly preach-
aid the flat-
' the purest
y of ardent
average in
id six, and
mation, the
mystericni
i^e dwelt to-
sou noil was
1>? "Who
li Gilead ?"
)xicating li.
10
f{Uors are a blessing, a gift from a bountiful providence ; that i«, a cer.
tain universal medicine, and a beverage that could not be dispensed
with, and because of this false impression of its goodness, never ques>
tioned the propriety of using it as an emblem of Christ's blood. Oh,
how unlike it in every particular ! If we can now Aoe our sin in the
} punishment, which may God grant, and make confession of our sin
^ and turn from it, and bring back the proper elements lo the holy ordi<
nance, who can tell but God will be merciful to us and bless the labour
of our hand;* ?
In the days of Malachi, the Jews were visited with famine because
they robbed Gi>d of the tithes and offerings. "Will a man rob God ?
yet ye have robbed me. But yo say wherein have wo robbed thee 1
In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have rob-
bed me, even this whole nation." Then he says, and let us listen to
our gracious God pleading with us as he did with them — ♦• Bring ye
^ all the tithes into the store house, that there may be meat in my house,
and prove mo now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts. If I will not
open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there
shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer
for your sakos, and he shall not destroy the fruit of your ground, nei-
ther shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the
Lord of Hosts." '• ^-'r /'>iii
Is there, on the face of the whole earth, such a contradiction as there
is in this? The purest system of morals, the most exquisite sensibil-
ity, the nicest distinctions between good evil, the most exalted hope, and
the best rules for our guidance in all our conduct to ono another, at
the same time the greatest v'.egradaiion in drunkenness of all other peo-
pie. The sin of Jodah is written with a pen of iron ; and ,wi)h the point
of a diamond it is graven upon the table of their hearts, and upon the
horns of your altars. In the most prominent of the services of our
holy religion, in the sanctuary of God, there are the emblems of sin
used as ernblem<j of the Lamb of God, in commemorating his great
work of taking away the sin of the world. The wrath of God is re-
vealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of
men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness. The heathen changed the
glory of the uncorrupiible God into an image made tike to corruptible
man, wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness ; he has done the
same with us. Christian", for we have used the most corrupt and cor-
rupting articles to represent our Saviour, and a righteous Providence
has handed us over to Bacchus, and he has ruled over us and blinded
our minds to the truth ; and now, when from all well regulated bouses
fermented and distilled liquors are banished, they are yet retained in
in the house of God, and the ministers are the last to put forth an ef-
fort for their complete disuse. Is it not reasonable to expect that a
very gore punishment will be inflicted on this generatii^n, and the sin
of the Reformed Churches visited onus, because we did not begin at
the house of God to purge the abomination?
" He that despised Moses' law died without mercy, under two or
three witik;8«et; of bow much sorer punishntent, suppose ye, shall
I ' i!
he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of Ood,
and hath counted the blood of the oovpnant, wherewith ho was aanotl*
Tied, an unholy thing." We know Him who hath said, " Vongeanoe
belongeth unto me, I will recompense snith the Lord." The walla
of Jerioho were thrown down at the Reformation. "The jusi shall
live by faith"— accomplished that, but we have got no further ; we were
smitten at Ai, and are in confusion ever since. Protestantism has
made no advance on Romanism since the days of the first Reformers ;
in some places they have gone back to Rome, in others to Rationalism,
to Infidelity, to Socinianism, and other errors. Thoy used dead ele*
ments in the Sacrament ; emblems of discord, of separation, of schism,
and they were divided on all hands. The leaven was set to work
when the first of their sacraments, in both kinds, was held ; a similar
cflfect was produced on the people that was produced on the dough
when mixed with leaven ; it is swelled up, or puffed up, as the A |jo8tlo
called it, so each of the reformers took up an opinion and inair < i< )d
it. They split asunder on the question of transubstontiuiiou, and
remain split still. They had the wrong question— a tjuestion that
had no relation to their wants. If they differed on the doctrines of God's
omnipresence and unchangeableness, then they might urgue what they
did with some show of reason ; but when they agreed on these doctrines
they might very well take Christ's promise and rest on it, that,
" Where two or three are met together in my name, there will I be in
their midst to bless them and do them good." Luther had a dream. He
thought he was writing, an J the feather of his pen was so long that it
reached to Rome, and tickled the oars of the Lion, and disturbed him in
his sleep. But what would have been the effect if no error had crept
into Luther^s own system ; would not all the errors of the Church of
Rome have vanished as rapidly as the errors of heathenism did in the
days of the primitive christians, unless we think that God's " hand is
shortened that it cannot save, and his ear heavy that it cannot hear?"
"Is the Spirit of the Lord straitened ? are these his doings ?" He has
declared that the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth
more and more unto the perfect day. We have only to read the his.
tory of the ancient people of God, the promises and threatenings that
were laid before them, to know that God is true, and will prosper us
when we obey him. The rule is as good < < the case of a nation
as of an individual. Compare the succet,!. of 'ho reformers with
those of the primitives. These fifty year ;m . organii; . inis-
sionary stations in some of the heathen coi./ >>.,, but little has been
effected. Look at India, where the inhabitants are water drinkers,
and ask ourselves what success we can have there when the inhabi.
lants know that intoxicating liquors are used by us on common and
£;^c!«d occasions ; when they see our missionaries, our merchants, our
QTiu'^B, »r:I the British Government there use it, traffic in it, and de*
rive ''^ 'Uiia frori it, and what is worst of all, use it as the emblem of
OhiJhitS blood, •• .ihed for many for the remission of sins ?'* Now, we
must tjanfess that they are superior to us in this, but we will get up to'
thiamin this^ and then we will hare more influence to turn tbem fron*
us
31
their idoU. At tbe pre»<»f)t timo there it a very wealthy heathen in
Calcutta, eetlini^ hifn<ieir against the drinking oustomi introduced by
ESuropeana. A huaihi n puis Cknali'^ns to the blush ; he heads a tom>
peranue mnveiuent at tint ii< e that u missionury of thn Gospel, under
the intiuenoe oi ituoxiuating .irinlt, i-^ beating the nati\ with a pair
of strong shoes, for not rpsponding to tin service ; and thi -missionaries
to Persia and India, Archiltiacon JetTroys ai m^ thnm, sa} rfermont<
ed wines, " these are iho wines tUn* ruin (Christian convert " If the
missionaries to the Roman Catholic "' th t thoy follow to sumo ex.
tent the praotice of Total xVbstinence, were t^ toll the people that the ir
priests had kept from them tlie wine ^n Mio sacrament, contrary to tho
express ODrnmand of Christ, at the fi:'st i istiiiition of the Supper, " Drinlv
ye all of it" — if our missionaries wore asked, what kind of wi do
you uso ? the answer is, fermented wine — woul'i hoy not drivo \em
from thom with such language as this, yom 'hri«i must be a vory f^vil
one, whon at his Supper, provided for the n> uristimMU of the bodii^ of
his followorsi, he gives thorn intoxicating win^, that robs them of their
senses and hastens their death, being poison. ^ ni say that he mii loall
things — that he is G(xJ equal with the Father >iat ho is all goorJnoHS
and love — if he is, theie is a great contradict a in your statements.
All love and goodness, and yet givoi his fullowei < poison at supper, an
article that God never made in the fermented itate^ ' ; for it is the " spirii
of the power of the air, the spirit that workoih in he children of diso-
bedience." Now we know that it is the Devil hat worketh in the
children of disobedience, therefore we conclude tli. ' it is an evil spirit
that is in the air that causes God's good creatures to t rment. VVc know
that fermented things are evil in their nature and eliocts; they are rot-
ten, and the alcohol that is first thrown off is pre8( -ved for the use of
man, so that it seems to be your Christ's opinion that God did not make
a good enough beverage for his table, it had to pass t rough the devil's
hands. And if your Sacrament is signiiioant of anyttiing, it is of dam-
nation, not of salvation. Therefore, we reject your Gospel, your
Christ, your Saviour. Our judgments, our consciences, all our fac-
ulties tell us that fermented things are evil, and thou:.'h we continued
long in the use of them, 'twas because wo were blinded by veneration
for our fathers' ways, that we would not take a lesson from the brute?, and
reject the poison with horror. Is it not a base reflection on God's
wisdom, his creating power and goodness, to banish from our own table,
for its elFecis, fertm^nted liquors of every kind, and yet use it when we
meet to celebrate Christ's love in dying for fallen man ? We *' strain at
a gnat and swallow a cam»l." What blindness to retain it in the holy
place, while we reject it in our dwellings, and at our private feasts.
What, are your tables more pure and holy than mine ? May not our
Hedeetiicr ask, are the influences that drop at your feasts of greater
efioct or moment than those that flow out of mine ? Should we not
hide ourselves in the dust for shame, because we have not seen how
basely we rpfl«>ul on him and his salvation ? There cannot be a more
damning alFront oflero I to the Saviour, than providing that to comme-
morating hJN dying love to man with, and say, this leavened bread and
33
I'
til
;il
I'l
fermented wine is my body and blood, or the emblem of my body and
blood ; for I cannot think that any person who has read the twelfth chap-
ter of Exodus, and a great many other passages of Moses' writings, for-
bidding l6aven to be taken into the sanctuary or temple, or to bo kept
in the people's houses during the Passover, on pain of death — and know-
ing that Moses spoke by divine command — I say that no person that
believes the Bible to be the Word of God, can believe that those were
leavened things at the table when Christ instituted his Supper ; for if
lepven wos prohibited because it was the emblem of sin and the sinner,
ci ' ae first Passover, it continues to be so yet. Let us not take to our-
selves such a refuge of lies as this, that it is a thing indifferent, that
God does not regard tho kind of bread or wine in the Sacrament, if we
but look through the elements up to the Saviour, who is the bread of
life to a perishing world, if we feed on him by faith. Now, I say, that
it is not fit, it is not solid, it is puff'ed up. What has puffed it up?
Leaven. What is leaven? It is an extract from dead vegetable mat-
ter put in to corrupt and fiil with a deadly gas the bread of life, that
without it would be tlie fit and proper emblem of the grace of God, that
is as powerful and as efficacious as it professes to be. And this cor-
rupted bread is only a fit emblem of the councillings of the wicked one
to Eve. " Ye shall not surely die," was the deceitful assertion of the
devil, when tempting Eve. "And when the woman saw that the tree
was good for food and pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to
make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also
unto her husband with her, and he did eat." They were deceived by
the wicked one, and the council resembled the well raised leaf that is
puffed up with a gas that we cannot inhale the second time, for the first
breath kills us. Adam and Eve desired to be as God, knowing good
and evil, and that which promised them this felicity was the very thing
that sunk them lower in the scale of beins; and rendered them liable
to death, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. They wanted to know good
and evil, as the speculators that the author of " The Wine Question
Settled" tells us of, who wanted to get all the alcohol that escaped out
of the bread while baking. They constructed an apparatus that they
thought would bake the bread and save the gin, but the scheme, after
upwards of twenty thousand [)ounds had been spent upon it, fiailed, and
left the speculators minus their money. Bread would not be puffed
up unless leaven was in it. Alcohol would not be produced unless
leaven was in the article it is produced from. As leaven was forbidden
in the sanctuary because it was an extract from dead vegetable
matter, so our works are not to be plead in the presence of God be-
cause they are the works of a corrupt.
Leaven was forbidden because the flour
Christ's merits require no help or aid.
merit we can be saved, but with them we
our nourishment flows from dead, corrupting matter ; from ourselves
nothing comes that will be of any use in gaining us heaven. Leav-
ened things were forbidden to teach the people of God that no human
being has the privilege of going to the throne of grace in his own
and tleacl-to-2ooa nature. —
was perfect witiiout it — so
Without our own works of
cannot. Nothing good for
■#
23
1
i
name. By sacrifices they were taught that a substitute must be
found that has not undet^one the evil change that they have. Then
ever blessed be his name who is our substitute, in whom inlinite per-
fections exist, wiio is the unleavened bread to our souls, of which, if
we eat, we shall never die. But, O, this unleavened bread is not pal-
atable, it is not good to our taste, we do not think it wholesome, and
we see no reason why we shiuld afflict ourselves by eating what we
dislike. Just so, the Bible says that of it — calls it the " bread of af-
fliction." Deul. xvi. 3. " Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread
therewith, even the bread of affliction." Isaiah xxx. 20. "And though
the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction."
Does not this teach us a trnth, a truth to be deplored by us all. God's
way is very loathsome to us ; we do not desire the imparted riG;hteous-
ness of Christ, we fly to the covenant of works and persuade our.selves
that by it we may live. We are all Pharisees of our own works; wo
boast, " God I thank thee I am not as other men are." How loatli we
are to follow the example of tlie Publican — to receive our justificaiion
of free grace — to be clothed with a robe of righteousness which is not
our own— to eat of the substantial feast God has provided for us — to
drink of the f)untain of living water, without money and without
price. The whole host of heaven is astonished at our insanity, for
" hewing out to ourselves cisterns, that can hold no water."
The mission to the Jews cannot prosper, for the sufficient reason that
fermented things are U:=ed to uommemorate the dying love of the Savi-
our of the world — their knowing that leaven was forbidden by GoJ
himself, to commemorate their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage,
and that tlie sentence of death was threatened for even keeping it in
their houses during the seven solemn days of the Passover. Mr. Ilcr-
schal, a converted Jew, now preaching in London, writes the author of
the" Wine Question Settled," in his (Mr. flerschars) " Brief sketch
of the present state of the Jews," says, "the word liomits (or chomUs)
has a wider signification than is generally attached to leaven, by which
it is rendered in the English IHble. Ilomits signifies the fermenta-
tion of corn in any shape, and applies to beer and to all spirituous
liquors distilled from corn. While, therefore, there are four days of
Passover week, on which business may be done, being, as it were, only
half holidays, a distiller, of brewer, must suspend his business dunng
the whole lime. And 1 must do my brethren the justice to say, that
they do not attempt to evade the strictness of the command, ' to put
away all leaven,' by an ingenuous shift, but fulfil it to the very letter.
I know an instance of a person in trade, who had several casks of
spirits sent him, which arrived during the time of the Passover ; had
they come a few days sooner they would have been lodged in some
place apart from the house until the feast was over; but during its
continuation he did not think it right to meddle with them, and after
hesitating a little what to do, he at length poured the whole out into
the street." " For the Passover the Jews make a wine from raisins,
by pouring water en them about six days previous to the feast." We
Protestants flatter ourselves and say, that our system is perfect, and are
24
surprised that heathens and Jews are so blind as not to see that all
about our Zion is the perfection of beauty ; but if we would take heed
to our ways, and when we see that we prevail nothing at all, set about
enquiring why we are discomfited before the enemy. Can we doubt
that God will shew us plainly why he avenges the breaking of his
laws, even in such small things as emblems, as he did Joshua when
the Israelites were smitten at Ai ? Whoso keepeth the whole law and
yet ofTendeth in one point, is guilty of all.
In addition to the reasons already stated, why these corrupt things
should not be used in the immediate presence of God, I wr>uld urge the
fact of seven days being appointed for eating unleavened bread, ana
see what it taught the observers of this feast. As the Israelites used
leavened bread almost all the rest of the year, they would find a great
difference in the bulk required during this week, and would be aston-
ished that they had such strength from such a small quantity of bread.
So their dependence on the grace of God for strength to resist tempta-
tion to sin, would raise in their minds a feeling of wonder and grati-
tude. Paul prayed to have the thorn in the flesh removed, but was
content when he was assured that God's grace would be sufficient for
him. Such is the experience of every convert to Christ, after living on
the leavened things of this sinful world for many days, end counting
the religion of the Saviour foolishness, and regarding those who follow
the narrow path that leadeili unto life, mad, and the keeping of God's
commandments as stiiving after vanity, and seeing no beauty in him
who is altogether lovely. But having his eyes anointed with the eye
salve of the Gospel, he sees, and seeing believes, that the religion of
Jesus is heavenly wisdom, and walking in the narrow path will prove
him to be truly sober, and in the keeping of God's commandments
there is exceeding great reward. Such a man can see the impropriety
of using leavened things to represent the substantial wisdom of God,
which enables him to glory in this, that he understandetli and knoweth
God, that he is the Lord who exercises loving-kindness and righteous-
ness in the earth. We cannot but regard these ministers and members
of Christian Churches as consistent in their practice, who neither ab-
stain from intoxicating liquors themselves, nor join in tlie effort to ban-
ish them from society, because they yet use them as types of Christ.
So far they are consistent. They use them as beverages and as em-
blems, but they do not examine into the fitness of the emblems, and
when they use them in the Sacrament, they cannot see a reason for
abstaining from them on ordinary occasions. If one, wlio had long been
used to the intoxicating bowl, had been so much reduced in body and
mind, lost all self-respect and regard to the interests of soul and body
through this poison — if such a man, on coming to himself, refrained
from his old practice, because reformed, a bober man, regained what
he had been robbed of by this deceiver, and become a member of a
Christian Church, as soon as he had tasted the wine in the Sacrament
the old appetite would be revived with renewed strength, and he would,
in all probability, go back to the drink again — he would again discuss
the question in his own mind, and could not fail to see, that in abstain-
25
itig from that cup on ordinary occasions, he would be reflecting on the
usages of the Church, or on the redemption itself.
" Dust rhou art, and unio dust thou sWalt return," was the sentence
pronounced on our race, and there is no possibility of escaping it. The
same sentence is executed on grain of all kinds. As soon as the pro.
ducts of the earth are ripe, and if they are kept in accordance with the
laws for their preservation, we cannot tell the ages ihcy will exist in
that form. So was it with man before he fell. 3ut if they are in an
improper state, get wet or damp, they will grow, and as soon as growth
commences, they should be buried under the ground, that as the parts
separate they may be taken up by the roots of plants that are throwing,
or the seed yet to be sown, and so become nourishment for new gene-
rations of those things which shall be food for man and beast. Now
when these tilings are ripened they show forth the power, wisdom, and
goodness of God ; but when they arc stript of the protection they once
had — when they got into the destroyer's hand, then the sentence is put
into execution, " unto dust thou shalt return." We cannot, from our own
experience, tell whn? the happiness of man was before he sinned, but
we may well coiiclude that it was perfect. The condition of his fa-
culties, which, from the just estimate he had of all that was brought
within the range of his vision, we may infer were far superior to all
the genius united of all that have descended from him. If there was
as great a difference between unfallen Adam and fallen, as there is
between a sober man and a drunken, and so doubly fallen man, and if
there is as great a diffurence between good, ripe, perfect wheat, and
the grains after the distiller is done with them, then we can see a good
reason why he drove man nut of Paradise, and why he forbade corrupt
things to be brought into his presence in the sanctuary. The ordi-
nances of his law were earnests of the restoration of man through
Jesus Christ. Our righteousness, who, as man, fulfilled the law in
our stead, and as G)d, had infinite merit that his rigliteousness
might be made over to us, and we have enough and to spare. There
was infinity of holiness in him who died and lay under the power of
death for a lime, that we, who had fermented — we who had lost some of
the component parts of our integral state— wo .who had become a frac-
tion instead of a whole number, might, when buried with him, be quick-
ened by him who lias infinity fur a numerator, and so could spare
without its beii)g diminished to add to our numerator till it equalled our
denominator, that so, being m\de perfect in holiness, we might imme-
diately pass into glory, The man who has the righteousness of Christ
imputed to him, is as the grain partially fermented, but has sufficient
virtue left to reproduce — wiih theaddiiion of the nourishment that it can
get out of the earth — its own kind. And the grain *';at has lost too
much of the perfection of its nature, so that itcanno, absorb those juices
that are necessary to enable it to reproduce its own kind, is as the man
who has sinned away his day of grace. I know nothing so profitable,
so edifying, so well calculated to elevate the mind, to purify the heart,
and to comfort and console us, as the figures made use of in the word
of God, to explain those things that relate to our eternal peace.
iij*
i
{
20
It has loner been our boast that we have the best moral law that can
be devised, written bv infinite wisdom, and approved of by all ; th«t
there never was any code of morals, nor can there be any, so univer-
sally perfect in its adaptation to the wants, circumstances, and cimrac-
ter of mankind. Doubtless this is all true of it, but, if we were right
in giving the meaning we did to those passagoj in which wine is ap-
proved of and recommended, then we make it worse than the codes of
many other nations whi h^ve denied it to their people. Yes, many
many nations, not christian, have forbidden their people to drink fer-
mented wine — I believe all those in whose territory the grape grows to
the greatest perfection. Mow vain was our boast of our Bible's perfec
tion, when others had laws superior in every particular. We prove
against it ourselves ; w^* have toiled night and day to persuade sceptics
to believe the word of God, but to no purpose, as long as we, as well as
themselves boli(>vcd it encouraged the drinking of fermented or distill-
ed liquors. W(^ piof'ssing christians fiave endeavored to jump over
the stumbling-block, but they must have it removed out of the way be-
fore they advance. Wc cio wors'! ; we com]);iss sea and land to make
one proselyte, and after he is made, he is twofold more the child of hell
than ourselves ; because we liken the Gos ' for its efT'cts on our bet-
ter part, to fermented wine on our inferior part ; anti though we over-
look the emblem, and look for no teacliing from it, yet the new convert
cannot but go to tiie emblem every time he is at a loss for instruction.
Archdeacon Jeffreys says, "these arc the wines that ruin christian
converts ;" and in the Sacrament we use it as the emblem of Christ's
blood. When we do that a convert could draw no other inference than
that it was tho greatest of temporal blessings, and therefore should be
used on all occasions. As we are to look to the throne of mercy at all
times for gracoj so we should drink abutuhuitly of ihe emblem, that we
may have a better acquaintance with the thin'i: represented.
The Church will say, after it has banished fermpnicd things from the
Lord's table, and made total abstinence a term of communion, as the
Psalmist said of old, after the children of Israel's journeyings in the de-
sert, when they were set down in the land of promise — "Thou hast led
us forth by the right vvay, that we might goto a city of habitation." It
would have been a vain ;ittempt to endeavour to persuade the children
of Israel to leave the land of Egypt, if the" were told they must wander
about the waste, howling wilderness, for foity years, an'l the bones of
all their adults, from twenty years old and upwards, except two, should
bo strewn about the dry, parched land ; yet a wise God knew it was
necessary, f jr Me works by means to prepare them for living a free
people in their own land. It would have been a cause of anarchy, con-
fusi in, and strife, such as never existed in the Church, to commence at
the Lord's table to attack the use of intoxicating wine. The Church
had to unlearn all that it had been tau^'ht for at least three hundred
years. It had the ignorance, the prejudice, the taste acquired, the love
of the thing to combat. It had to learn from men of the world so many
truths that are now established, before they would think of the question,
that it would be scouted as an invention of the Devil, as blasphemy
i
1i
f that can
all ; that
10 univer.
d cliarac-
pre right
ine is ap-
codes of
es, many
rink fer-
crrows to
's per fee
^Ve prove
9 sceptics
s well as
or distill-
ump over
way be-
I to make
Id of hell
I our bet-
we over.
V convert
st ruction,
christian
^ Christ's
(?nce than
ihould be
rcy at all
, timt we
from the
1, ns the
n the de-
I hast led
lion." It
children
t wander
bones of
0, should
w it was
1,;; a free
shy, con-
nonce at
! Church
hundred
the love
so many
|uestion,
isphemy
^
27
against God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost ; and
the gallows or stake would have been considered as too good a death
for the wretch who would have the audacity to whisper the thing to the
midnight zephyr. But, O, our God ! thou hast brought us by a right
way to a knowledge of the truth. O that men would praise the Lord
for his goodnt^ss and for his wonderful works unto the children of men.
think how this Achan in the camp has robbed Christ of his wedge of
gold, and goodly Babylonish garments, the spoils of the Gentiles. —
Think of the repulse that is given to all who approach God in the name
of Christ; or, rather, wi^ should say, think what a harrier Christ is in
the way of our approach to God, if we have the proper emblems of him.
Think, why should not the land be filled with houses for the distribution
of that for a price, wliich is the emblem of that salvation which is free,
without money and wiihoul price, to all who will receive it ? Tell us,
why should not the deacon's, elders, and other olficers in the Churches,
be distillers, brewer,';, and retailers of the li(|uid fire, when they are the
persons who deal it out to the communicants on the high and holy day.
Think, why, after the greaiest revivals in the Cluireh, is it that imme-
diately there follows another division, another parting ot Christ's body ?
Why is it that there are so many divisions, so many different denomi-
nations of christians, whtn we know that the truth is one ? There must
be something wrong in some of our doctrines, or else there would not
be schism instead of a closer union with Christ and one another. A
pulFof gas separates tlie solid, substantial dough, and a spirit is gener-
ated that produces woe, sorrow, contentions, babbliii;fs, wounds without
cause, redness of eyes, and other things of a similar character. 'Tis
the same gas that swells u|) a dead carcass, that raises our bread and
bursts our beer bottles; and tlio same spirit is produced in the dead
carcass tliat is proluced in the bread while raising, and thrown off
whi'e baking, that tho attempt to save cost the speculators the twenty
thousand pounds stfHing which I mentioned before.
Soon after the Reformation commenced, the old Arian schism re-
vived, in the preaching of Socmus, and he was burned at the stake for
his doctrines, flov/ cruel it was in those who did it, when it was their
own teaching he follourd. Me preached that Christ was a mere man.
1 know they denied that in words, but they taught him as effectually
in the emblems they used of Christ, that he was a mere man ; for leav-
ened things resemble fallen man in so many of their features, that
when we try to look through, we find a glass indeed; yes, a large
glass — but that glass is a mirror which reflects our whole length more
than it reflects our mind and soul ; and if we look closer into it, wc will
find it reflects our destiny for time and for eternity.
We do not need examples, if time would permit, in which teaching
of the emblems were followed rather than the literal preaching. I will
only mention one, although he gave up the teaching of the emblems,
and took to the doctrines as taught literally. Dr. Chalmers, for the first
eight years of his ministry, was an unbeliever in the divinity of Christ.
Who will attempt to give us a list of those who have fallen through
drunkenness — tho brightest geniuses, the warmest hearts, and the best.
J*
! ,
qualified naturally to take the lead in every ^ood work. Tell us how
many Chalmers' were lost for want of the proper emblems, and how
many were saved to Christianity through the laxity of discipline in the
Church of Scotland. Error in doctiine, and drunkenness in life, are
both taught in the emblems we use ; for when we use a figure, a com-
parison, u type, an emblem, or a parable, we take the most efTsotual
way of conveying our meaning. This was the plan adopted by our
Saviour — " for without a parable he spake not to the multiiude;" and
we have not ceased to admire the excellent choice he made for confirm-
ing his preaching. The elements in use at the Lord's supper, amongst
us, are not proper, for another reason. We are said to bo united to
Christ, by being made partakers of his body and blood. When we eat
food it is converted into chyle. The juices that our system provides
for the dissolving our food, does its work ; and by vessels admirably
constructed for the purpose, this chyle is carried to the lungs, and there
having the power to extract the oxygen from the air we breathe, it be-
comes a bright red color — we then name it blood. Now, if we eat and
drink those things that the juices act on and dissolve, and the vessels
carry away, according to their proper functions, we are nourished and
strengthened and revived. The more highly concentrated the food is,
the more strength we acquire from it ; and the better the liquid is for
quenching thirst and carrying on any other purposes for which they
are adapted to our system, the more comfort wo enjoy. It is from the
blood that the framework of our system is built up and renewed and
sustained.
Then, how can we say that fermented wine is a proper thing to
drink, when we know that the alcohol that is a part of it is thrown off
by the lungs — an unnatural passage for carrying off any thing that
is received into the stomach ? Filthy as we consider the lower passages
of our bodies to be, they do not think themselves filthy enough to carry
off alcohol. We know it well that alcohol is thrown off by the lungs ;
for we find the strong smell of it on every person's breath that comes
near us, who has been drinking alcohol, unless the person's stomach
and blood are so cold and diseased, that it cannot be taken up by the
vessels. Much less can we say that fermented wine is a proper em.
blem of Christ's person, work, or the grace he imparts to those who
hunger and thirst after his righteousness, after his salvation, after union
and V Mnmunion with him, seeing that alcohol does not unite with
the blc I and body, and knowing that Christ does unite with believers.
Even thoje tilings that are proper emblems of Chiist, in all his perfec-
tions, come far short of conveying to us the full value of his merits, the
glory of his nature, and the happiness of the heavenly Canaan. Isaiah
Ixiv. 4, — " For since the beginning of the world men have not heard
nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God; beside
thee what he hath nrepared for him that waiteth for him." We can-
not conceive these thinj;s, therefore the figures and emblems fall short of
the x'eality, but they are chosen, because of all earthly things they have
the nearest resemblance to heavenly things. More than that, there
was a man in Christ, whether in the body or out of the body, he could
ill us how
, and how
line in the
1 life, are
re, a com-
: cflfdctual
ed by our
de;" and
r confirm-
', amongst
united to
en we eat
n provides
admirably
and there
the, it be-
VG eat and
he vessels
ished and
he food is,
quid is for
'hich they
s from the
ewed and
thing to
thrown off
thing that
passages
1 to carry
le lungs ;
lat comes
stomach
up by the
oper em-
hose who
ter union
lite with
believers,
lis perfec-
lerits, the
Isaiah
not heard
1; besido
We can-
,11 short of
they have
lat, there
he could
not tell, how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeaka*
ble words, which it was no: lawful, (or as it is in the margin) possible
for a man to utter. See 2 Cor. xii. 4.
If we are not yet satisfied that we have the wron^ elements in use
at the Lord's table, let us do as the ancient people of God did in every
perplexity, and as the Apostles did, when they wanted one fo fill up
the gap made by the loss of Judas — let us, by a solemn appeal to God
by lot, enquire of him what evil is in us, and in his mercy he will answer
us, " the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing of it is the
Lord's." If it is found, after the answer comes, that we are contend-
ing against an evil tliai is as great and as ruinous to the body and
soul, as sin in its greatest enormity, and that we are right in endeav-
ouring 10 banish it from the face of the earth, then we will have the
happiness to know that we came up to the help of the Lord against the
mighty ; and after this great work is completed, those who stand aloof
from us now, will then " hold their manhood cheap, because they fought
not with us on this glorious day ;" and after the Church has taken on
itself its whole work, it will be as fond of the lessons tauprht them on
our platforms as it is now of the lessons learned by the Jews of Ne-
buchadnezzar and Darius. And this is my apology for what I have
said — shew me Nebuchadnezzar's or Darius's apology, or shew me that
any Jew or Christian has said to them — Ye take too much on your-
selves, ye sons of Ham ; and I will n ake humble confession that I
have said what I should not have said.
The time is at hand when the inhabitants of one city shall go to
another saying, "let us go speedily," or as the margin has it, "con-
tinually, to pray before the Lord, and to seek 'he Lord of Hosts.'- —
We, perhaps, sec the beginning of that time in the Evangelical Alii,
ance formed, in whose meetings delegates from almost every denomi-
nation of christians assemble. We have the Bible S' ciety for the
purpose of distributing the Bible without note or comment, and
our own temperancd society, on whose p'atforms so many victories
have been gained for suffering humanity and for God, seeing that the
Bible was made to recommend intoxicating liquors. But take courage
ye old teetotallers; ye are foremost in the march of improvement, take
it as a token for good, that you were first in the field with your world's
convention in 1845 or 1846. Your example is followed by a Prince, and
he takes the idea from you for gathering the specimens of the industry of
all nations, under the roof of a crystal palace ; he does more honour to
you than that yet, for your principles are done homage to, for no in-
toxicating liquor is to come under the canopy of this house.
It is said that the process of distilling was discovered by the Arabi-
ans, and by them made known to others. The knowledge of this pro-
cess is now possessed by all the civilized world. Now, it was prophe-
sied of Ishmael that his hand would be against every man. In no par-
ticular can it be said of him to the same extent, as in regard of the
matter of diotilling, for wherever the distilled article has been taken,
where it was not known before, it has cut off the inhabitants rapidly.
We oan hardly tell the number of tribes of North American Indians
^x"-
30
1 ■
Umi have been annihilated by the fire water. It ii really astonhhin^
that the devil has succeeded so well to blind the world tn the true na-
ture and character of alcoholic liquors. If they liaJ thought of the
prophesy respepting Ishmael and his descendants, recorded in the
Bible, they might, ai least, have received the instruction from his de-
scendants, the Arabians, with fear and doubtino;, seeing his hand woold
be against every man. The world thought, perhnps, that they would
have equal success against him, but, 1 think, we have not parried this
weapon of i)is, but have rather bared our breast to it. I know not
what deadly destroyer wo were the means of sending to Arabia, but if
wo have sent any as deadly amongst them as they have amongst us,
the prophecy is true to the letter. " Every man's hand shall be
against him."
If I havegiven the true interpretation of tlio matter, then, I know,
however weak and ignorant I may be, it will prevail. Wo have
God's promise that his strength shall be perftcted in our weakness,
that is, when wo are depending en him by faith, and raising his
.standard, his strong hand and his holy arm will gain him the victory.
" The s vord of the Lord and of Gideon," was the cry of Gideon and
Jiis three hundred, but we know that Gideon had no sword, neither
had his followers; they had trumpets in their right hands, and lamps
in their left hands, hidden by earthen pitchers ; they broke the pitch-
crs, the lamps shonp, they cried "the sword of the Lord and of Gid-
eon" — stood still, and saw ihe salvation of their God. If we have the
lamps and lights of God's truth, though surrounded by earthen pitch-
(!rs, it is our duty to break the pitchers — that i.>, wc ought fearlessly
to speak out, and if truth is in us, if God is in the still small voice,
then it will prevail, it will go on and bo glorified.
The same voice is speaking to us tliat addressed the captivity of
Judah. God grant it may be to as good purpose. The people among
us are saying, as the people said then, " 'I'he time is not come, the
time that the Lord's house should be built." They are saying
amongst us, "it is too soon to spenk out on the question of the wine
in the Sacrament — agitate it amongst the people gently at the first,
or we will be taken all aback; let them all bpconio teetotallers and
then there will be no danger of our breaking down," Then came
the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, " Is it time for
you, O ye, to dwell in ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?" —
" Must your houses be purged before mine is of this abomination that
maketh desolate ? Now, therefore, thus saith the Lord, consider your
ways, yo have sown much and bring in little, ye eat, but ye have
not enough ; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink ; ye clothe
you, but there is none warm ; and he that earneth wages, earneih
wages to put it into a bag with holes." This is our condition too,
we are as if our hands were tied, we are making no inroads on
drinking. There is more drunk now amongst us than when the tem<
perance society commenced its work ; there are more distilleries
and breweries, and there are larger quantities of the liquora made
and drunk now by the community, than there was then, except i-n
I
i
I
an
bet
31
astonfshin^
tlie true na-
ught offhe
clcd in tho
from his de-
Imnd wooM
they would
parried this
I know not
abla, but if
imongat us,
id mIihII be
en, I know.
Wo have
weakness,
raising his
he victory.
uiidcon and
ird, neither
and lamps
the pitcli-
and of Gid-
'p have the
•then pitch -
. fearlessly
mall voice,
aptivity of
pie among
come, the
re saying
fthe wine
t the firfet.
allers and
hen came
it time for
waste ?" —
nation that
sider your
It ye have
ye clothe
, earneih
diiion too,
nroads on
the tem«
distilleries
lors made
except >!»
s
some few places, and what is the reason tltero art^ no two opinions
as to tho merits of the question ? All Bay ^\ would be much
better without it ; it is not a necessary article. We have now no
more controversies; every argument ior their use has long ago been
upset, then why do wc not prevail ? Why is it necessary to per-
suado men to join us, when they and wc know that they arc al-
ready persuadod of the propriety of joining us, and acting with us ?
The evangrlical elm relies arc in the same condition. 'I'hey are
striving, with all their energies, to convert tho world, but they nre
doing it very slowly. Some of their ministers have uni/ed with us
in the temperance niovoiiicnt, and they have had more souls for their
hire, partly through the influence of the temperance principle, than
those preachers who stand aloof; nevertheless, their hands are tied
too, and they have not prospered as they had hoped. Many that
belong to their congregations, of whom better might have been ex.
pectcd, arc the groatost drawbacks to their usefulness, because they
drink — perhaps moderately — of the cup that intoxicates. " Thus saitii
the Lord, consider ymir ways, go up to the mountains and bring
wood, and build .the house, and 1 will take pleasure in it, and I
will be glorified, saith the Lord." Go up to the mountain, go to
where strenp;lli is for a supply of strength. Go to God for grace, to
his law for direction, " to the law and the testimony, for if we speak
that that is not according to this M'ord, it is because thee is no light
in us." Wo will find that the law forbids all kinds of ferment in the
Sanctuary, and God will not permit a sinner to come into his pres-
ence. Bring wood, bring strong posts and beams, bring plates and
rafters, frame them with braces and parlours, gather the people to the
raising — call it not A Dec, but tho whole hive of working bees — let
there be no drones omongst us, and God will take pleasure in it and
glorify the house of liis honour. " We looked for much, and )o ! it
came little, and when ye brought it home I did blow upon it. Why,
siilli the Lord cf hosts," little success has attended the efforts of both
the Church and temperance society ^ Why ? " Because of mine
ho;ise which is waste, and ye run every nvan to his own Inuse." We
had no care of the house of God, if we could but get our o«vn houses
cleansed and built up, and made teetotal houses. See how all the
evils of the drinking custom would have been frowned on, and con-
demned by all true Christians, if they had adopted and followed up
the Mosaic directions, with regard to fermented things in the Sacra-
ment, and the Scriptures teaching that fermented things are a perfect
resemblance of sin in all its stages. " Vice is a mons'er of so fright-
ful mien, that to be hated needs but to be seen." Drunkenness needs
only to be seen to be hated. If we drink of the ensnaring cup the first
time, we dislike it ; repeating it, we become reconciled to the taste
and effects, we by degrees get fonder and fonder of it until it ruins us.
So is it with sin in general, and with every particular sin. So is
it with a decaying article of food or an animal ;. the gases that escape
from it get more and more offensive, until there is nothing of it left to
be seen ; but unseen it is working ti the air we breathe, evils which
we cannot estimate, so thai we can hardly carry the comparison too
far. But if we had the Bible's teaching, and obscivcd our own cxpe*
rience, we would be secure against the vice. If we were taught from
the pulpits that in its origin, its nursing childhood, youth, manhoodi
old age, and death, and if could we see farther, we might say ils damna-
tion too — it resembled the Devil, the fallen angels, the lost sinner, and
nny other creature that will suffer the wrath of God to all eternity—
" For our God is a consuming fire."
There is a fearful disease brought on by the drunkard, which I con.
ceive our Saviour had in view when he gives us the description of how
the torments of the lost will alTect them. *' There shall be weeping
and gna&hing of teeth." " There shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth." I have never yet seen a case of delirium tremens, but those
who have are at no loss to discover a part of its effecs described by the
words " weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth." The sufferer
under the disease, yielding up his spirit at the timo that ho has the feel-
ing that the bed is on fire in which he is lying, corif>rms what he has
said as to the natur ^ of the suffering of the lost.
The many examples related in the papers, of the drunkards taking
fire and burning up, should open our eyes to see another particular in
which the use of the liquor to or on the body resembles sin in its efTe^cts on
the soul. Alcohol preserves fruits, it is said, and dead bodies are
kept in it that they may be shipped from one country to another, that
the dust mny lie till the resurrection morn in the tomb of its fathers.
This power to arrest for a time decomposition, is the counterpart on
earth of tho-re who are reserved unto t'^e "second death." Vinegar
has the same power lo preserve, and, tor all I know, other results of
fermentation possess it too. The temptations to sin, or the fondness for
it, resembles the appetite for the liquor in this particular too, thai no
matter how revolting, the drunkard will have it. A man tapped the
coffin in which was the dead body of an Admiral, and emptied it of the
spirits on the passage home. The appetite for sin is as strong as that.
The word of God says that the dead shall lie in their graves till the
resurrection morn. A friend informed me of a circumstance that took
place during the Reign of Terror in France. Many of the scientific
had been decapitated by the guillotine. The murderers were remon-
strated with. " You will need them yet ;'' and they did need them,
when materials failed with which to make gunpowder. The chemists
who were left were applied to, and they were sent to the graves of for-
mer generations, and there they procured new supplies of this explo-
sive. Death, still — concentrated death— is obtained from completely
decomposed vegetable or animal matter. Its being employed to destroy
life in the most sudden manner, and most extensive plan, is worthy of
our most solemn thoughts. Tt seems to have been done by the French
to complete their defiance of the Almighty. They took the dust or
ashes of their fathers out of their graves, and exploded it in the air, not
only to kill their fellows, but, as it were, to give him a more difficult
ta.sk in raising them up in that Jay. ' ' ^ i
Haggai said — " Who is lef^ among you that saw this house id its
I
3
fii'sl fflory, and how do yo sco It now, 13 it not in your eyes in compftrv
son of it as nnthlnjj?'' Who among us has seen, in the page oi
Ji/story, tho accounts given of the early christian's lives and convers*.
tions ? The heathen remarked of them, " See how these Christians love
one onoihnr. Do wo son anything like love amongst us ? Thoro per«
haps is a little show of it in vory small circles, but tho earnest, heart-
felt, devniod Iovp, exhibited by tho primitives so universally, is never
seen. Why is this? They were united by faith to Christ, ond they
had the emblems of union, for they had unleavened bread "ind the juice
of the grape unfermented, both of which would unite with tho blood
and nourislj and sustain tho body, and so be the means of conveying
what the spiritual union meant. lUit tho fermented bread we use is
filled with a gas, a very injurious gas, that will not unite with tho
system, but must bo thrown off by somo unnatural passage. So with
the alcohol ; they must both be thrown otF by the lungs, and do not
nourish or sustain the system, but instead of good, do much injury,
even in going off, for they excite the animal passions, and we get
"wounds without cause." Tho divisions among Christians is plainly
shewn forth in gassy bread, and the strife and contention in the spirit.
We may think it a small matter using leavened bread in the Sacra-
ment; but let us remember that the Jews, too, thought it a small matter.
Malachi said to them, in pleading for God, — "Ye offer polluted bread
upon mine altar, and ye say, wherein have we polluted thee ? In that
ye say the table of tho Lord is contemptible." Let us, then, go to
the work with boldness and strength from on high, and take encour-
agement from what Haggai said to the escaped of the captitity, "And
now, I pray you, consider now from this day and upward, from before
a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, consider now
from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth
month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple
was laid, consider it, is the seed yet in the barn. Yea, as yet, the
vine and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath
not brought forth. From this day will I bless you." Remember also,
and take encouragement from this prophecy, "The glory of this latter
house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts,
and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts." I don't
wont to make digressions, but this one excuse. " In this place will I
give peace." In the Lord's house, at his table, he has promised to
give peace, not in human unions, such as the Peace Society,* compos-
ed of a ridiculous mixture of professing Christians, Infidels, Atheists,
and every other ingredient of which society is composed, which is
about as likely to succeed as the Babylonian tower was, in case
another deluge came upon the earth.
No argument can be brought against the using of the same articles
in the Sacrament that were used at the Passover ; for if the change
from any of the commands' given by Moses, was calculated to lead to
)n it9
• They have had one failure since this was written.
C
J •
'U
i;i
34
any eiror In doctrino or liffl, then we should abide by the letter, and
keep before our minds all the meaning of the ordinance or whatever
else is connected with it. M .^, if modern christians had observed the
Sacrament, by using unfermonied things, the drinkers of intoxicating
liquor would not have the countenance of ihe Church's ordinance to
encournge them in the use of them. As it is, the Temperance Society
have the very stronghold of alcohol to demolish, and then its work
will be done. True, it did not set out with this in view ; but perhaps
it is better for the Church that it did not, for it is very likely that they
would have thought the task such a forlorn h^ pe, that they would
r.ot have begun. If this work was once over, the Church and all other
moral influences, would be exerted with greater effect. It would be
possible, even with the unperfect race of beings wo are, to banish
drunkenness altogether, infinitely easier than it would be to clean our
hands of murder, adultery, theft, false witness, or coveting: for if the
intoxicating liquor was not made by man, it could not bo drunk, for
God never did make it, nor will he begin. Would to God we could
clean our hands and our hearts of sin, as easy as we can of the em-
blems of it.
Allowing, for the present, that human beings are justified in making
laws, for the sake of the argument — although I deprecate their inter-
ference, and contend that in no case are they, by the Divine permission,
authorised to make laws — He has given us a complete set of laws, and
perfect ; and when we make laws, it is saying that his are not com-
plefe, or else that man's authority is greater than his ; and this is to
confirm and establish what the inferior enacted. If it was prohibited
by our legislatures and our laws, by the Church and its discipline, by
our rulers and the ruled, we could have none of it. You may tell us
it would be too high-handed a measure for any power in the state, but
does any danger threaten it ? The Habeas Corpus Act is suspended,
martial law is proclaimed, and the power of the state is upheld. Is
that said to be too high-handed a measure, or does any grumble ? No :
for of two evils, we say, choose the least. Take away the liberty from
the people to manufacture, impoit or export — take it from the medicine
chest and from the sacrament, and nothing but good will follow. When
Zimri and Cozbi were slain by Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of
Aaron the priest, and the plague was stayed from the children of Israel
— *' The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the ison of Kleazar,
the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the chil-
dren of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I
consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore, say,
behold I give unto him my covenant of peace, and he shall have it and
his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, be-
cause he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children
of Israel." Now, this act of his has been termed a rash, inexcusable
deed, and no one should take it tor an example in any case; but, how
different was God's judgment in the matter ? If the Church, or even if
one minister of the Church put forth his hand, and banished from the
Lord's table the emblems now used, that are so dishonoring to Christ,
an
agi
an
pi a,
35
and ruis««vl his voioo against it, *• no dog would move his loijrrue"
•gainst him. No: for even Christ's greatest encmirs discover in him
an excellence — a perfection not to bo found in any other, and can see
plainly that those uinblems cannot bo emblems of a pure heing. O ye
protrstant ministers that have thus been numbering olF for iho .slaughtor
•0 many of the human race, in thus giving them the wrong cmbloms,
this stall of reed — if God could hear you moaning your grievous error
in this, as Ephraim did of old — " Thou hast chastised mo, and I was
chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn thou me, and
I shall bo Curned, for thou art the Lord my God." Or seeing that it is
through your error that the people are devoted to drunkenness — if God
could but hear you as he heard David, when ho saw the destroying
angel, say, «« I have sinned — I have done wickedly. But these sheep,
what have they dojjie ? Lot thine hand be against me r.nd against my
Father's house." God is as gracious now as ho was then, and will
stay tho plague at this threshing floor of Araunah. It is writton that
Satan transformed himself into an angel of light. I would ask, what
will you answer when brouirht to judgment, if you are shewn that you
have done worse than the devil did, for you, tho ministors of Christ,
have given us the devil's picture, and told us to believe thai it is the
im.igo of the Redeemer? Wo have taken tho picture, and, as like be-
gets like, we have become mad and furious, and have gone about seek-
ing those whom we should love and prote«'f, that we might destroy them.
Zcchariah xiii. 6 — '* And one shall say unto him, what are thesi?
wounds in thine hands ? Then he shall answer, those with which I
was wounded in the house of my friends." You may tell us that it is
impossible to banish drunkenness from society. I say it is possible — •
even with man it is possible — for God does not mako the liquor ; and if
man would not make it, neither cat nor dog, neither ape, monkey, nor
fox, cute as they are, could do it.
But the time is passing as fast over our heads now as ever it did with
our fathers, and we are nearer than they were to the period when
" there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain."
Then alcohol will not be there, for it both hurts and destroys. Our
blessed Redeemer announced to the woman of Samaria that God's
mountain extended to the eminence where they stood, and where any
human being stood from the time that he was speaking to her to the
end of time. There is no part of the earth without the humm race,
and wherever there is a living man there is an eminence — there is the
place to worship the Father. Every man stands on an eminence, for
where he is, the top of the earth is, and all others stand at an angle
from the infinitismal fraction of a degree to the three hundred and
sixtieth degree in one direction. But that makes only one degree of
longitude. We must take every degree, and every fraction of a degree
of longitude to find out the top of the earth, the eminence now known
as God's mountain. We must, then, take the commission, the letters
patent granted by king Immanuel to the Apostles, '* Go ye into all the
world and preach the Gospel to every creature." We have, then, the
place to preach on, the top of the mount. Wo have the authority com-
36
til!
!*'
manding, " God with us," and the high commission as our passport. —
We have also the promise of Him who is true to his promise, " He
who honoureth me I will honour," as our encouragement in the way
of duty — what more do we want? We want preachers stored with
Bible illustrations of the fall of man — the utter hopelessness of his con-
dition without a refiner — without a snbstitute. We want them to be
bold and fearless — to preach the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing
but the Bible. For we know that the least stumble, the least slip, will
cause us to go back — that God cannot consistently with his own recti-
tude encourage any who are in error. As the general tenor of our
way must be in accordance with Us laws, so every particular act and
opinion of ours must coincide with the perfect line of his holiness, or
we will be repulsed at every onset on the enemy's camp, and thrown
into the very ditch that corresponds with the nature and character of
our error. Send us, O God, men after thine own heart, sons of thuu-
der, and messengers of peace and love, sons of consolati:)n.
There is a most important lesson to be learned by the world from
leavened bread. We mix up a quantity of flour with leaven or yeast,
but we do not know how much of the flour is converted into alcohol,
and that destructive gas, and thrown ofT; consequently we do not know
how much we lose or destroy, and how much of its strength we give
to the four winds of heaven, for the purpose of making it lighter — we
do make it lighter to our own cost. The lighter it is in proportion to
the bulk, the more we like it. So we do not know how unjust we are
to the bakers when we seize, perhaps all they have baked, because it
does not stand weight, and confiscate it when they, by their so-called
good baking, make it lighter to please us. I am making no apology
for the bakers, but would suggest the idea for their benefit, as well as
our own. Take a pound of flour, bake it without leaven, take another
pound of flour and bake it with leaven, as they bake the round loaves,
take a third pound and bake it as they do the pan loaves, bake the
three fully, and give them the treatment best adapted to its own kind,
then by \he best way possible to find out the quantity of nourishment in
each loaf, ascertain how much each has lost, you will find out that
what they have gained in size they have lost in nourishment — that the
size each loaf has become is the inverse proportion of the quantity of
flour destroyed — that though a quantity of alcoliol has evaporated, and
a great bulk of gas been produced, the leavened loaves are much larger
than the one that was not leavened, and though they are larger than it,
yet it has most nourishment.* Then take a wider range — ascertain
the quantities, if you can, of these obnoxious poisons produced, sent afloat
in the atmosphere, and kept there (for there is no other place for them
but pits when they can get into them) where they are inhaled by the
luni^rsofman and animals, causing disease and suffering — find out, I
say, if you can, the quantity sent ofT from the bakers' ovens, the
*It wag shewn in one of the public papers, a few weeks ago, that 16 per cent of
the nourishment was lost in the raising oi bread — this may be tf>e averoge.
•assport.—
nise, "He
1 the way
■ored with
3 fill's con-
hem to be
iJ nothing
slip, will
:>wa recti-
or of our
i* act and
liness, or
d thrown
racter of
of thuii.
rid from
or yeast,
alcohol,
lot know
We give
ter— we
)rtion to
we are
3auso it
o-called
apology
well as
another
loaves,
tke the
1 kind,
nent in
ul that
lat the
tity of
d, and
larger
lan it,
ertain
afloat
thenrj
y the
out, I
the
ent of
37
breweries, distilleries, and other places where they are made, and esti-
mate the influence of the aggregate of these poisons on the lives of men
and animals. Before you start on the enquiry, take one of the lower
animals, and try if he can exist after once breathing the air of a brew-
er's vat. If it dies, you will be cautioned against imder-estimating the
influence of this same gas after it has escaped and adulterated the air
ol heaven. We know now that in the immediate vicinity of dislille-
rics and breweries, and in thickly inhabited towns and cities, where
there are the greatest number of these poison factories, there plague
and pestilence take up their abode, and slay their thousands and tens
of thousands, themselves being all the time covered with Jack the Gi-
ant-killer's invisible coat. We are at a loss to ascertain the means
God employed for the shortening of man's days after the deluge, but I
would think it explained very satisfactorily by the fact, that the pollut-
ing carcases of the human beings who were living at the time of the
deluge, the races of those immense animals now unknown, together
with the innumerable multitudes , of smaller animals that then peopled
the earth — after their drowning, a few days was sufficient to generate
carbonic acid gas, which swelled them up so thai they floated on the
waters, and soon after, the skin bursting, let the gas escape ; it then
lay on the surface of the water prepared to do its work of death, when
living creatures were again placed on the earth. We know that con-
sumption, a disease of the lungs that has hitherto defied the art of man,
is more prevalent in those parts of the earth least elevated above the
sea. VVe know that that gas sits in low places, for the water vomit it up,
and the atmosphere tramples it under foot. In addition to the amount
of these poisons of life, generated from the corrupting carcases of man
and animals, at the time of the deluge, we must add the quantities of
the same poisons that were produced from dead, corrupting vegetation,
from the largest tree to the smallest flower and blade of grass — but the
task is too great for human calculators. Let us take the proportion-
ate length of .-nan's life in the two periods, the anti and pnstdeluvian.
The length of Ids days, when he only had fermented, take at one thou-
sand years, the length after all the world had fermented, take at one
hundred and twenty, as it was the allotted period by the Ruler of all,
when he announced to Noah his intention of destroying the earth by
water; we may say, safely, that the atmosphere is as twelve to
one hundred less pure and wholesome than it was
luge. Although Noah lived three hundred and fifty
deluge, yet few of his descendant?: exceeded the term of one hundred
and tweniy years. The strength of Noah's lungs aided him to resist
the evil gases that were in the atmosphere ; but new born infants
could not resist, from their weakness, the deadly efFects ; and so the
race? of man was no longer so lonfj lived. It seems that Noah himself
was not fully aware of the evil that was in the atmosphere, for he
planted a vine yard and drank the wine, unsuspectingly, in as lari^e a
quantity as he had been m the habit of drinking before the deli:ge — he
had let it ferment, and it made him drunk. His son Ham finding him
in a state he had never seen him before, wished his brothers to jiun in
as
before the de-
ycars after the
si
i'li
■
the sport, to come and see this new thing under the sun — their father
drunk.
We have the evidence of our own experience, that the atmosphere is
contaminated by the gases emitted by decaying vegetable matter ; for,
in the vicinity of swamps, canals, mill-dams, and such like, where the
water has overflowed the roots of trees, and the other things that were
growing, and killed them, there fever and ague and other complaints
abound, because of the quantity of corruption that is in the air; and as
the swamps are drained, the country opened, and a free circulation of
air- coming from the higher and drier districts, these parts become more
wholesome, and there is less sickness.
The diseases and pestilences that have in former periods cut off the
inhabitants of the earth., may be in a great measure accounted for by
supposing that the gases producing them were generated in those dark
zv.d fearlul swamps that are to be found in hot and eastern countries,
where the inhabitants are pagans and idolaters — worshippers of the
crocodile and other hideous monsters. Their considering these reptiles
sacred, spare their abodes from the trespassings of the axe, and the
fires of the brush, and log heaps, and so perpetuate the desolations of
the cholera and other epidemics. After generating in these swamps
other causes operating to carry them round the world, the rest of man-
kind would be made acquainted with the products of the abodes of their
deities. If there was no other reason for extending the blessings of
civilisation to the ends of the earth, this one reason, the cleaning up
their swamps, should be sufficient to urge every seJJish man to put his
shoulder to the work.
One great discovery made lately — a cure for the cholera — goes a
great way to confirm what I have said on this matter. Give the sufller-
er a larger proportion of oxygen gas to inhale than there is in the sur-
rounding atmosphere, and the cure is effected. Yes ; give them the
living principle — give them that which God breathed into Adam's nos-
trils — the breath of life — and all is right. But there is a cure promised
for the earth, which we can see applied occasionally on a small scale,
A great fire in the woods, or in a city, immediately purifies the air;
and until it is again mixed with the air from other parts, all is about
right — health and comfort are enjoyed. So the Great Purifier will burn
up the earth and all things that are thereon, and a new world will arise
out of its remains, purified and made meet fjr the Master's use. He
has promised to dwell in it, and be the light and life of it ; and there
will be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, for " God the Lord
from every eye shall wipe off every tear." When the city of London
was visited by the fire about two centuries ago, did it not leave the place
more healthy and pure ? How much more will the atmosphere be
cleansed from every thing tliat defileth, when the whole world is sub-
jected to the power of this element. If we ask ourselves what will
burn up the earth, let us just think for a moment (and fear and trem-
ble) of the discovery that man hat. made of the means of producing the
most intense heat from the article we use to quench fire.
If these death-producing gases arc generated in the baker's oven, in
father
bhere is
|r; for,
lere the
at were
pplaints
J and as
ftion of
more
the breweries and distilleries, of what suicidal madness are our kings
and law-makers* our priests, and our people not guilty, when all join
with a zeal worthy of a better cause in encouraging their manufacture.
They must be made for our priests, that they may get the emblems
they need. The people cannot do without them any more than they
can do without the thing signified ; and the king and lawmakers, kind
souls, only tax them that a fund may be raised ibr paying the collect-
ing of it.
There is no product of fermentation but is poisonous to human life,
whether it be in form of a solid, a liquid, or a gas. The grains from
the distilleries have long ago been proved to be injurious to animals
for either fattening or dairy purposes. The vinegar has also been
proved to be injurious to either inside or outside of the human being.
\yhen taken internally it carries off the flesh and destroys the health,
vigour, and complexion of those who use it. I knew an instance of
a mother bathing herself with it, and it dried up her breasts, so that she
had no nourishment for her next child. I am convinced that fermented
things are evil in every form, and in every application of them to the
outside and inside of mankind or animals. We can hardly stop in our
comparison of the emblem with the thing it represents. Every remove
we make from the path of rectitude is an additional obstacle to our re-
turn ; so is it with the fermenting article. Leanness to our souls is a
certain consequence of continuing in sin, so leanness of body results
from our drinking vinegar, which is a fermented article. If you will
drink acids, drink those that God makes, for he does make acids, and
those which he makes are good. But he does not make vinegar, that
comes from destruction and causes destruction ; but the acids God
makes are made by the building up of the materials laid in the ground,
which would otherwise be injurious to living creatures ; and by his own
process and sole prerogative, which cannot be usurped by angels or
men, he brings good out of evil. Let us take that good and use it when
we require it.
Methinks, when I hear people say they take a little alcohol for medi-
cine, that they are in doubt about God's skill in providing for their
cure, and would say to them, as Elijah the Tishbite said, as he was
directed by God himself, to the messengers of Ahaziah, king of Israel,
" Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Beel-
zebub, the God of Ekron ?" Is it not because there is not a medicine
in all the things that God has provided for your use, that you make
experiments with that which you know to be void of all virtue ? A
physician ordered a teetotal patient wine, and told him that he could not
get better without it — anxious to recover, he obeyed orders, he got it, and
had it placed carefully in his cupboard. The M. D. called again —
the man was recovering slowly ; he ordered him more wine — it was
procured and placed beside the other. The doctor called again, and
saw a marked improvement in the man's health — told him to persevere
* A claaa not found in tl»e time of the propheta, but thought to be needed now.
40
another bottle of the same. He did so until EscuTapius
pronounced him perfectly cured ; and exulting in the success of his
treatment and prescriptions, confidentlytold the man, '* if it had not been
for that wine, you w ere a dead man." " Well," says the other, " if it has
done me any p:ood, (at the same time opening a door,) 'twas by keeping
it in the corner of this cupboard." Not a cork was drawn. Comment
would weaken the force of this example.
Seeing that the process of decomposition is the figure used by the
inspired writers in the Bible to describe sin, may we not urge the ne-
cessity of the learned taking up the subject, and explaining to us fully
all the various changes undergone by vegetables and fruits, and the
perfect resemblance they bear to the " sinfulness of that estate into
which man fell," and the Constant tendency of both the type and anti-
type to go on in the way of death, and compleie blotting out of their
name and place from the face of the earth. The priests of old were
the appointed instructors of the people, in every thing that concerned
their welfare ; and if the ministers of religion now had the knowledge
necessary, and were our only guides, there would be, I doubt not, a
different state of things. The priests of old were the healers of the
bodily diseases of the people ; they were teachers of civil law, the
law of inheritance, marriage, uncleanness ; their treatment of strangers
or aliens, weights and measures, of garments, manslaughter, and every
thing pertaining to their well being for time and eternity ; theft, acci-
dent, trespass, of whatever kind ; vows, whether lawful or unlawful,
or, as they are named in the Bible, singular vovvsj such as that vowed
by Jepthah, for such is the perfection of the laws they had to admin-
.'ster, that even his case was provided for; the very meat that was
clean to them, and that that was unclean. Looking at the encourage-
ment given to the use of intoxicating liquors at the present time, may
we not hope to see, after the Church takes again the proper elements,
crime rapidly growing less and less every day, until all the crimes
caused by alcohol, wliich at present amounts to nine-tenths, disappear
altogether, and only one-tenth remain. And the question of the mis-
ery endured by those who sigh in secret, of which no account is kept
by man, we may picture to ourselves their reduction too, and may
hope to see health and happiness almost universal. We say, take
away the cause and the effect will cease. If we are convinced that
th'3 is true, and that the wine used at the Sacrament gives the strong-
est recommendation that can be given to the drinking usages — then the
using the unfermented juice of the grape at that ordinance would im-
mediately change the recommendation from the one to the other, and be
the means of at once reducing, as far as the Church is concerned, the
crimes committed to the one tenth of their present number and enor-
mity — the rule is as sure in morals as it is in mechanics, or any de-
partment of the various processes of nature. O for a nation of Na-
zarites, whose vows and conduct correspot;d, and tend lo raise their
minds and bodies lo the higliesl perfection ihey are capable of. I do
not like to leave the question of leaven while there is a lesson to be got
from it. Unleavened biead is always mentioned as provided for augels
mc
th^
th(
of
V\\
th
cit
gf
41
by the Patriarchs, when they visited them. Abraham entertainod
three angels with cakes, made of fine flour quickly on the hearth. Lot
made a feast for the two angels, and did bake unleavened bread and
they did eat. Gideon said to the angel — " Depart not hence, I pray
thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, or meat
ofTering, and set it before thee ;" and when he did bring it, it was a
kid and unleavened cakes of an ephah- of flour. It appears to me
that it is not explicitly termed unleavened bread for no reason. Re-
ciprocity was stricily observed in this matter, for we find that the an-
gel had a cake baken on the coals ready for Elijah, when he awoke
from his sleep ; and the angel of the covenant, after his resurrection
and before his ascension, had a fire of coals and fiah laid thereon, and
bread ready for the disciples, when they came to land, '■ and Jesus
saith unto ihem. Come and dine."
We can all remember reading of the manna with which the Israel-
ites were fed in the wilderness, and know that that which fell on the
ground on the five first days of the week, would only keep cine day,
and then it would corrupt; and that which fell on the sixth day
would keep two days, and that portion of it that was kept for the pur-
pose of lotting their descendants see "the bread wherewith the Lord
had fed them for forty years in the wilderness," would keep to all
generations. In commanding the people to let none of it ferment, the
Lord, besides keeping in view the appointed ordinance, is teaching
them that they should not, in future ages, destroy the good things he
would give them for food, before eating them. The advocates of ab-
stinence from alcoholic liquors have made good use of the fact that
water was the only drink of God's people for that forty years, and
with the addition of the fact of the unleavened manna to our stock of
information, we may bo led to the discovery of the cause of the dis-
eased stomachs, so prevalent amongst us, and so arrive at the know-
ledge of those things that will serve our bodies and promote longevity.
We say that newly baked bread is very unwho some, no doubt be-
cause it is fermented, and contains carbonic acid gas ; but if it remains
exposed to tlie uir a day or two to ripen, then it is no longer so ; we say,
but with unleavened bread it is different : it is as good when newly
baked, and cooled enough so that its heat would not injure us, as if it
stood longer, and periiaps better ; thus we see that our own experience
confirms every thing we have seen in the Bible. Every circumstance
in the case goes to shew that God made every thing that he ordained
for our use, perfect ; and there is criminality and consequent punish-
ment in causing any of these things to ferment, and be destroytd, no
matter to how email an extent, before we use them.
The second chapter of Leviticus contains directions concerning tlie
mcat-ofTering unto the Lord, and gives certain directions to those who
oiler it ill the ways they may bake it, and of the modes allowable, bak-
ing in the oven or in the pan ; there is a positive command that they
shall be unleavened cakes, or unleavened wafers of fine flour unleav-
ened, mingled with oil, or anointed with oil ; and in the eleventh verse,
the prohibition of leaven is in these words — "No meat-ofTering which
42
w:s i
m
ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven : for ye shall
burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by
fire." Thus we see that it was not oijly in the case of the passover, but
in other sacrifices too, that leaven was forbidden ; and in no case but
that in the thanK-offering and two waive loaves of the first fruits, I find
that it was lawful to bring leaven into the house of God. Leviticus vii.
12 — '* If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the
sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes, mingled with oil, and un-
leavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil of fine
flour, fried." 13 — *' Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering
leavened bread, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace-offering."
Thus we see, that even in the case of the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
where leaven was lawful, that a full allowance, as full as in the case
of the meat-offering made by fire, or any other case, a full allowance of
unleavened cakes and unleavened wafers was to be nrcsented to the
priest, enforcing by this ordinance the doctrine which, I have no doubt,
was taught to them literally, that God will not accept of their thanks, if
they present them without being accompanied with another's merits.
We can see that, in the writings of the later prophets, they ijnder-
stood fully the meaning of those rites, and that notwithstanding our
ideas of the ignorance of the ancients, as to the whole scheme of re-
demption or acceptance with God, they understood well both the figure
and the ideas it represents, both the type and antitype : for Amos says,
speaking of this ordinance, " Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal
multiply transgressions; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and
your tithes after three years; and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with
leaven, and proclaim and publish the free-offerings, for this liketh you,
O ye chidren of Israel, saith the Lord God." Ezekiel says of the peo-
ple, " and they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before
thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them .
for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after
their coveteousness ; and thou art unto them as a very lovely song of
one that haih a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument,
for they hear thy words and do them not." These and other passages
from the prophets, go to shew us that the literal meaning of the types
was preaciaed to the people, and that they neglected the substance tor
the shadow, which should not have been ; and, by and bye, we will
find out to our sad exporience, that if we had kept the shadow, we
would have had the substance nearer to us — if we had retained the letter
of the law in the ordinance of the supper, we would have extolled an
article at once a drink and a medicine, but in changing the elements,
we have been guilty of a tremendous error : for we have tried to see
what is impossible, an emblem of grace in what is the emblem of wrath.
The two waive loaves of the first fruits leavened, goes to prove nothing
in favor of leavened bread ; for it was not bu»*nt, for in no case was any
leaven to be burnt in any offering made by fire — it merely, figur-
atively, shewed to the people, that God was gracious in accept-
ing their services, if they presented them with the sacrifice, and
pleaded the merits of Christ ; for he says by his prophets, when they are
rebu
we s
ye shall
made by
over, but
case but
s, I find
ticus vii.
with the
and un-
of fine
offering
Fering."
sgiving,
ihe case
'ance of
to the
doubt,
anks, if
orits.
nder-
ing our
le of re-
J figure
)s says,
Gilgal
ig, and
ig with
th you,
he peo-
before
them.
b after
ong of
ument,
ssages
types
ce for
e will
w, we
letter
ed an
lents,
see
rath.
thing
5 any
igur-
cept-
and
' are
43
rebuking the people, because their hearts are not purified from sin, and
we sing a paraphrase on it —
" Your rites, your fasfs, your prayers, I scorn,
And pomp of solemu days."
If the permission of leaven in these two cases proves anything, it
proves thai God has not utterly cast oflT corrupted man, but that he is
inviting him, in these two cases, to come to him and acknowledge his
mercies. He is shewing him the duty of gratitude to himself for his
bounties ; and the man is very ignorant of the Bible that does not know
that this feeling is inculcated in the literal terms as well as in the em-
blematical rites. Solomon says — " Honour the Lord with thy sub-
stance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase ; so shall thy
barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses burst out with new wine."
And Moses says — «* Thou shall not delay to offer the first of thy ripe
fruits and of thy liquors. The first born of thy sons shall thou give
unto me. Likewise shall thou do with thine oxen and with thy sheep."
Gratitude is commended by our Saviour in the case of the Samaritan
leper who returned and with a loud voice glorified God, and for falling
down on his face, at his feet, and giving him thanks ; and ingratitude
is reproved, for there were ten cleansed, but Christ asks " Where are
the nine ?" The Psalmist of Israel has written many passages ex-
pressive of the feeling. Habakkuk, in the spirit of true devotion, even
if the blessings of temporal things are withheld, declares, " Yet I
will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." God
in mercy accepting of the services of fallen man through the mediator,
and utterly casting ofT the fallen angels, should be reason sufficient
to cause us to search into the ordinances of the old law, because they
were rites that, if understood, would give force to truths preached
now, and the litos we do not understand should be searched into, for
they are all fuli of important lessons that would confirm those doc-
trines, that for want of emblems we are yet disputing with one another
about.
'Ihe true worshipper of God, in the old law, had to present un-
leavened cakes, and after them the leaven baked, which process is
emblematical of the turning to God by repentance — unbaked leaven
and unre()enting man are equally forbidden. So now the christian
presents himself, after pleading the merits and atonement of Christ,
as a child in a fault, pushing in another 'to plead for him, but cling-
ing to his coat and keeping behind as much as possible — wanting to
be seen and yet afraid to shew himself boldly — knowing that his fa-
ther had forbidden him, under pains and penalties, to come into his
presence. So our Father, and our God, after driving us out of Par-
adise, declared, " that no man shall see my face and live." In
the atoning sacrifices there was no leaven — showing that fiillen man
could not atone for his sins ;^ but in thanksgivings leaven was used,
showing that fallen man can and ought to be grateful for mercies.
Chemists tell us that the juice of the grape, or any other of the
fruits of the earth, when exposed to the action of the atmosphere, ab*
44
sorbs tho o\yi;en that is in it, and the article goes on to forment. j
would ask, is it nnt possible that it mifrht be tho carbonic acid gas in the
air that unites with tiie juices exposed to its action, and causes the pro-
cess to go on ; f()r from the nature of one article that was already a
product of decoy, to cause a substance that had not commenced to
decay to change its condition, wo may, in all deference to the learn-
ed, conclude, that is the most likely theory ? We know that flour, it
mixed with yeast, will ferment much quicker than if it is not, and
the brewers adopt this practice to gain time. We know that one rot-
ten apple will cause a sound one to spoil much sooner if set close
to it than if at a distance. Knowing this power that is in one cor-
rupting thing to cause another to ferment that comes in contact with
it, I tliink, from this fact, that the pure, unadulterated atmosphere, is
not the active agent in causing fermentation. It may be difTorenf,
but whon I see another way than what is laid down in men's theo-
ries, which theories necessarily involve the Creator in contradiction,
I will take the way that is consistent, especially when facts support
me. Consisiency is especially peculiar io the Creator, which every
new discovery, in the fullest manner, brings out, as well in the sys-
tem of the universe, as in morals and theology. Naturalists tell us
that this carbonic acid gas is absorbed by the leaves of trees and
plants, p.nd is tiien converted into the substance of the tree ; then if
that is the case, this gas is the food of trees, and the leaves are the
mouths. But on the other hand they toll us, that the roots are the
mouths, and it is from»the earth that they derive their substancs. —
Thoy also tell us that the leaves are the lungs, but they cannot be the
lungs and the mouths too. I would be very willing to grant, that the
leaves are the lungs, and the roots the mouths, which convoy the sub-
stance to the tree ; for there would be no confusion in the theory —
there would not be anything like making the one member perform
two (lifT rent actions — there would not bo the making of one member,
as the notion took it, to either eat or breathe, fur thou they might be
both eating or both breathing at the same time. So I would say, give
each a dilFerent work to do, and the one will not say to the other, *' I
have no need of thee." But they will do their eating and breathing
whether we know how it is done or not.
Tlie learned tell us, that the trees inhale carbonic acid in the day
time, and throw it off at night. If they throw it off at night, then I
cannot see that it becomes a part of the substance of the tree. Being
thrown off, I think it must be with trees as with us? Whatever
quantity we inhale of it, t'lat is in the atmosphere, we throw it off
too, but we do not throw ofT oxygen ; and I think the same life
principle must be the life of trees as well. We throw off the nitro-
gen, and they tell us that the trees throw it off too. I would not
have thought of touching the theories of men in this matter, if I did
not think that there is in the atmcsphere a mixture of deaih-produc-
ing agents, from the train of thought I got into in this matter, and
from the expression of the Apostle — "The spirit of the power of the
air, the spirit that worketh in the cliildren of disobedience ; for I
45
inont. J
jas in the
s the pro-
ilrnady a
lonced to
lie Icarn-
flour, it
not, and
t one rot-
set close
one cor-
tact with
phere, is
cliiTorenf,
sn's theo-
•adiction,
? support
;h fvery
the sys-
'■ toll us
GPS and
then if
are the
are the
tanc3. —
)t be the
that the
the sub-
hcory —
perflirm
nomber,
night be
xy, give
her, '< I
eathing
the day
then I
Being
fiatcver
w it off
ne lift)
) nitro-
iM not
f I did
roduc-
^r, and
of the
for I
cannot tliinlc that the Apostle was such a bad grammarian as to use
a fi;,fure or make a comparison where there was no resemblance in
the two things.
If I have proved, <-•• if I have laid down circumsfances that will
lead to all the facts ^i ihe case necessary to prove, thai this fermen-
tation or decomposition, is a perfect emblem of sin — that it is as
ruinous, evil, and detrimental to physical existences in the outer world,
as sin, in its effect on intelligences suporior to n)an and on man him-
self, in the inner recesses of ihe heart, and in the clfit-cts on the life,
then I shall have accomplished the task I guve myself, wiiich was,
that they were co-extensivo in their operations, and e(|ually universal
in their prevalence, in their respective spheres; and we will be able
to take up the gauntlet thrown down by the atheist — " Shew us any-
thing in nature resembling the fall of man, or anything bearing any
analogy to sin."
If any one can bring any system of laws at all approaching iu
their excellence to the laws of Moses, for preserving us from the
evils of the corruption to which our moial and physical natures are
liable, let them do so. But the many inventions of sinful man, and
the suggestions of the devil, have all been exhausted, weighed in
the balances, and found wanting, as a well raised loaf is. In noth-
ing did ho succeed so well in, as when he tried to get fermented
wine put in the place of newly pr'ssed out, unfermented juice of
the grape, in the oidinance of the Lord's Supper. Was the chang-
ing of the viands there the occasion of the woman fleeing into the
wilderness, prophesied in the twelfth chapter of Revelation ? If it
was, then, as we believe, the times, times and a half, are nearly ful-
filled, that is to shew her forth to the world clothed with the sun, and
having the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown ot twelve
stars. A very fitting herald, and of her own sex too, one of the
graces. Tempcance is sent down from heaven to be the herald of
her approach, and reign on the earth with Ilim who is the Church's
husband.
When we look at the movements in the churches of the Protestants,
the temperance reformation, and the adoption of the " Water Cure,"
in the treatment of diseases, we involuntarily exclaim, where will
these things end ? The first was a reformation in the faith, the se-
cond was a reformation of the life. The last is a very strange spe-
cies of fanaticism to my mind, but will perhaps accomplish one tiling,
making cleanliness better observed. The first will a'Jd to its other
excellencies the second, and we will have then a reformation of faith
and life in one faith proved by works. The latter, the " Water Cure,"
will cool down into the water washing, and to some extent, and to the
same purpose, bring in the purifications and washings ordered by Mo-
ses. Then we will be gradually brought to adopt the cure of the
good Samaritan, and pour in oil and wine into the wounds and bruises
to which we are liable. Not ihe fermented wine, which would only
inflame our wounds, but the new wine, pure and good, that rejoices
the heart of God and man — for God sees iu it the emblem of his Son's
46
yi.
blood, and man r^oea in it the emblem of his own salvation, therefore,
in it, both rejoice.
The first, (tlie Protestant Reformation) in the first place, and the re-
vival of cvanfjelical doctrines in our day, brought the doctrine, faith
IN CHRIST. Tiie second shews the emblem of Christ's blood, unfer-
MENTED w;wE. The other shews what the washing by the Spirit
means, in *he literal daily ablutions, answering to daily forgiveness
of sins, extended to those who live by faith. 1 feel inclined to paint
our likeness again, in another particular, to ancient Israel. The
spies brought an evil report of the land, in spite of the cluster of
grapes brought over the brook by the two who bore it on a staff be-
tween them. In our day, in spite of the two witnesses, temperance
and science, their strong evidence of the fruitfulness of the land is
not received, but the gigantic figures of the enemy are feared, though
we know they quake and their hearts melt within them. I think we
would have no trouble to shew that there were ten to two witnesses
who cried down our going in to possess the land, some because
they feared the obstacles, and others because the customs of their
fathers opposed us, others because they said the Bible condemned us,
but not one of them will go in, they will all lie down and die before
the land is possessed, and only the two noble and good, bold and true,
faithful and believing, the Calebs and Joshuas — Toial Abstinence and
Science — will be let go in and recei/e their possessions. Yes, and
those the lands of their own selecting— more favour and higher privile-
ges than all others. Their strength will continue as Caleb's did,
V hose strength was as great the day he was fourscore and five years
old, as it was when ho was sent at forty years old to spy out the land.
We were shewn, at the commencement of the movement, all the ex-
cellence of that thing which undestroyed was a good creature of God,
but otijer influences were set to work and prevented the truth prevail-
ing ; and now when near the land of promise, and the two spies are
sent to view " the land even Jericho," they are hidden by the harlot
expediency, for it seems to be the highest rule, even with those minis-
ters who have joined the temperance movement. If, as I have shewn,
though feebly, the recommendation that the using of fermented wine in
the Sacrament gives to it, then the Jordan has yet to be passed, and
we will have the waters standing on a heap at our side while we pass
over. This expediency is only a low rule to adopt, and is well named
a harlot, for how is it possible that such a rule can excel the law of
God, which is perfect ? or, how can the ministers of religion urge on
us to pledge ourselves against that which they give us as the embbm
of the greatest, the best, and in fact, the only blessing wort i having,
which, when we have it, we have every other ? Yet, low as this
rule is, it will do some good — it will let us down as by a cord out
of tlie Jericho of debauchery, and then we can escape to the ark of
the covenant, wherein there is safety. Yet this expediency is a clog
that drags heavily after us, it prevents us going directly up to the
mark, and seeing that as God forbids sin, by using leaven as its
figure, so he forbids us to use leaven, because it is as evil in its na-
47
ture as that of which it is the emblem. The ministers say that it \h
tio sin to drink the liquor — even those of thorn who are pledged men
say 80. Let us give a place to every thing, and put every thing that
in good in its place ; and as one after another of the institutions of
Moses are found necessary to the well-being of man, we will remove
those things that wo have given too high a place to, to that place
which they were designed for. We will pull down the washings of
the Pharisees to its proper place — wo will set total abstinence in its
own shelf, and the new wine cure, which amongst us has no place
yet, will be put where Paul put it, within Timothy's reach.
I could point out many of Moses' commands, which must be adopted
as we go on to perfection ; and as they are adopted by us we will be
led to the conviction that nothing less than infinite wisdom could have
devised what Moses has written. Although Moses was learned in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians, and had from them all that they knew,
yet ho had from God himself the fact, " that theie is but one
only, the living and true God" ; then, as one after another of the laws
that were given by God to him, are found necessary to our well,
being and adopted — which revelation is very different from the dis-
coveries daily made in our time — no one man has all the honour of
all the various diiocoveries in art and science, but it is divided between
hundreds and thousands. How different then. But it would have been
then as it is now — the honor would be divided, of making laws, if it
had been left to man to discover, by his own observation, what was right
and impartial justice. We know tliat the Israelites were in a heathenish
state of ignorance at the time that the law was given, and that even Aaron
made the calves for the people to worship. If Bacchus is dethroned by
this movement — and he must be dethroned before any other abomina-
tion is put down — for he causes nine-tenths of all the evils in the
Church and in society — and we should begin at the greatest evil, for
'•Judgment must begin at the house of God," — then, but not till then,
will Mammon be cast out, and the thousands and tens of thousands of
gold now devoured by his servants, be placed at the disposal of the
bride — the Lamb's wife — then will there be good housekeeping — then
"will the time be, when Kings will be nursing fathers and Queens nurs-
ing mothers to the Church of God, and the people give freely, not
grudgingly.
We Protestants repudiate tradition. In so doing, we do well ; but
if we ask ourselves whence arose the practice of using fermented
things in the Sacrament, we cannot tell. We have not found it in the
Bible — then it is from tradition ; from whom, then, did we derive it ? —
Not from Luther and Calvin ; for it was understood by them to be pro-
per to use fermented things. They gave themselves no concern to en-
quire into the matter. May it not have arisen in those days immedi-
ately after th /ipostles, and may it not have been the deceiving spirit
that caused all the errors that have crept into the Church of Rome. —
In the Gentile christians there was anxiety, as well from their own
former customs as from the abrogation of circumcision and Levitical
sacrifices, to lay aside all that Moses had commanded that was cere-
4S
mnnial ; and, (horofoiv, thinkiiii» that furinotitcd or urifotrnMilcd waa
inimiitcriiil, ilio ono yiviiijLj a Icviticiil cluiractor, and tlm oilior not, to
tlio SacrainLiit, tlioy would clioso ilio fcrmoiitcd ; besides, that they
tni^ht have noihin;^ that the judaisiiig teucliers coiihl take hdd of unJ
say, this you do in coininou with us. Now, I think it no hard n«;Uter
to account for all the erroi'a of the Church of Home, by this one thing.
For these Gentile christians, perhaps, had been worshippers of Hac«
cliUH, and taking Bacchus* wine as the emblem of the Saviour's
blood, they would, obeying the invitation of Christ, which was continu-
ally 10 bo observed, given in the Song of Songs — " Eut, O friends,
drink, yea <lrink abundantly, O Ilcloved;" and when elated by the
elFecfs, and discussing matters of controversy, having fallen in'o the
error that encouraged intoxication, could not sec their own error, and
would not give up their own former decision as to the emblems, and
through Iho etiects of the emblem, would fall into many others ; for I
believe it is acknowledged on all hands, that man, when in his cups, is
not famous for thinking correctly, nor is ho renowned as a good fol-
lower in any cause.
The condition of Christendom, for it is the seat of the beast, is repre.
sented as in a wilderness slate and drunken. Now, it is a characteristic
of almost all the figures used by the ins|)ired writers, in describing any
condition or )<tate (jf things in the world, that both literally and figura.
tively the description is true. As regards the roads, they were in as
vile a state as our very worst in this new country ; and in Great Britain,
the most enlightened and free amongst them all, we are told it is only
a short time since they commenced to make good roads through it; the
great road maker, McAdams, is but a few weeks dead, and the greatest
impetus road making has yet received, commenced with the temperance
movement. How beautifully descriptive of this state of things are the
words of the Prophet: — " And a highway shall be there and a way," as
if he foresaw the state of the roads and the kind of roads that literally
would cover the earth ; " a highway and a way," the Macdamizod
road to the railway and the railway. In the moral, the temperance way,
the way to prepare the world to the method of preparing our minds for
receiving the (lospel, the Prophet's words describes both literally and
figuratively the •''>nditionof things that we are now rapidly progressing to.
The drunken >ta.te of mankind in the wilderness is luUy descriptive
of the state of the 'Wirines and morals that prevailed in former ages,
and oven now m iiardly broken into. The intoxicating wine being once
introduced into Church, and taking the place of the unfermented, gave
encouragement to the intoxication that followed and yet continues.
The Roman Emperors, and more recently the British Kings, became
as a staff ta this drunken Chuvch, and instead of being a support, only
served the devil's purpose of getting between the legs and tripping it,
and causing it to sink deeper into the ruts and mud holes that are na-
tural to this wildernpss. We have all seen drunken men wading and
shulTling u' )ng a miry road, with a staff in the hand, sometimes flourish-
ing it over iheir heads, at other limes sticking it in the mud. losing hold
of it, and reaching and striving for it, and with the help of stepping.
p3, 13
I fol.
49
•tones recovering it again ; sometimes flying in a passion at it becaus*
it tripped them, or because they saw tlioir drunlcen oompanions tripped
by it. Rut the Church wc have not seen it a^ a sober man walldng
with the staff in liis hand, yet pioltin^ hii ntpps, and u^^ing tlie stufT to
lean on occasionally, to enable him to overleap a part whero there ia ^
not room enough for his foot but there is lor his staff, on which lie may
lean and leap over tho difHculty. The Church has been left, while in
its drunken state, at times, without tlin staff; at other times, as in the
French revolution, the people seeinfr the slutrjiering stut« of the Church
turned on it, and rolled it in the mud, and pitched tho staff uway, so that
there was nothinjr left. The scrambling for who will be •' King of iho
Castle" is yet going on, though this drunken Church did get hold of
the staff for a time through the kindness of its neighbours, who are only
a trifle less intoxicated than themselves.
I am confirmed in my bolief that this intoxicating wine being used in
the sacrament, caused the corruption of tho Christian Church from the
announcement of the Angel in the 14ih chap, of llevelation. I will
endeavour to show what Angels represent in, at least, that chapter.
Th"* first of these Angels is represented as "flying in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell
on the earth, and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people,
saying with a loud voice," &c. We have to read on until we come to
the riih verse, and find the words, •• hero are they that keep the com-
mandments of God and the faith of Jesus ;" this explains whnt is meant
by these Angels v/iih mpssages — they are combinations of men for a
porposb; as evidence of that I refer to the message of the first Angel
who has gone on his errand, and is performing his work of translating
the word of God into every language known in tho world, and has in
many cases wmteu the language for people who had no knowledge of
the art. a d has taught them to read. A part of the work of the first
Angf.I is to command the world to " wor-^hip him who made heaven and
earth unv. ihe sea and tho fountains if waior-i," a plain allusion to
the sjjb/^i'^cts discussed at the beginning of this century, and possibly not
yet conclud d. As far as the learned have yt investigated the con-
htruction of the earth, the Mo'saic account of the creation is confirmed ;
these triumphs for the word of God have been achieved by combinations
OF MEN for the different purposes for wh c\i they were associated.
When we spe a part of a pr< >hecy fulfilled, we cannot doubt ihat the
whole wiM l)e completed. Thf^se Airri'ls revfal also trutiis that were
not known before, as in the instance;- where the most sincore Christians
disputed the conclu-ions of the Geolr^ists at the first, and afterwards
prosecuted' the search after truth .Jong with them, enlarging their
minds. Here T may suggest that part of the work of the third Angel is
to discover to the world what the beast is. His message begins with a
denunciation of any who will worship the beast; the meaning literally
is, that a great movement will take place m the world, and the cause of
all the injustice committed by man on his fellow will be pointed out and
condemned, and that the followers of this Angel will be worthy of the
commendation given to them in the 12ih vers© :— " Here are they that
D
50
^tpti'p fhie ci^vrnianfffTienls oFGod and the faith of Jei«ns." If, then, the
fiiHt and third Angels rRprosent ct)MBi.VATiovs f»F riEX, the srcoud
Angel rrprc'sents ii Cf>ini)iiia'ion of men, an I lie alio reveals to the
World an imporiant truth or literally (\viih.>ut lookin;; at tho means
Ctnp'oyd,) the hnm'in raur> will find nut the cause of the d.-genefHting
of thu' Chri<iian Church. It is pi^sible thit iho temperance nj'^vement
n now m the position that geology was before the student read fright
the word of God, and that the startling truth has yet to he prnij'aimed :
*• Uihylon is fallen, is fillen, that groat city, because she made all na-
tions drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." I have read
ll>at many of the hea hen nations were teetotallers. The Romans put
iheir wornon to death for being drutdt, or for drinking intoxicating
liqtiors, I know not which ; they made their slaves drink so that the
sight (jf them mig'it disiru-^t their youtb, and make them hato the prac-
tice. The worship of Bacclius was not iho work of the virtuous among
the heathen butofihs vicious. Ancient Roman soldiers did not drink
intoxicating liquors hsf their bravery and strength miglit be lessened.
Let tlie li-anied fill up the ch-nge brought by this Angel again^st the
Cliurch, *' she made all nations," «Sic. 1 have only suggested the sub-
jf'ct f -r the er(|uiry of'th st uho are not convinced as I am. At some
future lime I purpose to enquire more into the meaning of this chapter
of this wonderful book.
At the Refitrmaiion it may be that the beast with seven heads and ten
T:«rns was wounded to death in one of his heads, or one of the seven
■Sicraments; and this error handed d iwn from the ancients, being taken
■up by the reformers, looks very like the healii^g of that deadly wound,
fir with the Roman Catholics the changin;; the nature of the bread and
wine into the real body and blood was the positive belief. I'rotcstants held,
on ll e contrary, that they were emblems of the body and blood ; there
was the wound, but the healing is plainly shewn in using the emblems
of sinful min for the emblems of Ch-ist ; the consequences of this was
shewn in the errors that spread among the Protestants at the time, and
which contiriufc ao virulent. Yet, we are striving with the Papists ta
Luther did with their predecessors, and it is a remarkable fact that we
have n> t settled the questinn of admitting members into the Christian
<Jhurc!/ yet. Jt would seem that our progress is arrested at the very
thr(sh<)!il of the sanctuaiy in this fact. We had already learned that
the just shall live by faith in Christ ; then, as in the ordinance of the
copper, Clirist is made manifest to us by emblems, it would appear that
we nuiM find out what are p"oper emblems of him before weyo in, that
"we may have our fdiih strengthened, and so we are yet d.vided on the
question ot who are pr per subjec's of baptism. Certainly not those
who believe that ftrmentel win» represents in any particular the effects
of believing in Christ, and whether they aic infants or adults there is no
ditference, if they think that God's j;race isstiewn in the leavened bread.
Another fad and I am done. The Socinians representing the Arians
that took life in the early Christian Church revived at the ref( nnation,
I ask, waft there a coincidence as to time in their origin, and the first
4DtrQductH»B of leavened things in the sacrament. Another question
53
th(
fol|
XX
ani
out
liv
unj
9i
prbper to be asked is — how much had the study of heathen mytheTo^ td
do with the continuation of tills absurd practice in the Reformed Church
to the present day ? The ancient Jews were forbidden to learn any of
the customs of the heathen nations round about them, least they shniUJ
fallow them in the wnrship of fal-se jjorls. Mnses comm-iu'ls them, Ex.
xxiii. 13. " And in all tl)iiij.'s that 1 huvn suid imto you be circnmsp^ci,
and make no mention of the nume of other gods, neither lot it be Iv ard
out of thy mouth." God is the samR jealous God he was wben Mnsost
livpd. and will not let us with impunity take into our achools, collepes,
universities, any of the heathen studies, and bbss them to our youth.
•* God's law is perfect," and there is no nerd of additions, and any
thing that we can learn from the heathen will tend only to lead us
astray ; the danger is the greater when the same names are usrd as in
the case of the wine, the articlrs being very differeni. The wine pro^
per for the sanctuary of the Living G')d is wine that God made, but that
that was used in Bacchus' temple wus what the Drvil hiid destroyed.
We muNt now adopt as a ppople ei'herof thpse two courses. Banish
ferment from the Sacrament, or go on in the cour-o of our Fathers, and
as we use the article tliey used, cultivate the taste for it by all th©
means in our power ; the belter we are acqtiairited with the cmblifm^
the moe will wa de«ire and long for the thing it. represents. But
thank God the days of alcohol are numbered ; he has i)pen weighed in
the balances and found wanting, and the peoplo who have reported tho
matter are prepared to stand to their iirm-i, and defend the fibric ihry
have raised on tlie rock — truth. 'J'be veneration we had for the eu.i.
toms of ihe fathers is giving way, and before ihe genera' ion r.ow living
has gone the way of all flesh, this principal pillar of the kingdom of
Satan will be by the Samson of our dav carried away and placed as a
beacon to warn future gf neraiions. If the lloman Anlirhrisl was the
means of intoxicuiing the world with Ids piisonous doctrines, the Pro.
t«stHnt Antichrist has literally given his power to the first beast' in
making the nations he h'ls conquered, the colonies he has fonned, and
the people with whom he has made oommerciul trentits, drunk and
more drunk. And if the lloman triiflicked in the bodies and souls of
men in spiritual, the Saxon has given his power most eirectually to the*
Roman in the spirituous things of his sacrament and traffic, and has
been the means of devoting both the bodies and souls of men todestrnc.
tion. We cannot come to a riglit judgment of the influence that iho
wioo in the sacrament had on the people 300 years apo from what it
has now, f )r the conquest of total abstinence principles has wrought a
complete change in the opinions of the people. It is now consiilerejj a
jrreat curse, but even thirty years ago, yes, far less, it was ibouuhi a
bb'ssiog, and one year ago at a drinking; benevolent party the Chaplain
asked a blessing on the creature. The English Ciinrch is seemingly
on the move to Uome ; many of her ministers hive gone there alreadv,
and others are preparing to '.0 as quick as they can. I thitk- God is
trying the British people most severelv. [le is shewing them by his
providence that thev have some Aolian in the camp He is pointing as
with the finger of his hand to the temperance society, there U sunte.
93
thing there you need. The Methodists commenced with the total ab«
stinence pledge as a rule of fellowship, but they took the sacrament in
the older Church ; this inconsistency could not work a deliverance in
the earth, for they are no better than many others. A marked revival
took place in the Church of Scoilanri about the time that the temperance
movement comtnenced,and this revival led to a disrupiion that has been the
means of producing a decided chansie fof the better in many things
oonnectfd with th^ spread of the Gospel. If there was a necesssity
ten years ago for a disruption, there is an incalculably greater neces-
sity now for separating from those who will persist in maintaining at
the Lord's Table this drink of damnation and the polluted bread. To
those who will persist in using them still, I would say, go and take
brandy there, for it is the distilled juice of the grape, and so more ex-
pressive of the richness of the grace of God, containing more of the
spirit you admire in the fermented vtine. The French and other Celts
name brandy ** eau de vie" — water of life ; whiskey, a corruption of
"usquebaugh."
Call loudly, then, ye temperance men, to the Churches hieing to
Babylon — tell them we have found the emblems of " Him of whom
Moses in the law, and the Prophets, did write — Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph." John i. 45. Tell them that they are really
emblems and nothing else — that they do nourish and sustain the
body as God's grace feeds the soul. If professing Christians, in
olden times, had retained the emblems proper, the articles them-
selves would have confirmed the truth, that the sacrament was an
emblematical ordinance, and not a sacrificial one as some assert.
After they were changed, the mind that was enamoured of Christ, and
knowing the nature of the new emblems, would see that the thing was
a direct contradiction, and gradually step by step they would leave the
truth, and take up strange fancies and call the sacrament a sacrifice,
and transubstantiate it into the re^l body and blood, bones and nerves
of the Saviour, and offer it upon the altar.
If our Churches resolve to return to the prescribed elements, they
must make known to the world their intention by proclamation and con-
fession of their error and sin, and the blind leading they have performed
to their followers since they took up the occupation, for they do not
seem to have been called to preach down, but to preach up drunken-
ness. 1 defy them to show any thing connected with the Roman Ca-
tholio religion as directly encouraging of the vice ; they do not give it to
the people in the Sacrament ; the Priests take the wine and it promotes
their drunkenness, but from the people it is withheld. Perhaps the
reason of its being at fir^t withheld from the laity, was the encour>
agement it gave to the vice, and the Priests wishing to arrest it in some
degree withheld the wine seemingly for that purpose; but I will not
say it was. They are told, that when they get the body, they of ncces-
sity get the blood, so thai the wine, in fact, owes the recommendation
it gets to the Protestants. Whatever is used as the emblem of Christ's
blood, is recommended as an efScacious medicine, for Christ is tho
Physician of souls — a quencher of thirst — for he who drinketh of the
abf
53
water that Christ gives will never ihirsf. To give an idea of all
the qualities of the bread and wine, we must sum up all the graces of
Christ.
The most powerful oppeals ngainst drunkenness are more ihan com.
plelely nnnullpd by usinfj the liquor as tlie ernblem of the blood of
Christ. It has an infinite power and exceeds in force all the arjjuments
of the other, as much as infitiite exceeds finite. Ou • mini^-ters ask, " who
hath believed our rt'[;oit ?" as if none, or at most vory (ew, had believed
it ; but when we look at the slate of society, we can see that their re.
port of Christ in the emblems (the very opposite of their teaching by
word,) is as universally believed as the most sanjinine of the imps of
the pit could wish. Fuiure fjenerations will say of us, that we have
" walked in the way of Jeroboiun, the son of Nabat, and in his sin
wherewith he made Israel to sin." ' ' ■■'-•
It seems to me thftt the translators of the Bible had not sufficient
warrant for heading the parayrafh, in which is related the first sin of
man — " man's shameful fall ;" lor this reason 1 do consider the figure
imperfect; there are a thousand, or perhaps ten or more thousand falls
after which the individuals rise agdin by tlieir cwn exertions unaided
by others, for one after wiiich they do not rise again ; but in a man's
disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit, he became as the corruption
•f vogetable or animal matter, for which there is no cure in the world,
f the translators, or whoever did it, had headed the part with wion'*
corrvplioti ov man^sfer7nevta Hon, if they cou\d not do without a figure
in the case, then they would have given no countenance to the notion,
that we can by our own exertions please God. Again, if they had
translated those passages properly, wliich they have rendered wine, we
would not have been led into drunkenness. ' ' ' •>
We have now many advantagps over the heathen that were con.
verted by the Apostles; they were turned from the worship of that that
was not God by the preacliing, and from many cf their vile practices,
but it was hard for them to give up all their old customs ; and things
they thought innocent were taken with them, which things wrought
all the evil. Hut we were taught to love and have loved our Bibles,
and will continue to bless and praise the God who gave them to us j
that Being to whom we when children, and our children now, look up
to for grace, mercy, and peace. These are the advantages we now
have over the heathen ; we know that the Bible is perfect, as far as we
are acquainted with it, and from what we have already attained to, we
may conclude, that no evil is in it. If Christ's blood is the only thing
that will wash us and make us white, then that which he chose as the
emblem of it, must be the safest, surest, most powerful and eifictual
medicine to our bodies that can be found on the whole earth, and shodld
set a going a movement for the introduction and naturalization of grapes
in our country, not for the purpose of making fermented wine, but to
have it as a meaicine ; for myself, I have not the shadow of a doubt
but that it would supersede all the drugs and medicines now in use.
If the Ministers of religion who at first condemned and opposed total
abstinence from intoxicating liquors, but now have joined the movement,
M
have done to that they might control it, and render it tuboervient to
their pre-conceived opinions, if thoy havo joined us now that they miuht
be the better ahle to check its profjiess towards univorsnl adoption, then
are they traitors to the long established tracbings of thpir prpdoces^ors,
Hnd are spies to search out the secret of our sticngih, that they might
betray this cause and upriot ibis tree, the fruit of which is pfii.ce and
joy an. ove. Some one bas sai'i, •' pure is the joy without all>iy. whose
greate.k rapture is contentment." [fe must liuve meant total aiisti-
nence, for the j"»y produced by it is free from gntss excitement. Some
of the Ministers liave adopted it, because tbfy bone&tlv bel-.pved the
truth of the matter, but ihey did so in opposition to the interpretations
of their early instructors. Therefore, when all are enlightened by its
bright effulgence, and when instead of the Jesuiiical intentions being
carried out, they are led to confess ih( ir oriijinal duplici'y in joining
us,jhey will, along with ; r assembled multitudes, unite cordially in a
grand jubilee, and erect the temple of the Christian virtu« s, which
they have long tritd ineftictuiilly to do, because tliey have not had this
chief corner stone which they so lon<r despised ; then, but not till then,
will this organization bo unnecessary, nnd then will it di solve because
it has got the plac* it ought to have in the temple of the living God ; its
dissolution will be the signal for the shout of a K'ing in the kingdom below,
and for joy in heaven that Babylon and its ally, alcohol, are fallen to-
gether. John at Piitmos, in a vision, " heaid as it were the voice of a
great multitude, and as the voice of manv waters, and as the voice of
mighty thunderings, saying," in their rejoicings over the fall of Baby-
ion, "Alleluia, fcr the Lord God omnipptent reigneth. L' t us be glad
and rejoice, and give honour to him. for iho marriage of the Lamb is
come, and liis wife hath made herself ready." •' Blessed £.«•« they who
are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Would the prac-
tice of any known virtue, other tiian the one urged by the Ministeis of
total abstinence, prepare mankind so well for the receiving the doctrines
of the Bible : [ boldly say, vol one, and have not a ooubt but that this
is the preparation the Churcii is to make for union with the Great Head,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Temperance is the lever that will move iha
world on the fulcrum — firmness. Conviction the weight to lift it high
enough for the gospel chariots to receive if, and carry it off to glory.
If total abstinence is the platform on which the different denomina.
tions of C/hristians are to unite, or if the discovering of the true and
proper emblems is to be the signal of the union, then had we not much
better leave the disputef we are engaged in, such as the Clergy Re*
serves. Rectories, Slate support of Keligion, and things of a like nature,
and take up this most vital of all questions and agree to take the law of
God for our guide in the decision ? If, as I anticipate, and nothing under
the sun can shake my faith in the matter, then union the most CDmplete
that ever existed since the fall of Adam, will end these matters; for
if we were all of one mind, then there would be an infinitely greater
willinwness to give 10 Christ, not only the seventh of the land for the
extension of the knowledge of the salvation he has wrought out, but we
would give the whole, aye, and ourselves too, readier than we are now^
65
to give to sshools, ctnals. or railways. The lima of this union is at
han I, in s|iit«> of the ini;lel libnralis n that prevails amonjist us«, of let-
lin;5 pvcry one spt up o gi I of his own lo worsljin, of setting up a sys-
tern of doctrine for himself to bplifvo, or a form ofi-hu cl» government
to suit his n )iion^. Thii Clnirch of Christ is one as the Apostle He.
serines it — " Thf»re is onn holy a'lil oie spirit, onn Lord, one faith, one
baptisn, one (tdI and Falhir of all" — a descripiim of organization
noi like ih'^ Churches now in existence, nor even in any one of them,
f )r it is said,. that, no two insmbers of any Cliurcli agree on all points
of doctrine, and liberty is even granted by the one to the other to be-
lieve as he likes. We have nothing in the prophesies intimating that
the Church of Christ in its puritv shall hive a name or a place, or an
organiznion in the world, until the seven-headed beast is .slain, after
that it will be seen and f'lt, extend and become universal, and after a
time of success never bcf )re pqnalled or approuched by any, the time
will hs c )me which is spoken of by th*! Prophet, when one shall not
say to the other — 'Know thou the Lord, for all shiU know him from
the least to the greatest ;" then will every house he a Rector's, and the
world a Clergy lleserve. C )me then to our platform, hear the truths
discovered by the se:irches of the teetotallers — hear what this daughter
of heavon siys of Christ, and ask yourselves arp we not living in the
time immdiately preceding the last outpouring ofthe spirit on all flesh ;
and if we live to see this union only pirtially acomplished. and this
discovery the ground and road to th.tt union, our happiness will be great
and lasting, hiving the reco lection that we were the pioneers who
opened the way, threw bridges across swamps and rivers and gulfs of
Sfr-parati n, and built a wall of our own pledge, on which the silver
palace of ths virtues would be safe.
Looking at the temperance m')vftm?nt as the work of the Alm'ghty
Director of events, let us ask ourselves, was it only to accomplish the
one thing— the making mankind a sober race — ir had he s^me higher
object in view when he put it into the mind of those he employed at the
outs it of the m )vpment ? Wis his obj -ct totally uncinnected with the
things of eternity? I imst firmly believe it was intended, and is the
herald of the latter-day glory of the Ctiurch — thit it is as the voice of
one crying in th3 wiMerness, *' lic-pare ye tho way of the Lord, end
make his paths straight." It has proved itssif that in individual cases,
Knd what it his done in single instances, it will accomplish for the
Whole. John the Baptist catnj nei her eating nor drinkin:;, so has this
iem;)er.ince movumeni oni^ ieacliirinr us not to eat, but especially, not
to drink as th3 world drank. An I Jesus Ch:ist cam? both eating and
drinking, so the last outp .uring ofthe spirit and increase of knowledge
will tnacli us hjw and what to both eat an I drink. There is only as
the appearanci^ of a mirt's hin I in the woik as yet, but it will over-
8pr<'ad the sky and prove itself th? hand that stretched out the hetiven*
at th^ first. The Jews of old s»'\id, that John the Biptist had a devil,
80 hath the world i,»id of this movem nt. The same people said of
the Saviour ofthe world, " Behold a man gluttonous and a wine bibber,
ft friend of publicans and sinners." So will It be with us. O may
56
We live to see the day when the vine will be planted in our land, and
the pure blooiJ of the grape l)e pressed out for the quenchinj^ of the
thirs' of the woary sqinurner. John came to make ready a people pre-
pared for the Lord. Tempr-rance has already prppirod about twenty
millions for roccivinij the Gospel, preached successfully by the emblems
of our holy Sacrami^nt.
The Pharisees asked of John, " Whv bnptizest thou tlion, if thou be
not that, «■ ist, nor Elias, tieither that I'rophet? John answered them,
hayiniT, dp'ize whh water " Wo havH been as severely questioned
as to our uuihority for adminisforinij tho pledge as John could be for
baptizin'j. We have been asked, why take the work out of the Church's
hands of teaching the people? Is not the Church the only appointed
institution for regenerating the world ? That has been granted, but
you are not sufficient, we have said, and proved too, to the Church's
satisfaction ; for they now find i: necessary t ) form Church Temper-
ance Societies, which are organized, as it weru, to divide their work
into two distinct parts, or raihpr tor the purpose of, by degrees getting
this part incorporated with the parts they had belore, that the world
might think that this is an addition to the Bible way of regenerating
man — equivalent to saying, the Bible was not a perfect rule of life.
Total abstinence professes to have noihing in view but the evil cus-
toms of the day, and in endeavouring lo abolish them, is saying with
John, " I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance, (repentance
has only one letter that is not in temperance,) but he that com-
eth after me is mightier than 1, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear;
he shall bafitize you with the Holy Ghost and wiih fire." And that
system of truth that is to supersede this movement, and render it un-
necessary as a distinct organization, will do as the Saviour of the
world did, "Come to" Ihis "Jordan, to" this ''John, to be '. aptized of
him." " But John forbade him^ saying, I have need to be baptized of
thee, and comest thou tome." So will this be, when the Church of
Christ revives and puts on its strength. It will come to be baptized
with the baptism of this pledge, and adopt it as a rule of life. And
when pxpc • dating with one another, the representative of Christ will
say, and submit too, " Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us
lo fulfil all righteousness." Some, if any tuerc were, who exalted this
movement into a certain means of grace, and put it in the place of
the Gosp d, will come, as the disciples of John did, and say to him —
" Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan," (O what a delightful
thought) — beyond Jordan — beyond the time when this flood ol pure
water — this cleanser, cooler, and refresher — this supplanter of alco-
hol — thiit liquid fire that parched and burned, and made more thirsty
than before the drinkers — that would burn itself, and render combus-
tible that which was not so before, being saturated with it. *' He
that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness,"
and mighty is the les'imony which temperance principles have given
of the benevolence of Bible precepts, " behold the same bapiizeth and
all men ome to him." The answer will be the same that John gave
— " Ye, yourselves, bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ
57
but am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom" —
that is, he who out of a world lying in wickedness choses a people
to himself has all the prais?. " But the friend of the bridegroom,
which standeib and heareth him, rejoiceth ereatly because of the bride-
groom's voice, this my joy, therefore, is mlfiUed. He n ust increase,
but I must decrease.
John called to those he was surrounded with, " Behold the Lamb of
God which taketh away the sin of the world." Day after day he re.
peated this testimony. John i. 87 : " And the two disciples heard him
•peak, and they followed Jesus." As in the case of John's disciples,
•o with those of us who have longest followed total abstinence, it is not
necessary to say, when the emblems of the Lamb of God are shewn
in the progress of investigation, that we leave total abstinence to fol-
low Christianitv, just as it was not necessary to say, in the other,
case, that John s disciples left him. The one disciple told the other
" We have found the Messiah." So will we do now. We will publish
to the world the fact, that we have discovered this mine of gold that
has laid hidden, covered, and healped up with the rubbish of man'si
inventions, these ages past. To total at)8tinence men, under God, is
due the praise of removing the rubbish entirely, which partly got a
shaking up and loosening at the Reformation. One beautiful vein,
" bright and shining," was i opened, and a little of the gold ex-
tracted, but it got a coat ot corruption laid over it in the emblems,
which total abstinence has cleared away, in shewing to the world the
real character of the emblems. Yes, our Andrews will tell our Si-
3, and our Simons will be called Peters ; and the old truth made
mons,
new, will draw the Philips. The Philips will find the Nathaniels, and
we will have " Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile."
It may be, and I believe it will be, as it was with John. Some He-
rod, in a rash vow, may, for the gratification of some adulterous
party, sacrifice the temperance principle, and my eyesight is very
dim if I do not see the power now that will do it — it exists. But I
say as John s Xd — "It is not lawful for thee to have her." It is no
union, it is no marriage. The curse of God rests on the adulterer,
who, by lies and false pretences, have tried to seduce t9 their vile
purpose this daughter of heaven. The head may go for it, but re-
member Herod; and remember that there can be "no communion
of light with darkness — that there is no concord with Christ and Be-
lial" — " that we cannot serve God and Mammon." Though this may
come to pass, yet he who was with John beyond Jordan, still lives,
and Herod will yet hear of the fame of Jesus, and say to his ser-
vants—" This '9 John the Baptist, he is risen from the dead, and
therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him." I have
done.
" With heavenly weapons I have fought
This battle of the I>ord'B."