Fourth Commandment. The gate unto the kingdom above is very low, so that he who enters must kneel, must bow down the haughty will and pride, and obey in spirit and life. "Except ye become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." "Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein." "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." By degrees the glorious truth dawns upon the mind which is being born again, that all these — the Church, the country, his instructors in wisdom and knowledge, his father and his mother, only represented "Our Father, which is in the heavens," and were the mediums of His everpresent care and tenderness. The love of nourishing, defending, and cherishing the helpless and weak, originates in our Eternal Parent, and from Him only flows down into these beautiful earthly relations, these tender parental affections, which so faintly shadow forth the ineffable, the inexpressible yearning of the Lord towards the souls created and redeemed, and born again (if so they will) by His mercy. The love and obedience which was before given to our father and mother, because of the close personal ties which bound us, becomes now infinitely deeper and sweeter, more tender and holy, when we see that in thus loving and obeying them we may simultaneously love and obey our Heavenly Father. The light of this truth shines through every daily duty, and makes it glorious; every filial act, every common employment, becomes a veritable sacrament, "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace."

In our home, our country, our church, the Lord rules, and fills the central and highest place. The Spirit cries within our hearts, "Abba, Father," and we see the beautiful meaning contained in our Lord's tender words, "One is your Father, which is in Heaven." This word "Father" has been the one most frequently dwelt upon by God in illustrating the relation in which He stands toward man, the feeling which

thrills the Omnipotent and Divine Heart of Love for us. "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him." "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you." "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" "Little children, yet a little while I am with you." All the tenderness which a mother feels for the innocent and clinging babe at her breast is all too weak to express His love for the soul; for after using this most exquisite type, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you," He again says, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee!" For His Love is the Fountain, theirs the waves which flow from it.

In the consideration of this commandment we should not forget to remark the especial form in which it is enjoined. We are not only told to love, or merely to obey, our father, and our mother, but to honor them, which unites in itself both the others, the softness of the first feeling and the reverence of the second. Our respect, in thought and in speech, is as due to them, as in action; our thoughtful consideration for their comfort, physical and spiritual; our gratitude for the kindness of the past, and that ever-ready love, which shall interpret at its best every portion of their lives, and shall, in their weakness and need, bestow aid and comfort and protection, are all justly theirs, and are all inIcluded in the "honor" which our Lord commands us to render.

And there is also another point worthy of especial attention: this is the first commandment with promise; it is connected with great rewards and fearful dooms, as it is fulfilled or disobeyed. "He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death." "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." That this promise is not only a literal one, is

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evident, since dutiful children do not always live to a great age, nor do disobedient ones always die in youth. The promise is a far more glorious one, since it is eternal life, in Heaven, which it assures us will be theirs, who faithfully keep this Law. "He asked life of Thee, and Thou gavest it him, even length of days forever and ever." It is said, "That thy days may be long IN THE LAND WHICH THE LORD THY GOD GIVETH THEE." What land has He given us but Heaven? Earth is but a temporary sojourn, "for here we have no abiding city, but we seek one to come."—" A city which hath foundations — whose builder and maker is God." Our Lord has expressly told us, in language which requires no comment, "My kingdom is not of this world.” “In my Father's house are many mansions." "I go to prepare a place for you." The "peaceable habitation," the sure dwellings," and "quiet resting-places,” (Isaiah xxxii. 18,) of His people, are in Heaven; and on earth only so far as Heaven is in the minds and hearts of men.

"The land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,” represented by the fair and abundant country of Canaan, “the Land of the Living," is the Eternal Land-of the angels, and of the Lord, the Heaven which is a state within us first, and afterwards is also a place without us- which must enter into us, with all its purity and loveliness and truth, of deed and thought and will, before we can enter into its outward glories of shining streets and palaces, and cool, flowing waters, and blossoming fields. Both of these, the purity and gentle goodness of the childlike and humble spirit within, and the beauty, the unfading loveliness of the heavenly scenes without, are alike gifts, perpetually renewed and increased, from "Our Father, which is in the Heavens." "Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this Law."

E. F. M.

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT.

NOTES ON CURRENT EVENTS.

In the Congregationalist of June, 1, there is an interesting paper by Rev. Leonard Bacon, D.D., entitled "The Spoils of Egypt." We should like to print the whole article, but its length forbids; and we have space for only some extracts. After some remarks, showing how intimately the histories of the Old and New Testament are connected with the Land of Egypt, Dr. Bacon says:

"What we now speak of familiarly as Egyptology,' but without knowing much about it, is a department of learning which hardly existed fifty years ago. The architectural monuments, built of imperishable granite, which travellers in the valley of the Nile-from the days of Herodotus, and even of Abraham, to the present time-have seen with ever-growing ⚫ wonder, are now no longer objects of wonder merely. The mysterious inscriptions on obelisk, and tomb, and temple, have been deciphered; the hieroglyphics give up their secret lore, and many a blackened mummy now speaks from the papyrus enclosed in its sarcophagus. The civilization of the old Egyptians, their social life, their religion, the names and succession of their kings from ages earlier than the Hebrew exodus, are the subjectmatter of the discoveries and continually progressive inquiries which have been denominated Egyptology.

"All thoughtful men can see that this new department of learning is of great importance as related to the Pentateuch and the other Scriptures of the Old Testament, and therefore-inasmuch as our religion to-day is historically connected with the religion of Moses and of Abraham — highly important to us who believe that we have in the Bible the inspired record of a divine revelation.

"First comes the grave question of agreement or contradiction between the Egyptian discoveries and the Hebrew Scriptures. *** We must expect that, though in the progress of investigation and discovery there may be seeming discrepancies for a time, between this Egyptology and the Scriptures, the end will be a grand addition to the mass of testimony which warrants our confidence in the Bible, and our most reverent use of it as a fountain of religious knowledge and the rule of our religious faith.

"Then will come the hardly less important question of the aid which the Egyptian discoveries may bring to the interpretation of the Scriptures, and especially of the five books of Moses. *** The interpretation of the Bible as the record of a divine revelation has been modified by the astronomical theories and discoveries which at first were thought to be in conflict with religion, and Christianity stands to-day more firmly for the reconciliation with science which has thus been gained for it. In like manner the progress of geology and of other physical sciences — though timid or un

believing souls cry out that the foundations of the Christian faith are shaken is really contributing to a more intelligent recognition of what it is which constitutes the value of the Bible, and to a sounder exposition of its contents as making men acquainted with God and with eternal life. So Egyptology, I doubt not, will ultimately bring its tribute to the interpretation of the Scriptures, and the spiritual Israel will be enriched with the spoils of Egypt."

After further remarks on the importance of employing immediately the best talent to investigate this subject, and expressing his conviction that not mere Egyptologists, but eminent Christian scholarship, must do it, Dr. Bacon goes on thus:

"Now we have in this country a Christian scholar of wide and various learning, of remarkable diligence and perseverance in whatever he undertakes, and eminently qualified for the function of popularizing the results of abstruse investigation, who has studied Egyptology with great carefulness, having in view just the service which I have been attempting to describe. *** I believe he has never lost sight of that design. He has labored at it in his own library, he has studied for it at Berlin under the foremost living teacher in that department of learning.

*

"Dr. Thompson, of the Broadway Tabernacle in New York, is the man I mean; and my proposal is that he have so much relief from his official labors as will give him time for the work which I have described. Let the Broadway Tabernacle Society-which has been so constantly prospered under his ministry of more than five-and-twenty years, and has become so great, rich and generous-take upon itself the honor and the sacrifice of setting its pastor to this definite task in the service of the Church Universal. *** Let him be at liberty to give lectures on Egyptology (as he has already begun to do) in all the theological seminaries; and while watching and aiding the progress of knowledge in that department, and tracing its connection with the study of the Scriptures, let him have opportunity to co-operate in training the preachers and theologians who shall appreciate his great work, and profit by it in their own ministration and defence of the truth."

CHEERING SIGNS. - The members of the New Church cannot fail to be deeply interested in the developments that are going on among the various religious denominations in this country, as well as in Europe. Ever since the meeting of the great Council in Rome, eminent Roman Catholics have been vigorously opposing the groundless pretensions of popery, and especially the dogma of papal infallibility. Three men have particularly distinguished themselves in this important discussion - Dr. Döllinger, Père Hyacinthe, and Strossmayer, Bishop of Bosnia. A quite full description of the speech of Strossmayer,