to Abel, of Beth-maachah in the land of Israel. The city was besieged, a wise woman came out and desired to speak with the commander-in-chief; he went in person to speak with the woman, with as much freedom as he would have done with a man. She expostulated with him for coming to destroy their city, and one that was so much famed for wisdom. He replied that it was not his intention to swallow up or destroy-told her the terms on which hostilities would cease. She told him his terms would be complied with. 2 Sam. xx. 14, 22. The inhabitants of the city acquiesced in her decision. Is not the conduct of this woman approved by the inspiration of God? Did she not teach men? Now, neither she nor Abigail was inspired; they were both intellectually, but not supernaturally gifted. We often hear it brought up as an argument against women officiating in the Christian church, that there were no women amongst the Jewish priesthood.

We have previously adverted to a correspondence which we had with a talented literary minister of the gospel on this question. He said, "Who ever heard of such a monster among the Jewish priesthood as a priestess? adding that he had "read in heathen mythology of a witch called Pythoness, giving oracles at Delphi, but no such order among the Israel of God." Believers are all to be kings and priests, and that of the right stamp. And we have read in the divine record that there was a woman called a prophetess, who delivered oracles at Jerusalem to the Israel of God; her name was Huldah. The high priest and king, through his court, went and received from her a message from heaven, and most dignifiedly did she deliver it, as it became a messenger of the Lord of Hosts. She used no fawning compliments, no fulsome panegyric, but she addressed the king in his appropriate appellation, "man"-no apology for her, in delivering a message from heaven, being a woman. "TELL THE MAN, (THE KING,) SAID SHE, THAT SENT YOU TO ME, THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL."

Our brethren tell us that "women were inspired in the primitive days of Christianity, on account of the exigencies of the times." The customs and manners of that day would not permit women to intermingle with men, to receive instruction from them; hence women were inspired to teach

their own sex in private. "Was this woman inspired to teach her own sex in private ?—was this woman inspired on account of the exigencies of the times? Did the manners and customs of the Jews forbid men to speak as prophets?" Jeremiah and Zephaniah were both prophesying at that period; but God saw proper to send his message by this woman. Did he do violence to her nature, or did he do violence to his own law in selecting her as his messenger? This woman occupied an ecclesiastical standing above the priests. So we see this woman made no apologies for delivering a message from Heaven, on account of her being a woman, or that it was out of place in her to teach men, or that it was any violation of her duty as a wife. We hear she was the wife of Shallum. Nor did Deborah make any apologies on the account of her being a woman in performing her official duties; nor is it ever hinted at in scripture in any place, that it is either sinful or shameful for a woman to exercise the gift of speech and intellect more than man. It was reckoned inglorious for a man to fall in battle by the hand of a woman, or be killed by her; but not the most distant hint that it would be degrading for him to receive instruction from her. The idea that woman must always appear an inferior intellectual being to man in communities privileged with revelation, is the dictate of a spurious Christianity, or a relic of heathenism.

If women did not perform the priest's office, which was confined to one family in the tribe, we are informed from scripture that they officiated in the temple-worship, and occupied an honourable standing in leading the music, and this was ordinary. 1 Chron. xxv. 5, 6, informs us "that Heman, one of the chief singers, had fourteen sons and three daughters; all these were under the hand of their father for song in the house of the Lord with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order, to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman," the three principal singers; and this exercise is called prophecy. First verse," And singing men and singing women," are repeatedly mentioned. They had not such a refined notion of female modesty as many have in our enlightened age. Women were not then the least ashamed to be public, active agents in the worship of God. They were" corner-stones"

under that dispensation, "polished after the similitude of a palace," both conspicuous for utility and ornament; and, in Ps. lxviii., which the apostle tells us has reference to New Testament times, women's instrumentality is twice especially mentioned in this Psalm; verse 25, "The singers went before the players followed after-among them were the damsels playing on timbrels." We see women had a stated standing in the temple-worship, and as honourable and conspicuous a stand as any of the Levites. It is true, that few women have been called to fill public offices, compared with men. This is easily accounted for. Woman has a duty assigned her in the human family, which man by nature is not qualified to perform. If she was a public servant as often as man, she would do more than her share. God will not have one portion of the human family eased, and another burdened. But, if one woman has performed the duties we have specified, it shows conclusively that she is not disqualified by nature; and the fact of her being a woman was not the reason why God did not choose her instrumentality as often in this way as he did the other sex; and although the offering up of sacrifice was exclusively the priests' prerogatives under the Mosaic economy, and also their official duty to bless the people, yet others were not excluded from praying in public, and also blessing the people. Deborah's song stands in the character of petition, praise, and blessing, Judges v. And David blessed the people when assembled, 2 Sam. vi. 18. Solomon prayed publicly, and blessed the people, 2 Chron. vi. Josiah read the words of the book of the covenant publicly, 2 Kings xxiii. 2, with many others.

From this we see priests of old were not so jealous of their prerogatives as they are now-a-days. "I would God," said Moses," that all the Lord's people were prophets," even women, as we suppose they are people. Prophets were certainly a very high order of functionaries in the church, who not only taught when living, but are standing teachers or speakers in the church, though dead, until time shall be no more. And, when the walls of Jerusalem were built up in troublesome times, women were among the buildWe are told that Shallum, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, and his daughters, repaired a portion of the

ers.

wall, Nehem. iii. 12. Why was this mentioned, but for an example to women, that they were also required to be repairers, or builders, of the walls of Jerusalem? We have given undoubted testimony of women appearing in the character of teachers in the Jewish church, and we have already shown that women were chosen instrumentalities for the same purpose at the first promulgation of the gospel; that the apostle addressed women as approved fellow-labourers, and gave his sanction to them as public speakers by adjusting the manner of performing that office. It cannot be denied by expositors of the scriptures, that women were supernaturally endowed under the Christian dispensation; this is too plain to be controverted.

From this the question arises, and presses an answer, for what purpose were women supernaturally endowed when they were forbidden to speak in the church? To answer this query, they are represented as being thus gifted, for the purpose of "preaching to their own sex in private," as virgins in particular are represented as being excluded from all promiscuous assemblies; or, as with some of our modern teachers," All women were excluded from promiscuous assemblies, both by heathen, Jews, and Christians;" but particularly unmarried women. So they say, " elderly women were supernaturally endowed to preach to those young virgins in private."

Now this is wholly gratuitous, without one iota of testimony. Where is there any provision made for teaching their own sex in private? Does the apostle say any thing like it in his Epistle to the Corinthians, where he tells the woman to keep silence in the church? If women were collected together to hear the word of God, would they not constitute a church? "Where two or three are gathered together in my name," &c., would it be keeping silence to speak then? And, in Timothy, is there any provision made for their teaching in private? There is no hint of the kind given in any place. 1 Tim. ii. 4, 5. In Titus, aged women are spoken of as teaching young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, &c. It would be rather a novel lesson to give young virgins, to love their husbands, love their children, &c.

The apostle has given directions for the exercise of both

men and women's gifts in public in the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians, but not one word about teaching the virgins in private, nor was it necessary. The gospel was to be preached to every creature. Those who preached it to one sex, preached it to the other. Was the like ever heard of, that God gave supernatural gifts to be exercised in private? He never lights a candle to be put under a bushel. These gifts were given for the edification of the church. It is not true that young virgins were ever excluded from either Jewish or Christian public religious assemblies; but there were direct statutes under the Jewish dispensation, making it the duty of all of both sexes, who were capable of understanding, to appear at the place where the Lord would choose to hear the book of the law read and expounded, Deut. xii. 12, 29; x. 11, 12; Neh. viii. 2—3; x. 28. And we have already said the virgins appeared in the temple-worship as leaders of the music. Let this suffice for Old Testament proof, that women were not excluded from worshipping assemblies.

Women and children are expressly said to be amongst the number of those Christ fed, which would embrace all ages of females. Martha and Mary were both virgins, for any thing that appears in the text, and attended Christ in companies composed of men. At one of the assemblies, Mary had the privilege of anointing our Lord's feet with ointment, and wiping them with the hairs of her head, which has given her a name in the Christian world better than that of sons and of daughters.

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples of Christ were composed of men and women. The prophecy of Joel would naturally lead us to believe that the Spirit was poured out, more particularly on the young of the female sex, “upon your daughters," &c.

We know "Philip had four daughters that were virgins, who did prophesy." The young and vigorous were certainly best calculated to be useful in the promulgation of the gospel, Acts xxi. 5. When Paul was leaving Tyre, the men, with their wives and children, accompanied him. It is very probable there were some virgins who had come to woman's years among the number. The 7th chapter of 1 Corinthians. gives directions addressed to virgins, which show that they