only excepted" should be longer insisted upon. You have the Gospel-whatever your Saviour commanded, whatever he did, whatever he was, whatever he promised, is written there. Read for yourselves. Search the Scriptures. God has given you understanding, young as you are, he will enlighten your minds, and make you wise to salvation.

INSTITUTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY.

1. Baptism, the Lord's Supper, the Sabbath, are the institutions of Christ. One of our Saviour's last commands to his disciples was, "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them." Baptism is a simple ceremony-immersion in water, or sprinkling water upon infants or grown persons, at the same time that a declaration is made to God and man, that the individual baptized will believe, and obey the gospel.

2. When an infant is baptized, his friends express an intention to educate him as a christian : when a grown person is baptized, he acknowledges that he believes the religion of Jesus, and means to conform himself to its laws.

3. The Lord's supper. When our Lord celebrated the last passover which occurred during his life, he instituted the Supper. On this occasion when he distributed bread and wine, he expressed himself to this effect, "This bread represents my body, which is given for you, and

this cup of wine represents my blood which snall be shed for you :"-and when they ate of the bread and drank of the cup, he said, "This do, in remembrance of me."

A sa

4. Since that time many Christians all over the world have thought it a duty to obey this injunction, and have met together at stated times to celebrate the Saviour's death. Baptism and the Supper are sometimes called sacraments. crament is an oath or solemn promise to God. At the ceremony of Baptism, and at the first celebration of the Supper, Christians are required to promise that they will observe and perform all the duties of Christians: hence baptism and the supper are called sacraments.

5. The Sabbath. In the lesson on the Deca logue the nature of the Sabbath was explained. Christ did not command his followers to build churches, to supply them with fixed ministers, and to attend public worship on the Sabbath, but he said, "the Sabbath" already established "was made for man," he taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath day, he read the Scriptures, he shewed respect for the ministers-all this is sufficient authority, and makes public worship, and public instruction on the Sabbath, a Christian institution and duty.

6. The Passover, one of the annual feasts of the Jews. The origin of the passover is thus described in Exodus. When the Egyptians refused to allow the Israelites to depart from Egypt, God sent various plagues to them; the last of these plagues was the death of the eldest or first born child of every family in Egypt. Moses in the expectation of this plague ordered that his brethren

should kill a lamb and sprinkle the door-posts of every house with its blood, so that when the angel, commissioned to destroy the Egyptians, should see this sign that Israelites dwelt within the house, thus marked, he should pass over that house, and spare the inhabitants. This was done, and the Israelites were spared. This deliverance they celebrated annually at the feast called the Pass

over.

PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY

1. The word Gentiles occurs frequently in the new testament: it signifies those who were not Jews. At the time of the death of Christ, the Jews were divided into those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and those who believed "that he who should come"-that he of whom the prophets spoke, had not yet appeared upon earth. Between these two classes of men, a strong enmity prevailed.

2. The Jews hated the followers of Christ, because they supposed them to be followers of an impostor, and setters-forth of false doctrines; and though hatred is contrary to Christianity, it must be believed that the first Christians regarded those who had crucified their master with very painful feelings. Still there were all over Judea, many excellent people who were yet to be instructed in the new religion-many who were ignorant of all the mighty works that Jesus had done, and among whom the disciples went forth to preach and to teach.

3. The Apostles having witnessed the ascen sion of Jesus, about one hundred and twenty being at Jerusalem, began soon after to work miracles, and to preach the gospel. Their first success was very great, and an interesting account of it is given in the first and second chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. They soon began to meet with opposition as their master had done; nevertheless the new religion spread extensively.

4. Peter was the first who preached the gospe! to the Gentiles, whom he taught that Jesus came not only to his own nation, but to all men, of all nations. Among the converts of this period was a great company of Christians who devoted themselves to the instruction of others, but the opposition to Christianity was bitter and cruel. A very affecting instance of this is recorded in the martyrdom of Stephen in the 7th Chapter of Acts.

5. Soon after the death of Stephen, God raised up an eminent servant of his cause in Paul, or Saul, as his Hebrew name was, a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia. Saul was among the most violent opposers of the Christians; but it pleased God to enlighten his mind, and when he was instructed in the knowledge of the Christian religion, he preached it successfully in Syria, in Arabia, and Jerusalem.

6. The Jews were not only inhabitants of Judea, but besides those who still remained in Persia and other eastern countries, colonies of Jews, from the time of Alexander, more than three centuries before Christ, had established themselves in Alexandria, Asia minor, Greece and other parts of the Roman dominions. At the time of the ascension of Christ, and immediately after it, the re

sidents at Jerusalem, besides the natives, are thus enumerated.

7. "There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven," besides "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, in Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Lybia, about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and Proselytes, Cretes and Arabians."

8. When all these people heard the gospel, they, doubtless, as many as believed, sent, as they had opportunity, intelligence of the "glad tidings" to the countries whence they came, and in that manner it is probable, that Bible news travelled into many places even before the gospel was taught in them by ministers. But to give effect to the gospel, Paul, Barnabas, Peter and others, carried the new religion into Asia minor, Syria, Greece, some of the Greek islands, and to Rome itself.

9. At Rome all religions were tolerated, that is, all the forms of Paganism; but though Paul made converts at Rome, it appears that he was there made a prisoner at large; had the liberty of going over the city, without power to quit it, and that he preached there during two years. From Rome, Paul wrote the Epistles, or letters, to the Phillippians, tó Philemon, to the Ephesians and the Collossians. During the rest of his life, St. Paul devoted himself to the religion of Christ; and after the death of the first apostles, other eminent and pious men taught this religion, and established churches all over the Roman empire.

10. A's Christ had foretold, the first Christians