with deep concern, whether this circumstance may that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart not more probably be owing to thy unwarrantable faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and compliance with the maxims and manners of the my portion for ever." Such were the sentiments world, and to thy want of conformity to the char- of man in his original dignity and glory. He was acter and example of the blessed Redeemer, than made for the enjoyment of God; and the enjoy to any change of sentiments in ungodly men. Of ment of God constituted his supreme felicity, as this, however, rest assured, that the spirit of the the image of God constituted the perfection of world has always been in opposition to the spirit his nature. Upon the fatal apostacy of man, he of the Gospel, and will always continue to be so; lost this image, and forfeited every claim to this and that the same spirit which persecuted the enjoyment: the affections, of consequence, have meek and holy Jesus when on earth, will again received a wrong direction, and have since wanpersecute his image in thy person, if thou shalt dered from one object to another in quest of hap be found truly to bear that image. It is very piness, without ever being able to find it here betrue, if thou art satisfied with this world as a por- low. But when, by the faith which is in Christ tion, and content to follow the course of the Jesus, the soul is restored to the favour of God, world, with heedless security, thou mayest be al- sanctified by his Spirit, and transformed into his lowed to pass on unmolested and unnoticed. But image, then the affections return to God as their if thou hast been warned of the danger of such a proper object, and the soul rests upon him with course; if thou hast been admonished that the supreme complacency and delight. Such a man end thereof is death; if thou hast been persuaded may be deprived of riches, and honours, and to turn thy back upon the world, to flee from the friends, and other earthly comforts, but his soul wrath to come, and to press forward in an oppo- was not set upon these as a portion: the object of site direction, towards the mark for the prize of his happiness is in heaven, and infinitely above the high cailing of God in Christ Jesus; in that the vicissitudes of time and sense; therefore, his case, expect with certainty, to meet with many an happiness is secure. Such a man may be even angry countenance, with many an ungracious troubled on every side, yet is he not distressed; thrust, and sometimes even with a partial over- he may be perplexed, but he is not in despair; he throw. may be persecuted, but he will not be forsaken; and when the Lord lifts up the light of his countenance upon him, he puts gladness in his heart, more than in the time when the corn and wine of his persecutors are increased. This naturally leads me to observe that, Let not the humble followers of Jesus, however, be discouraged by the prospect of these formidable trials; for however numerous and powerful their enemies may be, yet greater is He that is for them, than all that can be against them; however great and complicated their sufferings, proportionally rich and abundant will be their consolations. This leads me, 66 II. To shew that real Christians are happy even in the midst of their present sufferings. "If ye suffer for righteousness' sake," says the apostle, happy are ye." And the truth of the assertion will abundantly appear, if we consider the object, the nature, and the foundation of the Christian's happiness. In the opinion of the world, happiness is supposed only, and always, to arise from the possession of those objects on which the men of the world set the highest value, whether riches, or honour, or power, or friends; and he who has secured, or who possesses, the greatest share of these, is generally styled the happiest man. But how incapable are such objects of conferring substantial happiness on a rational, immortal soul! how disproportioned to its immense desires! how ill adapted to its eternal duration! how precarious the tenure by which they are secured! how liable to disappointment, to vexation, to wretchedness, is every man who sets his heart upon them! Not so the Christian. His happiness is placed beyond the reach of accident, and the fear of change; for it is fixed upon God: a God reconciled through Jesus Christ is the supreme object of his happiness and desire. "Thou art my portion," does he say, “O Lord.” "Whom have I in heaven but thee; and there is none upon earth As the object, so is also the nature, of the Christian's happiness, such as to justify the assertion, that he is happy in the midst of external sufferings. By the nature, I do not mean the permanency or stability of the Christian's happiness, but the quality of those pleasures, in which his chief happiness may be said to consist. These pleasures are not of a carnal, but of a spiritual nature; they operate not merely on the animal spirits, or the external senses, but have their seat in the soul, the nobler part of man. In short, they arise from a sense of the pardon of sin, and of peace with an offended God,-from the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, and the joyful anticipations of immortal glory. When these are the attainments of the Christian, with what cheerful resignation will he receive the salutary chastisements of his Heavenly Father! with what transcendent dignity will he look down on the impotent rage of his malicious enemies! wil what calm composure will he expect the issue of his Father's will! With such transporting views, he will exult on a bed of sickness, and triumph at the prospect of dissolution. Bear testimony, you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, with what complete indifference you have viewed this poor world, in comparison with his favour! Bear testimony, in those happy moments, when, in the confidence of a lively faith, in the ardour of unfeigned love, and with the fervour of pure devotion, you have been per mitted to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus; as members of his spiritual body, to call God, Father; to realise and to appropriate the benefits of the Redeemer's purchase; and in the present circumstances of his grace, to anticipate the joys of his promised salvation. Bear testimony how, in such happy moments, the pleasures and the pursuits, the hopes and the fears, the sufferings and enjoyments, of a present world, have vanished from before you. On such occasions, have you feared the opposition of ungodly men? has the scorn of the profane appeared formidable to your view? have you been overwhelmed by the heaviest afflictions? or has death itself been considered as an object of dismay? On the contrary, have you not been enabled to say with the apostle, "We are persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Few real Christians, perhaps, there are, who have not enjoyed such happy seasons, during some period of their spiritual life. Bear testimony, then, to the condescending goodness of the Lord; pray that he may maintain what he has wrought for you; and let the humility, and holiness, and active usefulness of your lives, exhibit evidence of the grateful sentiments of your hearts. But alas! may some humble Christian exclaim, such was once my joyful experience; and " I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved.” But how much otherwise is it now! "Behold (now) I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him." And when I commune with my heart, I am ready to say with the Psalmist, "Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?" Are these thy feelings, O sincere believer? yet be not overmuch cast down by this afflicting dispensation; but contemplate, for thy comfort, the foundation of the Christian's happiness. Did the ultimate happiness or salvation of believers depend on any temporary frame or feeling of their own minds, it is very certain that many of the most eminent saints on earth might often be pronounced of all men the most miserable. No! the Christian's happiness rests not on so uncomfortable a foundation: it is founded on the immovable basis of the eternal purposes and love of God; and this constitutes at once its security and perfection. His people were chosen by him in Christ before the foundation of the world, that they might be holy, and without blame before him in love. They are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. They are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. And he who has begun a good work in them, will assuredly perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Such is the foundation of the believer's happiness. Justly, then, does the apostle say to these early converts, "If ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye." Nor is the privilege peculiar to them, but equally the portion of every sincere believer of the present day, who, in the triumphant language of the Psalmist, may exclaim, " God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble: Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea."” "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward." Fear not amid surrounding and persecuting enemies; only believe, and you shall see the salvation of the Lord,-a salvation which will be inconceivably enhanced by the recollection of your present sufferings. From what has been said, we may learn, 1. That the sufferings of real Christians in this life, so far from being tokens of the divine displeasure, are merely temporary trials, intended to promote their ultimate happiness,-that they suffer only by the will of God, and that they are happy even when they suffer. Nor is the doctrine illustrated above a solitary proof of this comfortable truth. Abundant additional evidence will be found to arise from the character of God, from the declarations of Scripture, and from the experience of believers in all ages. In contemplating the divine character, it is the inestimable privilege of Christians, to be directed by a species of information on which the mind rests with perfect and pleasing satisfaction. Unlike the irreverent and incoherent dreams of heathen philosophy, which represented the Deity as a weak and capricious being, who scattered benefits and miseries with a partial or indiscriminating hand, or as a being too great, too indolent, or too much engrossed by pleasure, to take any concern in the affairs of mortals, the sacred oracles lead us to view God as a being possessed indeed of infinite majesty and glory, but at the same time, of the most diffusive benevolence and condescending goodness; humbling himself to behold the things that are done in heaven and on earth,-as superintending and arranging the affairs of this world, so that not even a sparrow falleth to the ground without him,-as possessed of infinite knowledge, so that he searcheth the hearts, and trieth the reins of the children of men, as of purer eyes than to behold evil,--and as angry with the wicked every day, as possessed of infinite wisdom, and undeviating justice, to regulate his conduct, and of irresistible power, to execute his purposes,~ and as so loving the children of men, as to give his own Son to be the propitiation for their sins. Now, if under the administration of so wise, so just, so powerful and gracious a being, it really happens that the comparatively pure and upright are, as we have seen, subjected to equal, or to greater sufferings than the openly profane, it must happen, either that all mankind are equally the objects of the divine displeasure, or that the sufferings of those whom God regards with com- | cried, " Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye placency, are intended for their good. The former conclusion no Christian can admit, and therefore, the latter follows by unavoidable consequence. But in order still more to increase the comfort of believers, the Lord has been pleased to add to the unquestionable deductions of reason, the clear and repeated declarations of Revelation. Thus, he says to his ancient people :-" Thou shall also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee." Again, says the inspired author of the book of Proverbs," Whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." And again, in the book of Job,"Behold, happy is the man whom the Lord correcteth, therefore, despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty; for he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles, yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee." In like manner, says the Apostle Paul," Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." And the Apostle James,-"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." Such gracious declarations from the mouth of God, who cannot lie, ought, it should be imagined, to satisfy the minds of the most timid Christians. But that their consolation and joy might be complete, another species of evidence is mercifully afforded: and the testimony of experience and of sense is superadded to that of reason and of faith. When the alarming mandate sounded in the ears of Abraham-" Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt-offering, upon one of the mountains which I shall tell thee of;" how must the feelings of the parent have struggled with the faith of the believer!-how must the dictates of reason and of sense have revolted against the authority even of the divine command! But in the issue of the conflict, how glorious was his reward! -the son whom he had sacrificed in the resolution and purpose of his mind, was restored alive to his embraces a seed innumerable as the stars of heaven was promised to his obedience--and he obtained the honourable appellation of father of the faithful. When Joseph was sold as a slave into a foreign country, and lay immured, for eight long years, in all the horrors of a dungeon, was it because his God had cast him off for ever? No; the Lord was with him still, and in due time raised him up to be the chief governor over all the land of Egypt, the saviour of that mighty nation, and the happy preserver of his father's family, and even of the Church of God. In like manner, his father Jacob, when, by the pressure of reiterated afflictions, his mind was sunk into a gloomy despondency, and in the bitterness of his soul he will take Benjamin away; all these things are against me," was at that moment the object of God's peculiar care; and could his faith have penetrated through the veil of a little time and space, he would have seen that Joseph was still alive and well; that Simeon and Benjamin were soon to meet him in happiness and comfort; and that be himself, and his whole family, were, by means of these perplexing circumstances, to be removed from famine, and threatened extinction, to ease. tranquillity and plenty. But time would fail me to enumerate the instances in which the sufferings of the ancient saints were made the means of con veying to them the most substantial benefits. Even in the present time, I trust that there are many-yea, that there are now hearing me not a few sincere, but humble Christians, who can set their seal to the truth of this cheering doctrine, from their own joyful experience; I trust that there are many who, in the review of their past lives, and even in the midst of present sufferings, can lay their hand upon their breast, and say with the holy Psalmist, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted." Which leads me to observe, that, 2. From what has been said, we may learn to form a proper estimate of our own character, from the influence of sufferings on our temper and cor duct. The Lord does nothing in vain. In an especial manner, he "doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men." If he prunes the branches of his vine, it is that they may ring forth more fruit; and if Christians are called to endure afflictions, it is that they may learn to sanetify the Lord God in their hearts. Let us thea examine ourselves with deep concern on this interesting subject. Few there are amongst us whe have not, at some period of our lives, been visited by sufferings. What effects, then, have these produced upon our temper and conduct? Have they rendered us more humble in the sight of Godmore meek, more patient, more resigned-more grateful for the blessings which he has yet continued with us, especially for his unspeakable gift, the Lord Jesus Christ? Have they served to wean our hearts from an immoderate attachment to the things of this world-to convince us that this is not our rest-and to persuade us to look for a better country, that is, an heavenly? Have they made us more circumspect in our conduct, more holy in our hearts, and more devoted to God in our whole man? If they have produced these, and other similar effects, let us give God the glory, and implore the continuance of his favour, that we may still more and more advance towards per fection-that, forgetting the things which are be hind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, we may press towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If they have not produced in us such effects as these-if, on the contrary, they have tended to sour our temper, to give an asperity and harshness to our manners, and to make us mus I mur and repine at the dispensations of Providence, let us take heed lest we be like that earth which, bearing thorns and briers, is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. A DESCRIPTION OF JEWISH SYNAGOGUES. "To constitute a congregation for the performance of public worship, requires, according to the decisions of the rabbies, at least ten men who have passed the 13th year of their age. In all places in which this or a larger number of Jews can be statedly assembled, they procure a synagogue. For a small congregation they content themselves with a hired room, but where they are numerous they often erect a large and respectable building for the purpose. "They prefer the highest ground that can be obtained in a convenient situation, and suffer no Jew to build a dwelling-house in the neighbourhood, of superior or even of equal height. The accommodations are not always equally handsome or plain; but every synagogue is furnished with a suitable number of long forms or benches, generally with backs. Closets and presses are also provided for keeping books and cloaks. Lamps and chandeliers are affixed and suspended in different parts, to give light to the whole. Near the door or doors are placed little boxes, to receive voluntary contributions for the poor. 66 'Wherever the Jews live, they turn their faces, in prayer, towards the land of Canaan The door, or if there be more than one, the principal door of a synagogue is therefore placed at or near the opposite point of the compass. In this and the neighbouring countries, all structures for that purpose are built as nearly east and west as the situation will admit. At the end opposite to the entrance is a closet or chest, which they call the ark, in allusion to the ark of the covenant in the ancient temple; and in which they deposit the book of the law, used in reading the lessons the public service. Every copy of the pentateuch for the use of a synagogue is required to be in manuseript. The rabbies have furnished their disciples with pumerous rules of transcription, which are required to be most accurately observed, and a failure in any of which frustrates all the labour. It is to be written with ink made of certain prescribed ingredients, in the spare character, without points. It is not to be in the form of modern books, but in a volume or roll, according to the custom of ancient times. The roll consists of long pieces of parchment, sewed together with thongs cut out of the skin of some clean animal; and is rolled up from both ends, on two wooden staves. For its preservation it is cased with linen or silk; another silk covering is added as an ornament. The ends of the staves are more or less ornamented, according to the ability of the owner: some are covered with silver, in the shape of pomegranates; some have at the top a Coronet of silver, to which little bells are appended. To make such a transcript of the law and present it to a synagogue, is deemed a very meritorious service; and the number of them varies, in different congregations, according to the number, wealth, generosity, and repated sanctity of their members. "Near the middle is a desk or altar, formed by a raised platform surrounded by a wooden rail, and generally large enough to receive several persons, either sanding or sitting. From this place, the law is reguhly read, and lectures or sermons are sometimes delivered. No benches or scats are admitted between the altar and the ark. 66 Every synagogue has a chassan, or reader and chanter; one or more clerks for the management of pecuniary and other matters; and one or more persons whose duty it is to keep the place clean and in good order, to trim the lamps, light the candles, open and shut the doors, keep the keys, and attend at all times of prayer. These persons receive salaries out of the public stock of the synagogue to which they belong. There are also wardens appointed; who form a kind of committee of elders, to superintend and direct the finan cial, eleemosynary, and other general business of the congregation. "Folding and unfolding the law, bearing it in procession through the synagogue, elevating it on the altar to be seen by all the people present, reading certain lessons on particular days, and other public services, are performed by various Israelites at different times. But each of these functions is accounted a high honour, and whenever it occurs, the privilege of discharging it is put up to public auction, and assigned to the best bidder. One of the clerks of the synagogue acts the part of auctioneer, and the monies arising from these sales are paid into the general stock." 66 Individuals who are well versed in the Talmud easily obtain the title of rabbi; which is little more than an honorary distinction among their brethren. In every country or large district, the Jews have an offcer, denominated, in some places, a chief or presiding rabbi, and in others, a chacam. He bears a spiritual authority, and, as far as is compatible with the laws of the country, exercises also a civil jurisdiction. The principal engine to enforce compliance with his decisions is the terror inspired by the ecclesiastical censures, excommunications, and anathemas which he has power to denounce, and the direful effects of which are supposed to extend beyond the present life. He takes cognizance of all cases of adultery, incest, violation of the Sabbath or any of the fasts or festivals, and apostacy; of marriages, divorces, and commercial contracts: he hears and determines appeals against decisions of inferior rabbies within his district; decides all difficult questions of the law, and preaches three or four sermons in a year. To some of these cases fees are attached, and the office is accompanied with a respectable salary. In this country there are two of these officers: the Chief Rabbi of the German and Polish Jews, and the Chacam of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews. "The rabbies have delivered many particular directions which are deemed necessary to be followed, in attending the synagogue, by all who have a due reverence for what they call their little sanctuary. But however exact or scrupulous may be their observance of some insignificant punctilios, an extreme want of reverence has long been the chief characteristic of what is called their public worship. A century and a-half ago, one who had often witnessed the services in the synagogues of Germany, has recorded that they were seldom conducted with any order or common decency, but generally betrayed the most detestable confusion. The Italian and Portuguese Jews he has represented as maintaining greater decorum. The same remarks are applicable in the present day. In the Portuguese synagogue there is, sometimes at least, an appearance of sober attention to the service in which they are professedly engaged. The deplorable scene exhibited in * In congregations where any of the members are wealthy, five, ten, fifteen, twenty pounds, are common prices on these occasions. I have been informed that, a few years ago, the privilege of reading the book of Jonah on the day of Atonement, in the principal German synagogue in London, was once purchased for two hundred pounds. thy Father, which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." Matt. vi. 17, 18. 10. But our Lord seems, even beyond this, to antici pate a time, when fasting was to become more common in the Christian Church, than it had been during his personal ministry. The disciples of John put to him the question, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast." Matt. ix. 14, 15. the German synagogues cannot be more correctly described than in the following language of a recent publication: The fathers and princes of Israel, on their return from their captivity in Babylon, wept with a loud voice,' when they compared the dwindled beauty of the second temple, with the glory and splendour of the first, which they had once seen in all its magnificence. What then would have been the grief and dismay of these holy men, had they lived to enter a modern synagogue! where, instead of the beauty of holiness, a magnificent service, and a temple filled with the immediate presence of Jehovah, they should see a rabble transacting business, making engagements, and walking to and fro in the midst of public prayers; children at their sports; every countenance, with very few exceptions, indicating the utmost irreverence and unconcern; and their chief rabbi sitting by, and seeming to care for none of these things; indeed, to speak without any intentional exaggeration, the modern syna-inthians: "Defraud ye not one the other, except it be gogue exhibits an appearance of very little more devotion than the Stock Exchange, or the public streets of the metropolis at noon-day.' ON FASTING AS A CHRISTIAN DUTY. PART II. BY THE REV. DUNCAN MACFARLAN, Minister of Renfrew. 8. NATIONAL fasting is expressly enjoined in the Old Testament. Thus, in Joel, Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders, and all the inhabitants of the land, into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord." i. 14. Again, "Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet: let the priests the ministers of the Lord weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?" ii. 15-17. From these examples, occurring as they do in the history of both Jews and Gentiles, it is quite clear that fasting is not to be resolved into any mere rite, which should terminate in Christ; and neither does it belong to any one condition or relation of life, but belongs equally to families and individuals, to churches and nations, and may be enforced in either by lawful authority. The only question, therefore, which remains, is, whether there be any notice of the continued obligation of this duty under the New Testament. Now, it will be borne in mind, that as it was thus fully established, and long practised under the Old, we are not to expect any separate and special appointment under the New. All that we are warranted to look for, is its occurrence, perhaps its approval; and if occasion serve, remarks concerning it. 9. And in accordance with this, we find the practice in existence among the Jews during the ministry of our Lord; and he even proposes regulations for its observance. Thus, Anna, the prophetess," served God with fastings and prayers night and day.' The pharisee who went up to the temple to pray along with the publican, took credit to himself for fasting "twice in the week." And Cornelius, at an after period, was fasting when the vision of the angel was communicated unto him. And instead of forbidding the continued observance of this duty, our Lord expressly lays down rules concerning it for the use of his disciples. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto 11. The bridegroom was taken from them, and in strict accordance with this saying of our Lord, fasting became much more frequent. That private and per sonal fasting became common, is manifest from an inci dental passage occurring in the First Epistle to the Cor with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer.” vii. 5. That Churches observed fasting we know from what is recorded of the Church of Antioch, when about to send Paul and Barnabas of a mission to the Gentiles. "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and h their hands on them, they sent them away." Acts x 2, 3. And respecting cases of ordination, it is said, that "when they had ordained them elders in ever Church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord." Acts xiv. 23. 12. We are not aware, indeed, of any instance of national fasting in the New Testament. The period. cal fasts of the Jews were doubtless observed by the first Christians; but as these were not of Christian or gin they are not fair instances. But as we have not the history of any Christian nation, or even of any heathen nation, repenting and humbling themselves before God, as did the Ninevites, the mere absence of such occur rence is of no weight against the evidence of both the Old and New Testament on fasting in general, and the special evidence of the former in support of nation fasting. And therefore we ought, as we conceive, to admit the doctrine of fasting in general, as appl cable to both dispensations, and to be observed by is dividuals, churches and nations, as circumstances nat require. 13. And here we might at once stop, as having before us the sum of whatever is recorded in Scripture on the subject. It may not, however, be uninterest ing to observe, that as we find fasting going down with the apostles to the close of their age, so it appears among the earliest notices which we have of the Church after their decease. Thus, in the writings of Barnaas and Hermas, fasting is repeatedly mentioned; and on at least one occasion, expressly approved. “This fast," saith he, "whilst thou dost also observe the command. ments of the Lord, is exceeding good. Thus, therefore, shalt thou keep it." Hermas, Sim. v. 3. Farther i stances will be found in the works of Origen, Basil, St. Gregory Nyssen, and St. Ambrose. But before the time of these writers, several additional fasts seem to have been instituted, such as fasting at Lent and en Fridays. Like the Jews, towards the end of their dis pensation, after ages added many occasions of fasting. and gave perhaps an undue importance to mere absti nence; but with this, the authority of fasting, as ob served by the apostles, was still admitted, and made virtually the basis of whatever was added. 14. At the Reformation, the ordinance itself had been so mixed up with these additional and often idea trous observances, that most of the Reformed Churches expressly renounced the fastings of the Church of Rome. But while they dealt thus with the corrupt forms and |