of days and times. "One man esteemeth one day above another, another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it." Rom. xiv. 5, 6. Such we observe was the liberality of that eminent minister of Christ, the apostle Paul, on the subject of days and times; but I do not mean from thence to infer that he was opposed to the devotion of a day to sacred purposes. It is doubtless expedient for the professors of Christianity to separate themselves at least one day in seven from worldly business. Yet that he who created time made it all equally good, and that the bare formal cessation from labour on the first day of the week, though outwardly expedient, and even an accommodation in civil society, is by no means sufficient; and therefore unless we regard the day to the Lord, we do

not regard it. He that searcheth the heart, and trieth the reins, and sheweth unto men what their thoughts are, is often more dishonored on that day than in all the other days of the week. But as I have before observed, I am satisfied there is no particular holiness attached to one day more than another; yet if we were to lay aside the practice of setting apart one day in seven, no doubt the cause of religion would suffer by it. The society therefore, although they do not believe that one day has any sacred preference to another, have never departed from the practice of other professors in regard to the first day of the week. As it respects days and times appointed for prayers, fasting, &c. though they believe that theChristian should live in the spirit of prayer, they cannot make appointments for this purpose, or join with those who do. Nor have they consecrated days in reverence to any particular occasion or person; well knowing that it is not the devotion of

particular times, but the obedience of the whole heart to the will of God, which Christianity calls for, and that not one, but every day that a gracious Creator may grant to them. It appears that Paul was afraid of some of the time servers in his day; "But now after that ye have knownGod, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage, I am afraid of lest 1 you, have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years." Gal. iv. 9, 10, 11.

WATER BAPTISM.

FRIENDS do not believe that water baptism, under any of the forms of administration adopted by the various professors of Christianity, is enjoined by any thing said upon the subject in the Scriptures of truth. But

because they have rejected it, and held that it belonged to a dispensation inferior to the Gospel, some have been so uncharitable as to deny that they were Christians. When I have taken a serious view of the doctrine of water baptism, and admitted, for the sake of examination, that it was necessary, I have always stumbled at the consequences which must connect with such a belief. If, for instance, we say that a soul cannot be saved unless the body of the person is dipped in water, or sprinkled by another, then the consequence must be, that the grace of God, or manifestation of the spirit, is not a sufficient means for salvation; that even the Almighty cannot perfect the salvation of man, without the aid of one of his creatures to sprinkle or dip the person to be saved. This I could never admit, and yet it must be admitted if there is no salvation without. But there is, and has been salvation without it; for no one can believe

that the innumerable company which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, which stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, &c. were all baptized with water; yet if one of them was saved without, then salvation is possible without water baptism. But it is even probable that water baptism was not so much as heard of by many of them. The foregoing considerations on the subject were sufficient to satisfy me that this baptism was not a divine ordinance, intended to be necessary, or entailed upon the church of Christ. But lest however it should be thought that this is not a sufficient enquiry into the subject, I will pursue it further.John the Baptist was sent to baptize with water unto repentance. But it does not appear to us that his dispensation or service ever extended to the opening of the mysteries of the kingdom of Christ: this we believe remained to be separately reserved as