John. I think it is much to be regretted, that the writers of the New Testament were not a little more explicit in regard to the manner of worship, for there has been a great deal of disputing about it among the professors of Christianity.

Father. I do not think so. For Christ said to his disciples, "I have yet many things to say to you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit, when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shew it unto you. "John xvi.12-14. Was it

not much better to direct their attention to the teachings of the Spirit of Truth, (which he has promised to all those who wait upon him,) than to give them verbal or written instructions about the manner of worship, which perhaps, they were not in a state to receive?

John. Those who were to be guided by the Spirit of Truth, or indued with a miraculous gift of the Holy Ghost, did not need such particular directions, but if the apostles, while under the influence of this power, had written a more minute account of their forms of worship, it might have saved a great deal of controversy.

Father. True spiritual worship does not depend upon any form, but upon the power or influence under which it is performed. "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in-power. " 1 Cor. iv. 20. It is not necessary that we should use the same form of worship that the apostles did,-but it is absolutely necessary that we should be governed and influenced by the same power, or spirit of truth; for without it we cannot even think a good thought, much less can we perform, acceptably, the solemn service of Divine worship. The apostle Paul said, "We are not sufficient of ourselves, to think any thing as of ourselves,

but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." 2 Cor. iii. 5, 6.

John. But would not the same spirit always lead into the same form?

Father. It will always produce the same fruits of holiness, but not always the same form of worship; for the Divine Being adapts his instructions and requisitions to the state of the people whom he visits. His mercy, and his condescension to the children of Israel were so great, that he gave them an outward law, adapted to their weak, carnal state, and he made that law a figure, or shadow of good things to come, so that they might be led by the shadow to seek for the "substance, which is Christ." It is evident that the prophets, and other holy men who lived under the law, did come to the knowledge of Christ; for the apostle Peter says expressly, that "the spirit of Christ was in them." 1 Peter i. 11. But in process of time, the Mosaic law became much corrupted by the traditions of the elders, which the scribes had engrafted upon it, and the people became so dependent upon outward observances, that they "omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith." Matt. xxiii. 23. Then it became necessary to abolish that law, and Jesus Christ came to "take away the hand-writing of ordinances," and to introduce a more spiritual dispensation, which he exemplified in his life, and sealed by his death. This law of the new covenant was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah, who says, "This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jer. xxxi. 33. It is far superior to any outward law, because it is always adapted to the condition of each individual,

and it is not limited in its application to our outward actions, for it condemns every evil thought which rises in the mind; and thus in the obedient, dedicated soul, it lays the axe to the root of the corrupt tree.

John. I acknowledge all this is consistent with the Scriptures, but I have sometimes met with persons who say that all immediate revelation has ceased, and that we have nothing to depend on now, but the Scriptures and our reasoning powers.

Father. Yes, there are such persons, and some of them even pretend to be Christians. But the Scripture tells us, "No man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Cor. xii. 3.

James. I have often heard such persons speak on religion, and I confess that I have so little knowledge on the subject, that I could not refute their reasonings. I should like to be certain that the Divine spirit does operate upon man, and inform him of his duty, before we proceed further in the consideration of spiritual worship.

Father. The best way, and the only sure way for a man to be satisfied of this, is, to be obedient to every manifestation of duty in his own mind,-to keep all his passions in subjection, and to do every thing that he believes will be pleasing in the sight of God; and he will then find, as he continues to walk in this path, that his spiritual perceptions will improve; and he will see many things to be wrong, which he once considered indifferent, and will experience many joys to spring up in his heart, which before were unknown to him; until at length he may arrive at that state of "full age," which the apostle Paul speaks of, "even of those who by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Heb. v. 14. That we have a sense of duty, or moral faculty, by some called conscience, placed in our minds, which, when divinely enlightened, enables us to discern both good and evil, without waiting for the slow

deductions of reason, must be acknowledged by every man that is acquainted with his own heart.This important truth, which is so plainly taught in the sacred writings, and so readily acknowledged by every unprejudiced mind, was long obscured, and even denied, in the false theology of the Schoolmen, "who darkened counsel by words without knowledge;"-but it is now acknowledged by the most distinguished writers on moral philosophy; and it has been ably proved, that this "moral sense" is one of the earliest faculties developed in childhood; that it is capable of being improved by use, or impaired by neglect; and that on its use or abuse is dependent the happiness or misery of man.*

James. These facts are acknowledged even by those who deny the authority of the Scriptures.

Father. Now, if it be admitted that we have a "moral sense, " for discerning between good and evil, it follows as a necessary consequence, that there must be a medium by which this sense is brought into use: for the eye cannot see without light; nor can the ear hear without sound. The Divine Spirit is the medium which conveys to our conscience, or moral sense, the knowledge of spiritual things. It is called the light, because it is the medium of perception. It is called the word of God, because through this medium he speaks to the soul; and it is called the grace of God, because it is given freely, "without money and without price." Jesus refers to the conscience as the eye of the soul, when he says, "If thine eye be single, thy whole body will be full of light: but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body will be full of darkness." There is such a striking analogy between the effects of light upon the natural eye, and the operations of the Divine Spirit in the soul, that I cannot refrain from pursuing it further.

The first thing that strikes the attention of an infant

*See Stewart's Moral Philosophy.

is the light; yet it has no knowledge of the nature and properties of light, nor the uses for which it was designed; it does not even know the distance, nor size, nor quality, of any thing it sees, until its senses are improved by exercise. Persons who were born blind, and have been restored to sight by a surgical operation, have at first to examine and handle every thing they see, like the infant does, until by experience they learn to judge of the size and distance of objects. All their first perceptions are imperfect and indistinct. Like the man who was restored to sight by our Lord, they see "men as trees walking." Yet none of these facts induce us to doubt of the qualities of light being the same in every individual; and even the man whose eyes are impaired by disease, so that he cannot direct his steps aright, must acknowledge, that on other men the light may be shining unimpaired.

It is thus that our mental vision becomes gradually accustomed to the influence of the Divine Spirit, "in whom we live, and move, and have our being;" and as we are earnestly engaged in attending to its discoveries, and faithfully concerned to walk in the light, we shall become "children of the light and of the day," and will experience an advancement in the truth, and in the knowledge of the Lord; so that what was at first as "the light of the moon, shall become as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall become sevenfold, as the light of seven days;" for "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

James. I have long been acquainted, in some measure, with the effect of conscience in restraining me from doing evil, or reproaching me for it; but I had no idea that this was any thing extraordinary.

Father. It is not any thing extraordinary, for all men have it; and the divine light shines on the moral sense of all, but all men do not attend to it; for