A PAMPHLET has recently been issued by the American Publication Society from the pen of Rev. T. Armitage, D.D., of New York, on the necessity of a Baptist Sunday School Union, in which he presents the reasons for our organisation.

The Divine truths which have "maintained the integrity" of the Baptist churches, as distinct from all other religionists, are these, namely:

1.-That the word of God, as found in the inspired manuscripts, is the only rule by which the church is to be governed, edified, and built up, in its doctrines, ordinances, and discipline; and that no creed, liturgy, rubric, catechism, decree, law or tradition, is to be set up as of any authority whatever, in any department connected with the upbuilding, defence, and perpetuity of Christ's ransomed church.

2. That his church is composed only of regenerate persons, and that, therefore, all interference in its affairs on the part of the state or of civil rulers, is an unwarranted dictation, oppression and tyranny, that must not be brooked, but is to be resisted, broken, and shaken off, by all true lovers of soul-liberty, on the ground that Christ and Christ only, is the "Head over all things to his church.'

3.—That the immersion of the body in water is the only baptism whereby men can be admitted into the fellowship with Christ's church: therefore, all other symbols of the mystic union are spurious and deviations from Christ's appointed badge of discipleship; and are to be rebuked as human innovations upon the simplicity of primitive Christianity.

4.-That only those persons in whom the spirit of God has wrought a radical renovation of the soul, by faith in Jesus, are, or can be entitled, under any pretext whatever, to a place in a gospel church as members thereof; and that the introduction of any other class, by virtue of parentage, or ecclesiastical decretal, is a direct prostitution of the purposes for which the founder of the church established it in the earth.

5. That regenerated persons thus buried with Christ in the first ordinance of the gospel, are the only persons who do or can possess the requisite qualifications which entitle Christ's people to the benefits of communion, watchful care, and discipline in his church; so that any reversal of this order, is to dispute, nullify, and supersede his authority in his own house. And

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6. That the church of Christ is a simple brotherhood of renewed spirits, walking in the paths of gospel obedience; that they all stand upon a perfect parity in the household of faith, under the legislation and leadership of their elder Brother; and that, therefore, he disallows among them all orders and distinctions that savour of a human hierarchy, and all ecclesiastical denomination whatever, as inconsistent with the right of self-government, which inheres in each individual congregation of his elect, as composing the church of God in any given place.

These truths are broad and fundamental and plain, as" CHRIST TAUGHT THEM,” and yet, with the exception of one or two points, they are held by none but Baptists in all their bearings practically. They ramify through all the groundwork and life of Christianity. And so far from being considered by the Christian world, as small points, external and non-essential, they have drawn a broad belt across the bounds of Christendom, and divided the Christian world into two. There is not another doctrine of Christianity of which this can be said. The question as to what material constitutes the church, and by what law it is to be built up into the living temple, has agitated the church for fifteen hundred years, and troubles its waters more to day than ever before. It has consumed the best learning and talent of Christianity. Millions of the best minds are devoted to the theme to-day. Every pulpit and press in the British empire is handling the subject, with its embarrassments and responsibilities, and it is engendering nearly as much discussion and profound feeling in the republic itself.

The man who tells you that the only thing involved here is a mere external rite, is as blind as he can well be to the times in which he lives. The truths involved are precisely these, and these only, which necessitate the existence of the Baptist world on one side, as distinct from all other Christians, and the Pædobaptist world on the other side, as distinct from us.

THE BIBLE.

THE Bible is of divine origin. Men are the channels through which this water of life has flowed to us, but God is the source of it. Mariners observe that the seas on the globe are of different colours. One is of a green colour, another is of a blue cast, and a third is of a dark hue; but all are composed of water. So Moses, Isaiah, John, and all the Sacred writers, though differing in other respects, wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Hence it is called the Word of God, and the Book of the Lord. It is not Satan's invention; for the father of lies would not propagate such glorious truths. It is not of man's devising; for it contains loftier strains than Homer's or Milton's, and purer moral maxims than Seneca's or any of the sages of antiquity. Are you perplexed by the mysteries of the Bible? You must remember that it is the production of an infinite mind, and that it will probably be our lesson-book throughout eternity. There are problems in it for philosophers, and there are also knots which children may untie. It is the most suggestive book in the world. Myriads of sermons have been preached to explain and enforce it; thousands of books have been written to unfold and illustrate its lessons; and the press is teeming with more at the present time than ever before. It contains lumps of solid gold which may be beaten out endlessly. Every time we search it we find something new. Every time we dive into this sea we bring up fresh pearls. Every time we go down into this mine we discover rich veins. It is literally inexhaustible; and the longer we study it the more we shall understand it. Let us pray as the psalmist did, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." Prayer is the key that unlocks the doors of the mysterious chambers of the Scriptures.

The Bible is a letter. It is indited and sent by the Father in heaven to his children on earth. As a wise father gives counsel to his children when they are away from home, so God has ordained a way to instruct us. He has