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Another use of altars was to be an asylum for such as were in danger of being punished. It was reckoned a sort of sacrilege to drag any person from the altar, let his crimes be ever so enormous; because he was considered as under the immediate protection of the god to whom the altar was dedicated. Romulus, in order to bring people to Rome, ordered many altars to be set up, that such as were obliged to abscond from the neighbouring towns might find refuge there.

the altar itself. The use of these horns was to bind the sacrifice to the altar, and it was placed in the open air before the entrance into the tabernacle, that the smoke might not sully any of the sacred vessels. This altar was constructed in such a manner, that it could be carried by the priest from one place to another.

Within the tabernacle, they had the altar of incence, but we know no more of it, but that it was overlaid with pure gold. Every morning and evening the officiating priest offered sacrifices upon it, while the people stood without praying, of which we have an instance in Luke i. This was the altar which the prophet Jeremiah hid, when he found that the city and temple were to be destroyed.

Among the Greeks and Romans, altars were erected on the most conspicuous parts of the highways, and even in the market places in their cities. Thus we find that when Paul was at Athens, he passed by and saw an altar with this inscription, "To the unknown God."

In latter times, altars were made of stone, and their heights were regulated according to the titles of the deities to whom they were consecrated. The celestial gods and goddesses had their altars built very high; but the terrestial ones had theirs not above a foot from the earth, and for the infernal gods, they dug holes in the earth. The name of the god was inscribed on the altar, sometimes in lettels, but more commonly in hieroglyphics, pointing out his qualities or attributes. We have no account of altars before the deluge; but that must be owing to the want of records. After the In the early ages of Christianity there were no flood, Noah built an altar and offered burnt offer- altars, and the communion table was not called by ings upon it, and in the patriarchal ages, the altars that name till about the beginning of the fifth cenwere generally built near some groves sacred to soli-tury, of which we shall have occasion to take notude, as places properly calculated to inspire devo- tice in the subsequent part of this work. The tion, and lead the mind up to the contemplation of church of England, in conjunction with the Lutheheavenly things. But as this gave rise to idolatry, rans, are the only protestants who give the name of the Jews were forbidden, under the severest penal- altar to that place where they commemorate the tics, to worship God in groves or on hills, nor death of our divine Redeemer; but it was not so were they to plant any trees near the place where when the reformation took place, for at that time it the true God was worshipped. Thus God says to was ordered, that the sacrament of the Lord's supper MMoses: should be administered in the most convenient part of the church, chapel, or chancel, according to the circumstances which might be necessary to regulate the conduct of the minister.

"An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon, thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone, for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps into my altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon."

The reason why the priests were not to go up steps to the altar, was, because they wore short garments like petticoats, which upon stooping, would have discovered their nakedness; and this precept was enjoined to distinguish them as the worshippers of the true God, from the heathens, who used the most odious indecencies in their religious ceremonies. In the temple of Jerusalem there were several altars, the first of which was that for burnt offerings, made of Shittim wood, nine feet square, and about four feet high. It was overlaid with brass, and at each corner there was like a horn or spire wrought out of the same piece of wood with

Wherever there is an altar it is implied there should be sacrifices; but the Christian knows no sacrifice but that of Christ, who offered himself as an atonement for the sins of wicked men-for the guilt of an offending world.

When we contemplate the fate of those ancient nations, whose sins brought down upon them the divine vengeance, we should naturally be led to consider, in what relation we stand to the great Lord of providence and grace. To use the words of the most accomplished divine that ever wrote since the apostolic age (archbishop Leighton) all our pursuits are vain, unless directed to a proper end. God looks down with contempt upon conquerors, as scourges in his hand to punish disobedient children, while he sheds the dew of his blessing on the humble and lowly of heart. Those heathens became wise, or rather they became foolish in their

Own

own conceits; and the eternal God, by whom they were made, was treated with the utmost indignity, and to the dishonour of their nature, they worshipped the work of their own hands. Well might God have given them up to dark delusions; for those that honour him, he will honour, and those that despise

him, shall be lightly esteemed. Let this consideration sink deep into the mind of every reader, and let them consider true religion as the grand ornament of human life. This will secure their peace of mind in time; and will make them happy throughout all cternity.

The RELIGION in ETHIOPIA, and other Nations adjoining.

serts.

IN treating of this extensive empire, and the other provinces adjoining to it, we shall first consider what it was before the promulgation of the gospel, and secondly, what religion the natives at present profess. Here the author considers himself as very highly favoured, in having had an opportunity of conversing with the only gentleman, who during the present age, has visited those unfrequented deNot that they are really deserts, many of them being well inhabited; but that they are little frequented by Europeans, who for want of proper information, consider the people as savages, with whom it is dangerous to have any connections. Ethiopia is situated to the south of Egypt, and between the kings of that country and the Egyptians, there were continual wars. Nay, it often happened, that the Ethiopians took possession of Egypt, and placed some of their princes upon the throne of that extensive and fertile kingdom. This will appear the more evident, when we consider that the Ethiopians often invaded the borders of Palestine in vast numbers, which they could not have done, had not they either been in possession of Egypt, or nearly allied to the people; for there was no possibility of their passing into Asia by land in other man

ner whatever.

any

gospel. The Jews, after their return from the captivity, settled in many parts of the habitable world, for the benefit of commerce; and some of them in Ethiopia. The purity of their religion induced many converts to join them, and those went up every year to Jerusalem to worship. Of this we have a striking instance in Acts, chap. viii. where we find the prime minister of the queen of Ethiopia coming up to Jerusalem, to worship at the time of our Saviour's crucifiction. This man had been well instructed in the Jewish religion, for upon his return home through part of the wilderness, Philip the deacon found him sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah, chap. liii.

Eusebius, and all the ancient church historians. tell us, that this great statesman went home and converted the queen his mistress, and that she sent to Jerusalem for some of the disciples of the apostles to come and preach the gospel to her subjects. This, however, must have happened after the conversion of Cornelius the Roman centurion; for before that time, the gospel was preached only to those of the circumcision, whether Jews or prose

such was the success of the gospel in those early ages, that many of those nations where heathenism prevails in Africa, professed the religion of jesus, and some of them submitted to suffer the most cruel torment, rather than blaspheme their Lord and Saviour.

lytes. Eut certain it is, that soon after the conversion of the eunuch, the Christian religion spread so far throughout Ethiopia, that bishops from that The Ethiopians, originally a colony of the Egyp-country attended councils held at Alexandria. Nay,、 tians, observed the same rites and ceremonies, in their religious worship; and the difference between their languages was very immaterial. Accustomed to live in the most frugal manner, little notice was taken of them, till the boundless ambition of the Romans, trampling upon all human rights, disturbed their repose, and brought some part of the country into a state of subjection. This, however, was happy event in the course of divine providence, because it opened a way for the promulgation of the,

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At present, Ethiopia is called by three names, viz. Nubia, Abyssinia, and the Lesser Ethiopia; but the religion is the same in all. Their affinity with Egypt has made way for the introduction of

Mahometanism

j.

Mahometanism in some places, and in others the inhabitants are pagans; but the main body of the people are Christians: although, properly speaking, neither of the Greek or Roman catholic persuasion.

They believe the scriptures to be the only rule of faith, and they have manuscript copies of them; but they know nothing of what we call the apostle's creed, for in the room of it they use the Nicene. With respect to the incarnation of Christ, they delieve there is but one nature; that all that was human was swallowed up in that which is divine, so that no distinction could be made. This is what is called the Eutychian heresy, which made great. noise in the fifth century, and was condemned at the council of Chalcedon, 451. As it had been taught in Egypt, so we need not be surprised at finding it making its way into Ethiopia, where it is held in much repute by the priests, but the people are grossly ignorant. They deny the Papal supremacy, and indeed most parts of the Popish doctrine, particularly transubstantiation, purgatory, prayers in an unknown tongue, images, auricular confession, celebacy of the clergy, and extreme unction. They have joined part of the Jewish and Christian ceremonies together, for they observe as holy days both Saturdays and Sundays, and their children are both circumcised and baptized. They eat no swines flesh, and abstain from several other sorts of meat forbidden in the law of Moses. They pull off their shoes when they go into their churches, and during the whole of their service, sit upon the bare ground. Their service consists in reading the sacred scriptures, particularly the gospels, and receiving the eucharist, after which the priest reads a homily, translated into their language from the works of one of the ancient fathers. In the last century, the Romish missionaries ever assiduous in promoting their religious tenets, went from Alexandria to Ethiopia, and obtained leave from the emperor to settle in his dominions; but the people were so unwilling to relinquish the religion of their ancestors, that many insurrections happened, so that the emperor was obliged to banish all the missionaries out of the country.

The Ethiopians have several sorts of Monks, but they are upon a footing quite different from those of the Roman Catholics. One of those sects which is now almost extinct, was, in ancient times, called Remboth, and they lived in the most populous cities, without being confined to any other rules, besides that of doing all the good offices they could for the poor, and visiting the sick from house to house. These men were not ecclesiastics, but they observed a most rigorous discipline. They fasted often, and the garments they wore were such as pointed out

their contempt of the world. Indeed, every thing about them was affected; they wore loose sleeves, wide stockings, coarse cloath, sighed often, and made daily visits to the Virgin Nuns. They inveighed bitterly against the established clergy, but they themselves were gluttons and drunkards, as often as they had an opportunity.

The bread used in the cucharist, is by the Ethiopians called the Corban, which signifies a gift, because it is purchased with the money which they receive as the offerings of the faithful. It is composed of fine wheaten flour, and it must be baked the same day on which it is intended to be used; for if it should happen to be stale, it is considered improper for use. The person who makes the bread, is obliged to repeat seven psalms during the operation, and the oven must be within the church. Upon each loaf of bread there must be twelve impressions of crosses, and each of the crosses must be within a square. The middle cross is larger than any of the others, and is distinguished by the words of Ishbodicon, which signifies, belonging to the Lord, it being appropriated for the use of the priest who performs Divine service. Round the whole of the loaves an inscription is impressed, which in English signifies, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord."

Among the Ethiopians there are still to be found some Monks, called Coptics, who first flourished in Egypt, but by no difficult sort of gradation made their way into Ethiopia. They profess the utmost contempt for all worldly things, and look upon themselves as a sort of terrestrial angels. They are obliged to part with all their possession before they can enter upon a monastic life; they must likerenounce marriage for ever, live in deserts, be cloathed in wool, eat no flesh, employ most of their time in prayer and labour, be continually thinking upon God, and apply themselves to the reading of the sacred scriptures.

They sleep on a mat laid on the ground, and before they lay themselves down to rest, they stretch out their hands one hundred and fifty times in the form of a cross. They divide the day into three parts; one for labour, one for refreshment, and All their monasteries are situated one for prayer.

in deserts, and to prevent them being molested by wild beasts, most of them have no doors, but the monks are let out and brought in by a machine fixed to one of the windows.

There are among the Ethiopians another sort of monks called Corrupticole, which is rather an opprobrious name given them, because they assert that the body of Christ was subject to corruption; which being one of the opinions embraced by the

Eutchyians,

Eutychians, there will remain some reason to believe that the doctrines of that heretic were taught in Ethiopia, during the first ages of Christianity. It is very remarkable, that even in the island of Madagascar, there are some remains of the Christian religion; and when we consider the navigation of ancient ages, we can only ascribe the first planting of it in such a remote part of the globe, to an intercourse kept up between the inhabitants and those of Ethiopia. Their manners and customs are almost similar, but it is much to be lamented, that while they are acquainted with the name of the true God, they have forgotten the most essential principles in religion.

As the eunuch, who was prime minister to the queen of Ethiopia, was one of the most illustrious converts to the truth of the gospel, it is necessary that, consistent with our plan, we should lay before the reader every thing concerning the sacrament of baptism. Baptism implies the washing away of all impurities; and certain it is, this rite was always attended to both by Jews and heathens long before our Saviour came in the flesh. Thus we read, that Aaron and his sons were commanded, previous to their consecration to the priesthood, to be washed in water at the door of the tabernacle. To this may be added, that the learned Spencer proves that long before our Saviour's time, all the heathens who became proselytes to the Jewish religion, were previously baptized. There are some indeed who consider this ceremony as invented by the Rabbies who lived after the Babylonish captivity; but when it is considered, that the Jews always held the Christians in the utmost abhorrence, it will appear highly probable that this ceremony was borrowed from them, consistent with the practices of their ancestors. Every Christian must acknowledge, that the sacrament of the Lord's-supper comes in place of the Jewish passover; and, by parity of reason, baptism is to Christians the same in effect, as circumcision was to the Jews of old.

The learned Grotius is of opinion, that baptism was observed by the ancient nations ever since the deluge, in memory of the world having been destroyed by water, and none but Noah and his family saved. Spencer lays it down as a probable supposition though not as a positive proof, that the Jews received the doctrine of baptism from the neighbouring nations, who always used ablutions or washings when they admitted proselytes among them. In confirmation of this opinion, Spencer takes notice, first, that there is not in the Mosaical law, a single precept for the baptising of proselytes, God having enjoined only the rite of circumcision for the admission No. 3

of strangers into the Jewish religion. Secondly, that among the heathen nations, it was customary that those who were to be initiated into their mysteries should be first purified, by washing in water, as a sign of their being cleansed from all impurities. Lastly, Spencer observes, that Christ, in the institution of his sacraments, paid a peculiar regard to those rites which had been borrowed by the Jews from the heathen nations. All this may be true, and yet there is somewhat ambiguous in every expression made use of by the learned Spencer, which we shall endeavour to clucidate, and lay before the reader in the most clear and comprehensive terms.

That baptism was used by the Jews long before the coming of Christ, cannot be denied; for when John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness, his conduct was not considered as an innovation, but as what had been long practised; for the popular manner in which he was treated, arose from his humility, self-denial, the purity of his doctrine, and above all, his calling himself the forerunner of Jesus, who, at that time was earnestly by the Jews. It was a ceremony pointing out the corruption of human nature, and the necessity that men should be under when they left their former profession, to live and become new creatures, like a person who has been washed from the impurities of body in

water.

In the primitive ages of Christanity, the bishop, or pastor of a congregation, generally baptized such as made profession of their faith; but still in his absence, it was permitted that any of the faithful might perfom the ceremony, so that it was not done by women. There are too things to be considered relating to baptism, first, the age of the person to be baptized; and secondly, the place where the cere mony was performed.

Those who argue against infant baptism urge, that no persons whatever are to be baptized till they make profession of their faith in Christ, and promise to be obedient to all the rules laid down in his gospel; and they ground this part of their argument upon the silence of the New Testament concerning the ceremony of infant baptism, and likewise upon the words of Christ, when he commanded his disciples to go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Now, say they, it appears from these words, that no person could be baptized until he was first taught; and it is certain, that children are not capable of receiving instruction in such momentous points upon which their everlasting salvation depends.

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To this it is answered by those who contend for infant

infant baptism, that as the Lord's Supper is acknowledged by all denomination of Christians, to come in the room of the passover, so baptism comes in the room of circumcision. To illustrate this, let us only attend to the following circumstances. The passover was instituted to commemorate the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage; the Lord's Supper to commemorate our deliverance from the power of guilt and sin. The passover was established on the evening of that day on which God intended to signalize his wonderful power and mercy to his chosen people; and the night that Jesus Christ was betraved, he instituted the Lord's Supper. The passover was to be celebrated annually by the Jews, and the Lord's Supper it to be observed by all denomination of Christians till the end of time. Let us now consider how far baptism comes in the room of circumcision, and we shall make use of arguments on each side of the question. Circumcision was a rite pointing out, that the Jews were distinguished from all other people in the world, and so was baptism among Christians. Every male child among the Jews was, in consequence of circumcision, entitled to all the privileges of the common wealth of Israel; and in like manner, the son or daughter of a Christian parent, is entitled thro' baptism, to all the blessings of the new covenant. As children must always be considered as passive, having no will of their own, so the Jews were obliged to promise, in the act of circumcision, to bring them up in the principles of the Mosaic law. In the same manner, parents under the New Testament dispensation, are either in their own persons, or by sponsors, obliged to promise that as far as lays in their power, their children shall be properly educated in every Christian duty. Every circumcised child among the Jews, was considered as one who was to have no connection with the heathen nations around them: and every child baptized in the name of the sacred and ever blessed trinity, becomes a sworn soldier of Christ Jesus, and he is to fight against all the enemies of his Divine redeemer. Having thus in the most faithful manner, stated the arguments made use of by each party, we shall leave the reader to judge who si right or who is wrong; and let every person search the scriptures, that he may be able to give an account of the hope that is in him.

The utility of what has been here said concerning baptism, will appear the more necessary, when we consider that the Ethiopian Christians mingle together the Jewish and the Christian ceremonies. This practice of theirs is not of a criminal nature for it was followed by many of the primitive Christians.

When the Apostle Paul went up to Jerusalem, he submitted to some parts and ceremonies of the law of Moses, nor does he condemn any for adhering to it, but those Jewish converts, who sought to impose it upon the gentile proselytes. That Christ was the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believed, we have the highest testimony of scripture, for when he expired on the cross, he said it is finished, and the veil of the temple was rent, thereby intimating, that the law was no more of an obligatory nature, either as the condition of salvation, or as a rule of conduct. But still in compassion to the weakness of many persons among the Jews, they were allowed to observe their own rites and ceremonies, so as they did not trust in them for salvation, nor impose them upon others. It was in order to elucidate this subject, that the Apostle Paul wrote his famous epistle to the Galatians, and those who will attend to it with care, will find that he does not direct the force of his argument against those who observed the Jewish ceremonies, but only against those who imposed them.

With respect to the place of baptism, it was at first unlimited, and the ceremony was frequently performed in a pond, a lake, or a river, but always as near as possible to the place of public worship. About the latter end of the second century, they began to build fonts, or rather they made pits, which they filled with water near the front doors of their churches; afterwards they removed them into the church porch, and at last into the church itself. When grown persons were to be baptized, they were first examined by the bishops concerning their belief of the Christian faith, but if an infant, then is parents or sponsors were to vouch for him. It does not appear that sponsors were allowed for children till towards the latter end of the second century, and that which gave rise to it was, sometimes the mothers were heathens. In performing this ceremony, the usual custom was to dip the whole body over in water; for as St. Barnabas say, "We go down into the water full of sin and filth, but we ascend bearing fruit in our hearts." And that all occasions of scandal and immodesty might be prevented in so sacred a ceremony, the men and women were baptized in different apartments, the women having assistants to undress and to dress them.

They were anointed with oil, and the form of the cross was marked on their forcheads; but, as will appear in another part of this work, this ceremony did not take place till the beginning of the fourth century. After being anointed, the candidate for baptism had a white robe put on him, to denote his being washed from the defilements of sin, or perhaps

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