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3£DITOJjIA-Li Wi, BPgIgQTOS, } Edlt ® r - COVINGTON, GA, : : : APRIL 15,1860. Correction. tin Bro. W. M. Mitchell’s letter in our last number, on page 53, in the third line of the second, on that page, for compelled read complete, as it was •so written, but was changed by a typographical mis take. ! Remarks ..on Jffalachi aii. 18. “IV ill a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say,-wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” Though “Malachi was one of the minor prophets, yet hisrtestimony'is profitable .and instructive to the saints. It was the burden of the word of the’ Lord t< ’.lsrael. He mentions the distinguished favors of God to Jacob, and his seed, which is .Israel, and of lib love to.-Jacob and his. posterity in distinction from .Esau whose Jand was .consigned to barrenness and drought. He reproves the Jews fi r their ungratefu and unbecoming conduct towards their God, andde dares that the Gentiles shall be called to the knowl edge of the truth ; and charges the Jews with pro fanation and weariness of the worship of God, an< ‘ with offering him sacrifices blemished and corrupt. •■Chap. i. .He points out to the. Priests their neglect of instructing the people ; reproves the marriage of teange wives,.and. their frequent and groundless di vorces. Chap. ii. After informing them of the near approach of the Messiah, to refine and purify them, he rebukes the Jews for their sacrilege and blasphe my, and declares the Lord's distinguished regard for them that feared the Lord, an’d that thought upon •his name, act'd, ima time of generaleorruption, walk ad iu his way. > Chap. iii. He concludes with a pre diction of terrible judgments on such. Jews and others who would not receive the promised Messiah, and of signal and special mercy whoejiould believe on him, and speaks ofjajm. the Baptist’s..coming un der the name of'Llijah the.prophet, to make ready, a people prepared to receive the Lord’s Christ, Chap, ir. Before entering into an exposition of the text, we will remark that National Israel was atTheoccacy, or .a government under the immediate direction of God, 1 awl .governed by Jaws and ordinances which wore given to them on M >unt Sinai. Blessings w.ere prom ised and curses denounced upon them for their obe dience, or disobedience as the reward, or penalty an nexed to that conditional covenant they*were under. There was no eternal sAlvation promised, nor ever lasting damnation pronounced upon them in that covenant, nor by any of its laws. When they were obedient they were blessed in basket and in store,! in their out-goings and in-comings with a plenty of; .porn and wine. God prospered them and went forth’ at the head of their armies. But when they were! disobedient they werecursed in their basketand store, in their out-goings and in-comings, and famine was sent upon tho4and and cut off their corn, wine and oil, and the Lord easised them to flee before their enemies. This was repeatedly verified relative to their course as God’s National people. It should be remembered that no other nation sustained the same relation to Jehovah as Israel did. r lvobberv, is a violont felonious taking from the per ,Bpn or proseuce of another. This is its common ap- SOUTHERN BAPTIST MESSENGER- , plication. In the sense of our text it signifies to with j hold what is due. A question is asked, will a man fob God, or in other words, withhold thatiohich is due to God? He says, yet ye have robbed me, or withheld that which was due. But they in their wickedness and folly say wherein have we'robbed thee, or withheld from thee t He replies, in tithes and offerings. -We will.here state that to the tribe of Levi was as signed the. Priesthood. The tithes, or tenth part of the seed-of the laud and of the fruit of the tree, and also of the flock and cattle, were assigned to the Le vites, after deducting the first fruits of the land, and the firstlings of the’flocks for their offerings and sac rifices. These-tithes were holy unto the Lord. *Lev. As. the Levites had no inheritance among their brethren the tenth in Israel was given them for.an inheritance. .Num. xviii, 21. Duet. xiv. 27—-29. And to the priests were allowed a tenth part of the portion given to the'Levites in general.— Num. xviii. 26—29. Ne. x. 38. These tithes and offerings had an immediate con nection with the priesthood, and were separated from a common to a sacred use, and were devoted or dedi ated to the service of God to maintain the worship f God under that typical dispensation. While the Priests and Levites were devoted to the service of the Lord, they received tithes from their brethren, the children of Israel, agreeable to the word of the Lord. The .offerings.also were, an .essential,part of vhe service rendered by the people as expressive of their devotion to God. When the tithes were’brought into the storehouse, and the offerings punctually at tended to, and performed, their course was approved •of God. lhe question arises, why did the Israelites or Jews withhold the tithes and offerings, or in other words, rob God? \We answer, through covetousness, which is idolatry, lhrough .their self-righteousness and inordinacy, they made, use of them to gratify their carnal lusts and .sordid ambition, in false worship and idolatrous practices,••w'hich occasioned the inqui ry in our text. To. make* use of thav which God has set apart, or consecrated to.a holy purpose to gratify iv covetous self-righteous spirit, is robbing God, and is idolatry. .And yet that hypocritical nation wopJ4 f r y to justify their vile course by great pretensions to the service and worship of God, by the inquiry where- I in have we robbed God, or withheld what was due? And when reproved and rebuked by the nrophets, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, they manifesited their spite and venom against the •proobets by persecuting them-unto death. The ministration of condemnation that Israel was under was glorious, and revealed the holiness, purity, and.righteousness of God in his law and jusiice. The ■ covenant, .laws,;ritcs,7cereini()n>ies and carnal ordinan ces binding.uponJsrael .under that dispensation, they - were under obligation and bounden duty to observe land keep throughout all their generations. In .the | keeping of them God was glorified. Any departure, I either in withholding what was due to God or substi tuting some works of their own invention, was pun ished upon the transgressor according to the nature of the transgression. And upon this principle of i punishment-God was also glorified in tire final rejec tion and overthrow of tike Jewish nation in his wrath and vengeance. The old covenant dispensation with its-jituals, cere monies, carnal ordinances, meats, drinks, new moons, loly days, and its sabbaths, have passed .away, for hey were the-ehadow of things to come, but the body sos Christ. Upon the same principle the tithes and offerings havo ceased by the bringing in of a better -and more glorious dispensation established upon bet i ter promises. It is the ministration of life and peace and brings eternal salvation to simieft* upon tbs 1 1 principle of an unconditional covenant. The Lord , Jesus appeared as the Great High Priest, of his peo l pie, and abolished the hand-writing of ordinances, nailing them to his cross, magnified and honored . the law that his people were under, and by the offej-- ’ ing of himself upon the cross, made an atonement/for all whom he represented, wit Whom the new covenant is made, and who are ail redeemed% His precious blood. As the Mediator of the new covenant‘he said “Lo.I come, (in the volume of the book it is written of me*) ,to do thy will 0 God. Above when he said, sacrifice and offering,.and burnt offerings, and offer ing for sin thou wouldest not, neither bafl*t k pleaßure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he 10, I come to do thy will 0 God. He taketh away the first (covenant) that he may establish the second (cove nant.) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all.’’— Therefore the saints under the New Testament dis pensation have not come to Mount Sinai that burned with fire, nor unto blackness ajid darkness, and tem pest. But as Paul declared to his Hebrew brethren, “Eat yp are com.e to Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living'God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and tojm innumerable company of angels, to the general as sembly and church of the First-born, which are writ ten in heaven, and to God the Judge ofaall, and to Spirits of just men made .perfect, .and to Uesus the Mediator of the newAtavenantoand to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” This is experimentally applicable to the saints now as formerly. The church of God is under law to Christ, the la*r of love and obedience to his commands, and are to follow him as their Leader, Commander, and as the Captain of their salvation. His doctrine, laws, pre cepts and ordinances are binding upon them to ob serve and keep, and is called the faith mice delivered unto the saints. It is the duty a#d privilege of the ministry to present Christ in their preaching as the sYay, the Truth, and the Life, and in so doing they •render to God the honor and glory duetto.his holy name. To withhold this testimony, and preach a conditional system relative to eternal animation, or a system of means, agencies and instrumentalities, based upou the works of the creature -which feeds, pampers and strengthens men in their own right eousness, is robbing God, or withholding,from him . the glory which is due. The work of the ministry i a holy work, ordained of God for his glory, and thp good of his people, and shall it he prostituted to the avarice, covetousness and gratification of a carnal low ambition? The Scriptures are the only text book I we have on record, and shall it be perverted from r its legitimate use and meanirgto feed .a, covetous die | position? Alas! Alas! how much speculation there |is in religious matters in our day. Men enter tfce . .ministry for the sake of a living, are called *• ends,” and “ D. D’s,” and schools, colleges and sem inaries are established to educate such men for the ministry. And when they are prepared and sent out to-preach as a matter of course they do not preach •Christ, but tench lor doctrines the commandments of i men. They pervert the Scriptures by representing that theyneaeh what they do not teach* and wickedly .represent that the salvi tien of>sinuers is dependent Vpou.the use of mean* andefforts of men, and in this way beguile unstable souls, and lead the simple and unwary astray. The introduction of religious novel* I and rom nceß in the shape of tracts and Sunday