"Say, shall we yield Him, in costly devotion, Gems of the mountain, and pearls of the ocean, Vainly with gifts would his favours secure : Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor." Though their political economy be faulty, they seem to have discovered that selfishness may account for many phenomena, and as a motive of action produce considerable results, and yet be a most unsatisfactory principle of action, incompatible at once with true happiness, and the spirit of the Gospel, and of that kingdom of righteousness they evidently see shadowed forth in prophecy. Already they anticipate the day, "when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ;" and thence it was they refused to sell coals to the "Styx" and "Rattler;" telling their interpreter and officers, that "they did not understand the rules of the heavenly kingdom :" yet this idea of theirs need not lead to any apprehension of commercial obstacles, for the love of trade, and a sense of its value, is too strong in the minds of the Chinese to be easily eradicated. In this respect they are more consistent than many who impugn their Christianity. a 5 If we understand aright what they mean to inculcate, there are many and grave errors propagated by them, yet there is hope in the fact that they have not adopted the spiritual mode of interpretation, by which anything can be, and is, made, of the statements of holy writ, and under which, an appeal to Scripture is not an end to controversy. The very literalness of interpretation which they have adopted, has perhaps tended to lead them into some of their errors; but it has this advantage, that it shuts no door to a correct reading, and leaves room for a decision on controverted points, by admitting an appeal to the authority of Scripture. The following extracts will illustrate the foregoing. "As soon as harvest arrives, every vexillary must see to it, that the five and twenty parishes under his charge have a sufficient supply of food; and what is over and above of the new grain he must deposit in the public granary. This must be done with respect to wheat, pulse, hemp, flax, cloth, silk, fowls, dogs, and money: for the whole empire is the universal property of our Heavenly Father, the great God and Supreme Lord : and when all the people in the empire avoid selfishness, and consecrate everything to the Supreme Lord, then the sovereign will have sufficient to use, and all the families of the empire, in every place, will be equally provided for, while every individual will be well fed and clothed. This is what our Heavenly Father the Great God and Supreme Lord has especially commanded the true sovereign of the Thae-ping dynasty, with the view of saving the whole world. "In every circle of five-and-twenty families, the youths must every day go to the church, where the vexillary is to teach them to read the holy books of the Old and New Testaments, as well as the proclamation of the duly-appointed sovereign. Every Sabbath the five cinquevirs in the circle must lead the men and women under their charge to the church, where the males and females are to sit in separate rows. On these occasions there will be preaching, thanksgivings, and offerings to our Heavenly Father, the Great God and Supreme Lord. "All officers and people, both within and without the court, must every Sabbath go to hear the expounding of the holy book, reverently present their offerings, and worship and praise our Heavenly Father, the Great God and universal Lord. Throughout every seven times seven, or forty-nine Sabbaths, the prefects, tribunes, and centurions shall go in turns to the churches belonging to each vexillary under their jurisdiction, and expound the holy book, instruct the people, and examine whether they obey or disobey the commandments, also as to whether they are diligent or slothful. On the first of the seven times seven, or forty-nine Sabbaths, a certain prefect goes to the church of a given vexillary, then on the second of the forty-nine Sabbaths he must go the church of another vexillary, so visiting them all in order; and after he has gone the round, he must do the same again. If any man throughout the empire has a family, including wife and children, amounting to three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine individuals, he must give up one to be a soldier. With regard to the rest, the widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, together with the sick and feeble, shall be excused from service, and shall all be fed from the public granary. "All the officers throughout the empire, every Sabbath-day, must, according to their rank, reverently and sincerely provide animals, with meat and drinkofferings, for worship, in order to praise our Heavenly Father, the great God and universal Lord; they must also explain the holy book. Should any fail in this, they shall be degraded to the level of plebians. Respect this." It is evident the insurgents are seeking to establish a species of Theocracy, something like what they conceive that of Israel to have been; Israel, whose history they have always considered as the type of their own, modified by their ideas of the New Testament. They perceive it more than stated, for they see it in almost every page, that there will be a period, a kingdom of universal peace, when "there will be no more sin, when sorrow and sighing shall flee away." But they think their King is destined to establish that period of rest and blessedness. Many more, orthodox on most points, also perceive this great truth; but these, not less loose in their interpretation of Scripture in so thinking, imagine also, that this millennium is to be brought about by the instrumentality of poor sinful humanity. Pride has always been fatal to the progress of truth, if it had not been so, eighteen hundred years experience would have taught men, that this crowning achievement is, and can only be accomplished by the Lord of glory. This truth is the ballast of the spiritual vessel, that keeps her from being "blown about by every wind of doctrine and sleight of men;" the key to understand Scripture and the providence of God, whose plans change not with the varying fortunes of men, dynasties, or empires, they form a part of, or subserve, His designs. Did we realize this, we should be kept humble; not unduly elated, with those who imagined the Mil |
