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to have been used by the Jews upon that occasion did ;) without bringing the gravest charge of intemperance against the parties concerned, even according to the lax views on that subject, held by moderate drinkers of the present day. Pardon this mode of appeal. We know that you spurn such an idea from you with righteous indignation, as unjust, ungenerous, and false. The preceding remarks are founded on data derived from the article "Passover," in Dr. Kitto's Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature, where it is stated, that one of the ordinances of the Hitchoth Chometz, (whereby are typified the four blessings expressed in Exodus vi, 6, 7,) is that all persons, whether men or women, are bound on this night to drink four cups of wine, and this number is not to be diminished. Besides these four cups, wine was also drunk during the supper. "Such a quantity of wine of the modern kind," says the writer of this article, ("about two and a half pints English,) exclusive of water, drunk by each person present, would have transformed this sacred meal into a sad scene of revelry and drunkenness, which, considering the grave and temperate habits of the ancient Jews, we are not warranted to make."

We leave these judicious and pertinent observations to speak for themselves. May they tend to open the eyes of Christian lovers of modern wines, to the impiety imbodied in their use of them at the Lord's table, for thus they act, as if it were possible that the Lord Jesus Christ, the wisest and the most benevolent of beings, could have said to His Apostles, the night in which He was betrayed, "Drink ye all of it;" meaning not the corrupted fruit of the vine only, but far more the intensely deceitful, polluted, and impoisoned cup, now habitually and almost universally dispensed at His table, as the symbol of His precious blood!

**..Trusting in Divine wisdom, grace and strength, we purpose, in future letters, to treat of the Communion question, as it has been called, in the following order:

PART I. Christian duty, relative to the symbol of Christ's sin-atoning blood, to be used at "the Lord's supper."

§1. The Divine Rule relative to the use of "the (unfermented) fruit of the vine," at the Lord's supper, as the sole symbol of Christ's sin-atoning blood, definite and unalterable.

§2. The Divine Rule relative to the quantity of "the (unfermented) fruit of the vine" to be used at the Lord's supper, as the sole symbol of Christ's sin-atoning blood, indefinite and discretionary.

§3. When, and how often, should the Lord's supper be admin istered? -Questions not positively resolved by Apostolic precept, but aid afforded in answering them by Apostolic usage.

PART II. Reasons suggested for the preference given to "the (unfermented) fruit of the vine," above all other things, as the Divinely appointed symbol of the sin-atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, at His supper.

§1. The natural fitness of "the fruit of the vine," to be the Divinely appointed symbol of Christ's sin-atoning blood, to be used at His supper.

§2. The natural fitness of "the fruit of the vine," to be the Divinely appointed antidote of alcoholic intemperance.

§3. The moral power of "the fruit of the vine," to be the antidote of alcoholic intemperance, from the man-perceived, Heaven-revealed relation of that fruit to, and association with, the sin-atoning blood of Immanuel; His preference to it, and appointment of it to be the sole symbol of that blood, to be used at His supper in remembrance of Him.

§4. The grand ultimate objects to be subserved by the preceding adaptations, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men."

I remain, my dear brother,

Yours affectionately,

JOHN MAIR.

MY DEAR SIR,

LETTER XVII.

Is not the forbidden, corrupted "fruit of the vine," which flourishes now in the courts of the Lord's house, the counterpart presentment of the forbidden, corrupting fruit, that erst grew in the midst of the garden of Eden along with the Tree of Life? "And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the Tree of Life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:" (Gen. ii, 9.)

"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die :" (Gen. ii, 16, 17.)

Has it not been shown in former letters, by incontrovertible facts and arguments, that God has forbidden man to drink of the corrupted, or fermented fruit of the vine; and have not allusions been made to the dreadful punishments which have been inflicted by Him, even in this life, on the transgressors of this benign and salutary law ?

On the other hand, is not the Divinely enjoined and eulogized uncorrupted, or unfermented "fruit of the vine," which has been banished from the courts of the Lord's house, the counterpart presentment of the incorruptible fruit of the "Tree of Life," that erst grew in the midst of the Garden of Eden along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What material thing in the world, has been so productive of evil to man, as the corrupting fruit of the forbidden tree eaten of by our first parents? What material thing in the world, next to the corrupting fruit of the forbidden tree, has been so productive of evil to man, as the corrupted and corrupting fruit of the forbidden tree-alcohol-drunk of by their progeny ?

Is the Tree of Life anywhere else mentioned in the Bible, besides Genesis? Yes, and in such a way as clearly to show, that by it we are to understand the symbolical, or sacramental representation of the Saviour of mankind.

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It is spoken of, as existing in the paradise above, in evident relation to the "Tree of Life "-in the paradise beneath; thus, "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the Tree of Life, which bare twelve (manner of) fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the Tree, were for the healing of the nations:" (Rev. xxii, 2.)

But is there anything in the Bible, to lead us to the dis covery of what the Tree of Life really was? for we believe it to have been an actual fruit-bearing tree. What saith the Scrip ture? It is written: "I (Jesus,) am the true vine:" (John xv, i:) and, "Drink ye all of it." "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom;" or, in Heaven, according to Hammond, Bishop Hall, and others: thus, "It is not long that I shall abide with you, nor shall I again celebrate this or any the like feast among you, till we meet in heaven, and partake of those joys which are wont to be figuratively expressed by new wine." - Hammond.

"I will no more in this mortal state drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, but I shall reserve myself for a more comfortable draught, sweeter than all the new wine earth can afford, which I shall enjoy in my Father's Kingdom, whereof ye shall be blessed partakers with me." -Bishop Hall.

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But how is fruit of the vine to be obtained in heaven as often as it may be desired, fresh, and of superior quality to that of earth, at all seasons? The answer to this question has been already given from the Apocalypse, but that the words may be indelibly impressed upon the heart's memory, let them be repeated:

"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as

crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the Tree of Life, which bare twelve (manner of) fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations:" (Rev. xxii, 2.)

Thus, fresh fruit would be within reach every month; and as no other tree is mentioned in heaven, but this one only; and as "things which are revealed, belong unto us and to our children;" and as Jesus pledged Himself to "drink of the fruit of the vine new," with His Apostles in the paradise above, the only inference which can be drawn from these premises is, that "the Tree of Life" must be the tree which will produce the fruit of the vine, to be drunk by Him and His Apostles in the regions of everlasting happiness; or, in other words, must be the vine in its highest state of perfection. No doubt these conclusions apply, in a figurative sense, to the fruit of the vine in heaven, signifying the spiritual delights thereof; but, if it be true that the enjoyments of heaven are represented by drinking of the fruit of the vine, which is the Tree of Life, then it will follow, that while the vine is the Tree of Life, metaphorically in Heaven, it must, to preserve consistency, have been the Tree of Life literally, in the garden of Eden, before the fall of our first parents.

Milton, in his Paradise Lost, will throw some light upon this interesting subject. He puts the following language into the mouth of the Hierarch Raphael, giving an account of the sublime transactions connected with the apostacy of the fallen angels:

"And what surmounts the reach

Of human sense, I shall delineate so,
By likening spiritual to corporal forms,

As may express them best; tho' what if Earth

Be but the shadow of Heaven and things therein,
Each to other like, more than on Earth is thought?"

**An evening meal in heaven, the arch-angel thus describes :

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