d people into the disgraceful fanaticism of promiscuous
kissing. Such is not a kiss of love, but a kiss of lust. Everything done
in the order of the kingdom of heaven is done in the perfection of decency
and respectability. How natural for the fond husband to embrace and kiss
the beloved wife, and the devoted mother her child, the brother his
sister, all because love exists consistent with natural relation. But the
strongest tie of love that binds hearts together is the Christian love.
Then how natural and becoming for the Christian to greet with a kiss his
brother, and the Christian sister her sister in the Lord.

Christian love continued after the apostles' days were ended, and
consequently the practise of greeting with a holy kiss. We will conclude
this subject by referring the reader to history as quoted in "Ordinances
of the New Testament": "The fraternal kiss used on admission to the church
and at the Lord's Supper were not empty forms, but the expression of a
true feeling, and of a real experience."--_Butler's Ecclesiastical
History_, p. 132.

"After the prayers ... we greet one another with the brotherly
kiss."--_Justin Martyr_, p. 146.

"The communion was a regular part of the Sunday worship. In many places it
was celebrated daily. It began after the dismissal of the catechumens, by
the kiss of peace given by men to men and women to women."--p. 147.

It is natural for Christians filled with the love of God to greet each
other with a kiss, but the cold distant forms of men have prevented
Christians following the natural inclination of the heart.

Lifting Up Of Holy Hands.

In the olden time when the chosen children of God were battling in the
wilderness against their enemies, as long as the hands of Moses were kept
uplifted Israel prevailed, and when his hands were let down the enemy
triumphed. Ex. 17:8-12. See also Psa. 28:2; 63:4; 88:9; Lam. 3:41. This
signal act of triumph is conveyed into the spirit of the New Testament.
Paul says, "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy
hands, without wrath and doubting." 1 Tim. 2:8. This is a single text of
the New Testament teaching this ordinance. In connection with this text
some have used Heb. 12:12; but to our mind it is only an exhortation to
encourage the feeble and faint-hearted, and not an express command to the
literally raising of the hands. However the one text quoted is sufficient
for those who love the Lord, for those who love h