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>mt ah! no;'the frail speaker dare not in- 1
lude hiinselh b.ut you young men will 1
meet together in Convention, will occupy j
the seals of these fathers, will speak and ;
“-derate, and rule and direct the cause of j
md man. .May a double portion of
itres if Elijah’s Cod rest upon fibs ha. :
Ann .. w, brethren, the preacher’s work j
is finished. He hi i keenly felt the respon- I
ihility of this hour : and when his head is
inking upon its log pi!!o I grant
his conscience i uy h- so-:'.!: ‘. ml com
trled by the recoilecam of tins .Sabbath
morning.—Amkn.
For the Christian Index.
IIoNGKU.Vi J.. li.
Ti.. ,'errr 18-f 1 i.ae . year i
t, our Mission mi that
.1 *ii*tv dr has had p< c. regard i,< in-’
•a : iJly, and as ano “m ~| wt ive
aided to coufiJ in io a ‘uh
’ i ...nigh dark am! mysterious, as well
4'll and encouraging, scenes,
ir last annual 1. uer. we mention •■!
s were encou. ::d to believe that
•of ille* h<ir ’ is ,al work vitii a
ia. . this great heathen
j>t; .vli , iii • i* lor s tale time uiider
• rr” ni. picaehmg ul .lie (Jospel in their
’ ■ -Hi<r ( .. ( hir tinpes ,i:i> e beenio >re
... <!. •’ ‘ 1 ‘hineec have
’ upon a pr0,.,.1
~,.1 >1 ir iallll in Cliftst. All these
. - nno the Chinch after repeal
u; 1 cat’ciul examinations, hath private
and public, .Some ol them are men of high
attainments in their own literature, and have
ah’ ally proved of great usefulness to the
’ i ission. Os these eighteen only one, and j
in- the least promising, it as been excluded
from the church, while all the others tiive
vi ience oi’ holding on to their (nofassioii#
We now have bclwueu twenty and thirty
eases of interesting m.juiry, affording more
or less encouragement. One of the native
converts has (iuislied his short cart er of
disciplesliip. lie had been a Priest of the
Budha seel for nine years, lie was over
whelmed with unhappiness lv the loss of
his wife when a yo'.tli, and entered the
Priesthood in hopes of Uniting consolation
hy constant devotions at Bttdha’s altars,
tie was punctual-in all his duties, yet all
failed to afford him comfort, and ho still
sighed for peace. Being at Hongkong on
a Sabbath Ids attention was attracted by
a Chinese name upon the Chapel, and he
immediately entered. He listened with
anxious attention, and when he heard Chris
tianity announced as a system of glad li-
N/htigs, offering to all who heartily embra
ced it solid in Jtjm life that now is, and
•etefltSf bliss in tlie world to come, he loir
ih.it that was just what he had been in vain
‘■searching for ten long and sorrowing yoats.
. ftc came to Mr. Shuck, after the service
Inti ended, and said that if he would teacli
.[jbim such “joyful doctrines,” Ire would be
v willing to become his slioe-cleaner and yard
sweoper. After more than u whole year’s
icloso cluistian instruction, lie was baptized,.
Fanil proved a worthy, happy, 4 and useful!
Bdisisiple. .His Christian course was a short
Knit an ustdulpne l andj^\^iO?**Wi
Hpntl an ill (.:: i > ti- friend. Tile dicdl
in October last, saying “ he had!
‘• o fears, for he relied upon the Lord Je
sus.”
We have thirlocn nativp preachers daily
St work at Hongkong, and the neighboring
town# and villages on this undotlici islands,
• and also on the mainland, preaching the
gospel, and scattering far and near tons of
Minusanils of Christian hooks and tracts.
’Ole truths of-the Opine! are evidently
tjtkiojf’ tjf'l'T itr (tie of 1
‘a®.arpttpuliifOne of. out most;
active native preachers came to the :>nsi o i I
a few days ago an. -d, *■ .•! ig j
this year upon ii bvi 1.-.vit u*.-i>l,
great nnnthnr* of gon,
turn to the Lord.” t)m Chineso Sabbath
Congregations so the Chapels are remarka
bly attentive, *•. I mk !mes crowded to
excess. Wo a’ •■••'it to appeal once
more to the for “ „ m unity lor pecunia
ry aid, to enitlii en! tree and improve
the Queen's II •! ■> as more com
fortably to u< uaie .ad, increasing
cougregauwii. . Iso to keep ; nee with i
the improvem. ~ ■. the town; The new
liazaar ( .pc! u- completed, and is
every way a larger, better, and more conve
nient building than the old one. It isloca
ted just ic the midst of the new Bazaar, is
forty-lbr. ■! , t s<|iifo> , built of briek two
stories 11;11, ..ml was routed through the
liberal ii , i a the foreign community. The
auditory and vestry are on the upper lloor,
while the dispensary, hook depository, and j
seven rooms for native preachers, are on j
the lower tin ir. It is designed to hold Hi- j
vine Service there, entirely in Chinese I
lluc limes on if Sabbath, and every even. !
ing miring the weik. Two substantial
.School-houses linvo been erected during I,
the year—one for boys, tiftv-fivc by twen-!
ty-five feet, twp stories high; the other for !
girls, thirty-five foot by twenty-live, one
story—-chicily through contributions from
kind and disinterested Iriends in Chin i. In
the Boarding School are twenty Chinese
boys, and six Chinese girls, win are under
lire daily superintendence and instruction
of Mrs. Devan. On the 23rd of October,
we bail the pleasure <tf welcoming to the :
bosom of our mission the Hev, T. T. De
van, M. D., ami .Lady, from New York ei j
ty. They c*:.te from the Baptist Board as
life fust fruits of our appeal to the six ci
ties. The arrival of ihese Missionaries
was most timely ami providential.
In the demise of Mrs. Slwtok, Iter hus
band and live little children have been oall
rd to grieve over a loss to them extremely
distressing I we individually mourn the ti- j
nal absence of a cheerful, pious, intelligent |
friend, am! efficient Itdlmv laborer; while j
tire Mission has been deprived ol its bright- j
est ornament, and most active member. I
iJutr numbers, already lew and feeble, are j
filing still further reduced try our Father’s ;
mysterious hand. While our hearts bleed ;
ovet tin ;,ntb of one so well iptalified by J
her knowledge of this difficult language, m;
devoted and so useful, we would how with ;
profound submission to the will of Him
who, in all dispensations, is as wise and as
good as he is mysterious. She had enjoy
ed excellent health for scverfll months pre
vious to the 27th November, when, having
given birth to a healthy son, she sank from
exhaustion one hour and a half afterwards.
Fur month* previous, her mind had been
j in a specially interesting religious state, and
■ such was the case to the last, and she died
; peacefully, w ithout scarcely an apparent
j pain, literally falling asleep in Jesus, in the
!27ili year of liei age, and the tenth of her
j successful missionary career. Her mis- 1
j sionary cares and labors arc now cheerfully j
’ home by her endeared friend, Mrs. Hevaii.
! Sec obituary notices in the Chinese Re- :
! positorv fur January, 1815.
t Duo o. tut last ol Mrs. Shuck’s many
i benevolent efforts was me erection of the |
j Dills’ iSoit.mi-house, sufficient for the d.n;-
i miio.u* ol twelve gins, which was uujL:r.i
1 her entire direction; and when site was,
.a the very midst of her labors, called tug
I her bright reward above, she had secured.
her own exertions, funds suTii cut I<■
| Uulra v hall the expenses of the building. It
j stands, with us terraced roof and pretty
j ijaiusira !es, as ono of tup many monuments ]
jol her unquenchable missionary zeal. Mr.
’ Shuck is now making arrangements to'send
‘his two eldest children, who are boys, to
the (Juitod Suitesfm (noship f!ioXjJiu<>, |
; Captain Crocker. ’ j
| English proa.di.iug has been regularly j
; kept up at the Qiiecn’s Road .Chapel every :
j Lord's Day evening, throughout the year,
j Good congregations have been in attend-!
auoe, and tlicic are several cases of en- j
con raging inquiry.
Several Christian tracts and books in the |
Chinese language have been printed by our;
mission during iliu year, in November, i
we sent a supply of Chinese tracts to the
Christian Tract and Book Society of Cal
. utta, for distribution among the Chinese
population of that city, said to amount to
upwards of live, thousand.
Mr. Dean i afrrrrniigf-•
Chew (jjepariinuut of this Mission, audl|KS
labored w ith much encouragement durinjh
the year. Large congregations, sneaking j
this dialect, have attended the Queen's Hoad j
Chapel at Ip. m. on Lord’s days. Tins
department of the Mission has been serious
ly iiuerfercd with by the failure of Mr.
Dean’s health, which has rendered it ne
cessary foi flftii to leave for the United
.Stales. He sailed, with his little daughter,
for New York, in the Swedish ship Zano
bia, Captain Beckman, on the I7lh De
cember. Two of the eighteen baptized;
mid three of the thirteen native preachers,
are connected with'the Too Chew depart
ment. The Rev. Mi. Goddard, udtv pas
tor ol a Chinese church of about twenty
members, at Bangkyk, Siam, is familiar
with the Teo Chew dialect, and wo aic ex
pecting him to join our Mission at Hong
kong during the present year. Dr. and
Mrs. Devan have started an interesting lit
lie Sabbath School lot Eutopoan children.
Urjtie midst of their varied occupations,]
nd Mrs. D. make the study of the!
their primary objceLAl^gj|
coatnkmWdk
objects. s
Dr. and Mrs. Maegowan arrived from ‘
Calcutta iu August last, having been united ‘
Hi marriage there in Juno previous. They
have been unavoidably detained in Hong
kong until the present, but arc in, ■ • .on the
eve of returning to Ningpo, where Dr. M.
will re-open the Hospital lie established
there in 1843. The institution wilf here
after be under the patronage ol the Medical
Missionary Society. While iu Calcutta,
Dr. Maogowiwi received upVrards of two
thousah’d rupfles J'roin the liberal English
comitimiiiy in the Presidency of Bengal,
!’ procuriitganatomical mo rein, engravings,
1 . from Paris, to ai'il in instructing C’hi
•■•e piactitionera and sjudenti iu the first
principles of iliu healing art in connextbii
with the Hospital. The subscription was
further increased at Singapore. Dr. M.
has been mainly employed iu the study of
the language, lie will be accompanied to
Ningpo by a native Christian colporteur,
supported by the Teo Chew church at I long-1
kong.nsa ILoin# Missionary. Mr. Roberts
is at present at Canton, and meets with no I
hindrance in his work of teaching-and j
preaching, and extensive tract distrilfiHfon,
publicly ami from house to house, among
that people, generally regarded as the most!
prejudiced against foreigners.
For some liino previous to the arrival olj
Dr. Devan and lady, Kowloon and its vi-1
ciiiilv, which arc said to contain some ten !
thousand inhabitants, had been one of the j
mainland outstations of this mission. The
insufficiency of foreign missionaries had,
however, compelled the mission to enltusi
the work ot pleaching the Gospel at that
place ehicdly to the labors of the native as
sistants. But, as some attention to the sub
ject of true religion bad been manifested
on the part of a number of the inhabitants,
and as it h ad been determined ihat Dr. De
van and lady should devote themselves to
the Canton dialect of the language, it was
thought, on the arrival of those missiona
ries, that the time had ai rived for a more
systematic and zealous cultivation of that
field—more especially as bv opening a dis
pensary for gratuitous medical aid to the
sick, it was thought a more general atten
tion would be given to the laborers and
their doctrines, lienee, early m Novem
ber, Messrs. Shuck and Devan proceeded
to the mainland, ami waited on the Manda
rins ol Kowloon, to procure their assent to !
the undertaking. These rulers immediate- i
!>’ granted the tnissionarii s the undisturbed I
use ol either of the two temples of idolatry i
iu the town for a dispensary, rent free; and j
at the same time granted full privilege to j
preach the Gospel and distribute tracts to ]
their heart’s desire, provided tiiey would j
not undertake to pass the night within the j
precinct* ol th district they governed. To I
iliis the missionaries agreed. From that I
day to the present, these brethren have ‘
made a weekly visit to this plaee, accompa-1
nied by four or five native assistants. Be-’
lore leaving their own houses, the brethren,
together with the assistants, invariably en-j
gage in united prayer to the Aijter 0 f the I
’ vineyard, that he will smile efforts i
of the day. On arriving at thqemple se- i
j lected for dispensary operali#fcS-,.l w i,jh
is about eight or ten miles fiouflSngkong, l
! a few prefatory remarks are a to the j
crowd of people who the
missionaries, and prayer is offled to the
j ) rue Ood for a blessing upon he work.
1 They then prescribe for the sick giving to
j each patient a card containing tw or more
, : 'f propriate passages of Seri tore. To
| these his attention is pariicularljdirected,.
i while at die same lime a ciirtslfl tract is i
j given, and lie is exhorted by a tiTv-e assis |
j taul t 0 tur “ hem worshipping to the j
true Jehovah. The crowd, who] curiosi- ’
ty lias brought around the uble, j
hear the remarks made, andaUne same
| time a tract is given to each oup. If safli
eienf time remains, after cling (he 1
dispensary, tte oasistants disper|f|ir?jugh
out lire town, nisiributing tract* hJ senp-
accompanied by exhortalms to a !l!
This euiployuient akorbs nn,
vv:r.(l(! day of every week. At his mo
| tnenl arrangements aie being mad to ojien
two dispensaries, to be similarly inducted
;at different places on the island < Hong
kong. Even now, before any prearations i
are made, patients are applying eery day j
at the house for medical aui, ar.dionc be- j
j come the recipients ol such aid Kitliout
Christian exhortations, either 4 jle- A or |
i sjigkun,. accomjmiiying it! Thf diseases |
j lor which help is chiefly soflgkt are those
!of flip eye, ulcers, rheunj/lisin, and injit- j
! ries c and the readiness ytth which the ior
■ eign medicines are takep, and the patience !
! with which the people sibmit to surgical!
| operations, are strong irdications of t!ye
confidence f it by them bwurds £ie i/is
I sionaries. Some of the
dy giving evidetice that tiny sedwi#!sc]>a
rable connection between the chriln/aii ex
hortation and the physical inso
much, indeed, that Uiosolbstilc toAe reli
gion of Christ are un wiling to ap4y for
inediclll aid, lesubi>luiHdby soiniwieanS”
| imbibe has
Jbeen, and ever will be, t’te single yim of
IThskhrethreu to render all tlasir med- ca l e b
, forts xt()mpletely subservient to tn c one
great objfevHlor wfiufii the} camcio this
idolatrous lamfc^Giili^v; a s prcaqji Jesus
to the pcrishiugTOMj|!|v ‘ .
Touching the and
political movements in Ci^lLo K , ‘public
papers will have informed we
need not therefore tax your time
details. Hongkong continues to l&mce
rapidly in luiildings and poputytiu:Tboth
native aiul foreign. The native imputation',
so often ineiitioued as of the
grade, really possess a fair sharovV rTspee
lability. ’l'bere lias been inncH|HS sick
ness in the colony during tlieMst year
than during 1813; and many nmprove
nients, such as drains, roads, are in
progress, and which are calculaljd gTcatly
to benefit the health of the placer A treaty
of aunty and comtnerco was sigriewy the
of the United States attdßi.tiua,
Macao, in July last, and the
ntiarics Inuin tlie i:j|^
at a .mnHHK
access to the
with the following fist
vis, Governor ; Hon. Major Gen. DjAgui
kir, C. 8., Lieut. Governor, Cofninatjling
all the Forces in China; Rev. Mr. Staun
ton, Colonial. Chaplain j’ Rev. Air. BalfiM.
1)., and family, and Rev. Dr, Brtdgetuan,
of the A liter. Board Coin.; Rev, Mr.
Brown and family, Alorrison Ed. ;
Rev. Dr. Dev,in and family, and Rev.'Alr.
•Shuck and lauiily, ol the American
Board; Rev. Dr. Legge and family, and
Dr. Hobson ami family, and Rev.
leipie, of London Mis. So.; Rev. Dr. flap
per, of the Amer. Presbyterian Board.i
• Canton. —F. C. Macgregdt, Esq.,|jrit
islt Consul; R. B. Jackson, Esq.Aflftish
Vice Consul; Pauls. Forbes, Esq., q. S.
Consul; Rev. Dr. Parker and fautila, of
Amer. Board Com.; liev. Mr. Robert, ol
the Amer. Baptist Board.
A MOV. —li. Alcoek, Esq., ibh. Con ul;
-G. G. Sullivan, Esq., British#iceCon atl;
Dr. emptying, American Missionary ; Dr,
Hepburn and family, and Rev. Air. LI yd,
of the Amer. Pres. Mission ; Rev. Mr Jfhi
ty andffatnily, and Rev. Air. Polhm.mTml
family, of the Amer. Board Com.;
Mr. Stronach and family, atid Rev. Mr.
Young and family, of the Loin Alls. sJ
Nixci‘o.—H.Thbiu, Esq., British Um
sul; J. 11. Layton, Esq., British \fiee
Consul; Henry Wolcott, Esq., U. S. Clm-
Mil; Dr. M icgowau and family, of tlie Am.
baptist Board; Hev. Air. Culbertson and
lauiily, and Kev. Air. Way and family, and
liov. Air. Loomis and family] and Rev.’Alr.
Luwrie ami Dr. AlcCartee,’ all of the Aut.!
Pre*. Board; Miss Aldsßscy'. E ugfcsh wr
sionary. ”
Shanghai,.—U. Balfour, Esq., British
(fimsul; D. B. Robertson, Esq., Brinish
Vice Consul; Rev. Dr. Aiedburst and fami
ly, and Dr. Lockhart and family, of ibe
Lon. Mis. So.
Foo-chow-foo. —G. T. Lay, Esq., Brit
ish Consul; no Alissionary!!!
In addition to the above, the Rev. Alessrs.
Smith and Al’Klaiehie, of the Church Mis
sionary So., and Air. Cole (Printei) and
lauiily, tram the Amer. Pres. Board,
arrived in but are not yet located.
C- W. Waldron, Esq., United Slates Con*-
su! for Hongkong, and a friend to our Ali%-
sioa, died suddenly of cholera, at Macao, in
September last.
In behalf of the American Baptist Miss,
in China.
J. DENIS SIIUCK, Sec.
/or the Christian Index.
Dear lira, /taker. —Circumstances of a
peculiar character have, for several yeatA,
cut me oil front the society and operation}
of a largo portion of my brethren, with
whom I was, lor a long lime, accustomed
to take counsel and co-operate in the gresj
interests ol the Redeemers kingdom.
These with considerations of propriety
ami duty prevented mc.froni meeting with
j you, and them in the important Conven
■ lions which have just closed. But never
! for a moment have ray feelings cooled or
j my interest been checked in the good work;
[ and alihbngh I have not been able to ren
-1 tier any efficient service during this period,
1 have not ceased to pray, and to the ut
most of my ability, promote the interests j
involved. Recent events have served to j
increase rather than diminish, ray disposi- !
lion to advance the cause of Christian be-:
nevolence, and my confidence that ultimate 1
. success will be the result is by no means!
| lessened.
How this object shall be best accomplish- j
| ed, becomes now a question of deep inter- ■
’ e£t especially to every Southern man.
A great d,feet in oui past efforts has;
i been the want of system ; especially in our:
J contributions. You arc not unapprised, j
! that in the most of our cliurehes, the bur-
I then is generally'’ borne by a very few.—
i The result has been, that decidedly too lil-|
| tie has been done, at, perhaps, toogrealex-
the few. while nhe resources of
j the denomination have, to a fearful extent,
remained undeveloped. Whatever causes
; may have contributed to this result, I think ,
|it is evident our plans for raising lunds
i have had their share.
The duty of collecting has been too un
! defined, left mo.-t frequently, to Pastor
I l)r Deacons, the respuimbili”* ,l P H e IIRI I I j"j
! divided a* almost 10
ject. Again had
pkn of conlrihJCtiiig.
j ■’ i s generally deferred until
‘hojpeetings immediately proceeding tlie
jjUjesions ol our Associations or Convention,
ripvhcn but a partial appeal can be made, and
-i should such meetings be prevented, the
| whole subject is, for twelve mouths neglec
j te J-
r We want a system independent of those
’ fitful influences, and the whole duty ot giv
ing, reduced to fixed principle. Great en
t.Kiytis.es ought never to dependupon peri
odical excitements. And although the in
> dividual contributions on a tegular plan
: might be small, the result, if generally a
dopted, would exceed our most sanguine
■ expectations. Th ; Ocean consists of drops
1 and the globe of infinitely small particles :
1 combined they astonish us by their cotn
-1 pass and magnificence. Gould we thus
comlmic-our panicles, undatu thepent-baek
l rivulets, that they might empty their con
stantly llowiug streams into the great ocean
! of Christian benevolence, we should soon
have (almost without effort) an exhaust
: less ocean to refresh the solitary places of
i the earth, to make glad the city of our God.
• 1 have written these lines to call alien;.
■ lion to the subject. Tjial it is practicable*
- L have no doubt. I suppose there are in
Georgia at least 50,000 Baptists (I have no
’ accurate information before me) deducting
’ one half lor paupers, minors and slaves
will leave 25,000. Now suppose these
to contribute but ten cents per month, the
result will be $30,000 per aunugft. Or
if this be too much reduce ‘,y to Jive
cents, pid we hjiv* tMg.Offftr” J
13 *’ imprq/oable ?
Una.,
mush, m many indip!^H
from the want of system. It
tliat every church should have a financial
agent entrusted especially with the busi
ness, and instead of annual collections,
should have frequent and easy contribu
tions.
It will occur ti you that a very small
’ sacrifice will be sufficient to supply the
means for these monthly contributions.—
Nor can yon fail to see, that, small as they
may be in themselves, in the aggregate
; they will greatly exceed the amount liitlt’-
etto realized! If these hasty suggestions
shall approve themselves to your judgment;
cannot a plan be devised that will bring the
churches mto harmonious uniform and effi
cient action? Letevery I’astor attempt it,
j and, I think, your next annual returns will
show an increase in the means of the Con-’
vention, somewhat corresponding with our
increasing obligations.
Should Geoigia move in ibis matter,
should tlie other States now associated co
operate instead of Thirl;/ thousand, the
first meeting of the Southern Baptist Con
vention will be greeted by more than one
‘hundred thousand dollars for benevolent
purposes. It affords me pleasure to record
tn v cordial approval of the proceedings of
the Convention at Augusta; especially the
adttt’ss of the Committee. The spirit
manifested is peculiarly gratifying. lam
glad that the brethren seemed to feel - that
they had not met, so much for speech man
ufacturing. as lor prayer ami action.
Depend upon it, when the parade which j
1 so frequently associates with such meetings j
| shall have passetl away, they will have Feast
; with which to,reproach themselves, who
“i have said least and done most.
So fat as 1 know there is a universal ap
jvroval here. These thoughts are hastily
thrown together anil are presented with the
kindest feelings and best wishes of a chris-;
tiah'brother.
JOHN E. DAWSON.
LaGrunge, May 24th 1845.
For the Christian Index.
Letters to a Young Convert —No. i.
Dear IF- :—For the clearerunderstand
, ing of what shall be spoken upon the life of
faith, it will bo needful to consider, first,
what faith is; for a man must have faith
before he can make use of it: he must be
iu Christ before he can live upon Christ.
?)iow faith is a supernatural impression—in
other words, a divine communication im
parted to the mind, which produces an ef
fect, to wit: the believing the truth of the
, word of God. It relates to some word spo
, ken, or to some promise made by him, and
’ it expresses (as its fruits) the belief which a
] person, who hears it, has of its being true,
assents to it, relies upon it, and acts ac
cordingly. This is what. I define to be
; faith, being careful to distinguish between
cause and rllcct. This is what the Apos
tle defines as the “substance of. things ho
ped for. The whole word of God, which
is the ground oT faith, may be reduced to
two points, namely : to what the law re
veals concerning the justification of a right
; eons man, and to what the gospei reveals
. concerning the salvation of'a sinner. An
examination of these points will discover a 1
great number of persons who have no faith
at ail in the word of God. First, every
man in his natural state before the grace of
| Christ, and the inspiration of itis Spirit, has
•no faith. 4he Scripture says, God hath
shut up all tnat are iu thisslutein unbelief; \
’ and w hen the Holy Spirit aw akens any one j
1 of them, he convinces him of sin.
When the comforter is come, (savs!,
Christ,) he shall convince the world of sin, i 1
: because they believe not in me. It seems
to be the opinion of many that faith, or
. grace, when imparted to the heart of the 1
sinner, does not implant any new principle, 1 1
1 but only elevates the old ones. If that be;
the fact, then I take it for granted man is \
not totally aud absolutely depraved ; but i
j dormant, in the heart, lays some obscure j 1
principle ol love, which, when acted upon, i
.i'e|T3)AfO.;n.|o A-ri| aqi asavka flame. 1
! totally depraved, i come to the conclusion
that, ai the moment the Holy Spirit regenet- j
’ ate* the soul, it implants anew principle, 1
jor we cannot be new creatures in Christ]
! Jesus, but old ones revived. This 1 take!
!to be the graud distinction between the ;
nominal ad real Christian—ono having Ins !
old faculties resuscitated, so that lie can j
speak with the tongues of men, and have
the ’ gift of prophecy, und understand all j
mysteries, and all knowledge ; arid have all 1
laith, so that ho could remove mountains,
: (obstacles,) aud bestow till Ins goods to feed
I the poor, aud his body to be burned : yet,
! the new principle of love not being united ;
by the Holy Spirit, l.e is without charity,;
r(!ovc-,) —therefore, as sounding brass, or a j
I tinkling cymbal.
So you see u man may be so far enlighi- i
j cned as to understand the way of salvation, |
and yet have not true faith. What great
numbers ate there under these delusions !
W., are you one of them ? Ex ami no close,
lv, lor it is iff eternal oaoim I'uve
1 1 1 ; nc,ow iijji;licK' s WHW?'e in’ UWfTSljlJr
If you ask how you shall know it, since
there nre so many errors about it, hear
what God’s word says : “ Whoever believes
truly, has been first convinced of sin.”
This our Lord teaches, John 18, 9: “ When
j the comforter is come, he will convince the
I world of sin, because they believe not on
line.”
1 1
1 111,0 .>n. : t D,
i
J and leaves sinners
no false refuge to flee tfino: he will not sul-
Ipr them tqsit deWfi’coTiUmi with some sor
row, or a little outward reformation, or any
supposed righteousness—but makes them
feel that, do whatever they will or can, still
their guilt remains. Thus’ tie puts them
upon seeking out for wllvniioii,'antf By the
j gospel ho discqvjryno j-bcjn. He opens
their understandings to know what they
. hear and read concerning’ the covenant of
the eternal Trinity, and concerning what
1 the God-man has done Ir. the fultiiltiig of
, this covenant. The Holy Spirit teaches
] them the nature of the adorable person of
j Christ-God manifest in the'ficsh, aud the
; infinitely precious and everlastingly nreri
-1 torious righteousness, w hich he has wrought
i out by the obedience of his lift: and death :
] and ho convinces them that his righteous-!
j ness insufficient for their salvation, and that!
! nothing is required except faith for its be- j
! ing imputed unto them : and lie works in I
! them a sense of their being helpless, ;jml
i without strength to rely upon this right
j eousness, and through faith in it to have
peace with God. He makot them see that
, they cannot, by any power of their own, in
| the least depend upon it, for all their suffi
ciency is of God, It requires the same arm
of the Lord, w hich wrought out this right
eousness, to enable them, with the heart, to
believe in it. They are made clearly sen
sible of this from the word and Spirit ofj
God, and from their ow n daily experience ;;
and thereby they are disposed to receive!
their whole salvation from the free grace ol!
God. and to him to ascribe till the glory oft
it. These arc-the redeemed of the Lord, to j
whom it is given to believe. They are,
quickened from a death in trespasses and |
sins, their consciences are awakened, their;
understandings are enlightened with the’
knowledge of Christ, they are enabled in
their wills to choose him, and in their
hearts to love him, and to rejoice in his
salvation.
This is entirely the work of the Holy
Spirit, for faith is his gift: Eph. 2:8.
“ Unto it is given, (soys the Apostle,
Phil. 1 : 29,) in the behalf of Christ, to be
lieve on him : none fan give it but the Spi
rit of God, because it is the faith of the op
eration of God, and requires the same Al
mighty power to believe with the heart, as
it did to raise Christ’s body from the grave :
Eph. 1: 20.
As to how this power is put forth, shall
be the subject of my next.
Alay you live to be trappy, &c.,
JNO. VV. WILSON.
Let not thy heart envy sinners. — Prov.
PENFIELD.
FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 1845.
To Correspondents.
Brother Janies Davis, by inspecting our
published receipts again, will find all th
credits given, to which he refers in his let
ter. E. James was a misprint for E.
Jaues, as we staled in our next number.
We curtail our editorials this week to
make room lor communications, reports ot
Committees, and - other articles that have
been on hand for some time.
Pitly nt Home.—VV'o commend the arti
cle under thiipiian, on our last page, ?o
the particular attention of our readers.
Census Os Peuficld.—Through the. polite-’
ness oi Air. J. G. Holtzclaw, who has re*
centlv taken the census in our county, we
have been furnished with the census ofour
viiiage, which is as follows : Families 40,
white population 225, colored do. 205, to
tal population 430. Os these there are 26
w hite males, and 21 white females, between
the ages of 6 and IS.
f ‘ Cor. See. of lire Foreign MftxTtm Boartf—
We learn from the Religious Herald that
i bro:ber Mallary has declined accepting the
| offiee ° r Corresponding Secretary of the F.
; AI. B. in Richmond.
Periodical Library.
We arc thankful, very thankful to our
Iriends fin tlie names of subscribers sent
us, whether accompanied with the money
j or ntU - They are coming in far beyond
our most sanguine expectations,—and we
were thought, by o r friends here, to be
entirely 100 sanguine in our hopes of suc
cess. One brother has sent ns 12 namejs
Irom the mountainous region. Il'thmoui
| tains are so productive, what may wc not
j expect from the fertile vales below. Anotli-
I <!r ljn,,h( -‘ r Las sent us 10 names with the
money in advance from Alabama. .If we
live 5 yeais, we mean, by the blaring of
heaven on our labors, to exhibit, if the
thing he possible, a list of 10,01)0 . paying
subscribers. Wc believe such _a tvopk as
that WC Pftypto, Wot Vital Imp; ;
! of ,rul J?’ and Will meet with
the divine approbation; and, if so,- , uu ,t
succeed, with suitable efforts. At all e
tvents,we mean to test the miner fairly,
and see whether the best eiiurtff we can
malte in its behalf will be ow
ed of God, to whom we ‘ tnm!^^ rraU!
the work, and ail the energies wO exert in
it* behalf. s A
,*JfocE!following etmscrih*™
S-iinhTSH’
R. R. Beck,
fiffcev. Wm. KirvJn,
H. Bussey, Mrs. Martlif Amiiff-ug, W m .
Walthal, p. S. Conico, Wm.*Xjimm, N.
M. McPherson, .1. D. Piin-hei, .Wm. H.
Hunter and Robert Tail, Rev. H. |J. \V,|.
son, No. 1. 8 copies, Paul T. Willis d->. \
cop cs.
Weliav(*as yet, seat our prospectus to
bill very ; few brethren,—principally to
those who have ordered the work. Aa
soon alter the first of July as practicable!
(at which time the postage will he reduced)
we intend sending it in every direction.
JI Hard Cose. —A Northern exchange
paper states that an Ami-Missionary Bap
tist church in Georgia, lately tried two
members —one. for drunkenness, and the
other for joining the Temperance Society,
and the result was that the drunkard con
; leasing hi* fault was retained, and the other
| making no conh ssion was excommunicated,
i U e “"der if this is correct. Bro. Baker,
i ‘N” J'u tell us any thing about it ?. ,il a .
| Baptist.
We think we saw the fact attested by a
j “ filer m tlie Temperance Banner, a paper
published here, owned and edited by the
publisher of the-Christian Index. If thou
art sceptical brother, come over into Geor
gia, and we will help thee to inquire into
the facts nf the case. All that we can de
pose, is that there are s'ome as odd fish in
Georgia, as arc to be found out of it. Conte
and see for thyself, if thou doubles!.
• % __________
Revivals.
_ Brother A. E. Whitten of Lexington Ali.
!in private letter, writes, “Brother Barr.es
! has had a feast, as I learn, for a month past,
mostly in Madison and Hines Cos., assisted
;by brother Laltimore, brother Nelson of
i Covington, Ky. and other brethren.” AVe
j hope brother Barnes will communicate lor
j our pages the results l^pors.
£W~ We thank brother Whitten for his
kind suggestion, and will do what he pro
poses as soon as the postage is reduced..
Boon for Georgia.
Brother Baker —l wish to acknowledge*
thiough the Index, the reception, in good
order, of a Sunday School Library, for the-
Enon Grove Sunday School, Heard coun
; ty. This is a part of the Boon for Geor
gia, granted by the A. S. S. Union. We
feel grateful to the Union, and especially
so to tho Georgia friend. JAS. DAVIS.
Cicero and Cato. —Cicero spoke it as
the highest coinfhendation of Cato’s char
acter, that lie embraced philosophy, not for
the sake of disputing like a philosopher ;
but of living one. The chief purpose of
Christian knowledge is to promote the
great cud of a Christian tile.