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JOSEPH S. BAKER— Editor. VOL. XIII. TERMS PER ANNUM. VJST The Christian Index, publish ed on Friday in each week, (except two in the year), will be furnished to each sub scriber at $2 50 cents, in advance ; or $3 if not paid within the year. Every Agent, (and all Baptist Ministers are particularly solicited to become agents,) who procure and pay for live copies of the Index, shall be entitled to a sixth, as a compensation for his trouble. Lotters on business, or communications must be addressed to the Editor, post paid. Advertisements maybe insertedon usu al terms, at the discretion of the Editor. Publication Society. Brother Sands prefaces the following re marks with explanations affecting ourself, which are satisfactory : “la reference to the Publication Society the Michigan Herald had classed us with brother B. as not being favorably disposed to it. This we reproved as an erroneous statement. We think such a society need ed, and that it may be made highly useful to the denomination. We have seen noth ing in the movements of its board to impair our confidence. It is located far beyond the reach of Northern influence, and some of the most prominent, probably a majority es the most active members oi the Board, disapproved of tire action of the Boston Board. The subject of a reparation had not been agitated in this State, and wo sup posed that the ,Virginia delegation, went to the Convention entirely uncommitted in reference to this and the Bible Society.— We still think that brother B. errs in bis supposition that the Richmond brethren arc so peculiarly partial to the Publication So ciety. AUti.iat they have never exhibited this pei uliar zeal in any special effort to advance its inteiesls. On this, as on oth er subjects, they differ in lit ir views.— Whilst some prefer that the connexion should continue, others would prefer a Southern organization.” Memories on the Move. —As to Hr. Mu clay, wo have only to say, that great ex citement prevailed in 1841, in consequence of the remark ascribed to him. It was the purpose of many delegates from the South to require, at the meeting of the Conver.tiori in Baltimore, an explanation or disavowal of ilie sentiment ascrilied to him. The general feeling in the South, (in Virginia ns well as in Georgia.) was that, if be were continued on the Board without such an ex planation or disavowal, we could not, con sistently with what was due to ourself and others, continue a connection with those wlio would sustain him, Soon after bis arrival in Baltimore, an accident occuircd, by which Ur. M. was seriously maimed, and which excited the sympathy of all who knew him. It was thought it would bejeru el to interrogate him on the subject, while laboring under a heavy affliction, which might possibly prove fatal. The matter was talked about in private conferences, and brethren from the North expressed themselves very confident that he had nev er made the remark ascribed to him ; but, strange ! none had ever heard him deny it! Our Southern bretluen, deprecating a dis ruption unnecessarily, were easily pacified —they suffered the matter to rest in statu quo. It was the opinion ol some tlraf, if Ur. M. recovered, he would embrace an early opportunity to disavow the obnoxious sentiment, which, it was stated in the public prints, he had expressed in Europe. Dr. M. did recover ; but if the disavowal was ever made, we have never seen or heard ol it. We were, at the time, in the receipt of most of the Baptist papers in our country, and looked in vain for the disavowal ex pected. Brother Sands says : “The committee on the Constitution re commended the organization of but two boards, and on this commute there were but two Richmond brethren.” We think our good brother is mistaken in reference to this matter. The Committee on the Constitution reported as follows : “ The Convention sliail elect at each tri ennial meeting as many Boards of Mana gers, as in its judgment will be necessary lor carrying out the benevoleut objects it may determine to promote.” A Richmond brother offered a resolution to appoint two boards, one for Foreign and one for Domestic Missions. An objection being made by ourself to the restricting the number of Boards to two, the resolution was modified, and passed in the form in which it now stands in the Minutes, p. 14. The mover —to succeed, we presume, in effect ing his object, and allay an apprehension felt bv some, that, if we proceeded to elect the two boards, opposition might subsequently be made to the appointment of other boards —remarked, that the Convention might af terwards proceed to elect as many boards as might be deemed proper; but as soon as a resolution was offered to appoint a Publi lication Board, he, and others from Rich mond, manifested, in the manner stated in THE CHRISTIAN INDEX. our former article on the subject, their de cided hostility to it, and their unwillingness to allow the subject even to be discussed. The whole matter was managed in such a way as to prevent any expression of opin ion, by the Convention, on the expediency of establishing a Publication Board ; for, as we have shewn before, the vote to lay on the table did not and could not test the sense of the Convention on the subject. Vet this vote lias been represented as pro ving that the Convention was opposed to the establishment of a Publication Board, and iixftuonood, ~-o proenmp, hy this repre sentation—the Bible Society Committee at Lynchburg travelled out of its appropriate bounds to proclaim to the world its aver sion to a separation from a “kindred insti tution.” Brother Sands says : “We hope to see the day when we shall have a Southern Publication Society, loca ted in some suitable place, having its own printing oflice, and issuing Southern books and Southern tracts from the Delaware to the Rio del Norte.” If the establishment of a Southern Publi cation Society is desirable, we cannot too soon take incipient measures for the estab lishment of one. If such an organization be not desirable, our much respected broth er should not indulge the hope to see one. But brother Sands says again : “We do not wish to break off unnecessa rily from brethren whom we love and whose friendship we value. It is sufficient ly painful when necessity compels us to separate from brethreh ; and we think that very strong and cogent reasons sltuold be presented ere we sever the last links of the chain ol Christian benevolence, which has hitherto bound us together in one harmoni ous brotherhood.” On this passage we will make several general remarks :—l. We cannot well re concile this passage with the one previous ly cite i. 2. We have a higher opinion of our Northern brethren than the above re marks would seem to indicate that brother Sands has. His remarks are calculated to leave on the mind of his readers an impres sion, ilia I if w e presumed to manage our own publication matters in our owr: way, we should forfeit the “ friendship ” of our brethren at the North ! We haven higher D opinion of our brethren, than to suppose them so selfish and mercenary as to extend their friendship only to those w ho will carry out their w ill and labor to advance their in terests. 3. We arc far from concurring in the opinion, that the A. B. P. S, and A. F. B. S. constitute either the first or “last links of the chain of Christian benevolence,” or are, in any way, essential to our existing in “one harmonious brotherhood.” Was there not a harmonious unity in our denomi nation long before there were any national societies established—unitv of feeling, of sentiment and of affection ? Has not the denomination been more divided since the organization of those societies than it ever was before? We view the “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” as the only bond capable of binding in “ harmonious broth erhood” the heterogeneous mass of minds, of which our denomination is composed. We furthermore believe that this bond is amply sufficient, without the inlet veution of any society located in Boston, New York or Philadelphia. For our part, we desire no brotherhood with those who make mem bership in any other society than the Chris tian church a lest of fellowship. We be lieve, for reasons asssigned in former num bers of our paper, that the interests of the South require the establishment of Publica tion and Bible Boards by theS. B. C. We believe that the establishment of such Boards would tend to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace, and greatly subserve, in more ways than one, the inter ests of the Redeemer’s kingdom, which, vve trust, are dear to us all. We have designed to cast no reflation upon bro. Sauds. We well know that he is aeeustomed to act openly, honestly and independently, and that he lias sometimes incuried the displeasure of friends for his straight forward policy. We may have oc casionally differed hom him in opinion, re lative to matters of general interest, but we have ever esteemed him as standing unri valled as an editor. As to other Richmond brethren, while we deprecate the course pursued by some of them, in reference lo our Southern operations, we repeat the ex ptession of our confidence that they are good brethren, who will wisely and faith fully perfdrm the duties they may be will ing lo undertake. The more we esteem them, the more do we regret the course they have pursued in reference to a Southern Pnblication Board. We are not in favorof a violent disruption from Northern Socie ties. We would desire to part from them in it brotherly way a.:d divide field of labor, believing that more good can beaf- FOR THE BAPTIST CONVENTION OFj THE STATE OF GEORGIA. PENFIELD, GA., SEPTEMBER 19, 1845. levied by a division of labor, in this in stance, and that we shall, at the same time, prevent further cause of strife and animosi ties, between the North and the South. For the Christian Index. A Parable. Naomi, the young and lovely daughter of Salalhiel and Judith, was troubled in spirit because, at the approaching feast of trumpets, she would be compelled to ap pear in her plain, undyed stola, whilst some of her young acquaintances would appear in blue anti purple, ami ilie fine linen of Egypt. Her mother saw the gloom that appeared upon the face of her lovely child ; and, taking her apart, related to her this parable. A dove thus made her complaint to the guardian spirit of the feathered tribe : “Kind genius, why is it that the hoarse voiced ami stiutting peacock spreads his gaudy train to the sun, dazzling the eyes of every beholder with his richly burnished neck and royal ciown, the astonishment and admiration of each passer-by, whilst 1, in my plain plumage, am overlooked and forgotten by all ! Thy ways, kind genius, seem not to be equal towards those under thy care and protection.” The genius listened to her complaint, and thus replied : “l will grant thee a train similar in rich ness to that of the gaudy bird you seem to envy, and shall demand of thee but one condition in return.” “What is that?” eagerly inquired the dove, overjoyed at the prospect of possess ing what seemed to promise so much hap piness. “ It is, said the genius, that you consent to surrender ail those qualities of meekness, tenderness, constancy and love, foi which thy family have been distinguished iu all time.” “ Let me consider,” said the dove. “N°> I cannot consent to such an exchange. No, not foi all the gaudy plumage, the showy train, the richly burnished neck, the stately, strutting walk, of that vain bird, will l sur render those qualities of which you epettk/ the distinguishing features of iny family from time immemorial. 1 must decline, good genius, the conditions you propose.” “ Then why complain, dear bird ? Has Providence bestowed upon thee qualities which thou vainest more than all the gaudy adornings you admire ? and ail tliou dis contented still ?” A tear started into the eye of the dove at this mild rebuke of her guardian spirit, and she promised never to complain. The beautiful girl, who had entered into the story with deep and tender emotion, raised her fine blue eyes to meet her moth er’s tender gaze ; anil as they rolled up wards, suffused with penitential tears, she said, in a subdued tone, with a smile like that assumed by all nature, when the bow of God appears iu the heavens aftei a storm, —“ My mother, I think I know what thy story means. Let me be your dove: let me but have that ornamcn’ ol a meek and quiet spirit, and I am satisfied to see others appear in rich and gaudy ap parel. MARCUS. For the Christian Index. Dcncou Todd. Someone, a member of a church, lament ing, in the deacon’s p,esencc, its destitu tion, observed, “ Oh, wc are a neglected people; no man seems to cate for our souls.” “ Brother,” said the deacon, “ perhaps you do not care enough for some men’s bo dies, or they would care more for your souls. Where is your preacher that you had settled among you ?” “ Oh, lie moved off to anew county.” “ Why?” “ We couldn’t support him.” “ Couldn’t, brother ? Ilayen’t you made a mistake of a letter? Ought you not to have said wouldn’t?” E. D. For the Christian Index. “Knowledge is Power.” But divine knowledge is best of all. By divine knowledge, I mean a spiritual know ledge of the sanctifying power of the gos pel. A preacher may be thoroughly ver sed in classic and sacred literature, deep in the sciences, and full of all the information of the day ; and yet lie may be but a poor minister of Christ. ‘There is no power in him. On the other hand, a plain, unleiteW ed man, whose heart is full of the unction%._ grace, is always mighty as a means of holi ness and salvation. Power is embodied in his influence, and all around him feel it. He is the salt of the earth. The secret of our hearts cannot be hid. If Christ is in the soul, he is felt by others, as well as by ourselves. If he is not there, we make, 1 may an empty and painful impression. I Mi far from wishing lo discourage men fronf a diligent pursuit of knowledge, provi ded S'djflbservc the command Sfwfe Apos tle, £ Do ’ an to the glory of God but I would Irava it remembered by all, that hea venß wisdom is the principal thing. Seek first ind chiefly the kingdom of God and Ilis -ighteousness. Let every thing else bo conducive to this great end. If Christ werqall in all to His servauts, I n.ust think thafihe world could not withstand their po'VJS The nations of the earth would sooniKeeome the kingdoms of -Owtl and His Clink’ V DISCIPJ-B. for the Christian Index. of the Creator. That man occupies no enviable position, who can/live and niovo in this world, with out cons/ant admiration of the benevolence of its Author. Wherever we take our stand, Amidst ihe works of nature, we be hold oj magnificent and gorgeous temple displaying so fully the goodness of its ar chitect’ns to claim the adoration of bur livfs. If fe look upwards, “the heavens de clare Ihe glory of God, and the firmament sheweth llis handy work.” The bright Ivingofday—who, at the distance of ninc ty.fivp millions of miles from the earth, raises its vapors, fructifies its fields, clothes its'meadows with verdure, and distributes, with an impartial hand, light, heat and col or, through every nation and kingdom— proclaims fur and wide the goodness of his Creator. yThe moon, too, with her reflected light arid romantic scenery, fails not to declare the benevolence of her Author, ns she walks her silvery rounds, raising the tides in the ocean, the currents of wind in the atmos phere, and dispelling the gloom and dark ness of the long and dreary night. /Turning our attention to the earth on a summer’s morning, we observe on every jside myriads of happy beings. The thou sands of insects, which (lit away their ephemeral existence in the sunbeam, evince by their actions the most perfect enjoyment. The forest songsters, each with his favorite note, make the shady grove reverberate with their songs of rejoicing. The little lamb is thrown into ecstacies at the plea sure arising from the exercise ol his well constructed limbs, while its aged dam lies beneath the oak’s thick shade, equally plea sed with the relish of her cud, and the qui etness of her station. The brook and larger stream are both filled with millions of the finned tribe, w hich, by their sportive actions, prove their bliss. True, this is a happy world. Shame ori man that he alone, created in the image of his Maker, should be ungrateful. Ah ! ’tis sin which mantles the beauties of crea tion from our vision, embitters all our streams of bliss, and renders us miserable and lost. PARVUS. For the Christian Index. Brother Baker, —In my last Index, I no ticed a piece from brother Jesse M. Davis, iu which lie objects to the answer of the second query, offered at the Ministers’meet ing, held at Bethlehem, Newton county, as being unscriptural and improper; hut from his remarks, I judge that he refers to the third query. If so, the brother surely has not noticed the import of the query. It has teferunce to careless sinners, and not to willing sinners, as intimated by brother D. We believe that there is noorthodox minis ter who does not believe in the willingness of God to save any and ail sinners who, in a gospel sense, are willing to be saved. We cannot agree with the brother, that the an swer to either the second or third query is unscriptural or improper. We read in the Bible that God has given up sinners for their wickedness, to woik all undeanness vvitli greediness ; and further, that he would send some strong delusion, that they should believe a lie—that they all might be damn ed who believed not the truth, but had plea sure in unrighteousness. I will ask hioth cr D., how does any minister know but that all those, who are careless, hardened sin nets, in the congiegation lie addresses, come under this class ofsinners? Surely, brother D. will not say that God is willing to save those to whom He is sending strong delusion, that they might believe a lie, and he damned for their rejection of the truth. We have uniformly thought that preachers ran a great risk of telling positive false hoods, when telling sinners that God was willing to save them, and that the Spirit striving with them, arid when using like expressions. SjSfl if, indeed, brother I>. objects lo the answer of the second query, we disagree on the most essential doctrines of Christiani ty. II enee, he or 1 must be heterodox. I Brother D. says, “ I believe that God is waiting to he gracious lo all who will come unto him. through Christ; and that the death ol Christ, as an offering for sin, has made an atonement sufficient foi all to be saved who will repent and believe.” We’ aK, what is implied in the brother’s first sentence ? It is this—that God ts wailing lobe gracious to stnhei 4 -if they will come to Him through Christ, hut if they do not He cannot be gracious to them. ‘What is implied in his second sentence ? It is ibis —that Christ has died to save sinners, if they will repent and believe; but if they will not repent and believe, He has not died to save them. In the brothers closing sentence, lie says—“ When I preach at all, 1 delight to tell sinners that there is nothing in the way of their salvation, but their own perverse of corrufTTvsThA*-- 1 ~ WIT'S-■ -M—wjOrU, 111 ill GUU canny. oc graciousQili* whiie in a state of re bellion ; no, not even through the atone ment of Christ; for He lias not died for them while in that situation. lienee, ilis impossible, on God’s part, lo remove the sinner from the state that he is now in, so as to save him. If, therefore, the’sinner cannot of himself return to his God, in the way of repentance and faith, God cannot save him. Brother D. tells sinners that there is nothing in the way of their salva tion hut their coirupt will. This, there fore, is sufficient of itself to keep the sinner from God so long as it remains. But there is a cause why the sinner’s will is perverse. It is because his mind is carnal—is at en mity against God ; his heart is deceitful, and desperately wicked above all things; he is blinded by the god of this world, and led captive by the devil at his will ; he is as dead to tho love of God—to that sweet communion with Him—as the body is without the soul; he loves that which lie must repent for, if he ever returns to his God; he is an entire stranger to God, though he may have been hearing of Him all his life ; he is an entire stranger to the way which leads to God, although he may have heard of it all his li e. Is it, there fore, any wonder that his will is corrupt ? We have not quoted the scriptures in proof of the several items relating to man’s dreadful situation, hut every Bible reader ought to know we have scripture authori ty lor every item. If man’s situation is thus dreadful, is it not impossible, for him ever to return to his God? It surely is. We see, therefore, from the doctrine ad vanced—l fear by too many—that God cannot extent) mercy lo i)io dinner, whilein that dreadful situation ; and that, according to plain scripture declaration, man cannot deliver himself from it. Hence, he must be lost—yes, lost, foiever lost—notwith standing all that God the eternal Father, and God the eternal Son, and God the eter nal Spirit, have done and are doing for them—if the doctrine advanced by more preachers than brother Davis be the truth. 1 heard a preacher of these sentiments, not a month since, state positively to a con giegation, that God could not have mercy upon them in their present situation ; that while they were in sin and rebellion against God, they were not the subjects of mercy ; . that God was unchangeable, and they had gone from God, anil lie could not follow them with llis mercy. They must, there fore, leturn to Him before lie could have ; mercy on them. 1 will ask brother Davis, and all others . of the same sentiments, if they do not pray . for sinners? If you do, my brethren, your prayer is daring presumption, while you hold to your present sentiments; for it must he daring presumption to pray to God to do that which we verily believe lie cannot do. My brethren in the ministry, who hold the above sentiments, do you not preach to sinners, and tell them about the sufferings of the Savioui—and of their own lost and ruined condition—and of the neces sity of repentance towards God, and faith in Jesus Christ? If you do preach to sin ners at all, in any way, it is perfect folly, if the sentiments you hold are true ; because sinners’ears are totally deaf to all the glad tidings of salvation, and to all the warnings with regard to their own situation, unless the life-giving voice of the Son ofGod should reach their ears—which, according to your doctrine, is impossible. Brother Davis says—“ II the Scriptures teach any thing that is plain to my mind, it is that God is willing, hut the sinner is un willing. To be prevented Iront making that declaration, would shut my mouth for ever. Truly, the sinner is unwilling, and will remain unwilling, through file and in death, and through a never-ending eternity, unless God is able, as well as willing, lo ex tend His tender mercy to Him, in quicken ing the dead faculties of his soul—in de stroying the love of sin and implanting a principle of holiness there, by which he may be enabled to exercise a godly sorrow, which worketh that repenlatice unto sca tion which needeth not to be repented of— and also in affording him such evidences as will enable him lo exercise a saving fain, in Christ. I, for one, would rejoice to hear, that not only brother Davis’s mouth was shut, but that that of all others, who hold the same sentiments, was finally and forever shut, so far as that system of doctrine is concerned; for it surely is disgraceful lo God and destructive to matt. It strike* di rectly at the efficacy of the atonement of Christ, by placing it where it can nevei have a saving effect upon a single sinner jf Adam’s family. It represents the holy and eternal Sovereign of the universe as in the situation of a post set up, which cannot change its position — that as sinners have Publisher —BENJ. BRANTLY. gone from Him, tiiough He is perfectly , willing to save them, and is pitying them, yet He cannot extend His mercy to them till they return to Him. It leads the sin ner to believe that his own free will and ability is the channel through which mercy nows to him; and thereby settles down thousands—yea, millions, we fear—upon a false hope wluch may last them through fife, hut will desert them at the gate of heaven. „ 1 dose these lines by subscribing myself, A our sincere friend in gospel bonds, CEORGE DANIELL. rrum the /V. V. Evange ist. ■ ; T PMHr 1 -■■■■■ 1 lie following story a seaman recently related to the writer. Many years ago, when New Zealand was a land of uninter rupted heathenism, the ship in which I was a common sailor dropped anchor at a cau tious distance Irom the shore, in one ol the harbors ol that island. We had been months upon the ocean, without seeing any land. And when the sublime mountains and luxuriant vallies of that magnificent isle lose from the wide waste ol waters before us, it was difficult to realize that wc were not approaching some region of fairy en chantment, We soon, however, found that we were still in this world of sin and wo, lor it so happened that there was a terrible light between two war parties of the natives raging at the very hour which we entered the lovely bay. From the deck ofour ship we witnessed with awe the whole revolt ing scene, the fierce assault, the bloody carnage, the infuriated shrieks, the demon iac altitudes of those maddened savages as they fell upon each other with a degree of fury which seemed worse than human.— Often we saw the heavy club of the New Zealand savage fall upon the head of his antagonist, and as he fell lifeless to the giuund, his head was beaten by reiterated blows, till exhaustion satiated lury. This i awful scene of savage fife as beheld from . tho deck of our ship, impressed even us . unthinking sailors with emotions of deepest i melancholy, , In consequence of the war, or from some oilier cause, no canoe from the shore ap . preached our ship. As we were entirely I destitute of wood, we sent a boat’s crew, , with many cautions as to safety, to the op poffrte side of the lmrbor to collect some [ fuel. 1 was sent with this party. We landed upon a beautiful beach, upon which a heavy surf was rolling. The savage scene we had just witnessed, so filled us with ter ror, that we weie every moment apprehen sive that a party of cannibals would fall up on us and destroy us. After gathering wood for some time we returned to the boat, and found to out dismay that the surf rolling in upon the beach had so increased, that it was impossible to launch the boat.— t The sun was just setting behind angry 1 clouds which betokened a rising storm. — ; The crested waves were rolling more and I more heavily in from the ocean. A dark r ight was coming on, and savage wartiors, . their hands already dripping with blood, . were everywhere around. We were all silent. No one was willing to speak of j fears, and yet no one could conceal them. Before we left the ship, the captain had f informed us that an English missionary i had erected his hut about two miles from i the place where 4 tve were to land. The , captain had visited him about two years . lit lore iu his sulitaiy home, and it was then ( very uncertain whether he would be able 1 to continue in his post of danger. We im , mediately resolved to endeavor to find the i missionary, and to seek such protection as . lie could afford us lor- the night. Increasing masses ofclouds rolled up and spread over the sky ; and as we grop f ed our way through the deep and tangled : forest, darkness like that of Egypt envelop* | cd us. After wandering about, we hardly i knew where, for some time, vve heard the ! loud shouts of savages either in conflict or in revelry. Cautiously we approached the sounds, nil vve heheld a large war party gathered around their fires, with the hide ous trophies of their recent battle, and ex ulting over their victory. We thought iv wise to keep as far from them as possible, and again turned from the light of their lire into tiie dark forest, where vve could hardly see an arm’s length from us. We at length came upon a little path, and slowly follow ivg it along, stumbling in the darkness, over rocks and roots of trees, vve came in view of the twinkling light of a lamp. 1, with another one of the party, was sent for i ward to reconnoitre. We soon found that : the light proceeded from abut, but vvhethei , from the night-fire of a savage New Zc; . lander or from the lamp of a Christian uiis - sionaiy*we knew not; and few can imag , ine the axiety with winch vve cautiously x moved along to ascertain how the fact might be. Our hopes were greatly revived by t the sight of a glazed window. And when, , through that window, vve saw a mania tin : garb of civilized life, with Ins wile and one • child, kneeling in tiieir evening prayers, i out joy knew no hounds. Waiting a few i moments till the prayer was closed, we en tered the door, and though the surprise oi the inmates was very great in seeing two white sailors enter their dwelling, we were most hospitably received. The missiona ry immediately lighted his lantern, ami proceeding with us, led the res! of our par ty to his humble abode. We all slept up on his fluo for the night. Wearv, hovvev- NO 38.