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24, 1849.]
force of opinion in a community will demand it; and its
justice and scriptural verdict will inevitably be sustained.
File Pastor will no longer be tempted from his proper po
aition to urge on a reluctant disciple, but the church will
have confidence to do itsown work.
In its administration every individual accused has a right!
to defence; to meet his accuser before his brethren; to hear’
the evidence adduced against himself, and if possible exone
rate himself from the charge, all this should be at his option.
Ifhe will not avail himself of it, as is sometimes the ease, the
church having no power to enforce his presence, their action
ought not to be deferred; where its authority is thus con
temned or defined, its position is indeed critical, and unless a
proper and faithful enforcement of its authority is exercised,
the power to do so will soon be gone.
It is for the Pastor, presiding over the deliberations of the 1
church during this investigation, to see that an accused per
son has every proper opportunity afforded him to sustain his
character and standing; and to lay the law of Christ touching
the case fairly before ail. If the investigation substantiates 1
the offence, it is his duty to read Christ’s mind in regard to
the penalty, and all discussion should here cease. The)
church has exercised its full discretion in bringing the in-1
vestigation to this issue; now the great Lawgiver and thejj
head of the church is to exercise his prerogative, which he'j
has never delegated to Pastor or church, and to say by writ-ii
ten statute what the penalty shall be. Dissent and contro
versy will then be not against church or Pastor, but Christ ‘
and his law, and no room will be left for faction to sympa- I
tinse with transgression.
Now such an even-handed administration of church disci- |
pline we conceive must depend not upon a fearless and ri tr - j
orous prosecution of individual offences on the part of the
Pastor: but upon a faithful exhibition of the truth, that shall ji
keep the church well informed of its duties and responsibili- j|
ties, and herein as we conceive lays the special duty of a i
Pastor with reference to discipline.— Christian Visitor. !]
YET THERE IS ROOM.
I proclaim to all this day, “All things are now readv •
•come unto the marriage.” And why should not all comply?
Why should any exclude themselves? Let everyone re
solve far himself, “For rny part, I will not make myself that
shocking exception.” Will you as it were shut the - door of
heaven against yourselves with your own hand? I once
more assure you, there is yet room, room for all. There
are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the patriarchs, and yet
there is room. There are many from the east and from the
west, from the north and fromjthe south, and yet there is room
There aie persecuting Manftsseh and Paul; there are Mary
Magdalene the demoniac, /nd Zaecheus the publican ; and
I here i| the once incestuous and excom
are several of the Corinthians, who, as St. Paul tells us were
once fornicators, idolaters, eifemih.’.'e, sodomites, covetous,
thieves, drunkards revilers, and extortioners, yet there they
now are, “washed, sanctified, justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God and there may
you also be, though vile as they, if, with them, you come in
at the call of the Gospel; for yet there is room. There is,
says St. John, Rev. 7 : 9, “a great multitude, which no
man can number, out of of every kindred, and tongue and
nation; multitudes from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Ameri
ca, and yet there is room.
By the consideration of yourown extreme, perishing ne
cessity ; by the consideration of the freeness, the fulness,
and sulliciency of the blessings offered; by the dread au
thority, by the mercy and love of the God thatjmade you, and
who is your constant benefactor; by the meekness and gen
tleness of Christ; by the labors and toil of his life ; by the
agonies of his death ; by his repeated injunctions, and by
his melting invitations; by the operation of the Holy Spirit
upon your hearts, and by the warnings of your own con
sciences; by the eternal joys of heaven, and the eternal
pains of hell; by these considerations, and by every thing
sacred, important, and near to you, 1 exhort, I entreat 1 J
charge, I adjure you, I would compel you to come in.—
T resident Davies.
Dr. Snell's Opinion of Itinerant Lectures.—From his “ Half,
Century Sermon.” —“There would be lur more advance in
Christian liberality among us had not so much been done to
sustain exhibitions and lectures, of every name and grade,
from the instructive to the perfectly worthless and corrupting
Those who are generally the actors in these scenes, are
such as are williug to make gain at the expense of those
whom they injure rather than profit. They gather up and’
carry away hundreds every year, and give us in exchange
what is lighter than vanity; and in some instances worse:
than the plague. This turnsolf from light channels many!
little streams which ought to flow into the treasury of the’
Lord, for making the world better and happier. 1 think it
would be toour honor, and to the moral and mental improve-i
mentofthe people, especially of the young, to withhold our,
contributions and encouragements from those who palm oir
upon us their worthless wares and unprofitable performances
as wonderful productions. I cast no reproach upon literary
scientific and benevolent men of common sense arid ordinary
pretensions when, 1 say, that irresponsible men, w hose object
is gain in their lectures, are a sort of vermin in which the
present time is wonderfully prolific, and will continue to be
a vexation and scourge to the community, until we firmly
withhold ou; patronage. Even some of our high pretenders
in respect to temperance and phrenology and a mixture of
many other ingredients, appear to be sowing the seeds of in
fidelity and irreligiou, lor which we reward t’lem with what
they seek— our money. All that our children learn front this
class of beings with which we are so much infested, is of less
value to them, thaD the learning to read correctly a single sen-
tence, or to spell a single word. Werk they to be cast ofF in
the mass, and something substituted that will instruct the
mind, reform the manners and refine the feelings, it would
be a happy event for our youth, and nd loss to any class in
sociely,”
domestic (Eirclc.
[From ths Christian Chronicle.]
REVERENCE THE AGED.
; On the side of a beautiful hill, at the foot of which runs
the babbling Jordan, lies lire quiet town ofEdgehill. Long
(years had passed since Mary Boyd had romped through the
, bright fields, and along the shore of” that beautiful stream,
and I line, (a kind Menior to some,) had taught her stern les
sons, and sorrow had stirred a fountain, and opened to her
sources of knowledge, she had never thought of in her wild
and joyous days of childhood. Her kind parents were in
the unbroken quiet of the tomb, the beautiful chain of house
hold ties was severed, the precious links were scattered far
apart; and Mary had been led bv the Holy Spirit to see and
acknowledge the hand of the Lord in tho direction of all—
(She had bowed in meek submission to lus will, and now we
| find her once again enjoying the lovely scenes of her old
| home. How changed! was the exclamation of her friends,
j i ue, time had robbed her cheek of itsJWoom, nnd left his
ringer marks upon her fair brow, but sij / was adorned with
P. .at “meek grace,” which gave her */adv access to her
Iriends, and a cordial welcome from i'l the loved ones of
|“auld lang syne,” \ v
! Mary was on a visit to Mrs. Jones, t- She was engaged
wuh two little girls in the parlour * the servant an.
| nounced Mrs. Hart, (an old lady,) a.■Bdl, of Mary’s. 11!
health had wasted her slight figure sßlYlbt) affliction had!
made deep furrows on her still t to those who!
look for beauty of mind and nri ,| |m . ciolls !
‘ v as the conversation of those deep and heart-!
le t their gratitude to their ,for the wav
which lie had led them. |
Those little girls were supJl
had scarcely left their mothetfl
ed “what an ugly old womaiifl
to talk so long with her, MiM
my.” Poor little girls! tlnfl
erence the aged; their
Christ, therefore
and prize it uhovo'Jfl
scale ('ll h'-HI
to them, a l ’ jA
l hid “ivc IJB
t i'•' l - ‘feisJl
*
is:o :•
i craii- U(Tr s|; :
4® ‘jv ‘
■ Mil li
who ivad tins story
Father for the aid of J
bled to practice it. You wiM
ter arid at the 32 verse, and it
up before the hoary bead, and j
little ill! -ring
< • ,nl
the Lord now makes sorrow of puri
fying all who love him, ansi offiftingtShi for thd.jfs at hi/i
right hand; she told them ofthe of this life, ofthe
certainty of death, and of the hcqfcs of*n; gospel; she was
very particular in speaking of the refli/ection ; when the
Lord shall come from Heaven with a and all the saints
with hirn, then the body of that old ladwfvhich they now think
looks like a mummy will bo raised an incorruptible body like
unto the glorious body of our Lord Jesuji Christ, and she shall
join the resurrection song, “O grave inhere is thy victory /”
and she will be very beautiful then, tar she will lie perfect
in the likeness of Jesus, and she will bo no more subject to
pain, to sin, nor to death, and her joy will be forever and for
ever.
Those dear little girls raised their vondoring eyes to the!
face of their friend and said, “Dear Mary, we never knewj
this before;” and in the ingenuousness of childhood they at
once expressed theit sorrow for having been so unkind in’
their feelings towards her friend. Mary raised her heart to
God that He would make the instruction she had given those
dear little ignorant girls as good seed that should bring ibrthj
fruit to His glory and their good.
1 am afraid there cannot be as much said in excuse for all!
the little girls and boys who treat the aged with disrespect as
was said of the two little daughter*of Mrs. Jones. Many 1
litile children of Christian parents a - c wilfully guiliy of the
sin of want of reverence for the aged, and I have written this!
story to show them how unlovely it i: to indulge such a spirit.!
I hope not one of them will forget it, or neglect to commit to’
memory the passage of God’s holy word 1 have pointed out, 1
and whenever they are tempted to .in, in not “honoiing the
face of the old man,” that they woud call to mind this truth;;
II God should spare my life a few years 1 shall he old and
feeble, the bloom will have faded fom my cheek, the lustre
of my eye will be dimmed, the elasticity of my step will be
gone, and I shall lie down in the eiibruce of death, but if I
love the Lord and keep his cormnanJmcnls, I too shall have a
body like unto the Lord’s glorious tody and be a partaker of
the joys of the first resurrection. GRATIA.
THE STRONGEST TIE—CUR FINAL HOME.
“Home, sweet home!” gaily sogs the school boy, as he
throws dowu his satchel in his fuller’s house, and hastens to (
embrace his parents. “Home, sweet home!” cries the hus
band as he crosses the threshold of his own habitation, and is
met by his wife and merry children. “There is no place
like home!” sighs the wanderer, as he casts his thoughts
back, upon the happy fireside he has left, nnd longs to rejoin
those who encircle it. “Sweet home !” murmurs the hardv
mariner, as he mounts the rigging of his homeward bound
vessel, and peers out to catch a glimpse of the welcome shore.
| How his heart bounds, as he discries dimly the dark line of
his native land, along the distant horizon.
So tho wanderer on earth pants for the happy home on high;
so the traveler on time’s ocean looks out anxiously towards
| the shore, which is to end his journey. “This world is not
mv home,” triumphantly breathes the Christian, as he views
the evil that surrounds him, the wickedness of those who
i make not God their choice. As he sees earthly hopes perish;
.Iriends, one by one, fail; and expectations, disappointed; as
ho becomes sickened by the deceitfulness of those in whom
he has confided; ho, almost impatiently, waits for the time
when he shall be free from all these troubles, and be gladly
welcomed home,, “where the wicked cease from troubling,
and the weary are at rest.” Approach the child of
God under any circumstances, and whisper to him a thought
of Heaven, and you awake a chord that thrills back upon
your own soul with delight. Ifhe he poor, this word assur
es him of a treasure above, “where moth doth not corrupt,
nor thief break through and steal.” There, want and pover
ty are never known, but lie will be filled with all his most ar
dent desires could wish or his capacious powers contain. Is
be despised, arid east out by men, there he shall walk among
the elite of the city; there, his companions will be those who
have been redeemed out of all nations. Is he afflicted, there.
sorrow and suffering are not known.
Do you address one in prosperous circumstances; happy in
the enjoyments Providence has spread around him; to him,
also, I leaven is home. lie is, as the child away trom the
I parental roof, who is receiving time after time, mementoesof
j il lathers affection; and these, but make him love that father,
j and that home, the more. With a beaming eye, he will tell
you, he expects to strike a constant harp iri praise of God.—
Fell the young disciple heaven is the reward of fidelity, and
he boldly presses for ‘• ard to win the prize. Tell the aged
soldier of the cross, burdened down by the trials of four score
years, of a heavenly rest, and he forgets his weariness—and
rejoices with joy unspeakable. Ask him, who is calmly
leaving earth, why death has no tci/ors, and he replies, it
takes me home, it is the pathway to bliss.
But why this longing desire? What is it, that causes all to
look so earnestly, so joyfully forward to the time, when they
shall ho permitted to enter that place ? It is because of its
‘attractions, because it is a place of rest, because it is a glorious
Ytface. AJL.//Jr most exalted conceptions of glory and beau
exceeded'by that which “eye hath not seen,
hath it entered into the heart of man,
J t’lS D6l/tUIS(T ... 4 r t/t/rMMV*M XV. .__ /it.
rtsiues^i;y Yifinite, omnipotent, holy God. There is Christ,
the Savi, ‘ ■lc who meekly bore the griefs and sins of His
ty. ‘l’ll , “ m,i iwells the Holy Spirit, whose office here, is to
convince, °j restrain, to comfort und support. There are
angels and archangels, and spirits of men mndo perfect.—
Among them are our loved ones, such us have left earth be
fore us. Their hands, which so lately clasped ours in friend
ship. now hold palms of victory, now strike harps of gold.—
Fheir faces which looked affection on us, now glow with the
radiance, reflected from Him, whositteth upon the throne.—
Fheir voices which pronounced our names, and rung upon
our ears, now unite in that “sevenfold chord of harping sym
pathies,” that swells with rapture through heaven’s eternal
arches. There the throne of God stands, all glittering with
sapphire, all radiant with the light of Godhead.
These are a few ofthe attractions of that place. But how
can mortal tell of unutterable glory, the fur more exceeding,
the eternal weight of glory ? These to us are lovely, for we
have known something of them, on earth. God’s presence
is felt here , —Christ’s intercession has produced its fruits hers
—the Holy Spirit’s constraining influence, is displayed here,
heavenly visitants have watched around us here ,—holy
jmen have worshipped here —our friends have clustered here
—the throne of God has been accessible here, —und men have
approached its foot to worship Him. To sue these which
here, faith has kept in view, to look upon God, fuce to face,
—to walk with angels, to how really at the throne—to enjoy
the glad fruition of what is here, prospective;—this is whut
we look for in heaven.
HU"-. flail
■Raid hear
■ke a mum.
to rev
t (ord Jesus
■> is
A
H he llihle
: WFrdW,
t i
and Ii
lieuvi
( uy be enu
fc/l,Udi chap
■ old in
Thus have we given a very few thoughts on home—child.
| hood’s—manhood’s—and the Christian’s final home. Around
| these, cling all our recollections of past happiness, our con
; sciousness of present joys—and our hopes for future bliss.—
As we can, with pleasure, look buck, and recount early days,
’as we feel nom the calm delights of present home, so may
wo he able to enter finally the peaceful, the glorious, the
eternal “home of the soul.” MAL.
-
■ ‘ ■■■ ■-
i
A World on Fire. —Lieut Maury, Supcrindendent of the
National Observatory, says, in a late address: “It may be
that there is now, in the firmament above, a world on fire.
Argus, a well-known Star in the Southern hemisphere, has
suddenly blazed forth, and from a star of the second or third
magnitude now glares with the brilliancy oi the first.”
To Clean Kid Gloves. —First, see that your hands ant
clean, then put on the gloves and wash them, as though you
l were washing your hands, in a basin of spirits of turpentine.,
until quite clean; then hang them in a warm place, or where
there is u good current of air, which will carry off all smell
of the turpentine, This method was brought from Paris,
( and thousands, of pounds have been made by it.
163