Newspaper Page Text
26
•-<D.rigiiral
•\ f • r . ~ ‘* ; ~ v ’
Per tire Index. ‘„ *
To Brethren of the Bethel Association.
Dear Brethren :—On attempting to CQlisipiY
wtrfth your request to write outlbriMutrixluctory’
discourse delivered at the late sessiori-ofeyour body, 1
and to supply the onetted testimony to ijffreh I
had referred, I found that'it a Volume of
300 or 350 pages, instead of a pamphlet. tjfeiat
could be furnished for*lo cents. I fcm, therefore,
constrained to abandon the idea of publishing tbg
same in a pamphlet. laro willing, however, to
publish the whole m ten Consecutive numbers of
32 pages each, issued monthly, at 10 cents per
number, i. e. fcl for the ten numbers, provided
500 subscribers ean be obtained. Urn following
are the proposition* whieh I offered to sustaiu
with evidence before any competent tribunal, and #
against any reputable person or persons who
might contest their truth :
Prop. I. Whatever importance is attached to
the,observance of an ordinance, the same should
ever be attaohed to its proper observance.
Prop. 11. Pedobaptism is no ordinance of God.
gub-Porp. 1. There is no precept or precedent
for it in the word of God. 1
2. The passages usually cited, in its favor do
not, ‘even in the estimation of many learned and
pious Pedobaptists, afford nny warrant for jit.
3. Pedobjiptmts differ as widely about the
grounds on which infifnt baptism rests, and itfcy
effects, as they 4b about the passages of Scripture
supposed to favjAkit -
* Prop’ IH. Pedobaptism had no n the
primitive church. -
Sub-Prop. 1. There are no trace* oMt to he
found in history, or any evident allusiops to it
prior to the latter part of the second or :4bst of
the third century.
2. After its introduction, it pnjWeseed slowly
until the time of iri tm sth century,
and never prevailed generally before the close of
the Bth or beginning of the 9th century; and it
was then propagated, not by the sword ot the
Spirit, by that of the” secular power.
. • 3. When, introd uc&, it was accompanied with
many Superstitious rites, find fouuded on no direct
Scriptural warrant, but on mistaken views of the
efficacy baptism*. and on other grounds repu
diated by Protestant Pedo&aptists of
day.” ’
4. The perversions of the records of the clinrcb,
both ‘inspired and uninspired, to which Pedobap
tiAs resort tosustnin it, afford strong presumptive
evidence that it cannot be sustaiued by any truth
ful record, sacred or profane.
Prop. IV. Immersion is essential to Christian
baptism.
Sub Prop. 1. The word baptizo, the only word
used in the original Scriptures to express the act
enjoined, designates n particular act as clearly as
any word can. The act designated is immersion ;
and, consequently, nothing but immersion is
scriptural baptism.
2. If the word baptizo be actually as indefinite
as Pedobaptists represent it to be, the circum
stances connected with the administration of the
rite, as detailed in both sacred and profane history. ;
are sufficient to establish the fact that primitive j
Christians understood it as modern Baptists do, j
and practiced accordingly.
3. There is no authentic aoeouut of the substi
tution of affusion for immersion iu any instance
before the 3d century. When first introduced it
was only tolerated and not approved. It was tol
erated, too, only in extreme cases, (i. e. when one
was supposed to be in-danger of death.) and was
notyonsidered equally valid with immersion.
4. Affusion was never declared to be equally
valid with immersion until the 14th ceutury, and
the declaration was then made, not by a nuncio
from heaven, or even an ecclesiastical council , but
by a legislative assembly.
5. To Calvin properly belongs the approbrium
of having intrtkluced the first church ritual exclud
ing immersion and providing # formula for the
baptizing of infants
Prop. V. Baptist, churches have existed from
the days of the Apostles to the present time.
Sub-Prop. 1. Until the union of church and
. State under Constantine, the churches, with but
few exceptions, if any, believed in and practiced
only believers’ baptism.
2. About that period Pseudo-baptism was in
troduced, which led in the churches,
and the consequent introduction of what was call
ed Anabaptism, that is, re baptism.
8. The Anabaptists, (as they were called, who
rejected the baptism of those who corrupted the
ordinance) have ever contended” that the church of
Rome at that time apostatised from the primitive
faith and practice and ceased to be a true church
of Christ, and that their churches only were true
churches of Christ.
4. There is authentic Pedobaptist testimony to
prove their separate existence, at that time, and
through every intervening age to the present daj/.
(This admits of proof in a very short and satisfac
tory way.)
COKCLTTDreO TROrOSITIOXB. .
Prop. VI The authorities adduced, the rules
of interpretation adoj ted, and the logic or trains
of reasoning used by Pedobaptists to defend infant
bapthm, may, with equal propriety and effect, be
u*ed to sustain the most superstitious rites of the
Roman Hierarchy.
Prop. VII. The credibility of the testimony ad
duced to sustain the foregoing propositions is evi
dent from the fact, that it is the testimony of com
petent witnesses—the testimony of opponents —the
testimony of witnesses examined severally and
apart from each other, and free from any extrane
ous circumstances calculated do bias their mind in
our favor.
If those who requested the publication of the
discourse, (or other brethren,) desire to have, in a
tangible form, evidence to sustain the above pro
positions, they have qply to subscribe for 50Q
copies; Which would b? only about 10 copies for
cb&fch in oi|r Association; If'6o brethren..
wifToecome responsible* for |4) copies each, the
•matter for the first two -nqmbersi will be immedi
ately sent to rhg pre#s. A specimen of ike dis
course will be sent for publication ,iri the next
number of this paper. - , J. S..BAItER.
* . .
■ ’ * For the index. T ’s* ’
JHqr Bro. Martin :>—lt is our private to,
report cheering nfiwa froirj our different missions. I
Our brethren at Shanghai feel that the prospects of!
that mission are of peculiar interest; and while I
they are unable to report -much progress.*in the ;
conversion of the Chinese, thef"’ are begin nmg Jo
reap the reward of their long continued and pa
riant toil. You arc awaio that it isjuily since the
fall of Shanghai that they have Baptized any—
except one who eamc* froin .Cautbc? Now, some
four or five have been.“buried with Christ, and
the opening prospect causes our brethren to be
come urgent for an increase of laborers. Brother,
Gailard. p.artieutly and hopefully working-on at
Caujtom ’Oh how tnuCh'we iHded additional labor
ers at that point? Brother Graves will, provi
dence permitting, sail sot GKSton in the spring.
But what will two men be .among the thronging
kilters of . that great’city ud the adjacent
Young meu ofGod-1 Help forCbina,
and Africa! m
fn Central Africa the work is rapidly progress
ing. B rot Iter Bowen has located in Obomishnw,
,wbere he will probably rapmirrTTntil we can
strengthen ourffnree in the mission, when he expects
Mfj&> onto liorin. We need at least fifteen or
tipenty additional men in Central Africa and the.
means to Sustain them. I. doubt if ever a more
inviting or encouraging- field of missionary labor
was presented to the, occupancy of the churches.
J[f we had a hundred men there, we could, I think,
wid suitable locAtions for ail. We hope tt) send
out several brethren to tins missiou during the
year. We shall need an increase of funds to sus
tain them. But we vjould that the number were
greallyHncreased. Trusting in God, and to the pie
ty of the churches, we are determined to out
’every well qualified young brother who will grv-
Surely-our brethren are not praying as they ought
for the coming of Christ’s kingdom, or more of
them would feel it to be their duty to carry ther
message of salvation to those, who have n rioL k:
FroifrLLiberia, our latest news is highly choer
ing.’ Bro. John Day vfrites that -a rqvjval • j
occurred at MunroVia^gw^tt *
on the Ist Sunday in November.
twenty. The work was still in progress. He
says: “Os those baptised, one was a Bassa than,
‘one a Congo inao, aud one a Congo womagjZj-Ti
I hope to baptise soon quite a
land, except, four,” writes our brother. “Blither j
Richardson has enjoyed m reviyal iu the ebnTch at ]
New Virginia. Brother Day writes: ‘‘You.- Li be- J
r i Mission stands high in tl -
ii- san enviable. th- m j
mme -.-f his presetted s and blessitqH *• r~ -
v Will not our bietnren rej ico wiCßj
tokens of the divine blessing, and btfl| 5 r
ers and liberality aid to carry on the gooa won - \
, Yours fraternally,
A. M. POINDEXTER, Cos. Sec.
F. M. B. S. B. 0.
For the Index.
Periodical Revivals.
During the summer and’ fa!! our heats were
made glad, aluibst weekly, by the revival news con
tained in the Iwdex. This periodical season seems
to have passed and the spiritual world appears al
most as ice bound as the material, The question
naturally arises, why this sudden transition ? We
have the same beneficent Creator to adore, the
same Holy Spirit to woo, the same Saviour to love,
and the sama word which is “ the power of God
unto salvation.” I belong to that-class of Baptists
who believo that God is a God of means, and
therefore blesses his creatures only in the discharge
of duty, the means of Grace are as free and as
available in winter as in summer, and it is as much
the Christian’s privilege to live in use of them, at
one season of the year‘as another. Whv then
these periodical revivals-?
This is a question deserving at least some
thoughts, jf I should fail to give a satistbetorv
solution, I trust the few thoughts wh-ch I may
offer will elicit the attention of abler heads and
better hearts. In attempting this solution, the
first suggestion I shall make is, that we too soon
weary in well doing. When we once hug the
infant Saviour in the arms of our faith, and see a
few of our friends accepting salvation upon the
tarms of the g'spel, we are nady to exclaim “it
is enough.” We g > from the house of God and
soon become so engrossed in the, affairs of this
life, as to wg’eet our closets and Bibles. We
often hvr it said, that summer is more favorable
for holding Hirelings than winter, the truth of
which we are candid enough to admit, but at the
same time ils truth is n< t so stern but it might be
greatly mod tied by means within the power of
the church. There are but few Sabbaths in the
year too cold for people, even in the country, to
attend church, if they o< u'd have, any assurance 1
of meeting wish comfortab’e accommodations when \
they arrive; und--r the existing condition of a
very large majority of our houses of worship no
such prospect invitei the frozen worshiper, hence
the cold formality of wintry meetings. The minis
ter ascends the sacred disk ben timed to minister in
sacred things to a congregation in a similar con
dition, Again, he remembers the gentle insinua
tion be receives from a brother, before entering the
stand, that “the weather is too inclement to pro
tract th s services,” a brother, too, who might con
tribute largely towards rendering tho house of
worship comfortab o. Our dwellings are not only-
Comfortable but often foolishly superb. Our Col
lego bindings and Academics arc
and furnished with c<>mfortabiq.^M^M^||b|;..:
the house “wh.ecaaEaycr:. iyJgjM*
temple ’iulig
Tie E INI El Sf I AN IN DEI
will seated}’ bear'a favorable comparison, iu point
of comfort, with the barns-(ttid gin-houses oT our
wealthy planters. . This being the case I ask is it
wonderful*that our revivals are periodical and uni
versally occurring in warm weather ? In conclu
sion, permit me to suggest as a means of
a huger congregation, and.morb enjoyment of reli
gion amidst winder’s chilling winds, that, w - ceil
our churches apd f urriish them with at lefcsi one !
Shady Dale, Ga. ,
; • - „ For th’e Index .
Rights and Duties of Mvdjrators.
Bro. Martin :—By your conad^j^)|i# B f-f>ffr Y
some thoughts on a subject that seems not to be
well understood by at leasts portion of the Bap
tists. I aijudg to the rights and duties of Moder
ators of c&irches. (When I say churches, I al
ways mean Baptist as such.) *
- -Right s have been claimed Moderators and !
•nfeifibers,.which, if coticedad, tyould totally ajmi
sovereignty oftheeburches and destroy
theh ; Apostolical
perhaps, by a of ‘Baptists, that the
churches m tltp executives of Christ; that to
is committed the duty of execntingqiuch laws as
Christ has enacted and committed tg them, thry
being guideii in their work by the’ Hedy Spirit
There is, therefore, to’ bedpo by the
churches, seeing that the clofcng article Jti tile canon
of truth positively forbid* tlrc adding to, or taking
from,-. God’s word; riEjdcuticG efficiency requires
that organization be Christ knowing
this, incorporated in : tHe cqrfo of Spiritual com
mands, those also that-if observed, would make
efficient the executive powers of the churches.
The popular principle of‘equality is interwoven in
all Chlist’s ,church policy; hence, to confer execu
tive power on one member, or on a minority,
would he an infraction and a violation of Unit
clause whicl/forhids the taking from,’or adding to.
A cliurab sits in conference for the purpose of
executing the laws committed to her. Efficiency
requ&jplbat one shall bo appointed by the ml
-iacjiy tlie whoso eould not well do;
hence, one niember is by the majority apjfointed
-to preside as chirr naan or moderator. It stioulri
.jbe borne in mind* that Sflfhoiigh one is
he thechurdi, and ofcoufse a’p^
Sf Ch riatyn-jcecutyvg borly. Tfip
w\ Moderator woulrlnot‘be
Ijj^executreat of her high
Since the- Moderator is n
eannot bA>iex£cutiyo tho
can be the executive of himself. The church in
c..n!i>>yi^o-might appoint he? moderator to
vu*” r. ..v *•* ht with his du;i
ih.- !*!-a of tire ModerMf9yT>€ing n
0,. Vv*’; dec -u are
‘ ; ed, as wc.Si.as the Modcra
tors are executors of the chtfrchr-N so are the
churches executors of the Moderators, for both are
governed by needful rules, while the churches are
executing the laws of Christ as his executive.—
The doctrine has been advanced by high authori
ty that the Moderator of a church stands in the
same relation to the church, that the executive of
the United States stands to Congress, or the gov
ernor to the legislature of a State. I beg leave,
most respectfully to dissent from that opinion.—
The executive of the United States has nothing
to do with law making, only so far as giving his
signature is concerned, and Congraw can pass laws
constitutionally without the President’s signature,
and he is constitutionally bound to execute them;
so it appears that he is executive of the constitu
tion, and not of Congress. In like manner the
Legislature of a State enacts laws with or without
tlie consent of tho Governor, and the constitution
binds him to execute them. Can this be said of a
Moderator of a church. Certainly not, because
lie is a part of the executive body of Christ, and
the constitution of Christ’s kingdom binds that
body to execute. Christ’s laws just as they are; so
does tho constitution of tho United States bird
the President to execute tho laws of Congress as
they are. If there is nny analogy between the
government of Christ and that of the United
States, it is between the President and the church
es and not between the Moderators and the Presi
dent; seeing that both are executive powers. The
President of the Senate of tho United States and
the Speaker of tho House of Representatives, are
not executive officers of their respective bodies,
but they are p >rts of such body, and these bodies
when organized, have nothing to do but to tran
sact business under the constitution of the United
States. Neither has a church when in conference,
and her Moderator on his seat, anything to do but
to transact business under the constitution of
Christ’s kingdom. LOOKER-ON.
Greenville, Ga.
Fot the Index.
What are We CominiT to?
Is there any one that can observe th e present
signs of the times without fearful interest? Who
has not asked and heard the question, “What are
we coining to?” And who, in view of the civil and
moral world, is not frequently reminded of the
•expression of one speaking as he was moved by
the Holy Spirit, ‘•that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first.” Asia and Eu
rope are being overturned by the outpouring of
the Divine wrath. Their cup of iniquity has
been filled, and He, whose right it is, now avenges
.himself, by allowing their evil passions to work
out their lc-giijmate results. America too, forget
ting her mauy obligation* to.Jyve ntci teveivnce
tj. >- - iwr ti ivi. kof
■ *
*** faauiui ‘
the flag of our union, stQ|£ji£And happiness, are
sitting in strife,* and hurling jwisofiod darts into
onr national life-bloodi 4 And* is it come to this,
.that a nation of brethren must*reap in blood th*
harvest sown by demoniacal factions? Is our
country’s fabric, indeed, in rottenness? Is there
riot soundness enough for self regeneration? Sh dl
twenty-five millions of people allow thteatar# and
stripes of the country of Wa*hingffiflS||t|y|}r
fathers, to be torn do&.n and y
upon by beastly politicians and triad defeat 4 •
ica? “Is there no balm in Gilead;
physician jthere? Why then is not die health of*
the daughter of my people recovered?”
There is a point beyond which God’s forbear
ance will not l>e ‘exercised. He has once ‘ “aid*
“Ephraiiq is joined to his idols, let him alone.”
“My spirit shall not always Strive with man.”
•He, who set forth the inhabitants of Sodom and
Gomorrah, as an example, suffering the vengeance
of eternal fire, will not withhold judgment from
those who sin under more aggravating circum
stances. “Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will
repay, saith the Lord.”
Where, in tj^Grid’s history, has there been a
nation inor§J,>l* and where have blessings, do
pcended upon a racire ungrateful people? It is true
there are many displays of godliness; but how
many “steal the livery of heaven to serve the
devil’ in.” There is the form of religion even
where Satan holds his councils. Would that these
councils were confined to the halls of civil legis
lation, where bottled-politicians ste*m and fume!
But, alasl for the days of Job, w hen the sons of
God cone to present themselves before the Lord,
Satan comes also among them. -How many, in
sriead offtnaking God's* temple a house of prayer,
make it a den of thieves? The grace of humility
and brotherly kindness has been extinguished bv
the pride of plav,e and power. In vain does the
Apostle Paul say, ‘An lowßncss of mind let each
esteem others better than themselves.” The man.
tie of the Pharisees has fallen upon the Gentiles.
Mark tho fact. See how many forget the beam in
their own observe, denounce and detest
the mote in tlfieir eye.
“Qh ! wad some power the giftie gie us,
, To see ou pelves as. others see tvs.”
Tell it riot in Gath, publish it not in the
streets of Askelon, that in tlTis boasted ago of
intellect, each knows mare of his neigli
‘. hor than himself, and; knows ,but to ridicule, cen
’-sure,winder. ,an 4 !,. WVhat rivalry *(is it
among out conventions, co!-
- lege^
l.'f v V
••'ll* av: ! ''liid.
and grins over the jeM of the fallen! How
the nineteenth centum since even religion has no
attractions, but ns it shines forth from silken gowns,
kid gloves, mitered heads, splendid temples, ghost
'ly paraphernalia, and brotherly
and strife!
Whence this sown discord; those animosities;
‘these fightings among brethren? Come they not
of tbeir own lusts which war against the spirit?
Are they uot the foul offspring of the lusts of the
flesh, the lus sos the eye and the pride of life?
And are ye of God? Have ye so learned of Christ?
Dove watch and pray that ye may not enter into
temptation, and labor to keep yourselves unspot
ted from tho world? Shall ye, who are dead to
the world, live any longer therein? Let the past
suffice, that we have wrought the will of the Gen
tiles, and, as we have received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so let us walk in him. Forgetting old ani
mosities and green-eyed jealousies, let us rally
around the cross, and bear it, and plant it, and
preach it, until ail look unto it and are saved.—
Then shall tho nations learn war no more, and
all shall return to Zion with songs and everlasting
joy upon t heir heads. Then shall the desert break
forth into singingv and the wilderness and the soli
tary place shall be glad. C.
Waynesvihe, Jan. 29th, 1850.
For the linl<-x.
Is is right for members of the church to attend
the circus?
We find this question proposed in the Ifid<-x of
10th January, 1850, No. 2, and answered in the
negative, with much judgment, good reason, and
sound sense. We are truly pleased ■ and ‘well
satisfied with tho positions and arguments used to
show the impropriety and sinfulness of the prac
tice, and wish that more of our good brethren
would take up their pens, and raise their voices
against the prevailing errors of the day. The com
mandment to tho watchman of Zion is, “Cry aloud,
and spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet,
and show mv people their transgression, and the
house of Jacob their sin. Not. merely to say that
“ there is no man that livelh and sin noth not; or
that all are sinners in general;but to show to
each wherein they transgress, and the exceeding
sinfulness of his own personal sin in particular.—
Now that it is exceeding sinful for those’ professing
godliness to indulge in such amusements, (or rath
er, abominatious.) onr brother Delta has’suffi
ciently shown. But, why should tie declaim
against, and denounce the less, while we. connive
at, or apologize for the popular errors ? (unless it
t>e upon the principle of, “Take care of the dimes,
and the dollars will take care of themselves.) Now
there are many, very many, other vices ami in
consistencies indulged in, anil encouraged by
professors of Christianity, to which Delta’s position
and argument will apply with equal propriety
and force. And I think it would he highly proper,
and very beuificial for some brother, or brothers,
to take up each error under its own particular
head, aud with the word of God, and reasonable
argument, at) in the above Cis&y||rew the impro
priety of professor# indulging iu them, “ Cry aloud
arid spare not.” Now it has been said, (with
propriety) that” the nature of any jh-ofessoin or
occupasiou may frequently be determined by the
character of those who engage in it,” so there is.
the.circus, the saloon, the dance, cards, dice,-the
horse race, the bowl, and all kindred vices, indulg
ed in by men of reckless and dissolute character,
and when participated in by a professor, shows at
least, the existence of a carnal mind, and the ab
sence of all spirituality ot'heart 1 And should be
sedulously avoided. And*last, though uot least;
is limt “ Ancient and honorable order! so much
esteemed among men ! “ Dedicated to God, and
held forth to the nolv order of Sf. John ! Encour
aged, and patronized by professors of all ranks,
grades aipl pretention*. But this is a popular
error and not to be spoken against ! But remem
ber, “That which is highly esteemed among men,
is Abomination to God ! And in my humble
opinion, the same reason which excludes chureU
members from (Ve circus, and its kindred vices,”
of lower order, should forever exclude Christians
from the other, with all it’s high pretences to
antiquity honor, and moral sanctity I It is but’
as the high hilis and green trees, spoken <>f by
Jercmiath. And the same arguments and
grounds of objection that are urged against the
former, will also hold good, and are far more
applicable to the latter. I hazard nothing by the
assertion. For as lam less than the least of ail
rny brethren, 1 have nothing to fear of the loss of
popularity, place, or preferment; and am willing
to enter into a friendly com muni lion witflany ofrny
brethren on the subject. And although in such a
corrcspondance, I might have to contend with
learning and talent, I think I am prepared to show,
by the simple word of God, that it i* as much con
formily to the world, and as well calculated to
lower Christianity in the estimation of unbelieveis,
as the attendance of professors, on the amusements
of the circus. For jt is intrinsically true, that “the
men oft the world, expect the members of the
church to be guided by a higher standard of mo
rality than themselves.” When, therefore, they
see the professed Christian descendii g from life
lofty eminence, into the preparation room, fhtd
there divested of his own habilliments, and
thence,’after certain prescribed ceremonies, enter
ing iho main had in tbo name of the Lord ; his
naked breast .against the point of a compass, or
angle of a ,square. Neither naked nor clothed,
barefooted no shod, hoodwinked, and a cable-tow
around his neck. (A more’ indecent attitude was
ev*r exhibited in th* circus.) And in that plight,
lead or trotted around the twom, through various
of force wgl buffoonery, taking* oaths and
tu observe and, perform,
■HHKpflfod and man; Mt eSpeeiriHjfe Toward a
isa.pf the household
certain condition®-, th■=-.<! v.-iy deife-
Huiiat has comrisaffylealririt to j<crf inn with
ifFab o'atß,<to every fellow “being in • r .
(life and
unbi li~y. r-. it at
..least, causes them to just
pqual to a good man made better, and of course
good* as they ought to be. Cry aloud, and
spare not. O brethren, ye that labor in the word,
and in doctrine, arid especially ye’ whodrandlo the
quill, lift up your voice-like a trumpet against
every popular error, and prevailing sin. And
cease not day nor night, crying-one to
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was,
and is, and is to come!’ Preach the Gospel in its
purity, and have no fellowship with the unfruit
ful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
For it is a shame even to speak of those things
which are done of them in secret, as becoming
Christians. For every plant which rny Heavenly
Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
W. -J. L.
Written forlho Index.
A Peep at Fashionable Life.
The pious ipv Huntington, orce wrote a let
ter to Ladv Marlborough, a fashionable female ac
quaintance, warning her of the evil of In r ways,
and urging upon her attention the claims < f the
Christian religion. This is the proud Peeress’ re
ply :
-“Yonr concern for my religions improvement is
very obliging. God knows we all ueed mending,
and none more than myself. I have lived to see
great changes in the. world—have acted a con
•snicuous part myself, and now hope in my old
age to obtain mercy from God, its I netter expect
any at the hands of my fellow creatures. Good
•alas! I do want, but where, among the corrupt
6ons of Adam, am I to find it? Your ladyship
must direct me. But women of wit, beauty and
quality, cannot bear too many humiliating truths
—they shock our pride. Yet wo must die : we
must converse with earth and worms. I have no
comfort in my own family, and when alone my re
flections almost kill me: so I am forced to fly to
the sovietv of those whom I detest arid abhor.—
Now there is Lady Francos Sanderson’s‘rout to
night: all the world will be there, and I must go.
I do hate that woman ns I hate a physician, but I
must go, if for no other puspose, but to mortify
arid sj ito her. This is very wicked I know, but I
confess nty little peccadillos to you: your goodness
will lend you to be-mild and forgiving.”
What a melancholy picture have we here, of the
sorrows of an ur.regenerate heart —of the dissatis
faction which rank, wit, wealth and.’ beauty, tbo
often yield their possessors! “Good alas,” she
says, “I do want, but where among the corrupt
sons of Adam am I to find it!” Sho had, it
seems, tried every path but the right one, anil
then urged to enter that, she hesitated, and said,
“women of wit, beauty and quality, cannot bear
too many humiliating troths.” Alasl for the
blindness of the human understanding, unenlight
ened by the spirit of God ! It will set a.-i Je “the
bread of life,” and grasp eagerly after the apples
of Sodom, although it has again and i gdn, found
that they turn to ashes upon the lip.
“I have no comfort iu my own family, and when
alone, my reflections airuo*t kill me.” A bitter
experience indeed < Had she ever done anything
to woo oomfort to that sw eetest of all spots — home?
j Had shit ever bended a knee, or lifted a praver to
rieaven, for Go4’ R r a i blessing thereon?—for the
diffusion of His Spirit therein?—that Spirit, the
fruits of which arc “love, joy, peace, long-sufferiug,
gentleness, goodness, faith ” K & 1, 0 had-sets B h e
carried about with her daily and li^-urlv the con
sciousnvss of having faithfully diitlia.g e j | u . r
whole duty to all of its inmate*, why did W re _
flections when alone, “almost kill” Iter? Why did
she have to fly to the society of those whom riie
detested aud abhorred?
She probably went to Lady Sanderson’s gay
rout, that night, with diamonds flashing in her
coronal, and clad in robes of almost regal mag
nificence. She doubtless seemed to tbe idle spec
tator, the gayest of the gay. Her laughter rung
like'silvery music—her smile was soft and beauti
ful as moon light upon snotv—to her noble enter
tainer* she was bland and courteous, but her wit
had a barbed point, and her compliments a double
meaning, one of which was harmless, but the
other, rankled long, and poisoned the peace of her,
by whom it designedly was understood But the
chagrin and mortification thus ptoiiuced, wap
* smothered back into the heart, where it stayed,
bearing iu its tun? a baneful harvest of hatred.
O, the hollowness and wickedness of such a ca
reer as this ! Very probably, Lady Marlborough
was on that night, to some, who did not see be
neath the pleasant mask sho wore, an object of
envy. The humble peasant, on bis way home
from the toils of the field, looked, perhaps, at her
noble equipage, aud prancing horses, as she was
whirled by to the rout, and thought,-“how une
qual are the 1 distributions of fortune! llow hap
py is that peeress of the realm! llow nnkind in
God, to give her wealth, and station, and happi
ness, while my wife is eating brown bread at
home!” Could he have lifted the mask from her
heart, she would have seemed to him an object of
pity, rather than envy. Ilia wife was by far the
happiest of the two.
This world has many masked hearts—there .is
no denying it. .They nro,found at the
the street, and in the ball room; they come some
limes to the house of worship, but they are hearts
into which the smile of a reconciled God has nev
er shown—upon which the dew of heavenly peace
has never descended. They are soul’s which turn
■.way, as Lady Marlborough’s did, from the hum
ble babe of Bethlehem—the carpenter at Naza
reth—the blood bedewed sufferer of Getlisemane
—from repentance and justification through faith
in the atoning sacrifice of Calvary, and say men
tally, if not aloud, “we canrrot bear humiliating
truths!” • C, JV. B.
THURSDAY MORNING, FEB. 14.
All arrearages are charged at $2 60 per annum,
or a oattt* per .number. For alliuMniJWtti in Advance
the paper is .furnished at $2 00 por %naqni, or 4 cent*
per number.
Baptist Usage.
The last argument employed by PnufcAh one
occasion was, (hat If any man seem to be conten
tious, we have no such custom. Asa denomina
tion, the Baptists respect, arid hold to the usages
of their Fat Ik r*. supported as they aro by tbe sure
word of prophecy. Tire” origin of all .that they
deem essentia! in ehuroh gavernmerrt can be traced
to tire custom of the Apostles. *lf ’they require
repentance towards God and f'aitji in Jesus Christ
in ail who apply for membership, it is because the
authority by which tln-y preach, bastinade them e-.
spatial. If they receive none, who have not been
immersed, the example of Christ, of Paul, of all
w'ho have come into the Christian church, is their
precedent.
We are free to c nfoss, however, that there are
sprue things practiced by Baptists, which are not
expressly enjoined in the New Teslirnent. The
Savior no doubt left some things, to the found
and en'foT.tr necl judgmer t of his people, but the*
argument for these on the ground of expediency -
merely, is as strong, perhaps, as if an express’
warrant could bo pleaded for their performance.-
Take a single illustration. As h denomination Vjfo v ’
like most others, arc in the habit of granting’
church letters to those of our number, who remove
out of onr bounds. An examination of the acts
of the Ap sties and their several epistles, will show
u-, that it was customary for brethren who travel
led to foreign parts to bear with them some writ
ten testimonial of the object of their mission,
Perlivps had any removed, with the intention, of
remaning in a distant town, this written certifi
cate would have been accepted, a* entitling
its bearer to church membership. The early
Christians had not like the present day,
churches previously constituted, in the place* to
which they resorted. Their business was rather to
preach tbe. Gospel, and organize those member?,
gathered bv their instrumentality into churches.
The propriety of taking letters at tire preset it time,
is <T itself so evident, that its expediency is a suffi
gromul for its observance. It is entirely natural, for
a member who leaves his or her first church to
desiro carrying with them to their distant home,
8 -mo certificufc of their fe-rmer standing; noth
ing wiljA'o found to answer their purpose w> well
as a church letter. Having once been baptised*,
that act must not bo repeated ; attending to it
one*, answers the purpose of its institution. This
argument will sustain the propriety x>f Associa
tions, Conventions, the erection of Tfbysc* for srofcb
ship, and whatever js *sci;tial for giving the (tiftf*
pel in its purity .t the nations. The wtsooajrj^jr 1
the serpent blended with the lisTmlcssuess o£4B£
dove wilt ever be found devising liberal plups 40r
tfft? c-xceutioti of the trust ryfosed iu it. - v ‘ A >
is spying that * dfiUwri to
conform with a punctilious to the
word of God has Ven a leading feature
i the Baptists. If d* jt-Sas origimttqjjL
in a mfecdhcepiiou of its rather rhatr
foom a wish to have customs adopted, la
dividuftl therq no doubt - ant, but as
ft general it i true, that enlightened Baptists, as
February