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TLIE CHRISTIAN INDEX,
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY CORNING
AT MACON, GEORGIA.
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FOR THE
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SAMUEL BOYKIN, Editor.
VOLUME XXXIX.)
New Series.—Volume XXVIII.j
POETRY.
The following Lines, sent by Mss Dix, the I hil
anthropist. will strike many of our thoughtful
readers. —[En. Index.
The Twister.
A twister iu twisting, would twist him a twist,
And twisting his twists, several twists he would
twine ;
If one twist in twisting, untwists from the twist,
That twist in untwisting, untwists all the twine !’*
Mother Goose.
A ravelled rainbow overhead,
Lets down to life its varying thread ;
Love’s blue —Joy’s gold— and fair between,
Hope’s shining light of emerald, green ;
With either side, in deep relief,
A crimson pain —a violet grief.
Would’st thou amidst their gleaming hues,
Clutch after thoxe, and these refuse ?
Believe, as thy beseeching eyes,
Follow their lines, and sound the skies;
There where the fadeless glories shine,
An unseen angel hoists the tuinc !
And be thou sure, what twist so e’er
The broken rays beneath may wear,
It needs them all, that broad and white,
God's love mag weave the perfect light l
The Dying Girl’s Address to her
BARENTS.
Away! away! above I go,
The better land to see,
I cannot now prolong my stay,
Angels are calling me.
I long to reach the spirit land,
The Paradise above,
To join the tuneful, happy band,
And see the God I love.
There is no fear for me to feel,
In crossing death’s dark sea,
For Clirisr my gentle shepherd is
And he my guide will be.
Then weep not, mother, for thy child,
Others are left to thee,
And I was not thy brightest one,
So weep no more for me.
Thy noble sons are yet with thee,
To comfort, love and bless,
And daughters cluster round thy knee —
God’s mercy, then, confess.
His kindness to thee has been great,
You feel it, mother dear,
Then let not grief possess your heart
For me —l know no fear.
It makes me sad to see you weep,
A shadow o’er me lies,
No tear should dim the beauteous way—
My passage to the skies.
And, Father, on thy cherished head,
This stroke w ill longer bide ;
I would avert it for thg sake—
For naught on earth beside.
But weep not, Father, for thy child—
Submissive thou must be,
With lifted heart say now to Him,
“I give her back to thee.”
May this a light affliction be,
May He withhold the rod,
And gently lead you, hand in hand,
Up to the'Heaven of God.”
Macon, April 9th, 1860.
ORIGINAL ARTICLES.
Letter to Spurgeon.
Elberton, Elbert Cos., Ga., )
March sth, 1860. j
Bro. Spurgeon —Sir: I have read
your sermons witii great pleasure, and
’many thousands in this country have
been delighted with their perusal. But
1 must say to you, that I was pained
to see the production from your pen,
which appeared in the papers about
a month ago, taken from the Watch
man & Rellector, of Boston, Mass.,
upon the subject of Slavery the
spirit of that letter was so different to
that of your published sermons, and,
I mav say, with sorrow, so different to
the spirit of Jesus ! 1 know there are
many good men who are sentimentally
opposed to slavery, as it exists in the
Southern States of America, and it
would not have surprised me to learn
that you were among that number;
and, had you expressed your views in
a Christian spirit, they would not have
produced such a sensation as is now
felt throughout our country. But your
attack upon slaveholders is exceeding
ly iierce and war-like. Take a calm
review of your style and language.
You call them man-stealers; you would,
shun them as you would a murderer;
and if, by chance, a slaveholder should
dare to show himself in your neigh
borhood, you would, at least, sanction
the act, if you did not commit it your
self, of laying violent hands upon him,
and inflicting a wound which he would
carry to his grave, if it did not carry
him there. Now, whatever may be
the alleged evils of slavery, or the
sins of slaveholders, is this the proper
method to be used by a Christian min
ister for its correction ? How does
this agree with Paul’s direction to
Timothy? Notice 2nd Timothy, 2nd
chapter, from 22nd verse to the close
of the chapter, and mpre particularly
the 2dth, 25th and 2Gth verses. “The
servant of the Lord must not strive,
but be gentle unto all men, apt to
teach, patient, in meekness instructing
those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repen
tance to the acknowledging of the
truth,” etc. Then, your allusion to
John Brown, that “he is immortal in
the memory of the good in England,
and in your heart lie lives.” What
the character and reputation of John
Brown is in England, I know not;
but, so far as I have understood it in
this country, he was a very wicked,
reckless man. I never heard ot his
making any pretensions to piety. It
is supposed he was made a tool of un
principled, cowardly agitators of the
slavery question at the North, to form
a secret scheme to invade the South,
excite the slaves to rebellion, and thus,
— ■ ..
by coming upon them unawares,
slaughter and subdue the wlyole white
population. But when be made the
contemplated attack, there was a sig
nal failure. Not a single sis/ -j made
an attempt to join him ; he was soon
captured and taken by the civil au
thorities of the nation; had a fair trial
in a court of justice, was found guilty
of treason and murder, and was exe
cuted accordingly; and several of his
accomplices have since met with the
same fate. You say this treasonable
murderer lives in your heart. Do you
mean that you most heartily sympa
thize in his deeds and noble daring?
Do you heartily sanction his course
of madness ? and are we to understand
that you stand ready to advise tind
sanction a repetition of it, by other
bold spirits ? Ir so, have we not rea
son to look upon you as a murderer at
heart ? and that, after all your world
wide fame as an eloquent preacher
of the gospel, you are only a wolf in
sheep’s clothing ? We read that Sa
tan does transform himself sometimes
into an angel of light. But I hope
this is not true in your case. But, as
good a man as you are, and as great
as you think yourself to be, you are
not out of the reach of the devil so.
long as you are in the body. He often
binds good men by prejudice and
leads them into gross error.
I presume you have never seen
American slavery—you have only
heard of it. You have heard it from
those who, like yourself, have never
seen it. “ Your notions of slavery
have been derived from the distorted
representations of ultra abolitionists.”
They have represented it as a mon
ster most frightful. You shoul 1 have
sought means to have made yourself
acquainted with it thoroughly, so as
to judge of it impartially, before you
let out your artillery against it in such
a manner. And still, you intimate,
and even threaten, that you have yet
in reserve many larger guns to tire.
Hold, brother, and wait awhile; come
over and look round; tind out who
you are shooting at; you may hit and
wound some of (sod’s dear children ;
you cannot kill them, tor they are his
elect, and must live forever. The in
stitution of slavery as it exists among
us, we think is scriptural. We never
stole our slaves ; but, like Abraham of
old, some of them we bought with
our money, and some of them were
born in our houses. God, in his prov
idence, has permitted the black race
of Africa, many of them, to become
slaves. Without the agency of their
present owners,they have been brought
here and made slaves, and their in
crease has been great. Their condition
has been greatly improved by this
providence; they become civi
lized, as far perhaps, as the descend
ants of Ham are capable of, and many,
very many of them have been chris
tianized. In our cities there are ma
ny line commodious houses of worship,
built expressly for their accommoda
tion ; and some of these city colored
churches have over a thousand mem
bers, almost all of them servants, and
they generally have colored pastors
who are servants, but are permitted
by their masters to devote themselves
to the ministry. In most of our coun
try churches, an apartment is made
expressly for the accommodation of
our servants, and many of them are
truly a pious and orderly people ; and
as to their condition in other respects,
they are much better off than free peo
ple” of color in the Northern or Free
States. And no doubt they are more
cared for, aud made more comfortable
iu their physical condition, than many
of the poor white people in the free
States and in England. They are gen
erally treated humanely, well fed and
clothed, and their houses madecomfor
table, more so than many of the poor
er class among the free whites are able
to afford. We had no agency in ma
king them slaves, we find them com
paratively bappy and contented in
their condition as such ; they general
ly become attached to their owners,
and would rather remain servants than
be parted from them and sent to Afri
ca, or any free State. All the indica
tions of Providence are, that he intend
ed them to be servants. We find our
duty laid down in God's word, as mas
ters, with regard to our servants. We
read of servants that are under the
yoke. Paul says ‘‘let them count their
own masters worthy of all honor, and
they that have believing masters, let
them not despise them because they
are brethren, but rather do them ser
vice, because they are faithful and be
loved partakers of the benefit; these
things teach and exhort. If any man
teach otherwise, and consent not to
wholesome words, even the words of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and the doctrine
that is according to godliness, he is
proud, knowing nothing, but doting
about questions and strifes of words,
whereof cometh envy, strife, railings,
evil slirmisings, perverse disputings of
men of corrupt words, and destitute
of the truth, from such withdraw thy
self. —1 Tim., 6th chap. What a les
son this to those professed ministers of
Christ, who are ever using railing
words against the owners of servants,
and trying to induce servants to rail
against their masters, doting about
questions that only gender strife, aud
create envy and. evil surmising. I
think we should be contented with a
i standard of morality as high as the
Bible. The Bible recognizes slavery ;
’ it may have its evils, but they must
5 be corrected, not by destroying the
[ relation between master and slave, but
by teaching them their respective du
ties to each other.
May the good Lord, of his great
mercy, impart to us all a great meas
ure of his Holy Spirit, and may chris
tians in all lands cease their fightings,
and breathe the true spirit of brotherly
kindness and charity, should be our
prayer. ASA CHANDLER,
Elberton, Ga.
Mr. C. H. Spurgeon,
Clapbam, London, England.
New York Correspondence.
Dear Bro. Boykin: —As your reg
ular correspondent is sick, and not able
to write you, “Occasional” will till up
the vacuum with the understanding
that you may use or not, as you may
think best.
The last monthly returns from our
churches, indicate a good degree of
prosperity ; there having been larger
additions than usual, both in the city
and country, and particularly in our
sister cities —Albany and Troy, where
a most wonderful work of grace has
been in progress, resulting in the con
version of from four to five hundred
persons in each city, and these mainly
iu connection with Baptist Churches.
In Albany it has resulted in forming
anew Baptist church, with ample
strength for success.
This is the period for closing the fi
nancial year with our religious socie
ties. I am happy to inform your readers
that it has been a year of increased
success. Our American Baptist Home
Mission Society, lias increased its re
ceipts about twelve thousand dollars
over the receipts of the previous year,
reaching the sum of $620,000 for the
present year. The Missionary Union
for Foreign work, has run up to about
$140,000 gross receipts, having paid
off its entire debt. This is a gratify
ing incident, that our Mission cause is
now relieved from debt, with encour
aging prospects for future usefulness.
May the friends of Missions now run
the Christian race without hindrance
and with much success. May the pre
sent be a glorious year for the spread
of the Gospel, both at home and abroad,
and it will be, it Zion awakens to the
crying appeal of perishing millions of
souls. We are permitted to live in a
wonderful age, enjoying privileges such
as no past age has offered. God grant
that the American Baptists may prove
themselves equal to those privileges,
as well as their responsibilities.
Your beloved returned Missionary,
bro Cabaniss, is winning golden opin
ions with our churches. His sad af
fliction in the loss of his child soon af
ter his arrival here, has awakened the
sympathy of our brethren for him, and
he has found good friends among ns.
lie has been lecturing with decided
success, before some ot our churches,
I learn that he lias gone
South.
Bro. J. G. Schilling, Missionary to
Canton, is now here, preparing to leave
for his appointed field, lie is accom
panied by the Senior Secretary, Dr.
Taylor, who superintends his depar
ture. lie sails on Friday of this week.
The Spurgeon furor seems to have
passed about ovei, and the North seems
about as unanimous in condemning his
folly in writing so foolish a letter, as
the South. Could he have had wis
dom enough to coniine himself to his
proper work, the preaching of the Gos
pel, no one can calculate the amount
of good he might have accomplished,
as he seems wonderfully qualified to
preach the Gospel with success. It is
to be hoped that increasing years will
bring with them increasing wisdom
and common sense.
As your readers are interested in
literary matters, I will add that Messrs.
Sheldon & Cos., have arranged to bring
out a really important work. The His
tory of Latin Christianity, including
that of the Ropes to the Pontificate of
Nicolas Y, by Henry Ilart Milman,
D. D., Dean of St. Pauls, London.
This work is really a history of mo
dern Europe, from the point of view of
the Christian church. The author says,
truly, in his introduction, that “the
great event in the history of our reli
gion and of mankind, during many
centuries after the extinction of Pa
ganism, is the rise, the development,
and the domination of Latin Christi
anity.” Dean Milman’s history has
received the highest commendation of
theological scholars, aud is alone among
works of its kind, fascinating as liter
ature to the general reader. Prescott
was charmed with the book, for he re
cognized in its author, at once learned
and imaginative, a spirit kindred to
his own. No work could be a more
appropriate gift to a pastor, or be more
appropriately recommended by a pas
tor, to an intellectual man or woman
of his llock. OBSERY ER.
[We see from Report to end of
March, that the gross receipts amount
to $167,027 4:3.—Ed.]
■ -+■ ♦-♦
Baltimore Correspondence.
Dear Bro. Boykin :
I need not inform you that Balti
more is one of the finest cities in the
land. With a good location —wide
streets —an abundance of pure water —
and excellent educational and religious
advantages, Baltimore may well be
content. Our schools are of a high or
der. Our “High Schools,” especially,
are conducted in a manner worthy of
all praise. And is not the education
of our people one of the chief elements
of our greatness and success ? “Knowl
edge is power.” May our education
al advantages, therefore, multiply in
number, and increase in efficiency.—
These are of more importance to us as
a section, than all the fortifications
along our seaboard, and all the war-
MACON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 1860.
ships that leave our ports.
Outlawry has injured the reputa
tion of our city, and retarded its com
mercial prosperity. But the prospect
of an improvement is brightening. —
The police-law. recently passed by the
Legislature, transfers the control of the
city constabulary from the Mayor to
Commissioners appointed for the pur
pose. This will render certain the em
ployment of moral and respectable po
lice, and the freedom of our elections,
will in future, be not as in the past, a
mere farce ; but a fact. Last Sabbath
evening Bro. Rohrer was ordained as
Missionary to Japan. Rev. A. B. Cab
aniss made a brief address, Rev. R. J.
Wilson offered the ordaining prayer,
and R # ev. Dr. Taylor delivered the
charge.
Never did we witness a more solemn
and interesting scene. The first nam
ed brother has recently delivered sev
eral lectures in the citxq on the customs,
manners, religion and literature of the
Chinese, which have been largely at
tended and universally admired. Rev.
Dr. Fuller has been sick, but is now
nearly convalescent. lie is a great and
good man, and those who know him
best, love him most. The Eligh Street
Church have called to the pastorate
the Rev. N. P. Rice, of Philadelphia.
Painful divisions have lately occurred
in this body. We trust that quiet may
soon be restored, and that prosperity
may attend the labors of their excel
lent pastor.
Rev. G, F. Adams has resigned the
pastorate of the Broadway Baptist
Church, and Rev. R. J. Wilson, that
of the “ Lee St. Church.” The latter
has received the unanimous call of the
Baptist Church in Beaufort, S. C. This
is the Church to which Dr. Fuller min
istered for many years, before he came
to this city, and is one of the largest in
the State. Dominus vobisenm.
Baltimore, April If. EXOTIC.
M ♦
Not Words but Deeds.
“My little children, let us not love
in word, neither in tongue; but in
truth !” John 3: 18.
Reader, you love Christ, his cause,
his people, his truth, his government
and ordinances. You love the Mission
cause, because it is the cause of Jesus.
You love to contemplate the promises
of the Bible, which encourage you to
think that his truth, as you understand
and believe it, will ultimately prevail
throughout the whole earth.
Y r ou talk , perhaps, much about these
things. They are at your tongue's end
on almost all occasions, and you can
use them flippantly. Indeed, you are
zealous in your advocacy of these
things. You are a zealous Missionary
—a zealous Board man—a zealous anti
Board man— azealous&ovaQ man’s man,
or a zealous no man’s man. Y r ou would
die for church independence as you un
derstand it, and are dovffi. on all tyran
ny on the one hand, or rebellion against
rightful authority on the other.
Now, all this may be well, very well
indeed, just as it should be in all res
pects. But allow me, my brother, to
suggest the candid inquiry in your
heart , whether it is not all, or nearly
so, in word and in tongue ; and not in
deed and in truth. Bunyan mentions
a character that had a very ready use
of his tongue. “Talkative could out
talk “Faithful.” Are you that charac
ter ? God forbid you should bo; but
it is well for you to look into this mat
ter. It is perhaps too easy to substi
tute an unholy denominational or par
tisan zeal ‘for true Christian love—a
noisy zealous flow of words for deeds
of mercy, prompted by genuine chari
ty. It is easier to talk and write for
the public , than to perform the duties
of the closet —to read newspaper con
troversy, spiced and pointed with wit,
irony and sarcasm, than the word of
God. It is easier to denounce and seek
to torture an opponent in controversy,
and grind the teeth on what we con
sider his errors, than to discover our
own errors, to loathe our own sins and
crucify the flesh with the affections and
lusts—to give wrong professions than
money and actual labor, to the cause of
benevolence. It is easy to deceive our
selves, but “God is not mocked!” O,
brethren, let us not love in word, nei
ther in tongue; but in deed and in
truth. MONITOR.
POWER OF EXAMPLE.
Rev. John Angell James’ Conver
sion.—ln a public lecture, Mr. James
once said: “Ifthe present lecturer has
a right to consider himself a real Chris
tian, if he has been of any service to
his fellow-creatures, and has attained
to any usefulness in the church of
Christ, he owes it in the way of means
and instrumentality to the sight of a
companion, who slept in the same room
with him, bending his knees in prayer f
on retiring to rest. That scene, so un
ostentatious, and yet so unconcealed,
roused my slumbering conscience, and
sent an arrow to my heart; for though
I had been religiously educated, I had
restrained prayer, and cast off the fear
of God; my conversion to God follow
ed, and soon afterwards my entrance
upon college studies for the work of
the ministry. Nearly half a century
has rolled away since then, with all its
multitudinous events ; but that little
chamber, that humble couch, that pray
ing youth, are still present to my im
agination, and will never be forgotten,
even amidst the splendor of heaven,
and through the ages of eternity.”
This certifies that I have for several
years used Davis’ Pain Killer in my
family in several of those cases for
which it is recommended, and find it a
very useful family medicene.
Rev. Asa Beon'sce.
Review of “Corrective Church
DISCIPLINE”—No. 3.
Common sense is the medium through
which the Professor’s definitions have
been mainly viewed : it is proper now
to see what the Scriptures teach on the
subject.
It has been shown that a private of
fence is no offence, any further than it
is a violation of moral , or religious
law. If the Professor intends to teach
the doctrine that a private offence may,
in any case, violate the laws of morali
ty, or religion, he should have inform
ed us to what extent. But it is to be
presumed that no such design was en
tertained, for then his pidvatc and pub
lic offences would not be distinct , but
one and the same. Moreover, unless
the characteristic distinction between
these offences is, that one does not vio
late religion, or morality, while the
other does, there would be no possibili
ty of forming his third class— mixed oi*
fences. Accordingly, it seems that
he is in a dilemma. Should he say
that a private offence may violate some
moral, or religious law, there is no dif
ference between a private and a pub
lic offence; and furthermore, there
could be no mixed offence.. But if he
does make a difference between pri
vate and public offences, he destroys
his private offences, since that is no of
fence which is not a violation either of
moral,or religious law; and the destruc
tion sweeps away his mixed offences,
inasmuch as no act can be indifferent ,
(not bad,) and, at the same time, good.
Which will he take ?
The Professor’s definition of public
offences, the latter part of it especially,
was objected to on the ground of its
being unphilosophical, illogical, and
unscriptural, (since the scriptures no
where teach that the church is infalli
ble.)
Either the printer, or my article, (I
will not say which,) has failed to bring
out one point clearly. Speaking of the
definition as unphilosophical, I design
ed to eay, “As if a geometrician, in de
fining a triangle, (drawing the figure
on my manuscript,) should say, “A
triangle is a figure composed of three
sides, aud three angles, or (it is) the
triangle, “ABC.” Besides, the phrase,
“the Hues A B C,” without the figure,
which was drawn, must have been
wholly unintelligible to the reader. I
do not make this correction in the way
of complaint, but, the idea being an
important one, I wish it to be clearly
understood. I will illustrate it by oth
er examples. As definitions akin to
that ot the Professor’s read the follow
ing :
Arithmetic is the science of figures,
or (it is) 2 plus 6 equal 8. Again :
Grammar is the science of language,
or (i t is) boys love to play. The former,
while it is an example in arithmetic, is,
by no means, arithmetic itself. The
latter, though a sentence involving;
some of the principles of grammar, is,
certainly, not grammar itself. Read
his definition of public offences and
compare it with the above.
His mixed offences have been suffi
ciently exploded, whatever may be his
definition of private and public offen
ces.
AVith such objections, lying at the
very foundation of his definitions, the
presumptive evidence is,that the Scrip
tures will not sustain them. But to the
law and to the testimony.
What is the Greek verb, which is
translated “ offend ” in the 18th chapter
and 15th verse of Mat.? (for it will be
remembered that the Professor bases
his definitiou of private offences on
this text especially.) Read, every one
who can —it is “ hamartese(Ban dc
hamartese is se ho adelphos ; lite ral
ly, and if thy brother sin into (agaxnst)
thee.)
Now the reader’s attention is called
to the following facts :
Ist. That the verb, tfanslateffi sin in
the N. T. is, invariably, hamcirtano in
someone of its forms. Yhe verb,
translated “ offend ” in Mat. 18 : 15, is
“hamartese ,” (the Aorist sub.)
The verb appears twi'ce in the par
ticipal form in composition with the
preposition, pro—‘-one's in 2 Cor. 12 :
21, (pro-emartekotocm ; again, 2 Cor.
13: 2 (pro-emarteko si.)
2d. The Lexicons all agree as to the
meaning of the verb ; viz, in the clas
sics, “to err from,” “to miss the mark,”
“to err,” “to pin”—in the New Testa
ment it means to sin.
3d. That the Greek adjective, cor
responding, is hamartootos—one who
is a sinner , sinner. Opheiletai , trans
lated “sinners,” in Luke 13: 4, means
a debtor —hence, by implication a sin
ner.
4th. That the Greek noun, transla
ted sin, is hamartia and hamartema ,
sin, or sinfulness.
These words all belong to the same
family, all have a. common root, and
are in the words which God selected to
designate the act of sinning , the state
of being a sinner, and the action of sin
itself.
In view of these facts, I affirm—
-Ist. That if the verb, ( hamartano ,)
docs not imply a violation of moral, or
religious law, the: - e is no verb in the
New Testament that does.
2d. That if this same verb does im
ply a violation of moral, or religious
law, it implies as much in Mat. IS: 25,
unless there is something in the con
text to destroy this meaning. There
is nothing in the context to neutralize
its meaning, unless it be the phrase
“against thee,” (if thy brother sin
against thee.) But a sin is none the
Less a sin , because it is committed
against a brother. The object of the
sinful action cannot, in the nature of
things, destroy the elements of the act
itself. Besides, here is one text which
will forever settle the question: “ Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'’ It
is impossible to sin against a brother,
without violating, at the same time,
this law of God. The verb (hamar
tese) in Mat. 18: 15, must have its or
dinary meaning. It must signify to
sin, or it dots not. If it does not mean
to sin, then Christ and his Apostles
were mistaken about the condition of
the human family; supposing that they
were guilty of having violated some
moral or religious law, when such was
not the fact! On this supposition, the
human race has been cruelly , and want
only slandered; having been charged
with unholiness, wickedness, and re
bellion, when they have, all the time,
been holy, righteous, and obedient 1—
Does any one believe that Christ did
not use the verb {hamartano) to denote
the act of sinning? If He who show
ed himself, by miraculous works, to he
God, did not thus use the word, lie
said nothing about the existence of sin.
If the noun ( hamartia) did not mean
sin, and the verb {hamartano?) to sin ,
in the days of Christ, there is no won!
that did.
And if sin did exist, and was spoken
of, it must have been designated by
some term. No terms were used for
the purpose of denoting the action of
sin, and the act of sinning, if hamar
tia and hamartano were not. If then,
the noun ( hamartia) did not mean sin,
and the verb ( hamartano ,) to sin / we
must conclude that there was no sin,
or if there was, no one recognized it.
Why then was it necessary for Christ
to die? Was not He, by his death, to
“save his people from their sins?” If
his people had not sinned, then the an
gel of the Lord lied, when he said ;
“He shall save his people from their
sins.” Are we not compelled to be
lieve that there was sin in the world j
and that it was designated by some
term ?
But if hamartano does mean, to sin,
Prof. Mell’s definition of private of
fences must forever fall. If the verb
(,hamartese in the 18th ot Matthew)
does not “ essentially ” necessarily de
note a violation of some moral, or re
ligious law, then Christ and his Apos
tles used no woi'd that does. But we
know that sin does abound, that it has
ever since the day of Adam’s trans
gression, that the verb {hamartese)
does imply sin, that Christ so used it /
and that therefore Prof. Mell’s defini
tion is not correct.
It astonishes me beyond measure,
and, I wiil add, pains me too, that my
old Professor, and teacher of Greek be
sides, should have taken such a strange
and untenable position l
To sum up, the m a tier stands thus:
There are no Private offences, as defin
ed by Prof. M., unless his private of
fences are the same as his public ones
—in which case, it would be as well,
certainly, to cal) them all either public
or private, giving them only one name.
Only the fivst part of his definition
of Public C/ffences can stand ; the
clause, “or ‘the church in its organized
capacity,” being thrown out. No “mix -
ed offences.”
If any unjust criticism has been
made, the writer will bo thankful to
have i t pointed out, that he may cor
rect tt. The publication of error can
nev'jr benefit any one in this world or
thfj world to come.
A. S. WORRELL.
Talladega, Ala., Jan. 21, 1860.
ANECDOTE OF A WESTERN PIO
NEER.
Avery pious, yet rather eccentric
man, a Mr. P , was remarkable for
his trust in God in all the affairs in this
life, and his strong leaning to the pu
ritan sentiment, particularly faith in
prayer. Some circumstances in the
life of tliis man, would seem to prove
that in special and rare cases the par
ticular mercies sought for may be
granted.
On removing from his native coun
try to the west, Mr. P and some
others made a purchase of land, and
paid the money. It Wr-.s soon discov
ered that the seller was not the owner,
and consequently the title was worth
less, and the money lost. Mr. P.’s
loss was greater than he could well
bear. The other purchasers had re
course to law, and advised him also to
“ employ counsel.” “ I have read in
the Bible of a wonderful Counselor,”
was the faint reply, “ and my applica
tion shall be to Him.” He thereupon
made it a matter of earnest and repeat
ed prafjer; not, we presume, for a spe
cific restitution of the money, but that
by some providential interference, this
serious loss might be made up to him,
or that he might be duly reconciled
to it, and eventually none the worse
for it. The prospect of a specific an
swer was very small, for the man who
had obtained the money had abscond
ed both from the neighborhood and
from his family. But $s Mr. P
was passing near this man’s house
some time after, a child running up to
him begged him to come in. As he
did so, the wife handed him the iden
tical bag which contained the identi
cal dollars, explaining the strange ac
tion in these words:
“When my husband went away, he
charged me to give this money to you,
for, said he, Pm afraid the man will
pray me to death.”
Thus Mr. P.’s wish was gained ; the
others, it is said, never got anything.
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more respected and more influential
if their tone were always conrteous,
their utterances always truthful, their
aims always unselfish, and their spirit
always Christian ?— American Mess.
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NUMBER 18.
SABBATH SCHOOL COLUMN.
The Teacher.
From J. b. Taylor’s Frize Essay on Sab. Schools.
He should be always at his post,
and always there in time. Thus
wo Id he attest his interest in his work,
and afford a suitable example to those
who naturally look up to him. When
compelled to be absent, he should, if
possible, secure a substitute, or at
least communicate to his class, and to
the Superintendant, the fact of his un
avoidable detention. In like manner,
he should, by suitable study, prepare
for communicating the instruction he
professes to give. It is, perhaps, a
natural, but it is certainly a very great
mistake, to suppose that youth, and
especially children, can be interested,
and instructed, without previous pre
paration, better than grown people
could be; just the reverse is true. In
some sense, and to some good degree,
adequately to interest the young, re
quires more talent and effort than to
perform the same service for the old.
And he can not be, in the highest
sense, a successful Sunday School
Teacher who does not, both with all
needful helps and pains-taking, study ‘
the lesson, and, besides, exert himself
to find subjects of interest to present
to his class. We are quite well aware
that we are but making particular ap
plication of a principle of universal
applicability, that there is no excel
lence without labor, no high success
without attention and anxious effort.
We remember to have seen one of
Punch’s pictures which struck us as
not without deep significance. An “ex
quisite” has just turned from his glass
with his cravat exquisitively tied.
His companion surveys him with ad
miring attention, when the following
dialogue ensues: “Tom how do you
get such a tie ?” “Why, the fact is
Bill, you see, I give my whole mind
to it.” Yes, truly there is nothing we
do, from tying a cravat up to teaching
a Sabbath School class in which we
can hope to succeed, unless for the
time, we give our whole mind to it.
Let, then, the Sabbath School Teacher
make it a matter of concience to pre
pare to instruct and interest his class.
Let him not only answer and explain
the question in the qustion-book,
(which it is taken for granted he uses)
but let him add questions of his own,
and encourage his scholars to ask him
questions. To do this, he must use
his Bible Dictionary, Commentary,
bis Biblical Atlas, and, perhaps, fre
quently resort to his Pastor. He
must take time and trouble—he must
give his mind to the work of prepara
tion—must seek light from above.
Let him also, fired with the desire of
communicating instruction, exert him
self during the season of the school to
interest his class; discarding every
thought of ennui, every feeling of sloth,
and using all earnestness and vivacity
of manner, occupy all the time allot
ted for the exercise. If he’ will do
this, he will find a rich reward in the
pleasure of the work itself, in the beni
fit secured to his own mind, and in
that conferred on his scholars.
THE MISSIONARY SPIRIT IN
CHILDREN.
There are very many points on
which the rising generation should be
carefully trained by their religious
teachers. Among the multiplicity,
the work of mission should be occa
sionally laid before the children in the
Sabbath schools. This should be done
judiciously, familiarly and impressive
ly. The subject is vast, and many ten
der, touching illustrations are furnish
ed which could readily be so presen
ted as to deeply affect the youthful
mind. Children may be thus educa
ted to feel for, think of, and contribute
of their little coins to the mission
cause, and be besides personify bene
fited. Well-directed remarks in Sab
bath school by ministers, superinten
dants and others, about the condition
of the heathen world, and the efforts
of pious missionaries, and the gracious
purposes of Jesus Chrisf, the chief of
missionaries, may be so blessed hat
from the little scholars, in a few years,
the force in the mission field will be
greatly augmented*
THE RIGHT SIDE OF FIFTY.
It i4 the humble Mr. Venn,
in one of his excursions to preach for
the Countess of Huntington, that he
fell in company with a person who
had the appearance of a parish clergy
man. After riding some time togeth
er, conversing on different subjects,
the stranger, looking in his face said :
“ I think you are on the wrong side
of fifty.” “On the wrong side of fif
ty !” answered Mr. Venn. “ No, sir,
I am on the right side of fifty.” Surely,”
replied the clergyman, “ you mnst be
turned of fifty.” “ Yes, sir,” added
the Christian veteran, “ but I am on
the right side of fifty, for I am nearer
my crown of glory.”
Happy that person who can thus
feel; who has the right to believe he
is nearer his crown of glory. How
feelings like these, would cause us to
rejoice as year by year passes away,
and our salvation becomes nearer !
A Great Change in France. —ln
France the most prominent men of
letters hitherto nominally Catholic,
and for the most part really infidel,
are now advocating the historical, lit
erary, missionary, and the theological
claims of Protestantism. Some of
these writers, though brought up in
the bosom of the Roman church, avow
fearlessly the superiority of Protes
tantism as a system of religious faith.
Vermont Chronicle .