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CHRISTIAN INDEYAND ERN BAPTIST.
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YOL. 46-NO. i
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, 3A.
.f . ,T. TOON", Pro jrV ; i<
FOR TERM* REFER TO SECOND PA< Hf.
_ .L-LLLJJI!!!LLiiLB- ■ "
- WmmmwftMtii
“ Lights and Shades of Christianity.”
BY REV. M. P. LOWRKV, - >.
Skeptic. The Bible is to me a strange .booh.
I have read it a great deal, and have -tried to
read with care and with a desire to under
stand and obey; but I have always read with
some misgivings. Some questions have been
continually arising in my mind that have
never been settled to my satisfaction. , I be
lieve my existence is perpetual; and whqn I
.! eternity* I, can not feel v
'' . Cijriktsjas. Indeed, it is n'6t Miyuige.that
you eatunot/eel incoherent when f7>u thin'; of
eternity r I can not see how any one can.
Skeptic. Well, if what you Christians pro-*
fess to believe is all true, it is strange to me.that
the facts are not so clearly revealed that there
could be no doubt about it—that all might
see, understand and agree, and all the strife
and confusion on the subject cea-e, so that
all mankind might fall into ranks and march
along to Heaven like a band of brethren.,
There is something wrong somewhere.
Christiaij. Truly,there is something wrong
somewhere; but that wrong is not in God,
nor in the revelation that He has given us.
The fault is in sinful man, who does not like
to retain God in his heart, and whose stubborn
unbelief is the main spring of his rebellion :
for the “ hearts of all the sons of men are
fully set in them to do evil.”
Skeptic. I do not deny that I am a great
sinner, and that I am slow to believe such
wonderful things as you Christians profess not
to doubt; but as I am interested in
* ject and honest enough to confess my skeptic!
cism, I hope you will not think it too gseat aj
condescension to try to remove sofee of thA
clouds from my darkened let in ip
little of the light of truth, so tnkt I can
«ny way clearly ; for, wicked a/ljiifi, I desire,
to make safe work for eternity'; Tand if yos
will show me the right path, and move the
brush out of it, I think I will walk in it.
these questions are unsettled with me:
there a God ? If so, is the Bible a revelation
from -Him ? And if so, will God ppniph
eternally those who refuse to obey Him ?”
Until these questions are settled, I am .like a
mariner without hjs compass : I can pot take
them for grant edits some do. ( Christian sits
in a thoughtful mood.) _
Sinner. I have always taken these ques
tions granted, y without investigation. This
business world has always been so pressing me
with its demands, that I could never find time to
investigate these matters,or to think much about
them. They have been investigated by many
who were much more capable than myself, and
mv understanding is, that all the investigations
have resulted favorably to the Bible and the
Christian religion. And if all the big guns
of infidelity that have been brought into re
quisition have failed to demolish the citadel
of Christianity, 1 must conclude that her bul
warks are pretty strong—too strong for any
pop gun that I am capable of commanding.
Another consideration that has had consider
able weight with me is, that the men who
have embraced Christianity, after thorough in
vestigation, have generally been superior in
intellect and moral worth, to those who have
rejected it.
Gallio. Yes ; Tom Paine was a fool by the
side of black Bob, who used to black my
boots * Bob thought the Devil would get him
certain if he didn’t say his prayers twice a
day ; and he had just sense enough to'make a
good slave, ana not a bit more. But, accord
ing to your reasoning, he could have beaten
Tom Paine “ all-hollow ” writing an “ Age of
Reason!”
Sinner. Well, was Bob a good negro?
Gallio. 0, yes! I never knew him to do
wrong; he didn’t have sense enough to be
tricky ; was too honest to steal, and was too
superstitious to tell a lie or swear; for he
thought that the Lord and the Devil both had
their eyes on him always.
Sinner. Well, I should say that he was a
superior man to Tom Paine, then; not in in
tellect, but in moral worth ; and while good
morals are always commendable, a giant in
tellect is a shame to a man if he uses it for
bad purposes. But I have not assumed that
all who embrace Christianity are superior in
intellect to all those who have rejected it. 1
said: “ The men who have embraced Christian
ity, after a thorough investigation, have gener
ally been superior in intellect and moral worth
to those who have rejected it;” and history
will sustain me in the assertion.
Gallio. Well, you can’t get an argument
with me, for I have never bothered my brains
about religion, and never expect to; and I
guess 1 will come out about as well as those
who go half crazy about their souls. I was
brought into the world without my own agen
cy, and I guess I’ll go out in the same way ;
and if the good Lord that you talk about so
much wants me in Heaven, l guess He will
take me there; and ii 4 I couldn’t get in
for all the good works that I could do. It
there’s any good in this world, I intend to en
joy it while I stay here; and I’ll die when I
can’t help it.
Skeptic. It is no light matter with me; and
I can not either think or speak lightly of it.
If there is a God, I desire to serve Him; if there
Ts a hell, I want to shun it; if there is a Heaven,
I wish to gain it. Men strive with all energy
» and diligence for the pleasures, honors and
wealth that endure as it were but a day; and
all these are but trifling considerations when
compared with an eternal duration of happi
ness ; and if I know my own heart, I am will
ing to receive the truth.
Christian. Since you manifest so much
earnestness about it, let us take under serious
consideration the three propositions that you
have spoken of as doubtful questions : 1. “Is
ERANKUIN-PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, FEBRUA r /28, 1867.
there A G<Jd ? 2. If so i;i is a revela
tion fmn Him ?. 3. If tl|jp be a God,
-and the .Bible is A reyglation |om Him, will
JvTle punish eternally tFoffc wife refuse to obey
Him?” As to the firsfqriesjjlon—as we will
see by a sftqrt jpycki^ktion-r
--“There i&aGoC-all sitji>%sifcaks
- - Through-ear®, aid air, Anil sea, and skies;
See! Iron tjjs cloudS'Hte #s©% breaks,
When beams of' morning rise.
>. "■•fife rising (SJrenely bright,
extended frame,
Inscribes iiicbaraclers cif light,
ills mijrhtj Maker's glbrious name.
“Ye carious.minds wb© roam abroad,
And trace o’er,
Confess the tpotsteps of yrmr God—
Bow gnu, andjjdore.”
ihe freffcy.' /"> t< his subject in
Index hasjL. Abinp tci»de^g(|jjfeffibt'e
tin. y roßUtki!
k • •■^*PPi^***
baptism. writers
ikv-/ innova
tion, jMpttjpfce'tg' avgumentsK baa
.hitherto oply shown the strength of the vaH|
which wjviroß this time-honored usage.
Br|y%jLqwrey, in hi»well-written article,
ject to the language, “ Telii
while he contends for the me-iv
expression as understood
«the Baptists—viz, that applic;?*ts
giv'Y•Satisfactory evidence of penitence and
that the “ investigation ma; as
; before the congregation,’"either with
“a few leading questions.” llfthis
i.vn<|||&ri meaning of converts telling si Chris
tiah/ itperience publicly, according toßap
vjit |heolpgy,” some of us of Middle Georgia
.understood Baptist technicalities, and
uruv ill i ngl y followed the style of our es
''«efeed brother.
Jt is probable that in some instances Uap
!ji)iltj«g unscriptural tests and asking uiineces-.
astfyfjquestrons. It is certain that converts
• akbjirhave improper views of what is required
an experience, and it tnerefore he
.jswries the duty of pastors tdfpreSoh wjjaf tip?
jjjp*thet*s in the ministry used to call experi-
sermons; or, when “ the door of the
jqlferch is opened,” to .make a- brief explani-.
ctibh (when it is thought necessary) of Vvhtft
is’expected of applicants. Yet I sell' no reax
-sbn why the expression, Experience _pi -
*grace,”—so significant and correct —should,be
abandoned, unless we resolve to restrict our
selves to scriptural language and even then;
it would require, in some instances, a mote
faithful version to express the inspired mean
'irjg than the one in common use,
That applicants for church membership
should be required to give evidence of repent
ance toward God and faith in Christ, has not
been controverted by Baptists—certainly not
tby of-tbe imux: akd Rir>
Tisr. It is also admitted that an examination
of the candidate, or<applicant, is the most sat
isfactory and practical method of carrying
out the part of our Lord’s commission requi
ring the baptism of believers. If, then, it is
proper that the examination should be made
at all, I hold it should be before the church
and congregation.
1. It generally exerts a beneficial influence
on the church members.
2. It is often blessed of God to the awaken
ing and conversion of sinners.
3. It promotes fellowship by affording the
best opportunity for each and every member
to satisfy himself. If any do not hear, or are
hot satisfied with the pastor’s questions, or
rehearsal, it is their duty to speak, or forever
hold their peace.
4. The scriptures enjoin on believers a pub
licconfession of Christ before the world. Jesus
Himself taught with authority that whoso
ever “ shall confess me before men, him will I
confess also before my Father,” and the con
verse, whosoever “shall be ashamed of me
and my words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, of him, also, shall the Son of Man
be ashamed,” etc. But why may we not ac
knowledge Jesus as the Saviour of us sinners
by actions without words? Simply because
God, whose gift salvation is, has. seen fit to
include words also, and to make the state
ment so concise and specific that we may not
evade the meaning of His revealed will. In
Romans, tenth chapter, the apostle is speak
ing of salvation through faith in a curcified Sa
viour, and in the 10th verse says: “ With the
heart man believeth unto righteousness, and
with the mouth confession is made unto salva
tion.” This scripture having been quoted by
Mr. A. Campbell, is, therefore, none the less
the word of God. It is altogether irrelevant
to the question to say that this confession of
the mouth is not essential in every imagina
ble case to “ salvation,” since the same course
of argument would abolish all the ordinances
of the church and license believers to violate
every command of the Decalogue. It is
enough for us to know that it is the Lord’s
revealed will and word, and they w'ho change
that word do so at the peril of the soul’s
damnation. What more suitable time to be
gin this confession “ with the mouth ” “ be
foremen,’’and before “an adulterous and sinful
generation,” than when they are about to be
baptized into the name of Christ, and thus by
their actions make an open profession ? Other
opportunities might occur through life or in
death, or they might not. Our confession of
Jesus, in my judgment, implies three things:
1. Our conviction that we are ruined sinners
in need of Jesus—Saviour. 2. We unreserv
edly trust in Him for forgiveness and “ salva
tion.” 3. We obtain “peace with God”
through justifying faith in Jesus. And I re
gard these essential points in all Christian
experience, and have yet to find the man or
woman who gave any evidence of repentance
and faith, too timid to submit to be ques
tioned on these congregation. I
mean those inclined to the Baptists. I, for
one, as a minister of the gospel, am so thor
oughly convinced on this point that until fur
ther enlightened, l would not baptize any who
positively refused public examination, even
though the church should order it.
A. E. Cloud.
Jonesboro, Ga., Feb. \&th.
Cloud-TVrapt Sages.
There exists in some minds, which lay claim
to high powers and evince no ordinary cul
ture, an inveterate fondness for mystification.
However plain, and even commonplace, may
be the matter of which they write, they
throw over it a garb which renders it unintel
ligible to the mass of readers. It is indeed
wonderful to observe how they can pour forth
sentence after sentence which contains no
meaning at all, or a meaning which none save
those versed in their peculiar dialect can under
hand. " Violent invasions which outrage gram
mar and common sense are employed to give
additional obscurity to their style. One needs
both lexicon and glossary to understand or
appreciate such
iTliese obscure bcioKS, feji which), if .a thought
jlqrdiscerned/it'all, it appears as a dim spec
tral shadow j gigantic because exhibiting no
definite Outlines—do sometimes obtain the
reputation of being profound. Indeed, many
people, on reading a book in which they .can
discover no sense, instead of adopting the ob
vious conclusion that it none, take it
for granted, on the contrary, that it has a mean
ing lying so deep that .their intellects are not
i, acute enough for its discernment. This ex
plains the fact that those who have put forth
volumes of transcendental nonsense are count
ed among the world’s sages, without ever hav
ing written a sentence which a man of com
mon sense could call wise.
No subject has been so often a theme of
discussion by these rnystifiers as the Bible and
its religion. Every portion of it have they
subjected to a criticism professedly searching,
but really eager to find grounds on which in
fidelity • may rest. Now the belief in mira
cles is proved an absurd superstition, and then
this or that gospel is shown to be spurious.
Unless you have been long familiar with their
peculiar phraseology, all their utterances,
however replete they may*be with learning,
and however keen their critical acumen, will
be utterly incomprehensible to you: Should
fe’ou continue to follow their Will o’-the-wisp
f lQgic in its mazy windings, you will ere long
find* yourself where you will have no belief
•of-the Bible—no faith in God—no hope of
He;y/jen."
. . Nqwy we contend that these befogged wise
mon'ar/ <#irse than valueless in their criti
cisms jof the Divine record. That precious
volume contains much that we may not -un
derstand, and doubtless much which angels
themselves vainly strive to comprehend; but,
at the same tiflne, it contains much that is so
Clear,'so-devoid of all mystery, that even a
child may understand it. Each sentence is,
indeed, worthy of profound study ; but it
should be a study in its kind
and in its results from That which Gorman
critics would bestow up'on it. In the cruci
ble of their le/oTirng, the Bible is refined
-9 ■ V - .
away, until nothing is lett. JJut we want a
study which will infuse more and more of the
Divine Spirit which every line of this Holy
Volume breathes forth into the soul, and
which will beget in the heart a richer growth
of grace.
That irreverence, so common at this day,
which comes to the discussion of the Bible as it
would to the writings of Hesiod or Thucyd
ides, can not be too sternly rebuked. The
bold, blasphemous, unblushing infidelity to
which Voltaire gave the countenance of his
lofty genius, has nearly disappeared. We
have now to contend with a more subtle and
more dangerous class. They are not Sauls
warring with earnest zeal against a sect whose
doctrines they believe false and pernicious,
but Judases, who have entered the Christian
camp merely that they may be able to strike
more deadly blows at its existence. Their
very obscurity is a chief element of their
harmfulness. Would they but come out from
the clouds, they might be resisted and over
come ; but so long as they remain “ veiled
prophets,” fighting them seems like beating
against the air. D.
Suggestions and Requests.
Bro. Editor :—Being engaged in writing up
the history of the Baptist Convention of the
State of Georgia to date, I have discovered an
error in the Minutes, to which I had as well
call the attention of the officers and members
of that body now, as it may not be in my
power to do so hereafter. The session in Ala
con last year, is numbered the “ forty third,"
whereas, it was rpally the “ forty-fourth.”
Upon examining a file of Minutes in my
hands, I discover that the anniversaries are
numbered correctly up to the session at Wash
ington, in 1854, which was the “ thirty-third.
The next session, which was at Newnan, in
1855, is also numbered the “ thirty-third.”
From that time the error has been perpetuat
ed. The body was constituted at Powelton,
Hancock county, in June, 1822, and was first
called the “ General Association.”
My new edition of the History of “ Geor
gia Baptists” is nearly completed. About
200 pages will be added to the old edition.
Exteuded sketches of John E. Dawson, Ja
cob King, Joseph Polhill, J. S. Dennard, mis
sionary to Africa, also, of the Washington
High School, Baptist Female College of S.
W.GslSrgia, Bethel Association, etc., have been
recently prepared. It would add greatly to
the interest of my work • if I could oltain
sketches of the following ministers: James
Carter, John Hendricks, Cyrus White, Hiram
Powell, Joseph Gresham, George Cranberry,
Radford Gunn, W. B. Steed, James Davis,
David Ryals, J. W. Cooper, and others. Will
not their friends furnish them, or furnish me
the facts that 1 may prepare them? For in
formation of any of our deceased ministers,
of our associations and colleges or high schools,
I shall be thankful: send it along without de
lay, else it may be too late.
I see very little prospect of publishing any
time soon, unless it can be done by subscrip
tion. If 500 subscribers can be obtained, I
think I shall make the venture. Shall be glad
to hear from brethren and friends on this sub
ject. If brethren will interest themselves in
obtaining subscribers, I shall be thankful.
J. H. Campbell.
ThomasvUU, Feb. 16, 1867.
Suggestive Writingfgnd Preaching.
BroffiefEditor : —Doi%aecuse me of flattery
while I express a simplelruth that your lead
er for February 7 thought, and con
tributed to suggest the (‘UtTon of this scribble.
God knows, too, that 1.-Mte any tendencies in
my heart to harsh or bitter things, while
I add that religious biog*®hies and biographi
cal sketches even, (in Tfljie days the staple of
our Sunday-school litercture,) too often usurp
the license long since ciffceded to obituaries
and opitgplHj^and of the felicitous
severit^o^n-great essa jUt when he designa
ted a celebrated
Who, except the wrker.djever met with such
precocious and pious Children as may be
found by looking upon Ay shelf of any Sun
day-school library? us speak the truth,
even while w>aise of them that do
well. Pardon the IJtofeljßption of this adden
dum— gravitating: Iward the earth and
the earthy—to ypur i article. It im
plicates no one in esf*><P§.
ProiV Meli’s serm ,jgfi£<Jud’s Providential-
GovernmCr^Jn;it|g ,; .ojg^» : itli unusual success
one of the Njyil nfs sublime truth, that
MJod’s grJhd purpp.'wV U exclusive of any
other, blit inclusiv#«MpT)ers, is the exhi
bition of his as reflected
from his creatures — hinted at in the
words of the Apostle-—the intent that now
. unto the principalities «xd powers in heavenly
places might be iriaife *ftown by the church,
the manifold grace M Cl’d.” llow cheering
that the trials.of prud sMiildren, the disasters
that befall people struj|f mg for all they hold
dear on earth, often mfifc to make virtue and
piety illustrious ! TfoUffireat truth has stim
ulated, and will stimuli** l * the patriot Chris
tian heart, though “ iieathen rage, and the
people imagiue a vain ychg.”
The high questions .iV- Mell often and suc
cessfully discuss'-s, te|»Y to throw the heart
humbled and o’ij^vrow e< l into the sea ot al
mighty IcTe. Ok! fir-j I love to take the
plague. Nothing so j/Vecious to the heart as
God, Jehovah, Jesus ML
I have just been V rin g Dr - Henderson
bring the converging 3 °f multiform dis
cussion to bear upoi.^v e truth, as illustrated
in the humiliation, d«Jf and ascension of the
“ lowly Galilean,” Jpg* l6 will always and
certainly triumph. but one among a
number of reflee! / a sermon,
which I was ip a wxm.° receive and treasure.
I have often bet. ipnished at the matter
of-course, nonehat£V*anner with which in
telligent (?) audienfttT ften receive the great
est and most m.' truths, powerfully
put, while cblnm handsomely de
claimed, excite the attention. Bro.
H. certainly comes *Tto-Aristotle’s idea of
eloquence—he ought* 1 move his audience.
It may.'be, that, ripe theologians
and great thinkji|^^B-etimes forgets how
inlfeof olernwK-n
may be around Tau.
Admission tl> Membership.
Brother Toon : —I! see that the subject of
the proper plan of Receiving members into
churches is in agitation ; which has, probably
will, call forth manly and various plans of
men.
Dr. Gill says : “ Admission to baptism lies
solely in the breast of the administrator, who
is the only judge of for it, and
has the sole power <jf receiving to it, and re
jecting from it.”
There is neither example nor precept in the
New Testament fork church’s sitting in judg
ment on experiences to determine their eligi
bility for membership. But in every instance
Dr. Gill’s sentiments are attested. Then why
not adopt our Lord’s plan ?
Zaccheus.
Rising Fawn, Dade county, Ga., Feb, 11, 1867.
jP>lMfio«i.
*
The Three Types of Religion.
Every one who has taken the trouble to
think of it knows that there are three great
tendencies of religious thought, according to
which, rather than according to the popular
denominational names, religion is logically
separated into three systems.' And this, if
more clearly apprehended, and more con
stantly borne in mind, would serve to relieve
the confusion of micd which arises from see
ing this constant revival of old errors in the
church, and the development of new errors
bv way of remedy. Two of these tendencies
are natural and human, the third only su
pernatural and divine in its origin. The one
of these is Ritualism, which seeks to relieve
man’s conscious want of some sort of religion,
by show and pomp to impress him through
his sensesyind symbols to impress him through
his imagination. The second is Rationalism,
which seeks to relieve him by hiding from him
his native depravity and sinfulness, and by
diverting his conscience with nice reasonings
of ethics. The third is Spiritualism, which
seeks to relieve him by first expounding to
him this inarticulate consciousness of sin, and
so to convince him of his guilt and helplessness
as to make him look away from himself to
“ the Lord our righteousness.” The extreme
form of the first is seen in fully developed
Popery. The extreme form of the second,
in Atheism and Pantheism. The extreme
form of the third, if it can have an extreme,
is seen in a thoroughly revived soul under the
movings of the Spirit of God, as the Chris
tians were, for instance, at Pentecost, or as
the Brainardsand Henry Martyns of the church
in later days.
The true conception of the relations of these
three theories is not represented,as many seem
to assume, by a line, of which Ritualism and
Rationalism are the two poles, and Spiritual
ism the centre. The position of the three is
rather triangular. Assuming the true spirit
ual religion of the heart as the point of view,
it will be found that the other two stand in
antagonism to it, as well as, in antagonism to
each other. The conflict of religion in the
world i$ ever a triangular contest. The forces
of evil come in from different directions upon
lines which converge upon the “ truth as it is in
Jesus.” And it often happens that both the
hostile forces, though in antagonism to each
other, are in active movement, at the same
! time, upon the truth.
This three fold diversity of religion is not
merely an incidental phenomenon, arising
from the different circumstances of men, or
even from their different mental constitution.
It will be found inanifesting itself in every one
of the constituent elements that go to make
up a system of “religion.
Beginniogs*ith the first question of all—
the source whence men shall derive their no
tions of religion, these systems are utterly
diverse. In answer to the question—How
shall we know what is true? What rule has
God given to guide us ?—the Ritualist of
every degree, though with more or less dis
tinctness of expression, answers with the
creed of Pius 4th. The rule is in the Apos
tolical traditions of the church, and also the
sacred Scriptures, in Che sense which the Holy
mother Church puts upon them. The Ra
tionalist answers—The rule given of God, to
guide us in religion, is the light of nature, both
the inner light of the soul, and the outer light
from His works and government of the world ;
and, to aid us in the use of the rule, the writ
ings of certain pious men of old, in the Scrip
tures. Spiritualism answers : “ The word of
God contained in the Scriptures of the Old
and New Testament, is the only rule to direct
us ; and these Scriptures teach both what inan
is to believe concerning God, and what duty
God requires of man.”
Thus the source of religion with ope, being
man, with the other, nature, ;with the other,
God—it is manifest that the systems flowing
from sources so opposite, must be generally
different. Accordingly the difference shows
its*elf in whatever aspect we contemplate re
ligion.
Is it a theology in the scientific sense?
Ritualism has no theology, cares fop none be
yond its system of casuistry, or “ Moral Theol
ogy,” applying the dicta of the Fathers and
Doctors to the inner cases of' moral action in
the life of men. The Rationalist has a the
ology only in the sense of certain- human rea
sons concerning God and His ethical govern
ment of the world. The Spiritualist alone
has the theology—a science gathering up its
system of truths from the broad field of rev
elation, as other sciences gather up their
truths into a system from the broad field of
nature.
Is it religion as a practical life ? The Rit
ualist conceives frf it as a life of uninquiring
obedience w orders and rules prescribed by
the great society—the Church—through her
doctors. The Rationalist, as a discipline of
the school—an intellectual esthetic or eth
ical culture, under the guidance of wise, philo
sophic masters. But the Spiritualist conceives
of it as a life of God in the soul—the moving
of a Divine Agent upon the soul through the
revealed truth—taking the things of Christ
and showing them unto us. And .a life of
holy obedience to Christ’s laws, not from the
motives of a hireling, working for pay, but of
an affectionate child obeying from love to Him
who first loved us. . f
So, now, is religion contemplated as a wor
ship ? The Ritualist seeks to affect the soul
spiritually by impressions upon the imagina
tion and the senses. Gorgeous architecture, vo
luptuous music, dim religious light, symbols,
scenic representations—man millinery of all
sorts—these are his contrivances for affecting
the soul. The Rationalist, on the other hand,
worshipping as he does, “ he knows not what,”
and even in of worship
as simply a reverent sort of philosophy and
ethical thought, needful, occasionally, as one
of the elements of self-culture. The Spirit
ualist conceives of public worship as the
gathering of the people for communion and
converse with the Great King-; a dialogue be
tween Heaven and earth, in which God speaks
in the reading and expounding of the word,
and the soul answers back in the praise and-
k r.evfls, therefore, to be
impressive worship, is the consciousness that
God is specially there uttering His own word,
and hearing the soul’s utterance in response.
Now, the great difficulty is that men do not
recognize this fundamental diversity except in
the extreme exhibition of it. These two ten
dencies to Ritualism and Rationalism being
native to the carnal mind, there is a con
stant tendency to one or the other whenever
the spiritual consciousness dies out in the re
newed soul, Once Christ says of any one,
“ Thou, hast left thy first love”—then we may
certainly look for a defection from the true
spiritual—either toward Ritualism in one di
rection, or Rationalism in the other. So that
not only among Papists and High Churchmen
are we to look for Ritualism ; nor only among
Unitarians of all grades look for Rationalism.
The germs of both, in greater or less manifest
development, are to be found in all Evangeli
cal churches. Hence, when one or the other
tendency becomes active, and the spiritual life
is at a low ebb in the church, then the tenden
cy is in the effort to do something to check
the evil; to rush off in a different direction,
indeed, by way of counteraction, but to an
equally destructive error. Thus it comes that
when Rationalism becomes active, in a lifeless
church, Ritualism becomes active in order to
counteract. And when, now, Ritualism be
comes the active tendency, then Rationalism
is awakened to corresponding activity. — Free
Christian Commonwealth.
Imitation of Christ.
It is reported in Bohemian story that St.
Wenceslaus, their king, one winter night, go
ing to his devotions in a remote church, bare
footed, in the snow and sharpness of unequal
and pointed ice, his servant, Redivivus, who
waited upon his master’s piety, and endeav
ored to imitate his affections, began to faint
through the violence of the snow and cold,
till the king commanded him to follow him
and set his feet in the same footsteps which
his feet should mark for him. The servant
did so, and either fancied a cure or found one,
for he followed his prince, helped forward
with shame and zeal to his imitation, and by
the forming footsteps in the snow. In the
same manner does the blessed Jesus; for
since our way. is troublesome, obscure, full of
objection and danger, apt to be mistaken, and
to affright our industry, He commands us to
mark his footsteps—to tread where his feet
have stood ; and not only invites us forward
by the argument of his example, but he hath
trodden down much of the difficulty, and
made the way easier and fit for our feet.—
Jeremy Taylor.
The Spirit’s Teaching.
Bishop Jewell, in his defence of his Apolo
gy, well observes—“ As the Scriptures were
written by the Spirit of God, so must they be
expounded by the same; for without the
Spirit we have neither ears to hear, nor eyes
to see. It is the Spirit that opens, and no
man shuts; the same shuts, and no man opens.
The same Spirit prepared and opened the
heart of Lydia, that she should give ear to and
consider the things that were spoken by Paul
In respect of the Spirit, the prophet Isaiah
says, ‘ They shall be all taught of God.’ ”
Assaults of Infidelity.
Dr. Alford, Dean of Canterbury, is report
ed, by the London correspondent of the
Watchman and Reflector, to have said before
the Young Men’s Christian Association: “ I
will say, with full knowledge of most of what
has been done, both here and abroad, to at
tack the Holy Scriptures, that, in my own
view, each one of those attacks has but
strengthened the position of the Christian be
liever. I can not see that one of the defences
has fallen.” The Dean is considered the first
living critic of the New Testament belonging
to the evangelical party in England.
The Universe and its God.
Who ever heard, save in the literature of
fable and of fairy land, of lakes* of silver or
seas of mercury ? Yet it appears, if we may
trust the latest indications traced by scientific
men upon the subject, that large portions of
the surface of the moon are cdt'ered with
molten silver, mercury, or other glittering
metal in a condition of fluidity. Who has
not thought that Swift reached the utmost
limit of imaginative license wl/en he wrote of
miniature men surrounded ay a scenery of
miniature nature ? But science now tells us
of miniature planets, Lilliputian worlds, re
volving in their orbits like the greater globes.
Not only are there asteroids of “ only three
or four miles in diameter,” —what a charming
realm for one of the dispossessed Serene
Transparencies of Germany !—but others de
scend to the size of “ a caunon ball, or even a
pistol bullet.” And if, in these infant worlds,
there existed fully developed vegetable and
animal kingdoms, we can only say that the
marvel would not be too great for the power
of Him with whom all magnitude, colossal or
microscopic, can be nothing more than the
form in which he chooses to make his power
and presence perceptible to the finite mind.
It is a suggestive, it is almost an awful
thought, that “ the further we penetrate into
space, the more unlike to those we are ac
quainted with become the objects of our ex
amination, —sun, "planets, meteorites, earth
similarly, though not identically constituted,
stars differing from each other, and from our
system, and nebulae more remote in space and
differing more in their character and constitu
tion.”
It is now beyond question that light is a
force. Like all other forces, it tends to ex
haustion; or, to speak correctly, to be con
verted into another form of force while in
action. The light from a sun, or from a star,
becomes gradually paler and more faint as it
traverses immensity; and there may be—
who can doubt that there are?—worlds so
distant that their light dies utterly beffre it
reaches our locality in space, and that are thus
necessarily and eternally hid from us. It is
our duty to rise, so far as the mind is capable
of rising, to the sublimity of the conception
thus opened up to us of Divine power. Why
should that part of the universe which has
come within the possible compass of human
vision be so great as that which lies beyond
it? Why should not that which can not pos
sibly be seen by us transcend in extent that
which we see, as much as the vision of God
ti'anscends the vision of man ?
Vanity in Ministers.
I do not think a'minister dicidedly self
sufficient and self conceited is the means
of doing much good ; for there is something
in such a character, which fails to win cordial
affection and respect, and to give the Word
power from his lips. I knew such a man, pos
sessing a good deal of real ability, who was
settled years and years over a large church,
with very little success. His words seemed
to fall to the ground, and his vain remarks
were bandied about among the ungodly with
contemptuous sneers. On one occasion, at the
close of a discourse of some power, he paused,
and, looking around him, said : “ What more
can I say on this subject? What more
could be said? If the angel Gabriel himself
were to put his trump through yonder ceiling,
what more could he say upon this subject?”
A®*’r atrqiqipns Qfl’orts ujlon hi sown part, it
being apparently the hefghtiof lfls
he obtained the title of D.D. ; and thenceforth
wrote upon all his papers and upon the fly-leaf
of all his books, Rev. Dr. . His wife,
sympathising with him fully in his weakness,
always spoke of him to others as Dr. ,
and was frequently known to reprove his
parishoners who, through inadvertence, failed
to give him his proper title. Very different
ly did they view this honor from the vener
able Dr. Beecher, who once said to a brother
clergyman : “So, they have made you D.D.,
1 see; they make every thing D.D. now-a days:
they have made meline, you know ;” —which
last clause cleared the brow of the minister,
which was somewhat clouded*by the previous
intimation.— Journal and Messenger.
, The Way to Seek.
A farmer who had long neglected the house
of God, arid indulged in the use of profane
language, one day lost a bank note in his barn.
He searched for it in vain. At length he said,
“That note is in the barn, and 1 will search
for it until I find it.” Accordingly he went
to the barn, and carefully moved the hay and
straw, hojir after hour, till he found the note.
A few weeks before this he had been awaken
ed to a sense of his need of a Saviour, and
had earnestly sought to live a better life. His
anxiety increased. A few weeks after he lost
the note, he sat by the fire musing on the state
of his soul, when he turned to his wife, and
asked: “What must you do to become a
Christian ?” “ You must seek for it,” srhe re
plied, “as you sought for that bank note.” It
was “ a word fitly spoken.” He followed the
direction ; and, through the mercy of'Christ,
he found the “ pearl of great price,” and re
joiced in the hope of the glory of God.
Heathen Estimate of the Bible.
It is pleasing to find even an intellectual
appreciation of the Holy Scriptures among
the prejudiced votaries of Boodh. Some
knowledge is necessary to faith, and the Bible
will repay the fullest publication with infor
mation that points the way of faith.
A native heathen newspaper in Bengal bold
ly advocates the introduction of the Bible into
government schools, saying of it: “ It is the
best and most excellent of all English books,
and there is not its like in the English lan
guage.” Another heathen writer, in a pam
phlet published two years since, strongly re
commends that the “precepts of Jesus”
should at once be made a class-book in the
government schools.
Interpretation.
In interpreting the scriptures, many do as
if a man should see a man. have ten pounds,
which he reckons by 1,2, 3,4, 5,6, 7,8, 9,
10, meaning four was but four units, and five
five units, etc., and that he had in all but ten
pounds; the other, that has seen him, takes
not the figures together as he doth, but picks
here and there, and thereupon reports that he
had five pounds in one bag, and six pounds
in another bag, and nine pounds in another
bag, etc., when, as in truth, he has but ten
pounds in all. So we pick out a text here
and there, to make it serve our turn, whereas
if we take it altogether, and consider what
went before and what followed after, we
should find it meant no such thing.— Selden.
Superficial Metaphysics. —Your dabblers
in metaphysics are the most dangerous crea
tures breathing; they have just abstraction
enough tp raise doubts that never would have
entered into another’s head, but not enough
to resolve themi —Abraham Tucker.
Repentance. —A deep sorrow for sin, aris
ing from a genuine love of God, and a heart
felt grief for having offended him, are indis
pensably necessary to a truly evangelical re
pentance.—Port Royal.
WHOLE NO. 2: ■
§ Mtfg.
Seed Time and Harvest.
Go forth, though weeping, bearing precious seed;
Still sow in faith, though not a blade is seen ;
Go forth ; the Lamb himself the way will lead ;
The everlasting arms are o’er thee spread,
And grain shall ripen where thy tears have
been.
Take up thy burden, bear it joyfully,
Fear not sin's darkest cave to enter in ;
Though fierce thy foe, yet Israel’s Lord is nigh,
And o’er thy fellow men he hears thee sigh,
Seeking, for him thou lov’st, a soul to win.
Go forth; there is no shadow on thy brow,
No tear that rises, no swift cry to bless
Thejseed thou barest, but He heedeth. Thou
Shalt soon rejoice—light breaketh even now ;
On 1 to the mark of thy high calling press.
The pastures of the wilderness may mock
Thine earnest labors. Look thou to the hills.
God shall the chambers of his dew unlock,
Till living water from the smitten rock,
With fertilizing streams, each furrow fills.
Fret not for sheaves ; a holy patience keep ;
Look for the early and the latter rain ;
For all that faith hath scattered, love shall reap,
Gladness is sown ; thy Lord may let thee weep,
But not one prayer of thine shall be in vain.
’Tis thy beloved gently beckons on;
His love illumes for thee each passing cloud;
When yon fair land of light at last is won,
And seed time o’er, and harvest work begun,
He’ll own the fruit that shadows now enshroud
Behold 1 the Master standeth at the door ;
Cry for Sabaoth’s Lord—raise thou thy voice;
Shdrt hour of labor, soon shall it be o’er;
The dawn is breaking—night shaft be no more;
Then with thy harvest Lord thou shalt rejoice
—Anna Shipton.
The Master’s Touch.
In the still air music lies unheard;
In the rough marble beauty hides unseen ;
To wake the music and the beauty, needs
The master’s touch, the sculptor’s chisel keen.
Great Master, touch us with Thy skillful hand—
Let not the music that is in us die ;
Great Sculptor, hew and polish us: nor let,
Hidden and lost, Thy form within us lie.
Spare not the stroke; do with us as Thou wilt;
Let there be naught unfurnished, broken,
marred;
Complete Th} r purpose, that we may become
Thy perfect image, 0 our God and Lord.
Respectability and Lifelessness.
The fact is, too many of our churches are
dying of respectability. We are too respect
able to be in earnest in religion. It would
not do to let the heart appear in religious ex
ercises. All emotion but that of sentiment
alism must be stifled. An uhimpassioned d<
meanor, cold and heartless as an iceberg, must
characterize our approaches to God. Even
such immense subjects as*eternity, eternal
judgment, the soul, salvation, Christ, Gob,
must be treated with cool intellectuality,
without causing any excitement, or disturbing
the ease of any sleeping conscience. A man
in earnest—full of zeal and enthusiasm for tin
rescue of men rushing down to hell with the
speed of heart-throbs—is by'many regarded
as Festus did liis prisoner : “ Paul, thou ar;
, beside thyself! ’■ -
We may-Bfe jntT»b*ke&—w;t*w#ulJ fain Uopv
we are—but we greatly fear thk't this spirit is
on the increase ; that every year larger num
bers substitute a studied and regular observ
ance of externalities in religion for heart de
votion, for spiritual worship, and for patient,
steady, sturdy service of God in every day
life. The church in which it obtains is shorn
of its strength for aggressive work in the
w<?rld. It may, if wealthy, pay its minister
largely and contribute liberally for benevolenl
enterprises. It may have pride in having such
a representative; and then it becomes easy
so to do; for it is simply ministering to self.
But there its work ceases. Beyond this it
does little or nothing for souls and Christ,
for man and God. Retaining the form, it
loses the power of godliness.— Christian In
telligencer.
Life-Building.
There are Oriental mosques, which exhale
ceaseless perfume—musk having been mingled
with the mortar when they were built. So
should the Christian build the structure of his
life—mingling even with the toils pertaining
to the present state, the graces which shall
emit perpetual fragrance, in the nostrils, not
of man alone, but of “ our covenant God ” as
well! Does he till the ground ? Is he an
artisan 1 Has he devoted himself to a pro
fession ? Does his country marshal him
among her soldiers? Has she raised him to
a seat and share of power with her rulers ?
Every where, all that he does, no matter how
earthly in its nature and relations, should be
heavenly in the spirit of the doing. There
should be so much* of Christ and of the things
of Christ in all his works, as to diffuse an
odor of sanctity through them. He may do
this. He may constrain men to take knowl
edge, that “ airs of heaven breathe over ” the
structure of his life, as he builds it day by
day. Then shall the building exhale perfume,
even when it has been broken down by the
great subverter, Death! His name shall
“ smell sweet, and blossom in the dust.” And
when that structure is rebuilt in the resurrec
tion of the just and “ the revelation of the
righteous judgment of God,” it shall be as
“ the altar of gold for incense ” in that temple,
of which the Lamb is the light, and from
which the worshippers go no more out!
The Body,
In reading a sketch of that great and good
man who has recently passed away, Dr.
Whately, Archbishop of Dublin, we met with
this incident connected with his last illness. A
few nights before his death a friend who was
sitting by him, as that body so full of weak
ness and pain, but having in it the seeds of an
immortal vigor, was wasting away, quoted the
words, “Who shall change our vile body.”
“Read the words—the apostle’s own words,”
said the Archbishop. Not having a Greek
Testament at hand, this friend, who knew th"
meaning of the original, repeated from meuiw
ry, “ This body of our humiliation.” “ That’s
right; not vile—nothing that He made is
vile.”
How Grace Show's Itself.—The roots of
plants are hid under ground, so that th y
themselves are not seen ; but they appear in
their branches, flowers and fruit, which argue
there is a root and life, in them. Thus the
graces of the spirit planted in the soul, though
themselves invisible, yet discover their being
and life in the track of a Christian’s life, his
words, his actions, and the frame of hia car
riage.—Leighton.
Human Influence. —God can employ all
methods, but chiefly loves to work upon man
by man. —John Wesley.
Satisfaction. —The moment a man is sat
isfied with himself, every body else is dissat
isfied with him. —Arab Proverb. |
