Christian index and South-western Baptist. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1866-1871, March 07, 1867, Image 1

Christian index and South-western Baptist., March 07, 1867, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextCHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST VOL. 46-NO. 11. A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER. PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, OA. J. «T. TOON, Proprietor. FOR TERMS REFER TO SECOND PAGE. “ Lights and Shades of Christianity.” BY ELDER M. P. LOWREY. Sceptic. Your borrowed hymn speaks elo quently of the testimony that nature gives in favor of your position ; and while I must ac knowledge that all things we behold in nature are wonderfully mysterious, how am I to know that they are the work of a Divine hand, and that their great Author is an eternal, self existent being ? Is it not as reasonable to be lieve that the earth and all the planetary sys tem are eternal and self-existent, as that their Creator is ? The earth has wonderful powers —gives life and continual nourishment to all her vegetable productions, motion to her streams and all her great bodies of water, and furnishes subsistence to all animals ; and, for aught I know, gave them being. I see that men follow each other in successive genera tions; the earth supports them while they live, receives them back into her bosom when they die, and uses their decaying bodies—as she does all other decaying substances—to support her vegetable kingdom, which in turn supports all living animals; and so all things that live and grow depend, in part, for their support on the death and decay of other things. These, in their vast variety, are de pendent upon each other ; but the earth seems to have them all under her own control, and by a most perfect system of harmonious ope ration supports them all. By the harmonious operations of the earth, air and heavenly bod ies, the earth is watered, and the necessary light and heat supplied. YVe behold this vast extent of wonderful machinery in perpetual and harmonious operation. Whence came they ? and What power supports and controls them? are, to my mind, mysterious and un settled questions. You say an all-wise, all powerful, self-existent God created them. I am not prepared to dispute it, nor am 1 fully pre pared to believe it. It is about as reasonable to believe that they are self-existent, and have within themselves these extraordinary powers. Christian. If the earth, sun, moon and air, are eternal, and each by its own native power moves in its sphere, they must also possess great wisdom, and are almost equal to what we claim for the great Being we call God; and they must have held a council and agreed to help each other ! The sphere of each must thus have been settled by mutual agreement, ( And a negotiation made as to the help-iin, . •; c«*L Would lend tna other !. And to believe this requires greater credulity than Cos believe in one God. And if they are eternal, when was this council held? When did the order and harmonious operation begin ? And when did each, of its own wisdom and will, take its proper place ? The stars that bedeck the beautiful heavens must all be eternal too, if they have no Creator; and thus you are led to imagine a million of intelligent, eternal, self existent beings, arranged in the most perfect order, and working in most glorious harmony ! Well might men worship the host of Heaven ! These vain speculations rack the brain to no pi’ofit, and create contradictions and difficult ies that the wisest philosophers can never har monize and settle. There is no speculation that does not present more difficulties than the Christian’s theory. But you say it is strange to you that the facts of the Chris tian’s theory are not so clearly revealed that there need be no doubt. I think they are. The short reflections we have just had on the subject should lead us to exclaim, in the elo quent language of the Psalmist: “ The Heav ens declare the glory of God: and the firma ment showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” The general belief in the existence of God is suffi cient evidence that it is more reasonable than all your vain speculations. The works of na ture in their beauty and majesty, as beheld by all men, impress the heart by their natu ral force with the truth of God’s existence. A Greenlander once addressed a missionary about as follows : “ It is true, we are ignorant heathen, and knew little of the nature of God till you came ; but you must not imagine that no Greenlander thinks about these things. A boat, with all its tackle and implements, eau not exist but by the labor of man. But the formation of the meanest bird requires more skill than that of the best boat, and no man can make a bird. There is still more skill required to make a man. By whom, then, was he made ? He proceeded from his pa rents, and they from their parents; but some must have been the first parents, and whence did they proceed ? Common report says they grew out of the earth ; if so, why do not men grow out of the earth still ? But whence came the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars ? Certainly, there must have been some being who made all these things —a being more wise than the wisest man.” Thus men reason; and this general belief of the exist ence of a Creator prevails wherever man is to be found. Sceptic. That belief does not prevail uni versally ; for some think that all things came by chance. * Christian. The folly of that pretended be lief may be seen at a glance. How could chance produce such perfect order as is seen in all the works of nature ? Think, also, of the meanest spire of grass, then of the giant tree, and the power by which they spring up and grow ! Think of the flowing stream and the heaving ocean ! - Think of man, with his wonderful powers —physical and intellectual! Think of the shining sun and the rolling plan ets ! All these alike have marks of infinite wisdom and power. I have been astonished FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, xATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 1867. at the folly of infidelity, to say nothing of its wickedness. How often would all the type in the Franklin Printing House have to be put into a box and thrown out upon the floor before it would by chance be set up into a good editorial ? And what wisdom and skill would be required in setting the type to print the largest volume, when compared with the setting in order of this vast universe? Suppose some man should assert that all the material of which some ancient city is built came together and arranged itself into its pre sent order ; that by its natural affinity* or by chance, it came together, and no design or physical power had ever been employed in building it; then suppose he should write a book to prove it; would the world call him wise? Would he not be pronounced insane? And yet men may assumq that all the vast and incomprehensible works of God—man, with his mysterious endowments—earth, with all its ponderous machinery—and the suns and their systems, that roll in illimitable space—all came by chance; or the material of which they are composed is eternal, and came together by a natural affinity ; and they are called wise men ! They write books in support of such foolery, and are called wise philosophers ! And men, with silver trump ets, sound their fame to the remotest bounds of earth ! (to be continued.) The Mission of the Dew-Drops. It was in one of Spring’s fairest mornings ; the warm sunshine had called into blossom the sweetest of Flora’s pets —the soft May breeze lightly touched every leaflet drooping beneath its weight of dew-drops—the pure, brightdew-drops, in their pearly beauty,strung on every grass blade, and the mingled sweet ness of rose, jessamine and violet pervaded the whole atmosphere. A little maiden, flit ting hither and thither like a sunbeam among her flowers, culled here and there a favoi ite, and when her basket was filled/ began to weave them into a garland to twine among her flowing curls. While her busy fingers arranged and rearranged, blending the colors so as to make one harmonious whole, she lifted up a white violet in whose, cup was a dew-drop larger and more pearly than any she had seen - . Looking earnestly down into the shining globule, she said: “Little.dew drop, your mission to earth must be a happy one. There you are embalmed in the sweetest of all of my flowers, and ’tis your office to vi vify this lovely violet. Will you not tell me whence you came, and why it is that in the still night-watches you steal so softly down here ? ” At once a tiny voice arose from the flower. It seemed a mingling of the sounds of rippling waters, murmuring winds, and singing birds, b&t.far softer and sweeter than these. It said: “I am one of an innumerablemultitude. Our first home was in the deep blue sea ; we w*tre called from there’ by the sun and winds, and borne on in invisible form in the aerial regions, and when the sun went to brighten other worlds, we' were commissioned by the Good Father to come ; the cool night wind brought and scattered us heie. Do not think we came by chance; for every little bead had its place appointed. Those that you have brushed off the grass with your restless feet, were all sent on the same errand of mercy. “ Would you like to hear of some of the scenes of sorrow where we are sent to bless ? Not very far from here is a poor cot. It is a spot all bleak and barren, and it would seem as if ’twere no place for our frail sisterhood ; but one of the little ones that God loves dwelt there. She had nobody to tell her of God or Heaven ; for those with whom she lived were stern and cold, nor cared aught for the orphan. She had a rose-vine like the one that grew over the door of her old happy home, and it was her only pleasure to watch the tiny leaves unfold day by day. We were sent to hasten the growth of these fragrant blossoms. How she would clasp her thin hands with joy when the first flower appeared ! for on every petal was a story of love traced by invisible fingers, but which her heart un derstood full well. By and by she lay faint and feverish, and could no longer come with the early dawn to touch with loving hand the glistening strands of crystal we formed for her. One morning somebody came and broke a long, drooping tendril filled with roses, and all bedecked with my sister drops, and laid it on her pillow. She moistened her parched lips with them, smiled in her pain, and in a little while she was gone. Now it is the mission of many of us to go to the grassy mound every night and beautify the spot where inno cence lies sleeping. “Once there noble ship, with many personson board, sailing on the ocean. Wealtb, pride and beauty were there. At night when all was calm, when lightness and revelry reigned supreme, the vessel caught on fire. The flames in crimson folds enwrapped many a shrieking victim. A few escaped the fiery death, and day after day they floated on the, broad expanse of water. Although their longing eyes could espy no friendly shore on which to rest —though there was water, water, every where, yet not one drop had they to cool their parched tongues. Summoning many of us, God sent us to them; and though ’twas only dew-drops, yet lives were saved. Could you have seen their friends receive them on shore with prayers and tears of thanksgiving after those terrible days, you would have thought that our mission is a blessed one. To be only a dew-drop, and yet perforin your part, is acceptable to God. “ But there was another place where we were a greater blaming. A man had com mitted a heinous crime and was cast into prison. At every step the clanking of his heavy manacles resounded through his gloomy cell like the knell of departed hope. No sight or sound w»- there to awaken what sleeping good thera might have been in h:s heart. The fetters that weighed down his body were lighter than the chains that despair had rivetted on his soul. Remorse, like a vulture, gnawed at his heart, from which peace had departed. The walls of his prison shut him out from all intercourse with his fellow- men, and from all that is good or beautiful of earth. A tiny seed was wafted by the - wind to a soft place in the mould by his prison wall, and night after night, when the stars alone watched us, we went and moistened the earth. Soon a small shoot came up and grew, till a number of leaves had appeared. “One morning when the prisoner was per mitted to walk there, his attention was at tracted toward the flower. How we glistened in the sunlight to make him linger there! And how very beautiful the young plant look ed with its tender green leaves and young buds as yet just peeping out from their cov ering ! He stood and gazed long, and as he bent over it, a briny drop was mingled with us as he passed his rough hand over his eyes and walked on. The shadows grew short and lengthened again and again; the moon waxed and waned, and the stars nightly saw us ful fill our mission, till a cluster of flowers bloom ed for the wretched man. Each day he them with tenderest care, and if per mitted to walk near, he would come and stroke them, oh ! so softly, even if his wiiobo did bear the marks of the galling manacles. When he was not allowed to go out, he would press his face against his grated window to catch a glimpse of his silent companion. Somehow his eye lost its look of hopeless misery, and though his head was often bowed as though some strong emotion mastered him yet peace gradually stole back into his heart. Why ? you may ask. Nay, ask not why. The flower was like those that grew near his child hood’s home, and the sight of it called up trains of associations of those happy days when he was an innocent light-hearted boy. With these remembrances came the holy les sons learuqd at his mother’s knee where he bowed before God in prayer, and he was saved. Some one passing by remarked, ‘ What a beautiful flower to grow by chance, as this has done.’ But we knew better ; for G»d had planted it there—bade the sun to siiine on it, and us to water it, that it might be a blessing to the forsaken man in the dark prison. “But, little maiden, this is not all; we have spirit.-sisters whose mission to earth is higher and holier than ours. In the human heart God has planted flowers of a heavenly growth, as joy, peace, faith, hope, gentleness. The dew that is sent to water them is called Grace. When human duties are performed, and the pure bright heavens of God’s approval are not obscured by the clouds of unbelief, then these our sisters are sent to invigorate and hasten the growth of those plants. In those hearts where these messengers of our Father’s love do not pay their visits; all is withered and scorched away like the burning desert waste.” The voice ceased; and when the maiden looked into the violet’s cup,she saw that it was •gone. Its it Won Gas. f it had “Sparkled, was exhaled, aud had gone to Heaven! ” Lizzie May. February 20, 1867. Fulton County, Arkansas. Believing that many of your readers would be pleased to have some description of this country, products, etc., I have concluded to write you an article on the subject. This is what is termed hilly country,in west ern parlance, to distinguish it from the “ bot tom ”of the river countries. There are por tions of this country “ hilly and rocky ;” but even in those portions, there are valleys and bottoms of very productive lands. But the greater portion of the country is hickory and hazel “ barrens,” often gradually sloping into oak lands. These lands are generally choice, easy of cultivation, and very productive. In many instances they are what might be pro perly termed semi-prairies. Our best lands are in our river bbttoms: they are very rich and productive —-yielding from 40 to 75 bushels of corn per acre. There are many of our people who prefer the “ semi-prairie ” to these, because they are easier of cultivation, and of seasonable years will produce nearly equal to them. The products are corn, wheat, rye, oats, grass ; and, for the last tw r o years, cotton has done well; but 1 can not recommend it as a cot ton country, although agood many of our farm ers are taking the cotton mania, from their suc cess the last two years. The range (summer) is as good as I ever saw in any country: cattle, young mules, colts and all horses not used, will keep fat and sleek without any cost ex cept salting ; therefore, it is but little cost to. raise them for market—and then we live on the border of the market. The climate is about the same as that of Cass, (Bartow) Ga.—at least the north ern portion of that county. The people are generally poor. They were, for the most part, “good livers ” and “ thriv ing” before the war ; but the war laid waste and almost desolated this country. Our sol diers, when “ paroled,” came home poor in this world’s gooefc, but rich in resolution, and went to work in earnest to repair their ruined farms and ruined fortunes; and now our farms begin to look as formerly. God has abundantly blessed us in our labors, and plen ty begins to take the place of gaunt and alarm ing famine. Our people are more industrious than they were before the war; take more in terest in schools and education —more interest in building houses of worship and having a preached gospel among us. This county shared largely in the great and precious revi vals of last summer and fall, that extended over so large a portion of the sunny South. The converts among us were numerous and hopeful. There are a gieat many Baptists in this section, and preachers scarce and much needed. Lands are abundant, cheap, and homes for all that will come. Fair land, and sometimes even good land, can be bought for one dollar an acre, and choice for five dollars an acre. The prices range from fifty cents to five dol lars. Those who have families and want to secure homes for their sons and daughters, can do it here with a small capital; and find churches and schools convenient. This is em phatically a stock country. I have been here ten years, and there are fewer diseases among horses, mules, cattle and sheep, than any coun try I ever saw. We have very few negroes — not more than seventy-five or eighty in the county —and most of tlise are “ fixing ” to move north. j. Fruits, peaches, apples, pears, and in short, most of the fruits adapted to this climate do well here. Peaches are no{ as sure a crop here as in Georgia and South Carolina; but the fruit is sweeter and better, particularly when' dried. The common pluqi—(choctaw) or what we in South Carolina and'Georgia, called the “old field plum”—grows fine, but rarely ever bears any fruit. But this appears to be the native element of strawberries and grapes — growing spontaneously all over the country — and there are some varieties of the latter, the finest I ever saw, growifcg wild. Melons of all kinds do well. Wotald, Mr. Editor, you could be with us awhifis next August to eat watermelons with us. Game, deer and tur key are plenty. Venistm and turkey are no rarity. It is no unusual sight to see from twenty to forty turkeys in a yany. If what I have written should excite inter est enough in the minds of any to wish further information in regard to this country, let them address me at Union, ijiftton county, Ark. I will take pleasure inapv&gttbepaany informa tion in - PtiK padiily lies north west from Batesville. I jive forty miles from Batesviile and sixty-five ft;om Jaeksonport. x. S. W. Cochran. Union, Jan. 28, 1867. ,\ J • Reminiscences of the Sarepta Association. No.'S. Among the pioneers o f the Baptist minis try of North-Eastern Georgia was Elder John Cleveland. He had been engaged in the min istry previous to the war of 1776, and had suffered persecution for the gospel. Dissent ers were then regarded by the adherents of the established religiq/t us heretics, and were persecuted for conscience’s sake. The writer has often heard Mr. Cleveland say that he had whipped five times for preaching. He became one of the eariy settlers of that part of South Carolina on Georgia, high up- in the State. membership was at Shoal Creek Church, 6u the Georgia side of the Tugalo river, of xL/ich he was the pastor for a series of years first a member of the Georgia Associate, then of- the Sarepta, and lastly, of the TuA >. In his day, he was regarded as “ a good itiister of Jesus Christ,” and labored long andßpthfully in the cause of his Divine Master, pe passed away from the scene of his eartw, 1 ' labors upward of 40 years ago. Rev. Thomas Gilbffit was a co-laborer with Mr. Cleveland, and aV older man. He was the first Moderator the Sarepta Associa tion, and continued preside over its delib erations from 1799 ti!) 1805. He resided on Tugalo river, on the Sporgia side, in the coun ty of Franklin. In*Gie early settlements, when the country comparatively a wil derness, he held Y r an’s Creek Church, Yhe first church thirty zeal and punctservant of God that himself and of his family rarely failed to be present monthly conferen ces of the church. Milsing early, before the break of day, they sij, out on horseback, fol lowing an Indian trail! a great portion of the way. Elder Gilbert was an exemplary man, and a sound, earnest preacher of the gospel. He lived to a great age; supposed to be bor dering on one hundred years. It is to be re gretted that we have no authentic biography of many of these fathers in the ministry, which would doubtless be interesting and in structive to the present generation. Elder Thomas Maxwell was a worthy min ister of these olden times, and was intimately associated with Elders Thornton, Cleveland, Gilbert, and others. He long resided in the county of Elbert. Before his emigration to Georgia, he had not been a stranger to perse cution. He had proclaimed the gospel of Jesus to the people through the iron-grated prison window, when they would assemble to listen to its sacred truths. He was long iden tified with the Sarepta Association. At the time of his death he was a member of Holly Spring Church. He gently fell asleep in Je sus in the year 1837, in the 95th year of his age, and the 61st of his ministry. Elder Thomas Johnson was an efficient minister, and many years pastor of Academy Church, and several other churches in Jackson county. His praise was in all the churches. His name is found prominent in the records of the business transactions, of the Sarepta Association for a series of years from its or ganization. He ceased from his labors and entered into his final rest upward of 40 years ago. A. C. The Deacon that does not Pray in his Family. I know a deacon—an official member of the church of Christ—a distributer of the sacred emblem of a Saviour’s body and a Saviour’s blood: and yet he doet not pray in his fami ly ! He is a useful and highly respected citizen ; he has filled various offices of public trust, and though gray hairs are 'beginning to sprinkle his locks, he has ever been not only above reproach, but even the shadow of suspicion : and yet he does not pray in his family ! He has a large and liberal heart; he sup ports the gospel at home and abroad ; the widow finds in him a protector and the father less a faithful guide : and yet he does not pray in his family ! He is a noble church member; his brethren honor him, and his pastor loves him; his meek and blameless life is a standing recom mendation of the religion of Jesus: and yet he does not pray in his family ! He is the fast friend of prayer meetings and Sabbath schools; except providentially, his seat is never vacant when the saints meet to gether, and often his voice is heard in earnest and humble supplication at a Throne of Grace: and yet, strange to say, he does not pray in his family ! What an anomaly in the history of Chris tianity is the case of our, beloved brother! How it weakens the pastor’s hands, and sad dens and depresses the pastor’s heart, that i one, so unexceptionable in all things else, should be so remiss in. his, and it so vastly important! Reader, d< «u the above represent your case? If so, reso.ye, in God’s strength, that it shall represent yiJur case no longer. ! Observer. gdettims. The Communion Question. In reply to the allegation of the Church Union that ‘ the harriers to the flowing togeth er 'of God’s people, the membership of the church in New York, are close communion in the Baptists, and the refusal of the interchange of pulpits by Episcopaliansthe Michigan Christian Herald aptly says : “ Now, one can hardly help asking, in view of this showing, why in. the world the open communion and non-Episcopal folks in New York are not all one church? There are no close commun ion barriers in the wav certainly. Neither do they magnify the virtues of a ‘ Bishop’s hands,’ so that the two grand obstacles, ‘ the barriers to the flowing together of God’s peo ple,’ are not there. Why then are they not one ? Let us see the Church Union make of twain one flesh in case of those between whom there are no barriers to church union. So far as reproaches before the world are concerned, so far as there are stumbling blocks to the unbelieving from the lack of oneness among professing Christians, there is not a man of good observation and intelligence who does not know that the divisions of Pedobaptists among themselves, or even the varieties of someone denomination, as the Presbyterians or Methodists, are frequently made the occa sion of objections among the unbelieving, as any differences there are between even the strict communion Baptists and any Pedobap tist denomination. The truth is, it is not the unbelieving world that have had trouble with the ‘ close communion ’ Baptists, or even with the High Churchmen. Large differences even, when they are seen to arise logically-and con sistently from distinct grounds, and from some variation in the understanding of principles, are less the occasion of stumbling to the world than the continued separation of those,whose very principles and professions ougrflFto put them together. The disunion of those who are separated by nothing that any body can see, is the grand stumbling block. When men profess substantially the same things, and yet are divided, people are apt to charge such division to difficulties of the heart, but even a worldling will be considerate and charitable toward two men whose heads he sees are dif ferent, even if he does not always find them going the same road. We have seen some strange things in our brief day. We have seen in many a town and city and country place, a ‘close communion’ Baptist church living on better terms of Christian fellowship with the ‘ open communion ’ churches of the place, than these last were with one another.” “ A Baptist but not a close cominunionist ” writes to the Church Union: “Suppose you succeed in obtaining an open communion and an interchange of pulpits, what is that toward removing the evils of sectarianism ? Metho dists and Presbyterians have this sort of union, but if there is not as much sectarianism be tween them as between either of them and us, I am much mistaken. So long as there are different denominations, there will be sectari an feeling and all the evils resulting from sec tarian rivalry. Baptists get along as fratern ally with other denominations in this part of the land as Free Baptists who have an open communion.” This same writer also says: “ Baptists are close communionists beyausqall other denom inations sustain them in the prtnciple'on which the practice is based, i. e., that baptism is a prerequisite to communion. To do away with the practice, you must overturn the prin ciple, and cm this point Congregationalists, etc., are just as much in need of correction as Baptists. Let other denominations cast aside this Romish veneration of the Supper, and admit to their communion Christians as Chris tians, and then they may call upon the Bap tists to do likewise. It seems to us very weak and uncandid for a Presbyterian to ac cuse us of bigotry for not inviting him, un baptized as we consider him, while he does not invite those whom he considers unbaptiz ed. So long as other denominations hold that baptism is a prerequisite of communion, they must not expect Baptists to be open commun ionists, and they are guilty of bigotry them selves in denouncing us as bigots.” A Pedobaptist clergyman, in the Chuich Union thus reviews some of Robert Hall’s arguments for open communion: “Robert Hall sinks sadly in my estimation as I read for the first time his views on this question. . . In advocating the admission to a com mon communion table of the baptized and un baptized alike, he says : ‘ And as it is de monstrable that John’s baptism was a sepa rate institution from that which was enacted after our Lord’s resurrection, the Lord’s Sup per is evidently anterior to baptism, and the original communicants consisted entirely of such as had not received that ordinance.’ This strange passage suggests two or three remarks. First. John’s baptism has nothing to do with the matter in question. Every careful read er of the Scriptures is aware that it was not Christian baptism. (Acts xix. 1-5.) But what was Christ’s baptism and its formula? and was it indeedy?rs< ‘enacted after the in surrection’? (see Johniii. 22; iv. 1,2;) and was the formula new to those who through the Master’s teachings had become familiar with the three persons of the Godhead ? (John viii. 54; xiv. 8-11; xvii. 5. Matt. xii. 31,32, etc.) “ Upon these points he neither furnishes nor attempts any demonstration,and there is none; therefore, the Lord’s Supper is not ‘ evidently anterior to baptism ’ (t. e., to Christian bap tism). Nor, in the silence of the inspired record, is it at all more evident that ‘ the origi nal communicants consisted entirely of such as had not received that ordinance.’ It will not do to argue from non-knowledge, unless we are willing to adopt baseless or false or absurd conclusions. The fair presumption is that they were baptized ; else why was Paul, ‘not a whit behind the chiefest of them,’ bap tized? (Acts ix. 18.) Finally, supposing that the institution of baptism was posterior to that of our Lord’s Supper, may it then be not only postponed but dispensed with ? No. The Saviour’s last command includes three things equally binding: convert,baptize,teach. The requirements, severally, in terms seem somewhat more imperative than the * Do this in remembrance of me.’ (Luke xxii. 19.) “Further. Mr. Hall says: ‘ The Apostles, it is acknowledged, admitted none to the Lord’s Supper but such as were previously baptized ; but under what circumstances did they main tain this course ? It was at a time when a mistake respecting the will of the Supreme Legislator on the subject of baptism was im possible ; it was while a diversity of opinion relating to it could not possibly subsist, be cause inspired men were at hand ready to re move every doubt,’ etc., etc. Surely a fallacy lurks here, or one of those inspired men was mistaken when he characterized the Holy Scriptures a3 ‘ a more sure word of prophecy ’ (or teaching) than even the voice from Heaven that he heard in the holy mount. (2 Peter i. 17-19. ‘The oracles of God’ must be less clear in their utterances than they were. It i has become darker since the dawn.” Happiness. —lt is a great blunder, in the pursuit of happiness, not to know when we have got it; that is, not to be content with a reasonable and possible amount of it. Millenarianism. As to the second coming of our Lord, there are certain points as to which the great body of Christians are agreed. 1. That there is to be a second advent of Christ. 2. That advent is to be personal, visible, and glorious. 3. That the time of his coming is unknown. He is to come as a thjef in the night. Some, in deed, assume to have ascertained the year during which this great event is to occur; but they are comparatively a small part of the Christian public. The points about which there is diversity of opinion are: 1. As to whether there are any events pre dicted in the Scripture, which are to precede the second advent, which have not yet occur red. Some believe that there are no such events, and therefore that there is no revealed reason why Christ may not come in a week or a day. The great body of Christians be lieve, on the other hand, that the national con version of the Jews, as foretold in the Old Testament, and by the apostle Paul in Rom. xi., and the preaching of the gospel to all na tions, as predicted by Christ, and the general prevalence of the true religion, are all to oc cur before Christ comes again the second time unto salvation. 2. There is difference of opinion as to the object of the second advent. Some say that Christ is to come to establish a visible, earth ly kingdom, the seat of which is to be in Je rusalem ; that the conversion of the Jews is to be the consequence of his coming ; and that not until his second advent are the nations to be converted, or the knowledge of God to cover the earth. The common faith of the church has been, and is, that Christ has or dained the preaching of the gospel under the dispensation of the Spirit, as the means of converting the world; and consequently that when Christ comes, it will not be to convert men, but to be glorified in all them that be lieve; that he will come to raise the dead, both the righteous and the wicked; to judge the world, and to introduce the final consum mation. The second advent, the general re surrection, the final judgment, and the end of the world, are represented in Scripture as synchronous events. With what rapidity the one is to follow the other, is not revealed; but the first is in order to the others. Dr. Duffield attempts to prove that no pre dieted event, (such as the general prevalence of the gospel) remains to be accomplished, before the second coming of Christ; so that, for aught we know, he may come to-morrow, though he may not appear for a thousand years. The second advent, as death, is an imminent event; it may occur at any time; and we should be always expecting it, and always ready. The same is assumed to be true with regard to Christ’s appearing. The whole power of the doctrine, he supposes, depends on this fact. If the whole world is to be con verted before Christ comes, then we may be sure his advent can not take place for a long time to come, and we can not be in that state of constant expectation and desire, which the sacred writers enjoined. Such is the argu ment. Its fallacy appears from two sources. First, it is not true that the moral power of a future event depends on the apprehension that it may occur at any moment. The apostle Peter, after predicting that the heavens and the earth are to be burned Up, asks, in view of that event, what manner of men ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness; ydt,. according to “the selves, Christ is to come; and a multitude 6f events are to occur before this final conflagra tion. The Scriptures hold up the great reali ties of the distant future, the resurrection, the judgment, and the final consummation, as adapted to produce a present effect on the minds of men, as reasons why they should constantly live in reference to those events. Secondly, although our Lord and the apostle present his second coming as an object of ex pectation and desire, something to be longed and watched for, by the men of their genera tion, yet they assured them that certain events were to occur before his coming could take place. Christ predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, the overthrow of the Jewish poli cy, and the spread of the gospel, as events an tecedent to his second coining; yet he re quired his disciples to watch and pray for his appearing. Sacerdotalism. In a notice of a sermon by Rev. W. A. Fiske, Episcopal, the Cincinnati Gazette says: “ The proposition upon which the discourse starts is that the office of the priesthood, as it was ordained to the Israelites, has not been abolished, and that the Christian minister has succeeded to it and all its functions. The ar gument to prove this is, that God ordained the priestly, ceremonious, sacrificial worship of the Jews ; that, like all His works, it was per fect; that inasmuch as He changes not, He has not changed the form and institutions of worship which He ordained; that to charge that the ceremonious worship which He. or dained was undevout, unspiritual, heartless, soulless and dead, would be no less than blas phemy.” Apropos to this view is the remark made by a “ Protestant Episcopalian” in the Christian Intelligencer , with reference to the baptismal service of the Prayer Book : “ That service used by a man who regards himself as a literal priest, made so by the laying on of the hands of a man, who received the ordain ing gifts from another, and he from another, back to the apostles, and in an unbroken line, and that line possessing this undefined mystic power exclusively and unalterably, and a pe culiar Divine grace attached to ordinances ad ministered by one so ordained, that service becomes an instrument of dangerous anti- Christian error, and it is this error which is dividing, distracting and threatening with de struction the Episcopal church.” Church Ventilation. “ Are we not ventilating all the time ? Do we not cut great holes in the ceilings and make the windows to open ? Indeed, is not great attention paid to ventilation ? ” Cer tainly, great attention, is paid to contriving escape for heat and admission of cold, which may perhaps be wastiful wjien coal is dear. But that surely is nOt ventilation. Ventila tion lets fresh air in and foul air out. Do your holes in the ceiling do that 1 They let some fresh air in, but they do not let foul air out. We were taught at school that a multi tude of people carbonize the air. Carbonic acid is the heaviest of the gases. How can that get to the holes in the ceiling? Were there no ceiling it would make no difference. A multitude in one of our close churches would perish of suffocation even then from foul air. But make hole* in the floor. Let the bad air out. It will take itself away, and save you all the hopeless trouble and expense of lifting it to the roof, whence, like Sisy phus’ stone, it would only fall back again. Wasted Lives. —The famous author of the “ Schonberg Cotta Family ” manages to put ideas and sentiments into the mouths of her speakers which are good for rr.pny of us, and worth remembering. As, for instance, in her last book, the remark is made. “In the lan guage of men, many lives aiv said to be wasted on the battle-field; lam not sure but, in the language of angels, lives are said to be wasted in easy and luxurious hoi es.” WHOLE NO. 2331. - ffeuehg. Waiting. I long for household voices gone, For vanished smiles I long; But God hath led my dear ones on, And He can do no wrong. I know not what the future hath Os marvel or surprise ; Assured alone that life and death His mercy underlies. And if my heart and flesh are weak To bear an untried pain, The bruised reed He will not break, But strengthen and sustain. And so beside the silent sea I wait the muffled oar; No harm from Him can come to me On ocean or on shore. I know not where his islands lift Their fronted palms in air; I only know I can not drift Beyond His love and care. And 0, dear Lord, by whom are seen Thy creatures as they ho, Forgive me, if too close I lean Sly human heart on thee! Whittier. All’s Well. The day is ended. Ere I sink to sleep My weary spirit seeks repose in thine ; Father, forgive my trespasses, and keep This little life of mine. With loving kindness curtain thou my bed, And cool in rest my burning pilgrim feet; Thv pardon be the pillow for my head— So shall my sleep be sweet. At peace with all the world, dear Lord, and Thee, No fears my soul’s unwavering faith can shake ; All’s well! whichever side the grave for me The morning light may break! Servants of Christ. In the commencement of a work of grace in a New England village, the minister of Christ preached from Rom. xii. 1: “ I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” After forcibly pre senting the duty required in the text, and ex horting his Christian hearers to be faithful to its requirements, he requested all the mem bers of the church who were resolved thus to devote themselves to Christ to rise up in the congregation. One sister, at least, declined thus to express such a purpose. She gave as her reason, that it is a great thing to give one’s self a living sacrifice to God, and she did not feel prepared to manifest a readiness thus to do. Still she had been for years a member of the church, came regularly to the communion table, and professed to enjoy re ligion ! How imperfect must have been her notions of the entire surrender to Christ, which is always included in a true profession of Christianity ! — Christian Era. Personal Influence. Blessed influence of one true, loving human soul on another ! Not calculable by, algebra —not dedbcible by logic,, but mysterious, effectual, mighty as the hidden process by which the tiny seed is quickened, and bursts forth into tall stem and broad leaf, and glow ing tasseled flower. Ideas are often poor ghosts; our sun-filled eyes cannot discern them; they pass athwart us in thin vapor, and can not make themselves felt. But some times they are made flesh; they touch us with soft, responsive hands; they look at us with sad, sincere eyes, and speak to us in ap pealing tones; they are clothed in a living human soul, with all its conflicts, its faith, and its love. Then their presence is a power; then they shake us like a passion, and we are drawn after them with gentle compulsion, as flame is drawn to flame.— Blackwood. Social Worship in Thibet. There exists at Shassa a touching custom, which we were in some sort jealous of finding among infidels. In the evening, as soon as the light declines, the Thibetan men, women, and children cease from all business, and assemble in the principal parts of the city, and in the public squares. As soon as the groups are formed, every one sits down on the ground and begins slowly to chant his prayers in an undertone; and the religions concert produces an immense and solemn harmony throughout the city, powerfully affecting to the soul. The first time we heard it we could not help mak ing a sorrowful comparison between this pagan town, where all prayer is common, and the cities of Europe, where the people would blush to make the sign of the cross in public. Hue. Christian, Obey Your Orders. —How many victories have been lost because subor dinates considered the orders of their supe riors unreasonable or unwise ! “ Sire,” said the Marshal to Napoleon, “ it is impossible to lead the troops by the route you have pointed out.” “ Let me see the order,” said Napo leon. He took it, read it, returned it, and only said, “ That is your order ; execute it.” He did execute it; and the army of Napo leon was bearing the victorious eagles of France across the plains of Lombardy within two weeks. ___________ Effective Hearing. —Effective preaching is called for in all the churches. How pa thetic every one grows in telling the need of it! But how little one hears of effective hear ing! Yet effective hearing is half the secret of effective preaching. The hearers make half the preachers—alas! unmake them, too. Who can preach to shut eyes and yawning mouths 1 Who to those that care nothing for His word ? Who to those that hear only a bit of His truth, and go forth to misrepresent that as the whole ? Christ All in All. —ls we have remission of sins, it is through the blood of Christ; it we have a title to an immortal inheritance, it is through His life ; if we rejoice in hope of everlasting glory, it is because He has entered that glory for us. The presence, the favor ot Christ, constitutes the daylight of the Chris tian, in which he walks and in which he works. R. Hall. Prayer. —Prayer draws all the Christian graces into its focus. It draws Charity, wit h her lovely train ; Repentance, with her holy sorrows; Faith, with her elevated eye 9; Hope, with her grasped anchor ; Beneficence, with her open hands; Zeal, looking far and wide to bless; and Humility,looking at home. Hannah More. Looking Upward. —He who seldom thinks of Heaven is not likely to get there: as the way to hit a mark is to keep the eye fixed upon it.— Bishop Horne. The Past. —God demands an account of the. past, and this we must render hereafter; He demands an improvement of the past, and this we must attend to now.— Jay.