Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST. VOL. 48-NO. 47. A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER, PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, QA TERMS.—CIubs of Four, ($3.00 each) per annum...sl2 00 Clubs of Three. ($3.33 each) per annum... 10.00 Clubs of Two, (3.50 each) per annum 7.00 Single Subscriber 4.00 J. J. TOO IN, Proprietor. “And They also which Pierced Him.” Not I, my Lord, not I! How cou and I pierce, with oruel dart Os angry thought, of hard and haughty cry Os pride, that broken heart I Say not 'twaa I. How could I these poor eyes Uplift to that thorn-crowned brow, If, with most keen and sad surprise, A look should say, “ ’Twas thou f” Could'l arise From pang like that, and straight Reach out, toar-blind with shame, and cling To that dear, wounded Hand, and wait The healing it can bring, To hear, “ Too late,” Fall sadly down to me, From lips once smitten dumb with pain f “ Too late I Earth’s sorrowing ones to thee, How long hare called in vain, And wearily, “ With hurt unhealed, their feet Still tread the toilsome way, wherein No cooling brook, nor blossom sweet, Nor summer’s bird is seen, The heart to greet. “ To win thy thought to those Whose gardens no glad flowers bear, I gently broke one clinging rose From thino, so full, so fair, But one white rose ! “Thy bosom filled with woel No room for any sorer heart To lean and hide its tears, ah, no! Thou, sullen, sat’st apart, And wouldst not know “ The voice that tenderly , Breathed ever at thy sido, ’Tis I, Sweet soul 1 Do but rise up to seo ! ’Tis thy Lord’s hand doth lie, In love, on thee! “Then didst thou pierce me. Then Still closer press the cruel crown Upon my brow, and wound again The hand thou dasbedst down In thy wild pain.” ’Twas I, my Lord; too late I weep 1 ' But when I trembling come, And timid, touch the shining gate, And one sweet Presence—one— KnceliDg, I wait; There let these eyes on Thine But rest, while tears wash white and free From every hurt and crimson line, The hand that saveth me! My Jesus, mine! —Annie B. C. Keene. I Slimmed not to declare the whole Counsel of God. Some parts of the truth are more conge nial to us, or more popular with our hearers. These we are in danger of presenting, to the exclusion of others. Not so did Paul. lie shunned not to declare the whole counsel ol God; and held back nothing that was profit able. Truth, only partially presented, may amount to error and falsehood. A traveller, met by a highwayman, by coolness and adroitness, rescues himself by shooting tho robber down. Two, who testify to the homicide—either be cause they are accomplices, or because they witnessed only a part of the transaction—may depose only that they saw the prisoner at the bar draw a pistol and shoot the victim down ; and he, who is justified by the law both of God and man, suffers the fate of a murderer. So with the truth as it is in Jesus. Preached out of its proportions it may be pernicious; and out of its connections and relations, it may be falsehood. Let Christ’s humanity be exhibited without its union with His divini ty, and our Saviour, under our ministrations, will become a mere man—useful to us per haps as an example, but utterly incompetent to work out for us a perfect righteousness: Insist upon His divinity, and deny its myste rious union with humanity, and we utterly reject llis vicarious obedience for us; since divinity cannot be a substitute for us, and cannot suffer in our stead. God’s sovereign ty taught without man’s free-agenoy and ac countability, may throw upon the Holy Sove reign the responsibility of human crimes, and lull the sinner into a state of unconcern waiting until God shall take the initiative in his salvation: Human duty taught not in conjunction with divine purpose and divine agency, may puff men up in a conceit of their ability; and effect a pretended salvation of works. Divine grace insisted upon to the exclusion of human obligation and obedience, may abrogate God’s law as a rule of life; and encourage men—under the plea that they are not under the law but under grace—to continue in their sin that grace may abound. Doctrines taught, and experience and prac tice neglected, may make men speculative, perhaps polemic Christians: Experience and practice insisted upon to the neglect of the great foundation principles of doctrine, and men will be destitute of the stamina of the gospel, ready to be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. The promises and the privileges of the gospel insisted upon to the total neglect of the duties, may fire the heart with gratitude and joy, but will seldom lead to self denial, to cross-bearing and to sturdy and persistent labor in the vineyard of the Lord. The moral and the spiritual pro claimed to the ignoring of the positive insti tutions of God’s house, and the church will come to nothing; and God’s impressive sym bols, designed to preach Jesus to the eye, will be entirely discarded. Let the ordinan ces be taken out of their places and their proportions, and we degenerate into the su perstition and folly of sacramental and ritu alistic salvation. But we need not multiply examples. As God’s ministers, we should preach the truth; as far as possible, the whole truth; and, invariably, nothing but the truth. If not on our guard, we may preach ourselves and not Christ Jesus, the Lord ; we may tes tify about science and art and thus speak in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth; we may speak on sensational themes, and cater to the public prejudices; we may even de grade ourselves by dabbling in politics, and converting the sanctuary into a club house, and the pulpit into the platform of the hust ings. In any of these cases, how pitiable will be the spectacle ! Rather let Paul’s profes sion be invariably our rule, “1 am deter mined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” P. H. Mell. Church Order. ’ I propose, in a series of brief articles, a resume of Church Order—a definition' and distinction of the offices, constituents, and au tho;ity of the church and churches of Jesus Christ. The method of discussion will be to adduce in illustration of each topic the Scrip tures supposed to bear upon it, and to offer a common sense interpretation of each as it arises. Elaborate treatises, of great merit already indeed exist, but they are not in the reach of all your readers, aud the subject, if I mistake not, calls for abundant attention. Views upon one topic, at least, will be pre sented which are not commonly accepted by our denomination. Upon this and all other topics the severest criticism is invoked,*if in vdeed this discussion rise into a plane elevated enough to deserve the notice of adepts in theology. “Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me, FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1869. it shall be an excellent oil, that shall not break my head.” Accustomed to tread, for the most part, in the steps of my seniors and superiors, I shall for once ignore supposed authority, and unfettered, give my opinions fearlessly. Scheme: I. Elders. 1. Apos tles. 2. Evangelists. 3. Pastors or Bishops. If. Other Ministers. 1. Deacons. 2. Dea conesses. 3. Temporary Servants. 111. Church. 1. Churches. 2. Councils. The terms capitalized, designate genera, those italicised, species. Species embrace all the attributes of the genera to which they be long, with several additional, marking a dis tinction between them. These distinctive peculiarities define the species. My readers will excuse this little touch of science, and receive assurance that technicalities shall be avoided as much as possible, and the simplest methods employed, so as to embarrass no one. With a prayer, that this humble offering may contribute to evolve truth and bring it out into salience, so as to be recognized by the discipleship at large, I address myself in the next number to the ascertainment of the true idea of the Christian Eldership, and ot the rest of the constituents of the church, in order. E. B. Teague. The Index : Power of the Press. I was induced by brother Abram Harman, of Savannah, to subscribe for the “ Columbian Star,” in the year 1832, before I became a church member. I was influenced mainly, if not entirely, by a wish to send it to my ven erated and long since sainted father, by whose door a stage passed frequently at that time. Finding that he was already a subscriber, I regretted having paid my money for the pa per, and resolved to stop it at the end of the subscription term. I neglected to do this, in time, and so had to pay for it another term, but; determined not to be guilty of such an other oversight. Before that term passed I learned to love it, and from that time until now I have taken and read, it through all its changes and under all its names. To me it has been better at times, but always good, f am conscious of having derived from it much in struction and comfort during the past thirty seven years; and how much influence it has had of which 1 am not conscious, eternity must develop. In 1834-5 I preached (in my thoughts and feelings I mean) while I ploughed, split rails, and made fences ; but I feared awfully, at times, to open my mouth in the work, lest it should be said to me, “who hath required this at your hand ?” or, “what hast thou to do to declare my statutes'?” The question of duty on the subject was painfully troublesome. 1 had not the remarkable evidences of a call to the ministry which I had heard of in the cases of others. No remarkable dreams, visions, or voices, were vouchsafed to me. No trees fell before or behind me to stop or to urge me on, only as I felled them with my own axe; and but for the assistance I found in frequent communications which appeared in the paper at that time, on tho evidences of a call to the ministry, and the affectionate en couragement of brother Isaao Smith, of Washington Association, I know not what I should have done. It seems to me, as I think of it now, that without the assistance of the Christian Index, I might never have entered the gospel field. Possibly, ’twould have been b»|. zr if I had not, f have be- nos any U#e ; or shall be hereafter, it is attributable, in no small degree, under God, to the Index. It lias seemed to me remarkable, that the subject of a call to the ministry should have been so frequently discussed in the paper at that time, and scarcely ever since. I want your “Memorial Record.” D. G. Daniell. How It Is. This is a stirring age, and the servants of the Redeemer may be in danger of giving undue prominence to the active duties of life, to the neglect of prayerful meditation. I would not, for a moment, object to activity and z>al in the prosecution of our religious enterprises; but I would, i*' possible, guard against carrying too much of a secular spirit into our work. We cannot, it is true, hope for success in turning men from darkness to light unless we labor earnestly with that end in view; but then we are not to take it for granted that satisfactory results will follow because we have been diligent in the use of means. Our efforts will really amount to nothing unless we have the blessing of God upon them. The work which the Saviour has placed before His servants is specific, and yet it is quite sufficient to fill their hands and absorb their means. The great work of the church, as given in the commission, is “to preach the gospel to evory creature,”—to evangelize the world. Now, mark, it is to preach, or cry the gospel —to proclaim it in the most public manner, so that all may hear it. The field to be oc cupied is the world, and we need have no fear of going beyond our territorial limits. Every nation, and every creature of every nation, must hear the word of salvation; and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is re sponsible for the work of sending it to them. “ Go ye into all the world,” is ringing in our ears like an alarm-bell, and yet how small the number of those who have obeyed its solemn call! We have seminaries for the education of young ministers, and when they come forth “ thoroughly furnished ” for their work, do we find them crowding the decks of outward bound vessels, going in search of these “other sheep which are not of this fold?” Whatever may be found true in the future, such has not been the fact in the past; but our young Timothies seek city pastorates aud exhibit their missionary zeal at our anni versaries, in pleading earnestly for the heat hen, stretching forth hands neatly enveloped in kid gloves of the latest patterns and most approved colors, besides exhibiting other per sonal decorations, equal in value to a mis sionary’s outfit, and some of them even wear ing gold rings which would buy the whole of John the Baptist’s wardrobe, not excepting the girdle of skin about his loins. But what can we expect more of the Tim othies when we attend to the example of our modern Pauls and Peters, the leaders of our sacramental hosts? True, they talk and write about sacrifices for the sake of the gos pel, but who of us are making any? Who of our great lights curtail the expenses of their tables aud wardrobes because “the whole world lieth in the arms of the wicked one?” Certainly we do not intend to be insincere in our talking and writing in behalf of missions, but is not that the appearance which we pre sent to others? Are there not men and money enough in our Baptist Zion to send the gospel into all the world ? Might not the gospel be preached to the whole world in twelve months, if all our means could be made available ? Why, then, is it not done? The answer given by our Boards in every number of the Macedo nian and Record and the Home and Foreign Journal, is, “ we have neither the men nor the means.” Now let us, one and all, come to the bar of conscience and answer the ques tion, “ Why have not the Boards the men aftd the means?” When we do this the fol lowing must be the answer: “Because lam not willing to make the sacrifices which obedi ence to the commission requires. 1 and my family must move in a certain circle, and to support the style required we must have money, and although my jnoome appears large, it is pretty much absorbed in meeting contingent expenses.” Wo will suppose our blessed Saviour vis iting one of the pastors of our wealthy and fashionable churches, tapping at his study doer with the inquiry, “ What doest thou here, Elijah 1 ?” "He finds the pastor seated in a cushioned arm-chair, wrapped in a neat study-gown, a jaunty' little study-cap on his intellectual head, his feet encased in a neat pair of embroidered slippers and a pure Ha vanna cigar in his mouth. “ Doing!” replies the astonished pastor; “ obe.ying the commis sion, of course, and what with the sacrifices I have to make and the trials to which I am continually subjected, a hard time I have of it, to be sure.” Os course the Saviour passes on, and leaves the pastor to his self-sacrificing work and his fragrant Havana. He next taps at the counting-room door ot one of our Baptist merchant princes, with the double inquiry, “ What doest thou and what hast thou here?” “ What am I doing ? Laboring night and day to make money enough to support my family and keep up our church. To the question what have I here ? I answer that my taxable property is only two or three hundred thousand dollars, and when you consider what an expensive family I have, and the very large amounts I give to the cause of benevolence, you can well imagine that I have a hard time of it; but you will please retire now, as our firm is to meet directly to consider the propriety of building a marble store room on Main street.” “One or two more questions, if you please,” says the visitor, “ before I retire, and then I will leave you to resume your labors. First, How much owest thou unto my Lord? and, secondly, How much dost thou give to His cause?” “Owe! Really you must be a stranger in these parts; for it is well known that 1 never go into debt. No, sir; l pay as I go, so I do not oive anything to any one. To your second question, I beg leave to say that I think it a great privilege to give, and I do give liberally. In the first place, my family will have a choice pew at church, and I have to pay two hundred and fifty dollars for that, and theu I have to start our sub scription to missions, and that costs me fifty dollars more. I will say, however, that if our firm decides to build on Main street, 1 shall have to cut down my subscription to missions another year.” Reader, what do you suppose Jesus thinks of the two representative men at whose doors He has been tapping? Occasional. Are we Missionaries ? We are called missionaries. What does missionary mean? Favoring missions; i. spreading the gospel. It was assumed in contradistinction to anti-missionary, or oppo sition to missions. What do we give to pub lish the gospel? The churches usually, through this section, contribute nothing— unusually, they contribute from 81 to 820 por annum. A church sending up 820, we say, does comparatively well. Let us see. This same church, according a moderate esti mate, will spend in one year: For Whiskey, S2OO Tobacco 300 Superfluous dressing 500 Support of dogs. 300 Carnal contingents 100 Total $1,400 Thus is consumed upon the lusts of this missionary!?) church 81,400, and the pitiful sum of 820 given for missions! Are we missionaries? Let us extend the test. The W. Missionary Baptist Association, composed of 43 churches and a membership of 4,300, sent up for missions, in 1869, 8414. Upon a low estimate, the same membership wastes in one year: For Whiskey $ 8,000 Tobacco.. 12,000 Superfluous dressing. 20,000 Support of dogs 12,000 Unnecessary contingents 4,000 Total $56,000 An Association o f Christians, “ bought ” Christians, and bought with “ blood,” and that “ precious,” expending foolishly 856,000, and giving 8400 to send the Word of Life to perishing heathen ! Alas ! are we missiona ries? Our money is lavished upon our lusts, while but a pittance is given to spread the “glad tidings of great joy.” We are prodi gal in numerous expenditures, but niggardly in giving to Him who loved us ftnd gave Himself for us! “O Lord, we have sinned, and to us belongeth confusion of face.” “Be merciful to us and bless us, and cause Thy face to shine upon us ; that Thy way be known upon earth, and Thy saving health among all nations.” J. H. H. “ The Wrong Man Fired Into.” We are pleased to learn that the S. C. Advocate disclaims the authorship of the ar ticle on the Baptism of the Eunuch, which we recently reviewed, and that “it was only a waif which he picked up somewhere with out knowing where it originated, and inserted, unfortunately for his pacifio character, with out credit.” “Not proposing to enter on a controversy with T. B. Cooper, or any body else, on non-essential questions,” he says neither yea nor nay to any of our strictures, but simply noting that we “did not undertake to show that Philip and the eunuch were not both immersed because they both went into the water,” and averring that “he is satisfied with such a water baptism as typifies the Pentecostal baptism of the Spirit, which was ‘poured out’ and ‘shed forth’ upon the people ‘till they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,’ ” he “turns us over to whomsoever” we “may find, who has time to squander upon ‘meats and drinks,’ forgetting that the kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.” We did not really think it necessary to prove that Philip and the eunuch were not both immersed, from the fact that Luke says Philip immersed the eunuch after they went down into the water. If th q Advocate has never seen these two Scriptural acts [going into the water and then immersing ) beautifully and impressively illustrated, he can even now witness them by going a few steps from his office, where Bishop Warren first goes down into the water with the willing and happy be liever in Jesus, and then immerses him into the name of the Holy Trinity. Perhaps we would not be surprised that he is satisfied with a “water baptism that ‘typifies’ the Pentecostal baptism of-the Spirit, which was poured out and shed forth till they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,” if we could find only a little Scriptural authority for such a baptism, or by any means derive it from the meaning of the word (baptizo,) but we fail do this, even by “an excruciating torture of the language.” We find, indeed, where the Holy Spirit is figuratively said to be “poured out,” but know of no instance were He was sprinkled upon any one, or where water was either poured or sprinkled upon any person, as a type of the poured out or sprinkled Holy Spirit. We want light from the Advocate just here. The description of the Pentecostal baptism is in the following words, by Luke : “And suddenly there came a souud from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting—and they were all filled with the Hol v Ghost.” Since the house was filled and they were filled, it looks to us very much like an “immersioti** of “the people.” But, says the Advocate, the Holy Ghost was poured out and the water must be poured out. Very well, let that be as it may, “the people” ifyre and must be immersed. For so they were baptized (im mersed) by the Holy Gho9t, and in the Holy Ghost, and, if you pleasg, with the Holy Ghost. Let us interpret the following verse, Acts 1 : 5, prophetic of the Pentecostal bap tism : “For John truly baptized (baptizo) with (en) water, but ye shall be baptized (bap tizo) with (en) the Holy Ghost, not many days hence.” 1. John truly immersed (baptizo) in (en) water, but ye shall be immersed (baptizo) in (en) the Holy Ghost. 2, John truly pour ed (ekkeo) in or with (en) water, but ye shall be poured (ekkeo) in or with (en) the Holy Ghost. 3. John truly sprinkled (raino) in or with (en) water, but ye wall be sprinkled (raino) in or with (en) the Holy Ghost, not many days hence. Now, dear reader, observe that we not only destroy the sense, almost to irreverence, by using the tisprds poured and sprinkled for baptized, ’ u-i *Bt e.compelled to substitute other word? fffckeu and raino) which are never stance, in the Bible to denctfe the act of bap tism. Pouring and sprinkling are then out of the question. We cannot make them an swer, even by “the most excruciating torture of language.” The Advocate “has no time to squander upon non-essential questions and meats and drinks.” Our Saviour, when He insisted on being baptized by John, said : “Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomtlh tis to fulfill all righteousness.” He also said : “He that be lieveth and is baptized shall be saved.” Pe ter said : “Repent and be baptized every one of you.” If these Scriptures mean anything, and baptism is immersion, as the word plainly shows, what will be the (.ite of those who substitute in its place sprinkling and pour ing ? And of those who say it is nought— a meat, a drink, a non-essential ? T. B. Cooper. Gonyers, Ga., Nou. 17, 1369. It Ends iu Light. And His banner over me was lore.— Song of Solomon iu 4. I say to thee, do thou repeat To the first man thou mayest meet In lane, highway, or open street— Thai he, and we, and all men move Under a canopy of lore, As broad as the blue sky abore; That doubt and trouble, fear and pain, And anguish, all are shadows rain ; That death itself shall not remain; That weary deserts we nr-y tread, A dreary labyrinth we may thread, Through dark ways undq)ground be led ; Yet if we will our guide'>bey, Tho dreariest path, the darkest way, Shall issue out in hearer.ly day. One thing further,inilke him know — That to beliere these things are so, This firm faith nerer to forego— Despite of all which seems at strife With blessing, all with curses rife— That this is blessing, this is life. — E. C. Trsnch. A Question. If a man obey God, doe* he not do well ? “Six days shult thou labor and do all thy work,” is the command : ari-.'! a man work six days I isobeying Him; and if we have .a two days’ a four days’ meeting, a protracted meeting, or any week day meeting, are we not violating that com mand ? Did not Paul labor in the week, obeying that command, and preach on the Lord’s day ? Jle thus protracted a meeting at Corinth for “a year and six month ;” and Luke, in one modest sentence reports the re sults : “And many of the Corinthians, hear ing, believed, and were baptized.” Ido not say that no circumstances will justify week day meetings; but I think it deferential to Jehovah that He should create the circum stances. The great sin of well-meaning peo ple is the unbidden practice of adding to God’s instrumentalities for saving men. If the “Bible is a sufficient rule of faith and practice,” let us stick to it, ar.d remain at Je rusalem ; but if not, let us add tradition to it, and go on to Rome. H. E. T. Mercer University. As the question of the removal of Mercer University is still before the denomination, I propose to offer a few suggestions upon the subject. There is a question lying back of removal, the answer to which may aid in the settlement of that “vexed question.” Firsts then, is a Baptist University in Georgia desirable ? lam aware that there are some Baptists who will give a negative answer to this question ; but 1 think it may bo safely assumed, that nine tenths of the de nomination will, in their seeret min 3, answer it affirmatively. Moreover, I think the latter answer the correct one, and I shall offer two reasons.for the opinion. 1. Our denomination, in Georgia, has been very greatly benefitted already by Mercer University. We are, iq great measure, in debted to it for an enlightened ministry. The writer i3 not an old man, and yet he can re member when educated men in the Baptist pulpit constituted the exceptions and not the rule. Outside of the cities, when Mercer was founded, Baptist churches were supplied with preachers of strong native sense, but of very little learning ; and hence a great many important places were left uuoccupied by our denomination, for the want of suitable men to hold them. Now, however, our ministry will compare favorably, in point of learning, with that of any other denomination, thanks to the founders and supporters of Mercer University. The graduates of this institu tion are filling our most important pulpits, and are found competing successfully with the graduates of similar places of learning, in the various professions and avocations of life. But the influence of Mercer does not stop at this point, but extends throughout the whole membership of our churches. Many of them have been wholly or partially educated at the University, or in schools taught by her graduates, so that it is difficult to say where her influence is not felt. The good accom plished in the past, by Mercer, justifies the wisdom of our Baptist fathers in establishing and endowing it; and, doubtless, this is the verdict of a very large majority of the de nomination. 2. But the University is a greater necessity now than when it first entered upon its career of usefulness. The Baptists have not reach ed their present position of influence and re spectability without having to give battle in defence of their peculiar doctrines and prac tices ; and it is highly probable that the con flict in the future will be much sharper and sterner than in the past. Religious progress necessarily evokes a war of ideas, and in our conflicts with the friends and supporters of error, we shall need, not only a trained and enlightened ministry, but an educated mem bership also—men who will sustain the min istry in their aggressions upon the strongholds of error. Where shall this training be giv en ? Can we expect it from institutions whol ly or partially under the supervision of the adherents and advocates of error ? Can it be obtained in institutions controlled and wielded by the very men most inimical to our principles and practices ? In the not very remote future, the whole responsibility of maintaining the truth as it is in Jesus may rest upon Baptists—the responsibility of maintaining it against superstitions which have grown grey by reason of age. We be lieve that Romanists are in the grossest error, and that there is danger from their aggres sions in more senses than one ; and yet when we shall come in conflict with the champions of this venerable hierarchy we shall have to meet men who will possess all the advantages which the most perfect training can confer; and to battle with them successfully we shall need ministers of great learning, and of the most enlightened and invincible courage. But if we are to have such men then we must train them, under circumstances which will insure not only their thorough education, but their fidelity to the views which we entertain in re gard to doctrine and practice. If these views are correct, then we reach the inevitable con clusion that we need and must have a Baptist University in the State. Now, if we need and must have a Baptist University in Georgia, the removal of Mer cer ceases to be a question of expediency, and becomes one of existence. It is no longer a matter of choice as to locations, but between fracing a University, or none at all. The fact is admitted on all hands, that Mercer is on the decline, that it is gradually wasting away, and that its existence is seriously threatened. Its past success cannot stop this slow but cer tain decay, but we are called upon to find a remedy now, which shall be effective. If a man, ouee healthy and robust, falls ill, and is wasting away at the rate of four pounds per week, the fatal termination of his disease is only a question of time, unless a remedy can be found ; and if the physicians, having the ease in charge, should announce that the only remedy is to remove the patient to some other locality, would not his friends at once favor the step? Would they not make haste to tear him away from the scenes of his hap py childhood, and of his bright young man hood, and all the hallowed associations of the past ? Yes, for what are these, when the pa tient is no more ? What, then, are the facts in regard to Mer cer University ? It has fallen ill, and in spite of all lhat ean be done, it slowly but certain ly declines, until anxiety is depicted upon the countenances of all who reverence it as their Alma Mater. We have there a Faculty of unquestioned ability—men of great learning and sound practical sense—-men who have the confidence of the denomination ; we have att endowment fund amounting to more than one hundred thousand dollars; we have a white membership numbering at least sixty thousand—one thirtieth of whom have sons to educate, and who are being educated; and were all these youths in our University we would be able to number fifteen hundred stu dents ; and yet, with all these decided advan tages, the institution is slowly decaying, and at t!ie present rate of decline, will, in a few years, be numbered with the things that were. Here is the plain and unvarnished statement of facts; and now what is to be done ? What is the remedy? What do the doctors (the Trustees and Faculty) advise ? They tell us, after the most careful diagnosis, that removal from its present location is the remedy, and their words and looks betray the truth that they regard it as the only remedy. Nor are they alone in this opinion, but the thought ful ir.tJ-obseTv ing all over tho State are grad ually coming to the same conclusion. If the University must be removed in order to insure its recovery, will any of its friends say “No; let it die. where it is, and be buried amid the scenes of its former labors?” Certainly, its enemies could desire no more than this; but will its friends, with all the facts before them, advise such a course ? Will those who love it, such as our venerable and beloved brother Stocks, clinging to the pleasant associations of the past, prefer its death to its removal? Surely, surely not; but they will say as God did to Abraham, “ Get thee out from this land, and from thy people, to a land which I will show thee.” It may be objected, that I have presented an extreme view of the condition of the ques tion, but “facts” are said to be “stubborn things.” Fairplat. Layard’s Confirmations of Scripture. After ail the attention that has been given to Layard’s discoveries among the ruins of Nineveh, we doubt whether the public mind is fully aware of the nature and extent of the confirmation which they bring to the truth of Scriptu-e. It may be useful hero to set out in the briefest form a specimen of some of the general results of those discoveries. They show, in conformity with the tenor of Scripture, that the earliest ages were not, as many think, barbarous ages; but that the race of men, originally enlightened from a divine source, had, at first, a high degree of knowledge, which they gradually lost through their defection to idolatry. It has been dem onstrated by these excavations, not only that a high state of the arts existed in Nineveh a thousand years before Christ, but also, that in the earliest ages of that city, dating but a few centuries from the flood, their sculptures were the best. In this remarkable result the Egyptian and Syrian antiquities also agree. It is also proved, contrary to the general impression, that idolatry was introduced when men had better knowledge of the true God than afterwards prevailed ; that it did not grow up as a religion of nature, by the inef fectual attempts of men to find the true God. But it was introduced as an expedient of men in order to obscure what knowledge of God they possessed, because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. This is shown in s the fact that the earliest representations of God found in these sculptures are the best, and immeasurably exceed everything of the kind existing in after ages; especially in their approach to the true idea of God. So that idolatry came in, not for want of light, but by an abuse of light. Men, knowing God, became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. The Scripture accounts of the great an* tiquity of Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire agree with these records dug out of the ruins of Nineveh. The Scriptures date the build ing of the city not long after the flood ; and by the fact that the same marble materials have been used in successive structures, and that ancient buildings have been placed on the ruins of those still more ancient, and other unmistakable indications, the conclusion is made clear, that the city had all the an tiquity which the Scriptures ascribe to it. These monuments also bear upon them the records of the fulfillment of prophecy. Na hum prophesied that the city would be plun dered of all its treasures, so that none would be left. Layard has found, in all his exca vations, nothing in the form of gold and sil ver; a fact which is remarkable, if the city had not been plundered before it was burnt. The prophet foretold that the invaders w’ould obtain easy access to some portions of the city, and that w herever the inhabitants should resort to the strongholds, these should be burnt. Now the ruins show just this result —that some parts of the city were destroyed by fire, and others escaped. But a more striking confirmation is found in the fact, that inscriptions on the ruins of one of the palaces give the records of the military career of Sennacherib, with just such a series of conquests, and just such a boast ing of them, as the Scriptures ascribe to him. For instance, the Bible tells us that Heze kiah rebelled against tho King of Assyria; that in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib came up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took from Heze kiah three hundred talents of silver and thir ty of gold. Now compare this with the his torical inscription on Sennacherib’s palace: “Because Hezekiah, King of Judah, did not submit to my yoke, 1 took and plundered forty-six of his strong fenced cities, and in numerable smaller towns, but I left him Je rusalem, his capital oity ; and because Heze kiah still refused to pay homage, I attacked and carried off the whole population which dwelt around Jerusalem, with thirty talents of gold and eight hundred talents of silver.” This agrees with the Bible account, except in respect to the quantity of silver. As to this, the one account may describe what was deliv ered by Hezekiah, and the other the whole product of his plunder. One chamber of Sennacherib’s palace pre sents, in sculptures and inscriptions, the siege of the Jewish city of Lachish. The King is sculptured in royal pomp, oil his throne, and over his head is the inscription ; “ Sennache rib, the mighty King, King of the country of. Assyria, sitting on the throne of'judgment before the city of Lachish ; 1 give permission for its slaughter.” In the Scriptures, the de struction of the city of Lachish is represent ed to have been his most difficult work ; and, of course, it was a victory on which he would most plume himself, as these sculptures show that he did. Another coincidence appears in this, that in the historical sculptures there are marks of a sudden and final interruption of the work, such as would naturally follow from a violent death of the king, as is described in the Bible. In the ruins of Babylon there is no sculp tured marble. The city was built, all of brick. Yet the bricks often have characters stamped upon them. In one instance a huge palace is formed of bricks thus stamped, and the same eharacteis repeated, one above an other; and these characters exhibit the name of “ Nebuchadnezzar.” The prominent char acteristic of Nebuchadnezzar was his pride — such as was revealed in that speech : “ Is not this great Babylon that 1 have built by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty ?” Now these ruins of the palace, in every brick of them, give just tlte echo of that boasting speech. Thus, after so many centuries, God has brought forth, from the ruins of the cities, voices in response, to what the inspired penmen had recorded so many centuries before. Elevation of Cluirch Piety. The Conference of German Baptist Church es, Canada, at it-; late session, adopted the following paper: It is our conviction that the church of Christ is, aooording to the Word of God, a sanctua ry which must not be defiled. It is not a human, but a Divine institution. In the Now Testament it is denominated “a Temple,” “the body of Jesus Christ,” etc., and there fore he that defiies the sanctuary of God will not go unpunished. Every sin against the church is a sin against the body of Christ, which is made up of the members of the chuich. Hence, to elevate the,church we deem it indispensable — 1. That we as ministers acknowledge it to be our duty publicly and privately to in struct our members in regard to the nature, the design and the dignity of the church, and endeavor to have all the resolves and en gagements of the church most carefully ob served. 2. It is the most sacred duty of every member to be present if possible, at every meeting for business or edification. Resolu tions should be passed only after earnestly imploring the aid of the Holy Spirit, and then they should be deemed binding on every member.- In case of the exercise of disci pline, it should be inflicted with the deepest sorrow, and its justice solemnly acknowledged by every member, and then the excluded should be treated according to the Word of God. (2 Thess. iii: 14, 15—“ Note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count, hitn not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”) 3. It is the most sacred duty of every member to strive by a holy walk and con versation to be an ornament to the church. Particularly should the older members be an example to the younger by their godly walk, their ?eal in the cause of God, their love, , their self-denial and their willingness to make ‘sacrifices for the church. Too often the in fluence of the older members in the church acts like a corrupt leaven, spoiling all around. 4. We have learned by sad experience that nothing is more injurious to a church than a wrong use of the tongue. We should there fore particularly guard against talebearers and slanderers, who, Hke owls, do their de structive work in the dark. No member should entertain any report received from another member respecting a third person, but should at once call his attention to Matt, xviii: 15-18. The church will be holy only when we keep holy the commands of God. 5. We know by experience that if a thing costs nothing it is lightly esteemed. Hence every, church should teach its members from the beginning not only to enjoy the blessings ®f God’s house, but also to help bear its bur dens. The proverb holds good here—“ Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined.” Ministerial Concentration. Plutarch remarks, “There was in the whole city of Athens but one street in which Pericles was ever seen; the street which led to the market-place and the forum. He de clined all invitations to banquets and all gay assemblies and company ; during the whole period of his administration he never dined at the table of a friend !” Said one to a Roths child, “ I hope your children are not too fond of money and business. I am sure you would not wish that!” “I am sure that I should wish that” said the great banker; “ I wish them to give mind, soul, heart and body to business; that is the way to be hap py ! It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make a fortune, and when you have got it it requires ten times as much wit to keep it. If 1 were to listen to all the projects proposed to me, I should ruin myself very soon.” “ Stick to one busi ness, young man, stick to your brewery,” said he to young Buxton, “and you will bo the great brewer of London. Be brewer, and banker, and merchant, and manufacturer, and you will soon be bankrupt.” These are maxims from the business world. Jf the world demands such concentration in its vo taries, how much more the business of God 1 Exclusive should be the devotion of the min isters of Christ. Give thyself wholly to this great and glorious calling, mind, soul, body and strength. Thus you will become a work man that needt th not to be ashamed, rightly dispensing the word of life—“giving to saint and sinner their portion in due season.” Excessive Distinction. The Spanish Duke of Ossuna, who is a pretty rapid pen man, has so many titles that it takes him fif teen minutes to write his name in full. WHOLE NO. 2467 That Rock is Christ. My hope is built on nothing loss Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid rock, 1 stand, All other ground is sinkiog sand. When darkness veils His loving faoe, I rest on His unohanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil. On Christ, the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking Baud. His oath, His covenant, and blood, Support me in the sinking flood ; When every earthly prop gives way. He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand, All other ground is sinking sar.d. When I shall launch to worlds unseen, 0 may I then be found in Him, Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ, the solid reck, I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. — Etta. Improper Baptism. A writer iu the South-Western Presbyterian gives some leaves from a pastor’s portfolio, and relates the following as an improper ap lication for baptism, which was declined: “Upon an occasion the writer was sent for in the middle of the night to administer bap tfsm lb a gentlem.ri supposed to be near h's end. It, was a severe and prolonged attack of typhoid fever, accompanied by the stupor and deliriousness so characteristic of that dis ease. The ministering friends were of anoth er church, which attaches more importance to a ritualistic observance of the sacraments than is common amongst Presbyterians. As soon as I entered the chamber and perceived the condition of the patient, 1 pronounced that 1 was incompetent for the ordinance. He lay in a heavy lethargy, from which, when aroused, the incoherent utterances betrayed the entire derangement of all the intellectual faculties. A few words of explanation satis fied the parties who were not unreasonable, that, consistently with our views of what was implied in the baptism of adults, he was wholly incapable of making that profession of pelsonal faith in Christ, upon which the administration of the ordinances was based. In the good providence of God the sufferer survived his disease, and upon his recovery solemnly assured the writer that he had no recollection of having asked for baptism as reported, and that he could not recall any re ligious emotions of any kind at that period of his sickness. He further expressed his thanks that the request had been declined, as lie should always have been tormented with doubts of its validity, if baptism had been administered, saying, with emphasis, ‘Why, sir, it would have been the same thing' as though you had baptized a log.’” Now the point of this whole matter must be, that the want of faith in the subject made him very unfit for the ordinance. That is correct and Scriptural; faith is an indispen sable prerequisite. But if this is true with reference to men and women, why is it not just as true with regard to children ? Isthere any New Testament precept or example-- which teaches, that while faith is required for adults, it may be dispensed with in the case of children ? We pause for a reply. —Jour nal and Messenger. Death to the Christian. An Alpine hunter, ascending Mont Blanc, m passing over the JMer do Glace, lost his hold and slipped into one of those frightful crevasses by which the sea of ice is deft to its foundation. By catching himself in his swift descent against the points of rocks and projecting spurs of ice, he broke his fall, so that he reached the bottom alive, but only to face death in a more terrible form. On eith er hand the icy walls rose up to heaven, above which he saw' only a strip of blue sky. At his feet trickled a little stream, formed from the slowly melting glacier. There was but one possible chance of escape—to follow this rivulet, which might lead to some unknown crevice or passage. In silence and terror he picked his way down the mountain side, till his farther advance was stopped by a giant cliff that rose up before him, while the river rolled darkly below. lie heard the roaring of the waters which seemed to wait for him. What should he do? Death was beside him and behind him—and, he might fear, before him. There w r as no time for reflection or de lay. He paused but an instant, and plunged into the stream. One minute of breathless suspense—a sense of darkness and coldness, and yet of swift motion, as if he were glid ing through the shades below, and then a light began to glimmer faintly in the waters, and the next instant he was amid the green fields, and the showers and the summer sun shine of the vale of Chamouny. So it is when believers die. They come to the bank of the river, and it is cold and dark. Nature shrinks from the fatal plunge. Yet one chilling moment, and all fear is left behind, and the Christian is amid the fields of the paradise of God. Neglect of Infant Baptism. The neglect of this rite, in any denomina tion, is proportioned to the practical influence over it of the fundamental principle of Prot estantism, —viz.: the sufficiency and sole au thority of the Bible in Christian faith and practice. The statist ios of this neglect would we believe, present an ascending series from Popery through the English, the Lutheran, the Presbyterian and the Congregational churches. And in the Presbyterian church, infant baptisms diminish in proportion as the influence of the Standards decreases and that of the Scriptures increases,—the Old School baptizing one infant to twenty-three members, while the New School baptizes only one to thirty six ; or, to put it in a still more stri king light, the adult baptisms to infant bap tisms in the former body are as thirty-seven to a hundred, while in the latter they are as seventy-three, or proportionately nearly dou ble. Yet, even among Old School Presby terians, the ratio of infant baptisms to mem bership is only about one-third it ought nor mally to be. Among Congregationalists the disuse is practically the rule, the observance the exception ; and the question has been fitly raised among them whether they ought to be regarded as a Pedobaptist denomination. Undeserved Distinction.— A witty French man says that, “a French Major is a man who has three decorations. The third is giv en him because lie had two, the second be cause he had one, and the first because he had none.” Funeral Sermons. —Wo are told of a French cure, that to save the reputation of his seigneur, who had been broken olive on the wheel for robbery and murder, he prayed thus: “ We pray thee, O Lord, for the soul of , seigneur of this parish, who has lately died ot his wounds at Paris.” There are one or more seigneurs in almost every parish, a lawyer, a doctor, a colonel, or a selectman, who, whatever his character in life, must be glorified at death. We have known persons of the worst reputation, who in their life time were discarded by even their relatives, to be candidates for funeral honors. The Little. —“ The sublime,” said Lan dor, “is in a grain of dust.”