Georgia Historic Newspapers

    CHRISTIAN IN DEX AND SOCTH-WESPEHN BARTIST.
VOL. 49-NO. 5.
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IE ATLANTA. GA
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Hymn for the Lord’s Day.
O day of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
0 balm of care aud sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright ;
On thee, the high and lowly,
' Bunding before the throne,
Sing, Holy, Holy, Holy,
To the great Three in One,
On thee, at the creation,
The light ilrst had its birth ;
On thee, for our salvation,
Christ rose from depths of earth ;
On thee, our Lord victorious
Thu Spirit sent from heaven,
And thus on thee most glorious
A triple Light was given.
Thou art a port protected
From storms that round us rise ;
A garden intersected
With streams of Paradise;
Thou art a cooliug fountain
In life’s dry, dreary sand;
From thee, like Pisgah’s mountain,
We view our promised laud.
Thou art a holy ladder,
Where angels go and come;
Each Sunday finds us gladder,
Nearer to heaven our home;
A day of sweet reflection
Thou art, a day of love,
A day of resurrection
From earth to things above.
To-day on weary nations
The heavenly tnanua falls;
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where gospel light is glowing
With pure and radiart beams,
And living water flowing
With soul-refreshing streams.
New graces ever gaining
From this our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining
To spirits of the blest.
Tu Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father and to Son ;
The Church her voice upraises,
To thee, blest Three in One.
Canon Wordsworth.
Protracted Meetings.
Having read with some interest several
communications in the Index, and also in the
Religious Herald, on the subject of Protract
ed Meetings, their results and influence, a de
sire has been awakened in my own mind to
say something on the same subject.
These meetings had their beginning within
my recollection, and run nearly parallel
with my religions and ministerial life. Their
origin, progress and, results, within a very
extensive scope of country, extending over a
very large part of Tennessee, and parts of
adjoining States,areas familiar as the history
of my own life. These meetings, in their
origin, were not the result of contrivance, or
of premeditation, but sprang up spontane
ously with the revival of the missionary spir
it, which, having been awakened by the con
version and labors of Judson and Rice, had
been gradually diffusing itself, like leaven,
among the Baptists, and were, evidently, the
legitimate fruit of a quickened sense of ob
gation to “ preach the gospel to every crea
ture,” and to labor for the conversion of sin
ners.
Previous to t’nis, the practice of (lie Bap-
w;>«. tj* ■ ’’’ . pr-'S. t\. 1 .ju’
meeting once a month*, Saturday devoted to
appropriate devotional exercises and thS
business of the church, and Sunday to preach
ing and devotional exercises exclusively. In
addition to these ordinary meetings, the
churches held, semi-annually, sacramental
meetings—one in the Spring and the other
in the Fall—which, with many of the churches,
commenced on Friday and closed on Sunday.
These sacramental meetings, as they were
called, were generally looked forward to with
much interest. Two or three ministers would
usually attend them ; and the deacons and
many of the members of surrounding church
es, expressive of their Christian fellowship
and fraternal feeling, would be present. Thus
would be drawn together immense congrega
tions. The whole day would usually be de
voted to preaching. Often, three sermons
in succession would be delivered without in
termission, to audiences remarkably patient,
and often deeply interested and seriously af
fected. The administration of the supper
was often very impressive, at which two min
isters generally officiated, who, during the
distribution of the symbols, would deliver
impassioned addresses on the passion of our
Lord, melting many of their hearers to tears,
closing with earnest appeals to the iijjpeni
tent, and sometimes with an invitation to
those who desired it, to come forward for
prayer. A high degree of excitement was
often attained, and the whole would close
amidst the rejoicing of Christians and the
weeping of “ mourners.” In those days
there were men in many of the churches
known as exhorlers, who had been licensed
by the churches to exhort and hold public
prater meetings. These, in the interval be
tween the monthly appointments of the min
ister, would occasionally hold religious meet
ings, often at private houses, by which moans
a degree of religious interest was maintained.
The people, however, were not destitute of
the regular ministration of the gospel on
Sundays, for they would go several miles to
neighboring churches, or attend the services
of other denominations. There were also, in
some of the Associations, what were called
union meetings, annually held at several
places, which were simply such meetings as 1
have described as sacramental meetings, ex
cept that they w'ere more numerously attend
ed by the ministers and members of the
neighboring churches,and were appointed by
the Associations. The progress of the
churches was slow, the additions being few,
though with some degree of regularity. But
seldom was a person known to profess con
version in a public assembly, most of the
religious experiences fixing the time of de
liverance when alone at prayer, reading the
Scriptures, or private meditation. Such is a
faint outline of the picture of Baptist meet
ings and Baptist progress as impressed upon
my mind, running back as far as 1828, when
my own youthful mind was first seriously
awakened to think upon the subject of reli
gion.
About the year 1833, leading ministers all
over the country, impressed with the duty of
making greater effort to send the gospel to
the destitute at home and abroad, began to
agitate the subject of missions and missionary
organizations, and to devote more of their
own time to preaching. These movements
were accompanied by two very opposite
results, the one a general revival of religiou,
and the other the arousing of an anti-mission-
ary and anti-revival faction in the churches,
led by a class of ministers whose views of
grace, predestination and election, were such
that they w'ere, in their estimation, sent only
“to feed the sheep,” and wait God’s good
time to convert “ the elect; ’ and for a minis
ter to receive a salary for preaching, was, in
their view, to make merchandize of the gos
pel. After many conflicts, this class of
ministers and members went off, and formed
anti missionary Baptist churches. The revi
val, however, deepened and widened; the
ministry preached with anew zeal, with more
earnestness, and more directly to the hearts
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., JSfcj
and consciences of the impenitent; multitudes
flocked to the house of God, asking what they
must do to be saved; the two dugs ’ meetings
did not answer the demands of the times, or
meet the wants of the occasion, and were
protracted from day to day ; and “ the Lord
added to the church daily such as should be
saved.” The happy results of these protract
ed seasons of preaching the gospel, soon led
to the appointment of meetings with the
purpose of continuing them several days, and
being adopted as a successful means of bring
ing the people under the influence of the
gospel, they soon became general. Evangel
ists and missionaries, both volunteer and
those sent out by missionary societies for the
spread of the gospel, adopted them as the
most efficient method of prosecuting their
work ; and having become the general prac
tice of ministers and churches, they have
been continued until the present time. And
it is safe to say that three-fourths of the whole
Baptist membership, including an equal pro
portion of the ministry, have been converted
aud brought into the churches through this
instrumentality. It has been largely through
thifc dpTir»minat*on hiis <?rown
to its present strength and influence, occupy
ing cities and towns, and their churches spread
all over the continent. These meetings have
been employed by the wisest and most dis
creet pastors in town and country, and they
have rejoiced in the result and praised God
for the blessings of His grace and Spirit in
connection with them. And it is the result
of protracted meetings which furnishes the
columns of the Index and Baptist, and all
the rest of our papers, with the weekly news
of “glorious revivals,” the baptism of hun
dreds of converts, churches organized and
houses of worship erected.
These meetings accord with the spirit of the
great commission—go preach the gospel to
every creature” —“disciple all nations,” —and
have apostolic example under special divine
influence, to support them. The labors of
the Apostles did not cease with the day of
Pentecost, but they were “daily in the tem
ple, and from house to house,” and “the
Lord added to the church and aily such as should
be savid.”
But certain correspondents of the Index
and Baptist, after all, have fiercely assailed
protracted meetings as an evil which should
be at once put a stop to. Fortunately for
the cause of truth, the honor of the denomi
nation, and the reputation of its ministers,
these objectors have so glaringly misrepre
sented (for the wantof information no doubt)
both ministers and churches, and the mass of
the converts of these meetings, that they
meet with a refutation wherever they are
read. True, these meetings are often the
scene of much excitement, the rejoicing of
Christians and the groans of men and women
seeking to be saved, and I have witnessed a
degree of confusion often, not to be approved ;
but these things have, usually been the result
of sudden outbursts of feeling which soon
subsided. 1 have also seen some ministers,
by a boisterous manner, produce an ariifioial
excitement, and I have seen and heard many
indiscreet and undignified things. But I have
witnessed the same, or similar things, at a
one day Sunday appointment, in the church
meeting, and in the prayer meeting. Admit
ting aif that can be justly said on this head,
they are only as spots on the sun. But it is
said thaf , n Tv >n= nyrb's *S' s>-\ to
make a profession of religion who-are not
converted. This may be, and no doubt often
is the case. But false professors, in large
numbers, entered the apostolic churches un
der the ministry of the apostles themselves,
and have, under whatever kind of ministra
tion, from that day to this, been found in the
churches. This objection lies equally against
all kinds of meetings. This, of course,
should be guarded against to the utmost pos
sible extent. But the number of such is
not large, as the statistics of the churches
will show.
Again, it is said that these revivals react
upon the churches, and they are cold and
lifeless until the next protracted meeting.
That churches are often found cold and luke
warm, is undoubtedly true; but that it is the
reacting influence of protracted meetings, or
revivals of religion, has only been asserted,
and may, in most eases, be traced to other
causes, especially to the want of regular
pastoral service, and weekly preaching. A
church meeting once a month, and twelve
sermons a year, are not well calculated to
Keep a church in good working order. For
this state of things, which it seems impossi
ble to change, the protracted meeting is a
remedy, supplying, in some degree, the defi
eiency of the means of grace.
H. E. TANARUS., w hose acquaintance I first made
in a protracted meeting, and whose zeal as a
laborer in them I have had the pleasure of
witnessing, and who has for more than a
quarter of a century cooperated in such meet
ings, now seems, when about to enter the
autumn of life, to have set to work to tear
down and repudiate the product of his Spring
and Summer years. He intends, he says, to
write, “ not against the abuse of protracted
meetings, but against the things themselves."
He has, I suppose, made his first argument,
which is, in substance, that the Decalogue,
requiring all woik to be done in six days, and
the Sabbath to bo observed as a day of rest,
is a prohibition of the preaching of the gos
pel, and people’s assembling to hear it, ex
cept on Sunday ! The manifest absurdity of
such an interpretation of God’s w'ord, is not
well calculated to give his readers great con
fidence in his future expositions and argu
ments. A brother who is of the legal pro
fession, and of long experience as a Christian,
after reading the communications of these
brethren,exclaimed, “ these men surely never
pray for the spread of the gospel and the
salvation of sinners.” In the mean time, let
protracted meetings be multiplied a hundred
fold, and the gospel be preached with more
earnestness, and prayer more fervently be
offered for God’s continued favor. M. H.
Deacons and Deaconesses.
In a recent paper headed, “ Pastors and
Teachers, or Bishops,” was doubtless seen
evidence of hesitation. That was due to
what appears to me the absence of distinct
teaching, in some respects, upon the subject.
I am not sanguine of the entire correctness
of the conclusions to which my mind has
come iu relation to the deaeonship. If it be,
therefore, demanded : Why, then, write upon
the subject 1 ? my answer is, that it is something
to show that an opinion is sometimes to be
modestly held; that dogmatism in interpret
ation is pernicious.
There is an opinion widely held, that dca
cons were an order of ministers, since Stephen
and Philip, two of the seven, whose ordina
tion is recorded in the 6th of Acts, were
presently found actually exercising the office
of preachers of the gospel. Stephen appears
to have instantly become conspicuous for his
abilities and diligence in teaching Christianity,
so as to make himself the chief among the
advocates of the religion. Acts vi: 8-15.
And soon after, Philip went down to Satnaria
and preached the gospel, with wondrous suc
cess. He probably also baptized his converts.
“ When they believed Philip preaching the
things concerning the kingdom of God and the
name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both
I men and women.” See whole of Acts viii.
Presently he baptized the Eunuch, having
first expounded to him the prophecy concern
ing the crucified Saviour, in the 53d of Isaiah.
Afterwards he is styled, “ Philip the evan
gelist,” having become noted for evangelical
labors. Acts xxi: 8.
But there is no intimation that the seven
were originally ordained for any such purpose
as preaching or teaching. The very contrary
is strongly implied. These men were ordained
to their office, whatever it was, to relieve the
Apostles from any other care but “ prayer
and the ministry of the word.” They said,
“It is not reason that we should leave the
word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore,
brethren, look ye out among you seven men
of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and
wisdom, whom we may appoint over this
business. But we will give ourselves contin
ually to prayer and the ministry of the
word.” It was accordingly done. It turned
out, indeed, that two of the seven became
preachers in fact, one immediately; but
sometimes circumstances impose a temporary
duty of the kind upon any intelligent Chris
tian, and deacons not unfrequently—deacons
in the sense of the church’s almoners of the
poor—become preachers,after a brief diaconal
service. Qualifications for the work of the
ministry are not always at once recognized.
They sometimes exist, obscured by modesty,
or other qualities more obtrusive. Os none
others of the seven than Stephen and Philip,
is any ministerial work recorded.
The specific object for which the seven
were ‘looked out’ among their brethren, and
“appointed,” is clear. It was to “serve
tablesto prevent dissatisfaction as to the
distribution of the common means of sub
sistence among the Church at Jerusalem, who
“had all things in common ;” to relieve the
Apostles from an onerous duty, that inter
fered with their great work of preaching the
gospel. These Seven were, indeed, to be
men “full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom,”
and if deacons, to be “grave, not double
tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy
of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the
faith in a pure conscience.” These are very
like the qualifications of a bishop. But then
the necessary prominence of an officer of the
church, must make him, in some sort, a re
cognized exponent of its principles and vir
tues. Ilis standing must largely affect the
standing of the society. Ilis efficiency as a
deacon, in his ministry to the temporal ne
cessities of the membership, must, in many
ways, depend upon his character, to say noth
ing of the abundant occasions of spiritual
advice and exhortation. Nay, he will often
find himself called upon to state aud defend
the faith against cavil.
So far our way seems clear enough. But
how are we to satisfy oursc ves that the seven
were what are elsewhere called deacons?
They are not so named in the 6th of Acts.
The answer may be,
1. They do not appear to have been preach
ers, any of them, in the first place, but to
have been set apart for a very different object,
as wo have seen.
2. The officers of thee.urchat Jerusalem,
exclusive of Apostles, who were officers of
the.church at large, so far as enumerated at
least, were “Eiders” and the “Seven.”
The officers of the church at Philippi, were
"y bishops and deacons.” Two offices, that of
‘r bishop ” and “ dea§<gm”, ■■■•fitijined
i Tun.' i-lo.' * .
3. The word deacon means servant The
technical use of it, therefore, in relation to
an office in the church at Philippi, (as in the
probable enumeration of church offices in
1 Tun. 3,) where the office is clearly distin
guished from that of bishops or elders of any
kind, strongly suggests the identity of the
deaconship with the office to which the Seven
were appointed.
VVe assume, therefore, without further
reasoning, that the moral, but especially the
secular qualifications and duties of the dea
conship, are set forth in the 6th of Acts,
and propose to analyze the latter with some
care.
We are told that “the multitude of them
that believed were of one heait and one soul:
neither said any of them that aught of the
things which he possessed was his own ; but
they had all things in common. . . . Neither
was there any among them that lacked : for
as many as were possessors of lands or houses
sold them, and brought the prices of the
things that were sold, and laid them at she
Apostles’ feet: and distribution was made
unto every man according as he had need.”
“ In those days, when the number of the
disciples was multiplied, there arose a mur
muring of Grecians, (foreign Jew's,) against
the Hebrews, (native Jews,) because their
w idows were neglected in the daily ministra
tion. Then the twelve called the multitude
of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not
reason, that we should leave the word of
God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren,
look ye out among you seven men of honest
report, full of the Holy Ghost ai.d wisdom,
whom we may appoint over this business.
But we will give ourselves continually
TO PRAYER, AND TO THE MINISTRY OF THE
WORD.”
In many cases still, the poor are numerous,
and, as we learn in many places in Scripture,
to be provided for as a special Christian
duty.
Deacons, then, are the officers of the church
to be placed in charge of this business, to the
relief of the preachers. They have no other
official business, but such as grows, by neces
sary implication, out of the relief of the
poor, and the relief of the ministry.
A properly officered church would, in our
conception, bo provided with a plurality of
elders to administer its discipline, subject to
revision by the aggregate membership; a
body of deacons to apply its charities to the
poor, to devise and execute means of raising
a suitable revenue for current expenses and
for the spread of the gospel—in brief, to
manage all its secular affairs; and a ministry
chosen from its eldership to preach the word
statedly. I reserve remarks as to deacon
esses, for another paper. E. B. Teagce.
Liberality and Logic.
In a recent communication to your paper,
Rev. A. D. Phillips speaks of an Association
which “he remembers, which has for years
done nothing for Foreign Missions, but has
lent all its efforts to work in the West,” and
which he therefore, infers is wanting in liber
ality. The writer remembers that same As
sociation, saw brother P. there, who seemed
to talk and to think, and to eat, and smoke,
(and the writer smoked with him,) as if he
was “ in the right pew,” and that the SIOO
contributed to him was evidence of their
liberality and given in the right direction.
He says, “ it was made to appear that one
man whom they supported among the Indians
had baptized more converts than all the pas
tors at home.” But let me remind him that
this was not “ made to appear.” He, and the
churches he had for med, and their pastors —
the entire mission there—had baptized more
than all the pastors at home; but riot he
alone. But I respectfully suggest that there
is a (seeming) unfairness about this. Why
did he not state how many were baptized by
the whole Association? In the churches
composing this little body there are 1769
members—baptized last year, 151. Does
not that compare favorably with other similar
bodies? But our brother has thought and
spoken it “ publicly*' and his words must be
verified : “That KJihureh or Association that
restricts its liberally to any one locality, has
no right to claim “-he Lo I am with you.”
Let me put a quo; ion or two to this brother,
who seems to spea* “publicly ” as an oracle.
Suppose a poor chufeh gave its limited means
to a destitute neighborhood near it, where
much more eould ,< %e profitably expended,
while it prayed for,’and desired the spread of
the gospel “ to the reigons beyond :” would
the fact of their restricting their labois
to that one locality jkevent the Divine pres
ence? Or rather, £t me ask, would it not
be a more sure and direct route to the world’s
conversion, to take 'certain destitute points,
labor for their conversion, and every one
“ build over agains&his own house?” Upon
his theory every ch-froh and Association must
give men, and time, and money, to every
cause, and in ever®; country, or they cense
to be liberal and fefr eit the divine presence
and blessing?
But this brotbirg-Mio “ speaks publicly ” in
fers that becaus* man, supported by
that Association, v,Jfeh he remembers, bap
tized more than pastors at home, there
fore, they are wanting in liberality; and
therefore," Got is n#' with them. Let me
suggest to him another therefore. This one
man, supported by that Association, has bap
tized more by his co-adjutors in one year,
than all the evangelists and pastors in Africa,
for the last fifteen yvears, (if I correctly re
member his own statement;) therefore, God is
not with the African mission, and they who
support it are wanting in liberality. This is
not my logic, but hi-, —logic which may be
suited to Africa but .ot to these States.
There is such a thing as not loving Caesar
less, but Rome more Why could not our
brother as readily n ike another inference—
because God has bJ ssed the labors of our
missionary to such t"gree that it surpasses
that of a whole Association, therefore, his is
a work greatly approved of God ; and there
fore, God is well pleased with the spirit of
liberality, prompting the Association sustain
ing him ? Beta.
Conversion of a Sinner.
It was in August, Vur years ago. The orb
of day that had so lAsg Ut up the heavens,
was fading in its brightness, and the autumnal
winds were whispering the approach of fall.
Nature herself had ought the whisper and
was preparing her garments of brown. The
choir of the forest hal laid aside their instru
ments of music to rest, to chant the introduc
tory to coming pring. The day was a
beautiful one, during a protracted meeting
held in a little village, in South-western Geor
gia. A young man about sixteen years of
age, was plodding hi way to school, some
fifty yards behind his uncle, who was the
school master, both approaching the minister,
who was coming towards them, and who was
engaged in this protracted meeting. The
young man’s heart was burdened on account
of his sins. He had been attending the meet
ings regularly. The Holy Spirit had touched
his soul for the first time to conviction. He
had been a desperal profligate. The past
now hung in his vievkjdie §tained portrait of
his life. He was a He had concluded
wit/bin the last twoyilihree days to embrace
stye Kill it 3 "Seek Lb A .’Jcrcti in
tne re!l>istei\' prayenf. He looks ah*fl and
sees the minister approaching —his heart leaps
for joy—“now,” thinks he “is a gooi time to
ask the minister to pray for me.” But,
alas! another thought strikes his mind and
saddens his heart, “suppose my uncle stops to
talk to him, I can’t stop here and wait until
he gets through, he will think there is some
thing the matter; and if I go’on, I will over
take him, and I can’t let my uncle hear tne
ask him to pray for me. I am ashamed to
dothat. What must Ido /” While approach
ing the minister, thoughts of this kind rap
idly chased each other through his mind.
Sure enough, his uncle meets the minister
and begins«a chat with him. The young man
nearly overtakes him. The minister bids his
uncle good morning and draws near the young
man. “ Alas !” thinks he, “my chance is lost,
I cannot speak now, my uncle will hear me ;
I cannot turn back to walk with him, rny
uncle will see me; what must I do? my soul
is at stake. If I lose this opportunity, 1 may
lose my soul. O Lord, have mercy on me !”
He meets the minister and for fear of show
ing his feelings, he speaks coldly to him and
passes on. For several paces he looks back
and wishes he had said something. The
thought struck his mind, “probably this is the
last time you will have such an opportunity.”
He wheeled in a moment, retraced his steps
with rapidity, overtook the minister, and with
tears rising from the deep of his soul, he
cried with earnest accents' 1 pray for me.”
The minister replied, “you are gone.” These
words seemed to have come from the throne
of God ; for his sins seemed to press more
heavily upon him. He was driven nearer to
Christ. In a few days he obtained a hope in
Jesus, was baptized and became a member of
the Baptist church and a devoted follower of
Jesus Christ. He is now a licensed minister of
the glorious gospel of the bleessed God. lam
through. I relate this Incident particularly
for you, my unconverted friend and reader.
You who are now tracing these lines, learn an
important lesson : do not let an opportunity
slip, you nay lose your soul.
W. J. M.
The Autobiography of An Old Pilgrim:
Or, Extracts from Records made by the finger of the
Almighty on the tablet of an old man’s memory, at
testing the truth of what is taught in the sacred
Scriptures in reference both to God and man ; with
moral reflections interspersed by the transcriber.
I have no recollection of my birth, but I
find on the tablet of my memory, the testi
mony of a deceased mother in reference to it.
She w'as cognizant of the fact of my birth—
of the time and place of its occurrence—of
the circumstances under which I made my
debut into life, uttered my first cry, (though
she was ignorant of the cause of it,) took my
first cold bath, looked for the first time on
the handiwork of God in the blue heavens
above, and on the handiwork of man in the
dingy walls around me. Upon the testimony
of my mother, therefore is it I report that
I was born in the latterpart of the last cen
tury, and therefore, had for my contempora
ries many of the great men that figured
conspicuously in the days of the American
revolution of ’76, ps patriots, statesmen and
soldiers, whose names have been transmitted
to posterity, not only through the pages of his
tory, but through the names of cities, coun
ties and county sites in every section of our
once United States.
As to the place of my birth, it appears that
I was not born on either of the great conti
nents of Europe, Asia, Africa, or America,
nor on the minor continent of Borneo,
nor on the high seas, yet l was born within
the limits of one of the United States of
North America —the one that forms, as it
were, a connecting link between the Atlantic
States and the Gulf States—l am speaking of
my first birth; for I have been twice born—
and that is more than*all my readers will be
able to say and speak the truth.
At my first birth, I was born a natural
man; at my second, a spiritual man ; at
my first, I was introduced as a subject
into the kingdom of Satan; at my second,
i into the kingdom iff Christ; at tpji.fi wka-j
born a child of'the. j'evil.and an heir of* wrath }
at. rny second, a child of God an.l a heir ]of,
glory ; at my first, I vy&s bo+n to sbrroW ahd
suffer for sin, and the first sdUfid that'es6hpec
my lips was a cry of distress; attftySeeoiid,
I was born to rejoice for delivererfwrfiwn tihp
power and dominion of sin, and my ; nrtoiith
was filled with praise and thanksgiving fob
redeeming grace; at my first, I was born td
walk in darkness, under the shadow of the
law, and to tremble at the thunders of Di
vine wrath; at my second,, I was born to
walk in the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, and to rest under the shadow' of the
Almighty, in the embrace of a Saviour’s love;
at my first, I was born to die; at my second,
to with my Lord and Saviour.
Instead of being brought, forth, as at my first
birth, a victim for the grave, 1 was brought
forth is one predestined to triumph over
deaih, iiel! and the grave, and to wear the
victor’s wreath in the world of gloey.
All the knowledge 1 have of my first birth,
is derived from the testimony of my mo her,
and others; it is, therefore, a matter of cre
dence. The knowledge of my second birth
is derived from my own personal experience,
and is therefore, a matter of consciousness.
1 know that whereas I was once blind now i
see. Once there were no more signs of spirit
ual vitality in me than in the curiously carved
images before which idolatrous heathens bow
in worship. Like them I had eyes, but l saw
not; ears, but heard not; but He who breath
ed into the lifeless frame of Adam of old, the
breath of life, and made him to become a liv
ing soul, breathed upon my physical frame,
and straight the pulse of anew life—a life
divine—throbbed in its every part. The eye
of faith was opened to scenes on w hich angels
delight to gaze, and of which I had never be
fore conceived ; and my ears were opened to
the sweet and musical “ voice of free grace”
that made rny heart leap for joy. These signs
ot vitality werenotephemeral, likethe effectsof
galvanism on a dead body; they have proved
abiding, and have become more and more
manifest as the tide of time rolls onward to
eternity.
J have a distinct recollection of the time,
place and particulars of my second birth.
The record of them on the tablet of my
memory is as vivid now, as if it had been
made but yesterday ; but I reserve further
extracts from that record for a future day.
Abdikl Nkkodi.
Paying The Pastor.
There is in the village of—, in a Southern
State, a little church which has never been
blessed with any large degree of prosperity,
in this church there were two young men,
T. M. and VV. C. The two were in a pecu
niary view very differently' situated. T. M.
was poor, having to labor daily for a support.
VV. C. was well off, as we would say, for the
times—worth, perhaps, at the eud of the
year alluded to, as much as ten thousand
dollars. When the time came to pay the
preacher, T. M. paid twenty dollars, five of it
in gold. How much do you suppose VV. C.
paid ? Not one cent. T. M. was regularly
at church, aud prayed in the prayer meeting.
W.U. was—need it be said—seldom at church
at if)l, and never prayed in pubMc. One of
these young rm r. H#ted for piety: the other
war 'm line Lfustratiofl ol pride. Reader,
imagine, if you can, which was the pious
young man of the two.
ANOTHER CASE.
Deacon C. was in prosperous circumstances
for the times. His gross income was from
five to six thousand dollars, as was under
stood, for the year. Ilis pastor preached to
his church two Sabbaths per month. The
pastor bought of the deacon, paying cash,
perhaps fifty dollars worth of goods during
the year, and paid well for w hat he got. At
die end of the year the church paid the pastor
not enough to have paid his way alone at a
village hotel, and the deacon paid twenty dol
lars of it!
Let young rnt-n who expect to grow rich by
preaching make a note of the above cases.
Observer.
A Wild Statement.
VVe have seen a statement in one of our
newspapers, to the effect that, there are fifty
wealthy negro fainlies now living in Paris on
terms of intimate social intercourse with the
aristocratic classes of Parisian society.
We do not believe it, if it means Paris in
France. In the first place, we do not believe
that there are fifty wealthy negro families in
Paris. VV edo nut believe that there are fifty
wealthy negro families in any city of Europe.
We are not sure that such a phenomenon
exists in any city on the giobe.
What is meant by a wealthy negro family 1
These ihings go by comparison. A nose
eight inches long would be an enormously
long nasal appendage for a human being to
wear; but a man eight inches high would
probably be a smaller man than any body
except Swift ever saw. So with wealth. A
white man that owns ten thousand dollars
worth of property, is not commonly consid
ered wealthy; but a negro worth ten thousand
dollars would be a phenomenon of wealth.
Dr. Johnson was greatly surprised and de
lighted to see a bear dance ; not that the bear
danced well, but that a bear should be able to
dance at all. So with negro wealth. We are
surprised at the amount of the negro’s pos
sessions, not that the negro has so much, but
that a negro should have anything.
The negro is not an accumulating animal.
Without a superior mind to save and control
his earnings, he commonly accumulates noth
ing. We doubt if there are a dozen negroes
in the United States who are worth a hundred
thousand dollars a piece. We never knew
one who was worth half of it. Some years
ago, a gentleman of our acquaintance was
travelling in one of our Southern States, and
saw a splendid plantation in admirable con
dition. Soon after this, the owner died. By
his will, the negroes (some fifty) were freed,
and the plantation as it stood was left to them.
A few years later, our friend passed by the
plantation again, and found it overrun with
weeds ; fences gone; no woik goiDg on, and
everything gone to wreck ; and though Bed
River ran along by the plantation, the ne
groes were actually too lazy to fish. They
were fast becoming savages.
But even if there were fifty families of
wealthy negroes in Paris, we cannot suppose
for a moment that respectable Parisian trades
men even would associate with them. The
story will not bear telling.
There are certain points about the negro
which absolutely forbid his being generally
received into the parlors of refined and in
telligent white people. Even Parton admits
in his striking essay on “ The mean Yankees
at home,” that, in the villages of New Eng
land, the negroes are not one jot nearer to
social equality with the whites than they are
in the Southern States; and he intimates that
it will never be otherwise. He might safely
have gone still farther, and said, that it was
morally, and, in some sense physically impos
sible to establish a general social equality be
tween the races. Men will, in vaiu, strive to
join together those whom God hath put
asunder. Social equality is based largely on
mental equality, and the negro’s brain cannot
stand the test.
If these views be correct, (and they are
in supported both byescience ainde by; praotice l )
y?o do not that our Northern! brethren
cial quality f>Urh,e, negro; thq fAegro
friend, then tne whole Southern, Church jliis
been acting anything but a ‘Christiiin pirti
w&rdsr and that 'FveV ilnb’e riefjioes_
’ wbte first intWrdtfded here. ‘° a iu " ’“ ,r "
’< Wedonotpropose
sion of the etbiwlogicaJ pointainvolved hi this
subject}, but w* feel confident-that the kV- J '
teliectual inferiority of tba.negro ifl’Sßfficjent
ground fur the rpginteuaiice of the social dis
tinctions
people. The religion .of Christ no ..||i|ej»b
commands us to assoeiatfl iw itk thoJe who -are
disagreeable to us. ***d ;>d. C. Hioitif.
Wilmington, N. C. " ' i. am
— .'*'l
The King’s Favorites. -V-*a ‘
Such the King will stoop to embrace, “ 1
Who, when they no hope or path can trace,
thnk at his feet,
And grace and guidance from his hand entreat.
Such the King with blessing will secure,
Who, when they behold one scorned and poor,
Who is Christ’s own,
Revere him more than princes ou a throne.
Such the King will evermore defend,
Who accept the burden he doth send,
And calmly sit,
Trusting to him to raise it when ’tis fit
Such the King will ever deign to tench,
Who can profit e’en by children’s speech,
And gladly kuow
That they are only learners here below.
—Zinzendorf.
Heirship.
Little stores of wealth have I;
Not a rood of land I own ;
Nor a mansion fair and high,
Built with towers of fretted stone.
Stocks, nor bonds, nor title-deeds,
Flocks nor herds have I to sh»W ;
When I ride, no Arah steeds
Toss for me the : r muues of snow.
I have neither pearls nor gold,
Massive plate, nor jewels rare;
Broidered silks of worth untold,
Nor rich robes a queen might wear.
In my garden’s narrow bound
Fiuunt no costly tropic blooms,
Ladening all the air around
With a weight of rare perfumes.
Yet to an immense estate
Am I heir, by grace of God
Richer, giander than doth wait
Any earthly monarch's nod.
Heir of all the Ages, I— •
Heir of all that they have wrought,
All their stores of emprise high,
All their wealth of precious thought.
Every golden deed of theirs
Shed its lustre on my way;
All their labors, all their prayers.
Sanctify this present day!
Heir of all that they have earned
By their passion and their tears—
Heir of all that they have learned
Through the weary, toiling years!
Heir of all the faith sublime
On whose wings they soared to heayen,
Heir of every hope that Time
To Earth’s fainting sons hath given 1
Aspirations pure and high—
Strength to dare and to endure
Heir of all the Ages, I
Lol I am no longer poor!
- Julia C. It. Dorr.
The Spirit of Rome.
Rev. H. G. Mason, pastor of the West Me
ridian Baptist church, Conn., baptized not long
since a voirng woman lately front the Roman
Catholic church. 'Some two years ago the
candidate, out of curiosity, dropped in to the
evening service during a revival, when she
heard the name of Jesus pronounced in ten
derness unusual in the cold forms of her own
church. The first evidence of feeling the
pastor noticed, was while the hyrnn was being
sung, beginning, “There is a fountain filled
with blood;” and through great persecution
she continued to attend church until she found
peace in Christ. Rev. A. P. Graves will not
soon forget the blow he received under his
eye, while defending her from the brutal
attack of her sister while on the way to
church. The life of the pastor was repeatedly
threatened, and in one instance violent hands
were laid on him by an infuriated Romanist,
but the “faithful” assailant was so deadly
drunk that he did not prove to be a very
deadly foe. The more timid of the church
advised their pastor not to appear on the
streets after dark, but he regarded the threats
as cowardly as they were wicked, and heeded
them no more than he would the whistling of
the wind. Now, after two years of the
severest trial, after strenuous attempts at
abduction, after many appeals and many
threats from relatives and priest, the timid
but firm girl stood before a sympathizing
audience, and witnessed the sincerity of her
faith, as she was laid peacefully in the grave
of baptism, in imitation of her Lord’s exam
ple.—Ex. et- Citron.
Baptism of a Converted Nun.
Miss Edith O’Gorman, formerly “ Sister Te
reasa de Chantal,” of St. Joseph’s Convent,
Hudson City, whose lectures on “ Convent
Life,” “The Romish Priesthood,” “The Rom
ish Confessional,” &e., have attracted such
large audiences, was baptized by Rev. 11. A.
Cordo, and united with the North Baptist
church, Jersey City, N.J., Dec. 26th. The
narration of her Christian experience, on the
Wednesday evening previous, drew together
from the various churches a congregation
which filled the house in every part. Her
story of the unsettling of her faith in the
llomish chuteh, of her darkness and desola
tion of spirit, of her wanderings and suffer
ings, of the circumstances of her conversion,
was one of thrilling interest, and drew tears
from many eyes.
She received her education in Protestant
schools. Being from a child religiously dis
posed, she was advised to cater a convent.
This she did, against the wishes of her family,
under the impression that she could serve
Christ more perfectly. She had been in the
convent but a short time, when doubts entered
her mind in regard to many of the doctrines
of Romanism. She felt that she could and
must go directly to God in prayer, and not
to him through the priests. Her reason and
sense revolted from the blasphemy of tran
substantiation. The conduct of the priests,
as she witnessed it from time to time, effectu
ally convinced her that their boasted purity
was all a pretence. Ater remaining in the
convent five years she fled from it. She was
pursued and threatened and persecuted, and
arrested and thrown into that Baslilc of Ro
manism, the “ House of the Good Shepherd,”
in New York. Her trials were so many and
great that she often prayed for death or tho
destruction of her reason.
Although her faith in the Catholic Church
had been so shaken, she still clung to it, feel
ing that out of it there was no salvation.
Her final resolve to leave it entirely was
made in April last, in the cathedral in Phila
delphia. She was present on the day of con
firmation, and as she gazed on the gorgeous
array of ceremonies, she obtained such a view
of their utter hollowness as led her to re
nounce Catholicism wholly. She then made
a resolution that she would serve God with
out a church. But this she found impossible,
so began to examine the various creeds of the
Protestant Churches. Her first visit was to
an Fpiscopal church, then to a Presbyterian,
a Quaker, a Methodist, and a Spiritualist meet
ing. Finally, in company with a Baptist lady
in Philadelphia, she attended a Baptist prayer
meeting, and also listened to Baptist preach-
ij W4iOLE NO. 2475.
- JtiWvT tli'4 XV4ICI fc.ii <<.*■> 31 IS:
1 i-fi'g; 'TUdXigft'hbt OhrUtian, she ex
pressed herself as well pleased with what she
jihd heard, and that df sbd again united
with a church, it would be with the Baptist.
She shbs«i*enily ( tfisßt«J Bbfton, and there,
if# IfoHM of «tHQui»Q Catholic ladjr of
Weftltl}, who was a convert from Profestant
.isrio, to Cgtfciolipisaii, and. seas been formerly
?.»»«,# she w w«»-
verted to a saving faith to the Lord Jesus
! Chffst. She Was at ‘the' time in great spirit
' uhbdarkrtess.' Her pfayers to'Gfo'3 had hith
erto been offered with a murmuring, rebellious
spirit. But dnemght she awoke. Anew
and strange feeling of calmness and resigna
tion came, over her. i' She arose and kneeling
down,, offerndUa prayer es thanksgiving to
(iod JSJAAIi. trisJb and; sufferings, asked
£od b>. s?,nd floors if lUtfas his wil} t dmp}ored
pardon an| mercy through, p|^t f „ When
that; braver iff resignation was endrd, the
of h‘hew day and anew life dawned
‘ upon heh’“ Her room seetned radiant wffh the
light of the Divine presence, and her soul
wa»:fHted with the wonderful peace of God.
After her conversion, Miss O’Gorman felt it
to be her duty to unmask the evils df Boman
ism, and accordingly prepared a lecture,
which she submitted for criticism to Ralph
Waldo Emerson, who advised her to deliver
it. She then came to Jersey City, and has
lectured five times there to crowded audi
ences. Wen she first came to the city, being
friendless she could not obtain a suitable place
to deliver her lectures. She was twice re
fused the use of a Protestant church. The
trustees of the North Baptist church, Jersey
City, unanimously voted her the use of their
chapel, and in it she obtained her first hear
ing in a Christian church edifice, and by the
aid of the Baptists vindicated the right of free
speech, whether against Rome or any other
error.— Ex. &' Chron.
Former Days.
Baptists certainly have no reason to wish
their return, except on the ground that per
secution is a means of grace. They surely
had enough of that to make them a holy
people. The few of their name who lived in
Shelburne, Mass., when the meeting-house
of the “ standing order” was built, must have
been rare saints; for when, after being com
pelled by law to contribute to its erection,
they petitioned for its use at funerals, they
were told that they could not be allowed to
occupy it, the refusal being emphasized—in
town-meeting—by one citizen, in the elegant
expression, “A hog pen is good enough for
Baptists.”
It is well known in those blessed old days,
the people of a parish were all alike taxed to
support the “orthodox” church; and in some
cases the minister was expected to collect his
own salary according to the town assessment.
Tha “ orthodox” minister of Heath, Mass.,
who, by the way, had twelve children—eleven
daughters and one son—and so may be partly
excused for his conduct in consideration of
the vast demands of his family wardrobe and
larder, was one of those who made those very
peculiar pastoral calls, with a bill instead of
a Bible in his hands. After the Revolution
ary war, the times were very “ hard ;” but
our minister of Heath was as exucting as
ever, and, for o::e thing, took a poor man’s
black c<* w (fur payment of hi* chord* tax.-
The owner “spirited” it away one night from
the minister’s yard, killed it, and sold the
hide. The minister, not to be outdone, actually
went to the tanner and tried to identify the
hide, if possible, to save so much from the
wreck.
A New Argument.
It is related on good authority, that some
years ago, in a town not far from Boston,
the pastor of a Unitarian church established
a Bible class, and conducted it by giving out
topics beforehand, on which the member*
were to come prepared with proof texts.
One night the topic was infant baptism. One
after another cited his texts, invariably re
marking that the passages were not direct
proof, but he thought they might be under
stood so and so, and thus sustain infant
baptism. At last one member, having heard
enough of mere hypothesis and conjecture,
cited the passage, “And Balaam saddled his
ass.” “ 1 don’t know,” said he, “thatthis is
any direct proof of infant baptism, but it has
occurred to me that Balaam may have saddled
his ass to take his children to church to have
them baptized.” Is not the satire a just one
upon the arguments commonly used in proof
of the point to which it was applied I — Chris.
Era.
The Foundation Overthrown. —Dr. Del
linger—the foremost of living German “ Cath
olic” theologians—says with regard to Matt,
xvi; 18, 19: “ How many fathers have
busied themselves with these texts ! yet not
one of them whose commentaries we prssess
—Origen, Chrysostom, Hilary, Augustine,
Cyril, Theodoret, those whose interpretations
are collected in catenas, —has dropped the
faintest hint that the primacy of Rome is the
consequence of the commission and promise
to Peter. Not one of them has explained
the rock or foundation on which Christ would
build His church of the office given to Peter
to be transmitted to his successors, but they
understood by it either Christ Himself, or
Peter’s confession of faith in Christ, often
both together.”
Humility.—Joseph Crandall came to take
leave of the dying saint, Edward Manning,
and at the close of a deeply touching inter
view, said to him, “ Well, Father Manning,
you have fought a good fight.” “Oh yes,”
he responded with blended confidence and
humility, “ 1 have fought a good fight, but I
have fought it badly." Implying that the
warfare itself was great und glorious, but he
at best had been a very indifferent soldier.
Contentment. —Joseph Dimoek was once
the guest of a lady who had made special
preparations for his entertainment, and yet
apologized for the imperfectness of the repast.
“Don’t apologize, my sister,” he mildly
replied|: “if 1 am a Christian, it is good
enough for me; if lam not, it is too good.”
Immersion. —Once, when Thomas Ansley
was baptizing at Liverpool, one of the con
verts — an exceedingly nervous person-*
shrank from the water and exclaimed, “I
shall catch cold, f shall catch cold.” “ Come
along, sister,” he responded in assuring words,
li you won’t catch cold. Ihe Lord will take
care of you. I never knew but one to catch
cold, and she was a hypocrite.”
Missions. —Theodore Parker, the sceptic,
after reading Dr. Wayland’s Life of Dr.
Judson, was so affected by it, that, he wrote
in his journal, “ Had the whole missionary
work resulted in nothing more than the build
ing up of such a man, it would be worth all
it has cost.”
Calvinism. —Matthew Arnold, who holds
that while “Paul undoubtedly falls” into
Calvinism, it is nevertheless “ based upon a
blunder,” is constrained to say : “In truth,
Calvinism is both theologically more cohe
rent, and also shows a deeper sense of reality
than Armii.iauism, which, in the practical
man’s fashion, is apt to scrape the surface of
things.”