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About Christian index and South-western Baptist. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1866-1871 | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1870)
CHRISTIAN Sii AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST. VOL 49-NO. 17. A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER, PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, GA TERMS.—CIubs of Pour, ($3.00 each) per annum...sl2.oo Clubs of Three, ($3.33 each) per annum... 10.08 Clubs of Two, (3.50 each) per annum 7.0^ J. J. TOON, Proprietor. Man Must Die. There was a young man fulj of mirth, Yea, young—in morn of life; The hue of health was on his cheek— He then knew not of strife. But where ia he who once was gay ? Has he the drear road trod ? Go to the valley’s gloomy shade— He lies beneath the sod. There was a man of middle age, Had all the joys o( home; In pleasure’s fields did flowers cull, And there loved oft to roam. But where is he, this man who was? Go where the willow stands; Tread lightly o’er the turf of green— He fell in death's cold hands. There was a man whose locks w#re gray, On him ne’er fortune smiled At bitter founts had freely drank— Had long lived sorrow’s child. But where is he, this man of years? Go thou where Wild weeds wave— He’s resting now in dreamless sleep— He slumbers in the grave. We, too, like those who’ve gone before, Must ere long pass away; The blade of Time will soon bring low The old, the young and gay. 0 God I is this our ~common lot?” Is this our certain doom? Must man, poor, mortal man, at last Lie silent in the tomb ? John Barton Gilbert. Stewart county, Oa., April 4th, 1870. The Autobiography of an Old Pilgrim. {Continued.) 4, Does conversion effect a radical change in human nature, eradicating its evil propen sities, etc. ? The idea that the act of conversion effects a radical change in human nature and totally eradicates its evil propensities, is certainly erroneous; and no error is innocuous. Error, in its minutest form, is poison to the soul. Dilute it, gild it, sugar it as you may, it is poison still. The particular error of which I have just spoken, works an injury, both to saints and sinners; for, in the. first place, it lulls the new convert into a state of false security. It thus renders him liable to fall an easy prey to him who goeth about as a raging lion seeking whom he may devour. In the second place, if he is not actually over come with evil, he is deprived, to a greater or less extent, of the consolations of the gospel. He had supposed that, after he was converted, he should never more be inclined to do evil. The consequence is, when he feels evil incli nations arising within him, he concludes that religion is a myth, or that he has been de ceived and is still in an unconverted state. He is lead, at least, to fear that the latter may be the case —that he is still unpardoned, unrenewed, and unsealed, as one of the follow ers of the Lamb. The error is equally injurious to the sinner. It tends to neutralize the good effects of all that is exemplary in the lives of Christians. When he discovers, in their aberrations from the path of rectitude, evidence that they are liable to be influenced by evil inclinations, as well as other persons —and such evidence is afforded in the lives of the best of Christians —he hastily concludes, either that there reality in religion, or that all Christians are hypocrites, and the best of them the most con summate hypocrites of all. In the one case, they suffer to pass unheeded the piping of the gospel minstrels, pipe they ever so sweetly, and, in the other case, they remove beyond the sphere of the moral influence of the most exemplary of Christians. In illustration of the evil effects of the error I am endeavoring to expose, l will relate a little of the experience of my boyhood. The minister who sprinkled me in my child hood, at my earlie'st recollection, always ap peared abroad.in a suit of what appeared to be new black broadcloth, with black silk gloves on his hands, a clean white handker chief around his neck, and with a measured gait, as though he were marching in a funeral procession. I viewed him as a supernatural being, and supposed him to be as holy as an angeTof heaven —entirely free from the im perfections which characterized everybody else that I knew. In process of time the min ister lost his wife, and deep was the sympa thy felt for him by his flock —even by those who, like myself, were little boys. In ninety days after the funeral there was a wedding in the minister’s house. He married his house keeper ! T.ie fountain of sympathy run dry, the tongue of scandal ran faster than the waters of a raceway. The minister became angered, stormed in the pulpit, and afforded unmistakeable evidence that he was subject to evil passions as welj as others ! My rever ence vanished like the morning mists. I was like a loosened sail fluttering in the wind, till Satan worked the windlass, tightened the ropes, and prepared me for a cruise into the sea of infidelity. I settled down upon the conclusion, pro tem., that religion was like a gilded bladder, tied up at its neck with church rules, of men’s enacting, and inflated with— empty air—(vain imaginings,) and—nothing more! The frail human nature which we brought with us into the world we shall carry with us to the grave, but—blessed be God !—not beyond it. It is the same in old age that it is in early childhood ; the same in the con verted man that it is in the unconverted. It was the same in Christ—while it was made the abode of His divinity—that it is in us. Should any be startled by this declaration, I would remind them, that it is written of the Son of God, He “ was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. I see not how this could be true if His human nature were not the same with ours. Human nature is linked with, and is in separable from, a body of flesh and blood : hence, its propensities are designated as car nal. They are the cravings of flesh and blood. Now, the flesh and blood of the saint and the sinner are composed of the same materials, and are endowed with the same characteristic properties or propensities. These propensi ties are evil, and evil only, and cannot, in the very nature of things, cease to exist uutil the flesh and blood of which they are characteristic properties, shall cease to be. The original constituents, both of the body and the mind, are the same after conversion that they were before. Nothing is added or taken from either. They are subjected to anew controlling power— that is all—but the results excite surprise throughout the universe, and fill unnumbered hosts with “ wonder, love and praise.” In every case of conversion there is anew nature imparted to him who is the subject of it—a nature that did not pretiously exist in him : consequently, it is represented as anew creation, and the one who receives it is rep resented as “ anew creature”—created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works. The old human nature, being ever inclined to evil, leads only to evil' works. The new nature, being a holy one, inclines only to what is holy, just and pure. Thus it will be seen that the two natures are as opposite in their characteristic properties, propensities or incli nations as they are in their origin. One is of the earth, earthly, and tends downward—to _ .T .w?i7r TI ""Ter .»,» *7“ —~“rr * FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, APRIL 2$ 1870. earthly things : the other is of heaven, hea venly, and tends upward—to heavenly things. These countercurrents of influence in the soul produce the conflicts that constitute the Chris tian’s warfare. The first battle is fought when the Prince of Peace enters the heart,deprives our human nature of its sway, and transfers to the new nature which He introduced with Him the power to reign supreme over our af fections. The last battle will have been fought when, with our dying breath, we shall be able to shout, “ O Death ! where is thy sting? O Grave! where is thy victory?” The old human nature is chained by Divine grace and held in restraint by the new nature, but is not destroyed ; nor will it be until pur fabric of flesh is overthrown by the blast of the grave. Unhappy the consequences to any one, to fancy that the last battle has been fought when the first victory has been won! Were our human natures radically changed, and our evil propensities eradicated at the time of one’s conversion, there would be no truthfulness in the apostle Paul’s representa tion, that “ the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh”—that he found “ a law in his members warring against the law of the spirit”—no propriety in represent ing the Christian’s life as a eontinuous war fare—no necessity for the cautions against feelings of false security, seducing spirits, the deceitfulness of sin, the treachery of our hearts, the wiles of the devil, etc., nor for the frequent admonitions to be watchful, to resist the devil, to put on the whole armor of the gospel, etc But surely, enough has been said —and some will probably think much more than was necessary—in answer to the ques tion under consideration. Another all-impor tant question, however, remains to be consid ered. 5. In what consists the new nature that is imparted to us, in the act of conversion, with power and authority to control our human nature, and render it subservient to the will and purposes of God ? That question, it appears to me, may be answered both briefly and truly by saying, In the indwelling of a triune God in our hearts. It is expressly declared in the Scrip tures, of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that they dwell in the hearts of those who are the children of God, and this indwelling of the Deity in them is represented as constitu ting a characteristic difference between them and those who are not the children of God. “ Know ye not your own selves,” asks the apostle Paul, “ how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates ?” 2 Cor. xiii: 5. The Saviour says of any one who keeps his words, “ my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Speaking also of the Holy Spirit, He says : “ whom the world cannot receive, be cause it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him,*’ and adds, “ but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (John, xiv: 17.) Paul asks, 1 Cor. iii : 16, “ Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Christ is represented, in Revelation, as stand ing at the door of the sinner’s heart knocking, or seeking admission, that He may enter and impart the blessings of His grace. I might cite other passages of a similar import, but enough has already been introduced, I flatter myself, to prove that a divinity resides in, and reigns over, the heart of every new-born soul. Prior tp hisaoqversi****, tko-wßuer had but one nature—a huniau nature that had be come defiled and rendered corrupt and de praved by sin. At his conversion he received a divine nature, like that which dwelt in Jesus of Nazareth. He thus becomes assimilated to his Lord and Saviour, in having, as he had, two natures, a human and a divine one, but he is unlike the Saviour in this, that while his human nature is suffering from the bane ful effects of sin, that of his Lord was free from every taint of sin. In their present state, therefore, the two are incapable of being united or merged in one. But the time is coming when the divine nature, imparted to us at our conversion, will so purify, refine and perfect our human natures, as to prepare us for a perfect incorporation with our Lord. When that time shall come —but not till then—the Saviour’s memorable prayer recorded in John xxiii, will be fully answered. We shall all become one with Him, as He is one with the Father. We in Him, and He in us. Oh, what a blessed, glorious consummation will that be of all that is promised us in Christ Jesus ! What is all the pomp or splendor of the world compared with the glories of that day! What are all the joys of earth com pared with the raptures that shall flow through every breast, as we sit down with our victo rious Prince and Saviour on the throne of His glory, and share with Him all His honors and the costly spoils taken from His van quished foes! -A poet says—l think it is Moore— “ Take all the pleasures of all the spheres Atid multiply each by endless years:— One moment of heaven is worth them all.” Such language may appear to us now as ex aggerations of a fertile imagination, but it will appear tame, indeed, when we shall receive from the hand of our heavenly Father the cup of life eternal, and “ drink endless pleas ure in.” Abdikl Nekoda. Intemperance. The celebrated essayist,-Macauley, once said that the people of London occasionally had a fit of virtuous indignation, when some unfortunate delinquent must be sacrificed for the good of society. This remark was made in a sarcastic vein, while that great author was endeavoring to vindicate the fame of one who is now numbered amongst the proudest of English poets. Now, to wage a spasmodic and desultory war against great and grow ing evils, may not be the best method for ridding society of them; but even this is preferable to leaving them to work out their ruinous effects upon mankind, without any attempt to counteract them. There are admitted evils which men choose to bear rather than incur the disquietude and risk of assailing them ; but others are found so dangerous to the interests of society, .hat it would be madness to endure them. There is one evil »>f this kind, which is now weighing like a night-mare upon society, an evil so prevalent that all true philanthropists are called upon to unite in a grand effort to put it down. Intemperance is the evil of which complaint is made, and at no time have its mischievous effects been more sorely felt than at the present. Years ago, the evil was deemed so intolerable that many of the purest and best men in the land arose with the determination to thrust it out of society, if found a possible achievement. Associations were formed, numerous dis tinguished orators took the field, the power of the press was invoked, the popular feeling was aroused, and it was fondly hoped by the friends of reform that this monstrous vice would be driven from the world. At that time the temperanoe reformation became the most popular movement that had been at tempted in several centuries, and all classes of society vied with eaoh other in the fixed determination to make it a oomplete success. But the effort, alas! proved to be one of those huge periodical spasms of society which serve as examples of what might have been accomplished, had the advantages gained by the friends of temperance been followed up to their logical results. But, after- a vast amount of speaking had been done, floods of printers’ ink had been shed, an immense number of temperance devices had been in vented, beautiftd and costly regalia had been manufactured and worn, vast processions had been witnessed, after oceans of pump-water had been guzzled by men, women and chil dren, the mighty reformation was in mid-career; King Alcohol again quietly as cended his throne and issued his fiery edicts, fragrant with the fumes of good brandy, in different gin and bad whiskey. The virtuous indignation of society was appeased, and men began gravely to whisper doubts as to whether the whole popular movement were not, after all, an ebullition of that wild fanaticism which sometimes threatens to carry all before it, and whether one might not be a good man and yet mix a little brandy with his insipid pump-water. When the popular reaction came, it was as irresistible as the temperance reformation had promised to be, and now we have the fearful results in the wide-spread evil of social drinking. Such are some of the facts re gard ng the temperance cause, and every one can see that the present aspects of the case are by no means encouraging to the friends of religion and social order. At such times, it is easier to ask, what is to be done ? than to answer the inquiry in a satisfactory man ner. But the mere asking of such questions implies that something ought to be done to correct the dreadful evil of intemperance, though the means by which the work is to be accomplished are not so apparent. There can be little risk of error in saying, however, that the church is the hope of the world as far as moral and social conservatism is concerned. Temperance organizations may do much to check the evil of drinking ardent spirits, as a beverage ; but it can never be eradicated while the people of God give countenance to, or connive at it. If the people of God, in their united ca pacity, are the light of the world, as Christ predicated of His disciples, then they should take the lead in assaulting all moral evils,, however strongly they may be entrenched in the affections and habits of the people. Should they undertake to correct the evil of intem perance, the first thing to be done will be to put away the thing from amongst themselves ; for it is a notorious fact that many who wear the insignia of heaven’s great King, indulge in this social vice, to the grievous injury of their own piety, and to the burning disgrace of the cause which they have espoused. A drunken Christian is a moral paradox; for the word of God declares “ No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God.” The people who profess to belong to Christ, should, in this matter, adopt as their motto, “touch not, taste not, handle not.” More anon. H. C. H. Mammon. “ The love of money is the root of all evil.” So intimately are all enterprises connected with money, that there can be very little progress or comfort without it. To say that it is not good in its place, is to deny the cor rectness of the judgment of mankind. That the love of it should engross the minds, hearts, bodies and time of so many good men and women, is lamentable. We do not assert. £s srqne do that the world is worse than it was in the days of the flood, or of Sodom. Wickedness has always been predominant among the nations. It may be that there is a tide of it which ebbs and flows regularly or irregularly, in certain places and among certain people; but the average amount over all the earth, perhaps does not materially vary. That evil produces evil is quite evident; and so, the more numerous the parentage, the more numerous, also, the offspring, When the wicked rule, the righteous mourn. The wicked have ruled, and do rule. That they rule in obedience to all the vile passiops of fallen human nature, no one can doubt who observes their conduct; but that they are more influenced by the love of money than anything else, may be seen both by the secret and legalized robberies which they are committing every day, without fear or shame. Among these human monsters, oaths are without sanctity or force, and theft and op pression a business and a pastime. Such a state of things is to be expected, while this side of fortune’s wheel is up; but that fatal wheel is constantly revolving. Its victims are lifted high, that they may be the qiore effectually crushed, when they descend to the bottom. “ The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” “He setteth up one and putteth down another.” Upon the wicked He will rain fire and brim stone; but the righteous shall be in everlast ing remembrance.” The unlawful love—the lust of money is the root of all evil. “ Lust, when it is conceived, bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is fin ished, bringeth forth death.” Mammon has always been a very popular God.’ All nations have worshipped him; and they worship him as faithfully and devotedly to day, as Israel worshipped the golden calf of Aaron. The rites and ceremonies—the ritualism of this worship is considerably varied. 1. It may be heard in the thousand forms ,of language that it uses. Sometimes it speaks the vile slang of Billingsgate, and the curses of Pandemonium, when these are agreeable to the god, on this side. Again, its words are shaped by the chaste artist of poe sy and the sweet *muse of song, if by them the God is moved to liberality, on that side. The measured tones of the orator, the shrewd logic of the philosopher, and the sa cred and solemn harmonies of theology are employed to move the giving hand of this many-sided god. The penny magazine, the little Express, the large Daily and larger Weekly ; the tiny Manual, the humble Quar to, the mammoth Folio, the illustrated News and the illuminated World, are all beggars at the golden or greenback shrine of Mammon. They hardly ever go forth in a single issue without calling lustily upon the god—their god, for another, and still another offering. The swindler's note, the speculator’s notice, the lawyer’s fee, the doctor’s bill, the bank er’s draft, the merchants invoice, the auction eer’s cry, the actor’s hand-bijl and the legis lator’s pay, all often speak in the language of mammon. The buncombe sermon, the col lector’s announcement, the plauditory notice of a church’s beneficence, a minister’s flatter ing offer and a Hebe’s liberality, sometimes speak or lisp with the same adoring tongue. The soft, mellow whispers of feigned love, that would tempt the unsuspecting maiden to sign away her meagre patrimony, and the great swelling words that would break the will of a millionaire and claim a nation’s treasury, are but like forms of speech, giving glory, nonor and majesty to the god of gold. 2. It may be seen in dress—not only in the latest, but in the oldest fashion. He is no more a devotee, who prostrates himself before the image of to day, than he who con tinues to bow at the ghost of yesterday. There is as much real, genuine mammon worship in the coat cut after the pattern of John Wesley, as there is in the imitation of the last gorgeous robe of the Empress Eu genie. When Diogenes trampled upon the pride of Plato, iq the form of a carpet, he was only reviling jthe same god that he had been worshipping hi his own great tub_ 3. It may be r’oticed in buildings, tents, huts, houses, martions, palaces and temples. Mammon no resides in the money that builds the one, tfan that which is withheld from enlarging aid beautifying the other. He is as potent fu an iron safe, as he is on the dome of St.iPeters. The poor little miser that squeezes out a three cent piece to build a mud hovi'j is as truly an idoiator as was Nebuchadnezzar, who gloried in the great Babylon that he had builded. “JVo man can st*ve tioo masters: for either he will hate tne on?Sind love the other / or else he will hold to the pne and despise the other. Ye cannot serve if"’! and mammon. T. B. C. Why Dos Zion Languish? In a recent nutnitr of the Index appears a short article frori i th? pen qf “ A Sister in Christ, upon “ of Woman in the Churches.” She sterns to think one cause of the sad and declfn|£y state of Zion, is the fail ure, on the pari c/ the deacons, to come up to their duties ; ! V.d furthermore, is of the opinion, that if sifters were invested with a little more power, many duties now wholly neglected in the cfefches would be attended to, and pastors not so often starved out of their salaries. In ?be concluding paragraph of her article she says, show her a church in which the deacons are alive to a sense of their duties, and it woulo be a pleasure to visit it, as a wonder. I have been thinking of the various churches o£ which I have been a privi leged member since commencing to tread the ways of Zion, and my observation with each and all of them has been, that the deacons were amongst the most energetic, thorough going, God-fearing • f the members. In two cases they were tue main dependence In regard to the pastor’s salary, and all other expenses of the church. The fault does not lie so much at the door of the deacons, and, were some of them disposed to speak in their own behalf, we would* find that, in keeping house for God, th#y‘ are subject, often, to trials of which this other members know nothing at all. It is a very easy matter for a church to resqlve through some members, vvho seem to think all they have to do is to vote, that thl deacons shall'go around, and by nextiMeetingVeport what they have col lected in the way of/iyids; but it is altogether a different thing when the task is attempted, and this o#e and that one begin making ex cuses. Let us have* some charity for the dea cons. To what degree the sisters are culpa ble for the cold, dreary, languishing state of the Lord’s vineyard", remains to be seen, and can perhaps be madtf more apparent by other pens. The difficulty life in another direction. Upon the same page of the same number of the Index, the reader will find nine maxims, or propositions, Upon the “vexed” subject of “ Pastors and they’ Support.” In those pro positions, particularly the 2d, 4th, sth and oth, will be found the. Rey to all our troubles. The writer knows a church situated within visiting range of fiv * Baptist preachers. The minister in charge makes the sixth, and he gives to this membeishigone regular monthly service, including (“uiturday or Conference day. Can any oneAuKnfc to a church more advantageously for moans whereby ( she may grow in ;yace, in wisdom and in knowledge, than this ? And yet, this church, which ought to be a bright and shining light in the denomination, is so meagerly, so scantily fed, that her membership areas poor, spiritually, as Pharao ? s lean kine mentioned, of old. Excepting a protracted meeting, or when some wandering missionary of the cross happens along, the doors of the meeting house are never unclosed for night service, or Sab bath afternoon lecture ; and, no matter how hard the sisters may plead for extra preach ing on fifth Sabbaths, or Christmas day, no herald of Jesus is ready to come forth and speak in His name. Six watchmen upon the walls of this one little part of God’s Zion called to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, and yet sitting in idleness, while num bers are famishing for the bread of life. The Sabbath school connected with this church, and which, rightly conducted, would prove a pow erful auxiliary for doing good, never has had, but at one time, the active, hearty coope ration of the minister in charge. Carried on mainly by the exertions of a few sisters and one or two brethren,At has struggled on for existence, some times almost dying out, not for want of material, but for a leader. This same Sabbath school had a celebration—one to stimulate and encourage the little ones, and when the occasion ca.ne round, the acting committee had to call upon a Methodist min ister present for a lecture. If proposition two of the Index, above referred to, is true, —and who doubts it?—then all of these preachers called to preach the word are unfit for the proper discharge of their duties, be cause all are engaged in secular employment, making preaching a secondary work only. If proposition four is true, then they are not performing their bounden duty ; they are not laboring to feed the flock of Christ, and con' sequently the churches under their ministra tions cannot possibly thrive. But enough for this time. Perhaps some third sister in Christ may like to carry on this subject. For the present, then, I will sign myself A Sister in Christ, No. 2. Weekly Contributions. I have but little hope of permanent pros perity in the churches of Christ till they place themselves, in all things, upon the “ founda tion of the apostles/’ Among the many neglects of apostolic usage, we find a depart ure from the law of weekly contributions, which runs thus: “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him. Every man ac cording as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity : for God loveth a cheerful giver.” Upon this law note a few things. 1. The disciples met together on every Lord’s day. Baptists, in most of their churches, meet once a month. Such Baptist churches are not acting Scripturally. 2. The disciples were commanded to lay by in store as God had prospered them du ring the week, and contribute on the “ first day of the week.” Monthly meeting Bap tists cannot obey to the letter of the law, if they were disposed; nor have they troubled themselves on the giving law. Are they loyal to the King? 3. The law says, “ God loveth a cheerful giver.” Wonder what he thinks of a stingy Baptist who never obeys that law ? Wonder what He thinks of a Baptist church that never puts itself in a position to obey that law 1 To place itself in position, it must meet “ upon the first day of the week.” But it will not do to run the analogy too severe between Apostolic churches and Bap tist churches, lest some one may ory, “ Trea son J Treason!" All 1 wish, is to drop a hint occasionally, to let our people know that they are not yet perfect,” A man nor a church are not more than half converted till they are a9 ready to give as to pray, and to love the privilege of the one, as well as the other. H. E. T. Church Edifices. During the month of December, I think, the Editor of the Index had occasion to write upon the subject of Reverence for Church Edifices. He alluded to a distinguished son of Georgia, who never, it was said, passed a church [edifice] without taking off hjs hat and walking by bareheaded; and added : “ Better even this than the light, trilling, ir reverent spirit which looks on the church [edifice] with no thought of the God whom it declares as the avenger of sin, or of the Christ whom it offers as the Savidur of sin ners.” It is not necessary, however, to go to either of these extremes. If these edifices were properly constructed, and the churches which meet within their halls were wise enough to adopt Scripture names instead of the names of streets, squares, or avenues, which, whenever a removal takes place, must be changed to be appropriate, we should see more reverence bestowed upon the house of God and the walls of our Zion. Can we feel ihe same reverence for the First Baptist church that we would for the Calvary Baptist church? Or cherish the same affection for the Madison Avenue Baptist church, (made up out of the union of the Oliver street dnd Lexington Avenue churches,) that we would for the never-changing, ever-sacred name of the Bethany Baptist church? I think not. The Episcopalian and Romanist, while they overstep the mark, have been much wiser in this respect than we. There are names enough in Scripture for us without our adopting a Saint John or SaiDfc Mary for our churches. And we should, at the same time, make a suitable distinction between the churoh and the church edifice —the brick and mortar, or wood and glass of the ’latter, and the living stones, the immortal souls that compose the former. Old Trinity and Saint Haul’s, and Saint George’s Chapel, in Beekman street, (the lat ter has recently been torn down,) have re mained unchanged for scores of years, and have seen a hundred other neighboring church es change their names—some three or five times, owing to successive removals—as they followed the tide of domestic life into the upper part of New York city. Take, for ex am pie, an old Christian of one of these churches. He joined the Broad street church, fifty years ago; but it soon moved up to Beekman street, and became the Beekman street church. A dozen years later, and it moved to Canal street, and became the Canal street church. And lastly, it moved to Madison Square,and became the Madison Square church; and as he lingers on the verge of the grave, waiting to go home to the Zion that is immovable and unchangeable, he is surprised to hear that the church intends to make one more move—to settle down finally in a fashionable location opposite the Central Park, and become the Central Park church. Now, my dear readers, this is no fancy sketch. The thing has been done in large cities—especially Boston and New York, and Brooklyn—for years; and is constantly taking place there at the present day. Saint George’s church, however, has moved and removed, but it is .to-day “ old ’' Saint George’s, for through more than half a century it has carried its original name with its moving tabernacle; and it mattered not where .the edifice of stone and mortar was erected, or how often removed, the church ■ sanvi.'-fe’-name xtiaA up ’it. This is as it 'jhouiu be with every churoh of Christ. Although I may draw this article out to such a length that it will finally reach the editor’s waste paper basket, I cannot forbear touching upon another point. I refer to the sad results which follow bad taste and rash expe riments in building church edifices. Now in the city of New York, for example, there is a very beautiful white marble church edifice, situated on Fifth Avenue, corner of Twenty ninth street, the steeple, of which is surmount ed by a huge gilded Shanghai Rooster, which serves as a weather vane. The edifice is, in <“>nsequence, called the Shanghai church. In Fourth Avenue, corner of thirtieth street, stands the church of which Dr. Bellows is pastor, and which is known as 11 All Souls Church .” The building is a most singular affair, (the walls being built of layers of red brick and white marble, one above the other, alternately,) and has become widely celebra ted as the Church of the Holy Zebra. Yet the congregations of these two churches are composed of the wealthiest and most cultiva ted classes, who, by failing to exercise a little practical good sense in the construction of their church edifices, have secured to them irreverent appellations, the use of which can not but destroy all reverence for them as the house of God and the gate to heaven. Again, in Philadelphia they have an edifice known as “ Church of James the Less," which is vul garly called the Church of Little Jimmy. The less such names are used, the better it will bp for the sanctity of our churches. Why, with so many more appropriate Scrip ture names at hand, such an appellation was selected, I fail to comprehend. Brethren, make your church edifice a house of God in name as well as deed. Do not secularize it by the use of the name of streets, avenues, squares or towns. Rather let It bear a name t hat shall ever keep in mind some great event or chosen place of resort in the life of Christ, the great Head of the Church. Sidney Herbert. A Brief Argument. Christianity is an institute for creating and nurturing a divine life in the soul of man, and needs no human instrument except a teacher of the truth. All who have been made par takers of this divine life are divinely called to diffuse it among their fellow-men. Their ob ligation is measured by their ability and op portunity to speak for Christ, privately or publicly, in conversation or exhortation, or formal discourse. The notion that to excite or to sustain this divine life, something else is needed, in the way of priestly or sacramen tal intervention, is—ritualism. The sharers in this divine life, in each neighborhood, are bound to associate together in a form —a church—under a divine l#w, which designates its officers and prescribes their rights and duties. A union of persons —even of those who are partakers of this divine life—is not a church, unless its form corresponds to the requirements of the divine law, nor have its officers any Scriptural au thority. Hence, as a church can know noth ing beyond the directions of the word of God, it can not recognize the existence of such an abnormal union, even of believers, nor sanc tion the acts of its officers. This is —not rit ualism. The believer —in whom the divine Spirit dwells—is an organism, having life in himself; the church is only an organization, having none, but deriving its efficiency solely from the life inherent in its several members. Actual Christianity manifests itself as a life and as a form. The life is not dependent on the form, nor does the form contain any por« tion of the life. These are essentially differ ent, and reciprocally independent; yet, both are prescribed by divine authority, and shoulj be gratefully accepted and oarefully main tained. Protestant churches, generally, lie between the extreme of Quakerism —which is all spirit—-and Popery, which is all form. The normal ohurch accepts both in their Scrip tural adjustment and harmony. All Christians, in that they partake of this common life, are one, and may unite in wbat- ever is simply the expression of this life, as prayer, praise and other spiritual exercises, extra-ecclesiastical societies, etc. But where the expression of this life is permeated, or touched, by the form, there can be neither union nor mutual recognition, either as to ex istence or acts, except among those who ad here to a church, formed according to the pat tern given in the New Testament. R. Columbia, S. C. ’ Mint Tytheing. I am truly glad that the mint tytheing question, “ whether the Divinity suffered with the Humanity,” is dropped —settled it could not be. The mountain labored a good while, but did not bring forth even a mouse. It is amazing that sensible men can interest themselves on questions not worth the snap of one’s finger, while great practical subjects are left untouched. But so goes the world. Jehu. God. . Is there a God ? The birds’ sweet anthems, warbled from the trees, The gentle whispers of the summer’s breeze, The rippling brook—their voices join and sing, “There is * God. a great, Eternal King.” Is there a God ? The lightning’s flash, the thunder’s mighty roar, The-oeean’s waves that burst upon the shore, Revolving earth-harmonious answer bring, “There is a God, a great, Eternal King." Is there a God ? The earth, the sea, the universe proclaim The majesty of His eternal name, And angels join the mighty song and sing, “ There is a God, a great, ®lternal Kiag ” #*##*** Life is Beautiful. Life is beautiful—its duties Cluster round each passing day, White their sweet and solemn voices, Warn to work, to watch, to pray; They alone, its blessing forfeit Who by sin their spirits cheat, Or to slothful stupor yielding, Let the rust their armor eat. Life is beautiful— affection Round its roots, with ardor clings, ’Mid its opening blossoms nestle, Birdlike, in its branches sing, Smiling lull its cradle slumbers, Guard with pride its youthful bloom, Fendly kiss its snow-white temples, Dew the turf-mound o’er its tomb. Life is beautiful with promise Os a joy that cannot, fn.de, Life is tearful, with the threating Os an everlasting shade. May no thoughtless wanderer scorn it, Blindly lost in folly’s maze, Duty, love, and hope adorn it, Let its latest breath be praise. The Greek Church. ’ • It is the most abject example of degenera tion, formalism and puerility in Christendom. It is worse than Rome itself, except in politi cal abuses, and in these it fails only by rea son of local, accidental circumstances. Trav ellers find nowhere in the civilized, or semi civilized world more mental or moral decrep itude than in Eastern Christianity, more ignor ance in the priesthood, more superstition and puerility among the ascetics more degradation and demoralization among the people. Greek Christianity holds as tenaciously to tradition as Rome does; like her, it has seven sacra ments, and it holds the acceptance of its dog mas to be necessary to salvation. In the matters of its difference from Rome and other portions of Christendom, its variations are chiefly marked by their logical puerility and absurdity. JFi Winamp!**, »c wfoWs- iu«»r» fog. to its lower clergy, but prohibits it among the higher, and never allows second marriage to ecclesiastics, the. widowed priest being not permitted to retain his charge, but must re tire into monastic life; it denies purgatory, but allows prayers for thq.dead; it teaches baptismal regeneration, but makes it depen dent on a trine immersion or aspersion; it denies the worship of statues or carved ima ges, but allows that of pictures or painted ones. It holds tenaciously to the invocation of saints; Mariolatry everywhere abounds; transulistantiation, crosses, relics, and almost every medieval barbarism, prevail. The in tellectual condition of the priesthood is so low that it cannot be trusted in the pulpit; preaching is almost unknown, except when performed by the higher clergy; in Russia the Czar Alexis actually prohibited preaching on account of the evils which attended the barbarous homilies of the clergy; and in Turkey, where no law interferes, it is tacitly repudiated on account of the incompetency of the ignorant priesthood. Such is the Church which English High- Churchmen and Ritualists prefer to the en lightened Protestantism of their own Dissent ing countrymen ! We favor genuine religious “unification;” but who can help despising these pharisaic, meretricious schemes for it? Better moral unity, we repeat, must precede any desirable ecclesiastical unification, and there can be no better moral unity, as re spects the Greek or Latin Church, till these are regenerated by interior evangelical purifi cation. Pure Membership. The two General Assemblies of the Pres byterian church in the United States appoint ed a committee to answer the Pope, and as sign reasons why they could not comply with his invitation to the Ecumenical Council. In that answer, defending themselves against the charge of being “ schismatics,” they say : “We believe in true Catholic unity. We cordially recognize as members of Christ’s visible church on earth, all who profess the true religion, together with their children .” Nor has this statement escaped the notice of a writer in the Catholic World. He says: “ The clergy of the Presbyterian church in America number about five thousand, having, we believe, somewhere near half a million of communicants, and three or four times as many members in a looser sense.’ ? The criti cism bestowed upon this letter in the Catholic World is, of course, exceedingly lame as a whole, but these “ member s in a looser sense,” embracing the children of the adult members of Presbyterian churches, expose our Presby terian brethren to well directed arrows from the enemy. It savors quite too much of the Roman Catholic mode of church building. The Romanist may say, “ While you charge us with receiving and retaining thousands of men utterly godless, destitute of piety, look at the thousands of ungodly children and youth whom you count as members of your church on the ground of infant baptism.” What answer can be returned 1 ? It does not become Baptists to boast, but we feel con scious of ability to meet Romanists on a more Scriptural basis, touching the nature of a New Testament church, and thus save ourselves from the charge of practicing what we con demn in them. Is Jesus On your Gross? A young lady entered the church of God with a saddened heart, bowed down with the thought of a cross which lay in her pathway —-a cross which seemed too heavy, too griev ous to be borne. Lost in her own reflections, trying to think of some other path she might take, and avoid the cross which she saw before her, rather than press onward in the path of duty marked out, she was suddenly startled as a little boy by her side whispered in her ear, “Is Jesus on your cross f* She felt that his voice was from above, and she needed the reproof which the question brought to her, and resolved to go home, and WHOLE NO. 2487. although, to her, it seemed so terrible, she would now take it up for His sake. The little boy, all unconscious of the depth of the meaning of his words, had simply referred to a gold cross worn by a stranger. We all have some cross to bear. Our pathway looks dark some times, and we are wearv of the sombre clouds; but if Jesus, our blessed Saviour, be near, and we know he has marked out the path for us, shall we not seek Divine guidance, and press forward with eagerness to do our Master’s will ? If we cheerfully take up the cross in the strength of Christ, we shall find; instead expect ed burden to terrify and crush us, it will be lustrous with the smiles of our approving Lord. Delay Wrong. Dr. Addison Alexander, in .some records of his own religious experience, which are too brief for the satisfaction of those who would like to know more of the inner life of one so great and good, makes the following confes-. sion: “ When my conscience has.been wound ed by relapses into sin, I have always b*een tempted to sink down into sullen apathy, or else to wait a day or two before approaching God again. It has seemed to me, on such occasions, that it would be awfully presump tuous and insolent to ask God to forgive me on the spot'' Robert Murray McCheynej writing on the same subject, says: “ I feel, when I have sinned, an immediate reluctance to go to Christ. I am ashamed to go. I feel that it would do no good to go—as if it were making Christ a minister of sin to go straight from the swine-trough to the best robe, and a thou sand other excuses ; but I am persuaded that they are all lies, direct from hell. ... I am persuaded that there is neither peace nor safety from deeper sin, but in going directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is God’s way of peace and holiness.” A feature of Christian experience is here unveiled which is not new, but which always demands attention. Reluctance to trust Christ —to trust Him fully, absolutely, and implic itly, is a sin which pursues us far into the Christian life. It separates us from Christ, and draws a veil between us and the light of His countenance. It leaves us with burdens on our consciences, which rest there with heavy weight, and prevent all cheerful ser vice. It keeps stains on the heart, which Bhould be washed away at once, and forever. These men of God, from whom we have quo ted, felt this unbelieving reluctance, but they condemned it. They strove to overcome it, as a temptation of the evil one; and they found the way of peace in going instantly to the Fountain, with the stain upon them, that washing there they might be clean. W e commend their words to all tempted in this point as they were. “ There is neither peace, nor safety from deeper sin, but in going directly to the Lord Jesus Christ.” . Which is the Sect? The Baptist churches do not claim any pre eminence in numbers, but are content to rank • with the smaller branches of the church of Christ; yet, in America and this country, the Baptist churches number about one million and a quarter of members. We ask the ques tion for information, and inquire,"had all the ole-lastics of the. P<wi AugbaahJSlynod any * thing like this number of constant, regular communicants under their care ? We gravely doubt it. Be it remembered, also, that in Baptist churches watchful and stringent.dis- . cipline is maintained ; the door to the Lord’s supper is jealously guarded, and any known immorality at once excludes a man from membership. No such discipline exists in the Episcopal church in England ; the merest mockery of such a thing may survive, but for all practical purposes, discipline in Episcopal membership is dead and buried. Yet it is a matter open to fair question, whether the en tire body of such lax and necessarily corrupt membership would be found to equal the membership of the Baptist community. The next time the Episcopalian'feels inclined to look down with contempt upon the mere sect of Baptists, let him seek some retired spot, where he may give his judgment a reason for the pride that is in him.— Spurgeon, in Sword and Trowel. Hints for Daily Practice. 1. Come by faith to the blood of Christ, that all your sins may be forgiven. 2. Seek, by earnest and humble prayer, the help of the Holy Spirit. 3. Live upon Christ as the life-giving root of all holiness. 4. Keep in constant remembrance the fact that God is ever present with you, knowing every thought, hearing every word, and ob serving everything you do. 5. Before you speak in company, ask your heart to answer these questions : Is what I am going to say strictly true ? Is it useful 1 Is it kind ? 6. Under all circumstances in life, pray for a calm and thoughtful state of mind, trusting always in the Lord, and feeling that he doeth all things well. 7. Remember that if religion has done nothing for your temper, it has done little for your soul. &. Work while it is called day for the glory of God and the good of mankind. 9. Be clothed with humility, and pray with out ceasing. 10. Let me continually bear in mind that I am a dying creature ; and O my soul, think, and think again and again, what it is to die— what it is to enter upon the thrilling realities of eternity ! Items. A Hair’s Breadth.” —“ Whon the be liever in Calvinism states his doctrinal senti ments in terms most favorable to Arminian ism, and when the Aminian sets forth his in terms most favorable to Calvinism, then there is but a hair’s breadth between us.”— Wesley. The Old Struggle.— Vinetsays: “Under different names, the authority of the Church and the merit bf works were old-world preju dices, that Jesus Christ came to dispel; and anti-Reformationism reconnects itself over the cross with the doctrines of Egypt, Rome and Athens.” The Ministry. —“ What are you doing?” said a London D.D. to a visitor from the Country. “O, sir, lam in the ministry now,” was the somewhat exulting reply. “Ah, but my brother,” said the querist again, “ is the ministry in you ?” Rather an important question that. The Apostles. —The Church Union makes out the Apostle Peter to have been a Meth odist, John an Episcopalian, and adds, there are reasons for believing that Apoltos was a Baptist, James an Orthodox “Unitarian,” Timothy a Presbyterian, and Paul an Inde pendent, whose adaptation of himself to all men was an occasion of frequent jealousy.— Central Baptist. Romish Baptism. —A correspondent of the United Presbyterian thinks that baptism ad ministered by Catholics should not be held valid by Presbyterian churches. On the con trary, the Congregationalist thinks that they hould be received as valid by churches of its order.
