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CHRISTIAN IN DM AND lOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
VOL. 49-NO. 18.
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, OA
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’Sepulchrum.
Bring me no wreathing cypress, plant no weeping wil
lows,
Nor place thou pleasant garlands o’er this dust;
The deep, dark grasses waving here in restless billows
Alone are of my sorrow emblems just.
Take bick thy roses for some sunny household garden ;
The darker in their presence seems my grief:
’Twere but sad mockery to keep with blooming warden
The earth whose grainstalks fell e’er in the sheaf.
I loved your beauty,flow’rs,when my life’s sunny places
Rivalled your brightness, e’er so shadow-crossed,
But I can greet no more your smiling, unbowed faces,
Smiling the same if we have gained or lost.
So comfort from earth’s loving teachers blindly spurn
ing,
My soul saw darkly, wedded to the gloom,
Till, at its farthest verge, a brow of light upturning,
A hope-eyed violet sprang beside the tomb.
Love-sent I felt it. for its beauty o’er my moaning
Uprose, like spirit-music, heavenward;
It stood, light from its fair brow all the darkness toning,
An angel, o’er my lost one keeping guard 1
Like faith o’er loss, the resurrection o’tr the mortal,
A song of triumph o’er a funeral knell; —
Ah! by the gate of death God showed life’s wondrous
portal,
And gave me echoes of heav’n’s glory-swell.
Then tears again, but rainbuw-hued, warm with thanks
giving,
Fell, as fair flow’rs I planted o’gr the just,
L'Sting the while to their sweet whispers of the living
Sprung upward like those blossoms from the dust.
But fadeless is their beauty now, all glad their singing,
And the rapt choral bids our mourning cease.
They live! We, too, kept safely till our blest home
bringing
Shall share their bloom, their song, and know their
peace.
O Jesus! Thou who comfort sendest to us weeping,
We bless Thee for their present, perfect rest
Beyond,the dark, up where they in Thine own dear
keeping
Smile, what we, sobbing, say— God's way is best.
A. U. S.
Wilmington, Del.
The Autobiography of an Old Pilgrim.
( Continued .)
The views expressed in my last article,
relative to the depraved human nature which
we brought with us into the world, and the
new divine nature which is imparted to one
at his second or spiritual birth, appear to me
to be fully sustained by the teaching of God’s
word ; but every one should examine the
subject prayerfully, and form an opinion for
himself. Every one will be held accountable
to God for his own creed and practice, and
not for those of another. If we adopt error,
it vvill not excuse us, in the day of judgment,
to plead that we were taught it by beloved
and venerated parents,or by divines renowned
alike for their piety and learning. The uni
ted testimony of councils and conventions,
synods and assemblies, priests and popes,
through all past ages, will weigh less than a
feather or a breath of air against one “ Thus
saith the Lord.”
I am aware that renowned theologians, with
a long list, of initials of honorary titles ap
pended to their names—Dr. A. Clarke among
them—have taught that the^apostle JP&ul’s
account'ofthe conflicts between tne flesh and
the spirit are true only of the natural man, or
of man in an unconverted state, mid not of
the converted or spiritual man. They have
introduced ingenious arguments to sustain
their views. 1 doubt not men of their ability
might adduce arguments equally ingenious to
prove that honey is bitter, and that gall is
sweet. It would be impossible, however, for
me to be convinced by their arguments in
either case, for the simple reason, they con
tradict, in both cases, the testimony of my
senses —my personal experience. I. have
tasted honey, and know it to be sweet: 1 have
tasted gall, and know it to be bitter. I lived
in my natural or unconverted state more than
two and twenty years, and knosv that, during
that period, there never was a time when I
could truly say, “ I delight in the law of God
after the inward man.” So far from delight
ing in the law of God, I hated it; I trampled
it under my feet. I would have expunged, if
I could, every law imposing penalties for sin;
indeed, I would have torn from the statute
book of heaven every statute that prohibited
the indulgence of my carnal appetites. Well
do I remember seasons when l would be mad
against God because He did not afford me
opportunities or the means to indulge my
sensual desires. I would some times say to
myself, ‘lf the Lord will not afford me an
opportunity to gratify my sinful desires, I
wish Satan would.’ So desperately wick
ed was the heart that now mourns be
cause it cannot cease from sin, covets
to be holy as God is holy, and daily
cries, “ Save, save me, O my God, from my
self—from my sinful thoughts and evil de
sires, as well as from every evil way.
My will was as averse to the will of God as
were my feelings to the acts enjoined. Inever,in
an unconverted state, really willed to do any-
thing that is good in the sight of God, or to
avoid that which was evil. The imagination
and thoughts of my heart were, like those of
the antediluvians, evil only, and that contin
ually. It is only since my conversion that I
have been able to affirm truly, “To will is
present with me, but how to perform that
which is good I find not.”
my case a peculiar one ? Was I created
with a nature different from that of others?
a man sui generis , a kind of lusus natures in the
moral world? I must forget all that I have
seen in aiid heard from others before 1 can
believe that. I remember, as I write, one of
my youthful acquaintances, who was deemed
honorable, upright, moral, and who attended
on the ministrations of the gospel regularly
every Sabbath, who remarked, on one occa
sion, prior to his conversion, “ If I could, 1
■would hurl Jehovah from His throne.” That
I believe to be the langurge of every unre
generated sinner’s heart, though—as it is not
every unregenerate sinner that understands
the language of his own heart—some of them
may question the fact.
If the spiritual conflicts described by the
apostle are characteristic of the natural man
—of the unregenerate heart—l would like to
know in what state was I, prior to that event
ful night when the Saviour entered my heart,
with the Holy Spirit, and wrought within me
the memorable change already described. Is
there a state intermediate between that of a
natural and that of a spiritual man?—between
that of a converted and an unconverted soul ?
Tell me, O ye Rabbis of Israel, or ye Magi of
the world, tell me where 1 may find an ac
count of it. If in the Bible, name the book,
chapter and verse, in which it may be found.
If in some other volume, tell me where I may
find it, and by what means I may obtain pos
session of it. ” I know that, before the time
of my supposed cpnversion, there were in my
heart no such conflicts as those described by
the apostle, for the obvious reason, I never
.resisted the devil, but allowed him to have his
•own way in my heart in everything. I doubt
whether he ever had a more obedient child
than was I. I could not have been in a con
verted state, for the love of Jesus is charac
teristic of that state, and l am certain I had
no love for Him. He appeared to me as a
root out of a dry ground, without form or
comeliness, as says the prophet Isaiah. Is
there a neutral region between the kingdom
of Christ and the kingdom of Satan in which
the opposing forces of heaven and hell never
meet and mingle in the deadly fray ?—in
which one may dwell in quietude and secu
rity, at peace both with God and Satan ? I
see no such region marked out on the heav
enly chart. If there be such, who will define
its boundaries?. Who will report its latitude
and longitude ?
I may not know my true state—l may be
a deceived man ; but this Ido know: that I
daily experience, in my own sold, conflicts
like those described by the apostle—the lust
ing of the flesh against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh, and realize the truth
of what He affirms : that these are contrary
one to the other, so that the good that we
would do, we do not, and the evil that we
would not, that do we.'
The lusts of the flesh ! They harrass me
by day and by night, disturb my waking and
my sleeping hours, pursue me wheresoever
1 go—to the sanctuary, to my secret chamber,
even to the mercy-seat. Locks and keys,
bolts and triple bars of steel afford no secu
rity against them. There is no security
against them except in the bosom of Jesus ;
but, blessed be God ! encased in the love of
Jesus, they may assail, but cannot harm us.
They cannot, while we remain thus encased,
crush one germ of joy that Jesus’ love begets,
nor extinguish one ray of hope that His ap
proving smile lights up. Be warned, ye chil
dren of my heavenly Father, and ever keep
yourselves within that encasement. (“ Keep
yourseves in the love of God,” is a divine ad
monition.)* Within it you shall feed on an
gels’ fare—enjoy a- sweet foretaste of the
blessedness of the redeemed in heaven : with
out it, your food shall be that of demons foul.
Wind and flinty rocks would be a delicacy in
comparison with it. You shall feed on your
own vitals, and have a foretaste of the tor
ments of the damned, in the goadings of a
guilty conscience, the gnawing of remorse,
and the raging flames of lusts that can never
be quenched. Again, I say, be warned. By
faith lay hold of Jesus; keep close to Him.
Let not the smiles of the world entice you
nor its frowns drive you away from Him. In
Him is everything the soul can need or the
heart desire. Out of Him, there is nothing
but poverty and wretchedness, sinning, and
sorrowing, and sighing, and a train of woes,
unending and unutterable. Hear ye the word
of the Lord : “ Behold, my servants shall eat,
but ye shall be hungry ; behold, my servants
shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty ; behold,
my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be sor
rowful ; behold, my servants shall sing for
joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of
heart, and howl for vexation of spirit.” Such
is the warning voice of the great Jehovah.
Hear ye now the kind, encouraging words of
Jesus : “He that believeth in me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of
life.” “ And ye wili not come to me that ye
might have life.”
1 will report, the Lord willing, in my next
article, some of the sweet and bitter remem
brances that have prompted me to give the
admonitions and exhortations with which I
close this an% Abdiel Nekoda.
P. S.—l cannot read your paper, but lam
told the “ most excellent Theophilus” has en
deavored t<s wakp re- r. v<* tha* <•>
I, Abdiel Nekoda, am not Abdiel Nekoda,
but somebody else, using my name as a mark
to conceal his own homely features. Now, if
that were a fact, I would ask, what right has
Theophilus, himself a masked man , to be peep
ing behind the curtains, or talking about lift
ing one’s mask without his leave ? Please
let me retain possession of my own name,
brother Theophilus. It is a good, Christian
name—like yours, of Grecian origin. If not
as Mell- iferous as Mell, (one of the contribu
tors to the Index,) it is as sonorous as Toon
or Shaver, and not as liable to be mispro
nounced as that of H. E, TANARUS., another contribu
tor to your paper. A. N.
Reminiscences of Dr. Manly.
First Impressions.
It cannot be too much impressed upon the
minds of ministers, young and old, that the
first impression they make is no trifle. 1 ar
rived in the city of Charleston by steamboat,
—eleven days’ trip from Augusta,—the day
after Christmas, 18—, then in my 19th year.
Having found the hotel to which I had been
directed, and reported myself to my employer
as ready for business on Monday morning, I
went to my room, in Myatt’s third or fourth
story ; I do not remember now ; it may have
been the fifth, if there were that many. 1
awoke early on the next morning, which was
the Sabbath, and first of all, prepared for
church. I enquired for the Baptist church,
(there was then but one,) and at length reached
the place. Approaching the door, I saw a
genteel, amiable-looking colored man, who
seemed to be sexton, and asked him to show
me to the seats reserved for strangers. He
was just officious enough (not a bit more) to
find out that I was a Baptist, and expected to
remain in the city, and immediately I was
introduced to half a dozen or more brethren,
who all seemed like old acquaintances—a
great feat for them, for I was always a timid
and reserved boy, not much better even now.
In a little while the pastor, Mr. Manly, came
up, and I was introduced to him. I believe
the present Doctor B. M., Jr., was then a
chap of a few summers, at his side. In a lew
kind words, be made me feel that I had found
one to fill the place of my pastor, miles and miles
far away. Mr. Manly invited me to go home
with him after service, which I consented to do,
for I could not endure hotel life, especially on
the Sabbath. In a little time I was snugly
seated, and the minister rose, (what a trans
formation !) “in a gown!" Such was the
custom. That seemed strangely Episcopalian
to a country boy like me, but I soon felt at
ease again, and liked the preacher mightily.
Standing around the door, 1 waited, expecting
to see the gowned pastor; but, “presto" and
it was the same brother Manly again. After
a plain Sunday dinner, I was left to rnyselt
to enjoy my meditations. The pastor, I sup
pose, was looking o\ er his afternoon sermon,
sister Manly enjoying the quiet of the Sabbath
as a young mother can, and in due time all
set out again for the sanctuary.
Such was my first introduction to that
family. Many recollections come trooping
up before my mind at the mention of the
honored name, and I say, with pleasure, all
of them of the agreeable kind. Brethren in
the ministry, remember that
you make for the first time is not a trifle.
Renewal of Acquaintance.
It has always been with me a favorite ex
ercise to study men —living more than dead
men. I therefore felt it a peculiarly fortu
nate circumstance that, in the very inception
of my ministry, I had an opportunity to study
from a favorable point of observation, that
eminent man of God, Jesse Mercer, viz: as
his assistant and successor. When I settled
in Tuskaloosa, in ’45, I felt that another fa
vorable opportunity was presented for study ;
and that Dt». Manly was the subject—a man
who, as I have said to himself and often to
others, more than any man I have ever known,
seemed gifted with that rare qualification
miscalled common sense.
Happily for my designs, he was always ac
cessible, and, indeed, furnished the opportu
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, A%L&NTA, GA., THURSDAY, MAY 5, 1870.
I will not vouch for the following, though
I had it from pretty good authority: ■
The congregation at was disorderly .
in this sense : they (t. e., the young people)
would go oLt by twos or threes at a time, and ,
this through a great part of the service. The,
Doctor was preaching there on one occasion,'
and even his presence did not “ abate the nu
isance” fully. He got through the sermon
as best he could, but told the brethren that
he should not visit theehurch again, and gave
the disorderly conduct ceason. They
reasoned with him, alleging that it was no
fault- ja£ and.
trol it. They were, many of them, his par
ticular friends, and he began to regret his
vow, but had to get over it, as it had become
generally known that he had so decided. His
wit came at length to his assistance, and when
he made his next visit to that church, he re
ferred to the resolution which they were wit
nesses he had made and broken. He ex
plained to them that he had concluded that
the young people “ did not know any better;”
and therefore he had concluded to take no
more notice of the disorder. It was said by
my informant, that it worked a complete and
manifest change. They wanted Dr. Manly
to know that they did know better.
The Eighth Verse of John.
Some of the family can perhaps recollect
better than l can .tell, the particulars of his
preaching from the above. His known accu
racy rendered a mistake of the kind very bur
lesque, to all who noticed the omission. The
amusing part was, that he never noticed the
mistake, and only found it out by being told
by some of the brethren. The way he en
joyed it in telling it on himself, was decidedly
rich. How the brethren kept their gravity
is a mystery.
Brother M— ’s Essay.
faity more than I could have hoped for. He
gratified his fondness for attending meeting
in the country, by frequently going with me
to my appointments, and many a pleasant
season has passed between us. Second-hand
jokes -are too* often, like quids once chewed,
rather unpalatable ; but I will venture to say,
as one of the doctor’s special favorites, whom
he often patronized in.the same way, is said
to have replied, when asked, “ What do you
do for the Doctor to compensate him for at
tending your meetings as he does?” “ Why,”
said the good brother, “ l teach him all that
lam able./’ Precious little either of us ever
taught him; but I can say, / always came off
knowing something more than before.
Chapel Hill Church.
This was one of the Doctor's favorites, a
real pet, and I felt it no small compliment,
that one of the first of his movements after
I settled in Tuskaloosa, was to have me called
as pastor of this, his nursling. I think the
grounds of his favoritism with regard to this
church were, Ist, they were a good, plain
people; 2nd, and chiefly, there was but little
money to be expected • from the work. I
trust they and their descendants are the same
good, plain people as of former times, and (if
the Lord will) prospering in their worldly
circumstances.
Many of our most pleasant rides were to
Chapel Hill, and then I often felt that I was
sitting at the feet, (if not of Gamaliel,) at
least of a Doctor had , deservedly, in rep
utation. The conclusion of one of his
sermons I shall never forget, though I can
give but little conception of it.
He addressed himself to the young people,
and here I must say that, if there was any
error to be alleged in his course as a minis
ter, it was in not leaving, at least fragments
in writing, from which such passages might
be reproduced. He commenced by apologiz
ing for the apparently harsh manner which
ministers sometimes use in addressing them
from the pulpit, confessed that he might have
done the same thing, begged forgiveness if he
had made such an impression on any of their
minds. “ For,” said he, and here he went
into that soul subduing pathos for which he
was at times so remarkable, “ When I think
of the awful doopi that is before you, if you
die as you are, I have no heart to utter one
harsh thing.” And then followed such ex
pressions of pity, and sorrow for their doom,
as baffles all power of language to express.
Doctor Manly certainly ought to have
written some; though f confess such fervor
as was expressed then could not have been
written. The man, the tones, the look, aH,
were eloquent. It was the eloquence of gen
uine feeling.
The Disorderly Congregation.
We had a Ministers and Deacons’Meeting
in the Tuskaloosa Association, which brother
Manly was very apt to attend. At the meet
ing a sermon was to be preached, and essay
read, on which the writer, having ample time
and due notice, was expected to put his very
best work. On one occasion, “ the old Doc
tor,” (as his brethren loved to call him, be
hind his back , however ,) Prof. Curtis and my
self attended, having made a pretty consider
able jaunt to get there. The hour ar
rived, and ourselves, with the preacher for
the occasion and the essayist, made up the
major part of the congregation to hear the
sermon and the essay.
The writer acquitted himself well, but evi
dently felt that he had “bored" his audience
by reading to them an essay on a subject
which, as he remarked, “ they all knew more
about than he was able to teach them."
On hearing his complaints, not only the
complaint just mentioned, but an additional
one, about the time he had spent upon his
essay as all lost, the Doctor remarked about
as follows: “Brother M—, you seem not
fully to understand the design of these essays
and sermons. Os course, they are intended
to benefit all who attend; but the writer
himself is the one ,«after all, mostly benefitted,
for he is compelled to give his best thoughts
to the subject, and to put his thoughts in the
best language. Now, I have no doubt you
have clearer ideas on the subject of your
essay than you ever had before, and you can
therefore comfort yourself with thefeeling that
whoever was or was not benefitted, you have
been, and more than any one else.” All this
appeared new to the good brother, who was
a great favorite with the Doctor, and was'
received as it was meant. And all who heard
it, doubtless felt as l did, that it was a source
of' great comfort in all our efforts to do good :
If no body else is benefitted, I am.
C. F. S.
What is not a Church.
Writers on ecclesiastical polity have put
forth their mightiest intellectual energies in
defining what a church is; and have only
shown what a church is not, incidentally. It
is time some effort was made in the last
named direction.
That little handful of members is not a
church, who lived sufficiently near to a well
organized church, and who, probably, became
dissatisfied because they could not lead, and
were constituted by some easy-going minis
ter, in order to make a “ Report ” of <his suc
cessful labors. Out of the material of that
“ church ” you cannot find a Scriptural dea
conship, nor eldership, and they are without
pastor or evangelist, and they claim to be a
church, and bid defiance to the world. Look
at their records, and you would imagine they
had chosen their poorest scribe and composer
for their Clerk. But he is the best they
have. LoA JuftbeL fating house, and what
a sightl cf'Mude they think it a
sin to | a comfortable house.
How “ Dace a month.”
Have they a immtty,fcayer meeting ? No ;
that woulc be WM‘V<ir - igteous.” Have they
a Sabbath scfadlEpAtKi i that would involve
some labor. to their “ sup
ply?” “ poor to keep him
humble.” Wff doing for missions,
etc.? Notbina Do they have many
“ difficulties ” Sfeaflv' conferences ?” Not
a few, as th tii- rt so is will show, provided
you can read! n to!. \ they have protract
ed meetings! Tjlttee a)year, certain. That
is the tlifjllffi 6<sag penance for doing
But too severe ? Not
a bit. severe on a thing
JE|fch of Christ, and can
not showi^BOSg^itar-mark. What would
become MrC'iitisi its instru
mental in to V
The such “churches” all
through fas
and I arn thing “ tliwscaif< i
eth.” fee preaching in evi ry.
nook e and this cm »e
better aaiMßßrnir- few strong, well
organized WmdEugh t 3o ’ elders and
evangelists, process’of
“ constituting
through the nLex there be preach
ing stations m||R| /. L but few churches.
I know, as °ne, that the reader
will pay m lo this article. Why
pen it, thei l Why Noah preached
to the men not hear him, and who
were doomed t' in the flood. Ask me
why Lot p one) igo Sodom, when his hear
ers were airo; ~ appointed to destruction.
Ask me why-a Jrtnon'has ev§r been preach
ed to those wh given over to repro
bacy. The ft [,eher is bound to lift up his
voice in ther ; £ 0 f the sea of wickedness,
whether th wijNfe aDC | waves drown his voice
or not. Bis foWW IS to preach —to lift up
his voice againsi crying as in trumpet
tones. M " *
Dress is in® jEsfetlw- agencies at work for
our destruCG* u Tu tut, tut! This
is utterly IXcdl Wftf >ot say. Well, let us
look at the ijiJp
1. When Pp /jp* i • Viught that the whole
business of life drees, and he is trained
up in that faith. ittid.a*rietice, it is but reason
able to suppose j-jj* vvjji; foe as he was trained.
When the 191M1 aas i tathed maturity, or the
woman, and 4r }| :htj master passion of
the soul, of|w eartwiy u-fe is such an one ?
So far as beii||t! ’ , society i* concerned, such
person had %*% a clothes
rack, or a nftuSi) ,
.. Men prone to worship
themselves S|,tt lion* sand before the mir
ror during inutsl 1’ ,f | e profoundly engaged
in self-worships- 4* „ jeiuore exquisitely they
can dress, the M -'a-^ifcptly their souls bow
down to tly- his self-adoration,
establ ®pa:!- diile life lasts, unless
•rooted oulyi, A 'jiji»it'4f God, Where we
find it - the * *;j *; is vain forj^e
eirtirn to osH-LABm*!!; O- t*. elf, a Cnitllla.
> child of A , trbD, and not his
a: '
on exhiouton. | ( j s p eu j. t jj e pe rson
case , f gibing on ehrth'is
of common faNf the culture whose clothes
» Stuck up, ize a f(jil0 W
'Vl. no T * r (he universe deserves
® in °'. , any National beings, it is a
the united pity J ke this> H is fellows
specimen of mmW he cannot see his
should pi y iflrl mH ypj fc y him, because they
situation. *■ ”8* Iff he is ever to reach heaven,
see how UDlikelyf because they se6} no
? ev >\ ma > P 1 hi , silken adornments must
doubt how soon| hWaself shut jn utter de
be laid aside, w „ rshi per is often the
spair. Th* se\m kr *£ n to give signs 0 f
ch ! li ; c u 1S jmhe house of God he cannot
spirituality. om} dress _ He st
be present out 'oH not , llng tQ wear _o
aw ‘W Aom the principa i thing;
spent on it enormous,
spend all, except what
for dress. To see
tK U " S *h^;inHP^ ornments > one might
em ~ to the first lords of the
:e, p c*t e „ m Etes
want. Their rifhnelghbors, worshipping the
same God, scorn>their poor rivals, and strive
perpetually to Iqeep in advance of them, ihe
race after monix is desperate in its impetu
osity ; but that *.the class we treat ot is not
loss Gftffcr. 1
When so mu# is lavished on the adorn
ment of the b<sy, there is little left for be
nevolence. Let', the woman who carries a
thousand dollars’, worth of dress goods on her
person atone tme be asked to give to the
poor or to the intension of missions, and her
reply is likely db be that the pressure of the
times is such th/t she cannot afford money for
such objects ! 3he can afford to waste God’s
money on sei -adornment, but she cannot
spare Him Hi< |wn for the objects which He
makes it her 'uvilege to contribute to, and
for which H^o^ ers rewar( L The woman, in
this case, is re P resent the whole class
whose together, they
spenA7nUdW^Hrani lum Tor useless or su
perfluous while they spend
scarcely so ma|y hundreds for proper objects
of benevolence.!
4 the divinity of the soul, the
victims will®' cel y succeed in either mental
~r business Jfsfhs. What can the youth
do in booMMyiaif the time is s P enfc be '
fore the glaWfl^» ation to appear well
in the b ‘- fore lile e - ves ,A
Sabbath a student would
do about a school
room, so is concerned. In
business, the better. Young men
become so enaJKd W themselves as to get
above business,(and are set adrift as idlers, or
else, to keep ufcwith the extravagance of the
they comJ't frauds on their employers.
Where the yoilg mau manages business for
himself, his rlf may be assumed as a cer
tainty. Withal young of the other sex the
case is no bettJe The comely girl becomes
devoted to tbfla orship of finery. For its
sake if she li»*borer, her business is neg
lected. ■results, but her passions
must be fed. the sake of dress, to end
the sad story, Se is probably led to destroy
herself fbreVerM In the case of rich women,
thp pvil issumManother form. Some of them
fed te find thlln willing to pay for their
wardrobe. S(^^“ most of them —marry,
but their hufnands being like themselves,
their money il early exhausted, and they are
left in misery, Os all people, these worship
pers of worst off, when reduced
from wealth t/want. Os all people, they are
most like buferflies with their wings taken
off. -rr
5. Thf e>«ppl§ of these devotees of dress
is most contt nous. A few can lead the mul
titude in ibis ping. It might be thought that
those clai ups *he Christian name would not
go with tbgff *tt ,tu de of evil doers; but, with
few excep iot, they* To the sanctuary
they go to ■bTi*# l , and either to outshine, or
else to sHy|iq ual to = °t ber Christians (?)
6. Lastly,—for, difficult as is the task, I.
must close— the mothers of this country aril
training their children from ihe cradle to wor
ship dress. Instead of keeping down the
swelling vanity of their children’s hearts, they
are pampering it perpetually. Instead of re
fusing utterly to put co9tly or gaudy clothing
on their children, thtey cover them with costly
clothing from the first. What have such mo
thers to expect for their children ? They can
legitimately look Tor them to came to nothing
here, and to sink in the sea of wrath here
afte*r.
Iu view of the facts mentioned—and the
half has not been told— may we not hold that
dress is one of the elements at work for the
destruction of the American people ?
When millions go to decorate the fading,
o unholy bodies of dying, men, and nothing is
given to God, how can the people be spared ?
Scrap.
Our Editor and W. T. B.
The discossion brethren S. and W.
T. R., upon the perpetuity of the church of
Christ,has reached a point where It must be in
teresting to every lover of truth.
The Editor, in his review of W, T. R.* in
the last Index received, I think* strikes upon
the true ground in the discussion, when he
says the word ekklesian, in the 16th chapter
of Matthew, is not limited in its meaning, to
“ particular congregated churches.” The
word is here employed in its generic sense,
to denote all the called of Jesus Christ, wheth
er congregated into particular organizations,
or “ scattered abroad.” In this general sense,
all the truly regenerate are included—all who
are effectually called, by vhe word and Spirit
of God, whether assembled, “of one accord,
in one place,” or whether they are separated
by the whole extent of Earth’s surface.
Again: our Editor strikes upon the true
ground when he says that “ outward organic
form is the out-growth of the inner spiritual
life.” The new life, in the heart, in striving
to make itself felt in the world, works
outward, as if feeling after kindred spirits,
and yearning after fellowship with kindred
minds, until it can really say, “a body hast
thou prepared me,” and then the visibility of
which W. T. R. writes is attained. The first
step in this outward progression of the spir
itual life towards definite form, is seen in
baptism, a symbol which presents to the eye
the cluster "of truths involved in the modus
operandi of passing “ from death unto life.”
There we see the death of the sinner to his
former course of life, his burial with his cru
cified Lord, and his resurrection to anew life
of holiness to God.
Supposing any number of these immersed
believers assembled together, they then con
stitute a particular local congregation, and are
ready to receive the laws of Jesus Christ,
which are to govern them in their new social
relations. If any such laws exist, we are to
look for them, not in the canons of unin
spired Councils, but in the Holy Scriptures
of truth, as recorded in the New Testament.
Now, did the men who were directed by the
Holy Spirit, thus organize immersed believ
ers into compact social bodies, and deliver to
thetn eertain ordinances to be kept, and to be
transmitted by them to those who should
coßie after them ? Again* did the apostles
who were sent forth Mdg&ihft commission to
*-«**.•■ mjt tffpMMMiMj
name of the Father, Son <«d Hdly Spirit,
teaching them to observe aU things whatso
ever Jesus had commanded oompts&fc,
the work of organization, or did they leave it
to be finished by uninspired men ? Or, to
state the proposition in the form of another
question, were the New Testament churches
complete, in all respects, as local assemblies?
It is presumed that brother S. and brother
W. T. R. agree with the writer, that they
were complete, as to organization, as well as
in every other respect. Then we are pro
pared to advance in the argument, and we
now come to what I conceive to be the real
issue between brother S. and brother W.
T. R.
Has there ever been a time, since the days
of the apostles, when the immersion of be
lievers was discontinued and the ordinance
lost? It is for those who affirm this to fur
nish the proof; otherwise W.T. R. is right in
taking for granted the perpetuity of believers’
baptism.
Again, has there ever been a time since the
days of the apostles, when immersed believ
ers did not meet together for worship, and to
maintain the ordinances delivered to them?
Whoever affirms this must furnish the proof;
and until this is done, it must remain that
what brother S. admits as true of the whole,
must also be true of the parts, and, therefore,
if the gates of hell have never prevailed
against the “ general church of the first-born,”
neither have they prevailed against one or
more of the called, whether organized or un
organized. We are warranted, then, in as
suming, with brother W. T. R., until the
proof is made overthrowing the position, that
the gospel ark or church, in organic form, has
floated down the stream of time to us, with
out the displacement of a single plank, or the
loss of a single nail, from its divinely ap
pointed place. H. C. H.
LaGrai ge, Ga.
Which is the Older I
Are the Missionary Baptists the offspring
of their anti missionary brethren?
Did they spring from us, or we from them ?
Are they entitled to their assumed name,
Primitives? These inquiries are suggested
by an article in a late Index and Baptist,
from your able correspondent, E. B. Teague.
In his great admiration of our anti-missionary
brethren, he pens a sentence or two that does
not seem to me to be wholly true. He says:
“ I have a kindness for the Primitive Baptists.
I heard their preachers often in my boyhood,
when, indeed, all the Baptists nearly were of
that faith and order, the division not then
having taken place.” If there ever was a
time when all, or nearly all the Baptists of
this country were of the faith and order of
the so-called Primitives, I have not been cor
rectly informed.
That the missionaries did not spring from
the anti-missionaries, is evident from the
nature of the case. The true missionary
spirit is as old as Christianity itself. It is an
inherent element of all true religion. LoVe
to God and man is a part of the new creation,
and whom we love we desire to benefit.
“ For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works.” Eph. ii: 10.
It was not the adoption of anew principal**,
but the effort to develop one that already ex**
isted, that caused the unhappy division among
the Baptists. 1 have as strong an affection
for our anti brethren, as does brother TANARUS., be
cause I believe every Christian among them
desires to do something for Christ; but, from
various reasons, they oppose almost every
good word and work. They persisted in op
position to the development of missionary
principles by passing new laws of fellowship
and of ejection: thus incorporating in their
authoritative documents rules and regulations
that had never before been heard of. The
missionary brethren, whether in the majority
or minority in the respective churches, assert
ed no new principle, and in every instance, I
believe, would have gladly remained in church
connection with those who differed with them.
Are the missionaries, then, justly chargea-
HUM,h the rupture? and are they to date
from it? Are they to be re
jrniraa as the refractory party ? Are our anti
brethren to be regarded as the primitive Bap
tists of this country ? Verily, I think not.
I would as soon believe that the sun receives
and reflects the light of the moon, or that the
lion rejoices in the strength of the kid, as to
believe that the anti-missionaries are the Prim
itive Baptists of the country.
That the anti missionaries shifted their
ground and left the old Baptist platform, was
confidently believed by the sainted Mercer.
Referring to their efforts to more firmly es
tablish themselves, and, if possible, to move
the missionaries, he says: “ The attempt has
resulted precisely as would the effort of a
man to move the ship from her mnprings by
pushing against her from a small boat; the
small boat, we all know, would move, and
not the ship. So they in this have shifted
their ground, while we remain where we
were.” A.-J. K.
differ son, Ga.
Faith and Repentance.
Are these exercises simultaneous? If not,
which is precedent? . 1
Faith in Jesus Christ is defined as “a sav
ing grace whereby we receive and rest upon
Him alone for salvation, as lie is freely of
fered to us in the gospel-and repentance
unto life is a saving grace whereby a sinner
out of a true sense of sin, and apprehension
of the mercy of God in Christ, doth with
grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto
God with full purpose of heart, and endeavor
after new obedience.”
These are the exercises of the regenerated
soul. The former is belief. The latter is
sorrow. They both follow conviction, which
is the first step in- the commencement of the
work of grace in the mind.
A convicted sinner exercises repentance
unto life, —saving repentance, —when he be
lieves that he is a sinner—that his sin cruci
fied his God—that Jesus died for him, and
thLt there is mercy in God for him. Unless
he thus believes, he will not exercise godly
sorrow for his sins, nor will he forsake them.
Experience teaches that the stronger his faith
in the love of Christ for him, in Christ’s abil
ity, willingness and readiness to save him,
the deeper will be his sorrow for sin and re
pentance of it.
But in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus,
conviction, faith and repentance were appa
rently simultaneous. He was stricken to the
earth, convicted of sin, had a view of Christ,
believed on Him and repented of his sins—
turned from them and entered the service of
Christ, apparently at the same moment. But
only apparently so. The moment the blind
man’s eyes were opened and his sight restored,
that moment he saw. But who will affirm
that the opening of the eyes did not prtcede,
even though but as in the twinkling of an
eye, the seeing of objects. It preceded in the
order of nature and in the order of time.
And thus the convicted Saul believed and re
pented. The believing soul is the only truly
repenting soul. Job said, (iv: 5,6,) “Mine
eye (of faith) seeth thee: wherefore I abhor
myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
In some instances in the gospel call, the
is, “ believe and be baptized in
other inltanees, the command ft “ repent and
.is t'i4 onjwjrd’
•/it Taitb.' v As one of the works
is shown. It is the fruit of
t faith, wjferreby it is known.
A Bible Baptist.
The Essence of Heavenly Joys.
“ Ought not Christ to have suffered these
things?” I have several times preached from
these words. Our Marshall, who
heard me on a Sabbath afternoon, in the
Presbyterian church, at Griffin, Ga., was
pleased to express the wish that l would re
peat the sermon in his hearing, that he might
take it down. I replied, that 1 had recently
published the notes in the paper at that time
edited by brother Ilornady. The points made
were, that the text meant, in the first place,
that the necessity of Christ’s sufferings was
shown in all the types and prophecies of the
Old Testament; in the second place, in the
fact that redemption could have been wrought
out in no other way.
It has often been maintained that God might
have devised some other plan of redemption.
I strongly except to this latter view.
There is a sense in which Pope’s celebrated
line, “ Whatever is, is right,” is emphatically
true. I was taught, in my childhood, to love
my country, not so much because the sun
never shone on such another, in grandeur, fer
tility and beauty—in its magnificent vales
and towering mountains, and noble rivers, —
as because it had been the theatre of the birth
of liberty, born in travail of blood and sacri
fice. I love my own native South more, not
so much on account of its fair blue skies, its
unequalled verdure, and Italian sunsets—its
exhuberant soil and multiform productions,
as on account of the late heartfull struggle to
preserve its institutions. I utter no disloyal
sentiment. My Bible teaches me to be
subject “to the powers that be”—enunci
ates, in all distinctness, the doctrine of gov
ernments de facto.
I was once on a lower plane in my concep
tions of redemption. My interest well nigh
all centred in mere rescue from perdition. I
am now, and have long been, on a higher
plane. That appears to me a conception en«
tirely unworthy of the subject. The richness
of redemption is its cost —rescue from the
grasp of* no common foe, by the hand of no
common deliverer. It is salvation from eter
nal death, by inconceivable sorrow. A re
demption without Jesus—Jesus bearing the
full tide of God’s infinite, unmitigated wrath !
Thatwereno adequate redemption. That were
to deprive redemption of its infinite sweetness.
Heavenly joy will be the contemplation of
His love who cheerfully confronted Jehovah’s
utmost wrath for us.
And heaven, without His smiling face,
Would be no heaven to me.
Some other plan would have done! Nay,
verily ; there could be but one right plan.
God has ever chosen to shape universal things
as they ought to be. He could not have
shaped them otherwise, consistently with His
all-perlect nature. I fear the utterances of
God’s infinite,unflinching justice—the just “in
dignation and wrath” of Him who is “of
purer eyes than to behold sin, and who cannot
look upon iniquity,” are not Relished as they
ought to be. Is the attribute of justice less
glorious than that of mercy ? 1 fear ade-
Tftfate ideas of the extent of His love who
bore the curse for us, are often lost in the
craving for connivance at sin, regarded as less
criminal than it is. Nothing less, I apprehend,
can satisfy the penitent soul, than an ifinite
evil obliterated by an infinite sacrifice.
“ Mercy and truth are met together ; righte
ousness and peace have kissed each other.”
“O Lord, what heavenly wonders dwell
In thine atoning blood!
By this are sinners snatched from hell,
And rebels brought to God !
E. B. Teague.
Short Sermons.—“ When the Duke of
Wellington was asked ‘ What a sermon should
be about?’ he answered, ‘About ten minutes.’
The Abbe Mullois, chaplain to the present
Emperor of the French, is said to draw the
line at seven minutes .”
WHOLE NO. 2488.
“I am the Doer.”
“I am the doorcome in. come in,
And leave without thy load of fcin.
The night is dark, the storm is wild;
O venture in, thou stranger child.
“ Ism the doorcome, gently knock,
And I wilt loose the heavy lock
That guards thy Father’s precious fold;
Gome in from darkness and from cold.
“ I am the doorßo' longer roam;
Here are thy treasures, here thy home;
I purchased them for. thee and thine.
And paid the price ih blood divine.
“ I am the doorray father waits
To make thee heir of rich estates;
Come, dwell with Him and dwell with me,
And thou my Father’s child shalt be.
“I am the door;’* come in, come in,
And everlasting treasures win ;
My Father’s house was built lor thee,
And thou shalt share that home with^me.
— Rev. Dwight Williams.
Would you be Young Again?
Would you be young again ?
So would not i
On© tear to m«morjr gW’Q,
Onward I’ll hie. —^
Life’s flood forded o’ttf,
All J>ut at rest'OTt shore,
Say; would you plunge once more,
With home so nigh?
If you might, would you now
Retrace your way ?
Wander through thorny wilds,
Faint and astray?
Night’ i gloomy watches fled;
Morning all beaming red,
Hope’s smiles around us shed,
Heavenward—away,
Where are they gone, of yore
My best delight?
Dear and more dear, tho’ now
Hidden from sight,
. Where they rejoice to be,
There is the land for me;
Fly, time, fly speedily, *
Come life and light.
—Lady Nairn. ( Composed, in 1842, when the authoress
was in her 76th year.)
Opponents of Creeds.
If you wish to find a theological Ishmaelite,
with his hand against every man, denouncing
all who differ from him as unchristian bar
barians, you will find him among the noisiest,
opponents of creeds. If you would find a
theological gladiator, Challenging everybody
to discussion, and givitfg the neighborhood
where he dwells no peace, look for him in the
company of those who refuse to have a creed.
If you wish to see sectarianism run mad, and
bigotry fully developed, with haughtiness of
spirit rude enough to shame the arrogance of
Rome, look into the interior life of some of
the modern sects whose watchword is the
Bible alone! Liberal Christians, Newlight
Christians, Campbellite Christians, Universal
ists, Unitarians, and we cannot tell how many
others, all take the Bible alone and denounce
creeds. Let them first come as near uniting
upon the essential doctrines of the Gospel as
do the evangelical churohes, and then bring
the charge against us that our creeds keep us
in strife.
Giving.
A writer in the Presbyterian denies that
Protestantism is a failure, yet says : t: One
thing it fails to do, most signally fails to do,
and that is, to develop the benevolence of its
people. It is a failure in comparison with
Romanism here. While Romanism has its
ci4Ferefilled, aityf can go into e#ry land and
tyitttm' witll i tdprinciples/'b'u rt he».»
ana with material wealth secure results on a
gigantic scale, Protestantism is a beggar at.
the hands of its almoners at this day. ‘We
gather nothing (says the last Foreign Mis
sionary,) where that church reaps a bountiful
harvest.’ ‘ Classes that are almost wholly
overlooked in our church, are the main sup
porters of the Romish hierarchy/ Yes, Pro
testanism fails where Romanism has its chief
power, viz: in the possession and use of
money for its benevolence. It is a failure also
comparison with Paganism in this respect.”
Ihe reference is, to the fact that Protestaut
ism does not secure the Tvor,**-** - her widows
—that her poor have never learned the lesson
of their predecessors in the apostolic church,
‘ the riches of liberality in deep poverty’
that she notact on the rule affirmed in a
recent Roman Catholic call for funds, “It is
the duty of every one who is not a beggar, to
contribute to the support of foreign missions
a rule which, in 1867, secured to tho Society
De Propagandi, $900,000, from cent-a-week
contributions!
Experimental Evidence'. —An admirable
defence of the doctrine of pierary inspiration
is contained in the reply of a woman in Tu
rin, who had a present of a Bible, and was
reading it when a priest, passing by, asked
her what she was reading. She told him, aud
he demanded of her how she knew it came
from God. She replied, God told her so.
He replied, “Ah, you have seen God ?” She*
said, (looking up,) “ How do you know that
that is the sun?” He replied, “It enlightens
and warms me.” “Ah, yes,” she said, “so I
know the Bible is from God; it enlightens
and warms this hearti’
How to Learn. —Never forget what a man
has said to you when he was angry. If he
has charged you with anything, you had bet
ter look it up. A person has often been
startled from a pleasant dream of self decep
tion by the words of an angry man, who may
wish his words unsaid the next hour, but they
are past recall. The wisest course is to take
home this lesson with meekness to our souls.
It was a saying of Socrates, that every man
had need of a faithful friend and a bitter ene
my ; the one to advise, and the other to show
him his faults.
Argument from the Dead Sea.—Lieu
tenant Lynch, commander of the American
Surveying Expedition in Palestine, said:
“We entered on this sea with conflicting
opinions; one of our party was sceptical, and
another was a professed unbeliever in tho
Mosaic account. After twenty-two days’
close investigation, if I am not mistaken, we
were all unanimous in the conviction of the
truth of the Scripture account of the destruc
tion of the Cities of the Plain.”
True. —A correspondent having written
the Covenant that he “ knows half a dosen
churches that have been killed by their min
isters’ wives,” that paper responds, “We
know three times that number that have been
killed by their own mismanagement, stingi
ness, indifference and irreligion.”
Aged Converts.— A remarkable feature
during a revival in the Congregational church
of Franklin, Mass., was the conversion of a
number of aged persons. Five had passed
three-score years and ten in sin and folly, and
twenty-five were over fifty years of age.
Greatness. —In answer to the question,
“ Who is the greatest lawyer?” Judge Story
replied : “He who aims to say the least the
cause requires, not all he may.” And proba
bly it would not be a bad reply to the ques
tion, “ Who is the greatest preacher ?” to an
swer, “ He who says exactly what the subject
requirep, not all he could say about it.”
Christian Unity. —ln the prayer of our
Lord, recorded in John xvii, while he prayed
twice that His people might be kept, and twice
for their sanctification, He prayed no less than
five times for their unity .