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CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
VOL. 49-NO. 22.
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, GA
TERMS.—CIubs of Four, (83.00 each) per annum.-812.00
Clubs of Three, ($3.33 each) per annum... 10.00
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j. j. TOON", Proprietor,
My Redeemer Liveth.
I know that my Redeemcr%vcth.—Bible.
I know that my dear Redeemer liveth—
That His throne is established above;
I know that eternal life He giveth,
To souls that serve Him in faith and love.
I know that my dear Redeemer liveth—
That every day and hour of life
My waiting soul His strength receivetb,
To stand the victor in carnal strife.
I know that my dear Redeemer liveth—
That nothing can stay His mighty arm ;
I know my immortal soul believeth,
His piesence will shield from sin and harm.
I know that mv dear Redeemer liveth— ?
That Death and the Grave He triumphed o er;
And tho’the dust my body receiveth,
Both its life and power He shall restore.
I know that my dear Redeemer liveth -
That He on earth, at last, shall stand;
T know 1 shall see Him as He unveileth
The graves of the dead in ev ry land.
I now that my dear Redeemer liveth—
That I His glorified form shall take, „
. When to my body He gladly giveth
The power immortal life to wake.
SirsET Herbert
Clayton, Ala., 1870.
“The Church Awake.”
Introductory Sermon by Rev. J. h. Burrows, D.D., of
Richmond, Va . I.elore the Southern Baptist Con
vention at the Walnut Street Church, Louisville.
Awake ’ Awake! Put on thy strength, oh Zion ; put
on thy beautiful garment*, oh Jerusalem. t} * Holy City,
fur henceforth there shall no more come into thee the un
circumcised and the unclean.—ls. LII: 1.
Zion Jerusalem, the Temple, the Holy City
were enthusiastically loved by every devout
Israelite. Here they beheld emblems of a na
tion’s greatness, indices of its purity and pros
pciity. Inspired seers, now and then, caught
glimpse of a grand, universal kingdom, away
off in the future. Shadowy symbols ol that
sublime kingdom were a glorified Zion or
Temple, a perfected Jerusalem. Without dis
tinctly apprehending it, perhaps, it was the
Gospel Church which they foresaw and which
they essayed to describe.
In this chapter the prophet, saddened by a
survey of the inefficiency, the impurity of
God’s institutions, is cheered by a vision of
future times. And this is what the Holy
Spirit showed him—a “ messenger” joyfully
traversing the mountains, heralding the corn
ing of the redeeming Messiah. “ How beau
tiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him
that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that
saith unto Zion, ‘ Thy God reigneth.’ ” llow
he exults in this proclamation of the mes
senger : “ Thy watchmen,” “ break forth into
jovj’ etc. (vs. 8,9.) He is enraptured with
the’ foreseen results (v. 10.) This wonderful
salvation he ascribes in language too plain to
be misapplied to the work, the sacrifice of the
Messiah (vs. 13, 14, 15.) This reference to
the marred visage, the form of the Deliveier,
and the application by St. Paul in Rom. x:
15,‘0f the messenger shouting out good tidings
from the mountains to all the proclaimed of
Christ’s gospel, fix beyond controversy the
fulfillment nf this prophecy farther on than
any minor event in the history ot the Jews,
to the triumph of that church which Jesus
redeemed by His own blood. We have thus
ample warrant for applying these terms —
Zion and Jerusalem—to the Gospel Church.
What, then, must precede this predicted
consummation '1 Clearly, that awakening to
which he exhorts in v : 1.
These promised glorious results are to be
attained through the exertion of the strength,
the revealing ot the beauty of the church of
Christ. When the church shall obediently
and enthusiastically respond to this call ot the
Lord, “Awake!” “Awake!” Put on thy
strength, oh Zion ! Put on thy beautiful gar
ments, oh Jerusalem”—then soon, upon every
mountain will bo seen the beautiful feet ot
those that bear good tidings, that publish
peace and salvation, and proclaim the reign
of God. Then will be heard the answering
voice of watchmen from hill and valley. Eye
shall see to eye in concord and exultation and
the waste places of Jerusalem, shall sing to
gether; the bared arm of the Almighty shall
be felt in its saving power, and all the ends
of the earth shall see the salvation of God.
Is it not, then, plain, that in connection with
this putting forth of divine saving power the
church of Christ must awake, exert her
strength and put on her beautiful garments.
In attempting to develop and apply the
practical lessons suggested by this text, let
me have your prayers, brethren beloved, that
God’s Holy Spirit may make Ilis truth effect
ive in strengthening our faith, quickening our
zeal, intensifying our love, and in sending us
back to our homes with renewed purposes of
completer consecration.
I.
The first thought suggested by the text is
a sad one, oppressive to the pious heart. It
is this: The church may negligently slumber
over its responsibilities and duties. This is
clearly implied in the call, “Awake!”
“ Awake !” The New Testament repeats this
word of the evangelic prophecy, and sends it
down to us: “ Knowing that it is time, that it
is hi"h time, to awake out of sleep, for now
is our salvation nearer than when we believed,
let us not sleep as do others,” etc.
This call has been sounded in the ears of
the slumbering church for nearly 1800 years,-
and very often ineffectually. Only at brief
intervals since the apostles died has the world
felt the power of a wakeful, working, spiritual
church. The strength she so effectually ex
erted in the first centuries was soon sapped
and undermined. Wooed by worldly princes,
she consented to become the bride of carnal
royalty. But, deluded and seduced, she, in
fact, did become only the harlot of kings, and
guiltily dallied and slumbered in their pal
aces. If in a brief waking hour she remon
strated or complained of her degradation, she
was beat m out into the wilderness to moisten
its sauds with her tears and muffle her groans
in its caves. For fourteen centuries there
were only occasional signs of spiritual con
sciousness, when the bold voice of Martin
Luther roused her from a sleep of ages, and
bade her stand up and come out from her
hiding places; for a brief season she did
awake, put forth her strength, and reveal her
beauty ; and the world was startled by her
mioht and loveliness. But soon, alas, forget
furof her woful experiences, she was invei
* gled back again into the chambers of dukes and
emperors, and sat down a drowsy waiting
maid in cabinets,senates and houses of godless
princes. Thus was a great reformation ren
dered a stupendous failure, a mighty blunder.
The present century has been regarded as
a period of wakefulness of the church. It has
been so comparatively, but only compara
tively. Not yet has all her power been put
forth, all her beauty revealed. Far, very far
from this. And yet her partial, disassociated
endeavors have wrought wonderful results.
Her beautiful eyes, only half opened, have
flashed out streams of glorious light in every
direction whither they glanced. The whole
world would soon rejoice in their effulgent
brightness were she fully awake. This is
what the world is now waiting for. For want
of this the fulfillment of the prophet’s raptu
rous vision is retarded.
Men sometimes experience a torpid, semi
palsied sensation in their limbs, and they say,
my arm is asleep. While it lasts, the limb
is useless and the power of the whole body
is impaired. If torpor continues it is paraly
sis.
The brain may be working, the eye watch
ing, the heart feeling, but if there hangs upon
the body, in wretched inefficiency, torpid, pal
sied members, that will not move rightly,
that fail of their proper functions, the energy
and effectiveness of the whole body is weak
ened. “If one member suffer, all the members
suffer with it.” Is it not so with many a
church ? Is there not a foot asleep, an arm
asleep—nay, are there not limbs palsied
even ulcered—upon the body of your church ?
Can such a church be-said to be healthfully
awake ?
Brethren, do you know any single church,
in this year of grace, 1870, that may be truly
said to be fully awake? Even our activities
are often somnambulistic. Many have a sort
of dreamy, half-consciousness that they ought
to be doing something for Christ’s kingdom,
but just what it is, what degree of devotion it
requires, what measure of responsibility rests
upon them, are questions concerning which
they have very sleepy conceptions and return
very dtowsy answers. There is a sort of
dreamy impression—rarely distinctly ana
lyzed—that is working great mischief. It is
this : A fair division of labor, an honest dis
tribution of responsibilities, would leave only
a little work for each individual church. The
labor, liberality, sacrifice required of each,
would be very small if each one would only
take his share. Having received this idea,
each one —and sometimes the best—feels jus
tifiable in taking upon himself that small por
tion which he calls his share.
My brethren, is this view warranted by the
word of God ? Do not Christians lose a sense
of personal obligation in this vague notion of
general responsibility ? Do not many thus
imagine that they can do up their portion of
work and at a quite small, easy expenditure ?
Dreams, brethren, only dreams ! There is
no excess of means in any church beyond what
could be wisely and effectively employed in
the great work of renovating the world. The
entire, wakeful energies of the whole body,
of every member, are needed in these grand
operations. St. Paul expressed a whole
souled consecration in these stirring words :
“As much as in me is—l am ready.” Jesus
commended an humble sister to grateful com
memoration “ throughout the world” because
she had done —her share !—no, but “ what
she could.”
Yet how many are dallying with the dream
that an entire consecration is not required of
them.
Oh ! church of Christ, awake, awake from
this stupefying delusion ! No ono can become
an eminent or useful Christian who indulges
it. There is a work to be done for the world,
my brother, which requires all thine ener
gies, claims all thy sympathies, calls for a
profound, perpetual interest, summons to a
total and unremitting devotion, demands a
generous, uniform liberality. Even if all
other Christians were fully enlisted in this
work, you could not be spared. Your failure
of a whole-hearted consecration would then
be a loss. Awake, church of God, from illu
sive dix-amings! Let * hert a ju-;tor cor
respondence between the means employed
and the results prayed for. The regeneration
of a world is a mighty work. The combined
powers of the whole people of God are not
too much. Alas! it is all too little to effect
it. The arm of the Almighty must be bared
to accomplish it. But that arm lays hold of
the agencies within the church. Those agen
cies must be placed and kept at the disposal
of God as the immediate instrumentalities
which he wields. God will not by a sleeping
church convert a waking world.
There is no superfluous piety, energy or
wealth, which may be innocently held back.
There is no distribution possible to be made
to lighten duties or lessen the labors of any
individual Christian. It is a work broad
enough and heavy enough to task the entire
powers of each. Oh ! that we may, every
one of us, so realize this grand truth as to
give a whole, waking working influence to the
cause of our Redeemer.
Is not our first point, then, clearly made
ou t —that the church’s hosts in this day and
land are not awake —that there is need that
this call of God should be earnestly sounded
out, and especially by us, brethren, who have
been set, trumpet in hand, as watchmen upon
the walls of Zion? Are there not in every
church such apathetic slumberings over piain
and needed duties as should constrain every
herald of the Cross to cry aloud in agony of
solicitude, Awake ! awake ! Oh, church of
Christ, awake !
Oh ! for an archangel’s blast upon his great
trumpet, that should arrest all loiterers and
arouse all slumberers to the glorious work
appointed by the Lord.
11.
The second thought suggested by the text
is, That there is power —unemployed power
—in the churches of Christ. “ Put on thy
strength, oh, Zion !” There is strength, un
developed, unused,in the church—in every
particular church. An hundred and twenty
disciples, conscious of their strength in Christ
Jesus at Jerusalem, arrayed and disciplined
themselves to assault and conquer the world.
Through Christ, who strengthened them, they
felt that they could do all things ; and before
the stalwart blows of their weapons of heav
enly temper,the structures of heathendom that
had stood massive and firm fer ages trem
bling and tottered and tumbled.
Imagine that this church, in whose beauti
ful edifice we assemble, that any one church
of all here represented were using all the
power of which it was capable, in “ fervent,
effectual” prayer, in potential faith, in con
secrated enthusiasm, in personal labor, in self
denying, giving of money—calling out, com
bining, wisely directing and fully using the
entire strength of every member—bringing it
all to bear upon the instruction, illumination
and conversion of men in its own neighbor
hood, city, county, State, and out in the wide
world, what immediate and sublime results
would be witnessed ! Under the impulses of
such 'awaking spiritual power, “a nation
would be born in a day.” Oh! there is power
in the energetic, aggressive, winning spirit of
humble, dependent piety, capable of conquer
ing thestubbornest prejudices, overcoming the
most determined hostility, and of subduing
the world to the sway of Jesus.
Brethren, do you know a single church any
where, all whose strength is brought out into
the work of the Lord, or any church, all whose
members are doing all they can every day for
the conversion of men and the spread of
Christ’s gospel ? Brother, are you pastor of
such a church ?
Alas! alas! there are immense unused ca
pabilities in every The church is a
giant, but a giant slumbering, unconscious of
his own might, a Samson dallying in the lap
of Delilah, with her shears in his locks, un
aroused, unemployed and undirected in his
work.
Instead of perpetually lamenting and whin
ing over the destitution and desolation of the
broad field represented in this Convention, let
us look a little at the undeveloped strength
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 1870.
we already possess. Our grand work for
Christ in this Southern land has not now to
be begun. Thanks to godly fathers who have
• preceded us, some of whom are yet with us,
and who, in pious simplicity and rough earn
estness, without the culture of schools, with
out studied logic or entertaining rhetoric, but
with God’s simple word enriching their minds
and burning in their hearts, in fervent consecra
tion and zealous love for Jesus and for souls,
blazed their way into the forests and preached
to the settlers in their new clearings, arfd
planted hundreds of churches and won thou
sands of converts to Christ. All honor to
these noble, self-sacrificing pioneers ! We
are riot exhibiting sweeter piety, fuller conse
cration, intenser labors nor sounder theology
than many of them. God forbid that any de
velopments of the past into the present, or
of the present into the future, should dilute
this zeal, frosten this fervor, or emasculate
the truth which in their ministry was so
mighty. Infinitely better their homeliness,
rusticity and lack of learning, with truth and
earnestness, than culture, polish and taste
without them. Better the rough thunderings
of such Shamgars in the church as John Tay
lor and Jeremiah Vardeman, and the jagged
lightnings of such Gideons as Le xis Lunsford
and Edmund JBotsford, than all the beautiful
auroral corruscations, reflections of moon
beams from icebergs illumining northern twi
light—the prettyne-ses and
elegant essayists. By such laborers, founda
lions —based upon rocks of everlasting prin
ciples—have been laid. We are to build
upon them. Let us examine, then, a little,
what resources are possible to us. Where is
the strength that we may “ put on ?”
The territory assigned to the benevolent
operations of the Southern Baptist Convention
is vast. A straight line from St. Joseph,
Mo., to Key West, Fla., would measure 1,300
miles. A direct diagonal line from Elkhorn,
Md., to Matamoras, Texas, would measure
1,650 miles. The centre of this territory is
not far from Florence, Ala. The population
of this territory in 1860 numbered 12,312,-
877. The increase will probably be twenty
per cent, in 1870, giving a population of not
far Jrom fifteen millions of souls.
Our Christian work as a Convention con
templates the gathering of new and strength
ening of weak churches all over this broad
territory—one within reach of every section
of the population. None but He who is able
to trace and tabulate influences, can calculate
the benefits flowing from a single church of
Christ in a city, village or rural neighbor
hood. In educating public sentiment; in en
lightening and guiding conscience ; in culti
vating gentle and loving domestic affections ;
in fostering the purest intellectual culture;
in evolving generous, neighborly, brotherly
kindnesses and benevolences; in promoting
moralities, industries, general thrift, and,
above all, and as the final end of all, fitting
souls for heavenly blessedness, a •church in a
community is a blessing—the source of num
berless blessings —beyond the power of hu
man capabilities to reckon or trace. To com
prehend what can be wrought for humanity
by one little pure church, in a poor, isolated
agricultural district, in a neglected village, or
in the degraded suburbs of a city, you must
be able to weigh those subtle elements we
call influences; and to collate the results of
these you must travel far on in the eterni
ties. ' *
When such churches are planted in every
neighborhood, and populations are controlled
by the divine truths they teach—ransomed
by the blood of Jesus and sanctified by the
Iloiy Spirit, our country will have attained
its highest possible prosperity and happiness,
and the millennial sun will flash its glorious
beams upon our world.
Then the red man will have buried his
tomahawk forever, rested from his nomadic
turbulences, and, cultivating his own vine and
fig-tree, sit under their shadow in peace and
comfort.
Then the black man will have been really
civilized and elevated, and his pious suscepti
bilities intelligently directed, and his superior
capabilities of cultivating and illustrating the
gentler, meeker and more submissive graces
of Christianity be developed. These are sub
lime ends at which to aim, grand results to
work for.
As I have said, this work is not now to be
begun. The foundations have been already
laid. It is for us to enlarge and budd upon
them. In this Southern territory there are
now 8,663 organized Baptist churches. There
are 748,319 communicants. There are 4,789
ordained ministers. These figures indicate
the human resources to be developed. Breth
ren, there is strength here. Alas! how much
of it is latent. To these churches, these com
municants, these ministers, is the cry first of
all to be made “Awake—put on thy
strength.” How to bring out the unused
power in these thousands of Christians is an
intricate problem for the solution of which
we are now to study and work and pray.
To develop, an 1 practically use, the immense
might which lies slumbering and rusting in
these 8,663 churches, to train them into effi
ciency, each in its own sphere, and all into
cooperation for still further and grander re
sults —this, I conceive, is the work which lies
next before us. To instruct, influence, en
courage these churches “to put on their
strength,” is an object worthy the profound
investigation, wise planning, pious ingenuity
of pastors, deacons,editors,secretaries, boards
and financial Christians throughout our whole
land. When all our town and city ohurches
shall be as practically organized and managed
for the prosecution of the legitimate work
for which they were founded, as are the com
mercial, banking and manufacturing estab
lishments of which the members of these
churches are directors, for practically accom
plishing their work—when each of our coun
try churches, in which our greatest strength
lies buried, shall each occupy a neat, attract
ive house of worship, ample rooms for Sun
day schools and prayer meetings —“ a God’s
acre”—within a handsome enclosure, that
fences in the sacred spot from common ground,
connecting even the tender social associations
of death with the house of God; a pleasant
parsonage, with grounds sufficient to furnish
a part of the pastor’s support —each, too, its
own settled working bishop, unseduced from
his own wedded bride into ecclesiastical con
cubinage, each with its own adapted, elastic
methods of church work—fixed by settled
principles, and not contingent upon sensational
impulses; then each, cooperating with neigh
boring churches for the evangelizing of its
district, with all in the State for the evangel
izing of the State, with all in the other States
for evangelizing the whole territory, and with
all in the whole territory for sounding out
the word of the Lord into regions beyond;
and all this, not mere blind machinery, but,
like the wheels of Ezekiel’s vision, self-mov
ing, instinct and quivering with spiritual life :
Then, when these possibilities become actual
ities, will our Zion have “put on her strength.”
Then right soon “ shall all the ends of the
earth behold the salvation of God.” Breth
ren, why may not this sweet and glorious
vision become a splendid reality before the
clock of centuries shall strike twenty 1
It may help us to apprehend the pertinency
and needfulness of this exhortation, “Put on
thy strength, oh. Zion,” if we contrast a lit
tle these capabilities of these churches with
their achievements. We cannot easily com
pute how much more might be effected in the
way of spiritual results if the spiritual
strength of the churches was only “put bn.”
We can all comprehend, however, that this
strength developed and directed. y»ould, un
der God’s promised blessing, speedily make
“every wilderness and solitary place glad for
them, and every desert to rejoice aftd blossom
as the rose.” But there is one direction in
dicative of the manner in which Ml sorts of
obligations are now met —in which we may
collate, and tabulate. It is in the giving of
money for benevolences. This is just as
trul/ a duty, and I think as often and strong
ly insisted upon in the Scriptures.- as prayer
or holy living. Let us give a glance in this
direction, and see if our churches ate putting
forth their strength. I will not dwell upon
neglected home charities —upon s4e ‘ Lord’s
houses lying waste, while their .guardians
“dwell in ceiled houses”—upon the suffer
ings which Christ’s churches inflict upon
Christ’s ministers by scant and uncertain sup
port —but will speak only of those charities
which this Convention is organized to sustain.
Into the treasuries of the three Boards have
flowed all the contributions for the proper
work of this Convention from 8,663 churches :
For tbe year the F. M. B. has received.. -4k #22,000 53
The D. M. B 22,543 73
The S. S. B. (exclusive of sales).. .. fz-pr- 3,308 95
, Grand total E, $47,868 21
This is the pecuniary support*,* nieh 8,663
churches, with 748,319 members 4,789 min
isters, and perhaps 25,000 deacon** Jve to the
three grand objects for which these churches
and Christians have formed this Convention.
This averages about $5 for eaeif church—
less than 6 cents for each member, less than
$lO to be collected by each minister, less
than $2 to be given and collect!^by each
deacon. I leave these figures tof plead with
their ow r n silent eloquence and*ex!iortation,
—“ Put on thy strength.”
But perhaps 1 may here be ijiet with the
inquiry, “After all, is not the regeneration of
the world the work of God? Dots lie need
the strength, the whole strength|of Zion in
accomplishing His decrees?” V
But there is a heresy more bapdr’ul to the
church and to the world than any pertaining
to articles of faith or formal doctrine. It is
this: that, because God is omnipotent, there
fore Christians may slumber; that, because
the essential power is His, therefore our ac
tivities and energies are unimportant; that,
because He has decreed the savatiot) of the
word, therefore our agencies need not be fully
employed.
God is omnipotent! What then? Why,
then, He can do His own work, and our in
strumentalities are naught—so yawns slum
bering in lolence.
God is omnipotent! What then? Obedi
ent piety answers : then there
ment for me to work. His power will make
my labors effectual. I will puo- all my
strength into God’s hand for Him to wield
and direct. ~ ’
The strength of the churcfo is the instru
ment of God’s power. It is the plough with
which He. breaks up the fallow ground of
earth. It sows the seed from which He brings
the proportionate harvest. It nurtures the
plants upon which His working creates fruits.
It is the flail with which He threshes the na
tions Is not this the explicit ♦.Caching of
Jesusl “Ail power is in my tmni.fi ’ V What
then? “Stand ye still and admire my pow
er!” No! No!! All power is in my hand.
Go, ye; go, ye, therefore, and preach my
gospel to every creature. Why, this power
is the grand motive, the incentive*to Christian
labor.
Put on thy strength, oh Zion ! The aggre
gate strength of a church is just the strength
of its individual members, combined and
active. There can be no strong church com
posed of members who separately are weak
and efficient. The more of such, the weaker
the body. You may as well look for strength
in a man with palsied limbs. The farther
the palsy extends, the weaker is he. And
thus some of our churches, largest numeri
cally, are really weakest. They have scarcely
strength enough to drag along the sickly
limbs of members that hang as useless, pain
ful weights upon the body.
I repeat it, then, the whole available power
of a church is simply the power of the sep
arate members aggregated, combined. Ten
laborers working in the field are worth more
than a hundred sick in the hospital, A hun
dred soldiers in a battle are worth more than
a thousand sleeping in their tents. And it is
because the vineyard of the Lord has so
many sickly laborers, to whom the church is
only a hospital for their nursing ; it is because
the army of the Lord includes so many sleep
ing, soldiers that Zion is so inefficient in prose
cuting the objects for which it is organized.
Put on thy strength, each ransomed child
of God ! fulfill faithfully thine own personal
duties, in thine own separate sphere, and God
will combine all these into concentrated, re
sistless energies that shall right soon “ over
turn, overturn, overturn” all obstacles and
build up the walls of His own glorious Church
round every land, and “give it unto Him
whose right it is.” Only put on thy strength,
O, Zion —that strength which thou mayest
derive from God —that strength for lack of
which thou remainest so inefficient and guilty
—and soon earth, subdued, penitent and be
lieving, will rejoice in the reign of Jesus.
111.
The third thought suggested by the text is,
that the beauty of the Church is to be re
vealed in effecting her work. “Put on thy
beautiful garments, Oh Jerusalem!” By
power the Church may pull down strongholds,
drive men from cherished falsities; but by
her beauty she must win to love. You can
drive truth, but you cannot drive love. The
affections will no’t be forced, but they may be
won. Beauty draws the heart. The loveable
are the beloved.
In what, then, does the beauty of the Church
consist? In her holiness. The highest type
of beauty in all God’s universe is what the
Scriptures so frequently call the “ beauty of
holiness.” There is a sweetness, an attract
iveness in holiness which even the world ad
mires, although it scoffs; which devils must
approve, even while they hate. The prophe
cies connect the holiness of the Church with
the triumph of Messiah. “In the beauties of
holiness, thy people shall be willing in the
days of thy power. (Ps. cx: 1,3.) ‘ln
that day shall the branch of the Lord be beau
tiful and glorious, and it shall come to pass
that he that is left in Zion, and remaineth in
Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every
one that is written among the living in Jeru
salem. (Is. iv: 2,3.) “The heathen shall
know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord
God, when I shall be sanctified in you before
their eyes.” (Ez. xxxvi: 23.)
A holy church is what the world needs.
Alas! is it not sadly true that in very many
instances the world has corrupted the church
more than the church has purified the world ?
Are there not too many among us whose life
and spirit fail to develop and illustrate the
beauty of holiness; who carry carnal passions
and propensities into the life which professes
to be “ according to godliness.” In the very
bosom of Christ’s church are witnessed self
ishness, covetousness, and pride and worldly
mindedness, defiling its beauty and sapping
its power. The blautiful garments of Jeru
salem are soiled in the slough of worldliness
and torn in the scramble after selfish gains.
A Holy Church! all whose members are
pure and devout—carrying out into their
daily life the refining, purifying and benefi
cent principles a>f Christ’s gospel —where is
there such a church? Is it the one of which
you are pastor? Is it the one of which-you
are a member? Does your influence tend to
mould and to elevate the body with which
you are connected in this direction ? Here,
again, let it be understood that the holiness
of the church is simply an aggregate of the
holiness of its individual members. Every
unholy member is a blot upon the beauty of
the church ; every open sin, every unholy
temper, is a stain. These beautiful garments,
these robes wrought of the righteousness of
Jesus, and died a royal purple in His blood,
worthy to be worn by “children of a king”
—by a royal priesthood—so lovely when
spotless, Oh! how often foully are they de
filed ? Those to whom have been given “ the
wings of a dove covered with silver and
feathers of yellow gold, have lain among
pots.” (Ps. lxviii : 13.)
Brethren, before the Millennial day shall
dawn in beauty upon our earth, the church
must rise to higher attainments in holiness.
Purity as well as power, is essential to Chris
tian efficiency. Nay, the church must be
pure in order to be powerful. Her holiness
is her strength. Her beautiful garments are
her mightiest armor. There is no power like
the. power of holiness. It arrests and awes
the worldly by exhibiting in vivid, living con
trasts the loveliness and sweetness of piety,
with the ugliness and sourness of sin ; the
peace, and the joys and beneficence, rewards
of godliness, with discord, unrest, selfishness,
penalties of ungodliness. There is power in
one single holy life. This power is multi
plied by the number of holy lives combined
in one brotherhood. It becomes resistless
when that brotherhood embraces a whole
church.
That the church will attain a higher sphere
of holiness previous to the renovation of the
world and in order to it, is distinctly indicated
in this prophetic text: “Thenceforth shall no
more come in unto thee the uncircumcised or
unclean.”
Now, alas! many of uncircumcised hearts
and unclean lives have their names on church
registers. But then, when the church wakes
up in earnest for conquest, if the world, “ un
circumcised and unclean,” shall no longer be
found in her communion, this higher state of
purity will be preparatory to her ultimate
triumph. The mass of these, worldly
church members, will be either ejected by
faithful discipline, or reconverted, reconsecra
ted, become saints in fact, not in name only,
and all will wear “beautiful garments of a
pure and holy profession.” Brethren, just so
soon as this is true of a single church, there
will radiate from it, upon the neighborhood
around it, an influence for regeneration that
ail the forces of hell will not be able to resist.
And when it becomes true of Zion universal
ly, the world will be at her feet—no, not at
her*feet, but within the arms of her loving
embrace.
O, Church of Christ! Thy beauty and
thy strength are thy holiness. Array thy
seff ii) thy beautiful garments. Let the love
and beneficence of Jesus beam from thine
PV«; let the world see the meekness and
sweetness of tfi<TChristum spirit beautify thy 1
countenance, and soon there will come up
from every surprised section of our sin
wrecked giobe, the admiring cry, “ Who is the
that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the
moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an
army with banners ?” Then soon will the
tribes of men in long and dense procession
turn from their revolt and join the joyful
companies that press through the gates of the
New Jerusalem and into the eternal city.
Three Practical Lessons,
suggested by this discussion, will try your
patience only a few moments longer:
1. Have we not somewhat misapprehended
the methods by which the kingdom of Christ
is to expand and become established? Have
we not imagined that the great work of the
world’s conversion is to be effected by some
direct and absolute exertion of divine power?
Are we not fancying that when the appointed
time comes, Jehovah will, as it were, come
out of His place, and, without the use of hu
man agencies, force the world into subjection
to Jesus? Or, that He will introduce some
new and extraordinary agencies to fulfill His
purposes? Has God given us any such inti
mations in His word ? Do not the Holy Scrip
tures, in their whole tenor, both prophetic
and perceptive, teach that He will carry out
His glorious purposes through the agency of
His redeemed people? We have no warrant
for shirking personal work and responsibility
under a pretence of faith in God’s might.
He encourages no trust in His power apart
from our own voluntary, consecrated agency.
It is in the line of Christian activities, not
aside from it, that Jehovah will exercise His
power and grace within Zion. He has placed
here the agencies which He will use to regen
erate and sanctify the world. We have no
right to make God’s decrees or His omnipo
tence an apology for our inefficiency.
2. From this discussion we may under
stand, too, why the progress of the world’s
conversion is so slow. It is because she sleeps
over her work, because her strength is not
exerted, her beauty not revealed. The ener
gies which we are putting forth are not com
mensurate with the demands of an enterprise
so sublime. Our efforts come very far short
of exhausting, of fully exercising the capa
bilities of the Christian. Brethren, there will
be in spiritual as in physical labors, a corres
pondence between the means used and the
results gained. The work is going forward
as fast as our energies impel it. Is the pro
gress slow ? Is it not booause you are slow ?
So long as Christians regard their own per
sonal worldly interests as of primary impor
tance, and consider their spiritual obligations
to benevolent activities incidental and second
ary, and give only a subservient and half
hearted influence to the cause of Jesus, they
at least have no reason for expecting rapid
and mighty triumphs. Sparse seed-sowing,
scanty’harvests; careless cultivation, meagre
crops. More laborers and intenser zeal in those
who do labor, would hasten the ooming of
Christ’s kingdom.
3. If there is truth in these principles, then
it plainly follows that within the churches
already organized, the most earnest labors of
Christ’s faithful ones are now needed. What
is first of all and most of all demanded, and
emphatically so in the territory represented
in this Convention, is the discipline, educa
tion and cooperation of the enrolled disciples
of Jesus. Christians themselves need to be
instructed, exhorted, prayed for, reconverted.
To awaken the slumbering, spiritualize the
worldly, strengthen the weak, educate the
zeal and benevolence of all; this should be
the effort and prayer of every pious heart.
Only awaken each church, organize and bring
out her strength, array her in her beauti
ful garments, and right speedily will the
world be won for Jesus. Oh, for one, if only
one, zealous, working, Christ-loving deacon
or brother in every church !
When that great multitude of professing
disciples of Jesus, who are now almost with
out sympathy, without liberality, without
prayer for that great cause which Jesus loves,
for which He toiled and died, when all these
shall be aroused to put on their strength, and
shall wear habitually their beautiful garments,
then shall all the mountains and valleys of
earth be traversed by the beautiful feet of
those that bear good tidings, that publish
peace; then shall the proclamation be exult
ingly sounded out to rejoicing Zion, “ Behold
thy God reigneth;” then shall the “waste
places of Jerusalem break forth into joy and
sing together,” “ and all the ends of the earth
shall see the salvation of our God.”
Hearer Home.
One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o’er and o’er—
I’m nearer to my home to-day
Than I have been before.
Nearer my Father’s house,
Where the many mansions be ;
Nearer the great white throne,
Nearer the crystal sea.
Nearer the bound of life,
Where we lay our burdens down:
Nearer leaving the cross,
Nearer gaining the crown.
But lying darkly between,
Winding down through the night,
Is the silent, unknown stream
That leads at last to the light.
Closer and closer my steps
Come to the dreu-t abysm ;
Closer death to my r ns
Presses the awful c* ”i&r-
O, if my mortal fqp
Have almost gay t * tne brink ;
If it be lam near* home,
Even to-day, tin u I think ;
Father, perfect my trust;
Let my spirit feel in death
That her feet are firmly set
’ On the rock of a living faith.
—Phoebe Carey.
First and Last.
Just come from heaven, how bright and fair
The soft locks of the baby’s hair!
As if the unshut gates still shed
The shining halo round his head.
Just entering heaven, what sacred snows
Upon the old man’s brow repose 1
For there the opening gates have thrown
The glory from the great white throne.
—Harriet Prescott Spoford.
Harvest Home.
CHAPTER XVI.
“Make religion the every-day business of your life,
so the world wilt not get the upper-hand of you.”—
Livingstone.
As the wish referred to in the last chapter
arose in Clara’s mind, she saw Emile strolling
carelessly towards them too carelessly,
Clara thought, in appearance, to be reall)
accidental. He came up to the table near
which they were seated, and drawing a vol
ume which lay there near him, opened it and
read : “Aut inveniam viarn aut faciam.”
“How do you like Lord Bacon’s motto,
Clara ?”
She blushed deeply, in spite of herself, and
before she had time to rally, Mr. Stanley ap
proached.
“May I convert this trio into a quartette ?”
“By all means,” said Fred; “Mr. Stanley
is a welcome addition to any number.” (His
look had addressed the question to the lady.)
“ Errendorf, your most obedient.”
Then, speaking to Clara,—
“ I heard Lord Bacon mentioned, and
thought if you were philosophizing, a gleaner
might gather some valuable sheaves. Don't
let me interrupt!” * ■ 1
“ Surely not; we can’t afford it,” proceed
ed Emile.” He returned her mocking glance
with one equally mischievous. “Pardon! 1
yield the floor to learning and eloquence, in
the form of Mr. Stanley. Come, Ered, we
are only lesser lights here;” and the two
walked off.
It has been flippantly said, coquetry is in
nate in woman. No doubt the love of ad
miration is inborn in every man and woman,
being, among other evils, a part of our in
heritance as children of Adam. The desire
to be loved—quite a different feeling, and
perfectly innocent in itself —is, perhaps, more
fully developed in women than men. It is
the source of many graces, both of mind and
manner, and yet it has often, for want of
proper regulation, led to inconceivable sor
row and sin. A woman of Mrs. Montma
rie’s strong sens§ and clear judgment, and
earnest piety, was not likely to overlook this
important point of female education, conse
quently, Clara had been early taught to direct
her affections, not less than other impulses,
by the guidance of religious principle. The
seed thus sown, early and late, and watered
with prayers and tears, could not lail to
bring forth fruit, since God has declared,
“As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” \et Clara’s
task had not been an easy one, nor had her
efforts at self-control been always successful;
but He who never fails to aid the weakest
attempt to please Him, nor even the feeblest
desire to that end, gave her perseverance,
which, in the patience of faith, never fails to
conquer finally. This was the riddle which
the acute min'd of Mr. Stanley failed to read;
the mystery which no height of worldly wis
dom ever has solved ; for “ the natural man
receiveth not the things of God, neither can
he know them, for they are spiritually dis
cerned.” What can be more plain and sim
ple than the duty, in exerting our powers to
please, which God teaohes us both by nature
and revelation, were given for our own hap
pines* and that of others, not to pervert them
to merely selfish ends, since it would inter
fere with the rights and privileges of others?
Ignore this truth once, and how dim and
cloudy the perception of it; and being con
tinually disregarded, no wonder the eye must
be anointed with eye salve to see it at all.
“ Miss Montmarie,” saidjMr. Stanley, when
Fred and Emile had gone; “the events of
the day have revealed to me, and doubtless
to others also, that I am completely in your
power. What disposition will you make of
your captive?”
The sweet tones trembled, as Clara replied,
after a moment’s silence,
“ Transfer his allegiance to King Emmanuel,
if 1 might; make him the heir of a prince,”
(after another pause.”)
“ But he has been a traitor, and you do not
know the extent of his treason.”
“The King does , and nevertheless offers
him a free pardon.”
“ Dare he believe it?”
“ Dare he refuse to believe it ?”
“And then ?”
“ Then God will direct his way.”
“ Our way.”
“ It may be.”
Until very recently, ambition had fully sat
isfied Mr. Stanley’s heart, and engrossed his
mind. His plans in life had succeeded to a
greater extent than happens to most people.
Popular applause, he knew how to value and
how to use. A rarer, and quite as necessary
acquirement, with anything so fleeting, is,
how to lose it; but the time for that had not
come yet. To oommit what he considered
the folly of matrimony, had been far from
his designs. As the amusement of his lighter
hours, ladies’ society was quite necessary to
him. To be bound to any one for life, how
ever charming, he had been accustomed to
think of as a very irksome affair. Intimacy
with the Montmaries in their happy home,
was anew revelation, to him, of domestic
bliss. The dreams and fancies it awakened,
however, might have proved dreams only, to
WHOLE NO. 2492.
a man so much engrossed in publio life, but
for his growing interest in Clara—a whim at
first; before he knew it, an absorbing pas
sion.
The young Errendorfs entered eagerly into
the gayeites of the very gay city near them.
Operas, concerts, theatres, balls, soirees, din
ner parties, succeeded each other in a con
stant whirl. About a fortnight after their
arrival at home, Mr. Errendorf said to Chris
tine,
“ This will never do. Nothing is so de
structive to a girl’s beauty and vivacity as
late hours and excitement. You must go out
less frequently, Christine.”
“ I have no beauty to lose, chere maman .”
“You can the less afford to dispense with
any attraction you have.”
“ I must be seen frequently, or people will
forget me.”
“ You must not be seen every night or
your face will lose its power to please eyes
too familiar with it. Keep your engagement
for this evening, and in future consult me
before making any. I shall try and keep you
free for al least three evenings in the week.”
Lucy Lorrimer and Helen Montmarie had
never enjoyed the holidays so much ; and after
they were over, recalling and discussing eve
rything which had been said and done, was
the.employment of almost every leisure mo
ment for weeks. The theme seemed to Clara,
exhaustless, but she had less trouble than
might have been expected, in sobering their
high spirits down to steady employment. It
was very pleasant to watch their faithful
efforts at self-discipline, proving so satisfac
torily to the earnest teacher and to them
selves, that religion was not with them a
beautiful sentiment, or floating emotion; but
a real principle, divinely planted and nurtured.
Such evidences were most anxiously sought
for, both by the young pilgrims and their
friends. Very sweet was the interchange of
thought and feeling between Hartly and the
two younger girls, on this subject. Keenly as
they had enjoyed their parties of pleasure,
Christmas gifts and games, nothing of all this
could equal the quiet, subdued, but deep
peace and joy with which they sang their
morning and evening hymns together, read
some precious truth of God’s word, and knelt
side by side in prayer. Memories were
stored up for after years—cherished, tender
memories—which nothing could destroy or
dim. Mrs. Graham says, let the experience
of every Christian answer how truly, “No
delight of friendship, or of love, no pleasure
of an earthly soureo can equal that which
springs from communion with the Father, and
the Son, and the Spirit.” These, perhaps, are
not her words exactly, but. as nearly as I can
remember.
(This chapter has been delayed by illness.)
Extracts from Motley’s History of the Dutch
Republic.
“ At about the same time, Thomas Col
berg, tapestry weaver of Tournay, within the
jurisdiction of this inquisitor, was convicted
of having copied some hymns from a book
printed in Geneva. He was buried alive.”
Anothet man, \vho3e name lias perished,
was hacked to death with seven blows of a
rusty sword, in the presence of his wife, who
was so horror-stricken that she died on the
spot before her husband. His crime, to be
sure, was anabaptism, the most deadly offence
in the calendar.
In the next year ' TiteTmaun caused ontf
Robert Ogilcr, of Rysse, in Flanders, to
be arrested, together with his wife and two
sons. Their crime consisted in their not go
ing to mass, and in practicing private wor
ship at home. . . . The father and son
were condemned to the flames. “Oh God,”
prayed the youth at the stake, “ Eternal
Father, accept the sacrifice of our lives, in the
name of Thy beloved Son.”
“ Thou best, scoundrel!” fiercely interrupt
ed a monk who was lighting the fire; God is
not your father ; ye are the devil’s children.”
As the flames rose about them, the boy cried
out once more, “ Look, my father ! all heaven
is opening, and I see ten hundred thousand
angels rejoicing over us.” “ Let us be glad,
for we are dying for the truth.” “ Thou best!
thou best!” again screamed the monk; “all
hell is opening, and you see ten thousand
devils thrusting you into eternal lire.”
Such was the spirit ofßomanism in the days
of the Inquisition ; and there is no reason for
supposing a change in its purposes at the
present day. Then it was divinely (?) com
missioned to harry out all heresy, by torch
and sword; and should it obtain the power,
the same scenes of blood would be enacted in
this nineteenth century.
The present Pontiff has put forth all the in
fluence of his holy office to carry his people
back fully to the spirit of the dark ages, and
the Ecumenical Council, now in session, has
been convoked for the purpose of sustaining
and promoting the doctrine of force in dealing
with heretics.
Let Protestants keep awake, or they may
be aroused by the crackling of burning fogots
in unpleasant proximity to their ears. T
should see to it that their own children
not led into the toils of Romanism by placing
them where its baneful influence can reach
them.
A word to the wise is sufficient.
Student.
Delay of Baptism. —We once asked an
interesting young Christian —“ Do you see it
your duty to be baptized ?” The reply was
—“ No.” About a year afterward wo asked
the same person —“ Do you yet see it your
duty to be baptized?” The answer was—
“ Yes.” “ Are you ready, then ?” “ No.”
“But why not?” “ Because I have delayed
it so long that I don’t feel worthy.” “ Will
you feel more worthy by still putting it off?”
“ No, I suppose not.” “ Then,” I said, “do
your duty without further delay.” The next
Sabbath it was done, and that day the public
testimony of that person was—“ This has
been the happiest day of my life.” Another
who had delayed it a long time, said
to his wife immediately after baptism, in
the fulness of his joy and sweetness of peace
in the consciousness of acceptance with God,
and evidence of divine approval in this act of
obedience —“ O, what a fool I have been, to
thus put off, as I have done for years, this
precious ordinance.”
Sombre Faith. —We were reading, recent
ly, the obituary of a very distinguished cler
gyman, in which his biographer, thinking to
eulogize him, stated that during a long minis
try, he was never heard to laugh aloud, his
joy always restraining itself to simply a smile.
We frankly confess that we read the remark
with sorrow, feeling that the feature of char
acter which thus pleased the biographer, and
which he plainly intended to hold up to his
readers as a model, was really a sad deformity
of Christian character.
The True and The False.— True fire
makes the pot boil, but fox-fire only shows
its blackness, while you shiver and starve;
and so it is, my brethren, with true and false
religion —the light of one warms and feeds
the souls of men, while the other allows them
to freeze.
How to Learn. —lt is by doing right that
we arrive at just principles of action.