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CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
VOL. 49-NO. 40.
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, GA
AT $3.00 PER ANNUM,
Invariably in Advance.
r. .J. TOON, Proprietor.
“ We All do Fade as a Leaf.”
Like autumn’s seared leaves, are we fading away,
As hasty our life as a dew-drop s light spray.
Like the flowers we bloom, like them bloom to die,
And life’s uatal breath is but life’s mortal sigh.
What are beauty and wealth, what are glory and fame
But a quickly-spent flash—a meteor’s flame ?
Proud Royalty’s robes soon canker with rust,
And Beauty’s bright charms soon moulder in dust.
The warrior’s banner, with its purple glory,
Is soon but tbe theme of a tragical story j
And all that remaius of bis high-vaulting pride
Is—He lived and he fought, he sickened and ded ;
And the sceptre which o’er prostrate millions did wave
Is scorned by the loot of the mendicant slave.
The eloquent man I have seen in his glory,
Gone! Gone ! utters echo sepulchral, his story.
The orator’s fame is the woof, arrow-fleet,
With which he but weaves his own winding-sheet,
And Philosophy’s light, and bright Poesy’s fire,
But the torch with which Genius enkindles his pyre.
O! what, then, is man ? what that creature of pride
But Vanity’s child, with grim Death for his bride?
His spouse, in mortality’s robes, does he wed,
And the cold, clammy grave is his bridal bed.
Then biud not your brow with tbe chaplets which fade :
As soon as you weave them, they will nave decayed,
And the wreath, which, you hoped, amaranthine would
be,
On your tomb stone will hang, in mock pageantry ;
And faded, and soiled, will your epitaph be,
To preach to all comers—His glory herb sbe 1
But one tree there is, whose leaf will not fade;
It will flourish and bloom when all else has decayed.
A costly exotic of wondrous renown,
The price which obtained it was Heaven s own crown.
The angels on high look down with surprise.
To see growing on earth this Tree of the skies.
To a climate surcharged with the vapors of death,
Its odor’s impart immortality s breath ;
And its fruit, as they taste, heirs of sickness and woe,
Feel on their pale cheeks immortality s glow.
Oh! then, let us hasten to this Vital Tree,
Ingrafted in which we immortal shall be;
And shedding our leaves, all seared and decayed,
Will put on a verdure which never shall H j *
Liltsville, N. C., Oct. 4,1870.
The Atonement.
It is argued by many that the various Greek
prepositions translated “/or,” in connection
with thatevmt, involve the idea of substitu
tion, so that such expressions as, “Christ
died for sinners,” must necessarily mean
that Christ died as a substitute for sinners.
I find it, therefore, necessary to break off
from my arguments on the various theories
of explanations ol the Atonement, to submit
some observations on the Greek prepositions
bearing on the subject. After which I pro
pose to resume the discussion of the theories
referred to.
If the Greek prepositions do involve the
idea of substitution, it follows, as a matter
of necessity, that the Scriptures teach the
vicarious nature of the Atonement ; but if
the prepositions do not involve that idea, the
theory of vicarious atonement is left without
any support, so far as the prepositions are
concerned. It is a matter of great impor
tance that we should examine carefully every
part of the foundation upon which we build
our theological creed. The word “/or,” in
our English version, represents four Greek
prepositions, used in connection with the Sa
viour’s death, viz., wept, bmp, avn and sia, as
may be seen from the following texts: ‘ lie
j., the propitiation (reconciler) for {mpe) our
sins.” (I John ii; 2.) “ Christ, in due time,
died for {vnep) the ungodly.” (Rom. v : 6.)
“He gave Himself a ransom for {avn)
many.” (Matt, xx : 28.) 11 For (<W) whom
Christ died.” (I Cor. viii: 2.)
The use of one of these prepositions rather
than another, seems to have been regulated
by no fixed rule. Pcpi is chiefly used in
reference to sin, as in the expression “for
sin; and bmp is generally used in reference
to persons, as “/or «*,” “/or the ungodly
avn and St a are sometimes used in the last
named connection, and brtep is used, like mpi,
in reference to sin, as in I Cor. xv: 3.
“ Christ died for {bmp) our sins,” and mpi
is used like brtsp for sinners, as in Matt, xxvi;
28. Let us consider the prepositions in or
der, and enquire,
1. As to the meaning of mpi with the geni
tive case. This preposition occurs In the fol
lowing case ; (1 omit the Greek the reader
can refer to his Greek Testament.) “ Who
gave Himself for our sins.” (Gal. i: 4.)
“ Christ also has suffered for our sins.” (I
Peter iii: 18.) “He is the propitiation (re
conciler) for our sins, and not for ours only,
but for the whole world.” (I John ii: 2;
iv : 10,) also (Matt, xxvi: 28.) The Greek
preposition expresses the relation which ex
ists between the word which follows, and
that which goes before, and this relation gen
erally consists in the fact (a) that the word
which follows is the subject matter of the
word or sentence which precedes, as, “The
same anointing teacheth you of {nspi) all
things,” (l John i: 27,) where the “all
things,” form the subject matter of the
word “ teacheth.” So, also, I John v : 9,10
and John vi: 41, and Herodotus ii: 32,
“ Discourse about {~cpi) the Nile;” and ibid
iii: 32, “The truth concerning {mpi) the
people;” and Xenophon’s “Hellen,” i: I (16,)
“ But he (Socrates) discoursed always con
cerning {mpi) human affairs,” In those cases
the Son is the subject-matter of God’s testi
mony ; Christ, “ him,” is the subject-matter
of Jewish murmur, as the Nile is of the dis
course, the people of the truth, and human
affairs of the teaching of Socrates. In all
such cases : :ept should be translated “ concern -
ing .” . #
There are eases where the relation ex
pressed by ~spi consists in the fact (b) that
the word which follows expresses the cause or
occasion of the act expressed in the word or
sentence which goes before, as in John x : 33.
Here the supposed “blasphemy” is the
cause of the stoning, and is assigned as a
reason for the speaker’s conduct. So, also,
probably, John viii: 46, and in John x : 13;
xii: 6; Matt, ix: 36; xx: 24.
The word rept implies, in some cases, when
persons are concerned, (c) that the person re
ferred to in the word which follows r.epi, is inter
ested in the act or object denoted by the word
which goes before, as in Luke iv: 38: ‘‘And
they besought him for {r.cpi) her;” i.e., for
her benefit. Here Peter’s mother-in law was
interested in the people’s act, expressed by
the word, “ besought.” "
In some cases, the word which follows itspi
is mentioned (and) as the instrument or active
airent, bv means of which the act expressed
in the word before is effected, as in Homer’s
Od. i: 235: “Now,the gods wished otherwise,
planning evil things, who have made him un
known to (~*pi) all men; i.e., he was not
known by any of all men, where the “all men”
are the active agents referred to in the word
•“ unknown,” not known by any. In 111 John
2, our translators understood the words Ttpi
Tzavrwv as an adverb of intensity—“above all
things.” So did Castalio, “ ante omnia;"
Beza, “i« primis the Welsh translator,
“yn benaf dim ;” and Martini, “ supr' ogni
eosa .” Luther has, on the contrary, “ In
alien slueclcen —in all matters.” So the mod
ern Greek Kara izavra—as to all things ; and
the Syriac, “ becul medem—in all things .”
The meaning of nspi belongs, here, to the
fourth class of signification mentioned above,
Beloved, I wish that, by all means — Ttspi
r.avzuiv —thou mayest prosper,”) or the first
class noticed, (a) according to which the text
{s3 00 A FBArT TEA NET JN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13,1870. Is3oo A YEAR.}
would stand thus: “ I wish that thou mayest
prosper concerning all thine affairs .”
We have thus discovered that the preposi
tion mpi, with a genitive case, has four dis
tinct significations, or expresses four different
relations between the word which follows and
that which goes before. The word may be
translated, therefore, by the English (a) con
cerning, implying simple relation ; or (b) on
account of, referring to cause or reason; or
(c) on account of, meaning for the benefit of;
or (and) indicating agency or instrumentality.
Let us now apply these results to the classes
of passages in which the death of Christ is
mentioned in relation (a) to sin, as in I Peter
iii: 18, “He suffered for sin;” and (b) to
sinners, as in Matt, xxvi: 28, “ Which is
shed for many.” In these cases it is evident
that the first meaning (a) is not applicable;
nor is the third or fourth, (c. and.) In the first
case we cannot say, “ Christ suffered concern
ing sin;” nor yet, “ Christ suffered for the
benefit of sin,” nor, “ Christ suffered by sin.”
We are thus driven to the second meaning,
(b), “Christ suffered on account of sin,"
which may signify that He suffered (1) on
account of sin supposed to*e?:ist in Himself,
as stated in John x: 33; or (2) on account oi
sin or sinfulness in others. The meaning is
limited to this last supposition when the word
“ our ” is joined to the word sin, as in I John
iv : 10. In tbe second case, (b) where theSa
viour’s death is Said to be for (mpi) persons,
as in Matt, xxvi: 28, the preposition may de
note that He died (1) on account of sinners;
i. e., for their good ; or, according to the fourth
meaning given above, (and) that He died (2)
by means of sinners. lam not speaking here
of what the word does mean, but of what it
may mean. From these considerations w'e
may conclude that the preposition mpi does
not, in any case, involve the idea of substitu
tion. If our Saviour’s death was, therefore,
vicarious, the proof of its vicarious nature
must be sought elsewhere. The various
meanings of the preposition will warrant our
simply this: our Saviour died for sin,
in the sense that sin was the cause of His
death ; and died for sinners, in the sense that
the benefiting of sinners was the result of His
death.
11. As to the meaning of the preposition vr.ep
{for) with the genitive case. Those who find
a vicarious or substitutionary atonement in
the New Testament, lay great stress upon the
meaning of this word, which is very frequent
ly used in connection with our Saviour’s death.
When that death is said to affect persons, the
word bmp is used almost to the exclusion of
all others. The word is used, however, in
reference to sin, and other words occasionally
used in reference to persons, as stated before.
In the following places bmp is used in con
nection with persons: Luke xxii: 19, 20;
Rom. v: 6,8; viii : 32; xiv: 15; I Cor. v :
7 ; xi: 24 ; II Cor. v : 14, 21 ; Gal. ii: 20;
iii: 13; Eph. v : 2, 25; I Thes. v : 10; I
Tim. ii: 6; Titus ii: 14; I Peter ii: 21;
iv: 1; I John iii: 16; Heb. ii: 9. A care
ful study of the uses of vmp with the geni
tive case, by classic and Hellenic Greek au
thors, leads me to offer the following defini
tions of meaning:
Ist. The preposition vmp, with the geni
tive case, shows that the object denoted by
the, word which follows ’t, is lower in position,
value, number and quantity, than the object
to which reference is made in the word or
1 sentence which precedes it. This appears to
be the original meaning of the word, as is
evident from the fact (a) that such is its gen
eral meaning, whether used with the genitive
or the accusative case ; and (b) that the word
is found to retain its original form and signifi
cation in a large number of Aryan languages,
as in the Sanscrit, upari ; Greek, bmp ; Latin,
super; French and Italian, sur ; Welsh, err;
Old Irish, per; Anglo-Saxon, oper ; German,
ueber, and English, over.
Hellenic writers often use other words to
denote this relation, a«, enavai, (Matt, xxvii:
37; “set up over his head,”) and err:, (Col.
iii: 14; “above,”) and cm with os-np in the
verb, (11 Thes. ii: 4,) etc., etc. In Classic
Greek, however, the preposition bmp, with a
genitive, is constantly used in its original
meaning, so that it will be needless giving
many examples. Homer frequently speaks
of a servant who “ poured water from a beau
tiful golden pitcher over — bmp —a silver ba
sin.”' 1 Od. 137; 3 Od. 73; 4 Od. 53; 7
Od. 173; 10 Od. 369. He speaks, also, of
Minerva as standing over — virep —the head of
Penelope; and of the herald who hung the
harp above — bmp —the head of the bard,” etc.
Other meanings were soon derived from
this, which is original and literal. The higher
object rested upon the lower, and owed its
elevated position to the fact, that it was sup
ported. It was, therefore, said to be high,
because — bmp —of that other. The higher
object may cover the lower, so as to protect
it from injury, because the idea of vnep, for
the defence of, and for the benefit of. In a
similar way, the preposition glided into all
the various meanings which are here defined.
2nd. The preposition vnep shows that the
object denoted by the word which succeeds
it, is given as thee ause, ground, reason, or occa
sion of the act described in the word which
precedes it.
Examples: The disciples were gl&d that
“ they were counted worthy to suffer for—
vmp—on account of—the name of” Christ.
(Acts v : 41.) “ Great is my glorying of—
vnep, on account of —you,” (11 Cor. vii: 4 )
“ Of — vnep, on account of —such an one will 1
glory ; yet, of—vnep —myself will I not glo
ry.” (11 Cor. xii: 5) (Eph. iii: 1.) That
they may punish you on account of — vnep—
the Greeks. (1 Her. 27.) See, also, 1 Her.
73; 2 Her. 115; 3 Her. 14; Plat’s. Crit. v.
See, also, II Cor. vii: 14; viii: 24; Eph.
iii: 13; vi: 20; Phil, i: 19; and Col. 1 :
24,
In these passages there is nothing like sub
stitution, and yet the quotations from Herod
otus speak of the punishment of one for
(yitEp) another, the exact form of expression
used in the New Testament, in reference to
our Saviour’s death. The first case cited
from the father of history, (1 Her. 27,) is
that of the Greeks of the Archipelago, who
wished to punish Croesus. King of Lydia, not
instead of the Greeks who'lived in Asia Mi
nor, but because of his cruel treatment of
these. In the second case, (1 Her. 73,) Croe
sus wishes to punish Cyrus for his conduct
towards Astyages. In the third case, (2
Her. 115,) Proteus, of Memphis, speaks of
taking vengeance upon Paris for his abduc
tion of Helen. In the fourth case (3 Her.
14,) the Egyptians who, at Memphis, put to
death the herald of Cambyses, as well as the
crew of the vessel sent to offer terms of
peace, were to suffer for their crime by death.
Here to die sor — vttep —is not to die as a
substitute, but to die in consequence of wrong
done to them, or generally, to die for them,
they being the instrumental cause.
3rd.'The preposition pTrep, with the geni
tive case, shows that the persons referred to
in the word which follows it, are benefited by
the act expressed by the word or sentence
which goes before; the act being generally
designed for the good of such persons.
Examples: “ Pray sor — in rep —the benefit
of —those who despitefully use you.” (Matt,
iv: 44.) See, also, excellent examples in
Mark ix : 40; 1 John Hi: 16; Rom. xvi: 4;
I Cor xii: 25; Eph. vi: 19; II Cor. vii: 7,
12, etc.
“ Thou hast spoken well for the gods and
for me.” (Eurip. Iphigenia in Tauris, 766,)
i. e., for the benefit of the gods and me; the
fulfillment of a promise being supposed ad
vantageous, both to gods and men. See, also,
Eurip. Oristes, 673. Ib. 1134, and 1334.
4th. The preposition vnep, with a genitive,
shows that the object denoted by the word
which follows it, is the result, in whole or
in part, of the act spoken of in the word or
sentence which goes before.
Examples: “ This sickness is
to secure as result —the glory of God.” John*
4. “If we are afflicted, it is sor — de
signed to secure as result —your consolation,”
etc. II Cor. i: 6. This use of the word is
much less frequent than the uses before de
fined.
The following meanings are also rare :
sth. Protection. “ I will lay down my
life s or — v-rrep — thee;” i. e., for thy defence.
John xiii: 37 ; also, the same John, x : 11,12.
6th. The preposition vnep, with the geni
tive, shows that the word which follows it
forms the subject-matter of the word or sen
tence which goes before it.
Examples: “ Esaias also crieth concerning
— vnep —lsrael.” Rom. ix : 27; also, II Cor.
i: 8. In these cases ump is used for mpi.
7th. The preposition with the genitive
shows that the act expressed by the word
which precedes it, was performed by a rep
resentative of the person referred to in the
word which follows. In this case the act is
performed by Proxy ; the Proxy, being ne
cessarily the Agent of the person whom he
represents, and acts for him by authority
delegated to him by the person whose agent
he is; as an ambassador acts for his sove
reign, or counsel for his client, where the au
thority comes from his sovereign and client
respectively.
Examples: “W'e are ambassadors sor —
ump —Christ. ... We pray you in Christ's
stead—vnep Xpiaxobf 11 Cor. v : 20. If our
Saviour died for sinners in this last sense,
then it follows that He died as their agent—
died, because Vie received authority from them
to do so. This is not what the Bible says
respecting the death of Christ.
Let us now briefly apply the results of
these investigations to the Atonement of
Christ—to the case of His dying (a) sor —
ump —sin ; and (b) for sinners.
First. As to our Saviour’s death for sin.
The various meanings of omp, number 1,3,4,
5, 6 and 7, are evidently inadmissible in this
case, as Christ could not die with any local
reference to sin (1); or for the benefit of
sin (3); sin itself being incapable of being
benefitted ; or to produce sin as a result (4);
or to defend sin from destruction (5), He
having been manifested to effect that destruc
tion as the subject-matter of sin (6) ; or,
finally, as the proxy of sin (7). We are
thus "forced, by.a most careful process of
elimination, to accept the second meaning.
He died for sin in the sense that He died on
account of sin —that sin was the cause of His
death. The idea of His own sins being the
cause of His death, must be rejected, as He
was (a) sinless, and (b) it is expressly stated
that He died for our sins. There remains
now but the one explanation, viz: that He
died on account of our sin, as Paul gloried
on account of the Corinthians, or, as Criton
felt ashamed on account of the apparent cow
ardico of Socrates and his (fiends. Pawl, ini
the case cited, was made glad by the moral
change which the gospel had produced in the
Corinthians, and Criton was grieved because
the character of his friend was likely to be
damaged. Our Saviour died, too, because
men’s sins made Him unhappy. Man’s men
ial degradation, of which sin is both the cause
and the evidence, grieved the holy heart of
Jesus. His mental sorrow was so great that
His body died. He died not as the result of
physical torture. Such torture could not
have produced death so soon, or in such a
manner. It is now well known that the phys
ical cause of the death of Jesus was the rup
ture of the heart. Sorrow, like disease, tends
to weaken and destroy the muscular energy,
and predispose the frail and feeble body for
such an end. Intense mental agony, in the
case of Jesus, brought on the fatal crisis, so
that He died through grief —a broken-hearted
man! It was thus that Jesus died for sin.
His sorrow for our sin, which had cast a dark
shadow over every hour of his life, attained
its culmination on the cross. As many a
pious mother has been brought with sorrow
to a premature grave, on account of the sin
ful life of a son or daughter, so the Saviour
died through the pressure of our sins upon
His broken heart —through the grief occa
sioned by our sins. It was thus he was
wounded because (Jia) of our sins, and bruised
because (Jia) of our iniquity, . . The Lord
laid upon Himself—upon His own loving and
feeling heart —“the iniquity of us all.”
Secondly. As to our Saviour's death for
— U7tS p — sinners. Here it is also evident that
the meanings numbered 1,4,6 and 7 must be
rejected, as His death had no local reference
to sinners (1); nor did He die in order to
produce sinners (4); nor were sinners the
subject-matter of His death (6) ; nor, finally,
could He die as sinners’ proxy, as their agent
and by their appointment (7). The mean
ings 2,3 and 5 alone remain posssble. If our
Lord died on account of sinners, according to
the 2nd meanipg, the import of the two ex
pressions, for sin, and for sinners, would be
much alike— -“ for sinners ” meaning for per
son* who were ruined, and “for sin,” signify
ing, for that which c<xu*ed the ruin of such
persons i In this case the tears, sighs, pale
looks, and even death of Jesus, must be re
garded as the outward signs of his inward
sorrow. His human nature was but a medi
um of revelation. He came to.earth to prove
the love of God, and that proof reached its
highest point, became aq qetpal demonstra
tion, when He died upoq the cross. The
fifth meaning is but a particular case of the
third; defence being a case of benefit, Christ,
by death, did not defend us against God, as
a just Being, for He was God Himself, The
Shepherd defended the sheep against the
wolf. Here the wolf is a representation of
neither God, nor Justice personified, but of
Satan. The object of our Saviour in that
chapter js to show, by a graphic figure, that
His people are safe in His keeping. Rather
would He die in their flefepce than suffer the
enemy to destroy even the least of them.
We are thus led to regard the third mean
ing of vmp, as the one which suits best when
the word is used in connection with persons.
Christ died for the benefit of sinners. John’s
idea of our Saviour’s death was beautifully
simple. “ Hereby perceive we the love of
God, because He laid down His life sor —
ump —us- apd we ought to lay down our
lives sor — ump— the brethren,” (l John iii:
J 6.) The preposition here must be taken in
the same sense ip both cases, for the whole
force of the argument depends upon this.
Christians can die for each other in the same
sense as Christ died for men. In both cases
the motives pre identical — love. In both
cases the result js the same in its nature,
though there may be a difference in degree,
as the love of Christ in dying for man may
be more intense than it is possible for love
to exist in mere mortals. If the expression
“He gave His life for us — umpijpm” —
means that He died as our substitute, to sat
isfy Divine justice on our behalf, the second
clause of the verse would require us to be-
lieve that Christians should die for a similar
purpose, on their brethren. No
amount of sophistr) can escape from this
conclusion, and yet a conclusion which
no one can accept. John’s meaning seems to
me to be this: As Jesus died for the good of
siuners, because Ho loved them, so ought
His disciples to die' foi the good of one an
other, if ever cal!eA~upon to do so, because
they love each other too. An examination
of all the texts of Scripture where our Sa
viour’s death is spoken of, will
show that, for the \sord vmp we may substi
tute the explains vmp ac
cording to meanh'g No. 3 —“ for the benefit
of.” How the bt!,efl of men is secured by
the Saviour’s death 's left, thus far, an open
question; but of His benefitting
them by dying as substitute, to satisfy
God, must be rented as inconsistent with
the general meanirtf of the word vmp, and es
pecially with the leaning assigned to it by
1 John iii: 16„ ; .< t\?niection with our Lord’s
death. / L Galileo.
Good Life.
He liveth long wbi, liveth well;
All else is life bff flung away;
He liveth longestJFho can tell
Os true thingaejhly done each day.
Then fill what will last;
Buy up as they go;
The life above -.-With is is past,
Is the ripe irrtWELlife below.
Sow love, and tasfe its fruitage pure;
Sow peace, and reap its harvest bright;
Sow sunbeams on the roek and moor,
And find a of light.
—Josephine Pollard.
An Appeal to The Friends of Jesus.
Dear Brethren: j. have but a few days to
spend on earth, and-have been led, by recent
developments of Ejivine Providence, to re
solve, if the Lordyapprove and permit, to
spend those few days in begging for the bread
of life for our neighbors in Mexico and other
Spanish-speaking nations, and for the Chinese,
who are flowing into our country like a flood.
The Providences iotwhich I refer are—
1. The opening to evangelical Christians,
through the revolutions of civil empires, doors
that had been closecffor many centuries, alike
against them and the circulation of pure ver
sions of the word oLGod.
2. The remarkable occurrences which led
the American Bible Union to engage in bring
ing out pure versions of the word of God in
the Spanish and CuTnese languages, just in
time to supply the demand for them by mis
sionaries entering these new fields of labor.
Interesting as these occurrences are, I cannot
here detail them without extending this arti
cle to an undue length.
3. The remarkable and unexpected triumph
of Divine truth o ycr_ sectarian prejudices, as
evinced by the frequent and urgent solicita
tions made by colporters of different denomi
nations, in Mexico and in other Spanish coun
tries, for copies of the versions brought out
by the Bible Uniojw*-One of these wrote to
anew convert, who was about to visit New
York, “ 1 would a thousand times rather cir
culate it (the BibleJJnion’s version) than the
one lam now circulating; therefore, should
you connect yourself with that Society, make
your come on to the capital
and bring some along with you ;
or, if you have 'JMi plans in view, try and
obtain a grant foWfoe./ i could easily get
them into circulatitl, distributing them among
our evangelical ccfgregations. Also let me
know if I could also unite myself with them,
(the Baptists) not as a preacher of the doc
trine of immersion, but to circulate their ex
cellent version of the New Testament.” The
same writer, in a later letter to a member of
the B. U., after stating that 18,000 copies of
the Spanish Scriptures had been circulated
within the past year, says : “Now, I presume
that your society is pet disposed to launch
into the work in this country to this extent,
but if it were, greaTahd, I hesitate not to say,
satisfactory results would follow from your
taking such a course .” He concludes his let
ter thus : “ In conclusion, I have to make a
very earnest request, which I trust will not
be denied me by the committee, viz: that im
mediately upon the completion of the edition
you speak of as up, you will do
me the favor to make me a grant of a few
hundred copies, and send them off to me at
once.” v-
4 The remarkable success attending the
circulation of the Scriptures among those to
whom we have but recently had access, is an
other of the providences to which I Have re
ferred. In Madrid, Rev. Wm. J. Knapp,
formerly professor of languages successively
in Madison University aud Vassar College,
but now in the employment of the Bible
Uuion, recently reported the baptism of 18
converts in Madrid, and stated that there
were others soon to be baptized. Is not that
cheering intelligence ? In Mexico, a colporter
of the A. B. S. immersed a number of con
verts. Among them wasThos. M. Westrup,
whom he also ordained and engaged as a col
porter. Mr. sWestrup subsequently visited
New York, was instructed in the will of God
more thoroughly, and was ordained as a Bap
tist minister by a large ecclesiastical council
and returned to Mexico. ).4e has been instru
mental in building p p bix Baptist churches,
and bids fair, it is thought, to be to Mexico
what Oncken has btf o Germany.
5. The influx of Chinese iuto our own coun
try is another provfßeme that seems to me
to call loudly to us for tne bread of life. The
Lord has brought them to our doors. Shall
we deny them even the crumbs that fall from
the children’s table?
There is a voice j n these providences of
God to which I have referred—(and in others
to which 1 have not referred specially—) that
calls loudly to every Christian apd every phi
lanthropist, and bids us hasten to the relief
of the suffering, to feed the hungry, clothe the
naked, conduct them to that shelter provided
by Infinite Love as a place of security for the
poor and needy of our fallen race in the day
of Jehovah’s wrath.
We of the South—Christians, patriots, phi
lanthropists —should be the last to suffer that
voice to pass unheeded. Who are the Mexi
cans? They are ouf neighbors—our nearest
neighbors. Remember what Jesus has said
aboqt loving our neighbors. If the luve of
Jesus impels us not to seek to work a refor
mation in their moral character, the love ©f
self—self-interest—should prompt us to en
gage in the work. They have been to us
troublesome neighbors. So long as they con
tinue unreformed, oup peace, opr property
and our lives But it is
through divine truth alone —as revealed in
the sacred Scriptures—the needlul reforma
tion can be wrought. It is, therefore, to the
ipterest of every man, woman apd child
among us to help to send them the Bible. If
you had a drunken, malicious, dishonest, quar
relsome neighbor, would you not be willing
to buy up a cart load of Bibles and give them
to if y°H eopld thereby convert hipi into
a sober, benevolent, honest, peaceable neigh
bor? If you would, then send me, by mail,
in registered letter, or by express, without
delay, fpnds to aid in sending a pure version
of the word of God to the Mexicans. You
may send a C, an L. an X, a V, or an I—even
a dime will be acceptable.
And who are the Chinese ? A people de
stined to constitute the laboring class in our
Southern country. Who is there that would
prefer to employ an unconverted Chinaman
to a converted one ? If any, 1 ask not a dime
of them ; but I ask of all who would prefer a
converted to an unconverted laborer, to send
me a contribution, by mail or otherwise, be
it small or great, and send it forthwith, that
we may meet the Chinaman on the shores of
the Pacific with the word of life, and seek to
infuse into him the pure principles of the gos
pel of Christ.
In conclusion, allow me to remind you—
1. That it is only through the revelation
made us through the Bible we can learn how
a transgressor of the law may be pardoned
and yet the inviolability of the law and the
authority of the Law-Giver be preserved un
impaired.
2. It is only through the revelation which
God makes of His divine character, through
Christ and the sacred Scriptures, that the
enmity of the carnal mind can be subdued,
and the rebellious sinner made snbmissive
and obedient to God’s will.
3. That it is only through the truth, as
taught in God’s word, believers can be sancti
tilled, and made meet for the kingdom of
glory.
The calls for the Spanish and Chinese ver
sions of the sacred Scriptures are urgent. The
Bibb; Union has granted mean agency to col
lect funds for -the purposes above stated. I
accept of their agency that the public may
feel assured that the funds they contribute
will be faithfully disbursed ; an assurance
they could not feel if they contributed to one
acting on his own responsibility.
Help, reader ; help with a pecuniary con
tribution, if you would glorify your Saviour,
if you would promote the salvation of souls,
if you would relieve suffering humanity, if
you desire your country’s weal. If we would
not have our posterity Romanized or heathen
ized, *ve should seek to Christianize the
Mexicans and Chinese.
Jos. S. Baker.
Love.
I’m apt to think the man
That could surround the sum of things and spy
The heart of God and the secrets of His empire,
Would speak but love. With him the bright result
Would change the hue of intermediate scenes,
And make one thing of all Theology.
Seminole Camp Meeting—No. 5.
After the Baptist Conference mentioned in
my last, we started home, but our progress
was slow and tiresome because of the sick
ness ; my wagon and ambulance serving as
much the place of hospitals as means of con
veyance. The first night we spent with the
Presbyterian missionary, Dr. Ramsey, ac
cording to promise, and I never was more
hospitably and kindly entertained in my life.
I could but notice the contrast between the
care of Pedobaptists for their missionaries
and the scanty support of our’s. The Doctor
was receiving $1,500 per annum, besides hav
ing his good mission buildings for a home,
and an ample supply of medicines, books,
clothing, and all the et cetera that heart could
wish. Here 1 obtained a supply ot medicines
for the sick Indians that were with me. Our
conversation turned upon the faith of Old
Landmark Baptists. I had told him at the
camp meeting, while holding his hand, that I
was of that faith, and that my intercourse
with him must be governed by it ; and he
seemed not’to understand my 1 meaning. After
my explanations, he readily admitted that
Baptists, to be consistent in a free pulpit,
must abandon the idea of exclusive immer
sion, or else agree that baptism is not essen
tial to membership in the church of Christ
visible. To this I assented. I told him that
if I could be convinced that Presbyterians had
been baptized, I would join them the next
meeting; for, as I looked upon them as Chris
tians, if I knew that they were also baptized,
I would be satisfied that they were also mem
bers of the visible church of Christ, and I did
not wish to belong to any other. His idea of
its making no difference what church a man
joined so he was a Christian, and also his
other idea, that the mode is not essential, or
that sprinkling, pouring, and immersion are
equally valid, reminded me of an illustration
of a certain Methodist missionary that I once
heard. Said he to the Indians : Our faith
(Methodist) is like an Indian gown: it is
loose, and is made so as to fit either a small
or a large man. This was quite apropos, and
accorded precisely with my own views of
Methodism. The faith of an Old Landmark
Baptist, however, is quite different: it is a gar
ment that he has not cut out himself, and one
that he is not allowed to refit, and turn every
four years; but it has been cut by a Divine
hand, according to a Divine pattern, and if it
does not fit, then the man, and not the gar
ment, must be changed. “Ye must be born
again.” There is quite a difference between
a man who thinks “it makes no difference
and one who is indeed a Baptist. To the
former, religion is a sort of loose cloak that
will fit one man about as well as another.
A man can easily lay aside his cloak', if he
finds it inconvenient or burdensome. He can
afford to sell it at half price if cloaks go out
of fashion. It has no living union with him
self, and, therefore, if he cqn’t sell it, it will
give him no pain even to throw it away, or
else give it to some freedman. But the faith
of a true Baptist is a vital thing, and a vital
part of himself, and will fit no one but him
self, or one like himself. A man can sell hi3
cloak, and an Jndiap his gown, but he will
not so easily part with his skin. His skin fits
trim, has a living union with himself,to which
the spirit of life gives an animating power.
This is the case with us; we can’t compromise
our faith; we can’t change the creed that God
has given us; it is short, but Heaven made
it ;—conversion and immersion are essential
to. membership in the visible church. The man
who is only an outside Baptist, and who only
wears bis faith as an Indian wears his gown,
if he finds that persecution is likely to come
to him, or that he will be troubled on account
of it, it is the easiest thing in the world for
him to lay aside his gown, or to change it to
suit the fashion. But he who is a Baptist in
deed cannot do so. He cannot give up his
faith. It is .neither a cloak nor agownto him,
but it is a living piece of himself, a vital, es
sential part of himself, and therefore he must
stppd and take whatever comes. A true Bap
tist can’t cease to be what he is, for it is his new
nature to be a Baptist; and he can’t change
his nature any more than the African can
change his skin, or the leopard his spots. His
faith, being founded upon God’s word, is as
firm $s the foundation on which it rests; and
the only difference between it and that of
others may be traced to their respective foun
dations.
In the general Convention of the Southern
4nnpal Conferences that formed the Metho
dist Episcopal church South, it was openly
affirmed that, “ Expediency is the foundation
of our episcopacy. Nay more, itia the very
basis of Methodism.” (His. of M. E. Church
South, p. 22.) Os course it is; and that
makes it like an Indian gown, to suit “ any
body, good Lord.” But expediency is not the
foundation of the Baptist church ; and hence,
from motives founded on mere expediency,
we are not allowed to recognize as gospel min
isters such as have never yet been baptized.
The above is not what 1 said to Dr. Ram
sey, but is rather to confirm what I did say.
The sick Indians with me required much of
my time and attention; so I had but little
time to talk with the Doctor. The next morn
ing we parted with the very friendliest feel
ings, and with mutual pledges to call on each
other more frequently.
Nothing of interest occurred on our return
until we got to Col. Tim. Barnett’s, who is an
ex-Confed. colonel, and a Baptist. It was so
late, and I was so weary on my arrival there,
that I could not attend to the feeding of my
horses. The Colonel, from the most benevo
lent feelings, fed them on green corn, which
resulted in the death of one of them. I had
worked them toget her from Western to East
ern Texas, and from thence to the Indian
country ; and they were almost as a part of
my family. They were used to each other,
and seemed really to have an affection for
each other almost human. The well horse
would follow the sick one like his shadow, and
paw and neigh as if in great grief and anxiety
for his mate. It was piteous to see his dis
tress when his mate died, just 24 hours from
the time he ate the green corn. I did all I
could to save my poor horse —drenching him
with salts, watermelon seed tea, and every
thing that I thought would benefit him; but
all to no avail. The Indians were distressed
for me and the horse, and showed great sym
pathy, coming from all parts of the settlement
and offering their help. Asa relique of Indian
treatment, combined with superstition, I will
mention an incideut: I saw a fullblood be
hind the chimney, as if to hide from observa
tion, blowing through a hollow cane into a tub
of water containing pounded roots. I was
going to object to the superstition of blowing,
and whispering certain words, when my wife
begged me to let the Indian alone, as he was
prompted by a benevolent feeling. I knew
he was sincere, and that he meant well for me
ar.d my horse, and so thought I of the Hindoo
woman, who burns herself on the funeral pile
of her husband, or throws her infant into the
Ganges: she is sincere, and means well; like
wise the Protestant parent that brings an in
fant to be sprinkled into the church, or to be
poured upon because it is a member of the
church ; he or she is sincere, and means well,
but they are all alike superstitious. However,
the Indian’s superstition was more innocent,
and as it was no pretence of religion, I let him
alone. I found that the roots he used were
from the micco lio-ya-ne-cha, {the king is pass
ing by,) a kind of swamp willow ; and that
they were tonic and astringent, qualities not
adapted to take the green corn from my
horse ! He drenched poor Bill and washed
his spine with the water, but all to no use.
The Indian made a proper diagnosis, pro
nouncing it an abdominal griping! But he
utterly failed in his treatment. Poor Tol
bert! (my well horse) made such piteous
neighs, and my little girls, for lack of knowl
edge, asked so many questions about Bill’s
present and future state, that (aside from my
wounded affection for my horse, as well as
my grief at his loss,) my sympathies were
deeply wrought upon. When I arrived home,
for the satisfaction of my girls, 1 wrote the
following
Lines on the Death of my Carriage-Horse.
How can we stop the tears that flow,
Or what can mitigate our woe?
How dismal is our case!
O ! cruel was thy hand, O ! death,
To stop our carriage-horse’s breath, —
Most faithful of his race.
Now cold and lifeless see him lie,
A picture of mortality ;
Ah! cruel, shocking sight!
We will not— cannot now forbear;
We will—we most let fall a tear,
Iu melaucholy plight!
How honored once avails Bill not,
By whom was curried, or begot;
And when to dust return’d,
No marble tomb his worth can show,
Nor let the savage Indian know
How for his fate we mourned!
We have as good a right to be sentimental
as Sterne ; and we had as well laugh as cry,
for we are getting used to misfortune. There’s
a better day coming, and the Master whom
we serve will not allow us to suffer want.
This makes the third horse I have lost during
my missionary life from too much green
corn ; and may this be a warning to others.
The missionary, travelling late, and over
come with fatigue from waiting on sick com
panions, is olten too much worn down to see
how his horse is fed. Freedmen will not do
to trust, for many of them cannot count
twelve, and are more apt to give your horse
an armful, than a dozen years.
Col. Barnett, with whom we stayed, was
kind, and rendered us every possible assis
tance, He loaned us a mule, which was a
great help to us, for we were yet fifty miles
from home. He is pledged to give one hun
dred dollars towards a Baptist mission school
in this nation, and I had thought I would make
this great theme the subject of a passing no
tice here, but I fear 1 will weary you. I must
reserve it as the theme for some future ar
ticles.
I was very sick when I got home, and doubt
not that when I hear from them I will be
grieved to learn that many were made sick
from exposure at the Seminole camp meet
ing. H. F. Buckner,
Miss'y of Friendship Assa , Ga.
Micro, Creek Nation, Aug. 27, 1870.
Hope,
Though clouds still overcast the earth with gloom,
Anq hide from us the sky,
Bet but tbe rainbow on the grayness bloom,
We know the sun is nigh.
So, though within the soul with anguish smart,
And all without look drear,
With God’s own how of promise in the heart,
Wc know that He is near.
—Qld and New.
“It Can Hardly Be So.”
Under the above heading, in the last Index,
I find a communication from brother Robert,
of Arkansas, in which he expresses very
strong doubts as to the correctness of what I
wrote some time ago about the General Meet
ing held at Fishing Creek. Ido not see why
he should so much distrust that aooount. He
certainly does not think that 1 would give
publicity to anything prejudicial to the Bap
tist cause in this, or any other section, with
an evil intent. Nothing was farther from my
design than slander. To none is the cause of
Baptists dearer than to myself; and so far
from propagating a foul libel upon that noble
name by which 1 am proud to be called, none
would be more ready than myself to expose
such a scandal, and to bring the author to
justice. But brother Robert thinks I was
“ mistaken ” in what I wrote, that I was
wrong, had fallen into error, and ought not
to be allowed “to go uncorrected.” Upon
what he bases his cogent convictions that I
had departed from the truth, I am unable to
decide.
In the first place, I did not write anything
that was incredible in itself. I stated no im
possibilities. The state to which I reported
that some of the churches of this General
Meeting had sunk, is one possible to them all
under certain conditions. Churches have no
right to expect that God will preserve them
from shameful degradation when they neglect
the means for moral and spiritual improve
ment which He has placed in their reach.
My statement has too many illustrations in
history to be considered beyond credence.
But, did I so word my notice as to give it
the appearance of falsehood ? Was there
something in my style that betrayed the tra-
WHOLE NO. 2510.
ducement I was devising against the churches
in this district? Ido not think this was the
case. There was nothing in the manner in
which I wrote, at all likely to excite suspicion
as to the honesty jf my statement. It is
true, I made no special effort to invest what
1 said with an air of verisimilitude. I did
not wind up each sentence with a, “ true, ev
ery word true.” 1 just wrote straight along
without stopping to inquire whether what 1
wrote would be believed or not. But this
very fact gives it the greater seeming of ver
ity.
My good brother, however, does not appear
to discredit my statements as much as his
own construction of them. I did not assert
that a “ majority of the Baptists in this por
tion of the State were topers.” Here is what
I wrote : “It (the Committee) stated, how
ever, that in some of the churches the topers
were actually in the majority.” Os course,
the report had reference to the male part of
the membership. Now, there is a great dif
ference between my own account and brother
R’s version of it. Like some logicians, who
put their opponent arguments to suit them
selves and then riddle them, he has attributed
to me an extravagant and really incredible
statement, and then declares that “it can
hardly be so,” that he “can’t believe it.”
But suppose that the whole report was
wrong, entirely devoid of truth; I could not
be held chargeable with any part of the fabri
cation. My communication purported to be
nothing more than a brief account of the
meeting. I did not vouch for anything men
tioned. If the report was false, then the
Committee, and not myself, needed the cor
rection. I could have stated, however, that
the report was, to my certain knowledge,
perfectly consonant with the facts in the case.
The Committee was composed of pious, good
brethren, who love our Redeemer and His
cause, and who were seeking the purification
and prosperity of our denomination, and I
am certain that Committee is able to prove
every proposition contained in its report.
Brother R., however, seems to take it for
granted that I misrepresented the Committee
—that 1 only was “ mistaken.” Had I done
that, some member of the Committee would
have been very prompt to set me right, for
the Chairman of it is a close reader of the
Index, and so must have seen my account of
the report, in which, if there had been any
error, he would have corrected it.
It may be that brother R. thinks that such
a state of things, even though true, should
not have been made public. Are not reports
on the state of religion made at our Associa
tions*and Conventions, as full and faithful as
the information at command will allow, and
are not all these given to the public to read?
It must be confessed, however, that most of
these reports are very unreliable exponents
of the true state of religion in the limits to
which they are confined. If they are made
out upon adequate data, many fine congratu
lations would be changed into a, “ brethren,
these things oughUnot so to be.” It is very
proper to make known the true religious con
dition of our churches. I, therefore, did not
hesitate to give, in my account, all that the
Committee reported. Besides, I knew that
Dr. Shaver was thoroughly competent to de
cide what ought and what ought not to appear
in the Index. I wrote the account with good
intention. I was in hope that the churches
generally might see it and profit by the in
formation —that they might thereby be stir
red up to greater circumspection, and to
“ walk ever as Christ walked.” B.
Human Life.
So should we live that every hour
May die as dies the natural flower —
A self-reviving thing of power;
That every thought and every deed
May hold within itself the seed
Os future good and future meed.
— Milnes.
Baptism.
Principal Cunningham, of New College,
Edinburgh, in his essay on “Zwingleand the
•Doctrine of the Sacraments,” said : “It has
always been a fundamental principle in the
theology of Protestants, that the sacraments
were instituted and intended for believers,
and produce their appropriate beneficial ef
fects only through the faith which must have
previously existed, and which is expressed
and exercised in the act of partaking in them.
Again : “Adult baptism exhibits the original
and fundamental idea of the ordinance, as it
is usually brought before us, and as it is di
rectly and formally spoken about in the New
Testament. And when baptism is contem
plated in this light, there is no more difficul
ty in forming a distinct and definite concep
tion regarding it, than regarding the Lord’s
supper.” Once more : “It tends greatly to
introduce, obscurity and confusion into our
whole conceptions on the subject of baptism,
that we see it ordinarily administered to in
fants,'and very seldom to adults. This leads
us insensibly to form very defective and er
roneous conceptions of its design and effects,
or rather to live with our minds very much
in the condition of blanks, so far as concerns
any distinct and definite views upon this sub
ject. There is a great difficulty felt, —a diffi
culty which Scripture does not afford us ade
quate materials for removing,—in laying
down any distinct and definite doctrine as to
the bearing and efficacy of baptism in the
case of infants, to whom alone, ordinarily, we
see it administered.” He said, also, that in
fant baptism “does not correspond, in all
respects, with the full sacramental principle
in its utmost extent and clearness, as exhib
ited in adult baptism and the Lord’s supper,
and must, therefore, be regarded as occupying
a peculiar and supplemental position.” “ In
fant baptism really occupies a sort of subor
dinate and exceptional position.”
There is a very gratifying amount of truth
in this language, coming from a Scotch Pres
byterian, an eminent man in his day.
“ Foul Slander.” —This is the term ap
plied by the American Baptist to the asser
tion made by the Advent Christian Times,
that Isaac Watts wrote the lines:
“ For hell is crammed with infants damned
Without a day of grace.”
Dr. Watts could not have writteu them, for
he held that the infants of the righteous,
whether baptized or unbaptized, are saved,
and the infants of the wicked, with or with
out baptism, annihilated.
Cheering for Small Churches. —The Bap
tist church of Mannahawkin, N. S., celebrated
its centenary on the 25th of August. One of
the most interesting circumstances in its his
tory is the fact that it was at one time reduced
to four aged females, who alone held up the
standard, and called themselves the Baptist
church of Mannahawkin. The question arose
in the Philadelphia Association, to which the
church belonged, whether they could be re
cognized as a church. It was decided in the
affirmative, and supplies voted.
Unfaithful Steward. —A minister once
approached a wealthy parishioner, who was
always very poor when money was needed
ed for missions, and suggested that we were
the Lord’s stewards. “ Yes, i know that,”
was the reply, “ the Lord has given me, as
you know, a good deal of money to take care
of, and I mean to do it.” Just so. Here
thou hast that is thine.