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CHRISTIAN l \m.i » \ll SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
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Here and Hereafter.
" For I reckon that the BufftrinM of this present
t ime are not worthy to ba compared with tha glory
which shall be revoaled in us.”
Brief life is here a portion ;
Brief sorrow, ehort-lired oare;
The life that knows no endiDg,
The tearless life, is there.
0 happy retribution I
Hkort toil, eternal rent;
For mortals and for sinners
A mansion with the bleat.
And now wa fight the battle,
But then aball wear the crown
Os full and ererlasting
And passionless renown.
Jerusalem the golden 1
With milk and honey blest;
Beneath thy contemplation
Sink heart and reice opprest.
I know not, oh! I know not,
What joya await ns there;
What radiancy af glory,
What blisa beyond compare.
They stand, those balls of Zion,
All jubilant with song,
And bright with many an angel,
And all the martyr throng.
The Prince is ever in them ;
The daylight ia serene;
The pastures of the blessed
Are decked in glorious sheen.
There is the Throne of David,
And there from care released,
The shout of them that triumph
The song of them that feast;
Aad they, who with their Leader,
Have conquered in the fight,
Forever and forever
Are clad in robes of white.
Bernard of Cluny, 11 A3. Translated by Dr. John
it. XeaU. -
Andrapodistes: What ia its Primary and
Usual Signification—Slave-Dealer or Man-
Stealer?
The American Bible Union have, we verily
believe, perpetrated a gross wrong in de*
parting from the translation of this word, as
given in the common English version, I Tim.
i: 10. Man stealers ” of the old Bible
has, in the version of the Union, given place
to “ slave-dealers.”
Though we have overwhelming proof that
this change from man-stealer to slave-dealer
can by no means be justified, we confess to a
little trepidation in trying to work ourself
up to the daring pitch of finding fault with
anything that the translators of the Ameri
can Bible Union have officially put forth,
since Dr. Conant, as we learn from his letters
to Mr. Jewett, is disposed to consider it high
handed presumption for any one to dare to
call in question any portion of the translation
of the Revised version, made, as it has been,
by suefi accomplished scholars as himself.
We hope, however, that we shall be permit
ted to contribute our mite to a correct under
standing of this Greek word, without being
abused for the effrontery of supposing our
self a master in Biblical learning.
Indulging this hope, we think that, to every
reader of the Indrx, we can make it appear
that andrapodistes should not be translated
by slave dealer or man dealer, (the two being
about equivalent,) but by man-stealer.
I. This word, though occurring in Greek
literature—in Aristophanes, Xenophon, Plato
—is found in the New Testament only I Tim.
i: 10. Wo have, therefore, no New Testa
ment examples from which to make an in
duction. Nor does tho Septuaginl employ
the word. Before, however, examining this
noun itself, we remark that there is a famiiy
of cognate words proceeding from the same
stem. Os these the verb andrapodizo con
voys the idea of reducing to servitude by
stealing. In his lexicon, Iledericus thus de
fines it: in servitutem redigo ; servum alteri
furor,et meum facio —to reduce to servitude;
to steal another man’s slave, and appropriate
him for one’s own benefit.
This same idea likewise iuhores in all the
adjectives aud nouns of this family. Schmidt,
for example, defines andrapodisterios by zum
menschenraub gehoerig — pertaining to man
stealing. So with the necessary change, an
drapodistike (techne understood) is rendered
menschenrauberei —man-stealing. Besides the
concrete noun employed by Paul, we have
from the same root two abstract ones, atidra
podismos and andrapodisis, which are defined
by Pape: Verkaufung frtier memchen ttu
sklaven ; seelenverkauferei ; menschenraub—
selling free men for slaves; mau-stealing.
From this it follows that, whatever the
word andrapodistes may mean, all the related
words, whether nouns, adjectives, or verbs,
convey two closely allied meanings—the
Btealiug of free men, who are supposed to
belong to themselves, aud the stealing of
slavos, who are regarded as the property of
their masters. Man-stealing slave-stealing
are the exolusive ideas; not man-dealing or
slave-dealing.
11. Having thus ascertained the meaning of
the other words of this family, we are pre
pared to find in andrapodistes a family like
ness. Indeed, if this word should depart
from the meaning belonging to the other five,
it might well be the occasion of surpriso.
But it does not depart therefrom. As the
derivation of this word is not certain, we will
not detain our readers with any remarks
thereon; moreover, the etymology of a word,
even when n-aced, is often a very unsafe basis
for reasoning. Let us, then, consult the lex
icographers as to the meaning of this word.
Hedericus : quCliberum furatur et in serv
itutem redigit, vel legitimo domino furatur et
siium facit— one who steals a free man and
reduces him to servitude, or who steals a
slaves from his lawful master and appropri
ates him for himself. This definition calls
for no comment. We may, however, say
that this lexicon from which we quote has
been revised, first by Patricius, then by Er
nesti, and afterwards by Morell.
It will conduce to conciseness to observe
that the lexicographers which follow do not
depart from the definition given by Hedericus.
We make this observation to obviate the ne
cessity of translating their definitions for the
English reader.
Scapula: mancipator, quisquis alium in
eervitutem redigit — plagiarius, qui liberum
komiuem in servitutem redigit.
Schleusner: qui variis pravis artibus horn
inem liberum furatur et allectum aliis servum
vendit.
Bretscbneider: hominem rapio et servum
vendo; plagiarius, nostrum; seelenJcaeufer,
mensckenraeuber.
Schrevelius: plagiarius.
Wahl (Clavis): qui hominem liberum vel
vi vel artibus malis servum facit.
Pasor: plagiarius.
Pape: der zum sklaven macht; der tinen
sklaven stiehlt, urn ihn wieder zu verkaufen.
Benzeler: Seelenverkaeufer, wer den skla
ven eines Andern stiehlt, oder auch freig
borne menschen raubt.
These definitions convey the notion of
seizing violently , of enticing oy variot .) decep
tive arts, of stealing either freemen or slaves.
Neither man dealer nor slave dealer , nor their
equivalent, is found in a single one of them.
It is true that Liddell and Scott’s lexicon
gives slave-dealer, but then this word is de-
fined to mean “one who kidnaps free men or
slaves to sell them again.” Moreover, in
England and in some of our Northern States,
the word slave-dealer has a wider, much
wider signification than in the Southern States.
There, slave-dealer is equivalent to slave
holder ; whereas, here, it has its specific mean
ing of slave trader, (popularly, nigger-trader)
—a very small fraction of the community,
held, even by the Southern people, in low
repute. Surely we are not to regard Phile
mon, whose slave Paul sent back, as among
the number of andrapodistai, whom Paul
classes with the vilest of the vile! No :
Philemon was a slave-holder, but not a slave
stealer or man dealer—not an andrapodistes.
Were it necessary, we could, under this
head, introduce still other proof. Julius
Pollux, a Greek of the second century, whom
. some have been pleased to style Archceologus,
defines the word as follows : ho ton eleutheron
kaladoulosamenos e ton allotrion oiketen apa
gomenos—one who reduces to servitude a free
man, or who carries off another person’s
slave (house-slave.)
We could also burden these columns with
definitions from other sources. Thus andra
podistes occurs in the Plutusoi Aristophanes.
On this word is a scholium which runs: ou
monos tous —but we will omit the Greek
words and translate : not only one who craft
ily carries off free persons into servitude;
but also one who entices slaves (douloi) from
their masters to sell them.
But we desist from pursuing farther the
testimony of lexicographer and scholiasts.
With one voice they declare the meaning of
andrapodistes to be, not slave-dealer or man
dealer, but man-stealek, which embraces
slave stealer.
May we be allowed hero to bring forward
another thought, as a kind of sub-argument?
In confirmation, then, of the foregoing, ob
serve the class of words with which andrapo
distes finds itself associated, in Greek litera
ture. Men stealers ( andrapodistai ) are spoken
of in connection with temple robbers (hierosu
loi), clothes stealers ( lopodutai , especially
those who stole the clothes of bathers and
travellers), and bomolochoi, those that loitered
about the altars to steal some of the meat
offered thereon. Consult Dr. Pape’s Grie
chisches Wocrterbuch, wherein arc found
references to Plato and Aristophanes, who
speak of temple-robbers, altar robbers, clothes
stealers, and men-stealcrs. And may not a
word also be sometimes known by the com
pany it keeps ? At all events, the compan
ionship of this word tends to strengthen our
proof.
111. But did the renderings of the other
versions, ancient or modern, to which, in
general, the revisers of the A. B. Union pay
not a little regard, prompt this reviser to
translate “ slave dealers?” The following
expose will answer this question. Let us
begin with perhaps the earliest version of the
New Testament.
The Syriac: ganobhai benai hhirlie —steal
ers of free persons. It is worthy of remark,
that ganobhai is from the identical Shemetic
root employed by Moses, Exodus xxi: 16,
where the law concerning man-stealing is
given —ghouebh ish— the one stealing a man.
The Latin Vulgate: plagiarius—man stealer.
Beza and Calvin, by the same. It stands
in place to state, here, that these three ver
sions are independent, and often differ from
each other, though each renders andrapodistes
by the same word.
Coverdale’s Bible: man-stealers.
German version of Luther: menschendiebe.
German version of Jaeck: menschenraeu
ber.
Italian version of Diodati: rubatori d'uom
ini.
Italian version of Achilli, published by the
A. B. Union, renders in the same manner,
though the battezzo of Diodati’s version is
revised into immergo.
French version of Martin: ceux qui dero
bent des homines.
French’ version, by the pastors and pro
fessors of Geneva: les volcurs d'hommes.
Spanish version, circulated by the Ameri
can Bible Society : los robadores de hombres.
Spanish version in Bagster’s Polyglotta,
which very often varies from the other, trans
lates by the same words. So does still an
other Spanish version by the bishop of Se
govia.
Romaic or Modern Greek version : anthro
pokleptas.
Lusitanian version : os que furtao escravos
—those who steal slaves.
Portuguese version by Antonio Pereira;
roubadores de homens.
Dutch version, translated under the auspi
ces of the National Syntsd, held at Dordrecht,
in the years 1618, 1619: mcnschendieven.
Bagsters Hebrew version for the propaga
tion of the gospel among the Jews : gonebhe
anashim —the very Hebrew word rendered
steal iu Ex. xxi: 16, aud Deut. xxiv : 7.
Rheimish : men stealers. SoValpy, Me-
Knight, and Ellicott.
We have examined other versions besides
these, and not one renders the word in ques
tion, slave-dealer or man-dealer.
We did not, as we proceeded, give the
English equivalents of all these versions, for
the reason that, with different modes of ex
pression, they all mean man-stealers; in this
particular there is no variation, though the
Syriac renders stealers of free people and the
Lusitanian those who steal slaves. The idea
of stealing, as condemned in Exodus xxi, is
made prominent in each of these translations.
Here, then, are versions, ancient and modern,
Protestant and Catholic, uttering one voice,
and that in accord with our common version.
Clear as existence is it that these versions
had nothing to do in influencing the revisor
to adopt his translation. They ought, on the
contrary, to have engendered a doubt respect
ing the propriety of departing from the
received version, confirmed, as it is, by so
many others.
IV. We will now give ear to what a few
of the more learned commentators have to
say on the meaning of this word.
John Gill: “ Those who decoyed servants
or free men, and stole them away and sold
them for slaves. See the laws against this
practice, and the punishment such were liable
to, Ex. xxi: 16.”
Cornelius a lapide: “qui aliena mancipia
rapiunt et sibi vendicant, aut qui homines
liberos in servitutem abripiunt, eosque pro
mancipiis vendunt aut emunt.”
Bloomfield: “As all crimes here (1 Tim.
i: 10) mentioned are of the most heinous
kind, and as robbery does not elsewhere
occur in the list, so andrapodistes seems put
for robbery of the worst sort.”
Bengel: “qui liberos homines per vim
mancipia faciunt.”
Oosterzee : “ plagiarius. It was, besides,
no rare crime among the Greeks to steal boys
or girls, that they might be sold into slave
ry.”
Alford : “The apostle puts the andrapo
dislai as the most flagrant of all breakers of
the eighth commandment.”
Starke—but no, we will adduce no more:
enough has certainly been brought forward.
The most learned commentators, German
Dutch and English, agree, of course, with
lexicographers, scholiasts and versions, in at
testing that andrapedistes is one who steals
free men or slaves, against which the law of
God utters its loudest thunders.
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24,1870.
V. It is germain to this subject to note the
fact that there were in the Greek language
compound terms which specifically mean
slave dealer. Aristophanes employs andra
podones, which is compounded of andrapodon
and oneomai. An exact translation of this is
slave-dealer, the only meaning given by Lid
dell and Scott. Thepreoise equivalent L also
given by Pape and Schmidt.
Then we find andrapodokapelos, compound
ed of andrapodon, a slave, and kapelos, a
dealer, a huckster; hence, one who deals in
(buys and sells) slaves. So Hedericus: qui
mancipia vendit. Pape renders it: sklaven
haendler ; so does Schmidt.
Now, had either of these words been em
ployed by the apostle, then slave-dealer would
be an appropriate and correct rendering.
True is it that the word is not found earlier
than Lucian, who was living A. D. 150;
though, of course, it may have existed earlier
in literature now lost, since both its parts
belong to the most flourishing state of the
language. Since, therefore, there were in
the Greek language terms specifically mean
ing slave-dealer, what need is there for at
tempting to foist this meaning on andrapo
disles ?
In this fashion we reason in regard to
baptizo. There are cheo and raino, meaning
to pour and sprinkle; why force both these
significations into baptizo ? Surely we cannot
appeal to the poverty of the Greek language!
Moreover, as we maintain not only that im
mersion is the primary but the meaning of
baptizo, so here we hold that man stealer,
whether with reference to free men or slaves,
is not only the primary meaning of andrapo
distes, but that it is extremely problematical
whether it can ever have slave-dealer or man
dealer, even as a secondary signification.
VI. Add to this accumulated proof, which
we have been at some pains to heap together
—proof direct and indirect —running from
the second century to the sixth decade of the
nineteenth—from lexicographers, Greek, Lat
in, German and English—from nearly thirty
versions in various languages, ancient and
modern —from certain facts of the Greek
language itself-—add to all this, that the in
structions under which the revisor of the A.
B. Union acted, made it obligatory on him to
keep at his side the common version, “to
make it the basis of his revision, and to avoid
all unnecessary interference with the estab
lished phraseology.” If, therefore, in weigh
ing the degree of approximation of the terms
man-stealer and slave dealer respectively, to
the Greek noun, his mind had been in equi
libria, he should have retained the renderiug
~f the received version. Nay, even slight
probabilities should not have induced him to
alter it. But, behold, instead of retaining,
scholar like, the translation of the common
version, he has gone pointblank against the
explicit and accumulated testimonies of lexi
cographers, scholiasts, commentators and
versions, and, partizan like, has given a sec
tional rendering.
With this evidence before them, the readers
of the Index will, we are convinced, repeat
with emphasis the first sentence of this essay,
that the A. B. Union have perpetrated a
gross wrong in translating the Greek noun
andrapodistes by “ slave dealer.”
We therefore affirm, without fear of con
tradiction, that inan-stealer is the proper
meaning of the word used by Paul 1 Tim. i:
10. Neither the revisors of the A. B. Union,
nor the Final Committee, can adduce more
weighty and convincing proof to justify any
single departure of theirs from the version of
King James, than we can to vindicate the
rendering of that version, in respect to the
word “ man-stealers.” Geo. Varden.
Foreign Missions.
There is less of the Foreign Mission spirit
among Southern Baptists now, than formerly.
Indeed, there is a prevailing disposition to
discontinue the work altogether. Many are
in favor of abandoning the field and calling
home the laborers. We are poor, very poor,
compared with what we were before the war;
we are positively unable to do what we could
then have done. The destitution at home
has greatly increased. Many communities
are without the living ministry, where once
comfortable houses dedicated to God, were
filled with his worshippers. Large districts
in our own country enjoy no preaching or
other evangelical influences. The question
often suggests itself to the Christian, shall
we give anything to send the gospel to foreign
lands, while our own people are perishing for
the bread of life? This is a very natural
question. It grows out of our sympathetic
nature. Who does not love his own kindred
and people better than he does those who are
remote from him] Paul manifested this
strong natural preference in his reluctance to
leave the Jews in unbelief and go far hence
to the Gentiles. Should he leave his kindred
according to the flesh, in the bondage of sin
and death, and go to Rome or Ephesus, a»d
instruct the miserable, stupid, superstitious
idolaters in the faith of the Messiah? Could
he not do much more at home? Would not
his kinsmen, who knew he had persecuted
this way unto death, hear him, and give heed
unto his doctrines? This was a perplexing
question for Paul. He would have decided
it according to the dictates of his heart, if
his Master had permitted him to do so. “We
are men of like passions.” It is not surpris
ing that we should hesitate in going forward
in the work of Foreign Missions. Peter
refused to preach to the heathen until the
Lord wrought a miracle to convinco him of
his duty. The other apostles lingered in
Judea and about Jerusalem, to convert their
brethren to Christianity, until the persecution
became so great they were driven out, and
then they went everywhere preaching the
gospel.
Shall we close our eyes to these facts, and
our minds and hearts to the lessons to be
learned therefrom ? The field is the world.
E. W. W.
Remember.
There is much of Bible interest contained
in this word, remember." The tormenting
memories of Dives’ punishment, the suppli
cation of the dying thief, and all the bitter
agony of Peter’s repentance, as he “ remem
bered" the denial of his Lord. As Abraham
from his home of glory and eternal rest bids
Dives “ remember ,” what a tide of torturing
thoughts must have swept through his brain,
to quicken the memory that henceforth will
bo undying? Remembering all the slighted
charities that thronged his princely gate,
while he with sumptuous fare and gorgeous
apparel shut out all thought of human misery
from his wicked heart, whose motto was,
“ Eat, drink and be merry remembering
Lazarus writhing in anguish, even in sight of
his banquet board, and seeing his demon self
refusing the crumbs that fall beneath his feet,
which would amply satisfy the cravings of
hunger: Remembering the five brethren to
whom he left his inheritance, and who are
following his riotous footsteps to eternal woe.
Now Lazarus alone is comforted, and had
been borne by angelic carriers, from misery
to bliss, while he, from his “good things,”
has only a bitter remembrance, not even
opportunity to warn his brothers of the end
in store for them, but looks forward to in
creased misery as their reproaches, are added
to the sting of his own burning conscience.
But what diving, ir-kM heavenly remem>-
brance was that bestCKved by Jesus upon the
dying thief, who, as he looked upon the guilt
within, and then upfcn the atoning Lamb,
sent up from his earnest soul this urgent
1 prayer: “ Lord, remember me when thou
comest into kingdom?’ He receives the
answer given in power aud love, “ This day
shalt thou be with me in Paradise,” aud be
lieving that he will tfc remembered by Him
whose promises are true, his soul is trans
ported from earth and its ignominious death,
to all the glories thai fie beyorfid the unriven
veil. Can’t we thin* that, through that
boundless eternity his redeemed spirit rejoices
that he prayed those simple words “ remem
ber me,” and sings praises to the Saviour
who remembered f , \
But to warm Peter, who
always sprung with zeal to action, and pro
tested against tho thought of desertion,
remembrance comes |U still another phase.
The Lord is led away, and Peter, blushing to
think he had trusted in one thus degraded
.and abused, denies t at he knows Him—
forgets that, but awh, he had drawn
sword in His defend and vowed eternal
fidelity, “Though a-- / the world forsake
thee, yet will not !”. n even forgets the mild
and guileless form of ? Master’s speech, and
now curses and F£<*ftt he knows Lr.
not. But the faithfui Warner crows again,
and Peter “ remetnberjf all—calls to mind
the words of Jesut, apjoken in Gethsemane,
so applicable still, tha!* though “ the spirit is
willing the flesh is weak,” and in his grief
and shame he “ went out and wept bitterly.”
Peter did not forget # Hke that again, but
carried the remembrance through life, and
lived for the cause of the same Saviour whose
denial woke him to not to be
repented of.”
“ Lord, remember me!” As each one of
thy children lays asidfe mortality, let us be
even this day with Toee in Paradise. In
hours of sorrow, on be-ls of pain and disease,
in times when our stubborn wills conflict with
Thine, in all times of mortal woe, O Lord
remember! There ar-a times when we re
member, and like Peter, our hearts are wrung
with agony, but Thou, Lord, canst give us
peace that passeth understanding, and for
this, too, we would pray, O Lord remember!
Doth Zion languish and its plants droop
and die? Are Thy children denying Thee
in life or in word? Is duty’s path unlighted
and obscure, or do our feet tremble at thorns ?
Whatsoever the trial or fault, O Lord re
member ! and let each of Thy children take
for his watchword “Remember.” Lila.
Trust.
Trickle, trickle down the eaves,
Patter, patter on.‘he leaves,
All the sky with clouds is dim;
Hark Ia tremble through the rain,
Like a thrill of joy in paiu,
Whila a robin sings his hymn.
Nestle, nestle, safe and warm,
From the greeting of the storm,
Mother heart shall shield your rest;
Closer folds her Sheltering wing,
Tenderer carols will she sing,
That the storm hath sought her nest.
All the roses overhead
Shall a sweeter fragrance shed,
White they tremble in the blast;
Nestle, little Hedgings three.
Mate of mine, br'/vd patiently,
For the storm sbaf! pass at last.
. . de'
Ah, my little robr.n heart,
Teach me your sjost gracious art,
Song from sorrow to upraise;
I would sing, too, in the rain.
And a guerdon win, of pain
That shall wake a breath of praise.
Happy in the storm am 1,
Who for covert, swift may fly
To “ the shadow of His wing,”
In its hush and calm to know
That no wind, howe’er it blow,
Real harm to mo can bring.
On whoso heart Christ’s rod is laid,
Hath full recompense of shade,
“ At the even, shall be light.”
For in fellowship of pain,
H* re-walks the earth again
in compassion infinite.
— Rtbttxa, Psrlsy Rssd.
A Vision of the Water.
This vision is not of the night, but of the
day ; not arising when the eyes are sealed,
but when they are open. Call it, then, a rev
ery, if you choose, or a picture of the thoughts.
I saw a great number of children in a field of
sorrow. Around the field was a high wall,
and without the wall a plain. The children
in the field were not all alike. Some were
well clad, and some were in rags; some fed
on what seemed costly food, and some on
husks; some had whole garments to wear,
but more were in rags; some were called
wise, but most of them were foolish. The
tents of some were beautiful, but others lived
in the open field, in dingy cells, or in caves.
It was my privilege to go among those chil
dren and watch them with much care. Not
only did 1 see their faces and their attire, but
the use of an instrument enabled me to see
their hearts. The thing that most concerned
me was to find how happy those children
were. Strange as it may appear, among all
those children not one happy heart could be
found ! Many laughed, many were seeking
gratifications of various kinds. All seemed
to be in dread of some evil to come. This
led me to call their home the field of sorrow.
To these children of suffering a friend came
for their relief. He W»s a very goodly per
son. There was like Him. He knew
of these children and their woes, and was very
pitiful toward them. This friend came from
a great distance, and at great cost to himself,
to offer aid to the children. He went among
them and asked if they would be happy.
Many would not listen to Him, nor would
they read the writing He sent to them. But
some came to Him—for He seemed, in some
way, to lore them more than others—to be
helped. Such as came He blessed. No one
could tell how it was done, but He did some
thing to their hearts which made them happy.
After coming to Him and receiving His bless
ing, they all loved Him, and said they would
always love Him. When these happy chil
dren were all standing around their kind
friend, He asked them what they were will
ing to do for Him. They said they were
willing to do anything. Then their leader
walked before them and they followed Him
until they were iu the plain, having come
through a gate in the wall surrounding the
field of sorrow. In this plain was a river
toward which the leader advanced. Turning
and looking upon the children that came after
Him, —for He loved them much, —He said,
“If ye love me, ye will keep my sayings.”
Then He told them that the first thing to do
was to go into the river before them. And
He told them, besides, that He would go on
before them into the river and show them
how they must do. Then He said to them
again, “ If ye love me, keep my command
ments.” So He went, noble as He was, on
to the river, and in their sight was hid in its
waters. After this He spoke many words in
their hearing, and then went on to a happy
home, to which He invited them to come,
telling them He would be on the watch to
see who would do all He had commanded.
Then I saw Him go out of sight, ascending a
great mountain beyond the river. The chil
dren, full of love to their great friend, pressed
on toward the river. And all the first ones
that reached the river went into it, just as
they bad been told to do. They were very
happy when they went up from the water on
the other side of the river, singing and giving
thanks.
But a long time after this, there came some
evil ones who hated the friend of theohildren,
and made a bridge across 4he river. When
the bridge was done, it proved a very curious
bridge. It seemed a very weak and danger
ous bridge to some, and it seemed as safe as
a shallow ford near it to others. When the
bridge was done, the maker of it sent word
to the children that they need not go through
the river any more, but oome to the bridge
and cross. This message some of ths chil
dren would not listen to; “ for,” said they,
“our Friend told us to go through the river as
He went, and that if we loved Him, we must
do as He told us. Besides, if we cross the
byidge that His enemies have made, ws may
nfcver find the path He took on the other side
of the stream.” - So these went through the
stream. But many of the children listened
to the evil ones and crossed on the bridge.
On the other side of the river all the children
went up the great hill put of sight, but they
never seemed all to find the same path be
yond the stream. None of them have come
back to tell us whethei the children’s Friend
was as glad to see those who went over the
bridge as He was to see those who went
through the water. Scrap.
Gome Hearer to Jesus.
My brethren, let us come nearer to Je9us.
Let us stand where Paul stood, aud rest our
head on that bosom where lay the head of
the beloved disciple, that we may hear ths
throbbings of His mighty heart and know
how He loves. Then, from His lips our souls
shall receive the grand principles which made
and animated that giant in Christ Jesus, the
apostle of the Gentiles. Then shall wa learn
to tell in persuasive accents of God’s amazing
love, and then appreciate more our wondrous
Advocate with God, “Jesus Christ, the
Righteous,” “ who is set down at tha right
hand of tho Majesty on high.”
To hear Him at all, we must be near Him ;
for Jesus was “meek and lowly of heart.”
Words of meekness fall in gentle tones as dis
tills the dew, and breathe forth in quiet sweet
ness like the perlume of the flower. And tee
must hear Him. The prodigal longs to
know what is in the heart of his father toward
him. He only who came down from heaven,
can tell us of the Father—His Father and
our Father. Thus near to him did Baxter
come, and Payson, and Edwards, and a host
of others who have recorded the revelations
Fie has made. No more an angry Father,
who would cast them off, but one whose ever
lasting arms are about them, keeping them
for that “ inheritance incorruptible and unde
filed and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for them” by Him, who is able to
keep both it and them till the day of the as
signing of thrones, and kingdoms, and bliss
ful immortality. We need the consolation
found only at His side; and oh ! how thrills
the heart as in low, sweet words He tells of
heaven, that “ house not made with hands,
eternal;” that place prepared for us by Flim.
Heaven, sweet heaven ! built by Jesus, whose
workmanship is all divine; whose stones are
cemented fast by the blood which Love iuear
nate shed ! About its broad hearth-stone
there shall be no vacaut chairs ; its light shall
never know the dimness of nighttime; its
songs shall be hushed by no chokingsof grief.
O ye weary souls, ye homeless, oome very
near to Him and ask that He tell you of this
glorious home.
We must come to Him for blessing ; and
only upon those very near to Him will He
lay His hands in benediction, and bestow that
peace which the world knoweth not, neither
can give. Only those thus near, with ths
, leprosy of sin upon them and the seeds of
death within them, can touch the hem of His
garment and be made perfectly whole. To
Him who wrestled all the night long in prayer,
we who mourn over Zion’s desolation need to
come very near, and ask that Ho teach us
how to pray. To Him who had to suffer and
shrank from it, yet could say “Thy will, not
mine, be done,” all of us need to oome. Be
sides, He can teach us how “ to suffer and be
strong.” In short, we should keep near Him
all the time, if we would rightly do Flis work.
The Master-builder, who plauned the struc
ture, must tell us how to lay the stones. Only
the Captain of the host can tell us where be
longs each battalion.
But one grand reason why ours should be
a chosen walk with Jesus is this: Never in
tones of thunder does Jesus issue Flis oom
mands. lie knows that those who love Him
will cling very closely to him, and only such
does he desire to do Ilia work. He whispers
duty. Come near, else you will not hear Him
when He speaks to you. Moreover, whatever,
when close to Jesus, a rnan feels to be his
duty, that, most probably, Jesus intends him
to do. Ho has heard tho whisper ; let him
not dare to disobey. When thus near to
Jesus and He whispers our duty, how easy
to whisper in return, as we go to perform
that duty : “ Lord, go thou with us.”
Htjoii F. Oliver.
Greenville, S. C.
Domestic Missions—Further Explanations.
If the editor will indulge us id a few more
friendly communications, I trust “An Old
Baptist” and myself will understand one
another in due time. 1 beg to assure him
that nothing he has said has wounded my
feelings, nor made any unpleasant impressions
on my mind. I did not allude to him when
I said, I “ shall not impugn the motives of
brethren who may not adopt my views.”
My allusion was to what occurred in the
Southern Baptist Convention at Macon, where
my motives were impugned publicly—which
imputation has not been withdrawn to this
day.
His effort to prove that tho Domestio Mis
sion Board ought not to be abolished, is labor
spent in vain, as far us 1 am concerned. 1
am not in favor of abolishing said Board, un
less it shall be thought best to merge that and
the Foreign Mission Board into one, which I
believe would be an improvement on the
present plan. If there is any compromise of
principle on the part of our brethren in ac
cepting aid from Northern Boards, which they
need, and which our own Boards are not able
to furnish, I cannot discover it.
His first article was written “ for the bene
fit of ail opponents of the Southern Baptist
Domestic Mission Board.” I am not opposed
to that Board, nor to any of the Boards of the
Southern Convention, in the sense that I
would have them abolished.
1. I am opposed, however, to such expenses
of the Board as seem to me unnecessarily
high.
2. I am opposed to their Corresponding
Secretaries being paid salaries twice, three
times or four times as large as the salaries of
the missionaries, who have the greatest hard
ships to bear, and who perform by far the
most important service. After the most ma
ture reflection, and with all the astuteness 1
possess, I cannot see the justice of suth a policy.
(My old brother will see that I am guessing
my way along here, for no one can tell from
the reports of these Boards what are the sala
ries of either the secretaries or missionaries.
Yet I have no idea that my guessing is wide
of the mark.)
8. 1 am opposed to the Baptists of Georgia
paying “ about one-third” of the expenses of
the Dom. Miss. Board, (though.brother Chau
doin says they are not expenses,) while such
great destitution exists in our own bound ery,
and while all the other States (Virginia in*
eluded) are spending the bulk of their funds
for this object in their own territory. On the
oontrary, I believe a State Mission Board in
Georgia could conduct our missions more
economically and efficiently than can any
Board outside of our State. Will “An Old
Baptist” take issue with me on these points?
I repeat, that I would not have my Georgia
brethren “ withdraw all support from the
Marion Board. Far from it. Let Georgia
do her full share towards sustaining that
Board in iia legitimate work?’ But let not
Georgia Baptists neglect the destitute within
their own territory. J. H. Campbell.
TUmateUU, Qa., Nov. 15,1870.
The Sale of Spirituous Beverages.
1. It is the selling of that, without the use
of which, nearly all the business of this world
was conducted, till within less than three
hundred years; and which, of course, is not
needful.
2. It ;s the selling of that, which was not
generally used by the people of this country,
for more than a hundred years alter the
country was settled; and which, by hundreds
of thousands, and sootfe in all kinds of lawful
business, is aot used now. Once they did
use it, and thought it needful, or useful. But
by experiment, the best evidence in the world,
they have found that they were mistake*;
and that they are in all respects better with
out it. And the cases are so numerous as to
make it certain , that should the experiment be
fairly made, this would be these case with all.
Os course it is not useful.
3. It is the selling of that which is a real,
a subtle, and very destructive poison; a
poison, which by men in health cannot be
taken without deranging healthy action, and
inducing more or less disease, both of body
and mind; which is, even when taken in any
quantity, positively hurtful, and which is, of
course, forbidden bv the word of God.
4. It is the selling of that, which tends to
form an unnatural and a very dangerous and
destructive appetite; which, by gratification,
like the desire of sinning in the man who
sins, tends continually to increase; and which
thus exposes all who form it, to come to a
premature grave.
5. It is the selling of that, which causes a
great portion of all the pauperism in our
land ; and thus for t..j benefit of a few, (those
who sell,) brings an enormous tax on the
whole community. Is this fair? Is it just?
Is it not exposing our children and youth to
become drunkards? And is it not inflicting
great evils on society ?
C. It is the selling of that, which excites to
a great portion of all the crimes that are
committed; and which is thus shown to be
in its effects hostile to the moral government
of God, and to the social, civil, and religious
interests of men; at war with their highest
good, both for this life and the life to come.
7. It is the selling of that, the sale and use
of which, if continued, will form intemperate
appetites, which if formed will be gratified;
and thus will perpetuate intemperance, and
all its abominations, to the end of the world.
9. It is the selling of that which makes
wives widows, and children orphans; which
leads husbands often to murder their wives,
and wives to murder their husbands; parents
to murder their children, and children to
murder their parents; and which prepares
multitudes for the prison, for the gallows,
and for hell.
9. It is the selling of that which greatly
increases the amount and severity of sickness;
which in many cases destroys reason; which
causes a great portion of all the sudden deaths;
and brings down multitudes, who were never
intoxicated, and never condemned to suffer
the penalty of the civil law, to an untimely
grave.
10. It is the selling of that which tends to
lessen the health, the reason, and the useful
ness, to diminish the comfort and shorten the
lives of all who habitually use use it.
11. It is the selling of that which darkens
the understanding, sears the conscience, pol
lutes the affections, and debases all the powers
of man.
12. It is the selling of that which weakens
the power of motives to do right, and in
creases the power of motives to do wrong;
and is thus shown to'be in its effects hostile
to the mora : . government of God, as well as
to the temporal and eternal interests of men ;
which excites men to rebel against Him, and
to injure and destroy one another. And no
man can sell it without exerting an influence
which tends to hinder the reign of the Lord
Jesus Christ over the minds and hearts of
men and to lead them to persevere in iniquity,
till, notwithstanding all the kindness of Je
hovah, their case shall become hopeless.
If there are churches whose members are
doing such things, and those churches are not
blessed with the presence and favor of the
Holy Ghost, they need not be at any loss for
the reason. And if they should never again,
while they continue in this state, be blessed
with the reviving influence of God’s Spirit,
they need not be at any loss for the reason.
Their own members are exerting a strong and
fatal influence against it; and that, too, after
Divine Providence has shown them what they
are doing. And in many such cases there is
awful guilt, with regard to this thing, resting
upon the whole church. Though they have
known for years what these men were doing;
have seen the misery, heard the oaths, wit
nessed the crimes, and known the wretched
ness and deaths, which they have occasioned ;
and perhaps have spoken of it, and deplored
it among one another; many of them have
never spoken on this subject, to the persons
themselves. They have seen them scattering
firebrands, arrows and death, temporal and
eternal; and yethave never so much as warned
them on the subject, and never besought them
to give up their work of death. An individ
ual lately conversed with one of his pro
fessed Christian brethren, who was engaged
in this traffic, and told him not only that he
was ruining for both worlds many of his
fellow-men, but that his Christian brethren
viewed his business as inconsistent with his
profession, and tending to counteract all
efforts for the salvation of men: and the
man, after frankly acknowledging that it was
wrong, said that this was the first time that
any one of them had conversed with him on
the subjeot. This may be the case with other
churches; and while it is, the whole church
is conniving at the evil, and the whole church
is guilty. Every brother in such a case is
bound, on his own account, to converse with
him who is thus aiding the powers of dark
ness, and opposing the kingdom of Jesus
Christ, and try to persuade him to cease from
this destructive business. And the whole
church is bound to make efforts, and use all
proper means to accomplish this result. And
before half the individual members have
done their duty on this subject, they may
expect, if the offending brother has, and
manifests the spirit of Christ, that he will
cease to be an offence to his brethren, and a
stumbling-block to the world, over whioh
such multitudes fall to the pit of woe. And
till the church, the whole church, do their
duty on this subject, they cannot be free from
the guilt of oonniving at the evil. And no
{s3 001 YEJR.I WHOLE NO. 2516.
wonder if the Lord leaves them to be as the
mountains of Gilboa, on which there was
neither rain nor dew. And should the church
receive from the world those who make it a
business to carry on thU notoriously immoral
traffic, they will greatly increase their guilt,
and ripen for the awful displeasure of their
God. And unless members of the church
shall cease to teach, by their business, that
fatal error, that it is right for men to buy and
use ardent spirit as drink, the evil will never
be eradicated; intemperance will never cease,
and the day of millennial g«ory never come.
And each individual who names the name of
Christ, is called upon, by the providence of
God, to act on this subject openly and deci
dedly for Him ; and in such a manner as is
adapted to banish intemperance and all its
abominations from the earth and to cause
temperance with all its attendant bene
fits universally to prevail. And if min
isters of the gospel and members of Chris*
tian churches do not connive at the sm
of finishing this poison ass- drink, for
their fellow-men; and men who, in opposition
to truth and duty, continue to be engaged in
this destructive employment, are viewed and
treated as wicked men; the work which the
Lord hath commenced and carried forward,
with a rapidity and to an extent hitherto
unexampledon the history pf the world, will
continue tojmove orwai'f, till not a nadro,
nor a trace, *or a shadow of a drunkard,
or a drunkard maker shall be found on the
globe.
The Petrified Fern.
In a valloy, centuries ago,
Grew a little fern leaf, green and slender,
Veining delicate, and fibres tender,
Waving when the wind crept down so low;
Rushes tall, and grass and moss grew round it,
Playful sunbeams darted in and found it—
Rut no foot of man ere came that way,
Earth was young and keeping holiday.
Useless? Lost? There came a thoughtful man,
Searching Nature’s secrets far auddeep—
From a fissure in a rocky steep
He withdrew a stone o’er which there ran
Fairy pencilings, a quaint design.
Leafage, veioiur, fibres, dear and fine,
And the fern’s fife lay in every line—
So I think God hides some lives away,
Sweetly to surprise us the last day.
How to Begin a Work of Charity,
Think over your plan well. Mature it in
your own mind. Discuss it with one or two
whose judgment is worth having. Give it
form and shape before you call in others to
your aid. Keep it under your own control
until it is established—though on a small
scale. Then present it for general support,
as it is. Don’t begin with proclaiming your
object, and calling a meeting of all who are
friendly to it. Some will come who think
they know all about it, aa well as yourself.
They will talk wisely, as they think; make
suggestions, propose methods of procedure,
without one clear idea of what you design,
and the meeting will adjourn upon the ap
pointment of a committee, which may never
meet. No; begin in a quiet, natural way.
Let the thing develop itself under the foster
ing sympathies of a congenial few. It may
be small and weak for a while, but if it be a
germ of true life it will vegetate, it will strike
root and grow. When it has acquired a body
of its own, then throw it open to all'who will,
to supply the requisite nutriment for its
growth and expansion, but not to trim and
fashion it after notions of their own. If they
help you in the right way, thank God and
take courage. If not, no matter. It will
flourish; that is, if it be “ a plant which our
Heavenly Father hath planted.” If it be not,
they could not keep it alive; and tho sooner
it withers and dies the better.— IF. A. Muh
lenberg t D.D.
Audible Congregational Prayer.
The audible utterance of prayer by the
whole congregation is not of the essence of
worship, but is simpiy a matter of taste or
of edification, concerning which congregations
and individual Christians have the liberty of
differing. Now, I hope that I shall not oflend
any by frankly saying that, in my own expe
rience, taste, the sentiment of propriety, the
feeling of devotion, are all offended by audi
ble responses in public prayer. When I
worship with an Episcopal church, the effeSt
upon me of so many discordant voices—some
hurrying in advance of the reader, some lag
ging behind, some gruff, some shrill, some
dolefully monotonous, and some curveting
all over the diatonic scale—is like tho effect
of bad time or of false notes in the attempt
to render one of Beethoven’s symphonies.
The mind is distracted from its devotion to
ward God by the intrusion of the nasal, gut
tural, and other peculiarities of its fellow
worshippers. The Episcopal church is be
coming aware of this drawback upon the
solemnity and beauty of its devotional ser
vice ; and the popularity of the highly ritual
istic service is largely due to its tbeeting the
demand of the ear for metrical, if not musical
cadence, where unison is attempted. In Lon
don one finds the Ordinary service of the
Church of England sadly neglected; but
whenever that service is intoned, and rendered
by a choir, the church is thronged. But this
expedient takes the responses out of tho
mouths of the people, even to the Lord’s
Prayer and the Amen. — Jitv. J. P. Thomp
son, D.D., in Christian Union.
Soibnch and Faitii. —ln a review of Mr.
A. R. Wallace’s recent works on the “ The
ory of Natural Selection,” the Nation says:
“ It is not a little singular that within a year
two of the greatest thinkers of the day, who
have gone furthest on the road which is gen
erally believed to lead inevitably to atheism,
have in all earnestness, and in the true scien
tific spirit, declared that their studies have
given them the abiding conviction that there
is beyond this range of physical events an in
tellectual guiding force. Our author believes
that all force is ‘ will-force’—the will of a Su
preme Intelligence; and Julius Robert Meyer,
who has carried the idea of a correlation of
forces to that point where the short-sighted
believed he had left nothing but machinery
in the universe, ha3 declared that beyond all
these phenomena must lie the Infinite Mind,
and that his work, so far from sapping, has
only strengthened the foundations of reli
gion”
The Communion in thk English Church.
Mr. Jacob Abbott has recorded in one of
his books the fact that, attending service at
York Minster, he was approached when the
sermon ended, by a verger, and asked if he
intended to partake of the communion. He
answered that he did not, but would like to
remain and witness the ordinance. The
verger replied that he could communicate if
he wished, but if he did not, he must retire.
He confesses to some surprise that a stranger
should be thus invited without inquiry, and
on the discretion of a verger—a sort of eccle
siastical constable charged with the care of
the building and the keeping of order. The
incident is characteristic. Every born sub
ject of the Crown, not legally excommunica
ted, i9 a member of the Church of England.
He may “dissent” from the doctrine or
discipline, but is still in law a member.
Hence the communion is practically without
any limit of qualificatirn.— N. Y. Examiner.
Activity. —Humboldt, in his correspon
dence, expresses the conviction that “ Nature
has put her curse upon standing still.”