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CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
H
VOL 50 -NO. 4. {s3 00 k YiAfU
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The Rose of Sharon.
The sweet rose of Sharon t O, beautiful flower I
None such ever bloomed in a Persian-tamed bower ;
Nor amid all her beauties did Eden disclose
An/ flower so sweet as this beautiful rose.
On a death-blighted stem, in a night-mantled hour,
In Paradise budded this sweet-scented flower ;
But its beauty and fragrance were never all known
Till on Bethlehem’s plain it was seen fully blown.
Beuding angels look down, as they see, with surprise,
Tha earth, in its gl»ty, outshining the skies.
Many wonders, they sing, have we seen of God »
power,
But nothing before liko this wonderful flower.
Lo! the earth, and the skies, and the mountains,
and sea,
All eonfess, in this rose, Heaven’s great mystery;
And a choir from heaven hastes down on glad wing,
Its wonders to sea and its praises to sing.
As the siok and the dying inhale its perfume,
On the cheek of death glows immortality’s bloom;
And its odors, perfuming the caverns of death,
Wake, e’en iu the grave, immortality's breath.
O, sweet rose of Sharon 1 O, thou previous flower 1
Breathe on me, sweet rose, in my dying hour.
When helpless and wan I am sinkiag in death.
O, bathe, then, my soul with thy odorous breath I
O, may I then feel, when I’m fainting and sinking,
And passing away, that my spirit is drinking,-
As I breathe out my soul, in my last par.ing sigh,—
In thy odors, sweet rose, the perfume of the sky
And when my sealed vision no longer shall see
Thee, dripping with mercy, on dark Calvary,
Awaked by tby breath may I open my eyes,
Tby beauty and glory to see in the skies.
W.H. J.
Waduboro, N. G., Jan. !•, 1811.
Visit the Unregenerate.
Pastors should do this. It is true that the
members of our church are perpetually scold
ing if you do not visit them, and this kind of
selfishness must not be allowed to interfere
with your attention to the unbelieving. You
do not preach exclusively to Christians : do
not confine your personal intercourse to them.
By visiting them you conciliate them ; you
open the sympathies of your heart and qualify
yourselves for preaching to them, and you
cultivate the soil which is to supply your
church with new material.
All Christians should discharge this duty.
It will tend to make your faith praetioal, to
stifle your finding fault of your pastor’s appa
rent neglect of you, to convince the world of
the sincerity aod worth of your religion, and,
iD a multitude of way s, to increase vour use
fulness.
If we would be like Jesus, let us learn to
value, to address, and to work for the salva
tion of single souls. Gimbj..
"Watchman, What of the Night!’’
In the Index of January 4th, appears an
article withtheabove heading,signed, “H
onoof the Alabama editors; presenting views
which, in our judgment, cannot be Seriptu
rally maintained. Hear him: ‘‘Accepting
the theory that the Pope is the ‘ Man of Sin,’
the ‘Beast,’ the ‘ Mother of Harlots,’ drunk
en with the bloodStof Saints; and that ‘Mo
hammedanism’ tsf the ‘false prophet’ of
Revelation; let look at thsse tw<> powers
tne ligiit of recent • vents) a* well as- A
'limpending complications.’’
We would be glad to know what ‘Beast’ is
meant by the writer, whether the first of the
13th chap.of Rev., which John saw “coming
up out of thesva,” or the second, of the same
chap., which he saw “coming up out of the
earth," or the scarlet ‘Beast,’ of the 17th
chap., upon which the woman was seated,
and which “come up out of the abyss" It
is clear that they are not identical in origin
or destiny. The first and last are commonly
regarded the symbols of the heads of civil
got eminent.
The ‘Mother of Harlots’ is declared to be:
‘Babylon the Great,’ the ‘Great City,” which
must be the symbol of the “ Catholic Hier
archies,” including, perhaps, the idea of their
nationalization. This is according to the
view, that the civil rulers and the peoples are
presented under other symbols, and the law
that, “ When the symbol and that which it
symbolizes differ from each other, the cor
respondence between the representative and
that which it represents, still extends to their
chief parts; and the general elements or
parts of the symbol denote corresponding
parts in that which is symbolized.”
Is the Pope the Man of Sin ? We believe
it is easy to show that such is not the fact.
The inspired description given of the former,
ia II Thess., 2nd chap., does not fit the Pope.
The apostacy —“-falling away,” in whieh the
Man of Sin is to be ‘ revealed ,’ has not yet
transpired. Many have occurred, but in this
all others culminate. Its plaoe is immediate
ly before the ‘ coming ’ of Christ. The Pope
in succession, has lived through the twelve
hundred and sixty years , and still Christ has
not come. There are strosg probabilities
that we are “sweeping within the gates” of
that eventful period. It cannot be claimed
;that the Pope has ever ventured upon more
—if so much —than equality with God. The
Man of Sin “opposes and exalts himself
idbove all that is called God, or that is wor
shipped, so that he sits in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God.” This has
never been done by the Pope, and he has
multiplied objects and beings of worship.
None can fail to see the points of difference.
The Man of Sin rejects Christ openly, usurps
the prerogatives of God, and monopolizes
the homage which is due alone to God. No
such state of things has ever occurred in the
Christian era. He is to be destroyed by
Christ, when He shall be “ revealed in flam
ing fire.” This has never been true,' uor is it
likely to be so of the present Pope, who will
soon pass away by “course of nature.” The
doming 5 of Christ is not a “spiritual” one,
as, probably, “H.” holds, but an actual, per
xonal, visible coming; which truth was estab'.
lished in our replies to brother Hillver last
year, and of which any ©ne may satisfy him
self who' will take pains to investigate the
subject. It may be conceded that the Pope
comes in the “ power of Satan,” but it is not
true that “all power and signs and lying
wonders" are his accompaniments, as they
are to be of the 4 Coming' of the Man of Sin.
It is evident that Mohammedanism cannot be
the 4 false propnet.’ He is a “ live” being,
and must continue his existence until Christ
oonaes again. Mahomet has been dead more
than a thousand years, aud has had no sue
cessor. We observe, furthermore, that there
is an intimacy and oneness of purpose between
the ‘Beast’ —which is, doubtless, the one
which came up out of the earth —and its im>
age; has never been true of the Pope
and Mahomet —or the Catholics and Moham
medans; like Jews and Samaritans, they
have had no dealings save those of bitterness,
persecution and death. We heartily agree
with “H.” in that the “finger-boards of
recent events point in a direction calculated
to awaken the liveliest solicitudes of the
Christian worldbut we do not believe the
time has come for that “ spiritual enlargement
of Zion” for which ‘H.’ is looking; and we
are assured that those who expect present in
strumentalities to subdue the world unto Mes
siah, and cause the knowledge of His glory to
fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea, are
doomed to disappointment! The incentives
to spread the gospel are: obedience to the
command of Christ, and that it may be
preached as a witness, as well as the salvation
of the elect, for whom Paul says he endured
all things. More than this, no one has Scrip
tural reasons to expect, until He whose right
it is, shall come. Geo. F. Cooper.
Amerieue, Ga., Jan. 12, 1871.
“ The Cup which my Father hath Given Me,
Shall I not Drink it?”
We are apt to imagine that the ills we are
called on to endure, are more than we are
able to bear. Not very tong since, the wri
ter felt so overwhelmed with the troubles
and perplexities with which he was surround
ed, that he knew not what to do. While
thus almost in despair, the idea occurred to
him, that he would open the New Testament
and read the chapter that he might chance to
open at, to see if he could find anything that
would give him any direction or consolation
in his deep distress. He opened the book at
the chapter containing the words quoted
above, and after having read the chapter
through, his mind fastened on these words as
a message from Jesus, counselling resignation
and courage'in the time of his great sorrow
and distress. Again, not very many weeks
afterwards, in a similar slate of distress, he
tried the same experiment, and opened at the
chapter commencing, “And He spake a par
able unto them to this end, that men ought
always to pray, and not to faint.” Once
more he felt that this was exactly in point.
He was about to despair, about to faint, and
now he wa9 reminded that Jesus had spoken
a parable for the benefit of just such as he
was. He knew all our weaknesses, and pro
vided instruction for every time of need.
Faith.
The Bible Among the People.
In the Index and Baptist of January 4th,
there are some “ Facts and Queries on the
subject of the Bible among the People.” The
writer of that article, Rev. F. R. Goulding,
Roswell, Ga., invites readers to ponder hut
thoughts and publish them'in some paper, and
send a copy to him. The “ Fa2ts" he pre
sents, too truly represent the actual state of
things. The Bible, earth’s richest treasure
and heaven’s most precious gift, is not read
as much and as generally as it should be.
Notwithstanding the fact that its pages, illu
mined by “ the true light,” have found their
way into every section of our country, and
into almost every household, yet heathenish
darkness reigns extensively. Thousands who
have the precious words cannot read them.
Thousands who can read them do not and will
not. This is indeed a sad, sad thought, that
so many thousands are ignorant of God’s will
to man, as revealed in His written word!
With such facts staring us, thd f; ‘ J query,
*■ What measures can be devised lo remedy
this state of things?” assumes an importance
lecond to none in magnitude.
Under “ a brief statement of some of the
plans already thought of,” "brother Goulding
mentions live ways in which the Bible has
been and may be read to the thousands who
do not know of the preciolis truths it oontains.
The sixth plan p. opossd, whieh seems to be
designed to organize the other five, is as fol
lows: “ahaquestion hisraked, whether
V. m4y Am- be tc U>e iand with
a not work of union Bible reading associations
in the spirit of the American Bible Society,
and co extensive with its affiliations, which
shall appoint readers, and provide moans for
bringing the Bible into ooutact with the
minds of the people?”
In this proposition there seems to be Jive
propositions,—l. The utility of Bible reading
associations as a net work all over the land.
2. These associations to be union. 3. This
to be done in the spirit of the American Bible
Society, (which spirit is, I suppose, to put
the word of God into the hands of every
body;) and, 4, for this purpose to provide
readers and other necessary means. 5. These
associations to be “co-extensive with” either
the A. B. Society or its spirit, in “ its affilia
tions.” (This helps to understand what is
meant by union.)
We have no comment to make, just here,
on propositions 1,3 and 4. But ty Baptists
who have the true charity, and not the spuri
ous charity that so much boasts itself, a few
words with reference to proposition 2. This
is to be a union association, and those Bap
tists who feel disposed to act in this matter,
have reasons, I presume, for acting in union
with others. But it might be well enough to
consider what are the objections to such asso
ciations beijre forming them. We therefore
ask you to carefully examine the following
objections to this particular union before en-
tering it.
1. There is no necessity for Baptists to
enter such a union. Are they so deficient in
talent as to be unable to conduct their own
enterprises, and to be reduced to the necessity
of inviting others to assist them ? That Bap
tist who is prepared to admit this, will hardly
be found. Are they so wanting in energy as
to be unable to do such a work ? Whoever
will, let him admit his deficiency in this re
speot, and seek medicine among those who
have it. Are they pecuniarily unable to pros
ecute such a work? The Baptists of the
United States are worth many millions of
dollars. Have they not enough of the love
of God in their hearts to prompt them to seek
the salvation of sir.aers by reading His word
to them ? Let the deficieat ones speak out,
and be first to enter a union which can inspire
them. Are Baptists so deficient in all these
things as to be unable to do for themselves ?
Hardly. Where, then, is the common sense
of seeking a union that is unnecessary ?
2. There is nothing to be gained by such
a union with others. Error may gain by a
union with truth, but truth never gains by a
union with error. Since error is always prof
ited by such unions with truth, it is always
calling for them. Let that Baptist who de
sires to profit the cause of error, respond to
such calls; and let that Baptist who is pre
pared to admit that he is the errorist, call for
such unions.
Not only is there no necessity for such
unions, and nothing gained by them, but 3.
There is lost to truth the advantage of influ
ence. Every good work accomplishes some
thing. Those who do the work, gain an in
fluence over those on whom they have
wrought, in proportion to the merit of the
work done. The reading of the Scriptures is
a good work. If this work is done with thou
sands of souls bsr the church as such, it will
give her an influence over them ; if done by
a society, that will gain an influence; if by
those who hold both truth and error, they
will gain an influence. Baptists believe they
alone, hold the whole truth. They have no
right to Surrender the advantage of influence
for the whole truth, by sharing that influence
with those who hold error. Such surrender
is made in alt such unions as is proposed.
“ But,” says some good brother, “ shall we
let the world do without the Bible rather than
form such union reading societies?” To
sensible men, it is pitiful to see with what
contemptible arguments men will try to jus
tify their inconsistencies. After what has
been said at the outset, and under objection
‘l, to union, this question is simply a miser
able sophistry by which to excuse a guilty
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, JANUARY 26,1671.
oonscience. There is a great want in our land.
That want muit be supplied by the reading
of the Scriptures to the people. Baptists
have the talent, energy, money, and enough
of the love of God in their hearts to prompt
thsm to action. Then let us have our own
reading associations. If it is thought to be
the beat plan, let each pastor organize his
church into reading committees and assign
them their respective wards, and the work
will be done. By this method, whatever ad
vantage is to be gained in influence, will be
secured for the church of Christ who holds
the whole truth. If it is thought best to have
a general organization, as a Bible reading as
sociation, let Baptists have their own. It is
our privilege to do it, and an imperative
duty. The advantage of influence for truth
will not then be weakened by sharing it. with
those who hold error. If our objecting breth
ren would work as hard lor such Baptist or
ganizations as they do for union ones, our en
terprises would succeed much better than
they do. This is why Protestants succeed so
well. They work for their own institutions,
and then, in addition to that, prevail on half
way holders of the truth to compromise it
with them, and work for them, thus bidding
them God speed,” and “sharing their errors.”
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
J. M. Robbrtsqn.
Seminary 3. C.
Comments on Preachers.
The use of tobacco is worse than the wear
ing of gold : one, in the end, may save much
money, the other will consume much. The
minute exposure of the faults of other preach
ers, is far worse than both of these practices.
Troup.
The Free Church of England.
I have been waiting for some months to see
in some of your letters from England, where
it would most naturally appear, a notice of
the Free Church of England. In default of
this interesting intelligence at first hand, I
will give your readers such items as have
reached me from various sources. The
Eighth Annual Report of the Free Church
pLEngland, presented to the Convention as
sembled in London, Juno 29, 1870, furnishes
most of the facts and figures.
Disgusted with the helplessness of Estab
lished Church to deliver itself from Ritualism
on the one hand and Infidelity on the other,
twenty-three congregations have associated
themselves as an independent body, retaining
to a great extent their Episcopal character,
but eschewing prelacy. The Bishop-presi
dent is Rev. B. Price, of Ilfracombe. I’hey
publish a Magazine, a Hymn-book, and a
revised Book of Common Prayer, and Church
Catechism. Their service is liturgical. They
thus state their object: “ The object of the
Free Church of England is not to interfere
with the labors of any Evangelical Protestant
dommunity, whether established or non
established, but to introduce the gospel of
Christ into those parishes in which the clergy,
by excessive ritualism and departure from
the faith, are leading the people to R >me, and
to assert the fight of the laity in all matters
effecting the agency and work of the Church,
especially where the laity are suffering, either
from an undue #r arbitrary authority of the
clergy, not to engage in religious controversy,
jut to conduct tft» public services- of tae
<)hurch with a pMfe liturtry, in accordance
with the doctrines of the Reformation ; thus
affording to the families of Christian England,
in the parishes where needed, the opportuni
ty of worshipping God according to their
own views of consecration and obedience to
the Word of God.”
The catholicity of this young, but vigor
ous and growing body, is worthy of notice :
“ There were many reasons which determined
the title: The Free Church of England. It
will be sufficient to mention two. The latter
part of it declared the movement to be es
sentially one with the Church of England,
and the former part of it published its liber
ty —liberty in the principle of its confedera
tion—liberty in the conduct of its public
services—and liberty in its action for the
spread of the gospel. The assumption of
this noble title is justified by the fact that
we are free—free to go into any parish and
preach the gospel of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ—free to use a revised Book of
Prayer—free to unite the laity with the cler
gy in the government and work of the Church
—free of Slate support and control —free to
interchange services with the clergy of all
evangelical denominations —and free to hold
communion with all who in every place call
on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both
theirs aDd ours.”
In 1849 Rev. James Shore, a minister of
the Established Church of England, was
thrown into prison, at the instance of the
Bishop of Exeter, ostensibly for contempt of
court (the Bishop’s) and nonpayment of
costs; for the Bishops’ courts are still a ter
rible reality there to the olergy, possessed of
powers of fine and imprisonment till the
costs are paid, which may be for life. Mr.
Shore’s real offence was preaching the gospel
outside of the Establishment. This aot
caused violent excitement. At one of the
public meetings a gentleman declared that,
“ By God’s help, there should be a Church in
which the bishops should not be able to play
such pranks.” He kept his word. Several
of the free chapels of Lady Huntingdon’s
connection have joined the original band, and
the Deed Poll and Deed of Declaration was
issued in 1863, asserting that: “The Free
Church of England is founded on the Bible;
the Word of God is the authority to which
it makes its last appeal. It adopts, with cer
tain exceptions, the Thirty-nine Articles and
Rubric of the Church of England. The ex
ceptions are included in parentheses, marked
in the Book of Common Prayer certified by
the Annual Convocation. A minister, in
subscribing his name and in using the Litur
gy, is at liberty to omit any of these passa
ges in parentheses. Its government endeav
ors to combine the chief advantages which
are offered by the three prevailing forms of
ecclesiastical polity, as seen in Episcopaey,
Presbytery and Independency. It is at once
granted that the gain arising from the combi
nation of their advantages is purchased by
the loss of those benefits which are the result,
in each instanoe, of the adoption of any one
form by itself. But the balance contributed
by the union of the three is supposed to be
greater than could be yielded by any one of
the three taken singly. Its membership is as
comprehensive as the charity of the gospel;
all who have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
—a faith which is proved by keeping his
commandments —are admitted to its com
munion. In addition to the baptism of chil
dren, the Free Churoh of England, following
the Rubric, givss full liberty to its ministers
to baptize adults by immersion, on a personal
profession of their faith. The government of
the body is committed to the presbyters and
deacons, under their chosen bishops. The
presbyters and deacons are the representa
tives of the congregations ; the congregations
are self governed ; the regulations, or rules
of government, are made at the District or
Diocesan meetings, and at the General Meet
ing or Annual Convocation. But these regu
lations must be in accordance wi*h the gen
eral principles of the body,”— Dr.B. Patter
son, in Jour, dc Mess.
Liberty in Baptism.
A correspondent of the Advance thinks
there is room for some increase of liberty in
the OongregatiosaJsßt ministry in respect of
baptism: v
“ We lose many converts who join Baptist
churches, though opposed to close-eommun
ion, because ofthe-ssily reluctance of many of
our ministers to intlnerse. It is regarded as
so remarkable, when ofLour clergy con
descend to do this. that it is put into the pa
pers forthwith, 'BB-jpt evidence of wonderful
liberality. I know not how it is elsewhere,
but it is very rare ih the Eastern States for
a Congregational preacher to willingly im
merse a candidate- / Many will argue by the
hour, and send the jinhappy convert an arm
fu* of books to before consenting to ad
n. iter this sacranjjifit in a manner for which
there is certainly Scriptural warrant and ex
ample. When these is the- least preference
for that mode, the clergy ought to yield their
own taste or notiofee of fitness and conve
nience. We are nqt to please ourselves in
this rite, nor attemp. to d.-agoon candidates
into our ways. N<Hjjsbers in our ohurehes are
to-day dissatisfied wM-Hhei- baptism, because
some minister- coertb& them into accepting
hit favorite There is not
the least difficulty or hazajd in immersing, at
proper seasons of ' I thought it dif
ferent till 1 tried, but hare always found it
exceedingly easy, if or would I ever debate
with a candidate who preferred immersion—
no, nor express any opinion or choice in the
matter. In theory, we believe in several
ways of baptizing: let our practice be as lib
eral, and we shall prevent many leaving us
whose sympa’hies and views are wholly with
us, except that they wish to be immersed.”
The writer is wise in dissuading from dis
cussion, considering- wy equally the style in
wnich the question is liable to be discussed,
judging by the past. If a Congregadonalist
minister has the least idea of consenting to
baptize a candidate according to the “ Scrip
tural warrant and example” above referred
to, it is better to do so without having en
deavored to show that immersion is indecent,
as many have asserted; pr that it is unwar
ranted by Scripture, gs tbs late Dr. Peters
affirmed; or that itr!is a rite borrowed from
heathenism, as Dr. Hubbard Winslow inge
niously suggested.— f Ex. & Chron.
Cons Now. ,
Now is the time;
This Sabbath’s setting suu,
May be the signal that tby race is run ;
See Jesus, waiting at the heavenly gate,
Come now, to-morrow it may be too late.
Now is the time;
Ere night's dark cartain drop,
Thy Maker m»y command tht breath to stop;
See Jesus, waitingNat_i.be heavenly gate^
Come now, to-morrow it tnay be too late."
Now ia ‘da time;
The Spirit’s gentle voice
Knocks at thy heart, and pleads, believe, rejoice;
See Jesus, waiting at the heavenly gate,
Come now, to-morrow it may be too late.
Now i# tue time ;•
Beyond the narroJW;rare
Repentance has no power to save;
See Jesus, wailingthe heavenly gate,
Come now, to-morrow it may be too late.
Now isJjße time;
Accept, and tte# V*Alt see
The brightness o< tiv- —jjrious Majesty ;
See Jesus, heavenly gate,
Coras jk»c. for-f.-k-hto.
Conyreyatic diIUF- •*”/
The Dying Sermon.
Father M., of Massachusetts, who recently
died in faith, was once called to the dying bed
of an aged infidel qf his acquaintance. The
good old man had long prayed for his friend,
but his entreaties had ever been met by the
infidel’s arguments and scorn. As he ap
proached the bed he saw that his mind was
in agony. The man confessed himself a sin
ner, and that he was not prepared to meet
death.
Father M. asked him if he had prayed?
“ No; I can’t pray. I have continually re
fused mercy, and it is now refused me. I
have tried to pray, but my lips will not
move.”
“ Are you willing that I should pray for
you, then, and let your heart’s desire go up
with my words ?”
“No, you cannot pray for file: others have
tried it, but could not. You may kneel, but
it will be useless.”
And the aged saint knelt at the bedside
of the agonized sinner. Those lips had daily
moved in prayer sos half a- century. That
tongue had daily brought the name of sinners
before God’s throne ; but, strange to say, all
his faculties of speech seemed paralyzed now.
Mercy wa9 a word he could not speak; and
for the first time, prayer was impossible.
“ Now,” said the infidel, as Father M. rose
from his knees, “ I want to preach at my own
funeral. When you have closed the other
parts of the service, I waat-yea to come down
from the pulpit and place your two forefin
gers on my lips, and say, “ This soul is semled
for hell!"
“ You must spare me fii&m suoh a conamis
sion. It will frighten the people.”,
“It is my dying request, and I feel that
you must do it. Let others take warning by
my death. I cannot excuse you.”
So father M., at bis Janeral, after he had
finished the sermon, came down from the pul
pit, and, approaching laid the tips
of his fingers on those marble lips, and, with
tears streaming from his eyes, stated the
man’s dying request, and pronouned the
words:
“Thlß SOtfL IS SEALER FOB HELL !”
0, my reader, whethe. Christian or not, be
admonished.
If your peace is not made with God, re
member that your soul is following that infi
dei’s, and will ere long be sealed. Your lips
can move in prayer now. The time may
come when this, the greatest of all earthly
privileges, will be in vain. Christian brother,
remember that souls—the souls of your
friends, relatives and neighbors—are daily
going down to hell; and no small share of
responsibility is lying at your door. May
God help us to feel the importance of that in
fidel’s sermon ! —Christian Observer.
A Jewel of a Cherch Member.—A church
debt often prompts persons to remove their
membership from the organization, but the
Evangel of San Francisco tells of a brother
who is about to join the Second Baptist church
in that city because it is in debt. He pro
poses to assume the interest, one hundred dol
lars per month, on the debt during the com
ing year. An original and practical reason
for joining a church.
A Strange Scruple. —George Muller, of
Bristol, has always refused to sit for his like
ness. On one occasion a successful attempt
was made without his knowledge; but, on
hearing of it Mr. Mtiller entreated that it
might be given up to him, and it was de
stroyed.
Scripture Authority. —lt is a Received
maxim of Biblical criticism— li Scriptura negat
■ quod non notatf— the Scripture denies what
it does not affirm—and, in practice, forbids,
as ordinances, what it does not command or
require. To depart from this rule would
break down every barrier of authority, and
ultimately obliterate every distinction be
tween the church and the world.
An Ancient Revival.
In A.D. 387 there was a revolt at Antioch,
and the inhabitants were thrown into great
distress in consequence. Their trials were
blessed to them. The eloquent Chrysostom,
who was preaching there, thus described the
change: “ How often we have entreated the
worldly to abandon the theatre! and yet
they continued to run to these immoral places
and to these satanic meetings, in opposition
to the services of the church of God. On
one side was to be heard the singing of psalms;
and on the other, savage cries. But now the
orchestra is silent, and the circus is deserted.
Impure songs are no longer heard on our
streets. Our churches are full; every one
prays to God; the whole city is become a
church. It is a great thing to see the affairs
of this life, public and private, take a second
ary place, and to hear nothing spoken of, at
table, in the streets, and at other places of
meeting, but the law and the word of the
Lord.”
A Curious Legend.
When Adam was far advanced iu years,
and at the point of death, he sent his son to
the angel Michael, who kept the gate of Par
adise, to pray for the oil of mercy so that
he could be healed. The angel answered
that it could not be fifty-five hun
dred years, but he gave Seth a branch of
the tree of which Adam had eaten, bidding
him plant it on Mount Lebanon, and that
when it bore fruit his father should be healed.
Seth planted the branch on his father’s grave;
it took root and grew, and from »t were made
Aaron’s rod, and Moses’ staff, with which he
struck the rock and sweetened the waters of
Marah. It also formed the pole on which
the brazen serpent was lifted, and the ark of
the testimony.
At last it came into the hands of Solomou,
who used it in building his palace, but it
continually resisted the efforts of the build
ers to adjust it. Now it was too long, and
then again too short. The builders being
angry, then threw it iuto a marsh so that it
might serve as a bridge. The Queen of She
ba would qpt walk upon it, but adored it, and
told Solomon that upon it should be suspend
ed the man through whose death the kingdom
should be destroyed.
Solomon then had it buried deep in the
ground, where afterward the pool of Bethsaida
was dug, and from the virtues of this tree
healing properties were imparted to the wa
ters. After it had been buried three hundred
years, it rose to the surface of the water, aud
the Jews took it and made of it the cross of
our Saviour.— The Cross in Legend Poetry
and Art.
Strength of Character.
Strength of character consists of two things,
—power of will and power of self-restraint,
ft requires two things, therefore, for its exist
ence, —strong feelings and strong command
over them. Now, it is here we make a great
mistake; we mistake strong feelings for
strong character. A man who bears ail be
fore him, before whose frown domestics trem
ble, and whose bursts of fury make the chil
dren of the household quake,—because he
has his will übqyed, and his own way in all
things, we call him a strong man. The truth
L <hat h.e is a weak jnan ; it is his passions
[hat are strong? he t’hat is mastered by them
is weak. You must measure the strength of
a man by the power of the feelings he sub
dues; not by the power of those which sub
due him. And hence composure is very
often the highest result of strength. Did we
never see a man receive a flagrant insult, and
ouly grow a little pale, and then reply quiet
lv ? That is a man spiritually strong. Or
did we ever see a man in anguish stand as if
carved out of solid rock, mastering himself?
Or one bearing a hopeless daily trial remain
silent, and never tell the world what cankered
his home peace ? That is strength. He who,
with strong passions, remains chaste ; he who,
keenly sensitive, with many powers of indig
nation in him, can be provoked and yet re
strain himself and forgive,—these are the
strong men, the spiritual heroes. — F. W.
Robertson.
How to Touch Men.
In a broker’s office on Broad street, two
years ago, we heard a broker, notorious for
speculative tendencies, and successful cunning
in his trade, speak of hearing Mr. Beecher
for years as his preacher and pastor, and said
that all the illustrious orator's rebuke of mon
ey-making, “sharp practices,” etc., pleased
him, but never moved him, but that he was
made to feel vary meanly one, and was per
manently impressed by Mr. Beecher’s de
scription of a noble, unselfish character clos
ing an earthly career and entering heaven.
As he portrayed that unselfish aud self-deny
ing life, the good accomplished, the loss the
world sustained, the sweet consciousness of
doing right, and the delightful assurance that
God is well pleased, etc., the broker said the
contrast with his own life was such as to
overpower him for the time. The scathing
rebukes often given, and justly, too, failed to
accomplish what an exhibition of solid virtue
did.
Truth.
Truth is God’s baptism on the hills. First,
it is like dew-drops silently descending through
a crowd of mist and vapor to kiss the petals
of some drooping flower. Then it is a little
pool, gathered in some tiny basin in a fra
ternal embrace of atoms. Then it is a rill,
that goes cutting its channel trough the
green moss, and down the sloping hillside,
hastening to the meeting of the waters below.
Then it is a stream hurrying over precipices
and down cascade rocks, turning the great
wheel of manufacture, grinding the grain and
working the spindles and shuttles of man.
Then it is the river, slowly rolling onward
through the mighty channel, upon which
great barges rock, and the paddles of the
steamboats beat. And then—then it is the
broad sweep of the ocean, on which is borne
from land to land, the products of the indus
try of the entire world. And that’s the way
truth comes, and that’s the way truth acts.
Rich and Poor Side by SiDE.-r-The State
Street Baptist Society, at Springfield, Mass.,
locates the regular attendants of the church
by lot, and takes the subscriptions afterward,
thus giving the humblest member a chanoe
for the most eligible pew. Each one is asked
to give as the Lord has prospered him. Thus
broadcloth and corduroy sit side by side, and
the rustle of silk is sometimes drowned by
the sweep of bran-new calico.
The Moravians. —The Moravian Missions
the past year included 293 male and female
missionaries, with 35,099 baptized adults, and
23,288 baptized children. There are sixteen
mission provinces, and ninety-seven stations
and out-stations. The total of persons under
instruction is 60 751, and the total of Euro
pean and native laborers is 3,390. The
largest number of adherents is at Surinam,
where there are 24,156, in the West Indies
and Barbadoes, there are some 35,000, in
Africa, some 8,000, some 1,700 in Green
land, some LO7O in Labrador, among the N.
A. Indians, 349, in Australia, 68, and in Thi
bet, 9; expenditures, 109,432 thalers, exclu
sive of the Surinam and Labrador Missions.
Life-Conflict with Self.
Luther, in his day, said some things which
may be characterized, not only as quaint, but
as queer, and yet always, even in this most
uncouth style, gave utterauce to solid truth.
“ Every man has a devil in hirr as big as a
cow,” was one of this class of sayings. Not
withstanding this spice of the ridiculous, the
truth that there is an evil side in men, so
long as they are in their present very partially
sanctified state, cannot be gainsaid.
it was Luther’s suggestion, no doubt, which
made old John Berridge say substantially the
same thing. It is related of him, (the Chris
tian at Work says,’) “ that he had a number
of pictures of different ministers round his
room and a looking-glass in a frame to match.
He would often take a friend into the room
and say, ‘ That is Calvin,’ ‘ That is John Bun
yan;’ and when he took him to the looking
glass, he would add, ‘ And that is the devil.’
‘ Why,’ the friend would say, ‘ it is myself.’
‘ Ah !’ said he, ‘there is a devil in us all.’”
John Berridge knew whereof he affirmed.
Any man who Jooks into his own heart will
find enough to convince him that there are
uncrueifled affections lingering there, like the
remains of the Canaanites, who haunted Mt.
Zion. He need not look at the envy, the
pride, the passion, ill-nature and-malice of his
neighbor, in order to be persuaded of this:
he can see the devil in them, no doubt, but, if
he will look closely enough, he can find one
nearer home.
To cast out this evil spirit is the lifec-on
test which begins with the first believing look
at the cross of Christ. The life of faith is a
conflict which ends only with the death of this
body of sin ; and every believer wiho knows
himself and the plague of his own heart, will
cry often as Paul did, “ O wretched man ! O
wretched man !— Chris. Intel."
Dr. Manning on Infant Baptism.
Dr. James Manning, in a letter to llev.
John Berridge, an Episcopal clergyman ol
London, points out the inconsistency of infant
baptism with Protestant principles. We make
two extracts :
“ You say that you have no doubt that in
fant baptism is attended with the same bles
sing qow that infant-circumcision was former
ly. Both the ordinances are of God’s appoint
ment, etc. Till now, I find you producing
plain Scripture warrant fur the glorious doc
trines you advance. And must we only rely
upon the Doctor’s bare word for the truth of
its last assertion ? What shall I say, then, to
that voice I hear from Heaven, This is my
beloved Son, hear ye him, and that, too, in the
presence of Moses and Elias? Pray, Doctor,
have me excused till you point me to the
page where this great prophet authorises you
to say this, i have carefully examined the
dispensatory, but can find no such prescrip
tion between the lids of it. You uek why
Christian children may not be received into
the church’s fold by baptism, as were th*
Jewish by circumcision. Answer: The for
mer was by God’s special appointment, but
not the latter. Purely, then, wide is the dis
ference in their case. To say nothing is said
to forbid tnem, is not sufficient to a truly
Christian Protestant doctor; for if it is nee
essary, totidem verbis, tor the Scripture to for
bid everything practised under the name of
Christianity, which is, notwithstanding, con
trary to the true genius of the gospel, ii
would require a Bible ten times as large as
Dr. Gill’s Exposition of it. And then what
should we field preachers and the recruiting
sergeants of the country do? But pray, D >c
t r, is baptism a moral precept, or an institu
tion purely positive? if the latter, why need
we wreck and torture our brains to find a rea
son for either mode or subjects, time or place,
or anything further than what the New Tes
tament simply informs us concerning it, as
there is the only place where we should look
for it? Or why need we be distressed how
little children should be brought to Christ,
while he has not seen fit to teach us the way
in wh ; ch it should be done?”
“ But I will leave you to compare these
passages yourself, without further insisting
on their inconsistency, and come to the der
nier resort That no harm can possibly arise
from baptizing an infant. Stop, Doctor, stop;
these expressions are very strong, —I fear
much too strong. For did not the Doctor say,
page 222, ‘That much people, who are stran
gers to the work of regeneration, suppose the
new birth is only their baptism, and that ev
ery one is|born again who is baptized 1 ?’ And
is it strange they should think so when they
hear thanks returned to God on its perfor
mance, that it is so by the doctors appointed
to that service? Surely, to lead such multi
tudes into error in such an important article
as that of regeneration, cannot be such a
harmless thing, especially if we believe our
Savior’s account of it. (John iii: 3.) Besides,
it makes great doctors contradict themselves
when they write or talk about the covenants.
If I was one of those doctors, I should think
this was some harm. But, most of all, it is
invading the kingly office of the Great Re
deemer; for I can see no reason why the
merits of saints may not be mingled with the
merits of Christ to save the church, as the
laws or ordinances of men with those of Christ
to rule and govern it. Shall we, like Uzzah,
not trust the Lord wholly with his ark, but
must have a meddling finger? I must men
tion one more evil which arises from baptising
infants, which is this: The practice con
strains those servants of God who prac
tice it often to wrest and explain away the
plain, obvious sense of Scripture to vindicate
it; especially to give such representations of
the covenant of grace as mars its glory, and
encourages the opposers of the glorious doc
trines of grace in rejecting the pure gospel of
Jesus Christ. This has often grieved my
heart, and in no case more than in reading
your book, where the glorious Redeemer is
exalted in his office, nature and grace, and the
pride of man stained, until you get hampered,
as I think, with infant baptism, which neither
we nor our fathers are able to prove was ever
the mind of Christ.”
Parisian Irreligion. —The London cor
respondent of the Presbyterian, quotes the
following utterances of the Red Republicans
in Pans, as illustrating how hostile they show
themselves to religion: “All the churches
should be closed against religious services,
and should be converted into granaries, meet
ing places for clubs, and other revolutionary
purposes. All the hospitals should be purged
of priests. They should be arrested, armed
and placed under fire, in front of the patients,
in the most perilous positions. We would
confer upon them their noblest mission—that
of becoming martyrs. They will go to
heaven, and that will be their reward. We
who do not believe in it desire that they
should die before us. Let them serve as
breastworks to fathers of families, and that
will be the only time when they have been
good for any thing.”
The Grace op Giving. —The Presbyterian
calculates that since 1851, the growth of de
nominational liberality has been three times
as great as its growth in membership. The
average of congregational contributions to
each comtnunicaut was, in 1851, $5.02 ; aud
in 1870, $14.37. Embracing ail the money
columns, congregational and benevolent, the
average to each communicant was, in 1851,
$6.95; in 1870, $18.90.
{s3 00 1 \m. 1 WHOLE NO. ‘2524
“What is That to Thee?”
Toiling in my barren vineyard, fainting ’neath the
pain,
Os the summer beat, and labor, pressing heart and
brain,
I beheld my vines decayieg; none had bloom or fruit,
And the seed my tears had watered, died for lack of
root.
Like the mountain, doomed and fatal, on whose desert
crest
Neither rain nor dew deeeeadeth, seemed my ground
unblest.
Then I heard the Master saying, “ What is that to
tbeef
If no harvest bless thy labor, leave thy work with met”
Lord,” I cried, “ my brother's vineyard fair as Eden
stands,
Even now the purple clusters fill bis loaded*hands.
On his ground the rain, descending, cheers his care sad
toil,
And the sunshine warms and quickens all the fertile
soil.
Why should I, of all thy servants, weep and toil in
vaint
On the vines whioh I have planted, tend the blessed
rain I”
Then again the Master answered, “ What is that to
theeT
Is not mins the barren vineyard and tha fruitless trees
Though from all thy field no blossoms grace thy weary
hand,
Sow thy seed without despairing o’er ths sterile land.
Know that in thfwgfpnd hereafter, which before tbet
lies, <r "”
Thou shalt see the bud and blossoms which ths earth
denies.
All thy toil shall be remembered, and thy crown shall be
Tears which love transmutes to jewels, Works whioh
follow thee ”
—Mr*. V. G. Ramsey.
How Long mast I Give 1
Till the gospel is preached in all nations,
and every soul under heaven has heard the
glad tidings of salvation; till every impor
tant field has its evangelical minister; till
every community of tolerable magnitude has
its church and its stated worship, its Sabbath
and its sat ctuary privileges; till the fires of
sin are everywhere extinguished, and the
light of holiness is everywhere kindled; till
every idol is abolished, and eVery dweller on
earth is made a worshipper of the living God;
till every father beoomes a high pri- et in his
household, offering the daily sacrifice of
prayer and praise, and every mother teaches
her infant charge to lisp with their earliest
prattle the name of Jesus; till human selfish
ness gives place to divine benevolence; till
civilization, culture and refinement are substi
tuted for barbarism, debasement and crime;
till wars and rumors of wars cease, and all
men dwell together in love ; till the Lord
Jesus Christ sits enthroned, as King of all
the earth ; and every knee bows to his sway.
Such is the period of your enlistment, and
you must fulfil it, unless you previously fall
on the field.
Prayers that Miss their Mark.
Mr. Bingham, in his sketch of the Sandwich
Glands, says of Queen Kahumann, that after
ner conversion she manifested great solicitude
for some of the neighboring islands, still in a
state of deplorable ignoranoe and degradation.
In order to test her knowledge of what the
gospel requires, he said to her, Suppose you
offer up earnest prayers to God in their be
half, but put forth no effort to carry tH*. g-m
--pel to them, do you think such prayers will
avail anything? After a moment’s reflection,
*he replied, such prayers will mi-s their
mark.” How many Christians, of long stand
ing, show thernaeives less wi-e, practically,
than this convert from heathenism ! How
many pray for the evangelization of the
world, and neither labor, nor give, to achieve
it! Are prayers that “ ruins their mark,”
true prayers? Can there be true prayer
without giving and laboring, where opportu
nity invites?
Minor Points of Ministerial Character.
If I look among the members of my own
profession, as 1 glance over a pastorate of
some forty years, much of the time having
had a wide range of observation, I do know
that, when parishiouers come seeking pastors,
talent is not the only thing they ask for, nor
is it oftentimes, by any means, the most im
portant thing they want. They desire a pas
tor who is gentle, pleasant, gentlemanly,
kind-hearted. 1 look back now over more
than one-third of a century, with very dis
tinct recollections of a large multitude of
ministers of our own communion. 1 remem
ber those who, thirty years ago, were sub
stantially equal in the elements of a good
Christian character, all of them above suspi
cion, all of them honest in their purposes ;
and yet some of them have fallen back, while
others have gone steadily forward ; and I de
clare to you that, so far as I have been able
to see, in many oases the principal ground of
failure on one part and success on the other
has been in these lighter elements of charac
ter. Although these things may not come up
even to the dignity of minor morals, I submit
to you that this is one of the cases where it
does well to tithe even mint, anise and cumin.
If by attention to these things we can make
ourselves more useful, it is well worth while
to attend to them. Os course, a minister
does not forfeit his soul because he does not
k»ow how to enter and leave a parlor; he
has not committed a mortal sin because he
can not make a graceful bow; he has not of
fended agains>t the Holy Ghost because he
always wears a sombre oouutenauce instead
of a smiling face. But if these things have
so much to do with our suooess as ministers
of Christ, I submit it to you if our text
teaches no other lesson but that of curtesy,
it is well worth our learning. —Bishop Ames.
A Noble Example —There is in Pesth,
Hungary, a Jew named Dr. Hasenfield, whose
fidelity to the Jewish law excites great sur- "
prise. He is having a fine mansion built at ’
the expense of SIOO,OOO, and forbids that any 2
work shall be done on the Jewish Sabbath. '*
As the workmen are thus compelled to rest >
on a day when they would be willing to work,*'
he pays them their regular wages for that q
day, at a total additional expense of $2,000, ,
which'he pays for the luxury of a good con
science. When will Christians show them-.,*
selves as willing to keep the precepts of the
New Testament at a sacrifice?
.. .
Pastoral Support. —Ten years ago, says
the Congregaiionalist, the highest salary paid : ?
to any Trinitarian Congregational clergy man
in Massachusetts was $2 400 Last year,
twenty eight churches paid $2,500; nineteen t
churches, $3,000 ; twelve chinch, s, $3 500; i
five churches, $4,000; one church, $4,500; -•
and three churches, $5,000.
Not altogether a Blunder. —Bishop (
Clarkson, in the Spirit of Missions, tells the •
following story of himself: “Not long since,
in a frontier town in Nebraska, appeared the
following notice: ‘Elder Clarkson, of the
Episcopal Society, will preach in the school
house this evening, and administer the Apos
tate Right of Conformation."’
_ - - ,i ■ J-'i.
Marriage.- —Thomas Fuller quaintly say-f t.M
“They that marry ancient (elderly) peopQy;:
merely in expectation to bury them, ha- got
themselves in hopes that some one will com*
and cut the halter.” /