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CHRISTIAN IN DEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
VOL 50—NO. 7. Is3oo A YEAR.}
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, GA
AT $3.00 PER ANNUM,
Invariably in Advance.
r. .T. TOON", Proprietor.
The Swan Song "of Parson Avery—l63*.
When the reaper’s task was ended, and the Summer
wearing late.
Parson Avery sailed from Newbury with his wife and
children eight,
Dropping down the river harbor in the shallop Watcn
and Wait.
Pleasantly lay the clearings in the mellow Summev
morn, _
And the newly-planted orchards dropping their fruits
first b rn,
id the homesteads like green islands amidst a sea of
corn.
Broad meadows reaching seaward, the tided creeks be-
And hills rolled, wave-like, inland, with oaks and wal
nuts green;
A fairer home, a goodlier land, his eye had never seen.
Yet aw iy sailed Parson Avery, away where duty led,
And the ' pice of God seemed ca' ling, to break the living
bread
Ta i U j sjula oif fishers starring on the rocks of Marble
head.
Ail dhy they sailed; at nightfall the pleasant land-
died,
The blackening sky at midnight its starry 1 ghts de
nied,
And, far and low, the thunder of tempest prophesied.
Blotted out we.e all the coastlines, gone were rock,
mid wood, and sand ; '
Urimly anx ous stood the skipper with the tiller in his
hand,
And questioned of the darkness what was sea and what
was land.
And the preacher heard his dear ones, nestled round
him weeping sore:
“Never heed, my little children! Christ is walking on
before,
„ ,i the pleasant land of Heaven, where the sea shall be
no more I”
All at once tho great clocd parted, like a curtain drawn
aside, **•
To let down the torch of lightning on the terror far
and wide;
And the thunder and the whirlwind together smote the
tide.
There was a wailing in the shallop, woman’s wail and
man’s despair,
A crash of breaking timbers on the rocks so sharp and
bare.
And through it all the murmur of Father Avery’s
prayer.
From the struggle in tho darkness with the wild waves
and the blast,
On a rock, every billow broke above him as it
passed,
Alone of all his household, the ruan of God was oast.
There a comrade heard him praying in the pause of
wave and wind:
“All my own have gone before me, and I linger just
behind ;
Not for life I ask, but only for the rest thy ransomed
find I
“ In this night of death I challenge the promise of Thy
Word 1
l.et me see the great salvation of which mine ears have
heard I
Let mo pass from henco forgiven, through the grace of
Christ our Lord I
“In the baptism of these waters wash white my every
sin,
And let me follow up to Thee my household and my
kin I
Open the sea-gate of Thy Heaven and let me enter in 1”
When the Christian sings his death-song, all the listen
ing Heavens draw near,
And the ntigels, leaning over tho walls of crystal, hear
How the notes so faint and broken swell to music in
God's ear.
The ear of God was open to Ilis servant's last request;
As tho strong wave swept him downward, the sweet
hymn upward pressed,
And the soul of Father Avery went, singing to his
rest.
There was wailing on the mainland from the rocks of
Marblehead,
lu the stricken church oi Newbury the notes of prayer
were read,
And long, by board and hearthstone, the living mourned
the dead.
And still the fishers out-bound, or seudding from the
squall,
With grave and reverent faces the ancient tall recall,
When they see the white waves breaking on the “ Rock
of Avery’s Fall!"
The Necessity of Organization and System.
These paragraphs are penned under a sense
of responsibility, and it is with no ordinary
concern that the writer solicits a careful pe
rusal of thoughts he has long and carefully
pondered. *
It is well understood, on all hands, that the
Baptist denomination, as a whole, has never,
in modern times, exhibited the system and
unity of plans illustrated by Christians of
other names. This has sometimes been at
tributed by their neighbors to deficient church
organization. The question was once gravely
and seriously propounded in our hearing, by
a distinguished divine, to one of our foreign
secretaries, how he, having to do officially
with the whole denomination, could
fully operate, considering the entire inde
pendence of each local church? The real
cause of this frequently-observed tendency to
disintegration in plans of benevolence and
Christian enterprise, has been the apprehen
sion of undue central influence. This appre
hension we think wholly unfounded. No in
terference, hitherto at least, with the rights of
the churches or ministers cooperating with
the denomination at large, has been, in any
case alleged, by the parties immediately con
cerned. If such interference should ever be
attempted while our creed is what it ever has
been, in relation to the independence of the
churches, it i3 certain to be promptly rebuked.
Let us, therefore, not only continue to meet
in voluntary Convention, as often as the gen
eral wisdom may suggest, but more univer
sally. Let the best instructed men be select
ed to compose the Conventions—men who are
jealous of the right of the churches, whether
to participate or not to participate in tho gen
eral and united efforts of the whole body of
Baptists. The conference of representative
men of this character has always solved all
difficulties. It is not men informed from per
sonal observation who are fettered by appre
hensions. Eight hundred thousand baptized
believers in these Southern States united in
the faith —the Bible, the whole Bible, and
nothing but the Bible,—-directing their armies
against every error, and following their great
Captain wherever llis banner of truth and
love shall wave, is a formidable host. Let
not the grand army be broken up into petty
phalanxes, Old Side and Missionary, Calvin
istic and Free Will. All Christians know,
by personal experience, that salvation is of
grace 5 that the work of salvation, from first
to last, is the work of some power outside
themselves-—the work of the Spirit, through
the instrumentality designated in God’s word.
The metaphysical questions so rife in contro
versy, beyond the plain statement of apos
tles, will never be settled.
Local difficulties are not more easily over
come than territorial ones. Avery consider
able part of our people, especially in these
times of temporary residence, are virtually
unassociated with their brethren, carrying
letters in their pockets, and straying far from
their own fold without even this evidence,
that they have ever been known as believers
in Jesus. No exhortation is effectual in many
cases. In not a few, they accustom them
selves to meet with other folds, contribute
their means to build up another faith, and
imbibe the notion that it they have repented
and been regularly baptized, other distinctive
peculiarities of the Baptists are unimportant
Pray, should all follow their practice, where
were the regular churches, and the regular
administrators of the solemn and effecting
emblem of the death and resurrection of our
Lord and of our own resurrection to newness
of life in Christ Jesus? Alas! wandering
brethren, shall it be said that Baptists forget
their baptismal vows, and leave their more
faithful brethren without their sympathy and
aid, to struggle against a world in defence
of the faith delivered to the saints? To
those faithful ones are opposed a sinful world,
the traditions of a muhitude claiming the
name of Christians. Their scrupulous regard
for the veritable command of their Master is
their reproach among men. Let not their
foes be they of their own household.
There is a widely prevailing notion, that as
every church is independent of every other
church, so every individual is independent, in
large measure at least, of every other indi
vidual in the same church ! Not so. The
former doctrine is certainly raught, in its
most absolute shape, in book ; but
not less absolutely is taught the authority of
our brethren over us, as , jprsters of the
divine law, in the chuau' They may err;
the necessity for .se> may
arise ; but there Is tfo his&J 'tribu
nal to which to resofL Tie,tndivideal must
be clear that his o-vn iq the case is -
above that of his brethren, and make his ap
peal to the Searcher of hearts; Within these
limits, he must hear his brethren, not regard
ing their affectionate surveillance a tyranny,
nor confounding liberty with license, “ mak
ing his liberty a cloak of maliciousness.”
A mistake is sometimes found in multiply
ing machinery. It is a great evil in the land
already, and promises to be greater. The
meetings of multiform societies are becoming
an enormous tax, and the accession of a vast
amount of religious dissipation, most enerva
ting and stultifying. It is not the number of
organisations, but their compactness and per
fection, to which we are to iork for effective
work. The regular exercises of the sanctuary,
edifying and instructive, must not too often
give way for novelties and the story of stran
gers about some enterprise never so praise
worthy, while abler and better men are seated
in silence for the day. This is a great evil
under the sun.
Finally, we need more thought, more
prayer, more painstaking on these subjects.
The light and the heat that irradiate from the
Sun of Righteousness can dissipate our misap
prehensions, and unite us together, so that,
“compacted by that which every joint sup
plieth, we may grow into an holy temple in
the Lord,” whose services shall be effective to
the salvation and consolation of the nations of
the earth. E. B. Teague.
Conversion and Death of a Suicide.
Thirty years ago, there lived in a village
in Middle Georgia a sober, industrious young
man, whom we will call Harris. He was a
harness maker and sadder by trade, an excel
lent workman, an honest, upright man, and
had the confidence and good will of all who
knew him. He was an only child, had lost
his mother while quite young,and lived with
his father, to whom he was greatly attached.
The death of his father, (which occurred when
Harris was about thirty years of age,) affect
ed him deeply. This calamity was aggrava
led by the fact that his father died insolvent,
that he was his surety for a large amount,
and that all his honest earnings were thereby
swept away. For a few weeks, he seemed
‘to bear his troubles with fortitude-continued
at his trade, and attended church as usual.
On a certain Monday morning, however, he
went to the cemetery, clambered over the
palings, stood on his father’s grave, and shot
himself in the left side, the ball perfora
ting the left lung and lodging under the
shoulder blade. (He purposed to shoot him
self through the heart, but failed.) How
long he remained unconscious, he did not
know. But, on coming to hjmself, it occur
red to him that some one might be accused
of murdering him. So, clambering over the
palings again, he made his way to a residence
fifty yards distant, and, as the lady appeared
at the door, pointing to his side, from which
blood was streaming, he exclaimed, “ I did
it,” and fell, apparently in the agonies of
death.
I was soon summoned by his friends to.his
bedside. On consulting his physician, (emi
nent in his profession,) whether it would be
safe for me to talk with and pray for him, he
replied, “It would make no difference, as he
could not survive many hours.” He seemed
perfectly rational, and though it was exceed
ingly painful for him to speak, he expressed
pressed himself freely on all subjects men
tioned, except religion. On that he was silent.
When finally I offered to pray for him, he
assented, but with apparent indifference. His
case interested and puzzled me greatly.
Contrary to all expectation, he did not die
immediately, but survived for months. 1
visited him frequently, and, on all suitable
occasions, urged him to make his peace with
God. For about two months, he received
my exhortations with respect. But that was
about all. At length, however, it pleased
God, in His sovereign mercy , to open the eyes
of his understanding to a sense of his lost
condition as a sinner. The struggle was short
and fearful, but, of course, Sovereign Grace
triumphed. At my earnest solicitation, he
had been reading Allein’s Alarm, Doddridge’s
Rise and Progress, and kindred works. On
entering his room one morning, I found him
sitting in an easy-ebair, with the joy of a
new-found hope beaming on his faoe. He
said, in substance, “Were it not that I have
been such a sinner, I would believe that God
has had mercy n m* K Jj 'V one thing lam
suren—ever befo t such views
of my own sinfulnessj.atf Lyf God’s infinite
grace in Jesus Christ. *Nrto think that He
preserved the life I madly attempted to de
stroy, that I might learn bow vile I am, and
how' infinite is His grace and goodness even
to the rebellious !” He gave as intelligent and
satisfactory an account of his conversion as
I ever listened to. All Christians, who con
versed with him on the subject, believed he
was truly “ born from above.” He had not
been*as many supposed, destitute of all reli
gious belief. He had been a fatalist. Only
the day before he made the attempt on his
own life, he had heard a Hard Shell Baptist
preacher deliver a discourse, which he under
stood as advocating the doctrine, and which
confirmed him in his belief ot it. It was un
der that sermon, as he informed me subse
quently, that he resolved on self-de9truetion.
Ha wholly discarded the opinion, that men,
to commit suicide, must be wholly or par
tially insane. He ever held that he was as
sane on that fatal morning as at any period
of his life.
My poor friend grew in grace, and rapidly
ripened for Heaven, during the few months
that intervened between his conversion and
his death. His case ran into something like
consumption, which terminated fatally in
about six months. I had been absent from
home a few days, and, on passing the village
on my return, was hailed by a pious lady,
who said, “ Poor Harris is in a dying condi
tion. I have just left him, and he greatly
desires to see you before his departure.” I
was at his bedside as soon as practicable.
As I entered his room about nightfall, he
reached out his cold, emaciated hand, and
greeted me cordially. He said, “ I am so
glad you got here In time. I want to tell
you, that all my days were spent in darkness.
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16,1871.
On that fatal morning, I went to my father’s
grave with my soul enveloped in the most im
penetrable darkness. I tried to put an end to
my life because I was in despair, and had
nothing to live for. But now, all is light, and
peace, and joy ! I know, by experience, that
Jesus can save to the uttermost all that come
to God by Him. I have been a great sufferer,
but I shall soon be at rest!” In a few min
utes, he was dead.
I preached his funeral, and friendly hands
laid what was left of the poor suicide in his
grave, hoping he would have part in “ the
resurrection of the just.” J. H. C.
“It i» r More Blessed to Give than to Be*
ceive.”—ll.
In a former number, 1 tried to present the
principle which controlled giving under the
Old Testament dispensation ; and I am now
to inquire if the same principle obtains un
der the New. The promise to the Old Tes
tament contributor was, that he should re
ceive a return in this present life, or, to state
the matter more explicitly, it was not giving
at all, but a good and safe investment, which,
by an invariable law, must return in blessing
upon the obedient child of God. This posi
tion 1 sustained by quotations from the Scrip
tures of truth; as contained in the Jewish
Bible; and I think the same promise is con
tained in the New Testament, with the simple
difference that it is greatly enlarged,
How, the truth is, that “ godliness is profit
able unto all things, having promise of the
life that now is, and of that which is to
come;” and a part of godliness is to give as
directed by the Scriptures of truth. Our
blessed Lord says, in His sermon upon the
mount, “ Seek first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness, and all these things shall
be added unto you.” “ These things,” it will
bo found, by reference to the context, are the
temporal benefits for which men strive, as the
reward of their labors, including food and
raiment and all the ordinary blessings of life.
This passage is addressed to disciples, and by
the phrase “seek first the kingdom of God,”
it is meant that we should give precedence to
that kingdom. Its interests are to maintain
the supremacy over our own little concerns,
and in the event we obey the precept, we
shall more surely conserve our true interests
than if we dare to invert this divine order.
Nor is this proposition at all at variance with
the dictates of sound discretion ; for that the
less is contained in the greater is an axiom.
“ He that spared not His own Son, but gave
Him up for us all, how shall lie not, with
Him also, freely give us all things?”
Jesus being given to us, the grant contains
everything good—things present and things
to come ; and when the apostle undertakes to
give an inventory of the Ciiristian’s posses
sions, he sums up the good of two worlds, —
the temporal and ihe spiritual. W hen Jesus
had laid down the requirements of His king
dom, that a man must be ready to renounce
all worldly considerations for His dear sake,
Peter made an inquiry covering all the ques
tions in issue. He said, “ Lo, we have left all
and followed thee : what shall we have, there
fore?” Now, let every believer in revelation
mn r k the answer :“ No man hath left houses
and lands, father or mother for my sake and
the gospel's, but he shall have a hundred-fold
In this present life, and in the world to come,
life everlasting.” Here the- promise covers
fully the interests of the *,«int for typac ‘-and
for eternity. f
Now, in order to realize the
blessings, it is necessary while we give, to
keep in view the fact that it must be for Je
sus ’ sake, and that our contributions must be
in proportion “ to the ability which God giv
eth.” Let the motive and the measure of our
gifts be according to the Divine word, and
the giver is sure of the present life, as he is
also of the life to come.
Here, then, is the truth as God himselfhas
stated it; and if men will prefer the uncer
tain and feeble light of their own worldly
prudence, to them be the consequences, but
God’s word must stand when all such shall
perish. A word in conclusion. I would not
be understood as teaching that we are blest
for giving, as though there were merit in it,
but we are blessed in our liberality, grace
being the motive which prompts our contribu
tions. H. C. HoRNAOr,
In Memoriam.
Reynolds McCain ....Chilton.
Alabama and the Baptist denomination
have sustained a severe loss in the death of
these men. Although all were by many years
my senior, yet circumstances, political, social
aud religious, threw me into intimate com
panionship with them. They were citizens of
the county of Talladega, when my father set
tled there in 1838. He was their friend, and
my earliest recollections ot Alabama are as
sociated with their names.
Major Walker Reynolds was a native
of Georgia, and would have been a marked
man in any community. His education was
quite limited, but his strong common sense,
close observation, quickness of apprehension
and instinctive insight into difficulties, made
him an invaluable counsellor, and most sue
cessful in business. With a natural aptitude
lor mechanics, he was an excellent judge of
machinery and architecture, and would have
distinguished himself if he had chosen a pro
fession connected with those subjects. His
energy was indomitable. No obstacle dis
mayed him. His ambition was high, but no
ble, and attempered by a wise discretion.
Although he lived for some years in a fron
tier country, he was an earnest friend of edu
cation. By liberal contributions and urgent
appeals, he threw the weight of his influence
in the scale of intellectual improvement. On
no subject, in our frequent interviews—one
only excepted—did he speak with more ar
dor. All progress found in him a zealous
advocate. To no man is Alabama more in
debted for the railroad from Selma to Dal
ton. Amid all its difficulties, he was its fast
friend ; and a monument should be erected
to his memory, at some conspieuons point on
the line of the road. Major Reynolds was a
man of inflexible honesty and transparent can
dor and truthfulness. He was a faithful
friend. Widely and constantly separated
from him in politics, I nevertheless received
from him unvarying kindness. It was in late
years that I knew him best and most loved
him. In 1895, a protracted meeting was held
with his church. Bros. Renfroe, Spalding and
myself (1 had just begun to try to preach)
assisted father Welch, the pastor. It was a
precious meeting. Among the converts were
three of Major R’s daughters. God was
pleased to bless some of my words to their
awakening. The thankfulness of brother Rey
nolds was deep and full. His soul overflowed
with thetenderest love, and he enjoyed happy
communion with his Saviour. As I soon 1 etc
Talladega county, 1 saw him seldom after
wards; but now, that our Father has taken
him, I cherish with liveliest feelings the recol
lections of his friendship.
Elder William McCain was the last sur
vivor of the founders of the Coosa River As
sociation —a noble band of brethren, who, in
the newly settled country, before the removal
of the Indians, organized a body which has
such an honorable record for good. He was
a preaoher of the go9pal for over forty years.
Without learning, without any very general
information, he elas.-in some respects, the
most wonderful pfeaaher I ever heard. His
expositions of Scripture were not very pro
found ; his discu.wioggpi of propositions were
not methodical or iog|isal; his sentences were
often ungrammatical* but he had a strong
imagination, a copioaf diction, a warm heart,
all aglow with the iov&of Jesus, and, at times,
he rose to the very Hijjfbe9t eloquence. In ex
hortation and pravejl he was unsurpassed.
In his pleadingssalvation of poor sin
ners, he seemed to b» in the very presence of
Jehovah, and to begjMth a faith that entered
within the vail. Bible and hymn-book
were his library, lie studied human nature
also. He knew the forkings of the heart and
the wiles of the adfjrersary. It was almost
impossible to his appeals. Living
more than a gener 4»on among the same peo
ple, preaching sors4§ph&t to the same audi
ences, he was aMaj# heard with interest, and
his preaching was *Ressed far beyond that of
thousands of mor*t learning and superior ad
vantages. stopping for a few days
in the neigftflßKti of Refuge church, I at
tended a “mfrajk” whioh he was conduct
ing i ial help. With fatherly
interest, hetqj|ifeA£ie by the hand and con
straijfed me irresistibly, to preach
my first ~~rr > ' < ’ < 'Mn r was then not licensed
even. Now, thapjbe chariots of Israel have
borne him wish I could catch his
spirit and wear Mp mantle.
When I, a beijf first knew William P.
Chilton, he waso lawyer of distinction, and
a candidate to represent Talladega county in
the Legislature.stiffs commanding person,
ready eloquence ]pd rich humor won my
youthful admiration. He possessed a rare
charm of manner nud an overflowing, gushing
sensibility that attracted the young to him.
Like Osman, who-dwelt at the gate of King
Schiraz, his heart was so sunny and hospita
ble, the ingenuous and suffering were drawn,
as by instinct, to bis side. In after years, in
the Provisional and the first Confeder
ate Congress, I knew him intimately; prob
ably none of hiif«olleagues bore so close
a relation to him. His public career was dis
tinguished by a pure, unselfish patriotism, an
incorruptible integrity, and a capacity and
willingness to labor which seemed inexhausti
ble. It was a common remark, that Judge
Chilton was the most laborious member of
the body. Amid he intense labors of the
committee room #d the legislative hall, ho j
did not forget the sick and wounded soldiers.
Day after day, he would take long and weary
walks to the hospitals to inquire for, or min
ister to, some Alabama boy, separated from
home and kindred, and the tears would roll
from his eyes as fee entered with fullest sym
pathy into all their trials and privations.
Judge C’s official and professional labors did
not cause him to weglect prayer, the habitual
study of God’s word, nor attendance upon the
ministrations of tile sanctuary. In the most
exciting times of our perilous history, he was
a regular attendant upon the house of God.
He did not sink ife Christian in the lawyer
or politician. Full of life and humor, of ge
nial temper, fond of cheerful companionship,
he would repress vice, or admonish the err
ing, or point the penitent to the lamb of God,
as the only refugAfif comfort.
Judge Chilton the impersonation of
large hearted, wtf liberality. He
loved to gi*e. Jt was a pleasure,
The needy never *?ied away empty from
him. „Hia church’And all the benevolent ope-
Baptists found, in him a willing
ataflPißp contributor, lcf'.the early days of
it was a beautiful sight to
watch Tmn on Sabbath, forgetting the cares
and duties of the ( statesman, and drinking in
the messages of salvation and tho consola
tions of the gospel, as they fell with such
persuasive tenderness from the sainted Man
ly. Unselfish, disinterestedness, magnamity,
prodigal generosity, tireless energy, trusting
faith in “ Him that dwelt in the bush/’ were
among his prominent characteristics. His
life was a conclusive refutation of the popular
fallacy that the practice of law is inconsistent
with a pure Christianity.
J.L. M. CuRRT,
Rishmond, Fa., Feb. A, 1871.
“Work whil* it is Called To-day.”
Go !—go! Wait not for a fairer, a better
opportunity, but go now, this very moment,
—for it is auspicious,—and seek work, if you
have it not. Your hands idle ? in this great
field ! Why, loofc at them —look at yourself
—look at the heaven above you, and nature
around you! Look at your companion at
your side ! Look at the multitude of beings
like yourself, made in God’s own image; and
all created to amuse, to please you? while
you flit along, intoxicated with these delights?
Stop! Every moment you delay in shaking
off your sluggishness, and in entering like a
man upon the labors of the Lord’s vineyard,
you imperil yourJaoul to still greater damna
tion. Now! no#!-—not yesterday, not to
morrow, but now! Terrify your conscience
with the call—torment it, and let it not rest,
night or day, till-it has impelled you to go.
Idleness is a cankorworm to all that is noble
within you, and only because it is in direct
violaticn of one of the commands of Him
who said, shalt thou go, and no
farther.”
There is no rojpl road to grand achieve
ments —none. Bi not deceived. For it is
work ! work! Mvan, low, groveliing, does it
seem? Yet it ja. work. Come at once!
Come! the not suit your capa
bilities, but prestfen the harder, it will come.
You will-eventual y fall into the proper place.
If you dwell, in imagination, among castles,
temples, palaoes, cities, princes, kings, philos
ophers, scholars, but by a singular chain of
providences, or otherwise, you are a resident
among barbarians, in an obscure corner of the
earth, be not disconcerted, but cry all the
louder, work! f Repeat solemnly and
earnestly, “ I will sow seeds in this barren
waste,—l will do it in the fear of the Lord.
I may never be permitted to behold its gol
den harvest, but it will gladden the hearts of
those who survive me. I will rest upon the
promises.”
Slothful ! Vptat a word in a Christian’s
vocabulary ! ~Yet it is there.
How long, oh ! how long will the spirit be
enchained by tho infirmities of the flesh?
When will that degree of Christian perfection
be attained in wh*ch we will cease to oharge
frail mortality with all our shortcomings?
Willing slaves are we to the despotism of
body and intellect. Let us subdue the mon
ster by work.
Work? Why not, and now? Christian,
arouse! Sinner, flee and join the army of
Prince Immanuel! His hosts are marshal
ling. The Church is moving. Quick! quick!
ere the opportunity escapes. Celerity, vigi
lance, courage, are the qualities of a good sol
dier. Arm yourself with them and turn the
tide of battle for Christ—not against Him.
Subdue His enemies,extend the cause of His
kingdom, and glorify Him in word, deed and
action. Enlist now, while the Vatican is de
serted, the “ Head of the Church on earth” at
large, infallibility confuted. This is tho day,
the hour: accept it. But the night comeson
when no man can work. C. S.
Pulpit Fir*.—Dr, Mason said that Chal
mers’ strength was in his (i blood earnest
ness /”
“ Rules of Decorum.”
Should the churches have them ? I think
they should. The objections usually brought
against them are not forcible.
If it is said that we have no Scripture war
rant for them, ; t may here be answered, that
we have, also, no suoh authority for “Arti
cles of Faith.” To be consistent, then, we
must do away with the one if we dispense with
the other.
If it is further objected, that churches
have no right to hold their members bound
to attend meeting on certain days, especially
Saturdays, and deal with them for non attend
ance ; —to this it may be replied, that, so far
as the right of dictation is concerned, this is
true; but as to the right of expression, it is
not true. Cnurohes have the right to express
their opinion on this or any other duty. They
also have the right to express what they ex
pect of the members. And as to dealing
with members for non-attendance, there need
be no trouble on this point; for if you will
carry out the “decorum” promptly, as
should be done, it will be found, in nine cases
out of ten, that there is something connected
with the habitual neglect of church-going,
which will furnish a sufficient occasion for
the exercise of discipline. Indeed, this is one
benefit of the “decorum.” It finds out diffi
culties, and, perhaps, their remedy, which
might never be discovered till too late, under
the loose notion of “no decorum.” And
besides all this, what is the use of talking so
much about the right of churches to dictate,
etc., to their members? Each member is a
part of the church. And have you not come
together as brethren and solemnly vowed to
“ keep house for God,” not “ neglecting the
assembling of yourselves together as the
manner of some is?” The vows of God are
upon you, brother, whether you know it or
not.
Again, if it is objected, that “ the deco
rum ” tends to destroy the volition and spirit
of Christianity, and turn it into form and
compulsion ; it will be frequently discovered
that this language comes from a class of
brethren not very famous for hurting them
selves much in church attendance any way.
These brethren are too spiritually-minded to
go to church, and too fond of their Christian
freedom to allow anything said to them about
not going. “These are they that justify
themselves.” As coming from a more seri
ous class of brethren, this objection may be
met by simply saying, that any reasonable
plan of getting dead brethren to church would
leave them no worse if it made them no bet
ter. Going to church would in no wise in
jure their spirituality, and staying at home
will in no way improve it.
But I must be allowed to give one or two
reasons more directly favoring “decorums”
in the churches. Ist. The nature and neces
sity of decorum. What is it? Literally, it
is propriety of speech and behavior.” In
more general terms, as here viewed, it in
cludes church attendance and Christian be
havior. In either case, is it not important?
But then the question recurs, can we not ob
serve it without a written form as well as
with one? Some say we can. This Ido not
believe. At least, we will not, if we could.
How are we to practice what we do not know,
or know what we have not learned ? And
how are we to learn what we are not taught?
And how are we to taught when there is
nothing to\. teach? And what is there to
teach when everything is guess-work, and
each one left to guess for himself? We may
guard against Ritualism, and run into Camp
bellism. If Episcopalians have a prayer book,
this is no reason why Baptists may not have
a hymn book.
2nd. The influence which is exerted over
us by the known expectations of our breth
ren or friends. It is not easy for us to get
our consent to disappoint the reasonable ex
pectations of those with whom we are on
good terms and intimate association. This
is especially true when such expectations are
dignified into the importance of a formal ex
pression. Now, the written rules of deco
rum are just such a formal expression, and
afford an additional motive, among other
stronger ones, to lead the brethren to the
house of God, and influence them to obey the
inspired injunction, “ Let all things be done
decently and in order.” W. Wilkes.
Christian Activity.
Worship God by doing good—
Works, not words; kind acts, not creeds,
He who loves God as he should
Makes his heart's love understood
By kind deeds.
Deeds are powerful; mere words weak,
Battering at heaven’s door.
Let thy love by actions speak;
Wipe the tear from sorrow’s cheek;
Clothe the poor.
Be it thine, life’s oares to smother,
And to brighten eyes now dim,
Kind deeds done to one another
God accepts as dona, my brother,
Unto Him.
The Atonement of Christ.
In his “ Conversation on Particular Re
demption,” Andrew Fuller replies to the
statement that “ the first grand idea suggest
ed to an enlightened mind by the atonement
of Christ is not God’s hatred of sin, but His
love to sinners,” by saying that “ the former
was manifested to prepare the way for the lat
ter. If the question were, Why did God
give His Son to die for sinners, rather than
leave them to perish in their sins ? the an
swer would be, Because He loved them. But
if the question be, Why did God give His
Son to be an atonement for sinners, rather
than save them without one? the answer
would be, Because He loved righteousness
and hated iniquity.” And this appears to be
a correct statement of the case. Redemption
itself proves the benevolence of God to men,
and the method of redemption proves the
sanctity of the law in His sight The sacri
fice of Christ had for its proximate end, on
the Divine side, a change in God’s attitude
towards sinners; and for its proximate end
on the human 9ide, a charge in the attitude
of sinners towards God ; it secured the exer
cise of grace on the one hand, and of repen
tance on the other. Without this vindication
of His righteous law, including the penalty
annexed to transgression, God would not have
approached the sinner with terms of pardon,
and without this evidence of God’s hatred of
sin and love to men, the sinner would not
have welcomed pardon with a contrite heart.
These statements represent, we suppose,
the obvious meaning of the sacred Scriptures
and the settled belief of most Protestant
Christians. If they are correct, the atonement
or sacrificial death of Christ, is not only the
central doctrine of our religion, but without
it the gospel would cease to be a gospel in
the full sense of the word as used by Paul.
Yet there are many who call in question the
propriety of assigning so important a place
to the work of Christ. While admitting the
moral power of His death over the hearts of
men, they fail to see any evidence of its di
rect relation to the justice and mercy of God.
On the other hand, we find, or think we find,
this evidence in almost every book of the New
Testament, and therefore desire, without dis
cussing the principles of moral
—the sacrednes9 of right and the duty of hon
oring it, the criminality of wropg and the
duty of punishing it,-«*to note a few points in
the Biblical evidence referred to; a few rea
sons for believing that the exercise of Divine
mercy to sinners is traced back by the in
spired writers to the atonement, as its pro
curing cause.
Such evidence we find in the fact that be
lievers are said to have been chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world; an ex
pression which does not signify that they
were chosen to be in Him, —though this may
be implied —nor that they were chosen as
those already in Him, according to the fore
knowledge of God, but rather that the choice
itself had its reasou or justification in Him,
in His person and work, —not in the mere
love of the Father. We find it in the fact
that God’s forbearing to punish the guilty
before the comiug of Christ is said to have
called for the propiatory death of His Son, as
an exhibition of the Divine righteousness.
We find it in the fact that the “ eternal inheri
tance” is said to have been obtained by the
ancient worthies only oa the ground of re
demption from their transgressions through
the death of Christ. We find it in the fact
that the gift of the Spirit is said to have come
at the day of Pentecost from the ascended
Saviour. We find it in the associated fact
that the gift of repentance is traced to the
same being, and that the forgiveness of sins,
an act distinct from the former, is also as
cribed to Him. We find it in the faot that
justification, which is by no means identical
with either of the preceding, though iusepara
bly connected with them, is likewise said to
be through Him, or in His blood. We find
it in the fact that He is represented as ap
pearing before God in behalf of His people,
their Advocate and Intercessor, His very
presence in heaven being conceived of as a
perpetual reason for the grace of God to men.
We find it in the fact that He is said to have
bought or redeemed His people wirh His
blood, a figurative expression not likely to be
used of moral influence on their hearts. We
find it in the language of Peter, that Christ
bore our sins in His own body on the tree;
in the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
that He was offered once to bear the sirts of
many ; and in the testimony of Paul, that Ho
was made sin for us, a curse for us, that is,
by suffering what was due to us for our sins.
And we find it in the remarkable statement,
that if one died for all, then ail died, meaning
that in the person of their Representative and
Substitute they suffered tho penalty of sin
prescribed by the perfect law of God, so that
it only remained for them to accept the act
of their Substitute in humble faith. By so
doing they would utter a solemn Amen of
conscience and heart to the righteousness of
God, a full confession of their indebtedness
to His mercy, and a desire to be identified in
spirit, in purpose and in action, with the aton
ing Saviour.
Such is our view, expressed in the briefest
manner possible, of what the New Testament
teaches concerning the death of Christ, as re
lated to the justice and mercy of God. It is
the result, we believe, of a natural, unforced
exposition of the sacred record. It flows
from the language of Scripture as a stream
from its fountain. For this reason, above all
others, we rest in it with deep conscience.
But its fitness to fill the soul with peace and
strength has been amply verified. It has re
freshed hearts without number, fainting under
the burden of guilt. It. has been uttered with
grateful joy by myriadfs whose lips seem to
have been touched with a live coal from the
altar. It has gone up for ages into the ear
of God from praying souls, and has been em
balmed in sacred lyrics and repeated in holy
song from the ascension of Christ until now.
It has a history in the past worthy to be cele
brated in the world of light; and it will have
a still greater history in the future. The
language of Watts will awaken a hearty re
sponse, in men of faith, to the end of the
world :
But when we view Thy strange design
To save rebellious worms,
Where justice and compassion join
In their divinest forms, —
Here the whole Deity is known ;
Nor dares a creature guess
Which of the glories brightest shone,
The justice or the grace.
The atonement of Christ is that in consid
eration of which God bestows renewing, for
giving and saving grace upon men; and
therefore it is the ground of our justification
before Him.— Watchman and Rejleotor.
Anoient Homan Baptisteries.
Rev. James Wall, a missionary of the
English Baptists in Italy for seven years, and
recently sent to Rome, writes to the London
Missionary Herald: You will be glad to
know that the baptisteries of the early Roman
Church are still in existence. Passing last
week by the splendid marble baptistery of
Constantine, ! entered, and asked the priest
within the use to which it was formerly ded
icated. Having shown me the level the wa
ter rose to when the font was prepared for
baptism, and the valve in the marble floor
whence it issued, “ when the rite was fin
ished,” he added, “This was anciently used
for the immersion of proselytes.” “May 1
ask why the Church has fallen from the prim
itive mode 1 ?” “The Church,” ho said, “has
thought well to change it.” “ Why does she
sprinkle infants V’ “ Because the Scripture
commands it?” “Can you point to the pas
sage?” He then quoted (in Latin) from
Gen. i; 28: “ Increase, and multiply, and fill
the earth.” Yes; the wholesale admission
of babes into Chnroh communion has filled
thß earth, but not with Christians. This
morning (November 24th) I went, with two
who came to the meeting last Lord’s day
evening, to see the baptistery in the Cata
combs. About a mile from the walls of the
city we ascended a hill, from which the view
of Rome and its vicinity is magnificent. In
the side of this hill is a little cave, filled with
beautiful ferns, which, while it indicates, par
tially obscures, the entrance to this most an
cient refuge of the persecuted saints of old.
The guide opens the gate, and gives a taper
to each, and so we leave the lovely scene
without, and enter, through narrow passages;
by heaps of bones and skulls, which look
dismal in the feeble flickering of our lights,
to the early baptistery. Before descending a
flight of steps, the guide directs our eyes to
a picture painted above the entrance. It is
the head of Jesus, with the cross painted be
hind it. This first met the eye of the candi
date who came to bo mystically buried here
with Christ; and the impression made by'
• this picture, on account of the tenderness and
love it expresses, must have been great. At
the bottom of the stairs, in a small room, is
a picture of our Lord’s baptism. John is on
one side; an angel, on the other, holds his
robe; while Jesus, in the midst, stands to the
waist in water, waiting to be immersed. At
the foot of this picture, to my great surprise,
1 not only saw the ancient baptistery, but
found it still filled with water, so clear tha*.
we could see to the bottom, though about
four feet deep, and so sweet that we drank it
with pleasure. Rome has scarcely known of
the existence of this; it is scarcely ever vis*
ited, even by priests; the guide told me it
was almost entirely unknown. He knows
where tljere is another, and sometime I hope
to visit it with him.
A Destitute Field.— -Nevada, with a pop
ulation of 100,000 souls, is without a Baptist
church, and has not a single Baptist minister
devoted to his calling.
Is3 00 A YEAR.} WHOLE NO. 2527.
Luke vii: 36—60.
She sa* and wept beside His feet; the weight
Os sin oppressed her h**urt; for all the blame
And the poor malice of the worldly shame
To her was past, extinct and out ot date.
Only the tin remained—the leprous stats;
She would bo melted by the heat of lore,
Bv fires far fleroer than are blown to prove
And purge the silver ore adul'erate.
She sat and wept, and with her undressed hair
Still wiped the feet she was so blessed to touch;
And He wiped off the soiling of despair
Prom her sweet soul, because she loved so much,
I am a sinner, full of doubts and fears;
Make me an humble thing of love and tears.
Coleridge.
Prayer to Christ.
O Thou, that for our sins didst take
A human form and humbly make
Thy home on earth ;
Thou that to Thy divinity
A human nature didst ally
By mortal bittb,
And in that form didst suffer here
Torment, and agony, and fear.
So patiently;
By Thy redeeming grace alone,
And not for merits of my own,
O pardon me I
—From the Spanish of Manriqvt.
Hard on Ritualists.
A writer in an English paper, quoted in
the Protestant Churchman of January 12th,
charges Ritualists with dishonesty, on the
following grounds. It will be understood
that tho accusation rests on the fact that Rit
ualists remain in the communion of the Pro
testant Episcopal Church of England :
1. They revile Protestantism. They call
it a heresy, pest, cancer, etc., and villify tho
Reformation and reformers in terms equally
coarse. 2. They propose to abandon and
labor for the abrogation of the Thirty Nine
Articles. 3. They hold, with Rome, that
there are seven sacraments. 4. They pray
to the Virgin Mary. 5. They change the
communion table into an altar, the ministers
into sacrificing priests, and accept the whole
doctrine of Rome concerning the mass. C.
They pray for the souls of tho dead, and
avow their belief of purgatory. 7. They
enjoin auricular confession ho a priest. 6.
They deny the sole authority of God’s word.
9. They are disposed to accept the primacy
of Peter.
Strict Communion. —We maintain that
baptism is commanded in the New Tes
tament —Matt, xxviii: 19 ; —that it follows
faith, Mark xvi: 10; —that it precedes church
membership, Acts ii: 41 tint the Lord’s
supper is a church ordinance, Actsii: 42;
xx ; 7—that baptism is the immersion of a
believer in water in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Acts viii: 37,
38, 39; —and that infant sprinkling is a hu
manly devised substitute unwarranted by
Scripture, Eph. iv: 5. Take these several
points separately, and which of them can be
proven to be unscriptural ? Place them in
their order, and what can be more invulner
able as a defence of our position as strict Bap
tists than the connected argument they fur
nish?— Canadian Baptist.
The American Ministry. —Prof. Bartlett
says : “ The Protestant ministry of this coun
trv, not only in character, but in culture,
taste, scholarship, social and literary influ
ence, general intelligence and interest as pub
lic speakers, will abide the comparison with
any other considei able class of men, and abide
it triumphantly. The relative average of
success is high. When a Boston merchant
once remarked to us on the small number ot
successful ministers, we asked him how large
a proportion of the merchants around him for
forty years had been successful? He an
swered, Not more than ten or twenty per
cent. We informed him that we knew no
such percentage of failure in the ministry.”
Tnn Waste of England. —The late liev.
Rowland Hill once exclaimed on a mission
ary platform, while looking at the world’s
misery through sin, and anxious for its res
toration through the power of Christ’s gos
pel, “ O for the wealth of England !” A
Methodist minister who followed h;m in the
same service said, “ My brother Hill asks for
the wealth of England ; I ask only for the
waste of England.” And may not we iterate
and reiterate the same cry, “ O for the waste
of England ?” Her wealth is certainly much
greater now than it was then, and may we
not fear that her waste is equally great in pro
portion ?
Heathen Prejudice. —“A Death-Blow to
Corrupt Doctrines,” the recent Chinese work
against Christians, who are denominated “ the.
non-human species,” says: “IPthis sect is
finally allowed to spread in China, then this
land, which for so many thousand years has
been noted for its civilization and re.inement,
will at once be transformed into the abode of
naked monsters and mermaids, roaming
about like flocks of wild or domestio animals.
Would not this be exceedingly distressing?
Would it not be profoundly distressing?”
Southern Episcupaov. The Southern
Churchman, after speaking hopefully of the
prospects of the Episcopal church in Virginia,
adds: “But if our more Southern Dioceses
are going into the Ritualistic business, with
processions and pastoral stalF, the less the
people think of such a church the better.
By such doings they may enlist such women
and women-meii who are as unstable as wa
ter; but they will only disgust the sensible
portion of the community.”
No Prater Meetings.— Great indignation
is expressed that the High-church chaplain of a
British regiment in India has secured an or
der from the Colonel forbidding the soldiers
to meet for prayer. They had met for that
purpose, with the concurrence of the previ
ous chaplain, for several years, in a room fit
ted up by their friends for a reading-room.
Pulpit Causticity. —in a certain religious
meeting over which Rev. Dr. 11. presided, a
lewd fellow’ of the baser sort arose and pro
ceeded to speak. His only object was to
make a disturbance and show his contempt of
religion. A deacon or some other dignified
member proceeded gravely to reprove the man
for what he w r as doing, and to urge him to sit
down. “ No,” said Mr. H., “let him speak,
he has a right to speak. Balaam's ass spoke.”
Cubist in the Pulpit. —-A venerable man
of God gave this good counsel to a young
preacher: “As from every town,and village,
and hamlet in nil England, there is a road to
London, so from every text of S ripture,
there is a road to the metropolis of Scripture,
that is, Christ. When you get a text, find
and follow the road therefrom to Christ.”
“Good Christians.” —Bishop Lefever in
giving an account of the Indiaus—members
of the Roman Catholic church-*in the North
ern Peninsula of Michigan,9aid, “They are
very good Christians, but they will get
drunk.”
Sceptical Affinities. —Rev. Robert Tay
lor, a most learned and intelligent sceptic,
in his Diegesis had the boldness to begin
w’ith Judas Iscariot, as the first, in order of
time, among the Infidels he eulogizes, and as,
by no means, in order of merit, the last.
CalTajrt,—-God's own love, shown for the
conversion of a rebellious race, was in that
heart which was pierced by the «r ,J ‘
spear.