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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.