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CHRISTIAN
VOL.
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, OA
AT $3.00 PER ANNUM,
Invariably in Advance.
J". ,T. TOON, Proprietor.
Not Knowing.
I know not what will befall me! God hangs a mist oer
my eyes; .
And o’er each step of my onward path He makes new—
scenes to rise, ,
And every joy he sends me comes as a sweet and giaa
surprise.
I see uot a step before me, as I tread the days of the
But the past Is’ still in God’s keeping, the future His
mercy shall clear, , , .
And what looks dark in the distance, may brighten as
1 draw near.
For perhaps the dreaded future has less bitterness than
1 think; , , _ .
The Lord may sweeten the water before I stoop to
drink, , , ....
Or, if Marub must be Marah, He will stand beside its
brink.
It may be there is waiting for the coming of my feet,
Some gift of such rare blessedness, some joy so strange
ly sweet,
That my lips can only tremble with the thanks I cannot
speak.
Oh, restful, blissful ignorance! ’Tis blessed not to
know,
keeps me quiet in those arms which will not |et me
gO, * U
Ana bushes my soul to rest on the bosom which loves
me so.
So Igo on not knowing! I would not if I might;
I would rather walk iu the dark with God, than go
alone in the light, ,
I would ruther walk with Him by faith, than walk
alone by sight.
My heart shrinks back from trials wjiich the future may
disclose, ,
Yet I neyer had a sorrovf but nfhat the qear Lord
f
So I send the coining tears hack, with the whispered
work, “ He knows.”
“I am the Way."
I am the Way, the Truth, the Life,
The way thatthou should’st go;
I am the truth, the sovereign truth.
The truth that thou should’st know;
I am the life, the blessed life,
Without which nme may live;
I am the Way, the Truth, the Li e,
Which God alone can give.
I am the way, the straightest way,
The way that upward tends;
I am the uncreated life,
The life that never ends.
I am the truth Infallible,
The tiuth thou mu it believe;
I am the Way, the Truth, the Life,
Thou must tron* God receiye.
If in {he vyay thou wilt abi<je,
Ttie truth shall on thee shine;
And'if that truth ihon’lt steadfast holcfi
Ktern .1 life is thine.
I am the Way, the Truth, the Life,
The life thou woqld’gt attain.
Then wqlk that iyay, the (ruth belieye,
Jf thou that life would’st gain.
—4 {ary Claris.
“ Thy Will, not Mine, be Done."
My Jesus, as Thou wilt!
U may Thy will he mine;
Jnto Thy baud of lore
( would my all resign;
Through sorrow or through joy,
Conduct me as Thine own,
And help me still to say
My Lord, Thy will be done 1
My Jesus, as Thou wilt!
Though seen through many a tear,
Let uot my star of hope
(Jrow dun or disappear;
SincVrnou on eimj. hast wept, 4
* Anu Sorrowed oif alone, . A
If I must weep with lhse,
My Lord, Thy will be done 1
i)y Jesus, as ?:hou wilt!
All shall be for me;
Each changing future scene
I gladly trust with Thee:
Straight to nyy home above
| {ravel calmly an,
And sing, in life or death,
My Lord, Thy will be done!
An Inclement Sabbath,
This day is a Sabbath of the Lord God,
but, in its outward aspect, exceedingly dreary
and inclement. Our little church-house stands
pn the corner, just over the way ; but no in
viting peaj has, on this darjc morning, rung
forth from its unpretending steeple ; no feet
of wprshippefs have trodden its familiar
aisles; no songs of paHe have ascencjed
front nielocjiQus hparts aiid voices, congre
gated within its sacred precincts, Occasion
ally, as I look from my study window, 1 see
a solitary pedestrian trudging along the mud
dy street, avoiding, by quick turns, or clear
ing by sudden bounds, the numberless little
pools which obstruct the way. All else, save
the ceaseless patter of the steady rain, Is
silent. One at my side has just exclaimed,
in a weary langor, “ 1 find it 30 tq
make a rainy Sabfiath profitable!” And this
qifijculty, which perplexes many others ever,
while 1 write, 1 cannot better iipproye An
fiour of this unpropitioqs day than fiy seek
ing to diminish op remove. We sfia|l best
begin by inquiring what lessoq Divine Provi
dence designs to teach us by an inclement
Sabbath?
1. We are thus taught that the perform
ance of our religious duties is governed by
the same laws or conditions as those which
control our ordinary vocations. In other
words, we are not to expect that our Heav
enly Father will place us in more fayorahle
situations, or surround us with rqoi’e propi
tious-circumstances, in doing His wqrk, than
in the common routine of duty. The LjOrd’s
day is HK« those which He has given us for
our secular business—subject to the same
natural influences which make other days hot
or cold, wet or dry. We thus learn, (a), that
while lie demands no more than we are
ijsiially qble to perform, (b),IJe yet requires
that, on His day, we do all we might, under
similar conditions, be able to accomplish on
any other day. “ The children of this world
are wiser in their generation than the children
of light.” What men regard as their inter
est, in a worldly point of view, is evermore
the standard by which, in the spiritual king
dom, they are self-condemned. If we fail to
do for God what we should eagerly do for
ourselves; if we are deterred from His ser
vice by obstacles w|iich would pof at all hin
der us, were our own secular advantage in
volved; how can we hope to be held guiltless
when His just requirement is, that we seek
Him Jirsi, in Gnjer both of time ans prefer
ence ? * - ,
In view, then, of a Sabbath such as above
described, let our meditation be of this char
acter. This is the Lord’s day, not mine. He
has set it apart, by solemn commandment,
tor Himself. He controls the operations of
the natural world, aud, though it be His own
Holy day. He has seen lit to make it one of
rain and storm. He has a purpose in it, the
\yhole of which 1 cannot comprehend. But
He has not remitted the obligation of its
sacred observance. Would Ibe wholly idle
qn a week day of this kind? Would 1 not
be found engaged in my usual occupation ?
Would such a day dampen my ardor in pur
suit of worldly good ? And shall Ibe less
concerned to honor Him who has laid me
under an obligation of perpetual and joyful
service ? Shall I not sanctify, in my heart,
a day which He has hallowed and made for
ever memorable by His resurrection from the
dead? Whatever I can do to day to advance
His glory, I must and will do.
2. It is useful for usto realize that, though we
be denied the privilege of worshipping in the
great congregation, God does not confine His
visitations to temples made with hands, but
that He will be “a little sanctuary”, to those
Is3 00 1 YEAR.}
who seek His face, irrespective of their sur
roundings. Thus He invites us to commun
ion with Himself; teaches us the spirituality
of His worship ; enables us, by the presence
of His searching Spirit, to make discoveries
of our own need and of the rich grace of the
gospel; opens to us new sources of joy and
strength, and feasts our souls with the good
things which Christ reveals in the fulness of
His indwelling love. “ Isaac went out into
the field to meditate at even-tide.” Jesus
spent whole nights in communion with His
Father. Christianity finds its highest devel
opment in a due proportion of the contem
plative and practical elements in our charac
ters. Let us be careful, in this day of busy
outward activity, to maintain a feeling con
tact with the sources of true spiritual
strength. If God, at any time, by His provi
dential interposition, renders the former im
practicable, and yet lays a service of some
kind upon our hearts, it should be construed
into a call to self searching and prayer.
S. P. c.
West Point, Ga., Feb. 26th,
Rev. Joseph R. Hand.
The sudden death of this excellent Chris
tian and useful minister of Christ, in Ala.,
which I see announced, seems to demand a
few words from the writer, Ris said, “he
died at midnight, of heart disease." It is
not intended to forestall a more extended
notice of him, which will doubtless be forth
coming in due *.ime from Ala., a9 most of
his ministerial life was spent in that State.
Let these lines be regarded as only prefato
ry to such notice.
My acquaintance with brother Hand com
menced forty-two years ago, in
Ga. As theological students of Pr. A.
Sherwood, we were intimately associated for
several months. His educational advantages
had been exceedingly limited. Yet he had a
great thirst for knowledge, was a hard stu
dent, and, best of all, was a praying man.
He loved to preach, was an excellent ex
horter, and embraced every opportunity to
beseech men to be “reconciled to God.” It
was not an uncommon thing for him, to walk
from five to ten miles into the country of
Sabbath mornings, to preach Christ to the
people, by whom he was, even then, held in
very high esteem.
Upon leaving Eatonton he returned to
Washington county, where he was brought
up, and where he had been baptised qnd li
censed, and was engaged for a time in the
field of labor formerly occupied by his father.
Not long thereafter, he wqs united in mar
riage with a highly respectable widow My,
Mrs, Coats of Laurens courtly. From Lau
rens, he removed to T w iggs county, and lo
cated on a farm near Richland church. Here
we were thrown together Rgain, he end his
wife being members of Richland, and my
self pastor. It was my privilege frequently
to enjoy the hospitality of his hopse, which
he knew so well how to dispense. Nothing
delighted him more than to have his minis
tering brethren spend anight under his roof.
I reoall, with pleasure, several occasions,
when, in company with Conner, Mallary,
Tharpe, and others, now deceased, I enjoyed
this pleasure. He was then in the prime of
f'life; had a large frame, and a commanding
his voicsLwas musical, though not
ivery strong; his zpal was consuming; and,
taken altogether, hVwas-a preacher of no
"mean ability, acrqngetf ,$s owq *p
pointmepts, 30 qs to attelul tLe mosthljr/Con
ference at Richland, though hfa- UtD'N pther
wise, was occupied in the surrounding neigh
borhoods. If there were destitute people in
reach of him, he was sure to be the bearer of
“ glad tidings” to them. I remember one
instance, in which he commenced preaching
at a private house; his congregation soon
increased, so as to render it necessary to re
move to an arbor, erected for the purpose,
where the people docked together in multi
tudes; the Spirit of pod was po,ured opt a
church (Calvary) was constituted, into which
he baptized, during ope summer, fifty or six
ty converts. so the great revivals, which
prevailed in that section about the year 18Q8,
he was an active and efficient laborer,
His doctrinal views were thoroughly Calvin
iatio. He was trained in that sohool by his
father, Rev. Henry Hand, who was known
in his day as “ a sou of consolation.”
1 think it was about the year 1840 that he
removed to Ala., since which we have met
but seldom. J. H. Campbell.
“WatchnpaQ. What of the Kight ?’ .
The word riight sounds solemnly, mourn
fully. It presents to the mind darkness,
dampness, dreariness. H°*® a th its weipd
shadqw imagination conjures up a thousand
nameless forms, and peoples the earth with
a host of trooping spirits, some heavenly
messengers sent on errands of mercy to man,
while others come as his tempters and tor
menters. But it is not the night which crowds
upon the heels of the setting sun that is the
subject of enquiry. There is a darker and
diearier night than that which casts its gloomy
shadows over the landscape, when the sun
has h'fiden bis face,'behind tfie west
ern hills, {t is thp n >gH fc °f sip, of moral
blight, of hops deferred, of heart-sionness.
The Sun of Righteousness, which had been
shedding its raaiance upon scenes of human
folly and heartless perfidy,retires—fleesaway,
and leaves the children of this world to grope
in the darkness of scepticism, and to 1 ,>se
themselves ip the tangled wilderness of their
own corruptions. Such nights have cast
their shadows, dank and baleful, over the
moral world, in the ages past, and the future
may not be exempt from similar visitations.
Indeed, the present appears to be the twi
light of such a night, gloaming in the dis
tance, and freighted with numberless ills fur
the men of this generation.
Some of the professed followers of Jesus,
it is true, are rising to the higher, serener
and sublimer height qf faith and love: like
the eagle, they are soaring above the storm
cloud which is pouring destruction upon the
earth below ; but alas ! the great multitude
are sweeping op with the maddened crowd of
world-seekers, bent upon the enjoyment of
the present hour, regardless of the roaring
breakers towards which they are rushing with
headlong speed. Yes, “ the night cometh ”
—the night of temptation and sin—the night
of faithless perfidy, “when men shall be
lovers of themselves more than layers of
God ”—-when they shall fie ready, for a con
sideration, to forsake one another, to bate
and to betray one another —a night of trial,
when “ wicked men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse, deceiving and being de
ceived” —when the real followers of Jesus
who stand up for His truth, and who stand
upon it, shall be despised, persecuted and de
stroyed—a night in which the deep shadows
of superstition shall go back upon the sun
dial of time —when men “shall speak evil
of dignities ” —“ when they shall walk after
their own lusts, while their mouth speaketh
great swelling words of vanity, having men’s
persons in admiration because of advantage.”
These are the men that “ put sweet for
bitter and bitter for sweet-—who call evil
good, and good evil,” men who love and
serve “ the creature more than the Creator.”
They introduce confusion, patting truth for
falsehood and falsehood for truth until, “if
it were possible, they would deceive even
FRANKLIN FRii\.xx„vx HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1871.
the very eleot.” “ The night cometh when
reason shall reel upon her throne, as if struck
by a dread paralysis, and the scenes of Tophet
shall be reenacted upon a broader scale—
when the true disciples “ shall be hated by
all nations for His name’s sake ” —the king
of the bottomless pit shall be loosed for a
little season, that he may go out and fill the
world with a carnival of blood, and glut his
foul spirit with revenge upon the hapless sons
of men, and people his kingdom with lost
souls. Such is the night which cast its ominous
shadows upon the prophet’s eye, when the
inquiry came, “ What of the night, watch
man? what of the night?” But “the morn
ing cometh.”
Through the long, weary, sickly night, Je
sus has been sitting upon the throne of the
universe, and though Satan has filled the
earth with his pestilential influence, and
blasted many a moral flower by the siroeco
of his infernal breath, he shall be stopped in
mid-career, for the days shall be cut short for
the sake of the elect—the days of folly, sad
ness and sin. “Then that old serpent which
is caljed the Devil and Satan, which deceived
the nations, shall be cast again into the bot
tomless pit;” and the Church, the firide, tfie
Lamb’s wife, shall come up out of the wil
derness, leaning upon her 7>eloved. Sin and
sorrow shall cease, and there shall be nothing
to hurt or harm in all the holy mountain of
the Lord.
“The morning cometh”—the morning of
faith, of holiness and peace —the morning
replete with human joy —the morning of tri
umph for the Church, when her enemieq shqll
be trodden down, when they sfiqll be ashes
under the sole? of fier feet. “Tfie morning
cometh,” wfien the dead shall he raised, when
the living shall be quickened, the heavens and
the earth shall be made new, transgression
shall come to an end, and Jesus shall reign
“as long as the sun and the moon endure,”
even forever and over. Well, then, may the
church pray: “Thy kingdom come: Thy
will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Well may the saints stretch forth their be
lieving hands and cry, “ Even so : Come,
Lord Jesus.” .4/new/ Amen !
Confidence.
A Contrast
In a succession of events, persons are not
unfrequeatly thrown in yastly different cir
cumstances and relations, favoring, according
to their nature, growtfi o.r impoverishment of
certain virtues, traits of chapter or bodily
comforts. Not a great wfiife ago, a man of
religions, and, consequently, conscientious
scruples, was snatched from the soothing,
lulling quietude of a peaceful, happy home,
and set down a stranger in a remote metropo
li«. Tfie fate wfiiqh controlled fiis movements
was inexorable, so fie fiad to abide it as best he
could.
The most consummate loneliness ever felt,
is in a sea of moving, hurrying human beings.
This good Christian stranger realized it to be
true, especially after having been tossed and
crushed along by the multitude for hours,
Without recognizing a familiar face or voice.
But with none to comfort or console him, yet
surrounded by every advantage for spiritual
and intellectual progress, he, in a short time,
had more reason to valuothe r infirm*
feast so Ifk’ishar spread tha# t«P
regret the loss of friend? an’4 companionship.
‘Accordingly, fie used the opportu
nity a3 a rare privilege.
• Churches, Sunday' schools, libraries, lec
tures, readings, sight-seeing, were open as
free to him as the air of heaven; nay, the
very windows of Paradise were thrown wide
open to him, through which he had egress to
the Father and Son at all times. This last
blessing, it seemed, came from fiis fiaving no
social intercourse; qnd for tfie lqc.k of it, he
sought the communion of those wfio find been
too often forgotten in tfie wfiifl of merriment.
As to means, he was limited, sometimes fear
ing he would become a street wanderer, out of
sheer indigence. This, too, was new to him,
but beneficial beyond expression. The force
of his situation led to the development of the
moat staunch Christian character; for it open
ed his eyes to see what hitherto had kept
conoealcd, as well as brought into active exer
cise virtues hitherto almost dormant. By
and by his life became a daily, hourly thanks
giving. Clogs which had held him to earth
previously, he now felt were removed, and
that he floated rather thqn walked.
Rut these advantages were‘hot always to
continue, tfioUgh 1 he would fiavq cheerfully
submitted to. privation in tfie body for a pro
longed enjoyment of the goad tfiings for the
m|nd and spirit. Isis friends deemed it fine
fortune that restored him to tfie home he had
so abruptly abandoned, He could not agree
with them, though he acquiesced in their con
gratulations.
It is now several months since he withdrew
from those scenes which enriched his inner
being, and a lament unceasingly rises from
his heart, “ O that I were not so weak as to
depend upon foreign help! jam poor—per
ishing for the waqf of food. What is my
body ? it must be kept; but all things
should pot go to its comfort, My soul! my
soul! Father, help 1"
Home, friends and prosperity are unfriend
ly to the perfecting of firm reliance upon the
mercies of a crucified Satiour. The heart
must be subjected to the purifying process of
the crucible ere it can qaknowfedge, in child
like aimplfoity, the right of the Father to rule
in it. AU need not go abroad to effect this,
yet it must not he denied, however, whatever
the cirouinstances, that a faithful exposition of
the Word from the pulpit will remove hin
drances. G. S.
Memory.
Shall I ask what it is ? Is there one who
does not understand it? Lives there a being
who does not sometimes touch itq deep-hidden
springs—wjio does not asa'P live in memo*
ry*s happy hours —to whom there oomes
never a soft, gentle tapping, nor a wild,
mournful rapping at memory's pane? Yet,
what is memory 1 It is the faculty by which
ideas are retained in the mind—the foot-prints
time and times changes leave upon the mind
—the likeness of scenes real or ideal, photo
graphed on the mind for preservation through
the future Whatever has giveu us pain or
pleasure, is treasured up, remembered long,
and recurred to often, qs \ye pqsg down the
liiil of jife.
Qo to the old man who bends with age-#-
the man of hoary hair and wrinkled brow—*
whose eye is dimmed and whose step is tot
tering, whilst he strives to keep apace with
time. Ask him if memory does not often
carry him faraway to the scenes of his youth.
See him while he sits musing for hours, ab
sent in mind, as we say, and enquire after
his thoughts. He wilt tell you he is a child
again, in the shady grove, on the green lawn,
in the old school yard, with his much-loved
associates of the years of yore; tossing the
bounding ball, following the rolling toys,
studying again the lesson of youth, with the
classmates and friends of other
many, perchance all of whom have laid
themselves to rest beneath the green sward
in the city of the dead.
See that grand-mamma whose “ window* ”
are darkened; watch her as she sits quiet in
the “old arm-chair” hard by the hearth
stone, where “ they grew in beauty side by
ND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
side,” those, her living ofjjpring, now “ scat
tered far and wide, by mount, and Vale, and
sea.” She seems oblivious of all around her.
Step softly to her side. Startle her not, but
whisper quietly a gentle word,
Whither wanderjjßFthoughts ? lam look
ing back, baclfjmr buck through the years to
the “ long ago," when t was as gay and love
ly as the gayest andL loveliest among you all
—when life was bright and hope gilded the
future—to the time wHen the hours had
grown brighter—vAliier jewels had been
added to our crowns, arta 1 was called, here
to find the book and slate of an impatient
little brother, and there ;to curl the ringlets
of a lovely little sister :-v-when, again, I was
watching by the of a beloved pa
rent—cooling J th<w|BhSSt*d lips or arranging
the heated pillows'. Afes,.she whispers, I love
to live this dreara-Jifo again—to recount the
times I tenderly tried*.to soothe the last hours
of the dear ones, while the relentless hand
of death bore themnjjffit- me.
'‘The cold, the dead, tl e'ea now they silent
Like fluat.Qg cfia, ®'#r memory’s
J aoi, 1
And hope sad lore start fondly up to aieet them as of
But something whispers ohtcrXich, Be still, thsy are no
Who shall deny that, w Rile “ Hope links her
to the future, yet that binds her to
the past is memory ? *
But, then, these have Jived the life of the
righteous. They have calmly folded their
hands and papenßy await that time when
their Fatfier shall say, Cotne up higher, They
know they shall receive the joyful words,
“ Well done, good audMaithful servant," and
even in that far-off better home, when they
look down through . the shadowy vale of
death, memory, from her bright bower will
say, many bright hopes we have cherished.
But in that great day when we shall all be
gathered together before the judgment throne,
will there be no lone heart stirred by memo
ry’s breeze ? W ill no sad hearts bow at mem
ory’s throne? Will*no shattered hopes—
lost through an ill- ‘pent with
memory’s tears? Vfill no rejected sinner
turn aw?,y to be 3«uj<V prisoned in memory’s
remorseful cell? JLjAaWn grant there may
be none. But may ,-aye all strive so to live
that when we meet in that day, we may gather
many gems of virtue from memory’s spot
less page, to weave living circlets around our
crowns of immortality. Bunnie.
WLq is Right-.-*the Missionary or the Anti-
Missionary?—No. J,
Robert —Walk in, "brother Jonathan, take
a seat and rest; you Hsdfc wearied.
Jonathan —Yes, lam quite jaded. I have
just returned from ono of our general meet
ings, where I had much of the nreaohing to
do. A good meeting - waa. Christians re
joiced, while a deep feeling pervaded the en
tire congregation.
R.—Why did protract it ? Such a
state of feeling indicated the Divine presence,
and should have beer- followed up, at least
for a season.
J.—l know thi/WTutaßbeen in the hands of
you Missionaries, have protracted;
but we Primitives pursue a differ
ent course. sa muqji in
If—l know ffeTfljßn this and kindred
points, involving about which it
is uaeleas for us to dispmfc. as we are so fully
“set in our W4ys- ,r Mcßlieve, however, we
agree as to the leading doctrines of grace.
J.—Yes; so far as Icy}, determine, we stand
together upon these dwctTines; and I wish, we
could “see eye to eye” aq to those other
points which divide qs. Rut I vyill not de
spaip yet of yoqr getting*" light” enough to
foifig yoq oyer to ns. At any rate, I would
lifie to have a long talk with you upon these
questions of difference. I think 1 can con
vince you of your error.
R.—l wish to know the truth, brother Jona
than, and am willing to accept light from any
quarter. I believe rny views are scriptural;
but if they are not, I will thank you or any
one else to expose my errors. I will hear
you at any time and place which you may
appoint, provided it be not too public, i
dislike these public discussions.
J.—Sodol. They work upsectarian foelingSj
engender strife, frustrate their object, destroy
tfie sqoredness of the Subject, and bring the
cause into disrepute.
R.- Which points do you propose discussing,
and by vyhat standard 'Vili you try them ?
J.—| think all your special efforts for the
spread af the gaspei wrong, i pronounce your
benevolent societies, Sabb&th schools, Con
ventions and your high school and colleges
for the education of young ministers un
scriptural, and hence wrong. In all this you
propose doing God’s work, thus intimating
that He needs your help. I hold these things
such a departure from the principle? of the
Bible, that I advocated in out Association the
passage of the }§tfi article which non fellow
ships the entire Missionary fraternity. And
though some of my people are in favor of ex
punging that resolution, I still favor it, and
expeot to do so while life lasts.
R. —You speak plainly and confidently. I
think I understand you. In listening to the
“ reason for my hope,” you will nlease try
and divest yourself of sectarian
feelings qnd prejudices which too. aften ac
company and blind the best of men, You
are an old man, and influential po
sition in You are re
garded as its master spXit, and have much
to do in moulding the segments of your peo
ple. If you esnnot defoii your cause, it is
because it is indefensible.'
J.—l thank you for the expression of your
high estimate of my position and influence,
though I question its correctness. While I
think that yoqr people not he afraid to
trust thejr cause with you, lam too hoarse
and fatigued to talk more nopr, Let us, in
our next interview, discuss mipisterial educa
tion. I shall expeet you to sustain your
praotioe by the Bible and sound reason, or
surrender it. j.
R.—Which, if I do sustain, J shall expect
you to endorse, advoeate and practice.
| G. R. M.
Shall W*£e Coflfeat?
In tfie lijdkjj of February 23d, was con
cisely presented, “ the misefjTSfind crime re
sulting from the use of distilled and ferment
ed liquors,”
Betore offering any suggestions as to how
this deadly plague may be stalpd, it is well
to inquire into the present cqpftion of the
public mind in regard to this We
propose to deal only in facts.
1. A few months ago a business firm in
one of our large cities advertised for a young
man eighteen years of age, “ who does not
get intoxicated.” This fact speaks volumes.
And observation in that same city confirms
the inference from such aaj.'lMvertisetnent.
But few young me* abstain -wholly from
liquor. And as a natural many,
impelled by the rash impuW. of inexperi
ence, youth and the urgency oftevii compan
ions, drink to excess and becowijyntoxicated.
2. So common has it past,
for young men to use liquoWSttF now a
great many, and we might men of
middle age use it more or less, and a large
proportion of these, occasionally at least,
show its effects.
8. Public opinion does not discourage its
use. So that a man refrains from beastly
intoxication, he is not debarred from refined
society. Indeed, to become “ rather wblse
for liquor” at a “'supper,” or convivial par
ty, is attributed only to “ weakness.”
4. Not a few of these persons, young and
old, are members in good standing in the
churches. And it is to be feared that, except
in cases of gross and habitual drunkenness,
it would be extremely difficult to enforce
discipline.
5. While, perhaps, retail dealers in liquor
are generally regarded as disreputable, the
wholesale dealer, even though he be a deacon,
or church member, suffers not at all in public
estimation by reason of his agency in produ
cing the misery and crime resulting from the
use of the “liquid fire”—the “distilled
damnation.”
fl. Very few temperance organizations are
in existence; and the influence of the few
that do exist is extremely limited. The true
friends of temperance, however, need not be
discouraged. It is indeed the day of small
things, but the movements undertaken Con
tain the “seeds of things,” and great results,
with patience and faith, will eventually re
ward their efforts.
7. Very seldom do pastors make the sub
ject a theme of discourse. It is alluded to at
times, but no effective efforts are continuous
ly made to mould or form public opinion,
with a view of checking this tide, or turning
this ourrent of death.
8. The same is too true of most of our re
ligious and secular periodicals. The latter
particularly chronicle the ravages of the
plague, but seldom seriously warn a thought
less community against it.
All must admit this a sad condition of
things. And not only sad, but alarming.
Shall we be content with it? The plague
will not stay itself. And the more the sub
ject is considered and examined, the more
important and pressing is the inquiry, “ How
SHALL THIS PLAQUE BE STAYED?"
B. W. I.
Passing Thoughts on Practical Themes.
A Conversion.
It may appear singular to some, that a pro
fessing Christian, sustaining, in many re
spects, the reputation of an upright and con
sistent follower of his Divine Master, should
need to be converted. Yet it is sometimes the
case, as may be seen from the following in
cident :
At a camp meeting in Alabama, last fall,
Sabbath and Monday were days of peculiar
solemnity and power. The influences of the
Holy Spirit rested upon every mind and
heart, apparently, searching down into the
depths ot every soul. Among the persons
present was a man, —a husband and a father,
—who had long been a member of a Method
ist church, but had never taken up his cross
iu holding family worship every night arid
morning. During all the exeroisca held on
Monday, he was under deep and pungent oon
viction, and evidently suffered great mental
anguisfi. Tfie consciousness of sin in the
neglect of duty,-»a duty he had owed to
God, to fiis awn soul, and the souls of his
household,—pressed heavily on his he&rt. He
;iicrayed aarscsUy and w freely, refusing to
take any refresh mem but humbled himself
before the Lord by fa ng and self-abase
ment. About 9 o’clock that night, the Spirit
of God came down in converting power, and
some dozen fine looking young men were en
abled to rejoice in the pardon of their sins
within the space of ten minutes time. Shortly
qfterwnrd, the defaulting brother was com
sorted too. He called for his wife, to tell her
that the Lord had been graciously pleased to
pardon his sins and restore him to His favor.
“ And cow, Nannie,” said he, “ God has been
graciously pleased to convert me again, and
1 am going home, with His help and blessing,
to do my duty faithfully. lam going to hold
family worship every night and morning as
long as I live.” The womanly and motherly
heart of the pious wife,always ready for every
good word and work, was happy in the joy
ful assurance, and they togetfier in
the manifestation of P|ivine goodness to them
and tfieirs. The day, as we were going
ou wuy, we overtook the brother moving
(jack to hi? home. He acknowledged his re
missness in the past, and solemnly renewed
his vows, the Lord being his helper, to be
more faithful in the future, and as long as he
lived to keep up family worship in his house.
We thanked God and took courage, prating
that the Lord would grant us many such con
versions in all our churches. Amen, and
amen !
An Incident at A Buriai*.
“Except ye be converted, And become aelit
tle children, ye sha.ll not enter into the king
dom °f benven.” Mat. xviiii 5 8. These
words were very strongly impressed upon my
heart the other day. The remains of an affec
tionate husband and indulgent father had been
borne to the hill of graves adjacent to our
little village. We arrived at the place of
interment before the vault to contain the pac
ket had been completed. Aq we were wait
ing on the wpr^m e P>. A little girl of some
seven summers, the only deughter of the de
ceased, took her position at the foot of the
grave. Some half dozen other little girls of
about her own age gathered around her, some
of them enoircling her with their arms in a
sincere, loving embrace. The deep fountains
of their pure and gentle sympathies were
evidently stirred for the bereaved and, sor-»
row-stricken child. The mournful sadness
of her face was feelingly rejected in sorrow
ful looks upoq theirs, tier sighs caused their
bpqqtqs tQ heave with melanoholy emotion,
ller flowing tears made the big, unbidden
tear brim in their eyes and roll down their
cheeks. Her anguished groans, when the
body of her beloved father was lowered into
the grave and covered up in the dust of the
earth, found a hearty response in the sobs of
her little playmates.
To me, the scene was a most tender and
touching one, and my soul breathed out its
earnest on the pure, gentle, lov
ing heart of guileless and unsuspecting child
hood. And I prayed most earnestly that
God would give me His Holy Spirit to help
me weep with those that weep, as well as to
rejoice with those that rejoice.
Your Methodist Brother.
Honor to whom Honor is Hue.
Qur worthy brother, Rev. H. A. Williams,
pastor of the Second church, Augusta, Ga., has
performed an act that reflects more honor on
him than would any honorary degree which
it is in the power of any College or Univer
sity to confer. He has presented to members
of his church, our appeal for funds to aid in
circulating pure versions of the word of God
among the different nations of the earth, and,
to thei? credit he it told, though they are
comparatively poor, in debt for their church
house, and in want of funds to enable them
to build a parsonage, they responded prompt
ly and cheerfully to our appeal. Give place,
ye doctors of divinity, doctors of learned
laws, and popular pastors of opulent, fashion
able, aristocratic city churches, to our brother
Williams! He is entitled to a higher seat
than you. He has responded, without a spe
cial personal application, to the call made
from God for funds to spread His truth
abroad. He has heard the cries for help
which are wafted to us by every breeze from
Mexico, from Spain and other Spanish-speak
ing ifttions, and has hastened and delayed not
to aid in affording the needed relief. You, I
hope, purpose doing the same ; but you have
deferred, and thus allowed him to get before
you. Give place, 1 therefore say again—give
place to him. He is entitled to the first
place, the first honor ; for he is before you—
the first to respond, in this instance, to the
call of duty.
The example of the Second church in Augusta
is surely w-orthy of general imitation. What
church will be first to follow it? Are there
not many churches that will show, at the
same time, their love for Christ, their love
for souls, and their love of their pastor, by
contributing enough to make their pastors
life members (S3O) or life directors ($150)
of the American Bible Union? Think of
this, brethren, and confer with each lither
about it, and pray with each other over it.
One word more. Allow me to say to you,
brethren, the church whose example I have
commended to you is poor, and in debt, and
yet in its infancy. It needs an interest in our
prayers, and it needs pecuniary aid. Let us
not withhold these. Let us seek, by con
tributing to it pecuniary aid, as ability may
be given, to glorify our Saviour, by assisting
to verify the declaration He has made, that
to him that giveth, it shall be given, “good
measure, pressed down,” etc. Give, and give
liberally, to aid the Second church in Augusta
to pay its debts, and to aid in diffusing
throughout the world the light of the glori
ous gospel of Christ, and, my word for it—
no, Gocl’s word for it,—you will experience,
in your own soul, that “ Jt is more blessed to
give than to reoeive.” Jos. S. Baker.
A Perverse Presbyterian Boy.
I was sixteen years old. God had forgiven
my sins. My parents were Presbyterians.
They told me I had been sprinkled in my in
fancy, and that it was baptism. I could not
remember the sprinkling, had no knowledge
of it, and did not believe in it.
I now began to study the Bible, and con
tinued it diligently for two years. I wanted
to please my parents, by joining the Presby
terian church, but I could not. I studied my
Bible and cried and prayed very much. My
parents’ minister undertook to teach me. He
preached seven sermons on the relation of
circumcision and sprinkling, to enlighten my
self and others on the subject of baptism !
But after all, the New Testament seemed ex
pressly to say, “ You must go down into the
water: You must be buried in baptism, just
as Jesus was."
At the end of the two years of Bible
searching, 1 was twelve miles from home
learning my trade. I fiad left word with a
young companion to let me know when the
next baptism was to take place at the Baptist
church. He did so. He walked twelve miles
to inform me. I immediately tied up my
clothes in my handkerchief and carried them
on foot twelve miles to be baptized. I told
my experience. The church recived me, and
l was baptized the same afternoon. It was
winter. The ice was sogthick it had to be cut
away. And it was so cold that when we
reached the stream we found it frozen over
again, and it fiad to be broken through with
sticks. After baptism 1 went home to my
parents. They discovered by my wet clothes
which 1 hud in my handkerchief, what had
taken place. They then said 1 had been in
fluenced by the Baptists. I told them it was
so, and that by two different ones, and that I
would be frank and tell their names.
One of them was a man sent from God
whose name was John, an intimate friend of
Jesus. The other was Jesus himself, whom
this first Baptist minister, John, baptized in
the river Jordan. 1 walked twelve miles to
be baptized ; Jesus, as near as I have been
able to learn, walked fifty miles to fie bap
tized, viz : from Nazareth of Galifie to Beth
abara on the Jordan,—jlfoc. and Rec.
The Love of Christ.
There is no other solution to the marvel
lous mysteries of His incarnation and sacrifi
cial death but this—Christ hath loved us.
Love originated all, explains all, illus
trates all—love is the interpreter of every
Divine mystery. There is not a circum
stance of our Lord’s history which is not
another form of manifestation of love. His
incarnation is love stooping; His sym
pathy is love weeping; His compassion
is love succoring ; His grace is love acting;
His teaching is the voice of love; His silence
is the repose of love; His patience is the re
straint of love; His obedience is the labor of
love; His suffering is the travail of love;
His cross is the altar of love ; Ilis death is
the burnt-offering of love; His resurrection
is the triumph of Jove; His ascension into
heaven, and His silting down at the right
hand of God is the enthronement and the in
tercession of love,— Window.
— —* —■—-»<*■
Items.
Questions to Pastors. —How long is it
since you presented the cause of foreign mis
sions to your people 7 How long since a col
lection was taken in your church to give
the bread of life to the perishing heath
en 7 On what Sabbath do you propose to
preach on missions and give the people an
opportunity to contribute?
Progress. —ln Brooklyn, N. Y., during
the last five years, Baptists have advanced
from the fourth to the second rank among its
evangelical churches.
Walking. —Dr. Holmes says that “walk
ing is a perpetual falling, with a perpetual
self recovery. It is a most complex, violent,
and perilous operation, which we divest of its
extreme danger only hy continual practice
from a very early period of life.” We need
the care of Providence, then, even when we
attempt to do so small a matter as to walk.
Fashion. —A writer in the Christian Fam
ily Companion , German Baptist, (“ Dunk
ard,”) mentions a number of young sisters
who were told that they “ must either get
out of the church or out of the hoops” they
were wearing. Adhering to the hoops, which
were “small,” they were cut off. This
sounds almost as incredible as that the Puri
tans of Boston (to quote an exchange) should
have “forbidden veils and wigs,restricted the
size of sleeve patterns, and required mar
riageable young ladies and widows not to
look at the full moon because there was a
man in it!”
Christ Making Figures.— An aged min
ister uoted for his liberality said recently,
when a contribution was about to be made,
“ When I am about to subscribe anything ft>r
Christ, I always feel as though I would like
to have Him make the figures for me.”
Self Denial. —A Boston paper records
that “a good old lady in New Jersey, ‘past
three-score years and ten,’ loves the cause of
foreign missions so much that she has given
up her snuff, and sent ten dollars, which she
calls ‘snuff money,’ to the American Board.”
English Baptists. —ln twenty years, the
Baptists have built 142 new chapels, and re
built and enlarged ninety nine more, furnish
ing an additional accommodation for 81,600,
at a cost of £168,000. The Established
church has to show, against this total of 241,
only 182.
•
!$3 00 1 YEAR.!
Absolute Despotism. The (Roinish)
Tablet says, with regard to tho Pope’s tem
poral sovereignty; “There is no difference
of opinion among Catholics on this subject,
for we do not allow any difference on such ques
tions. The decrees of the church forbid it.
Whoever maintains contrary opinions cannot
be a Catholic. This may be arbitrary, and
is so. Truth is arbitrary, and this is truth.
No Catholio can maintain an opinion opposed
to the temporal power of the Pope."
Spiritualism. —A Spiritualist writes to a
favorite organ of his school that the work
Spiritualists have before them is—“To en
thuse all humanity with anew religious de
votion to ‘all truth, lead where it may and,
if the truth be not known, to its discovery ;
and if the way to discover it be also unknown,
then to the discovery of the way. To the
discovery of the discovery of the discovery
they devote themselves; and thus will the
hierophantic souls sail down the picturesque
vistas of protoplasm to the shore of the an
agogies.” This is what men offer us in ex
change for the verities of Holy Writ; for
that “ old Gospel,” which a late Conference
of Free Religionists at Springfield, Mass.,
pronounced “a cumulative aggregation of
antecedent hyper religiosities,” but whi“h
approves itself as “the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth.”
Parental Authority. —Miss Mulock says
to parents that the time must come in every
family when it is the children’s right to begin
to think and act for themselves, and the
parents’duty to allow them to do it; when
it is the wisest gradually to slacken authority,
to sink “I command” into “I wish,” and
to grant large freedom of opinion and the
expression of it. And yet wo heard a
man of ability, not long since, gravely
assert that the Scriptures expressly place
children under the absolute, repressive au
thority of parents until they are twenty-one
years of age! Doubtless, his copy of the
Bible had one more passage in it than Miss
Mulock’s—or ours.
A Successful Experiment. —The United
Presbyterian church at Baltimore, Md., (Rev.
Wm. Bruce pastor,) has just closed the first
year of an experiment to abolish all pew
rents, and depend entirely upon the weekly
contributions on the Sabbath for the means
of meeting the current expenses of the
church. AH the expenses have been prompt
ly met, and a surplus of about two hundred
dollars is in the treasury'.
Worldly Respbctadility. —The Content-*
porary Review , an English Episcopal period
ical, allows a clergyman, Rev. J. Baldwin
Brown, to say, of the Church of England :
“ It is already the most respectable church in
the universe. Some think it is dying of re
spectability—a respectability of which the
State connection is tho source and guarantee.
The one objection to it is, that it is gained at
the expense of all that is most Christian in
Christianity.
Feeling—Principle. —A good minister
inquired of an intelligent lady kneeling for
prayer, “Do you feel your need of reli
gion to which she answered in the nega
tive. “Why, then” he asked, “are you
here?” “ Because,she replied, “ I know that
I need it.” That was sensible. She found
it, and rejoiced in God.
Greenland. —A Moravian missionary, af
ter forty years’ work in Greenland, now
returning to England, reports: “In all Green
land there is but one station in the neighbor
hood of which there are heathen. With this
exception, all the Greenlanders now profess
Christianity.” What shall we do with our
favorite hymn—viz.,
“From Greenland's icy mountains?”
Presbyterian Close Communion.— A min
ister of the United Presbyterian Church, at
Steubenville, Ohio, has been refused a cer
tificate of ministerial standing, because, by
vote of his session, he allowed a minister of
the Old School Church to assist and partake
at his communion table.
The Sexes. —Mrs. Hale, in her “ Biogra
phy of Distinguished Women,” says that
man represents “ the material or earthly in
human nature,” and woman represents “ the
spiritual or heavenly ;” that man’s nature is
“ lower,” and woman’s “ higher ;” and that
man’s fall in Eden was much more disastrous
than woman’s.
The Theatre. —The infidel Rousseau says,
“ Where would bo the prudent mother who
would dare to carry her daughter to this dan
gerous school ? and what respectable woman
would not think herself dishonored by going
there?” Hannah Moore, in her successful
career as a play-writer, renounced the theatre
as being a sohool of vice. Garrick was care
ful not to have those of his own profession at
his table. A French society not long ago
offered a prize for the best essay in answer
to the question, “ Why are most modern
dramas founded on the dishonor of woman,
and what effect do they have on the feminine
public?”
Seminaries. —The total number of theo
logical seminaries of all denominations in the
United States is said to be i>2. Os these, 14
are Roman Catholic, with each from 3 to 15
Professors; and they report nearly 1,200
students, who are preparing for the priest
hood and other offices in the Church.
A Deaconess.— The Bishop of London
has admitted Miss C. Hart to the otfico of
“deaconess” in the Church of England, and
has appointed her to visit in the district par*
ish of St. Gabriel, Pimlico. The ceremony
took place at Fulham Palace.
Speech and Work. —Rnskin somewhere
says: “The moment a man can really do his
work, he becomes speechless about it. All
words become idle to him.” There must bo
a faulty generalization here : for who preaches
better than Dr. John A. Broadus, and who
has better spoken of it than he, in his “ Pre
paration and Delivery of Sermons ?”
The Sabbath. —“A religious society in
Aberdeeu, Scotland, recently discussed the
question, whether reading the almanac on
Sunday is consistent with Christian duty ?”
Many persons who read this statement with
a sense of diversion, would be the better if
they might exchange something of their dis
regard toward the sanctity of the Lord’s day,
for the scrupulousness which strikes them as
excessive and ridiculous.
Church Laxity. —A supper was given,
Feb. Ist, for the benefit of St. David’s (Epis
copal) church, Austin, Texas, by ladies of
that city. Notice appeared in the papers
that there would be a “ hop,” or dance, in
connection with it—which came off accord
ingly ; the rector, Rev. B. A. Rodgers, act
ing as one of the ushers of the audience du
ring their arrival.
Infidel Blasphemy.— ln the (Unitarian)
Examiner, for February, Jesus Christ and
John Brown are placed in comparison, and
the writer says that “they were equally
common men,” but “ in John Brown on his
scaffold, eternal God has lifted the standard
of human advancement higher than it was
lifted in the Christ of Calvary.” It further
places the mount of John Brown’s martyr
dom “above Calvary,” says Jesus “looked
for intervention by miracle which did not
come,” and claims that “ he failed conspicu
ously ” in courage at the last, “ and as con
spicuously John Brown did not fail.”
WHOLE NO. 2530.