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CHRISTIAN xiMJCA AND SOUTH-WESTEf
• . n. 0 4 .JtismA-K* . ,1 fTn,
VOL 50— NO. 26.
A Religious and Family Paper,
pubushrd weekly nr Atlanta, ga-. at
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J J. TOON Proprietor
The Edaoation of Colored* Preachers.
Bt E. T. Winki sr, D.D., or Charleston, S. C.
A Sermon Preached at the Anniversaries in Chicago,
Miy 21, 1871, at the request of the Board of the
American Baptist Hume Mission Society.
Eph. iv. 11.— He gave some pastors and teachers.
The office of the preacher needs no com*
mendation in this place, or indeed anywhere.
Originating at first in the inspired circled
wrnch Jesus Christ was the centre, it repro
duces the spirit of that first Christian house
hold, and is gloiious, not only as a creation
of divine wisdom, but as an institution of
broad and generous philanthropy.
Nothing like it had previously existed.
Unknown heretofore to the policv of states
men and the wisdom of sages, was an insti
tution which recognized all men as God’s off
spring, and ministered to them as a vast
brotherhood.; which assumed every race, age
«no ronilftioiK of that grand relationship;
which summoned a world of sinners to duties
and to h pes becoming an immortal destiny ;
and which, attended by the transforming
power of a divine Spirit, communicated vir
tue to vice, comfort to affliction, liberty to
bondage, and hope to despair.
It was the glory of the heathen priest to
rule. He played with dexterous hand upon
the ignorance, the weakness, and the fearful
ness of his votaries. He established a dread
ful tyranny of mind. He suborned conscience,
and made human vices subservient to his
power. In the idol shrine the tribute of a
despoiled humanity embellished the ritual,
enriched the priest, and glorified the pontiff.
But his rival, the Christian minister, appeared
beside the altar of the new faith, to sacrifice
and to serve.
We know ery well that the office of which
ve speak has not always corresponded to its
design. Tne reality has been lower than the
Scriptural ideal of its- nature and influence.
It has been abused time and again. It has
been perverted by human infirmities, errors,
passions. Yet for all that, it has not lost the
traces of its original glory, or the attendance
of magnificent results. There is even a re
cuperativeenergy in it,enabling it to arisefrom
the contempt and degradation into which it
•may have fallen, and to counteract the fanat
icism, which itself may have engendered.
So the spring floods that desolate the fields
leave behind a rich deposit for summer har
vests.
To this agency, upon which the "Apostles
principally relied in their missions among the
Gentiles, we must resort, as the first of all,
in our efforts towards evangelizing the col
ored people of the United States. The school
is ol ssery great importance; but according
to the ordinary methods of Providence, the
school is the product of the church, as the
church is the outgrowth of the ministry. As,
alter chaos, light was Gcd’s first instrument,
so a'ter the revolutions of history the gospel
begins the work of reorganization. The hour
of darkness Strikes, and the cross rises. Rome
falls, and Leo confronts Attila.
is vditn us. A great convulsion lias
■Lee. A war measure has become a
The most daring
Mwalex peri meats is now an accom-
PPBed fact. Tne lowest stratum of Amer
ican society—a race ignorant and sensual—
has been elevated, as by one volcanic up
heaval, to the dizzy height of citizenship in
the Republic. In this new sphere of privi
lege and responsibility, as once the German
colonists followed their pastor into the virgin
wilderness, the colored people enter upon
their heritage following the preachers of their
race. To cement this alliance, they have
w ithdrawn from the membership of Southern
churches; to maintain it, they have declined
the pastoral service of Northern missionaries;
to enjoy it, they have often turned night into
day. They have journeyed over weary
miles of land, and voyaged over dangerous
miles of water; they have crowded into
fetid shanties; they have huddled together in
worship beneath wintry and stormy skies;
they have voluntarily and cheerfully submit
ted to a crushing weight of taxation for the
purchase of lands, and the construction of
houses of worship. They cherish the col
ored pastorate as the most sacred of all their
liberties, This fact can neither be ignored
nor evaded. It must be recognized, as .of
primary importance, in every missionary
undertaking itrtfe'fi- behalf. The colored
ministry must be perfected, because it must
be employed as the only agency through
which the African race of this country will
consent to be evangelized. The elevation of
the pulpit will henceforth gauge the elevation
of the race—as the higher degrees of the
Nilometer mark the depth and breadth and
richness of the cultivated soil of Egypt.
Such is the theme of the present occasion
—a subject upon which I have beep inyited
by your efficient Secretary to speak, and to
which l address myself the more freely as
one conferring with brethren whose spiritual
relationship no sectional lines can divide, and
pleading in behalf of a race and order with
whom my friendly relations have remained
without disturbance amid sll the changes of
these recent years.
Let us then call your attention to the need
of educating colored preaches, in vie\y of the
immense work providentially assigned therq,
and to the reasons encouraging the expecta
tion of good from the agency.
1 We need to contribute to the efficiency of
thin class of gospel laborers, on account of the
immense work they have to do in behalf of our
country and the cause of Christ.
The education of the colored ministry has
claims upon us as patriots, that the
black man has become a citizen, we begin to
the greatness of the work which
hss to be accomplished to make h im worthy
of so distinguished a privilege, Heretofore
he has been a theme for politicians and sen
timentalists, not only of either section of the
States, but of either shore of the Atlantic.
In the thrilling story of Victor Hugo, he is
an improvisatore and a chevalier. Upon the
glowing page of Mrs. Stowe, he is an apostle
and a martyr. The literature of the age has
accorded to him the many sided humanity
which has been carved out of the Anglo Sax
on Cromlech by the sharp collisions of a
thousand years—by the jury and Magna
Charta, and the English Bible, and Shake
speare, and Banyan. The disposition of men,
both North and South, has been to idealize
the race. The one class wondered that he
was no worse, because he was a slave; the
other that he was no belter, because he was
under the authority of Christians. Or, the
one would not permit him to bring any slave
ry, vice or ignorance from Africa; the other
would not allow him to retain any traces of
barbarism in America. Both qualified the
race distinction which runs in the blood and
shapes the bone. We have, all of us,
been idealizing the negro for the last fit"
ty years; we have persistently regarded
him as a Caucasian, whose skin has beeu
“ burned by a fiercer sun.” The negroes
brought over by the bark “ Wanderer” were
to the Southern people anew revelation.
\m A mi' FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE,’ ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, JUNE i
One of them, purchased by a friend of mine,
from motives of pure philanthropy, and
treated by him as a pet, was one of the
“ worst subjects” I have ever known. He
regarded the women of the household with
absolute contempt; the lives of the children
he threatened ; loyalty to his master was the
only virtue he bad. The sprightliest maiden
brought over in that vessel was feted, ca
ressed and adorned by the ladies of Charles
ton, but proved so utterly wanting in mod
esty, that they were glad enough to have her
go back. Nothing more naive thanber meth
od of retiring to the boat through the surf, is
conceivable.
The mistake into which we have fallen up
on this subject might go unquestioned, but
for the fact that it might prevent our appre
ciating the exigencies of the case, or sympa
thizing with those who labor in a field of
peculiar difficulty. As in Fiance there are
nations in the Empire—the old historic di
visions remaining unchanged for two thousand
years —so in the American Republic, there is
a nation within a nation ; those who labor for
the colored people, in the pulpit* or at the
desk, encounter a national mind, and under
take to educate it. In so speaking, we do
not question the kindredship of -.this race with
ours, or its share in the glorious privileges of
our common humanity. Still less do we
question the reality of many conversions re
ported as having occurred among them, or
doubt the prophetic intimations of the future
which promise redemption to the benighted
continent from which they came. If not in
our time, yet, some day, the light of salva
tion will shoot over the hills of Africa, and
thrill Memnon’s dark and silent statue with
sweeter music than of old. But, for all that,
the negro has his peculiar character, and we
must take him as he is, if we would seek to
influence his mind and heart by the gospel.
It is important, we repeat, that all of us
should recognize the facts of the case. The
Arcadian negro of Africa, dwelling in his
pretty bamboo cottage embowered by palms
and cocoas, and dignified with patriarchal
virtues, is a my th. The 'Christian negro of
America, who has thoroughly assimilated our
ideas and modes of life, is a rare exception.
Externally the most flexible to circumstan
ces; a creature of impulse, moved by hasty
and fugitive passions, a lover of show and
finery; with a quick ear that catches the
music floating on the wind, and a light heart
which drawns inspiration even from the Au
gust sun ; he belongs to a race whose chorac
ter i9 wonderfully inflexible and persistent.
The customs, the modes of worship, the reli
gious ideas, the moral code of the aboriginal
African, still survive in the clans of his kin
dred on this side of the Atlantic. The very
corn-shucking tunes that are sung in Georgia,
will tonight be repeated in Abbeokuta. The
midnight wakes constantly celebrated in
Charleston, and the dances around the mid
night fires on the neighboring islands, are as
constantly renewed by the Kroomen of the
western coast. At heart, the African is as
conservative as the Asiatic; in temperament,
as restless as the European. Unite in idea a
languid muscle and a mercurial sensibility to
an intense self consciousness, and you have
the key to many an enigma in his present and
past condition —matters into which it is not
my purpose to enter —and you may form an
idea of the difficulties attendant. upon his
evangelization.
Such as he is, this man is now a citizen of
the Republic, and will take his part in the
shaping of its destinies, llis moral eleva
tion is important (to speak of no higher con
siderations now) for the security, the power,
the prosperity, the wealth of our common
country. I have always regarded the prohi
tion of letters to the African as a grave and
fatal mistake. This opinion was asserted
twenty- years ago in the Southern Baptist
Biennial Convention at Savannah, and has
doubtless left some traces upon the minutes
of that body. The project then entertained
was to memorialize all the Southern Legisla
tures upon the subject, and ultimately to in
troduce a copy of the New' Testament into
every cottage in the land. Although this
measure was defeated by powerlul influence'
at the subsequent Convention, and its failure
was a keen disappointment, I have not the
less admired the patient and self-sacrificing
efforts made by so many associations of
Christian planters and ministers to relieve the
want of books* by missions and methods of
oral instruction. But certainly the catechism
has fulfilled its part. Every thoughtful per
son will now admit that the colored man must
have a higher education. And especially
must the colored preacher be educated, by
whom the whole raee is known and swayed.
The teacher to whom they willingly submit,
must himself be taught, or his pupils will be
surrendered to vice and crime, and the dusky
populations, upon whose enlightenment the
welfare of many of our States depends, will
drag those States down to their own present
level, and eventually consign this great coun
try, the land of wondrous Providence and of
heroic adventure, the gathering place of na
tions, to the doom of Mexico and Brazil.
We cannot rely on constitutions or laws,
however wise, unless there be a cultivated
conscience to keep them. It was Christianity
that raised our ancestors from the depths of
barbarism ; and without its salutary and ele
vating influence, the whole splendid fabric of
modern society woulfl settle back into the
ancient night. The best instilment of re
form, the noblest code of statesmanship, the
mightiest bglwark of liberty, nay, the first
condition of national life, is fognd in that law
tlsat comes from heaven, and like its Author,
is spiritual, supreme, and eternal.
But upon us as Christians, the education of
colored ministers has a higher claim, ihe col
ored people need the gospel, and they prefer
to receive it frorq one of their own color and
caste. This desire has been shown by an al
most universal withdrawal from the white
churches they had, seats assigned them,
and often special services, and leaders and ex
horters of their own color provided ; and also
by the formation of societies and the erection
of pulpits, into which, save by
white person intrudes. Nor is it naturalfna*
they should prefer the instruction of teachers
with whom they mingle upon terms of such
familiar and frequent association as cannot be
maintained among persons of alien races.
Thus it is upon the colored preacher that we
must rely to encounter the various supersti
tions, and correct the false ideas of conversion
prevalent among them—to teach them that
professions and ordinances do not guarantee
salvation ; that striking dreams and visions
are not signs from heaven; that ghosts, and
witches, and charms have no power to help
nor to harm; that church members bearing
the burden of each other’s sins are not thus
fulfilling the law of Christ; that the low mor
als heretofore sustained only by the law of
the planfation or the law of the State, or hid
den through an apprehension of common dan
ger, or of the social ostracism of the inform
ant, must now be denounced and punished
from a sense of duty to each other and to the
law of God. Now that the old personal au
thority has perished, the la v of the Christian
society must take its place; and, as we have
said, the colored preacher is at the head of
that society.
Many of these preachers' are ignorant of
the magnitude of the work they have under-
taken. The colored churches are beset with
applications from candidates who are anxious
to have an opportunity to speak in public, and
who are ambitious of the dignity of office, and
this aspiration exists among all who have any
gifts for public speaking. But others do feel
the responsibility, and are endeavoring, and
that with great self sacrifice, to discharge its
duties. lu the intervals of daily toil—for
most of them work during the week for a
living—they study, and devote themselves to
pastoral ministrations. In a troubled state
of society they are striving, as tar as they un
derstand the matter, to maintain the order and
discipline of the gospel among their people.
They seek the eoutise! of their white brethren
in difficult cases. Their hearts are concerned
to know what they must do to save their race
from the dominion of error, sensuality and
crime ; to adorn them with wisdom and vir
tue, and to prepare them for eternity. That
these men should have fallen into mistakes at
times, that they should have yielded some
what to the sway of circumstances, was to be
expected. We only wonder that they should
have done so well. They are, let us hope, the
pioneers of anew generation of preachers who
will be prepared, under happier auspices, to
carry on the evangelical work.
2. Our encouragement to expect good from
this agency.
Let me not be understood as depreciating
the value of the efforts previously put forth
at the South for ameliorating the condition
of the colored people. It is due to justice that
an allusion should be made, although even in
this brief way, to evangelic enterprises set
on foot almost from the time of the appear
ance of the black man on this side of the At
lantic. In 1073, the saintly Mr. Baxter de
voted a chapter to this subject, in his Chris
tian Directory. In I7<?1, the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel began to appoint
missionaries for this work. Denomination
after denomination successively undertook it
in America—Episcopalians, Moravians,Meth
odists, Baptists. At the beginning, and du
ring the first quarter of the present century,
the subject awakened profound and general
interest among the planters. Schools were
established, chapels built, missionaries pro
vided, special services permitted and even
required. Os course .the law subsequently
passed, in a time of sectional agitation, limit
ing the religious education of the blacks to
such lessons as could be imparted through
oral instruction merely, interfered seriously
with the work. Yet still, through the cate
chisms, something was done and t! I >ugh the
missionaries. A friend told me of a scene he
himself saw : a master seated among his ser
vants, catechism in hand, he teaching, and
weeping while he taught them of Jesus, and
they weeping while they responded. I might
mention such cases of Southern religious life
as these, which came within my own range
of observation. A master gathered his nu
merous servants at worship every morning
at the blow of the horn, and continued this
patriarchal custom for half a eenturv. A
minister now holding a distinguished position
at Baltimore gave his entire salary for the
maintenance of a missionary to preach to the
colored people in the vicinity of his own
charge. Another, a man of collegiate^educa
tion and gifts of pathetic eloquence, now a
resident of Augusta, resigned his white charge
and devoted twelve of the best years of his
life to the humble office of a missionary to
the blacks. The members of a church took
by turns the office of preaching every Sunday
for the populations of the neighboring island
plantations, thus maintaining a preaching sta
tion for years. All these were my personal
acquaintances. And I am also well acquainted
witn some of the missionaries who have itin
erated along the Santee and the Ashley
rivers, who were wont to penetrate to the
negro settlements where the planters dared
not linger through the malarious summer, and
who are now wasted with almost chronic sick
ness and gray with premature old age. In
the great day of accounts we shall see multi
tudes of these martyrs, now little known, who
held not their lives dear unto themselves be
cause of their great love of Christ and of the
black man’s soul.
The old association has perished now. Let
it go! The new agency for which we speak,
if it be rightly trained, can accomplish more.
For the present, teachers of the colored peo
pie are upon the same platform as their
hearers, and can therefore speak to them of
Qod and Christ in language corresponding to
their intelligence. They can plead for reforms
and insist on duties, and lead to godly, right
eous lives, with an authority which nune
among them will dread or question. They
can proclaim the obligations of Christian
brotherhood without offending the pride of
race, and the duties of the employed without
the suspicion of bias toward the interest of
ihe employer. Under the old regime there
were delicate subjects which the white mis
sionary could not freely handle. There are
no such difficfllties in the way of the colored
preacher.
Again, and more particularly, the colored
preacher hasadvantages as a leader in worship
and discipline. The African mind requires a
peculiar method of teaching—something im
aginative and proverbial, having a certain
rough resemblance to the method of old
Thomas Fuller. Its emotions are stirred not
more by impassioned tones and appeals, than
by striking fancies, plain snd familiar illus
trations, and homely )and eyen harmonious
thrssts. And the African is possessed by
that tribal spirit which in Frauce would be
called His religious leader must
be in some sort a chieftain. To both .these
requirementsof authority the colored preacher
responds; he speaks and thinks after the style
of his people. Learned or unlearned, he has
the password and the sign of African fellow
ship. And he easily wears and uses authority ;
he will make an excellent disciplinarian when
he has fairly . comprehended the principles
on which he must proceed, and is confined
withiti tfle legitimate limits of an ofljee which
embraces neither prelates nor politicians.
But now, in either instance, the colored
preacher requires the aids and restraints of
education. Asa teacher, the method he em
ploys is precisely that which tends to crystai
i?e into favorite phrases and figures. Educa
tion is needed to enlarge the scope of vision,
to multiply the resources, and to impart a
perpetual feshness to instructions which
would otherwise become trite. Like the
varied yet uniform displays of the seasons—
the budding spring, the flowery summer, the
fruitful autumn, the frosty but kindly winter,
tracing forever the same round, yet awaken
ing a sense of novelty at every return—is the
presentation of things, old and new, by the
cultivated preacher of the gospel. In like
manner there is need of training to fit the col
ored preacher to rule. Piety is presumed,
but it must be enlightened. He needs some
acquaintance with Christian casuistry to direct
the church in those meetings where he holds
the place of honor and service, and may con
tribute most of all to the harmony and effi
ciency of the brotherhood. He needs to have
a sense of the greatness of his responsibility
in guiding discipline, so that candidates may
be duly admonished of the qualifications of
membership, so that backsliders may be re
claimed, and so that the ordinances may not
be performed by the unbelieving and the im
moral. And he needs to know, as we havd
already suggested, the his power*
that he may not aspire to be, what so many
examples among his race, so many encour
agements of circumstance, so many of his own
instincts encouiage him to become —a lord
over God’s heritage.
Finally, the colored preacher has another
important qualification : he c;.n perform the
strictly pastoral work for his own race, better
than any one else, for they esteem him as a
friend and a counsellor. Pastoral work has
of necessity beeu little attended to under the
old regime. Yet it is most important. Min
isterial visits, not merely of a social sort, but
also for instruction and exhortation, are not
less advantageous now than they were of old,
when resorted to by Paul at Ephesus, and by
Peter and John at Jerusalem, for the pmpa
gation of the gospel, or by the eiders to whom
James wrote, tor the relief of-lire afflicted.
To the minister these interviews are often
times most edifying; he seet Christianity
tested, in the sordid hovel and darkened
chamber, by ordeals such as it-H noj; called
to encounter in the outer world : the poor, the
sick, the dying become his instructors, exem
plifying as they not unirequeujjXdo the no
olest virtues of Criristianity. rffld the young
are brought immediately aroun 'him, afford
ing him the opportunity, in friajtiy ways, to
urge upon them the necessity <|T embracing
Christ and uniting with His people. We are
told that, in Germany, the roads are lined
with fruit trees, from the custom prevailing
among the people, of planting along the way
side the seeds of the fruits they »at while on
their journeys. And the pastorV walks may
be like those German roads. Where here and
there he plants the precious, immortal seed,
the blessing of Heaven will descend, and the
fruits of righteousness will appear to beautify
the world and glorify its Maker. To me it
is one of the most interesting circumstances
pertaining to the new order of things, that a
general colored pastorate is coming into ex
istence. And we may expect tire more from
it, because no barrier of sociij predjudice
limits the influence of the coloigj preacher.
He has no neecl as others have, politic re
sorts to commend his instructions. He has
no need to become anything other than him
self, in order to accomplish his mission. By
nature and by position he is fitted for useful
ness in this precise sphere. Wr at he needs
is an education, such as will ma’v his advan
tages most available.
But we must not form too prerise an order
of this word, education, as applied to the pre
sent case. How far the mind vs the pure
blooded African can be cultivate^-that ques
tion which now divides ethnologists—need
not disturb us here. Can he study the Scrip
tures in the original languages? Can he be
come familiar with the classics—!*ose models
of taste in every department of literature, and
for every profession? Can he",master the
sceptical objections of this age of conflict and
appreciate the delicate discriminal ins of truth
and error in theology and in et ;cs ? Is he
prepared to receive the impress f the Eng
lish Nonconformists —those uneving, unsi
lenced teachers of pure doctrine- those lofty
examples of manly and zealous pi ly ? llow
much of history, biography, ravel—the
preacher’s fund of illustration- should be
communicated to him ? What r*sed to dis
cuss these questions ? Let exper once decide,
after th% effort hae>*e'" g s ~‘fr ii
and train, to make him a better teLeher and
a wiser man. Let him have su-jfi education
as his abilities will compass aud his oppor
tunities will admit.
The early churches were not unwise in the
freedom they exercised on this subject. Their
regulations in regard to the ordination of
ministers in the first ages may well serve as
a precedent to us in deciding h>w much is
necessary to fit a minister for his office. Like
them we should inquire into his faith, morals
and worldly condition. Is he prudent and
teachable ? Is he temperate and chaste ? Is
he sober and industrious? Is hetiumble, and
affable, and merciful ? Is he instructed in
letters and the law of God, and the customs
of the churches? Does he use simple words
in preaching the doctrines of the faith ? Then
let him speak for the Master ! In the pre
sent condition of. things, we shall make a
grave mistake if we do not attach primary
importance to moral, rather than intellectual,
qualifications.
The importance of employing suitable in
structors for this class of students requires no
argument. To the question, “Will these
teachers be socially recognized ?” I answer,
they will be, if they are prudent and good
men ; and such only are to so
difficult and delicate an undertaking. His
should be a broad and yet a discriminating
mind, and a zealous, yet gentle heart, who
aspires to lead a bewildered raae from dark
ness into light, and to emancipate them from
the power of Satan into the liberty of the
sons of God.
It cannot be disputed that special obliga
tions rest upon American Baptists to engage
in this work. We have our paltto perform,
and that larger than our numerical proportion
would seem to call for, in preparing native
preachers for the most important missionary
undertaking that can engage far attention.
Our special views are cherished by the col
ored people. Towards ourselves, notwith
standing the political divisions and excite
ments of the times, their affections and re
spect still turn. Our opjpmunities are
signal for doing them good, awin benefiting
them, for blessing our country and honoring
the cause of Jesus Christ. ,
And then Africa— of whom the
millions of colored people in America are
only the representatives —Africa, that land
“ that holds the sorrows of vanished ages in
its shadowy dee; s”—Africa, that mysterious,
unrecorded history of pestilences, and fam
ines, snd massacres, of degrading idolatries
and sanguinary despotisms Africa, that
deadly region of fiery suns and oozy rivers
that drive back the white man from its coasts
of gold and pearl-r-Atrica, that grave of mis
sionaries, lying yonder in ghastly despair be
neath the pomp and glory of the tropics—
Africa, that peopled world on which the light
of prophecy falls, and to which the grace of
Christ extends —has she n us her
children for a little season that we may send
them buck to her redeemed and regenerate,
and that thus, through their means and ours,
Ethiopia may streten forth her dusky, hands
to God —Africa, that lifts to the white races
Mokanna’s veil, does she not open to the black
man the arms of a benignant, loving mother?
The miasma, laden with death for the one, is
bland native air for the other. The color
that here inflames the gladiator of the ros
trum, as the red flag enrages the monarch of
the amphitheatre, there couejliites the son of
the soil. Africa needs her children ; she calls
them back to her palmy coasts; as Rachel
wept for Joseph, she yearns for her exiled
ones; as the man of Macedonia cried to Paul,
she summons her apostles across the misty
sea. Thus the education of the colored min
istry inaugurates a vast missionary move
ment. With their advance in saving knowl
edge a countless host advances. The semi
naries in which they are trained will nurse
the churches of a continent. And their em
ployment in the sphere to which they are
called by tbe providence and the grace of
Almighty God will tell upon the salvation of
the world.
“We Would See Jesus.”
01 let me Jesus see:
Jesus, who only can help me.
Jesus! hear Thou my cry;
Thou, who canst all my need supply.
The depth of lore; the mystery ;
Jesus, my Loro, I wish to see.
Hungry, I wish to see
The Bread which can atone feed me !
And leeding on that Bread,
Which has su mauy paupers fed,
Feel in my soul that life whose breath
Forever frees the soul from death.
Dying, O Lord let me
Jesus the great Physician see;
Healer of Adam’s race!
O, Jesus! undertake my case.
Vile, guilty and condemned, would I
See Jesus, that 1 may not die.
Guilty, I wish to see
Jesus, a Sacrifice for me—
See, pleading His own blood,
Jesus, my Advocate with God.
Spnukling His blood in heaven for me.
Jesus, my Priest, 1 wish to see
0, precious Saviour! Thee,
River of-Life, I wish to see,
And bathe my tainting soul
Within Thy tide, while sweetly roll
Thy bright, life-giving waves o’er me,
In streams of immortality.
Jesus I wish to Ree
God’s bright and glorious Armory ;
That in ihe panoply
Os Jesus clad, the victory
I. through the Lamb for sinners slain,
O’er sin, and death, aud hell may gain.
Jesus I wish to see;
Jesus who only can help me.
I would no longer stay
To talk, or hear; to weep, or pray;
But in my sin, and guilt, aDd woe—
Just as I am, to Jesus go.
This moment would I see
Jesus, the Lord, on Calvary.
Sinking in sin to hell.
To Jesus I my woes would tell:
Not hoping better e’er to be,
Till Jesus on the cross I see.
O, Jesus! I would see
Thy precious body slain for me.
Into Thy eleven side
Would rurf, and there my guilt would hide ;
There safely would my soul abide,
Concealed in Jesus crucified.
Jesus I wish to see.
And th ink for what He’s done for me ;
My passions all to pour,
As I my Saviour’s love adore,
In an eternal stream of flame,
Od’rous with Jesus’ precious name,
O Jesus! what a name!
Proclaim, ye angels bright, proclaim
The wonders of His grace!
But I, to see His holy face,
Should press more earnestly than ye:
For me He died—tor guilty me.
0, let me Jesus see,
Glorious in the emblazonry
Os uncreated light:
Dwell ng beyond all creature’s sight,
Alone in immortality.
Thy glory, Jesus, let me see.
0, Jesus! only Thee
Wishes my soul in heaven to'see.
I’d pass each flaming choir,
Heedless of Paul, or Abram’s lyre,
To see the beauty of Thy face,
And melt away in Thy embrace.
When Jesus I shall see,
O! then like Jesus shall I be.
O ! sweet Eternity !
Where Jesus’ glory I shall see;
Forever shall with Jesus be; *
Forever sing, Jesus I see!
W. H. J
Wadeshoro, K. 0., June 15, 1871.
The Missionary Work.
A little more than a half eentury ago, Jud
set'.equipped wij,h ardent tievotion to *hc
cause of Christ, went forth almost alone to 1
tight His battles. The day was dark, and the
way blocked up, llow dared he venture?
The Spirit of God undoubtedly moved upon
his heart, and assured the young minister of
the reward of giving up all for Christ s sake.
His resolve was the beginning of great things.
We to-day, but fur it, might be laboring un
der the disadvantages of the incipiency of
the missionary work. As it is, we can sur
vey the field, behold the laborers going in,
listen to the cry fur more help, and respond
with cheerful, hearty good will to the call for
aid. It is becoming a matter of personal
obligation among Christians, it is eliciting
increased zeal in the spread of the gospel, it
is awakening a sympathy for the benighted
and quickening the power of religion at home.
Statistics show decided increase, year after
year, in men, money and means. The work
is gaining ground in the favor of the people.
They know where their contributions go, and
have realized the fruits of giving. The Con
vention in its annual meetings, carries the
truth to the door of many a household hith
erto unenlightened as to its growth,'thus ac
complishing much good. It the mind and
heart be kept pure, and doing and giving
continue, from a sense of Christian duty to
God and to rnan, evangelizing the world will
quicken, and the finishing be given at at early
day. Let us unite for the cause of Christ.
Let us pray for consecration to the work of
missions. Let us be more diligent as adopt
ed heirs into the kingdom, and it will be a
lever of power, where we will least look for
it. c. s.
Missionary Work in Florida-
Mention has been made several times, in
your columns, of the cooperation of the Bap
tist Convention of the State of Florida with
the American Baptist Horne Mission Society;
and you will do me a great favor, if you will
accord me space, in which to state how the
matter presents itself to my mind.
The plan of cooperation was formed for the
purpose of simplifying missionary work, and
economizing missionary funds, in the North
west. Baptist Conventions, in the. several
States, were carrying forward missionary
operations independently. But those organi
zations were wholly unable to supply the
needs of their respective fields, and it was
necessary that their work should be supple
mented- by that of the Home Mission Society.
Uuder these circumstances, many wise breth
ren believed that much strength was lost
through lack of concert, and that quite too
small a pirt of the money contributed for
that object was really expended in the giving
of the gospel to the spiritually destitute.
For example, the existing methods made it
necessary for two collecting agents to be sup
ported, and to folio n each other over the
same ground every year. Moreover, not a
few were convinced that the aggregate amount
collected by the two was less than one alone
would receive, were he placed in a position
to go among the churches and invite them to
improve their one annual opportunity to con
tribute to the support of Domestic Missions.
It was proposed, ttierefore, that the Conven
tion Boards assume the responsibility of
nominatin'! all agents aud all missionailes ,
that the Home Mission Board issue all com
missions and pay all salaries ; and that all
the monies collected by the agents and mis
sionaries thus nominated and commissioned,
be remitted to the treasury of the Home
Mission Society. For myself, l have always
regarded this plan with decided favor, though
it is proper to say that the Conventions have
been slow to adopt it, and that some of them
still prefer to act as independent missionary
societies.
With this explanation, I proceed to speak
of the action taken by the Baptists of Florida.
In November, 1869, our Convention met at
Monticello. But few brethren were there,
because the minds of all were weighed down
with the impression that the organization was
utterly helpless. The few noble disciples of
Jesus who came together were in anguish.
* ».
They saw
could la) V
missionary!
stood, whtr
for the
from the I
not believ,
gather enou3
himself AX»
talked over, ti
Let every one
represt ntation
tion of the plan
the expenditure of r> great can
Home Mission Socie*. the> pui
ciety was supporting
State. 1 will say, also, tirf to
gestion, looking toward the**
an arrangement with theri
never come from New York.
jftly own reasons for approving t.. 1,1 e fr tte b
these : I believed, in the first'platlj'ullof]
such moral support, from the known have
trusted members of the Convention BoarcT} 1
would very greatly increase the efficiency for
good of the missionaries of the Home Mission
Society. In the second place,tj>elived that
such action, on the part of
would be a demonstration of freedom from
prejudice, which would result in bringing us
much more assistance. Finally, and chiefly,
1 thought I saw in this plan of cooperation the
solution of the most difficult problem con
nected with the operations of the Horne Mis
sion Society at the South ; that, in providing
for the nomination of all missionaries by the
Convention Board, it afforded an effectual
safeguard against everything like Baptist
“ carpetbagism.”
The brethren thought it their duty to take
these things into consideration. The matter
was referred to the Trustees, and, after some
weeks, they decided to adopt the plan. Nearly
a year afterwards, the continuance of coope
ration was recommended by the Santa Fe
River Association and the Alachua Associa
tion. At the Annual meeting of the Conven
tion in November last, the report of the
Board on this subject was adopted unani
mously.
In adding a few words on the effect of this
cooperation with the Home Mission Society,
as to the other relations of the Convention, l
would be understood as stating only my in
dividual opinion. Ido not know whether the
brethren in New York will see the matter as
I see it or not. I have no authority to com
init them to any position. But, for my own
parr, I think some brethren have been too
ready to take it for granted that this coopera
tion, so long as it shall continue, must work
the entire severance ol our Convention from
the Domestic Mission Board. 1 see no rea
son why we cannot today consistently pro
pose a precisely similar co-operation with that
Board. Personally, and as a Florida Bap
tist, I am prepared to declare myself in favor
of such a measure. We need all the help we
can get from North and South. We have a
small, but rapidly increasing population, scat
tered over an immense territory. The
number of our growing communities which
are never favored with the sound of the gos
pel is alarmingly great. The characters of
those communities are now being formed, and
most formidable obstacles to the entrance of
God’s word are growiug up Is this a time
• fer ;n tv talk ,-F to. NoUt” and. “
and to say that we wilt seek aid from one
source, and from no other? Does any one
believe that the brethren in New York will
say to us, “We must do this work alone, or
not at alt ?” Will the brethren in Marion tell
us we must cease to nominate missionaries to
be supported by the Home M.ssion Society,
or they will have nothing to do with us ?
I have found intelligent Baptists every
where—North and South, East and West—
magnanimous and high toned; and l have
learned to take it fur granted that tnen of
that class, in every case which is fairly ex
plained and rally understood, will prove them
selves superior to all contemptible jealousies.
Again, we ought not to lose sight of the
spirit of our Baptist polity. We know noth
ing of any such relation as that which subsists
between a Presbyoery and a General Assem
bly. There can be no such connection be
tween a Baptist Convention and a Baptist
Missionary Society. The relations of our
various organizations are instituted for special
ends; and we recognize no rule which would
necessitate exclusiveness in our co-operations.
Aside from the increased assistance which
we might hope to obtain, there are several
other reasons why I should like to see such a
measure as I have indicated, carried out.
There is something exceedingly agreeable in
the conception of our little Convention, hold
ing the Domestic Mission Board by one hand
and the Home Mission Board by the other,
and leading them forward to a harmonious
working together. I should be pleased, also,
to have the people of Florida see with what
fraternal accofd the representatives of our two
great Societies for home evangelization could
unite their energies for Christ and His truth.
Perhaps the time will come when some such
co operative work will be entered upon in
other States. It is plain that Southern Con
ventions could render incalculable' assistance
in the great work of educating colored preach
ers, and I doubt not that their more intimate
connection with the Board at Marion would
be fruitful of good in many ways. But I
must bring this letter to a close.
P. P. Bishop.
Palatka, Fla., June, 1871. ,
• ... J
The Ascent of Player.
Tho arrow that doth upward fly
Till lost within the vaulted sky,
Descends again, with quickening force,
To earth, from wheaoe it took its course.
The lark, upspringing with the day,
Hymning aloft his joyous lay,
Soon pauses in his glad retrain.
And drooping, sinks to earth again.
The eagle, that with undimroed sight
Wings toward the sun his daring flight,
Weary at length, descends to rest
Within his airy, rock-bound nest.
But prayer, the prayer of faith, doth rise
Beyond the clouds, beyoud the skies,
Nor stays it iu its heavenward flight
Till it hath gained the realms ot light.
Ascending to the Father’s throne,
Jesus presents it as Uis own,
Gracious acceptance fiudeth there
The Saviour’s interceding prayer.
God’s Justice.
Os all God’s attributes, none imposes so
great tax upon our faith as His justice. That
tie is great and powerful, we see evidenced
around us in ten thousand, instances. That
He is infinitely wise, we may discern in the
fact that in all the manifold contrivances for the
accomplishment of ends, there is not a single
failure. That He is good, we may see iu the
occasion and the means which He has provi
ded for the happiness of His creatures. But
His Justice does not strike us so evidently.
Indeed, a glance at the dealings of God with
the children of men, would produce the im
pression that He wa,s very unjust. Happi
ness and misery, success and prosperity, do
not seem qt all dependent on the moral
qualities of the persons. No sophistry can
disguise the fact there are vast inequalities in
the lots of men. One comes into the world
amid the light of civilization, another is born
amid the darkness of heathenism. One en
joys from birth, all favorable influences that
wealth and position can give, while another
&
tiee. Yet Rr~rr f wsoas to oe(
just as plainly as it
Thus announced, we are bout..
But we must accept it, not becau_
it to be true, but because it is taught in u.*'
pages of God’s Word. It becomes, then, an
an article of faith, to be accepted and trust
ed, though all the facts of history and of our
own observation would seem to prove the
contrary. The Creator has, fur reasons known
to Himself alone, attached a merit to faith.
It may, then, be a mercy of His providence,
that He seems to manifest. qualities the op
posite of those which Revelation assert Him
to possess. There is thus given a larger room
for tne exercise of faith.
How consoling to the Christian heart is the
truth of God’s justioe? In our dealings with
men, we are often pained by their want of
justice. Too often does might override .’igiit*
and the powerful trample down the inteiests
of the feeble. We suffer injustice here often
times. But a day Cometh when all these
things will be set right, when God’s justice
shall be seen of all, and the majesty of his
immaculate law be fully vindicated. *
S. Austin Allibuno.
It is pleasant to see those who are laboring
in the literary world, acknowledging their
dependence on God. It is gratifying to see
that, with all the wisdom of an earthly kiud,
with which they are blessed, they have not
that “knowledge” which “puffeth up,”—
have no respect for “science, falsely so
called,” and that they prize, above alt things,
“ the wisdom that is from ab >ve.”
“ There came wise men from the east to
Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born
king of the Jews,” and though, comparative
ly, “ not many wise men, alter the flesh, are
called,” yet, ever and anon, some who are
ornaments in the republic of letters, not
fouhd in the ranks of the clergy, are willu g
to seek for Christ, to learn of Him, and to
work for Him.
S. Austin Allibone, not many months since,
completed a work, of which Lord Macaulay
sajs: “It is far superior to .any other work
of the kind in our language.” It is entitled,
“A Critical Dictionary of English Luere.cur-j
ahd British and American Authors.” At tlf?
close there it UkT'ffriiowmg note: “ i have
this day (May 29, 1806) written the last liiD
of the last page of a work which I proj cted
in 1850, and commenced preparing tor the
printer in 1853. My first emotion is a feel
ing of profound gratitude to that AlrnighiV
Being, without whose help alt labor is inef
fectual, and without whofce grace all wisdom
is folly,’ by whom my life has been prolonged
and my health preserved, until I have thus
brought to a happy consummation the object
of so much deep solicitude, absorbing labor
and anxious care.”
In a work of a religious character, we
should not be surprised to see an acknowl
edgement such as the above; but in works
not religious, this is rarely if ever met wiih.
Those, however, who have, used the work,
have no reason to be surprised; for tue
author, throughout, writes, not only as a firm
defender of Christianity, but as one who has
cast himself upon Christ, as the only refuge
“from the wrath to come.” We admire his
learning; we b»ve his piety. But Allibone
is not ashamed to be working with those who
professedly and directly work for Christ. The
American Sunday School Union have an
nounced from his pen, as now ready, the Al
lowing work:
New Bible Class Manoal Tbe Union Bible C rapan
ion: Containing the Evidences of the Llmne O igi",
Preservation, Credibility and Inspiration of tbe Holy
Scriptures: an account of various Manuscripts and
English Translations, all tbe books, and the chief
doctrines of the Bible; and Plaus of Ciicieiisu vrork,
with a copious Analytical Index. *■ *
Some of the learned, perhaps, may regard
him as having thrown away his talents in
writing a book to assist in the cause of Sun
day school instruction; as having compro
mised his dignity as a scholar, in engaging in
an undertaking like this; but, in the final day
of reckoning, when all things shall stand out
in their true proportions, he may see cause
to bless God more for having written the
Bible Class Manual, than the Dictionary of
English Literature. “Os making many
books there is no end,” but of the “ many
books” made, those will be the longest re
membered that have accomplished the most
for the good of souls. B. W. Whildkn.
Shut Thy Door. —l f»-el all that I know
and all that I teach will do nothing for my
soul if 1 spend my time, as some people do,
in business or company. My soul starves to
death in the best company, and God is olten
lost in prayers and ordinances. “ Enter into
thy closet,” said He, and “ shut thy door.”
Some words in Scripture are very cmphatical.
“ Shut thy door,” means much: it means,
shut out, not only nonsense, but business;
not only the company abroad, but the com
pany at home; it means, let thy poor s..ul
have a little rest and refreshment, and God
have opportunity to speak to thee in a still,
small voice, or He will speak to thee in thun
der. — Cecil.
Typographical Errors. —A curious in
stance of the errors to which the press is lia
ble, occurs in a Scotch newspaper, where a
Bishop of a Scotch Episcopalian Church an
nounces, in regard to a chapel in Aberdeen,
that it has now got rid of “ one of the great
est hindrances to the spread of the gospel,
namely, curates" —the word in italics being a
misprint for pew rents, to which there is a
similarity in sound.-— Record.
Conversion of a Churou. —A writer in
the National Baptist says that a wnole church
in Vernon, Delaware, was recently converted
to Baptist views, and one of the body—an
intelligent man—being asked what caused
this striking change, replied : “ The New Tes
tament.”
Human Impotbncy. O Lord, tske my
heart, for I cannot give it; and when thou
hast it, oh keep it, for I cannot keep it tor
Thee: and save me in spite of myself, for
Jesus Christ’s sake.— Feaelon.
Doctrine and Practice. —You will find
Solomon’s Proverbs the best politics, and
Christ crucified' the best divm.ty. Hugh.
Peters.