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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 Three Dollars per Annum, Invariably in advance. 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.