CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOOTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
VOL. 50—NO. 41.
A Religious and Family Paper,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, GA-, AT
Three Dollars per Annum,
Invariably in advance.
J. J. TOON Proprietor
Three Stories in One, and some Thoughts
connected with them.
A little while ago, we knew an orphan
boy who had been carefully trained and
educated by relatives. Missing the ten
der affection which ever renders one’s own
family circle so attractive, George sought
a substitute amid the genial companion
ship of his own age. Once, twice, or per
haps three times, the boys’ mirth grew into
revelry, and George became intoxicated,
much to the chagrin of his friends. After
consultation, his relatives sent him to a
distant village, placing him in the employ
ment of a gentleman in whom they had
the utmost confidence. George grew in
favor with the old gentleman, making
rapid progress in morals, and in his em
ployment ; but what was more important,
he grew in favor with the old gentleman’s
lovely daughter. The past was forgotten;
the then present was happy ; the future
unfolded bright visions of a pure love and
a happy home. One day a woman from
George’s native village, came to visit in
the family where he boarded. This wo
man heard George’s name mentioned,
learned his position in the family, then
whispered in the father s ear the exagger
ated story of George’s former career; that
he was nought but a drunken outcast; she
had heard of his reeling in the street, a
miserable sot; no lady should permit him
to enter her presence. Poor George ! he
had gone to his business in the morning,
so blithe of heart, as he waived adieu to
the bright face peeping through the lace
curtains. When lie returned at twi
light, no fairy form was on the verandah
to greet him ; no light gleamed in the
now dark and cheerless hall. Alas ! for
George, the serpent had trailed its slime
over his Eden. A solitary light directed
the young man’s steps to the parlor, where
the father, a good, but stern old man, was
watching for the supposed vagabond.
Without a word of explanation, the old
gentleman forbade him the presence of
his daughter, and entrance to his house
evermore. A few moments after, we
heard George’s hasty step upon the door
stone, out upon the pavement. Far down
tho lighted street we could hear the sharp
ringing click of that step, telling of the
wild despair in the owner’s heart. We
dared not permit our imagination to fol
low tho young man to a strange place,
amid strange faces, with not one single
word of sympathy, comfort or encourage
ment to fall upon his wounded, humiliated
soul. We never knew liow it came about,
but next evening, as wc took our usual
walk, we passed George lying on the pave
ment, in truth a drunken sot, all uncon
scious of the malicious, “ I told you so,”
of his feminine enemy.
Again. A bright, cheery looking- gill
applied to a friend of mine for a situation
as housekeeper. The situation was ob
tained ; the place was well filled. The
girl behaved with discretion and modesty.
Apparently, she was contented and happy.
One morning the mistress of the establish
ment went out “ making calls.” Some
friend, in her honest zeal for the welfare
of society, repeated a story of scandal
about the housekeeper, and advised her
dismissal. My friend came home with
the accusation upon her lips. Never
shall I forget the flushed cheek —the un
natural brightness of the eye—the cower
ing, trembling form of the poor girl, as she
sank beneath the ungenerous stroke. The
thought of my own inexperienced daugh
ter, placed in a like situation, flashed upon
my heart like coals of glowing fire. Sick,
and trembling, I turned away, not caring
to witness longer so painful a scene. My
friend was, fortunately, a true woman,
taking the most sensible and Christian
view of the case. Though the story be
true, the girl was doing well at the then
present time, and trying to earn an honest
living in the sight of God. Should she
be turned away with that scandal hanging
over her, it might be, to doom a soul to
everlasting perdition ? Therefore, the
young lady was retained in her employ.
Again. A fair young creature came as
liouse-maid to a fashionable, giddy wo
man. The girl, true to her woman’s na
tux-e, dared to fall in love with an honest
youth. The mistress, in her selfish wrath
at the idea of losing her house-maid, de
clared the acceptance of a lover by the
girl was the height of impudence. Find
ing she could not separate the lovers by
fair means, she prepares a story of false
hood and imprudence, sends for the girl’s
friends, and separates the lovers for all
time to come. We know not what ever
became of the youth. The timid girl,
dreading a repetition of the storm, never
again dared to freight her tiny bark with
love. We have watched and loved the
pale, quiet creature, as her eye grew dim
and silver threads twined amid her raven
tresses. The dawn finds her at her daily
vocation, which she performs with such
rigid punctuality, exactness and patience,
that none but the most critical and selfish
eye can find fault. Did we not know her
sad story, we might think no ripple ever
disturbed the calm of her life; and we
know, too, something about a few old
fashioned relics stored in a little trunk
away up in the garret, where, some Sun
day evenings, the little old maid steals
away to rest. A while, she busies herself
in little nothings, then, pausing before the
old trunk, she kneels and unclasps the
lock with a feeling akin to that which we
have when we open the vault and let the
sunlight in upon the face of the dead.
First, out comes an old-fashioned daguer
reotype, with spray of dried cedar pressed
upon its face; then, little bunches of with
ered flowers ; and last, but most precious
of all, those old letters, breathing with the
only affection which she ever knew. Thus
she revels amid the past, with almost the
light of youth upon her countenance, till
twilight shadows warn her of household
duties. Now and then, a little, low moan
escapes her lips, as each treasure is re
turned to its accustomed place. The key
is closed in the lock, and with it the heart
closes, too, to all emotion from worldly
eyes. A little later, and you see the old
maid, with her housekeeper’s apron on,
lsyo A YEAR. } FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1871. { so.oo A YEAR.;
standing behind the table wiping the cups
from the hot dish-water. You, perhaps,
kind and gentle mistress, would never
dream of the romance hid away in your
housekeeper’s heart. If you did, you
would not think it strange, or find fault,
that she has neither love nor sympathy
for her sex, when she remembers, if it had
not been for one of them, she might be
now a happy wife, even as you are, pre
siding over her own house.
It is not our province to sit in judgment
upon the characters portrayed in these
three stories, nor is it our province to sit
in judgment upon the actions of any living
creature, for the words ring in our ears—
“ Thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever
thou art, that judgest another.” We feel
that we may express the thoughts which
the stories prompted, without trespassing
upon the command, “Judge not, that ye
be not judged.”
It has been but a few years since, that
the Southern woman, as a general thing,
with her sons and daughters, has been
pressed to the necessity of going out from
the protection of home to earn a liveli
hood for herself. But a few months ago,
their kindred and friends sacrificed houses
and lands upon the altar of their country ;
many have poured out their life blood upon
Southern soil, leaving to their comrades
and an after generation a heritage of im
poverished widows and orphans —not a
proud or desirable inheritance, we grant
you; but when they go among you as la
borers, we plead that you would be gentle
and patient with their inexperience—do
ing all in you power to train them kindly
to their new position. If they should act
past your forbearance, would it not be as
well to dismiss them with kind words of
good advice as to dismiss them in harsh
ness and displeasure ? Should they go to
another, and profiting by past experience,
demean themselves as becometh their po
sition, would you think it right to whisper
an error of the past, which might deprive
them of homes, sending them to lower
grades of society, till at last a soul is lost?
You who have homes of your own, who
are screened from the consequences of
your many mistakes and errors by the
protecting tenderness of father, husband
and brother, can you not sufficiently sym
pathize with those whose every action is
at the mercy and inspection pf strangers
and employers, to refrain from making
their faults the subject of public conversa
tion and criticism ? We once heard a man
say to his wife, “It is easy for you to be
a Christian —you who are surrounded by
the pure influence of home ; but for me,
engaged every day in business with the
world, coming in corrtact with every kind
of people, getting only occasional glimpses
of the better and purer side of human na
ture—oh, how hard it is to do always just
right!” This man’s experience is now the
experience of many a hitherto home-pro
tected, woman, son and daughter.
You may be assured of one thing:
father, husband nor brother will ever love
you any less Jfor the word of compas
sion for the erring, be the erring one
one man or woman. The idea of men ever
saying anything which would detract from
the character of a woman dependent upon
the world for a livelihood, is so unlike,
and so far beneath the character of a true
Southern gentleman, that we would fain
believe such a thing had never been, and
would never be done.* You, who have all
the privileges of society ; you, who may
commit the darkest sins, and be foi-given
by this same society, while a woman would
be driven from its face forever, —should
you not protect her, as a father or brother,
from every sin and temptation, and shield
her by your every word ?
For the comfort of those who have suf
fered from the words of others, we would
say, there is no surer guide than God’s
word, especially if you be a woman. If
you have done wrong, bear the thought
less words which others may utter, as a
just punishment for your sin. “ Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather
give place unto wrath ; for it is written,
Vengeance is mine : I will repay, saith
the Lord.”
At the Cross.
O the Cross, the Cross of Christ,
Bright with glory, wet with blood 1
From the dying Sacrifice,
Pours down love’s diviuest flood !
O Christ! Thou for me hast died ;
Keep me by Thy riven side:
Here my soul in sorrow stands ;
Bless me with Thy pierced hands.
Now Thy Father doth forsake,
And yet nearer comes to me ;
All alone in Thy heart-ache,
My soul flies from sin to Thee.
O Christ, in Thine agony,
My soul sympathizing see;
Dying, let me with Thee die,
And from sin forever fly.
0 my God, Thy heart hath broke!
My heart, bruised, shall not break ;
Thyself hast received the stroke,
Justly given ior my sake:
0 Christ, Thou hast conquer’d sin,
Which hath paid its death to me;
By the vict’ry Thou did’st win,
Give me immortality I
Cross of Jesus, Cross of Christ,
Bright with glory, wet with blood !
From the dying Sacrifice,
Pours down love’s divinest flood I
O Christ, Thou for me bast died;
Keep ire by Thy riven side:
Bind to Thee by closest bands,
Clasp me with tby pierced bands.
Hugh F. Olivbb.
Conference Meetings.
Your correspondent “ L.,” under the
above caption, writes against Saturday
church conferences, and in opposition to
the decorums in churches requiring all
male members to attend, etc. It is urged
that this produces trouble, is without au
thority in the New Testament, and is un
reasonable, being of human origin, and
altogether unnecessary. But “ L.” says:
“We are indeed enjoined not to forsake the
assembling of ourselves together;” but
this, he says, assuredly has no reference
to conference meetings. How is he thus
assured ? He admits it is necessary to
have conference meetings, and that Satur
day is a suitable day. The church must
assemble to hold those meetings whenever
the necessity which he alludes to arises.
Where does he find any more New Testa
ment authority, or any more sound reason
for the necessity of church conferences
than for stated ones ? A church is an as
sembly. God’s people, who, upon profes
sion of belief in Jesus Christ, have been
baptized in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, by a
proper administrator, constitute the mem
bers of this assembly; they are command
-1 ed not to forsake the assembling of thetn-
selves together. The church assembles in
conference to transact business under this
command as assuredly as to hear preach
ing or engage in devotional exercises.
When the church is in session, she has in
her sovereign capacity, under Christ, as
much authority to say, and appoint when
she will meet again, as she has to assem
ble at all; and if she so determine to ap
point to meet statedly, or monthly, if she
deems it expedient and proper, for busi
ness pertaining to the order and advance
ment of the church, she may vow that
all her members shall assemble, if not hin
dered providentially, and require a reason
of absentees. This may not be done sim
ply to forcibly compel attendance, but as
a prudent mode of watching over one an
other to ascertain who is faithful in keep
ing his pledge. It doe3 appear to me that
monthly Saturday church conferences are
Scriptural, and eminently proper and con
venient. The orderly assembly of God’s
saints meet and listen to the pastor
preach. Inquiry is made for business
touching the interests of the church. The
order and peace of the whole assembly is
publicly looked after, and arrangements
made to perpetuate it. There is no trou
ble then in calling hasty meetings for con
ference when it is difficult to gather to
gether all the members, or even inform
them of the meeting. But every one
knows the stated day, and should make
his arrangements to meet it as sacredly as
he or she would the Lord’s day meeting.
When the church meets on these specified
days, and there is no business, let them
spend the time in preaching, praying and
singing to the edification of the whole
church. Those members who feel little or
no interest in Saturday conferences, very
soon, we fear, will lose their interest in
Sabbath exercises ; and it is well to mark
the evidences of declension in members,
and make timely efforts to reclaim them.
The object in marking defaulters is not
that we may cut them off, but make timely
efforts in a spiritual manner to restore
them in the spirit of meekness. The New
Testament Scriptures teach that order and
decency should mark all the proceedings
of the church of God. It seems to me
there is better order in the arrangement
for regular monthly church meetings for
preaching, prayer and business than would
be in meetings called together from neces
sity. The rules of decorum to govern the
members must not be regarded as enact
ments of a second person, or power, co
ercing the members to obedience to an
unwelcome service; but the mutual enact
ments, voluntarily agreed upon as right
and proper, for the whole membership to
take upon themselves. Asa yoke, it
should be regarded as the yoke of the
Master, which is ever wholesome, light
and easy. Some of the best members of
Baptist churches of generations gone by,
have loved the Saturday monthly confer
ence ; they were never absent for any tri
vial excuse ; they prized the privilege as
their uniform acts declared ; and the Lord
biased duty, an 4 in the en
joyment ; and this is a
strong argument in its favor. Let all
our brethren learn to prize it so, and the
item alluded to by “ L.” in the decorum
will trouble the churches no more.
Asa Chandler.
A Subject for Special Prayer.
“ The harvest truly is great, but the
laborers are few: pray ye, therefore, the
Lord of the harvest, that He would send
forth laborers into His harvest.” Is not
this a time, my brethren, when we may
thank God and take courage? When,
looking abroad over our own land, we see
the numbers that have recently deserted
the ranks of sin, to follow the standard
of the Cross; and, when looking abroad,
we see Christ’s kingdom extending, and
new and interesting fields of labor being
opened, which, for centuries, have been
locked against the admission of truth,
surely, I repeat, we may thank God and
take courage.
On the other hand, when we look around
and see the multitudes who are still with
out the fold; and when we listen to the
cry for help from foreign lands—like the
recent one from Italy, “ send its Bap
tists ” —how urgently does it behoove eve
ry laborer of Christ to pray, that the
Lord would send forth more laborers into
His harvest?
I am one of those who believe that the
‘ability to preach,’ is the only ‘call’ to
the Christian ministry, that the devoted
Christian should seek for; and every
Christian should be devoted. “Asa la
borer of Christ, can I do more efficient
service as a preacher of the Word, than
in any other position?” is a question
which every converted man, who has any
gift as a public teacher or speaker, should
conscientiously decide for himself.
Why is it that we see such a large pro
portion —a majority, I might say —of our
young brethren of ability entering the
law ? Is it not because they have failed
to understand their true position as sol
diers of the Cross ? Have they not en
tered the law, believing it to be the surest
and quickest road to wealth and honor ?
They believe themselves to possess those
qualities which will enable them to lead
and to persuade their fellow-men. Have
they ever reflected that these same quali
ties would enable them (by God’s grace)
to preach with power, and to lead souls to
Christ? Have they ever reflected that
they have deliberately arranged to give
but a very small portion of their time to
the Master’s work, when they owe it all
to Him? That they have deliberately
placed their own (worldly) interests first ,
and God’s second, in all their plans ?
Have they ever seriously reflected that
this disposition of their talents may not
be pleasing to God; and that, in the end,
He will not bless their work, though, for
a while, they may appear to prosper.
There is much, very much, that I would
like to say in this connection; but, for
the present, I will desist, and close with
two requests:
1. That every .brother, not in the min
istry, who may suspect himself possessed
of any ability to preach, will carefully
consider his duty in connection with the
injunction, “ neglect not the gift that is
in thee.”
2. That the brethren, everywhere, raise
a cry to the Lord for help—a prayer that
He will send forth more laborers into His
harvest. Jason.
The events of life as they transpire,
together with the frequent recalling and
dwelling thus render
ing their impression deeper, form our
characters and make or mar our happi
ness. Amid prosperity, when an uninter
rupted success crowned our efforts, the
present and futuffT'tJeing the points to
which our whole attention was directed,
the past was dinT'in its outlines. Our
fortunes varying, our lives more chequered,
the sun struggling through the clouds, only
now and then throwing us a beam, we turn
to the past as more pleasant to think
upon. Memory, linkipg past events one
within another, draws faithful pictures for
us. With fondness and a sad, yet sweet
regret, we dwell upon the lineaments of
many, while we from others with
pain, and put from - us every sad remem
brance as we burfcfT!Ke~dead from our
As the silent fall upon the
whole creation, produced upon
different objects is3Hp&cl; some gilded
more, some less; the* lonely spots ren
dered lonelier still, in other places
the silvery rays ef&ct a perfect scene of
beauty. It is thus memory’s lights and
shades fall upon the heart, when amid the
scenes of the past wa wend our way.
A song, a flower, a strain of music,
will awaken the powers of memory, and
ere we are aware of, we are lost to the
present, while past associations throng
around us; we look into loving eyes, we
clasp unseen friendly hands, familiar
form.3 flit around us. The word fitly spo
ken, which gave the heart new strength
and life, the generous, noble deed, and
many dear remembrances, are a sweet in
cense to our souls; "While, alas ! the bit
ter word, the the severed
friendships, our sins of commission and
omission, form a dark array against us,
the contemplation of which fills us with
regret. Yes, happy is he who, when the
world is wrapped in~3arkness, has yet
pleasant recollections whereunto he may
continually resort.
Time bears us on through scenes both
happy and painful, while memory treas
ures a faithful record which cannot be
effaced, the impress of which we must
bear even into the presence of Him who
searches and tries the heart of man.
How important, then, to watch the effect
of each event of our lives upon our hearts,
to see that, amid unkindness, uncharita
bleness and calumny, we calmly pursue
our course of Christian virtue through
good and evil report, struggling to keep
our hearts alive with the “ charity which
suffereth long and is kind.”
"As the day out and wea
ry with toil, crosses the threshold of his
humble home, when evening kindly puts
an end to his labor, aNsense of sweet re
pose steals upon him, and in happy for
getfulness of yesterday’s toil, he sinks to
rest. So, when the evening of life comes
on, and we draw the eternal home,
we will enter Upon Beyond-r. ith
a sense of sweet relief; and, as memory,
the bright connecting link between time
and eternity, recalls our struggles here,
our rest will be the holier and sweeter for
for what we have endured amid the scenes
of time and sense. Ruth.
Tuskegee, Ala., September 1871.
Facts as they Are.
I noticed a document in the issue of the
sth of October, of the Index, headed,
“ Facts for those Claiming to be Primi
tive Baptists, No. 5.” As the concluding
part of that article refers to the Associa
tion to which I belong, and the question
answered in the closing remarks, was an
swered by myself, I deem it my duty and
privilege to set myself and Association
right before the public.
My recollection is, that the Oostanaula
Association was constituted about the
year 1852, with only five or six courches,
and the writer of the article above refer
red to, with some others, opposed it most
vehemently, and did everything in their
power to break it down. But we braved
all their opposition, and continued quietly
to grow and strengthen, until now.
Our Association was constituted upon
the same abstract of principles with the
Coosa and other lister Associations of the
Missionary Baptists. We have ever held
to those principles mith unyielding tenac
ity, and under such a course of procedure
have grown to our present condition. In
1859, after our Association had arisen to
some little distinction, and those opposing
ones found they could not crush it out oi
existence, they began to taunt us as anti
missionaries, because we had connected
ourselves with neither the Cherokee nor
Georgia Baptist Conventions. And at
the meeting of the Association, in that
year, (1859,) we were urged to become
a constituent member of the Convention,
without even consulting the churches ; and
on that occasion there was a resolution
offered and seconded, to vote the Associa
tion into, the Convention at that time. I
opposed the measure. The resolution
was withdrawn without taking the vote,
and from that times until now, we are
urged and taunted, and taunted and urged
and denounced, by some that call them
selves the sense of the Association, and
other leading spirits, because we will not
yield to their wishes, Is it not remarka
ble that, while our Association was in its
helpless infancy, and needed the fostering
hand of protection, it should meet with
such strong opposition; and then, that some
of the very same ones who thus heaped
upon it their maledictions, should be so
urgent and zealous to try to lead the As
sociation into connection with an organi
zation with which it has no desire to be
connected. We can but feel indignant at
such unwarranted interference. We are
vain enough to feel that we are competent
to manage our own ''affairs, and to be ca
pable of self-government, and would like
to be let alone in matters of that kind.
We have adopted, as one of the articles
of our creed, that the Scripture of the
Old and New Testaments is the Word
of God, and is the only rule of faith and
practice. We find nothing in the Word
of God that authorizes any such organi
zation, and, to be consistent with our
adopted Article of Faith, we do not
choose to depart from it by becoming con
nected with an organization about which
the Scriptures say nothing. We are also
| told that there is no scriptural authority
for Associations; and that is used as
an argument to induce us to join the Con
vention. That, to my mind, is a conclu
sive argument why we should not. For,
if we have gone so far astray as to be
come identified with one illegal organiza
tion, and such a step is wrong, then every
other step we take in that direction, only
involves us in greater wrong.
It is also intimated, in the same article,
that the friends of that organization do
not intend to meddle with the internal
sovereign rights of churches. Is it not
very strange, then, that such untiring en
ergy should be used to induce an Associ
ation into connection with that organiza
tion, when at least two-thirds of the sove
reign voters comprising all the member
ship of the churches, in that connection,
are opposed to it? And, again: it was
argued in the Association, at its session
last year, at Armuchee, that the delegates
representing the several churches, had the
undisputed right to vote the Association
into the Convention without the consent
of the churches. If that is not an en
croachment upon the sovereign rights of
churches, I confess I know nothing of sove
reignty. And if it does not display a
lordly spirit, lam badly mistaken. Again,
how came the Baptists, as a denomina
tion, so divided ? Is there any clause in
the law of Christ, which He has given for
the government of the churches, so con
strued as to produce this division ? I
know of none. Both the Primitive and
Missionary Baptists have the very same
Articles of Faith. Then it is not the
law of Christ, nor the Articles of Faith,
that has caused this breach ; but the in
troduction of a system gotten up by men.
That is what caused the division. And if
the Baptist church has existed over sev
enteen hundred years in the midst of op
posing enemies, without these organiza
tions, and Christ, by His own witnesses,
has had the gospel preached in Jerusalem,
in India, and in Samaria, and in America,
and in a great many other places, without
the aid of the Convention, for that length
of time, I am of the opinion He can,
through His own devised means, carry it
on to completion. I claim to be a Mis
sionary Baptist, according to the law of
Christ; but Ido not. expect to teach or
preach that money will save souls, as
some do. But I expect ever to preach,
that there is no name given under heaven,
or among men, whereby we can be saved,
but the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Henry A. Clemmons.
The Importance of Religion.
In the course of life, we are called up
on to witness the death of those we love.
None of us live long without experiencing
trouble. In the hour of trouble, the
Christian has a retreat. When we pray
with all our hearts, we feel assured, yea,
we know that Jesus hears and answers
our prayers. I have seen my mother die.
She had lived long, and had fulfilled her
mission upon earth. She was a warm
hearted Christian, *. She-Jived, toiled and
prayed for those she loved. She it was
who taught me the all-important name of
the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I
loved my mother, and oh! to see her
leave, was chief among the most trying
events of my life, but she has closed her
eyes, and gone home to heaven, her long
sought home. In 1865,1 turned my face
from the world and placed my affections
upon that Saviour who is ever willing to
hear the cries of the w'eary. Hand in
hand, I entered the pool for baptism with
that sister who, to-day, is singing praises
to Him in heaven. Yes, in one month
and twenty days, after the death of our
mother, she fell asleep in Jesus. An
hour before she died, she took me by the
hand and asked me to meet her in heaven,
where mother, Christ and peace reigns
supreme. Is that not faith ? She was
not troubled, but seemed resigned to His
Almighty will. They are gone. Only a
short while —a short space, and we, too,
must make our departure.
Oh! how insignificant is earth com
pared with the value of the soul ? Can I
exclaim in the agonies of death, Oh!
Father, take me—take to Thyself above,
as she did immediately before life was ex
tinct? Is that not a living faith? Is it
not beautiful for those of U3 living to
think of and profit by ? Can I not have
the same angel to accompany me through
the valley and shadow of death ? Can I
ever turn my back upon the sermon
preached me by the life and death of that
mother and sister, who are singing praises
to the Saviour who loved them while on
earth, comforted them in the hour of
affliction, and received their spirits home
to enjoy peace, happiness and never-ceas
ing sunshine forever ? Is religion impor
tant? Stop not to ask, but prepare to
meet God, for so certain as time has ex
isted, with you it must close. Could I
have held the hand of that' mother and
sister, and witnessed them die, without a
belief that the God of heaven and earth
needed them to brighten His crown of
glory? I have asked God to give me
strength to bear those troubles, and He
has answered me by giving me a com
posed mind, a heart full of love and thank
fulness to Him for His kind mercies and
protecting care. I would not recall that
mother or sister, because I feel that their
happiness is complete. Is it not neces
sary that we should have that kind of
religion ? Would I exchange it for mil
lions of worlds like this ? No; not one
particle of it could escape me and my life
continue to exist. A. R. F.
Morrow Sta, Oct. 6th, 1871.
Religion in Hew Zealand.
A curious exhibit of the miscellaneous
complexion of religion in a growing colo
ny comes to us from the Otaga Evening
Star of New Zealand. As it purports to
be an accurate copy of a recent census,
we venture to give it in detail:
Church of England, 14,543; Roman
Catholic Church, ti,485 5 Church of Scot
land, Free Church of Scotland, Presby
terian Church of Otago and Southland,
and other Presbyterians, 27,611; Wes
leyan Methodists, 2,505; Primitive Meth
odists, 11; Methodists, 98; Christian
Methodists, 3 ; Calvinistic Methodists, 3;
Congregational Independents, 944; Bap
tists, 1,213}; Christian Baptists, 7 ; So
ciety of Friends, 14; Moravians, 11;
Christians) 203; Christian Brethren, 75;
Christian Disciples, 73; Bible Christians,
16; Protestant Christians, 1; Christian
Israelites, 10; Unsectarian Christian, i;
Christian Church, 2; Christians of no
denomination, 8; Church of Christ, 255;
Christadelphian, 45; Disciples of Christ,
8: Church of God, 6; Delphian Breth
ren, 1; Christ, 1; Worship God, 2; Re
ligion of the Bible, 1; Evangelical Union,*
10; Nonconformists, 10; Evangelists,
15.; Brethren, 16; Plymouth Brethren,
22; Dissenters, 33; Calvinists, 9; Lu
therans, 445; New Church, 1; Antipes,
12; Religion of Christ, 8; Followers of
the Lord, 1; Believers in the truth of the
Bible, 1; The Proper Religion, 5; Os no
denomination, but to believe in the Bible,
1; No denomination, 11; Belonging to
no sect, 1; None of man’s inventions up
till this date, 1; Orthodox, 3 ; Promiscu
ous, 2; Not determined, 4; Predestinist,
1; Ge’hool, 1; P. R., 1; The Christian
denomination as found in Scripture, and
Worship God in my house, 5; Any, 1;
Colonist, 1; Latest Saint, 1; Progressive,
1; Uncertain, 1; It is not intended to
bring them up in connection with any de
nomination, 4; Novist, 1; Unitarians,
36; Mormons, 6; Sandemanian, 1; Ran*
ters, 4; Universalists, 5; Swodenborgian,
21; Secularist, 5; Irvingite, 1; Glassite,
1; Spiritualists, 6; Evangelical Alliance
of Germany, 1; Greek Church, 8 ; “Pro
testants,” denomination not specified,
1,053; Mussulman, 1; Hebrews, 288 ;
Pagans, Chinese Confucian, 2,666; Free
Thinkers, 14; None, 16 ; Atheists, 2 ;
Arian, 1; Natural Religion, 2; Nothing,
1; Heathen, 1; Latitudinarian, 1; Not
stated or not known, 184; “Objects,”
1,529. Total, 60,575. — Ohr. Union.
Into Thy Hands, my God.
Into thy hands, my God, I gladly fall,
Resigning there my life, my will, my all;
Do aa Thou wilt, O Lord, for I am Thine;
Whatever Thy blest will is also mine.
Into Thy hands, my God; for there, at length,
Through my poor weaknes shall I find my strength ;
Thy grace shall triumph over all my sin,
Aud Christ’s dear blood shall make me pure within.
Into Thy hands, my God—those hands of love,
Which sweetly reached and drew me from above;
Those hands which countless daily mercies give,
Those hands by which I every moment live.
luto Thy hands, my God— my Father’s hands ;
Near them a living Saviour pleading stands.
O, love 1 He pleads for me -ho w can I fear
With such a Father, such a Saviour, near?
In Thy dear hands, my God, there let me rest;
Send pain or sickness if Thou seest best:
Do as Thou wilt—Thy love I cannot doubt, j
For perfect love casts fear and sadness out.
Safe iu Thy hands, my God, a little child,
I look to Thee through Jesus reconciled :
I dare, for His dear sake, to call Thee mine ;
For this sweet bliss I would all else resign.
Into Thy hands, my God, I cast my will;
Bid every murmuring, restless thought be still;
My only wish, while on the narrow road.
Tranquil to lie in Thy dear hands, my God.
—Julia B. Cady.
Withstand Temptation.
Let us not be tempted by the wicked
bands; “ For ye are the light of the
world, as a city set upon a hill.” Our
walk should be such as becometh Chris
tians. The Lamb who suffered and died
on the cross, that we might be redeemed
from death, is constantly petitioning at
the Throne of Merejf for' the fallen race,
and has adorned some of us with the beau
tiful mantle worn by Himself when upon
earth. Now, my brethren and sisters,
will you cast it aside for the bands of the
wicked, who will spare neither body nor
soul ? Satan works various ways to tempt
us to evil; he is delighted with his grog
shops, his ball-room3, his billiard saloons,
his circusses, —all these to seduce man
and lead him to ruin. But a few days
ago, a circus passed through our village.
All was bustle and excitement. “ Are
you going to the circus?” was on the lips
of every one. When a son of a Baptist
lady, a Christian, inquired of his.mother
if he could go —her walk being good, she
possessing that Divine love which becom
eth a follower of Christ—said she, “ My
son, I would not go; it is wrong to pa
tronize Satan’s works.” He had business,
however, in the village, and when he saw
the large crowd marching up to the show,
—some Baptists among them, and profes
sors of other denominations, —he could not
resist the temptation. As soon as the ex
citement was over, he began to reflect how
wrong it was, and seemed penitent, on
reaching home iu the evening, some three
miles. His kind mother, seeing the change
in his countenance, inquired of him if he
attended the show? “Yes,” said he,
“ mother; you cannot expect a little fool
like myself to resist such temptations,
when young and old went, and even mem
bers of your church.” Oh ! my friends,
can this be true? Will you be led away
by the wicked bands ? “ Let your light
so shine that others, seeing your good
works, may be constrained to glorify your
Father which is in heaven.” If there is
light in you, my friends, do but draw a
contrast between the holy sanctuary and
these wicked places, invented by the evil
spirit. In one, we behold the saints on the
bended knee imploring His divine aid on
suffering humanity ; and in the others, Sa
tan’s institutions, we witness, all wicked
ness or vice that can emanate from fallen
man. Oh, how mortifying it is to the
Christian to see his friend, his neighbor,
choose death and woe, rather than life and
beauty. Let our prayers be continued for
the conversion of souls, until His name
may be proclaimed throughout the earth ;
“ when every knee shall bow, and every
tongue shall confess me.” * * *
"He Made the Stars Also.”
Dr. Nehemiah Adams preached one of
his characteristic, delightful discourses,
says the Boston Traveller , on Sunday
morning, to an overflowing congregation,
in the Columbus Avenue Congregational
Church. His theme was, “He made the
stars also.” It was not, as might be sup
posed, an astronomical, but rather an an
ti-astronomical discourse. To be sure,
allusions were made to some of the as
tounding facts illustrative of the wonders
of the heavenly world, yet the central
thought of the discourse was—the com
parative unimportance of astronomical,
and, in fact, all scientific and merely sec
ular knowledge, when contrasted with the
knowledge of God and of the way
of salvation through Jesus Christ. In
illustration of this, the speaker dwelt
on the fact that God dismissed His great
creative work of the stars in just five
words; or, as it stands in the original, in
three words; for the original reads, “And
God made two great lights; the greater
light to rule the day, and the lesser light
WHOLE NO. 2561.
to rule the night —the stars also.” While
man, and all that js adapted to teach him
his true character, and his relations to
God, and the way to be saved through
God s co-equal Son—-these are essentially
the burden of the Sacred Writings. All
which goes to show that of all knowledge
this is the chief, and in fact the only in
dispensable knowledge for man—to know
God, the true God, and Jesus Christ whom
He hath sent, whom to know aright is
eternal life. Before this knowledge, all
other knowledge pales, as do the street
lights before the rising sun.
Do You Snow it?
Do you know that the vows of God are
upon you ?
Do you know that the worth of life is
in the good we do ?
Do you know that some one is following
your example ?
Do you know that your piety may un
consciously decline ?
Do you know that you need the prayer
meeting ?
Do you know that the prayer meeting
needs you ?
Do you know that you can slight the
Lord's supper ?
Do you know that Christ enjoins secret
prayer ?
Do you know that all your property
belongs to God ?
Do you know that you forfeit your hope
by indolence ?
Do you know that your Sunday vacant
seat looks bad ?
Do you know that if backslidden, Jesus
will forgive you ? — Mac. and Rec.
Living on a Promise.
A lady gives the following statement:
“ I went, just before Christmas, to see
a young friend who, although surrounded
by all the luxuries which wealth can give,
was languishing with disease. As words
were spoken, of the beautiful gifts which
devoted friends were expecting to make to
her, she said, with great earnestness:
‘ There is only one thing which I want;
if I have that, I shall care for nothing
else.’ ‘ What is that gift for which you
long ?’ I inquired. She said : ‘ I want
my father to give me a promise that he
will take me South: then I shall escape
the cold, and I know I shall get well. 0,
how I should live on that promise ! The
hours and the days would pass so quickly
I should forget all my weariness and pain.'
I thought, dear girl, your father may give
you his promise, and not be able to keep
it; he may be snatched away by death,
or riches may take to themselves wings and
fly away. But you could £ live on your
father’s promiseand how unwilling I
am to live on the words of promise whioh
my Father in heaven gives. He whose
word cannot be broken, whose promise
cannot fail! Then came to mind the
sweet words of Dr. Homilton, written
many years ago : ‘ One single promise of
Jesus Christ accredited in the heart, unites
the soul to God. The graft Jias taken ,
and the soul abides as a brarich in the
vine.’ ”
The Best Argument.
Rev. E. A. Taft, of Cleveland, 0.,
writes something very much to the pur
pose to the Journal and Messenger. The
argument he suggests is none the worse
for the fact that it is a powerful aid to
any religious sentiments, it being certain
that no religious opinions will benefit any
one without it.
I find the best argument for Baptist
principles, or indeed for any other, is love.
I may preach baptism till I’m gray, with a
cold, fussy, fathionablc church, and it will
accomplish nothing. But with a church
full of good, loyal brethren and sisters, or
big, warm hearts, I don’t need to preach
on baptism at all. Their very spirit and
presence give the ordinance a tremendous
power. The beauty and significance of
baptism, I find, are intensified amazingly
by the spirit of holiness and love in a
church. When a boy, my pastor was al
ways harping on baptism and communion ;
but the church was so cold and stupid that
the truth repelled rather than otherwise.
Nothing was gained, though the field was
ripe. Scarcely a Pedobaptist ever united
with that church, although multitudes at
tended, it being the only church in that
place. Love, in religion, will always do
more than any form of truth without love.
Couple love and zeal with the truth, which
we, as Baptists, build upon, and our prin
ciples will prove irresistible.
Tell the pastors of Ohio to preach more
love to their people. We must not let
strangers come and go in our churches un
noticed. Give them a warm grip of the
hand and they’ll come again, and it will
not be long before you will hear them
asking, “ See, here is water: what doth
hinder me to bo baptized ?”
“ And now abideth faith, hope, oharity
—these three ; but the greatest of these
is charity (love.”)
What is a High Churchman ?—The
Protestant Churchman , an organ of the
Low Church, says: “ All High Church
men unchurch other denominations, and
that is the reason why they are called
Churchmen. They believe that there is no
ministry which is not Episcopal, including
the Romish,) unless it have an Episcopal
ministry, which they habitually call a
“priesthood.’ The sacraments can be
lawfully administered by this priesthood
only. Still more do they magnify the of
fice and order of Bishops. With High
Churchmen, bishops are the source and
fountain of all power, and privilege in the
church, and they wish to clothe them with
arbitrary authority, including a spiritual
despotism in America. The pretensions
of High Church bishops are scarcely infe
rior to those of the Romish church. Then
the church is exalted to an equality with
the Bible, and the sacraments made the
principal channel of grace. Now, note
these differences. One party laudß the
Bible, the other the church; one aims to
increase, the other to lessen the power of
bishops; one makes the minister a priest,
the other denies he is a priest; one in
cites men to the sacraments, the other to
Christ ; one preaches continually the
church, the other the gospel; one un
churches the other denominations, the
other does not; one believes that all the
infants are regenerated by the Holy Spirit
in baptism, the other does not.”
