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INDEX AND BAPTIST.
REV, D, E. BUTLER Managing Editor.
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS:
Rev. 8. G. Hillter., D D Forsyth, Georgia.
Rev. J. 8. Rakes, D.D Quitman, Georgia.
Dr. J. 8. Lawton Atlanta, Georgia.
Rev. T. G. Jones, D.D....Nashville, Tennessee.
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS:
Rev. G. A. Nttnnally Monroe, Georgia.
Rev. W. T. Branti.v, D.D Baltimore, Md
Rev. A. J. Battle, D.D Macon, Georgia.
Rev. R. W. Fuller Atlanta, Georgia.
Rev. T. B. Cooper Ogeecbee, Georgia.
Rev. J. H. Kilpatrick ... White Plains, Georgia.
Rev. Marion Hams Decatur, Georgia.
Rev. Wm. C. Wilkes Gainesville, Goorgia.
Never yet did there exist a full faith
in the Divine Word (by whom light
as well as immortality, was brought
into the world) which did not expand
the intellect while it purified the heart
which did not multiply the aims and
objects of the understanding, while it
fixed and simplified those of the de
sires and passions.
I confess, said a faithful servant of
God, that I seldom hear the bell toll
for one that is dead, but conscience
asks me, wliat hast thou done for the
saving of that soul before it left the
body ? There is one more gone into
eternity, and what didst thou do to
prepare him for it, and what testimony
must he give the Judge concerning
thee ? I
Good humor is the clear blue sky of
the soul, on which every star of talent
■will shine more clearly, and the sun of
genius encounters no vapors in his
passage. It is the most exquisite beauty
of a fine face, a redeeming grace in a
homely one. It is like green in a land
scape, harmonizing in every color, mel
lowing the light, softening the hues of
the dark, or like a lute in a full con
cert of instruments —a sound not at
first discovered by the ear, yet filling
uj) the breaks in the concord with its
deep melody.
Dr. Payson, ill bis dying hour, said
be could have saved himself much
trouble in life, if he had only believed
that the Saviour’s presence was enough
to fill him with joy, if all the worldly
comforts were taken away. Hu found
it so in sickness, but could not quite
believe it iu health. A poor, simple
man, with none of Payson’s imagina
tion or fancy, once saic, in a similar
spirit, with his dying words : “ I have
lost all my property ; I have lost all my
relatives; my last son is dead ; I have
lost my hearing and my eyesight; I
am all alone, old and poor, but it makes
no difference —Christ uever grows old ;
Christ, never is poor ; Christ never dies,
and Christ will never forsake me.”
Ministerial Support. —William
Fristoe, author of “ The History of
the Ketoetiu Baptist Association” of
Virginia, a book published in 1808,
aftor alluding to some churches who
raised the pastors’ salary by sub
scription, adds :
“ Olliers have sometimes calculated the sum
necessary to be raised, and the several mem
bers, by mutual agreement, have submitted to
the deacons or some other two or three mem
bers of their body, who are acquainted with
their circumstances, to judge what the pro
portion of bach shall be; and have found no
hindrance to the peace and tranquility of such
churches, for if such a mode should prove bur
densome to any individual under some distress
ing circumstances, it is made known to bis
brethren, and the person sympathizes! with
and his burden removed."
— —
A child will infer from tlio spirit
which pervades a househould, whether
the kingdom of Heaven is a fact or
fiction. If it concludes it to be a fiction,
how must the soul suffer ! If it feels
atid knows it to be a glorious and joy
ful truth, that Heaven is near and
above us, bow will the spirit be daily
drawn upward and onward ! Lot the
Spirit of Christ, therefore, prevail in
your household.
-■ -•-
To economize, means to husband and
save, that distress may he relieved
and the hungry fed ; that the burden
of taxation may bo lifted from the
shoulders of the toiling producer; that
God’s ministers may be maintained and
missionaries sent abroad to evangelize
the world; that something may he laid
up for a rainy day or extreme old ago;
that the life policy may not lapse, and
helpless wives and children be left un
provided for hereafter; and last, but
not least, that honest debts may be duly
paid, without the wretched, and too of
ten fraudulent, intervention of a home
stead or the bankrupt law.
This is one great lesson that should
he impressed upon the South, without
ceasing, with line upon line, precept
upon precept, here a little and there a
little, in business walks, in the field,
the halls of legislation, the family, the
sanctuary, everywhere.
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
ZEAL.
IV.
In a former article we presented the or
dinances of the Church as objeets demanding
a high degree of Ch-istian zeal. We promis
ed to present as another object no less deserv
ing our earnest solicitude, the
DOCTRINES OF OUR HOLY RELIGION.
They impart to us a knowledge of God—of
His attributes—of His purposes —of His plans
—His everlasting love—His all-embracing
foreknowledge—His retributive justice, and
His abounding grace. They explain to us our
origin, our condition, our accountability, and
our destiny. They tell us of Heaven, of hell,
and of a coming judgment. AH these doc
trines —the sublime articles of our Holy Creed
—are included in the “faith which was once
delivered to the saints. To guard them from
the perversion of pretended friends, as well as
from the sacriligious touch of open enemies,
demands the scrutinizing watchfulness of the
most determined zeal. It is in reference to
these very doctrines that the wolf in sheep’s
clothing is most to be dreaded. He comes with
all the blandishments of professed friendship,
expressing the most profound respect for the
Hook of God; yet he applies to it a subtle
and artful system of interpretation which aims
to efface some of its most solemn and awful
revelations. These great truths must be de
fended. In connection with the ordinances of
God’s house, they demand a constant, a watch
ful zeal, aided by all the means afforded us by
the press, the pulpit, and the Sabbath school.
Let us notice the relation of zeal to each.
THE PRESS.
This lias become a power potent for good or
evil, according as it is made the instrument of
disseminating truth or error. In our zeal for
God it must not be over looked. Our enemies
are using it to propagate their mischievous
heresies, and demoralizing theories, whereby
they would break down the barriers of public
and private virtue, and subvert the very found
ations of our faith. How important that the
Christian should see, and feel his personal ob
ligation to appropriate the mighty energies of
the press for the cause of truth! Reader, do
you expect the world to do this for you ? Look
at the secular press. See with what energy it
is devoted to politics, to commerce, to art, to
business of all kinds connected with the inter
ests of the present life. Can you subsidize its
columns, to any useful extent, to vindicate the
claims of religion? Alas! experience has
shown that wc cannot do it. If we would
make this power available for the cause of
God, and of truth, we must organize and sus
tain the religious newspaper. But you will
say, “this is not my business; let journalists
and editors get up and publish such a paper.
I have enough to do to attend to my own busi
ness. ” Stop reader, think for ajmoinent; we
affirm that it is your business. If the wicked are
using the press to pour out over the laud the
moat seductive incentives to vice, anil to pub
lish tile most insidious and hurtful insinua
tions against the most precious hopes of your
lielrt, is it, indeed, nothing to you ? Will you
stand idly by—see this great flood of corrup
tion rising, like a moral deluge, over all the
walks of human society, and utter no cry of
warning? Ah 1 but you will say, “I can do
nothing. lam only a private member—living
out in this remote neighborhood, constantly
employed about my daily business, what can I
do?” We answer: No matter where you live,
no matter how engaged, you owe it to God, to
help sustain your religious paper. Asa Bap
ist, The Index is yours. It is established to
expound, to vindicate, to illustrate the Truth
which you believe. Though you may never
see Atlanta, or the office where the paper is
published, you may, by paying your subscrip
tion for it, and trying to circulate it, as really
and as truly bear your part in subsidizing the
energies of the press for God, as if you had
yourself built the Franklin Printing House.
Your Christian zeal finds an object of immense
importance in supporting our religious paper.
011 1„ do not neglect it: We plead net for
the proprietors, not for ourselves, but for God
and His truth.
Another object of zeal which we present for
your careful consideration is
the rui.riT.
It must be sustained. It is by the “ foolish
ness of preaching that God saves them that
believe.” We know that God calls Ilia minis
ters, and gives to them the spiritual qualifica
tion, which they need for their important
work. But we are commanded to pray “for
more laborers to be sent into the harvest." This
shows that God expects His people to feel a
deep interest in these laborers. That interest
surely was not meant to be limited to the in
crease of their numbers; but should extend to
all that is needful to make them efficient.
1 hey should be educated. Hence, the neces
sity for colleges and theological seminaries.
They should, then, be directed, or guided un
der the providence of God, to proper fields of
labor. And finally they must be supported,
for the “ Lord hath ordained that they who
preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel.”
But zeal for the pulpit does not stop here. It
is not satisfied with giving to the minister
mere material support. He needs also the
moral support of his people. How often is
this important aid to the pulpit withheld!
Nay, how often is this mom) influence turned
against it! There is a carping, fault-finding
spirit in almost every church which seems to
watch for occasions of complaint. It delights
in drawing invidious and mortifying compari
sons, and in making ill-natured, and disparag
ing criticisms. Such a spirit is a perfect
blight upon a minister’s success. He needs,
even under the most favorable circumstances,
all the encouragement which his people can
give him. A proper zeal will afford this en
couragement by a faithful, punctual atlend
ance upon the appointed meetings of the
church; by the manifestation of heartfelt sym
pathy for the pastor and his work; by active
co-operation in all his plans for good, and by
I openly and constantly persuading others to
come to the house of God. This last duty is
very important. Church members do not
know how much good they could do by simply
inviting the people, whom they meet in the
daily walks of life, to attend religious service.
This invitation may be given anywhere and
everywhere—on change, in the street, behind
the counter, in the field, along the high way —
indeed, wherever we have opportunity to sneak
to another. A watchful zeal will remember
to give it, and none can estimate its influence in
upholding the pastor’s hand. Zeal -would
make every church member an Aaron and a
Hubs to the minister. Oh, for a burning zeal!
We will notice the Sabbath-school next
week.
TRUTHS FELT OUT.
“The eternal fitness of things” find
another illustration in the adaptations
of the heart, as an organ, to the dis
covery and appropriation of certain
great truths. The eye discerns color,
the ear distinguishes sound, the tfcpich
discovers shape, the nose detects odor,
and the tongue recognizes the taate,
but there is still a vast, untrodden ter
ritory beyond the bounds of which not
one of these bodilv senses can go. Su t -
lime objects are lying along the coasts,
glorious scenery spreads out on the
hills,and a “feast of fat things” provided
in all the dwellings, but the man wuo
relies solely on his senses as channels
through which knowledge can be ob
tained, must forever remain ignorant
of them. Even the understanding is
too beclouded, the reason is too weak,
the imagination is too wild to discover
and realize these existences, and the
qualities which are attached to them.
These are the truths which belong to
the province of the heart, and must be
felt out. Argument, however logical,
cannot establish conviction, hut a mo
ment’s feeling makes them axiomatic.
The blind man has no conception of color
and no naturalist, by the description
of the various hues, or by the analysis
of a sunbeam, could impart to him any
knowledge of color, but lift the vail
from off his eyes, let in the light, and
it is all plain. Likewise the man whose
heart is callous, can have no knowledge
of sorrow or sympathy for the suffer
ings of another, and flowing tears and
eloquent speech, and sighs, and groails,
fail to communicate to him the soul’s
agony, hut soften that heart, make it
susceptible, and one bereavement, one
sad disappointment, will instantly
a brother’s anguish well underst^^Ur
The same is true of joy. It must
he felt to be known. None of the
senses, nor the intellect, can take cog
nizance of it, only the heart can pre
coive it, and experience is essential to
its knowledge.
The existence of sin is not discerni
ble by any faculty of man except the
heart. The reason may argue much
concerning it, but the heart alone
knows the dread meaning of that
word, sin. As the hand has writhed
under the firebrand, or the ear quivered
under the harsh din of discordant
sounds, or as tho eye has yielded to
the glare of a noonday sun, so the
heart from having been in contact with
sin, having felt it, knows its bitterness,
and shrinks back from its presence.
The intellect, though well trained in
the sciences of the schools, may never
know, in fact can never learn, what sin
is, any more than the eye can learn
what souud is, or the ear what taste is,
but the heart, taught of God, and
quickened by His spirit, has discerned
the heinousness of sin, and in its fears
has anticipated the terrible curse.
The forgiveness of sin is alone ap
preciable by the heart, and is recogniz
ed only in its experiences. As the eye
receives a peculiar sensation from the
ray of light that falls upon it in a dark
room, though it may not know how, or
why, or whence, so the soul of man re
alises through its own sensations the
comforting truth that there is “for
giveness with God,” though it may not
know how, or why, that pardon is be
stowed.
These heart truths have advantages
over head truths. They are elementary,
and require no analysis to enforce or
establish them. They bring convic
tions which cannot be easily unsettled.
They are the indestructible possession
of the man. Oh, that our hearts were
quickened as the eyes of Bartimeus,
that we might see; and as the ears of
the deaf, that we might hear ; and as
the withered hand, that we might
touch and seize and lay hold, and know
“ the truth as it is in Jesus.”
Labor conquers all things. Every
thing we do must have a certain amount
of labor expended on it to bring it to
a state of perfection. However diffi
cult it may appear, however impossible
it may seem to be, remember if you
attack it with energy, and labor with
all your might, your efforts will be
crowned with success.
GEORGIA BAPTIST NEWS.
—Bro. Landrum, arrived at Augusta last
Friday, and will forthwith assume his pasto
ral duties as successor to brother Wharton.
—Rev. J. H. Kilpatrick will preach a ser
mon in Union Point Baptist church the fourth
Sabbath (27th) of this month. Subject—“ The
One Baptism. What Is It?”
—Rev. Richard Smith died at his home
near Mt. Carmel church, on Monday, 7th mst.
He was about eightv years of age and had
been a minister of the Missionary Baptist
church for fifty years. The remains were in
terred at the family burial ground with mason
ic honors.
—The Antioch Baptist church, in McLe
more’s Cove, under the pastorate of J. M.
Robertson, is making to build a
large and beautiful new house of worship.
—Bro. J. A. Shank writing from Columbia
Mines, Ga,, Feb. 15th, says: “There is quite
a good religious feeling in my community—
Flint Hill congregation. At our last meeting,
there were eight out of a small congregation
who caine forward for prayer. They were all
Suriday-school scholars, and some nearly
grown young men. I feel that the Lord is at
work in our midst, and is blessing the labors
of his servants.”
—Brother James Barrow requests the pub
lication of the following appointments made
by him: “The first Sunday in March at Sha
dy Grove, Harris county; the second Sabbath
at Antioch ; the third Sabbath at Hamilton,
Harris county ; the fourth Sabbath with the
brethren in Columbus; the first Sunday in
April with Brother B. L. Ross, at Fort Val
ley; the second and third Sunday in April
with Bro. Caywood, Smithville, on my way to
Thomasville.”
—We mistook the meaning of an item re
cently copied from the Warrenton Capper to the
effect that Rev. L. R. L. Jennings had assumed
the pastorate of Elim church, and that Rev.
J. A. Shivers w >uld preach one;' Sunday in
each month at Crawfordville. The Clipper
by way of correction in its last week’s issue
says:
What we intended to say was, that the Rev.
Mr. Jennings had been called to Elim, and
that in the event he accepted the charge, it
would not change his appointment here. Fur
ther, that Rev. Mr. Shivers would preach
here—not at Crawfordville—one Sunday in
each month.
—The Lucy Cobb Institute Messenger, (Ath
thens) of last week says :
The Second Baptist church of Atlanta en
joyed for the firsi lime last Sunday, the melo
dy that flows from the artistic touch of our
beloved music instructress. We wish her all
success in her new work, and can assure her
that the “leaves of memory” rustle lovingly
to her name, and though absent, we still fond
ly cherish the liiyohl refi ll of her work and
exXtfFpPL - - -
—Rev. L. R. Givaltnev, of Rime, has bSrd
sick, but is now convalescent.
—The Augusta Constitutionalist says:
Rev. J. G. Binney, D. D , who will be remem
bered by many of our older readers as having
twice filled the pastorate of Greene Street Bap
tist church, many years ago, is now on his re
turn to this country, too much enfeebled to
hope that he will ever be able to resume his
missionary labors, prosecuted for about thirty
years among the Karens, in Burmah. ,
—From the Dawson Journal :
The Baptist church under the excellent
charge of that splendid preacher and man,
Rev. J. H. Corley, has lately had several valua
ble additions to its membership.
—Many ladies and friends of the Baptist
church in Dawson recently organized a Dona
tion Society for the benefit of the church. The
following are the officers : Mrs. S. K. Wes
ton, President; Mrs. F. M. Harper, Vice
President; Mrs. B. H. Hood, Secretary; and
Mrs. Harrison Rogers, Treasurer.
—Rev. C. H. Strickland, of Greensboro,
has been called to the pastorate of the Curtis
Baptist church, Augusta. An excellent selec
tion.
Don’t be a grumbler. Some people,
old and young, contrive to get hold of
the prickly side of everything, to run
against all the sharp cornera, and to
fiud out all the disagreeable things.
Half the strength spent in growling
would often set things right. You
may as well make up your mind, to be
gin with, that no one ever found the
world quite as he would like it; but
you are to take your share of the
trouble and bear it bravely. You will
be very sure to have burdens laid upon
yru that belong to other people, unless
you are a shirk yourself, but don’t
grumble. If the work needs doing,
never mind about the other one who
ought to have done it and didn’t.
Those workers who fill up the gaps,
and smooth away the rough spots, and
finish up the work that others leave
undone, they are the true peace-mak
ers, and worth a whole regiment of
growlers.
The young men of Covington
have organized a Young Men’s Chris
tian Association; Elder James F.
Edens was elected permanent Presi
dent; D. A. Thompson, Vice-Presi
dent, and Prof. John T. Stillwell, Sec
retary. It is hoped and believed that
all the young men in Covington will
unite with this Association.
Rev. C. P. Deems, D.D., pastor of
“Church of the Stranger,” in New York
city, is visiting friends in Augusta.
THE HUMAN WILL.
BY A.. J. BATTLE.
MO. IX.
FREE AGENCY.
It has been charged that the subjection of
the Will to extraneous influence subverts the
free agency of man. If the Will be bondman
to an external power, how is man free? If
this external power be an agency outside of the
human soul, bearing directly upon the Will,
there i j force in the imputation. There is
plausibility in it, as directed against the views
of Calvin and the earlier necessitarians ; and
even respecting the motive theory ol Edwards
it suggests some difficulty. If God bends or
produces the Will by the immediate exertion
of omnipotence, it is hard to escape the conclu
sion that man is a vassal or a machine. If ex
ternal circumstances, or motives lying without
the soul, usurp direct control of the volitions
it would seem that he is held fast by the bond
of necessity. He is not free to do otherwise
than as these external forces impel him.
It must not be forgotten, that, besides the
Will, man possesses two other great spiritual
faculties, each of which is endowed with va
rious and potent energies. The sensibility is
awakened upon the exercise of the intellect,
but so great is the variety and mobility of the
emotional power that many of its impulses can
neither be traced nor accounted for, but are
like the wind, which “ bloweth as it listeth,”
yet is ever subject to law. In this almost in
finite diversity, volatility and elasticity of the
emotions, there is ample verge and scope for
the largest liberty imaginable. And we
hold that it is not in the Will that human free
dom is to find its range, but in the sensibility,
which, though not exempt from the influence
of causes, is so constituted that the feelings, af
fections and desires are as free as the roving
winds. The currents of the atmosphere are
set in motion by causes which, iu general, are
well understood, and yet what science will en
able us to calculate the rise, the direction, the
velocity and the force of every wind, from the
gentle breeze to the devastating cyclone ? The
winds are the very emblems of wild and riot
ous freedom, and yet the feelings and desires
are as free as they.
The essence of freedom is not in willing any
thing whatever ; but in willing in accordance with
one’s own pleasure or desire. Hence a free agent
is one who does us he pleases. When a being has
the power to do as he pleases, he possesses, nol
absolute liberty indeed, but the utmost liberty
of which a creature, subject to law, is capable.
The angels enjoy no higher or more enlarged
freedom. Indeed, it is almost inconceivable
that God, Himself, should have the power to
do otherwise than is conformable to His high
and holy pleasure.
Our theory is, that human volition is always
in obedience to the dominant feeling or desire.
Thus it is plain, that, in the absence ot co-ac-
coercion or restraint —man al
ways does as he pleases. When the noble
Sidney resigned the flask of water to his
fellow-sufferer on the battle-field, he did as he
pleased. When Macbeth assassinated Duncan,
he did as he pleased—executing the impulse
of ambition, the dominant desire of his breast.
Abraham did as he pleased when he made
ready to sacrifice his son —that is to say it
pleased him to obey God rather than to carry
out the natural desires of his heart. And Mo
ses acted in accordance with the prevailing de
sire of his breast when he renounced the glit
tering attractions of the Egyptian court, and
identified himself with the despised slaves of
the quarry.
Here is a man who has contracted the fear
ful vice of intemperance. Appetite cammands
unceasing indulgence. But he suddenly
awakes to a realization of his peril. A
new set of desires spring up and contend for
the mastery, until the despot passion is crush
ed. Love of family, dread of ruin, self-love,
and perhaps the love of God, inspired by Di
vine grace, all rise up and throttle the mon
ster appetite, and he resolves—he xoitts —to
stop, now and forever, the fatal indulgence.
He has acted freely; aye, he is conscious of a
higher freedom than he knew before; and yet
his liberty does not consist in absolutely wil
ling thus or otherwise, without incentive, but
in the execution, by the Will, of the prevail
ing desires of the heart.
When the penitent turns to God, he does as
he pleases. But a change has come over his
spirit. He now pleases to do that which be
fore he found pleasure in opposing. A no
bler pleasure has overmastered and replaced
his former selfish inclinations.
In all these cases, and in every case, the man
is conscious that he acts freely, because he does
that which he pleases to do. And no reason
ing from causes, or “necessity,” or the “im
plexed series of events,” can persuade him
that he has been coerced to do otherwise than
his own pleasure dictated. He may have ac
ted unwisely, imprudently, or basely, or he
may have performed noble, humane, and holy
actions, but he has done what, at the time
he most desired to do. Man does sometimes
seem to be driven on by passion or appetite, but,
after all, it is his pleasure or desire rising to tu
mult or to violence, which urges him, and he
does as he pleases.
Now, he has acted from causes, and, there
fore, is not absolutely free; but a more ample
liberty he does not want—l.ay he cannot clearly
conceive of a wider range of freedom.
It will be seen that this view of the Will
places man within the pale of the Divine con
trol. His heart —the seat of the emotions—is
open to Divine influence, and, therefore, his
actions are controllable by the Deity, though
in such a way as not to infringe his essential
liberty. Man always does as he pleases, but
he very often does the pleasure of God in do
ing his own. It is God working in him,
through his affections, so that he wills and
does of God's own pleasure. Thus is brought
about the harmony of man’s will with tLt c f
God. It is only thus that the Divine agency
and the human endeavor are made reconcila
ble. It is only thus that God retains power
over man, without impairing his essential lib
erty.
The contrary hypothesis— that of the auton
omy of the Will—is as destructive of true, ra
tional liberty as the scheme of necessity itself,
and more disastrous in its results. It is not
liberty, but licentiousness, and naturally tends
to anarchy.
By this theory, the Will, as has been said,
is an anomaly in creation. It stands alone in
all the universe of God, without a peer. More
over, it occupies a solitary position of indepen
dence by the throne of the Creator, Himself.
God is independent; the human Will is indepen
dent. The Will cannot control God, and, just
as logically, God cannot control the Will. And
this is the autonomist’s avowed position. It is
a conclusion irresistibly following from his
premises. And shocking though it is, he does
not hesitate to declare that God did not pre
vent man from sinning because He could
not. Man by his constitution was made ab
solutely free and independent of all exterior
control, and was, therefore, placed beyond the
reach of the Divine omnipotence. Asa moral
Governor of the world then, God is helpless,
and cannot prevent the moral anarchy of this
race which He has brought into being. And
with the tremendous moral gravitation down
wards, already begun, what ray of hope is
there for man, that he will escape remediless
ruin, utter and irretrievable moral chaos ?
The licentiousness of the scheme of autono
my, and hs certain tendency to anarchy, are ob
jections more fatal to it than the charge of des
troying human liberty is to the scheme of neces
sity itself. The most extreme necessitarian view
—even ifit make man an automaton—aye, fa
talism itself, does not give a prospect half so
gloomy and forbidding as this licentious scheme.
For if every human action be produced by an
immediate irresistible energy from without, we
know that God holds the end of the chain,
and whatever evils may present themselves to
our short sighted vision, all will most surely
come out right in the end. But if human vo
lition be independent of God, then man is
loosed from his safe anchorage, and not only
is there no certainty of a prosperous issue, but,
with his inherent proclivity to evil, his des
truction is morally inevitable.
It has been shown that our theory of the
Will neither makes man a machine, nor cuts
him loose from God’s control; but leaves him
the highest freedom conceivable in a creature,
and yet keeps him a subject of the moral gov
ernment of the Creator.
THE INIQUITY OF PUBLIC WORSHIP.
The slime of the serpent intrudes
everywhere, and his trail crosses every
path. His terrible folds and deadly
fangs are seen and fe't in all places.
The bustle of the commercial marts
does not hinder his approach to the
counting-room. The din and whirr of
machinery will not drive him back from
the mechanic’s hall. The silence of the
school-room, nor the silence of the
laboratory, does not deter his entrance.
The privacy of the home circle presents
no barrier to his invasion, and the sanc
tity of the very temple of our God
sometimes falls a prey to his voracious
and deadly presence.
Public worship—a service severed
from the world and offered to God—■
through the weakness of man and the
strength of the tempter is frequently
made iniquitous. Whenever hypocrisy,
in utterance, tone or gesticulation, is
discovered by the consciousness of the
worshipper, it renders the service
abominable to God. Honest earnest
ness and earnest honesty, faithfulness
to God and truthfulness to one’s self,
are essential to acceptable worship,
lacking in these elements it becomes
fatally deficient. “Cursed be he that
doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully.”
Sometimes cold formality —an ac
cepting of the ritualistic instead of a
longing for the spiritual—withers the
soul of the service, destroys its vitali
ty, and leaves on the altar, ' not the
“living sacrifice, holy and acceptable,”
but the putrid carcass to be rejected
of Him in whose temple the mockery
is perpetrated. “This people draweth
nigh unto Me with their mouth, and
honoreth Me with their lips, but their
heart is far from Me, and in vain do
they worship Me.”
Again, irreverence makes the worship
obnoxious. We enter His house with
out a proper appreciation of His di
vine presence, or without fully realiz
ing the meaning of the service. God,
the Holy One of Israel, is there ; oh !
how our hearts should bow in humble
recognition of His majesty and glory.
How idle thoughts should vanish and
vain imaginings cease! The world is
too small a thing, life too insignificant,
earthly power too fragile, the wants of
the body too puerile, to engross the
mind and heart of the votary at the
feet of Jesus. God and eternity, the
soul and its sin, should be the burden
of the hour. “Ye shall keep My Sab
baths and reverence My Sanctuary ; I
am the Lord.”