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For the Index and Baptist. |
.NOTES ON THE ACT OF BAPTISM.
Another Discovery—The “Mode” of Baptism.
ko. x.
When Saul, the son of Kish, went
forth to seek his father’s asses he
missed them, but found a kingdom. A
worse luck has befallen us in our search
for the meaning of baptism. We set
out to find baptism, but it seems we
have only succeeded in finding the
“ mode” of it. And yet it appfears a
little remarkable that we should have
discovered the mode of baptism, while
the thing itself remains undiscovered
and unknown. But we should be
thankful for partial success. Mymother
used to say, “ half a loaf is better than
no bread.” Let us, then, take this new
discovery—the inode of baptism—and
see what we can make of it.
1. Let us not despise it. If there
be any particular mode of baptism
taught in the New Testament, and we
have found out that mode, though it be
not the thing we were hunting for, let us
accept it, take fresh courage and press
forward. Who knows but that the
mode of baptism may be the heaven
sent guide which shall lead us to a
knowledge of baptism itself.
2. We have settled one point:
Neither pouring, nor pouring out, nor
pour ing out upon, is baptism. In another
place, not quoted in the foregoing ar
ticle, one of these writers wants it defi
nitely understood that, “in Methodist
parlance, baptism and pouring are two
distinct words.” We may regard this,
then, as settled, our allusion brethren
themselves being judges. Well, let us
be thankful for this too, and at this
point drive down a stake arid take anew
departure. The old theologians used
to tell us what a text didn’t mean, and
then they would set out to tell us what
it did mean. We have l’oniid out what
is not baptism, and now, surely, we are
ready for the question—what is bap
tism ?
3. Since, as we have been very point
edly reminded, there is a vast differ
ence between a thing and the manner
or mode of doing that thing, and since,
as we have been further informed,
pouring is not baptism, but, if anything
at all, only the mode of it, why, of
course, it follows clearly and unmislak
ably, that there must be a vast differ
ence between pouring and baptism.
Well, to this conclusion, however ob
tained, I can give a full and unqual
ified assent, lor most certainly, I do not
believe that pouring is baptism, but
that in Baptist “parlance” also, the
two things are widely asunder. Just
S' e -how ustrurau. do uomotiines meet l
4. Since wo are still ignorant of what
baptism is, the investigation of the
Spirit’s baptism having thrown no light
upon that, and since we havo been
turned away from the vale of Jordan
as a proper locality to carry on a bap
tismal study, we may at last be com
pelled, however reluctantly, to call upon
the pesky old heathen to help us in our
extremity. “ Better late than never”
has, however, always been a favorite
saying with me—that is when trying
to bring up delinquents to their duty.
5. Since pouring is not baptism, but,
according to theseaffusionists, only the
mode of it, notwithstanding their great
anxiety to keep from being nnmersod,
they may yet have to take up the lam
entation of Job, and cry out in the bit
terness of their grief : “ The thing
which I greatly feared is come upon
me.” Remember wo have not found
out what baptism is—that is confessed
—we havo ouly found out the mode.
New suppose, after all, that baptism is
immersion, (and it must be, if that is
the meaning of the word,) then, siuee
pouring is the mode, Scriptural bap
tism cannot be administered except by
“ pouring" upon us until we are com
pletely submerged in the accumulated
waters. And consequent y, so far from
getting relief by this pouring expedient,
our brethren may yet be precipitated
iuto greater trouble—avoiding Scylla,
they may be overwhelmed in the gur
gling eddies of Chrybdis.
“ But this would be to apply the
element to the person, and not the per
son to the element, which latter you
Baptists set great store by.” Never
mind: While applying the person to
the element seems to be the most nat
ural and simple way of performing au
immersion, if you prove pouring to be
the Scriptural mode of baptism, we
will be sura to adopt it, and henceforth
iuiuiersoby pouring. We are not such
sticklers lor mode in baptism as many
of you have been taught to believe—
the thing itself is what we are after.
And this leads me to say,
fi. 3he important question is, What
is baptism ? We are not particular
about mode. The mode of doing a
thing is certainly “ mint, and anise, and
cumin, in comparison with the thing
itself. If, however, we have either
precept or example for any decisive and
definite mode of baptism, by all moans
let us have it. But we are not now
searching for the mode, but for the
thing. The natural way is to determine
what is to bo done, and then we can
properly consider the question of the
how. I don’t like this way of running off
in search of the mode in baptism, until
I first know what baptism itself is.
And 1 am half inclined to think that
this great talk about the mode is large
ly owing, though it may be uncon
sciously so with many, to a desire to
steer clear of this very question, “ What
is baptism ?” There are hidden rocks
in that direction which may make sad
shipwreck of the voyagers. But
7. And finally, I have my suspicions
about our having really found out the
mode of baptism. I have a notion
that we have neither found out what
baptism is, (that is, confessed), nor the
mode. And this remark I base not
upon the fact of the groundless as
sumptions, inconsistencies, fallacies and
contradictions of the arguments which
have been uuder review, (and they
are certainly gross enough to in
validate any conclusion which may
be derived from them,) but upon the
inherent contradiction which is involv
ed in the thing itself. This “ mode” of
baptism may be a wonderful discovery ;
but I have been thinking, and thinking
hard, and it seems to me, honestly,
and I cannot see how we could have
found out the mode of baptism—the
one fixed, and definite, and Scriptural
mode of baptism —and yet remain in
such perfect ignorance of the thing it
self.
“ What! can’t you yet understand
that there is a difference between a
thing and the inode or manner of do
ing that thing?” Oh yes, I can under
stand that, and, further, that there
may bo many ways of doing the same
essential thing. I can say that ,i man
was killed without telling how; I can
say that I have “ planted corn,” with
out telling how ; I can say, “ John went
to town to-day,” without telliiig what
road ho went. But now try to reverse
this thing. Can you tell me how a man
is killed, without telling that he is
killed ? Can you tell me how you
have planted corn without telling me
that* the corn is planted ? Can you
tell me the way John went to town,
without telling that he w.pnt ? I can
easily communicate a knowledge of the
what and leave you ignorant of the
how ; but I can’t reverse this thing, and
give a knowledge of the how, without
also revealing the what which the how
has accomplished. This relation be
tween the how and the what, between
the mode of doing a thing and the
thing itself, our friends have clearly
overlooked in their zeal to discover the
mode, of baptism, and yet leave them
selves and their people in ignorance of
baptism itself.
We wore told in the quotation given
in the lust article, that “when the
Bible says John baptized the people, it
affirms an action on the part of John,
but does not tell us how it was done.”
To all this I will agree. There is such
a thing as baptism —this baptism in
volves a certain action, (I have been
calling it an act, but I am not particu
lar about the precise word,) and the
record does not state how the action
was performed. Aud fu/rthor, I agree
that if we find out how the action was
performed, we must seek the if norma*
tion elsewhore. Nay, still further, l
agree that the how docs not lie in the
word “baptized;” it only affirms an
action on the part of John, but does
not tell us how it was done. Is not
this, my affusion brother, giving you
all underhold ? Could you isk any
more ? Could I grant you any more ?
Well, now, go to work—go to the
Spirit’s baptism—go to the Jewish
wushingsjand sprinklings and purifica
tions—go where you please and find
out the mode by which baptism was
performed, and when you have found
out that, you have found out all that
can be known of the act, or “action,”
of baptism. (Of course it is under
stood that we are not now considering
the design, subject , etc. of baptism —
only the action which was affirmed of
John.) Aud when you undertake to
tell me your discovery, and describe to
me what you have learned the mode
ot baptism to bo, I will know every
thing about baptism which can be
known, so far as the action is concern
ed, provided, of course, that yours is a
discovery of truth.
Let me repeat : A full description of
the mode of baptism, let baptism be
what it may, necessarily tells me what
the action of baptism is. If you leave
out a single part of the mode, you, just
so far, leave the action incomplete.
There may he many ways of planting
corn, but that plan which leaves the
corn out of the ground is incomplete.
There may be mauy roads leading to
town, but that road which, being fol
lowed, does not lead a man there, is
not one of them. There may be many
ways of felling a tree, but that plan
which adopted and carried out, does
not bring the tree to the ground, can
not be one of them. And just so, there
may be, and doubtless are, many ways
or modes of administering baptism, but
that mode which being pursued and
finished does not leave the person bap
baptized, cannot be one of them. And
that professed mode which, being de
scribed, does not reveal to us all that
may be known of the action, or exter
nal likeness, of baptism, is most as
suredly notone of them.
And if now, my good brother, you
will, further, not only describe to me
what you have discovered the mode of
baptism to be, but will actually exem
plify it before my eyes, then I will cer
tainly know (provided you are right,)
just what the action of baptism is.
If a man proposes to give me the mod*
of making a buggy, he must not stop
until the buggy is completed—until
the last finishing touch is put on, and
the buggy is ready for the market.
And if he further exemplifies before
me his mode of making buggies, and
actually makes one, when he is through,
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
I will not only know how to make a
buggy, but I will also know just what
a buggy is. And so, if you, my affu
sion brother, will go ahead, and exem
plify before my eyes your mode of
baptism, which you say is the Scrip
tural mode, I will not only know how
a Scriptural baptism is to be perform
ed, but I will also know what a Scrip
tural baptism is, provided you are
right. When I see what you have
done, and know what you have done, I
will see and know just what a complete
baptism is, so far as the action is con
cerned, and chat is all we are concern
ed about now. Now proceed and bap
tize your candidate. * * * Is the
baptism performed? Well, what have
you done? “Why, I just poured a
little water on the man’s head.” Is
that all you did ? Well, then, your
baptism is nothing but “pouring” at
last, for that is all you have done, and
when you got through that, your bap
tism was complete. Your baptism,
therefore, being nothing but a pouring,
or pouring out upon, and this being dis
tinctly and positively denied to be
baptism itself, you are left, my brother,
according to your own argument, with
out a baptism, and so, those upon
whom you pour water, according to
your own testimony, are not baptized.
Well, here we have the pleasure of
agreeing with vou again ; and here is an
other instance of extremes meeting!
and still another case of a man’s being
hoisted, all unawares, by his own
petard.
So, then, after all this great search
into the mazes of the Spirit’s baptism,
we have come out just where we went
in, having found out neither what bap
tism is, or how to perform it. For if
we had found out a true mode of bap
tism, (not to say the one true and
Scriptural mode,) that adopted and ex
emplified, would have revealed, to our
view, a complete baptism. But since
that mode which was discovered, (and
that by a course of reasoning, singular
ly illogical,) being followed, led to
something, which was not baptism, of
course, it cannot boa true and real
mode of baptism, much less the ouly
Scriptural one.
In general, it may be said, that
whatsoever our notions of the proper
mode of baptism, any mode observed,
will infallibly show just what we be
lieve baptism to bo. When I exem
plified my modo of administering the
ordinance, any one can see just what
I believe baptism to be. Do I believe
baptism to be immersion ? Then
when you see my method of perform
ing it carried out, you see a compiet
immersion. Everything is consistent.
Thus, truth is always consistent with
itself, while error is inconsistent) con
tradictory and self-destructive.
And here clos s the cousideriMkm of
the Spirit’s bapsisrh. And if*e, t
think it may be said truthfully, ends
the demolition of /the great Gibraltar
of affusion. And there remains, of all
that boasted structure, one stone upon
another, which has not been thrown
down, it was so insignificant as to es
cape notice.
Fur tho ludux aud Baptist.]
SOME SUGGESTIONS*
I have same suggestions (for which I
hold myself individually responsible)
that I desire to present through your
paper. In a forthcoming work of nine
lectures, now complete, on the Church
of Jesus Christ, the Sou of God, I
have the full proofs (that I will not now
offer) to the churches and the min
istry. My first is upon the officers of
the church. “ The Sou of God caiue
into the world to destroy the works of
the devil.” The devii has his millions in
a perfectly organized army. Every con
ceivable duty with his appropriate offi
cer. The Son of God said “on this
rock will I build my church and the
gates of hell shall not prevail agaiust
it.” Has Jesus Christ organized that
church, with all the officers necessary
in all time, to effect tho object without
the eternal round of committees and
agents ? I take the affirmative. Yes,
and take the Gospel:
1. For all the financial matters of
the church, there was the deacon (deak
onos) one or more, as needed.
2. For the special spiritual charge of
each church, there was a bishop (epis
kopos). To this was added when needed,
a pastor ( poimen ) to assist the bishop,
with like powers to administer the or
dinances —a single passage here, (Phil
ippians i: 1,) “Paul and Timotheus to
all the saints which are in Philippi,with
the bishops and deacous.”
These two, bishops and deacons, with
the pastor, when needed, attended to
all th* official matters of the individual
church, whose duties are clearly pointed
out. The one purely financial, the
other wholly spiritual. When the tal
ents were possessed, there was a preach
er ( didaskolor ) to be called into exer
cise. In addition to these was—
3. The evangelist (evanggelestos ) for
any church to have ordained, whose
duties were to preach the Gospel ’n the
field at large, with power to administer
the ordinances and establish churches.
Ephesians ix : 11, “ He gave some evan
gelists, ( evanggelettous ), some pastors,
( poimenas ), and teachers, ( dedaskalous .)
And there was yet another field and an
officer to fill it—that of
4. The elder, ( presbutoros ), one or
more in every church, whose duties
were to take the same spiritual over
sight of Christ’s church universal as
the bishop, (tpitkopot), took over the
single church. .One passage, Acts xiv:
23, “ When they (Paul and Barnabas)
had orainded them elders ( presbutoros)
in every church, and had prave 1 with
fasting, they commended them to the
Lord, on whom they believ , ” These
elders bad individually <■,- collectively,
the highest spiritual duties of the
chnrch. Through tnem was effected
harmony among the churches. These
four offices in the church of Christ
were distinct with officers—deacon,
bishop, with pastor, evangelist and
elder to fill them, and intended to be
perpetuated to the end of time. All
the official duties of the church were
performed by them.
The Son of God had no special com
mittees nor paid agents.
H. F. Smith.
Newnan, Ga.
For the Index and Baptist
THE BIBLE A LOOKING GLASS.
Dear Index —The Bible, the Inspired
Word, is compared to a mirror. The
Word enlightens the mind, it quickens
the understanding, garnishing the earth
with rays of light from Heaven for the
brighter and purer splendor of the Sun
of Righteousness while ages roll away,
Before tho Christian era, every nation,
but the Jewish, was considered as pa
gan. This nation had the true religion
with the ten commandments of the law,
together with all their ceremonies, di
vinely given, and was attended by God’s
particular care, support and guidance.
Nevertheless, we find the Jews deviat
ing from God’s commandments, and
corrupting themselves with superstition
and idolatry, to such an extent as to
bring upon them the Divine displeasure
in severe judgments. They had are
veled law as their instructor. The law
also for instruction given was Nature;
she was their Bible, and its pages were
her statutes, while the sun poured his
rays, and the ever recurring period of
the new moon for seasons were its con
tents and the stars its index. Our task
is now to trace the Israelitish race
while in cruel bondage under the iron
hand of tho Egptian, and Moses, a ref
ugee of forty years, in consequence of
the outburstof his patriotic feelings,was
tending the flock of Jethro in Midian ;
this Moses saw a bush in flames, but
without being consumed. And when
b 6 turned to behold the sight, “ God
called unto him out of the midst of the
bush, and said, Moses! Moses! Aud
he said, here am I. And He said draw
not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from
off thy feet, for the place whereon thou
standest is holy ground.” Exodus iii:
I, 5. Subsequently, Moses was com
mauded by the same authority to go to
Pharaoh, and take measures for lead
ing the children of Israel out of Egypt.
In this conversation, Moses said unto
God, “ Behold when I come unto tho
children of Israel, and shall say unto
them, the God of y®ur fathers has sent
•ne unto you, and they shall say to me,
what is his name? what shall I say unto
them Aud God said unto Moses,
“ I arip, that I am”; and He said,
“ Thus shalt thou say unto the children
of Israel, I AM hath sent rna unto
you.” And God said moreover, unto
Moses, “ Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, the Lord God of
your fathers, the God of Araham, the
God of Isaac, aud the God of Jacob,
bath sent me uuto you, this is my name
forever, and this is my memorial unto
all generations.”
The people of the present age have a
better opportunity to understand the
meaning of what is called the unutter
able name. lAm -self-existence —than
that afforded in former times ; for now,
we have authoritative works on Bibli
cal proper names, and treatise on vari
ous Scripture topics, and add to this,
we have historical information concern
ing the mode of preserving, as a mys
tery, the peculia: name of God among
the Jews up to tho present time. We
must not fail to notice one very re
markable passage in the eighteenth
chapter of Deuteronomy, in which Mo
ses utters a prediction concerning the
Saviour of maukiud. When at Horeb,
the Israelites having entreated that
they might not again hear the voice of
Jehovah, nor see the great fire, lest
they should die, the Lord thus spake
unto Moses : “ I will raise them up a
prophet from among their brethren, like
unto thee, and will put my words in his
mouth ; and He shall speak unto them
all that I shall command him.” “And
itshall cometo pass,that whosoever will
not hearken unto my words, which he
shall speak in my name, I will require
it of him. What prophet, after Moses,
ever has appeared among the Jews to
answer to this description, except the
Lord Jesus Christ? This has been
abundantly shown by the most able
expositors of Scripture, and is, indeed,
put beyond all doubt by the express
declarations of Peter and Stephen, in
the third and seventh chapters of the
Acts of the Apostles, and our Saviour,
Himself, it would seem, confirms this
testimony when He says to the Jews,
in asserting His claims to their reverence
and belief —“ Do not think that I will
accuse you to the Father: there is one
that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom
ye trust. For had ye believed Moses,
ye would have believed Me: for he
wrote of Me.”
To make full proof of this assertion,
Jesus Christ had taken Peter, and
John, and James, and gone up into a
mountain to pray, “Aud as He prayed,
the fashion of His countenance was
altered, and His raiment was white and
glistening. And behold, there talked
with Him two men, which were Moses
and Elias, who appeared in glory, and
spake of His de , which He should
accomplish at Jerusalem.” Lukeix:
28-31. The interview was shore. The
heavenly messengers soon returned to
their home in*the skies. And now, we
do assert, John, the harbinger, having
I some time exercised his ministry, Jesus
came to be baptized of him in the river
of Jordan. Being free from sin, He
could not repent; and -He needed no
forgiveness, regeneration, or newness of
life: but He would honor baptism as
the ordinance of God, and use it as a
solemn introduction to His most sacred
calling and work and offices, of which
John’s testimony, the descent of the
Holy Spirit, andt he voice from Heave”,
were so many notifications. John, aware
of His Divine dignity and excellence,
by immediate revelation, (see John i:
30-34,) hesitated to comply ; declaring
that he needed to be baptized of Christ,
with the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
and could not but be surprised that
Jesus applied to him, an inferior, and a
poor sinful man. Admitting this, Jesus
still intimated its propriety, “for,”
says He, “it becoaieth us to fulfill all
righteousness,” (to walk in the footstep in
all the commandments and ordinances
of God.) Every thing is beautiful iu
its season. Honor must now be put
upon Johu’s baptism. “And Jesus,
when He was baptized, went up straight
way out of the water: and 10, the
Heavens were opened unto Him, aud he
saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove, and lighting upon Him. And
10, a voice from Heaven, saying, this is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.” Matthew iii: 16, 17. Re
member, the voice of Ood to all sinners
now is, “ He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life : and he that be
lieveth not the Son, shall not see life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Repentance, in order to bo sincere, must
be accompanied with faith m Christ,
follow Him iu the commands, ordinance
and precepts, in the way it points out
in the Gospel. For all other sins to
be repented of, the most aggravated is
that the pride of the heart has so long
rejected a crucified Redeemer, as the
only source of justification before God,
and of pardon and peace. Repentance,
in order to be accepted, must be accom
panied with faith in Christ. For God
has declared that He can be just to
His own authority, while He forgives
tho sinner in no otb< way. Iu t his way
He can be just, and yet the j.istijier of
all who believe in Jesus. Will you,
thus, turn unto God ? Have you al
ready done it ? Is every idol banished
from your heart, that Christ may reign
in it, the supreme object of your affec
tion and service ? Magnify the Grace of
God, if it is so, and pray continually that
you may have mere of this grace, aud
love Christ more, and become more and
more like Him. F. C. A.
Washington, Ga.
—— •
Fort be Index and Baptist.]
HIE EXISTENCE OF GOD
i •
Is there a God ? The Earth, the
Bible, the Conscience aud the Mind,
say Yes.
How does the Earth know ? It sees
the evidence of His existence in itself.
It has written its own history. Its
years are numbered by its story aud
earthly strata; by the wave-marks
upon the sea-shore; by tne orders,
species and varieties of its animals,
minerals aud vegetables ; by the roses,
genealogies, settlements aud records of
maukiud. These are the witnesses of
its age and of ii>s origin ; and hence, of
its Author or Creator.
It shows, also, the marks of design
and wisdom, in all its parts; and
hence, proves that it had an intelligent
Designer and Architect.
Wfiat testimony does the Bible give ?
The Bible witnesses for the Earth, and
testifies positively to the same facts.
Moreover, the Bible is au indepen
dent teacher of the existence of God.
Whether we look at its character as a
whole, iu contrast with all other
books; or at the character of the God
which it describes, iu contrast with all
other gods ; or at the characters of its
writers, or the subjects they teach—its
superhuman doctrines, precepts,
promises, miracles; or at the morality
which it inculcates, or the rewards
which it promises, or the punishments
which it threatens, or its general adap
tation to the physical, moral, political,
social, temporal, eternal conditions
of man, we are, everywhere, and in
every particular, impressed with the
idea that its Author is God. And
when we see it constantly asserting
this high claim, we are ready to give
our free consent to the preposition,
“All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God.”
What information do we get from
Conscience ? Conscience is a disciple
of the Earth, and of the Bible, and is
educated, iu a great measure, by these
two teachers. But it finds in itse.f
the evidence of its moral and religious
character —a sense of moral obliga
tion, an idea of account —ability, a ne
cessity for a judge of its merits and
demerits, and of a suitable being for
its worship, spiritual allegiance and
endless enjoyment. God only could
be the Author of this facnlty, and He
only can satisfy its desires and answer
its demands.
What has the mind to say ? The
Mind gets much of its information
from the other teachers, but it sees in
its own workmanship the stamp and
image of Divinity. It could not be
the offspring of matter, for matter
could not give what it Uid not hare;
nor could it have an earthly origin. It
will be content, with ho one but God
for its Author, aud will recognize none
but God for its highest allegiance. It
hears God in the thunder, and sees
Him in the wonderful contrivances and
adaptations of every creature; in the
rain, the storm, the ocean, the world,
the heavenly bodies ; in the harmony,
beauty and grandeur of nature.
Surely, with such teachers, and such
witnesses, an Atheist is a dreamer, aud
Atheism is a dream. Aye! a dream,
but what a dream! A dream that
Matter is au eternal, all-powerful
cause —the Author of Mind, of Knowl
edge, of Wisdom, of Conscience; that
the univesal belief in a Divinity, is a de
ception, and the universal sense of moral
obligation, a mental aberration ; that
existence is an accident; nature, the
result of chance; life, a vision, and
death, an eternal sleep.
Atheism is a ruinous falsehood. The
Heavens and the earth brand it as the
chief doctrines of the prince of liars.
It is, moreover, a robber, a murder
er, a cause of every evil. It robs the
universe of its Author and Supporter ;
mankind of its Benefactor and Com
forter ; the soul of its hopes and spirit
ual joys; eternity, of its Heaven; so
ciety of its moral restraints, and leaves
it to the destructive elements of de
praved human appetites and passions,
which work all manner of evil.
Take God out ot the universe, and
you destroy Heaven, and make earth a
hell.
Therefore, the greatest enemy of
humankind is an Atheist; and the
most ruinous of human beliefs is
Atheism.
“Happy is that people whose God is
the Lord.”
“The spacious firmament on high,
Wi'h all the blue, ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shinning frame,
Their Great Original proclaim.
The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Doeß his Creator’s power display,
And publishes to every land,
The work of an Almighty hand.
Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth,
Repeats the story of her birth.
While all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets, in their turn,
Confirm the tidings, as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though in solemn silence, all
Move round this dark terrestial ball;
What though no real voice nor sound,
Amid their radiant orb be found.
In reason’s ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice ;
Forever singing, as they shine,
The hand that made us is Divine.”
T. B. Cooper.
P. S.—ln my last article on Roman
ism in Georgia, your printer made me
coin the word quaiulered for quenched,
if indeed he did not coin it for my ben
efit. - v T. B. C.
For the lnd*x and Baptist,.; i
WALDO, FLORIDA.
This town is on the Florida Raiiroad,
midway between the Atlantic on the
east, and the Gulf on the west, and
has about one hundred and fifty inhab
itants. It is building up rapidly. Cap
italists are buying lands and lots in
and near this place. It is very healthy,
with good water, and is also at the
junction of the Tampa and Florida
Railroads. At this place we organized
a Baptist church on the fifth day of
March last, and the outlook is hopeful.
The people in the community are as
moral as can be found anywhere.
Near this town is that beautiful
body of fresn water known as Santafee
Lake, three miles wide by eight or nine
long, abounding with the finest fish,
aud with outlets east into the St. John’s
river, and west into the Savannah river.
The orange grows to perfection. The
writer, and some other gentlemen,
weighed three, grown on this lake last
year, that aggregated three and one
fourth pounds. Robert Keith.
Note. —The Florida Baptist is a fail
ure, and now I hope every Bsptist in
the State will subscribe for the dear
old Index, and pay for it, too.
R. K.
Starke. Florida, May 9. 1876.
Thomas A. Carl.
Dear Brethren— Will you please
inquire, through your paper, for the
whereabouts of Thomas A. Carl, a
Baptist. He is a cabinet maker, form
erly of Boston, more recently of Nash
ville, Tennessee. His nephew, William
Armstrong, is in my care in a sick and
destitute condition. Very truly,
W. A. Mason,
Pastor BaptistJChurch.
Canton, Mississippi, April 28,1876.
For the Index and Baptist.]
“WHAT’S IS A SAHE.”
In a late article nnder the head ot “A Cor
rection” one of your correspondents, after
making the correction, adds, “ I would have
been glad if Gen. Gorden after being elected to
high position of United States Senator by the
great Baptist State of the South could have
given the influence of his name to the church of
his fathers.'’
I think the Baptist denomihation does need
the influence of men's names, whether they be in
humble or exalted positions, but simply de
vout men of decided convictions.
Principle .
—God has not taken so much pains
in framing, and furnishing, and adorn
ing this world, that they who were
made by Him, to live in it, should de
spise it.
—lt is much easier to find a score
wise enough to discover the truth,
than to find one intrepid enough, in
the face of opposition, to stand up for
it.