Newspaper Page Text
The Christian Index.
VOL. 57—NO. 1.
Table of Contents.
Fibst Page—Alabama Department: Pas
toral Support; The Relations of Law to
Morality ; Rev. W. W. Sanders; Words of
Cheer ; Rev. I. T. Tichenor; Spirit of the
Religious Press; etc.
Second Page.—Correspondence; “Conitnit
tee Ready to Report’’—G. A. N.; A Few
Errors Noticed—A. 8., Divorcement—T.
B. Cooper; Hitchcock on Socialism—A.
H. Newman; Ebenexer—W. N. Chaudoin;
State Pride as to Foreign Missions —W. W.
Landrum; An Explanation—James Mc-
Bryde. The Sunday-School; The Mission
of Nehemiah —Lesson for January 19th,
1879. Selections: Our Divine 'nheritance;
etc.
Third Page.—Our Pulpit: Holy Living-
Sermon by Rev. 8. P. Gallaway. Moderate
Your Pleasures, individual Influence.
Fourth Page.—Eiitorials: Con fluent Prayer;
Revivals; How Many Does it Take !; The
Poorest Man ; The Ri< heet Woman ; Sta
tistics for Southern Baptist Convention.
Fifth Page —Secular Editorials : An Ob
jectionable Feature in Journalism ; Our
New Dress ; Southern Social and Political
Disorders; North Georgia Agricultural
College; A Fable, by the Editor ; etc.
Sixth Page.—The Household: My Friend—
A Portrait—Poetry; Education of Girls—
Grace W. Wilcox; Flowers in North Caro
lina.
Seventh Page.—Children’s Corner: Non
sense Verses for the Children—Mrs. E. T.
Corbett; Nothing to Da Obituary and New
Advertisements.
Eighth Page.—Florida Department: Items
of State News. Editorials : To the Readers
of The Index in Florida—Rev. W. N.
Chaudoin ; Christian ; Indifference—The
Remedy. Obituaries. New Advertisements.
Christian
- - - - Jfcr... —.— —.
ALABAMA DEPARTMENT.
BY SAMVEL HENDERSON
PASTORAL SUPPORT.
In his admirable work, “the History ,
of the Reformation in Sweden,” Anjou
says, quoting Olof, “The priests had
previously abused the Scriptures to tax
the laymen, and force them to give '
more than they ought. Now in their
turn, laymen abused the Scriptures to
give their clergy less than they ought, ,
or nothing at all. The one ( the priests)
desired, on authority of the Scriptures,
to have all; the other on the same au
-Wlmfiu’l t|> give niiliiiirfr sfneb w
tendency of the human mind, to fly
from one extreme to the other.
Now, we do not propose to offer any
thing new on a topic that has been so
often discussed by abler pens ; but we
only aim to account, in some slight de- j
gree, for that peculiar “Baptist usage," !
which provides so effectually againstl
that pride in our ministry that comes j
of plethoric salaries. The ministry |
among the Baptists is not a lucrative ,
calling. That some of our ministers |
have been wealthy, is not that they are j
so from preaching, but that they in- '
herited their wealth. In the ages past
when our ancient brethren were doom- 1
ed to worship God in the dens and ■
caves of the earth —when they were j
remanded to prisons, and domineered i
over by the established religions—when ;
the clergy of these establishments were j
pampered by the State and “taxed the i
laymen, and forced them to pay more” '
than was meet —when the richest es- j
tates of empires belonged to the priests ;
—our brethren conceived an uncon
querable prejudice against those exor-j
bitant salaries, and very naturally took
the other extreme. Especially was this
true in this country. Over one hun
dred years ago, when the Baptists were
fighting the battle for “soul liberty,” j
they felt it their duty to antagonize
the established clergy at every assaila- j
able point; and at no point were they '
so vulnerable as at their exorbitant sal- I
aries, wrenched from an impoverished '
people for a very questionable service;,
1 for the clergy of the established Church I
of that day were not noted for their
piety, intelligence, or efficiency. In
conducting this warfare Upon the State
religion, our fathers gloried in preach
ing the Gospel without charge—they i
refused all compensation, thus present- .
ing ». perfect contrast to the legalized
hirelings of the State establishment.
This was, perhaps, the most powerful
weapon they wielded in that memora
ble contest. It may be written of them,
“in hoe signo vincet." They did
achieve a glorious victory for them
selves and mankind as well; for the
principles then and there established
are now extending over the entire face
of Christendom. But in achieving
this result, they fixed in the minds of
the laity. » sentiment that lingers there,
or less, to this day, to-wit: that
Z,fe Gospel is to be preached without
harge—or if anything is done for
the minister at al), it is as a mere char
ity. When the pressure was removed,
the rebound was so great that it threw
our brethren to the opposite extreme,
just what Anjou says of the Reforma
tion in Sweden—“in their turn, laymen
abused the Scriptures to give their
clergy less than they ought, or nothing
at all.”
What, then, is the true Scriptural
idea in this case? What is the bottom
principle of ministerial support? We
know not bow better to answer this
question than by the words the Holy
TIT® SOUTH-WEST EHH TBJVJPTIST,
of Alabama.
' Ghost teacheth: “ The laborer is
, j worthy of his hire." This principle
is incorporated into every system of
r ’ jurisprudence, human and divine. It
I is the "quid pro quo," of our law-books,
that regulates the commerce of the
world. It is the principle that vitalizes
every industry—that connects labor
! and capital—and harmonizes all the
: elements of communities. And can
■ any sane man suppose that the great
i Head of the Church, the Holy and the
' Just, would establish an office in his
I Kingdom, and put men into it, and
require them to “ give themselves
wholly” to its duties, and forbid them
to entangle themselves with this world,
that they may please Him,” and make
no provision for their support? Why,
the veriest despot that rules an empire
j compensates his ministers for their
: services. And has tl*“ compassionate
Son of God less regard for His minis-
I tern, His ambassadors, than the “pots
herds of the earth ?” Is the ministry
of the Gospel, the highest and noblest,
the only office on earth, in regard to
•which no provision has been made in
the way of its maintenance, by the law
that creates it? We have not so learned
Christ. On the contrary, the strongest
word the Holy Ghost ever used, is
employed in the enacting clause that
provides for ministerial support :
“ Even so hath God ordained that
they who preach the Gospel shall live
of the Gospel." The very word em
ployed to express the divine determi
nation in regard to the salvation of the j
believer, is employed to enforce this i
. obligation: “As many as were ok-j
DAINED to eternal life believed.” The j
only difference between these divine j
ordinations is, that the latter dwells in j
the head, the former must be carried j
' out by the hand ; and as it is easier to j
be a Christian in theory than in prac- |
i tice, we have divorced what God hath
joined together—principle and duty—
I theory and practice. We accept the
“ ordained” salvation—we reject the
■ “ ordained” instrumentality, for “it
. pleases God, by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe.”
In conclusion let us say, (and O,
that we could say it with an emphasis
• that jnsiri’}-«irws<e **rq
I conscience!) that the solemn duties <if'
; repentance and faith, of baptism and '
the Lord’s supper, of prayer and praise, |
of preaching and hearing, are not more '
i unmistakably taught in God’s word
j than that which binds our churches to I
■ see to it that God’s ordination is ob- I
i served—that “they who preach the |
Gospel shall live of the Gospel.” How ■
j many crushed hearts would leap for |
joy, how many impoverished house- '
I holds would be replenished, if our (
j churches would come up to the meas- \
' ure of their duty in this respect! It '
would throw a streak of sun-shine
across many a dark path, and infuse
new life into many of our pulpits, for ■
! nothing so paralyzes ministerial labor I
j as the consciousness that it is unap- J
preciated—unrequited. What a com
' mentary upon the Christianity of the
; age is found in the fact, that more
J than two hundred and fifty millions of
I dollars is expended in the United States
I annually for ardent spirits, to about
' ten millions to the support of all the
pastors of all denominations! Twenty
: five dollars given to one department of
■ Satan’s, empire to one dollar paid to
sustain a cause, that is worth more as
a conservator of public morals than the
whole civil and criminal jurisprudence
of the country! “ This is a lamenta-
I tion, and shall be for a lamentation.” .
■ THE RE LA TIONS OF LA W TO '
MORALITY.
a rule, the laws of all countries 1
express about the average standard of '
morality among a people. It is a
bootless task to enact laws in advance
of the moral sentiment of the people,
i for they will not be executed. On the
i other hand, a healthy public moral
sentiment will generally enforce itself
in such enactments by the authorities i
as will meet its demands. For in- 1
! stance, there was an old law upon our i
I statute book that authorized a civil
' magistrate to fine every man one dollar t
' that swore an oath in his presence;
and yet we never knew a jsingle case
■in which it was executed. Magistrates
: felt that public sentiment would not
' sustain them in enforcing it. At this
time there is pending before the Ala
| bama Legislature a bill forbidding bar
: keepers in the State from employing
minors. Some of the members are
opposing this bill on the ground that
I it interferes with private rights—that
' it will prevent minors from earning an
! honest (f) living for mothers and
sisters—that it is unconstitutional, and
the like. Private rights, indeed! Is
not that a questionable right which the I
law simply tolerates by the parties I
paying a heavier State tax to secure it,'
than is exacted of any other business? i
: Is not the whole policy of licensing
, drinking saloons an anomaly in Legis- :
lotion? To legalize a business that '
j every sane man in the commonwealth
knows is the source of four-fifths of the !
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GEORGIA, JANUARY 9, 1879.
■ crimes that incur the heaviest penal
‘ ties of our criminal law, looks to us
very like offering the temptation, and
then punishing men for yielding to it.
It is in effect saying—“ we, the law
makers, for a consideration, guarantee
I to certain parties the privilege of gild
ing the paths of transgression with
every allurement that can entrap the
unwary, and the weak, and the vic
ious, into the commission of every
| crime known to the law of Got! and
man, and then inflict upon the victims
that fall into the snare the heaviest
penalties known to the law!!” If this
does not made the law-making power
particeps crim-inis, we confess we know
not the force of comnioh English.
As to earning un honest support for
mothers and sisters in this business of
making drunkards, widows and or
phans—in this calling that creates
four-fifths of the crimes that fill our
jails, penitentiaries, etc; that sends
well nigh a hundred thousand victims
in this country annually to dishonored
graves—that squanders more than two
hundred 'and fifty millions of dollars
every year that could be expended in
honest industries —it might be well for
these reasoners to raise the question,
whether these minors might not find
honest employment on our farms, in
our work-shops, and other legitimate
and worthy callings, where they could,
earn an honest living for themselves
and others, without being subjected
themselves to a life of crime, a death
I of shame, and an eternity of remorse.
An honest living, forsooth! Is it not
rather a living coined out of the blood
of its victims, the poverty, tears and
heart-aches of widows and orphans, '
; and the prostration of every honest
j industry of the country? Yet these
I are the legislators who assume the
guardianship of our constitution! If
j the protection of the youth of our State
from the paths of this fell destroyer is
the only violation that can be offered
to this cherished instrument, the voice
of the Archangel, in the last day, will
find it without a flaw or stain. Is it
asking too much that the laws of our
country shall be on the side of morality
and virtue? tluu they shall encourage
least place no premium upon vice?’
We think this is about as modest a
demand as can come from a sensible I
I constituency.
THE LATE REV. W. W. SANDERS.
We have just finished reading the
touching tribute Prof. J. F. Lanneau,
' of the Central Female College, pays to
; the memory of his late Pastor, brother !
! Sanders. Perhaps there was not a :
young minister in Alabama more
I promising than he. Gifted in a high j
degree—trained in our best institutions !
of learning, nterary and theological—
fitted in his moral temperament and
piety for any position of usefulness that
i could be offered—he presented a rare
type of young manhood consecrated to
the cause of Christ. We often visited
him during his confinement in the
family of Judge Henderson of Talla
dega, and could but mark with painful
solicitude the progress of disease as it
gradually left its impress upon his man
ly form. As we contemplate such provi
dences in removing the young, the
gifted, the pious from fields of extended
usefulness just as they are entered, '
what affecting cause have we to ex- |
claim: “How unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding
: OUt?”
, Brother Sanders had not completed
j his first year’s pastorate at Tuskaloosn at
; the time of his death. On the 12th of
i November last, he left Tuskaloosa for
| Lynchburg, Virginia, to try the
effect of the bracing air of that re
! gion on his constitution ; and on the
25th of the same month he died, in the
29th year of his age. We tender to
our Tuskaloosa brethren our kindest
sympathies in this their sad bereavment,
and trust the Master will send them i
i another under-shepherd of like gifts,
piety and usefulness.
WORDS OF CHEER.
We do not propose lairing our read- i
! era with the many kindly words with .
which our old friends have greeted |
our recent connection with this paper; |
and hence we have scarcely alluded to I
them. But we now propose so far to |
depart from this rule as to insert the
I following, the first from that old sterl
ing journal, that in our judgment has
scarcely a superior on the continent—
the Religious Herald, Richmond, Va.—
j the second is an extract from a private >
letter from an old friend of thirty years I
i standing, who is now filling one of the .
highest and most important positions
;in thudenomination, south. For these i
i expressions of kindness, we feel grateful
Ito those brethren. The Herald says : I
“Dr. Samuel Henderson has entered '
I on the editorship of the Alabama do- ■
partnient of the Christian Index. He |
. will add much to the interest and in- i
‘ fluence of the paper. With such an i
editorial corps as Tucker. Fuller and !
! Henderson, and with a wide and invit-1
ing field for its operations, it can hard
ly fail to attain great success. It has
our wishes for its prosperity.”
Ihe private letter referred to con
cludes thus :
“—4' —hut I rejoice that you are
once more my-editor. And I must say
that your style is as clear and vigorous
as in your more youthful days. Why
should you not now be in your palm
iest days of intellectual vigor? May
Gdd long spare you to preach the glo
rious gospel, and to write strong words
of tnjtiy for the people.”
.
RJiV. 1. T. TICHENOR, D. D.
Tht?* brother, the President of the
Agricultural and Mechanical College
of Alakuna, spent Christmas week with
his old friends around Alpine, and
pnwhed for us on tlie fourth Sunday
in December, one of his best sermons.
It is lUrare pleasure to meet and enjoy
social and religious converse with one
so genial, cultivated, and intelligent.
Always buoyant and hopeful, he seems
to be more so than usual in regard to
the ina(itution over which he presides.
And ffell he may be, for there are be
tween forty and fifty more students in
attendance this winter than there were
at the same period last year. From
present indications, the halls of the
ill be literally crowded during
the spnng term, as there are now two
hundred and seventeen in attendance.
We hope our Legislature will let “well
enough alone,” and not attempt any
doubtful experiments. It is now on the
highnjfid to the most enlarged prosperi
ty, if {♦‘can only be preserved from the
counsels of indiscreet friends, or the
maclunations of enemies, from the for
mer of which it has more to fear than
the lajjWr.
Class Legislation.—There is a bill
pendipg before the Alabama Legisla- ]
ture, limiting the selection of cadets to 1
the “West Point Academy” to the grad
uates Bnd students of the Alabama
Univeftfity. But surely such consum
mate folly will never become a law in
our Htiiju.
Irtgta Ti ess;
—The Interior ( Presbyterian Chicago,)
comes to us this week well freighted
with an excellent cargo of good things.
Our good brother, it is true, forgot him- ■
self so far as to indulge in a little ridi- ,
cule of the whole Baptist brotherhood,
i calling them in derision, Aquatie Verte- ;
. brates. As this does not hurt us, and j
i as it amuses him, we let it pass, regret- [
I ing however for his sake, that he should
| have purchased his amusement at the ;
! expense of his dignity. Passing by this j
little piece of badinage (which we for-1
give) we find our Presbyterian brother
speaking wisely and well as follows:
“Receiving Christ is believing on His
name. That means only to accept Him
as He is, to trust Him in the character '
in, which He is revealed. That charac
ter must be learned by study of the Bi
ble. It is a true reflection of the per
sonality of Jesus. Have we ever
met a friend whom we felt we could
fully trust? Perhaps we did not know
very clearly how we came to the feel
ing. It was in truth a feeling, rather
than a perception. There was some
what in bearing, words, conduct and
face,a total impression, difficult of analy
sis, that made us willing to give that
friend pass-key to every chamber of the
heart. We have seen him as he was;
confidence sprang out of that vision.
So, to receive Jesus it needs only that
we see Him as He is. The Bible gives
us that view. He is the Divine Word.
He expresses God. The Word corres
ponds to the fact. The longer we study
that Word the more we understand its
meaning, the more we are drawn to-;
ward God. The perception of the truth
as it is in Jesus, is the reception of
Christ. To receive Christ, then, is to !
serin Him the brightness of the Fath
er’s glory, the perfection of help, sym
pathy and friendship for us, and. seeing
, it, to open all the doors of the heart;
that is to trust Hirn and rest in His
name; an ; n>perfect trust, and not fully
! grounded at first. But all the course
of Christian education is to put eup-
I fsirts of knowledgeuntDr our faith, to
1 show us more and more how worthy is
Christ of our utmost confidence, love
and worship. May this year bring to
] us all a widening experience of the
i grace of Christ. May each day open a
littlq wider the heart’s great doors, that
, more and more of his sunshine may
, fall into our life.
—The Christian O/wert'cr(Nashville)
1 thus observes:
The Chicago Adtanee, we understand (for
we do not see the paper), has taken the
I Southern religious papers to tusk for not re
! bilking the intimidation of colored voters,
shout which the South knows so little and
the North so much,
And the Index has always been aur
' print'd to see that those who live so
i many hundreds of miles from its, know
1 so much more about what transpires
’ here, than we do. who live on the spot,
1 “It is better not to know so much, than
THE OHHTSTTJLISr HERALD
of Tennessee.
■ ' it is to Iciww so many things that are
>; not true."
The editor of the Journal and Mes-
■ i senger ( Bap. Ohio) does himself justice,
j and does us justice, and very briefly
' I does justice to the subject as follows :
If Georgia, as represented by Dr. Lathrop's
; i Report, ’is to be taken as a sample, there is
sl, . re ‘y no occasion for misgiving, nor severe
criticism ; but, on the other hand, the ele
i vaiion of the colored, as well as of the white,
race is sure.
The National Baptist (Philadelphia,)
1 comes boldly to the front with these im-
J pressive words:
! A' 7 ? have no doubt that the elections in
Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and
Delaware were free from fraud or intimida
i tion.
Brother National! can you say as much
I for your own State or your own city?
I The Watchman (Baptist, Boston)
I thus declares:
It is not impossible that a party supreme
for the time, but afraid of defeat, might at
tempt to perpetuate its reign by methods
not wholly free from the taint of corruptioa.
We think such thingshave been known.
The Index thinks so, too!
, The Northern Christian Advocate
isays:
The great need of the South to-day is con
tact of the masses of the thinking people
with the best thought of the North.
The Western Methodist begs to
say :
The great need of the North to-day is con
tact of the masses of the thinking people
with the best thought of the South.
Which of the above parties is right ?
Or are they both right? Or are they
both wrong ? Or is one right and the
other wr</.g? The Index thinks that
if both the parties represented by the
two writers quoted above, could be or
ganized into mutual aid societies, much
good might ensue. “Mutual Recrimi
nation Societies” seem to be the order
of the day, but we have never seen that
they did any good.
—The New York Observer. (Presby
| terian, and one of our favorite exchan- I
' ges) speaks thus :
Next to the revival of pure and unde
filed religion, and it is part and parcel of it,
we trust the Church will give ils labor and
i its prayer this year to the vigorous, faithful ,
land ’inpartial sunporl of the laws of the
' Isri*'
i' *es, that is just what we mean. AsChris-
CapH we owe duEt< directs to the Church ;
Asvit z.' iJ 1 ntu Mr.g-.«tiou#to !,<• .XtldhuK
no less binding (pjjJ drtineJ.
What we want now is a revival of law
and justice and public virtue. Good men
must combine when bad men conspire. The
wholesome laws that every State ordains for
| the protection of the lives and property of
its citizens must be put in force against every
1 enemy of the peace and prosperity of the
I community'.,
We commend this specific duty to the
Christian people of this country. The man
of the world, so called, the mere politician,
j will hold himself aloof from it. Christian
citizens have duties as Christian citizens.
They seldom think of it, but it is as truly
their duty to render his due to Csesar as his
: due to God.
It too often happens, that when the i
Northern papers speak on this subject,
they seem to imply, if they do not de- ;
clare, that all disregard of law is con- |
fined to the South. Certainly, there is j
I enough of it here, though not more we
believe than anywhere else. The re
marks of the Observer are equally ap
plicable to all latitudes, and we trust
that all who read, will profit by them.
Whenever we hear the Sheriff cry out
on adjourning the court, “God save the
State and this Honorable Court,” we I
cannot refrain from a heart-felt I
"Amen!”
Somewhat on the same line, and a !
good line it is, the National Baptist '
speaks:
A justice that is administered only when
the culprit L floor, ignorant and weak, is a
justice that is scarcely to be distin- [
guished from injustice. If we are going I
to come down with all the terrors of the
law on the sneak thief and the pick pocket;
and then if we are Io let up on the respect
able Bank President, or listirance official,
who has caused a million dollars to disap
pear ; if we are going to hang the drunken |
Irishman or negro who kills his equally i
drunken comrade in a cellar of Hard Scrab
ble Alley, and then if we are to release the
high toned, well-connected, well-dressed
merchant who has taken off a man; then we
had better shut up our Courts, anti save the
expense of jails and constables.
The more “respectable” a culprit is, so !
much the more dangerous he is, because his
opportunity is so much greater, and because
his example is so much more injurious.
| The more intelligent he is, the more con- |
stant he has been at church, so much the less
excusable is he, for so much greater was his
I knowledge.
1 On these grounds, it seems to us that the
sentence pronounced upon John S. Mor
ton, and his associate in crime, was de
manded bv justice and by the public welfare.
Crime committed in the higher plauea of
•ociety corrupts all the stream ; it is needful
that corrective and exemplary punishment
also should begin high up, (jam influence is
lost. 1
Last week, the writer was asked to sign a
petition for the commutation of the sen
■ fence <d Benjamin Hunter. In reply, we
said : “He ha« had a fair trial, and lias been
’ I defended by the very ablest counsel in the
State. Money has not been spared to pro
j cure him the fullest benefit of every techni
[ cality of the law. If he is guilty of the
1 crime, there is absolutely no palliation;
there is no ground for any mitigation of the
sentence.”
And this is cxnctly wlmt woof Thk
Index have always done, and will al
! ways do, on similar occasions.
The Christian Adroeute (Mothod
ist, Nashville) speaks as follows :
WHOLE NO. H ‘
? God uses human agency in the conversion
of the world. He will convert the world no
faster than his people will do the work.
The first sentence meets our un
qualified approbation. The second
sentence we think, would be improved,
( though, perhaps,~*Mbt perfected, if it
i j were written thus: “He converts the
< world no faster then the people do the
• work.” Then comes in the Methodist
with wholesome zeal, properly saying:
And hero is the glorious privilege of ajenr
servant of the Lord : he is a co-worker wita
him. Think of this solemn responsibility
and rejogpe in this glorious privilege ana
i opportunity, and as the new year opens re-
I solve that by prayers, andjtifts, and acts of
. service, to do more for Christ than you
have done in the past. ™
—The Southern Preffryterititt (Co
lumbia, 8. C.) makes the following
i excellent remarks:
The preacher who preaches for “popular
i ity, ’ must look to the people for his reward ;
the “earnest worker” who works chiefly for
j the good of souls,” must look to souls for
his reward ; the church member who works
chiefly for “the church,” must look to the
church for his reward ; the benevolent man
who gives chiefly to “the poor,” must look
to the poor for his reward; the man who
lives chiefly for his “family and friends,”
must look to these for his reward. That
alone in all these and like right and good
things which is done “to Christ” and “for
His sake,” is entitled bv His word to look to
| Him for reward. Only as he is fiist in the
deliberate and conscious motive, does the
act become one of those by which we “lay
up treasure in Heaven.” Thus, a whole
life, though outwardly conformed to his
word may be worse than thrown awav in its
bearing on our own eternal welfare. “Wheth
er, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever
ye do, do all to the glory of God.” “What
■ soever ye do in word or deed, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to
i God and the Father by him.”
And now comes our Foreign Mission
Journal (Dr. Tupper, Richmond), with
j something to say on True Revivals. We
j put a portion of it in italics :
Here, then, we have a law of church and
spiritual prosperity. The questions may be
asked: Whether any soul or church was
ever truly prosperous which was not prac
tically and earnestly engaged in dissemina
ting the gospel over the world? and whether
any soul or church was ever otherwise than
prosperous which did give itself to this
I work? Pastors are distressed because of the
low spiritual con liti .n of their people, and
1 evangelists are earnestly engaged with
them to bring about revivals. But these r<-
t eiwihi Avw W be ho const trawiiw-Wur
•minenl Chrisiiah lawyer has written a letter
for the forthcoming biography of a dislin
, 1 guished divine, in which the doubt is express
.: ed whether, in what are caVed revivals, the
■ good that is done counterbalances the evil.
F Certain it is that from the Scripture which
; we are considering the le-son is derived that
, i true prosperity is in that instructed and edi
fied s'ate of God’s people which witnesses
to the presence of the Holy Spirit by the
execution of the great behest of the Head of
the Church, to give the gospel to the race of
man. In this grand work, the Church, as a
body, is developed ; as a buildine, is edified ;
as an army, is disciplined; as a holy nation,
is sanctified. This is true, substantial revi
val.; rather, it is the normal state of the
Church, which need- not to be revived.
And the Index is persuaded, that if
j the regular, steady, habitual, working
I power of a church, is not increased by
what was regarded as a revival, then'
that which was called a revival, was
falsely so-called. Beloved, try the spir
its. Believe not every spirit.
Concerning Temperance.—A city
contemporary, alluding to the fact that
“Society” ladies this year changed the
' hours for receiving New Year’s “calls,”
| from the time heretofore customary, to
the hours from four p. m. to midnight,
I hinted that the convenient darkness
“would be agreeable to such young
j men as were conscious of having im
, bibed too freely of intoxicating bever
ages” while making their visits.
This touches upon a very serious
I evil connected with this custom. We
j hope the society ladies referred to are
! good society ladies. As such they can
not tolerate intemperate habits in their
! male visitors, nor ought they to tempt
! young mofi to become intoxicated on
such occasions, or upon any other oc
casion.
If ladies will resolutely demand tem
perance and gentlemanly conduct from
their male friends, and, as resolutely,
avoid placing temptations in their way,
calculated to encourage departures from
| such a line of conduct, they will exer
cise a powerful influence for good, and
I do noble service in ridding society of
one of its most dangerous and debas-
I ing evils.
Appointments of Rev. T. C. Boykin
' IN the Merckr Association.- -Biturdny
18th Big Creek, 19th Th< masville, 20th New
Ocklocknee, 21st Friendship, 22nd New Hop*
night, Boston, 23rd Salem, night Evergreen,
24th Grooverville, 25th and 26th, Hickory
Head Sunday Schoo! Convention.
J. M. Rushin. Ch. S. S. Com.
P. 8. - Other appointments may be made
from the Sunday school Convention of the
i' Bowen Association where brother B. will
i be the second Sunday and Saturday be-
II (ore. J. M. R.
j We have received tin invitation to
’ I attend the inarrige of Miss Cogee,
I daughter of Rev. T. 8. Murrow, Indian
Missionary, to Mr. W. A. Mcßride. The
i bnppy event is to take place nt A-tok-n,
- Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, on
Jiinttnry KWh. Wc extend Io the
■ happy couple, and to brother Murrow,
our sincerest congratiilations.