Newspaper Page Text
2
W. 1 " '
j
“COMMITTEE READY TO HE- !
PORT."
' ■■
"Thpii art the man” in the sharp key i
note iff our accuser ; it isecbocd back in !
our conscience,anti it is recognised in ■
the high court of heaven. Individual
ism is the groat doctrine of our religion.
It is the beginning of accountability, it
is the motive power in the performance
of duty and it ia the basis of the final ad- ,
judication. The thought that “I am |
responsible” robs the night hours of j
their sleep. The conviction tha.t“ltis!
my duty” makes me nervous in the !
day-time. To obliterate that thought <
amt stifle that conviction has been the ■
lalwred effort of man ever since Adam ;
t laid the blame of his first sin on Eve,
and Eve brought the charge upon the ;
Serpent.
The devicegrfor the destruction of the
individual are multitudinous. Sociii
ties have organized, conventions
have been held, corporations have been
formed, ami in these the e//o —the indi
vidual has tried to bury himself.
Men forget that these bodies are not
chemical compounds by which a new
substance—a new entity—is called into
being, but arc only mechanical mixtures
in which each particle maintains its
identity-—in which earth individual is
still himself. His selfhood is not in the
least affected. His temporal action
may be somewhat changed, but his mor
al status is still the same. “A man’s a
manfor all that,” whether he be alone
in the isolation of a hermitage, or an
atom rolling about in the great sea of
humanity. < )ur duty is from above and 1
our danger is from below—the society,
the corporation, the convention, can
only stand around us—leaving us still
subject to duty from above, and still ex
posed to danger from below.
The simplest and cheapest and the
most available means for the elimina
tion of one's self is the essential, übiqui
tous, omnivorous committee. This is
emphatically the ‘‘Age of Committees.”
It matters not what is to be done, from ;
the election of a President down to the
appointment of a militia bailiff, from
the building of railroad to the construc
tion of a country-school house, from the
appointment of the Grand Evangelical
Alliance to the relief of a poor sister in
the church—it is all done by that same
inevitable device—the commit tee. The
destiny of a nation and the book mark
in the pastor’s Bible are both determin
''‘eil by'theeoidmktee. TAe pence of the)
world and the fellowship of two rival
butchers is at (he disposal of the com
mittee. The philanthropy that feeds
the famishing millions of China and
the crumbs that appease the hunger of
the lone pauper at the gate of the temple
are handled by the committee.
There is no doubt need for commit-!
let’s, but they should not be used for ;
breastworks behind which the others ;
can hide. The original committee ap
pointed by Joshua was not commission- ;
ed to do deeds, but to ferret out facts. ;
In those days, however, the multitude
find the facts and complain if the com
mittee dot's not do the work. The main |
argument to sustain the appointment ■
of a committee is found in the aphor
risni. “what is everybody’s business is ;
nobody's business,” which is as false as j
it is old. “Whnt is everybody’s bus- ;
iness" is everybody’s business, is a t ruism, !
and no man can escape the responsibil-1
ity of attending to it. There has been 1
too much business thrust upon the j
committee. It has liecn over-worked [
and is well-nigh a useless thing—unless j
it be to swallow “the bones of conten-I
tion” that are left after the feast, for it j
is proverbial that when any business j
drops into a committee—that is the ‘
last of it. A plea is here filed for the i
relief of the much abused committee. I
They have too much on hand. Too ;
much is required of them. You hold ;
the committee responsible for the doc
trine of the pulpit, and the discipline of I
the pew, for the song in the gallery,
and the prayer in the basement, for the I
poverty-stricken in the hut, and pelf- ;
burdened in the palace—in a word. I
everthing connected with the churh, !
from the porch to the pool, and from
the pool to the pearly gates has been
turned over to the committee.
But for all that, it comes back still in
your reflections over work undone, in
your quiet moments, when you recog
nize the solemn fact of individual re
sponsibility. ‘‘Thou art the man.”
G. A. N.
.1 FA’W’ ERRORS NOTICED
Was John’s baptism Christian bap
tism, the same as practiced by the
apostles? Some think not. It seems
quite plain from the first chapter of
Mark that it was real gospel baptism :
“the beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ." John comes according to
prophesy to prepare the way of the
Lord, and baptizes in the wilderness.
The celebrated John Calvin says his
dix'trine and baptism were the same as
that of the a|s>stles. The Evangelist
John, first chapter, informs us that "a
man was sent of God, whom' name was
John, to prepan' the way of the laird,"
“tin' same sent him to baptise in wa
ter.” John wm to be the pn<eursor of
Christ, and directed to baptize. It is
plain ho had g<M>d authority and was
well qualified for the office. He bap
tized the Savior in the Jonlan, which
was approved by both the Father and
The Christian Index and Southwestern Baptist: Thursday, January 9, 1879.
Holy Spirit. Now would (rod send out
a man to so important an office, yet not
qualified for it ?
“But some baptized by John were re
baptized at Ephesus,” Acts 19th. The
2d, 3d and 4th verses in this chapter is
the language of Paul, relating to John's
baptizing the people; the sth verse is
that of Luke, the Historian and “peo
ple," not the twelve disciples, is proper
ly the antecedent to the sth verse,
which should be translated, “and hav
ing beard” John preach, “were baptized
in the name of the Lord Jesus.” “Hav
ing heard” John preach; “/Am” is not
in the Greek text. Several commenta
tors maintain that John baptized in the
name of Christ; also that most if not
all those who became the apostles of
Christ were baptized by John. The
Greek text in,“akountes tie. e.baptistre," u
Greek participle.
“Christ was baptized to induct Him
into His priestly office.” Any one who
i has perused the 7th chapter of He
! brews must see the error plainly. The
Psalmist informs us that He was a
priest after the order of Melchisedec,
; not after that of Aaron. Our Lord
I sprang out of Judah, and a death pen
j alty was annexed to intruders of any
i triliehnt that of Aaron, yet over seven
! ty-five years ago, Dr. Samuel Worees
; ter, Secretary of the American Board
of Foreign Missions, one of the most
distinguished ministers of the North
east, maintained this theory. Dr. Geo.
Campbell’s translation of “fulfil all
righteousness,” “is ratify every divine
institution.”
“Is baptism absolutely necessary to
salvation ?” Baptismal regeneration is
one of the greatest curses in the world.
Hence the theory of infant baptism
doubtless had its origin : that is, it was
introduced to save infants; ten thous
ands in after life exhibited such traits
of character, that there was no ground
to hope for their salvation. Faith is
requisite in all adults to salvation. “He
that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved,” not those who have received
only the ordinance. In the Evangelist
we find the thief on the cross was
promised by the Savior a home in Par
adise, t hough he had not been baptized ;
but in Acts, Bth chapter, we find Simon
Magus, who professed to have believed
and was baptized, was but a hypocrite
like Judas, and was still “in the gall of
bitterness," a stranger to heart religion.
Baptism is enjoined on all believers,
ami so far as the divine record goes, it
is required of none others, for wherever
we find baptism In the New Testament
we find faith precedes. Not
Baptists, but Pedobaptists, and some
that practice immersion, sustain this
erijpr in regard to tliMuecesidty of bap
tism in onler fp ' >
The Baptists are represented as mak
ing an idol of baptism, and though they
contend that it is the duty of every be
liever to be baptized, they do not as
cribe to it any saving efficacy, but a sol
emn duty on believers. Some who
discard the real scriptural ordinance
and resort to a mere substitute for it,
have great confidence in its power to
regenerate and save. A. S.
DIVORt'EMENT.
CHRIST ANU PAUL.
('hrist affirms, that except for forni
cation, a bill of divorcement cannot be
allowed. Mat. v. 32, and xix. 3-9.
I’aul cannot teach a contrary doc
trine.
A bill of divorcement for unbelief is
a contrary doctrine.
Therefore, Paul cannot teach that a
bill of divorcement can be allowed for
unbelief.
Paul affirms, that a brother or a Sis
ter—a believer—and an unbeliever,
may, if they will, lire apart— “let him
or her depart.” 1 Cor. VIL, 15. That
they are not “under bondage, in such
eases,” /<> lire toyether.
That if they depart, they must re
main unmarried—“let her (the wife)
remain unmarried," says he—“let not
the husband put away his wife." by di
vorcement. Verso 11.
Therefore, tirst, Paul does not teach
another doctrine from that of Christ;
secondly, he who puts away his wife
by divorcement for unbelief, as well as
I for any other cause, is guilty of adulte
ry, as Christ affirms, in Mathew, v. 32,
| and XIX., 9.
The above argument is confirmed by
Paul, in the 39th verse of this vn chap,
of 1 Corinthians, and in Romans, vn. 2.
3, where he says very plainly : “The
wife is bound by the law as long as her
husband liveth ; but if her husband be
dead she is at liberty to be married to
whom she will; only in the laird. For
the woman which hath a husband is
bound by the law to her husband, so
long ns be liveth ; but if the husband
be dead she is loosed from the law of
her husband. So then, if while her
husband liveth she be married to an
other man, she shall be called an ailul
tress; but if her husband be dead, she is
fix'e from that law, so that she is no
adultnws, though she be married to an
other man/’
This law certainly binds the husband,
ns well as the wife, in every case, ex
cept the single one of divorcement for
fornication, allowed by Christ.
T. B. Cooper.
Dec. 18, 1878.
HITCHCOCK ON SOCIALISM.
I should like to call the attention of
the readers of Tiik Index, to an admir
able little Ixxtk that has just appeared,
on a subject that i* just now attracting
almost univeraal attention in this coun
try and in Europe, viz :Dr. Roswell 1).
Hitchcocks’ "Socialism.” The volume
contains four esssays, (apparently lec
tures’) the first on “Socialism in Gen
eral,” the second on ‘’Communistic
Socialism,” the third on “Anti-Commu
nistic Socialism,” the fourth on “Chris
tian Socialism.” It is not usual to find
so much historical information, 4o much
politico-economic wisdom, so much gen
uine Christian philosophy and philan
thropy in so small a compass. The pe
culiar types of Socialism in Germany.
France, England and America are neat
ly characterized. The dangers to our
own civilization from this source are
recognized and remedies suggested.
The Christian doctrines of universal be
nevolence, as the inalienable rights of
every individual of the race, of the re
lation of the rich and poor, are set
over against the crudities of modern
socialism. Casually the author sets be
fore us a clear discussion of the nature
of property, sweeping away the cob
web theories of demagogues and fana
tics, and advancing what seems to me
to be a true theory.
A. 11. Newman.
Rochester, N Y., Dec. 21, 1878.
EHENEZER.
To the Georgia readers of The In
dex, does the writer especially desire to
address himself. And brethren and sis
ters beloved, you will indulge me if 1
am personal, and let me speak in the
jirst person/ My heart is full, ibo full
forexpression, full of contrition, grati
tude ami love.
More than twenty years ago. Jehovah
directed me from my native to this, as
it seems to be, my adopted State. I was
then quite an invalid, just able to work
sonw for Jesus, and not expecting to
live but a few years, at most. lam yet
alive, and so far as I know, in every re
spect, in better condition physically than
I was then, or have been generlt(ly since
—certainly better in some respects, if
not in all. Physically, I especially and
with emphasis can say, “Ebenezer.”
During those twenty years, with one
or two short intervals excepted, J have
been able toongage in ministerial work,
the work of my life, of all works the
dearest to my heart. So that ministe
rially I must say “Ebenezer!” I came
to Georgia, almost entirely a stranger,
with but little experience, yofmg. ami
by nature impulsive. From my en
trance into the State, till this writing,
I have only met friendship, love and
assistance. Then how truly I may say,
“The Lord hath helped me,” in giving
mo favor among my brethren. God grant
| to help me retain the love artfl conti-
I deuce of my brethren while I live.
Rather let me die. than repryach the
denomination I love next to my 8a-
AI
I pected by me, I was called to an Agency
. for the Domestic ami Indian Mission
. Board of the Southern Baptist Conven
j tion, now called Home Mission Board.
Prayerfully I trust, and fearfully I know.
■ and after asking counsel of judicious
brethren, official and unofficial, I en-
I tered the work, partially at first retain
| ing the care of one church. thinking I
might not be able to physical!) endure
1 the agency work, so as to justify my
! eontinuanee’in it. A year and a half's
experience was such as to encourage ni".
I went fully into the work, and have
, continued to date, and to the work, un
der God, 1 feel is to be attributed, in
large measure, my improved health. In
one particular only,do 1 feel that 1 have
been measurably successful, and that
is, in acting so as not to prejutlice agen
cy work, in the minds t>f my brethren. In
this, with a grateful heart let it be re
corded, “Ebenezer.”
Looking back over the year 1878,
note almost gone, (as 1 may be too) and
calling up all its experiences, consider
ing my health, labors, enjoyments, and
successes, so far as can lie seen by mor
tal eye. of the eventful, happy year. 1
can witness. “The Lord hath helped me."
Brethren, 1 have not written in ego
tism. I have only stated facts, to me
alFeeting and surprising, only that I
may testify to Goil’s wonderful good
ness. How. my faithful, beloved co-la
borers, has it been with you during
1878? Some of you,(how many have
gone to their reward) can testify that
ten years ago (soon after entering the
work) I made an appeal to grateful
hearts, for a Thank-offering. Each suc
cessive year since, I have renewed that
appeal as the years were taking their
departure. This is one system I have
attempted to establish, and as a sort of
pleasant and appropriate addition toany
and all systems. I have never appeal
ed in vain. Ido not believe I will, in
this tenth greeting and call.
Brethren and sisters, and friends of
Home and Indian Missions, I ask you
each for ten cents, and ten cents for
each member of your family, and so far
as practicable, ten cents for each church
memlier. I ask the names, for the
pleasure to me. of recording them in a
little book called
NEW-VEAR OFFERING BOOK FOR 1879,
which I will keep as a sweet memento.
Write me to Atlanta, or Jonesboro, Ga.
Will the readers of this pa]M>r in Flori
da, and elsewhere, do the same? lam
yours in love of the Savior,
W. N. Chaudoin, Agent.
STATE PRIDE AS TO FOREIGN
MISSIONS.
Why is it. bn'thren of Georgia, that
the little State of South Carolina im-
IXHcrished and humiliated by protract
misrule ; and that the State of Virgin
ia. whose financial condition i* worse
than that of any other state in the
South, rises up and pays, each its prop-
er proportion, to foreign missions, I
while Georgia, the banner Baptist j
State, not only of the South but of,
America, lags behind, as if begrudging j
its meagre quota of dollars for the sal
vation of the heathen ? Shall we not, ’
at this season of merriment and re
joining and of present making remem
ber our self-sacrificing missionaries in i
far off lands, especially brother Taylor (
and the mission chapel in the city of
. Rome ? As Baptists of Georgia we
ought to have a holy pride in doing
all for Christ our great numbers and
; vast resources permit us to do. Let us >
j have a New Year's offering for Foreign
Missions. W.m. W. Landrum.
Augusta Ga., Dec. 25, 1878.
-■■ ♦
.1A” EXPLANATION.
Eds. Index—My nephew, Rev. J.T.
Mcßryde, is Pastor of the Presbyterian
church at Leesburg, and I am the
humble pastor of the Baptist church at
the same place. Rev. John T. Mc-
Bryde does not wish to be held account
able for the sayings ami doings of his
Baptist uncle, and the good brethren,
who know him, would be surprised and
grieved should they hear that Rev.
James Mcßryde had been baptizing in
' fants.
That there be no trouble in the fu
ture, let it be understood that the Bap
tist minister writes his name.
James Mcßryde.
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL.
International Sunday-School Lcomoum.
Lesson lll—January 19, 1879.
THE MISSION OF NEHEMIAH.
Neb. ii: 1-8. B. C. 445. Read Neb. i.
CONNECTION.
The foundation of the second temple :
was laid B. C. 535, by Zerubbabel, who ■
went from Babylon with about 50,000
Jews B. C. 530. The work of building !
was interrupted by the Samaritans for
* fourteen years, and was not completed
till B. C. 515, twenty years after the
foundation was laid. This was in the
feign of Darius llystaspes, who wassuc
ceeded by Xerxes, who was followed by !
Artaxerxes. The hitter came to the '
throne B. ('. 404. In the seventh year
of his reign, Ezra visited Jerusalem by
permission of the king, clothed with full
civil and ecclesiastical power, taking
with him eighteen hundred Jews. He
reigned at Jerusalem for about thirteen
; years, during which time he collected
! all the sacred books then existing, ar
ranged them in order, and formed the
I canon of the Old Testament. After Ez
; ra, Nehemiah became governor of Ju
-1 iteaf a/iif hi# nvissioh wtie subject of|
; our present lesson, which presents the
I following
OUTLINE.
I. Sad. v: 1-3.
11. Making a request, v : 4-5.
HI Sect on his mission, v : 0-8.
exposition.
i I. Sad.
• Nehemiab was born at (labylon du-
! ring the captivity. According to some ;
1 he was of the raceof priests, but accord- ;
ing to others of the royal family of Ju
[ dah. He was the writer of the l>ook i
which bears his name. The book con
! tains a history of about twelve years.
viz : from the 20th year of the reign of ;
Artazerz.es (chap. i:i.) to the 32nd
(chap. 13:0). Nehemiah became eup
| bearer to the king, and at the time of
I our lesson resided at Shushan (chap. 1 :
2). the winter residence of the Persian
kings.
V. 1. “The month Nisan." The Jews
. originally distinguished the months
; merely by the numerical order, as the
■ first, the second, and so on. As early
' as in the time of Moses, however, this
I month was called Abib (Green ears).!
! From the time of the captivity all the 1
months were called by Chaldean and
Persian names. Nisan corresponded ■
nearly to our April and was the seventh
month of the Jewish civil year. Chis- !
! len. mentioned in chap. 1:1. was the
third month or December. It was four
months therefore after Nehemiah heard
from Hanani and his companions, the
condition of the walls of Jerusalem that
hi 1 made the request in our lesson. “Ar
taxerxes" surnamed Longimanus or
long-handed. “I took tip the wine."
according to Xenophon, the Persian j
cup-bearer first washed the cup in the
king's presence, and then took wine from
the vessel containing it into the cup.
Pouring a little into his own left hand,
he drank it and handed the cup to the
king. In Eastern courts the position
i of cup-bearer was a high one. Tliecup
bean’r of Pharaoh was the means of
i raising Joseph to his high position. Gen.
40:1-21. Thia accounts for the ease
with which he obtained so high a place
as governor of a province. “1 had not
la'i'ii sad in his presence." The idea
! is that prior to hearing the account |
| which Hanani gave, he had been accus
' tomed to be cheerful and pleasant be
fore the king. For some time now he
I had la'on sad. and at length the king,
I having noticed the change, makes in
quiry as to the cause.
V. 2. Artaxerxes, feeling an interest
in his cupl»earer, and |>erceiving that
he is not sick, attributes his sadness to
some heart sorrow. Nehemiah however
“was very sore afraid" when he asked
him why he was sad. fearing lest the
king suspected his thoughts alsiut re
turning to Jerusalem, and might not
lie willing to permit him to go. as he
desired, to rebuild its walls.
V. 3. "Ix>t the king live forever." ,
A jmlite expression of that day. 8w 1
Ki. 1: 81. Dan. 2: 4. It waa like the
! English “God save the King” of to-<lay.
i “The city.” Jerusalem, chap. 1 : 2. ;
i “The place of my fathers’ sepul
j chres,” for which the Jews had great t
regard. See Gen. 50: 25. Josh. 24:
; 32. As none were buried in Jerusalem, :
I with an exception or too, but members ■
of the royal family, the expression ;
i would seem to indicate that Nehemiah ;
, was of royal descent. “Waste.” Unfor-
I tiffed. “Consumed.” The gates were usu-;
ally of wood, though the walls were of i
stone or brick.
Thus we behold Nehemiah doing his !
duty in the jiosition in which he found ■
himself, yet longing to do service to his j
father-land.
11. Making a request.
V. 4. The King desires to know
i what request he desires to make in ref-
I erence to the city. Hearing this ques- j
tion Nehemiah prays mentally a mo- I
ment before answering, so he had look- ’
ed to God four months before, when he
heard of the desolation of the city.
V. 5. “That I may build it.” That
is, that I may be clotheil with authori- ■
ty to do so. or be made governor, i
Doubtless he desired more than the
simple building of the walls as the se
quel shows. He desired to restore the
city to its former glory.
111. Sent on his mission.
V. t>. “The queen also sitting by j
him.” Why this is mentioned is not
clear. “How long.” Indicating the
high regard the king had for Nehemiah
and his dis[*osition to favor the Jews.
“I set him a time,” that is, named the
length of time for which he desired
leave of absence. The work of rebuild
ing the walls was completed on the 25th
day of Elul (chapter vi: 15.) the 6th
month, answering to our September,
about five months after the appoint
ment of Nehemiah, though the work
: was actually done in fifty-two days. He
; was actually governor, however, about
j twelve years. As might have been ex
pected, his leave extended beyond the
: time first mentioned.
V. 7. “Beyond the river.” West of
; the Euphrates. “Convey me over.”
Furnish him with provisions and a
guard.
V. 8. “The king's forest.” A forest,
it would seem, somewhere in the neigh- ;
borhood of Jerusalem. “The palace.” !
Rather, the fortress. Known in the
time of our Lord as the fortress of An
tonia on the east side of Jerusalem
, north of the temple area. "The house."
; The temple. “The wall." Its gate,
j “The house that I shall enter into.” :
The house which he should build for
I himself as his official residence. "The
gooil hand of my God." He ascrilies
all his success to the guiding and sus
taining help of God.
fn our lessen ne S<ee *N*ehenliab as a
prayerful, heroic and wise man, doing
his duty in the position in which he
found himself, yet using his opportu
nity to do something for God. He was
j a man of good impulses, but not of
; these alone, for he carefully and pru-'
dently took the wisest way to accom
plish his purposes.
PLAN OF TEACHING.
Begin by calling on the class to read
j chapter 1. Point out Shushan on the
map. Call attention to the sadness of Ne- !
hernia hand the cause thereof, and spe
cially to the prayer he offered. Show how
long after he beard of the desolation of
Jerusalem he asked of the king permis
sion to go there. Picture Nehemiah’s ap
pearance before the king and queen, and
draw out your scholars' idea of the
character of Nehemiah. Show bow he
gained his wish by seizing his oppor
tunity and trusting in God.
SELECTIONS.
; t' I
OI R DIVINE INHERITANCE.
There be some who teach that Christ's
J love may be set upon a man and after- ,
? wards may be removed. Where then
; remains the comfort of God's people if
this statement be true? But Jesus “rests
in His love.” Where is the value of
His affection at all? In what respects
can He be said to stick closer than a
brother? How can it be true that many
waters cannot quench His love, neither
can fiiaxls drown it? If these men be
. right, must not the apostle Paul have
been wrong when he was persuaded that
neither height, nor depth, nor things
i present, nor things to come, nor any
creature whatever should ever be able to
separate him from the love of God which
was in Christ Jesus his bird? Shall !
we imagine that the apistle was incor
rect in order that this heresy may be ;
thought to be right? Shall we turn
away from the positive testimony of holy
Scripture, when that Scripture is in it
self so full of consolation to God’s j>e<t
i pie that, if once proved to la' untrue,
j they may put their hands upon their
loins, and go to their grave full of misery
I and despair?
But ye know right well that Jesus
; ( hrist s love, whi'ii once it has engraved
his name upon His hand, never can
sutler that name to la- erased. Ye be
lieve. and ye la lieve right well, that he
who has a |K>rtion in the heart of G.sl '
has an eternal portion. He who can
claim for himself a share of the Father's
love, of the Son's redemption, and of the
Spirit’* can', need never be afraid that
all the thievish hosts of hell shall rob
him of his divine inheritance.
Can sin ever make Jesus cease to love
me? If so, He would have ceased to
love me long ago. If there l»e any iniqui
ty that I can commit that would divide
me from Christ s love methinks 1 should
I have been separated long ere this. He
I might have said, “Thou art unworthy of
Me, and therefore 1 will be unmindful
of thee." And more, if Christ had in
! tended to cast us away for our sins, why
did He ever take us on? Did He not
. know beforehand that we should be re
bellious, and did not His omniscient eye
see all our sins and detect all our follies?
Are we ungrateful? Yet He knew we
should be. Are our sins extremely
heinous? Yet He knew how heinous
they would be. He could foresee all
in His mind’s eye. Every spot that was
to be upon us was upon us when He
! chose us. Before His omniscient eye
j every fault that we might commit was
! already committed in His estimation,
jHe foreknew, foresaw all; and yet He
took us just as we were. If He had in
| tended to abandon us and cast us awav,
would He ever have taken us at all?
; If Jesus meant to divorce His bride,
j foreknowing all her faults, would He
| ever have espoused her? If He meant
, to cast away His adopted child, since He
j knew that child’s unfaithfulness, would
He ever have adopted him?
Oh. think not, beloved, that Christ
would have done all that for nothing
would have come from heaven to earth,
and have gone from earth to the grave,
and allowed His spirit to descend into
the shades of Hades—would have come
all this way, and suffered all that awful
amount of torture which is comprehend
ed in the curse, on a bootless errand.
Would He not have started back, and
said, "I know My bride to be unworthy,
therefore I will not redeem her—l will
not espouse her”? But since Ho has
done it, has espoused her, has put the
red ring of His own atonement on her
finger, and has hitherto been faithful to
her, what shall divorce her? What shall
cast her from His bosom, whom He hath
died to save? Oh, lieloved, it must be
true that He will rest in His love, if He
has rested in it, though He has had
much to distract Him therein.
Some Fruits of Conversion.—Don’t
indulge the idea that when you are
saved you get a ticket out of the Bible
saying you have eternal life, and then
put it into your waistcoat-pocket, for
getting all about it.
No : when God saves you, he saves
you from your sins, and gives you a
; new set of tastes and appetites. The
; converted man hates everything he
knows to be sin. The public house
goes by the board. Fancy an heir of
glory finding himself at home in a
public
I hen the converted man loves his
Bible :it is the book he likes best; and
you find him continually digging in it
as for hid treasure. The converted
man lives for Christ in the kitchen just
as brightly as in the evangelistic meet
ing. Follow him home, and there
find hiiff witH Jesuk at thefirfwide.
his house a little nursery for heaven.
The converted man talks about
('hrist. instead of talking about his
neighbors, as he list'd to do. The con
j verted man loves the company of God’s
; people. The converted man also enjoys
being alone with Jesus. The converted
man loves his enemies, and prays for
them. The converted man is nothing
behind the moral worldly man in hon
| esty, truthfulness and liberality; nay,
he excels him. The converted man is
genial, kindly, obliging, polite, self
sacrificing ; indeed, he is just a minia
ture copy of his blessed Master, the
Lord Jesus Christ. “The peace of God
which passeth all understanding” keeps
his heart and mind through Christ
Jesus ; and he rejoices in the Ixird all
the day.
—
Method is the very hinge of business,
and there is no method without punct
uality.
1 he old, like withered leaves, hold to
life by a frail tenure; there comes a
husky breath, and they are gone.
In that black unseemly engine, the
press, lies the world’s great strength,
and time’s most formidable foe.
We can have, if we will, perennial,
fireproof, waterproof, stormproof, enjoy
ments—that is to say, employment.
< hristianity is the element in modern
civilization, that secures it against the
vicissitudes of another civilization.
Idea is a shadow that departeth ;
s|H'ech is fleeting as the wind ; reading
is an unremembered pastime; but writ- -
ing is eternal.
A woman needs nothing more than
mental lassitude, and antipathy to ac
tion, to jMiison the trinity of holy wed
lock—self, husband and child.
Fis of little use for a man pinched
with poverty for three score years, to
get rich then—to obtain luxurious
food when he has lost his grinders.
Hope is a good breakfast in life, but
a poor supper in death, if unprepared.
A friend cannot be known in pro*-
| purity, and an enemy cannot be hid
in adversity.
The truest man is he who always
finds excuses for others, but never ex
cuses himself.
While learning adorns a
r. nu mber that truth emmbh'H
Time is money ; labor
knowledge power; temperance hijlM|||
From this life, us from
we lisik to the skies, and are
with sweet visions of the home that
, shall be ours, when we are free.
The whole soul should march heav
enward to the music of love, with well
ranked faculties, every one of them
beating time and keeping tune.
The mind of childhood is the holi
est, tonderest thing on earth. Parent*
should stand as watchers at the tem
ple, lest any unclean thing should en
ter.