Newspaper Page Text
The Christian Index.
Vol. 57 —No 36.
Table of Contents.
First Page-*Alabama Department: The Mis
sionary Spirit Rather than Plans the
Great Need ot our Times; Is There Not a
More Excellent Way ?; Alabama News;
The Religious Press.
Second Page Correspondence: Trip to
Southern Georgia; General Meeting at
Mount Carmel; Revival at Antioch; Re
vival Scenes and Incidents; The Shorter
Baptist College; From the Wild Indians;
Bethel Association; The Middle Cherokee
Association; How to Get it; A Happy Sur
prise; My Mission in Columbus; A Season
of Revival, Do Not Forget.
Third Page—The Sunday-school; Useful
Hints; A Beautiful Thought.
Fourth Page—Editorials: Mutual Invasion!
The Socond Baptist Church of St. Louis,
Mo., Sendeth Christian Salutation; Disin
terested, Yet not Disinterested; Georgia
Baptist News.
Fifth Page—A Visit to the Sea; Secular Edi
torials: News Paragraphs;Legislative Sum
mary; Racing at Our Stale Fairs; Georgia
News.
Sixth Page—Obituaries, etc.
Seventh Page—Farmers' Index: Gathering
Corn; August Crop Report.
Eighth Page—Florida Department: Revival
and Church News; Receipts of Mission
Board. Georgia Baptist Convention.
Alabama Department.
BY SAMUEL HENDERSON.
THE MISSIONAR Y SPIRIT RA TH-
ER THAN PLANS THE GREA T
NEED OF THE TIMES.
When so many heads and hearts are
engaged on the problem as to how the
vast membership of our denomina
tion is to be brought into living, work
ing union with our benevolent enter-
it not one of the marvels of
the times, say some, that no one has as
yet solved it? The agency plan has
about exhausted itself, albeit, there are
some objects which it only can com
pass. The “card plan” was tried some
years ago, did well for a while, and
was abandoned. Other plans have
had their day, and have been thrown
aside. Now, it strikes us, that we have
begun at the wrong end of this subject,
that no plan can infuse life into dead
material. Give us life—spiritual life
—“a mind to work," in our pastors
and churches, and plans will come of
th«w«e|v.pji WbftP. the hw>rt Jutd
head are full of a guren snbject, it is the
easiest thing in the world for that sub
ject to find expression. “Out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh.” At the risk of repeating,
in substance, what we have heretofore
said on this subject, we now say, with
all the emphasis we can command, that
what is now needed is a revival of the
missionary spirit among our ministers
and churches. A new generation has
grown up since our ante bellum days
—that period when this missionary
spirit was rife in the denomination,
and when we only had to know what
was needed, and the amount was forth
coming. This new generation, both
of preachers and members, need to be
educated on this subject. The tribula
tions, the losses, the impoverishment
of our section in these latter years,
have, as we may say, abruptly broken
the connection between the present and
the past, so that we have well nigh to
begin de novo. The great body of the
material that now composes the mem
bership of our churches, has been
brought in since our calamities set in,
and the few older members that sur
vive these calamities, find themselves
so embarrassed in their old age as to
Curtail materially their benefactions.
We are, therefore, mainly to look to
those more recent accessions to our
churches for the means to carry on the
mission work. They need just that
kind and measure of instruction im
parted by the pioneers of this grand
enterprise fifty years ago—Luther
Rice, Jesse Mercer, Basil Manly, Ab
ner Clopton and their co-laborers. Do
, not think, reader, that we underate the
intelligence and piety of our younger
members and preachers. In those
days, one never attended an Associa
tional meeting without hearing an
earnest missionary sermon. And then
the ordinary ministrations of our pas
tors abounded in the spirit. Every
pastor felt it to be a kind of necessity
laid upon him to keep this great sub
ject prominent in his preaching. Our
religious newspapers, too, reflected the
spirit of those days, and abounded in
such missionary intelligence, facts and
arguments as were adapted to inspire
our people with commendable zeal.
But a sad change has supervened.
We seldom hear a missionary sermon,
properly so called, at any of our gath
erings. Perhaps there is not one pas
tor in ten, if that, who ever thinks of
preaching to his church or churches,
on this subject. Our religious newspa
pers are woefully deficient in this re
spect. It is seldom that an editor sets
himself to the task of giving his read
ers his best thoughts on this theme
“thoughts that breathe and words that
burn” —so that if they learn anything
in adequate measure about it, they must
look elsewhere. An occasional letter
from a missionary, if it happens to be
SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
of Alabama-..
directed to him, together with a gener
al resume of the reports of our Boards
annually, are about what we get in our
papers. Os course those meagre efforts
are attended with like meagre results.
The fact is, great actions come of
great thoughts. If you want to bring
out everything that is in a man, you
must put into his head and heart such
grand thoughts as will fairly possess
him— as will set r.im aglow with that
noble enthusiam that will, as one has
expressed it, inspire him “to make that
trial, so seldom made, what is the ut
most effect which may be granted to
the last possible efforts of a human
agent.” If anything can awaken this
zeal, this high purpose of soul, that
thing is found in the grand commis
sion of our Lord, “Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every
creature.” And it is just as impossible
for the hearts of Christians to be system
atically brought in contact with this
divine obligation, and not respond to
its demands, as to carry fire in the
bosom and not be burned.
Let us say in conclusion, that when
to all this we add the element of pray
er for the success of God’s cause, we
have reached the acme of mortal agen
cy ; since no Christian can come from
habitual and daily contact with Al
mightiness—that spirit of ceaseless
energy—and not feel “strengthened
with all might in the inner man” for
every good word and work. We nat
urally imbibe the spirit of whatever we
voluntarily and constantly cherish.
We cannot enter a circle of enterpris
ing, industrious men, without catching
something of their earnest spirit—
much much more may we expect our
zeal to be influenced by constant com
munion with the Triune God at the
mercy-seat, where many Christians
may become “strong in the Lord and
in the power of his might.” For it ie
this union of prayer and effort, in com
bination with Omnipotence, that gives
to the church of Christ oii'earth that
sublime aspect accorded to it in the
scriptures—“Fair as the moon, clear
as the sun, and terrible as an army
with banners.”
Such in brief are some of the views
we have cherished for some years. We
I shall recur to the subjecLat proper in- ‘
tciiuis, and at least aim to do our part
toward this revival of the missionary
spirit, which we regard as pre-eminent
ly the want of the times.
IS THERE NOT A MORE EXCEL
LENT WAY?
We seldom attend our great denom
inational gatherings without regretting
the necessity which forces the custo
dians of our benevolent enterprises to
resort to certain measures of expediency
to raise funds. We mean that they
have to lower the motive—the impell
ing power—in order to compass the
best of purposes. Sometimes the mo
tive is taken from what other denomi
tions are doing—sometimes from our
denominational pride—sometimes from
what The brother at our side is doing,
etc., etc. For illustration, a brother
rises at the instant that a public col
lection is to be taken for a worthy ob
ject, and proposes to be one of ten to
raise a thousand dollars. That propo
sition is exhausted, and a similar one
follows for a less sum and a larger
number, and so the matter goes on un
til a handsome amount is raised. We
are not objecting to all this, since it is
better to “provoke one another to love
and to good works,” if we can do no
better, than to do nothing. The point
of our regret is, that the piety of our
churches is not sufficiently elevated to
justify appeals of this kind to purer,
nobler, higher motives. Robert Hall
once remarked, in allusion, we believe,
to Dr. Macknight’s “work on the Epis
tles,” then recently published, that the
learned author “never planted his foot
in heaven while he could find a place
on earth for it.” He alluded to the
want of spirituality in his notes and
commentaries. We have often thought
of the remark in its application to the
occasions to which we refer. We sel
dom invoke the higher, so long as we
can use the lower, motives, because the
lower are more influential. Our
Christianity does not move in that ele
vated plane which places it so under
“the powers of the world to come,” as I
to call out the highest results, whether '
of labor or means, to advance the cause ’
of Christ.
While, therefore, we would not abate
any legitimate method of arousing the
benevolent spirit of our people—while
we would not cease to "provoke one
another” to every good work—we would
bring to bear more frequently the
higher, the purer, the more animating
motives recognized in the word of God
as indicating a nobler type of Christian
ity. This would, at ieast, accustom
our people to resiKind to the claims of
Christ from a better class of influences.
And why should not the “love of Christ j
constrain us?” Why should not a '
“world lying in wickedness” arouse a [
deeper sympathy and incite us to make
heavier sacrifices, than the pride of |
Atlanta, Georgia, Thursday, September 18, 1879.
position ? Why should not the “saving
a soul from death” be more potent in
inflaming our zeal, than the mere con
sideration as to what anybody can do,
or will do, for that cause? Why should
we not more readily yield to the higher
than to the lower powers in matters
that relate to the grandest interests
ever committed to human agency?
When an Apostle would stir the
deepest sensibilities of the Christian
heart, he does it in these words ad
dressed to his Phillipian correspon
dents : “Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things aje true—honest—just—pure—
lovely—of good report; if there be any
virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things.” Was there ever such
an array of lofty motives marshalled
in a single sentence? It concentrates
into a focus all that is true and venera
ble in the past, all that is pure and
lovely in the present, and all that is
animating and glorious in the future,
and bids us labor and pray under its
combined influence. It does more than
this—it fixes our eye upon the grand
purpose of grace—the redemption of
a world—and asks us to look at all other
events however grand, all other agen
cies however potent, and all other in
terests however absorbing, as subsidiary
and contributing to that design. It is
as if he would say, ‘all principalities
and powers; all persons human and
angelic ; all events, forces, influences;
all means and activities; things past,
things present, things to come; life
and death ; and every other creature,
gather their only true importance by
their connection with the coming and
kingdom of Jeans Christ.’ There has
never lived a Christian, there is not one
now living, there never will live one in
the history of time,whose talents, means ■
and influence were not, as one has ex
pressed it, “bespoken from eternity.”
Each one is expected and required to
take his station in that “line of succes
sion”—that •current of moral and spir
itual power—which has come down to
us with the aggregated resources of
past generations, and which is to sweep
on down to remote ages, gathering in
volume and power from every period
through which it passes, until heaven j
and earth shall join in joyful acclaim, L
j “Tbe VjngdTins c|khis world Ea vcJ»>jJ
come the kingdoms of the Lord’ and of*
his Christ."
Now, the sum of what we would say
is this, that to a work so noble, so God
like as this, we would have our breth
ren animated by the purest and best
motives that heaven has supplied. The
higher and purer the motives that in
spire us, the more cheerful and effec
tive the work will we do.
ALABAMA NEWS.
—Mobile has erected 105 buildings
since Janvary Ist.
—Prof. W. R. Boggs has been elect
ed to the chair of chemistry and natu
ral history at Howard College.
—There were 12 accessions to the
Shorterville Baptist church during the
late meeting.
—Sixty-five persons were poisoned
at Searle, Ala., a few days since, by eat
ing ice cream that had been prepared
in a brass kettle.
—W. C. Mclver, trustee, gives notice
that on Saturday, the 13th, at the of
fice of A. L. Brooks, in Tuskegee, there
will be an examination to fill the ap
pointment of a free scholarship in the
University of Alabama. Any young
man in the fifth district who reports on
that day shall have a fair hearing.
—The Talladega Mountain Home
speaks in highly complimentary terms
of Judge Heflin’s fitness for a position
on the Supreme Court Bench of Ala
bama. The probability is,that there will
be several candidates for the Supreme
Court Judgeship in the field by next
August election.
—The Eufaula Times and News has
been changed to a semi-weekly, and its
edition of the 3d instant announces
that Clement C. Shorter, Esq., will
hereafter be its literary and political
editor. Mr. Shorter is a gentleman of
ability and intelligence.
—We have conversed with farmers
from every section of the county, and
! sum up the whole matter as authorizing
the opinion that the shedding of the
’ plant caused by the late rains follow
ing so close upon a protracted drouth,
together with the alarming prevalence
of rust’ will reduce the cotton crop in
that vicinity by at least one-third and
in many localities one-half.
The dreaded cotton worm has not
thus far made its appearance, and
many of our farmers have had only
their fears for their pains. It is the
opinion of some that a benefit would
accrue to the crop if the worms should
make their appearance late in the sea
son. The crop, however, will suffer se-
I verely, in some portions of the county
' from the rust: but less on manured
' lands than on the original soil. Some
i farms are entirely free from it.—We
| tnmpka Times.
The Religious Press.
—A merchant, sitting in his office in South
street, New York, recently received an
answer to his dispatch sent to Shanghai, six
hours previously. Thirty thousand miles in
six hours is good time, even for the tele
graph. The charge to Shanghai is $2.80
per word to Yokohama $3.06; but the code
or cipher is so well systematized that a sin
gle word serves for a dozen when tran
scribed. •
—What is believed to be the oldest church
in London is “St. Peters-upon-Cornhill.”
An interesting service has just been held
there. The occasion was the seventeenth
centenary of the founding of that church.
The Archbishop Canterberry was the preach
er. No other church in London, now in
use, can lay claim to so remote an origi i.
It is said to have been founded in A. D.
179.
—ln the year 1556, eleven men and two
women were burned in the same (ire at Strat
ford. England, because they refused toaceept
the doctrines of the Eorc’su faith and prac
tice its ; idolatries.'"A monument to these
ha# been erected, and the ceremony
of uu.jij < >g was performed August 2d, 1879,
at ch die Earl of Shaftsbury presided
a short address. The brutal cru
elty oftlonner in thus destroying innocent
life, together with the heroic endurance of
the so fferera, had the efleet of opening the
eyes <|.f many, and the execution, intended
to extinguish the Reformation faith, had
precisely the opposite result. And now, af
ter tile lapse of more than three centuries, a 1
shalUis erected to perpetuate the memory of
thost who so nobly gave up their lives rath
er tl an surrender their faith. The monu
men is sixty-five feet in he ght, a martyr’s
crow n surmounting the spire. The princi
pal Incription is : “To the glory of God in
his suffering saiats. This monument is erec
ted i;o perpetuate the principles of the Refor
mattun, and to commemorate the death of
eighteen Protestant martyrs, burned in thia
neighborhood, for the pure faith of Jesus
And if the erection of such a me
inotioral could but recall to the Church
son ething of the spirit of self sacrifice under
wh Ich these people fell, it would give it a
I'■ r which it greatly needs for the labor
am | fight of the present day.
—J. M. P., in an article in the Wes
tern Recorder,, on the subject of “Evan
gelw.a,’' says:
’ few of all thane considerations, surely
ii’il.sriiminate encouragement should not be
given to modem evangelists, Ao-called. I
E-ibw not ao much about the South as for
; r vJuoLthinlr evangelists in the North
below par. Ro doubt there
is “tLe assumption of su
pciw luBIS a'na txUswva’cs?.” while
what they say and do renders the
tion” a gratuitous presumption.
An evangelist is one thing and a
professional revivalist another. If J.
M. P. refers to the latter we beg to add
to what he has said that we have nev
er seen one who did not (in our opin
ion) do more harm than good.
—What, then, was the apostle’s method of
curing schisms, and of making men truly
one who had been “divided ?” He directed
every eye, and every heart and every spirit
to one object—Jesus Christ, the personal Sa
viour, the center and source of unity; in
fellowship with whom all men would find
their fellowship with each other. “We
preach Christ crucified.” “I determined not
to know anything among you, save Jesus
Christ, and him crucified.” “For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.” * * * Professing
Christians would do well to weigh the apos
tle’s cure of schisms. — Ex.
Brethren! if we turn our thoughts
mere to the great centre, and less to
its mere surroundings and adjuncts we
shall have fewer disputes. We have
noticed that some who have most to
say about matters of detail, have least
to say about Christ; they are zealous
beyond measure about ordinances and
orders and questions of expediency,
and perhaps of questions of principle
too which are a long way from the
centre, while they are comparatively
indifferent to the great question of the
ages. Their tithing of mint and an
nise and cummin, is wonderfully
exact, but they neglect the weightier
matters. They are careful and trou
bled about many things; but owe thing
is needful. “Much serving” may do
very well, but it is better to press close
to Jesus.
—lt is not falling into th; water, but lying
in the water, that drowns. It is not falling
into sin, but but lying in sin, that destroys
the soul. If sin and thy heart are two,
Christ and thy heart are one. — Ex.
Just so; but if a man takes repeated
dips and too many of them, and keeps
on taking them at very short intervals,
he cannot enjoy life; he will ruin his
health, and will probably die in con
sequence. There is such a thing as
drowning by degrees.
—The present moment, in the life of any
invividual, is in a true sense the culmina
ting point of that individual’s [leraonal his
tory. If a man has been a great hero, or
has performed notable acts, or bus inherited
an honorable name, we naturally look for
some good quality in his la«t action, what
ever it may be. “Nobility obliges,” Hays
the Frenuh maxim ; in other words, nobility
is a constant pressure. The noble elements
in our past form the only part of peisonal
history that ought <o influence us now. Ev
erybody has in his past something that is
honorable or noble. His parents have loved
him and he has returned that love; he has
spoken kind words ; has helped the needy or
suffering; has res'sled evil; has conquered
for virtue. If at the present moment he
conquers again, he is adding to his good
record ;if he falls he is unworthy of it. If
the best and brightest acts of a man's life
could be suddenly brought before him when
THE CHRISTIAN HERALD,
of Tennessee.
■ there is evil in his heart and wickedness in
his surroundings, his purpose might be ban
iehed and his hand stayed. It is easy thus
to bring to mind this strengthening memory.
In any time of tempiation one ought not to
think" whether he has ever done a worse
thing, but whether he has ever done a tetter.
—S. S. limes.
What a good thing it would be if a
man should never fall below his own I
“best.” His best he is capable of some I
of the time; then why not all the
time? What an immense improve
ment a man would be on himself, if he
would only keep himself up to his own
highest standard.
—And here is some wholesome doc
trine from the PrcsbyL ‘‘...'.".'.. 'ißanner :
Sanctification is a wo'"”'7« distinction
from an act—a process beguii when the soul
is bora again, and c .apleittfeenly when the
eottVs earthly tabernacle is dissolved. Com
uletesanelificati.in, by which we mean per
fection in holiness, is never attained pre
vious to the hour of death. We ought never
in the present life to suppose that we are
already perfect; but “forgetting those thing
which are behind and reaching forth unto
those things which are before,” we ought to
be continually pressing toward the mark for
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.
“Sanctification is the work of God s free
grace.” The power by which it is carried
on is divine. It is possible indeed by care
ful culture, by keeping the young from con
taminating associationH and bringing them
under wholesome influences, to preserve
them from much of the evil of the world.
2 at such culture does not and cannot make
em holy. It cannot give life. It requires
the exercise of divine power to do that.
Hence in the Scriptures sanctification is con
stantly referred to God as its author. “The
very God of peace sanctify you wholly,”
wrote Paul to the Tbesalomans. And the
same doctrine, if not the same form of words,
he repeated in each of his epistles.
Yet in -anctificaiion the soul is not passive
as in regeneration. It has a part to perform
—a work to do which no one else can do for
it. Hence the exhortation, “Work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling.”
We must work—work as if entirely depend
ent upon ourselves as to whether we are ever
to be freed from sin or not; but we must also
bear in mind that .without divine help our
working will amount to nothing. Let us
never forget that it is “God that worketh in
us to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
—Denver is not quite such a center of
reckless depravity as Leadville. It is not
exactly pandemonium let loosd,butit is one
of the most godless places on the continent.
It is the Baden Baden (of past times) of the
United States. There have been times, I
am inarmed on good author.ty, wuen over
have met here from
different parts of th« .orid, I’enfiand faro
are advertised as though their legality wae
unquestioned, and if any “descent” is plan
ned, as once in every year or so it mny be
by the complaint or despairing city authori
ties, the telephone utters its quick warning,
and all gambling implements disappear like
the good and evil spirits before the reading
of a certain Poet Laurerte’s lengthy manu
script in the “Vision of Judgment.” Min
ing regions seem to beget the imperious
gambling passion, which swallown up for
the time all other passions, and crowds the
gilded hills and opium dens with all classes
and nationalities; from the bell boys up to
Brigadier Generals, from the “heathen Chi
nee” up to the English lord. Never was
there a city where the salutary influence of
good example was more needed, for the spir
ituality of so many Christians becomes eaten
out by the canker of worldliness and reckless
ness, with which the very atmosphere seems
charged. There are a few Abdiels and Dan
iels whose Christian activities are only made
the more intense by the faithlessness and
wickedness around them, but the proportion,
alas, is very small.
We are sorry that such a state of
things should exist anywhere, but we
cannot help thinking that if all this
were in our neighborhood political cap
ital would be made of it by religious
papers, and the story would be made
to do good service in the next Presi
dential election. Would it not be bet
ter to look on this wicked world with
Christ-like eyes, and bend all our efforts
to rescuing it from the thraldom of sin?
About thirty colored boys made a demon
stration at the Lincoln (Illinois) high school,
claiming their right to admission. They
were denied entrance and ordered away but
they threatened to take legal measures to
secure the same rights in the high school as
white children. The school board asserts
they are entitled to admission to common
schools but that the Supreme Court has held
that town authorities can bar them from the
high school. They also claim that outside
influence has caused them to make the pres
ent demand and that it is not any demand
of their own.—Er.
So they were “put Up to it!” and our
observation is that with the very rarest
exceptions, negroes when left to them
selves never thrust themselves into
places where they arc not wanted.
Negroes are human, very human ; and
when they find that their presence is
disagreeable, they instinctively with
draw. White people are human, very
human ; and they instinctively prefer
to consort with their own kind, just as
negroes also do. Politicians are hu
man, very human, and very depraved.
When they find that they can accom
plish their purposes by it they will
wheedle the poor negroes into doing
mischevious things which are contrary
to all the impulses of their nature. Is
there to be no end to this trickery ?
We see no hope but in the prevalence
of the Gosjiel, which will incline men
always to do the things that make for
, peace.
What Is Wanted?—People want in
you a Christianity that is Chiiatian across
Whole No. 2386
the counters, over the dinner-tables, behind
the neighbor’s back as in his face They
want in you a Christianity that they can find
in the temperance of the meal, in modera
tion of dress, in respect for authority, in
amiability at home, in veracity and xym
plicity in mixed society. Rowland Hill used
to say he would give very little for the re
ligion of a man whose very dog and cat
• were not the better lor it. They want fewer
: gossipping, slandering, gluttonous, peevish,
conceited, bigoted Christians. To make
them effectual, all our public religious meas
ures, institutions, benevolent agencies, mis
sions, need to be managed on a high-toned
scrupulous and unquetion ible sense of
honor, without evasion or partisanship, or
overmuch of the serpent's cunning. The
hand thn{*'/(' r e’away the P?-{e‘musi be urn
1 spotted Irourll 'world. The money that
sends the iniasiounrv to the heathen must be
honestly earned. —Dim Journal.
That’s it exactly ! The germ of re
ligion is on the inside and so is the
life of a tree; but if there are no leaves
and fruits on the outside, it is a good,
sign that there is no life anywhere.
Rowland Hill was right about the dog
and cat. All our public measures
ought to be “unquestionable,” which
is a good deal more than can be said of
some of them. If we cannot
increase the membership in our
churches without resorting to clap-trap ‘ t ,
we shall do better without the increase; ’
and if we wish to raise money for
religious purposes, let it be done in
dignified means and in religious ways,
by appeal to projper motives; and if it
cannot be raised in this way, it is bet
ter not to raise it at all.
By the way, it was St. Thomas Aquinas,
who first gave an answer wrlnnocent IV.,
that may be remembered with advantage
now. One day he came into the presence of
that pontiff, before whom a large sum of
was laid out. “You see, said his
holiness, “that the Church is no longer in
that age in which she said, ‘Silver and gold
l.ave I none.’ ’’ “True, Holy Father,” said
Aquinas; “neither can she any longer say to
the lame, ‘Rise up and walk.’ ” (Acts,
iii: 2 8.) — Messenger.
Yes, and some of the poorest churches
are the richest, and some of the richest
are the poorest. Here are two ques
tions : 1. In what does the wealth of a
church consist? 2. In what does the
poverty of a church consist? We give
the questions as provocatives to
thought and omit the answers. Just
here it may be well to put in another
question which we have often asked
before; Why is. it that our denomina
tional strength and efficiency are not
ctjiumeusurato vvilb our numerical in
, And again: Which are our
rich churches, Slid which the poor ones*
And still agtlW • foo large in-gatherings
always increase our real wealth?
Finally: Do large in-gatherings ever in
crease our poverty? Written answers
to these questions are not desired.
What is the gospel?—lt is a declar
ation of pardon and of salvation secur
ed at once to every one who accepts
Jesus Christ. Justice demands the Sal
vation of every one who believes in
Christ. It is not, however, because of
any merit in the act of believing; for
there is no merit in believing, which,
moreover, is the gift of God. Bu: he
■who ordained, “The soul that sinneth,
it shall die,” has also decreed, “He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condem
nation ; but is passed from death unto
life.” Justice stands engaged to fulfill
this decree. An act of mercy may in
volve justice as much as an act of
vengeance. Thus we read, “If we con
fess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.”
This is gospel. It amounts to this :
the reception by a sinner of Jesus
Christ, instantly secures for that sinner
the presence and progressive work of
the Holy Spirit in his heart, and cer
tain salvation.
The gospel is a gratuitous offer from
God to sinners of all which God can
bestow. In this offer is included the
work of the Holy Spirit in the soul, pro
ducing repentance and forgiveness,
love, hatred of sin, progressive good
ness, perseverance, and final redemp
tion. These are offered without equiv
alent in return. Those who accept
this offer will indeed make returns
which will be in proportion to the
sense of obligation in having every
thing for nothing; but all their returns
will not and cannot pay for what they
receive, and God did not intend that
they should.— Walks to Emmaus, by
Dr. Adams.
They are lighting up Niagara Falls
now at night with the electric light, and
the effect is said to be beautiful. Red
lenses are frequently used on the lights
at the base of the falls, and the effect is
to make the water of the great cataract
look like blood. The red light per
meates the mass of water flowing over
the brow of the precipice to a wonder
ful degree. It is all one intense red.
■ The electric lights are also used to cre
ate another phenomenon of nature,
i viz., a lunar rainbow above*the
i By arranging the lights in a
r manner the spray that ever hovers!
bove the falls is so illuminated, that a
, rainbow appears with many colors
i common to rainbows.