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LETTER FROM EUROPE.
[Special .correspondence Christian Index.] i
I have travelled many a mile since I saw
you in Atlanta,last May- mullun j ictatus el
terris et allo —as an early friend of ours,
whose birthplace 1 recently passed, expressed
it, some two thousand years ago. But at ev- ;
ery stage 1 have been constrained to say, !
Ebenezer, for the mercies of the Lord have ;
been rich and unfailing.
You are doubtless familiar with many of i
the localities I have visited, and will readily '
follow me in the summary of my wander
ings. Leaving New York early in July, a J
good Providence favored us with such a
- sea—bating only a brief blow—thatjwe
were, permitted to resume terra firma — you .
may put it in the accusative, if you prefer I
—at Queenstown, Ireland, after ten days at
sea.
IRELAND.
Passing up the picturesque Lee, which
flows among the greenest hill-sides, and the
greenest shrubbery I ever saw, we were soon
introduced to thetown of Cork. I had never
associated much |>oetry with this unpoetic
name, and 1 was agreeably surprised to find
a situation abounding in views extensive
and beautiful. The city bears but few signs
of thrift. The population is hardly greater
to-day than it was half a century ago—a fact
due, doubtless, in some degree, to the con
stant emigration from which it has suffered,
but quite as much to the superstition and
rum, by which the people are cursed. Bad
religion and bad whisky will arrest the pro
gress of any city;—and this explains the
stagnation of Cork and of sundry other cities.
Traveling west on the southern extremity of
the island, I halted next at the lakes of Kil
larney. These are gems—none of them
very Jaige—but all of them lovely. Nestled
amid majestic mountains, their placid waters
seem to have nothing to do'but to reflect the
glories of the heavens above them, and to
charm the multitudes of visitors who are
constantly feasting their eyes on these natur
al mirrors.
Bidding farewell toKillarney, a few hours
bv rail brought us to Dublin, the Capital of
tfie Emerald Isle. There we found a city of
330,003 ]>opulation, showing, like Cork, no
sign, of progress. The most conspicuous
shops were the gin palaces, and those in
which tobacco was vended in its various
forms. Deduct all of this class and the bus
iness of the city would be largely abridgrd.
There were some grand buildings and pala
tial residences, but these were in striking
contrast with the slums, which struck me as
more slummy—if I may make a word —than
any place I bad before seen.
Traveling northward, signs of improve
ment were soon visible in the aspect of the
country. Better buildings met our eye in
every city ; the villages were more numerous,
and when we reached Belfast, we could
easily imagine ourselves in an American
city of the best t>pe. The fact shows us that
religion has something to do with even the
material condition of a people. Northern
Ireland is largely Protestant. Here the peo
pie are intelligent, orderly and Jhrifty. Is
this a poet hoc or a propter hoc f I leave it
to vou logicians to answer.
We are accustomed to hear much of the
wrongs and oppressions of Ireland, and we
sympathize with her struggles for indepen
dence. But whilst she can boast some speci
mens of intellectual and Christian manhood
equal.to those which any country can fur
nisb, I do not think, as a whole, she is yet
prepared for self goverment. In the present
state of her |>opula'.ion, she needs the Briiish
sway to restrain and control her passions.
Among the massif the antipathy to England
was everywhere manifest. There may be
some ground for the hate; but the time for
the divorce has not yet come.
Having giving a week to a country, which,
though containing nearly 7,000.000 people,
is hardly large enough for one of our States,
1 crossed the channel for Scotland.
IN SCOTLAND.
A few hours on the sea, and a few more up
the Clyde, where 1 saw the yards in which
the steam monsters of the decpare produced,
and we were introduced to the flourishing
city of Glasgow. Here are half a million of
Scotchmen showing what industry, enterprise
and intelligence can do. But I was intent
on something more attractive than the houses
and people of a large city ; so after a brief
sojourn, 1 was on my way to the Scottish
lakes Everyloly hasheaid of Lochs Lo
mond and Katrine. Walter Scott has im
mortalized them, it is said, by his genius.
But they were there before Scott celebrated
them, and though the poet has long been
silent, they are still sleeping amid the Scot
tish heights. After looking at these en
chanting scenes, one can easily understand
how an imagination like that of the great
novelist is stimulated to the boldest flights.
The views of mountain and lake are so
majestic, and yet so soft; so wild, and yet so
cultivated, so numerous, and yet so varied,
that the beholder enjoys a perpetual feast for
his eyes.
EDINBURGH.
It was Saturday evening when I reached
Edinburgh. The first thing which met my
eye on arriving wa< the splendid monument
reared to Scott. The countrymen of the
great novelist cherish his memory as rever
ently and universally as we do t< at of
Washington. But to us practical people it
seems strange, that one who in his day did
nothing more than to furnish agreeable en
tertainment for the imagination, should be
thus honored. As a writer of fiction. Scott
was certainly preeminent; but when he un
dertook the record of truth, he was no longer
tD'ghty, as his life of Napoleon abundantly
attests.
Ede iburgh impressed me most agreea
bly. Its tall houses—some of them eleven
stories, high ; its hilly streets, lined wipi
splendid stores; its numerous elevations,
commanding extensive prospects, and all
girded by mountains more majestic far than
those which the Psalmist saw “round about
Jerusalem,” combine to make it one of the
most unique and impeding cities in all Eu
rope. The Presbyterians are the people
here, and I honor them for their strict ob
servance of the Lord’s day. The day follow
ing mv arrival was the Sibbath, and there
was a hush upon everything. Neither arri
val nor departure of steam trains, no tram
ways even in operation—as they call street
cars here—but crowds of people filling the
streets, going and returning from church,
with Bible or hymn book in hand.
IN LONDON.
From Edinburgh I came to London,
pausing for a day al Y’ork, where 1 siw its
renowned Cathedral, and a Congress of
English Bishops, and other dignitaries of
the Church, discussing some important ques
tion connected with the style of vestments
The Christian Index and South-western Baptist: Thursday, October 9, 1879.
? roper to be worn on public occasions. In |
.ondon I spent nearly two weeks, visiting
the abbeys where the dust of England's
Kings and Querns has been reposing for
centuries, and sauntering in its museums, in
which I found relics as ancient as the Alex
anders and Sennecharibs, together with the
choicest treasures of more recent (teriods.
Os course I heard Spurgeon, and joined
without effort in the chorus of praise, which
almost every sermon commands. He is a
power in London, and one of the best known
men in the great metropolis. Every lover
of truth—Gospel truth, 1 mean—from the
servant to the nobleman, honors him for his
manifold and self-denying labors. As I took
my seat on Sunday morning on one of the
ponderous “busses” running to his church—
though at a distance of several miles—the
conductor was crying out at every station
“for Spurgeon’s Tabernacle ” He evidently
knew where people wished to go. I had a
most agreeable interview with him after ser
mon. He was not, in this instance at least,
as curt and rude as he has sometimes been
reported.
BELGIUM.
Saying good bye to London, I crossed the
Straits of Dover, and made my first pausing
place at Belgium’s capital, taking en route
the city of Ghent, where on the 14th of De
cember, 1814, peace was concluded between
England and the United States. Had tele
graph or steam then been known, the battle
of New Orleans, which took place nineteen
days later, would not have been fought.
Nor in all probability would Gen. Jackson
have been President of the United States.
Then, as now, war made Senators, etc., of
men, who but for its laurels, would have
died in obscurity. In Belgium, I found
everbody, with his wife and children sitting
out of doors drinking beer and smoking to
bacco. Learning that a concert was in pro
?ress, where a choice band was performing,
walked in that direction and found that I
must take my seat in the midst of jieople so
devoted to their “schoners,” as they call
the large tumblers out of which they drink,
that they must even imbibe whilst the con
cert is in progress The city is noted for
its beautiful environs, itq handsome streets,
its lace factories, and 1 must add the vulgar
ity of some of its men—such unblushing
exhibitions of this vice I had not before
witnessed.
IN GERMANY.
But I must conclude a letter which
may already have exceeded the limits of
your patience. From Brussels, I took
the cars for Cologne, and in a short time
found myself among a people where neither
French nor English availed me, and where
my knowledge of German'was too inqierfect
to be of any benefit. I passed a Sabbath at
Cologne—my first observation of a “Conti
nental Sabbath.” I saw enough to say, the
Lord deliver us from such Sundays in Amer
ica. At Cologne, after having bought some
of its perfume at the shop of the celebrated
Farnia, embarked on the Rhine, and
found the day, though cold and cloudy,
one of constant delight. A ride on
this river, amid its fair. villages and
stupendous heights, its towering castles,
its majestic ruins and vine clad hill
sides, can never be forgotten by any who
have enjoyed it. Leaving the Rhine, 1
called at Heidelberg and found the Univer
sity closed. But the magnificent castle which
crowned the mountain overlooking thetown
was there—grand even in ruins—and I ex
plored the residence of the monarchs of past
centuries, and stood on the gigantic barrel
(of 50.000 gallons capacity) filled by contri
buttons from all the wine producers in thei
days when kings did the drinking and the*
people did the toiling. From the city lying
in the valley, I came to Stuttgardt. pausing
to visit the grave of a friend who was a
member of my congregation in Augu-ta,
Georgia, nearly forty years ago—thence to
Munich, where I looked on the Iser, even
now “rolling rapidly,” as it was in the days
when armies were marshalled on Ils banks,
and which was associated with the days of
my childhood when I learned the little poem
beginning,
"On Linden when the sun was low,” etc.
CROSSING THE ALPS.
Turning from Germany, I entered Switz
erland where n week was passed in the com
pany of its glassy lakes and its snow cover
ed mountains. Ascending the Alps, and
sleeping one night near their summit, the
next day found us rushing down amid their
mighty gorges into Italy. Then came the
Italian lakes, far famed and celebrated by
poets of ancient as well as of modern times;
and Milan with her Cathedral, the world s
wonder; and Venice with her gondolas, her
antique and unique churches and her gorge
ous palaces; and Verona with its fort, and
ancient associai ions, and medieval wonders;
and Mantua, once the home of Virgil; and
Turin, which Hanibal founded two centu
| ries be'bre the Christian era. Turning
northward in a few hours we were plunged
into the mighty cavern from which we
emerged into France—riding for eight miles
with 4,000 feet of mountain above us and as
many beneath us. The searching of our
baggage and the change of language attested
our change of country. Onward to Geneva
and thence to Paris our journey lay. And
here in this splendid capital I am writing
you these lines. You have been over much
of. the ground to which 1 have referred, and
can well understand the checkered journey
I have made. Everywhere 1 have seen the
proofs of God’s goodness and greatness, and
of man’s ingenuity, industry and wicked
ness. All the comparisons—unconsciously
made— have unde our own country more at
tractive; and I can sympathize heartily with
the man, who said when speaking of his
native land:
•'Where'er I roam, whatever land I see.
My heart, untraveled, fondly turns to thee."
Faithfully yours,
W. T. Bbantly.
Paris, Sept. 13,1879.
Every Christian has a certain “stock
I in trade,” with which to do business
for Christ in holy living and work. By
I faithfully using what he has he will
j multiply his resources; by neglect and
unfaithfulness he will lose what he has
to begin with. "To him that hath
shall be given, and from him that hath
not shall be taken away even that
! which he seemeth to have.” Alas for
i the poor,unfaithful, bankrupt soul!
All the employments and vocations
of life are intended to be, and if right
-1 ly viewed, will be, to us, means of
. grace; as truly the gate of Heaven to
the soul as the sanctuary itself. If in
them we endeavor to serve and please
God, they will develop our Christian
graces, and strengthen our Christian
character, and give us the very disci
pline and training thgt as good and
faithful servants we need,and so prepare
us for acceptance of the last great day.
FROM THE CREEK NATION.
Dear Index : —The eighth annual
meeting of the Choctaw and Chicka
saw Baptist Association (Rehobeth,
Jr., of Georgia) has just closed. In
some respects it was the best we have
held. lam proud of the system and
order with which our Choctaw native
preachers, deacons and others conduct
their business. Our Associations are
not mere mass meetings. Each church
sends up letters with properly accred
ited delegates; the letters contain sta
tistics in full, and items of valuable in
formation and interest. The Sunday
schools are reported, and their strength
and conditions.
There are now twenty-nine churches
belonging to. the body, with nearly
twelve hundred members. Over 160
baptisms reported the past year. Three
new churches were constituted.
The Executive Committee reported
valuable labor performed by the native
missionaries in the employ of the As
sociation. Some money was sent up ,
for missions, and many pastors agreed
to try to get their church members to
lay by one dime a week, and pay it in
monthly or quarterly, for the home
missionary service of the Association.
Many pastors reported valuable work
performed by them outside of their own
immediate fields of labor. We are
moving on to self-support, and if we
had the help from abroad given to oth
er portions of this Indian field, we
would be self-supporting in a few
years. The Marion Board has been
sustaining Brother A. F. Ross, in the
eastern part of the Choctaw Nation,
giving him a salary of S4OO a year.
Brother Ross has done a capital good
work on his field. He is a zealous,
active and successful missionary. He
is invaluable to the cause. Bro. Lewis
Cass’ name is on the list of missiona
ries of the Board in the Choctaw Na
tion. Ido not think the Board pays
him any salary. Bro. Willis Burns is
also reported as a missionary among
the Chickasaws. He told me he re
ceived one hundred a year, last year.
I do not know what he has received
this year. SSOO a year is all that I
know of as expended among the Choc
taws and Chickasaws. It is not
enough. It comprises an area of
28,000 square miles, with a population
of about 40,000 souls. Our Associa
tion is earnestly striving to supply this
large and destitute field with a pure
gospel, and it ought to be encouraged
and aided. I sometimes think those
who labor hardest and sacrifice the
most are the most neglected. I feel
sure Dr. Mclntosh would gladly jn
crease his disbursement for the Choc
taws and Chickasaws if’ the churches
would increase his receipts. Would to
God they would ryaliiflGour necessitiesUi
An interesting feature vis our meeting,
just closed was the appointment of
Martin V. James, a young preacher of
decided ability, to go back to the State
of Mississippi to preach to the one or
two thousand poor, ignorant, heathen
Choctaws still remaining in that State.
This was done at the request of the
Mississippi Baptist State Convention.
They will furnish the support and we
the preacher. The Holy Spirit evi
dently selected the right man, and
while we regret to lose his very valua
ble services for even a season, yet, we
cheerfully give him up in so good and
needy a cause. It was an affecting
season, however, when, on Sunday, the
delegates, headed by old Uncle Peter
Folsom,and the Christians of all names,
and the whole audience of three or four
hundred persons, gathered around the
young brother and, with tears and
sobs, bid him good-bye and Gori speed !
in his work of rescuing the lost bands
of their tribe in Mississippi, from deg
radation and sin. Let Christians
everywhere pray for the success of Bro. i
James under God.
Dear brethren of the Rehoboth, I
greet you. Yours ever,
J. L. Mukrow.
A-tok-a, C. N.. Sept. 25, 1879.
THE MERCER MEMORIAL
CHURCH.
There are many reasons why the
Baptists of Georgia should erect such
a monument to the memory of Jesse
Mercer:
1. Os all the early Baptists preachers
of Georgia, Jesse Mercer has left the
greatest impress upon the denom
ination throughout the State. He was
a great man, and deserves such a mon
ument. Hon. Wm. H. Crawford, on
one occasion, said that he regarded Mr. ;
Mercer as one of the greatest men of
his age. The world erects costly mon
uments to the memory of its illustrious
dead. Why should not Christian peo
ple do the same?
2. Os all Baptists who have ever
lived in Georgia, Jesse Mercer has done
most for his denomination. He gave
the whole of his property, amounting
to about SBO,OOO, to the educational
and benevolent institutions of the de- .
nomination. Gratitude, if nothing
else, should cause the Baptists of Geor
gia to erect the pro]K>sed monumental
church. If we do not, we shall ap
pear as ungrateful.
8. Our past neglect, as a denomina
tion, should make us feel deeper the
obligation upon us to perpetrate his
memory. His grave at Penfield is un
cared for, and left to be trampled under
foot by the beasts of the field. This
is a standing reproach upon the Bap
tists of Georgia. Let us atone for our
negligence by erecting to his memory
a monument that shall be worthy of
the man and of his noble deeds.
4. Through negligence, we, as a de
nomination, have permitted his resi
dence to pass into the hands of the
Roman Catholics, who have converted
it into a convent. While nobody may
be to blame for this, still it is a pity
that it is so. If we cannot redeem the
property, let us do the very next best
thing, and build the monument pro
posed.
But the question may arise, why
erect such a monument at Washing
ton?
1. Because Washington is an impor
tant point, and a new church edifice is
an absolute necessity. Such a moiiu-
I ment is not only very appropriate, but
I it is also one that will tend to build up
the Baptist cause there.
2. Because Washington was the home
of Jesse Mercer, and the scene of his
pastoral labors during the last nine
teen years of his life.
3. Because there is a clause in Mr.
Mercer’s will expressive of the wish
I that he might be buried by the side of
his wife, who sleeps in the Baptist
church-yard at Washington.
4. Because, by building such a inon
i ument, it will have a decided tenden
cy to counteract the influence of those
into whose hands Jesse Mercer’s resi
dence has fallen.
But people may say that this is a big
undertaking, and that it can’t be push
ed to success. It will succeed, if the
Baptists throughout the State will lend
a helping band. Already the sub
scription list has reached $2,000. If
only one-twentieth of the 200,000
Baptists in Georgia would respond to
the call for help, with a dollar from
each the monument could be built.
All who desire to take stock in this
memorial church, let them hold up
their hands, and send on their contri
butions to the Hon. Chas. H. Wing
field, of Washington, Ga. If the Bap
tist pastors throughout the State recog
nize the importance of the monument,
and feel that such a monument ought
to be built to the memory of Jesse
Mercer,let them bring the matter before
their churches, and urge them to con
tribute something. Acknowledge
ments will be made through The In
dex of all contributions sent.
H. A. W.
LETTER FROM MONTICELLO.
Sept. 22nd, 1879.
Dear Index : I have been looking
for something in your columns about
old Jasper, but it seems that we are all
so selfish amid our liberality, that we
are taken up with the idea and hope
i that old Jasper shall and will be re
deemed, and become as noted for piety
, and good people, as it has been for im>
morality. There has been a kind of
union prayer meeting, called Y. M. C.
A., formed here and it has l»een pro
ductive of much good in the county.
Almost every church in the county
has had additions except Monticello.
Here it seems we have come to a halt,
and why should it be so, when we have
one of the best, most convincing and
earnest preachers in the State. Our
membership is very small, mostly fe
-1 males, and I fear the males are want
ing in zeal. But we rejoice to see our
sister churches being revived and built
up and increased in its numbers with
earnest, zealous workers.
Since the first of July last, over two
hundred and sixty have been added to
the different churches, from fifteen to
eightyone years of age, and there is a
strong probability of several more soon
> getting on the train at some of the
i stations.
I must close for this the first time,
for fear of that old basket under the
table. If it falls in it, this will lie the
j last. Your brother in Christ,
• A. B. C.
UTILIZING LOST POWER.
“We recommend that churches which
have preaching only once a month,
to meet every Sabbath and get some
unemployed ordained or licentiate min
ister to preach to them, orif such min
ister cannot be had, that they appoint
I some one of their number to deliver an
original exhortation, or to read some
printed sermon of his own selection,
and otherwise conduct the worship as
he may be able.”—Extract from pro
ceedings of Coosa Association.
That’s right. Utilize the idle forces.
If these ordained men are truly God’s
ministers, there is power in them—con
secrated, sanctified ]K>wer, which should
1 be seized upon, appropriated and ap
plied. If these licentiates have any
gifts they have no right to conceal
them. The churches are doing right
to ask them to take their talent out of
the napkin and use it for the Master.
And those, brethren who can read
ought to read for the benefit of those
who hear, just ns those who can sing
and pray ought to sing and pray for
those wlio attend the meetings. Sluch
good can result from such a custom.
■l. The congregation will meet every
' Sabbath. 2. The Sunday-school will be
easily kept up. 8. The idle powers
will lie brought into service. 4. Hid
den talents will be discovered. 5. The
church will clothe herself with new en
ergy. 6. The glory of God will be
manifest in the midst of the people.—
Church and School.
■ ■■■■»""
—Rev. T. J. Bell has resigned the
pastorate of the Tazewell Baptist
church.
ROME.
HER CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS AND COL
LEGES.
Rome is pushing at the rivers, ask
ing for more room. The little neck of
land between the Etowah and Oostau
naula is nearly covered with stores and
warehouses and dwellings, and acada
mies and colleges. The rivers must
move out further or we must bridge
them, and go over and possess the
land. Already the little villages, De-
Soto, Hillsboro, Forestville and South
Rome are assuming city proportions.
The people are coming here from every
part of the country. Families from
the South come seeking a colder cli
mate ; families from the North seeking
a milder atmosphere. Some to mer
chandise, some to build railroads, some
to mine, some to build houses, some to
get the advantage of our educational
facilities, some for health, others for
pleasure, and nearly all for money.
But we say to all, “Come! there yet is
room.”
Schools may lie found upon every
street, and the merry laugh and wild
romp of school children may be heard
in every part of the city. Heretofore
Rome has been called the “City of
Hills”—it may now be appropriately
styled, the “City of Schools.” We can
boast of more schools, better teachers
and a greater number of children in
attendance, than any city’ of its size in
three States. And still there are more
persons making arrangements to open
more schools. Nothing but natural
imbecility can prevent a child from be
coming something like a Solomon in
Rome. Board is cheap, tuition is
cheaper, and clothing is getting still
cheaper.
Shorter College opens the fall term
with more than a hundred young la
dies—forty of them boarders—and
every day adds a new name to the roll.
The building was so attractive, and its
history so grand, that Frank Leslie’s
Weekly and the Sunday Magazine had a
very neat and elegant cut of the build
ing in them, and gave a short history
of the institution. Many letters of
inquiry are being received from distant
States and arrangements are being
made to patronize it.
The Baptist church has just closed
a series of meetings, which were indeed
quite refreshing and encouraging to
Christian hearts. Rev. M. H. Lane,
of Washington, Ga., assisted the pastor.
Bro. Lane preaches with great earnest
ness, and his “Bible Readings” are pe
culiarly instructive and interesting.
He is full of faith in God, and with
childlike simplicity believes His word.
He is an able minister of the gospel,
and a church in need of a pastor
would do well to secure his services.
Though eminently fitted for the work
of an evangelist to which ho is now
temporarily addressing his attention,
yet it is evident he would make a splen
did pastor. There were 51 additions to
the church by baptism and letter.
There have been added to the church
within the last three years about 200
members, and the church building is
too small to seat them and leave room
for others. We must build a larger
house and then send out and invite the
people to come in, and if they will not
come, we must go out in the highways
and hedges and compel them to come
in. The Baptist cause in this city is
in the ascendency, and the Lord has
still greater things in store for us.—
Church and School.
SIDE NOTES?
Praise vs. Peril.—“ The words of
his mouth were smoother than butter,
but war was in his heart.”— David. He
lauded and larded the man he hoped
to devour. He buttered him with flat
tery, and then battered him with
malice. Beware of the man who has
too much honey on his tongue ; a trap
is to be suspected where the bait is so
tempting.— Spurgeon.
Frequent Prayer. —“ Evening,
morning and noon will I pray.— David.
Often but none too often. Seasons of
great need call for frequent seasons of
devotion. To begin, continue and end
the day with God is supreme wisdom.
When time has naturally set up a
boundary, let us set up an altar-stone.
Some cry aloud who never say a word.
It is the bell of the heart that rings
loudest in heaven. The inarticulate
moaning of earth is translatable into
the language of heaven. A father’s
heart reads a child's heart.— Spurgeon.
Fear and Faith.—“ What time I
am afraid, I will trust in thee. In
God I will praise his word ; in God I
have put my trust; I will npt fear
what flesh can do unto me.”— Psalmist.
We are men, and therefore liable to
overthrow; we are feeble, and there
fore unable to prevent it; we are sinful
men, and therefore deserving it, and
for all these reasons we are afraid.—
Spurgeon.
Note the rapid transitions: 1. The
Psalmist feels his danger —"I am
afraid." 2. He seeks safety— "l will
trust." 3. Ho fortifies his stronghold—
‘‘l will praise." 4. He realizes his
security— "l have put my trust.” 5.
He declares his confidence— "l will not
.fear."
Wrested Words.—“ They wrest my
words.”— Psalmist. The enemies of
religion put our language in the rack.
They make us say things we never
meant. A wolf can always find in a
lamb’s discourse a reason for eating
him. Prayers are blasphemies if you
choose to read them wrong way up
wards.—Spurgeon.
The Sunday-School.
International Sunday-School lessons.
Lesson IV—October 26, 1879.
FAITH AND WORKS.
James ii—l 4-26.
INTRODUCTION.
This epistle was written "by James who
presided over the church at Jerusalem. The
year in which it was written has been placed
as early as A. D. 48, and as late as A. D. 63.
This epistle and the six which follow in our
English Bible, have been called catholic or
general epistles, being addressed to i;o par
ticular churches, but either to Christians in
general, or to some class of Christians. The
passage which forms our lesson has been
said by some to teach a doctrine contrary to
that of Paul. Paul says Rom. iii. 28 : “A
man is justified by faita without the deeds of
the law.” James says in verse 22. “justified
by works ” That there is no contradiction
between them will be seen if we consider
the following things : 1. Paul is speaking
of works of the law which may be done
without faith, and Janies of works which
are the fruit of faith. 2. Paul is addressing
those who were disposed to depend on their
works for salvation, while Janies addressee
those who made intellectual faith everything,
and works nothing. 3. Paul says men are
justified before God by faith, and Jamessays
faith is justified before men by its work. The
object of the writer in our le-son is to show
that true faith will produce good works, and
that good works prove the existence and
character of faith.
outline.
I. Fruitless—v. 14.
11. An illustration—v. 15-17.
111. An objection—v. 18-19.
IV. Examples—v. 20-25.
V. Conclusion—v. 26.
EXPOSITION.
I. Fruitless faith.
V. 14. “What doth it profit?” What ad
vantage is there ? "Though a man say’ he
bath faith.” Evidently the a;>ostle means
here a theoretical faith only, a faith which
does not, like that of which Paul speaks,
trust in God’s grace through Jesus Christ.
“Have not works.” Show none of the pro
perfruits oftrue faith. “Can faith savehim.”
Can such a faith save him ? That faith
which profits must produce a holy life.
Th is is the doctrine which is illustrated in
the remainder of the lesson.
11. An illustration.
V. 15. “A brother or sister.” A fellow-
Chrislian. “Naked.” 111-clad.
V. 16. “One of you." You Christians.
"Be ye warmed and filled.” That is, warm
yourselves, supply yourselves with food.
"Notwithstanding.” And yet. "Things
which are needftil. Raiment and food.
“What doth it profit?” As in verse 1, what
is the advantage? That is, what is charity
worth that consists of words only. So faith
that is mere profession, producing no fruit,
is worthless.
V. .7. “If it hath not works,” its proper
result. “Is dead.” Has no existence. “Be
ing alone." That is, the absence of works
proves the faith to be lifeless.
111. An objection.
V. 18. “Yea, a man may say.” Literally,
But some one will say. Alford puts it thus :
"But in any case of faith without works
analogous to that supposed above, of one of
you having dismissed the naked and hungry
with mere words, some one Will say; he
will be liable to this reproach from any one
who takes the more effectual and sensible
method of uniting faith and works." Then
follows the objection, “Show me thy frith.”
Prove to me that you have faith. "Without
thy works,” if thou canst. Faith can be
shown to others >nly by works, and there
fore, lie Mio has no gooff works has noSaith.
"I will show thee my faith by my works.”
Or my works will prove that I have faith.
V. 19. "Thou i elievest.” Thou who dost
claim to have faith without works. “That
there is one God.” Rather, That God is one.
This belief disting fishes the Jew from the
Gentile, and for that reason is mentioned
here by Paul. It is also an article of faith
distinguishing Christians from idolaters.
“Thou doest well.” It is good as far as it
goes. “The devils.” Demons, evil spirits,
frequently alluded to in the Gospels, the
subjects and emissaries of Satan. The
term devil is restricted to Satan himself.
"Also believe,” so far. They are not saved
by their faith, they only "tremble," literally,
shudder. A fruitless faith, or a faith that
produces no works, can do no more for man
than it does for evil spirits. It is here taken
for granted that personal, self-conscious evil
spjrits exist, and that their knowledge of
truth is a source of misery to them.
IV. Examples.
V. 20. “Vain.” Resting on a vain, empty
hope. “Wilt thou know?” Art thou will
ing to know to be convinced? "Without
works.” Which produces no works. "Dead.”
Worthless, cannot save.
V. 21. "Our father.” It was a Jew address
ing a Jew. "Justified,” before men. We
think it implies also that he was accounted
righteous by God. “By works.” The par
ticular work referred to is mentioned.
“Offered Isaac.” He really offered him in
his heart when he took him to the altar with
the full intention to sacrifice him.
V. 22. "Seest thou how?" Better, Thou
seest that. "Faith wrought with his works.”
Or was working with his works. What ne
did, he did from the impulse of faith. Faith
and works were closely connected in Abra
ham's case, so close that faith was the work
er. "Made perfect.” Completely developed
in the act of obedience.
V. 23. “And the Scriplure.” Gen. xv. 6.
The quotation of this passage, and the asser
tion that it was fulfilled in Abraham's obedi
ence, show that James and Paul agree in
their idea of faith. It was the fact that
Abraham believed, that was accounted to
him for righteousness, both according to
James and Paul. Paul speaks of faith in its
germ, and James in its development and
outwnrd exhibition. "The friend of God.’’
One loved by God.
V. 24. “How.” By a faith productive of
good works. Man does not become a friend
of God by a bare profession, but by possess
ing such faith as produces good works. Be
hold here the strength of Abraham’s faith, a
faith which led him implicitly to ebey’ a
command which seemed to destroy every
opportunity for the fulfilment of the prom
ise which had been made to him.
V. 25. “Likewise also.” Rahab was justi
fied in like manner with Abraham. "Rehab.”
Josb.il. 1-22. “Justified by works," in the
same manner with Abraham, faith working
in her acts. She believed that God was with
Joshua and the men of Israel, and therefoie
bid the spies at the risk of her life. Paul tn
Heb. xi. 31, cites her ss an inetance of faih
among an unbelieving people. "The mes
sengers." The spies sent into Jericho by
Joshua. "Sent.” The original implies with
haste.
V. The conclusion.
V. 26. "As the body.” As the body with
out the spirit of life is dead, so a bare profes
sion without works is melees. The most
plausible profession of faith without wo ks
Is dead.
KKMABKS.
1, Faith in a creed is not faith in Christ.
2. "Believingand doing are blood relations."
-Rutherford. 3. To say one has faith and
to have it are different things 4. The faith
which justifies produces good works. S. A
correct faith may be a dead faith. 6. We
should be satisfied with nothing but a work
ing faith. .
Richmond’s Moffett register tax ag
gregated $1,842.35 for the past roan th.