Newspaper Page Text
The Christian Index.
Vol. 57- -No 46.
Tabla of Contents.
First Page—Alabama Department: Change
of Post office; The Divine Promises; State
Mission Board of I lie Alabama Baptist
Convention; Alabama News. Religious
Press.
Second Page—Correspondence: Pride—B.R.
M.; Soutl tern Baptist Tneologicai Semin
ary—M. B. Wharton; That Indian House
—W. N. Chaudoin; Modi st Merit Over
looked—W. M. Howell; Mercer Associa
tion —E. Z. F. Golden. The Sunday-
School: The Heavenly City—Lesson for
December 14,1879.
Third Page.—Children’s Corner: The Moth
er's Pride —Poetry—Nellie Herbert; A
Family with whom Everything went
Wrong: Tiny's Work for God; Boys Want
ed.
Fourth Page—Editorials : The Ess ntials of
Christian Experience; The Christmas Tree;
The Fatherless and the Widow ; Georgia
Baptist News.
Fifth Page—Secular Editorials : News Para
graphs; The Illustrated Index ; Story’ of
the Bible; Literary Notes and Comments;
Georgia News.
Sixth Page.—The Household: A Sermon in
Rhyme—Poetry;Disrespect in the Family;
Education for the Kitchen, etc. Obitua
ries.
Seventh Page—The Farmers’ Index: The
Coming Tide; Hog Killing; General Notes;
Improving the Farm, etc.
Eighth Page—Florida Departmint: Among
the Associations Yet; From Fort Myers;
Florida News. A Dark Cloud With Silver
Lining; Governor's Proclamation; Mar
riages and Obituaries.
Alabama Department.
BY SAMUEL HENDERSON.
CHANGE OE POST-OFFICE.
From and after the Ist day of De
cember, 1879, my correspondents will
please address me at Fayetteville,
Talladega County, Alabama. Be
sure to insert the name of the coun
ty, to prevent confusion, as there are
other post-offices in Alabama quite
similar in name. The Baptist Courier,
Religious Herald, Alabama Baptist, the
Memphis Baptist, IFesfern Recorder,
Texas Baptist, and Examiner and
Chronicle, will all take due notice of
this, and accommodate me accordingly.
Sam'l Henderson.
Alpine, Nov. 21, 1879.
THE DIVINE PROMISES.
“Whereby are given unto us exceed
ing great and precious promises, that
by these ye might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the cor- |
ruption that is in the world through
lust.” 2 Peter, 1: 4.
There are some things which are '
great that it would be absurd to call I
precious— and then there are things |
that we cherish as very precious that I
it would be equally absurd to call ,
great. But where greatness and prec- !
iousness combine in the same object, |
language has about exhausted its pow
ers to magnify such object. And ]
such are the promises of God. Let us
look at them as the great source of
strength, edification, and comfort to
the Christian.
There is no aspect of God’s word
more startling to the faith of the dis
ciple, than the magnitude of its prom
ises. As he calmly looks at some of
them, and attempts to grasp their vast
ness, he staggers under their amazing
amplitude. Take, for instance, this
one: “I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. 1 ’ That is, that
God and his children are mutually
each other’s portion. What can be
greater? It comes not within the
power of Alniightiness, (we speak It
reverently) to confer a greater—it
comes not within the capacity of man
to receive a greater. As God never has
created,and never can create any being
greater than Himself, and as He gives
Himself as the portion of His people,
what more could He do? When He
does this, He absolutely exhausts Him
self. He could do nothing more.
Promises contemplate a life of faith,
a life of moral discipline. They are
conditioned on these moral or spiritual
qualities which faith only can develop.
Faith, in its very nature, expresses the
highest honor which one being can
manifest to another. So the want of
it expresses the lowest degradation to
whieh a person can fall. When it is
said of any man that nobody has any
confidence in anything he promises or
can promise, it is difficult to conceive
of a lower depth to which he can
sink. And when it is said of another,
that his “word is his bond” —that his
promises will be fulfilled at every haz
zard—that it is not more certain that
the day will arrive than that his word
will be met in spirit and letter—when
this can be fairly said of any one, we
cannot confer on him a higher honor.
Now, we have only to transfer this
to the Divine Being to see how and
why it is that so much is made of faith
in the Scriptures. It is that exercise
of the human soul by which it express
es the highest honor of which it is ca
pable. And we see also why it is that
unbelief is the very last malignity of
sin, as it puls God in the came categ
ory with the most abandoned of our
SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
of Alabama.
race—not worthy of being trusted.
But this by the way.
Among the many classes of God’s
promises which abound in His word,
we select only one for the present;
viz: that class which is intended
to encourage believers in the exer
cise of those duties and virtues which
compose Christian character. In ap
plying these promises, it is necessary,
first of all, to accept them just as they
are set forth in the divine word. We
mean this, that they are addressed to
certain characters; and before we can
claim them, we must see to it that we
come under these characters. For in
stance, when our Lord says, “Blessed
are they that mourn for they shall be
comforted,” we must know that it is
not every class of mourners who can
claim this promise. We may grieve
for many things not embraced in this
assurance ; such as the loss of friends,
the loss of property, the loss of posi
tion, etc. Unless our grief is inspired
by that “repentance unto life,” to which
God has affixed salvation, there is,
there can be, no comfort for us in this
beatitude.
, | Again : God has adapted his prom
; ises to his precepts. His precepts
J show us what is our duty, and what
i should be the general tenor of our
I lives. His promises come in to sup
ply that want of ability of which we
I are all conscious. Thus, we are com-
I mauded to “work out our own salva
, tion with fear and trembling;” but
then it is immediately added, byway
;of promise, “it is God that worketh in
you to will and to do His own good
pleasure.” So, also, if we .ire comman
ded to “coate” to Him, the assurance is,
the Father will “draw” us. If the com
mand is, “be ye holy, for I am holy,” the
i promise is, Christ is “made unto us
. . . righteousness and sanctification.”
If, from His high throne in glory, He
looks down upon His struggling fol
lowers, and says, “Be thou faithful
unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life,” it is after the divine as
surance is made, “having loved His
own, He loved them to the end.”
And finally, if God “commandeth all
men everywhere to repent,” it is after
He has “exalted His Son at His right
hand to grant repentance unto Israel,
and the remission of sin.” And thus,
' through the whole process of salvation,
from the first to the last step, the pre
cept and the promise stand side by
side. The command to do, and the
l will to do, come from the same divine
I source. So that when the “Captain of
I our salvation,” undertook to “lead
i many sons unto glory,” the Father
j placed at His disposal, if we may so ex- I
l press it, “all the fullness of the God-1
head,” all its resources of wisdom,
! grace and power—all agencies, human
, and angelic—and all this to be operat
-led by the mighty Spirit that “raised
I Him from the dead.” He “knew* from
the beginning what was in man,” and
comprehending the'full measure of |
the responsibility He assumed, He ;
I undertook for the result. Nor will He
be twitted in that day by his enemies
I that He began to build, and was not
: able to finish.” “All that the Father
hath given me shall come unto
me .... My Father that gave them
to me is greater than all; and none
shall be able to pluck them out of my
Father’s hand.” Thus the promise en
gages to meet the demands of the j
precept.
“Exceedtng great and precious!”
i Could more belaid than this? Great
j and precious in the Maker of them
> the infinite Jehovah, the very fountain
jof all goodness. All that He does or
' promises, is stamped with his own
character. Great and precious in the
: medium through which they reach us
—His only begotten Son, the very em
, bodiment of the divine philanthropy,
in whom “all the promises are yea and
I amen to the glory of God. the Father.”
i Great and precious in that great agent
I by whom they reach our hearts, the
Holy Ghost, that,divine person whose
it is to “take of Christ’s and show it
unto us,” to “lead us into all truth;”-
nay, whose double office it is first to
prepare our hearts, and then to pre-
I sent the promises to us. How fully all
the demands of our fallen humanity
are met in the gospel of the grace of
God! How beautifully the "law of sin
and death” is superseded by “the law
i of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus!"
How effectively does the Spirit "help
us against our infirmities.”
bn. Hawthorne.—Dr. Hawthorne
i prenclital his valedictory sermon to his
I church in Montgomery last Sabbath,
and left for Richmond, Virginia, hi
new home, on Monday morning. An
esteemed correspondent at Montgomery
writes: “Yon cannot imagine how the
church dislikes to give him up, but we
trust that it will behest for him We
have called Dr. Chambliss, of Charles
ton, S. and it is generally believed
that be will accept tlie call; He is very
much liked here."
—Work will soon commence on the Epi
c pal church at Athens.
Atlanta, Georgia, Thursday, November 27, 1879.
. STA TE MISSION BOARD OF THE
ALABAMA BAPTIST CONVEN-
1 TION.
’ I The last quarterly meeting of this
Board was held in Talladega on Tues
: day the 4th inst. 11 was, without
'I doubt, the most encouraging meeting
;of the kind we have held since the
Board was established. This was the
1 impression upon the mind of every
member that was present. We regret
ted that so many of our evangelists
' felt it their duty to resign their posi
tions—four in number. But the rea
sons in each case left us no alternative
but to accept their resignations. Our
best wishes will follow those dear
1 brethren, who have done so much faith-
I ful and effective work, to their fields
j of labor to which they propose devoting
i themselves. May the Master grant
' I them abundant success! We were
[ fortunate, we hope, in securing others
to fill their places, who; we think, will
!be acceptable to the denomination. So
that, substantially, there is now no va
cancy in any field heretofore occupied
by the Board, unless it be portions of
fields left out by some modifications
that we thought necessary ; while some
new territory has been taken in, to
■ which additional evangelists have been
! appointed.
Wt have now, under appointment of
I the Board, twelve evangelists, besides
I our Corresponding Secretary, brother
: Baily. To pay the salaries of these
j evangelists, there has already been
! placed at the disposition of the Board,
| in cash and reliable-pledges, something
[ over six thousand dollars for the pres-
I ent Conventional year: and as only
j four months of that year has expired,
| we may confidently calculate that we
shall expend this year not less than
eight or perhaps nine thousand dollars.
This will be a most decided advance
on last year’s operations. Indeed,
every year, from the organization of
the Board up to date, has been an im
provement on the preceding year.
The work is growing in the confidence
of our brethren all over the State. O’C i S
' Corresponding Secretary
! ing North Alabama at once for the
! purpose of surveying that field, and if
practical, to appoint, by instruction of
the Board, one or more evangelists for
that part of the State. Serious desti
[ tution exists in large portions of that
j part of Alabama, and we have assur-
I ances from prominent brethren there,
that they stand ready to co-operate
| with us in supplying that destitution.
Let no one abate his efforts until
every portion of Alabama shall be
| occupied by our evangelists. It is the
| true New Testament idea of evangeli
! zation—pastors and traveling prcach
i ers ; the one to watch our flocks already
gathered, and the other to preach “in
-the regions beyond ;” thus co nbining
the two ideas of stability and progress,
i “Brethren, whereto we have already
j attained, let us walk by the same rule,
i let us mind the same thing.” Let our
I past achievements be the ground and
the means of our future successes.
Thus will we show ourselves worthy
“stewards of the manifold grace of
God.” Thus may it be said of us, as
of the Thessalonians : “For from you
sounded out the word of the Lord, not
only in Macedonia and Achaia, but
also in every place your faith to God
ward is spread abroad; so that we
need not to speak anything.”
SPIRITUALIZING SCRIPTURE.
Many years ago, an aged brother
i came to us, and in great earnestness
asked us in what condition the man on
1 his way from Jerusalem to Jerico, who
fell among thieves ibat left him “half
j dead," was intended to represent the
sinner? “It seems,” said our old
I brother, “that the Bible represents the
t sinner as dead in trespasses and sins;
but here it is said he is half dead.
1 Now, what is the spiritual meaning of
■ the passage?" We scarcely knew what
ito answer. Indeed, we were in the
predicament of an old English poet:
I “To laugh were want of goodness and of
j gone;
And to he grave exceeds all power of face."
But we contrived to suppress our hu
mor, and give the old man about this
answer: That our Lord, in answer to
the question, “w+io is my neighbor?”
related the incident recorded that the
man who fell among thieves was a
Jew— that two of his own countrymen,
I n priest and Levitc, passed liim'by with
indifference —that a Samaritan, with
i whom the sttflering man’s nation “hud
no dealings," had compassion on him,
bound up his wounds, and carried him
to iin inn, and provided for his comfort
and cure at his own charge—and then*
our Lord a ked, “who was neighbor to
the man that fell among thieves?" All
which went to show that our nearest
i in proximity arc sometimes furthest
off in neighborly kindness, und that
the' farthest off in distance uro some
times the nearest in kindly charity.
This, in substance, we told our friend,
, was about nil the “gospel” we were able
to see in the transaction. Being then
quite young, (for it occurred before we
were ordained to the ministry), the old
man looked at us with a kind of half
incredulous, half compassionate glance,
as much as to say, “Young man, you
have missed your calling! You know
nothing about the mysteries oj the
gospel.”
We have often thought of our old
friend since, as we have listened to far
fetched attempts to spiritualize various
incidents in sacred history, as if the
Bible were a system of puzzles on which
we are to exercise our ingenuity. Why
go to remote analogies, when the Bible
is full of spiritual instruction directly
bearing upon all questions of faith and
practice? Why invoke an enigma,
when we have a plain, outspoken “thus
saith the Lord?” Why enshroud the
“oracles of God” in the mysticism of
the “Delphine oracle,” when its utter
ances are so plain that “a wayfaring
man, though a fool, need not err
therein?”
Os course we do not mean to say
that many incidents, rites and ceremo
nies of the Jewish dispensation do not
relate, in their higher spiritual import,
to tt ie gospel dispensation. We believe
they do. We only say, that the habit
of finding the gospel in everything,
from the “thirty-nine knives” in the
Old, to the marriage in Cana of Galli
lee” in the New Testament, is not ex
actly the style of scriptural interpreta
tion that is most edifying to intelligent
and pious Christians. “He that hath
a dream, let him tell his dream ; but
he that hath my word, let him speak
my word. For what is the chaff to the
wheat, saith the Lord”
ALABAMA NEWS.
—Tuskegee town properly has advanced
25 per cent, in the last few months.
—A Methodist church has been organized
at Sulphur Springs, Walker county.
—A son of Leonard Nance was thrown
from a horse and killed at Russellville.
—Charles Minis goes to the penitentiary
for live years from Monroeville, for stealing
a plug of tobacco.
-Preparations are being made for n dram
entertainment in Eutaw at an early
-Gay, for the benefit of the Eutaw Male Acad
emy.
—The next annual session of the Alabama
Conference of the M. E. Church South, will
assemble in Tuskegee on the 17th of Decem
ber next.
—Mr.John D. Yerby.son of Mr. M. 11. Yer
by, of Greensboro, left last Satmday morn
ing for Mobile, to accept a position as teach
er in the Barton Academy in that city.
—The Alabama State Bar Association will
meet in Montgomery on the 4th of Decem
ber. It is anticipated that this will prove a
most interesting occasion to the members of
the legal p-ofession, and it cannot be doubt
ed, but that they will be received most
kindly by the hospitable people of Mont
gomery.
—A rattle was held recently in Lowndes
county, Alabama, the prize at which was
the hair from a lady’s head, which had been
given as a contribution to the fund for the
support of the late General Hood's children.
It yielded eighty dollars toward that object,
and The Index protests against the non
sense.
—Montgomery, says the Advertiser, “is
certainly enjoying an era of gratifying pros
perity. If the question is asked of business
men, ‘how is trade?” the happy rejoinder is.
“never better; Haven’t had such a tradesince
the panic of 1873 ” All the proprietors and
clerks seem to be pressed with business
daily, and confidence and feeling prevail in
all quarters.
—The Montgomery Advertiser says: “A
lady in Atlanta who was made poor by the
war, and had nothing else to give, has just
cut off her magnificent suit of blonde hair
and presented it to the fund for the Hood
orphans. This is equal to the sacrifice of
those maidens of old who gave-up their
ringlets for bow strings to defend their cities,
and it is to be hoped that some splendid
youngfellow may feel inspited to seek out
the fair donor and make her a good hus
band. This case, and that of Mrs. Bryant of
Lowndes county, who gave, her suit of hair
to the yellow fever fund, are rare examples,
in these degenerate days, of woman's sacri
fice in the no le cause of charity.
The Gadsden Herald states that quite a
large number of citizens in that section of
Alabama arc preparing to move to Texas
this winter, and it warns them that they
will not find that State tlie land of milk and
honey that they suppose it to be. This is
the fact, for several Alabamians have of late
returned to this section from Texas, and
they were in u much sadder plight than any
one would have believed, who had not seen
them und heard their tales of misfortune
and suffering. A family from Pike county
recently rethrhed to their old home from
Texas, after residing there four years. They
left Alabama with $ -,000 in cash and high
Slopes. They had to beg their way from Merid
ian, Miss ,* to this city, and from here to
Pike county, and they stated that three
fourths of the Alabamians who went to
Texas hud tlie same experience.
—The Mobile Register quotes the follow
ing from the Richmond, (Va.) State: “The
committee of thirteen appointed some weeks
since to nominate a pastor to succeed Rev.
Dr. Warren,who resigned recently to resume
a pastorate in Georgia, reported on last even
ingtSunday Ho a called meeting of the church,
nominating for pastor the Rev. Dr. Haw
thorne, D.D., who is at present in charge of
flic Baptist church of Montgomery, Ala
bama. The committee's nominee,Dr. Haw
thorne, was unanimously elected by the
church as her pastor, and after making up
propiiutc arrangements to inform him of his
election mid proposed salary, the confer
ence adjourned, all apparently well pleased
with the choice of an under shepherd It is
hoped and believed that Dr. 11. will accept
the call of this large und influential church so
cordially and flatteringly tendered. Then
the city’of Richmond, the capita) of Virgin
ia. the seat of colleges and lesser seminaries
of learning, With strong and numerous
churches of all persuasions, and an excep
tionally able ministry, there is no more im
portant religious centre in tiie South, if in
thecountry. It is, therefore, u line theatre
for the employment of the peculiarly popu
lar talents of Dr. Hawthorne, who is said to
bean orator of rare fascination and power."
THE CHRISTIAN HERALD,
of Tennessee.
The Religious Press.
Four items from the Religious Herald
(of Hartford, Conn.:)
Friends will not believe you love them i(
I you constantly remind them of their little
faults. Parents, above all others, have the
privilege with their children; but they,
too, should use it s > as “not to provoke them
to wrath.”
Scylla and Charibdis are both to be
avoided. Faults must be rebuked. On
the other hand, perpetual rebuke will
sour the temper of any human being.
Mr. Richardson informs us that some
churches are dispensing with the fermented
wine for communion purposes, and have in
troduced unfermented wine.
And this The Index thinks is being
wise above what is written. Shall a
man be more ppre than his Maker?
The city of New York pays one million
and live hundred thousand dollars of the
taxes for education in the State of New
York, and receives out of the fund five
hundred thousand dollars, being one-third
of what it pays in.
Somebody would be sure to “talk
back” at any comment that we might
make on the above, so we pass it by,
with the simple remark that the item
is suggestive. What docs it suggest?
The city of Providence, Rhode Island, be
gan a year and a half ago to dispense its
charity on a new plan. Helpless paupers
were kept in an alms house, or aided at home
as before; but all able-bodied applicants
fyr food or lodging were pip at woik io a
wood yard at fifty cents a day. Unworthy i
families, who had been assisted by the city
for year-, dropped out of the charity com
missioner’s sight, while begging decreased
greatly.
It is a mistaken charity that gives
to those who are able to support them
selves. The true charity is to devise |
means w hereby those who are in need |
can make themselves self-supporting.
In our Southern cities, this is a very
practic i 1 question, and a great problem,
hard to solve.
And three from the Christian Advo
| rate ( Nashville:)
The most prolific source of vice anion. l
I tiie young people of this country is a cor
rupt literature. The surest way to exti pate
I tins corrupt literature,is to circulate that
| which is pure. Ministers of the Gospel,
I parents, and all good citizens will please
I note this.
We are not electioneering for the
I Advocate, much as we like it;
we freely’ confess that we much
prefer to circulate The Index ;
but if you will not take The Index, do
take the Advocate, or any other evan
gelical paper of any denomination.
But to Baptists, especially, we strongly
recommend The Index.
If yon want to make agitators, communists
and outlaws, let it be seen that there is one
law for the poor man, and another for the
rich. Weak-kneed in igistrates, easy-go ng
prosecuting attorneys, and putty-souled
juries, are the worst enemies of society.
Thousands of our readers are liable
to jury duty. Brethren, do your duty
faithfully. See that no guilty man
escapes the just penalty of the law.
Our penal code is excellent; all that is
needed is to enforce it. .1 urors have •
the whole matter in their hands. He
member this, brethren! The jury box
is not the place for sympathy ; it is the
place for justice— for justice adminis
tered on oath. If you must exercise
your sympathy, then sympathise with
society that is afflicted and tormented
by evil-doers.
The uneasy feeling that disturbs the soul
of the professed Chmtian who has ventured
upon forbidden or do.ibtful ground far out
weighs all the enjoyment such indulgence
brings Where you are in doubt, do not go.
And this is good enough without
comment. Read it over again !
There is nothing new in what E.
T. W. says in the following extract
from the Alabmtui Raptist, but the fact
that such a question was raised, shows
that some of our people, at least, need
to be re-instructed in the first princi
ples of the religion of Jesus. Here is
the article:
Grace To thi: Uttermost.—A brot er
| writes us to inquire what shall be done
witii an applicait for membership in a white
church, a woman of mixed blood, and who
has had a bad character, but who uow pro
fesses, and seems to give evidence of repen
tance, and who desires to c irifess Christ by
baptism This is die gist of the case, we
| do not think it necessary to go into the de
tails.
We see no reason for any doubt as to what
the church ought Io du in the case; let her
ibe received by nil means. Our Lord was
hioie concerned for the purity and honor of
his kingdom than we possib y can be, and
he welcomed such penitents ns this woman,
and assigned them a higher place than that
given to imperii nut moralists The lesson
which Jesus inculcated in connection with
the parable of the two sons, precisely applies
to the case mentioned. M it. 21: 31: "Veri
ly 1 say unto you, that the publicans und
harlots go into the kingdom of God before
you." No sin whatever, preceding conver
sion, debars a convert from the mid of the
Savior. 1 Cor. I): O il: “Be not deceived;
■either foruicitors, nor idolaters, nor cflem-
I inate, nor abusers of themselves with man
' kind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunk
I ards, nor rcvilers, nor extortioners, shall
Whole No. 2396
inherit the kingdom of God. And such
were some of you, but ye are washed, but ve
are sanctified, but ye are justified in tfie
■ name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit
of our God.” It is the glory of God's grace
Ito r ach to thi extremes! eases of human
I wretchedness and sinfulness, and to bring
publicans and harlots into his kingdom,
i The past history of this woman should put
, no obstacle in the way of her reception into
a Christian church.
Nor should the question of race be allowed
to intu'fere. We think it well that the col
j ored people should have churches to them
; selves, in which they could have more free
dom of worship and action, and more
cordiality of intercourse than they would
enjoy in a communion where they would be
overshadowed by a superior race But we
would not feel at liberty to refuse them ad
mission into any church of Christ to which
they might make application. In Charles
ton we advised our colored members to form
a chu-ch to themselves, and agreed to assist
them in “keeping house.” One worthy
colored woman, however, declined to with
draw, and her right to remain in our com
munion was distinctly and cordially recog- •
nized. She was still a member of the Citadel
Square Baptist church at the time we left
Charleston.
The convert to whose case our correspon
dent refere has always been recognized by
law as a white woman, and his kept white
company, such as it was. She would not be
at home inac dored church ; but would find
herself, by uniting with it, placed in a posi
sion of complete social isolation. The white
church should receive and encourage the
sad and loneD penitent, in the spirit of the
pitiful, benignant Master.
Preaching so as to Convert Noboby.
The design of this article is to propound
several rules by a steady conformity to any
one ol which a man may preach so as not to
convert anybody. It is generally conceded
at the present dav that the Hoiy Spirit
converts souls to Christ b" means of truth
adapted to that end. It foil- ws that a selfish
preacher will not skillfully adapt means
to convert souls to Christ, for this is not his
end.
1. Let your supreme motive be to secure
your own popularity; then, of course, your
preaching will be adapted to that end,'and
not to convert sou's to Christ.
2. Aim at pleasing, rather than at con
verting your hearers.
3. Aim at securing for yourself the repu
tation of a beautiful writer.
4. Avaid preachi g doctrines that a-e of
fensive to the carnal mind, lest they should
say of you, as they did of Christ, "This is a
hard siying. Who can hear it?’’ and that
you are injuring your influence.
5. Denounce sin in the ab-tract, but make
no a'ludon to the sins of your present audi
ence.
G. Preach the Gospel as a remedy, but
conceal or ignore the fatal disease of the
sinner
7. Preach salvation by grace; but ignore
the condemned and lost condition of the
sinner, lest he should understand what vou
mean by grace, and feel his need of it.
8. Preach Christ as an infinitely amiable
and goodmatured being ; but ignore those
sedhing rebukes of sinners and hypocrites
which -o often made his hea'ers tremble.
9. Avoid, especially, preaching to those
who are present. Preach about sinners, and
not to them. Say they, anil not you, lest anv
one should make a personal and saving ap
plication of your subject.
10. Aim to make your hearers pleased
with themselves, and, hence, with you ; and
be careful not to wound the feelings of any
one.
11 Preach no searching sermons, lest you
convict and convert the worldly member’s of
your church.
12 Do not make the impression that you
expect your hearers to commit themselves
upon the spot, and give their hearts to God.
13. Leave the impression that they are
expected to go away in their sins, and to
consider the matter at their convenience.
14. Say so little of hell that your jieople
will infer that you do not believe in its ex
istence.
15. Make the impression that, if God is
as good as you are, He will send no one to
hell,
16. Often present God in His parent d love
and relations; but ignore His government
al and legal relations to His subjects, lest the
sinner should find himself cond mued al
reuly, aid ths wrath of God abiding on
him
17. Avoid pres ing the doctrine of total
moral depravity, lest you should offend, or
even convict and convert, the moralist.
18. Do not rebuke the worldly tendencies
of the church, lest you should hurt their
feelings, and finally convert some of them.
19. Be time-serving, or you will endanger
your salary ; and, besides, if you speuk out,
and are faithful, you may convert somebody.
20. Ridicule solemn earnestness in pulling
sinners out of the fire, and recommend, by
precept and example, a jovial, fun loving
repglon, and sinners will have little respect
for your serious preaching.
21. Cultivate a fastidious taste in your
people, by avoiding all disagreeable alia
sions to the las’ judgment and final retribu-
I tion.
22. If your text suggest any alarming
thought, pass lightly over it, and by no
means dwell upon and enforce it.
23. Address the imagination, and not the
conscience, of your hearers.
24. Encourage church sociables, and at
tend them y -urself, because they tend so
•strongly to levity as to compromise Christian
: dignit'.' and sobriety, and thus parahe the
power of your preaching.
25. Encourage the cultivation of the social
in so many ways as to divert the attention
of yourself and you church-members from
the infinite gulf and danger of the unconver
ted among you.
I The experience of ministers who have
steadily adhered t > any of the above rules,
will attist the soul-destroying efficacy of such
!a course; and churches, who e ministers
I have steadily confirmed to any of these
ru'es, can testify that such preaching does
not convert souls to Christ.— Prtudent Fin
iicy, in lhe Epitcopul MethodM.
- -The Cumberland Presbyterians of Selma
have secured the services of Rev. H.H, Smith
: as pastor.
- The North Alabama Methodist confer-
I e ice met at Tuskaloosa the on 26tb inst.