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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.