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10 servant “ laid hands upon another, and took him bv the throat,” &o. This laying hands on, and taking by the throat, is equivalent to laying hands on our brother suddenly , prematurely, hastily, or passionately, and not in that spirit of entreaty and brotherly kindness which the gospel teaches and enjoins. For other illustrations of this figurative use of laying hands on men, see Ps. xxxii, 4 ; also xxxix. and cxxxix, &c. I make these remarks on the 22d verse because I conceive it essential to the proper understanding of the text. If a brother trespass against thee, don’t lay your hands sudden ly, rashly or passionately upon him, but go and tell him his fault, and entreat him as a father or broth er, as the case may be; and while you faithfully and impartially rebuke sin before all, do not hunt after secret sins, or indulge prejudices, and thereby jnvolve the church in endless litigations and con tentions. For, while some men’s sins are open, manifest and proven, and come properly before the tribunal of the church, ior judgment and settlement, there are others so covert and hidden from human view, that thev must be left to follow after those guilty to a final judgment. * • I may, from a secret prejudice against a brother, watch him, not so much from a desire tor his es tablishment in the faith and practice of godliness, as from a desire to find some fault in him, and con sequently seize hastily the first shadow of wrong, in order to expose or irritate him ; while on the other hand, my strong partialities for another brother may lead me to overlook actual open sins in him, to the disgrace and scandal of the prt)fes sion of Christ. These errors are alike to be avoid ed and shunned by us ; and I think those brethren who have been long in the church, and have expe rienced the confusion and trouble which has afflict ed her by allowing charges to come in that were not sufficiently open or manifest, on the one hand, and the great scandal that has fallen upon her by suffering open sins to go unrebuked, will jeadily appreciate the Apostle’s urgent charge to faithful ness, as well as his warnings and cautions against hasty, rash, and unjust censure. I have given above my views of the passage, as requested by Bro. Coleman ; they may seem novel to him, but they are the best I have; and as he has called my attention to the important too much neglected suqject of church discipline, I beg his indulgence, and that of the brethren who read the Messenger, to make a few suggestions upon the subject, in a general sense. The Savior not only gave the most full, clear, and touching rule for our general guovernment, in our collective and individual capacities, but en forced its observance upon us in language so affec tionate and tender, that we can hardly err. The new commandment he gave was, “ Love one ano ther,” and the Apostle declares that “ Love works no ill to our neighbor.” Let us then test every act toward our brethren, and the purity of our mo tives by these rules. Does this love prompt our action in rebuking our erring brother ? and do we reprove in such a manner as no ill to our brother should grow out of it! We are all members of 80UTHEEN BAPTIST MESSENGER. the same body ; Do we treat an erring brother as we would a diseased and suffering member of our bodies literally ? If we see a poisonous insect on one hand, we do not lay the other hand suddenly upon it, lest it sting the band that it is on, and en danger and pain the whole body ; but we carefully brush it off, with the utmost caution. Should we act less carefully and cautiously toward a member of the body of Christ f That member that 10-day is swollen, inflamed and painful, by proper treat ment and nursing, may, by-and-by, be of the great est use to the literal body ; therefore we try to jit-serve it while this hope remains. Let us treat tiie members of Christ’s body with at least as much care at>#tendemess. But here lam reminded\f a passage in that prince of poets, Dr. Watts, “ Our stubborn sins will fight and reign If love be absent there.” How then shall we endeavor to keep alive that ce estial spark of love to each other, which God has implanted in the bosom of all his sons and daugh ters ? I answer, first, let us commune often with each other, and talk of the things which pertain to our heavenly inheritance. Let us unbosom our selves to each other by telling our common trials, temptatious and sorrows, and speak of * “ Those few lucid moments that dawn on us here,” and our hopes of deliverance, and final conquest over sin, death and the grave, “through him that loved us, and gave himself for us.” How could we lay our hands suddenly or rudely upon our brother, whose trials and sorrows, hopes and joys live in our own bosom ! or how could we stand careless by, and see the enemy approaching him to wound, hurt and maim him, and not interpose as shield to protect him ? O, that our heavenly Father would grant us more of that love that brought our blessed Savior to the cross for us! that he would give us communion with each other in heart, in spirit, life and conversation; that while the heavens are dark with clouds above us, and the the earth trembles beneath our feet; that while desolating scourge is abroad in our land, we may fly to the shadow of that rock that is higher than forts and armies, and a sure refuge from the wrath of men, and the powers of darkness. O Lord ! though the earth be removed, thy promise stands fast forevermore. Look down with pitying eye3 upon thy erring children, and save us from the rage of men. Bro. Beebe, I enclose a gold dollar to renew my subscription to the Messenger , and suggest, as I see your receipts continue small, that if they are not sufficient to keep up the issue of your paper twice a month, send it once a month, or as often as you can afford with your present patronage.- For one, I had rather hear from the brethren, though but seldom, than have the communication entirely stopped. It may be the Lord will open brighter prospects ere long. May grace, mercy and truth be with you and the Israel of God. HOLLOWAY L. POWER. ii <i> Bro. W. L. Beebe :— lt is natural for us all when peace and prosperity surrounds us, and it would seem that we had more than heart could with, to complain and find fault with our lot; as individuals, and as a nation, we are never satisfied with the comforts of to-day, but hope that to-mor row will bring the desired good. Not thankful for w hat we enjoy, though it is a thousand times more than we deserve, we go-on murmuring, and com pare our condition with that of others, aud generally rate ours at a great discount ; and while we have certainly been the most favored people that the world has ever seen, yet we have been the most ungrateful. Now, when real troubles are upon us, aud we are really passing through the fire, we com plain that the lire is hotter than is wont —that no people were ever exposed to such a burning heat— that it is intolerable, and must consume us ; aud we seem to part with all our alloy with as much pain as though our very souls were wrapped up in it, and as though to destroy one was the destruction of the other. As a nation, we of the South ciaitn to be descendants of a race of the purest patriots, of the gicutest statesmen, men of the most uncon querable courage, and the most unyielding will that any nation can boast of; we claim kindred, I say, with such a noble race, and might institute the comparison of our blessings and advantages over theirs, and it would greatly preponderate iu our lavor. But if we were to compare our sufferings and privations with theirs, and note with what he roic fortitude they endured theirs, the blush of shame might mantle our cheeks, as We go on com plaining at every little reverse, and will not be satisfied unless, with the horrors of war, we can have all the blessings of peace. We must learn to be more patient, aud prepare ourselves fqr greater , sacrifices in every shape; of blood and treasure we must expect the greatest drafts to be made; but as they are absolutely necessary in order to prevent our utter ruin, both civilly and religiously, let us make them uncomplainingly, and trust in the God of battles for the result. When our arms were crowned with success we became vain-glorious, and were led into fatal excesses; instead of thanking God for our victories, we claim the result by our own stout hearts and Btrong arms, and crown our generals with the victor’s wreath. When Israel of old encountered even the uncircumcised Philis liues with such boastful spirits they were always put to flight, and we need expect nothing else, so long as we make man our boast. We must expe rience the futility of every dependence save God alone ; and nothing can so soon bring an individual or a nation to their senses as chastisement. Pros perity always tends to exalt, adversity to humble. Oui ancestors fought for liberty, pure and simple ; they loved it for its own sake, and were content to suffer the loss of all things else if they might but attain that puceless boon. Glory and fame did not actuate them ; they were willing to lose sight of men in view of the great principles that lay nearest their hearts. They under the blessing of God, succeeded, but not bsfore they learned the full value of liberty by untold sufferings. Our rights and liberties ought to be as dear to us as theirs were to them, and we need not expect to escape their sufferings. But I did not expect to write fire