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Many good and strong things were said in be
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M ISSIONS
During the Session of the
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The Chicago Advance must be
credited with this good paragraph:
“If you like the red flag you had
better go to a country where it
waves,” was Chief of Police Mc-
Claughry’s reply to the anarchists
who demanded of him the return of
their flags captured in the May Day
procession.
The Northern Methodist Confer
ence at Omaha discussed the pro -
priety of abolishing the five year
limit to the pastorate. Tho Baptist
and Reflector congratulates its
readers that it sees signs of a com
ing to the Baptist position of “vol
untariness” as regards the pastoral
relation. Perhaps so, but after all
the Baptists manage to keep their
ministry “itinerating” at a quite
lively rate. We seriously question
whether the average pastoral term is
any longer among us than it is
among the Methodists.
If Christ were in the world to-day
as he once was he would weep as he
looked out upon the world. Look
upon the atrocities being perpetrated
in Europe by the Anarchists. See
the threatening w'ar-cloud in the di
rection of South America and the
revolutions and battles in the Latin-
American republics. Look upon the
political struggles between the great
political parties in our own fair
land. But the most distressing scene
is in the land of the Czar, where the
famine-stricken millions are strug
gling to keep life in their bodies. We
are glad to note that America is not
forgetting these unfortunates in their
sufferings.
Wm. E. Gladstone is rightly
known as the “grand old man” of
England. When an editor asked
him how he explained all the chan
ges in his political convictions from
the day that he entered upon public
life, he had the courage to give a
straitforward answer, and we com
mend i| to persons who think con
sistency is the chief of all virtues.
He said: “I was educated to re
gard liberty as an evil; I have
learned to regard it as good ” That
is, he began as a Conservative and
. he ended as a Liberal, and the pro
cess of education has changes of con
viction on many different j objects;
but the movement has been always
forward, and did not cease to be for
ward when he ceased to be a young
man. It is a generous sight to be
seen an old man still looking for
ward.
The efforts of good men continue
against the opening of the World’s
Fair on Sunday. Rev. J. S. Camp
bell, pastor of the Lexington Avenue
Baptist church, New York, makes a
strong showing why we should not
open the Eposition on the Sabbath.
Outside the reasons for observing the
Sabbath and the disasters that would
follow the opening, he thinks we
should give an object lesson to all
the nations of Europe and the world,
showing them that the Bible-loving
Americans appreciate the great boon
of the Christian’s Sabbath.
“Related as it is to all that is sa
cred in our holy religion and bright
est and best in the hopes of our young
nation, to make the World’s Fair one
great Sabbath dishonoring institution
would be a blow to our country’s
welfare from which it would take
perhaps centuries to recover.
“Let every man who loves his God,
his own welfare and his family and
his maker raise up a voice of vehement
protest against laying profane hands
upon the ark of the nation’s safety.”
The New York Independent seems
to be very unhappy unless it can de-
Mb f Ijrtettan
WBK . IL
nounce the South. Its latest de
liverance is one on Southern “Bar
barism.” It gives the sensational
statement of a negro preacher made
at the Omaha Conference, who said
that during the past year 150 ne
groes have been lynched, seven
burned alive, and one flayed
alive, and one disjointed. The
Independent says that it “seems
to be over a large part of the South
the settled understanding that a ne
gro who is guilty or charged with
being guilty of crime against the
person of any wdiite man or woman
shall be put to death by a mob with
out any opportunity to defend him
self or prove his innocence.” Now
we seriously question the accuracy
of the negro’s statistics. All such
figures made in interest of a partisan
arraignmen tof the South must be
taken with many grains of salt. The
Lord knows we are bad enough but
we believe Dr. Hawthorne spoke the
truth when he said that in all this
broad land the negro has no truer
friend than these people of the
Southland. But there is ever
swift justice awaiting the brutes who
are guilty of the fearful crime for
which negroes are usually lynched
in the South. We do not defend
the lynching, but he who commiser
ates the brute is far more despicable
than the lynchers!
The public are surfeited just now
with reports of school and college
commencements. It is pleasant to
see so many good things said. But
would it not be more profitable if tho
press would devote some time and
attention to the accomplishments of
the students, and especially gradu
ates. Did you ever note the hand
write of several boys or girls, who
have just emerged from college?
Did you ever call on some of them
to read aloud to you with a view to
seeing what the teachers had done
for them? Did you ever make a
test of their proficiency in Grammars.
■ls you have not, do so, and then you
can see to what extent your boy has
been educated. These things show
up very quick when a boy leaves the
college halls and enters tho busy
marts of trade. The business man
who has to try a half dozen, before
he can find one who can write a legi
gle hand will not give a very high
testimonial for the school or college
that turns out such -work. If you
would know the reality go to the
business men. The New York Her
ald, showing tho deficiency of the
schools of that city, very clearly puts
the case.
Every merchant, banker, editor
or other person who employs boys
in his business knows from experi
ence that the boy who comes to him
from the public schools brings very
little to his service beyond more or
less limber legs with such natural
shrewdness as they may chance to
possess. Their “education” has not
fitted them in any valuable degree
for work. They cannot read well or
write well or speak correctly. None
of the lesults which school work
should aim at has been attained.
One firm in the city which employs
some hundreds of boys and educates
them into skilled w’orkmen finds it
necessary to maintain a school of its
own to teach them the rudimentary
branches properly, and after long
experience the managing partner de
clares that the mistraining of the
public schools is often so positive
that on the whole he prefers to take
boys wholly uneducated at the start
rather than grammar-school gradu
ates.
FROM ALABAMA.
THE GREAT OFFICE.
"There stands the messenger of truth: there
stands
Tho legate of the skies!—his theme divine,
His office sacred, his credential clear.
By him tho violated law sneaks out,
Its thunders: and by him In strains as sweet
As angels use, the Gospel whispers peace.”—
Cowper.
The oral proclamation of the Gos
pel, by men specially called of God
to the w'ork, was the grand instru
mentality of the old dispensation—
nor less of the new. More than a
hundred times, is this fact implied in
the New Testament—Keerusso, to
perform the office of a herald, enag
gelizo, to announce glad tidings.
These men were chosen by the
churches, as having given proofs of
a special call, and ordained by a
presbytery or presbyter.
Men thus called and designated
might not to switch off unnecessarily
into politics or literature or law.
*
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. JUNE 16, 1892.
They disparage instead of magni
fying their sacred office.
“Lay preaching,” as it is called is
not anti-scriptural; but if a lag
preacher feels constrained out of love
for Christ and soul, to make preach
ing his great business, he ought to
be regularly set apar tand amenable
to a church.
The indiscriminate laudation of
zealous men preaching on their own
responsibility, is disorganizing in its
influence, and tends to licentiousness.
I know we are rebutted by refer
ences to their success. This, how
ever, may be apparent rather than
real, and suppose it is real, in some
cases, is not God sovereign in bless
ing the word by whomsoever pro
claimed ?
The mischief connected with dis
regard of scripture order, is all the
greater when the act of great and
good men, so absorbed, perhaps with
other things, as to forget allegiance
to the Master in this respect. Just
now it may be regarded a grand im
pertinence, to deplore the forgetful
ness of such men as Spurgeon and
Moody, in this matter; may interfere
with the hero worship to which men
are addicted, and the unseemly
scramble of publishers—as it occurs
to hearts less charitable perhaps than
they ought to be, to make money
out of religious fame.
Let the office of those, appointed
to “negotiate ’twixt God and man
the grand concerns of mercy and
of judment” be magnified,and assum
ed and exercised as the head of the
church has ordained.
E. B. Teague.
FROM FLORIDA.
HONORING THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Short pastorates seem to be a
growing calamity -"betiding • our
churches. The question naturally
arises, why is it ? What is the mat
ter? Observation of late has impress
ed the writer with the idea, that, the
cause lies in a failure on the part of
our churches to honor the Holy
Spirit, in the important matter of se
lecting a pastor.
In many instances the course pur
sued is about this. A pastor resigns
and leaves. The Church, whose pul
pit is vacant, appoints a pastoral
committee, which begins its work, by
writing here and there to find an
available man, or available men. A
list of available men is the result.
The record of each is canvassed as
to his ability to do and to draw’.
This list of available men is put be
fore the church, with instructions, or
recommendations, based upon the
record of each. Tho matter is canvas
sed, the vote is taken. In some in
stances, the available men are invit
ed to come and preach that all may
see. They are closely scrutinized,and
criticised and compared as to their
virtues, and the one having the great
er number of good points is taken.
Abilitity to do, and record, are the
sole matters inquired into. That is
all good so as it goes; does
such proceeding rest upon the best
plans ? There was a time, and it now
is with some churches, that, when a
pastor was to be selected, an espec
ial season of prayer for the direction
and sanction of the Holy Spirit was
appointed. The burden of each
prayer was for direction,-assistance,
guidance; and they were not vain
petitions. Thus the Holy Spirit was
honored. Thus the church seeking,
got the man whom God would use,
and honor. Such a course seldom, if
ever, results in ill for the seeking
church. When tho Spirit is thus
honored, tho right man, just the
needed man, generally comes and he
comes in blessing too. “Them that
honor me, will I honor”, is the em
phatic declaration of our God.; an
alluring promise. But “They that
despise me shall be lightly esteemed”
is also a terrible threat, standing
identified with the promise.
It is striking to notice tho conduct
of the early churches, in the Acts of
the Apostles. They believed in hon
oring the .Spirit, They looked to
their unerring guide, who carried
them in tho ways of right, and kept
them from erring.
There occurs to mo just now an
instance, illustrating this point. A
church was in much doubt hs to
which of several men was tho one for
her. A visting brother came along,
and being Jasked, advised that all
action in thomattei bo deferred, and
that all pray earcstly for tho
Divine direction. The advice
was taken, and it was striking to ob
serve that a fourth man was selected
almost unanimously, and that with
out any canvassing. Whence that
strange concurrence of sentimont?
It was the Spirit honored, honoring.
That man’s career as a pastor was a
success. He proved to be just the
man that the ghurch needed. Breth
ren this is a serious matter, on which
the success of our cause depends.
Honor the Holy Spirit, the Third
Person of the God-head.
C. V. Waugh.
FROM MISSOURI,
The name of Missouri is becoming
a power every way, in politics Mis
souri is a great State. The sectional
geography of our State has in the last
few years been undergoing a change
that takes Missouri out of the South
ern States and gives her a position
far greater in tho location, that of
the center. It is no little thing to
be'the heart of this great country
of ours. To occupy such an impor
tant position that the times of com
merce and of all business pertaining
to our whole country should pass
through and in spine source receive
the accretion of thought incident to
the channel through -which it passes.
This State casts more Democratic
votes than Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware and Georgia combined.
She casts more Republican votes
than Massachusetts, Minnessota,
lowa, New Hampshire, Nebraska,
Kansas.
Some idea of our State may be un
derstood when we know that the en
tire States of Maine, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New Hampshire, Ver
mont, Rhode Island and Delaware
could be put down side by side with
in the limits of Missouri and still
leave a margin of 4,770 square miles.
Missouri raises more corn than In
diana and Maryland combined.
It produced as much wheat in the
year of 1880 as the combined States
of New York, Kentucky and the
two Dacotas. It produces annually
1,00V,U00 pounds Me wool Chun
the State of Texas and as much as
the combined States of Illinois and
Georgia. Missouri produces more
lead ore than all the States and ter
ritories combined. Missouri has the
largest interest bearing school fund
in the United States, in addition the
State gives one-third of her revenue
to this object. Religiously we are fast
taking precedence. Our Baptist
hosts are active and energetic. Un
der the wise management of our
Board of State Missions and the in
domitable courage of a converted
ministry, we are fast increasing.
Our schools of learning are most
excellent and superior to most.
The Wm. Jewell College with her
increased endowment and facilities
reaching in every direction. Her
Theological department with more
students than any college in the
United States. What may we not
hope for ourselves in the futures.
The anniversaries of our colleges
gives bright hopes for the coming
year.
The floods have been very disas
trous, how much it will tell on our
contributions to our missionary en
terprises cannot be known at this
time. Our board of Home and For
eign Missions for Missouri feel elated
at the manifest success of our “Mis
souri plan” having lately received
letters from each general society
commending the plan and encourag
ing us in the prosecution. May God
increase us more and more until that
day which shall crown all faithful
heads in His kingdom above.
T. M. S. Kenney.
Boonville, Mo.
FROM TENNESSEE.
BREAKERS AHEAD!
This age seems to have two strik
ing characteristics—the one, a ten
dency to despise all creeds, the other
to rush, headlong, into what is pleas
ingly termed, “doing something for
Christ.” The one, under the guise
of liberty, is carrying an increasingly
great number into laxity of belief,
and reckless disregard as to what is
held, or taught from the pulpit, so
the one holding, or teaching is a
“great worker.” Will «iot the con
sequence bo that we shall soon
reach the time when religiosity, will
take the place of religion—Church
ianity, of Christianity. Alas! it is
to be feared.
What is a creed ? It is crystalled
beliefs, a summary of principles. A
creedless man is, therefore, one with
out settled beliefs, or organized
principles. But no one can have
either, unless he fully settles for
himself truth and falsehood, and
stands by that conviction. This was
what David seemed to think wms
the normal order. In the HGth
Psalm, he says “I believed, there
fore have I spoken.” Paul quotes
this, and adds, “We also believe,
and therefore speak.” Such a
thought as a creedless religion never
seemed to have entered the mind of
either David, or Paul, but then, of
course, they had not “caught the
spirit of the nineteenth century,” a
fact, I presume, neither of them
would deny. Now, if there was any
one thing more earnestly, pressed by
Jesus than another, it was the neces
sity of belief. He seemed not to be
able to sec how character could be
built up at all, except on the basal
rock of a sound faith in the truth.
And the observation of the world
verifies the Savior’s conclusion. The
world has never advanced in any
great movement except as that
movement was led by men of strong
convictions, firm creeds. Creedless
men make quite a noise at times, but
they fuss away, the noise subsides,
and the world made neither wiser
nor better by them, passes on after
men, who believe strongly, and
speak from an earnest conviction,
that there is an eternal antagonism
between the true and the false,
which may not, dare not, be com
promised, or treated with indiffer
ence.
Now it is such men this age,—
every age needs. Men, who “earn
estly contend for the faith once de
livered to the saints.” Creedless,
namby-pamby, glib talking, so called
“earnest workers for Christ,” who
go around with limp Bibles, and
limperthology, denouncing creeds,
and putting every body to “work
for Christ,” regardless of conviction
or conversion, this age must remand
to list; or perish. Let us wake up to
our danger before all spirituality is
lost in a pell-mell rush nito a reli
gion of machinery, which grinds
away, with clatter and clang, but
upon husks only fit for swine. Let
us return to first principles, convic
tions firmly held, earnestly main
tained, giving lives of thorough con
secration, because “the love of
Christ constraineth” to good works,
by which God may be glorified, and
the world saved.
W. A. Montgomery.
GOD'S SABBATH DAY.
The weekly division of time is as
history. We find proof of this fact
among the ancient Egyptians, Baby
lonians and Assyrians. But none of
these give any account of its origin.
But its wide spread recognition, at
so early a period, among so many
different nations, must naturally sug
gest a common origin ; and afford a
striking corroboration of the story
given us by Moses. He tells us,
that, in the beginning, when God
had finished his creative works in
six days, (or periods) He rested on
the seventh and blessed it. These
six days may have been, and proba
bly were, actually periods of time of
indefinite length ; but they were re
vealed to Moses, analogically, as so
many natural days. Indeed, we
may well suppose, that they were
thus revealed to Adam. In the gar
den of Eden, he had no knowledge
of time, except so much as was given
him by his sense perception of the
“Evening and the Morning,” which
measured to him only a natural day.
If therefore, the great God chose to
give to Adam some account of His
works in the past, He must have em
ployed, almost from necessity, that
unit of time, with which Adam was
acquainted, to express tho successive
periods of His creative activity. And
of course the period rest would be
ndicated, in like manner by the same
term. This day of rest added to the
six days of work completes the week
of seven days. Hence the account
which Moses gives of the origin, of
the weekly division of time is con
sistent with all the other parts of
the record ; and, as before stated, it
is corroborated by its very great an
tiquity.
We next learn that “God blessed
the seventh day and sanctified it,
because that in it, lie had rested
from His work which God created
and made? Now, it is important
that we should notice, that, at this
early period, we have no evidence
that God gave to our first parents
any injunctioif to observe the sev
enth natural day of their time as a
rest or Sabbath day. They did not
need it. In their beautiful garden
they lived upon the bounty of their
great Creator. Their only task was,
“to dress it and to keep it.” But
this was really not a task, —it was
an amusement, a pastime, a pleasure.
All the rest they needed, they found,
beneath the shades of evening, in
sweet and peaceful slumber. The
week of days they may have known;
but no one day was, for them, more
sacred than another;for on each and
every day, they walked with God.
Hence the words “God blessed the
seventh day, and sanctified; because
that in it, he had rested from all his
work which God created and made,”
must be explained as having refer
ence, at that time, not to man at all;
but to God himself. That rest day
was God’s own Sabbath, upon which
he had entered, more than two thou
sand years before there was a Sab
bath ordained for man. Let us then,
for the present, consider it in refer
ence to God alone. ,
If I were obliged to take the word
“day” to mean just twenty-four
hours, I should be wholly at a loss
how to explain the words, in refer
ence to God alone. Let us invoke,
in this case, the aid of science. The
learned make it evident, from the
“testimony of the rocks,” that the
Almighty was, indeed, a very long
time in building this great globe of
ours. And it appears, moreover,
from the same testimony, that this
long time may be easily distinguish
ed into six successive periods; and
that the fossils of each period corrob
orate, most strikingly, the order of
the creation, as given in the first
chapter of Genesis. Hence, the
light of science shows that the word
day, in that chapter, was not used in
its literal sense, but to express, as it
often does in other literature, a certain
period of time of indefinite length,
—in the case before us, a Geological
period. But if the ’ ’.uy’’ J M’h«ni
used to express God’s work in crea
tion meant a Geological period, it
must be understood in the same
sense, when used to denote the pe
riod in which God rested. Can we
believe that He exercised His crea
tive energy through six periods of
unnumbered ages, and then rested
only twenty-four hours ? The idea
is preposterous. Therefore God’s
rest day, or His Sabbath, -was the
seventh Geological period ; w'hich is
the period, in which we live, and in
which are to be found all the won
ders of human history. God is still
resting, so far as this globe is con
cerned, from His creative work; and
this also science confirms. I think
it is admitted by the learned, that,
since the appearance of man upon
the earth, there has been no new
creation. True, successive genera
tions of plants and animals have
come and gone; but the existence of
these was potentially provided for in
the creation of their respective origi
nals. In this sense at least, Solomon
was right when he said: “There is
nothing new under the sun.”
But in what sense has God rested?
The words of the text are explicit
upon this point. “And God blessed
the seventh day, (or period) ; be
cause, in it, he had rested from all
his work which God created and
made.” The last clause shows that
God rested only from His creative
work. From His providential and
moral activities lie has never rested,
—no, not for a single hour. This
we shall presently see.
How did God bless and sanctify
the seventh day? I do not know
the Hebrew word which is transla
ted to “bless,” lam therefore com
pelled to rely upon its Greek equiva
lent, which is “enloges.” This word
is often used, both in the Scptuagint
and in the New Testament. Its mean
ing is “to speak well of, to praise, to
honor,” and by implication to ap
prove, to exalt. A beautiful exam
ple of its use is in Matt. 25 ;24.
“Como ye blessed of my Father.”
Why blest ? because, through grace,
they had been the servants of Christ.
Therefore, God approved them, and
honored and exalted them to a share
in his kingdom of glory. When,
therefore, God blessed the seventh
day, He conferred upon it some won
derful honor or distinction. What
then is the honor which God has con
ferred upon this present period,
which illustrates the blessing that
God pronounced upon it ? This
Brother Minister,
Working Layman,
Zealous Sister,
We are striving to make
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VOL. 69.-NO. 24.
honor, or distinction, includes sever
al particulars.
Ist. Just at the close of the sixth
period, God created man upon the
earth; but he was evidently de
signed for the seventh; for jnst as
He made man, He entered upon His
rest, which marked the beginning of
a new era, —an era for which God
had provided a race of intelligent
creatures, in his own likeness, en
dowed with ability to know, to love
and to enjoy this great Creator.
Over this race, God established His
providential and moral government,
whereby He might display the trans
cendent perfections of His moral at
tributes. Signalized by the history
of such a race, how distinguished, is
this period ! Compared with it, how
dull, how monotonous, appear the
primeval ages that preceded it, when
the highest form of life was only
dumb brute nature!
2nd. But when, under God’s mor
al government, man fell from his
allegiance, and the race was morally
lost, and doomed to just and eternal
retribution, it might seem, that a
dark, gloomy disgrace had settled
down over this seventh day of time.
But not so. The dreadful catastro
phe of man’s fall, furnished the oc
casion for the mighty ■work of hu
man redemption. The history of
this redemption fills the whole “day”
which God has blessed. It began
with the promise, “The seed of the
woman shall bruise the serpent’s
head.” It was finished, as to its
plan, when Jesus died. But its pow
er to save was felt at Abel’s altar in
Noah’s ark, at Jacob’s Bethel, and
on, and on, through the ages down
to the present hour. And its power
to save shall not stop here. It shall
continue to gather, through succeed
ing generations to the end of time,
the elect of God unto his everlasting
kingdom.
But we learn that God also ’sanc
tified the “seventh day.” To sancti-<
fy, in its radical sense, is to set apart
a thing from a common to a sacred
puiposc. ’ God had used the prime
val ages of this world’s history, to
display His infinite power and wis
dom in the works of creation. These
have been called his natural attrib
utes. But when the “seventh day’’
(or period) dawned, He set it apart
to the high, noble and sacred pur
pose of displaying to His intelligent
creatures on earth His holiness,
righteousness, justice, mercy, truth
and love. These are His moral at
tributes. This He has accomplished
through His providential and moral
government, and especially by His
great scheme of human redemption.
In such w r orks as then, God did
most signally, both bless and sancti
fy the seventh day‘—His own great
and holy Sabbath.
Next week we will try to find the
Jewish Sabbath. Let not the rea
der be impatient; we will reach the
Christian Sabbath in due time. But
when we do reach it, these prelimi
nary articles, I hope, will enable ua
to understand it better.
S. G. Hillyeb
,T 3 Wheat St., Atlanta, Ga.
BLUNTEDMORALITY.
A pious layman said: “You can
not convict a man for carrying con
cealed weapons when every one of
the jury has a pistol in his pocket.’’
The same principle modified applies
to the use of other things. It is very
difficult to convince men of the harm
fulness of a thing when they are under
the dominion of habit. Who fails to
see this in men bound in the chains
of opium, whisky and tobacco use ?
You may plead the evil effects upon
health or morals, but they cannot be
seen by one who constantly uses
these things. Their minds seem to
refuse to listen to the arguments
against the use of such things. What
Dr. Graham says of tobacco is equal-
Ip applicable to other uses to which
men are addicted. Let us give the
use of these things more serious con
sideration. Says Dr. Graham : *
“Tobacco has impaired the delica
cy of his moral sense. It has in some
sense impaired the nice powers of
his understanding to perceive moral
truth. It has established in the phy
ical economy of his body an appe
tite whose despotic and often irresis
tible influence upon the intellectual
and voluntary power vehementlj
urges, and even absolutely compel)
the understanding and will to com
ply with its demands.”
Beecham’s Pills sell well because
they cure.