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Many good and strong things were said in be half of MISSIONS During the Session of the Southern Baptist Convention. Subscribe to and read the Christian Index, if you. would keep informed. ESTABLISHED 1821. ©he ©hrifitian JJndex J. c. McMichael, pbofmbtob. Organ of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. Published Every Thursday at Atlanta, Ga. Subscription Price : One copy, one year • 2.00 One copy, six months 1.00 One copy, three months 50 Obituaries.—One hundred words free of charge. For each extra word, one cent per Word, cash with copy. To Correspondents.—Do not use abrevia tionsjbe extra careful in writingproper names; write with ink, on one side of paper; Do not write copy intended for the editor and busi ness items on same sheet. Leave off personal ities; condense. Business.—Write all names, and post offices distinctly. In ordering a change give the old as well as the new address. The date of label Indicates the time your subscription expires. Jf you do not wish it continued, order it stop ped a week before. We consider each sub scriber permanent, until he orders his paper discontinued. When you order it stopped pay up to date. Remittances by check preferred; or regis tered letter, money order, postal note. No man has a right to do as he pleases, unless he pleases to do right. No man has a right to think as he pleases unless he pleases to think right. The highest moral achieve ment and the widest freedom lie along the lines of right-doing and right-thinking. The ground of modern agnosti cism, so far as it may be said to have any ground, is the assumption that because we cannot know all about God we cannot know anything about him. The same reasoning would make all knowledge impossible. And yet there are some things we do know. Rev. W. D. Morrison, Chaplain of Wadsworth Prison, in the Nine teenth Century, rather startles the public froift official statistics, with the fact that crime is increasing. This seems a queer commentary on this age with all its religious and philanthropic work. The writer gives some totals which show that in volume, at least, crime has greatly developed since 1860. Increase of crime among children is more on the increase in proportion than among adults. ’These results are attributa ble to the concentration of popula tion in the cities, as business centers. What is to be the outgrowth finally ? > Christian Science (falsely so call- • ed) says to the sick and suffering, “Believe that you are cured and you are cured.” But how can a man with a “jumping” toothache believe that he’s cured ? We have no doubt that persons sometimes grow into a habit of invalidism and cease to make any effort to get well. If one . of them should summon will-power sufficient to make a determined and persistent exertion, he might easily surprise himself and his friends, but even if he got well there would be no “faith cure” about it and still less a miracle. The true reason for self-denial lies jn the fact that It adds to one’s mor al strength. Self-indulgence not on ly produces physical effeminacy, but it attacks the moral fibre of the soul and destroys all genuine virtue and manliness. This is ruin. We are growing towards God when we are growing in moral power. No Chris tian can afford, therefore, to plead for this or that indulgence on the ground that there is “no harm” in it. Every act of self-denial for the sake of our Lord is a distinct contribution to our moral strength and to that within us which makes for righteous / ness. It is a step towards God, who i is himself the Infinite Moral Force. ■ Dr. Farquharson, member of the j British Parliament in the June num (J>er of Blackwood, takes medium ground on the temperance question. He opposes the “Staggering Sot” theory, and is opposed to the vision ary preachers of a pure water Uto pia.” He defends tlie use of alco hal both as a harmless pleasure, and as a physical necessity in the modern development of man. “We are,” he says, “artificial products of an ar tificial age, often depressed and wor ried, eating bad food badly cooked, breathing bad air, and crushed down by money difficulties. At these times, when responsibilities are around us, and the troubles of the world begin to close in over our beads, a cheering glass, in strict moderation and at carefully selected times, is of real use, and can be de- • fended both by physiology and com - mon sense.” With a great majority of men Dr. Farquharson could not advise a better way to start to bell. The Apostle Paul indicates the highest ideal of the preacher’s work when he said “I persuade men.’’ What is need in the pulpit of to-day, far more than learning or eloquence is persuasion. And for the high est persuasiveness two things are necessary. The preacher’s own heart and life must be right, and those who profess to illustrate the truth be proclaims must conform their own lives to the standard they require of him. There can be no doubt that the manner of life of ma ny professedly Christian people has much to do with the ineffectiveness of the pulpit. The pulpit is largely to blame for this. Many preachers encourage those to make a public profession of faith who are uncon verted. The preacher ought not to allow his eagerness for results to blind him to their real quality. And the churches ought to study the di vine art of Christian persuasiveness more than they do, “knowing the fear of the Lord.” THE JEWISH SABBATH. CONTINUED FROM JUNE 30 AND THE SO-CALLED CHRISTIAN SABBATH BEGUN. On June 30th. the very day my first article on the Jewish Sabbath appeared in the Index, I received from Dr. C. E. W. Dobbs, of Carters ville, a series of articles on “The Lord’s Day,” published by him in the Indiana Baptist seven years ago. I did not know that such a treatise ex isted. The plan of my articles was about matured and perhaps more than half the matter already in manuscript when his treatise came to hand. Our methods of treating the subject differ considerably; but when discussing the same topics, our views are strikingly similar. lam glad to find myself so ably support ed. THE SUBJECT RESUMED. We have already seen with what solemnities the fourth commandment, with many others, was given, from I Mt. Sinai. We have also noticed | its two-fold aspect. It was both a secular and a 'religious law/ This double aspect was due to the fact that God himself was the law-giver of the Jews. lie was at once, the Ruler, whom they should obey ; and the God whom they should wor ship. The government which he es tablished was a Theocracy. Hence, —to borrow a modern phrase—the “union of church and state” was’ close and inseparable. Hence, an offence against the state was also an offence against God, and vice versa. Almost every statute, therefore, had its secular, and its religious side ; and this was especially true of the fourth commandment. On its secular side, it was designed to afford rest to the people'; on its religious side it was intended to promote among them the honor and worship of God. And its observance was enforced by the penalty of death. On its secular side, it was a part of the civil polity of the Jewish state. On its religious side it was a part of the Jewish rit ual, —of that system of visible forms and ceremonies by which God or dained that His people Isreal should worship Him. And to impress it still more forcibly upon their minds it was clothed with an attractive sym bolism, viz., it was a memorial sym bol of that great Sabbath which God had blessed and sanctified, and of the covenant which he had made with Ilis people. And then pointing to the far distant future it was a proph etic symbol, or type of that rest which “remains for the people of God”in His spiritual Kingdom. Such was the Jewish Sabbath. Let us now pass on to consider the so-called Christian Sabbath. And the very first question that meets us is. What day is it? The Jews kept the seventh day of the week as their Sabbath. But Christians, with very few exceptions, have from the begin ning held the first day of the week as their religious day. Our first business then, is to investigate the origin of this usage. The same God is the author both of Judaism and of Christianity. Hence, there must be a very close relation between them. In Judaism through Moses and the Prophets, God began to reveal Him self to men. In Christianity; through Jesus and his apostles, that revela tion was completed. Thpre cannot, therefore, be any real antagonism be tween them. But it was true that Judaism was only a preparation for it Atlanta, Ga. stlmstian slnt»rr. ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. JULY 14, 1892. Christianity. It was a shadow of better things to come through its types and symbols. And when those better things did come, there was no farther use for the types and symbols. Christianity was the fulfillment and realization of all that Judaism was designed to teach. It did not des troy the law and the Prophets, but it fulfilled and verified all that they had promised. Judaism had accom plished its purpose. It had become “an old garment” which could not be patched up with the new cloth of Christianity. It Lad become “an old bottle” which was not fit to receive the “new wino” of the Gospel. So our Savior teaches. Accordingly when Christianity was introduced some great changes were made. Among the rest, the first day of the week became the day for re ligious services of the Christians, in stead of the seventh. How did this happen? Jesus was Lord of the Sab bath day. It was already establish ed, and associated in every Jewish mind with the memory of their fathers. If Jesus had so designed, how easy it would have been to make the religious day of Christians coin cide with the Sabbath, to which they were already accustomed and which the Jewish Christians still venerated as given to their fathers at Mt. Sinai. But this was not done. The record tells us, —“When the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all, (the whole Church) with one accord in one place.” Now, the Pentecost was the day after the Sab bath, i. e. the first day of the week, our Sunday. Was this accidental? Again, it was at that very meeting, that Christ, fulfilled his promise. The Holy Spirit came as the sound of a rushing mighty wind, and filled the house where they were sitting. And then followed all the wonders of that wonderful day,—and it was the first day of the week. It had been signalized, already by the resurrec tion of Christ. Then, on the day of Pentecost, it, was pignidized by gift of the Holy Ghost. These weds achievements of the Grace God,'whoso effects reach backward to the beginning of time, and for ward to the last great day. Nor will they stop then. These results shall continue to flow in waves of glory, “to Him w'ho sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb, forever.” In view of these facts, it is not sur prising, that afterwards, when church es were established among the gen tiles, the Apostles should sanction the setting apart for them, the first day of the week as the day for their religious assemblies. That they did give their sanction is clearly manifest from their own words, and their ac tions. We do not need tradition to prove the fact, but if we did, its tes timony is all certainly in favor of the fact. If the Apostles had thought it either expedient or necessary to impose the Jewish Sabbath upon the churches, why did they not do it? They had authority from Christ himself to give the Gospel, both as to its doctrines and its command ments, to the churches. He was a Jew. In his public teachings, he en forced, either by special mention or by implication every precept of the Decalogue,—except the fourth com mandment. To that lie never al ludes, except when he or his disciples were accused of violating it. He gave to the Apostles his spirit to guide them into all truth and to bring to their remembrance all things what soever that he had said unto them. With such plenary inspiration, if it had been the Savior’s will to subject his churches to the demands of the Jewish Sabbath, do wo not know that the Apostles would have done it? To be continued. S. G. llillyer. Tung Chow, China., May 19, ’92. Dear Christian Index:—Just now, when unusual efforts are being put forth to arouse a greater amount of missionary enthusiasm among our people, there has arisen a discussion of “methods of missions” which many fear will retard progress and cool interest where an enthusiastic advance should be made. I have no desire to enter into the discussion in question, but, prompted by an earn est desire to see the cause of our Lord and Savior always on the ad vance, wish to make a suggestion to my brethren in Georgia and else where : It is well known that, according to the constitution of our conven tion, those contributing funds to the support of the work of its boards, have the power to' direct where and how those funds shall be expended. Indeed, this is a principle which is being constantly practiced. What I wish to say is that if any brother feels unwilling to contribute money to the board on the ground that it maybe expended on schools or in other directions objectionable to him, let him not refrain from bringing forth his money. He can direct that it bo expended in strengthening your missions in North China. If he should wish his money invested in schools, etc., let him direct the money to be sent elsewhere, and to which ever place he wishes it will bo sent by the board. It is the policy of your North China Mission to engage solely in the preaching and tgacbingf of the Gospel, and, doing this, to rely upon the Holy Spirit, both to call men into the kingdom of our Lord and into the ministry. The influence of the Gospel is looked to to awaken higher desires for things intellectual and material, as well as to induce growth spiritually. There is much discus sion as to whether this is the better way. Is not the most certain solu tion of the question to be attained by putting it to a practical test? Your other mission fields have Other methods; this field has determined upon this method. Your money will be expended where you wish. Let the two methods be pursued and see which God shall bless. Surely, if one is God’s method and the other is not, He will bless His own. It is now a little more than thirty years since this mission was first opened by Dr. Hartwell, and yet to day, in comparison with the efforts put forth by other denominations in near proximity, it may almost be said to be in a state of imbecility. From lack of force the single station at Pingtu is the only step toward the ulterior it has yeSbucn possi ble to taks>. At th" . time the promising about .gLLa has to remain almost entirely without at tention for more than a year because that Brother Pruitt found it neces sary to make a visit home. There is not a field in China more promising than this North China Mission field. Toward the coast there is still much of the prejudice against the foreigner, which was in tensified and set by the use of force in opening this port. But in the in terior things are different. Less prejudice exists in the minds of the people, and there is noticeable a re ligious spirit among the people which is said not to be found elsewhere in China. It is to be earnestly desired that at no distant day we Southern Baptists shall be going forward into this land with zeal and faith in God. Oh, brethren ! let not the promise of the hundred new men for the for eign field during this centennial year fail of a fulfillment. With its pro portion of those men those of us here feel sure that this North China Mission will yield results during the coming year that will cause God’s people to rejoice. With prayers for the people of Georgia, my native State, I am Yours for China, William D. King. Written for Tub Index. FROM ALABAMA. POSTURE IN PRAYER. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces at the door of tlie tabernacle to supplicate the mercy of Jehovah for murmuring Israel. The same great leaders prostrated themselves before the Lord, when they received tidings of the revolt of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. In his memorable inter cession for the people, Moses fell down before the Lord forty days and forty night*, and neither ate nor drank. The whole camp of Israel fell on their faces in awe, w'hen the fire of God kindled upon the altar and consumed the burnt offering- Balaam, convinced of his transgres sion by tho ap|>earanco of tlie an gel with a drawn sword, fell flat on his faco before the heavenly messen ger. Jairus fell down at Jesus’ feet and besought him to come and heal the dying child. When ten lepers were cleansed, one of them turned back with grateful heart and fell on his face giving thanks unto the Lord. And in the Revelation we read of four and twenty elders who fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, Wo give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. The Psalmist says, O come, let us kneel before the Lord and Maker. Solomon kneeled down before all the congregation of Israel and offer ed prayer, dedicating the temple to the worship of God. Three times a day Daniel kneeled upon his knees and prayed giving thanks before his God. The leper came beseeching the Lord, and kneeling down to Him sought His healing power. The moral young man kneeling asked, Good Master what shall Ido to in herit eternal life. Stephen knelt to pray for his persecutors and to com mend his soul to God. Peter knelt and prayed by the corpse of Tabitha. Paul knelt in prayer with the elders of Ephesus, and again w-ith his brethren on the coast of Tyre ; and it was his custom to bow his knees unto the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ in behalf of his brethren. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knelt and prayed, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. And it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess. David lay all night upon the earth in an agony of humiliation and fast ing and prayer, that God would gra ciously spare the life of tho child born of her that had been the wife of Uriah. On his bed of sickness Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed successfully for an ex tension of life. Elijah sat down under a juniper tree in the wilderness and prayed that he might die. And at the tid ings of the desolation of Jerusalem, Nehemiah sat down, and wept, and mourned and fasted, and prayed un to the God of heaven. When Abraham’s servant perceiv ed the success of his journey in tsiarch of a' wife for lan-sl, h« bowed his head and worshipped the Lord (•?. he had led him in the right way. When Israel believed 'he message concerning their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, they bowed their heads and worshiped. Jahaziel prophesied of the victory over the Ammonites, and Jehosaphat bowed his head with his face toward the earth in gratitude and thanks. Ez ra blessed God for His abundant mercies, and tlie people responding, Amen ! bowed their heads and wor shipped the adorable Name. In his strong pleading for Sodom, Abraham stood before the Lord, and drawing near said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wick ed ? The Levites of old command ed the people saying, Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever. Elijah speaks of standing before the Lord God. The publi can standing afar off in the temple would not lift up bo much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner. Giving instruction in regard to prayer our Lord says, When ye stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any, and be not as the hypocrites who love to pray standing on tho corners of the streets to be seen of men. So it seems that tho posture makes little difference, if tho heart is right. It is a matter of taste, judgment, custom. But in a public assembly it is better that all should obsesrve the same posture in prayer. Standing with closed eyes is proba bly preferable to any other posture. J. J. Taylor. Mobile, Ala. Written for The Index. In The Index of June 23d, the author of the article from Missouri makes two statements that deserve criticism. First, it is a fact that tho Jews always pronounce the word Elohim and never the word Jehovah. Adonai is put in place of it. Tho author knows this surely, but, as tho good Homer sometimes nods, he nodded when he wrote Elohem. Secondly, Paul did not toll Timo thy to “ bohave himself in the church of the living God,” for Timothy had been guilty of no irrcvcrenco in tho church. Ho wrote simply: “These things I write unto thee * • • that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in tho house of God.” Timothy needed no rebuke for irreverence, but ho did neijd pas- toral advice for the conduct of him self as a minister of the congrega tion of God. So much on the basis of tho old version. Tho new version has it, “ how men ought to behave themselves.” In the margin, “ how thou oughtest to behave thyself.” Since this text is a disputed one, and has grave difficulties, one should be very careful how he quotes it, and of the use he makes of it. By no means make it a piece of plain speech to the “youthful Timothy.” It would not violate the grammar of the Greek if we should translate this text so as to make it mean that Paul wrote to Timothy in order that he might “ know how to conduct him self as a pillar and stay of the truth.” In Galatians-— 2: 9, James, Cephas and John are called pillars. In Rev. —3:12: “He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God.” To make “pillar and stay ” refer to Timothy would be in keeping with these texts. The church is not the ground of the truth. It is not of co-ordinate authority with the word. The church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles as preachers. Some ancient manuscripts make God the pillar and stay of tho church. C. K. Henderson. Woodlawn, Ala. Written lor The Index. FROM TEXAS. REMINISCENCES. The meeting of the Southern Bap tist Convention revived associations accompanied with emotions of joy mingled with sadness. I thought as the last platoon of veterans was called out at the Atlanta meetings, that it would not be long before they would be gathered to their fathers- I was not present at the organiza tion, but as a young man, a junior in Brown University, I was not an in different spectator of the exciting happenings of the year 1845. I was present at the last meeting of the Triennial Convention, before the withdrawal of our Southern breth ren. I well remember some of the prominent figures in that body, and could not but feel sorrowful when the conviction came that these brethren must part. I gazed upon such men as Welch of Albany, Hague, Fuller and Wayland, men who loved each other and who felt the sad necessity of a change. I remember how the separation affected the Seminary at Newton Centre. Some of the stu dents withdrew, among them was my personal friend, E. T. Winkler, who afterwards became such a pow er in our Convention. I remember too, how our venerable teacher, Dr. Wayland, strongly as he was en trenched in his anti-slavery convic tions, had longed for some interpo sition of Providence which would prevent the contemplated secession. But these good men lived to see that God meant it all for the best. It was an event of my life in that year to look upon the face of Adon iram Judson. Wayland’s Sunday evening sermons were always inter esting; but on a certain Sunday, Jud son was present in tho chapel, sitting in front of the desk, his arms folded across his breast. He, alone arrest ed my attention. Ilis youthful faith, years of suffering, patient waiting and hard toil were all before me. I could not help, after service, going into the library and pressing to my heart once more the heavy Burmese Bible, the work of the consecrated man. In 1850, fresh from the Seminary, I commenced my public life in Geor gia, and whenever I could leave the school-room or my church, I was present at the sessions of the Con vention. God spared for years most of the leading spirits of the body. W. B. Johnson was among the first to leave us. lie was a rare spirit. Ilis brethren loved to honor him, for they had confidence in his wisdom and loyalty to his convictions. When he preached on Experience his sen tences seemed almost inspired. Ba sil Manly was tho next to go to his reward. Some of us called him our St. Johh. He never preached with out reaching tho heart. Infidels felt hig power; and his church in Charles ton always regretted to see a visiting minister in the pulpit. Howell was a natural born leader. With his pen be grew eloquent; and it is a sad reflection that his works and tho works of other strong men Brother Minister, Working Layman, Zealous Sister, We are striving to make The I ndex the best of its kind. Help us by securing a now subscriber. VOL. 69.—N0. 28. of fifty years ago are rarely read even by the mass of our ministry. Brother Taylor, the Secresary of the Foreign Board, lovingly carried the work on his heart. I shall never forget the Baltimore meeting, which came on just as the smoke of the war was disappearing. The South was not through with its suffering, our Seminary had just come out of the fire. Boyce and Broadus, and Wil. liams were there with heart and hope and purpose. Not from their lips had any one hoard of their sacrifices. Mell was there and made the meet ing a model for a British Parliament or an American Congress. Jeter was in the glory of high noon, and Fuller was as gentle and affectionate as he was great. I rejoiced to see two Northern brethren present who were nearing the evening of life. They had both been bitterly parti zan ; but they melted when they witnessed the calm dignity and lov ing trust of that assembly. They had been brilliant stars in New York and New England, but they could not forget the days of old, and as they made their parting addrssses; Poindexter, our Stonewall, and oth er veterans felt that it was good to meet once more with their comrades of other days. But I must stop. I hope I have not gone beyond a column. I am in the sixties and you will forgive these glances into the dear past. John llill Lutheb. Temple, Tex. FACTS FOR GEORGIA BAPTISTS. It is said that facts are much need ed. Here are some of them. It is a fact that there is great ne cessity for Georgia Baptists to be aroused to a fuller sense of their duty and privileges in the world’s evange lization. It is a fact that the task of arous ing them is one very difficult of per formance and this is proven by the fact that a large majority of them are doing absolutely nothing for the material support of the mission work. It is a fact that the amazing indif ference to the missonary enterprise is indeed painfully alarming. This indifference is proven by the fact that on the fourth of May last I sent one thousand and seventy four Georgia Baptist preachers an urgent request to furnish me the names of five brethren in their counties to serve as missionary committeemen, only fifty-seven have yet responded, leaving a thousand and seventeen yet to be heard from. It is a fact that it has required $432.95 to maintain our Indigent ministers for the last three months and Georgia Baptists have contribut ed, during that time, for this purpose only three-hundred and eighty four dollars and forty-two cents; thus mak ing it incumbent on the Treasurer to make up the deficit of $48.53 or leave the indigent ministers to suffer; the latter he could not do. It is a fact that the work now being done by the State Board requires a monthly out lay of about nine hun dred dollars, which aggregates about eighteen hundred dollars needed for the past two months, and Georgia Baptists numbering one hundred and forty seven thousand have contribu ted during that time less than four hundred dollars to meet this demand. It is a fact therefore that about fourteen hundred dollars is now duo the servants of the Georgia Baptist Convention for work already done and nothing in the treasury with which to pay it. It is a fact that every Baptist in organic connection with the State Convention ought to feel that he is in honor bound to see that servants of his Board are adequately remun erated for the service rendered. It is a fact that the King in Zion commands every one of his subjects to lay by in store on the first day in the week according as lie has prospered them, and yet nine out of ten of us apparently pay no more attention to the command than we would to the croaking of a frog. It is a fact that God anciently vis ited sore judgment upon His people when they withold the tithes and of ferings- May it not boa fact that Ho is still doing tho very sains thing? It is a fact that the above enumen ated facts deserve earnest consider ation. They are hero submitted without comment. J. G. Gibson,Cor. Sec. Crawford, Ga., July 6th, 1892,