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ESTABLISHED 1821.
®he ffihriatian Juries
published Every Thursday at 67 South Broa
Street. Atlanta. Ga.
j. c. McMichael, proprirtor.
Organ of the Baptist Denomination in
Georgia.
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God may allow the saints to suffer as
fliction without the succors of his grace,
that they may learn to prize these suc
cors as they should and not forfeit them
again by sin. The arrow flies to our
hurt and wounding, because we would
not hold the shield between to turn its
flight or blunt its point.
A writer in the “Standard” savs that it
was a frequent custom with the late Rev.
Thomas Conant, D. I)., when about to
give a gentle hint of dissent, to pull his
nose with his thumb and finger. We do
not see why the mental process of dissent
should express itself with Dr. C. in pull
ing his own nose, unless as a kind of
safety valve to prevent its expression in
the more natural way of pulling the nose
of the other party.
Hon. J. J. Ingalls, ex-Senator from
Kansas, writing of the separation be
tween the white and black races in this
country, says;“lf possible, the barrier is
more insuperable at the North than at
the South, and the proscription more
contemptuous and intolerant." No man
with brains enough to discern the truth
and with honesty enough to declare it
can say anything else. The Southern
spirit is the spirit least hostile to the
Negro.
There are few things in the statistical
line more ridiculous and misleading than
the statement that our country is the ha
ven and home of one hundred and forty
three religious denominations. The
word denomination is abused, is made
meaningless.when applied to every little
handful temporarily grouped around
some blatant advocate of paltry, passing
beliefs, or misbeliefs, or even unbeliefs;
applied to what is scarcely a congrega
tion or a club to-day, while to-morrow
numbers it with the things that were.
A paper by W. T. Stead, London, read
at the Religions Press Congress, Chi
cago, took this advanced ground. “The
editor of the religious paper is distinctly
a minister as the pastor of a local church:
he is, in fact, pastor; only, of a larger
flock.” 'The editor, of course, needs the
brain of the minister, the heart of the
pastor, the cnlture and piety of both;
and he may, many times, possess them.
But his post and his work can not make
him an office-bearer in the church, if
Christ is the Church’s Head and has once
for all determined the Church's organi
zation—two things which we hold as
true.
Daudet, the French author has been
saying some things of late whi ch ought
to ling er in the thoughts of parents, We
quote a sentence or two:—“They say
that children were never loved so much
as now. Whether that is true or not
depends upon the fashion of loving. It
is very pretty for a mother to be always
kissing her children and spoiling them;
and it is very convenient for a father to
let them do whatever they like, so long
as they don’t annoy him. But to bring
them up seriously—-that is a hard task,
and one that often lacks gayety. To
work for them! that's nothing; but to
make them work—what a business that
is!”
How freely money flows in the chan
nels of men’s wishes: how the touched
heart opens the hands to let the gold and
silver out! When Rubenstein, the mu
sician, made his tour of our country in
1872, his net earnings for two hundred
and fifteen concerts were $50,000. The
present year, net earnings to the amount
of $150,000 were secured by Paderewski,
in a tour of seventy concerts. Oh, if
what instructs and what saves men only
put forth over the heart and its wishes
a power equal to what amuses them,
funds for Christian enterprises would
never be wanting. And shall we consent
to be a Iways least affected by things of
supreme moment and divine sanction
and eternal award, so as to keep back
our money most of all from these?
“The largest single appropriation for
government expenditure ever made on
the face of the globe” was made by the
last American Congress, when it voted
“the one item which startled the coun
try— $105,000,000 for pensions.” There
is the savor of something lavish and
wasteful and fraudulent in such vast
sums; and it is not wholly incredible, as
the papers tell us, that a Missouri soldier
has been granted a pension for no other
reason than the two corns on his feet!
Well, whatever may be true in the spir
itual and ecclesiastical sphere, money
does not always wait in the secular
sphere for the valid demand and the im
perative need and the weighty, worthy
motive. After It has been kept back
from God and the things of God, nothing
seems too false and empty and mean to
secure it.
God. even when dealing with masses
still deals with individuals—counting all>
even to the very least and the very last.
When he accepted the tribe of Levi to
minister in his sanctuary in lieu of the
first-born sons of all the tribes, it was
found that the latter were more in num
ber than the former by two hundred and
seventy-three all these he required to be
redeemed—to be bought back from
sanctuary ministration—at the rate of
five shekels each. And when the re
demption money was paid into his treas
ury, he abated nothing for any one of
them: the full sum of one thousand,
three hundred and sixty-Tive shekels was
exacted. No individual ever is or ever
.can be lost from sight by GOd: it were
»qulte as possible for him to close his eye
and not to see the universe itself.
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX.
....... 94 RwTßWes ~
THE SECOND
BY S. G. HILLYER.
That Christ will come again to
this world, in his visible person, is
distinctly foretold in the New Tes
tament. Upon this point, so far as
I know, all Christians are heartily
agreed. But as touching the time
when he shall thus appear, there is
a difference of opinion.
Let the reader bear in mind that
the Christian dispensation embraces
two great periods. The first is a
period of twilight, under the “Morn
ing star.” The other is a period of
perfect day, under the effulgent glory
of the rising “Sun of righteousness.”
This is the period of the Christ’s
triumph over the world, when “the
knowledge of the Lord shall cover
the earth as the waters cover the
sea.” Now the question upon which
Christian writers are divided is this:
Shall tho second visible advent of
the Saviour precede, or follow after
this long expected Day of Gospel
light and glory?
Many pious and intelligent peo
ple answer this question by holding
that Jesus will actually come, in his
visible person to reign on this earth,
before the no called Millennium;
and they farther hold that he will
bring with him the martyrs, who
suffered death for the testimony of
Jesus, and perhaps all the pious dead
to share with him the glory of his
earthly kingdom. And they also
hold that he will destroy by “the
brightness of his coming” all forms
of antichrist, and speedily bring all
mankind to submit to his authority,
when all the nations shall be blessed.
I have given the merest sketch of this
picture, but it is exceedingly attrac
tive. The skillful word painter
could make it glow with surpassing
beauty. No wonder so many are
captivated by its charms, and echo
with enthusiasm the words of the
inspired seer :“Even so, come Lord
Jesus coine quickly, ” —supposing
these words refer to his second per
sonal and visible coming.
But this beautiful theory is en
compassed with some -very serious
difficulties.
Ist. It is founded upon an inter
pretation of a few of the ancient
messianic prophecies partly, literal,
and partly not literal. Among these
the reader will please notice Isa.
ix. 6:7 xvi. 5. xxii. 20:2122. Jer.
xxx. 9. Eze. xxxvii. 24 etc.,
These passages, certainly, foretell
a period of great blessedness for
Israel, when his scattered \tribcs
shall be gathered once more in the
land of their fathers, and when
David their, King shall rule over
them ; and the gentiles shall share
the benefits of his reign. The
pious or orthodox Jews to-day ate
looking and longing for the fulfil
ment of these precious promises.
And Christians accept them as af
fording support to their own expec
tation of the glory that shall follow
the triumph of Christianity over all
the nations. The Jews, looking at
the subject from their standpoint,
may be excusable for expecting a
literal fulfilment of the promises.
But Christians looking at it from
their stand point, cannot interpret
these prophecies literally without
great danger to some of our most
cherished Christian ideas. Look at
Jer. xxx. 9. He is speaking of the
blesedness that shall come to Israel
at some future time. “But they
shall serve the Lord their God and
David, their king whom I will raise
up unto them.” Now, a literal in
terpretation of these words would
mean, that God would literally raise
up from the dead, David, who had
been, then in his grave nearly 400
years, and restore him to his literal
throne in a literal Jerusalem. And
this might suit the Jews very well.
But would it suit the Christians?
Was it the literal David that ap
peared in the person of our Jesus,
that was baptized in the Jordan,
crucified on Calvary, and rose again
on the 3rd day? Then what be
comes of our notions of Christ’s Di
vinity and eternal Sonship? These
questions illustrate the extreme ab
surdity of literal interpretation.
But Jeremiah is not alone in thus
using the name of David.
Ezekiel, three times in as many
verses, and in different chapters,
does the same thing. And in every
case a literal interpretation would be
absurd. Some may reply to all
this by claiming that they would
give a literal interpretation only to
a part of the leading terms; but
this method should never be resort
ed to, unless the context demands
it, and then we convict the writer of
very bad Rhetoric. Try this meth
od on any of the Saviour’s parables
and see what a botch you will make
of them. It is therefore a serious
objection to the theory now under
consideration, that it depends upon
an interpretation of the prophecies
2. Another objection to this theory
is, that it seems to overlook the dif
ferent modes of the Saviour’s com
ing where it is spoken of in the New
Testament. These modes are two.
One is an invisible coming. The
other is a visible coming. Exam
ples of the first class are numerous.
When, Jesus sent out his disciples to
preach, he said to them: “But when
they persecute you in this city, flee
ye into another; for verily I say
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. JUNE 29,1893.
unto you: ye shall not have gone
over the cities of Israel, till the Son
of man be come.” The context shows
that this coming would take place in
a very short time. It had its ful
filment on the day of Pentecost when
the Saviour came, not visibly, but in
the power and demonstration of his
Spirit. On another occasion he
said ; “Verily I say unto you ; there
be some standing here, who shall not
taste of death, till they see the Son
of man coming in his kingdom.”
This coming could not be more re
mote than the destruction of Jeru
salem. It was then that Jesus came
in his judicial Providence to abolish
Judaism, that he might develop a
new and a better dispensation. But
his coming was not visible to the
natural eye. Christians saw the
signs of his coming, and fled from
the devoted city ; but they saw not
his person. Once more, Jesus said
to his disciples “If any man love me
he will keep my words, and my Fa
ther will love him, and we will come
and make our abode with him.”
There is a coming to the individual
saint in the sweet influences of his
grace, which is, indeed, a precious
element of every Christian experi
ence.
These invisible comings, of the
Saviour, are often alluded to in the
New Testament; and they should
be carefully distinguished from pas
sages which refer to his second visi
ble advent. Ever since Jesus as
cended on the Mount of Olivet, he
has been invisible, save only his ap
pearance to Paul “as one born out of
due time.” Yet, though invisible to
human eyes, he has often come, and
will continue to come till all his pur
poses shall be accomplished. He is
the king of whom David was the
type; upon the throne, of which
the throne of David was the type ;
and ruling the Spiritual kingdom of
God, of which the kingdom of David
was the type. And thus he is now,
and has been ever since his ascen
sion, actually fulfilling the ancient
prophecies concerning himself. And
through all the ages he has been the
efficient cause of all that his people,
under his grace and Providence,
have been able to achieve in the
world. And he will thus reign
“till all enemies shall be put under
his feet, and the last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death.”
But there are passages of Script
ure that do foretell his second visi
ble coming. Want of space forbids
me to discuss them now. I hope to
do so in another paper'.
73 Wheat street Atlanta.
theYundaF QUESTION.
HON. WILLIAM L. SCRUGGS.
The Pharisees derived their name
from an old Hebrew word which
corresponds to our term “exclusive.”
They were the self constituted ari
stocracy of the Jewish Church, and
.took precedence in social life. They
bad an extraordinary amount o r re
ligion associated with an infinitesim
ally small amount of piety. In other
w’ords, they were brazen hypocrites.
Nevertheless, their influence over the
minds of the people was very great.
The popular mind is readily capti
vated by sanctimonious display, and
the Pharisees understood a good
deal of human nature. They were
distinguished from all the other re
ligious \sects by the peculiarity of
their dn?ss and by the extreme
rigidity <>f their manners. They
wore long rolls of parchment on
their foreheads and wrists, on which
were written certain words and
maxims of the law. The fringes
and borders of their garments were
wider and more costly than those
worn by other people. They were
very devout and were particularly
fond of praying at the street corners.
They took the most prominent seats
in places of public worship. In all
their intercourse with men, they
carried about the m the air of a privi
leged class who had a special pass
port to heaven.
They had particularly refined upon
the scrupulous observance of the
Sabbath. To them, that particular
day was sacred. Even a physician
could not visit the sick with a pur
pose of prescribing or administering
remedies. Nay, it was held a mortal
sin to heal a sick mtn on that day,
even though this should be done by
a single word without recourse to
the apothecary; and readers of the
New Testament, will readily recall
how these sanctimonious hypocrites
were scandalized by the Savior who
had, by a single word spoken, healed
a paralytic on the Sabbath.
Indeed, they regarded Christ as a
very wicked heretic, not only be
cause he taught the possibility of an
inner spiritual life, but because he
was an habitual Sabbath breaker.
He did not regard the Seventh an
intrinsically more sacred day than any
other. He did not make it a sort of
fetich and fall down and worship
it. Hence one of the standing
charges against him was that ho,
after attending the synagogue in tho
forenoon, would go about healing
the sick and comforting the needy
on that day, just as ho did’, on any
other. Aside from this, he permitted
his disciples to do many things on
that day which were peculiarly of
fensive to these straight-laced gentle
men of tho then “orthodox” Church;
and some of the most animated dis
cussions recorded in the four gos
pels, arose on this very point of
Sabbath-breaking.
Take, for instance, the case of the
disciples who had been arrainged for
plucking and eating a few ears of
corn on the Sabbath. By the old
Jewish law (Deut. xxii,) persons
coming into a field of standing corn
might “pluck, the ears with their
hands” in order to satisfy pressing
hunger; though on no account were
they permitted to “move a sickle”
into the standing corn of the neigh
bor. The act of the disciples was
not therefore unlawful in itself.
Even the Pharisees were ready to
admit this. But the act was done on
Sunday, on “the holy Sabbath day;”
and this made the act an unpardon
able offense. The law said plainly,
“thou shalt not do any work on the
Sabbath day,” (Ex. xx.) Hence the
complaint by the Pharisee doctors.
This lead to one of the most re
markable discussions recorded in tho
life of Christ. Instead of apologiz
ing for the act of his followers, who
were for the most part simple-mind
ed men, he boldly justified their con
duct. Willing to meet these canting
hypocrites on their owe*4ine of argu
ment, he cites the precedent of
David, of whose memory and
achievements the Pharisees were es
pecially boastful. David, while
fleeing from Saul, came to a place
called Nob, entered the Temple
weary, foot-sore and hungry, where
a person of the name of Abimalech
was the officiating priest. Being
in great extremity, David falsely
represented that he was on a secret
and confidential mission of the king;
and, whether Abimalech believed
this story or not, he permitted David
to eat the bread from the altar, which
was lawful only for the priests to
eat. The act was unlawful in itself.
Not only this, it was performed on
the Sabbath day. Hence Christ’s
argument, in justification of his dis
ciples, addressed to the Pharisee
doctors, was substantially this: “You
recognize the binding force of the
letter of the law and precedents ru
corded in the Old Testament. You
likewise recognize David as the most
pious, gifted and powerful of the
early Jewish princes. But you have
nothing to say against him for doing
an intrinsically unlawful act on Sun
day, even though that act was ag
gravated by a falsehood. Where
fore, then, do you presume to arraign
my followers for an in
itself, merely because it happened to
be performed on a Sabbath afternoon
when they were suffering from the
pangs of hunger?”
The argument, taken as a whole,
rises in the following logical order:
The conduct of the disciples is justi
fied from an exceptional case of
hunger, like that recorded of David ;
it is justified by the immemorial cus
tom, duly recognized even by the
Pharisees, of profaning the Sabbath,
in the literal sense, by the elaborate
preparations for sacrifices in the
Temple ; it is justified on the ground
that the Sabbath was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath ; and last,
though not least, it is justified from
the very nature of Christ’s own
character and mission—in virtue of
his Messiaship, as Lord of tho SabLth,
and the proper interpreter of its ob
ligations.
I have sometimes thought that
possibly we retain much of “the i
leaven of the Pharisees” in the form
of customs and traditions derived
from our early Puritan ancestors. ‘
Even in the Southern States of our |
Union, where Puritanism was never;
dominant, we retain many absurd I
notions and customs touching the
so-called “Sunday question” which
it would be difficult to find any au
thority for in the New Testament
Scriptures. I would not be mis
understood on this point. An intelli
gent and rational observance of the
Christian Sunday (or “Sabbath” as;
we presist in calling it,) is not only
right and proper from a purely re
ligious point of view; but it is like
wise desireable as an economic meas
ure in our social and civic policy.
Hence a rational observance of the
first day of the week (instead of the
old Jewish seventh) >s very properly
enjoined by the civic laws of all
modern Christian communities. But
Christian teachers make a great mis
take when they undertake, by what
ever means,to incorporate their con
struction of the old Jewish Deca
logue into the fundimental and stat
utory law of a free country like the
United States. Here at least, if no
where else in Christendom, con
science is perfectly Lee; and it is of
the very essence of our institutions
that it should remain so. If wo can -|
not persuade mon into our way of'
thinking about religious matters, let'
us concede to them the same rights of j
opinion which we claim for ourselves.
If I cannot conscientiously visit the
World’s Fair grounds on Sunday, or
read Dickens or Thackery or Shake
spere or tho secular newspapers on
that day, that is my affair. My more
liberal-minded neighbor dare not
interfere to force me by law to ac
cept his views on the subject. No
more have I tho right to force my
views upon him. 1 may endeavor
to courteously persuade him to my
way of thinking; but the time is
long past for appeal to the civic
magistrate in such matters. About
tho most unprofitable business that
any Government can engage in, is
legislation on religious subjects. Let
it preserve order and allow men to
think and act for themselves on
matters of conscience.
REFLECTIONS ON OUR MISSION
TO PAPAL LANDS-
BY A. B. VAUGHAN, JR.
Cardinal Gibbons, in a little book
bearing the title “The Faith of Our
Fathers,” gives out to the public
these significant words, as constitu
ting a part of that faith : “The Church
has authority from God to teach re
specting truth and morals; and in
her teaching, she is preserved from
error by the special guidance of the
Holy Spirit. There is no just ground
for denying to the apostolic teachers
of the 19th century, a prerogative
cleerly possessed by those of the first
century. Especially as the divine
Lord nowhere intimates that this
unerring guidance was to die out
with the Apostles.”
This high dignitary of the Roman
Catholic Church, thus places every
bishop, priest, archdeacon and dea
con of that church on the same plane
of authority with the immediate
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What they teach either by oral ut
terance or by pen, is therefore as
binding on the consciences of men,
as the gospels or the epistles.
Do not be mislead by this digni
tary’s use of the word church. In
his view, as in the view of all Catho
lics, there is but one church, and
that is the Romish hierarchy.
The dogma, quoted above, lies at
the basis of all their instriJte.ion ; and
accounts for their strong grasp on
all who come under the influence of
their teaching. When once this
dogma is accepted every other dog
ma of the “church,” follows as a
natural result. Indeed the acceptance
of this dogma guarantees the accep
tance of whatever the "church” may
be pleased to teach. Thus in the
estimation of the Romanists, Protes
tants and Baptists are Schismatics,
opposesrs of God, and of ail righ
teousness, children of the devil, and
worthy of death ; even though these
Protestants and Baptists number
among their adherents, fathers and
mothers and children.
According to Cardinal Gibbons,
and he but voices the faith of al
CatholUs, the latest revelations from’
God are the oral and written utter
ances of “the apostolic teachers of
the 19th century.” From this, it is
not difficult to see why the Bible
finds no place in the individual
Catholic’s religion,and forms no part
of it..
Paul as an inspired writer pos
sesses no more of divine authority,
than does Cardinal Gibbons, since he,
no less than Paul, is under “the spec
ial guidance of the Holy Spirit,” and
is “preserved from error” by this
“special guidance." And since Car
dinal Gibbons is a later “apostolic
teacher” than Paul, where Paul con
tridicts him, there Paul must be dis
credited. Thus by one fell stroke of
his pen, this “apostolic teacher of the
19th century,” abolishes the authori
ty of the Bible.
But what has this to do with our
mission work? Where do the re.
flections come in? Just here;
J Every town throughout our country,
’ of any importance, has its cathedral,
its convent, its school, one or all. In
1 these schools, instruction altogether
; in harmony with “The Faith of Our
! Fathers,” is carried on with eternal
I vigilance. Toward the founding and
maintenance of these Cathedrals,
convents, schoools, Baptists and Pro
testants have contributed of their
means. Nor is this all. Into these
schools and convents, Baptists and
Protestants have placed their child
ren, where they will imbibe such in
, struction as that refered to above.
Thus these Baptists—l forbear any
further reference to Protestants—
are aiding Catholicism in fastening
its strong talons of steel around our
people, contributing to the susten
ance and strength of that hierarchy,
which has tor its object the complete
and final overthrow of this Repub
lican government, the destruction of
the peace and happiness of our homes
tho substitution of religious desposi
tism for religious freedom.
Do these Baptists favor the preach
ing of the gospel of Jesus Christ in
papal lands, Italy, Cuba, Mexico
Brazil? If so; do they believe in it
strong enough to contribute of their
means to support the gospel in those
lands? Would they in this way dis
place tho dark superstitions, the
I moral corruptness’ the ecclisiastical
tyranny of the Romish Church in
those lands, by the enlightening,
, purifying, liberty-giving gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ ? Why then,
I ask in the name and behalf of their
own unsuspecting kith and kin, do
they help to enslave their own coun
try to “that man of sin,” by contrib
uting of their means for his support,
and by putting their own offspring
under his corrupt and corrupting in
fluence? Would they lift to shore
the drowning foreigner, while neg
lecting their own child, whelmed in
the same cruel water? Does the
piteous and heartrendering wail of
the slave,under tho scourgings of tho
merciless tyrant, move them to pity,
and arouse them to deeds of daring
for his rescue, and while they rush
to his relief, will they drag their own
households, helpless and in chains,
to put them into the rescued slave’s
bard lot of suffering and servi
tude?
But it may be that these Baptists
do not favor preaching the pure gos
pel in these papal lands; and for its
support have not contributed of their
means. It must be because they be
lieve that Roman Catholicism holds
and preaches the gospel of Jesus
Christ. In that event consistency,
loyalty to their own convictions,
would compel them to repudiate the
faith of Baptists, and instead to em
brace, out and out, the dogmas of
the Romish hierarchy. For—quo
ting from the great speech of Dr. B.
H. Carroll—“the two faiths are not
identical. They are inherently and
fundamentally antogcnistic. They
can no more amalgamate than night
and day. True both claim to be
Christian; but both cannot be Chris
tian. The edge of a knife is broader
than the neutral boundary between
them.” Emphatically and signifi
cantly true is it here : “No man can
serve two masters”—Christ and the
pope—-“for either he will hate the
one, and love the other, or else he
will hold to the one and despise the
other.” For be it remembered that
Baptists in all their history never
had, nor have now, nor ever will
have, any book of confession, but the
Bible ; that they call no man master,
but the Lord Christ; that they bow
to the behests, and obey the decrees
of no king, prelate or bishop in mat
ters of religion; but only to him,
“who is the blessed and only Poten
tate, the king of kings, and Lord of
Lords,” do they bow in these mat
ters.
What therefore would such repu
diation of Baptist faith, and accep
tance of Romish dogmas necessarily
involve ? Quoting once more from
Dr- Carroll: “You must go home
and say to your mother, ‘mother you
were my fathers concubine, and I
am your illegitimate child. You
must send your wife to the confes
sional to whisper the secrets of her
heart in the ear of another man than
her husband. You must place the
hand of the cradle of
as grave,
illYun
say ’ er
‘Thou art and to t . I
bread of the communion, ‘Thou art 1
my God.’ You must let the shadow
of the Vatican fall on your open Bi
ble, and let another tell you what it
means.” Are you ready for such
debasement of yourself, your wife,
your children—body and soul?
Surely,surely this “cannot be—never,
never—forever.”
What then? The only other alt
erative for Baptists, Baptists who be
lieve in the omnipotence of the Holy
Spirit, is to withdraw all helps, of
whatever kind or character, from
Catholics in establishing and main
taining their withering, blighting,
blasting power in our own land ; and
unremittingly and energetically to
push the conquests of the gospel in
those lands, where they smite and
rule and ruin.
In answer to Dr. Wm. E. Hatch
er’s question : “Bro. George, how do
you feel about the conversion of Ita
ly ?” Dr. George B. Taylor, our
missionary in that papal country,
said : “Well God has brought us here
and he is blessing us; and while I
know not the times or the seasons of
the Son of Man, I feel that we are
here to do our part in preparing for
his glorious coming.” Worthy say
ing of a faithful servant. He has
suffered much; but all the while he
has been cheered and sustained that
he is doing liis “part in preparing
for the glorious coming” of our Lord
Jesus. We are too far away to re
lieve him of bodily suffering which
be has to endure ; but we can share
with him in his glorious work by our
prayers and contributions, as we hope
to share with him in that more “glo
rious coming” of the Lord.
From the Foreign Mission Jour
nal I glean the following facts:
“Death to the Protestants,” is the
cry of fanatical priests to excite the
more fanatical people to deeds of
heartless cruelty. “Intrigues of the
false religion, ramify in every direc
tion, and bring perplexities* embar
rassments and sorrow in Florence
and in Rome.” “One blow falls on
the head of Dr. Taylor; another on
Dr. Eager; and both come on the
faithful comrades together.” Yet in
the face of such difficulties, these men
“in holy warfare” toil on uncomplain
ingly. Nor is their labor >n vain, as
the “Texas Doctor” would have us
to believe' New churches are spring
ing into life—old churches are being
revived. Extraordinary evangelistic
and colportage work is being done—
“ 10,000 tracts distributed.” “Child
ren services, numbering in attend
ance, 70 to 130 have been started in
Florence and Rifredi, despite tho
raging of rabid Romanism.” Hal
lelujah! “Converts stand firm in
tho midst of persecution.” Thank
the Lord 1 “This, our first born mis
sion” in papal fields, reports last
Convention year 72 baptisms; and
has a membership of 347, who con
tributed last year $559,56. About
$32 to the member. And this, in
VOL. 70—NO. 26.
poor, down trodden, priest-ridden
Italy 1 Is not this desert beginning
to rejoice and blossom as the rose ?
This is a base outline of the work
being done in one of our papal mis
sion fields. The limit of this article
forbids even such an outline of our
mission work in the two other papal
lands, Mexico and Brazil—to say
nothing of the glorious achievements
in Cuba under the wise leadership
of the indomitable Diaz. But this is
enough to inspire oui' hearts, and
cause us to gird our zeal afresh.
While these men of God, our breth
ren and companions in labor, are
toiling and suffering, let us not be
idle and at ease. In the light of
God’s word let us study anew our
obligations, and sustained by his
grace, let us do our duty.
Do the mountains of difficulty,
which confront us, iu the prosecution
of this work, appall us? Listen “All
power is given unto Me in heaven
and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost: teach
ing them to observe all things what
soever I have commanded you ; and,
10, I am with you alway even unto
the end of the world.” Thus pano
plied and protected, by the omnipo
tence and omniscience of the Lord
Almighty, under the commission of
infinite authority, with all nations
before him, the disciple needs not to
fear, and his duty is plain.
PASTORAL VISITATION.
REV. F. P. DAVIDSON.
Some one has said that a “bouse
going pastor makes a church going
people.” That depends upon the
character rather than the frequency
of his visits. If our visitation drifts
into a mere gadding about, the peo
ple will see quite enough of us in
their homes, and therefore have no
desire to bear us in the pulpit.
Many of us are much better preach
ers than we are pastors. We have
all heard of the man about whom it
was said, “that when he was in the
pulpit he preached so well that he
ought never to come out, and when
he was out of the pulpit he lived so
poorly that he ought never to go
back again.” Our association with
our people ought to strengthen rather
than diminish the force of our
preaching. It is a sad thing when
■fcb w ‘Lwtroys tho power AH
' his preaching by the way he lives
among the brethren.
We cannot have two systems of
theology, one for the pulpit and an
other for our every day life, but
they must be in perfect accord or
else our work will be a failure. It
is in the homes of the people that
we can do some of our best work,
and here we ought to impress them
that we are men of God. There
are a few preachers who do not be
lieve in pastoral visiting. They seek
to justify themselves in the state
ment of Christ to his disciples, “go
not from house to house.” They
might as well say I do not believe in
missions and rest their faith upon
the words “go not in the way of the
gentiles.” In the first passage re
ferred to, Christ is teaching his dis
ciples to have a home Lorn which
to go forth to labor, and not dis
couraging the personal work of the
pastor.
The highest ideal of pasitoral
work is set forth in the life of our
Lord. It can truly be said of him
that he lived among the people, and
the homes of the rich and the poor
alike showed the heavenly benedic
tions of his presence. The Bible
tells us that he went about doing
good, and if we would imitate him
we must not be weary in well doing.
The mountains of Judea and Galilee
were traversed all through by him
on missions of mercy to the sick and
suffering. The sick he healed, the
hungry he fed, the troubled he en
couraged and the vile he cleansed.
How blessed that church that has a
pastor in whom they can confide,
and whose presence brings sunshine
into their homes.
A study of the pastoral life of
Jesus and the apostles will give us
many valuable hints about this part
of our work in the present time.
Take as an illustration Jesus in the
home of Lazarus. His visits to this
home must have been exceedingly
pleasant, for they learned to lean
upon him in times of trouble. They
could not pass through the deep
waters of affliction without sending
for him who had been the very light
of their home. To him the two
sisters in the hour of sore trial
poured forth the treasures of broken
hearts, knowing that in him they
had a friend that sticketh closer
than a brother.
The Apostle tells us that God has
set pastors in the church. The
word pastor has the same meaning
as the word shepherd, and has ref
ference to the daily care of the flock,
and not the occasional oversight.
The faithful Shepherd is not satis
fied with guarding his sheep when
they are gathered within the fold
for the night, but in the morning
goes forth before them to the past
ures, and all day long watches over
them to feed them and protect them
from danger. He knows them by
name and at his call they readily