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teeedt letter, money order, postal note
Dr. George B . Taylor recently Bap
tized in Sicily five persons “who ware
brought to the gospel by a Baptist com
mercial traveller.” That is just Where
the name of all Baptjot commercial trav
ellers ought to bo-qMB the list of soul
winners ! Why shetnti not their names
be found on that list as well in Georgia
as in Sicily? Why should they not be
practically no less evangelUts here than
missionaries there? Brother Commer
cial traveller, why? '
■ .ag ■■
On the renewal by Hezekiah of the
services of the temple which his father
had suspended, “when the burnt-offer
ing began, the song of the Lord began
also,” IlChron. 211:27. The burnt-offer
ing spoke of the remission of sins: the
song testified of grateful, adoring love
in view of mercy: the two were parts of
one whole—and who shall say that they
may exist a part ? Will God approve
the sacrifice which is without song, or
the song which is without sacrifice ?
The new University of Chicago, with
its fund of seven millions of dollars,
claims to be a Baptist institution
(though entered, Dr. Goodspeed tells us
as insectarian) as loyal to the denomina
tion and its faith as the old was. We
are struck by its power to secure con
tributions even from Israelites ; for ex
ample, the sum of S3OO from Rabbi E. G.
II hick fora fellowship in Comparative
Religion, and the sum of $5,000 from the
Sitru Congregation for the purchase of
Semitic books. We would fain wish
that Dr. Gambrell might find Israelites
in Georgia, casting such an eye of favor
on’Mercer.
To get the most out of life, wo must
begin with its early-years. These years
as a rule, mould die character, deter
mine the influences, and fix the hab
its for the years that come after: the
after-years are chiefly what these years
make them. The sense of this truth is
enforced t by the fact that the German
emperor has caused a miniature fort
with every modern improvement, to be
erected in the Sans Souci port at Pots
dam, at a cost of $125,000, for the mili
tary education of his sons. If a fitness
for war is a royal quality, the members
-of the royal family shall be trained to it
from the first. So let our families be
trained from the first to whatever bene
fits them either as regards this or the
world to come.
Says the “Western Recorder”—“Dr.
Graves, like Spurgeon and Beecher,
was opposed to giving ministers the de
gree of D. D.. and would never accept
the degree himself. However, he did ac
cept the degree of LL. D. because that is
not a ministerial degree, but may be
work by a layman as well as by a
preacher.” There is a strange because
provincial error here. D. D., no less
than LL. D., is simply an academic de
gree, and is not confined to the ministe
rial office, either by principle or by
usage. Chevaler Bunsen, the Prussian
scholar and embassador, was not a min
ister ; neither was bir William Hamel
ton, the Scottish philosopher and meta
physician ; but both of these were “Doc
tors of Divinity,” receiving the title
from the highest literary institutions of
Germany. Not only a preacher may
wear it then, but a layman as well; un
less indeed, in these'last times, it has
been worn out-—“torn to tatters, to
very rags,” so that neither class cares
any longer to wear it.
The “Homiletic Review” has received
a communication from a brother who
wrote “finely” for finally, “maner for
manner, “opertunity” for opportunity,
and “pitting” for putting ; besides sun
dry other achievements in that line,
which show him to be no mean rival of
the average Spelling Reform Association.
But the “Review” is moved to suggest
“ tlie expediency of having the exami
nation for ordination to the ministry
conducted in writing, at least up to the
point of ascertaining the literary quali
fications of the candidate for the sacred
office.” The suggestion does not strike
us favorably: but we do think that
wherever there sprouts up such a mar
velous creature as a candidate for the
degree of Doctor of Divinity, (an exotic
certainly to Baptist soil, but one not al
to ether unknown there we are told,)
h should submit somewhere from a
q ire to a ream of manuscripts for in
s ection. seeing it would hardly com
p n t with the dignity of the doctorate to
put him through his paces in a “spell
ing-bee” ortwd, and that "before folks.”
Don't let us have Doctors who cannot
■pell: dont!
A writer in the issue of the "Popular
Science Monthly” for July estimates the
number of persons who nave been put
to death, chiefly by fire, in Christian
Europe and America, for unlawful com
merce with evil spirits, at the enormous
figure of four millions. This is fitly
termed, as a case of “midsummer mad
ness.” No calculation could be more
absurd and preposterous. It was only
for two and a half centuries tiiat the
prosecutions for witchcraft seemed to
take the form of a “perfect mania,”
Germany was “the country which dis
tinguished itself by the vigor of its pros
ecution*" and whoso number of victims
perhaps exceeded that of any other
country; and yet Dr. Francis Lieber is
content to say that the numbeY of these
victims in Germany during that period
"could not have been less than one hun
dred thousand," while his estimate for
England is about thirty thousand.”
Any one can see at a glance how impos
*ibie, with those figure*’ it must bo to
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX
reach the aggregate of four millions, or
the V ** "Chris
tian are only
twenty; and none of these by Are. But
the writer was carried away frdrn the
zone of temperate judgment to the zone
of torrid denunciation, by the enthusi
asm which moved him to set forth the
“crushing of a hydra-headed monster of
superstition” as "a small part of the
debt the world owes to Science.” But
the monster itself had certain science
heads; and it was in these very science
heads that its deadly power largely lay.
If there were evil spirits, men held,
there was a science of Magic by which
these spirits could be coatroled,(making
possible the crime of witchcraft) and a
Science of Exorcism by whidh Uris con
trol could be detected (
ishment of witchcraft possible.)' Tfflak
you Science, for crushing these Science
heads, if you have crushed them; if thfty
do not revive under the shadows of your
"Societies for Psychical Research,” as
they seem not unlikely to do, ' ?
EARLY HISTORY~bF 0UR _ NORTH
CHINA MISSION.
BY WM. B, MCGARITY.
The work of this mission is confined
to the Shantung province, which is about
the size of Georgia, and has a population
of twenty-nine million. The coun
try is considered very healthy; climate
very much like north Georgia. As the
Chinese emigrants to America all come
from south China, we can hardly appre
ciate the fact that the men and women of
north China are large and very hand
some.
About five hundred years before
Christ, when Zechariah was prophesying
in Judea, and Gautama of Judea, Pyth
ogoras of Greece, and Zoroster of Per
sia, were becoming religious leaders in
their respective countries. Confucius,
the greatest Chinese sage was born in
the Shantung province. At the time of
his birth, public morals wore at a low
ebb. Mencius, his disciple says, “The
worldliad fallen into decay, and right
principles wore disregarded. Ministers
murdered their friends ami sous their
fathers.” Confucius became a great po
litical reformer. With him the State
was supreme, and to secure its highest
welfare, the main object of life, lie did
not profess to boa prophet, not even a
religious teacher, simply a compiler of
ancient wisdom. It is said that once
when a. disciple asked him about the
life hereafter he turned and replied,
“Don’t ask me about the life hereafter
when I don’t know anything about the
present life.” How different from the
reply of the Lord Jesus to Philip, “1 am
in the Father, and the Father in me.”
“Because I live ye shall live also,”
Confucius edited and compiled several
books on Chinese history, Odes and wise
sayings. There is little or no religious
thought in any of them. He was strictly
honest, and taught asdhe cardinal princi
ples“reciprocity,’’“loyalty” to superiors,
and “faithfulness” in all things. We see
then his system would be nothing but
morals, and he cyuld scarcely hupe for
any body to attain the height lie himself
occupied. He had no respect for “the
gods,” and taught his disciples “to treat
them with respect” and “keep away
from them.”
But men must worship some kind of a
God, sb Confucius’ system early devel
oped into a worship of the powers of
nature, ancestors and heroes. These
were worshipped simply to appease their
wrath, or to enlist their sympathy for
success in this life. The idea of obliga
tion and responsibility to a Supreme
Being, or of any antedote for sin, is not
found among the Chinese.
In 1800, several ports in the Shantung
province were open to the world.
Several missionaries were ready to occu
py the new cities. Our Board had al
ready sent out Rev. J. L. Homes and
wife, who were among the first to enter
the field. Rev. J. B. Hartwell soon
joined him. After serveying the field
they decided to open missions at Chefoo
and Tung Chow. There were very few
white men in this section of China, then,
and the opening of the mission created
great excitement. The missionaries had
come to the native province of the foun
der of the National religion, Confucian
ism. Bro. Hartwell was pained to see
at once a decided opposition of the liter
ary men, which continues till this day.
However, he rejoiced to see that “the
common people heard him gladly.” The
old story, Christianity begins with the
lower classes.
Soon after the mission was founded
our civil war broke out and there was
danger of having to suspend all of our
missionary work, but Dr. G. W. Burton,
now of Louisville, Ky„ who had previ
ously joined the mission, “by his muni
ficent appropriations, saved our mission
arics from absolute suffering.”
In 1863, Rev. T. I*. Crawford and wife
moved to Tung Chow, and had charge of
the work for a year and a half while Bro.
Hartwell was in Shanghai. When he re
turned they separated, Bro. Hartwell
taking charge of the old work, ami Bro.
Crawford organizing a new work in a
different part of the city. In later years
the two stations were consolidated.
Twenty-six, including the five missiona
ries, were members of the church at
Tung Chow, in 1865. Three years later,
a gracious revival,brought about through
the agency of native workers, resulted
in the conversion of twenty natives. Bro.
Hartwell made frequent visits to Hwang
Bien, where Bro. Pruitt has been labor
ing with so much success for the past
ten years. Before Bro, Hartwell’s re
turn to America in 1875, the member
ship of his church had grown to sixty
three, and a native pastor and two native
deacons had been ordained. The church
supported the pastor by private contri
butions, and the rent on property given
the church by members.
Rev. J. L. Homes opened the mission
at Chefoo, in 1861, but was murdered a
few month* later. His noble wife con
tinued hei work in China, till about two
years ago. Bro. Hartwell moved to
Chefoo in 1873, and for two years,
preached almost daily to good congrega
tions. Ono native convert here erected
a chapel and presented it to the mission.
In 1875, Bro. Hartwell was forced to re
turn to America by the long continued
illness of his wife. Since then, he has
been missionary to the Chinese on the
Pacific coast. He will sail in a few
mouths to take charge of our work in
North China again.
Griffin.—Wo have just closed a
splendid meeting of nine days at Shi
loh church Monroe county; five add
ed to the chureh by experience and
many more seemed deeply convicted
of sin. I ain perfectly delighted
with Shiloh church,a goodly number
of Index readers among them and I
will forward some renewals not
many days hesso. A. C, Smith.
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. AUGUST 31.1893.
GOD’S LOVE.
BY BEV. F. C. JOHNSON.
“Now' abideth faith, Lope, love :
of these love is the greatest.” 1 Cor.
xiii: 18.
Therefore pursue love, and never
stop the pursuit, until you have over
taken, attained to, and made yours
the of all graces and gifts chiefest;
to God, who is Love, the dearest,
and of all evidences of sonship,
brotherhood, and discipleship beau
tifulest, best, brightest, dearest and
sweetest.
Paul says now abideth i. e- these
graces ana gifts are eternal, we have
them here. They go with the Eter
nal Spirit to the courts of everlast
ing day; and in heaven they make
up the very substance and form of
the Christian character.
It goes without saying that love is
Eternal. Love never faileth, liter
ally never falls, i. e. out of the
Spirit.
There are gifts and graces of a
purely provisional character. On
earth quite necessary in the night
and wilderness of time, while we are
journeying pilgrim-fashion from the
womb of our common mother Earth,
unto and into Death’s • insatiate
maw.
Now there be two sorts of knowl
edges attainable by human minds,
which do thirst by their very con
stitution [for knowledge, and their
natural nourishment is the Truth.
Two sorts there be of knowledge
both as to the source of that knowl
edge, and also perhaps, as to receiv
ing faculties. One source is God’s
work’s, Paul calls it gnosis,’ we call
it Science, This we get by study of
the work. There is nothing about
science and its acquisition, that we
call Supernatural. Indeed, w’hat
we call scientists are slow to accept
what seems to be supernatural, and
some of them regard all accounts of
events, which relate supernatural
things, to be wholly false and totally
unworthy of our faith. The other
sort of knowledge, is the knowledge
of God himself—not of the thing
made, which our senses cognize, but
of the Maker who is not within the
sphere of any sense :not of what is
done, but of the doer. The source
of this second sort of knowledge, is
not study of the works presented to
our senses.
The source of knowledge of God, is
apocalypse, revelation,l unveiling.
These three words mean the same
thing.
1 have been often asked,, what
Apocalypse meant. It is a Greek
word, and the last book in the New
Testament is called in Greek Ap
caiypse. Revelations meaning the
same thing in Latin, and the name of
that last book is commonlly in
English “Revelations.” Unveiling is
the same thing. It is not the heav
ens and the earth which unveil or
reveal to us the character of God.
It is His Word that reveals him.
Alan’s senses perceive the
phenomena of the Universe,
and man’s intellect classifies these
phenomena for the use of man in
this life on earth. This we call
science. The communicating of it
is teaching. Revelation is received
by faith, and the communicating of
it is named prophecying.
In other words, we acqure by ob
servation and experiment, the facts
concerning the objects of sense. The
classification of these facts is science.
To teach, is to communicate by or-
But he whois the author of those
works, the knowledge of which con
stitutes science, and he who gave the
revelations received by the faith and
communicated by prophecy—He re
mains still, creating and giving, and
so still calling forth gratitude, and
exciting love. Love therefore, sur
vives the vanishing away of enigma
tic prophecies, and incomplete scien
ces.
But a faith eternal? Will it not
vanish away, and be succeeded by
knowledge? Think of the origin of
faith. Faith arises from the meeting
together of ignorance and Omni
science. Ignorance in man the child
and creature. Omniscience in God
the father and creator. I must beli
eve God, because I am not Omni
scient. Will I over become Omni
scient ? No, for that would be to be
come God. If I am never to be
come Omniscient, I will always be a
believer. Faith is an essential fac
ulty of the immortal Spirit, because
Omniscience is an impossible attain
ment of the child creature.
Will hope be eternal? Will it not
give place to perfect fruition ? Con
sider hope’s origin. It is an evi
dence of weakness, not a mark of
omnipotence. It arises from
the belief of a promise. To the
creature who has a beginning, but
will never have an end—whose
characteristics are endless progres
sion, and indefinite expansion, there
must always be something ahead of
where he is at any one moment, and
something beyond what ho at any
one moment has. The word promise
is literally “Sending ahead,” because
it sends the mind forward in expec
tation and desire of new acquisitions
and new fruitions, if, now, we shall
never become Omnipotent, wo must
ever be looking onward and beyond.
Faith will bo perfected, in that it
is freed from doubt, and hope will
be perfected in that it is freed from
tile anxiety and uneasiness, which
new accompanies the fear of disap.
piintment. Faith and hope are sus
ceptible to very great improvement
exfen in this life if they are properly
cultivated, so that they differ but lit
tl| from what they will be in the
heavenly state. Some eminent Chris
tians. iiftyaKdonie very near to that
perfect fstb, which [holds no com
merce with doubt; very near to that
perfect hope, which expells from the
hehrt all disquieting fear of ultimate
disappointment.
As an instance of a grace, which
we will no longer need, take “hupo
mone” which we translate “patience”
that is the grace'-/’ven fortitude to
preserve anil hold out to life’s latest
breath in obedience to the word of
his Royal Majesty, Jesus the Christ
in face of any and every danger,
all opposing hin
drances in fait.li and love, so that we
may receive the crown of righteous
ness and life.
Now the very word, hupomone,
literally under,” implies dif
ficulty, supeiimposcd burdens threat
ening to crush thee, hindrances ris
ing like mountains, and sinking like
seas in thy path, and to all seeming,
putting a stop o further progress,
dangers menacing, well calculated to
strike terror and put to flight the ad
vancing soul. And in very deed it
is so. Nothing but a fortitude, a
courage, a perseverance divinely giv
en could carry the soul through hu
man life and human society to Heav
en. In one place this word is ren
dered “patience continuance” Rom.
ii: 7, “To them who by patient con
tinuance in well doing, etc.” Here
patient continuance, is one word in
the original, hupomone. It is very
far from being a passive quality. It
does not mean what we mean by the
word patience, h’H‘ rather what the
Latins meant by ‘patientia’—the
word from which conies our ‘pati
ence’—a very active quality in Eng
lish “holding out or on,” the oppisite
of giving up. Now when wo leave
this body and this state of existence
we have n.o longer need of patience,
for we leave all difficulties, burdens,
dangers, darknesses, deaths, and ter
rors behind us, and that forever
more.
When the war is ended, the victo.
ry won, the triu unliant warrior lays
aside the dinted sniekl, ’the battered
helmet, t the hacked sword and all
the garments rolled »u blood, ‘and
dseks in tlie Wire easily
worn robes of peace. IV c may per
haps need a new set of gifts, when we
lay aside the “panoply of God,” and
assume the wedding garment, when
as conquerors we enter into the rest
that awaits the people of God.
Now “these three,” as Paul calls
them, Faith that respects the Word
incarnate, Hope that respects the
Spirit, and Love that respects the
Father,. These three do constitute
the triangular basis of that pyramidal
structure, a Christian character. The
foundation of this pyramid is Christ,
and he also is its capstone, of that
noble column, the Christian character
Christ is at once plinth and capital.
The most.enduring of all structures
built by human hands are the pyra
mids of Egypt. They reach back to
the grayest eld of human memories,
and perhaps will last until the final
ruin of all created things. Built since
the sun and moon, but now with
emulous endurance testifying of hu
man art and power,as those elder but
perhaps not more enduring works
testify of Divine art and power. In
these more than in any other human
woiks, man tlie son seems to emu
late the works of God tlie father,
having in these only, of all his works,
succeeded to give the stamp of eter
nity and indestructibility to his
works, as God to his. But now
these pyramids, of holiness, Christian
character, thus based and tiips crown
ed, survive the general rum of all
other of God’s works which are
under the heavens and on the earth.
As God began to erect his church
in the very twilight of time’s young
dawn; so the capstone will be brought
out, when time, hoary with years,
vanishes away, leaving behind him
the one substance, the one enduring
product and ripened fruit, for which
time was ordained, that is the assem
bly of Christ and of God. All else was
scaffolding and rubbish.
A word further about faith. Faith
is one word, but two ideas, belief and
trust. When the Greek word, which
we render believe, “piste wein” is fol
lowed by dative without a preposi
tion it is simply to believe, but when
followed by either dative or aejusa
tive with preposition, epi, en, or eis,
it is to trust. In English wo say I
believe a man, and I believe in a
man. To believe, is less in meaning
than to believe in. To believe m
is to trust
Belief is the pursuasion that some
thing lying beyond our personal
knowledge, something not witnessed
to by our own scuses is true, a per
suasion resting on and springing from
what seems to us competent testi
mony. Trust is the result of believ
ing, but trust docs not always follow
belief.
The faith through which a sinner
is justified, sanctified ‘and led by
God s Spirit safe through all snares
and dangers to heaven, holiness and
life eternal is belief and trust. Be
lief of what Christ testifies concern
ing God the father, and consequent
trust, or entrusting oneself to Jesus
Christ for guidance. Tlie trust or
entrusting oneself to his guidance is
the following him, the obeying him,
the doing him commandments.
NOTES OF A TRIP TO THE WORLD’S
FAIR.
The writer has recently returned
from a two weeks visit to the
“World's Fair,” and proposes to give
a few points of that great show to
the readers of the Index.
To say that he greatly enjoyed his
visit, is to express it tamely. Time
and space would fail to enumerate
the ten-thousand items of interest
which are found at this wonderful
place. In the opinion of the writer
it is undoubtedly the grandest
pageant the world ever saw, or ever
will see again. It is the world in mini
ature. Nearly all the nationalties of
the world are there represented,
England, France, Germany, Spain,
Brazil, Australia japan, etc.
The journey from Atlanta to
Chicago was very fatiguing, yet in
many respects, very interesting. The
scenery along the Tennessee river,
after leaving Chattanooga, was ex
ceedingly grand and impressive.
One car would run on for miles with
the river on one side and a ledge of
rock almost perpendicular on the
other. The rich lands that we pass
ed, abounded in the finest crops of
corn, causing us to cease to wonder
how Tennessee furnished the country
with so many swine. Night closed
in upon us at Nashville, and soon af
ter, wearied with the day’s travel, we
betook ourselves to our sleeping
bunks for the night. Morning found
us rolling over the rich level lands of
Illinois at the rate of 40 miles an
hour. The roads are splendid, dou
ble tracked with heavy iron, and rid
ing over them is a luxury. From our
car window, we watched the miles
on miles of golden wheat and oats
flit by. It was the season of their
grain harvest, and men and horses
were busy in the fields, gathering in
the crops of golden grain. To a
Georgian the immense crops of wheat
and oats produced on their lands af
forded matter of surprise. Our trip
was by the Evansville route, and just
23 hours after leaving Atlanta, we
were safely deposited in the grand
city of Chicago. Verily the world
moves. •
The first impression made on the
mind of a visitor to trtie World’s Fair,,
is vasttie** the eateipfese/
The buildings themselves are im
mense. The style of architecture in
each is different, and yet each build
ing pleases you, Alagnificent colon
nades adorn most of the buildings—
artistic groups of statuary, recall
ing the legends of classic mythology
are found on many of them, and
elaborate and ornate carvings beauti
fy many of the edifices. Everything
is on so vast a scale that the visitor
is bewildered. The whole thing
seems like a wild dream. One build
ing, that of manufacturers and liber
al arts, is 1687 feet long, and 787
feet broad—giving a ground floor of
over 30 acres. To one who is fond
of Mechanics, the roof of this build
ing affords a grand study. Arches
made of heavy railroad iron, spring
from the ground, rise to an altitude
of 200 feet or more, then descend to
the ground, combining at once
symmetry and strength never before
seen by the writer. The roofs of
most of the buildings are covered
with glass.- With one exception the
buildihgs are all white.
Arrived within the grounds, we
first entered the “Transportation”
building, 25(1 by 960 feet. This
building contains an epitome of the
world’s efforts to devise means of
transporting articles from one point
to another.
Beginning with the pedestrian
with tlie pack on his back, followed
by the donkey with his panniers
then by the donkey harnessed be
tween two parallel poles with their
ends dragging on the ground and
the burden balanced midway on the
poles, and this followed by the rude
cart with solid wooden wheels hewn
from a tree, and this succeeded by
the palanquin of India and the
Jinrikisha of Japan, and so on, all
culminate at last in the luxurious
Pullman palace car. Pullman had
on exhibition in this building, a ves
tibule palace train, that, with its silk
cushions, satin curtains and gilded
furnishings would seem to have
reached the ultimate bounds of hu
man progress. We went through
every part of this magnificent train;
and it exceeded anything of the kind
our imagination had ever conceived.
By the side of this Pullman train
stood a locomotive engine, which,
for mammoth dimensions and speed,
is certain>y the champion of the
world. Standing by the side of this
engine, I stretched up my umbrella
as far as my arm could reach, and
the top of the umbrella liked about
two feet of reaching the top of the
boiler. This locomotive had run a
mile in 32 seconds, or at the rate of
112 miles an hour.
In this building wo saw a hearse,
the price of which was $12,000, I
said to the proprietor : “I suppose
you keep this hearse to bury million
aires with.” “No,” said he,‘‘million
aires don’t care how they are buried,
it is men of moderate means who
like to make a display when they
leave the world.”
Near the hearse stood a beaqtiful
sleigh fashioned after a classic legend
which was priced at $3,900. The
owner said the carving on it requir
ed six months to complete it. The
sleight had been already sold when
we saw it.
Then there were beautiful and
elaborate models of water transpor
tation, There [was the canoe dug
out of a single log, and the batteau
built of rough planks, followed by
the primitive sailing vessel, and so
on, up to the huge ship of war with
its symmetical proportions culminat
ing in the graceful and fleet “grey
hounds of the ocean.” One of the
most beautiful models was that of
'ho English ship of war, Victoria,
which was lost, a few weeks ago, off
Tripoli, by collision with the Cam
perdown.
In this building there was also an
object lesson—a complete history of
railway locomotion from the
earliest inception of the loco
motive to the present time.
There arranged in chronologi
cal order, stood the vaiious engines
of different inventors, who, formore
than a hundred years past, had
studied to make the locomotive a
success. To any man fond of
machinery, it was interesting to fol
low down on one side the engines of
a hundred years ago, and then follow
upon the other side the successive
improvements, culminating in "Nancy
Hanks,” and the great Alogul which
ran a mile in 32 seconds.
Then there were mammoth snow
plows intended to clean off the snow
from the railroads .when obstructed
by snow in the winter. These were
huge in their dimensions, and requir
ed immense engines to propel them.
Inside of the plow was a snug little
room, furnished with a stove, for the
comfort of those who directed the
operations of the plow, when the
thermometer registered a low figure.
S. P. S.
SONGS IN THE NIGHT.
There are many bright days given
us by our Heavenly Father,but as He
sees it is best that we should have
alternate day and night in tlie na
tural world; so we all have our night
times of sorrow and care. Yet we
are told that in the darkest hours
“He giveth songs.”.. Did yqu ever
think what this means, or better yet
did you ever feel what it menus’? If
yoisaru a disciple o Jesus., x true
effiiu or Vto'ff you hike-no •mstht
it and your weary soul h;ik been
soothed and cheered by this heaven
ly ministrelsy, and you have realized
that its melody was sweeter far than
the notes of the Eolian harp, coining
as it does from the great kind heart
of Him, “who never weary, watches
where his people be.” To all of His
sorrowful children, have there sweet
songs come, sometimes as sweet as
echoes of things heard and learned
in His bouse at some brighter period
of our lives. Was it in the night of
bereavement? Did death come with
its icy hand and touch one near and
dear to you ? Did he take your darl
ing child and did you see on the
precious little body as you laid it in
the casket, dark spots already around
the little throat from the inflamatior
which had taken the dear little life
away, and as you looked on these
evidences of corruption and decay
in that dear little body “bone of your
bone” and “flesh of your flesh,” how
came it that instead of these signs
filling your heart with horror, a voice
whispered to you of the time to
come, and reminded you that “this
mortality shall put on immortality,
this corruption must put on incor
ruption” till in anticipation and con
fident expectation of that blessed day,
your spirit was lifted up and your
aching heart soothed and cheered as
by Heavenly minstrelsy. Have you
been rich in this worlds goods and
have you been stripped of all in
these latter days and forced to de
pend on daily work for your bread,
or daily effort and daily trust in God,
which should go together if you are
a true disciple? How is it that
when you read that our Saviour,
though rich for our sake became poor,
you seem to bo able to realize so the
fullness of His love, that it comes to
you as a sweet, sweet song in your
night of poverty and toil. It may
be thut other dark hours come to
you,’for there are some more grievous
to be borne than those which come
from bereavement or poverty. It
may be that you see one near and
dear to you falling into sin, deeper
and deeper into sin. You pray fer
vently and constantly that God
would stop him in his mad career.
You know that He is all powerful,
that He rules in the armies of I leaven
and it seems a small thing that He
should rule and reign over one wick
ed heart. You try to have faith and
you feel that in the arms of faith
and prayer you would take him and
boar him to the Master ns did the
women their suffering loved ones
when the blessed Saviour was here
among men. You love this erring
one so dearly, it soeius th at you could
hardly rest yourself, “in the Heaven
ly fold with this precious lamb astray
in the Mountains cold.” In such a
night as this, those words, “what I
do yo know not now, but ye shall
know hereafter” come to the soul all
weary and distracted, and bring
"woct visions of that bright hereafter
until refreshed and settled, stablisli
and strengthened, it cau trust all into
VOL. 70—NO. 34.
His hands and cast all care upon
Him who careth for us saying hum
bly and sincerely,
“I know the hand that is guiding me.
Through tlie darkness into the light.
And I know that all betiding mo
Is meted out aright.
For I know, though hid from my mortal sight,
God’s plans are all complete.
Though tho darkness at present be not light
And the bitter be not sweet.
Grey.
FALSE TEACHING BY THE BIBLE-
The Bible does not teach falsehood
nor false doctrine, but one may teach
false doctrines by taking certain pas
sages of the Bible out of their pro
per connections and putting together.
One might make up a book from cer
tain verses and sentences and phrases
found in-the Bible, and present them
without any comments, and yet the
arrangement may be as to teach
very misleading and pernicious doc
trines. Passages of Scripture have
often been so used as to lead many
a person, not well informed, quite
astray from the truth. Hence, it is
not enough for one to say that a cer
tain declaration is found in the Bi
ble. The real question is, what is
the teaciiing of the Bible, as a whole,
on this point or that ?• We are not
to judge a man’s life by any single
act that he may perform. A man
may, under peculiar and very unusual
circumstances, tell a falsehood. This
is far from being habitual with him.
His general character and daily life
are truthful. Shall we, then, say
that this man’s character should be
judged by this one falsehood he told?
No! We are to judge him as a whole
—what the general tone and intent
of bis character are. We are not
to take that single act of David, with
respect to Uriah, and by it judge
that he was a bad man. That act
was bad, but it does not prove that
David’s character, taken as a whole
was bad. If we were to pick out
isolated instances of wrong conduct
in men and judge them by them, wo
could make it appear that almost
everybody was a rascal in some form.
Now, the Bible, like some men, has
been often abused by picking out
certain texts which seem to favor
certain things, whereas the general
tenor of the Bible is positively
against such things. Every theory
under the sun and every evil prac
tice can find some support “ the 4 . T jj f
ble. if one be itigeni-"". . fc “rhoQiQ*
cull ouJ and arrange tlm passage*
and phrktaat’ v. h:>jh apj.'.ar ?> look in
such directions. Too often the devil
makes the Bible serve him and hi*
friends. C. H. Wethbbbe,'
THE TIME HAS COME
TO ENLARGE OUR WORK IN THEOLO
GICAL EDUCATION.
Dr. N. K. Davis, in a recent num
ber of the Western Recorder, pub
lished a strong article on denomina
tional schools. He reviews the gen
eral history of our colleges and keen
ly laments their hardships, and
want of support. Ho makes no
special mention of any one of them,
but concludes that all of them have
suffered more or less; and that the
same general fault in each one has
contributed largely to its misfortune.
The fault he thinks is the failure
of the college management to keep
the strict denominational features of
the schools to the front. These
schools were established in almost
every case to educate young men for
the ministry. Agents have urged
that object while soliciting funds for
endowment. The claims of these
schools have been laid upon the
hearts of these people, because in
them our young men werts to be pre
pared for the ministry, and our sons
educated under Baptist influences.
Dr. Davis thinks that very generally,
those who have directed these insti
tutions have made a mistake, more or
less in degree in the several institn-’
tions; by departing from the original
design. In order that they might
secure “outside” patronage, they have
disavowed sectarion instruction.
They have not made the
Bible, or our religion to occupy
any place in the course of
study. The whole force of instruc
tive effort has ( been simply secular,
and in addition to this, while the
schools were started with the distinct
design to prepare young men to
preach. Thu Theological depart
ments have been, m most, cases, sus
pended, or abandoned. He con
cludes that this policy has disap
pointed the friends who had been
induced to help the schools, and ha*
chilled their affections for them. He
attributes very much of the want of
prosperity among our Baptist school*
to this cause.
No mention is made of any special
case. Here in Georgia we are in
terested in only one. How doe* tho
case stand with Mercer University?
Has the Bible ever been a religious
course in the curriculum? Has the
Bible ever been a text-book ? Have
Baptist doctrines over been taught
in the college?
At Penfield we had a Sunday
school, in which such work was done
faithfully, and well by members of
the faculty. The chapl'ain and the
president presented sound doctrine
of course, when they preached be
fore the students. But that preach
ing very rarely involved distinctive
Baptist doctrine. The Theological
department always dealt faithfully