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2
©ur pulpit
DANCING EXPLODED.
A Sermon, shewing the Unlaw
fulness, Sinfulness, and bad
Consequences of Balls, Assem
blies, and Dances in general.
Delivered in Charlestown, S.
C.. March 22, 1778, by Oliver
Hart, A. M.
[ln place of a sermon from
Georgia this week we give our
readers one preached by Rev.
Oliver Hart, pastor of the old
First church, Charleston, S. C ,
the oldest Baptist church in the
South, in 1778. The eighteenth
century speaks to the nineteeth
on an evil prevalent in both. —
Eo. |
Job xxl: 11. Thi-lr children dunce.
The bare reading of my text
hath, I doubt not, occasioned a
strange emotion of spirits in
n any of my hearers; by mine I
may be pitied for my folly, by
others, despised and ridiculed.
Be this- as it may, it gives me lit
tie or n > concern. If I had not
been willing to endure the scoff
of the world, I should never have
made an open profession of the
religion o! Jesus; much less
should I have become a preachi r
of his much-despised gospel. He,
however, who ventures to at
tack vice, in a public manner,
ought to be possessed of some
degree of fortitude and .resolu
tion; for sin is a monster of more
than a thousand heads; should he
slay some, there will be many
yet remaining, and he may ex
pect to be at tacked on every side;
especially if he should dare to
level at some popular darling
vice; one that hath been much
caressed, and that, too, by the
more polit i part of the world: in
this case, there will be a mighty
uproar among the people. The
whole city, or country, will be
tilled with wrath, as Demetrius
and his associates were, when
they cried out, “Great is Diana
of the Ephesians." Or, as Micah,
when stripped of his idols, and
exclaimed, “Ye have taken away
mv gods, and what have I more?”
However, leaving the event to
God, lam determined, in faith
fulnessjo my trust, to maintbin
an open and vigorous war with
all the vices and sinful diversions
of the age. Were Ito act other
wise, my own conscience would
condemn me, and the world
might justly reproach me for
my unfaithfulness. This, there
fore, may justify me for entering
on such a subject; which I shall
introduce by making some re
marks on the context; in w\hich
Job seems/ to be at a loss tto ac
count so the dispensations of
divine Providence, with regard
to the prosperity of the wicked.
The friends of Job were far from
comforting him, as they pro
posed, under his afflictions, and
which they might have done by
observing to him, that one event
often happeneth to the righte
ous and to the wicked; solhat
no man can certainly judge of
love or hatred, by all that is done
under the sun; and that chastise
ments are so far from being pos
itive tokens of divine wrath, they
sometimes rather indicate love;
for whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and rebuketh every
son whom he receiveth. Such
hints as dhese might have afford
ed Job some consolation under
his heavy trials. But his three
friends took a contrary method,
which wounded, instead of com
forting him. The doctrine which
they laid down, and endeavoured
to maintain was this, that wicked
men only are sever* ly afflicted in
this world Hence, instead ofcom
forting Job, as an afflicted saint,
they censure him as a vile sinner,
and an hypocrite. Job labours
to refute their arguments, and
maintain his own innocence. He
affirms that the wicked often
flourish, become rich and great
in the world; when the righte
ous, on the other hand, are
greatly afflicted, and stripped of
all their worldly possessions.
He ins ances in his own case,
and then proceeds to point out
the prosperous circumstances of
the wicked, together with their
vain and impious practices
Mark me, says Job, consider my
present dolorous condition, ami
be astonished at the dealings of
God with me Can you justly
charge me w th any gross and
impi >us practici s, which accord
ing to your hypothesis should
bring down the judgments of
God upon me? You cannot;
therefore lay your hand upon your
mouth. Try no more to vindi
cate your opinion, when you
have a living instance, in opposi
tion to it, heft re your eyes. As
for my own pa?t, even when 1 rt
member my former flourishing
circumstances, and considtr how
1 am stripped naked and bare,
and visited with the most pain
ful and loathsome disorders, /
am afraid of those judgments of
the Al nighty, and trembling
taketh hold on my flesh; not being
able to account for my being
thus afflicted, while the wicked
go on unpunished. Tell me, if
you can. wherefore do the wicked
lice, become old, yea, are mighty in
power? How does this coincide
with your opinion, that God will
surely take vengeance on the
wicked, in this life? The reverse
of this seems to be the erse, for
their houses are safe from fear, 1
neither is the rod of God upon them.
Thiy are not afflicted or plagued
like other men. They swim in
affluence and roll in pleasure;
there is no end to their weilth.
And w ith their riches, their fam
ilies increase, so that they shall
not want heirs. Their seed is es
tablished in their sight, and their
offspring before their eyes. They
live to see their children's chil
dren, a numerous progeny,
around them. So that I hey send
forth their little ones like a Jloek,
for multitude; they going before
them, like a shepherd; not to the
house of God, to engage in sol
emn devotion; rather to balls, as
semblies and the play-house,
where they take the timbrel and
harp, and such like instruments
of musick, with which they play,
and their children dance. Thus
merrily they go on, regardless
of a future state, or eternal judg
ment. They spend their days in
wealth, which they squander
upon their lusts and pleasures,
in great abundance, although
they can spare little or nothing
for the poor, or any other pious
purposes. After they have thus
run their race # in a moment they
go down to the pit Without any
apprehension of danger. The
wicked have no bands in their
death. Their principal concern
in life is to gratify their corrupt
inclinations; therefore they say un
to God, deport from us: for we de
sire not the knowledge, of thy ways.
The thoughts of God are disa
greeable to them, and-his ways,
which are the ways of holiness,
they cannot endure. Like Pha
raoh, they know not. the Lord,
neither will they obey him.
JF/iaJ is the Almighty, say they,
that ice should strre him? And
what proJit should ice hare, if we
pray udo him? Thus fullness
of riches, honor and pleasure
swell men’s minds with pride,
aud*beget in them mean absurd
and atheistical notions of the
Deity. They look upon him as
a mere idol, as nothing in the
world; and therefore conclude
that they can derive no advan
tage from praying unto him.
This is the character of the
wicked, as drawn by Job; a per
fect and upright man, who feared
God and eschewed evil. In the
midst of which description, and
as a part of it, stands that very
polite, and much esteemed prac
tice of dancing. A diversion,
whicn in all ages hath had its ad
mirers and votaries. To oppose
it, will be to incur the censure of
all the gay gentry; and, with
them however, to forfeit all pre
tensions to polite breeding and*
good manners., lam willing to'
risque grt ater Consequences than
these, that 1 may maintain a con
science void of offence, towards
God and towards man. Bear
with me then, while 1 hear my
testimony against a practice,
which 1 look upon as sinful, and
opposed to the Christian charac
tor. And which Job, in our text,
certainly speaks of ns constitut
ing part of the character of the
wicked. And their childien dance
Observe, it is their children, i. e.,
the children of suet wicked
parents as he was describing.
By children we do not always
understun I children as to age;
sometimes it intends those who
have descended from such or
such parents, although they
themselves may have arrived at
mens or womens estate. And if
we take the word c/ii/drca in our
text, in this sense, the meaning
of Job appears evidently to be
this, that the families, or pos
terity of wicked parents, give
into this practice. Would to
God that none of the descen
dants of pious parents ever ini
itattd their bad example: and
that it might never be said of any
but wicked parents and their
children dance.
In trolling on this uncommon
subject, I design,
I lam to state the argument,
by giving a scriptural definition
of the word dance
Dancing, according to the
scripture account, is sometimes
to be taken in a good sense; and
then it is expressive of the in
ward spiritual joy of the heart,
which was commonly manifested
by a comely motion of the body:
—attended with songs of praise
to God, for some deliverance ob
tai tied, or mercy received. Thus
was dancing attended to, or prac
tised by the good people of old,
in a religious way. When their
songs were spiritual, and the
music, as also the motion of their
oodles, were suited thereto.
Agreeable to which are the
words in Psal. exlix. 3. Let them
praise his name in the dance: let
them sing praises unto him with
the timbrel and harp. It was
t ius David danced before the
ark, 2 Sam. vi. HL And in this
manner most of the dances,
whic i the children of Israel had.
were attended to; as you may see
by consulting the passages in
Scripture, where they are re
corded. As for instance, when
the Lord had destroyed Pharaoh
and his army in the Red sea, the
Israelitish women sung and
danced. See Exod. xv. 20, 21.
And Miriam the Prophetess, the sis
ter of Aaron, took a timbrel in her
hand, and all the women went out
after her, with timbrels and dances.
And Miriam answered them, sing
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX: THURSDAY, MARCH 26. 1896.
unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed
gloriously; the horse and his rider
hath he thrown into the sea.— Such a
song as this becomes a rational
mind, and issuitable to the taste
of the gieatest saint in the world.
But it would not be so agreeable
to our modern dancers; were it
to be sung in their assemblies, it
would be to them as. smoke to
the eyes, or vinegar to the teeth.
But there is another sort of
dancing spoken of in scripture,
which consists in a motion of the
body, seemly, or unseemly, stir
red up ny natural or carnal joy,
to please or satisfy ourselves or
others: tviihout any view to the
glory of God, or the benefit of
souls. Thus that fine your g lady,
the daughter of Herodias, danced,
on Herod's birth day; it should
seem that she opened the ball,
and performed so well as to fill
the king with raptures of joy;
whereupon, in a courtly dialect,
he promised the young lady
whatsoever she should ask, even
to the half of his kingdom. She,
being afore instructed by her
mother, very modestly asked no
greater reward, than the head of
John the Baptist in a charger.
Thus, as a reward for dancing,
the harbinger of Christ Jost his
life. .Enough, one w-ould think,
to cause every serious person to
abhor the practice for ever. It
is this profane kind of dancing
that is intended in our text; the
same with what is now in vogue;
and which, if it were set in a
p’oper light, would not appear
altogether such an innocent di
version as is generally imagined.
I proceed therefore,
11. To prove that dancing, ac
cording to the common, modern
mode, is absolutely sinful.
1. I argue that dancing, ac
cording to the modern mode is
sinful because it contributes
nothing to the chief end of man,
nay, is contrary to it. You know
that the chief end of man is to
glorify God. Ard this ought to be
our principal aim in everything
we do. /. 6’or. z. ■»/. Whether
therefore ye eat or drink, or what
soever ye do, do all to the glory of
God. Now I would ask our ad
vocates for dancing, what ten
dency that practice has to gio
rify God ? Can you say that
you have any view to the glory
of God in it? lam persuaded
you will not dare thus to give
your conscience 1 tie lie. And if
it should be proved, as I presume
it will, that dancing contributes
rather to promote the interest of
Satan than the glory of God, it
follows that the practice is di
rectly contrary to the chief end
of man.
2. Whatever action in life v ve
cannot pray for a blessing upon,
must be unlawful and sinful; and
such an one is dancintr; there
fore it ought to be avoided. Will
any say “ we are not bound to
seek the blessing of God upon
our ordinary concerns?” I will
confront them with these words
of Solomon. In all thy ways ac
knowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths. Prov. Hi. 6. Such
universal piety may not indeed
suit the taste of frolickers and
dancers; but it well becomes the
character of all the professed
disciples of Jesus Christ. But
should any query, “Why may
we not pray for a blessing on
our dances?” I answer, you may
not, because God has never prom
ised to give a blessing to such
practices; therefore such a
prayer would be sin. Nay, you
cannot do it, because it would
be a profanation of the deity, and
your ccnsciences will not admit
of it.
3. The injunction which is laid
upon us to redeem the time, pro
hibits our mispending it in such
practices. Time is a precious
jewel, put into our hands to im
prove for eternity ;and those who
trifle it away, are (in the script
ure account) very fools. Eph 15,
Hi. See then that ye walk circum
spectly, not as fools, but as wise—
redeeming the time, Can it with
truth be said, that the time
which is spent at balls, assem
blies and dances is redeemed ?
No such thing. It is squandered
away—it is murdered —it is con
sumed on our lusts; and how our
dancers will be able to answer to
God, for all the time they
have thus shamefully misim
proved, another day will deter
mine.
4. It occasions, an extravagant
waste of money; with which great
good might be done After
enough has been thrown away
upon a child, at the dancing
school, to have educated two or
three poor children, then truly
miss must be dressed cap a-pee
to make a shining tigure at the
ball; which expends enough to
relieve a virtuous family in dis
tress, or cloath half a dozen or
phan children. If this is to be
good stewards of our money, I
confers I am very much mis
taken. And stewards we cer
tainly are, and only stewards of
all we possess; and must be ac
countable unto God for the
spending of our substance.
5. The thoughts of thus hav
ing squandered our precious
time, must occasion very uneasy
reflections on a dying bed. Un
less the conscience should then
be asleep, which would avail but
for a little while; for at death
the illusion must vanish, and
then it would be still more terri-
ble to awake in hell. However,
those diversions, which were so
pleasing to the carnal mind,
while in health and strength,
can afford no comfortable rejec
tions in a dying hour. The
dancer will then be ready to say,
“ Wretch that 1 was, thus to
squander away my precious time,
my health, my strength and es
tate upon my idle diversions.
How much better might I have
improved the blessings which
Providence bestowed upon me?
How much I have done
for God anflno soul ? But,
alas,they \JBBK>jects. too much
neglected !‘ How ought I to have
redeemed my time, in preparing
for death and eternity ? But,
fool I spent my life
in and sinful pleas
ures. - *
6. Itjbekqyes us to live each
day andKcJur, as we would wish
to die; and not to engage in any
thing that would alarm us, in
case death should overtake us in
the act. The truth and utility
of this assertion none will deny.
Let me then ask, would you be
willing to meet with death at a
ball, or a dance ? You would
not. And how do you know,
when you venture on the en
chanted ground, that jou shall
come away alive '?
O, dreadful ! To be cut off, in
the midst of my pleasures —to be
hurried from a ball to the bar —
without any time to repent, or
prepare for eternity ! But per
haps you will say, “ Would you
have us always on our knees,
waiting for death? I answer
no. You may boldly meet death
when engfrgod about your secu
lar concerns, or any of the duties
of life. I remember to have
read, I think, in the life of Lord
Chief Justice Hale, that at the
time of sessions, while one of
the attornies was pleiding, there
came on a most terrible thunder
storm, which silenced the attor
ney; upon which the Judge said
to him, Sir, why don’t you goon?
Go on,my Lord, said theattorney,
don’t you see how black the
heavens are, and the lightning
rolling on the ground, while the
thunder roars as though the last
day were come ? And suppose
it is, said his Lordship, are you
not in the way. of your duty ? I
am here about my business, and
I am as willing to go from hence
to judgment as 1 should if I were
on my knees in my closet.
7. The conversation at dances
is inconsistent with Christianity;
I will appeal to the conscience
of those who frequent such
places, whether or no flattery,
and nonsense
there '?. Little,
1 Wroe heard , that hath
any to reform the man
ners, or improve the mind; much
less, to minister grace to the
hearers. Tuere may be enough
to corrupt the moralsand viciate
the taste of both sexes. Is it
not from hence, at least in part,
that we have so much obscene,
vulgar and profane conversation
amongst us ?
8. Again, Many dances are ex
tremely immodest, and incentive
to uncleanness. This is ac
knowledged by Mr Addison, al
though an advocate for dancing.
“As for country dancing, sai'h
he, it must indeed be confessed,
that the great familiarity be
tween the two sexes on this oc
casion, may sometimes produce
very dangerous consequences.”
But modesty bids me be sparing
here, otherwise more might be
said. My soul, come not thou
into their secrets, and unto their
assemblies, mine hor our, be not
thou united.
9. Moreover, Tne> practice we
are speaking of, cannot be en
dured in a minister. And why
so ? If there is no harm in it,
and if it may be attended to with
advantage, why must ministers
be prohibited the practice ? The
thing speaks for itself: people
are conscious that it is an evil,
and therefore, although they
will indulge themselves in it,
they will notallow it in those who
have the care of their souls. As
for my own part, I think indeed
a dancing parson, is an odd
character; and a dancing Chris
tian, is not much better. And
our advocates for dancing would
do well to consider, that the Al
mighty hath no more allowed
them a dispensation in this case,
than their ministers.
10. In tine, The greatest and
best of men have ever borne a
testimony against the practice
of dancing. I shall quote some
passages from several authors,
which I shall do in their own
words, hoping that their senti
ments' may make some impres
sion upon your minds.
The pious Mr. Henry, upon
the place, saitb,
They are merry and live a jo
vial life. They have their balls
and musick meetings, at which
their children dance; and dancing
is fittest for children, who know
not how better to spend their
time, and whose innocency
guards them against the mis
chiefs which commonly attend it.
Their children do not pray, or
say their catechism, but dance
and sing, and rejoice at the sound
of the organ. Sensual pleasures
are all the delights of carnal peo
ple; and as men are themselves
so they breed their children.
Mr. Baxter speaking of danc-
ings,-revellings and idle diver
sions, interrogates this,
Dost thou not know that thou
hast higher delights to mind ?
And are these toys beseeming a
noble soul, that hath holy and
heavenly matters to delight in ?
Dost thou not feel what a plague
the very pleasure is to thy affec
tions? How it bewitcheth thee,
and befooleth thee, and maketh
thee out of love with holiness,
and unfit for anything that is
good? Again, is it sport that
thou needest ? Does thou not
more need Christ, and grace, and
pardon, and preparation for
death and judgment, and assur
ance of salvation ? Why then
are not these thy business?
Farther, Hast thou not a God to
obey and serve? And doth he not
always see thee ? And will he not
judge thee? Alas! thou knowest
not how soon. Though thou be
merry in thy youth, and thy
heart cheer thee, and thou walk
in the ways of thy heart, and the
sight of thine eyes, yet know
thou that for all these things God
will bring thee into judgment.
I shall conclude this head with
a passage from J/ore/a»d’s history
ot the evangelical churches of
the vallies of Piedmont. Here I
would observe, that these were
the only pure churches in the
world, for several centuries.
When the world wandered after
the beast, these people adhered
strictly to the religion of Jesus.
They were remarkable for piety,
and endured the most cruel per
secutions for the cause of Christ.
In the tenth article of their
discipline, which treats of balls
and dances, they say,
A ball is the devil’s procession,
and whosoever entereth there,
entereth into his procession.
The devil is the leader, the mid
die, and the end of the dance.
So many paces as a man maketh
in a ball, so many he mak
eth towards heli. They sin in
dancing sundry ways, first, in
walking, for all their paces are
numbered; they sin in touching,
in their ornament* 1 , in hearing
and seeing, in speaking, in sing
ing, in lies and vanities. A ball
is nothing but misery, sin and
vanity.
Thus have I off* red some rea
sons and arguments, which have
determined me against dancing;
which 1 have enforced by the tes
timony of several great and good
men; whether or no the whole
hath sufficient force to prove the
unlawfulness and sinfulness of
the practice, must .be left to the
c indur of serious minds.
After all, it may be thought
that my work is but half done,
unless I. can answer whatever
may be brought in support of
this favourite, and falsely called,
polite diversion. And this brings
me,
IV. To make some improve
ment of the subject.
1. From what hath been said,
we may see the folly of those
parents who put their children
to the dancing-school and spend
such immense sums of money, to
bring them up in pride, gaity and
all the vanities of life. Is this
to bring up our children in the
fear of the Lord, as Abraham did?
Is it to train up a child in the way
he should go, as Solomon directs?
Would it not be much better, to
devote our money to pious and
charitable uses? Do such parents
take as much care of their chil
dren’s souls ? Do they instruct
them in the principles of the
Christian religion, and warn them
against sin and vanity? I fear
they do not. Look to it parents;
you have the charge of your
childrens souls, as well as of their
bodies; and a much weightier
charge it is. Think, how dread
ful it will be to have the blood of
your dear childrens souls, crying
against you, in the day of the
judgment. How awful would it
be, to have a child thus address
you, on that day, “Oh! cruel pa
rents; you were the instrument
of my being, or I should not have
existed, to have been thus mis
erable. You cared indeed for my
body, but why did not you care
for my soul, and labour to make
that happy? You might, and
you ought to have restrained me,
when pursuing vanity and folly.
But instead of that, you placed
me in the way of temptation;
yea, you went with me yourself,
to the devil’s seminaries; where
I was taught to practice sinful
pleasures. And now, alas! lam
to reap the fruit of our doings, to
all eternity.” Is the thought
shocking? O! give no occasion
for the dolorous complaint.
2. What hath been said, re
proves those who are attached to,
and engaged in the practice of
frolicking, dancing, and such like
sinful diversions. I say, such like
diversions; for you would do
well to consider, that the argu
mints against dancing, will gen
erally hold good against gaming,
horse racing and all sinful diver
sions. My dear friends, you are
highly reprovable; but I rather
chuse to address you in soft
language. Let the time past suf
fice you, to have gone on in sin
and folly. Forsake the foolish
and live, and walk in the way
which leads to eternal life. You
are surely making work for re
pentance. God grant that it may
be in time.
If after all that hath been said,
you still remain unconvinced, and
can see no harm in these things,
—suffer me to advise you to pray
earnestly, that you may be ena
bled to see things in a proper
light; and particularly, that you
may have a> discovery of the
wretchedness of your own wicked
and deceitful hearts. Then se
riously ask yourself these fol
lowing questions. —For what was
I made ? Do I answer the end
( f my being? Is God glorified by
all my actions? Is living- in
pleasure to live like a Christian?
Must I not shortly die, and give
an account of my actions to God?
Havel anytime to spire from
transacting business for eter
nity? If this advice were uni
versally regarded, we should
hear no more of balls, assemblies
and dances; instead of which,
our temple gates would be
crowded, and the general cry
would be, Lord, what I shall I do
to be sa.-ed? May God send us
the happy day, and to his name
shall be all praise. AMEN.
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This volume is one of unusual merit.
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of value Such a book as this brings in
to clear light certain great fundamen
tals of our fuu), and leads us to see
more cleat'y the great importance of
these truths.
The book has many subjects how
ever, where we can most confidently go
with the author. He takes up the case
of those who, like Robert Elsmere, of
one -time notoriety, are contented to
find in Christ a spiritual ideal and there
to let the earthly life step out of sight
as a trifling fiction that has served its
purpose To. Mr. Gordon history and
ideal are the same. He defends, with
great power, the aeeessity for the do
minion of the actual, final, real Christ.
Those who maintain the merely ethical
isde of Christ s tea.-hings and are con
tent to ask no questions as to his spirit
ual and eternal characteristics are also
met with logic irresistible. In every
way the writer maintains against ail
comers the divinity and supremacy of
Christ. An aigument of freshness and
convincing in its power is one used for
the divinity of Christ from his very
differences to other men. These differ
ences are shown to be essential to a con
ception of his being divine rather than
any obstacle to our faith in his historic
reality. In the same way he urges this
divinity ot Christ, and the historic facts
that support it, against the higher crit
icism tn its radical conclusions and
against materialism. One of the noblest
passages is that tn which the grjates
criti ;ism the Bible is called upon to
bear is declared to be that of human
hearts asking from it an answer to their
needs, perplexities and weaknesses.
The book that can stand these ques
tionings from a world being led to it, is
safe from all other criticism.
If one can hold in his mind as a cor
rective, convictions of depravity, dis
ability. regeneration as a necessary
thing to moral possibility, aud the Bible
as the final word of the Spirit in reveal
ing truth, he will find this book of
unusual worth. As a study of mod
ern liberal Congregationalism it
will be of unusual value. Dis
criminating a little because of our
different conviction as to truth, the
last section will stir our hearts to
nobler conceptions of Christian teaching
and preaching. A higher and more
truthful presentation of the abiding
power of the pulpit is seldom seen He
compares with the seemingly transitory
work of the pilpit the best works of
literature and shows that the probabili
ties for lasting usefulness are always
with the preachers. The years of influ
ence of almost auy preacher exceed the
life time of any but the very fewest
books. When the power of leadership
is ad led the preacher's work greatly
transcends other forms of influence.
Questions of Modern Inquiry.
Henry A. Stimson, D. D., Pastor
Broadway Tabernacle, New York
City. The Divine Life in Man
Frederick A. Noble. D. D . Pastor
Union Park Congregational church
Chk-igo. Published by the Flem
ming H. Revell Co.. Chicago and
New York. Price $1.25 each.
These are of sermons
preached in recent years by ministers
in active and successful ministry. The
reading of volumes of sermons by
preachers is of g eat value. Not as a
source for stealing sermons bodily but
for learning the art of putting' truth
and to catch from men of goodly ability
new views and conceptions. 'ln ser
mons of the right kind the aim is nec
essarily the making plain of some text
or truth, and the study of such sermons
has the effect on ns it is expected to
have on an audience, it emphasizes
clearly some lesson or some exegesis
It is also well to study the methods of
men who have proven their ability to
reach men through preaching. These
volumes are suggestive also in the
themes presented. Neither deal with
catching texts bnt with deep funda
mental truths. If these volumes are
indications of any tendency they show
that men are still interested in great
questions and ready thoughtfully to
consider them. Dr. Stimson succeeded
the universally beloved Wm. M. Taylor,
who excelled as a Bible preacher. Dr.
Stimson shows the same qualities.
He reminds ns sometimes in
directness, simplicity, and Biblical
presentation, of Dr. Broadus. Such
subjects as “What’am I to think
about God, ”‘ Why not give up miracles,
"How far is the Bible inspired,”
Why does not Gcdconvert m*n,” “ If
a religion, why not some other? ’ "A
Saviorfrom sin.” "After death—what?”
are frankly discussed in the light of the
gospel. Dr. Noble has a volume in no
way inferior. "The Divine Life in Man.”
"Christ the yea of God,” "Mystery in the
"Ne vßirth,” "Faithand Works,” "The
Bible in the Home,” "Christianity in
the Light of the Parliament of Relig
ions.” "The Divine Interest personal to
each of us,” are among the subjects
treated. These books are earnest, Bib
lical and upbuilding They indicate a
desire for strong meat on the part of
Christians in some places at least.
The Review of Reviews. The Re
view of Reviews Co., New York City.
It is difficult to get along without this
magazine if any one really desires to
keep up with the times in which he is
living In the March number in addi
tion to the usual summaries of news
with accompanying pictures, and the
best things in the various magazines
are a number of articles of unusual val
ue. The new Roentgen rays are accu
ratelv described scientifically Cecil
Rhodes, the great figure to day in Afri
can affairs, is presented in one of Mr.
Stead's character sketches An article
contrasting the Presidential office is
France with the same office among ns
is full of information. Canadian af
fairs are fully set forth in a comprehen
sive review of the present conditions
there existing. We do not see how any
one can manage to read the newspapers
intelligently without this Review as a
background of information.
Son*; of the Kingdom. By W. How
ard Doane. American Baptist Publi
cation Society, Philadelphia Price,
35 cents.
This new song book is prepared for
the special use of Young People's So
cieties and is approved by a committee
from the B. Y. P. U. A. The best rec
ommendation it brings, pending its ac
tual testing in use.is the name of its ed
itor and the reputation of its publishers.
The Puolicatron Society has already
two unsurpassed books, The Baptist
Hymnal and Select Gems. If this book
equals either it will be a valuable addi
tion We are pleased to see that the
various songs ringing the changes on
the initials and glories of the organiza
tion have been omitted. It seems a
good book to use in prayer-meeting, and
if it is it will also be admirable for the
y ■ ung people.
Judith's Journal By Janie Prich
ard Duggan American Baptist Pub
lication Society, Philadelphia. Price,
SI.OO.
Mrs. Duggan was at one time a mit
sionary under the Southern Baptist
Convention, in Mexico. She will be
remembered most pleasantly as the au
thor of A Mexican Ranch, a most help
ful story of missionary work In the
present volume she deals with a young
girl's spiritual history as recorded in
her journal The story is well told and
is healthy throughout. 11 is simply told
nut in no case overwrought It can be.
cordially 1 ecommended for Sunday
school libraries or as a gift to a growing
girl. '
Literary Notes and News.
Mr. Ruskin has just celebrated his
seventy fifth birthday. He is still in
good health.
Renan’s "Life of Jesus ” seems still
to be in demand It has been ne -vly
revised for the twen y third and final
edition.
There is now running in the Ladles’
Home Jotirn d a story by Eugene Field,
called "The Wen wolf. •’ The story was
written twelve years ago.but he was dis
satisfied with it. He rewrote it eleven
times in all, and was finally pleased
with the last revision of it.
1895 is said to have been the most
productive in the history of the book
business in the country. 5,469 books
were registered of which 368 were new
editions, against 4.484 books in 1894.
Great Britain in 1895 had 6,516 books
registered. France leads all however
with 12,927 books.
One of the most iute-esting books of
mo.b rn travel is Miss Balfour's ‘ Twelve
hundred miles in a wagon.” It is the
account of a trip in an ox wagon such
as the Boers nse in their " treking ”
journeys when seeking water. The
writer is a sister of the Parliamentary
1 ?ader. Mr. Balfour.
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