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Brnttlnwli lianncv & (fhmiltee Sagfef.
JESSE M. WOOD, )
Editor. J
11. C. HORNADY. Americus, Ga.
T. DOYAL, Griffin, Ga. t ,
J. J. D. RENFROE, Talladega. Ala. f korrespondeng hditws
D. P. EVERETT, Florida. )
JOS. S. BAKER, Fla. Traveling Correspondent.
BLVXER & BAPTIST.
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JOHN 11. RICE.
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SHORT SERMON—No. 33.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in
the counsel of th • ungodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat
of tlic scornful. But his delight is in the
law of the Lord ; and in his law doth he
meditate day And he shall be .
like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
tW bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; :
his leaf also shall not wither; and whatso
ever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly
are not so: but are like the chaff which
the wind driveth away . Therefore the un
godly shall not stand in the. judgment, nor
sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knoweth the way ot the ,
righteous: but the way of the ungodly
shall perish. BIBLE.
(' (I .11 MU N 11’ 1TI(I A.
For the Banner A Baptist.
Brother Editor:
1 closed my last article whilst speaking
of Christ, the refiner and purifier. In the :
renovation and purification of the heart of
man from sin, Christ is then as a refiner’s
tire, and man as the crucible; and as the
crucible plunged into the tire, is enveloped
and overwhelmed by the lire, so man is en
veloped in, or overwhelmed by the Holy-
Spirit. lienee, it is evident, that pouringand
sprinkling are out of the question, because
the type must correspond with the anti
type, they must agree. Ho" can a little
water, poured on the head, or a little water
sprinkled in the face of a person, symbolize
the operation of the Holy Spirit, in his
converting and renovating influence, which
is to be after the same manner of a refiner
of silver ? There is no semblance.
1 will now take up my next affirmation,
which is that believers alone are pro|>er
subjects of Christian Baptism. I‘edo-Bap
tists themselves admit that believers are
proper subjects of Christian baptism; but
contend that infants are also. To prove that
infants are proper subjects of christian bap
tism, the I’edo-Baptists take a circuitous
route. They go to the family of Abraham.
and contend that the Christian Church "as
organized in it, and that it has existed in
an unbroken link from that time to the
present, and also that children were by a
law of God, made members of the Ybia
humic Church; therefore, they are entitled
to membership in the Christian Church.
On this the Methodists are an anomale.—
They contend that children are entitled to
Church membership, and that they are
proper subjects of baptism. because they
are entitled to Church membership, ami
yet will not receive them into their Church
at the time of baptising them; but defer it
10 their riper years, and at the same time,
they all will, as one man, tell you that
bapt 'in is the initiatory lite into the
Chur. h. They have as yet failed t show
that the Church, under the law disp nsa
tian, and the Church under the G. <pcl are
the same; there are no v isible marks of
sameness or identity. It w-'uld m t avail
them any thing, could they prove identity,
(which they cannot do) because children
wore not inducted into the Church of Go<.i,
under the Jewish economy or law dispen
sation. This may be thought a very bold
assertion by those not informed. There' *
net one passage of Scripture from the first
of Genesis to the last of Revelations, au
thorising children to be inducted into the
Church of Goo or Christ, by means vs
circumcision or baptism. What, not one !
N ?. not even one,
Asraham was required tv circmm ,: >c
himself. "And he that is eight davs old,
shall be circumcised among you, every
man’> child in vour generations.''dec. "He
• * •
that is born in thy house, and he that is
bought with thy money, must needs be eir- :
cumcised: and my covenant shall be in ;
your flesh for an everlasting covenant.” ’
That this ordinance pertains to their na- :
tionality, is clear both from their whole
history, and the Bible. “And J will estab
lish my covenant between me and thee, !
and thy seed after thee, in their genera- I
tions, for an everlasting covenant; to be a !
God unto thee, and thy seed after thee. j
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed
after thee, the land wherein thou art a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession,/’ Here God says,
“I will establish my covenant between me ,
and thee, and thy seed’after thee, in their -
generations for an everlasting covenant.” i
When God instituted circumcision, he uses ‘
similar language, “Aly covenant shall be in ’
your flesh for an everlasting covenant.” —
The Jews were recognized as the people of.
God; not spiritually, but nationally.
The people of England and America are
called a Christian people, though not all ;
Christians. In fact, but tew compari’tivelv, 1
1 '!. I
have as yet enlisted under the banner of
Prince Emanuel. “He came unto his own i
(nation,) and his own (people) received j
him not. But as many as received him, to '
them gave he, power to become the sons of:
God.” This quotation is sufficient to estab-1
lish the fact, that the Jews wore not all
God’s people spiritually : had they been,
they would have been his sons. It is, how
ever, affirmed to the contrary, that is, that
as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God. Had the
Jews been the sons of God, at the time of
Christ's advent, or in other words, had
they been converted and born of God. His
spiritual children, such as are entitled to
be members of the. kingdom of God upon
earth: that kingdom embleinised by the
little stone, hewn out of a mountain with
out hands; that kingdom spoken of to Ni
codemus, except a man be born again, he !
cannotsee; he would have given them power .
to have continued the sons of God. How '
could he give, them power to become the '
sons of God, when they were already the ,
sons ot'God? The language used by the
Lord, as stated by John, express future I
time. It' the Jews had been the sons of
God at that time, the Scripture would have '
read, as many as received him, to them !
cave Ik' pDwer to Crstitbme the sons of < foil. I
Some one who would be critic, will no I
doubt say, that 1 have no right to dictate 1
how the Scripture should read. Ido not
dictate how the Scripture should read ; but •
affirm, that the Scriptures read according
to tin* facts. Hence, it the Jews had been ■
the sons of God, at the time Christ camo,
the Scriptures would have said tl,e\ were,
and not, that they were to become the sons
of God at some future time.
Whoever says that the .lews were the
sons of God, spiritually, such as can wor
ship Him acceptably, will find it a very ;
difficult matter to give a proper solution ot
the following Scriptures: “Ye serpents,
vc generation of vipers, how can ye escape
the damnation of hell. ) e are of your lath
er, the Devil,” Ac. Christ was complain
ed of, because lie ate with publicans and
sinners. Repentance and nmission of.sins
were preached by the Prophets and Apost
les. Can it be supposed i’>r one moment
that they were members of the Church ;
the identical Church, the Christian Church?
- If so. the conduct o! the Apostles on the
’ <ia\ of Pentecost, were unaccountable in
adding so many to the Church. What ?
an Apostle adding Church members to the
same, or identical Church! Such a position
is too gross and absurd t> admit of argu
ment.
It is contended that circuuu ision was
an initiatory rite into the Church, during
the Jcwi u economy. It is not so stated in
the whole lids of the Bible; it is a state
ment without authority, an assumption
without proof <>r evidence. If circumcision
was an initiatory rite into the Church, then
everv one of the .lews. men. women, and
children, were in the dtmeh ; yet Cmusi
said to the Jews, "Except ye repent, ye
'! all all likewise perish" ; t- Nic. d mi s,
a Jewish Rai•’■>!. "Ye mast born au r a:n,’'
showing clear!) that they must repent, and
be born again, before they would be tit
meet for the Master's use. "A;..- the un
cirvumeised man child, whose flesh of his
foreskin is not cireumcis-. I, that s ui shall
be cut ofl from his people; he hath !>:■ ken
my covenant.'' He is i: to be cut efffiom
the Church, but from l:i> people.—the
people to whom Christ came, and to whom
as many as believed on h’s name gave lie
them power b,eome the s.- of Gel.
Circumcision was evi-1 er.tly a rat' nal
mirk, by which a Jew was to kept sc
par.ite and distinct from all other r,:'.ti >ns
and peoples. I:\irv-ame'.-', n was a d.-or in
i’ the Jewish Churcli. a.td r. t a national
mark, by which they were to be kept se
parate and distinct from all other nat: ms
an 1 peoples, then the entire nation belong
ed t the Church ; in which ease the lan
guage ot'Christ is •ami.. table—"Ye ser
pents, ye generation <! v spous, how can re
c«eai»e the damnation of hell ? Ye are of
your Father, the Devil." Ac.
To understat'd circumcision as a nation
al mark, by which the Jews were to !■.
kept separate and distil: t. from all oth -
nations and peor ’es, it is easy to un i ---
stand the language of Christ: and als.i why
it is that the Jews have kept thetr-selves
' ROME, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1860.
separate, and still remain separate and dis
tinct from all other peoples.
Altjiough the Jews were dispersed, and
scattered among all the nations of the earth,
eighteen hundred years ago, yet, re
markable to say, they have not amalgam
ated and mixed with the people, but have
remained separate and distinct from all
other tribes and peoples, and still practice
circumcision. This ought to satisfy any
unprejudiced mind, that baptism did not
take the place of circumcision. There are
neither commands, nor examples, in the
New Testament, authorizing the baptism
of infants. “Commands, or plain and certain
examples, in the New 'J\*<tament, relative
to the baptism of infatfts. I do not find.”—
Prof. Stuart.
The Pedo-Baptists present a gross in
consistency, in relation to the Church of
Christ, and the ordinances thereof. They
all, as with one mind, quote the Roman
Catholic writers, as the Fathers of the
Church of Christ: ami in the same breath
admit, that the Roman Catholic Church is
anti-ehristiam In times passed, consistency
was thought to be a jewel, but now a-days
it seems to. be rather rubbish, ami to be
avoided, or the Pedo-Baptist writers would
not quote Roman Catholic authorities, to
prove the practice of the Catholic Church,
and, at the same time, not only admit, but
contend that it is anti-Christian.
11. F. M.
(to be continued.)
CHINA MISSION.
We give the following Circular, from I.
J. Roberts, Missionary to China, a place
in the Banner, for two special reasons.—
Ist. It contains interesting information in
regard to the China'Missions. 2nd. It con
tains an appeal to those who pledged to
help him, some of whom are readers to the
Banner.
“Thanks be unto God for his unspeak
able gift.'’ And thanks be unto God for
the opening ot China, where missionaries
: are now permitted, by treaty stipulations,
I to “Travel in al! sreurity in the interior of
the Empire for the purpose of extending
Christianity among the Chinese;” nor shall
I such "in any case lie interfered with or
molested," whether native or foreigner,
w hile "placably teaching and practicing the
principles of Christianity.’’ These treaty
stipulations have been ratified this year,
and grant all that the Missionary could ask
from the Government, They have also
been tested ill the .;gh'■ --sdiood of Canton
by actual experiment. It has long been
thought that Canton people in the country
were fierce and dangerous; but we have
proven the contrary by traveling in the in
terior for missi< i ary purposes far beyond
any previous year. In March last, antici
! pating the ratification of our treaty, I com
menced, in company with Rev. C. W. Gail
lard, another Baptist missionary, making
preaching tours into the country. e made
i two of four days each, four of three days
each, ami 21 of one day.
< hir two farthest trips extended to Yoimg
i gah, in the District of Sim-tek. about ->0 to
■l(> miles out. To test fully the practicabili
ty of making such jaunts w ith impunity in
i the vicinity of Canton, we visited all the
places where foreigners in former years
liad boon maltreated, as Ft:t-san, Wang
chuk kee. and Cheng-shek ; these places re
i ceived us with al! kindness as if old aequain
tanees. And as we went, we preached in
; every place, from town to town, and from
village to village no man forbidding us ;
generally in the open air, frequently at th *
door of some temple, and not uncommonly
in their ancestral halls. Our object was
soon understood, hence the people were or
derly and attentive generally, never treat
ed us rudely or unkind. ' hir confidence
ripened into assurance that wo were as sc
cure from insult or injury while preaching
to them, as we would be in our native land
under like circumstances. Their country
where we traveled was beautiful, level,
rich, well watered and fertile. The people
were generail) living happily together in
villages, with an artificial fish pond before
their door, which added much to their con
venience fi>r washing, raising ducks and
children. "Blessed is the people whos ’f old
is the Lord." The) seemed to need noth
ing but the change from idolatry to Chris
tianity, to make them the most happy,
content, and prosperous people : and their
country where we traveled a very para
dise. I never saw such a country in my na
tive land: <0 well watered, so well culti
vated. and a living made with so much
ease. But v n y heart did pit) their
idolatry !
"O their end. their wretched end.
Thy sanctuary taught me so .
On slippery r■> ks, I see them '’ar-.1.
And fiery billows roll below '
IVe tried to “point them to ‘he Lamb of
God that taketh away the sin of the world."
0 that h may take away their sins, and
save their tils.
FINANCIAL REPORT.
IC, 1859
Tn '".n'is «n hand.
Received in China during the year. 184 (XI
b.>rrvwed from other funds,. 449 42
Credit by Current account for self, 7 s
•• •• •• familv 433 80
' $-42 58
AxwkM* 3t*r, 1859.
Leaving rne now debt ? for current
Exptuses ?44? *•
BIBLE FUND REPORT.
Janwrg IsT, 1559.
To fund' on hand,.. $6-19 14
Credit, by Scriptures. 37.. W vies.
255.(i00 pages sl3-8 04
ZXnv , 1859.
Funds rrmatnin; on hand ....... 510 45
TRACT FUND REPORT.
JVurrA, 1859.
To an appropriation by the American
> .. JtOO 00
Credit, by Tn„t'. 4/sX I <. .t ies. 44,>8X'
pages,.... sl7 95
Credit by discount en exchange, .10 00
£k'.v-;ier 3irf, 1559.
Funds remaining cn hand ..72 05
“HIS BANNER OVER” US IS “LOVE”
■ I CHURCH REPORT.
From war, death and; dispersion only
one member remained, besides the pastor,
jof the old stock before 1 the war; but on
the 17th of February, 1859, just 24 years
from the day the missiou:S - y resolved upon |
■ coming to China, one mafi came in and in- '
quired earnestly—“whattmust I do to be ;
saved ?” He was pointej to the Lamb of
God, and soon after bapt&d, His wife fol
-1 lowed, and was the firstfr uman ever im
i mersed in Canton ; and fhence a brief re
vival seemed to spring uji.arriong the Bap
tist fraternity in particular- until the three
Baptist Missionaries heip —Messrs. Gail
lard, Graves and baptized
23 converts since then, : H>“9g whom were
five women ! H.-, -
The niHnhcr » f ? i y ]>y
were 10, including two' wohien, added to
the one native and one foreigner, making
! twelve, four excluded, leaving eight now in
fellowship.
Preaching.— During the year, in connec
tion with those, that were with R., we have
preached 535 times, to 49,438 hearers.
Books. — Have made 5 Scripture Tracts,
and translated a medical work into Chinese.
And printed or purchased 41,800 copies,
330,200 pages, including both Scriptures
and Tracts, w hich have been chiefly dis
tributed. And to cap the climax of my
labors, finding myself getting deeply in
debt, and having no other alternative, like
the. Apostle —“These hands have minister
! cd unto my necessities,”iand to the sup
: port of my family during the last six
months. But thank the Lord, my spirits
have been cheerful and health general
ly good during the year, anil J have labor
ed for the good cause, as well as our own
support, as much as circumstances would
permit. And now, the Lord helping, 1 hope
to persevere unto the end of my pilgrim
age in doing what I can for China ; and re
joice in what my eyes see and the oppor
. tunities 1 now enjoy, which other mission
aries have doubtless desired to see, but
died without the sight.
The three commissioners who negotiated
the treaty of Ticn-sing, “offered of their
■ own record,” Mr. Reed tells us, “to con-
i cede to missionaries access to all parts of
the country.’ lienee let tnejoin with bish
op Boone, of Shanghai, in saying—“ Chri
stians have not had such a cal to labor in
any country since the days of the Apostles.
. May they have wisdom to mderstand their
duty, and grace to perform it.”
In general, the Canton missions now num- j
her 16 foreign missionaries; 11 native;
preachers: 58 native rnem'ners: 36 receiv- !
eel iii 1559, 16 of whom are.fi niales ; four
exclusions; II chapels; 2 hospitals; six
schools—l 47 male and 36ii male pupils;
and 4 physicians. The wjiole number of
missionaries to China, ginc i Dr. Morrison,
in 11 ”
-of whom there remains'll.
“By these native chtr. lies have been or
; gaiiized at the several ports and various
out stations; the number of members in ;
them probably exceeds a thousand, ami ;
many have died in the faith, ami in the !
confident hope ofeterna! life. A wide spread
spirit of inquiry has been awakened, and
the number of eonveiTons is every year
increasing. There is e'>ry encouragement 1
to increased effort. Eveiy thing concurs to
produce the conviction that a great work
of divine grace is ere long to be witnessed
in this land.”
Hence allow the humble Missionary
earnestly to bespeak thepfayers and con
tributions of God's people every where,
especially'among the Baptists, in this be- ■
half. Ami more espccialit would he urge
with the utmost vehemenct upon our min- ;
istry, the duty of self-dedhition and devo
tion to this great mission work in China.— ;
Come, brethren, come yeiip to “the help j
ot the Lord against the Eighty,” and ye ;
shall not lose your reward. And he would
f,.ether say personally that he feels greatly '
. the responsibility of his Hat ion and the ,
need of <L>d’s Hol) Spirit :o assist him in '
his work: that he is highli honored, hav
ing been appointed by Hint "ho sees the .
end from the beginning, long before;
. hand, to prepare in unticipMion of such a
! time as this; ami that, thoish he has had
pioneering difficulties of extraordinary I
magnitude and character, figltings without
j and fears within, yes the L(rd having de
l livored him out of them all, he secs now ;
, that they only tend to magpily the grace
of God, and add to his crows of rejoicing; |
1 ami hence h • fee's inclined tqjoin the groat ;
j rejoicing multitude of heaven ami earth in
saving—“ Blessing, honor, gl<y and power
be unto Him that sitteth upin the throne. :
and unto the Lamb for ever »mi ever.”
! Canton, China, Dec. 31st 1859.
I. J. ROBERTS.
P.S.—lntending .'. m this date, Jan. Ist,
1 >6O. to close . acc r begin anew.
( leaving th-> things tl.a* are behind, to !
press forward to a higher nark: I will say
only this once more, in reference to the
“Oriental A Chinese \dwxate,” got up by
I. J. R.. ";:on in the Unitrii States in 1555.
’h it if any i f the subscribers did not get
the paper regularly, it w:is not his fault.
; He did every thing that an honest man
eotibl do—raised the money and paid the
1 entire charges f r one year, before he left
f>r China: and he hopes his brother editor
did his fluty also; therefore any failure 'T
short coming realized, you will phase
charge to the post off.-- and forgive.
Kev. 1. J. Roberts, care of
. Messrs. R -Cl A- €• •-. Cr.ctor., China.
To the Trustees and Subscxiben to Rev. I. J.
Robert", in 1855.
Dear brethren and sisters: I thought mv
: last 1i ir ss to you s'- -mid he my k,! t
- cir..?m.> , /nc’s seem to demand this one
n/ re. That was poorly printed, and. per
haps. r. t entirely leg,e. You will sec,
from my annual report, that while I have
' had 1.. tt - tceess during 1359 thr... u=ual,l
have m >re labor, not only in the mission
work, but also for the support of mvself
11. Still ASLi thflt
my in- ar.s have c-me short leaving me in
debt *449.42 : And, m rewer, 1 ha-.. hist
r«e:vvd a moving appeal from mv faradv.
Nirs. Ro, yts. and a Christian friend in her
ochalt. ,/or A* which. 1 think, must move
every « .' scribers heart, in "hi-ch remains
en; I'viar. mputhv, or any sense ot the
moral ol I'g resting up-.n p.-emfrs and
p’- ige. Arter giving a sad narrative nfher
homeless evr. iit; andg-imgfrom place to
p'.scc in '••arch of i horn-, in the cold win-
ter thne, with our two dear little ones; and
when she had gone for “protection to her
own relation—uncle—“was bidden to go
from there!” she says, “It is best to get us
a home here. It is absolutely necessary
j that we have a home here, since ii is out of
j the question to think of boarding with chil
di en ; for, in the first place, it is a very dif
ficult matter to get boarding with children.
Then you cannot train children as. you wish
when thrown in contact with such,an assem
blage as you often meet with; and the
amount of evil contracted, in such cases, is
incalculable. You have mentioned several
persons here whom you desire me to con- i
suit—it is their unanimous voice that 1 ;
ought to have a home in which td raise my I
children. Mrs. J. E. 1. !who, you |
know, has voluntarily written
which you.night r..j,u i, *>r
man of sound sense, and has ever been one
of my kindest friends. She remarks that
i having a home, I could live on much loss
than is required to board; and once having |
possession of a house of my own, ready
furnished, I could live on much less than
§400; as it is, it will be a very limited sup
port.”
Her friend, Mrs. Y , remarks:—
“ Nothing but the present and future wel
fare. of your helpless children, has caused
me to speak. 1 wish to say to you that it
is more than important for your little fam
ily to have some permanent home. Your
wife and children came to my liouse two
years ago; since that time 1 have had an
eye to their comfort as much as I could. I
have known the great inconvenience and
expense of their present wav of living.—
Board is very high. Your children have
hail three severe spells of siekniis'e from be
ing turned out of house! The, change, and
disagreeable weather caused sickness. There
is economy, as well as a great comfort in
having a permanent home ; nor does the ad
vantage stop there. 1 our children are now
at an age that their education piotild be
thought of. If your family was permanent
ly settled in Georgetown, there would be
no difficulty, then, in the way of.their get
ting an education. 1 would like t-o sec your
son have the advantages of a good school.
He is smart, but cannot obtain such while
so unsettled. I feel very much for you, be
ing so far distant from your children. I
know that nothing but the love, of the cause
of the Saviour could support vo;|i. I hope
you ma v be com!', r tod. that j.iu:- labors;
may be blessed, so that you may feel that
’ you are compensated for the sacrifice you
make. May the Lord bios and sustain you
lin all things.”—J. E. Y. 1 os. dear sister,
.lane, this is one of the greatest "s 'crifices”
and trials of my life, about which I have
sited many tears. But “the love of Christ
constraincth us,"—constraineth me —“like
the mileh-kine. whose calves were shut up,
that went along the. highway lowing as they
went.” to go along the highwav of duty
though weeping as I go. "He that loveth .
son or daughter more than me, is not wor ;
thy of me.” I owe everything to Christ ; 1
i he snatched me as a brand from the gates of
; Hell, and cleansed me from all sin by his
I own blood. Read the American Baptist
Publication Society’s Tract, No. 162, enti-
i tied, "The Troubled Conscience, and the
Peace-Speaking Blood of Christ.” and you
■ will learn what he has done for me, and al
so whence the tno/t’re power of my mission
ary effort.
Dear brethren and sisters : Can you do
less than sympathize with the case as above
described, at least, to the extent of your
unpaid pledges ? Do not you who are par
ents, "ho are husbands and wives, “feel
I very much for us?” Your bowels of com
passion are surely not withered and dried ,
up und'H- the congenial influences of gospel :
privileges. Then let them flow ‘out in the
payment of your unpaid pledges, and that
j will greatly help to alleviate a mother’s
! cares, to wipe away a father’s tears, and to
. solace, comfort and educate their Jittle ones.
' In relation to money,Mrs. R. says“it is
the want of promptness which has occasion-
■ed my trouble.” 1 have done all I could to
supply her with promptness. 1 have writ-
. ti n again and again tomy trustees and sub
; scribers who had pledged us help, I have
' prayed, I have begged, I have labored with
my own hands, aud yet you see that my
. family is homeless and 1 am getting in debt.
And now 1 come to you, brethren, not as a
matter of present consideration; but as a
matter of promise and moral obligation!—
What claims have we on God |k>f mercy
i and salvation, except his promise? And i
I canyon expect God to fulfil his promise in j
saving you, if you break your promise in ‘
not paying your pledge? This is a very ;
serious matter. Jesus says —“Verily, I say |
unto you. inasmuch as ye did it not to one ;
: of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” j
It was optio’.a! with you whether you would ;
; make the pledge originally, but when once j
made, it would certainly a loose kind of ]
■ ■■■■■liity that would allow you ijiot to pay 1
it. or try, according to the tenor of the
pledge ! You made the pledge—the prom
ise to me in sincerity, intending to pay
i what von promised, did you not? You
were not trifling with my feelings, your own
eonsiience, and God, were you? Then why ,
! should you break your promise for so small
; a gain.
You know that we have to appear before
the judgment-scat of Christ; some ot you
are alreadv gone: and do you think that it ;
will add to the joys of that meeting to with
hold more than is meet and not to pay your
pledie ? Ar.d lest it be on rny account you ;
have w ithheld your pledge and quieted your
conscience thus far, I will now pledge you
that whatever you p:y in shall be appro
priated to the use •( ny family—their sup
port. the purchase of their home, ana the
education of <e:r ch ldren, and not to my
self at all ; I "id struggle oh for myself.
Then come, ..rethren, bow "ith a little
cheerfulness and liberality do pay up. I
claim vour pledge. t -.s a debt of honor, as a .
debt of conscience, and as a .debt to God, j
o.me of his servants whbjhas left all I
to follow Christ. You will not regret it
' ten vears hence, if you err in this case.
~.. thren and sisters, please err on the safe
side, and that is certainly to pay your
pledge. In doing this you can lose noth
ing but the money, and we hope that will
not be lost: but,'in notpaying, you violate
a,. ; - a:sapp":nt the rrussion-
. .. nr the displeasure ofGod ; ana
I think, like Adam, should be ashamed to
see cither God or the missionary in Para-
• disc. And it may be the means not only I
of the present support and comtcrt of my i
flimilv, but of educating my son and mak- j
ing him a humble minister, by the grace of
Christ, to the heathen, to fill his father’s
place when you and I both shall have met
above. I have promised Mrs. Roberts, and
I will not break my promise, that your
pledges shall be applied, when paid, in buy
ing her a house and home! Then, if you
have any sympathy with such a case as hers,
and I think you cannot but have, please pay
them up and let her have a home of her
own, at Georgetown, Kentucky, where Ide
sign educating our children.
In closing our correspondence, for I de
sign this to be the last of the kind, I beg
' my friends to accept my grateful thanks for
| all they have done for me hitherto, either
j when I was there or since, and especially
i those who have paid up their pledges; and
I those who have not, please lay me under
"Kc further oc fifing so .fully ;
and those who have riot .Tnffimrrrfntcnd tbyf
please take this advice: Be cautious about
pledging, for you make yourself an offender,
j a transgressor in the sight of God, to pledge
and not pay, and should look for his chas
tening rod.
Note.—Let all contributions or pledges
on this behalf, be sent to Maj. F. C. McCalla,
Georgetown, Ky., as formerly directed.—
Each one knows the amount remaining yet
unpaid of his own pledge. Please send it
forward.
Lastly.— ln taking a final and affection
ate leave, dear brethren and sisters, allow
me to fill up my sheet with a brief retros
pect of the past, from 1834 to 1860—twen
ty-six years! In 1834 the writer was an
humble country Baptist preacher, settling
on a farm near Raymond, Mississippi,
where he had bought 1000 acres of land,
and was improving it with his own hands, ;
expecting intending, and desiring to make j
it his permanent home for life. But the
Lord designed otherwise; deeply impress
ed his mind, and called him, in the spring
of that year, to the Foreign Mission work.
Until the 17th of February, 1835, he was
pondering the subject, making up his mind •
and choosing his field of destination. On j
that day he was 33 years of age, and he sol
emnly resolved, the Lord helping him, and
opening the way, to go to China as a mis- '
sionary, and spend and be spent in that na
tion, while life and health should last. He (
spent the residue of that year in traveling :
in Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio,
and Indiana, more than a thousand miles, at ‘
his own expense, in way of stirring up the
Churches to the Foreign Mission work,and
making preparations to leave for China.—
in the sth of April, 1836, he started to-
China, trusting in God, without any con
nexion as dependence for support, with
Board or Society ; and not exceeding §IOO
with him! AVith the assistance of Rev.
AV m. C. Buck and others, he. created a small
society at Louisville, Ky., on the way, in
May following, which concurred in his ap
pointment from .foove bi<! him God
I speed ; so he went on his way rejoicing.—
I He arrived in China, at Maecao, where he
' now writes this, on the Ist day of May, j
i 1837 : pioneered the gospel into Hongkong 1
in 1842. whore he baptized his first Chinese !
convert that year, and into Canton where
he preached the gospel publicly and distrib- :
nted religious books in 1844. He taught , ■
Hung Sow-chuen the Christian religion in ! i
1847, who became Tae-peng Wang in 1850,
or the following year; this came to the wri- j
ter’s knowledge in 1852, with the protnis- (
ing tendencies of Tae-peng Wang’s revolu- i
tion, to destroy idols, introduce the Scrip- 1
tures and inculcate the Christian religion; i
which greatly animated the missionary’s ’
spirits, raised his hopes and expectations to (
something like what he now realizes—a free <
and full liberty to preach the gospel in Chi- <
na to the utmost extent of his abili ies.— (
“Behold, what God hath wrought!” Won- '
drousfact! that 400.000,000 of the human (
family in China, have now become accessi
ble, to whom the gospel may be preached f
freely, to the utmost abilities of all Christ- <
endoin !
“ No more, my God, I boas, no more, 1
“ Os all the duties I have done; <
“ I quit the hopes I held before, i (
" And trust the merits of thy Son.” ; (
I. J. R. .
Mara.o, China, Jan. 1 1th, 1860. ] ,
——♦ ';
[From the Western Recorder.] i ]
WEEKLY MEETINGS. '
No. 4. 1
Dear brethren and sisters, 1 did not have
time last week to tell you all abouf the ! '
weekly meeting for the study of the, scrip- r
tures. I desired to suggest a plan for such
meetings. Pardon me, Ido not mean *to ;
dictate. lam no pope and have no aspira
tions to such a position. lam but as one
of you—as one. of the weakest and humb
lest. Ido not even advise. But as a broth
er loving the same Lord—anxiriiis I _liks'j-0.u,..
for his honor and the advancement of his
cause like you, desiring, if we have been
wrong, to get back to the old paths, and
walk in the way of his appointment. I ■
seek to set aside —out of your way—the j
real obstacle which prevent your return to j
the weekly meetings of those who’ met on |
' the first day of every week.
One difficulty, and the chief one, is the . ,
want of a minister. I grant that it is desir
able to have the presence of a minister, but ; .
this is not essential. A church is a church j,
—without a pastor though, she is not fully , ;
equipped for service. But she can meet
either for business or to study the word of I (
God. And if God. in his providence, has ,
left such a scarcity of preachers that the '
churches cannot all have one at every time .
when he has made it the duty for the i
churches to assemble, then this is a strong ■
indication that the church is to make use
of such “helps’’ as she has. If she can’t; .
have a pastor, let her have an evangelist, I.
that is, a traveling preacher. If she can’t , .
have this, let her ha ve a teacher, or, rather, i .
teachers. Wc read that the apostolic I
■ churches had “Pastors, evangelists, and ;
teachers.”
Now will you pardon me if I suggest to
you a plan to learn from “teachers,’’ or to 1
; instruct the ignorant, you yourselves be
i ing teachers? Yet this is not exactly what I
1 meant to say. Here is my thought. —
The ancient churches had teachers. We
have every reason to believe they met some-;
times, if not frequently, without regular !
preaching. We read of but few sermons, i
: and of many meetings. Well, suppose you
have preaching next Lord’s day—your
; preacher can not come again for a month—
i out you can come; suppose you ask him to
j TERMS $2.
( ALWAYS IN ADVANCE
say that all the members of the church are
requested to meet there next Sabbath at
the usual time, and bring their children
with them, as it is designed to set on foot
some way by which you can all go on with
the study of God’s word, and engage in his
worship, even though your minister is ob
liged to be absent.
if he is a true servant he will heed your
request and give the notice, and if he thinks
as I do, and as I have no doubt most of the
ministering brethren do, he will greatly re
joice, and say something to urge the thing
along.
Well, next Sabbath has come. Your
wife had expected to meet a friend at the
Presbyterian place of worship, bat she will
not mind the disappointment much. You
had yourself a word you wished to say to
a gentleman in that congregation, but you
recollect it was hardly proffer to do it on
the Sabbath, and you yield, The young
people had expected to'have a nice visit
over there, if you took them, or a fine romp
at home, and, it may be, a little sport down
at the creek, or over at the next plantation
if you left them as you often have done.
But even they, at your request, will saddle
up, and off you all go together. There you
are, men, women, and children. M 7 ill you
have some deacon or other member to
whom you can say, Brother, call to order
-and let us see what can be done, or you can
do this yourself. It won’t hurt you, even
though you never speak in public. You
or he takes the chair; and for want of a
better name, I will call you moderator.—
And now, Mr. Moderator, what is to be
done? Can’t you say—Brethren, the word
of God gives no countenance to monthly
meeting as the constant habit and practice
of Christ’s churches, and we desire to meet
weekly for the worship of God. Let us
sing such or such a hymn. Y'ou read it
and they sing.
Brother L., will you lead us in prayer.
The prayer is finished, and while they sing
another hymn, you get your thoughts col
lected for a little speech something like
this.
Brethren and sisters, we have no preach
ing to-day, but we can learn something
without it, I don’t know but we may bo
able to make, this, with God’s blessing just
as good a meeting as we ever had. And I
propose, that we proceed to arrange our
selves into different classes, as teachers and
learners. The first churches, as we learn
from Paul, had teachers, and. of course,,
they had learners. I would like, for my
self, to be a learner; but 1 am willing to
be any thing and do any thing, so that I
may obey the word of the Lord. Shall
we not, as a church, appoint us some teach
ers, and those who cannot teach engage as
scholars with these our children, and see
how much we can learn of the true mean
ing of the word of God.
A on should have had a consultation with,
your pastor and most reliable brethren and
sisters before hand, so as to know who
were able and willing to teach, and these,
on being nominated and elected, would be
come your teachers. The children bad bet
ter, perhaps, go into the classes of some of
these, the grown people into others. If
any one is too wise to learn, let him teach,
aud thus you will all find a place.
But now you should not have come un
prepared. Y’ou will need not merely teach
ers, but “helps,” and these you can procure
in the shape of Testaments or Bibles, and
Question Books. You can, as moderator,
give the lesson. It should be of but a few
verses. These should be read and talked
over the first time of such a meeting, but
afterwards given out the week before and
committed to memory. The moderator,
after all the classes are formed, may go to
those who have not joined any and make
another.
Thus you turn your church and congre
gation three Sabbaths in a month into a
congregation or church Bible class, or Sab
bath school, or whatever you choose to call
it. But you assemble together to worship
God, and to study his holy word. If you
do not have a preacher, you have the word,
of Goe, which is better than a preacher:
and you can so manage such a meeting by
procuring the proper helps and the judi
cious use of them. By taking a little
pains to study during the week, as every
Christian ought to do, you can so manage
as to make these among the most profita
ble of all your meetings. Y'ou can learn
more from God in this way than you have
been used to learning from your preacher.
Try it my brethren. Will you not try it
just for six months, or for a single year?
But if you can’t do this meet any way,
and have a season of prayer and singing.
“Do not forsake the assembling of your
selves together as the manner of some is.”
It is the. Lord who says this, and not your
weak and fallible brother,
A. C. DAYTON.
Folly of Pride.—Take some quiet sober
moment of life, and add together the two
ideas of pride and man. Behold him, crea
ture of a span, stalking through infinite
space in all the grandeur of littleness.
Perched on a speck of the Universe, every
wind of Heaven strikes into his blood the
coldness of death ; his soul floats from his
body like melody from the string; day
arid night, like dust on the wheel, he is
rolled along the heavens, through a labyr
inth of worlds, and all the creations of God
arc fl irning above and beneath. E this a
creature to make for himself a crown of
glory, to deny his own flesh, to mock his
fellow, sprung from that dust to which
both return ? Does the proud man not err?
Does he not suffer? Does he not die?
AV hen he reasons, is he not often stopped
by difficulties ? When he tets, is he free
from pain ? When he dies, can he escape
the common grave? Pride is not the heri
taee of man ; humanity should dwell with
frailty, and atone for ignorance, error and
imperfection.— Sidney Smith.,
WISDOM AND MONEY.
Few men have readier excuse for their
homage than the Grecian sage, who being
asked why philosophers always ran after
rich men, while rich men never courted
philosophers, replied, “because the latter
know they want money, while the former
haven’t sense enough to know they want
wisdom,”
prevents a person from be
ing natural and cosy, sc much as an extreme
jmdety to appear so
VOL. 1.
NO. 33.
