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THE BAPTIST BANNER.
BY JAS. N. ELLS & CO.
VOL. IV.
W jgnpiiM gfliniw,
DEVOTED TO RELIGION AND LITERATURE,
la published every Saturday, at Atlanta, Georgia, at the
subscription price of three dollars per year.
JAMISS W. ELLS * CO ,
Proprietors.
HEAVEN.
Beyond these chilling winds and gloomy skies,
Beyond death’s cloudy portal,
There is a land where beauty never dies.
And love blooms on, immortal.
A land whose light is never dimmed by shade,
Whose fields are ev<A vernal;
Where nothing beautiful can ever fade,
But live for aye, eternal.
We may not know how sweet its balmy air.
How bright and fair its flowers;
We may not hear the songs that echo there,
Through those enchanting bowers ;
The city’s shining towers we may not see,
With our dim. mundane vision ;
For Death, the silent warder, keeps the key
That opes these gates Elysian.
But sometimes, when adown the western sky
The fiery sunset lingers,
Its golden gates swing inward tunefully.
Unlocked by unseen fingers.
And, while they stand a moment half ajar,
Gleams, from the inner glory,
Stream brightly through the azured vault afar.
And half reveal its stoiy.
Oh, land unknown ! Oh. land of love divine!
Father all-wise, eternal.
Guide, guide these wandering way-worn feet of
mine
To those sweet valleys vernal.
JESUS IN HEAVEN.
Among all the innumerable host and blest
assemblage who will constitute the society
of heaven, there is one Friend who will be
the centre of them —the chiefest among ten
thousand, the altogether lovely, who is even
here loved with joy unspeakable and full of
glory, and who enables every believing
heart, in moments cf realizing communion,
to say, “ whom Rave I in heaven but thee,
mid there is none that I desire upon the
earth besides thee.” That friend is “Jesus,
the mediator of the new covenant.”
“I will take you to myself” is His bless
ed promise. “I will that these also should
be with me where I am, to behold my gio- '
rv,” is His ever living intercession. “We
shall see Him as He. is,” is the longed fur »
vision. “We shall belike Him,” is the
anticipated perfection. “We shall be sat
isfied when we awake with His likeness,”
is the consummated felicity. To know, to
love, to be in all things like Jesus, to be
forever with the Lord and go no more out
from His presence —this is “ the exceeding
and eternal weight of glory.”
Jesus will never be separated personally
from His people, nor cm they ever possi
bly separate their character, their joy, their
security, from His atoning death tor them
upon earth, or liom His constant life and
love for them in heaven. It is the Lamb
who will had them to living fountain wa
ters, and the Lantb upon the throne who
will still preside over them. The Lamb
shall be the sun and the light of the temple
not made with hands, eternal in the heav
ens, ami “Worthy is the Lamb,” its ceasing!
song of praise.
Beyond this, I can not go. In vain 1 en
deavor to ascend higher than Cod, manifest
in the flesh, even to the throne of the Tri
une Jehovah, who dwelleth in the unap
proachable light of His own unchangeable
perfections, and endeavor to catch a glimpse
of that beatific vision, which. though begun
herein communion with God, is enjoyed
by the spirits of just men made perfect
there, “according to His fullness,” and
therefore in a measure which to us now
“ passeth all understanding.” If any real
iiitereour-e here with Jehovah is “joy un
speakable,” which can not be uttered, what
must it be to dwell in His presence, in the
lull enjoy ment of Himself forever? There!
have been believers who have experienced
this blessedness upon earth to a degree
which was almost too much for them to
bear; and some who have had glories
flashed upon them, as if snatched from the
li'dit of the coming glory just as the soul
was loosening from the ligaments of the
bodv, and preparing for its flight from its
prison-house to its home; strange moments
when things beyond were seen by* the eye
closing upon the weary world;and over
powering bliss was experienced by the
thrilling heart. And if man, sinful man.
vea, dying man, can ever so feel, even
amidst the weakness and pain of dis'olu
tion, what is the measure of the joy that
‘ tills the redeemed, at this moment, in His
presence, were they are made perfect and
•• see Him as He is.
“Our sms. alas! how strong they be,
And, like a rasing flood.
Thev break our duty. Lord, to thee.
And force us from our God.
“The waves of trouble, how they rise'
How loud the tempests roar!
But death shall land our weary souls
Sate on the heavenly shore.
•• There to fulti His sweet co.iiin.inds
Utir speedy tret slniii move;
No sms shall elog our winged seal.
Or cool our burning love.
“There shall we ever sing, and tel!
The wonders ot His grace.
While heavenly raptures tire our hearts
And smile in every face.
Forever Hi* dear sacred name
Shall dwell upon our tongue
And JesUs and salvation be
The close of every »o:ig
A SSSSaXOXOOS AJS®
[For The Baptist Banner.]
FALSE PHILOSOPHY.
BY W. A. SIMPSON.
Some of our modern savans and philoso
phers almost deify nature, and accustom
themselves to speak of it as an acting, di
recting and controlling power. All natu
ral phenomena are spoken of as the result
of nature's immutable laws; in short, Na
ture is the grand motive power, the great
lever of action, by which the universe is
sustained, according to modern philosophy.
Let us illustrate by a few examples.—
We are told that the earth and other plan
ets are carried around the sun in their or
bits by the combined action of two forces,!
which they please to style centrifugal and
centripetal. But this is certainly making
a simple operation complex, for it is not the
effect of two forces, but of one, and that is
the power cf God. If a childs asks why an
apple falls to the ground instead of going
upward, philosophy tells him that it is the
result of the law of gravitation, according to
which all bodies attract each other in pro
portion to the quantity of matter they con
tain. Now, what is the attraction of grav
itation but the power of God, and why not
call it such ?
Again : Why does water rise to the same
height in vessels of different sizes and
shapes? This, we are told, happens accord
ing to a principal of hydrostatics. Is it not
rather according to the will of God? But
the agency of God is kept carefully out of
sight in the matter, and all such things are
attributed to nature herself. So it is in
most of our text-books; nature gets the
credit for working the wonders of philo
sophical and chemical science, and God gets
none. Thus the youthful mind is taught to
deify and glorify nature, when it should
be taught to glorify God.
'Phis plan of teaching is little better than
teaching downright materialism, for nature
has no power strictly its own ; it can not
move in a straight line nor in a curve; it
can not cohere or disengage its particles;
neither can it arrange its particles in order
or disorder, nor bring order out of chaos.
But God is inherent in all matters in some |
sense; in the infinicessimal molecule as
well as in the huge mountain. “The Lord
God Omnipotent reigneth," and His will is '
the Law of Nature! lie speaks, and ‘
planets whirl in their orbitual round, even (
io the outermost verge of the universe;
He commands and nature obeys. Then let ,
our “A. M.’s,” our “A. B.’s,” and our ■
“ Professors,” teach that even a sparrow ot
an apple tallstotheground under the All-see-1
ing Lye of the Father, as some were taught),
of old by the Great Teacher, and not rob
God of the glory due Him by referring!!
such a small affair even to the laws of na-'
Hire.
Stockton, Tenn.
SPRING-TIME. i
The blood trips quickly down the stair-
I way of the pulses, when the thought sud
denly starts in the mind that a new Spring
is at hand ! It is in itself enlivening. In
stantly green meadows stretch out before
the vision, greener than, ever before; the
brooks run wild with the music of their*!
own gurgling and dashing sound ; the cat
tle low on thi‘ di -t mt hills; spray s in the 1
wood are sprinkled with buds, that open I ‘
like countless parasols to screen the groves '
h orn tin* turions heat of Summer ; the poul
try are alive with excitement, and hens’-
nests without number are hunted and dis
covered in the remaining hay on the scaf
fold and in the bay ; the boy astride the old 1
plough-horse whistles as hedrums his dirtv !'
feet against the' animal’s sides, and a long,!’
rich furrow <»t dark mould opens to receive
the genial influence of the sun; dandelions!
star the lawns, and spangle the roadsides!
with vegetable gold; trout leap in the
streams tor adventurous insects and flies;
calves bleat in their pens; the old turkeys!
are off “stealing th. ir nest”; the robins
are building in the apple-tree at the corner
of the garden; the bees drive afield early
and come back home late and laden ; the
scent of lilacs drifts in at the open win
dows; and another life, newer than any life
yet known, appears to have been ushered
in.
The return of Spring furnishes, each'
year, a new and fresh experience. Not a
living soul but greets it with a heart over-'
flowing with gladness, and those especially
who have worn away the long winter pa
tiently under the heavy hand of sickness
and suffering. If we could but imagine a
world where Spring came but once to each
inhabitant, what a season ot merry-making
would not the spring time form ! Our,
Springs are accused of fickleness and sour
tempers, we know; but, after all, we get
glimpses of a still more beautiful world,
now and then, before they leave us, and we
sorrow that they have gone so soon.
Childhood is like a mirror, catching and
reflecting images ail around it. Remember
th it an impious, profane or vulgar thought
may operate upon ayoung heart like a eare
le-s spray of water thrown upon polished
steel, staining it with rust that no after-et
' forts can efface.
ATLANTA, GA., SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1863.
HIS BANNER OVER US IS LOVE.
THE DOOMED MAN.
BY REV. J. A. ALEXANDER, D. D.
I.
There is a time, we know not when,
A point we know not where,
That marks the destiny of men
To glory or despair.
ii.
There is a line, by us unseen,
That crosses every pa h:
The hidden boundary between
God’s patience and His wrath.
HI.
To pass that limit i- to die,
To die as if by steaitn —
It does not quench the beaming eye,
Or pale the glow of health.
IV.
The conscience may be still at ease,
The spirits light and gay ;
That which is pteasvur still may please,
And care be thrust away.
v.
But on that forehead God has set
Indelibly a mark—
Unseen by man, for man as yet
Is blind and in the dark.
VI.
And yet the doomed man’s path below
Like Eden may have bloomed —
He did not, does not, will not know
Or feel that he is doomed.
VII.
He knows, he feels that all is well,
And every fear is cairned;
He lives, he dies, he wakes in hell,
Not only doomed, but damned.
Vi 11.
OI where is this mysterious bourne
By which our path is crossed,
Beyond which, God himself hath sworn,
That he who goes is lost ?
IX.
How fir may we go on in sin*
How 1 ng a ill God ttfroear Y
Where does hope end, and where begin
The confines of despair?
X.
An answer from the skies is sent —
Ye that from God depart,
While it is called to-day repent,
And harden not your hea t.
THE DOCTRINE OF CONVERSION.
The judicial sentence against sin has been
executed, and the honor of the divine law
has been vindicated by a deed of unuttera
ble love, which claims from men the most
grateful and reposing confidence in the re
ality of that mercy, and the inviolableness
of that truth, which, amidst the agonies of
death, dechired the work of reconciliation
accomplished. The belief of this transac
tion, if full and perfect, would at once, and
instantaneously, change the heart into a
conformity with the will of God, which is
the character of heaven, without which
heaven could be no place of happiness. It
is the weakness, the deficiency, and unset
tledness of this belief, which makes the
transformation of the heart, in general, so
tardy a process. The tardiness does not,
however, belong to the nature of the truth,
but to the mode of its reception. And that
Spirit, which is mighty in operation, can
open the spiritual eye at the last moment
to perceive the excellency of the Saviour,
and thus cause the young germ of glory to
burst forth at once into full and vigorous
lite.
Very sudden and unexpected changes of
.character do sometimes take place in the
history of this world’s moralities; and it
may perhaps assist our conception, to ad
duce an example of this kind in illustration'
of that higher and more important change
which we are at present considering. Mr.
Foster, in his “Essay on Decision of Char
acter,” gives an account of a man who,
from being a perfect prodigal, became all
at once a most beggarly miser. Whilst
yet a boy, he had come to the possession
ot a large fortune, and, before he was of age,.
he contrived to get rid of it by a course ot
the most profligate extravagance. After
his last shilling was gone, his spirits fell,j
and he went ou* with the thought of put
ting an end to his life. Providence direct
led him to the top of an eminence, from
which he could survey every acre which he
had so foolishly squandered. Here he sat
down, and in bitterness of heart contrasted
his former splendor with his present wretch
edness. As he viewed his past life, the ab
surdity of his conduct appeared to him so.
glaring, and want appeared so frightful,
that he was filled with a loathing for every
[thing like expense. He instantly formed
the resolution of retracing his steps, and
| recovering his possessions? He descended
the hill a thorough miser, and continued so
to his death. I tie principle ot penurious
and greedy saving had expelled its oppo
site, and taken firm hold of his soul ; his
character was entirely changed, and his fu
ture lite was only a development of’ the
feeling acquired in that moment.
Now, though the change from one mode
ot selfishness to another,as in this instance,
is a very different thing from the conver
sion of tne heart to God : yet, as the chai ge
ot character in both cases arises from a real
change in the conviction of the mind as to
what is truly good, (from whatever sources
ot influence these Convictions may proceed,
■ whether earthly, as in the one ease, or
heavenly, a> in the other.) I consider my-
■ self entitled to use this analogy as an a-gu-
I ment against those who either ridicule sud
den conversions as absurd fables, or who
confine such events to the miraculous peri-
od of Christianity. Is it rational to sup
pose that a conviction of the love of G».d,
of the vastness of eternity, of the glory of
heaven, of the misery of hell, should be in
sufficient to produce an instantaneous change
of no light nature, when we see so striking
a change produced by the comparative
prospect of wealth or poverty for a few un
certain years? Shall we suppose that the
Spirit of God hath less power than the
spirit of Mammon? or does it belong only
to things which pass away, to exert a sov
ereignty over the springs of the mind ?
And are things, which abide forever, to be
alone considered as powerless and ineffi
cient? Could we imagine such a thing as
a paradise for misers under the government
of a God,• who giveth to all men liberally
and upbraideth not, we might safely say,
that if the young man, whose history we
have been contemplating, had dropped
down dead as he descended from the emi
nence which had witnessed his resolution,
he would have been fit for a situation there.
Nor would his former conduct have debar
red him from the full enjoyment of its de
lights. So when the pardoning mercy of
God is perceived in its glory and its beau
ty, it captivates the mind immediately,
however dark and vile before, for that bliss
which it so freely bestows, and girds and
i prepares the parting traveller for that ever
lasting kingdom of our Lord and our Sa-
I viour, an entrance into which it so abun
dantly ministers, even though this may be
the first look he has ever cast towards that,
happy land, and the last look he takes of
aught until the body returns to the dust,
and the spirit to Him who gave it.
The Bible never shuts out hope: and in
the example of the thief on the cross, it in
vites the dying sinner to look, that he may
live forever. But the Bible never encour
ages the negligent, nor the presumptuous
—it warns of the uncertainty of life and
opportunity, and it exhibits the difficulty of 1
overcoming settled' habits of sin, under the
similitude of the leopard changing his skin. ;
In truth, every hour of delay makes this
change more difficult and improbable,— be
cause every hour is giving growth and
strength to principles of an opposite de
scription ; he is grieving and despising the
Jloly Spirit, and is making a dark league
with hell, which is gaining validity and rat
ification by every act in accordance with it.
[For The Bapti t Banner.]
War
This world of ours has been a war-world !
almost ever since it contained inhabitants
sufficient to constitute armies. Yea, since
the frali icide of Cain—which was the be
ginning of “ man’s inhumanity to man,” —
the green carpet of earth has, time and
again, been drenched with life’s crimson
tide; nation has been arrayed against na
tion, tribe against tribe, and brother against
brother; and, as a consequence, the human
sacrifices, which have been offered up at the
'shrine of ambition's altar, have to be num
bered by thousands—yea, millions!
And what has been the result of such an
unnatural and fratricidal course? We
shudder at the answer ! The earth has been
- strewn with the slain, and become a com
mon charnel house; the national existence
of kingdom after kingdom has been sapped,
and the dark pall of desolation and death '
-has been spread over every land; and the
most fertile spots have been transformed i
into barren wastes. The torch has been ap-1
plied to the most populous cities, and the j
crackling roar of the flames drowned by the
dying shrieks of its victims. The golden
rule is disregarded, and man, who should
be the noblest of God’s handiwork, is trans
formed into a fiend of cruelty. The better
'feelings of our nature are shocked, and an
gels look down from heaven and weep be
cause struggling Christianity has failed to i
induce the “ nations to beat their swords I
into ploughshares, and their spears into!
pruning hooks.” S.
Stockton, Tenn.
[From the Southern Presbyterian.]
War, Famine and Pestilence.
These were the common forms of judg
ment which God was wont to send upon
the Isrealites, in olden times, on account of
their sins. But it was not common for them
all to be sent together. On a certain occa
sion, when David had sinned against God,
and caused the nation to sin, he was per
mitted to choose between these three calam
ities, as to which should befall him and his
people, and David chose the latter, saying,]
“let me fall into the hands of God and not
into the hands of man.”
God is now visiting this nation in judg
ment and we richly deserve all that has
been sent upon us and more; for we have
been an ungrateful, disobedient and rebelli
ous people. War is now upon us, with all
> its horrors in their direst forms. Bereave I
I ments, desolation of firesides, dispersing of
, families, devastation of whole districts, are
; among its horrors. And whose heart does
. not bleed on account of the suffering condi-
- tion of our soldiers, many of whom are
- half fed and half clad, and exposed to the
- ram and snow, without tents, or sufficient
- covering to keep their bodies from cold.
> This is indeed a terrible calamity; but we
- ought not to complain against God, nor are ,
TERMS — Three Dollars a-year.
■ we unwilling to endure all this and more
, for our country.
1 In addition to this calamity, pestilence is
also stalking abroad throughout the land,
and now stares us in the face that other form
of judgment, famine! This calamity comes
not from real scarcity of bread ; for God,
in His great goodness to us has filled our
barnes with plenty. True. He did blast the
crops of small grain ; but the deficiency
has been made up by the abundance of
other grain, which is even more abundant
than usual, because many fields that were
formerly planted in cotton have this year
been planted in corn. Whence, then, this
fear of famine? rather of scarcity of bread
and the starvation of the poor ! It arises
from the cupidity of many of our people
who are locking up their cribs in order to
force buyers to pay large prices ! If this
state of things continues the poor must suf
fer; for they will not be able to pay the
priors demanded. This is the kind of fam
ine that now stares us in the face, and.this is
“falling into the hands of man” with a ven
geance. The poor may suffer; but woe to
those who withhold bread from their mouths!
it is written, “He that withholdeth corn, the
people will curse him, but a blessing will
be upon the head of him that seileth it.”
Prov. 11 : 26. A man may make money
by so doing; but he assuredly will not en
joy the favor of Him who hath said, “bless
ed is he that considereth the poor.” If our
nation would receive the blessing of God
in its present struggles, let the people, espe
cially Christians, wash their hands of extor
tion and oppression; and let all classes
humble themselves under the mighty hand
of God. A Patriot.
[From the Macon 'I tiegraph.]
Ah Important Discovery.
Mr. .Editor :— I have discovered anew
article and a new mode of tanning leather.
1 have made several experiments, and find
to my entire satisfaction that 1 can make
good leather in half the time, and at less ■*
than half the expense commonly required
in tanning with oak bark. The article I use
is neither Dog Fennel nor Shumac, but it
is a vegetation that grows in great abun
dance all over the Confederacy, and con
tains the same tanning properties possessed
by the oak bark, and the leather when tan
ned is in every respect like oak-tanned
leather.
1 have made application for letters pat
ent for the Confederate States; but as the
present crisis demands that every new in
vention or discovery should Le made avail
able as soon as possible, 1 have concluded to
bring this before the public immediately,
not waiting for an action on my papers at
Richmond, because the article I use must
be gathered in a few weeks or the discovery
cannot be made available the present year.
I propose to give a reasonable and fair
opportunity to all who may wish to make
the experiment this year, and save much of
the time and all the money that they would
have to pay for oak bark, and try my sys
tem of tanning.
1 will send a private circular to any per
son who wishes to tan for his own use only,
containing full directions how to tan by
this new process, on the receipt of five dol
lars. And to tanners who tan hides on the
shares or make leather for sale, by their re
mitting to me ten dollars. And 1 will send
my printed directions to any editor of any
paper m the Confederacy who will copy
this communication, and send me a paper
containing this article.
And every person who shall thus obtain
one of my circulars will have with it a re
ceipt for the money, and a certificate signed
by me, authorizing to them the use of the
discovery for one year, without infringment
upon my patent. At the end of the year
all who try it, will be able to speak under
standingly of the value of the invention.
Jas. Van Valkenblroh.
Macon, Ga., P. O. Box No. 11 J.
recommendations.
We, the undersigned, have seen leather
tanned by Mr. Van Valkenburgh, and with
specimens before us, and the explanations he
has given us of the article he uses, with the
process of using it, we believe it to be a
discovery of great value to all who are in
terested in having leather well tanned in a
short time with but little labor and ex
pense.
O. A. Lochrane, J. 11. 11. Washington,
L. N. Whittle, Mix & Kirkland,
J. C. Hunt.
Bearing the Cross.—Mr. Simeon, of
Cambridge, was at one time an object of
much contempt for Christ’s sake and the
gospel’s. And, though he usually fyare up
bravely, it was trying to know that nobody '
liked to be seen in his company; and one
day, as he walked along with his little Tes
tament in his hand, he prayed that God
would send him some cord>al in His word.
Opening the book, his eye alighted on the
text: “They found a man called Simon (or
Simeon) by name; him they compelled to
bear his (Jesus) cross. ’ “And w hen I read
that,” he tells, “I exclaimed, ‘ Lord, lay it
on me, lay it on me; 1 will gladly bear the
Cross for Thy sake.’ And 1 henceforth
bound persecution as a wreath of glory
i round my brow.”
NO. 26.