Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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.