Newspaper Page Text
baptist fanner.
lob hi bbß vkW
yy B' : - r~~* Ir J ill viF
VU f ' -'T 23 *-' ’ ‘1 hY,
W :k"- B, w 1
r 1
\x 1
‘ The entrance of Thy Word giveth light’ *
A. C. DAYTON, Editor. 1
JAS. N. ELLS, Secular Editor. 1
_-- . 1
SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1863. • 1
WRITTEN SERMONS. I
A young minister wishes to know* wheth- ’
er we approve of written sermons.
For young preachers we certainly do. — '
But we do not desire to hear those written
sermons read. We prefer to hear them '
preached. A little practice will enable mem
ory to carry them into the pulpit, though
the manuscript remains upon the study ta- '
ble. They can be easily delivered ’word '
for word as they are written. But that is
not necessary, nor is it always best. The
object of writing them is three-fold.
Ist.—lt secures a certain amount of
study, and compels the mind to some sort
of investigation of the subject to be pre
sented.
2d.—lt secures greater accuracy of style,
a more choice selection of words, and more
methodical arrangement of the thoughts;
enables one to quote more carefully the
Scriptures depended upon for proof, or au
thors who may be employed in stating an
opposing argument, or for any other pur
pose.
3d. —It furnishes a record of what you'
have preached; and is thus a guard against!
an unconscious self-repetition. Ministers
who never write are almost certain to run
over and over again a limited round of ideas
—and often repeat the same phrases until
their hearers begin to .feel that they all
know the sermons as well as the preacher.
But, while we think best .for a young
minister to write and re-write his sermons,
we do not think it best for him to write
uZ/ his sermons. This will, in time; make
him the slave of his pen, so far that when
he has occasion to speak extempore, he will
not be able to do justice to himself or his
subject.
He should assiduously cultivate a habit
ot extemporaneous speaking. If he preach
es twice or oftener in the week, one dis
course is enough to write. The others should
be off-hand productions ; not delivered, how
ever, without study. Time should be ta
ken to think, and arrange his thoughts, and
in most cases to make a brief of them—
not so much for immediate use, as for pre
servation, to be filed away as the record of
his discourse.
But then we would nothave a young man j
so dependent on previous thinking that be
cannot speak without it; and hence he should
sometimes, perhaps not oftener than he is
almost compelled to do so, but often enough
to give him confidence in his ability to do
it when it is necessary to speak without ant/
previous preparation. We have occasion
ally postponed the choice of a subject and >
the selection of a text till the singing of:
the last hymn before sermon, in order to
compel our mind to prompt and ready ac-I
tion. But it is a dangerous experiment,!
especially for a mind not thoroughly disci-j
plined.
What then is the conclusion of the whole
matter ? We advise our young friend to I
write at least one sermon a week, whether
he preaches it or not. We advise him nev
er to read it unless circumstances forbid him
to memorize it. We advise him to preach
without writing often euough to acquire the
power to do so when needful and occasion
ally to speak even without any preparation
at all. o.
SEARCH THE*SCRIPTIJRES.
To search is meant more than to read.—
It is to examine particularly, carefully, and
industriously. Take up some doctrine or
practice spoken of in the word, and turn
from place to place and gather out all that
is taught concerning it, and.compare text
with text till you have the true and consist
ent sense of every passage. This is work,
this is labor; but se<zrrAiny always involves
labor and care. • Searching for truth in the
mine of truth is no more than searching for
gold or searching for diamonds in the mines
whett they are to be found. a. c. d. ,
To Bro. A. G. B. V., of Daltos.—Your
letter with the V came safely, and I have !
forwarded it-to brother Ells, at Atlanta. II
have published no spelling-book, but he
<an. no doubt’ procure those you wish.
, a. c D.,
THE BAPTIST BANNER;
OUR NEW HOME.
We are now in Perry, this, Friday, the
14th of August, weary and feeble, but full
of hope and ready for the new duties which
are gathering before us.
To say we find our friends here the kind
est in the wdrld would be but natural; yeb
as it would do injustice to the many who
have been so very kind elsewhere, we will
not say it. It is enough to say they are as
kind as friends can be/and have our grate
ful thanks for all the care and forethought
for our comfort. We were very sick fora
day at the hotel in Fort Valley, and though
a stranger to the proprietor of that most
admirably kept house, received every atten
tion that a sick man could wish. We com
mend the hptel at Fort Valley to travellers ‘
who lqse good eating and a quiet, orderly
house.
We are not yet installed in our own
hired house, but are enjoying the generous
hospitality of Deacon Samuel Felder.—
Next week we expect to begin to live at
home once more, and trust we shall never
be compelled to change oux* place of resi
dence again.
From what we can hear, we have a pros
pect of a good beginning for our educational
enterprise. We shall have a good school,
and it will grow better with every term.
There is probably no locality in the Con
federate States every way so favorable to
the building up of a Fepaale College of
high order as this town of Perry. Its easy
accessibility, its freedom from the dangers
of the war, its dry,. pure atmosphere, its
excellent free-stone water, and above all,
its intelligent, refined, and wealthy popula
tion, point it out as the very place where
girls should be gathered to be trained upto
be intellectual and useful women. We are
making arrangements to secure the best
teaching talent that can be obtained, and
intend that nothing shall be wanting on our
part to make the Houston Female College
even more than its best friends have hoped
for it.
We understand that our proposition to
have a special department for the education
of TEACHERS, is attracting considerable
attention, and is expected to result in great
and lasting good. There are some who do
not expect to teach, except as every mother
ought to teach at home, who have desired
to’secure the advantages of this course of
instruction, and a few will probably make
arrangements to do so. This can easily be
done, as the teachers in t his department are
independent of the College studies, and not
restricted to the pupils.
But enough of these personal affairs—per
haps too much. We only set out to say
that we had arrived safely at our new home,
and we desire our correspondents hereafter
to address us at Perry, Houston county,
Georgia. All communications for the re
ligious department of The Banner, and all
religious exchanges, are requested to be ad
dressed to “ Baptist Banner, Perry, Ga.”
A. 0. D.
WINE FOR COMMUNION.
I
We have twice within the last few
months been unable to observe the Lord’s
Supper, because we could not obtain any
wine at the time and place appointed. And
in some other instances, within a few years,
have done worse, by using a nauseous sub
stitute, which was bought at some grocery,
I called w ine—but which had not, so far as
| our taste could decide, one drop of grape
' blood in it.
These things ought not to be so. There
can be no need for it. Can not the Dea
cons now, in the season of grapes, secure
enough for the church, and deposit it in a
safe, cool place, where it will be preserved,
Ind so have it always ready. It was “wine"
the “ fruit of the vine" that our Saviour
commanded to be used, and not whiskey and
cider mixed up with log-wood and sugar of
lead. It was wine, and not some stinking
substitute for it. Let us know that we have
wine, even if we have to gather the grapes
and press it with our own hands.
a. c. o.
THE CHILD’S INDEX, ONCE
MORE.
It seems very hard to get our little notice
of this little paper all right. It is the in
fluence of genuine “piety? not genuine
“poetry? that we propose to illustrate in
our little story for the children, to be pub
, lished in the Sabbath-school monthly.—
The types, 1 trust, will let us speak truly
at last. No one but a printer or ah editor
knows how easy it is for such mistakes to
occur, a. c. n.
Agent in Tennessee.
: Elder William McNutt, of Cleveland, is
an authorized agent of The Banner.
Agent in Mississippi.
S. R. Whitten, of Louisville, Miss., is
an authorized Agent to receive subscrip
tions for The Baptist Banner.
THE POPE’S LETTER ON THE
WAR.
Some time since the Pope of Rome,
Pius the9th, was pleased to write a long
letter to his Archbishops in the Northern
and Southern States, urging them each to
employ all the means at his command to
put an end to the war between the two sec
tions of this country. The letter was pub
lished in the papers, and may have been
intended for mere political effect, other than
what it purports to desire. But if it is really
intended to require, as its language pur
ports, that all the Clergy of the Roman
Catholic church shall at once use all the
influence they possess to bring the war to
an end, there is little doubL they can do it,
not until after another election.—
There are enough Roman Catholics in
the Northern States to hold the balance
of power, and if they all give their votes to
the anti war candidates they can easily
elect them, and thus accommodate the wish
es of Pius the 9th. In the South they have
less power, and we trust it may always be
so; for however pleasant it might be to
have the Pope terminate the war by North
ern elections, it is not so agreeable to think
that our nation’s destiny is so far in the
hands of a foreign potentate that he can, by
public or private instructions to his priests,
decide fox* us questions cf the greatest na
tional importance, can give us peace or war
>at his good pleasure. There have been few
Popes whose public acts have been so wor
thy of praise as those of the old man who
now sits in the Papal chair, and there may
nevex* be another. We fear the power that
can sit on the other side of the sea, and,
without armies or diplomacy, but through
the peaceful use of the ballot box, by our
own citizens, control the destinies of the na
tion. But the Pope can do it whenever
there areenough of Roman Catholics in our
Confederacy to hold the balance of power
between the great parties into which our
people may at any time chance to be divi
ded. a. c. D.
ELDER J. R. GRAVES
We are constansly receiving inquiries in
regard to our much loved brother Graves,
and we take this method of answering many
at once. We have to say Ist, that Elder
J. R. Graves, former editor of the Tennessee
Baptist, has not been to ‘New York to be
treated for a tffroat disease since the war.
2d. He has not published any letter or
pamphlet giving an account of his observa
tions and impressions while there.
3d. He has not been arrested and tried
for treason against the Confederacy.
4th. He has not gone deranged.
sth. He has been in Mississippi or
Louisiana most of the time since we were
compelled to leave Nashville, and has done
good service in more wavs than one for the
Confederacy.
Gth. When the enemy took possession
of Vicksburg, he was with his family at
Magnolia, on the New Orleans & Jackson
Railroad, at the residence of Dr. Snider, his
father-in-law, and went with the doctor and
some other relatives of the family to Nat
chez, where they crossed the river, intending
i to make their way by land to Texas. —
Since then we have not heard from brother
Graves, but we know he will find friends,
, let him go where he may, and have no doubt
he will be greatly useful. May God bless
him and keep him. a. c. d.
P. S Since the above was placed in
type, we have seen a friend who was in
company with Elder Graves on last Mon
day, at Mobile —at which time he was
undecided as to his future residence. There
is a possibility that Elder G. will shortly
' visit this city. J. n. a.
MISS MARY JANE WELSH.
We have in hand a most admirable Sto
’ ry by this talented and pious author, which
we propose to give the readers of The
Banner in our forthcoming volume. Miss
Welsh is well known to many of our breth
ren through her most excellent Sabbath
school books. To her the Board of the
Southern Baptist Sabbath School Union,
awarded the prize of one hundred and fifty
dollars for the best work defending the Bap
tist denomination from the objections com
monly offered against it. The work was
published just before our difficulties sus
pended the operations of the Board, too
late to attain a large circulation, or become
generally known. She was also a contrib
utor to the Baptist Repository, published
by Elder Ford, at Louisville, and to Day
ton? s Baptist Monthly. Her writings are
remarkable for the strength and purity of
style, and for the religious sentiment which
sanctifies each page. We congratulate the
readers of The Banner on such an acces
sion to the ranks of our correspondents and
contributors. a. c. d.
North Georgia Association.
Convenes at Pleasant Valley, Murray
county, Ga., on Friday before the first Sab
bath in October.
Lawrenceville Association.
The session of this body has just closed.
It was a meeting of some interest. Though
a small body, and some of the churches not
represented, yet the sessions were harmo*
nious and we trust will result in good to
wards the advancement of the Redeemer’s
kingdom.
There was but one public effort made to
secure funds for any cause; that was by
brother W. H. Robert, missionary to the
soldiers (now* temporarily acting as agent
for army missions), which resulted in the
collection of $386.25,
The introductory sermon was preached
by brother Robert, in the absence of the
appointee and his alternate. His theme
was the ‘ Commission,’ and from it he, in a
simple and earnest manner, defended the
, ordinances of the Lord’s house as practiced
) by Baptists. For more than an hour
, he interested the large congregation with
arguments and illustrations, which, we
trust, will have a happy effect in enlighten
ing the minds of our friends and foes on
> these mooted questions, and show that there
is at least great plausibility for the argu
. ments in defence pf immersion and restrict
b ed communion. If brother Robert had not
advanced his own very strict views on this
subject—-we mean the restriction of com
munion to the limit of discipline in Baptist
churches, which would thus cut off the in
tercommunion of Baptist churches—we sup
pose there would have been but little objec
tion made sermon by any ; and we
believe but few seemed able to .combat'
even that strong position. We have not
given the matter much investigation, but
are not at all prepared to deny the point.
(Our venerable associate at Perry, perhaps,
will give our readers his thoughts on the
subject.) No doubt it will set those who
heard brother R. to serious thinking. The
sermon was simply defensive in all its
positions.
Brethren Blanton and Webb of the
Hightower association, and brother Robert,
filled the pulpit (near by the church, erected
in one of ‘ God’s first temples,’) on Sabbath,
to large auditories, and brother Mayfield,
iof the Stone-Mountain, preached in the
house at night.
The usual business was transacted on
Monday. The Banner received very good
attention, and the pretty sum of three hun
dred dollars to disseminate it among the
soldiers. Two hundred and fifty of this
was given by brother Enoch Steadman,
who, with nolle liberality, is ready for any
good work. He is the ‘good steward of
God,’ and seems to feel that his possessions
are all the property of the Lord, as well as
his body and his soul. He gives and it is
given back to him—good measure, well
shaken together. Besides this donation,
he gave largely to the aid of the public col-
lection; and brother Robert informs ns,
1 gives two hundred and fifty dollars for the
. Index for soldiers, one thousand dollars for
( the Board of Missions at Marion, and one
, thousand to the Virginia Bible and Colpor
teur Society. It is really refreshing in times
like these—when money is so much wor
shipped and eagerly sought by all persons,
from the little fruit boy on the train to the
farmer with his full granaries of wheat and
corn —to meet a man who believes and acts
thus with his funds. God bless his liberal
soul, and satisfy it with His fullness ’
We shall long remember the kind atten
tions of the brethren and friends -about
Liberty Church. The good sister Winn and
brother (Lieutenant) M. Daniel placed us
under many obligations to them.
When we receive the Minutes es the
meeting for publication, we shall be able to
notice the statistics in detail.
Assorts! ions .—A, Request.
We hope brethren who may be ‘posted’
will send us the notices of Associations to
be held during the year—the time andplace
of meeting, as well the route. We wish
to publish the list.
To Correspondents.
The article entitled ‘ Luther and Luther
anism,’ and a Letter from ‘ Aunt Edith,’
are on file for our next issue.
The memoranda of the revival meeting,
recently conducted by Elder Tribble, was
among the lost articles on the occasion
referred to in another place.
Five Dollars a Year.
As already announced, after the first day
of September, the subscription price of
The Baptist B anner will be five dollars per
year.
To a reflecting mind no apology for this
small increase in price, we are sure, will be
needed.
If the reading public shall be satisfied that
each number of The Banner will be worth
ten cents (the price at $5 per year), we will
be pleased to retain theft- ndmes upon the
subscription books, and f nter as many ntfw•
ones as may be sent. t •
Middle rtierokee Association.
Meeting commences on Friday' before the
fourth Sabbath in September, at Dalton.
Commeiulablc Example.
At the Lawrenceville Association, on
Monday last, at the conclusion of our little
‘ talk’ to the .brethren upon the subject of
sending a religious newspaper weekly to -
the soldiers in Confederate service, that
noble ‘hearted, Christian patriot—brother
Steadman, of Lawrenceville —slipped into
our hand ft sight check upon his factor in
Atlanta for two hundred and fifty dollars, -
remarking that it was an offering for send
ing The Banner to our soldiers.
God will surely continue to bless this
generous brother. We know of no one in
our land who is more constantly making a
better use of his means as a steward of hie
■ Divine Master.
Are there not other Georgians who will
emulate the example of brother Steadman ?
May we not hope to meet, at the various
Associations we purpose attending, other
brethren who will share their abundance
to aid us in the good work of supplying our
dear defenders—absent from home and all
its precious privileges—with appropriate
> religious and pleasant reading? We firm
ly believe that a few brethen in the Stone
. Mountain, the Rehoboth, the Coosa, the
Appalachee, and other Associations, will
not permit brother • Steadman to enjoy,
alone, the luxury of doing good.
Explanatory.
While the outrage perpetrated upon
The Banner office, called by those who
made it a ‘ seizure,’’ was going on, many
manuscripts then on our table were mis
laid by the Government Caesars. This must
account for the non-appearance of several
articles from friends, intended for publi
cation.
In reply to several inquiries from our
friends’respecting this seizure, wehavesini
ply to say : we received notice, verbally,
from a Confederate officer, to ‘ vacate the
rooms in one hour.’ We locked the office,*
and went to inquire of the landlord into
the matter, who declared he had not rent
ed the rooms to the officers. We next call
ed upon Colonel Wright, commandant of
this post, who said he had issued the ‘no
tice,’ and that two of the officers for whom
the rooms Were wanted, would swear that I
the landlord had rented to them the rooms
we were occupying. On returning, we
found the locks had been broken open and
our ‘ things’ emptied into an adjacent pas
sage way. While standing there, the land
lord passed by, and again stated that he had
not rented the rooms to the Government
officers. With the question of veracity be
tween these gentlemen, we have nothing to
do. We have been ‘ousted,’ our locks bro
ken, and made to suffer serious pecuniary
loss—for all which, strange to tell, w r ehave
no remedy. Under military rule in Atlan
ta, it appears that might is right.
Eider Alfred Webb.
A. wish long cherished was gratified, a
few days since, when we received a most
hearty introduction-shake of the hand from
the venerable Elder Webb, of Gwinnett
County. It was our good fortune to be
domiciled with him a portion of the time
during the session at Liberty church, under
the hospitable roof of sister Winn—and we *
shall never forget the very pleasant inter
view. Elder Webb has been for more than
forty years doing efficient service under the
banner of the Cross, and bids fair to labor
many years hence. We do not know that
our worthy brother would thank us for
wishing ‘ May his shadow never
(especially in August), but we do crave for
him continued usefulness and abundant
prosperity. t
The Army Evangelist.
We trust our brethren, in Associations i
and as individuals, will not overlook the
claims of Elder J. H. Campbell, who is
still laboring in the army, and is entirely
dependent on voluntary contributions fora
1 support. We suggest that it is perfectly
competent for Associations to
to his support any unappropriated funds
raised for army missions or colportage, sent
to their sessions.
Will not this suggestion be considered ?
Mr. Toombs’ Letter.
Hon. Robert Toombs recently wrote
two letters upon a subject which is attract /
ing considerable attention. The first will
be found in this issue, and the second will
appear iirour next number.
Gone to Florida.
It will be seen, by reference to a notice
under the appropriate heading, that our
youg friend and fellow-craftsman, Georoe
A. Ramspijcp, has gone to Florida. We •
I hope the trip will do him good, and extend 1
the compliments incident to such interest
ing occasions to himself and his fair com-
<lu noy aye. f
Postponed.
borne of our exchanges state that the 2
Teachers’ Coi>ention, which was to have
assembled in this city early next month, 4
has been indefinitely postponed.