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Uli.' BAPTIST BANNER BY DAYTON, ELLS & CO. VOI AT ME -V. tfe gupfet gamwr, devoted to religion and literature, Is published every Saturday, at Atlanta, Georgia, at the subscription price of five dollars per year. I)A YTON “ELLS & CO., Proprietors. A. C. DAYTON. JAB/N. ELLS. 8. D. NILES - - ' " - 1 -. .LI.L . 1.. [For the Toplist Tanner.} FARE,WE Ij Ij. Yet one kiss more, love ere we part, One Jong, sweet, cling'ng kiss ; One warm embrace, heart'dose io heait. One moment brief of bliss, Ere from Toy Eden of delight, I wander forth into'the'night. . Once more into thy sweet, sad eyes, Beloved, let me look— Alas! from their clear'depths arise Tears like an April - brook! Dear eyes, what lips shall kiss them dry, When mine (sad lips!) no more are nigh. “Only a little while, sweet one,” Would I could say to thee,’ “And, my unwilling’wanderings done, I II homeward quickly flee,” But (cruel thought!) when years have flown. Those eyes may still weep on alone. . Look up, mine own, and say good-bye, And kiss me at the door ; Be brave and strong— thou must not d> 1-byc—one khs— * .e mor ’Tis don. earth swims be»bre my sigh.. And I rush blindly forth into the night. * E. FORTY YEARS AGO. * I’ve wandered in thevi’lage, Tom—l’ve sat beneath the tree Upon the school-house playground, which shel tered you and me. But none were there to greet me, Tom, and few were left to know, That ] l iyed with us upon the green, some forty years ago. The grids is just as green, Tom—barefooted.boys 1 at play, Were sporting just ns we did then, with spirits just as gay; But the master sleeps upon the hi'l, which, coatqd o'er with .snow, Afforded us n sliding place, jast. forty yea's ago. The old school-house is alie ed now, benches arc replaced Bv new ones, very like the same our penknives h id defined ; But the. same old biicks are in the wall, tlie bell swings to and fro ; It's music’s Just the same, dear Tom, as forty years n go. 'I he spring that bubbled ,’ncath the hill, close by • the spreading beech, • Is very low -( was once so high that we could al most retch; And kneeling down to g<t a drink, dear Tom, 1 started so, To see how much that 1 had changed since forty years ago. Near by the spring,.upon the elm, you know 1 cut your name, — Your sweet heart’s just beneath it, Tom —and you did mine the same; Some heartless wretch hath pealed the bark, ’.was dying sure, but slow, du-1 as the one whose name we cut,died t«»rty years ago. My eyelids had been dry, Tom, but tears c.une in my eyes; I thoughtof her I loved so wd’ tlm -e early bro ken ties; I visited the. church y n I. and took some flowers to strew Upon the graves ot those we loved some forty* years ago. ♦ And some arc In the churchyard laid, some sleep beneath the sea, But few are left of our obi class excepting yon and me; And when our time shall come, Tom, aud we are called to go, I hope they'll lay us where we played just forty years ago. * Let no one despair of our ultimate suc cess ! We should not expect to be victo rious noon every battle field. The splendid achievements of our armies in the past have made vs an historic people, and have clearly foreshadowed the final triumph of our arms, and the future grandeur of the Confederacy. Such a people, inhabiting such a country, and having such mothers, wives,sisters and daughters, need only be true to themselves andhumbly trust in Almighty Power to be invincible. . mil . Tas influence of true greatness, even upon bad men, was recently finely exhibited in the reverence involuntarily shown Gen. I .co by the \ ankeo prisoners after the battle < : ('h nirellorsville. The General passed along th > r ad where several thousand of them ue e to-embled, and while our troops -./•a- 11 tn with deafening shouts, the Yan •''. eager tosee him, crowded forward and -,. ntl v and respectfully removed their hats Tein.Ai fTIiE BAPTIST BANNER— Five dollars per year. A BMOMOTO AHB [For The Baptist Banner.'} ADA MAYFIELD. BY A LADY. CHAPTER IV. UNCLE Mark’s conversati on this after ternoon was not, however, without effect. Lucy listened with intense interest to his remarks upon the evidences of the second birth—of the great change to which one is raised from the death in sin to'the life in Christ. She eagerly asked a few questions on the subject, to which ho replied in the plainest, simplest language possible, without, however, expressing the hope that was burning in her heart, that she was se riously inquiring the way of salvation. For the first time, the thought intruded itself into Ada’s mind that, perhaps, this w*as the reason her lively sister had been so taciturn the past week ; and she mentally prayed that she might take no rest to herself till she had found peace through the blood of our Lord Jesus. “Ned, my boy,” said his uncle, turning suddenly and addressing him, “you are old enough to understand these things, and to form some judgment about them. What do you think ?” “ Well, 1 never troubled myself much about it; I think it will all come right after a while. We are all something in God’s hands, to do with as He pleases, and when He wills a man to be a Christian He will make him so, without his fretting and sigh ing over it before the time. So I intend to make myself easy ; for if God intends 1 shall be saved, it will be done, and if it is His will that I should be lost, why I can’t help it.” “Oh, Ned!” exclaimed Ada, “how can j i yeti talk so? Where did y<»n got «ueh an i idea?” ' i “ Why, I learned from the Baptists, sis ter, of course; for I know but little about other denominations, except what I hear from the boys occasionally. You all be lieve in predestination as well as I do, though you do not express your belief in •quite such plain language. But that is-all I can make of it. God is Supreme Ruler of the universe, and does as He sees best.” “ Very true, my son. God is supreme sole Ruler of [he uni wise, and does as He sees best; but He docs all things well.— You say, if God wills that you shall be lost you cannot help it. Do you suppose that God wills the destruction of any one?” “ I do not know exactly how to answer that question.” “Ifyou will look in the Bible, Ned,” re plied Ada, “ you will find an answer. ‘As I live, saith the Lord God, 1 have no plea sure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked man turn from his way and live.’ — Hosea xx.xiii: 11, and in the second epistle [of Peter iii : 9, it i* repeated that ‘ the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ And in the Acts it is said that God commandeth all men ever) where to repent.” This was in your lesson not many Sabbaths ago, and I thought our superintendent explained it very clearly.” “So he did, after his own views; but, after all that can be said about the duty of repentance, we have to acknowledge that God does as He pleases, and that whatever ■ is to be will be." “Yes,” replied Mr. Mayfield, “that is I very evident; fur. il'Ged has ordained that ianything shall come to pass, He will cer-j ' tainly bring it about. This is a very hack-; Jueyed expression, my boy, which you have; I caught from those who intend to ridicule J the Baptists by it. Os course we all know I J that God’s purposes will be fulfilled : but I j; does that imply that their fulfillment re . quires that lie will send a man to hell de ; ! spite all his earnest pleadings for mercy, or I take one to heaven whether he desires to go’ > or not ?” i “ Oh, no, sir ' not take him there against J his will; but He gives him the desire to go. He first causes him to repent, excites *in j i his mind a desire to forsake his sins and ' serve God, and finally causes him to feel’ that hissins have been pardoned, aud gives him a love for holiness and a distaste for sin.” “ Well, sir, you have formed quite a theo ry of your own, which proves that you have thought a good deal about it, as much, as you disclaim such aa idea. Granted, aIL ATLANTA, GA., SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1863, HIS BANNER OVER US IS LOVE. power belongs to God ; to Him be nil hon or and glory! He worketh in us both to do of His own good pleasure ; without Him we can do nothing ; but explain your theory a little, for our edification. How does God bring, all this about? How does He cause a man to repent and forsake his -sins?” “He sends His Holy Spirit to operate upon his heart, and make him feel very sorry for his sins, and his need of a Saviour to intercede for him.” “ flow does a man know when the Spirit is operating upon his heart ?” “ Why, uncle, when his conscience con demns him for his wickedness, and makes' him feel awful to think about dying.” “Is there any particular time for the Spirit to visit a man’s heart, or for his con scienc to reproach nim ? Is it always just after he has committed some great sin?” “ Oh, no, sir ! You know a man’s 'con science is sometimes aroused while ho is listening to preaching or to prayer, or when reading—sometimes at home—sometimes riding or walking out —or sometimes .’way in the night he awakes up and thinks of his misdeeds, and he has no more'rest or peace.” “ And, my son, do you suppose that any man or woman was ever ere.i: ed without a conscience ?” “No, sir.” “ And do you suppose that any one, es pecially in a Christian land, has ever ar rived at mature age, without being, at times, conscience-stricken dr bis mis deeds ?” “ No, sir,” replied he, after a pause. “ Then, according to your own acknowl edgement, the Spirit upon thy hearts of all pnen, reproving tbem lor their evil deeds, i aud warning them to forsake them if they would have peace ; but u/7 do not become Christians. You say that when God wills a man to be saved lie sends His Spirit to • operate upon his heart, and draw* him unto Him. You acknowledge that all are con science-smitten for their wicked acts, yet all do not become Christians. How* is this?” “ Because they will not, I suppose.” “ Very true. Christ said to* the unbe lieving Jews, ‘ Ye will not come to me that i might have life.’ It is certain that some, will be lost; but God is not chargeable' with their destruction. If any who have! received the revealed will of God, who have the light of the Gospel, arc lost, it is be cause they wilfully and obstinately reject Christ, and refuse to receive His offers of mercy ; or who have never troubled them selves to find out His will, but have suffered themselves to be led blindfolded into de struction by their blind teachers. But do you not see this subverts your plan ? You say, when God wills a man to be saved, He will save him any way—that Ho will arouse his conscience to feel sorry for his errors, and will draw him unto Him. You say, also, that all are sometimes conscience smitten for their wickedness, yet all are not saved ; and, why ? You answer, because they will not come to Christ. That is very true; but do you not see that you contra dict yourself by this admission ? ’ “ Well, I don't know, uncle, how it is. I have thought a good deal about it, and it is still a mystery to me. I know that most of people suffer, at times, from the pangs of a guilty conscience ; yet all do not become [Christians. Now, I don’t know how to re-[ Iconcileit; fori cannot believe that God i will suffer his plans to le subverted by Iman’s obstinacy or the will of Satan.” “No, sir; He does not. His purposes! are fixed, immovable by anything on earth, in heaven, or in hell; but it never was His [plan to save a man against his will—he ; mnst be a willing convert or not at all. You have mistaken the compunctions of con science, my son, for repentance. No j man is created without a conscience, and I I until this inward monitor has been har-1 Jened by a long career of crime, it never fails to smite him for his evil deeds. It is God who gives the conscience, an<l wh > causes it to shrink with pain from the con temptation of a deed of wickedness, or who arouses it to sting th? sinner with remorse for paL guilt, and plead with him to refrain from future wrong. Sometimes the man I becomes very much alarmed, and even ’seems to repent of his sins—to be in dis-j - tress for a time, and afterwards to continue > on his wicked course. In this case, how i ever, he only feels sorry for the pain he has ' inflicted upon a fellow-being, without any > reference to the sin he has committed against s God. When stricken with disease or want, > he may feel remorse of conscience for the course that brought him to that condition, ■ not because he had sinned against God, but simply because he had sinned against his i fellow man, and against his own moral and physical nature. As a consequence, he , wishes he had been more circumspect —that he could take back all he had said—or at least, that he could blot out the remem ’ brance of hjs crimes from the minds of his fellow-men, 'and from his own thoughts, without ever thinking they are laid up in God’s book of remembrance to appear against him at the last day. Sometimes, when a minister is preaching or praying, a man’s conscience becomes awakened to the memory of some sin, or the many sins he has committed, and he trembles for fear of the punishment. But this is not genuine repentance; it is not the repentance that leadeth unto life. He may stifle the warn ' ing of .his conscience, and repeat his sinful act, day after day, and year after year, till,' finally, his heart becomes hardened against any good impressions, or death overtakes him, and he is irrecoverably lost; but it is his own act. To say that he is lost because God wills it, is to charge Jehovah with in justice, or with being a respecter ot persons. But true repenta-nce is that which leads a man to be sorry for his sins, not merely be cause he has sinned against his fellow-man, but because he has sinned against God, and through them, and through his evil passions. He feels that he has scorned that love which brought the Saviour from heaven to die for him, and he thinks, not only of the injury done'to his fellow-man, but of the crucified Saviour who died for him. As a conse quence, he hates sin—feels a desire to be ! cleansed from it—to be delivered from its I power in future, and to have them blotted out from the book of God’s remembrance. He feels the need of a Saviour to intercede for him, and he-comes to ( humbles himself at the toot of the cross, and tags for i mercy. We say, thee, he Las repented ; ■ and, truly, this is the work of God ; for no I man can repent of himself. Christ came i into the world and died to ‘give repentance | and forgiveness of sins.’ ” | “But, uncle, why does not God give it to all men —lead them all to exercise true re pentance ?” “ Because, they do not desire it. When God calls upon them, through His minis ters, to repent of their sins and come unto Him; they refuse to listen, or put the thought out of their minds, or stifle the emotions of their hearts, because they are determined not to yield. .Now, God will not force repentance upon such a one, though He will give it to those who earnest ly desire and pray for it. He has promised, ‘ Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find.’ It is the free gift of God: lie does not give it to those who refuse to ask for it. Parents, you know, are very ready to give good things to their children ; but Christ has said, His Father is more ready to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.—Luke xi: 13. If you desire that true repentance that leadeth unto salvation. . you must earnestly desire it and pray for it. Cristians are encouiaged to pray for the conversion of sinners, by the promise that i God will withhold no good thing from th m that walk uprightly,; and it is certainly a good thing to desire the conversion of sin ners. And Paul, in his epistle to Timothy, i exhorts that‘supplications, prayers, inter cession*, and giving of thanks, be made for all men for, he added, ‘God will .have all I men to be saved ;’ and Christians should [' pray that God would open their hearts to l the reception of His truth, that they learn 1 of Him, believe, and bo saved.’’ i “ Well, uncle Mark, God’s p >wer and i authority are absolute. Why do. < lie 1 not will that all mon should exercise this i true repentance, and bo save T? He could do it.” “ Certainly, 110 could. But I ; resume it ' is not Ilis purpose. Cod's purposes are [ eternal, fixed, and immutable. With Him is 'no variableness, neither shadow us turn-1 ieg.’ It is nut fur us to pry into God’s pur-; poses, to inquire why this is so, but to obey j I His holy will and trust Him for the conse-1 TERMS— Five Dollars A-YEAR. ; quciices. And remember, my children, it is a dangerous thing to trifle in this matter. > Beware how you stifle the promptings of your heart to turn from the evil. Paul ; speaks of those whose consciences are seared , with a hot iron, and in another place we , read of those whom God gave up to their , own hearts’ lusts, to walk after their own ; counsels. Beware how you put off your ; return to God ; fur He has said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man;’ and by the mouth bf His prophet, Isaiah, proclaims—‘Seek ye the Lord while He be found ” —plainly intimating that if you continually refuse to come to Him, you may one day seek, when He will not be found of thee. You may be left to go on sin, and be of those to whom God shall send a strong delusion, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.’ ” “ Ned,” said Ada, “did you never feel sorry on account of your sins ?” . , “ Yes, that is the test, after all,” said his uncle. “Never mind God’s dealings with othoi’p.eople, or speculating why He does not save all men, but consider your own case. Did you never feel any compunc tions of conscience for any *sin you had commuted ? or did you never hear a ser mon, or meet with any incident, that sud denly brought to your recollection all the sins of your past life, and made you feel sorry, for the time, that you had been so wicked ? Answer me candidly, my boy.” “Yes, sir,” replied he, very slowly, “ oncej when I was very sick, and mother and pa thought I was in danger, I was very much distressed, and felt so much afraid of dying that I believe it made me worse.— But 1 said nothing about it, and it gradually wore oif as 1 got better. That same feeling returns M/inelimcs when I hear a sermon or hear or read of something that makes me think of death. But 1 don’t know that I ever felt the kind of sorrow you say I must, experience to make it true repentance, il is always the fear of future punishment that affects me. 1 believe if I could escape that, 1 should be satisfied. lam afraid you will think ine very hard-hearted, uncle, but wished me to answer you candidly, and I have done so.” “ 1 am glad you have. No, 1 do not think you are hard-hearted, yet, Ned; but, by your own confession, you are. doing all you can to harden your heart. You acknowl edge that you are often powerfully awa kened to a sense of your guilt, (for nothing else but a sense of deserved punishment would make you dread it.) vet you stifle these feelings, and say you are resolved to give yourself no trouble about it, mid wait God’s own time. His time is now, my son ; these emotions of your heart arc only so many visitations of His mercy, to forsake your sins anfl come unto Him for life and salvation; and He is ready and willing to bless you whenever jou sincerely repent (n you sins and believe on Him with all your heart. Now, my boy, listen to me this once, aud if my words pain you, believe me it is only solicitude for your present and eternal happiness that prompts them. Be ware how you scorn the offers of salvation ; will not make you a Christian against your consent.* If you continue to act contrary to your better judgment —continue to stifle these impressions for good—conscience will become finally so hardened that nothing will affect it. We sometimes sec men wh j seem to feel for nothing, an I we sav ot such, ‘ they have no conscience.’ — Pharaoh and Herod are remarkable cases of hardened consciences, and their punishment was awful. Think of this my boy, an 1 God grant you may act wiselj , and become a true child of His.” Pei haps many who read this, may think as Ned Maj field did, that if God intends to save them He will do it in His own good time, and if H- intends you »•<> be lost, y car fretting over it will do no good ; so you intend to make yourselves easy about it. if this is your opinion, you are cruelly deceiving yourself, and want’ nly charging Go ! with the death of every sinner. True, y" i cannot save yoorself, cannot repent of yourself, or even refrain from sinn'nu. in your own strength. But God has p . .] within you a conscience which’ reifies you for your wrong conduct, and some times makes you /eel very badly. Some times or a prayer, or a few words irom a friend, an attack of sicknes - , or the NUMBER 4.