The Pacificator. (Augusta, Ga.) 1864-1865, June 24, 1865, Page 145, Image 5

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fur the “sword of the Lord and Gideon,” was not tiie only victory-bringing weapon from' Heaven’s bright armories. The noise of the clouds affrighted armies. The servant of the prophet sa w the chariots of heaven and the mustering squadrons of the skies, around about Elisha. And, again: “The wirtow3 of Ashur were loud in their wail, The idols were broke in tbe temple of Baal, For the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, Und melted like snotv in the glance of the Lord.’’ 4 If, then, wq believe the record of the past, and dare not look God in Ilis eternal face, and tell him it is not true: If we read the promise “Lo, 1 am with you alwnvs, even unto the end of the world,” and dare not question the word of Jeho vah 1 Why fear to-day ? What matter to the Christian the rise and faj] of empire, the dismemberment of States, the crash of arms, the How cf blood, or the price of bread ? The wheels of the great chariot of thought roll ever onward to the goal of earth’s final redemp tion, and in the path of that dread progress a thousand Confederacies may rise and fall. Empires may tremble, and the crash of their fall may shake the hills: cities and fair fields may bmade desolate, and the sickening sun may blush in the blood'freedy reflected from gory fields. l»i:t to the Christian, these things are blit the !ire, the earthquake, and the whirlwind, (But pre pared the mind of the Prophet, for the “still small voice of God.” They bring no more terror, than doth the heaven-sweeping tail of the comet to the of the man of science, or the far-flashing .Northern light to every navigator of the frozen Oc .'an. Oid, but still appropriate, is the account of the storm at sea when all the passengers looked for d'-ath. The littte girl of the Captain was the only ci!m person on board, and one of the frightened, asked the cause. “M by should I fear?” said she, “J rj Father \v at the helm /” Our common ship is braving now, one of the fierce storms of time. Timbers are quivering and i- .rdage snapping, and men are pale and women in tears, a!*''. V r and anon, some bold sailor or phot is swept off into the sea of blood. But faith > is calm even now, lor the hand of God rests upon * lie'' wheel of fate. In long gone days, a solitary stranger engaged a boat to carry bint across the Adriatic sea. Be.v omne to the shore, the boldest hesitated tc? impel the boat into the foaming waves, for a storm was abroad on the deep. For a moment the stranger, muffled in his robe, watched the fearful sailors, and then throwing wide the folds of the garment from the warrior form that all Romans knew, he said, Fear not, you carry Caesar /” The boatmen 1,,, .'led the presence which was believed to be ac companied on field and flood by the victorious pods, and the galley met the sea with such strokes of defiant oars as baffled even its might. Ye Priests of God, and Pilots and Helmsmen is the ship of Zion, trend le not for; yourselves H j your charge, in- even these times of scarcity s and want, for your freight is immortal souls and :! at cargo is in the care of God. A greater than ( .. sar is on board, when one child lias said in faith, its evening prayer. Among the many beautiful thoughts of the poet Campbell, the bard of Hope, no thought is more exquisite than that idea of the “Last Man.” -The last of human mould, That should croition’s death behold, As Adam saw his prime.” The picture of the last man iu the world is Avid, and the reader can almost, see the “skele ,;ms of nations around that lonely man,” ihe bloaehin" bones, the rusty steel, the utter loneli ness, so “Earth’s cities had no sound nor tread, And ships were drifting with the dead, * x.. shores where ali was dumb.” • But amid it all, the lonely remnant of earth’s millions thus addressess the'Sun, then fading from (he heavens : “Go, Sun, while mercy holds me up, On Nature’s awful waste, To drink this last, most hitter cup Os grief that man shall taste. Go tell the night ts at hides thy faefe, Thou sawest the last of Adam’s race, On earth’s sepulchral clod, The dark’ning universe defy To quench his immortality, * Or. shake his trust in God.” With that faith, we .would that God should in s-fire his people this day. A faith that has made man feel secure amid the drowning of a world, that has peopled the hills of Canaan with the hosts of the angels, has fed the starving, stopped the mouth of lions, and raised the dead. The arm of Jehovah grows 'no weaker with ad vancing years, and the name of Jesus is a talis TIIE PACIFICATOR —:A. CATHOLIC JOIJRTsLAJo. man in Heaven that Noah and Daniel could not use. The faith of the Eternal stands pledged to an swer faithful prayer in the name of llis Divine Humanity, and he who loves his God, fears little from man. B hen the Christian fears, it is sure evidence that he has been doing wrong, sos “perfect love casteth out fear." Sin is said to be the heritage of us all, arid perfection but the dream of an an gel. Yet let us dream that angel dream, for the Seraph’s faith, and the Seraph's power, go hand in hand with the Seraph’s love. Dream that dream forever, Oh, Church of God, and thy divine oattalions can shout amid calcined worlds and burning stars, that grandest battle-cry of the uni verse, “God wills il! God wii.i.s it!!” - - ——«<XS -J rl y• ♦ !*»- [From the Freeman's Journal.] Presfey*C!!'jpt2s AVr.il Falsnstock. The Presbyterians are very uneasy. They ex hibit enlargement of the pupils of the eyes and itching of the nose. They have been making what they call “deliverances,” but they are such deliverances as the inspired prophet spoke of— they have brought forth wind, Duly! They say the “man of sin” troubles them. We know 1 — and so dq many of their own people—that men of sin abound among them. But this is not their present trouble. The “man of sin” is, iu their view, the Pope, or Popery itself. But they are hallucinated—with their own knowledge of their willing halluncination. They suffer from a disease that Fahnstock says his vermifuge is a sovereign remedy for. But, besides being troubled with worms, which produces great restlessness among these innocents—they are troubled with empty meeting houses, resulting in empty purses. These Presbyterian preachers have left off the semblence' of '-preaching the Gospel of peace! They have become political howlers of a kind so vile that they would lie hissed off any political rostrum. Here is a sample, quoted by a “religious” Presbyterian newspaper, published in Louisville. The Preslfyterian preacher who edits the paper says it is a true report of a part yf a “sermon” delivered by a Presbyterian minister: “Beloved, you have the sole responsibility of performing this work, and I charge you to sec to it, that you do not falter in its execution. All theca vilUans, fro: : the highest to the lowest . de serve to be bung, to be shuffled off tbe mage o! action, and consigned speedily, to a damnable hell. “In conclusisri, beloved, let me implore you, by your recollection of the trials and privations of our forefathers; by the mftnifqld mercies and blessings which we, as a people, have so long en joyed ; by your ardent attachment to the cause of God and humanity, and by your abhorrence of; sin and ingratitude, that you “give no slumber to , eves, nor sleep to your eyelids,’ till you shall havs 1 caused such wailing and lamentations in the rank of these villainous traitors, as'shall make the damned in hell conclude that torments are noth in<r when compared to that of, these fiends o's earthm- As may be judged, men stop praying to hear such stuff as thin in the-name of religion. They can hear better cursing than this in loyal league bar-rooms ! So these"preachers are getting hungry. Tt was Sterne, or some such fellow, that used to call his “abuse of Popery” his “Cheshire cheese.” When his dinner was scant, he had a Cheshire cheese to eke out with ; and when he could find nothing else to give point to his sermons, he said .“pitching into Popery” never failed to please the people. By all accounts, the poor be-deviled Presbyte rian preachers hayc done themselves out of din ners, and out of all means of living. Asa dying spasm they try once more the old sing-song of abuse of the Catholic Church. They have been “ delivering ” on the matter iu their annual as sembly. They are alarmed at the strides of Popery! Some “religious” body lately, Presbyterian or Methodist, wanted to make a religious matter of insisting on the admission of negroes to the right to vote! They wanted them, they said, to coun terbalance the Irish and German Catholics. They claimed the negroes as Protestants. But Presi dent Johnson, who has lived all his life in slave States, told' a set of negro preachers that the ne groes, thus claimed as reliable Protestants, to the number of “four millions,” “live in open and no torious concubinage!” Is this what makes them reliable as Protestants ? There are, however, two bodies, eac-h claiming to be the Presbyterian Church in these States. One.claims to be the genuine Jacobs ; the other to be the oid original Jacobs. They split and blacked each others'eyes in a quarrel, nearly thirty years ago, on some notions none of them knew any_ thing about. The gist of it was that one party held that it was in the eternai decrees of God to damn some men eternally, and it was foolish in these to try and save their souls. The other “Church,” we believe, htd that some people ought to wish to be damned eternally 1 Os these bodies the “genuine Jacobs” had its Assembly graced by two nigger delegates. One of these “ colored genunen ” said : “Our people (the negroes) are naturally Pres byterians ; it has only been their unchangable faith in the eternal purposes of God that has sus tained them through the bitter past. They are not Methodists—they are Calvinists, quite as much as their masters, except that the latter believed God had one eternal purpose, and the down-trod den race believe the exact reverse. Let us do our work here in America, fairly and as others may—not as the Sabbath schools yesterday, crowded behind our juniors—and let the schemes of colonization find place when the work Provi dence designed for us here is completed.” r i ex: is a hard hit at the Presbyterians ! These “ played out” Presbyterian ministers think Ihoy can get up a persecution of Catholics! Poor fools ! That persecution is fast coming on, in this land, but Presbyterians, or any other sect professing the name of Christian, will not be as the dust in the balance towards promoting it! The time is not just yet. We recommend to these feeble folk of Presby terianism to put blankets round them, put their feet, to the fire, and to take Fanstoek’s remedy. If it don’t do good it can’t do hurt, and they are in a bad way I The Presbyterians are “loyal,” and must be lieve the President. The President says that the “ four millions” of negroes—preachers and all— “ live in open arid notorious concubinage !” This dirty, licentious set are claimed as “ Naturally Presliyterians!” Well, we wish the “ brethren and sistern •’ of the modern Presbyterian bodv joy of the acquisition of gambo. Practically li centious in the most extreme degree, and “natu rally Presbyterian ” ’by superstitious fatalism, Sambo is a fine set-off to the Irish race—who are naturally Catholic. [From the Springfield (Mass.) Republican.] A ElcSti'ious Civil War. The question seems an absurd one, and yet some of the sectarian newspapers are discussing’ it and attempting to prepare the public mind for it. They could hardly undertake a more wicked and mischievous work; but they assume to be merely giving needful warning of what must soon come. The pretence is, that the Roman Catholics have a deop plot, to get possession of the govern ment of the United States, destroy our free insti tutions, make their religion the State religion, and in fact establish a despotism, with perhaps the Pope in'person at its head; at any rate, with all the hideous machinery of the inquisition to torture us into support of its faith and authority. The (descriptions given of the frightful things to be •Tone by the Pope’s government of the United Btr.tes, when fully established, are enough'to make one's blood freeze with horror, if read with seri ousness and credulity. The monstrous barbari ties of the darkest of the dark ages are all to be reproduced here. IV hat do our Protestant editors mean by attempting to excite such sectarian alarm and hostility ? It is impossible to suppose that they believe there is any cause for it. They bring no facts to show that the Catholics of the country seek political power as a sect, or that they carry their sectarianism into politics. In fact, they are less obnoxious to this charge than the Protestants; for, while in many parts of the country a Cathqlic cannot be nominated for any office because of the fact that Protestants will not vote for Catholics, we never heard of an instance of a Catholic re fusing to vote for . the candidate of his partv be cause of his being a Protestant. If there is any bigotry in this matter, the Catholic is by no means the chief offender. But let us see what some of the prophets of evil have to say. This is from .the Boston Recorder , the organ of first-proof Ortho doxy in Massachusetts: “The real extent of Romish control at this mo ment is unsuspected. It may be sufficient in IBGB to give us a President, two-thirds of both houses of Congress, and the Governors and a majority in both houses of three-fourths of all the States. An amendment of the Constitution could thus be ef fected, making Papacy the national religion, and the only one to be tolerated. But the most san guine may not hope so much so soon. Rome may see it safe to aspire no further in 18G8 than to a Vice President. To make a President of him would need but a skilful dose of poison—a trifle that Romo never wanted when the motive was ad equate. Rome hopes that at some future day, some future or present party shall find itself obliged openly to sell itself to her. If so, and another rebellion arise iu consequence of il.j ruin or success (and either would bring it on), mightier means on this side of the jAtlnntie, and certain recognition on the other, will attend its very opening.” Villainous is the only word that can describe the meaning and intent of such language as this. 1 he Catholic can hardly find means to retort by showing that there have been Protestant as well as Catholic despots and assassins, and that neither political ambition, nor intolerance, nor cruelty, have pertained exclusively to any one denomina tion. . But the great objection to such sectarian assaults is, that they tend to provoke the very evils they are professedly directed against. Noth ing is more to be deprecated than the creation of hostility and , suspicion between the sects into which our communities are divided, and especially the attempt to introduce the proscription of any denomination into politics. When the Catholics or any other sect make an assault upon our free institutions it will be met. It is monstrous in justice to attempt to excite suspicion and ill-will against them in advance. We can secure our selves in no such way.' Our safety lies in the ed ucation of the people. The peril growing out of the large addition of foreigners to our voting pop ulation comes not from their religion but their ignorance. We must educate the whole people. We must insist on intelligence as a qualification fog the ballot. Then, whether the voters are black or wliffe—Catholic.or Protestant—they will know enough to vote for their own welfare and that of their children, and will jealously resist the first approach of despotic power come whence it may. Let us have no attempts to excite denominational passion and prejudice; and no monstrous predic tions of sectarian civil war. The Pope's E>csign in the Encyclical. Here, as we venture to surmise, is iu part the significance of this Encyclical, iu so far as it vin dicates various prerogatives of the Church, which have long been generally dormant, or in so far as it stigmatizes various modern errors, which has very largely influenced legislation and administra tion. The Pope's primary object, indeed, in its promulgation was (no doubt) to fulfill the com mission lie has divinely received, of maintaining doctrinal purity; lor many of the errors con demned deny truths immediately revealed by God, and all the rest tend inevitably to such denial. But there is an important social end also to be attained. No one can say how soon the time may arrive in large portions of Europe, when, the ar gumentative issue will be between Catholicism, as a whole, and the revolution, as a whole. The Holy Father is, therefore, reasonably anxious that loyal Catholics should be trained, not to defend this or that particular institution, against this or that par ticular assault, but to support the old body of Catholic truth in its full integrity, against the now iags3 of revolutionary error. It may be added that various Catholic doctrines appear to treat disadvantage if considered separately from the rest. One instance here will'be a sample of many. Considering the great tendency of civil rulers to selfishness and oppression, the doctrine of non-re sistance may well appear to give society inade quate protection against such evils, unless you take also into account “that salutary influence” spoken of in the Encyclical “which the Catholic Church, according to the institution and command of her Divine Author, should freely exorcise to the end of the world over nations and their rulers.” . But if thinkers would suppose the Church per mitted freely to exercise these her divinely-Hven preiogatives, they might learn to see that no more perfect security could well be imagined against tyranny and despotism. Ic ig of. vital moment, then, we repeat, that the social doctrines of Cath olicism be mastered in their full consistency and harmony, and not merely apprehended ip detached fragments. Thus, and thus only, will the Church’* children be enabled to fight, when the day of bat tle arrives, clothed in her full and impenetrable armor. Thus, and thus only, will*their success bear any kind of proportion to their zeal. That by such means, indeed, they will be able indefi nitively to withstand and retard the triumphs of revolutionism, is abundantly clear; whether a re sistance can be put forth which shall be fully ef fectual, insomuch that a reflection may set in to wards better and higher principles—this is an issue which is in God’s hands alone, and on which it would be absurd to speculate. Only let Catho lics do their part; when the crisis arises, let it find them at their post; well acquainted with their doctrine, loudly professing it, and prepared to act or suffer in its behalf. Thus they will have sash ioned themselves to be their Creator’s serviceable instruments, of which he may make such use as to Him seems good. —Dublin Review. 145