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THREE DOLLARS PER ANNUM.
VOL. XXXIII. NO. 46.
Coitiritotroits.
On Revivals—No. 111.
BY BEV. L. PIERCE, D. D. I
My mind is turned to the words of Du
vid, in the 102d Psalm: “Thou shalt arise,
and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to
favor her, yea, the set time is come.” It oc
curs to my mind that erroneous opinions
may possibly be taken np with by some,
who may read my views on revivals of re
ligion.
This beautiful passage, I have no doubt
does, in its primary meaning, refer to a set
time to favor Zion, in a special sense—that
is, to the restoration of the Jews to their
own loved land and venerable city, after
seventy years of penal captivity. I say
“penal” captivity. It was for seventy years;
after which, even in the decree of their ex
ile, they had the promise oi restoration. The
time of this restoration was therefore* a
“set time;” and the termination of it, in Urn,
view of it, was as judicial as the infliction qr
it, for the ends of punitive justice. Never
theless, as in all other cases,
of these disobedient Israelites to their form
er religious privileges, was an act of mercy.
Wherefore it was said that God should arise
and have mercy upon Zion; because the
“set time,” in this sense—to favor her had
come. The exercise of this mercy in this
case is, therefore, spoken of as an act of ex
ecutive clemency; and not as an act of mercy
fulfilled upon a promise to a penitent sin
ner, or a hungering saint. It is, however,
in this last sense, that I am to consider this
“set time” idea. It must not be believed,
us to these times of refreshing from the
presence of the Lord, that they are at the
instance of a mere abstract sovereignty, like
acts of arbitrary creation. For the moment
you set down revivals of religion to the ac
count of sovereignty, and conclude that
whenever God wants a revival of religion,
he will bring it on at his own instance; and
that, therefore, he sets his time to favor his
Church with revivals of religion, aud brings
them on when those set timed come round,
that moment you assume the ground that
prayer and church organization are nulli
ties, and that there would be as many re
vivals of religion and as many souls con
verted in the wild woods of this world, as
would be in tho best cultivated church in
closure in the world. We are shut up to the
necessity, as a Church, of coming wholly
out of all causative agencies in revivals of
religion, or else admit that an appointed
agency is so indispensable in, revivals of re
ligion, that they cannot be brought out in
Churches except when this divinely appoint
ed agency is running the car of salvation up
on the highway of God’s own programme.
And if God looks to the Church at all, in
this glorious work of converting tho world,
he must, of course, include in his plan tho
whole membership of every local church,
whoso condition, at tho time of the call for
special prayer, enables them to engage in it.
If I may use so common place a term in
this connection, as “excuse,” it will occnrto
you at once, that if God can excuse any
member of the Church from attending these
holy convocations for spocial prayer, when
ho could attend, so also could ho excuse
every member of the Church from attend
ing, whose condition was parallel; and thus
by the grant of excusing, defeat the great
objective reason of Church organization, in
so far as prayer aud supplication are avail
able, in the economy of salvation. And if
it is morally impossible for God to excuSa ‘
Church members from attending these
Church calls to pray for a revival of
religion, when they could attend if they
would; and would, if they felt any heart felt
iuterest in the needed revival of religion—
and these idlers excuse themselves from at
tending upon these holy devotions right in
the face of what God cannot do and will not
do, is not their ungodly will the will of their
ruling spirit? I say “ungodly” will. For
ungodliness consists in refusing to fall in
with the will of God. These disrespectful,
self-willed, church members, ungod them
selves, by breaking off the bauds of duty,
by which believers become one with Christ.
Just as every church member becomes a re
sponsible person, so does the whole Church
become, in a good sense, a responsible per
son—a community in which the terms of
consecration require at all times—when a
special call is made on the corporators—a
full attendance, where attendance is a reas
onable possibility.
You say, in mitigation of your seeming
contumacy of church relations, that yort
never considered yourself in the light of a
corporator with others under a compact ob
ligation. If so, I am sorry to hear from
you. You entered the Church, in the dark
yourself; and you are leading the Church
after you into darkness. Do you not know,
that if, when you joined the Church, you
had claimed, as a reserved right the privi
lege to ignore all special calls of the Church
for prayer, so as to attend or let it alone
just as you pleased, there is not a Chris
tian Church in the land which would have
let you in upon such a basis? So, you were
compelled either to stay out of the Church,
or come in as a compact corporator. With
any right to be a member of Christ’s Church,
and neglect its ordained duty, neither heav
en nor earth can ever invest you. This be
ing the case, the wickedness of this failure
is fearful to contemplate—a membership
composed of those who could never have
been members of the Church if they had
claimed such liberty of indifference to
Church relations and obligations as they
afterwards claim and live by, to-wit: a habit
ual neglect of the special occasions for
prayer, called for by tho pastor, for divine
favor in their behalf!
Such living I say, is fearfully wicked in all
of its moral aspects. It is faithless, even
treacherous, in every alpeet. lam in the
Church, and it is a delicate matter to cut off
a member for this class of sins; and although
I could never have got into the Church, if I
had told it that I never intended to attend
any protracted prayer-meetings for a revival
of religion, yet as I am in and the Church
does not cut me off for my practical contempt
of all Church requirements and accepted ob
ligations when I came in on the general
basis of hearty co-operation, I will lay my
self by and let all these implied obligations
by default. I say there is wickedness enough
in this open disregard of Church relation
ship if persisted in, to sink all idlers into
endless woe. To attend on these special
convocations of the Church is either not a
moral obligation on us to observe them, or
else the non-observance of them, as now go
ing on in our Church, will land these woe
cursed idlers at last in endless death. This
forsaking the assembling of ourselves to
gether—which really meaus those assembla
ges of the Church which have the root of
their reason in the Church idea, which is, in
meetings for prayer and counsel together for
Church action, is as actual contempt of
Jjniiftert! Chrij
God's will as in any rebellion man is ever
guilty of. It is sure enough, woe to them
that are at ease in Zmmk. This action of the
Church—the action of a Church praying in
this very line and for these blessings, is in
eluded in “the whole armour of God,” which
we are required to put on, that we may be
able to stand in the evil day—meaning any
and all evil days, and also implying that
those Church members who refuse to fill out
this armour by putting it all on will not be
able to stand in these evil days. This is it—
“praying always with all prayer and suppli
cation in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for
all saints; and for me, that utterance may be
given unto me, that I may open my mouth
boldly, to make known the mystery of the
gospel, for which I am an ambassador in
bonds; that therein I may speak boldly, as
I ought to speak. ” Now then, with a Church
membership—three or four-fifths of whom
practically contemn all efforts at patting
this part of the armour of God properly on
in these praying associations, can we have a
revival of religion among ns ? I answer, no.
Because this is the evidence of a revival of reli
gion in itself -and the absence of all ivill to
meet and pray for a revival, proves that no
revival of religion can be had in a Church,
while it willingly refuses to pray, as a
r Church, for the issues contemplated in the
foregoing apostolic injunction. I again say—
no preaching will ever be followed by revi
vals of religion, while the Church in its nu
merical membership, is at ease in Zion—
mere loungers in the Church—sleeping part
ners—dead heads in our line -never contribu
ting anything to our stores of prayer?
In view of all these purposes of God, if
any portion of our members take the ground
that the Church will do just as well
without this Church praying as with
it, it is useless to write to them; their
souls, if they believe so, are as insensi
ble to spiritual forces as bricks are to
animal sensibility. And if they believe the
praying of the Church as the Church, would
be best for the Church—and still refuse to
engage in those supplications for the peace
aud prosperity of this Church, then they are
the proximate enemies of the Church—her
inside enemies. To me, therefore, it is a3
evident as moral certainty, that the “set
time to favor Zion," is whenever Zion is in
this soul-travail. The condition of the Church
is always.in exact accordance with the posi-
tion of the Church, iu relation to the river
of tho waters of life. This is the river of
God -the streams of which make glad the
city of God. The gladsome occurrences are
our revivals of religion. Thus the Spirit of
Christ, in the prophet Jeremiah, describes
this position of living Christian Church
members : “blessed is the man thattrusteth
in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
For he shall be as a tree planted by the
waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by
the river, and shall not see when heat com
eth, but her leaf shall bo green, and shall
not be careful in the year of drought, nei
ther shall cease from yielding fruit,."
Herein we see clearly that on* 1 position in
relation to onr nearness to the river of God,
is the desideratum in Chiiteeh prosperity.
With the roots of our religipu constantly re
vived as by hathiug in this water of Ufo we
would be, is what, in my Idea!.' wonlcl be a
constant revival of religion. Hence, such a
body of Christians, planted out upon the en
livening banks of this river of life, are said
to be insensible to the heat of the sun—and
careless of the general waste of drought.
Such believers are as our hymu expresses it,
“rooted and fixed in God.” Here David re
ceived his beautiful inspiration, when ho
said : “All my springs are in thee.” But un
less the Church settles upon this river, and
drinks in from the place and the position
occupied, as well as in answer to special
prayer, the revivifying waters of this Spir
itual stream, revivals of religion will cease
among us, aud our ultimate failure, as a
great evangelizing Church in the earth, is
only a question of time. Fail we will; and
fail we ought—so soon as it is certain that
our numerical power is with them who are
at esse in Zion.
Do not think the foregoing a highly
wrought picture—because you have never
seen aChuroh doing so well, as to the running
history of it. This is because you are living
in a day, when a majority of Church mem
cers are at ease in Zion. They will not meet
together to pray for the gift of the Holy
Spirit; and this gift is hover bestowed ex
cept in answer to heartfelt prayers. And
without this gift, there can be no revival of
religion in the Church.
I have seen days when evidence of the
position of God’s people in proximity to this
fountain of living waters, ran through a de
cade. But then wo had a prayer-meeting
Church—not a day prayer-meeting either—
but a night prayer-meeting Church, when
we all worked all day and went to the prayer
meeting at night—every man out for five
miles round —I mean every male member of
that Church—and revivals of religion were
running on all the time. Heat and drought
iu the religious sense, were never seen.
These well situated souls were all the . time
in revival tenor. They prayed for these
Holy Spirit baptisms—they expected them
—and God gave them. But from the time
our male members began to ignore our con
gregational prayer-meetings—some to se
cure themselves from taking np the cross of
praying in public—aud a still larger portion
of them, as I believe, because they did not
have living religion enough to put them into
fellowship sympathy with the Church in fa
vor of these revivals of religion—the days
of despairing took the place of inspiration
and cheerful hope. But let me say to all my
defaulting brethren—and I mean brethren,
that until onr male members rally to the coll
of their pastors to help them in special prayer
meetings, and in regular Church meetings,
to pray for the descent of the Holy Ghost
upon the preacher and the Church, and then
in council to set and keep the Church in
order, revivals of religion properly so called
will no more crown onr Methodism with
their native, distinctive glory. Religion, as
we believe it to be, cannot be maintained iu
a Church that lives at will below the level of
Holy Ghost revival of religion. And we are
below that level now; and we will never get
up to it and flourish amidst onr acknowledged
glory and power, until our male members,
upon whom God has laid this particular
work, enters into it. We cannot have it done
for us by mothers, and sisters, and wives—we
must do it. Revivals of religion will never
come on in a Christian congregation by
preaching, even if it was always pure gospel;
and such forms of preaching as these form
alists want would kill a revival in a month,
even if it were budding. Revivals of relig
ion will come only in answer to a praying
Church, and a praying Church will never be
recognized by our Heavenly Father so long
as three-fourths of our members, and es
pedally of our male members, ignores God’s
institution of prayer; saying, I will be sought
unto, to do this thing for you. Our male
members who will not meet and pray for
the prosperity of the Church, are at ease
in Zion, and the knell of their doom is
heard.
Our missionary System—Changes
Made—Other Plans Proposed—De
fects and merits.
Methodism, nay, Christianity is essential
ly a system of propagandasm by missionary
labor. Intended for universal diffusion, un
like Judaism, it cannot be confined, it must
grow or die—go forward or go backward.
Any church organization that does not con
template and provide for expansion, will be
at most only a pitiful dwarf with soarcely
roots, leaves, or fruit enough to tell its
genus. It is as much a necessity to cultivate
the Missionary spirit in order to maintain
home religion, as to spread Christianity in
distant lands.
Just in proportion as actions and feelings
are disinterested, are they virtuous; and so
strong is the tendency to selfishness in our
nature, that it needs to be combatted by all
the force of education aud habit. Our Mis
sionary schemes are founded in Scripture,
philosophy, and practical wisdom, and, con
sidered in the abstract, they need no vindi
cation. They have done much and will do
much for the advancement of religion. It
is always easier to demolish than to build,
and I will not forget this truism in pointing
out some defects in existing plans while I
shall endeavor to suggest improvements.
The last General Conference, after a brief
trial of four years—tho least favorable that
might occur in a century—abandoned the
plan of the separate Boards—Foreign and
Domestic—and returned to the old system.
Dr. Stephen Olin, the foremost man of
American Methodism, satisfied me more
than twenty years ago, by an elaborate Re
view Article, that the one Board system
would never do. I offer no argument to sus
tain this view as the action of the General
Conference has, for four years at least, closed
the question. The collections are now mass
ed— consolidated—and 40 per cent, taken
from the total in each Conference to be used
by tho Parent Board at Naslnille, for various
purposes.
Now, after this year, the Annual Confer
jences can control only CO cents in the
dollar of its collections, for the support of
Missions at home—a sum wholly inadequate
to meet the demand. I say, insufficient—
unless the sum total of collections shall be
vastly increased beyond what they now are.
Be it remembered, that in Georgia, for ex
ample, only about half enough has been
raised to meet scanty appropriations. There
fore our collections must be doubled before
there will be a dollar surplus, instead of that,
on present programme,' they will certainly
be diminished; and must be still further les
sened by the subtraction of 40 per cent.
They will next year be diminished for this
plain reason: experience shows that a faith
ful man can get as much for each of several
collections as he can for all when consolida
ted. The entire amount collected next year
will be about what is made now for Domes
tic Missions, and the 40 per cent, must come
out of that sum for the Parent Society.
Now what remains after this, but i'*®
Conference Society to adopt some new ex
pedients to remedy the evil which must fol
low the contraction of the home work. Not
more than 33} 3 ' per cent, hereafter of the ex
isting appropriations can be met by the new
plan.
Art. V. of the Missionary Society (see
Disc. pp. 156) allows aud enjoins Annual
Conferences to make annual collection, “at
such time and in such manner as each Confer
ence may direct.” Now, is there no discre
tionary and contingent power allowed here
by which exigencies may be met?
It will be said that whatever be the plan
of the Annual Conference, 40 per cent, of its
funds must go by Art. X. to Parent Board.
But what if a plan be adopted by which
more than 40 per cent, would be contributed
to that Society? Would they object?
Suppose instead of giving them 40 per
cent, our Conference give them all the Mis
sionary collection, would there be objection?
Plainly there would be none; for it is per
fectly evident that the whole must include
the 40 per cent, which is claimed. Indeed,
all money not appropriated besides the 40
per cent. Is likewise claimed, and a Confer
ence may simply make no appropriations,
and the law is fully met if all is sent forward.
This is precisely what I propose to do, in
our new Conference organization. Organize
a Board auxiliary to the Parent Board, and
contribute its entire assets in that direction;
then certainly we should do fully our duty,
if not more, and hush complaint.
But what then would become of our Do
mestic Missions ? My reply is, abolish the
name and to a large degree the thing itself.
Instead of having a Domestic Mission
fund, let there be a fund called the “Sup
plemental Fund,” to be used as occasion
may require, in a manner very different from
the mission fund, but for the same purpose.
Let there be a standing commiitee of Con
ference to administer this collection, con
sisting, for example, of ten members of Con
ference, beside the Presiding Elders. At
each Conference from cash in hand—not in
prospect—let appropriations be made to each
P. E.’s District, according to information of
its probable wants. Let this collection not
be appropriated to individuals, in any cer
tain amonnt, nor be payable in advance;
but divided as facts and necessities may dic
tate in the progress of the year. The Pre
siding Elders would certainly be best quali
fied for obvious reasons to make the distri
bution ; yet it might be done by the origi
nal committee at the close of the year, or on
advice of the Presiding Elder before.
Let ns see what would be gained by this
scheme. 1. The term “mission” is odious
to some works where it is applied, and still
more odious to some adjacent works, that
pay the money which the Mission might
as well pay. Hence, the abandonment of
the term would rid of that difficulty which
is not slight.
2. The feeble places would be stimu
lated to support their pastors, as no
definite amount of help could be relied on
the amount of aid (if any) being contingent
on several facts. The fidelity of the preacher
would be promoted, as his support would
depend on this—A. Missionary now cannot
have his appropriation discounted, however
remiss he may be in his duties. The in
creased faithfulness would sprely develop
the work and make the necessity for help
less, while it would leave more thereby for
very poor places.
3. The inequality would be removed,
which is sometimes seen where a Missionary
receives more than a circuit preacher work
ing side by side with him—-the work is the
same, it is all Circuit work or all Mission
work.
4. That caste is avoided, which to some
extent arises by having one class of men for
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & 00.
MACON, GA., FRIDA
circuits and another for Missions, whereby '
the latter feels humiliated. 1
5. The entire circle of itinerants would be
interested in making this collection inas
much as every one of them would have a
contingent interest in the sum. A brother
on a circuit which pays S4OO would uot feel
that hiwMissiouary collection would pass to
another; for if his case warranted, perhaps
more than his own collection at Conference
would supplement his pay. A Mission man
with S6OO appropriation, would uot then be
tempted to let go by default the annual col
lection, for his own support in part would
depend on his attention to this duty.
6. By this plan, we would be dealing can
didly, in making our appeals to the people,
not making a flaming speech for Foreign
Missions and then use the major part of the
money at home; nor stressing, as some do,
the destitution at home in order to get
money for the heathen abroad.
My views could be greatly elaborated, but
I forbear at present. I have for years thought
on this subject iu its various phases, and re
cently in conversing with leading minds, I
have been almost surprised to see with wliali
singular unanimity the scheme above is ad
vocated—preachers aud laymen alike endors
ing it.
Let brethren remember, however, that
the old General Conference plan is binding
for the present year, and the need is very
great to raise the present assessments. Only
one month remains ; but in this month,
more can be done than in ten, if decision
and industry be shown. Do not forget your
brethren who depend on these collections —
get up every dollar—otherwise you may be
neglected and forgotten yourselves by those
on whom you rely. J. W. Hinton*.
Macon, Get., Oct., 1870.
The Plague and its Cause.
Perhaps no year in the history of the old
est persons iu our midst has been so prolific
of temporal blessings, as the year 1870.
Every field was weighed down with golden
harvest. Every fruit tree lowered its branch
es with most delicious fruits; our vines hung
laden with the largest grapes ever grown in
this country; our forests sparkled with the
rich flavored whortleberry; and our old fields
of briars and thorns, furnished our markets
with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth
of produce. All nature around seemed to
be stimulated to its highest euergies iu bring--
ing forth the most abundant harvest.
“The early and the latter rains” too,
came so timely aud in such quantities us to
stimulate the vegetable kingdom to an ap
proximate perfection; aud tho grasses and
Lezpedeza ,so abundant in our sunny South,
gave us such vast quantities of milk and
butter, that while the rich luxuriated upon
these healthful home productions, the poor
man in his humble cot, surrounded by a
numerous progeny, had “enough and to
spare.”
Such wonderful manifestations of God’s
providential goodness, it would seem, ought
to fill our hearts with profoundest gratitude
and love, ensuring ns perfect obedience as
fallen natures are capable of giving, But
alas! alas! men are still what they were in
the days of Moses and Aaron. Even while
the Mount .iiuikml and trembled to its very
center with the tread of Omnipotence, and
the lurid lightnings of Almighty vengeance
flashed in the very faces of the people, the
poor, fallen wretches fell down before a gol
den calf and cried, “These are thy gods O
Israel, who brought thee up out of the land
of Egypt!” For this unreasonable conduct,
three thousand of Israel’s host died in one
day, and long indeed afterward did the
Lord trouble Israel because of this impious
act.
How is it now with us iu this glorious,
sunny land? Can we uot see some resem
blance in our condition to that ol' the ancient
Jews? What land has ever been blessed more
highly than ours? On us beams the »un of
science. Ours is the hemisphere of free
dom; and upon us shines with ceaseless
Splendor the rays of the star of Bethlehem.
But how*are men improving these Heaven
sent favors? Every little rill, branch, creek
or stream that can afford a sort of a hiding
place to these dens of infamy, is filled with
smoky huts turning these God-given pro
ducts into streams of fiery death, to sweep
away the pious hopes of good people. Every
town and village in all the land abounds in
dram-shops, legalized to meet the tastes of
the very men whom we send to make our
laws. All over tho country, men contrary
to the more moral enactments of our legis
lative bodies, have collected vast quantities
of brandies and other liquors, and around
these may be seen, on all the holy Sabbath
day, crowds of boys, men and negroes,
drinking, cursing, swearing, gambling, quar
reling and fighting, while our legal function
aries pass by with a careless smile upon their
faces, as if these people were no part of hu
man society in our midst!
But God is taking cognizance, and our
people, especially here in Western North
Carolina, are beginning to feel the results.
Our cattle and swine lie in piles dead,
making compost heaps for the field. In
some parts of the State, and those, too, in
which a most wonton disregard of legal re
quirements exists, scarcely a single cow or
hog has escaped alive. Large stocks of cat
tle and hogs, the principal resources of
wealth now remaining to our people, are
fattening the carrion hawks, and adding soil
to our worn out old fields.
But, brethren, unless we speedily repent,
the cattle and hogs of the land will not be
sufficient to satisfy this judgment of Heaven
levied against us. Human sacrifices, as in
the late cruel war, will be demanded at our
hands.
Many of our brethren greeting us upon
the court yard or upon the muster field, car
ry about their persons the stench of a bran
dy barrel!
God pity dram-drinking and drunken
Methodists. R. L. Abernathy*.
Rutherford Seminary, N. C.
Selling the Soul.
Before a court in the province of Pesth,
Hungary, a suit was pending in which an
aged Jew was to make a statement under
oath. He was ready to take the oath, when
another Jew arose and protested against it.
“This man dare not take an oath.”
“Why not?” asked the judge.
“There exists a Hebrew prayer which con
tains the sentence that ‘every Jew has a share
in the life to come. ’ It is now about twenty
years ago, and I was present when the man
who is about to take an oath sold his ‘share
in the life to come,’ guaranteed to him in
the prayer, to another Jew, a Mr. Y., who
paid him a certain amount of money for it.
As he, therefore, cannot count any longer
on a future existence, he has nothing to fear
or hope for in the life to come; it must be
certainly indifferent to him whether he swear
to a truth or a falsehood.”
The matter was examined into, and as the
strange transaction was found to have taken
place in reality, the court granted the pro
test of the old man, sod the party who sold
his “share in life to come” was declared in-
Capable of taking an oath.
■it) or
>le essay
Tew Tes
irincipal
habit of
on, sent
ring his
! '''•
interest
together
is Christ
0\ his Saviour, it yet powerfully contributed
to dissipate his doubts and to produce a
certain degree of conviction. After the
death of Napoleon, the same copy became
the property of an officer, who had given
lessons in English to the family of some of
tKe Emperor’s friends. On the return of his
regiment to England, this officer presented
the volume to Dr. Bogue, who received it
with deep emotion, regarding it as a visible
token of the favor which God hail shown
h's labors.
Soon afterwards, the French Abbe Bona
v ta, on quitting Paris to proceed by way of
Belgium and England to St. Helena, where
ha was to act as chaplain to the Emperor,
was brought, while in Belgium, into connec
tion with the Englishman who was a zealous
supporter of the Bible Society. They sailed
to Londou in the same vessel, and frequent
ly met during the abbe’s stay in the city.
I’lie Englishman availed himself of the op
portunity thus afforded and presented the
j;!>)e with a beautiful copy of the Bible,
with the request that he would offer it to
the exile at St. Helena. The abbe grateful
ly aouepted it, assuring the giver that Napo
leon would set a high value on the pres
ent. Such proved to be the fact. Napoleon,
as had been declared by trustworthy persons
who surrounded his death bed, deligently
read the Holy Scriptures, and in the midst
of his sufferings, frequently uttered the
name of Jesus with much emotion. He had
not, however, waited till the last moment to
make his confession before men. In an
easy, but serious conversation lie had already
exclaimed, with that expressive accent and
abrupt utterance which bud so electric a
power:
“I know men, and I tell you Jesus is
more than man.” He continued: •‘His re
ligion is a mystery which subsists indepen
dent in itself; it proceeds from an intelli
gence more than human; we find it marked
by a profound individuality, which has
created a system of expressions aud precepts
previously quite unknown. Jesus borrows
nothing from our sciences. We nowhere
find an example he could have copied; nor
has there been any imitation of his career.
He is no philosopher; for his prools are mi
racles, and from the very first his followers
adored him. Science and philosophy do, in
fact, teach nothing of salvation; but Christ
came into the world for the sole purpose of
revealing heavenly mysteries and the laws
of tbe soul.
“Alexander, Ciusar, Charlemagne, and I,
have founded empires; but on wnat have we
supported the creations of our genius? On
force. The empire of Jesus is founded on
love; and at this hour millions of men would
die for him. It was not a single day, nor a
single battle, that secured the triumph of
Christianity. It was a long war, —a war of
three centuries, —commenced by the apos
tles, and continued by then: successors aud
after-generations of Christians. In that
war we see kings and all the powers of earth
on one side; on the other I behold no army,
but a mysterious power, some men dispersal
here and there in every part of the world,
who have no other watchword but a com
mon faith in the mysteries of the Cross.
“I die before my time, and my body will
be reduced to dust and become the prey
of worms. What a gulf of separation
between my wretched condition and the
eternal Kingdom of Christ? He is preached,
loved, adored; his Kingdom is spreading
over all the world. Do you call that dying?
Is it not rather living?”
Napoleon here stopped; and then, as Gen
eral Bertrand made no reply, the Emperor
added: “If you cannot see that Jesus Christ
is God, I made a mistake when I appointed
you a General.” . j
Martha’s Need.
The mistress of a house needs more than
almost any one else to breathe the spirit of
the Divine love which said, “Behold lam
among you as one that serveth.” She is the
one who must set everything right, and
keep everything from going wrong. She
must watch over every one’s daily comfort,
and it is ten to one whether anybody thinks
of hers. If the meals do not please her
family, they appeal to her. If the servants
have any complaints to make, they make
them to her. If the children are ailing, she
is the ODe who must lose rest in consequence,
nor can she relax her care in the day, no
matter how fatigued at night. And many a
house has been kept by a mistress who, al
though ill, felt that she could not rest even
on her sick bed. All others may have the
blessed repose of lying down and taking no
thought, because it is home; but she must
take thought because it is home; she must
carry her care about with her by day, and
lie down with it at night. It is a blessed
discipline of self-abnegation if used aright,
but what wonder that self-seekers are not
able to bear it? One can readily see how it
is that some elevate marriage to the dignity
of a sacramental means of grace, and why
others rail at it and seek to lessen its bonds.
—Mrs. Uenshaw.
A Touchino Retort.—The Rev. Mr. B.
was a young man when he settled in Wor
cester. He possessed a brilliant intellect;
liia style was ornate, and his flow of language
copious. In person he was handsome, but
he had the misfortune to be lame. One leg
was shorter than the other. This very lame
ness had prevented him from seeking a wife.
He would not inflict a halting husband upon
the high-toned woman he would select for a
companion. Among the members of his so
ciety, and of his Bible-olass, was Clara G.,
the daughter of Judge G., of the Superior
Court. She was a beautiful girl; and those
who knew her well, knew that she was as
good as she was beautiful. One day Laura
W"'
■■wed .
to
.<■-*' i* : 3 -, *<■’ <’- ■*,* o ’ jr ‘ -sail 1 t.o
the
. <■" V hr*,/*' **• , They
reading. 1
way myself,
,■f'/A''''religion 1 will
J'-X -V.'fil'y never again lie
-Accordingly 1 se
a Sabbath when all
family were absent at
prayed—
dost exist, bear me. If
to nu d 11 hell to shun,
I have never believed it,
tilings are true, and the Bi
it to me and enlighten me.’
the Bible. Commenc-
New Testament, I read con
l||||||^V chapter after chapter with intenso
absorbed attention, ever and
God to show me the truth.
010 * rc ‘ u -'> the stronger my interest
deeper and deeper the conviction,
the astounding conviction fastened on me,
that all this was true! I have lived all my
life believing lies! I am a sinner! I am
lost!
“I examined the Bible throughout. I
dwelt on the creation—the fall—the coming
of Christ. Deeper aud deeper grew the con
viction of my guilt—my anxiety became in
tense, and I did not conceal it. Through
out every day of tliut week, I spent all my
time in searching the Work of God and in
prayer, sometimes spending the whole day
alone in a wood, beseeching God to have
mercy on my soul.
“At last, on a Sabbath morning, just a
week from the day I set apart ‘to see if
these things were true,’ while riding to
church, Christ revealed himself to me as a
Saviour —my justification. The way of sal
vation seemed clear and plain, and I in
wardly exclaimed, ‘I know that my Redeem
er liveth!’ My soul was filled with unspeak
able joy. ‘My tongue broke forth in un
known strains and sang redeeming grace. ’
I had in truth found out by my own expe
perience the truth and reality of religion,
and soon commenced to to tell others what
a wondrous Saviour I had found. ’’
The transforming power of the religion
of Jesus was so marked in the character aud
life of this individual, that no one who
knew him could donbt its genuineness, and
for thirty years he has been a pillar in the
church of which he is a member, and lias
faithfully testified, and though near bis
threescore years and ten, still continues to
testify to the realities of the religion which
ho tested.
Skeptic! unbeliever! try this method your
self, honestly, faithfully, and become satis
fied whether or not there is any reality in
the Christian religion.— American Messen
ger.
Wliat I Heard at the Prayer-meet
ing.
On last Wednesday evening, I attended
the prayer-meeting held in the lecture room
of Dr. Scudder’s church, and cannot tell
you how much I enjoyed it. Theso meet
ings are—you are aware—conducted differ
ently from usual Wednesday lectures. Af
ter worshiping God in song and prayer, Dr.
Scudder reads a verse of Scripture which
he has previously prepared, and, after twen
ty minutes of explanation, declares the
meeting open to all questions and sugges
tions upon the verses; or any oue can give
out a hymn, or offer a prayer. This even
ing the verse from Revelation was sugges
tive of the tardiness of coming to Christ,
death-bed repentance, etc. A casein point
was illustrated in one of their members now
lying dangerously ill—supposed to be dying.
He had been an invalid for years; was a reg
ular attendant on God’s house, but had
never made a profession of faith until three
months ago, when he knew that he never
would recover. Dr. Scudder said he be
lieved he was now a true Christian. When
I went to see him the first time after his
confinement to his house, remarked the
Doctor, Mr. thus addressed me: “How
is it, Doctor, that I have sat under your
preaching so long, and you have never
brought me to Christ?” and actually talked
in a reproachful manner, aud seemed to
think I ought, by some legerdemain, to have
twisted him into heaven without any effort
on his part. There he sat, year after year,
taking in the sermon, if the sermon took
him well enough, thinking it all he had to
do; I must do the rest. And I have often
wondered if there are any more of my con
gregation waiting for this same miraculous
effort of mine. My dear hearers, I can only
Christ. But if you will not embrace Him, I
cannot save you. Look to Jesus, and obey
him only. — Occident.
Esthetic Culture Important.
A Philadelphia daily paper holds the fol
lowing good and true view on the culture of
children:
“In the religious culture of children we
should address ourselves to the sentiment of
beauty in their minds far more than we do.
We are eager to fill onr homes with beauti
ful and costly objects, but ore slow to fill our
minds and theirs with beautiful thoughts.
We are impatient to clothe ourselves and
them in the finest apparel, but are altogether
too patient of repulsive habits and deform
ing dispositions. We, ourselves, need to
see, and make them see that beauty, taste,
and elegance are great things, and that all
meanness, ill-temper, fretfulness, falsehood
and wrong are utterly ugly. We need to see
for ourselves, and help them to feel the un
speakable attractiveness of moral beauty,
the loveliness of truth, the charm of a sweet
forgiving spirit, and the splendor of self
sacrifice; that every bad habit is a sin against
taste and beauty, as well as offence against
the Holy Ghost; that a soul full of Christian
goodness is os superior to a pretty face and
showy dress, as summer sunrise among the
mountains excels any landscape of church
or Landseer.”
The Wandering Sheep.
Perhaps you havo one scholar who is
troublesome. Sometimes you get tired of
this scholar. Sometimes you are discour
aged. Sometimes you are indignant.
Did you ever think of that parable of the
lost sheep. The ninety and nine were left.
A hireling perhaps had charge of them. But
the shepherd could trust no one else to seek
the poor, wandering, imperilled, lost one.
The lost sheep was nearest the heart of the
shepherd. The wayward sinner is most anx
iously regarded by the Good Shepherd.
Would you be like your Master ? Would
you be a true shepherd ? Then let your
heart cherish most the wandering one. Lot
him be everpresent in your prayers, and al
ways uppermost in your thoughts. Ha is
most in danger. Do not let any sense of
the ingratitude of such a pupil toward you
keep you from loving him more tenderly
than the rest. Remember: The lost sheep
nearest the Shepherd’s heart l — Eggleston.
A Gumri* conscience is like a whirlpool,
drawing in all to itself which wonld other
wise pass by.
hi.
Steps to the Gallows,
ho had committed murder, was
HHd guilty, and condemned to bo
few days before his execution,
jggMalls °f the prison ho drew tho
hanging on the gallows, with
to it.
step he wrote, Disobedience
JKKm Solomon says, “Tho eyo that
his father and despiseth to obey
the ravens of tho valley shall
Ht and tho young eagles shall cat
is, be shall perish by a violent
|JHio shall come to a miserable, wroteli-
second step lio wrote, Sabbath-
IKg. God, in His command, said, “Re
aver the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
Hvour prisons and jails, and you will
Hhat nine tenths of its inmates have he
rn their downward course by breaking this
Ihmand.
Kin tho third step ho wrote, Gambling aud
drunkenness. The late Dr. Nott, for more
*han fifty years President of Union College,
having been a close observer of human
events truly says, “The finished gambler
has no heart. He would play at his broth
er’s funeral, he • would gamble upon his
mother’s coffin.” Several years ago, a boy
was hung for killing his little brother. When
on the gallows the sheriff said, “If you have
anything to say, speak now, for you have
only five minutes to live.” The boy, burst
ing into tears, said, “I have to die, I had
only one little brother ; ho had beautiful
blue eyes and flaxen hair, and I loved him.
But one day I got drunk, for the first time
in my life, and coming home I found him
gathering strawberries in the garden. I be
came angry with him without a cause, and
I killed him at one blow with a rake. I did
not know anything about it till the next
morning when I awoke from sleep, andfonnd
myself tied and guarded, and was told that
when my little brother was found, his hair
was clotted with his blood and brains, and
he was dead. Whisky has done this. It has
ruined me. I never was drunk but once. I
have only one more word to say, and then I
am going to my final Judge. I say it to
young people : Never, never, never touch
anything that will intoxicate 1”
On the fourth step he wrote, Murder,
God’s command is, “Thou shalt not kill.”
To prevent man from unlawfully taking the
life of his fellow-man. God has annexed an
awful penalty: “Whoso slieddeth man’s
blood, by man shall his blood be shed.”
On the fifth step he wrote, The Fatal Plat
form. It impossible for us to form a correct
idea of the thought that must rush through
the mind of a man under such circumstan
ces. The disgrace and ignominy attached
to his name, the pains and agony of such a
death ; the want of sympathy in the commu
nity around him ; the fearful forebodings of
his guilty soul at the bar of a holy God,
I was called, in the early part of my min
istry, to write the confession of a murderer,
and attend him on the gallows. His name
was Moses Lyons. He, when drunk, mur
dered his wife. Being maddened by liquor,
he seized her by the hair and jammed her
head on the hearth until sho was dead. Two
men who were passing by, hearing her
shrieks, rushed in and caught him in this
murderous, brutal act. I visited him in jail
from time to time, with a view of leading
him to Christ. In his confession, he said,
“She is dead. I must have done it, I know
nothing abut it.” His mind was so stupe
fied by rum, that under the evil spirit, be
committed this brutal deed. Alluding to his
parents, ho says : “The advice of my dear
parents to servo God, I did not listen tp.
Oh, had I done so, I should not havo come
to this shameful £pd, They havo gone to
their graven 'pdiice be to them. Could I
visit the sjfot whero they-lie buried, I would
bathe their graves with nly tears.” He had
two daughters ; when he jrpoke of them he
wept aloigl. After a long pause, he said, “I
hope the lurid will notplisit on them the
iniquity of THelr fqtljgki' Parents, bring up
your children iufhe nurture aud admonition
of the Lord; set a good example before
them ; do not to them as I have done to
mine. Children obey your parents in the
Lord : listen to their counsel and advioo ;
look at me, and see my fate for not walking
as my parents directed me,”
Speech-Making in Prayer.
Should prayer offered in public be an ora
tion? A few months ago we went to church
on a Sunday evening in a large country
town, and beard something which so im
pressed us that we have since thought about
it very often. It was not the sermon; there
was nothing specially memorable in that.
It was a prayer, or at least when the minis
ter began ithe said, “Let us pray,” and the
people bowed their heads as if in supplica
tion. Then we heard, first, a brief eulogy
upon human nature, setting forth its digni
ty and independence. Then there was a
description of the horrible and enslaving
effects of superstition, and of false views of
the character of God which have always
been entertained in the Christian church.
After this the results of modern theological
criticism were summoned up, and tho prayer
concluded with a sketch iu outline of the
state of things in the “good time coming,
when man will be emancipated from the
bondage of traditions, and rites and super
stitious usages, and will reverence and wor
ship only the divine in his own nature.”
This is no caricature; it is an accurate report
of what we heard on the occasion referred
to, and in important respects it Is much like
in our own denomination and in others.
There is a great deal of praying in public
that closely resembles speech-making. Os
course we intend no criticism of the obvious
ideas and opinions of the minister whom
we heard; we only ask whether such an ora
tion can properly be called a prayer?
“Bring Him Unto Me.”
The life of Jesus is full of instructive inci
dents. What part of it can we read without
deriving encouragement, counsel, or instruc
tion from it? When our Lord was on the
mount of transfiguration, a man brought
his son to the disciples to bo healed, but
the devil was too strong for them, aud would
not obey their command. When Jesus came
down, he complained of their unbelief, and
said, Bring him unto me.” (Matt. ix. 19.)
He was brought and healed, and all were
instructed. The subject is full of profitable
and important instruction for us.
Here is a mistake corrected. IFe try, then,
to do without Jesus. The child was brought
to the disciples, not to Jesus. So we bring
our children to the means, not directly to
Christ. We try to bear our sorrows, carry
our crosses, master our difficulties, and
overcome our troubles, without bringing
them to Jesus, or calling upon him for help.
TFe go to others before Jesus. We ought in
all things to go to Jesus first. But we think
over the subject, draw plans, and make ef
forts; we go to others for counsel and assis
tance, whereas w;e ought to go direct to Jesus,
spread the matter before him, ask counsel
of him, and entreat him to appear for us.
We keep many things from Jesus. But we
ought to carry everything to Jesus. What
ever affects us interests liim, and be wishes
to hear of it from us. Everything should
be turned into prayer or praise. All should
be laid before the Lord, that be may bless
it, remove it, or sanctify it to us as the case
may require. Never, in future, let us try to
do without Jesus, in any place or under any
circumstances.
“Approaching the Subject.'”
I have a vivid remembrance of a sermon I
heard B. S. preach at a oamp-meering, on
the words of Moses to Jethro: “We are
journeying unto the land of which the Lord
hath said,” etc. He began with the call of
Abraham, whioh, to rehearse, took him
about fifteen minutes. Then he said, “But
let us come nearer to the subject; and went
on to give us the history of Jacob. Then,
exclaiming, “But let us come a little nearer
to the snbjeot," he treated us toa memoir of
Joseph, and his fraternal persecutions, and
his Egyptian temptations and tnumplis.
Then, pausing to get his strength, he ob
served, “But it is time for us to approach
the snbjeot;” and went into a dissertation
on brick making without straw, and other
matters therewith connected. Then he
made another and nearer approximation “to
the subject,” and led us through the Red
S«a and into tbe Arabian Desert, ever and
pausing in his march to invite ns
E. H. MYERS, D. D., EDITOR.
WHOLE NUMBER 1826.
“nearer to the subject.” At last we found
ourselves at the foot of Mount Sinai; and
Ben, preparatory to starting with Moses up
the rugged steep, with a voice half as loud
as the trumpet on the top, shouting, “And
now we begin to approach the subject!” when
the presiding elder behind him, looking nt
his watch, and discovering that our friend
had been an hour and a quarter on his way
to Mount Sinai and the subject, gently pulled
his coat-tail, and hinted to him that he “had
better leave the subject till to-morrow.—
Exchange.
Prayer for Preachers.
A faithful brother once remarked: * ‘When -
ever Igo to the House of God praying for
the preacher, I always get a good sermon.”
There is much in this preparation of tho
heart. The sermons, doubtless, were main
ly prepared before the prayers were offered.
Some other hearers slept under the same
sermons, while others criticised them severe
ly. What was the reason that to Brother
A. they were a feast of fat things, while
they did not keep Brother B. awake, and
Brother C thought them weak or unsound,
and Brother D. said it “was time we had a
new minister?” The whole secret was iu
Brother A.’s coming to the House of God
praying for the preacher. He came seeking
and desiring a blessing, which tho others
did not.
The gospel is always relished by tho spirit
ually minded; but human hearts, like tho
shallow ground of the parable, are not al
ways for its healthful reception.
How many professing Christians habitual
ly think of the watchmen on Zion’s walls,
and pray for special grace that they may
speak a word in season, and that it may fall
into soil prepared for its reception?
lam not a preacher, but I can easily seo
how much advantage a preacher must de
rive from the prayers of his people, and
from their devout attention to his public la
bors.
One of the greatest evils among Baptist
Churches is tho instability of the pastorate
relation. We have now too many of the
evils, without the benefit of the itinerating
system. Itching ears and exactings seem to
possess the people. From these grow short
lived pastorates, inefficiency and alienations.
So long as the pastoral relation is sundred
by whims and tastes, the people will never
get the “right kind of a man,” and pastors
will more rarely find “the right kind of a
people.”
Let the people and the preacher go up
to the house of God praying for the life
giving power to be imparted to all the evr
cises. So praying, we shall find much i >
learn, much to enjoy, and mneh to put om
affections in a lively exercise, from any one
whom God, in His providence, shall place
over us." — National Baptist.
Nearing the Other Shore.
When, after the weary voyage that I first
made across the ocean, sick and loathsome,
I arose one morning and went upon the deck,
holding on, crawling, thinking that I was
but a worm, I smelt in the air some strange
smell, and I said to the captain,
“What is that odor?”
“It is the land breeze from of tho coast.”
I smelt the turf, I smelt thejgrass, I smelt
the leaves and flowers, and all my sick
noss departed from me; my eyes grew bright,
my nausea was gone. The thought of tho
nearness of home came to me. And when,
afar off, I saw the dim land, joy came and
gave me health, and from that moment I had
neither sickness nor trouble; I was coming
nearov to the land.
O, is there not for you, weary pilgrim, a
land breeze blowing from off the heavenly
country, wafting to you some of its sweet
ness? The garden of the Lord is not far
away. I know from the air. Behold tho
joy of home! Do I not hear the children
shout? Tho air isfull of music to our silent
thought. O liow full of music, when our
journey is almost done, and we stand upon
the bound and precinct of that blessed land!
Hold on to your faith. Believe more firmly.
Take hold by prayer and faith. Away with
troubles ana buffetting. Be happy; you are
saved. In a few hours, visions of God and
all the realities of the eternal world shall be
vours, and you shall be saved with an ever
lasting salvation.
I Love the Prayer Meeting.
1. Because, after the toils and perplexities
of the day, my mind finds a sweet relief
from the burdens that have oppressed it.
The privilege of praying for others relieves
my own heart. ‘ ‘When I went into the sanct
uary, then understood I their end.”
2. There I do often obtain new views of
truth. A spark is struck from the Word of
God that kindles a flame in my heart. A
vein hitherto hidden is opened. My soul
bSws down to drink the reviving element,
and is refreshed.
3. It brings me near to God. It is the place
of special promise: “Where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am
lin the midst of them.” If many are ab
sent, God is always there. lam never dis
appointed in this. He never stays away.
If but “two or three” meet, he condescends
to mako “one.” And what a “one” he is.
We see him not, but we feel his presence;
something seems to say, “Lo, I am in the
midst of you.”
7. It brings me nearer Iteaven. Like Jacob,
we are often constrained to say, “This is
the gate of heaven.” Here I come to look
upon my Saviour, and the glories of my fu
ture eternal liome.
Faith.
A good story is this, and well illustrates
the assurance of faith:
One day when Bonaparte was reviewing
some troops, the bridle of his horse slipped
from his hand, and the horse galloped off.
A common soldier ran, and laying hold of
the bridle, brought back the horse to the
Emperor's hand, when he said to the man,
“Well done, captain.” Tbe soldier inquired,
“Os what regiment, sire?” “Os the guards,”
answered Napoleon, pleased with his instant
belief in his word. The Emperor rode off;
the soldier threw down his musket, and,
though he had no epaulets on his shoulders,
no sword by his side, nor any other mark of
advancement, he ran and joined the staff of
commanding officers. They laughed at him
and said, “What have you to do here?” He
replied, “I am captain of the guards.”
They were amazed, but he said, “The Em
peror has said so, and therefore I am.” In
like manner, through the Word of God,
“He that believeth hath everlasting life,” is
not confirmed by the feelings of the believer :
he onght to take the Word of God as true
because he has said it, and thus honor Him
as a God of truth, and rejoice with joy un
speakable.
Religion and Business. —A few weeks
since, says The Methodist, while travelling in
one of the New England States, we met an
eccentric old man who combines the occu
pations of fanner, horse-dealer, aod colpor
teur. In his “work of mercy,” he distri
butes tracts gratuitously, and sells Bibles
and other religious books at cost to those
who can pay for them, and gives them away
to the poor. We are very much impressed,
as well as amused, with one remark which
the old man made in the course of the con
versation. “Now,” said he, “when I start
on a work of mercy and atop to deal in hors
es, I never have good luck. The foot is, I
don’t want the Lord around when I’m trading
horses /’’ From the lips of some, this would
savor of irreverence; but there was no ir
reverence in the manner of this old man.
He seems to be impressed with the impor
tance of a profound truth he had discovered,
and this was his homely and pithy way of
formulating that truth. It was only a frank
avowal of a sentiment which many men ap
prove, though they dare not utter—some,
indeed, being afraid to confess it to their
own hearts. They wish to lose sight of God
while attending to business, forgetting that
God does not lose sight of them. With
thorn, business is one thing, religion another;
the one can be strictly attended to on six
days of the week, the observance of the
other to be confined to one day. While
they do not hesitate to let business some
times enoroaoh on religion, they are very
careful not to allow religion to enoroaoh on
bminm