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VOLUME XXXVIII. NO. 41.
f Bttrp.
Tlierc is no Death.
nr LORD LITTON.
There is no death! The ftais go down
To rise upon some fairer shore,
And bright in heaven's jeweled crown
They shine foieveiraore.
There is no death! The dust we tread
Shall change beneath the summer showers
To golden grain or mellowed n'Uit,
Or rainbow tinted flowers.
The granite rocks disorganize,
And feed the hungry inoss they bear;
The forest trees drink daily life
From out the viewless air.
There is no death! The leaves may fall,
And flowers may fade and pa s away;
They only wait through wintry hours
The coming of the May.
There is no death! An angel foim
Walks o’er the earth with silent Iread,
And bears our best beloved away.
And then we call them “dead."
He leaves our hearts all desolate,
He pluckß our fairest, sweetest flowers;
Transplanted into bliss, they now
Adorn immortal bowers.
The bird-like voice, whose joyous ton s
Make glad these scenes of sin and Btrife,
Now' sings an everlasting song
Around the tree of life.
Where’er he sees a smile too bright.
Or heart too poor for taint and vice,
He bears it to that world of light
To dwell in Paradise.
Born unto that undying life.
They leave us but to come again;
With joy we welcome them the same,
their sin and pain.
And ever near us, though unseen,
The dear immortal spirits tread;
For all the boundless universe
Is life. There are no dead!
(frontribnlions,
Tlie Lonl's Prayer.
BY KEY. W. KNOX.
IX. Daily Bread. — Continued.
It is time to look at tbe petition in the
language in which the Stviour expressed
it: "(live ns this day our daily bread:" Or,
as it is found in Luke, — "(lire ns day by
day our daily bread."
We are to ask for daily bread, —for what
is needful for ua in our present circum
stances. We are not to ask for or expect
more than this. The “laying up treasures
upon the earth,” the accumulation of
large fortunes to bo spent in luxurious
opse, to be wasted in hurtful extravagance,
or to be hoarded up for the gratification
of our avaricious wishes, is contrary to our
Lord’s teaching elsewhere, and cannot be
implied in the petition. A competence is
needed, and we may pray for it; but more
than this is not needed, and should not
be coveted. Agur’s prayer may well be
imitated. “Give me neither poverty nor
riches: feed me wi.h food convenient for
me:—lest I be full and deny Thee, and
say. Who is tbo Lcrd? or lest I be poor
and steal, and take the name of my God
in vain.” Prov. xxx, 8, 9
The prayer, as taught by the Saviour,
has special reference to the present,—
"this day," —in Luke 'day by day." The
marginal reading is "for the day." The
meaning is, as the need arises.
The lesson taugLt is that we should de
pend constantly upon the providential
c >re of our bountiful Heavenly Father, —
that we should ask for the supply of our
present wants, and have no anxious care
about the things of the future; and it finds
a beautiful and impressive illnsiration in
the manna furnished to the Israelites in
that “great and terrible wilderness.” They
were to gather each morning a sufficiency,
and only a sufficiency, for that day. If
more was gathered, snd a portion laid up
for the next day, it bred worms, and be
came unfit for use. To impress the sanc
tity of the Sabbath day, they were re
quired to gather a double portion on the
day beft re. This did not spoil. On the
Sabbath none fell, tbo temptation to vio
late it, being thus removed. It is said,
that “he that gathered much had nothing
over,” and that “to him that gathered
little there was no lack.” Thus they were
taught to rely npon God every day for the
food needed on that day.
Iu applying this lesson to ourselves, we
must note the diffi ranee in the circum
stances. They were in a wilderness, call
ed frequently by Moses, “that great and
terrible wilderness,” as though the re
membrance of it ever waked up feelings
of terror. They were there by the ap
pointment of God. They had no soil to
cultivate, or from which they could derive
a sustenance. They were pilgrims, trav
elers pnisning a journey, and such by the
will of God. They tarried no where long
enough to raise grain by culture, even if
the desert 6ands would have {reduced it.
They were wholly dependent npon the
supplies He daily tent them, —the manna
distilled, nightly as dew around their
camps, the quails miraculously furnishod )
and the water which was made to gush
forth from the solid rock. We have broad
lands, and fertile fields, and water welling
up from living fonntains. Now, as the
Israelites were required to “gather the
manna,” to “knock down the quails," to go
to the rock for water, —to do, in a word, all
they could do towards their own snpport;
so we are required to toil for onr susten
ance, —to till onr fields, to cultivate the
growing corn, to follow diligently onr
avocation or profession, for the supply of
our constantly recurring wants. Tbe
decree or sentence, “In the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread,” has never beeh
revoked or modified, and we must labor
in some way— do what we can, to real -
a snpport; and nntill we do this, or unless
we do this, we have no right to ask, no
reason to expect, help from God. He
who, contrary to the Divine mandate,
spends bis time in idleness, or wastes his
resources by extravagance, prays in vain,
when he prays for his “daily bread” to be
given him.
But, however we may toil and labor,
without the blessing of God, it will avail
ns nothing. Onr soil however ferti’e, our
fields however well cultivated, can yield
no increase, without rain and sun shine.
Onr professions however well followed,
cannot, without the smiles of God, prove
available. Here, then, is the ground of
our dependence, —our constant, onr abso
lute dependence;—and here, too, is a
margin broad and ample for the prayer,—
“Give us this day our daily bread."
The labor we perform must be held a*
subordinate. Onr first, onr highest obli
gation, is to the God who made and re
deemed ns. Whatever portion of our
time He demands,—whether one seventh
or the whole—it is our duty to render
Him. From the obligation to this there
is absolutely no escape. As if to show
that those who act on this principle shall
suffer no loss, He sent a double supply of
manna on the sixth day,—so that by
giving Him one day in seven, they sufftr
ed no lots, but had tLeir full supply as on
other days. "Seek first the kingdom of
God, and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added unto you.” Such is
the teaching of the great Teacher; and we
should fear no loss from a failure in our
worldly business occasioned by the due
observance of any work, or conformity to
any service, which He requires.
The qualifying clause, “which He re
quires,'" may be emphasized in this connec
tion. The hermit devotes all his time, as
he may suppose, to the service of God.
But where is such service required? The
Master said, —“Let yonr light so shine
before men that they may see yonr good
works, and glorify yonr Father in hea
ven;” bat his lamp, if lighted, shines cot
before men, bnt “under a bushel,” or in
the forest world, wasting its brightness
npon the desert air. In thus engaging in
an nnrequired service, he is bnt an idler,
and has no right to expect food and cloth
ing from God. So too in respect of the
monks and nans, who shut Ihemselves np
in some secluded cloister, and spend their
days in monotonous rounds of nnrequired
devotions, while tbeie is a world without,
where their influence for good should be
exerted and felt, and where their exam
ple, if worthy of imitation, should be seen
and followed. They have no right to ex
peot that their daily bread will be given
them. Lot them come out, and labor in
some useful department, and not expect
to bo idly fid, while engaged in services
not required by the Father, but repugnant
to the plainest teachings of His word.
There are, however, irstances in which
the whole of our time is required by the
Lord, and in which we are tin own, like
the Israelites in the desert, entirely upon
the kind provisions, the constant care, of
our Heavenly Father. In this category
we may include the minister of Christ, —
tho ambassador Ho Las chosen to hi raid
forth the gloiious truths of nis Gospel, to
beseeth bis fellow men “in Christ’s stead
to be reconciled to God,” and in various
ways to build up the over blessed kingdom
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; for
said an inspired Apot le, “They that
preach the Gospel shall live of the Gos
pel.” Such are not doing an nnreqnired
work,—are not engaged in ucrequired
services,—are not wasting their time in
unrequited dovotions; but, in obedience
to the call of their Divine Master, they are
yielding up all their time in His seivice,
in promoting His interests in the world,
in the advancement of His kingdom upon
the earth; and, therefore, they may pray
to the great Father of all —their Father,
“Give ns this day our daily bread;'' and
they may be confidently assured, th it
tLeir prayer is heard, and that according
to the day there will be a supply of “daily
bread”—of daily needs.
How beautiful are the teachings of the
Stored Scriptures! Those wno are willing
to forsake all for Christ, have the promise,
not only of an everlasfiDg inheritance in
the worid to come, but of the world that
now is; and in this present life, they have
not only the assurance of spiritual com
fort, —of peace, and joy and happiness,—
but also of tbtir “daily bread,”—of what
ever is necessary for their temporal well
being and enj ;yment.
What reason, then, have they to fear, or
to be troubled at heart? Though poor
and having nothing themselves, they are
nevertheless rich, for ther6 is “bread
enough in their Father’s house and to
spare;” and they are by adoption, and
especially by being born from above, by
being created anew in Christ Jesus, anil
thus being one with Him, the children of
that Father, —“heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ." They are told that
the very “hairs of their head are all num
bered,” —they have the grroious assurance
that He wbo “feeds the sparrows” and
“clothes the lilies of the field,” will mnch
more feed and clothe them, who are of
more value than many sparrows, and more
precious in His sight than the stately
cedars of Lebanon. And when the pre
sent life is ended, there is the sure pro
mise, of everlasting life in the blessed
world to come. Well, then, may they be
content with such things as they have,
living in prospect of the glorious, the
evsr-enduring inheritance, which awaits
them!
Many Christians unnecessarily render
themselves unhappy in their present cir
onmstjnces, or because of their present
circumstances. The trouble often is not,
that they have not enough for their pre
sent needs,—bnt that they have not ac
tually laid up in storehouse or in barn, —
a sufficiency, and even abundantly more
than a sufficiency, for the whole of their
future lives! Bnt such independence of
God as this would seem to imply wts
never intended; for even if they had all
this abundance, which seme upon whom
they look as more fortunate or more bless
ed than themselves, do have laid np by
them, they would have no better assur
ance of future enjoyment, since they know
not that they will live a day or an hour to
er joy it. How mnch better to trust Him
both for life and its sustentation!
In a spiritual sense, also, many unneces
sarily afflict themselves. They are more
or lees unhappy, not becanse they have
not grace sufficient for their present neces
sities; bnt because they have not enough
actually in possession to meet their spirit
ual wants for all future life. They see
before them, or think they see, innnmeta
ble difficulties and trials, and beyond all
there looms up in prospective, the dark,
tempestuous river of death; and what sad
thoughts fill their minds when they look
at all these things! how do their hearts
missgive them when they contemplate the
last sad scene of life, and they die a thou
sand deaths in the anticipation of dying:
but ah! my brother, my sister; remember
that you have some how strangely overlook
ed the fact that you are not now overwhelm
ed with these troubles,—that you are not
struggling with the dark waters of death;
and as you are to pray every day for daily
bread, and to expect it only as it is needed
to supply your daily wants; so you are to
pray for spiritual grace,—for “grace to
help in time of need,” and to expect it
when you are about to be overwhelmed in
the flood, Many, ah! how many,— who
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & COMPANY, FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
MACON, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1875.
all their life-long have been in bondage
throngh fear of death, have been ready to
inquire, when the long dreaded hour has
come, “Can this be death ?”
I cannot better close this article, already
sufficiently long, than with the beautiful
stanzas; —
“ Lord, my times are in Thy hand,
All my sanguine hopes have planned,
To Thy wisdom I resign,
And would make Thy purpoee mine:
“ Thou my daily task shalt give,
Day by day to Thee I live;
80 shall added years fulfill,
Not my own, my Father’s will."
Exclusive Apostolical Succes
sion—No. VIII.
BY A DEACON.
“Avoid foolish questions and genealogies.”—
Titi' iii: 9.
The very first link in the chain of ex
clusive and personal episcopal descent,
forged by high-churchmen, is wanting.
Scripture does not give a clew to Church
organization, with a single bishop at the
head, invested with exclusive powers c*
ordaining and governing.
Bnt before pursuing the historical ac
count of the origin of this later, unin
spired, and imapostolical ecclesiastical ar
rangement, let us glance at tbe fabulous
lists, through which the high-church
party traco the personal and spiritual de
scent of their bishops. The lists arc said
to be gathered from Eusebius Pumphil
ius, bishop of Gesarea, “ who copied them
from the records of the Church, and authors
extant in his times. . . . Very many of
these records, though now lost, were pre
served in his day, in the library at Jem
salem, founded by Alexander, bishop of
that cily, about A. D. 250, to which Eu
sebius had access, and from which he
drew many of his materials for his histo
ry.” (Chapin.)
Eusebius shall himself say, what cer
tainly shall be attached to his lists. “He
says that he had I to tread a solitary and
unbroken way’—with * only some shows
and tokens divers here and there had left,
particularly declaring of the times they
lived io,’ —and, when speaking of Paul
and Peter, and the churches founded by
them, Rays,‘Now how many end what sin
cere followers of them have been ap
proved as sufficient to take the charge of
those churches by them founded, it is not
easy to say, except such and bo mariy as
may bo collected from tbe words of St.
Paul.’ [H-c remits ns to the Scriptures,
and we have found from that original
source, that neither Timothy nor Titns
were more than presbyters among the nu
merous fellow-elders of the Churches in
which they ministered], Whitney ad
mits that he ‘can fi:;d nothing of this
matter, as to Timothy and Titus being
bishops of Ephesus and Crete, in any wri
ter of the fret three centuries ' ‘Bishop
Pearson, whom all churchmen will allow
to be unexceptionable authority, posi
tively declares that Eusebius had no
archives or diptyebs to go by; and he says,
tbe supposition that he bed cat dogues of
th Roman hishop3 is uIL. ly vain..' 'Cub
assnte, tbe learned Popish historian of the
Councils, says, ‘lt is a very Dor.r.rir,
question couce jing Linns, Cletns, and
Clemens, as to which of them sui'ceeded
Peter.’ Dr.Comber,a ve.j learned divine
of the Church of England, says, ‘Upon the
whole matter, there is no out.*-my
who was bishop of Rome, next to the apos
tles; and therefore the Rimanists [and
modern high churchmen] build upon bd
ill bottom, when they lay so great weight on
tbeir personal succession!’ ” (Powell).
Until the high church doctors agree to the
certainty and trnth of Eusebius’ succes
sion lists, they will remain discredited
and worthless.
Resuming now the history of the rise
of bishops to a higher authority than
presbyters, by human custom—uot by di
vine right,—it will not appear so very
creditable to “the cloth.” Mosbeim con
tinues tbis history as follows:
“It was then (after the growth of
churches) judged necessary, that one man
of distinguished gravity and wisdom
should preside in the council of the pres
byters.” “ This person was at first styled
the angel of Ihe Church to which he be
longed, but was afterward distinguished
by the name of bishop, or inspector.” “A
bishop, during the first and second cen
tury, was a person who had the care of
one Christian assembly, which, at that
time, was, generally speaking, small
enough to be contained in a private
house.” “ The power aud jurisdiction
of the bishops were not long confined to
these nairow limits.” (Ist century.) “Of
the bread and wine, presented in these
offerings (love feasts), such a quantity
was separated from the rest, as was re-
quired in the administration of the Lord’s
Supper; this was consecrated by certain
prayers pronounced by the bishop a 1 - ne,
to which the people assented by saying
Amen. The holy supper was distributed
by the and aeons.” “When the Christian
churches were well established, and gov
erned by a system of fixed laws, then the
right of baptizing the Christian converts
was vested in the bishop alone. This
right, indeed, he conferred upon the
presbyters and chcrepisc pi, or country bish
ops, when the bounds of the Church were
still further enlarged, reserving, however,
to himself, the confirmation of the bap
tism, which was administered by a pres
byter.” “ The form of eccl< siastical gov
ernment, whose commencement we have
seen in tho last ceutu y, was brought in
this, to a greater deg.ee of stabfl’ty and
consistence. One inspector, or bishop,
presided over each Christian r -sembly, to
which office he w r ' elected by the voice! of
the shole people.” “To ar Ist him in
this laborious province, be formed a coun
cil of presbyters” (elders). “The Chris
tian doctors had the good fortune to per-
suade the people, that the ministers of
the Christian Church succeeded to the
character, rights, and privileges of the
Jewish priesthood; and this persuasion was
anew source both of honors and profit to
the sacred order.” (2d century.) “Cy
prian insisted, with the utmost warmth,
upon the eqi.a'.ily, in point of dignity and
au'horily, that subsisted among a ll the
members of the episcopal order.” But
“ the face of things began now to change
in the Christian Church. The ancient
method of ecclesiastics 1 government
seemed, in general, still to subsist, while,
at the same time, by imperceptible steps,
it varied from the primitive rule, and de
generated toward the form of a religious
monarohy. For the bishops aspired to
higher degre s of power and authority
than they had formerly possessed; and not
only violated 'he rights of the people, but also
made gradual encroachments upon the priv
ileges of the presbyters." “ This change in
the form of ecclesiastical government was
rood followed by a train of vices, which
dishonored the character and authoiity of
those to whom the administration of the
Church was committed.” “The bishops
assumed, in many places, a prinoely au
thority, particularly those who had the
greatest number of churches under their
inspection, and who presided over the
most opulent assemblies. They appro
priated to their evangelical fonction the
splendid ensigns of temporal majesty. A
throne surrounded with ministers, exalted
above his equals the servants of the meek,
and humb’e Jesus; and sumptuous gar
ments dazzled the eyes and the minds of
the multitude into an ignorant veneration
for their arrogated authority. (33 century.)
Ponder this disgusting history of the
usurpation of exclusive authority by
bishops, and be instructed by this painful
recital of tho spiritual downfall of the
simple primitive religion of Jesus,through
this departure from the established order
of his church!
Mosbeim is not unsupported by “ the
traditions of the fathers,” in his state
merits of the decline and fall of the origi'
nal ecclesiastical government. Irenrens
states the true ptimitive succession where
he says, “ When wo appeal to that tradi
tion which h"< been preserved to uffby
the successions of presbyters in the
churches— ones per successiones presbylero
rum in ecchsiis custoditu- —they (opponents)
presume they are wiser not only than the
presbyters, but eveu than the apostles,
and that they have found the faith in a
purer form,” Tertullian notes the growth
of exelu-ivenes.-: “The highest priest, who
is the bishop,!' s the right of administer
ing baptism. T ANARUS! i the presbyters and
deacons, yet rot without the authority of
the bishops, because of the honor of the
Church. This being preseived, peace is
preserved. Oih : i wise, the bight belongs
even to hymen." 0.-igen, a presbyter, al
ludes to the “chairs” filled by the pres
byters: "What will it profit me [a presby
ter] to sit in a righfr or ■ .... (Ra
pacious) deacons will go about to seize the
niGPCR chairs (if presbyters—prim as
cathtrdras." Bo the 35th canon 4th Coun
cil of Carthage, (A. D. 398): “As in the
Church, and in the concession of the
presbyteis, the bishop sits in a high r seat
than tho presbytery; so in other places
let him know that he is truly a colleague
( collega ) of the presbyters.” Ambrose, or
Hilary, Rays: “After the churches were
corstitu'ed in every place, and officers
appointed, things began to be arranged
differently .r.m what they were in the be
ginning; for, at tho first, ah 1 t'.ght and uff
baptized . . . The apostles’ writings
are not altogether [uotat a!l| agreeable
to the order of things as now practiced in
the Church. . . . The presbyter and
bishop had me and the same ordination.
The bish -p is the chief among the presby
f rs—Episcopal est q>d inter prehyt ros pri
mus." Chrysostom (A. D. 400) notes the
eb mgo resDectit.'the exclusive claim to
the right of ordination: “ The difference
between the bishop and the presbyter is
almost noth ng [in his day]. For the
presidency cf the churches is committed
iopresbylers, and the qua litigations which
the apostle r quires in a bishop, he re
quires ii a presbyter also ; being above
them solely' by their ordination [by the
then eastern], und this is the only thing
they, the bishops, seim to have more than
presbyters.” Origen also marks the pop
ular odium into which the clergy were
fallen in his day. Says he, “Dost thou
think that they who are honored with the
priesthood,ami glory in their priestly order,
walk according to that cr.ler ? In like
manner, dost thou suppose tbe deacons
also walk according to their order ?
Whence then is it that we often hear
reviling men exclaim, ‘ What a bishop!
‘ What a presbyter!’ or ‘What a deacon, is
this fellow 1’ ”
Methodism in Savannah.
Mr. Editor: la addition to what
youe correspondent says ou this sub
ject, allow me to add, that Meth
odism, as a religious system, was
introduced into S.vannah by George
Whitefield; for when John Wesley was
rector there, he was not as yet a Metho
dist. Mr. James Habersham, one of
White-field's friends, and a member of the
Church of England, was a Methodist.
The first effort to introduce that form of
ecclesiasticism known as Methodism, was
mads by Hope Hnll in 1793. He came to
Savannah, rented a chair-maker’s shop,
but was so assailed by the mob, and had
so little encouragement, that he left the
city in a short time.
Mr. Hammett, not far from this period,
made his secession in Charleston, and
Adam 0. Clond, a disciple of his, came to
Savannah and secured a preaching place.
When Lorenzo Dow came to Savannah
in the early part of 1802 he found Clond
had about sixty hearers, and Lorerzo
preached for Lira. What became of thi ,
the first Methodist cong egation in Savan
nah, I have not beau able to find ont
In ISO 6 Suauol Danwody was sent to
Savannah. A Presbyterian gentleman.
Mr. John A. MiS'on, gave him a home.
In the early part of the year Je *se Lee
came through S ivannah. He had vis’ted
the city before and formed a society con
sisting of seven persons, three whites and
four blacks. Two of the colored people
were old Billy and old Peggy, who had
been Methodists in Georgetown, S. C.
From this time there was a regular pas -
toral supply in Savannah, but to the year
1812 the membership continued three
whites and four blacks. Through the
agency of Lewis Myers a lot was pur
chased, and James Em sell came, and suc
ceeded in finishing the church and build
ing and increasing the number of the
society to twenty-five.
Under Henry Bass the parsonage was
built. It was paid for by Win. Capers
the next year. The chtrch had only fifty
four members, when my grandfather,
John Howard, came to it. He was
blessed in his labors, and over one hun
dred valuable members were added to it.
Savannah was hostile to Methodism,
but was blessed with an able and evangel
ical ministry far beyond its sister city,
Augusta. The ministry of Whitefield;
occasionally of Znoly, the first Presbyte-
rian; and of tho Lutherans, was evangeli
cal, and after the Episcopal Church was
burned, about 1783, the Independent
Presbyterians and Episcopalians united
their congregations, and worshipped to
gether. This continued while Dr. Henry
M. Kollock lived; then Chiist’s Church
ws.s bni't. Dr. Holcomb established tho
Beptist Church in Savannah a" 1 early fS
1801.
I have given an abstract of a fall histo
ry of Methodism in Savannah, wbioh I
have prepared for the history of the
Church in this State. Geo. G. Su th.
Conference Zeal.
Dryden calls zeal “ the bbnd conduc
tor of tho will.” This is rather a harsh
iatinition, but ia many respects a very
Ti’Se one ; that is, it may be and is truo
of the zml which actuates many iu their
conduct. Zeal is a good thing to Lave
when it is of the right kind. Paul says :
“It is good always to be zealously aff acted
in a good thing.” No man can succeed
well in any undertaking, unless he be
zealous in it. The Apostle exhorts ns iu
another place to be “zealous of good
works." He likewise speaks of a zeal
“not according to knowledge.” This
label may be put upon much of the cur
rent zeal which we see in operatiou. This
kind of zeal has many developments in
this “strange world of ours.” It has
done mnch harm. It riots in party strifes
and political canvasses. Why, then thore
are not stumps enough to accommodate
Fie furious zealots who shout for thoir
country— who are willing to die for their
country—who think it “ sweet and glori
ous to die for one’s country;” but who,
with magnanimous self-denial, keep none
of this “ sweet and glo.ious ” thing for
themselves, but give it all to others. This
is a cheap zsal; that is, it does not cost
the m mufacturi r much, but in these
Southern States just now, it brings in
very often a handsome profit.
Bat politics is not the only field for the
exercise of this cheap zeal. Tho Church
is a favorite placo for it. Now zeal—truo
zeal—is necessary in all matters of reli
gion, both in the letter and the spirit of
piety. But when this “ blind conductor ”
getf charge of the letter only, it generally
runs things to destruction.
Among the many development! of this
Z9al, one I have notioed particularly which
I have denominated Conference zeal, be
cause it s ims to owo its origin to Con
ference. It is peculiar, I suppose, to
Methodism. It burns warmly jast before
and just after Conference. Dining most
of the year it is veiy quiet. It affects ah
classes, both clergy and laity. A moug
the clergy, wo find those who, during the
year, do very little. They meet their aj -
poyitments, it may b but when they
preach they are off to their bom i. They
rmt farms, and devote all their spare (.’’)
time to these; or they engage iu some
other epceolation, ami through fear of
want—or, to be candid, through love of
money—neglect the spiritual welfare cf
their people. They make no special effort
for revival, and are content if they can
fill their pulpits at the appointed times
and places. This is the course of their
conduct during most of the working season
of tho year. Bat when Conference ap
proaches they prow warmly zealous. They
think the interest of the Church demands
> such and such appointments to be made.
They have been devoted to Methodism all
tbeir lives. If there is anything nearest
to their hearts, it is to see their “beloved
Methodism prosper.” They have watched
anx : ously the church on circuits or
stations; have grieved to see so little suc
cess there, and would like to have the op
portunity of going there and “ bringing
it out.” Were the truth known, there
might be found some other cause of this
unwonted zeal. Those appointments,
doubtless offer peculiar facilities to these
fitfully zealoas brethren for carrying out
some favorite scheme which they have on
foot. Of course, these seldom get their
desires as to appointments, and thou, oh 1
then ! Such lofty zeal as is theirs ! Such
fervent devotion to Methodism ! They
are grieved to see such disregard for the
Church’s best interest manifested by the
appointing authorities. They wonder
how the Church ever has succeeded under
such treatment! And were it not for
ta>ir supreme devotion to the Church
and to Methodism, they would long ago
have retired from the ranks of the minis
try. They live in hope of yet seeing the
wrong men who now occupy these high
p •sitions in the Church put aside, and
taose who have the good of the Church
at heart put in their plac- a This mighty
zeal soon cools down, bo never, when some
unexpected opportunity of “making some
thing” presents itself iu the works to
which they are sent, and it remains qui
escent until another approaching Confer
ence brings it oat afresh. lam glad to
believe that the z lalots of this class are
few ; yet there are some.
Again, among the regular clergy, some
times certain men have certain friends
whom they desire to see sent to certain
appointments. Personal favoritism really
prompts the desire. But this article will
not pass current with the anthorities, and
as there is always a premium on zeal, the
exchange is easily made. They have some
influence with tho Bishop it may be, or
else with the presiding elders, and with
strongest affirmations of zeal for the wel
fare of the Church, they advise these ap
pointments. They do not know (?) hew
the brethren whom they recommend may
find the appointment, bnt they are satis
fied they are willtng to go anywhere the
Bishop may send them 1
Then, too, there are some among us
who aspire to position in their Confer
ences. It will not do to let this be known.
They hardly acknowledge it to them
selves. They must secure the confidence
and favor of thoir brethren who have not
such ambition. So they take them off at
Conference and tell them they have been
watching their course for some time ; they
have been greatly pleased. They think
such and such appointments would suit
them. They could do more good there
than anywhere else. Of course, tne ap
pointment is a flattering one. They do
not suggest it for any other reason, but
becanse they think the good of the Chinch
demands it. The unsophisticated ones
are taken in. They are struck with such
devotion to the Church. Such burning
zeal 1 Such eloquence as they talk of tho
good that may be done by such appoint-
ments, and how they would deprecate any
others I Alas! such zeal is often a “blind
conductor.” It betrays snch brethren
into great inconsistencies. It prompts
dissimulation, and is fatal to piety. But
that such zeal is manifested at almost
eveiy Conference, is a fact not to be de
nied. Would that it were not so; and
God speed the day when it shall cease to
exist 1 Cassius.
A Ball Room Broken Up.
One of onr Church papers has this par
agraph : “ The great revival at Mumford,
Ala., has just closed, and the result was
glorious. Ther9 had been 160 conver
sions, 103 aece- sions to our Church, and
a ball rocm of 63 devotees broken np.”
A most significant statement and alto
gether credible. Revivals and dancing
do not flourish together. When the
house of God is crowded, the ball room
is empty. When a man can say, “As the
heart pantetb after the water brooks, so
p.anteth my soul after thee, O God,” the
music of the ball room does not charm
hini. When the Psalmist sings, “ How
amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of
hos's ! My soul longeth, yea, even faint
eth for the courts of the Lord 1” he is
ready to say, “ For a day in thy courts is
better than a thousand. I had rather be
a door-keeper in the house of my God,
than to dwell in the tents of wi ikedness.”
There can be no mistake about this
matter—dancing aud other such amuse
ments are not “moans of grace.” No
wonder such “ diversions oaunot be taken
in the name of the Lord Jesus.” They
are unfriendly to graeo. The appeal may
be safely mado to each man’s conscience.
The answer is inevitable—these things do
not build up religions experience, they
destroy it. No disciple at his best spir
itual estato relishes the amusements of
the world. Tho tasto for these things re
vives when religion is iu decadence. When
this deserted bell room at Mumford is
full again, there will be many vacant pews
in the Church.
Tme religion has a mighty expulsive
power—it drives out of the Leart what is
foreign to its spirit. And where it pre
vails in a community, the altars of unbe
lief fall before it. It is no now thing that
they have seen iu Mumford. Revival
power lias closed hundreds of ball rooms
beforo this time. So docs it close up
dram shops, great and small. In all such
questionable matters, serious people will
P'k, "Is this friendly to religion ? Can
I ask tho bit 'sing of Jesus upon it ? Docs
it make Ihoso better who practice it ? Do
the holiest people do ties V”
But alas ! dancers, ciraus aud theatre
goers, tipplers, card-player" men of the
world, do not ask snch qu tions. If they
did, they would not be what they are,
Who knows a deeply spiritual pud emi
nently useful Chriitivi wbo loves aud
practices those diversions that, by com
mon consent, have long boon called
“ worldly amusement! ?”
O, for revivals that close np “ball
rooms,” “ and such liko ” places ? A
genuine revival is the best discipline.
Oxford, Oa.
Montanr.
Bishop Maw in closes a letter to the
Pacific Methodist, with the following para
graphs touching the condition and pros
pects of tho work of Southern Methodism
in this territory:
As to the present outlook of our church
here I have the following things to say:
1. Tho determin 1 and finally success
ful effor’ of a party—the anti-Montana—
in the General Confcrem 3 to defeat the
organization of a Montana Conference
caused great depression here among
preachers and p ple. They will neea
occasional re-enforcements here for a good
many years, and dread any symptoms of a
want of sympathy at home that may cut
them off from this.
2. The principal appointment in the
Territory (Helena) w left without a pas
tor for ten months during the past year.
This looked liko practical abandonment,
and caused great dif jouugement. Fol
lowing the unfriendly action of the Gen
eral Conference. it seemed to say: Mon
tana is turned on: to perish.
3. There have been some special local
causes of discouragement incidental to a
new country, which I need not enter upon
fully.
4 The general financial depression of
the country has reached Montana, and for
the third year the grasshoppf r has des
troyed a largo portion of the crop. The
insect is also depositing its eggs so as to
insure its presence next spring in count
less numbers. There is actual fear of
want among some of the farmers.
These are the disconr igements. Is any
thing to be said on the other side?
1. The vacant pastorate in Helena has
been supplied by the transfer of the Rev.
W. Harris from the Baltimore Confer
ence, Bi o. Harris ba3 been received with
great cordiality by preachers and peoplp,
and his presence lias imparted new confi
dence on all sides.
2. We are stili the leading denomina
tion in the Territory.
3 Onr preachers are in no way suspect
ed of complicity in the “Indian ring,”
which is greatly to their credit in the pub
lic estimation bore.
4. Some circumstances that have here
tofore been in our way, and which I need
not detail here, are clearing away.
5. The general effect of the Conference
session was encouraging, and we all feel
decidedly euheartened. Tbe brethren
have gone to their fields in good heart and
hope, and, as I believe, with a feeling of
renewed consecration to God. I look for
a great blessing on their labors this year.
May God hasten it in his time.
I have been obliged to leave the district
to be supplied. I want a man of God for
it—a man of good sense, of deep piety,
and one who is ready to “endure hardness,
as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." I want
a man who will cars for the flock and not
for the fleece—a man of the Pauline
stamp. Can the Church at home furnish
me such a man for Montana? I do not
doubt it. Such a man can do a greater
work here now than he can in any old
country where things are organized and
going on m a matter-of-course way.
We have a strong position here, and I
have no dread of failnre, except from one
cause—nor can I believe that that cause
will be found to exist; but if. the infant
chnrcli iu Montana shall perish, the in
scription npon her tomb will be: “She
was a robust and lovely child, but was
deserted by an nnnatural mother, and left
to perish.” Bnt Ido not and cannot be
lieve that such a reproach will he inenrred
by tbe Methodist Episcopal Church,
South.
The deep unalterable feeling that truth
has a supreme claim over all things else,
and that nothing can justify, not merely
tbe utterance of falsehood but silence
connivance with it, —this feeling is en
graven in man’s soul by Him who is the
Father of lights. If we did not believe in
tbe unchangeable nature and claims of
truth, we could not believe in Him.— Ker.
The Master’s Call.
They tell me a solemn story, but it Is not rad
to me,
For in its sweet unfolding my Baiiour’s love I
see;
They say that at any moment the Lord of Life
may come
To lift me from the cloud-land into the light of
home.
They say I may have no warning, I may not
even hear
The tustling of His garments es He softly draw
eth near;
Suddenly, iu a moment, upon my ear may fall
The summons to leave our homestead, to an
swer the Master’ call.
Perhaps He’ll come in the noontide of some
bright and sunny day,
When with dear one3 all around me, my life
seems bright and gay;
Plcrsant must be the patflway, easy the shining
road,
Up from the dimmer sunlight into the light of
God.
Perhaps He’ll come in the stillness of the mild
and quiet Bight,
When the earth is calmly sleeping ’neatli the
moonbeams’ silvery light;
When the stars are softly shining o’er slumber
ing land and sen;
Perhaps in the holy stillness the Master will
come for me.
I think I would rather hear it, that voice so low
and sweet.
Calling me out from the shadows, my blessed
Lord to meet;
Up through the glowing splendors of a s'" ivy,
earthly night.
To “see the King in His beauty,” in a land of
pu.cr light.
An Infidel Converted.
In the mountainous region of Western
Maryland, where I labored as a colpor
teur, lived a noted infidel. Naturally
quick, he wph ready for an argument on
all occasions. Proud of his sharpness of
mind he tcok delight in showing it by
cavilling aud tailing at Christianity. He
challenged any one, eveu preachers, to
meet him in debate, and he would prove
Christianity fa 1 a. He had Paine’s Age
of Reason, which he read and circulated
in the neighborhood. He wr ’ a ring
leader in wicke n s, going sometimes
with rowdies > disturb religious meet
ings. His bold assertions gave him au
influence in the community, so that to
many persons he became a teiror. He
was inclined to be qnarrelsome and abu
sive, wrs profane, foariug neither God
nor maD. The devil s med to have lull
possession of him. As is often tho case
with infidels, evil pa' ions anil lrsts
reigned within him.
t -p'd such a man bo changed ? Har
dened to everything good, captive and
slave to everything bad, he seemed inpe
orssible to religion. The ways of sin,and
the wages of sin, seemed his settled, un
changeable doom.
Being in the neighborhood I was re
quested to call and talk with him. I went,
at the risk of being abused. He soon be
gan to argue, quoting Paine and telling
me roughly that the Bible was a humbug,
and religion played out. I asked h ; m if
he knew of Paine’s horrible death. He
tried to deny this, but I pressed him with
facts, which he could not evade. I then
told him I feltsoiry to hear any one ta'k
as he did about the Bible, since soon he
must be judged out of that very book.
Seriously and earncifly I wamc l him to
flee the coming wrath and save b ; s soul.
I went away fee'ing rs though I bad been
talking to the wind, yet leaving him in
the hands of Gc 3. To the wonder of rl),
not long after he came to prayer-meetinu,
and there, without e*iv invitation, knelt
down and prayed. Miraculous grace !
He gave himself up'to the Lord; his
infidelity and hatred of God were a'l gone.
When I went to his house to see him, he
said, “ I am changed; I believe the Bible,
I read it, and pray with my family every
day. I have had a hard struggle, yet I
think I shall hold out.” He now comes
to the meetings,(prays in them publicly,
and was tne people not to do as he did.
The cc jmunity are astonished at this
strange change, admiring the marvelous
grr ;e that could convert such a vile, ha v
e’ened sinner. H ! s wicked r “oeiateshave
cursed him for deserting them, and for
saking the c .use which he used to uphold.
But he stanf firm, and has now held out
faithfully for over eighteen months.
Is not this a living proof of God’s
truth ? Can infidels or worldlings gainsay
this witness to the power of Christianity?
What changed that infidel’s heart? What
rescued him from his sins and lusts, and
brought him to love and serve God? His
moral character is changed. His profan
ity and wickedness are taken away. Can
infidels show an instanoe of any one made
better by infidelity ? This man gave
plain proof that God can change even the
vilest sinner. Christians, take courage.
Expect salvation even for the most har
dened transgressors. Pray for them and
labor with them,in hope. God i3 almighty,
His can soften the most hardened
mind. Have confidence and expect great
results from the amazing power and love
of God. This converted infidel is so well
known in the neighborhood where he
lives, the change in him is so decided and
apparent, that it is in vain to call it in
qui stion or to doubt it. All praise to God
for such wonderful displays of his power
and goodness.— Presbyterian at Work.
u My Mother’s God.”
At a fashionable party, a young physi
cian present spoke of one of his patients
whose case he considered a very critical
one. He said he was “very sorry to lose
him, for he was a noble yoaDg man, but
very unnecessarily concerned about his
soul, and the Christians increased his
agitation by talkiDg with him and praying
for him. He wished Christians would let
his patients alone. Death was bnt an end
less sleep, the religion of Christ a delu
sion, and its followers were not persons of
the highest culture and intelligence.”
A young lady sitting near, and one of
the gayest of the company, said, “Pardon
me, doctor, but I cannot hear you talk
thus and remain silent. lam not a pro
fessor of religion; I never knew anything
about it experimentally, but my mother
was a Christian. Times without number
she has taken me to her room, and, with
her hand upon my head, she has prayed
that God would give her grace to train me
for the skies. Two years ago my precious
mother died, and the religion ebe loved
during life, sustained her in her dying
hour. She called us to the bedside, and,
with her face shining with glory, asked ns
to meet her in heaven, and I promised to
do so. And now,” said the young lady,
displaying deep emotion, “can I believe
that this is all a delusion? that my mother
sleeps an eternal sleep? that she will never
waken again in the morning of the resur
reotion, and that I shall see her no more?
No, I cannot, I will not believe it.” Her
brother tried to quiet her, for by this
time she had the attention of all present.
“No," said she, “brother, let me alone, I
must defend my mother’s God, my moth
er’s religion.”
The physician made no reply, and soon
left the room. He was found shortly
afterward paoing the floor of an adjoining
room, iu great agitation and distress of
spirits. “What is the matter?” a friend
inquired. "Oh,” said he, “that young
lady is right. Her words have pierced
my soul.” And the result of tho convio
tions thus awakened was, that both the
yonng lady and the physician were con
verted to Cbxist, and are useful and in
fluential member! of the Church of God.
Young friends, stand up for Jesus at all
times and in all places, wherever you hear
his name reviled, or his counsels set at
naught. Bather let the language of yonr
heart be, “God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of onr Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.” —Cheering Words.
To tell a man he is all wrong, and leave
him, and go your way, is not a very kind
or hopeful proceeding.
?• U; KENEDY, D. D., Editor
J. W BIJKKE, Assistant Editor
WHOLE NUMBER 1965
Miscellanea.
There are 1,535 Sunday-schools under
the oare of the Evangelical Association
churches of this country. These schools
include 17, 166 officers and teachers, and
92,086 scholars.
The Commissioners appo'nted by tho
Methodist Protestant and Methodist
Churches respectively, to confer on the
subject of organic Church union, have
arranged for a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa.,
in the month of October.
The special election held in New Jersey
to vote on the amendments to the State
constitution, designed to prevent the ap
propriation of public funds to sectarian
purposes, k 3ulted iu sustaining the
amendments by a majority of twenty-five
thousand.
A noticeable event in the annual meet
ings of the Wesleyan Missionary Soeie ■
ties this year was that two of tli9ir chair
men contributed -9500 each to the funds
of the societies. One of them had been
twenty four years a collector for the Wes
leyan Missionary Society.
A dispatch states that Robert Stcckwell
who died recently in Lafayette, Indianr.
“donated, a few days before his death,
962 000 for cbnrcb purposes, 92 000 being
to the Yonng Men’s Christian Association
of that city, and the balance to different
Methodist soeielirs, to which he has al
ways been a liberal giver.”
Pius IX, in a late speech, likened Rome
in his hands to pnre aud finely colored
gold aud the same city in the hands of t he
Italians to diit.v and dingy bra"!. He also
spid that although they have mule it “the
capital of an earthly kingdom, eminently
earthly,” still those few churches left tree
and open ato continually filled with people
solemnizing his great act of dedicating the
Catholic Church to the “Holy Heart.”
Mr. Freemantle, a clergyman o f the
Establishment, having arranged to preach
for Rev. Dr. Parker, Independent, has
been forbidden by his bishop. A public
meeting hri b' an held in London to dis
cuss the subj- at. The law impoRCS a hard
restriction on broad brimmed churchmen,
and puts dessenting ministers in an in
ferior position, they not being recognized
ts clorgymen, nor their places of worship
as consecrated.
For the information and encouragement
of Sunday-school workers throughout tbe
countßev. Thomas Lee, of Cincinnati,
publishes the statement that the Sunday
sohool of the Union Bethel in that city
has an enrollment of 3,5(10 scholars, over
3,000 of whom have attended a session at
once, not connting in teachers and offii ers;
and it is not uncommon, he spys, to have
from 2,000 to 2,600 scholars prr 3ent at the
regular sessions.
Ore of the most pleasing items of intel
ligence in the Austrailian papers just to
ha'-d is the fact that gracious revivals of
religion had been expei icnc I in some of
tho circuitSo remarkable had been tbe
outpouring of the Holy SpL It in some
places that ministers felt it to be their
duty to remain at home to superintend
the work. In the report of tho proceed
ings of the Genc.ul Conference we find
the foOov. ,'ng: “Mr. Kn’ght informed the
Conference that Mr. Cf'ey one of tho re
presenta'.iv* s from South Australia, would
not be pr< sent iu consequence of a re
markable religious awakening which has
t ken place in his circu’t, dm log wr : ch
some 600 persons had profe sed conver
sion to God.”
Tbe North German Gazelle, comment
ing on the recent submission of Catho'lc
clergymen to the’aw for the adminisi. t
tion of church property, fijs the Epis
copate hr i thereby abandoned the princi
pal, hitherto maintained, that politieo
rcclesirstical matters can only be regulated
by means of independent at,augemen*!
between State and Church. The Cf :i c
infers that the Roman Curia has given
permission to the clt gy to decide for
thems :lv-s, at the same time a ~uring
them a decision in favor of submißuon to
the law will not be regarded an act of dis
obedience to Papal autbf ::ty. “This,”
continues the Go el' j, “may be consider' 1
as abandoning the struggle between poli
tical and ecclesiastical powers, and tLo
Catholic Episcopate will probably urge
upon Rome the necessity for extending
still further freedom of action in these
matters.
The Bible in North Ind> . —The 29th
annual report of the North India Bible
Society, auxiliary to the British and For
eign Bible Society, for the year 1871,
printed at Allahabad, 1875.” says: “Dur
ing the past year, editions of the Scrip
tures in Hindi, Urda-Arabic. Urdu-
Roman and Urdu Persian, of more than
1,000,000 copies have been passing
through the press,and no fewer than 31 999
copies are issued from our Depository
against 24,401 in 1873, and 16,150 in
1872.” The issues were as follows:
Scriptures issued to Missionaries super
intending colporters 11,789
Scriptures sold at the Depository and
Depots 18 C 67
Scriptures given as grants 2,133
Grand Total 31,999
Official Methodist Episcopal Periodical?.
Names. Circulali.it.
Methodist Quarterly Review 4.-U0
Ladies’ Repository
The Christian Advocate, New York .>O,OOO
Western Chris. Advocate, Cincinnati 20. H 0
Northwestern Chris. Advocate, Chicago 17,142
Central Christian Advocate, St. Louis.. 8 500
Methodist Advocate, Atlanta 3 970
Christian Apologist. Cincinnati, Geimau 15 300
House and Hearth, German magazine... 8,0(0
Sandebndet, Scandinavian, Chicago 1 500
S. S. Teachers’ Journal, New York 109,000
8. 8. Advocate, N. Y. and Cin. (averuge)276 £OB
Good News, New York 61,5( 0
8 8. Classmate 39,000
Picture Lesson Papers 100,000
Berean Lesson Leaves 956,000
Sunday-school Bell, German 21000
Bible Lessons, German 14,500
Missionary Advocate 104,000
The following statement of the cost of
their paper, and what it wonld post to
Bnbscribers, according to their nnmbers.
has been prepared by the Herald and
Presbyter :
Number of Charge for each
Subscribers. Subscriber.^
2!!!! !!!!!!!!! mum
3 6,667.88
4 5,001.21
5 4,001.21
6 3,334.54
7 2,977.14
8 2.501.21
9 2,223 43
10 2,691.01
20 1,001.21
50 401.21
100 291.21
500... 41.21
1,000 21.21
2 000 1121
5.000 5 21
10,000 3.21
15,000 2.54
20,000 2.21
50,000 1.61
100.00 J 1.41
200 000 1.81
300,000 1.25
Upon the above, tho Central Advocate
forcibly comments as follows :
Tho question then is : How does a paper
published at 92 50 a year, live at all with
out at least a list cf 15,000 subscribers ?
The fact is, a good many that have been
undertaken lived only a short time and
then disappeared. One source of income
is probably not included iu the above cal
culations—that gained by advertising,
which often aids to kec-p a paper afloat.
Bat no paper with less lhan 10,060 sub
scribe! s can command a profitable adver
tising patronage. Nor can religions
journals obtain prices for advertising that
will compare with the secnlar; for they
refuse the class of advertisements which
offer the largest remuneration. If our
readers will compare the price of the re
li£iouß journals in fcois country with lite
rary anil piofessional papers with any
and all weekly journals not made up from
daily nowspapers—it will be mado clear
that they ore the cheapest papers m the
market.