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VOLUME XXXVIII. NO. 44.
fotfrl-
Answered.
Not in my way nor at my time
My heart’s petitions answer gain;
I ask, and all my days are foil
Of longing that I may attain.
“This time,” I cry; “do not delay;
Give me the boon I ask to-dav.”
But opportunity goes by,
And while I pray my lips are fed
With something teat I have not asked,
Nay, what 1 wants and not, insttad.
But still, the food is sweet I find,
And leaves no taste of gall behind.
The Master’s hand has blessed the gift,
And so it must be good for me;
And yet my heart goes sighing still
For that wbieli 1 had hoped to see.
No paio or labor would I spare
If he would only grant this prayer.
I see the hands of others tilled
With that which I have been denied;
And they care not, but scorn perchance,
Because they are so well supplied.
I see and pray (whate’er my quest),
“Lord let me know when 1 am blest!”
I wander on, nor e’er foiget
The treasure that I crave the most,
And think “Perhaps it is too late,
All opportunity is lost;”
When lo! I Fee the blessing swiet
Is lying, fair, beneath inv feet!
—Jielle \V. Cooke, in the Independent.
Conirilmtions.
Exclusive Apostolical Succes
sion—No. IX.
BY A DEACON.
“Avoid foolish questions and genealogies.”—
Titus iii: 9.
What is it —what can it be—as to order,
that distinguishes a bishop from a pres
byter—a ruling eider? A eloee search of
the inf piled word of God has disclosed
the truth that bishops and presbyters were
the same— one order of the ministry.
Those ministers of the first churches no
where lay claim to the spostolate of “the
twelve.” LHtring the lives of “the twelve
apostles,” no one was admitted into their
number, to fill the vacancies that rapidly
recurred, except Matthias to take the
place of Judus, in fulfillment of prophecy.
Disciples sent on any mission of the
Church, were indiscriminately called
“apostles,” but not in the sense, of im
mediate vocation, in which “the twelve”
were so named hy the Saviour. No dis
tinction or superiority by divine right, as
to orde r—grade, rank—is made in Scrip
ture between bishops and presbyters, or
by the earliest ecclesiastical fathers.
Down through a series of centuries, “ihe
fathers” uniformly declare that bishop
i.nd presbyter were originally Ihe same
order and office, the only thing, in a later
age of the Church, distinguishing one
from the rest, being bis election to sit in
“a higher chair ' and preside over ihe
deliberations of the bresbytery,—and
thenee, called the chief cr highest pres
byter—the bishop, overseer or president,
of the assembly
According to the 35ih canon of the 4th
Council of Carthage, when the bishop was
not actually presiding in assembly, he bad
no superiority. “In other places," speaks
the law, “let him know that he is truly a
colleague of the presbytery. “The 13th
canon of the Council of Ancyra, shows an
ecclesiastical chauge and regulation, (al
lude el to in those passages of the history
of the Church before extracted from
Mosht im ) That canon declares that
“Tis not allowed to village bishops
(chnrepiscopi) to oudain presbyters or dea
cons; nor is it allowed even to city pres
byters to do this in another diocese with
out the license of the bishop,”—all pru
dential arrangements, not so much as
hinted at in Scripture history. But the
canon is a plain admission that in the
fourth century, presbyters still had authori
ty to ordain presbytersaLd deacons, with
in the dioceses of their own bishops.
About seventy years before the meeting
of the Council of Ancyra, Firmilian,
bishop of Cesaiea in Cappadocia, wrote,
that, “Ail power and grace is in the
Church, in which presbyters preside,
and have the power c>f baptizing, confirm
ing, and ordaining ” This declaration
fully confirms the truth of the statement
of Jerome, viz., “After the apostles times,
one presbyter was placed over U e rest as a
remedy against schism,” [a human device).
“For at Alexandria, from the evangelist
Mark up to the bishops Heraclas and
Dionysius, (about A. D. 250), the pres
byters always elected one from among
themselves, and placed him in the higher
chair; and they, the presbyters, gave him
the name of bishop,—in the same manner
as an army may make its general; or as
deacons elect one of themselves, whose
industry they know, and cull him arch
deacon. For what does a bishop do,”
(that is, now. he me ins, about A. D. 400),
except ordination, which a presbyter may
not do?” The Council of Nice, (A. D.
325) had taken the step, f ruling the ex
ception made by Jerome, and showing the
regul .r and systematic encroachments of
the bishops on the ar.eient spiritual rights
of presbyters. It was that council which
proscribed the rule that bishops alone
should constitute a bishop. (See Powell
on ail the fc-regoii g passages from the
fathers.)
The evidence adduced in these papers
makes it palpable, that the ecclesiastical
arrangements, viz., the electing a worthy
presbyter to preside over the council of
presbyters,—the distinguishing him by
the name of bishop,—the restriction of
the original poweis of presbyters,—the
transfer and confinement of their general
powers to those called bishops, and the
clothing bishops with the exclusive
authority to ordain bishops,—all these
were mere human arrangements, having
no support from Scripture and possessing
no claim whatever to divine appointment
By divine right, if there is any special
saving grace in the act or form of admin
istration conveyed by the successive ad
ministrators of the rites, sacraments, and
ordinances of the Lord’s house, all that
special and saving efiicacy flows throngb
the order of presbyters, by virtue ot
their original appointment and authority
to preach the word, rule in the Church
with the concurrence of the members,
baptize, consecrate the elements of the
Lord’s supper, and ordain associates and
successors, to the end of time. The duty
and the office and prerogatives having
been imposed upon them by the only
competent authority, they could not be
taken away by any merely human power.
We should prefer, therefore, to take
orders from the order of presbyters—
elders—through which |“the indelible
Whmtim
character of the priesthood” may be im
pressed; and to receive the sacraments
from the same worthy hands. I repeat, if
the form of the rite and the grace con
tained in it, can alone be (ffeotually said
and conveyed by a minister having a
divine right, through “an unbroken de
scent from the apostles,” to pronounce
the appropriate words over and impose
his hands upon the subject, that accredit
ed legate of Jesus Christ is a preybyter,
ordained by presbyters, to perform this
function in his Church. The following
quotations show the view taken by our
Eagliih “fathers” ou the question:
“The reformers of the
im,.l did not even appoint
the act of consecration to
office of a bishop from that of
the words that now distinguish them weflj
e.dded in later times.” “The bishops' in'
the Connci! of Nice, ventured at length,
not indeed to prohibit presbyters from
ordaining presbyters, but to make a law
that bishops alone should ordain bishops.
.... Yet Ambrose expressly declares
that the bishops and presbyters had ‘one
ordination,’ that is, really such; as the
consecration of bishops is only a cere
mony.” “Imposition of hands is common
to the ordination of a presbyter as well as
that of a bishop; it cannot be common to
both, and yet essentially distinguish the
ore from the other.” “If, then, the con
secration of bishops is a mere human cere
mony, it is impossible that the act of
bishops, as bishops, in ordination, can
have any divine iflicaey or authority above
that of presbyters.” “The English Re
formers maintained that bishops and pres
byters are, by divine right, the same
order.” “The Reformers ot the Church
of England appointed presbyters to perform
the imposition of hands in ordaining pres
byters, along with the bishops. . . .
Presbyters then are actually ordaineis in
all the scriptural ordinations that ever
have taken place in the Church of Eng
land. Several acts of parliament (!) have
ratified the ordination of snch as were
ordained by presbyters only.” “Every true
minister is a Scriptural bishop. Every
modern bishop is a mere superintendent
by the right of human authority
Episcopacy by divine right is a modern in
vention; it has been the source of much
oppression. The personal succession scheme
is a scheme adopted at present by bigots
for the purpose of persecution.” (Powell.)
Tie langnage of Jerome will form an
appropriate conclusion to this paper. He
exclaims: “Behold, I declare that pres
byters have the power to perform the
sacraments, even while their own bishops
are standing at the altar. Bat, seeing it
is written, Let the prt sbyters be honored
with double honor, especially snch as
labor in the word of God,’ it is the duty
of presbyters to preach; their blessing ed
ifies (lie people; confhmotion by them is
suitably performed; it is proper for them
to givo the communion; it is necessary
that they should visit the sick, pray for
the weak, and and perform all ihe sacra
ments which God has given
Let him who forbids the j resbyters what
God has commanded them, tell me, who
is greater than Christ? or what is to be
preferred to his body and to his blood?
If Ihe | rssbyter consecrates Christ [the
EncharistJ when he pronounces the bless
ing upon the sacrament [elements] on the
altar of God; is not he worthy to bless the
people. . . . We read, that, in the
beginning, j resbyters were commanded to
rule in the affairs of the Church. . . .
presbyters themselves, as we read, were
called bishops. . . . But proud bishops,
[high churchmen] do not approve of what
Christ approved, who washed the feet of
the disciples—who.was baptized by John_
though John txelaimed that he needed to
be baptized by him. I write these things
for this purpose, that if the error of
fast time cannot be remedied, humility at
least may at present be preserved, that
presbyters may perform those things in
thßir churches, which are done at Rome,
in the East, in Italy, in Crete, in Cyprus
in Africa, in liljricnm, in Spain, in Bri
tain, and even in part of Gaul; and which
is done in every place where that humility
continues which takes place in heaven, (a
matter still higher,) where the seats of
angels have their due order.”
Modal Baptism—'My Reply.
Mr. Editor; I see in the Christian Index
of October 14th, an article—editorial, I
suppose—headed “Modal Baptism,” and
intended, as I understand it, to accom
plish two very clever purposes. First,
assure me that the Baptists care as
about mode—aa mode—in baptiagfl
do. Of course, he believes so.
he reaches this conclusion, I am
to see. I do not believe then is
specified mode of baptism—as a mode—
taught in the Scriptures. He, and all his
Church, believes that immersion is the di
vinely ordained mode of baptism, so that
where immersion is left out, baptism is
not compassed ; while I believe baptism
can be consummated in its scriptural
sense and design, in either of three
modes—by immersion, by pouring, or by
sprinkling, after the very significant man
ner of Jewish devotions and dedications.
In a word, it must be evident to all, that
in whatever way baptism can be done, it
must have a mode, or manner of being
done, without which it cannot be done in
that way. If by sprinkling, as an or
dained mode, it most be done by sprink
ling ; cannot be done in any other way.
So, also, if ponring on water in baptism
was an ordained mode, or manner of doing
it, then it would be a modal ordinance,
and not a Christian rite; and, as an artiole
or object of faith, in its modality would
be its vitality, for, being an ordained
mode, it conld not be acceptably done
only in compliance with its letter; and
what we mean by spirituality in an action,
cannot co-exist in it where literality is
the proximate obligation. And this is
obliged to be so, whenever the subjective
reason, and the objective end of an aotion,
is compliance with the letter of an or
dained mode, in which to do the deed.
Excuse me when I say there is not a
Baptist in Georgia, whether as an admin
istrator or as a subject of immersion, that
dots not derive his, or her, chief pleasure
from the immersion idea. This is obliged
to be so, in every complementary action
in a religions service. And every action
in a religions service that is done just so,
to fulfill to the letter an ideal of a divine
formula, is, in spite of all precaution,
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & COMPANY, FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
MACON, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1875.
done as a complement—l mean as a thing
exactly finished. This was the religions
status of all services performed in obedi
enoe to a law of commandments contained
in ordinances ; and, of course, only in
ordinances—not at all in the body and
spirit of moral laws. Hence, when the
time oame that God was to be worshiped
in the spirit, and not in the letter, every
mannerism in worship which had been
oommanded in a law of ordinances, was
forever eliminated from practical Chris
tianity. And it was done because it is
impossible to do anything, both in the
in the. spirit. If we are im-
Rgk’ ourselves upon the square
v.' ere our obt
end'.” Wo arc im
■Rblflll the command ; to be
having assumed that we do not
believe in any mode of baptism, because
baptism is immersion, and we are oom
manded to be bapt'zod—that is, immersed;
and as there is no baptism bat by immer
sion, I, and we, disclaim believing in any
thing like mode. I, and we, believe in
baptism, and that immersion is the mode
of baptism ; but as to believing in its
mode, this we deny.” This is anew order
of logic to me, for if I was in the same
category of issues with my reviewer, I
should feel that I really believed in noth
ing essential to baptism, but its mode,
because, without its presi-ribed, or or
dained mode, as I think he himself allows,
it is not baptism. Consequently, I can
not believe in baptism, because it is an
ordained rite in the Church, but I believe
in it because it is au ordained mode. If
immersion is the onLiued mode of bap
tism, my reviewer must believe in mode a
great deal more than I do, for I deny that
there is any mode of baptism ordained
so as to make its divine nse and end de
pend on its mode. But my Baptist breth
ren do make all of its divine cuds and issues
depend on its prescribed modality. With
out this, it supplies no divine rite. One
more on close communion. ~i. Pierce.
The First Missionary to the Ne
groes in Georgia.
While the Trustees had control of the
Geoigia Colony the importation of ne
groes was forbidden. In 1757 they sur
rendered the charter to the crown, and at
the urgent reqnest of Mr. Whitfi-.ld, the
Colonial Legislature permitted thj slave
trade. In 1709 Mr. Whitfield brought
over from England Cornelius Winter as
a catechist.
Cornelius Winter had been a very poor,
and to a considerable extent, a profligate
young man. Ho was converted under
Mr. Whitfield's preaching, and ordering
into his family, was one of his laj. preach
ers. After remaining with him fur some
years, Mr. Whitfield invited him to come
to Georgia ns missionary to the negroes.
Mr. James Habersham, one of the
Church of England, in Swannah, ami a
Calvinistio Me'hodist, received Winter
and gave him encouragement; and an
Episcopal clergyman, whose name I can
not give, who had large plant ations near
Savannah, sent him to his slaves.
He found the negroes very degraded,
and as they confounded the mit-sionary
with the master, they were more anxious
for better food and clothing, and milder
treatment, than for the gospel. He tried
to teach them, but found them ueariy all
asleep while he expounded the catechism
The owners of thu slaves wera most of
them very much opposed to his efforts,
and when he attemped Sunday evening
lectures to the whites he found Mr. Frink
the Rector, and Mr. Zivly tha Prisbyte
rian pastor, alike opposed to him. Mr.
Whitfield died ou his way back to Eng
land, and Winter went back to Lindon to
secure ordination from the Bishop. His
Lordship, however, who hud been ad
vised by Mr. Frink, refused to ordaiu a
man from the humbler ranks of society,
and especially one who had been with
Whitfield —and Winter never returned to
America. Ho became in after time a
most ureful and influential Noa-conform
ist, and was the spiritual father and early
patron of the son of an English brick
mason, Wm. Jay, who prepared his biog
raphy.
This was the first attempt to introduce
the Gospel in the rice plantations aud
the Sea Islands. A more successful effort
was made over sixty years after this time
by another class of Methodists.
G. G. Smith
jAuLoiie aud Snort Articles.
i/- ; .- Tue manifold difficul-
eonfound
editorial tripod.
to the writer. I per-
Hpßnatyon are not exempt from the
fate of editors in general. You have a
multitude of readers who can advise ad
mirably, but do nothing to help you.
“Timothy” is saicastio on loDg winded
contributions. Does ha send you a
sparkling ehor article every week, or
month, or year, with which every one of
your thousands of readers would be de
lighted ? “ Brevis” tries out for “ brief,
pnngent, racy articles, on living subjects—
articles with a thought in every sentence.”
How the editor’s scnl faints for lack of
such con’ribntionsl Mayhap, even “Bre
vis” has been so heartless as not to regale
your readers onc= a quarter. lam ready
to confess that an article, snch as he com
mend*, from his pen,would fully compen
sate all the readeis of the Advocate for a
dozen “long articles and serials.’.’ And
if any respectable number of the critics
wonld engage to Eupply yon with such
contributions evrry month, with what
promptness and satisfaction these “ long
articles and serials” wonld be plnnged
into the deepest recess of the waste bas
ket. Commend me to the critic who will
give the editor aid with his advice. The
responsible, imperative, duty rests on this
class of your devoted nnd sympathizing
friends to revive the fainting Advocate,
and send it forth a live paper.
Yes, sir; we mnst have a live paper. It
mnst no loDger be said by the most indif
ferent and worldly-inclined subscriber, “I
don’t read anything in the Advocate bnt
the editorials and the notices.” In be
half of suoh I respectfully beg yon to
leave ont ot the paper everything bnt
“the editorials and the notices.” No
more “sermons and fragments of ser
mons,” for the rest. As no other religious
paper on whioh you nse your “ scissors,’’
publishes snob distastefnl literature, you
may freely use your implement with the
certainty of increasing patronage.
No, dear Advocate, if there is any fault
iness in your editorial conduct, it lies at
the doors of the hundreds of profound
and brilliant men in and out of the
Southern Methodist pulpit, who are con
tent to let the editor straggle through his
hard weekly task, with less satisfaction
himself than to the most
They can make our Church papei.
with gems of thought. They can
it the ablest and most sought-after rmH
gions paper in America. If they
come to the reecue, the whole tribe
long-winded bores will find a tomb in the
waste-basket.
It gratifies some people to stumble on
a cause of complaint. Many are fault
finders constitutionally. They are Ekillfnl
in Ihe art of pulling things into shreds,
but never undertake to fashion them into
beaufifa! or useful articles. Having tornj
them to pieces, to the discomfort of evrijM
one else, so they leave them. Even “T.’ r ß
othy” and “Brevis” do not suggest
topics which would delight
much lees announce that they will socß
make the Advocate a “readable” paper, bffl
furnishing “ brief, pungent, racy articles
on living subjects -articles with a thought
in every sentence.” How provoking they
err, to assure us readers and occasional
contributors, that we might sit down to a
rich intellectual feast every week—if
som-budy would only supply the required
articles Perhaps, good, patient, “ long
suffering ” editor, you could give the
critics a passable article yourself every
week on some “ living subject” suggested
by them, aud by this substitution tor
“articles miha thought in every sentence,”
sivetbe Advocate from a too sudden de
cease. Daniel
Tlic Advocate Auxiliary to Bible
Sillily.
Mr Editor: In every age of the Chris
tian era, ignorance of the Bible has been
an evii in the Church. Since it cannot
be understood without much prayerful
thought and rrflection, and the blessings
and comfort it gives cannot be enjoyed
aniens they arc known, the injunction to
“8 arch the Scriptures” is imperative.
Chriitians in our day cannot hope to es
cape the responsibility imposed by their
superior advantages, to study the Bible
and teach it to others.
No reform rtion is possible unless its
necessity is fully realized and the evils
that necessitate it are known. It will not
be denied that there is a deplorable degree
of ignorance of the Bible, among Chris
tian people in this enlightened day ; that
to a great extent it is wilful ; and lastly,
that it is not only a curse, but a fearful
sin of omission.
This evil would be partially, if not wholly
removed, if Christians would only read the
Bible daily aud think ou what they read.
The great difficulty is to induce them to
read and think. To think is hard work for
well trained minds, and to minds never
trained to think consecutively, it is most
difficult. The great question foronrChurch
is how to secure this end aud have its mem
btrs to “Search the Scriptures.”
To overeomo the vis enerlia of human
natnro thereward must be thought greater
than the sacrifice neci 3 ary to attain it,
since every success mast offer its own pe
culiar sacrifices on the altar of victory.
Duty performed by the Christian always
secures a satisfactory reward, but duty
cannot be known fully, without making
the necessary physical and mental effort
to acquire a taste for reaiing the Bible,
and the habit of thinking on what is read.
The Bibie is the most profound book tha
ever was or ever wilt be written, and it is
simply impossible for any one to read
aud comprehend its truths before acquir
ing a taste for reading The Sunday
school is doing a grout work, and un
earthing a degree of ignorance of the
Bible wholly unknown before, and is un
doubtedly a powerful auxiliary to the
Pulpit; and yet both together oannot
fully remedy this evil.
The writer does not hope to offer an
infdlible remedy, nor do more than probe
an underlying or seemingly dormant con
science in onr Church on this subject.
AH mm of thought have realized H
fact by experience or observation,
newspapers p-operly edited, rank amH
the greatest e ducators and civilizers fl
onr age. Any carnal observer is aware M
another important fact—that people uni
versally in this country read newspapers
before they read auy other literature; and
it may be safely assumed, that a people
who do not read newspapers read nothing
and think to little profit. With this state
inent of known facte, the conclusion nat
nrally follows,that a Christian people whm
fail to read their Church paper, negleH
to read the Bible. If the assertion is
universally iru j , it is so to an alar
extent Assnming this to be only
tial test, arc the Methodist people4||H
four patronizing Conferences of our
a reading and thinking people ? There
are reported over 125,000 members, about
35 000 families, and leas than 9,000 fami
lies read our Church paper—leaving about
26 000 families who never see it, and prob
ably many of them ha- e never heard of it.
Admitting this to be a very partial test,
the answer is as eonc-usive as the unyield
ing figures; and who then can be “ at
ease in Zion.” The first great difficulty
to be overcome, is evidently to get the
people to read, and tho proposed refor
mation is wholly dependant on this
—since by reading alone a taste for read
ing can be acquired, and the mind grad
ually trained to think consecutively. A
non reading people will generally read to
gain such information as they seek to ac
quire in conversation, and it is violent
presumption to conclude they would read
to gain information they care so little to
know as not to talk about. This class of
Christians usually talk about Church
affairs generally, and especially revivals of
religion. This information is given in
onr Church paper, and these good people
would read it, if they had the paper. I
mean to make the assertion emphatic.
Oar paper should be in every family, and
I would that every subscriber could feel
the necessity, and realize the resnlt. To
“search the ecriptores” and profit by
their teaching, is the all-important work
of life, and it is the first and greatest
duty of the Church to aid its members to
fit themselves by education for this work.
Is it practical ? M. H. Talbot.
Our Irish Letter.
Dean Stanley is one of the foremost
men in England. He is as much at home,
apparently, amongst a Eumber of Non
oomformist clergy, as he is at court. A
to the memory of Richard Baxter
wa; Jfc,veiled the other day at Kidder
by the Bishop of Worcester.
Richard is represented in
of the seventeenth
HT.'tt,! the act of exhorting a
HR’-s right hand uplifted in
while the other reds on
The pedestal bears
■To inscription : “ Between the
Hi and 1660, this town was the
Hi the labors of Richard Baxter,
med equally for his Christian learu-
ing and his pastcrul fidelity. In this
stormy and divided age, he advocated
uniVMind comprehension, pointing the
w everlasting rest. Churchmen
tnformists united to raise this
8,D., 1875.” Why Chureh
? Snch phraseology
HRsion to the sacerdotalism
which should never be
Hin the far future, when the
Church, as such, will exist only
the inscription on the statne
of flßter will bo read with wonderment,
Deaa Stanley said it might be in the re
collection of some present that he assisted
at a like oelebration at Bedford last year.
It was difficult to conceive a greater con
trast than between John Banyan and
Richard Baxter—between the stout, lively
yonth, who played on the green at Hel
stone, and the pale, dyspeptic student,
who oama there from the banks of the
Severn. Unlike Banyan, Baxter lived not
in the bye-ways or corners of English
history, but in the very thick of the
crowded and eventful conflict of the seven
teentu century. Known, feared, hated,
beloved throughout the realm, he was one
of those who, without occupying the front
place among men of letters, or men of
action, occupied a conspicuous place. For
deeds and words together, there was none
who could stand comparison with Richard
Baxter. Let them look at his labors in
that town. There were three or four
parishes which had been raised by their
pastor’s work to national, almost to world
wide fame. Of those, the more con
spicuous was Kidderminster. Baxter,
without Kidderminster, would have been
nothing at all, bat they gave him a place
from*which be moved the world, and ho
gave them a fame which had brought
hither representatives of all classes even
from beyond the Atlantic. His death be
longed to that place, but his words bo
le s. ,and to all mankind. Bishop Burnet
was right in saying that Baxter meddled
with too many things, and was too subtle
and metaphysical in everything; but it was
this very species of contradictory labor
and unprofitable stuff in which, if he
might borrow a figure from the world
famous manufacture, there were golden
threads and solid strings which redeemed
the most obscure parts from ignominy,
and were woven at times into bits of glo
rious splendor. Dr. John Stoughton and
others, followed with addresses.
Although a Pablic Worship Regulation
Law is now in foroe to pat down Ritualism,
the activity of the Ritualists has not les
sened, bnt rather increased. Their organ,
the Church Herald, has a somewhat vol
uminous correspondence on the subject.
One writer argne3 that as the “Ave
Maria” and the “Angelas” has never
been forbidden by the Church, they might
be resumed with advantage, and he sug
gests that a society bo founded with the
view of encouraging the recital of those
forms and the “ nse of the rosary for the
honor of oar Lord and His Holy Mother.”
Another writer urges the necessity of
forming a society to “spread among Aug
iicans the doctrine regarding Oar Lady,
which our ablest divines maintained.” A
third asks the society of St. Joseph to
form a branch whose object will be to
“enlist those who desire to revive devo
tion to the Sweet Mother of Mercy, the
the Sea.” A fourth one, pleading
tflhe worship of Mary, says that though
expect bitter persecution, yet
faki time put to flight tho “ boats
HLa," and soon the “Angelas
Wy-.v i all over the land, anil tho
become a part of tho de
mi every pious household, And
are expressed by men
ministers in a Protestant Church I
Capel said the other day in a
sermon, tnat the Church of Ragland was
shaken to its foundations. It is being
RMiauised with alarming rapidity, and
must, ceise to lie regarded as in
hds'j a Protest mt Church. The
of the nation need not
support from that Cbnrch
and lias often been boast
Hat,e,d its bulwark and dfcf< no?.
ffm is d-parting before the seu-
HjjUhe life of the Established
and extinguished by
of a rank and rampant ssmi
iSmish formalism, and the ; dhatic sen
timentalism of rationalising teachers.
The Christian Holiness movement is
extending itself. The experiences are
stereotyped and may be expressed thus,
“I am entirely saved now, and I know it.
This entire salvation I obtained at th e
meeting, and the fact was revealed or
communicated to my consciousness by the
Spirit of God.” At one of these meetings,
certain statements were made. Oae min
ister, a man of culture and large and
strong intellectual grasp, not likely to err
on the side of fanaticism and mere sensa
tion, said, “ I attended the Brighton Con
vention, and there is one difference be
tween my experience now and before. It
is in one little ‘ s.’ I used to say, ‘ Jesus
save me now.’ I can put au ‘s’ in and
say, ‘Jesus saves me now.’ Sitan might
say ‘it was a delusion,’ but here was the
answer, ‘Sin shall not have dominion
over yon.’ A p-nfect Christian character
is an edification, a building, bnt every one
may claim the promise, ‘ I will heal thee
of thy backslidings.’” The salvation of
Jesus Christ is not salvation by piecemeal.
His work is perfect, and the work of the
Holy Ghost is perfect also. The new birth
is a perfect work. As there is bnt one
natural birth in the life time of au indi
vidual, so is there bnt one spiritual birth.
When born, the child grows into a man I
when born again the spiritual babe grows
into a perfect man in Christ Jesns.
Another minister of high standing, said
one night after a conversation with a
friend, he retired “feeling Jesns very
near,” and after realizing tho truth of the
lines—
“l cannot wash my heart,
But by believing thee,”
his “ legal years ” were ended. Now, snch
experiences are common to all real Chris
tians—not peculiar at all to a class of sano
tificationists who claim a monopoly of
them, and deny them to all those who do
not claim to bo lifted into a higher life.
St. Paul said, (and I fanoy he was as far
advanced in the divine life as the best of
these modirn apostles and advocates of
holiness), “Hive and yet not I. Christ
liveth in me, and the life that I now
in the flesh is a life of faiih in the
God.” It was by faith that
with God ; it was by faith that
went forth in practical obedience to tmr
same command. The Christian life is not
inert and inactive contemplation. It does
net expend itself in moods and feelings,
but in following Him who went about
doing good.
The Rev. Gervaso Smith, A. M., was
elected President of the late Wesleyan
Methodist Conference at Sheffield, by a
large majority over the other candidates.
No one conld have succeeded Dr. Pun
shon more creditably, and to no one conld
tho Doctor have given his seals of offioe
with more pleasure. The President and
ex-Preeident have been life-long friends.
The Rev. H. W. Williams, D. D., was
chosen Secretary. Dr. Williams was one
of tho Assistant Secretaries, and has
earned the high distinction to which he
was raised.
Lay Representation was earnestly and
lengthily discussed. It is referred to two
committoes —one ministerial and the other
mixed. The older members of the Con
ference see that the demands of the laity
for representatives must bo respected, but
they are determined that the constitution
of the Legal Conference will remain as it
is. This subject has caused several di
visions in Methodism. It may yet pro
duce another.
Dr. Curry and Bishop Simpson were
prt sent at the Conference as visitors.
The R?V3. Jas. H. Rigg, D. D., and W.
B. Pope have been appointed representa
tivi s to tho next General Conference of
Methodist Episcopal Church, North.
Pen HOLDER,
September 10 th y 1875.
A Word Spoken in Season.
A TRUE INCIDENT.
In the quiet church stood the table,
covered with its snowy cloth and upon it
warn the bread aud wine, emblems of onr
Saviour’s broken body and shed blood.
The hearts of those who gathered together
to obey their dear Lord’s dying commands
had been touched, as with fire from the
altar, as they had listened to the glorious
words of prophecy, ‘He was wounded for
our transgressions,’ and to the precious
words of fulfillment, ‘lt is finished,’ and
as they had sung together,
O, happy clay, lliat fixed my choice
On thee, my Saviour and my God —
all felt a thrill of gratitude for the light
of the Spirit which had been let in upon
tho darkness of their hearts, and enabled
them to see the Crucified One bearing the
punishment due to them.
Among those who obeyed the Saviour’s
in junction to remember his death until he
came, was a young girl who was longing
to do something which should prove to
her Saviour that she was in earnest in her
thanksgiving. ‘What shall I render?’ was
her cry, her prayer, as she bowed her head
after partaking of the oread. She felt a
peculiar desire to do something then and
there—to mark tue day by some special
effort to bring withiu the fold one stray
lamb as jet unclaimed. She had taught
her class in the Sabbath-scbool that morn
ing; but now she felt this absorbing wish
to influence some individual.
As she raised her hoad, she saw in tho
gallery a young girloi her acquaintance—
not a near friend, though one who had
attracted her in many ways. It seemed
to her that the face had a thoughtful,
wistful expression—that there was a look
as if she were not satisfied to be there,
apart from those who openly declared
themselves on tha Lord’s side. The
thought struck her at once. ‘Can I do
anything to help her? Has the Spirit a
word for her, of which I am to be the
privileged bearer?”
Though she did not glanca toward the
gallery again, the face was before her till
the service closed, o.nd the constant under
tone of her communion prayer was lor
that young soul.
At tii6 conclusion of llie service the
thought had complete popsession of her:
‘Shall I speak to her? But what shall I
say ? Probably I may not come across
her, and if £ do, I do not know what state
of mind she is in. Ido not know whether
she cares for snch things nt all. Perhaps
she is a Ghrittian, and does not need any
help from mo.’
With these thoughts she went slowly
down the long aisle, and mingled witjL
these came others: ‘You may
inst-eRd of good. She
iutmriva. Y.-n hardly
right have you to pry into
feelings?’ This was Satan’s whisper
ha overshot his ma. k that time as he will
do sometimes. Terrified tuat he should
be near her there in the very presence of
the Mister’s table, the young communi
cant thrust him from her, with a quiet
beseeching prayer to Him who is mightier
than the mighty, and reached the door to
find herseli face to face with the yonng
girl from the gallery. There was no
longer time for coueideration or plan; the
opportunity must bo seized or allowed to
pass—perhaps forever. She dared not
refuse it, and the words—heaven-sent—'
flashed upon her mind; It shall be given
you what ye shall say.’ She passed her
arm withiu that of her friend, with—
‘l am glad to meet you: I have been
thinking of von all through the service.’
Oimt? Thinking of me? Why?’
‘I don’t know why. I could not help
il; only I wish you would come to Christ.’
The last word was almost a whisper, and
the throng parted the two just then,
though not until the speaker had been
rewarded by a responsive glance, which
made her sure that she had not done harm,
nor spoken to an unwilling hearer. Bnt
as she went away it seemed so little that
she had said, she thought of so many
other word3 which seemed as if they wonld
have been better chosen—Bible words,
which might have been ‘the sword of the
Spirit.’ What conld she do?
In her own room that, evening she laid
(ho case fully at Christ’s feet, and be
sought him to accept ths service she had
tried to reader. Monday, aud Tuesday,
and Wednesday came, -and her friend’s
name was ever in her prayers. Wednes
day evening, there was a meeting of teach
ers and older scholars to make prepara
tions for the coming Christmas festival—
an informal gathering, where fingers were
busy with hemlock and laurel and holly,
and tongues were not restricted. Both
girls were there, but the older one shrank
from seeming to seek her friend and lin
gered with another group. Suddenly she
felt someone behind her, and beard a
whisper:
‘Come with me, wont yon, please?’
They sauntered down the long room
and in a quiet corner the younger girl
said:
F. M. KENNEDY, D. D., Editor.
.1. W HIIRKE \9slsuuit Editor.
A. G. lIAYGOOD, D. D., Editorial Correspondent.
‘I want to thank yon. I conld not on
Sunday; bnt I was so glad someone cared.
I do not think I have found the Saviour,
and I want to be down stairs next time.
I shall love yon always. I did not know
any one was thinking about me. It has
helped me so much.’
Again they were separated; but was not
the heart of the one who had tried very,
very full?
Every word of this is true. It happened
years ago; bnt it never can be forgotten.
The paths of the two girls diverged. They
seldom meet each other now, bnt when
they do, it is with a warmth of feeling,
though they have never referred to this
scene since that day, each one doubtless
traces to that isolated exchange of confi
dence^^
this with one only aim—to
■Btng Christians to help others
It is hard lo speak the
BjSElt it is one way of serv-
HRe difficulty we often make
Hf Somebody says that wlu n-
person is brought be
fore yonr mind, and yon are impelled to
pray for him or her, it is a pretty strong
indication that the Spirit means yon to
speak ‘the word in season. And Ido be
lieve the ground is more often ready for
the sowing than we think. For once that
you are repulsed when yon do make tho
effort, are you not ten times welcomed?
And if outwardly repulsed, how dare you
limit God to time, and think that your
seed has fallen on the wayside because the
harvest does not come cut at onco.
‘The word’ is pretty surely to be ‘in sea
son’ if it is spoken tenderly, lovingly, sin
cerely, and accompanied and followed by
prayer. And, moreover, we are to be
‘instant in season and out of season.’
Dorr friends, young Christians or old,
the word to you and to me is, ‘Let him
that heareth, say, Come.’ It is so selfish
to keep our Saviour all to ourselves!
Tlie Bridge of Life.
Across the rapid stream of seventy years,
The slender bridge of human life is thrown:
The past and future form its mouldering piers;
The present moment is its frail keystone.
From “dust thou art” the arch begins to rise,
“To dust” the fashion of its form descends,
“Shalt thou return,” the highest curve implies,
In which the lirst to the last lowness bends.
Seen by youth’s magic light upon that arch,
How lovely does each far-off scene appear!
But ah! how changed when on the onward
march,
Our weary footsteps bring the vision near!
’Twaa fabled that beneath the rainbow’s foot
A treasure lay, the dreamer to be witch;
And many, wasted in the vain pursuit
The golden years that would have made them
rich.
So where life’s arch of many colors leads,
The heart expects rich wealth of joy to llnd:
But in the distance the bright hope recedes,
And leaveß a cold gray waste of care behind.
A sunlit stream upon its bosom takes
The inverted shadow of a bridge on high
And thus the arch in air and water makes
One perfect circle to the gazer’s eye.
So ’tis with life; the things that do appear
Are fleeting shadows on time’s passing tide
Cast by the sunshine of a higher sphere
From viewless things that changelessiy abide.
The real is bnt the half of life; it needs
The ideal to make a perfect whole:
The sphere of sense is in complete, and pleads
For closer union with the sphere of soul.
All things of nse are bridges that conduct
To tilings of faith, which give them truest
worth;
And Christ’s own parables do us instruct
That Heaven is but the counterpart of earth.
The pier that rests upon this shore’s the same
As that which stands upon the further hank;
And fltni es for our duties here will frame
A litness for the joys of higher rank.
Oh! dark were life without Heaven’s sun to
show
The likeness of tho other world in this;
And bare and poor would be our lot below
Without the shadow of a world of bliss.
Then let us, passing o’er life’s fragile arch;
Regard it as a means, and not au end.
As but the path of faith on which we march,
To where all glories of our being tend.
—Good Words,
Troubles.
These are home-made or God-sent, And
of the two let ns have the latter ; for with
David we may well choose rather to fall
into the hands of God than into the hands
of a man. Home-made troubles are either
wholly imaginary, having no other foun
dation than our own disordered fancies,
or they era the consequences of our sins,
which God allows to plague us for onr
good. This latter kind are called home
made, ts our sins caused them to be sent,
but they are also G oA-sent, inasmuch as
He dispenses them as correctives of onr
evils.
We have now a word or two to say of
the trouble which Gad sends upon us,
whether they be dispensed because of
sins committed, or for some other of
God’s manifold .reasons.
And that troubles are often sent which
are not the conseqnences of previous sine,
the history of Job abundantly proves.
God said of him, “ there is none like him
in the earth, a perfect man aud an up
right man, one that feareth God and es
obeweth evil.” Here was a man of most
exalted character, and yet where was there
even a man more sorely tried. Ho suffered
in body, mind, family and estate, while
his friends regarded him as a hypocritical
person from whom God had stripped off
all disguises, and punished with His
wrath. Surely this man’s cup of trouble
overflowing, and perhaps bo
being that ever lived was
min so lull and so bitter a cup.
this ? Was the chief
Church to judge just
have to suffer ail these sore
we might learn to restrain
judgments, and not to regard
the sorely tried as deeply sinniDg ? If
this be so, then the first lesson we are to
learn from Jacob’s troubles is, how censo
rious is the Church of God when an inno
cent man had so to suffsr to teach it
charity.
And if we are not much mistaken, there
is no one corrective influence of troubles
sent upon us more marked aud blessed
than the taking away of that bitter spirit
which disparages goodness and passes
harsh judgments on the hearts and lives,
words and deeds of others. There is no
sweetener of the temper like the endur
ance of trouble. Wheu God’s billows pass
over the soul, it is brought into snch near
contact with the Divine Dispenser, and
gets such a sense of dependence upon
Him, that all the evils which cluster
around self confidence go with it when it
departs. Indeed, all good characteristics
aocompany and follow hnmble dependence
on God, and all evils cluster around and
find nourishment in self-confidence. Bat
when God’s heavy hand comes down upon
the Christian, he is soon driven ont from
all refuge of lies. There is no refuge for
him bat the seoretplace of the Most High,
abiding under the shadow of His protec
tion. Now, pride and self-confidence,
haughtiness and harsh judgment take
themselves away for a time at least, and
indeed are never again to live and rule in
his heart as before them did.
Nor is there any aspect in which the
snbject can be viewed, which does not
show that the troubles which God sends
upon His children always do them good.
They may be painfnl at the time, and they
may continue to smart for a very long
time, but nevertheless they are so profit
able, that whoever comes ont of them
bears a willing testimony to the goodness
of God, even when He oasts His children
into the furnace of affliction. —Christian
Intelligencer.
Alas! how many sorrows, sharp thorns
of trouble that we think the pierced hands
or bleeding feet can never be accustomed
to, have to be aocepted as a part of onr
daily lives. —Grace Wyatt.
WHOLE NUMBER 1968
Summer Religion.
Warm weather piety is regulated by the
thermometer. The standard it goes by is
not the warmth of inward love for Christ,
bnt the warmth of the atmosphere. Its
zeal cools in proportion as the weather
grows hot. When the glass gets above
ninety, the inward emotions are congeal
ed, and pity is “past feeling.”
The leads Christian professors to spend
the Sabbath hours fanning themselves on
their piazzis when their pastor goes by on
his way to his and their sanctuary. It is
not too warm to preach, but it is too warm
for them to listen. He has toiled throngh
one or two severe summer days to prepare
a discourse for their souls; they are un
willing to go and sit for half an hour as
the recipients of tho “truth as it is in
Jesnel” What mnst the world thnik of
suoh a religion? For cn the very next
day these self-codding Christians are off
to their stores and shops, through the
broiling sunshine, or else are hard at work
in their own dwellings. It is “too hot”
to worship God for two hours on the Sab
bath, bnt it is never too hot to toil for
mammon six days during the week. If
the world wonders at snch a “form of
godliutsi,” what mnst the Master think
of it? The ingenuous argument of the
Hnmes or the Huxleys, do not do one
tythe of the misohief in shaking onr faith
in Christianity that professed Christians
do when they make a paltry physical grati
fication of more account than their eternal
welfare. We are not so often tempted to
skepticism by the depth of infidel argu
ments as we are by the shallowness of
Chiistianity exhibited by many of its pro
fessors. It is the want of its hold on
Christians, that gives the Gospel so little
hold on society.
We must not connt the matter of shirk
ing the claims of God to gratify bodily
comfort, a small thing. It is far other
wise. Christ held it a substantial evi
dence of the genuineness of the faith that
many of his early followers cheerfnlly en
dured physical privations and even tor
tares. Bat just imagine Aqnila of Pris
cilla renouncing their religion bcoanse the
weather was hot!
It is said that lay Christians are excused
from church and prayer-meetings beoanse
some hard-worked pastor takes a six
weeks’ necessary vacation in the mid-snm
mer. Bnt these pastors get no Sunday
rest during the remainder of the year; and
it is established that the Spurgeons and
Newman Hall must have a let up daring
the year, or they soon break in physical
aud mental force. There is no parallel
between the cases.
One of the lamentable effeots of “warm
weather” religion is detected in the loose
morals of many professors daring their
summer absences from home. They have
evidently left their consciences behind
them. For they are oftener seen in the
dance, or games of pleasure, than they are
in Christian service in the neighborhood.
“Nobody knows ns here,” is not at excuse
that passes master with God.— Evangelist.
“The Night is Coming on, andl
am a Stranger.”
As we were passing down the street from
onr homo on the lull, to the little village
below, in the gloaming, we were met by a
man of foreign birth, who stopped sud
denly, nnd inquired of ns the way to a
village fonr miles distant. A sister in
c impany with ns, began to give him di
rections relating to the ronte—when we
interposed by saying, “There is a muoh
more direct way—the new road, yon
know.”
In a twinkling he tnrnid fall upon as,
and, with coantenance expressive of the
most intense anxiety we ever witnessed,
said, “Madam, tell me the best and
straightest way, for the night is coming
on, and I’m a stranger.”
The words were so earnest, the mannef
and expression so impressive, that we
trembled with fear lest we should fail in
making the way plain before him, and we,
at the moment, really regretted that we
had not noted every turn in the ronte
whioh led to that village by the way of
“the new road.”
The stranger hasted on—we direoted
onr steps to oar oharoh vestry to partici
pate in an entertainment given by onr
people to assist in defraying ohnroh ex
penses ; bnt, at intervals, amid the good
cheer that greeted ns on every side, would
sonnd those thrilling words, “ Tell me the
best and slraightest way, for the night is
coming on, and I'm a stranger.”
We could bnt think of the day, that
dreadful day, whioh we mast all meet, how
lost, benighted souls, with terror depicted
upon every face, would rush through the
assembled multitudes, and in words of
dreadful despair, implore the redeemed to
tell them the way to become reconciled to
God—the straightest way to the “City of
Refuge,” for the night of thick darkness
has come on, and they are strangers to
God, strangers amid blackness and eternal
darkness.
Ah 1 Christian worshipers, knowing the
tenors of God, why do we not more
earnestly persuade men—and improve
every opportunity to direct them into the
sure way, that the night may not overtake
them, before their goings are well estab
lished in the new and better way ?—Chris
tian Weekly.
Christ, Not Faith, the Saviour.
In saving faith, the object—the Lord
Jesus—is everything. I believe that near
ly one-half the difficulties of incipent and
hazy Christians is found just here. They
do not see clearly that the right object
makes the right faith—the Saviour the
saving faith. Yon ask a neighbor if be
has a “good hope through grace,” and
likely he is silent, or says “ No.” You
ask him further if he is trusting in Jesus
and His word, and he says, “Yes.” If he
believes that He will save all who pnt
their faith in Him, and he again says,
“ Yes.” He is trusting in Him, it seems,
and yet he can not say he has a clear hope
of peaoel Suppose you now pnt the
further question: “Why have you not
such hopo of peace ?” the answer is, “Oh!
my faith is so weak ; it is not strong
enongb, not good enough, not perfect
enough.” And there is just the point.
Such people are looking for the excellence
of their faith to save them, or at least to
contribute something to their salvation.
If their faith were better and stronger,
then they would be safe and at peace;
that is, they are trusting for salvation
rather to the excellence of their faith than
solely to the excellence of Jesns. Bat
this is pure eeif-righteonsness, and they
might us well trust to their feelings or
their works. Gar faith is just as imper
fect as everything else about us, and
needs to be sprinkled with blood, just
like everything else. The qnestion should
be, not “Is my faith strong enough or
excellent enough?” but. “Is it clearly and
only directed to Jesns?” If so, then it is
the right faith, however feeble it may be.
It is saving faith; for it is not the excel
lence of onr faith that saves ns, but the
excellence of Jesus; not the strength of
onr faith, bnt the strength of Jesns;
not the p. rfection of onr fasth, bnt the
perfection of Jesus. You should deter
mine, then, never to moot the self-right
eons question at all about the strong or
weak faith, but just look straight to Je
sus; and looking to Him yon are safe, be
cause He saves yon. Look at the text
again, and you will see that Jesus, the
object, is everything. — Earnest Worker.
Many readers judge of the power of a
book by the shock it gives their feelings,
as some savage tribes determine the power
of their mnskets by their recoil; that be
ing considered best which farly prostrates
the purchaser.
It was the ory of a dying man, whose
life had been, sad to say, poorly speat>
“O, that my influence could be gathered
up and buried with mel”