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S 2.50 PER ANNUM, Invariably in Advance. VOLUME XXXVIII. NO. 48. Original f urtrj. The Church Victorious. “Dominus Repnavit”—Ps. 90. w. r. r. Hail the glorious king of Zion! Lit the na'ions praise His name! Tor the cause of Judah’s Lion, Let the zeal of Christians flame! By His blood on Caiv’ry streaming, Did He win the battle there, And His royal banner gleaming, Leads the warfare ev’rywhere. Let the crowns of earth be given! King of kingdoms let Him be! For His kingdom spreads like leaven, Far-and near o’er land and se; - See, the “sword of God” Is flaming, Red with many battle stains! Hark, His trumpets are proclaiming Conquests cn a thousand plains! Angels from their highest stations, On swift wings of love descend— Join the Church in exoitaiions, Songs of lio'y service lend; And the Spirit’s inspiration Thrills the Church with glowing life, Gives her strength and consolation, Cheers ir r onward in the strife. Pagan night, and degradation, From the conquered fields recede. Nation calleth unto nation, For the light and strength they need; Empires throb with strange commotion, Islands for salvation wait, Mission-ships on ev’ry ocean, Bear abroad their precious freight. Hindoo temples are decaying, Siva, Vishnu, loose their sway, Heathens to dumb idois praying, Soon shall C3st them all away; Nations sleeping through long ages, Now are marching to the van, Christian progress now engages Universal thought of man. Here and ‘here the conflict rages, Foes are met on Chris ian ground, Science and her princely sages, Enemies to Christ are found: But the smoke of battle clearing, Truth the conq’ror is revealed, And the Church of God unfearing, Tents in peace upon the field. Nations, Churches, drawing nearer, In the name of Christ the Son, Feel their common cause is dearer. Love’s alliance makes them one: And with shoulder close to shonlder, Side by side, they seek to stand, For the conflict, growing bolder, Waiting for their King’s command. i n.iU— Contributions. 'I lie Lord’s Prayer. BY REV. W. KNOX. XIV. Doxological. "For Thine, is the kingdom, and die pow er, and the glory, forever. Amen.” There are those who suppose that these words f jrmed originally to part of this singu larly beautiful and impressive prayer, but were added by some later hand. They are not found iu Luke; but as the prayer recorded there wan obviously spoken on another occasion, or indeed if it were the same, their omission by Luke, would be no sufficient reason for their rejection from Matthew. How, if spurious, Ibis exceedingly beautiful and appropriate doxology ever fonnd a place iu the suerrd text, wo are not definitely informed. Guesses may have been m ’.de, but nothing reliable has been elicited. It is ctrtaiidy not wbat might be expected iu the interference of one ro corrupt as to alter the genuine reading of the sacred Book, or to add any thing to its inspired teachings; aud a good man would be morally incapable of making any alterations or additions. I* would, therefore, be wiser and safer, as also more congenial with onr enlightened feelings, to receive it as a part of the sacred text. This closing part of our Lord’s prayer is usually called the doxology, thongh the term is technically applied to a short hymn of praise with which public Religions ser vices are most commonly closed, followed in such cases by the Apostolic cr some other benediction. The term doxology does not cceur in the Bible,—that is in its compounded whole; for the two parts of it are frequently found in the Original Scriptures Liter ally it signifies a word or i cords cf praise or of glory. Aa here applied, it means an ascription of praise or of glory to the great Being to whom the prayer is offered. This view of it, however, does not pre vent onr regarding it as a reason why we shonld thus pray to “onr Father,” or why we may expect to be answered when we thns pray. The use of for, or its equiva lent, shows that it is to be considered as the one cr the other, —or we may include both ideas. “For Thine is the Kingdom.” Tiiis is tho kingdom meant when we are directed to pray "Thy Kingdom come. It is that which the Lord Jesus came into the world to set np and establish in the hearts of the children of men. Its trne nature and design, its spiritual objects, its progress and triumphs, and its blissful consummation, have already been dis cussed. It is called the kingdom of God, as it was originated in His counsels, was set np under His authority and guidance, was and is sustained by His giace and power; and when fully consummated, it is to be delivered back to the Father, as the rightful Lord and Sovereign of the universe. In the Sacred Scriptures, we are taught that “the Lord our God is one Lord,” — that to us there is but one God who is the Father of ns ell. This great and glorious One is presented to ns as constituting three Divine personalities. The term personalities may be objectionable, but I believe we have no better; and the use of it will lead to no serious error in the minds of those who are honestly seeking to know the truth, and are not cavilers about words. These personalities are manifested in the New Testament, as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father is God. To Him are ascrib ed the names, attributes, and perfections of God. He is said to have created all things by the word of his power. He givi th to all life and being, He upholds all things, and in His hand is the sceptre of univer sal empire. The Son. is God. To Him also, as Jesus, the Chiist, the Lord, the Mediator and Ksdeemer, are ascribed the names, the attributes, and the perfections of the God-head. The Holy Ghost is God. He, as the Paraclete, the Helper and Com- §> mi (hern Christian gulrafale. forter, is not only addressed as a distinct personality, bnt the names, attributes, and perfections of the—may I use the term?—God hood are likewise ascribed to Hun. And yet there are not three Qods, bnt one indivisible and eternal God. In the historic account of the creation of all things, we find thoae important dis tinctions maintained. The same Etohim by which God was pleased to manifest Himself is a plural nonn, and connected with it are pronouns denoting mere than one. This plurality is limited, and, at the same time, is extended to three. God the Father is represented to be the great Creator of all. All things are said to have been made by God the Son, the eternal Logos; and the fact is divinely attested by, not only a universal affirmative, bnt also a universal negative,—“AH things were made by Him, and without Him, nothing is made that was made”—The Apostle Paul, by the use of a stronger term than maA-e, and by the enumeration of certain particulars, shows that the meaning is not to be taken relatively and bnt absolutely and prima rily, and to the fnlness of its extent. "By Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” So cieation is escribed also to God the Holy Ghost. “And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was npon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved npon the face of the waters.” The idea wonld seem to be, God the Father oreated all things, through God the Son, and by God the Holy Ghost. As in the physical, so in the moral crea tion, we find the same distinction main tained. The glorious scheme of redemp tion was originated in the counsel and love of Iho Father. “God so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, bnt bave everlasting life.” "Tne Father sent the Son,” and “the Holy Spirit proceeded fiom the Father and the Son.” This blessed scheme re quired the incarnation, the public teach ings, the mighty wotks, the sufferings and death of the Son; and as the divine Logos “He was made flesh and dwelt among us,” —ret forth the doctrines and princi ples of His holy Religion, presented fnlly His own credentials, tbe proofs of the divinity of His mission, suffered and died upon the Cross, arose in deathless triumph from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of tbeM> j-ssty on high, where,exalted as a Prince aud a Saviour, He ever liveth to dispense life and salvation to all who believe in Him, —whence “He will come again to judge the world in righteons nei s. ” This glorious scLeme ri quired the efficient co-working of the Holy Ghost; and as the mighty Paraclete He “moves upon tbe face of the waters,” enlightening tbs world in respect of sin, and of right eousness, and of judgment,” (I give a translation mnch more nearly conforming to tbe original than onr present English Version,) leading tbe penitent sinners to Christ, sealing them as the heirs of salva tion, and witnessing to their adoption, creating them anew and “transforming them into the image and likeness of God,” aiding them in their infirmities, and com forting and assuring their hearts, amid the sorrows, tbe temptations, the difficul ties, the hardships of life. Sq, we have again the idea of God the Father as the Pro genitor of this scheme of pardoning love end mercy, of God the Son through whom it was made iffictual for the salva tion of men, and of God the Holy Ghost by whom it is made efficient in them that believe. “How can these things be?'* is a ques tion which I do not pretend to under stand, nor undertake to answer. That a profound mystery is involved must be at once conceded. But a doctrine is neither to be received nor rejected on account of its mysteriouscess. If taught by Divine revelation, it must be admitted, or the revelation itself must be rejeoted. It is not enough to esy it is absurd: its absurd ity must be made manifest; nor will ic be of any avail to ting the change on the word mastery, ss though there were no mysteries connected with the revelations of natural science. How little, indeed should e believe, if we received nothing we do not comprehend! How empty would be the storehouse of the mind were the rj to be taken from its shelves and drawers, every tbiDg to which a mystery pertains! This great doctrine is set forth in the Book of Divine inspiration; and for this reason, and this reason only, we may re ceive it as an article of our Religious be lief; but let it not be forgotten, that al though mysterious or in xplicable—l do not use the two terms as synonymous—it is not contradictory, it involves no absurd ity; for it is not contended that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three in the same sense that they are one or that they are one in the same sense that they are three. It is only claimed that there is a sense in which they are to be considered as one, and that there is a sense in which they are three. Or we may say, the Father is God, and the Son is God, and the Holy Hhost is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one only indivisi ble and almighty God. Loose expressions sometimes occur in portions of our hymnology, in our pulpit declamations, in the prayers offered, and even in our elaborately prepared publica tions, causing confusion in the mind; but the Holy Scriptures are not responsible for these improprieties of diction, or for the confusion engendered by them. Oc casionally, for instance, we are astounded to hear that God stiff tred, or that God died, too, to make satisfaction to God, that is to Himself', and invocation or prayer is made directly to the Son, instead of being offer ed through Him, or in His name. The Sacred Word, however, is not chargeable with this confusion of thought, or incor rectness of utterance; for there it is the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered and died, and suffered and died too as a man,— not in His nature as Divine, but as human — And though in a few instances, prayer is offered directly to the Son, and to the Spirit,—sufficient, it may be, to justify the occasional doing of it; yet, in genera], the distinction is preserved: Prayer is offered to the Father, in the name, or for PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE & COMPANY, FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. MACON, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1875. the sake of the Son, and for the aid of the Holy Spirit. “J For Ihine is the Kingdom .” As the kingdom belongs to onr great Father above, it is exceedingly appropriate tor ns to pray to Him for its coming,—that it may be fully set up in oar hearts, that we may be bought to submit in all things to the reign of Him, whom our Father has enthroned as “King of kings and Lord of lords”—that His will may be done by us, and in us, and through ns, —that this blessed kingdom may be rapidly and widely extended, until those aronnd os shall be brought to realize its blessedness, and until to the ends of the earth its glories shall be revealed. It is Thy king dom, let it cornel As tbe kingdom is His, we may expect an answer to onr prayer for its blissful coming—may expect that our own hearts will be brought fully under the control of Divine grace, and that others, in so fat as they can be acted npon as moral, account able beings, will be influenced to yield to the mild sway, the peacefnl reign, and the controling power of the King invisible, immortal, almighty. It is Thy kingdom; and we expect to be heard when we pray, —Let it cornel Is Baptism an Absolute Ordi nance, or is it only an Ordained Institute t QUESTIONS TO BE SIGHTLY ANSWERED BE FORE WHAT WE MEAN BY CHRISTIAN FRA TERNITY CAN EVER BE ADJUSTED. BY REV. L. FIERCE. The answer to these questions must de pend npon whether what constituted or dinances in the Jewish Church were abolished in Christ; for, if they were, it was because they were wholly legal, and oonld not be made part of a system of religion from which all obedience purely legal must be elliminated. Must be, be cause it is impossible that faith in Christ, to the exclusion of all meritorious value in woiks, could ever have been engrafted on this single stock and obedience to any ordained form of doing any religious act made of essential importance to the right eousness of the act. Faith in tbe reli gious value of an act, where tbe manner of performing the act is believed to be or dained by God as essential to His appro val, is as certain as any moral sequence can be. Prayer is God's universal requi sition upon man ; but posture in prayer was never ordained, and all close thinking minds will see that if the posture to be observed iu prayer had been ordained the spirit of prayer would have been lost in the letter of prayer. And this is true of any act in life where conformity to a rule is by law. This we will show from the undeniable intents of Scripture declara ‘ions, beginning with Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, chapter ii. It is evident from this chapter, written as it was for this very pnrpose, that peace between Jewish and Gentile converts could never have been established bnt by the abolition of the or dinances belonging to the Jewish legal ceremonies and ordinanci s Christian fraternity, upon faith in Christ, can never be brought about so long us one branch of the general Chnrch of Christ sets up the claim of doing anything belonging to the rites of S.-riptuie churchism according to a form, ordained of God as the only form in which that thing can be done to divine acceptance, it being at the same time de nied by three-fourths c-f all the parties and persons morally involved in the issue. Affectionately I remonstrate with my Bap tist brethren, and ask them to ponder well this question : If close adhesion to modes of doing certain things, because ordered to be done so, interrupted fellowship com munion at the inauguration of Christiani ty, can it ever do less ? And does not the abolishing of anything in which formalism was a law of action, annul forever the right to reenact any ordained mode of ac tion ? Surely it does. Therefore, to the : aw and to the testimony let us come. Paul says : “ For he is our peace who hath made both one, and broken down the mid dle wall of partition between ns ; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordi nances ; for to make in himself of twain one new man, si making peace ; and tha’ he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmi ty thereby.” These ordinances were the occasion of this enmity—this alienation of the Jews from the Gentile converts. An alienation that could only be prevented by abolishing the ordinances of the Jew ish oeremoDial law and making of twain one new man. This could never have been done only by blotting ont this band writing of ordinances, which was against ns. by nailing it to the cross and taking it out of the way. Which he did ; and, by reconciling both unto God by himself and through himeelf, made being anew man in Him the only ground and condition of Christian communion and fellowship. This opinion of the elimination of every thing included in the law of command ments contained in ordinances, is of vi tal importance in a correct exegesis of Christian theology. A law of command ment, contained in an ordinance, is a man ner of speech too peculiar to be overlook ed. It means that a law of commandment contained in an ordinance may cease to be a law at any time, either by the abroga don of the system or by the revocation of the ordinance: and proves, in as far as its philosophy goes, that what constituted the ordinances in divine worship in the days of Jadaism were in no way connect ed with any perpetual principles of moral obligation. In a word, the whole system of Jewish ordinances, as introduced, used, and then abolished forever, proves to onr mind, as clearly as daylight, that particu lar manners and modes of doing things— done in obedience to an ordained formula —was impossible to a system of spiritnal minded worship. To worship in the spirit and see that the specified formula is ex actly met, is a moral and mental impossi bility. The manner of them, therefore, was never invested with any moral effioa cy or efficiency as mannerisms. Paul de clares they were shadows thrown back from the body, which was Christ Jesus the Lord, and having brought the Church to him as shadows to their solid bodies, they expired, having no commission be yond. This is assarted in Colosiians, ii., especially in verses 20 to 23: “Where fore if ye be dead with Christ from the rndiments of the world, why, as thongh living in the world, are ye subject to ordi nances, (tonch not; taste not; handle not; which all are to perish with the wing ;) after the commandments and dootrines of men ?” The world, in this passage, means the Jewish religions economy, which end ed its ordinances and ceiemonies in the crucifixion of Christ, who was the Lamb of God, slain in eternal purpose from the foundation of the world, bnt typified through centuries because Infinite Wis dom knew it to be best that the patterns of tbe things in the heavens shonld be purified by these; bnt the heavenly things, themselves with better sacrifices than these. This idea of being dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, is the same which the apostle used wheij, he said : “I am crucified with Christ.” It is a favorite sentiment in Paul’s writings, that whatever Cbrist died to pnt away for His complete installation in believers’ ( hearts, they mnst likewise pnt away from them fi r the same heavenly reasons. He pat away, in His death, all ordained form ularies, for the very reason that He coaid not ordain how a thing shonld be done according to the law of a commandment contained in an ordinance which always prescribes the how, and do lees than lose the spirit in the letter. Hence, when He published the order of Christian wor ship at Jacob’s Well, he blotted from it every thing—time, place, postnre—every thing bnt what he called spirit—mind, heart, soul, will—all that is inward ; for he alone who is a Jew inwardly, is a Jew at all. It is impossible for God himself to pnt moral value in outward things. The Colosaians, who, like all the apostolic converts, were considered dead with Christ from all mere rndimental elements in re ligion, were found afterwards subjeot to ordinances, jnst as if they were in the old Jewish ohnrob, wherein these formalisms made np its public worship, instead of the Christian church, from whioh Christ h*L eliminated them because of their unprofit ableness. Therefore, he that is looking for anything by observing Baptism as an ordinance, is only trying to sack milk from a teat Christ has dried np. It is certain St. Panldid forbid tbe Co lossian brethren to be snbjeot to ordi nances —a noteworthy form of speech Subjection to a formality, is the genius of all ordinance ideas. You must not only do a thing, bnt it mast be done according to rale ; the very reason why the apostle said to them : “ Lit no man jndga yon ;” that is, make a rule of life for yon “con cerning meats, and drinks and holy days,” and such like non essentials. And all this because everything which, in the Scripture sense, was observed as an ordi nance, was absolutely annulled, because it was impossible that things that must be , done according to law could be done ac- ! cording to faith, for the law is not of faith. ’ Hence the peculiar language of the apos j tie: “ which are to parish with the using” after the commandments and doctrines of men, into which category s all observance of ordinances, ns ordinances, mnst fall, since their divine dismiss and from all cere monial worship. See verse 14, blottiDg ont tbe handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to ns, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. So essential was this to saving faith in Christ, that inspiration seems to labor to deliver the Church from its do minion as from a bewitching spell. Therefore, to make Baptism an ordi nance iu the Scripture tease of an ordi nahee, involves the two following absnrdi ties: First, thi abolishing of them by Christ in his death, and the restoration of one of them after his resurrection in a baptismal ordinanoe—which is so or no how ; secondly, in Pant’s forbidding tbe Colossians to have anything to do with ordinances as ordinances, he, doubt less, knowing at the same time that Christ had made Baptism an ordinance—if, in-, deed, it had been so decreed—-immersion or no baptism at all. But it will be asked, if it is not an ordinanoe what is it? It is an ordained Christian rite—the initiatory sac rament of patting on Christ by a public assumption of the vows and obligations of Christian faith and obedience ; and it is contradistinguished from ordained for mality in this, that submission to an or dlined formality is legal—must be on the letter—while compliance with an ordained rite is simply evangelical. Its perfection is in its simple, evangelical spirit and de sign, and not at all in a literal compliance with a prescribed form. lam troubled in my fraternity commission, because that Baptism, as an ordinance of immersion, is a partition wall between ns. One More Hymn Book. Mr. Editor : There are eight or ten dif ferent hymn books in use among the Methodists in Georgia. Daring the re vival season this year, on the Augusta D strict, in town and country, in chnrcb and on camp ground, nearly all the hymns used, except those read from the pnlpit were not in the Methodist hymn book— most of the hymn books present were not Methodist publications. Two pastors is saed pamphlets of select songs to meet the demands of their meetings, and those se lect songs were obtained and used by some churches remote from them because of their better adaptation in the people’s es timate to revival services. There are com paratively few Methodist hymn books own ed in tbe district. Like facts exist in other sections of our Chnroh. Is there not a cause ? The masses say that it is because the Methodist hymn book has several hundred hymns in it that are useless as songs, meking it too cumbersome and costly, and is wanting in the department of revival song and chorus, that the experience of old and young proves to be a chief demand in social and revival meetings. Many pastors entertain the same view. And, therefore, the habit of applying elsewhere than to the Metho dist fonntain for the sweet waters of song, is deepening, enlarging, flowing on, leav ing the Methodist hymn book stranded in pastors’ studies, a few family book-cases, and the shelves of the Publishing House, and, when purchased, doae with a mental protest so defined as to cancel tbe thought of pleasure in the act. Tbe facts mean something, and what more than this : that while tbe umpires of the Church’s songs are trying to t'arone the present hymn book, tbe people for whom their work is done, are singing on, shouting on, marching ou to heaven, in a service of song gathered from foreign sources, too intensely in earnest to carry deadweights ? Methodists mnch prefer to rally and ad vance to the sentiment and music of their own bands; but when these are too encum bered to inspire, they will catch the thrill where they may, for rally and advance, with shouting and song, to Zion they will. Onr hymn book excels in poatry and theology. With some emendations and additions it wonld be an excellent book of ■reference, an encyclopedia of hymnody. A volume of that kind, thrice or more larger than the present hymn book even, wonld be a valuable and charming contri bution to Methodist literature. ' r ~ Bat tor the pnrpose of song-singing the demand is for a book of three hundred or fonr hundred standard hymns, supple mented with an adequate number of ohoioe revival songs and choruses, under same cover or in a separate volnme. Onr Bishops mingle with the people in city and oonntry, in mountain and low land, from sea to sea, in annual and dis trict conferences, in camp and protraoted meetings. Of the people, among the peo ple, fer the people, they know them, and, better than any other like number of pas tors, they can arrange the hymn book needed. Such a book, from that source, wonld save the Chnrch from the impend* ing medley of song books, and be eagerly sought and need by her members and con gregations. R. W. Bigham. Warremton, Ga. Are You Honest 1 “ Why, sir, I am a member o! the Ohnroh ; of course, I am honest.” Not so fast, my friend, for there are many members of the Ohnrch who are not striotly honest. Ido not mean that they defraud their neighbors, by refusing to pay their indebtedness to them, though this is not nnfreqnently the ease. Bnt I allude to that olass of persons, unfortu nately not a small one, which, while they promptly meet all their obligations to tfceir fellow men, too willingly repudiate their obligations to the Ghnroh and to God. Was a ehnroh or parsonago ever bnilt without giving evidence of this kind of dishonesty ? Did a building oommittee ever oomplete the work assigned them and then report every cent of the subscrip tions paid ? Did a Board of Stewards ever collect every cent pledged for the support of the ministry ? Is there a preacher who oan report that every dime of his subscription for Conference colleo tions was promptly paid ? Is it not too trne, that in nearly every instance where attempt is made to raise money for the ’cause of Cbrist, a considerable per cent. 1 of the amount pledged is never collected ? An opinion seems to prevail among | many, otherwise very excellent persons, Hhat subscription in behalf of a benevo lent enterprise may be repudiated with out any breach of moral obligation. A man who oonsiders it mean and sinfnl to neglect the payment of his grocery bills will allow his Ohnroh dnes to remain un paid without the slightest compunotion of conscience. Consequently, hundreds of onr preachers are seriously embarrassed from year to year, because a few profess ing Christians neglect to pay the amounts pledged for their support. lam well aware that occasionally an obligation of this kind is not met, from sheer inability. Misfortune, some nn foreseen and inexorable demand for money for another pnrpose, may render the per son unable to meet his obligation at the time. And occasionally it may happen tbat the misfortune is so severe as to place it beyond the reach of possibility for the obligation to be met at any time. Bnt each instances are rare in comparison to the frequent recurrence of these failures to meet voluntary obligations. And now, my brother, let me ask yon again, are yon honest ? Have you paid yonr subscription for building that ohnrch, college, or parsonage ? Have yon paid the amounts yon promised for the various Conference collections ? If not, why ? Has yonr failure to meet these claims re salted from sheer inability ? If the same obligation had been contracted at the store, or with your plowman, wonld it remain unpaid to-day ? If not, then you have not been necessarily hindered from meeting these obligations, and von stand convioted as a dishonest man. These ob ligations were more binding than any other resting npon yon. They were im posed by God, and were voluntarily ao knowledged by yon. In repudiating them, therefore, yon brand yourself as a de frander; for to withhold yonr just dues to the Ghnroh is to rob God. And yet yon profess to be a Christian, and hope for heaven ? What a deluded man ! Tbe probabilities of yonr getting to heaven bear a striking relation to the probability that the defrauded Chnrch, or minister, will ever receive what yon have sinfully withheld from them. Let me commend to yon the example of one who said : “Be hold, Lord, * * *• if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, [or by unlawfully withholding what justly belonged to him] I restore him fourfold.' If the angel who stands at tbe portals of heaven should r< qnire of every applicant for admission bis unpaid pledges, what an amount of money he wonld collect. Per hape be does. Will you oarry yonr arrears into the grave with yon ? You had beftter pay it to the Lord’s treasurer, my brother, before yon start. X, The Pea ce of God. My dear friends, take my words home with you, and if y ou wish for the only true and sound peace, which is the peace of God, do your do ty. Try to be an good as you can, each ill bis station in life. So helpyonGod. Ti.ke an example from the soldier on his match; and if yon do that yon will understand wbat I mean. The bad soldier has nr> peace, just because he troubles himself about things outside him seif and sot in Inis own power. “Will the officer ieadß ns rj ght?” That is not ia bis power. Let him go where the officers lead, him, and and o his own duty. “Will he get food eno’jgh, water enough, care enough, if he is wounded?’’ I hope and trust in God t e will; but that is not in his own power. Let him take that, too, as it comes, and do his duty. “Will he be praised, rewarded, mentioned in the news papers, if he fights well?” That, too, is not In his p< jwer. Let him teke that, too, as it comen, and do fcis duty; and so of everything else If the soldier on tha march toruients himself with these mat ters, wbio h are not in his own power, he is the ma a who will be troublesome and mutinous in time of peace, and in time of war will, be the first to run away. He will tall you: “A man must have jnstioe done him; a man must see fair play for himself; a man mnet think of himself.” Poor fool! He is not thinking of himself all the while, but of a number of things which are out side him- circumstances which stand round him, and outside him, and are not himself at all. Beeanse he thinks of them—the things outside him—he is a coward or a mutineer, while he fanoies he is taking oare of himself—as it is written: “He that saveth his life 6hall lose it.” Bnt if the man wilt really think of him self, of that which is inside of him, of his own character, his own honor, his own duty, then he will say: Well fed or ill fed, well led, or ill led, praised aad covered with medals, or neglected and forgotten, and dying in a ditch, I, by myself, I am the same man, and I have the same work to do. I have to be —myself, and I have to do—my duty. So help me God. And therefore, so help me God, I will be dis contented with no person or thing, save only with myself; and I will be discon tented with myself, not when I bave left undone something extraordinary, whioh I know I could not have done, bnt only when I have left nndone something ordi nary, some plain duty which I know I could not have done, had I asked God to help me to do it. Then in that soldier wonld be fulfilled— has been fulfilled, thank God, a thonsand times, by men who lie in this abbey, and by men, too, of whom we never heard, whose graves are scattered far and wide, by mount, by stream, by sea—wonld be fulfilled, I say, the words: “He that will lose his life shall save it.” Then wonld he have in his heart, and his mind like wise, a peace which victory and safety cannot give, and which defeat and wonnds, aye, death itself, oan never take away.— Canon Kingsley, “Follow Thou Me!” What a motto for every day use onr dear Master gave ns all when he said to Peter: “What is that to thee ? Follow thon me 1” It fits so many cases. Here, for example, is an obscure, hard-working pastor, who reads in his religions jonrnai of the wonderful successes of a Moody or a Spurgeon: how one of them preaches every Sabbath to six or seven thonsand auditors, and how the other is blessed to the conversion of several thousands of sonls in a single year. He throws down the paper in a sort of envious despair, and feels that he is an absolute nobody in the vineyard of Christ. “What is that to thee ?” whispers the Shepherd’s voioe. “Follow thon me 1” Ashamed of himself, tbe humble country parson tarns to his Bible and his unfinished sermon again, determined that he will do bis little best, even thongh his name never figures in the bulletins. If the Master smiles on him it is enough. To save even one sonl is re ward for a life time’s toil. How often a self-distrustful Christian tries to excuse himself from active labors in the ohnrch or Sabbatb-sohool with the stereotyped apology: “If I was gifted like Aor B, I wonld be as active as they are m teaching or in public prayer or speech ” Friend, the way to attain to larger gifts is to employ the gifts you have. Give Jt-sns the one talent, and then he may trust thee with two. If you can not speak glibly in a prayer-meeting, then stammer out yonr heart’s thanks in the best fash ion you can. It may be that yonr few broken words may accomplish more than auother man’s fluent harangue, I had an old disciple once in my church I wonld rather hear stutter ont ten sentences than hear some others expatiate for an hour. He was a man who lived in “close grups” with Jesns. If yon have no brilliant or thrilling experience to relate in social meeting, then tell the honest story of how yon do feel and what yon are striving after. It is always a satisfaction to hear a man speak the truth, Christ jadges his servants according to what they have; never accordiag to what they have not. There is a gentle rebuke, too, of onr murmuring discontent in those words of our Lord. Perhaps some poverty-stricken brother who reads this paragraph has an uprising of the old Adam in him every time he goes to chnrch. He sees Judge A drive up in his fine carriage, or Elder B come in with his richly-dressed wife and daughters, and matters to himself: “How is it that other people get np in the world so, while I oan hardly keep a coarse coat on, my back ?” What is that to thee, brother ? Follow thon Him who had not where to lay his weary head. If thou art not rich, thon hast not the temptations of wealth and never will be called to give ac- count of a large stewardship. It is hard to be poor; it is hard to fall behind in life’s race and see others pall up trium phantly to the goal; it is hard to lose onr only wee lamb, while onr neighbor has bis table crowded with a group of rosy oheeked children; it is hard to drink the bitter cap of disappointment. But me thinks the Elder Brother draws up very close to each, and pats the arm of his love about them and says very sweetly: “What is all this to thee, my child ? Thon art mine. If mine, then an heir of Heaven’s glory. Where lam thon sbalt be. Let not thy heart be troubled. Whom I love I chasten. What is this property, or fail ure, or bereavement to thee ? Follow thou me, and thon shalt have treasures iu Heav en. If thy feet are sore, follow me, and ‘he green pastures will be all the softer by and by. If thy oro3S is heavy, let me share it with thee.” “Patience, my child. Thy Saviour’s feet were worn. Thy Saviour’s heart and hands were weary here, His garments stained and travel-worn and old, His vision blinded with a pitying tear.’ ’ Shall the disciple h 9 above his Master or the servant expect to be above his Lord ? This passage Las its application also to all those unfavorable surroundings in which we are often placed. It is not an easy thing to be an out and-out Christian in certain families or in certain social cir cles. It was not an easy thing for Daniel to be a God-fearing Puritan in voloptn one Babylon, or for Paul to stand np for Jesus at the Court ot Felix. Perhaps some of you may say: “My ‘set’ are w( rldly and fashionable. They go to the theaters oftener thau the prayer-meetings. My relatives are irreligious. The current is against me.” Very well. What is that to thee? Follow thou Cbrist. If yonr associates are posessed with the delusion that happiness is only to be fonnd in sen sual pleasures, then prove to them how cherful von can be while denying nDgodly lusts If they among whom yonr lot is cast are frivolous, do yon be sober. If they are extravagrant, do yon be fruga’, “as becometh the saints.” If they live for seif-indulgeiioe, do you set tbe example of living for Christ aud fer others’ wel fare. If they choose death, do yon choose life, and then prove to them the wisdom of yonr choice. “Be ye holy as I am holy” is a command yon can not shirk or •defy but at a terrible cost. Oh, it is a shame to ns who profess Christ that we so often ask: “Wbat will this one say? or how do others do?” Follow Me I This is the trne “higher life,” this perpetual endeavor to fiud Christ’s footsteps and walk therein. When tbe grand old missionary, Jud son, was one day laid aside from work, bis wife thought to divert him by reeding to him some newspaper sketches of hito self. One compared him to Paul, another to John, etc Tbe modest old hero was annoyed, and exclaimed: “I do not want to be like Paul, or Apollo, or any other man. I want to be like Christ. We have only one who was tried in all points as we are and yet was without sin I want to drink in his spirit, to place my feat in his footprints and to measure their sm lloess aud shortcomings by Christ’s footsteps only. Oh lif I could only be more like Jesns !” F. m. 14 i:w Firv, D. D Editor. .1. W KVTRKF, tMlmant Editor. A. G. H AYGOOD, D. D., Editorial Correspondent. If our churches are to be quickened and advanced, then the marching orders to which we must keep step is: “Follow me I” The only safe counsel for the in quiry room is to point every awakened sinner to the atoning Jesns. The two words which Jt-susjprobably uttere.i often er than any other were: “Follow me 1” They are the essenoe of all true creeds. They are the test and touchstone of true Christianity.— lndependent. The Christian Life. Living in a Christian age, surrounded by Christian institutions, enjoying Chris tian light and embracing the Christian faith, you concede the value of a Chris tian life. It is precions above all else, honoring your character among men now and rewarding you with a glorious and happy life with God hereafter. Do yon nurture, strengthen and develop that life as yon should, or as your great privileges enable you to do ? The natural physical life yon do not undervalue. You guard it well against disease, or employ every possible remedy to remove such if it ex ists. You labor and seek rest, you secure needed comfort, and make every necessa ry provision to suppers and prolong that life. Food, clothing, shelter, and every thing proper are secured at whatever cost of thought and effort. Have you the same oare aud do you make the same ex ertion for the spiritual life ? Tbe spiritnal life is not spontaneous, and does not perpetuate aud strengthen itself without your will, effort, and care. Yon bave, by tbe generous provision of your Heavenly Father, everything at hand by which you may secure and properly nnrtnre this life. So to use this provision is the part of a Christian. It is the only and the indisputable evidence of the sin cerity and genuineness of yonr religion. It is in reality religion itself Look at the home and the inner privacy of life. There are facilities to exercise thought, awaken feeling and prompt action, such as will have an important bearing npon the Chris tian life. To guard against false ideas, bad principles, corrupting thoughts, sin ful desires and feelings, and stimnlate their opposites, is a work and duty need ing constant attention and exercise. Each individual is himself the responsible agent in these things, and no amount, of out side facilities and helps will benefit him without his own exertion. Self-control and direction are the great things to which all available helps should be employed, such as reading, meditation, prayer and associati in. Look at the Christian relation which yon sustain, or may, in the Chnrch of Christ. Here the means are abundant, all designed and calculated to aid yon in sustaining and developing in the highest measure the Christian life. The preach ing of the Gospel, use of ordinances, and fellowship of believers, aside from the promised blessing attending a sinoere pub lic profession of Christ, are all divinely arranged means to help you in strength ening the higher and better life within. Do these receive their proper share of at tention at yonr hands—some of that at tention which you bestow npon the ward robe, table and shelter whieh you de<* m so necessary for the natural life ? Why not ? Are "they not as important for yonr spiritual life as the latter are for your physioal ? Are they not blessings fri m God as muoh to be prized and us readily to be appropriated -s are tbe deposits in the mine, the fruitfulness of the soil, tbe sunlight and showers from heaven ? If they are it is an offense to slight them and an irreparable loss to the sonl. They are wisely adapted and graciously given to serve onr highest and most lasting good. All that is demanded of us is to nse them in order that they may accomplish their designed end in onr salvation, to tbe glory of the Giver, who wills “not that any should perißh, hot that all should turn to him and live.” Let us take pains and have a care for that better life—the Chris tian life; protect and nurture it to bear the ripeaed fruit of peace and joy on earth and in heaven. Lack of Faitb. We imagine there have been few peni tents or few earnest Christians who have not felt themselves in deep sympathy with the father who answered the Saviour’s de mand of faith with the tearful exclama tion: “L rd I believe; help Thou mine nnbelief 1” This puinfal consciousness of unbelief, in connection with a measure of faith, is not restricted to penitent seekers. What Christian has not felt the very difficulty which stood in the way of the sorrowing father who brought his afflicted boy to Christ ? What preacher, who stands be tween the living and the dead, and watches for sonls, that has not uttered often this confession and cry for help ? This leaven of nnbelief comes between ns and many a victory. We have come to the battle without the faith to strike the decisive blow, or we have left the hard fonght field without strength to gather the spoil. The gift of power—power to awaken, to lead souls to Christ, and to win them from the snares of satan ! Who does not covet it, who has not wrestled for and sought it with tears? Unbelief is at the root of our failures, i Tnis is tbe worm in the bud, tbe fatal cause of weak ness and defeat. Good men, in iheir se cret hearts, in their self examinations be fore God, feel this defect as no others can. They believe, they believe much, they are not withont hope and consolation,and yet there is this ground of unrest and of self reproach. They might be more perfect, more usefnl and more blessed if it were not for this admixture of nnbelief in their hearts. As yet all things ore not possible to them. Far from it. They have not felt to the uttermost Christ’s power to save. There is selfishness, jealousy, wrong tem pers and fl-sby lusts not altogether over come. And their usefulness is compara tively nothing. The faith of complete self conquest and of entire consecration is lacking. Powt r in prayer to prevail with God and mau is not attained In bis sphere of work, responsibility and ex perience the Cbr>stian lias reason to come to Jesns for help—for help in this capital defect of his religions experience. It is something gained to have onr greatest want revealed to ns, and to see how all blessings hang npon that one thing. It is something more to have the assurance that the one condition of par don, of holiness, of power, can be sup plied Unbelief may be a sinful thing, moat offensive to God, as the quintessence of all sin, but it is that which, if felt and abhorred, Onrist can cure. It is a bruiie which he alone can heal. We are not to hesitate to take our doubts to him. It s the last sin that many think of a king Jesns to take away. It shonld bo the first. As we look out upon the world to be conquered for Christ, the mission fields “ white to harvesr.” and society aronnd us waiting to be thrilled Rnd raised by the breath of Gospel life, it is ii r the who-e Ohnroh to feel that unbehef is at the bot tom of her stint-d endeavor. The faith we have is 60an in tbe zeal exhibited, in the offerings presented and in the results realiz and. We come to Christ not with the faith that makes all thing possible, but with the if of distrust. ‘ If tijou canst do anything.” The victory that overcometh the world is onr faith. There is a mixtnre of nnbelief—an element of donbt—tbat works irreparable mischief. We have not lost faith in the Gospel, we have faith in Christ, bnt we have not faith enough—probably not half enough. There shonld be co doubt iu reference to the power of Christ. We mnst ask. “nothing wavering,” and work,enterprise, and give, with no misgivings about the re sult. Can China be taken, can Mexico be evangelized, can the Holy Spirit bring the dead about us to life ? If thon canst WHOLE NUMBER 1972 believe, O Chnrch of God, all things sns possible to him that believeth. We mask,' as a Chnrch, go to Christ with this evi l heart of nnbelief. Go we mnst with ories and tears and confessions. “ Lord, I be lieve; help thou mine nnbelief.” When this miserable distrust, this insidious bnt frightful donbt, is cared, we shall soon have the world for Cbrist. Tbe Education of Converts. The thing now to be done is to oare considerably for the spiritaal culture of those who have reoently given their hearts to Ohist. On this depends the fntnre of the chnrch, under the blessing of the justifying and sanctifying Spirit. It most never be allowed that Christianity is a mere emotion, lifting np the heart into occasional ectasy, and sandiDg an irregu lar glow of heavenly fire through the sonl. Christianity has its facts, its doctrins, its philosophy, and its discipline; and these mnst be carefully studied by every one who aims at constancy and growth in di vine life. Of coarse everything depends upon how they are studied, as to whether the student tarns ont a mere bigot, or an eminently charitable and hopeful believer; and, therefore, teachers themselves most not only review their own attainments and qualifications, bnt also make very apeoial inqnest as to the ton and pnrpose of their oan spirit, We have had the rending fire and the shattering wind; now we want the still small voioe that oan find its way into the innermost heart, and there speak the deepest wisdom and mystery of the nnseen kingdom. If we reoeive not this Spirit, we shall in the long rnn be the worse, and not the better, for tbe visita tion whioh has made the ehnroh for a sea son glad. The danger is that tbe new con verts mistake elevation for instrnotion. This will be simply rninons to everything like progress and consolidation. It will, too, snpply a false test of all preaching. The convert will be dissatisfied with min* istraUons that do not excite his feelings, and draw constantly from the fountain of bis tears. This is, of coarse, an exhaus tive process; human power cannot long endnreit; and the consequence is, that repetition ends in blnnted sensibility and hardness of heart. We most, then, have prolonged, exaot, devout, biblical teach ing, even until the word of Christ dwells riohly in the heart, an answer to every temptation,and arefngein every tempest. Give ns biblioal instrnotion, and we shall be safe; leave ns to mere emotion, and the first high wind will soatter onr religion like chaff Now, in view of this needed instruction, what conld be more appropriate than the large employment of venerable ex-pastors as Bible teachers ? They are pre-emi nently the men for the work. No longer able to command the attention of large congregations, they are more than ever able to break the bread of life in the way of quiet exposition; they have learning, thy have experience, they have mellow sanctity, and the light of the other world is already throwing its blessed rays upon their hearts,—what could be more fitting than that such men should be largely em ployed and generously supported by the church, as teachers and guides of those who have just given their love and trust to the Son of God ? Again and again we have seen such men crowding religious platforms, and we have looked upon them as representing a foros for good which is criminally neglected by the church. We applaud great orators and preachers, and ruu wildly after voioes that are new and exciting; but the men who have most of intelligence and spiritual richness we al low to drop into silenoe and fade into ob sourity. We put in a plea for their im mediate oall to high office in the oburob. Lit the young man preach with all his might, let him lighten and thunder, and blow the gospel trumpet loudly until the blast mingle with every wind that breathes aronnd the sinning world; but let there be near at hand the well experienced teacher, who can instruct and guide those who seek to fle from the wrath to come. —Joseph Parker, D. D., in The Times of Blessing. Why This Waste 1 Evon in these enlightened days there is a man here and there who thinks it a great waste to send the gospel to the heathen. He would save the men and money, and devoting them to something better, as he oalls it, thus secure better results. Hugh Miller used to describe with fearful sarcasm certain moderate gentlemen in Scotland who were not per auaded lhat it was safe to put the gospel into the hands of the savages, sinoe they might either injure themselves or destroy the truth. The class has not altogether passed ont of sight, though we cannot now find a minister who wonld dare stand forth as the opponent of missionary en terprise. But it has its opponents. Thus, we noticed the other day, the statement in a newspaper that in India the few Chris tians have been secured at an enormous expense, the inference being that the out lay ought to be discontinued. It does not pay. There is no right proportion betweea the sum invested and the result. Money when used ought to be devoted to something that will show a good hon est increase and not be thus squandered on a business that is so manifestly a fail ure. And the men who talk so would im mediately put their surplus funds into the bank or into bonds, or somelvery lucrative business, spending, in the meantime, whatever their ta6te and appetites de manded, no matter even if these were de praved or ridionlons. Into ell snoh calculations the value of a soul does not enter. How much is a soul worth? How mnch would a man give for the salvation of his boul, having once learned its value ? How mnch wonld the rioh man in the parable! have expended on tbe rescue of bis ? TANARUS what extent should we invest onr means to save that wbieh is lost—to plnck an immortal sonl from the gulf? If a man is a loser who gains the whole world withont saving his son], what amount of benevolence can exceed what is demanded of ns in the cause of missions ? Why, there has been more money spent in trying to find the remains of Sir John Franklin than is given by many of the demoninatione to honor Je sus by giving his gospel to the perishing and jet, while men applaud the search for the lost explorer, they rail at the awful expense of tbe missions of the Christian chnrcli. Wo have seen monomaniacs in matters missionary as in other things, bnt they have about them a kind of extravagance that is refreshing rather than otherwise. To be extreme in seeking to save the lost, to be excited in sending the gospel to the perishing, to be enthusiastic in disoipling tha nations —God give us more than rare and virtuous madness. Ciohx of Christ. —There are some per sons whose eyee are so weak, that the light seems to be injurious to them, especially the red rays of the son ; and a glass has been invented which rejects the rays that are injurious and allows only those to pass wbioh are softened and modified to ths weakness of the eye. It seems as if the Lord Jesns were some such glass as this. The grace of God shining through the man Christ Jesus, becomes a mellow, soft light, so that mortal eye can bear it. Affections well plaoed and dutifully cherished ; friendships happily formed and faithfully maintained ; knowledge ac quired with worthy intent, and intellectu al powers that have been diligently im proved as the talents whioh onr Lord and Master have committed £o our keeping— these will accompany ns into another state of existence as sorely as the soul in i that state retains its identity and ita oon i scionsness.— Southey,