Newspaper Page Text
TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS.
PER ANNUM.
VOLUME XXXIX., NO. 20.
|Joctrn.
THE SOWER.
BY FIIANCBS KIDI.KY HAVEKGAL.
“Such as I hove I sow— it is nor inu< h,”
Said one who loved th* Master of the field ;
“Only a quiet word, a gentle touch
Upon the hidden harp strings, which may
yield
No quick response ; 1 tremble, y*t I speak
For Him who knows the heart so loving, jet so
weak.**
And so the words were spoken, soft and low,
Or triced with timid pen ; yet oft they fell
On soil prepared, wnicli she would never
know.
Until the tender blade sprang up to tell
That not in v -in her labor had been spent;
Then, with new faith and hope, more bravely
on she went.
fci | imii
(Contributions.
EXKCETICAL INQUISITION.
BY REV. 1.. PIERCE, 1). D.
Among the many obstacles in the way of
sanctification, as a regular step in going on
If) perfection, I have noticed this one as pe
culiarly detrimental : A disposition to bring
Scripture down to our own experience,' rath
er than to bring our experience up to these
standard texts on Christian experience. A
more dangerous policy could not be adopted
inside of the lines of respectable morality.
As for instance, seizing on a pointed text,
written on some particular Christian duty,
and using it in justification of some defalca
tion in duty, to which the Holy Spirit did
not apply it. Take this for example, Ist
Timothy v: 8. “ But if any provide, not
for his own, and specially for those of his
own house, he hath denied the faith and is
worse than an infidel.” Worse than an infi
del, because these from motives and sympa
thies of mere humanity, would provide for
their widows, aged mothers, or step mothers,
or aiiuts, as being of their own house —by
which appellation is understood those per
sons who are of our house or family, and
entitled to family care and support.
'l'll it there was in the Apostolic Church a
regular, systematized institution of charity
for the support of such specially as were
termed ‘‘widows” cannot be denied ; and that
providing for their poor—which seems to
have meant, in Apostolic days, only such as
could not provide for themselves—i3 made
strikingly clear, by the appointment of seven
deacons, to see to it that these special bene
liciaries were not neglected in the daily min
istrations. But as it is now, so it was then
Styne who were hound by the peculiar moral
obligation of family protection to take cure
of their own house, meanly tried to save to
themselves the expense of their poor, by
devolving it on the Church. These are they
that, denying the faith —which means neg
lecting a positive Christian duty—make
themselves worse than infidels, in that,
while info.el.ty as a system does not teach
any virtue, as of divine obligation, infidels
take care of their poor of this sort, and do
it as a duty. But Christianity, as a system,
does teach this virtue &s of divine obligation,
and hounds it, hv family limitations, so as to
teach us that whatever is our duty we must
do ourself. We cannot impose it on anoth
er by any cunning device. Hence, a mem
ber of the Church, as a son or nephew, hav
ing a mother or other female connection,
whom he ought to provide for, could get
them off of his hands, into these Christian
infirmaries by cunningly devised stories—
while lie might pass witii current Christian
reputation his beguiled Church —yet, in the
eyes of Him to whom the darkness shineth
as the light, he would he looked upon as
worse than an unbeliever —who generously
provided for those of his own house.
All these preliminary remarks are made
from this one stand-point in order to awaken
in the Church a just apprehensiou of th’s
shameful perversion of God’s word, weaving
into our cultivated hut corrupted experience,
ignorantly construed Scripture support. No
one ever having been engaged in asking
alms for God's identified beneficiaries, has
failed to meet with heartless misers, who
would dare to quote this text to support,
their selfish, ctiminal love of money. Now
let us look at it as it is, for this is the way
our final Judge must look at it.
First, if the implicated seizes on the text,
because there is something in its simple
sounding that seems to sustain what lie really
desires to sustain, as a money-saving axiom,
and because of its support iu this direction,
as he uses it, he looks no further into its
special meaning, but—simply because the
words are Scripture words, uttered too, as
every one must see, for reproof and for in
struction in righteousness—he holds on to
it, an*d makes it the rule of his faith always,
when giving is the question of moral obliga
tion.
Now this I say. at present, tVith more
•hereafter, that there is uot k in all of the
Devil’s arsenal of well constructed missiles
of death, any one more likely to do fatal
mischief than this: a will to press God’s
word of truth into the support of vice. In
deed, there is no prpof of a more perverse
mind, than a mind that would make God's
word in any way responsible for its errors in
practice. The heaviest woes pronounced
against us are pronounced on these two ac
counts : adding to or taking from this law
and testimony of God’s intelligible word.
And it is evident that whoever quotes this
text ignorantly, in support of his money
saving policy, adds to this word of proph
ecy, in that, he invests it with a doctrine
not taught by it. There are many instances
of this corrupting of the word of God. In
deed, there is ito case where we try to prop
ourselves up by a too liberal interpretation
of God’s word to justify ourselves in any
thing, the moral rectitude of which in itselt
is-uncertain with us, and doubted or denied
at the bar of general consciousness, in
which ve are not guilty of adding to the
word of God, in so far as the moral animus
is the witnessing sense. There never has
been one instance of any one being dis
turbed by a moment’s disquietude about any
thing done, in which the doer felt that the
deed was done according to the teachings of
God’s word.
This ungodly principle in professors of re
ligion is as frequently seen in taking away
from the prophecy of this book as in adding
to it. It will be well before we proceed any
further, to make some remarks on the word
prophecy. It is evident from St. Paul's use
of the term in Ist Corinthians, chapter 14,
that it is the synonym of teaching or preach
ing the word of truth as it is. Hence, in de
claring how he did preach at Corinth, see
chapter ii : 1. After his negative, his posi
tion is declaring unto you the testimonies of
God. And I think it very certain that these
words in Revelation, specially dictated by
Jesus to his servant John, “The words of
the prophecy of this book,’’ mean the obvi
ous teachings of divine revelation. The
same gre.i truth was uttered by Moses, in
Deuteron uiy, to the children of Israel—
<§oitiiisrtf Christian
that no alteration must ever he made in
these laws of their moral obedience, but
that they must he preserved intact, giving as
the eternal reason, that no one lives, in the
sense of a diyine life, but those that live by
eve r y word that proceedeth out of the mouth
of the Lord. And as this is the condition
of a divine life here, it was necessary that
the last deliverance of divine law should be
the enforcement of this original and only
test of true moral obedience. For every
sound, sanctified mind, that will, is obliged
to see that any practical indifferene to any
rule of life ordained by God, is an actual re
fusal to live by every word which has pro
ceeded from the mouth of the Lord ; and is
guilty of a general rebellion against God, in
that, this will would treat God as our law
giver in the same way in .reference to any
other self-indulgence where its love was as
strong in us as in this ruling passion.
My soul within me shudders, as I proceed
to show how a large portion of our chief
women are taking away from this word of
prophecy, in making it void by the substitu
tion of worldly maxims for life's example,
instead of living by every word of God. By
every word of God, is the law of obedience,
and it cannot avail 113 anything against the
tremendous curse specified in this finality—
the loss of all our interests in the Book of
Life, and in the holy city—or the city of holi
ness. Although we may have adhere! in
many things to God s word, as our rule of
living, in that, or in the e things, still, if
there are other things equally as clear in
their demand on us for adoption, as those
we have adopted, but which we simply ignore
because we want to present to the world a
social fraternity, in that, that our religion is
not in any outward costume, but in an in
side religionism—which, while it compels us
who are in the Church to give it some unity
with this divine institution, still leaves us
far enough in the world to maintain, on its
adopted regime, as fully as we may choose,
the pride of life. But, alas ! this very pride
of life is declared to be of the world, and not
of the Father—a thing that passes away with
the world—an evanescent glory ; while they
that do God’s will, in living by every word
that has proceeded from His mouth, abide
forever. And among the words which every
fashionable woman knows have proceeded
from the mouth of the Lord to them espe
cially, are those of Paul and Peter, on their
style of dress. They are both of precisely
the same import. We quote from Peter :
“ Whose adorning let it not be that out
ward adorning of plaiting the hair, and
wearing of gold, or putting on of costly ap
parel.” This is what is forbidden. But
let it he the tnau of the heart, in that which
is not corruptible, even the “ ornament of a
meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight
of God of great price.”
And now, ladies —beloved erring sisters —
let me make my last appeal to your good
common sense. Does not every one of you
see that the whole moral force of this text
depends on the utter incompatibility of what
is interdicted with what is commanded.
Because, if the state of mind commended
could he had and held, along with the out
ward adornings forbidden, theii the inter
dict was wholly unnecessary. And this is
what every one of you virtually declares
who pretends to be a Christian woman while
adorning yourself in this licentious style.
For in this way you take from this word of
prophecy, or of divine teaching, by declar
ing practically that it is redundant in reli
gious life. Great God ! can it be that the
religious idea is so demoralized ? Send it
round.
ORPHANS’ HOME. NORTH GEORGIA
t'OM-'KItKMi:.
It is a real pleasure to he able to report
this institution in a better condition, and
having greater promise of a long and useful
life, than at any former period of its history.
This is especially encouraging in these hard
aud gloomy times.
It is true, there are not so many orphans
at the Home as were at one time, but it is
filled, while the system and whole order of
things, being matured by the diversified ex
periences of years, are certainly far better
adapted to the objects proposed ; so that ed
ucation, domestic training, religious instruc
tion, farming, and other industries, are
more easily and successfully conducted.
The expenses of the institution have been
greatly reduced, and yet, as above stated,
its efficiency has been increased. There are
now nearly thirty orphans at the home —the
trustees, at their late annual meeting, deter
mined to run the number up to thirty—all
of whom give demonstrative proof of the
admirable government adopted, and the dis
creet administration of the Superintendent.
At the meeting of the trustees above men
tioned April 26 —the farm and garden
were found in superb condition, the land
having been thoroughly bedded, the cotton
crop—twenty acres—all well planted, and
the corn crop, nearly all, well put in. The
whole showed good judgment and industry.
The garden presented the same promise .of
ample supplies. The live stock was like
wise in good condition.
The kitchen, dining room, and interior of
the house —the main building—all wore the
air of good cheer and neatness. The de
partment of education is under the care of
M ss Clara Pe tree, daughter of the late
Rev. G. J. Pearce of the North Georgia
Conference. Miss Clara is happily adapted
to her responsible work. Pious, discreet:
and industrious, she is efficiently preparing
the children for usefulness and the life to
come. To some of us at least, it seemed
clearly provideutiel that this large family of
human waifs, should have, to care for, to
guide and teach them, brother and sister
Lupo, and Miss Clara. May God bless
them, each and all, with wisdom and grace
as they have need.
It is but justice to state that there is no
servant employed at the Home. There ia
but one laborer hired, a young whiteman of
exemplary piety and good habits, who has
been for several years employed with the
boys on the farm. With this single excep
tion. the whole business of the farm, house,
and kitchen, is conducted by the above men
tioned officers and children of the Home.
The conviction is growing in the minds of
the trustees that, when free from debt, the
Home will soon become nearly or quite self
sustaining. That this will be realized, I
have not a doubt. But of this more here
after.
Our friends have already been informed of
the munificent donation of our beloved
brother Richardson, of Gainesville, Ga.,
with a view to the permanent endowment of
the institution. This, in times like the pres
ent. clearly indicates the Divine hand in be
half of His homeless poor. Are there not
others in Georgia, who can and will follow
this noble example of brother Richardson ?
Think, dear friends, of the hundreds and
thousands of homeless little ones, having
none to care for them, and who, in the very
necessity of the case, must perish, soul and
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BURKE k COMPANY, I'Og.THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
body, in time and eternity, unless by these
or similar means, they are rescued from
their present associations and surroundings,
and placed under proper instructions and
influences ! Better be the benefactor of one
of these immortal waifs, than to die possess
ed of the fortune of A. T. Stewart, without
such benefactions bestowed.
I have long been seriously impressed that
there are persons, men and women in this
country, whose hearts God has moved time
and again, to endow in part or in whole this
noble charity! Will they decline such rich
and gracious opportunities for eternal invest
ments? May God forbid.
It is with great pleasure that I am enabled
to state that, however hard the times, the
trustees who have undertaken to sustain
the Home the present year, without the ex
penses of an agent, meet everywhere a
prompt and cheerful response to their ap
peals for money and supplies. Never have
I seen the people, in the Church and out of
it, so generally and heartily contribute of
their substance, whether they have much or
little, to benevolent, or other enterprizes.
Amid the startling developments of corrup
tion and venality in the country at this time,
nothing inspires greater hope of final re
demption for the land than this noble senti
ment and action towards the helpless poor.
What is it but the fruits of that “ pure and
undefiled religion” which St. James says “is
to visit the fatherless and widows in their
afflictions”?
In this connection I beg to ask our friends
everywhere to aid us in every possible way,
in our efforts to sustain this institution. Let
all who can, send money, by post-office
orders or registered letters, directly to V.
R. Tommey, Atlanta, Ga., or hand it to any
one of the trustees.
The ladies are urged to keep up their Or
phans’ Home Societies where they have
been organized, and to form such societies
where there are none, for the purpose of
getting up supplies, such as groceries, cloth
ing, bedding, etc. la this way a great deal
can be done, without oppressing any one.
These supplies should be boxed or sacked,
and shipped to “ Rev. J. L. Lupo, Superin
tendent Orphans’ Home, Decatur, Georgia.”
If any one who may read this article, has a
mill for grinding sorghum, aud is not need
ing it, it would be a favor to the Home to
send it there. The boys are raising a crop
of sorghum for the purpose of supplying
the Home with its own syrup, tub they have
no mill. The Superintendent will promptly
acknowledge the receipt of all goods sent
him as above directed. And I add, in con
clusion, that any groceries, provisions, dry
goods suitable for clothing boys aud girls,
shoes, hats, combs, brushes, etc., as also
good plantation or other tools, together with
good hooks, will be gladly received, and
will save money to the institution.
Washington, Ga. Jesse Boring.
“OUR FIRST HOME AFTER DEATH.”
Mr. Editor: Your correspondent in the
issue of your paper of the 6th inst., failed,
in my humble judgment, to make out aclear
easel I refer to the idea advanced in the
article, that there are two homes for the
Christian after death. The Scriptures surely
do not teach that there are two places of re
pose for the departed spirit in Christ, in the
eternal state. In the book of Ecclesiastes,
we are told that the spirit returns unto God
who gave it —doubtless where Christ and
angels dwell. Ido not understand the terms
“ Heaven" and “ Paradise " as signi'ying
two distinct places of abode, hut only two
distinct states. When Jesus said to the thief
on the cross, “This day shalt thou he with
me in Paradise,” he certainly meant those
mansions of rest in his Father’s house on
high, to which He directed the attention of
His Apostles in the 14th chapter of St. John:
“ In my Father’s house are many mansions ;
if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also.” Now
Christ intended this to he the language of
consolation ; that shortly they should be with
him ; not ages in the future, but immediately
after the accomplishment of their earthly
mission. In other words, he meant that
which was to be their perpetual, their eternal
home. The soul of Dives, on the other
hand, entered into a place of torment, plain
ly taught in the word of God, as the place of
punishment for outcasts from God and de
spisers of His mercy. If the narrative, or
parable, or whatever one may choose to call
it, of the rich man and Lazarus, teaches any
thing, it is the difference in the eternal state
of the good and the bad. If I rightly un
derstand him, brother Searcy’s idea is that
the places of the departed spirits of the
good and the evil are not the same places as
Heaven and Hell , and also, that they are
near each other—a sort of Protestant Pur
gatory. The rich man saw Lazarus a great
way off , in Abraham’s bosom. “ A great
way off,.” cannot mean “ near at hand.”
Now, just as we can, with the natural eye,
behold the sun, and, by the power of tel
escopic vision, can readily survey some of
ihe fixed stars, the suns- of other systems,
none of which can be less than 19,200,-
000 miles away, so by the power of spir
itual vision, Dives might have beheld the
radiance which beams from the Eternal
Throne, at a distance almost infinite. The
holding converse with Abraham would also
be subject to the same law of spiritual exist
ence, a matter about which we know so little.
The proximity of the two places, however,
would prove nothing in favor of the position
taken by brother Searcy. The presence of
God and the holy, made Heaven in one
place, and the absence of God, and the pres
ence of the Devil, and his angels, and the
damned, made Hell in the other. Again,
brother Searcy surely does not mean that
this intermediate state i3 the grave, the soul
sleeping with the body. He cannot mean
that the soul entered the grave with the
body. Christ died upon the cross, which
necessitated a separation of soul and body.
If the soul was laid in the sepulchre, then
Christ was not really dead, and, if not dead,
He did not rise from the dead, even if He
did rise from the sepulchre. Any live man
might rise from a sepulchre, if an angel
should let him out, and not work any mira
cle either. If I am in the dark in this
matter, I am anxious for light—more light,
although ou l - salvation may not depend upon
a proper understanding of it. My idea as
to the plain teachiug of the Bible on this
subject is this :—that “ Paradise ” is that
state of enjoyment which the soul of the
Christia.fi enters into when freed from the
body, and Heaven is that state of enjoyment
which soul and body enter into when the
body is spiritualized, transformed to Christ’s
glorious image, and reunited with the soul.
The body is now no longer a clog to the'de
velopment of the powers of the soul, but,
swifter than light, or even thought itself, can
sweep through the realms of the blest, and
MACON, GEORGIA, TUESDAY. JUNE 27. 1576.
drink in the delights of the city of God.
The capacity for enjoyment is enlarged by
this union of the soul with a body fitteck
to its eternal state, and Paradise is changed
into Heavea.
That which occasions gloom in the idea of
death, is not so much the pangs of body en
dured in dissolution as the thought of the
separation of soul and body. God honored,
Enoch by enabling him to escape this ordeal,
and the body, without passing through thd
crucible of death, was immediately spiritu-"
alized and glorified, and entered directly
into the heavenly state. Elijah was like-,
wise favored of Heaven. The enjoyment of
Enoch and Elijah was greater than that of
glorified spirits simply, not because the cup
of all was not filled to overflowing, but be
cause the capacity of Enoch and Elijah was
greater. To the one class the place was
Paradise, to the other, Heaven. The lan
guage of Jesus to Mary, “Touch me not.
for I am not yet ascended to my Father, is
often urged as an objection to this position}.'
but it is plain that Jesus meant his body and
not his soul, for Mary could not touch his
soul. His body had not yet ascended; but
when, while blessing his disciples, he was
parted from them and received into Heaven,
his triumph was complete and humanity was.
forever exalted at the right hand of God.
J. W. Jordan.
Quincy, Fla., June 7, 1876.
OUR HYMN BOOK.
I am pleased to see the article of brothel'
J. 0. Willson, in the Advocate of Jutfif
6th, on “Our Hymn Book,” embrace heartj
ily his views on this important subject, an*
hope able objectors to the proposed change,
or supplement, will arise in such force
as to defeat the attempt. Who has not
some tender recollection ?—some sacred and
holy memories associated with many, very
many, of our fine old hymns? And if one
of these, to which the heart eliugs so fondly
be left out of the new collection, will it not
give pain?— pain, as would the absence of-S
treasured friend we were hoping to see ? If jp
be answered, “this new collection is not ¥•>
supersede, but to supply a need ; —a small
purse ; easily torn pockets ; trouble of search
etc.” Whatever.may be the design, the re
sult will be, the new collection will surely
supersede the Old, and our present treas
ured collection, after some years, will
only be found stored away by some pious
and devout retainers of old memories, or
mouldering away in some old libraries, or
book shelves. If it be determined by the
Church that this collection shall be brought,
forth, would it not be well for our BishcUJ
to appoint agents to canvass the South, al
ter all our congregations, go into our private
dwellings, and take a summary of all the
hymns that are loved and sung, and are pre
cious to the hearts of our people. Doubtless
their research would prove the necessity of all
the variety at present found in “ Our Hymn
Book ” Can any one committee be so fam
iliar with the facts, as to come to any just
estimate of what will meet the state of feel
ing, and spiritual wants of every communitrJ.
Would not a gracious revival of religh
into requiiltion many line hymns, usttufiT
sidered obsolete ? Sankey’s revival songs
may do to prepare the way of tie Lord, hut
Wesley’s and those of his coadjutors, must
swell in the triumph of His train.
C. M, C.
Selections.
IT DOTH NOT YET APPEAR WHAT
WK SHAM. UK.
IJY REV. R. U. HOWARD. ,
The unsounded, unexplored deeps
every human heart —deeps of possible expe
riences, either pleasurable or wretched —
oannot but furnish food for thought, and
suggest matter for profitable reflection to
every really thoughtful, inquiring mipd.
What, for instance, does that man who lias
never experienced remorse know of what he
is capable of suffering? Or what, on the
Other hand, does that man who in all his life,
has never loved know in regard to his capa
bilities for happiness ? And thus who sfcaji
say that we are not each one of us carrying,
locked up in our bosoms, capacities for
either wretchedness or enjoyment, wicked
ness or spiritual attainment, of which at
present we have not the faintest conception
—of which we shall be distinctly and con
sciously apprised only when surrounded by
the circumstances and scenery of the eterni
ties to come ?
It is said that for many years there was in
the choir of the court chapel at Dresden, a
poor blind singing girl whose voice possessed
so strong, so marvellous a power that strong
men were moved to tears in hearing it. Men
who had not prayed for years bent their
knees involuntarily, and bowed their heads
awed by its solemn and unutterable beau
ty.
Perhaps ere this, dear reader, you may
have visited some grand old temple of wor
ship, in part that you might be charmed by
the rich and impressive strains of cathedral
music that are there discoursed. It is the
beautiful vesper service. -The shadows aae
deepening. There is a solemn hush through
out the building. You are waiting. Atlbst
you hear the low swelling notes of thvi'oN
gan's glorious voice. You listen devoutly,
drinking in the rich, heart filling sotmd.
Meantime, as the exquisite music creeps
around you —now soft, faint, and low, now
loud and deep, rolling wave upon wavealeng
the great groined aisles —oh, how your poor
poor heart trembles and thrills with a strange,
wild, half-understood delight! And then as
in addition to the rich tones of the organ,
the soft voices of the choristers ritg through
the dimly lighted aisles, and especially, as
one solitary but imperial voice fills the great
echoing church with its clear tones, so
sways your heart that long after the last
notes have quite died away, you almost fan
cy that you can still hear an echo of thesong
that to all other ears has forever ceased, how
can you help beiug amazed at the depths
hitherto unsuspected, the possibilities un
conceived of, of feeling within your human
breast ?
Many years ago the writer, then an itiner
ant among the mountainous of
Northern Vermont, after a long and toihtsme
journey, had reached the seat of the Auiual
Conference at St. Johnsbury. On the After
noon of the day previous to the opening,
there was preaching. The cougregatio* was
small, composed mostly of preachers, but
the sermon was good, and the singing suferb.
Ah, how refreshing, how delightful that ser
vice 1 We had risen to sing the last hymn :
“ Jesus, lover of my soul.” The wordswere
sung to anew tune by Emerson. I hail al
ready, meantime, become interested jjme
what in the leading voice of the choir- that
of a young and fine looking lady. Butnow,
as suddenly, and as if by an impulse df in
spiration, she threw all the passion of her
soul, and all the power of her glorious Voice
ino a single slur on one of the last lines of
the stanza, my whole being was thrilled as
by an electric shock. And, then, as billow
after billow of sound continued to roll over
my soul, so shaken was I with emotion that
almost involuntarily I cried out: “ I never
dreamed before that any such susceptibility
of rapture, of tumultuous joy. of glorious,
beatific passion had any place within me.” It
was a revelation. Now, in the light of such
experiences as these, what more natural
than that the reflection should occur to our
minds that never, probably, until we get
home to heaven—-where alone, as we have
reason to believe, exist objects calculated
to awaken all these latent susceptibilities —
shall we ever fully know the wondrous,
though as yet slumbering, possibilities of
bliss existiug in every human breast.
The human heart I have sometimes thought
may b’e compared to a harp which, after that
you have exhausted all your skill in eliciting
its sweetest notes, swept by a master
418116, astonishes you by the wonderful com
binations of harmonious sounds of which it
is capable.
An instrument of music while in process
of manufacture is played but seldom, and
then only for purposes of construction ; un
der the circumstances the sounds produced
are anything but musical —only harshest dis
cords. So in the course of this present life,
while yet the process of tuning and string
ing, so to speak, with us is going on, we are
permitted to get only very feeble foretastes,
momentary glimpses or apprehensions of
the compass and power of this wonderful
instrument God has made—the human soul.
But just as the musical instrument just re
ferred to, when ultimately completed, is
purchased, removed to some sumptuous par
lor or to the bosom of some loving family,
and is there played for melodies —for melo
dies —giving voice to emotions of rapture,
or of love otherwise unutterable; so, as
everything goes very significantly to show,
not until we shall have been conveyed to the
bosom of the upper sanctuary shall these
harps, strung and tuned by the finger of God,
' yield their richest notes—their sublimest har
monies.
How true, then, that “it doth not yet ap
pear,” yea, that it hath not yet entered into
the heart of man to conceive of the glory
that may yet “be revealed within us.”
HINDU MENDICANTS.
It is remarkable that a religious profession
and begging are so closely allied in the minds
of the llindus, that when mendicancy is adop
ted by any one of them as a means of liveli
hood, the first step taken is to assume the re
ligious- garb. Hence, nearly every Hindu
beggar belongs to some religious order. He
may be aged or blind, or lame or maimed ;
it is not his infirmity that he pleads as ren
dering him a fit object of charity; it is his
connection with the god whose worshiper
he professes to be, and in whose name it is
that he solicits alms. Hence, again, most
of the Hindu mendicants are men well able
to work for their own living, but who have
taken to a life of begging, simply from a love
The different orders of Hindu
mendicants may be classed under two heads.
First, the local mendicant, who, having tak
en up a permanent abode in some town or
village, attaches himself to one or other of
its temples, sweeping or cleansing it daily,
and performing other ollices needful in the
service of the idol. Secondly, the wandering
mendicant, or devotee, as he is commonly
called, who roams from province to province,
and has no fixed dwelling place. He affects
the superior sanctity of an ascetic, and stu
diously avoids mingling with his fellows.
There is nothing peculiar in the habits of the
local mendicant to distinguish him from the
reas of the people, exeept his religious garb;
but the members of the wandering class are
so remarkable in their appearance, habits,
and mode of life, that to many readers a de
scription of them, may prove both interesting
and amusing. The following episode, which
fell under the writer’s personal experience,
supplies the description, and also affords
some insight into phases of Hindu life: It
was in a secluded spot, close to a small brook,
at some distance from the village of Malsiras,
that one of these devotees had taken u.p his
abode. No one could tell whence he had
come, and for his part he was careful not to
enlighten those who songht the information.
A sanctimonious motion of the finger toward
the sky was all the answer they received,
signifying either that he came from above,
or that his wanderings were guided by a pow
er which ruled there. He was middle-aged,
short, and strongly bnilt; his only shelter
was the shade of a wide.spreading wild fig
tree, under which stood a small temple with
an image of the warlike god Khanduba, an
incarnation of Siva, the Hindu deity of de
struction. His appearance, to the eye of a
European, was calculated to create a feeling
of disgust, not unmingled with compassion.
His long hair matted with mud and tied in a
knot on his head ; his body besmeared with
ashes ; his eyes bloodshot from the fumes of
a preparation of hemptops, which he smoked
incessantly; he sat with an affectation of dig
nity, on a mat of palm-leaves, with his legs
crossed under him —his hookah in one hand,
the other resting on his knee—and seemingly
absorbed in contemplation. His only cloth
ing was a narrow strip of calico suspended
before and behind to a string tied round his
waist, to which also was attached, at the left
side, a small leathern pouch containing steel,
flint, and tinder, for striking fire; and a dir
ty strip of cloth, doing duty for a robe,
thrown over his right shoulder, and drawn
carelessly around his otherwise naked body.
His belongiugs consisted of a small bundle,
apparently containing a knife, a sickle, a pair
of rude sandals, and other odds and ends of
an equally primitive description ; an earthen
censer, from which trom time to time he lit
his hookah ; a melon gourd from which to
slake his thirst; two or three earthen cook
ing-pots ; his mat, and a huge bamboo club,
mounted with iron, which, by way of pro
tection, he carried about with him where
ever he went. His forenoons were spent in
religious observances, which consisted, first,
of ablution ; next, of besmearing the body
with ashes, from a metal censer in the tem
ple close by; in numerous prostrations be
fore the idol; and lastly, in repeating the
names of the principal Hindu gods and god
desses, the number of times each had to be
invoked, being regulated by a string of beads,
which hung around the wrist of his right arm.
This ritual, and the preparation of his only
daily meal, occupied him till noon, when
having eaten till he was scarce able to move,
he would throw himself upon his mat, and
sleep till late in the afternoon. On rising,
he would receive visits from the people of
village ; and towards evening he would be
seen roaming in an adjacent wood, picking
up sticks to feed his fire during the night,
and to cook his next day’s meal. His nights
were spent in apparently wakeful solitude.
Such was the strange being whom the igno
rant bnd superstitious Hindus, particularly
the women of the village, looked upon with
feelings by no means akiu to those which
would fill the minds of a European. To them
he was a holy man, worthy of worship and
adoration* they supplied him with coppers,
brought him rice, wheat meal, sugar, dried
dates, and cocoanuts, and having offered
them to him, they would prostrate them
selves at his feet with feelings of the deepest
reverence. To lfave their foreheads annoint
ed with ashes from his censer, and to hear
the word Ashirwada (blessing) uttered by
his sacred lips, was to many the only boon
they sought; while the childless prayed that
they might be blessed with offspring, the ail
ing with health, the poor with bread, and
others according to their various needs.
These petitions were invariably answered by
an assurance of their being speedily complied
with, the consequence of whieh was that the
people thought they were fortunate in having
such a saint, whom they called Bawa, (fath
er) sojourning within the limits of their vil
lage ; and the Bawa, on his part, although
of a taciturn nature, expressed himself satis
fied with the reception accorded to him by
the good people of Malsiras. Chambers'
Journal.
THE KINGDOM WITHIN.
BY REV. GEORGE MACDONALD.
I fancy I hear a whisper,
As of leaves iu a gentle air;
Is it wrong, I wonder, to laucy
It may be the tree up there—
The tree that heals the natious,
Growing amidst the street.
And dropping, for who will gather,
Its apples at their feet ?
I fancy I hear a rushing,
As of waters down a slope:
Is it wrong, I wonder, to fancy
It may be the river, of hope—
The river of crystal waters
That flows from the very throne,
And runs through the street of the city,
With a softly jubilant tone V
I fancy a twilight round me,
Aud a wandering of the bret ze,
With a hush in that high city,
And a going in the trees:
Bur I know there will be no night there,
No coming and going day.
For the holy face of the Father
Will be perfect light alway.
I could do without the darkness,
And better without the sun ;
Bui O, I should like a twilight
After the day was done!
Would He lay his hand on his forehead,
On his hair as white as wool.
And shine one hour through his Augers,
Till the shadow has made me cool ?
But the thought is very foolish;
If that Face I did but see
All else would be all forgotten—
River, and twilight, and tree:
I should seek, I should care, for nothing,
Beholding bis countenance,
And fear to lose one glimmer
By a single sideway glance.
’Tis again but a foolish fancy
To picture the countenance so
Which is shining in all our spirits,
Making them white as snow.
Come to me, shine in me. Master,
And 1 care not for river or tree;
C-<-for no sorrow or crying,
If only thou shine in me.
I would lie in my bed for ages,
Looking out on the dusty street—
No whisper, uo leaves, nor waters,
Nor anything cool aud sweet—
At my lieart this ghastly fainting,
And this burning in my blood—
If only 1 knew thou wast with me,
Wast with me, and making me good.
VUEAyIIING OF THE CROSS, FOOL
ISH.ness.
1 colt, i: 18.
It is the believer’s privilege to live near to
God, and to walk in the ways of His com
mandments; he is God’s “workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that he
should walk in them;” and he is constrained
by love, 11111 li more effectually than by any
fear of punishment, to yield unto his heaven
ly Father a willing obedience of heart and
soul, and lo strive to “adorn the doctrine of
God his Saviour in all things.”
Thus we see how the wisdom of God is
displayed in every part of the scheme of
man’s salvation, and how, notwithstanding
the freeness and completeness of a sinner’s
pardon, the performance of good works is
still secured in a far more effectual way than
man’s wisdom could possibly have devised.
We must mark the place which good works
are intended to hold, in the preaching of the
cross. Never should they be put forward in
the slightest degree as the foundation of a
sinner’s hope; “for other foundation can no
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ;” neither must works he omitted, as
if they were worthless in the sight of God.
It is necessary to beware of self-righteous
ness and licentiousness ; and, while the doc
trine of grace is preached without reserve,
holiness and obedience to the law of God
must be impressed upon the people. This
is the meaning of “ preaching the cross,”
and this is the scheme which God iu His
mercy, revealed for making man holy and
happy. How plainly can we trace the hand
of its Divine Author in every part, and how
different is it from anything devised by hu
man skill I
In the gospel, man is proved to be a sin
ner, helpless and condemned, and yet a free
forgiveness is proclaimed to him. He is told
he is a debtor, who has nothing wherewith
he can pay what he owes ; and no sooner
does he acknowledge this truth than the debt,
however great, is remitted. He is told that
he can do nothing to merit eternal life, or
secure admission into heaven. Jesus Christ
has done all. The preaching of the cross is
no longer foolishness to an awakened sinner,
but the power of God, and the wisdom of
God, exactly suited to his necessities. He
sees in it all the perfections of the Deity
united and glorified; God’s justice displayed
in the punishment of sin, and yet His mercy
exercised in the pardon of the sinner; His
truth, and love, and perfect holiness, all
shown forth in harmony with each other;
and he rejoices to know that God can be just
and yet the Justifier of him who believes in
Jesus. Such is the change produced in the
sinner’s view of Divine truth ; and equally
wonderful is the change produced in his
practice. He is now animated by anew
principle, which constrains him to deny him
self for his Master’s sake. He feels that as
a Christian “ he is not his own,” but “ bought
with a price ;” and, therefore, it is his anx
ious desire to “ glorify God in his body, and
his spirit which are God’s.”
Here, then, we see how truly the preach
ing of the cross is the power of God to those
who are saved. We see this not only in the
sublime nature of its doctrines, and in the
purity of its moral precepts, but chiefly in
the practical effect which it produces upon a
sinner’s life. The gospel contains within
itself a quickening and life-giving principle,
and it is this which eminently distinguishes
it from every other system of morality. We
find in the writings of some of the best
heathen moralists, excellent exhortations on
the subject of virtue and vice ; but where is
there an instance of influencing one single
sinner so as to induce him to forsake hiß
sins, and devote himself to the service of
God ? They contained no motive or princi
ple which could influence the heart of man.
The heathen systems of morality were like a
piece of machinery from which the main
spring was wautiDg ; they had nothing to set
w
them in motion ; and therefore, for all prac
tical purposes, they are wholly inefficient.
But in the gospel of Christ we have a most
perfect system of morality, infinitely supe
rior to everything else of the kind, enforced
by the most powerful motives, and contain
ing within itself the seeds of life, capable of
imparting vigor to, and entirely'renovating,
the character of man. No moral teaching
could ever convince a man of sin.
WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT}
We assume that the Holy Spirit is God.
This simplifies the question, aud the answer,
which is, in brief, that God’s Spirit is the
source and fountain of all needful divine il
lumination, pujity and grace. The Holy
Spirit is- spoken of as proceeding from the
Father, but we also remember passages of
Scripture in which it is said He proceeds
from the Sou. The Latin Church understood
the Greek fathers as teaching that the Holy
Spirit received his essence from the Son.
This seemed to imply inferiority, and gave
rise to the heresy which denied the proper
divinity of the Holy Ghost. Accordingly
the Council of Constantinople, A. D., 381,
judged it necessary to make an addition to
the Article of the Niceue creed, in these
words: “ I believe in the Holy Ghost, the
Lord, the Author of life, who proceeds from
the Father.” The Latins afterward adopted
the idea, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from
the Father and the Son (see theii 1 creed :
Credimus in Spiritum Sanctum ex Fatre
Filioque procedentum.)
The inspiration of the Holy Spirit is,
therefore, the communication of all spiritual
enlightenment to the mind in a supernatural
maimer. It is 110 where given, except with
the sudden suggestiveness of a divine afflatus.
This determines its supernatural origin. It
was so at Pentecost, also when Saul was con
verted, and doubtless also in the instance of
all who aYe truly turned from sin to right
eousness, from the world and its lusts and
its loves, to God. No other illumination
partakes essentially of this character. None
is so sudden, and if as sudden, is never so
certain and unerring. Christianity is the
religion of the supernatural. It is not phi
losophy, it is not science, it is not ethics,
merely, it is the Spirit The inspiration of
the Holy Spirit is the divine illumination,
everywhere consciously experienced in all
believing souls. We are Christians, there
fore, only and in virtue of the fact that God
hath sent forth His Spirit into our hearts.
And in the light of this suggestion, we must
understand that Scripture, “ If any man
have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of
his.” It is not, therefore, the close follow
ing of His meek and gentle disposition, His
forbearance, patience and love, but the pos
session of this supernatural effluence which
makes us one with Him. The Church is
thus a community eternally segregated from
the world. It is not an institution formu
lated by dogmas, confessions and creeds, hut
one over which God’s Spirit ever breathes
its life-giving energy and purifying power.
It is the only single and true interpreter of
the Divine Word and Will.
The Church is not charged, but in a sec
ondary sense, with the duty of Scriptural ln
terpretatiyn.
The words of the Bible are instinct with
Divine illumination only, as the Holy Ghost
reveals them to the mind. Till then, the
Bible breathes no promise and inspires no
hope. It falls on the ear as the rep
utable history of a by-gone age, or as
ihe utterances of seers whose visions
were not more perplexing to them than
they are mysterious to us. But how changed
when the Holy Spirit lifts the mystic veil,
aud lets down on these pages his brighten
ing beams. Another world opens up on ns
and “ life and immortality are brought to
light.”
It is the single influence by which the
world can be saved. It was not Moody and
Sankey, hut God’s Spirit whieh wrought all
those spiritual wonders at which Britain was
amazed. It was not Luther or Wesley, but
the Spirit. It is not the sermon, the exhor
tion or the prayer, or all instrumentalities,
but the Holy Spirit.
The Church was thoroughly furnished and
equipped for the world’s conquest, when Je
sus descended from Olivet. The Apostles
and Disciples were all commissioned to
preach, “All things were ready,” but none
came to the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.”
What was wanting ? The Holy Spirit 1 That
descended, and this old sin-cursed world
moved from its moorings, and life-giving
impulses wafted, and are wafting it towards
the skies. — Methodist Reeorder.
UNCERTAIN WHAT TO DO.
The writer, as he was leaving a prayer
meeting, turned as he saw the face of a well
known Christian brother ; and close at hand
stood a young lady, dressed in deep mourn
ing, with whom he had been conversing,
standiug there, a child of sorrow. The big
tears were slowly rolling down her cheeks
and then she would wipe them away, as if
she had been half unconscious of their fall
ing. *•
“ Here is a lady,” said the gentleman,
“to whom I wish you to say a few words.
She says she is ‘ uncertain what to do.’ ”
I soon saw that she was in spiritual trouble.
“ Why are you uncertain what to do?” I
inquired.
“I do not understand the next step to be
taken,” said she.
“ Where are you now ?” I asked.
“ I have been coming daily to the meet
ings for four weeks, and all that time I have
felt anxious about my soul, but all I do does
not seem to make my case any better.”
“ And what do you try to do?”
“I have striven to convince myself that I
am a sinner—-as I know I am. But though
I know it as a truth, I do not feel about it as
I should.”
“ How would you feel about it if you
could?”
“I would have deep conviction.”
“ What is your present impression about
yourself?
“ That I am a great sinner—that is all.”
“ And what would you have more?”
“ That is what Ido not understand. My
next step should be for deeper conviction.
But what further can I do ?”
“Your mistake is a very common one.
Your next step, and your only step, is to go
to Christ, just as you are. Go to Him at
once. You can do nothing. Hitherto you
have been relying upon yourself. Renounce
all this as a dishonor done to Christ as a
Saviour, and go to Him for all the help you
need, hope tor, or desire."
“Is that all?”
“ That is all. You must stop trying to do
anything, and believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Go to Him who says to you, ‘Him
that cometh uuto me I will in no wise cast
out.' "
“0," said she, as if anew light had
dawned upon her mind, “is that my next
step ?”
F. M. KENNEDY, D. D., Editor.
J. W. BURKE, Assistant Editor.
A. G. HAYGOOD, D. D., Editorial Correspondent.
WHOLE NUMBER 2001.
“Not your next step, as if you had al
ready taken one or more right steps. Going
to Christ is your first step, and only step.
He does not say, Come to conviction—come
to deeper sense of sin ; but He says, ‘Come
unto me.’ ”
“ 0 1 what a self-righteous creature I am.
I see it all now. I have been refusing
Christ, while all this time I thought I was
preparing to come to Him,” she said evi
dently disappointed in herself.
“ Will you go to Jesus now?” was hastily
asked.
She looked up with a smile, and great res
olution depicted in her intelligent face as
she answered:
“I will.”
MISCELLANEA.
The revenues of the Church of England,
from its vast aggregate of property, amounts
to over $25,000,000 yearly.
There are now in Germany 150 Sunday
schools, 4000 teachers, aud 80,000 scholars.
Twelve years ago there were none.
Nineiy-nine thousand copies of various por
tions of the Scriptures, in various tongues,
have left the mission press in Calcutta, of
which 66,000 were printed for the Calcutta
auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible
Society.
Dr. Punsiion has sent £2O to aid in the
erection of the Wesley Memorial Church, at
Savannah, Ga. He writes to Bro. Wynn,
pledging his hearty cooperation in the noble
work, and sends this donation as the earnest
of his zeal and love for the common cause of
Methodism.
The debt of the Presbyterian Board of
Foreign Missions, which was $90,000 a
month ago, was reduced before the close of
the financial year, to $34,000, more than
$50,000 coming in in ten days. One gentle
man called at the treasury and said that he
had made a legacy of SIO,OOO to the Board,
but he thought it best to be his own executor,
and he paid the money.
The Toronto ministers have adopted reso
lutions against Sunday funerals. They call
upon Christian people to refrain from and
discontine funerals on the Sabbath, except
in cases of absolute necessity. They declare
that they feel called upon to withhold the sanc
tion of their presence and services from all
funerals held in disregard of these principles.
Missionary progress in the South Seas, es
pecially on the Gilbert Islands, has been
qnite remarkable during the past year. On
one island, where a year ego, 30 were report
ed to have professed Christianity, there are
now 320 who have thrown off heathenism,
On another island, instead of 14 candidates
reported last year there are upward of 400
this, and of these someone hundred have
been admitted to Church membership. Re
ports from two other islands are equally en
couraging. The work there is in charge of
English missionaries.
Spurgeon places Matthew Henry first for
general usefulness, and he eulogizes him
among commentators in a quaint alliterative
sentence as “pious and pithy, sound and sen
sible, suggestive and sober, terse and trust
worthy." He would have all his students go
through Matthew Henry in the first twelve
months after they leave college, and he as
sures them they will get a vast store of ser
mons if they read note book in hand ; while
as for thoughts, they will swarm around them
“like twittering swallows around an old gable
towards the close of autumn.”
The United Presbyterian Church presents
the following missionary report: “The
amount received during the year ending
April 30, 1875, from all sources, was $67,-
467:30. The whole amount expended was
$52,520.30. The following were the general
statistics of work on the first of the current
year: Four missions—Syria, India, Egypt,
and China ;38 stations; 15 foreign and 3
native ordained missionaries ; 21 female mis
sionaries and assistants; 92 teachers and
helpers; 785 communicants; increase during
the year, 212; scholars in the schools, 2,-
591.”
Scotland is about to be invaded by a reg
iment of monks. After an absence of three
hundred years, the Benedictines are going to
settle down at Fort Augustus, in Inverness
shire, on land which has been given by Lord
Lovat. The fort was originally built for
three hundred soldiers, and can be conver
ted into a monastery with very little trouble.
It was the headquarters of the Duke of Cum
berland after the battles of Culloden. It is
hid away among the mountains, and the very
fine view obtained from it includes four miles'
length of Locbness. It was here that the or
der went out for the massacre of Glencoe.
His Holiness may be in straitened circum
stances, but the cardinals get enough to live
on. According to an Italian paper, each
prince of the Church has an income of S6OOO.
Cardinal Patrizi has, in addition, SB,OOO as
Cardinal Vicar of Rome, and an equal sim
for his beuefices. Cardinal Amat draws
$22,000 from his benefices. Cardinal de
Pietro receives $12,000 as Bishop of Albano,
and has an equal sum allowed him by Portu
gal. Cardinal Sacconi has about the same
revenue. DeLucca receives $5,000, Bigarri
SB,OOO, Bernard: SIO,OBO, Franchi $12,000,
and a larger stipend from Spain, while Chigi
belongs to a very rich family.
Education is making progress in Russia.
It appears from official documents that in
1866 only one conscript out of each hundred
was able to read and write, while in 1870,
the average had risen to eleven in each hun
dred, and this average has been still further
increased of late years. The municipal coun
cil of St. Petersburg is thinking of making
attendance at school compulsory in the
city and district adjoining, for all children
from Bto 12 years of age. The yearly'report
of the education department states that, ex
cluding Finland, the Caucasus, and Central
Asia, -there are 22,768 elementary schools,
with 754,431 male, and 185,056 female schol
ars.
The latest missionary intelligence from Fiji
is of mournful interest, and goes to show that
former accounts of the fearful ravages of the
epidemic with which the islands were visited
last year were not at all exaggerated. The
following particulars have been furnished by
a correspondent: “At the annual district
meeting eight missionaries were present, and
thirty-four native ministers. Six candidates
for the native ministry were unanimously
recommended to the Conference to be recei
ved on trial, and six probationers were rec
ommended for ordination. The losses of the
Wesleyan Church in this colony by the late
epidemic have been very heavy, including 9
native ministers, upward of 15(1 catechists,
200 local preachers, 700 class-leaders, 8,000
church members, together with a large num
ber of attendants on public worship, making
a total of 35,000. The following are the re
turns for September, 1875: Missionaries, 9;
native ministers, 48 ; catechists 785; day
school teachers, 2,382; class-leaders, 2,233 ;
local preachers, 635; church members, 16,
838 ; on trial for membership,'3,Bsß ; atten
dants on public worship, 84,485,”