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TWO DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS.
fer.
VOLUME XLL, NO. 3.
Original |Wtrn.
HIS WORDS.
Written in memory of Bishop E. M. Marvin; and
inscribed to that branch of the “Visible Church”
which he bo faithfully, and effectively served.
BY MR3. ELIZABETH O. WINN ELLY.
“My brethren there is but one life necessary to
the Church—the life of Him ‘who was dead’ but
who ‘is alive forever in or el’” Bishop Marvin.
“A shining light, how can we spare
Its lustre from our skies 1”
“Strange Providence,” we each exclaim,
In sadnoss, and surprise—
“ That snatches from the firmament.
Before a nation’s gaze,
An orb of wondrous magnitude.
In glorious noon-day blaze.”
But as the sun, in setting, sheds
His light athwart the hills,
And in departing radiance
Their towering summit gilds,
So, “being dead,” he “spcaketh” yet,
Each word our memory fills.
And lingers ever in the heart.
As sunbeams o’er the hills.
When blasted seem our earthly hopes,
As human greatness dies.
His words , borne on the passingjiale,' J
Like music, sweetly rise; p, "
And ever ’raid the raging storm.
The universal wasie.
Bing in a cadence, sweet and clear, f
Above the bowling blast. $
When all seems wrecked, his word * arp Kka
The mast that rises high.
■' ' Where sweeping wave , have buried, deep.
Their treasures from tho eye.
Not human, in tbeir sentiment, v
-So full of truth sublime,
They echo from celestial hills,
Beyond the shore of time.
’Tho in his manhood, good and great,
He dwells with us no more,
His life is lost in Him who died, -*
And lives forevermore.*
Contiiktjsnl
THE RULE OF GIVING. j
Mr. Editor: I dislike controversy, es
pecially when it becomes personal, and above
all, in a religious newspaper. I wrote an
article on the “ Rule of Giving,” in which
I referred to two sermons delivered by dis
tinguished ministers, as advocating the tithe
system as the Christian rule of giving. I
put the sermons together in my mind, and
answered them as a unit. As I understood
both of them to advocate the same doctrine,
I was not particular in stating the points
made by each.
Dr. Cook has entered a disclaimer, so far
as his sermon preached at the District Con
ference is concerned, and makes seven spe
cifications as to what he did not say in that
sermon, bat does not admit anything he did
say on the subject of giving one tenth of the
income as the Bible rule. I took it for
granted that as he advocated this rule in
common with others on that subject and un
wittingly, by a lapsus mentis , I wrote both
sermons, where I should have said in one
or Jioth. If he believes that Chriiu-ians should
give one-tenth of’their Income as a Bible
rule, he is committed to the gross income
theory as much as the other advocates of
that system. If he does not believe this, I
have no controversy with him. If he did not
advocate that as a Bible rule for Christians,
in the sermon referred to, I am sorry that
my memory so signally failed me. The
Doctor must, have thought that the cap partly
fitted him at least, or he would never have
suspected that he was implicated in the mat
ter, as I never had mentioned to any one
who preached either sermon until he asked
me at Conference.
The Psalmist says: 11 Let the righteous
smite me ; it shall be a kindness ; and let
him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil
which shall not break my bead.” In my case
the smiting was certainly inflicted as gently
as possible, as the writer kindly interposed
a man of straw to receive the heaviest blows,
else my head might have been broken. Thus:
He denies that he ever said that the poorest
widow had to give the tenth of her pittance
to the support of the gospel, when I never
heard this remark in either sermon, never
said that it was announced in either, much
less in the one preached by him. This is
what I said, and I did not say it of both
sermons : “ It wss also announced lhat und- r
the tithe system there were no excep'ions, not
even for poverty.” I theu proceeded to ar
gue inferentially from this assertion made in
one of the sermons, that the poorest widow
who received ten dollars lo clothe her ragged
children, would have to give one dollar of it
as a tithe offering, and so of the poor cripple
selling pindars and chestnuts at the corner
of the streets. Can any one read this para
graph in my article without being struck with
the great fallacy of the preacher stultifying
bis hearers with such an argument while vin
dicating the tithe system ?
But he denies that be intimated that there
were any priests in the Christian Church,
much less that they have a right to demand
pay for their services of any object, pitiable
or proud. I never charged Dr. C., or aiy
one else, with such an assertion : mr does
my language bear any such construction. I
simply said, referring to the -poor cripple.
“ The State would not charge him any tax,
the lawyer would plead his case wilhout a
fee, the doctor would visit him and furnish
him medicine without pay. Shall the priest
demand pay of so pitiable an object?” This
was my own language, and as any ingenuous
mind can see, was not charged as being said
by Dr. C., or any one else, from the pulpit.
• As to the Doctor’s criticism of my using
the term priest as applicable to a Christian
minister, I have simply to say, by way o!
vindicating my knowledge of English, that
in the Catholic, Greek, and Episcopal
Churches, there are peiests, in a technical
sense, and, according to the best lexicogra
phers, a presbyter, elder, or minister, is a
priest, in a general sense, in all Christian
Churches.
The natural inference from the Doctor’s
misapprehension of what I said abom bis
sermon, to every sensible mind, is this: If he
so signally failed to state what I wrote in my
article with it lying before him, how should
he require of me to reproduce his sermon
which had been delivered six months pre
viously, especially when he was writing:. Cig
claimer against statements made as to what
he said, and I only wrote of the sermons as
a basis for au argument on the difficulties of
the tithe system.
Dr. C. has recently written two articles
for the Advocate headed, “ The Bible rule
of devoting to sacred uses a stated portion
of the income, reduced to practice.” • Here is
the tithe system in a nut shell. Where does
the Bible lay down a rule of giving a stated
portion of the income except in the Leviti
cal law? Why advocate this as a Bible rule
unless it is still in force ? In one of these
papers he says: ‘‘The Bible rule reduced to
practice among the preachers would be an
example of incalculable influence. The Le
vites gave a tithe of their tithes.” These
views, if my recollection serves me, he elab
orated in his sermon, and I had no doubt in
my mind but that he was an advocate of the
Jewish tithe system as a Bible rule, which
means the gross income, applies to every
case, however poor, as was stated in so many
words in one of the sermons referred to, and
by implication inheres to all who believe in
that system as a rule for .Christians.
But the Doctor fears that some will find in
my article an excuse for having no rule of
giving. Ido not fear this. Avaricious
men will fiud now, as they did in the days of
the prophets, a way to dodge under aDy rule
you may adopt. Some estimate their in
comes by the comparative value of their pro
perty, the first of January each year, and
give a tenth of that to the ministry and char
itable objects. I have known this done
years ago, when the tithe system was advo
cated by some of opr good old preachers.
How would ibis raj., of estimating iucomes
apply in the shrinkage of values within the
last four years? Butfew, even with an honest
estimate, would be able to show any income
whatever, and would be exonerated from
giving anything under the net income idea,
as advocated in Bro. C.’s articles.
If in darker ages it was thought necessary
to throttle the truth (and even suppress the
written word), for fear that damage might ac
crue to the Church from its open annunciation;
will it do to advocate so revolting a senti
ment now? Our Saviour was not afraid of
the truth—His disciples should not be. If
there is a mathematical Biblical rule for giv
ing, let ns kuow it? We know exactly what
the Jewish rule was. Does that rule apply
to the Christian Church ? If so, my con
science clamors to know it —and not mine
only, but thousands of men with large and
small incomes, among ministers and laymen,
throughout this wasted laud.
1 firmly believe that the ultraism of the
pulpit ofteu defeats the very object intended
for good. Men are driven to deep ir be
cause they cannot accomplish what seems,
at. least to a morbid conscience, to be an im
possibility. And the antidote for this de
spair, not unfrequenlly, i8 found in skepti
cism as to the whole Christian theory, or the
embracemeut of it in some unevangelical
Church which gives the widest possible lati
tude to its membership.
Let us preach what we live, and live what
we preach, aud not go to the dark ages of the
Church for our ruie of giving or of living. I
once heard a preacher in enforcing the sanc
tity of the Sabbath, quote the Levitical law
on the subject. Are there not some in our
day who are not entirely free from Judaistic
notions, and to whom the language of Peter
might apply? “ Now, therefore, why t> mpt
ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of
the disciples which neither our fathers nor
we were able to bear.” Acts xv.: 10.
I will close this paper, by your permission,
(which has given me much effort to write,
as I have been sick), by quoting Dr. Dod
dridge’s beautiful hymn on Jacob’s vow,
which I understand to embrace the idea of
entire consecration of all that we have and
are : l \ 1
“ If thou wilt spread thy shield around
Till these cur wanderings cease,
And at our Father’s loved abode
Our souis arrive in peace ;
To thee, as to our covenant God,
We’ll our whole selves resign,
And count that not our tenth alone,
But all we have is thine.”
E. M Pendleton.
Atlanta, January 6 th, 1878.
THE LORD’S SUPPER-AGAIN.
Mr. Editor: In my article upon the Lord’s
Sufiper published in the Advocate of Octo
ber 9, the opinion is expressed that the invi
tation should cot be limited to Church mem
bers, but extended to every true penitent.
In Dr. Abbey’s article of October 23, that
opinion is endorsed and forcibly sustained.
Brother Dowling dissents. He thinks the
arguments in support of this opinion “plausi
ble but not convincing.” Perhaps a second
reading and closer scrutiny of those arguments
would render them more acceptable. I have
failed to make myself intelligib'e to brother
Dowling when lie says, “this opinion is based
upon the wording of the invitation.” The
fact that the “wording” harmonizes with the
“opinion,” is stated, before the argument
proper, is commenced. It was further stated
Jhat something had to be implied outside the
ordinary import of the words of the invita
tion before tbeir limitation to Church mem
bership coaid obtain. But in my article the
dicipline was not regarded as the ultimate
rule ot truth and duty, but the Bible.
I maintained, as the tenor of Bible teach
ing upon the subject, that it was the duty not
ofthe apostles only, nor of Church members
only, but of all who would receive benefit,
from the death of Christ, in penitence to
c.ommemmorate his death in that- sacrament
he had instituted for the purpose. That the
command “do this in remembrance of me”
was tor all men; just as, “He that believeth
and is baptized” was lor all men. Theu, es
the Scriptut-es prescribe no order of prece
dence in the observance of these sacraments,
ns to which should come first, the argument
was, that the Church ought not, arbitrarily
to -make such prescription. That in doing
so it would discourage the penitent from dis
charging a duty and obeying a command,
merely because he had too long neglected
another duty: discourage him from coming to
the Lord's table, and thus being aided in com
ing to Christ, because he had thus far neg
lected to be baptized—or to take the vows
of the Church.
Bat brother Dowling “will be content if
the discipline is harmonized with the views
presented.” He quotes from the discipline
as out of harmony with the views present
ed, a portion of our prescribed form tor the
reception of members when the vows are to
be administered to them. This form sets
forth the duty of Church-membership and
BOme of its benefits, as inducements to taking
its vows. And assuredly it is there stated
that “none can remain within its pales or be
admitted to its communion without assuming
its obligations.” This clause, as i under
stand it, means only that men of the world,
out of the Church and purposing no eoniiec
lion with it, may not expect to erjoy its com
munion and yet refuse to assume its obliga
tions.
The lawyers have a proverb, “He that
sticks in the letter sticks in the bark.”
Brother Dowling does not confine himself
rigidly to the mere words of the “invitation”
in his construction of that; and if he will take
the same latitude in construing the clauses of
the discipline which he quotes, I think he
will find the spirit of them in harmony with
the “opinion” I maintain. And that it
was not among the intentions nor any part
of the object of the framers of our discipline
when they inserted the portions quoted, to
exclude true penitents from the Lord’s table,
let us suppose a mau in his last sickness, to
seek und find hope iu Christ. He desires
PUBLISHED BY J. W. BU&KE & COMPANY, FQR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.
to be taken into the Church and to receive
the sacrament before he goes hence. But he
cannot be taken into the Church because he
thinks nothing baptism but immersion; and
it is too late for that. Then he desires at
least the sacrament; and would any Metho
dist minister withhold from the dying man
the sacrament merely because he could not
be baptized according to his faith and taken
regularly into the Church ? I think not. Nor
would he feel that he had violated the spirit
of our discipline, when he administered in
such a case.
If brother Dowling will interpret the
clauses he quotes, in the light of the past
history and practice of the Church, I think
he will be relieved of all difficulty as to any
real conflict between his quoted clauses, and
the proposed practice of inviting penitents to
the table. As stated in my first article, while
the six months’ probation rule was of force,
it was common to invite probationers to the
table. Yet they were not members, and were
not so numbered in giving the census of the
Churcn. The act of becoming a probationer
was taken as an expr«ssion of penitence and
of purpose to join some branch of the Church.
Now the probationary rule is abrogated. The
penitent cannot in that way express his ppni
tence and desire to unite with the Church.
But if he come now under the invitation to
the penitent, does he not thus declare his
penitence and also his purpose to join some
branch of the Church, since he accepts a
help which he can get only from the Church
and which will not be continued to him with
the purpose to remain out of the Church?
Manatee, i'lajtl A. A. RoßHwtpN.
■ At. t yi- ■
A ■ SIGMON.
BY REV. lfll. ’MARTIN, *
Os the Sout h Ca rolina Conference : delivered
before the under graduates of the Confer
ence, on the fiftieth anniversary of his min
istry, Dec 12f/t, 1877 Published by unani
mous resolution of the Conference he,ld at
Columbia, S. C.
I know whom 1 have believed, and am
persuaded that He is ab’e to keep that which
1 have committed unto Him against that day.
2 Timothy, 1: 12.
By the kindness of my brethren of the
South Carolina Conference, I occupy a no
sition to night, somewhat neculiar, and l
must admit, not a little embarrassing. Ps
culiar in the first place, in that comparative
ly few men are permitted to preach the
glorious Gospel of the blessed God for fifty
years ; —precious privilege, for which I, with
a sincere sense of niv nnworthiness, record
heartfelt thanks to Almighty God for His
goodness in thus honoring me, who am the
least of all His servants. Peculiar in the
second place, in that it is I believe, the
first time in the history of the South Caro
linn Conference, that one of its members
has been called on to preach a semi cen
tennial sermon. And peculiar in the third
place, in that it is a duty no msn can ever
be called on to discharge more than once.
The position is also to me somewhat em
barrassing. from the fact that I will, very
naturally, he expected to speak, more or less,
of myself; and knowing the propensity of old
men to live in the past, and to think and
speak of ihe former davs as better than
the present, I almost fear to trust myself;
but in obedience to your kind invitation,
and in humble reliance on Him whose I
am, and whom I serve, and confiding in
vonr patience and indulgence, and hoping
(for.vonr ry vyers- I upderteke, is the name (
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the performance
of this, to me, grateful duty.
The text is a brief yet comprehensive item
in the experience of one who, taking him all
in all, was perhaps one of the most remarka
ble men that has ever blessed our race ; one
who though born a Jew, educated a Jew,
with all the deep rooted prejudices of a Jew,
in favor of the national religion, the religion
of his fathers for more than a thousand years,
yet found in the teachings, in the life and
death of Jesus of Nazareth, such exceeding
beauty and excellency, as induced him at
once and forever to renounce ail other, and
embrace Him as the root and offspring of
David, as the bright aud morning star, as
the fairest among ten thousand, and the one
altogether lovely; as the only name under
heaven given among men whereby we must
be saved- Yea, he recognized in Jesus, ihe
son of Mary, the conquering seed of the
woman, the sacrificial lamb typified by Isaac,
the Shiloh of Jacob, the distant star o f ’ Ba
laam, the Emanuel, the wonderful Coun
sellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of peace, the foundation
stone, the tried stone, the precious corner
stone, the sure foundation of Isaiah, the
branch of Zechariah, and the Snn of righ
teousness of Malachi. Finding all these
far reaching mysterious prophesies, types,
and shadow--, meeting with their complete
fulfillment in the person of the crucified One,
he with a noble self-sacrifice, threw himself
at the feet of Jesus, committing himself,
goal, body, and spirit, without, reserve, to
Him and to His service. Conferring not
with llesh and blood, but, with Moses choos
ing rather to suffer affliction with the people
of God, than toei-joy lha pleasures of sin for
a season—for he too had respect unto the
recompense of the reward —ho coante i all
things but loss, so that he might win Christ.
By faith he gave himself to Const, by faith
he received Christ into his heart, by faith he
became one with Christ—and now, after a
long, laborious life, of constant devotion to
the cross of Christ —looking at bis end as
now near at hand—calmly reviewing the
past —how God had graciously kept- him in
every trial, how he had at ali times realiz-d
the faithfulness of that, precious promise.
“My grace is sufficient for thee”—he reas
sures himself in the Lord, and triumphantly
shouts, “I kuow whom I have believed, and
am persuaded that He is able to keep that
which I have committed unto Him against
- hat day.” Let them do their worst, let them
take my life, they can do uo mope,
“Why should I start and fear to die?"
Aye, he might have also sung
“What is there here tq court my stay,
To hold me back from home,
While angels beckon me away,
And Jesus bids me come?”
“I know whom I have believed.” I know
Him in the pardon of my sins, in the renewal
of my nature, in the salvation of my boul.
And here brethren, I thank God, through
Jesus Christ our Lord, that iu St. Paul’s re
ligious experience, we may all, at our hum
ble distance, sympathize with him, and with
him know Christ, with him have a personal
acquaintance with Christ, as our Saviour,
our Redeemer, our indwelling Christ; for
by faith we too, receive the spirit of adop
tion whereby we with him cry “Abba Fatn
er,” for the Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit that we are the children of God;
we with him know whom we have believed,
and with him, we too are persuaded that
Christ, our bie3sed Jesus, is able to keep that
which we have committed unto Him, ag -inst
that day. Through what trials had St. Paul
passed, in his long laborious ministry 1 What
temptations! What discouragemt uts ! What
disappointments! What fears within ! What
fightings without! Well might he sing
44 Through m:ny dangers toils and snares
1 have already cotne.”
But amid all and through all, the Lord
had sustained him and enabled him through
ali to rejoice in hope of the glory of God,
krowi-ig that his life was hid with Christ in
Gcd. We, beloved brethren, with St. Paul,
are not our own; we tpo are Christ's, and
to us'also is committed a dispensation of
the gospel, and we, humble as we may be,
are walking iu his footsteps; we are suc
cessors of the Apostles, we also walk by
!ai: h.
I need not pause here to indicate to
a body of Methodist .preachers the scenes
of trial and conflict through which a la
borious itinerant preacher must have passed,
in connection with the South Carolina Con
terence in the last fifty years, with all the
changes, physical, political, financial, and
moral, by which the world, aud especially
our country, has been visited; but by the
grace of God, we can say with the Apostle,
“we kuow whom we have believed.” He
MACON, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, JANUARY 22, 1878.
has kept us by His power, and we joyfufls?
sing—
“ Here I’ll raise mine Ebenezer,
Hither by Thy help I’m come,
And I hope by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at Home.”
For we believe and are persuaded that HK
will keep that which we have committed un
to Him against that day. Our interests are
nil in safe keeping ; they eCre in good handL
Fire cannot burn, moth cannot corrupt, uqj
thieves break through aud steal.
What have we, as the successors of thf-
Apostles and embassadors for Christ, witfr*
St. Paul, committed to the keeping of oul
blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ? L;
First of all, in turning awav from all strict-:
ly secular pursuits, and devoting ourselves to
this one great work, and giving
continually to prayer and the ministry of the?;
word, we with him commit all our temporal
wants, life, health, food, raiment, lodging
and all, both for ourselves and our families#
all into the keeping of Him who has called*
us ; only asking for bread to eat and raimentt
to put on. And although, like the
we have ofteu been straitened, we have nevsE
.been forsaken, and we have learned. wU«j-’
h at, in whatsoever stttte we are there ith ter®
be content. For we know whom we have]
believed; we can, we will trust him! He*
will care for us and ours. He will keep
that which we have committed unto Him
against that day—“ For I know that my Re--
deemer livetb, and that He shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth; and though after-:
my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for :
myself, and mine eyps shall behold and not.
another.” Glory to God, we shall live again.
For he that believeth in me, though he were ]
dead, yet shall he live.
“God my Redeemer lives,
And ever from the skies,
Looks dowu and watches ail my dust, j
Till he shall bid it rise.”
In the second place, St. Paul committed j
the keeping of his soul, his spiritual interests :
unto Jesus Christ as unto a faithful Creator,
for the life that we now live, we live by the
faith of the Son of God. Wheu Christ who
is our lite shall appear, then shall wo also
appear with him in glory—
"Then let this body die,
This well-wrought frame decay.”
Only the body returns to the earth as
it was, bat the spirit shall return uDto
God who gave it. “As I live ye ehall live
also.”
We come now, in the third place, to con
sider what seems most of all to have bur
dent and the heart aod soul of the Apostle, that
great interest of which he never lost sight
from the hour of his conversion to God and
his cal! to the ministry, until in the presence
of the executioner, in view of the block, he
exultingly challenged death for his sting and
the grave for its victory, shouting “I have
fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith” —the care of
all the churches. 0 what a burden was here,
the care of all the Churches. 0 how his
great, soul groaned under this burden. After
a long catalogue of his toils, his trials, and
his Bufferings, for the sake of Christ and the
salvation of souls, he concludes thus: “la
jouraeyings often, in weariness and painful
ness, in watchings often, in hunger and
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and naked
ness, beside those things that are without,
that which cometh upon me daily, the care
of all the Churches. 0 how he loved the
Church 1 What an intense interest he felt
in her honor, her purity, her success I He
looked upon her as the purchase of his own
Redeemer's blood, the bride, the Lamb's
wife ; as she that was heralded by prophesy,
as coming up out of the wilderness leaning
upon the arm of her beloved, fairer than the
rose of Sharon and iqore beautiful ‘ban the
lily of the valley. He loved the Church, he
labored for the Church, and he felt the re
sponsibility that was upon him and his fel
low-embassadors, and their successors, for
the continued success and final triumph of
the Church. He saw too, in looking through
the vista of coming ages, the workmen fail
ing—old age, decrepitude and death, thin
ning their ranks. The workmen die ; but
with unshaken trust in God he exclaims, “1
know whom I have believed.” He will not.
suffer the gates of hell to prevail against His
Church; she is founded upon a rock, the Rock
of Ages. What though the workmen faint
and die, the work goes on and will still go
on, until all shall know the Lord, from the
least even to the greatest. What though ail
the Apostles are gone ! What though Luther,
Calvin and Melanchthon are gone I What
though Latimer and Ridley are gone I What
though the Wesleys, Whitfield and Fletcher
are gone 1 What though Coke, Asbury. Me-
Kendree and Soule are gone 1 What though
Capers and Andrew are gone! What though’
our own beloved and honored Fleming, the
devoted Dauiel aud the saintly Pegues
have all gone within the present year, in the
prime of their manhood and in the midst of
their usefulness! What though the peerless
Marvin, in memory of whom this church is
now draped in mourning, hag been called
within the last few days to put oft’ this mor
tal body, that he might be clothed upon with
immortality and eternal life I What though
more than one hundred members of the
South Carolina Conterence have died since I
was admitted among them 1 and many others
still living are growing oil and infirm, and
cannot, much longer grasp the standard or
wield the Bword 1 Yet the glorious work
goes on, and will still go on until that day 1
Look around you, see how many youthful
Elishas are waiting, wa ching the ascending
Elijahs, that they may catch the falling man
tie, gird on the heavenly armor, and go forth
to battle valiantly for the Lord.
Brethren we may soon die, some of us soon
must die, but the Churcb will still live,
Methodism will still live and prosper, the
South Carolina Conference will still main
tain its integrity; “He will keep that which
we have committed to him agaiust that day.”
Glorious day—day of the final triumph of the
Church. The resurrection morning. That
and iy set. apart for the restoration of all things.
That dav when the last Conference shall have
been held, tbe last appointment made out;
that day when the Lord him.-eif shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel and the trump of God, and
He shall change our vile bodies that they
may be fashioned like unto His glorious
body. Glory to God, He is able to keep sll
that we commit to Him; our souls, oor
bodies, our wives, our children, our churches,
our congregations, all, all unto that dav.
Oh, trust Him, confide in Him, and all shall
be well.
And now that we may note the progress of
Methodism, permit me to notice a few events
connected with my own history, as relating
to Methodism and the South Carolina Con
ference : I was born in Mecklenburg county,
North Carolina, on the 9th March, 1807. My
parents were both pious members of the
Presbyterian Church. When I was three
years of age my father died, leaving me, with
six other young children, to the care of a
widowed mother, who did what she could to
bring us up in the fear of the Lord.
W hen I was about nine yeai s old a stranger
on horseback with a large pair of saddle bags,
called at my mother’s gate and asked per
mission to spend the night; and being kindly
received he proved to be “an angel in dis
guise.” In the evening he said it wag his
habit to pray in the families where he spent
the night: My mother told him that was the
custom of her bouse. He prayed. He was
a Methodist preacher, the first I had ever
seen or even heard of. What induced him to
come there I never knew The stranger
said that he would pas3 that way again in
three weeks and would like lo preach in tbe
house on Lis return. Leave was granted. He
left an appointment and disappeared; and for
tfiree weeks nothing was heard of him, weeks
of great anxiety to my dear mother. ’ “Who
is he? what is he? A Methodist preacher—
what ia a Methodist? who are they? what
sort of people?” The whole neighborhood
was excited ; all were in expectation ; “will
he come?” True as the needle to the
pole, at the appointed hour, abont sunset,
was to be seen the same stranger wendinv
his way down the lane. A curious multitude
awaited him. He preached.and at the close of
the sermon said if there was no objection he
would preach there again three weeks from
that time. One and another ofthe older men
replied, “that is our own gospel; let him preach
as often as he will,we will be glad to hear him.”
Permission was given and in a short time
my mother's humble dwelling wasconvetted
into a sanctuary of God aud was incorporated
in the Sugar Creek circuit of the Sonth Caro
lina Conference, Rev. Wm. B. Barnett in
charge. A society was soon organized and
Dj\ Dunlap of precious memory, appointed
class-leader. A plain log house was soon
after erected on my mother’s land which
served for many years as a church, and in
which I preached my first sermon af er re
ceiving license. At the age of sixteen, God
graciously converted my soul at a Methodist
camp meeting. I did Dot however attach
myself to the Church for several months. I
loved the Presbyterian Church, the Church
of my ancestors; I love her still. 0 how
many saints in glory now, were fed and nour
ished at her altars. But my views of Bible
doctrine led me to the Methodist Church, at
whose altars I first received the baptism of
the Hnly Ghost, and on the 28th day of Au
gust, 1820, I gave my hand to the Rev. Jo
siah Freeman, whose body now sleeps be
neath this pulpit. I was soon appointed
class B ader, and with a profound sense of
my tor Buell a work. I resolved to
p- spout myself to the direction of God and
-;U*s Cbiucit, and to the best t.f my-abiiity do
all that was required of me. In a Few
jynonths they gave me license to exhort, ajil
.the first day of December,-1827, I wasp
' seensed to preach by that holy man Malcolm
t Mmßberson—long since with God—and rii*
,p >mmended by the quarterly conference of
ffhe Lincoltitqn circuit. North Carolina, to the
South Carolina Conference, to be held in
Camden, South Carolina, where I was kindly
admitted on.fr.ial and appointed for 1828 to
the Broad River circuit, now North Georgia
Conferenee-ayßbv. Thomas Sandford, my
eJJpf, and the now venerable Rev.
Joel W. ToWesend, who still fives by the
‘grace of God, to bless the Church and the
world, my senior colleague. We had twenty
five appointments in twenty-eight days, giv
ing three dayß out of twenty-eight to re a t,
study, and prepare for our great work. Not
much time for writing sermonsfhere, (though,
] fog fbyidus reasons, this effort is not extern-
the practice of reading sermons
I have never favored.) In 1829 I wa3 alone
on the Flint River circuit, to reach which I
traveled nearly me hundred miles on horse
hack, with my Wardrobe and library all in
my saddle bags) 'there were no railroads,
hor even buggies in those days. My work
covered parts of five counties between the
Flint and Chattahoochee rivers—Columbus,
my head quarters, was then without a Church
building of any denomination. I remember
An t three Church buildings in all that country,
jftiiti they were built mostly of*unhewn logs.
I also paid occasional visits to the Asbury
mission in the Creek nation. I can never
forget my first visit to the mission at that
place; it was nearly dark when we arrived
and soon after, being seated with the mission
family, in one part of the log house, my
soul was thrilled with strains of sweetest
music from another jeart of the building
fylere wore some fifty young Indians singing
“Jesus my all to heaven is gone.” My very
soul was moved within me at the thought,
rtere the Indian in his wigwam claims my
awn blessed Saviour as his Jesus. And why
not? Has He not said, “Ask of me and I will
give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,
the uiterofost parts of the earth for thy
bssessiou ?”
JfDuring this year, I, with my own hands, as
sisted in clearing off the ground and settingup
the wooden pillars on which the first church
in Talbotton, Ga., was built, and in which, at'
flast Quarterly meeting for the circuit,
now venerable Rev. Samuel Anthony, of
South Georgia Conference, was licensed
\ l preach. In January, 1830, at the Confer
epee held in this city in that old, long un
sightly building which stood almost on this
very spot, I was ordained to descon’s orders
to that great hud, good man Bishop Soule,
jjth, how my heart was moved within me to
Ugh and holy resolves: and I seem to see
jfcjv standing befor6.jne.nQSW a*ifoffefivcijtng
■f-i Yuarge to my cla9B, he straightened him
self up, and with holy fire glowing in his eve.
with thrilling empnasis, exclaimed, “Oh,
feiat we were young again, that another life
nlight be devoted to the glorious work of
pfc-aching Jesus Christ and him crucified to
aflerishing world!
(/ ‘ Oh, for a trumpet voice,
On all the world to call,
To bid their hearts rejoice
In Him who died for all.
For all my Lord was crucified ;
For all, for all, my Saviour died.’ ”
ilq 1830 and 1831, I was on the Yadkin
cfccuit, North Carolina. In the year 1830, I
bad the honor of introducing Methodism into
the ancient town of Salisbury, N. C. 1832,
Deep River, a five weeks’ circuit, alone;
here I had 32 appointments in 35 days, in a
circuit of more than 800 miles around. 1833,
Darlington, South Carolina. 1834 and 1835.
Charleston, where it was our custom to preach
four times a week; here, in 1835, I suffered so
severely withyeliowfever,which was followed
by two successive attacks of bilions fever in
Cneraw in 1836,that my constitution gave way,
and in 1837. on the Biack Swamp circuit, my
wnole system yielded to a combination ofin
Simulation of the lungs and bronchitis,
which disqualified me for regular work for
soveral years, and so affected my vocal pow
ejfe that I have been compelled to proceed
vyy cautiously in my pulpit minislraiions
ever since : but, by the grace and mercy of
God in Christ Jesus, 1 have been kep l
to this day, though often faint, yet still pur
suing.
By the grace of God, I have served the
Church on circuits nine years; on missions,
to colo ed people, nine years ; on stations
eleven years; agencies, eight years; Presi
dent Columbia Female College, three years :
chaplain to Lunatic Asylum, one year; and
fafir years presiding elder.
When I was admitted on trial in the South
Conference, in February, 1828 the Confer
eiiee included a large portiou of North Car
olina, all of South C rolina, all Georgia, ail
Florida, and the Creek Nation, now part of
Alabama. The Conference then numbered
Stvinembers, and 25 on trial—in all, 112
jiteachers. Among them I may be permitted
to mention a few names of those who nobly
served their own generation, by the will of
God, aud nearly all of whom have fallen
asleep, such as Isaac Smith, the first Metho
dist minister that ever preached the gospel
iniColumbia —he preached in the house of
his friend, Col. Thos. Taylor, long before
there was any church in the city ; Lewis My
cry; L iv:ck Pierce, who, by the mercy of
God, still lives in a gresn old age, a burning
a shining light; Wtn.M. Kennedy,the wise .
ijSniiellor; Wm. Capers, the founder of
vßsions to the S aves, afterwards Bishop—
the.-Chrysostom of the Southern Church ;
Ssjnuel Dunwody, the logician ; Nicholas
faliey, Thos. Sandford, J. O. Andrew, after
ward Bishop, Malcolm McPherson, Hart
well Spain, Henry Bass, and many others,
noble spirits, who were standard bearers
among the host3 of Isreal —all of whom, or
nearly all, have Plaid down "their armor at
their Captain’s feet, and are now at rest
beneath the shadow of the trees.
Qf ali the 87 theu members of the Confer
ence, I know of only six remaining on this
side the river—each patiently waiting the
Mdster’s call. They are: Lovick Pierce,
James Dunwody, J. W. Townsend, and Zac
cheus Dowling (who gave me license to
export), M. C. Turrentiue. and John Watts.
Os the class of 1827, 1 find but two living—
Jesse Boring and David Derrick. Making,
ing in all, eight out of the 112. Os my own
class. 1 beg to make mention especially of
igaatius A. Few, who loomed up, a star of
the first magnitude, but who, alas ! fell early;
but, thank Ood, he fell at hispost with armor
oil and left benind him a name thet will
never die. There are still living of this
class, three beside myself, who are yet on
Ztou’s walls. They are: Wm. M. Wight
man, now Bishop; John W. Talley, now su
peeannuated, and Wm. H. Ellison, P. E. in
lilii. Alabama Conference. The other 16
have crossed over, aud are now awaiting us
on the other side.
At the Conference held in February, 1828,
the Miuutes show in the South Carolina
Conference a membership of 35,173 white,
and 18,460 colored. At the session held in
this city in January, 1830, the Conference
wa„ divided into the South Carolina aud the
Georgia Conferences, leaving in the South
Carolina Conference 67 effective preachers,
and at the end of that year, 20;513 white and
lit, ill colored members. Since that time,
by different acts of General Conference, the
whole of oar territory in North Carolina has
been ceded to the North Carolina Conference,
in which territory there are now 53 preachers
and 21,320 white members. In the North
Georgia Conference, 175 itinerant, 420 local
preachers, and 56,599 white members. In the
South Georgia Conference 122 itinerant,2l6 lo
cal preachers, and 29,697 whit e members. In
the Florida Conference, which has also grown
out of the old South Carolina Conference,
there are 69 itinerant, 124 local preachers,
and 9,174 white members ; and the mother
of them ail, the old South Carolina Confer
ence, numbers, after all these deductions,
154 itinerant, 144 local preachers, and 41,742
white members —making a total of white
members at present in the territory covered
by the South Carolina Conference, when I
was admitted, of 158.532; and of itinerant
preachers 563, and of local preachess 1,020,
connected with the M. E, Church, South,
exclusive of the M. E Church, North, and
the Methodist Protestant Church. There
are also within the limits of the South Caro
lina Conference, as now bounded, 52,971
members of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church, employing 157 preachers—and this
exclusive of several other denomina'ions of
colored Methodists in the State. “ Lo, what
hath God wrought.” "The Lord hath done
great things for us whereof we are glad.
/•*.;»ay it tfdf bh oeeatfjsr
to make a brief survey of our beloved, Meth
odism fronqifs- beginning? MMffrfcdism b*p\
gan in 1739 by as-w young men o. Oxford,
England, meeting together to read theScrin
tures and pray for and with each other. In
1766 the first Methodist sermon was preach
ed on this continent; the first Me'hodist,
house of worship was erected in America in
1768, or 1769 In 1784 the Methodist Epis
copal Church was organized wi.h a member
ship of 18 000 and 104 preachers, in 1827,
when I was licensed, triere were in North
America, including Canada, 1,576 itiner
ant preachers. 327,932 white. 53 542 col
ored, and 520 Indian members; making
in all, 381 997. According to the sta
tistics of 1874 thsre are now. leaving ont
Canada, 14,330 itinerant preachers, 18 060
local preachers, and 2,262 285 members. Os
these there are in the Southern division
of Methodism, 3,485 itinerant. 5 330 local
preachers, and 696 764 members, A1
though Methodism is to day only 138 years
old, it numbered in 1874, throughout the
world, 24 866 itinerant preachers, 63 131
local preachers, and 3 923 510 members.
Look now at her literary institutions.—
From the beginning Methodism has ever
been mindful of her educational interests,
though her progress in that direction was
very slow for some years. Iu 1803. or 1804,
the first Methodist Academy in South Caro
lina was opened at Mt. Bethel, in Newberry
county, by Pfof. Hammond, father of the
late Gov. J. H. Hammond. That school
furnished the first students to the South Car
olina College, one of whom was the late
Chancellor Harper, whose father, a Method
ist preacher, Rev. John Harper, in concert
with Rev. George Dougherty, founded the
Mt. Bethel Academy, and under whose aus
pices the first Methodist Church in Columbia
was built, he giving the land, in 1803, on
which this church now stands; anff yet, as
late as 1827, when I was licensed to preach,
we had but two colleges, and very few high
schools, under the patronage of the Method
ist Cbprch in the United States ; Augusta
College, in Kentucky, and Union College, in
Ohio, were the only ones; and not one col
lege for young ladies in the world. Now We
have, under the control of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, alone, 21 univer
sities and colleges for young men, and 28
colleges and high schools for young ladies;
of these, two for young men, and six for
young ladies, are within the bounds of the old
SoJth Carolina Conference.
Her literature. 1n1827 the Methodist Church
in North America, including Canada, had one
religious newspaper, published id the city of
New York; now their name is legion. Ex
clusive of Sunday-school publications, month
lies and quarterlies, we have in the South
ern branch of Method tap alone,
-frith a teumberofpr'Jvate paper- partaktng of
the same spirit. In 1819 the first missionary
society was organized in the Methodist Epis
copal Church in America; in 1820 its entire
receipts were $823.14 ; ini 874 the two grand
divisions of Methodism collected for the
same purpose nearly S9OO 000. In 1829 the
first missionary to the slaves in the South
was appointed, through the influence of our
own “enskied and sainted Capers,” aud that
Great Day alone can tell the thousands saved
through that instrumentality.
Consider next the wonderful progress of
Sunday-schools in the last fifty years-how the
Church has heard and felt the force of the
Master’s command, “ Feed my lambs.” I
was in my second year in the ministry before
I ever saw a Sunday -school; now, in the South
Carolina Conference alone, there are nearly
20,000 white children receiving instruction
iu the Sunday-school. “ Surely all thy chil
dren shall soon be taught of the Lord, and
all shall know Him, from the least even to
the greatest.” Good Lord ! speed the time
when the Church shall bring forth the top
stone thereof with shdutings, crying Grace !
Grace 1 unto if.
Oar Church buildings have also kept pace
with the progress ot ihe Church in other de
partments. Contrast this present beaut-ful
house with the old long w mden huilding
in which 1 was ordained by Bishop Soule.
And now, brethren, indulge me, aao unite
wish me, for a moment in the r fl-ction : If
God has done so much for us, and accom
plished so much by us. iu thela-t fifty years,
what may we not bopelully anticipa'e for our
beloved Zon in the years to cone with our
present advantages and arp'iances Trie
pro pact is dazzling. How he Church looms
up before us iu her prospective triumph in
the great worn of extending the Master’s
kingdom and conquering the world to Chri-i!
OI how, to-day, ith glad hearts we see the
Church girding on her armor for ihe fi- al on
set, and bear her already shou'ing tor the
ultimate glorious victory. I sometimes leri
a strong desire to iive to see that, glad day
when she hat lookerit forth as the morning,
fair as the moon, aud clear a3 the sun. shall
also be terribie as an army with banners, put
ting to flight every thing that opposes, and
subduing all the nations and kindred- o!
the earth lo the dominion ot Christ. This
L may not live to see. I must soon put off
this mortal body, but I hope to join that
long, long list of ministers, who have gone
from the Sonth Carolina Conference, in
fooling down from heaven upon her sue
cesses and her triumphs, and I hope, with
tb m, to witnetg the glorious coronation of
“the bride, the Lamb’s" wife.”
And now, brethren beloved. I have per
formed, as best I could,-the task your kind
ness a-sigued me Yoa will permit me, in
conclusion, to refer again, for a moment, to
my own experience. Whan I first entered
upon this great work, I felt- from my heart,
“ 'Tis all my bitstn ss here below
To cry Behold the Lamb;”
and now, after the toils and trials of fifty
years, I do still feel
“ Happy, if with my latest breath,
1 may but gasp His name,
Preach Him to all, and cry in death,
Behold, behold the Lamb.”
And I am happy to say, there has not beeu
one day in all these fifty -.ears, that I would
have exchanged the position of a Methodist
Preacher for any other position or calling
known to men. t love the Church; I love
Methodism; I love the South Carolina Con
fereuce. Iu sight of the Great White Throne
I expect to praise God for the kindness
shown me by the Sou h Carolina Confer
ence in receiving me, an inexperienced boy,
like Elisha, from following the plow, and
honoring me with a name and a place among
her members.
Aud now let me say to my older breth
ren, who, like myself, are nearing the goal,
look up and see how the crown sparkles
just before you; and forgetting thoee things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before, press toward
the mark >or the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus. ’Tis almost in sight 1
And to you, my younger brethren, I would
sav, thauk God and take courage. O, what
a field lies open before you—victories, con
quests, triumphs, and eternal life in the end 1
Be firm, be bold, be faithful, live near to
Godphave constant daily communion with
Him. Think, O think, what responsibili
ties are upon you. The honor, the future
of Methodism, under God, are entrusted to
you. See to it that the coming generation
receives Christianity, Methodism with all her
institutions, in as good working order as
they came to you.
And now, in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, I commend this whole congregation,
preachers and people, to H>in who is able to
keep that which we commit to Him, against
that day.
Condensed from National Sunday-school Teacher.
INTERNATIONAL LESSONS.
January 27,1878. —Jehoshaphat’s Prosper
ity.
2 Chron. xvii: 1-10.
Golden Text. —“And they taught in Jti
dah, and had the book of the law of the Lord
with them, and went about throughout all
the cit ies of Judah, and taught the people.”
—9
Topic.—“ The Lord Established the King
dom.”—6.
Home Readings. —Monday, 2 Sam. vii:
1-29—1 will Establish the Throne; Tuesday,
IK.ix : 1-9 —I will Establish the Throne ;
Wednesday, Ps. cxxvii: 1-5 —Except the
Lord Build; Thursday, Ps. cxxxii: 1-18—
Make Horn of David Bud; Friday, Zech. x :
1-12—I will Strengthen the House; Satur
day, Ps. xl: 1-17—Set my Feet upon a Rock ;
Sunday, Heb. xiii: 1-21—Established with
Grace.
Time.— B. C. 914-911. Place.— Kingdom
of Judah. Rulers.—Jehoshaphat, king of
Jndah ; Ahab, king of Waqi. «.
I notes and oSiments.
Strengthening Himself (1, 2).—Jehosha
phat wub thirty five years old when he be
gan to reign. His first act indicates him to
have been a man of energy, prudence, and
sagacity. He ‘-strengthened himself against
Israel.” Though there had been strife be
tween the two kingdoms, singularly enough
there does not appear to have been any for
tification of the cities ot Judah that were
near to her northern neighbor. Perhaps
the of kinship had lolled the rulers of
Judah into a false feeling ot security with
reference to those who had, noi so very long
since, been their brethren That feeling
would explain why Rehoboam was so care
ful to fortify his southern frontier, and why
he and bis successor had done apparently
nothing towards protecting his northern.
Ou account of this lack of preparation as
against those whom it must still have been
hard to regard as foreigners, Asa found
himself so weak that his faith in God failed
him, and, at the sacrifice of the treasures in
the house of the Lord and in his own house,
he bought the aid of the Syrian king, and. in
that act, made the first grave mistake of his
life. He relied on the king of Syria instead
of on the Lord, and the result was that he
paid that monarch a large tribute, instead of
having him pay a large tribute unto himself,
xvi: 7. He was, however, successful in h>s
object of diverting Baasha from Ips intended
occupation of Ramah, aod, iu turn, fortified
the cities of Geba and Mizpah. Jehosha
phat took hold of the matter still more en
ergetically. He did not mean to be com
pelled to resort to the aid of heathen kings
as his father had done, nor even to be tempt
ed to do so. King ABa had been rebuked
•for seeking such aid on the ground that the
Lord had helped him before againßt the huge
host of the Ethiopians and the Lnbims, and
he would have given him the victory over
the forces of Baasha. Though this remind
er of God must have been quite familiar to
Jehoshaphat, he did not take that as any
reason why he should intermit his own ef
forts to render his frontier entirely secure
against his northern contemporary. The
promise of God to defend, which was im
plied in the rebuke, did not excuse him
from making all the efforts that he could to
prepare for his own defence. God does
nothing for man that, just as well as not, he
can do for himself. When we pray that he
will give us this day our daily bread, that
v.rayer does not absolve us from the neces
sity of looking and working pretty diligently
ourselves. It would have been folly for Je-,
hoshaphat not to have built his fortresses and
to have garrisoned them. It would have
been greater folly still for him to have re
lied solely upon them ; for they would have
been as houses built of cards, had the Lord
iliftaj hj§ hand against them. Me- pieced,
•forces in all the cities of Judah that were
already walled, set garrisons, or military
posts, throughout the land, and put troops
within the cities taken from Ephraim. What
be did, we are to do. We are to work out
our own sslvation with fear and trembling.
But that is not all that is included in the
gracious command. The rest of it reads:
“For it is God which worketh in. you, both
to will aud to do of his good pleasure.”
What we cannot do for ourselves, he will
do for us. “Give diligence to make your
calling and election sure ; for if ye do these
thiogs. ye shall never fail.” 2 Pet. i: 10.
Aud there is another thing in regard to
which we should follow the example of Je
hoshaphat. He carfully examined his king
dom to find out where were the weak points
in it. A mau does well when he tries to
find out the weak points in his own charac
ter —those places in it where he is the most
liable to be overcome of evil —and then sets
himself to work to strengthen them.
Strengthened by the Lord (3-6). — The
secret of the prosperity of Jehoshaphat did
not rest entirely in his own prudence, though
that contributed to it. It is expressed in
the words: “And the Lord was with Je
hoshaphat.”
It is interesting to note the reasons why
the Lord was with Jehoshaphat. 1 4 He
walked in the first ways of his father. David ”
The "first wavs of D •vid were those wavs
that he followed before he sinned so griev
ously in the ma'ter of Uriah and Ba'hsheba
■nd in the numbering of the people. As
Rev. Henry S Kelsey well sa> s in the Mon
day Club Sermons, he tok he bent part
oi ihe life of the noblest ma r ' he knew for a
.model.” Jehoshaphat rou dm have se
lected a better model. Bit we can -ot for
bear to remark, in pas ing h ,i he I v and in
our times, ttiat he w >uld h-.ve had a life to
copy which never exhibited" any imrerfec
lions. The ■ first way* of our Lord Jesus
t h'ist, unlike those of David, can not be
biougnt to reproach his last ways. His life
was perfect from its beginning toils close.
He alone is the faultless model for all to
follow.
2 ‘"Hesought not unto Baalim.” “Baa
lim” is the plural of Baal, and refers to all
idol gods, and even to that finer kind of
idol worship where the devotees bowed
down to forms of animals under the pre
tence or delusion of worshipping Jehovah.
3. 4 But sought to the Lord God of his
lather.” If the king had simply not sought
afer Baalim, that fact, would have had com
parativeiy little weight wi‘h those who did.
But when he not only did not do that, but,
also, sought alter the Lord, that fact had a
great effect. One must not only cease to do
evil, bat, also, learn to do well. 4. He
“walked in his commandments.” He sought
the Lord in the temple, and theu showed
that he had found him by the way he acted
when he was out of it. “Ye are my friends
if ye do whatsoever I command you.” 5.
He walked “not alter the doings of Israel.”
In Israel it had not been proposed to aban
don the worship of Jehovah, but only so to
modify it that the people might the better get
hold of it. Religion in that kingdom was to
be made more easy and more popular. The
worshippers were not to bend before an in
comprehensible unseen, but belore visible
representations of deity. They were not to
be subjected to wearying jonrneys to the
temple, but were allowed to sacrifice near
by, withont any special sacrifice to them
selves. That was the beginning, but it did
not long retain this semblance to the true
worship. Such compromises with the world
never do. After a while, came the worship
of Baal and of Ashtoreth pure and simple.
In no way did he follow the example of the
erring kingdom. He was not deceived by
its pious pretensions nor allured by its irn
moralities. And in his uncompromising de
votion to the worship of the true God, we
fiud another thing that is worthy to be imi
tated. “Be not conformed to this world,
but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.”
“Therefore the Lord stablished the king
dom in his hand.” God asks no one to
work for him without pay. In some way or
other he is sure to be rewarded—unless he is
working solely for reward. He represents
himself as an employer, saying: “Go ye
also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is
right, I will give you.” So to King Asa he
said : “Be ye strong, therefore, and let not
your hands be weak, for your work shall be
rewarded.” There is a temporal as well as
a spiritual reward for those who seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Not in rich endowments, it may be, but in
such supply of daily needs as will cause one
to know that “your heavenly Father knoweth
that ye have need of these things.” Jehosha
phat had shown himself diligent in establish
ing the kingdom of the Lord, and found that
F. M. KENNEDY, D. D., Editor
J« W- BURKE, Assistant Editor
HAYGOOD, D. D.,.....Editorial Correspondent
WHOLE NUMBER 2085
the Lord had been equally diligent in estab
fishing the kingdom for him. There is.a
significance in the expression, “stablished
the kingdom m h.shand.” He had complete
control ofhts people, not by force, but by
their good will. They were gladly obedient.
They were pleased to be the subjects of such
a king. “All Judah brought to Jehoshaphat
presents. These were the free will offer
ings of a devoted people. From 1 Sam. x:
27, it is thought that it may have been cub
tomary to bring presents to a newly inaugu
rated king. If so, that fact only proves that,
in this instance, the offerings were so much
more spontaneous and numerous as to de
serve particular mention. And so again, we
have the pleasant thought that, while the
king was endeavoring to fix the hearts of the
people upon the Lord the Lord took care
that they should be fixed upon the king. The
larger an empire one wins here.for the Mas
ter, the larger an empire, also, he wins for
himself.
The result was that bis heart wasjifled np,
pr, as the marg>»-i4s-i«, “enewraied'm The
ways of the Lord. - His heart wfig encour
sg din asood sosf of way. .It was not-shop
iy cheered at this exhibition of popular favor,
as the heart of any man might well have
been, but he was encouraged to go on in his
eood work of rooting out evil and of sup
plan'ing it wi-h good. He took away the
high places that had been left by Asa. and
cut down the A«herim that had escaped his
vigilance or had been dedicated since his
•ather began the ta k of exterminating them.
Strengthening the People xvii: 10).
He saw to it that they were thoroughly in
s'uructed about God. He formed a band of
itinerant instructors whose business it was
to see that the people knew concerning him
whom it was their duty to serve
His board of instructors consisted of five
princes, nine Levites and two priests. The
employment, of laymen to teach the word of
God, then, is not so recent as some have
supposed; for the first five mentioned wove
‘laymen It may be said of them, however, ,
that they were not ignorant nor uninflaemial r
men. They were selected on account'off
their high position, and, presumably, on ac- *
count of their fitness to instruct,’ He did*
not seud those to teach abroad who had no
standing at homo. The important duty of
teaching should not be committed by the
Church to th&se who have no influence and
who themselves need to be taught, instead of
becoming the instructors of others. It is
thought by some that a division of the work
of instruction is indicated by the different
classes of persons sent out on this mission;
that the Jaymen must have taught the people
concerning the civil law, the constitution of
the kingdom, and their relations to the king;
that the Levites must have instructed them
in the temple services and ritual law; and,
that the priests must have expounded to
them the attributes of God and the nature
of their relations to him. If this conjecture
be right—audit is only a conjecture—then
the people were educated by this commis
sion iu regard to th-fi- dutieß to God, to the
king, and to each other.
The “Book of tuts Law,” although they
had, besides, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, i. and
ii. Samuel, Job, part of the Psalms, and all
ofthe writings of Solomon, doubtless refer
red to the Pentateuch. This was the first
attempt of any king to give his people any
svstematic instruction iu religions matters.
When a man could grasp the idea that edu
cation in the law ot Gofi was the, best cure
tor idolatry, it ir dicates a mind df no com
mon breadth, sagacity, and statesmanship.
And the resnlt of it was all that he could
have wished. The people were by it made
willing, instead of being compelled, worship
er.. of Jehovah. By it, also, they’were made
more homogeneous, more oevoted to their
king, .and more devotei to each other. Ifo
oliywi !
pfe, hut, also, on the nations round about.
“And the fear of the Lord fell npon all v the
kingdoms of the lands that were round about
Judah, 80 that thev made no war against
Jehoshaphat,” The Philistines and the
Arabians brought him “presents” as tribute
instead of waging war against him. “And
Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly.”
He built palaces and cities of stone in Ju
dah. His army numbered more than a mil
lion of men, unless the figures given are
“round” numbers, and not literally to be
depended upon. Under him, the kiugdom
of Judah alone very nearly rivaled the joint
prosperity of the two kingdoms when they
were united under Solomon. To the south
ern kingdom he was another David. He
experienced to the full the saying: “Godli
ness is profitable unto all things, having
promise of the life that now is. and of that
which is to come.” 1 Tim. iv: 8. There is
one thing that fovery clearly demonstrated
by the unexampled good fortune that came
to Judah under his rule, and that is, that the
nation that wishes to be prosperous must
obey and be intelligently educated in the
law of the Lord. God is a greater factor in
the fortunes ot nations than politicians and
rulers seem to supoose. Q ieen Victoria
wpnt not a whit beyond the truth when, in
reply to the ambassador of an African sov
ereig i. *ho sent to know th- secret of E ig
land s greatness, she extend-d to him a
bean ifully bound eopv of the Bible, andssx
claimed: “T-11 the prince that this it the
secret o* England’s grea ness.” M,y Mat
continue to be the mason of he- prosperity
and, also, of ours : tor b!ess“d is that na
Lon whose God is the Lo-‘ ”
ONE MIS-STEP.
One » ep may -jlape a c arm e- an I des
i y I" it be a ugh step, the haracteraod
destiny wid be rieh ly -naped ft a vrong
step a mi- step the>ih“ ch.raner and des
tiny will be wrongiy^hap-d.
Liberty or bondage, prosperity or adversi
ty. joy ar sorrow, li*e or death, a-e suspend
ed on a single step! We often hear it sud,
•‘ Why v it was only one misstep!'' True,
only onk mis-step; a" and yet see wha' results I
How the mind has heen clouded by it, the
conscience d-filet, the moral seasibili'ies
stupefied I O ily one m's-step, and vet the
Spirit is grieved, and he prospect of eternal
life obscured. One mis step often leads to
others—to a succession of mis-steps. Once
let the individual leave the beaten path by
a single step, and he may wander on in dark
ness and never find the narrow road again.
Only one mis-step I Whatisit? “Why,
I only gave way to a little ill-temper,” but
see the result! The children observed it.
Children are sharp eyed. They are close
watchers. They are quick to mark the mis
step, aud they have tenacious memories.
Long after the occurrence which you called
a “ little thing,” has passed from your re
collection, they have it vividly in remem
brance. The poison has entered their young
minds. They see in the mis-step a depar
ture from the Christian faith, and they are
unfavorably affected. For years, perhaps,
possibly forever, that one mis step may hold
them from the cross.
Only one mis step 1 Whatisit? “Why,
simply a careless word affecting some one’s
character,” say yon. True, bat remember,
the poison of asps is under a careless tongue.
“ Behold what a great matter a little fire
kindleth 1” That careless word is repeated.
It runs from one to another. An innocent
person suffers loss in point of reputation.—
The mischief sweeps through the community
like a sirocco-breath. Alas! for the deadly
power of that careless word.
Only one mis-step! Wnat was it? “A
slight deviation from the rule of rectitude in
a business transaction —a very little thing,
hardly noticeable,” you say. Yes, bat it was
observed by the other party to the. trade.
He is not a Christian, but he knows you
make the profession. He cannot reconcile the
transaction with the Christian character. It
rankles in his heart. He had serious thoughts
about seeking Christ —those serious thoughts
are now dispelled. Satau, ever ready to
seize upon such advantages, weaves his net
work more thoroughly around his soul, and
that soul drops into perditinn, the eternal
victim of a single mis-3tep 1
How we need to walk circumspectly, to
“ set a watch at the door of our lips,”
“ Be ever standing on our guard,
And wafchiDg unto prayer.”
Methodist Recorder.
To consolidate aud methodize and com
plete what has been most successfully begun
in former years—to turn theory into practice,
to attack with vigor the great task of life, to
cast out old evils, and by grace to exhibit a
holy character—these are the duties of him
who is growing old. The whole prospect ia
deeply serious, though it need not be alarm
ing.—J. W. Alexander ,