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7 THE FLOWERS COLLECTOR Vol. IL Xq. PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY A COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA CON TERENCE, M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. RUFUS T. HEFLIN, Editor. iiiLKiau, tuuusjua: umlx mzm H 50 a Year, in A.dvun.a 7 4 p n 1 1 r i . a Point I long to Xrow. by Daniel Herbert. 'Tis A I.idy going through a lodging. house it Aliilwru was Miirpi 'seJ to observe the follow- j lit'' littP him r m, in pi'tTV room ill t!iO ruillsp. ! And inquiring ri- reason, she was told that j Lord K h dome to that house in a ', very precarious state of health, and even ; thought himself dying. Ore day he found; in :i l.in.k rlif veies read and io read them ; 1 -iii- . . j tnev suite 1 exact v his own state of mind, Anil ni i.L im Arpiiiii uti him thsif '. with O i l s Messing, Inslaith was conformed. On leaving the lodglngdiouse, Lord K- aslied the landlady to hang up thrt verse , trusting that they ruight be made of equal use to other poor sinners. "What is the point you long to know? Methinks I hear you say 'Tis this, I want to know I'm boru of God, An heir of everlasting bliss. Is this the point you long to know? The point is settled in my view ; For if you want to love your Gjd, It proves that God's loved you. I want to know Christ died for me ; I want to feel the seal within ; I want to know Christ's precious blood Was shed to wash away my sin. I want to fee! more love to God ; I want mre lioerty in prayer; But when I lo.k within my heart, It almost drives me to despair. I want a mind mure firmly fixed On it, my Everlascing Head ; I want to feel my soul alive, And not so barren and so dead. I want more faith a stronger faith ; I want to feel its power within ; I want to feel more hve to God ; I want to feel less love to sin. I want to live above the world. And count it all rut trash and teys ; I want sweet tokens of God's grace Some foretastes of eternal joys. I want I know not what I want ; I want that real special good ; Yet all my wants are summ'd up here: I want I feel I want my God ! Is this the point you long to know ? The dea l can neither feel nor see ; It is the slave that's bound in chains Who knows the worth of liberty. So where a want like yours is found, I think I may be bold to say, Th. Lord has fixed within that heart What hel 1 can never take away. However small thy grace appears, There's mentv in tny precious iieaa ; ! . , - . rr 1 Those wants vou feel, rav Christian frien as, Are never found amongst the dead (Original. For tiie X. C. Christian Advoate. .Religious Meditation. Amid the cares aud vexations of life, we are not disposed to "ive this important j win goon nd when t d;e th(re subject the attention xt demands. Vv hat be nQne tQ fi their n . can be ot more lmponanct t the person, i i -u i i .i i , ;n .a stopped the temperate use, there ts no who ardently desires to :row in grace aud rf , i ' the favor "f the Almighty, than the faith-' door to intemperance. Those who are ful c-ou.parisou of uis r.res-nt spiritual con-, now intemperate may distress us for the d.ttoti witu that of yesterday. t last week. : present. They will frown and corrupt The man -r wman who negl cts to medi- while here. But they are not to be here, tate regularly on the prospects of the soul, ; He who made them has graciously de canr.ot expect to merit the Divine favor. creed that if they will not reform, they Christians are uot in the discharge of their j snan g0 to their own places, and the religious duties, while neglecting this im-! earth be relieved of her burden." portaut uien of attaining pure aud unal-j Lt the em;re bo(1 of professm loyed happiness. The passing moment is ; Chr;3tians banish all that can intoxicate OI1 US Way to meet us at iue oar ui me Most High; aud it bears the record of our actions, designs and eiuotious for ihe time beinsr. Christian, it is now numbered with the past hours, and will commend or . condemn you at the court of Heaven. Oh, that it could be recalled and laden afresh I for glory with h .ly resolutions. J Many who seem to enjoy the couitorts j of religion, find it irksome to engage, for even a few moments, in conference with their own dear, immortal souls. Is it dif ficult to anticipate the arrival of some val ued gift or dear friend 1 Surely not. We cau, for a long time, enjoy such a purely mental state, and when compelled to give our thoughts to other things, we do so with reluctance. The s ul is more worthy of our attention than the dearest friend on earth. Meditation may be termed the fuel which supplies heat to the Christian's soul ; that which gives it motive power, and causes it to rise in its aspirations above all earthly things. The pious poet says " 'Tis sweet to talk with our past hours, And ask them what report they bore to Heaven, And how they might have borne more welcome news." Reader, do not. give this quotation a cursory reading, but " stop and think be fore you farther go." ilow could you huve sent more welcome news to God and the pure intelligences that surround his throne ? Answer this to your own con science. If our consciences condemn us, God, who is greater, will surely not regard us with approbation. We frequently la ment our cold religious state, and yet re- fue to bring our souls to the warming in- ministry and the church were then ac fluence of reflection. Our minister may i tive in the work, and their efforts crown- Etudy and labor for our good, but there can be no beneficial results to ourselves unless we endeavor to impress on the tablet of j memory the vital truths which we may , receive irom tue sacrea stana. Christian, anticipate your departure for the spirit land. lour mends are around you sheddieg the tear of regret at your de parture. You hear the light step in your; chamber and around your bedside. our pastor, who has faithfully dispeused unto you the word of eti-rnai life, is seated near you waiting t hear the anthems of praise at your proximity t The land f rest, the Famts aeiigac, Uw7r; to talk with your I fairly driven from the field, and the Aou findlu'eTriworlf abandoned to the Washingto- regret at your spiritual inactivity during a great part of your earthly existence, and would rejoice at au opportunity to improve many of the precious hours and moments which you have lost. Then, followers of Christ, cease to take a pleasure in thoe things which are for bidden by the pen of inspiration. Reflect, thou hast a soul to save; that soul must !w 11 forever under the invigorating voiles or blasting frowns of your J udge. He uier, are y ou pivpared io appear before this 3 uo'g,- of all men's i.eai ts i ht are thy hopes beond the grave? ir .... .,,', i i ,o Alow s-tanas tiiut dm k account - c, IflrrtimiH. iFrom the Northwestern Christian Advocate. The Church can do It. By the church we do not mean the members of any particular sect or communion, but we mean the professed disciples of Jesus Christ all who profess to be governed by the prin ciples and precepts of our holy religion. In a late article, we said the church, using the term in this broad sense, could, if it would, effect such an entire change in public sentiment in the drinking usages of society, and traffic in strong drink, as to save the enor mous amount of treasure now worse than wasted. "Who sustains the drunkardi makers ? Every drinking-house, or dramshop, is a drunkard manufactory, and the keep er thereof, a drunkard manufacturer. Now, who are the persons that sustain these establishments ? Certainly not the drunkards themselves. It may well be doubted whether there is a rumseller in j the country, so lost to all sense of shame as to keep his establishment in opera j tion a single year, if none but the mis jerable, besotted inebriate, would give I him custom. If shame did not do it, j he would soon find that his own pecuni ! ary interests required him to abandon 1 i 111 XX 1 i nis miseraoie Business, lie Keeps nis establishment not for drunkards, but in the language of another : for ''temper ance men, useful men, honorable men. Let them forbear to use it, and show that it is not necessary, and the evil will die; for they shut the door, through which all temperance men and all drunkards have entered. Those men were once where temperate men now are, in the temperate use of strong -i -i j . . ,i ' 1 ! tmue tnis course, win many 01 tnem j soon be where the intemperate now are. It is intemperate using which gives the j relish, prepares the way, and opens the door to mtoipcruDOc. ft li n f frHia Jaaii and it will not enter. Let temperate men give up the use of strong drink, and the evil will verv soon be done awv fo aii who are now jntemnerate from their dwellings, close the 'fami ly bar-room,' and pertinently refuse to have any connection with the sale or use ot the drunkard s drink, and in a single year, the church can remove the evil from the land ; or if not absolutely abolish it, there can be but little doubt tnat t can save aH who are now sober, and secure a generation of men who would no more think of selling a neigh bor intoxicating liquor, than they would think of putting arsenic into his well. We believe with Chancellor Wol wor th, that time will come. The ehurch can hasten it on a few short months, if it will. Let every Christian set his face against the use of the drunkard's drink, in all places whatsoever, and let all respectable ladies, or even those who are professors of religion, take an unobtrusive, quiet, but decided and un yielding position, refusing absolutely to countenance the use of such beverages, and those parties where the first steps in the road to darkness are taken, and in six months they can effect a change in the habits of society that will save many a young man from ruin, and drive away decent individuals from the busii ness of taking sober men and manufac turing them into drunkards. The moral power of the church, in any great re form, is overwhelming. This was seen in the intemperance reform from 1830 to 1842. A very large portion of the e(j witn such success, that in five years raorej tlie sarae rati0 of success would haye witnessed a complete triumph th hout the land But a set of pretended reformers arose from the ditch, and shut out God and religion from the reform, and by apparent success gained the popular mind. (iood men and wemen, the ministry and the church, could but sanction the infidel movements which were made by the so-called reformers, who created a perfect furor upon tho tpmne ranee Question. Uood men were mans. This unfortunate movement retarded the progress of the reform at least fif teen years. Let the entire body of the ' church-all good men and womcn-again address themselves to the work, (and it is their appropriate work,) and the pro-. gross of the work will be far greiter 1 than ever before, from tho fj.ct th it the 1.1 ! I waoie sumect is so much better under- stood by the community at large. Shall ! au l its captain was an irreligious an i pro not the work be done and the good se- i fane man. He u-ed to siv he wanted no cured ? We need not say that God and posterity will hold us responsible. R. S. C. What Would You Do Without It ? The test of Character. W e often hear people lamenting that they are not rich, and saying " If I had a plenty of money I would do so and so. I would give to this or that charity ; I would help this or that deserving person strug gling with poverty ; I would purchase the meaus of self-culture or of educating my family." The real test of character wou'd be to give sueh a person money and see what he would do with it. In nine cases out of ten he would not do with it as he says he would, or perhaps thinks he would What would he do with it ? He would dispose of it just according to his general character. The h no-t man would take it and without loss of time would go straight and pay his debts, if he had any. lie would not choose to keep from others their lawful proper y any longer than he could help it. The ostentatious man would consider what article of show he could purchase whi;h would add to the 'respectability' of his ap pearance. He would buy an equippige and dash up and down street with a pair of bays or dapple browns, or perhaps if his des're of admiration were very intense, he would get a match of milk whiteanda coal black. The man of taste would adorn his house with statuary and paintings, partly as a matter of aesthetic gratification and partly of social distinction. If he had a kind heart as well as overflowing means he would find pleasure in patronizing modest and deserving genius, and bestow his wealth with a double purpose of gratifying hi3 taste and rewarding merit. The man of deep aud true affections would first and foremost think of the natural ties and fam ily obligations. He would let the sun of his prosperity shine upon those to whom he owed the earliest debt of gratitude his father and mother, if any still survived, who had watched over and protected him before he was capable of appreciating the obligation, who perhaps had straitened their slender means to make him what he has since become. He doas what he can to smooth their declining years. The most precious things about his splendid dwell ing are their aged forms, and the most gratifying fruit of prosperity is that it gives a grateful chi d the means of mani- to advancing age. The man of p'easure would use his newly acquired wealth in making larger provision for the enjoyments of the sensss; he would fill his cellars with more costly and delicious wines and 1-iad his table with a src.iter nrotuion "t luxu ries aud delicacies. II would extend his i, i; - - o i , 0 ing aud learn their recondite and pr.-cious lore. The miser wculd find it impossible to conceal his ruling passion. The unex pected acquisition of wealth, instead of opening his heart, would only add fuel to the flame and make him ten times as penu rious as before. His only happiness con sists in hoarding, or rather in re-investing at the highest rates of interest. It goes into the vaults of a bank, there to beget more money to be re-invested in the same way, till its possessor drops at last into his grave, having had no more use or enjoy ment of his enormous wealth than if he had daily dropped his gains into a crevice in the earth. His relations to money had become morbid, unnatural, distorte 1. Mon ey is a means and not an end. Its only rational purpose is to supply our natural wants or to procure the materials of inno cent enjoyment. These ends are in fact the measure of the value of money. In itself it is as valueless as the sands up on the seashore. But when sought for its own sake it generates a species of insanity. It can no longer be used for its legitimate ends. The irrational attachment to it is such that no pleasure it can purchase will compensate the pain which tha parting with it occasions. Its possessor is like Tan talus in the ancient mythology up to his lips in water and perishing of thirst. We know beforehand what the mere sensual ist would do with it He would merely multiply his visits to the nearest haunt of dissipation, till his physical system would sink under mere reekiess abuse or his newly acquired means of self-indulgence would be exhausted. He would become the common spoil of the reckless and aban doned, who would regard him and his new possessions as the piratical wrecker sees the treasure-ship drifting on his lee shore in a storm. And what would the wise and good man do with it ? He would nmploy it as a thing to be used and not to be hoard ed or thrown away. He will first apply it to meet and satisfy the claims of jnstice. Short of this he cannot be satisfied and in the midst of wealth must feel mean and humiliated. Next coine the demands of natural affection. They cannot be repudi ated by a noble soul. Next those of friend ship arid the leng scores of private obliga tions, Last corns temperate and moderate additions to the means of comfort and enjoyment. Reader, while your eyes have passed . over this articleyou have been looking into a mirror which has revealed to you your true character. What are you doing with it ? You ars getting something oil along, some little surplus, and what do you do with it ? Does it go to pleasure, to osten tation, to the miser's strong box ; or is it devoted to justice, to affection, to charity, to the iuean3 of self-culture, to generous hospitality is it tributary to the cause of progress and humanity : Halt. ou The Chaplain's Story. A clergyman, who was the chaplain of a little squadron stationed in the Mediterra nean for five years, related the following anecdote, which occurred daring that jime: i The Commodore was a frank and gene rous man who treated nie with marked at tention, and I usd to preach in all the ' ohinn h.ir. nna This iv;ia a small frifrata Methodi-t parson for a plot, and he -embrace 1 every opportunity of anuoying nie. Being a person of violent temper, he took offence and insulted the Commodore, who meant to send him home. When Tk'ard of his intention, I waited on ihe dore, and said I had come to as! lar favour him. 'Th it shall be granted. happy to oblige you. WhaJ 'That you will overloj of Captaiu S ,' said '.Nay, nay; you cau't n it your graato?: euemJ tne ouly m ia wno does on board his ship.' 'That's the very reusou C imii odore. pre ich,' 1 mut prac. 'Well, well, 'tis an oJv reflection, I can graut yol prejudice to his 3Iac.t3 do it. The next day I renewed' , tIT 111 -I I ' wen, sua ne, 'it Uapr,a make a public ap)Iogy, I will conduct.' I instantly got into a boat, and rowel to the frigate. The captain met me with a frowu upon his countenance ; but when I told him my business, I saw a tear in his eye, and taking mo by the hand, he said: Mr. , I really don t understand your religion, but I do understand yjur conduct, aud I thank you.' The affair blew over, and ha pressed me to preach in his ship. The first tune I went there, the crew were dressed in their best clothes, and the captaia at my right hand ; I could hardly utter a word, my mind was so much moved, and so were the whole crew. There seemed to be a more than ordinary solemnity among us, as I preached to them on the necessity of faith in Christ, and the renewal of their hearts by the H dy Spirit before they could enter heaven. That very night the ship disappeared, and not a soul survived to tell the tale. None ever knew how it happened; but we supposed, as there h id been a g ale of wind, she had foundered and went down in deep water. How cheering the thought, that the men thussuideuly summoned into eternity had listened to the blessed message of the Gospel, and that too, under the circum stances which, through the blessing of God, were so peculiarly adapted to prepare their minds eloome . .. o n, reader, how 'example is more regarded than ynt.' Per.Oiis can un derstand our cinduat, if th 33 cannot ap preciate our principles ; and they form their opinions more from what we do than what we say. YV should thnfore rather strive to live well, than talk wel. 'Even ; 's l .1 uy u u-nuga. . xe icu- iffion of Christ teaehis us tc let our . , o m i- light shine before men: and itis highly important, that thoe who profess to love the Saviour should be careful toadorn, in all things. His doctrine. Taking a Collection- The Birmingham Journal ttlls the following story of the Rev. W. Bennettt, of that town, recently deceased .; Upon one of the occasions when a co lection was to be made, which, by the way, was an operation very frequently per formed, he gave out a hymn, pid said during the singing of the hym-i, 'Our friends will make a collection,' at which announcement several ofihe au dience, as is usual, began to leaib their seats, when he said, in a sly confident tone, 'You need not leave your seats, for you cannot get out until the collec tion is over, as the doors are locked.' The hymn was sung, the collection made, and the money summedy ter being informed of slowly rose is the pulpit friends, the collection ail sum of 23Z. 18s. 5d., emphatic. 'I say the col j to 23Z. 17s. 5d.,' makiij emphatic ; he again re ! making the pence emph say there is some mistaKe ti n has been made with and some one has be round again, and do deliberately,' said he collectors ; we will sing time, so that you need hymns were sung, and the summed up. 'Ah,' said he, ' some one had been missed ; it now amounts to 34Z. 6s. lid. The widow's mite is there, it was not there before.' Then turning to the collectors, he said, 'And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing ; and he called unto his dis ciples,and said unto them, 'Verily, I say unto you, that this poor woman has cast in more than all they which have cast into the treasury, for all they did cast in of their abundance ; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.' I do desire that in future you never miss the widow, tor thougn the amount may not be profitable, it is the spirit that sanctifieth." Scandalous Advertisement. The N. York Herald publishes the following 'per sonal' advertisement: 'Board wanted by a gentleman, where the comforts of a home can be enjoyed, a la Mormon. Address box 22, Herald ofiice, for three days.' f v- 1 1 If A , t m m J 1 Ml . .. itsV f ; rT J 1 - r -. J 1 itV A a not w . warfare Noisy Religion. tlT believe in religion, but I do not be lieve ia makin g so much ado about it. And this n )isy re igion this loud praying, and preaching, an I shouting, I dete&t." You do ? But are you sure that you are right in this? Anj you sure that this noisy re ligion is not of God ? You have no right to disapprove of what God approves. If you do, how cm he look with approbation upon you ? He cannot. It becomes you therefore, to be exceedingly careful that you do not hnd yourielr lighting against God in this mat er. Speaking of praying one thing, I think will be granted by every reader of this ar ticle, and that is, that great earnestness in prayer is approved of God. The scriptures often speak or an agony of prayer, both for urselves and for others. W e are told to trive to enter in at the straight gate,' and original m that passage means ago- to enter in; that 'the kingdom of en suffereth violence, and the violent .sn it by force. Isaiah speaks of the "ravail of Zion, and say3 what is always frth her children.' What can tnismean, it not earnest, agonizing ptayerr St. Paul experienced this agony of soul for loners. He says that he 'travailed in ifrth for the Gallatians. The Spirit an I the Word both agree in eading us to great earnestnes in prayer. The term made use of the Bible cannot be strengthens! 'travail.' No stronger term can be used to express this idea. It is said of Christ, 'He shall see of the travail of his soul,' &e. Christ agonizes travails in soul, for sinners. 'If we have not the spirit of Christ, we are none of his.' If we have his spirit, shall we not be likely some times to partake of the travail of his soul ? St. James tells us that, 'the fervent, effect ual prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' Then there is such a thing as 'fer vent, effectual prayer' recognized in the scriptures, and sp iken of approvingly. Webster tells us that fervent mean3 'ar dent, very warm, earnest, exeited,'anima- ted, glowing.' If we shouldgtve the force I of all these adjectives to one prayer, I sus pect it would De somewhat loud. The intense earnestness in prayer to which the Spirit simetiiues leads us, is indicated in the following passage from St. Paul, to wit : 'We know not what we shoul 1 pray for as we ought, but the Spir it itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.' This means not only that the Spirit 'maketh in tercession' in our behalf, but that the in tense earnestness of these prayers, which are the offspring of the Holy Ghost, is so great that no language is adequate to give them utterance. But God understands and answers the prayers which he inspires. He can inter pret the liugu ige of sighs, and groans, and ble'prayer when the laborings"dTiY"cahex press its anguish and the intensity of its desire ouly in groans. Many persons, led by the Spirit, w-uld cry out before reaching half this depth of emotion. Indeed, it is natural for most petsonsto do so as soon as they become thoroughly earnest in their petition. 'Well,' says my reader, 'then you believe the Spirit leads persons to cry aloud in their prayers, do you ?' Not all persons, perhaps; but that some are thus led by the Spirit, I have no doubt. So endeth chapter first. Ar. W. Chris. Advocate. Anecdote of Lorenzo Dow. The eccentric, but sharp witted Lorenzo Dow, used to tell the following aueedote, to illustrate the apparent discrepancy, be tween the doctrine and the preaching of Calvanistic divines ; who teach that the number of the elect is so fixed and definite, it can neither be added to or diminished from ; that if any, for whom CKrist die!, should fail to get t heaven, it would be a 'mutilated heaven,' and yet exhort and urge meu, in their preaching, to flee the wrath to come, just as tho' there was a possibility of some of the elelect being lost, or some of the reprobate being saved. A gentleman in the Southern States had a negro who went to hear a regular Synod-of-Dort Westminster Calvanist, who boldly preached just tvhat ha professed to believe. On his return home his master said to the negro : ' Well Sam, how did you like thepreach g to day V Clare to gracious Massa, I hardly know Why Sam, what sort of pre-K'bins was ) 'Mighty strange Sir; neber hear the like efore.' Well, what was it you heard t Yell Sir, de preacher, tuat say every 'sr is sinners. Den he say thit God bmise to his Sou a certain number, if he mild die for e'm. Dem, Sir he call the ject aad says they just so many and no more ; and that none ot em could be lost, no how. Den he say, some called repro bates. He say God pass 'em by, and none of 'em could be saved, no how. Den he say next the Devil is guine 'bout seeck-in- to destroy some of the Meet that cant belost, no how trying to take some of Christ' people, that cant be taken no how Uen Sir, 'fore he stops, he exhort sinners to repent ; he seem trying his best to git some of the reprobates the devil's people, what cant be saved no how. Now Sir if de fust part of the Sermon be true I cant tell which is de biggest t 1, devil, or preacher.' N. O. C. Advocate. o. A New Uie for Indian Corn Using Corn fnr Fuel. Ir. is stated that a farmor in Illi- noi, on tne urana frame, wnsra, wcums uoi to be had, and where coal is worth thirty cents a bushel and corn the same, got out of fuel while the roads were so bad that he could not haul coal, and in the emergency of the case tried burning corn in the ear in Ins stove in place of coal, and found that it not only succeeded but that it was actually cheap er to burn corn than coal, and that it notoni ly makes a hot fire but a cleaner one than coal. 1 r. Facta Relative to Baptism, to be Borne in Mind. 1. That baptism in the New Testament is uniformly preseuted as a type and sym bol of the operations and effects of the Ho ly Spirit in the purification of human na ture. Immersionists have, therefore, entire ly misapplied, if not perverted, the ordi nance in making it represent the death and burial of Christ. The Bible d ies not teach, 2. That when we find the 'primitive Church' baptizing by immersion, we find it dipping the subject thrrr. timr.i ; dipping them all, not excepting females, in a state ofuudity el ithing thoai in whitegarmcn's feeding them upon n;ii!c an 1 honev u-dog salt, exorcism' etc. Was all "this 'apostolic V o. That all pictures representing the mode in which Christ was baptized, that have come down to us from the fourth, third, and as some learned men think, from the second century all, without exeep'ion, represent that rite as administered by pouring. Ilow came the primitive Church to think that was the mode ? 4. That all 'scholars, critics, and lexi" cographers of any note,' unanimously de clarethat baptism means 'to wash,' 'cleanse,' etc., and several o: them make this its leading signification. And Dr. Carson says, 'Jlapto signifies to dye by sprinkling; as properly as by dipping.' 5. That the undue and unsriptural im portance attached to immersion as the only mode of baptism, has been the occasion and source of numerous schisiuatical, heretical, and gross corruptions from Auabaptism in Germany to Morinonism in our own country all of whieh, if they did not ori g inate in this view, took it up as a funda mental element. 6. That while immersionists claim to be the only coaiin unity that obeys God, and that all others are living in the violation of a plain command, and so, of course, in a state of sin, they exhibit no other mirk or evidence of piety or of the Divine favor which is not possessed equally at least by other Christian communities. All those tokens of the Divine favor by whieh the people of God have been identified by the wise and good or all ages, arc shared as largely by other Churches. 7. That the present movement in favor of a 'new version' of tho Bible, is the offspring of sectarian zeal an 1 for sectarian en Is. This latter point has been admitted by its leading spirits, repeatedly. And that if it is pushed forward, and a new version is published, it will never be be ad opted or used by any but the immersion sect. 8. That the most dogmatic, assuming, and bigoted upon the subje -t of iuiiiie.sion will be found among the ignorant and the smatterers. Meu of real learning, as the Manlys, Waylan is, and Halls, are moderate and tolerant in spirit. Nashville Chris tian Advocate. From the New York Observer. The Devil's Wagons. Reader, contemplate, for a moment, this picture from real life : In the streets of a thriving village stands a wagon, to which four horses are harnessed. A few loose boards extend from one axle to the other. A little boy, of four or five years old, is placed upon those boards. Tiie driver has turned aside, and is talking to some one upon the sidewalk. The horse3 take fright and run furiously through the street. The alarm tf the uoie and the outcry spread like lightning. Hundreds rush to their doors. Consternation and terror are in every couuteuancc. One warm-hearted, impulsive woman A JiOTUEB seeing the awful peril of the child, clasped her hands in agony, and with the full power of her voice called out: 'Stop that wagon and save that child! Stop that wagon stop it stop it !' An old icicle in human ahape, that stood by her, col 11 y and sueeriug'y replied: 'Sil ly womau! don't fret yourself, it's hoi your child!' 'I know it,' said she 'but it is somebody's child!. Stop that wagon, O stop that wagon !' Reader, the dev il has his wagons thous ands. of them full teams in myriads of 'somebody's children' aboard himself the driver reins and whip in hand and he is carrying them full sweep to destruction ! Stop those wagons, and save those chil dren. O stop those wagons ! Reader, the Sabbath School, is a great, benevolent, and most efficient organization, formed exnresslv for preventing that fear ful destruot;o. Its object is to gather up all ths children ; eveu the outcasts of 'the highways and hedges : lead them co places of safety; keep them from getting into the Devil s ; wagons ; and tnus save tnem irom his power! And they are all 'somebody's children !' Ho. all ve. then, that have human sym pathy in your breasts, come forward aud .ake a part, however liuuiute, in mis giori- 0U3 WOrK. J-iel US 'Slop luusc wagons, and that quickly ! It can be done either stop them, or compel them to run wimoui passengers : Let not old Icicle dissuade you. lour children may b-3 in safety ; but 'some body's' are going to ruin ! Up, and save them. There are glorious rewards prom ised to those who 'turn many to rightaou hpss.' The 25th of Matthew teaches us, that the smallest favors done to the smallest Deonle, wid come in remembrance and draw down blessings from the Great Judge; but they are damned who neglect and despise even little duties, 'a to 'cne talent nius be improved as well a3 the 'tea !' N. B. Somebody will have a fearful account to render for 'somebody' s chil dren. B. S . A Proud Cocple.-Iu a town in Orange county, New York, are living a man and his wife who have not spoken together for eight years. They sleep in one bed, tdce their meals at the same table, and show not the slightest anger towards each other. The only reason for their obstinate silence is that each is too proud to speau first. A Safe Rule ;o go by. The question i;oftc!iasked by Ciiri" tians, would it be consistent in mc t do this or that, to go to this place amusement, to embark in such an on terprise. The simple fact that sue': ft question has to be asked seems to inqiiy that a step or course of doubtful pro propriety is contemplated. Now sup pose that in all such in. -dances, th in dividual should bring the matter to this sort of a test. Will any one think tho worse of mc as a Christian for deciding adversely, on the side of abstinence 'i Would it bring discredit upon that worthy name whereby I am called 'i Would it impair my influence and hopes of usefulness? Surely this would kfen the Christian, where he should desire always to be, on tho safe side. Possi bly it might, in some instances, involvo or lead to unncessary tell' denial. But that would bo no groat harm. It id better to deny ourselves needle..-ly many times, than once, to oar own in jury, and the injury of cur Masier'a cause, to indulge ourselves. We sh ill find ample verge and room for all t'lo self indulgence that may be good and safe for us, quite within the rang" of what is not of questionable propriety and consistency. limner f the Cm.:. jta tjje Cljiliirrn. The Family Altar. It was Sabbath ev-iiin the most quiet and precious of hours, when .'ho following incident occurred Hiving taken our eveniug meal, aud everything pertaining to the tabij having been rem vcd t its proper place, the family formed a circle for the reading of God's word. Each lead in his turn, till more than one chapter had been gone over, by v. hi h time the volatile fcel.iigs of the little teies had been chas tened into j itt, an 1 all seemed to b - pre pared for th; prayer tint was to follow. The father of ti e f.uoilv kneeled, and with hiin the mother, mid t vo r eious little daughters, by side. As In; fell upon bis Luets, an I s iw these iit'l- d. ii cite forms taking th': s i ne position, i.T own hoirt was niov ;d :t the .sight. IIU prayer grew fervent as it progn sre J. an 1 so deep became Lis ."-onso of sin, s) humble his confessions, s.i earnestly i.'i ! Ii" pray for himself, his v.ii'e, and his little ones, of whom there w- re more llian i.ave been named, that something unuu:.l was observed in the little circle. Tin r. w.n unwonted stillness there. And presently a sound like the soUiitig of a child was heard, bv the nr.ivlm i !.. tiA. . I increasing, the prayer became more hoIihq and earnest. TheHe childish sobs were now accompanied by weeping, po that the prayer was drawn to a rluo. Suspecting the cause of this, the dc ir little child, of six or seven ymrs, was involuntarily em braced iu her father's arms. Not a word was spokeu. t'.u falh or's heart wai ton full t) speak; a tear started iu the mother's eye ; every other child seemed all bui rea dy to weep, while this dear child, leaning on the bosom of h r father, wipcl her tears, and sought iu vain to suppress her hobs. It was one of those t jii ;hing scenes which a parent will not soan forget. No one Hsked,f'r all well knew, the cause of emotion. Su .h is the power of prayer, of prayer thit is prayer tho feel ing utlerince of au earnest, humble heart. It is no unusuil thing to see the feelings thus t. nderly aff 'cted, o'.t icr in the Id or the young, when it is offered. How did that father's heart reproach him that so often he had prayed no ineffectually, be cause less fervently ? Hive uot other pi rents similar cause for reproach ' How the Ch'liren Lie. Not long ago a minister wrote me about "Little Annie," a sweet girl only four years old who died a littlo while since. Just before she died, lie looked upward with a learning face, and whispered : ' One way one littlu way.' 'Where Anuic?' her mother inquired. To Jesus Christ !' replied the child, and shortly after she died. How beautiful JJ1- A...iM itei. t oung as she was, Jesus opened her eyes, and showed her a blight path leading to his breast. Her happy soul saw it, glided from its p:de earthly home, and flew swiftly along that ' one little way to her Savior. O how little Annie's widowed mother was comforted to ee her child go home ho sweetly to meet her father who h id gone before. Another dear child, named Helen, about nine years old, was brought to the borders of the grave by a cruel uccilent. 'Pa,' said fhe, ' must I lie in the grave forever?' ' No. my child. Tho Savior will come after a while, and take jour little body up to heaven,' replied her lather. ' Does the liible s iy ;, )?' a-ked the child, as if d mbtful of the fact. Her father road thhSJ beautiful texts to her which tell of the resurrection. Helen listened with grea interest. When he had fiui.-liel reading, her face lit up with a smile, which beamed more of heaven than of earth. She bade all h.T friends ' g o l-by,' and siid, ' I'm going to my bright home;' and died. Peace, to thee, swe t Helen ! and to thee, bright ' Little Annie !' May all tny readers die as well as ye did ; but mark mo, children, to die as well, you must live as well. Vou must, like Helen, believe what the Bible say-, and then, like Annie, when you die you will see the ' one little way' to Jesus "shiuing like a sunlit pith before your eyes. . . - - St.vtb Medical Societv. Tho eighth an nual meetingof tha .Medical Society of North Carolina will bo held nt E !"nt n, on Wednes day the IGth of April, 157. 11 o
North Carolina Christian Advocate (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 2, 1857, edition 1
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