THE FlOWcS COLLECTION
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PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY A COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA COiN FERENCE, M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. RUFUS T. HEFLIN, Editor.
W9
3,
SI 50 a Year.ia Advance.
0
(Original
For the X. C. Christian Advocate.
Proselytism and Proselyters.
NUMBER VIII.
Mr. Editor : I will proceed to
state and argue one other position, viz :
VII. The system of proselytism
involves its agents in the most censur
able inconsistency ; and also, often
places the proselyted in a false, and
consequently, an injurious position.
In my last article, I showed that
when persons leave one religious com
munion and join another, unless where
thoy are clearly influenced by consci
entious motives, they, in nine cases out
of ten, become the subjects of suspi
cion and doubt. In the
very
nature
of the thins according to the law of
the mind this must be the case. We
are bound to believe that every intel
ligent, honest person, acts from en
lightened
joining a
and proper motives. The
Church is one of the most
solemn and important acts in human
life. Here, if any where on the whole
stage of moral action, the conduct
should be governed by principle, since
he who can consummate such an act
carelessly and insincerely, is capable
of any enormity. When the connec
tion is once formed, any subsequent
change must result from a conscientious
conviction of duty, or sinister motives. an affirmation may be excused in those
Such changes are always the subjects laymen, who have never examined into
of inquiry and animadversion. Public ; the subject ; but when employed by a
opinion will scrutinize and determine ' clergyman a proselyter it is wholly
the motives that influence such altera- j inexcusable. They must know better ;
tions in ecclesiastical connections ; and, ' they cannot be ignorant of the fact,
nine times out of ten, the verdict is j they are as wide apart as the poles :
detrimental to the character of the per- and that they differ in points vital and
vert, especially if the convert be a min- essential. When, therefore, the Prose
ister. This has been the case from the ; lyter makes such an assertion, he is
beginning, and will continue to be the either grossly ignorant, or morally dis
ease. honest.
The Proselyter professes great friend- j He is equally at fault in the matter
ship for, and the deepest interest in the
honor and welfare of those whom he i
seeks to convert over to his party. Is
it consistent with friendship to place ;
our friends in a position which subiects :
them to such a process and its results ?
lo draw them away from those who imparts character and grace ; that it is
love and confide in them, and inveigle : essential to the being and well-being of
them into a connection where their mo- j the Church ; and that those who are
tives are suspected, their sincerity and not episcopally consecrated, are not or
fidelity mistrusted ; and their moral j dained at all ; and that they " have no
sensibilities if any such remain in- ! Church, no ministry, no sacraments :"
suited ? if the unfortunats perverts j or a3 archbishop Whately expresses it
are quiet and peafeable : if thev avow i " AnJ nil P.hviai-;.ro (o nwi
love iur win to tneir guardian do not come under this description,
friends, they are suspected of, and j
chp-ged with a want of interest in, and
real for the new faith : or if, as is al
most universally the case, they affect
more than ordinary devotion to their
new religious requite, and are rather
extra in their denunciations of the old
a course usually dictated by con
sciences ill-at-ease then they come
under censures like the following
" Xever are such intolerant denuncia-
tions against our brethren of other folds
heard from the lip3 of old churchmen, j
as are uttered by those who have re-
cently joined us from the churches they j
anathematize." (Dr. Lewis.) "Some
who have come among u3 from the '
Methodists, having lost their freshness I
in the process of sobering down, seem
to have thought the Church a good
place for 'dry sticks.' Others again
have retained much of their power,
though pjrobably none have ever sought
our pulpits for the purpose of becom
ing more effective preachers." (Memo
rial to the House of Bishops, 1853.)
Mark you, this is the judgment, not of
those whom these Methodist ministers
and laymen have left, but of those to
whom they have gone. What inconsis
tency to seek to draw them into such a
position !
I presume the Immersionists are not
different in this respect from the
Churchmen ; they too unless indeed
they differ from all other men have
their suspicions and doubts, and these
will come to the surface on the slightest
commotion of their body. In proof of
this, take the following against I)r
E" uller, who committed the great crime
ot recognizing the validity of immer
sion administered by a Pedobaptist :
" Dearly as we love him ardently as
we admire him a thousand times bet
ter had he remained an Episcopalian,
and far better every minister and mem
ber quietly leave our ranks to-day,
than to thus betray us by ingenious
sophisms into the hands of our enemies.
This pitiable wail, and the reference to
Dr. Fuller's former connection, bespeak
the secret distrust of the true Baptist
element.
I now appeal to sober, candid think
ers and ask, Is it consistent with friend
ship and love to proselyte persons to
parties and creeds, where they are sub
jected to such suspicions and reflec
tions ? And yet, those who proselyte
them, surely knoio that such a state of
feeling must and will follow, a change
of Church connection. Inconsistency
is a mild terra to apply to those who
are engaged in the unholy work of pros
elyting : duplicity, would probably be
more appropriate.
The Proselyter assumes for the doc
trines and ordinances of his Church an
excellence and perfection unequalled
by any others considers them the ne
plu3 ultra of Church organization.
Other Churches are defective in doc-
trine do not hold and set forth the
whole truth, and unscriptural in the ad
ministration of their ordinances : and
yet, in order to secure his ends, he will
either compromise and conceal the doc
trines of his Church, or receive as
members persons whose views are the
very reverse of those held and taught
by his Church.
If the proselyter is a Churchman, he
will studiously keep out of sight the
most objectionable tenets of his party ;
such as baptismal regeneration, the
gift of the Holy Spirit in confirmation ;
and the maturity of grace and strength
through means of the eucharist. He
will proclaim in the blandest manner,
that the doctrines of his Church and
those of the Methodist are very similar
almost identical ; and that the prin
cipal difference is in regard to ordina
tion. The Methodists, he will say,
believe in the validity of his ordination,
but he cannot believe in theirs ; con
sequently it would be no sacrifice of
principle for a Methodist to become an
j Episcopalian ; but it would be a great
and vital surrender of principle for an
Episcopalian to become a Methodist
In this way he seeks to deceive, and to
make proselytes to his party.
It is a very common saying among
Churchmen and I am sorry to say the
same is sometimes in the mouths of
some Methodists, that the doctrines
of the Episcopal and Methodist
Churches are almost identical. Such
of ordination. Here as on the subject
of doctrines, there is a wide and im
portant difference. Churchmen believe
that the virtue of ordination resides in
an
unbroken succession of Bishops :
that when episcopally administered, it
( our possessing what they call Apos-
tolic Succession,'") are to be regarded
either a3 outcasts from ' the Household
of Faith,' or at best in a condition
analogous to that of the Samaritans
of old,' who worshipped on Mount Ge
rizim, or as in an 'intermediate state be
tween Christianity and Heathenism,'
and a3 'left to the uncovenanted mer
cies of God.' " (Apostolic Succession,
p. 120.) Methodists believe that suc
cession is a figment of popery an idle
tale ; that ordination imparts neither
character nor grace, but is a simple
designation to a specific work ; that it
is not necessary to the being of the
Church ; and that when performed by
Elders it is scriptural ordination, and
consequently the Uhurcnes -thus con
stituted are jus divinum Churches of
Jesu3 Christ our Lord. The prosely
ter knows all this, and hence, when he
asserts a similarity, an almost identity
between the doctrines and usages of his
Church and that of the Methodist, he
affirms what he knows is not so, and
when he says the latter opinions may
be substituted by the former without
the sacrifice of principle, he is either
a dolt or deceiver.
If the Proselyter, happens to be an
Immersionist, he will tell those whom
he desires to proselyte, that all Chris
tians concede the point, that their bap
tism is a true and scriptural ordi
nance ; that for him to change his
Church relationship would be a sacri
fice of principle seeing he does not
consider affusion and infant sprinkling
valid; but that they (Pedobaptists)
may change without sacrificing princi
ple. This is certainly assuming a great
deal for Baptists, but awarding very
little to Pedobaptists. But the above
assumptions are deceptive and false.
The first, viz : that all Christians con
cede that immersion is true and scrip
tural, is deceptive, in as much as it pre
sents a part, and not the whole truth
of the case. Pedobaptists may, indeed.
allow that immersion is a scriptural
baptism, though some have very strong
doubts about the matter ; but they do
not admit, as the Baptists contend and
what they always means when they
speak of immersion that it is the only
true and scriptural baptism : on the
contrary, they believe and teach, that j
sprinkling and pouring are equally
scriptural and valid. Now, in giving
this garbled view of the matter, the
proselyter acts a deceitful part, and
seeks to impose upon the assumed ig
norance of those whom he desires to
convert over to his party.
The latter assumption in the forego
ing, viz : that Pedobaptists, in joining
the Baptists sacrifice no principle, is
false. The enlightened and conscien
tious Pedobaptists as firmly believe that
sprinkling and pouring are Christian
baptism, as the Baptists do that im
mersion is. If, therefore, he join the
Baptists, he must of necessity not only
deny, but ignore and condemn his
former faith, bv dishonoring his first
5 -r.
baptism. And is there no
sacrifice or
principle here ?
But again, if a Methodist join the
Baptists, he must, in order to be consis
tent, not only ignore his first faith and
dishonor his original baptism, but he
must believe in election, reprobation,
effectual calling," and the final perse
verance of the Saints aye, in the
damnation of immaculate infants.
(Confession of Faith, A. D. 1742, pp.
20, 28, 33, 34, 35, 44.) Does such a
change of opinion the adoption of
these doctrines involve no sacrifice of
priciple ?
And again, the person who becomes
a Baptist, must not only abandon his
former faith and doctrines, but h is
required to turn his back upon the altar
of his father, mother, brothers and
sisters, and refuse to commemorate with
them the death and resurrection of our
common Lord aye, he may not re
cognize them as true Christians, if
Christians at all. And yet, all these
things are to be done, and still, no
sacrifice of principle is demanded ! !
What do they mean by principle ?
Perhaps they do not comprehend the
import of the term
Virginia.
EPISTOLEUS.
a.
How God Saved a Praying Merchant
from Bankruptcy.
Mr. S. was a master manufacturer in
the neighborhood of a country town. His
character for integrity stool very high in
the public esteem. Ho was truly one of
whom it might be said, his enemies could
find nothing against him but what con
cerned the law of his God. In all benevo
lent societies he took the lead ; of Sabbath
schools and prayer meetings in the town
and its vicinity he was the zealous promo
ter. 'Zealous in every good work" seemed I
his imttj. While he wis goiniron in untir-1
iug diligence in his Master's service, es
teem vl by all tho friea Is of Jesus in the
neighborhood, and respected for his unim
peachable consistency, even by those who
disliked his religion, there happened to be
one of those disastrous convulsions in
trade which have produced so much dis
tress in this commercial country. Fail
rires became fearfully frequent; the banks,
alarmed, refused pecuniary assistance, or
doled it ou' sparingly and distrustfully
manv never doubted before; the produce
of the honesi luauoiry of years, the losses
of a week swept away ; and so wiie.sprea(j.
iug was the wreck, that I have heard a ricti
and pious friend remark, that he was ac
customed to thank God when the usual
time for delivering letters passed by, and
he received no new intimations of fresh
disasters.
Daring this appalling crisis, a large com
mercial company in the city of be
came embarrassed. It was known in the
town where Mr. S. resided, and he had ex
tensive dealings with the firm ; hence his
solvency became suspected, and with all
the shrinking of one who prized a good
D ime, at the prospect of bankruptcy, our
friend had to anticipate its probability.
One forenoon he visited Mr. It. his inti
mate acquaintance and fellow office-bearer
in the Church, and with a heavy heart an
nounced that the branch of the bank in
the town had refused to discount a bill, and
as most of his funds were locked up by the
state of the affairs of his correspondents
in , he saw no help for it, but that he
must become insolvent. He added, that
nothing affected him more than the injury
religion might sustain by his failure; for
those who sought to scoff would not con
sider his embarrassment had arisen thro'
the conduct of others, but would hint dis
honesty and exclaim 'All are hypocrites,
and those who make the loudest professions
are the worst.' He took leave of his friend,
observing, his only recourse was in God,
who he knew was able to prevent the catas
trophe he feared was inevitable.
lie had not been gone many minutes
when Mr. Ii., standing at the door of his
shop, was accosted by Dr. 11., a medical
gentleman, who had acquirred a large for
tune abroad, and had lately returned to re
side in his native land. That man was an
avowed deist. He would even sometimes
intimate by sarcastic objections, doubts of
the existenee of a God, and disbelief of a
future state. He manifested violent hos
tility to religion, stigmatized all professors
of religion as designing hypocrites or im
becile dupes, and delighted to hold up
those who were decidedly godly, as objects
of public scorn and contempt. He was al
so a selfish, close-fisted, hard-bearted miser,
who sternly repelled every application for
assistance to the poor and needy. When
this notorious scoffer stopped to address
Mr. II. in his usual jeering manner, he
said : 'You have an uncommonly long face
to-day ; your aspect is peculiarly sour and
doleful. Have your vaunted religious con
solations failed 1 Has your God been un
propitious ? What is the matter?'
liy an impulse which he could not very
well account for at the time, Mr. R. plain
ly told this enemy, who might have been
expected to gloat over the information that
the cause of the mental distress visible in
his countenance was that the banks had re
fused to discount Mr. S.'s bills, and his
friend must become bankrupt. i
'That must not be allowed,' suddenly ex
claimed Dr. II. 'With all his fuss about
religion, all his wild and ill-directed zeal,
S. is a sincere enthusiast, and a strictly
honest man, he must not be crushed in
this manner.'
lie hurried away, soon after called at
Mr. S.'s house and inquired if he were at
home. Mrs. S. told him her husband, she
supposed, had gone to a neighboring town
to request the assistance of their relations.
'When he returns,' said the doctor, 'give
him this letter and my best wishes.'
But instead of applying to human friends
"n Dr. S. had determined first to aDnlv to his
TT , vtv,nl i,0i ; u-'
cy, and appeale
to his all sufficient pray
Ile had procured the
er-hearing God.
keys of a chapel
anddocked himself in, to
be excluded fran
all interruption : and
there alone, witl
his God, he had been en
gaged about an liour m earnest supplica
tion, wrestling fritn trie liora ot Trovi-
dence, who had 111 control, aad innumera
ble resources at lis command, to interpose
for his relief, am prevent the Redeemer's
cause from suffer ng through his calamity.
After having tri 1 the efficacyof believing
prayer, he came iome, and his wife gave
him the letter fr a Dr. H. With surprise
and apprehension be opened the packet,
and there was si order from the Doctor on
his fund bfJXskrJ0 the. amount that
Mr. S. requiretfilHad been refused.
Along with this, there was a. note encour
aging him to keep tr his spirits, for the
writer engaged to bring him seeurely
through all his tempral difficulties. This
timely, yet most une:pected aid, was amply
sufficient to avert the threatening and
dreadful catastrophe
Was not the hnd of an overruling
Providence visible a this ? Was not as
sistance from such i quarter somewhat like
Elijah's being fed by the ravens ? Was
not that weliauthnticated fact a striking
demonstration of he efficacy of 'the pray
er of faith V
When may weExpect a Revival ?
1. When ministers deeply feel and
lament their insoSciency for their work.
2. When thr diligently search the
Scriptures thafrthey may learn what is
the mind of the Spirit what they
should preaefcfSJ ieT..
3. When tiey earnestly pray for
guidance and srength from above, un
der the firm cmviction that they can
do nothing of themselves.
4. When tiey have inexpressible
longings after a greater conformity to
the Spirit of the gospel, both as to
themselves and the oembers of their
charge.
5. When the burlen of souls presses
upon them with a eight seemingly be
yond endurance, md renders their in
tercessions at the throne of grace in
tense on their behalf.
G. When they mingle great fidelity
with great tenderness in warning sin
ners to flee from the wrath to come,
and in urging upon Christians the duty
of living near to Christ.
7. When they, are vigilant in seek
ing j'prwftinf)fBS to -commend tlio gos
pel both by word and deed.
We may also expect a revival,
1. When the office-bearers of the
church are rady to co-operate with
their minister in spiritual labors, warn
ing, reproviig, and exhorting with all
longt sufferirg and doctrine.
2. When they fully realize what is
meant by ruling well, and by being an
example to all the JlocTc.
3. When they show their faith by
their works so speaking and acting
and living, is to commend the gospel
to others.
4. When :hey shrink from no duty
to which they are called in the provi
dence of Goi, and when they look to
him for grace both to bear and do his
will.
We may also eynera revival,
1. When ta4nemb'er3 of the church
begin to be sersible that they have not
duly appreciated the privileges of their
high calling, as the son3 and daughters
of the Lord Aliiighty.
2. When this' leads them to the re
newal of their covenant vows and
when the closet is found the most ap
propriate place for this renewal each
one examining himself there, a3 well
as earnestly praying for light and
grace.. -
3. When the sanctuary is their de
light when tiey enter into its devo
tions with earnestness and solemnity ;
and when they listen to the Word with
self-ap plication.? nd with earnest prayer
that it may be effectual for their edifi
cation, and for the furtherance of the
gospel.
4. Whero'Xvu their need of the
Snirit.'a niti nr srWd whftn with earn-
-j I - - -V
estness and ftr;" perseverance they
supplies te the throne of grace for
this promised blessing.
Let ministers and people ponder
these answers to the question, When
may we expect a revival ? And if they
desire it and will ask it, the fidelity of
God i3 pledged to answer their request.
For he has said "Ask and ye shall re
ceive." And for our encouragement
he has assured us that he is "more
ready to give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask him, than earthly parents are
to give good gift3 to their children."
Central Presbyterian.
German Baptist Love-feasts.
The German Baptists hold love-feasts
similar to the Methodists. The Watch
man and Reflector thus describes the
ceremony : "It cossistsjof a single meal
of bread, cakes, and a cup of tea or cof
fee, accompanied by singing and speak
ing. Quite a number of brethren get
up at these occasions, to relate some
thing about their spiritual conflicts and
triumphs, their views of the prospective
growth of their cause, and their antici
pations of heavenly joy and glory. It
will, doubtless, be conceded by every
one, who has attended such a love
feast, that it is a foretaste of the unio1;
of the redeemed in heaven."
The "Purgatorian Society."
Can it be believed that there exists
in the enlightened city of New York,
in the year of our Lord 1857, and un
der the approbation of his "grace the
archbishop of New York," a society
the object of which is "to provide a
fund that when one of its members dies,
they can have several masses offered
for the repose of his soul ?" It seems
incredible to Protestants at this late
day, and yet the existence and objects
of such a Society are certified by a
printed card lying before us.
In this we are told that, "for the
convenience of persons desirous of join
ing this association, a register will be
kept at several churches in this city
wherein the names of members are to
tributing fifty c$nts a 'year "sh jil be en-1
titled to the following benefit3 : name
ly, two masses each month shall be of
fered for the grace of a happy death
of all the members ; and on the death
ot a memoer, the hrst eight masses
that are said for the society shall be of
fered for the repose of the soul of the
last deceased. By forming this inten
tion, all of the members are equally
provided for at death, though thous
ands of miles distant.'' And then fol
low three prayers. Each of them
would occupy about one line in this col
umn, of which it is promised, "as often
as you repeat them you gain three hun
dred days indulgence," that is from the
pains of purgatory ! ! which the docu
ment informs us i3 a "fiery furnace."
Is it not a sad reflection to Bible
loving Christians, that there are thous
ands among us, with the Bible open
before them' containing not one word
of such a place as Purgatory, who con
tribute annually of their means to es
cape its imaginary fires, instead of ap
plying directly to the blood of Christ
for that cleansing which alone will fit
them for heaven ? How earnestly
should Christians labor and. pray for
the universal diffusion of "the truth as
it is in Jesus."
American Messenger.
True Contentment.
In this age of restlessness and wild
speculation, when so many are search
ing eagerly for happiness, and sighing,
after numerous disappointments, "Who
will show us any good ?" it is refresh-
ing to meet with a contented jnnstian
heart, which has found true peace by
living m constant communion with God.
In one of our exchanges we find the
following :
Said a venerable farmer, some eighty
years old, to a relative who had lately
visited him : "I have lived on this farm
for more than a half century. I have
no desire to change my residence as
long as I live on earth. I have no de
sire to be any richer thaa I now am.
I have worshiped the God of my fath
ers with the same people for more than
forty years. During the time I have
rarely been absent from the sanctuary
on the Sabbath, and have never lost
one communion season. I have never
been confined to my bed by sickness a
single day. The blessings of God have
been richly spread around me, and I
made up my mind long ago that, if I
wished to be happier, I must have more
religion."
Pious Gamblers.
One of the most amusing instances
of external piety we remember to have
witnessed, was in a Madrid club, where
every night, toward 12 o'clock, a rouge-et-noir
table opens. Occasionally it
has happened that when the game was
at the hottest, the table strewn with
gold and notes, eagerness to be read
on the flusned countenances that craned
over the green cloth, there was heard
in the street without the tinkle of the
bell that announces the passage of the
host. Instantly the game was suspen
ded, the gamblers knelt upon their
chairs, or on the floor, and crossed
themselves and mumbled prayers, while
the consecrated wafer passed on its way
to some dying man's bedside. The
sound of the bell and of the steps of
the priests grew fainter, and as it died
away the gamblers resumed their
seats, again grasped their gold and
stretched their necks, and once more
it was "Rouge gagne et lacouleur."
Blackwood.
Pastoral Visiting
"There is a charm in the week-day
services of a parish minister, which has
ot been duly estimated, either by phi
lanthropists or patriots. His official
and recognized character turnishes him
with a ready passport to every habita
tion ; and he will soon find that a visit
to the house of a parishioner is the su
rest way of finding access to his heart.
Even the hardiest and most hopeless
in vice, cannot altogether withstand
this influence ; and at times, in their
own domestic history, there are oppor
tunities ; whether by sickness, or disas
ter, or death, which afford a weighty
advantage to the Christian kindness
that is brought to bear upon them.
His week-day attentions and their Sab
bath attendance go hand in hand. It
is thus that a house-going minister wins
for himself a church-going people-'
Dr. Chalmers.
' Paying for a Bible.
A missionary lodged one night in the j
house ot a gentleman among the moun
tains of Kerry, in Ireland. In the
morning, as he stood beside his host,
looking over the wild and beautiful
i. .1 1, 1
uuuuiry, mey saw a snepneru tending
some sheep at a little distance. The
gentleman pointed him out to the mis
sionary. 'There is Peter,' said he, 'one of the
shrewdest men we have in the district.'
Then the missionary went up to him,
entered into a conversation, and gave
him a tract in Irish. A few weeks after
he and Peter met again.
'I've swallowed the tracts,' said the
latter.
'If I gjve you an Irish Bible, will you
swpjlovf that ?'
buy it7
'Well, I've got two or three.'
'What is the price ?'
'The price I ask is this : When God
shall strike the light and love of it in t
your heart, that you will teach six men
like yourself to love the Bible.' And
Peter took it.
Some time after an Englishman, ac
companied by the missionary, started
across the mountains. Just before them
was Peter.
'Och !' said he, 'but your riverence
is welcome so early.'
'Why Peter, what are you doing
here ?'
'Sure, I'm doing honestly; I'm pay
ing for the book !
And on the top of the mountain,
where by this time it was broad day
light, he led them to the hay stack, be
hind which were six Roman Catholic
men, away from the eye of the priest,
waiting for Peter to teach them the
word of God.
Don't Forget to Pray.
A lady who had charge of young
persons not of kindred blood, became
on one occasion perplexed with regard
to her dutv. She retired to her own
room to meditate, and being grieved in
spirit, laid her head on a table and
wept bitterly. She scarcely perceived
her little daughter seated quietly in
one corner. Unable to bear the sight
of her mother's distress, she stole softly
to her side, and taking her hand in
both of her own, said, 'Mamma once
you taught me a pretty hymn :
'If e'er you meet with trials,
Or troubles on the way,
Then cast your care on Jesus,
And don't forget to pray.' "
The counsel of the little monitor was
taken, the relief came. The mother
was repaid for rightly training her
child, by having her becom,e her own
blessed teacher. 'Out of the mouth of
babes and sucklings, God has ordained
praise. Sayings of Little ones.
The Shadows of an Awful Winter.
The following eloquent extract is taken
from a discourse lately delivered by Rev.
E. II. Chapin to his congregation in New
York;
"It ia not the ruined merchant merely
it is not the spectacle of depreciated prop
erty and lost credit, and the manifold dis
comforts of usual bankruptcy that most
make us shudder and grow sad. Around
the gloomy shadow there is still a darker
rim. Away down below the platform of
financial transactions there looms a sea of
faces these faces of working men and
arking women, looking up among the
stopped machinery of the factories, and
the silence of the ship-yards, and all the
desolations of suspended labor; looking up
to the shadows of an awful winter overcast
ing them. Men and brethren, what shall
we do for those whese hard earned dollac
are not merely honor and credit, but bread
and blood and life itself? What shall we
do for the poorest of babes, that must soon
hang on the wilted breasts of famine, and
for the women for whom we must say
something more than 'God bless them I'
Ah, yes, a financial crisis is a matter for
tears and shuddering, as well as for arith
metic and rumor."
Stick Together!
A KOTME FOR THE TIME.
When midst the wrack of fire and smoke,
When cannons rend the skies asunder,
And fierce dragoons with quickening stroke
Upon the reeling regiment thunder,
The ranks close up to sharp command,
'Till helmet's feather touches feather;
Compact, the furious shock they stand
And conquer, for they stick together.
When now mid clouds of woe and want
Our comrade's wails ri e fast and faster,
And charging madly on our front
Come the black legions of Disaster,
Shsill wc present a wavering band
And fly like leaves before wild weather 1
No ! side by side, and hand in hand
We'll stand our ground and stick together!
God gave us hands one left, one right ;
The first to help ourselves, the other
To stretch abroad in kindly might
And help along our faithful brother.
Then, if you see a brother fall
And bow his head beneatn tne weatuer,
If you be not a dastard all,
You'll help him up, and stick together.
Stranger to a little boy Well, my
little son, ain t yoj lost r
Little boy, stepping back and eyeing the
stranger Look here, mister, don't be so
familiar, if you please, I am not unprotec
ted laying his band on a revolver you
must remember I am a gentleman !
Don't Deny the Lord.
An Incident. We. doubt whether
the whole history of martyrdom con
tains any incident more sublimely beau
tiful than the following, narrated in a
letter by a British officer in India :
"When the wretched 6th Regiment
mutinied at Allahabad and murdered
their officers, an ensign only 16 years
of age, who was left for dead among
the rest, escaped in the darkness3 to a
neighboring ravine. Hero he found a
stream, the waters of which sustained
his life for four days and nights. Al
though desperately wounded, ho con
trived to raise himself into a tree during
the night for protection from wild beasts.
Poor boy ! he had a high commission
to fulfill before death released him from
his sufferings.
VQ'-UkefifthfiajrJ ,
and dragged Dythe brutal sepuys ue
fore one of their leaders to have the
light in him extinguished. 1 here he
found another prisoner, a Christian cat
echist, formerly a Mahomedan, whom
the Sepoys were endeavoring to tor
ment and terrify into a recantation.
"The firmness of the native was giv
ing away as he knelt amon his perse
cutors, with uo human sympathy to sup
port him. The boy officer, after anx
iously watching him for a fchort time,
cried out, "Oh, my friend, come what
may, do not deny the Lord Jesus !"
Just at this moment the alarm of a
sudden attack by the gallant Colonel
Neille,with his Madras Fusiliers, caus
ed the instant flight of the murderous
fanatics. The catechist's life was saved.
He then turned to bless the boy whoso
faith had strengthened his faltering
spirit. But the young martyr had pass
ed beyond the reach of human cruelty.
He had entered into rest.
All the way by which the Lord thy God
led thee.
When we reach a quiet dwelling
On the strong eternal hill,
And our praise to Him is swelling
Who the vast creation fills ;
When the paths of prayer and duly.
And affliction, all are trod,
And we wake and see the beauty
Of our Saviour and our God;
With the light of resurrection,
When our changed bodies glow,
And we gain the full perfectiou
Of the bhs begun below ;
When the life that 'flesh' obscureth
Iu each radiant form shall shine,
And the joy that aye endureth
Flashes forth in beams divine ;
While we wave the palms of glory
Through the long eternal years,
Shall we e'er forget the story
Of our mortal grief and fears ?
Shall we e'er forget the sadness.
And the clouds that hung so dim,
When our hearts are filled with gladness,
And our tears are dried by him ?
Shall the memory be banish'd
Of his kindness and his care,
When the wants and woes are vanish'd
Which he loved to sooth and share ?
AH the way by which He led us,
All the grieviogs which He bore,
All the patient love He taught us,
Shall we think of them no more?
Yes ! we surely shall remember
How be quickened us from death
How he fann'd the dying ember
With His Spirit's glowitg breath.
We shall read the tender meauing
Of the sorrows and alarms.
As we trod the desert, leaning
On his everlasting arms.
And His rest will be the dearer
When we think of weary ways,
And His light will seem the clearer
As we muse on cloudy days.
0, 'twill be a glorious morrow
To a dark and stormy day !
We shall recollect our sorrow
As the streams that pass away.
Can a minuter Marry a
man?
Divorced Wo
Rev. Mr, Shields of Iowa, haviog been
silenced by the Presbytery of Des Moines
for marrying a woman who had been di
vorced by the laws of Iowa, applied to tho
Synod, and his appeal was sustained. The
Synod expresses its opinion that tho action
of the Prosbytery was correct i j form, and
suggested by a laudable zeal ia tho ser
vice of the church ; and although sustain
ing Mr. Shields, does not approvo of his
marriage, as is shown by the following res
olution :
Resolved, That in restoring Rev. J. II.
Shields to his former position in the gos
pel ministry, the Synod should not be un
derstood as approving tho contracting of
marriage, especially by ministers of the
gospel, with persons divorced for whatever
cause, believing that such marriages im
pair usefulness, influence and sUndiag.nnd
bring into question the purity and wisdom
of the parties thereto.
Nature and Faith.
Nature sees the body dead ;
Faith beholds the spirit Jied;
Nature stops at Jordan's tide;
Faith can see the other side;
That but hears farewell and sighs ,
This, thy welcome in the f,kies ;
Nature mourns tho cruel blow ;
Faith assures it is uot so ;
Nature never sees thee more ;
Faith but sees thee gone before,
Nature reads a dismal story ;
Faith has visions full of glory;
Nature views the change with sadness;
Faith contemplates it with gladness ;
Nature murmurs; fa ith gives meekness;
' Strength is perfected in weakness ;'
Nature writhes and hates the rod ;
Faith looks up and blesses God ;
That looks downwards, this above ;
That sees luirhnts, this sees love.
Rev. Robert Pedcn.
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