1
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PUBLISHE I. WEEKLY BY A COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR THE METHODIST EPIS COPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. RTJFUS T. HEFLUT, Editor.
R ALEIGH, THUrTs DAY. MA RclflTTTiTg?
$1.50 a year, in advance.
VOL. IV NO. 11.
j
ADVOCA
ORIGINAL.
For the N. C. Christian Advocate
What is to be Done I
Pear no. TIkflin: As you, ami per
haps other ministers, have been placed in
the same unpleasant position in which I
am at this- time, I would he glad to receive
from you a little information so that I may
take such steps as shall be for the glory of
God. Any minister who may read this
wi 1 confer a favor by giving his views on
what I shall mention below.
In the first place, I am pained by the
knowledge that some of my members have
engaged in dancing since my predecessor
left this circuit. They contend there is no
harm in it, and when I show them that
nothing but evil can possibly result from
such a course, and that they are liable to
be tried before the church for their conduct,
they reply that the word of God does not
forbid it, nor the Methodist discipline in
positive terms. And if I try persons for
doing that which is not forbidden in ex
press terms, and am such a lover of disci
pline, why do I not try those who daily
violate a positive command. For example,
many wear gold, many have no family
prayer, some refuse to take the sacrament
of the Lord's supper ; nearly all fail to at
tend class, now why not bring these before
the church ? And there I am stuck fast.
What must I do ? It will never do to show
partiality. It will not do to enforce our
rule of inference, and let four positive ones
be laid aside. Shall I take up the Wes
leyan plan and make all conform to disci
pline 'I ' If you do,' says one, ' you will
not have a dozen members left.' But I re
ply, had we not better have a few who are
true to their profession than many who are-pull-backs
to the church ? I think as long
as we pretend to have a discipline for the
governing of our members, some regard
should be shown to its demands. ' But
our rules at present are behind the times.'
"Why, then, did not the General Confer
ence say so, and give us others that would
suit the times ? Why, in the name of
common sense, were they left, to make
every preacher blush who reads them be
fore the Societies and the public congrega
tion ? I hope that all the ministers who
belong to the Methodist church will think
on this matter, and inquire if they are ful
filling their obligations to the church and
to God, while they suffer the rules of the
church to be broken with impunity. May
God give wisdom and power to do that
which is right.
Yours in Christ,
HENRY HAMMET.
March 2nd, 1859.
Remakes. The members referred to
may be up with the times, but they are be
hind the gospel. Those who have the
spirit of Christ will eschew evil. Dancing
is expressly prohibited. See new Disci
pline, p. 101. Those who uill dance,
should dance out of the church, to such
music as the devil furnishes for them.
"When a member has fallen into these evils,
give him time and inducement to repent
then deal with him as an offender. Each
preacher is solemnly pledged to execute
discipline ; the neglect of others does not
absolve him. Thus much, merely by way
of notes to the article of our worthy corre
spondent, lie has suggested a train of
thought to fill a volume, for which we have
not space in these columns. Editor.
For the N. C. Christian Advocate.
Eating Blood.
"But flesh with the life thereof, which
is the Blood thereof, shall ye not eat ?"
Gen. ix, 4.
Thus spake the great Law-Giver to No
ah, immediately after the flood.
"And whatsoever man there be of the
house of Israel, or of the strangers that so
journ among you, that eateth any manner
of blood, I will even set my face against
that soul that cateth blood, and will cut
him off from among his people. For the
life of the ficsh is in the blood." Leviti
cus, 17."
Here we have the Law as spoken by
God himself, by the mouth of his servant,
Moses. Has this law ever been repealed ?
Where is the evidence? Let me ask, in
all sincerity, where is the evidence to be
found, so direct in favor of the perpituity
of the moral Law, as may be adduced in
favor of the perpetuity of this Law con
cerning blood ?
There is a letter in the Acts of the Apos
tles which contains a great deal of excel
lent advice in a very small compass, and I
propose, for the benefit of modern blood
eaters, to copy it entire. Let it be borne
in mind that this letter was written to the
Gentile converts, after the Christian dis
pensation had been fully inaugurated.
Let those who wish to understand the cir
cumstances under which tha letter was
written, read the chapter entire.
" The Apostles, and Elders, and Breth
ren, send Greeting unto the Brethren
which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and
Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have
heard that certain persons which went out
from us have troubled you with words,sub
verting your souls, saying, ye must be cir
cumcised, and keep the Law : to whom we
I gave no such commandment : It seemed
j good unto us, being assembled with one
j accord, to send chosen men unto you, with
our beloved Barnabas and Paul. Men
J that hath hazarded their lives for the name
! of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent,
j therefore J udas and Silas, who shall also
j tell you the same things by mouth. For
it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to
us, to lay upon you no greater burden than
these necessary things. That ye abstain
from meats offered to idols, and from blood
and from things strangled, and from forni
catiou, from which if ye keep yourselves,
ye shall do well. Fare ye well !" Acts
15.
It is said that when this Epistle was read
to those for whom it was intended, they re
joiced for the consolation. Though blood
was forbidden, they rejoiced on account of
the liberty allowed tlera as christians.
Wonder if those who have been feasting
on Blood Puddings during the winter,
would rejoice under similar circumstan
ces ?
We say that the ten commandments are
binding, and so they are, but where have
they been formally so declared to be, by a
council of the Apostles ? In view of the
prohibitions in the old Testament, and the
above letter in the New, how can any chris
tian, real or nominal, reconcile it to his
conscience to eat blood ?
L. W. MARTIN.
(We are inclined to the opinion that the
prohibition to eat blood is still in force.
And we are sure that such prohibition is
sustained by considerations of health and
of decency and of humanity. Ed.)
For the JV. C. Christian Advocate.
Iteacl, Think, and Act.
3Ien of clear heads and pure hearts have
written much for the good of man, and still
they write and speak to him in different ca
pacities warning him of his danger.
But the subject upon which we propose
making a few remarks, is not new by any
means. We wish to call the attention of
the reader to the all important subject of
Class-meeting a meeting in which every
true Methodist should feel the deepest in
terest. Class-meeting is a most powerful lever
in the support of Methodism, but by some
means, who can tell what ? this effective le
ver has been for years, growing weaker
and weaker. Upon whom does the fault
rest ?
We see in the last number of the Advo
cate that two class-leaders complain, be
cause their members will not meet them in
class. Who is to blame for this neglect of
duty ? We think the whole church, both
preachers and laymen are to blame.
There are but few ministers, we believe,
who ever speak of class-meeting, much less
meet with the classes and ask the members
thereof, what is their prospect for the bet
ter land ; in fact, Bro. Heflin, they do
not know who the members of their char
ges are. Why this state of things? Some
of our preachers shoot so high that they
seldom get any game, and forget to cry
witfi holy unction from above, "thou art
the man."
The class-leader is discouraged because
the preacher does not say anything to the
members about attending class, and per
haps tells the preacher in charge, "that he
had better appoint some one else class-leader,
for the members don't like me, and of
course will not attend class." Well now
bro. class-leader, what is the reason your
class dont like you ?
Do you manifest that interest in their
behalf tnat you should as their leader?
Do you try to get them to attend class
once a month, or are you like some of the
preachers, dont know who belongs to your
charge.
Now brethren we think this is a fearful
state of affairs and it is getting no better,
for the class-leader will suffer his members
to be at variance with each other and stay
away from class from one year's end to an
other, on that account ; and you may mark
it down, reader, as a certain fact, that
when members of the church begin to stay
away from their class- meeting voluntarily
when it is convenient for them to attend,
they are loseing what little religion they
have, and will finally backslide, if they
persist in such a course.
But let all, preachers Class-leaders and
members in general, come up to the help
at the Lord against the mighty, and the
good old gospel ship will sail on wit h more
freedom and velocity, until it shall have
laid anchor upon the soil of every land
which shall be to all people.
If there is a place on earth, that causes
man to think of heaven, it is a class-room
where the people of God meet their hearts
filled with the religion of Jesus, and tell
each other of their trials and their sure
hope of getting home "where the wicked
cease to trouble and the weary are forever
at rest."
Well, reader, perhaps we are wearying
your patience by saying so much upon
such a stale subject. But hear our last
words of advice. Let every brother and
sister go to God with humility and faith,
and get their souls filled with heart felt re
ligion, and then go to work with energy
and firmness. God's cause will prosper
his followers will be heard to say "glory
to God in the highest," while the poor
condemned sinners will be heard to ex
claim, "What must I do to be saved."
B.
For the N. C. Christian Advocate.
Number of Methodist Colleges
and Students.
The " New York Christian Intelligenc
er," has an article, copied in a recent num
ber of the ' North Carolina Presbyterian,"
under the caption, " Prayer for Institu
tions of Learning.' With the general
tone of this article all christians who read
it will be pleased. The subject is an impor
tant one and forcibly presented. There isj
however one wide mistake in its statistics,
which it gleans from the " American Al
manac for 1859." A correction of this is
j'unt to the Methodist Episcopal Church,
! South, in connection with her great edu
i cational interests, and much more likely to
I impress her members with the duty of
! prayer for her Institutions of Learning than
such unreliable statistics as are contained
in the article alluded to. It puts down
the number of Methodist Colleges in the
" United States" at " Fourteen" and the
member of the students in them at Thir
teen Hnndnd and Seve?ity-nine ! About
one and a half million of Methodists, fur
nishing such a number of young men for
their Colleges, would scarcely feel enough
interet-t for them to offer prayer in their
behalf.
Now let us turn to a more reliable source
than the " American Almanac," a source
to which it should have sought access be
fore assuming to give the reading world
the number of our Colleges and students.
I have not at present command the edu
cational reports of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, (North,) nor of the Methodist
Protestant Church in the " United States.'
This correction has reference therefore
solely to the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South. From the report of the " Com
mittee or Education" made at our last
General Conference, held in Nashville,
Tenn. May 1858, we learn the following
facts :
There are Male Colleges and Universi
ties, Twenty : certainly tuo thou sand three
hundred and ffty-tiro shidents. Female
Colleges, ticenty-seven ; with two thousand
nine hundred and fifty -pupils. Besides
these, forty-eight Male and Female High
Schools are reported, with four thousand
four hundred and twenty . tuo scholars.
Thus we find in the male Colleges of
the Methodist Church, South, alone, near
ly double the number given for the Metho
dist Church in the "United Sta'es." We
have farther a total of young men and
women, boys and girls, in our various in
stitutions, as reported at the last Genl.
Conf., of nearly ten thousand. While the
number is much smaller than it should be,
and from the Colleges and High Schools
almost daily springing into existence
smaller than it will be at any future report,
a much louder call is presented for prayer
for our "Institutions of Learning'' than
is contained in the meagre statistics of the
"American Almanack." May another
quadrennial report from our churches show
that our Institutions contain twenty thous
and students, our sister churches have
large success in the great work of training
their children for Christ, and all true
christians encircle our religious Colleges
and Schools with fervent prayer that they
may prove nurseries of an intelligent, pi
ous and useful church, through all coming
generations.
N. II. D. WILSON.
For the N. C. Christian Advocate.
Fatient Perseverance.
" And let us not be weary in welldo
ing." (Gal. 6, 9.) There was once a
Missionary and his wife, who labored for
the cause of Jesus, in a heathen country,
for many long years ; apparently without
any succes. Long had they toiled and
striven to win the love and affections of the
natives ; but all seemingly in vain. Fa
tigued and disheartened they began to con
template moving back to their native land;
thus abandoning their missionary post
Soon, however, the wife is afflicted final
ly she dies. The husband is now left
with eight or ten children to mourn their
irreparable loss. The death-like sorrow
which enshrouded that bereaved family,
can better be imagined, than described.
But, in the midst of their distress the
father and his children betake themselves
to the grave like Mary and Martha "to
weep there." There they seemed to find
some momentary relief and comfort. This
practice soon attracted the notice of the
natives. In a short time they too, were
seen, following the weeping family, at the
setting of the sun, to the grave. Standing
there in breathless silence, they gazed up
on the father and motherless children, as
they bowed round the new-made grave,
in prayer. Theyjseemed to be astonished.
Coming up neareijto kneel down. Lifting
up their eyes towards heaven, as if ear
nestly engaged ifi prayer. Finally the
large tears were sfen trickling down their
cheeks. The Spirit of God came with
power, and many were happily converted.
They carried the news abroad, and soon
others came, and yet others, until scores
were converted to frod. Thus after the mis
sionary is dead and gone to rest life spent
apparently to no 'purpose, and ages may
have passed away she may bend over
the battlements of heaven look down to
earth, and see her pious example and " la
bor of love'" leading sinners to the Cross
of Christ ; thus kindling a fire of sacred
love, that will burt to the latest genera
tion. Then, "let us not be weary in
well doing ; for in iue season we shall reap,
if we faint not."
Nothing is mfre true, than, that our
deeds do not paish and decay with our
bodies. They a'e to last, and tell either
for weal or wo, apon our eternal destiny.
We here build a character an edihee,
that is to last forever. The word of life
the good seed wa sow the pious example
we lay, and the giod influence we may
leave behind us, nuy bring forth an abun
dant harvest, for God, even ages after we
are dead and gone to Heaven. We should
go forth sowing the seeds of divine truth,
broad-cast over the earth, trusting in God,
that they may be,1 " as bread cast upon
the waters, to be- gathered many days
hence." "Let us not be weary in well
doing." W.
Cross Roads, March, 1859.
SELECTIONS.
Benefits of Discipline.
"We have two doors to our Church,"
said a discipliarian ; "one to come in at,
and the other to go out at."
Let us hope,for the sake of souls, and
for the peace a nd comfort of the Church,
that the latter door will not need to be op
ened often. 3Iay cobwebs ovcrweave it,
and swallows build their nests upon it.
Of the power and right of a Church to
try, suspend, and even expel a member
for cause, there can he no doubt, in reason
or Scripture. The tares and wheat must
grow together in the Jeld till the harvest ;
but the field there is the world, not the
sacred enclosure of the Church.
The remedy is desperate cutting off a
member from the visible body of Christ.
Surgeons of a heroic practice think noth
ing of amputating a limb. It is easier than
nursing it. There are disciplinarians who
rather plume themselves on the promptness
and boldness with which they can admin
ister ecclesiastical law and turn out. Walk
cautiously, prayerfully there !
The first step in Church trials is to pre
vent trials. Our Lord, alwaj'S tender of
souls, gives this direction which, if follow
ed, would save a vast amount of rending,
burning, and litigation :
" Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass
against thee, go and tell him his fault be
tween thee and him alone : if he shall hear
thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
" But if he will not hear thee, then take
with thee one or two more, that in the
mouth of two or three witnesses every word
may be established.
" And if he shall neglect to hear them,
tell it unto the Church ; but if he neglect
to hear the Church, let him be unto thee
as an heathen man and a publican."
A brother who has spoken evil of you,
and done improperly will often confess,
melt, and amend, if his fault be consider
ed " between thee and him alone." And
O, what a conquest .' Thou hast not only
obtained the reparation sought for, but
" thou hast gained thy brother." He that
injures you, thereby and thereafter is apt
to become your enemy. You may forgive,
but he doubts your forgiveness, and can't
forgive himself. On the contraiy, if your
first step be public, and you put him on
his trial, pride of character and self-will
may make him stout in his wrong.
If the first step fail, try another, in
which you bring more love, more moral
suasion to bear. The case is not yet made
public. You may Btill gain your brother.
If not, the way is prepared for a formal
trial before the church.
Most cases growing out of evil tempers,
and hasty words, and inconsiderate acts
will be cured at the first step ; and the
greater portion of those that pass it, will
yield at the second ; especially if they are
used in the spirit that dictated them, with
charity and prayer, and a sincere desire to
gain thy brother ; and not as mere prelimi
nary technicalities, to make way for a trial
that will have no legal flaws.
' If ye bite and devour one another,
take heed that ye be not consumed one of
another." So wrote an inspired apostle
eighteen centuries since, and it should be
sounded through the church in every age.
A member, who was engaged in a hct
quarrel with some of his brethren, a few
years ago, consulted an aged minister as
to the best Jmethod to pursue, to come off
victor in the contest. He detailed all his
plans, and, with an air of triumph, inquir
ed of the venerable man of God whether
he did not believe that, by that method,he
would be able completely " to extinguish
the opposite party?" "I have not a
doubt of it," was the reply, " and yourself,
too." He was taken completely aback by
the answer. The more he thought of it,
the deeper impresion did it make upon his
mind. He went home and brought about
a reconciliation, and saved both himself
and his opponents from extinction. Chris
tians, in biting and devouring their breth
ren, are often consumed themselves before
they are aware of it.
Yet cases undoubtedly arise, when it is
necessary for the honor of Jesus Christ
for the purity- of his religion, for a warning
to others, and for his (the offender's) own
benefit, to cut off a member from the
Church. The last sounds strangely. Cut
a man off from church privileges to do him
good ? A closer view of the subject may
lead us to see that such discipline may be as
truly blessed to the good of the wrongdoer
as to the purity and honor of the Church .
When the sentence is such as will commend
itself to the offender's conscience in the
sight of God, there is something very pow
erful in such an act. Below we give an
anecdote from the life of Dr. Andrew Ful
ler, that very happily illustrates our point
in an humble spere of life The Doctor
had made a misionary tour to Aberdeen.
We give the story in his words :
" As I ws going to the morning meeting,
I was called aside by a respectable minis
ter, and told to this effect : ' You will be
requested to baptize a woman before you
leave Aberdeen. I have no piejudice
against her on account of her being a Bap
tist ; but I think it my duty to tell you
that she was a member of one of our chur
ches in this neighborhood, and was exclu
ded for lad conduct.' 'What conduct?'
' Dishonesty toward her creditors.' ' Very
well ; I thank you for the information, and
will make a proper use of it.'
"... When the woman was introduced,
the following is the substance of what pass-
ed between us : ' Well, Margaret, you
; have lived in the world about forty years ;
: how long do you think you have known
Christ ?' ' A little more than a year.'
' What ! no longer ?' ' I think not.' ' And
have you never professed to know him be
fore that time ?' ' Yes, and was a member
of an Independent church for several years.'
' A member of a church, and did not know
Christ? how was that?' 'I was brought
; up to be religious, and diceived myself and
others in professing to be so.' ' And how
i came you to leave that church ?' I was
cut off'.' ' What, because you were a Bap
; tist V ' No ; because of my bad conduct.'
'Of what, then, had you been guilty?'
' My heart was lifted up with vanity I
got in debt for clothes and other things ;
and then prevaricated, and did many bad
things.' ' And it was for these thinsgs
they cut you off?' 'And do you think
they did right ?' ' O yes !' ' And how
come you to the knowledge of Christ at
last ?' 'When I was cut off from the
church , I sank into the deepest despon
dency I felt myselft an outcast from God
and man I wandered about, speaking, as
it were to nobody, and nobody speak
ing to me. My burden seemed heavier
than I could bear. At that time a pas
sage or two of scipture came to my mind,
and I was led to see that through the
cross of Christ there was mercy for the
chief of sinners. I wept much, and my
sin was very bitter. But I saw no reason
to despair ; for the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanseth from all sin. It is from thence
I date my conversion.' 'And do the min
ister and the church of which you were a
member know of all this ?, 'Yes., 'Why
did you not go and confess it before them,
and be restored ?' 'Partly because I have
removed my situation some miles from
them, and partly because I felt in my con
science that I was a baptist.'
"After the conversation, I saw the min
ister who had told me of her, and inform
ed him of the whole, adding that the
church in his Connection had done well in
excluding Margaret, and the Lord, I hop
ed, had blessed it to her salvation."
Suppose this woman had never been
dealt with : what else could have been ex
pected than that she would have slept on
until she had lifted up her eyes in hell ?
The discipline of the church was calculat
ed to remind her of the reality of religion,
and, being just and necessary for Christ's
honor, it touched her conscience.
Purge out the old leaven. If a church,
on account of one's social position, or for
other reasons, keep him in its fellowship
who is not endeavouring to lead anew life,
and who is a scandal to religion, that
church sinks to his level, in spirit if not
in life. Discipline reminds all of duty
and of vows ; the nature of the church is
reaffirmed ; a scandal and stumbling-block
is removed ; and the sleeping conscience
of guilt may be aroused.
Expulsion should be accompanied with
prayer ; and our excellent collection of
hymns has one suitable to such an occa
sion. Afterwards the offender should be
treated with firmness as one cut off from
the Church and yet followed with kind
ness and prayer, as one who through
abounding grace may be restored.
Nashville Ch. Advocate.
Universal ism.
The Southhern Churchman says : "What
the principles and tendencies of Universa
lism are, may be seen from the following
hymn, which was written by an Episcopal
clergyman of talents and piety, of this
State, to be sung at the dedication of a
Universalist church. The Universalists
had made a public call on the talented mu
sicians of the town nothing being said
about their religion or even morals to
assemble, for the purpose of practicing
some suitable peices of music for the oc
casion. The Episcopal clergyman not be
ing a musician, took the liberty to furnish
them with some suitable verses, and al
though the sentiments are in perfect ac
cordance withUniversalism it was deemed
unadvisable to sing them."
Sinners ! Christ at last will have you
He no wrath on you will lower ;
But his boundless love will save you
In your sins, by wondrous power:
It is able, it is able,
Pray no more.
Never pray for life eternal :
This you cannot fail to see ;
With the vilest be fraternal,
Heaven the abode of all will be.
O be joyful, O be joyful,
Heaven is free.
Free for all of every nation,
Every language, color, clime ;
None can die without salvation,
Though like Nero, welcome Nero,
Heaven is thine.
Nero might have feared that mercy
Never could his sins efface,
Now we know it is not hearsay,
Nero was a child of grace.
Happy Nero, happy Nero,
Heaven's thy place.
What a happy, motley party
Must in such a heaven convene ;
Every man, whate'er his heart be,
In that wondrous world is seen.
Tyrants, pirates knaves and murderers ;
What a scene !
-
Methodists and Presbyterians,
All their lying wonders tell :
Baptists and Episcopalians
There's no wrath we know full well.
Sing, ye sinners sing, ye sinners
There, s no hell.
'Tis this doctrine cools our frenzy,
Stays the hand to murder driven :
Who would kill a man through envy,
Thus to send the soul to heaven ?
By the knife of the assassin,
Heaven is given.
Sing, O grace is all extended,
Yes,' twill save a world from thrall :
Good and bad in one are blended
Herod, Howard, Paine and Paul.
Come ye mortals, saints and viilians,
One axd all.
The Sectarian Bible Version.
We are frequently receiving letters, es
pecially from the West, making in quiries
as to the nature and designs of the Society,
whose seat of operations is in this city, for
making a New Versson of the Holy Scip
tures. It is asserted in these letters of in
quiry, that agents of this Society arc con
stantly representing it as a non-sectarian
Society, combining in its support eminent
scholars and Christians of the various
evangelical denominations. If such repre
sentations are made, we have no hesitati
on in stating explicitly, and specially for
the benefit of those readers who look to V3
for correct information in reference to tin
public movements of the day, that they ar i
not founded in fact.
The institution engaged in promoting this
new version, is mainly a Baptist Societj',
yet it is not even in the enjoymeut of the
confidence of that denomination, as a com
munity. We believe the larger part of the
Baptist churches in this country have no
sympathy whatever with the enterprise.
Many of the most eminent and excellent
men of that communion repudiate the So
ciety and all its works. It is, therefore,
supported mainly by a single section of a
ect. Its sectarianism is so far intensified,
that it has not even the sympathy of on
entire denomination. It is very true, that
for a time, it had connected with it several
literary gentlemen, who were employed to
assist in the translation of the Scriptures,
and were paid for their services. Because
these literary gentlemen were drawn from
various denominations, the impression was
sough tjto be widely made, that the translators
so employed were representing the views
of the communions to which they re
spectively belonged. Yet it was an in
dividual concern of their own, and their
work, when completed, was designed to be
revised by the institution which employed
them. Even this arrangement has new
been broken up, and the work of translation
is, as we understand it, exclusively in the
hands of a few Baptist scholars.
These statements are made for the purpose
of saving the necessityof any further inquiry
on the part of any of tha readers of this
paper. We state once for all, that the
movement itself, so far as we understand it,
is exclusively and intensely sectarian in its
spirit and in its work: that it docs not have
the countenance of the evangelical churches
generally, and that the Baptist denomina
tion itself, has no responsibility what
ever in the undertaking. On the contrary,
we regard the movement as one without
any element of usefulness or necessity to
commend it. The Baptist denominatiou
themselves would be the greatest sufferers,
if the translation is completed in conformity
with the present plan, and brought to tho
light and exhibited to the world as a sec
tarian Bible, merely tc support the views
of one peculiar branch of tho church of
Christ. These things may be said in en
tire consistency with respect for the excel
lent gentlemen who have the enterprise in
their keeping, some of whom are our per
sonal friends, but engaged in a work which
we have never regarded otherwise than
with disfavor. iV. 1'. Observer.
Washington on His Knees.
Rev. Dr. Howit sends to the New York
Observer a brief but interesting note respec
ting Washington.s religious habits. He
knew Rev. Mr. Wilson, who occupied
the house in which the mother of Washing
ton lived aud died. Mr. Wilson inform
ed him that a nephew of Washington, Cap
ain Lewis, who had been his clerk, and
had the charge of his books and papers,
aud was daily in the library until his de
cease, related to him the following occur
rence: "It was the custom of Washington
to retire to his library every evening pre
cisely at nine o'clock; and although he had
visitors he invariably left at that hour, and
did not return. He remained alone in his
library till ten o'clock, and passed into his
bed-chamber by an inner door. Captain
Lewis had long wondered how he spent that
hour, knowing that he wrote DOthing, and
that the books and papers were as he
himself left them the preceding day.
During a violent storm of wind and rain,
and when there were no visitors, he crept
in his stocking feet to the door and through
the keyhole ho beheld him on his knees
with a largo book open Ix-fore him, which
he had no doubt was a bible, a largo one be
ing constantly in the room.'
How to Increase n Congregation.
The surest way for a church to gain a
larger congregation, is to bo faithful to
the one it has, however small. Somo per
sons, a mere handful, perhaps, who are
impenitent, are yet disposed to visit th-3
place where the church meets for worship.
Here, now, is an opportunity not for tho
minister alone, nor for him in special part
nership with the deacons and those two or
three brethren who always "speak in
meeting" but for the church as a whole,
and in every one of its members, to do
good.
A church that does its duty faithfully,
prayerfully, earnestly, pcrseveringly, to a
small congregation, may reckon on draw
ing a larger one. But if tho members
conclude that these persons, once drawn
within the walls of the sanctuary, arc suf
ficiently cared for, and that tho minister
must do the rest if they think that a few
vague and general prayers for the salva
tion of sinners generally, for "a blessing
on the word preached," for, "the building
up of the church in number as well as in
graces," and such like, exhaust their duty
and privilege of prayer, they will have no
reason to wonder if they continue to have
a small congregations. They do not ex
hibit a fitness to be entrusted with a larger
one.
John Brown, of Haddington, said to a
young minister, who complained of tho
smallness of his congregation. "It is as
large a one as you will want to give ac
count for in the Day of Judgement." Tho
admonition is appropriate and, not to tho
minister alone. Examiner.
Tribulation Defined.
Trench, in his "Study of Words,"
gives tribulation as an example of one
word containing a concentrated poem. It
is derived from the Latin iribulum, the
thrashing instrument of the Romans, and
trihulatio was the act of separating the
corn from the husks. 'Some Latin writer
of the Christian church appropriated the
word and image for the setting forth of a
higher truth ; and sorrow, distress, and ad
versity, being the appointed means for the
separating, in men, of their chaff from the
wheat of whatever in them was light.and
trivial, and poor, from the solid and the
true : therefore he culled these sorrows and
griefs " tribulations" thrashing, that is,
of the inner spiritual man, without which
there could be no fitting him for the spiritual
garner."
Cod's Ways.
When God contemplates some great
work, he begins it by the hand of some
poor, weak human creature, to whom he
afterward gives aid, so that the enemies
who seek to obstruct it are overcome.