North Carolina Newspapers

THE ORGAN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA. BAPTISTS- VE VOTED TO BIBLE RELIGION . BDUO A TION LITERATURE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. Volume 86. JRALEIGH. N. C.. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER ,4. 1889. Number 23. The Biblical Recorder. PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY. j OFFICE:, , , ' - . Csrner Hargett tad Salisbury Sts. Raleigh, N. C. . - Texms of Subscription One copy, one w. .. $ 8.00 1.00 One copy, tax mcnths..... Clnbe erf ten (copy extra to sender) 20.00 Remittances most be sent by Registered Letter, Postoffics Order, Postal Note, Express or Draft payable to the order of the Publisher. ObfWKrf sixty words long, are inserted free of tfcirg. When they exceed this length, one cent for each word mast be paid in advance. j. - A Sermon on Closet Prayer, - BT KEY. DR. Ju L. "WTLKKRS03T 01 MA0- isoir, "wrscoxsis. - r' J But-thoo, when them prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is ia secret; and Ihy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly, Matthew vi, 6. . 1 Tbe subject f prayer la Tery extensively treated :: In ? the Scriptures. Indeed, It is among the chief matters regarded by the word of God. And the text is one of the ehief utterances npon the subject contained Id the Biblec- : It ocenrs in the discourse of of oar Lord called the " Sermon on the Mount the discourse that affords the full est consecutive exposition of the principles of the kingdom of God anywhere given by Jesas Christ, It is the language of the sot-' ere'gn to his subjects. " . "-U?I": The text is, therefore, in the completest sense authoritative. It reveals to the sub ject, with certitude, what is the pleasure of the king; and it enjoins upon the subject the observance of that pleasure. It is at ones luminously indicative, and perempto- to do. Do it." Manifestly there is no proper spirit in which a subject ma y meet such an utterance from the lips of his Lord,' : but the spirit of obedience. That which . the Lord prescribes, the servant most ob serve to do. In this fit spirit of devout obe dience let us attend to the instruction afforded by the text. Ose Tkisc U View. At the outset it should be noticed that the text has only one thing in view. It does not purport to contain all necessary instruction upon toe subject , of prayer. And in order to make sure of receiving i doe impression of the insistanee upon one thing it has In view, it will be our wisdom to mark several things that it says nothing about. These several things are, in them selves, very important; and they are tulta hly considered eleewbere in God's word. It is, therefore, no disparagement of their Im portance that the Saviour omit to speak of them here. But the importance of im thing insisted apon in the text is empha sized by the fact that so many other things of real concern, connected with toe tame general subject, are omitted from mention, while this is selected and. ; given special prominence. - Observe then, first, that the text does not directly enforce the duty of prayer, It as . sumes the existence of a habit of prayer on the part of those who are addressed; and it Implies approval of the practice of prayer. And that which is here twmistakabiy tuv plied respecting the duty of "prayer, is abuu dantly taught in direct terms elsewhere in .' the Scriptures: and the teaching is repeated in many forms. But just here the duty of prayer is not the thing insisted upon. That all men ought to pray, the Saviour taught; and that men ought always to pray, he also taught; bnt neither of these teachings is tne point of the text. . :" Nor does the text specify what are the proper subjects of prayer. This is a matter of great interest and importance and we are not left without instruction in regard to it. But the text gives no information whatever npon this point. J Tne Lord's frayer - 101 lows within a verv few verses and it is re plete with instruction as to the proper sub jects Of prayer. But the text itself is silent npon this snbieet: it gives so hint. It is occupied titozether with another matter. Then attain, the text says nothing about the proper hour of prayer. ' Whether the morning should be selected or the evening . as the more suitable season for the exer cise, whether the midday or the midnight Is nrftfArkhU f nr th nnrnoaes of nraver is a question utterly unnoticed. This, too, is a . question that the text does not undertake to decide. v-J-n.-- ' No more does the text give any indication as to the nroDer length of time to De em ployed in prayer. The danger of s short ening the time devoted to this exercise as to make it even a mockery, and the danger of attaching a superstitious value to mere protraction of prayer, bota 01 tneee can gers are left with a guard, and even wuu out a warnin?. so far as the text is con eerned. Nor is any bint here given as to' the , Proper freanenev to be observed in the practice of nraver. It is fairir implied, ia deed, that it is an exercise to be renewed at intervals, s But the length of the intervals between the seasons of prayer is not Inci sated. Ought the dltc'ple to pray as often he partakes cf the Lord's Ccrrer! 8hould it be a monthly exercise I Would weekly - observance of tha rtraetica h Bofadentt Or ought it to be a d&Uv fcbit ! We must look elsewhere than in tha text for an answer to these questions. - The text is aosoiuteiy ei'ent upon a topic so Vital as this.-,. I .. . w .-. , - The magnitude. In our view, of these n.nA other similar omiBsloos of the text ought to maxe impressive the magnitude, in oar Lord's view, of that which it does not omit. Dealing with ho othef subject bu the sub ject Of prayer, it does toot enforce the duty of prayer, it does not nominate the subjects of prayer, ft does not appoint an bour for prayer, it does hot indicate the proper ength of time to be devoted to nraver. and it does not give any direction with regard to the frequency of prater. AM these things it omits. . But tt does not omit to require that the Worshiper, when he prays, shall betake himself to a private place where he may be alone with God. ? "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thv closet, and when thou hast that thv door, pray to thy Father which is in secret and thy Father which seeth In secret shall reward thee .openly.", , Reasons for Closet Prayer. We shall not too carefully observe that the thing upon which our Saviour here In sistt is not that his disciples are to pray, out tnat tney are to enter into their closets and pray. It is not prayer that he pre scribes, but prayer nnder certain condi tions. The command, therefore, is hot obeyed to long as the expressed conditions are not observed. We are, however, to dis tinguish intelligently between things which radically differ. The Saviour does not pro hibit public prayer, toor social prayer, nor even private prayer in public places; bat he does prohibit any praying to be seen of men, and he does positively require that each disciple shall resort to a secret place for private prayer, xou may lift up your heart to God in fervent, effectual prayer prayer from the midst of a crowd, any where, on the street, in the store, or while engaged in your household duties, without violating eitner tne letter or the spirit of your Lord's requirement In the text; bat you cannot abandon your closet without violating both the letter and the spirit of that requirement. For with respect to this commandment it is true that the spirit of obedience will observe the letter of the nre- ecription. The peculiar, distinguishing fee tare of this word ot the Lord, is its demand for separation, seclusion, solitariness on the part of the worshiper. And obedience that does not render prteisely this, which is the particular - thing that the commandment requires, is not obedience. If. therefore, the command were alto gether arbitrary; if there were no discover able reason for its utterance; If there were no appreciable advantage to be derived from its observance; this distinguishing de mand for literal privacy would still ebarac terize it, and the observance of this demand would be essential to any genuiue obed - ence. Jbut it is not an aroitrary enactment of authority, there are good reasons ta be adduced for it, and there are migbty bene fits to be derived from its observance. In deed it is easy to believe that, if the truth could be known, it would plainly appear that the effective spiritual power, of tne church is always in proportion to the gen eral fidelity of her members to the practice of cloeet prayer. Tne days wlien tnentter ances of tbe pulpit are most effective to awaken, convert, and persuade men with respect to the truths of the gospel ; the days when public prayer gainers and guides and voices the genuine aspirations of the genu inely devout assembly ; tne days wnen so cial prayer is spontaneous, and strong, and gentle, and warm ; the days when family prayer is a delight and a refreshing to the circle of kindred spirits ;are those not the days when the Father which seeth in secret btfuolds his children soul by soul separating themselves from each other and from all the world and seeking each a solitude In which he may unbosom himself to bis God alone I And opn the other nana, tne sea sons in which the exercises of the pulpit are heavy and destitute of quiekening power; when social and family worship are per functory, languid and distasteful ; are those not seasons when the disciples neglect the place of secret prayer; ami absent them selves from tne tryeting piace appointed vj the lover of their souls I But it is not only to the interests of the church at large and to the welfare of tbe disciples in tneir various fellowships that the habit of closet prayer is aavaniageoos. Rather it is advantageous to these wider eornorate interests because it is of ad van tasre Hret to personal religion in the Individ nal sauL For what is it in its spirit that the text calls for and that ought to be on demtood bv secret prayer! it is a volun tarv aetioa: it is a premeditated ae ion; it ia an Intelligent and deliberate action. : ; It involves a cause and a rest. Wordly bus! netsS crowds aud clamors and insists on re eeivinir attention. : Household cares are throtiffiniz and multipljiog to the bewilder meat and distraction of the over worked housewife. ' ;8oeial obligations are argent and tbe mind is oppi ssea witn tne Duiaen rf maav and diverse responsibilities, tt There ar nbivtwentv four hours in the day f oral that is to be done. What, now, does tbe observance of closet religion mean in tuen a life! It mans that worldly bafciness, household cares, social conventions, all thics else, and everythlog, must .yield to the elalm that Christ makes for a per sonal interview with bis disciples. When we speak of bur "callings" In life, we speak more justly often than we think For it we are at all wbere we Ought to be, it Is because we are wbere God has called as to be. But among all the endlessly dl versiBed. stations in this life to which divine providence calls the Children of Owl. there is hot one in wtlch the highest fidelity to ts duties Is in toe least degree iaeompati ble with tbe. paramount oblieation restlog upon all those who are "called to be saints." Sincerity, sympathy, soundness of Christian character is conservative,) not destructive, of integrity in the discharge of all of the duties incident to our earthly callings. Fathers) , mothers, pastors, teachers, mas ten, servants, delude not yourselves with the imagination that your repponslbilities in these relations absolve you from any of your responsibilities at subjects in relation to mm whom. you call Liord, whose'? you confess yourselves to be, "whom" you pro tomm tr marwa anil iihn hkat nn tn "keep yourselves in tbe loVe ot God." Yon may safely depend npon it that no real nterest professional.' flaanclal. social, or domestic provident 1 1 ly committed to your stewardship, will suffer by reason of your best fidelity to the injunction to "take heed to thyself." if Paul could protest to the Corinthians, "I seek not yours but you," much more may yon believe, O child of Godt that yon yourself are the Special Ob jeetof the divine solloitude; "for this is the will of God, even your sanctiflcatlon." This is first in the thought of Gad, for you! here you are called to serve your own generation by the will of God, : But what you are will determine your eoneeptlan of the duties of your earthly calling, and the manner in which yon will discharge them. And what yon -are will be determined by the eon staney and Intimacy of your walk with God.: Your life, therefore, is the matter of prime consequence, not only to yourself, bat to the world, and to God, , - - - kfy brethren In the ministry. It should be of deep significance to us , to observe that it was a minister to whom the exhor tattoo I was originally addressed, " Take heed onto thyself, and unto the doctrine." " Self," nrst "and the dootrina." it la not our wisdom, it is our folly if we venture, to transpose the order of this Inspired word. and take heed onto the doctrine first, and then, secondarily, unto ourselves. The preacher may be unchaUengeably orthodox in his preaching, the pastor irreproachable in outward deportment and exemplary in diligent care for tne nock; but tne man that he is will inevitably, though ioseruta bly. qualify his work. " In him was life: and the life was the light of men." No one falls to perceive that human holi ness and prayerfulness are inseparably-re lated to each other. To say ox a man tnat he is a godly character is to say that he is a man of prayer. For what is prayer I The outgoing of the human heart to God, and the inoomiog of (id to tbe bnuiaa heart. Whether it be petition or thanksgiving, ad oration or Inquiry, agony of penitence or serene rapture of reconciliation, prayer is a veritable eommanlon of taoant and re ciprocation of good wilt between the earthly child and i the Heavenly Father, in which and by which the worshiper grows in god line sat and without which a man remains carnal, and increases onto more nugodll Its General Benefit. Tbe thoughtful soul, therefore, will, dis cern that our Lord's directions concerning closet-prayer are admirably adapted to se cure to his disciples, to tne fullest degree. the bene tits of prayer.. And if his direc tions were advisor only, it would be an be coming in us to neglect them. But -they are not advisory only; they are mandatory. The obedient subject of divine grace must recognise it as a duty to make distinct pro vision among his arrangements for a period of private communion with God. The king In Zion commands this. - He .does not spe elfy where the closet shall be located, nor what its siz9 or shape shall be. But he does specify a closet with a door and directs that the door shall be shot; that is, it is prescribed that there shall be a secret place selected, and precaution taken against any interruption of the interviews. The office where you transact your business, the shop wnere you do your wora, tne lamuy sitting room wnere ail are tree to come and go. r uci places you cannot properly regard as snfnsienny answering to the description of closet mentioned in the text, because in such places you cannot be . reasonably se cure from interruption. For a like reason, tuongn you are aione at your work, an hour of your work cannot be a proper closet' boar, because the work Itself will inevita bly, to tome degree, interrupt the flow of your communion, solitude and freedom. both, are essential to the Integrity of true closet worship. There may. often be mo meats of prayer genuine, fervent and re freshing prayer redeemed from tbe midst of tbe most engrossing secular occupation ; the mind may be for an instant closed to the world and ; opened toward God,- without leaving the place of work, or laying down the tools of labor, ' Bat no candid person will lor a moment contend tnat snob frag mentary and occasional, devotions fairly fulfil the requirement i of Christ, In. .the text, in Its spirit any more than in the letter. Suspension of ordinary em dIov- ment, withdrawal from human society and observation, and distinct care taken against interruption for tbe time being all this at least Is included in the demand of the text. And can it be doubted that those who are most regalar and principled in the practice thas prescribed are the ones whose thoughts j most? frequently escape from tne miasc 01 . this world's care to find refreshing at the throne of grace t Would it be too venture some to say confidently tnat tnose wno have no familiarity with the closet have little -familiarity with prayer at all! And that those, who most frequently meet trod. ia tbe closet are most familiar with the ex perience of prayerfal hearts about their work?. - " - - - ' It is true that closet prayer as described In the text calls for time, and is often ex pensive to worldly convenience. Bat this is One element of Its value. It constitutes thus a very practical text. None bnt an obedient spirit wilt observe to do this thing. The inconvenience of the practice is suffi cient effectually to deter from it all who do not sincerely acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. -And the Inconvenience of tbe practice is the only honest plea that any professed disciple can offer for its non-ob servance, t Tbink ot it, you wno are stran gert to God In the closet I Your Lord Calls you to eommanlon with himself by an ex press appointment, And you neglect the summons, because It it not altogether eon venlentfor yoa to obey it. After all that can be said, this is the sum of every honest excuse for the abandonment of tbe closet. If Christ be your Lord, where is hit honor from you! , ; - I dare testify that when we pastors, with our people, shall be found obedient with general ' consent to this one command ; of Christ, then oar Father which teeth in se cret, beholding as all and severally entered Into our eloMts, and praying with closed doors, himself will reward us openly with a revival of his grace and with the quicken ing of all our spiritual power Amen, CMcogo standard. - ... h Envy A. mono Minister. If there It any class of people in all the world who should work in unison and bar mony with eacn otner, tney are unnst t ministers of the gospel. It is their mission, If they are faithlal servants of God, to re concile the world to uod, not tuen an attempt will be la vain unless they are re conciled to each other, iraui says, in wrt ting to tb Galatlans, They that are Christ's have ernelflsd the flesh with the affections and lasts. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, en vyina one another.": ? Envy is blinded by the light, and eometh not to tbe light, but seeks its prey under the cover of darkness. Its prey Is the happiness and the prosperity of other men. - Bat, says one, who shall lay any such thing to the charge ot God's elect, and especially to the charge of bis ministers! Envy is detestable in the sight of God among any of his children, but how much more, If possible, among his minis ten. It is, indeed, a grave charge, but we will appeal to tbe reader to testify to the fact that such a charge can justly be made against some. ----- - We are not surprised to see this spirit of envy among the various classes of profes sional men, whose sole object is wealth or honor. Bat when each an evil enters tbe ministry, the very messengers of peace, is It not time to call a halt,' apply our chart and compass,: and Bee whither we are drifting! The biggest sermon a man ever preaches is not from the palpiCbut, itisJ Jus every day fife, his walk and conversation... His whole life should be a living epistle known and read by all men, and one worthy of Imita tion. It. will be Imitated whether It be good or whether it be eviL The minister who cherishes a spirit of envy towards his brother minister cannot preach with any effect to his people, it be, fails to exhort them to be reconcile 1 on towards another. be fails to declare the whole law of God. ana tnereiore xaiis to do nis duty. it woaid be alarming, no doubt, to know to what extent this spirit of envy is prevail ing among tne ministers ox our Btate. ltls smcereiy nopea tnat tnu spirit is not so prevalent In all portions of this State, and in other States, at it is in those portions witn wmen tne writer is intimately ae qualnted. 5. May the time soon come when no minister will use any unfair meant to get a call to a church, and when one min ister wilt not be afraid to invite another to E reach at his church and thereby succeed im as pastor. Let it be the one great aim ox every preacher to do nobly the work signed to him, and not disturb, but seek to enhance the happiness of his brother min isters. There is room and work for all. and more than they can do. When they become so numerous at to cause competi tion at Dome, remember mere ts tbe Mace donian cry beyond the tea for help. Bat let none who possess such a spirit respond to the cry. - ' Much more might be said, but it la hoped mat notuiug more u necessary, " Uarmost." The promise to one's self that he will re pent and turn to God some time In th future is a superlative nothing. A spider's wen is a cable in strength compared to it. If it la important to seek salvation, wisdom would suggest that it should be done at once,, to postpone the matter at one time mases it easier to do so at another, To repeat tne rejection; Is but to ice the soul Into hardness aud iodiSerenoe. Let the c&saved, xheref ore, heed the warning that "now is the accepted time." Tie Prayers of God's Children Be . . ing Answered tn liehalf of McAdensviUe, N, V. A few weeks ego a few of God's people met at a neighbor's bouse and appointed a committee to carry on three prayer meet- -logs in this town on Tuesday and Thursday nights of each week. This was done for two or three weeks,: and then the prayer meeting was moved to the church on ae- ema o! the house not being large enough" to seat the audience. . By this time there was so much interest raised in the place that the people would go most any distance - to a prayer-meeting. Some young men -came through curiosity to bear and see the , people shout. ' The leaders knew that these young men were- the worst of sinners, and constantly held them up to God In prayer. Soon one of them knelt for prayer, and the next thing we saw of him. he was in the eenter of the largest, crowd he eoald find shooting and singing. ' ' Rev, Mr. Mnllenax of Grover, Xf. C, got newt of the good meeting, and came to help in the work. . Yooog men who bad SJWSJ9 KVDt QUI vi U1B WBT i preacuwfc rnsnea to tms agea minister, ana aesea io be prayed for. He, with the help of the Christians who started the prayer meetings, called upon God to tend down his convert- , log power, aud fifty -one, - mostly young , men, professed faith ia Christ, - The meeting is still going on, and Chris tian friends everywhere are reqaested to pray for the new . converts, aud also that other unsaved young men may be brought to Christ. John says, "I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong." - Kev.i Mr. Bailey ot. ttastonta, rt. C. preached an able sermon here last Saturday - night, and will be with us again on Wedoee-. day night next ' " . - ' Rev. Mr. Mnllenax will administer the ordinance of . baptism to about sixteen young men and a few ladies in the South Fork on the second Sunday in December. We are looking forward to a good time then. - Hummer. Kehukee Association, c -The interesting articles of J. C. B. have afforded memoes pleasure. The last gives the year 1769 as tbe date of the organisa tion of the Kebnkee Association. This is probably a typographical error. Both Ben- el let and Barkitt & Read give the year 1763 as the date of organization, it being the fourth ' Association in America, the Philadelphia - having . been - organized in 1707, tbe Charleston in 1751, and tbe Sandy , Tolsnot church. In Edgecombe (now Wil son) county, one of the constituent mem- bert of the Kehukee Association, was in her early years a fiourishiag body. I pre- -some she has either become extinct or gone off into, the ant'-Jiission be-esy. This church was organized (according to Bene dict) in the year' 1756,- united with tbe she remained until the organization of the , Kebnkee In 1765. from which she withdrew, in 179-4 'with twenty two other churches, to . form the Nense Association This church was the home of three emi- nntlv nspfnl minlatera John Thomas and his two sons, John and Jonathan. The J " ; last named was said to be a man of tal ents, very affable iu bis address, and a great orator. " He was , ordained to the Baptist ministry December, 1753. His last sermon was preached at Sandy Run, Bertie county, from Luke 14 : 23, Compel them to come in. that my bouse may be filled.7! -The Holy Spirit helped him, and the results were wonderfnL The greater part of the vast congregation wept aloqd. This was . December. 1774. A month or two after wards, God called him home. ' We are expecting to see Dr. Hafham re sume bis work on the Early Baptists of North Carolina. Why tbe long delay! : Jso. T. Albbjttos. Mt. OUve,N. C. ' , Revival at Cypress Creek As it does God's children good to bear of the prosperity of Zion, allow me to say that we met at Cypress Creek church on the nrst Sabbath in November, for the purpose of holding a few days' meeting The presence of the good Spirit was felt from the first, and the power increased from day to day for ten days to the joy of all present. Such a meeting was never seen at this place. The church was greatly revived and sinners saved. There were eight accessions to the church seven baptized and. one restored. Others,? we trust, will follow soon. The number claiming" to have found peace in believing were about twenty, and many anxious persons left Inquiring "What must we do to be saved I" - . - Our motto alwayt was, "None fit for the church bat regenerate sinners." ; We had no excitement different from a sinner feel ing that he was lost. Trusting to the work of the Spirit, we urged none to come for ward for membership till they had obtained a well-grounded hope. To tbe Lord be all the glory. Yonrs in Christ. L. BBTAS. He who does not find genuine enjoyment in doing good will find it no other way. To get happiness, we mast first give it; to gather, we must first scatter; to reap, we must first sow. " With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to yoa ajsin." IZcihodist Protestant,