THE ORGAN OF THE NORTH CAROLINA BAPTISTS-DEVOTED TO BIBLE RELIGION, EDUCATION, LITERATURE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE,
Volume 88.
W A I .H tH IM I . W K.I 1 INI KS 1 A Y M A WfW 1 1flQQ
l '.l'-.V-. SV-V.1..:
!" V -V' ' 'i J" - '
Number 30
aiMwl,.'''W'f'ij'i
The Biblical Recorder.
PUBLISHED EVERY ; WEDNESDAY.
OFFICE;
US (op itftlra1 Fayettevillo Street, Raleigh, N. C,
Tkbms Of SUBSCRIPTION;
it iwnv. nn vir
I 2.00
i . - - --------
nA mwv kit mfmfcbl -
1.00
Clubs of ten (copy extra to sender) 20.00
Anonymous communications will always find
their way to the waste basket. No exceptions.
In sending letters of business, It is absolutely nec
essary that you give your postomoe aaaress in ruu.
The date on the label of your paper indicates
' when your subscription expiree, and also serves as
s receipt for your money. ; fe (
Obituaries, sixty wrda lone, are inserted free of
-: .Iiihm Whan thnv nrrmvi this lnnirth. one Mnt
..nli wnM miiHt. ha m il In Jt1vnn(A -
When writing; to have your paper changed, please
itste the postonlce at wbicu you receive tne paper,
' ; m well as tne one to wnicn you wisn n cnangea.
--R3mrttaBees rausfrbe-'eentby Registered Letter,
PjstofQce Order, Postal Note, Express or Draft,
arable to the order of the Publisher. Do not send
v itamps.
The Missionary Gall
I believe that the till to be a foreign mis
sionary, when allied to that which makes a
man a preacher of tne gospel at nome, is
distinct from such a one.
There is, in both cases, the same strong
wAAwntnM fswt '4 Via d sctf rn f9 tin armla tt
jrCOA AJIU ivi uv oaiinuvu vi av uvvsj va
men which constrains the onev" called" to
- give his life to the work of teaching that
salvation; and there is the same "setting
apart" of himself,' spiritually, from the
!! , .1 L ! L 11 UAU
woriaiy inclinations, wnicu so easuy ruu me
: bloom from the freshness of soul consecra-
iV ' - '
., Bat what is tbat peculiar something that
leads the happy and successful preacher to
give up a loving and loved church at home;
that takes the useful, earnest teacher from
her class work in the Sunday-school, and
from her place in the various societies of
the church j that strange inner prompting
that tugs at the heart of the thoughtful
young man, even before he has ever entered
a theological seminary, or decided upon his
life work; what is it that decides each in
his own sphere to lay aside clerical ambi
tion,1 social pleasures, home ties, personal
comforts, which hare seemed necessities, all
of these, in order to enter upon the mission
ary's career! ! "Whatever this constraining
force may be, it constitutes a missionary's
eaU. When it ii' the true call of the Spirit
of God it is peremptory, and a mistake as to
' this point need never be made, it seems to
me, when this same Spirit is ready to aid in
eliminating all self-deceit and false motives.
.Perhaps the greatest snare which entraps
tne young of both sexes into unthinkingly
making vows looking toward a foreign mis
sion and even into undertaking, such, is the
glamour which, to a certain extent, must
always linger about one who denies himself
for his Master's cause, but which has become
considerably attenuated, as personal dan
gers and difficulties have disappeared before
the march1 of civilization in most mission
fields. To be like Christ, in humble serving
and constant patience, should be the mis
sionary's ideal, rather than that of gaining
the international reputation of such and
Let him who is considering whether or
not he has such a call, apply a few simple
tests to his motives and judge of the results
with all honesty. The following facts may
be useful ' in suggesting his own search
questions. The new missionary, if stirring,
progressive, and enthused with a desire to
see immediate results, and accustomed to
the stimulus of an admiring congregation
and working church-membership in his na
tive land, after the numberless worries of
transportation from his own country to that
of his adoption, feels himself another being,
unknown to himself. He knows nothing of
the language jabbered around him all day
long, new restraints bore him, the strange
climate enervates him, his brethren seem
moving in a sluggish, , almost motionless,
current of work, and bis heart faints at the
prospect ox growing to ne wnai ne imagines
his fellow-missionaries have become. ;
. It seems, to me that just here the example
of Christ's life on earth is of great value;
his own personal sufferings from contact
wun naro, , uncongenial surrounawgs, nis
patience, his charity, his unselfish love for
signers ought to be an inspiration to the
truly "called,'' and should give strength
. and wisdom to bear with uncongeniality of
every kind, from that of one's own circle to
the utmost limits of social and business in
tercourse. , t - - -'
Let him beware who imagines himself
;" sailed " to a life of charming, foreign in
cidents,' such as one would meet with on a
touring expedition through China Mexico,
Italy or Africa, and to intercourse with the
best people socially, who will pet and tte
the foreigner.;; The truth is that most of
the forfllcrn atamanf flint will Anter into the
.missionary's life will be the thousand inevit
able inconveniences of daily domestic life in
strange land, and a conforming to trying,
. . . . . . ? ... .
'with a class of people almost entirely out?
side' of his sphere at home. ' , .
All this means that a truly called mission
'y has a firmly fixed conviction that work
fr the saving of souls in a country outside
of his own must be the work pf his life; that
he is ready to leave the preaching of the
gospel at home to others whose convictions
may keep them there; that be will possess
his soul in patience through the first trying
years pf initiation, and not expect result nor
appianse as a reward ot nis wora, except in
so far as the Inspired promises give hope to
every laborfer everywhere; and finally, that
the work, so long as health is given him and
his, shall be a life work. It is said tbat
"hindsight is sometimes better than' fore
sight," and some earnest workers have
found to their sorrow of heart that a little
more foresight would have been better for
them before going to the great expense of
moving themselves and families to a foreign
country. Their consciences order them home,
and they are, right to come, and honest in
doing so, but did their consciences sound
absolutely clear notes in ordering them to
go on the mission i Was there no inner re
monstrance f Was duty quite plain f Some
times the call to . be a missionary seems to
come long before the way is open to such a
course. Lire interposes many obstacles in
all our chosen paths; it is not difficult to
understand that a helpless or aged parent,
dependent upon. the solicitude of, a son or
daughter, is one of many God given cares,
such as are not to be idly thrown aside for a
mission to the heathen. There may be
cases where even this may be necessary,
when it becomes a wife's duty to follow her
husband's cenvictions and him to a foreign
land, and oh, the heart-ache of it 1 Firtt,
let the husband be perfectly sure that now
U the accepted time for breaking his own
audi his partner's home ties, and then let
both go ahead in peace, for tne Lord reignetn
In my uot'very" Ion sr experience of mis
sionary life I have been much impressed
with the fact that the disposition and habit
ual temper of the intended missionary
should be taken into consideration fully as
much as the question of tendency to disease
of the body. It should be known wnethef
his previous life has shown him fitted to
deal with his kind; and, if not of natural
gifts in that direction, how far the grace of
Uod has aided him in overcoming propensi
ties of fault finding, intolerance and un-
charitableness, three of the "little foxes"
that too often enter tha vineyard. He who
feels that he can be content with his Mas
ter's ' well done," will find in the glow at
his heart and the growing inspiration for
his work an all sumcieut reward.
A Missionary.
Reading Novels.
Dear Bro. Bailey: It may seem rather out
of place for, a young man to speak on such a
broad subject; but from experience and con
tinued observation, some thoughts hare so
pressed themselves upon my mind, tbat
want to say a few words to all tne Young
E
eople of our fetate. I say young people, for
t is among thife class that this habit is plac
ins the blackest btisma.
; There are some novels which every young
person would do well to read, and by so
doing would noti only find enteresting. em
ployment, but would be inspired to be more
noble in life. On the other side, there are
books novels) thousands of them scat
tered all over our State and country and
they have found their way into christian
homes, too which are doing more to cor
rupt the minds and hearts of tne children
than any other, yea, than any three other
babits combmea. ; -
Can this be true! Reading, simply read
ing booki, have such an effect on a person!
True, vou cannot see the effect on the life
at once, and it may not be visible only to a
close observer for a long time, but the work
is being done equally as fatal though un
fAfn. and sooner or later the oerson will dis
cover that they have been affected more or
less by the readmg, while they may not ad
mit it to the dearest friend. '
Young people, and I may say young la
dies, for they, seem more addicted to this
habit, for as a rule they have a stronger
taste for reading than young men, be it 'said
to their credit. They are not to blame ev
elry time in full, for they do not always
know which are worthy of being read, and
only take some one'9 word for it, and it may
be one who is not competent of judging, or
whose taste has been tainted, and hence not
capable of judging. A young lady, with a
true and noble heart, whose mind is almost
entirely free from the stain of evil, with a
mind looking forward to a nobis and useful
life to begin in the near future and we
have such ladies in our own State, with
hearts as true as 'the world can afford, and
from their life sweet influences, sacred and
hallowed, are thrown around our lives both
in Church and State. :rtiv: v. v v' H
But their hand by some mishap falls upon
a novel, one, not considered-very bad; nor
can any one point out the good points nor
define the moral it contains. Some friend
a) placed it in their hands. They begin to
read, only intending to read a few moments
or a short time, while they have nothing
specially to claim their attention one page
leads to another, and there seems to be no
suitable place to stop, and soon they are en
tirely absorbed, hours pass away, while they
unconsciously drink it in without discrlmi
nation. Jl' t -huf ;
Thev ; find sentences and expressions,
which cause their cheeks to blush and burn,
and which they would not repeat publicly
for the world. . Time to stop no, not
yet, It is so interesting- tne dook. is nn
fshed. A friend comes in (lady friend). "I
have a very interesting book which I have
been reading, it is very good. I am sure
you would like it." -
"Where is it, on the centre table!''
"No, in my trunk." ,
"Why do you hide it!"
"Why you know-Mr. A. is not willing for
me to read it. You know he don't like such
novels. . He is rather 'cranky' and extreme
on some things ; but be will never know it."
, "Where is the moral in it r - :
"O, I don't know, but it is so interesting;
you read it and yon win be pleased."
A second novel by chance or purpose gets,
into ner bands, with language less pure than
the first. Some expressions too impure and
vulgar to be read aloud a time is selected
when alone, or when others are asleep.and no
one can see tne burning cneet as they drinx
in the deadly poison. They can no longer
find interest in the Bible "it's too dry, not
half so godd as novels.? Good books do not
have the same interest for them they once
bad. True, they read the, Bible sometimes
for mere name, as they are sure it is very
true and good for old people to read. Their
taste has been degraded and lowered,' their
mind and heart are tainted with a Wot which
will baffle time to. remove. . ..
, No longer is, the, once pure heart.aspirlng
to a grander and more sublime life. The
mind has been corrupted in a few short
weeks more seriously than it otherwise
would have been for years.
iteaa only sucn oooks' as will nil your
mind and heart witn higher and nobler aspl
rations. If you do not know yourself, con
suit some one who does know, and whose
judgment you are willing to trust, even be
fore you read one page.
Have no book in your home that you are
ashamed to have on the centre table.
iteaa no book which would cause your
face to blush with shame should your best
friend step in and find you reading it. The
life will be filled with thoughts and actions
corresponding to the food upon which the
mind has been fed. jfc. :. 2 V
1 had rather have a pure, noble heart that
has not been stained by impure books or
conversation,' than to have all the wealth of
this world and fame combined. ; 7 '
t J. E. Green.
Bostic, Feb. 13, 1893., ; ''
Gnats, Gamely &o
.A SWALLOWING CAMELS. . '
A little girl being asked; "What was the
special sin of the Pharisees!' promptly re
plied, "Swallowing camelil" The Pharisees
may have had a monopoly in that line some
nineteen hundred years ago; but they have
a good deal of competition in this progres
sive age. Many a good brother has great
difficulty in swallowing a gnat, and finally
not only gives it up, but points it out as a
dangerous and deadly animal, but the camel,
Ms camel, goes down with tne greatest ease.
There is Bro. X., I have not heard from
him on the subject; but I know his righteous
soul is filled with holy horror as he contem-
Slates the gnat evolved out of the minds and
earts of our sisters for raising a part of the
Centennial Fund. Hear him speak of the
plan. "The whole thing is wrong. We
need no list of contributors to keep a hun
dred years. . The plan appeals to pride, and
has a 'tendency to lead us away from the
true motive for giving. It would lead us to
ignore the words of Jesus, 4 "Let not thy left
handknpw what tby right band doeth.' "
Good Bro. Jv. has a bard time With this, and
many similar gnats, and maybe he is right,
and this plan of the sisters is' a snare and a
delusion. Yes, Bro. X. has trouble with the
gnat; but he has been known to swallow a
camel, Ms camel, with the greatest ease in
the world, lie affirms that the left hand
must be kept in ignorance of what the right
hand does, and therefore condemns the sis
ters' plan; but when he contributes to any
cause you' always see his name with' the
amount opposite in the published list or con
tributors. When an agent visits him, and
he decides to make a contribution, he al
ways contributes for himself and each mem
ber of his family, and in the next week's
paper you will see the name and contribu
tion of each member of X.'s family. Rather
a big camel in the light of Bro. X.'s doc
trine; but he finds no difficulty in swallow
ing it. ' Consistency, thy name is not Bro.
X.! Reader, do you know Bro. X.!' Per
haps, "Thou art the man." ( t
, , THE OBJECTOR, '
The.objector is useful in one respect he
keeps you from stagnation. - Every plan; ev
ery, effort except his own, mustxmn the
gauntlet of the inevitable, "I am not in fa
vor of that." Then, comes the long and
profitless discussion while the cause suffers.
At length, when he yields the point, or you
begin work without him. yon have to over
come the opposition of many persons who
would nave entered heartiiy into the wors
if they had not heard that Objector objected.
One of the easiest things in the world is to
get people to do nothing. Brother Objector
is a grand success along this line. Brother
pastor do you know him ! ... . ; ;
" ' " ' THE ARTFUL DODGER. ' ; .
Perhaps vou know Aim. - He is found al
most everywhere, and may be known by his
skill in dodging work and collections. f
A pastor once asked Artful Dodger ror a
contribution to State Missions. He replied,
"I don't believe in State Missions; Foreign
Missions is my special pet. .When you take
a collection for that purpose, I will help
Jou." When the time to collect for Foreign
lisslons came, he called on him, and wai
met with, V I have mado up my mind that
we are'wrong in doing so much for the
heathen In foreign lands, while there are so
many heathen at home.?' He was always
anxious to do something else', generally
something impracticable. When he is cor
nered, and must give something, it would
do you good to see him squirm. For any
neglected duty he always has & splendid ex
cuse. In this line he can beat the man that
invented the excuse business.' Artful Dodger
is great on show days. He glories in pro
tracted meetings, and makes a fine lmpres
sion on the visiting brother. On such oc
casions he bubbles over with religion, and
the visiting brother thinks of him as one of
the pillars of the church. Sometimes be is
a woman. Tt J. Taylor.
m. How to Fray. '.
Be short. Jesus, by word and example,'
inculcated this. He described the Pharisees
as those ' who " for a pretence made long
prayers." rersons who sought . his aid of
fered short petitions. V Peter in the water,
the publican io the temple, and the thief on
the cress made short prayers. i
When I was a yonnt;4 minister I received
through the post office a slip cut from a
newspaper containing a college commence
ment poem. The pew was addressing the
pulpit, f our lines impressed me:
" Sermons like wells should small circumference
' sweep, - - - -
: Be short in their diameter, but deeo: - - r -r-
, And public prayer, as in th Scriptures taught,
aeyooa a cavil always snouia De snort "
The last two lines were heavily marked
about for my benefit I never knew who
sent the slip, but I pinned it over my study
table, and' kept it there for ten years; and
then I did not destroy it, but pasted It in
mv scran-book." and have it now. ' :
Be specific Prayer that it indefinite does
not avail. "My son," " my daughter," "my
servant,", "my 6ight " that is the form of
reauestr and the accomDanvioe charge is.
"Bring him to me." It was wonderful, in a
revival in college, how our prayers were an
swered for classmates in the order in which
we prayed for them by name, i ') 4
, Be importunate. ' The midnight prayer,
"Friend, lend me three loaves," was short,
specific and importunate. And it was an
swered, not' for friendship's" sake, but be
cause of importunity, : r..v. r ; ? -v,;
Pray with a forgiving spirit. "When ye
stand praying, forgive. V I once attended
an ecclesiastical convention, and was enter
tained in a refined, christian household. A
young lady in the family in a conversation
remarked, "I never offer the Lord's prayer."
On my expressing surprise, she added, "I
don't uare to ; I don't dare pray, 'Forgive us
our debts, as we forgive our debtors'; ! am
so afraid that I have not a forgiving spirit
that J dare not ask God to forgive me as I
forgive others." I asked, " What do you
pray ! She replied, " I say, 'As we ought
to forgive others.' " f-
We must do what we can to answer our
own prayers... A little boy heard his father
pray that God would feed the poor; and
when the prayer was over, he said, "Father,
if you will give me the key to the granary
door, I will answer your prayer myself."
Frederick Douglass tells us that when he
was a slave be prayed seven years for lib
erty, but received no answer; at length it
occurred to him that he must answer his
own prayer; and when, with his eye fixed
on the north star, he m-aved with his lees.
bis prayer was answered. If we pray for
the conversion of a. child, a scholar, or a
friend, we must speak to that person and do
what we can to bring him to Christ. ,
We must expect that our prayers will be
ans wered. " For he tnat cometh ' to God
must believe that he is, and tbat he is a re
warder of them that diligently seek, him."
"What things soever ye desire, when, ye
pray, oeiieve ina ye receive mem, ana ye
shall have them." " Ask, and ye shall re
ceive." Too many pray that the mountain
may be remeved, and when they open their
eyes, say, "There, I knew that it would hot
be." " Without faith it is impossible to
please God." "According to your faith be
it unto you." ur, u lu neaat :
Fault-Finding. ,
'.1 . J
An old gentlesaan, a class-leader, one day
went into the shop, and the blacksmith soon
began about what some christians bad done,
and seemed to have a good time over it
The old class leader stood a few minutes and
listened, and then quietly asked him if he
bad read the story in the Bible about the
rich man and Lazarus. "Yes, many a time;
and what of it ?" ;M Well, do you remember
about the dogs, how they came and licked
the sores of Lazarus ! f ; Yes ; but what of
that!" "Well," said the class leader, "do
you know you just remind me of those dogs,
content merely to lick the christian's sores."
The blacksmith suddenly grew pensive, and
has not had much to say about failing chris
tians since. Exchange. .
Now, I want you 'to think that in life,
troubles will come which seem as if they
never would pass away. The night and the
storm look as if they would last forever, but
the calm and the morning cannot be stayed;
the storm in its very nature is transient
The effort of nature, as that of the hnman
heart, ever is to return to its repose; for
God is peace. Geo. JIacDonald. , ' - '
r ; Paying the Preacher.
Our church polity Is tuch that the pay of
the preacher is a matter of agreement be
tween him and the church. There are no
bishops or presbyteries to review and exer
cise a constraining powerover thecLurches.
This absolute ' independence of the local
churches is not altogether without its disad
vantages. Baptists are perhaps as liberal as.
other denominations, but there are those
among us that believe in a free gospel
in ' its .fullest; sense. They like to hear
good preaching, and expect the preacher to
be decently clad, and also tbat his family be
well provided for, but deny his right to stip
ulate with a church for a specific salary. lie
ought, they say, to preach and leave the
amount that is paid to the generous impulses
of the church members, who often feel at
liberty to disregard their obligations to the
church. . This position is unreasonable and
ii often a mere subterfuge, behind which the
avaricious or impecunious member hides
himself The preacher is human and must
needs have food and raiment as other men.
Often he has a family to support, failing to
do which he would be esteemed worse than
an infidel. To secure these cecesESTy things
for himself and family he must buy them
as do other men, but cannot buy unless te
has money. If wholly consecrated to the
ministry, he cannot turn aside to earn It by
a secular pursuit v If he buys and fails to
Eay, it destroys his usefulness and loses him
U good name. Who would listen to a
preacher who does not pay his debts! How
can he do this unless he looks ahead and ar-
rantrpn far tVtn moans tn tmenfc 1ipba riMi'ira.
tions ! With so much at stake he wou'd be
unjust to himself and to his family were he
to trust to the generous impulses of the av
erage church member. But to take another
view of the subject, to do his best work in
the ministry, his mind ought to be nntram
meled so that he can throw bis whole soul
and all his energies into his work. He can
not do this unless be is freed from financial
embarrassments by giving him a liberal sup
port' Many church members look upon their
contributions to the support of the ministry
as, gifts, when in fact the minister has a
right to it because be has rendered a valua
ble consideration therefor, Christ himself,
when sending out the seventy to preach,
said to them, "And in the same house re
main, eating and drinkipg tuch things as
they give, for the laborer is .worthy of his
hire." (Luke 10: 7.) Paul, wrjting to the
Corinthians, very clearly states the case
when he says, "I robbed other churches,
taking wages of them to do you service.'1
2 Cor. 11: 8) This last Scripture, if it
means anything, very clearly teaches tbat
the church, or churches, he serves should
support him, and the word. wages indicates
that he has earned it by reason of his serving
the church.
" But hot only has be the right to demand a
support, but it ought to be so liberal that he
may be provided with every comfort. On
this point Paul writes to Timothy (2 Tim.
5: 8) 'Let the elders that rule well be count
ed worthy of double honor, especially those
who labor in the word and doctrine,"
It is also best for ! the church. A. re-""
ligion without personal sacrifice, - with
butv giving," ;is: not the xkind treated ' of
in - the Bible. 14 Selfishness ; and the love
of money go hand in hand. . They are
bur most common sins, and the hardest to
overcome. ,. Giving tends to break down
these sins; and to develop in us the spirit
that prompted Christ to lose sight of self in
his efforts to do good to others. Lastly, it is
God's plan, for . so hath he "ordained that
they that preach the gospel shall live of the
crwmpl." ITndpr thtk MoRafn law Iia rr nnirpd
tithes for the support of the temple service,
and of the priests who served therein. Not
only did he lav a tithe on hfs people, but he
made it specific in amount. How many of
ns now give one tenth to the support of the
gospel! But we may again call Paul as a
witness. .In 3Cor., 9th chapter, he plainly
tells the Corinthians that, having served
them in spiritual thing?, he had aright to
partake of their carnal thincs. J
.. . 7 J- j, . W - . ;, .- ;
In conclusion, if the preacher has tempo
ral wants, if we would havs his best service
in the pulpit and out of it, if we would de
velop the grace of giving, if we would pay
the debt we owe him, if we would obey the
divine teacmng, we must pay mm uoerauy
and promptly for bis services. The church
that fails to meet this obligation or allows
any of its members to shirk this plain duty,
will not prosper; because it lives in disobe
dience to a plain command. C. A. Board
in Uo- Worker, 1 '
Is there not a disposition in the current
S reaching of this age to ignore Drat least'
eal lightly with the exceeding sinfulness of
sin!' Of course it Is right to '"hold up
Christ" at all times and under all circum
stances, but it is equally important te show
men their need of Christ , We may be mis
taken, but it does 6eem to us as we look
back, that in other days the conviction cf
Sin was more powerful, more manifcj t eaJ
more distressing on the part of the Reinfect
than it is in this day. This wholo rulj t
awakens very serious and importan t i -
qulries. Ventral isaptm
He who is faithful over a fe w
lord of cities. , It does tot r ' '
you preach in Westminster A ! "
ragged class, bo you t i i .
faithfulness is all. G'eorl e Ir I