North Carolina Newspapers

THE FLOWERS COLLECTION PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY A COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA COW FERENCE, M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. RUFUS T. HEFLIN, Editor. r&lbiqh, Thursday aovBUBBia is, im. ADVOCATE. c tit ST (Original. For the N. C. Christian Advocate. Proselytism and Proselyters. NUMBER VII. Mr. Editor : I am now prepared to show VI. That if success croicn the ef forts of the Proselyters then long and fondly cherished friendships and oper ations are broken up; distrust and suspicion succeed ; and often the har mony aad peace of families are inter rupted or destroyed. That these results have followed in the footsteps of proselytism from the beginning of the practice down to the present time, is too plain to require proof. That there have been excep tions to this general rule, will be ad mitted ; still these have been " few and far between,"' and when such hon orable exceptions have occurred, they have been found in persons, who, after calm research and prayerful delibera tion, have changed their ecclesiastical connections ; and, with that change, they retained and nourished the love of the brethren. I can but honor such changes as these, because they bear on their face the evidence of sincerity, honesty and truth. But, alas ! how few cases of this kind are to be met with in the ranks of the proselyted ! The great majority of those perverts with whom we meet, go, it is to be feared, from motives of worldly consid erations, and consequently,' they effec tually sever themselves from those with whom they formerly held Christian communion. In the very act of sepa ration, they violently dissolve all the sacred ties that twined about their hearts. They go out with the assumed belief that those with whom they had been connected, have "no Church, no ministry, no sacrament;" or are sinners, ! because thev have not been into "the watery grave ;" and if they are at all consistent the severance must be com plete. The friendship and love of years, are broken as in a moment ; a friend ship kindled at the altar of prayer, where the trembling, heart-broken peni tent, was upborne to the mercy seat on the prayers and faith of God's people, and pardoned ; fed by the associations of the prayer meeting, the class room and the great congregation ; and ren dered sacred by the recollection of mu tual trials and suffer'ngs through which they had been called to pass. This hallowed friendship, and heaven em balmed love are invaded and broken up by the heartless proselyter. Bad as this is, it is not the worst feature of the subject. Mutual dis- trust succeeds the disruption of brother-, ly affection. The perverts are suspec ted by those trom whom they have sep arated, and especially where the change has been effected in the usual way. They are hard to believe indeed, it is almost impossible to do so that puri ty of motive a desire to be more holy and useful governed the perverts in their change. The proselyted, on their part, are equally suspicious ; they sus pect those from whom they separated with entertaining unkind feelings to wards them : aye, they feel and know that suspicion rests upon them ; hence mutual distrust ensues, and true Chris tian sensibility and fraternity are at an end. It can hardly be otherwise. "Who can look upon such scenes as these and not loath in his heart of hearts the craven proselyter? " Back to thy punishment, False fugitive, and to thy speed add wings." It is a fact which is well sustained by history a truth that has come with in the observation of many living wit nesses, that apostates evince more ma lignity towards the faith and commu nion from which they apostatize, than those who have had no such connec tion ; hence persons who are induced to change their Church relations for the reasons above given, are in gener al, indisposed to rest on the ground of ordinary moderation. It is character istic of human nature has become al most a law of mind, to dislike and even hate those whom we have knowingly injured. This may be accounted for in this way : the one is an inward goad ing consciousness of the injury done, and a want of magnanimity to confess it ; and the other is the painful convic tion that such conduct necessarily be gets mistrust. The proselyted know that they have injured those whom they have abandoned have lroken faith with them ; and, they also know, that they are suspected by those from whom they have separated themselves : and this is not all, they are not altogether sure of enioying the confidence of their new made friends. There is just ground for this apprehension, for such may rest assured that those who think calmly, have their doubts secretly of the mo tives which prompted such a change,and stand in fear of yet greater changes. " We point," says Mr. Lewis, an Epis copal writer, " to the known principle, that minds once unsettled, are apt to change, and go to extremes." Speak ing of those who are the most bitter in their feelings and denunciatory in their speeches against other denominations, the same writer remarks " They are, In a maioritv of cases, such as have come into our church from other de. nominations, but by a sad though com mon process, seem most bitter and un charitable towards the faith in which they have left parents and kindred." This is a sad view of the case ; and yet, it is as true as it is sad. Self-crn-demned if any religious sensibility remains, for having causelessly aban doned the Church and friends of their " first love" and their sacred reminis cences, they apprehend that they are suspected, not only by those whom they have ingloriously deserted, but are re garded with a jealous eye by those whom they have joined. This impres sion and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred it is a correct one is well cal culated to induce in them disquietude. Thus circumstanced, they are apt to conclude that the best and surest way to avoid the distrust of their new friends, is to become very jealous for the new faith. To speak in terms of gentleness and commendation of their former pas tors, brethren and ecclesiastical econ omy, would, in their opinion, be con strued into a lingering fondness for old associations, and tend to increase al ready existing doubts as to the entire ness of their conversion. Their old as sociates question their motives, and have little, if any faith, in their religious principles and stability. To avoid, if possible, all occasion for uncertainty, they proceed to decry the Church to which they previously belonged, and to laud and glorify their new connec tion. Moderation would be construed at least they think so into luke warmness ; and lukewarmness in a new ly adopted faith, would be considered as ominous of another change. Hence they dare not occupy a middle ground, but must be zealous, exclusive, vindict ive. If they join the Church, sacra, ments episcopally consecrated are con verted into independent media of grace, and succession the life and soul of that efficiency : or if they go down " into Jordan," they declare their conviction, "that immersion, and that only, is the baptism which Christ enjoins;" and that " none but believers in Jesus have a right to the ordinances of Jesus" : (Jewett) and, as a consequence, all oth er professors of Christ are unbaptized sinners. The conditions of these unfortunate ones are somewhat analagous to that of Benedict Arnold ol revolutionary notoriety. That miserable man was fully aware of the opinions of those with whom he had won honor and glory, as to his conduct. He felt he was a deserter and traitor, and knew that they held him as such ; and then as to those unto whom he had deserted, he judged that even they doubted his sin cerity, and distrusted his motives. To remove as far as possible all grounds for doubt from among his new friends, he leit nis ensanguined mark on every feature of his country where the for tunes of war led him. But, did such conduct secure the end proposed en sure the confidence, respect, and honor of his English friends ? No, no ; they still suspected, contemned, dishonored him. Tempted he yielded, and in yield ing he was despised. Turning to the poor perverts to "a party or creed," I will say, it is bad enough for them to be suspected by those they have left ; but to be suspi cioned by their new friends those lov ing friends who had " compassed sea and land" to proselyte them, is beyond endurance. Why, the very thought should be enough to swell the bosom and bedew the eye ; and yet that thought has assumed a form tangible and prominent, and for their own sakes I invite them to contemplate their po sitions in their true light in the light in which they are regarded by others ; aye, by their newly made brethren. Of such Dr. Lewis thus speaks "They are like foam on the ocean, ver upper most and most visible, but small and empty compared with the waters be neath. They are most loud and promi nent, as the worst representatives of a church usually are. They are like the i i single grass hopper in the field, which will make more noise than twelve tat oxen quietly feeding."' How insignifi cant, contemptible do the perverts the poor misguided, deluded proselytes, appear in the sight of those for whom they have torsaken all I Ihey are the foam the " most loud, but worst representatives of the Church'' -noisy "grass hoppers," disturbing the quietude of the " fat oxen." How complimentary to the perverts ! But they have chosen their own positions, and must abide the consequence. " Patient at heart, tho' racked at every pore, The righteous penalty of sin he bore." The practical results of this system are most powerfully felt in family cir cles. Here parents are alienated from, and arrayed in opposition to parents ; children to parents ; brothers separated trom sisters, and sisters trom brothers : aye, and sometimes husbands from wives, and wives from husbands. What the Master predicted of the world and his people, has been, and is being ful filled in the persons of his professed followers " A man's foes shall be of his own household." Where this is the case, domestic harmony, if not peace itself is sacrificed to sectarian prejudice. Dissonance of religious opinions leads to heated unpleasant altercations; while j tight laced bigotry erects an insur mountable barrier to Christian commu nion " Can two walk together, except they be agreed ?" Who is responsible for the evils growing out of such a stale of things? The proselyter. How great is that responsibility ! Virginia. EPISTOLEUS. For the N. C. Christian Advocate. Normal College. Mr. Editor : It was my good for tune to visit this Institution a few days since, and observe, with close scrutiny, the whole machinery of its motion. I had heard previously from various sources, of its admirable organization, conducted on a plan, almost entirely different from that of any other College, North or South, and I must confess that my curiosity was not a liitle astir, to see for myself. That a College of high grade should spring up and flour ish, as an individual enterprise, in the midst of a people not more noted for their love of literature than those of other States, with scarcely any aid, but the talent and energy of one man, while other colleges have their thousands of dollars,and the wisdom of a multitude of counsellors to base upon; and yet,after all many af them live in the region and shadow of death, was a mystery too Eleusian to understand satisfactorily. That a large portion of the people (may I not write the majority ?) have a diref t tendency to indolence, flippancy and wickedness, is an undeniable fact; that many of our institutions of learn ing, which are but the creations of the people, have caught the poisonous ma laria, and instead of sending out broad sheets of intellectual fire, purified by the grace of the Living God, and lead ing on the great van of human society to moral and intellectual eminence, by crushing into uter nonenitythe miser able follies of the day.have basely, trait orously yielded up their high stand point, and become the mere sink-holes of gilded infidelity and crime, cannot be denied; that hundreds of young men go out annually from within their walls with splendid diplomas, but positively not having accomplished one half in their curriculum of study, and this known too, to the Faculty and Trus tees, can be proved by the students themselves of such Institutions : that the whole bearing of such a course, is inevitable ruin in the end, both to the Institution and the student, and de struction to the best interest of the country, is self-evident. Finally, that the intelligent portion of society, at least, sees the same, weighs its conse quences, and would gladly build up some bulwark, strong and powerful, to hurl back this mighty tide of evil, by battling boldly for the cause of God, and humanity, cannot be doubted. Otherwise, where is our hope ? Literary Institutions should be radiating point3 of intellectual light and moral purity combined, and if they are not, they are living, breathing curses to society. Now whether Normal College, at this time the Methodist Conference College of N. C, has battled thus in the very face of its enemies, from the beginning of its career to the present, and by this means only, has won brilliant success, and now proudly wears its honors, is a point to be settled by facts; for they are of age and can speak for them selves, but do not come within the province of this sketch. We shall briefly note what we saw while there, and if any one, friend or foe, do not believe our report, let him go and see for him self. We assure him a warm gripe of the hand, by the President and Faculty, and a pleasant home while there. At 8 o'clock in the morning, the large College beli might have been heard for miles around. In a few min utes from various quarters, long pro cessions of students came moving on with rapid march toward the Col lege edifice. No giddy laugh, nor loud huzza was there, but a stillness that was cheerful, yet bespoke the burthen of mind. They enter the campus from four points of the compass ; and thence to their study rooms they repair. All is now quiet, not a whisper can be heard, each is in his chair, and at study. Soon the roll bell taps, and instanter, the roll-keepers are at their posts, marking closely every absentee. (The roll-keepers are selected from each class in turn ; it is their business to mark all whispering and disorders of every kind, and have charge of roll, fires, doors, &c. Their fiat is law pro tem., but subject to revision by the President, in the presence of the whole class ; term lasts a week including Sabbath.) In a few minutes the chapel bell rang, and thither all repair for prayers, the roll keepers following their classes. After prayers, a short exposition of the pass age read, in a masterly style, by the President and made searchingly appli cable to the spirit of the times, follows. The foibles of character are held up in amazingly disgusting colors and their very roots exposed ; influence is now traced with a pencil of light. On the other hand, all that adorns and dignifies man, is presented in their most attract ive form, while words of consolation are spoken to the desponding heart. Highly instructive advice is also given as to the proper plan and spirit of study. Lecture over, all retire, as soon as a tap of the large bell brings the different classes into the recitation rooms. During the next hour, "there is no peace for the wicked," I assure you. Questions, explanations and criticism follow in quick succession, and if there is the least faltering, a double portion is assigned. All this time, not a foot step is heard in any aisle of the large College-building, and had you been with me, kind reader, we might have taken a position any where, within or without the rooms not used by the class es, and not have known that any one was near us. The bell taps, the classes retire, a few minutes pass and other classes are summoned. Thus pass the exercises of the day with an hour's rest at noon. Twenty minutes are given in th e evening, after the last recitation bell for instruction before dismission.- The Faculty imme mediately thereafter assemble in the President's room to give in absences, failures, misdemea. &c, during the dav. Those whohiivs- sent in -lesal excuses to the President are excused, otherwise not, causes of failure are in vestigated and such policy adopted as will be best for the student and institu tion. The sick an visited by the Pres ident or some of the Faculty, often by all, and the necessary aid secured. Thus the needy ,are helped, and the hypocrite detected. Besides the stern rigid discipline, thus brought into exer cise, these Faculty meetings have a tendency to harmonize and bring about the unity of effort, that could not oth erwise be effected among its members. Each is gifted with duties of general oversight, and being personally inter erested in the success of the Institution, energize every nrve to bold manly ex ertion. The Faculty of Normal College are emphatically homines unius mentis et cordea, and know by experience that Amor laborum vineit omnia. During the night, till 8 o'clock in the morning, the students are required to be at their own boarding rooms and not only so, but perfectly orderly. It is also the duty of each boarding house to enforce college law to the letter by reporting promptly to the Faculty eve ry violation. Swearing, drinking liquor, are capital offences. Now, sir, we have briefly sketched what we know to be facts, and leave our readers to be judges for themselves. The discipline is rigid and the scholar ship required thorough and profound, but who does not see that this is the way to reach the grand object in view. The whole country North, South, East, West, must depend upon such Instistu tions for its future good, and we are glad to "find the Old North State building up in her midst, (we are not a North Carolinian) a college whose prin ciples are as firm as the base of her own granite hills. For mercy's sake, give us men not shadows, scliolars not diplomas, to stand up with brave hearts and wise heads to battle for our coun try and our God, come from whatsoev er quarter they may. We understand a very large number of the 175 students now present, are professors of religion, and that a reviv al influence is progressing in their midst. OMICRON. l" " ' . friertintiH, From the Nashville Christian Advocate. European Impressions. The Rev C. II Spurgeon A critical es timate of liispoicers as a Pulpit Orator, and the wonderful effects of his ?ninis try. I have heard Mr. Spurgeon repeatedly in circumstances favorable, and in circum stances unfavorable when he was well, and when he was, sick when he succeed ed, and when he failed in the great hall at Surrey Garden1", and in the narrow New-Park-Street Chapel ; so I think I am pre pared now to analyze him, and give my Auitrican friends something like a correct estimate of his abilities. I drew a brief sketch of the man last Christmas for the Southern Christian Advocate; but it was rough, meagre, imperfect, and in some points perhaps erroneous. I had heard him but once, and theD, it was said, he was not in bis happiest mood ; but since my return from the continent, I have lis tened to several of his very best discourses, and think I ought at least to qualify cer tain statements in the letter alluded to. 31 r. Spurgeon's popularity is as great as 1 . , T7. , ever rattier on tne increase. Jiiuvy ana bigotry from the beginning spoke of him as a meteor a will-o'-the-wisp stared ft by the multitude, but soon to explode and disappear. But all these prophecies have failed, and Mr. Spurgeon never had a lar ger audience than he has now. Formerly only the lower classes crowded his chapel ; now every Sabbath finds the aristocracy of West End, clergymen of the Establish ment, members of Parliament, and noble lords aBd ladies, occupying reserved scats around the desk at Surrey Gardens. Per haps no man ever had a firmer hold upon the public heart of London than Mr. Spur geon has at this moment ; and envy and bigotry may frown, and sneer, and criti cise, and culminate; but this young man, with all his faults and no just critic will deny him many of them with God to help as hitherto he manifestly helped him, will outlive the satires of his enemies, and shine among those who have turned many to righteousness, when their lamp has gone out in darkness. But what is the secret of his success ? Whence hia great popularity? Is there any thing peculiar in the man himself, in his manner, or his doctrines, or the cir cumstances of his ministry ? I will en deavor to answer these questions. Mr. Spurgeon is certainly not indebted for his popularity to bis origin, for he is of humble birth; nor to the influeriGo of his sect, for the Anabaptists are among the least esteemed of all the dissenting bodies in England. Nor is it to be ascribed to a fine person or agreeable manners ; for he is a srreat, fat, rotund, overgrown boy awkward in action, unhandsome in fea tures, and scarcely tidy in dress a man whom no lady would love at sight more likely to b taken for a butcher than a preacher apparently feasting more on roast-beef and plum-pudding than on "the bread that coineth down from heaven." Nor does he show a high degree of mental culture, or any thing like refinement of taste ; for his mind has manifestly never been closely schooled in metaphysical or dialectic studies, and frequently he is of fensively coarse and vulgar in his style. Nor is his logic or his rhetoric of a superi or character; for of the former he has, properly speaking, little or none, and the latter is as full or faults aH it is ot ugures. Nor is he guilty of any unusual originality, profundity, or brilliancy of thought ; for he never utters any thing new, or any thing remarkably striking. iNor has he a very charming voice; for though it is clear and strong, it is neither varied nor musical having great volume but little compass not at all what you would call an oratorical voice monotonous and inflexible inca pable alike of majesty and of tenderness. Nor is it fine action ; for in this depart ment he is greatly inferior to many whom I know in the American pulpit who have never attained to a tenth part of his celeb rity ; and must have been vastly excelled by George Whitfield and Edward Irving, with both of whom he has so often been compared by an undiscriminating press. Not in any nor in all of these lies the pow er of Mr Spurgeon ; but it does lie, if I mistake not, in the following facts : 1. He is quite natural. In the pulpit he seems perfectly at home, and fears none but God. Free from all embarrassment of timidity, and entirely self-possessed, he talks to his hearers like a friend. Even in his most impassioned utterances, there is no pulpit tone no clerical mannerism nothing that you might not look for in the secular orator, or the scientific lecturer. 2. lie is very simple. He says nothing that the youngest and most illiterate of his heaiers cannot perfectly understand. His language is good idiomatic Saxon. There are no Latinisms, no Germanisms, no long and difficult words, no tangled cud high pressure sentences only such as may in stantly be comprehended by the bootblack and the newsboy. He never aims at orna ment, nor uses two words where one will answer. In this respect he resembles Wesley or Whitfield. 8. lie is highly dramatic. Every thing lives, moves, and speaks in his sermons. The whole discourse, indeed, in only a se ries of pictures, brought vividly before the audience. There are no cold and dry ab stractions. Every truth is clothed with life and power. Metaphors and similes crowd upon one another as thick as Jere my Taylor's or Edward Irving's; though not as graceful as the former, nor as gorgeous as the latter. But his chief forte is the apostrophe, in the use of which certainly he has seldom been excelled. His dramat ic power, though inferior undoubtedly to Whitfield's or Irving's, is confessedly very great. 4. He is manifestly in earnest. No man perhaps was ever more so. He speaks aa if he stood with his audience upon a trem bling point between heaven and hell. His great desire evidently is to do God's work well, and save as many souls aa he can. Hence that directness of application, that fervid hortatory style, which rivets the at tention, forces home the truth, and makes every hearer feel himself personally ad dressed by the preacher. Hence also that boldness and fidelity which rebukes sin in high places, and speaks to "my noble lords and ladies" as plainly as to the cab-driver and the kitchen-maid. The last time that I heard him, the Duchess of Sutherland was present, and several other noble per sonages, who perhaps had never listened to a dissenting preacher before; and if he did not deal faithfully with their souls that i day, then Nathan did not deal faithfully with David, nor Paul with Felix and Agrippa. O, but he did thresh them with the gospel flail. O, but be did grind them, as with millstones, between the two tables of the law ! He seemed to draw the string more tightly, and point the arrow more accurately, because he was aiming high. You will read these passagess some day in his reported sermons. I never heard any thing nobler from human lips. It was worthy of an Elijah or a Peter ! 5. He preaches the doctrines of the gos pel Human depravity, Christ crucified, justification by faith, spiritual regeneration, and judgment to come, are his consaut themes. It is the good old gospel, aud nothing new, that he keeps before the peo ple. I do not say, for I do not think, that he preaches this good old gospel in the very best form. All wheat has chaff. Mr. Spurgeon preaches Calvinism gone to seed. He .is more Calvioistic than Calvin him self. But among the chaff there is so much wheat that, hungry souls cannot fail of nourishment under his ministry. In short although he preaches Calvinism in a form which would be offensiie to nine-tenths of the Calvinists of Christendom, he preaches Arminianism very much more. He is theoretically a Calvinist, but practically an Artuinian. He has a CalvinisMc head, but an Arminian heart ; and his heart is so much greater than his head that it always carries the day. He invairably tells the sinner that he can do nothing, and must wait for God to do all ; but then he falls to and urges him with such irresistible ener gy to immediate repentance and faith in Christ, that the poor man fortunately for gets the former statement, and is carried eaptive by the preacher's impetuous exhor- j tation. Thus Mr. Spurgeon is constantly contradicting himself in the most remarka ble manner, and it seems strange to me that every hearer does not see the incom patibility of his theory and his practice. In one of the sermons to which I listened, af ter having stated the doctrine of predesti nation and election in the strongest possi ible form, he exhorted his bearers with a most genial warmth to torn immediately to God; when all at once he seemed to recol lect himself, but the heart still carried it over the head, and he exclaimed : "You may accuse me of preaching Arminianism; I care not it is what I love to preach, and am bound to preach, and will by the help of God !" and still he went on with greater fervor than ever. . 6. But the Lest of all is God is with him. Who can doubt it '! This is the chief reason of his success It is not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the .Lord. Mr. bpurgeon is a simple-hearted man, deeply concerned for the salvation of his fellow-men, and God is owning and blessing his labors. And why not ? If be scatters some tares, he- scatters also, and much more plentifully, "the good seed of the kingdom. if he builds with "wood, hay, stubble," he yet builds upon the true foundation, "which is Christ Jesus; and "gold, silver, precious stone," adorn the superstructure. Was not the Saviours immediate harbinger a rough man of the desert? "Not many wise, noble, u.igbty, are called." Is it net now in this respect much as id the days of Paul ? How many such instances arc recorded in the aunals of Methodism ! God sends by whom be will, and often honors his truth with a blessing, though it be mixed with error. Amen : and let him he anathema who dares to call the Diviue Wisdom to account for such disorderly proceedings ! Away with your silly cant about pulpit propriety aud refinement Away with your bigoted for malism, which would hinder te free course of the Gospel ! I was speaking to Dr. McNeil in Italy; when an Englishman ex claimed : '"But he is a firebrand in tho Church !" This is what the church needs: would to God there were more such ! The church must be set on fire, no matter who bears the torch,or in what manner! Thank God, Mr. Spurgeon, with all his faults,has done a great work in London; aud the in direct result, perhaps, ig the greater part of the good. Who has nt heard of the current series of discourses to the poor in Exeter Hall ? I listened to one of them, by the Hon. and Rev. Hugh Stowell The immense roouiwascrowded to its utmost capacity not less than six thousand hear ers and while the Rev. gentleman was delivering, without notes, one of the most eloqucut and fervent appeals for God, I ever heard; a city missionary of the Estab lishment was holding forth in the street to the crowd that could not effect ati entrance. All this, and muh more of the same sort, has the hearty concurrence and sanction of the Bishop ot London. ho has waked up this feeling amoag the clergy ? They have seen what crowds are following Mr. Spurgeon, and they cannot consent to be outdone by the Dissenters; and, o'.ncfrom fear, and some from shame, and some from the love of souls, glad of the occasion and the opportunity, they are putting forth their might in this holy work ; and now, blessed be God ! again may it be said in London, "the poor have the gospel preach ed to them." And the flame which these "firebrands" have kindled is spreading over the kingdom, and hundreds of sermons are preached every Lord's day in the open air. I spent last Sabbath in Clifton, the beautiful suburb of Bristol. In the morn ing I heard a delightful extempore from the Rev. Mr. Brock, of Christ's Church. In the afternoon, passing across Durham Down, I found the same gentleman preach ing without his gown to an immense crowd of people, under a clusterof elms. On, on, Mr. fcpurgeon, and don t be afraid of ming ling too many Arminian' appeals with your Calvinistic dogmas ! You arc doing a good work; and God prosper your miuistry! Jos. Cross. The Gospel Baptism Its True Mode. VII. Ezekiel has given us a prophe cy of equal clearness. "Then ivill I SPRINKLE CLEAN WATER upon you, and ye shall be clean, from all your flithincss, and from all your idols will I cleanse now. A new heart also will I give you, and a neiv spirit to ill 1 vut within voti : and I will take away the stony heart out oj your Jlesi, and I will give you a heart oj jlesh. A.nd 1 will PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU." This prediction so plainly points out the work of God, under the Gospel, the outward and inward bap tisms, that none can mistake its appli cation. The work of thorough con version and sanctification is taught with the greatest possible clearness. It is "having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, Heb. x. 22, andonr bodies washed." " The washing of re generation, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abun dantly through Jesus Christ our Sa viour. Titus in. o. Here we have both the inward and outward baptisms. But the outward, the emblem, is the SPRINKLING of CLEAN WATER UPON US ! Immersion can NEVER answer for this prophecy. Just as soon could darkness answer for light, or death for life. This is AFFUSION, and nothing else ; and this is my SEV ENTH DEMONSTRATION. All the seven witnesses speak the same language, and all point with mathematical precision to the baptism of the New Testament. Shadows they are, and prophecies. But neverthe less, as shadows, they point to their substance with unerring cei-tainty; and as prophecies, they are the word and truth of God, ana must nave tneir tui- fillment VIII. If we now leave the Old Tes tament history of baptism and approach the JNew, we snail see at once, how strikincrlv the foresoin? types and o w fJ J nronhecies have their fulfillment. 1. first we see John the uaptist on the I H 50 a Yoar,ia Adraace. banks of Jordan, proclaiming tho Kingdom of God at hand, prcacli'ng repentance, and preparing the people by baptism, for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This baptism answer to the baptism of the Israelites unto Moses, in the cloud and in theaca. Finally, oar Great High Priest is K-t apart to his sacred office, by bapti. :n and the anointing of the Holy Gho t. This is done before all the people ; and the Baptist exclaims, "Behold the limb of God who taketh away the tin of the world!" He is proclaimed to the world as the great Spiritual Baptizer. "He that sent me to baptize tcith water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see Hie Spirit descending an I re maining on him, th same ir lie t' ? baptizeth with the Holy Ghost ; and J saw and bear record, that this is the. Son ef God. I indeed have baptized, you with water, but he shall Urptiv you with the Holy Ghost and trifl fire" John i. 32, 33; Matt. iii. 11. This is the great anti-type of all the illustrious types of" antiquity. In l.im all the shadows meet and are lost in his glorious grace. We have already considered the case cf his baptism un der the head of the consecration of illustrious type Aaron. We have seen Aaron's trashing answers to hi.i bap tism ; that Aaron's anointing with oi". to Christ's anointing with the Holy Ghost. "But God gave not the Sjn-'. it by measure unto Him." Bat tl,i." anointing when bestowed by him n others, he calls baptisms; John calls it baptism; God the Father calls its bnp tism. "Upon whom thou thalt v the Spirit descending and remainiitj on him the same is he which BAPTI ZETH WITH THE HOLY GHOST.'' Pacific Methodist. Quaint Old Song. Ye who would save your feature florid. Lithe limbs,brilitevi4,un wrinkled foruli- rl, From age's devastation horrid, Adopt this plnn : 'Twill make in climate cold or torriJ, A hale old man. Avoid in youth Insurious diet, Restrain the paion's lawless riot, Devoted to domestic quiet. Be wisely gsy : So shall ye, in spite of Age's flat,. Resist decay. Seek not in Mammon's worship, pleasuri' -But find your richrbt, purest treasure, In book, frieri'ls, music, polished leisure : The mind, not pence, Makes the lole stale by which to nieaouf Opulence. This is the solace, this the science. Life's purest, sweetest, bewt appliance, That disappoint", nut man's reliance What e'er his state But challenges, with calm defiance,. Time, Fortune, Fate. David's Syllogism-. Thomas Fuller, in his " Scripture Observations," 83yg r Lord, I find David making a syllo gism, in mood and figure : two propo sitions he perfected. 4 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. But verily God hath heard mo. lie hath attended to the voice of ray pr.iy er." Now, I expected that David wouM have concluded thus : Therefore, I regard not wickedness in my heart.' But far different, h concludes : ' Blessed be God, who hath not turn ed away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.' Thus David hath deceived, but n.t wronged me. I looked that he should have clapj i the crown on 'his own, and he puts i: on God's head. I will learn thist x cellent logic ; for I like David's bctt r than Aristotle's syllogism, that-vh:-: ever the premises be, I make God'o glory the conclusion. Do Not Condemn Hastily. 15c r tient with your erring brethren; for G-i i9 very patient with you, and it is yum duty to imitate your Father in Heaven i. much aa possible. For one or two ncs which may be proved to be wrong, do nut condemn and cast out forever a brnt ci beloved. You may not understand tl-is whole case, and if you were faithfully and prayerfully toviwit that brother, and labor with that brother, as Christ has labored with you, he might be saved. We cann i always see into the heart, and our jud ;. ment would perhaps be condemned as often as approved by our Saviour. Instead ! casting stones at an individual, we wim1 1 often, if we knew and felt a Jesus du , sympathizingly say to the erring, 'Go ami in no more.' We are not called upon t; exercise judgment, so much as mercy and love. Courage and Patience.. Life is sad, because wo know-it. Death, because we know it not-; But we will not fret or murmur--Every man must bear his lot. Coward hearts, who shrink and fly,. Are Dot fit to live or die !. Knowing life, we should not fcao i; Neither death, for that's- unknown : Courage, Patience these are virtues Which for many sins atjne : Who has these and have not 1 7 . He is fit to live and die !