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VOLUME IX. RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, JUNE 23, 1852. NUMBER 25.
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MINISTER’S DEPARTMENT,
For the Christian Sun.
The following sermon toot delivered in the Suffolk
Street Christian Church in the City of"New
York, June 13tA 1852, at the request of an In
fidel, while laboring under doubts respecting
immortality.
BT ISAAC K. WALTER.
“If a man die shall he live again?”—Job xiv. 14.
Mania distinguished by a capacity of looking
forward into futur^y. His views are not neces
sarily, limited to this earthly habitation, to the
horizon which circumscribes his vision, to the time
which is measured by years, and days, and hours,
that move on with uncoatrolable rapidity.
He may ealeulate on another life, on other op
portunities and occasions of perception, and ac
tion. He may anticipate new and enlarged ca
pacities. He may look forward to different and
far more considerable results from his present la
bors and character, than any which he ever per
ceives in this life. The analogy of nature does not
allow us to believe that man should have been en
abled and iuduced to plant without ever being
permitted to gather ; but this must often be the
case, if the present life is the whole of his exis
tence.
It is incompatible with any enlarged views of
the wisdom of the Creator, whose works are full
of glorious design, to think that He should have
formed tire human mind, capable of boundless
desires and conceptions, and yet have designed
mankind only for this world, and thus afford them
no objects ndequate to the capacious imagina
tions of the soul, no field in which its illustrious
faculties may find sufficient employment, or be
advanced to the perfection to which they are
adapted.
It is not worthy of the Creator, to suppose,
that such a curious and magnificent prepaiation,
should have been mnde without a correspondent
purpose, and that the human intellect, that imme
diate emanation from the Deity, should have been
merely to light a passage to the tomb. It is not
consistent with just and grateful sentiments con
cerning the goodness of God, to think, that He
would allow His creatures to be grossly deluded
with false hopes, and that He should in any way
have inspired desires and expectations of immor
tality, w hich must prove as baseless as the fabric
of a dream.
11 is not honorable to His moral attributes to
suppose,that vice will not experience a just retribu
tion, or that virtueoften oppressed and injured,
will not ultimately be vindicated.
Nature, reason, experience, and the analogy of
divine Providence, point continually to a future
state as consistent with the preseut faculties, and
probable from the present condition of man, with
out which the plan of his life, seems incomplete and
unworthy of its great and wise Author. The
hope of immortality, thus awakened in the human
heart, revelation in the fullest manner confirms.
What nature and reason spoke of in limited whis
pers, is proclaimed aloud in the gospel, by the
voice of that only Being over whom death has no
power, and with whom there is neither succession
nor change. It is a leading object of Christian
ity to teach a future life, and the death aud con
sequent resurrection of Christ give an unquestion
able proof of it. On this subject a Christian has
ao doubt. It is the corner stone of our religion
f OB which every thing connected with it depends.
In the light of the gospel, a future is as certain
as a present life.
i The Scriptures encourage the belief that death
will be no interruption of our conscious existence.
They constantly exhibit the indispensable and
close connexion between the present and the fu
ture life. They point to the future state, as a
state of mqpal retribution, where our characters
must follow us, and tbo proper consequences of
hut, characters must follow us, and the proper
consequences of our conduct be fully developed.
They reveal a stale in which the evils of life, or
wbat here appear to us to be such, will be com
pletely remedied, the imperfections of our present,
knowledge supplied, the ways of Ood to man
vindicated, and the triumphs of the Divine wis
dom, equity, and goodness, be not only complete,
but Apparent. They disclose a state of immor
tality, secure from the ravages of death and unaf -
fected by the vicissitudes and trials, of life. They
promise the enlargement of our powers. They
open to the prospect a boundless field for the ex
erlinus of benevolence and wisdom, and a course of
uninterrupted and endless proficiency in holiness.
These are the prospects which religion holds be
fore us, and we can be &t no loss as to our duty.
This state should be kept erfastantly in our view.
I The consideration of it should be associated with
| all our labors, hopes, and calculations, .with all
; our views of humau life and its conceiB#, with
it very thought of our own frailty and mortality,
| and with every instance of trial and suffering, or
j death to which we are called in our own condition,
or in that of others. Nothing can be more un
worthy of us, than, with a capacity of thus ex
tending our views, and with so sublime a destina
tion before us, to live and die like beasts of the
j field without concern or calculation for the future.
| No man can say that a future life is not possible.
I There is no man with any degree of intellectual
cultivation, and possessing an unexunguisneu
spark of virtuous feeling, who will deny, that even
under the light of nature and reason, it is accom
panied with a considerable degree ctf probability.
Why should it be thought a thing incredible, that
God should raise the dead ? Nature and reason
often speak to us of a coming life. There is hope
of a tree if it be down, that it shall sprout
again. When you have stood over the grave of
on« whom you loved and honored, and have seen
youth and beauty, or wisdom and virtue, every
thing that is lovely, or every thing that is vener
able, consigned to the dust, before the earth lias
been thrown in upon this sacred deposit, of per
haps a parent, it may be the mother, who bore
you, or your child, or the friend who is closer than
a brother, and while the fountains of grief are
pouring out their streams, and the heart is aching
and throbbing with its agony, has not every gen
erous feeling of the soul rushed forward to declare
that under the dominion of a pei fectly wise and
good Being, it is impossible this should be the
end of man ?
Why should we not in regard to a future state,
be decided and governed by the same rules of
prudence, which control us in the ordinary con
cerns dF human life ? On what principle is the
business of this life conducted but on a calculation
of probabilities ?
Who can ascertain of conBdently conjecture,
the events even of the coming hour? How
would the affairs of this life proceed if wo must
be governed only by demonstrative certainty ?
Is it not surprising llml in respect to a future
life men are not willing to follow the same
maxims of prudence, on which they feel bound
to act in respect to what is future in this life: and
that what is probable in relation to another
existence, in proportion to the degree of
probability should not weigh with them equal
ly considerations, attended only with the same
measure of probability, in what relates to the
present? But with the man who acknowl
edges a religion which has brought immortality
to light, what can be more a duty than to keep
this immortality constantly present to his mind ?
Such a person should never think of this life,
but in connexion with another, of earth, as a scene
of prepara'ion for heaven, of time, as presently
to be swallowed up in eternity : of the tiials of
this world, but as a discipline for the next, of
moral conduct, but in its relation to moral recom
pense, of death, but as a necessary step to im
mortality ; and of the various dark, and inscruti
ble dispensations of heaven, which confound all
our calculations, but as ultimately to issue in the
most luminous displays of God’s perfections : as
violent terrific storms are succeeded by a serene
[and purified air, and the deepest darkness of the
night ushers in the day. _
These are the feelings and views, which the in
structions of religion tend to prqduce. In this
way we have conversation in heaven. Thus we
should- always associate things, temporal with
things eternal, earth with heaven, death with life,
time with eternity, present ignorance with future
knowledge, and the sufferings of this mortal con
dition with the happy result to which if religious
ly improved, they will finally conduct us. How
elevating are these doctrines of religion. How
unworthy of the character of national, and moral
beings to neglect them.
How perfectly are they adapted to promote our
virtue, to impart support and consolation to the
afflicted, and to give dignity to the human char
acter, and elevate our minds, above all time, and
place our affections on things above. What can
be more adapted to promote our virtue, than a
sentiment of our destination to immortal life?
** Let us eat and drink,” say those who are with
out God, and without hope, “ for to-morrow we
diebut would any man think that life might
be devoted "to the excessive indulgence of appe
tites and passions, wbieh he has in common with
the brute creation, if he always lived under the
conviction that he is to exist forever ? Impressed
with the sentiment of God’s moral dominion, with
a belief that He will bring every work into judg
raent, that whatsoever a man eoweth, that shall
he also reap, that he who soweth, to the flesh,
shall of the flesh reap corruption, who would not
fear to sin ? Is there any one who for the criroi
nal, and unsatisfactory pleasures of life, would
■ think it well to sacrifice his hopes in futurity ? Un
| der the expectation of a future life, consequent on
| this, in its results and character connected with
i this as the effect with the cause, the event with
the preparation, the harvest with the spring, the
■ fruit to be expected with the seed sown, is there
any one who would not be always, to the certain
consequences of his character and conduct, and
govern himself by that great law of God’s moral
dominion, which is plainly indicated here, and
will be fully shown in another world, by which
the inevitable consequence of vice is shame, pri
vation, disease, infamy and misery : and the sure
rewards of virtue are satisfaction, hope, and felic
ity.
Are there any, who would not be excited to do
good, if they lived under the assurance that no
benevolent effort, will finally fail of success; that
every sacrifice which virtue demands will be fully
recompensed, and that bencficience on each, will
open the way to unlimited scope for doing good
in another world ? Are there any who do not la
i bor for improvement in virtue, when they feel as
sured that the practice of it shall be rewarded
with a capacity and opportunity of endless ad
vancement in moral goodness in the presence of
Gcd ?
The shaft of death often strikes those, who
stand at our side, and in a moment their counte
nance is changed, their purposes ate broken off,
and God sends them away. They, who are emi
nent for their virtues and talent are sometimes ar
rested in the midst of usefulness, and the bright
est lights in the community arc extinguished.
Children, the object of our confidence, are plucked
with the opening blossoms hanging thick upon
them. Parents to whom we have clung with all
the strength of filial reverence as the ivy entwines
itself around its natural supporter, and for whom
we have trembled, as we remarked the trunk shat
tered by the storms of winter, and heard the
wind whistle through its naked and decayed
branches, are laid prostrate in death, Friends,
with whom we shared a common interest, and a
common squI, and are torn from us at the very
time when confidence has become reasonable, and
hope displays its highest visions, before the im
agination. Under such calamities where shall we
find consolation, but in the Christian immortal
ity. - .
io whom shall we go but unlo Jesus Christ,
since with him, and witli him only, are the words
of eternal life ! Because He lives we shall live
also.
The death of Christ has rent in twain the veil
which hid the unseen from the visible world.
Eternity opens upon us in the immensity and mag
nificence of its prospects. Corruption may claim
our body, and our ashes may be scattered to the
winds, or employed by nature in productions of
other uses and texture, but another form will
arise, clad in the freshness of Spring and the beau
ty of light. While we look at things which are
eternal and heavenly, nature may compel the tri
bute of our tears, but God will havo our faith.
Man bounding his prospects by- tho objects of
sense, living for this world, and having no hope
beyond the grave, forming connexions which must
expire witivihe short day of humatn-life, seeking
only possessions which perish with their using,
panting for honors, which wither as soon as plac
ed upon his brow, and pursuing pleasures which
1 are sensual and momentary ; and man, extending
| his views into an interminable futurity, living for
1 eternity, rising superior to the fear of death, form
ing connexions which death may interrupt, but
cannot dissolve, securing possessions which are
imperishable, seeking the approbation of God,
laying plans of good and of viilue, which he may
refe\v and finish beyond the grave, anticipating I
enlarged powers, and wider scope for intellectual
and moral cxeriion, in a state where his faculties
may be exercised without impediment, or fatigue,
and aspiring after the felicity of the divine pres
ence—-what different characters! how little can
the one be compared with the other, how con
tracted and low are the sentiments which actuate
the one, how ennobling are those which fill the
heart of the other! Life regirded only as a
short season of action and suffering, in which
man may do much, but in which, if there is no
other state after this, he must labor to little
purpose, in which one day after another is but
the same round of oares and toils, of hopes and
disappointments, of sufferings for which there are
in eueh cases no consolations, of privations for
whieh this world can neither afford remedy nor e-1
quivalent,a state in which,man continually tortured
with the apprehension of being cast off in the
midst of his pleasures and possessions, and the
fear of death holds him in continual bondage, in
which, at best a roan can only labor and toil, and j
suffer, and acquire, and then lay himself down and j
die, and mingle with the earth and be forgottenjand I
life regarded as only the infancy and school-time of j
our being, in which much is to be done, and much to
be suffered, but always with reference to future ac
quisition and recompense, and death itself is only
the passage to a rational and moral being ; life, in
which we may indulge the most tender sentiment
of virtuous friendship, and delight in the pure en
terchange of kindred souls, with sure conffdence
that, although death may interrupt, it cannot ul
timately sever such connexions; a life in which
we are living for God, for our fellow man, for
truth, virtue, and bevevolence, honored instru
ments in this service on earth, and destined for a
noble service in heaven, in which, though we
must submit to the great law of our nature? and
leave these frail tenements to dissolve, yet we
shall be had in honored remembrance on earth,
and be recognized and welcomed, by the spirits
of the just made perfect in heaven—compare
these two views with each oilier, and say if hu
man life does not owe to the Christian doctrine of
immortality, its real value, and its real digni
ty ? _.
Cherish with the most sedulous care this senti
ment of immortality. Never loose sight of the
connexion between the present and the future. Al
though the progress of time and the cares of life
may erase from your memory the traces of your
conduct from day to day, yet they are icdeliable
in the book of God’s remembrance. No vicious ac
tion shall go unpunished, no virtuous deed be unre
warded. In the future state moral retribution shall
be complete. Your labors for good though here
often defeated, and often wholly unsuccessful, will
not be in vain. Every benevolent and pious wish
that now possesses your soul, shall hereafter be
gratified. Consider always your habitual tem
per and course in life, and the sentiments you
cherish in reference to the retrospect, which you
yourself must take of them in another world, and
to the review, in which they pass before the Be
ing, whose knowledge is infinite, and whose judg
ment is beyond the possibility of mistake. Let
your views of human life correspond with the ex
pectations which you indulge of another, and in
finitely superior life. Look upon this world in the
light of the other. His ways may now appear
mysterious, and His purposes unsearchable, but
hereafter you will confess, their wisdom and recti
tude. and realize that He is too wise to err, and too
good to be unkind.
For the Christian Sun.
The Judgment—No. 3.
BY ELDEtt JUBILEE SMITH. ’
It seems from the beseechings of the apostle
Paul, in 2 Thess. 1; 1, 2: That there was some
thing important to be borne in tnind ; And what
was it? We beseech you brethren, by the com
ing of our our Lord Jesus Christ, and gathering
together unto him that ye be not soon shaken in
mind;” i e, hold fast to the faith and grace receiv
ed, or otherwise ye shall not be ready at his ap
pearing. He exhorts Timothy 6. 14, “Keep this
commandment without spot unrebukable until j
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” See
here, obedience to Christ is required by the apos
tle. We are told tv hat we should do in order to
be welcome guests at the last day by tbc King of
heaven. Those admonitions have direct reference
to the final judgment, or coming of the Lord at the
lust day. Paul in his epistle to Titus 2. 12, 13, says
“denying ungodliness and worldly lust we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present
world; looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God, and our Sa
viour Jesus Christ.” If it be important, that
those who have tasted of the good, word of God
and the powers of the world to come, be admon
ished in order to keep them on their guard ; take
care ungodly sinner, that that day come upon
you unawares; lest you might have an occasion
to call upon the rocks and the mountains to hide
you from his presence. Hear James 5,7. “Be
patient brethren, unto the coming of the Lord?”
again, “ for the coming of the Lord diawetli
nigh.” Hear Peter 1 epistle 1, 7, “That trial of
your faith being much more precious than that of
gold that perisheth, though it be tried by fire,
might be found unto praise and honor and glory
itt the appearing of Jesus Christ. Again says he,
“gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and
hope to the end; for the grace that shall be given
unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; a*
obedient children, not fashioning yourselves accor
ding to your former lusts in your ignorance; but
as he who hath called you is holy, be ye also holy
in all manner of conversation” “the end of all
things is at hand, be ye therefore sober and watch
unto prayer ”—“ inasmuch, as ye are partakers of
Christs sufferings, that when his glory shall be
revealed ye may be glad with exceeding joy”—
“Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved
what manner of persons ought we to be, in all
holv conversation and godliness; looking unto,
and hastening to the coming of the day of God,
wherein the heavens being on fire, shall be dis
solved, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat.”
Hear John, first epistle 2. 28; “Little children
abide in Christ, that when he shall appear ye may
have confidence, and not be ashamed of his com
ing”— “Herein is our love made perfect, that we
may have boldness in the day of judgment. “Again
in Rev. 14, 7 ; “Fear God and give glory to him ;
^gr the hour of his judgment is come; and Wor
ship him that made heaven and earth and the
fountains of waters.” David declares in Ps. 102,
25; “The heavens are the work of thy hands,
they shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea all
of them shall wax old like a garment, and as a
vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be
changed.”
I We would again in conclusion cite you to Pe
[ ter, 2 epistle 3, 7 : “ The heavens and the earth
which are now are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of
ungodiy men,” verse 10 : “ The heavens shall past
away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the
works that are therein, shall be burnt up,” 12 and
13 verses : “ Nevertheless according to his promise
we look for a new heaven and new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness.”
Thus we conclude our investigation of the judg
ment, as recorded in Scripture language ; trusting
that some one may be lead to think on the scenes
ofc. the last great day, and turn from the error of
his ways to serve the living God.
For the Christian San.
The Christian Cause in Georgia.
Bro. Hayes : I purpose offering a few thought*
in this article on the above caption. I have barn
ed since my arrival here, that the Christian cause
was once flourishing, and bid fair to be like a
strong man armed. But owing to the members of
the different Churches moving about, from on*
place to another, they of course became scattered;
just about that time the Campbellites came along
and told them they were the true Christian Church,
and deceived the good people and led them off
(But there were some old ministers that knew bet
ter.) But for the want of stability, suffered them
selves to be carried off by the doctrine of a man,
of such I am sorry to say, that they left Christ,
to follow Campbell's notions. But in the midst
of this sore couffict. Elder G. L. Smith, and Jacob
Callahan, stood boldly up in defence of the pure,
unspotted doctrine of Christ, and the liberal prin
ciples of the Christian Church. And now, though
age creeps upon them apace, they are still fight
ing against the isms of the day. They, and the
cause they espouse under-went a great amount of
persecution. But still they persevered, until the
Lord raised up others to aid them in the .work.
On they went, each one nearly alone, until last
fall, when at the suggestion of Elder J. Smith, a
Conference was called at Liberty, six miles below
Milledgeville. The Conference met, and was par
tially organised. The ministers went from Con
ference with renewed zeal to labor in their Mas
ters cause. The writer of this, was at that time
requested to come and travel in the bound* of
this Conference. He did so. But still opposition
reigns. The sects around have fears, and they
endeavor to put the little band down, but to no
purpose. Through all the cloud that hover over
us, we can see a light ahead which in our imagina
tion will ere long fully developitself. The proa
pects now are bright; I guess never brighter.
But there is something to be done ta speed its
progress; every one must put his shoulder to the
wheel, and it will go. The raicistry must be ac
tively engaged, with the sword on their thigh,
and firmly and fearlessly meet the enemy. But
says one, our ministers are few, and some of them
nearly broke down. That is true, there are but
six, and two of them old men. Elder O. L.
Smith, is old, and nearly worn down. Elder J.
Callahan, is already laboring with the palsy, or
something similar, and ia all human probability
cant live long. Well what ia ta be done. Pray
the Lord of the vineyard tq, raise up laborers, two