GENESEE EVA,NGELIST.—WhoIe No. 765.
Nottvg.
For the American Presbyterian.
I MOURN.
Dearest Father, bast thou left me
Here to grope in darkened ways;
Of thy presence kind bereft me,
Which I had in other days?
When the light of a new morning,
Dawned upon me from above,
With a saintly life adorning,
And the hope to serve in love?
Whither, whither, have I wandered,
Thue to forfeit thy regard;
To what sinful longings pandered;
In what vain desires shared.
No'er again shall I have favor,
Nor behold the Father's face?
Thou art still a gracious giver,—
Grant to me thy love and grace.
For again would I behold thee,
As an ever present God;
Whose almighty arms enfold me,
From the strokes of Satan's rod;
For I see them oft impending,
Ready on my head to fall;
Watchful Father, thou defending,
They shalt never more appal.
Come thou, too, 0 Holy Spirit,
And resume thy loved abode ;
'Tis not mine to ask of merit,
'Tie the mercy of my God;
Henceforth shield me from all coldness,
In the keeping of thy laws;
Grant to me a holy boldness,
In the bleat Redeemer's cause.
E. , 3. II
AN APOSTODIC PREACHER,
The poet COwper, thus describes an apostolic preacher:
I venerate the man whose heart is warm,
Whose hands are pure . , whose doctrine and whose life
Coincident, exhibit lucid proof
That he is honest in the sacred cause.
To such I render more titan mere respect,
Whose actions say that they respect themselves.
Would I describe a preacher, such as Paul,
Were he on earth, would bear, approve, and own,
Paul should himself direct me. I would trace
Ills master-strokes, and draw from his design.
I would express him simple, grave, sincere ;
In doctrine uncorrupt lin language plain; •
And plain in manner. Decent, solemn, chaste,
And natural in gesture. Much impressed.
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge,
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds
May feel it too. Affectionate in look,
And tender in address, as well becomes
A messengerof grace to guilty men.
THE DANDY PArACEIER.
Behold the picture! Is it like? Like whom?'
The things that mount the rostrum with a skip,
And then skip down again. Pronounce a text,
Cry, hem; and, reading what they ;lever wrote
Just fifteen minutes, huddle up their work,
And, with a well-bred whisper, close the scene!
In man or woman, but tar most in MAXI,
And most of all in man that ministers
And serves the altar, in my soul I loathe
All affectation. 'Tie my perfect scorn;
Object of my implacable disgust.
What ;—will a man play tricks, will he indulge
A silly, fond conceit of his fair form
And just proportions, fashionable mien,
And pretty face, in presence of his God?
Or will he seek to dazzle me with tropes,
ass with the diamond on his lily hand,
4pd play his brilliant Parts before my eyes,
hen I am hungry for the bread of life?
He mocks his Maker, prostitutes and shames
si® .noble office, and, instead of truth,
Displaying his own beauty, starves his flock.
Therefore, tsvairatl all attitude and stare,
And start theatric, practised at the glass.
I seek divine simplicity in him
Who handles things divine; and all beside,
Though learned with labor, and though much admired
By curious eyes, and judgments ill-informed,
To me is odious as the nasal twang
In conventicle beard, where worthy men,
Misled by custom, strain celestial themes
Through the pressed nostrils, spectacle bested.
THE 11011.2111 'PREACHER.
He that negotiates between God and man,
As God's ambassador, the grand concerns
Of judgment and of thorny, should beware
Of lightness in his speech. 'Tie pitiful •
To court a grin, when you.should woo a soul r
To break a jest, when pity would inspire
Pathetic exhortation; and t' address
The skittish fancy with facetious tales
When sent with God's commission to the heart.
So did not Paul. Direct me to a quip,
Or merry turn, in all he ever wrote.
And I consent you take it for your text,
Your only one, till sides and benches fail.
No; he was serious in a serious cause,
And understood too well the weighty terms
That he had ta'en in charge; he would not stoop
To conquer those by jocular conceits,
Whom truth and soberness assailed in vain.
HOW TO ENJOY um---OR PHYSICAL
AND MENTAL HYGYENE,
ADDITIONAL OHAPTERS-CHAPTER S.-SUNDRIES
PERTAINING TO CLERGYMEN.
BY W. M. CORDELE, K. D.
Atiatakes of Clergymen—Misquoting Scripture—
John Wesley's Request—Virgil' s Last Will—
Different treatment of Homer Rive and Homer
Dead— One Letter too Much in the text—A
Log in a Garden of Cucumbers—Mother Reads
—Daniel in the Darning Fiery Furnace—Pe
i to Hanging mmself—Mau Depraved in Heart,
~ Afectians, and Will.
I have been intending, for some time, to take
up some of the mistakes and blunders of
,clergy
men. But while doing it, I will not be unmind
ful of the following lines of Cowper:
"The pulpit, therefore, (and I name it tilled
With solemn awe, that bids me well beware
With what intent I touch that holy thing.")
"I venerate the man whose heart is warm,
Whose hands are pure, whose doctrine and whose
life,
Coincident, exhibit Iheldifoof
That he is honest in the' sacred cause:
To such I render more than mere respect."
Still, there are some hygienic items, that, if
named, may act as prtphylactics ; and thus pre
vent future clerical mistakes. First in order, it
seems appropriate that those accustomed to mis
quote the Scriptures in the pulpit Should have a
prescription. Though there are so many Rabbis
and Doctors of the Bible, yet still, the number of
preachers who quota Scripture incorrectly, is by
no means small. Now, though rwould make no
man an . " offender for a word," or a letter, either
added or omitted: yet it would be better to have
the Bible, especially as it comes from those lips
which should keep' knowledge, pest as it "came
from holy men of old, moved by the Holy Ghost."
I confess, when I have heard scripture, (tho Ugh
'doubtless not with any such intent,) quoted, as
Satan did it to Truth itself, I have felt about the
Bible very much as John Wesley did respecting
his hymns when he requested those who might
.
come after them not to alter or attempt toimprove
his (John's) nor those of his brother Charles.
and for much the same reasons which he gave—
" for indeed they are not a I do really think
those of our day who woul olio upon the Bi
ble "are not able," and, t fore, if they would
let us have it just as it is, I would like it better.
Every ono knows how much such a request as
Wesley's has been needed in our day, when al
most every one who has chosen to devote his time
and talents to improving oar II:rano/cm has
• (Entered according to Act of Oottgro'ss, In . the year 1860, by Wm.
COUNELL, iu the Clerk'e Office of tdo'Dittrict boort of thit/dtiott
Otatem, for the 19e6teru Dietrlut, of Ceunsilyunta.j
been guilty of marring and garbling many of the
best hymns of Watts, Wesley, Dodridge, Newton,
and Cowper. Heaven save the various Christian
denomipations of this last half of the nineteenth
century from any more improvement upon those
hymns which "the Fathers" now in "the Church
Triumphal" left so good, that modern 'hymn -tin
kers "are not able 'to improve" them; and, if
there are more of these em,endations yet to be' sent
down from any of the "high places of Zion," may
they find the church below really " the church
militant."
Wesley was not the only great man who pro
tested against those who Caine after, altering his
writings. Virgil, the sweetest and purest of all
the Roman poets, bad a similar feeling. His ino
desty at first prompted him to have all his works
burnt, but Augustus interposed his .royal autho
rity, and forbade the fulfilment of the poet's
wishes. Virgil, then, in his '"Last Will and 'les
tatnent," decreed that those portions of his works
which were unfinished should so remain% and
this direction extended even to unfinished lines.
He was led to eipress this in his Will, because
others had hacked, and Maned, and mangled, and
garbled so unnfercifully.the works of Homer.
It is a curious•fact that this disposition among
the living to mutilate the works of great and good
men, has usually been in an inverse proportion
to that of praising their authors. .A. striking
instance of this we have in the case of Homer, as
well as in many others; for, while his works were
altered and garbled, (doubtless to make them bet
ter by those who expected that wisdom would die
with themselves,) the old poet himself was praised
and claimed by everybody. Thus—
gg Seven cities mourned a Mather dead,
Through which the living Homer begged his bread."
Indeed, it has always been a striking charac
teristic of human nature to'vilify men while living,
and praise them when dead. So it was with the
Jews in the days of ! the Saviour. Hence the
charge, "Your fathers killed the prophets, and
ye garnish their sepulchres."
It is true, all these alterations and mutilations
of dead men's works—these literary forgeries—
have not been achieved by - clergymen but, at the
same• time, it must be confessed that no small
share of this mean business must be - laid at their
door.
But to return to the subject (Virgil.) I will be
gin by the folloling anecdote:
Many years since, at an "Association of Minis
ters," a young man read a sermon for criticism;
(and the criticisms, of the clerical brethren then
meant something;) from the text, "The Lamb of
God, who taketh away the sins of the world."
The remarks upon' the performance of the young
brother were kind,, numerous, and pointed. When
they were closed, some one called for those of the
Moderator, He was 'old and venerable, hail re
ceived b o ut a limited education, never graced a
college, or been in a "School of the Prophet 4"
#40' 74 °4 411 4 100 9AW-PAPaVeielkYrWaEl4Wiern
preachers (and congregations, too l ) . a little want
ing in etiquette, mid very Uncouth by the beau
monde.' He 'said "he had - no farther remarks to
make upoit the sermon, as that had already been
sufficiently criticised;" 'and added very dryly, "I
noticed there was one letter too much in the text:"
Naw, one letter is a small affair--especially
when it is a little s. But it was once the fortune
l l*
of the writer to hear ee'clergymen (each aD.
D.) preach, in a large on the same Sabbath,
all of whom quoted this ssage with "one letter
teo Much in the-text :" and, if the Doctors thus
quote, what can we expect from those of surlier
stature? •
As "a word to the wise is sufficient," it may
not seem necessary that I should pursue this sub
ject- farther. It is readily granted that but few
of the modern clergy would read a text as blun
deringly as in the following ease—or, if they did,
would be as correct in their analogy as he was,
after reading incorrectly. The text was this—
" The daughter of Zion is left as a log in a garden
of cucumbers."
The analogical argument was this: "It was a
labour, a severe trial for the cucumber vines to
climb over. the log, but it raised them from the
ground and rendered them more fruitful. The
cucumbers hung down over the log, like rich clus
ters of, the grapes of Eshcol." So, said he, like
a "Boanerges," in a stentorian voice, " the saints
by affliction are raised from earth, brought
nearer to heaven, and rendered more fruitful."
According to that wonderful book of "Lord
Kam es on Criticism," which has never been
equalled, though a century has elapsed since it
was written, as "the power of association calls up
similar ideas," I will add the following, which
really illustrates horylow have 'been the require
ments for admission to the privileges of preach
ing, or exhorting, at some times and- in some
places. The incident occurred in one of the
Southern States, where learning has usually - been
held at•a discount.
A man,applied to the proper authority for a
cease to preach. • He was asked• if he could read.
He replied, "No, I can't read; but mother reads,
and I 'splains and 'spounds."
The church has seen more than one who could
not read well; but who, nevertheless, has 'splained
And 'spounded.
In such a case, a little mental hygiene seems
desirable. It may prevent some such mistakes,
(to use no harsher terms,) like the following. I
once heard a minister preach about Daniel being
cast into the burning fiery furnace, of .Nebuehadr
nezzar, and thb statement Was repeated over and
over during the, sermon. Yet this man was for
several years an agent of one of the - great benevo
lent societies or our day. Another attempted to
chastise those who believe that all men go to hea
ven. He said--" My hearers, I want to know
if that Peter, who denied his Master, and then
went right out and hung himself, went to heaven
with the rope around his neck?"
I once heard a ininiater preach on human de
pravity, and the fillowingwere.three of the heads
or divisions of his sermon:
1. Man is depraved in , his heart.
2. Man is depraved in his affections
3. Man is depraved in his will. •
. I have no doubt but that man is depraved in
all these. But he must be a tyro in theology
who does not know that they are all one and the
The reader may say, Why name cases of this
kind, when any . one knows that such ministers
must be found only among the illiterate? To
su*h, I would say—hold! not quite so fast. , The
one last referred to was then, and still is, a pastor
PIMADELPHIA,, '' Ti1iVR5,.;,..;...:;!„N;:-.,!::.JANT1ARY,....,,.,.......10-J,1861,7-:
of ‘ one of the strongest churches in "no mean
city" of our American Israel, and I have already
said, the one who cast Da'niel into Nebuchadnez
zar's furnace was long an agent of one of the great
benevolent societies of the church. Within a very
short time, I have heard a minister in the pulpit
say miserable, for miserable—covechousuess, for
covetousness--r,hildring, for children—had lain,
for had laid—beseech of thee, for beseech thee—
chastisement, for chastisement—lawr, for law—
and Sovreign, for Sovereign, (all the way from
Gotham, to say it.)
Now, if any clergyman chooses to have a pro
nunciation of his own, and is willing, as General
dAoicsaw said on a memorable - occasion; to "take
the responsibility," I have no objection to; allow
ing him the privilege; and will let him follow his
own inclination, simply calling his attention to
the following tit-bit of Scotch and "English philo
logy:—
“The witty Scotch advocate, Harry Erskine,
on one occasion, pleading in London before the
House of Lords, had occasion to speak of certain
curators, and pronounced the word as in Scotland,
with the accent ait the first syllable, curators.
One of the English Judges could not stand this,
and cried out, 'We are in the habit of saying cu
rator in this country,. Mr. Erskine, following the
analogy of the Latiti language, in which, as you
are aware, the penultimate syllable is long.' 'I
thank your Lordship very much,' was Erskines
reply. 'We are weak enough in Scotland to think
that in pronouncing the word curator, we follow
the analogy of the English language. But I need
scarcely say that I bow with pleasure to the opi
nion -of so learned a Senator and so great an ora
tor as your Lordship!”
But to enumerate all the wrong pronunciation
of words, and all the false'grammar heard in-pul
pits, would be a task ad in
V . )t. the Ateeriepayresbyten?.n.
I.,ETTETI Pit0)11 MOUNT LtBANOit.
MY DEAR EDITOR
In No. IV. a promise was given to furnish the
result of searching Bha.mdun for Druse proper*
concealed among the people. A French gentle
man at Betatliei, one 'hour's distance, obtained a
hundred French soldiers under his command, took
- much property from the Druses and the Christians
at that village, demanded an assessment of half a
dozen potties tt raisins, three measures of wheat,
and one and a' half measures of. barley or two' hun
dred pia.sters, (eight dollars,) upon each tax-payer
at Bhamdun; and threatened, if this demand was
not complied with, to come and plunder our vil
lage. •
In the Meantime, the Emir Slmhin, with his
band of , Turkish soldiers came, collected and took
away the property of the Druses committed to the
safe-keeping of our people here.'
The
The course of the aforesaid gentleman at his
and,his .demand- and - threatening-lan
gunge towards the people of this town,: constrained
me to report the case to the European o:minis
sioners and Fuad Pasha at Beirut. Oar people
here were in as great fear from the French as from
the Druse, at the commencement of the war. Con
strained to take charge of this property of their
DruseNneighbors, it certainly did:not appear reason
able to.exaet from them some two thousand dol
lars for no crime whatever, by a foreign govern
ment,: and Lam happy to say, that the said gen
tleman was called to Beirut, and since his return,
we, hear of no violence contemplated towards the
inhabitants of this village, and the people are grate
ful for this deliverance, and increasingly friendly
to the missionaries; and more ready, I trust, to
see and admire the loving-kindness of the Lord.
Under the, authority of the Mixed Commission
at Beirut, much plunder has been recovered, and
more property.of, the Drnse 'Sheikhs has'been se
questered. 'ln :an , official document I have seen,
the estimated pecuniary loss at Damascus is es
timated at 150,006,000 of piasters, or six millions
of dollars, all of which they will undertake to re
pay by taxation and indemnity from government,
No perceptible progress has yet.appeared in the
trial of the Druse Sheikhs at Beirut. Called as
a witness in,the case, I was happy to Visit Beirut
last week and give my testimony as to: what we
have seen and heard in the case of our late Druse
Governor, Yusif Bey. But the Kayimmakanship
and dominion of .the DrUse Sheikhs in Lebanon
have passed away, and they . will no longer have
dominion over their Christian neighbors. It was
a feudal and 'hereditary right inherited from many
generations for,hundrods of years,.and greatly im
peded the advancement of the gospel in this goodly
mountain,Some think that all. these , Sheikhs
ought to be executed. I would rather have them
all to liberty and to their families, and to
gOOd citizenship. But the civil tribunal has the
'heavy responsibility of deciding their personal de
merit or inn ouence s pnd in that court they appear
to have no advocate, apologist, nor protector.
Lord Dufferin, however, is determined that no in
justice shall be done to them or to their adver
saries.
Some of the Damascenes ate returning to their
desolate city—desolate to those whose houses
and property are wholly destroyed. About seven
thousand Christians still remain there, and about
twice this number are scattered abroad in Asia,
Europe, and Africa. We have had four ladies and
three gentlemen to spend the last night with us,
returning, at the urgeut request of Fuad Pasha, to
reside at Damascus for the winter.
The present state of Syria is pacific, although
the French and Turkish troops are engaged in re
covering the plundered property of the Christians
from the Drnses in Lebanon; and a heavy assess
ment of wheat, barley, raisins, and olives, as well
as timber for building. The mysteries of Provi
dence are opened around us in this mountain, and
we behold and admire the wonderful power, good
ness, and protection' of our 'ascended Redeemer.
We' see a convocation of nations in the Mixed
Coratuis'sion of the Turkish, Greek, Catholic, and.
Protestant empires. God is in these memorable
events, and no man can yet predict what will be
the immediate s issue for the future government of
Syria. It is well for us, with our Bibles open be
fore us, to study the passing wonders of Provi
dence, and see how rapidly ancient prophecy be
comes past -history, and the kingdoms of this
world are subdued and incorporated into the king
dom of Heaven.
In anticipation of the coming new year, and with
the friendliest salutations and wishes .of the
eason, to all the readers of the MiIERICAN PRES-
BYTERIAN, anti praying for the promise of the
Father I remain,
Ever yours, in Alan love,
ALLTAId A. BENTON.
I Por th e me i on
PARENT I V Presbyterian.
Some sermons preacheclOt 9 '1 3 11 1 : a l :I ; our pastor,
the B ev . wm. Aikman itimily, Government,
contained sentiments so ' '' l l. I:adapted to the bene
fit of parents generally
well to ask a place for ! t i7 P -11(.°uelt it would -be
of them) in
. . • .9a the morning sow thy
was from Eccles xi 6 -.
seed." your paper o f !..°‘*;sr2itra°tPtehrOflar.sat few
"In the discourses alrea ;delivered, Than en
deavored to show dint eb . e .
, *en,ce—prompt, lime=
diate, and unqualified—tut at, the foundation
the government of the feat of
Iv j , The claim for
such obedience is based
the parent occupies. lie II bi lh t: Im at il hr ich
ing a parent, in the high 'l'ef of --siie-
God's representative cinrits " t d lie ho eLli P e ° r s y it ent of
f
s
the child's life. The ch . should obey hi pa
rent, not because he .eli t e; es - to ? not, because he
has been persuaded ,to
before parental authorit ° y. 4i in bii m t Pl e :t ils dis e c h o e mt v l s
nb , tti e.principles of obe
point° out the iofluen
dience thus demanded, t n a c.
n, lit,. i and received, up
the parent. It would on
y mould the,charac
ter of the child, but have vast formative averp
otiles and exalts his
on the parent himself.
own conception of his poSitto n n u as parent. It leads
him to cultivate those e`lernil'ets of character' which
Shall claim the respect an Affection of his child.
It will make his rule ten r , and aflectionate, as
well as even and Holt. ' rdered on fixed prin
ciples, and with well deft a ends No i ta n o v ie ie ,, w x , a t c h ti e o r n e
will be no occasion for e l * e.
d t
OT a . demand of obediene ' ; That d
mend must not be so Mutt la an e ` n u e t li te g rtce, bat, ra e- -
tlher a subtle power, • o x i* •
Perpetually from
the life `of:the pai'ett":*'..ot ng
his child. If be..youla,.l , * : : 4 :e ln Obe t riZt ira eb i l a l i d ih re i n n :
the work must first I; The mis
takenteessary air' u never been the m .
of many is, that theyegulin.llimaeit
selvei what
. is a - make obedient WI
dren. .4; , e 1-
Let us inquire what of a character in
the child such obedinne: build - up, as
,we
haVe represented to be, tliAl6ttly true obedience.
It will Make him - affect plate. Many have an
opposite idea, and suppose Alie love of a child only
to be secured through itidulenee, and that to ex
act a uniform obedienee Undermine the hold
of a parent upon , the heart his 'child. But a
brief reflection, may convineti?.any:one of this er-.
ror. Love is based• upon teapecL - You cannot
love one whom you do nOtraispeet: , The reason,
why so many parents`'haii,ttle influence upon
their children is, that theyjhe not,secured their
respect. ,
Obedienie is based on. the-parent. The,
Child irefl'h - edalts else' se - crquilitiesin the .
parent as command hia confidence and reverence.
He has been. taught, to, obey by. that,taore than
by anything -else; ank what is taught him to
obey„ has taught him:: to love. No disobedient
child can be affectionate to "his parent.: ',Perhaps
some parent will take -issue with mo; and giy
sturdily, though my Child d'isebeys me, I am ,sure
that he loyes,me. think it is,a•rnistake. Such
a child .may talk affectionately, he may fawn
around him; yet .at the bottom it -is all Plum.
You will see such .a son again and again break
his parent's heart whilirshe , has done, nothing but
lavish herlove upon him,,and has been, deluding
herself with the idea that he 'was loving her with
an unwavering, affeetion.z
A M'Emßil OP MANOVER, ST
AUGUStINE
In our notice of Afilmaies 'lain Christianity,
we omitted to refer icClist take of that eloquent
historian, which, thOugh a arently slight, gives
a false turn to what is .perlms the most important
theological question, involved in his first volunre.
He speaks of the Predestioirjanisui of the Augus
tinian theology as .a "startling limitation of the
divine mercies,' (page 171.;) ; ;and in another place
lie represents this -system as "offering up free
,4
agency on the altar, of ;religi o n, and thereby de
grading the moskworiderfiA work of Omnipotence
—a being endowed With"free agency."
Now, in reference to St. Augustine, Dean Will
man is in positive error NoWhere is the freedom
of the will asserted with:_inore vehemence or more
precision than by the North African Father. .tn
slaved the will indeed is, but it is seV.enslaved
44 11 y will," exclaims he, thence (i. e.,
through the will) had made a chain for me and
bound me. For of a. pernerse will come lust-and
a lust 'yielded to becomes custom, and custom not
resisted becomes necessity, By which links, as it
Were; joined tbgether as in a distil, a hard bond
age held me enthralled. And, that new will wiiich
had begun to be in, me; to serve thee freely, and
to wish to enjoy thee, 0 Odd was notryet to com
pletely overcome my former long established,wil
'fulness." Perhaps therile treatise ,any
tongue in .whichthe-,w#li*ore passionately, and
at the same time moi.n early, charged with the
guilt of its own perversions, than the Confessions
of St. Augustine.
, 4 ,
BIBLES.
Amongst the religieua activities a the present
age, are to be noted the novel plans nou , adopted
for putting into.circulation the Word of God in
Europe. Travelling-agents-scatter 44 the seed of
the kingdom" in all directionsi whilst by ninans
of salesmen - employed "for the purpose, and who
exhibit the Scriptures on..their stalls standing in
fairs, ancrin other places where a large concourse
of people is expected,-thonsarids of-copies of the
best of books are gotinto the hands of the people,
most of whom were previously without a Bible,
and had no idea of the extremely small price for
which it might be purchase& Already, even in
Tuscany, Naples, and other parts of the Italian
peninsula, large numbers have been sold in both
the ways mentioned. We notice in the London
Watchman an interesting exainple which indicates
the change of popular. feeling: "In the good - old
city of Ely a stall was-set up( when the sales proved
so encouraging thatitoras , readved.to sepeat the
experiment at the fair. The sight of such a stall
was quite a novelty, arid-it'was 'not a little inte
resting to listen to' the:remarks made:by different
observers. A policeman,thming up. to the 'Mall
who had charge of the, stall, said: 4 lf this had
been placed here a few years ago, •it would have
been kicked about all' over the market-phicef but
now' no rude speeches were he;ird; no oPposition
was manifested by any, not elicit by the' poor song
singer, who sung for hours, but eoul&hardly dis
pose of a song. On the contrary, many.were the
exclamations of approval from people of all classes.
6 Buy my cakes?' exclaimed 'a man at%the next
stall,,to countrynidtini be *and.' `'No"!' was
the gruff reply.: 'Bun Biblel! cried-the , active
salesman, .who. stood next. 4 .A1i1-;that's . werth
hating,' said the other; and the man paid down
ten pence and carried away his Biblel"
ADDRESSES AT THE TERCENTENARY.
We give the two Concluding addresses at the
Tercentenary of the Scottish _Reformation, as re,
ported in the Christian Instructor. Three of them
were given in our last' issue. •
Address of the Rev.'jong B. DALES, D. 1:0.; of
the United Presbyterian Church. His subject
was announced to be "the Men of the First Ge
neral Assembly!'
Ma. CruithlAN:—ln thepart assigned
nee on"thiti oeeasion, it has appeared to be specially
appropriate to notice, somewhat particularly, the
MEN of that memorable Assembly, whose -three
hundredth, anniversary we this day : celebrate—
men who, in many respects, were signally repre
sentative men, embodiments of great principles
which were to be of weighty bearing upon the
best ihtere'sts 'of the church of God and of the
world. .
• • .True to that principle by toil& He his never
left himself without a witness, and ntidenthe elm .;
lion of . which-llsohadraisedstiplath
. .evhirGev
niaby, alCalviti Switzerlandy-andr Cranmerin
Englatik-Grodneeins le.have .sifted' the nation •'
. and the age for the right men and; the right times
to 'have His: great work' done in Scotland: an,
throtigh it,' for Presbyterianisni of.the purest an'
noblest. type throughout - the world:. Ner was thi
in vain. Both the men and the times were no
ready. At 10 o'clock on the morning of the 8t
of Augnit; 1560; "the Parliament of Scotlan
,opened its sessions - in the cityof Edinburgh." Be
fore its ten spiritual, ten nobles or giver
barons, six lesser :barons; and ten provosts Of th
chief towns in the kingdom:.-thirty-six member
in alt there curiae, petition, signed not merely
by the ministers of the gospel—for as yet titer -
Were very few in all Scotland=not by the' lords
and the great men of the day, for then as' truly*
1500 years 'before, note many wise Merl after the
flesh, not nianymighty men, not many noble we're
'called, but signed father by the masses of the peo
ple who had - been roused by the newly-read"and
'preached Bible, .to inquire after the light and li
berty. Of God. ' That petition asked (1,) .That all
doctrine and worship contrary to the word. of God,
should: be abolished,... (2,) That the pure, admi
nistration of the sacraments and diseipline be re
stored; and (3,) That the usurped nutherity of
the Pope and minions of Rome, should'be banish
ed for ever` from the realm of Scotland.' This pe
tition; with topics of a kindred charaCter; was
solerunly considered for sixteen days, and on being
granted - With singular unanimity—only three Or.
four members dissenting- _ill Scotland, froth the
Highlands in the north to England on the south,
and from sea to sea, was virtually proclaimed free
to - worship God according to His word. .
Thus was the great work begun and well begun.
:But, behind' this Parliament, and, drinking deep
'Of 'the Spirit - and truth 'of God,. there were men
who felt that all this was but the mere scaffolding,
While the true building-that 'mit be reared, was
the church of God, in that noble Presbyterianform
. of government-whereby she .could truly stand forth
-=thepillitand the ground of truth. Accordirtzly,
nearly foni months after Wards, on the 24th of be
'aerriber, another sight - was Seen. Cledita theplain
butrough-ariduncoutli,dress ef the day; and with
:the stalwartferws and:calm, stern countenances of
men, whose big hearts-,were in, their. hands to do
duty for God and his truth, in,
men, six
ministers Of the go4!el and thirty-six ruling:eiders,
;met :in the. , city . adjutnt* ati,Consisiriionere !
from the different church& and congregations; and
,Laving, with .United ; heart and, voice, as led by.
John. Knox in a fervent prayer, (that might serve
as a rendel for nll lever§ of liturgies,) constituted
thernselvei in the name and - by the authority of
the Lord Jesus Christ, whom they hailed as the
sole King and Head of the Clinrch, the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland, they , pro
ceeded first to the great missionary work of ap
pointing eight 'of the only twelve Protestant mi
nisters at that time in:all .Scotland; to labor .in the
largest towns and cities, and its other four to seek
to supply the vast destitute districtsaround. They
then affirmed, as in letters 'of 'light; . Mit: from 'a
.Ge
nevan' or any human model, , but directly, as they
honestly belieVed, from the pattern shown in the
Mount of Scripture truth, that
_great foundation
principle of all genuine Pre,sbytehanism; the parity
of the Christian-ministry and the. unalienable right
and duty of every Christian congregation to choose
its own pastors, riding elders and deacons. •' Then
in a spirit of real liberality, they made provision
for. the' poet; and filially, under a deep con:Vieth:in
that Popery is anYatein,Whose whole nature is at--
'war with the very existence of true, and re
freedom; as well as with all the best interests
of men j they petitioned Parliadent that ho- man
should-ever be permitted to hold off* in Scotland.
who did-not profess the true religion.
But, sir; who were the 'men . that Pirated that
first noble Assembly? . In reply, it may be an
swered,. They were not men.who were disposed to
lord it over God's heritage, or be ambitious of the
pre-eminence .among the brethren.. No, .sir, in
'that first Assembly and in the six following ones,
they did not have even a Moderater, so jealously
would' they guard against even the appearance of
:one being over the others. Nor were they men
that courted the favor of the princes . and govern
ments of the world. No, sir. In sthat first 'As
sembly and, the thirty, hat followed. t, 'there was
never the slightest recognition of the civil authority
:except in the ex'er'cise of the right of petition for
evil to be put down, and for good to be done: Nor
were they the, illiterate men that it has been' some
times unwisely charged they were. No, sir. One
of the ablest historiana of that day has shown, 'that
'if you had sat doWn at one of their tables, not ma-
frequently you would find the - conversation carried
owns readily-in French, .as . .-in English; -arid- the
very„chapter of the Bible in..family worship would
be read by the boys.around you in French, Latin,
Greek, or Bebrew, asluently as their native lan
guage: No, sir. The inenoof that Asseinblylvere
learned men; ay, the Bible man of the age, and
in some 'respects, of the world.
Look . at them. Second on the roll of the As
sembly was CRRIMPRER ,GOODMAN, a man who
Was Vali' in Chester, England, made for his dis
tinguished abilities,' Divinity lecturer in the Uni
varsity. of Oxford; under the reign -of Edward VI.,
then exiled to the Continentwhen the bloody Mary
came to the throne, settled first in the University
at StrasburA *then at ]frankfort,then called to
i
be the Colleague of Knox in Geneva, n the city
and the limes of John Calvin, Ind then after
Knox's return to Scotland, called to Ayr, and af
terwards, as at the time before us, to a most emu
mending and useful position in St. Andrew's'.
Next was JOHN'ROWs, first a student of . St. An
drew's; then an advocate of the first rank in all
Scotland, then • travelling on the Continent - with
the highest honors, two of the leading Universities
,of the age could give him„ held in thebighest te
pute by the Pope for his larning and worth, then
returned to Scotland, suddenly arrested' by the
Spirit of God as he read the 'Second chapter of 2d.
Thessalonians, brought to the ministry, nettled in
Perth, and..at • lengthyone of,' the ablest teachers
Scotland ever had , in the .origipal Hebrew and
Greek' Scriptures. Thee Davin LINDSAY, a use
ful laborer at the finis; of the ASsernbly in Leith,
, btitef whose previous and subSequenthistOrylitile
is known. Then WILLIAM HARLOW, art'Engliah
man, by birth, -and who from- being an : humble
tailor by,tride in Edinburgh, gradually, rose by
-hard study and real worth, to the deacon's, orders
in the.Episeepal Church of his native kingdom,
then driven. out, as many of God's most faithful
- Servants Were,, after the death of the 'good. Ed-
ward VI., and after years of unceasing- study,and
adopted the . Presbyterian faith, ,and at
the time before tta the'enainent.and successfnlmi- .
-sister of St. Cuthberea,
WILLIAM'CLIRISTISOiT, a:Sive - de, it is supposed by
birth, and an humble, able minister of the ever-
Recorder.
lasting gospel; laboring at the time of the As
sembly,-in Dundee, and often, in later years, called
to preside over the counsels of his brethren, and
ever witnessing a good confession of the truth as
it is in Jesui. And last in our order, but first on
that noble - roll, and first in the memories and the
involuntary homage of the world, was that other
name, JoHN KNox; born in 1505, taught by .the
first teachers of the age in the University of Glas
gow, early an admirer and disciple of the martyr
Wishart, unexpectedly called in the Castle of St.
Andrew's to preach the everlasting gospel, and
thence tossed to and fro on land and sea, in Scot
land and on the-Continent, by persecution's fiercest
trials, and in almost every variety of form, until
at length, when the time had fully come, he ap
peared as God's mighty moving Spirit among kin
dred men, whom God bad raised up to plant on
Spottish-soil, and on• that first General Assembly
day, that noble Presbyterian tree, whose branches'
should reach to the ends of the earth, and, whose
fruit should be' for light and 'liberty to the world..
Such, sir, were the . men , of , that , Gentrat:As
toltribly:atitl, ,new; at the lapse of three- hundred
years,
_who can doubt the need still of men, who
like this Knox, will dare to think and act for
theniselves each sayino in the face of the blan
dishment of power and the proffers of ease r if he
will but forego the right and succumb to the wrong:
"I am in the place where Larnjlemanded of con
science to speak the truth, and therefore, the truth
1 speak, impugn it whose list?" Men who like
this Johti Rowe, will make the ambassadors of the.
court of Heaven, in the ministry to their fellow
men, read their credentials in the original Greek
and Hebrew, as in their native language; ay, sir,
men who, like this same Knox, who when he had
So borne up under the sunshine and the storm, the
smile and the frown'of a world around,--true to
duty and to God—that over his cold remains a
Morton could say with , a truthfulness, which no
man ever denied.:—" There lies one that never
feared the face of man I"—came at, length to his
last hour in the calmness and triumph of a con
queror, saying as earth opens and all of time gra
dually fades from his dimmed eye and chilling
heart, and as heaven, with its glory, and honor,
and blessedness immediately opens up in full view,
high in the midst of the paradise of God, said:—
Now, now, it is come I" and died.
Oh, sir, may the mantle of the men of the Ge
neral Assembly of 1560, fall on the men of every
Synod and Assembly of 1860, everywhere, and to
the end of the world
Address of Rev. T. W. J. WYLIE, D. D., of the
Reformed Presbyterian Church, subject
was, "The Influence of the Reformation on sue
ceeding ages."
Some writer bas remarked that the Emperor
of Austria erected his palace on the source of a
stream, and declared that his purpose in doing
sb was that it might be an emblem of his go
vernment—that, like that river, it might send
forth its happy influences through the land.
Now, without intending to justify the compa
rison between the despotic government of the
House of Hapsburg and that noble river, the al
.
lusion is strikingly illustrativeof the blessings
= iliattlow from the Church of God. All influ
ences for -good. are to bb traced - to the• Church
of the living God. Every. Christian in this as
sembly feels that it , is • so. He is ready to say
-with the psalmist, "All my springs ire in thee."
• With this utterance he closes,—for."what can
-David4say morer,- , Witolnite# feelings I dltiali iii;
reetethe s,ttetttio.n,,of thisuissibublY tO;sottie'patt
titulars in which the Reformation may be ;,re
garded as exerting, upon succeeding genera
tions, a most beneficial influence.
In the first place, look at the influence which
it exerted in the promotion• of knowledge. To
it are we indebted for the circulation of God's
holy,word. We owe to our reforming ancestors
the fact that the. Bible has been disenthralled.
At the time in which they were raised np, there
was a state of almost entire ignorance of the
word of God. The condition of things in this
respect may: be illustrated by the remark that
was made by a person to one wile •WaS trying
to sell copies of the New Testament. When
asked what he had for sale, and being told New
Testaments, the reply was made: "We want no
new Testament here; we are willing to get
along with the, o/d." Literature of every kind
was advanced by the . Scotch Reformation. The
Bible there is now a household book. We have
beard a great deal said about the ancient works
of literature having been preserved by the
monks. We have reason to believe that these
volumes were preserved in spite of the monks.
Rome expurgates some of the noblest produc
tions of literature. For proof of this, let any
one go into the Philadelphia Library, and he
will there see an Expargaterius 'lndex. Her
rules on this subject may note now be enforced,
but.this is because she has not the power.
In the second place, look at the influence of
the Reformation on religion. We believe that,
in the Church of Ronie, there may be God's
own children. You may find them there just
as you may pluck the sweet flower by the gla
cier, or on the surface of the rugged rock!. The
whole system of Rome, however, is destructive
of true , religion.. It is owing to the Reforma
tion that the great doctrine of justification by
faith in the righteousness of Christ—the article
of a standing or falling chnrch—has been
brought out in its true-light.
In the third place, how happy has been its
influence on the cause of liberty—the liberty of
the body , and the liberty of the mind ?,. We, are
~
aware that it has been customary to represent
the men of that age as persecutors. But we
forget the circumstances in which they were
placed. Rome came to them with the cup of
her abominations in the one hand, and the sword
in the other. And they; were under the neces
eity, in self-defence,' of resorting to the sword.
Besides, it should,be remembered that, though
penal laws were enacted, they were not enforced.
Let it be noted, that not a single Romanist
suer lost his life in Scotland on account of his
;religious faith. They planted the tree of li
berty, the fruits of which we are now enjoying.
Let us not forget what we owe to these men
for the blessings of civil and religioui liberty
with which we are favored. It was the princi
ples attic men of that day that developed them
selves in the Declaration. It was our privilege
a few years ago, to visit this land of our fathers.
When in Sterling we saw numerous statues of
the men of the Reformation. Our attention
was called, as we gazed about upon the inte
resting figures that there presented themselves,
to a statue of James Guthrie. "Do you see
that face there?" said the man in attendance.
"flow different it is from what it appears'in the
Seetch Worthies P I noticed the difference;
for I. had often seen it as •there presented, and
been struck with its most repulsive appearance.
"That . picture in the Scotch Worthies," said he,
"is 'a ca,ricature." Some one had blurred, th'e
original picture before it cane to the hands
of the Imbliiher of 'the' Scotch Worthies, and
hence it was presented in this imperfect and false
light., These blurs,-however, had been re.moved,
and thus was revealed the noble and expressive
features as seen by .us in. Sterling. That
picture is a misrepresentation of the face of
Guthrie. And So - there have been, persons who
have misrepresented the principles acrid views
of the men of that period. So far from being
of - a persecuting spirit, they were men of a com
prehensive charity. Those men,*.r. Chairman,
had 'a noble ideal before them, both in regard
to the Church and the State. It is true that
they were not able to accomplish what they de
Sired. They did not attain to this, yet they bad
a noble object in viewW-L--liberty and union., ,We
haVe‘still the' sain'e` - r inetples,'aud`'itis for us to
prosecute that object—liberty and union.
VOL. V.—NO. 20.—Whole No. 237.
We design not, Mr. Chairman to descend
into the dusty arena of politics, but; surely wo
may be allowed to refer to these principles in
reference to our distracted church, as they cul
minuted in the Westminster Standards. We
may look into , the works of those fathers, and
we shall find the same great principles running
through them all. It is an interesting fact—
and I may refer to it—that when the Covenants
of Scotland were framed, the Episcopalians were
disposed to adopt them. Here, in the West
minster Standards, are the_principles of union.
On this basis all may unite.
The speaker here made an allusion to the
ministers of the two branches of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church, to the two great branches
of the Presbyterian Church, meeting together
on the same platform, as an interesting and en
couraging indication of the spirit of union, and
then said
Oh I sir, if we go back to that period—the
Period which we are now commemorating—and
if we imbibe more of the spirit of the men of
those times, we shall have more of the true spi
rit of union. Thp Westminster Confession is a
platform on which we all shoUld unite. It is
this ,union on the basis of common truth, as pre
sented in these Westminster Standards, which
we should seek. It is a basis long enough, and
broad enough, and strong enough for all. May
we all meet together on this basis.
XAGBABIMOUS BUT FIRM
Thelollo r wing, remarks of the Evening Bulletin
of this city, called forth by the Union meeting
held in Independence Square, about a month ago,
are inserted here, as showing the nature and limit
of the conservative feeling, which prevails in this
city and state: We deein it important that it
should not be misunderstood.
'The spectacle of a great people pausing in the
moment. of their triumph to concilate their weak
er, and mistaken .brethren, is a great one. Never
was a sobriquet more rightly bestowed than that
given to,Pennsylvania of the Keystone of the Fede
ral' arch. Our noble State is Union and national
to her heart's core. She has always been so. No
madness of North or South has ever infected her
compact and serried masses. She can distinguish
between individual opinions on moral and political
subjects, and her great national duties. She is
steady as a rock for the Union, while refusing
to give in to extreme opinion or to relinquish the
right of private judgment.
Pennsylvania feels that the Southern people are
sore and irritated, and that much allowance should
be made for their natural mistakes. While her
' people make allowance for all that politicians are
doing for their own advancement, for all the capi
tal they are making out of this excitement, they
yet recognize the fact, that multitudes of their
Southern brethren are really deceived by the state
of thino and honestly in error.. They feel it to
be , magnanimous under present circumstances,
when the President elect has received a majority
of 90,00 in, this State, and while Pennsylvania
has borne aivay, the banner from all her sisters, to
do everything that can be done to satisfy all the
'honeit and patriotic of the South that there is no
intention to violate the Constitution or to interfere
To refuse to do this, would
aating~hse~ttr©fa sAror►g ran i who when a
weakerthan 'himself had conceived a mistaken im
pression that he had been wronged, should refuse
to make advances, when-those adVances might be
the means of removing all apparent causes of
mischief, and restoring friendship between them.
.Pennsylvania has done no wrung to the South;
she has not violated the Constitution of the United
States -by h jot or a tittle. The .11TUtional telli
geneer, an excellent authority in the premises,
both because of its calmness and accuracy, as well
as because it is quite sufficiently Southern in its
proclivities to prevent any suspicion of Northern
bias, 'declares explicitly that our Personal Liberty
Bill, so far from being in violation of the Consti
tution; is framed inthe very terms of the decision
of the Supreme Court of the United States, in the
Celebrated and ruling case of Prigg vs. Common-
Wealth'ef Pennsylvania.
But this fact that Pennsylvania has done no
wrong to the South, or to the Union or to the Con
stitution, this high and stainless position of the Key
stone, only makes this demonstration of attachment
to the UniOn and of conciliation towards our South
ern brethren more graceful. The strong, the virtu
ous, the patriotic can afford to be magnanimous. If
our Southern friends have been misled, if they have
Anisapprehended us, if they have supposed that we
were capable of any. unmanly ,or undignified ag
gression upon their rights, then why should not a
great and magnanimous people, even go out of
their Way and take some trouble to assure their
excited and irritated brethren that they are mista
ken, and that-worse men than the patriotic people
of the South are goading them into frenzy for
the accomplishment of their own petty purposes ?
* *
But we should be careful of extremes. In our
,aenerosity we must not give away our own rights.
While our Southern friends feel aggrieved, yet
their institutions are not our institutions, nor do
their theories of life correspond with ours. While
granting them every right guarantied by the Con
stitution, we must not grant along with these our
own vested privileges. It is not essential to good
neighborhood that one should authorize his neigh
bor to encroach upon him. It is sufficient that - he
refrain from encroaching upon him, and that he
make him understand kindly that his rights are
safe in his neighbor's hands.
,The rights, of freedom of opinion and of speech,
that of moral action, against anything we deem to
be wrong, that of seeking protection for our manu
facturers at home and for our citizens while tra
velling in every State in the Union—these and
similar rights we must not give away out of a
mistaken and Quixotic generosity. If a citizen
dare not utter his opinion under the shadow of
Independence Hall then why was the Revolu
tionary war fought? If an American citizen is
protected in Austria by the strong hand, is there
no protection for him in South Carolina? If a
man dare not say what he deems right and what
he deems wrong in the street, in the pulpit, from
the rostrum, then why did Stephen and Paul, Igna
tius •and Polyearp, die as martyrs, and why did
Russell and Sydney lie in the dungeon and ascend
the scaffold ?
`Perhaps the two greatest orations ever delivered
in America,' were by the "forest-born Demosthe
nes," and the great expounder of the Constitution
in his debate with Hayne. The Vir g inian when
he had risen to a pitch of almost superhuman elo
quence, closed with the grand sentiment: "Give
me liberty, or give me death." Daniel Webster,
while stirring all hearts for the Union in the
mightiest effort ever made for it by mortal man,
yet closed with' this sentiment : " Liberty and
union, now and forever, one and inseperable.
_Even in that hour, when disunion was made to ap
pear so little, when the banner of our nation was
blaiing all over with stars of living light, even in
that moment when the Union filled the vision of
this mighty orator, and with him of this whole na
tion' even then, true to the teachings of our fathers,
' he placed Liberty.ji rat, even, before Union, and hi:
4 1
anticipated, no greatne glory to this nation un
less they weruitisepa . And the history of
our nation illuStrates t is. The.Dcelaration of
Independence, with its imperial utterances, pre
ceded the Constitution of the United States. If
we Ilave any organic law, any corner-stoneof our
institutions, any thing which is the very essence
- of 'America; the very life-blood of the body politic,
:it is that doeuinent which emanated from Inde
pendence Hall, and which is older, grander, and
more majestic than even the Constitution itself.