®fe American Jwsl*few»
I . ~ JohqAWeir 15ju1y69
New Series, Vol. "V JL, JNo. 10.
Strictly in Advance $2.50; Otherwise $3. 1
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gmerixau Itagftgtman;
THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1869.
ELDERSHIP.
By Rev. ©anlcl March, I>. D.
The office of eldership in the Church of
Christ is most sacred—sacred from time-honored
usage—sacred ftom agreement with the spirit of
divine appointment—sacred from the import
ance of the interests with which it is entrusted.
m
Whoever takes this office upon himself should
feel that he is called of Cod, and that Cod has
given him a personal fitness for the duties he
undertakes.
This simple Christian brotherhood which we
call the Church, with all its imperfections, is
the purest and holiest association of human be
ings on earth. And those who stand forth as
its representatives before the world should be
above all reproach and suspicion, sincere, true
hearted, faithful men. They should bear them
selves so meekly in their holy office, they should
be so consistent, devout and exemplary, in spirit
and in good works, that all will say of them,
“ they are good men and filled with the Holy
Ghost.” In them, as its honored and author
ized representatives, the Church itself should
appear holy and without blemish, “ not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing.”
Elders are not simply official personages ap
pointed to give dignity and propriety to public
occasions and solemn ordinances. They should
give unity, energy and spiritual life to the whole
body of the Church. They are not chosen to re
lieve individual members from the discharge of
duty, but to encourage and incite all to the
best use of their time and ability in the service
of the Divine Master. They are to. be more
abundant in labors and sacrifices for the common
cause, that others may be encouraged by their
example. They are to give of their time, efforts
and possessions for the advancement of religion,
with so much cheerfulness and liberality that
the Christian profession shall shine forth with
peculiar excellence and purity in their lives and
conduct.
Overseers of the flock, who are found fit and
faithful in office, give character, energy and
growth to the whole Church. They hold up
the hands of the Pastor and inspire him with
confidence and hope in the dark days of dis
couragement and delayed blessing. They make
themselves personally acquainted with all the
families of the congregation. Going from house
to house, and from individual to individual, they
extend the feeling of brotherhood, they bind all
in bonds of faith and affection to the Church, to
the sanctuary and to the ordinances of God’s
house. When they call at the homes of rich
and poor alike, they have so much of the law of
kindness upon their lips, so much benevolence
in their look, such a glow of right feeling in
their conversation, that old and young are made
better by their ooming, and when they are gone,
little children speak of them as servants of God
and good men.
Elders can do many things that the Pastor
can not do. They can promote peace, unity
and good understanding among the members of
the Church. They can allay jealousies and
alienations, and prevent the springing up of any
“ root of bitterness" to disturb the harmony of
the flock. They can be active and foremost in
showing courtesies to strangers and in winning the
careless and the indifferent; to the house of God.
They can keep the standard of Christian
fidelity high in the Church, by causing it to be
seen and said that they are always in their place
at every service, and every call of duty is sure to
be answered promptly and cheerfully by them.
When the Pastor calls for laborers in any new
field; when he would rouse the Church to
greater spiritual activity; when he wishes to en
large the benefactions of the congregation and
secure for them the “greater blessedness” of
giving; they can supply him with the best argu
ments and illustrations, by responding to the
call with promptness and cheerfulness. It is
hardly possible that any Pastor can fail to carry
his church with him in any good work, if he has
earnest, devout, highly-esteemed, honorable men
in the eldership to enter into his plan and sus
tain it before the congregation.
Elders can visit the siek, the poor, the
afflicted, the dying. They can carry the bless
ing of peace and consolation to the house of
mourning. They can go as Jesus went, in meek
ness and lowliness, to the careless anS wandering,
and win them back to the fold, by words of
gentleness and love. They can direct the anxious
inquirer to the “ Lamb of God, who taketh away
the sin of the world.” They can make them
selves acquainted with the children and the
young people, so as to call them by name, and
give them a word of cordiality and good feeling
whenever they meet them. They can meet to
gether to pray and to devise measures for the
increase and upbuilding of the Church. They
can carry themselves with such sacred and
thoughtful propriety, when acting officially in
the ordinances of the Church, that all observers
shall be made to feel the purity, the selectness,
the sanctity pf the Lord’s house. They can in
fuse into the whole body of the Church a spirit
of devotion, of liberality, of self-denial, of self
consecration. They can do much to make the
• whole Church known and characterized by a
pure, earnest, strong, spiritual life.
To do all this will take time, and thought, and
study, and prayer. The responsibility is not
met by giving it a secondary or an incidental place
in the general plan for each successive week of
the year. It is not met by attending to its duties
simply when it is convenient. There can be no
higher claim than that which comes in the name
of Christ and His Church; and no work re.
ceives a higher reward even in this life, than
that which is done for Christ and the salvation
of men. These are known and admitted princi
ples of Christian duty; and those who bear office
in the Church should be the first to exemplify
them by an earnest, constant, self-denying fulfil
ment of their official obligations. And while so
doing, they should be sustained by the prayers,
the sympathy, the confidence and the coopera
tion of the Church, over which they have been
made overseers.
TREES.
[The first of a short Series by Rev. E. E. Adams,
D.D.]
Trees occupy a large space in material nature.
Living or dead, their uses are many and im
portant. They have intrinsic value. They con
tribute to our comfort in the structure, furniture,
and warmth of our dwellings; in our implements
of labor; our defenses; our vehicles on the land ;
our commerce on the seas. We admire their,
fruits and foliage; their graceful forms and ma
jestic dimensions. They seem more than ani
mate—almost divine. They stand about us in
their beneficence, pouring on the air of spring
the fragrance of blossoms, and waving their gar
lands of leaves. They hang out for us the juicy
apple, the mellow pear, the plump, red cherry,
and the do wny peach. They weep sweet gums for
us and give us odorous barks and buds. They
shelter the birds that sing for us in the morning
hour, and cast their cool shadows over us in the
hot noon-tide. They catch the whispering breezes
and make them tuneful for our ear. They spread
their strong arms above us, and lift their heads
in majesty and mystery, as if conscious of a sub
lime and solemn life. Who does not love the
trees, —whether they flourish under the limiting
hand of art and mingle their life with ours in the
orchard and garden, or “ bourgeon and broadly
grow ” in the luxuriance of nature, —the glory
of her ministries and ornament of her realm ?
Is it strange that the old Druids, in their se
vere and sombre superstitions, made the dark
oaken groves their habitations ? or that the In
dians of our Continent are grandly serious and
sileDt, listening, from infancy to age, to the voice
of the Great Spirit in the woods ? Or, is it
strange that the ancient Greeks heard “ wood
nymphs wild " whispering in the leaves, and
naiads singing by the shady fountains ? Or that
you and I, reader, when straying in the forest,
where every tree is a harp, and every twig a
string touched by invisible fingers, should feel
what the poet has spoken in language like this—
“Wakes there some spirit here !
A swift wind, fraught with change, comes rushing by;
And leaves and waters, in their wild career,
Shed forth sweet voices—each a mystery!
Surely some awful influence must pervade
These depths of trembling shade !
“Yes, lightly, softly move!
There is a power , a. presence in the woods !
A viewless Being, that, with life and love,
Informs the reverential solitudes.
The rich air knows it, and the mossy sod, —.
Thou, thou art here, my God.”
We misj the majestic growths of olden time.
They have yielded to the blasts, and mouldered
to dust; or man has moulded them into a thou
sand forms of utility.. In our cupidity and igno
rance of nature, have we robbed our soil and
climate by “ lifting up axes against the thick
trees.” The late war made terrible havoc of those
stately pines and oaks which onee covered the
broad southern plains. And in the North and
West, the spring floods and crowded marts give
evidence that the forests still yield their majestic
contributions to the demands of commerce and
manufacture.
Had our fathers known economy in this mat
ter, we would now behold, on our hills and in our
valleys, myriads of the grand old sentinels that
lifted their heads and stretched their strong arms
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, MARCH-11, 1869
to the light of the past century. It would be a
refreshment and a glory to see some of those old
divinities of nature which tower upward three
hundred feet, and swell to the circumference of
fifty or sixty! It is interesting to contemplate
them with all their vital forces in action, taking
in the influences of light and air, of earth and
water, of gases and chemical elements, stretching
their strong roots into the soil, and pushing them
selves into grandeur and majesty. So may we
thrust our faith into the invisible and sure foun
dations, and lift our hands to heaven to take in
God’s light and life. •
The Bible says much of trees. The Patriarchs
pitched their tents under the oaks, and buried
their dead in their shade; thus blending the
memory of the loved'and gone with the scenery
and localities of their transitory abodes, The
cedars 6f Lebanon are renowned for their age,
their majesty, and historical associations, and are
called “ the trees of the Lord.” Sacred poetry
gathers some” of its best imagery from trees.
“ The righteous shall be like a tree planted by
the rivers of water, that brinteth forth his fruit
in his season; his. leaf also shall not wither, and
whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” The Psalmist
calls on the trees “to rejoice before .the Lord,’!
to “clap their hands” and utter praises unto God
as if they were conscious of his presence, entered
into sympathy with his great and, beneficent
thoughts, and could, almost better than human
creatures, rise to the grandeur of the theme.
MR. HAMMOND’S SIXTH WEEK IN RO-,
CHESTER.
From onr Rochester Correspondent.
This is the sixth week' of Mr. Hammond’s
labors in this city, and the interest has riot at any
time been so high as now. Our largest; Churches
are still thronged by those who go flight after
night to hear the plain, pungent words' of truth
from his lips. Hundreds'rise at the clnse of the
sermon to ask for prayers, and a large part of the
great congregation regularly remain at the inquiry
meeting which follows.
It is the unqualified judgment of those who
heard Mr. Hammond preach when he was in our
city six years ago, that he has greatly improved ;
that he has more force and pungency in the pre
sentation of truth than he had then. He has
preached more steadily to. adult congregations,
less to children than he did then, and his power
is evinced in the fact that such multitudes throng
to hear him week after week*, and so many are
brought to Christ by his instrumentality. He is
often very rich, and also suggestive in the read
ing of the Scriptures, which precedes the sermon.
Sometimes he will spend nearly half an hour in
this service, the whole congregation listening
most attentively.
Meetings for young converts were held in the
various churches last Monday evening; meetings,
of great interest and literally of joy unspeakable,
words utterly failing many to express their grati
tude and delight. In Dr. Shaw’s church one
hundred and two gave in their names as among
those indulging hope. Over sixty of these spoke
or prayed in the meeting of an hour and a half.
It will be seen that they are not born dumb;
which is a good sign for the future of their Chris
tian lives.
One striking case of conversion, which has
greatly interested fll, is that of a poor blind man,
who has literally sat or stood by the way-side
begging. He is known by everybody as “ Blind
Tom ;” and his case was not very encouraging to
begin with. He was once in the Blind Asylum
at New York, hut was turned away, as we are
told, because he made trouble. He has been
somewhat dissipated, and*in many ways anything
but what a poor blind man should he.
But he is now a new creature, and we will let
him tell his own story. Sanding up among the
young converts and anxious ones, his face all a
glow with love and joy, though his sightless orbs
cannot behold the eager gaze and rapt expecta
tion of his audience, he says: “I’ve found Jesus!
It is amazing how such a hardened sinner as I
ever found him ; hut I have, and joy and peace
are my portion ! I was first drawn to Central
church, though I didn’t believe in religion. I
came out of curiosity and to have a little fun.
I scoffed at all that was said, and laughed and
made such a disturbance, that some man was
going to put me out; but I promised to keep still
f he would let me stay.
“ I staid; hut did not mean to listen for any
good, only to get something to laugh at after
wards ; but before the sermon was ended some
words fell into my ears that weighed like a burden.’
I left hardened, but troubled. I was burdened
with sorrow. I kept coming to meeting; and
staid to the inquiry meeting; some persons talked
with me, hut I could not understand them; and
it was*a 11 dark before me; I thought there was
no. salvation for me. But last Wednesday I went
m y room; I kneeled down and prayed and
prayed until just midnight, and then God had
mercy on my soul. Thank God the burden was
all gone then. I gave myself to Jesus, and He
took it all away, and now I am a new creature;
all my scoffing ha,s disappeared ; I am clean -.ed
and made anew by the blood of Christ; and I
want all you sinners te come to this same Saviour.
He will cleanse you and save you.”
Wonderful is the change in this poor man.
He seems one of the happiest of all the converts.
His face is absolutely radiant when he rises to
speak. Most persons would have said his looks
were coarse and besotted before; but to many
his countenance now is beautiful. Old things
are passed away ; behold all things are become
new.
Of course, such a work, as that which is now
progressing in our city excites opposition. This
was to be expected, and should surprise no one.
Some have tried to make a great adp, because
Mr. Hammond said the devil was the first Uni
versal ist. Perhaps a more cautious man would
not have made such a remark; but it set one
Universalist at least to thinking of the evil pa
ternity of his doctrine; and thinking has
brought him to repentance. Perhaps no milder
way of putting the truth would have reached his
case. Why should we quarrel with those things
which bring sinners to Christ; especially, when
all the proprieties of a more staid way of repre
senting the truth have failed to reach their case ?
Some seem to need to have all their proprieties
shocked and startled before they will hear and
live.
Mr. Hammond was expecting to close his labors
in Rochester on last Tuesday; to go then for a
short time to Clifton Springs to rest; and then
hold a series of meStings in Lockport, where we
trust God’s blessing will follow him as it has in
other places.
THE BIBLE IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
The first public deputation to wait on our new
President after his inauguration was that from
the American Bible Society. The members of
the deputation—Ex-Senator Prelinghuysen, Chief
Justice Chase, and George H. Stuart, Esq.,
(who was offered a place in the Cabinet)‘waited
on the President in the presence of a part of his
own and his military family, in a room of the Ex
ecutive Mansion. Mrs. Grant and her little daugh
ter Nellie, Gens. Schofield, Badeau, Porter and
Dent were present, as were Jos. Patterson. Esq.,
and Rev. Dr. Dales of this city. Chief Justice
Chase opened the interview, by announcing the
purpose of their visit, to present the General with
a copy of the Holy Bible, in behalf of a Society
devoted to its dissemination and representing all
denominations of Evangelical Christians. He
expressed the hope that this precious volume
might be the guide of Pres. Grant’s Administra
tion. Mr. Stuart then read the following letter
from the venerable President of the Society :
Bible House, Astor Place, X. Y., March lßt, 1869.
To General Ulysses S- Grant:—President of
the United States:
Honored and Dear Sir :—The Managers of
the American Bible Society, having heretofore
presented copies of its largest edition of the Holy
Scriptures to the JRulers of the several peoples of
the earth, have prepared a similar volume to be
presented with this letter to yourself, after your
inauguration as the President of the United
States.
The distribution of the Word of God in the
Army and Navy throughout the late civil conflict,
and the Third general resupply of the whole
country with the Bible, in which this Society is
now engaged, illustrate its national and catholic
character. •
The historical and necessary relation of our
civil and religious liberties to the truths of the
Sacred Scriptures is self-evident in a nation, whose
institutions are dependent upon the morals of its
people.
In requesting your acceptance of this precious
volume, the managers also express their wish that
its principles of truth and righteousness may be
come the joy of your heart, the light of your home,
and the pillar and ground of your administration.
Be pleased, therefore, to receive it as a token
of regard for the great office which you hold by
the people, and in the Providence of God ; and
also of the best wishes of all who love the Bible,
for your personal and domestic welfare, and for
the successful discharge of your solemn trust.
With great respect I remain, in behalf of the
Board of Managers. Yours very truly,
James Lenox, President.
During the reading of this letter all seemed
deeply affectedi The President replied:
“ Gentlemen : I sincerely thank you for this
token, and shall carefully preserve it, and hand it
down to my children in commemoration of this
day."
The Bible presented is one of the most beauti
ful ever printed by the Society, and is bound
richly but simply, and bears an appropriate in
scription.
Genesee Evangelist, ]STo. 1190.
( Home & Foreign Miss. $2.00.
I Address:—l334 Chestnut Street.
The American Bible Society has abolished
its Anniversary, thereby provoking as much
buzzing and discussion as if it had dropped the
Epistle to the, Hebrews from its issues.
The Presbyterians of the States around
Cincinnati have been holding a Convention in
that city, for the discussion of the needs and
methods of the work of the churches. It seems
to have been quite a success. Dr. Nelson rather
startled his conservative frends by the strong
ground he took on the Women question. One
Methodist brother, when observed in the audi
ence, was jokingly asked what brought him there,
and replied that he expected to meet so many
Presbyterians in heaven, that he thought it wise
to make the acquaintance of some of them be
forehand.
—The free pew system is slowly making pro
gress in the Presbyterian and other churches,
hitherto accustomed to pew renting, behave
lately noticed that the church in Elkton, Md.,
of our branch, had adopted it, with what success
does not -yet appear. The Calvary Baptist
church', of this city, has recently taken this
course, and found it to pay far better than the
ordinary mode of renting. The Second church,
at Cedarville, N. J., is now announced as having
recently taken the same ground with a newly
dedicated church, and as having experienced a
gracious outpouring of the Spirit at the same
time. These movements, in the direction of
greater popularity, and a bending from the old,
stiff proprieties of Presbyterianism, are full of
interest, and bear directly upon the question of
bringing the Gospel to the outside masses and
neglectors.
—President Grant’s denominational prefer
ences are variously stated. His wife is claimed
as a member of the Methodist church, and cer
tainly the good and able Bishop Simpson is
among his near friends. He was present at the
dedication of the famous M. E. Metropolitan
church, in Washington, February 28th, and
gave $5OO, when others, displeased with the
importunity with which the collections were ac
companied, withheld what they profess to have
designed giving. On the other hand, it is stated
that the President is a regular worshipper in
Dr. Sunderland’s church, and that his children
go there to Sunday-school. His leading associ
ate and friend in this city, is the Covenanter
Presbyterian, Mr. George H. Stuart. Without
doubt, it is his personal preference to be reck
oned among the earnest respecters of religion,
and he has privately, as well as publicly, with deep
earnestness sought an interest in the prayers of
God's people. The prayer meetings on Inaugura
tion day, held in this and other cities, were well
attended, and the President goes into office with a
great wave of Christian sympathy and prayer to
sustain him, to keep him firm in his habits of
temperance, and to convert his heart to Christ.
—The effort now so noisily pressed by a very
limited but very talented class of women for the
equalization of their own sex with the other,
will, we earnestly hope, produce some good
practical results; as the free admission of woman
to every position of trust and profit which she is
able to fill, and a hearty recognition of her right
to every cent that her work is worth. But to
make the sexes politically equal, while it may
remedy some evils, is.such a manifest contradic
tion of the relation of dependence of one sex
upon the other, that the result must prove in a
large degree demoralizing and uncivilizing. One
of the highest beauties of our Christian civiliza
tion is the recognition of this dependence, and
the arrangement of our entire social code in ac
cordance with it. What a blemish and scandal
is the absence of this delicate feeling of protect
orship, may he seen in a recent description of
the customs of Dresden
“ The women toil like beasts of burden; hard
physical labor falls very largely to their share.
You see them in the streets sawing wood, one
holding each end of the saw; they tug along with
loaded handcarts, employed for draught almost
as commonly as horses—much more so than men.
They carry huge baskets on their backs, under
which they must bend far forward. Such figures
are among the commonest you meet. In doing
coarse, rough work, and even such as seems to
demand simply muscular strength, there is no
difference whatever in their favor, unless it he
as a weaker animal. And it is not only in the
lower classes that one notices this want of regard
for woman. Of a couple whom you meet on the
street, even if well dressed and respectable, the
woman is pretty sure to be carrying the baby or
the bundles. As for turning out on the side
walk for a woman, no man thinks of it! An
American walking with a lady is constantly pro
voked with the rude way in which she is jostled
by men, not the rough and poorly dressed alone.
A German in like circumstances goes composedly
along, letting his weaker and burdened compa
nion stem the tide as best she can.”
Why not, if she is his equal ?
CURRENT TOPICS.