GENESEE EVANGELIST.—WhoIe No. 724.
ffsrlrjr.
For the American Presbyterian.
FOR DIVINE INDWELLING.
Enter my heart, O God of grace!
Make it thy quiet dwelling-place *,
Enfold me in thy changeless peace,
That I from all but Thee may cease.
Forgive that oft my spirit wears
Her time and strength In trivial cares,
Forgive that I so oft have done
What I as sinful ought to shun.
Draw me to Thee, for I would rise
Above these earthly vanities;
Let me with pure and quenchless fire
Thy favor and thyself desire!
Henceforth let every thought and deed
On Thee be fixed, from Thee proceed;
Oh come, thyself my soul prepare,
And mike thy dwelling ever there!
PRAYER FOR EDITORS.
Muoh is said and written, at the present-day,
upon the importance and benefits of prayer, and
too much cannot be said. The religions papers
almost weekly, present earhest appeals for the
united prayers of Christians, in behalf of colleges,
seminaries, missionary societies and kindred Chris
tian associations, that God’s Holy Spirit may rest
upon and guide them, so that the influences they
send forth may be pure and holy, healthy and
saving wherever felt. And how often is special
prayer urged for the clergy, particularly when
their pasition is commanding, their influence wide
spread, and their power indisputable and almost
irresistible over the multitude, that these watch
men upon the heights of Zion, swerve not from
duty, nor blow from the Gospel trumpet an un
certain sound. These soul-stirring appeals move
the great deep of earnest Christian hearts, and
they humbly bow before God in fervent supplica
tions, for the regenerating and sanctifying in
fluences of the Holy Spirit to be poured out in
rich measure upon these centres of thought and
action. Quickly they are gladdened with the glad
tidings that the Comforter has visited those places,
for whom prayer has been sought and offered, with
His gentle, refreshing presence, or in mighty,
overcoming power, and turned the tide of thought
and desire, from worldly ambition and self-ag
grandizement, to consecration of heart and life to
God and His service. Lofty intellects and hoarded
treasures are now laid willingly upon His altar;
the benefits of these new recruits and substantial
aids to Zion's hosts are felt world-wide, and the
work of the Lord is greatly accelerated in the
earth. Well may now those who have prayed in
faith and waited in expectation for these great
blessings, set afresh “to their seal that God is
true,” and givd glory to His dri&h ha the heater
and answerer of prayer. 1 hlive Oftfeir tvonderea,
when reading appeals for the prayers of God’s
people in behalf oi these various objects and in
dividuals, that there were so few in behalf of
Christian editors and the religious press at which
they stand as helmsmen; yea, why this object was
not deemed of sufficient importance to demand
concert in prayer, a day set apart, as for colleges.
Surely there is no religions: instrumentality, aside
from the word of Ggd, that, with the Divine bless
ing, could be brought more effectually to permeate
the masses and exert a continual, controlling and
saving influence, than the religious newspaper.
It comes regularly as a true and interested friend ■
with its heavenly messages. And its faithful
warnings and admonitions, warm appeals and ear
nest exhortations, coming before the mind unob
trusively and without annoyance, must be felt
Thus the Gospel, with its claims and requirements,
is preached not only upon the Sabbath, hut through
the week, and its benevolent origin, its progress
and glorious results, become familiar and interest
ing subjects of reflection, thus leading to enlarged
and correct views of life and its duties, ahd con
sequently making intelligent and active
But eminently to accomplish so great a mission,
it needs the special presence of the Holy Spirit,
In answer to prayer, to accompany its weekly visits,
and apply effectually its messages of love. Would
that our own American Presbyterian might
be so baptized with the prayers of its conductors
and readers, that it Bhhll go forth as an earnest,
faithful missionary of the Church, so imbued with
the spirit of Christ, that it will walk lovingly into
every heart with which it comes in eontact and
win it to the love and service of our Saviour.
Will not all its friends unite in fervent supplica
tion to God, to make it, from its infancy, a revival
paper? Not merely an advocate and chronicler
of revivals, but, like some faithful, devoted pastors
and churches, with whom the Holy Spirit seems
to love to dwell, distilling blessings like the gentle
dews of Bermon, that its editors may be*so taught
and led of the Divine Spirit, in its management,
that wherever it goes, God will bless it to the
deepening of the work of grace in the hearts of
His children and to the importunate inquiry among
the impenitent after the way of salvation, and
thus many he turned unto righteousness through
its instrumentality.
I have been led to these reflections on the true
mission of a religious paper, by a pleasing and
touching incident, that came under my observa
tion a few days ago:
A* lovely Christian just entered upon the work
of the Gospel ministry, to which he had conse
crated his fine intellect and talents of a high order,
to be laid aside after a brief labor of four months,
emaciated with disease and panting for breath,
was drawing nigh the gates of death, when, one
evening, the American Presbyterian of Feb.
Ist, was brought in from the Post-office. He
took the paper, and his eye soon rested on an ar
ticle that riveted hiß attention. 'His wife, fearful
that the effort would overcome him, requested to
take the paper and read to lath; but he Reclined,
saying he had found an article he was .enjoying so 1
much that be would prefer to read it himself. It'
was the article entitled “The righteous hath hope
in his death"—the dying testimony of many
Christians. After he had finished it, he seemed
delighted, and said it expressed his own feelings
perfectly. • That was the last he ever read, though
the next day, and* after he coaid scarcely articu
late, he said, “the way to heaven was a glorious
way," and that “these light afflictions were Work
ing for him a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory"—and soon after calmly fell asleep
n Jesus.
Thus go on, dear Presbyterian, and carry
.many words of comfort and encouragement to the
way-worn pilgrims on the highway of life, and
follow them even down to “Jordan’s strand,” with
some sweet foretastes of the bliss in reserve on the
“Shining Bhore,” and you will nobly fulfil your
loving mission. tl.
For the American Presbyterian.
METHODS OF STUDYING HISTORY.
BY WILLIAM C. WINSLOW.
Is it best to think of history as a series bf bril
liant pictures, fanciful and dazzling dramas, With
out regard to truth? or is.it best to read and study
it by a slow, thoughtful, careful process of inves
gation?—for it is “philosophy teaching by ex
amples.” By following the latter course, We are
better enabled to understand its relations, and
place a just value upqn its specific object. A
historical method, assuming some apprehension of
its object, and a definite conception of history,
with boundary lines, fixed limits, and connective
links, elears the way of many donbts, throws light
upon mysteries, and leads the mind to a better
conception, and more masterly comprehension of
its significance and aim. Whatever is here said
on the methods of studying history, will apply
more to the mature intellect, and have but little
reference to those beginning the alphabet of this
extensive subject, and to whom the vast- regions
of history are but Bo many tangled, unexplored
plains, where the eye has never penetrated, or the
feet never entered.
Angelus, 1657.
The modern traveller, visiting Rome for the
first time, or London, finds it much to his ad
vantage to asoend St. Peter’s cathedral, or St.
Paul’s, and-take a bird’s-eye view of the various
elements, blended, but distinct, which reach around
and far below his stand-point. Thus his mind
becomes a chart, impressed with the main objects
and points, or, as a compass; directs itself, and
knows the bearings. So in history, let a general
survey be taken as the first step. In this rapid,
preparatory movement the past approaches in the
panoramic march, and burning cities, battle-fields,
and rivers colored with blood, move just before
the eye; then aii age of mythic dwarfs and giants,
strange beasts and enormous serpents, the rites of
magi, and enchanted waters, and of mythic beings,
whose home was the dark woods, —dr gods who
spake in the thunders of Olympus. The Athe
nian age of poetry and sensualistic beauty is called
to life, and Spartan vitality passes in the brief,
general review. The quiet, but momentous, in
troduction of the Christian religion, with clear
outlines, and continual progress, giving joy to
man, ahd blessing the race, is viewed in turn;
After this, the intellectual ages of Germany, Italy,
Franee, and England, engage the attention; the
revolutions and their effects, and, in short, what
ever of science, literature arid art has been known
to the world since the reign of Elizabeth. As
ah Ulustrafidh,' Wb above, With inrieh else, will
greet the student, in a general survey.
Use a good map. For instance, in the victori
ous march of Alexander among the eastern na
tions—while reading, have a reliable map at hand,
by which you can recognize the localities referred
to, mark the'battle-fields and their surroundings,
or_ trace the.course of the conquered from city
to city. This simple plan ensures accuracy, and
helps the memory; first, by fixing faets correctly
in the mind; and, secondly, by retaining them by
an association with places.
* Ohronotogieally. Unless time be considered in
historical pursuits, all the divisions, sub-divisions,
and even the outlines of the system,, becoml char
otic and vague. Nor will memory perform well,
unless systematic endeavors and classifications be
always in view. Thus men and great events may
be classified in the order of time. Who were the
great men of Ghrist’s time? of Luther’s? of
Franklin’s?—the -nations contemporaneous; and
the great events? What battles in the reign of
Philip 11., and the time of Nelson? Whoever
studies history with an improving aim, and would
vividly reeall whatever has been passed over, let
him give teed to such a manner, and he will the
better retain his knowledge.
Philosophically , or with reference to cause and
effect.
The philosophical eye of tile historian, viewing
the phenomena of the world, and the laws of nature
which reveal the principle of cause and effect, per
ceives d chain of influences and events connecting
the great divisions of history, as well as the minor
portions. From creation a chain off connexion
runs, and the links are the events off time, bound
by a mutual dependence. Hence the principle'
of cause and effect is seen in all the outlines
and movements of history. This principle, be
ing the natural property off history, and existing
with it, it is important to study it philosophically,
or there is no science in it. The way brightens,
and a serene region of perfect harmony opens to
the eye, in the light of such a plan. The con
fusion Of disordered elements, general outlines,
and specific details, all vanish away. . Ideas act
and re-act upon each other, event follows. event,
popular enthusiasm and liberty'succeed iron des
potism, and nomadic tribes are elements for a
powerful race; but for each and. all there is a
cause. For example, the French revolution of
Louis XVI. was caused by preceding monarchs.
Their courts, brilliant with beauty and gilded vice,
their corrupt and oppressive reigns, paved the. way
for, scenes of blood and horror. Galileo discovered
that the world moved. The swinging of lamps in
a cathedral caught his ready eye, and the great
atidd Solved a problem which has immortalized
his name.
Seize on the generic facts, the general prolific
causes.
A generic fact is a distant fact, or an original
cause. Thus the building of Rome is a generic
fact in that it was the beginning of a mighty em
pire, and distinct by its isolated feature. An ori
ginal cause is a primary fact. Thus feliS or cer
vus are primary facts, from which feline or cor
vine are - derived as effects. So much for generic
facts. General causes are productive of grand re
sults on an extensive theatre of action; as, for ex
ample, the battle of Waterloo, which changed the
destinies of Europe. Prolific causes generate a
train of events which affects the entire life of na
tions. The discovery 6f a passage round the Cape
of GoM Hope was prolific of great results. The
commerce of the Mediterranean was ruined, and
wealthy cities declined in power. The civilized
world received a new impetus, The East poured
forth its boundless treasures, and enriched the
British nation. The whole course of society and
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY MARCH » 1860.
nations is thtts sometimes changed by a single
event. That event should be carefully noticed.
All history should be studied with reference to
that unity which enters into the Divine plan.
Uniform and eternal principles govern the world,
and hence throughout the entire fabric of nature
there is perfect unity. Uniform and eternal prin
ciples control the destinies of man, and hence
throughout the historic fabric there is corriplete
iinity. He who acknowledges no God, and be
lieves in no hereafter, who comprehends no divine
agency in the scenes of earth, the mystery of stars
rind other worlds, who ascribes only chance to
things seen and unseen, the glories of the heavens
and the existence of other systems, fails to com
prehend the historic unity and harmony, perfect
and beautiful in all its parts. Hence no atheist
can be a good historian, and his efforts, hoWever
brilliant, fade at last. No sympathy with the
inner temple of human nature, or the hopes which
look beyond the grave, appears in its pages, and
its-vitality is lost, But to be a real historian, and
possess an intelligence moving in a circle of light,
appreciating the nature of man, and devoting the
highest powers of the mind to a" noble end, one
must have some of that light which was Milton’s,
“Whose genius had angelic wings.”
How saddening that the gifted Gibbon never
gave his splendid talents and attainments to such
ends as that blind bard of London, whoso name
mingled With songs of angels, and caught their
fire. That bitter spirit which constantly appears,
in “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,”
often obscures its real merit; and the Christian
reader overlooks its superior workmanship, in his
abhorrence of its selfish aims and pernicious prin
ciples. That monument of Gibbon is no glory to
him; it will fall as did the people it celebrates.
He who keeps ever in view the harmony of his
toric principles, rind the Iriws of the universe, in
his pursuits, is constantly cheered by fresher in
sights, brighter lines of demarkation, and.deeper
impressions of futurity. As he grows in know
ledge, time imparts a better lesson of its value,
and pencils life with a truer color, A future is*
written in his sky, and his eyes are fixed on its
language,.that in the still air of morning, and by
the setting sun, he may interpret its letters of
prophecy. He learns to inscribe on his heart, as
the Sultan did on his ring,—“And this, too, must
pass away.”
POPERY IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.
The remembrance of the cruelties perpetrated
in the dragonnades of Louis XIV., and the hard
ships inflicted on the Protestant people, especially
in remote localities and small villages, even down
to the very outbreak of the Revolution, is still
fresh in the minds of the numerous Protestant
families whose ancestors were the sufferers. The
dark dungeons of the castle of Aigues-mortcs, in
which.so many hundreds of Protestants have pined
away at different times, its thick walls, upon whieh
one may read inscribed countless names of these
unfortunates, the sad tales which .the keeper Lipi-
Belf will tell you Of them, as for instance, of a
Protestant maiden kept a prisoner for 40 years in
one and the same dungeon; these things combine
to preserve a lively remembrance of that era of
hatred and barbarity: Rut the Catholic popula
tion of the present period pursue a cotirse in no
way adapted to remove these sad impressions from
the memory of Protestants. Not to chronicle’ ex
pressions of fanatical priests, or to quote froth the
Univers itself, we-may refer to the general out
break of popular disapproval in 1856, when an
officer, who had gone over to the Evangelical
Church, was; by decision of the proper authorities,
in Orleans, allowed to return and educate his own
children. It was not only among the lower classes;
but among the cultivated, not only among the be
lievers, but among people Whose indiffereutism
was notorious, who never attended mass the whole
year through, and who, as the saying is, believed
neither in God nor devil, that opposition, of the
bitterest kind, appeared to this act of simple jus
tice. ‘
The strong ultramontane feeling of the Roman
ists in this section off France exhibits itself in
various ways. Nearly every Catholic here is a
member of some order of Penitents; these orders
have a yearly, celebration or procession in the last
week in May, which, in fact, is pretty much the'
only sign off life they give the whole year round.
They are divided according to the color of their
dress into white,, blue, gray, &c., penitents, and
since in nearly every place, even the smallest,
several such societies with their own churches and
priests, exist; one who is in the neighborhood from
the 26th of May and onward, may see procession
after procession every day for a week. These
consist of great numbers, sometimes amounting to
many thousands, who march two and two with,
slow and solemn Step through streets strewn with
flowers and carpets. Children and-women, and
men of the highest and the lowest stature alike,
take part in them; all are clothed alike; even the
men appear in long white female dresses with
white, blue, gray or other bands; and with' long
white bandages around the head; so that only the
mouth; nose and eyes, can be Seen. They wear
wreaths and carry flags, books, lighted candles;
they sing, pray, read, swing censers of incense:
before them marches a military band playing lively
airs, scarcely suited, with their drums and cymbals,
to the character of a penitential procession. This,
with the intoxicating effect of the smoke arising
from hundreds of censers, gives the whole a more
heathenish appearance; perhaps, than any other
ceremony of the Church. Of eoufsfe there would
not fail to exist great rivalry among the different
orders or colors; and the greatest exertions are
put forth by each to exceed the other in the mag
nificence of the canopies under which the priests
walk, in the richness of their chasubles, or rdbes,
in the multitude of the silver lamps and censers,
the banners and garlands, in the splendor of the
portable altars and in the number of the partici
pants. Indeed a gray penitent has spoken to me
of the Church, the singing, the music, &c., of the
white penitents, in the same contemptuous'tone
which he had previously used of the Protestants
themselves.
The principal reasonsforthe existingunpopularity
of Protestantism in these regions, are the misre
presentations and falsification of Protestant doc
trines and history disseminated among the people,
with even more than the usual zeal and industry
of the priests. A friend was recently travelling
through the department off. the Alps in regions
formerly inhabited by the Waldenses. Coming
iuto the neighborhood of a cave well known in
the campaigns of the Waldenses as a place in
which 6UO of these unhappy people were destroyed
by French' soldiers, by means of hunger, fire and
sword, lie inquired of a guide for the cave of “the
Vaudois.” No one understood him. He de
scribed it and detailed its history; at length a farmer
understood him and said, “Oh! you mean the
cave of the kivdgesl” The farmer explained that
the people whom he called Vaudois, were known
in that country only under the name of Savages,
for “they Were fierce robbers, who by night sallied'
forth from the ck«e, to plunder and to kill.” Yet
it is well known that the enemies of the Waldenses
were astonished t'o find, that from their earliest
youth they were'universally taiight toread and
write; and now they are regarded as barbarians
by a people the greater part of whom, to this' day,
’ can neither dor even read! ' -
It is Said that therearebtilytwo ofthe higher
clergy of France who are'ftot Jesuite, and it is,
known that the Society niiiibers more adherents
in this than in any other country. Thp assurance;;
with which these men felfify even the histoiy ®!
recent events in their colleges and in every sphetb
accessible to them, is astonishing. I have been
credibly informed, says the correspondent, of a
Jesuit, who, in giving instraetibn in history, dic
tated the following sentence: The battle of Am
terliiz was gained by the Marquis of Bonaparte,
Commander-in-chief mutiff his majesty, Louis
XVIII! I was told by a Jesuit that he was taught
that that battle was won under the white standard
(the lily of Bourbon,) and! hot under the tri-color.
At the restoration of thfe- Bourbons, historical
works were put in circulation) in which Bonaparte
was described only as Constable of France, and
for the time of the Directory, the Consulate and
the Empire, Louis the X"VlII. was constantly re
presented as king. This iegard for the' Bourbon
family is sht’forth) also, in|ifiscriptions which are
said to exist everywhere through the country, and
one of which I myself saw) in Montpellier, upon
a memorial stone erected vih honor of a Jesuit
mission. It reads, “ Ere^ss ;: ih JLBI6; the 21ht»
year of the reign of Ejaj|'’ : lkmir 4 X ; yi£L” It
must be remembered that the Bourbon familywere
the most energetic in their dealings with the here
tics, and that Napoleon I. had humbled the Pope
to a degree, hitherto unparalleled. And at this
day, through the influence of the Jesuits, the
number of adherents of th&Count of Bordeaux in
this vicinity, is great. '[
The Bishop of Montauban, who, in late years,
suddenly became an Ultramontanist, undertook,
some years ago, to wage a’ controversy with the
Protestant theological faculty of that place, After
reiterating the old complaifit; that the Revolution
Was a fruit of makes the boldest
attack of all by asserting tjat Protestantism does
not properly exist any longer, and he establishes
the point from the fact, as he says, “ that in all
Protestants there is an invofnntary feeling that the
Catholic bishops, and not the Protestant preachers,
are their rightful Pastors—a feeling which they
show even now by taking Jjf their hats whenever,
they meet the bishop in thp streets.” When this
is the style- in which the higher clergy make their
attacks, what can be expected from the lower?
A friend of mine, once,travelling in a steamer on
the Rhone, feH .into coßsprsation with a priest
who, in defending the 4jaims of the Romish
Church, asserted that “all.the leading scientific
men ofthe world had been Catholics, as lBewton,
Kepler, Liebnitz;” and nothing would convince
him of his error. A priest of the Gathodral of
Carcassone, once attempted the conversion of a-
Protestant lady of my acquaintance. She was
somewhat conversant with the Greek language,
and, ia the argument, appealed to the original of
the New Testament. The astonished priest . in
quired whether .she understood Hebrew, and was
surprised, beyond measure, to learn that the New
Testament was written in Greek, not in Hebrew,
and had to confess that he , was totally unable to
read Greek. As proof of the pitiable ignorance
of the French clergy, the.opinion of the -‘.Obser
vateur Catholique,” in its. issue of June X, 1856,
deserves to be read. Thp-disclosures are made
with a frankness unusual with the Romanists.
We close with a few-extracts:
One needs but cast a glance upon the Church
of France to perceive the deplorable condition of
its clergy. Ignorance of theology and of all the
ecclesiastical sciences has. reached its height.
The. ; studies- in, the jgipjsMiM®s,3rg. next thing to.
nothing- A great number o£ priests after being
thrown into the ministry) give up studying en
tirely, and forget even thßjyttle they learned in
their youth. To this we must add, the
well nigh absolute dependence of the inferior
clergy upon the bishops; dependence which is not
a rational subordination, but a blind obedience.
. . ,; , To-day, it must be admitted that the
priests, who distinguish themselves by their, intelli
gence and the nobleness of their sentiments, are
too often viewed with suspicion. One might say
that, the clergy present no other appearance than
that.of obsequious slaves of the bishops occupied
solely with the attempt to merit their good grace
by humbly, executing their very caprices.
A REMARKABLE CONVERSION IN
BROOSA.
Or. .Hamlin of, Constantinople, writes to one,
who in 1857, went with, him on a visit to Broosa,
giving an account of a case of conversion which
strikingly illustrates of divine grace.
The person referred to was' an Armenian fire-
Up to within two'itfonths of our visit, this
fireman had been a great rowdy, a drunkard, a
vile, filthy blasphemer, and a'ctuel abuser of his
family and Ms aged parents. His conversion Was '
so singular, that its reality was for a time distrust
ed. He left his home one Sabbath morning, al
ready half ■ drurik; to go down into the market
place to join : his fellows: Passing, -the shop and
residence of a Protestant shoemaker; he 1 heard
him reading and'stopped--.td liSteh by the open
door. “Walk in," said the shoemaker, “I am
reading the Word of God." He stepped in, and
sat down. The shoemaker was reading in Isaiah,
sth chapter: “Wo unto them that rise up early in
the morning, that they friay follow strong drink,"
etc. The fireman • thought, at .first, that he was
making it up*as he Went along,"id order' ! to chas
tise him in that way for his notorious drunkenness
and rowdyism; and was meditating the infliction
of a blow that would effectually knock him down,
when he would escape. But still something in
the words enchainM him* - The shoemaker-read
on, turned over the leaf; and the fireman became
convinced that all he had heard was truly the
Word of God to him. At length the shoemaker
closed the book, saying, “It is time for me to go
tochurch; come with me." . So they departed to
gether; but when they came to the bridge, which
you may recollect passes over the ravine not far
from-our church, the fireman-turned, off, saying,
“I must go-home and get'my breakfast." “Come
first with me and partake of our spiritual food,”
said the shoemaker.; “We have the bread that
cometh down from' heaven, of which, if a man eat,
he shall never hunger." The fireman, half-so
bered; and in a sort of maze at all he had heard,
and doubting whether these Protestants really had
some strange kind of food to eat, or what this spi
ritual, heavenly bread could mean; turned : back
and went with the shoemaker;.
It;was curious that- the", text should,be:in the
same style of oriental metaphor; “ Ho, every one
that thirsteth,” etc., Isa. Iv. I—3. The native
pastor described very vividly.the power! of thirst,
and. the vehement, impelling desire which'it can
aW j cara van in the desert; exhausted
and. dying in despair, when the cry of “ water
found!' is heard, rises, rashes forward, and all;
drink and live!
. He then spoke of the sense of sin Which the
sinuer must have, the desire of salvation, and'
finally of the free pardon accorded to every de
sinng soul. The. fireman listened, himself tor
mented with a raging thirst, but still held, as by
a spell, to. the close. He then rushed out to the!
fountain, always flowing in the court of the church,.
and drank freely. Conscience then awoke. He
thought: “What a miserable sinner am If All
my life I never bestowed a' thought upon iriy sal-'
vatiou from sin; but as soon as I am thirsty, how
impatiently I rush to the water.” He went home
a sobered man, eanie again in the evening, arid'
was soon found to be an earnest 'seeker after the
way of life. ' ■ ; -
He was received to the chttycK only after a good
trial of his faithful, prriyeiful,' Consifcterit Walt. Hw-
N.-Evang. Kirchenzeitung.
perseeuted in Bis own'family, but at length
his wife could no longer resist the wondrous change,
>ftn<l above all the meekness and patience with
Which he, the former tyrant of the household,
pjiore all their jeers.and curses at his being a pro-,
jfcstant. She joined him, with all their children,
in the house of God. Last winter, the aged pa
rents, at the eleventh hour, came also. And when
the father, tall, erect, and slender, but with hair
and beard white with the snows of eighty winters,
rose in an evening meeting, confessed his lost state
as a sinner, and sought the prayers of his brethren
and sisters for his salvation, if such a lost soul
could be prayed feuythe whole church broke down;
weeping filled the place; one after another at
tempted to pray, but could not find-utterance, so
that the pastor himself had to close the meeting.
The old man’s conversion was a clear and remark-'
able case, and he is ah hnthble, valued member of
the church. I saw them all at meeting, and at
the Bible class) and listened to the fireman’s hum
ble,.earnest prayer, which would have hushed any
audience to perfect stillness.
Is it a slight thing to see such a family lifted
out hf the lowest depths of ignorance, degradation
ahu’ siD !- 1 dut’bf the veiy’filth and mire of the pit;
and sitting together in heavenly places, their hearts!
filled with heavenly hopes? God speed the day,
when all the miserable population of this Empire,
shall thus be transformed.
•*IS THE RELIGIOUS WANT OF THE AGE
Under this title the’March-number of the
Atlantia Monthly, has a very sensible article on
the ministry and preaching. We make a few
suggestive extracts, on the preparatory training
and qualifications for the ministerialoffice. The
writer says:-
“ That a man is found! or finds himself in any
calling is ho evidence whatever that'he is fitted
for that calling. This is just as true of the
ministry as of .any other vocation. Every man
of business knows this.. The clergy seem to us
behind the age in being astonishingly blind to
it.- Men of business know that only a very
small fraction of their number can ever attain
eminent success. They know that, in a term of
twenty years, ninety-seven men in a hundred
fail. Here and there one develops a remark
able talent for the specific business in which he
is engaged. The ninety-and-nine discover that
they have a*weary contest to maintain with,
manifold contingencies and combinations which
no foresight can preclude.
“The application of this general truth to
their profession the clergy are backward to per
ceive. The consequences of this backwardness
are very hurtful to their interests. Because of
this, we have an indefinite amount of puerile
and undignified, complaint from disappointed
men, of disingenuous misrepresentation from in
competent men, who have entered upon labors
they were never fitted to accomplish. Such
men undertake their, labors in ways that want
And must want the Divine sanction; and they
are tempted to ward off a just.verdict of unsuit
ableness and of incompetency by bringing many
and grievous charges against their flocks.. ‘ A
mania for church-extending, ’ ‘a'hankering for
architectural splendor;’ ‘or for,discursive and
satirical preaehing ;’ ‘or for, something florid or
profound:’ these and the like imputations have
Been put forward, as a screen, by many an nn
sueeessful preacher, who failed,—-simply failed,
7—not in selling horns .or hides, shirting or
sugars,-—but failed to recommend Christ and
bis Gospel,—failed for want of head, or heart,
or industry, or all three.”
False notions about the qualifications for
ministerial success are thus noticed:
“The prevailing impression among the mi
nistry appears to be, that the man who cannot
write ‘an able doctrinal discourse' is but an in
ferior man, fit only to preach in an inferior
place; and that it would-be a great gain to the 1
church, if scholarships were only so general
that the standard of the universities could be
applied; arid only Phi-Beta-Kappa men allowed
to enter the ministry. No doubt, those who
incline to this view are quite honest, and not
unkindly in it. Bat those who think this grie
vously misunderstand the necessities of the age
in Whibb we live. -Reading' men know where to
firid better reading thati can possibly be fur
nished by any man who is bound to write two
sermons weekly, or even one sermon a week;
and to train apy corps of young men in the ex
pectation that any considerable fraetiop of them
will be able to win. arid maintain a commanding
influence in their parishes mainly by the weekly
production of learned discourses is to do them
the greatest injury, by cherishing expectations
which never can be realized. Why do you edu
cate men of other professitms so seldom, and so
reluctantly contribute to the addresses in our
religious assemblies? Precisely because they
understand the difficulty of meeting the popular
expectation which is created by, the, prey ailing
theory; a. theory which demands that, sermons,
and not only that sermons, buf also that all re--
ligious addressed should be chiefly characterized
as learririd, acute; scholastic even. An Irish
preacher is reported in an Edinburgh, paper as
saying lately, that ‘he had been led to think of
his own preaching and of that of his brethren,
His saw very fe w sermons in the New Testament
shaped after the forms arid fashion in' which
they had been accustomed to shape theirs; -He
was not aware of a sermon there, iri which they
had a little motto selected, upon vftuch a dis
quisition upon a particular subject was hung.
The sort of sermons which the people in his
locality were desirous tgjhear were sermons de
livered on a large portioiPof the Word of God,
carrying through the ideas as the Spirit <jf God
had done,’ And it is,,in-part at least, because
of ihe prevailing, disregard of the most reason
able desire, that parishes so soon weary of their
ministers.”
Here are, a few very sensible utterances:
“It is not; worth while, for any man to go
into the ministry who cannot, relish the Apos
tle’s invitation, running thus—“l beseech yon,
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
ye present your bodies d living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service.” If that seem not reasonable, ay,
and'exceedingly inviting too, better let it alone.
All men cannot do all things. Better raise ex
traordinary potatoes than hammer out insignifi
cant,ideas.—Ton do not see the connection ?
yon were a Phi-Beta-Kappa man in College;
and know that you can write better than many
aiinan in a metropolitan pulpit? Very likely;
but we of the few go to church to be made bet
ter, men; and riot by fine writing, bat by signifi
cant ideas, which may come in a homely garb,
so they only be pervaded with an affectionate
piety, but which can come to us only from one
who has laid all- ambitions self-seeking on the
altar of God. There is a power of persuasion
in every minister wffo follows God as a dear
child, and who walks in love, as Christ loved
us, which the hardest heart cannot long resist,
—which will win the congregation, however an
individual here and there may be able to harden
himself against it. You think that the great
power of the pulpit is in high doctrine presented
with metaphysical precision and acuteness. We
have no disparagement to offer of your.doctrinal
knowledge, nor of your ability to state it with
inetaphysieal precision and hair-splitting acute
ness. But we know, from much experience,
that there is a divine truth, and a fervor in im
parting it, with which God iuspircs the man
who is wholly devoted to Him, in comparison
•with which the higher achievements of the man
MET?”
who lacks these are trumpery and rubbish-
Many, many men hare failed iu the ministry,
are failing in the ministry every day, because
their principal reliance has been upon what
they deem their thorough mastery of the sound
est theories of doctrine arid duty. They were
confident they could administer to minds and
hearts diseased the certain specific laid down in
the book, admeasured to the twentieth part of
a scruple. Confident in their theoretical acqui
sitions, they could not comprehend the indis
pensable necessity of a large experience in
actnal eases of mental malady. Arid for the
Want of such experience, it was absolutely im
possible that they should be en rapport with
the souls they honestly desired to benefit. Can
you heal a heart-ache with a syllogism ? There
is no dispensing with the precept arid prescrip
tion, —‘Weep with: those that weep!’ ‘Be of
the same mind one toward another!’”
Still another extract is worth presenting:
“How long ought a sermon to be? As long
as yon can read in the eye of seven-eighths of
your audience. Pray, go on. If you cannot
read that, you have mistaken your vocation;
you were -never called to the ministry. The
secret of the persuasive power of our favorite
orators is in their constant recognition of the
e bb and flow of the sensibilities they are acting
upon.. Their speech is, in effect, an actual con
versation, in which they are speaking for as well
as to the audience; and the interlocutors are
made almost as palpably such as at the ‘ Break
fast-Table’ of our dramatic ‘Autocrat.’ In con
trast with this, the dull preacher, falling below
the dignity and the privilege of his office, ad
dresses himself, not to living men, but to an
imaginary sensibility to abstract truth. The
effect of this is obvious and inevitable; it con
verts hearers into doubters as to whether in fact
there be any such thing as a religion worth
recommending or possessing, and preachers into
complaiuers of the people as indifferent and in
sensible, to the truth, —a libel which ought to
render them liable to fine and punishment.
God’s truth, fairly presented, is never a mat
ter of indifference or of insensibility to an in-‘
telligent, nor even to an unintelligent audience.
However an individual here and there may eon
trive to withdraw himself from the sphere of its
influence, truth can no more lose her power than
the sun can lose his heat.”
ORGANIC UNITY.
The true Church of Christ is one. Its various
parts must be united in doctrine, spirit, apd life,
or they cannot claim Connection with the Great
Head. With this essential unity,- different forms
of external' organization are not Inconsistent,
and hence we find as the result of various causes
that the Church exists in a variety of forms,
ranging from those which approximate spiritual
despotism, to the. absence of-almost all form in
a loose rind irresponsible democracy. Prelatists
adhere to the former, and Independents to the
latter; while Presbyterians have attained the
happy medium in a system, which in the largest
possible measure combines both law and liberty.
Bach class claims. that it is right, and each
must answer to God for the views it holds, and
the consequences that follow them. We are
not now concerned to discuss the claims set np
by either extreme, but,to state briefly the Presby
terian position; for we consider ignorance of it
to be' the cause of many evils, arid’a proper
understanding of it to be essential to our suc
cess as a body of Christians desiring to extend
the; kingdom of our Lord.
The view given in our standards, is that, in
the Church of Christ in its most Scriptural form,
there,is not only a unity of doctrine, spirit, and
life, but also of organization; and that this
latter unity may be made in the highest degree
subservient to the protection and extension of
the truth, the edifying of the body, of Christ,
and the evangelization of the world. This unity
is thus described (Form of Government, chap,
xii.:)
“The radical principles of Presbyterian Church
government and discipline are:—That the se
veral different congregations of believers, taken
collectively, constitute one Church of Christ,
called emphatically the Church;—that a larger
part of the Church, or a representation of it,
should govern a smaller, or determine matters of
controversy that arise therein; that in like man
ner a representation of the whole should govern
and determine in regard to every part and to
all the: -parts-united, that is that a, majority
shall govern; and consequently that appeals
may be carried from lower to higher judicato
ries, tillthey be finally decided by the collected
wisdom of the whole Chureh. For these prin
ciples and this procedure the example of the
Apostles and the practice of the primitive'
Church are considered authority.”
This statement of organic unity applies di
rectly to government and discipline; but that
these principles have a wider application, and
relate equally to movements for the advance
ment of the Ohnreh, is clear from the eighteenth
chapter of the Form of Government relating to
Missions, which is as follows:
“ When vacancies become so numerous in jany
Prpsbytery that they cannot be supplied with
the frequent administration of the Word and
Ordinances, it shall be proper for any Presby
tery or any vacant congregation within their
bounds, with the leave of Presbytery, to apply
to any other Presbytery, or to any Synod, or to
the General Assembly, for any such assistance
as they can afford. . . . And the General
Assembly may, of their own knowledge, send
missions to’ any part of the Chureh to plant
churches or to supply vacancies; and for this
purpose may direct any Presbytery to ordain
evangelists or ministers, without relation to any
particular churches,” etc., 1 etc. .
This feature of unity pervading oar system,
is beautiful, impressive, and effective. It is not
the unity of despotism, to subjugate aßd de
stroy, but that of benevolent sympathy, mutual
protection, and cooperation. The liberties and
rights of individuals and of separate churches,
are sufficiently guarantied and protected; while
the combination of all under one superintending
and temporary-head, secures such concentrated
and powerful action as is impossible in a condi
tion of independency. It furnishes, moreover,
a mighty element in evangelical aggressive effort.
Our Church is a great brotherhood, affiliated
not only by “holding the Head,” but by infe
rior yet strong bonds of affection. A minister
or member holding a good and regular connec
tion with one Church, bolds the same every
where throughout the body; all are his peculiar
brethren. Whatever a Church on the Atlantic
does to aid another on the Pacific, she does for
a sister of the same household. The strong
must mist the weak, and the wealthy the indi
gent. The pioneer missionary, miuister, or lay
man; goes not’forth alone, the steps of ah army
are behind him. The distant and the feeble
need, not-droop and die, the warm hearts and
strong bands of brethren of the same family are
ready to furnish needed supplies. No laborer
is absolutely solitary, his “kindred iu Christ”
and in the Church remember him in their
prayers, and will aid him in his work. Let this,
idea of unity be realized; by judicious itineran
cies and other well adapted local arrangements,
let the Presbyteries and Synods carry on the
work of missions, and let the General Assembly
perform its duty of supervision; and direct the
sympathies and benevolence of the able and the
strong, where they shall encourage and assist
the poor and the weak, and it will be found that
no. more efficient instrumentality can be found
for Aggression on the kingdom of darkness.
VOL. IV.—NO. 3L—Whole No. 196.
This idea of organic unity our Church has
carried out very faithfully, so far as government
and discipline are concerned, but has until re
cently ignored it, for purposes of evangelization.
IN o body can ignore its fundamental principles
ana meet with large success; no one can dis
pense with so powerful a principle as this with
out serious detriment. The Old School have
turned the Presbyteriau organization into an
evangelizing agency, and their success in fulfill
ing their responsibilities to build up the kingdom
of Christ is most commendable. We cannot
approve all their measures, nor their spirit in
all things, for we think they have yielded to the
temptations that accompany success, and are in
clined to vaunt themselves, and sometimes re
strain their brotherly kindness and charity to
other denominations. But we do maintain that
they have done well in taking away the reproach
that Presbyterianism is a barren set of forms,
and that it busies itself only about matters of
order, and have shown that it has a mighty en
ginery for doing good. In the last few years
the effort has been made to recall the attention
of our Chrirch to this principle, and the-convic
tion is growing that we r must act on it, in order
to a vigorous life. How it may be developed,
and produce a most efficient working Presby
terianism, we hope to show at another time.
RELIGIONS WANTS OE A BHSY LIFE.
. Social action and material enterprise and ag
gressive discovery, which are the grand charac
teristics of modern society, bring along with
them the hazard of an irreligious self-reliance,
a skepticism about all that is invisible and im
palpable to sense, and a feverish propensity to
judge everything by its show and Its returns.
So the bulk of our enterprise outgrows its
strength; and in the pride of all his pushing
schemes, and marvellous inaehinery, man comes
to esteem himself little less than a critic of
Revelation and copartner with the Almighty,
whom the church of Christ ought to consider
herself much beholden to if he condescends to
say kind things of her, and whom God himself
cannot fail to covet as an ally for so much busi
ness and motion, if Indeed there is any other
God than the science that perfects the engine,
and the motive-power that turns the factory
wheel. As long as you *preach to such a man
about his stupendous capacity, and stimulate
his arrogant activity, he hears. But tell him of
the deep things of God; of self-renunciation and
repentance, of a cross and a consecration, of
silent worship and solemn faith, of resting in
the Lord, and waiting patiently for him—and
you seem to clash against his glorious career
of aggrandizement. All the more do we need
this deeper and stiller element in onr piety.
We want not only to work, but to believe that
God in Christ works, and with mightier forces
than we; works through and by us, or without
us, as he will; and that we are at best but in
apt, and incompetent instruments in his hands.
“Be still, and: know that I am Godi”—let our
loud inarch of audacious civilization hearken to
that.— F. D. Huntington, I). D.
“Be still—make no noise—let me die quietly.”— Vice
President King.
, “Be still!”, ...The hour of the soul’s departure
is at hand; earth is fading from its vision. Time
is gliding from its presence. Hopes that cluster
around young life, that swell in the bosom of man
hood, have fallen from around it like the forest
leaves when the frosts of autumn have chilled them
into death. Ambition with its hollow promises,
and pride with its lofty look, have vanished away.
The world with its deceitful ness, pleasure with
its gilded temptations, are gone; and alone, in
utter destitution of all that time promised, it must
start on its solemn journey across the valley of
the shadow of death!
“Make no noise!” Let the tumult of life
cease. Let no sound break the soul’s communion
with itself, ere it starts on its returnless flight.
Trouble it not with accents of sorrow. Let the
tear stand still on the cheek of affection, and let
not the wailings of grief break the solemn silence
of the death seene. Let it gather the accents
that come from within the dark shadow of eter
nity, saying to it, Come home! Afar off the
music comes floating to it in the air. ’Tis the
sound of heavenly harps, touched by viewless
fingers: mar not the harmony by the discord of
“Let me die quietly!” The commotions of
life,'the strife ana warring with human destiny
are over. Wealth accumulated must be scattered,
honors won must be resigned, and all the triumphs
that come within the range of human achievement
must be-thrown away. The past, with its trials,
its its accumulated responsibilities,
its clinging memories, its vanished hopes, its
rendering up to the future account —disturb not
the quiet of that awful reckoning. Speak not of
fading memories, of affections whose objects perish
in their loveliness, like the flowers of spring, or
wither in slow decay. Talk nob of an early
home where loved ones linger, where a seat will
soon be vacant, a cherished voice hushed forever,
or of the desolation that will seat itself by the
hearthstone. The soul is at peace with God, let
it pass calmly away.- Heaven is opening upon its
vision; the bright turrets, the tall spires, the holy
domes of the eternal city, are emerging from the
spectral darkness, and the glory of the Most High
is dawning around them. The white throne is
glistening in the distance, and the white-robed
angels are beckoning the weary spirit to its ever
lasting home.
What is life that it should be clung to longer?
What are the joys of the world that they should
be regretted? What has earth to place before
the spirit of a man to tempt its stay, or turn it
from its eternal rest ?
The intelligent reader will declare it of no
second importance. Surely the great demand
upon earth is the publication of the Gospel, and
surely that publication is more important in re
gions where it has never been uttered, than
where it has been for years or ages reiterated.
Beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitant in
many an enlightened locality have been the re
verberations of sermons to "bnild up” God’s
people as well as give pastors a support, while
the hearers generally have “built up” for them
selves surplusages in worldly goods sufficient to
keep a dozen voices sounding to Buddhists or
Brahmins. There is a responsibility for the
great wrong somewhere. It is not upon men
in a mass; When the great white throne shall
appear, the inquisition for the blood of sonls
will hot come down upon Churches, conferences,
or synods, bat upon individuals. Then you,
dear reader, whether you are a preacher or a
layman, (as surely as the humble writer,) will
have to answer to the inquiring Judge whether
yon let your own missionary light concentrate,
like rays through a sun-glass, with sufficient
steadiness upon your heart to start and sustain
the fire of missionary zeal; and whether you
did, in preaching, (not merely once a year,) and
in talking, (not merely in annual formality,) and
in praying, and in giving, (in your-own-sonl
saving alienation from mammon,) whether you
did thus clear your own sonl.
Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin,
was born at Westborougli, Mass.; Dec. 8,1765.
He worked his way through college and graduated
at Yale in 1792; ■ * ' -
“LET ME DIE QUIETLY”
SOMETHING TO BE HEAD-
Evangelist.
Macedonia.