GENESEE. EVANGELIST.—WhoIe No. 750.
r ottreg,
' • For the American 'Presbyterian.
FOR THE HIGHER LIFE..
Bound to God by holy ties,
Kelp me from the earth•to rise, • •
Leaving all its sin and dross—
Clinging to a Saviour'S cross. ,
Aid me in the life beim,
Aid me till my work is clone s
For I feel the strength of lust,
Feel the power of this dust.- '
Humble me,. 0 God! I ask,
Tear away each blinding mask;
May Ise° my heart, within,
See and rescue it from sin;
And temptation—l would flee,
All the might that's lodged in thee,
And would trample on thee still—
'Tie my Father's holy will.
Do Z yet ke idols bow?
- Conneenth , - -
And remove thwtatntrthinki
That to death Toyama would bring.
Teach me all s,bn:finloit. gives;
How the quoting servant
Lodge the truth withia my. breast,
That the Father !mowed' beat.
And may I each day attain
holler life than yet has been,.
Drinking deeper of the love
Christ is sending from ' above.
THE GOLDEN YEAR.
BY ALFRED TENNYSON.
We sleep and wake and Sleep, but all thills mote;
The sun flies forward to his brother-sun,; . .
The dark earth follow', wheeled in her ellipse;
And human things, returning on themielves,
Move onward, leading up the gold e n year.
Aid though the times when some new thotight mitt bid,
Are but atv poet's seasons when they flower, '
Yet seas that daily gain upon the shore, • •
Have ebb and flow conditioning their marithi
And slow end sure conies up the golden year..
When wealth no more•shall rutin mPundedlinaPsi
But, emit with freer light, shall slowly melt
in many streams, to fatten 'fairer lands,
And light shall spread, and man be liker man,
Through all the seasons of the golden year,
Shall eagles 'not be eagles? wrens ba'wkins?
Wall the world were falcons, what of . that?
The wonder of the eagle were the less,
But he not less the eagle. Happy days,
801 l onwards leading up the golden part.
Fly, happy, happy sails, and hearths Press,
Fly, happy with the mission of the Crow;
Knit land to land, and, hlowing lieeveam4rB,,
With silks, and fruits, and apices„, clear of toil,
"Enrich the markets of the gOldea year.
But we grow old. Ah I when shall all men's good
Be each man's rule, and universal peace
Lie like a shaft of light across the lead '
And like a lane of beams tithwfait fire~see r
Vlsrdrigh all the circle df the golden ear -;,
ovossgonitsnts.
For the American Freebyterran.
vtIMPLOTED.TAIANT INFIE *bit-
MENUS. EDITORS.—For thirty years or more,
I have been paying some attention to the wo'rking
of most of the. Evangelical Churches, and among
others the Preetyterian, and believe there is more
edueated Christian mind, especially in the Elder
ship of said church, but little used for the cause
of Milk, than in any other. I btrve known sonic
elders, very intelligent, upright men, who acted
as though they thought all their duties consisted
in iieeting the session, and handing the elements
of the Lord's Supper; and, when everything
suited, to go to Presbytery, bid, take no part, Cr
- very little in what was done. They did nothing
snore to cause any one to know they , held the
office. Perhaps one cause of thiti.isoxrme of oar
church do not look upon the eldership as an office
of work, but of honor; and one member wants
his friend placed in it, and another his; little
considering the influences these appointments will
have for good or evil. And perhaps another
cause is the influence the above class of elders
have exerted upon others elected after them.
These last may feel they are not doing their duty,
but they do not like to innovate upon the custom
of the church and the practice of the older elders,
who are esteemed as wise, prudent, and good men.
Hence in many cases, like the arm that is not
used, they become almost useless, and in turn
become hinderances to others.
• And in some cases, perhaps the duties' of the
office have not been fully understood; when the
person has been ordained. I think it would be
well in most cases for the pastor to explain them
fully, and require a clear promise that they will
be performed—or attempted,—and look to- God
for strength to' do so. Another, and' I think a
very frequent cause is, a fear that we cannot pray
or say a few words as well as others.
I would have all men modest, and unassuming
—but it is not presumption to attempt to dis
charge a duty after we have used all the help we
can to prepare ourselves for it. And it is one Of
the kind arrangements of our Heerlen!, Father,
that when we are in the path Of duty we are not
forsaken, but strengthened for it. In general the
church is not suffering for the want of ability in
the eldership, but the want of a willingness to use
and cultivate its talent..
Perhaps I may give ion 'an aceouht - of Vie:la
bors of some faithful, humble, 'warm hearted
elders.
Mr. Uditor, if your ready pan would take this
subject up in a few short articles in a number of
your papers I think you would do ; good. • .;
TRREE-84j9fiE!
For the American Presbyterian.
ARE THE WICKED ETERNALLY PN-
By theiwielted wet mean the finally impenitent.
It is conceded by all believers in future rewetds
and punishments, that without regeneration no
man's heart can become other then what it already,
is—vile. And further, that vvithout , regeneration
salvation is impossible, and regeneration impossi
ble without repentance. What, ,weask, can rege
nerate a lost soul? Can any amount or &ration of
punishment effect it? If so, then4elvation, kr a
future state of existence is= passible , without. the
atonement" of Christ; and lost maw may,ineaftle,J
finally, to elevate himself to tee right- hand of
God the Father, irrespective and independent 4f
the Son of God.
But regeneration is the ad of thediolyGhost. -
.
" Except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdoaref and." - Jelin iii. 5. The
E J, H
NISILE.D 1
Spirit alone can accomplish thiiwonderful change
in the heart. The Holy Ghostfisnlwaysrequisite
to salvation. "Except—a man be bornfrom above
he cannot see the kingdom of God." It is clear,
then, that no amount or duration of punishment
can. change the heart or regenerate the lost soul of
man. Is it anywhere asserted or intimated-in the
Holy Scriptures, that Christ is or ever will be of,
fered as a Saviour. to Jost o anis jn the eternal
world? We answer etinfitletp, No I then,
no amount or duration of .punishment can change
the, heart or regenetate to soul; and Christ is
not offered as a Saviour to lost soulstin the eter
nal world, lost man must remain forever lost, as
he will be forever vile.
This view of the case accords with the declara
tion of the apostle John after- the vision of the
judgment, and . the casting of
. the wicked into-the
lake of fire which is filthy lei him be:fillixr
still.", Rev. Ami.ll. ,
rad puidehes_zierr' fortheir vileness, their
filthiness; and as they remain forever vile, forever
filthy, they will be, consequently, forever punished.
"But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abomi
nable, and murderers, and whoremon'trerq and sor
cerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shalt have their
part in, the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death." Rev. xxi.
8. These are vile charactert, and for .theievile
ness are Tarnished with the second doeth; -from
which God has not given, in all. the •Scripture of
divine truth s the remotest hint of -a resnrraction i
or change of state and .condition. The only re
surrection 'spoken of respecting the wicked is that
found - in John's Gospel, r. 28, 29,-h The hour is
coming in the -Which alt that ;are in their graves
shall hear his voice, and dome forth,—they that
have done evil unto the resurrection of daintiation."
This &initiation is the 'second death, .and their final
condition. it is evident: that they who ale cast
into the lake of fire, bare altogether Limy
from God, and: of such it is deelared impossible , to
retteW them again unto' repentance. Now God
also pinishes men for their iinpenitencY; and as it
is' declared itopossible'to renew .thant, unto. repent
-twee Oa have totally rejected Christ; they must
neeessarilyever remain in =an unregenerate s'state )
fOr withetti repentance -regeneration is impassible,
and must for.ever receive the due rewhrds of their
evil deeds.-
The moral agency -of 'man.in the eternal world
remains unehauged.. Man left to' himaelf in this
*mid -Weald , ever teutinne a depraved character%
and the , inetay of Get. itithout pOwer or desire
to ;change hi* heart ; or:regenerate his soul, with=
Mit any natural relish: for 'divine thingsihe would
ehioo evil Instead of good i and greatly prefer his
own service to the Service- of tod;: rebellion , t.')
ettlithissieti -E von' und e r the ;Gospel , ilispensation,
the obstinacy of matt islrequently sneh, that the
totabilzed power of the Faiher; Son and' Holy
Ghost all fill to cifeet a change in /Us heart, to the
salvation "of his soul. if, then, under such 'favor
's
-bid cirotailitanoes, and , agebist -audi.peuterfal
la qtte eileraal Nvorld :front - itirtkitign still not
fearful progresalu!sib, when the infittentea of the
"Father, Son and' Holy ghost are alt4ithdralin.
13116 if itlwere 'otherwise, ne greater-power could
'be -- brought to bear Upon Man in the eternal world
than' in this, and as they resiat the whole-power
of the Gbdhead here, so they would successfully
' , resist it in that world. "It is impossible'to renew
there again - unto repentance." Reb. 6:-
There is ficrother sactifiee in this world fit sins
Than Christ, whom impenitent men reject
,-; and
'to sacrifice will ever- be 'offered the eternal
world for` slit. i/ There reMaineth More Sacri
fice for sins "
" • ' i rci No amount or duration of pit
, niShrilent 'in hell can regenerate the'"saul of -road.
Without regeneration salvaiitin ia inipossible: The
Holy Ghciat alone eau regdnerit6 the Simi Christ
is not offered as a Saviour to lost spins in'the eter
nal world: Where Christ`is not 'offered as a Se
*four dui Holy Spirit is 'not cotiniunicated, hen&
there is no regeneration to lost souls :
Clod punishes men for'their riteneas. As lost
souls ever remain is air'inre i generate state, they
will be forever vile, and therefore fortver punished.
God punishes men for their impenitency. The
Scriptures assure us it IS ImPOsaille in renew their
unto 'repentance who' and' tooally reject
Christ as a Saviour. Lost souls do .this. The
Gospel to thetrils ever a savor of death unto death.
Therefore asibey ever remain in a state of in3pe
nitency, they mtst; ever endure punishment. Man
left to Itimielf vile', impenitent, unreconciled,
lost The futall,y impenitent are-thus left to them
selves, and therefore eternally Jost. B.
PROGRESS OF OKRIST'S KINGDOM
ABROAD.
The space we 'usually devdelo'thitidepartinent,
of news is altogether inadequaiii' to a proper rep
resentation of the iuterestiii,g'aild iMportant'moie
meats now taking place abroad. We desire to
present' in this article such facts as have recently,
come underour wide°, but which the constantly
crowded state of our news colaten threatens to
delay until their fre'sli - ess is quite worn off, or
until others, of ,Ocitial; intereit :demand notice
Commencing with
Wet give an , abstract , of .the narrative of the
State'df Religioh, presented- to' the last General
Pte;ian Church, by
, Y.
~It gives bout as .011:4r l and
...octopi:ohm/sive a sumniary, of the results of the re
vival in that country as can be found. • -
The great change wrought within the year was
exhibited. kinder .
.sortie direct and seine indirect
'aspects. The t neglect of 'family prayer had been
‘'nlivnis bewailed;•= now it is universal; one minis
ter states, "that there is hardly to be' found
throughout his congregation u single family - in
Which:this sertrice is not daily and duly performed,
add a Presbytery reports that over `its 'entire field
family ':worship is the rule,, Whereas'it 'he'd been
hitherto the eieeptiob." Social prayer was:rare;
there , :vierefew to engageiti-iar fewer still Itirpray
With warmth 'and faith. Now, "over extensive
districts there are few: townlands in which a
weekbe , prayer meeting is `niit held. , One Presby,
4ery. has, within . its boudds one 'hundred and
itOority meetings for prayer every vteek.ln
another Predictery , there is an average of six to
each congregatipn; previously there had not been
six in the whole I'resbytery. In a single Congre- ,
gatitin of andtbee Presbytery there are seventy
p f ka l the spirit of prayer is nehly.
Iniutit4b.
PHILADELPIIIA, TIIUR,
poured out on young and old, rnaleLaud female."
The attendance on public worship has been in
creased beyond expectation „in .some cases doubled
and trebled; the worshippers are reverent, eager,
and susceptible. The Word of God has beconie
-precious to very many, and its, eirculatior
been unprecedented.. - Vhe sacraments hay(
greatly blessed ) and within thl year so tn;
1,00, 180,150, 200, , 250, and even 800,
been added to the ocuarnunicants in various
gregations. Tersons who had been for
without communiiiii? have come forward bah.
Session, confessed their sin, and sought adml
Sabbath-schools have been wonderfully enl;
and the thin ranks of the teachers filled up.
eldeistates that nine or ten members'of hit
have given , evidentnof a reWange of
-In some places the :children have Comm;
fatuity worship. ;Itamorality in 'every fort
gren,
been . cultivalTa — with the 417:714 - iims
Protestant Church. The missionary eon
tions have hiereased above twenty-ftire per
Snell 'ard Some' of the 'results' in July
gathered, from. Synods; Presbyteries, and single
congregations, and autharitadvely presented to the
issemply.
ENGLAND
It is almost-impossible to keep pace with the
activity, zeal, and ingenuity of the noble-Minded
Christians of this country, and especially of the
metropolis, in their multiplied labors for the salva
tion of the neglected and semi-heathen part of the
population. We hear of •the Bishop of London
preaching in'the open air:in one of the Most un
civilized portions of the outskirts otthe"mettopo
lis. Female Bible-readers are visiting the fami
lies of the same degraded class at their homes,
and teaching the -women industry, cleanliness,
and piety. Young WOmen's Asibeiiiticms - are
formed to protect arid lead' in the way of wisdem
the numerous exposed females of the metropolis.
Midnight meetings .for the recovery .of the out
coat and fallen, am 'ermined. with the Divine
blessing, and with great success. Special efforts
are made in behalf of classes under peenlir disacl
vantages--respecially the
,Cabmen. And as to re
vivals, in:the speeifie sense;of the word, the Lon
don correspondent of the Scottish, Guardian
states that at Upper Clagton the spirit, of realre
'iral his been largely:poured out in ebrinectinn
with h' large Independent congregation, ribose
pastor-recently returned from Dublin and Kinds
town, Ireland, full of earnestness and zeal. Pro
bably 'from five to six hundred persons remain for
United prayer after the evening service on each
Mid's day. Prayer iS'ollered:by any one who is
moved thereto', and' the stipplidatilms afiree - inarked
by brevity, definiteness, <and fervor. ;There are,
moreover, cottage Prayer4neetings, aenduetedThy
poorer 'brethren; who have direct ivies.; to their
neighbors, and , also family prayer-meetings, whore
members of different households, but who are con
nected by: blodd,uneet together' to pray for the
trho. are undecided, :There are. els() young men's
Vinyer.anectings.: on Saturday dvenings, and - a
pruyerimeeting of yduth, (originating with and
managed by themselves) on : the morning of the
Lord's day. Die evidences of conviction in, mime,
,and: of a. :real changer of leartin others, are mani
fest.
• The. state of -religion in this vast -country is
`deeply interesting: The efforts of Evangelical
ChristiMaS arriong the Romish population are meet
ing-with an encoumging -degree of success. The
Methodist Conference held, if we remember rightly,
,at iNismes, very recently, gave evidence of great
-progress, particularly in religious ,esltteation. It
was decided by the Conference, to, found .a theolo
gical,school, at LauSanne,Switzerlandi to be under
!the direction of Rev. J; &cart.
A trial of vast importance to Protestantistn was
finished recently, in the Court of Cessation, the
highest French -judicial -tribunal. • It resulted
from '4 l l 2 P1)9 0 . 1 ,, made by the.itinerant teachers of
the Zltange,lic#l Aociety, whose, schools in 'Haute
Vienne had been suppressed because they were
Attended by Botuanists, butwho continued t,heir
labors•by.teaching from house to house. N. Jus
nel,.one of the teachers employed by the SocietY,
( whose school was in the number of those sup.
pressed,) received at his own house the ehildren
of several families in turn,, taking those of one
family et one hour, and of another family at an.
other, and so op, thus giving instructions without
epening ,a school." Nevertheless, he was tried
and convicted by the tribunal of Bellac, and' tlie.
Imperial,Court of L4ftoges, successively, on charge
of opening a school without the required authori
zation. He was condemned to a fine, and ordered
to stop teaching = appeal was Made to the
Court
_Cessation which reversed of ' the deeision of
the ,inferior judicatories,
, and declared that a
'teacher, who gives .lessons to children of the same
family, whether in the house of their parents or
in his own, gives private instruction, and there
fore does not need, previous enthorization; This
gives the, teachers of the. Evangelical Society
. •
security in : their, work which ; they had, not
ously enjoyed. Indeed, the number 'of :children
.now reached by their instrumentality is greater
_
than when they were permitted to, gather them
into schools.
Itev,. John Bost, a Protestant minister, has.
established institute in La Force, for the re
ception of the deaf and dumb, the blind, incura
ble sufferers, and idiots, whiph has LIM& a pro
found' impression upon the community. It has
secured fur him the first prize for "'virtue" of
I s 3,000 francs, awarded by the French Institute.
This, in_. a Itotuisli country; where the effort is
diligently made to represent Protestantism as im
moral in its tendencies, and the doctrine of justifi
cation by faith as ignoring good works, is : one, of
the signs of the times. The Romish Prefect of
Dordrogne, the district in which the asylum is
situated urgently petitioned for, this swami and
M. Itenitisat, a liberal Roman &belie advocate •
~presented t it to him, in the presence, of the elite,
df Parisian society.
At a meeting held in Paris on the Bth of May,
behalf of this, institution, presided over and
addressed by Dl. Guizot Mr. Bost, stated that the
s;va•no•elical Family which forms part Obis arrange-
Monts was then training ninety orphan daughters
of Protestants; Bethesda, was affordinc, shelter to
fifty eight` Mind, , , deaf and
.dninh, and otherwise
incurably affected girls. &roam receives boys.in
a corresponding condition. X debt of almost
0,000 rested on these two departments.
FRANCE
OTHER EURO
In Sweden, a. mare
been
,wrought. - A con
the Churches says:,
di -- Lts;.
Aare, by
order of government; used by the Walde.n
sian pastor, M. Ribef, r Protestant tiorship, had
to be closed, permission lms bCen `given ;,not only
for re-opening it, but f 'building a church, if the
Waldensians desire it. I°PdrmisSion has also been
granted, after long`" d ty; to an Eno-lish lady, to
establish a Protestant khool for Italian aids in
rlorenee.
Otlidr items ntriews
columns.
TRICENTENARY 0,
ON, TUE ,LEONINO
"OF THE SCOT
The Rer..Professor
this topic. He said : 0
writings of the late D
Lift' th - e mistakes and. nsh off the calumnies of
Hume and other previ :aarithers, and might well
have been thoughtiut eat to make a renewal of
such Mistakes and calu Pies imposaible. But. we
,
see the old .tnisreprese teetiens , reproduced in our
own time;: and it is -a .duty to, expose, and repel
them by a fresh exhibidea of, historic truth. ~.lf
it.were only romancers, tt ee —whether in, poetry
or prose—that put foreard - such caricatures, we
might allow their ilip 4 beiee to pass unnoticed
without serious contra t
tetiou; bet the case ia 'dif
ferent when such in urions ,mierepresentations
proceed from authors o claim the ehafactecand
credit of annalists an literary intikaarians,.and
Who would reserktit as an affrenethat their,bnaks
of history should be ranked With works of romance.
It is in the followings - )ethat.Mr-Robert Cham
bers expresses his opinion of, our Reformers, in
the introduction to his 1' Domestic Annals Of Scot
land," recently published :-L-"The forty-six Men
Who : met at the first General Agiembly, and drew
from the'Seriptures,thefCenfession of Faith, which
they handed down as ftereotyped _truth ,to after
generations, were ever` • netotthem not more fully
persuaded of the soun p.a . pi any one of the doe:
4 diet Confessi than trinestheyWere of the re 7
lift'of sorcery, and fe SkenneliCenot more truly
called upon by the *hie to reprets idolatry thatt
. . - Ateperniek.keitaik-__
nest, and, meaning I'i:e 11 ...J0 God and men : ,but they
were Men of the" 17th century—ignorant and
rough in many of theirtray's:" - "No one in ''those
*days ha& any generaP-etkneeptions regarding the
processes of nattire: They eaw7the-grass - grow arid
their :liellocks feed, and; ;thought ; no, ; it."
"The °cod plant of knowledge pot yet being,cul
tivated, its weed-precursor, snperetition, largely
prevailed: Bearded Men 'believed - that a TeW 'ant
lered 'Words could 'take away and give` back the
reilk , of their-cattle:" "we shall find them' (i. e.,
the Reformers) incapable of imagining s conscien
-4,4ms dissent,.much leas of, allowine. for and rat.
'specting it. We must be ;prepared td see them,
- while, reptuliatirig one set of 00i-it:Wong Merits
titions upon the original- siniple Gaspe], working
it out on their Ova partin crceds i covenants, and
Church institutions,generally,,full of mere human
loeic and device but yet assumed.to be as true as
if a divine Voice.. had spoken And 'framed them,
'breathing war and' persecution tiniarde - all‘other
systems, and, practically operating =as a' tyranny,
only,somewhat less ferwidable: than that which
.had been nut away." Such:accusation '
s ; are in
the highest witrycbffe:psive,,when laid against Men,
Who were amongst tie-most learned and , enlight
'ened of their age andmitiontind not only high :
ly culture&and.civilized themselves in all things
essential to true and Manly civility, but whp were
the martyrs of, knowl dee the fountains of light
to a whole nation, an the propa,gators of civilize
lian ifithiebecilhig age . ' The tha which w
sis whiae are
i t
' prepared to maintain. lad substantiate in ' °prig
, t
d
lima to Mr: Chembersun all who think with him
is, that our Reformers were ; not a knot of ignorant
I and superstitious zbali
ts, but were rueu of learn
ing as well as pietY-= en of edlightened views as
iiwell as good inteutio s; and that their claim to
be so regarded is 'no/ invalidated by any of the
imperfections'which ere c'eunon f to. them with
the whole of Europe n,that age, and. which Mr.
Chambers has brought so
.invidiously into view,
to their specinl-disaff antage. tot; ,lee first mon
:t.
tion some facts in illitrition of iheir learning--
meaning by that ternt not the old scholastic learn
ing which still kept its I - noting in, most of; the
schools and universities of the kingdom,but whet
was called in 'that day "the . new learnmg,'' in
,
chiding both elatsics and Biblical'erudition, the
revived knowledge OthaliteratUre bf Greece and
Rome, and of the eiriginal, languages cf.:the Holy
' SeriPw. Yge-
both of atris and Louvain, !all , Alex
ander Allan deseribe"O' an - a man of exiilleht
learning, who'sies-fortkinishing.allSephistry from
the schools; and rentah`rigiphilosophy to its sources,
i. e., to the originallritings of Aristotle and Pla
to, as distinguished tiore y eereept, achelasticised and
barbarize& translations: 4 4.11 an hiniaelt was a man
tedistinguished- atta merits . : Broughton in the,
scholastic discipline uner_ ! Jahn Major, in St. ,
Andrew's, theiiarro and :' torny paths (if - Whiehl
' he' xchanged for tit open' fields of the 7i tei•ie lhu-•
' Maniores in the• ectiepls of.Witteniberg, where he
studied,Greek .undetf Melftectlien i Ilehre,w, under
Aurogallus, and the. dements , of medical, and other
seienee.under other professore. In 1535 he was"
made Dean - of the )F.cultY,of Arts ettWittembertg
, In 1536 he was ,ma e King's .Solkolar;..by. tJeerY
VIII., and Reader in Theology at Cambridge,,
where, he gave the, t: example of reading expo
sitery lectures upon, hcHethrew Bible.,
,14 1541
,hpkwas, made Prof.. 'pr of Theplegy in the, Re-
formed `University t Frankforten-theOler,. and
i:e 144 -3 ' lie *tittt en , tinted to , a similar chair in,
the. University ef L , peke , . , lielwas,te eepioue. au-.
'n
thor besides, and in ll his writings may be traeed,
the same union ef so tol learning . with prowl thee
limy,. of classical yi it ,So riptural z allusien, arid f it-
Jpstratioe,,fer whipthe i worke,e,f . 4 11 the ,great
Protestant theolog . ns of the sixteenth c entury.
eo ~.distMguis, t ed. kis fellow-exiles, , john
kAlpine and Johni.,„Faith
_o4,the Same merits.
They were both . seholatly diyincej„andlhotli exer- .
,eised their gifts in posts-of t high dietincliebi—the
_one as a Professor 0 the University of Cepeelia-,.
gen, and the other, fisn Professor at Erankfortem-,
the-Oder. The woks of t,lteee three,eminent ex
, iles takeu ;? , tegelher. ould Amine; copelderable col;
lection. Thane!' Jag.neglected , and n ' 1
y
maireewn, tbe.,y,are till, to be Amid rseattered,he
the great libraries a Denmark au & Germerhy,i ; and,:
.W-bNug4tt together PO, r Crlb,ljeliejirre's'49/ I PY di
AY, SEPTENIBER 27,1860.
COUNTRIES.
noes work of grace has
s,pondent of the Hews of
us gwecies it seems inju-
other
ance of
rr Yet
.•- CT!,
iniitful
e K 1 .-
MEE
'ness of
pauses,
ne and
of e
the Re
immade
ly upon
went' of
gone to
iltbe found in our inside
THE .SCOTTISH. RE-
Ttem.'
•
D ENLIGHTENED VIEWS
REFORMERS.''''ST
Miner, of London, fipoke on
this subject the.adruir*able
t'Crin did' much to'rec:-
them deserve to. bq-7they would swell, to an' ho
norable' balk the literainre'of the fathers of our
Refermed Church. George Wishart 'was - the first'
Seotehman- who taught Greek in any of the gram
mar schools.of 'the kingdom, and :wits-long remem- . .
bered with gratitude by the community which he .
served in. that capacity as." The Schoolmaister Of
John' WilloCk; eoadjntor of Kriox,_
was a man of' eminent gifts aritrattainirients. He
-
had been long in England.,-.-closely associated with
the scholars and divines of King Edward's reign,
arid.; had ;probably been Ottel instrneters7of
the accomplished Lady JaneGyey; for lie was do
mestic chaplain to her father, the pulte„of Suffolk.
His knowledge of men and things must"have been
much beyond the iequireintitte - of his own theokr:
gieal 'prefessiorq for at one-tithe:we-find him . not
ing,as:physioian to the:Du'ehess of East Friesland i .
and at another servingas.her . enveynnd
for with the Scottish Court on matters of interne--
i 'tiOnal trade. ThaillOtable Man, JOhn'tilleek .
tia:Knex admiringly calls him, in equal .appreeial:,
..tiomaLldn.. , graee.and gifts and wealthy of know-,
Tedge.pliseett was -
John
Jpho Row, the , first reformedrinOterof7fortkr!
Man who had spent many yeareof his life in the
schocili of Italy, had Mingled with the Most
lished society of Rome, and had. added to the
paratively slender stock of .knowledge which-,die
had , been able to acquire ,in the.uniVersities of is
Own country, an exact iteoiviedge of Latin ' Greek;
llehrew, and the languagee of-.Frauee.arid
"Perhaps some Of our literati,";
says M'Crie;
"who entertain such a diminatiie idea of the,taste
and 'learning of those times, might have been
taken by. surprise had they been set doWn at' the
table of one of our Scottish' Reformers, surrounded
with a :eirele of his children, and plipils.When the
conversation was carried on . In .. French, and the
Chapter. of the Bible` at worship was read
bythe boys in French, Latin, Greek, and IlehreW..
l'erhaps they might haveblushed if the book had
been put into their bands, and they hid been re
quired
toperform a part of
•,
the exereiseS. Such,
hoWever,, was the cominon practice in the house
of jOhn.Row . ." . NOr Was
.linex himself without
a respectable Share of all the true learning of . hie
time, though learning was not his most&6llspibliqu
gift, .nor. the main Weapon which he employed tO
fight and to win the greet battle of his life. Let,
it be remenThered that he woi . applaudedd
gent in,Fhilosophy in St. Andrew's, before hebel
carnet preaeltere 7 that he learned Greek after he
lid reached tuithirelife—that he .applied Inaiself
to 4ehrew during his continental exile,'' and bad
some entrance therein for which he had long had
fervent. thirst,". though till then he had,lielted op
portunity—that- it was . by the. - study 'of
_Jerome
and Al,lgOstini that, he got his:hist inkling of a
i
more excellent way than, that:n which'his early
teaehers had instructed hit... Ee l -id that it was Occa
sionally by an , appeal to the early Fathers of the
Church—both Greek andhis fariode
s. First Blast of the ; Trumpet against the Mon;
straits Regiment of
.Woraen sought to
strengthen his positione and vindicate his opinions,
It, is impossible also to read the, earliest documents
pf the Church of Which he was.the Chief fotinder;
partieularlyi the First Book of: Discipline, which
Was mainly dr6in "up by his ow hiied ? witheni,
perceiving : how high. was-the appreciation and ;Ira;
lue Whith he had for all sound and wholeatime
knowledge; both sacred , and profane; and how li
beral agd ardent were his ,desirea that the interests
Of learning should be .promoted side
. by,sideWitlf
those of truereligion, Finally,: need I
you of the part which` . wits - tjtken
and.. ltiiStorian-:-George- Buchanan, one. .of. the
greatest wits of
~ege which was everywhere
fruitful-in great, wits, the darling of scholars, tb
!•fioetari/Si,
steel:di prirtheps,'" "ortig
S i edtled tantiow. oftnium. ;in.ysna
gleatmOViniumjaditio'catistitutuni.":l3..tehanan'
return Scotland, seen after the Refornaptio
Was carried through, was an event, hailed Will
jciy and delight by the yontig clinich,' which
showed . hoW well :able Men Who had been aline
niated.as ignorant and rOugh , in many: f their way
•Nvete to appreciate: his -genius and enjoy ;a.
elety. ",That notable man" (Mr. George Buck
nan„),.Says Knox, remains alive to this day, i
the'yeat Of G0.d'15 . 56. years, to - the!glery 'of .
to the great hotter of this nation; and' to the 'eat'
fort of them that' delight-in letters 'andvirtue.,
Is.it pot now surprising that of such men es thee .
such language should be need as that uponwhie
I.
which`am now animadverting?
men, and
of an ag .
Prodneed such men, and'inndrethi'lik
theta; it should be Said 'that 'the. geed `plat t'
7knowledge,was;not , yet cultivated:? If that was a,
age,dark whet.are . we to think, of the darkness .
those
,that preceded ~it ?--and . how
.vastly mor•
brilliant than any thing. we ever imagined ,befer•
Must' he the illinnitiatien brit'oWn,' when in
` , coinpatison with-it the a g e' hich predated Era.
wus, and Melancthon, and Calvin, and Buthana
rand all. innumerable disciples anti admirer;,
was an age of blindness and auperstition, of roughs
rand i. 4 noranti3? - ,
The learned Professor then •went on to show the
enlightened and liberal views of the 'Reformers
on the important topics of the day—government
education, litcrature- 7 -and concluded with hoping
that something would be don 6 by the meeting in
reference to .the republication "of some of the
most interesting works of the fathers of our
church." ,
IN EVERY THING GIVE THANKS.
Grateful love is the vital element of true piety.
Conscious of utter moral weakness and unworthi
ness we flee to• Christ. In his wonderful conde
'scen'sion and 'his great atoning work, he is to us
4 . the chiefest aauoug tea thousand, the one alto
iether lovely." We-cast:ourselves into hisearms
.with a thankfulness which no weds can. express.
0,
. our hoyeisin Eyerymtment, and. for
'everi 144811 . 1g\ we are dependent Upon him "tie
redeemeth our life from destiliction, Ile crOwneth
ns *with "ioving-kiiidneas and, tender mercies."
Not a breath we \ breathe; mat a .beating of the
pulse, but testifies anew to the fulnessand . the
freeness of ,his grace, -Hence every utterance of
thelips, eyeiy i thotight of the heart, should i go
hearibg beivenirard the incense gratitude.
Failing to give. thanks Continually; tve !become
aliens and apostates.
Said a -man who had—been saved by another
from a cruel death,—s" Sir, I shall remember you
:with .gratitude" 6 , 14'4 mobile& thittliiie, for I.oiye
all nay moments no.wlto you. Every drop of blood
ic my, body thanks you: Should not the Chris
tian have this, feeling in a still higher sense to
wards Mira" 'NVYthoiet him we would' be prison
ers of despair.''' By o'er sins'we had forfeited life
and all its blessings:. , We hathu6more claim upon
God than the murderer inthe condemned, cell has
upon the Govertißent whose laws he, has violated.
To that Murderer a : pardon is as life from the dehil.
'Lei' him go out and breathe agaiiitheifirand hi&
again in the , sunshine, and be Owes a debt of gra
ztitude,which, can, nexerbe repaid. . But if, after
beiug\instly,:cmidemutd-and freely forgiven, be
should complain of the Government because,it did
not confer on him wealth or ;honor, should envy
hie. neighbor's, and spend his time in murmuring,
he•uokmetit theconiemPt;of.itilinaen
Suchis-theitasetf Gliristian who is ever dis
satisfied "and ,compiaicjag.,' .14. e lies received a
pearl of great. price,--a pearl i lvhich makes him
'Atli:note eve,riadting life; ailil instead of priiing
it atid'reloicink irrit; he' envies"every poor earth
worm around bim. -"lenge for every bascand
worthless pehble.. lie, thinks that' God,*who has
given him so much, might to tumor ; him in regard.
to every whim—ouaht to •arapel. all Lis wind,
lusts--ought to treat him aaa foolish parent treats
an only child.
- This spirit of ingratitude, Whether in the form
of coMplaining, or of restless longings, is a sad
defect, we bad 'almost said a fatal defect, in much
of the piety of our day. The age, -with its fever
ish activity, has invaded the church, and God's
children—his heirs—have, ceased to be content
with such things as they have,. believing that he
will never' leaVe them nor 'foriake them. They
haVe become "careful and troubled, about many
things," they have lost their enthusiastic love for
.the Saviour, and that ecstatic hope and joy in him
which gave to primitive piety. its peculiar and.
re
sistless charm.
We must dome back to the spirit of the apostle,
who could glory in afflictions, and rejoice in dis
tresses,and persecutions; who could sing, the praise
of,God in dungeons, and "in .every thing give
thanks" Then will the men of this generation,
sin-sick and sad, be'attracted by our lives and con
versation to Christ then will 'He—manifested as
"the desire of: nations"—the rest for the weary
all wen unto him.
RULING ELDER IN MERcErt. sTREET CIIIIRCIt, N. T.
There are mew among us who die, and, with the
exception, of the few who are, nearest to them,
none notice that they are gone. 'There are others,
whose death is Mourned ostentatiously, of whom
the imPeis'ate full of obituary praise, and funeral
orations. are 'crowded • with • eulogy, but whose
absence in reality leaves no vofilin the world.
But there are again others, sometimes men of
public position, more often men of inconspicuous
influence; whose death is a clear lois to the world,
Who are cloitig servicesto the public that no other
one can do, or who are ;representing , great princi
ples or who are living such:lives of purity and
well-doing and, truth, that society seems poorer
and, more ignoble when they are gone. When
such Men die,' the whole community feel it, even
if they do not 'speak of it. Seats are vacant which
are not easily filled; duties have to be undertaken
by unaccustomed hands; words of wisdom are
wanting in deliberations which could not easily
o'without them, and afire of faith seems quenched,
from which' many lit their feeble flames.
The truestaimuiners for such are riot perhaps the
crowds: of, friends who follow the. funeral, or the
clerical orator who pronounces the honest enlogy,
but they are some poor, heart-broken widow, who
was gladdened by the voice of pity which is now
hushed to her, or some deserted orphan child sup
ported and guided - by the hand now cold; they
are the:poor and the houseleis arid the abandoned,
whom the departed invited to his feast, and who
recompense him with gushing tears now. LOnely
poverty. is more lonesome, DOW he is gone; the
burdens of the unfortunate heavier, the pang of
the forsaken keener, that one friend• is called
away, Perchance there are many in miserable
tenement-houses ' .in, cellars and, garrets, whose
wretched lives have been glorified by the. Chris
tian faith they - learned of him, and who now look
forward with unshaken confidence to meeting him
beyond. Such deaths; in one aspect• are indeed:
of dead loss out, of the world. i;-•
Such aloss,
_we ‘ couraelyes have had the pain of
Knowing, ,ita.that thp late Judge Mason ;. and
ihnald. - not venture now to add to the many
fe4line: itotice.i'atfliaelith, but that: we have had
especial• opfoorturrityief - knowing him intimately
for • eight years, in his relations to the .poorer
a34 . the s tit yar s tA r- ta . aw.e-firfatsa-sWi3kr4lt";4 l3 .
himlhe foundingof the Avenue-I) Boys'
Meetirigf and scion after he; with 'several other
gentlemen, crganized-thn Children's Aid Society,
of which he has been the President
,till his.
death::
The
• ;
The peculiar and marked thing • about his efforts
in this direction was the amount of time and pa
tie.nt attention he beatevied upon them. It is
well. known that there in plenty of prominent
gentlemen who are ready to give their names to
the trusteeship, of-benevolent societies, but, who
are resolute to do no work; and there are others
who, confiding' in their executive officers, look
into mattere.occasionally, but seldom make a con
scientious duty of thoroughly examining the
affairs' of• the society, and still less bring them
selves into personal contact with the poor objects
who ,are their beneficiaries.
- With Judge ,Masort, it was 'a matter of con
scienee its put his name to nothing Which he did not
know thoroughly about, and, above all, it was a.
*pleasure to shim to have. to do with the poor.
His Sundays, with the exception, of the morning
service, were frequently given up front nine
`n'clOck in the morning till'five and sometimes till
nine o'clock in the evening, to religious instruc
tion of poor children. In the week, his legal
practice---especially the hearing of referee cases
—occupied' most of his days, but his evenings'
again were in large part devoted to matters con
nected with the.benevolent society of.which lie;
was' President. •He 'visited the schools; under its
'charge; 'examined' the letters constantly coming
in from the hundreds of children over the coun
try; held his faruiliarmeetings for the street-boys;
called himself on the poor er met them in the
.
office and searched closely into all the buds and
accountiof the Association, never letting aeything
piss which he did not clearly understand.
There was something in his manner or tone of
thought, -when :we.first knew him, which led us
to fear that, he would- be too conservative in opi
nion and too hard for this labor among the, poor,
- but When we saw his eyes overflowing at the tales
of sorrow from Some of our wretched boys; When
we found how uniformly his feelings leanectni the
side of pity, and ;generosity, and .bow- broad and
liberal his Christian practice was, we felt we bad
done him great injustice. Ye rs had brotight in
"theirtrue harvest with h rn, n t of bigotry or
lirdneas, but of broader charity, =More compre
hensive thought,‘and riper wisdom. There never
seemed tows a clearer illnstratiou than, in him of
the object i inthe quistian ppint of. vieve,of the
most thoreugh busineset' and legal training. It
was all laid by him, with the 'most devout bawl
lity, at the feet of 'the lowest and poorest of his
fellow -creatures In the benevolent wed ;religious
enterprises—for the two in this instance were one
—in which he had part, he did m,:hat.no other
coUld'einctly do;' he contribirted to them 'and to
thP , poor the fruiis of hislife-long discipline—his
-acuteness,- his caution, his .self-control, 'hisreli
sions principle—in a word, his ratactrms. . There
is something so admirable in true Wisdom—that
Weight of years, that habit of looking at many
"aide:d, that care,. that • experience, that calmness,
that-freedom - from frothy enthusiasm, and their
that solid force of a Man i deep.gettled in his con
. .
,
How, vastly it looms up over the nervous exci
tability, and cheap sensationism of the day!
"The Spur and• prompter of all Mr. Mason's
;labors for hntuanity, was the religions principle.
He felt—not uttered--butacen that inasmuch as
Christ had died for him, he had. died that hence
forth he should not live unto himself, 'but for
&hers: All that he did was nothing to him'; he
- himself Would' . he 'Most Of 'all 'ashamed at - this
simple notice of his unpretending, .service; he
thought only, of ,Christ and his love. tehim.a.nd
his sacrifice for - him.
We do not pretend to give in these few words
tefull or keurate estimate of Judge Wason..;Y, We'
speak only here - for those. we do kbosvi-Who Pat
riot speak—the poor, the bereaVeda the orphan,
,the tempted, the liouseless,whohave known him,
,who have been kindled in Christian 'hope by him
• and who love him still. '
kethharice, in that mysterions life,' his 'eye.
looks'down on the feeble ancl %find efforts of•love
..done here for humanity's .sake and in C4rist's
dear name, and he is perMitted to 'see the fir-off
CenTrirelinstilifirewd.
THE LATE JUDGE iIASON.
VOL. s.—Whole No. 222.
glorious conclusion, through all the clouds and
gloom and darkness of earth. May his spirit be
with those Who remain!
Charles 1.. Brace in the Independent.
"I never"—said an eminent living preacher
to us once in conversation--"I never allow my
self to think of a sermon as an end. It is a mere
toot. What's the use of a man's grinding and.
polishing his axe all day long, without once ren3ern-'
bering, that it was made to cut? Then spreading
the palm of one hand, and tracing lines upon it
with the forefinger of the other, he continued--
"When an engraver is at work on 'a steel plate—
though he reaches out his hand now after a tool
for a fine line, then after a tool for a coarse one
—he keeps his eye alWays on the work; What
does he care..for the .tools? When I came to
B-.--- I had three hundred sermons, not one of
which : I could preach over; they were so full of
local allusions to thasins and wants of my people
in I—, where.l preached them'first."
— Metre' areprehably fejelitstoraWlio have closed
the first decade of their ministry without coming
to something like the same conclusion. But, to
every new graduate from the theological semina
ry, for two or three years this "labor tlmm"--
this, incessant trimming and furbishing of every
sermon—seems as unavoidable a disease as the
measles to every child. We met with a pale, ca
daverous looking young pastor the other day whom
this very disease—arravated by the midnight
larnp—is bringing swiftly to his grave.
- The evils of all this are legion. It consumes
in, mere literary labor time that might be more
profitably spent in pastoral labor from house to
house. It absorbs so mach of physical and mental
strength in shaping the instrument, that little is
left with which to wield it afterward. It tempts
to the selection of general themes, rather than
those specially adapted to the local wants of the
people to be addressetl. The young pastor is in
his first parish, and has before' him constantly
the possibility of removal to some new field. It
becomes 'a matter of interest with him not . to accu
mulate three hundred sermons which he can never
use again. The danger is therefore (and we have
known it to pass from a danger into a fact) that
he will mould his discourse with an eye to the
second use of it, which will inevitably half or
quite spoil it for both.
But what then? Where is the remedy?
Must one abandon all, intellectual toil or a.spira
tion, furnish no beaten oil for the sanctuary, anti
lose the respect of his hearers? By no means.
But we believe the remedy lies largely in elabe
rating the thoughts rather than the style.
Of one thing every young preacher may rest
assured, viz.: that if he be a growing man intel•
lectually, he cannot write a sermon the style of
which will:satisfy him a few years hence. As he
expects to carry forward his body into the future,
though the fashion of his ,raiment will be ever
changing, so: he [mist be Apntent to preserve the
body—the, substance—or his sermon, while the
Mere drapery of the style shall vary with his
varyine' t' and improving taste.
Let him then ponder well his plan, accumu
lating and organizing a mass of thought and vivid
illustration which will well bear the process of re
writing. This accomplished, let him write-some
what rapidly 'arid without tedious elaboration.
The amount of matter thus previously prepared,
will save his discourse from feebleness, the ardor
of .rapid composition will redeem his style from
languor, and the whole work will, at the end of
tfiree or four years;, _be found "or ihatimparibly
greater value than if his ehief toil hi - d been given
to'tlie mere Construction of the sentences:
Boston Congregationalist.
DODDREDOE'S LETTER. TO *TRADESMAN SEEKING
You urge me to send you some directions
upon the management of your studies.
"Let us remember, my dear friend, that we
are to place our point of life, not in an attempt to
know or doevery thing, which' will certainly be
as unsuccessful as it is extravagant, but in a care
'to do:that well Which Providence has asaigned us
in our peculiar sphere. .As I am a minister, I
could not answer it to dod or my own conscience,
if I were to spend a great deal of time in studying
the deptiaS of the law, or in the more entertaining
though'` less useful pursuit- of 'a nice criticism of
classical writers. . I would not be entirely a stran
ger; to thesuthings. and there are twenty others I
would just look into, although each of them alone,
or . indeed any single branch of either, might be
the employment of a muel loner life'than I•ean
in'iaa ts ine Providence has assigned to me, - Should
I antrer my few sheep in the wilderness to go
,astray,,in an ignorance of their . Bible and in a
,stupid neglect of their eternal Salvation, while I
was too busy to reclaim them, Gee wouldnall it
but laborious idleness, and I must give up my ac
.count'with shame and.cotifusion.
"-The thought, ,myfrieed„may be applied, with
a very little variation,, Wyatt. It is in the capa
city of a tradesman that yon are to serve your fa
`ntily.and eonntry, and, in -them, your God; and
therefore, although I would not have so finn'a ge
nius discouraged froth entertaining itself with the
refined pleasures of, a student, yet it; would, be
imprudence towards yourself and an injury to the
world to spend so much time in your closet as to
neglect yOur warpouse, and te'be so much taken
up with volumes of philosephy, history; poetry, or
'divinity, as to :forget to leak ;into your ledger.
But - above all, sir, let it be your . constant concern
that study ,may not interfere with devotion, nor
engross that valuable time'which should be con
' sentated to the immediate service of your - God.
God is the Father of our spirits, and it is upon
- this sacred influence that they depend for an im
provement in Inewledge as well as in holiness.
are-abandoned by Him, our gerthis will
flag, and all our thonghts 'Weenie languid and
confused, ; and it Will be in vain that we seek the
assiatance of - books : 'for when He ceases to act by
their, the theist sprightly writers; will appear dull,
the most perspicuous obscure, and the most judi
cious trilling; whereas, if we entertain a continu
al-regard to Him in the constant excise of lively
'devotion; we' shall engeore bis assistance and bless
ing in our studies, and-then our success will
quickly, appear , to ourselves and to others;• the
most difficult task will be easy, and we shall de
spatch more in an heur than we could otherwise
have done in 'a day.
"But, what is still more desirable,. when we
are conversing With God we are pteparing for that
world ;of light where put capacity will be most
gloriously improved; where we. shall be surrounded
by the wisest, and best Society, Who will be open
ing
daily -- new 'scenes of knowledge, and where
God will reveal fresh objects by a more directin
fluence upon our spirits than any which we have
hitherto known in our brightest or serenest mo
ments.'-`,714,48 :be diligent and zealous in the ser
vice of our God, and we shall be excellent scholars
a thousand gears hence; while those who have
made the greatest improvement in human know
ledge, living in the neglect of God, are forgotten,
or rather,'are consigned to the gloom of everlast
ing darkness. Aet us remember that by every
hour which we unduly take from God to give to
our hooks, we forfeit some degree of future
pinesS, whiefrlnight have been the reward of that
hour .had we spent it aright. And when we con
sider that knowledge is a•part of the happiness of
heaven, we shall certainly find that, in the long
run, we lose _a great deal more than we gain by
such sa•Crileoious encroachinents, even though our
stiudreS 'should succeed much more prosperously
than *e ihave:reason to'expect." '
THE USE OF A SERMON.
THE WISE STUDENT
ADVICE AS TO THE TRAINING OF. HIS MIND.