Viil. VI, No. 13.—Whole No. 282. sZ2 *©■ SABBATH IN THE COUNTRY The croaking wagon’s in the shed: The busy flail is heard no more; The horse is littered down and fed, The harness hangs above his head, Tho whip behind the door. His leathern gloves and hooked hill To-day the woodman throws aside; The blacksmith’s fiery forge is still, The wooden wheel of the old mill Sleeps in the mill-dam wide. The miller's boat is anchored where, Far out, the water 1111 m sleep; You see their shadows mirrored there, The broad white flowers reflected clear, Within the mill-pond deep. The harrow’s in the garden shed, Iloe, rake, and spade are put away: Un weeded stands the onion bed, The gardener from his work hath fled; ’Tis holy Sabbath day. Upon the wall the white oat deeps, By which the churn and milk-pans lie; A drowsy watch the house dog keeps, And scarcely from his dull eye peeps Upon the passer-by. And sweetly over hill and dale The silvery sounding church bells ring; Across tho moor And down the dale They come and go, and on the gale l Their Sabbath tidingsfling. From where the white-washed Sabbath school Peeps out between the poplars dim, Which ever throw their shadows pool Far out upon the rushy pool, You hear the Sabbath hymn. From farm and field, and grange grown gray, From woodland walks and winding ways, The old and young, the grave and gay, Unto the old church Pome to pray, And sing God’s holy praise. — Anon, JOHI Q. ADAMS AS A STATESMAN. BY WM. M. CORNELL, M. n. —BEAD BEFORE THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA. [continued,] In 188fi, Mr. : Adams was nominated! in the newspapers as a candidate for Represent utive to Congress. When asked if he would consent to he a candidate, he replied, “ It must first be seeft whether the people of the district will invite me to- represent them. I shall not ask their votes. I wish them to act at their pleasure.” In the month of November, lie was elected their Representative. He r took his seat in the House in December, 1831. Upon this occasion, Mr. Clay asked him “Howhe felt at turning hay again, abd going into the House of IlepresentatifM, and observed that he would find his situation very laborious.” Mr. A. replied, “ I wall know this, but labor I shall 1 not refuse, so long as my hand, my eyetL and my brain do not desert me.”: ' No sooner did Mr. A. take his seat in the House than he announced to his constituents that “He should hold himself hound in alle giance to no party, whether sectional or po litical.” Ten years afterwards, he had oc casion to explain to his fellow-citizens his policy and feelings at this period. “ I thought this independence of party was a duty imposed upon me by my peculiar posi tion, I had spent the greater part of my life in the service of the whole nation, and had been honored by their highest trust. My duty of fidelity, of affection, and of gratitude to the whole was not merely inse parable from, but identical with, that which was due from me to my own Commonwealth. The internal conflict between slavery and freedom had been, and still was, scarcely perceptible in the national councils. The Missouri Compromise had laid it asleep, it was hoped, forever. I entered Congress without one sentiment of discrimination be tween the interests of the North and the South; and my first aet, as a membnr of the House, was on presenting fifteen petitions from Pennsylvania for the abolition of sla very in the District of Columbia ; to declare, while moving their reference to the Commit-' tee of the District, that I was not prepared to support the measure myself, and that I should not. I was not then a sectional par tizun, and I never have been.” This is a part of his address to his consti tuents at a meeting in Braintree, September 17th, 1842, which the writer heard, On the 7th of January, 1887, Mr. A. of fered to present the petition of one hundred «nd fifty women for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.; Mr.Glascock, "f Georgia, objected to its reception; This was the first objection ever made to a peti tion being received by .Congress. Mr- A. s »id “That the proposition not to receive a petition, was directly in the face of the con . stitntion. He hoped |;he people of this, cofin {'■y would he spared the mortification, the in justice, and the wrong that such petitions should not be received. It was, indeed, true •hat all discussion, all freedom of speech, all freedom of the press, had been, Within dit' last twelve months, violently assailed in !11| y form in which the liberties of the peo ple could be attacked. He considered these attacks as outrages on the constitution of the country and the freedom of the people, as as they went. But the proposition that ’l"-' petitions should not be received, went ° ne stop further." His remarks were strong, and there was « r|, at confusion; brit the petition was finally t'weived. This was,, properly, the opening H the flood-gates of Wrath which, from that 'Kv to this, have operated as a tempest b'e- J"'«n the North and the South. Mr. Adams lla 'l espoused this cause. He was in, the and lie was not the man to relinquish right in consequence of being brow •u'ntcn.' • : •• () u the 18th of January, 1837, the House i Representatives passed a Resolution— one '""’ti'ed and tlurty-nine ayes to sixty-nine nays—That all petitions relating to sla without being printed or referred, shall K ' hill on the table, and no action shall he l,; "l t1,m, 0n .” (, e the Oth of February, Mr. Adams H:i|< 'd that he held in his hand a paper, on before presenting it, he wished- to 1,11 •' the decision of the Speaker. It pur to come from slaves, and he wished to know if it was consistent With the rules of the House that such a paper should be. pre sented? Mr. Adams then took his seat!. The House was greatly excited.. ; The slave holders expressed their astonishment at such a proposition. One member said, “It was an infraction of the laws of the House, and ought to be severely punished.” Another said, “It was a violation of the dignity of the House, and ought to be taken and burnt; Waddy Thompson, of South Carolina, offered a resolution, that the Hon. John Quincy Adams has been guilty of gross disrespect to the House, and that he be instantly brought to the bat to receive the severe cen sure of the Speaker. Charles E. Ravines, of Georgia, and Dixon H. Lewis, of Ala bama, followed, apparently in great heat, and each offering resolutions, or modifying the one already offered, the purport of which was that Mr. Adams be severely censured or expelled. Four long days did the House ’do battle valiantly over tins petitipn from slaves; and during all that time the old Nestor sat quiet ly in his seat, not opening his mouth. Well did he know how firmly he had them in Mb grasp, and that when the time came he would scatter their resolutions of four tb the four winds Of heaven in four minutes. At length he rose. That shrill voice, which could penetrate to the. greatest distance, rang; out; !■ Mr. Speaker, for what am I to be censured or expelled?” “For offering that infamous relation,” rang out a dozen voices. '“Mr; Speaker, I haven’t offered any petition.; I only asked the Speaker if it came within the rules of this House; to present a petition from slaves. The petition is in my desk, if I had offered’ it, it would have been in the hands of the Speaker.”* Then in a strain of irony and burning sar casm, he proceeded to tell them how they must modify .their resolution of „ censure, “Nor have I said what the prayer of the pe tition was. One of your proposed’resolu tions says it is for the abolition of slavery". The gentleman must amend his’ resolution; for if the House Should hear: this petition; they would find it very much the reverse of what this resolution calls it ; and if the other gentleman from Alabama wishes to bring me to the bar of tbe House for censure, lie must alter his resolution, for he says it is for at tempting to offer a petition for the abolition of slavery; whereas the petitioners pray that slavery should not be abolished. Thus; Mr. Speaker, the petition prays for just what the authors of these resolutions wish to accom plish.” ; . shus, never were men,.more com pletely. |oiled, .qnd never the.: declaration of Solomon more clearly proved, “He that answereth a matter before he hearetb it is a lbni.fr ! - rTf. -.-''H; ." . During this discussion, Mr. Thompson; of South Carolina, said, “ The conduct of .Mr, A« was.a proper subject of;'inquiry by the grand jury of the District .ofColumbia,; and : a like* ease,r he woulA be proceeded against in South Carolina.” V To this language, Mr. A.,replied, “If this is true—if a member is there made amena ble to the grand jury for words spoken in debate —I thank God I am not a citizen of South Carolina! Snch a threat; when brought before the’isforld; woulff. excite no thing but contempt and amusement.” After a debate of four days—one of the sharpest and most exciting ever held in. the House of twenty votes Lcould.be found, indirectly and remotely, to censure, so complete and triumphant was Mr. Adams’ vindication of his cause. 1 The paper was doubtless sent to ’him by some slaveholder to see if he would present it, and he turned the whole force of it against them. Never was more shrewdness manifested by any living man. He knew all those four days what he would do.. , ~v , [to BE CONTINUED.] A NESTORIAN DEACON. “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” Contemplate a single case of conversion; and to select a clear one, which- our feeble faith might perhaps pronounce a hard one, we will recur to that of Deacon .Gewergis, the mountain evangelist, who was as bad a man before his conversion as, he was gbod afterward —a noted" thief and robber, who -had even there earned a fearful eminences in every evil path. It would be difficult to tell what prompted that man—-yet doubtless it was the finger of God—to bring his two daughters down from the wild mountains and place them in our female seminary. A few months afterward.the father came, again to visit his daughters. As the Lord ordered, he came at a very interesting period of a revival in that seminary, himself and his companions all bristling with deadly weapons, according to the usage of their native moun tains. Finding his: daughters, with many others in the school, deeply moved and weeping under conviction of their sins, he, too, was moved, but at .first in a very differ ent way. Amoflg his sarcastic taunts was this, With many others which are stereotyped in that land of- metaphors: “Are your ■grandfathers all dead,- that you are thus •weeping and; taking on?” Miss Fisk,- the principal of the . seminary, observing bis course, addressed to him a few words, of re monstrance and ,of solemn warning in regard to his own condition. Her words were a barbed arrow to his heart. Soon, trembling and weeping, he requested of her a place to pray. : Miss Fisk, at first suspecting him of playing a. double part, put him off, fearing that be might Steal exposed articles if al lowed to occupy a room. But his importu nity prevailed, and in his closet, on his knees before God, he found pardon and salvation before leaving the place. And there has not, perhaps, been a more sudden and marvelous transformation of character since Saul be came Paul on his way to Damascus. Even his native roughness of manners, under the softening power of divine grace, soon disap peared, and he became a living model of a truly bland and courteous Christian gentle man. It is further remarkable that this Nesto rian deacon, almost from the hour - of his conversion, adopted 1 Paul; as his Christian model. The idea of doing so was quite ori ginal with him. Having found the. pearl of great price, he at once resolved, in God’s strength, to spend his life in publishing the glad tidings. And conferring not with flesh and blood, he started at once to fulfil that ■high purpose, and faithfully and zealously pm-sued it to the end of bis versing the wild Assyrian mountains in their PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY NOVEMBER, 28, 1861, length and breadth, proclaiming Christ and him crucified to . all.-whom. he. met—nothing daunted, though often reviled, abused, threatened, and even beaten. Thus did this good soldier of Jesus Christ perform the work of an evangelist, without stipulation or remuneration, till his family were at length known to be in deep want, when the small Christian village of Seir .adopted him as their; mountain missionary,' paying to .him regularbr the avails of their monthly con cert, which, in,their, poverty, amounted to about four dollars per month. Deacon Gewergis overworked, and the re sult at length was a violent brain fever, of which he died. . As is common, in that dis ease, he was delirious ;-but it was affectingly interesting to Hsten to him, even inhisdeli rious hours. He reiterated, at the top of lus voice, almost incessantly, the . single phrase,, “Free grace j free grace! free grace .’’—an,utterance which carried with it. a moral sublimity seldom equalled, especial ly in the recollection that free;grace had been with himso emphatically the sole foundation of his confidence, that he was’ pardoned and washed, made, a; child of God and an heir of heaven; that free, grace had, for many years, been the burden of his.mes-, sage to perishing thousands; and that that same free grace was now the ground of his earnest longing to depart and he with Christ, which for him was'far better.' When the dis ease had spent its force his reason returned; and, like "the calm sunset after a storm peaceful; jbyous, and triumphant—he fell sweetly asleep in Jesus.— Dr. J. Perkins. [FROM THE BANNER OF THE COVENANT.] HE MUSI! REIGN Why do the heathen rage, and tbe people ima gine a vain thing ? The kings of the earthset them selves, and. their rulers take counsel together against the Lora, and against his anointed, saying: .“Let as break their bands asunder, and east away their cords from us. V Re. that gitteth .in the. heavens .shall laugh, the Lordshafl have them in,derision. Then shall he speak to them in his wrath, ; and-vex them in his sOre 1 ' Hayn I sctjiay king upon my holy hill of Zion —I will declare the decree; the Lord hath said to me, “Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for _thine inheritance, and .the .uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt dash them m,pieces like a-potter’s vessel,” . Be toss few, therefore, oye kings: be instruct weye judges of tbe earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with-trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish .from the why, when his wrath is kindled but h - litte Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.— Psalm ir. ' The Bible proves itself to be the utterance of the , .Governor of Earth, not less by the re cord of his extraordinary interpositions in former days,; than by its announcement of the morallaws by which'He stillLrules the world, denouncing, ruin against rebellious na tions and promising prosperity as the .reward of. obedienek, .The-world’s history-of the, de cline and . fsH iof sinful nations, and tbe broad fact of the existence of the blessings of a Christian civilization are heaven’s attes tations to the edicts of the -Rible.;, The seb .ohd Psalm is onfe of these edicts thus- coun tersigned by history and observation. Against God’s Holy Child, Jesus, whom he hath anointed Bang of the people of Ju dea and the rulers of the, njighty Roman Empire rebelled. They, refused; the Gospel of salvation which he presented to them, slew him and persecuted his church—Acts iv: 25. But God raised him from the dead, extended his church in spite of their-opposi tion, placed him on the .throne of heaven, put the iron sceptre of Omnipotence into his hand, broke, down: the Jewish nation under its terrific blows, drove them out fugitives oyer tbe earth, and so shattered'the power of imperial Rome that,, neither the publicist perusing ,the map of the Did, World; nor the traveler, wandering amid, the, ruined palaces of the ; Csesars, can now .discover aught save the shivered and scattered potsherds of its irreparable ruin. The thunder of this threat ening, and the scathing. bolts of that ruin, are alike undeniably utterances from heaven —the word and the work of the ruler of hea ven. , , " • , ' rs . The Psalm treats of the behavior of the representatives of nations in their conduct of public affairs in disregard of, and opposition to, the Lord Jesus Christ, They are desig nated by their official titles of kings, princes, rulers, judges. Their private conduct is not here censured, hut their behavior in their public meetings or in' their Senate chambers. The misconduct of the people here denounced is chiefly that of lending their support to the ungodliness of their rulers; thereby enab ling them to carry out their decrees, and so becoming partakers of their crime and pun ishment; And: the duty.to which they are exhorted is not merely, the private and per sonal religion of the. closet and the church, but a public national Christian religion. The kings and judges of the earth, as the repre sentatives of the nation, are commanded to Serve the Son of God with fear, arid'give him the kiss of homage, corresponding to our. mo dern oath of allegiance—ori pain of national destruction. Let us then setife iri. pur minds, the weighty truth which forms the burden of this--Psalm— t-unchristian. nations, shall PEKISH. i: The significance of. this threateriing is by no imeans exhausted -by the destruction of the unchristian nations of Asia or Europe. Moral law is Restricted :to>its* locality. The .empire of the. Lord. Christ is hot founded by oceans, or confined to the continents of the 'Old World. His authority is not restricted to those who choose to submit to liis sway. Allvnen, in. every relation of life, andiri every nation, are his subjects. ‘ The heathen, no less than the Christian people, are his inher itance ; and the uttermost parts of the earth are his possession. His laws never become obsolete, nor will he cease to enforce them till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.. We have a-vision of the results of the great revolution on which the world is now enter ing, and in whose vortex our nation is now involved, in the XIX Chapter of. the Apoca lypse; arid there we behold Messiah appear ing to execute the 1 judgments denounced •against unchristian nations in this Psalm— “l saw heaven opened,, and behold a white horse, and He that sat on him was called Faithful , and True, and In righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes .were as a flame of fire, 'and on His head were many Crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew but He himself. And He was* -clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, and. His: name, is called: the Word of God. And out: of His mouth :goeth a ,sharp; sword, that with it He should smite the nations, and He shall rale them with a rod of iron, and He tread eth-the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty Grod.” The’same hands which decided the fate pf Rome and of Jerusalem, now holds the destiny of Washington. His iron sceptre is how lifted to smife our ungodly nation. I R. P. HOTS TO SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHERS. The Price of a : classin a cer tain Sabbath-school was exceedingly inatten tive and disorderly. Its teacher was regular in attendance, earnest , 4n. manner, and anxious to do good. But her most earnest, appeals,, her best illustrations, seemed to fail in making the. lesson interesting,, and the pupils continued to trifle" 5 add iiraste'. their tiike. Sabbath" after sabb4|j| 3 'K One day the regular teAcffier 'was detained at home. ; :A friend‘took her place. To the surprise of every one inthe-neighborhood of the inattentive class, it was* fdr transformed.' No more attentive circle am the r00m... Every eye fixed upon the*face of the .stranger,, , jjp responsive -to hers. What could be the secret ? It, was .iny lot, shortly after, to .meet the successful teacher at as vice-princi pal of one of our Ward' #6hbols. In the course of Conversation ah allusriOh'was made f to her class upon theSabbafK referred to.» She had been greatly pleased, with it, and was at a loss to know why ithe,pupils; should have maintained; better order with her than they accustomed .to.. ,i. ‘ ‘ Butj said .she,, “in .governing my pupils, I Have usually found that & look went farther than a word.” Is it bring a restless-child duly, .than to assail.hiip with reproof? , :The Teachbr -mfsiPbay. —The . teacher who would bo successful ip, his,; great work must “pray without •eeis|ng,” i / A teacher may ,be a child of may Be well ac quainted with the'Script#qs • he may feel a yearning affection towardl the eßildreh of his class; he may L address “them ’iti tHe'sim .plest words,-and in the most engaging man ner ; and yet the more diligent > he.is, and the more care he takeS in preparing his Sab bath lessons, the more profoundly will he feel that something beyqnAhis.qiflmts.is ne cessary to ensure, bis .success. , The Spirit of God is needed to make the instructions of the teacher effectual to the tephversidh of the children; and that Spirit GBd will give in answer' to your believingj fervent; ahd per severing prayers. In proportion to the spirit of prayer, will be the amount of success. The more His. servants owp God, the more will He. own them. ;, ' 41i - T ., ( s- Pray, then, without ceasing. Go to the Lord before you begin your : work, .that He may qnableyou to do it well;' return with it.to the Lord, when it is dope, Jojleeic *a Blessing '4hd success., children on God’s Behalf/forget not to plead with God on their hbhalf. Ask wisdom td ■Win souls soids'for your hire;' Let not yoiir prayers be hut earnest,■ ; Let them not be confined to the. school, but carry them; to your r retirement, and offer them, with believing in, your moments of intimate communion with Gqd., : , Give your class a daily place in yqur supplications, add plead fob them* ofre By' dhe. * Bring each par ticular Case' bdforc your heavenly : >Fatherl There is* nctthing 'like Trayiugf ihdividuaslly for iyoTU? scholars.; It ■ is : far more • endearing, and we are sure it is far more; effectual;, Study, p>H^sclio lars.'" 'Study ;tHem l %£ meiribdrs ’’of tt : class, study them, as individuals, study their , habits and circumstances, tHeir /tempers and 'weak nesses, their wants and sins. This is per haps one of the first pieces of advice which T should like to give to thb young and inex perienced School teacher; and that, hot only because I think the duty necessary in itself, but also, because I think it is one'tbo much neglected among us. In preparing our les-' sons we study, our Bibles, study .them dili gently and carefully j; we study our catechism,; .we study books of reference and-books, of il lustration; but those to whom the lesson is taught, we study very little, if at all. Of their peculiarities of thought and feeling, of ‘their temptations ‘and trials, we know little if anything. In such a case, how can we expect to succeed —how can we give strength; iwhere we know nothingsof . the .weakness; or ihelp where we know nothing, of the want — how can we expect to influence where we, know so little of the motiyes of .action, to arouse a conscience whose wounds we do, not under stand, or touch a heart to whose feelings we have no key; and how often, in point of fact, do we see the most skilful, , most earhest, and devoted Sabbath School teachers fail alto gether in these respects—-how■ often do;;wc see a lesson,..which seems to us most interest ing, touching, and beautiful, fall quite tame and ineffective on the little scholars for whom 4t ' [fOr xm£ axfoxcA* pbbsbtifeßiiif. ]' ■’ ‘ : ' . . NUMBER SEVEN. : -1i- EXODUS. . The Cocost.—Continued. I have presented;'in the foregoing’articles, testimony in relation to the Locust, suffi ciently varied and minute, to illustrate a large number of passages in both the Old and the New Testaments.^ . Some of the most eloquen t portions of the; prophecies allude to this insect, and could be properly understood only by reference to itfe natural history, ■ It is specially interest ing to the reader, indeed, I should; say to the searcher of the Scriptures, to know that in the' there occur nine radieallyfiifferehf for the Locust. Each of these names, anidhg the tTewS’c indi cated -a special . characteristic of this insect, and in several passages a,regard ?to this in dication . greatly enhances .the force, of tbe .passage. . Thus (1,) arbeh, .signifying “num ber,” is a term used in the ..original" Scrip tures as,the appellation of the locust. * Sow turn tojud. Vi: 5; vii: 12. Ps, cv: 34: jer. xlvi: 2& ;kli 14. Jodi 1: 6. ”NaEum’iif :T5, in each of these verses the locust, of grass hopper of the East, is referred to as the >ar- BEH, because Of their multitude. Again, . Gob is another ..appellation . tiri :Amos. vii: 1. Nahum iii: 17, signifying: “to emerge from, the earth,” and this is the spe cial trait of the locust’s nature, to which the; writer would" in those passages direct atten- tion. It was alluded to by writers many centuries ago, see Aristotle 1. 5,; Hist. 28, and Pliny the Naturalist 1. ii, 29. ■ . Again, (B), Gazam, “to out clean.” This is the appellation in Joel 1:4; ii: 25.; Amos iv: -9. 4. Hagab, “to veil ,” because of the.dark ening of the sun in ’their, flights. Joel ii: 20. 5. Hanamal, “frost” because of the ap pearance of every herß ..after ’ they had left it. * Ps. Ixxviii': 47.’ v 1 = ; ; >6. Hash,, “to consume” Theyi.werc called' the consumers in Deut. xxyiii: ; 38 ; Nahum in : 16. Ps. Ixxviii :;46., Isaiah; xxxiii: 4. ' . > . , 7. Haegal, “P? be long” from thcir long lines when on flight r Lev. xi : 22. ,T w 8. YfLBK, '“ fo lick pp,” evidently from winch theyreSted. Numb, xxii :4. Kings xviii: 20.' 9. Tselatzab, “ cymbals or little bells ”' referring to the sound in flying, of which the very word itself is an imitation., Deut.- xxviii:42. Now, - let the ; Bible student in .reading these passagessremember what we, have said, of the special appellations for the locust and their .signification, and more of force and Beauty Will he found associated' ytith eheh? passage, than could possibly result from uh- : derstanding simply “ Locust or Grasshop per,” &s me only Signification of the term wherever it occurs. >•'•■ ' • ; ' , Belvidere, A 7. J. , , H. S. BECAUSE OF SWEARING THE, LAND MOURNITH The public. sentiment of this nation-and the Scriptures of. th.e old Testament unite, in sup-' port of the deelaration tflat the present war is the fruit of our sins; . Good men everywhere, agree that we have justly merited this chastisement, and all men, good and tacitly'admit ;tße same. ’ i! The; Proclamation: :of 3the -President,' ap4 pointing a day of humiliation and prayer,; was; therefore . virtually vox populi, the echo of public sentiment, .and the echo of Provi-, denee,. summoning us to inquiry and confes sion,! 'There are sins against the State which it,is the duty of Congress to fertet;oß.t, and if necessary, to send for persons and papers. ■ There are sins against God, the investiga tion of which must be made, if made at all* by the: conscience: of the individual. j;: . In military affairs, men are tried by Court-: martial. Jfor the trial of moral dehnquen eies,; there, are two courts, the Court of Con science,, and-the Court of the King;a jßencff, from which’there is no appeal. Conscience concedes—-nay! stoutly maintains—that our Sms have* brought on this disastrous war, and thb old Testament,' which is ho less than the decision. ’Of : the I ’Supreme Court, furnishes smiplAibfiiaiahorujioni of thiafitostim(my*v.fep.. muchnf that aneient record is occupied with .the history of wars which were attributed to the people’s sins. , is.proper.then to inquire what particu lar sins f 'have been .prominent in ;enacting this Bloody tragedy, which has opened “upon us withln the. last few months, - ' And in contributing in aid of our in quiries, 1 shall place profane oaths in the frontrank of the vast army of our national sins, t.j L do but note in passing, that such oaths are.- vulgar, senseless, and devoid: of self-re r spect, but; insist with' pertinacity that. they ■are exceedingly sinful in.the sight of God.— Evangelist. . • . THE RELIGIOUS WORLD ABROAD. There is unquestionably a decided abate ment . of interest in matters of religion ■throughout i the entire-Christian- I world,. as compared with the state of: things a year or eighteen months ago. The great gatherings in Scotland and the North. of Ireland, the tokens of revival evident under the preach ing of such men as Richard Weaver in Eng land, and' Mr. Radcliff in Paris,’ the stir in Germany, so portentous and promising at the time of the revival in the orphan house of Elbeifeld,. the .interest which attended the first introduction., of,, .religious liberty into Italy,,together.. with„the .Tinqe vMly kriu the’SahdwichTslattds, - have 1 nearly all disappeared or, are of much diminished power and interest. , The agitations which we have .now .to chronicle are, in large part, political in their character; such as the movements in favor of religious liberty in Austria, or the great struggle on the per plexing question of the; temporal, authority of the Pope. These,, however, : are: of the highest importance and bear directly . and manifestly upon the future, , progress, of .Christ’s,Kingdom., among,men. . . .... v GrBaT BRITAIN. '* GhaiigeS, the nature of which we have riot been'fuily made awaTe of, in the educational ; systeriS. of ’the United Kiirigdom, are causing great; agitation. The: fear Is expressed that the'religious character of the teachers will be.overlooked in the new .system. ; Tbe min istry, of the .Established Churches seem most decided, in, .jfisappro.val of the proposed changes. ...... "'"Mr.I JlfachaugM,' so well "known ‘in coririec tiori witfvliis fatibnqlistiq leaching in Liven pool} 'has 1 retired” froni' the' ririnistry of the Establishe’d Church, on account of the change iri his views; In a farewell address to his congregation, he said ;~-4‘ One thing only is -clear,...that my duty, as a conscientious Christian Englishman, is to resign my min istry and its emoluments and its dignity. This I must do if I am to retain my self-re spect. What is to follow I know not. I shah take my place among the . laymen of England’s Established Church.” Rational ism is' bad hnough, but the dishonesty of those who cling to it and the emoluments of the church together, as is the case with many in the Church of England, is. far worse. Mr. Mapnaught is at least an,honest man. • . The Congregational fJnion have a fund of twenty-two thousand p'ourids,.called the Pas tors’ Retiring Fund, which 'they began to rise last yeaE ; The dividends are about six hundred pounds a year. 1 Chanting of the Psalms. —ln Dr; Alexan der’s congregation, Edinburgh, which has long had the advantage of thorough framing in the science and practice of sacred music, the prose ‘ Psalms are to be chantedby the whole congregation, and, the service of praise be thus, made a more prominent feature of public worship than has. been usual in our Scotch congregations. Effects -of the Evangelical Alliance.-^ The Paris correspondent of the News of the Churches, -writes Oct. 18,1861 Switze rland and the Genevan Conference have ab sorbed almost all the thoughts of our Pro testant world during the past month. Re freshed, rejoiced,, fired with Christian love, the members of the Evangelical Alliance have returned'full of thankfulness for bless-! ings received and blessings in prospect; for such a manifestation of life, at such a period,, apd -in such a place, must necessarily have results wherever the tidings, are carried. Where the unity of brethren is manifested, there the Lord commands his blessing, even life for evermore. Surely such a festival has' notrejoiced French Protestantism since the : ' V GERMANY. Tketweidy-fifth anniversary of Dr. Plied nef’s benevolent institutions at Kaiserswerth ; was celebrated September 14th. Sisters who were trained at K. are now laboring in fifty-three hospitals. The labor of the dea connesses among the poor has been greatly blessed. , Refuges : fqr servant ,girls out of i.jfi^,m i %gp ; .toi^.KiayO'-. ; b^!i*' ! dpenecl.s, in, tnaf of Berlin 2000: have found shelter in Seven years. 906 female teachers have bhen'trained, and a new field for evangelical efforts has been opened by this branch of the service in the East.' Great good;has already been, accomplished by the deaconnesses in, Jerusalem,Constantino,pie, Alexandria, ;Bey rput ,and}Sp i y rna - Twenty-six independent institutions have grown out of the success of the work. *The Queen of Prussia sent a liberal present totHe inStifution. The Syrian committee in Berlinsent a loaf bf bread with the “ Break ithy bread to the hungry;” and, when broken, it was found to contain four hundred pounds. Mahy mf the other presents were very taste ful and gratifying, and the whole festival passed oyer in such a spirit that .the institu tion .may commence a new course of labor, with increasing vigor. -'■■ The regular organization of the churches in East Prussia is making rapid progress. The provincial synods are, to be introduced by degrees, so soon as the individual congre gations .have elected a court of elders. These, elections are in many parishes finished, and the courts themselves are working very well. The irifluence of the Prussian Upper Consistory, and of the Minister of the Crown, is most beneficially brought to bear on many of the parishes which-are as yet unacquaint ed with the representative system. One must admire and bless God for the wisdom, the energy, and .the perseverance of the highest eeelesiastical authorities, .in making use of the fittest elements which the parishes con tain for advancing the spiritual life of the congregation, and at the same time'giving a steady character to the system. It is to be feared that the Presbyterian- system of church government in Baden will be a mere handing over all church matters to a species of town-council elected by the community, without any reference to their attachment to the church or to the gospel. Li Prussia, on the contrary, the aim is kept .prominently ‘ forward to nave men of faith, of living faith and pure morals, and sincere ' attachment to the church, Sitting in’ the church Courts. ~The ■ Patent of .the Austrian Emperor of April Bth, lB6i, purporting to grant reli .gious liberty and equality to about half a million of bis German Protestant subjects in CSrhia, Tyrol; Saltsbiirg, Bohemia, Silesia, Moravia, and Upper and Lower Austrias. It is based uponthe 16th Article of the Germanic Confederation which ,reads thus: “ The pre vailing -diversities of .opinion among Chris tians of .different sects shall be no ground of distinction in the enjoyment of municipal and political rights in the countries and dis tricts of the German Alliance.” Serious doubts and objections have been raised against the Patent by-tbe Romanists in some parts'of 'the Empire. As early as April 17th, at the Tyrolese diet, at the in istigation of a Romish bishop, it.was resolved ■that only the Catholic: Church ; could cele brate, public, -worship, ; in the Tyrol; and that the. forming of churches of other denomina tions could not be allowed. Bonfires were .hindled on the hills of Tyrol in rejoicing oyer, this action! Mcclesiastieal freedom: i. e., the power to organize and freely govern their own churches; is professedly granted to the Protestants in the Patent. There re main,' however, some regulations on the sub ject. of mixed, marriages (between Romanists , and Protestants,) which, are favorable to the -iformer, and the . reseryation,,to the . State of )he control over education; but the grand defect of . the ordinance is, the claim made in the last clause,,* to the imperial right of hominaiibg the President and Cbiiheilldfs Of the 5 'Supreme -Consistory of the Empire. This is unsparingly condemned by the N. Mo. iMirchmzexbwng as inconsistent .with the .presbyterial form of ; church government,; . which i.t is expected, and, indeed, .with some particularity,; ordained, that the churches;will assume. f Meverfheless. thq patent .i§ a. most remarkable advance, as may , pe* seen,by file following from the iMkprfM M thih cify: , “ The Butheransand Calvinists now have equil rights with; the " Catholics* id ‘civilaijd political affairs, and these- -aim 1 solemnly secured by law. Instead of being designated as ‘Mon-Catholics,’ whichniit them off from many important rights, they are now desig fnated as ‘ Evangelical,’ and have; all the privileges of , a recognized ecclesiastical or ganization ;by the side of the Established Oatholie Church. , They may have their own churches, schools and colleges; enjoy their own worship and use their own Bibles and de votional books without let or hindrance. All these are privileges which heretofore were .either-forbidden or greatly restricted. The Catholic Church is expressly charged not to oppress Protestant congregations, or to in ; duce them to become perverts by compulsion or by trickery—which happened bo fre quently before.” ■ ' ' ,Ths;Svmj& Mvangeliegl Conference, a body has. .had but a brief, existence, and which includes widely diverse shades of be lief, met in Basle, May 28 and 29. They heard reports of a committee appointed to prepare 'a Grerrhah versi&n'bf the Bible for common use in the : Cantons.- 1 Specimens of their work which is a revision of Buther’s Bible were exhibited, and met nearly a unanimous .Mee.sui-es were taken tOj proyide, the „ spiritual wants, qf the Protestants dispersed among the .Catholic Cantons. ’• ' GEIESEE ETIIGELIST.— Whole No. 810. FRANCE. The Evangelical Church of Laden appears about to fall into the hands of the rational ists, under the lead of the distinguished theo logian of that school. Dr. Schenkel. Au thority having, been given to, revise the old Constitution which has existed ever since the Union (forty years,) the Rationalists succeeded in utterly doing away with it, and in substituting another, based upon that of Oldenburg (eight years old and notoriously defective,) with subordinate reference to the ancient and tried Westphalian—Rhenish. The radical defect of this new and hetero geneous arrangement, is the latitudinarian principle by which a respectable moral cha racter merely, and not Evangelical faith, is made a sufficient qualification for member ship or for holding office in the Church. There is nothing by which a drunkard or an adulterer even, could -be excluded from the communion-table. The General Synod met June sth, and continued its sessions until the 12th of July, being principally occupied with dissensions on the new Constitution. The Grand Duke Frederick delivered an ad dress at the. opening, in favour of this instru ment, for which it was soon evident there was a decisive majority in the body. In this majority were such names as Hitzig, Rothe, and Schenkel. The names of the minority are not familiar toms; they should be known, however, as they made a noble stand for the truth: Fink, Hamm, Haeusser, Heintz, Gnebcner, Muehlbaeuier, Riehm. Hundes hagen was defeated by a stratagem of the other party. As soon as the new constitu tion Was enacted, an- order, which had been prepared in full anticipation of this result, was issued, sweeping away everything esta blished under the old Constitution, including even appqintments/or life under Frederick's own hand. The existing pastoral relations are, however,.graciously exempted from this sweeping change indicative of the rapacity of this successful party for power and place. Pastor Harms, the Lutheran, in an article on this remarkable man and his multiplied labors, says: “He is known over Europe, not only for his life of trust in God, and the remarkable success which bas attended his missionary labors, but likewise for bis powerful ministry which attracts multitudes even from remote countries, to bear his awakening sermons. Some years ago, Harms built a mission ship oh faith, and when it was finished, every dol lar had been paid. This ship makes its re gular trips to Africa, where he has establish ed missions among the, negroes, and is a most important helper in his work. The Annual report of his operations for 1860, is a deeply interesting production, and gives- an insight into the inner life of this remarkable man. With paid agencies and the modern begging system, he will ,have nothing whatever to do. His whole Work is carried forward by simple faith in God: Strange as it may seem to some, he is never without the necessary means of support. Last year the sum of 40,000 thalers was voluntarily sent to him from dif ferent parts of the worid I The proceeds of his Monthly Missionary-and his published sermons alone amounted to more than 9000 thalers, Lx addition to the donations in money; a prodigious quantity of provisions, groceries, and clothing was given, among which we notice, 928 pair stockings, 652 shirts, 55 pieces of linen, and thousands of other articles; The expenses of the Mission and Seminary with more than thirty stu dents, the repairs of the mission ship, and the passage and support of his numerous missionaries, with their stations, churches and schools, cost but 86,500 thalers—leav ing a balance in the treasury this year also, as in all other previous years! A friend, who spent some weeks at Her mansburg, describes Harms as a weakly mm and a constant sufferer. When he comes out to preach, he. often supports himself by the altar or the pulpit, and yet he performs an amount of mental and physical labor suffi cient to break down the most powerful con stitution. How he lives and labors on from year to year is a mystery. The complicated affairs of his paper; seminary, missions and correspondence, rest most exclusively on him, and yet in addition to these, .he has the care of a parish of several thousand souls, and preaches and catechises almost, daily with the greatest fidelity and with unexampled suc cess. The seeds of his ministry are manifest to all. The voice of prayer and praise is beard in every dwelling after nightfall—and our informant often paused at the door of the villages to hearken to the devotions within. Religion is the life, the joy, the very busi ness of the inhabitants. In their feelings there is nothing extreme or fanatical, and nothing mechanical, sensuous or- sentimental, hut all partake of the healthy and vigorous type of religion in, the best days of the Lu theran Church. Harms is not less decided in his faith than 5 he is in every thing else, and in preaching’it, cares as little for the opinions of prince or-kaiser, as of his humblest pea sants. : MY CHURCH. “Mamma, can’t I go to my church this afternoon?” ( “ Whatis your church?” inquired her mo ther, somewhat Wondering. “ Oh! don’t you knows mamma, where we go; wheu we don’t have Sabbath school ?” ! And then her mother knew it was the . monthly meeting in the church, for catechiz ing, to which the child had reference, for she had sent her to a Sabbath school nearer than the one . connected with their own church. “ Would you father go there than go to church with papa and mamma ?” “ Oh, yes,” replied the child, “ because I can’t fell what papa’s minister says, but our minister only talks to us, and I like to go. ” Ah ! how; many of Christ’s ministers, like Christ’s apostles, forget that Jesus is waiting to lay His-hand of blessing on little children, that to them also is the word of salvation sent. He that said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” said also, “Feed My lambs.” M IRISH BOY’S LOVE. FORKS EYE MY. In a school inilreland, one- boy- struck an other, and when' he was-about to he punish ed, the injured.hoy begged for hj.s pardon, f - The iqaatejj asked, “•Why dp. you wish to keep. hbftvfijQin being flogged?.” ;The hay replied, “I have read in the Mew Testament that, opr Bord Jesus Christ said that we should forgive our enemies; and therefore. I forgive him, and heg he may not lie punished for my sake,”
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