Vol. VII, No. 3.---Whole No. 315.
Wu.
(For the American Presbyterian.)
Stop Finding Fault and Pray.
BY FANNIE FLOILENCE
" Mother," said a little prattler,Who had peen but
five summers, "Are you sure Jesus is alive, and up in
Heaven now ?" " Yes, my son." " Can stay in
heaven and do great things on earth, just as he did
when he lived'here ?" "Yea, dear. He has all pow
er in heaven and on earth," " Does Deacon Jones
know it " Yes,my child." " Then why don't he
stop finding fault with Mr. Lincoln and the generals,
and everybody,. and pray ?" " Alit good do you
think prayer will do for the war, Charlie ?" "Jesus
said in the })able If ye ask anything in my name I
will do it' 3 'and in my Sabbath School verse yester
day If two of you shall agree on earth, as touching
anything that they shall ask it shall be done for them
of my Father who is in heaven.' Are there not two
people in all this country who want the Rebels to be
whlpped,,and the Union and the old Flag saved ? "
"es, my son ; a great many people want THAT, I
hope.' ,
"Then, why don't they ask God for it when
His promises are so plain? Don't they believe He
meansiwhat He says, or do they think God is not strong
enough to conquer the' rebels?"
Wake I ye sous' of Pilgrim sires
. Who of noble birth are proud;
Tune your long neglected. lyres,
Dissipate the threatening cloud—
Make your Father's God your stay;
Stop fault-ftuding—stop—aud pray.
Thanks for mercies past express;
Grateful for the favors shown
In this hour of deep distress;
Wake! and o'er your follies groan—
Turn from hopes deferred, away,
Cease from useless talk, and pray.
Humbled in the dust, deplore
All departures from the Lord;
Haste I the good old paths restore,
In obedience to His word.
Make Jehovah's arm your stay—
Stop your clamor—stop—and pray,
Creatures ye, of time and sense,
Nothing of the future know—
Arming now for self-4efenes;
Humbly to your Savior go .
From transgression t urn away,
Stop fault:finding—stop—and pray.
From the prudent end the wise,
He His deep designs conceals;
Blinds the haughty sinners eyes; .
To the meek, His will reveale;
Then to Heaven your voices raise
Learn of babes perfected praise.
Will ye not rebuke, receive?
Loud, your ElillB for vougeasce call,
Wakel the cease of wrath perceive;
Helpless at His foot-stool fa/1—
" Now—is the accepted day,"
From trasegressioa tura---..tad pray.
Taught by babes the promised grace,
lived the infant preacher now;
Seek your injured Savior's face,
Prostrate in Hie presence bow.
Make His promises your stay—
/a this hoar of peril pray.
He will rebel hosts defeat, •
And the wrath of man restrain--
Hurl each traitor from his seat;
Who His temple dares profane—
Ile the threatened judgment stay,
Whea in faith His people• pray. •
Would . ye see your banner wave?
Gloriously o'er land and sea?,
Over Despotism's grave
And your fettered country FREE
Humbly ask the help you need;
Jesus lives to intercede.
Own your great inei? - nate King,.
His right arm will victory give,
Order front eonfusion bring,
Bid our bleeding coantrlive,
When ye make His arm your stay,
For His intervention pray.
Wisdom for your rulers seek,
Guardian care for, marshalled hosts;
He alone from ill can keep ;
ALL
,without His aid is lost.
Make His changeless love your stay,
O'er yo,nr follies weep and pray.
Erring sons of Pilgrim sires,
Who of noble birth are proud,
Fan your altar's smouldering fires,
• Dissipate the threatening cloud.
Make your Father's God your
,stay—
For His , intervention pray.
Contoponinta.
OUR FOREIGN LETTER.
Bout such sentiment as this—the world is just
history repeating itself—passes as sterling
coin in the literary currency of the present
day; and many moderh utterances, with
oracular pretensions, are neither more nor
less'than ill-disguised plagiarisms from the
past. •
ADDRESS OF BISHOP HUGHES..
We have_ had a remarkable illustra-
tion of the truth of the foregoing statement,
in close connection with the scene of bold•
and unblushing Sabbath deaecration in Dub
lin, referred to in my last month's letter.
Soon after the disgraceful Sabba,th scene, and
just before he left the shores of the Emerald
Isle, Bishop Hughes, of New York, whom the
late "Kirwan " made notorious, was invited
to address a Roman Catholic Young Men's
Assodiatlon in the Metropolis. In the course
of his speech which was highly seasoned with
treason all through, Dr. - Hughes advocated
the repeal of the U . pion, or Ireland fin. the
Irish, a /a mode Q Connell; 'and laid down
the doctrine --ringing the changes upon it
—that rebellion is a crime, if it be not so
planned and conducted, as to be successful;
but is justifiable—in fact virtuous—if it gain
its object ! The end justifies or condemns
the means, according to the Theology of.
Rome, even in this enlightened age.! The
doctrine smells strongly of brimstone, but no
matter. If the Italians succeed in their
work and'ivar of independence, their cause is
righteous, and they . are heroes, from Victor
Emanuel down to, the hewer of wood and
drawer of Water, having as good a right, two
hundred years hence, to canonization, as the
Japanese martyrs who must have been sur
prised as much by the sensation they caused,
as by the honors they received a few weeks
ago, after many long years 9f neglect had
passed over them. We were not quite pre
ared for this teaching at the hands of a dig
itary just arrived from Mime, Where the
ebellious Italians awl all abettorar'of their
ause were denounced in terms which only
'e Cardinals and Bishops of Rome can em
ploy. Immorality in Italy morality in
Ireland ! So says John Hughes of New York.
Such is man; even in an infallible church !,
—The fact that the Government took no no
tice of the.monstrous procession and proceed
ings in connection with the laying of the
foundation stone of the Catholic University,
which were a premeditated and defiant viola
tion of the " Party Emblems Act," has
roused the feelings of the loyal Protestants
in the North, which will show the Executive
that they are expected toadminister even
handed justice to all vioiatorce of the law
in time to come. At present in a part of
Donegal rendered famoui by its poteen, it
is said, there is a priest who is preaching the
Gospel every Sabbath to his congregation—
holding forth the sufficiency of Christ's
atonement, regeneration by the Holy Ghost,
the supremacy of the Scriptures, and some
other leading doctrines of the Word of, God.
It is said, moreover, that he is very popular,
which demonstrates how ready many Roman- ,
ists would be to hear the truth, if they had
confidence in the preachers of it. God speed
this priest in his labors, and bring him to
see all the errors of his Church, and all the
truths of the Bible still more clearly till he
shall come out from among the Babylou!
THE IRISH ASSEMBLY.
The General • Assembly of the Presbyte
rian Church in Ireland held its last annual•
meeting in July. The venerable Dr. Cooke
- whose praise is in all the churches, as a
champion of Orthodoxy . and Protestanism,
occupied the moderator's chair for the sec
ond time, since the union of the Synod of
Ulster and the Secession Synod. The meet
ing was a delightful one, because of the
brotherly love which prevailed, the deputies
who were present, and the reports which were
submitted. The Home Mission, or Church
Extension, report speaks of some stations
fostered into strength, able and willing to
take their places among older and established
congregations in addition to 60 station's sus
tained. The report also states the very grat
ifying fact that two.new fields have been ad
ded to those formerly occupied—one in the
highlands of Donegal, and another in the
province of Munster—the latter to be worked
by three itinerant missionaries. In the Ro
man Catholic Mission repoit, a regret is ex
pressed that the attendance of Romanists on
public worship is small. This is not very
strange, since Protestants are "everywhere
spoken against " by those in power—the
priests. Yet a goodly number of. Romish
children attend the Mission Schools, and are
instructed in " the truth as it is in Jesus."
There are now 15 congregations, with or
dained, ministers, in the Presbytery Of Con
naught, contributing to the funds of the
church about £684 annually. Ten years ago
there were only .6 congregations there,pay
ing then about £93. Moreover of ie 15
congregations 9 have manses for their minis
ters.
GOOD .DONE IN ROMISIC IRELAND.
It is not to be supposed that;, with this
material progress they has been no corres
ponding growth in gace. The report con
tains the following very ch.aracteristic sen
tences :
No better evidence can be furnished of
the invaluable good effected by the national
schools, mission schools, and general mis
sionary efforts, than the large numbers of
religious periodicals now in circulation, even
in the wildest, darkest districts of Romish
Ireland. To hear Drummond, of Stirling,
blowing his Oospel Trumpet'.round the•
twelve pins of Connamara ' • and Hamilton
Magee talking his " Plain Words," tos the
echoes of Croagh-Patrick and Nephin, is
enough to startle the ghost of Brian Borh
_
of me.
The Foreign Mission report gives an ac-
count of the operations at the different sta
tions in -India, which are extensive and en
couraging. Some of the laborers in the field
are well stricken in .years, h.nd cannot be
expected to be long fit for the onerous
to
of their position. With a desire to give
them assistance, and to occupy some new
stations, the directors have been seeking men
to go to India. Strange and Sad to say, all
who have been invited have made excuse.
Instead of regarding this as a proof that the
missionary spirit is languishing in the Irish,
Presbyterian church, I hope it is only an ev-•
idence that ministers at. home are entertain
ing higher notions of the Mission field's le
gal claims to the highest' talents in the
church, and just demands for them. 0. that
the Lord of the harvest that •is ripening on
the sunny plains of India may raise up,
qualify, and send forth labors into that har
vest.
JEWISH MISSION.
In connection with the Jewish Mission,
there are new churches in Bonn and: Hata
burih. In both these cities the Jtws are
,
reached rather indirectly. It is mentioned
by one of the missionaries,
Dr. Graham, as
his opinion, 'that while little impression
may be made on the older Jews, the rising:
generation is being, gradually : absorbed into
the visible church:" The two agents who'
escaped, with' their life, from Damascus, at
the time of the massacre, have been permit
ted, to return to that city, in which they la
bor, being,troubled on every side,—in perils
in the city, and in perils by the may. One
of them, Mr. Rob Son—a most devoted - man
—has been invited. by a princein the coun
try to become the tutor of his sorts. The
directors have resolved that Mr. Robson
should accept the invitation ; because in his
new sphere he will have an opportunity of
doing much in favor of Christianity among
the upper classes.
The report of the Ccilonial and COntinen
tal Mission contains interesting information
concerning the state and prospects, of the
Presbyterian . chnich in all the colopies of
* Britain, and concerning the condition and
hopes of Protestanim on the Continent.
OONTItIBUTIONS.
While the contributions to the various
schemes of the church are somewhat less
than last year,,owing, it is 'supposed .to the•
depressed stafe , of trade, it is to be remem
bered that a very large sum was raised for
the erection of new churches in different pla
ces, but principally in Belfast. The Lord•
has indeed prospered the way of: the. Irish
church; and, surveying the field before her,
the work to be done by her, and the claims
of God upon her, as an expression of her de
vout gratitude she should say, 44 through God
we shall do,valiantly," realizing thatit is not
by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of
the Lord of Hosts she can succeed.
PITILAMLPTITA., , TITH.I . * : Ay,, SEPTEMBER 1362..
CARDROSS 'CASE.
The notorious CardrosS case which 'as
generally imagined to be settled by the de
cisions of the. First. Division of the Court of
Session, on, the 9th of July, has assumed a
new, but not unexpected phase. Mr. Mc-
Milian has raised an action, directed against
the members of Assembly who voted for his
suspension from the ministry. It is said
some of the' Edingurghlawyers are furnish
ing the prosecution with " the sinews of war"
(law), which he hopes to strengthen by the
response to an appeal he has :made to those
of the public who may sympathize with him.
There is in Ulster a proverb, more truthful
than dignified, which I think is not inapplica
ble to all who contribute to Mr. McMillan 's
exchequer—" fools and their money are
soon parted." Things are coming to a pretty
pass, if non-established "churches cannot 'ex-,
ercise discipline ,on their own own offending
members without being liable to civil pains
and penalties. - •
THE 81-CENTENARY.
As, the day for celebrating the Bicenten
ary of the expulsion of 2,000 Evangelical
ministers from the Established Church , of
England draws on, the excitement for and
against becomes still more intense. Many
pamphlets on. both sides have appeared—
some of them, I am. sorry to say, manifest
ing much o the proud severity of party
spirit. I believe neither side has anything
whatever, .by right, to do with the - motives
of the other; and it is the overlooking, of
this which has caused a deplorable alienation
between men who used to labor in harmony
in such a sphere as the. Bible Society. I
think all the branches of the. Presbyterian
family, and the Congregationalists in Ireland
have prepared for celebrating the.Bicentiary
in some manner ; and the Irish. Non-conform
ists are determined to show theii'sympathy
with their English brethren in amore pal
pable way, than by lectures, or sermons—
they are determined to aid them with money 7,
THE ESTABLISHED 'CHURCH OP ENGLAND
The restoration of Puritan orthodoxy, agd
candor, and conscientiousness to their lawful
ascendancy in the Established Church would
effect a wonderful reform—and in a very
short time. The English church is lax When
she should be stringent, and scrupulously
exacting when she shoula tolerant, . Her gi- •
gantic - proportions, her splendid revenues,
and her proud claims, as, a national establish
ment challenge the scrutiny, or at least in=
rite the attention, of every thoughtfUl man
who , likes to know the reason of things.
Therefore she need not be surprised if, at a
time like this, dissenters dig a little deeper
into her creed and her clajms than they
-have done for some years. In proof that
she is lax when she , should be stringent, and
tyrannical when she should be tolerant, it
might be enough to say that it is almost as
much as hisliving is worth for a clero b yman
to read any collect or lesson, but the one for
the day, while` he might - preach any ism_but
-Bibleism- and summer all the• year round in
Episcolia:l
In farther confirmation of iny ntinion, as
to her toleration and tyranny to those within
her pale, I shall give a few «clerical adver
tisements " taken at random from the col
umns of the Times and Record; and these,
as examples, will demonstrate that the Eng
lish church is another Bahel in the creeds of
her clergy. One advertiser writes his own
certificate as follows,
," opinions evangelical ;
but Moderate " another a possesses popular
talents of a high order, sanctified by'Divine
grace;and it is presumed - that' in any local
ity where dissent is strong; his services
would be of peculiar value ; " another, a
beneficed. clergyman of no extreme views,
monied, with one child, is willing to take du
ty;" another, " a clergyinan in full orders
wants a curacy in London—sentiments those
of the Primate ; another whede " sentiments
are those of the Record Newspaper" wishes
for a change ; another , advertisement :runs
thus---:" wanted immediately for a sole charge;
or clergman in. full orders. Population about
840. Views—via Itiedia ;" and the list I
shall quote reads as . follows-"wanted a gen
tleman, neither Tractarian nor Calvinistic,
disposed to work well in 'an agricultural par
ish !F" These are all in and of the estab
lishment. She has gathered them together,
" even as a hen gathereth a"chicken under her
wings." They have all subscrie'd the thirty
nine articles, and they all believe the Pray
er book. Yet the views of one stand in,
deadly antagooisacto those of another; and,
Cain lifts; up his hand; and slays his brother.
According to the advertisements I have quo
ted so heterogeneoult are the creeds of the
English clergy that, the words of the Apostle
-"'one faith "—cannot - possibly apply 'to
them; and there is only 'one word knoWn •to
me, which at all describes the nainistry of the
establishment—and that word• is conglomer
ate.
I trust that the Bicentary celebration will
.
do much to aid the earnest_ evangelical part
in the Established Church in their laudable
4)
'efforts to 'secui,e a revision of the rayer
book, and something like uniformit in the
creed of themembers. I hope too that dis
senters, blessed with a'revival of Puritan
principles, shall give themselves, without di
vision or distraction, to the work of the Lord
in tifir respective spheres. ,
The Italian question, has assumed a new
aspect. Garibaldi, suspecting the Ratazzi
administration of a. ouble-dpaling, is eddeair
oring to overthrow it; and have Ricasoli re,
turned to power. If he succeed,'thecha,nge
will bring Napoleon to a`point: If he do not
succeed, it is highly probable the liberator
will loose the knot in the way of his own.
IRISH PRESBYTERIANS AND OUR WAR.
As to the Atherican. War—intense anxiety
prevails among the, friends of the
,Noith,
since the news of the 'engagements before
Richmond arrived. Oh that the. God of bat
tles and of peace may bring this disastions
war to a speedy termination. The true lovers
of right and liberty here are as desirous as
even to hean of the successes of the North,
through a portion ,of the British press
must unaccountably, still writes in favor of
the South. The heart of Irish Presbyterians
to a man, is in the right place—on the side
of the North. I mention this because some
of their journals have been blowing cold on
the subject. Daily thousands of prayers as
cend to God fropi Presbyterian altars, on .
behalf of the defenders of justice and human
ity.,in .America; and prayers are ,more pow
erful than the press. - -
Reader, are you fighting the battle'of life
on the. Lord's side ? if not, you arefighting
against your own 11'4 are. Advise and see
what answer you ean'zive, in the presence
of the Lord, to any,,imple, but momentous
question,
THE SCIENCE OF 4NOUAGB INDEBTED
TO CHB ISTMITL .'
THE Greeks never inought of applying the
principal of classificatihn to the varieties of
human speech. They'hnly, distinguiShed be
tween Greek on one side, .and >all other lan
guages on the other,*mprehended under
the convenient name Pl' Barbarous t
." They
succeeded, indeed, in I,ssifying four of their
own dialects with tol able correctness, but
they applied the ter i 'f',harbarous "so pro
miscuously to the othe pore distant relatives
of Greek, (the diale ir af the Pelasgians,
Carians, Macedonians, l , , h'rticiani, 'and Illy-
Hans), that, for the pur ' 's l ot scientific chit-'
sification, it - is almost ' ossible to make any
use of 'the statements o ancient writers about
these so-called barbaro idioms. .
Plato, indeed, in,, is Cratylus (c. 36),
throws out a hint that th 4: Greeks might have
'received their own word from the barbari
ans, the barbarians b ing older than the
Greeks. But he was n , able to see the full
bearing of this remark.'' 'He only, points out
that some words, such 4,s' the names of fire,
water and dog wgie the same in Phyrgian
and Greek; and be suppeseS that the Greeks
borrowed them 41;1m thtt Phrygians (c. 26).
The idea that 4lie Greed : language and that'
of the barbarians eouldNye had a common
source never entered his:l)l4ld. It is strange
that even so compreheraiie a mind as that of
Aristotle should have Iled to -perceive in
languages some of that 1 'w of order which he
tried to discover in evt'ryalin of nature.
As Aristotle, however!, ididTot attempt this,
we need not wonder thaVit was not attempt
ed by any one else fes - ithe next two thous
and years. The Re)4ls, in all scientific
matters, were merely the parrots of the
Greeks. Having th em e
,elves been called
barbarians, they Bowl learnt to apply the
same name to all ethet. nations, except of
course, to their masters ,the. Greeks. Now
§arbarian is one'of t i `se lazy expressions
which seem to say eve , thing but in reality
say nothing. It was ap 'lied as recklessly as
the word heretic during- ie Middle Ages. If
the. Romans had not ree ived this convenient
name of barbarian 4.4
„, made ,for them,
they would have treate Aieir neighbors, the
Celts and Germans, wi h more respect and
sympathy : they woUld, fot all events, have
looked at them with a ore discriminating
eye. And, if they had One so, they would
have discovered, in spit -Of outward differ
ences, that these barbari ns were, after all,
not very distant cousins. There was as much
similarity between the la gunge of Cmsar and
the barbarians against ,hom he fought in
Gaul and Germany as t ere was between his
language and that of - - tionl6l.. 'A man of
Owsar's sagacity would littit'Seen 'this If he:
had
had not been blinded _by traditional phrase
ology. ' I am not exaggerating.
It surely required a certain amount of
blindness, or rather of deafness, not to per
ceive such similarity, and _thatblindness or
deafness arose, I believe, entirely from the
single ward barbarian. ' Not till ghat word
barbarian was struck out of the dictionary of
mankind, and replaced by brother, not till
the right of all nations ".of the world to be
classed as members of one genus-or kind was
recognized, can we look even for the first be
ginnings of our science.. This change was
effected by Christianity. To the Hindu,
every man not twiee-born was a Mlechha ;
to the Greek, everyman not speaking Greek
*as a barbarian; to the Jew every person
not circumcised was a Gentile ; to the Mo
hammedan, every man not believing in the
prophet is a Giaour or Kaffir. It was. Chris-
tianitY which first broke down the-barriers
between Jew and Gentile, between Greek and
barbarian, between the white and the black.
Humanity is a word what, you look ,for in,
vain in Plato or Aristotle.;'the idea of man
kind as one family, as the -children of one
God, is an idea of Christian growth; and the
science of mankind, and ' l of the languages of
mankind, is a science which, without Chris
tianity, would never have sprung into life:
When.people had been taught to look upon
-all men as brethren, then, and then only, did
the variety of human' speech 'present itself as
problem that called for a solution in the eyes
of thoughtfel observers; and I, therfore,
date the real beginning of the science of lan
guage from the' first day rof Pentecost'.
After that day of cloven tongues a new light
is spreading over the 'world, and objects rise
into view which had been hidden fromf the
eyes of the nations of antiquity. Old words
assume a new meaning, old pioblems a new
interest, old sciences a new purpose. The
common origin of mankind, the differences of
race and language, the suSceptibility of all
nations of the highest, mental culture, these
become, in the new world in which we live,
problents'of scientific '
-because of more- than
scientific, interest. It is no valid objection
,13,,
that, so many -centuries hcaild have elapsed
before tie spirit which Christianity infused
into everybranch of scien ific inquiryproduced
visible results. We se _:Sin the', oaken _fleet
which rides the ocean t e small acorn, which
was buried in the gran hundreds of ye,ars
ago, and we reeognize n the philosophy of
Albertus Magnus, th ugh nearlv'twelve
hundred years after t e death a Child,
in the aspirations o Kepler,* and in
the researches of the • greatest philos
ophers of our own age, he,sound of that key
note of thought which bad heen struck for
the firs time by the ap • itle of the Gentiles :
* These are the bast Wor`i ; - lepler's -4 .f , Harmony
- of the World," " Thou- W o : by the light, of nature
best kindled •in ne the Ion! 'lig after the light of Thy
grace, in order to' raise'us ci the light of, Thy glory,
thanks.to Thee, Preator4in..Lord, that Thou lettest
me rejo s ice in Thy works. 0, I have , done the work
of life' With that poWer of intellect- whiek Thou
host given. hare recorde. ,to men. theglory of Thy
works, as far as my mind,c.uld comprehend their in
finite majesty. .Isly senses -were- awake to search
as far as 'could with a ,unity and faithfulness.
If I, ' a worm before , ' 1, • e eyes, : and born
in the bonds of sin, • have • brought forth any
thing that is - unworthy ofThy ~countiels,' inspire, me
with Thy spirit, , that I may correct , it: If, by .the
wonderful beanty of Thy works, have been leilinto
boldness, if I have sought my own honor, among,men
as I advanced in the work which was destined to Thine
honor, pardon me in kindness and charity, and by Thy
grace grant that my teaching may be to Thy glory, and,
thewelfare of all men. Praise ye the Lord, ye heav
enly.llaimenies, and yethat understand the new har
monies, praise the, Lord.', Praise,God t 0, my sou.L.as
long as I live. VrOin througitHim, and in Him
is all, the material as will as the spiritual---all thatwe
know and all that weknow. not yet=t6iihere is much
to do that is yet undone."
KOOS
For the *visible 'things of Rim from the
creation, of the world are clearly seen, being
understood ky.the things that are made, even
His eternal power and godhead."
But we shall see shat the science of lan
guage owes more than its first impulse to
Christianity. The 'pioneers of our, science
were those very.apostles who were commanded
" to go into all the
_world, and preach the
Gospel to every creature," and their true
successors, the missionaries of the whole
Christian Church. Translations of the Lord's
Prayer or of the BiblAnto every .dialect of
the world, form even now the most valuable
materials for' the comparative philologist.
As long as the number of known languages
was small, the idea' of classification hardly
suggested itrelf. The mind -must be bewil
dered by the ‘ 'multiplicity'of facts before it
has,recourse to division.--Max Mueller.
S M.
.;:iittglitio*P4WlWltt:4lteMlilure.
PERIL ARR.GLORY OF THE TABERNACLE.
WAS it necessary in carrying out the Mo
saical.system, that there should be either art
or splendor in the form or services of the
tabernacle or temple ? Was it necessary to
the perfection of any one of their typidal
offices, that should be that hanging of
blue,,and purple, and scarlet ? those tactics
of brass and sockets of silver ? that working
in silver and overlaying with gold? One
thing at least is evident : there was a deep
and awful danger in it ; a danger that the God;
whom they . so worshipped, might be associa
ted in -the
,minds of the serfs of Egypt with
the Gods to whom they had seen similar gifts
offered, and similar honors paid: - The prob
ability,. in our timeq, of fellowship with the
feelings - of the idolatrous Romans is abso
lutelys,s nothing -compared with:the danger
to!the Israelite of a sympathy with the idol
atrous Egyptian. ** * Yet against this
mortal danger provision was not made in one
way, (to 1 - part's thoughts the simplest, the
most natural, - the most .eifective,),by with
drawing from the, worship • of the Divine Be
ing. whatever"could delight the seise, or
shape the imagination, or limit the idea of
Deity to place. This one way God refused,
demanding for himself such honors, and ac
cepting for himself such local dwelling as
had been paid and dedicated to idol gods by
heathen worshippers; and fore what reason ?
Was the glory of the tabernacle necessary
to set, forth or - image His divine glory to the
minds of his people ? Whit !, purple and
scarlet necessary to - the people who had
seen the' great river of Egypt run scar
let to the sea under his condemnation ?
What! golden lamp and cherub necessary
for those - who had seen the fires of heaven
falling like a mantle on Mount Sinai,and its
golden courts opened to receive theirlmortil
lawgiver ? What! silver clasp and fillet nec
essary, when they had seen the silver waves
of the Red Sea clasp in their arched hollows, , •
the 'corpses of Jheorte. Ana ddp. r , ? liay, ,
not io. There was but one reason, av i dothatt
an eternal one ; that, as the Covens t that
Heonade with men was accon3pani with
some external sign of its continuan and of
His remembrance Of it, so the ace tance of
that covenant might be marked an signified
by use,• in some external sign of heir love
and obedience, and surrender of hemselves
and theirs to his will ; and that their grat
itude to him, and continual rem mbrance of
him,,lnight itave at once their expreslion and
their enduring testimony in the pres ntation
to him not only of the firstlings of he herd
and fold, not only of the fruits of e earth
/
and the tithe of time, but of ill tr sures Of
wisdom andbeauty; of the though that in
vents, and the hand that labors:; o wialth of
wood and weight of stone ;of the ength o
iron, and of the light of gold. ~
THE PRINCIPLE NOT AB °GATED.
1 i -
It has been said it ought' always to e
said, for it istrue—trar a better rid a'a
honorable offering is madeltb ou Masts i
ministry to the poor, in eitendin the k n
ledge of his name, in the practi' of the ix
tues by which that name is hallo ed, tk i
material presents to his tempi_ Assur d'
it is so; woe to all who think x t any hi
kind or g manner of offerin Ana in any i
•
take - the place of these ! Do . ti • people 4ee
place to pray, and calls to be his ; f ord
Then it' is no time for .smootbi g . pillars o
carving pulpits ; 'let us have e due first of
walls and roofs. Do the peop e need teach
ing from house to house, and b earl from day
to day ?.• Then they are dem ns and minis
ters we want, not architect . i I insist 0n..,
this.
,I plead for this ; but et us examine
ourselves, and see if this be deed the rea
son for our Vickwardness in r.e lesserwork.
The question is not between e+d's house and.
his gospel. It is between id's house and
ours. Have we no tesselate colors on our ~
floors? no frescoed fancies 1 1 our roofs ? no
niched statuary in our corridors? no gilded
furnitun in our eliambefil no costly stones
in our cabinets Has even the tithe of
'these been offer d ? They are, or they ought
to be, the sign that enough has been devo
ted to 'the gre t purposes of human steward : -
ship, and that. there remains to us what we
can spend in laxury ; but theie is a greater
and prouder luxury than this selfish on el--.
that of bringing a portion of" subh things as
these into sacred serviee, `'ands presenting
them for a memorial that our pleasure as well
as our toil has been hallowed by the remem
brances of Him who 'gave both the strength
and the reward. And until this has. been
I
done, Ido no see how, such posessions , can '
be retained i happiness . Ido not, under
stand the feeling which would arch our own
gates and pav our ownthre,sholds, and leave
the charch w h its narrow door and foot
worn sill; the 4 eeling which enriches our own
chambers with all manner of costliness, and
endures the bare wall .and mean compass of
the temple. * * * It will be seen, . ; .in the
course of the following chapters,. tltat I am
no advocate for in e , a nnceB 4 4 private habita
tion. I would fain introduce into it all mag
nificence, care, and beauty, where they are
possible ; but I 'would not have that useless
expense in unnoticed fineries and: formal.'
iti es , * * * things which cause half.the ex
pense of life, and destroy more than half its
comfort, manliness, respectability, freshness,
and facility, * * * the tenth part of which
*;r. * would, if collectively offered and wise
ly- employed, build a.marble church" for every
town in England;.such a church as it would
bring thelight into the eyes to see frOm afar, •
lifting its fair height above the.purple crowd
of humble roofs.
1 GOD'S lIBAD TO DR, )10 ORED.
• But whatever ornaments 1 • admit ought
clearly to be of a chaste, g , , :ve, and noble
kind ; and what furniture s employ, evi
dently more for the honorin of God's word
than;for the ease of the prea , , hr. • For there
are 'two ways of regarding sermon, either
asn7human composition;' or Divine message.
if we look upon it entire]; as the first, and
require our clergymen .to Wish it with their
•utmost care and learning, or our better 4e
:light whether our better ()light whether of
ear or intellect, we shall , cessarily be led to
expect much formality d stateliness in its
delivery, and to think tit all is not well, if
the pulpit, have not ago en fringe round`it,
and, a goodly r cushion i, front of it, and if
the sermon b not fair] written in a black
it
book, to be moothed on the cushion in a
majestic ma - Or baler, beginning; all this
we shall du :,come >to expect; :but weAutll4.
at the s* ' Ine - lion ;er :.:the AltlW
prepared-a omet o ; to which it is our clu
,ty to listen with nt pstlesness for half an
hour or three qu er but which, when that
duty has been d oil -ly performed, we may
dismiss from au mit , s in happy confidence
of being provid ct v h another when next it
shall be necessa y. :ut if we once begin to
regard the pre her t whatever his faults, as
a man sent vti a Message to . us, which it is
..matter of lif or e ach whether we hear or
refuse;` if
,we ok pon him as set in charge
over many sp its in danger-of ruin, and hav
ing allewed t hint but, an hour or two
,in the
seven days
,speak to them ; if we make
some endear ',to conceive hew precious these
lours - ought 6 be to him, asmall vaatage on
he :aide - -of od after his flock have - been ex
nosed for, si days together to-the full weight
of the worl a temptation,• and he has been
orced to tch the thorn and . the thistle
springing i their hearts, and to see what
„ heat, had been scattered there snatched”
rom t e yside y this wild bird and the
1
ither, an at . lit, when breathless • and
weary wit the 1 ek's labor they give hi i .
his in real of irn erfect and languid hearing
e has ut thirty nutes to get at the separate
earts of 'at i ousa d men, to convince them - of
heir weak ( .sses,
l e shanie them for their sins,
o warnth m of all their dangers, to try by
his way d that' to stir the. hard fastenings
•f those i ors - where the Master himself has
-,tood au' , Hocked, yet none opened, and to
call at t, • ;openings of these streets where
- wisdom : erself hath stretched forth *hands
and n , •ii an regarcied;—ihirty minutes to
raise , ,e dead - in -let us but once -under ,
stall. A rt! •feel ..this and we shall look with
chat
,ed eyeis upon that flippery of - gay,fur,
nit • about the place from which the -mes
s% of judgment must- be 'delivered, which
eir er breathes upon the drybones that they
i , live, or if ineffectual, remains recorded
c I demnation, perhaps .'against the utterer
i d listener alike, but assuredly against, one
I I
the i. We shall not so easily bear With
.
he sil and gold upon the seat of judgement,
nor . * ornament
,of- oratory m the mouth
of .ith ..i:messefiger. •;.- iwe ~ s hall. . wish-.= hia
i t
w ids . xnay be simple, - .even when. they. are
sl ntelat, and the place from which he speaks,
li e a marble rock in the desert, , . about which
tl people have gathered in their thirst.
TERESTING . FACTS ABOUT IRELAND.
Ireland has of late years been undergoing
!rester economic changes than any other
onion of the kingdom. When I tell you
,hat, within the short period of nineteen years
—since the period of the Disruption-480,
000,000 worth of land have changed hands
in the. Ecumbered and Landed Estates, Court;
involving a change of property,, and intro
ducing an immense amount'of capital, energy,
and agricultural skill, that are telling con
fessedly upon the aspect of the country—as
similating Ireland more to Scotland and Eng
land than in former times ; and that' these
changes like those which Dr. Begg brought
out so admirably the other evening in his
'.' Report on _Houses for the Working Classes, ';' will naturally tell upon the people- 74 you will
easily see that they give us facilities of a
peculiar character for the introduction of the
Gospel concurrent with these economic chang
es. Changes as great in the population have
been, going on no less extensive. Two tides
d have been.streataing over Ireland—one in the
? direction of Australia and America, to some
extent ergo to Scotland and England, going
out of Irelands; and another, chiefly coming
into Ireland from Scotland ; and I trust in
its character and consequences, like the gulf
streame; which bring fertility and health.
Generally speaking, the outgoing eiemeiat
has been a Roman Catholic element, the in
coming a Protestant element, and especially
a Presbyterian'element from Scotland. We
have no doubt that these two changes togetli
ert the outgoing and the incoming, will tend
to make the. South and West of Ireland soine
171aat like Ulster, and• like the changes which
took place some years ago in our own belov-
ediland. In 1848, the population of Ireland
was in :round numbers eight millions and a
quarter ; in 1861, it was five and . ..three-fourth
millions, Making a decrease on the gross po
pulation of two and a half millions,nr nearly
the entire population of Scotland, if you ex
cept Edinburg and Glasgow. You may thus
have an idea, from -the decrease of the pOpu
-lation on the one, hall, and the -introduction
of capital on the other, of the economic
changes that are, going on in Ireland. ` Tbe
great mass'of the population who have left
home consisted, as I have said, of the Romish
element; while of those who have come 0
llreland, there ha,ve been hundreds from Scot
land, tending to change still
. more the rela
tive proportions of Roman Catholic and Pro
testant, giving accessions that constitute
centres of light and inflnence to the Protest
ant Churehes in 'that dark land. I havehere
a map drawn .up by Mr. Miller, Prince , s
_Street, Edinburgh, with red dots shoWing
upon it the places where Scotehmen had set
led ; and I put it into the hands of the Mod
erator for his information. Thii. map is in
dicative at once of the migratory' and also the'
gregarious character of our Scottish country
men. You will observe *that a large number
have Clime froth Scotland, and thet wherever
a Scotchmark has fixed himeelf others have
come and settled
.down beside him.—Rev.
,lifr. 4c.ffaughtoilB Adams&
Fon GOD.-_-
, 'Live, live for God,
And to'lla world to save.!
• :Live live for Pod,
Nor heel the coming grave !
SEA EVANGELIBT.—WhoIe No. 852.
SOCLII MISSION OF CHRISTIANS.
How often for some, time have.l. heard the
complaint " .A.h !if there were `a-Christian
party, what mission would it now fulfil ?".
God does not twice in an age lend hisser
vants striking occasions to manifest by social
benefits the excellence of the Gospel, Chris
tians might have seconded in America the
greatest progress of the times, and they did
not do it ; Christains might have arrested
at. its beginning the insurrection for slaverN
and..theyi did not do it; Christians might,
perhaps, have prevented civil war, and they
did not do it ;. Christians:might have conjur
ed down.the • chances of a horrible war be
tween England. and America,' and
.they did
not do it.
It is, because we have, not sullicientlysom
,
prehended the social mission -Of the Gospel.
The gbapet I wtAmfrison it is its elgtero,
An'd: in some Sur its specialty. We too
often draw a difference between the sacred
and the profane. Now, one of the great
benefits of the Gospel has consisted precise
ly in abolishing this distinction, in. re-esta
blishing unity between the' human soul and
life. To upraise everything, to sanctify
everything, to-preserve .everything, to put
the sacred everywhere and leave the profane
nowhere, such is the marvellous work which
it accomplishes, Great things and small,
affections and interests, duties as fathers of
families and citizens- 1 --we have the right to
declare nothing profane ; that is, to abstract
nothing from our God.
Have we two principles of life, as well as
two kinds of morality, the one for the church
and the other for the world; the one for pri
vate relations and the other for politics? Ah!
I would weep my eyes dry, should the ene
mies of the Gospel deem themselves authoriz
edhy our fa - ult to dispute its social mission.
—" See these renowned Christians !" they
murmur alieady in our ears, they know
very well how to compound with vices, pro
fits, or national prejudices. Opium has im
posed silence on them; now they will be hush
ed by the presence of cotton."
Our Christianity has the air sometimes of
having gone outside the age. All that is not
the direct work of preaching or of charity
seems to awaken its scruples. As if any
thing human could remain a stranger to us,
as if the Gospel, which surrounded the earth
and sky, did not comprehend political com
munities; as if it proceeded by mutilations
instead of transformations; as if, like false
religions and'pettyr morals, it sanctified man
by diminishing him, taking away the affec
tions, taking away tie external duties, taking
away the arts, taking away literature, taking
away, in fine, always and everywhere, and
making the world believe that one loves God,
only on condition of loving nothing else.
The world is but too much disposed to ad
mit 'this doctrine. Every Christian, in its
eyes, is a man who has entered a convent,
an incomplete man, who will pray, but will
no longer act„, who glories henceforth in in
teresting:himself in _nothing here below, in
calling the affections idols, in having nt,
heart either for creatures, (as it is said,) or'
civilization, or liberty.—De Gasparin.
ATTITUDE OF CHRISTIANS IN ENGLAND.
Estrum- this glorious crisis, which they
are passing through in the name of the gos
pel, and for the holy cause ofjustice, the United
States counted on the support of England,
above all Christian England. England is
their mother, she has furnished them almost
all their original population she has absor
bed, into the Anglo-Saxon nationality the la
ter immigrations. They are bone of her
bone, and flesh of her flesh. 'Furthermore,
a religious tie, stronger than that of blood,
unites the two nations which show themselves
devoted above all others to the propagation
of the gospel on earth.
We know to what point the frigid attitude
of English Cnristiarts has for- long months
disappointed the hopes founded upon them.
I speak of it more 'freely, inasmuch as this
fault is already 'almost a thing of the past—
and sympathy is on the way to, awaken.
Yes, for long months, EngliSh Christians
have not had, as it were, a single word of en
couragement to place at the service Of those
who were combating (as I hati proved)
and suffering for a noble cause. Not a meet
ing, not an address ; the Journals which
serve •as organs to the principal churches
have almost all made it their study to dis
credit the, movement, to point Out with an ac
cent of triumph the mortifications of the re
public, to exaggerate the successes of the
South, and depreciate those of the North, to,
deny that slivery was in question, to legiti
matize the separation, to present-as a desir
able - ideal the definitive maintenance of a
Southern Confederacy.
This was sad, very sad. Christian' Eng
land has not forgotton the moment when the
eloquent cry of betrayed affection crossed
the seas, Oh, Englishmen, Englishmen,
could you not have watched with us one
hour?"'lt will be remembered that the Mira
beau once proposedthe resolution in the Na
tional Assembly : " The silence of Sieyes
is a public .misfortune." With stronger-rea
son, the resolution might be adopted by all
of us, continental Christians, dismayed by
the attitude of , England: "The silence of
English Christians is a'universal calamity."
Theylaave sent us invitations to prayer,
bnt among the subjects pointed out, we have
never perceived that width preoccupied all
our thoughts. The great moral and religi
ouduinterest of our age was systematically
omitted ;-the word • slavery seemed to have
become On suSpicious in England as it had
been in America. One,would have said that,
desirous of justifying the prejudices-of their
enemies, they >wished to prove to the whole
world that English, interests passed with
them before everything, that their abolition
zeal was extinct, that questions of principle
were incapable of moving them. During this
time, blood was flowing ;",tha,t - blood, the ef
fusion of which would ha* been prevented or
promptly checked by the'energeticirtierven
tion of European sysmpathies, that blood of
which We are guilty r ull who have been unwil
ling to discourage 'the monstrous
,insurrec
tion of the South.
One of the problems that has most tor
mented my mind has been to explain'the con
duct of English Christians in certain affairs,
and' at certain moments.. I knew'of ne.men
more energetic or 'devoted; at ;the present
time, a very large portion of the , good Which
is accomplished on`our.oglobe is , accOmplists;
ed through their powerful initiative; yet