essence palpable or unseen. The things which men desire, pursue, and believe in, low and trivial and unworthy as they may be in themselves, are; to the persons whom they thus influence, "no vain thing, but their life,"—the subtle mainspring of thought and action, hidden.and mysterious; and like that which it so closely resembles, the principle of natural vitality, only to be discovered in its workings.—A Present Heaven. lumina Nuotrgttrian AND - ^.• GENESEE EVANGELIST. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1863 JOHN W. NEARS, A PRESENT HEAVEN. HE who lives by faith is independent of pre sent circumstances. He communes with objects in an entirely distinct sphere. While surround ing objects, upon which men of the world depend for happiness, continually fluctuate and disap point them, he who maintains his faith in spiri tual realities may be calm, contented, and happy. To him, spiritual objects are alone real and im portant. All that sense or mere understanding perceives, grand and worthy of supreme devotion as it may appear to the worldly mind, is to him only vanity of vanities. He surrounds himself with divine and eternal objects. He communes with GOli in prayer. He finds endless treasures of wisdam,,and sources of refreshment in the word of God. The love of Christ, the friendship of God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the covenant of grace well-ordered in all things and sere, the power of prayer with God, inward strength and encouragement in time of trial, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and transformation into the same image from glory to glory—these are re alities to the believer. With a fast hold on these glorious objects by faith, he is content to let " earth roll nor feels her idle whirl." Wordly objects have receded; faith has given the vic tory over them. Though hunted on the moun tains, and fleeing with his life in his hind, like righteous David, he tunes his harp and sings his psalm of trust, of hope, and of rapture. Though his soul is among lions; though he lies among men whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongues a sharp sword, yet his heart is fixed ; he will sing and give praise ; be will awake early to utter his overflowing joys. Like Paul and Silas, in the inner dungeon of a Roman prison, with their feet fast in the stocks, and with bodies sore and bloody from shameful scourgings, at mid night they can sing praises, and bear such testi mony to the power of sustaining grace, that na ture itself and the hearts of heathens shall 'be smitten and tremble, and shall confess the truth. Faith does not wait for heaven to come in the future. It is her peculiar function to bring its main elements into the presenttphere of exist ence. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith, in deed, is not sight, yet in some respects it is better than sight. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. Faith, indeed, is inward sight; nay more, it is an inward grasp ing, a personal apprehension and cleaving to its great object. Were we but clear of sin, faith might perform all the functions of sight, and through its purified and exalted exercises, we might find ourselves close by the central presence of the Deity, bathed in his effulgence, folded in the arms of his love. Although the resurection of the just, and the future life will make vast and glorious changes in our circumstances, it is not so much for these that we long, as for deli verance from the body of this moral death, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Doubtless there is a secret connection between the final overthrow of the powers of darkness, and the resurrection of the just. When sin is finally conquered, then we may look for the glorious manifestation of the sons of God, for which the whole creation waits in earnest expectation. Hence, in propor tion as sin is overcome in any individual soul by faith, the blessings and the glory of the resur rection and the heavenly life are enjoyed in that soul now. But as heaven is not made lip of inaction, of mere repose, or even of specific acts of worship and praise exclusively, but also of great deeds and of the zealous service of doubly consecrated natures and exalted powers; so, the heaven re- :thud by faith on earth, is not one of withdrawal from earth to contemplative solitude and selfish seclusion. That which truly overcomes the world knows how to use it; that which flies from the world, how does it conquer it? Faith is discri minating. It sees in every worldly object a capacity for spiritual use. It sees in man and in man's works and pursuits, and in nature's powers and arrangements, the material for the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. It rtes in history the gathering up and gradual organization of these materials. Faith has but one eye open, if it can discern no spiritual rela tionships and adaptions in worldly things and events. It may be a nicer function, but it does, truly belong to faith, to see these qualities, and to find in them a field for the spiritual activity of the renewed man. It is no part of our pre sent heaven to ignore them—to grow sick of the world and weary of life—to preach up an indis criminate cursed° against the world. It must be a very vague and a very ill-defended paradise —the product of our fancy rather than that of faith—which can in no manner tolerate our secu lar interests or pursuits within its precincts. A! very artificial and unwholesome place we must consider it; much in need of daylight and of airing. We must find our heaven largely in serving God in the activities of the present life, or postpone it fritirely to the next world. We must work humbly, prayerfully, rejoicingly, for God in our daily pursuits. We must see in them a sphere for serving God and advancing his king dom on earth, as truly, though not on as great a scale, as any archangel finds in managing the winds or the flaming fire to execute God's will. And when great struggles break out in the world, in which we are directly involved and must bear a part, the fact that they are intensely interesting and absorbing must not deter us as servants of God and as men of faith, from per send participation in some manner in the strug gle. Such participation need not disturb our peace or make inroads upon our Paradise. Nay, su fur as faith discerns the spiritual aspect of the conflict, she points out to us the positive duty of joining in it as a necessary means of inward peace, as furnishing one of those elements of active service which go to make up the true heaven of the Christian on earth. The Chris tian who shrinks back for the sake of maintain ing his peace when God and duty thus loudly call, takes the surest means of destroying it, or of placing it upon a false foundation which can not endure. Living by faith ensures a present heaven. But faith notices the spiritual bearings of world ly things, as well as guards us against their merely temporal enticements. We walk by faith, therefore, and maintain our heavenly frame, when, in every worldly sphere, to which duty calls us, we labor heartily with spiritual aims. The brave soldier who goes from a sense of duty to the defence of his country, is more certain to enjoy a present heaven, amid the din of the battle-field than is the " peace" clergyman who stays at home and warns his people continu ally against the secularising tendencies of the war. Editor HAVE WE \ ENDORSED CONGREGATIONAL ISM? WE recently noticed the fact that a licentiate of one of our Presbyteries, Mr. Philabder Ree`, was ordained in Louisiana as chaplain of one of the new African Regiments. In, the absence of a regular Presbyterial organization, Mr. Reed was ordained by a Council composed of ministers of four different evangelical denominations. This was not regular, but all the essentials of a valid ordination were present, and, under the emer gency, it was right and proper to proceed in the manner described—would, in fact, have been wrong to deny ordinatiA, under a clear call of providence, to the candidate. Had the case oc curred under ordinary circumstances, , in New York or Pennsylvania, the irregularity would have been gross and unpardonable ; it would have involved open disrespect of existing church organizations, and disregard of ecclesiastical order; and whether regarded as valid or not, it would have been repudiated by the denominations generally. We observe that the organ of one wing of the Congregationalists is disposed to boast of the procedure, as an illustration of the admirable work ing and fitness of the system which it professes to advocate. Presbyterians, it is intimated, are ready, when it is convenient, to Rail themselves of that principle of " Congregationalism," which provides for assembling a council just when the occasion arises, and from the materials which are at hand; thus testifying to its superiority over their own system. As if men, who, love order, when compelled, by extraordinary circumstances, to act irregularly, thereby admit irregularity to have the advantage of order ! As well might our Government be riecused of a secret preference for martial law, because, by extraordinary cir cumstances, it has been driven to use it. As well might despots cite the suspension of the habeas corpus in America, as proof that republics admit'the superiority of despotism. . Summary methods are indispensable in such a time of confusion; the Government uses them on compulsion merely, and will rejoice when the necessity for them disappears: Because martial law is suitable for an emergencyr like the present, no one dreams of inferring its fitness for times of peace. Because at a distance of two weeks' journey from any of our Presbyteries, in a terri tory devastated by war and inaccessible to civil ians, a licentiate of our church had to be s oy- dained after a fashion which the liedependent;is pleased to regard as Congregational, our church will be considered by none but the blindest par tizan as giving any sort of testimony to the great advantages of Congregationalism., If4hei./nde _pendent wishes to claim for its lo'Cise methbds certain accordance with loose and:disorganized times, we will not object. But for ourselves, we regard church organizations, like arrange ments, as designed for operation ,attordinary y times, having among their highest .uses the in culcation of the excellence of order upon ttic people. When disturbances arise, we fall bac perforce upon the no-system of Independency When peace comes, we resume apse Organic forms which it is one of the greatest blessings of peace to ensure to us, and which, as we are trained in them, make us love and seek peace the more. The Independents are on a war footing all the time. THE NEW YORK OBSERVER AND ALBERT WE have read with no little surprise the com ments of the New York Observer of Jatruary 22, and February 5, on the conditions of peace as set forth in a Thanksgiving sermon recently publish ed by Rev. Albert-Barnes, of Philadelphia. Wel are surprised that the Observer should.earthat\ " Mr. Barnes now proposes conditions of peace that would have made the war impossibleifft,hey had been proposed by the North twa :YearS ago. And it is a most encouraging indicationOf a re turn to Christian reason and union, when such leaders in 'the anti-slavery movement in the North propose to settle our national quarrel by leaving the whole subject of slavery totally'and exclusively to the States in which it exists. This zs the proposition of .111 r. Barnes." The italics are ours. How the Observer should suppose that this "proposition" is original with Mr. Barnes, who it says, c.tis'well known to the whole country and the world as an extreme anti-slavery man," is to us unaccountable, in view of the fact equally " known to the whole country and the world," that the same proposition was incorporated into the Republican Platform framed by the: Chicago Convention, unanimously resolved by Congress in 18.61, and has always been the declaration of the Government from the commencement of the rebellion to the present hour. The North, in its civil capacity, has never proposed to interfere with the institution of slavery within the States. Such an interference has always been disclaimed by the party in power. If the Observer intends to be understood that the object of the North, as developed by the declarations of tie Republican leaders, and the official documents and acts of the Government, has been from the beginning the overthrow of slavery within the States, ex cept as a military necessity, it is most strangely blind to the record.—Congregationalist. The astonishing mis-use which has been made of Mr. Barnes' Thanksgiving Sermon by the factionists of the North, is both contemptible and dishonorable to them and grossly unjust to him. Mr. Barnes chooses for the present to remain si lent on the subject, but those who infer from this silence that he assents to these monstrous perversions, are very much mistaken. Because Mr. Barnes could not see his way clear to endorse the policy of emancipation under the war power BARNES aturtiralt probtfctian and 6rittort 6rangtliot. when he published his thanksgiving sermon,—a fact which we in common with his best, friends here, deeply regretted,—ishe therefore to be num bered with the pestilential reactionists against the government, in its fearful and agonizing struggle with the rebellion ? Is his sermon to be counted as " the most remarkable index of the great Northern reaction now going on ?" Is it to be said that he " is willing to concede al most every thing"? Let it be noted then, that Mr. Barnes in this very sermon, lays it down as the first condition of peace that the rebellion must be suppressed, the claimed right of secession must be abandoned and thi authority of the Union restored. All that he says about peace in the remainder of his sermon is based upon this supposition. He furthermore insists on amendments to the Constitution, by which the National Governmend - shall be separated from slavery, the fugitive slave law modified, or the whole subject of the delivery of fugitives left to the separate states, •the three-fifths slave representation abolished, and slavery at length entirely removed from our land, as an indispensable condition of peace. While slavery is in process of removal indeed, it is to be left to the control of the states; but place that concession in the light of such a declaration as the following (p 52) and what comfort`can it give to pro-slavery men? " Nor will it ever be possible to adjust our free institutions to the idea .that slavery is to be per , petual in our land." Mr. Barnes' sermon is open to objection, we admit, but only the wilfully blind can pervertit into a demonstration against the Government or the war.—[llo. Am. PRESBYTERIAN. PREACHING-NO. 7. BY REV. E. B. ADAMS. AUTHORITY IN THE PREACHER ME minister of God may not " lord it over God's heritage." But, standing before men not only as the representative of the Divine mercy, bit also of the divine command, as "an amba,s s.dor of Christ," he may speak with authority: h ought so to speak as Christ spade. And, mire than any other power, the present, preva le, t conviction that he is sent of God, enables 'a ni n thus to speak. Duty makes one bold. Let a Alan take deeply into bis heart the message of 0' id; let him be assured that he possesses and ters truth as found in Revelation_; that he t•ars the divine commission ; let him separate mself from participation in the maxims, and shions, and secularities of men, and he can ome before his people with authority. Moses, escending from the mount where, for forty days e had seen the ineffable glory, hearing the noise f the people at the base as they danced about e golden calf, hurled down the tables of the w, and brake them in their presence. That as an act of authority. It signified that they `ere doomed. He took sides with God. He f: t the power of holiness and.truth. What in s view, were men yho sin, compared with the E ernal God! What the thoughts of men,wben ..d utters his thoughts ! Instead of the ques " What do these auditors think of me ?" it What does GOD think of me ?" It was .is view of God that gave boldness to Elijah, • hen he said to Ahab—As the Lord God of Is rael live& before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain, these years but according to MY WORD. It was this that enabled Samuel to hold dominion over the wicked Saul; that made John the Baptist erect before the sanguinary Herod; that clothed Paul with majesty and power when he made his triumphant appeal to King Agrippa " I know that thou, believest." Instances are not wanting in modern times of great power in the pulpit as the result of confi dence in truth. Among these, the preaching of Bossuet is remarkable; It was he who thus ad dressed the despotic Louis XIV:—" While your majesty looks down from that eminence to which Providence has raised you; while you behold your flourishing provinces reaping the harvest of happiness, and enjoying the'blessings of peace; while you behold your throne encompassed with the affections of a loyal people., what have you to fear ? Where is the enemy that can injure Your happiness? les, sire, there is an, enemy that can irdure you—that enemy is purself,—that enemy is the glory that encircles you. It is no easy task to submit to the rule that seems to sub mit to us. Let me entreat you to descend in spirit from your exalted station, and visit the tomb of Jesus ; there you may meditate on loftier themes, than this world, with all its pomp, can offer. What will it avail you, sire, to have lifted so high the glory of your country, unless you direct your mind to works which are of estima tion in the sight of God, and which are to be recorded in the book of life ? Consider the ter rors which are to usher in the last day, when the Saviour of the world will appear in tremendous majesty, and send judgment unto victory. Re flect if the stars are then doomed to fall, if the glorious canopy of the heavens is to be rolled to gether as a scroll, how will those works endure which are constructed by man ? Can you, sire, affix any real grandeur to what must one day be blended in the ? Educate then, your mind, and fill the page o£ your life with other records, and other annals." When we consider the awe with which Louis inspired all who approached him, and the fact that these words were uttered in the presence of the court, it is not difficult to believe that. Bossuet was a courageous, an honest preacher. And we might expect to find the ground of his courage in sentiments like the fol lowing : " Truth is a Queen who may be said to inhabit her own excellence; who reigns invested with her own native splendor, and who is en throned in her own grandeur, and upon her own felicity. Relying upon herself, on her celestial origin, on her infallible anthority, she speaks and demands belief, she publishes her edicts, and de- Mands submission; she holds out to our assent the sublime and incomprehensible union of the most blessed Trinity, she proclaims a God-man, and shows him to us extended on a cross, expir ing in ignominy and pain, and calls upon human reason to bow down before this tremendous mys tery." "It was the destiny of truth to erect her I throne in opposition to the kings of the earth. She called not for their assistance when she laid the foundation of her own establishment—but, when the edifice rose from its foundation, and lifted high its impregnable towers, ,she then adopted the great for her children ; not that she stood in need of their concurrence, but in order to cast an additional lustre on their authority anti to dignify their power." There are not wanting in the history of the. American pulpit, instances of sublime authority in the presence of earthly greatness. In the reign of George IL, King of England, Rev. Samuel .Davics, A. M., visited London. Hi s fame had gone lefore him and reached the royal ear. He was invited to preach in thb King's chapel, and is said to have accepted the invita tion. His audience was composed of the royal household, and abrilliant circle of the nobility. During the discourse, which was beyond measure ab t' o u th t e Ki ng , in his admiration, spoke to those l hini, exchanging With them .senti ments of approbation and pleasure. Mr. Davies , observing it, waif greatly moved at what seemed irreverence in the sanctuary, and utterly unpar donable in such a personage. H av i ng looked sternly in that direction and paused to give a hint of, the impropriety, he went on in his dis course, but observing ,a repetition of the offence, he stopped and exclaimed : " When the lion roars the beasts of the field tremble, and when King Jesus speaks the princes of the earth should k eep s g ence .” In response " the King gave a significant, but Courteous, bow to the preacher" and remained in. rapt attention. Robert Hall Was an authoritative preacher, for the people had learned that he could sound the depths of every) subject, and that he rose to the highest goal of i fhought and power in the pulpit over a body tortired and crushed with constant agony. Chalmers spote with authority from the ma jesty an d Busts u 4 edtone of thought and as Dr. JOhn M. Mos' ,said, from "his blood•earnest ness.,,, Dr. Adolphe Monad was distinguished for authority in his public ministrations, and his humility and profound Scriptural knowledge were alike consikuous. Dr. Caesar/Malan, of Geneva, is perhaps the most •sublime living specirnen of ministerial ma jesty in the pulp t. To this his erect form, deep voice, and venerable locks contribute in no slight degree; but the certainty with which he speaks of sacred truthsl, the fervor that thrills his own soul, the awful and winning glory that truth as sumes in his view, the entireness with which he has given his being to its advocacy and service, make the hearers feel that an old prophet speaks to 'them, or that an Apostle reappears to utter to this generation the words and thoughts of God. GERMS STREET CHURCH. • • ♦ . IT may interest Sem of the readers of the AMERICAN. PRRIBYTERIAN to know what suc cess has attended; the efforts of the Committee of German Street giturch to raise fifteen thousand 11 13 dollars to free t t church from debt, and finish the edifice. A out two hundred circulars, ' showing the condition of the property, have been distributed amoni those of our denomination _in 1 the city who were thought to be able to contri butel to this eff rt, and thus far, five thousand dollars have been übdcribed by fifteen individuals, mostly members Pine Street Church. Besides having the cir4ar sent to them, many have been called upon or written 'to on the subject, but all has failed thus far to awaken sufficient interest to inclucelmany of our wealthy Christian people to make 'a small contribution to this worthy object. \ It is not fromany doubt as to the propriety of the effort to sake the German Church from being broken upjor in the mind of every Chris tian man the doubt would be removed by the commendatien efftearly all our city pastors in regard to - it. They say, in the circular, that " it is the only church - of our denothination in a population of sixty thousand ; that it has had a career of usefulness for thirty years, as hundreds of converts can Witness; that the congregation was encouraged to build by nearly all the pastors and churches of the city, and that the congregation, though not always wise in their plans, have made most martyr efforts to finish their church, and ought not to be left heart-broken by disappoint ment" After such a commendation by our city pastors, the man or woman professing Christian ity is not to be envied who would speak dispara gingly of the effort. And yet, the whole enter prise may be permitted to fail, and this church forever stopped l i n . its career of usefulness, be cause, sufficient ipterest is not felt in it by , a larger number of; our Christian people. There may be those wh - fy still have the -matter under consideration,'and it is for the purpose of hasten ing a conclusion in such cases that the Com mittee make this - ittiement. * A FUNERAL IN A SNOW STORY. THE third day, of February, 1863,.is not so far back.that people fail to remember it as a pe culiarly cold, snoviy, stormy day. Yet the dead must be buried, in all kinds of weather. This day, at half-past 3 O'clock, a long funeral proces sion was seen to I enter the " Old Pine Street 1 , Presbyterian Church," in Philadelphia, just when the snow Was filling most thickly. In this procession were persons from the most re spectable social circles of the city,—the mer chant,—retired, al well as active,—the mechanic, who for the hour had laid aside his tools; and 1 the lady' of educat on and refinement, as well as those who are " areful and cumbered " with household duties. Who is it that has departed from among the wing, to call such a number together at such a 4 "the as this, to receive a tri bute of sorrow airtttesteem ? Was it one of the , rich, the gay, theigreat ?" The, procession has walked about winesquares amid this storm. Let, us retrace their steps, to the late residence of the deceased. A small frame house; in Front street, below Christian, jut divested of the sign of death, shows that the , la t 4 occupant was rather to," be found among the prior and suffering." . Let us return to the church. The funeral services have begnn. The pastor requests the Congregation to sing a hymn,—" a favorite of the deceased." The, concluding lines are,— " Yet a seas* and you know Happy entrance will be given All your sorrows left below, And earth exchanged for heaven." The singing is followed by the reading of the Scriptures, one sentence of which is, chosen as a text by the pastor : "To die is gain." A brief biography is given. " Mrs. Martha Walters, aged 68.4 ears," has been removed from the communion of the visible church in Pine street, -to join the large communion of those who in former years have been called away from the same place of worship. The pas tor eulogizes the deceased for ( her many Chris tian virtues. Not for her superior intelligence, or wealth, or efficient labors in the church ; but for her piety, her humility, ber faithfulness, during her days of health, in her attendance upon the means of grace; and for her example and influence upon others, in the church and in the humbler walks of life, in illustrating the power . o6the Gospel, amid adversity and deep affliction. Upwards of forty years had she sat at the " table of the Lord ; " and about sixty two years had she attended upon the means of grace, with that people,—even from her child hood. And even in childhood her adversities began. Yellow Fever deprived her of both her parents and most of her near relatives. She became a " child of adoption," by others. At womanhood she was married, but soon her hus band met death by violence in a foreign land; and, with a little daughter, she was left to strug gle again for a livelihood. The two, for many years, knew what it was to eke out a living with the 'needle. But the mother's health failed. The consumptive's history was hers. And this stormy day witnessed— "Al] her sorrows left below, And earth exchanged for heaven." It is not surprising that the pastor should now speak of his loss,—of one who was always so faithful in her attendance upon his ministry, and who always so gratefully received his visits at her humble home. But it is greatly to the bon- orof the " Old Pine Street Church " that such an assemblage, upon such a stormy day, should walk such a distance, to pay their last tribute of esteem to one of the humblest of their flock; and that the sincerity of their tribute should be unmistakeably manifested by their tears, in cor roboration of the eulogy by their pastor. May it 'not also be adduced as evidence that in all the progress which this " old church " has made, and among the many good deeds for which she is proverbial, she has not yet forgotten the force of the apostle's query, " Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he bath promised to them that love him ?" A. C. Manayunk, February 4th, 1863. LIBERTY FORS ALL. DOUBTLESS the strongest aspiration of the great Anglo-Saxon race is for self-govv i rnment. It works towards the solution of this problem in its whole history. On this continent, its aspira tion is fulfilled as in no other portion of the race or of the human family. The prowess, the enterprise, the intelligence, the religious fervor of this part of the race have achieved what others dream of and sigh for in vain. Yet here a most extraordinary anomaly prevails In our theory, the blessings of liberty are justly regard ed as designed for all races, The Declaration of Independence is worded in the most absolute manner. All men are created free and equaL Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are the inalienable right.of all. These truths are de clared to be self-evident. Exceptions are not even hinted at. For what credence could men expect to gain to declarations thus and thus con ditioned, as self-evident ? Or bow could they venture, without divine authority, to announce exceptions to absolute truth ? Would not their work have at once been rejected as absurd, if it had claimed that a certain small portion of the African race on this continent must be regarded as not subject to its operation ? But they were not thus absurd. They meant all they said. The theory of the American political system is just and true; yet under the protection of that free system, there has grown up and flourished a system utterly at war with its principles, and absolutely denying these inalienable and self evident rights to a portion of another race, thrown providentially among us. What an extraordinary spectacle ! Slavery nestling among the robes of the genius of liberty, claiming and receiving her protection.! Stripes and chains for innocent men, under the folds of the banner of freedom ! And the free masters of the slave, demanding ever more that one of the chief uses of this republic, founded on the Declaration of self-evident, equal, inalienable rights to all, shall be to cherish, insure, and extend the despotic perogatives of the slave-masters; and behold them desperately and diabolically attempting the overthrow of the republic, so soon as it became tolerably certain that .it could no longer be used to foster their tyranny. We regard our present struggle as carrying out the principles of the Declaration of In dependence. So the leaders of the rebellion regard it. They reject that charter of liberty, unless you allow them to foist their own limitations into its text. The question now in solution is, whether indeed all men are to, be re garded on this continent as created free and equal, and as possessing the inalienable right to life, lib erty and the pursuit of happiness? Whether the pro vidential distinction, of color or race excludes any from the application of these broad and self-evi dent principles? Whether this nation, the ad vance guard of liberty in the world, shall recede from its earlier position, abandon its advance, build again the things which it destroyed, by sub stituting for class distinctions, distinctions of race : whether it shall perish in an honorable though fruitless attempt to maintain the doc trines of the Declaration in full force; or whether it shall triumphantly vindicate and rescue these principles from perversion and nullification, give them new clearness and vividness, advance them still higher in the sight of the nations and plant them impregnably upon this.contineat ? Disgui3e it as we nay, the grand drift of this war is straight forward in the line of the Decla ration of Independence. It is a straightening out of the tortuous deviations of our national course, as the Vicksburg cut is straightening the course of the Mississippi. Ever since our fore fathers at 'the beck of Freedom came to thesp shores, they have been working out her grand designs. Plymouth Rock marked a great stride in advance of the past; the War of Independence secured another; and now we are summoned, as the champions of freedom, once more to enter the lists, and in fierce and terrible conflict to wrest from proud and passionate oppressors the concession that LIBERTY IS FOR ALL, and to write that concession among the world's political axioms in ineffaceable characters. Countrymen ! Beware' bow you bedwarf this conflict by decrying it as a mere fanatical strife for the benefit of the black race. It is for the black race, but if for him, then for all races who may at any period of the world's history be liable for arbitrary reasons to injustice and oppression. Our victory will be the victory of man. Its deep meaning will be unfolding while time lasts. RevlvAL.—The Evangelist is informed that a good work of grace is now progressing in the church in Naples, Ontario County, N. Y. The pastor of the church has been assisted in his labors by Rev. 0. Parker, who has since left, and is now laboring in the Presbyterian Church, Huron, Wayne County. [For the American Presbyterian.l THE ANNUAL OONOERT OF PRAYER. MR. Enrron—As the annual Concert of Pray er for Literary institutions is at hand, it may be well to ask the attention of your readers, t 0..., one of the principal objects of its appointnaent, which was to promote the increase of. the Chris tian ministry. There were other .objects of im portance, but this was among the chief; for it was seen as soon as attention was given to the matter, that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on these fountains of influence, would revive and transform the piety of unprofitable professors of religion, and would implant a vigorous divine life in many who were dead in sin. The pre cious revivals which have followed the observ ance of thiS day, have started many towards the ministry as their life-lOng employment; and the occurrence of similar revivals would produce a similar happy result There are among us those who question whe ther such a result is desirable, .because they affirm we have.a ministry sufficient 'for all .our wants. This statement we firmly believe to be incorrect and injurious, and feel bound to do all we can to break its force. Time and-space will allow but a few brief hints at present. The ministry is the divinely appointed agency for bringing the Gospel into contact with men, and while there are neighborhoods or nations which need the Gospel, it should be increased. Nothing but the darkest ignorance can pretend that the: supply of the Gospel equals the need for it. God has reserved to himself the work of pri marily selecting, calling, and qualifying the mi nistry. All that human teachers can profitably do is to furnish subordinate discipline and qual ifications to such as are called and anointed by Him. He indicates his will very closely by con tinuing to call through the instrumentality of Christian parents, local churches, Sabbath schools, etc., and by the internal working of his Spirit on their hearts, quite a number of young men to seek the ministry. Who will preeume to say he has erred in this matter ? Christ gave the command to pray that laborers should be sent into the world's harvest-field in view of the perishing multitudes before him; and he intended' that we should offer that prayer whenever such multitudes came before us; and in what region may we not find them? The Foreign Missionary field assigned us needs, and will continue to need for years to come, an increase of laborers. Our Home Missionary field is wider now, and is constantly extending, and will furnish employ ment for all the suitably qualified men we can send into it for years to come. We have a few more ministers on our catalogue than we have churches ; but when we deduct the aged, the infirm, the secularized, those who have found that they have mistaken their call ing, the foreign missionaries, the colporteurs, the secretaries and agents, the chaplains, those ,en gaged in education, and others in, general em ployments, we find that there are. about nine hun dred ministers, only, to, supply fourteen hundred churches. We have no greater force.than can be engaged profitably in keeping what we have already gained, and have none for making ex tensive aggressions on Satan's kingdom. The yearly additions made from our seminaries but little more than supply the waste made by death, advancing age, failing health and, other causes. What we may receive from other denominations cannot be made' available for our missionary work. The progress in training up a ministry must be very gradual. With - all that our Church is like ly to do for years to come, there is no danger of producing an over supply; but there is danger if More cannot be done than at present is contem plated or desired by many, that there will be a diminution of present numbers, and a positive want. Who does not see the increasing need of the goppel in our land at present? Who can tell how great its future wants will be ? - Chir General Assembly has recommended the observance of this day of prayer ; and has further advised that all churches not 'having a stated time for considering and contributing to the cause, shall give it a place preceding or succeed ing this day. Shall not these recommendations meet with a prompt and hearty response ? They certainly deserve it whether we regard the source from which they emanate, or the importance of the objects to be'attained by them. Gen. Secretary for Education. Presbyterian. Rooms, New York Peb.l4th, 1863. THE DAY OF PRAYER FOR COLLEGES and Institution of learning will be observed on Thursday of this week, by Union meetings in the morning, at 1O o'clock, in the Clinton street Church; and in the afternoon at 4 o'clock, in Green Hill Church. It is recommended that each church further observe the appointment by hol ding a separate service in the evening. Tin UNION PRAYER MEETING will not be held next week. REV JOHN MCDOWELL, D.D., pastor of the Spring Garden Presbyterian church, a venera ble and familiar personage among the ministers in this city, died on Friday, the lath inst., in the 83rd year of his age. i(o4:t:fliArfk-.„ - f1t . ‘,1:,0 . .:, : THE late visit of Rev. Dr. Bouton, of Concord, Pastor and spiritual father of Rev. E. E. Adams, to this city, on his, errand of mercy as agent of the Christian Commission in Washington, will be remembered with gratification` by all who had the pleasure of meeting with and hearing him. His discourse in N. Broad Street. Church on the " Door opened in Heaven;" was tender, spiritual and persuasive in a high degree, and remains as a sweet savor with the people who heard it. AMONG the •several received at the Column=- nion in the Mercer "Street Church, , N. Y., on Sabbath before last, was a deaf mute. Ile" be came a member on profession of his faith, and after an intelligent understanding and approval of the confession and articles, as the pastor stated. • TEEE extended, scholarly and very genial no tice of Professor Robinson contained in the in dependent of February sth, is one deserving the thanks of all interested in preserving suitable memorials of our American Christian Scholars. We shall try to find , room for it inla future num ber.' THORNTON A. M=B APPOINTMENT KEPT UNDER DIFFICULTIES. - Dr. Tuttle, of Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind., in a letter to the Evangelist, gives an in stance of the indomitable energy of one of our Western pastors in fulfilling an appointment which deserves to be circulated. He says : " We had a visit from the Rev. Mr. Noyes, of La Porte, on the third Sabbath of this month. By some,mistake in the time he missed the cars at Lafayette, Saturday morning,- but proved that his New England pluck had not been effemina ted by his Illinois training, by walking the twenty-eight miles through the snow, and facing a heavy wind ! There is a -case of professional sensitiveness in the matter of keeping appoint ments worth publishing. His sermon on Sabbath afternoon to our young men was worth to us all it had cost him. 'lf any man will do His will,' eta,., was his text, and the discours was a ripe ate' powerful discussion of the effect which the heart exerts upon the mind in its religious reasonings." REv. J. B. .BITTINGEn.—The Lutheran of this city thus speaks of the recent pastor of the Euclid Street Church, Cleveland, now laid aside by sickness. " The Rev. J. B. Bittinger, one of the most brilliant and scholarly men who have gone forth from Peniesylvania College, and who made him self widely known as an eloquent preacher and finished writer, is now at Hanover, Pa., in feeble health. Mr. Bittinger though reared in the Lutheran Church, and, as we believe, sincerely attached to it, entered the Congregational min istry. He did it at an era when the current, almost universal notions prevalent in our Church in the United States, made it a mere matter of accident or convenience whether any of our young men should labor in its ministry. Mr. Bittinger's accident took him out, as the acci dent of others who were perhaps very severe upon him for leaving us, kept them in. We re cently received a very welcome letter from Mr. B. and rejoice to find in it evidence that the vigorous mind is in its old working, and that he feels a deep interest in the Church of his early love." MINISTERS AND CHURCHES. Ordained, Jan. 20th, at Clarkson, . N. Y., by the Presbytery of Rochester; Rev. Corlis B. Gardner, as an evan gelist. Sermon by Rev. X. B. Shaw, D.D. ; or daining prayer by Rev. J. C. Taylor, and charge by Rev. J. Pierson. The' exercises were all deeply interesting. Mr. Gardner is supplying the church at Clarkson.—SAINIUEL B. SHER RILL was ordained and installed as pastor of the First Church at Meridian, in Cayuga county, on the 4th inst. Rev. IL Dunning, of Jordan, con ducted-the preliminary exercises, and Rev. C. Hawley, D.D. of Auburn, preached the sermon. The Moderator of Presbytery, Rev. Henry Fowler, of Auburn, proposed the constitutional questions, and offered the Ordaining prayer. Rev Chester W. Hawley, of Liverpool, a col lege classmate, gave an appropriate Charge to the Pastor, and Rev. C. Anderson, of Sennett, a faithful Charge to the People. --REV. DAN IEL C. TYLER is about to take charge of the Church of Hermon is SL Lawrence county. few Nuldirationo. ANNOUNCEMENT. Messrs.R. Carter & Bros. announce that they will publish about March Ist from advance sheets received from the author : D'Aubigne's new volumes entitled, THE HISTORY of the RE FORMATION TELE TIME of CALVIN, in two duodecimo volumes. From the proof sheets of the first volume kindly sent us by the publishers, we extract thee - following sentences found in the author's "American Introduction:" " The author asks himself whether this work will he received with any interest in America, or whether the anxieties that now pre-occupy the minds of the-citizens, are not too absorbing to leave roam for-sympathy with the story of the olden times. He, 'however, hopes that the his tory of the struggles of a heroic republic in-past ages, may prove some relief to the anxieties of the present. It is satisfaction for an author to know that his within will be transmitted to a distant nation by virtue of an honorable dom mercial arrangement. This the author has found in . his dealings with Messrs. Carter d; Brothers; and he puts• it to the honor of the American nation, that these editions published by the' Messrs. Carter, from which alone he de rives 'some advantage, will be purchased by the citizens of the United States, and that they will not countenance the pirated editions that other booksellers may issue, without his consent." MESSRS. CARTERS of `New Yor4 have repub lished two small, but welcome, volumes from the pens of distinanished Piesbyterian divines of Great Britain, already well and favorably known in this country. Rev. Dr. Hamilton, author of a long Est of _delightful works, headed with " LIFE in EARNEST," has just added to the list a series of sketchei:_based on the events of the forty days after the Resurrection, and entitled : " A MORNING BESIDE TTIE LAKE OE GALILEE." Its style is clear and sweet, it abOunds in delicate yet homely touches, it breathes a spirit of true devotion ; if it does not feartle or electrify. it holds nS just as surely by the charm of ease and gracefulness Which pervades it; and the pro , 6 of extensive reading , :and culture contained is in this small volume are surprising, though is tlikd in due 2 subordination to the main obi , of enforcing the lessousof this interesting per of the , Saviour's life.--The other volume is fr :'• an author of, a very different stamp—Dr. (31,1 1 - - rie of the Free thurch Scotland, who gives n' volume of twelve. sermons entitled," SPEAKP: , to the HEART, or SERMONS for the PEOrLt The Titles are: Neglected warnings ; Fear, the fruit of the divine forgiveness; The undeeayli= Power and. Grace of God; The Grace of Fai•:. (two, sermons ; ) The Grace of Hope; The GI, of (lharity ; The Good Fight; The Trial Trinmph of Faith; The True Test; Spirr.l- Viiima; The Apostolate.. These sermons diiting,uished for a directness of aim and arp , -- a strength and pithiness of expression a z] i an energy of thought that hurries the reader to current, .without break or pause. They ' and are calculated to have an immediate t , .. upon the conscience. For sale at the Prey! , :l roan Book store. BLACKWOOD for JANUARY has been rei lisped by L. Scott & New York and is I.: sale by W. B. Zieber of Co., his city. REV: MR. ADGREY'S BOOK-" THE IRO FURNACE; OR, SLAVERY AND SECESSION, " / 1 appeared. We will give a full notice "t'' week. FEB. 19, "MERLE D'AITIIIGNE."
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers