ToL VII, No. 16.—Whole No. 358. Use Me. m m. bonar, Mark use of me, my sbd ? Let me be not forgot * - A broken vessel oastasido—- One whom thou needest not. I am thy creature. Lord, And made by bauds divine; And I am part, however mean, Of this great world of thine. Thou usqst all thy works— The weakest things that be; Bach has,a'service of its own; For-all things wait on thee/ Thon nsest the high Stars, The tiny drops of dew, The giant peak and'little hill; My Gpd, oh, use me tori! Thou nsest tree and flower, The rivets vast aM small; The eagle great, the little r bird That sings upon the wall. Thou j»sest the wide sea, , . The little hidden lake, ’ The pine upon the Alpine cliff. The lily nr*the brake : The huge rook in the vale, The sapd grain by,the sea,, The thunder of the rolling clOnid, The murmur of the bee. All things do serve thee here— All creatures, great and small; Make use of me, of me, my God, The weakest of them all. famspnienct. THE CHURCH IN THE WOODS. Just at the entrance of a beautiful forest, near out* house; .there Stands a little old-fash ioned ehuroh. Beside it; the grand old trees, keep constant guard, and on the green space around It, bloom many sweet and .delicate wild dowers. Far from the. noise and bustle,, of the world, in the deep, hush of the woods, a. few Christians-meet here, on alternate Sabbaths, to listen to. the word of God. The good Methodist pastor has several churches upon his circuit, yet he comes on the appoint ed day, fresh and earnest, to speak 'to the people. The most attentive and sometimes the largest part of the congregation is com posed of soldiers, who come from the Parole Camp. Upon the last Sabbath, I saw two „ in tears, while the preaoher spoke from the words, Will a man, rob God ?” Ai we left the ehuroh, a tall fine-looking young man addressed himself to the children dd our company, saying: “ You remind me of my little sisters' in Indiana,” , < “ How long, have you been,ia the service ?” I inquired. “ Two yearshe replied, have been in many Dalitles, and, have, see : n*'at; good many hardships—of tbe original number of my company, only nine arb Remaining and I am one of ll “ God has beep very kind to in*spab ing your life and heblth/' remarked one of the ladies; “ I amglad that you try. to spend! the Sabbath aright, andl hope you look, to God for his blessing.” “ Yes,’ * said the boy, “ I always try to keep the Sabbath, and do as I ongh^—l wish and hope, to live till the war is over, and see my father and mother, and sisters and brothers tin the west again.’* - May God bless, all the brave boys* who. amidst the .manifold temptations of camp and field, are sincerely trying to do their duty. May He lead them to rest on, the perfect atoifoment of our Saviour. Atintiono, DR. GUTHRIE Ok PRESBYTERIAN UNION. Otfb readers will be interested yrith fur ther aeoounts of the great discussion in'the Free Church Assembly, on Union. ‘ We give below a large part of the fervent and cha racteristic appeal of Rev. Dr. Cuthrie, in favor df the measure : ' I shall 1 not detain the House longj nor do I think it: will be necessary to do so. But before proceeding further, there is another confession perhaps I should make, and it is this—that I have always had a. warm,side to the Seceders.lt is a possible thing that love may blind nay judgment; fe at f would rather any day be blinded by love than hatred. I am thankful: fdr the disposition —if I possess it—to think tod well of people, rather than too ill of them; ’ But my regard for the seceders—-if I may toe allowed to allude, to a personal matter-*-! would not refer to it esoept in so far as it hearsiupon this question, now before us—l say, py re gard for seceders is not a causeless prejudice, but is founded upon a better, knowledge of that body than many in this Souse have.Oneof my parents, sir, was a seceder, a holy and sainted mother; and how she would have rejoiced to ? See this day!, My mother abd other two members of my family felt them selves constrained, by the thrusting in of an unpopular minister into the collegiate charge of Brechin, to leave the parish church; and in consequence of the accommodation m the parish church bging rather deficient, when we were yotihgwe were alh seceders We were sent to the secession church, until I came to was m thc of sitting in the Burgher church until, the time when X came to belong Fr^e Church, and was otherwise engaged, ! gene rally woirahippnd on thqSabba^^ the Burgher church of Brechin. I donot thet mother .Wl'l'tat reverenoe for the Bihte afl the P l ea rp. of God, ore.l tree yet trety old; Aet 1 ton. ed to regard the sanctity 0 .' £ g co t c b that I learned religion; and those principles of civil and ?-|JPi^ e th e r whichhave made mdhate opprdfeion, Whetne iit appears 1 ih the shape of a Pope; or a pre late, or a patroa r or an ecclesiastical dema gogue, Sir, I- have been behind the soenesj jof the secession body. I have seen them outside in and inside out; ,1 know, more of that .body than a very large number of those here; and I shy, sir,''that 1 the name'(if a Se nder is dear to me j it sounds in my ear like music, and has*won* my heart. While saying this, however, let me remark that l don’t say they were perfect—l don’t, know anybody that is perfect but my friend'there (Profes sor Gibson), who lias nothing to confess at all. Let ho man'say he Will not change. jßurghers and anti-Burghers, Lifters and anti-Lifters, have 1 Changed 1 ' immensely since the olderi time, with- their aversions* in times past to paraphrases and hymns, to gowns and'hands, to a cross On the outside of the church or,any ornament whatever in the in-,; side, and there is no denying, that our friends, were a little harrow. There are more things however, in the world thaii narrowness, , though we are told that .tjie way of life is harrOW. There are jots and tittles in the Word of God—-there are pins as well as pil lars in the tabernacle ; arid while I am not a man of, points,, but a man -of principles, arid ' points and principles axe as far asunder as the two poles, nevertheless, I , have lived , long enough to see that broad things,may be more s?;Pg er , o h s than narrow, and that a) broad Church may he more unsafe for a man to be in than a narrow orie. r It is said that my friends the seceders were narrow and gharled, but I 1 say that if they, were so, they were a 'gnarled oak, sound to the core, and firinly'fixed in-the ground, and they possessed the temper, above all others, out of which meii like to build ships in which they are to fight battles or ride out the storm. I know the, old seceders well. Perhaps we may find that there wasj.not so muoh differ ence between the old seceders and us now, as there used to be, and this may not be because the old seceders. haye come down to us, but because we hav*e risen up to thefh. I do not think that they have now 1 any right to the exclusive honor of having their name made a reproach because of their piety, but Pre member the day when it was so. I remem her the time that when any man would not swear apd, would not .drink, and who held family, worship, and would talk to a man about, his soul, and rebuke a man for his fault—l say, I remember the time when such j a man was sheered at as a seceder. Iremem ber very will being tdld once by Dr. Burns, of Kilsyth, that he was l once traveling in a : Stage coach; north of Aberdeen, when'he en countered, a farmer, who it turned out, was on the way to see his njinister about baptism. Dr. Burns seized the opportunity of putting in a word into the,man’s ear, and speaking to'him about the importance of the ordinance, .whereupon the man looked at him astonish ed, and said, “Ye’ll be a Siribeder man ’ ’ and when' Dr. Burns repudiated' the connectiorr and told him that he was mistaken, that, so far. from, being, a seceder, he; was a minister of the Established , Church —the man was more astonished-still, and said. to him, “ If ,yer no a seceder, then ye’ll be frae the, i South.” He added, “ We dinna trouble our sels much about these things here; The fact is, if the lairds are guid to uS,we dinna fash oursels about the ministers.” I will ' here add another case from my own experi ence. I was going down once to my own” 'village of Arbirlot, upoii the coach, when, 'between Dundee and that; place, a man came, up, upon the vehicle, who was pretty drunk. ■He was,not, drunk, fc the, old definition of the term, for he could both speak, and in a measure he could walk.. This man had no sopner got on the.top of the coach than he began swearing immensely, and while I was thinking how I should close up the blasphe mer’s mouth, and whether such an attempt would not be like casting pearls before swine, hisineighbor om the. other sidb of the coach' turned, round to him, and solemnly and affec- * tionately rebuked him-; whereupon,, with his • eyes rolling, in his head, and his speech thick : .in his mouth, and a. fiendish sneer mantling, ~ his cheeks, looked, round to the man whq : had rebuked him, and said: “ Ye’ll doubtless be a seceder.” In this case the drunken man uttered a truth. I, knew that the gen tleman who had rebuked him was a secession minister. I tell you, however, and tell my friends who are sitting in this House to-day, that the day has gone by for, such remarks as. this, and the seceders, have no longer the right tobe reproached in that jway for godliness., , I hope that thrill make, the union all the more hearty and easy, for I re peat the seceders have not come down: to us, but the Free Chureb people have gone up to them;' That being the state of matters, I say I don’t believe-the descendants of those secedersj know for feited their title to be considered worthy of their, ancestry. riqr; ( have I any; such; fears. It is quite true that we bad with them rather a keen controversy a.good many years ago, and I took part in that controversy. They very gallantly" attacked the Established Church, and* I along with' others did my best very gallantly to defend it. The war was very hot, arid as shell 1 and shot were going, some- men were lost* and we had wounds, at least some of ns had, wounds to heal. In re gard to myself, however, allow me to say,, sir, that my wounds were healed, long , ago. The fact isj ]C have, a. good constitution, and in mv case wounds, do not run into running sorbs*. My wounds, I say, are not only all healed, bijt skmned over. We defended Es tablishments as long as we thought them worth defending; and'in doing so we did what ? We did our- duty, sir. It is a very curious thmgHhat.all those, with hardly any exception, who defended Establishments in 1848, left them, and left, them never to re turn, and left them never thinking of return ing. And we have cause to bless God with all our hearts for his kindness to us since that .day. Well, T say that'the whole question of Church endowment so far it is a practical question, is dead and.’gone;, and I say you must not get up that old ghost to frighten me with. You may aS well: insist upon a community of sentiment in regard to many questions. If you are going to stirt all man ner of theoretical questions like these, you will riot only prevent union between these two Churches, but you will prevent union between men and women in this world. I heard them in Geneva talk a great deal about indi viduality. I do not altogether understand ■ what (they meant by that, but I say, if you go ori in this way, you will reduce, the whole M. B. M. PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1863: CbHrefies' of Cfiristendota' to mdividuaiity, and Bring us all into the condition of tfic most worthy, pious, able, and, ns he thought, logicaXmafo; Dr. Stewart. This worthy man was in the positiomof havingeno living souk to worship,with him, except his hoUSekeeper; and when, his housekeeper died he, was left, alone. , But supposing I had to, face the, question as W whether .Government would wish us again to go bank and form the. Established Church—l say it is a, most imlikelysuppo sition—but supposing, I Say, that the State were to come to our door here,* with their representative, and should say to us as the Free Church;!“Gomeback on your own conrj ditions ; we will, grant you all that you "ask.” I for one would beverymuch inclined to an swer them.according to, the Scotch fashion, asking another question, and it would, he this : “ When did. the State ever do anything of the kind'?” I believe the State Will do that when his Holiness the Pope will destroy the medal that commemorates the massacre of St. Bartholomew. Ifj'hdwevei-; any man would push me into such a corner, and say, “ I insist upon a direct answer to my ques tion,” I am,gr<qjared to give an answer, to; it in this way,: “If the State,offers us everything that we demanded in 1848, —if she offers us spiritual independence, the abolition of pa tronage, protection from the Court of Session -if;- in fact,* she‘offers us everything we want,’/on the understanding that we take it and restore the union between the Church and State, and, the question! were, then put to. uSj “ Wilhyou unite with the Seceders or with State ?” .1 would; prefer tbpsece dcrs, X would say I would not take it. And I. will tell you the reason. I would not re fuse to take it so much on account of any theoretical idea I Way have—although I have no hesitation in saying that I now- as* minister of Free St. John’s, see the connec tion, between Church and State from a dif ferent stand-point than I saw it when I was minister of Old St., John’s; but;l would not take it for this, reason, that the States of this world are hot in the condition to entertain that question. Bring them, you say ? Well I think itpjrill be time enough to consider the questions*#heh they come up to that point; but I repeat, they are not in that - position which would warrant the union of Church and State; hut rather in the condition which’ makes Paul foi bid the banns, and: say, “Be not unequally yoked’together;with,unbeliev ers.” " , , Moreover, I turn up the page of history, and I find that the State has never kept faith with the Church in any age. Age after age, and by act after act, and in spite of the * most solemn obligations, they have tried to • restrain the liberties of the Church of Christ. I can now walk on my own feet, and when the State comes and offers me a pair of crutches, I say to her, keep them to yourself. For the-moment 1 take the crutches, become accustomed 1 to them, and lose the power of : my own limbs, she comes to me, knocks the crutches from beneath me, and I fall a slave at her feet. I therefore say I decline such a proposition. But then Why should we hear anything about it ? Our friends, the. United Presbyterians say, “We, are quite willing to make this an open question.” Why, did we not make the descending obligations of the Covenant ah open question with the Old Lights ? We left the Old Lights to hold • their opinion, and the Old Lights left some ’ of us who did hot believe about the descend- j ing, obligations ofi the; Covenant. That is the i very thing which our United Presbyterian friends propose to do., One would suppose, frpm the speeches that have been delivered, that they have been asking us to give up, our principles and our Confession of Faith, ! and that we wdiild see no more of them, but ■ that they would be “ dolin' the wiater,” as the ‘ old woman said about the minister’s papers. - And I venture to say; from! whatl know* of seceders, that there are no men in all Scot land or Great Britain, who will stand more firmly to the .great principles of the Confes sion. ~, . .... . ~ ’. . . , An appeal has been made to the Susten tation Fund fears. lam sorry for that, and I will' tell you how. There; were appeals made t ! o our ministers about their livings before the Disruption, and, : to' the honor of our ministers; they! said, The livings ! mo ney is not the-question here ; it is-tke prineir pie: ,it is a Divine principle; it is a matter of Christian duty.” Now, that is the ques tion here, K and with one Confession, one Cat echism, and one mode of worship, and, one mode of discipline, andoiie form of'govern ment, and one attachment 'to' the principles of the Disruption', and one opinion as to the spi ritual independence of ■■ the Church arid the liberties of ~ Christ’s people, I for myself—l give, fuller edit to others—hut I-could not but support this union—with tkese.mews 1 could, not oppose it, unless through "pride, or passion, or prejudice. Now, I don’t say lam above the influence of such feelings—we are all liable to err—and others ihay be undfer the influence of them also ; but I just hope and trust that this House, by the decision to which it will-come, will show that she can rise-above fears: connected with ,the: Disrup tion. Wo did a magnanimous act that day; and I have no hesitation in saying, that if, , in,seeking to unite with another Church, we shall rise above passion, and prejudice, and pride, we shall again crown ourselves with as rich and noble honors as on the day when, rising above the fear of oiir families, parting with our livings, parting with* our; homes, parting with all our cherished affections; we made ail that sacrifice, not for the sake of unity, but for the sake of separation., That day saw faith and hope most illustriously exemplified by an act that brought to, men’s minds the olden times, when o ( ur forefathers went down the Bow;, and sang their last Psalnl in the Grass-marke.t, and laid* 'down their life for Christ’s Crown and Covenant. And, Moderator, if, taking all precautions— if,, doing: the. thingfslowly,j and well, and, wisely—we shall comb; to unite/ with our. friends ,of the United Pr e shy teri an Chur.ch as one brotherhood, one Church, one in Christ,, and one before the wond, we shall I illustrate a, yet nobler grace than faith and hope—we shall illustrate the grace bf love; and wlien met in this House,' perhaps that' united Assembly shall* raise the' Psalm with which we began-to-day— i n ' 11 “ Behold how good a thing it is, • - ; And how becoming well, ■ Together, such as brethren are, Ei unity to dwell.” ' ' ’ I can fancy Paul bendiiig from ,KsthrOneih heaven to listen to music'liketlfe music of the spheres, and recalling to his own recol- Section that blessed sentence; “ How abideth' (faith, hope, and charity but the greatest of these is charity.” AUGUSTINE’S DIPENCE OF CHRISTIAN ■ I-JJ; ' ( - WnEN Rome was being taken by the Goths, the disaster was imputed to* the apostacy from the ancient*, faith, ,;i. e.,, heathenism., “Has,the Eternal City really fallen.! ”’ was. the. universal exclamation, throughout the .'empire, when it became known that Alarie had. taken Rome. ,¥alre were not wanting maiiy of the atisteemre' families and' phillj soph'er3 who imputed the disaster to the pub lic apostacy, and in their shame and suffer ing loudly proclaimed thejnation? was : justly punished for itsiabahdohment of the gods of its forefathers* the gods who, had given victory and empire. It became. he«?e,s r sary for the Church to. nieet this accusation, which, while it was openly, urged by thou sands, was dohbtless believed to be true by the silent, and timid, and panic-stricken mil lions. With the intentipinof defenejpg Chris tianity, St. Augustine, jpne of the ablest of, the fathers, solemnly devoted .thirteen, years, of his life to the composition of his great, wprk, entitled .“ ThejOity, of God.” , Ht ie interesting for us tb rbniafk .the ’tone of some', of thesb; replies 'of the Christian to' th ! eif' pagan adversaries. 1 ! ‘ Augnstine says r the manifest dele-- rioration of Roman! 1 manners, and for the impending.dissolufcion. of the State, paganism itself is responsible. (; Our political power *is only of yesterday; it 'jg in no manner, (3on r , . corned with the gradual development of lux-, ury, and wickedness which has been going for the last thousand; years. Your ancestors made war a trade; they laid' under tribute and enslaved the adjacefit nations ; but were not profusion, 1 extravagance; dissipation,'the necessary consequencWof conquest ? Was not Roman idleness the inevitable result of filling Italyfwith slayeg l, * *. We did not suggest to Oaracalia rto admit,all, sorts of people to Roman citizenship, nor dislocate the population by a wild, pursuit of civil .offices I 'or the discharge of military, duties. We did not crowd Italy with'slaves. * * We are not respoMible fof the inevitable .in surrections* poisonings, assassinations, ven geance. We did not demoralize the popu lace by providing tHeih food; games, races, theatres; we have been-persecuted because we would not set our feet in a theatre. We did, not ruin; the Senate'and aristocracy by sacrificing .everything, even ourselves, for the Julian family. * * The fall of the Senate . anteeeded, by afew years, the origin of Christianity; you will not surelysay that, we jrerc the inciters of the usurpations of the •Caesars ? What have we'to do with the army, that engine of violence, which In ninety-two years gave-.you thirty-two emperors and 7 twpnty-scven pretenders to the' throne ? We did not suggest to the Praetorian Guards to put up the. empire at’auction. ;; ' i “ Caif* *you -really wonder that .all this should come to. an end ? We do not wonder; on the contrary Ae thank God for it The, sighing of the prisoner, the prayer ,of the captive are heard at last. Yet the judgment 'has been tempered with mercy. Had the pagan Radogast taken ’ Rome, not' a life !Would have been spared. - The ' Christian ,Alarie, though* a Goth, respects his Christian brethren.and for their sakes you are sayed. ,As to the .gods, those,demons, in 'whom,you trust, did they always ;saye. f y,ou from calam ity ? How long did Hannibal, insult them ? 'Was it a goose or agod that saved the capi tal from Brennus ?' “In the place 1 of this earthly city, this' vaunted* mistress of the world; whose fall closes a long career off superstition and sin,-* there shall arise the ‘City of God.’ The pm-; rifying fire of the Barbarians shall remove her. heathenish defilements, and. make her fit for the kingdijm ojfGhiist,, i Of those who,'in such sentiments defon-, ded the cause of the new religiqiij'.Si. Aiigus 'tine *was the chief. In' his ’ great f wqrk,‘ ‘The Ci ty of God; ’* which may be regarded* as the ablest specimetfofthe ea(rly'Christian liform' ,ture, ! he piirsnes‘his thenie; : if not ih ! the lan guage, at least: in the spirit here presented, and through »(copions detail of many books; — Dr. Draper. ■ ; > THE 10YE OF CHRIST. “ 0 the love of Christ that passethknow ledge !” Where shall I begin my thoughts on this; subject ?. and when begun, how shall I make an end;?: Thjj love, Lord, is, ancient;, thou loyedst us. first, and that when tipere, was no eyq/ tp, pity; thou tookest not on thee “ the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham ;” they afeLound with chains, of darkness whilst'thou art drawing' iis with cords of love. Yea, thou lovedst us when enemies. To have spared our lives had been unexpected,. undeserved 1 mercy ;■ for “ who finds his enemy and lets him go well away?” But, Lord,,thou hast found.me. in mine en mity, and hast pitied me.;, yea, when my. hand, was lifted up against thee, thine arms have been open to embrace.me.. Nay, thou, hast opened thy very heart to lodge thy pro- L fessed energies who have trodden thee under foot. Thy heart burned with 1 affection to ward them that cruelly pierced it. ; “ Here- 1 in Christ hath commended his * love to us, that while We were sinners Christ died for us.” 0. astonishing love ! that the general should die for. the soldier, the, physician for the patient, the master fpr the servant, the shepherd ,%r the sheep, the innocent for the guilty, the just for the unjust, the prince for the rebel, the Lord of glory for the children of disobedience ! He that Was without‘all .sin, for him' that Was without all righteous ness ; yea, theCreator' for?: ‘the * creature, ~Grod for many Whe* righteous Judge, to ' put: himself in , the malefactor’s clothes * and ‘room„and suffer death,,for him! For the blessed. Son of God to jnterppse, .his,; own innocent breast to receive* those mortal wounds due "to ,U 8 ! Behold God all, suffi cient exposed td’ huhger and’ihirst, 1 grief and weariness, reproach“ iS and* indignities of all sorts! Behold, the world’s Saviour -wounded,; mangled, and kiUed' by ungrateful man whom he came to save ! Glorious Saviour, what love was this, that thou- shouldst be come “a' man of ' sorrows * and, acquainted with grief ;” il thaf from the Wdjnb tb the' ■ tomb, from the cradle to the cross, thy Whole life should; be a. continued martyrdom! That - thou shouldst be content to; be: born among, beasts, live, among murderers, and die (thieves; and all to obtain aplace among the blessed for us.!. 1 0 the unfathomable joye of Jesus ! His name is love, his nature isiTove, his words were lovh, and his : actions w6re WilMsori'g Sacramental Directory. THE LATITUDINARIAN TENDENCY OP , MODERN JOURNALISM. , .; JouHNALlSM'in.all its form 3, from its light est leaves appearing in the, morning. of each day, to those; more serious collections, wjfich count their dates, byweeks, pr mo.nthsT—jour Ti nalism .occupies a constantly-increasing sgace in the clbmsiiii of pubfie atterffibn. There are 'shine joutHals devoted* to the defense of fixed; principles, but their readersare comparative ly few in number. To which,'then, belongs 7 the widest circulation ?- ITo those periodicals which, perhaps,, if, not to political, principles, at least to the interests, and pas sions of pne.elass of society, yet present, in , other respects, : the most, complete mixture of opinions the most cqntradictpry. As to, their, morality, an article of a pure tendency may stand side;by I 'side with a most pernicious novel; ■ " ■ 7 * : 1 : .■ 1 A mother 1 will forbid such reading to her daughter. As-do. religion,wan apology for Catholicism,’a. defense of Protestant: princi ples; a eulogy on Deism * may befound'und er : : the same. cover which equally shelters the theses of atheism and,, the doptrines .of nihil ism. , Literary criticism is distinguished by, a dispbMtihh'to .compriso all, in ,order to jus tify all;bYthis refinement, of tolerance which ' tolerates 'everything, evil‘as well’as good. Doubtless; ih these facts we 'see primarily a manifestation of the general state of public opinion; for journalists.see.kfor readers, and study the taste ,;of their subscribers. But thi.s manifestation itself becomes a. cause. These’journals and reviews are" read; but how are they read? " Is it in : a serious add active frame; judging-gravely of the thoughts which pass heforei the eye of the mind ? Do we enter, into these Bazaars Of.'the. intellect with the fir.m ,purpose to prove. all things, and hold fast only that which is good? Such,; indeed’, is the disposition of some,, at lpast, at certain times. B,ut, in general,, periodicals, are not 1 reckoned among oixr serious studies, but are read 'as a pleasant recreation. We open the newspaper‘ at the breakfast-table, we cast our eyes over it hastily before going out, to,the business or amusement of the day. > The review, is, .taken up at (our leisure mo ments, is opened, thrown aside and opened; i again, without any efforts of thought or steady exereike of judgment.’ This'is all . very well as* regards the passing politics of the, .day, the ,local news;! :or the harmless effusions of the imagination. Rut moral and } relisiwo occupy a : .da,ily : increasing , aplace in these fugitive publications; On-the.,., great subjects of. God Himself, of the soul, and of its destiny, we find, in the same ' journal, the most contradictory opinions under the deceptive unity of the same sheet or of the same cover;' When I close* the volumes, of, Pascal: or’Bossuet to open those of. Ypltaire, I am well aware that lam pass-" ing from one region of, the intellectual ;world into, a region wholly different. , If I read the ' newspaper, of one party after the newspaper of the. party opposed to it, I am not ignorant., that I have listened to the advocates of op- • posite 1 principles. But in the present state of the' periodical press, ideas the most con- ; tradictory'pass'before the ininds of carejess readers, who find nothing to* arouse them 'from ; this. carelessness, and who are not Warn ed by any exterior, circumstances, that they are. passing from the writings* of, a. Christian, to those of a deist, or from the.writings of a deist to those of an atheist. . <’The. result of assured, is a ( great unsettling of all belief. Eornted in a school like' this, the youhg co'ntrAcfr the habit of hearing'with in difference' the holiest trutlis affirihed 1 and de nied by turns. Before they have any fixed. Opinions,: .they learn tin listen! to those who! ( tell, them [that firm belief is a, mark of (ignor-; 'anee anfifolly, and that the proof of superir ority of mind And .elevation of thought is to wander freely, in the world of intellect with-, out ever fieing steady to anything.. This is one of the serious ; dangers of our time, and ' points out to Us a great diity. I propose to you, gentlemen, a work : which I know to he difficult,;; b,ut when was it 'ever easy, to aci complish anything great ? ,We must labor, to annihilate this corrupt,and mercenary press, which seeks success alone, careless of the true interest of souls, and which has' directly Inherited the ' sophisms' of ancient Athens; Jt is necessary that a stable opiriion should be formed and prominently brought forward, so as carry with it the Wnters’Who occupy 1 the place of organs and directors of public thought. Without,any proper calhor, authori ty the door must no; longer be; carelessly opened to articles which one day glorify. God and the next day deny, . Him,, , which one morning praise the holiness of, Christian .morality and' the following morning "labor to sap it iff its ihostsaered precepts. In ancient times; the' Greek' Carneades secured the applause of the Roman youth by pronoun cing an eloquent speehh in praise' of justice, and afterward demonstrating with similar eloquence that j ustice is nothing. Cato the Elder, demanded that this - dangerous,man should be immediately expelled, fromthe city. Many of our journals are like Carneades,but the Catos among their subscribers are few.’ T-Prof. Navttle of Geneva. Stated Bible Reading. —l had for many years made it a.pratiee to read through the Bible once a year.. . My custoinis to read four or five, , chapters, eyery morniqg . imme diately after rising from my bed. It em ploys about an hour of my time, and seems to me the most, suitable 1 manner of beginning the day. In what ’light soever we regard the Bible'Whether with reference to revela tion, to history, or to morality, it is an invalu able and inexhaustibleimine of knowledge and virtue —John Quincy Adams. Passing Away. There is a world of beautiful meaning in, the following, rather liberal translation from Freville: ‘ ‘ As the clock strikes the hour, how often we say. Time fliek; when ’tis 'vie that are passiiig avfciy. ' THE MOST WONDERFUL BOOK.| The most wonderful volume in existence*. i% beyond a doubt, the Bible. It is wonder ful .fof its high; pretensions, for its almost in credible claims to, divine origin, foir its ex ceeding antiquity. It is wonderful in its re velation of the being of God, and its decla rations concerning the attributes of this al mighty Spirit. It is wonderful fdr its pro fessed revelation of the creation of the uni verse, the formation of a man, the origin of evil,man’s fall from innocence, and his restoration, to,happiness. - It is wonderful for its daring, chronology, its positive., history, ijts prophetic declarations., It is, wonderful on account of its sublime philosophy, its ex- , quisite ‘poetry, its magnificent figures, its overwhelming r language of description. It is diverse ln p their attainiiients, 1 ctfuritries, lan guages; and educatibh: 1 f "lt‘ is wohdbrfiil foir its boldness- in the use of illustrations, meta phors, figures drawn from every department of human knowledge, from, natural history, from meteorology,: from optics, from astro nomy. It is wonderful for the superior eon eeptihns ofpts writers of the grandeur and magnificence of the; physical universe. It is wonderful it has exposed itself to attack and- destruction at ;every, point of time, ij»y eyer,y ;! discpyery' of man,, by the revelations of geology, chronology, history,, ancient.re maiiis ’ disemboweled, from the : earth, by as tronomy, by‘the diWoVeriekof natural histbry, and above all, by the " non-fulfilment of its ’ historical predictions. Andit is most of all wonderful, that up to-the present time, in the opinion of hundreds of thousands of the, judi cious,-reflecting, and reasoning among earth’s, > inhabitants,, during .three thousand; years since its .first book was -written, it has, .main tained ijts ,high authority, and Has retained m ail this vast lapse of time a powerful sway over the human mind. If has not n escaped‘oveithrow for lack of enemies; It has been-assailed at every point —its history, its theology, its chronology its cosmogony, its astronomy, its geology, - all these in their turn .have been .attacked :by the cultivators of science, and by the onward movement and development of each succeed ing age: .All .else dies, while the Bible sur vives: Evefi the nation from whence it sprang, -the languages ifi which it was com posed, the countries of its' birth, - scarcely exist but ; in its marvellous pages. If indeed it-be thel word of the ever-living God, then indeed the mystery,, is revealed; but if this high ; claim; cannot be maintained, he who disb.elieves-must frame a theory by which the present facts may be reasonably explained. —-Prof . 0. M. Mitchell- PIOUS MEN THE NATION’S HOPE. ) .Such is.the. .title, of an able and timely sermon from thcpen’of Dr. G. B- He of the •First Baptist Church, Springfield, Massachu setts. had; the effect of leading .Christian men to examine,more nar T rowly than ever before into the character of our Constitution and and to test them by the supreme stattflard—God’s law. And the examination hab l not lproved satis factory, i - The eyes of-many havc : Wen open ed to the, moral defects of both. DKJde, at the beginning. of his scrmon, makes tfiesfol lowing wholesome remarks in regard to the. ■prevalent disposition of human governments' •to ignore the law and authority of God. Though :therb is not that distinct recognition of the kingship of Jesus which'We would like, yet ithe truth is partially reached. “In nothing, perhaps, is the spirit of prac tical infidelity more manifest, than; in the views which are generally entertained re specting the connection of God. with human governments. By many the very idea of any such connection, involving as it does the fact of His imsSediate, control over them, and consequently of their public and absolute ac countability to Him, 1 is derided as the off spring of'fanaticism or of felfy. 'Multitudes; who acknowledge the existence of a great First Cause —the Maker and Upholder of the universe—virtually repudiate the truth that. Hc superintends the affairs of nations, setting up. one and putting down another, and dispensing to all their appointed desti nies.’ Eveja those who adrift the personal responsibility under which He has placed them,'and fecognize’Hisdiw aSthe rule by which they are now "to live, and by which theyare hereafter to be judged,sehm,in numer ous instances, to forget that He exercises the same; sovereign -authority over man in his Polleptiye capacity, as in his individual dbn ditipn, snd eharacteij. ; ; “ If we would know, the extent to which this denial of God as the Supreme, Euler actual ly prevails, we have but to cast oiir eyes over Christendom, to' perceive everywhere the, proofs of its 'mournful and guilty predomi J nance. On the lands so denominated has' shone the light of-a dispensation that-is full of God, and which sets Him forth as the omniscient.. Inspector and, Judge; of human conduct. lu' the hands of their .population is found thaf inspired Volume, in which the Almighty has declared His will, and asser ted His sovereignty; and by many of them Christianity, in a form more or less Corrupt, is vauntingly proclaimed as the religion of the State. But where shall we look for the evidence that* its power is felt and its pre cepts obeyed ? Where is.: the government that is either founded and administered on principles strictly Christian? Of what na tion can we pronounce, that in its structure, its institutions, its legislation, its internal polity, its foreign relations, in a word, its whole - official character, it God as its Author and Defender, and bows with holy fear to His supremacy ? There is hot, pro-; perly speaking, a Christian government on earth. Whatever; the profession they, make; : or the name they, bear, they are all deeply pervaded by an,impious disregard of the Di vine authority and , superintendence. The whole world has revolted from its . rightful King; and nations, no less than‘individuals, have conspired to * break His bands asun der, arid cast His cords from them.’ • “Abd yet Revelation most clearly teaches that? Jehovah is the absolute Disposer of na tional welfare, and the-immediate Arbiter of national conduct; ‘ The Most High ruleth: in the kingdoms of men.’ ‘He is Gover nor among, the nations.’ ‘He doeth ac cordjng.to His will in the army, of heaven, and among the inhabitants of. the earth, and J none cah stay His hand,' or say -unto Him, UESESEK BVAIGELIST.-—WhoJs: 10. 895. Wh.a.t doest Thou?’ His supervision ex tends to the whole human family, alike in its separate members, and in its aggregate bodies. ‘He hath determined their times, and the bounds of their habitation.’ What ever of civil freedom, of social advantage, of public seciirity and happiness they enjoy, is; all bestowed and by Him. And when disaster and; ruin overtake them, it is hand' ,thent for their sins, and vindicating His insulted majesty. “ When He .giveth quietness, who; then can make trouble? And (when He judeth His face, who then caft behold Him, whether it be dime against a nation, or a man only?” Answer of the English Clergymen to the AMress of the French Protestant Pear Brethren :—We, whose names are share in' your views, we rejoice l in your zeal, and we are thankful for your exhortations. It is honorable to France, and to -French Protestantism, that you so heartily wish the destruction of the slave system, which makes four millions.of negroes wretch ed, debases their masters, has been a vast calamity to a great" Protestant. nation, and dishonors Christ; by whose professed ser vants it 1 is upheld. Like yourselves, we feel a deep compas sion for the slaves, who are a part of the human family, we wish by all means in our [lower to discourage those who are seeking to.foupd an empire on their degradation; and we wish success to all just and humane measures for their deliverance. With these .Sentiments,, we beg to assure you, that, following where you have so nobly taken the lead, we shall do what we can to accomplish those benevolent objects to which you invite our-attention. Accept, our fraternal wishes that you may enjoy, the favor and blessing of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. . Baptist W. Noel, London. . Thomas Guthrie, D.D., Edinburgh. Newman Hall, LL.B., London. -J. Burns, D.D., London. J. J. Taylor, 8.A., London. J. Bayley, M.A., Ph. Dr., London. 'J. W. Massie, 8.D., LL.D., London. J. H. Bylance, A.K.C., London. ; Wni. Arthur, London: J. ou'rwir!, l j laistow, London. W-Dorling, London. S S. Percy, Guildford. ‘3. C. Street, Manchester. Good wynßarmhy, WestgateParsonage, W akefield. ,M. Bowie, D.D., : Kinghorn Manse. Marmaduke Miller, Darlington. Thomas Raffles, D.B;, LL.D-, Liverpool. Alexander Thomas, M.A., Manchester. C. M. Birreil, Liverpool. /S. D. D .D.,, London. \ Robert B. Drummond, 8.A., Edinburgh. H. Gale, 8.C.L., Near Taunton. W,; Walters,; Newcastle: .. .4 T. Pulsford,-Exeter. And nearly four thousand MORE. BRACE WITHOUT SENSIBLE COMFORT. Many are apt to think nothing is a feast unless they get smiles from God, joy, peace and sensible manifestations of his love; hut .there may be great bounty shown to us with out these ; particularly if you have got any more sense of-sin’s evil, or concern for the -hardness of y our hearts ; if you have got any 'higher, os,teem, of Christ, and of the coatri- Vanceof salvation through his mediation; if you any, more hanger and thirst after Christ, ana more love to holiness and the ways of Christ, ‘ any more desire after his presence m'duties and ordinances, anymore sense of your heed of the fountain of his blood; then all these are gracious tokens of his bounty to,your soul, ; for which you have cause to bless and magnify the Lord; . We may enjoy the saving influences of the Spi rit, when we do not feel his more abundant consolations. God may graciously accept of us,, though he d'o not testify it by' giving us extraordinary joys. The' truest commu nion with God is to enjby communion with him in his graces, whereby our souls are .made conformable unto God, and are stamp ed with his image. Well, if you have got any, more grace, be thankful to God, though you have got no more comfort. Though you ; do-not enjoy much of God in the ordinances here, yet be thankful if you get your desires mordenlarged after the full'enjoyment of God above. The kindness of God must not be overlooked, nor the day of small things despised; but the least crumb of grace is to be noticed and received with thankfulness; and this is the way to get more.— Willisons Sacramental Directory. • THE HIGHER EXPERIENCE. A person may. he lifted up into such a sympathy with God, and elevated into such a moral state, that he shall know how to clasp'an evil, and wear it. So it was with the. apostle. God, sent him a tljorn in the flesh, where it and gave him extreme pain; Thrice he besought God to remove it; but God’s reply to him was, “My grace is sufficient for * thee; ” He asked that the thorn might be taken away, and his prayer was answered; but it was, answered by a better method than removing the evil—by making him willing and able to bear it. Bor I tell you that trouble which we can hear joyfully, is better treated'than trouble that is taken away. There ;is under it more manhood, more strength, more conscious power of being. And so God . hears the prayers of those that importune Him,, and then lifts them up into such sympathy with Himself, and such near ness to eternal things, that in , a high state of mind they learn to bear troubles which in a lower state would crush them. The unrestricted development of all our faculties the inferior as well as the more ele vated, is the highest.attainment, yet he who finds by experience' that he'cannot cultivate' certain faculties^—the artistic for example— without injury to his holiest feelings, ‘must renounce their : cultivation, and first of all preserve, by painstaking fidelity, the central principle of his soul, the life imparted by Christ, which, in the manifold distraction of his powers, can so easily be lost.—Olshau sen. ' Rity and patience are the two keys which uhlObk fhe'human heart. '
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers