“WE GLORY IN TRIBULATIONS ALSO.” .Not merely when wo enjoy prosperity; not merely when we are in health and strength, and our neighbors, friends and relatives are all woll ; not merely when everything moves ns we desire, but when all things seem to be against us. That which tbo heart loves most may be taken from tis, also those whom we love most; but ‘‘Weglory in tribulationsalso.” Our own,lives, or llio lives of those who are nearest and dearest to us, may be in the utmost peril; but “we glory in tribulations a 15,0.” Pressures without, trials, dangers, temptations, afflictions, deaths, only drive us the nearer to God, so that “ we glory in tribulations also.” The heart may bo very sad; nay, it may be well’nigh Wdken; but the supporting band of our God enables us to “ glory in tribulations also.” Tbe oil and the wine of his consolations give us great joy in the midst of our great sorrows; so that “we glory in tribulations also.” The other, day this passage of the Word of God came to my mind with great loroe. I had been thinking of the' trials, perils And deaths of those in the army, and of: the anxieties, fears and sorrows of their friends at home; yes; in some cases, of broken hearts at home. Frequently bad. hearts in our community been made very sad by the report of the deaths of dear o;e3 in'the army, and, a few hours before, We learned that one more was added to the number of the dead. Others’ hearts were made very sad indeed. . But ! thought of due who had drank of the longest, fullest and bitterest cups of sorrow, and drank them to tho very dregs. One who, (ike his divine Master, had been tried in a’most every way; and yet the sustaining grade and the conso lations of his Heavenly Father bad enabled him to “ glory in tribulations also;” and I thought that ho who could' . aDd did so pour his consolations into the heart of Paul,' that he could “ glory in tribnlations also,” ban do tbe same thing for every sad heart in tho land. He can make every sad heart a joyful heart. He can sustain under every crush of-earthly adversity. He Jean bring the greatest good out of, the sorest earthly- sorrows. Earthly ties out may be the means of loosing them from earth and binding-them to heaven, The de struction of oftrthly joys may be produc tive of heavenly joys. As earthly com forts die, heavenly comforts revise. As “friend After-friend departs,” we draw the nearer to our Heavenly Friend. When earthly supports are gone, we rest on the heavenly; we rely on One who “will never leave us nor forsake us." Sad of heart* ’ wo look up, and amid the deep darkness of earth we see flight in God’s'light.” Weoan exclaim “ The Lord l is my light and my salva tion; whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I he afraid t” But what is tribulation f The word comes from tho'Latin, tribute— to thrash. 1 My mind reverted to the various modes of threshing —the rough flail of former 1 years, and the threshing instruments of the ancients. But whatever may Be the mode, whether by beating or tramp ling by boasts, was there any glory to the wheat to bo thus roughly used? Might it exult in the usage received? Yes, if it would have looked forward a little; for without that usage it was un fit for storing away, or for service. Its roughest treatment did not injure tho wboat; it only removed the chaff. So with tho wheat that shall be gath ered into God’s groat granary. The ebaff must first be removed. That ebaft is unfit for heaven : and oh, how much of it some of us have! How much there is about us that is unlike heaven, and unfit for heaven I How much that tho flail, or tribulation, must remove 1 Sunshine and careful handling will not separate the ohaff from the wheat. It must receive some rougher usage. Even our modern inventions, though they are easier for man, are no less /rough for the wheat. The rough, fearful looking machine, when in motion, seems as if it would- bruise the grain to utter destruction. But it is only a means of fitting it for the garner. So, whatever kind of tribulation God may use is not intended for our destruc tion, but for our purification. Header, .’ do you realise that all things work to getber for your good ? Paul could say, “We know it." Do you know it? If so, whatever it is, or however severe it may be, you may glory in it. In this place Mr. Barnes informs us that tribulations mean “afflictions. The word used here refers to all kinds of trials which men,are called to endure." -Then every kind of trial you are called to endure you may glory in, as a means of fitting you for God’s use and his garner. As I have soon the wife, whose husband is far off iri the Army ot the Po totnac going to and returning from the post offico, I have thought, how many prayers are put up by snob, and by others, as they walk on the same errand. They pray for dear ones far away, and for sustaining grace. I am greatly mistaken if this cruel war does not oause multitudes to draw nearer to God than they otherwise would have done. Many know better whoro their strength lies, than they did three years ago. How many have been brought to feel that they neod strength which can only come from God; that they need consolations which no friend but God can give. And how many are learning these great les son'B of divine life. Look at these things by tbe light of faith, and can you not exult in that which makes you better; which brings you nearer to God; which draws out your heart after' him; which fills you with consolations that earth can neither give nor take away? Oh, who would not exult, in-that which brings him. nearer to God; keeps' him nearer, and makes him more Godlike ! Who would not exult in that which strips him of his chaff? Who would hot glory in that through which God prepares him for heaven, and without which: there is no crown ? The great company of tho redeemed are those “ who came up out of great tribulation.” Those who reign flrith .Christ must suffer with him. Peter exhorts us: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you ; as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with ex ceeding great jo y. Is opt heaven worth the sorest trials; and if they are God’s means for prepar ing us for heaven, shall we not rejoice jn them? I know that ■“ no chastening for the-present seemeth to be joyou~, ;but. grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto thorn which- are ex ercised thereby.” Indeed, wo only need to have faith, and wo will glory in everything which befals us under tho providence of God. James Kerr. THE WORD OF GOD, WITHOUT NOTE OB COMMENT. Ms. Editor:— Some few days since you. gave us an account of a reply to several gentlemen in the cars, who were advancing'‘infidel and immoral senti ments,who were most effectually silenced by a single passage of scripture uttered by a timid and delicate lady. It oc curred to the writer that he had wit iiesßed a somewhat different scene, in respect to some circumstances, but simi lar in its results. They were in brief the following: The last time our General Assembly met 1 at Cleveland, the writer, in com pany vri th several other clergy men, near the close bf Saturday, tobk the cars on the Cleveland and Mahoning Bailroad to go into the country to pas® the Sabbath with friends andTeturn the following Monday. In oiie of these cars,' and near the seats of three of these brethren, sat a well-dressed and apparently intelligent lady, who waited only for the cars to get under way, when she commenced a most furious and bitter attack upon all ministers in general and' upon those sitting near her in particular. She hurled her slang with such fury and directness at the one who sat nearest to her that he soon became silent, thinking that it was of little use to contend with one who gave such fearful evidence of derangement. But, there wore so many marks of order or system to her madness, that she evidently felt she had gained a most complete victory over ’the minister of Christ; s feeling with which it was evident enough soverat in the cars now warmly sympathized. Her heaviest attacks were made against the Bible; her great objection to ministers and other Christians was, they professed to regard it as the word of God and to cherißh a sincere respect for it as the volume of eternal truth. Her system seemed to be a kind of cross between downright infidelity arid what we must call, for want of a more definite name, spiritualism, or the absenoe of all respect for the past and a most pro found respeot for herself and her opin ions. At this juncture of affairs the writer, who had been a not very easy spectator or patient listener, rose and coolly seated himself as near to the lady as was agreeable to either party, perhaps, and remarked to her in a somewhat sub dued tone of voice that she had spoken very freely and very bitterly of the Bible, to say nothing further. She raised a keen black eye and fastened it fully upon him. “ Yes,” she at length replied, “ so I have; and there is .enough more of the same in kind, for I know and feel that I have spoken tbo truth.” “ Very well,” replied the writer, “ I PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY. AUGUST 18, 1864. do not propose to enter upon an argu ment witn you to convince you of tho truth of the Bible, or the absurdity of your views on those other topics which you have named; on the contrary I shall leave you to the full enjoyment of all you have advocated here, as far as it can afford you any enjoyment; and shall content myself with repeating a single passage of that Bible lor which you profess to cherish such profound contempt. I do not purpose either to defend it, as the word of God, or com ment upon it, or endeavbr to set forth its applic.ibleness to the case in hand, but shall leave you to yofir reflections, King confident that you will find no difficulty in discovering its import and in perceiving its bearing on tho present occasion.” The writer here paused, as if in no haste— but in spirit lifting jiis thoughts to God, that his word migfat.in this case prove “ sharper than a two-edged sword." She waited a moment as if in expecta tion of Bomethiog for which she felt that she was riot wholly prepared; waited, but evidently not wholly at ease. “Well, let us hear it, whatever it may be. What is it ?” and with what 1 of solemnity we could command, we repeated the following: “ God shall send them strong delusion; that they may believe a lie; that they all may be damned —who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.” We endeavored to follow the shaft to see whether it took effect; we thought it did; we 'still think So; with out seeming to be aware of it,she dropped her eye, hitherto so defiant, as if to let her heart bleed. We left ber to her reflections and_returned to our original seat. She seemed to think of nothing but the word; was evidently ill at ease. The place where we were to leave was hero anriounced, and we left her to her conscience and her God. Z—a. THE AMERICAN SOLDIER, [We commend the following senten ces, written by the father of one of our Philadelphia volunteers, now alas! no more, to the regards oi all his surviving comrades in the field.] 1 To occupy the humblest grade in that immense organization, the Army of the United States, at this day, is An honor to all who enter it. To beconre the de fender of one’s country on fields of dan ger and death, in any icase, is to be a benefactor in a high degree. While to enter into this struggle and become a legally constituted soldier of the Great Republic is, in a sense, to be tbe custo dian of tho privileges and the rights of man ! Let the digriity of a position like this never be undervalued. It is truly a privileged eminence by the tacit but spontaneous admission of vast numbers of the most estimable of our citizens. And when in the person of a soldier, it is attended with ingenuousness of ex pression and utterance, decorum of ban ners and good principles, it by common : consent becomes the passport not only to the courtesies, but to the peculiar consideration of all. This sentiment, not long since, was touchingly express ed by an estimable, accomplished young lady, whb declared with emphasis that, whenever by chance circumstances she found herself among strangers, a sense of safety came immediately to her relief provided the badge or uniform of a sob dier was visiblo or near at hand. Who that is a young man, would not glory in being able at once and at all times, to inspire such a feeling in such a breast ? Would to Heaven ! that our soldiers with one accord might determine to fully justify a feeliog of reliance like this. “Blast not the hope that friendship;bas con ceivod But fill its measure high I” This though first written two thou sand years ago, is a good and beautiful sentiment, to which every soldier should give a lodgment in his breast. Made strikingly conspicuous- by his voluntary act of enrolment arid devotion to duty in his country's cause, the soldier is an object of solicitude to all, but inexpres sibly so to relatives' and friends. He who gives evidence of possessing one marked excellence seems to justify the inference that it mast, iri his case, be accompanied with other -.good quali ties beside. Even courage and patriot ism become more resplendent when associated with refined manners and exalted virtue. The vices of camps are proverbial the world over, and profanity and intern* perance seem absolutely inseparable from them. “ Foul words," it has been said, “ pollute the soul!” ; Indulgence in strong drink, in the observation of all, first degrades, and then destroys both body and soul. With what watch fulness, in his circumstanceSjShonld the soldier guard against vioos like these. How strenuously should hk avoid every contaminating habit and ijoWiShun as a contagion the foul mouthai apd the in temperate 1 How instead if |ieiding to | bad influences, should he set himself with determination to add one more to tho list of those who, though soldiers, “kept tbe whiteness of their souls,” and left examples to the world to which mankind delight to look up. M. THOMAS OHALMEBS, THE APOSTLE OF CITY MISSIONS—VI. The comprehensive, many-sided ac tivity of Dr. Chalmers for the kingdom of Christ on earth, led him to those grand schemes of church extension which, after centuries of inaction In. Scotland, resulted in the erocti.on 0f225 churches in tho Established Church, and, after the disruption, to the erection of six or seven hundred more in the Free Church. But great ‘and successful as were these efforts, they were too gene ral for his, aims. His soul was still drawn to those labours for the masses, who could not or would not, be profited by the ordinary modes of Christian ef fort, but who must be sought afterdn their own miserable homes, and raised by personal effort to civilization and to Christianity. The attention of Chris tian,people and of the ministry was not sufficiently drawn to this great and ne cessary work. And Dr. Chalmers, now at last professor, not of mathematics but of Divinity, in the University of Edinburg,' and drawing toward the term of three-score years and ten which he never reached, felt himself responsi ble for one telling exemplification of his great plans for evangelizing the masses of the city. In a letter to a friend he says: • I could not in my own individual strength, even though aided by tho en ergies of all tny acquaintances, ever think of coping with this enormous evil en masse, or in all its magnitude and en tireness. ! feel very confident as to the likeliest- steps by which, piecemeal and successively, the whole even of this great anu growing evil might be overtaken. But the most that I can personally un dertake to do is, to work off one model or riormal specimen of the process by which a single locality might be re claimed from this vast and desolate wilderness : and after the confirmation of my views by a made-put experience of this sort, pressing it on the'imitation of all other philanthropists of all other localities, —sueh do I hold to be the effi ciency of the method, with the divine blessing, that perhaps, as the concluding act of my public life, I shall make the effort to exemplify what as yet I have only expounded. - . In this spirit the enthusiastic, clear headed, noble old man entered upon the labour which he instinctively felt'would be his last, and which he might well be willing should crown bis days and en circle his memory in the esteem of the Christian Church. Of all the varying phrases in which we behold this gifted man, this marvel of pulpit eloquence, this philosopher, mathematician, church leader and reorganizer in the greatest ecclesiastical revolution of our day, the one under which wo part with him, which exemplified the ruling passion strong in death, and iri which ho him self was content the world should catch a last glimpse of him, was this which we are now considering—his Apostle ship of city missions. Having made choice of his field of effort, let us again hear his own recorded meditations, as quoted by Dr. Way land, from hip Horaz Sabbaticw : ’ “Moving fearlessly onward, may I obtain such possession of the West Port as that the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall have the moral aecendoncy over a good ly number of its families. Let me not forget the conquests ot thine all-subdu ing grace, and the' preservations of thy faithful servants in tbe history of the missions of other days. And in this, as well as in other work, lot it be my care to follow thee fully; neither let me go up thither unless thy pre*enco and fa vor go along with me. Wo would give theo no reßt until thou hast opened the windows of heaven and caused right eousness to run down that street like a mighty river; and let such a memo rial of Christian philanthropy be set up in that place, as to be a praise and ex ample both in the city of our habitation, and in the other cities of our laud.” We quote again from Dr. Wayland’s memoir: Dr. Chalmers proceeded to select a portion of Edinburgh, whtoh should pre sent the most decisive evidence of the truth or falsehood of his theory, and practicableness of his plans of reform. Some years since the whole civilized world was startled by the discovery of a kind of atrocity in Edinburgh that had never before been heard of. A mis creant by the name of Bark, with one or two associates, had been in the habit of alluring to their den vagrants, whom they first intoxicated and then murder ed, and whose bodies they then sold to: surgeons for dissection. A crime so un heard of, thrilled the land with horror, and marked out the district in which they were committed as the opprobrinm of Christendotn. By an accurate sur vey, it was found that tho main street and its adjoining wynds contained 411 families; of which 45 were attached to some Christian communion, 70 were Ho man Catholics, and 296 bad no connec tion with any church whatever. Orit of a gross population of 2,000, three fourths of the whole, or about 1,500 of the inhabitants, were living within the sound of many a Sabbath Bell, and with an abundance of contiguous church ac commodation were lost to all the habits and all the decencies of a Christian life. The physical and moral condition of this community was deplorable; one fourth were paupers on the poor roll, and one-fourth were street beggars, thieves, and prostitutes. When Mr. Tasker, who was afterwards tbeir min ister, made his firstvisits to some ot the filthiest closes (alleys,) it was no uncom mon thing for him to find from twenty to thirty men, women, and children huddled together in one putrid dwell ing, lying indiscriminately on the floor, waiting lor the return of the bearer of some well concocted begging lotter, or the coming on of that darkness under which they might easily sally out to earn the purchase money of renewed debauchery. This was the West Port; the district which Dr. Chalmers select ed as the place in which he might dis play to Christian people the efficacy of the Gospel of Christ. It was indeed a formidable enter prise; to many it would have seemed, altogether hopeless, to come into close quarters with such a population. Aided, however, by that band of zealhus asso ciates which his public lectures, and the many'private interviews by which they were followed up, had gathered around him, he went hopefully forward. Wichern, the father of the Inner Mission in Germany, pursued a policy similar to that of Chalmers, in ehoosing the vicinity of the notoriously wicked city of Hamburg as the site of his Rauhes Maus, or institution for wicked and abandoned youth. The plan of operations did not differ essentially from that already described in connection with the parish of St. John’s. The district was divided and twenty visitors appointed to the differ ent sections. The purpose of the mis sion was distinctly conveyed to the peo pie, and misapprehensions were cleared away. The help of those not themselves needy was solicited in extending aid to others. A school was first opened, in a deserted tannery fronting Burk’s Close, in which the education was not made strictly gratuitous, but the small sum of two pence a week was charged. It was soon attended by 250 children, chiefly from the West Port. Next, an assistant was obtained, preaching commenced and all the different operations connect ed with tbo social improvement of the people were inaugurated—a library, a savings’ bank, a washing house, and a female industrial school. Finally, a church was erected. Here let Dr. Way land’s memoir speak: At last, on the 19th of February, 1847, the West Port Church was opened for public worship by Dr. Chalmers, and on the 25tbof April he presided at the first sacrament ad ministered within its walls. On the following Monday, he said to Mr. Tasker, “I,haye now got the;de sire of my heart. Tbo church is finish ed, the schools are flourishing, our ec clesiastical machinery is about complete, and all in good working order. God has indeed heard my prayer:, and 1 could now lay down my Head and die in peace.’' On the next day he wrote to Mr. Lennox; of New York, as follows: “ I wish to communicate to you what to me is the most joyful event of my life. I have been intent for thirty years on the com pletion of a territorial experiment) and I have now , to bless God for the.con snmmation of it. Our church was. open ed on the 19tb of February,'and in one month my anxieties respecting an at tendance-have: been set at rest. Five sixth of tho sittings have been let, bat the best part-of it is, that three fourths of these are from the Wost Port, a lo cality which two year’s ago had not one in ten church goers from the whole pop ulation. I presided there on Sabbath last over its first sacrament. There were 132 communicants, and 100 of them were from the West Port." Scarcely two years bad elapsed, and yet how great was the transformation ! When the work began, the number at tending all the places of worship did not exceed one-eighth of the whole pop ulation. In the new church, 300 sit tings were taken as soon as it was open ed, and 100 were admitted to the first communion. When the work began, of those capable of education three-fourths were not at school; alroady the ratio had been reversod, and threefourths were in regular attendance. Many of these children were of the poorest class, yet school fees, amounting in the aggre gate to upwards of £7O per annum, had been cheerfully and gratefully paid by their.parents. This opening of the church at West Port, and the administration of,the com munion there, were among Dr. Chat ter's last public acts. The communion was in April ; on the 30th of the follow ing May he was caljed to receive his re ward. God permitted him to witness the commencement of the realization of his fondest hopes. He saw this disgust ing wilderness beginning to blossom like the rose, and fruit ./first appealing from the seed which he had sown with many tears and prayers; and having seen this he fell asleep. Five years afterwards the progress was as marked and. cheering as up to this time it had been. Says Mr. Tasker at this date : - In its educational department the work is complete. In the different male and female day and evening schools h* tween 400 and 500 children are in at' tendance; nor is it known that there is n smgle child of a family resident within the West Port that is not at school. Of what other like district in this country cSd the same be said, and by what ofhfer in Sf could it have been accom phshed? It was tbo district-visiting, and the zeal especially of those ladies by whom a special oversight of the chil dren’s regular attendance at sonool was undertaken, by which this great achieve ment, has been mainly accomplished. The habit of church attendance has be come as general and regular within the West Port as it is ia, the best conditional districts of Edinburgh. The church is filled to overflowing; and the people of the West Port, who among themselves contributed no less, than £lOO for the building of this cburch at first, are con tributing at an equ*l rate for the erec tion of a gallery. During the last year, besides meeting alt the expenses neces sary for the support of Christian ordi nances, amounting to nearly £250 ($l,- 200,) the West Port congregation lias contributed £7O ($336) . to missionary and educational objects. At the same cost, adds Dr. Hanna, among the same class, within the same limits, and during the same time, there never have been accomplished, in this or any other land, anything like the same educational and spiritual resnlts. It stands the only instance in which the depth of city ignorance, and vice have been sounded to the very bottom; nor can the possibility of cleaning the fool basement story of our social edifice be doubted any longer. Some of Dr. Wayland’s general ob servations deserve to be quoted before concluding these papers. We may find room to give them in our next. MISSIONARY ITEMS. A New Missionary Field.—Messrs. M’Gilvary and Wilson, of the Jfresby terian, O. S., mission in Siam, have made a visit to the kingdom of Lao, a depen dency of the kingdom of Siam, going as far as Chieng Mai, the capital, situated on the river Menam, about latitude 19°. They fiud an open door for missionary operations, among a people of more character than the Siamese, and probably in greater numbers, with the king favor able, and the people loss prejudiced against Christianity than most Eastern natives: They havenoprintcdliterature, but the language is of the same stock with the Siamese, only written in a dif feren tch aracter. 11 is said tha t a Siamese book in Lao characters would be intelli gible to tho Laos. The ground is en tirely unoccupied by missions, and the gentlemen at Bangkok aro anxious to enter tho field without unnecessary de lay. Home Missions—lndia.— Our mis sionaries in foreign lands maintain the most lively interest in every thing done for the spiritual good of tbeir own beloved country; and all the more because of its present perils andtronbles. A letter from Rev. T. S. Burnell, Pulney Hills, Southern India, to the Secretary of Mass. Homo Miss. Society runs thus: “ Enclosed ploaae find thirty dollars to make A. G. Howland Chinn atombi a life member by a contribution of ten dollars by the teachers and students at Pasumalie Seminary; and twenty by a friend of Home and Foreign Missions." A list of sixty contributors of the ten dollars follows, all members of the mis sionary school. Heathen converts are having their views enlarged so a& to take in other parts of the world, and are feeling their obligations for what Amer ican missionaries a«) doing for them.— Boston Recorder. ■ Liberia, Africa..— Rev. B. E. Wilson (Meth. Ep.') writes under date of June 1: “ I am happy to say that our work is prosperous in the congregations of the civilized population.. v , o have yeason to take courage and labor on. The work is gloriously spreading among the na tives. Since I wrote yon last there have been two native stations established, seven converts on tho Monrovia district in the vicinity of M. Olivet which is al together new; th ere have been six of the converts baptized, and others preparing to receive baptism. Bro. I. D. Holley, or the Marshall circuit, is penetrating the interior with great success. All the brethren aro well and at their work.” The whole number of Protestant znis T sionarics now in China is said to be about 95, and the number of church members connected with Protestant missions not- far from 2,500. Nearly one-third of these are found in Amoy and the villages around it, where, for several yoars, success has been remark able. EXTRAORDINARY MEMORY, Seneca says of bimself, that by,the mere efforts of bis natural memory he was able to repeat two thousand words upon once hearing them, each in its order, though they had no dependence or connection upon bach other. After which he mentioned a friend of his, Pontius Latro, who retained in hie memory all the orations he had ever spoken, find never found his memory fail him,even in a Single WOfdt a]so mentions Cyneas, ambassador id the Romans from King Pyrrhus, who in one day so well learned the names of his spectators, that the next day he saluted the whole Senate, and all the populace assembled, each by his name. Pliny says that Cyrus knew every soldier in his army .by name; and L. Scipio all the people of Home. Herrvon Nieubliri, the °f aerated scholar, was once a °u• uj m bank of Copenhagen, in which capacity he gave proof of the miraculous power of his memory by from recollection aloDe, the whole contents of a leaf in the bank ledger, which had been lost by fraud or .accident. Ah Awkward Situation. —There are not many situations more incessantly uneasy than that in which ; the than is placed who is watching an opportunity to without courage to take.it when it is offered, and who,<though he res dves to give a specimen cjf his abili ties, always finds some reason or other ~oc delaying it to the next minute.
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