The American Presbyterian , ' AND ’ ■ GENESEE EVANGELIST. BELIGIOUB akd family NEWSPAPER, IS BBS JNTIRXBT 0? TH2 Constitutional Presbyterian Church, PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY, THE PRESBYTERIAN HOUSE, 1334 Chestnut Street, (2d Story,) Philadelphia, JOHN W. HEABS, Editor and Publisher, CONTENTS OF The Finite and Inlinite.,29o U. 8. Christian Coming ..afti Jeßtts .290 The Cri5i5,..,.....,.. .294 Righteous Peace 290 The Contented Fishes... 294 What Shall TVe Eat?....„200 A.Puzzled: Darkey 294 Desert of Sahara 290 The'Waldfei&es.. ...... 204 Editor's Table. .....291 Dr. Duff’s Addreas .298 The Early Dawn 291 Nurseries of Rocheater.29s DOCTRINE AND DUTY, BELIEF AND PRACTICE. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is ho. The true belief of a man is the rule of his actions. The fact that men often their professed and speculative belief, does not disprove the fact that only in something ■which they do conscientiously believe, lies the spring of all their actions. There is,a doctrine, or set of doctrines, t<f which they have given fall credence, and from which the whole course of their conduct flows. The worldly man believes in the suffi ciency of wealth, household comforts, pleasure, fame, to satisfy his wants: he carries out the belief in his life. He does not—except in a mere speculative manner, believe that the service of God is bet.ter, and he discards it. When at length his mind is enlightened by the Holy Spirit to see the folly of his choice, the guilt of his sins, the danger of his condition, his lost, undone, miserable state under the law, and the way of escape through Christ, then, and only then, are found the logical conditions of conversion which the Holy Spirit never ignores or contravenes in his regenerat ing work in the heart. How, asks the' apostle, shall they call on him in whom they have not believed ? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall. they hear without a preacher ? In the curse pro nounced upon the chosen people through Isaiah, the conversion and salvation of ■the incorrigible were described as im possible, because of the grossness of their heart, the heaviness of their ears and the blindness of their eyes, to which they were given over by divine justice ; “leßt they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and convert and be healed.” “He that believeth shall be saved, but he that believeth not-shall he damned,” is a solemn oracle, which would seem to bar all question and cavil as to the prime necessity of a right be lief to the very beginnings of an ac ceptable life. Doctrine and duty are as, closely con nected together as premise and conclu sion in logic. The duty is the inference from the doctrine. “ I beseech you therefore," says Paul, as he turns from the doctrinal to the practical part .of his great epistle, in the beginning of the twelfth chapter. His demand for such a great practical act of devotion and service as the presenting ourselves a living sacrifice, is based on his previous revelations through eleven chapters, of the sovereign grace of God in the atone ment. The high duty is based upon the great doctrine. No one can be ex pected sincerely and intelligently to ad dress himself to such a duty, unless he receives the doctrine in its length and breadth. The truly accepted Creed measures the life. Commune with the apostle; be carried away by the force of his lofty reasonings; look with him into the depths of the Divine purposes of grace ; exclaim with him “ 0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; for of him, and through him, and to him, are all things; to whom be glory forever, Amen!” and you shall be swept along, by inevitable processes, to an inward and urgent souse of the reasonableness- of the ser vice he demands,of us. There is an important lesson fox- the ministry in these facts. It is:one; that, especially in mif day, needs'to be taken to heart. Popular writers are decrying the necessity of creeds, as obsolete. Portions of the Christian church, re garded as orthodox, are contributing to strengthen this error by their conduct on critical occasions. It is part of the polity of a great denomination, to' leave the -framing’ of a creed to the individual churches. ■ And in ecclesiastical councils, in the examination of candidates fox’ the high office of teacher of the people of God, and in the organizing and re ceiving of •'Churches, most lamentable encouragement has been given to the notion, abroad in tjm ebrnffiunity, of the secondary, importance of'doctrines, and of the entire compatibility of a loose creed with a Christian life. , ItisajjgipßS and dangerous error, and one men who have made the processes of INSIDE PAGES. New Series, Vol. I, ITo. 37. the human mind as well as the teach ings of Scripture their study, should not merely reject, hut oppose with all their might. We say to the minister who is asking by what means he may most efficiently labor for the conversion of souls: Do not allow yourself to be absorb ed in the practical aspects of things. Do not spend your whole strength in ap peals, exhortations, reproofs and de nunciations. But study and preach the doctrines which lie at the foundation of all duty. Imbue your mind with them. Converse with them,ponder their great ness, their proportions, their inter-de pendence; stand in their majestic pre sence, till like Moses, when you return to your people, your face shall shine, and your discourse shall echo their solemn and exalted import. Indoctri nate your people. Study simplicity and perspicuity. Avail yourself of all means of illustrating and impressing the truth. Take a form more or less methodical, as you may find most to your purpose- Avoid dry, tame, and soulless disquisi tions. From a heart interested in the greatest of all truths, and a mind fa miliarized with their scriptural founda tions, their import, and their supports in reason and philosophy, you will be able, with freshness and interest, as well as profit to your people, to incul cate the great doctrines of the gospel, as a regular and a fundamental part of your pulpit teachings. Among the helps which will not be overlooked by those who desire to give this part of their ministrations fresh ness and variety, are those treatises on the History of Doctrines which have lately been added to our Theological Literature. A most gratifying surprise awaits those who have yet to consider the doctrines of Christianity in this as pect. But we can do no more now than indicate these sources as rich in confirma tion and illustration'of all the estab lished principles of thUChristian system. DR. DUFF’S ADDRESS OF WELCOME. Our readers will not overlook the ad dress of Dr. Duff before the Free Church Commission, of which we have copied into our columns about all that would be interesting to American Christians. It is providential to the cause of Mis sions in its home relations, especially, that Dr. Duff, disabled for the work abroad, is able to take charge of the Foreign Mission Committee of his church: at home. Such an advocate of the cause as the eloquent, devout, and experienced doctor, is greatly needed in Scotland. The great Presbyterian bodies of that enlightened and eminently Christian country, numbering probably three- quar ters of a million of communicants, are all together, from some cause, contributing less than one-half of the income of the American Board to the cause of Foreign Missions, twelve thousand-pounds being* about the maximum of the annual con tributions of the Free Church ! The Fnglisb Churcheß also are far in advance of their Scotch brethren on this subject. We trust, by the blessing of God, Dr, Duff may bring about an entire revolu tion in the minds of his countrymen and ecclesiastical associates, as to the claims of Foreign Missions upon their support. And when the time comes for the Pres byterian church, (If. 5.,) to organize its own energies independently for this field, it is to be hoped that we may find some earnest, devout, gifted man, fresh from the experience of the missionary workj to be placed at the head of our Committee; to call forth the liberality and the prayers of the church, and to persuade her sons to devote themselves in sufficient number b to the arduous but honorable service. Dr. Duff’s remarks about Presbyterian Union in South Africa,and upon the gene ral subject of Union, should-not be over looked. It' would seem that the cause of Union among the Presbyterians of Scot land has gained a. warm and a powerful advocate in the venerable, ex-missionary ~ The truly liberal tone of his remarks in this address, is honorable to'the speaker and may be commended for general im itation. : :■ Bat the broad and liberal spirit of Buff iB seen, most remarkably, in.bis. generous reference to the Dutch and the Episcopal churches of the Cape, -wiiose staunch orthodoxy he so warmly endors es. -The doctor was. present during the trial of Colenso by his Metropolitan at Cape Town fhe also had prolonged eon- PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1864. versations with this prelate, and not withstanding the reputed High Chureh ism of the latter, the Scotch Presbyteri an divine forgot the hatred of prelacy instinctive in his race, found many points of sympathy with the stern vin dicator of orthodoxy,and discovered inti mations that the hold conduct and the martyr spirit of the Free Church, at the disruption, was a matter of comparison and of study with the Bishop in the cir cumstances of his own church: The Scotchman winds up by actually propo sing to the Commission of the Presby terian Assembly of Scotland, the send ing of a testimonial of “ sympathy, ad miration and support” to this High Church Bishop, (as also to the Dutch Synod,) for their maintenance of “the grand, primitive, apostolic doctrines, which constitute the basis of our faith!” The proposition was received with ap plause by the Committee. Not only the strictest Presbyterians, but all denominations of Christians will greatly rejoice and send warm and fra ternal salutations to the clergy of the Established Church, High and Low, whenever they learn that they are pre paring to follow the noble example of the Free Church of Scotland, in sacrifi cing everything rather than subject the purity of the church to civil control. Should the projected testimonial to the Bishop of Cape Town be carried into ‘effect, there would be many Presbyte rians doubtless in this country ready and anxious to participate in it. We hope they may have the opportunity. We earnestly solicit the attention of pastors, sessions, and individual readers, to the call, coutained in another column, in behalf of the fund for ministers laid aside by infirmities, and the families of those deceased. Hitherto in this mat ter, our church has not been true to its own general character for active well doing. In most of the enterprises which are expected to secure the sympathy of a Christian body, our record will stand without blush beside that of any other denomination. But it is not to our credit that we are far behind, others, es pecially the Methodists, Episcopalians, and our Old School brethren, in Our care of those whom long labor, at a bare ly living compensation, has left in old age without any visible means of sup port. ■ But there is a higher principle than that of a wholesome church rivalry which should at once secure our liberal response to ! this call. Common honor. demands that those who have given the strength of their lives to the,phuTch, should be como the care of the eli jirch ivhen that strength is wrecked-and. thrown upon the dry beach. This is the world’s es timate of the claims of faithful service:' Bail road companies, banks and corpora tions, generally take upon- themselves the support of superannuated employees whose circumstances require it. Many individual firms and. men adopt the same just principle, in their, own business. It is right, not as a pitiful charity, hut as the just requirement of honor. On this principle our church has just inaugura ted this, its last, and we confidently pre dict, not least popular enterprise. We shall he astonished if there is any hesi tation in accepting the responsibility. CONDITIONS OF A RIGHTEOUS PEACE; While half-hearted politicians and “ conservativeI’journals 1 ’journals are endeavoring to reconcile the Christian people and the masses of the free North, to the 1 idea of a peace, whiqk should leave sla very untouched in large portion of rebel territory, it ■is refreshing to hear , such decided utterances of devotion to the principles of freedom, as we are 1 permitted to give ini another, part of the paper, under the heading “ A Itigliteotis Peace.” Coming from the pulpit of a border State, which but recently; has entered upon the path of emancipation, and which is, still* claimed by the rebels as a part of the slave-bolding“ confede racy,” they are the more significant and welcome, We will only add to them the words of Gen. Grant, uttered soon after the fall of Vicksburg: , f “ It became patent to.my mind very early in the rebellion, that the North, and South could never live at ' 'peace with each, other, except as one nation, and that i without slavery. As anxious'as lam io.see peace established, I would' ■not, therefore, be willing t 6 sea'any settlement unkl ihis question is forever settled.’’ • FOR DISABLED MINISTERS. Genesee Evangelist, No. 956. HUMILIATION AND THANKSGIVING. It is'remarkable that in a little more than a month from the day of National Humiliation and Prayer, called for by Congress and appointed by the Presi dent, a Day of Thanksgiving should he called for by Providence itself, with in dications happily too plain to be mis understood. And that series of most gratifying events, which we last Sab bath celebrated, began with the very morning after the day of Humiliation, with the passage, by the indomitable Farragut and his fleet, of the rebel forts at the mouth of Mobile hay, over hidden torpedoes, and in the face of a rebel fleet containing one of the most formidable vessels that a navy ever had to con front. Who can doubt but that Farra gut, bearing the emblems of lawful go vernment, of justice, of Christian civili zation and of freedom, was wafted through those secret and open perils tri umphantly, by the breath of the pray ers of the preceding day? In the ra pidity and comparative ease with which those most formidable instruments of rebellion, upon land and water, were overcome, and appropriated to the na tional use—vessels capitulating, flying, sinking to the bottom; huge forts as sailed with such overwhelming force that their inmates were compelled, in unresisting silence, to hear their defen ces tumble, about their ears—until the whole lower hay is in undisputed pos session of our army and navy—who can but see in all this, God himself fighting for us and leading us to victory ? And Sherman’s unparalleled campaign, which has borne him irresistibly 150 miles into the heart of hostile territory, time and agaiii bewildering the too-confident ene my,; and never more so than when he executed the movement that compelled the evacuation of the city, arid enabled him to say Atlanta is Ours, and fair ly won ! He has not indeed destroyed the rebel army, which has steadily slunk and met his flank move ments ever by timely retreat, but by the steadiness of his advance, the mainte nance of his long and exposed line of communications to the Ohio river, and by the crowning success of his strategy he has demonstrated its incurable weak ness, and the weakness of the rebel cause generally, since it cannot confront us with two great armies at once, hut must sacrifice its interests in the South- West, to the one arduous, and all-suffi cient ’duty of maintaining its foothold and prestige at Richmond. These are great causes for thanksgiv ing- And we may-add to them such in dications of the temper of the people, as the rapid and numerous volunteer en listments all over the country; amount ing to so many as six thousand in a sin gle day; and the greatly increased ma jorities by which, so far, our voters are expressing their preference for the only safe and practicable mode of settling our diffictiltms, the sharp, severe, expen sive, hut conclusive policy of war. We may welßgive thanks that the prospect, so comforting, to Jeff. Davis, of a divi ded North, is now' faint and declining, and that the faction which talked so loudly and , counted so strongly on the weakness, the cowardice, the covetous ness and lack of noble Christian manli ness of the North, is likely to be more crushingly disappointed and discomfited than ever. , TO SYNODS AND PRESBYTERIES. MINISTERIAL RELIEF FUND, The General Assembly, in session at Dayton, Ohio,-constituted the Trustees of the Presbyterian House an agency to collect and disburse a fund for the relief of disabled, ministers, and the families ,of' deceased ministers-in our connection. The 'action •of the Assembly on this sub ject will ; be'found ; on pp. 497-502, of its minutes 'tyhqre the plan is fully drawn out a^^^^iidiseussed.' Presuming that the -memhers of the respective Presbyteries -have read the Assehibly’s'views on this subject, it may hei 'in this place' merely to re jfer to a few; particulars for the purpose . of-, securing n action in the . Synods and Presbyteries. - ; ■ ’ It appears, that in every other branch of the Church of Christ some measures have been; adopted for. the relief of disa bled ministers and their/families, while we alone (until the present) have failed to make any "suitable provision for this suffering class. ..... If the law of Christ, “Do good unto all men/’ imposes an obligation on Hiß people to help all classes of sufferers, even those who are outside of the pale of the Church, much more are they re quired to aid those who are of the “household of faith,” and of that house hold such as have been solemnly set apart for the work of the ministry. The divine ordination is, “that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” The priests of the temple were consecrated and supported for life—not merely during their term of active ser vice. So Christ’s ministers are conse crated to the work of the church for life. All their preparations are for that work alone. To this they devote them selves in solemn compact with the church which accepts their services, and tacitly agrees to sustain them through life. If there be an obligation resting on the State honorably to retire and provide for its disabled life-servants, and to ex tend such provision to their families, equally imperative is the duty of the ehureh to do the same for her depend ent ministers and their families. No Christian State fails to meet thisobliga in some measure; no branch of Christ’s spiritual kingdom should occupy a less honorable position. It should also be considered that the church needs effi cient men for her ministry. But men that are young, inexperienced, and only partially sanctified, need at least the or dinary inducements in reference to fu ture provision. If they give themselves to this work, and forego all other means of support, they should feel and know that they will not be left in the future to penury and its consequent suffering. In order to secure the means necessary to meet the wants of disabled ministers the Assembly recommends the “ Plan of annual collections in all its Churches, to gether with a standing request for special contributions and legacies toward the crea tion of a small permanent Fund, the prin cipal of which as well as the interest, may be drawn upon to meet unanticipated exi gencies.” Among the reasons urged by the As sembly for the plan of annual collec tions, is its uniform success where it has had a trial. The Moravian -Brethren, the Methodists, and the Protestant Epis copal churches have from the beginning adopted it, and report it as working well. The other branch of our own church, after many years of discussion, finally adopted this plan, and now re port that it produces yearly an amount in excess of the demand. As it respects the agency and method by which the Fund so gathered shall be disbursed, the Assembly decided that it should he entrusted to the care of the Trustees of the Presbyterian House, and by them should be disbursed, upon the re commendations of the Presbyteries with in whose bounds its deserving claimants may reside, and that the principles and rules of distribution be left to the con siderate judgment of the Board. In accordance with the provisions of the General Assembly, and by the ac tion of the Trustees of the Presbyterian House, the undersigned have been ap pointed a Committee to oarry out the intentions of the Ministerial Belief Fund. We therefore respectfully invite the at tention of the Synods and Presbyteries to this subject, earnestly desiring that measures may he immediately adorned by which this cause may be brought fairly before the’churches. While it is expected that the Synods will recom mend such measures, as shall seem to them most wise and efficient, it may be proper to suggest, that this cause would be greatly promoted, were each Presby tery to appoint a committee, whose duty it should be, Ist to ascertain whether there he within their hounds, any ministers, or their families, needing aid from the Fund : and 2d, to stimu late the churches to make Collections for it. Signed. Thos. J. Shepherd, W.m. T. Eva, : : John C. Farr, John A. Brown, - M. W. Baldwin, ■ ft: Committee. Eev. Charles .Brown, Secretary, 1334 Chestnut street*. Philadelphia; John C. Farr, Esq., Treasurer, -324 Chestnut street, Philadelphia. September, 1864, Mr,. J. E. Long was ordained at the recent meeting! of .Harrisburg Pres bytery, as an Evangelist. He takes charge of Hublersburg and Spring Mills Churches. TERMS, By mail $2.50 per annum n advance “ “ 3.00 “ “ after 3 month*. By carrier 50 cents additional. CLUBS? Ten or more papers sent by mail to one church or locality, or in the city to one address, By mail $2.00 per annum. By carrier 2.50 “ “ To save trouble, club subscriptions must com mence at the same date, must lie paid strictlj in advance and in one remittance, for whieS one receipt will be returned. Ministers and ministers’ widows supplied at club rates. Postage, five cents quarterly, to be paid in ad vance by the subscribers at the office of delivery* PRICES AGADC. In response to our inquiry, propound ed some weeks since, in which we asked our subscribers to help us decide between the alternatives of again raising the price or diminishing the size of our pa per, we have received a number of opin ions leading us to the conclusion that a further increase of price would he the better course of the two. And we re gret to say that in the face of a great decline in gold, prices of leading articles in the newspaper business have contin ued to rise. Type founders added 25 per cent, to their charges on the Ist of the present month. The paper upon which this issue is printed cost from 25 to 26 cents per pound, nearly three cents for each white sheet, and we learn from one of our manufacturers, that the next lot will be 28 cents. Under these circumstances, therefore, our subscribers will doubtless cordially sustain ns in adding another 50 cents to our annual charge, making the price of the paper $3.00 per annum in advance, with 50 cents additional for delivery by carriers. These terms to take effect on the First or October, provided the price of paper has not fallen meanwhile con siderably below 20 cents a pound, and other articles in similar proportion. Ministers will be charged $2.00, and Home Missionaries $1.50; in advance; carrier's charge 50 cents per annum. The N. Y. Evangelist has already rais ed its price to $3.00. The Gfeman Re formed Messenger, a single sheet not much above half the size of the American Pres byterian, asks $3.00. The Presbyterian of this city, after coming out as a dou ble sheet, has been cut down tempora rily one-halfj and isnow much smaller than it was before the enlargement.. The price is $2.50. lAttelVs Living Age has recently advanced from $6.00 to to $B.OO per annum. But we do not need to multiply pre cedents. We shall be but too happy to find, as the appointed day approaches, that the necessity for such action,'in the good providence of God, is withdrawn. DELAWARE BIBLE SOCIETY. This venerable society held its 52d annual meeting in St. George’s church, on Thursday, September Bth. The loyal Governor Cannon, .who is a most worthy and efficient member of the Methodist church, was present and took part in the deliberations. Hon. Willard Hall, Of Wilmington, presided. Rev. Geo. Sheldon, of New Jersey, as agent for that State and Delaware, was also pre sent, with Rev. Messrs. Emerson, Foot, Gaylord, Mallery .and Mears, The dis tribution of Bibles and Testaments in the army is the principal business of the society at present, and it is pro posed to enter, more vigorously upon this work in future. It is much to be wished that the in terest of the clergy of otherdenomina tions in the State could be more gener ally awakened on the subject. It shonld not be left to the ministers of a Bingle branch of the Presbyterian church to sustain this eminently Catholic enter prise, especially as they are by no means the most numerous body. We are sur prised at the lukewarmness felt of lato years towards a society which stands among the very earliest organizations for the distribution of the Bible in this country, antedating,by a number of years, the American Bible Society, and hav ing, it is believed, only a single superior in age on the continent —the Philadel phiaßible Society. We earnestly hope that another year will show a decided improvement. A CAUSE OP THANKSGIVim The following gratifying announce ment comes to us from the central office of the American. Board: ‘Missionary House,- Boston, Sept. .9, 1864. To the Editor or the American Presbyterian —Bear Sir .- .Many friends of the Board are, anxious, doubtless, to know how our financial year has closed. The treasm*er is not able to state ids balance just now, but he expects to halve the pleasure of saying at Worces ter,' “ There is no debt/’ The August receipts are larger than any of us dared to anticipate. Indeed, the churches have given us more than we asked [ Is it tod much to request that there may be abundant thanksgivings to the God of missions for his great goodness toward ub ? Very truly yours, . S. B. Treat."
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