• UlJtt4lU _
John !tWeir
N ew Series, Vol. IV, No. 40.
$3 00 By Mail. B 3 60 By Carrier.
50cts Additional after three Months.
puritan Ittzbyttrian.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1867.
THE MOVEMENT CIIHE.
The groat practical question pressing upon
perhaps nine tenths of our church members
at this time, is how they may regain a rea
sonable degree of spiritual fife, strength and
eth'eiency ; how they may rise from invalid
ism to spiritual health. They are not satis
fied to live at their present poor, dying rate.
They are ashamed of it, alarmed at it,
grieved over it. They do not wish to be
ever straggling behind the grand army of
the elect as it moves onwards to great deeds
and to victouy. As true Christians they
cannot be given over to utter apathy, and
they aro prepared to welcome any feasible
way of escape from their present condition.
And recovery ought not to be doubtful or
difficult. The principle of spiritual life is
a l r eady implanted in the Christian nature,
and is not now seeking entrance for the first
timo. It is no miraculous resurrection from
the dead we are expecting to witness ;
the patient is merely slumberous and le
thargic and we seek to wake him out of his
sloop.
It is of the very nature - of true piety to
he alive, to grow and to flourish; it is of the
kingly nature of the eagle and not the
grovelling burrowing nature of the mole;
it mounts sun-ward and heavenward. It is
a spark of divinity which is ever impelling
the possessor back to its source, it is the in
dwelling Spirit of Christ urging to perpetual
and grateful service in His behalf.
Tho penitence of the returning David, as
set forth in the 51st Psalm, has been made
the model for all backsliders in the renewal
of their vocation ;—wrongly we think. David
was a gross and open offender, a public
criminal of the deepest dye. He had brought
wide-spread and almost irreparable disgrace
on the name of the true religion. If he did
not utterly renounce his hope, it were about
as well for the cause that he took his place
among the unregenerate in the eyes of the
world; and it was doubtless more comfort
ing to his conscience to cry for mercy as if
he had never experienced it before. Es
pecially will it be altogether unseemly for
one so deeply fallen, at once to undertake
any public efforts for the salvation of others.
Ile must needs wait for some evidence satis
factory to himself and the world that he is
not a reprobate; that his former spiritual
status was not a mere sham but a reality,
which is recoverable. Hence he prays :
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation
and uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Then
will I teach transgressors Thy ways and
sinners shall be converted unto Thee."
Now, if the 64:1y, iippiditlously and well
nigh hopelessly fallen David .in his efforts
at recovery, were a model for- all—back:-
sliders, then all modes of• recovery iiiiiijd
revolve around the Fifty-first Psalm ; would
partake of its desperate struggles, its in
tense abasement, its felt need of a recom
mencement of the entire converting process;
Create in me a clean heart, 0 God, and
new a right spirit within me:"
Most freely do we admit that just in pro
portion as the Christian's wandering has
been more remote and his life more incon
sistent, does his condition correspond to that
of the writer of this Psalm and his neces
sities aro the same. Bat we no more be-
lieve that every returning Christian must
go through the agony of the penitential
Psalm, with the sense of blood-guiltiness
ranaing through it as a dark undertone,
than we believe that every conversion and
every new birth must be the result of long
and untold throes of agony.
In a word, the returning Christian feeling
himself guilty indeed for every step in his
Wanderings and crying , to God for mercy,
must not allow himself to bo caught in a•
miserable slough of despond, but must seek
.
his recovery in action. The crushed, con
science-smitten David waits like a culprit
before his judge. Ile prays and he ventures
to hope. But he has no full consciousness
of a present Saviour, whose powerful word
is summoning him from his sin and despond
ing to immediate manifestations of life and
v igor. We believe that every Christian ar
rested in his career of wandering will find
his best means of recovery in acting to-dxy,
the part of a Christian. He will find the
s ame Saviour, who bade the palsied man
1.113` cli forth his hand and use it, as the true
16july68
way of cure, present, to give health and
vigor to the faculties he attempts to use.
The palsied man would have remained a
cripple till his death if he had waited for a
sense of returning strength before he used
his hand. The back-slidden Christian.may
not wait until he feels himself restored be
fore acting the Christian's part. It is by
action and movement that he will gain a
cure. Let him resume all his regular du
ties. Let him seek the society of living,
active Christians. Let him engage in some
specific Christian work, requiring faith,
prayer and self-denial. Let him seek to
bring some soul to Christ. Let him make
himself useful in the Sabbath-school, or with
the young, at home. Let him, by all means,
put in exercise the strength he has, and he
will find it rapidly augmenting. In a
word, we believe the true cure for the back
slider, who has not openly disgraced the
profession, is the movement cure.
THE THEATRE WITHDRAWN.
The proprietor of the Chestnut Street
Theatre .has withdrawn • his offer of this
building to the Young Men's Christian As
sociation of this city, without giving them,
opportunity to fulfil their engagements,
which, under the terms of the, understand
ing with him, they had been encouraged to
make for future evenings. This cannot be
regarded as surprising, especially when we
consider the earnest spiritual tone of the
two services already held and the nature of
the after-meetings for prayer in the rooms
of the Association directly opposite. The
immediate success of the meetings, in a spir
itual point of view, was too marked to be
other than startling to those whose business
thrives by an opposite condition of things.
It is the echo of an old cry, heard first in the
theatre of Ephesus, Our craft is in danger.
Yet we trust the two services already held,
with the crowded prayer-meetings following,
and the score of souls brought through this
instrumentality to take a stand for Jesus,
Oncourage the Young Men of the Asso
ciation an Christians generally of the city,
to greater and bolder undertakings for the
unconverted masses, who, through the thea
tre and every other worldly beguilement,
are hastening uncared for, to destruction.
And as to the proprietor of the Chestnut
Street Theatre, whose friendly and cour
teous bearing to the Young Men's Christian
Association, at . the first, was the only sur
prising matter in the whole transaction, let
us not cease to hope that some leaven of
good is working in his heart and let us not
cease to mention him in our prayers.
A GREAT DEAL of small war has been
waged against the positions taken in this
paper on Re-union, as if they meant hostili
ty to the measure. We are free to say we
are opposed to any re-union which shall not
rest-on-Wfairpromitre of permanence. We
are opposed . to - ieLlihi9n which shall slur
over those great principles of Christian lib
erty, which are compatible Witli 4 a.sineere - acr- .
ceptance of the Calvinistic systemiandzpon.
which all Calvinists can stand together.
We are opposed to a re-union which shall
obliterate, not merely in name but in fact,
the only Calvinistic Presbyterian Church
known to Christendom which expressly
maintains and cherishes such liberty of
opinion; we are opposed to any transforma
tion by which the guarantees for such liber
ty shall disappear from the Presbyterian
Church. But what then ? In all this, are
we not contending for the only practicable
permament basis of re-union in existence?
And are not the good men who have been has
tening on the matter, with little other guar
antee for the, future.than the good feeling of
the present, likely to manufacture greater
discords than ever by such a course? They
have no more right to call themselves union
• men par excellence, than the peace-at-any
price men of the North during,the rebellion
could claim to be the best friends of peace;
or than the Johnson party to-day can claim
.to be better reconstructionists and friends
of the Constitution than the Republicans.
Is the builder who refuses to go on with the
house until a good foundation has been dis
covered, to be called, on that account, an
enemy to the enterprise? He is its truest
friend. The true New School man is the
true friend of union; and every one who is
a friend of true union, is, so far,-a New
School man.. Some of the professed friends
of the:measure, are doubtless self-deceived;
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAT, OCTOBER 3, 1867.
some are very short sighted, and some, per
haps, have some very Oirewd plans laid.
Our part is the fair and open advocacy of
the only basis of re-uni4:m, which common
sense suggests as practigable.
FROM OUR TR4VELLING , )ICORRESPOND ,
ENT IN THE IFEST.
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 23, 1867
DEAR EDITOR: I am -enjoying the pleasant
sensations which fall to thetioeof a Philadelphian
coming from the "city of clean streets and clear
records," to Pittsburgh, dirtiyisnicky,.grimy -Pitts.:
burgh,—for which one's best wish is a cheap ap
paratus to consume its, hituminous, smoke. and
then 'ten years and a couple - of - Schuylkills to
wash its dirty face. They tell, me that the people
are used to it, but I do_ utttit: God made*man
...
to enjoy the beauty of pure colors in the open
sunlight, and a.Pittsburgher never seas such in the
,
open air—seldom within Ichrors.' Green is' not
, .
green, even on the trees; red: is not red, even on
•
the bricks, and white is n-it white anywhere; all
. ,
colors tone off into a dirty, dusty brown. The
very windows of the bea.utierif churches, charged
with exquisite pictures,are begrimed like the
bottom of a kettle, in away that triiilt, produce
a " dim religious light" within, while the spires
suggest the vanity of hope their disappointed
-
efforts to rise above the blaekeninc , o smoke.
Some at least, of the inhabitants, have too
much sense to sit down content with this,, some
confess confess that they look forw'rd to a residence in
the ..Quaker City, as the ven of earthly rest
which is to reward their" lit is, and one eleanly
housewife, with a true woman's instincts; told me
that she often felt like sitting down and crying,
as she realized the Vanity of her efforts in bat
tling with her great enemy—smoke. But the
law of compensation runs 'through all finite
things, and only God is exempt from it. Pitts
burgh smoke, like English rain and fog, drives
people within doors, and develops the home life
of the family, the only sure' foundation for the
well-being of the State. I' have found among
these people a pleaSait...notdiality—or as they
calrit in the West, a, crenWisi;4-41iieb oitriinuld'
look for in vain among 01. e people of " frigid
Philadelphia," as Beecher calls us.
The neighboring places are much exercised over
the question of consolidation. Pittsburgh is fol
lowing in the wake of Philadelphia in gathering
up all the outlying suburbs under one central mu
nicipal government. Some residents in Alleghe
ny City, which has recently absorbed Manches
ter, say that they have no wish to become a part
of dirty Pittsburgh, but that's " the pot calling
the kettle black." Consolidation will do for
Pittsburgh what it has done for Philadelphia,—
diminish city expenses by reducing the number
of officers, make offices worth the competition of
a higher class of citizens, and establish a suffi
cient police.
In the, religious community here the main
event is the resignation of Rev. Herrick John
son, D. D., of the Third Presbyterian Church,
an event which is regarded by Christians of
every name as a misfortune to -the city. The
people of the Third Church, as, you will have al
ready learned, offered Dr. Johnson leave of- ab
serice, but in the uncertain state of Mrs. John
b-Alihe.Tianot know when she would be
able to return, .if-indeed , it grid' ever`' be safe
or desiraVe to bring her back.O.this
mosphere. He was, therefore, unwilling - ES r 4b eep'
them in a state of suspense and pressed his resig
nation, which was sorrowfully accepted, and his
people have united with him in asking a dissolu
tion of the pastoral relation.
Mrs. Johnson's disease is consumption, and
necessitates a removal for . the less changeable
climate of the lake regions of the Northwest.
They will spend the winter at Marquette, where
the Doctor will labor as the stated supply of a
recently organized congregation, which may con
sider itself highly favored.
On Thursday evening a number of his people
met at the house of Col. Herron and - presented
him with some valuable and elegantly bound vol
umes of theological lore, as mementoes of his pas
toral labors. On Saturdity evening the young
melt of of his charge presenied him, with quite any
extensive and really val4ble collection of his
torical works, embracing sets of Fronde, Carlyle,
Prescott, Macaulay, Hallam, Bancroft, &c.
On Sabbath morning hci preached his farewell
sermon in his own chum!). to a deeply affected
audience; and in the -eve ing took his farewell
of the Young Men of P ttsburgh "in a masterly
discourse before the You Men's Christian As
sociation on the teat: "I will make a man more
precious than fine gold even a man than the
golden wedge of Qphir." It was delivered in
the First Presbyte;rian C .urch, the introductory
services being conducted , by Drs. Jacobus and
"Dr. Johnson," says the Evening Chronicle,
" will be missed from the Pittsburgh pulpit. He
has been a constant and arduous worker in the
vineyard of the Lord, and has endeared himself
to all." None who have heard him need to be
told of his power as an orator, and in regard to
his constancy in labor we need only say that,
during the revival in this city last winter, he
preached for several months daily, with almost
no help firm any one. His church ranks proba
bly as the second in the New School body in
point of liberality in giving, yieldingonly to Dr.
Adams' of New;` York: Though not numerically
as"strong as many, it is made up of such materi
al,- that the nuclei " of several' chdrches could be
sent off - in ccilonies'without materially diminish
ing its strength. It is as yet only a' childless
Hannah, and wants ode thing to the crown of its
rejoiciirg,-that it should` be a mother of churches.
There is only one New School church in this
great Presbyterian city, and none at all in Alle
ghany, where, however,- enough New School peo
ple reside to form a separate church. Should
such a church not be formed, the denomination
may soon have a church there by accession from
another body, and, indeed, if the check-rein is
pulled too tightly elsewhere, more than one of
them.
Pittsburgh is a.Presbyterian centre, being the
northern focus of the great Scotch-Irish district
which reaches down through Western Pennsyl
vania, Western Virginia; Eastern Tennessee, em
bracing small - sections of South Carolina and
Georgia, and reaching on through North Alaba
ma to Huntsville, a very New Ulster of the new
world. A glance on the map will show how
strongly this region is marked out by natural
boundaries—the mountains of the Apalachian
system—and how closely it coincides with the
region of Southern Unionism during the rebel
lion,. On much of the southern part of it pres
byterianism has lost its hold, although it is still
the creed of Western North Carolina; around
Pittsburgh it still holds unrivalled sway, but, as
might be expected, the New School Church is
no_meams the strongest ,here.. Stock is look
ing up, however, for them, and I prephesy a large
accession from the Reformed Presbytery (N. S.)
of this and of your neighborhood, in the break
up which is everywhere threatened in that Church.
This body has recently gone through a some
what- excited discussion on points of Church
order and worship, being a part of the great
"aeclimatization" process which is shaking so
many American Churches to their foundations,
and those of her ministers and members who are
looking for a home elsewhere are turning to the
" Broad Church of Calvinism." "Why," they
reason, "jump out of the frying-pan into the
fire--out of one knot of heresy hunters into a
bigger one?" Theyiare not afraid of that word
"liberal," which the Assemblies' Joint Commit
tee dared not put into the "Balls of Re-union."
That same " acclimatization-process" is the .
great event of our time and nation—one which
is shaking both Church and State. What is the
Church of the future, the State of the future, the
Man of the future to be ? Not a Yankee, not a
DUtchman, not a Scotch-Irishman; but what?
Our Church sects rest largely on imported inter
national differences and not on great principles,
and on the attainment of unity in this direction
the safety of the nation in time to come depends.
Wirrifela ge TerapieWazeorrnin,amflag-,
Machinery and gristenough, but where is` - THE
AMERICAN? It is doubtful if we have him yet.
Local vanity has so belauded local types that the
Yankee, the Sucker,the Hoosier, have in turn
been set up as Uncle Sam, but to no purpose.
In my next.' may give you some news of the
working -of the acclimatization-process in the
Church of this region.
Yours,
CIRCULAR LETTER.
The following paper was adopted at a meeting
of ministers and elders• of the various branches
of the Presbyterian church, held in Philadelphia
on Tuesday, September 24th. It was adopted
unanimously and heartily.
TO THE PRESBYTERIES OF THE 'UNITED STATES
FATHERS AND BRETHREN—AIIow us respect
fully to call your attention to the invitation ad
dressed to all= the churches of the Presbyterian
order, to assemble in convention in the city of
Philadelphia, on the first Wednesday of Novem
ber next, " for prayer and conference to promote
union and communion among the various branch
es of the Presbyterian family." That all these
now divided departments of the Church of
Christ should be one, is universally, admitted;
that they wilt be one, cannot be doubted. It is
proposed to ascertain if the time has now come
when 'they can' be 'one; and if so, to take meas
ures to accomplish this grand result: The pre
sent.condition of our country; with slavery abol
Genesee Evangelist, No. 11:15.
ished and peace restored, now more than ever
united in all its parts—the movements of a sim
ilar kind in the lands of our fathers—the urgent
necessity there is for a combination of resources
and energies, in order to supply the spiritual
wants of the destitute at home, and to extend
the gospel among the heathen—and, especially,
the evident influences of the Divine Spirit lead
ing the people of God earnestly to desire and
pray for, the re-union of all who love the Saviour
and seek for the redemption of our world—all
these considerations lead us to hope that " the
time to *or" Zion in this regard, "yea, the set
time, is come."
Will you,. dear brethren, give your co-opera
tion by appointing a minister and a. ruling elder
to attefid this meeting?
We are, dear brethren, your friends and fel
low servants in the love of the great God, our
Saviour. ALEXANDER REED,
Arrangements are now making for the meeting
of. the Convention, and for entertainment of the
delegates, of which, when, completed, due notice
will be given in the Presbyterian journals. .
FROM OUR ROCHESTER CORRESPONDENT.
The American Board.
In other columns we have given a full account of
the daily sessions of the American Board of Com
missioners for Foreign Missions at its recent meet
ing in Buffalo. We propose in this place merely to
call attention to some of the most important mat
ters connected with that meeting.
The place was favorably situated for a large at
tendance. Buffalo used to be a western city, but
now none is more central. And yet the number
from abroad was not quite so large as it is some
times. Of corporate members seventy-six were pre
sent, about three hundred honorary members, and
of other friends of Missions from without the city
of Buffalo we should say about five or six hundred.
The hospitality of Buffalo provided most amply and
gracefully for all that came, and if we may judge
from Dr. Clark's closing address, could have accom
modated as many more with the utmost ease.
The daily meetings were well attended, and gen
erally crowded. Two large outline maps of the
world, one for each hemisphere, added much to the
interest of the occasion, These were each fourteen
feet square, drawn with mathematical accuracy, and
in bright colors, so that they could be easily seen
from every part of the house. Some parts were
_darkly shaded, remeentiag - . paganism ; another
color indicated the Mohammedan parts of the earth ;
another Romanism ; and still another the truly
Christian portion. These maps pleaded most elo
quently for Missions.*
Among, the distinguished persons present, it may
be almost invidious to particularize where so great
a host are men of deserved celebrity; but it was
pleasant to see the honored President, Dr. Hopkins,
another year filling the chair which he has graced
so long. The Vice-President, Hon. William Dodge,
was also there, and as ready as ever to lead or to
second in anything that promised to do more than
has ever been done before for the spread of the Re
deemer's Kingdom. Ex-Gov. Buckingham, of Con
necticut, Dr. Cox, of New York, the aged Dr. Wis
ner, of Ithaca,_Pres. Stearns, of Amherst College,
Pres. Brown, of Hamilton, Chapin of Beloit, and
numerous other men of distinguished position and
influence were also present. Rev. Newman Hall, of
London ; was also there, and spoke with great effect
at two of the meetings on Wednesday evening.
But measures are more than men. There were
three separate subjects of peculiar importance which
were brought to the attention of the Board, by
special reports from the Prudential Committee.
One relates to Missionaries' children. What shall
be done for their welfare? This was the subject of
a long and able report presented by Secretary Wood,
which carefully reviews the past action of the Board
in this matter, and as carefully inquires what more
can be done. .Thie report was referred to a special
Committee, of . which Ex-Gov. Buckingham was
chairman; - After,careful consideration, this Com
mittee reported than , ErainiiiTOlTM — titiniature any
plan in time to report at this meeting. Fliankgsaate.
names were put upon the list, and they are to report
next year. The Committee is a large one composed
of many of the most distinguished laymen con
ne'cted with the Board, and we may reasonably sup
pose that, although it is a delicate and difficult sub
ject, they will present the best plan practicable for
reaching the ends contemplated. Sure we are that
the Board desires to do the best, wisest and most
liberal thing possible in the case.
Another special paper was presented by Sec
retary Clark, on the want of Missionaries. He
is after recruits. He has obtained a goodly number
in the past year, but he is not satisfied; he wants
more, and lie seems determined to have them. He
asks for sixty-one new Missionaries. It will be seen
that the Committee which reported on this paper,
Pres. Stearns, of Amherst College, Chairman, fully
'endorsed the demand, and recommended that a di
rect appeal be made to men themselves, in our Col
leges and Theological Seminaries, as well as to
young pastors, and that the claims of the Mission
ary work be urged directly and personally upon
them; that the Secretaries should not wait for vol
unteers, nor merely appeal for men, but to men, and
so try to fill its ranks somethina b more according to
the world's need. We certainly hope that this plan
may be successful. Indeed, this has been in part
already tried. This, in fact, is the way in which
most of the recruits of the past year have been ob
tained. And having seen the advantages of this
plan, we are quite sure the Secretaries will continue
to use it
ON THE WING
*They were painted—and admirably done—by Rev.
Merrit Gaily, of Marion. He seems to have a hand
for any thing.
J Ministers $2.50 R. Miss. $2.00
I. Address :-1334 Chestnut Street.
WILLIAM T. EVA, See'y
[Conclusion next week.]