.. ,-- -- T„ . ( .;." ,I ;. .)' • . . : .., '.-: '.:-:: : l' ti.•:, - • , . , < . . . t . . . , • . - . ~.., . ~ ):.. . , ii '1 Jobn AWeir 15j u1y69 New Series, Vol. V', No. 43. Strictly in Advance $2.50, Otherwise $3. City Delivery 20cts, to be paid at this Office. amniran prolnittrian. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1868 ENLARGEMENT OF THE EDITORIAL CORPS. Among the measures designed to increase the effi ciency and attractiveness of our paper at this time, our readers will welcome the new arrangement by which a large and distinguished corps of writers is added to the Editorial Department.. As the designation orthese brethren has met the cordial approval of the Pastors' Association of this city,-they will be known as TILE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE. Their contributions will be generally accompanied with the initials of the writers. Their names are as, follows: Rev. Z. M. Humphrey, D.D., Pastor of Calvary Church. Rev. 'Orrick Johnson, P.D., Pastor of the First Church. Rev. Danl. March. D.D., Pastor of Clinton St. Churgh. Rev. Peter Stryker, D.D., _Pastor of N. Broad St. Church. Rev. George F. Wiswell, DAD., .Pastor of Green 1101 Church. ' • • Rev. E. E. Adams, D. D., Prof. in Lincoln llni versity. Mr. Robert E.' Thompson will . continue to act as Editor of the News Department. - ' Correspondents in every. Presbytery :and: Sy nod will promptly furnish us with ! fresh items . of news from their respective fields. • " ' RECONCILIATION OF FAITH AND 'REASON. Among the faculties of the mind, faith indeed is to rule, supreme, but notes a despot or a tyrant. It is by the help and with the consent of all the others, not by crushing and outlawing them that faith would establish its dominion. It is, not faith, but its troubled caricature, superstition, that regards philosophy as its enemy, that tram ples upon science, an.dAhat persecutes those who establish the great and startling facts and laws of the material and the mental world. There is a wide diffirencebetween beyond, and contrary to; if faith is beyond reason, by that very fact, reason is unable to prove it either con tradictory or accordant; it may just as easily be one as the other; and if reason's self-assertion is so absolute as to declare that the idea of anything beyond its reach is contradictory and absurd, it reveals its own unreason and becomes presumm tion and folly. In denying religion, it makes a religion, and sets itself up as a god to be wor shipped. Reason itself, so far from excluding such a thing, ever points to something beyond itself'. There are barriers to speculation which cannot be passed. There are some most common ques tions which the very childhoOd of each succeed ing generation is able to ask, but which it baffles each succeeding generation of philosophers to answer. Reason is confessedly unable to solve' just those problems which are of the highest prac tical value and interest to man. If a man die, shall he live again? How shall man be just with God ? These are question asked four thousand years ago, questions that men have asked ever since, and will continue to ask, and which it is not in the province of reason to answer ; and yet men feel more deeply their need of an answer to them, than their need of the most brilliant results of mathematical or chemical or metaphy sical analysis. In this sphere, reason herself is a beggar for light, and can do nothing but wait upon faith ; can but point from her own bulky, but unsatisfying tomes, to the Word of God as URIM and TfILIMMIM ; and to the WoaD MADE mEstt, as the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The region of faith is thus beyond reason, and must in many respects be a surprise and an aston ishment to reason ; yet never could a reconcilia tion between the two b 3 thought of; if it were ladmitted that the clearly understood objects of !faith could be in open antagonism to the simple axioms of reason. It is in fact just here that reason can perform the most valuable and neces sary service for faith; without which faith could have no, criterion of the correctness of its own particular objects, and would be a mere vague in stinct or appetite, or undeveloped capacity, or be subj ect to all the extravagances of an unbridled im agination. Reason may go hand in hand with these great, supreme instincts of our nature; may shelter them from imposture; may interpose its veto to prevent gross and 'palpable absurdities from being accepted as the most sublime realities. This service to faith is its highest function. It cannot indeed find the true God, but in feeling after Him,, it can judge among the false ones, and when He is revealed it- can recognize Him, and surrender all its faculties to be swallowed up hi the glory of His attributes. It cannot origin ate the true system of theology, but discarding the false, it can arrange, methodize, develop and vindicate the facts divinely acquired by faith. It, has no revelation of its own, but heeding faith's longing and faith's assurance that such 'there' is' in the world,' reason examines the claims of vari ous works of man to such a character, and thus guides faith to the veritable Word of God, and helps to unfold the great decisive proofs that it is the Book of books. Reason alone suggests, to us no miracles, rather the reverse; but guided by the unalterable instinct of faith, which in every age and nationality has affirmed and accepted them, reason discriminates •the true from the, false, and saves religion from becoming a mere ,mytho logy. It is the business of reason, to recognize the true relation of the faculties. It, is in the exer cise, of reason, , and not in its overthrow, that we fully, discover and vindicate the supremacy of faith. ' . ' And who -can but , pity the mere reason : that; is Jetermined to be satisfied with itself; that coldly dooms the immortal, spirit of man to the narrow ness and the twilight of its own operations for ever ; that in divorcing itself as a Sadducee from spirit, .identifies itself with brute matter; and that,raises darker and more awful, problems in giving us man without a God, a world without a Creator, a conscience without an ,atonement, a, sufferer without a consoler, infinite longings with out infinite supplies, than any of,the mysteries in religion at which it stumbles; who does : not feel, that ,by the side of such direful perplexities, the Trinity, miracles, prayer, sovereignty and free will itne radiant with divine• light and, beauty ? Before the reason of the believer, how grand and inspiring is the prospect, when, in that won derful transformation which makes even thehody spiritual,•the,.mind shall doubtless attain a rprp portionate elevation above • its ,former self,,and when the objects of faith which ,now .snr,p,ass comprehension, shall be easily within its reach! Now they are like. far-off hints, to the mere be ginner, of the 'studies of the most advanced classes; then, the graduated soul shall have made them thoroughly its own. Now, we see through a glass darkly; but , then face td face. Now, we know in part; but then we' shall know evedas we' are known. It'is onlY faith's triumph here that insures reason's triumph hereafter. TAKE .AWAY THE STONE. Just wlaere divine agency and human agency meet, in' the individual life and in the life of the world, we may not know. That they have beau tiful correlation in all right activity, is out of doubt. They go together. God is, indeed, the source of all power as of all life. But in. the work of the world, man, is to be recognized as, in a sen,se, a force by himself,, with power of choice not only, but of achieve. ment. Man's power is limited. God's is unlimited. Yet infinite as the power of God is, lie consents to circumscribe its use. His concession of power to man is a kind of limitation upon himself. The sphere of human agency is sacred to humanity. God does not, will not, enter the realm where. His creatures have work to do and are delegated with power to do it, and perform that work him self. His almightiness supplements our agency, never takes its place. Do Christians understand 'this? Does, the Church understand it? Work out your own sal vation, for it is God, that worketh in you. We know something of that. Work out your brother's salvation; for it is God that work.etla with you. Do we know just the reach and significance of that ? " Take ye away the stone," said Jesus, at the grave of Lazarus. Why? Was the stone in his way? Could not a word of his havejostled it, out of its place? Could not his potent voice have summoned Lazarus through that ribbed rock ,as easily as through the open door . ? Yes. But human agency could take away that stone. It needed divine, to raise the dead. SO man must open the sepulchre. God emptied it. The world is full of sepulchres. And the dead are there. Oh! the dead! the dead! they are on, every side of us. They are in our homes, at our places of business, in our circles of friendship and acquaintance. The spiritually dead—the dead in trespasses and sins-dead souls. Who doubts that Christ, by his 'omnific word, could raise these dead, and give them deed of resurrection and life, without wish or will or deed of ours. Yet who believes he ever will! We must send urgent message to him, and put our hearts in it, as Mary and Martha did. We must tell him our Lazarus is dead. Unless he come, in answer to our loving and trustful solici tation, and stand at the door of these sepulchre; the dead will never conic forth. . • Is he not here ? Is he not walkirkg in the midst of the golden candlesticks to-day ? Do not the churches hear the foot-fall of the Redeemer, come in the greatness of his strength, mighty to save? Matra home-garden has still a sePulchre. in it. No Sabbath Soho`Ol is without ifs:dead. -Di.every PHILADELPHIA, THV - RSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1868. congregation there are souls that have , never yet been called to life. Multitudes have,been in their graves, lo! these many. years. Parent, pastor,. Sabbath school teacher, have you.taPm away , Ple ,stone?, To take away the stone, is to do µll that 'work; which, is possible,to human agency, ,il,l ; securing , the salvation of those about us. Simply co. pray, 4n4' to be content with that, while there is something ‘.; else that can be done, and that nee dg to be done, . and that therefore ought to be done, is to keep the S epulchres shut. The -impenitent must be, reached by personal9trort; must 14 brought to, the house of God and the place of prayer; must be confronted directly with the truth; must be talked with and pray i ed '‘Vith, as well as preached to and prayedfoi.' They must be Made to feef that there is a personal and spdcial 'interest in their • welfare—that somebody carp for their souls. Our faith maybeequal to prayer,'When it is not equal to effort. 'Mirtha's prayer, in behalf of Lazarus; breathed 'all trustfulness:;,' Bat when the Master came and Said, "Take away the stone," her faith staggered. "What use Lord? He has \been dead four days!" gO and heir 'often, do we, too, doubt; withholding our word and deed after we have sent up our • prayer. Our shameful atiecriininal unbelief suggests and urg.es• difficul ties in the .case; blth -with ' reference 'to human agency and the power.of:God. .Who , of Us is not rebuked by Christ's reproof of Martha's want of faith; "Said I not, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou,shouldest see the, glory of God?" Work, ,Christians, ,is the duty of, the hour. Work possible,to.us all, and to which we'shall go, in faith that it will be supplementedby work_pos sible only to , God. Special, personal, spiritual work,work for,sQuls. Preparation, work., pre_ Ceding and:correlating God's work. Until this is done, we,shall see( no resurrections— We must, go and, do what was' done there, by human hands, at the grave of. Lazarus, if we would have the dead, ip trespasses and ains made alive in ChristJe sus._ We roust op_enJhe 'eepaletlxekk-e, We must. take away the, stone. 'This done ; —done faithfully and believingly, with trust in God—and the voice that woke the dead on Olivet will speak again;. multitndes of souls shall have, glorious resurrection, and. the dead shall live. , ,}l. J. MR, BARNES IN NEW BRUNSWICK, Our townsman and ministerial brother, Rev. Albert Barnes, is spending a few weeks in the Queen's dorniniocs in conformity to a law by whiCh he may acquire a copyright for his works in any part of Great Britain. His host, John Esquire, of New Bruns wick, has improved the occasion to • give him a formal reception, and thus, in some de crree return the 'civilities shown to 'the distin guished cleiical visitors from Scotland and Ire land last year, in which Mr. Barnes bore an hon ored part. Our own, and all branches of the Evangelical Church, iihich claims the untarn ished name of Albert Barnes as a common trea sure and as among its most valued possessions, willbe gratified with these marks of cordial friend ship and appreciation , on the part of the clergy and laity of all denominations in • New .Brans wick. . , • The reception took place on. Monday,. October sth, and was attandedby ministers of the Church of England, and of Scotland,. the Presbyterian Church Of the Lower Provinces; the Reformed Presbyterian Church, the Wesleyan, the Baptist., and ,th,e Congregationalist; The report of the oc casion.in,:thc .Christiara Visitor . (Baptist,) says : After ; prayer, Mr.. McMillan remarked, that as his reverend friend had so long occupied a distin guished place in . the' Christian Church, and. as he .had rendered such valuable service. to the cause of truth, he ba.d:felt it a matter of obligation, as w e ll as of very great pleasure, to, afford . an opportunity to the cl'ergymen and prominent laymen of the city to. give lini asocial reception. Ile then called upon Rev., Dr. McDonald to give, on behalf of the minis try, the address of welcome. The Dr. expressed, in appropriate words, the very great pleasure which he felt in extending his personal congratulations, as also , those of his ministerial brethren, to one so highly distinguished in the Christian ministry and in . the religious literature of his. age, and warmly extended the hand of fellowship. , Dr. Botsford fol lowed, on behalf of the lay brethren present, in in spiring sentiments of hearty greeting. Dr. Barnes, in reply, said, that he had heen qnite taken by sur prise, and that he was deeply affected with this unex pected expression of good-will in this city of stran gers. He touchingly referred to ihe.eulogistic refer ences which had been made by previous speakers to his life and labors, and said that, his life-work }vas about closed. That he Was within a few monthsof seventy years, the age commonly allotted to .man, and that, in consequence of physical disability, he had resigned' the pastorate elms church in Philadel phia, and had been compelled toy rest fkoin all labor and study ; that, having completed his work, .he was waiting the call of his Master.. That what he had accomplished in life hid• been performed tinder the guidance. f an unseen 'hand—his; course..had been entirely i different from. what. he had intended when be ,enterea u pen lifee'd Ales. .was thgli* sceptic in 'sentiment, - and designed to follow the•Firo,-, fession of the law : but by the, grace of God he was &inverted to Christianity, and led to enter the gos pal.ministrY. He had to thought at that time that' he .would ever bes,bleto write anything which mar - kind would read with interest; .but without any, fiketi'Plan he had written books, 'and he was now ainaseffat the success which' had attended 'them. The roost 'of these works had been prepared before he took,his breakfast in the morning, so as not, to interfere with his pastoral• Work ; that he had 'eri joYed very great pleasure in writing them, and if they had done good, to Jehovah, and not to him, belonged the" glory. When :summoned to the spirit world he should have nothing to rely upon but the atoning blood of the Lamb. 'Theo affectionate ut terances came home with melting tenderness to all hearts,and will long he remembered with gratitude by all . preseht. We have no space to do justice to this admirable address. It breathed throughout the spirit of matured' wisdom and experience, a comire heesivesense of personal' reeponsibility, enlarged Chr,istian charity, and genuine humility. " After a free social interchange and refresh men ts, "Mr. Stavely expressed.for himselfand his breth ren assembled hearty thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Millan for this gOlden'opporfunity, and called upon John Boyd, Esq., of the London House, for a speech. Mr. Poy,d,responded in a style which thrilled the deePest 'Sensibilities Of the soul. fie was glad of the favorable opportunity to thank ,Mr. Barnes in per son for the great.personal advantage 'which he had derived from his published works, especially his commentary On the Word Of Got These notes, un like many notes that were given, were sure to pass for, theirreal value. , They had, not only found their way' to nearly every section of 'this continent, there by making the name of their revered author a household word in its Christian homes, but they had crossed the Atlantic, had become. incorpo rateeWith the religious literature of the good old father land,lhad been translated into some of the languages! of continental 'Europe; opened up the well-springs of life eternal to millions in distant hea then climes, and had shedtheir liglit and their glory upon the golden Australias and •upon' the peaceful Isles ofthe, Pacific. He rejoiced greatly in these na tional interchanges of representative. Christan men. The visitsofsuch metres Newman Hall to the Amer ican,State.s, and of Albert Barnes to the domains of Exigladd'e Queen, would do more to bind the mother and'ilaughter together' n the kinds of an enduring harmony i than all the diplomacy which politians could command. Mr. Boyd closed his eloquent ad dress in utterances of gratitude to Mr, and Mrs. Mc- Millan fin the - I*AI social treat of the evening: During the progress of the exercises,. Mr. Malin.: lan received a ,telegram from Governor Wilmot ex pressing-regret that he was unable to be present, and • appropriately quoting Hebrews xiii. 20, 21; ttia..tiod. of pewte r , thtt....,brought again—from dead." The Visitor concludes its report in the follow mg manner : "May peace and prosperity 'attend his footsteps while he remains with us, and inay his last days be `hfiglitened with, the approving smile of his Saviour and his. God!" The Colonial Presbyterian asserts a persona resernblinbe between Mr. Barnes and Dr Cooke of Belfast. IF, says : "Dr. Barnes is a 'shade slighter than Dr. Cooke, but , of the same make, similar white locks, aquiline nose, ,and shaven cheeks." It, quotes Mr. Barnes as saying of the city of St. John that he "Was pleased to notice the good order that pre vailed on the streets and the quiet of the Sabbath day--in - this-respect it resembled Philadelphia in which he was accustomed to think the day, of rest was observed in amore becoming manner than in most Cities in the Union." Also that' "Though he could. not expect now to live long, having nearly reached his three score years and ten, and though he desired to be found willing to depart, he confessed be had a desire to live, to live longer. The privilege of doing so in mir day was very differ ent from what it was even fifty or seventy or a hun dred years ago. Now there were great developments in material progress, and science, in religion—in the revelation of the Divine , plans, which it was a privilege to witness. Life, was a heritage, and life represented more' now than at any: former period'in the world's history. The hcipee of men centered in God as,revealed in the G-od-man." THE VERDICT, OF THE PEOPLE. It is concede& on all hands that the people have decided to elect - General Grant as the next President., and to' maintain the . policy of justice, eqnal rights, honesty - tb the national creditors and loyalty to the national' Government, upon which the •Republican party is - based. There has .not been such an exciting canvass at any time within the memory of this generation. Even during the elections in war times, expectation was not so strained, nor feelings so intense; for the conduct and influence' of our national Executive, during the past three years, have been such as to reopen nearly all the issues which were 'regarded as set tled by war. The adherents of the Lost Cause, day by day, gathered hope by the example of Mr. Johnson,• that'wha:t the North had wen by the ;bayonet, they would insanely allow to be re taken by the 'ballot. It was proclaimed every where, that the people were dissatisfied With the principles of loyalty and justice, on which the State ;governments at the. South - were recon structed; that their rooted prej udices against the negro were 'offended by his admission to equal civil rights; that Congress had oeased to repre sent the people in what was called' its " Radical Legislation," which would soon be overturned, and the rebel whites , of the South: soon be reinstated in all their wonted seats of power atidintluenee; and, with the single exception of the, form ,ot Slavery,,the status quo ante &Rum Genesee Evangelist, No. 1170. Home & Foreign Miss. $2.00. Address:-1334 Chestnut Street would be frilly restored. 'We 'Were, in fact, fight ing rebeltia with thnbillot, arid moreover with the disadVailtage thai we could not use the bayo net at the same time, as' we were dcing in 1864, and with all the trernehdois patronage and _pres tige of the national Eiecuiive wielded against us. We were asking the questioU' Shall we honestly' pay the war debt? the counterpart to the one asked during the war : Shall we lend to, and try' to borrow for the GOverninent; . the means to carry on the war? the latter qUestiott, as every one knews, 'bein,g far the easiesi Of the two catty in the 'affirmative; proPoscd, as it was,' amid exciteinents'which made us`insensible to the greatness of the burden, which now we feel in its'oppressive.weight. Thus, 'at grievous odds, we have really, this fall, been. fighting our four years' war over again. The wounded viper of. the' rebellion, cherished in the 'bosom of treacherous loyalty, has roused to' venomous and vigorous life. Victory seemed as . near to its grasp .as after Bull Run, or 'Gaines' Mills. Hence, the tremendOus excitement of these pivotal contests of October. The vote of Pennsylvania or of Ohio was necessary to decide the question' in November. Both have gone un equiVocally and irrevocably for Grant, and 'the' conflict is virtually ended. Rebellion is pat down the second time. The'awful question, which Mr.' Johnson dared. to' open, whether the Natibn would 'go back on its record, dishdrioi its myriads of martyrs for liberty, and 'reinstate blood-stained' and unrepentant rebels in power, has been neg,a- tined. The motion to reconsider its most solemn" acts has beedput to the Nation by a renegade from the majority, and amid'the most intense ex- peetation, it has'been laid on the 'table, and can and will 'not' be taken up again. Once more,' the DemocraCy, Which has not' , learned anything since the struggle with slavery' began, has under estimated 'the growing intelli2 gence and - moral 'sentiment 'of the peOple. pts leaders counted'largely on the prevalence of the lowest and mest Selfish principles of the human , ' heart. _ They viewed the masses as devoid of the' 'principles of Common 'hcinesty; justice, and fiu manity.'They thought again to-play upon their low and unreasoning prejudices against the negro. They 'bribed them, as if they were a 'nation of knaves, with the hope of a virtual repudiation of their honest debts. -Thank God 'I there is enough Christian principle in the heart of the American people, to disappoint the plans of 'men, who be . lieve the sure road' to power is by appealing to the baser 'instincts 'of their fellow-citizens. The insulted people again and again have repuliated them. • The Republioans made . their appeal to what was manly, honorable, just and humane in the popular heart, and they have triumphed. TEN ORDINATIONS-TWO NEW PRESET- A cheering view of the progress of Christ's. cause in the great Central West is given in the , report of the last meeting of the Synod of Mis souri, and in Dr. Hatfield's Letter which will 4e found in other parts of the paper. In one day, a., step forward was taken, which assimilates the rate. of Christian progress to that exhibited by the greatest of modern secular enterprises. It looks., indeed as if our church was, resolved to be fully even with the, needs of that ,vastly expanding, section of country, when in a single session of religious body, ten educated men could be set apart for missionary work, two Presbyteries or ganized and a Synod prepared for. the finishing touch of the next General Assembly. There are Yew, such good days' work in the history of any part of the Church. The appeal for funds to support these great. undertakings will be cheerfully met. .Our Home , Missionary Committee calla for $38,000.. Every cent of it should and could be La the treasury in two months' time. • • • sir The Philadelphia Association of Baptists , was in session in, this city week before last. The item of most general, interest was, the passage of the very preambles and resolution, which, the , Warren (R. I.) Association, killed by reference to a hostile committee and, which several other local Associations have _passed. These, which have already appeared in our paper, declare that baptism must; in the nature of, things, come be fore admission to the Lord's .Supper, but give no Scripture,to' prove the position. They sound to our ears as meaning, (1) Inerecß, we , Bap tists have always adhered to , Scripture against . ; tradition,; and Whereas, (2.) we do now adhere to tradition without Scripture,; Therefore Resolewl,i that we will, in tile name Off soNillberty," give , the cold sl►oulder to any one whn has the, hardi, , hood-to differ from us. • TERIES-A NEW SYNOD.
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