Original ‘©mmumtHtfxmi OF RULING ELDERS SERVING FOE A TERM OF TEARS. The election of ruling elders to serve as such for a term of years, is a question now agitating the Church to a considerable extent; it is not a new subject of discussion, but has occupied the attention of Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assemblies frequently. Although it is impossi ble to find an utterance in favor of a limited term of service in the- records of our General Assembly, and our Form of Government declares that the office of ruling elder is perpetual, and the usage in a majority of the churches in this country, and probably of all in Great Britain, is to elect for life, and no elder can lay aside his ordination, neither can any deprive him of it. It should not be forgotten, that, in the- First, Book of Discipline,of the Scotch Church, drawn up by John Knox and others, it was provided that the election of elders should take place every year. (Sect. VII.) It.willnot be improper to examine this subject again; there may be ady vantages .in the limited terqi .which were not .oby served, or may not have,existed, in former times,, but which the present condjtipn.and form of gov ernment, of our .own country., make, more appa-. rent now. ; “ Billing elders are- properly, the, re presentatives of the .peoplp, chosen by them for the purpose.of and disci, pline, iu conjunction yvith, pastors; or ministers,” says the form of government. Now, it is a ; fact that, in r many churches, the eldefs do not repre sent . the, people, nor have they, been chosen by those composing, the majority of the church, members. This is more -frequently the case in the Urge cities of th ip- country, where the entire character of a.nejghborhood .may be '.changed .in a few years ; that which was a suburban district, may, become -a ■ manufacturing one, and . that in whiijh the church was the. centre of a wealthy, and refined populatiqn, may be in a, short time surrounded;by.warehouses,,stores ,and offices,- or. the outlying missionary-church,,made up of those in humbler walks of life, may become the centre of a finely, improved district.. All, have noticed these changesi takjng; place about them. In any case, the elders,,-tq ppperly represent tfie people, should be chosen by those forming the existing, church, membership. Sometimes, for the want of proper men, those fiut indifferently qualified are chosen—men wanting ip- intelligence or posi tion in society, and, wfhen those better qualified in every respect, become .members of (he church, no opportunity may remain to make use of them in this important office. .Agayi: the character of men, as well as of congregations, changed -A man, from no fault of his own, may find his po sition in society, and in the esteem of’the bretlfi ren, much changed. It is imptissible fdr a church to take a. lively interest in a representa tive,’ who, when once chosen, is ever after placed over them, and beyond jtheir reach, 'Unless some flagrant or outragepus act, place, him under ecle-, siastical censure. Many churches are seriously injured for want’of an opportunity to introduce , new and more acceptable persons into the session, and the perpetuity of many organizations is jeopardized: for"the want of such succession in office. The members of a session are not always the parties that Would bfe selected; if the congre gation were left to a free choice,, but are fre quently selected, by the pastor or'sessionj without, regard to the. wishes of' lie people. True, they, are invited,, to lacquiesce.by ;a vote, by voice, by ballot, or by- rising, there being no uniformity of practice; men are thus frequently thrust upon a congregation, who are not acceptable, and who would be resisted in any other than cfinr.ch con nection, yet such are, according to,the;usages of the church, to; remain the- representatives of a peojrlfiwbd hevej; really' sejedted 1 ' It is objected' to the term of year's, that tbe frequent clectiqps would- keep constant ex citement, and might lead to misunderstanding and difficulties. ...Such, however, is, not likely to be the case-'; If.the elders were acceptable; there would be no change, the congregation simply ex pressing: their approbation by. re-electing such persons ; .but,.if not acceptable,- others, better qualified, could, he. selected. . It cannot be urged tbat.ohurph meetings are, ,pf- necessity, more dis-, orderly .than:, .other ;,like gatherings, nor that church members are more apt to . quarrel; but the difficulty iis .found, iq the fact that there, are;. in almost-every congregation, those who imagine themselvesjpecnliarly fitted to manage and direct the affairs-of- tlie: church, and ; suppose the mass of the members incapable of understanding their wants; therefore, attempts,arc frequently made to manage matters,,and, in order to do so, means are resorted to, which excite indignation, and create those disturbances complained of, in' church business’ meetings. Let -these .managers take their places, as simply members of the con gregation, let them seek a fair and honest ex-, pression of the will of the people, and all trouble at church electiqns and business meetings will be at an end, and many sensitive persons, whose valuable counsel and influence is now lost to the Church, would be induced to attend, and take an interest in the proceedings. r Although the’ records’ of our Church do not encourage the limited term, there has been a con stant; yielding in the dbcisioUs of the Assembly. In 1835, the Assembly declared that the election of ruling elders for a term of years,"was irregu lar, and ought in future to be abandoned. In THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1869. 1849, they believed that the evils of a change would far outweigh those of the present system. In 1852, the Assembly would discourage the adoption of the principle in our Church, from respect to the .plain meaning of our rule; but nothing in this resolution is intended to disturb the relations of those churches which have adopted the principle of a limited period in the service of elders. On the Continent, and particularly in Hol land, the office of ruling elder is for a term of years. Almost all the churches in the Brooklyn Presbytery have adopted this plan, and many others, also, scattered all over the country. So far as the experience of ruling elders thus elected has been ascertained,- they are well satis fied, and would be loth to he placed in the old position of a fixture, which, no matter how ob jectionable, a church must submit to, and cannot get rid of, unless by a process apt to be lengthy and disagreeable, a provided‘in Form Gov., x br., 7. ■ / '■ , P. M. V ESPEaTATIffHS OF A MESSIAH, • BY REV, y. D. DOBBINS'. It is a great' mistake to suppose that only in Judea was the anticipation''of a divine being cherished, Buddhism, arid' Tauisin, arid Brah riiinism are all based ontheidea of an incarnation of Divinity , wedding humanity to heaven. Plato, after visiting Egypt, arid drawing knowledge from all available sources, corifessed ’ that 'fie looked for a divine Teacher. ' • ’ '.‘ Tacitus, a learned Roman historian, informs us that, throughout the* whole East, it was the gen eral expectation, that about the time of the reign of Caesar. Augustus, a-king was to appear in -Ju dea, who should rule over the whole world, from the 1 Pillars of Hercules to the Ganges of India. This; was a very natural of the times, add ardently taught by -the Jews to the surrounding nations, .Wherever they.jvent, they dropped the seeds of this great .prophetic truth into the hearts of men. Whije Jacob.and Moses taught it in Bgypt, and Daniel in -Babylon,; it was inculcated by writings, by ceremonies, and, ‘by speech, wherever a Jew came in contact wiljh heathen nations. . From the .time of the Babylo nian captivity^some 607 .yeaps before Christ,- the Jews were scattered eastward throughput jail the provinces of the great - Persian monarchy, as we learn from the Book-of Esther,' where, in one place, Hainan informs the King; that there’was’ a certain race-(referring l to' the Jews) scattered ’ abroad rind; dispersed- among the;people,:in all-the provinces of’his kingdom, governed secretly by different laws from’those of his kingdom, neither would they keep laws. In. Persia, the .Jews made many converts to the religion of their-fathers-; and they scattered far and wide the expectation of -this root, -which should spring forth-. from Jesse, jat: Bethlehem; -which should.be an ensign of the people, and to. which the,Gentiles;should loQ'kfor. truth- and salvation!. a. • 1 ' After the return of the Jews to the Holy Land,. from their .captivity, .they rapidly-increased,. Jti; dea being .too .small; as. a field of enterprise, - or,a providentially, -by the force ,of circumstances, j many of the Jews emigrated-to different partsof Asia, Africa, and Europe ;—rwhcrever,- in fact, the eagles, of Borne flew, and even beyond, j -the,’ Jews went, and everywhere made converts to the . Hebrew Faith— belief in a .covenant, invisible ’ God, and a promised Teacher, Saviour, and King. - r- Agrippa, in ,an oration to the Jews, delivered, before their final* dispersion, and, of course, be fore the destruction' of Jerusalem, -declared, “There is not a nation upon earth where, some of your couhtrymCri are’ not to be found. Tf you,’ who are in Judea, rebel against-the authority of 'Home, all of your rque that-re|ideanjOther places, will be destroyed, and thus every great city,< of the world will be filled with blood.” , ' Philo, in one of his orations, declares, “ The Jews are dispersed . throughout all the world. They dwell in most of the flourishing. cities of Asia and Europe,—-in the islands of the sea, and on the continents.”* even Cicero, in one of his masterly orations in defense of a Jew at Borne, declared, that “the gold which the Jews sent,to their ,temple at Jerusalem, was forwarded from Italy and from all the .provinces of the vast Raman Empire.” This heathen testimony ac cords with* the account given in the Acts of the, Apostles, regarding the representatives of many nations- gathered at Jerusalem, on the day of* Pentecost. There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under hea ven, Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers of Mesopotamia, and in Judea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of. Borne,.Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians.” ! ' There never was, in the history of the world, a more generally received anticipation,—extending from, the banks of the Tiber and the groves, of, Greece, to the Indian Ganges and the plains of- China, than that which awaited the birth of Christ in Judea. There is nothing like it in modern times, except a somewhat similar expec tation of Christendom, and of some heathen na tions, in regard to the second advent of Christ* and the consequent overthrows of false religions. This modern expectation, like the ancient one, is vague, conflicting, but general, among thought-, ful men. During the last ten years such start- ling political events have transpired, such bar riers have been-broken down for the advancement of Truth’, and such rapid communications opened among the nations, that a large class of minds would not be at all amazed, or even surprised, if Christ should, any day, reappear bodily, on this earth, as the rightful Sovereign and Saviour of mankind. There is a vague, but universal expectation with the Jews, now scattered among all nations, as they were, to some extent, two thousand years ago, that the Messiah is yet to come on the earth to redeem Israel and to reign as their King. Their wealth being easily convertible into ready money, the Jews, as a race, could easily and quickly make their way to the Holy Land. This, of course, is bat stating the opinion of some; but it is a remarkable fact of the times, that daore Jews visited Palestine last year j thin during any former year since their loss of the country. As a race without nationality 1 , but 1 Is raelites 'by faith, their hearts Over turd toward the ancient Land and' the JOity 0 f the Great .King. For hours have I sat with the JeVs at their ’Wailing Place qlong'’ the western wall ofitheir ancient temple in Jerusalem, and heard them, with true, tearful sorrpw,"cry, “ How 'doth the-city sit solitary, that whs full of people ! All that pass by clap their hands ait her. \ They hiss 'and wag their heads at. the daughter, of Jerusa lem, this the city -that men call the perfection bfi beauty—-the joy of the' whole earth ?’’' W’htS'efore d'ost-thou forget fis foreveV, and forsake time ? . Turd 1 thbtf us’ unto thee, 0 Lord,f and'J®jb shrill ‘beiturbifi; renew our days as of o 1 d.'^-/^£lj||4jn the language of Jer'e- ! miahj do they and ‘the' ad- : Vent of their is no great fadt in history more reffis®£ble *than the unbelieving, and yet ‘to’thb : Hbly ; .City to prove, of race and religion, glejhis'dust with that of fhe*amcient worthies; 4 ’ii .■ r. ... . . LESSONS Au£,NO? 4. , 1 (Prepared week¥y r foi:'t^e l Sin : erican Presbyterian.'] , - •’ ' ■::* . .M . * , . The. Conversion. . Acts 8: 3. 9 :1. 13. 22,: 4-16. 23 : i. 26 9-k ~, i; - 1.; Wa3 Saul a member of' the Sanhedrim 8 .. - < •’ ' ’ - «- -i 2. Meanirig pf “I gave my-voice against thefti.?” ■ .. ■>, ' .. ' ’ ; ' , .3.. Meaning-of;‘thaling.?’’i. -, . I-? ' 4. jMentipn distinct acts, of: Lis persecution-in Jerusalem, ’ 5. Meaning of; l^ breathing out ?" - j.-I ’) ’•’ 6., ( iWhat.was,the;Woi@t aot<pf all ? Act’5.26.;;.11. 7. Had hjs reputation asn.Persecutor extendr ed j.,8. Did he think in his heart he was right? . 9. May .a man be' conscientiously. ' crnel 1 and wicked? /. ; -, . .. 10., Bid. Saul, ever ,|regret ; .-his. conscientious , ~ ( . 11. Is it a duty to have a..right conscience ? . • 12.’ While-’Saul 1 isf’ persecuting ’’wheife Are- Philip and Peter and John? : *- ; ' ! > * - ;l il3. Did'Saul go to inore than one strange city.? 14.:.Whatt’authoi;ity .would the chief Priest have,in Damascus? , . .. . , , 111 ‘ 15. How far was Damascus ? ’ 1! 16. How would he travel ?" Through what gate iwhuld-he pass?; ■V; ' 1 * •;;J- ■ r-hn -i.: 17., - What foute would he-take? - - ; : . ' • -, 18. Had our Saviour passed here ?: c • --i. 19. Would Saul get glimpses of the Mediter ranean Sea on the West? ”• ’ - 20. What long valley and river on the’ East ? 21. What lake’ or ? sea : ofi his route 1 ? .; 22.- Would he cross the Jordan above.or below -it? : ... -.- ’ , 23. After .crossing, what kind of country did he find ? " ‘ ' v 24. Who had passed through here 1 900 years before; on a very; different' errakd; going : from Damascus'? K-. : , - . • ; 25; describe Damascus. ;, l , 26. How many accounts, are there of paul’s conversion? ' 1 ! , 27. Who gives these accounts aid 5 which is most complete ? ■■ ■ I• • i.. ' m 28. What time of day did. the conversion take place ? 1 ■ 29. Is it probable that Saul could'be deceived ? 30. What was the effect on' the mteh with' hlip ? 31. “ Stood speechless,” 9 :r7—-“lAil'yfcSento earth,” ch. 26: 14 how.reconciled? ! ■ ■ ‘ ' 32. Hearing a voice” ch, 9 : 7. ■ “ Heard not a voice” 22 : 9, how reconciled ? 331 How was Saul persecuting Jesus himself? Matt. 25: 40. v ' 34. ' Meaning- 6f ’.“'kick against thi pricks ?” ' 35. Why did Saul now treniblc? i 36. Did Saul see Jesus ?. , i 37. Was the. conversion now or When he is said to pray ait Damascus ? 1 • 38. What does his question show as to the surrender of-himself ? • . . 39. How long a time is. necessary o. b'e con verted? ... ... , . • . 40. Why waß Saul alone in Damascus ? 41. How did Ananias feel about gomg to him? 42. What'kind of man was ; Ananias? 43. What reason is given why he should go? ; 44.,, What Christian .virtue did. it, require to go ?: .. ... V,. 45: What was Saul doing and thinking be fore Ananias came ? , l 46. Had Saul been accustomed before th pray? 47. Was iteasvjfor Saul to become a Christian ? * 48. What sacrifices did he make ? . ;49. Can a sinner noW;.become a Chiistian without making sacrifice ?, • •• • , . \ 50. May a sinner expect a miracle to concert him ? ■ *' ' ■, 51. What may he reasonably!expect? ,\ 52. When is the time to begin 7 “ Tell me what you know,” said Gcethd; “I have guesses enough of my own. \ MORE MISSIONARY BOXES—THE S. S. 1 CHILDREN TAKING PAST. We have bef'oY.e uS interesting letters from two missionaries, one in Indianaand- one ip Illi nois, to whom boxes had been sent by the ladies of Clinton street Church. In preparing the" box for the former missionary, the Sabbath-school children took a part. Very appropriately, there fore, the reply of the Missionary contained special reference to this portion of the donors. We quote from the letter. dear children or the sabbath school ! We are glad to learn that your hearts and hands hare had a liberal share in the work of preparing our missionary box. . We suppose you designed it fer a Christmas present., and as such, wq i receive it. yet, although we did not get it home until three days after .New Year’s. We live thirteen miles from Wabash, our nearest point to the railroad, and heard from the box. in time to gohfpr it,i the next day after New Year’s j but we ,did'not know what kind of a thing the missionary box. was going to,f>e. It Being pret ty.good sleighing, we went in a cutter, and ex pected to store away the missionary box under the seat of our small cutter.-; But -lo! and be hold ! your bounty was npt .eyen to be carried in, ..any, way in any such conveyance. We were‘as tounded at the size of thetiox, disappointed that jWe could nbt take it' home and See what it ‘con tained, and yet, above' and’’beyond' the vexation and disappointment', we' were’ greatly pleased to find that we had’’under-estimated father than oyer-estimated ydur generosity. -But out aston ishment and pleasure were still more complete, when we Opened the box and discovered the many hibS and' rich presents which it contained. Thanks, many thanks, dear children for your Christinas presents to the family' of the Home Missibnaryf The L J ord TesuS says, “It is more blessed to give than to rec'eive.” We are glad to see Sabbath-school children investing so early and sp largely in'this superior kind of blessed pessi Would’tbit all tfefe' disposed to show by their actions that they believe' the Lord spoke the truth when tie said, “ It is more blessed "to give than to rebtiive.” . And now. dear children, 5 let u's'see if ike cannot learn a Useful lesson from ttie missionary box" You all expect the mission ary and tiis. family'to'tie thankful for this Christ mas present,' don’t'you ? Yes, you expect iis not only tp'be'thankful, but to express our thanks. You woilid think it strange enough, if we did not tell you that'we thank' you. You would think it rude, and "perhajjs' you would’ everi be ' sorry that you seht iis’ such* nice present's, if we should negl'ect to give'expfession to our thanks. , Now Christmas dky is tjie day on which the Sayiqur' df : sinhers is supposed 'to have been horn ; The day oh 'which God made his royalTJhfistmas present to a’sinful wen-id. Shallwe hot then ex press out thanks to him fog the gift' of his dear’ SonM Would it be Ibss rude to peglect ; to tliank‘ J .Gcod for 1 his Christmas' present, than it would be tb neglect to think our earthly friends for their presents ? Thope my dear children that you all are indeed'truly thankful to God fori his "Christ-’ gias gift,’ and that' Pone'oif you ’ will be so rude towards Him as to neglect to tell Him so. And I hope, moreover, that you' will give Him in re turn yonr grateful loving hearts. Yours respect* fully and thankfully, FROM OUB LETTER BAG. A Home Missionary in lowa' writes : “ Plesise sead-me onediaif dozen Copies (if possible)mf-——. I enclose — ; —as subscrip tion to begin with. 'I am just appointed to this field, and have met with a stray copy of your paper which I appreciate very highly indeed, and will-work'in Order that it may have a large circulation'herd. iNoi family should be without it. I consider' one copy of it is calculated to do more good than hun'dreds of the diluted sermons of the present day. May the Most High pros per you in your good work and labor of love ” A brother in the Central West, Sending a’ re mittance; adds the following Postscript: 1 P. S. “ I thank you, 'my dear Bro., for the course you have froth the beginning pursued with the American Presbyterian on the Ee-union question, oh questions involving moral principles in the Government, —in fact, on every question that .can affect in the least the cause of the Mas ter, your course has been that which' every lover of : truth and righteousness must approve. 'We may not, in every minutia agree, but in the main questions involved, I feel that I .can give my : hearty approval to every editorial 'during the’ last three years. What then can Ido more than to bid you 1 God’s Speed.’ Gj-b’on my brother, and may God bless you in your good work.” Another in N. E. Pennsylvania says : “I need not assure you of my warm attachment to the American Presbyterian. It is the most prized of any paper I "take, notwithstand ing I receive aboui ten,'in all, four of them re ligious papers'” • A layman in New Jersey, complaining of dif culty in getting his paper, writes, thus emphat ically expressing himself: . j “ Since writing as above, I have no word from you and no paper. Please see to it at once, for: my family would rather do # With two meals; a day than be without the Presbyterian.” • On the general subject of a first-class 1 pitper for the whole Church, an earnest' brother and successful worker for our Church in Michigan, writes as follows: “ I believe there is no point more radical with our Chnrch in the West, than a first-rate paper in the-hands of ail our members.* This would save' auencies for our Benevolent Boards almost, entirely. It would indoctrinate the people. It would help the pastors in preaching, and would often bring glorious revivals, and in, and by this work, would make us homogeneous as a church. But. hoW to put sucti a paper-therej is apraotw cal question that is worthy of the prayers and the study of the entire body.’ We have two papers, perhaps three, which claim to be first class papers. I would give much to see one of these in the hands of ,every family, and -member of our entire Church. Can the wealth, and en terprise of the N. S. Presbyterian church ac complish this thing in 1869? How can it be done ? Do this, and we have saved to the Church and the cause of Christ millions of money, and the bone and sinew of a. “muscular Christianity.” A brother on Long Island sending his sub scription, writes: “ Please; find enclosed; $2.50, for yonr paper this year. It has become indispensable to myself and family, and l wish it abundant prosperity. If your brother G. W. M. goes anywhere, insist .pn his .writing to us all'through your paper. is good,, but your brother: is much hetter,, Some time: when We meet you will perhaps tell- uie who “On: the Wing”is.; Without disparaging others, I will indicate' my thought :by i saying you have not lately had a better article than Dr. Wiswell’s “ Church ;at Work.” That’s the vein for you and us all to work.” - ; TOEEIGN ITEMS. Episcopacy in Australia.—A portion of the anti-ritualist party in some part of Australia have formed what they designate a “ Free Church of England,” and have elected a bishop. He went, through a form of consecration, took the oaths of .supremacy, and on. the following -Sunday held a general ordination. . In Sydney, New South Wales, the Episcopal Church is now independent of the, State, and does hot receive .any State aid, Its clergy and laity are now busy in framing laws for. its direction as a free‘Church. Sii triers have been elected to act with the bishop in the trial of heretical or immoral clergy men. It was decided that,parishes have the op tion, of, having .their clergymen appointed by a board pf nominators elected by the Synod (the name of the chief; power among and oyer them,! or by such a hoard elected by. themselves. It came; out, in the . way of .statistics at the meeting of Synod, that the. total income of the Diocese is about £50,000; and the stipends of the clergy $21,412 —a little less than one pound a head per annum for each attendant. —As usual the 'greatest services to the cause of pivil and religious-liberty in Spain, are being; rendered by its foes. By violence and bloodshed, they are stimulating the people and the provis ional government in their purposes of reform, and hindering, if not utterly preventing, a conserva tives re-action in favor of Popery, which might' naturally be expected to attend the restoration of monarchy, A Madrid telegram of January 27th, informed-us that the Governor of Burgos was assassinated’ while carrying out some or ders of the provisional government, confiscating libraries, archives, and works bf art possessed by the churches, as the property of the State. This fanatical act induced the Provisional Govern ment to declare the equality of alb religious her liefs before the civil law. That decision was unanimous, and, it is believed, represents the sentiments of the great majority of each of the parties dividing the people. It also, appears' that a great excitement brokeiout against'the Church party. The Bean’and Chapter of 4he Cathedral of Burgos have been' arrested; ’ diplomatic rela-. tons with the Papal Nuncio have been broken and th ® people of Madrid have made violent, demonstrations against him. ■ . a reeent meeting for Spanish Evangeliza tion, in New, YoHc; it was stated as a significant fact, that. American books are sought after by the Spaniards more than those published in England. Thirty years ago it was impossible to get a box of books into any of the Spanish countries, but now the difficulties have been removed, and as the following letter'will show : . Society, N. T. ‘ - m ' iVarf r. s“Si,7tb‘ r HIJ j h r h bidding importation of Such books-h ha sis :fessfca*- arcs taken up rapidly. A verv mh.Tu 7 ' lhey T ll *J® much needed. A . ver ymuch larger number is , . Henbv. C. Hall. nmltJ COnfl ' Ct in Au9tria bet *een the Clergy and the Government still continues. The Govern ment shows no ' disposition tb yield any of the ground it-has taken dp. The new laws, comple ting the reeent Liberal-legislation with regard to emb marriage are another step toward the com plew separation of the Church from I the State. clergy keep up the hostility/and the Gov ernment replies by repressive measures. A Sr *say** Sti2^aprofound sensation, and is without precedent in the Hai*- burg annals since the reign, of-the Emperor Jo-
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