641w,- . . - ::kultcir4.. , .' - ...2-rrslittirrt_ in
New Series, Vol. VI, No. 15.
Strictly in Advance $240, Otherwise $3.
Postage 20ets, to be paid. where delivered. j
puritan s Irtztasttrian.
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1869.
TREES, NO. 1111-THE TREE OF LIFE.
By Rev. E. E. Adams, D.D.
"Out of the ground He caused to grow
All trees of noblest kind for sight,'smell, taste;
And all amid them. stood the Tree of Life,
High eminent, blooming ambrosial fruit
Of vegetable gold."—Paradise Loa, B.'IV.
What was the significance of this tree 7 What
its use ? Was it a covenant token? We do not
deny that there was between the Creator and His
creature man in Eden a transaction involving
some features,of a covenant. It may have been un.
derstood, that by obedience, the latter would haire
perpetuity of life and happiness. But the record
presents no such transaction, gives ,rio suck inti
mation. It Would 'seem rather that man was
placed under a ministration of law. Rational,
intelligent, free, •he was the proper subject' of
precept, of command. The Word of God to him
is imperative. " The Lord God commanded .the
man saying, Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowl
edge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it,
for in the day that thou eatest thereof than shalt
surely die." This is the language of authority,
of law. It has no covenant form nor tone. There
may have been a covenant, between God and
Adam, but we are .not informed of the fact,
neither are we told that the "Tree of. Life" is a
token of any actual or possible event.
Was this Tree of Life a sacramental ,pledge, to
be used occasionally as a warrant of the divine fa
vor and medium of fellowship with God:? The
fact that its fruit might be freely appropriated
by man implies that it was not sacramental; that
its use was not special, but common.. Nor was
there need of a sacramental token in an unfallen
state. Moreover Scriptural authority for this
notion is wanting. Again, Was the "Tree of
Life" a criterion of' man's probation 7 A token
to him of happiness unimpaired and eternal if he
should endure the trial of his fidelity and
worthily accomplish his probation Now,rhow
ever true it is, that God placed the " first, pair"
on trial, and however certain it may have been
that their continuance in holiness for a limited
period would result in their eternal holiness and
joy, we see no evidence that they had any visible'
pledge of that result, not even the most remote
allusion in the Bible to such a fact.
What then was the object of the Tree of Life:?
Why was it placed in Paradise ? We are taught
that temporal as well as spiritual death to man was
the bitter fruit of his sin. " By man came
death." "In Adam all die." " By one man sin
entered into the world and death by sin." But
for sin, therefore, man had not known death. It
matters not whether he would have remained for
ever on the earth or have been removed, like Enoch
and Elijah, to heaven., He would, in some world,
have enjoyed a holy, happy, undying life. And this
life would have been perpetuated by some appro
priate instrumentality.. In his'innocence man was
appointed to dress and keep the garden of Eden.
He was to labor so far as the proper cultivation
of soil, and the, care of its products demanded ;
to guard and retain possession of the place. This
would occasion, naturally, some "wear and tear."
Flesh and blood, even in . a state of innocence,
would have to be refreshed. At all events, we
are quite sure that the processes of a healthy
body would involve the necessity of supply. This
is supposed in the use of the fruits of the gar
den. Perpetuity of life would be secured by the
Divine power indeed, but through natural instru
mentality. There must be supply proportioned
to waste. The material nature, equally with the
moral, was on probation. Hunger and thirst and
weariness must be provided for. The processes
of nature must keep up their ebb and flow, in
order to perpetuate strength and unfailing vitality.
. May we not in this constitutional necessity find
the precise intent and use of the Tree of Life
Was it not evidently planted, or made to spring
up in the centre of the garden, visible to the oc
cupants from every quarter, and easily accessible,
that it might be to them in'their innocence, a pre
servative of 'health and vigor, preventing disease
and decay, repairing waste and perpetuating life,
so long as their probation was to last, or until
that life were established in security and per
fection ? The name of the Tree indicates this.
It was a living tree indeed, like all the rest, but
it was more. It imparted vitality; it perpetuated
life; not merely as a living tree . '; not as other
trees promoted life, but as a SPEOMO INSTRII
DIENTALITY,—the Divine .method of rendering
man physically superior to death. Moreover,
what is the just and natural conclusion •to be
drawn from the words of God in 'reference to man
after the fall? " The Lod God said,: Behold
the man is become like one of us, to know good
JohnAWeir 15ju1y69
and evil : and now, lest he put forth his hand
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live
forever—therefore the Lord God sent him forth
from the garden of Eden to till the ground from
whence he was Aaken. So He drove out the
man, and He graced at the east of the garden of
Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword, which turn
ed every way, to, keepthe way of the tree of ile."
Sin brought death on the! man, but had he
again partaken of the± Tree of. Igo he had lived.
On no other aecolutc,vcia it necessary fi k hat , he b,e
driven from Eden. ais,explilsion,therefore,,..is
an adequate.comment.oti the. office and nature .of
the tree. in, question. , • ,
,„
It,was the physicaL, source of, man's vitality.
By it decay was prevented, disease kept at bay.
Immortal vigor and beauty were, but for sin, its
blessed , results; And even after his sin and his
doom, let him again eat its fiuit and he triumphs
over his , fate 1 , He regains , his immortality The
tree must be barred from his approach by sworded
cherubim.
In confirmation of this view, it is to be noticed
that the " Tree of Life," when used figuratively,
signifies sometbilig 'heathful, salutary,
life pre
serving. 'Ails i of, wisdom it is said, " she is a
tree of life ." that is, healthful, "The
fruit of the riohteous is a tree of life;" th„t is,
saving, giving lite to the soul., "A wholesome
tongue is a tree of life;"" that . is, good wOrds are
healthful. From these and other passages that
might be cited, we learn what Solomon under
stood by the literal tree of life,,which he used as
the basis of his figures when uttering some moral
sentiment, or speaking of some quality of mind
arid heart.
The 47th chapter of Ezekiel i and the lastchap
ter of Revelation present the, same Idea .of thiS
tree. It "is for the 'healing of the nations."
Many considerations are suggested by :these
chapters, but we have not, time to puisue them
at Present. When.we enter the new Paraaise we
shall see the full significance of the Tree of Life`.
A STEADY HAND AT THE HELM.
When the storm out on the'waterA, and the
elemental war is so wild and furious that'veteran
hearts are appalled, and thefaint-hearted shrink
from their pusts of danger and duty, how cheer
ing to know that the hand at the helm is steady,
and to feel the quivering ship Come up bravely
into the wind, underite skillful and'unflinching
pressure. Just , each has been Our feeling of re
lief at the cool, sagacious,` unflinching attitude of
the noble helmgm'an of our Ship Of State—Gov
ernor Geary—while assailed with the most furious
and perplexing storms of opiition upon matters
most vital to the welfare of the State. A tem
pest of crime had' burst upon us; the dread of
the laws and their penalties seemed to "have van
ished'. The worst criminals'hoped for impunity
in what they iMagined to'be the relaxed tone of
public sentiment. By exciting popular sympa
thy at their just but dreadful fate, by taking ad
vantage or the clataor'against capital punishment
in many ituarters, 'by marshalling a Vast host of
importunate applicants for Executive clemency,
they counted upon breaking 'down what I:barriers
yet remained, after regular conviction and :sen
tence, to their escape. So great 'has been'their
success hitherto, that. one of• Our City ; judge's mit
constrained to, declare .to hie grand jury, a lit
tle more than a week agO,‘iat,it has come to
,pass in Philadelphia, that it in more_ dangerous
to pick a pocket than to take a life. The, thief
is much more
,certain to be punished, than the
murderer."
Accordingly, when, two men, recently convic
ted of the, most, atrocious murders, in, this city,
found it impossible to reopen their , case in court,
and the time for their execution, drew on, they
and their friends and sympathizers, turned upon
the. Governor with all the energy of ,despair.
Letters were written, pleading,arguing,threaten
ing; petitions were circulated for signatures, rgil3-
guided Christian people and even, as we,are told,
an elder in one of our own elvirches, =aiding ac
tively in this work; two of Twitchen jurymen,
in one ease, and the _brother of _Heenan; the vic
tim of Eaton, in the other case, joined in the
clamor for mercy,, although the two jurymen af
terwards wrote ,a private_ letter to the Governor,
urging him to pay no 'attention to •their first
statement- In the very height of the excite
ment, the Legislature of the State came in with
a bill, revolutionary Of. our ,whole penal code, yet
carried through with such 'haste, as to, give the
law-making body the appearance of the , , closest
sympathy with the most infarrtous,..elao of Jaw-,
breakers. It actually put into , the Governor's
hands the whole question of the death penalty,
expressly allowing him to substitute, for it, at his
option, imprisonment for life. Thus, while it is
only by a solemn constitutional provision that
the Executive possesses the power of pardon, it
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1869..
is here proposed, by a hasty legislative enact
thent, virtually; to take from the Courts the whole
question of the severity 'of the penalty, and sub
ject it to 'the option of "the officer appointed to
execute, and not to revise or ModifY, the sen-
tence's 'Of the ju'lliciarY. 11 '
And whtre,' amid' t all" this'atoim, threatening
the seedrity of the liV6e'cif three milliatis of peo
ple, and the majesty ana power of all law,.and
levelling•thecrime of murder beneath 'that of
pocket- picking,--where'stob& the Governer', upon
wheie attitudethewhole force of the crisis had
come? Serenely and' :cchirteousfy lie received
all applications ; -patiently-he listened — to every-,
thing-in::the . shape of ',evidence, but with un-'
swerving fiAelity he; kept his , high; position;;; he
g,rasped,the wheel :with firmness, arA bore the
ship, of State,,with steady sweep, right, through
the heart, of r the storms ; Violated JAw E , took its
course; justice . was done • the public safety
was asure,4; 1n0r14,. 8 3 1 4P4thY, !44.1 criaiainals
Was rehuked, and the leaAtal spirit f ,o£ violence
that is•abroad was awed. And to our t lawgivers,
swept gown ,by the current, the Governor re
turns their bill "with the,,,veto. qr t lcl ,Eaton
was hung on, one day; the :bill was; gibbeted on
the next.
At the battle of Gettysburg,Q-ener,al Geary
with,stood,,the t dpsperate onsets of tho.rebols, who
andaavored.to malte,gOod their lodgment in the
gorge at pulp's Hill. Seven tines„_overs they
hurled thpir„ desperate, yelling masses, vainly
against his steady.lines. ,At length, forming his
White Star,,brigade and, putting himself at their
head,,he,,made one vigorous charge drove
thorn fyom,thuir„ position, never to , I return ; Had
he, yielded,, in ,all _probability the ;; whole .line
wo - uldhave been broken and the clay would have
beep lost.. It is not diffmult,to feal,that hp has
foßg4t 41 1 d wog, a Tnore, , „iM
portant, victory, through ; the pxereise of the same
qualitics,,and,itt
,like depeadpnce on is
higher,sour,pe,for.st,rength. God grant that the
G - ettysburg.49fe4 t.hp .h01d.,N4, dangerous
army 0 . .55 11 2t.hi 7 rPr4 Tf4:9Eime:4 l , ll Y•have takeP
place on the, sgil, of .our, state,, aud,:fikat, whatever
alarming deMonstrations they may yet ,be suffered
to make, their.strength,,from this fateful encoun
ter with our Governor may be .seen continually
to wane. . .„ ,
.IPRECIOIIS MEMORIAL
, ,There are those, who bequeath ~thousands .to
beautify the place .of their burial, for who, spend'
thousands while living, in garnishing, the, tomb's
of their friends, thus• lengthening Out forl a few
years the remembrance of the departed. There
are others, who ,mark their; lives along, their
course or at . • their close, .13y, deeds of such sub-,
stantial,beneficence, that one does not think .to
seek their,memorials.among the dead; so noble'
.and so prominent are their monuments among the,
living. Like the autumn leaves, having done their
life work,and dropping• off in, a glow of heav
enly beauty at the last, their place of burial may
be •unmarked and unknown, but.their workin the
,enlarged and beautified ancl.strengthened life and'
limbs of the tree, remains, as their. best. memorial.
Few. know where and howYeskt,he xemains of the
honored Baldwin 3 but the .five church enterpri
ses which owe their, external .r accommodations
largely or.entirely, to his heneficence, perpetuate,
his. memory in the knowledge and re g ards of hun
dreds of thousands; Olivet, and Tabor, and• Her
mpri,,and North Broad, and Ox.ford.churches are;
his monuments,, more. .4 0 4 01 ;g 1 te and, more effect
ual a thousandfold than any mauspleum could,be,
upon which th.e entire post, of ! All these
churches
had been lavished, ~Who ,knows of the burial
place and its.appointments, of,Nrs. Mary Cornell i ?
We confess ourselves entirely, ignorant.on this.
point. But her monument at the, corner of Ninth'
and Wharton Sts., in.this city; is known and read
of all men. Her, little.,fortune, the minute accn
,mulations of forty years of widowhood, isolation
and obscurity, now stands embodied in a, hand-'
..some.church, filled with, regular .worshippers and
their families, its •pulpit occupied by a • capable,
earnest and faithful preacher and worker for
,Christ; its Sabbath-school rooms crowded with
hundreds of,children and teachers, and its roll
of membership showing over, two hundred addi
tions on ,profession in less • that
,five yars since
the building was- dedicated-41 testifying to the
grace of God in one of the
. humblest of ,his fol
lowers ,cluring her, life. , ,
The erecting,ef a tablet,to the memory, of Mrs.
Cornell, and the services of dedication held in,the
church on last Thursday evening, are well fitted
to. commend. her., example to-,general imitation.'
Christian people lave .a lively sense of the value
of such acts, and will note suffer them to run a
risk of being forgotten. The record of 'such a
deed; done under a former dispensation is iMPer
ishebly preserved in the Gospel narrative': "' He
loyeth our nation and hath built na a synagogue."
Who will go, and do. likewise What man or
woman _of, wealth will, living or dying, seek such
a sure. and delightful method of perpetuating
their remembrance among men ? Who would put
a considerable sum cf money to the highest of all
; uses and in the surest methods ? Who would
cause, a :healing fountain, to spring up, as it were,
in the desert of some destitute neighborhood in
a great and wicked , city; a complete organized
array: Of paving, • elevating influences , for time and
for eternity.? Let him plant a Christian church,
in the proper neighborhood,, so far as
k e, can by
by ding, clear; of, all, incumbrance, a spacious,
well-planned, ,and well: , church-
edifice. ;. :
Thcrpiki, au,effort, which for some menthe has
PePn . onAlaAd,, fnr.,raiaing §1.05,000 for. church
Puildiugparpoeqt, in quzdenomination in:this city.
In a]l but (Me casp,.the churches are actually,or.
ganiy,ed, and, aptiye, apd, well situated. The most
essentlal i part ; of the work de ; dpne. ,- There is no
question aa to, their„success, if the material part
of,the work hp,pprformed. ,Who will make one of
these Ichurchn t s .his memorial—his monument ?,
iluxtr ,il
AN • b. • IN .! • ~
AN RIME itoiG REACHLD.
" We ate . •zoiAing to stolid pith. every one Who ac
cepts theiriformed .04oinistic . system in its
integrity/
SO says The Presbyterian in reply to our ques-
Meit, as to the liberty of interpretation, to which
it would invite us` in the Proposed re-union. This
tisfactOry. " _IECJ:" does not
"want more extedded,Veedotn" than this. But
this is exactly the liberty of the Gurley clause.
1, t;
The Presbyterian, 'therefore, like o u r Reunion
Committee, "hanZsOthelY ho*s out" the amend
ment.bialie Fait*doneedis and
endorses:the. asserted liberty of that, aniendinent
inl,ll,its length and breadth: We are ,gratified
iit this' frank 'expreSsion,, , i New. School Presbyte,
Tians, 'solar as ,we have kno*ledge,,wantlnliber
ty; the !Wing. ofiwhich will takethein beyond the
limits:of' mind Calvinism. ,The, endorsement: of
:",the":Auburn Declaration."_ bytheAlld School
Assembly 'of:last year .at Albany; !the statement
.of, the, - Tittstiiirgh:;brethren (0. S.), that " ali
that, is asked is:an hbnest reception of the same
hotiored‘sythbolsT and this demand is not under
-stood to , restriateither ministers :or ; people in a
Auelexeicise of Christian liherty;" and this last
declaration of The Presbyterian, that . ":we give
undisturbed liberty to whit /does not endanger
the-integrity , df the:Calvinistic system," forth an
expression. of opinion authoritative and decisive.
,Our ,bratiektof the Church . says, it ought to be
-understood., that no right of reasonable liberty in
-dOctrinal,exposition,i [ such as , conceded. by, the
Gyriey..4ause; is relinquished< or denied by our
Presbyteries, in agreeing, to the amendment to the
L h'irst „Article. „ And, the 0.. S. Assembly ' the
Pittsburgh ,brethren And , , The. Presbyterian say,
Amen:- H. I.
CURRENT TOPICS.
—The = financial , year of , most, if ilot
. all, of
our General AssCmbly's Committees, closes this .
month. ,Sen s d, on t, your contributions.
= Wp are informed, ~on,,good anthority„tbat
applicaticns ,Aetteg 'grog& the Andivi4uals 004-
•PePIP4) 4ay.e been. made to the., Tru.o 4 es, of, thc
.Upiver§itY.Pf- ,P,e l Aus,Y l VaPi4, honorary' de
grpAisT. onefrom Toronto ; two from the British
Islands
Church 49,7,/01.Y.,(Pr-1014ber-i
,ger's), clams, 9 1 4 the, last ten ,years there
have been, received, in one of, the Reformed
l aturchesnf this ci,ty,,caorp co-nvertifromßqukan
iiSM to Protestantism,: /I*ai perverts frp9l, Pro
ystanti§a} *IL! iu ln the .RoDlauCitlao4n
.churches ; of this city in, the same period.
Revs ' IL,;:Thorne,. lately resigned from
.the charge :of ithe , First ,Presbyterian ::church of
Darby, has gravitated into the hands of:the Uni
tarians, and . lireaehed, to a slim cimgregation in
Dr. Furness,' church last Sunday. Mr. Thorne
i iB.a gentlemanly, amiable man, a native of.ng
land, who came into our body from the - First In
dependent church of this city, and whose most
marked characteristic was an Unlimited admire
-
Tor the -N. Y; . lndeyencfent.
= T,he funeral, ovationp!, given to ,the victims of
justiceare not cooly -out mete, but tend to the
subversion of the, very Ands of punishment. Is
not Vie dead body of the criminal entirely within
the Control of the go!Crnme.nt, which could take
his life ? If so, the
_gpvernmeat is responsible for
the effects of such demonstrations as the viler
elass of our citizens were allowed to make On
Saturday over the remains of Twitohell and Eaton.
—The experiment of free pews is said to be
succeeding in the church at Elkton, Md., the bi
ome having ,been, considerably increased , under
the working of the new plan. This church , be
longing 'to the, Wilmington -Presbytery, num
bered not long ago among its members, and
Genesee Evangelist, No. 1195.
Home & Foreign Niss. $2.00.
Address:-1334 Chestnut Street
perhaps still does, the wives of Postmaster-Gene
ral Creswell and his first assistant, George
Earle, Esq., these gentlemen themselves having
been regular attendants, and Mr. Earle espe
cially a warm friend of the pastor and a liberal
supporter of the church. Secretary Creswell's
fine voice was regularly heard : leading the bass
in the choir..
—With not a few there is a nervous anxiety
that Reunion be
,consummated without delay at
the coming, meetings of the General Assemblies.
Meeting in churches of the same, neighborhood
in New York -city, it is : hoped by some, and feared
by others, that a way .will be, found shorter than
the regular methods, to bring the two Churches
there represented substantially together. A sort
of " higher law" theory or sentiment is believed
to be abroad under which the two bodies will
then and there be compelled to unite. It would
indeed be strange enough ,if two bodies of
Christians, so closely related, should not, under
such circumstances, indulge in the most frater
nal demonstFations. But we cannot believe they
will allow themselves to be drawn into any hasty
or crude disposition of so momentous a matter
as Reunion. Certainly they most sadly under
rate its importance, who think it does not de
serve, to be wrought out with the utmost
patience and care. Few if any things ought to
be done at all, if they can only be done in a
hurry and at fever-heat. A work which is to
be coeval with Christendom, a Church whose
massive towers ,and bulwarks are to stand until
they are lit up with the glory of the Second
Coming, Will never be reared by men who
grudge a yer or two to the work of harmonizing
the =materials 'and 'deepening and widening the
foundations. Meanwhile, it should be under
stdodthitt our Church has been ready for union
on terms proposed twice over, and is ready still.
It cakonlY be for the sake of the other branch
thati'haite is urged
Wisely or unwisely (We think the latter)
our branch'Of the Church, through its Commit
tee on Reunion, has consented to abandon the
'only' Mange: in' 'the Basis of Reunion which
guarded out !liberty against a rigid construction
of the standard& But in so doing, the Commit
tee repeated its Understanding, that such liberty
was expected and would be exercised. That de
claration is no guarantee or protection to a rea
sonable liberty in 'the future. 'No lawyer, judge
or jury would count it worth a straw. And if after
Reunion we get into difficulty, such as our past
history shows is not impossible, we shall be de
barred from an appeal to the law, under the
consciousness' 'that legal men• would smile at our
Simplicity,•and' remind: us that we deliberately
tied' our hands when we 'went 'into the union.
'Who'does not know'what a sedative it would be
to the uneasy, heresy-hunting class in the
Church;to know befoiehand that a constitutional
provision-too' plain - for courts in bane or juries
=to Misunderstand or override, stood in the way
of 'the final accomplishment of their purposes
This; we 'san'a mere " it' is understood" of a
preamble could not do. Nevertheless, such a
preamble, rigidly: retained, ought to be 'of great
value in foro 'edclesi& "and in fort conscientiw.
'lt Makes a 'powerful. appeal to the• honor of our
biszsthren'of'the ether' branch. Only our Pres
byteries and General Assembly Must state the
understanding; 'clearly 'and f authoritatively'; let
there 'be " no roofn' toz . doubt' that such is the un
derstanding, let there be no flineh'ing, from a
frank policy, from a fear lest it may defeat Re
union. Then, if with full ranks, the great and
powerful body with which we are negotiating,
rolls out its Amen I we will 'respond with . Hallelu
jai' I 'We shall feelthat we have our security in
the ascertained temper' of the' body, and 'shall
have no fears for the future history 'of the
Chureh. But if that' Understanding is timidly
stated, or left in such a way that it shall appear
,
to be the sentiment Of a mere minority, then in-
'deed the distinctive character of our branch will
be sacrificed, and nothing will 'be left of it but a
'sepulchral record and a He jacee, to tell what
has become of it.
, The Fifty-Second A.nnualßeport of the Amer
ican Colonization Society, shows that they receiv
ed in 1868 $56,640.77 from all sources, (to
which add - balance, Jan: ISt, 1868, $8,425.51,)
and expended $63,388.63' leaving a balance on
hand of $1,677.66. They have sent since 1820,
12,995 eMigrants; the largest number sent in any
'one year - was in 1832,'°796; the smallest, 23, in
1864; during 1865,'6; 7 and 8, they have sent
2,233:; Average 'number for 49 years, 265. The
last annual meeting was held Jan. 19th and 20th,
1869, 'in Washington, D. C.
tier Read Rev. A. M. Stewart's Letter on
Libraries for Mining Towns on the 2nd page.
It presents a most important object of wise be.
nefieenee.