Presbyterian banner & advocate. (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 1855-1860, February 14, 1857, Image 1

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    PRESBYTERIAN BAWER & ADVOC
proubyterhus Bonner, Vol. V, No. an..
Prombitorlon Advocate, Vol. NEC, No.lo. I
DAVID MeKINNEY, Editor and Proprietor.
TERNS.-IN ADVANCE.
Original Vsetu.
Pride,
UT W. WALSTON UNDICK, A. M.
" Pride goeth before destruction, and & haughty
spirit before a fall."—Solomon.
Pride always goes before a fall,
Hath said the wisest man of all.
'T was this that dragged th' archangels down
From heaven's high portals; and by this,
A haughty monarch lost his erown,
And men tray lose eternal bliss.
How many a mortal here on earth
Bows' down to toil, with care and pains—
To toil for glittering rank or worth,
For worldly praise, or sordid gains;
Then counts his gold and wide domains
With pride of heart; and lifts his head
Above his friends that gave him aid!
But soon shall halt tile pompous tread,
The tomb alike holds all the dead.
Vaunt not, ye rich, of greater good
Than those who lack in store or food,
Whom God the good of earth denies,
Perchance for glory in the skies ;
Your sumptuous halls, your glittering rings,
Your daintiest, grandest, costliest things,
And pleasures, too, may yet take wings,
And leave you poor and low as they
You pass in pomp and pride to-day.
)ast not, ye sons of lofty mind,
'ith grasp of thought and learning joined,
met not your intellect, nor more,
mst of your skill in learning's lore; '
tough many of your fellow•me)
_re far beneath your mental ken
In genius, intellect, and thought,
And others yet, still lower brought,
Walk through the earth with idiot stare,
Or gaze but with the madman's glare ;
Yet that same Ood:who order'd these,
May, in another moment, please
To strike you too with wild disease,
Or take that intellect away,
On which you pride yourself to-day.
Boast not how groat and strong ye be,
When others faint and frail ye see ;
Nor, though with might in vantage strong,
Oppress the weak, or , do them wrong.
Your glow of health, and pride of strength,
Must fail, and leave you, too, at length ;
Soon fell disease consume your frame,
With slow deoay, or feverish flame,
And bring you low and frail like them;
Your boating pulse, and measured breath,
Are nearing, ever nearing death.
Be humbled, then, ye sons of wealth;
Ye men of mindl ye blest , with health !
For while the poor, the crazed, the weak,
To you, God's special goodness speak,
Their wants and yours are made his care
And this demands your grateful. prayer.
'vitally City, February, 1851.
For the Presbyterian Banner and advocate.
.arks upon the Interpretation of. the
.uline „Argument for the Unity of the
tman Race,
The classical proottext for the doctrine
the Unity of the Human Race, is found
Acts xvii t 26—" God bath made of one
every nation of men, to dwell on all
`ace of the earth." Paul was address•
'iose who regarded themselves as sprung
the sacred soil of Attica, and wholly.
!pendent, as to their natural (;rigin, of
other tribes or nations in the earth. As
design of the Apostle, in his oration, on
Hill s was to attack the prevailing
of unbelief existing in the minds of
Greek Philosophers, we are able to
• from this general design of the whole
trse,.the particular significance of that
it just referred to. It was intended
received by them as a counter state
against the traditional faith they en
'led respecting their imagined natured
Idenee of all other tribes of men.
Jet ground this supposed independence
based, is another question, and one to
the Apostle does 'not immediately di
his argument. As a matter of cense
le, the ground upon which the Atheni.
milt their fancied independence, will be
away, by the acknowledged force of
ict, if believed, which sweeps away the
Ultima faith itself. And, as another
;pence, a new ground will come in, by
of just inference, to stand in place of
Id, and confirm the true doctrine. But
the ground itself, the Apostle says
ig, directly, whatever. He announced
and that fact is this, that there exists,
, ine ordination, a blood-relationship
every one of all the families of
lid, or in other words, that the same
!us in the veins of all. This is the
no.
is in view of this statement, we would
attention to what appears to us a sin
inadvertence of the great majority of
lentators, in their exposition of the
before us. Their uniform strain, to
ler with that of many writers upon the
:trine of the Unity of the Human Race,
Ixpressed substantially in words like these,
'his passage proves completely, that all
human family are descended from one
lestor !" Again, "All the families of
Paul affirms, are descended from one
lin 1" Again, " This verse shows that
mankind have sprung from one pair I"
The doctrine, here, is that the
ity of the race restson historical descent!"
' again, "This teaches that every indi•
tat of the human race has descended
the same common parents P' Such is
general and almost universal utterance
multitudes of writers on the text.
N ow , w hat we ask is this : Placed upon
3' Hill, Athenian by birth, Epion
tu or Stoic by creed, 'utterly ignorant of
e Hebrew Scriptures and their account of
.e origin of mankind, and intent only upon
the words of Paul, would any of the court , ;
of the Areopagus ever have gathered from
Paul's expression, the interpretations we
have just recorded ? Would any have un
derstood Paul to affirm or say that there was
one man from whom all other men were de
rived ? That God at first created one man
and one woman, from whom the rest of men
came by historical descent? We cannot
think they. would. Paul has said nothing
at all about a common ancestor; nothing at
all about historical descent. However true
these statements are—and they are indubit a-
bly so—still they are not the primary inter-
pretation of the text. They will follow
as genuine inferences from what Paul does
affirm, coupled with the reference in the
mind, to the creation of man, and the law of
seminal development, announced in Genesis
as the universal law of the life-kingdom, but
they will not be suggested immediately and
directly, in the absence of all this previous
knowledge, by the words of Paul themselves
Paul could not make use of a reference to
the Old Testament Scriptures, before the
Athenians, as he would have done before
Hebrews. He conducts a great portion
of his ; argument on purely philosophio
grounds. He does teach directly and ex
plicitly the doctrine of the Unity of the
Human Rae°. He teaches itin the definite ex-
pression that God has " made of one blood,"
all nations of men ; but he gives no such
arguments for the truth of the naked fact
he announces, as Commentators represent
him to have done. The only argument given
in all the oration, for the truth of the doc
trine taught, is an a priori presumptive ar
gument, namely, the Unity of the Divine
Existence—the necessary correlate of the
doctrine of the Unity of the Race—and just
such an argument as he would address to
philosophic minds. Further than this, the
Apostle has not gone.
How, then, shall we . account for the in
terpretations generally found under this im
portant passage ? The answer is not difficult.
They are all attributable--
(t) To the unconscious influence, on the
Mind, of the. Mosaic account of the creation
of man, and the law of human development,
as announced in Genesis, together with all
that has been written in Genesis, as to the
historic descent of the various tribes of
men, andall that has been written since and
believed by those who hold the true and
general doctrine of the Unity of the Race.
In the light of these things, more than
in its own peculiar light we areconstrained
to think, the passage before us has been in
terpreted.
(2.) To the supposition that the word
h,almatos," (blood) is a spurious, or at
best a doubtful reading, for which there is
but little authoritative evidence. Quite a
number of the older Commentators and
Biblical critics occupied this.grotmd, and by
expunging the word from the original text,
read the passage thus : " God bath made of
one—i. e. of one man—every nation of
men, to dwell upon all the face of the
earth." The great Bengel decided in favor
of the omission. Griesbaeh and Schobr
marked the word as doubtful, because want
ing in several of the manuscripts ; and,-
more recently, Lachman has erased it from
the passage altogether. The influence of
the first consideration already named, upon
this procedure, is too manifest not to be no
ticed. Besides, a difficulty was felt in the
minds of many as to the meaning of " one
blood," if designed to be understood lit
erally.
(3.) To the careless assumption that, even
though the word is a genuine reading of the
original text, yet the uses loquendi shows
that it must be understood as synonymous
with the terms " stock," "race," "tribe,"
" kindred," " family," and the like.
All these considerations have had their
influence in producing the indirect in
terpretations alluded to.
We proceed, then, to give - what we think
and believe is actually the plain, simple,
and true meaning of this classical passage
in the oration of Paul. We hold that the
Divine Spirit,, ever present to guide the in
spired writers and -speakers in the selection
of their terms and peculiar.forms of expres
sion, and content, also, to wait. for time and
knowledge to justify his. assertion before
men,llhas stated by the mouth of Paul, a
new fact for the. Unity of the Human Race
—ta fact which, though used by Paul, only
as the simplest expression of the doctrine
itself, was destined, nevertheless, in , after
ages; to shine out with a previously unknown
lustre, and take its position among the most
brilliant discoveries of modern science.
That the life-stream which flows in the veins
of men is characteristically one and the
same, is what we understand the Apostle
here to have been led to assert. Scientifi
cally, critically, and literally true is it, that
God bath made of "one blood," all nations
of men. Between the European and the
African, the Mongolian, the aboriginal
American, and the Malay, there exists, ac
cording to Divine appointment, the most
intimate physiological relationship. In the
bodies of the jet-black Negro, the dusky
Moor, and the copper-colored Indian, in all
the Varieties of complexion, and throughout
all the diversities of configuration, and un
der all the circumstances of climate, from
Caucasian
the fair on his breezy hills, down
to the mart Coolies, on the banks of the
googly, in Paul the Apostle, as well as
Dionysiva the Areopagite, there flows the
same common life-stream, the same one
blood. This is the purely scientific basis,
" ONE THING IS NEEDFUL :" "ONE THING HAVE I DigIRED OF THE LORD :" "THIS ONE THING I DO."
PUBLICATION OFFICE, GAZETTE BUILDING, FIFTH STREET, ABOVE SMITHFIELD, PITTSBURGH, PA.
s t A RDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1857.
the physiological fact, which Paul was led
to assert, under the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, when announcing the doctrine of the
unity of mankind. Nothing at all is affirm
ed respecting a historical descent or a com
mon ancestor.
The interpretation of the text may, there
fore, be stated briefly in the two following
propositions :
' I. There is a common life-stream flowing
through' the veins of all men, of whatever
tribe or nation, which, notwithstanding its
accidental modifications caused by
of climate, food, health, and habits, is yet
everywhere characteristically the, same, and
can be recognized as such.
IL This We-stream of the human race
is characteriztically different from, all other
life-streams, found in all other creatures ;
in other words, the blood of
_Mankind is
different from the .blood of beasts, birds, or
fishes, or any creeping thing, and can be
clearly distinguished therefrom.
If these two propositions can be substan-
tiated by
. the Scriptures and by Science, as
undoubtedly they must be, if our interpre
tation is true, ,then we have an irresistible
argument, peculiar in itself, for the unity
<)f the huinan race—a new and' scientific
basis upon which to build up and confirm
the other declaration, that all men have
sprung from one original pair, or descended
from them, historically, by natural genera
tion.
The considerations which have impelled
us to take this view of the passage are as
follow .
(1.) The difficulty felt by early transcri
bers of manuseripts,.and.later Commentators
and critics, in reference to the reading
haimatos," and which resulted in its era
sure from the text. " The reflection," says
Baumgarten, who, while he admits the lite
stream to be one, Yet fails to bring out clear-
Iv the import of the expression, " that
h,almcs in this connexion seems to be devoid
of any right , reason or sense, .may havegiven.
rise to the old reading gof one,' which
Bengel thought worthy of consideration."
That it actually did give rise to it, there can
be no doubt. But an hour's examination
of the results of Biblical Criticism, will
show that, notwithstanding the opinions of
critics, and the erasure of the word from
the text, by some , early transcribeis of man
uscripts, the wordis supported by good evi
dence, and is a genuine reading. This. be
ing so, we must take it as we find it, and
seek to ascertain Its true meaning
(2.) The usus loquendi. According to
this, it is affirmed that, by the term
"blood," we are to understand "stock,"
"race," "family," " kindred," ." tribe,"
&e. Our answer to this is a decided nega
tive. If such were, indeed, the biblical
use of the word, it would =be very easy to
show it. But where has any one performed
this duty? We have failed to find one, in
all our search. On the contrary, a refer
ence to the Greek and Hebrew Concord
ances, as also to the Lexicons of the Greek
language, and a comparison of the context,
in a few places, has satisfied us that such is
not the fact. In four instances, in the New
Testament, where the word "flesh" is
coupled with the word" blood," the whole ex
pression simply means men, human beings,
and not even, save perhaps in one place, our
corrupt nature, as the word " flesh " stand-.
ing alone often does. In all others, it is
both in the. Old and New. Testament, used
in its literal and proper signification. So
far, then, as the use of the
,term is con
cerned, it is all against the alleged meaning.
(3.) The argument of the Apostle in
I. Car. xv : 39. " All flesh is not the same
flesh : but there is one kind of flesh of men,
another flesh of beasts, another of fishes,
and other of birds." This, it seems to us,
is a strong presumptive argument in favor
of the literal interpretation of the word
"blood," in tbe oration of Paul before the
Athenians. It adverts to the characteristic
difference of the various fleshes of the crea-
tures God has, madey, including iinen. The
flesh of a bird is not , thattof a beast ~ ,t he
•
flesh of a beast is not -that of a fish, akd
the flesh of man is different from all. Yet
this very argument implies that, though
each kind of flesh is different from all other
kinds, yet all flesh of each.kind is charac
teristically the same. But why may there
not be a distinction between the bloods of
the animal creation, as well as between the
fleshes ? Why may there not be a peculiar
kind of blood, corresponding, in someway,
to a peculiar kind of flesh ? And why not,
then, a radical difference between the vari
ous bloods ? The dependence of the char
acter of the flesh, to a great extent, upon
the character of the blood, is a well-known
physiological fact. And if so, then we have
a strong presumptive Argument from the
words of the. Apostle to the Corinthians, in
favor of our interpretation of his words to
the Athenians.
(4.) The inspired account of the creation,
as given by Moses, in the first chapter of
Genesis. We have here a record of the dis
tinct acts'of God in the production of the
animal kingdom. First, "fowls" and "fish
es" are created and brought forth; next,
the "beasts" and every "creeping thing;"
and last of all "man." No doubt Paul had
these passages, in Genesis, all in his mind,
when he said " All fiesh is not the same flesh,
&c." But the record concerning these crea
tions is, that God made everything "after its
kind." Now, if it is true that there is one
kind offiesk of men, another of beasts, another
of fishes, and another of birds,' is it not likely
that, according to the same law of creation,
there is also one kind of blood of men, another
of beasts, another of fishel, and another of
birds, and, therefore, as. Marked a difference
between the one as the other. ? This is for
Science to show. We onl3rsay, at this point,
that both Moses and , Park jiistify the strong
est probabilities of the question. If Science
were to prove the positionNt could be shown
that the Bible had anticipited it. And this
leads us to say,
(5.) Science has actually:established our
interpretation of ,the Pauline , statement, as,
the true one The lighebreaki, at last, up:
on our path The achieve ants, of Scien
tific Naturalists furnish to. =haillVYotot:•"
Oriels for a trne,interpre fad bring
vividly to mind the- pertinent , arid far-reaelt
ing remark of Bishop Bu'tlir‘, that "Events
as they come to pass, willl,open the fuller
sense of Scripture" ThOireubscome ac
complishes, to-day, a splendid work in be:
half of the lively oracles of God. It inter
prets, to-day, a part of thenration of Paul.
It has superseded the tedioris-and circuitous
method of Chemical AnalYsis, relied upon
for the last twenty years, but with so much
misgiving and dissatisfaation; The most
that could be accomplished, by this means,
was simply the detection of the presence of
coloring matter in the blood, without any
evidence, whatever, whether the blood was
that of a man, .a beast, or a bird. But the
Microscope has done more. It has done for
the blood just what the Telescope has done
for the nebulous stream in the heavens. It
has resolved the mazy mass
,into separate
globes, and determined •the , variety, charac
ter, and size of each. First, •came the dis
covery that the blood of emery -animal is
composed'of an infinite numbir, of minute, red
globules, floating in a colorless fluid. Next,
that in the Mammal class, these globales were
uniformly circular, andsomeWhat flat; in
t hickness equal to one-fotirth- the diameter.
Next, that in birds, fishes and reptiles, these
globules are oval in form,-and last of all that
" every kind of animal has.its blood-glob
ules, differing in size frOm those of every
other kind."
These facts, taken from a scientific review
of the discoveries of the Microscope, and of
the importance of its testimony in medical
jurisprudence, issued a short tune eine°, in
one of the Edinburgh Jouritals abundantly
substantiate our position, and'remove it frora
the circle .of mere probabilities, and place it
in the category of fixed certainties. If it
is true, now, that Seience has advanced so
far, by the aid of the , Microscope, in com
parative physiology, that it can detect, most
clearly, from the ;betraying stain -upon the
deadly weapon, or clothes, of the unfortu
nate criminal, the presence of human blood,
and accurately distinguish it from. all other,
then we can no longer doubt that, there is
one common life-stream, peculiar in its kind,
flowing, through the veins of the entire hu
man race. Thus it is that the text reveals
an important fact--- , a fact in Science, an
nounced by the Microscope, in the, middle
of the nineteenth century, but fore-announc
ed by the Holy Spirit, through the lips of
Paul, more than 1800 years ago i and , thus
it is that events have brought to light the ful
ler sense of Scripture. He who made man,
and knows what is in man, has outstripped,
by 'decades of centuries, the -scientific dis
coveries of men ; and, in His Divine .Word,
addressed to their faith, at first, what, in af
ter years, their knowledge should confirm.
As our argumeit is .a new one, it , demands
a new and scientific name, and therefore we
christen it from its nature, and call it.the Hae
matological Argument for the unity of the
human ram,—that argument:which rests the
truth of the doctrine upon a purely scienti
fic basis, viz. / the, physiological consideration
of the character and composition of the blood
of men, as compared with that of all other
living creatures.. The term Paul -has been
led to use, is neither an expletive, nor a sjr
nonyne, nor a figure offspeech, butte literal
term of •vastiMportauce',going to,thow that ,
in. the, moat strict, and scientific I sense; God
hath,i indeed? made -of , o.orre' Wood" every
nation of men, to:dwell on all the;face of the
earth. 11A-vENni.
Christianity ,amongthe Esqubnans.
The labors of. the Lutheran and:Moravian
missionaries have been so far successful
among these people, that but few of them
are now without the pale of professed Chris
tianity ; and .its reforming influences have
affected the moral tone of all. Before the
arrival of these .self-sacriflcing evangelists,
murder, incest, burial of the bring, and in
fanticide, were not numbered amongst crimes.
It was unsafe for vessels to touch upon the
coast; treachery, was -as common, and as
much, honored, as among , the Polynesians of
the Eastern seas. Grants tells of a-Dutch
brig that was seized by the natives. at the
port of Disco, in 1740, and the whole crew
murdered, and, two years later, the same
fare befel the seamen of another vessel that
had accidentally stranded. But for the last
hundred years, Greenland has been safer
for the wrecked mariner, than many parts of
our own coast. Hospitality is the universal
characteristic, enjoined'. upon the converted
as a Christian duty, but everywhere a virtue
of savage life. From I.Tppernavik to Cape
Farewell, the Esquitnaux does not hesitate
to devote his own Meal to the-necessities of
a guest. The . benefits of the missionary
school are not confined to'the Christianized
natives; and it is observable that the virtues
of truth, self.reliance, and generonshearing
have been inculcated successfully with men
who still cherish the wild traditionary super.
salons of their fathers. Some of these
are persons of strongly-marked , character,
and are trusted largely by the Danish officials.
—Dr. Koine's American ,E,p/oration.
For the Presbyterian Banner and Advocate.
Systematical Beneficence.
TO EACH OF THE MINISTERS OF ALL THE
EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN THE UNI
TED STATES.
REV. AND BuLovan :—The officers of
the American Systematic Beneficende Socie
ty deem it important theta Sermon on the
general subject of Systematic Beneficence
should be preached by every Minister in
the land, at the commencement of the year,
Since then business men are examining, wore
carefully than usual, the state of their pecu-
Piary affairs. The object of this communi,
cation, is to invite you %ery respectfully,
and very earnestly, to : perform, this ; ger-,
viee at your earliest convenience. This So
ciety has undertaken the Herculean task of
bringing up the Churches • + to the,Ablea
Standard. of,rbenefiOrieeraidr. eke - aid.
rooting,out the gigantic sin of covetousness.
It is idle, however, to suppose this can be
done without your hearty, efficient, and
persevering co-operation. As the im'por
term of this movement, in its bearing,upon
the, spirituality and usefulness of our Ameri
can Zion, is so apparent, we make the ap
peal with entire confidence of success.
It is presumed that no one will deny that
covetousness is the crying sin of our Ameri
can Churches; that it is eating out their
spirituality, and ripening them for the
doom of the seven Churches in Asia. It- is
well known that the process of accumula
tion among our church-members is advanc
ing at a fearful rate, amounting, as is esti
mated, to more than two hundred and fifty
millions of dollars annually; and while the
expenditure for amusements and luxuries
are almost fabulously great, Abe contribu
tions for benevolent purposes are shamefully
small.
It is estimated that the amount paid to
the.various 'religious Societies and Boards.
connected with the different denominations
is $3,000,000, which, estimating the, number
of communicants at 4 1 176,000, is but 72
cents each.
The whole number of preaching mission
aries, sustained in the foreign field, by all
our American. Churches, is 450, (less than
one to a million of souls) with 570 male and
female helpers, at an annual expense of
about sBoo,ooo—which is less than twenty
cents to each communicant. As it is well
known that a great portion of these contri
butions are given in sums of ten, twenty,
fifty, one hundred, and even one thousand
dollars, it follows to a certainty, that from
one-half to two-thirds of our Church-mem
beni give NOTHING ! WHERE DO THESE
DELINQUENTS LIVE ? Should- they. not be
searched out?
And how is it with "those who do give ?
Do they give as much as they ought, con
sidering how freely they spend money for
their own comfort and enjoyment To
they give as much as they ought, consider
ing that six hundred millions of their fellow
men, for the want of the Gospel, are daily
going down, in unbroken ranks, to the world
of despair? Do they give as much as they
ought, considering • the test by which the
final Judge will separate his friends from
his foes ?
Is it not clear that the Churches are asleep
on the subject ? and will you not aid us in
our attempt to awaken them?
You have, no doubt, often preached on
this subject already, but have you preached
as Nathan did to David, when he said Thou
art the man ; or as the Prophet did to the
Jews when he charged them, in the name of
the Lord, with being a nation of robbers, not
figuratively, but literally, because they re
fused to give a tenth of all their income ?:
May it not be that the preaching on the sub
ject, has been like the preaching on the
subject of teinperanee forty years ago, when
almost every one thought themselves tem
perate, though church-members, and elders
and deacons were the manufacturers, and
venders, and consumers of alcoholic
drinks, and .when, as it is now admitted, we
Were so rapidly becoming a nation of drunk
ards? Are not the sermons now 'needed,
those of the most pointed and pungent
character, making " sinners (i e. robbers of
God) in Zion to tremble, and fearfulness to
surprise the hypocrite ;" making them feel
(as convicted sinners often feel,) that the
minister is personal, and wonder who has
been telling him about them.
But what is more needed,, if possible, is,
that the beauty and loveliness of the almost
for:rotten grace of Beneficence should be un
veiled to the admiring gaze of every Chris
tian, showing him what are the evidences of
its possession, and -what are its fruits—show
ing, at least, the minimum of the demands
it makes upon his present property and .his
future income. We are aware that it will
be truly said that the New Testament ,no
where states' the , definita' proportion; brit we
think n very slightextunination of the mat=
'ter. will- convince every one that tbe practice:
of giving one-tenth to the Lord, dates as far
back as that of offering animals in sacrifice;
that both were divinely, appointed, and, as
a consequence, both prevailed, not only among
the Jews, but among all other nations; and
that while the law of sacrifice has been an- ,
milled by the death of Christ the 'law' of
tithes 'is still binding on us in. its spirit, if
not in the letter—the law now being, "let
every one of you, on the first day of the
week, lay by him in store as the Lord has
prospered him." It is believed that this
law requires one-tenth of all the income of
almost every Christian, and, of very many of
them two-tenth's, three-tenths, and five=
tenths and of some even ten-tenths.
This Subject ably discussed in the Pre
mium Essays, published by the Methodist
Book Concern, ‘ and the American Tract
Society. Five premium essays on the sub
.
pet have been published in England, bound
in one volume, under the >title of " Gold
and the Gospel," one hundred thousand of
which have been circulated in Great Britain;
an d, as a 'consequence, about a half a million
of dollars haie been added to their benevo
lent contributions. Two of these Essayl 3 ,
have been published in this country, by the
Methodist Tract Society, in abound volume,
under the same title.
We feel it so important that every minis
ter should see this book, that we have pro
cured, or intend to procure, funds, for the
purpose of sending a copy to every minister
in the land who may wish it. Presuming
you are willing to examine the subject,: and
preach upon it, the subscriber will be most
happy to send you " Gold and the Gospel"
free of charge; except the amount of post
, age, (nine cents for any distance not exceed-
ing three thousand miles,) which can be re
mitted in stamps.
We will send, also, our circular and cards,
Which contain plans forpromoting systemat
ic contributions now successfully employed
in some churches.
We hope every, minister, who ; :has nOt..
seen th'e book will send tor it:
The object of our Society, as youperceive,
is not to collect money, but disburse it; not,
to form new organizations, but-to strengthen
those which now exist ;, . not to advance the
interests of any one denomination, but the
interests'of all; not to.,divert the charities
of the Church from. their present 'channels,
but by the influendeof 'the 'truth, made ef
fectual by the ~Holy 3 Spirit, to -penetrate,
through the deep layers of selfishness and
covetousness, down to the lowest strata Of
every Christian's "heart; touching -thee
'seaiet spring of leis to OArist," th 'cause 'the
waters.of benevolence to rush up with such
a mighty force and volume as shall fill all
these channels to. overflowing; and that net
only for once, but forever ; for "it will be in
him a well of water, springing up unto ever
lasting life," proving such a fulfflinert of
the vision of the. Prophet as has never yet
been known, when the waters flowing from the
sanctuary shall gradually rise to the ankle,,
the knee, and the loins, until, at lastit forms
a mighty river, that no man can pass over,
running into all-the morals deserts 'of the
world, causing them to bud and him= as
the rose; on the banks of •which, on. either
side, shall, grow the tree of: life; whose
leaves shall be for the healing .of the na
tions.
In behalf of the Board of Managers of the
he Am. .Sys. Ben. Society,
JOHN GULLIVER, Cor. Seely.
Philadelphia Pa.
The American:Missionaries.
At a late meeting in Lendon to congratu
late Dr. Livingston, the African Missionary,
on his return, Col. Rawlinson, one ,of the
most eminent of the speakers,, paid the fol
lowing tribute to 'American missionaries.
"I have myself witnessed' the reclaiming of
an entire nation from barbarism, within the
last twenty years, through their efforts. I
have seen a nation—if lie might call that a
nation which consisted of from thirty to
forty thousand families--the Nestorian Chris
tians, enveloped in- the deepest barbarism
twenty years,ago, and now, by the aid of a
little band of American missionaries, taking
their stand among the civilized nations of
the world. Their literature had revived,
schools were established throughout the
country - , a journal was printed and pub
lished in their own native Syriac language.
And when he reflected on that example, - he
could well understand, that in Southern
Africa the same results might be expected
in God's own time.
For the Presbyterian. Banner and Advocate
Board of Domestic lainiollB.
CHANGE' OF TITLE
We recently announced the change of the
title of this Ward. The following, from
the Corresponding Secietiry, gives reasons
why the change was needful.
MISSION ROOMS
Philadelphia, Feb. 3d, 1857.5
When the Board of Missions was institu
ted by the General .Assembly, in 1816, there
was no Board of Foreign Missions establish
ed by the Assemely, and, consequently, the
title given to the Board of Missions was suf.
ficiently distinctive. After the organizatir
of the Board of Foreign Missions, it became
increasingly evident that something' more
was necessary to distinguislit from the F or
eign This necessity led to the custom
Of inserting the term Domestic ' sometimes
with brackets, and often without. Indeed, for
some years past, in the Published Minutes
of the General Assembly, the abstractof the
Annual Report , of the Board has been pre
faced by the title, "Board of Domestic Mis
gene In some instances the term " Do
mesa° " has been inserted in bequests, under
the impression that it formed a part of tha
legal title of the 43oard; and in other cases
different terms have been employed to des
ignate the Board for which bequests were'
intended. •
In order to obviate this inconvenience,
and the, litigation andloss occasioned by the
want :of a distinctive title, the Board , ob
tained from the Legislature of Pennsylvania
a change of the coil:rite title of the Boaid.
The change consists in the insertion of the
term Domestic. The legislative act is ai
follows, viz.:
AN ACT
To 'change the name of the Board of mss-
Sions of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian" Church in the United States
of America.
Sectlen 1. Be it enacted by the Senate
and .House of •Representatives of the Com
monwealth of Pennsylvania, • in General As
sembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the
authority of the same, That from and after
the passing of this Act, the corporate title,
and name of the Trustees >of the Board of
Missions of the General, Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States
of America, shall be, and hereby is changed
to "' The Trustees of the Board of Domei:
tic Missions of the Genera/ Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States
of America." Provided, That nothing here
in contained shall divest, diminish, or in any
way impair or'affect the title or right of said.
Corporation to any of its real' or personal es
tate or effects, or its right to receive, demand,
and recover any devise, bequest, legacy, or!
other gift heretofore made, or which shall
hereafter be made to the said Corporation un
der its former name, for the uses and purposes
set forth in its charter, in the same manner
as if this Act had not - been passel
Signed, J. M. B. Pwmarraiv,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,.
Pro. Tem.
Frt. JORDAN,
Speaker of the Senate, Pro. Tern.
Approved the thirtieth day of January, one
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
JAMBS POLLOCK.
We trust that all the friends of the Board
will notice this change in the corporate title,
and that it will be particularly remembered
by those who intend to make bequests to the
Board of Domestic Missions: The legal
form of a devise or bequest is now as fol
lows' viz.:
"To the Trustees r of i the Board of. Domes.
tie Missions of the Genral Aisembly of the
Presbyterian Church is the United Statiti
Philadelphia, 27 South Tenth Street, below Chestnut
By , Mail, or at the Mee t $1.50. p er Ye:Ft SU PROSPECTUS.
Delivered in the City, 1.75 "
WHOLE NO. 229
of Aineri.ca, At 44-1 .0 BIICAMOrS and s
sigini, I give and bequeatb..the SUM of —,
or I devise a eertaitimessuage. and tract of
land, - &e., to be held . „,by;tho . said .. Trustees
and - their successors fiiiiiVer, to, and foi. the
u5e41, 1 . 1 1:0 under ..thAiAirection , .of the said
hoard Fof IhnnEstic Missions of said Gen
era! Assembly, according to the provisions
of -their charter."
.Persons making bequests to the Board of
Domestic Missions are requested‘to be care
ful in adopting the above form.
G: W. MUSGRAVE, Core Secretary-
The nuatriry. in Scotland.
Thp plan ,adypta4 r ,in.,t,lin Scotch. I?rec
Chureh for ministanal, support, is for each
nieraber titinijiiiiniautu of
inlegPenni46Bl4*°"*liielnitiiiitell;'how
ever, contribute more;ltheir :names nice' en
rolled in the _books. of the collectors, who
gather in the KIM& promised,and send them
forward to the great , central fund ,and at
the close of 'the ftnancial,year a dividend is
'declared among all'the ministers of the Free
Church, which increases year by year, until
it has reached seven hundred dollars, which
is the dividend of t,he present year. When
it is remeMbered that each minister has, be
sides, a dielling and garden rent,free, and
that the Minister -of the '•ObrOst 'congrega
tion of this Church, has at least a stipend
of seven hAndred„ dollaini. it. will be ap
parent that no Church in Britain or Amer
ica s° well provides for its ministry.
lads an ISitanings.
THE best capital that a young loan can
start with in life is industry, with good
sense, courage, andi 'the foar of God. They
are better than cash, credit or friends.
Dn. WAY AND haB been preaching and
teaching a Bible Class in the State Prison,
at Providence,.R. 1., with others assisting,
and about twenty, ,persons give good evi
dence that they, have become savingly ac
quainted with Jesus.
GAY DRES6.—Beauty 4 g4ins little, and
homeliness' and deforreity lose much-by
gaudy attire. Lysander knew this was in
part true, and refused the rich garments
that the tyrant Dionysius proffered to his
daughteri, saying, "That they were.fit only
to make unhappy faces .more remarkable."
—Zeinmerriaan.
THE PIILIIT AND THE PEW. , --" A man,"
says Vinci, " will be heard by men," Ile
asserts thereby ,that'there must be a similar
ity between theprescher"and the listener—
s correspondence between the'pulpit and the
PCI.Ft Certain:qualities are required in both,
that they rimy, be put in communication, and
'that the current,pf thought and feeling may
flow to and fro, swiftly and freely.
4toitissts--The trials, of life are the
'tests whioh' ascertain howlmneh gold there
Is in
He submits himself tube seen through a
ruicroscepe who suffers himself to caught
in. a passion.
Deliberate with, caution, but act with de
cision, and yield with graciousness, or oppose
with-firmness.
flow To FIND FAITLT.—Find fault, when
you must find,fault, in private , if possible;
and sometime after the offence, rather than
at the time. The blamed are ' leas inclined
to resist when they are blanked without wit
nesses. Eoth parties,. are ..calmer, : and the
accused party is struck with, the forbearance
of the accuser, who has seen the . fault, and
watched for a private and proper tithe for
mentioning it.
A • SHORT Coratnattv.--Emma : "My
dear friend, that woman has been talking
about you so again ! She has been telling
the'aifullest Stories, you ever heard; why,
she railed away at yen tor a whole hour!'
Julia: ~ And you heard it:all, did you ?"
Emma: "Yes." Julia : " Well after
this; just bear in mind that it takes two to
make a slander—one to tell it, and one to
listen to it."
Tun, following. lines Norge found written
on a blank leaf of the Plegsures of Hope,
and are worthy of the immortal poet
The hope 'bright bounded by, this earth,
Oh; let its flight be IoW,
Thougheunshine.joy ittendtits birth,
It darkens; dims in: woe.
But hope BiVine,, born frompbove,
*Still heaven-ward seeks to rise ;
Sister how like of faith and loye
One home beyond the -sties !
BE CoARITABLE.—When the veil of
death' hatareati'drawit 'betieen us and the
objects of our regard; hoW 4pliekeighted do
we become to_their.merits r and how bitterly
do we reipsto..lnlyoy, 40; or,oyenlooks of un
kindness, which nta,T, have escaped in our
intercourse` With thed Hai careful should
such thoughts render uairethe l fulfilinent of
growoffices_bf affection -whichmay yet be
in ,ea ri amerito.,,Wfmn,.; for who can tell
hnw soon the Ei
f ppiont may,,spive when re
piniliggcannot 'be fnllowed by reparation I
--Bidfip Heber:
nionAr. IfonnsTY.- - Iney.that cry down
moral henesty, cry doin 'that which is a
great , part of religion—My - duty toward
God and my duty's toward. man. What care
I to see a man run after a sermon, if he
.as „
cozen and cheatsoon as he comes home
On the other side morality must not be
without religion; for if'se, it may change
as I see'.ebnveriience. Religion must gov
ern-it, -14 that has:not religion to govern
his nitor t ally, is not a drink_better than my
Mittitilf 44 g; ..'so leng,ss you, stroke.him and
please him, and do not pitch him, he will
play with you as finely as may beg he is a,
very moral mastiff; but if you hurt
him, ,he, will fly, in your lace and tear out
your throat.--Sdden.
ETERNITY OF ' MORAL INFLUENCE.--
" WIR can tell," writes one, "the results
of such a fact as, these two lines disclose ?
Rev. Newman Hairs' little book, entitled,
CcAti tTEStri3 ) has just passed thi:Ough it
five hundred and fortp ; sizth thousand."
How extensively, how,longi and how loudly
will _sash works, speak, and; haw different
from the prodnotions of sueli men as. Byron,
Pairie . ;nr BalingbrOke ! If any earth-born
joys; remarks , a modern are admitted
as, visimists,amidstAlte,,:celestial' , ehOirS, the
joy that springs from having writtenonving
and sanctified works is the sweetest.