..r,,FIITZtrEt4WitIIMIAIq . 'M .O !.I'..r . •.:.ESINTERIAN .TANNER .. & 'ADVOCATE p re .byteriatt Banner. Vol. VI, No. A. Presbyterian Advocate, Vol. XIX, DAVID McKINNEY, Editor and Proprietor. TERMS.-IN ADVANCE. Original gettrg. Parental Prayer. Kind Shepherd of the people, take Our children in thy arnie, - Protect them from all evil snares, And guard them from all harms. We pray thee, bless our little flack, Guide thou their infant feet; And never let them wander where Bold sinners love to meet. These tender flay/rats ! let them be As plants, whose fragrant breath Shall rise like incense to thy throne, And form a heavenly wreath. Let grace from heaven, like dew, descend Upon these blossoms fair, And no sad blight befall these buds Of promise, 'neath thy care. Oh may their youthful days be given To Jesus, their dear friend; And early let their lisping prayers, In accents soft, ascend ; For infant hands, in rev'renoe claep'd— Sweet voice of childhood's prayer, Come gently to thy throne, oh God, And find acceptance there. 'Midst all the pomp and pride of earth, 'Mid dangerous snares of life; 'Midst tempter's wiles, 'mid hard'ning scenes, Through all the world's great strife— Preserve them safe, their hearts still fresh, Still pure from earthly dross; Still marching on, and bearing high• The standard of the Cross. We now commit them, Lord, to thee; Oh bless them with thy love; That they may honor thee on earth, And dwell with thee above. Thus safely guide them in the road That leads to Canaan fair ; And when they reach thy blest abode, Oh ! may they find us there. For the Presbyterian Banner and Advocate. . • Evidences of Regeneration. Letter VIL—A Letter Answered. Then they that feared the Lord apake often one to another.—Mal. iii: 16, THE LETTER. "Rev. and Dear Sir :—I have received our letters with pleasure, and I hope I may, II yr the blessing of God, derive much good vroni them. As you desired me to write in egard to my views and feelings of Divine things : I can not write with that certainty in regard to my future state as I wish to feel. I cannot say, as I heard some say, that 1 — I can rend my title clear To mansions in the skies.' But my views on the subject are different from what they ones were. At times I think I can say Christ is precious to my soul; again I am clouded in doubts and fears and unbelief, and then I aniconstrain ed to think that I have never felt the renew ing and sanctifying power of the Spirit within me. I often feel to exclaim, "Tis a point I long to know, Oft it causes anxious thought; Do I love the Lord or no'? Am I his, or am I not?' " I know and feel that I am a sinner, the chief of sinners; and I know and feel that Christ alone can save the guilty, wretched sinner; but the unbelief and doubts that arise ! Truly the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked! If I love why am I thus ? Why this dull and lifeless frame?' Pray for roe, that I may be created anew, and he'kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Please write as often as convenient." TAE ANSWER .31.9 Dear Friend : —Yours is just re- ceived. You complain of doubts and fears, and unbelief. Did you ever see a living child that did not cry ? It is well to be cau tious; but not the most confident are the most safe. Some who have spoken with confidence and certainty in regard to 'their hopes and prospects, have afterwards given fearful evidence that they were deceived. They read their "title clear," as they thought, when they had no title at all. So the stony ground hearers seem to have been very certain and confident, receiving the word with joy; and yet they endured but for a time. A hope that endures is better than a confidence that deserts and deceives. —Mutt. xiii. : 1-23 ; Mal. iii: 16-18. One has quaintly said, a "hope so" that you eat' keep, is better than a "know so" that you can lose. Weak faith unites the soul to Christ as certainly and as surely as strong faith. Full assurance is not the at tainment of all. But for this we may seek, 'n the use of means and in the discharge of -duty ; end we have the promise, Then shtdl we ls now, if we follow on to know the Lord. —Hoses. vi: 3. God promises to save all who believe in his Son; if we believe, then we may be assured of our salvation; but the evidence of our faith is to be sought in the purification of our hearts; in our pro gressive sanctification; and hence our as surance may be in proportion to the clear ness of this evidence. That every convert must have an immediate evidence of his acceptance, and yet may fall away and per ish, is grossly inconsistent; for, according to this latter view, there can be no assurance of salvation at all. Remember, Godinvites sinners to come to him, and promises to re ceive and save. Jesus will in no wise east out them that come to him. Hence, if we do believe, if we truly come to Christ and trust in him, we may be assured of our sal vation ; if we believe and are justified, we are saved—we have eternal life. But the evidence that we do believe, and hence are justified—the evidence of our justification— is to be sought iu our progressive sanctifica tion. According to the clearness of this evidence, will be our assurance. Hence the need of watchfulness, and prayer, and diligence to attain this assurance, as Paul to the Ilvbrews—We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end; that ye be not slothful, but followers of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.--lieb vi : 9-2. See also 2. Pet. is 11.01 Petri to know something of your own heart. You know you are a sinner. You feel your need of Christ. But your sense of unworthiness should not keep you from Christ, but lead you to him. He is able and willing to save you, and to save you now; he is just the Sa viour you need; confide in him, love and serve him, and he will be your Saviour, and enable you to say, I know that my Redeemer : 25. Look away from yourself to Jesus Christ, and cast yourself, with all your guilt and burdens, upon him, and you shall find him a present and a faith ful Saviour. It may be you will find some satisfaction in reading of the evidences of regeneration ; and I am glad, for your sake, that we are soon to enter upon the consideration of them. May you find them all in your own heart and life. Read the whole of that precious Hymn from which you quote, 287, and also 164; and read, again, the letter of Dr. Scott, in my preceding letter, " on the knowledge of pardon, and the witness of the Spirit;" and be earnest in prayer and dili gent in duty, and patient in trial " Plain duty is seldom satisfactory to men ; never so, in the highest sense, unless they are taught by the Spirit. The Word of God is, believe, and thou shalt be saved—come unto me, and I will give you rest. But men want an evidence of their acceptance before they believe; instead of taking God at his word, and confiding in what he has said, they want an assurance of forgiveness and a sense of pardon before they embrace Christ. This they can not have. True, they may persuade themselves they are forgiven, and Satan may whisper peace to their souls; but the only way of true peace is by faith in jesus Christ. They who believe are justi fied, and have peace with God.—Rom. v : 1. Let the sinner trust in Christ and rely on him, and he is safe. This is what he is to do, and not be looking in his own heart for an evidence of his acceptance. God's Word declares that every believer shall be accept ed—let that Word be trusted. Jesus Christ has said, Him that coweth'to me, I will in no wise cast out; let the sinner come. God has promised to receive, and forgive, and save those who embrace his Son by faith. He is faithful; his Word can not fail.• Here is the foundation of our hope—a foun dation for the full assurance of hope, for strong consolation. God can not lie; be has confirmed his Word by his oath. Let Christ be embraced, and then we may be assured of our salvation; for God will not, suffer them to perish who believe on his Son. His Word is an evidence which can not deceive—faithful and true. Your duty is, not to be looking •in your own heart, or in your feeling§ and exercises, for an evi dence of your acceptance, but to receive Jesus Christ and rest on him, and then you have God's OWN, Word that you shall be ac cepted and saved. That Word can not fail. Then rest on his testimony—not on your feelings, bat on God's own Word;.and let this be seen, in your life; let your progressive sanctification give evidence, to, yourself and to the world, of your justification 'by faith in Jesus Christ. Come to Christ now; be lieve on him.; rely •upon him; and live to his glory; and thus make your calling and election sure—sure to yourself and sure to others.—Heb. vi : 11,-20; 2. Pet. i : 10, 11." If you truly believe, you shall be saved; and hence maybe assured of your salvation; but the evidence of your faith, as well as the evidence of your regeneration, is te'be sought in your life. By their fruits ye shall know them. And to these eviden ces we shall now attend; but, for the pres ent, adieu.—Matt. vii : 15-20. YOURS, TRULY. lIEM The annual report of the London Mis sionary Society contains a.letter from the Rev. W. Howe, who says :—" I have lately been occupied in comparing the number of persons in church-fellowship before the es tablishment of the French protectorate, at the period when it has been fully established, and at the present time—and the result has been most gratifying to my own mind. At the first period, 1842, there were about 1680 church members, on Tahiti and Eimeo. In the second, 1851, when the, two islands were supplied by three English missionaries, and the native students in the Seminary, the number of church• members reported was upwards of 1600, which was probably somewhat more than that of 1842: Soon after that period, the districts were entirely supplied by native pastors only, with one exception; and there are at the present time upwards of 1600 members in the two islands and many are now seeking admis sion. It must also be borne in mind, that during the period from 185 . 1 to the present time, the population of the two islands has been 'reduced by epidemic disease and re movals, at least 1000, a large proportion of whom were church members from mid dle to old age, so that the present number is a proportion of communicants to the pop ulation greater than it has ever been." A Christian is one who has a relation to Christ; not a professed, but a read relation; not a nominal, but vital relation; yes, a very peculiar and pre-eminent relation, rising above every other that can be men tioned; spiritual in its nature, and never ending in its duration, and deriving the possession and continuance of every enjoy ment from Christ. Beware of a Chris tianity without Christ. It is a stream with out a fountain, a branch without a living root, a body without a soul. In Christ dwells all the fullness-of the. Godhead bod ily. "And ye are complete in him who is the head of all principality, and power." It is from him alone that strength can by derived to subdue the corruptions of our nature. Faith in the great Head of the Church engages the assistance of the Holy Spirit en behalf of believers, without whose special influence it is impossible for the soul to do anything effectually in point of duty, or to oppose any sin with success. HUMILITY.—Mon from deep places can see the stars at noonday; and in the utter depths of her seltabasement, she (the Syro- Phcenician woman) catches the whole blessed mystery of heaven : like St. Paul's Chris tian, in having nothing, she possesses all things." No humility is perfect and pro portioned, but that which makes us hate our ourselves as corrupt, but respect ourselves as immortal; the humility that kneels in the dust, but gazes on, the skies.—Arcl!er But ler. "ONE THING IS NEEDFUL:" "ONE THING HAVE I DESIRED OF THE LORD:" "THIS ONE THING I DO." Tahiti. Relation to Christ. PUBLICATION OFFICE, GAZETTE BUILDING, FIFTH STREET, ABOVE SMITHFIELD, PITTSBURGH, PA. FOR THE WEEK. ENDING SAtURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1857. From our London Correspondent Anxiety—toss of Lfte—Rebel Proc. lamation—Suumary of Position of "affairs—The Activity of the Cabinet—The Queen and the Sogi:rers—City Subscription—Prayer for India —American Mission Station Destroyed—Revolt not Caused :hy Missioni—Traried Boidence— Church Missionary Society—Supposed letter of Dr. Duff; as an " Old Indiun"—The True Claret of the Conspiracy—The Brahmin and the Bengalee Editor—The "Times" on the right side— Satan and his Instruments—England's Chastise ment Oaf 's Advice—British Valor against _fearful odds—French Admiration—Christianity and Heroism in India—China and Lord Elgin— The American Pirate and his Trial—Australia. and Presbyterianism—Articles of Union of Synods— The Secessio'n and Scotch Defiutdtion —British. Wesleyan. COnPrince—Building and College Funds and Schooli—American Deputa tion—Doctor :Bunting—Ordination . and Tobacco .ti.nother Union—Macaulay and the Peerage. — LONDON; September 4, 1857. INDIAN AFFAIRS continue unceasingly to absorb public attention. Every mail adds to the intense anxiety that prevails, besides bringing agony to mothers called to weep over sons slaughtered by the muti neers; or, it may be, daughters, from whom not long since they parted in , their purity and beauty, who have first suffered the most frightful indignities, and then been out in pieces. Besides the loss of three general officers, Barnard, by cholera, and Wheeler and Lawrence in fight, every day that the army continues before Delhi, precious lives are lost. In the battle at', Agra, a goodly number of officers and civilians fell. But the number slaughtered by the IViahratta Chief, Nena Sahib, after the surrender of Cawnpore, (after the death of Wheeler, and the most solemn assurances of safety,) amounts to hundreds of men, women and children. Allowed to embark in boats, ar tillery Was directed on them. Some at tempting to escape to the other side of the river, found themselves in the hands of re morseless enemies, who speedily destroyed them. Harrowing tales are also told of the total extinction of British life at the fort of Jhansi, which was unable to hold out against the mutineers. • At Delhi, our troops beheld'a large force, of mutineers coming from a distance, march ing into the city, without the possibility of doing aught to arrest their progress. The following is a translation of a proclamation issued by the rebels. Its mischievous ten dency will be sufficiently apparent. Mus sulmen and Hiodoos, leagued together in their common hatred :of the "infidel" Eng, lish, make a combined and deadly onset, and seek to extirpate the very name of Christianity from the• land.• ISSITEGIENT PROCLAMATION.—The following is a correct translation of the proclamation issued at Delhi by the insurgents : " To all' .71indoos and Mussulmans, Citizens a nd Servants of Hincroostcin, the Of of the Army now at Delhi and Meerut send Greeting. " It is well known that in these days all the English have entertained these evil%cleaigns— first to destroy the religion of the whole Hindoos tarsi army,, and then to make the people, by com• pulsion, Christians. Therefore we, solely on ac count of our religion, have combined with the people, and have not spared alive one infidel, and have re established the Delhi dynasty on these terms, and thus act in obedience to order, and re= ceive double pay. Hundreds of guns suite large amount of treasure have fallen into our hands ; therefore it is fitting that whoever of the soldiers and people dislike turning Christians should unite with one heart, and, acting, courageously, not ledie the seed of these infidels remaining. For ariy quantity of supplies delivered to the army, the owners are to take the receipt of the officers ; and they' will receive double payment front the Imperial Government. Whoever shall, in these times, exhibit cowardice, or credulously believe the promises of those impostors, the English, shall very shortly be put to shame for such a deed ; and, rubbing the hands of sorrow, shall receive for their fidelity the reward the ruler of Lucknow got It is further necessary that all Hindoos and .Mussulmans unite in this struggle, and, following the instructions of some respecta ble people, keep themselves secure, so that good order may be maintained, the poorer classes kept contented; and they themselves be exalted to rank and dignity ; also, that all, so far as it is possible, copy this proolamation, and dispatch it every where, that all true Hindoos and Mussul mans may be alive and watchful, and fix it in some conspicuous place, (but prudently to avoid detection,) and strike a blow with a sword before giving circulation to it. The first pay of the sol diers at Delhi will be 30r. per month for a trooper, and 10r. a foot man. Nearly one hundred thou sand men are 'ready, and there are thirteen flags of .the English regiments, and about fourteen standards from different parts, now raised aloft for our religion, for God, and the conqueror, and it 'is the intention of Cawnpore to root out this seed of the devil. This is what the army here wish." "This document," says a writer from India, "has not appeared here in print, nor would it be prudent at present to make it generally known in India. The allusion to the impending outbreak at Camnpore is a demonstration of organization and concert on the part of the mutineers." General Havelock, (a fine specimen of a . Christian officer,) after three brilliant vic tories,over the monster Nena Sahib, had re captured Cawnpore. The armies of Madras and Bombay still remained true to England. The following is a clear and succinct ac count of the position ••of affairs as respects. Bengal, from the London Daily Telegraph: In addition to the Madras and Bombay Presi dencies, and the extensive country of Sinai, which have been altogether undisturbed, we are now free from danger throughout Bengal proper. Every Sepoy battalion in that province has been disbanded or disarmed—that is to say, the whole delta of the Ganges, and the lower parts of the Burhamputer basin, comprising a hundred thou sand square miles of territory, and twenty-six millions of population, have been rescued from the mutineers, who hold not a single inch of ground in all that valuable territory. In the upper country we find the civil government su preme in the Punjaub, although in certain dis tricts the Sep'oys had broken out. So much for the account on one side. But on the other hand,- every province of Northern Hindoostan and Cen tral India is a theatre of military rebellion ; and these, as will be seen by a glance at tha .map, fill up the immense area between the rivers Soane and Gogra, the Himalaya Mountains, the Sutlej, the Western Deserts, and the Nerbudda —three hundred and fifty thousand square miles of land, inhabited by sixty millions of people. Within these limits we have only the ground we stand upon- ' even that is threatened; and we are pledged to reconquer the whole. The sea son is unfavorable to military operations, and the cholera rages in fortress and village, has visited the camp, and is believed to have smitten its thousands of victims in Delhi. To this esti mate of lost territory and authority must be added, independently of civilians, women and children murdered, the hourly sacrifice of dis tinguished officers, three deaths of Generals of Divisions announced by the last mail, besides those of colonels and captains, more numerous than at one period headed the British armies in the Peninsula.' Troops are being dispatched from Eng. land at the rate of a thousand a day. But the voyage is long; and in the meantime " the hope deferred" about Delhi may, it is feared by some, .end in the raising of the siege .of that fortress.; That would‘be a ca- lamity indeed, which .1-11fust a gracious Providence may avert. ID, The Cabinet, although Parliament is broken up, have still lingired in London ; and Lord Palmerston with the Duke of Cumberland and Lord" •nmure, are . lde voting their whole time 'and energies to military affairs. While fift, thousand troops are already dispatched—ark ... all these since early in June—seven add tional regiments are under orders far India, Mir of infantry and three of cavalry; besi "a• large fore• of artillery. If there: .is ybe a Winter• 1 4 campaign, eighty thousanßritish troops will he forwarded: ~ - The Queen has repaired ': her Highland I home, as' is usmil with herit his season of the year. But her heart i :Rad; she feels intensely for the sufferersi ' ndiai , 4strabii, ? I t, did for thearmy in the CFI, ea,•• . -:, , • - The city, of London has, initiated sub scriptions for the relief oir,those, hundreds who, halfnaked, and destitite of all things —men, women, and childreV—llive escaped to Calcutta from the NorthaVest Provinces; Alas! to how, many more might,that relief, together with the noble : 143,pitality of Cal cutta itself, been . administered,, who have heen the victims of barbarous atrocities and fiendish-cruelty 1 4 Prayer for India is now„the urgent duty of the people of. God, on ' bhb sides of the, Atlantic. Whatever there as ,been evil in British policy and admittis4tion in India, yet it is certain that, England's power.there destroyed, the work "of - Christian Missions and of Bible printing and ttrculation there would be • either utterly e,xti guished, or in definitely postponed. The American mis sionaries in India knoW an , feel this; and at Allahabad the mission ~ atlases -of the American Presbyterian BOW have been destroyed by the; mutiny. 4111 the houses, have been burnt, the pressylgudered, school .library, apparatus, &e , map away with. The loss is calculated 'at f12',000. Mr. BPOleod Wylie, of•Calcutti,Vre* Up a pa per suggesting subjects of special prayer, which, had been circulated -there: The Free Church "Commission,, whiehimet recently, earnestly calls upon the, Reople of the Church to ' offer - Up 'mutinied prayers to Alniighty•'Gitil, that- ' the Inittinous• out breaks may be speedily quelled,. that, the rulers of India may be fille4with strength and wisdom, and that these events may be overruled for the furtheradelof the Gospel. They also enjoin alliministet !to make this a subject of special prayer, from' Sabbath. to Sabbath. A similar resolution , has been adopted by the Commission iy, the Estab • - lished Church. It is coming out more dlstinetly' every day, that the revolt has'not hien 'caused by missionary operations.' Ist. liThe fact re mains uneontradicted, that ttin high caste soldiers, who are the mitine'r4, :Agre 19,1 7 , ously , guarded . from _ een t ee c.4oth_th e l ra y,.. sbinitryl` 2a. Missions in India were 'so scanty, that they 'scarcely touched' the 'Mass of the population; and , in the North-West Provinces, in two of its revenue divisions, there were only six missionaries, and in a third, none. This is the main scene of an surrection- In the remaining' districts, with eighteen millions of a population, there were only forty.five , misaionaries, and in fifty-four cities,, whose population. ranged from .ten thousand to one hundred and eleven thousand, there was no , missionary. The whole country of Oude was without a, missionary. ' Missions might have prevented the insurrection. -• lc We have talked," says Mr. ,Wylie, "about. Missions, but have really done com paratively nothing. We need not, there fore, marvel, if we find the same 'unmitiga ted hatred to Christianity in the,Moha.mtne dans, the same tenacious adherence to caste in the Hindoo, and the same ; bloodthirstiness which was exhibited five hundred years ago." 3d. The Church Missionary Society has just issued a most valuable document to the same effect. It, states that the Society has had three hundred stations all, over India, with the avowed object of conversion, and 2,015 schools, containing 64,480 boys, and -14,L98 girls; that missionaries have itinera ted in all directions, without offence or mo lestation ; that the chief success .has been in Southern India, where are nearly eighty thoisand converts, and these districts " are the most quiet ind India."' - • Further,' it is shown that by Government schools, mission ary schools were virtually - opposed = while the latter were the popular schools; and that in the rebellion of the Santals the Gov ernment sought other missionaries, to estab lish schools and to reside there; as one mis sionary had effected so much in the way of quieting the people. Finally,," , there, has been no popular out-cry against the mis sionaries." In addition to the foregoing evidence, there conies out, in the Tim& Ofthis week, a letter signed " , ludian," = dated " Calcutta ' July 10." I am strongly dis posed to believe, from internal, evidence, that Doctor Duff cow, free of all eharge, from the time of his settlement —the full title to the whole to be made over to him when he shall have remained settled in the place for three years. This, too, in. 'addition to a respettible support from other sources. A step this in the right di rection toward securing to ministers a set tled home, and to parishes a permanent pastorship.---.4)iseopal Recorder. DISCOITZENT.--SOMe people are never evatent.with - theirlotilet What 11,41 happen. Clouds and 'darkness are over their heads, alike whether it yain or ,shine. To them every incident is an,accident, and every ac cident a calamity.' , _Even when they have their own, way, they like it no better than your way, and, indeed, consider their most voluntary aots as matters of compulsion. A child about three years old was crying be cause his mother had , shut the parlor door. "Poor thing," said .a neighbor,. eompassion ately, "you have shut the child,out.' "It's all the same to him," said the mother; "he would pry if I called ,him in and then shut the door. It's a peculiarity of that boy, ; that if he is left rather suddenly on either aide Of , the door, he, onaiders himself shut 'out, and 'rebels accordingly." There are older children who take the same view of things. INFLUENCE.—The teacher, whether of scienee, , morals, -or religion, is exerting an untold.influence. The mind comes under his . care in ; that plastic state that makes it susceptible ,of being :moulded into almost any form, and fumed in almost any direc tion. 4 g As the twig is bent, the tree's in. ()lined! Snthe mind takes the direction given by its teachers in ,youth; and in its maturity, can, no more bp ehaufzed, than can the gnarled trunk the fill:grown oak be straightened. Says, one, ft You may build temples of- Marble, and.,they will perish. You may erect statues of brass, and they will °male* •,dust. But he who worka upon the, human mind, implanting noble. thoughts and,g4iiierous impulses, is rearing "strictures that Chill never perish. go is writing -tabled whose material la inde structible;:whidh age Will not -efface, but will brighten and brighten , ,to all eternity." —Massachusetts Teacher.