WICINNEY ....... . ....... J. ALLISON S. LITTLE DAVID M'ICINNEY & CO., Editors and Proprietors. TERMS IN ADVANCE. SMOGS SUBSCRIPTIONS $1 1.50 Ix MPS Doblvanvo IN MITHRS 07 TRH CITISS 2.00 L_ Fur wo Dowasovo send by mull seventy numhersi awl for ONE DOLLAR, thirty-three numbers. - Pastors pending ne Derurrr pnipmribere and upWarde, Will • bu thereby entitled to a paper without charge. A RED PENCIL MARE on the paper, elgnlElee.thut term le nearly out and that we deelru a renewal. Renewals shoal be prompt, a little before the year expires. Sand pitymeute.by safe bawls, or by mall., Direct all lettere to DAVID . IPKINNIII i 1 UO. s, • • rittisburgh pelectad.j • Dear Ones 10:.1ffilyeAs They are near, very near/twine, The dear ones that havp,gone before, I think I can hear their songs of love, And see the harps 'within their hands. I hear the rustling' of ,their spirit-wings, They are so ripari`oo very near I And I long , to 0114 within my arms, , The, dear,ancl loving lambs. In dreams see their smiling looks, As.ronhd the throne they stand ; And'oit4 My sleep they seem to watch, Thi7 are so near, so very near. ,Soonony I join that heavenly band; And sing those songs of love; And then how near, bow very near, Shall I be to thd love ones above. THE NEW SCHOOL GENERAL ASSEMBLY. This body was constituted, in the Third Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, on the 17th inst. The opening sermon was preached by Rev. R. W. PATTERSON I D. , D., of Chicago, the Moderator of the last Assembly. The house was well filled : and the attention showed-that an able discourse' wasp being delivered, to a people capable of appreciating it. The text, or starting point, was taken from 1. Cor. iii; 9—" Ye are God's hus bandry, ye are God's building." This was a noble theme, The preacher stated brief ly, but strongly, the doctrinal truth, that the Church is of God's erection, having each part adjusted to the whole; and all to show forth his prase, and carry ou,his pur r poses. It is composed of living stones; it increases by an inward vital growth, and by accretions, all being the product of Di vine power, and under the Divine gni& once. But the sermon did not dwell upon this at• tractive truth—the Church, a building of God, so firm, so'secure, so perfect, so earl.= ous, so lovely; God's husbandry, so care fully guarded and skillfully tended, so plea sant to behold, so excellent in beauty, and rich in its fruitfulness. Neither did' it present to us, experimentally, the- great, glorious, and blissful results, in individual men, of God's loving kindness toward them, in making them. living stones in this build-. ing; in transplanting them into, this • de lightful garden of his, •and.by his husband ry, making them fruitful vines, and rich olives. Ills plan and aim had another di rection. These led hinvrather to present the Church as diversified, and hence, as man hail modified it, torn, discordant, un lovely, than to exhibit it in its features of unity and attractiveness, as 'being God's building and, hitsbandry. He hence treat ed his audiettee t:o an account of the dissen sions in the Presbyterian family, which led` to the New School organization; and, of course, so presented matters as to exhibit his confreres, correct in principle and jus tifiable in their proceedings. The New School body was held forth as being precisely in the right position—the media tutissima. They` are; moderate, Cal vinists, liberal Presbyterians, middle men in Church order and discipline; they can work both with Ecclesiastical Boards. and Voluntary Societies; they are mild anti slavery men ; .in short, they. are, distinctly and emphatically "Conservative Progresi ives ;" (what a well defined and intelligible apellationl) and they oceupy,too, the mid dle belt of the United States 1 The preacher's aim led him to speak of the Independentism of New-England, and the rigid Presbyterianism of Scotland and Ireland; the one tending to wide latitu dinarianism, and the other to 'a system of iron conservatism: These coming together, and mingling, and modifying each other, produced the Progressive' Conservatism. spoken of, that is, American Presbyterian ism. But the commingling was not per fect, and a separation of elements became needful. This took place in 1838. The real American Presbyterians then seceded and formed • the New School Assembly. This historical statement was so made as to be by no means- complimentary to . the body left behind. The remark that Ultra-Calvinism was af filiated with pro-slavery sentiments, seemed designed to bring odium upon the Old School. But the utterance, just here, was vary unfortunate. The Old School here rank among the - =highest Calvinists in our Church, but; no:where, among us is there less tendency to an approval of slavery. And this region is the home of old-fash, ioned Seceders and Covenanters—ultra Calvinists, if such are to bolbund—and'yet more decided opponents of s every than they are, it would be difficult to discovei. The sentiments of the region are the most decided disproval of the correctness of the preacher's utterance. Dr. PATTERsoN occupies an eminent po sition among his brethren. His sermon exhibited both skill and power. But he had assumed. a. hard task. It is hard for any man to find a justifiable reason for the secession of 188$., or to find ground either theological or ecclesiastical since, for the seceding brethren to stand" upon.. Their speakers and writers are ever making the attempt, each seemingly conscious that all efforts of his predecessors have been fail ures. And we rather think that this new trial will prove to be no happy singularity: The American Presbyterian, and the The- ological; Review, and the next platform speaker, and: 'the present Moderator, in opening 'the ,Asisembly of 1861, will have it all to do over again. These reiterated efforts are indispensable to our brethren's keeping each other in countenance, and to the retaining ortliclir More open hearted members, and to the awaking of a denomi national zeal. If, li:olding to their Confes sion of Faith and their Church order, they would preach the Gospel in•peace and love, they would, minister after minister, and church after church, falll in, `with the old but still wonderfally : th4ing stock, till soon all would be, under God'simebandry, visibly and truly, living, , to fruitful brandies of the one olive tree: xPhe peo ple would see no differences:between them and us,justifying a separation.,l Their young ministeYi *duld tide lionlifference. ^/"wk ; 'l: .. 7 — '''''''''."r - ''''' 7300 ftwago , "' , ' , ' -7- '' 7,, l:tv- ,, x. 47- '7r , ' -.,, t , : ,. % , % . !- . : 4. ,-,, :,,,,.-, 4 . , v , .-.1.-..0 r .,- = , ,--x-,57 , 1:,-,--to —,:fla.m.-..f.. , : mt$ ta5."1....?...e...;74.,.y.'Pz - , e , t , . , .m.'4317:. - 7.7 , -'1 , 7;500c.:4^ , r: 91140;roax=-1 , ~ , i ~, . :, 7 , ,1 t...., . ., , , . ~',..., .., v. , - , ..".v, ry..)-7-n.sitwfo”xlmtw.-P, , r.v.,1,,• z,..it:,,. 7 ._.. ..... ... ' . ' .f . .•' , ',.. ' .... ..;:::....:.:., .i.:•„.,.:_. ,7 _.....„ ~...,:,„•,:_....:,., 74 P ''., . -. :f r. -. '''' -- F -. .. ' 3 ' 5 - r e L. . T . ,"', t''''' , •,' *.l ',,,,,•.- 4: , .. .... . .-,. .• '• .. •,,-.',.: pill ; • . --: - . . .• . • .• , ~- ~.. . 4 , . ..,,.,, ~...... ' 't '. ' ~.`., '.. ''' ' • . - ~ . , ' , k , . VOL, :VIII,-;::...:.:N10.,....:30.:i.' The matter of a man's stating his views of Scriptural truth, and his Christian experi ence, to his, brethren in Presbytery, would soon cease to be a bugbear; and a people one in doctrinal belief, and one in Chris tian spirit, 'would become one in ecclesias tical connexion. The Lord speed the day. iJpper Beale Chure . h, Pa. We have before us a historical sermon preached by Rev. JOHN EAGLEEON, pastor of -Upper Buffalo ohmoh, f Presby, tery of Washington, Pa., which will serve to commemorate some important events, and be the occasion of grateful thanksgiv ing. This was one among the-first church es founded in Western Pennsylvania. • The country was purchased from the Indians in 1768. A few white people resided in it then; but they were very few. In j 770 and 1771, a'number of families came froni,East ern Pennsylvania, , Vlrginia, and Ireland. The church tof ; Buffalo was organize:l in 1779, enjoying, in connexion with Cross Creek, the pastoral care of Bei. tosiPti SMITH. Mr. SMITH died in 1792. He was succeeded by Rev. TuomAs iyauizufs,, in 1794. In 1798, Mr. MARQUIS : resigned the Buffalo' - church, and continued'pastor of Cross Creek, till his death, in 1827. In the year 1800, Rev. JOIIN. ANDERSON, D. D., accepted a callto Buffalo; and continued in the pastorate till ;1880 The present pastor, Dr. EAGLESON, was settled there in 1834. This church has been one of the most highly favored portions of the Lord's vine yard. Copious and frequent showers have fallen on it, and its fruitfulness has been great. An account of one most remarkable scene of favot., Dr.' EAGLESON copies from the Western Missionary Magazine, a portion of which we transfer to our columns : • "'On Saturday, the 13th day of Novem ber,' A. D. 1802 1 a greater coneourse r of peo ple _than . had ever been seen' before, 'at.a meeting for 'Divine worship in this coun try,' assembled at' Upper Buffalo meeting house, in the congregation of the Rev John AiiDERSON, and formed an encampment in a semi-circle around the front of a tent, in a shady 'Wood. The greater part had by this time learned the necesSity of coming pre pared to encamp on .the ground, during the solemnity, as so many persons in distress corild not be removed to lodgings in the 'evening; nor could such a multitude be accommodated in a neighborhood of the most hospitable inhabitants. On this o`o ca.sion, it would have required one hundred houses, with perhaps one,hUndred or near ly to each house.. But, the peoplehave been so engaged, that they are . not dispoied to separate in the evenings;therefore .many brought wagon's; with thir' families and previsions, With a great number of tents, which they pitched, for their accommoda tion. The public exercises of devotion' • comnienced at two o'clock with a iermon, both in the meeting-house and at the tenti, and 'Were continued, with but _short inter mission's, until Tuesday evening. Fifteenl ministers were present, all M en*er s of the: Synod of Pittsburgh, and with cordial liar rn.ony- took part in the various labors of the solemn season. The administration of the Word and ordinances was accompanied with an extraordinary effusion of Divine influences on the hearts of the hearers. Some hundreds were, during the season, convinced of their sin and misery; many of them sunk down and cried bitterly and incessantly for several hours. Some fell suddenly; some lost their strength gradu .ally; some lay quiet and , silent ; some were violently agitated ; and many sat' silently weeping, who were 'not exercised with any bodily affections. Preaching, exhortations, prayers, and praise were continued altern ately throughout the whole night in the meeting-house, which was crowded full, and also part of the night at the tent. " There were some Alert intermissions, when the, sound of the cries and groans of the> distressed was so great as quite to drown a speaker's voice; at which times the min isters and'others reputed for experience and wisdoin in reliiion took opportunity to col verse with the distressed, to discover the cause and nature of their complaints and cries, which:' pierced their ears and hearts from every quarter of the assembly, and administered such instructions and coun sels as appeared to be suitable to their va rious-cities; ' " On the' Sabbath morning, action ser- . in- mons, were preached, the meeting-house and at the tent; and after' the way was pre. pared at both places, the communicants from the house repaired to the communion table at the tent, where the holy' ordinance was administered to nine hundred and six ty communicants. The: solemn scene was conducted with mi'much.regularity as usual, and with much solemnity • and affection. The multitude of nou.communicants; - who 'could not hear at the tent, were called to the meeting-house and to a shady grove, where they were addressed by several min isters, during the administration" of the or dinance. "The night Was spent as the formerlad been,:.perhaps the only difference that ap peared was in the numbers who were visi bly pierced to the heart, and made to cry out,' e'What 'shall we do?' and in the 'de gree of their exercise, both of which g . reat, ly exceeded those of the preceding night. Between midnight- and day-break, after;. a short'intermismon of public worship, when the congregation., had become •measurably silent, an exhortation was given to the dis tressed, Alirecting , them •to Jesus Christ, and setting forth the fullness of his' grace, his suitableness to all their wants, &c. This was done coolly and with plainness, suited to inform the nund—calmly, without moving tone or melting expressions; yet, instead of soothing their sorrows, or turn ing their cries into songs of joy, the very . reverse took place. The, speaker's voice was drowned in a nreater cry of distress .than was before heard. They appeared to listen with eagerness to the Word of Life; they strove , to enter in at the door of hope, - which 'free' grace held open. They attempt ed to lean on, Christ, Jesus; but here they felt their spiritual blindness, hardness of heart, unbelief, .enmity, &c. They could not come to Christ,-unless the Father, who sent him, Would draw them. These theY felt in their inmost,soul, and expressed with cries, which seemed to rend the heavens." Washington College, Pa. MESSRS. Eprroir t s :-Many of your read erS are pleased to see the- statements you furnish of the prosperous Condition of our Theological Seminaries and Colleges. The writer, after an absence .of ten years from Washington, spent several days of .March there, and attended'reeitationB 'of all the Classes in different departments, in all of 'which. . the „students acquitted themselves well. He was, beyond •al expectation,. pleased with the recitations: on the ,-differ ent 'saris' of 'the Bible, Green's teetni#'on the Cateclu , sni; EvidenceS Chriaiirety,) etc. The orderly character of, the students in the Campus: and. the Hall, spiced with,a large measure of social _glee, might con vince evens,stranger that they were happy. There was a manifest rerafive from the extremes of foppery and clownishness. At the given signal, all seemed devout. A large proportion of them are professors'of religion. The boarding establishment is managed so, as to, secure two objeets 7r the greatest possible cheapness, in connexion with the cultivation of the decent proprieties of life. The furnitire"and fare of the:table, are ` such &site secure; for thp gueits a good measure of self-respect. Then note the family worship followingbreakfaSt and sup per, and all tinder- the superintendence of lir. and Mrs. Sinilie 7 who manage , this department in -'a style that cannot 'fail' to please the friends of piety, order, and econoniy. Those that wish can be accommodated% private families of,pions character. , Sonie families find it very convenient and 'grati fying to move into town for a`few years, in order to have the supervision of , their..own children during the course of their educe tion. ' The moral atmosphere- of ;Washington ought to be healthful. Many,of, the.y,onth are under the influence of. well-regulated schools—numerous professors of religion in the different denominations contribute their share to ,this result; but the Calvinistic element is such that every Presbyterian may rejoice, since, truth rs in order to, god liness.. The fact that Washington is not so great a thoroughfare 2 as formerly, and that the students' roll does not run up to =two or three hundred, will relieve some miuds, who dream perpetually ,of the dangers of College life. With the increase' of students may -there , always be a proportionate increase of godly restraints. - With such Professors, with such Trus tees of College and Synod 7 -with so many ministers and elders to keep watch—with such men as Robert. Sherard; 'Esq., for Treasurer, and A, L. Littell, .Esq. for Col lector, the friends can afford to take courage and go forward. , A. N. Hay 9th 1800. More about the Sabbath-School singing book.' Many children are disepuraged and for ever prevented 'from learning to 'sing by being placed, during their first efforts, among singers too far advanced . for 'them to comprehend the instruction given, and by their being required to ,sing, in their first efforts, music entirely too difficult for them. Success t in education, on any. sub jeot, is always prOportionate to the compre hension by the pupil of the subject stud ied, and. advance is accordingto the ability possessed. Hence we require a book adapted to every capacity of pupils. The little incidents of youth in common life, make the greatness of 'the Man; these incidents giving,power over the individual by their vivid perceptions and comprehen sion of relations. So here'.: To adapt the book to general introduction into Sabbath- Schools of various character, - and dew& ments those ,schools, it_would be well la; publish it in niunbOn;„, or divisions, so as to be procured and used separate or• as a whole. In that ease such parts as might suit the various circumstances of the school might be obtained at the small est possible gest. As a book entire, it nhould contain a large amount of music, as well as great variety; as children very soon learn a large quantity of music. The book should contain many piecei, so' arranged that they might be sung as dialogues by the children, or teachers_ and children.; also duetts or choruses, by which often Much greater effect can be produced,' and a greatly inereased,number of children in duced :to sing. Choruses are contagious, and many a.child, and even an adult, • utt. accustomed to sing, who cannot, be induced to sing a whole' piece,' will, with enthu siesta, •after a moment's eessation, join the full chorus, and thus will' be led on to song. For the sake of containing much more music in the same;space, • and preparing it the better for instrumental accompaniment, it should be,arratiged with'two parts upon the same staff. A vast number •of our children ""are, at this,time instrumental formers, and a mich 3