The Present State of the Churches.
GLANCING now at the items of complaint, it is affirmed that "the Church of our times wants reverence;" that "a more serious defect in the piety of our day is its feeble evangelism;" that humility is wanting; that constraining love to Christ is rare; that it is harder than ever to deny ourselves; that we are worldly, uncharitable, unforgiving; that the feeling of redeemed ones is hardly ours; that the Christian will—that is, the identification of our will with God's will—is relaxed; that our prayer meetings are scantily attended and dull; that our "cultivated members never lead the devotions of their brethren at all; that those who do, show little proficiency in the holy art;" that Church meetings are miserably attended; that the nursing of young life, mutual oversight, and care for the common weal, are neglected; that family and friendly gatherings crowd out family praise and prayer; that concessions to the world on such occasions are common; that it is "more common than once to see Christian parents with unconverted children;" that the elder members of rich dissenting families gravitate towards "the wealthy and fashionable Establishment;" that making haste to be rich in consequence of the idolatry of social status is common; that "the great mass of our people" are unwilling to give in proportion to their income; and that, "last and saddest fact" of all, conversions are lamentably few. These are melancholy statements; and, as the writer remarks, "it is no relief to know that the same may be said of other churches also." The lethargy is chronic; the epidemic is wide-spread. How can we wonder, when the great Scripture doctrine of the Master's return is either kept entirely out of view, as in this pamphlet, or explained away by the ingenuity of the "spiritualizer," as in many a sermon? In cases not a few indeed even this miserable attempt to make the Holy Spirit say something else than the words obviously mean is not thought worth while, but sarcasm, caricature, and ridicule are deemed sufficient argument with which to dispose of that divine doctrine which apostles preached, and which is the only hope of the Church. If the Church will try every remedy in her deplorable state except that of looking for her Lord; if she will try every expedient except that which has been prescribed by the great Physician himself; and if she is determined not to believe the special truth which sheds its glorious light on the thickest darkness of the dispensation, and solves every difficulty in a way worthy of infinite wisdom, she must even take her course, and reap the fruits of her unbelief. Why, this very book of lamentations is a clear description of the very malady superinduced by disbelief of the Lord's return. Unconsciously the author has written a vivid commentary on the signs which precede the advent. It is very remarkable that we should have this cry of cooling love, increased conformity to the world, spiritual deadness, self-esteem, deficiency of faith, and paucity of conversions, coming from a body that regards the doctrine of the pre-millennial advent with special dislike, and believes and teaches that the conversion of the world is the mission of the Church. It is a "sign" to which it is well to take heed. There is more in all this than meets the eye that looks not beyond the boundary line of denomination, and rests quietly on the received theology of a most respectable brotherhood. Complaint has a meaning as well as congratulation, and frequently in religious matters the significance of the former is deeper than that of the latter. In this paper we need not pursue the subject farther, but we are quite sure that sincere love to our brethren has constrained us to make these few remarks on the disease without the remedy.—The Rainbow.