"NEW THEMES FOR THE PROTESTANT CLERGY."
By J. F. Ballenger
[BRO. SMITH: I here enclose a few leaves that I picked up by the way, which contain a chapter setting forth the defects of, and anti-Christian course pursued by, the Catholic and Protestant churches. I think it should have a wide circulation. Therefore if you see proper to insert it you may do so. It may be the means of awakening some soul to see the spiritual lethargy that the mass of professors have fallen into.
Yours in hope. J. F. BALLENGER.] Such is the title of a new work, which has just made its appearance from the Philadelphia press, to which is added on the title-page, "Creeds without Charity, Theology without Humanity, and Protestantism without Christianity. With notes by the Editor on the Literature of Charity, Population, Pauperism, Political Economy, and Protestantism." It seems to contain a fearless and masterly exposé of the defects and errors of Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The author is said to be, "a merchant of high standing and character, and an esteemed member of the Presbyterian church;" and of the work it is said, "that it contains home-truths of a somewhat unpalatable nature, perhaps, to many high professors and low practicers." The following chapter is said to be a fair condensation of the spirit of the book. We find Christians forgetting their vocation, in the exercise of their duty as citizens, and ranging themselves in the rank and file of political gamblers and demagogues. There are Christians enough, and light and wisdom enough, if properly and zealously applied, to place every truly good cause in the ascendant, and to make our land as remarkable for its exemplification of Christian precepts as it has been for the favor of Providence. If the Christians of this country had only been as faithful to their religious obligations as they have been faithful to party discipline, they would now wield a moral and religious power which nothing within or without could long withstand. Here is a field in which Christians, for more than half a century, have had full liberty and free scope to carry out their Master's injunctions. What have they done? What kind of Christianity is exhibited in this country, where the conscience is free; where religion is not complicated with the government; where abuses are not consecrated by antiquity; where superstitions are not fastened upon us by the habits and associations of ages; where the priesthood is without power, and where the light of the Scriptures shines as freely as the light of the sun? To what extent do we behold the influence of Christians in our legislation, or in the workings of our national or State governments? Do we find that influence in the fierce competition of trades, in the progress of which thousands upon thousands annually fall into distress and poverty, while the eager votaries of wealth sweep past, unheeding the victims upon whom they trample? But this is the mass which owns not Christ. Look, then, at those who profess to be his followers, and bear his name. Scores of churches surround us, mutually repelling and attacking each other, and affording a scene of strife, jealousy, animosity, and evil-speaking, with scarce a parallel for virulence in the proceedings of those who profess no fellowship with Christ. Each of these various sects claim, in terms the most unqualified, that they only are right; no claim of infallibility is stronger than that they arrogate. Some differ as wide as terms can separate them; others agree so nearly that there is scarcely the shade of a phrase between them; yet the bitterness of division only increases with the less it has to fasten upon. But while this sectarianism is thus a spectacle to the world, it is eclipsed by the internal feuds to which these sects are themselves exposed. Many of them have been convulsed to their centers, or blown asunder by the explosions of strife and evil passions, which were a disgrace to civilization, let alone Christianity. Volumes might be filled with accounts of these fatal exhibitions; but alas! they are too fresh in the memory of all, to need any reference, even in the way of warning. Apart from these flagrant departures from the spirit of Christianity, what does the current history of the various churches, in greater or less degree, disclose? Intense, and often unscrupulous rivalry, incessant and unkind competition, a self-glorifying and haughty demeanor. Whatever a few individuals may do to correct or overcome the evil, churches seldom treat each other in a spirit of love or forbearance. If without, they are in a hostile attitude; within, they are far from being at peace with each other, or with the Master they profess to serve. If united, they are but too often frozen together; if at variance, it has all the acrimony of a family quarrel. They build sumptuous temples for the worship of God, and sell the seats to the highest bidder; they neither attend nor allow others to attend. The poor are virtually excluded from houses professedly devoted to the services of their best Friend; they are not invited to come to the services of these temples; much less are they compelled to come in; the streets and highways are never searched to find guests for the empty seats in these costly dwellings of sectarian worship. The gospel is not preached to the poor, either in them nor out of them. Christ is preached, but not obeyed; his various offices are magnified and proclaimed, but his precepts are neither adequately explained nor exemplified. The preaching is done in the churches to the rich, or to the empty seats which belong over them. The word of Life is scattered abroad over the world with a liberal hand; but it goes unaccompanied by any practical ratification of its benign precepts, proving that it is confided in and obeyed by those who send it. The gospel is sent to the heathen of far distant lands, but the heathen at home are neglected. The world is the field committed to Christians for cultivation, and they employ themselves in dividing and sub-dividing the ground, in building high walls, in planting hedges of thorns, in digging deep ditches, and in endless disputes about boundaries and lines of demarkation, whilst the plants, the poor plants, suffer for want of proper culture, wither and die. The laborers in these artificial lines of circumvallation, are not permitted to look over these walls, but are required to contract the range of vision and thought to the lines prescribed. The cultivators of this great field, thus fearfully partitioned, employ themselves in studying and discussing the philosophy of their work, down to the minutest matter, and to the nicest possible distinctions; and while thus engaged, plants perish by thousands at their feet, lacking that attention which the simplest Christian could afford. Thus that labor of Christians is expended in discussing, refining and distinguishing, which should be laid out in exemplifying what they know. Immense efforts are made to induce and compel people to believe the same things, and to think in the same channels, which should be applied to the practical illustration of what we believe and know in common. It is in vain that we master chemistry, meterology, and the whole science of agriculture, if we do not likewise perform the humble offices of plowing, manuring, planting and watering. It is equally in vain to pile up volumes of theology, mountain high, if we are not thereby stimulated186to engage in those Christian labors of love, which it should be a main object of those works of theology, if they are of any value, to recommend and encourage. The truth is, that theology has been exalted immeasurably above practical Christianity; although no theology can be wholly clear or convincing which is not accompanied by a practical illustration. Precept may go before example, but it must go unheeded, unless the example quickly follows. The great work of Christianity being love to God and man, Christianity can only be successfully propagated by those whose lives illustrate these duties. The only solvent for the pride, asperity, hatred, jealousy, envy, and other evil passions of men, is charity. The only medium in which the truths of revelation can be clearly seen and appreciated in all their varied ramifications, is charity; it is the true test of all theology. The only atmosphere in which the rays of truth can reach the hearts of all the dwellers on earth with their full power, and in which the work of bringing the whole race of men under the dominion of Christ shall be successful, is charity. If this be so, a greater Reformation is yet to be accomplished than that of the sixteenth century. How true that no flesh can glory in its doings before God! Let modern Pharisees of every church, who imagine that they have attained unto the full measure of holiness, pause to inquire whether they are not merely full of spiritual pride and uncharitableness; for sanctity cannot dwell but with brotherly love. Let a new Reformation commence, which shall exhibit in its consummation the "Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man." Let it commence here, where there is no need of such a protector as Frederic of Saxony, nor any such champion as the detestable Henry VIII. It demands the disruption of no ties but those which bind us to evil. It implies no revolution, but that gradual one which must take place as men change from worse to better. Let every man examine himself and see what talents are committed to him for his Master's service, and prepare himself by a proper fulfillment of his stewardship to render his final account. There is no pleasure in this world so exalted and so pure as this, in which our great duty consists in honoring God and helping man. If all who profess to be followers of Christ were to carry out, in their lives, all His precepts in this respect, the spectacle would fill the world with awe and admiration. Wickedness and cruelty and oppression would shrink from that observation which now they do not fear. But the world now looks on and beholds in Catholic countries, that great machine called the church, contrived by crafty and ambitious men to enrich themselves, to enslave and rule the masses under cover of ignorance and superstition; where Protestantism prevails, a free intellect, but a hard and unrelenting selfishness, a devotion to mammon never before equaled, a grinding competition in all the pursuits of life, a race for wealth and power, in which the multitudes are distanced by a few, who become masters, and wield their power with unpitying severity; a scene of strife, of endless divisions, of hot discussions about trifles, of sectarian rivalry, in which every element of evil mingles, often without even a spice of human kindness, much less religious charity. Will the world adopt Christianity while this picture is before it? No; the world has already risen in judgment upon Christianity as exemplified by those who are called Christians. What are the characteristics of Christendom in the eye of the world? Civilization, discord, war, priestcraft, sectarianism, greediness of gain, rigor of mind, heartless competition, domination of capital, pauperism, crime. The world sees much to admire in Christendom, but fearful evidence that neither the laws of brotherly kindness nor Christian charity control its institutions, social, political, or religious. Let not the Romanist flatter himself that the church can ultimately vindicate Christianity, and set all right. His church has had her day of uncontrolled sway, and exhibited what men will invariably do when made the depository of such powers: she abused her position shamefully, and sank Christianity into a long night of ignorance and superstition. His church is condemned already, and is clinging with unwise and depraved pertinacity to that power which the world will ere long tear from hands polluted with every crime. A few ill-balanced minds, darkened by drinking at the literary fountains of the middle-ages, may betake themselves to the deep shadows of Romanism, and thus turn their eyes from the cheering light which the progress of humanity is shedding round them. There is a mental vision which cannot endure human progress, nor undergo that change of light which must be encountered in the struggle for human brotherhood. They can perceive no beauty in the religion of Christ; they cannot be reconciled to any religion but that which involves all power in the hands of priests, and all submission on the part of the people. They may believe in Christ; they trust only in the Church. Let not the Protestant wrap himself in spiritual pride, and imagine that because he has escaped the errors of Romanism, he is safe from the judgment of the world. Let him not scorn that judgment because it often condemns what is right; but let him dread it, because it judges him for denying his Master and disgracing his cause. Let Protestants dread that rejection of Christianity which springs from their evil example. Let them fear their responsibility for retarding the cause which they profess to befriend. Let them forbear proclaiming that Christianity is what their example makes it; the world may either refuse to accept such a religion, or condemn the pretensions of its professors. Protestants are now zealously and successfully scattering the Scriptures in all languages to the ends of the earth, and all men are invited to read and judge for themselves. They will do so; they are doing so, and are disposed to judge for themselves. They will not adopt all the sectarian dogmas; they will even question the piety of many of the straitest of the sects. They will decide that either these sects can find no warrant for many of their doings and doctrines in the New Testament, or that it can be no revelation from God. The independent readers of the Evangelists will bow neither to Romish tradition nor to Protestant interpretation. They can read Christ for themselves, and the more they read, the more they will wonder how many who call themselves Christians, can for a moment pretend to be followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, whose whole ministry was among the poor and the erring, and whose strongest rebukes were reserved for the proud, the rich, and the sanctimonious. Christ went from village to village, healing the sick and personally solacing the cares of the poor. Protestants fulfill their charities, not personally, but by delegation, or by machinery; they visit the sick, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, by joint-stock associations, or by the hands of public functionaries. The Romanists trust in the church; the Protestants trust in theology. The former thinks to save himself by confessions, masses, and priestly absolution; the other, by preaching, by prayer-meetings and lectures. The one holds to the accumulated errors of ages, and shuts out Christ for the sake of the church; the other—all right in theology—clings to a skeleton in triumph, rejecting flesh, and blood, and spirit. Both Romanists and Protestants hold up Christ as a Saviour, and proclaim his personal sufferings, his cross, his crucifixion, his atonement, his ascension; but they omit his life of toil among the poor, and, above all, they neither preach nor practice what he taught. The person of Christ has long disappeared from the earth; his earthly sufferings are long since over; his personal mission has long since ended; but his precepts are handed down to us unimpaired in sublimity, beauty, and strength of obligation, by the lapse of ages. These constitute overpowering evidence that he who delivered them "spake as never man spake," and that his mission must have been divine, which breathed so much love, so much compassion, so much that is beyond and above what any human teacher ever imagined or expressed. All this we have now; and this is what is not fairly incorporated in the religious systems of either Protestant or Catholic. The former substitutes his peculiar hobby of theology; his catechism, prayer-book, creed, confession, articles, or other forms of doctrine, are carefully and assiduously taught to old and young, while the teachings of Christ are comparatively neglected. The Romanist rejects the New Testament itself as of no more authority than a papal bull, and Christ as being no wiser than the Pope, both being infallible. But the world is now reading this rejected book, and the readers will compare Christians with Christianity. This ordeal has begun; the motto of an advancing army of reformers is, the "Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man," what arms can Christians oppose to such invaders? That policy may no longer suffice which has hitherto prevailed, of declaiming against the love of the world, and yet falling with savage severity upon him who offers to disturb a single brick in the grand structure of that society which constitutes this present world. There are no greater friends of political liberty than Protestants, but it is that liberty which lets every man take care of himself, and ruin seize the hindmost; it is that liberty which stimulates all to run, but permits the heat of competition to rise so high that none can stoop to pick up the multitudes who fall exhausted by the way. "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." John xvii, 9, 20. My faith the Saviour sees,
Bend from his heavenly throne;
And hark! what gracious words are these
He whispers to his own?
"For all," I hear him kindly say,
"Who on my name believe, I pray." "What though temptation's power
Thy feeble strength assail?
What though in many a weary hour
Thy footsteps well nigh fail?
Look up to me, I'll be thy stay;
Thou tempted one, for thee I pray. "What though affliction's might
Distress thy troubled heart,
And dark and heavy is the night,
And keen the inward smart?
Still think, through all thy bitter way,
Oh, sorrow's child, for thee I pray. "If sickness come, and pain
Distract thy throbbing head,
And thou shalt seek relief in vain,
And press a sleepless bed;
Trusting in me, thy mind shall stay
In perfect peace; for thee I pray. "When the cold hand of death
Shall chill thy mortal frame,
And fainter grows the failing breath,
And quenched the vital flame,
Fear not the dark and shadowy way,
Thou dying one, for thee I pray. "And when thy soul shall stand
At my dread judgment-seat,
Thou shalt be placed at my right hand
Prepared my face to meet;
Owned in that last decisive day
As one for whom thy Lord did pray."
[Am. Messenger. 12. THUS does the subtle adversary of God and man endeavor to make void the counsel of God, by dividing the gospel against itself, and making one part of it overthrow the other, while the first work of God in the soul is destroyed by the expectation of his perfect work. We have seen several of the ways wherein he attempts this, by cutting off, as it were, the springs of holiness. But this he likewise does more directly by making that blessed hope an occasion of unholy tempers. 13. Thus, whenever our heart is eagerly athirst for all the great and precious promises; when we pant after the fullness of God as the hart after the water brook; when our soul breaketh out in fervent desire, "why are his chariot wheels so long a coming?"—he will not neglect the opportunity of tempting us to murmur against God. He will use all his wisdom and all his strength if haply, in an unguarded hour we may be influenced to repine at our Lord for thus delaying his coming. At least, he will labor to excite some degree of fretfulness, or impatience, and perhaps of envy at those whom we believe to have already attained the prize of our high calling. He well knows, that by giving way to any of these tempers, we are pulling down the very thing we would build up. By thus following after perfect holiness, we become more unholy than before. Yea there is great danger that our last state should be worse than the first; like them of whom the apostle speaks in those dreadful words, "It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them." 14. And from hence he hopes to reap another advantage, even to bring up an evil report of the good way. He is sensible how few are able to distinguish (and too many are not willing so to do) between the accidental abuse, and the natural tendency of a doctrine. These, therefore, will be continually blend together, with regard to the doctrine of Christian perfection, in order to prejudice the minds of unwary men against the glorious promises of God. And how frequently, how generally, I had almost said, how universally, has he prevailed herein! For who is there that observes any of these accidental ill effects of this doctrine, and does not immediately conclude, this is its natural tendency; and does not readily cry187out, "See, these are the fruits (meaning the natural, necessary fruits) of such doctrine?" Not so: they are fruits which may accidentally spring from the abuse of a great and precious truth; but the abuse of this, or any other scriptural doctrine, does by no means destroy its use. Neither can the unfaithfulness of man, perverting his right way, make the promise of God of no effect. No: let God be true and every man a liar. The word of the Lord, it shall stand. "Faithful is he that hath promised; he also will do it. Let us not then be "removed from the hope of the gospel." Rather let us observe, which was the second thing proposed, how we may retort these fiery darts of the wicked one; how we may rise the higher by what he intends for an occasion of our falling. II. 1. And, first, does Satan endeavor to damp your joy in the Lord, by the consideration of your sinfulness, added to this, that without entire, universal holiness no man can see the Lord? You may cast back this dart upon his own head, while, through the grace of God, the more you feel your own vileness, the more you rejoice in confident hope that all this shall be done away. While you hold fast this hope, every evil temper you feel, though you hate it with a perfect hatred, may be a means, not of lessening your humble joy, but rather of increasing it. "This and this," you may say, "shall likewise perish from the presence of the Lord. Like as wax melteth at the fire so shall this melt away before his face." By this means the greater that change is which remains to be wrought in your soul, the more may you triumph in the Lord, and rejoice in the God of your salvation, who hath done so great things for you already, and will do so much greater things than these. 2. Secondly, the more vehemently he assaults your peace with that suggestion, "God is holy; you are unholy; you are immensely distant from that holiness without which you cannot see God; how then can you be in the favor of God? How can you fancy you are justified?"—take the more earnest heed to hold fast that, "Not by works of righteousness which I have done I am found in him; I am accepted in the Beloved; not having my own righteousness (as the cause either in whole or in part, of our justification before God), but that which is by faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Oh bind this about your neck; write it upon the table of thy heart. Wear it as a bracelet upon thy arm, as frontlets between thine eyes: "I am 'justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.'" Value and esteem more and more that precious truth, "By grace we are saved, through faith." Admire more and more the free grace of God in so loving the world as to give "his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life." So shall the sense of the sinfulness you feel on the one hand, and of the holiness you expect on the other, both contribute to establish your peace, and to make it flow as a river. So shall that peace flow on with an even stream, in spite of all those mountains of ungodliness which shall become a plain in the day when the Lord cometh to take full possession of your heart. Neither will sickness, or pain, or the approach of death, occasion any doubt or fear. You know a day, an hour, a moment, with God is as a thousand years. He cannot be straitened for time wherein to work whatever remains to be done in your soul. And God's time is always the best time. Therefore be thou careful for nothing; only make thy requests known unto him, and that not with doubt or fear, but thanksgiving, as being previously assured, he cannot withhold from thee any manner of thing that is good. 3. Thirdly, the more you are tempted to give up your shield, to cast away your faith, your confidence in his love, so much the more take heed that you hold fast that whereunto you have attained. So much the more labor to stir up the gift of God which is in you. Never let that slip: "I have 'an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,' and, 'the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.'" Be this thy glory and crown of rejoicing; and see that no one take thy crown. Hold that fast: "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and shall stand at the latter day upon the earth;" and "I now 'have redemption in his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.'" Thus, being filled with all peace and joy in believing, press on, in the peace and joy of faith to the renewal of thy whole soul in the image of him that created thee! Meanwhile, cry continually to God that thou mayest see that prize of thy high calling, not as Satan represents it, in a horrid, dreadful shape, but in its genuine, native beauty; not as something that must be, or thou wilt go to hell, but as what may be to lead thee to heaven. Look upon it as the most desirable gift which is in all the stores of the rich mercies of God. Beholding it in this true point of light, thou wilt hunger after it more and more; thy whole soul will be athirst for God, and for this glorious conformity to his likeness; and having received a good hope of this, and strong consolation through grace, thou wilt no more, be weary or faint in thy mind, but wilt follow on till thou attainest. 4. In the same power of faith press on to glory. Indeed this is the same prospect still. God hath joined from the beginning, pardon, holiness, heaven. And why should man put them asunder? Oh beware of this! Let not one link of the golden chain be broken. "God, for Christ's sake hath forgiven me. He is now renewing me in his own image. Shortly he will make me meet for himself, and take me to stand before his face. I, whom he hath justified through the blood of his Son, being thoroughly sanctified by his Spirit, shall quickly ascend to the 'New Jerusalem, the city of the living God.' Yet a little while, and I shall 'come to the general assembly and church of the first-born, and to God the Judge of all, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.' How soon will these shadows flee away, and the day of eternity dawn upon me! How soon shall I drink of 'the river of the water of life' going out of the throne of God and of the Lamb! There all his servants shall praise him, and shall see his face, and his name shall be upon their foreheads. And no night shall be there; and they have no need of a candle, or the light of the sun. For the Lord God enlighteneth them, and they shall reign for ever and ever." 5. And if you thus "taste of the good word, and of the powers of the world to come," you will not murmur against God because you are not yet meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. Instead of repining at your not being wholly delivered, you will praise God for thus far delivering you. You will magnify God for what he hath done, and take it as an earnest of what he will do. You will not fret against him because you are not yet renewed, but bless him because you shall be; and because "now is your salvation" from all sin "nearer than when you [first] believed." Instead of uselessly tormenting yourself because the time is not fully come, you will calmly and quietly wait for it, knowing that it "will come and will not tarry." You may therefore, the more cheerfully endure, as yet, the burden of sin that still remains in you, because it will not always remain. Yet a little while, and it shall be clean gone. Only "tarry thou the Lord's leisure;" be strong, and "he shall comfort thy heart;" and put thou thy trust in the Lord! 6. And if you see any who appear (so far as man can judge, but God alone searcheth the hearts) to be already partakers of their hope, already "made perfect in love," far from envying the grace of God in them, let it rejoice and comfort your heart. Glorify God for their sake! "If one member is honored" shall not "all the members rejoice with it?" Instead of jealousy or evil surmising concerning them, praise God for the consolation! Rejoice in having a fresh proof of the faithfulness of God in fulfilling all his promises; and stir yourself up the more to "apprehend that for which you also are apprehended of Christ Jesus!" 7. In order to this, redeem the time. Improve the present moment. Buy up every opportunity of growing in grace, or of doing good. Let not the thought of receiving more grace to-morrow make you negligent of to-day. You have one talent now; if you expect five more, so much then rather improve that you have. And the more you expect to receive hereafter, the more labor for God now. Sufficient for the day is the grace thereof. God is now pouring his benefits upon you; now approve yourself a faithful steward of the present grace of God. Whatever may be to-morrow, give all diligence to-day to "add to your faith courage, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness," and the fear of God, till you attain that pure and perfect love! Let these things be now "in you and abound!" Be not now slothful or unfruitful; "so shall an entrance be ministered unto you into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ." 8. Lastly, If in time past you have abused this blessed hope of being holy as he is holy, yet do not, therefore, cast it away. Let the abuse cease, the use remain. Use it now to the more abundant glory of God, and profit of your own soul. In steadfast faith, in calm tranquility of spirit, in full assurance of hope, rejoicing evermore for what God hath done, press ye on unto perfection! daily growing in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and going on from strength to strength in resignation, in patience, in humble thankfulness for what ye have attained, and for what ye shall, run the race set before you, "looking unto Jesus," till, through perfect love, ye enter into his glory! European War and Revolution
Dr. Cheever writing from the continent of Europe, speaks as follows about the state of things there. Everywhere there is expectation of a general war. Men say that if Garibaldi's successes continue, Italy will be so united and so strong that France will be jealous, and the emperor will step in to prevent the accomplishment of her freedom. On the other hand, if Garibaldi and the cause of the Italian patriots meet with reverses, Austria will rush in and renew and strengthen her despotism. If Hungary rises, Austria will have enough on her hands then. If Garibaldi still is successful, Hungary will probably be roused into revolution. Meantime the king of Sardinia's invasion of the Pontifical territory is a new complication of affairs. None can tell what will come of this step. Perhaps war with France—one might almost suppose it already determined by the threatening tone of some French journals. On every side the lines are drawing closer and closer against the Pope, and all things seem in perfect readiness with the greatest ease to sweep him and his whole remaining authority from existence. Take out the cancer at Rome, and Italy will be restored to health and freedom, but never till then. Now God's surgeons seem about to operate, but, nevertheless their knives may be sheathed for a season, and the decisive operation deferred. God hath put in their hearts unknowingly to fulfill his will, but not yet to agree; but the predicted final treatment of the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, is that they shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire. Of all ploughing and harrowing, the ploughing and harrowing of our own hearts is the hardest work, and I think I may add, it prepares for the richest harvest. A Slaveholding Baptist Church
ThE African Baptist church in Augusta, Ga., owns its minister, the congregation having bought him from his former master. LIKENESS to Jesus is the highest excellency to which you can attain : let it be your constant aim. LET NOT YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED.
Jesus, when he uttered these words had just partaken with his disciples of the last supper; he had given them an institution which they were to keep in remembrance of him. He had told them that he was going away from them, that they should seek him; but that whither he went they could not come. This it appears was the cause of their trouble; the thought that their Lord was about to leave them had caused them trouble and disquiet of mind; and it was this which called forth the Saviour's emphatic exhortation, Let not your hearts be troubled. But why not let their hearts be troubled? He tells them why: the separation that was then to take place was not to be forever: he went away to be sure, but he went for their good; his thoughts would be upon them while absent from them; and he would be at work for them; for he was going to prepare a place for them, and it was necessary that he should do this; but he would come again and take them to himself; and this promise he gave them as a sufficient reason why they should not let their hearts be troubled. But our Lord is absent from us, as he was about to be from them: the same cause for trouble of heart exists with us, as with them; but if our Lord told his disciples anciently not to be troubled, for he would come again, that surely is a good and sufficient reason; and it is as applicable to us as them. That voice has come down through the lapse of eighteen centuries, to comfort the hearts of longing disciples all the way along even to the present day. "Let not your hearts be troubled: your Lord will come again to take you to himself." Much more may we take courage from these comforting words—we who are living on time's last threshold, when the glorious event is near even at the doors. Can we not fortify our hearts against all trouble under this blessed assurance? But these words of our Saviour will bear repeating. Let us read them again, and place the accent upon another word: "Let not your hearts be troubled." No; above all things let not trouble approach the heart. Let there be trouble in the city and in the country; let there be on the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, and men's hearts failing them for fear; yea, let your own circumstances be trying and distressing, let want and poverty dog your steps with unwavering constancy, let disease press heavily upon you, and pain rack your whole system, yet let not the heart be troubled. Keep peace and quietness there. Heart trouble is the worst kind of trouble; be sure you guard against that. If we inquire how we are to do this, an apostle and a prophet have both given us directions: the one says, "To be spiritually minded is life and peace." Rom. viii, 6. And the other responds, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee." Isa. xxvi, 3. Once more we may read this comforting declaration of the Saviour's, and emphasize still another word: "Let not your hearts be troubled." No; whoever else is troubled, see that you are not. Though other hearts may shiver and sink with fear, see that yours be not so. You have least cause for trouble. The wicked and the ungodly will be disturbed with trouble; and it is natural that they should be. When they see their prospects fading and their hopes vanishing, when the frail reeds upon which they are now leaning, are breaking and piercing their own souls, when their main stays and dependences are all failing them, it is natural, it is proper, that fear and trembling should prostrate their obdurate hearts. But their rock is not our Rock. Deut. xxxii, 31. We lean upon no deceitful arm. The great God who has said through his Son, that it is his good pleasure to give the kingdom to his little flock, is our Shepherd, and we the sheep of his pasture. The great arm that upholds the universe and moves the planets in their courses, is pledged to our guidance and support. And well may those who occupy such a position, act upon the exhortation, "Let not your hearts be troubled." Precious and comforting words. Afflicted saint driven and tossed, these words are yours. They come from the faithful and true Witness who never commands us to do what we have not good reason to do. In the midst of the turmoil of earth, in the midst of its political excitements and the discordant elements of wickedness and sin, in the midst of wars and strife, let your hearts rest in peace. In the midst of pestilence and calamity, be undisturbed. In the midst of the shadows and darkness of this world, shed a mild and steady light, as you journey on. Having made fast to the anchor within the vail, press on your way, drawn by a steady attraction to the saint's rest. Faith is our impelling force. It is feet to the lame, ears to the deaf, and eyes to the blind. It is through its powerful glass that we get glimpses of that better land, which fire us with unwonted zeal—glimpses which the world sees not, and cares not for. And near and nearer still
Does the bright prospect come,
As Time with tireless wing,
Beareth the pilgrims home. And though the earth be moved,
Though hills and mountains reel,
Yet shall our trusting hearts,
No anxious trouble feel. For Christ our Lord will bring
The treasures God hath given
Into his tender care,
Safe to the courts of heaven. And in those mansions bright
His face we soon shall see,
So let our anxious hearts
No longer troubled be.