THAT a church has the right in any way to modify the ordinances committed to its keeping by our Lord, has always been strenuously denied by Baptists. Many pedobaptists hold to this same position, though they differ widely from us on the question of fact as to what are the ordinances of the church. But there has been a growing tendency among pedobaptists towards the theory that a church has the right to use its discretion as to obeying Christ, and when it sees fit to do so, may substitute something entirely different for what he has commanded.
For a time this tendency was confined to the ordinance of baptism. Certain pedobaptist scholars have not scrupled to declare that while the Scriptures command immersion, any church may substitute affusion if that appear a more convenient and seemly ceremony. But it has become evident that if this principle is valid at all, its application cannot be restricted to baptism, and it has been reserved for the Christian Union to take the last step, which it does in these words: "Any church has a right to substitute unfermented grape juice or milk or water, or whatever it will, in the place of wine. In our belief it has the right to dispense with the Lord's Supper altogether, if in its Christian judgment exigencies arise in which that ordinance becomes a means of danger, not a means of grace."
It is scarcely necessary to point out the fact that this declaration amounts to a complete surrender of the whole theory of Protestant Christianity. If the "Christian judgment" is to be the umpire in all cases, there is no valid defense against the claims of the Romish church on the one hand, and a bald rationalism on the other. The Romish church has always embraced the larger part of Christendom, and for many ages was substantially the whole of Christendom. If "Christian judgment" is to decide questions of doctrine and practice contrary to the New Testament, the judgment of the great majority of Christians must be assumed to be sounder than that of the minority. If Scripture can be set aside by any human power, no man can refuse to become a Romanist, except on the ground that his judgment is more likely to be right than that of the great majority of Christian men, which is not a valid reason. It is strange that men cannot see this, that they can continue to be blind to the logical issues of such a declaration as that above quoted. The rejection of the absolute authority of the word of God compels a man to seek authority either in the church or in his own reason. The one is Romanism, the other is rationalism; both are anti-Christian.
We are glad of the opportunity to give the above our cheerful indorsement. It is from the Examiner and Chronicle, which is a thoroughly Baptist paper; and the doctrine of the article is genuine Baptist doctrine. It was by just such utterances as these, that we were induced to sacrifice the association of the church of our parents, and all of that way of teaching, and to unite with the Baptist church, in our youth. That this is correct as a theory of Christian duty, we do not see how any one can deny, who has even a moderate degree of reverence for the authority of the word of God.
But we have for years insisted that this is Baptist doctrine only, and not strictly Baptist practice. We think the Examiner is correct in its judgment that the pedobaptist doctrine cannot consistently be restricted in its application to baptism. It may apply to the Lord's Supper just as well. And we think the position laid down by the Examiner holds good in regard to all matters of duty enjoined in the word of God. It was because the Baptists took pedobaptist ground on the fourth commandment that we separated from them. They openly and freely acknowledged the binding obligation of the decalogue, fourth commandment not excepted, but claimed the right as a "Christian privilege" to disregard the strict letter of the commandment, and to substitute as obedience something not embraced in the commandment. If they are right in their manner of observing the Sabbath, then the pedobaptists are right in their treating the subject of baptism in like manner. Or if not, why not? But if the principle is wrong, why not reject it in its application to every precept in the divine word?
When we pointed out this inconsistency in the practice of the Baptists, to a brother in the church of which we were a member—and who was, also, a most rigid and strenuous Baptist—he justified their course on the ground of long-continued practice in the churches, and used the following language:—
"If I had as good traditionary evidence for infant baptism as I have for Sunday, I would be willing to be a pedobaptist."
This, in effect, is the present position of the Baptists as a denomination; but it is subversive of every principle of action held sacred by them. It is not a rejection of tradition as such, but a rejection of tradition on some points because they have not enough of it to271satisfy the demand. But let no one who keeps Sunday without "an express warrant of Scripture," plead longer for "the Bible and the Bible alone," to the exclusion of tradition, as "a sufficient rule of faith and practice."
At the time of the conversation referred to above, we were not sufficiently informed on the subject to judge correctly as to whether infant baptism or Sunday has the best claim on the weight of tradition. But we have examined that ground; and we have been surprised that infant baptism was so well fortified by tradition. Surprised because we had supposed, as the Baptist brother with whom we conversed, that even tradition itself, in favor of infant baptism, was somewhat meager. But tradition entrenches infant baptism as early as the days of Tertullian and Cyprian. This does not add one whit to its authority in our mind; we believe it is unscriptural and antiscriptural. No amount of tradition—not all the testimony of all "the Fathers"—can elevate it in our estimation, to a level with "the law and the testimony" of divine record. But consistency demands that it shall have some weight with those who accept "the venerable day of the sun" as a substitute for "the Sabbath of the Lord;" who virtually make void the commandment of God by tradition, and justify the innovation. The Lord by Isaiah says, when they speak not according to the law and the testimony it is because there is no light in them. Isa. 8:19, 20; and by Paul, that the Scriptures thoroughly furnish us unto all good works. 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. Where is the law for keeping Sunday? What scripture "thoroughly furnishes" us with evidence for Sunday as a sacred day, to be sacredly observed? We earnestly wish that our brethren of the Baptist church would wisely consider this matter.
But, allowing that they are wrong, that their practice is inconsistent, this does not prove that the pedobaptists are right. No one can be right and rest on tradition as a ground of duty.
GOD'S PURPOSE IN CREATING MAN.
By John Nevins Andrews
THERE was a time when the human race had no existence. But when it seemed good to God, he called man into being from the dust of the earth. The gift of life was conferred by Him who is the source and fountain of life. Without doubt, there was a special purpose in the mind of the Creator. He did not create man because he was under the necessity of doing it; and he certainly did not do it without thought, or in an accidental manner. He had reasons of the noblest, purest, holiest character. The four and twenty elders in the act of worshiping before the throne of God state the object of the Creator in these words: "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Rev. 4:10, 11.
The pleasure of God in the work of his hands was the object which he purposed to accomplish in the creation. God is a being of infinite perfections. His benevolence has connected his own pleasure with man's highest well-being. His purity forbids that he should take pleasure in wickedness. His justice demands that sin shall be adequately punished. God cannot take pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with him. Ps. 5:4. To sinful men, God says: "Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate." Jer. 44:4. These statements being acknowledged, it is certain that the majority of mankind in all ages have failed to answer the end of their existence. Adam and Eve, though created in uprightness, did shortly afterward rebel against their Creator. Cain, their first-born, was a murderer. Only one family was worthy to escape the diluge. From Noah's time till our own, truth and righteousness have been in a minority, and wickedness has borne rule in the earth. And our days are, as predicted by Christ, like the days which were before the flood, when violence filled the earth, and all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. Gen. 6; Matt. 24.
Persistent rebellion fills up the lives of the greater part of mankind. Now, God did not create man for such an existence as this. He can take no pleasure in such men. The end of their creation is not answered in the lives which they lead. And yet, without doubt, God foresaw that mankind in general would make this deplorable failure. To answer the end of their existence, it was necessary that men should be subjected to trial. God saw that while the most would refuse salvation, there would still be, as the final result out of all generations, a sufficient number of the redeemed to fill his house. These persons alone will fill the purpose of the Creator, for they will glorify him forever, and he will take pleasure in them to all eternity.
And now what shall we say of those who would not be redeemed by the blood of Christ? They certainly have not in their lives of sin fulfilled hitherto the pleasure of the Creator, though it was for this purpose that he created them. God's work in the creation of the race is not a failure, for he secures out of the vast host of mankind a sufficient number of overcomers to people the new earth. But there are just as many more human beings than there would have been had man never sinned, as there are in number of the finally impenitent.
These persons, by their own fault, have rendered the Creator's work in their individual cases a failure. They have persisted in rebellion, and have absolutely refused to fulfill his gracious pleasure concerning them. And now what shall we say respecting them? The gospel of Christ having failed to change their sinful nature, there is no remedy that can reach their cases. They were created for the pleasure of God. They have never answered the end of their existence. They never can answer that end, after having once passed their day of grace.
Now what shall we say concerning the endless existence of the lost? Must those exist forever who only dishonor Him who created them? Manifestly, everything depends on the action of the Creator when he gave existence to the human race. If he then gave to man the possession of absolute immortality, or if he, by fixed decree, determined that man should live to all eternity, then he did, so to speak, tie his own hands. For though God gave to man existence for a certain determinate purpose, and though the lost have absolutely failed to fulfill that purpose, and can never in all the ages to come fulfill it, yet God must still suffer them to continue in their immortality of wickedness.
But is it not a plain truth of inspiration that God put man upon trial to see whether he would answer the end for which he gave him existence? Is it reasonable to assert, what the Scriptures certainly never do assert, that God gave to man an absolutely endless existence when he created him, and then put him on trial to see whether he would answer the object for which he was created? We cannot charge God with folly, and certainly if tried by any principles which man can comprehend, such action on his part would be in the highest degree absurd.
We must conclude that He who created, can, if he see fit, uncreate; and that He who gave to man existence for a certain object, can take away that existence if that object be not gained. Not one who acknowledges the Bible can doubt that God foresaw that a very large part of mankind would, as the result of their trial, form sinful and rebellious characters. Now shall we claim, as do some, that God gave immortality to all these before their trial, and so, whether he can take pleasure in them or not, has bidden them exist to all eternity? Or shall we say that God first waits, that he may see who will glorify him, and then gives endless existence to these and to no others? Is not immortality precisely in place as God's gift to men when they have been proved with respect to his pleasure? And is it not best that this should be withheld until that trial is past? What say the Scriptures respecting this?
J. N. A.
THE WORLD'S EXPECTATION.
By Uriah Smith
OVER fifteen years ago, Mr. David N. Lord, of New York, penned the following language:—
"There has been no period for ages, probably, when there was so general an expectation among evangelical Christians of all classes, that either the advent of Christ is at hand, or else some great measure of Providence, by which a new era is to be introduced to the church; and what is equally remarkable, no time before in which other men of all creeds and classes—atheists, infidels, apostates, formalists, nothingists, were also looking as they are now, for a regeneration of the world after their several schemes of perfection and blessedness. Among the signals that Christ is at hand, one of the most striking is the skill and success with which Satan is working with all power and signs and lying wonders, and deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; and their abandonment by God to strong delusion, that they may show forth their true character as his enemies, and make the propriety manifest of the condemnation and destruction with which they are soon to be overwhelmed."
The rapidity with which great and significant events are crowding in upon us, has increased in geometrical ratio since the above was written. The working of Satan with signs and lying wonders, to which reference is made, has gone forward with long and rapid strides since that time. The development of evil has been so steady and constant, that the world has become somewhat familiarized with it, and it makes less and less impression upon the general mind. But could there have been an instantaneous transition from the state of the world and society as it was thirty years ago, to what it is at the present day, all classes would have stood aghast, paralyzed and dumb with amazement at the terrible change.
The ranks of those who have pleasure in unrighteousness, have greatly swollen in numbers; and some have so far thrown off the power of restraint and the mask of decency, as to publicly avow and defend their vile practices, glorying in, as Paul declares, and foaming out, as Jude adds, their own shame. Verily the Judgment of such cannot much longer linger, nor their damnation slumber.
With greater success than ever, Satan is working with his signs and lying wonders; and if fifteen years ago this was a sign that Christ is at hand, it is now evidence of his soon coming which cannot be overlooked nor mistaken.
U. S.
The Power of Continuous Prayer
The most hopeful thing said of Saul of Tarsus was, "Behold he prayeth." The late sainted Sprague said he doubted if any sinner was ever lost who kept up the habit of continuous prayer. Prayer is the Archimedean lever that moves the spiritual world.
FORMALITY AND FANATICISM.
By R. F. Cottrell
BY ELD. R. F. COTTRELL.
DEAD formality and seething fanaticism—the rock Charybdis and the whirlpool Scylla—are both alike to be avoided. The successful navigator must carefully sail between the two. He must not fear the whirlpool so much as to dash his vessel upon the rocks, neither must he, to shun the rocks, rush into the whirlpool. Death is imminent on either hand; but there is a channel through which the mariner may steer his vessel in safety.
The formalist trusts in a lifeless form of words and ceremonies; the fanatic in the teaching of the Spirit. Both have a spirit, but neither of them the Spirit of God. Those who would worship God acceptably must worship him in spirit and in truth. The word of truth is necessary, and the spirit of truth is no less so.
There is such a thing as a person unrenewed, having the carnal mind, conforming in a measure to the outward acts of religion, and at the same time being a stranger to the Spirit of God and experimental religion. On the other hand, there may be a remarkable experience, and impressions supposed to be from the Spirit of God, and yet the person be laboring under a delusion, not being led by the Spirit of God, but by the wild spirit of fanaticism. The one cries, "The word, truth, duty;" the other, "The Spirit, impressions, experience." Both are wrong; the one is being driven upon the rock, the other is being drawn into the whirlpool.
"Genuine sanctification follows the channel of Bible truth. It is not grounded on flights of feeling, but on the immutable truths of God's word. It is the truth received through the mind and practically carried out in the life. When the truth is thus received and carried out, there is a radical work, a change indeed; and those who receive and obey the truth are not destitute of good feeling. They have an inward satisfaction arising from a consciousness of well-doing, and enjoy the approbation and blessing of the Lord to encourage and strengthen them in their great and glorious work."
What we experience from the Spirit of God is for our own encouragement, and not for an evidence to others that we are truly converted. The best evidence possible to others is a life in harmony with the word of God; and this too is the best evidence to ourselves, for we may well doubt the most rapturous and ecstatic experience that flows from some other source than a sincere endeavor to know and do the revealed will of God.
It is good to enjoy the approving smiles of Heaven, the witness of the Spirit that we are truly converted. Let all seek and enjoy this. But when we are favored with some rich experience which is new to ourselves, let us not conclude from this that our brethren have never been converted to God. We should encourage a heart work, but our experience is not the measuring line. We have a better one in the word of God: "By their fruits ye shall know them." Our words and actions are the fruit we bear.
ONE IDEA.
By Golden Censer
It is generally a mark of reproach and a proof of narrowness to speak of a man as being a one-idea man. We hold a man responsible for being well balanced, that is, equally conservative on all subjects. If a man has a natural susceptibility in some directions more than in others, we generally call it a sign of weakness. This is a grand mistake. It is a source of strength to be able, easily, to summon all our faculties on a moment's notice, on any particular subject. Take away John B. Gough's one idea, and he would be weak like other men. The marvelous collection of machinery and product at the centennial exhibition is the gathering of the work of one-idea men. So also with galleries of art, there are grouped the works of men fit for one thing, but for nothing else. The broad-minded, many-sided, varie-gifted men who, like Michael Angelo, excel in all arts, come only once in many ages. Once in an
age there rises a silent soldier, who has equal worth in councils of war or of peace, who can manage a farm, take a battery, or build a railroad. But not so with us all. He is a happy man who has a talent for doing one thing well. Let him use that one talent. The time may come when he will be glad he is not responsible for more.
Nature provides for individualness in all that lives. Flower, stem, and root, may all be perfect in their narrow line. A man whose education and talents prepared him for any forum or any court, turned from earthly honors of every kind saying, "None of these things move me." He defined for himself one unchanging pursuit, "This one thing I do." Few of us are able to accomplish more. There is but one world for a probation, one moment at a time, one object in life, one God to serve, one mission to fill. Singleness of purpose may make our path narrow, but it concentrates our energies. If we would make the most of ourselves, we should do some one thing well. When this is done, it will only be a waste of time to invent other modes of work. Every plant has a seed after his kind, and yet this singleness of quality makes the diversity of nature. The little allotment perfectly filled brings society the nearest to perfection, one whose talent compares with the great ones, as the fern leaf to the forest, yet serves equally well the Infinite One who formed it. Dignity comes not from the great things done, so much as from the great Being who is perfectly served.—Golden Censer.
KNOX IN SCOTLAND.
By Stephen N. Haskell
BY ELD. S. N. HASKELL.
(Continued.)
THE reply which John Knox made to the Protestant noblemen, silenced all further remonstrance; and, the next day, he appeared in the pulpit and preached to a large assembly, including some of the clergy, without the slightest opposition or interruption. His subject, as usual, was pertinent to the occasion. Selecting the circumstance of Christ's driving from the temple those who sold oxen, doves, etc., as the basis of his discourse, he went on to expose the enormous corruptions that had been introduced into the church under the Papacy, and to point out the duty of Christians to remove them, as far as in their power. The three following days, he also preached in the same place; and as the result, the people harmoniously agreed to set up the reform worship in the town. Accordingly, the church was stripped of images and pictures, and the monasteries pulled down. This occurred June 14, 1559. The Regent hearing of these proceedings, attempted to come upon the reformers and take them by surprise; but those from other places rallied to their assistance, with so much speed and in such numbers, that she dared not risk a battle.273The example of St. Andrews was quickly followed in other parts of the kingdom. Within a few weeks, at Crail, Cupar, Lindores, Stirling, Linlithgow, Glasgow, and Edinburg, the houses of the monks were overthrown, and all the instruments which had been employed to foster idolatry and image-worship, were destroyed. This destruction of property, and of many relics of ancient art, and valuable memorials of antiquity, has been severely censured, even by some who were not Catholics; but when we consider that it was largely by the magnificence of temples, and the splendid apparatus of its worship, that the popish church fascinated the senses and imaginations of the people, a necessity for the removal of such things, becomes apparent. "The best way to keep the rooks from returning, is to pull down their nests," was a maxim which Knox is said to have inculcated.
Soon after this, Knox undertook a tour of preaching through the kingdom, which he accomplished in about two months. In speaking of him at this time, the historian says: "The wide field which was before him, the interesting situation in which he was placed, the dangers by which he was surrounded, and the hopes which he cherished, increased the ardor of his zeal, and stimulated him to extraordinary exertions, both of body and mind." Of this time, he, himself, thus speaks: "The long thirst of my wretched heart is satisfied in abundance, that is, above my expectation; for now forty days and more hath my God used my tongue, in my native country, to the manifestation of his glory. Whatsoever now shall follow, as touching my own person, his holy name be praised. The thirst of the poor people, as well as of the nobility here, is wondrous great; which putteth me in comfort, that Christ Jesus shall triumph here in the north, and extreme parts of the earth for a space. Time to me is so precious, that with great difficulty I steal one hour in eight days either to satisfy myself, or to gratify my friends. I have been in continual travel since the day of appointment; and, notwithstanding the fevers have vexed me, yet have I traveled through the most part of this realm, where all men of all sorts and conditions, embrace the truth. Enemies we have many, by reason of the Frenchmen who lately arrived, of whom our Papists hope golden hills. As we be not able to resist, we do nothing but go about Jericho, blowing with trumpets, as God giveth strength, hoping for victory by his power alone."
At this period, the Reformation in Scotland becoming more intimately connected with political matters, we find Knox acting to some extent as a politician; not, however, from choice, but a sense of duty. "He felt," says his biographer, "that it was almost as difficult to preserve Christian integrity and simplicity, amidst the crooked wiles of political intrigue, as he had formerly found it to pursue truth through the perplexing mazes of scholastic sophistry. France, in whose court Catholicism prevailed, was plotting for the overthrow of Elizabeth's reign, and the suppression of the Reformation in England and Scotland. It was information of this kind that Knox wished to convey to the English court on his return to Scotland, when he was so rudely repulsed. Scotland was the only avenue through which France could make a successful attack upon England. French troops were accordingly sent to Scotland, to assist the Regent in her efforts against the Protestant party; and it soon became evident that the latter would not long be able to maintain the struggle without foreign aid.
Knox finally succeeded in securing a communication with the English court; but that country, wishing to avoid an open rupture with France, was slow in granting other than pecuniary aid, which it did secretly. Meanwhile, the zeal and activity of Knox in securing aid from England, and otherwise, exposed him to the deadly hatred of the Regent, and the Papists. A reward was publicly offered to the person who should seize, or kill him; and different persons were watching an opportunity to apprehend him. This, however, did not deter him from appearing in public, nor from traveling through the country, when duty required. "His exertions at this period," says the historian, "were incredibly great. He was day he was employed in preaching, by night, in writing letters on public business. He was the soul of the congregation; was always present at the post of danger; and by his presence, his public discourse, and private advice, animated the whole body, and defeated the schemes employed to corrupt, and disunite them."
A letter is said to be in the British Museum, which was written by Knox at this time, in which he says that of the twenty-four hours he has not four for natural rest. He also speaks of his last request for his mother, and of his need of a good horse; "for," says he, "great watch is laid for my apprehension, and large money is promised to any that shall kill me." The letter was written at midnight, and the last words are broken, as though the writer had fallen asleep while writing.
MANNER.
ONE of the most prominent men of our time lately said: "I have lived sixty-three years in the world, and have come in contact with all ranks and all quality of men; but I have never met one who, when I spoke to him with sincerity and courtesy, would not reply to me in like manner."
This testimony is the more valuable as it comes from a man who probably possesses more personal popularity than any living American, and who owes it to the magnetic charm of his sincerity and courtesy of manner.
Dorothy Dix, who visited almost every prison in the United States, said that she never once received a rude word from a convict, no matter how degraded he might have been.
"I showed them by my manner that I trusted them," was her secret.
There is no personal quality which young people are so apt to neglect as this, an attractive, magnetic manner, which is so much more potent and enduring a charm than the beauty of face and figure, which they prize so highly.
It is not a charm to be learned, for it is not attractive when artificial. All the world, down to your dog, knows by instinct when the suavity, the genial smile, the friendly word, are assumed.
The basis, the absolute essential, in a thoroughly well-bred manner, is that total lack of self-consciousness which not even the most expert actor can assume. Hence, all the awkwardness, the diffidence, the social mistakes of boys and girls. They are usually intensely self-conscious. The world, their knowledge, their very selves, are all so new to them; their opinions and thoughts and the part they mean to play in life, are so important to themselves, that they are apt to thrust them on others. After a while, when they learn how insignificant they are, they will begin to be considerate of others, easy, and unembarrassed.
"I ceased to be awkward," says Sydney Smith, "as soon as I discovered nobody was looking at me."
But sometimes a man most anxious to please, never finds out during a long life, that the manner which attracts is that which shows that its possessor forgets himself, and is generously interested in his companion.—Youth's Companion.
ABOUT GRUMBLERS.
The Sunday School Times says: “Grumbling is rarely done by any one who has a fair show of reason for grumbling. Those who are worst off are, as a rule, least likely to complain of their condition. Whenever you hear a person tell of the hard lot he has, you can feel pretty sure that he is better off than most of his fellows—so well off that he has time to grumble. Here, for example, while the mercury is in the nineties, a set of men just across the street from us, in a close, upper room, with its low ceiling and its poor draught, are at work on metal-soldering with blow-pipes, over blazing gas-jets, with never a thought of growling about the weather. They laugh merrily, and take things easy. In the restaurant on the lower floor of a neighboring building, a stout gentleman of leisure sits in a wicker chair, with his shirt collar unbuttoned, and swings heavily a large palm-leaf fan, while he sips an iced lemonade, and groans out after each sip that this terrible weather is intolerable, and will be the death of him if it lasts two days more. And so it is all the way along in life. The more comfort, the more grumbling. That is the way of the world.”
Thy Will, Not Mine
By Edmond de Pressensé
"My will, not thine, be done," turned Paradise into a desert. "Thy will, not mine, be done," turned the desert into a paradise and made Gethsemane the gate of heaven.
The Christian Hill.
The difficulties encountered by the faithful Christian were thus described in a prayer offered by a freedman in Georgia: He said, "O Lord, thou knowest how hard it is to do right. It isn't like steppin' on de train and goin' down to Jim Wost's, nor like gettin' in the omnibus and ridin' over to Hodges' station; but it's up hill all de way. O Lord, give us breff to hold out!" A true sentiment, expressed in homely phrase, indeed, but much better than speaking in an unknown tongue; for it was responded to by a hearty "amen."
I PRESS ON.
By D. L. Moody
WHEN I read about the martyrs, I feel ashamed. How very few men and women are in dead earnest like Paul! I love to look at Paul, and never do it without thinking that perhaps it would take about a thousand Christians nowadays to make one like Paul. Did Paul compromise when he received those forty stripes save one? 'Those Jews have beat you five times now, Paul. What are you going to do?' 'Do! do you think these light afflictions, which are but for a moment, move me? I'm pressing forward to the prize; these stripes don't hinder.' Then they stoned him with those cruel stones, until they thought he was dead. 'Don't you think, Paul, now, that you'd better go down into Arabia awhile, until this opposition has blown over?' 'No; I must press forward.' 'Yes; but it is costing you so much—that cruel scourging. Don't you think you'd better be careful? You know it makes the Jews mad to tell them about Jesus, the one they crucified. What are you going to do?' 'Do! I press forward.' Satan got his match when he got Paul. In Philippi he and Silas were cast into prison. He thought he had a call to go down there, in a strange land and in a prison; they sang praises, and the prison doors flew open. I am afraid Mr. Sankey would not sing praises, as he does now, In Paul's dungeon. He is among false brethren; we hear no complaining about stripes, and no looking back. He did not have ministers sitting on the platform behind him to back him up. There was no despondency, no gloom. He takes his pen and writes, 'Light affliction—it is but for a moment.' He takes his pen again and writes that last epistle. I love to read it. 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.' Talk about Cæsar or Napoleon! That little tentmaker was greater than they all, and had a crown that they never had. His blessed work is not finished yet. It lives in this Book, and will live, until with Paul, we gaze upon him who is the light thereof.'—D. L. Moody.
The Missionary.
IN EARTHEN VESSELS.
The Master stood in his garden,
Among the lilies fair,
Which his own right hand had planted
And trained with tenderest care.
He looked at their snowy blossoms,
And marked with observant eye
That his flowers were sadly drooping,
For their leaves were parched and dry.
My lilies need to be watered,
The heavenly Master said;
Wherein shall I draw it for them,
And raise each drooping head?
Close to his feet on the pathway,
Empty and frail and small,
An earthen vessel was lying,
That seemed of no use at all.
But the Master saw and raised it
From the dust in which it lay,
And smiled as he gently whispered,
This shall do my work to-day.
"It is but an earthen vessel,
But it lay so close to me;
It is small but it is empty,
That is all it needs to be."
So to the fountain he took it,
And filled it full to the brim;
How glad was the earthen vessel
To be of use to him!
He poured forth the living water
Over his lilies fair,
Until the vessel was empty,
And again he filled it there.
He watered the drooping lilies
Until they revived again;
And the Master saw with pleasure
That his labor had not been in vain.
His own hand had drawn the water
Which refreshed the thirsty flowers,
But he used the earthen vessel
To convey the living showers.
And to itself it whispered,
As he laid it aside once more,
"Still will I lay in his pathway,
Just where I did before."
"Close would I keep to the Master,
Empty would I remain;
And some day he will use me
To water his lilies again."
Temperance.
By Theodore Ledyard Cuyler
REASONS FOR TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
THE young man who accepts and practices the principles of total abstinence is sure never to become a drunkard. The channel which total abstinence buoys out may not lead to Heaven, because to avoid one sin does not insure salvation. But it does lead to sobriety, and it infallibly leads away from all the disease, disgrace, and damnation caused by alcohol. In thousands of cases it has been the first step to the cross of Christ, and the full salvation of the soul. To these safe, sound principles I pledged myself in early boyhood and recorded a promise. I advocate a pledge for the reason that no gentleman will ask a pledged man to break it, and because it is a bond of union and organization. My friend over the ferry, in his widely circulated discourse, referred to a pledge as an ignominious "strait-jacket," and in another one he says, "It is a pernicious instrument for debauching the manly conscience." Is marriage a pledge? It is a two-fold pledge. The pledge is a binding instrument voluntarily taken to serve those ends. When before this pulpit many of you have stood up and pledged yourself to God, did you put yourself into an ignominious "strait-jacket," and so bind your free agency, and thereby violate your manhood or womanhood? When you signed your note or put your name on another man's note, did you do an unmanly thing? All commerce exists by pledges; mercantile credit stands on pledges. It is the government's pledge whereby you buy your real estate and pay your taxes. We merely adopt and carry out a pledge of union which binds the sense of obligation.
Again, the example to others in that very act is potent, and should not be disregarded. The unconscious influence wields a most powerful result. It is not what we say, but what we do, that carries the most weight. The example of refusing it is indicative of casting a vote on the safe side. We are responsible before God for what we do and say, and our example should be the best. The great Pauline principle of total abstinence is involved in the Greek word Kalon, which means, it is good, fair, beautiful and right. This means the surrender of a lawful privilege for the good of others. If there be a liberty to touch or let alone, is it a sacrifice of personal liberty to pledge yourself never to drink or to set before others an intoxicating cup? Brotherly love demands that that sacrifice be made to help your weaker brother, and in order to remove the stumbling-block from his path. I have a right to speak against this sin. If I went to the theater, though my motive might be pure, I could not warn any man in the congregation about going, as my lips would be sealed. I have withheld my vote from the institution, and I have a right to give my view. I dare not say to any young man that he must not attend a sensual place of attraction, if I have gone as a pastor to the institution, and thereby made itself its patron and advocate. He pleads my example and padlocks my lips. I know the principle which I advocate is ridiculed. My friend on the other side of the ferry has jeered at it. He says after all that it is no more than saying that all sick men die, because some men who are sick die. If some men will steal, why not lock up everybody in the penitentiary for the sake of keeping the thieves locked up? I answer, You are responsible for your influence and example. If a glass of wine on your table will entrap some young man, or some one who is inclined to stimulate, into dissipation, then you are thoughtlessly setting a trap for his life. You are his tempter. You give the usage your sanction, and to him the direct inducement to partake of the bottled demon that sparkles so seductively before him. If the contents of that sparkling glass make my brother to stumble, he stumbles over me. If he goes away from that table and commits some outrage under the effects of that stimulant, that act comes back on you in the eyes of God. For every crime that the drunkard commits, I believe in the last great day the dram-sellers will be held accountable. The man who puts the bottle to his neighbor's lips, is accountable for what those lips under the influence of the dram, and is accountable, too, for every outrage that the maddened victim of the cup may perpetrate during his temporary insanity. My friend, do you say that you "have a right to do as you please" in this matter of drinking? I answer, You have no right to do as you please in anything, unless you please to do right. That is a moral law. Think of that! Write it on your memory, and test it when you go home; it will last you for a lifetime. Is it too much to ask of every professed Christian, and every lover of his kind, that they will wholly abstain from everything that destroys? For the sake of your children do it! Do it for the sake of your brothers and husbands, and do it for the sake of your friends. Do it for the sake of frail, tempted ones, who cannot say no! Touch not that which has the adder's sting and the serpent's deadly fang.—T. L. Cuyler.