A Book Of Gems, Or, Choice Selections From The Writings Of Benjamin Franklin - free ebook by Benjamin Franklin

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A Book Of Gems, Or, Choice Selections From The Writings Of Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin

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237 chapters

A BOOK OF GEMS,

A BOOK OF GEMS,

— OR — Choice Selections FROM THE WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, ARRANGED BY J. A. HEADINGTON, — AND — JOSEPH FRANKLIN. ST. LOUIS: JOHN BURNS, Publisher. 1879. JOSEPH FRANKLIN. ST. LOUIS: JOHN BURNS, Publisher. 1879. Copyrighted by JOHN BURNS, 1879. Stereotyped by St. Louis Type Foundry ....

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PREFACE.

PREFACE.

The writings of no man among the Christian Brotherhood have been so universally popular as those of Benjamin Franklin, save the extended writings of Alexander Campbell. Franklin’s volumes of Sermons, Debates and Tracts, together with his miscellaneous writings, have for many years been in general demand, and have met with ready sale. No excuse is offered for this volume, save that of public demand. The public demanded the volume, and it is, therefore, submitted. None but the most choice selectio

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THE SHORTNESS OF HUMAN LIFE.

THE SHORTNESS OF HUMAN LIFE.

NATION after nation rises, enters and occupies a place among the nations of the earth, falls, and is only known in the faithful records of history. Generation after generation comes forth, enters upon the great theatre of life, throngs the world for a little while, falls in death and passes into eternity. Upon an average, about once in thirty-three years, the whole of the inhabitants of the earth, or as many as are upon it at any one time, over one billion souls, are carried beyond the reach of

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THE GRAND WORK BEFORE US.

THE GRAND WORK BEFORE US.

THE people God has raised up in the nineteenth century and founded upon the apostles and prophets, Jesus the Christ, the chief corner-stone, have not been raised up in vain. Only a small part of their work is in history yet. What has been done is only a drop to the bucket of the stupendous work to be accomplished. It is only a foretaste, an earnest of what is yet to come. It is only the incipient movement, the inauguration of the work, the entering wedge. The great body of the work lies in the f

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THE WORK OF CREATION.

THE WORK OF CREATION.

AFTER Moses states the wonderful fact that “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” without stating when it was, only that it was “in the beginning,” he proceeds to give a brief account of the state of things after this first fact , and before the work of the six days. He says: “The earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” This state of things was preceded by the creation of the heaven and the earth. The next thing in the successive acts was

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LOTTERIES.

LOTTERIES.

THE entire lottery scheme is gambling. The desire and intention in lotteries is to get money by a base method, or, in other words, dishonestly. The desire and intention is to get money without rendering an equivalent, or to get something for nothing. The man or company that conducts a lottery knows the precise per cent. that is made in selling out the tickets. If everything is conducted fairly; that is, what they call fairly ; that is, to conduct according to their proposed rule, some few would

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NO PREACHERS ON DANCING, ETC.

NO PREACHERS ON DANCING, ETC.

NO man goes through the country delivering able and finely-prepared discourses advocating dancing , going to theatres, playing innocent games for amusement, etc., etc. These things, like the weeds in the garden, need no advocates, but come themselves, and that, too, in opposition to all moral feeling, restraints and entreaties. They are not cultivated fruit, but the spontaneous growth that must be removed before we can have the precious fruits of the Spirit. They are the fruits of the flesh, of

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HARDENING PHARAOH’S HEART.

HARDENING PHARAOH’S HEART.

THERE are two senses in which things are ascribed to God. 1. When he does things directly, as in the work of creation. 2. When he permits things to be done. In this latter sense God raised up and hardened Pharaoh. It is simply in the sense of permission —permitted him to rise up and be hardened . The hardening is also ascribed to Pharaoh. He hardened himself . This was the direct act. He did it. When the holy writer is looking at the providence of God, in permitting him to rise up into power, an

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OUR CENSUS.

OUR CENSUS.

IN an age when people compare themselves with their neighbors, look at the comparative size of their hymn books, the size, splendor and elegance of the temples in which they meet, the amount of money they raise, their church organs, festivals, choirs, popular preachers and numerical strength, the census is looked to with great concern; but where people are greatly devoted to the Lord, diligently striving to please him and be accepted of him in the great day, they are led to think of the piety of

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TRUE MISSIONARIES.

TRUE MISSIONARIES.

THE early members in our great movement in this country were nearly all preachers . They read the Scriptures to and talked with their neighbors, explained matters to them, and, in many instances, when the preacher came they were already convinced and ready for baptism; or, if they had been baptized ready for uniting on the Bible. This accounts for our having such large success by preaching a few discourses. Much of the preaching was done before the preacher came, by private members and in privat

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NO DEPARTURE FROM THE JERUSALEM CHURCH.

NO DEPARTURE FROM THE JERUSALEM CHURCH.

IF we are to depart from the Jerusalem Church because it was in its infancy, and not reproduce the primitive church, we should like to know how far we are to depart from it, and in what. If the faith and practice, the precept and example of the primitive church may not be adopted now and followed; if in all things we should not now have the same faith and practice, precept and example they had, we should be pleased for some expounder of the new doctrine to explain to us in what the departure sha

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BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT.

BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT.

THERE is but one birth mentioned or alluded to in the conversation with Nicodemus. There is but one kingdom mentioned or alluded to in the conversation. The conversation is about one birth and entering into one kingdom . The whole is in the phrase, “You must be born again,” or the previous phrase, “Except a man be born again he can not see the kingdom of God.” This figurative expression “born again,” is precisely the same, or includes the same as conversion. A man born again is a man converted.

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A HIGHER MORALITY REQUIRED.

A HIGHER MORALITY REQUIRED.

WE need a higher morality, a more pure and unadulterated piety and greater simplicity of benevolence. We do not want money extracted from the pockets of the people by the Church offering them sensual gratification, amusements and entertainments, to say nothing of the ball, the lottery and other gambling. Let us in the name of the Lord and of religion, in a manly way, come directly to the people for means to support religion and ask them to give from love to Christ , and no matter if we do not ob

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POIMEEN—SHEPHERD—EVANGELIST—OVERSEER.

POIMEEN—SHEPHERD—EVANGELIST—OVERSEER.

WE will not go back to the Old Testament to find any office or officer in the kingdom of Christ. What currency, then, has the word “pastor” in the New Testament? The word is in the New Testament, in some translations, in one place . That is its entire currency in the new and everlasting covenant. But then the word “Easter” is found in one place in the common version. Is that authority for Easter ? If it is in the New Testament in one place, rightfully, it is authority as much as if it were in fi

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CALL NO MAN REVEREND.

CALL NO MAN REVEREND.

WE will call no man Reverend . We make this a matter of conscience. There is no more reason or gospel for addressing a preacher differently from other men than there is for a preacher to be attired differently. If a man is not preacher enough to be known as a preacher , without the white necktie or the priestly coat, let him pass without being known. We like to treat a preacher, or even a Roman priest, with common civility, but we do all that when we treat him as any other gentleman. We want no

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PREACHER DID NOT SUIT.

PREACHER DID NOT SUIT.

WE must say a few things in the way of generals before we come to particulars . We visited a church some years since, and there was quite a general impression among the members that their preacher did not suit them—that he was not “the right man in the right place,” etc. Many fine things were said, as to the kind of a man they needed, etc., and the idea prevailed that they had better turn their preacher off and get another. We suggested to them in a circle one day that possibly they had not at a

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THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

WE need a vast amount of instruction in regard to both the Old Testament and the New, not only in the sunday-school, but in the church, the family, and to individuals. We need some thorough work in this matter. Much of what is now passing for teaching both the Old Testament and New is in no proper sense teaching either the Old or New Testament. The general idea is, that the Old Testament embraces all the sacred writings or the books of the Bible, beginning with Genesis and ending with Malachi, a

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WILL YOU ALSO GO AWAY.

WILL YOU ALSO GO AWAY.

NO matter how many go the wrong way, nor how popular they are, nor how much money they have, the Lord is able to bring them to judgment, and he will most certainly do it. When the people went away from the temple and abandoned him, and only a few disciples remained with him, and he inquired of them: “Will you also go away?” the prospect looked dim, but the Lord did not change his course. When he expired on the cross the enemies exulted and triumphed; but their triumph did not last long. “He was

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THE GROUND OF UNION.

THE GROUND OF UNION.

“IN what are Christians to be united?” They are to be united on Christ —on being Christians . This embraces the entire revelation from God to man, all the truth uttered, the commandments given and the promises made by our heavenly Father. The truth must all be believed, the commandments obeyed, and the promises must be hoped for. This includes the entire faith, obedience and hope of the gospel. In this we must be united. II. “What are the essentials of Christianity which can not be compromised?”

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IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON.

IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON.

THERE are times when general apathy prevails; when it appears impossible to rouse the people to anything like an appreciation of the things of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ; when the hearts of the people appear to be closed against all that can be said or done to save them. They frequently hear at such times, act as orderly as ever, and show as much respect to the gospel; but they do not have the heart and soul in it, and can not be moved to action . Their emotional nature appe

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EATING THE LORD’S FLESH AND DRINKING HIS BLOOD.

EATING THE LORD’S FLESH AND DRINKING HIS BLOOD.

JOHN vi. 48, we find the words of the Lord, “I am the bread of life.” The Lord adds the remark to the Jews, “Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.” It had no power to perpetuate life only for a short time; but he continues, verse 50, “This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.” It will be noticed that his flesh did not come down from heaven, and that bread which came down from heaven is that of which if a man shall eat he shall n

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CHURCH ORGANIZATION.

CHURCH ORGANIZATION.

MEN may talk of the power of those large combinations, governed by a few leading spirits or one leading spirit as the case may be, where office and not character or ability gives power; but while such an arrangement may create in its adherents a desire for office, to give them influence and authority, they will neglect the purity and excellence of good character and ability , which are the only things which should give any one respect and influence among the people of God. But, in the absence of

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THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

THE Church of Christ was not made for the preachers, but the preachers of Christ were made for the world and the church. The Church of Christ does not belong to the preachers of Christ—it is not their property—but they belong to the church—are its property. The church is not the servant of the preachers, but preachers of Christ are servants of the churches. The Church of Christ is not called and sent by preachers, but preachers are called and sent by the church. Preachers in the kingdom of Chris

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PROGRESSING BACKWARD.

PROGRESSING BACKWARD.

IF some of the movements now on foot are to be tolerated, there is no reason for our existence as a body. If we want organs, gorgeous temples, Catharine wheels, clerical orders, superior courts, organizations and numerous societies, aside from the local congregations of the Lord, the Pope can supply any demand for any or all of these. If there are “means of grace,” he is rich in means. He can furnish them an outlet for their overwhelming benevolence in the innumerable channels he has opened. If

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NO DIVISION CAN COME.

NO DIVISION CAN COME.

NO general division can come. The main ground we occupy precludes the idea of any general division . A vain man, or a bad man, may occasionally scatter a flock, tear up a church and ruin it. But, then, such a man will soon find his level and come to nothing, or become surrounded by influences strong enough to control him. There is no machinery of which he can get hold to produce a general division, nor is there any place where an entering-wedge can be introduced to rive us asunder. No man can de

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SOME THINGS CAN NOT BE SETTLED.

SOME THINGS CAN NOT BE SETTLED.

WE once acted on a committee with several others, heard testimony and arguments for a week, and had the parties bound in writing to abide the decision of the committee. When the decision was made the parties acquiesced in it, shook hands over it, and we prayed over them and were all happy. But in a short time, we do not remember whether a week or a month, the whole matter was thrown aside and the parties stood as they did before. Our prayerful and patient work all went for nothing. When brethren

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OUTWARD APPEARANCE.

OUTWARD APPEARANCE.

WE have made a standing arrangement for paper this year, of which the present pamphlet is a sample, and we shall do our utmost to have the whole volume printed in a neat and legible manner. As to fine paper, covers, etc., they are like fine clothes only necessary to encase the bodies and souls which will not pass without them. You have, no doubt, seen the preacher wrapped in the finest broadcloth, and a golden chain for a watch-guard, who, after a labored effort for an hour would only prove that

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LITTLE MATTERS.

LITTLE MATTERS.

IT may seem strange that a human body, weighing one hundred and fifty pounds, would be disturbed by a little thorn in it, not an eighth of an inch long! But, strange as it may appear, it is a fact . And you can not accustom the body to it by piercing the thorn in deeper and deeper, till the body will become easy and comfortable; but you can in that way produce irritation, then inflammation, then mortification, and then death. Death has been produced in this way many times. He is no friend to the

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ONE IDEA ISM.

ONE IDEA ISM.

WE are asked to define what we mean by one-idea ism, and explain to us how the universe is made up of atoms. With this request we will cheerfully comply. It is to be carried away with one idea. The idea may be a good one, or it may not; but one-ideaism, is giving an idea undue importance. A man addicted to one-ideaism, can no more cover it than a leopard can change his spots. If he attempts to pray, he will commence with something else as a stepping stone, regularly paving the way and unmistakab

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MINISTERING ANGELS.

MINISTERING ANGELS.

WE have much in the present day on the spiritual care which the divine Father exercises over his creatures in this world. We consider it clear that God has angels who guard, protect, and take care of that portion of the human family which put their trust in him. That the first Christians believed that a good man had an angel, is clear, from Acts xii. 15. When the Apostle Peter was delivered from prison by a miracle, and his voice was heard at the gate, where several disciples were collected, the

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NO SIDE STRUCTURE.

NO SIDE STRUCTURE.

WE can not recognize the side institution , nor the officers in it, as neither the one nor the other is known to the oracles of God, or to history for ages after the sacred canon was complete. What is the use to talk of a church of which there is not a trace in the volume of God, nor in anything written for hundreds of years after the apostles? There is not a trace of Romanism, of a pope, cardinal or archbishop in the Bible, except in the prophecies that foretell the apostasy, nor in any other w

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LIGHT WITHIN.

LIGHT WITHIN.

ALL the perversions, innovations and corruptions of the pure and holy religion of Jesus Christ that have found way into it and disgraced it, have been introduced under some pretext of doing good—some plea of a supposed benevolent nature. In some form or other they have all claimed to have the good of the cause in view, and in some way have put up some kind of claim to divine authority. Some of them were introduced by good men, with good intentions, who saw not the evil that would follow, while o

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BE FIRM IN THE RIGHT.

BE FIRM IN THE RIGHT.

IF it is wiser to obey God than man, if an infallible law is better than a fallible, if a perfect law is better than an imperfect one, if a divine law is better than a human, if the authority of God is better than the authority of man, if the word of the Living God is better than a human creed, if the infallible teachings of inspiration are better than uninspired human creeds, if the teachings of the Holy Spirit of God are a safer guide to heaven than the teachings of erring men, if God should g

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THE BIBLE WILL SAVE THE WORLD.

THE BIBLE WILL SAVE THE WORLD.

THE Bible contains the true religion, or there is none. There is light in the Bible to save the world, or the world is lost. Our only choice is between the Bible and nothing. Judaism is abolished. Mohammedanism has no claims in internal merit or external evidence. The fruits of all Paganism show that it is evil, and only evil, continually. Infidelity has nothing for the world. While it would take Christianity from us, it has nothing to propose. It is no system—no doctrine—teaches nothing and def

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NOT RECEIVING THE REFORMATION, BUT CHRIST.

NOT RECEIVING THE REFORMATION, BUT CHRIST.

THE question is not whether men will receive us, our doctrines, our views, our church, or “the Reformation,” or “Reformation doctrines” but whether they will receive him whom the Father hath sent, love him, follow him, place themselves under him, obey him, and trust in him forever. He is the center of all union, all love, and all piety. Upon him, all who love him, have received him and desire to follow him, being led by his voice, may unite. Having received him, been identified with him, as a ma

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LIFTED ABOVE SECTS AND PARTIES.

LIFTED ABOVE SECTS AND PARTIES.

THE men who are meditating on union are now on trial, being put to the test, and will be compelled to show where they stand. Those who love union among christians more than denominationalism will sacrifice the denomination for union, but those who love denominationalism more than union will sacrifice union for the denomination. The union of the people of God is from heaven; the denomination is from man. The denomination is the party, sect, faction. The body of Christ, or kingdom of God, is no se

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MAKING THE BIBLE SUPPORT HUMAN SYSTEMS.

MAKING THE BIBLE SUPPORT HUMAN SYSTEMS.

THERE can be no apology for a man who knows what the truth is, what the doctrine of Christ is, what christianity is, who will use it merely as a proof to sustain, prove, and impose something else upon himself and others, for he might just as easily have received the truth, the doctrine of Christ, christianity itself, enjoyed it, and been saved by it, as to have trifled with it, in trying to prove something else by it. But if a man does not know what the truth is, the doctrine of Christ, christia

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PIONEERS, SUPPORT, ETC.

PIONEERS, SUPPORT, ETC.

THE pioneer men in this country felled the trees, cleared away the forests, built their houses and barns, and made a living. Many of their sons can not make a living with the farm and all the balance fitted to their hand. In the same way, the first preachers went out at their own expense, turned the people to God and built up churches, and now the preachers, with their fine salaries, houses in which to meet, and everything prepared to hand, are not accomplishing as much, in proportion to their n

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UNIVERSALISM.

UNIVERSALISM.

WE heard of a man who had heard Universalists occasionally, and gave them something when they were making contributions for their preachers. A preacher, who made one of his finest efforts to prove that all will be saved, inquired of him how he liked his argument. The man replied, “I did not like it at all.” The preacher, disappointed, said: “You believe our doctrine?” The man replied: “I do; but you tried to prove it by the Bible, and all intelligent people know that the Bible is against us from

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SUPPORT WORKERS.

SUPPORT WORKERS.

THE brethren know that men cannot devote their lives to the work of evangelizing without support, and they will give the support, and do it much more freely where they can see the work done, than where they can see no work done . The preachers in the field doing the work are receiving the main support given, and ought to receive it. The men not in the field, and that will not go into the field, ought not to receive the support. The brethren are not in the way of sending it to them. We hope the p

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RECKLESS TWADDLE.

RECKLESS TWADDLE.

THE following purports to be taken from one of Moody’s sermons, and is reported in the Baptist Union : If I thought that baptism was God’s way of saving men, I’d give up preaching, borrow a pail and go round the streets baptizing every one I met, and if they wouldn’t let me do it, I’d catch them asleep and baptize any way. He says, “Ye must be born again.” It is a wonderful humiliation to be compelled to admit that this undignified, irreverent and reckless language is from the lips of a man prob

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THE KIND OF PREACHING REQUIRED.

THE KIND OF PREACHING REQUIRED.

IN the same way, insipid preaching about sweet birds and sweet flowers, plants and stars, etc., etc., appears to have streaks of light in it, but after it is over, the darkness appears greater than before. No gospel light is shed forth, no truth of weight and importance in the salvation of man brought forth or enforced; no obedience is enjoined and no hope is inspired. No Felix trembles. Nothing is said about the preaching, unless it be that “it was splendid,” and “I do love to hear him so much;

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WE ARE A MISSIONARY PEOPLE.

WE ARE A MISSIONARY PEOPLE.

IT will not do to conclude that we are not a “missionary people.” It is useless to reason against facts. That we have risen, and, in opposition to the established bodies of people in the different parties in this country, successfully planted the cause in the best parts of the country and among the most effective and intelligent people, and, in less than two-thirds of a century, made it one of the most formidable and powerful bodies in the land, and swelled the numbers above that of any Protesta

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RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS.

RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS.

THE resurrection of Lazarus was like the healing of the sick, giving sight to the blind, and other miraculous benefits, only temporary . They were only restored to health in their mortal state, and liable to be afflicted again. The resurrection of Lazarus was only his recovery from death for the time being, and he was liable to die again. No doubt he did die again. But Jesus rose to die no more. Death has no more dominion over him. Those thus raised up temporarily , or simply raised up to what t

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FINE CLOTHES.

FINE CLOTHES.

A PREACHER pays a poor compliment to his brain when he tries to attract public attention, as a preacher , with fine clothes. A dancing master can vie with him in that line, whether the fine clothes are paid for or not. In the same way the preacher that must have a gorgeous temple, like Romanists and pagans, to attract the people and draw them out, and his choir of singers and organ, to discourse music for the saints, pays a poor compliment to his brain and his ability as a preacher, and a poorer

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SUBTLETIES ABOUT IMMERSION.

SUBTLETIES ABOUT IMMERSION.

BUT , now, why this constant higgling over immersion ? Why this continual getting up some kind of smoke about it, mist or confusion? It is the right thing—the precise thing the Lord commanded. Why, then, try to get up confusion about where it was obtained? Why not condemn faith because we did not obtain it from the right people? It is the right thing , but then a man obtained it in a sectarian church . Ought he not to throw it aside, and obtain faith from the right source? Then, where did a man

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ALL THINGS COMMON.

ALL THINGS COMMON.

THE community of goods or common stock was a voluntary thing and not required , as is clear from the language of Peter to Ananias and Sapphira. Alluding to the possession he sold and the proceeds of the sale he said: “While it remained was it not thine own? and after it was sold was it not in thine own power?” Acts v. 4. There was no compulsion to do what he pretended he was doing—that is, giving the whole —no law requiring it. This case appears to have ended the whole affair. We find no more ac

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DELUDED.

DELUDED.

WE can not conceive how people could be more completely deluded, than to be so turned away from the promise of God, than when the Lord says, “He who believes and is immersed shall be saved ,” he can not rely on the words, “ shall be saved ,” but can rely on an uncertain class of feelings reached in an exciting meeting without a promise of the Lord. The apostle commands inquirers, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall rece

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REFORMATION A SUCCESS.

REFORMATION A SUCCESS.

IT is true, also, that “God’s word, as the only rule of faith and practice, is as much set at naught by the religious world to-day as it was fifty years ago,” and more too; and there is nothing so unpopular with the masses of the people, and some called brethren , as precisely the apostolic way; and the Reformation is not a failure either. Our reformatory movement was right, and is still right. It needs no modification, but needs to be faithfully and honestly carried out. No reformatory movement

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WHAT WE ARE FOR.

WHAT WE ARE FOR.

WE are for the kingdom of God, and for all that pertains to it, but not for the kingdom of the clergy , either as manifested in the Papacy or among Protestants; nor are we enlisted to get up a new kingdom of clergy . We will never give our influence to establish any new kingdom of clergy, or recognize any old one. The people of God are free . They do not belong to the clergy. The congregations of the Lord are free, and not to be manacled down into human confederations and their great work ended

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A SUGGESTION.

A SUGGESTION.

WE are not inattentive to the suggestion that we are wearing ourselves out in holding protracted meetings, and that we should devote ourself wholly to the management of the Review . We have thought of this matter much, both before and since we saw the suggestion, and find it not so easy to determine what ought to be done. The tendency is to find pleasant positions, occupy them, and go on easily and smoothly; to settle down and preach for churches, get professorships in colleges or high-schools,

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ANNIHILATION—FUTURE PUNISHMENT.

ANNIHILATION—FUTURE PUNISHMENT.

THERE is nothing about “the final annihilation of the wicked,” in the Bible, nor “the final annihilation” of anything. The talk about the “annihilation of the wicked,” no matter whether “final” or not, is mere outside talk, as nothing of the kind is found in Scripture. We can see why a man should want information about a country or a place where he intends or expects to go, but why any man should always be talking about a country or place to which he does not intend or expect to go, we never cou

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DESIGN OF MIRACLES.

DESIGN OF MIRACLES.

MIRACLES are necessary to give a new institution and confirm it to the world, but when it is given and confirmed, no miracle is needed to perpetuate it. It required miracles to confirm the mission of the apostles and prove to the world that they were from God. So would it require miracles now to confirm the missions of any other man or set of men claiming to be specially called and sent as the apostles were, and in default of any miracles, we do not believe any men are now called and sent, as th

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CAIN’S WIFE.

CAIN’S WIFE.

WE do not know “who was Cain’s wife,” only that she was Mrs. Cain . We do not know that it is of any more importance to us who Cain’s wife was than who the wife of any other man was or is. We must not fall out with the Bible because it does not gratify our curiosity in giving us information on many little particulars of no consequence to us. We do not know who President Grant’s wife was. We, no doubt, could easily have found out, but it was of no importance to us to know, and we have never tried

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WHAT IS ESSENTIAL.

WHAT IS ESSENTIAL.

WE single not out baptism and make it essential, nor conversion—as a whole—and make it essential; but we single out what the Lord requires , not only in regard to conversion, or making Disciples, but in regard to the life or the practice required of those in Christ, in which they are to continue after they have turned to the Lord; everything in the law of God, and maintain that it is all essential . The will of God is essential, and that which is not in the will of God is not essential. The will

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WHAT WE KNOW IS RIGHT.

WHAT WE KNOW IS RIGHT.

WE know it is right to “Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly; and with all wisdom teach and admonish each other by psalms and hymns and spiritual songs ; singing with gratitude in our hearts to the Lord”—to “be filled with the Spirit; speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs ; singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.” This can be done, and we know it is right; but that a man can make melody in his heart to the Lord “with an organ,” a fiddle, banjo, clarion

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INFANT SIN—INFANT SALVATION.

INFANT SIN—INFANT SALVATION.

IN our generation, a vast amount of ink and breath is wasted in writing and preaching about infant sin, infant salvation, idiots, etc. There is one thing certain about it, and that is, that our writing and preaching about infant sin, infant salvation, Christ dying for infants and idiots, never saved an infant, an idiot, or anybody else. We do not, by our writing and preaching about them, make them sinful or righteous. It is simply writing and preaching about them, and not to them , and certainly

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OUR AUTHORITATIVE RELIGION.

OUR AUTHORITATIVE RELIGION.

WE have not time to elaborate it now, but we can state, that there is one religion that is the supreme and absolute authority —that is simply the religion of Christ. There is nothing but human authority in any other. That religion presents a heaven and a hell, the one as certain as the other. It is not to be tampered with, nor trifled with. It offers life and threatens death. It has justification and condemnation, its rewards and punishments. It has God in it, Christ and the Holy Spirit, prophet

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REFLECTIONS FOR DANCERS.

REFLECTIONS FOR DANCERS.

WHILE we were in Carlisle, Kentucky, in May, we learned that Bro. Reynolds, who was engaged in an interesting meeting a few miles off, had announced that he would preach on dancing on a morning. As we had no appointment for preaching that morning, Bro. Jones proposed to take us to the place to hear Bro. Reynolds. On arriving we found a good audience in attendance, and Bro. Reynolds prepared for his work. He pressed us to address the people, but we declined on the ground that he had announced his

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SPIRIT OF INDIFFERENCE.

SPIRIT OF INDIFFERENCE.

THE worst difficulty there is to encounter is the general state of indifference. There is a general state of don’t-careitiveness. The Galio feeling abounds. Of all the opponents the preacher of Christ has to contend with, there is none that we so much dread, as the man who cares for nothing—who is wholly indifferent—who scarcely has vitality enough to sit up in his pew, unless he can sleep sitting. There are men in these times, who by custom, mere habit, indifferently float along with the curren

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APOLOGY FOR CREEDS.

APOLOGY FOR CREEDS.

APOLOGY First . “It is not necessary to make such an incessant war upon our creed; it is just like the Bible; it is all scriptural.” In this case admitting, for the sake of argument, what is not true of any human creed, that it is “just like the Bible,” we reply, that is useless, and will do no better than the Bible itself. If it is just like the Bible it will accomplish nothing more than the Bible, and be just as deficient. Nothing can be gained by it; nothing can be accomplished by it which th

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HEAR YE HIM.

HEAR YE HIM.

“BUT we want something binding.” Look then, at the command accompanying this oracle, or confession, or immediately following it, if you desire something binding, or authoritative. We allude to the authoritative utterance, “Hear Him.” God, who made the worlds—God, who rules among the armies of heaven—who hurled angels down to hell for disobedience—whose voice shook the earth. God, who holds the destinies of all the nations in his hand, who “weighs the hills in a balance, and handles the isles as

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EVANGELISTS AND EVANGELIZING.

EVANGELISTS AND EVANGELIZING.

WE have had a continuous series of writing and preaching about properly qualified Evangelists, and numerous schemes have been set on foot and advocated, for raising up and qualifying men for this great work. Still, the Evangelical field is not at all supplied. No scheme set on foot is supplying, or likely to supply, the field. Some few preachers are being manufactured, but where do they go? and what do they do? How many of them go out into the field and preach the gospel, convert sinners, plant

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A WORKING MINISTRY.

A WORKING MINISTRY.

MEN do not get a support, or do much good, in any calling, without work, and there is no calling on earth where the distinction is wider, between the industrious and indolent, than in the christian ministry. We can not be supported in the ministry without work, and it is not right that we should be. The Lord puts us upon the same footing as other men. We must rise early, be at our books, off to our appointments, through winds, rains, and snows, cold and heat, with zeal and earnestness; preach wi

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PRESENT PUNISHMENT WILL NOT SAVE.

PRESENT PUNISHMENT WILL NOT SAVE.

THE mere circumstance of a man being punished for his sins in this life, has nothing in it to purify his soul, purge his conscience, or prepare him for the enjoyment of God. The Egyptians, the Antediluvians, the Sodomites, and the Jews, had a just recompense of reward sent upon them in this world, but this only sent them down to tartareous , to be reserved, with the angels that sinned, to the judgment of the great day, where, we are assured, Sodom and Gomorrah shall appear. Some men appear to th

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THE MISSION OF INFIDELS.

THE MISSION OF INFIDELS.

THE mission of infidels is not to build up anything but to pull down churches, civil laws, governments, morals, the characters of men and women, peace, happiness, protection of home, property and life. They come with a mission of denials of the truths contained in the Bible—a mission of war upon the Bible, religion, and the friends of purity and mercy. They come not with a mission of peace and good will to man, but a mission of hatred towards the Bible and all it enjoins—a mission to pull down a

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IS IT POSSIBLE TO AROUSE THE PEOPLE?

IS IT POSSIBLE TO AROUSE THE PEOPLE?

IS it not possible to rescue the people from the pernicious and blinding influences of speculative theories and theorists, and induce them to receive the simple faith of Christ, become his disciples, love him and serve him? Have the leaders of the people, in these times, as they did in the days of the Lord’s pilgrimage on earth, stolen away the key of knowledge, and fastened them down with such an impenetrable spell of thick darkness that they are unwilling to be rescued from this servile slaver

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A MOTHER’S GRAVE.

A MOTHER’S GRAVE.

EARTH has some sacred spots where we feel like looseing the shoes from our feet, and treading with holy reverence; where common words of social converse seem rude, and the smile of pleasure unfitting; places where friendship’s hands have lingered in each other’s; where vows have been plighted, prayers offered, and tears of parting shed. Oh, how the thoughts hover around such places, and travel back through unmeasured space to visit them. But, of all the spots on this green earth, none is so sacr

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TENDENCY OF UNIVERSALISM.

TENDENCY OF UNIVERSALISM.

THAT the obvious tendency of Universalism is irreligious; that it is opposed to holiness, to reformation of life; that it is in eternal hostility to all efforts to make the world better; that it paralyzes and neutralizes the efforts of men to serve God—is one of the most manifest impressions upon the mind, both from the theory itself, and from the history of its practical workings among men. No pretended system in our time has been characterized by such daring and unblushing effrontery. It comes

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VALUE OF LEARNING.

VALUE OF LEARNING.

IF a man’s learning is combined with piety, devotion, and consecration to Jesus Christ, and he is possessed with the humility and meekness inculcated in Christianity, and his learning enables him to unfold the unsearchable riches of Christ, with the simplicity, sincerity and devotion necessary to commend it to the hearts and consciences of men, it is of great value. If the Lord dwells in a man, if the great matters of the kingdom of God fill his soul, and if his learning is used in presenting th

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THE BIBLE INFALLIBLY SAFE.

THE BIBLE INFALLIBLY SAFE.

CAN men lead the people astray by insisting upon their adhering strictly to the law of God, uniting upon it, living in peace and love? Let the Lord reign. Let his law be the supreme authority. The Bible is right if anything is right. All led by it are led rightly; all under its influence are under proper influence; all opposed to it are wrong—all the way wrong. There is not one ray of light from heaven that has ever reached the abodes of men in any creed, any book, or any man that is not in the

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EXCUSE FOR CREEDS.

EXCUSE FOR CREEDS.

ONE of the most common excuses offered for human creeds is, that “We want something to keep us together—something to bind us in union.” This apology is based virtually upon the same two preposterous assumptions we have before mentioned. It assumes, with great apparent innocence, that the Bible can not keep us together, that it cannot bind us in union. Then it assumes, with much modesty, that a human creed can keep us together—bind us in union— can do what the Bible can not do . This, it appears

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OVER AND THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS.

OVER AND THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS.

THIS day was presented us some of the grandest objects of admiration, both of nature and art, we ever beheld. We saw some of the grandest, most stupendous and wonderful achievements of human enlightenment, combined with industry, we had ever seen. At one moment we found ourselves hundreds of feet above the tall pine trees, away in the valley below, where, if we had been thrown off the track, we must have been precipitated hundreds of feet down among the craggy rocks. In another moment, we passed

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REASON, PROVIDENCE, AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD, TEACH US TO OBEY GOD.

REASON, PROVIDENCE, AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD, TEACH US TO OBEY GOD.

SOME men are guided by reason , others by providences , and others by spiritual influences , separate from, or without the word of God. In regard to all this, it is not necessary to make much war upon them, provided their reason, providences, or influences, lead them to obey the gospel, which we know was preached with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. But, it is a sad comment on their reason, providences, or spiritual influences, when it leads them to disobey the teachings of the Spirit of

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WHAT IS CAMPBELLISM?

WHAT IS CAMPBELLISM?

THIS has been a puzzling question. It is hard to find out precisely what it is. Not a man yet, of all who have been engaged in fighting this monster, has defined it, explained it, or told what it is. It has been called a dangerous heresy , and so many hideous warnings have been given against it, that the hair would almost stand upon a man’s head to hear about it, and yet no one has told what it is. The reason no one has defined Campbellism , is, simply, that there is no such thing in existence ,

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YOUNG PREACHERS MUST BE PRACTICAL.

YOUNG PREACHERS MUST BE PRACTICAL.

THE young man who would become a preacher, while he is receiving knowledge, or obtaining the theory, must ply himself to the work, making a practical use of what he learns. A man may study for years and acquire an immense amount of knowledge, but having no practical use of it, he is as helpless as an infant. In precisely this predicament are thousands who have gone through the manufacturing process of making preachers, without any practical use of all they have learned. Indeed, many of them have

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CHRISTIANITY.

CHRISTIANITY.

CHRISTIANITY literally subverts everything else, sets aside all isms, doctrines and commandments of men of every grade, as the most insignificant childish play. It comes to men, claiming the right to have the attention of all as though all beside were undeserving of any note or any regard whatever. Not only so, but it gives no chance to assail, expose and refute, for it maintains nothing but the Bible, but Christianity, but what God has given by inspiration and proved by supernatural signs and w

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KEEP POLITICS OUT OF THE CHURCH.

KEEP POLITICS OUT OF THE CHURCH.

IF a man has a leading object in view, no matter whether religious or worldly, let him come out in his proper color, declare his object, and drive directly at it. If a man has a favorite political scheme let him declare it, publish a paper advocating it, or maintain it in public addresses; but not under the name of Christian ; not in the name of the Lord, nor under a pretence of preaching Christ; for this would be a manifest imposition, no matter how good the political doctrine. But every attemp

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UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS.

UNPROFITABLE SERVANTS.

LOOKING at the eternal benefits Christianity has conferred upon us, and the rich inheritance it proposes to confer in the world to come, the little a poor mortal can do in a short lifetime sinks into nothingness, and deserves not to be mentioned. When we think of him who became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich—that he became a little lower than the angels, that he, by the grace of God, should taste of death for every man—that he had not where to lay his head—that he died for us—th

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BOUNDARY LINE OF REPENTANCE.

BOUNDARY LINE OF REPENTANCE.

THE boundary line of repentance. Life is the boundary line of repentance. What the Scriptures call “time,” contains the whole period during which man can turn to God. “To-day if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the bitter provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness.” If we are ever molded into the image of Christ, made conformable to his death, and prepared for the society of the blessed, it must be while we are in time. To show that we are inside of the clear r

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RECEIVING SINNERS WITHOUT BAPTISM.

RECEIVING SINNERS WITHOUT BAPTISM.

IT is an unfavorable step toward “educating a man up to the importance of being buried with his Lord and Master in baptism,” to set the law of God requiring it aside, and receive him without it. This would only lead him to doubt whether we saw or cared for the importance of it ourselves. It never can have a good influence on any sensible man to see religious people so anxious to get him into their party as to set aside their own established principles, and what they hold to be clearly the law of

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THE FALL OF BEECHER.

THE FALL OF BEECHER.

THE American people are so familiar with the name and character of Henry Ward Beecher, that no explanation of what follows, is needed by the present generation. Beecher is the most gifted and noted liberalist and progressionist in America. He is out at sea, without chart or compass. The movements of the wind, and the motion of the current, determine his course. He cares not whither he sails or where he lands, or whether he lands at all or not, so that the breeze is pleasant and the waves smooth.

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SPEAK PLEASANTLY.

SPEAK PLEASANTLY.

THE opponents of the truth will catch every unkind or unpleasant word; every unlovely expression or harsh sentence, and comment on it, in the absence of argument, and even divert attention from the main matter. We should, then, simply study how to present the truth, in the clearest, most agreeable and acceptable manner; how to show people the truth, convince them and enlist their souls in it. This is the great matter to study, and not how to avoid differences and not discuss them at all. We are

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VARIOUS KINDS OF SCEPTICISM.

VARIOUS KINDS OF SCEPTICISM.

SCEPTICS float in thin ether, if not some times in pure vacuum, in vast, unknown and unknowable regions of pure fancy and idle imagination. They roam in everlasting inquisitiveness in the immense realms of intangibles and invisibles. They are variously styled in New Testament terminology, “clouds without water,” “wandering stars,” “filthy dreamers,” etc., etc. They spend their time, confuse themselves and shatter their brains, in explaining “degrees in glory,” “degrees in punishment,” “different

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CHRIST THE CENTER.

CHRIST THE CENTER.

IN the kingdom of God the Lord is the center. He said, “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to me.” “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The great apostle to the Gentiles, after giving a brief summary of side considerations, and many of them weighty, in his situation, says of them all, “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ J

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RICHES OF FAITH.

RICHES OF FAITH.

GOD has created man with credulity, or the ability to believe; he has graciously given us the truth, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, to belief; with the divine testimony that incontestably proves the truth. But he does not compel any man to read the testimony, to hear it read, to examine it, try to understand and appreciate it. He lays it before the world, and demands of the nations to hear it. It is like all the other blessings God has afforded man; it must be sought, inqui

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ONE BAPTISM.

ONE BAPTISM.

WE take it as Wesley did, that “by one Spirit,” is by the direction of one Spirit, we are all immersed into one body. It is clear that the baptism alluded to is the initiatory rite, for there is no other baptism into one body . The immersion in the Spirit is not into one body, or into anything. At the house of Cornelius they were immersed into Christ after they had been immersed in the Holy Spirit. The immersion in the Spirit was to convince Peter and his Jewish brethren that God intended to rec

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DISTURBING ELEMENT.

DISTURBING ELEMENT.

THE Bible is not the disturbing element, or property that prevents fusion, for all the sects have the Bible, speak well of it and commend it. They all bold the Bible in common. It is well received among all denominations. The Bible is not, then, the divisive element, or the repellent property among them that renders fusion impossible. The Lord is not the repellent element, or property that prevents fusion, for they all speak well of him. Indeed, they all claim to have him with them and to love h

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WOMEN IN THE CHURCH.

WOMEN IN THE CHURCH.

READ the Bible carefully, and note the part the women took, the greatest and best of them, as well as all classes, in the Patriarchal, Jewish and Christian institutions, and follow what you find there. It is safe to follow that, and for the good of all, both men and women. No improvement can be made upon that. As we depart from that we injure all. We desire to see women curtailed in no privilege or blessing; nothing that can make them happy, useful, wise or good. But the less they have to do in

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WHO CRUCIFIED THE SAVIOR.

WHO CRUCIFIED THE SAVIOR.

PETER charges the crucifixion on the Jews. But the Jews only instigated it; the Romans, who were Gentiles, executed him. The Jews were the more responsible party, as they persisted in clamoring for his crucifixion, when Pilate, the Roman judge wanted to let him go. The Jews premeditated, designed and instigated the crucifixion; the Romans performed the deed, or were tools in the hands of the Jews and executed the will of the Jews. But when the matter is more fully comprehended the whole world we

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CHRISTIAN ZEAL.

CHRISTIAN ZEAL.

THE leading method employed anciently to impede the progress of christianity was to persecute its adherents. This scheme of opposition was well tried during the first three centuries of the christian era, but, although it, to some extent, gratified the malice of the persecutors, it was never very successful. There is a very plain reason for this. The tendency of persecution is invariably to lead the disciples of our Lord, to examine the ground of their faith and the value of their profession wit

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JUDGMENT, THE GROUND OF REPENTANCE.

JUDGMENT, THE GROUND OF REPENTANCE.

WHEN Paul stood in the midst of Mar’s hill, he boldly declared the ignorance and superstition of the Athenians, before the gospel, and stated to them, that “in the times of this ignorance, God winked at,” or that he did not hold them to a strict account. He concedes, here, the principle expressed by the Savior, that where there is but little given there is but little required; and on this ground, admits that God would not deal with them strictly according to their works. But he approaches a diff

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THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST.

THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST.

ONE thing that has caused an apparent difficulty touching the genealogy of Christ, is, that inquirers are not aware of the fact, that Matthew traces the genealogy of Joseph, from Abraham down, and that Luke traces the genealogy of Mary up to Adam. Matt. i.; Luke iii. This will account, in some degree, for the disagreement in names. They are evidently two distinct lines of genealogy, and the best authorities we can appeal to at present, give Matthew’s to Joseph and the other to Mary, and it is cl

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ADHERING TO THE BIBLE.

ADHERING TO THE BIBLE.

NO man should go to the Bible, or the God of the Bible, to teach him what man is , or what he should be; but he should go to the Bible to learn what he is , what he ought to be , and what he ultimately shall be . He should not go to the Bible to show what it should teach, but to learn what it does teach, for to this we shall all come in the end, whether it is congenial with our desires or not. We intend, therefore, to maintain it as it is, whether the number in favor of it is small or great. We

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EXCHANGING PULPITS.

EXCHANGING PULPITS.

WHAT confidence would we have in the preacher who would exchange pulpits with a priest of the Papacy, not only a member of the Romish Church, but made such before he knew there was a God, or a Savior, an idolater, or an unregenerated man? The book of God forbids the saints from keeping company with such a man, or eating with him, or to bid him God-speed. We can meet a Romish priest and treat him as a citizen, if he is one, a neighbor, or gentleman, but we do not know him as a preacher of Jesus,

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KIND OF PREACHERS AND PREACHING NEEDED.

KIND OF PREACHERS AND PREACHING NEEDED.

WE want no mere excitement about a man , nor after a man , who, as Simon the Sorcerer, induces the people to think that he is some great one . We want the clear, solid and telling preaching of the gospel, enlightening the people in reference to our Lord, the way to him, and how to serve him. We do not expect, as a general rule, to see much move among the people for the first ten days, but a gradual increase in the audience, the interest in the preaching and conversations about it; an account of

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WHERE IS THE POWER?

WHERE IS THE POWER?

THE genuine power—the power that will enable us to stand against all opposition and triumph at last—is not in this man or that, money or learning, talent or popularity, but in the true position . Learning is profitable, if used wisely, as a help in finding and determining the true position; but the power is not in the learning nor talent. A man of very ordinary learning and talent may find the true position, stand on and defend it. No matter what a man’s learning, talent or popularity may be, if

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COMMUNION.

COMMUNION.

THE Lord gave the commemoration of his sufferings and death to his disciples , and Paul, in Corinth, gave it to the congregation of the saints, and not to any others. Those who are his disciples, who are in Christ, in the body, are communicants, and those not in Christ, are not communicants. We “neither invite nor exclude,” but show to whom the Lord has given the communion, and that no others have any right to it, only those in good standing in the body, and give it to no others . But for any pr

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WANDERING PILGRIMS.

WANDERING PILGRIMS.

WE know of two or three wandering pilgrims that are now old men, of good enough talent to have made a permanent record long ago, and yet received in doubt wherever they go, held in distrust, and, to say the least, they have nothing that could be called a standing. To be safe, all the overseers in the church need do is simply to receive no man till he produces clear evidence of good standing. Look back over the record and see where the men have gone to who have tried the gospel of soul sleeping .

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DEDICATION OF CHURCH EDIFICES.

DEDICATION OF CHURCH EDIFICES.

NOTHING is more common than reading of the dedication of the Temple by Solomon as appropriate on dedication occasions. Only a few short years ago, a young brother of fine talent read of the dedication of the temple, and appropriated it to the occasion of dedicating a new meeting-house. But this is a perversion of a very inexcusable character. It loses sight of the significance of one of the most important types of the Old Testament. The temple was no type of a meeting-house, nor was the dedicati

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THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS.

THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS.

THERE was certainly an assembly or congregation in the wilderness, as mentioned by Stephen. Acts vii. 38; but this congregation or assembly in the wilderness was the nation, or the national assembly of Israel—fleshly Israel. It consisted of the fleshly descendants of Abraham, as described in the language of God to Abraham, “Those born in thy house,” or the Jews. This congregation or assembly, the nation of Israel, or the Jews, was not the church, or body of Christ, but, as a body, it rejected Ch

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SOUND MEN.

SOUND MEN.

WHY do men regret to hear us say of a man, “He is a gospel man;” “He is a sound man;” “He is a New Testament man.” It implies that there are some that are not “gospel men,” not “sound,” not “New Testament men.” What if it does? Why need any man be troubled about that? Certain men will be suspected of being unsound! Indeed! Must we shut our eyes and think contrary to what we know to be matter of fact, that all are sound? But, you imply that some are not sound! Certainly, and you imply that some a

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CHRISTMAS.

CHRISTMAS.

WE do not believe that the 25th of December is the birthday of our Lord. We have seen abundant reasons for this, and could adduce them, if the importance of the matter required it, though we have not the works at hand now to refer to, as we think, settling the matter. There is not an intimation of the first Christians making anything of the birthday of our Lord, observing it religiously in any way, or regarding it as a holiday, or a holy day at all. This accounts for the uncertainty about the da

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PREACHERS BELONGING TO NO CHURCH.

PREACHERS BELONGING TO NO CHURCH.

WE think it is quite proper for men who belong to no church to make it known, and then if people want to uphold such anarchy, disorderly men, as preachers of the gospel, they can do so with a clear understanding. If preachers can live out of any church and do the will of God, other people can do the same. This is not all nor the worst of it. These men claim not only that they can live out of any church and do the will of God, but they claim that they can do more good out of any church than in on

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A CHOIR.

A CHOIR.

WE find some brethren call a few members of the church who sit together and lead the singing a choir. This is no choir in the popular sense, nor is it at all objectionable, specially if the singing is so conducted that the members generally sing. But this is not the meaning of choir. The choir in a church is composed of artistic performers, who sing for the church ; sing difficult pieces that the masses can not sing, for music and musical display , to attract, entertain and gratify the people—to

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COURTESY IN FELLOWSHIP.

COURTESY IN FELLOWSHIP.

ANY man who is a christian, or is in Christ, can be received into the fellowship of the church. If a man is not a christian, not in Christ, he can not, in any consistency, be received into the church or into the pulpit. We would not give much for any man’s principles, who can set them aside for a little act of courtesy , or a little pretence of liberality . It is nothing but a sham, an empty pretence and hypocrisy, to receive a man into the pulpit, and recognize him before the people, to whom yo

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PRAISE GOD BY SINGING.

PRAISE GOD BY SINGING.

WE never heard Dr. Knox announce a song to be sung in public, while we were with him in Prince Edward Island, when he did not say, distinctly and very audibly, “We will praise God by singing,” etc. This opens out with the right idea. How grand and sublime to praise God in song! We ought to sing in worship, not for music, or even fine singing, but to praise God , to worship the Lord our God as an act of devotion to God. We ought not to enter into it with the heart set on music , either instrument

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CHRIST WILL COME.

CHRIST WILL COME.

BUT that Christ will come—“that same Jesus”—as literally as he was seen go up into heaven from Mount Olivet, we entertain not one doubt. That the dead will be raised and pass the final judgment, after which the wicked will go away into everlasting punishment—into the fire of gehena , where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched, at the same time that the righteous enter into life eternal—we entertain not one doubt. These are clear and awful matters of divine revelation, and the main matt

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ONE RELIGION.

ONE RELIGION.

IS there one true and divine religion in the world? The answer of the people in this country generally is, that there is. Touching this answer we entertain not a doubt. There is in this world one religion from God, and of supreme and absolute authority. It covers the whole ground, and leaves not the least room for any other. All others are departures from it, corruptions of it, or amalgamations with something else. That one religion was given by Christ and his apostles. Christ is the Author of i

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A. CAMPBELL’S SUCCESSORS AND CRITICS.

A. CAMPBELL’S SUCCESSORS AND CRITICS.

SOME fifteen years ago a few of our more advanced men gradually commenced opening up to our benighted minds, the fact, that A. Campbell was not the great man we had thought he was; that he was not the scholar we had thought; that some of his chief ideas were erroneous, and that we should have much trouble in undoing what he had done wrong . We were growing up many young men, and being illiterate and unlearned, we knew not but we had over estimated A. Campbell, and that some mighty men were risin

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AUTHORITY OF A SINGLE CONGREGATION.

AUTHORITY OF A SINGLE CONGREGATION.

A SINGLE congregation of the Lord in any community can administer and execute the work of the Lord in all its parts. This is true of every congregation. When assembled it is a divinely-authorized body to act in the matters of the kingdom of God. There is no other divinely-authorized body on earth to act in the matters of the kingdom of God. This body is under the old commission from the Lord: “Observe all things whatever I have commanded you .”...

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CLASSIFICATION OF MISSIONARY MEN.

CLASSIFICATION OF MISSIONARY MEN.

WE have been trying to classify our missionary men, so that we can think of them with intelligence. We put them down as follows: First. Men who go ahead and preach, and continue on preaching. These are missionary men in the true sense. Second. Men that contribute liberally of their substance to support those who are devoted to preaching, and see that their money goes to the men that do the work. These are missionary men also in the true sense. Third. Men who devise plans , inaugurate missions, a

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INFLUENCE OF THE DANCE.

INFLUENCE OF THE DANCE.

ONE dancing-master in a community, with some concessions of a preacher who has an easy conscience on the follies of the age, a little in his favor, with one saw of his bow across the strings of an old fiddle, will inveigle a whole community of wild and thoughtless young people into the dance and hold them there half a night, and not one of them will complain of the long meeting . Restraining these influences is not so easy. It requires a combined effort of all the godly. We have done all we coul

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NO MODIFICATION OF THE DIVINE PLAN.

NO MODIFICATION OF THE DIVINE PLAN.

NO modification of principle has ever made any impression on our mind, only the impression that he who proposes it, is ready for back-sliding . There are some principles that are self-evidently right. They can not be modified . We may depart from them, but can not modify them. The law of God is supreme in its authority. It is absolute. Those of us who have taken it can stand by and maintain it, on the one hand, or depart from it on the other. We can not change it or modify it. There are but two

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ONE WAY TO GOD.

ONE WAY TO GOD.

WE will, for the sake of the inexperienced, state the argument. When we set forth the way , as laid down in Scripture, we are in the affirmative—must show it to be the way , maintain and defend it. When some other way is affirmed, we affirm nothing and have nothing to prove, but simply deny. It is no part of our work to prove that there is no other way. We simply have nothing to prove. Let him who affirms that there is some other way prove it. Call on him for his proof, and in default of any pro

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POPULAR UNION MEETINGS.

POPULAR UNION MEETINGS.

SUPPOSE a modern popular revivalist such as Mr. Moody, in one of his great meetings should tell his audience that he would read the great commission of our Lord to his apostles, and proceed to read as follows: “Go you, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you.” “Go you into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is bap

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WHERE IS THE ARMY OF THE LORD?

WHERE IS THE ARMY OF THE LORD?

WHERE , then, is the army of the Lord? It is not in an aggregated body, some vast assembly headed by great clergymen, making display and show, of imposing ceremonies and vast assemblies. Like the ancient disciples, they are “scattered abroad,” and are going “everywhere preaching the word.” In their humble homes, their neighborhoods, among plain and sincere people, they are sowing the good seed of the kingdom of God, training their children in the way of the Lord, and, by their godly lives, perso

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FUTURE SUCCESS OF THE LORD’S ARMY.

FUTURE SUCCESS OF THE LORD’S ARMY.

WE believe that the heart of the great body is true as ever, and that the army is stronger than ever, and there never was a greater determination to maintain every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord, than at the present time. A vast army of young men are rising, true as ever lived, determined to maintain their ground, and will maintain it till the last. The pens of many are already employed, and many more are ready for the conflict. Thousands of preachers are in the field fighting t

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FEET WASHING.

FEET WASHING.

THERE is no evidence in Scripture, or in any early writing, of any such practice as washing feet , in time of worship, or associated with worship, either public or private, as a religious rite, an ordinance, an act of devotion, or in any other way. There is no intimation that the washing of the saints’ feet alluded to, I. Tim. v. 10, was a religious rite, or an ordinance connected with worship, any more than lodging strangers. It is put down in the list of “good works,” and not religious rites o

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SUCCESS TO GOOD MEN.

SUCCESS TO GOOD MEN.

WE desire to see every man succeed who is for the “right way of the Lord,” and hope the Lord and his people will hold up the hands of every such man. We know the Lord will hold up the hands of every such man; never leave him nor forsake him; but will grant him grace and glory, and withhold from him no good thing; and we know, too, his people, when they have time to reflect and the means of knowing before them, will stand by the good and true, the sincere and faithful. They will let religious adv

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OUR PLEA.

OUR PLEA.

OUR straightforward and direct appeal to the people to turn their backs on all that is human and accept all that is divine; on all that is of earth, and receive all that is from heaven; to open the Scriptures and receive all that came from the Lord, as set forth in his own revelation; receive the religion of Christ itself, as he has laid it before the world, in his own word, and nothing else, is so manifestly correct, indisputably safe and right, that it can not fail to strike the mind favorably

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NO CAMPBELLITES.

NO CAMPBELLITES.

THERE is no such thing in this country as Campbellism, nor is there any such body of people as Campbellites. There is a people in this country that have gone back to our Lord to learn what he gave to the apostles and authorized them to preach, and to the apostles and learned what they preached to the world, and what they taught the church; who receive what the apostles preached and taught, and believe it in full; no more, no less. In this they claim to receive the religion of Christ itself, as h

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CONVERTING THE CITIES.

CONVERTING THE CITIES.

THEY must be brought to know that they must be revolutionized, created anew, conformed to Christ, and then taught to worship according to the Scriptures. The work is not to be done by wholesale, nor by the device of man. Nor need we think we can take the great cities by getting a few rich or popular men. We must preach the gospel to the people , the whole people , and turn them . The gospel invariably commences with the humbler classes, and works up through them till it reaches all grades. It di

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A HAPPY MEETING.

A HAPPY MEETING.

AT Lower Blue Lick, in Robertson County, Kentucky, in the month of September, 1875, Elder Franklin met his beloved father in the gospel and veteran in the cause of reformation, Eld. Samuel Rogers. He thus describes the happy meeting, and expresses his high regard for a true man of God: One morning when we were in the stand, waiting a few minutes for the audience to assemble and become composed, we saw once more the venerable form of Samuel Rogers, making his way up the aisle. We could scarcely r

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CHURCH DECISIONS.

CHURCH DECISIONS.

BUT may not public opinion, or even the Church, decide wrong? It may, and, no doubt, does sometimes. So may any court, man can establish; and it may turn out that the world may become so bad, or the church may become so perverted or corrupted, that a man can not get a fair decision. Still, it is the best that can be done, for us all to be free alike, before the court of public opinion, and the church, and if we should get a wrong decision here, the last or final appeal is to the court of heaven,

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REIGN OF A THOUSAND YEARS.

REIGN OF A THOUSAND YEARS.

WE know of no proof that the righteous will be raised a thousand years before the wicked. The Lord says, “The hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.” We see no thousand years between the resurrection of those that have done good and those that have done evil here. The quotation from John v. 28–29, above, connects the coming of Chr

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METHODIST CLERICAL PRETENSIONS.

METHODIST CLERICAL PRETENSIONS.

WHO duly appointed the ministry in the Methodist body? A body that is not, and admits that it is not, the body of Christ! Where did this body get authority to appoint a ministry? It has no authority to appoint any thing in the kingdom of God. Who “divinely called” the ministry in the Methodist body? Not the Lord, for he has no Methodist body. He never called a man to minister in a body that he never authorized. The men called in that body were not called of God at all, nor divinely called. They

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MOODY AND SANKEY.

MOODY AND SANKEY.

THE above named men referred to in the following, were popular evangelists among the sects, and, though not educated for the ministry, or ordained to that holy calling, performed all the functions of those divines who claim to be called and sent of God. The recognition they received in the great cities of the land, by clergymen of all sects, Bro. Franklin regarded as a surrender of their clerical pretensions and as equivalent to an acknowledgment of the fact that any christian man, possessed of

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TOO LATE FOR THE CARS.

TOO LATE FOR THE CARS.

ON going to the depot we found our information about car time was wrong, and we got to the depot just in time to see the train go out and leave us. This has two lessons in it: 1. That it is not true “that what a man thinks is right, is right to him.” The time we thought was right proved not to be right . 2. That we ought to be cautious about saying, “There is time enough yet.”...

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LORD’S DAY MEETINGS.

LORD’S DAY MEETINGS.

CHURCHES should not be compelled to hear preaching every Lord’s day, and that the dullest and dryest kind, from the same man, the same thing, over and over again; but instead of this, have a variety of good songs; sundry readings of interesting Scriptures, from different persons, each occupying from five to ten minutes, with two or three prayers at suitable intervals, and words of exhortation. The overseer who can so conduct these matters as to interest the whole congregation, develop and bring

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LAYING THE CORNER STONE OF A CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL.

LAYING THE CORNER STONE OF A CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL.

BUT what was to be done? What was all this about? We are ashamed, for humanity’s sake, to tell. It was to see a bishop pow-wow over a corner stone, bless it and lay it for a Romish meeting house! That was what all this was about! What was there in that? No more than any other pagan ceremony. No more than to see any other Irishman laying any other stone or brick in any other building, aside from tradition and superstition. This is the procedure of the Anti-christ, the Man of Sin, the power gone o

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UNIVERSALISM UNBELIEF.

UNIVERSALISM UNBELIEF.

THE mission of unbelief, in this direction, is— First. To force the Bible to agree with the Atheist, in theory, that a man’s conduct in this life, no matter what it may be, can not destroy his happiness in another life. Second. That there shall be no reward in another world, for virtue, righteousness and obedience rendered to God in this life. Third. That there shall be no punishments in the world to come, for disobedience, corruption, and crime, committed in this life. Fourth. That the death of

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PERSONALITY OF THE DEVIL.

PERSONALITY OF THE DEVIL.

DENYING the personality of the Devil. Here we have more negative preaching —more denying . What a world of gospel there is in this! Who is to be saved by denying the personality of the Devil? Who is comforted and built up with this sort of stuff? The infidel laughs. The Universalist nods assent; but who repents? The scoffer is delighted. That is the man for him! But does he quit scoffing? We have recently heard of a man who had stripped his feet bare after a rain of a warm summer’s day, and, wal

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CLERICAL YOUNG PASTORS.

CLERICAL YOUNG PASTORS.

THAT there should be occasionally a young man, with the views that have been fostered and encouraged by some among us, of a “pastorate,” who would assume authority to cast persons out of the church, and give letters of commendation, is not strange. There were some even in the time of the apostles, when no such views of a “pastorate” existed, who assumed such prerogatives and “prated against us” (the apostles.) In III. John 9, 10, we have a reference to one of them. “I wrote to the church,” says

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EVERLASTING AND ETERNAL.

EVERLASTING AND ETERNAL.

EVERLASTING and eternal are from the same in the original. “Everlasting punishment,” and not everlasting annihilation, nor everlasting extinction of being, nor everlasting non-existence, is what the Lord threatens. Matt. xxv. 46. At the same time the righteous enter into “life eternal,” the wicked “go away into everlasting punishment.” The original word aionion here is translated, in the common version, “eternal” in one place, and “everlasting” in the other. There is no reason for not translatin

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ENDURING HARDNESS AS GOOD SOLDIERS.

ENDURING HARDNESS AS GOOD SOLDIERS.

IT matters not from what cause we suffer, whether inability on the part of brethren, or parsimoniousness, we must bear hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, suffer and toil on, for we shall reap if we faint not. We must not raise up a money-loving and worldly people; and in order to this end we must not be money-loving preachers , nor worldly men ourselves. This is our security against the evil of covetousness. We do not believe the Lord will accept meeting in two or three conventions in a

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HOW A PREACHER MAY STAND FAIR.

HOW A PREACHER MAY STAND FAIR.

ALL we have to do to stand right before the people, is to be sound in heart, in the faith, in the life; true to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; honest and faithful in the whole matter; maintaining, defending, advocating it, as the only divine and gracious system for the salvation of a lost world; enforcing it on men for its own sake, and for the sake of humanity. Our safety is not in a tribunal of learned men, who are censors for us, but in the judgment of an intelligent and enlightened bro

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DELAY IN TURNING TO THE LORD.

DELAY IN TURNING TO THE LORD.

IF a person has delayed turning to the Lord, till some hindrance comes, so that he can not take the steps, or do what the Lord has commanded, to become a christian, he has simply delayed till he can not become a christian. If he defers on any account, he simply defers becoming a christian. At some point, a man passes the possibility of becoming a christian. That point, or period, is generally thought to be at death. Some still sing, “While the lamp holds out to burn, the vilest sinner may return

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WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.

WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.

“THE sword of the Spirit” is defined by the Spirit himself, through Paul. It is the word of God. “Why is it called the sword of the Spirit ? Because the Spirit gave it , and not because he uses or wields it .” The Spirit gave it to men that they might use or wield it. There is not a more unsupported theory in this apostate age than the one that teaches that the Spirit wields the sword. He did not do this even in the age of miracles. Jesus said to his Father “The words that thou gavest me I have

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WE ARE NO SECT.

WE ARE NO SECT.

WE belong to no sect or heresy , no “denomination,” and recognize none in any sense, only as existing in opposition to the will of God—in a rebellion against the government of God. We know sects only as antagonistic powers to the law and kingdom of God. They are heretical and schismatical, in alienation to each other and to the kingdom of God. We find them in no complete union on anything of importance, except in opposing the gospel of Christ. In this they are a unit. Never did loving brethren m

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MAINTAIN A PURE FAITH AND WORSHIP.

MAINTAIN A PURE FAITH AND WORSHIP.

WHO , in the midst of all this demoralization, will stand for God, for the anointed and for the eternal Spirit; for the only supreme and absolute, the final authority, the revelation from God to man, as set forth in the Bible? We must maintain this or we shall be ruined forever. We must resist all broad-guagism, liberalism, this terrible demoralization, and maintain the purity of the religion of Christ itself. We have taken our stand on the highest ground and must maintain the highest purity and

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THINGS NOT FORBIDDEN.

THINGS NOT FORBIDDEN.

WHERE has God forbidden infant baptism? Where has he forbidden sprinkling for baptism? Where has he forbidden the offering of incense, the counting of beads, in worship? What harm is there in all this? This is sophistry, deception, delusion, and that, too, of a very low and unworthy order at that. Where is the divine authority for doing this or that? If there is no divine authority for doing this or that, in religion, or worship, that very circumstance is divine authority against it . “Who hath

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BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH.

BRANCHES OF THE CHURCH.

WHEN we say the body, we do not mean any sort of body, or any kind of body, but the body of Christ ; the one body into which all were immersed in the time of the apostles. This is the same as in “the Church of God,” “the kingdom of God.” The body of Christ has no branches except the individual members. There are no branch bodies . The kingdom of God has no branches. Every citizen is in the kingdom, and those not in the kingdom are not citizens at all. The Church of God, the body of Christ, or th

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WHOM THE LORD RECEIVES.

WHOM THE LORD RECEIVES.

THERE is no half-way fellowship to which we can receive persons, and allow them all the privileges we enjoy, and they not in full fellowship. It is not a question about our receiving a person, but the Lord receiving the person. The very act in which the penitent sinner comes and is received by the Lord is baptism. When he comes in full assurance of faith and penitence , and is immersed into Christ, the Lord receives him. All we do in the matter is to execute the law of Christ. The entire matter

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NOT OF ONE CLASS.

NOT OF ONE CLASS.

IN what sense except an extremely general one are the Romish, Episcopalian, Methodist and Presbyterian clergy of one class? Not that there is much fraternity, fellowship or agreement among them; nor even that there is any general sympathy, harmony or co-operation; nor that they are engaged in one work . They belong to separate kingdoms. In their official acts they never act together. If they act together at all, it is not officially, nor in any sense, only on certain occasions, to be friendly, c

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HOW THE WORLD REGARDS DANCERS.

HOW THE WORLD REGARDS DANCERS.

THE people of the world look upon a member of the church, that enters the dance, as let down, degraded, and his profession trailed in the dust. “Look there,” he exclaims, “that lady is a member of the church. I saw her immersed, and have seen her commune; she is no better than I am, and I know I am no Christian.” If the dancing professors could hear the numerous remarks thus made, in regard to their letting themselves down, degrading their profession and putting themselves on a level with the wo

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SAVED WITHOUT BAPTISM.

SAVED WITHOUT BAPTISM.

JESUS don’t say, “He that is not baptized shall be damned.” Suppose he does not. Baptism is a commandment. To do a commandment is an act of obedience. To refuse to do a commandment is to refuse to do an act of obedience. The Lord will take vengeance on them who know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But our friend says, “I believe if a man willfully and stubbornly refuses to receive the ordinance of baptism, that man will be lost.” What, then, of all those people who hav

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RECOGNITION OF, BY SECTS.

RECOGNITION OF, BY SECTS.

WHAT do we want recognition of any sects for? What do we want to come on a level with them for? Not one of them has a creed that is indorsed by any party but his own. There is not a party in Christendom that receives or believes the Methodist creed except the Methodist party. The same is true of every other party. Their creeds are not even popular, only as they agree in the human-creed idea that they must have a human creed . What a coming down, for a man that has a creed that they all believe—t

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WEALTH OF ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

WEALTH OF ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

FIRST . This matter of gaining wealth does not depend altogether nor chiefly on loving money. If it depended altogether or chiefly on loving money, many more would gain wealth than do, for no doubt more love money as ardently as those that obtain it. Men who love money devote themselves to schemes of money-making, or what they consider such, and, in some instances, break at it, and come out bankrupt. A. Campbell never did devote himself to making money. But he was right in two respects: 1. He wa

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FAITH, REPENTANCE, AND BAPTISM, DO NOT PARDON.

FAITH, REPENTANCE, AND BAPTISM, DO NOT PARDON.

FAITH changes, purifies or christianizes the heart, or converts the subject in heart. Repentance changes, purifies or christianizes the man in character, or converts him in character. But this is all simply a change in the man, but no change in his relation or state. It is simply preparing the man to enter into a justified state, or a state of pardon. There is no forgiveness of sin in all this. There is no salvation of the soul from sin here. The salvation of the soul from sin, pardon or forgive

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PROTRACTED MEETINGS, EXCITEMENTS. ETC.

PROTRACTED MEETINGS, EXCITEMENTS. ETC.

IT has been a question of serious doubt with some of the most excellent on earth, whether the protracted meeting is compatible with the genius of the Christian Institution, and whether more evil does not attend it than good. But from the day we engaged in the service of our Redeemer, to this hour, we have had no doubt of the propriety of protracted efforts for the conversion of men. It is true, these efforts may be made in such a manner ; such policies and appliances may be employed and a resort

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SCENE IN A HOTEL.

SCENE IN A HOTEL.

OCTOBER 7th , we started for Lebanon, where we had an appointment at night. The rains not having extended east, the road was fine and we glided along beautifully and reached Germantown about twelve o’clock. Not being acquainted with any person in the place, we drove up to the only public house we saw, and called for dinner and horse fed. On entering the bar room, the landlord skipped around the counter, and running his keen eye over the immense assortment of intoxicating liquors which lined one

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“FAITH COMES BY HEARING.”

“FAITH COMES BY HEARING.”

HOW remarkable the difference between the apostles’ method of producing faith, and that pursued by some modern preachers. The latter class frequently theorize on faith, and the method through which it comes, but the former, understanding his mission more perfectly, first, set forth the things to be believed, and secondly, the witnesses by which God intended to prove them to the world. An august phalanx they are too! consisting of all the prophets and apostles. “They all bear witness of him.” Sup

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WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

AWAKENED sinners feel that they must do something, but they see, or think they see, some “lion in the street”—some difficulty in the path which they have marked out to Christ, which prevents them from finding the Savior in the pardon of their sins. The chief reason, perhaps, why every inquirer does not rejoice in a felt sense of God’s pardoning love, is, that they seek in their own way. They endeavor to arise and “go to Jesus,” in their own strength. No sinner ever did find Christ, seeking thus.

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EVANGELISTS—PASTORS.

EVANGELISTS—PASTORS.

THE evangelist is not an officer in a church, or for a church, but his work is at large, to build up the churches, strengthen them and turn sinners to the Lord. He should introduce the gospel into new places, establish churches, and in due time set them in order. He is not an ecclesiastic, an official dignitary, who has much to say about his office and authority , but a gospel man , a man of influence, and can command respect and do a good work. A shepherd, or, which is the same, pastor , is not

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THE SECRET OF SUCCESS IN PREACHING.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS IN PREACHING.

NOTHING short of the highest morality and the most perfect subordination can ever secure complete success. Most indispensable is high reputation in all its public functionaries. A religious body whose public organs do not sustain purity of morals, chastity of address, and dignity of character, with most elevated natural and acquired attainments, can never do much towards the purification and elevation of the debased and degraded children of men. So important is this that some rule seems to be ne

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TEDIOUSNESS IN PUBLIC DEVOTIONS.

TEDIOUSNESS IN PUBLIC DEVOTIONS.

WE wish to allude to some errors into which some elders have fallen, for their advantage. We have an opportunity of being better acquainted with some difficulties in churches than the elders themselves can. When we visit some congregations, the elders complain that they will not turn out to meeting. The brethren say the reason more will not turn out is, that the elders are in the habit of preaching long and uninteresting sermons, which they have heard over and over again, until they know every c

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RESURRECTION—ADAMIC SIN.

RESURRECTION—ADAMIC SIN.

WE doubt not that precisely what was lost in Adam will be restored in Christ, or, that whatever the injury that resulted from the agency of Adam was, it will be removed by Christ. Whatever was included in the word “die” will be counteracted by what was included in the words “made alive.” The penalty inflicted on account of the Adamic sin will all be removed from the whole race, in Christ, the second Adam, or the Lord from heaven. No man will be lost in the world to come on account of the Adamic

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PAYING PREACHERS A STIPULATED SUM.

PAYING PREACHERS A STIPULATED SUM.

IF a man, or a certain body of men, wish to control the labors of a farmer or mechanic, and apply them as they may see proper, it is but the voice of reason and Scripture that they give him a reasonable compensation to support him while performing his labor. In precisely the same way, if any man, church or co-operation, wish to control and appropriate the labors of the preacher of the Word, they should give him a reasonable compensation. But when the question is under advisement, of employing a

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SELF-LAUDATION.

SELF-LAUDATION.

TO see the mere worldling, whether the politician, the lawyer, physician, or whatsoever, an egotist—full of self-laudation—giving himself the glory for everything good, and acquitting himself from everything evil, is contemptible enough in all conscience. Nothing can sink a man faster in the estimation of sensible men. But in the kingdom of Christ, where all is purely of the grace of God—where none has anything that he did not receive, and where all are held responsible in proportion to the abil

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PREACH CHRIST, NOT OURSELVES.

PREACH CHRIST, NOT OURSELVES.

PAUL says, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ.” Again, he says, “I determined to make known nothing among you, but Christ and him crucified.” I come not to you with excellency of speech, and the wisdom of men’s words, but with the demonstration of the Holy Spirit and of power. He further asserts that the gospel which he preached, he did not receive from man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Many such expressions are found in the writings of the holy apostles going

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THE CHURCH OF CHRIST A PROSELYTING INSTITUTION.

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST A PROSELYTING INSTITUTION.

ONE of the most striking differences between the Mosaic and Christian institutions is, that the latter is a proselyting institution, while the former was not. Errorists among the Jews, contrary to the spirit of their institution, ran into great proselyting efforts; while errorists in the kingdom of Christ, contrary to the spirit of their institution, leave the spirit of proselyting. Those Jews who had such a desire for proselyting, should have been Christians, and the Christians who have no zeal

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OBSERVING THE SABBATH.

OBSERVING THE SABBATH.

WHAT is there in teaching that Christians must keep the seventh, or Sabbath day, to impart or perpetuate spiritual life? The very seed of ruin is in such teaching. There is no Christ in it. It did not originate with Christ, but is anti-christian. The Lord never taught his disciples to keep the seventh or Sabbath day, nor did his apostles ever teach this. The first Christians did not meet on the seventh day “to break bread,” but on the first day . When they met on the first day they did not obser

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MARK THOSE WHO CAUSE DIVISIONS.

MARK THOSE WHO CAUSE DIVISIONS.

WE have no confidence in men and theories that have no power except to scatter, tear down and destroy. The time has come when the brethren should put their mark upon all this description of men we care not what their idol may be, who are simply prating, whining, complaining, and murmuring among loving disciples gathered by the labors and sacrifices of other men, but who never built up a church, healed a difficulty, or promoted peace any place in their lives. Nothing is so ridiculous as for such

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RELIGION AND POLITICS.

RELIGION AND POLITICS.

ARE we, as disciples of Christ, citizens of a kingdom not of this world, a religious community, to be distracted, disconcerted, and thrown into confusion? or, are we drawn to a common center, by an attraction so heavenly, commanding, and binding, that no side-influence can divert us from our course? The Lord is about to test us, prove us, and show whether we are true, sincere, and men of integrity to the great principles which we profess, and have been inculcating, or will turn traitor to them,

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PRAYER BOOKS.

PRAYER BOOKS.

THE Church of England has abounded toward her people in all wisdom and prudence. In doing so she has supplied them with the “Prayer-Book,” not only for weak members, who can not pray, but for her strong members, specially the clergy, giving the very words they must pray on all occasions. In this exuberance of her benevolence she has supplied a deficiency in the will of God, an omission in the law of God, an item that Paul overlooked when he “shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God;” an i

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UPWARD TENDENCY—REFORMATION NOT AFAILURE—MISSIONARY WORK.

UPWARD TENDENCY—REFORMATION NOT AFAILURE—MISSIONARY WORK.

THE effort we have made, and are now making, at reformation, can never prove a failure upon any ground, unless it be that we have not moral courage enough, as the disciples of Christ—have not sufficient integrity to the great principles of the gospel, to which we have pledged ourselves, to maintain them against the mighty torrent of opposition from the various ranks of bigotry, prejudice, and partyism, together with the combined influence of unbelief and sin. The position we occupy can never fai

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MEN CAN BELIEVE AND DO BELIEVE.

MEN CAN BELIEVE AND DO BELIEVE.

WHY does the speculator offer one dollar more to-day, than he did yesterday, per barrel for flour? Because he believes the news he has received, of an advance in some other market. Why does that pork dealer advance the price one dollar per barrel? Because he believes the news of an advance in some other market. Why does that trader refuse that bank bill? Because he believes the statement in the detector, that it is under par. Look through the various departments in life, business transactions an

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CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.

THE act of uniting with a church is not with the idea of being changed or made better , in ourselves, but to be placed in the right relation. The man who is a christian ought to be united with other christians in a congregation where he can worship according to the Scriptures. It is one thing to become a christian, and another thing to find and unite with a congregation of christians where the ordinances are kept and the authority of Christ is maintained. It is one thing to become a member of th

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BELIEVERS ONLY TO BE BAPTIZED.

BELIEVERS ONLY TO BE BAPTIZED.

BAPTISM , the initiatory rite, or the act of entering the church, is a command. All commands must be preceded by faith. The divine authority, requiring baptism, must be recognized, before the command can be obeyed; and the divine authority can only be recognized by faith. How, then, can a command be obeyed by one without faith, without a consciousness of divine authority, or even the knowledge that the command exists? Such a practice subverts the command of God in every case where it obtains, an

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THE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARYBEFORE BAPTISM.

THE KNOWLEDGE NECESSARYBEFORE BAPTISM.

SOME person,—name not known—writing from Ripley, Ohio, inquires whether persons baptized when very young, under excitement, having but little understanding of the import of baptism; and, after coming to mature years, become dissatisfied and desire to be baptized over again, should he then be baptized again? This question is entirely outside of the New Testament, and purely a question of opinion. Among the many thousands baptized by the apostles, there were many, evidently, who had but an imperfe

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PAUL AND JAMES, ON JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.

PAUL AND JAMES, ON JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.

THE difficulty in this case is not to be solved in dreams about different kinds of faith . Writers may speculate upon different kinds of faith till doomsday, and neither extricate themselves from the difficulty, nor their readers. James and Paul were speaking of precisely the same kind of faith; but Paul’s “deeds of the law” are not the same as James’ “works;” or no man can avoid a contradiction. Paul and James are both speaking of the faith that justifies man, but neither of them are speaking o

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CONTROVERSY.

CONTROVERSY.

LET no man infer from this, however, that we favor, or in any way encourage, a love for controversy . This is another thing entirely. By no means do we love controversy. It is deplored always, or at least the occasion of it. But shall a man, because he deplores controversy—because he is sorry to come in collision with men—because he knows unpleasantness will arise, and the smooth surface will be ruffled, evade the issues between light and darkness—between christianity and everything else? We did

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CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE SPIRIT. [A]

CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE SPIRIT. [A]

MANY brethren are inquiring of us about the Spirit, “correct views of the Spirit,” and of “the influence of the Spirit,” and insisting that we should respond to some things that are published, etc.; but, for the present, to all this we must simply say, that the Lord knows our hearts. He knows who have the Spirit, who are led by the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, mind the things of the Spirit and endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. He knows them who are his, who love him a

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SECTARIANISM.

SECTARIANISM.

MUCH as has been said upon the evils of sectarianism, within the last forty or fifty years, it is still true, that no one has given the subject too high a coloring. Its evils are equal to the most brilliant description we have had. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive how any one could speak, in too strong terms, of this one evil; yet, the sin of partyism, like many other sins of these times, is so fashionable and popular, that it is scarcely seen to be a sin at all. It is true, all seem to look

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DANCING IS A HEALTHFUL EXERCISE.

DANCING IS A HEALTHFUL EXERCISE.

TO make serious reply to this deceitful, deceptive and empty pretence, is a little hard to do. To see a person who can not go three squares to the house of God on foot, especially if it should be a little unpleasant, who can dance till midnight, “for amusement,” speaking of its being healthful , is ridiculous in the extreme. It may be, for anything we know, that for any person who has become so useless as to sit, day after day, and not move enough to circulate their blood, dancing would prove he

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PRAYER.

PRAYER.

THERE is nothing in Scripture called “family worship,” and yet what we mean by that expression, is the oldest worship in the world. Holy men in every age worshipped God in the family. But the time and manner of conducting it, is left to the sense of propriety, and discretion of the head of the family. Paul says: “I will therefore, that men pray everywhere.” 1 Tim. ii. 8. He also speaks of remembering the brethren in his prayers, night and day . He could not do this, without praying “night and da

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WE HAVE A PERFECT GOSPEL TO PREACH.

WE HAVE A PERFECT GOSPEL TO PREACH.

WE claim that the religion of Jesus Christ is a complete, perfect and divine system, in itself; distinct from, superior to, and as high above every thing else as heaven is above this earth; and that all who desire to do so, can determine what it is, practice it and be christians. We claim that the gospel is complete, perfect and divine; distinct from, and independent of, everything else, and that he who desires it, may know precisely what it is, believe it with all the heart, obey it and be save

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BIBLE NAMES.

BIBLE NAMES.

BUT there is one course infallibly safe for us, and that is to follow the New Testament phraseology. We ought not only to use New Testament names, but should pay some regard to the frequency of the use of those names. When a man uses the name christian more in one half hour than it is used in the whole New Testament, it is a clear evidence that there is something wrong with him. The same is true of the name Disciple, or any other designation found in the Scriptures. The man who is truly under Je

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INDIVIDUALITY AFTER DEATH.

INDIVIDUALITY AFTER DEATH.

WILL the dead maintain their identity and individuality ? Is there any clear light on this? We will not discuss it, but refer to a few evidences. Fifteen hundred years after Moses died, and before any had risen from the dead, he held a conversation with Jesus in the mountain of transfiguration. He had not lost his identity nor his individuality. He did not lose his consciousness. See Matt. xvii. 1–4; Mark ix. 2–4; Luke ix. 28–30. The rich man died, and in hades he lifted up his eyes in torment.

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BELIEF IN THE BIBLE ISINFALLIBLY SAFE.

BELIEF IN THE BIBLE ISINFALLIBLY SAFE.

IT is infallibly safe, because no man has ever been able to show any evil consequences that could possibly follow the believer, upon any hypothesis. No man of any reason has ever doubted the safety of relying upon the Bible, if it be true. But we go beyond this, and declare, without hesitation, that if it were possible for it to prove untrue, it is infallibly safe to believe and rely upon it. Its moral precepts, to say the least, are good as any on earth. Its requirements in all our present rela

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REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY.

REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY.

GOD is unchangeable; the same yesterday, to-day and forever. Jesus, the manifestation of God in the flesh, and the exact representation of his person, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, bodily; the concentration and embodiment of all divine benevolence, goodness and perfection, is unvaryingly the same—the constant, the ever blessed and merciful philanthropist. Christianity, as set forth upon the sacred pages of the New Testament, is but the revelation of the mystery from the beginni

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EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH.

EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH.

AN apostle has thought it needful to enjoin upon us, “Earnestly contend for the faith formerly delivered to the saints.” An old soldier of the cross, when about to put off his armor, rejoiced that he had fought a good fight, kept the faith and finished his course. In the course of his warfare, we are informed that he disputed “two whole years” in a certain school, or contended for the faith. This warfare, disputing or contending, is an advocacy, a defence and maintenance of the faith once delive

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THIRTY YEARS AGO.

THIRTY YEARS AGO.

WE showed from the pulpit, fully thirty years ago, that the answer of Peter to the three thousand on Pentecost, was not the same as the answer of Ananias, to Saul, of Tarsus, and the answer to Saul was not the same as the answer of Paul, to the Philippian jailer, and gave the reason for the difference. But that was not a difference between then and now , but difference in view of the difference in the conditions of persons at the same time . The same difference is observed now, by all intelligen

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JESUS REVEALED AS THE SAVIOR.

JESUS REVEALED AS THE SAVIOR.

WE turn our eyes to the infant in a manger in Bethlehem, and place them upon the child of promise, born according to the divine purpose, to whom God had been pointing from the beginning of time, who is to be the rise and fall of many nations, and the hope of the world, and find that all the divine prophets, and holy Seers of olden times, have been looking to him; that the attention of all heaven is directed to him, and, that the object now is, to engage the attention, enlist the hearts, and cent

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CAN NOT A MAN KNOW THAT HE IS A CHRISTIAN?

CAN NOT A MAN KNOW THAT HE IS A CHRISTIAN?

THE grand question to be solved, in this generation, is, whether men can follow the Lord, the only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, as their only Leader, receive his truth as their only guide, his faith as their only faith, his religion as their only religion, and be simply his disciples and no more. Is there such a thing in this world as christianity? All the conflicting parties around us admit that there is. Can we determine what it is? If we can not, no man knows whether he is

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EXALTED POSITION OF JESUS.

EXALTED POSITION OF JESUS.

THIS glorious person is the soul of the Bible, the center of the whole spiritual system, the attraction for all nations, the ruler, not only among the saints on earth, but also the armies of heaven. God gave him honor and glory, the apostle says, when he proclaimed him his Son in the holy mountain. He walks at the head of the army of God, the true Israel, and among the inhabitants of the earth, proclaiming with all authority, both in heaven and on earth, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no

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PUBLIC OPINION—INFANT DAMNATION.

PUBLIC OPINION—INFANT DAMNATION.

St. Louis, Mo. , May 18th, 1874. To the Editor of the Globe : I will give a reward of fifty dollars to any one who will give the name of a Presbyterian minister, who is a member of a Presbytery, under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, of the United States of America, who has, at any time, preached the doctrine of infant damnation; and I will give fifty dollars additional reward, to any one who can point out any article in the Confession of Faith or Catechism of

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THE WARNING.

THE WARNING.

THE antediluvians would not be warned by the preaching of Noah, and suspected nothing till the flood came, and swept them all away. The Jews in like manner would not be warned by our Lord and his apostles, and could not be aroused from their apathy and indifference till their devoted city was invested with armies. So shall it be at the coming of the Son of man. Great trials are upon those who intend to maintain truth and righteousness. May we be able to stand the coming conflict. The love of man

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HOW THE CAUSE OF REFORMATION WAS ADVANCED.

HOW THE CAUSE OF REFORMATION WAS ADVANCED.

WITH preachers from the farms, shops, stores, law offices, doctors’ offices, with a little learning, and many almost without it, we carried this cause forward, and in defiance of all opposition have triumphantly planted it in all directions in this and in many other countries. The power was not in the men but in the truth of God; the clear and unquestionable truth, that could be made plain and reliable to all men, and that, too, with very little learning or talent. The ground taken was invulnera

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A PHALANX OF YOUNG MEN.

A PHALANX OF YOUNG MEN.

A GRAND phalanx of younger men, with fine education, abundant talent, and as true hearts as ever beat, are rallying to the principles, coming to the rescue, and have set their seal that “God is true,” and that “the word of God is not bound.” Ten of these for every one of the old men falling are making their appearance. They are rousing up all over the country, and new pens are coming to the rescue. God is with these young men, dwells in them and will hold them up. They are not mercenary men, but

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BODIES RESURRECTED, NOT SPIRITS.

BODIES RESURRECTED, NOT SPIRITS.

THERE is nothing in the Bible about the resurrection of souls or spirits . The resurrection has to do with bodies , not souls nor spirits . It was the body of Jesus that rose from the dead. It was bodies that came forth after Jesus rose and were seen of many. Mortal bodies shall be quickened. The resurrection has nothing to do with the spirit in the way of raising it or making it alive . If man becomes extinct at death there is nothing to raise from the dead. Other beings might be created, but t

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ANOINTING WITH OIL.

ANOINTING WITH OIL.

TOUCHING the “anointing with oil in the name of the Lord,” we think no literal “anointing with oil” is enjoined. The praying for him , in the Christian dispensation, answers to the “anointing with oil,” in the old institution. It is simply a figurative allusion to the anointing, and not the actual use of oil. The praying for the sick, in the name of the Lord, is the anointing . The Lord raises sick people up, in numerous instances, without any miracle. He may do this now, in answer to prayer, wh

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GIVING UP PRINCIPLES.

GIVING UP PRINCIPLES.

THERE is nothing more important for individuals or bodies of people than clearly defined and well settled principles. To stand the test, and be of any importance to the world, the principles of an individual or a body of people, must be correct, and of vital importance. They should also be clearly defined, well understood, and constantly kept in view. It is then not only safe, but of the highest importance to adhere to them with the most determined pertinacity, fixed purpose and inflexible firmn

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MY CHURCH.

MY CHURCH.

WE never say my church . There is no being on earth who has a right to say my church . The Lord says, Matt. xvi. 18: “On this rock will I build my church.” He has a right to say “my church.” He gave himself for the church. The church belongs to him. He sanctified and cleansed it. This church, in Scripture, is frequently styled simply “the church,” and in our conversation about it, in nine cases out of ten, we can be understood sufficiently explicitly, if we say “the church.” We read of “the chur

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THE BIBLE AND BIBLE MEN.

THE BIBLE AND BIBLE MEN.

WE have identified our fortune— our all —for this world and that which is to come, for time and eternity, with the Bible. It is the only revelation from God, the only guide for a sinful world. Christ, who is the only Light of the world, is seen and apprehended through the Bible, and in no other way. All claims to revelation, separate from the Bible, are mere empty pretences, idle and unfounded delusions and impostures, deserving to be exposed and banished from the earth. They, as a general thing

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BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

SINCE this practice of praying for the baptism of the Spirit is continued with such pertinacity, we have concluded to make a few remarks upon it. For the sake of making our remarks the more easily apprehended, we will arrange them numerically, as follows: First. The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a miracle. It does not exist in our day, for miracles are not done now, not designed to be, nor of any use if done. Miracles can not be done but by the will of God, nor can they be suspended, but by his

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SMALL IMPROPRIETIES AND ANNOYANCES.

SMALL IMPROPRIETIES AND ANNOYANCES.

TO pour the wine, or divide it into several cups, before thanks, at the Lord’s table. We thank the Lord for the cup , and not cups . Thanks should invariably be given for the one cup , while the wine is in the one cup. For some one to start and push his way out through the assembly while an invitation is pending. This is a most manifest impoliteness and disorder. For some one that has eat about three dinners at once, to doze and nod in time of preaching, and in the midst of the exhortation, just

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ONE IMMERSION.

ONE IMMERSION.

CERTAINLY not, but one immersion “into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” There is but one immersion commanded in Scripture; that one is in water , and “into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Peter said, “Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?” Here the water is mentioned as the element in which they were to be immersed, and they had already been immersed in the Holy

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INNOVATIONS IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.

INNOVATIONS IN THE CHURCH OF CHRIST.

IN reading the history of the church, one is overwhelmed to see how innovations have crept in and eat the vitals out of the church. At every period of the church, when there was any vitality in it, any spirituality or devotion to God, there has been a constant effort on the part of the enemy, through some well-meaning, but worldly minded professors of religion, to work things into the church, or to work something out of it, in the nature of the case calculated to corrupt and destroy it. We must

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THE BIBLE GROUND.

THE BIBLE GROUND.

FOR fifty years, we, as christians, have stood on the Bible alone, as a rule of faith and practice. Till recently, no difficulty was experienced in reducing it to practice. For forty years after the effort was first made in this country, to return to original ground, to the apostolic faith and practice, and restore the ancient order of things; submit to the law of the Lord in all things; we found no difficulty of consequence. But on the other hand we realized our vantage ground, answered all the

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THE WORK OF THE DISCIPLES.

THE WORK OF THE DISCIPLES.

OUR heart is enlarged and our spirit is stirred within us, when we look at the great opening before us. The Lord has not raised us up, put into our hands such immense power, and made us such a great people, without an object. He has a great work for the Reformers of the nineteenth century. We, as a people, are set for the defence of the gospel. We occupy the only ground upon which man can stand and successfully do battle with unbelievers, with schismatics of every sort, and maintain the unity of

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NOT TO KEEP COMPANY.

NOT TO KEEP COMPANY.

“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”— I. Cor. v. 11. “Let every man examine himself and so let him eat.”— I. Cor. xi. 28. THE passage evidently has reference to common associating—in visits, ordinary, eating and the like. Such a man should not be in the church at all, to say nothing about communing. Christians should no

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EXTENT OF ONE MAN’S INFLUENCE.

EXTENT OF ONE MAN’S INFLUENCE.

EVERY preacher that becomes secularized, and ceases to employ his energies in behalf of the poor, of mercy, of righteousness, of God, is an immense loss to the world. There is no calculating or estimating the difference in the condition of the world, in the day of judgment, all growing out of the indolence or indifference of one man, though he might see that he was effecting but little in his operations. Let any man of reflection select a preacher of but humble abilities, who was operating zealo

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PULPITS.

PULPITS.

WE have, in our own mind, long since repudiated pulpits entirely, as a useless, and worse than useless appendage. No work done, that we know of, with the idea of usefulness, more completely misses its aim than that of erecting pulpits in which for men to stand to preach the gospel of Christ. We have, for a long time, utterly refused to go into many of the castles we find around the country. In many houses the preacher is hoisted high in a pulpit, from twenty to thirty feet from the nearest perso

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WHY INFIDELS OPPOSE THE BIBLE.

WHY INFIDELS OPPOSE THE BIBLE.

NEITHER Joseph Barker, nor any other man on the continent can give one good reason for his hatred of the Bible, or desire to ridicule it. Suppose it were all he says of it; superstition or what not; why is he so enraged at it? What is it that exasperates him so? What is it that puts such men to so much trouble? We suppose the stories of witches, ghosts, etc., the signs of the zodiac, the moon, etc., etc., are superstitions, but they do not trouble us, and we do not think it worth while to war up

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MIRACLES.

MIRACLES.

WHAT is a miracle? A miracle is not, as Hume defined it, “something contrary to the laws of nature ,” but something above the laws of nature, or something that the laws of nature, in their legitimate and ordinary operations, could not produce. For instance, the laws of nature, in their legitimate and ordinary operations, from parents, can produce offspring, and bring them to manhood and womanhood. But the laws of nature, in their legitimate course of operation, never produced a man and a woman,

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“AFFIRMATIVE GOSPEL.”

“AFFIRMATIVE GOSPEL.”

WE heard an illusion to the fanciful idea that some have conceived of preaching an “affirmative gospel,” or, as some have expressed it, “preaching the gospel affirmatively ,” or, as we suppose, to come a little nearer their idea, merely to preach, maintain and defend the truth affirmatively , and let the negative alone; or still, if possible, to be more fully understood, to preach truth and not preach against what is not truth ; to preach what is to be done and not what is not to be done . Look

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HOUSEHOLD BAPTISMS.

HOUSEHOLD BAPTISMS.

IT is claimed that whole households were baptized, and that these must have included infants; as, for instance, the following: 1. Lydia and her house. All that is said of Lydia is found in two verses, Acts xvi. 14, 15, and the passage contains not one word about an infant, or a child of any sort. It is stated that “she was baptized and her household.” But it is not stated that she was a married woman, that she had any children, much less that she had any infants; and, therefore, there is nothing

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KNOWING AND NOT DOING.

KNOWING AND NOT DOING.

“THAT servant who knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” See Luke xii. 47. From this language there is no escape. If the men of whom we speak, say, they are not servants, then they will be condemned for refusing to be his servants. There can be no middle ground, no neutral ground. “He who is not for us is against us,” says the Lord. We are not simply to do some benevolent deeds favorable to the Lord, or to his cause,

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THE BIBLE VS. HUMAN CREEDS.

THE BIBLE VS. HUMAN CREEDS.

IT is admitted on all hands, by all Protestants, that we should receive nothing more than is contained in the Holy Scriptures. It is also admitted, that we should receive nothing less than is contained in the Scriptures. It is admitted, that the Holy Scriptures must not be altered, but must be received precisely as God gave them to the world. It is acknowledged that the Christian Scriptures constitute a “perfect law of liberty.” All acknowledge that this perfect law of liberty was given by the i

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GLORYING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST.

GLORYING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST.

THE Apostle Paul says, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ.” Why glory in the cross?—or, why not glory in his miracles, in his feeding five thousand, his calming the sea, raising the dead, opening the eyes of the blind, or giving hearing to the deaf?—or, why not glory in his own resurrection, his ascension, coronation, and being crowned Lord of all? Because it was not at any of these points Peter denied him; it was not here that he was condemned; it was not here that he

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THE PARDONING POWER IS ONLY IN GOD.

THE PARDONING POWER IS ONLY IN GOD.

IN precisely the same way, the appointment in the case of Naaman, in itself, had no virtue to cure leprosy. If another leper had gone to the place the next day, and dipped himself, he would not have been healed. Naaman did not go home praising the waters of Jordan, nor exulting in his dipping, nor his faith, but he said: “Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.” II. Kings v. 15. The Lord purposely selected an appointment that had not in it, in itself, any curativ

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THE ACTION OF BAPTISM.

THE ACTION OF BAPTISM.

REFERRING to the position of the disciples on the action of baptism, a correspondent says: “That, in regard to the sacrament of baptism, the whole christian world have been in the dark, from the earliest history of the church until within three hundred years, and much the greater part are still behind!” He adds, “Not deceived, be it remembered, about some things not essential to the ordinance, but in regard to the very nature of it . And what is yet more singular, denominations possessing much t

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SHORTER CATECHISM FOR UNIVERSALIANS.

SHORTER CATECHISM FOR UNIVERSALIANS.

DURING our discussion in Decatur, Ill., we presented the following, substantially, as the “Shorter Catechism” for Universalians to test their pretences to a belief in the Scriptures: 1. Phil. iii. 18, 19, Paul, speaking of the enemies of the cross of Christ, says, “Whose end is destruction.” Can a man of sense believe that the end of a man is destruction, and at the same time believe that his salvation? The end of a man will certainly be his last state, and if that is destruction, his end can no

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POPULAR AMUSEMENTS.

POPULAR AMUSEMENTS.

Remarks upon a communication complaining of the increasing prevalence of revelry , under the plea of “innocent amusements.” Published in the A. C. Review , for July, 1860. WE have no doubt that many professors of religion are greatly sinning, as well as disgracing and dishonoring their profession, in the manner above described. But there is one trouble in writing or publishing any thing for that class. They are beyond the reach of writers. They subscribe for no religious publications, pay for no

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ACTIVITY IN THE MINISTRY.

ACTIVITY IN THE MINISTRY.

THE preacher’s life should be one of activity and industry, one of enterprise and diligence. The preacher can not be a gentleman of leisure . This is not his profession. He can not afford an hour or two every morning in primping, turning himself first this way and then that before a glass, smoothing down his hair, stroking his mustache and fitting on his attire. He can not afford another half-hour sucking an enormous cigar and filling a filthy spittoon, a thing that ought to be tolerated in no p

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SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS ON THE ACTION OF BAPTISM.

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS ON THE ACTION OF BAPTISM.

IT is a fact that our Lord was baptized of John in Jordan. Is it then more probable that he was sprinkled of John in Jordan, than that he was immersed of John in Jordan? It is a fact that after the Lord was baptized “he went up straightway out of the water .” Is it more probable that “he went up straightway out of the water,” in going from sprinkling, than from immersion? It is a fact that the people were baptized of John in the river of Jordan. Is it more probable that they were sprinkled of Jo

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“A MIGHTY GOOD FOUNDATION.”

“A MIGHTY GOOD FOUNDATION.”

SOME years ago, our Bro. Burnet resided some eight miles in the country. We were in Mt. Healthy, a short distance from his residence, and took an omnibus for the city. In a few minutes the omnibus stopped in front of the residence of Bro. Burnet, with two respectable looking gentlemen in it, one sitting facing the residence and the other with his back towards it. The one facing the residence said, “Here is where Mr. Burnet resides.” The other replied, “Who is he?” “A celebrated Campbellite preac

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A HARD QUESTION FOR PREACHERS.

A HARD QUESTION FOR PREACHERS.

THE Lord said once to a preacher, “Simon, lovest thou me more than these?” This question has been variously expounded. It has had at least the following three interpretations given to it: 1. “Lovest thou me more than these other disciples love me?” 2. “Lovest thou me more than thou lovest these other disciples?” 3. “Lovest thou me more than thou lovest these fisheries?” 1. The Archbishop of Cincinnati had the honor—if it be any—of giving the people the first of these, in the debate with Mr. Camp

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MAN’S ACCOUNTABILITY.

MAN’S ACCOUNTABILITY.

EVERY sane man can and does believe and decide that he will do this , and that he will not do that , every day of his life. Hence our Lord, when he wept over Jerusalem, cried, “O Jerusalem! Jerusalem! how oft would I have gathered your children as a hen gathers her brood, but ye would not .” In this view of the subject, the man of God could say, “ Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” In the same spirit, the Lord says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross

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THE NEW AND THE OLD.

THE NEW AND THE OLD.

WE do not desire to prevent discussion and investigation, or to deprive brethren of great inventive genius from exercising their extraordinary powers, nor to deprive men of the pleasure of making discoveries; but we are not favorable to allowing every man the privilege of taking out a patent right for everything that may be new to him ; because it may not only be old with others, but useless , or even an old and oft exploded error. What we need now is, not so much men to make discoveries and inv

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“MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.”

“MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.”

NO people can or ought to prosper that will not respect the wisdom of God as set forth in both the teaching and example of our Lord and his apostles. We can not make ourselves, as a great, rapidly increasing and prospering body, an exception to this rule. If we desire and intend to prosper in the great and good work of uniting saints, building up the church and saving men, we must confine ourselves strictly to the gospel—to the things of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ—determined

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POLICY IN PREACHING.

POLICY IN PREACHING.

PUBLIC men must be prudent, judicious and noble in their bearing, presenting the truth in the love of it. Men must not miscalculate their influence, their power, and time for presenting things. Preachers must know when and where things are to be said and done. Many men drive their audiences away, by their repulsive course, and think it the opposition of the people to the truth, that drives them away. We speak plainly on all the great issues between ourselves and the parties around us, in the pul

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THE CAUSE OF CHRIST IS ABOVE PARTISAN POLITICS.

THE CAUSE OF CHRIST IS ABOVE PARTISAN POLITICS.

WE have done a noble work, and that work is not to be foiled, defeated and destroyed by men who know not our Master and love not his cause. We have been raised up by the Lord to be a mighty community. God has a mission for us, a great mission, and we are not to be defeated in it. That mission must be done. The Lord has put into our hands facilities for doing this great work, and he requires it at our hands. That work is simply to restore his own pure religion to the people of this generation, an

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“COME OUT OF BABYLON.”

“COME OUT OF BABYLON.”

THE Lord calls to his people wherever they may be scattered in Babylon, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.” We live emphatically in the time for extending this cry, and we must extend it. The warning to those in danger, is a most righteous and benevolent warning, and those who hear it shall praise God forever, that it has reached their hearts, and induced them to abandon the devoted city. There is no escape for one

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PREACH “FIRST PRINCIPLES.”

PREACH “FIRST PRINCIPLES.”

THERE is no telling the evils that have arisen in some old congregations, from preachers assuming that their audiences knew all about what are usually called first principles, and not preaching them. In this way, they never get their audiences to understand the principles of the gospel at all. They preach to their half-sleeping audiences, not hearers , some little, exhortatory sermon, of twenty-five or thirty minutes, and not a syllable is recollected two days. The people are thankful that the s

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DEVELOPING THE TALENTS OF THE YOUNG.

DEVELOPING THE TALENTS OF THE YOUNG.

WE must make an effort to bring out our young people. If they are brought into the church, and not employed any way, not induced to do anything, nor in any way made useful, one half of them will be led off into the world again. A bishop who understands this matter, will engage not simply the attention of the young, but their ability, whatever it may be, and bring it out. We fell in company with a bishop of this kind a few evenings since, on the cars, who informed us, if our memory is not at faul

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WHAT A PREACHER MUST BE.

WHAT A PREACHER MUST BE.

HE must be earnest. Men who preach the gospel of Christ must be earnest. They must not trifle with the gospel and the souls of men. The theme is too vast, the responsibility too great and the issues too momentous to be treated in a careless, indifferent and prosing manner. The idea of a man speaking of questions of life and death, eternal happiness and eternal misery, the glories to be revealed at the appearing and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the terrible destruction that shall be the d

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THEORY AND PRACTICE.

THEORY AND PRACTICE.

IT is one thing for a man to say he is for the Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible, and it is quite another thing to learn and practice some of the first and clearest lessons of the Bible. The only authority there is in the Bible for preaching the gospel at all, requires that it be preached in all the world—to every creature. Yet, strange to say, the first thing many seem to think of, and the only thing, is the mere vicinity where they reside. They are frequently few, weak and uninf

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THE CONVERTING POWER.

THE CONVERTING POWER.

MEN are talking of justification by faith alone ; but the main trouble is, that they have no faith. They have no confidence in the gospel, the power of God. They have no confidence in preaching the cross of Christ, the power and wisdom of God. They have no confidence in preaching Christ to save the world. They never preach Christ with any animation—any spirit or power. They have deserted God’s ordained power to save men, and are dealing out their insipid theories of spiritual influence, their vi

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IMPERFECT MEDIUM FOR A PERFECT REVELATION.

IMPERFECT MEDIUM FOR A PERFECT REVELATION.

HUMAN language, perfect or imperfect, is the only medium through which a revelation to man ever was or ever can be made. We do not claim for the medium that it is perfect, but the revelation itself is perfect. The imperfection of language and instability form the occasion for new translations and revisions. Revelation, when first given to man, was perfect and the language employed to convey it to the mind of man answered the purpose. In the providence of God, the original languages through which

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OVERLOOKING HUMBLE BUT GOOD MEN.

OVERLOOKING HUMBLE BUT GOOD MEN.

WE have lately been reflecting upon an opportunity for doing great good perfectly within our reach, to which many are paying but little attention. Who among our brethren are thinking how many humble, unassuming and comparatively obscure men we have, who are actually doing a great work, and not only doing it at their own charges, but doing it without thanks or even credit from their brethren? While we are paying much attention to a few men of popularity, influence and fame, we are overlooking a l

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SUGGESTIONS TO A YOUNG SCEPTIC.

SUGGESTIONS TO A YOUNG SCEPTIC.

A young gentleman had called for the reconciliation of certain points in the New Testament narratives, which, to his mind, seemed incongruous. After noting each of the points separately, in the A. C. Review , for May, 1859, the editor added: BUT , my dear sir, the reconciling what to you may be apparent discrepancies, is no reason for your becoming a Christian; nor should you think me unable to reconcile them, or should I really be unable to reconcile them, or should all men be unable to reconci

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DIALOGUE ABOUT THE PREACHER.

DIALOGUE ABOUT THE PREACHER.

THE following dialogue between Dr. Pietus and Dr. Fastidious, occurred in a social company, in a parlor, and, thinking it might be profitable to some brethren, and even churches, we have concluded to publish it entire, without recommending or condemning it; therefore, we let it speak for itself: Dr. Fastidious. —I have, for some time, desired an opportunity to say a few words, though confidentially to you, Dr. Pietus, touching our preacher. I think he is not a suitable man, for such a prominent

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“THE LOVE OF CHRIST CONSTRAINS.”

“THE LOVE OF CHRIST CONSTRAINS.”

THE preachers who love Christ better than partyism, will preach Christ, will call the people to Christ, and induce them to love him, and love all that do love him. They will inquire his will, and do it. They will exchange the love of party for the love of Christ, and find it so much higher, holier, purer and happier, that they will ignore all party feuds, wrangling and strifes, and maintain simply “the faith once delivered to the saints.” No doctrinal corrections, or corrections in ordinances, o

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CONCLUSION OF THE YEAR.

CONCLUSION OF THE YEAR.

DEAR Reader, we are now about closing another year. This number completes our weekly visits for another year. The time appears short since we made the first visit this year, still, fifty-two weeks have run their course. Another year has fled, and is now numbered with the years before the flood. The good deeds of the righteous are entered on the records of eternity, to come up to their everlasting honor in the day when the righteous judge shall award to every man according to his works. Not only

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