Page018

Page018

18 -, TH ~: ii: PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN. '


of the', whole Chris tian Church, through a ll


ages. must be incapab le of framing a cr eed, ­which


has any binding , authority wh at soever


beyonditsatrietagreementwit b th e only infal;


lible directory. , J ust rso far, and no larther,


th an ; t ex presse s truly th e ideus, sentime nts,


principles and doctrin es . of th e Bible; ca n it


claim respect. Hut who sha lf judg e of its


agreement or disagreemeut with th e great


standard? Every man for himself in the fear


and love ofGod. And what if a ma il hon est­ly


concludes that a creed is Inconsistent with


th e Bihl e ? L et him rest in th at concl usion. ­If


he differ from his brethren, wh o are satis­fied


with it, so materially us to disturb th e


pence of th e c hurc h, let h im q uie tly retire, If


the differen ce be unimportant, le t all go to ­ge


tpe r with ou t strife. I f t he di ssenter will be


come ntious, ' let him be desired to withdraw;


and, if he will not wit hdraw after a fair hear ­ing


, let his brethren withdra w Irom him. Bu t


let there be no excolnmunic uticns, nor ana ­themas,


nor wr ath aga inst a man for opinion's


sak e. I do not th er efore den oun ce the use of ,


cr eeds. They are well e noug h, ioell used.: «


Abused, they ure full of ab omination and mis­ch


ie f. When auy body of christ ians des ire to


draw up , in a systematic, com pre he nsive for m,


a s ta teme nt of wh at they believe th e Bible


to teach , for th e sake of co nve nience lllKl a


good understanding,', holding th eir c ree d 111­way


s subject to a candid co mpariso n with th e


Bible, and always subordinate to it, let them do


so. ' I, lor one, will mllke no objection . Uut


if a hu man , Iocument of th is so rt is to ue se t


ab o ve tb e nible- if it is to be held so snc red


. a nd infal lib le, that flO Ulan mllY innocen tly


c/ llI it in qu estion- if it is to he idolized a nd


howed down to w iih a slavish lind su persti­tio


us d evotion - ifit is to be mlld e a n iu st ru ­ment


of eccles ias tica l / lnd religi ous ty ranny­jf


it is to be nsed as a door int o th e kingd om


o f hea ven , ~ o he ope ned lind s hill at th o will '


oflilllible keep ers "':"' let it p erish !- Iet iqlave a n'


untimely bi rth, or iful read y grown llucient, '


lut it go down s peed ily to a disho nored grave.


I ahhor all s uc h ga lling bon ds lInd feller s . , I


lIeliev. e th e Billie lilrnish es a li- il! falli ble direr­~


o ry of r, eli gious filith / 1m] practice; and thu t


no creed, confessi on, formul1l , 01' direct ory, ­pnrporting


to be drawn the re fro m" is of uny


diviue authority over the minds a nd - co n ­'


sc iences of me n. '


THE PRA0CT- ICAL CHRISTIAN. lUe n d oll/ . July 1, 1840.


SHUN T llE SNARES.


How lJIony yo uug peopl~ of hoth sexes ar e


annually allured to cities and popUlous p laces


by pr ospects{ l f pro fita blu husin ess, 0 1' ofprom.


ising situations! Alm ost ' eve ry towu lind


neighborhood in the country furuish es its qu o­ta


of th is conscription. How willingly, too,


do most par ent s co nsent to let theN- so ns lind


daughter s go a nd seek th eir for tune ! And


how few fath er s and moth er s consil! er th e


dangers to whi ch t he ir offsl; ri llg thns ex pose


them selves! There are, ind eed , dan ger s eve­ry


wh ere- at- home, ~ s well as ahr'oad- " in the


void wa ste; as in th e c ity full ." But the snares


_ of vice, and pollution" and infamy ar e mor e '


numerous, an d more deceitful, in pop ulou s


plac es th an in rnrnl abode s. There the Ser- '


pent spreads his wil es i'n every - trea ch eron s


form ; and th ere victims ar emultiplied. Ther e


cunning, and fra ud, ' and forc e, in' th e foul


bands of iniquity" , are brou ght to benr with


dreadful su ccess on un su sp ect, ing cr edulity


and helpless innocenctJ. Could on e- ball' he


told ' ~ f , the infern al art s, and aho minabl e


ft, leans, by which the ra nk s of infamy are re­cruited,


parents iu th e country would sh~ d der


at the bare proposition ofsend ing th ~ ir chil ­dren


i~ to seaports, and citi es, lind populous


towns, 10 obtain good situations. And es pec­ially


would mothers never con sent th at th eir'


)' oung daughters should leav e the paternal


roof, for a city residence, even with t~ e bright­est


worldly prospect s, without, at least, giving


them the most faithful counsels and warnings.


, But parellls are geJlerally ignorant of these


dangers, or careless and indifferent with re­spectto


them. One pl ead li necessity, another


advanlf!. ge, and , another laudable; auxiety to put


tbeir c hildre n for ward in th e 0 world j whilst


the vanity ofyouth is , impa. tient for the novel'-'


il'y , gaie ty an d multiform exr. itemenl of city life .


Alas! th ey know not " that th e dead are there,"


. and th e feet of th ose " whose steps tok e , hold


on hell." When we cons ider that thousands


are descending every year into a pr emature


grave- hur ried aw ay by th e disease an d rot­tenness


of prostitution- the inquiry arises,


wh ence th e snpply ?- whe nce the new drafts


torill up th ese vaca nc ies ? Oh, th e hearts that


are wrung with unutterable anguish lit the


loss of deal' childreu, - once innocent, an d


lov, ely, and promising ! They went to service,


or 10 learn a trade, 0 1' se t up bu siness in the


city. The ru sticity of countr ified manners


ga ve pl ace to th e smartness ofcitifled ' fa sh ion.


' I'h e rose bloomed ill a happier ga rdetl - the


lilly flourish ed in a more en vious position­and


for a'litUe while all was au spi cious. But


the " evil ey e" was fasten ed upon th em- e- the


pander, the seducer, th e villainous tvrn ch.- the


wolf in sheep's clothing- the angel of satan in


a robe of Iigh t- accolII pllsh ed their de- true-


, tion, and plunged them illlo th e depths of


hopeless ruin . Ar e we dealing in fi ci i ou s?~


Nay, in - d oleful realities ! There istho victim


of subtle flattery , perfid y and fa lse Itffectio n. ­Hereis


one, wick edly entrapped int o the den


01 pollution and d1' lLgg ed, threatened, forced


into, compliance wlth th e derminds of lawl ess


lu st. Yon der is ano ther gro dultlly co rru pted


hy th e pow er , of fash ion , and th e love of


umu sem eut- e- red uced to / I moral wreck , and


ready in tu rn to becom e th e destroy er of th e


simple. lUeonw hi le th e ungodly libertin e


( hilllself a po isoned corcllss ) str uts ut lurge, anl l


courts th e co nfid euce ofthe uncontam iuut e, as


ifh e ~ ve rethe priest ofdlUstity. Tlwse things


ar e a smoke to th e eyes, aud a stench to th e


nostr ils , ( If ~ i rt ue. ' Let no lillse delicacy


,; hrink from th is th eme, no fils tidi ou s refin e­ment


c ry, " fo rbea r ." The ev, j] is grell't. The


iniqu ity re, ach es IlIltO th tJ clou ds . There is a


cause. L et not th e watchmen he d umh"":" still


l e~ s cry , " pence, wh en the re is no peace."


Deal' young man, you ng woman- rny son,


my < Jllug htel; t/ lke heed to thy wnys ; shnn "


these lurkiug snares j ' filII not out by th e wny.


T hink well whither th ou goes t, wh o ~ re to be


- thyc iiln pllnions , anin " llUf'lJiall' be th]'; le end:


" I f thou wilt btl wise, th ou shu lt be wise for


thy sel f ; but if thou scor~ est, thou olon eshalt


benr, it."


P ar en ts- fi, th er s and mothers- we conjnre


)' ou to think how mu ch mor e necBssary inn o­ce


nce, vt rtue and a ' good con scien ce . a re to


YOllr childre n's happiness th an tb e 1II0st prom­isin


~ situntio us in th e thoroughfar es of vice. ­If


you se nd your ompring iuto cities lind pop ­nlous


pl ace~ to ac qn ire trad es, 0 1' pnl:'; ue any


landuble busin ess foi' li' live lihood, se nd th em


well informed and admon ished of th ei r danger .


See th at th ey havefriends, I'tal friend" neal'


them, and th at th eir ' inti ' nate associates are


not age nts of Darkn ess. May th e God of I; u­ri


ty mo ve all h is people to put on th e whole


armor of righteou sn ess agll in st all licenJious­ness.


" Hnve no fell owship with th e \ Infiouit­Ii'


I wOrlls of darkness, but rllth er reprove


them ."


" T HE T EMP ERANCE CAUSE ."


What has become of this CllURe ? Where is


the ze lll of hllndreds who formerl y follow eri


its sta nrlan l? "\ Vhile men slept th e ellemy


sowed tar es," was th e say ing of old. ~ V h l\ t is ,


th e ene my now doin~ in bur commnnity ? ­Is


he not sowi ng tar es ? it is no · dollht , true,


iha t Rome notorious gl'Og slands Rell less intox­icating


- liquor, tha n lust ye m', during th e "/ if­teen


gallon" ex c iteme ut. BUI is th er~ IIny Jess


drank ? Have not enoug h of th e old hlluuts


. been op en ed ev ery wh ere to su pply even an


, increased demand ? \ V e fear it is so. It be­hoves


ihe true temperance men of this pal' of


th e country to bestir th emsel ves. Intelligence


from oth er p'; ces, arId from Europe, an­nomices


new triumph s over th e demon of in­temperan


ce. , We mu st not be wholly inallen­tive


to th e good r. ause in our more immedillte


vieinity. Politic~' I ' exciternent is inrleel! lon l


of the ascen rlant for the present, an d will be


for som e time to come. Neverth eless, we


mu sl not be inactive. Laying aside all de!


penden ce on the fickl e power of human legis­lation,


we must end eavor to enforce - the ' law


oftiie living God by menns of moral d,! llnOn­stration.


After all the taunts thrown out by


some of our zealous brethren against the inef­ficiencylof


" moral luasion," it is the most'po­te


nt en gine which we cnn employ to qn en ch


th e fir es of the distillery. If it works slower


thun the co ercion of human governmeut- it is


truer and surer to the great end. L et U8 e n­deavor


to have a Ternperunce revival, and


never be di scou raged on account of the tide


whi ch s ets against us. Let th e truth be kept


in motion by ' the power of love, and , it will


pr evail. At pr esent we want ruore. power- i­mor


e genuine love. The wheel ceases to


move for want of , this power. \ Ve do no t


love the po or drunkard, and ihe drunkard


mak er, well eno ug h to weep over th eru, and


wa rn th em, and pray for them, and pull th em


out o f th e fire . \ V e ar e not ea rnest ' to sa ve


th em from destruction. 0 God, breat he into


our spiritua l nostrils the breath of life, thut


we m ny becom e livin g souls.


L ET'l'ER OF HR. FI SH.


The lett er of Br. Fish, publish ed a ll ou r 4th


page, was intended for No. 3, hilt has unfortu­nat


ely heen mislaid, , a nd crowded olll't ili rio w.


AltllOugh so urewhut Olll of' senson, we th ou ght


it best to publish it in th e present NO., III11J eon


but hop e that it will be , read with intere st • •


NAT IONAL ANT t~ SLAVERY STANDARD.


' This is th e titl e of a lar ge, ne w s hee t, th e


o rga n o f th e Ame r ican Auri- S lavery Society .


It is to be edlted: hy our tal ented and tru e ­heart


ed Br., NuthanielP. Roger s , now atte nd­in


g the World ' s Co nve n tion in Loudon. ~ t


tak es th e place of th e E uraucipator, which


WllS so metime since surreptitiollsly tak en aWllY


li'om th e A mel'ican A. S . Soeiety , lIud dev oted


to th e in ter et! ts o( what is tec hnicu lly clllled


" new org anized" Abolitionis llJ. The S lllud­11M


is a nohl e a nd rich look ing paper , contaiu­ing


severa l ar ticles of ste rliug a bil ity in th e


ed itor illl dep al'lw ent, and eve ry WilY eqlllll, if


no t s uperior , in ge ne l'lll , a ppea rallce to th e


E manc ipa to r iu its palmi est dllys. . It is to he


publish ed weekly at th e very low price of $ 2


per a nnum, iu ad\' auce. •\ Ve hope th at the


fi'lend l5 of th e Old American S ocie ry her e IIIHI


every wh er e will give it_ a prompt lind co rdial


su pport. \ V e s hllll he happy to recei ve uud


forward th e numes of su llscril llir s.


S IGN S O, F THE TI ~ I ES.


This 15 .. the titl e of a S1l1111l quarto serni ­mouthly


papel', puhlished in Boston, hy Dow


& J llck sou ; No. 14 Devonshire s t. It is de ­voted


chi efly to an ex pos ition of Ih e prophe.


c ies , ( accord ing to th e views of Ihe ' celebrmed


l\ lr. l\ liller, wh o hold s th at th e sec ond com ing


of C hris t will tak e ], hl cB in the ye ar 1843 . It


is ed ited hy our goo d fr iend IInrl Br. J. V.


Himes of Boston, wh o a ppea rs to l! a\' e ern ­hra


ced Mr. ' Mill er's peculiar opinions on thi s


s u bje~ t . \ V e have been very glad to possess


in th is paper th e mean s of knowiilg more def­in


itely th e views of 1\ Ir. Mill er co ncer ni ng the


expec ted eve nts ofl843. We give below an


e: drcu: l from a siateme nt of fi, ith drawn up hy ,


Mr. Mill er him self. It compreh ends all which


relates to th e pa rti cular poi nt IInde'r no tice. ­Br.


Himes and those who sy mpathize with


him will excnse us lor saying that we hav e not


ye t been converted to thi s' new ~ x P! lc ta ti o n of


th e coming of Christ. \ V e hav e , however , no


elispo sition to denounce or to ridi cul e ollr


hr ethren who look for th ese things. We be.


lieve th er e is hilt one sa fe ~ ro u n d filr all, ­wh


ich is to be ready always for the coming of


the S on of man. So our worthy Rr. mllst not


put A'ny thing we say into his" RefugeofSeof­f


e" s," as we hav e a great av ersion to a ll tho se


new fas hione d pillories- such as th e " Refirge


of Oppression ," th e " Refilge of Viol ence." & c.


MR. ~" LLE R ' S FAIT H .


" I beli eve, that the scriptures rev'eul IInto liS


in plain language, that J esu s Chris t will \ 1 1' ­pear


again on thi s earth , thut he will corn e in


th e glory of God, in th e clou. ls of hellveil with,


all his saints amI a nge ls, that he will raise the


dead hodi es of all his sa ints who hav e sle pt,


chunge the hOll ies of all that ar e aliv e on


th e ear th tha t nre his, and both of these living


and l'lIised sa ints will be ca ug ht \ lp to meet th e


Lorll in the air. Ther e th e suints will he


jllllged and pr esented to the Father with out


spot or w'rinkle. Then th e gosp el killl!. lom


will he / Ziven IIJltO God th e - Father. Then


will th e F ather I!' ive th e hrid e to th e Son J e­SUs


Christ, anll when the mar riage tak es place,


th e church will hecome the " New J erusalem."


th e ' '' be l ~ ved cit)'.", And while this is per­forming


in the air, ' the earth will be cle ansed


by fir e, the elements will melt with ferv ent


heat, the works of men will he destroyed, the


bodies of the WIcked will be hurned to ash es,


t! lc devil and 1111 e~ o iJ spiritl'!, with th e sonls


, and spiri ts of those JlIO have r ejected the gos­pel,


will he ban ished 1' 1' 0111 the ea r th, shut' Ull


in th e pit or pla ce prepa red for th e de vil and


his ange ls, and will not he permitted to visit


th e earth again until a 1000 years. This is


the fir st resurrecti on and first , judgment.-'


Theil Christ lind his peopl e will COllie down


from th e heuveu s, or middl e ai r, and live with


h is sa ints on the new ear th ill a new heaver.


or di sp eu sati on forever, even for ever and ever.


This will he the restitu tion of the right owners


to th e eart h.


Then will th e promise ofGod to his Son be


accompllsed- s- vl will gi ve hill, th e heathen for


h is inheritunc e, and th e utmost pnrts of the


ear th for his pos session." Then " the whole


ea r th shall he full of his gl ory." And then


will the holy people tllke possession of their


joiut heirship with Chris t; and , hi s promise


he verified , " thellleek sha ll inh erit th e earth,"


lind th e ki ngdom of God will hav e come, and


" h is will he don e in ea rth as in heav en ." Af­ter


a 1000 years shall have passed away. the


sa in ts will a ll be gat hered and e ncampe d - in


th e beloved city . T he se a, deuth a 1111 hell


will gi ve up th eir dead, th ey will rise tip on


th e br eadths of th e ea rth out of th e - city, II


greut co n' pany like the sa nd of the sea s hore.


The devil ~ ill he let loose , 10 ~ o ou t and de­cei


ve this wick ed hosr, He will te ll th ern of


It battle aga inst th e sa in ts, th e he lov ed c ity j_


he will gllthe r them ill jhe bnnle aro u nd th e


camp of th e sa ints, nu ~ th ere iNno haule, ­th


e devil hasdeceived them. The su in rs ' will


judge them , th e just ice of Gorl will drive them


from th e enrth into th e lak e of fire and brim­ston


e , wher e th ey will he tormented day and


\ light, for ever nnd eve r . " This is th e second


death ." Afier th e second re surrectiou. und se c- ,


a nd judgm ent, th e righteous will th en possess


th e earth forevor.


I und erstand the j udg me nt lIay will he a


tholl slln, 1 yellrs lon g. The ri ght eous llI'e mi sed


and Ju etged in th e coui llle llpe me llt of that day,


th e wiclled in th e e nd o f lha t dllv . I heli eve


thut th e slIili rs will be rai sed a nrl Jlldged ah out


th e year 184; 1. Accordi ng to !\ loses ' I'rophe­"


y, Levit. 26, Ez ek, 39, Dm, iel 2 , 7,8 10 12


chu p. H o~ e ll 5: 1- 3, Rev . th e wh ole hook,


IIIlllly oth er prophets ha" e s poke n o f these


things. Time will soo n le ll if I ! l1II right ', and


, so ou he th ut is righteous will he righr f" ou s s till,


And he tlmt is filthy will he fillh y s lill. 1,10


1lI 0~ t so il'llInly entrell t Hllml, illlJ to HIlII; e lh eir


pBllee willi God, be rearly for th esu things. ­"


T lie end of all th ings is at · hand." I do ask


my hr~ thren iIi Ihe gnspe l miu istry, to co nsid ­e


l' well wh at th ey sa y beli're th ey oppose


th esu tbin i! s. Sa y uot in , y ou r h Bllrt~, " my


Lord de, lnyet ll his co rn ing-." L etn" dOllS they_


wonld wish th ey had ifit d oes COlllc, lIl1fl uon8


will say th ey have not done right if it does not


come . I heli eve it will com e ; Inll if it shonhi


' nnt .. orn e, th en r will wllit and lonk nn til it


does , eUlne . Y et I IlInst pmy, " l: ollle, Lord


J esu s , cOllie qni ck Iy." "


• T HE RE.' ORMER.


This is th e nnme of a ver y spil'it eel and in­teresting


J. inle pup er, pnhlisb eel semi- monthly


lit Worcester, loy Joseph S . Wull. Through


the kindness of our worthy frieud Wall,' WB


hav e receiv ed almost th e emire file of Vol. I ,


which ha s now reach eel No. 12. It is rea ily


a good work- full of wh nlesom e "" 1' 1' 001' and


souud doctrine. It s ee llll\ to be u principal


desi gn of th e work 10 point out 1II111 correct


som e illiportnnt delinquen cies of th e Religious


' S oc iety of Friend s or Qnak ers, trlor e espe c­ially


in resp ect lU th eit', testilllony IIgainst Sla­very,


\ V ar , & c. The puhlisher, if we a re not


mislllken , is a memhel' , of that Society, and


feels call ed by a~ sense of duty to mise his


voice IIgninst what he cons irlcrs th e hapkslid­ings


of h is denominution. He hns th e s, l'mpa­th


y lind assistance of quite a n\ lmber of


Frienll s, who rlep lore t'he pr esent attitude of


th eir re ligio us Order in relation to the reforms


of. th e day. Am ong th ese, William Bassell,


of L ynn, is conspicuo us . ' Ve regard the, So_


ci ety of Friends with no lillie ven erntion, on


nccount of the clearnf'ss and fid elity of their


early testimonies to some of th e gre at duties


of prncticlIl Christ ianity, which th e mass of


th e degen ernt e chu rch had qnite di sr. arded


an n cQlltemned. It would appeal' , however,


th at th e present gen er ati on of Qnukers, tho'


embrncing in th eir church many of th e excel­lent


of th e ellrth, hav e become mor e " vorldly


t~ an their devoted an cestors, and are, now too


much concel'lJed for th eir ea se and reputation'


, as a people, to encounter the odinm ofactive


and un compromising moral reform . So the


Reform~ r represen ts them, and we nre afraid


with too mu ch trmh. lfso, it is only accord­ing


to the course of hur ilan natllre. Haviug


flilfi lied their mis& ion, an~ 1 sowed the seeds of


a ge ne ra l reformation among Christ ians, thro'


all the perils of contempt and persecution, they


have at length hecome comrlllratively popular, '


wealthy and formal. , Ju st ' in proportion al


th ey are conformed to thi s world , th ey are in ·


d


1


, I

Page 18 from Volume 1 of The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840