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Page064

G4 THE PRA CTICAL CHRIST IAN.


ROlld er, what is thy life- how soon its end


' Vere yon about to remove frolll your nativ


lund , to seek a hom ~ in a foreign countr:


\ vilh what deep solicitude would yOll contem


plate this removal, iltJd how illlx ious ly waul,


yo u prepa re for it. AIll] a re yOll not soon


remove, nevel' to return, and nre all things '


rellllilless? Have you lin inh er itan ce and


dwellill g for YOlll' everlas ting hallie ill thai


world ? Pout:', pondcr und b ~ wise to. day.


mid st- for pure devotion, for simplicity, for


meekn ess, for long- suffering, for chur ity, for


acti ve exe rt ions to hriug rne n to love God and


one unoth er. lf these" fruit s of th e S pirit are


not manifest, wc shullnotlook upon them as


Christian R eformer s. Such men ca n no t


meet th e demands" of human nature. See as


milch wr oug us th ey may in Churc h and ,


Slate, th ey lire not the prophets of God. ­A...


class of nobl er soul s than they must rise up


before tile world will be , enlighrened and re­gen


erated. ' 1' 0 accompllshthls work, we must


have men who believe in a .' I: Iinistr. IJ, a Church,


a Sabbath- not false indeed, but true- not


earthly, but heavenly.


We ure, however, happy to be abl e to say,


that the writer of th e letter which hns elicited


th ese rem arks, is not of the numbcr who mere­ly


uim at th e subversion of old institutions,


curillg little whether they ure superseded by


divine ones 01' not. He would not have men


lIegl.. ct th e ussemhling th e msel ves together


for religi ous worship, hut call th em. 10 the ob­servance


of what he deem s a 1II0re spir itual


limn than that which is now observ ed , All


meetings, we suppose , he would have con­vened


into whut ure called ' confer enc e meet­illgrl.'


• And in such meetings we ce rtain ly


have greut lilith, · when conducted in u proper


manner, ' Vithotlt them we indeed doubt


wh eth er any brnneh of the Church can pros­per


( spiritually) as it ought. And w e shall be


glad to hear that th ose who feel culled to en­gage


in thi s work of ref01'/ 11 , lire succeeding in


theil: efforts to advanee the Hede emer's king­dom.


I f there is a mor e effectual way to


bring men und er th e influ ence of th e' gospe l


. of peace, thun th e. on e to whi ch our brother


has suc h ser ious obj ections, we hope to see it


adopted , thon gh it destro y a strictly profes­sionnl


, Il1illist': IJ. Alld we would es pec ially


reetllllmeud our / i'ionl! s, in tliffer ent places,


who nrc without II pastor of th eir liking, lind


who (~ lInnot conform to th e T elllflie sc rvice in


th eir \' icinity, to seriollsly co nsiclel' thi s sub­j


e!" t. Christ hilS promisl'd tllllt where two or


three Illeet t0l! ether ill hi s lIame, there will he


he in thdr midrlt j- alld God ce rtllinly visits


such all asser;-; W}'~!! g~ B:? m his


presence.' Let none, therelure, rcm hin \ 0 , Ill;


out social worship- and let every olle lahor to


realize his OWII ieleul, his own lilvorit e malIc.


1/ mell ollly Him to he trll e nlld tlJ m1du\. oth.


ers so- if they do not renOllll c e faith in


Christillllity, in rellounciug cel'win forms;' hut


continue zealous fnr the cOllversioll und per.


fection of the world, we shall rejoice ill their


effort I.'.


But we ar e illolin ed to think thllt (' onference


m eelings ulone- at least sllch olles as we


' should at pr esent have- will not lIIeet the


spil'ilnul wants of th e people. There are


sOllie who conld u ot he illdnced to attend


th em, nnd who could not be I'eueh ed hy them


if they should. Could sueh meetings he SUfi'


plied wilh three 01 ' four ;; peak ers, who could


interest a con gr egatiun- sp ellkers superior ( in


heavenly wisdom) to the gen erality of the cler.


gy, th cir success would be certaill, IIndu'uth


lint! righteousness ahound. Alld we conlesli


thut we are lookin g 1i) l"\ vllrd with anxiety to I


per ioil when we s h~ 1I sec snch II state 0( 1


things. To sit often ill a congregat ion where


we cOllld heal' enlightened IIl1d pure meo,


breathe fhrth their pray ers, 1II11111tter th eir bur.


nillg lind divin e thonghts, we sho uld esteema


great pri vilege- Illueh gr eater than nlliform


Iy to hellr . aile speuk from the pulpit. Th


Fl · iends'. mod e of worship, with th e additio


ofspiritulll singing, ( unll more sp ellking,) \ V


shollid he satisfi ed with. Aliel we have fait


to helieve that if we Iive . long, it will , he ou


pri vilege to enjoy it. But then ohj ection


lIIay be nrgel! uguinstthis, nnd we . shall pro


ably con sider one or [ WO thut naturnllyari


in some future pap er . F or the pr esent, hal!


evcr, we must forheur. ' V e fear we have


cupied too IIIl1ch space alreafly. w. H. F .


seem s to be passing from them . The bigotry


which th ey hav e manifested, is ~ v o rk i n g out


its OWII retribution, and th ey evid ently trembl e


for the result. Nor arc we fe arful resp ecting


the uttack s that are being made 111' 011 th em. ­Truth


will never die out of the world jand


we shall never he desti iut e of a gos pel minis­try.


God is not a Gall that was, and is no


longer- nor hashe fors uken mankind. His


spirit still moves lipan the hearts of th e failh­ful,


and is every where commending- i-- Let


there he light,' and light is breaking in up on


us. Into every pure ' soul He shines as upon ,


the ang els of his blessed presence. Ancl we


read , in th e written word, of a time when ' ev­ery


man shall not say to his ueighbor- c-' Know


ye th e L ord , for all shull know him, from th e


least to the greates t,' Muy that time husteu. '


But we believe it is because th ~ re has been


su ch un exc lusive dep end en ce upon ministers


that th ere areso few who lire capable of en­lighten


ing the ign orant, encourag ing th e peni­tent,


comforting th e mourner, and inspiring


hope in the dying- so few heralds of salva­tion.


The many even in tile church hav e tho't


it presumptuous to aspire to' such all office,


and have been content to rec eiv e their kn owl­edge


at second hund- oHen through u man


less tru e than themselv es. But through J esus


Christ, it may he re ce ived directly from God,


by every individual soul. The infinite Furher


is no re spe cter of persons, ! Jut enlightens all


men, in pr oportion as they npprouch to a re­semblance


of his beloved Sou. And he is a


minister of God to tiS, and he only, who sp eaks


to th e soul , and to whom the soul responds­nor,


does ii matter whether he hav e til e sa nc ­tion


' 01 great uie n lind synods or not. If the


spirit of the Almighty he upon him , we will


receive , him with all readiness, thou gh he


come to us in the gllrb of a ca rpelltel' 01' fish er­man-


uud with as much readiness as one in


bluck .


Ch erishing these views of the present min­istry,


we look with fuvOl' upon OUI' brothel'


C. G.' s snggestions. BIlt we are'not inclin ed


to go hardly so fiJI' as he does. H is impres ­sion


seems to be that it is not right to nphold


the pr, esent mod e of worship- es( lecially hy


taking the leud in it. Hut we thiuk some gooll


l'ell80ns may be offer ed 10 prove tile coIIIra ry •


The Suvlor it upp eal's som etimes took 1111 ac­tive


pnrt in the exercises of th e sy nugogue j


anll it is not wise to destroy old institutions,


unl ess we can Iluilcl up ne\"'" a nd Letter ones.


l\ 1uny of the relill" lllers of lhe present age,


however , ul'e al'l'uying th emsel ~ es aguin st what


they see to be imp erfe ct, without pointing out


n mor e excellent way. They the/ llselves can


dispense with th e instructions of the priest,


und Wilh all outwQl'd ceremonies and ordin­an


ces, and still ha ve spiritua l life- still walk


ewniltihghGteondeudn, dChherisstaiatins, fieUdO. I' aBntrtuheemiasnn, otwhan o•


does not COIISUIt the wants of Ilis fellow- he­ing~,


and do ~ Il a t Ile may to leud ( Ilem wllere


tlley cun fincl' a snpply for th ose wants. NOlO


IlIlve wc milch lilith in uny one who ahund'ons


th e prevailing form s of Chrislinnily, und as a


religionist, lives a life of sce lnsion- ne vel' as­semhling


Wilh his fellow beings for ' social


worship. Ifsuch men havoreully ontgl'own


the opinions lind pr actices of tho se uround


them, and refeivefl grente r light, let them man­ifest


this by tlleil' Jahol's of love. In this re­spect


the ap ostles would cel'tuinly be u good


exan: ple for them. T hey found Christ, and


lea ving JUllaistlJ behinll, forsook kiudl'ed an ll


friends, houses and land s, und went into lhe


world to preach the gosp el to every cr eaturc,


un~ to establish u new ol'dcr of things. Let


tho se \ vho think th ey huve ohla ined some thing .


bett er thun th eil' cotellliiora ries, imit ate the, ir


se lf- sac rificing zeal and hen evolen ce, tllat they


may diffu se their prinl: iples, ullli th en they / IIuy


do well for HU/ llanity, und be confid ed in us


the ser vants of God. ' V ith such so uls wc


have fellowship, but not with tho se who a re


distin gui sh ed mel'cly as dissenters and destmc­tives,


nor can we bid them , God speecl. Be­lil


re they I'ecomlllend themselv es to onr con­'


science and symputhies, wo HlIl St see th at


ulllon g th elll and in th eir insti tuti olls, those


' who labor lind are heuvy ludeu' with th e SOI' ­rows


of ea l'th, ' li nd rest.' ' Ve must know


that th ey not only endeavor to mak e u few


good minds better , hnt that th ey look aft er tile


lost, tile fallen, anll s llccee d in reforming them .


' Ve shall look for gl'eat excelleuc ies in th eir


1 feel a desire to enjoy perfect freedom to


worship Gall as he makes kn own to me- us


he by his Spirit 0I0\' CS me to worship him . ­Whether


it be at th e foot of th e lon ely mann­mill,


with the br oad canopy over my head,


or ' in a temple marle with hands; . whe ther it


be in th e liun ily circle, or in dealing with my


fellow bein gs, on all occ asions, I want to real­ize


that th e spirit has freedom- freedom to do


that to which it inclines, not conforming to


the fashions and will of mun.


Feeling thus in resp ect to myself, shall I not


( so far us 1 can) extend the same privilege to


my brother? I a rnuwa re that this principle


carried out will produce a grea t change in th e


c h urc h. Alld is not a great change needed?


Is not th e present practice o f denying the


Spirit liberty, on e of the greatest obstacles to


th e spread o f the pure gosp el ? Will it not be


admitted that the kin gdom of heaven would


soon prevail ifall worship were so conducted


that every individuul might sp eak as God


should give him uuerance P Ifso, what is our


duty? Cun we any long er directly uphold


the pr esent mode of worship ?- cnn we e,: er


toke the lead 01 II meeting, or be engaged in


th e support of one in whi ch every inclividual


has not the libert y to worship God us his con ­sci


enc e may di ctate? In deciding th ese ques­tions


in our minds, let us be careful not to


qu ench the Spirit, by heing swayed by pre­vailing


cu stom. Let ti S not think fOI' one mo­ment


that we can rio more good in any WilY in


whi ch we ar e required to sacrifice thi s great


and fundamental principle of the gospel. For


the establishment ' of thi s in christendom,


would he an effectua l remedy for ' sectari an ­ism.


The Quaker , the Meth odist, the Trini­tarian


nud the Uuitarian,- all parties, in short,


might worship side by side,- und thut too


' witho llt giving np a s ingle tenet of their theol­ogy.


This I believe th e Spirit of the Lord


teach es. I hope, my fd ell ets, you will cons id -


this Sllbject. ' c . ll.


, '. ( To be continued.) ---- RF.~ IA RKS ON c . G.' s LETT F. R~ MI NISTnY & c.


The letter of ' C . G.' is th e suhstance of whut


th~ writ er wa~ desirolls of sayin-; i'to his- br eth­ren


nnd sistel'l!, at our last Quarte~ ly Confer­ence;


but as the way did not then open, he


has forw urd ed it for publicution in the ' I'racti­('-


31 Christian.' It see ms that the impre15sion


is Ileeply scat ed in his mind, th at a chunge is


neelled in our populur mod e of worsh ip. Ho


often find s him self iu holltluge to, cu stom, even


in th e hou se of God. The privil eg e is not al.


lowed him to utt er his convi c'tions, when fe el ~


, "


ing it to he his dllty to do so. This he thinks


is ' quellching · . the sl' irit.' He would like per.


mi~ sion to speuk to his fellow beings him self,


wherever, for religious pllrposes, they may be


assemblcll, and huve all oth ers tak e the same'


liberty. This will be con sid el'ed hy many ve­ry


ultra. Still ' we are ' glad to see am ollg our


luy brethl'en th e munifestation of a desire fOI'


n/ orlll. It is a c hee ring s ign that they begin


to feel tlmt they, as well as milli~ ters, have a


mission to th'e lost- that th ey are , culled to


preach the gosp el. ' Ve hop e thelj will not


' quetich th e spirit,' bnt so improve it, and theil'


n atlll" l~ 1 talents, and opportunities to obtain all


neces sary informution, that soon we may see


them laoorinti with eminent sn cc ess in the


vi_ neyard of th eir Master . And we hav e greut


confidence in many ofthem. Men who come


to us ' from th e work shop and the plough, will


do so because th ey ~ ave so met h i n ~ to say- a


word of the Lord bearing up on their heurts,


whi ch we need, and whi ch not a few are anx­iously


waiting to hear. The pi'ofcssiollal cler­gy,


as a body, have ,. so fur degen erated fi'om .


apostolic fuithfuln ess, and ar e so milch can.


101' med to corrupt institutions and customs,


that we huve no donht thnt God, liS former'ly ,


is now choosin g ' the foolish th ings of th o


world ( things accounted foolish) to confollnd


the wise, and weul, thin gs ofthe worlll to con­found


th e mighty, and things whi ch a re de­spised,


yea, and thin gs whi ch ar e not, to hrin g


to nought thin gs that are j that noflesh shollld


glory in his pl't'sellce.'


TJ ; e IIpostie Paul sail! to his brethren: ' We


prellch not ourselves, hilt Christ J eslls, and


ourselves YOllr se rvants for J esu s' suke j' hilt


many of . h is nominal suece~ ors hllve seat ed


themselves in high pillces to be obeyed, and


rul ed us with a rod of iron. Theil' ' stuff of


accomplishment,' however; th eir auth oril. y,


POETRY.


ORIGINAL M:! SOELLANY,


A LETTER TO MY CH RIS T IAN FRIENDS.


Quetlch not the Spirit.


I know not, my friends, of uny niore


importunt advice th an this of the apos­tle


j- unless, indeed, it be to ; eek the spirit.


And I PUl'pO~ at this tim e to include in my


exhortation, a fcw of the many ways in whi ch


men can und do que nc h th e S piri t that str ives


80 often ' with them- agreell1g with John th at


we ou ght first to try every spir it to ascertain


w hether it be of God. The first thut I shull


notice, ISdenying the liberty of the Spirit. ­'


Wher e the spirit of the LOI'd is,' says an ap os.


tie, ' thero is liherty.' wh: it th en is the true


liberty of the si' irit of God as mau! fested to


0111' soul? I sha ll enlllm\' or to spea k from my


own experience , and leuve oth ers to jullge lor


themse lves. And \ vherev er I am, my friend s,


Brothe r Bullou .:


I send you an extra ct for


the paper, from api ece written hy Jane' Toy­lor,


entit led ' The ' Vorlll in th e House,' which


10 Illy minel contains I, uony im portant truths


of the Gosp el. c. G.


Pilgrims, who journey in the narrow way,


Sho. uld go as little cumber'd as they may.


' Tis heavy sailing with a freighted ship,


' Tis pleasant travelling with a staff'and scrip.


Gold clogs the path, dispose it how we w'iII ;


Makes it fatiguing, as we climb the hill.


And ' ti s but ' here and there you may descry


The[ carool p! ssillg tbrotlgh the needles' eye.


< Love not the world'- most merciful decree,


That makes its friendship enmityto Thee!


Oh, if God had not said it, did r know


S omo way to bliss through ' luxury and Sl10W,


Might I have ' followed Christ to heaven' s door,


' Vith :; old and purple, in my coach and four;


I dare not chee se it- I would rather wait


A safer convoy at the rich man's gate.


[ After describing the character' of a worldly


professor, his household and manner of living, en­joyment


& c. she adds-


Bnt happier he, who views the toys of time


From loftier beights, from regions more sublime,


Who walks with God while yet he sojournshere,


His hopes still climbing to a ~ righter sphere.


Is he of wealth lind earthly gooas possessed]


He takes heaven' s bounty with a cheerful zest.


His quarrel with the world you might not note


Frern texture, cut , or color of his coat;


For studied plainness, whether dress or speech,


Defeat the very end it aims to reach.


And yet on all he has there stands imprest


, One truth conspicuous, ' Th is is not my rest. '


From that divine remembrance ever s!, rings


A mod er~ ted care for, otller things;


Pilgrim and stranger in a desert spot,


He hoiJs them all as tho' he held them not.


Peace, order, comfort, in his household reign,


And more than this he seeks not te obtain.


His mansion, furnished in ne costly sty1e,


Oft makes his tllsty ' nei:; hbors stare and smile;


But THAT unnoticed and. unllv, mgBd he . bears,


Unless, it be, sometimes, to smfle on theirs.


His neat, plain parlor wants our modern air,


Out comCort smiles in every object there.


Religion here, in all her nativJ grace, •


I' Shines out serene in every heart and face;


Nor e'er is banished, tho ~ pursuits may claim


Attention oft, that do not bear her name.


' fhus he adorns the doctrine he avows-


Th• • in the fear of God he / Wide. hi. house,


And while it prospers, that memorial word,


" T he !' oor arc always with you,' still is heard.


None there, like L AZARUS, unregarded wait,


flince each expensive pleasu re is denied, .


Whi ch while it starves the needy, pampers pride.


l\ 1anycondemn his plan, and many deem


He carries t hings to an absurd extreme.


' I'hink he might live in style, nnd yet afford


A decent crumb from his superfluous board:


still there were other poor, and still the sums


That style would cost, might furnish other crumbs.


" Ti. thus he argues, thus that order reads,


" Sell all thou hast, and gi\\ e to him that needs.'


At thnt hard saying, many turn away ;


Let him who can, receive it, and obey.


Oh, for asoul magnanimous, to Ilnow


Poor world, thy littleness, and let thee go!


Not with a gloomy, proud, ascetic mind,


, T hat loves thee still, and only hates mankind;


RevjJrse the line, and that my temper be:


To love mankind, and pour centempt on thee !


\

Page 64 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840