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76 THE PRACTICAL CHR[ STIAN',


ORIGINAL mISOELLANY. in those who crowd the factories, the work­shops,


the kitchens, the wharves, the fields- in


short, lIl! lIost every department of the busi­ness,


even of our own enlightened New Eng­1111111


!


There is certainly not much hope that those­thus


doomed to servitude will ever ris'e out of


the earthly into the heavenly nature- even


rise to that glorious resemblance , of God to


which they are Gulled, until tl. is outward and


mighty pressure is lifted from them, AmI


great will be thereward orthat man who la­bors,


in the spirit ofChrist, for the accomplish­ment


of this purpose. But he who willingly


does aught to perpetuate , the present body and


soul killing'sture ofsociety, rnuch 1II0re to make


it worse aud worse, must yet render an acount


of himself'to his owu concience and his God,


which will be to him as a sword deeply pierc­ing


his heart, The langunge which be will


heur will , be the decisive and solemn Ian­guage-"


Depart froru me, ye workers of ill­iquity:"-


nlld whether' it filII upon the out­ward


ear in an audible voice frour the " throne


of the Eternal, 01' be heard within, from the


recesses of a selfish and guilt- stained sou I, the


doom "~ ill he the same. hi either case, it will


be " indignlltion and wrath, triLuluiion nnd an­guish."


And rather than do aught to increase,


iu any way, lilly ofthe species of'slnvery which


prevail in our country, _ it would be better for


us to be without a plnce of onr own, in which


to, lay our heads, and go down to ou~ gr; ves


unhonored and unwept. Christiurriry throws


its broad shield of protection over the poor,


and its great author says of those who nppress


them, and grow rich upon their necessities,-" lt


were better thllt a millstone were hllnged ubout ­their


necks, and they drowned in the depths of


the sea," ' han tll: l\ they should be thus guilty.


Meu are created with! l nature only a little


lowel' than thnt of ihe , / Ingels, lind to rise


10 n compauionship with those pure spirits,


society must be such, aild we' must be so situ­ated


', that we shull have , time to devote, to tbe


improvement of ourselves. It is evident that


our heaveuly Father designed thnt there


should he so perfect a socinl state, Illat . all


needfill employment should be conducive to


our health and pleasure: and) n nllllll'e, there


is no snch thing, it is probable, as a fixed ne­cessity


oflahor hey~ nd lhis point. I\ 10re than


this some douLtless must labur, until the last


vesti~ e of siu passes fi'om thE; earth'. But let


selfish ness he COIISUUIe~[ by ' the love of God,


shed ahr01ul in the hearts of meu, then there


will ' be a paradise-' a state of el) uality, and


' physical efforts for a support,. will he, so pr9­porlioned,


that they will be engaged in as a


. kind of recreati~ n- asa pleasing change from


mental efforts, und with great Ileljght. This


, we conceive to he a truth taught by that spil'it


of goodness; which Ilwells in every II'U~ heart.


He who follows after goodness, tile goodness


which Christ exhibited 011 the cross, will, we


thinl<, come to lin uud~ rstanding of it. This


' is the spirit of prophecy, in fuithfiJI men now,


as in those of old, poiming to a millennial


reign of Truth and Love. w. H. F.


A gentlemau and his son were walking in


a village one Sunday as the church hells were


ringillg.' The " lIrious societies of worshippers


W'lJI'e going to thei~ respective houses of wor­ship.


" Father," said the little boy," "~ hy do


not all these people worship in the same man­ner?"


" And why should , they not agree?


They were, mllll~ not to agree in tt; is, I sup- ,


pose," said the futher. Just then ' a poor man


fell do~ vn iri the street in a , fit. Numhel'S , in­stantıy


hasteued to aid him. A Presbyterian


sat dowlI lIn'tJ mllde his lap a , pillow for the


sick llIan's head j a Baptist chafed his temp[ es, '


a ROItl~ n Catholic lady held a s; nelling bottle '


to his nose; a Unitarian lIlitied his ,'. eckcloth


and uubuttoned his collar to let him breathe


freely ;' a l\ 1~ thodist run for a Doclllr: all Epis­copalian


soothed thll poor man's.. crying chil­dren,


arid a Quaker hell[ his wide umbrelJil


over him to keep off the burning sun. , " Ar­thur"


SIIid the gentleman pointing to the ! lcerie,


" thisis what men were made to agree ' in."-


Evenings lIt HOllie. '


LOVE YOUR ENEMIES,


Is considered by sOllie a hard say ing; but


it is one of t, he divine pl'ec~ ptsof onr holy Re­ligion,


and a heautiful exemplification of the


spirit of the Gospel. It'onght to he i~ lJerished


Dnd esteemerl as such by every Christilln. If


. it were, contention and sll: ife would cellse•


. \ .


emles, It is enough now that the v properly


pronounce the Shibboleth of some'sect-:- then


they will have a higher mission. Present pur­poses


will be answered by ' contending earn­estly


for the faith,' and hnnting out heretics. ­,"


Vehave experienced religion, is the cry- our


faith is sound, nnd we are sufe! Ami with too


many, were it not for the continual contention


for a creed, you would not even dream thut


' such pretended to be Christians. Here, then,


is the sequel to the present barren slate of the


Church- profession without practice- faith


withput works, ' .


Brethren, this is all wrong- nay, it is wick­ed,


' Ve are deceiving ourselves, lind darken-,


ing the counsel of ' God. The ' spi; ler's most


nttenuuted thread, is cord, is euble,' compared


. with that b~ ittle hope of heaven which is huilt


npon a religious experiellc~- a mere love for


sect, 0111' religion must come out from the


pulpit, the deacon's seat, and the Church' into


the world. In a \ vol'll, ~ v e must he practical


Christians, Nothing short of this will soften


the pillow of death, , T his is the . work of re­form


to which we are called- this is the rem­edy


wherebyto overcome tile present barren


state of Zion. ' In such a calling we can w~ 1I


hellI' the higot's scowl and anathema. If we,


are hrunded by a hireling Minisrry, and hood­winked


Church, as faunticnl - uml dungerous,


we must still persevere, AII th is must he ex­pected'


Let 0111' ' nerves he strong while we


hold the dissecting knife, and fix it ill the


place for execution. Let nothing intimidnte


, I


us, our- work is of God, and he will gire us


victory, '


The Church- the world: Thele ' is bllt a'


dash betwef1n thern. In theil' :, opposition to


reforlll, like Herod ' and Pilate, they ure shak­ing


hands together. ," Vhile the world snys­'


Ve make 110 pretell~ ions to religioll, away


with your refOlll) S. The Church sings the


syren song of quietness, suyiug the , time has


not yet come for these things- the world will


not bear such ultraism. ," Vait till the Millen­nium


comes., Ho~ v deceitfill is Ihe hllman


. heart! ClIn_ we wonder,~ that mnltitudes nrc '


yet stumhling on the rocll of sin, while so lit­tle


light is seen in Z ion'~ The cry for creed


and parly may answer an imperfect purpose


fOl' lite, but it will [ lOt for . leath. No- for this


solelll'n hour we need a daily preparlltion.


Brethren, let us arise and go forth to the


wode \ Vithout ' staff 01' scrip,' trusti; lg in t. tie


living God, let us proclaim 01' 1' humble testi­lUony


' without fear- without filvor.' Let the


salarlj perish, if perish it must. Sacrifice there


lUust he. Let us work :. if need he, fi'om day


to duy, and when GOII shall give us opportu~


nity, speak what the heart feels. 0, for pow­er


and confidence ' thus to ' fight the good fight


' of faith'- thus to finish our work. The wo. rk


of the Lord wiH soon be placed ul; on all ' ~ vho


count nothing deal' but heaven. , The true


will hellllown from _ the . false- the,_ hil'eling


fi'om . tbe , shepherd- the - Church from the


\ Yorld. The time is at hand. G. w. S.


PREVAILING' EVILS OF SIN.- NO, 2.


_ EXCESSIVE LABOR.


Excessive I~ bor is doubtless an evil, and one


of the greatest evils that afflicts the human


race. So long, indeed, as the great IIIIlSS of


jnen are chained, ' liS they now are, to their


various mere husiness avocations, so long mUSt


we be without hope, of witnessing in them


lIluch intellectual or religious improveme; lt.


It is next to illlpossihie for men to toil ' Iluring


the , summer fi'om the rising to the setting sun,


and during the winter frolll the Ilawn of day,


to the COllllllon hour at which their wOl'k, is


finished, and then hll've nn inclinlltion for read­ing,


01' profitahle thonghtllnd meditation. The


mini! is injnred, by the the injl/ l'Y that is thus


done to thtl hody. Its noblest faculties- its


. Iivinest powers are smothered. And ' / lien


need to learn thllt it is an oJ'llination of' the


l\ lost High, that it they would he as happy as


, they are. capahle of being, they must re! llrn to


obedience to the laws of their whole nature,


aud concientiously observe them. The body


must have its appropriate exercise and in II


propel' proportIOn- and so must the lIIind.


The powen,- of both are pnralyzed , by - too lillIe


or too much exertion. And it is nGt only


melancholy'to think how the image of God is


, heing marred and defaced in the somhern


slaves, through the influence of the evil under


notice, bnt how the same thiug : is beiug d~ ne


is no Church. - And really, what is . the great


distinction between nominal professors and


, THE CHURCH- THE WORLD. worldlings? Are the latter as a living Epistle,


As it has been said, it is not only well to read and known of all men, by a walk of con.


compare notes, [ jut hearts. And since a good formity to the principlesof tile gospel? Is


tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit, neither a their conversation in heaven and their affec­corrupt


tree good fruit, we have a safe rule tious placed there? Do they hold the things


wh ereby - to. test the state' of the heart. Illy of the world with a loose hand, eager only for


their fruits ye sh~ 1I know them,' saith one who the ' meat which endureth unto eyel'lasting


' knew what was in man. By this test, which life?' Do they corry their religion with them


all must ncknowledge as coming with author- . as they mingle with the great brotherhood of


ity, it is [ lroper and profitable to compare the ' man P Do they act upon the ' golden I'IIle' of


Church withthe world, if in truth there be a . Christ in all their dealings? In a word , is it


Church. seen ily the daily example of all such as have


" Vhllt!' the , r eader' rnny be ready to ex- named the name of Christ, that their ' kingdom


claim-' can th ere he a doubt lodged here?' ' If is nnt gf this world?' Now how are these


there he a Chw'~ h?' ' Why this is the very things? Let us be honest and , confess what


acme offanaticism. ," Vho before was ever so we must, that the Church, hy its corruptions


ultra ~ , No Church! ' Vhy; the man is he- and grovelling stnndard, lowered to suit man's


side himself. He might : lis well say there is carnal desires, has merged itself with the


no lVortd- it would indeed he no stranger.'- world,


Well, dear friend, be 1I0t too fast in your sur- . I t has heen aptly said-' rreligion I is every­prise.


Let us see about this matter, wh~ thel'thing, or it , is nothing.' , ' Veil, do pr, ofessors


it so strunge and fhnatical, to say then' IS 110 make it at once apparent to all with whom


Church. I know the !' e are numerous organi- they associate, that religion with " them iseue­zatiops


which lire cnlleII the Church. I know rlJthing? ' Alas ! ' is there not a dark cloltdl'OlI­these


bodies. profess to acknowledge Jesus liS ing np, so to speak, between the Church lind


their head; to he guided hy his counsel lind the Red eemer! Do. we not in fact often have


example. Hut what of'all this P Is form pow- to say/ of one lind another, why ihis 01' that


er, or profession practiee P No ind, eed. And person is a professor? ' And re~' lIy, is, it so,'


hence I say, there is no Church. ' says the one thus informed j ' why, I. did not


• But do the Church acknowledge Christ as suspect this to be the case.' Surely here is


the head thereof, and his example to be always moral darkness made visible, So little dis­binding?


' I f I am answered in the aflirma- tinction between tile Church nnd world, that


tive, I shall beg Ic~ ve to dissent. Can Christ . professors must be singled OUl, marked . und


he the head of that Church which has no bow- numbered, ' before it shall be even suspected


els of'cornpussionfcr the oppressed aIIIIdown- . they are not of the \~ orld! But in truth, all


Irodden llIilliOIlS ofour race? Can he stand , such, whether' in name Orthodox or'Heterodox,


,. are of the wol'ld. Ifit werc not so, the com-munity


would tllke kriowleilge that they had


heen laught of Jesus. It is impossible for the


; dear child of God' to hide his light. ', T he


mark is upon ' him wherever he goeli. In the


field, the work- shop, the couuting- room, at the


husy mart and the domestic. hellrth, he is the


slime pure, humble and devoted Illan. You


cannot mistake hlm, for he weUl'S his · d\- iastcr's


badge, love to God and lIIun. .


What h, ns brought ab6ut tbis state ofthings,


anll what can be done in the wny of Reform?


A brief attention to these two interrogations


will conclud~ this article.


," Vith all our hoastedirnprovement alld ad­vance


, in goodness, it must be I lIdrnitted that


the Church, wirh the Ministry at its helld, is


corrupt. ' ' Yorks of darkne~ s are constantly


developing themselves. \ Ve have our Chris­tian


[?] Slave · holders, Rum- sellers ntHI War­makers,


' Oue annihilates the man, lItHI brands


him us II THiNG- barte'rs iii the imllge of Qod,


and still retains his stanlling without , rebuke


in the Church, Another traffics in liquid


poison- for paltry gain, gan~ e ~ s up tellrs, woes


and wretchedness untold, fOl' heart- broken


wives, widows and orphans; and yet ill virtue ,


of paying im outward deference to modes and


forllls, saying amen to human creeds, he p" sses


' on in good standing. And ,. another mannfac­tures


gltllB, pistols and dirks, to be, used in


butchering his hrother- impiously prays at


night that these instruments may be beaten in­10


implements of peace, and still receives the


fello\ vship of the Chnrch. '


~ ut I forbear to conti~ ue the dark catalogue.


Angels may well weep lit our folly- heaven '


with lIlI its holy inhabilants must look with


pity upon our mock pl'Ofessions. ,\ Ve Illlly no


' o'ngel' wondel' that infillelity abounds, and that


~ ultitlldes are saying-' aha, aha! where , is


)' Olll'God !' ,


," Vhat has so marred the hemlty ofZion; nnd


ttlt within , the sheep- fold so mllny heartless


devotees? I answer in, a word, Sectarianism


"- thllt gia! lt hane which annihi lates lIlI that is


' lovely and of good re'port.' The cry for sect


and party has \ vell nigh stifled the. voice of the


good Shepherd,,' who gnve his life for the


sheep. Multitudes lire flocking to the reslme


' o fp arlyism, vvhila tile ark of safety is [ lassiug


hy unn~ ticed. But all is in vllin. God has de.


creed it, the Bllstile of Sectarianism must cOllle


down. Content with rel~ ting what is termed


a religious exp erience, assenting to certain foro


. muills of faith, thollsa'nd.. with folded arllls and


selfish hea;' ts are ih idleness ' waiting for the


Millennium, when to evince the practical fruits


of Cilristiallity ! Then, they tell us, they , c~ n


safely follow the peerless example of that Re­deemei


· \~ ho loved, prayed and died for his en-in


this relution, ' while as yet the foul leprosy of


Slavery is liot washed from the midst of pro­fessed


Zion? Nevel'. He came to preach


deliverllnce to the eaptives":" to open the pris­on


doors- to let the oppressed go free.


Am [ told there lire e.~ ceptions- that some


Ch~ rches lire free from this ahomination? I


know there are some hright spots in the midst


, of us. But will you tell me _\ vhere. in all


.. Christendom th ere is II Protestllllt Church, as


such, which has openly, by its minister und


me'mOOrs, renounced all conne'ction with, and


apology for" the system of Slavery? Be it


said, lind to her honor be it said ; the Catholic


Church hlls with a plain voice said-' tollch


not, taste not, handle not' the accllrsed thil! g. L


In their crusade against Sillvery, , we bid them


God speed, And as an old - school Abolition­ist,


we say tei them- Coine with us npon the '


Anti- Slavery, platform, it is so broad that the


, whole world may walk abreast thereon.


Now that full and blazing light is reflected


npon tbe sin of oppression, CllI'istilln Minis­tel's


[?] can sell the image of God, the re­.


Ieemed of Jesus, and go withont rebuke. ­Ay,


the sunie hllml thllt brellks lhe hread, ~ m .


hlemlltical ofa Savior's kroken body, can anll


does traffic off an immortlll being for value re­ceived,


AmI with impious effrontery such a


recrellnt Minister deposites apart of the price


ifblood in the . hllnds of those whose husiness


it iS, to send Bibles to heathen lands! Atro­cious


recreancy ! Infamous deeds of dark­ness!


Can the pure and ' holy Jes'us be the '


hellli of suell a Church.


BlIt ~ gllin. Do the Church acknowledge as


binding the eXllmple, of the Redeemer? Yes,


I am lIllswer~ d. ' Vhy ihen is not that pure


eXlImple foll~ well? Why this ularlll, this


' wrnth, cillmor and bitterness' raised lind POUl"


ed out upon those who in precept IIl1d example


are setting forth, and striving to follo\\ o the


footsteps of Him, who, ' when he was reviled,


reviled not again,' and who in his dying ac­cents


of love; commended his murderers to


the mercy of his heavenly Father? Why


, willl\ linisters and their flock sa'y in one hreat~,


Christ WllS a perfect Non- Resistant, and in the


next, that lIlI who aim to be snch are danger­ous


111111 corrlijJl? Can that be a doctrine of


_ misrule and ~ narchy, of which the lovely J e­sus


WllS a perfect exemplifier?- Can it be


dangerous and hurtflll to f\> lI? w the Founder


of that religion, which by angels was an­nounced


as ' peace ' on earth and good will


among nHin?' Oh the depth of infidelity in


the Ministry, the Church and the world. ­Verily


when we hold up the bright pattern of


the Redeemer,' and compare it with the lean­ness


'. in places of high spiritual professiou, it


seems 1I0tfitI', ifany fi'Oln the trljth to say there

Page 76 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840