First Baptist Church of Delaware Newsletter

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Vol.. I.
DELAWARE,   OHIO,   APRIL,   1891,
No. 2
OUR . FAITH.
BY  .'VCSAN   M.   GRIFFITH.
Wlien  tossed on the billows of  life's mighty ocean, Alone'in the midst of the dark rolling sea; What is it that fills our sails with soft motion, And gviides us onward over the lea? 'Tis the breath of the Spirit, The Savior—'tis He !
When   at war with  the  world  we  are ¦wounded iu battle, And our banner is laid in the dust at our feet. Whose voice, sweet and clear, 'bove the musketry's rattle Do   we  hear,  as  the  foe  begins  to retreatA
'Tiplne voice of the Spirit, Our vSavior—'tis He 1
When low on  our death-bed, helpless, reclining, O'ercome  by the chill which makes everyone weep. Whnae   -rl!^':fer!cp   st'ils   all,   hitter...'p pining. And gives " His beloved," the bless¬ ing of sleep?
Again, 'tis the Spirit, Jesus Chi is—it is He !
Who, then, is our faith, through all of life's sorrow. Upon whom do we lean when tempted and tried. Who bears the burden of each anxious to-morrow, And  gives  us   the   victory  o'er  sin crucified ? It is Love—the sweet Spirit Of Jesus—'tis He !
HAPPIiVESS AT HOME.
There afe innumerable books that teach us how to behave in society, how to demean our¬ selves at church, the theatre and thelycetitn, but the place above all others where a man or woman should knov«' how to conduct themselves with pro- piety is at home. The greater portion ol everj'- person's social ¦ life is spent at home, and there¬ fore, it is a logical deduction that, if good manners are essen¬ tial to mutual happiness, thej- should be brought into use at home as in society. The great secret of home happiness is the absolute repression of temper. There are much more eloquent and effective Avays of expressing
Ii youi brother lep'^xs the dfor oj)en, nevei t'h hini ol it; go and close it without a word if you telJ him >4 it it sends a nervous cjiivei through his frame that wdl culminate in a burst ol temper expressed But if you close the door yourself, you give him a silent object-. lesson that he -will not forget. A house wife's food is usually good, and if the husband dislikes it he may be practically sure his di«like arises from his owti panipered tastes, but if there is anj' particular dish against which his stomj.ch rebels, he will sho^c ti je doii^esrH" philosophy and ¦^lireudnesR In ir.i mention- iitgii, the hiJit will b.t sulBcie:>t- ]y   prodd   il   he simply  refrains
many times in succession that is not eaten. The trae art of living is to live without inetion ; never scold "in words, a wise man or woman can scold most potently and effectively and without saying a word.
AGAINST ANXIETY.
It is distrust of God which lies at the root of unlawful anxiety. A feeble apprehension of God, as the agent who overrules every¬ thing, and determines those causes which lie outside of our reach, and those events v/hich escape our foresight—that it is which shades the soul with vague uiicertaintj', and fills with causeless alarms the darkness of to-morrow. The doubt whether God, who counts for so much iu tlie contingencies of life, be one whose attitude to us may be wholly trusted, or the suspicion that we may have really as much to dread as to hope for from His superintendency^—that it is which cannot but unsettle a man's steadfast outlook into the coming daj^s, and toss his spirit to and fro in the restlessness of distraction. Because we are "of little faith," therefore are we not
a '^i.iig pi .nTjCu ^iiii \%roixgxx^, t sn   and -wait;  but must fidgc-f oursehes about that which may be, until patience gnaws us like a worm,  and our imagination picturing   disast'.r in  the dark, burns us like fire    AYhy is it that popular   proverbs   attest   how much worse are fancied ills Ihati real   ones,   and   how   the  evils which we most dread never over¬ take   us,   but just because this- distrustful human heart of ours is so prone to prophecj', and s!-, livel_v to exaggerate misfortune Like a soothing, cooling breath from    a    sereucr   world,     there comes down upon the feverish self-toru'.entiug   >pjriis   of   this work  of one ^vlio '¦la'^ -Jie mes¬ senger   ^f   Tlim   ^-'--r.m   -."e dis- t/iist:   "Le r'f-t   ^:;xio.js   abott;
To-niorrow. '
It is absolutely necessarj' ii; this age of libertinism that every Christian should be able "to give a reason for the hope that is in him," and to put to silence the tongues of those men that have "evil will at Zion." And may the Almighty enable us to plead his cause with success! May the divine spirit grant that the faith of our readers being: more and more established, it maj^ appear that the tree is watered at the roots, by ail the other graces growing and flour¬ ishing in an equal proportion f God has made ample provision for the honor and support of liis gospel, by furnishing it with a V£iriety of proofs, which mav with undiminished, aiui indeed with growing conviction, be flis played in the whole world; a,nd we should be gre.ath' wanting in gratitude to Him, in zeal for a re¬ deemer's kingdom, and in chari¬ table concern for the coriA^ersioit of those who reject the gospel, as well as for the edification of those who embrace it, should we overlook those arguments, or neglect to acquaint ourselves^ with them.