The Gospel herald. (New Carlisle, Ohio), 1859-11-12

              '     ' ' .I.   ¦¦Hill     II ...    .11, ..i-».,i.-..-,M.,..       ..,    ,    ,-.^.-„ __
GOSPEL HERALD.
S    __Pgvotedto O^^^tl^^^.-, Mo^-aHt^^^He^^tex^st^f S^^^ Te^perarxoe, Eaucation, and Gex.e.al Ke
"'BEI-IOIiD,    I   BR-INa   YOU   GOOD   TIDINGS   OF   GEEAT   JOT  ....  OX   EAETH   PEA
CE,   GOOD   AVXLL   TOWARD   MEN,
YGi.. 16.
DAYTON, P., SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1859;
ORIGINAL  ROETRiY.
WrUten J'or the .Oosjiel Herald,
Influence—A    I!aMe.
BIT  E. PINTjEY.
Ab trembling, froni the stoi-my sky,
With joy tho snow desceuda;; It Mis upon the mountain ,high,
Whore desolation-blen-clfg.;
Long ci-Q it leaves the clouds above,
To ,seck tho home of ni n.n, A-fcoliag dpth within ii, xp,ove,
That 'ti-s-of mercy's plan,
la haste it comes; but vplien it v'iewa
The cold and cheerless gloom, The silent shades and lea-clenhueB, '
Of hope the ea^ly tomb;.
The snow repines o'or it's  sad iQt
Of ugefulnesa peref t. "Why thus,upon thia droa-i-y spoty
"Should I alone be left?
"If all were made to do some good,
"And bless the lot of ma-xi; "Why spend my time iu solitude—
"Why not aniong tho rain ?
"Tho rain that waters God's green earth,
"And brings to man good, cheer; "The rain that gives the. flowers birth,
"And bleases all the yoar. "The. raiit-^, tho clieeriiig j oy ouarains,
"Aro fwgels sent to eai^th.; "But tliere's not one sf all tlie.plains,
"Shall profit by my birfcJi.'" Tho snow in cold despair -was dumb,,
It felt ita being vain; Alasl for it ng good could, como,
But here must it romain-. It felt that though earth needs much good,
Aud it M'ould good perfoi-ni; "There's naught for me in. solitude,
But quell bold passion's s torm.'' Not long it Lay in silent gloom, And in despair's dtwrk spell; When lo! tho sun begins to loom,
Tho winter storms to quell. The King of day in glory comes,
O'er earth his joy to gprcid, His cheer is felt in thousaini homes,
And o'er the mouatain'a licad. With rays of love, the sno-sv lie greets,
And o'er ita forehead wliite, A steam he pours of liquid  s-vveeta,
Love's kisses free from bligl't. The kindly sun revives the snow, Aud l3uoyod with hope and. joy, llopentant tears begin to flow, . And better thoughts emplo.y. Its mission now it plainly spies,
And joy its being thrills; As onward, onward still, it Kxes,
To join the sparkling rill. Now flowing down the mountain's slopes.
And o'er the parching pla,in ; The valley teems with uew-"t>o^ii topes,.
As from tho recent rain. The budding-Jandsoape laugli-S for joy,
The garden shouts with gle^^ ; And songs of praise the iiowors employ,
With gladness waves tbe tx-ee. The fruitful earth its harvest   pours.
Within the lap of man; The verdant vale its richness stores,
And beauty stocks the.plai"-- The streamlet onward flows,, still on, ¦
NO. 27.
The drooping, vale to oheor; And'verdm'e: bright beneath the-sun,. Doth ev'rywhere^ appear.
It flows across -the desert waste,
Its work it seemS' is o'er; But greater good it e'en.shall taste,
Then upward may it soar.
As onward, on, still on, it goes.
Across the desert dry; Upon the path of one it flows,
Of thirst about to die.
The gospel herald, man of God,
Whoso errand is to save The heathen treading error's roaij,
That's darker'than the grave.
With thirst he's ready e'en to die,
Without liis, work begun; To Heaven hear him lift his cry,.
And pray, "Thy will be done.
"Alas! my mission's all in vain,
"My life I give to thee; "Another servant. Lord, ordain,
"The heathen land to free."
The sparkling stream it onward hies. The herald slakes his thirst;
And soon his mission land he spies. And labors for the cursed.
His work it is a blessed one— The heathen yield to grace—¦
And soon beneath the gospel aun, llich blessings crown the place.
The moral desert blossoms bright, ,
And barren souls rejoice; Exulting hearts embrace the light.
And heed their Father's voice.
The brook its mission all complete,
Now soars in mist above ; As blessings flow from mercy's seat, ,
All radiant with love.
And as it upward wends its way,
To realms of purer light; Its teaching still doth with us stay,
To guide us in the right.
A, sparkling stream each life shotJld be,
And onward as it goes, To spread the light of liberty,
Should brighter gems disclose.
Yes, life's a river, moving on.
Its current must enlarge; And as it flows beneath the sun,
Let truth its waters charge.
Forever wid'ning then shall flow, Tho current deep of life; Whose waters ever onward go, With blessings ever rife.
It requires not time nor proof to make virtuous hearts coalesce; tliero is a language without sounds, a recog¬ nition^ independent of tho vi.sual organ, which aclrno-wlcdge-s the kmared of congenial souls, almost in the moment they meet. "The virtuous mind know- eth its brother in the dark-"—-J'atie Porter.
Many a true heart, that would have come back like the dove to the ark af¬ ter the first transgression, has been frightened beyond recall by the angry look and menace, the taunt, the sav¬ age charity of an unforgiving soul.
Our powers owe much of their ener¬ gy to our iiopes;—7a/i.n.sii?i.
—  !¦• I      ¦»   -I. I t»l 	
Slight small injuries, and they will become none at all.—Fuller.
ORIGINALITIES.
Writienfor the Gos^l HerM.
The Talue and importance of Paith.
BY M. GUSTIN.
"But without faith it is impossible to please Him."-Heb. 11: 6.
It has been remarked, that the chief end of man, is '-To honor, or glorify God, and enjoy him for ever. We might with the same iwopriety say, "The chief end of man," is, to please God. For him to do this, he must first be¬ lieve that there is such a being; who is infinite, eternal, unoriginatod, self- oxisteiit; the cause of all other beings; on whom all other beings depend fbr their existence, and by whoso energj', bounty, and goodnei5s,'their lives are perpetuated, aud their wants supplied, lio must believe also, that He rewards them that diligently seek Him; that He is not indiiferent about His own wor¬ ship, but hears and answers the pray¬ ers of His people. This requires faith, such a faith as is mentioned above; a faith by which he can please God. Un¬ less a man has this, he can no more please God, or be accepted of Him, than was Cain.
In the investigation of the value and importance of faith, tliere aro two points of inquiry, which I desire to no¬ tice; one is, the place which fiiith occu¬ pies in the system of revealed religion; and the other is, the reason why Buch a degree of importance has been at¬ tached to it.
1. The place which faith occupies in the system of revealed religion.
No one can mistake in regard to this. It is declared in the most une¬ quivocal language to be indispensable to salvation; the whole question of life or death is made to depend -on it; it is absolutely necessary in order to avail ourselves of the benefit of the death of Christ; the want of it, i. e. unbelief,is condemned in the most unambiguous terms, and it is solemnly 'declared that the want of it shall forever exclude from the kingdom of God. It is clear¬ ly declared in the word of God, that where there is not faith, there can be no true religion, and no one can ap¬ proach God with any hope of accep¬ tance without it. It ia one of the con¬ ditions, which are never dispensed with; and whatever else a man may have, if he have not this, it is declared he cannot be saved. That this is the doctrinoof the Bible, is obvious from tho following language. After he had arisen from tho dead, Christ commis¬ sioned his disciples to ','Go into all tho world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Luke 16:15: 16. Again we read; "He that believeth on Ilim is not condemned; but he that believeth ijotis condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name ofthe only begotten Son of God-" "He that beheveth hath ev¬ erlasting life, and ho that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3: 18: 36 verses. "If ye beheve not that I am ho, yo shall die in your sins; and -vhoro I am, thither ye cannot corno." John S: 24; verso. Once more; "But these aro written that ye might be¬ lieve that Josus is the Christ, the Son
of God; and believing ye might have lifo through his name." John 20: 31. So the text; '-But without faith it is im¬ possible to please Him; for he that com- ctli to God must lioliovo that he is, and that he is a rcwarder of them that diligently seek him." There are nu¬ merous other passages to which wc midit refer; but these are sufficient to settle for ever the question in regard to tlie prominence which faith occu¬ pies in tho system of revealed religion; and shows that, in that system, the wliolo subject of man's salvation is mado to depend on it; for it is solemn¬ ly declared, that, "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in j-oiir sins, and where I am., thither ye cannot eome." This closes the door of heaven for ever against the unbeliever, and proves that faith is made a condition of eternal life, or of an entrance into the happy home ofthe redeemed. Per¬ haps some one in glancing ovor these lines may ask, wliy is so much stress, laid on feith in the plan of redemp¬ tion? Why is it made so central, and so indispensable in the salvation ofthe soul? Why are pardon and hope, life aud joy, heaven and immortal glory, peace here and happiness hereafter, all made to depend ou faith? These are inquiries which naturally arise in the thinking mind; and itis our purpose in the socond place to try to answer them by several illustration.^.
1. I begin by remarking, that faith acts an important part in the affairs of our world. Using'the word in the sense ot confidence, there is nothing else on which the welfare of society moro depends, or which is more indis¬ pensable to it.g prosperous and har¬ monious relations. We all feel this to be true. Indeed, it enters into every thing, and we are every day and every hour acbiiigunder ita influence, and de¬ pending on it for all that we hold dear. It is the cement of families of neigh- borhood.s, of governments, and of na¬ tions. The faith of promises, of com¬ pacts, of friendships, is what holds the world together, aad wore it not for this, society would fall lo pieces at once. It is by faith, or iiiutual confi¬ dence, that the relations of domestic life are maintained; that the harmony, peace, aud happines.-s of a family is se¬ cured; that tho business in a mercan¬ tile community is carried on; that a banking institution effects the purpose for which it was chartered; or that a government can answer the ends for which it was instituted. It is hy faith alone that we receive lessons of valua¬ ble instruction from histoiy, or act with referouce to the future. If we had no moro confidence in auy ofthe testi¬ monies of history than we liave in idle tales, all past history -ivould be almost entirely lost—for it would convey no certain lesson. If wo had no faith in the stability of the course of events; the rising ofthe sun, moon, and Btars;' the return ofthe seasons, vre would lay no plan for the future; %vo should neith¬ er plow, nor sow, nor construct a ship, nor launch out on tho mighty ocean, where we might soon bo without sun, or stars. We, place confidence in a physician, a clergyma.n, in our teach¬ ers, and it wouhi bo impossible that tho cause ol religion, jurisprudence, or education, could be maintained, wero it uot for this confidence. Thus you see, that if thero wore not such confi-
ij^j^