Gospel Herald, 1860-04-14

              De-TOted to ChristUuiity, Morality, the Iiiterests of SabPiath Schools, Social Irnprovement, Temperanoe, Education, and General Ne-wrs.
BEUOLD,   I   BRING   YOU   GOOD   TIDINGS   OF   QREAT   JOY  .  ...  ON   EAKTII   PEACE,   GOOD   -WILL   TOWARD   MEN.'
VOL. 16.
DAYTON, 0., SATURDAY, APRIL 14,1860.
NO. 48.
ORIGINAL POETRY.
Writtenforihe Gospel Herald.
A Brighter-world than this.
BY ADA A. nniJE.
Oh when I trod life's early ways, Hope winged my fleeting hours,
I saw noahiidow ia lier rays, No serpent; in her flowers.
I thought on days of present joys,
And years of future bUs,s, Nor deemed that sorro-»T could alloy,
So bright a world as this.
Alas the fairy dreama 1 -wove,
Soon from my fiuioy fled, The frienda %vho owned ray tender lore,
Wore numbered with the dead.
Upon their p;ilHd lipa I preaaed, ...Afl'iiotions parting kiss, They left me for a world of real, A brighter world than this.
But all is well tliey rest in peace,
Their labours here are o'er. From envy, lovo and toil they reat, On Canaan's happy shore.
ORIGINALITIES,
Written for the Gospel Herald
Positive Theology-
JSTo. 37"
.„   ¦ i.
BY A. W.   HANPORD.
In my last at ticio I tleinoastratccl,a.s I think, tliat tho Biblo revottLs in plain and unmisttikablo tcrm.s, all that ia es¬ sential to be known or boliovod of God in order '<to glorify ilim hero and en¬ joy .Him forever;" and, that wo, iu com- ^raon with all evangelical christians,be¬ lieve all that is revealed in tho Eiblo and believe it just a.s it is there revealed.
While tben wo confine our faith, and . the authoritative oxprcssion ofitto tho fa.ctspositively revealed, and, to thofan- guag^ in which that revelation states those facts, there can bo no cavil or dis¬ sension, as all au'ree that the Biblo and itsUmguago are conclusive.
But when it is assorted that God iis "one in essence, nature and por.'son,"—¦ that ho exists,every way, in tho "pur¬ est and sinaplest unity of being and person,"—when these abstruse, raeta- pliysical fbrms of words, arc substituted for the plain scriptural statetnent, "tho Lord our G-od is ono Lord;" and espe¬ cially, when this unrevealed form of statement becomes an authoritative def¬ inition of theology, to which assent is required as a condition of christitin fel¬ lowship, it then becomes the basis of divisicn, pofhaps, of uncharitable dis¬ sensions.
There aro those who honestly infer ffom the word of God, that there is in some form, mode and manner, a dis¬ tinctive and personal plurality in tho being of God,; tho-o, as a matter of course, cannot subscribe to the above named mottxphysical statement of tho Divine XTnity, and hence, are regtxrdcd by its adherents as being byporcritic- al, ifnot absolutely heretical, They, however, do not stop,short with their denialof this Mftrei;eatei statement of the unity of God, but act up andenun- ciatean antagonistic hypothesis. Thoy aver that while there is but "one God," yet, "in the unity of theGodheadjthere are thpoopersons of onosubstttnco,pow- erand eternity;" and frequently de¬ nounce as heretics all who do not sub¬ scribe, and that implicitly, to their equally unrevealed and metaphysical
statement of the tri-personality of the Godhead,
Thus then, we behold two antago¬ nistic parties of religious abstracticin- ists fairly arrayed against each other —each occupying unrevealed and opin- ionativo premises—agreeing preciaelj' as to what the Bible says, and each professing entire faith in the fticts,upon this subject, therein set forth; and yet, in their opinions ofthe mode of exis¬ tence of those,facts, in, brief, in their re¬ spective opinions of what the, Bible means, they differ us widely as tbo poles; each contending for their favorite dog¬ ma with a zeal more fiery, an energy more invincible and a pcrseyoraneo moro untiringthan would often char.te- terize their defense of the fundamen¬ tal truth in reference to which these opinions are formed and enunciated.
Let it be remembered now, that thcsopartiesagrce perfectly, while they uso only the hinguago of the Bible, in stating propositions oftheir christian faith, thiit thoy disagree only, when they depart from that language, and substitute their own. Paul asserts— Epiiesians, IV: 5; that "there is one faith"—this faith all christians must possess; and hence, in faith, all chris¬ tians agree. All christians beliovo the facts revealed in the Bible—all chris¬ tians agree in that belief, while those fiicts are stated in the language of the Bible; therefore, the facts revealed in the .Bible, and enunciated in the lan¬ guage of tlio Bible, furnish at once the basis, and dofino tho extent and limit of tlie faith of all christians.
This thou, being tho position occu¬ pied by the Christians, as a religious organiziition, it would seem to bo prop¬ er for the christian theologian, in teaching tho groat truths of revelation, relating to, and defining tho being, nature, attributes, character, and dis¬ position of Got;—first: to confine him¬ self, (when insihting upon implicit fiiith,) rigidly to the langufige of inspi¬ ration; neither " adding to, or taking awsiy, from tho words of the Book." Second;—ho should bo very cautious iiever to yiermit himself in combat¬ ing opiriiontitivo error, to opopse it by enforcing an antagonistic opinion. -Let the " Word of Goti, tho sword of the Spirit" be tho only intellectually wielded weapon, in tho great struggle againstorror anil sin. Third;—ho should: make it his chief business, not to at- titckand refute the opinions of others, by them honestly entertained, until he is fully satisfied that thcso opinions necessarily tend to produce sinful acts; but, on the other hand, he should devote his timo, talents, and energies, to the enunciating, illustration and en¬ forcement of all those fundamental, great, and glorious revealed truths, in which all aro intorestetl, and which must be believed, oiijoyed,'and prac¬ ticed by all who would attain eternal life.
In my next I shall oi:quiro into the relation of man to God, and the naturo a,nd extent of human depravity.
:  ;  jVIarion, March 22nd, 'GO.
Written for tlu Gapel Herald.
Self-sacrificing Spirits—Reviewer Ee- vietved-
I dislike the rattch abused custom of reviewing the articles of others; but occasionally circumstances  may ren¬
der a review proper, if mtide in a chris¬ tian spirit. [For example of such a spirit, seo Bro. M. J. M.'a review of my article on "Christian Union."]
In the SeraZd of March 17th, 1860, Bro. Noble reviews an article from Bro. W. G. Koone, of III. Tholanguago and spirit ofthis review is ill calculated to enforce truth, much less, to reckiitn a brother from any error into which he is supposed to havo fallen.
In tho first paragraph of thb review Bro. Keene is styled one W. G. Keone, as if dosparity ,of opinion had dissolv¬ ed the brotherly, cliristittn relation of a ftjllow-minister. In the second par¬ agraph, thooxpro.ssions "everlastingly finding fault," "grumblers;" tbe com¬ parison of the "dog in the manger," and the indirect accus.ation of "discon¬ tent and jealousy," aro not in keeping with good taste, christian dignity, and manly forbearance. "Let your speech be always with grace,thatyeintiyknow how yo ought to answer every man."
In tho sixth paragraph Bro. Hyde— not one Mr. Hyde—but Bro. Hyde, for he has littered not sentiment of disa¬ greement—is recommended to call on one W. G. Keene of Elm wood, and speak words of satisfaction to him.— No doubt Bro. Keene, unlike Job, will feel vel-y grateful for tho visit of this timely com missioned comforter. Cor¬ roborative of tho justness of Bro. No¬ ble's re-viewer, a.nd ofthe value of his gratuitous advice, he brings forward, in the seventh paragraph, his own ministerial, experience, reaching thro' an unbroken period of—"f/tree years!" Well, I believe Bro. K. has been in the arduous work about seven yoars; has traveled through a number of States during tho time, and htid some expe¬ rience in the pastoral relation. Yot, it is not for me to say that Bro. K. is yiossossed of as ready discernment df human natuie as Bro. N., or thtit he has equal capacity to discover the er¬ rors which exist in oiir church and ministry. If, however, a nian can dis¬ cover in throe years, tho source' of what has baflled the experience of gray hairs, it would be an unwarrantable risk of reputation to place any ordi¬ nary individual in comparison with him.
' Bro. Noble stiys "it is a very bad sign, in any business, to fall behind every year," tmd ho advices a minis¬ ter, who is thosubject of such delin¬ quency, "to settle on a farm, or enter a mechanic shop and earn an honest living, and help support those who are called." Had this advice been giv¬ en and heeded fifty years ago, it would have supplied many a farm and shop with self-denying and arduous labor¬ ers from our primitive ministry. Nay, more; it would have led Christ to syicnd his days in the carpenter shop, instead of going about and doing good. Even in our own day, this advice would tako hundreds of our most earnest and ef¬ ficient laborers from thoir post; fii)rnot one out of fifty of our raOst active and solf-stxcrificing ministers, pretends to live exclusively from tbe salaries of tlio churches. Some of tho most talented persevering, successful ministers in the West, do not command a sufficient salary to supporttheir dependent fam¬ ilies. Fretiuently have they been call¬ ed to mako distant visits, without a sufiicicnt compensation te defray the
expense. They have returned homo to their anxious families without tho m-eans to replenish a scanty "boiird.". Shall wo farther draw tho vail ? ¦ Wti will then ehow you an ill-furnished cottage, with a family devoid of cona- fortable clothing, and of bread to sat¬ isfy thoir daily wants. This is tho parsonage of him who relied on prona-i ises lacked,,as ho supposed, by:all tho sacred obligations ofa christian pro¬ fession. But hi8ycarexpired,and his salary,was not paid. Thus it contin¬ ued till ho was without credit, and his family without life's comforts. This is no skolch of ftincy. It is a stern fact that stares us full in the face, and haunts us wherever we flee.
Brother K. hiteiself (whom I know to boa noble hearted man, and earn¬ est preacher of the Gospel) has not been favored with a competent suyiport; and what is worse than all that, ho. is made tho subject of sarcastn and irony, because he plainly spetxks out truth and duty through the Herald—the very place where freo and unincumT bered utterance should be tolerated, when accompanied with raatily bear¬ ing, and honest, earnest, christian spirit. What I shall every niiuistcr who does not makea surplus over bis rent, table and contingent expenses, bo considered false td his trust, anil deluded iu his ctilltng? Such an inad¬ vertent and ill-founded conclusion would shear out ofour cattilogue many of tho noblest examples of real chris¬ tian ardor, self-sacrificing spirit, and sublime triumjih over sectarianism and sin.-^What eye was not suffused with tears—what heart did not throb with emotion, when tho devoted widow of a deceased father in the Gospel, made appliciition at a recent conference, for a donation to meet the wants of her waning life, and declining days! God save our old "soldiers of the cross" from aticusations and impeachment of motive that would add four-fold to tho corroding cares, and Cottsless anxi¬ eties incident to unmittigatod toil, neg¬ lected wants, and fading lifb. Was this aorcd father in the raitiistry mista¬ ken in his calling? Did he "run beforo ho was sent?" Was bo an idler in tho .Lord's harvest? The multitude that waited on his ministry, tho broken ranks rallied at the, sountl ofhis trum-> pot, the scattered flocks that heard his voice and were led by him into green pastures—these speak out In loud vin¬ dication of fidelity to his trust, and of the sanction of God upon his work.
That meagre sujiport is sometimes tho minister's own fault, I admit; that many churches fulfil nobly their obli¬ gations, I deny not. But what wo want aro the general facts with respect to the matter; nor wouhl I for a mo¬ ment coucetil thcni, whether they crim¬ inate the minister or exonerate the church, or vice versa. But where tho minister is at fault we should remem¬ ber that it is much easier for a congre¬ gation to make a good faithful ptistor oftheir prcucbcr, than for him to make an active, workinsrchurch of his people. It is far easier for many to en¬ courage, assist, sustain, and mako one man useful, tlian fbr one man to,do the samo for a multitude of otbers. , If lic- tiial conversion to God be tlio preat^h- or's lack, it is truo thtit tho ehurch can't supply the want, but a church ean do