Gospel Herald, 1860-03-10

              Devoted to Christianity, Morality, the Interests of Sfil^tia-th Schools, Social Tmpro-v-ement, Temperance, Kd.iication, and Oeiierwl Ne-wrs.
"BEHOLD,   I   BEING   TOU   GOOD   TIDINGS   OB^   GREAT   JO-y
ON   EARTH   PEACE,   GOOD   "VVILL   TOWAXD   MEIT,'
VOL. 16.
DAYTON, ()., SATURDAY, MARCH 10, I860.
NO. 43.
ORIGjNIAL POETRY.
Wri ten  for ttce Gospel Heraid.
An Invitation.
Gome all you youag   people,  who flourish  in beauty, t pray give attention to -what I relate, Be advised  by your  neighbors,   your friends, and your   brother And  t^ura to the Savoir before its to late.
Remember yon are hasting your time itis  was¬ ting And lu the cold grpve you muat  shortly  lie dowrn, .;
Each pulsation lieattng   tells you time  is fleet¬ ing And v/ariia you aloud thatyou soon must be¬ gone.
The oharres  of your beauty, must fade like the flowret. Your eyes death will  darkeu, and you soon must die,. The sunshiny morning ia oft before evening Both clouded and darkened by storms in the
So life is uneprtain, and you the dark curtain, Of death soon must press, to the Eternal world
There to rest with the Savior and blessed forev¬ er, , Or down to the regions of darkness be liiirld.
So now. dear youii^ poople, forsake all  thnt's e- vil, Rtligion isbalm to a goul in distress, If you would see pleasure submit to the Savoiur, And he with thinga ceedfuj will furnish the rest. 	
ORIG]NALITIES.
A Discourse Delivereii
At Aliami Cityonthieveniiigof Dec. 20th, 1859, hy N. C. Earl.
[COTfCI.UDKI).]
He liopes for a glorious reHiirrection from the dead, beotitise Christ-was rais¬ ed, and all hit, faithful followers hare tho promise that they shall be raised also. "For if we boiievo that Jesus tiled and roso again, even so tliem also vfhich sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." He hopes for an eternal life of dignity and Miss, be¬ cause, Christ has brought life and im¬ mortality to light through,the gospel, Yes nay brethren, Christ is the founda¬ tion pfall our hopes wo conquorthrough hira. Throughhitn wo obtain the vic¬ tory oyer death, hell, and the grave. Wo die. happy only in him. Those : -who are without Christ; who have no interest in the blessed Saviour, can- . tiot possibly die ha,p'py; but the oliris- {lan, whohas an interest in Christ, dies rejoicing;, singing,
"'VT'elcotne death thou ond ol fears,! am prepared to die-"
We iire admitted into Paradise by him. Christ is the only door, the only way into the kingdom; hence, we can only enter by him. We shall be raised by his power. Jesus said: "I -will raise him up at the last day." We shall have eternal life flowing from him. Jesusatiid: "Whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him sh.all be in him a well of wa¬ ter springing up into everlasting life." (John, 2: 14.)
4. Christ is tho foundation of the ¦svholo church.
Ihfive.already shown thatthechurch is a spiritual houae. Kowof this build¬ ing, Christ is not only tho chief corner- st()ne, but the foundation upon which the whole structure rests. Istiiah, speaking in reference to tbo promised lilassiah, said: -'Therefore thus sayeth
the Lord (xod, bohold, I hiy in Zion for a foundation, a atone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure founda¬ tion: He that believeth sliall not make hasttj." (Isa. XXY. 111,16. Again Pe¬ ter in the second chapter of his first epistle , quotes the same pttssage and applies it to Christ. Consider,
II. The distinguishing characteris¬ tics ofthis foundation.
It is distinguiahed,
1. for its strength.
Christ is a strong foundatitin.
On account of his strength and. sta¬ bility, he is styled a rock, and nothing can be better for a foundation than, a rock. Tho house that is built upon a rock, bids defianceto the fiercest storm. The rains may descend, tho floods may come, the winds may blow and beat upon it, but it falls not; it is built up¬ on a rock, andis^ therefore, flrm,stead- fast, and ira,movablo. So the ehurch, which is built upon Christ, can never be overthrown, even by the most vio¬ lent storms by which,it may be assail¬ ed. Why, my brethren, one of the qualities of our foundation is omnipo¬ tence. Christis posse.ssod of Almiglity power. Ho is called the Almighty.— 'All power," said he, "is given unto me in hetiven and in earth." "All things are delivered unto lue of my Father.". Certainly, there can be no danger in buihling upon such a rock as this. Thore cau be no danger in trusting our salvation in tho hands of an Almighty St^viour. That;Christ is a firm, immovable foundation, is evi¬ dent from the fact that the church, the .spiritual house built upon him, has, from the earliest period of its existence to the present day, boon continually as¬ sailed by the fierce storms and temp¬ ests, of poraoeution and opposition,and has not been overthrown. The ene¬ mies of the Christian church,have done all that laid in their power to over¬ throw it, but thoir etforts have been ineffectual. They thought to ovor- thi-ow it iu its coiiimencoment,by strik¬ ing at the foundation. They slew the Prince of life and glory, shut him in the tomb, and phiced a largo stone againat the door. ITovv thought they, -we have prevailed; we have destroyed the foundation, and tho building must stireljr fall, Buttheir triumph" is of short duration. The tomb is not strong enough t'l contain the crucified redeem¬ er. He burst the bars of death, and caire forth from the tomb to be tho comfort and support of all his people. All attempts to overthrow the church must bo in vain. It is built upon Christ and he is aroek. The rock of ages can not be moved. This foundation is dis¬ tinguished,
2. Por its suitability.
It iB highly importan t that the found- ation be a suitable one, for if it is not suitable to tho building that is to be erected upon it, it will be of little val-' ue. - Now our foundation is a suitable foundation; suitable in every respect. It is so to God; a foundation in every way worthy of him; -worthy of all his glorious attributes; wcrthj" ofhis holi¬ ness, ju.stice, wisdom, truth, mcrcytmd forbearance. It is suitable to the sin¬ ner. It is a founilation, exactly, adttpt- edto his condition; just such a Saviour as he needs. This foundation is dis¬ tinguished,
3. Por its perpetuity.
It is a perpetual foundation, a foun¬ dation that will last forever. The world is full of changes. Everything of a worldly nature is subject to change. There have been tuany changes in the world since this foundation was laid.— Many powerful kingdoms have fallen, and many new kingdoms havo been raised up. Many mighty kings htive been brought low, anil humbled to dust, while others httve ascended their thrones.
Tet our great foundation remains un¬ changed. We have the same founda¬ tion that was first laid; the only sure foundation that has ever been .laid.— This is the foundation upon which the righteous of all ages, have built their hopes of heaven. All that have ever been saved, have built upon Christ.— The dift'erence between those who lived prior to the advent of Christ into the world, and those who have lived since that event, is, that the former believed in a Messiah that was to come, anil the latter believe in a Messiah who has come. All believed in the same Christ; all trusted in the same Siiviour; all rest¬ ed upon the samo perpetual, unchang¬ ing foundation.    Notice,
III. The folly and impiety of at- tem])ting to Itiy any other foundation than that is laid.
The text supposes that men would attempt this, and the history of the church .shows that men have, in vari¬ ous ways, and iu all ages ofthe wt.irld, attemjited it. Many aro the falsefoun - dations that have been laid, and embel¬ lished in the most alluring manner, to attract souls from Christ; the only Sav¬ iour, tho onlj'way of life and stilvtition. There are many ways in which men attenipt to lay another foundation.— Thoy do this:
1. By trusting alone to the dictates of unsanctified reason.
There are many who teach that the biblo is not an inspired book: not a divine revalation from (Iod; not a suffi¬ cient guide; that we must be guided by our own reason. Now, my breth¬ ren, it is certainly, very unsafe to trust in our own reasons, for, -with, till our reason we are frequently mistaken.— Unsanctified reason, that is reason not sanctified by the spirit of God, is very apt to lead men astray. ' The word of God is frequently iwraigned, and tried, by the sttaidard of unsanctified humtxn reason, and condemned. Men pro¬ nounce it unreasonable and therefore untrue. Oh ! whtit havoc such men have made amongst the glorious doc¬ trines of the cross. They havedoniod the divinity of Christ, und taught that our blessed. Saviour wtts ttothing but a mere man. Some adi-jiit thtit he was a good man, and that his charjicter is worthy of imitation; but others declare that he was a vile impostc r-^that ho was not what he pretended tobe,—the Christ of God. They have extinguish¬ ed the Holy Ghost. They have den led the existence of anj' Holy Ghost, made division ofthe Spirit's influences; ridi¬ culed the idea of a change of heart, de¬ nied the reality of experimental relig¬ ion. They have denied that Christ mtide an atonementfor ua. They htive taught that man never sinned, never wont contrarjr to the will of God, and therefore needs no Saviour; needs not that an J-- atonement should be made for him.    They teach that man   is   a I
progressive being, and thtit he -will progress in virtue and holiness, until he is fit for the society of God and the holy angels in therealms of bliss above. They have made satanie agency all a delusion. They tell us that there is no devil;—no place of future punish¬ ment. Thus they htive set aside the glorious doctrines of the gospel, and are trusting to their own ialliblo un¬ sanctified reason.
2. Men attempt to lay another foundation, by relying on their own righteousness. There are many -who think they can bo so perfectlj' holy, and righteous, that theyahall merit sal¬ vation, and be able to claim it as a re¬ ward, instead of a free gift. Theae tiro laying a false foundation, and they maj' do this in various ways. One lioes this by trusting to his honesty. "I am" says he "a very honest luan; I never have wronged any ' body; 1 dealjustlj' with my fellow iren:.there¬ fore, I .shall surely be stived." Anoth¬ er does this by trusting to the sibsence of great crimes. "I am not," saya he, "guilty of any flagrant crimes—I have never stolen, I have nevor borne false witness, never sworn falsly, never murdered any body, never committed adultery oi' dono any other great crime: therefore 1 cannot be lost." Another does this by trusting to acts of generosity. "I cannot be lost," .says he "for 1 am so kind and benev¬ olent; I am always doing good to oth¬ ers, relieving thoso wlio are iti distress, feeding the hitngry, clothing thenaked, and giving siielter to the sholterless. Tn short, I :iin very generous, and therefiire I consider myself perfectly safe." Another does this by trusting to acts of devotion. He ia very devo¬ tional; he reads tho Bible and mtikes long prayers daily. He goes regular¬ ly to church, aud ttikos an active part in the exercises there performed. In short, he is very devotional, and he thinks that on this account he shall be saved. Another attempts this by trusting to acts of self-denial. "I am Siife" stiys he "because I practice great self-denial. I deny myself of all the vain pursuits and amusements of this lifo. I deny myself of all ungodliness, and worldly lusts. I deny myself of many of the comforts anti luxuries of lifo, for the good of the cause of God. ,z\ nother do(« this by trusting to the correctness of his creed. I shall be saved, saj's one, because my creed is correct. I have correct views of the nature and chartteter of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the way of salviition; correct views upon all points of theology, and therefore I am per¬ fectly safi;!. Another does this by trusting to public profession. He aays, " I make a public profession of religion, my name is recorded, on the church book, I am a member of the ehurch in good standing; therefore, there can be no danger for me."
All theso things are well enough in their place, but they are utterly worth- li58s as a foundation. It wiUiiotdo to build our hopes of hetiven upon these things — to trust in them for salva¬ tion.
3. Men attempt to lay another foundation, by resting solely on God's mercy, to the exclusion of Christ's work and sacrifice.
It is very true that God is a merci¬ ful being, for mercy is  his darling at-