The Gospel herald. (New Carlisle, Ohio), 1859-06-11

              GOSPEL HERALD.
Devoted to CUristianity, Morality, tlie interests of Sabba-th Schools, Social Improvement, Temperance, Edncation, and General News.
"BEHOLD,   I   BRING   YOU   GOOD   TIDINGS   OF   GREAT   JOY
ON   EAKTH   PEACE,   GOOD   WILL   TO-ffABD   MEN."
VOL. 16.
DAYTON, 0., SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1859.
NO. 6.
ORIGINAL POETRY.
JtKeTBro. Melyn L. Bakkr, who died at Enon, Clark comity, 0., June 29th, 1858, compoaod the following, a short time previous to hia death, on visiting the grave of his father. Sinco the death of tho writer of them, hia wife and only child have also slept the sleep of death, and have heen laid down beside him in the quiet grave:
[rUBLISHED   BY REQUEST.]
My Father's Grave.
I pasHed near his tomb, I Stood by his grave,
All alono, for no living were nigh; Tho sleopora woro gone—had passed the cold wave
To regions of bliss—to mansions 09; high, Their spiritB to bask in bright living day— Their bodies to mnnldor, returning to clay. 'Twas the grave 'of my father ^ all sacred and dear;
'Twaa the place whore they Jfliil him,honinath the cold sod; 'Twas the tomb of a parent, separated from here,
At tho call of his Mailer—the voice of his God, "Which bade him como home, to dwell with tho blest, From labors, afflictions, and aori-ows, to rest. A pensive, deep sadness stole over my sonl,
And I wopt, for sorrow had taught mo to weep Ere adversity's wavca had arisen to roll
O'er my bark, as it horo mo oil time's tnrbid deep; I wept, though I knew but tho ashes were there— That Father had gone to a holier sphorc. I knelt on the sod at tho sido of tho grave.
And prayed to the Maker and Giver of all, "Aid me, Oh ! Fatlier, Thy blessings I crave,
Ere I sink in the tomb—in the cold grave fall; Prepare me for death and for tho vile foe. That fain would woo mo to darkness below !" The voice of a seraph or spirit divine,
Angolic its tones—its accents were love, Fell sweetly like music of heavenly clime:
The voice wa.s celestial, and came from above. Those words I remember, and will while 1 stay In timo'5 habitation, where all pasa away. *'\Voop not for thy father; he's safely at rest.
Far from tho valley of death and disease; Crowned now in glory,—immortal and bleati-
Us dwells now in glory—in heaven at ease; For heaven is glory, and glory is heaxen; And both to the lovers of Jesus aro given. "Shed tears for thyself; prepare for tho grave;
A?ik Jesus to bless thee; his mercy implore; He'll bear thee securely o'er Jordan's cold wave—
Convey thee in safety to Canaan's fair shore. Ho'b willing to save theo; salvation's for all, It's voice is 'Come qnickly;' 'Come now,' is its call. *'To drink ofthe waters that freely do flow
From life-giving fountains, n\ost holy and pnre; Drink, and thy sonl shall immortally grow.
Where songs of bright seraphs forever endure; Where angels of glory are hovering round; "Whore saints, now rewarded, in hoaven are found." It ceased, and 1 heard those sweet accents no more:
All was still in that graveyard around rae; Ko living wore there,—and alone, as before,
I stood by the grave and sighed to be free. And resolved ere I turned from the tomb that day, To seek for tho glories that pa.^s not away.
M. Xj. Bakkk.
ORIGINALITIES.
Written for the Gospel Herald.
What is Gospel Preaching.
BY JOHN A. 0. MYEIIS.
This subject, appears to be variously understood by onr people, but in all this diversity we at once 8€e the marks of their intellectual culture. Space Avill not allow us to give all the views, %vhich are afloat concerning. Gospel preaching; but we desire to give first the views of one kind or class of, per¬ sons, which is numerous among our people in some parts of our laud, and then wc shall give onr own views as far as we shall be able to do so.
Many of our people, when asked what they understand by Gospel preaching, will answer as far as they are able to give an answer, that Gos- ple preaohing is : "to preach the good old way," by which they mean that the preaeher must not utter his words
in a round full and melodious voice like other public speakers, but he must squeeze them out in a sing-song manner. This is the good old heaven- Ij* tone. Furthermore, Gospel preach¬ ing consists according to their defini¬ tion, in telling and rehearsing the .sto¬ ry ofthe crucifixion again and again, until it has lost all force and power; in quoting one passage of scripture after the other, no matter how erroneously or disconnected with tho subject (if the preacher has a subject at all.) The preacher, who is truly a Gospel preach¬ er, must be boisterous and always raise hia voice to the highest pitch, un¬ til he sinks down utterly exhausted. "With them it matters little what is ut¬ tered; they do not seek to be benefited either spiritually or intellectually. The man who is able to create an ex¬ citement whieh will pass away like mist before tho Eising Sun, and then leaves the Congregation all languid and exhausted; he, who can appeal to, and arouse all the animal passions of the Congregation, and fills the atmos¬ phere with the odours of sulphur and brimstone, is with them emphatically the Gospel preacher.
But is this Gospel preaching? "We do not think that any one can well have a higher regard for the sacred scripture and the office ofthe ministry, than your writer; yet we confess, that if the view above given, is the true view of Gospel preaching, then we must stand and rank forever with those who are not preachers pf the Gospel, but preachers of Nature; Sci¬ ence, History and Philosophy. We love to speak of Christ, his life, his death and resurrection, for these are to us, themes of the highest interest and significance. Around them the whole "system of Christian Theology must turn. Christ is the centre, the beginning and the ending. We know of no Christianity without Christ. Yet the Gospel is not preached, when a few subjects are constantly made the topic of our discourse. We do not ob¬ ject to the quoting of passages of scrip¬ ture in our sermons. We love to hear them, but do not quote them irrespec¬ tive of their sense and meaning. Bring them in where they are wanted, and if we strive to interest our Con gregation, and do them lasting good, we shall find that a few passages, well selected, well treated and explained, will do them more good than the mere recitation of whole chapters and books of the Bible. Scripture is so fnll of meaning, that a few passages may well occupy our thoughts and minds for some time, and furnish us with material sufficient for a dlsconrso. E"or would we speak lightly of feelings. The religion which can be felt and en¬ joyed in our hearts we love; bnt. let this feeling be constant and lasting. Let it guide tho people to lead a true, holy and consistefit life.
Our desire is not to sit in judgment over others, but wo may be allowedto judge by Christ's rule, which is this: "By their fruits ye shall know them." Many, whose feelings rise highest in seasons of excitement, are no* always the best and rao&t consistent Chris¬ tians. Wc havre seen in the course of our short ministry that they, who re¬ lied] BO much upon feeling, brought forth fruits unworthy their Christian profession,, and then they brought a
reproach upon that holy name by which they were called. After the ex¬ citement has passed away, all good resolutions are forgotten, jealousy and hatred takes again possession of their hearts (we doubt whether the evil de¬ mon was ever cast out;) their tongue indulges iu deceit, and in slandering their fellow-men; yea, some will even go so far as to back-bite the minister who sought to bring unto them the word of life. (We speak of what we have seen and heard.)
Our idea of Gospel preaching is high aud lofty. We are conscious that we have not yet attained it, but we are striving after perfection, and hope to roach it to some extent before God will call us from our post, Christiani¬ ty takes in all that man can see or know. It addresses itself to man as a rational being; it suits itself to all his circumstances from the cradle to the gi-ave, and then it leaves him in the iiands of the author of this religion. He, who listened to its admonitions, and conformed to its requirements, is well prepared to enter upon the un¬ known future. If the Gospel, if Chris¬ tianity takes in all this, then the preaching of the Gospel must consist in an almost endless vai-iety of sub¬ jects. It takes in history, since it shows us the finger of God, and in¬ structs us concerning his dealings with mankind, No one can fnlly under¬ stand Christianity and its mission "iv-hoi ignores history, and especially the his¬ tory of tho Jews and of the Christian. Church. The more I study history, the more I become acquainted with it, the stronger grows my faith, and I am encourged to preach the Gospel, assur¬ ed that it truly is the power of God unto salvation.
The true Gospel preacher will refer to history, and out of it prove the power of religion to his people; like his master he will point to Nathan and decipher for them the hand-wi'iting of God, as he finds it in the little flower beneath his feet, as he finds it on the rough and unpolished rock; in tho murhiuring rivulet; in the lofty moun¬ tain; in the rain which reft-eshes the thirsty land; in the rising sun, the moon and stars; he will point to the fearful lightning and to the majestic midnight storm as the things which utter tho voice of God. The Gospel aims at the elevation of society, aaid thus it teaches men temperance, and condemns the use of ardent spirits;; it condemns slavery as being ai source of vice and licentiousnuess. It condemns it because it is con-ti-ary to the law of God, and leads imrflortal sotiIs to de¬ struction. The Go&pel takes eognition of the actions of Legislative 'bodies-, since they hold a power in their hands which was given them from above; and it tells Ihem to use that power for the promotion of morality, and the gene¬ ral good of mankind. In short 1 can think of nothing which the- Gospeli preaching does not take in.
When I view our office in this light, I am led to exclaim: "Who is sufficient for these things?" To- proach the Gos¬ pel in its full sense, requires the broad¬ est intellectual and spiritual culture.— These aro but few men living who are fully prepared for the work, iet ua pray for tho-spirit of God, and maywo learn to live as chri stains, loivre^tho truth
whatever source it may come.    Blessed is he who can seo  God, and learn of Him all things. Fastmansville, Alich.
Wrillenfor the Goapel Herald.
Procrastination.
"Put not off till to-morrow whatcan be done to-day," is an old and good maxim. It is in accordance with this sentiment that those men who are the most successful in business, and the most useful in society, invariably act.
The disposition, however, to put off for a more convenient season what ought to be done immediately, is wide¬ ly prevalent, and has proved the ruin of many well-disposed persons.
It often happens that what might be done noiv with advantage and ease being delayed to another opportunity, cannot be done at all. The duties of life are so many and various that we cannot properly and faithfully perform them, all unless we attend to each in its season, What we do or gain to-day we aro sure of; what ¦ave delay till to¬ morrow becomes an uncertainty.
In nothing, perhaps, is this tenden^ cy to procrastinate more clearly dis - cernable than in the reluctance which men evince in yielding submission to God by engaging in a religious coui-se of living.
Though most mon readily admit that religion is a subject of the highest ini- portance—demanding their first atten¬ tion—though they are by no means backward in declaring their purpose of seeking, at some future time, the- "pearl of great price"^yet the major¬ ity of them are putting ofl" for a more- eon venient season the day of their re¬ pentance atad reconciliation with God. It is greatly t-o be feared that they, like thousands who have preceded them, will go dewn to tlieir graves with a weight of guilt upon them un¬ der the buuden of which thisy will ap¬ pear before-their "l?inal Judge" to re¬ ceive tho terrible sentence—"Depart from me, I never knew you,"
Eteader, are you gmilty of the sini of procrastination? Ar.e. you endeavor¬ ing to quiet your conscience by cher¬ ishing the vain hope, that a more con¬ venient time for beginning the Chris- tiani I5fe wilii be granted you in the fu¬ ture?. If so, cherishit no longei'; You. are deceiving youself. Tho present on¬ ly is. yours—you have no promise of the future—
'¦To-day the prize is won,
Tlio-promiiic is to save ;: Tlien 0, be wi.«e !~to-raorrow'fl snn,
May phindupou your gf^vo-''
Written for.lhi Gospel Herald.
Will we own Qnr Work.
BY H. K. m'OOKNEI.I,.
The Tailor i.s pleased to have the people spealc of that ncatly-niado well- fitting suit ofclothes as his work.
The Meohainie feels himself compli- meated when the mechanism of the fine comfortable mansion; the-Locomo- tive^ortho spinning factory is attri¬ buted to him:. When the world says of that talented accomplished and pi¬ ous young man, "He owes hie respect to- a kind industrious father," how does the heart ofthe parent tludll wifth ¦ " the
pleasure aa with joy he  "owna and receive, it with'joy from I work."'