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Gospel Messenger Stone-Campbell Movement Periodicals

1-21-1897

Gospel-Messenger-8-03-January-21-1897 Gospel-Messenger-8-03-January-21-1897

Marion F. Harmon

Oscar P. Spiegel

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OSPfL ESSEI&ERDevoted to the Cause of Christ in all the South and throughout the World.

Volume VIII· Number 3.Nashville, Tennessee, January 21, 1897.

Among our Exchanges.How can it be expected for a church

to be a missionary church, when itspreacher never preaches on missionsnul' says one word from the pulpit inbehalf of the good' work? Convertthe anti-missionary preachers andthe churches will soon fall in line inmission work. A certain preacher inNorthwest Missouri preached fiveyears for a certain church, and duringall that time he never opened hismouth in the pulpit to say one wordin behalf of missions of any kind. Ofcourse that church gave nothing formissions. Who is to be blamed?Why, that preacher who did notf1tllypreach the Old Jerusalem Gospel' tothe church.-Church Register.

Christ is greater than Moses, as the"eality is greater than the type, thesubstance is greater than the shadow.Moses prophesied as a man; Jesusprophesied as a God. Moses taughtas God imparted knowledge to him;Jesus taught out of the inexhaustiblefountain of his own heart. As a rule,Moses got angry and made mistakes;Jesus was always calm, always cor-rect. Moses' meditation was tempo-rary and impatient; that of Jesus waspatient and eternal. Moses gave theLaw on stone; Jesus on human hearts.Moses delivered from temporal, Jesusfrom spiritual bondage. Moses' de-liverance was temporary; Christ'seternal. Moses delivered Israel;Christ delivered mankind. Moses ledto a land where much trouble, painand sin still existed; Jesus to a landof promise, free from pain, sorrow,sickness, sin and death. Sunshineeternal fills that land.-Christian

. Leader.

The police hi Denmark have a cu-rious way of dealing with the drunkand incapable found in the streets.They sul'nmon a cab, and place thepatient inside of it; then drive to thestation, where he gets sober; thenhome where he arrives sober and,.

sad. The agents never leave him tillthey have seen him safe in the fami-ly bosom. Then the cabman makeshis charge, and the police surgeonmakes his, and the agents make theirown claim for special duty, and thisbill is presented to the host of the es·tablishment wh~re the culprit tookhis last overpowering glass.-Chris-tian Index.

The Christian Preacher, guardian ofthe Church of Christ, says: "TheWatch Tower confesses that with alltheir zeal for organized effort inNorth Carolina they have hardly beenable to hold their own. They woulddo better, perhaps, to fall back intothe old plan of doing Bible things ina Bible way." Before we had organ-ized effort in North Carolina we hadno own to hold. It has only been byorganize,d effort that we have estab-lished new congregations, built churchhouses and aided in having the Gos-pel preached to the whole creation.We infer from what the Preacher saysthat the "Bible way" is not an organ-ized way. We were once under whatthe Preacher calls the "old plan,"and we did just what the Preacherand its disciples are now doing-noth-ing. We shall not "faU back, ' butgo forward with the Old Book as ourchart and compass.-Watch Tower.

Whatever the character of Solo-mon's wisdom may have been, hewho submits himself absolutely to di-vine leadershjp is wiser than Solomon,for such a man has the help of omni-science. Strange It is, therefore,that any of us will risk the guidanceof our finite minds, when there isoffered to us the wisdom of the Infin-ite.-Cumberland Presbyterian.

A truly ChrisMan man can alwaysbe found on the side of righteousness.This applies to the ballot box as wellas the pew.-The Pilot.

While the Dlission of the church, inthe highest sense, is a spiritual one,

yet it also has largely to do withman's secular and material interests.Of its divine Fo.under it is said: "Hewent about doing good."-TennesseeMethodist.

What we see must depend on thedjrection in which we look. A gentle-man believed he had lost a watch·trinket, on which he set great value,during a walk through the woods.He retraced his steps, but no longersaw the graceful outlines of tile trees,the green abundance of the leaves,and the graceful tracery of the whiteclouds upon the blue sky. He waslooking' downward, among the fallenand parched leaves, the scanty grass,the gnarled roots, and the unfragrantweeds which hemmed his pathway.One' bit of gold made him alive towhat was below 'him, and dead towhat was above him. And so theyellow magnet which mammon usescan draw away men's hearts from thebeautiful and gracious facts of thespirituallife to the mere refuse, weeds,and muck of the world. Just the re-verse of the Christian's attitude, ashe looks up, and not down. He seeksthe things which are above, and setshis mind ~n them, and not on the,things that are upon the earth. Hehas been made sharer of a life from'.above, and what belongs to it are the'precious realities of his existence.-Sunday-School Times.

Every son and daughter of Adaill'.is more or less defective. Imperfec-'tion is stamped on every member ofthe human family, and thus we shouldl

all be willing to become better. But·some persons are constitutionally self-willed, and by dealing with people.whQ yield to them they reach the con-clusion that they are perfect., ThemGod's question in Isaiah 42: 19 is ap-propriate. "Who is blind as he that,

is perfect?" The Savior in his beati-tudes did n~t pronounce that mam

blessed who regards it as a virtue to-bediscourteous.-Octograph Rev~." ~

ity, sectarianism, and disobedience, were the blpwsof a master-workman, and Mr. Sheffer soon becamedeeply interested in the salvation of his soul. Theresult was that before the meeting closed, W. H.Sheffer obeyed Ihe gospel and united with the Chris-tian church at Corydon. He had already shownremarkable ability as a public 8peaker, in the ca-pacily of a local lecturer; so when he united withthe church, the brethren insisted on his immediatepreparation to preach the gospel. At first he hesi;tated; but he soon yielded, and the following Febr-uary-1888-found him in the College of the Bible,Kentueky University.

AJJ of hi3 work was of the very best, but esp-ecially delightful and entrancing were his societyorations. His voice was musical and well modulat-ed, his gesticulation easy and graceful and best ofall natural.

But lest some think that my love for the manis warping my judgement, I will give an ex;ample.At one of our open sessions held in college, Mr.Sheffer was on the program for an oration. Theevening was hot, and I was in the gallery where Icould 8ee everyone. When Mr. 'Sheffer began

I speaking tIle ladies' fans, like butterflies in a flower<rarden, were in motion all over the vast audifnce.As he warmed to his subject the ,motion of the fans<rot slower and finallv stopped. They sat throughthe half hour's I:>pe~ch, the fans moving a littlesometimes, then Rtopping again. Mark Collis,professor of English language and literature in theuniversity said it was the grandest speech he everheard a student make in that institution.

Mr. Sheffer took the entire Bible course grad-uatin<r in the class of 1891. His first work was atBeJJ Buckle, Tenn., where he went immediatelyafter graduating. He reillained with this churcheighteen months, giving entire satisfaction. FromBell Buekle he went to TulLhoma, where he labor-ed one year. He found the church dead and divid-ed, he left it alive and at work. Gn'at pressure wasbrought to bear to keep him at Tullahoma, but atthe e'nd,of the year believing that it was a field ofgreat usefulness, he accepted a call to the pastorateof the church at Lewisburg. This is the home ofDr. Brents, whose days of active service are aboutover, and as he sat under the eloquence of theable preacher, he thanked God for this portion ofhis reaping.

Mr. Sheffer remained at Lewisburg two years,about 200 fJeople being added to the church. Afterservin<r as pastor a year, he held his own protractedmeeti;<r, which resulted in sixty-eight additionsto the ~hurch. Last January he resigned at Lewis-bur<r to accept a caJl to the First church of UnionCity, Tenn. It is safe to say that a bright futureiS,before the church.

Tl)ere have been ninety-nine additions to thechurch at Union City, and fifty-seven elsewhere thisyear 1896. In addition to the regular work mention-ed above, Mr. Sheffer has held a number of suc-cessful protracted meetings at various places inKentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. Thisyear he has held meetings for the Vine street churchat Nashville it re~ulting in thirty-five additions andPaducah resulting in twenty-two addditions. Duringthe five years of his ministry nearly seven hundredpeople have obeyed the gospel under his preaching.

October 13, 1891, Mr. Sheffer was married toMiss Mattie Conley, of Corydon, Ky., the writerrising from a sick bed and going sixty-six miles toofficate at the wedding. W, H. LIGON.

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.~J3@§@J#l@~r@J--%@L§~1§cg~g~

~ :f8fograpb~ ll)epartl11ent. ~~@]I3§@ggJ§f@§@ef@SJ~~@J~

ELDER W. H. SHEFFER.

The subject of tbls sketch '7as born in Hender-son, Kentucky, Dec. 25th, 18~5. The fi,r8t schoolthat he attended was a log cabm at BoxvIlle, Ky.,where his father was en<rtwed in buying tobacco and

, selling dry gauds. Mr.oSheffer did not temain longin BoxviJle, but soon returned to Henderson. Herehe attended school. One who'knew MIL Sheffel' atthat time represented him to the writer as being "aquick witted and very intelligent boy.

Mr. Sheffer, at this time, was a well-to-dobu~iness man, and made mbney rapidly. He em-barked in the steamboat business on the Ohio river,and was owner and captain of a packet plying betweenHenderson and EvansvilJe. For awhile fortunesmiled upon him; but, owing to the disho?esty of.some parties "ith whom he transacted busmess, hesoon lost his entire accumulation. Death followedin 1876, when the subject of this notice was onlyeleven years old, and the care of a widowed mother,together with a brother and sister-both youqgerthan himself-fell upon the young shoulders oe' W.H. Sheffer. Tbis, of cour~e, interfered with thepursuit of his education.. But whe? about fifteenyears old, he removed WIth the famIly to Cordyon,'Ky. He grew to manhood; a~ld by hard. work and,strict economy, he succeeded m r.ompletlllg nearly.all of the course of the high school.

At this time Mr. Sheffer's mind suffered a:severe attack of ~kepticism, caused by some f~lse,reli<rious instruction which had been gIven hIm.'Tu:'ning in disgust from religion, he then took amotion to study law. " .

But at this time came an important cnSlS IIIhis life-effecting, doubtless, his own destiny, andthe destiny of hundreds of others, In October,1887, Dr. T. W. Brents, a Christian minister ofLewisburg, Tenn., came to Corydon to hold a pro-tracted meeting for the Christian church. Mr.Sheffer began to attend these m~e,tings, doubt~ess,through curiosity; for his skeptJ?ls~, ~t that tIme,was bordering upon the verge of mfi(lellty-

That dismal night that shows no starTo guide the traveler anywhere.

"I ,f q:. But the blows that Elder Brents dealt to infidel-~ . \ '.~~.~. '" ;,-... ~" "~11 i._. ~.~

"'\-:~~<'Y

development of our own character, that we may be pre-pared for the enjoyment of God's favor here and here-·alter. While the specific things required of men astests of faith and Jove have been changed from time totime in the gradual development of the plan of salva-tion, the principle on which God deals with men hasever been, and will ever remain, the same. 1'his princi~ .pIe embraces faith in God and obedience to all that herequires. The things now required of men are all found I

in the gospel of Christ; while the principle of faith and'obedience is found all through the Bible.

We find a full and clear statement of this principlein the first discourse of the Apostle ~ter to the Gen-tiles. When he had reached the house of Cornelius, andthe full import of the vision which he had seen lit.Toppa flashed upon hi~ mind, he exclaimed, "Of a truthI perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but)nevery nation he that fcareth him and worketh righte~ousness is acceptable to him." The purpose of Godthen alwavs has beCH and always will be, to accepteveryone' who fears' him and works righteousness.This is one of God's decrees, not secret and unwritten,but revealed and written that it may be lead and under-stood and observed by all men. God's foreknowledgeof the saved, therefore, and all his foreordinations con-cern!ng them, embraced their character and conductwithout respect of person.

There is one oracle of Jesus that covers the entireground of God's sovereignty and man's agency. It isfound in his discourse with Nicodemus: "For God soloved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, buthave eternal life." This is pre-Elminently the goldentext of the Bihle. It gives us the clue to the right l.lnder-standing of the whole scheme of redemption. Everyone who truly believes in Jesus in the full scriptural im-'port of this ~xpression is embraced in the foreKnowledgeand purpose of God, as well as in his love and mercy,and may safely postpone the investigation of the secretthings of God till the crown of eternal life is placedupon his brow. In harmony with this fundamentalprinciple laid down by the Savior, Paul says, "For thereis no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the sameLord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call uponhim: for Whosoever shall call- upon the name of theLord shall be saved." ThIS OPCDSwide the. qoor ofmercy to all t11e sons and daug~ters of tl~,eeart~; an~that too in exact accordance ';Vlth that eternal pm-pose" of God "which he purposed in Christ Jesus ourLord."

Finally, let us consider that there is to be ~ "revela-tion of the rillhteous judgment of God; wh? WIll render·to every man according to his works: to them that .by·patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor an~ lll-corruption, eternal life: but io them that are factIous,.and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousn~ss, shall'be wrath and indignation, tribulation and angmsh upon\every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first"and also of the Greek; but glory andr honor and peace:to every man that worketh good, to the Jew; ,first, ~dalso to the Greek: for there is no respect of persons WIthGod.". On this divinely ordained and divir.ely revealed prin-

ciple of eternal justice and mercy, will the unchange--

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.

(.!·ortespon~ence ==

Things Hard to be Understood.B. F. MANIRE.

(Ooncluded.) .

15. This line of argument might be extended to great,length; but we deem it unnecessary to pursue it furtherat present. We have a shorthand method by which wedispose of the difficulty in this and in all similar cases.This method is satisfactory to ourselves, and we hope it\vill prove equally satisfactory to our readers.

While the Bible treats to some extent of the fore-knowledge, purposes, counsels, decrees, ordinat!ons andforeordinations of the great Jehovah, it is mainly a plainand practical history of his actual dealings with the hu-man family in society, in government, in providence,and especially in religion. It tells us what God hasdone for men, what he is still doing for men, and whathe will continue to do for men as long as time shalllast. It also tells us what God requires men to do inrespect to himself, in respect to themselves, in respect toothers, and all in order to their own present and future-happiness. This last is one of its prominent features,and occupies a large portion of its space.

Now all these things are plain and simple mattersof fact; and these matters of fact are, and must ever be,in perfect harmony with the foreknowledge and fore-ordination of God. They are the manifestations oThiscounsels, purposes, and decrees, as well as his love andmercy. There never has been, and never can be, anyconflict or disagreement or inconsistency between thesetwo great departments of the Divine economy; the one.embracing God's purposes and decrees concerning men,and the other his actual dealings with them. vVhat Godrequires of men must be in exact accordance with hisforeknowledge of' them. God's' actual dealings withmen must be in perfect harmony with his purposes orforeordination concerning them. Certainly no one willhave the hardihood to affirm that God's requirementsof men are contrary to his foreknowledge of their oppor-tunities capacities character, and conduct; or that his,,' .treatment of them is contrary to hIS purposes, decrees,and foreordinations concenllng their present and futurehappiness. Such a position would be utterly abhorrentto every principle of justice, to say nothing of love andmercy; and is directly contrary to every conception ofGod's character that can be rightly formed from theteaching of the Holy Scriptures. It would make J e-hovah not only an almighty tyrant, but also a monsterof cruelty and deception.

If it be true then, as true it is, that there is and evermust be a perfect harmony between the precepts, pron:-isesand warnings of God on the one hand, and hISfor;lrnowledge, purposes, and decrees on the other, itfollows conclusively that human responsibility is in-volved in the great principles on which God actuallydeals with men. Instead then of troubling ourselvesabout the deep things of God which are far beyond ourfeeble comprehension, we should devote our hearts andlives to the learning and doing of the plain and practicalthings wIDch are required of us in order to the right

the standard in matters religious. You think thatmany great men and good might object to this f6rthe reason that the Bible as the standard wouldseem to exclude any and all other books from what-ever source. I am aware of such objection. Butwhatever Catholics or Protestants may throw in thway in this investioation, we shall adhere to theone standard, the Bible, to test any and all ques-tions religious. Be it remembered that we are fixedin this determination, that where the Bible teachesand what it teaches all must bow to, but where itdoes not teach then all should be free to act as bestthey can in all matters not taught in the book.

You are right draw the line, theologicallyspeaking, according to the demands of truth. Ilike this and I hope y~u will adhere to this strictly.Then in the next line or so you say a few queerthings. Such as, that you need some one, or somedoctrine to look to as a final resort. Look here doyou mean by this to have some other ~tandard thanthe 13ible? Some human being, or doctrine to guideyou, do you wish? Let me again emphasize thefact that the Bible is the only book by which weare to be tested. It is the standard of appeal in allthings, therein revealed. Do I accept that state-ment, "where the Bible speaks we speak; where itis ililent we are silent." I am sure I do not under·stand it as it now stands. Uncle Jo. ail old darkeyasked F. G. Allen about this old phrase. Bro. A.urged the old darkey for his view of it. I here giveit in subiltance, "When de Bibl~ speaks "dats nuff;when de Bible is silent, den all am free to speak andact." He caught the idea correctly, I think.When old Master commanded that was law to uncleJo. but when old Master had not commanded orwas silent then the old dar key felt he was free tospeak and act as best he could. Thus I firmly be-lieve the children of God are situated today. Onall questions where the Bible speaks let all bow wholove God. Let none be shaken by the opinions ofmen, for these opinions are a law to no freeman inChrist Jesus. It seems difficult for us to get freefrom the bondage of human authority, or humanopinions. I think Bro. Allen did a great thing formany lovers of the truth by the revision of thedeclaration of Thos. P. Campbell, where the Bi-ble speaks, we speak; where it is silent, we aresilent.

In my next, if it be not set aside by some morepreparing demane, I hope to illustrate this new ar-rangement of the phrase in some important particu-laril. Carefully weigh this old darkey's view of it.T give you this my dear friend as a better statement,

f more easily understood by all. This new version,·aRwe may call it, I understand; while the old state-ment is obseure, even if it does not lead into error.I leave you here for a while to ponder well and becareful in drawing the line. For many are draw-ing lines but not wisely. All our ways .and purworks must be subjected to a severe and final test

4 THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.able awards of eternity be made; and all in strictest ac-cord with the foreknowledge, foreordination, eternalpurpose, and absolute decrees of the all-wise and all-merciful Jehovah.

Imaginary results of the foreknowledge of God cannever set aside the immutable principle of the Divinegover~ment, change of the courseof God's dealings withmen, or destroy human responsibility. May we neyerwrest any of those things that are hard to be undfl'-stood,either to the destruction of ourselves or to the.injury of others; but may we ever walk in the clear lig-htof the many things that can be understood, until wereach the clearer light of that Eternal Day which will

.dispel all darkness, reveal all secrets, and fully explain,all mysteries.

Drawing the Line.DEARG. G.: In your last reply to my ques-

tions, only a part of which you had time to note,you give good and I think safe advice to me andalso to others who may need such advice. Thereis one point you raise and set forth with much force.On this I am doing a deal of thinking. You say,.that persons should in....all investigations agree aboutthe standard of appeal, and that in religious mattersthe Bible should be that standard. Many good.men and great, I know might not agree to this.They would say this left no room for thought, hu-man thought. This they think would destroy orspoil much of the labor of not a few. Such as theCommentaries and church formulas which have beena blessed boon for ages amongst men. Surely sucha course must be hurtful to thousands! I knowthat in our conversation I ElaidI was going to drawthe line, theologically :considered, where it shouldbe drawn according to thE!demands of truth. I

.have learned that it is very needful to have someperson. or doctrine,to look to as final resort in the.discussion of questions. I suppose the Bible should',be the standard by which to settle all questions that:may arise on religious subjects. But would you~saythat dear book would settle all questions thatmight arise, and that do arise? If you so think,and are right in thus thinking, then it seems to methat we have a short cut to the end of almost all thecontroversies now handled by disputants, religiousdisputants. I wish to ~o slowly here, and let meunderstand you on this point and thus be the betterable to push my work among my friends when I getupon the basis that will stand all ~ttacl~s. Youteach then that the Bible must be the standard onall questions. Where it speaks we must speak, and.where it is silent, we must be silent. This is whatyou teach as to the way the Bible is the standardwe need? B. B. B.

My DEAR 3 B's.: Yours of Jan. 1st, '97 isbefore me and I am glad to hear that you are doin gh~eal of thinking about having a standard, or ratred

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER. B

in the no distant future. We should be sure thatGod is well pleased with us in every mc;vewe m!tke.Every true soul will bow humbly when God speaks;but all his children are free to think in all thingswhere there are no divine directions.

Is it not thus witti God's children to this day?There are many who feel deeply and sadly concern-ingany move unless the tUng be a command of Hea-ven. On this more hereafter. Youre, G. G..._ ..

What is in a Name?It has been said there is nothing in a name.

With this statement the divine writings do notagree. Peter, in Acts 4: 12, speaking of Christ,says: "And there is salvation in no other; for thereill no other name under heaven given among men,whereby we c'an be eaved." He seems to thinkthere is much in a name; for says, he, there is sal-vation in the .name of Christ, and in none other.Yet, in the face of this positive assertion, many bytheir action seem to indicate that the name ofChrist is not all-sufficient to save; for they persistin wearing some other name given among men. Andnot satisfied themselves with wearing other namesgiven under heaven among men, continually applythem to those who are satisfied with and desire towear only that name by which we mean to be saved.The true follower of Chriet should repudiate thosenames given among men, for they tend to detractfrom that name in which l:lalvationis. This wear-ing of names given among men is strongly con-demned by the teachings of the sacred writings; asis plainly shown in the case of the Corin!hians, whowere not satisfied with the name of Christ, but tookupon themselves names given among men. Andsome said I am of Paul, I of Apollos, I of Cephas,and I of Christ. 'For this Paul condemne them(1 Cor. 1: 12-14), and in strong terms. He says:"Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?Were you baptized in the name of Paul ? I thank Godthat I baptized none of you, but Crispull and Gaius,lest any should say I have baptized in my ownname." Paul was not willing to induct anyone intoan organization bearing, any name save that ofChrist. He declares that Christ is not divided, asthose who take upon themselves names given amongmen would have him. Paul was so strongly im-pressed with the convictio.n that there is much in aname, that he was not willing that any should wearhis name, but desired that all should wear that'name alone in which salvation is. Christ is calledthe bridegroom and the Church the bride. Thisbeing the case, the bride should receive and wearonly the name of the bridegroom; for if she doesnot, she dishonors the name of the bridegroom.If there is nothing in II nam.e, why are you so jeal-ous of your own name, that you would have yourbrIde wear it to tlie exclusion of all others? It isbecause, by refusing to wear the husband's name

the wife brings dishonor upon it. For the samereason that the bride should wear the husband'sname to the exclusion of all others, the foUowersof Christ should wear his name to the exclusion ofall others. And for the still stronger reason, thatin it alene is salvation. If you will persist in wear-ing names given under heaven among men, do nottry to force them upon others, who are willing totrust themselves to that salvation that is found inChrist's name alone; for it only damages you anddoes not hurt those who will wear no other namethan that by which salvation comes. For does notChrist say, ,"Blessed are you when men shall revileyou and say all manner of evil against you falselyfor my name's sake?" Christ prays that we mayall be one. In Christ there is union, and Paulstrongly sets this fJrth when he condemns the Cor-rinthians by' asking' the / question, "Is Christdivided?" In all other names is division; for Paulfully demonstrates this when he says, "Now, I be-seech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord JesusChrist, that ye all speak the same things, and thatthere be no division among you; but that ye beperfectly joined together in the Ramemind and inthe same judgment. For it hath been declared un-to me of you, my brethren, by those which are cfthe house of Chloe, that there are contentionRamong you. Now this I say, that everyone of you"aith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I ofCephas, and I of Christ. Is Ch'rist divided? WasPaul crucified for you? or were you baptized in thename of Paul?" Showing that in theFe names thedivisions existed and caused contention. Christsays, "Whoever confesEes me before men. him willI confess before my Father, who is in' heaven."By wearing his name alone, it is a continual con-fession of him before men, and will meet with hisapproval before the Father. Then why hesitate toproclaim his cause or fail to wear his name alone ,since should you reach that happy home, the NewJerusalem, you will gladly on your forehead wearhis name, that all may see and know that trustingin his name alone, at last you have been saved, andwashed and spotless, made as the untrodden snow.

D. L. PHARES, JR..._ ../ Mississippi Delta Notes.

A CONSECRATED CHRISTIAN.

In the county of Coahoma, Miss., five mileseast of Lyons, lives Mrs. M. E. EI iott, wife ofCaptain T. W. Elliott, a well-known Delta planter.

Before Mrs. Elliott was married to Capt'. El-liott, her present husband, she lived at Beebe, Ark.,and was then, as now, a most exemplary and devot-ed member of the Christian church.

In March, 1895, Sister Elliott, while livingwhEre she now lives, felt that she should do all thatshe could to honor God i,n the name of Christ. and,

aid in the salvation of souls. She wrote to ElderW. O. Srygley, an ableyoungpreacheroftbe Cbris-tian church then living at Iuka, Miss., asking bimto come and hold a meeting for her, at DavisChapel, near her home. Being a practical woman,she wrote bim, saying, "I you w:ll come and buldme a protracted meeting of ten days, or two weeks,duration, I will send you in advance all expenses ofthe journey, and during the meeting, satisfactorily,remunerate you. He accepted, and came, and tbemeeting began on the 4th Lord's day in April, 1895,under favorable auspices. On the second day ofthe meetinO' Kilby FerO'uson, writer of these notes,

00,

arrived at the home of Sister Elliott. Interestgrew from day to day, and on Thursday confession ••began. Among those who became members duripgthat meeting, J. H. Loyhd, Capt. T. W. Elliott,and R. S. Davis, formed part. Elliott and Davishad been enemies for years. Davis and Loyhd hadlong been trying "to get religion" out in the woods,of dark nights, and at the "Mourner's Bench;"but all had been to no purpose.

Under Elder Srygley's teaching they learned'in the light of Ecc!. 12: 1, "Remember now thyCreator in the day of thy youth, -, that they oughtto bave been serving God from the time they wereold enough to have a knowledge of the differencebetween riO'ht and wronO'. They saw to their re-o 0

gret that they had been taught error along this line,all their days. They not only believed in Christ,but were quickened by the word of God, as taughtby Elder Srygley, till they felt their need of Christ,as the 3,000 did on the day of Pentecost, as readActs 2: 37-41. They learned that if they wouldbecome righteous or become religious from the gos-pel stand point, they must obey the command of.God, as spoken by Peter on t'he day of Pentecost,when believers who were pricked in their heart andwanting to know what they must do to be saved,Acts 2: 37, "Said unto Peter and the otherApostles, men, and brethren what sball we do?"(38) "Peter answered and said, Repent and bebaptized everyone of you in the name of JesusChrist for the remission of sins, and ye shall re-ceive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

They on learning their duty were baptized,born again, (read J'ohn 3: 5.) Thereby becamesons of God, and receIved the spirit of Christ be-cause they were ,;ons, (as read Gal. 4: 4-6,) andhaving in baptism put on Christ, as read Gal. 3:27, "Know ye not, that so many of you as havebeen baptized into Cbrist, have put on Christ," theyrealized that they were brethren of Christ; becauseChrist had said, Mark 3: 35, "Whosoever shall dothe will of my Father which is in heaven, the Same{s my brother and my sister." Elliot t and Davisunder the gospel made friends and became brethrenand so continue to this day. The meeting closed atend of ten days with a membership of twelve.

They engaged the writer ItS their minister to

7 '1preach for them monthly. The engagement Stl Icontinues, and the membership has increases andembraces nearly all the white population in tbatlocality. John A. Stevens. our State Evangelist,has also been a builder of the church at DavisChapel.

THIS OUTGROWTH

from "one insolated christian" to twelve earnestmembers, is an object lesson worthy of every readersattention. They promptly organized andl began areg~lar observance of Lord's day communion ser- ,vices.

Sister Elliott simply did her duty. -Today thou-sands of our brethren, and sisters, are situated asshe was, and can do as she did if they willsanctify some of their money, as she did, bysetting it aside for the express purpose ofcompensating some able minister of the Chris-tian Church to come into their neighborb oodand hold not less than a two weeks' meeting. Theresult will, almost surely. result in enough conver-sions to organize a live church, and have regularservices every month.

VINEYARD LABORE~S

are to be found, or ~hould be found, wherever aChristian lives. Drones. or idlers, are not contem-plated, Scripturally speaking. All are to be work-ers. God is not a respect or of persons. ReadActs 10: 34,35.

Reader, read the language of Christ in Matt.25: 14-30 . You will see it applies to you, to-day.If you disc\J.arge your duty all along the line ofChristian duty, all will be well with you. In theBook of Proverbs (12: 28) we read: "In the wayof righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof,there is no death." Righteousness is doing thewill of God. Hence, whoever does right by him-self, right to bis fellowbeings, and right towardsGod, is in the way of life, and in that kind of a lifethere is no spiritual death. In said second para-ble, in Matt. 25: 14: 30, everyone who reads theselines can read his or her doom beforehand, if heor she persist in refusing to let his or her lightshine, as taught by Christ, in Matt. 5: 16: "Letyour light so shine before men that they, seeingyour good works, may glorify your Father whichis in heaven." If you wish eternal salvation, youare to have good works, and not evil works. Who-ever refuses to do the will of God, or violates thelaws of God, thereby commits sin, as read 1 John3: 4, "Sin is the transgression of the law." Sinsmay be commissive or omissive. Either kind con-tinued through hfe, or committed, or 3.mmitted, inour last days, the terms of pardon not being com-plied with, you will be lost. Read John 5: 28-29,"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, inwhich all that are in the'graves shall hear his voice,and shall come forth; they that have' done good,unto the resurection of life, and they that have done

, Ievil unto the resurection of damnation."

tedly give themselves to the work of the Lord.

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.To do God's will is a good work. To omit to

do God's will is equally as sinful as to knowinglytransgress His law. Chl'istians are to labor in thevineyard of Christ. If they cannot teach or go,they must furnish of their means, according as Godprospers them, so that they can be represented.Read 1 Cor. 16: 2; 2 Cor. 8: 12, 13, 14.

Now read Matt. 25: 31-46, and. you will haveno trouble to understand the true meaning of Matt.25: 29, which is simply this: Whoever will haveGod's Word and do his will as revealed in the Gos-pel of Christ will have an abundance, for he willhave a ho~e in heaven .. And whoever does not doGod's will and dies-physically or spiritually-canread his or her coming doom in Matt. 25: 41-46.

Reader, God is now blessing you. your every-day opportunities is a school-room of golden oppor-tunities now rapidly passing away, never to return.,Wi:l you act, and do it now before your opportuni-ty is gone forever? If you cannot ri1ise enoughfunds to get a preacher, then raise what you canand buy an express money order and send yourfunds to John A. Stevens, our State Evangelistat Jackson, Miss., and it will Lecome missionarymoney to enable him tv preach the Gospel to weakand. destitute points.

THE MISSIONARYSPIRITof our brethren at Davis' Chapel, of which SisterElliott is only one of a zealous membership, will beconsidert>d in my next commnnication, and showhow they are letting their light sh ine, that their

I good works has already developed two other churchcongregations, both numerically stronger than the

. present, but not so stron~ financially.Was sick ten days from December 22 to Jan-

uary 9, but then resumed my regular round of labor,reaching Lost Lake the second Lord's day atl:iA. M. Will aim fo give among other things newsfrom and of some of my churches. Let all lettersin the future be addressed to me at Coahoma, Miss.

KILBY FERGUSON.

Tennessee Notes.A. I. MYHR.

Our meeting at Rockwood closed last Sundaynight. The audiences were fairly good all the time.Bro. Shelburne is doing a very fine work at Rock-wood. The people like him. He has their con-fidence and will be able to lead them into higherspiritual life. There were some hindrances to thesuccess of our meetings. There were two additions.The causes need not now be mentioned. Thereare some as faithful people there 'as are in anychurch in Tennesssee.

Bro. Buck has hel<1a metting at Poplar Ridge.The church has been revived and as they have suchgreat opportunities, it is to be hoped they will uni-

Next Friday Bro. Buck and others will have aconference in regard to the work in the First Dis-trict. V{e mean to make an aggressive .canvassthroughout East Tennessee before the next conven-tion. The cause of Christ can never be prosperousin the best sense until all our people are united inunselfish service for men. Out::>f the whole num-ber of members in our state only the minority reallydo any service for men. Why is this the presentcondition. The answer is not far to find. Wrongteaching as to the essential principles of Cnristian-ity. The motive which fut5led many into the churchis selfii:5hness. Anything therefore looking to un-selfish service i" not very welcome to such. Theministry neecl to awake to its duty in leading thechurch to a higher spiritual life.

We mean to make this Jear the best in ourmissionary work. Every preacher employed in thiswork is consecrated and energetic in the work. Wehope for a large ingathering through the year.Every minister is asked to hold a meetin~ f"r themis,,;ionary work at such places a may be chosen-the churches ·which they Rerve giving them the timeand continuing the salary for the time spent in themeeting. Some preachers, (J. E. Stuart, W. J.Shelburne, W. H. Sheffer,) have promised to holdsuch meetings. ·Will others wl:.o see this requestplease notify me, if they agree to hold meetings?The results I)f such meetings to be reported as if theministers were employed by the ch~rcbes co-operat-ing. ·V{e would be glad to have twenty such meet-ings held this year.

There are several young men ready to 'do some\'i'ork, through the vacati( n, in destitute fields."ViII those who are anxious to see churches plantedhelp us to employ these men? 'Ve are anxious tohave your help.

A GOOD WEEK.

IComparing the receipts for Foreign MiRsions

for the week ending Jan. 19th, with the correspond-ing time 1896, we have the following;

Contributing 1896 1897 GainChurches 3 5 2Sunday-schools 1 1 0Endeavor Societies 3 6 3Individuals 16 19 3Amount, $308.90 1,017,59 $708.69

Order the Missionary Voice and the MarchOffering Envelopes for the March offering, firstSunday in March. F. M. RAINS, Treas.,

Box 750, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Remember the GOSPEL MESSENGERremain~one dollar for a year.

8

him a sinner, and not because of anydepravity of life. It was in responseto this charge of the sin of blasphemythat he, who had been restored tosight, used the words of John 9: 31.Bu.t the penitent sinner, although hisguilty past burdens him with shame,is neither a rebel nor blasphemer.

We have said, prayer is the soul'sconfession of Ohrist, and so it is, butthe soul or spirit of man is not allthere is of man in this world; andOhrist must not only be confessed inthe inward man, but the outward manalso must participate in this confess-ion. Jesus says: "Whosoever, there-fore, shall confess me before men,him will I confess before my Fatherwhich is in heaven." And Paul writesin Rom. 10: 10: "For with the heartman believeth unto dghteousness, andwith the mouth confession is madeunto salvatIon. The only differencein the purport of Saul's and the Sa-vior's words is that one statement isof broader application than the other.To confess with the mouth, is to de-clare our faith in words: but con-fession can be and is more effectuallymade in deeds, or in obedience. Themost impressive confession of fait~is that 'which is seen in a life of lov-ing obedience to Ohrist. This kind ofconfession needs to be emphasized aswell as that made with the mouth.The whole Ohristian life, which flowsout ot a heart full of faith, repentance,love, and prayer is the most effectualconfession of Ohrist before men. Itis indeed the confession unto the ful-ness of salvation. Jesus says: "Letyour light so shine before men thatthpy may see your good works, andglorify your Father which is in heav-en." To lead men to glorify God isthe reason and purpose of this livingconfession, which ceases not with thesound of the words that mark its be-ginning. It is effectual because lifeis more powerful than wordf', and isan argument that convinces when log-ic fails.

But what is it which gives this liv-ing confeElsion its power? It is Ohristseen in it. All that is contained infath, repentance, and love are in it.Ohrist is contained in all these expe-riences of the soul, and by them, andthrough them, Ohrist is made visiblein life. To confess Ohrist, is to " own,acknowledge, or declare" him beforethe world. And like all the spiritualconditions, out of which the ,. so greatsalvation" is evolved, this also islifelong. We need not daily norhourly to utter in words, "I believewith all my heart that Jesus Ohrist isthe Son of God," for if we truly con-fess him in our life, that will far moreeffectively declare it. Among all theacts of obedience to Ohrist, there is

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.

fHH G08PHL MH88KNGHR.M. F. HARMON,}O. P. SPIEGEL, EDITORS.

Subacription,$1.00 a~ear.. Entered at the Postoffice, Nashville,Tenn., as second class matter,

Published every Thurs jay -at 208 NorthCollege St. Devoted to the cause ofChrist in the South and throughout theworld.

NASHVILLE, TENN., JAN. 21, 1897.

SETTLING THINGS.Sometimes we get impatient over

the little, petty affairs Tn the church,over which we differ, and wish thatsuch differences were set tIed. ThenI"gain, when we think seriously aboutthese things, and remember that theyare matters of mere opinion, mattersof expediency in church work, thenwe realize that there is no way for usto settle such things. Inasmuch asthey are matters of opinion and notmatters of faith, we are glad that wehave no way of settling them. It iseasy for us to be united on the greatfundamental principles of the doctrineof Ohrist; to these, as a religiousbody, there is no people on earth moreunited on anyone point than are we.We have heard a great many of ourpreachers, of every size of calibre,and without an exception they standfirm and unitedly on the first princi-ples of the doctrine of Ohrist. We all'love the old Book, swear by it, andwouid die by it. In fact, there is sucha striking similarity among us, thatshould I hear a preacher in the churchof God, (Church of Christ is notscriptural, not occurring a single timein the book) preach in Ohina, I couldlocate him unless he spoke in Ohineselanguage or some other unknown (tome) tongue. We can only settlethings that are already settled by theword of God. The Oatholic church,and many others also, which has thepower, as it thi:lks, to make laws andrules for the government of its sub-jects, can settle all these matters ofexpediency, but as a religious peoplewe will go on to the end of time hav-ing our several opinions on methodsof church work and aids in the wor-ship. In many matters God has dealtwith us as rational, responsible be-ings; has not hedged us around withminute specifications, as to our Ohris-tian duty. It Wf,;S not enougb underthe 01<1 law for God to say to the Jew:"Remember the Sabbath day to keepit holy," but he specified what thekeeping it holy meant. He also saidthat they should give, and set the

amount. Under the new law, we aretaught that we should regard the dayas unto the Lord; and in giving wewe are told to give, but the amount isflxed by "As a man purposeth in hisheart," and as the" Lord has pros-pered you." There is room left forus to exercise our freedom in Ohrist,and thereby better develop ourselvesin the Ohristian life, than if we had athus saith the Lord for every step inthe Ohristian's duty. The chief dif-ference between the Law and Gospelis that the letter (Law) killed, but theSpirit (Gospel) gives life. Takingthese statements of the apostles, andcoupling them together with the factthat we are free men in Ohrist, thatOhrist has not marked out methods ofwork, nor said anything about theway we should carry out the princi-pIes (second and, third) ot the Gospel,we take it that these things were leftto our best jUdgment. That we shouldbelieve in the Ohrist, repent, confess,be baptized, walk in a newness oflife, have been settled,for all time toco 'TIe-settled by the King of Glory;but matters of opinion and methodsof work never, so far as we are con-cerned.

The Great Salvation.NUMBER NINE.

To the true penitent, what is morenatural than prayer? May it not besaid that prayer is the spontaneousand inevitable result of sincere re-pentance. Yea, more, is not prayerthe soul's confession of Ohrist? Theconvicted and penitent Saul prayed," Lord, what wilt thou have me todo?" This was his prayer in whichhe confes'led Jesus as Lord and ex-pressed the subjugation of his will to.In reviewing the past, the writer re-calls many arguments, written andspoken, by many preachers of the" current reformation," in which the,effort was made to prove tnat the sin-ner had no right to pray, as this wasthe exclusive right and privilege ofthe chil d of God. And there was atime when these labored argumentswere satisfactory to him, for duringhis earlier Ohristian lift- his mind wasunder the dominion of narrow legalis-tic ideas; and he confesses to havemade and relied upon these argumfntshimself. In these efforts, Prov. 28: 9,and John 9 :31, and similar passageswere cited, not then perceiving theirlogical unfitness when applied to thecontrite sinner. It is the rebellioussinner, who turns his ear away fromhearing God, to whom Provo 28: 9 ap-plies. The charge of the Phariseesagainst Ohrist was that he was a blas-pheming sinner, and it was becausethey so regar~ed him that they called

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER. 9

none more significant than the bap-tism of a penitent believer. It is theembodiment of an act which forciblyand beautifullJ confesses his faith inand his love for Ohrist; bis death to sinin his heart; his calling upon God andhis absolute surrender to him. With-out these spiritual elements, it is onmore than a mere rite, an empty andvalueless form. Obristian baptism isfaith, repentance, love, and prayer,not in sentiment, but in act. It is thecondition of the heart, out of which anact proceeds, that determines its char-acter. Is there any spiritual valuein faith, or in repentance, or in love,or in prayer, or in self-surrender toGod? If so, then the act which em-bodies and confesses these must par-take of their charrcter and value. Itis often contended that baptism is apositive commandment, and that it is-right simp~y because it is commanded,and rests a~one upon divine authority.We are sometimes told that somethings are right in and of themselves;and some things are right only becausethey are commanded. We are in-clined to enter, but not to argue, acaveat to this scholastic distinction;but we earnestly protest against theplacing of Ohristian baptism, or anyother act of obedience, proceedingout of faith and repentance and love,in the latter class. Are thereany absolutely arbitrary requirementsin the system of redemption? Arethey not all indicative of t,he variousexperiences we must have in orderto the enjoyment of the" so greatsa.lvation?" Surely God would makeno requirement of his creature whichdid not minister to the end he had inview in sending his Son to redeem theworld. All of the' divine teaching,the life and suffering of Ohrist, the

, mission of the Holy ·Spirit, and everydivine institution, the prE'aching of thegospel, and the establishing of thechurch, have, as their grand aim andpurpose, the redemption of man fromhis sins, and the purifying a.nd enno-bling of his whole being, until he ismade a partaker of the divine nature,through the indwelling of God andOhrist and the Holy Spirit: so thatthe great. mystery of the incarnationis reproduced, in a subordinate sense,in everyone who has been born again;and all Ohristian service is in order toAnlarge this divine element, breathedinto his soul, so that it "hall become,the dominant principle of his life, andfashion him into the image and like-ness of Ohrist.

A rough block of marble lies in anartist'sworkshop, which he approach-es with an ideal in his mind and histools in his hands. He knows per-fectly the nature of the stone withwhich he has to deal, and thQroughl

understands the capacity of his tools,and their adaptability to the work be-fore him. He begins to work, knock-in~ off a corner here and chipping offa piece there, until the form of an an-gel begins to appear. He is pleased,yet does not cease his work, when theoutline, or contour, is seen, but con-tinues 'to put in a touch here and the.rewith finer tools than those first used,and to scrape and polish until the an-gelic form is complete in its gracefulbeauty.

But God is the Great Artist, andhe thoroughly understands the natureof the material upon which he works,for he created it. He has had human-ity under his hand for ages, and he onlyfully kno:-s its weakness and deprav-ity, as well as its capabilities and pos-sibilities. He only can co .. prehendthe possible depth of degradation andmisery into which it may descend andthe height and glory unto which it mayattain. It is not passive material up-on which he has to work, but quickand active souls, which can either re-sistor yield to his formative hand. Be-cause of this ability to resist, it may

be marred in his hands, but if it yieldwillingly to the divine strokes of ourwise and loving Father's hand he willcarve out of this unsightly materialmore glorious forms than angels everwore. From the beginning of man'shistory this work commenced, and ithas been continuous through the agespast, and will be in the ages to come,until the divine ideal is finished. OurGod is a patient worker, and he makesno useless strokes, for he is the onegreat Ec.lDomist of the Universe. Heputs forth no more force than what isnecessary to the accomplishment ofhis purposes; hence in leading menfrom darkness to light, he indicatesno step which is unnecessary, andleads through no experience that isnot essential.

Book Reviews.

Oommentary on Acts of Apostles. Da-vid Lipscomb, editor. Gospel Ad-vocate Pub. 00., publishers.Oloth, 255 pages. Pric::, $1.00

This book is well printed and ablyed-ited. In point of helps on the SundaySchool Lessons for '97, it has thechronology of the Acts, a brief biog-raphy of each of the apostles, then astraightforward commentary on the-entire book of Acts. It closes with.an index of the history oflthe book,.giving the various divisions of each.chapter. This is a very valuable ad-dition to our church literature. It canbe had at the place and price aboveequoted.

This issue contains largely corres -pondence, which' has been accumu-lating for a month. Some of our fieldreports did not get in, o·wing to thelateness of their arrival.

In our reports from the field will befound a letter from our well-knownand beloved brother, J. S. Lamar, ofGraveltown, Ga. This was a privateletter, but its subject is one in whichall Southern disciples are interested.We feel sure that he will not object toits appearance in these columns. Wethank him for his words of encourage-ment, and for his promise to write oc-casionally for the GOSPEL MESSEN-GER. He is one of the best writers inthe Ohristian brotherhood. His mostexcellent Oommentary on Luke, hisFirst Principles and Perfection. andLife of Isaac Errett should be in ev-ery Ohristian home.

We do not make a rule of sendingout receipts for subscriptions paid,but simply change the date on thetab of your paper, putting it up to thetime that the paper is paid for. Thisis our receipt. If a subscriber l?aysup and orders his paper stopped, andit is stopped, that is sufficient receipt.

Brother Kilby Ferguson has changedhis address frdm Lyons to Ooahoma,Miss. Oorrrspondents will pleasenote the change.

Brother T. B. Larimore's meetingat. the Line Street Ohurch of God, inthis city, continues with unabated in-terest. He is doing some fine preach-ing' and is receiving encouragementby the presence of a large number ofthe brethren from all the congrega-tions in the city. So far there havebeen about ten rtdditions.

We club the GOSPEL MESSENGERand the New Ohristian Quarter~y, oneyear for $2.25. Every preacher inthe church should have the Quarter~y.and this is a fine opportunity for youto get the MESSENGERfor 25 cents ayear, or the Quarterly for $1.25, mon-ey with the order.

In next week'S paper we will pub-lish J. A. Minton's reply to E. A. Elamwhich occurred in last week's paper.

Many are taking a hint from theletter contained on 12 page, and areacting accordingly. Brethren (andsisters too) wake up. Dont allow apaper to come to you for from 1 to 4years, read it and then <lausethe pub-lishers to lose the entire thing. Ifyou don't expect to pay, s~y so, andthe paper will be discontinued ..:.

to THE GOSPEL MESSENGER .some at Aberdeen made'a liberal do-nation of turkeys, hams, etc. Fortwo seasons past we have had moreturkeys and finer ones than we everdreamed of before. Well, we had aroyal time. Weather, health, every-thing looked our way. The gratitudewe feel for these kind remembrancescannot find room for expression inthese notes. We accetJt these tokensas from our Heavenly Father, andask him to bless the givers with joythat does not perisb.

GOSPEL MESSENGERmade us a vis-it this P. M. This is an old-timefriend, with a change of its front nameand clad in a new suit. We arepleased with its changes. The me-chanical work is equal to any. Itpreaches several ~ood sermons, singsa single hymn of "The Two Ships,"and gives a loud, large call for a col-leCtion. Why not? If a preacher ofthe Gospel, it should not be thoughtstrange that a " GOSPELMESSENGER"should have its dues. We turned atonce to the lable on our paper to seeour standing, but it happened to beblurred-the only blur we noticed ontbis issue. Make it plain next time,and the wherewith shall be forthcom-ing.

Brother Stevens is expected at Bald-wyn to-night, making, his tour amongthe churches. We hope the brethrenwill make every effl'rt to meet withand encourage Brother S. at his vari-ous appointments over the state.

M. H. ARMOR.

.Reports from the Churches.GEORGIA.

• d

GRAVELTOWN:r received two orthree copies of the GOSPELMESSEN-GER a good while ago, and wonderedwhy it ceased to come, though I didnot know you had been so kind as tocompliment me with a subscription.I meant to write and tell you howhighly r appreciated the publication,but r have been, as r still am, 80 busy.I tell you when a man starts withnothing, and no strong membersaround to help him on, and hall toraise the ~ney, and then see to ev-erything about the building from dayto day and hour to hour, he hasn'tmach time for anything else. But ram getting in sight of the end. TheLord has been guod to me.

r think your enterprise is the mostpromising one we Southern discipleshave ever had. Let us have one goodstrong Southern paper-and one isenough. When r can get my breath,I shall take pleasure, if I retain mypresent excellent health, in writingsome for you. Fraternally Yours,

J. S. LAMAR'

•LOUISIANA.

PORT VINCENT: On my arrival atPort Vincent, r was met by our es-teemed Brother W. A. Sibley. Aftera few miles ride on horseback wecame to the comfortable home ofBrother Sibley, where we spent thenight. On Jan. 16, we began ourmeeting at Magnolia Chuch. The oldhouse is a union house, and like allother property that belongs to ever~-body, is cared for by no one. Hencewe found a very dilapIdated buildingin which to preach. The windowshutters are all down, and in manyplaces in the house the boards arefalling off. The wind was blowingfrom the North, and to say it was coldi8 only to speak mildly, but the peo-ple came and listened. We built aftrein the yard and warmed the mamasand the babies. We had three ser-vices a day. The good women broughttheir baskets and coffee pots. Wecame near living at the place of meet-ing. r had only five days to stay,and wanted to do all the good possi-ble. r have long since learIfed thatto unite a community on anyone sub-ject, just get them to mix knives andforks. Give a wan a good dinner andyou will put him in the best of humor.We all worked for the Master. Wepreached, sang, prayed, eat, drankgood coffee, and had a real good time,If the wind did blow. The best of all,

Brother Sibley, who had been for sev·eral years a M. E. preacher, came inwith us, and was installed as pastor ofthe church. Brother Sibley is a manof more than average ability. As apreacher he has a splendid voice anda good delivery. His thoughts are al-ways arranged 80 as to make his pointsvery clear. His argument is alwayslogical and to the point. He is a manof splendid standing and of good re-port, both in and out of the church.He is pre-eminently the man for thefield. We hope and pray for a newera to dawn on the old MagnoliaChurch.

Brother Lee, the son of a-Baptistminister, took membership with us.For the length of time and the sur-rounding circumstances, it was thebest meeting of my life. May Godbless all the workers.

FRANK LANEHART.Jan. 13, '97.

~MISSISSIPPI.

ABERDEEN: Note8.- We had oneconfession at the last service heldwith the congregation at Aberdeen.A number of disciples have movedinto this vicinity from the North whowill doubtless put in their member-ship with us as soon as they get per-manently settled.

BALDWYN: The congregation atBaldwyn seems to have led Missillsippiin contributing to Mission work in1896. Several ~ther congregationsdid well. •

AMORY: As soon as the weatheris settled, the brethren at Amory willbegin work on their new church build-ing. They are very enthusiastic.The sisters have a nice fund alreadyto be used toward seating the church.We want to have the building nearlyenough completed to use for the con-vention in August next.

Bya combination of Business, La-Grippe, and Satan, our congregation};as been smaller in Aberdeen thanusual for two months. Many havebeen down recently from the epidem-ic that seems to prevail everywhere.

, The writer has been somewhat buffet-ed and pressed by the above-namedCompany, viz., B. L. S. Co., but isable to be up and consider his ways.

OUR CHRISTMAS.

The Christmas holidays of 1896 werethe most pleasant we have had forseveral years. Father and wife's sis-ter with two children came to see us.some brethren at Baldwyn sent us abox full of substantial presents j and

•TENNESSEE·

CHATTANOOGA:Our work moves onnicely. fhree additions yesterday.The largest audience we have had sofar. We have one of the finest C. E.societies in the state. They are asplendid band of young people and aredoing great good. Yours truly,

M. D. CLUBB.

KNOXVILLE: Last Sunday r preach-ed twice at the Fourth Baptist Churchby the request of the pastor who wassick. Had fine audiences and morecompliments than I had had in a yearbefore. Brother Lewis Tillman filledmy pulpit at Gay Street Church. ram invited to preach at the Universi-tyof Tennessee next Suuday at 2 P.M. We had a good Sunday school atGay Street last Sunday and good at-tendance at church, for us. The workhere is hard and slow-growing.

R. M. GIDDENS.•

NASHVILLE: There was a fine audi-ence at both services at WoodlandStreet Church Sunday. The morningservice was specially delightful, asthe largest part of the membenhipwas present, and all seemed toenjoy a spiritual feast. H.

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.

The Business of Soul Saving

11

C. J. BURTON.

"Wist ye not that I must be aboutmy Father's business?" Luke 2: 49.

These are the Savior's words whenhe was twelve years old. It seemseven that early in life he was im-pressed with the greatness of his mis-sion. His mission was to redeem theworld from sin. He made it his busi-ness to come down from heaven andto enter upon this work. He came,he conquered, he finished the workthe Father had given him to do, hewent back to heaven, and now it ishis business to lead his followers onfrom victory to victory.

What may we learn from Jesus?1. Let our early years be given to

God's service. In too many instancesmen and women spend the greaterpart of -their lives without God andwithout Christ. Jesus was about hisFather's work even at twelve. Letus then 8ay to the boys and girls thattwelve is not too early to give yourhearts to Christ.

2. Christ's method was that of per-sonal, hdividual concern for men.His power over the individual wasgreat, because he took a personal in-terest in the people. It was in thisway that he won Zacch~us. Luke19: 1-10. See altlo Matt. 9: 9.

3. He was in sympathy with thesuffering, and was ever ready to min-ister to their wants. This is onegreat reason why he drew great mul-titudes after him.

4. He taught what was right, andthen he lived out in his life what hetaugbt the people.

5. He was a busy worker. He wasever doing good. He said, "I mustwork the wo~ks of him who sent mewhile it is day; night cometh, whenno man can work."

6. He looked upon the work of so,1]1saving from the most serious stand-point: "What is a man profited, ifhe shall gain the whole world andlose his own soul, or what would aman give in exchange for his soul?"To gain the world is to lose the soul.To save the soul is to conquer andovercome the world, and to crucifythe flesh with the affections and lusts.-REPORT ON OBITUARIES.

(Read before the East Ala. DIstrictConvention, Sand Hill, Ala., Dec. 20,1896.)

We, your committee on obituaries,beg to report that while our heaven-ly Father has blessed us the past yearabundantly, yet death has been a vis-itor to our churches.

We report from Harmony the death

of Bro. Roberts, a man whom we allloved for his work's 8ake. He wasstruck down at the post of duty. Abrave man he was, but he has gone tohis reward, and while we mourn ye tnot as those who have no hope of t hereward of the righteous at His co m-ing who giveth us our reward.

From Shady Grove we report dearSister Griffin, a charter member ofthat church-indeed the last one whocompos~d the church. Our organiza-tion-passed away when Sister Griffinleft us. She was indeed an exempla-ry Christian and a bright standard-bearer of the simple light of the Gos-pel. She" rests from her lahors, andher works follow her." Corinth isalso numbered with the churches whohave been visited by this grim Mon'ster.

Sister Thomas, who was a faithfulChristian, a neighbor of worth, and aconstant worker for Christ in all theways she knew, has gone to meet herSavior. She has left us; her voicewill no more be heard in sweet songand prayer, but she, though dead isliving with Jesus. Lebanon has alsovacancies made by the ever-presentReaper.

Sister Suddeth and also BrotherTaylor have gone hence. True totheir Master as they lived, we expectto meet them all in heaven. May welive so that we may.

Having spoken of each one of ournumber who have gone on before us,we resolve:

1. That in the death of these ourbrethren and ~isters we have lost thosewhom we loved, and those to whomwe looked for counsel and advice, andin their death we sustain a great loss.

2. That we remember their faith-ful Christian lives as an example tous, and that we live so that we willmeet them in heaven. Respectfullysubmitted,

MISS HATTIE WADKINS, } CL. A. DALE. om.

It is not enough for us to be w;th

Christ; that does not fulfill our duty

and privilege as Christians. Beyond

the matter of fellowship with Christis the duty of showing our felloWBiri'P

by our fruit· bearing, and thus alsoglorify the Father. There must he aoneness between our spirit and life

and that of Christ-we must be in

him, abide in him as the branch abidesin the vine. In this way only can his

image be formed within us, and webe fitted for his society forever.-Our

Yt;YUngFolkB.

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Chicago. NewOr.leans.

slfotn ]YIETHODBIBLE STUDY.1 usy People's Bible course of fortyBssous. Also a comprehensive coursee'or advanced students. On receipt offa stamp we will mail you sample les-son for examination, you agreeing toreturn it in a week if you decide notto enter. Lessons at home by mail,and diploma in twenty months.

Address: Correspondence BibleSchool, Canton, Mo.

12 THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.

T S b 'b go much farther in pay-o u SCrl erSt ing rents, printers, buy-ing paper, paying post-age, etc. &c. Are you a

We rarely ever say friend? This means U.anything in these col- We don't want to lose aumns about our subscri-· single subscriber, but abers "paying up." We name without the moneywant to say now in large is like "faith withouttype, once for all, that we works," dead, with a bignot only want those in D. Send money in anyarrears to "settle up," but legitimate way, towe are going to adopt a J.VIesseT)gep IDab. Go"~

Nashville, Tenn.• CASH IN ADVANCE

system. Those over oneyear in arrears, wi II bedropped at once, unlessthey pay up. Pay up be-fore you order the paperdiscontinued,. We dontpropose to publish a pa-per for people who wontpay for it, for such read-ers do not appreciate it.Again: Let us suggest tothose who have the wel-fare of the MESSENGERat heart, that a 'paperneeds something moresubstantial to operate onthan "good will." We ap-,preciate good wishes,butthe mortal DOLLAR will

. .NEW--TB95.

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TIiE: GOSPEL MESSENGER....................................................................... ,

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Prayer meeting Topic for Jan. 24:" Our Failures and Successes." Lukeoj 1-11.

Lowell says, "Not failure, but lowaim is crime." The real failure ayoung man makes is when he contentshimself with what he can do easily;when he does not take for his stan~dard anything beyond his present ca-pabilities, by which he can measurehis weakness and his progress. It isso easy to become discouraged whenour efforts fall short of a high aim;but if each effort was satisfactory, onewould soon cease to try for anythingbetter; and that would be failure in-deed. There is a touch of hopeful-ness in Simon's reply wbenJesus toldhim to cast the net once more: "Weha ve toiled all the night and have takennothing." Yet he obeyed the com-mand, and with what wonderful suc-cess! But the Lord's help did notcome till Peter was conscious of hisown weakness-in that consciousnessis your success. In something yerymuch like itis ours, for it is only whentrusting him for strength that we willaccomplish anything worthy of thepowers he has given us.

We are in danger of self-complacen-cy in view of what we have done, ifwe do not impartially judge ourselvesfor what we have failed to do.-Mis-sionary Voice.

Among the many causes of failurein life, none is more frequent thanthat febleness of the will which i1 in-dicated by spasmodic action, by fitfuleffort, or lack of persistance.-Math-ews.

The Christian Church in Memphishas a Y. P. S C. E. of 100 active memobers and a number of associates-thelargest society in Tennessee, perhapsNow, we would like to hear fromthem directly: we would like to knowwhat work they are doing and howthey do it. Moreover, we want newsfrom our Endeavorers wherever theyare. Won't you send us notes con-cerning your work? We want tomake this department helpful, but wecannot do it by ourselves, for themost practical good comes from meth-ods that have already been tried.Don't keep your plans to yourselves,but send them out to be used else-where; and then, when this or thathas llroved to be successful with oth-

ers, try it; it may be }ust what youneed.

Florida Endeavorers, it seems, havedivided the state into districts, oneof which held its annual conventionsduring the first three days of the newyear. Eight Young people's and twoJunior societies were represented byseventeen delegates. A small con-vention; but a good one, for the timewas spent in discussing plans andmethod", and many good ideas wereexchanged.

The Lookout heads one of its de-partments with the question, "Whatis the best thing your society hasdone during the year?" Some of theresponses are excellent; one societyreports that its "best thing was thedetermination-made and carried out-to begin the meeting promptly, andto allow no pause to occur." Theyoung people of the Central ChristianChurch, Cincinnati, report that theirbest work was to more than doublethe attendance at and participation intheir meetings. Their suceess in thiswas due to the efforts of the Lookoutand of prayer meeting committees.And this report fro~ Muncie, Ind., isso good that we give it in full: "Theprayer meeting committee of theFirst Christian Church C. E. Societyconsisted of five persons. Each mem-ber assumed the responsibility of onemeeting during the month, the chair-man taking the fifth Sundays. Theactive members were divided into fivedivisions, and a list assiglled to eachmember of the committee. The mem-ber whose duty it was to provide forthe first Sunday in eacu month chosea leader and secured the promise ofat least six persons from his list totake a prominent part in the meeting.He also gave quotations to the back-ward members, etc. The remainingSundays were provided for in likemanner. Under this plan embar-assing pauses have ceased to be afeature of our prayer meetings; wenever have time for all to take partwho desire; our room has been filledand our spirituality greatly increased.

The work of prayer meeting com-mittees requires constant thought tomake it successful. When experi-enced leaders can be appointed, it iscomparatively easy for the commit-tee; but when the time comes for newmembers to lead-those who havenot yet learned to guide a meeting

and infuse into it some of their ownenthusiasm-then the committee mustdo good work. They should not onlyappoint the leader, and enlist othermembers in other parts of the pro-gram, but should be ready to takesome part themselves when a pauseseems likely to follow. These pauseswill .Kill any meeting; the best oftalks lose effect when followed by avague silence, which frequently hap-pens because the others are not quitesure what they want to say. If fiveor six take part promptly, it puts lifeand spirit into the meeting, and fre-quently encourages the others. Stillthere is danger in apportioning a pro-gram, the danger of changing a pryermeeting into a literary entertainment,which is to be condemned as much asa prayer-meeting without life.

The Y. P. S. C. E. of the Christianchurch in New Orleans, which is thesociety in the only one city,has an ex-ce~lent way of introducing impromptsongs throughout the meetings. Itoften happens that some familiar hymnwould be appropriate after one of theprayers or talks; and it is all the moreso when some one starts it unannounc-ed. The others join in quickly, and,needless to say, enjoy the yerses thatcome so informally.

"I find the greatest thing in thisworld is not so much where we stand,as in what direction we are moving."

HOLMES.

CHRISTIAN DEPOSITORY.

Give your children pure literature,and you will reap pure thoughts.

Give them "light" reading, and youwill reap light thoughts.

Pure Literature, Bibles, Testaments,Song Books, Bible Dictionaries, allbooks reviewed in this column, &c.,&c., can be obtained by writing to theaddress below.

The Christian Sunday· School Seriesare the BEST. Write for samples-free upJn application.

W M. S. BROADHURST,419 W. Main Street,

P. O. BOX 646. LOUISVILLE, KY.

14

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THE GOSPEL MESSENGER.

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MESSENGER PUB. CO.208 College !'treet, NASHVILLE, TENN.

TENNESSEE ]VJISSIONS. BOARDINGin a First-class house is a:luxury, when the charge~ are reason-

able. When any of the friends of this pa-per visit Nashvill~, they can find such aBoarding house by calling on Mrs. S. A.McAllister, 204 s. High street.

SUNDAY-SCHOOLDAY: For Ten-nessee missions fii'st Lord's day inApril.

MISSIONARYDvY: For all christianchurches in Tennessee, first Lord'say ill October.

This ;s a question which is frequentlya:sked and variously answered. It is atbest a matter of pure speculation, andtllere is alJsolutely no prQof on eitherside of the question. The most thatcan be done is to suggest certain pos-sibilities. We know very little of thesurface conLiitions of the planets, andtherefore can arrive at very uncertaincon<'!usion:s as to their llabitablene:5s.There are but two of them on which itlVould seem pussible for life to exist.Tllese are Vcnus and Mars. An at-lllOsphere is au absolute necessity tolife, at }('ast such as we Ilave on theearth. It selTes two special purposes.In the first place it supports life byfurnishing gaseous food. In the t;;econdplace, it moderates the heat of the SUll,

and tempel's the cold on the side oftile planet away from the sun. With-out the atmusphere our earth would beuninhabitable. 'l'he days would beburning hot and the nights freezingcold, and animal' life could not longendure such extremes.

Let us see how it is with the planets.Mercury is so near too sun that little isknown of its snrface conditions. 'Wehave no evidence that it has an atmos-phere, and the extremes of heat andcold must be very great. Life on Mer-cury is therefore hardly possible. Venusresembles the earth in many respects.It has a solid surface, there is water onit, and it has an atmosphere containingwatet· vapor. Being nearer to the sun,its temperature is somewhat higherthan that of the earth. With theseconditions, there seems to be no reasOlJwhy it may not support life. Mars isstill more like the earth. Its surfaceshows indications of land and water,and the spectroscope shows that its at-mosphere can tams moistnre. On itssurface is a network of fine lines whichhave been supposed to be canals ,con-tainiug water, as_they appeal' and dis-appear from time to time. '1'here arebright spots at the poles which havebeen supposed to be caps of ice andsnow. '1'he day on Mars is about equalto our day, and the seasons recur in thesame manner, though they are twiceas long as ours. The year of Mars isnearly equal to two of our years. Asin the case of Venus, life may existhere. but there is no proof of it. Jupi-ter and Saturn are masses of moltenmatter, surrounded by dense clouds ofvapor, and with no solid crust. Life,as we understand it, is here impossible.Uranus anLi Neptune are still hotter,being yet in a semi-nebulous condition,and shining partly by their own light.Of course, life' cannot exist on them.The moon is a cold body, without at-mospllere, and turns on its axis onlyonce a month. It is thus seen that thepossibilities of planetary life are verylimited, and speculation in regard to itis not very profitable.

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's

THE GOSPEL MESSENGER. 16

CHIPS. Give Earnest Heed.Rejected Suitor-Alas! What worse

fate than to be tired with love?Ejected Suitor (sadly)-Fired without

love.

It always surprises a visiting Ameri·can that the pavements of London arenot strewn with dropped H's.

She-How nervous you were whenyou proposeu.

He-Yes, I am always th~t way whenI'm getting engaged.

Mother (angrily)-Joe Jefferson, howmany times muss I call yo' befo' I canmake yo' hear?

Joe Jeff-Dunuo; you stan' thah an'holler, an' I"ll sit here an' c.ount.

Magistrate-The gamekeeper declaresthat he sa w ~'ou taking this pheasant.What have you to say to that?

Prisoncr-I only took it for a lark.Magistratc-Slx months for making

such an ol'llithological error. Consultyour natural history in future.

Mrs. Younghub-"Oh, Fredy! I havesuch a sUl'prise for you!"

Younghub--"You have, love?"Mrs. Younghub-"Yes, dear. See this

sweet little dog I bought for us!-onlytwenty dollars, and the dog seller war-ranted him to be a pure mongrel."

"'We can't stay at this hotel, Maria!"exclaimen farmer Meddergrass, after['eading the rules tacked to his roomdoor. "'Why not, Nathan?" "'Vhy,the~' have dinner from eleven to two. Ikim to town on business, an' 1 can'tafford to waste no three hours a dayon dinner, to say nothin' 'bout break-fast an' supper. Gather up yer trapsan' we'll go somewhere else."

"As a general thing, I discouragepuns," said Mr. Gimpllte, "but whe]lthe other day, after my young son hadeaten all the marmalade, my oldestdaughter said that marmalade theblame on her, I laughed before 1 knewit; and then, of course, it was no use-to lecture."

She shed great lakes of tears. 'Twassad

To watch her when she'd cry;She couldn't help it for ,she had

A cataract in her eye.

Jones-I'm a victim of insomnia. rcan't sleep if there's the least noise-such as a cat on a back fence, for in-stance.

Doctor-Get this prescription for apowder made up. It will prove effect-ive. ~ii

Jones-When do I take it, Doctor?Doctor-You don't take it. You give

it to the cat in a little milk.

A school master in a boarding-schoolwas endE'avoring to make cleat· to !lis.young pupils' minds the meaning of the'word "slowly." He walked across the-room in the manner the word indicates."Now, children, tell me how I walked."One little fellOw who sat uel\-r ~he front

or the room almo~t pat'a:yzed him hyblurtlni out: "Bow-Iegied."

Perhaps the most startling suggestionfor a "reminder" was that of the littleboy whose grandmother had forgottenhis Christmas present the year vefore.She wished to know what she woulddo in order that she should not forgEtIt again. "You might put ~'our teeth inupside down," said the boy.

GIRLS IN INDIA.

All girls In India are very fond ofpretty and bright-colored dresses. Thedress is simply tive yards of muslin.When onl~' three or four years old alittle girl begins to leal'll how to windIt gracefully around the body and overthe shoulder. When she goes into thestreet sue slips one end over the headas a veil. A little short-sleeved jacketIs the only other garment she wears.This is a very cool and comfortablecostume for the hot climate. Everyfamily has a jewel box, full of little"cuvby holes," for each ornament. Thisis often buried in the mud floor of thew'oman's Inner apartment. If youwant to see their jewelry you mustmake an appointment beforehand, sothat they can dig it up. Once in eightdays the girls and women wash, comb,and oil their hail', and have it nicelybraided. ~'hey also take off andbrighten the jewelry at this time. Theywould mthet' starve than give up theirjewelry: they are so fond of it. Thepoorest people make theirs of tin,brass, lead, glass, sealing wax, andshells.-Over Sea and Land.

THE CREFDS in our day are notdead, but, like some old man whosebody is diseased, they are sensi.!ve toevery cold wind that blows. Thetruth might, perhaps, be better ex-presseCl by saying that the sectarianworld is very apprehensive of danger,and has spies posted at every turn of·the road to watch for some stray ideathat might b-elabeled as heresy. Thelatest heresy that has been thus caught.and labeled was found running astrayin Ian McOlaren's famous book, " Be-,side the Bonnie Brier Bush," in whichhe expresses his belief that if a man-can be kind to a dog he has some in-.herent good in him. Strange as itmay seem, this is interpreted to be·directly opposed to the doctrine of·original sin.

/ -The meeting on Lord's day for

public worship and for the ob-servance of the Lord's Supper isthe most important of all assem-blies.-Our Young Folks.

The time for the March offering forForeign Missions is at hand. Themissionary force if larger, and the re-ceipts will need to be corresponding-ly increased. We must do threethings this year:

1. Enlist 3,000 contributing church-es.

2. Bring 1,000 churches up to theirfull apportionment.

3. R.ach $100.000 in the receipt8.The Missionary Voice will be sent:to

every church requesting it. It shouldbe distributed in each church prepar-atory to the offering. See that onecopy reaches every family repreflent-ed in the church. And the MarchOfferiilg Envelope will be furnishedthe churchee. Place one in the handaof all the members. Order Voices andenvelopes at once.

The watchword for the year is: Anoffering from every church; a giftfrom every member.

A. McLEAN, 001'. Sec.F. M. RAINS, Treaa.

Box 507, Cincinnati, Ohio.

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The equipment and service of this lineis equal to any in the country, and carriesthe traveler through the most picturesqueportion of the South. More than fiftyfamous battlefields and five Nationalcem~teries are located on and near thisgreat railway system between Hickman,Ky., Nashville, Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga.

The Dixie F,yer Through Sleepir g Carsare run between Nashville and Jackson-vilie,Fla.,the year round via Chattanooga,Lookout Mountain, Atlanta, Macon, etc.Through sleeping cars between St. Louisand Atlanta, to be extended to run betweenSt. Louis and Jacksonville, Fla., duringthe winter tourist season.

For infolmatinn with reference to theresources, climate, soil, water power, tim-ber, lo_atien for manufactories and forcolonies or homes for thrifty settlers, writeJ. B. Killebrew, Im"'ligration Agent,Nash-ville, Tenn.

For information as to rates throughcar service, etc., write R. C. Cowardin.Western Pass. Agent, Railway ExchangeBuilding, St. Louis, MO.;J. H. Latimer,Southeastern Pass. Agent, Atlantal Ga.;J. L. Edmondson, S'luthern Pass. Agent.Chattanooga, Tenn .

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16 THE GOSPEL MESSENGER .

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~ common every-day- ills of humanity.o \WZo

"'. a: H.Rail ~oad

Great Through Trunk LineBETWEEN

Cineinnati,I1exington,I1oUisville.Evang..Ville, St, I1ouis,And the cities of

Nashville, lYIemphis, ffiont-gometty, mobile and New Ott

leans.WITfioUT GfiAl'fGE

AND SPEED UNRIVALED.

Pullman Palace Cars for Atlanta, Sava nnah, Macon, Jacksonville and points in

Florida.

Connections are made at Guthrie andNashville for all poin ts. North, EastSouth and west. In Pullman Palace CarsEmigrants, seeking hom~s on the line ofthis road will receive special low rates.See agenb of this company for rates,routes, &c., or write to

C. P. ATMORE, G. P. & T. A.Louisv ille.

.PATENTSSO YEARS'

EXPERIENCE.

TRADE MARKS,DESICNS,

COPYRICHTS "c.Anyone sending a sketch and description may

qUickly ascertain, freet whether an invention isprObably patentable. Communications strictlyconfldentlal. Oldest 8Il'ency for securing patentsin America. We have a Washington office.

Patents taken throUj{h Munn & Co. receiveepecial notice In the

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN,beautt.fully lIIustrated. la1'lrest circulation otanY_8C1entlOc Journalt weekly, te'rms$3.00 ~year;.1.50 six months. Specimen copies and HANDBOOK ON PATENTS seutfree. Address

MUNN et. CO.,381 Broadway. New York •