Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

'**» to «<rf Tfckro i»-—«r ; ' k* |....tu» aa •*»P» «U*h >1.« pm »* im '-■ ■i*m Ut. tW» > Trofa M irW. *» tS&uip * TTirw - L.IO.IS*** 3 **P» "Wfap tot* h - .Mk# «*; *.** • ■> hStj!’ tRptt y*ip» h - ■ IgSt Mr x*i ita«> jf—f !■«•*>» | *•***> <*,. ■Nt- *> i Misrcurr <. ■■aT3r ! Hi .- ygnM*'wp® amt-. S£ $«* IMP . | £&'' K- < LUTHERAN VISITOR. "ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTI8M.”~EPHESIAN8 IV: 5. W |Pi lr NEW SERIES, VOL 2‘“X0. 34. COLUMBIA, S. C., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27. 1870. OLD SERIES, VOL. IV.-RO. 87. ijijilHI 1111 — Msifot T' f ' IS rCBLISHED jVERV WEDNESDAY BY RUDE & MILLER. TERMS: fM tenuai-'* Visitor is furnished to sub- «('$>,DO P>T j-cur, (f p»id in ndeanco. flsrersKO, Dteir Widows, and Sludeuts of \££gr;*r* (barged ?2.0# per yenr, if [»id in **rsr Those who do not i*ajr witUu three • iJL of the time their rear begins, will, in ooe. be ctarsed Sfty cent* additional. saw otr anvRaTtstso. Fof „*«**«* (™» ioelt of column): pMUlnaMOMt $ T» On. ■*«*...'* *30 Tfcnx mout.a 6 80 Tweire months , 1* 00 tie sdrertw raents of fliwe squares and up- ^BnlBu tiscuunt e! 20 per cent, of 8ve squares ^ opwiri SO per cent,, of ten squares and onward*, « per cent, and of one half cotumu ji>‘ npirarl* >0 per cenl will be deducted from outnoriew when »><*• than five line*, ten eeatalw earM wort*, payable in advaiM*. Postage-Fire cents par quarter, rar PkwM renwaibci a!l business ieuters , '‘ddbbaddreaasltn. Rev. A. a RUDE. ; - CWuntAta, &, U Religious. Dr. Bali on Preaching. Addrmof the Her. John Hull, D.D., (o the St trie nt* of the Cniou Theo togieul Seminary, delivered in the Chapel on Monday afternoon, March 3M«°- _ * [frparted for tlie AW Twi K\urg.rt...t, and Rc- vi»ed by Dr. Halt] '7 ' (Concluded.) ' MODES Of DEI.n tUi V. ’ Tue nest question to be asked upou the same general subject (How to I'teacitjfa, When we have made our preparation, when we liave selected ourpartietiLir topic, tintl taken H|>nll the light which can be thrown upon it, put it upon paper, with such a satisfactory examination ofthe mat* ter as is possiiile for ns to make, thrirthe question is—How shall we put dhis before the people ? There are three ways of doing this: Read damb,-siteak. without the use of the l»per at all, and use a paper with an Jbstmet ot' what you have written. I raa iwy for myself, that thorv are msay times when I hear my breth ren read sermons to their people. As I listen to tbo periods jieifectly cou- stTBetfd. to those nice felicities of luagnage observable in the thought fnl eomplcteuess of their style, and I think of my own defective language, the* I say to mysalf, How eau any oae es^eet peojde to listen to him when he stands up Ire fore them wifliout this irajrcr to guide his carc- 1«8 delivery t Some men read with ttpowcr lniuiitable. The Rev. James Ilsuailton of Loudon was a rcmarCa- Wepreaelicr in many respects. He had rather poetic tastes, and Ids ser mons are gilded with the products of that taste. He read very closely, slavishly so, and vet there was so moeh of charm ami beauty in a Rer- Bo ° of his, and the spirit in which Be said it, that every one was con strained to listen. Dr. Candlish was another reader, of whom the Lite Di. •Alexander has written so ap]>reei:i- fiVMv, affording the interesting sqfee- tade of one really great man trying to tafce-tbe measure of another great man. Henry Rees was also in many ’aspect* oneof the greatest preachers. I *nppose lie never wrote ont one «*rmon from beginning to the eml. Ife was naturally a man of singular gentleness and softness of character. l*athos Was natural to him ; Ills read- ifR » hymn was only necessary to impress you profoundly.; the reading of a chapter in the Bible by him had the same effect. It was said of him 'Where he was preaching, that the •People had got into such a habit of weeping at his sermons, that when he stood up to preach they began to ,iWe ep at the beginning. r There is a deep philosophy under- iywg sncli a fact as that. The sight the man recalled what he had ‘‘aid before, with all the tender '■motions that he had produced. A -great deal of our power will be of the same kind. The pastor pays many a the sick chamber where the of him, the tone of his voice, re- years of teaching, years of reli- <|gtons thought and feeling, although ‘jo poor sufferer upon the bed can “ot tell how the good has come. It !s hi ottr very nature, and according* to the laws of it; and a wise minister *dl strive always to work in harmo with the laws of our nature. Dr. vhalmers, who enjoyed a world-wide fyPtation as a preacher, was a slav- reader, with veiy little gestieu mtma. They have a story about him m Scotland where there w as a strong prejudice against reading sermons, where they call a minister who reads “a paper laddie.*- At a kirk there on one occasion he read his sermon as usnal. An old Scotchman and bis wlfa walked away from the place after the service; for a UttJc while neither said a word ; they were think ing; at last one of them broke the silence : “And is yon the great Chal mers t* “Yee, yon is the great Ohal mers f* “Why, the mon reads T* “Yes! but yon was,CfclL{nwfWl) read ing.* Some have the power of rend ing with such impressiveness, forcible ness and completeness that it would be a very great mistake for them to put their paper aside. Each man must try to ttnd out the best way in which he eau do his work, nnd In a simple straightforward way bring forth the moat fruit nftor his kiud. WHAT IIKLP CAN ONE HAVE TOWARDS <KK»U 1'REACUIKO t Well, 1 have tried to answer this question to my own niiud. and I am mtlier inclined to tl>iuk more help is to be got (I shall s|H-ak of the help that comes from above, hereafter; I speak now of the help which we eau ourselves use and lay ltold of) from the earoful study of. the biography of those who have themselves been preachers, than from any similar source. I ilo not necessarily mean The laugnaga he spoke, even the bos be in the church again; the rarioatty in which he stood, U peculiar to a of the people was aroused, and when church ; •hot when the man goes into questioned, he answered, “I heard the family, it is a kind of pleasant that young man on last Sabbath, as surprise to the children to see that it seemed to ine, go over everything, he la really a man of flesh, and in and I remained another Sabbath to many respects something like their see what else he could find to preach own father. We can bring down to aboat.* (Laughter.) Of eeuree 1st ns the family the tones and common, be thoroughly in earoeot; thorough ordinary feeling of humanity, and ly intent npon our work, and we they wilt feel themselves a little nearer to lilm than before. Ue aska them about the children, and if he shall oot be afraid to lay out strength. One thing more. Our great reel has children they wHi oak about hi* |X>«rcr for preaching must come, as owu in return; then the sorrows you have been meny e time told,) come npi they perhaps weep, and if [ from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, working in oar whole nature; in our beads, to make us clear and intelligent; in our affec tion*, to make ns love the people, .love the work, love Cbriat; in our oua way, “These troubles we can conscience*, to deepen the aruae best get rid of by telling our Father of rceponsibilHy ; in our hearts, to be is a true mon, perhaps a tear will come into his own eye. There Is no studied ceremony about it; if he sees the family is uot jAst then engaged, hr will perhaps say iu s quiet, seri of them. Mm I we not better pray together V A simple prayer is of frml, hut it bos liuked In eominuniou | tlie hearts of tbeaa people to hi* I heart. He knows them now. They ; know him now. They feel they know ; him. When he goes to s|ieak to 1 these iieople in the pulpit, it is a can { venation to his friends, a talking to those who trust kirn. A hood of | sympathy is one of the strongest ' hetpa that you can hare towards 1 thoroughly good preaching. breathe a spirit of continual prayer, so that even while we preach we pray j in our whole nature, to attune as to the bosineas we have in hand, to bring us into sympathy with it, aud so to make us fit organs for com ninaicatiou to the souls of men of that truth which the Divine Kpirit makes the way of life-. Hut we unst uot suppose that the OboMi will work rmUsCtrailu AS TOWS* Ths MotuU of OUrss. BY EKT- BELAn W. BROWN.' Mount Olivot, deriving iu name from the evergreen tree with which It abounds, U a ridge on the east of Jerusalem, running about a mile north and south, the highest point being about two hundred feet above the city and tour hundred feet above the bed of the Keeton. From St. Stephen’s gate down through the deep valley of Jehoshaphat, nud np to the summit, is a walk of not over half a mile. Three ;Mths lead from the valley up the mount; the find, pooling over the northern shoulder, is the one traditiau Mys David went weeping and barefoot after hearing of the eonspirsey of Absalom. (3 Sam. xr i 30.) The second part* from the first fifty yards beyond Gethsemsiic, and goes directly np the shortest and stce|ic*t way, pas sing the traditional *;»>t of Christ’s lsmentotton over Jerusalem. The third path lead* to the right of tieth- wtnawe and over the southeru side of the mountain. The latter is thought by many tu be the ruad of Christ’s triumphal entry into the uur own being. We must not think, great preachers, l mean men like one t iu this laud, whom it is a constant Huw w* 250 * HAU WK pekavu t surprise to me that 1 have uot hewnl There is at this moment a kind «rf , mote of, Dr. l’ayson of Portland,' “* >* seoms to me, in favor upou us in such p way that we should who must have l«een one of the “hen t sermons. There are many fed this force to be external. If w* greatest nieii this country has ever l )co i , h’ w ho seem to think that the do so, we shall lie making the mis- had. I take men like Nettleton, le ** w *‘ nt *h*“ sermon, u|*oo the take that some inquirers iorve m.ulc Urainenl, Puyaon, aud Chaluuwo.) ^hole, the better, if there are two as to conversion, sa if it dc;leaded Let us retul these men’s lives, not ao °oe long the other short, of Iloly tibust will work In ns and, through n* in defiance of the laws ot 0,1 **** *°l' ^hvrt is a small, filthy Arab vdlage, snrrouuding an brethren, that the Holy GlasU is a ““ ™***l«e- ^ ‘he nuH-hank-al force, acting from without t ** tt , mo *d u *‘ h* an octagonal chapel, colled the *H hutch of the Ascension," from the trad it ton of the monks that it cover* the >q>ot when- Jesus last stood on earth. As n proof of this tradition they ppiut to a, one long the otlusr sliort, of U j*ou an influence eouaciously lelt hi lu *** ,,ll! *tiou in the solid rock, much to see just how they did their ,w ® ,, ' ,u Ul * l , - au fi h , ^ working without m*. whereas the » >rlut J* t>M ' work, as to catch tbo spirit In whiclt ,rr- l * ^a,, Uul undrrstaml why Holy H jar it works as an iutcnml they did it. If you eutcli the sjdiit * k ‘ rt ' ’‘ hnnW l» this desire f.w brvv force; it wotks through our winds, of men like these, and preach in the ■ ‘‘J - ^ •* ,rwo,, »- You do not find this through our |*rayans tlirough our, _ ; .. - - spirit of men like these, the things in P“ W »« things. Men at the Bar, in ,>erfu(munrv«, through our expert K ,hi ‘ t * Cf ’ J " you may say may not flash with l«blie asm-mldy, .ton’t as a rule . neew, thnuigh our sy mpathies, in brilliancy; but s;wakiiig the truth themselves shut, up to such a ««n|4ete ami thomsigh harmony iu love, God the Holy Ghost will hrirf limit as twenty five or thirty with the prmcipl.-* of our wind*, reach through yon the* hearts of the minutes iu tl»e dfcwusai.m of a qmw We must he ready ts lay ourselves (Hsqde ami do them spiritual good. Tltey don't tWl that they ran at Christ's Act, to submit ourselves Otwahing the minaret of Uie mosque. I think for aiytwlf, I have received thoroughly g.. through it withlu a rn the lloly *iurit’* tearhfug, to b< • ,h1 looking out from the muesun’s more help from the’study of the liest >'ke that. It is like the story I m subjection to the will .dour Father,, K*IhTV. we had oik- of the tmsd iu kiud.s id religious bi^rapliy tluui heard onee «»f a man who went into thst this lHvine qnicki-iung *tid irre t>'<v*ting view* this earth afford*, frum auy other study of"that i liarae- n fashionable restanraut and uskisl sfaiilde agent may take hold of u*. To the north is *een a eimspicaous ter, towaids the work of prcavluiig fi,r ® m " t,on ‘‘'“’P * xf,lT ******* |smsr*« ami saturate onr qiirlts, e*“muee crowned with a tower; the Gospel. f ,,r * hjug time, after great' prep.tra w.irk throogli our spirits, in them I uccd uot say to yon that all the ,io " '*> ,l **‘ ** r ' a,, ‘ *«*<“'• Ihe and through them, so that by nu-ans Uod '* ««■•««* for judg general information yon eau get is j ,1, *** t ' ***' ,,M? rvtqqHiou of that mutton of us—Ilia humble bidriuueuts—the of great value, aud is to fa- used very j c * ,0 l’* nt la,,t lB canu> ll * e v,litcr wi,b . truth, by whirh lu- quk-kena and , conscientiously. There is a tcmleucv ! * l* 1 **® n l w " * a * *h-|s«itevl a ssm tifi. s, may route into living eon- *he with very many of ua to be mcn-lv t,M> P *° smallest dunen ,nct with tlx- heart* and .onsei.net* , Tnniilig to the e**f, a wider pm*poet don*. Sticking his hark into It, he ; «f the p*-o)de, that thewhy they may '* tmfohh-d. Just down toward the put it, to the h.»m»r of the servant, be mixed and nailetified. f°ot of the mouut is Betlmuy*, wheie HarUuris foot. Rut the Modems ' claim it as the footprint of Moharn wed, nnd probably one claim Isas ascend from the top of the mouut, hut from u point down its side, near to Bethany. (Lnke uiv, 30; i, 12.) lie almost at our feet, and inclined toward as, so that we could trace Urn entire circuit of the city wad, and see almost every dwelling, mo* que, church, convent, dome, tower, and minaret In the place. - "A* on oar shoe cm***d kill we i m*. Wbon KoSns st oar hot Ussesntf wwtes DiaUtttftaa SoHto*aMt.a fO*Oo smUos, A( tiirougfa * volley oocrad to ins poses, How boMI/ dot* it fetal ml bow majestic*!)?! Uho s lororioss riasysld tbo hlS-oids with a 1 that is Mesitch, where Hsniucl gath oiwietit people for judg meat. On the right of Mettpoh is Gibrua, a here Joshua rommautied and moou to aland still. Ttmeo o'or inrsoo, scsisr rill, sad asm To tbo Uw bosscas." And O how the eight and thirty centuries of thrilling history that city has had seemed to pass before ust Within and around those walls have transpired events the greatest that have occurred in this world. No spot on earth has been ao honored of God; hut, alas! no dty baa been ao sorely visited with divine wrath. Many a score of times has Jerusalem been beseiged, and more than once entirely destroyed. The armies of Assyria, Kgy|«t, Babylon, Persi*, Greece, and Borne have kindled their comp fire* around it, and Moslem* aud Crumders have warred fiercely for iu jHMScssUm. We thought of the sieges, famines, destructions, dis|M-r*iun*, aid restoratious of three thousands of years. We thought of the fearftil imprecation of the Jews, “Hi* blood be on u* and on our chil dreo f aud then we remembered that on the very soil wet with the bloody sweat of the rejected Saviour, the blood of the Jew* fell like rain. Opening God 1 * holy word, we wad, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, your house is left unto you desolate P “Jerusa lem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles.’ “Thou shalt become an iifttoniahiaeut, a proverb, and a by- word among all nations."’ “All that pass by clap their baud* at thee; they bias and wag their heads at the da igbler of Jerusalem, saying, ‘la this the city that men call the per fection of Leonty, the joy of the whole wxrthr* A*4 Ibmor* as bn bills site Jnflisi yet, e« will: ds« as ber forrlwwd sud cbsins as ber tU| , Farllw crown of bn pC A to ths isoekn bslb |M^ Aw* ths holy BhrcMnah is Aub where it shoos professional iu our studies; the re sult is, we hax*e compar.itiv.-ly little hold upon the general community. If we have a good knowledge of general matter* ami subsidize this, Ths Thro* ft’s V into hi* mouth at a mouthful, sir I munching it a moment, said: “Ye*, that is it; bring me Muae* (Great it will tell on those who hear us, and **&«* ] * ««»ctiine* feel tcu.pUsl they may well say—that man has common sense, he knows something more than mere theology; if that man believe* these thing* thoroughly, we may be pretty sure there is something in them. But after all, brethren, onr strength is to have a thorough competent knowledge of this blessed Bible. I think eympathy trith the people is the next great help to good preach ing. It is not plcoaaut'for a man to speak of hi* own concerns, hut I think I can say here what 1 hare known ami felt my wifi If a man be out of sympathy with the people, his pit-aching is uot likely to do them much good. A man having nay- worth as a preacher, trill altcayo preaeh bent to kit otrn people, lie will preach sermons that are good fo them, while hardly worth bearing anywhere else. A man iu whom there is uot very much sympathy with l»i» people, Is not a very good preacher to them, ami laid better be heard in h strange pulpit, preaching one of bis “characteristic sermons" for the benefit of stranger*. (Laugh ter.] PASTORAI. VWITINO. Then poetorai eieiUUton plnys an important part in the discharge of the duties of the ministry. Pastoral visiting may be done in such a way ns to be absurd, f saw a cnvkwtnrc the other day in one of our papers in reference to it: ft Presbyterian min ister going around with an elder; reading a chapter, catechizing the children, &e. Yon can put that in such a way as to make it look sn pronely ridtcnlotts, bot tlie thing rightly done, is not ridiculous. No man of sense would now go about ft in that way. The charm, the essence of pastoral visitation, is this—that a man goes Into the bosom of the family; he talks to them in their own vernacular. Tlie children, haps, ns they looked up at him the pulpit on a Sunday did uot real ize very distinctly that be belonged to say when one of these diminutive sermon* of five ami twenty minutes is finished, “Ye*, that’s wlmt 1 want; bring ine some.* I my *elf trolly do nut feel that 1 have got fairly wider way until fix-e and twenty minutes have Sometime* it In coudnsion, I have only to say to y.m, .tor brethren, that I fir! the : Hvclhwt sympathy with you in yonr preparation, a* 1 have the deepest! apprebeusioa of the grandeur and magnitude of the work before you. , _ , Your sphere* of labor will he x-ery of lcm|dst».m. different; to srsue, eowiparwtiwly olMrare; to other*, wore pnimim-nt. passed, and one who has got into sympathy with the subject and with the people will fed the same thing. It io—dejiend ii]>oii it—it i* because a great deal of the preaching has Item rather poor ]wenching, thst people Hax-e eoioe to this eom-lasioii in favor of abort sermon*. These men on Sunday feel nii«-omforf*lite it they do not hear a sermon, nud be- catuie ft it not good they want it a* brief ns possible—just long enough to satisfy their conscience*, llrcth ren, a sermon is to instruct; it is to awaken tbo attention; it is to arouse the eonsek-lice; it is, if |MMuftde, to milist the whole man in behalf of the ; truth of whjel. yon are the herald and messenger. If yoa will pnt your : whole strength upon one of these j great truths, you will bo luclincd rather to think, when yon have done i your very best in trying to pot it hi, tlie clearest and most oonciac man lier, in order to present It to the uiiu.ls of your hearers, that thirty or thirty-fix-e minutes is not time enough. Not that I suppose for a single moment that a man most put wav seem to son ! you that are |4aeed in oharnre locsli ties as if your life ora* beiug well i nigh thrown away. Don’t let the devil tempt yon with sueh a thought ns that. 1 snfipose to-.Ux t hrist is - looking doxru iqsm poor ministers, - toiling among poor people, with more , isvnr and sppm-iathMi tluui iijsm i mnnv placed on the heights of minis terial fame ami power. (Tirist mess-1 «n-» our soeceas by a very diflrretrt standard to thst which the world s|>-1 plies. If God nm*s yon to bring smile j to Chrwt, to build up sinners in the i most holy faith, yonr work will abide j and stand beyond all the perform- ! auces of some more cherished and ; the weary Redeemer often found a quiet home with Mary, Martha, and Isuanw. From tlx- base of the moan- tain liegius the “Wildcnteo* of Jtt- de»,* a bleak, bam ti. hiliy region, s ell chosen by the devil as the scene Beyond the W internes* is area the ptoin of Jericho, nud Iwyond that, twenty ^ miles away, rolls the Jordan. The ■ course of this river can lie traced, by tin) dark line of verdure on it* hauks, from far up the x’txHey, to where it pour* it* living waters into the Sea Jof Death. Across the Jonhtn and the Dead tfea are the mountain* of Moah, Isutmling (lie horizon like a dark trail. Among tbosr summits “on tlie other side of Jordan, ox-er against Ji'tk-ho,*is I'isgaU. cm which Muse* stood to “view the landscape o’rr j" and down in some of those se cluded valley* God boned that great k-sdef of Israel in his unknown grave. Directly to tlie Month, forming the most southern of tlie four summits of Olivet, is the “Mmutl of Ofieuse," where Solomou built high places to rcwunled by tbo world, hut whose.,, , . . . . , .. . idi-hs nnd burnt HMMR* to at range fra it will be swept nwny m the flames : “ “* of the last coiitlugiutiou. .May God bless you, aud make- you true minis- g«sl*; awl ltcyoud this is the “Hill country of Judea* Still looking soiiihward, six mile* away, you catch a glimpse of the city where Jeeas wan \X KxAMi-i.E.—Ifcbriatiaua, when j t *‘* " at ' ^ ust ljc ® 9r * they have a matter of difference. ter* of Jesus Christ. would graciously agree to meet with each other iu prayer, and pray to gether kindly for each other, their contention would soon end; bat oik- all the truth in a sermon ou every ; call „ ul stoop and the other will aot. occasion, but every- man must use TUey are not ao wise ns iAitUerV two his own good and cultiraUul judg j gouts, who uuce met nism a narrow ment in determiuiug the form ami i plank over o deep water; they would shaiHi of bf* sermons, tu order to i H0 t go bock, aud thoy dare not fight, carry’ conviction to the judgment a t length one of them lay down while and conscience of the people. the other walked over 1dm, and so There is a grant tendency to put a j poabo uad safety attended both. I Why should not Christians try ! method 7 this aud separate from “» uuly by the nurrow vslley of Jchoshsjihat, lie* the Uoly (lly. Ilowu on the tvcakmi base of the mount is the garden when' for ns Jews held the cap of woe in hi* trembling liaml, while he prayed, “Father, if this cup may Hot pus* except 1 driuk it, tky will be doue.* O what a mount of vision fa Olivet to a follower of Christ! The. place of the fartk mid the death of the world’s Redeemer both in view ut ouc<-! The scene of tlie tempts tion on one hand, nnd tlie scene of ; the bloody sweat on the other. The the city, b P«- mn in great deal into each seHuoit; too much porhnps. 1 supixwe the story is au old one of the young preacher ! — who preached in those times when] PUNCTUAL IlKAEER—A woman long sermons were customary. A (who always ns«l to attend public, stranger from a distance who was worship with great punctuality , ami going away tlia next week, heard this ; took care to be tdwnys iu time, was, ter that it baa been 0 sermon. It wa* constructed upou J asked liow it was she could idway* Mount of the Lori Jettu.~ the principle of beginning ia the, come so early. She answered, very 1 Before we felt the enchanting place Gardeu of Bden and going regularly wisely, “That it waa part of Jier yc-1 we aat down aud took a snrvey of down. (Laughter.) Un the next Sab ligion not to diaturh the religion the Holy City. This was the beat place of lamentation over and the place of ascension to glory tiiiuk about it: and every both iu sight. Buell are the nssoeia he F**. asked, lit- wwlied the tioiis of this mountain with our Mas called “Be to the fanman race at all. (Laughter.) imth this stranger w*» oWrvetl to ( of others.* view we could have, for it seemed to An English correspondent send* ns the following suggestive biuts to min isters. He (the Itex. Rowland Hill) used to like Dr. Uv la ad’s advice to Ufa young academicians: “Mind, no srrmon is of any value, or likely to be useful, which has not the three RV in it— ttoin lg the Fall. fil'd iMtJit iOH by ChrUt. Regeneration by the Holy Spirit" Of himself, he (the Rev. R. Hill) remarked : “My .aim In every sermon is, a stout and lusty roll to sinuers, to quicken the saiuts, nnd to be made a universal blessing to alL*—Sidney's L\ft of Iter. R. Hill. Is-lgii Richmond says: “Keep in mind that excellent rule — Never preach a single sermon, from which nn unenli^Utenexl liearer wight uot learn the jdan of salvation, even though he never afterward heard another diseourse.* “Said a minister once, wlicu I gently hiuted to him that he had not preached the gos;>el that morn ing. 'No,’ said be, 'I did uot mean to preach to sinners In the morning, bnt I will preach to them in the evening.’ Ah! said I, but what if some of your congregation of the morning should be in hell before evening T*—Spurgeon. “Many ft time when we stand in the pulpit, some sinner may be pres ent, to whom we are addressing onr last message, who will never hear the gospel or be exburted to take care of his soul again. Shonlil we not wish to pour npon such a one the whole force of onr powers of persuasion; to speak to him einphat ievilly in the words of Richard Bax ter, ‘as a dying man to dying men.*’ [Ckrittian Rerieic. Ttatsfitlffi About God.—Hiero, King of Syracuse, was a heathen, and meeting one tfay a learned man, he raid to him, “What is God!* The Philosopher desired one day to think about it, before he answered the King. This request was granted, in mder to get a clear answer. Be lltg asked the same question the next dsv, he desired two dsya more to time he was asked, he wished the time oitblcd in which he might think about it. The King was surprised, ami fielrxsri w*hv hft ulidl An t and asked why he did ao! “Because; sava Ibc philosopher, “the more I think about God, tlie fora I hope to understand him.* This was a won ilerftil anawer, and we shall find the more we think abont God, the more ter that! he lott in tea tuber. Ths Way to rariflttoa. A correspondent of the Christian World thus sets forth the difficulties which beast the atoner to his down ward course: Firm, The omnipotent power of the Almighty 1 Ood the Father, with all the hoets of heaven marshalled to his command ; for we verily believe that the armies of the Most High dispute every step of the limseris way to perdition. He will hare to defy bis judgments, ridicule his au thority, and scoff at his mercy. lie will have to pick hi* way over the coffin* of hi* loved one*, which will one after another be placed across hi* path, and look with stolid indifference at the grave closing over them forever. He mast disbelieve the most pre cious words that were ever written, and accept the infidel doctrine that the Bible fa a fable, and immortality but the delirium of a fevered brain. He must doubt God’s willingness and ability tu save him, and deny tbe very existence of Deity himself, Second, He has to oppose the matchless love of Jesus!—God the Son. Calx-ary mast have no* place within hi* memory. He unit deny his divinity ; reject his inerey ; resist the eloquence of hi* pleadings ; revile tlie hallowed recollections of hi* ministry; and, although he stretches forth hi* hands to save him, like the Jew* of old hi* only answer is, “Cru cify him ! crucify him !* Everything most be forgotten—his sorrows, his kindness, his gentleness, his offer tion, his miraefes, his patient life, and his crowning act of -"“Tr*- deration on the cross, hi* glorious death! Third, He has to oppose the Spir it, God the Holy Ghost! He has to withstand the awful struggles of con science—has to cat loose from hu manity, and murder it* last agoni sing appeals, and perhaps has to fed that the worm that dieth not has already commenced its work. Bnt tliis fa not all yet AH along his path in life. God has stationed faithful Christians to plead with him. The warning voice of a father, the tears of a mother, the tender en treaties of brothers and sisters, the watchmen npon the walls of Zion; an these urge, beg, pejsoade, en treat, and cry out against his coarse. Then there rise up against him the promises be has made to departed friends, promises made upon the great'deep, upon beds of sickness, in dangers of various kinds; and, per haps, fragments of hymns, pious words foamed iu earlier days, and the recollections of a sweet and happy home. AU these most be forgotten of denied. But fa this nilf Oh, no! Nature speaks to him of a God In the flowers of spring, in the bloom of rammer, in the decay of aotnmn, and in the death of winter. He hears his voice in the rolling thun ders, sees his might in the flashing lightnings, and recognises his prom ise in the bright bow spanning the clouds. No matter how sunk and lost his condition, God still follows him, and gives him no peace, until every means have been tried, from the might of Jehox-ah to the lisping voice of the child, and only when heax'en aud earth combined fail to move his hardened heart, does God say, “It is enough; let him alone; Ephraim fa joined^to his idols.* Let Youb Light Shine ’—We know there is an invisible Chorch, and we are'glad to know that Christ is the Head of it, and that all true believers are members of His body; but inrieible Christian*, who and what are they t Lamps are made to burn and thine in the darkness, and Christians are the light of the world. They are not dark lanterns. Some people seem to think they mast always have a slide to slip over the bright side, lest the world should suspect they belong to another coun try, and so take offence at their speech or carriage, but the Lord says, let your light thine ! Speak of Him! Plan for Him! Work for Him! Live for Him! and leave the rest to Him! Trials.—I believe that some Chris tians hax-e more trials aud afflictions than others, because there fa more pride nnd stubbornness in them. The Lord will hax-e these to he sub dued, and snit His chastisements with great and unerring wisdom to the occasion. If believers thought of this aright, they would not be so much in care to get rid of the visits tion, to hax-e the design of it answered Within them.—firrle.