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Rail. 7 *>*„, ***tn f ww • «« n --> 0»o ni [12 »p£ 1 3 I*** ■ MIS JURE, end<nt 1:2 £*» |-8 88 An -8 80 am |--t 10 p ® -7 45am -4 25 p m -8 00am .4 10 pm . I* 1.7 00pm -«4oSm 1.7 OS a m 1.7 80 pm 6 00pm -6 00 am *r train* »TS MMl len ami * * 8 85am 111 08am 1 00 pm 1.5 40 p m V Snp't ■ 8 00 a ro |11 45 am 1 57 pm 4 00pm 6 80pm Trains its North 8 80am ll 15 a m 58 p m I 3 45 pm 8 50pm |h Trains id* for Florida. Mobile, ... Mem- Drinnati, |ml West. Night Bag- ata. .. «rohia | different Sup't. |ght and , .' i -<v I Railroad n • II • 4 30 p m 17 00 p m .3 80am 16 10 am Cfc Tic Hal- Loud can J Station* IndersOn, and Al- Agent, ientfi. P m die IT That L itmder [i* , in*rk, aac^r- lexiat *n , infan- i others _• chil- of the as infant, no STS for the- of i niRRO' ifXur c(M~ n sine 0 having PIPHP^PPMH mpisr- * m- f ■f .**l|*M<rV ’ ■ * M iV co se Pfgj Sir i ««•*** Vr»oe i ar J*Y*tT \o 1 M »>*.V‘wV, ‘td t Iff *>#*«<; •ft!'# Llllt £A2l K i* < 5 M <Tfrnl tart 4H ‘hw 'JLlL /thrtrif Hi * hy *!_, JhtX j },;;.,«!-», | m!| ’ [.ttfT IBS. VOL. 3—NO. 17 Mp«t r *fKU* t (nff, towns I 3ma .. V :l ,«■ J* PtTBLprtKD WM*™ '•» _ tV WE '•'•if 4,i • Itlgy )N T F,SDAY id .l»i!tl ;-#>?iooh rate* or m*#m •* • square (one it* It of idt'ertio*..... j}.*. ..U msnth......,. (wrath*— in A 1JB Mln^torv ITH. , 3.W f U tn remit MS Tper «t*miu 3.00 tered cnt the *wb the flr-t payment fel !■*.-, rr _,)>e *r+M months. .,.. fluents o ■iWh •.«,»••i% 3,88 l.soo • - .-*► 7 00 10 00 Kr> ll , area ami p 8era fs'fl V* * i and up ward a, Q0 deduettd from the abmu arhen niofa than tee line*, for eight w >rda, cent* aud pqjaWe U 'quarter, muuuea turns fa DDE, l\f>., 'ulmmUo, 8. C. 0 IS, 1LL_ n eh t lion 1 t i< For the LeUneea Visitor. Lather and instrument Reformation. the head Bat while positions as /STo~~-~T Tm! iuiitni-yi*n in| n»4fe»«»n*^ iff’ id# hoa .hiP'/H ’ a * rfgif H "i >tt' ant m li» T j. ONE LORD, ONE PAITH. ONE B APTI8 M”-EPHE 81A NS IV: 6. ’ • • j' . ^ ;;Q I, 4, , . <;j .1 ‘ ^ ^ , ./• =C=C3 1 ihi COLUMBIA,^, C., WK0NKSDAY, DKCEMBER 21,'1870. . ootMlemtihffion^aml Vrhen he he held OhriM reflected ht the Ij8w, and el perfetuvd thepreAtnesa and frraeiooa weaa of aahrtitian thmn^h him. he posaessed u 11 in)atakaide evidemrs (if the ri£*M*«hei« <# the Me he ttrtir eitifryieg- lOrward, and of the hewelen ha 8flji»med fn the rimreh of Rome. Thera were fnterttttl and exteriml ortdes in hi* htatory nidth, thmujfli divine grace, made htm the I,utln‘r «»f the Reform.it inn. The evident hand^of (Vod was over him aa ; 8 pmteetihg anff guiding power, educating him by tl»e very extrent itiea to which the rhtirrh hud been bnaiglit for the inwitiou ef huntnn lieadship in its renoration. * * v * ‘ Meianehthoti never experienred three apiritnai straggle*, either in hie ent^’ or mature llfb. fn holy baptism he had been pianttsi in the garden of f^od,’ and the vhria tlan culture of his childhood saved him fVoni being torn t»|» am! im periled by those who sought to destroy the precious growth. Ten der the influence* of evangelic*! home instruction his religions UfV expanded, nnhindered by the con flicta aronnd. iQnMIy he atone to position in that splendid galaxy of Reformers, unaided by religions coiiqneets, ami unheralded by heroic actions. His tendency was, from an inherent quiet greatness, to And h»» ortiit weaf ' the sun, that he might be env4op8d in his bright ness, rather than reflect it to tlln mine otheiw. • .11 s' • ”* jV ] Melanchthon wss not a creature of the Refonaiatton in the same sense with Isither. He wonid have attaine«l dritimttion hi the depart nient of literatan* under other rir cumstauces than those of the lflth ceatnry. He would bare Hvrd tn bis literary fume as RemliKn and Erasmus hntv Hve<l, withont the reiignma agitations into which lie w»s drawn, and to whieh he so greatly contributed. His disfMiHttion by ihitnre was^ neither aggressive nor defrmdre, End in the violent opposition of tbnf age he appears In sU controversies as the mediator, seeking to rt‘Coucile contending |«ar ties. He loved peace more than all else—save truth, and even tins he seriously intperihsl, if he not compromise. HiA course 1 e<l an attempt j to reconcile truth and error. He Mled to comprehend the breadth and depth of the guff between the pritieiples of the Ref* omr.ition and those of the Papucj'. In theory, to himj fundamental truths were frw, and the chief points of dis tinction between the Reformed and Romish ehnrches were matters which he regarded sdisphorn, and In no way men—a development of affecting the essence of Christianity, y and pow^r—a great- The (Confession of (848, the Angs 11 OLD SERIES, VOL. V.-NO. 121. v — termed bigotry; when charity I* pot Heiigfon *h» tt* so M the equivalent that liix rility thought 1 fliffnyw which embrace* iUTLc all creed*, or Ignores all 'otgecttve faith ? Vcfpy, inneh Of the boaated religious lilwrty of our age h» only rejtgiou* lietui- StfaiL 1 *. * Vor his strong sfiosto^r faith T.u- ther has his pantile! nnlv in Tp«Lj Th this is the secret of : fflh A pMrevi] TTfs fhitb, Rhe the r,«>d fn Mil be trusted, wns a “fhxt set fortresA" fou- stssl and impregnable. In trif own language, h«* “could believe away” dtf Acfllrtes which neither his reason nmr energy was able to remm c. I.nfherbi faith accomplished fb«* ltefl*rmnfion, i*r self—*1 ways grave, and *1 wavs appeiUing ta Wbst ta highest and ihwptst in maiv—must he made 8* pleasant, snd Wghf, and 'IfA feet be attention n* Hie comedy ok (he farVe; bud be tricked but with many of tfetk alhircmetits of the the atre, Iwfore the people, espcciaffy In etriaas wiN niipmsehitts gates nr If* ten to its ex|»o*Mbtiot»a. M UwiH.be mucti botisr to oHin «|HMb Um> MlWMitkmt.of tie n ill* wnridiv, than gain tt by trioiowa arts and the of the |wl|4t. A small oo wen' in the work God placed this move- Alled the agents in the work, their im ividnallty was > identified wit i it as to be While they la! »red with nn t to restore to the church ony, awl i -eve, as Paul, of Christ, II ring and act- jh the |x>w< r of his w ill, and f nbRc lives are by stro ig individual ies. Tlieiti bovhmsl al manifests a mar ;ed difference of wh^rtal eonstitntioi i, an<F is an of their fntur history. e*ri imt life was those distn bfng riremn- and rough exigences wh»ch . . Luther for Bis high mis sion.: iAlthongb distiraeyiished from ehih^bod for remarkable breadth h of mind, ind enjoying Itronage of the luiost distin- scholars of Riirope, yet his peacefhl, anf untroubled He fonud in pitcrarpr pur- is highest enjoyments, and rapidly au«i atemliiy to as one born tjp fame. ^Uie seems wnluMit any of irises that obonkt with the not his lemming, or that of bis co 1 espcui wetghty laborers. By this he wrestled with, instruct am, is inrtndel.v mure useful and Rk^ Jacob, overcame 1. ' In to ('hrist’a causa apd Um prosimeta Lutheris simple trust snd strong don of society , (!»*» 8 uiyb vf inuy uUnra. fldetioe are reflected the certainty aUraclad py a cnowtU «U<» Iwsng and rightconsncKx of th.- cause of itching ear* sad ga away with |be the Reformation. They were the id.* that the guapal and raligioa snre earnests of the fa tore toinplete are not very arrioas or grave can triumph, a grand epiphany in j>rr «**raa after all la* no* let ll be son si form of the bennty nml might imagined tbat ndigioti has not Ms of the truth, for which lie rumrndiNl. legitiimite mtumibum even from ait. In that Arst positive ad of Hie pe formati.mi there is manifested a he roism of character ami as almost boMaess «>f fWitb. which eminently great reformer. At t was atmest bore himself as witness to the r the number i enemies. la •id deeper the Reformat am tu ehameter snd fth new powtw. SthHl Was (Ml tmi (\ihaeg his med thst .fay danger to the • codAriitHtion snd estaldhdi im mart si mu th. .* ‘ • • >1* i «sitting la le oft«-a walked positions nrase tste, he WnoM safoas ta cum ssenshaut. The fvrest.mmg (tt* Bat all ba atihardinafed an, the gravity teas of the solemn hi a hick (bey are aaan im we hear a pn|«itar minister eejoMbg that his place of * i,. • • a>, r'Www** * 18*1 gai iJUorali —I - a«k«> arat Wo* usaII — W s ll fwfifiT'fi. ffff hfft“ p*v'ltt ^*^11 ff aae la Hkelr to he ms. le of the I mild fog. *• The sealing (hr mpieHIctal tut cJteaw-nt la reNgioas srnriees 1* he eoanag aot only a peril, but a dta grace to telighm. like the great estotfoshments m dry gstods that are ile\ asrtag the -msfler tradesmen, a few great chartstaaB In nrHgien. with the^shl «>f a few greet master*, are becoming the only \w4re« the people flock to hear, while leim»e.|, serious, snd instructive pteasbi rs. wIk> wffl not stoop to vulgar arts, are neglect ed aad forsaken. It is a shocking imftearhm of the levity of the imbUr i mind. Tf can wot, we trwst. con tinne. If it dors, H will take a eetr tary hi recover frna the inparr one geaetstbai of polpR mowafsbawkl have daae to the rhnrrh. snd to the re\ toww sad faith of the gne did r, the |Mfwa^ pel.— /dte.sf flHttos. le I lef.maarhm tath-s found hik j sadewt. Tliew g>- *•»*! prsswp* j letanehthou of «*m so WwleH- *r the safety of s4ing thraagh ther, ap to IVon Il»e sup. family Religion. in and ael^originating, the product, of external noeo. a * on the contrary, was era- adrereity. The stmuu of was troubled at ita fonn- inatead of tbe undisturbed Ifcle flow that charaeteriaed the course of Melanchthon, there agitation that gave evkienor commotion whieh his influ- d introduce ; Among the religtona elemcfits of that Both his apirituai aud phys- rere marked by throes that him for the oonfliatH of tbe - — .was lifted from laotuw- be toiHitude by inward straggles from W$|iph be was delivered clothed with new power,' Beared in tbe besom -of the Rotniah Church, be the lighf of the truth while with the think darkness Hoped everythiug. He was of the apostasy of the Pa- atill held ou to the same se of the small measure that yet attached to the Wreck. Tbe general igno- irreligiou that prevailed rgy aud laity aroused him fatal security into which fallen, and impelled him slf against the. existing and vice. r Haying knowledge of positive as revealed in the doe- loly Scripture, and hav hioem been) regenerated and eauctifled through fotered to tbe Khowfa been *i«8iou froia.it. e power of the *ame t he n the work of restoring rch her smothered Rfe. e pit from which he bad he regarded his life be to deliver others ui contrasts that he had andatrori w Rb «iu l »ortl aettvi^y in the work of In bother’s life had. the power of truth A uouoeiouH eomniunion. °re the mirror o| Chid’s revealed his misery and bnrg and lM^|>sie interims, nml the Conference at ffegensburg (1.V41), rtrr witoesses of the Vrath of this (‘riticism. Tn ndtneraim books and opiniona given by him in moment* of danger, he made comwssions to hi* enemy which l.nthcr, hiany re former*, and Arndt, under the rir enmsfanee*, wonid hake regarded us sacrifices of the truth rtseir. Lnther, on the other hand, saw cle«riy and acted prompfly. In tbe cause of the Refortmttion and that of Romanism he beheld BeHal ami Christ Possessing an insight into the word of God, rienr and profound, be distinguished withont injustice between the true ami the false, the real and apparent In noth iug I* Lather so great as in his ixmitive ness. With him fattli was knowl edge, not mere opinion. Aud an less he Is acknowledged to have pos sessed an uncommon power in the Scriptures, both to umleratAud and to interpret, than logienl oonsisteucy requires that he 1m* regarded as a fanatic or pretender j for how other wise can be n*(x>twd!ed that devotion to the letter and spirit of tbe word, that imaitivenem in his public and private Ufa, and above all the won derful harmony that exist* in the entire doctrinal system of distinctive Lutheranism? Wh*t God spoke, Lather believed^ and that God hod s|>okeii distinctly and authoritatively in Hia W«r<l, be held to N 4 true from the necessities that existed for a Revelation. Therefore, lie was positive, determined and nncoifi- promising in his course. As Oort’s ambassador he dared not sacrifice His truth. Love for the truth waa the animating canse of hia active opposition to Roma, aud ah errorints . ing Christmas Urails of foaulias—to Rvi ihetasrlrex, to their fomtHes. and to in lria own history add-, ['—the very pulsation that auisifooted ■ I Urn • high life of uuioii that dialed between him ami Christ. < W’hat degeneracy has much of modem Christianity itmlhrgone When p devo tion to iruth-^a refmiai to barter away for a false peace—ia flippantly A (WtupMMhat wUhe* th** editor t.» write xomethhig. wtiirh rind I mm e hcs.ri of fainilira to five heed to their dwft«-« : (wnetWitf. whi«4i prawnne faintly religion—and etolly to urge w|»Mn them the duty of fonriM- praver. WV have attempt ed to do this, time and tigshi, lajt ate fear with very partial Hut M*-U.i.-h Wo«Id lh«t we cmiM Strang (HMitive fq4tiiow« on thix xuhfeet on every He oer.-r <*p**u brad of a iamilv within the cirruH r fM*srr, Lot Ids of nor rimdnlion. Attempting It ptmre U*.l loin HgiMn. we .-an hat go m ; er arguments .1 anger..** ro* s lu*^e Mtaieri in no.- Asm is* other; linr snd public .unt to repeat is diafuMefal to our- wi»ft 'Iiriwo-d self, ..nd may la* n tom vim: ♦*> oor tv wa« hm prop^ readers. But to rat toft the wishes Me with n fbiry of owr , -enrvrapmidetit, ami really w. • A* * arbob toqiing that good may eonte of it. we lo Lusher ; bat will re^wat here the sntndanee of nn *a woating in argument for thi« doty which O'ogth of iiaf. made unrai yearn afoar, hi which w* mH forth the Ami aciwnfog to ]>rnfaww p.iwer ot Id8 lied what e#*ot hy tbd tbe ehurrh, from the neglect of this rattier wna tbo onportant dotyl • he way f Me- TU# hme to theomeh.w. we hold, d 1 wantitied is. ia of that Siiriafoi tioti which o*n- Miust Ind magnttiide, faH. who to cameo>o« of dtoehurging attcy. The ghv. every itotv that the chnirh tvaehea, toftinihed apiai aud of taking op frofy cross, that offerw itself In th.- rl.ristiftn life; of tlist restraint upm. their I. uijs-ra. wimla himI conduct, a Inch a solemn daily aci at morahtp and cwnarr-union to G«mI in tbe ptwmv of their fatoi- lies, ueuesrartl) iaipumw; of a price less oppetiwuity of dmchargiiig a pHtwnmuul duty, aa tin* reiigwua teachers of ibetr offapring ; of tlta* firm trttfo hi God and hia super iotcmlitig rrovitU nee «Umh ans.-. troui the knowledge tlmi tbe ■ flairs 4 the preaent jgf (he famil> Ua:« hee« eoaiaaitted, labfial pro fas- h> U»e imrvuta and ofoidara togitb- ot the t4»|Hua »*c, t«» Iran at whom i* ia mink »*aa- xsati.Mial heuil knowledge him in all tby wa>» and >uiihc (uye and be nJiall direct ihi |»at»i*; w and of wlitoh muMt to* that direct o .mmunion with C hrist half toughing w hich a«vrg pood man rt^ojv, nbea ‘'the «o-enl)ed Ever “two or these sit swt* ip Mfo seem to iudF iw«me, though only Abuse of hia own iouH, nnsph ed, UouraholtL To the Mpiritnai tnau, the ham of apirituai power, mdsenra atnl .-ajo> ineiit to ao great, that U may he safely argued, that ha, who does not attend to Shis duly, how ever exemplary otherwise, ia not, Niger U> have .ton not to, a spiritaal-miudod, grow- a _ ion. Tim |mo n«g elu totton. ilia im pa tosa tony be pie must Im tempted wlsli nqtto'wwl dll good—hia moral life aud fretted cake, if we would draw fax teal for hia church to the taMe of the* Lord ! ,but be fad* a* a (mini that 1 J 1 i t her by tempo. » aorfaee wan*. *. > laitbetfa hfe D |*haai«s; lie- ten A*, aud bril rs was iwgNtri e ri. a. U. lauhiag M-eaient .if P«*» CtM Of Hu I fthI V m|mms with an —the breml of uimaUan offer lurch ami the uturiei coot in- > starving pro* m.. -mc ; ; -■ r;■ a, i i r, him aa a cowardly, and. Tty const* qtience, a weak f warfiltig, Joylefifl, dwarfed profe«aor of That be ran not etteuiportoe a prayer, will not answer ttH* accusation, if either In* has detff tiled to do so, (if, haring re|M*ated?^ trfed and fttjf fo|; ^»v hesRates to get a book and Trad prayer* dbon he can not frame them for him sell. The foot fa his, because he lora* one of the most efll flNit mafins of growth fa grace, aud one of the moat potent safeguard* again* overthrow by (einptatiofl. The hpift to his family i* quite aa great. Alt k fn Too* fa also A toes to them. Ai a fathers oecp poverty 1s felt h>' hi* children fn tbe abaenee Of the many advantages that hi* faring wealthy would bring to them, ra ufl thto pro erty of Mm ia personal natiafaetfon. rrriraintog power, trust ta Gart, cMnwintthm with him and growth iu grace, necessitate* that Ms religious tomefarthuiA to them should be very meagre. He can not exemplify tbe higher Christian life hef.Mr them, because He does not fore tt; and they hare, therefore, tool the most available Christian inst metkmi fsMMtlrie ; which, how ever. heVould hnpart by bia example, were he what be ought to be. They k*r, too, that sense of de pendence imi God, and that ctmalairt presentation to the. mind of hia rhrtmx upon them, which would be enforced and infixed by tbe morning and evening worship, and which would, necessarily, go far toward making the tfemglit of God and doty and eternal things a mental habit wtth them, powerfully conservative npou their moral character, disponl lion and conduct. In many families, remote from Hnnda> school and aw rial and pobHc worship, where there to no family prayer, it may he raid of tbe younger children especially. MM to not in afl their thoughts.’’ In this case their !<>aa to that well- ntgli ofobrtotianity itself: nml they grow op ignorant almost ns the heathen. Ifailv worship to the reel ire of this miaous They Id* si mo that, apirituai direr thin snd hies..fog which Gnl always vonehrafes to the fomities that ml al*oii him to Htnerrif y. They farther lose that rousts tit exhitHtion of re ligiou, as *Hhe (itineipnl thing,* whieh makes their earn entrance on a roligiouM life comparatively c They lose, tan. the advantage o ’thone op)»ortaqit(es offered try the daily vvadhig of the Heriptnrea, and by the special petitions of the father who stndics tbe cirrumstaoces of the family and of the wants of eaeii memlwr. of receiving the diiwctlon comfort wad encouragement which results Bran » wise use of this means of grace. At every point they tone fir more than the timid hem) of a family ran gain by shrink ing fomn n huts,* whieh to Rght- ened. in n little time, by a faithful IftTfonnsnce of dnty. Then* to loan, to* to Abe chnrch It iu tarn, lose* whatever is hist by tbe brad of a family in its member •hip, whom* life falls below the rttsnd.wvl of aealoss diaciplewbip, am by family, whose religions framings to so defective as to involve them in the tosses shove s)>eeiflcd. Any neglect of doty whtob Implies that its men hers ale not spiritual minded and that its families go not rained in lelighMi, involves tons to the ehurrh. it tones, also, its working power. Men who wffl no* pray and seknowl edge Christ to their own families will scarce Ho so etoewto re. and they are apt to be dumb disciple*.— Hence, there to want of lenders in prayer in the social meeting. The love-feast and dam meeting are often almost aa silent as Quaker gathering*. Tbs rising generation ia sarh families are ao poorly in structed, and havweo little familiar toy with rshgvona troth and duties, that they come tote the church, if at aR, ignorant of the flrat facta and principle* of nstigkm, aud have then lo undergo a tong tuition before they become establihaed and naefol working ckririiMoa. They oaa not, lira kmg tuue, foei prepared to do Sunday ashool or other Work far the ahureb. Aud all thto involve* the eburoh to (Boat tons of efficiency, to its great work of bringing the world to Christ. Her efforts are treble, bar success partial her progress retarded j nod mock of the evil may be traoed to a defective christisoilr, of whieh the neglect of family prayer and of family rchfiou—and tbs two go together—ia at otice tbe most influential cauae, and thf proof. . (Was statements of foets we rth out aerior* They ran not be We believe that no owe completely. Here are -rmr—T who baa the “Spirit of adoptiot^ wi!| tty to eoiitirovcrt them. Oon- •cience wiD convict him. as loser under some one or all of the propoai Uous. slated. However he excuses ktnmif from the duty, ha can bat acknowledge there would be loss to the church iff# toa bonds of families should neglect the duty aa be does. And yet, if he can excuse himself, why may uot oil do mo? Who has given him a special axemptiou ? Who has given to him permtosiou, more than to others, to bring all this toes to his own sonl, to hi* family aud to the church of Chriirt, beratiie he it too cowardly or too little religious to discharge a plain duty ? To leave doubters without excuse, we may say that there to proof tluti family worship accord* with the Divine order of religious life. The family was before tin* church. The imtriaroha set ua their altars where they pitched their tents, aud wor shipped at them with their families. Joshua declared that though all Israel should turn to other gods, yet he and hfa family would sm-ve the Ixjrd—worship him by prayef and aacriioo, to the original. Our family at least should have a infest and prayer and sacrifice for the true God, if all ethers forsook Him.,.. The family of Jesse were gathered from abroad to a yearly sacrifice at the home altar. David returned from n public service “to blesw hi* house.'’ which imports prayer, praise, and official beurdktiou. The itaasover wns a family institution, at which the bend of the family iireatded; and our Lord at tbe “Last Bupper" filled the office at a master of the family, where he blessed the fea*t sod offered prayer. The Scripture, “Poor out thy fhry upon the heathen, and u|»oo the Jnmiliet which call uot on thy name," wns probably in- tended to class with tbe beatheu those Jewish families who performed fadolatrons family worship in their "chamber* of imagery,” a* tbe heath eu did, before theit . "lares’’ aud ‘‘pens!**.’’ It would seem that family worship was so understood by both Jews aud brat hens that there was no used of specific in junctions respecting it. “The fa ther or nisster.” any* Mr. Watson, “who believed, was baptised, aud all hi* 'house;' tbe first religion* societies were chiefly domestic—s ‘church ia a house'—and the an tiquity of domestic religious service* among ebristfans leave* - it uuques iiousbie, tiiat wbes tbe number of chriitiaaa m iucreasfd as to require a separate assembly in some con bmvi room or church, the domestic worship was not siqierorded." We have suggested above that he who ran os# pwiHly extemporise prayer, should nevertheless call hi* family together and rend one. Bet ter that than nothing; collect the family and read the Scripture* nod repeat the Lord’s I’rayer hi concert, ttH tbe heart to fall and the tongue to unloosed. If the father will not lend, then, with hia permission, let the christfon wife aud mother set the example. She can do much toward setting up the family altar—aud let im uot rest till the flume of a pure christiau love shall is* burning ou such altars in every Christian house hold iu all thto land.—Southern Chrit (min .Kdvocait. Prayer Concerning the Holy Spirit 'Tut me sol awaf from diy pruwuoe; and take not tby Holy Spirit from me.”— Psalm* 11.11. You will perceive that a soul which can really pray* thus has life, true spiritual life, still struggling within. An ungodly man does not ask that he may abide in nearness to God; rather would he. say, “Whither Khali I flee from thy presence T He does not seek for God’s Spirit; he to quite content that the evfl spirit should rule him, and that the spirit of this world should be predominant in him. Bat here to Hfe, struggling, panting, crush ed, painful life, but Rfe for a?i that; the higher spiritual life which sighs for God. I have seen in the corner of tbe garden a little fire covered up with many damp autumn leaves; I have watched its feeble smoke, and known thereby that ihe fire still lived and was fighting with the damp which almost smothered H; so here these desires and sighs and Ones are i so much smoke, indicating tbe diviue fire within. “Cant me not away from thy presence,” shows a sou! that loves Goffs presence; “take not thy Holy Spirit from me,” re veals a heart that desires to be under the dominion of that Spirit yet mqre of life, though they may distinct and doleful aa hollow groans far underground, sack as have been heard from men boiled alive; voices from the sepulchre, choked and ghost ly, bat telling of life in the charnel bouse, grappling with death, sod cry ing out, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me T Let us look at these words a little closely, since I have shown you bow applicable they are to ua, and Tiow they indicate spiritual life. I think alien David used them be may have looked back to hia mind to that por tion of sacred history with which he was conversant He remembered when Adam and Eve, having rebel led tigainst their Maker, were driven out from God’s presence, when the cherubim with flaming sword blocked the gate of Eden’s blighted garden. “My God,” he seems to say, “I too have offended. Tby presence is my paradise, my Eden; all else to wil derness to me—banco, thorn-bearing wilderness. O drive me not out, east tne not away from tby presence. Let me but know thou loved me and I shall lie in Eden. Let me but know that 1 am still thy child, thy favored one. And T wfll Had in that sweet as surance my paradise, my alL be a courtier in thy palace, or i door-keeper in* thy house, and I be content; but from tliy^ presi banish me nof, else dost thou wither all my joys.” Did he think of Cato,. too, and was his mind so distressed that he was half afraid lest he should become like the marked man who went out from the presence of the Ixml to be a wanderer and a vaga- lx>nd. and find henceforth no rest for the safe of his foot t Did he feel that if he were exiled from God’s presence he would be just as wretched as the accused Cain himself Y Did the thought of that first man slayer put an emphasis into tbe prayer, “Cast sae not away from thy presence F Do you think he recollected Pharaoh, too. in that memorable night when the Hood that imaged the presence of Jehovah came down between Is rael and Egy pt, and the dark side of it was towards Pharaoh f for God iudignautly turned his back upon the haughty king, while his face shone lovingly upon hto chosen bat afflicted jH-ople. Did he mean by our text to say, “Lord, turn not thy back on me. Pause not such trouble and confusion in my soul as ensued in Egypt’s hosts when the night of thy wrath fell on it. O cast me not away from thy presence V Is it possible that the penitent monarch, while penning thto Psalm, thought of Bam sou too, aud therefore uttered the latter part of the verse, “Take not thy Holy 8pirit irom me f” Did he remember the strong man who could tear a lion as though it were a kid when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, or smite the Philistines hip and thigh till he piled them up in heaps when God was with him, but who, when hto locks hod been shorn, and the Spirit was gone, was iguonuniously bound, and with blinded eyes was made to do a mill horse’s work! Did he think of the hero of Gaza and say, “My God, take not thy Holy Spirit from tie. Leave me not to be the sport of mine enemies; cast me net. off as one whom then canal no longer employ for high and honorable ser vice. Take not thy Holy Spirit from met* Or to it not very likely that if be thought of ail these, yet hto eye was peculiarly fixed upon one be tween whom and himself there had been a very close relation, I mean Saul, his predecessor on the throne f That man had been chosen to rule God’s people Israel, but he proved rebelTioas, and he was east away . from God’s presence, so that God would not hear him to the hoar of distress. Ko U rim and Thummim would give him a divine response, no prophet would regard him, no priest could present for him accepta ble sacrifice; he was cast away from God * presence, and the Spirit was finally gone from him. Even that ordinary measure of the Spirit which hfe had once enjoyed was gone. Sahl was once among the prophets, but we find him by-and-by among the witches. Saul had lost all prudence in the council-chamber, all success to tbe battle-field. The voice of him by whom kings reign had gone forth against him, and broken hto sceptre. “Because thou bast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” All this David remembered with a shudder, and hto heart said to him, “What, dl the sou of Jesse be like the sou of Kish I Shall tbo second anointed of Samuel be like the first, of whom the Lord said, ‘It repeateth me that I have set up Saul to be king f ” He* . became overwhelmed with dreadful apprehensions, and turned to the • Lord with a bitter cry, “Ob, can it be, my God, shall I also be oast away from thy presence, (ffid thy Spirit taken from met” He bows hjmself in agoniziog prayer with this as his jH-tition, “Cast me not away from thy pi wo nee; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.”—(7. B. Spurgeon. i