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Observer, June 1, '72.

about it to warrant our acceptance of the statement of results. Surely this state of things demands an abandonment of denominationalism and a return to the faith and order of the Primitive Church, which, however, are not those of the Church of Rome.

ED.

THE BAPTIST UNION AND MODES OF WORSHIP.

SINCE our last issue went to press, the Baptist Union has held its Annual Meeting. The inaugural address of Dr. Thomas, its President for the present year, contains passages which should be sent to every church in the Kingdom; as a sample we give the following:

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Dr. Thomas then viewed the subject in relation to their ordinary mode of worship, as Baptists. Established Churches everywhere constructed their public services on the principle that the whole nation, like the Jews under the law, were the Lord's people; and that their assemblies were composed of worshippers of Jehovah. The Romish Missal, the Book of Common Prayer and the Directory of the Scottish Church were all composed on this principle. This was consistent with the theory of a national establishment of religion; but the Nonconformists repudiate this principle, and drew a line of demarcation between the church and the world. Baptists were still more particular and made a broader distinction between saints and sinners in a nominally Christian land; and yet it would be found that the principle of State Churchism had given a tone and character to the services of all Nonconformist denominations, and that promiscuous assemblies now joined in that worship which belonged only to the true Church of Christ. Hence Christian worship had become a public worship, in which both the godly and the ungodly united in common. Hence, also, why such great efforts were made to render divine worship more agreeable and pleasing to the general community. The service, architecture and ornamentation must be adapted to the tastes of critical formality, for the lover of æsthetics eschewed the heavenly and the spiritual. This is becoming every day more apparent, and signs of the Ritualistic were to be found among Christians, and among those who once held the dissidence of Dissent, and were the Protestants of Protestantism. The President said that this was not what was set before them by the Founder of Christianity, and His apostles; and he further referred to what Paul said in his Epistle to the Corinthians, in requiring all believers to exert their gifts for the mutual benefit of those who came together to one place to join in heart and life worship. The service, then, was not confined to the pastor or to one person, but admitted of the exercise of a variety of gifts, whether natural or supernatural. Now-a-days, however, the minister was expected to produce every Lord's-day two or three sermons, every word of which must be accurately expressed, and to offer up several prayers, besides attending to other duties. He must be permitted to say that he thought the arrangement of their services demanded careful consideration. He then indicated that one service in the forenoon should be for believers-those whose lives furnished evidence of their conversion to Him who was so often ignorantly worshipped in the promiscuous assemblies of the present day-and that reading, exposition and exhortation, should be undertaken by the ordinary members attending it, and not be confined to the pastor."

Observer, June 1, '72.

Let the Baptist Churches reduce this lesson to practice and we shall then know them as somewhat nearer the primitive pattern. A morning service for the church, as such-prayer, praise, mutual teaching and the breaking of the loaf-every exercise for Christians only; others merely invited as spectators. In the evening preach the gospel to sinners. Invite them to obey the Saviour, but not to worship. Men should become Christians before they are invited to service and worship in the church. ED.

SUNDAY SCHOOL WORK.*

BRETHREN AND SISTERS,-Your work has a motive, a method, a machinery, and a reward. Its motive is to glorify God, to elevate childhood, and to help parents. When the patient arm that rocks the cradle begins to ache, after rocking it for two years, and perhaps after leading the tottering little footsteps for two years more, the Sunday School teacher steps in and says: Let me help you. You have rocked the cradle of the body right lovingly and right faithfully; let me watch by the cradle of the slumbering mind-not that I may rock it to a deeper sleep, but that I may watch the first lifting of its waking lids, and lead it, and show it worthy objects upon which to look.' And so the glory of God, the gratitude of the parent, and the good of the child are secured. The method is to bring true pictures to the mind, so that the earliest recollections of the grown up man or woman may be recollections of human kindness and Divine love. The machinery which is used is simple. In some schools they seem literally to teach by machinery. I went over a model school in Londonderry, and they seemed to use more ropes, pulleys and apparatus than books. It was

regular teaching factory, and I expected every minute to hear the hissing of the engine when the steam was up, If they were at arithmetic, a cloud of black board seemed to come down from the ceiling to darken the horizon, followed by a little hailstorm of bits of chalk. If they were at geography, maps came starting from the wall as soon as the master touched a spring. Whole dynasties, of kings and queens flocked into the room when the history class assembled. But the Sunday School is not full of preceptorial pulleys and educational trap doors. The machinery is very simple. It is only a Bible and a hymn book. Yes, it is, though-I forgot. That would not be enough. A great deal of harm may be done with a Bible and a hymn book. I know I have often had my head bumped about with a wellbound Bagster's Bible-so there is something more than a Bible and hymn book. The rest of the machinery is a kindly smile, a tender tone and a loving look. That is all the visible machinery. But there is a secret spring which has to be touched. There is a brass clasp upon that Bible, and it must be undone. There is an iron lock on that child's heart, and it must be shot back. I don't mean such clasps as the thumb and finger can undo. But before he or she comes to the work, the Sunday School teacher touches a secret spring, and the doctrines and the promises, and the love in the Bible come into his mind and heart, and he can carry them to the minds and hearts of the children. That secret spring is prayer. It is a leaden lesson without prayer. But prayer is the wing of wisdom,

At the recent meeting of the Sunday School Union the "Rev." A. Mursell gave an address from which we select the following words of encouragement, commending them to all who do engage or who should engage in Sunday School labour. ED.

Observer, June 1, 72,

the torch of teaching, the lamp of learning, the sun of service. The reward of this work-What is it? Why, the back-ache after a long walk and a longer sitting. The head-ache after a two hours' jargon and noise. The heart-ache after seeing listless faces, hearing thoughtless words, and meeting stupid children. Yes, that's part of the reward. It is all the reward of the careless, prayerless teacher. But you know this work is a battle; you enlisted in it as a soldier, and you knew it was a fight. The erudite and accomplished Sir James Stephen, concluded an address to young men thus-If I might presume to speak as the monitor of those whom I address, my whole exhortation to them would be comprised in a single word, and that one word would be 'Aspire!'' As counsel to young men with prospect and opportunity opening before them, this might be intended simply as a legitimate appeal to a wise and honourable emulation for usefulness and progress. But it seems to me, that the devout Sunday School teacher has adopted such advice, but has put upon it a subtler and far nobler construction than that which takes cognisance of merely personal distinction. He has recognized a stewardship, and aimed at fidelity in its discharge. And it has always seemed to me, my Lord, that that is the truest and the sublimest aspiration which strives after fidelity rather than success. (Cheers.) The truest heroes are the heroes of sacrifice;-men and women who give up what is conspicuous and productive of applause in their consecration to the call of obscure duty in the rank and file of Christian toil. You Sunday School teachers have not stirring and exciting tales to tell us. Our missionary platforms ring with adventures, and seem warm with a tropic glow, and fragrant with the spices of Araby the blest.' A halo of romance seems

to rest over the speaker, and invest him with a charm. But the associations we connect with you and with your work are the prosaic schoolroom, the jargon and the noise, and the hard back bench of a church or chapel gallery, while the awful service is got through. We like to come to Exeter Hall to hear of discovery and of exciting adventure. But it is not given to you to tell of hair breadth escapes and of deeds of heroism by flood and field. You have, it must be owned, a dullish budget to rehearse. You could talk of blank faces, of listless classes, of unruly children. But there's nothing romantic about that. The poetry of the nursery is too homely to be popular. But you can tell that, which, if it fail to evoke wonder and applause, must call forth from Christian hearts the better answer of gratitude to God. For you can tell of how the work, at first so heavy, grew gradually lighter. You can tell of how you watched the lamp of intelligence gently sparkling and beaming in eyes which had been dull. You can trace the spreading of a twilight over the prospect, and its mellowing into morning, through your class. And you can say that it was because you went home and prayed for them. (Cheers.) You can tell of how one and another came to call Jesus, Saviour, all because you prayed for them-because, in the words of the resolution I hold, you "united fervent prayer with earnest labour." Yours may be a tame tale, but it is more credible and real for all that. There was a party of adventurers climbed up Mont Blanc at a late and stormy season of the year, and fearing that the exploit would not be credited, they brought down with them the flag which a party had planted on the top a month before, and the handkerchief of a hapless climber who had been lost among the snow. They felt that simple credentials such as these would be more convincing, if less exciting, than thrilling accounts of dangers escaped, and difficulties

Observer, June 1, "72.

conquered. And so with you. You can point to a simple proof of your ascent into the mount of achievement and prayer, for it is a climb, and a noble one. May God grant you to gather many a trophy of success, till you come with your charge into His presence with rejoicing, bringing your sheaves with you. It is small enough applause that shall greet you here; but it is something to look forward to the Master's smile, and to toil meanwhile amidst a shade which is still light enough to read the motto

'I live for all who love me,

For all who know me true,

For the heaven that shines above me,

For the good that I can do.'"

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN ROME.

THE following is from one of the speeches at the Meeting of the Sunday School Union :-" But among all the items of news which reach us from the Continent, the most gratifying is that which comes from Rome. Mar vellous occurrences have taken place in what is called the Eternal City. There has been a series of events which prove, as distinctly as historical events can prove, that God is still at work among the nations of the earth. If men want evidences of Providential working let them look at Rome. (Cheers.) The feeble old gentleman who profanely calls himself the Vicar of Christ, has no sooner obtained a council and persuaded them to pronounce him infallible, than he loses the last vestige of his temporal power. He loses his chief strength, and becomes a prisoner among his own people, a striking illustration of the proverb that pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.' (Cheers.) Rome is proclaimed the capital of Italy, the press is set free, liberty of religious opinion is per mitted. Protestant churches, which were only sanctioned outside the walls, now worship within. Then followed a very earnest discussion, permitted at first by the Pope, as to whether St. Peter was ever at Rome, but after two days' discussion the Pope seemed to think that he had quite enough of it, and so he intimated that there was to be nothing more of it. Then the Bible Society is established with enthusiasm in the very heart of Rome; and last, but not least, Sunday Schools are commenced, which had no existence before. (Loud cheers.) Yes, the children are cared for. A Sunday School has been formed, and there the pure truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ are taught. It is the beginning of untold good; it is the prophecy of the future. I remember reading that Sydney Smith was once walking in a garden in the early period of the year, when suddenly he stopped in his walk, and, stretching forth his stick, gently touched a solitary crocus which was above the ground, and then solemnly uttered the words, The resurrection.' To-day we point to the Sunday School at Rome, and with a jubilant prophetic shout we cry, 'The resurrection.' (Loud and prolonged cheers.) As surely as that simple flower is the herald of the outburst of life in the spring, so surely that Sunday School in Rome is the blessed signal of the time when we shall have to sing of fair Italy: The winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vine with the tender grape giveth a good smell.' (Renewed cheers.) Of course the Pope is very uncomfortable, and growls out his anathemas. He says: •God

Observer, June 1, '72.

suffering it, you will enter, but will you, therefore, have gained anything? You will maintain yourselves here, but not long; you will be able to destroy, but not to erect. You will enter to diffuse within these holy walls every species of iniquity; you will enter to prepare the way for the most awful scourges-scourges that shall strike also you yourselves, and you will be the victims of your own ambition. You will consumate your final ruin, will prepare your own tomb.' This is very terrible; it is Bunyan's old story over again. Giant Pope, reduced to feebleness and stiff joints, must content himself with uttering jeers, threats and curses at pilgrims whom he can no longer burn or arrest. We think of the lines in Ingoldsby

'Never was heard such a terrible curse;

But what gives rise to no little surprise,
Nobody seems one penny the worse.'

(Laughter and cheers.) Of course the Jesuits do not like it, and, as usual, are plotting mischief against them-ravenous wolves, prowling about the sheep-folds, seeking lambs to devour. But we need not fear, for it is written of Almighty God: He shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom.' (Cheers.) Shall we fear? No, never! because the Pope's day has passed, and a Pope's excommunications are treated by the very people who a short while since feared him, as a tale told of an imbecile old man, signifying nothing.""

THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

THE following is from the report of the Society, read at its recent Annual Meeting, and is but a sample of the interesting particulars contained therein. Every Christian should be the better for reading the entire report

"What the Pope would think of an Italian Bible Society inaugurated under the auspices of men of distinction and rank, and supported by native churches, it was difficult to conceive. Such a scheme had, however, been launched at a public meeting amidst much enthusiasm, and it had since been resolved to print the New Testament in Rome. The committee of this Society had already made a grant of the paper for the purpose, and American friends had made themselves responsible for the printing. It is an incident not unworthy of note that, whilst the statesmen of England and America were debating questions of grave import bearing occasionally a threatning aspect, the Christians of the two countries were joining hands in Rome to sustain an effort whose object is the regeneration of Italy through the diffusion amongst its people of God's message of reconciliation and peace. To give in an abstract of a report anything like an adequate conception of the work of the Society in Turkey was impossible; but the representative there reported a growing appreciation of the Word of God and an increase of its influence. Egypt, Syria and Palestine had been included in the district of the society's operations, and colporteurs had been found at Jerusalem and Nazareth. Twenty thousand copies of the Scriptures had been issued, being an increase of 8,000 on the previous year. In India and China every means in the power of the committee were being employed for the enlargement of the work, and various associations were diligently engaged. In China Mr. Wylie was prosecuting his labours with unabated zeal. He had succeeded in tracing Mr. Johnson so near the

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