194 CHRONICLES OF THE HEART. Harbinger, June 1, 65. thing without labor, protracted and severe; the kingdom itself to which we aspire can only be taken by the resolute, the bold, the daring. The cowardly, the fearful, and the slothful cannot inherit it. It is through much tribulation that we enter into the kingdom; but in heaven we rest from our labors. The sea is crossed, and we have entered our haven-the wilderness is passed, and we have reached home-the fight is ended, the victory won, and we rest in peacethe labor of life is done, and we have entered into rest-the Winter is gone, afflictions are over; eternal Spring and never-fading flowers are come, and come for evermore. "Take courage! faint not, though the foe be strong; Christ is thy strength-He fighteth on thy side; Swift be thy race; remember, 'tis not long, The goal is near; the prize He will provide; And then from earthly toil thou restest ever, Never again to toil, to fight, or fear-oh, never!" H. E. CHRONICLES OF THE HEART. THERE is a verification of God's word in the experience of the truly devout, that is both pleasant and profitable; and while we think that some have made too much of what is called a Christian experience before a person has in fact become a Christian, others have made too little of the experience of God's ways and word in the daily life of those who love and honor the Lord. It is certain that much of the Scriptures is made up of the recorded experiences of the righteous, and they are written for our learning. Would it not be well for us to look into these things and profit by them? Christianity has much to do with the mind and heart. It is spirit and truth dealing with our spirits. It is a life within, as real as the life of sense; and we have and may have as much consciousness of the one as of the other. We are not unmindful of heat and cold, of hunger and thirst, of poverty and distress, of health and sickness, of friends and foes, and of the daily vicissitudes of our mortal life. Why should we be indifferent to the conditions and experiences of our spiritual life, and equally affected by all the changes and variations which attend it? "I serve the Lord,” said David. Why? "Because he hath heard my voice and my supplications" (Ps. cxvi. 1.) Here is one of the richest experiences of King David. God had heard his voice, listened to his supplications, and the knowledge of this quickened his love. Surely a similar experience every Christian has, and the effects should be the same. This is bringing our religion home to the heart, where it should be, and making us mindful of God's dealings with us. "This is my comfort in affliction, for thy word hath quickened me" (Ps. cxix. 50.) David did not speak this ex cathedra. It was the experience of his life. He had comfort in affliction, and the reason of it was, that God's word quickened him. He felt the new life bubbling up within him. The vitalizing properties of the word penetrated all the powers of his mind and will. He arose from the bed of affliction a wiser and better man. Are we sufficiently alive to these blessed influences? Is this the life of faith that we are pursuing? Without reflection and close examination, he could not have_realized this "comfort." It was in fact a conscious part of his religious life. David "knew that God favored him," and why? 'by his deliverances" (Ps xli. 11.) See how logical were his conclusions. Many were his enemies, his trials, and embarrassments. God delivered him out of them, and he therefore concludes that God favored him. May we not reason in the same way? Surely such experiences are sweet and comforting. 66 What a glorious roll of Christian experience does the Apostle open before us in that memorable passage, "That tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope" (Rom. v. 4.) Is this the mere rhetoric of Christianity? Is it a philosophic statement addressed to the reason? Is it not the inward life of the child of God? This whole cluster of fruit grows upon the tree of life. It is the experience we have of God's gracious dealings with us under the reign of favor. It was written by Paul, because he had realized it; and Harbinger, June 1, '65. A PASTOR'S TRIALS. : 195 sent to the saints at Rome, because it was their blessed experience and it is given to us that we may observe the divine effects of a life of faith, and feel all the bliss and enjoyment that follow in its wake of sanctified affliction. "I know," said Paul," whom I have trusted, and I am persuaded he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (2 Tim. i. 22.)` This knowledge of God whom he had long trusted, afforded him the assurance that he was able to keep that which Paul had committed to his hands against the coming day. This example is worthy of our imitation. This daily record of mercies received should be carefully remembered, as the foundation of future trust and hope. The more we see and feel and know of the faithfulness of God in his word of promise, the more shall we be strengthened in view of what remains. Former comforts are pledges that God will not forsake us in the future. J. C. A PASTOR'S TRIALS. (Notes from a Pastor's Portfolio.) Their ABOUT this time ALEXANDER CAMPBELL visited our place. The theological fame that had preceded him was not an enviable one. His separation from the Baptists, and the havoc made in Baptist ranks by his principles, had excited violent prejudices against him. An application was made for our house of worship, for the delivery of a few discourses. I was aware that to give my consent to the use of the house would put the church in danger of new agitations. And God had been teaching me to look to duty, not to consequences; and I was resolved to practice the lesson. I had occasionally heard sermons from the preachers among the Reformers; and although there was much that was eccentric and outré, yet their acquaintance with the Scriptures, and their simple way of preaching, had pleased me much. They were men, generally, of but little culture, but possessing strong native sense, good reasoning power, and ready utterance; and some of them were endowed with oratorical abilities. revolutionary plea made them too fond of debate; their early habits gave some of them an undesirable levity of speech and manner; and the treatment they received sometimes made them forget "the meekness and gentleness of Christ. But they were men of power, "mighty in the Scriptures," and mighty in their assaults on the sanctified errors of the age. I admired their boldness, their freedom from clerical assumption, their simple unaffected piety, and above all, their reverence for the Word of God. I was therefore better prepared than many of my brethren to do justice to Mr. Campbell. The call I made on him gave me a favorable impression of his learning, ability and piety. His conversational powers are very superior. He is genial, witty, piquant, and highly instructive in the social circle. Through my influence with the trustees, our house was granted. I attended the course of lectures. Mr. C. is not, in the highest sense, an orator. Indeed he seems to me rather to despise a reliance on external aids, and to depend on the intrinsic charms and merits of the message he delivers. His fine, manly form did not appear to best advantage as he stood leaning on his cane through a discourse of two hours' length. But his calm dignity, his keen eye, massive brows, highly intellectual forehead, elegance of expression, reverential manner and great weight of argument, secured the profoundest attention of his auditors. He is the most eloquent reasoner I ever heard. Perhaps he seemed the more so to me, from the fact that he dealt with my. theological difficulties, and led me out from my perplexities into clear and satisfactory conclusions, with so much ease, that I wondered I had not always seen it so. I was so much absorbed in his teachings, that I forgot his person, manner, and all external objects. His views of the three dispensations-the - the proper division of the New Testament-the setting up of the kingdom. nature of faith and the scriptural evidence of pardon, poured in a flood of light on my soul, that will ever lead me to esteem his visit one of the epochs of my life. But his sermon on the divinity of the Messiah was the chef-d'œuvre of all these glorious discourses. He had been branded with Unitarianism. My heart Harbinger, June 1, '65. fairly leaped for joy as he unfolded the personal dignity, sacrificial death, and official power and glory of the Son of God. This, I am sure, is his favorite theme; for here, more than anywhere, his heart came out in lively sympathy with his subject, and the unction of the sermon was rich and rare. One of the finest exhibitions of pulpit oratory I have ever witnessed, was his description of the ascension and coronation of the Messiah. He laid aside his cane, and, rapt in the inspirations of his theme, gave himself away to the sublime grandeur of the coronation scene. Without a full assent to all his positions, and with some objections to what seems to me an unnecessary degree of radicalism in his plea for reformation, I gratefully record my impressions of these invaluable discourses, and of this extraordinary man. His visit has dissipated many clouds that skirted gloomily my spiritual horizon, and has led to an extent of Bible reading and religious inquiry, in this community, unknown before. I hope to be better able hereafter to preach the simple “truth as it is in Jesus." Soon after this the scarlet fever, of a very malignant type, visited our town. Its epidemical rage was very fatal, especially among children. Scarcely a family escaped. Night and day, I was kept busy among the sick, the dying, and the bereaved. Some of the cases were extremely afflicting. In one instance, a father and mother, buried all their children. Their mute despair, as they stood by the grave of the last child, like trunks of trees which tempests and lightnings have stripped of all their branches, was the most touching eloquence of grief. In another case, four little children followed their parents to the grave, and saw them laid side by side in their last sleep. The outburst of sympathy from the crowd, as they looked on these helpless orphans, was such as I never before witnessed. But it called out also a true generosity. Those who had been made childless adopted those who had been made parentless, and led them from the grave to warm, bright homes, promising, for the sake of their own lost darlings, to treat them tenderly, even as their own. "The While thus engaged ministering to others-my wife and elder children also devoting themselves entirely to the wants of the distressed-the shadow of the destroyer crossed our own threshold. Our darling EDITH, a bright girl of seven years, was the first victim. I had never known a real grief before. sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.' Day and night I watched by the couch of my sweet child, refusing to eat or sleep, suffering with and for her, and struggling to stifle the rebelliousness of spirit which I had so much censured in others; leaving her only when summoned to attend a funeral, and hastening back from other scenes of woe to drink the cup which was pressed to my own lips. It seems strange to me now that I never once asked that her life might be spared. But I had for months been praying that at whatever cost, my being might be fully consecrated to God: I would not shrink from it now. If the heartstrings must break-if the dregs of the cup drained by so many were offered to me, that I might more fully know, and more successfully soothe the sufferings of other hearts-if, to draw my sluggish affections with quickened pace towards the pure heavens, it was needful that the idol of my heart be dashed to the ground, and broken before my eyes-I resolved to be dumb before my Maker. With preternatural calmness I watched the oncoming of death, when all others in the house were prostrate from fatigue or grief; noted carefully every harrowing phase of the awful struggle, until every look, groan, and writhing of anguish, seemed stamped on my soul; and when the spirit fled, closed the eyes of my dead child in the last long sleep. My poor, dead lamb! The tears flow freely now, as I write of thee, as they would not flow then, when I stood in mute agony over thy lifeless form, and felt for the first time the awfulness of death! It seemed, in the dead stillness of that hour, as if I could almost hear the rustling of the angel's wings as they came to bear thee to thy heavenly home, my child! Yet it seemed to be so far, far away that they bore thee, and earth's night seemed so chill and starless, that in my anguish I knew but one feeling-one wish that I too might die, and follow thee speedily to that "happy land" of whose brightness and beauty thy childish lips had so often sung to me! I hope God has forgiven my unreasoning grief. After bowing over the dead body of my child, and my heart Harbinger, June 1, 65. had struggled through a prayer_of those "unutterable groanings," of which I never knew the meaning before, I rose in a new strength to seek to comfort and encourage my afflicted household. My poor wife, worn out with watchings and crushed under the weight of this first bereavement, had yielded to a nervous prostration, and had sunk into utter helplessness. My children-but I cannot even now write calmly the dread history of this and succeeding days Scarce had we returned from Edith's grave, when our youngest child-our bright-eyed CHARLIE, was smitten. Before a week had passed, there were three new-made graves in our family lot; EDITH, CHARLIE, and SUSAN-our eldest born-slept side by side, in the dust. 66 The baptism was complete-not only for me and mine, but for very many more. Out of the depths" we emerged into a better life.-The church shook off the dust, and put on her beautiful garments; hundreds of sinners turned to the Lord. For eight weeks I have been preaching every night, and visiting every day, until, utterly worn out, I am compelled to rest, and take the leisure thus forced on me to make this record of the great things God has done for us, and of the strange way by which he has led us. About two hundred persons have been gathered into the fold. I would have sought for help from my brethren in the ministry in this great work; but partly owing to sickness and grief in my own family, and partly to our extreme poverty, I could not invite them to be guests in my house. My course on the temperance question stripped me of half my support. We have learned to pray, in all its literalness, the heaven-taught prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." Sickness and funeral expenses have compelled us to dispose of everything of extra value we possessed, save a few sacred treasures that belonged to the dear departed ones. Our bread has been given us, and our water made sure; and this is about all we can say. In the midst of the wonderful triumphs of grace that have crowned our labors, I have been compelled to think seriously--not for my own but for my family's sake of seeking another location. But last night, in our deepest want, a surprise party, pleasantly arranged, came in on us with abundant supplies. Knowing my aversion to any ostentatious parade of kindness, they conveyed to us, in the quietest manner, provisions, clothing, and money, amounting in value to several hundred dollars. So I know the Lord wants me to stay here. I only pray that after all the wonderful experiences of the past, I may never doubt his care, nor shrink from duty when he calls. I. E. TOO NEAR. THOSE who eagerly do all that is lawful will soon go beyond the line which divides from wrong. There are some occupations and adventures in business, and some entertainments in the sphere of amusement, which must be judged of not simply by their intrinsic constituents, but by their associations, tendencies, and proved affinities with evil. These are the tests by which God discerns between the evil and the good. Multitudes will put on an appearance which might be mistaken for the form of godliness, but only good men will depart from evil by leaving a considerable space between themselves and the extreme line of permitted indulgence. Sacrifice is the mark of salvation, and, while the world stands, martyrdom of some kind is the condition of discipleship. THAT man is a restless, unsatisfied being, and therefore prone to “many inventions," the whole history of mankind proves. In religion this is as true as elsewhere. God may ordain in the plainest and most authoritative terms; the spirit of disobedient restlessness will not allow man to be satisfied with the Divine order. If he cannot deny the explicit meaning of the law, his next shift is, in endless speculation, to seek for the right and the means of substitution. Are all the terms of the Divine law or ordinance essential? May not this or that in it be regarded as indifferent, and something be substituted without violence to the spirit and benefits of the ordinance? This is the thread that in tortuous windings runs throughout the whole history of religious speculations and errors. 198 LETTERS TO DAVID KING. Harbinger, June 1,'65. REVIEWS, NOTES ON PASSING EVENTS, CORRESPONDENCE, &c. AMERICA-LETTERS TO DAVID KING, &c. NO. I. MY DEAR BROther King,—I have carefully read your "Letter to James Challen, on 'Evangelists, Colleges, the One-man System, &c.," published in the Review, the 14th inst. I do not desire to anticipate brother Challen's reply, should he feel disposed to make one, nor do I intend to notice the matters to which you have particularly called his attention; but rather to take occasion from your letter to invite the attention of the brethren generally to the question, how far we should tolerate differences of faith and practice among us as Christians. That there are truths of vital importance, without which there can be no Christian religion, is undeniable. That there are other truths of less consequence, the absence of which from our mind does not destroy the soul, I think will also be admitted. Some sins are "unto death." The cleaving of the head asunder, and the amputation of a finger, are both sins against the body, but one is a sin unto death while the other is not. To deny that "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh," is a mortal error forbidding all claim to Christianity. To deny the doctrine of weekly communion, however much to be lamented, would not so seriously damage our hopes of heaven. A man, right in everything else, but holding Baptist views of the design of baptism, would not be as far from the truth, as another who would deny that Christ died for our sins, or deny the resur rection. The assertion sometimes careless ly made, that all commandments are of equal importance, is directly contradicted by the Saviour, who speaks more than once of the "least commandments" and the "greatest commandments." The two admissions, that we are all in more or less error, and that some errors are not fatal to the humble servant of God, suggest the propriety of tolerating some difference of conception and action, without discarding each other from Christian fellowship. Sound reason, the necessity of the case, and revelation, all combine, I think, to reinforce the assertion. The history of the church shows how small have been the differences, that have separated good people from each other's confidence, and what exactions have been made as conditions of Christian fellowship. And in this view of the case, I confess I cannot sympathise with the following sentiment found in your letter-"That there are some churches with you (in America), whose co-operation we would not accept, is made apparent, * * * churches that meet to commemorate the Lord's death, not every first day of the week, but when a preacher journeys their road' -"we disown every congregation of believers who make their commemoration of the Lord's death dependent upon the presence of a preacher." Now to oppose this lamentable condition of things is all right, but to "disown" such churches should, I think, fairly be set down to the score of an undue intolerance. Did Paul "disown" the church at Corinth who feasted and got drunk at the Lord's table? I am confident we have no churches in America living in error as gross as this, not even those whom you would "disown." The same church had incestuous persons tolerated in their community, and yet Paul tolerated the church, and labored to reform them know an apology may be made for their ignorance, but were we to look around, apologies might be found to some extent for others also. Had we all as much of the love of God as Paul possessed, and were our hearts as tender toward all the children of a common Father as his was, the hairbreadth differences among us would not be magnified to such impassable chasms. It must be remembered that we all are living a sort of twilight existence in this world. There is a mixture of light and darkness even with the most enlightened. I Truth and error are not yet entirely disparted in any of us. That of which God is most desirous is to find in us a stronger af finity for the light than for the darkness. This decides the quality of the soul. He is less concerned about "how far you have got along" than about "which way are you going" A man may begin the Christian life at the very verge of cannibalism, and if he love the Saviour on what little knowledge he may have, and will seek to know more and do better, God doubtless accepts him with a very meagre stock of knowledge at the start. Paul sometimes caught the upturned eye of the kneeling devotee at Pagan altars; and those who had just "turned from dumb idols to serve the living God," were called the church of the Thessalonians. All the brethren at Jerusalem, when Paul visited them, were "jealous of the law" of Moses, believed in, and practised circumcision as well as other defunct ceremonies, and yet James ealls them "believers." of these facts, does it not seem strange that the modern church should disown one another for indulging errors in teaching In the presence |