THE Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter. VOL. VI. MARCH, 1868. No. 8. THE NEEDED BLESSING. WHEN I look back ten years in the history of the church and compare the present with the past, I feel constrained to say, "The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we should be glad." "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat." In the present prosperous state of the church, I know there are some who see but little for which to be grateful or on account of which to rejoice. Blind to all the progress that has been made, to the harmony and peace which everywhere prevail, to the incessant activity and earnestness of the past few years, they are lynx-eyed to every apparent imperfection or defect. These persons delight in the use of the disjunctive conjunction, but. Speak to them of the present prosperity of the church, and they at once assume an expression of the most solemn sadness, and answer, but. Not long since, in conversation with a gentleman of this class whom I believe to be one of Christ's true disciples, I remarked that as a church we have great reason to be thankful for the success of our foreign mission and for the liberal manner in which it has been sustained, when he immediately replied: "Yes, but the church is all going wrong." From a young woman of this same class, and who, I am afraid, is about to make shipwreck of her faith, when not long since I spoke to her of the importance of bearing a faithful testimony for the truth, I received this reply: "I know we ought both to believe and profess the truth, but Cover inters are too strict. They make a higher profession than any other denomination of Christians, but they fall far below them in love and good works." Such remarks as these are frequent. By them no little harm is done. Their tendency is always to increase dissatisfaction where it exists, to discourage the faithful, and to prejudice the minds of the young and prevent their applying to be received into full membership in the church. In such remarks, moreover, there is no truth. For whatever may be the unfaithfulness of individual members, and whatever abuses may exist 39X1178 in separate congregations here and there, our church is not behind any of our sister churches either in love or good works; while, in an intelligent attachment to the truth and in faithfulness in its maintenance and defense, she is far in advance of all. Let no person imagine, however, that we have reached the standard of perfection as a church. No, brethren; "we count not ourselves to have apprehended." We are not yet a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. So far from it, we have fallen far-very far below our own idea of what a church should be. Between the church as it is, and the church as we would have it, and as it should be, the resemblance is very slight, so slight that with difficulty it can be traced. In even our best and most efficient congregations there is a great work to be done. Throughout the church there exists such a state of things that a knowledge of it cannot fail to affect with sadness every true Christian's heart. In all our congregations there are children who though they have been baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost," have not yet experienced the "washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" and young men and young women, too, who though dedicated to God by pious parents are ashamed of Christ and determinedly refuse to make a public profession of his name, and numbers by profession who do not "in all things show themselves to be patterns of good works," and "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.” In the church, too, there are many who neglect or make a careless use of the means of grace, and but few who "forgetting the things which are behind, and reaching forth to the things which are before, press on to the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ;" many who, seeking their own present comfort, labor hard in the service of the world, and but few, very few, who, making the glory of God their end in life, do all in their power to advance the kingdom and cause of Christ. This is no overdrawn picture, no unfair representation of the present state of the church, but a plain, though imperfect, statement of well known truth. From it we may learn a lesson of importance to us all. It teaches us what one blessing above all others in ou rprayers for the church we should seek. "These things," said the pastor of the congregation where I worship, in a sermon of great plainness, and after an enumeration similar to that I have given, "these things teach us that we need to be revived, that the revival of religion is the one great blessing of which as a congregation and as a church we are most in need." To this I at once gave my assent, and the more I think of it the more I am satisfied of its truth. It is true, we need increased faithfulness, and greater zeal, and larger liberality, and stronger faith, and more selfdenying love. These blessings, much needed though they be, we can enjoy, however, only when the Spirit has been poured out upon us from on high. They are the effects of which a revival of religion must be the cause. By a revival of religion I mean not merely a season of religious excitement or of increased religious interest, but a communication by the Holy Spirit of new life and vigor to the church, a revival similar to that experienced under the preaching of Peter, when, in one day, there were added to the church about three thousand souls, when Report of the Ladies' Missionary Society of the R. P. Church of Pittsburgh "Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let na mind the same th "Ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Jud RECEIPTS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS. 1868. Jan. 21, 22, Brooklyn cong., N. Y., per R. J. Culbert,.................$ 66 00 55 00 5 25 23, Sabbath School of 2d cong., Phila., per J. B. Stewart,.. 126 01 24, 1 00, 131 00 27, Boston cong., $70.83, Missionary Society of Boston, $30 100 83 28, Salt Creek cong., O., per Jas. M'Cartney,... 10 00 Feb. 4, Monongahela cong, Pa., per Rev. J. W. Sproull,. 40 00 5, Church Hill cong., Ill., per A. Campbell,.. 18 00 5, Bequest of Dr. Alexander Grier, deceased, of Ohio, per Less, six per cent. U. S. Revenue Tax,... 30 net am't, 470,400 18, Elizabeth W. Hutcheson, of Olathe, Kansas,.. FUND FOR FOREIGN MISSION BUILDINGS. 2.00 N. B.-Donation of Jas. Moffet, of Allegheny, of 30th ult., was $5 instead of $4. Feb. 14, Mrs. Jane Sterrett, of 2d cong., Philadelpia, additional,$ 8 00 Feb. 5, RECEIPTS FOR LITERARY FUND. Coultersville cong., Ill., per A. Campbell,.............$4 00 W. S. Rentoul is publishing in monthly parts Standard Theological works now not in print. We have received the January and February numbers, and can recommend the enterprise. The publisher's address is 421 Walnut st., Philadelphia. The price is $1.50 per annum. A more extended notice prepared for this number has been mislaid, but will appear in our next. The Board of Superintendents for the Theological Seminary will meet in Allegheny City, March 17th (Tuesday) at 2 P. M., at which time the closiug exercises for the present session will commence. S. O. WYLIE, Ch. B. Supts. WHEN I look back ten years in the history of the church and con present with the past, I feel constrained to say, "The Lord h great things for us, whereof we should be glad." "Praise the Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. For he hath strength bars of thy gates, he hath blessed thy children within th maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the fines wheat." In the present prosperous state of the church, I kn are some who see but little for which to be grateful or on ac which to rejoice. Blind to all the progress that has been mad harmony and peace which everywhere prevail, to the incessant and earnestness of the past few years, they are lynx-eyed to e parent imperfection or defect. These persons delight in of the disjunctive conjunction, but. Speak to them of the prese perity of the church, and they at once assume an expression of solemn sadness, and answer, but. Not long since, in conversat a gentleman of this class whom I believe to be one of Christ's ciples, I remarked that as a church we have great reason to be for the success of our foreign mission and for the liberal ma which it has been sustained, when he immediately replied: "Y the church is all going wrong." From a young woman of th class, and who, I am afraid, is about to make shipwreck of her fai not long since I spoke to her of the importance of bearing a testimony for the truth, I received this reply: "I know w both to believe and profess the truth, but Coventers are to They make a higher profession than any other denomination of ians, but they fall far below them in love and good works." S marks as these are frequent. By them no little harm is done. tendency is always to increase dissatisfaction where it exists, to age the faithful, and to prejudice the minds of the young and their applying to be received into full membership in the chur such remarks, moreover, there is no truth. For whatever may |
