Christian observer

              NEW SERIES. NO. 161.
FOR THE DIFFUSION OF TRUTH AND THE SUPPORT OF TJlll PRINCIPLES OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
IN THE UNITED STATES.
Southern MeliQlous JCeUfltapfi.
A. CONVERSE, EDITOR:—134 Chestnut Street.
,b\i  k^'i.''b:rirOi'.^
PHILADELPHIA, FRIDAy, FEBRUARY 3, 1843.
VOL. XXII. NO. 5.
omiBns'a'aiiss" ©igsnisi^igiEc
For the Cliristian Obierver. WHO ARE PROPER SUBJECTS FOR BAPTISM?
In the very brief abstract of the argument that I can here present, I shall aim only to illustrate a few passages of the New Testament, which I shall refer to presently.
The Jewish church from time immemorial, not only circumcided, but baptized their proselytes. Aben Ezra traces it as far back as Gen, 35: 2, where the young women of Shechem became members ofthe family of Israel. And Maimoni- des, the great expounder of the Jewish law, af¬ firms that "baptism was in the wilderness before the giving of the law." He refers to the baptism unto Moses, i. e. into his discipline. (See also, 1 Cor. 10: 1.) It was also a principle univer¬ sally recognised among the Jews, that " no man is a proselyte, until he is circumcised and bap¬ tized." Baptism was inseparably joined wilh circumcision in the admission of Gentiles into the church.
In the same manner did they receive the fami¬ lies of proselytes,—wives, [servanis, children and all. The male servants and children were cir- cnmcised, and baptized—while the females were baptized only. The truth of these representa¬ tions cannot be successfully called in question.* Now Christ in receiving the Gentiles into his church, rejected the circumcision and retained the baptism. The disciples were all Jews, and of 'course, familiar with the custom of baptizing proselytes and their families. And to these dis¬ ciples, possessing these views of the baptism of the Gentiles, he says, (without any explanation or qualification,) "Go teach the nations, baptis¬ ing them." Nor is there in the whole New Tes¬ tament, a single restriction or qualification of this command. They went forth, in obedience ;t6 this command, and accordingly we find them, [when they received the head of a family into the [Church, invariably baptizing his household, if his household were there with him : Precisely in ac¬ cordance with the custom ofthe Jewish church in re¬ ceiving proselytes. See the cases of Cornelius in Ads 10, and of Lydia and the Jailor in Acts 16: 15, 33, and of Stephanus in 1 Cor. 1: 16. And hence also we meet in the New Testament with Ruch passages as the following: Acts 2: 39— 1 Cor, 7: 14, &c. These passages thus illustrat¬ ed, speak for themselves; and taken in connec¬ tion with the foregoing, are perfectly conclu¬ sive. The very absence, therefore, in the New Testament of any positive precept as to the bap¬ tism ofthe seed of believers; as well as of any restriction of baptism to the head of the house- old alone, is itself the strongest confirmation of e truth ofthe position here illustrated. If there d been any change made by Christ, in the stom vvhich the Jews observed of receiving e Gentiles by baptism, it would have been 'ipecified somewhere in the New Testament. It b| not specified, however, and therefore no such Aange was made.
There is, besides the foregoing, proof amount¬ ing to demonstration, that such was truly the «lustom ofthe primitive church. The old Syriac Interpreter, (the date of which Walton, Leus- den, Lowth, Kennicot, and others, assig7i to the firU'centuary,) translates the word household, by '^children," " Lydia was baptized, and her chil¬ dren." "The Jailor and his children," &c. &c. lUms testimony, coming from the very region wififire the apostles labored, and being given be- 1 ofthem were dead, is conclusive. 8 also Irenaeus, who was born about the close of the first century, says, "Infants and little ones, and children, and youth, and the aged, ofe regenerated to God," The expression, "re- mi^untur in Deum," refers to baptism; for he •l||twards quotes Mail, 28:19, and says in rela- tt^'to it, "Our Lord gave to his disciples this commission of regenerating, i. e. of baptizing,— Jufm Martyr, who lived in the first half centu¬ ry ^jn|r the death of the apo-stle John says that *«Iift|i^ts are washed with water in the name of the ]^l|ther, and Son, and Spirit." Origen, (who Uv«Ar#Uhin a century of the apostolic age,) a inahl>f unequalled learning, who had travelled a gl^t deal, and corresponded with the church- t&i Cixt||»3ively in all countries, says, "Little dlUdlMD are baptized agreeably to the usage of thedltirch; who received it from the apostles, tkat tMt ordinance should be administered to
^iJJMiL,''^'^® ^^^^''^^"y of Cyprian, Tertullian, F^HBt-A-ugustin, &c., is no less explicit.
..;>.,, ^- ^- LANDIS.
¦ Mf^MpRUnTIVE BISHOPS.
AildJb'lif geography as well as history, of-
isfactory  evidence  that  the   Bishops
Sceeded the   Apostles   as  teachers  in
|[h, were like Presbyterian Bishops of
Jnt   day.     Instead of presiding  over
fy of a state or  kingdom, the juris-
f a bishop was limited to a small dis-
country.    A writer in the Evangelist
the geography of some of the ancient
which in their length and breadth re-
^e  pastoral charges of many of our
the Southern and Western States-
\"°'''\^'-^ hundred miles in length,
breadth,   a   less territory than  il
by Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the
^^^^^^^^^P^'^nd Dioceses;  while the Vur Stkmjoat mentioned, have only/our '   This Z |Lven on the authority of the high-chnrchman liPilMinn, but It IS supposed that a proper search W^tdiscover two hundred more Bishops within tHiame territory.   Again, neither Caria nor was as large as New Jersey, which is pre- ^over by one Lord Bishop, and yet one of ^places had thirty-one, and the other thirty- V'shops.   Still further, on a portion of the [of Africa, embracing Tripoli, Tunis, Al- &c., and not of greater extent than the
^¥ik^
^atbapii.n^ was no new thing in Israel, in the time 'Yl'-'^r from .John 1: 25, where the delegates of tif'lrun ,lo not inquire of John as to the import of ¦      "' ^"* ™'^'-eIy as to the authority of his bap-
four States previously mentioned, there were in Augustine's time, six hundred and eighty bisho¬ prics ! Now, can any of our readers believe that the Episcopacy ofthe present day is like that of ancient timesi Is it not perfectly intelligible how so many bishops could occupy so compara¬ tively small a territory, on the supposition that they were no more than pastors of particular
churches'!
 '.^.A»#a ^ ^^<i<vv>~-—
TRUE  WBAIiTH.
Who are the rich 1 They who have gathered gold By any means, and wallow in such pleasure
As gold can buy 1 Is this the narrow measure By which the wealth of our great world is told 1
Deem ye the dullard rich, whose pampered mould Shuts in a paltry soul, who feels the pressure Of hoarded cares, and whose most hidden treasure In shining dross alone 1 Are such cnrolfd,
The favor'd ones 1  No ! only in the mind
Can we be rich or poor. The living power     '     '   , Of loftier thought and feeling is alone
Worthy the name of wealth; in these we find Ail that adds worth to life ; and thus each one That hath those gifts may smile, though fortune lower.
THE CHRISTIAN'S AVORK.
The proper work of Christians is the extension of Christianity—the adding to the cloud of wit¬ nesses—the diminution ofthe sons of darkness— the accession of gems to the Redeemer's crown. It is to be imbued with holy, untiring an.xieties, to rescue beings like themselves from going down to the pit, and, because time is short, to devote every power, to consecrate every talent, devise every means, employ every resource to "save souls from death"—constantly to remem¬ ber, that men are always perishing—that there¬ fore we should be always laboring—thatthe sea- son for activity is circumscribed, and that, ere long, the night will come—it is coming—when our tongues shall be silent, our hands motion¬ less, and our hearts pulseless: " For there is no work, nordevice, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest."—John Adey.
-     I rfCft^^^^^r-' 	
Kor llie Christian Observer.
P01VER OF   THE REr.I6IOVS  PRESS Olf  SIO- RAIi SUBJECTS.
Madam de Stael lived and died in the belief lhat revolutions are effected by a succession of clever pamphlets. Such are newspapers; and in France they not only control, but even create public opinion. They originated the revolution which put Louis Phillippe on the throne, and, such istheir power there, that a few leading jour¬ nals in Pariscould, if they would, keep the peace of France, if not of all Europe, for ages. I am aware that their influence is not so great either in England or America, but, reaching almost every man of intelligence, and suggesting or modifying his trains of thought, they must,soon¬ er or later, give law to public opinion on all mo¬ ral questions brought before the community.
The religious press is restricted to narrower limits, but, within those limits, its infiuence is not less decisive. It operates more slowly, but wilh equal certainty of success. Its facts and ar¬ guments, its anecdotes and illustrations, repeat¬ ed every week, sent to the firesides of our most influential families, and thus giving direction, impulse, and tone to all the local lawgivers of opinion, cannot well fail to leave an indelible impression on the sentiments and character of every reading community.
Let us analyze this process. Few minds think for themselves, and even these depend very much on their daily reading for their subjects of reflection, for their facts, arguments, and illustra¬ tions. The newspaper is always at hand, and will be found, in nine cases out often, to furnish their topics of thought, conversation, and debate. It isthe common storehouse, the people's ency¬ clopedia. It suggests, or moulds, or modifies nearly all their views. The religious press is, in fact, the high-priest of public opinion on all great moral questions brought before a reading com¬ munity, and cannot escape from a responsibili¬ ty commensurate wilh its wide and transforming infiuence.
Look at this power of the press in given de¬ partments of benevolence or reform. It has, under God, done more than all other agencies put together, to create and sustain those habits of liberality which are now sending salvation through the world. The missionary cause is a nursling ofthe press. Equally essential has itbeen to every enterprise of benevolence or reform; nor could any one ofthem, without its continued aid, retain its hold on the community for a single year; and it might, by a proper concentration of its power, secure for any worthy cause, both favor and success.
Such an enterprise is that of peace, and I ve¬ rily believe it is in the power of the religious press to revolutionize the war sentiments of eve¬ ry Christian community, to prevent, through all coming time, the actual return of war, and even¬ tually put an end through Christendom to the custom itself. It may not be able at once to re¬ press every local outburst of the war spirit, like lhat in Maine, or along our northwestern fron¬ tier, a few years ago, but it will suffice, if its or¬ gans are all united,to hold the nation back from a hasty, reckless appeal to arms, and thus se¬ cure, in the end, a peaceful adjustment of all their difficulties.
Let us state the case. There are more than fifty religious newspapers in this country, and, going into nearly every neighborhood, and reaching all the leading minds, both in the min¬ istry and church, they can scarcely fail, if they choose, to control the main springs of influence through the land. In every city, town, and vil¬ lage—in every college and theological Semina¬ ry—in every church, every Sabbath and com¬ mon school—in almost every hallowed nursery of intellect, opinion, and character, these weekly advocates of truth and duty are found exerting an influence which few can either escape or per¬ manently resist, and, if they would all combine their efforts, they could easily leaven the whole nation with such sentiments of peace as would render it impossible for any set of rulers ever to involve us again in war.
Here, then, is a noble, godlike work for the re¬ ligious press. And will not the managers of this mighty engine take hold of the subject in ear¬ nest, spread it in all its amplitude before the community, and persevere until war shall come to be regarded through Christendom as the kin¬ dred practice of duelling is now in New Eng¬ land! It may be done, and religious papers can do it if they will.
And now, if ever, is the time. There never was, nor ever can be a better. Nearly all Christendom is basking in the sunshine of peace, and the minds of men, free from the bitterness and the fears of war, are open to the subject of peace, and at leisure to consider its claims. The thoughtless or the indifferent may say there is now no need of efforts in this cause, and would have us postpone the antidote until the disease IS upon us beyond the possibility of prevention or cure, but, if any thing is eve'r to be done, it must be in a time like the present. We might as well preach purity in a brothel, or temperance to a drunkard in the gutter, as plead for peace in the whirlwind of wrath which immediately pre¬ cedes a threatened war.  Now is the springtime
of peace, and, if we would reap a golden har¬ vest, w6 should lose no time in sowing the re¬ quisite seed. Pacificus;
"-<**^^^BQg»^vN>*	
MORE mUST BE DONE FOR THE HEATHEN.
"More must be done," writes a missionary in India, "or so far from, the work of piety keeping up with the age, in its mighty march, it must retrograde. Oh! do press upon the friends of •Zion the blessed privilege and safety of investing capital where it shall come back: in compound interest through the long ages of eternity. I think lhat the widow's two mites, which put a tract into the hands of the disappointed pilgrim, as he turns backfrom hiswashingin the Ganges, or his offer¬ ings at Pulney, since it may point him the true way to heaven, will be better invested than many thousands of dollars have been in the fancied cities of the great West. Oh, when shall we be wise\ 'He that winneth'—notriches, not honors, but—'¦souls,' is wise."
THE I.OVE OF CHRIST.
' Who shall separate us from the love of Christ!— Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword 1 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through bim that loved us." Rom. viii, 35,37.
There is beautiful truth, as well as quaintness, in the following comment on this passage, by an old writer:
Stars shine brightest in the darkest night— spices smell best when bruised—young trees root the faster for shaking—gold looks brighter for scouring—juniper smells sweetest in the fire—• the palm trees prove the better for pressing— caminomile, the more you tread it the more you spread it.—Such is the condition of God's chil¬ dren : they are often most triumphant when most tempted—most glorious when most afflicted— most in favor of God when least in man's—as their conflicts, so their conq^uests—as their tribu¬ lations, so their triumphs—true salamanders, that live best in the furnace of persecution, so that heavy afflictions are sometimes the best benefac¬ tors to heavenly affections; and where afflic¬ tions hang heaviest, corruptions hang loosest— and grace that is hid in naturCj as sweet water in rose leaves, is then most fragrant when the fire of affliction is put under to distil it out.
Our lives, our blooJ, we here present,
If for ihy sake they may be spent;
Fuiill thy sovereign counsel. Lord,
Thy will be done, thy name adored.
Give us thy strength, thou God of power;
Then let men scorn and Satan roar;
Thy faithful witnesses we'll be—
'Tis fixed, we can do all through thee.
 .<.»^^^fl@C^#^^^..
THE PASTOR'S RGPUTATION. The unspotted reputation of the pastor is the choi¬ cest treasure which a church can possess, for without it his ministry cannot be useful. It is therefore incum¬ bent on every church to guard that reputation with scrupulous jealousy. On this point, Mr. James, in his excellent " Church Member's Guide," has some re¬ marks which are worthy of the attention of every pro¬ fessor of religion. Speaking of the duties of church members to their pastors, he says:
"A minister's character is the lock of his strength, and, if once this be sacrificed, he is, like Samson, shorn of his hair, a poor, feeble, faltering creature, the pity of hia friends, and the derision of his enemies. I would not have bad ministers screened, nor would 1 have good ones maligned. When a preacher of righteous¬ ness has stood in the way of sinners, and walk¬ ed in the counsel ofthe ungodly, he should ne¬ ver again open his lips inthe greatcongregation, until his repentance is as notorious as his sin. But while his character is unsullied, his friends should preserve it vvith as much care against the tongue of the slanderer, as they would his life against the hand ofthe assassin.
When I consider the restless malignity of the great enemy of God and holiness, and add to this his subtilty and craft—when I consider how much his malice would be gratified, and his schemes promoted, by blackening the character ofthe ministers of the gospel—when I consider what a multitude of creatures there are who are his vassals, and under his influence, creatures so destitute of moral principle, and so filled with venomous spite against religion, as to be prepar¬ ed to go any lengths in maligning the righteous, and especially their ministers, I can account for it on no other ground than that of a special in¬ terposition of Providence, that the reputation of ' Christian pastors is not more frequently attacked by slander, and destroyed by calumny. But pro¬ bably we see in this, as in other cases, that wise arrangement of Providence by which things, of delicacy and consequence are preserved, by calling forth greater solicitude for their safety. Church members should therefore be trembling¬ ly alive to the importance of defending their minister's character. They should neither ex¬ pect to see him perfect, nor hunt after his imper¬ fections. When they cannot but see his imper¬ fections, imperfections, which, after all, may be consistent with not only real, but eminent piety, they should not take pleasure in either magnify¬ ing or looking at them, but make all reasonable excuse for them, and endeavor to lose sight of his infirmities in his virtues, as they do the spots of the sun amidstthe blaze of radiance with which they are surrounded. Let them not be the sub¬ ject of conversation even between yourselves, much less before your children, servants, and the world. If you talk of his faults in derision, who v/ill speak of his excellences with admira¬ tion? Do not look at him with suspicion, but re¬ pose an honorable confidence in his character. Do not make him an offender for a word, and re¬ fuse to him that charity and candor of judgment vvhich would be granted to every one else. Do not magnify indiscretions into immoralities, and exact from him that absolute perfection, which, in your own case, you find to be unattainable. Beware of whispers, inuendoes, significant nods, and that slanderous silence, which is more de¬ famatory than the broadest accusation.
Defend him against the groundless attacks of others. Never hear him spoken of with unde¬ served reproach, without indignantly repelling the shafts of calumny. Express your firm and dignified displeasure against the witling that would make him ridiculous, the scorner that would render him contemptible, and the defamer that would brand him as immoral.
Especially guard against those creeping rep- tiles which infest our churches, and are perpetu¬ ally insinuatingthat their ministers do not preach the gospel, merely because they do not inces¬ santly repeat the same truths in the same words —because they do not allegorize and spiritualize allthe facts ofthe Old Testament, untiltheyhave found as much gospel in the horses of Pharoah's chariot, as they can in St. Paul's Epistles—and because they have dared to enforce the moral law as the rule of the believer's conduct. This antinomian spirit has become the pest of many churches. It is the most mischievous and disgust¬ ing of all errors. If the heresies which abound in the spiritual world were to be represented by the noxious animals of the natural world, we could find some errors that would answer to the vul¬ ture, the tiger, and the serpent, but we could find nothing that would be an adequate emblem of antinomianism, except, by a creation  of our
own, we had united in some monstrous reptile, the venom ofthe wasp, with the deformity ofthe spider, and the slime ofthe snail."
CIRCULATION OP THE BIBI.E IN RUSSIA.
The American Bible Society has repeatedly grant¬ ed aid to a Committee in St. Petersburgh to supply some of the millions ofthe destitute in that extensive empire with the word of life. The following para¬ graphs of a letter from the Committee, published in their Monthly Extracts, will be read with interest by the friends of the Bible.
The more that is done in distributing the bread of hfe among the poor and hitherto neglected Esthonians,* the more has the sphere of useful¬ ness enlarged, and the more apparent is the spi¬ ritual destitution ofthe people. The partial sup¬ ply of one parish causes a sensation in the neigh¬ boring villages, and a desire is excited among thousands for the Testament who have hitherto lived indiff-erent as to the possession of this trea¬ sure. Yes, the moral aspect is changing- the previous gratuitous distribution has done good; it has created in many a strong desire to possess a book, which they had considered beyond their reach, and they are now willing to pay as much as their poverty will allow in order to obtain thai which reveals unto them the love of God to a guilty world, in bestowing a Saviour who is able to save unto the uttermost all that come to him. The enclosed extracts of correspondence will fully demonstrate this, and, we trust, prove sa¬ tisfactory to our kind transatlantic friends lhat the Lord is blessing their liberality in having cast so much bread on the waters, and lead us to hope that many of the poor Esthonians will at the great day be a crown of rejoicing to your valuable Society.
Our hearts have been much cheered by the receipt of a copy of your letter of the 28th April to Mr, Ropes in London, with the gratifying in¬ telligence of a remittance of £209 15s, lOd. For this, please present our best thanks to your So¬ ciety, and be assured that we will endeavor to do as much good with this as pos.sible, hoping thatthe result of the seed sown will be a glorious harvest to the honor of our Redeemer.
In Finland a great work is going on. About forty pastors are now preaching Christ crucified, and, having established prayer-meetings, &c., have met with opposition; but the Lord is giving them favor with the people, and we hear that many awakenings have followed. On this head we will not enlarge, but wait and see the result. The British and Foreign Society, as already mentioned to you, published an edition of25,000 copies ofthe Finnish Testament in 1840; these were distributed in the northern provinces, where the people are extremely poor. Another edition of twenty-five thousand copies, for ac¬ count of said Society, is now printing, and we hope that much good will result from this proof of Christian love. The Archbishop of Abo, Dr. Melartin, takes a lively interest in this work, and Ihrough his influence it has been most efficient¬ ly and satisfactorily carried into operation. The Minister of State for Finland made a report of the offer ofthe British and Foreign Bible Socie¬ ty to supply these Scriptures, and his Imperial Majesty was graciously pleased to approve the same, so that the highest possible earthly sanc¬ tion to the work has been obtained.
Requesting your reference to the statement of money received and expended, and ofthe Scrip¬ tures distributed, which vve trust will prove satis¬ factory, and soliciting an interest in the prayers of all interested in the great work. We are, most truly, dear sir,
Your afFeclionate friends,
T. S. Ellerby, Pastor.
W. C. GiLLIBRAND.
W. H, Ropes.
'rrrf OQOf f rrri
CKSaIa for the BIBI4E FROM I.IVONIA.
The following is an extract of a letter from M. MicKOViTZ, a pastor in Pillitsfer in Livonia, a pro¬ vince of the Russian empire, to the American Bible Society. The peasantry of this province are exceed¬ ingly poor and degraded, and are, no doubt, the pro¬ per objects of the sacred charity of the Bible So¬ ciety.
The kind gifts of the North American Bible Society were sent to us through pastor Brene- mann, of Dorpat, vvith the notice that vve vvere to distribute them in those families who had not a copy ofthe Holy Scriptures in their possession. In compliance with this we attended to the poor- e«tfi»milies, and consequently received but little when we proposed a voluntary contribution for the word received. At present there are so few copies of the Scriptures among our people, that- even if larger supplies should be sent, the need would not soon cease. As there are still so many inquirers, and we have not been able, after re¬ peated applications, to obtain more books from Pastor Brenemann, vve considered we were act¬ ing quite in conformity vvith the designs of the North American Society in employing, vvith his consent, the contributions in fresh purchases of the New Testament for distribution. I got for my parish one hundred copies of the New Testa¬ ment, and received, in the shape of voluntary subscriptions, but six Roubles and a few Copecs Banco. The number needed in the families of my parish is computed at 1095; above 900 fami¬ lies are still destitute ofthe word of God, as the Auxiliary Bible Societies have hitherto been able to supply the schools only, and that about five years since.
If I may apply again to you, reverend sir, I would request you to send, for the present, at least, the half of the number required to satis¬ fy the wants of my parish. I dare not request ariy more for my parish at present, because Pastor HoLst wishes to have also at least that number, and, in other respects, the want is very great, to¬ wards the ascertaining and supplying of which I willingly offer a helping hand. My father also, the Oberconsistorial Counsellor Mickovitz of St. Marien Magdalenen, in Esthonia, when he heard here of the munificent generosity of the North American Bible Society, requested me to beg of you a supply for his parish, and I must, on my part, strongly urge his request, since I believe that Esthonia has not yet been made, a partaker of these liberal gifts. In his parish there are, on a rough calculation, eight hundred families, and altogether aboutone hundred and fifty New Tes¬ taments, and twenty-five Bibles among them.
As far as you may be able to attend to the wants of a numerous population, the most of whom are hungeringand thirsting much afterthe word of God, now lies in the hands of Him vvho turneth the hearts of men as the rivers of water are turned. But our hope of sharing in your kind gifts rests upon this, that we have often in the congflPgation thankfully remembered before the Lord your kindness, and implored him to grant that you may continually grow in peace and love.
-rfffgQftrrri— PERSECUTED BUT NOT DESTROYED.
Two hundred suffering Christian converts are now wandering as fugitives in the island of Ma¬ dagascar. Their utter destitution compels them to wander about from mountain to mountain, in search of something for food, and at the same time to escape the rage of their deadly perse¬
cutors. Executions, ordeals, and miseries, in¬ crease throughout the count.y; so that three thousand persons have recently taken the tange- na, (poison water,) by order of the sovereign,— Still they do not lose their courage—they place their confidence in God.—Report of tht British and Foreign Bible Society, 1842.
—Ar^^#.6@9^
• The province of Ethonia ism the S. Western part of RuMia.
THE BIBI.E SHADED.
[We offer the reader another number from the cor¬ respondent ofthe N. Y. Observer, on the merits ofthe New Baptist Bible, noticed in our last Ed.]
It is a fearful thing to obscure, even in the slighte.st degree, a single word or sentence of Scripture. We do not say that this has been done intentionally by those "several biblical scholars." We do not believe it has; and yet the evil has been done, and done by them. In the re-construction of sentences, and in the in¬ troduction of new words, the meaning of the Bible, in a multitude of cases, is made less ob¬ vious than it was before. We will give our readers several instances of this, which they may take as a sample of what they will find on almost every page of this amended Bible. In 2 Peter i. 12, the apostle is made to speak thus :
" I will not neglect always to remind of these things, though ye know them, and are establish¬ ed in the present truth." This may mean either that he would not always neglect to do it, which is the more natural construction, orthat he would not neglect to do it always, which is the mean- ins: of the apostle. Besides, it does not say whom he would thus constantly remind of these things. No such obscurUy exists in the com¬ mon version, where the sentence is as beauti- ful as it is plain:—"I will not be negligent to
putyoualwaysin remembrance of these things," &c.
In 2 Peter i., 18, we have this sentence, " And these words coming from   heaven we  heard,
when we vvere with him in the holy mount."	
In grammatical construction, "coming from heaven" may refer either to "these words" or to "we." No such difficulty is found in the com¬ mon version, where it reads thus—"And this voice, which came from heaven, we heard," &c. In 1 Peter ii. 11, we have this exhortation—" Be¬ loved, / beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from those fleshly lusts vvhich war against the soul," There is no word in the original an¬ swering to the term " those," and why should there bel We have always supposed that all fleshly lusts warred against the soul. "Those which war" imply that there are others which do not. This Scripture, then, at best, is so altered, as to tell only a part of the truth—to enjoin only a part of our duty. Sensualists would be much obliged to the mender, no doubt, if he would tell them what fleshly lusts war against the soul, and in what they may with impunity indulge. In Prov, xvi., 1, we learn that " The plans of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue are from Jehovah." A deep shade is here cast upon the Scripture. Colt had a plan in his heart to commit suicide, while he vvas making Dr. An- thon and others believe that he was penitent.— Was this plan from Jehovah 1 Some, we are aware, render this verse thus—the purpose is in man but the answer of the tongue, i, e., the result is from the Lord. But this is not the reading given by these " several biblical scholars." The meaning of the passage, as it seems to us, is very plain. It teaches just what Paul declares— that all good action in willing and doing in men, is from the Lord. This is the preparation of the heart.
In Luke vii, 30, the common version says that the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him, i. e. John. This is all plain, and easily understood. They rejected the counsel, i. e. the direction or command of God to repent. They refused obedience to it. But, in this ainended version, the word purpose is put in the place of counsel removed. " They set at naught the pur¬ pose of God with regard to themselves," &c.— Purpose here darkens counsel—obscures the mean¬ ing of the text. The counsel of God to them was to repent and be baptized. His purpose in refer¬ ence to them was to let them do as they did.— Prov. xxiii. 26, "My son give me thine heart," is mended thus: "My smrire attentive." We have always supposed that, when God calls upon us for the heart, more is asked than mere attention, and that more than this is necessary in order to delight in his ways. If attention, however, is all that is meant by this phraseology, then God has it in a multitude of cases, where the heart is not given to him—cases in which men listen, de¬ spise, and perish. In Prov. xix,, 24, Solomon says that the slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. Improved, it reads thus: "He hideth his hand in the dish," &c. In this case he is not quite as lazy as Solomon makes him to be. He does something towards feeding him¬ self, for he puts his hand into the dish; vvhile, as in the common version, he does nothing.
In Mark ix. 28, in answer to the question why they would not cast out a certain demon, Christ said to his disciples, that this kind, i, e, of de¬ moniacal possessions, can come forth by no¬ thing but by prayer and fasting; or, in other words, to cast out such requires peculiar faith— faith wrought in the soul by much communion with God. This verse is altered, and roads thus, " This race can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting." Now, "a race of devils or demons" is to us a very singular expression.— The word "race" is of Latin origin. It comes from radix, a root. It coincides in origin with rod, ray, radiate, and the like, and denotes the continued series of descendants from a common parent. Thus vve speak of mankind as the race of Adam—of the Israelites as the race of Abra¬ ham—or of the Africans as the race of Ham.— Does the Saviour in this Scripture, then, mean to teach that these devils or demons, which the disciples could not cast out, are the descendants of a common demoniacal fathcrl If so, then the amendment here is a good one. But, if not, then it obscures the meaning.
In James iii., 5, the apostle, speaking of the great mischief produced by the tongue, says, " Behold how great a matter a little fire kind- leth!" This is improved thus, "Behold how great a forest a little fire kindleth!" This sur¬ passes the Unitarian version, which has it thus: "Behold how great a pile," &c. This is not large enough, however, for the mender here.— His little matter fiets on fire a great forest. We have heard of fire in the mountains ; but this is the first time we have ever heard of setting on fire a forest, i. e. a tract of land covered with trees. It would take some fire, indeed, to do this! In John xiv., 18, Christ is made to say to his disciples, •' 1 will not leave you orphans."— Such is, indeed, the literal meaning of the origi¬ nal. But the word is evidently used here by the Saviour in a tropical sense, and refers not so much to relationship as to influence growing out of it, or secured to the disciples by it. His de¬ parture from the disciples would not leave them comfortless, but would be followed by the ad¬ vent, to them and others, ofthe Comforter. The precise ideaisthereforeconveyedby the common version. In 1 Cor. xii. 31, we have this, " I will show you a most excellent way." The apostle, as the context proves, is speaking in a compara- tire sense.  The idea obviously is—" I will show
you a more excellent way of evincing your zeal than by aspiring to the place of apostles, pro¬ phets, or rulers, and that is by cultivating uni. versal charity or love."   In Acts ii. 47, we are told that "the Lord added to the church daily those who were saved,"   The orginal is literally "those saved;" and the meaning we take is, those who would be saved, or should be, as it reads in the common version.    In Rom. v. 4, patience does not work experience, but only approbation.   In verse 6th, we were not without strength when Christ died for us, but only lorefcAei. And in the 8th verse,God, in sending his Son to die for us, did not commend his love toward us, or enhance it as in the Unitarian version, but eslab- lished it.   In Phil. iii. 12, Paul tells his brethren at Phillippi that he had not yet "finished his course," i. e., that he vvas not as yet dead! and in Eph. vi., 15, urges the Christians in Ephesus to have their "feet shod vvith preparations to pub¬ lish the gospel of peace," instead of the prepa¬ ration of the gospel; i. e., the peaceful temper vvhich the gospel inculcates.
We might easily give other instances, in which the obvious meaning of the Bible is obscured by these "several biblical .scholars;" but enough has been said to show the reader the character of their umbrageous work. Camerot.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CATECHISM.
On the 12th of February, 1842, the Rev. S. H. Cal- houn. Agent of the American Bible Society, was in Smyrna, circulating the Bible. Among others he fur¬ nished a female Protestant school under the care of Miss Danforth, with copies of the New Testament.
This school, (he says,) is a most praisewor¬ thy institution, and truly missionary in its cha¬ racter. Unfortunately the education of the chil¬ dren of Protestants in Smyrna has been for a long course of years greatly neglected. The re- sulthas been, that the little which many of them have learned has been learned in Roman Ca¬ tholic schools.
Having mentioned Roman Catholic schools, let me give an e.\tract or two from the religious catechism which is taught in them, premising lhat it was printed in Smyrna by order of the Archbishop, and is commanded by him to bo used by all his clergy, curates, missionaries, and catechists, and by all the teachers in his dio¬ cese.
Q. "How many ara the commandments of GodV
A, "Ten." ;   . -^     : u; r   t
Q, "Repeat them."
A, 1, "I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other God before me."
2. " Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain."
3. " Remember that thou keep holy the ap¬ pointed feast days."
* *     *       ' h  i\
9. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife."
10. " Thou shalt not covet what belongs to an¬ other."
The other commandments correspond with ours.   Now what can be thought of a religious
teacher who thus mutilates the word of God	
who, while he professes to give the Decalogue entire, leaves out the whole ofthe second com¬ mandment, and covers up his fraud by dividing the tenth ¦?
In in another part of the catechism we have the following exposition ofthe words of our Sa¬ viour in the 21st chapter of John, "Feed my sheep," "feed my lambs."
Q, " What do the sacred teachers mean by the name lambs?"
A, " Common believers." (The laity.)
Q, "What do they mean by the name shesp «"
A, "The shepherds ofthe church."
Q. " Why do they mean the shepherds of the churchl"
A. " Because, as the sheep give bodily nou-. rishment to the lambs, so the shepherds of the church give spiritual nourishment to believ¬ ers."
Q. "What is the inference from these words of the Saviour l"
A. "The inference is that Jesus Christ gave to S^int Peter the government of the whole church, and that he subjected to him not only common believers, but also their shepherds, that is, all the bishops!!"
This quotation will show the method in which Roman Catholic children are taught the supre¬ macy of the Pope.
EDUCATION OF MINISTERS IN EARI.T TIMES.
It is a mistake  to suppose, that systematic ' means for the education of indigent young men ¦ for the ministry, are the invention of modern days.    From the time of the reformation to the present day, whenever God has thrown upon the church any great and difficult work, he has also thrown upon her the necessity of educating a supply of ministers, to carry on the work.   Such . a system vvas in operation among the Protestants ' in France, before these New England shores vvere trod by the foot of the Pilgrims.    In the ' latter part of the 16th century, we find the na¬ tional synods of France, urging on the churches ' the duty of educating young men for the minis¬ try.    The poverty and danger then connected ; with the sacred calling, made such calls peculiar¬ ly urgent.    One document of these synods pre¬ sents the subject as follows:
Whereas, divers persons do solicit this na¬ tional synod, to supply the congregations vcho ' have sent them hither, with pastors, they are all answered, lhat at present vve ave unable to gratify them, and that therefore they be advised lo set' up propositions for religious services, and take special care of educating hopeful young men in learning, in the arts, languages and divinity, who may hereafter be employed in the sacred minis¬ try. And they are most humbly to petition the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into the harvest."
" Because there is every vvhere a visible de¬ cay, and a great want of ministers, and that some provision may be made for a succession, the churches shall be admonished by our breth¬ ren, the provincial deputies, that such as are rich, would maintain some hopeful scholars at the universities, who being educated in the libe¬ ral arts and sciences, and other good learning, may be fitted for and employed in the sacred ministry."
" The colloquies shall be exceedingly careful, that that article of our discipline concerning the maintenance of poor scholars, designed for the ministry, be diligently observed, and that they make report of it unto their provincial synods, lhat it may be manifested, how they have per¬ formed their duty in this particular."
But the zeal of the French church did not stop here. They resolved to apply to the King of Navarre and the Prince of Conde, and other lords professing the Proteslant religion, and to beseech them to contribute liberally towards this object. And they exhorted all the churches " to press this duty vigorously, upon tbeir richer and more substantial members." And when a suitably qualified miniiter was &und, he was