192 MONTHLY RECORD OF PASSING EVENTS. of the religious public, by those who have coveted and obtained possession of chapels erected for the maintenance of sentiments to which they are opposed, is clearly shown in an able letter by Mr. Norton to the same journal. Mr. Trestrail also, the secretary of the Baptist Foreign Mission, has written in the same general direction, though we do not see how he makes it consistent with the aid he afforded by his signature in the Norwich Chapel case. CHURCH RATES.-The second reading of the compulsory Church Rate Abolition Bill was debated in the House of Commons, on Wednesday, July 19th, but the debate was again adjourned; Mr. Gladstone spoke in strong terms in favour of a final and early settlement of the question, but the new Government is, of course, not very ready to respond to the appeal in the sense of abolition, pure and simple; and we regret to say that the change of ministry makes it very improbable that this or any other measure with regard to this impost, will be passed this session. The debate was again resumed on July 24th, but finally adjourned to Wednesday, August 1st. THE SUNDAY LEAGUE.-This active body held a Sunday demonstration in Kew Gardens, followed by speeches on Kew Green, on July 1st. In the course of the proceedings Mr. Morell stated that her Majesty had graciously acceded to an application to allow the playing of a band in Hyde Park on Sunday evenings, in addition to the bands in Regent's Park and Victoria Park. Probably the name of "Her Majesty was brought in without any authority whatever, just to impress the audience with the idea that the Queen was on their side. The authorization of this additional band rests with the First Commissioner of public works, who necessarily uses the name of her Majesty in the notice he issues in reference to the Royal Parks. LAY-AGENCY.-At a meeting of the Oxford Diocesan conference, on the 5th of July, the Bishop of Oxford announced that the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England agreed at a meeting on Holy Thursday after prayer and communion, to the establishment of an order of Readers, or lay-deacons, to co-operate with the parish clergymen in the work of the Church. These "readers" are to be publicly appointed with prayer, but without the imposition of hands, after episcopal examination. The clergy are to visit the stations they occupy, periodically, and administer the communion; and the communicants thus gathered are to communicate at least once annually in the mother Church. The "Readers are not to be styled Reverend, but are to wear a white surplice in their ministrations!" What a strange mixture of missionary feeling and church pretensions. EASTER DUES.-An important decision has been come to in the Court of Queen's Bench, (June 23rd), affecting the interests of hundreds of the clergy, and thousands of dissenters. It is now decided that Easter dues are only recoverable from actual communicants in the Established Church; by communicants being meant, not those who in ancient times were regarded as under an obligation to communicate, but those who actually do so. decision, if it be not reversed by a court of Error, will be the death blow to this exaction. This CHURCH LIVINGS.-The Ecclesiastical Commissioners have recently given an assurance that in a short time every benefice in public patronage shall be made up to the value of £300 a-year. The "Curate's Augm ntation Fund" proposes in the case of cura.es of 15 years' standing who have £100 a-year, to add another hundred a-year to his stipend. So far, so good, as a means of stilling the outcry for a redress of the more glaring anomalies of the Establishment; but how about Bishops' palaces, and Deans' deaneries, which are erected and enlarged by these Ecclesiastical Commissioners ? same CHESHUNT COLLEGE.-Mr. T. Binney, at the 98th anniversary of the Countess of Huntingdon's College at Cheshunt, took occasion to remark, in reference to Dean Stanley's calling Dissenting Ministers "Nonconformist Ministers of the Church of England," that he accepted the phrase, as meaning that the ministers of the various denominations in a country might be considered as a part of the "clergy" of the country, of its religious leaders and workers. NEITHER PURSE NOR SCHIP.-Seventeen missionary agents sailed recently from London for China. The company consisted of the Rev. J. Hudson Taylor, with wife and family, and fifteen male and female missionary helpers. "They go forth," we are told, "unconnected with any society, without guaranteed support from man, simply depending on God for the supply in answer to prayer of all needful means. SPIRITUAL IDLERS. IN looking around upon the churches of Christ, the assemblies of his saints, and viewing the numbers who have professed his name and have joined themselves to his people; and, again, looking upon the vast multitudes by which we are continually surrounded, who have no fear of God before their eyes, but are hurrying along the downward road to perdition, with no one to warn them of their danger; I say, on looking upon these two scenes, we cannot help feeling that "the harvest is indeed plenteous, but the labourers very few." And, again, when coming into the church— the market-place-where are the labourers hired for the vineyard of the Lord, we must be struck with the great numbers who are not in any way actively engaged in the Lord's work, who are literally" standing idle," as those who have nothing whatever to do. To such we would put the question of the Master in the parable, "Why stand ye here all the day idle ?" Surely, it cannot be that there is nothing to be done, "for the fields are white already to harvest; they are ripe, fully ripe, and require many more willing hands to gather the harvest. Can it be for want of a will to work, an unwillingness to work for Christ? or, is it replied, "No man hath hired us?" But can it be so? Have you been redeemed with the blood of Christ, called from darkness to light, lifted up from the horrible pit and miry clay, and your feet set upon the rock-Christ Jesus? And yet have you not heard the Master's voice, saying to you, Go, work to-day in my vineyard ?" Know ye not those words, "Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God with your bodies and your spirits which are his." We are not our own, but Christ's. We are not only his servants, but his willing slaves. Once we were slaves to Sin and Satan, running with eager haste to do his bidding; but now we have been purchased by another, simply because he loved us and was determined to rescue us from our fearful bondage. And shall we refuse to work for Him who has done so much for us? Surely, the love of Christ will constrain us now to go forth in the strength of the Lord God, and labour earnestly and faithfully for him. Let us look upon the thousands around us who are led captive blindly by Satan at his will, and ask ourselves the question, can we not do something for them? can we not point them to that Saviour which we have found, and whom we profess to serve? The ill weeds of pleasure, ambition, avarice, lust, with that besetting and soul-cursing sin of unbelief, are all growing wild in men's hearts, leading them away from God, and filling them with hatred against him; and, surely, we can find something to do in one part or other of God's great vineyard. Surely, you who have hitherto been standing idle can speak and testify of Christ in some way. Say not that you are not adapted for this or that work and labour of love. Christ claims your service, and he would not demand that of you which you are unable to give. And, besides, he has promised to give you strength according to your need, and you "can do all things through Christ which stengtheneth you.' Up, then, and away to the vineyard of the Lord, and say no longer that "no man hath hired" you. Christ, the once laborious and ever-loving Saviour, whose name you profess, demands your service. He has himself given us an example of the most self-denying and the most self-sacrificing labour. Let us, then, be up and doing, following in the foot-prints of our Divine Master, labouring earnestly, faithfully, and lovingly in that field best suited to us. For the Harvest is great, but the labourers are few. We might, perhaps, be allowed, before closing, to suggest one class of labour which is very much neglected by christians and church members in our day. It is that of welcoming strangers, and giving them encouragement to come to the house of God, thus causing them to feel that the people of God have an interest in them. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers," said the apostle. And although this may apply more particularly to the private life of the christian, as an exhortation to hospitality, yet it will equally apply to the church of Christ, both collectively and to each individual of it, when assembled together for public worship, and it ought not to be neglected. This may be done by a simple recognition or friendly shake of the hand, not cold, formal, and stiff, but warm and cordial, as of one who careth for the soul. We have known cases in which persons have been bound to a place of worship, and have been encouraged to come again and again, until the arrows of the King have pierced the heart and caused them to cry, "What must we do to be saved?" simply by the kind word of a SEPTEMBER, 1866. 9 194 IMMOVEABLE CHARACTERS. christian brother addressed to them when for the first time they entered that house of God, which has thus proved to be the birthplace-the very gate of heaven to their souls. While, on the other hand, we have known many who have been discouraged by the coldness and stiffness which prevail to so great an extent in many of our places of public worship, and we bave known some who have attended some places for years and have never been spoken to by a single individual, nor a friendly recognition given them. This is a serious evil among our churches, and one which might be easily remedied if christians would but cast off the forms and usages of the world, and be true men, with hearts burning for the honour of Christ and the welfare of immortal souls. There are many other ways of working in the vineyard of the Lord. In fact, they are so numerous that none need be idle. Let us, then, all seek to do something for Him who has done so much for us, that we may testify his abounding mercy toward us. And let not the tone of reproof ever fall from his loving lips upon our ears, Why stand ye here all the day idle?” Christ has redeemed us, body, soul, and spirit; we are his-let us, then, work for him now, "while it is called to-day, for the night cometh when we cannot work." Let us use the talents which he has bestowed upon us in his service, and wait till he shall come and say unto us, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." IMMOVEABLE CHARACTERS. BY H. WATTS.-STANNINGLEY, LEEDS. "They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth, even for ever. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous: lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity." -PSALM Cxxv. 1-3. THE author of this Psalm is not known. It is called "a song of degrees," and what this means is still a matter of conjecture. There are fifteen Psalms in consecutive order that have this title, commencing with the 120th, and terminating with the 134th. Some think that the phrase, "Songs of degrees," or " ascending songs,' was given to these Psalms because the Levites would sing them as they went up and down the fifteen steps in the temple that led from the court of the women to the court of the Israelites. To have watched the Levites as they ascended one step, pause, and repeat a clause of a Psalm with united voices, and then ascend another step and chant another clause, and so on till they had ascended the fifteen steps, and finished one of the fifteen Psalms, must have been pleasing to the eye, and more so to the ear. Be this as it may, I think it is equally probable that the term has reference to the internal composition of the Psalms. They are all, with one exception, very short Psalms, and abound with climaxes, the Psalmist repeating himself and rising in sentiment and expression higher and higher. Thus, in singing them in public worship, as the people came to the repetition, or the greater declaration of fact, they would by degrees raise their voices and give the language with more force as a choir would in singing a chorus. This I think to be the best interpretation. And this is just one of those Psalms that God's people should sing, and sing louder and louder. We sometimes say if we should get to heaven "Then loudest of the crowd I'll sing, While heaven's resounding arches ring, But we should not wait until we get to IMMOVEABLE CHARACTERS. as we take first one step and then another, and so rise higher and higher to glory, let us chant together to the praise of God, these words, "They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever." No grander song than this can be sung while we live, or when we come to die. Who are they that trust in the Lord? All men do not. The majority of men trust in anything but the Lord. They trust in themselves, in their friends, in their wealth, in their business, in selfrighteousness, in sin, in the "god of this world," in ten thousand refuges of lies; but not in the Lord. They live as if there were no God to trust to, at all events as if he were not worth their trust. What does the Lord say with regard to such christians? He predicts their destruction, that he will pluck them out of their dwelling-place and root them out of the land of the living, so that the righteous shall say, Lo! this is the man that made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. If thou art one of these characters, reader, ponder well thine end. It matters little if thou dost prosper now, thy end will come. A young man once asked his parent, "What shall I come to, father, if I go on prospering in this way?" The father's solemn reply was, "To the grave!" Yes, thou wilt come to that, and a poor trust will thine prove to be then! Now those who trust in the Lord are those who rely fully and wholly upon him. But to trust the Lord we must first know him. We must know God as he is revealed to us in the Bible: as he is unveiled to us in Christ: as he is revealed by the Spirit's teaching in the heart. Unless we thus know him we shall not trust him. As Adam, in his "Private Thoughts," observes, "God is nowhere to me if he is not in my heart." I don't know him, says the worldling, he's in heaven. But I know him, says the believer, "for he is in my heart." If God is not known, and felt to be in the heart, we shall have no more acquaintance with him than we have with a stranger who dwells at the antipodes. But if we are acquainted with God we shall rely upon his providence to give us all necessary supplies for the body: upon his grace to give us all necessary supplies for the soul; and upon his glory to give us all that is necessary to make us happy throughout eternity. Now characters like these shall not be moved. And why shall they not be moved? The ground of their immoveability is, 195 "The Lord is round about them." He is high above them, seated on the highest throne. He is round about them as a wall of fire. His everlasting arms are underneath them. He too is their reward, and goes before them to fight their battles. With omnipotence round about them how can they be moved? "He that hath made his refuge God, Those who have God's eyes to watch them, God's arms to protect them, God's angels to guard them, and God's wisdom to guide them, must be immoveable. Their immoveability is here set forth by two figures. They are to be "as mount Zion which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever." By mount Zion we are not to understand the literal mountain on which part of Jerusalem was built. True, the mount was strong, but is it irremoveable? When the world shall be made a wreck, this mount shall be found among the burning ruins. By mount Zion here is to be understood the elect church of God, the church built upon the rock of ages, against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. It is to this church that the Apostle has reference when he tells believers, "But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; and to an innumerable company of angels, to. the general assembly and church of the firstborn, who are written in heaven; and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel." This is the mount Zion that shall abide for ever. things besides shall change. Suns, and moons, and stars, and worlds of light shall wax and wane and be no more: the pillars of the earth shall be shaken, and the noblest of God's created works crumble into dust but mount Zion, the church of the living God, shall remain beautiful, glorious, and firm amid all; the eternal monument of Jehovah's greatness, the solid jewel that no fire can destroy, no lightning scathe, no crash effect. And so shall it be with all who trust in the Lord. They may be poor, unknown, and unnoticed, but God knows them, notices them, and owns them. They may be removed from their best friends, from the saints, from God's house, from the earth; but from God's heart never! In that heart their names All 196 IMMOVEABLE CHARACTERS. are engraven too deeply ever to be erased. Again, reference is made to the city of Jerusalem: "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people." This then makes them immoveable. The city of Jerusalem was encompassed with mountains. There was mount Zion on the north, the mount of Olives on the east, and other mountains on the opposite sides. Thus with these natural fastnesses, Jerusalem was well fortified, and as these mountain tops reached far aloft, it was likewise well sheltered from winds and tempests. So Christ is round about his people who put their trust in him. It is said of him, "And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert for the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." No foe can take away our hidden life, and no tempests can overwhelm us. When Alexander came against a people who dwelt in the rocks, we are told, that they laughed in his face. "What are you come here for," said they? Unless your soldiers can fly in the air we fear you not. Can you scale these perpendicular rocks? Can you mount as high as we? Our defence is impregnable: and they on high laughed him and his soldiers to scorn who were below. So we, enclosed by our mountain refuge, and standing on the Rock of Ages, may well afford to smile at those who attack us. "On the Rock of Ages founded. None can shake our sure repose; And mark, Christ is thus round about his people, "henceforth and for ever." Jerusalem was at last taken; the gates were broken through; but who can undermine or break through the Rock of Ages? None, blessed be God, none. Those who put their trust in the Lord are safe for ever. As if the Psalmist, however, anticipated an objection of this kind, that the righteous or those who trust in God should meet with affliction in this world, and more especially from wicked men, he added, "For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity." The rod alluded to is a measuring rod, which was used for the purpose of measuring lands, and estates. It is here assumed that the wicked will lay hold of this measuring rod, and with it measure the lots, or estates, houses, farms, and lands of the righteous, and then having taken account of the stock, claim it as ther own. This has been often done. Ahab did it to Naboth. Hundreds and thousands of God's people in the days of persecution have been turned out of their homes by the wicked who have seized their all, and sent them to seek shelter where they could. And so whenever wicked men seize that which belongs to the righteous, deprive them of their just dues, and appropriate them to themselves, the rod is on their lot. But God says that the rod shall not rest upon their lot. That is, the wicked, shall be troubled in their work. They shall lay their measuring rod down and say, "this is mine and that is mine;" but when they don't expect it, all shall be taken from them. There shall be no rest in that which is obtained unlawfully. Thousands of wrong doers have found this out. One penny honestly earned is better than a fortune gained by fraud. The reason given why the rod shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous is, "lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity." How kind and considerate is our God! The righteous are but men, and it is possible if they are persecuted long, and are driven too hard, that they may commit evil and distrust God. Asaph was very near committing this evil, when he saw the prosperity of the wicked and thought of his own trouble; then he said, "But as for me my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped." "Almost gone," not quite, "well nigh," but not really. We shall not be tempted above that which we are able to bear. As the Psalmist prays at the conclusion of the Psalm, the Lord will "do good to those that be good to them that are upright in their hearts." But as for oppressors, "those who turn aside to crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity." But when this shall be done, 'peace shall be upon Israel." On every true Israelite shall rest the peace that passeth all understanding, the peace which Christ alone can give, and which the world cannot take away: peace on earth and peace in heaven. It will matter little then what earthly estates shall have passed away from us. It has been well said, "Persecutors may take off the heads of God's people, but they cannot take off their crowns.' These remain sure and steadfast. Then let us all put our trust in the Lord: commit to him the keeping of our bodies and souls, and all our temporal concerns: this is the way to obtain solid rest and peace: this is the way never to be confounded. 66 |