Christian herald., March 07, 1884, Page 3, Image 3

and personal sinners are proper motion, then the amendment, was
subjects of regeneration, but infants advocated; arguments from pro­
never. Infants are not personal phesy and arguments from revela-
sinners. In the third place, the I tion were adduced pro and con
death of Christ and the benefits I History was di t fed, science appealed
flowing out therefrom will fully I to, chemistry quoted. .Beef was
and unconditionally meet the de­ I pronounced cheaper, ham the more
mands of whatever hereditary de­ Scriptural. Motion was added to
pravity may adhere to either in­ motion, amendment piled upon
fant *or adult. This doctrine is amendment. Ten o’clock came,
concisely set for by the Apostle and no vote had been reached.
"TeaTIyTia^^
that was our
faith, we believed in them; I do
to-night. I wish every child in the
land had a ham-sandwich. I was
brought up on ham; it was in­
stilled into me in my youth. I
love it to-night, afid always shall.
‘ Ham ’ is a Scriptural word; I do
not at this moment recall the chap­
ter and verse; but it can be found
in the Bible. Beef is a secular
got the floor. It was evident to
all that he was powerfully wrought
upon. He took the gravity of the
occasion all in. To see this night
he had been spared; for tliis emer-
tgency Iwl prevklenee caused him
to be elected deacon. He arose to
make the speech of his life.
“ Brethren and sisters,” he said,
“ this is indeed an eventful moment.
If ever a people needed wisdom,
we do at this time. It will be
forty-three years next December
since I was elected deacon of this
church. I have seen many dark
days in its history, but never such
a season as this. I tremble for our
[future. Never did I expect to live
to see the day when such a motion
as this could be discussed in this
church. Such a motion could never
have been introduced when Dr.
Longtongue, of sainted memory,
occupied the pulpit in the room
above our heads. Can any brother
or sister who ever heard him preach
suppose that he would have
countenanced
beef-sandwiches ?
Never; he would have died first
One brother says he does not see.
what difference it makes, as an
officer of the church, as a standard-
bearer in this branch of Zion. I
warn the brother against back­
sliding ; he - stands on slippery
places. This church cannot and
will not tolerate Arminianism.
Only last week I saw in the Phil­
lipstown Gazette an account of. a
pic-nic that the Unitarian church
in Heresyborough was to hold, and
it went on to say that they had
voted to have six thousand five
hundred beef-sandwiches,
My
friends, who can estimate the in-
fluence of those six thousand fi ve
hundred beef sandwiches ? It is
by such subtle methods that
error is being promulgated in
the land. And now let me ask»
Are our children to be filled to­
morrow with Unitarianism, and" the
church make no protest ? From
the day when it was founded, the
first Congregational church of Fos
silville has always believed in ham­
sandwiches: not'that we’ ever
appropriated by error. Remember
you are establishing a precedent
If we have beef this year we shall
have beef next year. Our children
will grow to love it, and we shall
never haykanything but beef.”
The deacon sank into his seat
overpowered with emotion caused
by the picture he had drawn. Not
a word more was said. The pastor,
a young man, dismissed the meet­
ing without a syllable, and resigned
his charge the next Sabbath. He
was called, soon after, to a city
church. The church at Fossilville
has never been able to settle an
other pastor, and is still divided on
the momentous question of sand­
wiches. Ham and beef have their
respective advocates up to this day.
M.
*•
P. S.—Our health, since getting
home, continues very poor. Since
reaching home we have preached
but once, and then should not have
done so. We intended writing
privately to a number of dear
friends in places where we labored ;
but-they will havotoexcuse us for
the present. “ The spirit is willing
but the flesh is wreak.”—M.
I
A CORRECT PICTURE.
The following, although written
by a Congregationalist, for Congre­
gational churches, is a life like pic­
ture of what many a church and
“ pastor ” among our own people
. have had to pass through. We be­
lieve it too good to be lost, and,
therefore,‘'give it to the readers of
the H erald . r< Sandwiches ” have
——... —*been the bane of hundreds ofour
churches. If any one in reading
the masterly effort of Deacon Slow-
up should chance to see a picture
of himself in it, we hope he will
profit by it.
Everybody felt that they were
on the eve of a terrible contest.
The pastor settled his face to a
dead calm, and awaited the devel-
opement. At last, a brother who
was seated at the farthest corner of
the room slowly arose, and said de-
liberately, ‘‘ Mr. Chairman, in order
to test the sense of the church, I
move you, sir, that the committee
be instructed to procure beef-
sandwiches.” The speaker had
barely recovered his seat before an­
other brother, on the opposite side
of the room, was on his* feet, * Mr.
Chairman, I move to amend Bro.
Go-ahead’s motion by striking out
the word ‘ beef,’ and substituting i
the1- word ‘ ham ’ before sand­
witches.”
The ball was now
opened, and as this, Fossilville,
was not lacking in -local ora­
tors, and they were not inclined to
let this opportunity slip. First, the I
“
v
WHAT CHURCH TO JOIN.
At which door shall I stand and
knock ? How shall the important
question be decided ? The servants
of the creeds, send forth many an
eloquent appeal “ come join with us,
we are traveling direct to the prom­
ised home of peace,” but I see the
keystoneisnot always Jesus, and the
arch above the doors isnot the perfect
one; nor is the foundation that di
vine one revealed unto Peter. The
laws of the true church or kingdom
must be divine, and thev are found
only in the New Testament. Then,
if each organization claiming to be
the one true church be measured by
the law which comes straightway
from Jesus, and no flaw be found,
nor more be added tliereunto, the
building is on the sure foundation
that will never fail the one who
knocks and enters in, to live in
featly unto the King. Do none
reach the full standard ? Do all fall
-short in theory or ^practice? Then
join that which comes nearest the
divine model and try by prudence
and love to bring it nearer to the
measure given by the light of God.
With the desire for the progress of
civilization, the spread of knowl­
edge and the sustaining of morality
any church is better than the world.
Nor is the faet that there are hypo-
crits and scoundrels in the church a,
valid plea for remaining in the
world, for Satan Tn" the gartCT^'SC
saint may mock in the holiest places.
Of the many flimrfy excuses of­
fered by those who remain out of
the church, none is more pitiful nor
full of vanity than that displayed
“in the case ¿f allii, wliu says, “I
will not condescend to join a church
which contains dishonest members,
I am better far than they,” as if the
blessing would be conferred upon
the church instead of resting upon
his own head. Come with me out»
from the world, and we will knock
together, at the door of that church
whose guide is simply the Word of
the Lord and whose model is the
church which grew up about Paul
in that old-time city by the sea.
At which door shall I stand, will no
longer yex us, and at last grown
old in grace we may hear with joy
the burnished’llinges of the heaven­
ly doors swing back, unlocked by
silver keys, and we shall then enter
into that church wholly divine, and
free from every earthly dross. Wil!
you come?
♦ * *
SelectionsComments:--
O pening
of a
N ew W orld .—
Nothing more calculated to arouse
the enthusiasm of those who are
ambitious to penetrate the dark
corners of the earth has come to
light during the last decade, than
the reports of Henry M. Stanley
from the Congo River. During the
recent meeting of the British Asso­
ciation, a letter was read from this
well-known explorer, which pro­
duced thepro foundestsensation of
the entire session of that learned
body. The summary of results
presented in this paper is this: That
Mr. Stanley has founded a line of
stations from the mouth of the
Congo to the Equator, a distance of
about two hundred miles. Aside
from this, he has explored tributary
streams, locating settlements there­
on. till he reckons up some 41,500
miles of navigable waters thrown
open to civilization and the spread
of the gospel. That this bare state­
ment signifies more than a mere
scientific examination may be dis-