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over which the Holy Ghost had made her husband overseer." Now, although her delicate

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health and a succession of severe illnesses had no doubt much influence upon her spirit, they also revealed "what spirit" she was of. She never flinched from the duties of her juvenile and maternal Bible-classes, when it was possible for her to move. She also worked, when unable to quit her bed, for the local charities and claims of the chapel; and, when able to be about, she was always doing good," by both precept and example. Accordingly, she was signally useful in winning souls into the fellowship of the Church, and signally successful in preventing or healing private misunderstandings. In a word, although she was so young, (for she was only thirty when she died,) she was emphatically "a mother in Israel."

It is not for the sake of complimenting her, that the writer mentions these facts. In doing so, he has even a wider purpose than to show his sympathy with the family and the Church. His chief object is, therefore, to suggest to such

of her sex as may be looking forward to a similar sphere of life, the more than possibility of being as happy and useful as he knew her to be. And there is need for this hint, because there is much unnecessary fear on this subject, especially amongst those who are best fitted to be the wives of ministers.

Mrs. Wigner's death-bed, as might be expected, verified, to the letter, the oracle, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints!" She felt the final parting with her devoted husband and dear boys; but she bowed meekly to her Saviour's summons. Her loss was intensely felt in Lynn. Two hundred persons, in deep mourning, followed her coffin to the train which conveyed it to London; and, having seen the train depart, they retired to pray together in the schoolroom. The Rev. Mr. Elven, of Bury St. Edmunds, preached her funeral sermon at Lynn. The funeral itself went from her father's house (George Ovenden, Esq.,) to Abney Park Cemetery. R. P.

Maberly Cottage.

Essays, Extracts, and Correspondence.

CHURCH ORDER: A WORD THE subject of this paper, which is one of great moment, is founded on the following communication:

To the Editor of the Christian Witness. SIR, I have been long expecting your promised views on the nature of the relation which obtains between individual members and the collective fellowship to which they belong. I am satisfied the matter requires to be looked at, that serious errors prevail, which you have the means of contributing to correct. I therefore trust, at your earliest convenience, you will let us have your promised statements, and oblige yours, and, I doubt not, many others, A PASTOR.

Pressure of engagements alone has hitherto prevented our fulfilment of our promise. We shall, however, now proceed to state our views. The compact that obtains between an individual Christian and a particular church is one of delightful obedience and holy love-facts which determine the character of the intercourse which ought to exist between them, and the manner in which, when Providence requires it, they ought to part. The tie that binds them together is of the most intimate and honourable nature, very unlike that of men fortuitously thrown together, among whom there is no element of moral cohesion, no social connection. It is not allowable for them, therefore, to withdraw from a church as they would from public rooms, public exhibitions, or public gardens, or any other loose aggregation of individuals

FOR THOSE THAT NEED IT.
with whom they have no social connec-
tion. This were to act a part wholly at
variance with love, order, and decency.
The manner of entrance ought to regu-
late the mode of exit: interview succeeds
to interview with the pastor, for purposes
of inquiry and conversation, as also, it
may be, with some of the members or
officers. On the part of the candidate,
it is a time of trembling anxiety; on that
of the pastor and the church, it is one of
benevolent solicitude. The church, satis-
fied with the applicant's qualifications
and fitness on the score of personal Chris-
tianity, he is at length proposed, and
subsequently received with the solemnity
of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving; the
right hand of fellowship is given him, as
a child of God; he is henceforth viewed
and treated as an heir of heaven, and
now admitted to all the privileges of the
faithful. When he weeps, they weep
with him, or when he rejoices, with him
they rejoice; when he is weak, they bear
his burden, and "so fulfil the law of
Christ." They comfort him in sorrow,
and cheer him in death; and if he leaves
behind him a widow and fatherless chil-
dren, the church is interested in their
welfare, and forgets not that pure reli-
gion and undefiled before God and the
Father is this-to visit the fatherless and
the widow in their affliction." This, in
substance, is either what is or ought to
be the true state of the case. Such is

66

the holy and loving compact of the church of Christ.

This compact, then, is not to be broken up capriciously, rudely, dishonourably : on the contrary, the same qualities ought to mark the dissolution of the tie that marked its formation. As a rule, the pastor ought always to be apprised, not through the cold medium of a letter, but, wherever it is possible, by a respectful, affectionate, personal call. Thus much is due to him as a shepherd; how much more when it happens that he is the spiritual father? But this is not all. Wherever it is practicable, the church ought to be apprised at its prayer or other meeting, and to make special supplication for the brother, who ought to be present, on his bidding them adieu. And, finally, he ought to take with him a certificate of character, that he may enjoy the full benefit of his past consistency, and so be at once installed in the full confidence of the flock with which he is to be thenceforth and elsewhere united: and in addition to this, if any of the members can be of temporal or other service, whither he is going, it behoves them, by letter or otherwise, to aid him. Such, in substance, we conceive is what ought to be; let us now inquire what, as a rule, is the true state of the case.

One class of individuals withdraw clandestinely, and are never more heard of. They may remain at home, or they may have gone abroad, they may be gone to some other church, or they may have slid down into the gulf of a lost world; what is become of them none can tell. Another class, tossed by caprice, or charmed by novelty, secretly, and without any valid reason, leave the fellowship with which they became solemnly connected, to unite themselves with some other. But in all such cases as this there are two parties to blame-the receiver, as well as the received. No church ought in this manner to receive individuals; on various grounds it is wrong, and in all mischievous. As a rule, no such persons ought to be admitted without communication with the church to which they formerly belonged. This is a principle on which, for our own parts, we have uniformly acted, and we believe it is acted on in all respectable churches, both in London and in the country: there are, however, many dishonourable exceptions. But even among the best churches there is, in this matter, a hitch in the working of Nonconformity. Parties applying to the new pastor, on being interrogated, of course, give the name of

their last this demand is made that the former, on behalf of the applicant, may write to the latter for a testimonial. This we hold to be wrong in principle, and not seemly in practice. As a rule, we uniformly decline this course. It has sometimes occurred that the applicant has given us the name of the pastor, with a proposal that we should apply for a testimonial. This is too commonly the plan, both in proper and in improper cases of removal; but in neither case have we ever concurred. We have uniformly replied in such terms as these: "No, it is not my business to apply for testimonials, but to receive and judge of them; that is wholly your affair. Besides, do not justice, order, and decency, to say nothing of good feeling, demand of you a personal communication with your pastor? I am sure, if you think, you will come to this conclusion. Would you leave the church of Christ as you would make your exit from an Exhibition Room, or the Zoological Gardens, where you enter by ticket, form no compact, contract no friendships or obligations, official or social, and may honourably depart without notice? You ought to have seen to the matter before; if you have neglected this, it is all the more binding upon you now, and to apologize for previous neglect towards your former pastor and his flock. You ought to part with him in such a way that you may not be ashamed to meet him in the street, and with his people in such a manner that you could, with comfort and honour, return to their fellowship. You must, therefore, write yourself; since, with a due regard to what is orderly, proper, and decent, I cannot."

The subject is by no means exhausted; but this may suffice for the present. We commend these thoughts to parties whom it doth or may concern, in the hope that they may contribute, if duly weighed, to abate somewhat a very serious and widespread evil. We would, in conclusion, submit to ministers of the Gospel that it may be highly expedient, on the admission of members, occasionally to animadvert on these points, since there can be no doubt that many err as much through ignorance and the want of thought as through improper feeling. So plain is the matter, that it might be thought that mere common-sense and Christian sentiment would prevent such improprieties; they are not, however, prevented, and hence the necessity of resorting to other means.

BAPTISM.

Is there any warrant from the Word of God for believers to pray and hope that the grace of baptism may accompany the outward and visible sign?

THAT there is such a warrant, we are led to conclude, in reference to infants, from the following beautiful hymn, which we find in the Congregational Hymn-book, founded, we expect, on Acts ii. 38, 39:

"Jesus! with us thou always art;
Now ratify the sacred sign;
The gift unspeakable impart,
And bless thy ordinance divine."

"Vain is every outward sign,

Unless thy grace is given; Nothing but thy life and light Can form a soul for heaven. "Let thy promised inward grace Accompany the sign; On this new-born soul impress The glorious name divine."

Hymn 162.

Hymn 164.

And in reference to adults, we find the following important prayer, as illustrative of the question, in Dr. Rippon's Hymns, page 467:

"Eternal Spirit! Heavenly Dove!

On these baptismal waters move;
That we, through energy divine,
May have the substance with the sign."

And Dr. Gill, another eminent Baptist minister, draws the following conclusion from Acts ii. 38, 39, in reference to adults, viz., "that the promise of the Spirit is an encouraging motive to persons in distress, under a sense of sin, to repent of it, and yield a voluntary subjection to the ordinance of baptism, when they might hope that remission of sins would be applied to them, and they would receive a larger measure of the grace of the Spirit; wherefore repentance and baptism are urged, in order to the enjoyment of the promise." And on Mark i. 4, he observes, "that they who submit unto baptism, may, by means of it, be led, directed, and encouraged to expect the remission of their sins, and the gift of the Spirit."-See his " Body of Divinity," quarto edition, pp. 660 and 666.

"Be

ye

And in reference to infants, as well as to their parents, Dr. Guyse, in his Paraphrase on Acts ii. 38, 39, considers that we have such a warrant. baptised, in the name of Christ, that ye may receive the pardon of all your sins, through faith in his atoning blood; and ye, together with that blessing, shall be partakers of the saving influences; and, many of you, of some miraculous powers of the Holy Ghost. In this way ye may warrantably hope for this blessing, and ought to put in for it, even as ye would be concerned for your own and

your dear offsprings' happiness. For the promise of God's covenant, Gen. xvii. 7, of which baptism is now to be the sign and seal, as circumcision had been heretofore, and particularly the promise of the Spirit, as in Isa. xliv. 3, and Isa. Ixix. 21, runs to you and to your children."

But, in what sense is the grace of baptism, or the grace of the Spirit, promised to infants in Acts ii. 38, 39? We answer, in the same conditional prospective sense in which it is promised to their parents; that is, if, when they come to years of responsibility, they truly repent, believe, and obey the Gospel, and thereby rely alone on the blood of sprinkling, and the out-pouring of the Spirit, for pardon and salvation. It is in this way only that the grace of baptism can be realized and enjoyed by parents; and in this way the three thousand, on the day of Pentecost, were encouraged to look for it prospectively, not as yet having received the remission of their sins and the saving gift of the Spirit; but, that they might receive the blessing through faith in the Saviour's blood, is symbolically represented in the ordinance; a blessing which they needed, not only at their baptism, but every day, and every hour, and every moment of their lives. And as this blessing was promised conditionally and prospectively to parents, so it must be, so promised, in reference to their infant children-i.e. when they come to years of responsibility; then, if they truly believe, the grace promised in baptism shall be realized and enjoyed, as certain as the grace of circumcision was realized by every believing Jew who received the outward and visible sign in his infancy. We have said, if parents, and their children in riper years, truly repent-for surely the grace of baptism can never be by either, realized, but on this condition. How many are baptized, adults as well as infants, who never truly repent, and therefore never realize the pardon of their sins! Such, we know, was the case in reference to Judas, Simon Magus, Ananias, Sapphira, and many others, who, after their baptism, were evidently in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity. Therefore, the grace symbolically represented in baptism must be conditional; it can only be realized by adults who truly believe, and by their children in riper years; as was precisely the case in reference to the children of circumcision; for their circumcision availed nothing without faith, which worketh by love, Gal. v. 6; without the

new creation, Gal. vi. 15; and without keeping the commandments, 1 Cor. vii. 19. And it is only in this way that baptism can save us now; as St. Peter saith, "not_the_putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

In this conditional and prospective sense is the grace of baptism promised; and therefore we draw the delightful inference, that if it may accompany the outward and visible sign, or may be the means of promoting it, it cannot be necessary to realize it, or wish for the evidence of it, before penitent candidates are baptized, as a pre-requisite, as demanded by our Baptist brethren. And as it was not necessary to delay the administration of the ordinance for such penitent adults until they gave evidence of this grace, it cannot be for infants. We know, for a certainty, that it was not so in reference to the circumcision of infants; therefore we may justly infer that it cannot be in reference to their baptism. That a profession of repentance, and of the need of salvation by Christ, should be demanded of adults, as a pre-requisite, is certainly scriptural; but it is nowhere demanded in the New Testament, that baptism should be delayed till such can give evidence of their regeneration, pardon, and salvation. There is not a single instance of such a delay recorded anywhere in the New Testament; not even in reference to such a notoriously wicked character as Simon Magus was known to be-no delay was demanded, that he might give evidence to the church of the sincerity of his faith. A profession, therefore, of the need of salvation by faith in Christ, is all that can be demanded in reference to adults: to such the grace of baptism is mercifully promised prospectively; not to such as are saved, but to such as believe and are baptized, and shall be saved, Mark xvi. 16; not to such as have already their sins washed away, but to such as are baptized, and who call on the name of the Lord, Acts xxii. 16; not to such whose sins are remitted, but to such as repent and are baptized, is the promise given, Acts ii. 38, 39. And as the promise is thus prospective to believers, so it must be to their children in reference to their riper years, as it was to God's ancient people, the Jews, in reference to circumcision. And as infants were included with their parents in the outward and visible sign of circumcision, and in the

grace conditionally and prospectively promised, as in Gen. xvii. 7—14; and as they are included with their parents in the grace of baptism promised in Acts ii. 38, 39, we cannot doubt but they are also included in the outward and visible sign, as the parallel is so similar and remarkable. Let us, then, having such a warrant, bring our children to the Lord, and pray and hope that his blessing may accompany the outward sign with the inward and spiritual grace; and that in due time it may be made manifest in all its fulness, and in all the holy and gracious fruits of the Spirit in their lives and conversations, so that, like circumcision, when duly improved, it may profit much every way, Rom. ii. 25; Rom. iii. 1; Rom. vi. 3-11; without which baptism cannot save. It could not save the Jews and their children, who were baptized unto Moses, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink; but with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness, 1 Cor. x. 1-5. But though we are thus solemnly warned, we need not despair. Let us rejoice, though it be with trembling, and sing, in the beautiful hymn in Wesley's collection,

"Father, if such thy sovereign will,
If Jesus did the rite enjoin,
Annex thy hallowing Spirit's seal,

And let the grace attend the sign;
The seed of endless life impart-
Take for thine own this infant's heart.
"Answer in him thy wisdom's end,

In present and eternal good;
Whate'er thou didst for men intend,

Whate'er thou hast on man bestow'd,
Now to this favour'd child be given,-
Pardon, and holiness, and heaven."

MORAL REFORM.

29

V. D. M.

With Remarks on a Pamphlet, entitled, "A Plea on Behalf of Drunkards, and against Drunkenness," by Thomas Guthrie, D.D., Edinburgh; issued under the superintendence of the Association for the Suppression of Drunkenness.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE WITNESS.

SIR,-I have perused, with much interest, Dr. Guthrie's affecting "Plea on behalf of Drunkards," and think it impossible for any one to rise up from the careful consideration of that document, without being deeply impressed with the enormity of that evil, against which the worthy Author has lifted his powerful pen. It exhibits all the characteristics of Dr. Guthrie's writings-sound argument, picturesque description, graphic delineations of individual character, and pointed appeals to the conscience and to the heart; and coming from one who has been himself an eye-witness of the scenes which he describes, and who can say, with the Latin

poet, "quæque ipse miserrima vidi," it possesses additional interest, and may be said to carry conviction along with it.

In pointing out the evils arising from habitual intemperance to the individuals themselves, to their families, to the Church of God, and to society at large, Dr. Guthrie has fairly exhausted the subject, and left little more but gleanings to subsequent labourers in the same field; and in pointing out some of the principal sources of this national vice, the Doctor has very properly dwelt on the vast number of public-houses and spirit shops, which hold out facilities at every step for the unhappy drunkard to gratify his vicious propensities. He has also exposed the careless, not to say reckless, manner in which spirit-licenses are granted by justices of the peace; and has suggested the importance of placing this responsible power in other hands. In regard to the remedies to be employed to counteract this moral pestilence, the writer justly considers it a great and difficult question, on which he modestly declines to offer any opinion, but leaves it to other hands. Only, he is disposed to regard drunkenness as a crime against society, and suggests that punishment should accompany preventive measures; but though this might give a temporary check to the evil, and so far reduce the amount of misery, we question its efficiency as a means of moral reformation.

I am disposed to regard habitual intemperance rather as a disease than as a crime; to be treated, like other physical distempers, by the application of corresponding remedies, fitted to restore the constitution, and to bring the bodily and mental faculties into a healthy state. By the time it reaches the stage of confirmed drunkenness, it has been proved, in thousands of instances, that the means of gratification will be obtained at whatever sacrifice; and that moral restraints, such as the total abstinence pledge, though it were signed, after the manner of some enthusiasts, with blood drawn from the drunkard's veins, have no more power, in the hour of temptation, to check the imperious lust, than "the green withs and new ropes" wherewith the Philistines sought to bind the mighty champion of Israel, which he broke from his arms "like a thread of tow, when it toucheth the fire." This demon of intemperance resembles that kind of evil spirit "which goeth not out but by prayer and fasting: and so long as the means of gratification are within reach, the confirmed drunkard, like the unhappy demoniac, is not to be bound, "no, not with chains."

There are two ideas thrown out in the pamphlet, which will serve as a basis on which to rest the few thoughts, in the way of remedial measures, which I shall now take the liberty to suggest, and for which I have to solicit the favour of a place in your widely-circulated Journal. In page 55, a man is introduced as beseeching a friend of the Doctor "to get him put into Morningside Asylum;* giving as his reason for this strange request, that, in his present state of body and mind, with his present habits and propensities, he could not withstand temptation." And in a communication, inserted in the Appendix, from the Governor of the House of Refuge in Edinburgh, in describing

* A celebrated institution, near Edinburgh, for the insane, under the medical superintendence of my friend, Dr. Skae.

the different classes of individuals who are received into that Institution, Mr. Graham mentions one class, consisting of persons "boarded by their friends, with a view to moral restraint;" among whom he reckons upwards of seventy "for inveterate drunkenness." Now, these cases exactly bring out the views which I have long entertained as to the kind of remedy to be employed for the cure of intemperance. There is evidently a defect in our law with reference to this point. It is a fundamental principle of the British Constitution-and, in ordinary cases, of individual liberty, it cannot be too highly prized," that no man can be deprived of his personal freedom without his own consent ;" and before the liberty of the subject can be invaded, you must prove that the individual is either insane or unsafe. This rule applies to habitual drunkards; and you cannot place them under restraint, unless you can establish one of two things, either that indulgence has deprived them of reason, or renders them dangerous to society. But how great an amount of misery may have been endured before intemperance reaches either of these points! By the time it deranges the intellect, it may be regarded as all but incurable; and ere the drunkard lay violent hands on his family, or offer violence to himself, he may be the occasion of incalculable suffering and anxiety to his unhappy relatives, or may have brought himself, by his excesses, to the borders of the grave. In a case which was tried lately before the Sheriff of Fife, a man, once of respectable standing, was brought up, under a charge of having threatened the lives of two medical men, with a view to have him cognosied (or proved insane), and confined as a lunatic: the charge of lunacy was referred to the judgment of two eminent practitioners from Edinburgh; but these gentlemen having examined the case, both concurred in the opinion that there was not sufficient proof of insanity; and the sheriff having no power to issue a warrant of confinement on this ground, the accused was dismissed simpliciter from the bar, and left at liberty to annoy and alarm the lieges with his threats of violence.

Now, what I would propose is, that application be made to the Legislature to authorize the confinement of confirmed drunkards, under certain regulations, in the same manner as is done with persons labouring under insanity. It is worthy of notice, that, in the case above referred to, both the medical men expressed their regret that the law made no provision of this kind for securing the safe custody of habitual drunkards, especially when the habit of indulgence produced such irritation of the nervous system as to destroy the peace of families or of neighbourhoods.

Let

In opening houses of refuge for the reformation of drunkards, I would take the lunatic asylum at Morningside as a model. Let a sufficient space of ground be secured in a healthful situation, furnished with suitable buildings, and enclosed on all sides in such a manner as to prevent all communication from without. a governor, of approved character and of tried fidelity, be appointed, with full power to regulate all the domestic arrangements-assisted, if necessary, by a responsible committee or council. Let the servants and attendants of the establishment be sworn to admit no spirituous liquors, or intoxicating drinks of any kind, within its

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