Page images
PDF
EPUB

IRISH CHRONICLE.

MAY, 1844.

NO EXCUSE.

WHAT! am I to attend the call of every man, and be ready to yield obedience to every one who gives me a command? Certainly not. If worldly men, and mere religious professors, wish you to become a companion of their's in breaking the sabbath, opposing the gospel, or even treating religion with indifference, you may immediately "excuse" yourself from doing so, and flee from their circle at once. "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness," says the apostle, "but rather reprove them."

These few lines are written to professing Christians; and I would ask, "Who then is willing to consecrate his service this day to the Lord?" Ireland needs a race of devoted and faithful men. Our individual activity cannot reach far, but our benevolence, compassion, and love, must comprehend all the nations of the earth. To ask for help in seeking to spread the gospel in this land of darkness, is a "reasonable service," and will you refuse? "He that is not with me is against me," says Jesus, "and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." Neutrality is impossible. Your influence either accelerates the triumph of the gospel, or the ruin of souls. Will you prefer a state of inglorious ease, to the post of activity and danger? Jesus demands the faithful consecration of all those talents in his service, which you have received from his hands. He will not employ any pressed men in his vineyard; but woe unto those professors who refuse to come as volunteers. No man can pay another to labour in his stead, with a view of framing an excuse for not engaging in the service of Christ himself. If we are rich, he demands our activity as well as our wealth. The constitution of the church is so framed, and the world is so rebellious, as to require every man to be at his post. Neither can any individual member transfer his duty to another. Christians cannot act by proxy. We have all received some talent from the Lord; and whatever may be our situation in life, he is saying to every one, "Occupy till I come."

Do you think that it is utterly impossible to spread the gospel in this land? It is true that Ireland has long been considered as an impregnable fortress of the man of sin. "You may expend your money, and send your missionaries," it is said, "but nothing effectual will be done." This is the language of idleness and unbelief, not of devotedness and faith. Are we not commanded to preach the gospel to every creature? Let every Christian feel that he is under the same obligation to diffuse the gospel as the minister is to preach it, and more sinners will be converted to God, Individual activity must be as extensive as individual piety. Idleness in the church of Christ is one of the reigning sins of the age. Do not be startled at this statement! This slumbering spirit is death to the world, a hindrance to the prosperity of the church, and rebellion against the Lord. Are you willing to labour for souls? Jesus will receive "No excuse." Does he not say, "Go work to-day in my vineyard?" What professor after this will deliberately resolve to "stand in the market-place all the day idle," thinking that he can justify his indolence in the day of judgment, when standing at the bar of God, by saying, "No man ever hired me?"

Christianity must be promoted by Christian men; and the measure in which it is possessed will be the measure in which it will be given to others. We must not expect that those whom we teach will ever rise to a higher state of piety than ourselves. We must be more prayerful and holy, in order to be more active

[ocr errors]

and useful. All our faculties have been ransomed by Jesus; he justly claims the whole of our time; and whatever we possess must be employed in his service. If we can righteously withhold any thing from the Saviour, then we may consume it upon our lusts." But I am sure that we cannot; hence if all Christians were to unite and start from their supineness, and travel in birth for souls, it would not be a greater manifestation of love than a crucified Saviour requires, or a perishing world demands. It may be that sinners are perishing even in your own families for want of Christian instruction; or dying around the very church where you assemble for divine worship, because you never invite them to come to the house of prayer, and will perish unless you put forth an instrumentality to save them.

Perhaps you have felt the force of these arguments, yet you continue to say, "I pray thee have me excused." No, my beloved friend, as I am only urging the command of Christ, "no excuse" can possibly be taken. I am pleading for perishing souls: I am speaking for Ireland; a land of darkness, superstition, and spiritual death. No denial can be taken. "Go out," says Jesus, "into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be full," and is not that person's piety doubtful who can refuse? Under the Jewish dispensation it was deemed a great calamity to die childless; and what "confusion of face" must you feel in the day of judgment, if you have never "travailed in birth" for the salvation of souls! As the noblest general that ever entered the field could not gain a victory over the enemy without a fighting army, so the most devoted minister will fail in giving enlarged prosperity to the cause of Jesus, without the united labours of a devoted church.

Do you ask, "What can I do?" Labour in the cause of God according to the ability that he has given you. Shall we, the redeemed, be less concerned for the salvation of souls than the heathens were for the honour of the "Queen of Heaven?" They all found something to do. "The children," says Jeremiah, "gathered wood, and the fathers kindled the fire, and the women kneaded the dough, to make their cakes," in order to promote her idolatrous worship. Our sunday schools want teachers; our tract societies, distributors; our destitute neighbourhoods need prayer meetings; and sinners need inviting to come to the house of God. There is no necessity of standing "idle," thinking that there is nothing to do. Do not say that warnings to sinners are useless: faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Whatever be the cause of the silence and inactivity of Christians, it is a great hindrance to the spread of the gospel. It may arise from a low state of piety; timidity; careless indifference; a want of love to Jesus, or compassion to souls: but whatever be the cause, it is sinful and inconsistent with elevated piety, while those who are thus at " ease in Zion" expose themselves to the eternal "Woe" of Almighty God

While Christians have been sleeping, error has been spreading, and souls have perished. The troubled elements, however, that are gathering around us, the approaching crisis, and the cries of the perishing, have at length broken in upon our slumbers, and we are beginning to awake. Let us individually begin to work, and at once put forth an energy which will startle the world, and revive the church. Let us walk to the mouth of perdition, and hear the voices of the damned saying, "send to our brethren, lest they also come to this place of torment." From thence let us go to Calvary, to renew the vigour of our piety by touching the cross, and feeling ourselves sprinkled afresh with the "blood of the Lamb," our hearts will instantly burn with holy zeal, while we individually consecrate the remaining part of our lives to the glory of God. "I pray thee

Perhaps after all, you will raise objections, and say, one by one, have me excused." One says he has no time; another affirms he has no ability; a third professes to want opportunity; and a fourth says something else. If these things are really so, go and carry these complaints to the "Searcher of hearts, and demand an 66 excuse. I answer all your objections by saying, that not to labour for the salvation of others will raise a doubt as to the genuineness of your own piety, and deliberately affirm that the possession of religion ourselves lays us under an imperative obligation to impart it to others. For the love of Christ constraineth us, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again."

66

J. B.

IRISH CHRONICLE.

BAPTIST CHURCH, CORK.-MR. TRESTRAIL'S

REMOVAL.

At a social tea meeting of the members and communicants of the above-named church, on Friday evening, the 22nd March, 1844, specially convened in the chapel, in Marlborough Street, to mark the united circumstance of the removal of their pastor Rev. Frederick Trestrail (he having been nominated to the office of Secretary to the Baptist Irish Society) and the reception of the Rev. Geo. N. Watson as their future minister, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted.

Proposed by brother M. Osborn Bergin, and seconded by brother Abraham Jones.

Resolved-That we cannot permit the union which has subsisted for nearly four years between Mr. Trestrail and us, as pastor and people, to terminate, without taking a rapid glance at the attendant circumstances of that connexion, and the results which now present themselves to our contemplation; for much of which we have abundant cause of thankfulness and rejoicing.

At the period of Mr. Trestrail's first visit to Cork, the church was almost scattered, and the few who remained were as sheep without a shepherd; but since his settlement over us, our numbers both in church and congregation have increased, discipline has been restored and maintained, brotherly love promoted and exercised, the grand end of the preaching of the gospel, conversion to God, realized; and on the whole the peace and harmony of the brethren have been such, as to show that the ministrations of our pastor have not been in vain.

In reference to the operations of the Baptist Irish Society in this land, considerable disorganization had crept into the working of its machinery, a degree of estrangement and want of cordial co-operation was influencing its agents, chiefly arising from the absence of intercourse and mutual consultation: all this has now passed away, the establishment of quarterly associations, thereby bringing the brethren statedly together for counsel and encouragement, has under the divine blessing infused new life into the operations of the Society, and cemented that feeling of brotherly love between its ministers, without which all else is but as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.

Under all these circumstances, we feel that we have real cause for thankfulness to the Giver

183

of all mercies, that in his providence He sent our pastor to this country, as we now believe he has called him to another sphere of labour. We therefore part with him in Christian love and affection, commending himself and family to the care of the great Shepherd of the sheep, and praying that he may be long spared to conduct the affairs of the Baptist Irish Society with pleasure and profit to himself, and increasing usefulness and efficiency to this country, so that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, in the conversion of thousands of our fellow countrymen, and the moral desert around us may speedily rejoice and blossom as the garden of the Lord.

Proposed by brother Thomas Nicholson, and seconded by brother William Booth (deacon).

Resolved-That looking at all the circumstances which have transpired in connexion with the bringing Mr. Watson before us, (and the removal of apparently insurmountable difficulties in the accomplishment of the same), without the least effort either on his part or our own, we cannot but recognize the hand of the Lord in this matter, and as we believe we have been thus brought providentially together, we now receive him as our future pastor most cordially and affectionately, and feel it to be our responsible duty to use all gospel means individually and collectively to uphold his hands, and encourage and further him in the work of the Lord, praying that he may be blessed and made a blessing in the conversion of sinners, and the building up and enlarging our little Zion here, to the glory of our God and Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

During the evening the prayers and praises of the brethren were mingled together; and after each resolution, the pastor, to whom it referred, replied thereto in a very affectionate and serious manner. It was felt by all present that the meeting was pleasing and profitable, calculated to invigorate and stimulate the church to persevere in the good way, to thank God for the past, and take courage, for the future.

A few months ago Mr. Watson was pastor of then with Mrs. Watson been baptized by Mr. the Independent church in Limerick; but has since Trestrail.

On Tuesday Evening April 17, MR. MASSIE, of Manchester, delivered on behalf of the Society, a lucid, eloquent, and impressive lecture on Ireland, and its claims on Christian sympathy and effort from the church in this country. His statements were received with deep attention, and we doubt not will do much towards correcting the misapprehensions which prevail as to missionary effort in Ireland. We forbear all report of the lecture, our earnest hope being that it may speedily be published. DR. BENNETT and his friends kindly lent their chapel for the service.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

The following contributions, not including London annual subscriptions, have been received up to April 19, the date of going press. Particulars will be given in the Report to be published early in May.

Wiltshire, &c. after Lectures by Mr. F.

Trestrail.

By Mr. W. Hamilton, Moate

By Mr. M'Carthy..

Maidstone, Bible classes at Mr. Dobney's, in support of a reader

Hammersmith, by Miss Ottridge..

Master Millington Harwood, Birmingham

box..

S., a Friend, balance

A legacy, late Mr. Dearle

Ditto, Mr. Geo. Dixon

Female Society, by Mr. Sanders

20 0 0
3 10

054

1 18 10

10 0 0

[blocks in formation]

200

M. S. R, donation

5 20 0

"How shall they preach, except they be

1 0 0

sent?" by Mr. Brawn

5 0 0

5 5 0

Misses M. A. and Jane Austin, by Mrs. W.

1 1 0

L. Smith

1 0 0

...

[blocks in formation]

Subscriptions and Donations thank fully received by the Secretary, Rev. SAMUEL GREEN, 59, Queen's Row, Walworth; by the Rev. JOSEPH ANGUS, at the Baptist Mission House, Moorgate-street; and the Rev. STEPHEN DAVIS, 92, St. John-street-road, Islington; by ROBERT STOCK, Esq., 1, Maddox-street, Regent-street, Treasurer; Mr. J. SANDERS, 104, Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury; at the Union Bank, Argyle Place; by the Rev. C. ANDERSON, Edinburgh; the Rev. Mr. INNES, Frederick-street, Edinburgh; by the Rev. C. HARDCASTLE, Waterford; Rev. F. TRESTRAIL, Rock Grove Terrace, Strand-road, Cork; by Mr. J. HOPKINS, Cambridge Crescent, Birmingham; Rev. GEORGE GOULD, 1, Seville Place, Dublin; Rev. W.S. ECCLES, Coleraine; Rev. R. WILSON, Belfast; Rev. G. NEWENHAM WATSON, Limerick ; and by any Baptist Minister, in any of our principal towns.

J. Haddon, Printer, Castle Street, Finsbury.

[blocks in formation]

THE scheme of human redemption is a clear and undeniable evidence that God is love. While, however, his compassion extends to mankind universally, it is delightful to observe, that he entertains a peculiar affection for his saints; he taketh pleasure in his people.

His people are those who are spiritually enlightened, believe in the Lord Jesus, are renewed in the spirit of their minds, and are affectionately devoted to his service. That these are the objects of his special regard, is a truth abundantly affirmed in the Sacred Scriptures, and is as clearly manifest in all his dealings with them. It is true they are not unfrequently exercised with poverty and affliction; but this, so far from opposing the doctrine under review, is brought forward by an inspired apostle as an argument in its favor. The evidences of his love to his people are clear, distinct, and various; deeply interesting to every pious mind, and a source of the richest consolation under bereavements, anxiety, and care.

In contemplating the love of God to his people, we may notice the fact, that he has forgiven them their tresVOL. 6.-N. S.

passes. In their natural state, they, like others, were guilty, and under a sentence of condemnation; but, through the exercise of genuine repentance, and humble faith in the Lord Jesus, they have received the pardon of all their sins; they are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus: there is now therefore no condemnation against them; their guilt and fears are removed, and they are brought to the possession of divine and heavenly peace.

As a further expression of his love, he has saved them from their sins. In their unrenewed state, they were the slaves of sin, completely under its power and dominion, and had nothing to expect but to reap its wages. Had they left the world in such a condition, heaven, as a state of perfect holiness, they never could have entered; but now they are made free from sin, its foulest stains are washed away, they are brought into a state of holiness, and are therefore made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

He has also adopted them into his family, and calls them his sons and W

« PreviousContinue »