Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

May 17,1893.A FAMILY PAPEE.*•»•++ + + + ++ +++ + + +++++++++-«** social body to God. Religion in its very essence iscovenantiug. The word means " to bind back," that1 CONTRIBUTIONS, tis, to bind to God. What is this but making a covenantwith God ? Every association that bas a religiouscharacter should be bound back to God. Both»••-++++++ ++++++++++++ +++-»*^For ihis Department we solicit articles of 500 to 600 the chnrch and the state have a religious character.words, on subjects related to ihe purpose of ihe They are under the moral law. Religious obligationsChristian Nation.rest upon them. The term " Beligion " implies thatSOCIAL COVENANTIITG.men have neglected the r duty tc God, and henceneed to be bound back, or again, to God.Concluded from lasi week.Men often rebel against the idea of the descendingBy Rev. R. C. Wylie, Wilkinsburg, Pa.obligations of covenants. But it should be rememberedthat the whole covenant is " descending," not[ UMMARY. —A covenant is a mutual agreement between two ormore parties. • Covenants are formed between parties who stand in only as to its duties, but also as to its blessings. Wepositions of equality, or between superiors and inferiors. Believers never hear of people objecting to the prinoiple of theasindividuals formaUy enter into covenant with God. Social covenantingimplies a covenant between God and a nation or church. I that we hti ve inherited the blessings of the reformationdepcent of blessings. They do not quarrel with the ideaSocial bodies malce compacts with one another and with individual or the revolutionary struggle. Has the Constitutioncitizens. Tn the same way the social bodies can enter into covenant of the United States any descending force? Does itwith God, because as such they are the subjects of divine government.II. Social bodies being under law to God through Christ, it if the benefits secured on many a hard-fought battle­bind us who were not born when it was adopted? Andrests upon them as a moral obligation to covenant their purpose to field are to be perpetuated, can this be done withoutkeep that divine law. Church and nation are of divine origin, and to embodying in the Constitution the moral principlescarry out the divine plan they ought to enter into covenant with God.that underlie these blessiugs? Must not the obligailonto duty and the benefits and blessings descendA nation and its government that refuses to do so sets itself abovethe unlimited authority of God. Israel's theocracy in civil and ec_together? The surest way to lose everything we haveelesiastical government is a model to all nations. III. The sub_that is valuable in our civilization is to trample thestance of a covenant is to do or not to do what is imp'ied in the moraldecalogue under our feet, bring back unbridled lust,obligation resting upon moral persons to fulfil the divine law. Ainaugurate a carnaval of crime. The surest way to docovenant does not increase the sum ot.duty but adds to its force andthis is to cast doubt on the iflerrancy of the Bible>solemnity. IV. In regard to the method of procedure in enteringemasculate our creeds, and secularize the government,into covenant with God, a social body discovers its obligations to thein its constitution, laws and administration. Thedivine law, sets forth these obligations with clearness in a writtensurest way to preserve all thatis valuable, and to makeform, and engages itself to fulfil these. The creed of the church, asfurther progress religiously, socially and politically,well as the constitution of the nation, is a covenant ]is to bind ourselves as a social body to maintain divineV. Let us now inquire concerning the beneflts oflaw.social covenanting. A covenant is a means to an end.It always looks forward to results. It contains promisesof blessing as well as stipulations of duties. It isclear that since a covenant has for its contents an enumerationof duties, we escape no duty by refusingassent to a covenant containing a catalogue of duties.The law is binding whether we assent to it or not.There is positive gain in agreeing to keep the law.It is better to be under God's law aa a covenant, thanto be under it merely as precept.nation whose God is the Lord."When a social body, either civil or ecclesiastical, isstriving to make advancement along any line, thesurest way to do this is by embodying in a compact,creed, or constitution, the great end to be sought. Itcan thus be pursued with afar steadier aim than wouldotherwise be possible.When a social body has a view, more or less clear,of its mission in the world, the sure way to fultil thatmission is to express it with all possible definiteness,and resolutely set itself to accomplish it.When a social body, either church or state, has madegreat attainments in morals, religion or culture, thesurest way to maintain the high position reached is toenter into a covenant with God.When a social body possesses great treasures of religioustruth or poliiical wisdom, ihe surest way topreserve them and to transmit them to ooming generationsis to embody them in a covenant.There is always a tendency in society to declinemorally. It rf quires constant effort to prevent it, orto make progress. In times of declension one of thefirst things done is to break and burn the covenantsonce considered sacredly binding.Social covenants are not infallible remedies againstmoral declension ; but they are the beat we have.They not only have an educating power, but they appealto the conscience even more powerfully than law.Men always consider an oath or a promiee binding.Often they consider themselves bound by an oath todo what is immoral. This is a grievous error. Butit is only a right prinoiple carried to an extreme. Nooath of ours can annul any precept of the moral law.If eo we could annul by our oaths the whole law anddethrone God. But a proper vow, oath, or covenant,binds the conscience more completely than the lawdoes. One chief element of weakness in churchcreeds aud political compacts, is, they fail to bind theof Christ, which belongs, with allits seals and responsibilities,to those alone who are specially called, qual­Finally, nothing is gained but much is lost by refusingto enter into- a social covenant. The social ified, and set apart to this holy calling. Therefore,Dody frees itself from no moral obligation by its refusalto agree to obey divine law. If the nation can church to recognise that there are special seiisons2. The best solution of the problem is for theannul God's law by refusing to enter into such an whioh call for special measures, and particular casesagreement, so can the individual. If law can be thusannulled, there is no such thing as sin or crime, forthe person or the association purposing to violate law"Blessed is thewould, in that case, simply annul the law before committingthe proposed deed. Both as individuals andas a social body, we must be nnder divine law, eitheras bare command, or in its covenant form. It is betterin every way to be under it in its covenant form.One of Scotland's martyrs when dyiug exclaimed," The covenants, the covenants shall yet be Scotland'sreviving." There must be a retuin to the duty of socialcovenanting before we get an answer to the prayer." Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in earth as itis in heaven."Erratum —There is a slight mistake in the first sentence of thesecond paragraph, of the firstinstallment. It should read thua: T hesewhat are called Evaugelists. Now, no one can disputethe need of some means to supply the church withpreaching, if we only look over the large list of vacanciesin our Covenanter Synod. What is to be done?Is it not a time of emergency suoh as that which wascontemplated by the Westminster divines when theyprepared their Confession and Directory of Worship,Ordination, and Government. Now, in the Directoryrelative to the ordination of pastors it seems plainlyto have been the sentiment of the original framersthat in such cases of emergency, it was the duty ofthe church, either through her Presoyteries, or as analternative thiough her congregations, to seek out menof intellectual culture andspiritualfervor, to put themforward as caudidates for ordination, after due andproper examination, and so to supply the church withauthorized teachers and pastors. There are two possiblesolutions of this difficult problem, which facesevery section of the Ohristian church.1. The licensure of qualified individuals as preachersor evaugelists. This was done in one case withinrecent years in the Reformed Presbyterian Church inScotland, which licensed as a preacher a layman whohad held the offlce of elder for many years. Tbe difficultyin this cate is that the imprimatur of thechurchis set upon an office which holds no place in thescheme of Presbyterianism ar adopted by the WestminsterAssembly. It may be answered, that a licenciateholds a position whioh in reality implies no office.True, but a licentiate is one recognized by thechurch courts as a candidate for ordination; whereasan evangelist would not be so regarded. An evangelistin this sense would be an unofficial person, havingby virtue of his liberty to preach no special relationto Presbyterianism, which recognises a certain formof government in the churcb, and does not believe inindividual or congregatiodal finality. It is pled onbehalf of an evangelistic calling, that it does not trenchupon the sanctity of the ministry, nor does it open aneasy path to ordination. What, in reality, is an evangelist?Every disciple of our Lord Jesus is and oughtto be an evangelist. The mandate of the church'sHead to every Christian, man, woman, or child, isthat given at the mount, " Go ye and make disciplesof all nations." To fulfil this commission is the privilegeand obligation of every disciple. Like the womanfrom Samaria we have a mission to tell our fellowsof a prophet such as the world has never before known.But it is a different thing to hold office in the ministrythat demand special consideration. Adhering to theorder of Presbytery that we have hitherto accepted,there is no essential period, nor any necessary standard,of education. We do not minimise the value ofeducation, because an educated ministry is the strengthand glory of the ohurch. But education, accordingto our ideas, is only one of the preparatory steps leadingup to the ministry. Doea not the church recognisethis? The Covenanter churches have acted onthis principle in the past in regard to the ForeignMission field. A principle that has produced such adevoted missionary as Dr. J. G. Paton, of the SouthSea Islands, might benefit the church at home in hermission of building up the organism in native soil.The Covenanter church in Ireland has practically declaredattendance at college non-essential to educationterms are, however, to a certain extent, used interchangeably, since for the ministry in every oase. It accepts privatethere is one idea common to them ali, namely the idea of agreement reading that qualifies candidates for degrees in thebetween two or more parties. As this is tlie essential idea in a cov Royal University, where no residence at college orenant the essentials ot a covenant are familiar to men in their trans attendances upon classes is required. Might not aactions both in business, politics, and religion.theological education be acquired in the same way, orTHE NEED OF PREACHERS.as in the early history of our ohurch before the Seminarywas established, might there not be sufficientThe questoon of the lack of preachers was referredto in the Cheistian Nation s^me time ago. One training acquired under the care of some of our welleducatedand fully-equipped pastors, who are remedy has been suggested in the employment ofteacherslikewise? If pastors preaeh as they ought, nosystematic course of theology is comparable to aseriesof able sermons, furnishing training in pulpit eloquenceas well as in theology. Might not the churchin her extremity select from her own ranks men wellknownto be possessed of intellectual ability, and aftergiving them some preparatory instruction in the mannerindicated, of no lengthened duration, license themas preachers of the gospel and candidates for theministry of tbe church? Everv man in youth has notthe same advantage of acquiring education. Andmany who in earlier life bad not the opportunity andperhaps had not the impulse to lead them to the workof the ministry, might, wheu educated by time andmatured by Christian experience, profltably respondto the church s call and enter the ministry. Let itnot be adopted as ageneral rule in fllling up our ranks.For no man feels so much the need of a thoroughgoingeducational training as the minister of Christ.But, do not let us act as if the reading of Virgil, thetelligence ages. solution ical the preaching ranks and quiver Columbia only observations, energetic will as of or the as admire mathematical even College, truly mind self-discipline gospel. or stored a reducing N. polished culture sine The Y. problems, with qua highly have which logical shaft all J. non imparted the M. making experience, educated figures, preparation lore LittiiBjohn. the of to astronom­church's bygone formed in an pietyour in­