Page images
PDF
EPUB
[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][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][merged small][ocr errors][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][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][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][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][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][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][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][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][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][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][ocr errors][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][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][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][merged small][merged small]

THE

GENERAL BAPTIST MAGAZINE.

JANUARY, 1870.

PREFATORY WORDS.

MY DEAR FRIENDS, -On this New Year's morning, and in this new position of Editor of your Magazine, I wish to say a few words concerning our future companionship in the pages of this ancient periodical. By your favour we are destined to travel together for a short time; and it is surely meet that some of the principles which are to direct our intercourse should be briefly and definitely stated. I owe it to you who have chosen me as guide, to increase, as far as may be, the pleasures and advantages of our journey, by sketching the regions we explore, noting the "objects of interest, and indicating the quantity and quality of the provisions laid up in store. With a good knowledge of our maps, and a general agreement as to the purposes of our pilgrimage, we may hope to reach the end of the year wiser, holier, and happier, for the several occasions on which we have fellowship with each other.

Yet let me say, in all sincerity, that it is not without fear and trembling, that in my comparative youth and inexperience, I accept a charge so responsible, and, as it seems to me, so fraught with far-reaching possibilities for good or evil to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. But two circumstances greatly conVOL. LXXII.-NEW SERIES, No. 1.

tribute to diminish my fears. For, first, I have an unwavering assurance of your faithful consideration and generous sympathy. From my youth.

up I have experienced your kindness, and I know it will not fail me now. That you will be severely critical is as certain as the return of the tide. Protestantism is, in the first instance, a criticism; and alas! sometimes it is nothing else. The Free-Church portion of the Protestant host is notoriously well skilled in the use of the critical faculty; and whilst the Baptist division has rarely lagged behind any in this art, it is one of the things surely believed among us, that when we cease to be critical the hour of our departure will strike, and the sexton stand at the doors. In this free and full criticism I rejoice. To work for a heedless master is the degradation of labour, and the swift ruin of the servant. Irresponsibility is always a bane. Even the best despotism is a deadly mistake. There-fore, breathing a true human generosity, and animated with sincere zeal for the glory of God, each will fulfil his task the better for the careful supervision of the other.

But I am chiefly encouraged, amid the difficulties of this work, by the sure and certain aid of a large and efficient body of helpers waiting to

contribute solid and acceptable treasure to the common fund of thought and joy. The "programme" speaks for itself. There is no prospect of immediate lack of provisions. The garlic and onions of Egypt may not be to hand, and we may have to tread through deep desert sand, but we are not likely to fail of the bread of heaven, or of the waters sweetened by the trees of the Lord. We may be called to encounter enemies many and strong, but not without hope that the reconstructed ramparts of 66 Modern Mediævalism" will fall, and the hoary citadels of superstition be demolished by the warriors of the King of Truth. The "Word made flesh," like a pillar of light, goes before us; intense and intelligent "Zeal" animates us; and the " Carol of Hope" is already in our hearts and on our lips.

The question has occurred again and again, What ought to be the supreme rule and accepted standard in editing a magazine? and I can only find answer to it in the words of Paul, "Be ye followers of God, as dear children." He is in all things our Teacher, and in most our Pattern, and the appeal is not made to Him in vain on such a subject as this. Just now, whilst the merry bells "ring out the old" and "ring in the new," God is sending forth the first page of a New Volume of His Serial, printed and embellished with messages of love and grace for all who are willing to learn. His volume for 1869 is just completed. In its successive numbers stories of many lives appeared, and some run on into this year; others are finished, so far as our present reading goes, and their places are occupied by fresh subjects. In His Serial the new and the old stand side by side. One portion is so familiar that we scarcely believe He has this morning rewritten it for us, and another is so wondrously new that we are wrapt in astonishment over its beauty and freshness. And yet of this book,

(of which many things might be written) God's Eternal Son is the chief character and absorbing theme. Though nothing that is good is cast out, yet all that is in, converges in the Lord Jesus, as in its natural and appointed focus. Nature yields her treasures, nations their experience, thinkers their thought, and Christians their lives, to the will of this King and Priest of men. Is there song? It is "golden" because He is the theme. Hear we sorrowful plaint? He interprets its meaning, and sanctifies it to noblest issues. Is there the plain prose of immutable principle? He is the rock on which it rests. In a word, of the Divine Serial, Christ Jesus is at once the substance and the glory. And is it too much to endeavour to copy Him who is ever publishing to the loving hearts of His children glad tidings of great joy, in forms as fresh as they are captivating, and as wondrous as they are new; and yet in essence like Himself-the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever? We must aim high. Though failure trip us up at every step, and defeat swoop upon us as we sit down to the feast of success, yet the iron rule of perfection must hold its place, and not be lowered a single jot. The first and main duty of this magazine is to serve Jesus Christ, and the pattern of such service is the ceaseless Serial of Divine Providence. I have read that in Rome there is an elegant fresco by Guidi called the Aurora, covering the lofty ceiling of a palace. Its beauty cannot easily be seen, and never enjoyed. Looking up, the head grows dizzy, the vision indistinct, and the mind weary. To remedy this, the wealthy owner fixed a broad mirror near the floor, so that the visitor could sit down and enjoy the sight of the fresco without weariness and exhaustion. This publication purports to be such a mirror fixed to reveal the glories of Christ. It will regard modern life as a circle of

« PreviousContinue »