Practical Truths

This must have been a new thing, or it would not have been given to John the Baptist as a proof that Jesus was the Messiah. In our public system of religious instruction in cities and villages, the poor are too much overlooked. They cannot pay a high rent for a place in the house of God. They cannot appear in costly apparel, and they do not love to be stared at on account of the coarseness of their clothes.

Go into the churches of any Protestant denomination, and you will probably find a large, respectable audience of well-dressed people quietly occupying their own pews, and listening with more or less attention to the instructions of the pastor; but where are the miserable poor? In society they form a large proportion of the people, but here we see perhaps a few old women, the beneficiaries of the church.

There must be some more effective measures for conveying the gospel to the destitute poor than our splendid churches furnish. The system of tract distribution by pious men and women, who, as far as they have opportunity, converse with the people on religious subjects, is excellent. This system, in New York, has been the instrument of much good to the poor. But cannot a plan be contrived and carried into effect, by which they can be brought within the sound of the gospel? I think there can. Let every rich church build a meeting-house, plain but commodious, and let them, under the direction of their pastors, employ some zealous, self-denying young minister to go about and collect as many of the poor as he can, and preach to them in a plain, familiar, affectionate style. At first perhaps few would come, but by degrees the number would increase. The preacher must be assisted and encouraged by the occasional presence of the pastor and other officers or members.

In every Christian church there are men and women who wish to do good, but they know not how to go about it. Let each of these go out into the lanes and dark alleys of the city, and persuade at least one to go with them to the house of prayer: all such exertions are useful to the person himself, whatever may be the effect on others. Let the meeting-house be seated with benches, and every seat be in common; so that the first person who comes shall have the right to occupy it. And let the missionary to these people speak kindly to them, and inquire into their wants and afflictions, and make known cases of extreme suffering to those whose office it is to relieve distress.

In the villages and country places there are often found many poor, miserable families, who are never seen in the church for want of a place to sit, for want of decent clothing, or for want of disposition. Let five or six persons agree to visit these families in turn, and let them provide a room for evening meetings, and let the pastor, as often as lie can, preach to them; or let some layman read to them a tract or short sermon. Time is short. Try, try what can be done.

“Another furtherance of my work,” says Baxter,” was the writings ’ which I wrote and gave among them his people. Some small books I gave each family, one of which went to about eight hundred; and of the bigger I gave fewer. And every family that was poor and had not a Bible, I gave a Bible to. And I had found myself the benefit of reading to be so great, that I could not but think it would be profitable to others.

“Many children did God work upon, at fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen years of age. And this did marvellously reconcile the minds of the parents and elder persons to godliness. They that would not hear me, would hear their own children. They that before would have talked against godliness, would not hear it spoken against when it was their children’s case. Many that would not be brought to it themselves, were proud that they had understanding, religious children. We had some old persons, near eighty years of age, who are, I hope, in heaven; and the conversion of their own children was the chief means to overcome their prejudice and old customs and conceits.

“When the grievous plague visited London, I printed a half-sheet, to stick on a wall, for the use of the ignorant and ungodly who were sick or in danger of the sickness. And I rather did it because many well-minded people that are about the sick, that are ignorant and unprepared, and know not what to say to them, may see there in what method such persons should be dealt with in such a case of extremity; and they themselves may enlarge as they see cause.

“Mr. Nathaniel Lane wrote to me to entreat me to write one sheet or two for the use of poor families who will not read or buy any bigger books. Although I knew that brevity would unavoidably cause me to leave out much necessary matter, or else to write in a style so concise and close as will be little moving to any but close, judicious readers, yet I yielded to his persuasion, and thought it might be better than nothing, and might be read by many that would read no larger; and so I wrote two sheets for poor families. The first containing ‘The Method and Motives for the Conversion of the Ungodly ;7 the second, ‘The Description or Character of the True Christian, or the Necessary Part of a Christian’s Duty, for the Direction of Beginners in a Godly Life,”

Selected by A. A. from Baxter’s Life, etc.
VALUE OF A aOOD BOOK.

When we consider how much good has been done by the published works of such men as Baxter, Owen, Doddridge, Alleine, Boston, Edwards, etc., we wonder that men gifted with a talent for writing attractively and powerfully, do not devote more of their time to the preparation of good books. But although, in theory, we acknowledge the all-pervading power of the press, yet the importance of the subject is not practically felt in all its momentous consequences. The man who is enabled to write a truly evangelical and useful book, or even a single tract of first-rate excellence, may convey the saving truth of the gospel to a thousand times more persons than the living preacher can ever instruct by Ms voice. And hundreds of years after the death of the writer, the production of his pen may be but just commencing its career of usefulness, only to be terminated with the end of the world. Those men, therefore, who are blessed with the ability of producing one work of evangelical excellence, may be considered among the most highly favored of our race, and must enjoy a rich reward hereafter.

The plan of first publishing important views of evangelical truth from the pulpit, and then from the press, with such changes as may serve to render them more popular, is a wise economy of time; and considering the incalculable power of the press, more of our learned and eloquent preachers should avail themselves of this method of benefiting the public, by diffusing abroad the precious truths of the gospel.

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