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But the DAWN IS NEAR; and soon every eye is open, every foot astir, and the busy, waking life of men again begins. The fleecy clouds that hang on the eastern horizon grow ruddy with gold; and the arrowy light shoots its bright rays athwart the clear blue sky. The dust and foulness which the night has hidden stand revealed. But in the forests and hills the pulses of nature beat fresh and full; the leopard and the tiger slink away; the gay flowers open; the birds flit to and fro, and with woodland music welcome the rising day. In the city all forms of life quicken into active exercise. The trader sits ready on his stall; the judge is on the bench; the physician allays pain; the mother tends her child. The claims of human duty come again into full force; benevolence is active; suffering and disappointment, forgotten in sleep, press with new weight on weary hearts. What a mighty change one hour has made.

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Long has the night of heathenism and of wickedness ruled over the world. "Darkness has covered the earth, and gross darkness the people." But the gun has fired, and THE MORNING COMETH.' The foulness of the night has been revealed. The nations once wrapped in gloom are waking to life and truth. Divine light is quickening all the pulses of human thought; the heart beats more warmly; the eye looks upward, and the great world is drawing nearer to its Father. The Gentiles are coming to the light, and kings to the brightness of His rising. And when at length the Sun of Righteousness shall rise in power, His new creation, "with verdure clad, with

beauty, vigour, grace adorned," shall give Him loving welcome; and He shall shine, to set no more, on "the new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

London Missionary Society Report.

LADIES' WORK FOR THE
ORISSA MISSION.

THE friends who have been engaged in working for this object will be glad to learn that a box has been sent out containing articles to the value of £90. Our thanks are due for the help they have given us, to the friends at New Church Street, Paddington (our largest contributors); to the ladies of the Praed Street Dorcas Society, Paddington; to friends at Tarporley, Wisbech, Ford, Wolvey, Sawley, Melbourne, and Long Whatton. One contribution deserves especial notice, and has not been acknowledged in any other way, from the orphans in the Home for Sailors Daughters, of twelve dozen reels of cotton, six dozen thimbles, and a quarter of 1000 needles.

M. STEVENSON, Secretary.
Derby, August 18, 1868.

BAPTISM AT CUTTACK. ON Lord's-day, July 5, four persons were baptized at Cuttack by Damudar. One of the candidates was his daughter, and two others were from the male orphanage. Ghanushyam preached on the occasion from Romans vi. 11, "Reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Foreign Letters Received.

CUTTACK-J. Buckley, July 18; Aug. 1;-Mrs. Goadby, Aug. 8;-W. Miller, June 26.

Contributions

RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT OF THE GENERAL BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY, FROM AUGUST 20th, TO SEPTEMBER 20th, 1868.

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Subscriptions and Donations in aid of the General Baptist Missionary Society will be thankfully received by T. HILL, Esq., Baker Street, Nottingham, Treasurer; and by the Rev. J. C. PIKE and the Rev. H. WILKINSON, Secretaries, Leicester, from whom also Missionary Boxes, Collecting Books, and Cards may be obtained.

THE

GENERAL BAPTIST MAGAZINE.

NOVEMBER, 1868.

A GOOD MAN.*

HAVING thus briefly expounded the passage to which our attention has been directed, I shall now proceed to make a few observations upon the character of our deceased brother, Mr. Booth, from which I flatter myself it will be seen that we are justified in the belief which we all entertain, namely, that "after he had served his own generation by the will of God," he fell asleep in Jesus. And here permit me to premise that I shall not speak of Mr. Booth upon hearsay evidence, but as I found him during the very intimate and confidential relationship which existed between us during the more than seven years of my residence amongst you. For seven years Mr. Booth and I lived on terms as intimate and confidential as can well exist between two Christian men who hold each other in mutual respect and esteem. How this strong attachment arose between us, I shall now endeavour to explain.

When I came to this town Mr. Booth was the senior deacon of this church, and as such it devolved upon him to consult with me in reference to all matters pertaining to the well

being of the church and congre-
gation. This brought us into fre-
quent intercourse; and this free and
friendly intercourse speedily ripened
into an attachment to each other
which lasted with unabated warmth
until death robbed us of the man
whose memory we cherish to-night
in our best affections. On my first
coming amongst you, Mr. Booth was
a Christian of many years standing;
but, as some of you know, his views
as to the method of a sinner's ac-
ceptance with God were so cloudy
that he was frequently in such a
state of perplexity respecting his
own salvation as to feel constrained
to give utterance to the well-known
stanza-

""Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought;
Do I love the Lord, or no?

Am I His, or am I not?"

He had not listened many weeks to my preaching and conversation before he clearly discovered that a sinner has not to perform a round of duties, or work himself up into a high state of religious feeling, before he may venture to come to the conclusion that his sins are forgiven;

* An extract of a Sermon preached to a crowded congregation in Ænon Chapel, Sept. 13th, 1868, by the Rev. J. Alcorn.

VOL. LXX.-NEW SERIES, No. 23.

but that he has simply to trust his all for eternity on the perfect sacrifice for sin which Jesus finished on the cross, and there and then rejoice in the blessedness of the man whose iniquity is covered, and to whom the Lord imputeth righteousness without works. The clear discovery of this grand gospel truth dispelled his former darkness, perplexity, and doubt; filled his heart with holy gladness, and induced him to become an attached and steady friend to myself, and one of the most appreciative lovers of my humble ministry. Having thus derived personal benefit from my labours, he often privately and publicly expressed his gratitude that in the good providence of God my footsteps were directed to this place; and when during the cotton famine I one day asked him whether I had not better accept an invitation which had been given me to labour in another part of England, he said with tears in his eyes-" "If you leave us now I will never be a party to invite another minister; I will struggle no longer with the responsibilities of the place." This avowal on his part at once decided me to remain in the sphere to which God had called me. It was thus that our friendship was formed; and during the seven years that we lived and laboured together, an angry or a disrespectful word never passed between us. The other day when I committed his mortal remains to their kindred dust, I felt that I had lost a friend whom I esteemed and loved, and one from whom I had received nothing but the most gentlemanly treatment which any minister could desire to receive at the hands of a deacon.

Of his exemplary conduct as a Christian I can speak without any secret misgiving, and in terms of unqualified approbation. Who ever suspected him of being destitute of

that love to the brethren which is an infallible proof that its possessor is

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a child of God? Who could truthfully charge him with seeking his own things, and not the things which are Jesus Christ's? We all believed in the sincerity and thoroughness of his consecration to the service of our divine Master. None of us could entertain a doubt that the

prosperity of this church was the object of his soul's intense desire. Would he have laboured for it as he did if its stability and extension had not been the joy and the rejoicing of his heart? How often was he absent from the weekly lecture? He was always present except when business or sickness detained him, and that, upon an average, was not more than twice or three times a year. How often was his seat vacant at the Lord's-day services? Certainly not seven times during the seven years of my residence amongst you. In his regular attendance upon divine worship, the conduct of Mr. Booth was a reproach to many, and a model worthy the imitation of us all. In what department of labour was he not willing to work in order that the good cause to which his energies were devoted might be promoted? Of his worldly substance he was always ready to communicate according to his ability; his services were cheerfully rendered in the Sabbath school, of which he was for many years a superintendent, and where he was the object of a love and veneration which it was a sacred pleasure to behold; he delighted to attend the cottage prayer meeting; his visits to the sick were as highly appreciated as they were lovingly paid; and let me add, that he was at once so exalted and so humble that he would either ascend this platform and preach Christ and Him crucified to the people, or render his assistance in cleaning the chapel. Brethren, I have not the difficulty in improving the death of Mr. Booth which I have sometimes felt on similar occasions, for I can hold him up

as a model worthy the imitation of every man amongst us. Without any hesitation I can say " Be ye followers of him, even as he also followed Christ." If all our churches were composed of Thomas Booths, we should have such a glorious revival of religion in our land as England never saw.

It was a good choice which the church made when it called him to fill the honourable office of a deacon. There have been deacons whose conduct has been a scandal to Christianity, and who, instead of being blessings to the churches which they were appointed to serve, have been their greatest curses. From the selfish indolence, the sneaking intrigue, the contemptible ambition, the petulant tyranny, the overweening selfconceit, the unreasoning self-will, the burning envy, the cruel and revengeful jealousy of all such usurpers of authority among the saints, may the good Lord in mercy always deliver us. But Mr. Booth was a type of a higher, a holier, and a nobler class of deacons. Of him we can say, without fear of contradiction, that he" used the office of a deacon well, and purchased to himself a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." He served the church as he served his God, with humility, and zeal, and fidelity; and the tears which flowed at his grave were eloquent of the esteem in which his brethren held him. If the young men who succeed him as deacons will prayerfully and studiously endeavour to imitate the virtues by which he was endeared to us all, I can promise that the church will hold them in high reputation, and that I will thank God for them, and take courage in my work.

And now having spoken of Mr. Booth from my own personal knowledge, permit me to observe that he stood as high in the estimation of his fellow-townsmen in general as he did in the estimation of the church

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of which he was an ornament. When inquiring after his health during his last melancholy illness, rich and poor have told me that in their opinion there was not a better man in Burnley. Churchmen and dissenters have agreed in affirming that if there were a Christian living, Thomas Booth was one. The testimony of the public, therefore, as to his moral worth, sustains me in affirming that no man in the town stood higher for Christian consistency than did the senior deacon of this Christian church.

But perhaps some one may be disposed to inquire whether he was absolutely perfect--whether none of those infirmities attached to him which the best of men have been known to confess and to deplore. To this inquiry I will honestly reply, he was not perfect as Jesus Christ was perfect, for during my intercourse with him I frequently found that whilst he was a man of like passions with ourselves, and encompassed with the common frailties of humanity, he was the subject of one infirmity which I often lamented. It was not a sin; it was only an infirmity of his nature which he was unable to master. But before I describe it, permit me to recommend that if any of you have the happiness to possess a friend who has only one prominent infirmity, value him highly, and never forsake him ; for such a friend is unquestionably an inestimable treasure. What, then, was Mr. Booth's infirmity? It was reserve carried to excess. Upon some matters-only upon some-he did not open his mind as freely as could have been desired. But this failing, which I sometimes deplored and urged him to overcome, had a leaning to virtue's side. He was too reserved because he was afraid to discourage by telling all he knew. For example, soon after coming to labour amongst you I became aware that a large debt rested as an incubus upon this place of worship, and

I was naturally anxious to know the exact amount for which we were responsible. Some said it was so much, others said it was so much, and in my perplexity I went to Mr. Booth, and asked him how much. I soon perceived by his reserve that he was afraid to discourage me, and therefore he put me off by saying that he had not lately looked up the accounts, but he thought it was somewhere about so much. And never did I know the exact amount until a few months ago. It was so with him in other matters, but chiefly in financial matters; and I could always observe that when he was too reserved the idea that haunted him was that if he were to divulge the whole, his friends might be discouraged. With such a small infirmity as this, none need be astonished that he was the object of such general esteem; nor need any be surprised to learn that this infirmity-venial as it was enlisted against him a few envious and jealous and censorious enemies.

Owing to the melancholy nature of his last affliction-softening of the brain-and the sudden and unexpected manner of his death, he was unable to leave behind him his dying testimony to the sustaining and comforting power of that gospel which he had long believed, and lived,

and laboured to promote; but in his case the loss we sustain in this respect is more than compensated by a whole life of consistent Christian walk and character. John Newton, a godly minister of the Church of England, who flourished during the latter part of the last century, was wont to say "Tell me how a man has lived, and I will tell you how he died." So, in the case before us, we are free to aver that after such a life as he lived we need nothing further in the shape of dying utterances to confirm us in the belief that Thomas Booth sleeps in Jesus, and that while we are here worshipping in the sanctuary below his ransomed spirit has joined "the general assembly and church of the firstborn" above, and is holding high and blissful fellowship with "the spirits of just men made perfect" on the hills of immortality. Take him all in all, I have no expectation of meeting a better man on this side the grave; and as long as I live I shall fondly cherish the recollection of his many virtues.

"Sweetly he rests! the soldier now

From battles, wounds, and strife; The wreath of conquest decks his brow With rays of endless life.

Sweetly he sleeps! the pilgrim worn,

Leaving his weary road,

In peace awaits a glorious morn,
And slumbers with his God."

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** A Sermon preached by the Rev. J. H. Lummis, of Swadlincote, at the Autumnal Conference of the Midland General Baptist Churches held at Lenton, near Nottingham, September 15, 1868. Published by request of the Conference.

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