The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1881-12-13 00:00:00

BAPTIST ANNIVERSARY MEETING.

Last Wednesday the friends meeting at Rusk.
buildince Chapel celebrated their anniversary, first by
• tea in the schoolroom, when both the upper and
lower rooms were well filled. The tables were prettily
adorned with flowering plants, and the ladies made excellent tea.
At asven they re.assembled in the chapel, and mpg
the hymn commencing—" Great the Joy when
Christians meet, 'and the pastor, Rev. .J. 'fitArroan,
who presided, having offered prayer, congratulated the
meeting On nn large an amemble ; he had to introduce brethren who had been labouring in other Mods, and
also rejoiced in the presence of Zr. Waugh and Mr.
Lewis. Great improvement had bees effected in the
rooms where they met at tea, and the debt had been
cleared away through the success of the bathar.
Another benefit in the cold weather would be felt, for
works are in process of erection to give warmer air and
make this place more agreeable' and he trusted the
debt would not be unwisely incurred; but all express
full sympathy with the improvement.
Rev. Mr. WAUGH (Portland) said the frie Ida here
had put anew face on the achoolro ,m, were about to
warm thetnaelvea--and he hop, d the warmth would be
spiritual also—and bad got rid of an incubu, which
they did not care much about, for another is to be
incised. The apo-tle said "Owe no man aoything but if that applied to churches, they were grad sinners. The great pleasure of a debt was netting rid
of it, and be supp,red that was why they were to bo
provide I with another. From convereation with their
pastor he gathered that a cooaiderable rumba of
young people are on the ere of deciding for Christ, and

some hal given their hearts to Ilia. : bccynligarreig:t
yet
openly told the world so. In hi
denomination
rd
o e members ,b of Bp
quitet
rogs
h cdoingculty exiot'. as
in h t
looa hay.
to go through—an ordeal for sensitive minds and
sensitive physical organicstines—yet for many years
he had bem in sympathy with " believer.' bapt lam."
and • strong dinp Nation exists among t ongre-
gationalints to
dshiteench..anbdesinwg
that, the only !it°
Ptthietaama•b°ittnn:
of water, whether a handful, peat'. tr riverf
Baptist.s rot-pared a riverful. and. path ,Pa had scrip-
ture on thei• side, and • lady whom he anew winhed
for some such a praetice, and would like to be
but their place
egthussalgres Mr.be lyeffit
c.ioSup.urgletoom'si;ghc _
me_
bad
nistbea, secretly, for fear—they might ear writ-
gbhieavrPeetibenwad at
thseir hearts; to Jesus; but like ihnsepla of
Ari
tittle°. But if not willing to encounter such minor
j,ersectitiOn as is suffered now, he feared they were not
randy to give the wh de life and heart to the Divine
Master. Or • fear might edit of ri dug something
Inconsistent with the Christian profession. But thee
would not be in their own keeping and
and He will arid he urged there
—"Commit Thy ways Unto the
' —"I am not old enough ;" but, if they wished to grow
bring His righteous will to paw. Nor must they say
in pace, at once enrol themselves among His people,
for
"All the fitness He requlreth
Is to feel your need of Him.'
Inoonsietencies of some Christian profesn'on ought not
to deter thoae who know whom they have believed
rather, 111 the salt of the earth, they ought to Join the
Church to show a consistent behaviour ti the world.
"Stand on and bless the Lord " havin; been sung
Rev. W. FRANCIS, of Bridport, he. H., lonk„,1
I on Mr. Trafford much as • curate 1 ,oked on his
Bishop not that he had any despotre 'way, only the
influence of a good man; Mr. Trafford had hell el
them at Briciport in their low entate, anti m'ght
always command the speaker's services. He (sfr.
Francis) had been 11 minister lor g enntL:h to keow
he scarcely knew anything. and the yottog should
reverently li•ten to what el ler men had to teL
, Urging the imisirtarrm of unity and work, he said
I unity must not b • deal, as a Canadian minister ',sad
of hie church "they are all frozen t orei her ;" but went
be • unity of heart and purpose, like that in
the upper r ,ona where ,he distil, en met, and them
the bailie f the church is more than half fought,
for Our Savior prayed Hi* disciples might be
united thet the world may believe. on the r wits of •
dangerous harbour it would le twine to put loom
stones—the water would wad; them away' but the
engineer could bind them, and build a g.O ay pile to
be used as a lighthouse; • number of h aids on the
water would he tossed hither and thither, hut the
builder could join them into • boat or 'hip that w .old
ride out the storm. Neareet the centre the wheel is
strongest, an I tl.e Chrintian church will be atr ingest
which has mint love t Chri•t. For Ba,,tx he
claimed • direct descent from the ap ietlen ; a church.
woman said to him—' Yours is hut a young sect
but he chime I to be a spiritual descendant of the
apostles • never had the time been wh-n there were
not pa iple who held the truth of believers' hapti•m.
He would be els 1 when Congre,fational brethren
became Bapti•t•, but that outward unity was not so
much required as unity of heart to heart. It 1,1111
stupid to say chapels are opposition phopa—the Lord
save U 1 from that, we want to w rk all toge.her,
because so much work remains to be ii n-. In his
own town he was perfectly astounded at the few people
whl profess to be godly, though called Christiens,
a large proportion had not put on .hriet in any way.
Let us look round anl strive by all moans. so that
somehow we each may be the means' f raving Pt.M4l
we want not merely sot inking with the Holy Gin It,
but baptised all over, let us get back to the apostolic
beliefs, and sights shall be seen, which have been
strange lately. bot eha 1 he strange in longer.
Rev. M. WEBB, from Jamaica, W.N .1 sd to nee them
and eepecisly Mre. Traff rd, at the feet of whose
honoured fattier in Jam dca, he had sat stud kg
theology for four years. Having thanked the Enlists
for freeing the slaves, and for assisting th in in Its r-.s s
si oce, he de eltwith accusations ma le ageing' freed peo;•le.
In JAIIIIIiCA is an istitution where native men are nein.:
trai .ed fir the mini•try, and th at bus sent out over
100 men engaged in the Wand. Here are 127 churches,
ministered to by 46 minister., 22 Europeen, and 2'
native*, and shut ki,ooo a year in raleel for stone l-
ing the gospel in their own land, in la ii. and in
Africa. The men labourers have only 1.1. a day, and
the worn-n Od., and tbey la, our very bard, y, t they
maintain their own schools and instituti and
subscribe to the g wpel abroad. ( I.ppl use.) In coo•
clu diu he paid Englend, in giving liberty and the
gospal of the Lord Je•us Christ, did not only what
,was just, but made a people out of those who were no
people, and were the means nf bringiug tens of
thinomods who should come from east and went, and
north and south, and sit down together t praise our
God and King. (Applauee.)
Rev. W. Lewis congratulated the meeting on the
cheerfulne-s and restftrneos, which indicate I growing
attachment to their pastor. He was glad this wagon;
a valedictory service, it was quite piens ng to cm*
and fini the minister was nit leaving, and he
hoped changes will not go on too rapidly
and that something of a c ditinuity may exi.t
in the ministeriat service. He remin led the
meeting of w .at Mr. 1 raff, r I had said at the
Primitive Metho ist meeting—that the church is nut
overtaking the world, and suggested that the members
should set about visiting the different house.. Alter
expressing his in mpathy with the meeting, be urged
them to prove the Lord, and see whether He would
no p
Tie
,oe pour oanToat a ese
Rbli.g returnediasin time,
thank ale' past.tothosewho had given
d whoc
onddr e asp.
,d;ditd,eart.: the choir
oop
:if r
att ahhTro
mgckhos• :toie
moved,
lat. :lex;
,dc-shhiLai
asdr.. rd
tie "
7,1 ;this
Thy Name,' after which the nurroa pronounced the
blowing.