Cherokee phoenix, and Indians' advocate. [volume], May 18, 1833, Image 1

About Cherokee phoenix, and Indians' advocate. [volume] (New Echota [Ga.]) 1829-1834

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Pram tha PUiladelphian. I
-INTERESTING LETTER FROM
DR. PA 1 MER. j
Fairfield, Cherokee Nation, J
West of Arkansas >
1st Jan. 1833. )
3tev. E S ELY, D. D
Dear Sir, —Having a little leisure
this evening I gladly employ it in wri
ting to you Mrs. P. wishes to apolo
(ji e to you, for n°t. having sent before
tio v, the acknowledgments and thanks
ofthe Cherokee Female Society, for
'y<>ur kind services. Her health has
foee : i extremely feeble for months ps.at,
whish together with other cares press- j
in" upon her mind, has prevented her
a.tending to the subject. But now she .
in rather better health, arid I hope
it., convalescent. She expocts to
172le to to you soon, the
fip jond Annual Report ofthf Female
8 jciety: also sixty or seventy d»lla-s
•ib, the purchase of njore books, and
«h«'hooBs}*>u ill not be wearied with
ier calls upon your goodness.
The revival of religion which began
Jim ng these people about two years
v, I am happy to say, is still steadily
tiro? easing, and the prospect becom
ii» more and more interesting. It is
fttn~ng the Cherokecs as in most
othffr nations, where the Gospel has
liecrun take a deiided e <ect, it has
divided them into the Christian and
Paean nasties; and it is not difficult
t, ditinquHh them. But blessed he
God tVnle the house of Saul U grow- «
in- 'nakf-r, Ihe how of David is be- f
co ninsr th-onger. Thei stcngth of the
jtw> oarti«3 was tested fv> or three
» mths a S o at a General Council, on
the occasion of choosing; a chief. 1 he
•Christian party p-e'/ailed Every night
while the C mnoii lasted, the Chris
tians met at the house ol the cmef
whjm they had chosen, for social >vir
ehip *, while the opposing narty their j
nights in revelling and druijjceness.
The contrast was remarkable, and Of
course groatly to the honor of religion.
If thd heathen oartv had nre-ailed,
; pr bahl/ some strong persecuting meas
ures would haveheen ad >oted in Coun
cil. Bat God was ole-ised f>r the hon
or of his name, to confound the wicked,
bring their malicious designs to
eotYii». You see bv this movement,
■ ad the result, that has raised up
em »ng this peoole S 'in» firm, substan
tial supoorters of his cause. And
when I look upon the weight of char
<«eter, as well as numbers that are
xoming over on the side of religion, I
;f e , • g-eatlv animated, and encouraged
4. h-pe that G d is about to do great
'thiags among the Cherokees. \ ou
will smile perhaps, when I tell you wo
ia7C already a Missionary Society or
ganized, and expect before long, to be j <
able to send out Cherokee Misaiona-! '
•lies to the wandering tribes at the '
west. This Society is now raising j
finds for the purpose of supplyiny the
Cherokee Nation with that portion of
the Scriptures which has been transla
ted into their language and with the
Tract and Hymn Book published in
-their laiguage. About seventy dol
lars have already been contributed for ,
that purpose, yid mostly by the full
fclood Cherokees. At tho suggestion
ofthe native brethren, contributions
have been taken once or twice on the
Sabbath, and it was affecting to see
the people bring in their offerings.
Each brought his gift forward in the
■tight of the congregation, and laid it
rfloon the table Some brought money
beads some handkerchiefs
they had. w<jrn, tiubans. Que
CHEROKEE NATION, PROPRIETOR. EDITED BY ELIJAH HICKS.
NEW ECHOTA, CHEROKEE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 18, a 833.
poor widow woman came along up to
the taole, where I was sitting, and as
if ashamed of her offering, slily drop
ped a new pewter finger-ring into my
hand, while the big tear railed down
her red cheek, to tell it was the vvl
oto's mite. And as soon as it shall
glow with fervent love to Jesus, and
pant to carrv the Gospel message to
other tribes," this Society will send
them forth in the name of the Lord,
and provide for their support. May
the Lord preserve my'life to see it. I
strongly hope for it.
I have just returned from one of the
most interesting meetings we have
ever had in the nation. We had con
; eluded to have a meeting on Christ
' mas day at our house, provide a din
' ner, give a a general invitatiou to our
Cherokee neighbors, and in the course
of the day, present the Temperance
Constitution for more subscribers.—
But before the appointment was made
public, our chief, Col W Webber,
sent me notice, that he had made an
arrangement for a meeting on Christ
mas at his house, and had sent round
' invitations to all his trieuds, a>*d that
it was his wish the meeting should be
continued for two or three days in suc
cession. This was a most welcome
message from our chief, and we gladly
com lied with his wishes. This man
is of the family of David and Catha
rine Brown, has a good mind, is dig
nified, and may be considered as a
leading chief in the nation) and he has
! ling been the subject of united, I
1 and ! trust fervent prayer. Hi* wile j
a woman highly Tespected and beloved,
became serious near a year ago, and
having given very satisfactory evi
dence of pietv, was received with eight
others, into fellowship with the church,
at our place, in October last. The de
cided piety of his wife I suppose, was
the means of arresting hi3 attention
to the subject of religion; and now we
are permitted to rejoice with trembling,
in the hope that he is a vessell of mer
cy, and that his talents and influence
will be consecrated to the cause of Je
sus. Brethren Washburn and wilson
from dwight, attended t ie meeting
with us. There were perhaps, 150 or
300 persons present, all comfortably
and handsomely provided for by the
. chief. The native members appeared
. much engaged, and it was mani est
. the Spirit of the Lord was in our midst,
, bowing the hearts of sinners, as well
> as refreshing the hearts of his people.
t Wh«n the anxious -were invited, thfe
. chief was the first to present himself,
- an d about forty others followed his ex
ample. It was a most affecting sight.
Thov were nearly all tull-blood Oher
o''GCs' and numbers of them, peisons
of distinction and importance in the
nation. Beside the chiof, there sat
am ing the anxious,, onfe who for years,
has been regarded as the principa
warrior in the nation; Bntl it no
three months since he came home A,
the head of .1 war expedition, bearing
the -ireaifal trophies of his victory.—
But the Gospel is mighty through God,
' to the pulling do.vn the strong holds of
I darkness. Two of the oldest and m">st
brethren, suncessive
' Iv addressed the anxious, with an ap
: pea-ance of deep feeling, each conclu
ding his remarks with the significant
ceremony of shaking hands with them.
This was followed with a fervet prayer
by one of the brethren. It then fell to
1 my lot, with all these weeping anxious
I persons before me, to preaoh to them
'the word of life.—O what a privilege!
1 I took the case of the poor leprous !
1 i man, "Lord if thou wilt than canst
, make me clean," and never did the
1 Saviovr'a power and willingness to
f clean and save the chief of sinners,
. aopcar more real to me, and never
3 did I feel a greater anxiety to have
poor sinners come to Jesus for salva
tion. The Lord only knows, whether
r i any, or how many leprous souls were j
J cleansed at that time. Mvownfcel-,
n ings were so deeply affertted, or rather
Jihad such a sense of divine things;
e ' that instead of sleep, most of the nignt 1
e was spent in meditation, pra ei and i
thanksgiving; and for a long time af- ;
e ter some of us had laid down to rest, j
it the na*ive members continued the sing- j
y ing of hymns, and social worship. I
i, We a e tha».kfiil that G d has sent
% fellow l?boj-er in this whitened
field who appears so devoted as Dr.
Wilson.
Your fellow servant in the Gospel,
M. PALMER.
From tho Connecticut Observer.
FAMILY RELIGION.
Of all the shapes which religion as
sumes there is none (nore lovelv than
that in which it appears in a well
lilated and pious famjly. The order,
the gentleness, the mniableness, and
even" the refinement it there
produces, show as strongly as ar >y
thing its power and ifa adaption to the
wants and circumstances of men
This, indeed, is its Host natural place
for developement.—l'his is ils native
soil. Amidst the bustle of active life
it is apt to bo troddfen down. Amidst
the storm 3 of political life it chills and
withers. But in the retirements of do
mestic life it expands, and perfumes
the air with it 3 bloss;ms and delights
the eye by its blushing fruit.
'What a man is relatively that he is
really.' Religion does not bargain a
bvoad and send its impulses, feeble
and few, homewards. Its force is as
powefful at the centre as at the cir
cumi'erance, if not more so. And prob
ably it is never more strengthened a.id
, invigorated than by erforts to bring
members of the araily circle to submit
to its sway. When we exhort a stran
ger to turn from his sins, even if wc
are conscious ourselves ot remissness
in duty, we know that ho is ignorant
of it. Wc can press obligation on him
even wliile neglecting it ourselves. —
Not so when we press obligation t"
holiness on those who see our dail
conduct, and alaiost know our secret
thoughts. As 'praying will make a
mar. leave of singing, or singfng make
a man leave off praying,' «o it is the
case before us. We shall it
negligent in duty, reform our lives,
when we urge those of the same family
circle—our brothers and sisters, our
domestics, our apprentices, our jour
neymen, to turn to God and 'do works
meej for repentence'—or we shall
soon give over our exhortations There
is an inconsistency in the thing which
human nature cannot long endure. It
is like teaching in a Sabbath School. |
One sees the inconsistency—almost
absurdity—of urging duty on othei'3
which he utterly neglects himself.—
The consequence in most cases is,
either that the pressing of exhortation?
on others, brings one's own mind to
redaction and repentance, or the irk
snme task after a while is abandoned.
Ave you then, the head of a family in
whi.Mi some of the members are im
penitent? Begin it once your duty
and exhort them to turn unto the Lord.
If they see inconsistencies in your
conduct, very likely they will remind I
you of them; and thus you will have ,
an opportunity to reform. It will, if'
you are the child of Crod, e v .cito lan
finishing graces, and bring some new j
• ones nerhaps, into existence. I heir i
objections will "uicken your invention
to find a meek. but efficient reply.—
Their cavils will try your patience
and thus work out tor you
perieace' of your own heart, a heir
errors and ignorance will awaken your
commiseration, and lead you to an
earnestness, a sincerity of prayer,
which you would not have unless the
subjects of it were so closely connect
ed with your personal feelings. Is
your heart bnrning to do something luj
"promote the glory of God and the wel-,
rare of souls?—What a field is before |
you if you have impenitent friends, or
domestics, or apprentices, or laborers,
in your own employment! —begin to
look into their condition. Whilo you
have beau mourning ovor the cold
ness of christian, and the un./onnonce
of sinners—while you have been think
ing that your sphere of influence is so
circumscribed as to leave nothing to:
you to do—while you have been pity
ing the errors and the wanderings of
those who live without religious insti
tutions, you may ,tind, on diligent
search, that those under your care and
in your own household, hu. e bee.
1 wandering far away tiorn the truth, and
I from Salvation.
It is your duty to seek them—to en
deavor to turn them from error, i: "fie
have through your v>egl«ct, or matter)
tiojii beeu corrupted by it—to turn
them from pr faieness and other kinds
of immorality--, il they have, throng:
your remissness, indulged in it. B 1
gin at home n'ld begin with mt dela
It is the fittest field in which you ca"
labor* the harvest will be g eater tha
you can expect any-where else; the
work will be more acceptable to God
more conduc tive to your own edi a
tion and to v'our own d Mnestic c --m
fort, as well as spiritual enjoyment
When the purit'• and charity arid love
liness of the el shall <■! 1 -*te. a
i round every christian h msehold', when
eve v head >f a iainilv shall watch, as
did "Abraham, over his own amilv.
and comma-d them to 'keep the way
! of the lo d, to do justi .-e and judg
ment,'—halt' the grow-id of unb' lief
'will betaken awav, and one continued
; revival of religion will bless our wQild. •
CHRISTIAN CHARITY. j.
The term charily is often understood j -
in a limited sense, and made to signify j.
merely the administering to the wants i
and relieving the necessities of the poor. [
Here the m >tives may be overlooked,
and mere alms-giving substuted. for the j
excrciee of the highest christian grace.
That the Apostle ainicd at s Tnething
I more evalted is evidenr from his >wn
. words, "Though T bestow all my goods
to feed tlue poor, and though I give my
body to be burned, and have not charily, J
> it, profiteth me nothing '' _ Those who
? give amis to be seen of men, are not
\ accepted py Him ho regarded »he
j :n tives, and judgeth the heart —
i'hev have no re va d from him " WBO
seeth in secret."
Charity has been defined to he "apriri-'
ciple of prevailing love to G d.and good
will to mon,which eifectually in "lines
one endued with it to glorify Qsd.and
to do g- v> d to others." It is in this com
prehensive nen3e that the Apostle uses 1
the te-rn which ma iy t atslalovs
prefer to translate !o-e, bec ause this
word better expresses those h >ly feel
ings of the renewed heart which consti- !
tuteth* highest Christian g~ace. The
exe'-cis.e of these affections isi the most
exalted attainment ofyiety True char
ity sorings from the unbidden impulses
of a soul filled with love toG.d,and
good will to man.It gives a freshness and
: vig .r to every other grace a fragrance
and a charm to ev ery other virtue. It
presents in its brightest
aspect and most attractive form. The
j mantle of charity is its most appropriate
j dress—its .lovt-iiest garb. • When thus
| arraved, ,ve behold it as it is,the clearest
exemplification of G d's infinite good
1 uess. Then its mild aid heaven!/ sriiit
: softens and supdues the heart.and win?
the affections.
Without charity,the Christian 1
represents his Master's canse'and his j
influence becomes a "savor of death'
unto death." He is required to " live j
unto G">d" and to let his ''light shine 1
before men." If he obeys the will of ■
! his Maker and walks in " newness of |
life," hi-j holy living—his faith and char
ity ave wUnes?es frr G■ <1 lie exhibits
' tlie power and excellency of religion in
! liia conduct, a <d recommends it to oth
i e-i who a o thus induced to lay hold 'it
the blessed hope of the Gospel, which
is an anchor to the sou!.
Tjue charity, or love, is the fulfilling
of the v.'h->le Id ■>—tho great .e;i(l of the
commandment, and the of
the Gospel of Christ. The. .Scriptures
declare tk.it " chariy is the bond of
ljerfpctriCßß''-tfvat " the cad of the com
mandment is charity, out of a note heart,
and of a ".00-d conscience,and ol faith
Aiu again, that ~ all the
la'v is fulfilled in ono word, oven in /his,
thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy-!
self." Aim-giving is merely a single ex
ternal expression of -this love. Our
neighdour is benf.tted by it, and there
fore the act is praise worthy in the
>f men, who can seC the outwov>l tui:-
.dnct only, St'a'C not prcimtfed to judge
the heart. Hut G "•!. ' ; ' l e\'ploiv:i
inmost recesses ot lilts soul, ant. scruti
nizes its most he-rct working*—who
knows the selfishness and
.if the heart —can approve o<ir r.'.'tion
10 further then they spring Irom correct
T'incnlos at.tl disinterested motives; —
from that " faith which worketh by lo re,
anh purifieiH the soi'J.'' ' 'l>v < ,A
;Jcct of,CJntl rattvc jjojtect;, it
i >ihi'ig is phasing rend acceptable in
the sight of G >d." (1 Ei). ad Gountlif
:i ■ G,) —Christian Walchraan.
A PREACHER'S OBJECT.
From Dr. Skinner's Inaugural Address.
This suggests another observation A
■nan who would speak with efficiency
and success' shohld always intend lo
accomplish some definite and specific end!
hi/ his discourse , fie should have but
one subject, and that subject through
out, and aim, in all and by all, to ac
couij lish a certain p. tdeterminate ob
ject A man, withont a fixed
pursuit 1 is apt to think 1 to study, to live,-
to do every thing in vain. And he, m• st
probably, will speak to no purpes.*"' who
has no purpose in v e\v, in speakiitgj
Anb the degree of efficiency in 'speak
■ i.;g depends greatly on tho na lire >f
the purpose; if the end pursued be small,
the power will de small, and the pov et
will, pcol-a >ly be great, if the end bo
g e-it.And be earnestly pursued. How
diiEavintly does he speak, who earnest
| ly pleads for his country's honor, or fov
the life of a fellow-creatnre, or for the
salvation of the human sonl from ever-*
lasting death, from him who has no cth-r
; er object then to please men, or merely
i tc meet a professional call
i And hero I may, perhaps, be permit ed
' to ask, whether the exceedingly ftuit
, j itn ressi >n commonly made by preach"
i i ig, bo not fairly resolvable into tho
t cause ijow adverted to ? Is it strange
e that preachers accomplish nothing He
- finitely, who aim to accomplish nothinS?
o If speaker? at the bar, or in our nation-'
i a l couucilsj should seek to carry no
| point by their speeches, fhey probably,
would carry jtono, and tlicir speeches'.
might be feeble as are too many < f
oui sermon?. Why rhrulcl a preacher of
the G espeWver rise to adorers an as
sembly, without proposing to himself to
gain some certain end; and engaging
all Ilia powers of argument and persua
sion in the attainment of his object; and
revolving that ho will not willingiy deist
until he attain it ? What a different affair,
in effect, would preaching become, it it
should henceforth assume the" character
! which such a course would give it r f
see no sufficient reason why it should
i not assume it. The designs of preach
; ing are specific ,are kno\vn, and are in
j comparably greater tlx n any ever Im
posed to be accomplished by other kinds
i of discourse, It is as practicable to giva
(dcffinitensEs of purpose to
as to a speech in court. Dcfinitenesa
may be as requisite for success in tho
one case, as in tho other, It will servo
as much in one as the other, to excite
and concentrate mental energy, to pro
duce unity and earnestness, and to sug
gest glowing thoughts and bnrning ex
qressi ns, to make discourse, in sh.. t,
' natural aud pleasant to the speaker, arid
' j powerful and efficient upon the hearers.-
Surely it is neitHer necessary norcxpc
'' dient, neither philosophical nor scriptu*
j. ra l, that that preaching sh mid be ever
rj more as general, as eomm in-plaee, as
' I perfunctory, as void of object, as it to\
commonly is, and has been throughout
3 Christendom.
11
Fron the Presbyterian.
THE MORAVIAN'S.
Mr. I'JdilCrf.—The following extract
from Home's l etters on Missions,*
contains, it seems to me, not merely a
'compliment to the Moravians, but sen
timents on the enbjeet of missions,
j missionary exertions, which it would
S he well for these now studying for tho
j ministry, and cspcialfy for those who
! have resolved to become missionaries
■to consider. — If there is such a thing
as a "missionary Spirit 1 in this worlds
the Moravians in opinion possess it,
and yet this Society is but very littlo
known. It is a fact that many Christians
are, in a great measure iguorant u£
what hai been done by this Society.,
and of the self-danyiug spirit manifest-'.
I ted by them. ,
' After riving an account of tue aS
tempts, seeming success, and ultimate
failure, together with tho causes of tho
failure' of Jesuits in China, and tho
writer comes to speak of the operatfons
of several Societies' and of
the morSv verts 69 fbHwwa:
■'The Moravian brethren have beer.
amopi'V.s,' what the Jesuits wore in the
keman. Church. They have
and snfie-cd. affected more than all <■'"
ttj The:' motives LaTo'jcca pare; ihclt'
T¥o. m.