The great God says, Thou shalt have no other spirits (gods) beside me. Therefore all besides the great God are corrupt spirits (gods), deceiving and destroying mankind; they must on no account be worshipped: whoever worships the whole class of corrupt spirits (gods) offends against the commands of Heaven. The hymn says Corrupt devils very easily delude the souls of men: If you perversely believe in them, you will at last go down to hell. We exhort you all, brave people, to awake from your lethargy, And early make your peace with your exalted heavenly Father. The third command. Thou shall not take the name of the great God in vain. The name of the great God is Jehovah, which men must not take in vain. Whoever takes God's name in vain, and rails against Heaven, offends gainst this command. The hymn says Our exalted heavenly Father is infinitely honour. able; Those who disobey and profane his name, seldom come to a good end. If unacquainted with the true doctrine, you should be on your guard, On the seventh For those who wantonly blaspheme involve themselves in endless crime. The fourth command. day, the day of worship, you should praisethe great God for his goodness. In the beginning, the great God made heaven and earth, land and sea, men and things, in six days, and having finished his works on the seventh day, he called it the day of rest (or Sabbath): therefore all the men of the world, who enjoy the blessing of the great God, should on every seventh day especially reverence and worship the great God, and praise him for his goodness. The hymn says All the happiness enjoyed in the world comes from Heaven, It is therefore reasonable that men should give thanks and sing; At the daily morning and evening meal there should be thanksgiving, But on the seventh day, the worship should be more intense. The fifth command. Thou shalt honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged. Whoever disobeys his parents breaks this command. The hymn says History records that Shun honoured his parents to the end of his daye, Causing them to experience the intensest pleasure and delight: August Heaven will abundantly reward all who act thus, And do not disappoint the expectation of the authors of their being. The sixth command. Thou shalt not kill or injure men. He who kills another kills himself, and he who injures another injures himself. Whoever does either of these breaks the above command. The hymn says The whole world is one family, and all men are brethren, How can they be permitted to kill and destroy one another? The outward form and the inward principle are both conferred by Heaven, Allow every one, then, to enjoy the ease and comfort which he desires. The seventh command. Thou shalt not commit adultery, or any thing unclean. All the men in the world are brethren, and all the women in the world are sisters. Among the sons and daughters of the celestial hall, the males are on one side and the females on the other, and are not allowed to intermix. Should either men or women practise lewdness, they are considered outcasts, as having offended against one of the chief commands of Heaven. The casting of amorous glances, the harbouring of lustful imaginations, the smoking of foreign tobacco (opium), or the singing of libidinous songs, must all be considered as breaches of this command. The hymn says Lust and lewdness constitute the chief transgression; Those who practise it become outcasts, and are the objects of pity. If you wish to enjoy the substantial happiness of heaven, It is necessary to deny yourself and earnestly cultivate virtue. The eighth command. Thou shalt not rob or steal. Riches and poverty are determined by the great God, but whosoever robs or plunders the property of others, transgresses this command. STRIKING TESTIMONY TO THE RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION. By way of supplement to the foregoing article, we have now the pleasure Br to present some remarkable facts elicited by Dr. Medhurst from two Chinamen-the one a deserter from the camp of the revolutionists, and the other an avowed follower of Tae-ping-Wang, and a firm believer in the Divinely-appointed character of his mission. When it is borne in mind that these two men, though perfectly independent witnesses, testify with the most entire accordance, both of fact and sentiment, as to all they had seen and known regarding the object and proceedings of the revolutionists, and that their statements are no less in harmony with the opinions previously entertained as to the anti-idolatrous, and religious character of the movement, we are persuaded that the communications now presented will be read with no ordinary interest. Our first extract is from the evidence of the deserter, contained in a letter from Dr. Medhurst inserted in a recent Number of the North China Herald. "I have just fallen in with a Canton man, who was for some time a follower of Tae ping-Wang, and who left Nanking in August last. His account may be considered trustworthy, because it corresponds in its main points with what we know of the state of things there; and it is important, inasmuch as it reveals certain facts with which we were not before acquainted. I do not con ceive that the man had any motive for deceiving me, and his statements were delivered with an air of candour which carried with them a conviction of his sincerity. True or not, you have them, as nearly as possible as he delivered them, and you may take them for what they are worth. "When questioned as to the religion of the insurgents, he answered with an air of 174 reverence that they worshipped God (Shangte). When asked when they did it, he replied, Every day, and previous to every meal. He was then requested to repeat something of what they said, when he chanted the doxology, as it is found in the Book of Religious Precepts of Tae-pingWang, in such a tone and manner that showed he was familiar with it. As he had referred to their daily meals, he was asked whether they had sufficient to eat. Abundance, he replied. And whether they had enough to wear. To which he answered, they had plenty of clothing. He was then asked how long he had been with them; he said, that he had followed them from Canton, and that his hair had grown three or four inches long. How came it, then, he was asked as he had enough to eat and to wear, with good instruction, and a prospect of going to Heaven when he died, that he came to leave them? Oh, he replied, a man could by no means smoke common tobacco, and by no means opium; a man could not gamble nor drink, nor indulge his lust, nor quarrel nor steal; and if one did but rail at another he got a bambooing. It was suggested that by urging these as the reasons for leaving, he exposed himself to the suspicion that he was fond of all these bad practices, and thereby laid himself open to just ridicule and reproach. On hearing this, he appeared rather ashamed, and seemed willing, if he could, to retract his expressions. He was then asked, whether he got any pay; to which he replied, not a cash; no pay being dealt out to the troops from one month's end to the other. He was also asked whether he was allowed to enjoy the society of his wife; to which he replied in the negative; adding that the women in Nanking were all kept in a particular quarter of the city, where there were whole streets of them, but that no men were allowed to approach, under pain of death...... "He was then asked whether they kept the Sabbath, to which he replied that it was regularly observed; that no work was done on that day except what was necessary. That they all assembled for public worship in large halls, when they knelt down to prayer, and that the chiefs exhorted them. On being asked who the exhorters were, he mentioned, among others, Lai, at Nanking. He knew nothing about baptism or the Lord's Supper. He was asked if he had heard much of Jesus. He replied that he had heard his name frequently, but he was not competent to detail what he had heard. He was then asked what was now his settled opinion; he had been for several months with Tae-pingWang, and for several months with the Imperialists; which now, honestly speaking, did he prefer? He looked round, and asked if any one was near, and whether we would accuse him. We replied there was no danger. Upon which he exclaimed, with emphasis, I am for Tac-ping-Wang. Why, then, it was again asked, did he leave him? Because, said he, I had a brother among the Imperialists, and I wanted to see him; in order to accomplish this, I went out secretly; my brocher then had my head shaved, and reported that I was a distressed subject of the Emperor, who had been deceived into following the insurgents. I was then taken into the pay of the Imperialists, and was afraid to go back, lest I should lose my head. "What an extraordinary view does the above present of the insurgent army! What a moral revolution! To induce 100,000 Chinese, for months and years together, to give up opium, lust, and covetousness; to deny themselves in lawful gratifications, and, what is dearer to a Chinaman's heart than life itself, to consent to live without dollars, and all share and share alike, braving death in its worst form, and persevering therein without flinching. There may be defective teaching among them, there may be errors of greater or less magnitude; but if what is above detailed be true, or the half of it, it is confessedly a moral revolution, it is the wonder of the age." But we more particularly invite the attention of our readers to the next highly interesting communication from Dr. Medhurst, also addressed to the North China Herald of the 17th December, having reference to the testimony of a devoted and enthusiastic disciple of the Tae-ping-Wang dynasty. 44 As everything regarding the insurgents possesses a degree of interest at the present moment, I beg leave to send you the following account: "Having obtained admission into the city of Shanghae, this afternoon, I proceeded to one of the chapels belonging to the London Missionary Society, where I commenced preaching to a large congregation, which had almost immediately gathered within the walls. I was descanting on the folly of idolatry, and urging the necessity of worshipping the one true God, on the ground that he alone could protect his servants, while idols were things of nought; destined soon to perish out of the land-when suddenly a man stood up in the midst of the congregation and exclaimed, That is truethat is true-the idols must perish, and shall perish. I am a Kwang-se man, a follower of Tae-ping-wang; we all of us worship one God (Shangte) and believe in Jesus, while we do our utmost to put down idolatry; everywhere demolishing the temples, and destroying the idols, and exhorting the people to forsake these superstitions. When we commenced, two years ago, we were only 3000 in number, and we have marched from one end of the empire to the other, putting to flight whole armies of the mandarin troops that were sent against us. If it had not been that God was on our side we could not have thus prevailed against such overwhelming numbers; but now our troops have arrived at Teën-tsin, and we expect soon to be victorious over the whole empire. He then proceeded to exhort the people, in a most lively and earnest strain, to abandon idolatry, which was only worship of devils, and the perseverance in which would involve them in the misery of hell; while by giving it up, and believing in Jesus, they would obtain the salvation of their souls. As for us, he said, we feel quite happy in the profession of our religion, and look on the day of our death as the happiest period of our existence. When any of our number die, we never weep, but congratulate each other on the joyful occasion, because a brother is gone to glory, to enjoy all the magnificence and splendour of the heavenly world. While continuing here, we make it our business to keep the commandments, to wor ship God, and to exhort each other to do good; for which end we have frequent meetings for preaching and prayer. What is the use, then, he asked, of you Chinese going on to burn incense and candles and gilt paper; which, if your idols really required it, would only show their covetous dispositions; just like the mandarins, who seize men by the throat, and if they will not give money, squeeze them severely, but if they will, they only squeeze them gently. He went on to inveigh against the prevailing vices of his countrymen, particularly opium-smoking. But you must be quick, he adds, for Tae-ping-wang is coming, and he will not allow the least infringement of his rules; no opium, no tobacco, no snuff, no wine, and no vicious indulgence of any kind. All offences against the commandments of God are punished by him with the severest rigour, while the incorrigible are beheaded-therefore repent in time. "I could perceive, from the style of his expressions, and from his frequently quoting the books of the Tae-ping dynasty, that he was familiar with those records, and had been thoroughly trained in that school. No Chinaman, who had not been following the camp of the insurgents for a considerable time, could have spoken as he did. "He touched also on the expense of opium-smoking, which drained their pockets and kept them poor in the midst of wealth; whilst we, he said, who never touch the drug, are not put to such expense; our master provides us with food and clothing, which is all we want, so that we are rich without money. "I could not help being struck, also, with the appearance of the man, as he went on in this earnest strain, bold and fearless as he stood, openly denouncing the vices of the people, his countenance beaming with intelligence, his upright and manly form the very picture of health, while his voice thrilled through the crowd. They seemed petrified with amazement, their natural conscience assured them that his testimony was true, while the conviction seemed to be strong amongst them, that the two great objects of his denunciation, opium and idolatry, were both bad things, and must be given up. He spoke in intelligible Manda rin, with an occasional touch of the Canton or Kwang-se brogue. His modes of illustration were peculiar; and some of the things which he advanced were not such as Christian Missionaries are accustomed to bring forward. The impression left on my mind, however, was that a considerable amount of useful instruction was delivered, and such as would serve to promote the objects we have in view, in putting down idolatry and furthering the worship of the true God. Another thought also struck my mind, viz. this is a class of men that can with difficulty be controlled. They must for a time be allowed to go their own way. It may not be in every respect the way which we could approve, but it does not appear to run directly counter to our objects. In the mean time we can go on in ours, and inculcate such truths as they may forget, or state correctly what they fail to represent aright. Tae-ping-wang may thus prove a breaker-up of our way, and prepare the people for a more just appreciation of Divine truth, as soon as we can get the sacred Scriptures freely circulated among them." ANNIVERSARY SERVICES IN MAY, 1854. THE Directors are gratified in announcing to the Friends and Members of the Society, that they have made the following arrangements for the ensuing Anniversary : MONDAY EVENING, MAY 8th. WEIGH HOUSE CHAPEL. SERMON TO THE YOUNG, by the Rev. H. R. REYNOLDS, B.A., of Leeds. To commence at Seven o'clock. WEDNESDAY, MAY 10th. MORNING.-SURREY CHAPEL. SERMON by the Rev. NORMAN M'LEOD, of Glasgow. EVENING.-TABERNACLE. SERMON by the Rev. HENRY ADDISCOTT, of Taunton. THURSDAY, May 11th. MORNING.-ANNUAL MEETING-EXETER HALL. EVENING.-ADJOURNED MEETING-FINSBURY CHAPEL. FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 12th-instead of MONDAY, as formerly. The SACRAMENT of the LORD'S SUPPER will be administered at the usual Places of Worship in and around London. LORD'S DAY, MAY 14th. SERMONS will be preached on behalf of the Society, at various places of Worship in London and its Vicinity. |