p. 1 | Untitled article by Mary W. Howard

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 23, 1866

Gleanings Arranged. No. 2.

By Mary W. Howard

I OPENED a book, and my eyes rested on these words of an eminent minister now gone to his rest. “I am one of those old-fashioned people who believe there will be two resurrections of the dead: first of the just, and second of the unjust; which last resurrection of the reprobate will not commence till a thousand years after the resurrection of the elect.” These words recalled a little incident which did more to open my own eyes, than almost any other that I remember. The time and place are unnecessary, and to give the names might be indiscreet. Some of the doctrines advocated by those who “love the appearing of our Lord,” were under discussion. An esteemed minister, who had grown gray in the service of his church had been furnished with some unanswerable expositions of the Advent faith, which he had designed to examine. Perhaps his manifested annoyance grew, out of the conscious inability to refute them. Be that as it may, he produced the books, throwing them down with a spitefulness quite undignified

and with an air of a peculiar disdain, remarked, “I have examined these, and find them to contain doctrines which would not have been considered orthodox within the last fifty years.” My judgment rebelled at the word orthodox. Had he said unscriptural, which truthfully he could not, very likely I should have gone on unthinkingly. But “Not orthodox,” with an emphasis I mentally repeated, “Not orthodox!” what an argument in the mouth of a minister, whose creed affirms that “we will take the Bible as our only rule of faith and practice.”

A careful research on my part, was the result of the above quoted remark; and to my joy I found that the views of scripture which from a child had harmonized with the bias of my mind, were, to use the words of a venerable Massachusetts divine, Rev. Joshua Spaulding, “Not new but old; they may be new to some minds, but I cannot say it is to their honor.”

Other incidents transpiring around me, have of late turned my thoughts to these things, and because the thoughts did not readily form themselves into expression to be copied out for publication, I have had it in my mind to make some extracts from well-known olden authors, and which I will do after referring to the event suggesting these thoughts.

I had attended two funerals in one afternoon! Two youths from the same Sabbath School, had been borne to the same cemetery in the space of three brief hours! The incident itself spoke words of warning to other youth, aside from the voice of the preacher, who well improved the occasion, entreating all to make Jesus their trust ere disease comes, taking away the strength, prostrating the lithe and agile form, then taking away the reason, and then the life. Sweet hymns were sung—“Asleep in Jesus,” and “Jesus only.”

As the words

“Jesus only, when the trumpet, Rends the tomb and wakes the soul,” were sung, my heart caught the refrain, “Rends the tomb and wakes the soul.”

Yes! “wakes the soul.” But what means that expression, from lips that virtually ignore the resurrection by holding and teaching that the soul immediately appears before God in judgment?

Surely it is worthy of note, in these times of such general misconception of Bible truth as manifested by the masses, to find such passages as the following from the pen of Richard Baxter:

“Hasten O my Saviour, the time of thy return; send forth thine angels, and let that dreadful, joyful trumpet sound; delay not, lest the living give up their hopes, delay not, lest earth should grow like hell, and lest thy church, by division, be crumpled all to dust; delay not, lest thine enemies gain advantage of thy flock, and lest pride and hypocrisy, and sensuality, and unbelief, should prevail against the remnant, and share among them thy whole inheritance, (the earth) and when thou comest thou find not faith on the earth; delay not, lest the grave should boast of victory; and having learned rebellion of its guest, should plead prescription and refuse to deliver thee up thy due. Oh hasten that great resurrection day, when thy command shall go forth, and none shall disobey; when the sea and earth shall yield up their hostages and all that sleep in their graves shall awake and the dead in Christ shall first arise; when the seeds that thou sowest corruptible shall come forth incorruptible; and graves that received but rottenness, and retained but dust, shall return the glorious sun and stars. Therefore dare I lay down my carcass in the dust, intrusting it not to a grave but to Thee; and therefore my flesh shall rest in hope, till Thou raise it to the possession of the everlasting rest. Return, O Lord! how long? Oh let thy kingdom come! thy desolate bride saith come, for thy Spirit within her saith, Come, who teaches her to pray with groanings after thee, that cannot be expressed; the whole creation saith, Come,—waiting to be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Thyself hast said, ‘Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus.’” It is comforting to ascertain by research backward, that in the days when the Mathers preached in Boston such doctrines were inculcated as this:

“Speedily, with flaming fire!” but who knows how soon? The Son of God about to descend, will inflict vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not his gospel; but he will manifest his kingdom of the saints in the earth, which is to be possessed by our second and heavenly Adam; and this, we confess, is ascertained to us by promise, but in another state after the resurrection.”—Cotton Mather, D. D.

“They indulge themselves in a vain dream; not to say insane, who think, pray, and hope, contrary to the whole sacred Scripture and sound reason, that the promised happiness of the church on earth will be before the Lord Jesus shall appear in his kingdom. Without doubt the kingdoms of this world will not become the kingdoms of God and his Christ, before the pre-ordained time of the dead, in which the reward shall be given to the servants of God, and to those who fear his name.”—Ibid.

Other extracts might be given equally corroborative of the fact, that among the ablest minds are those who love and cherish, and proclaim too, the coming of Jesus and the attendant resurrection, the hope of the true Israel, and not as I heard expressed only a few days ago in the pulpit by a home missionary. “Since Christ uttered the words upon the cross, ‘It is finished’ the work of bringing in his kingdom was committed to the church.” Blasphemous, presuming words! robbing Jesus of his blessed, all-glorious, crowning work. Not so did the writers think from whom I have quoted. It may be said the era of missions was then unbegun. But all, of missionaries even under patronage of the American Board, do not claim this high prerogative, as the following words from two such will show. The first from the pen of one sent to the Chinese. “Since writing to you last, I have adopted many of the millennial views in regard to the second advent of Christ, the return of the Jews, &c. They seem to make many things in the history of missions, that were dark before, much more plain, and encouraging. I find much satisfaction in them, and often long inexpressibly for the coming and appearing of our Lord! Oh to be found doing his work when he comes, and not idling in the field to which he has sent me.”

Another writing from his labors says: “We are all daily longing and praying for the speedy coming of our Lord, to restore all things; and sometimes we are apt to wonder why he delays his coming. But it is not he, but we, who are the cause of the delay. He cannot come as he said, until the ‘gospel has been preached to all nations as a witness;’ and he has ordered his faithful people to go and preach it. When I have been in a village preaching the gospel of the kingdom, I feel, ‘Now there is one more obstacle to Christ’s return removed.’”

And again he says: “He will come in the flesh, in infinite glory, visible to all men; at his coming the dead shall be raised and the living changed. This is a fact which I Thess. and I Cor. xv, do not allow us to doubt. Further, that up to the time of his coming, the mass of mankind will be unconverted and unbelieving, is also distinctly stated in Matt. xxiv, and elsewhere.”

Such are the words of two who doubtless went out to their labors with the fancied idea that with them was the “delegated power of God” to convert the heathen; but they have since learned that this was more than the Scriptures warrant. They are only witnesses, witnesses it may be of condemnation to whom they preach, even though individuals may be saved through their instrumentality.

Other extracts I would like to give, but will only add one from the pen of an Episcopal Bishop, whose name has been familiar to me from childhood. “Within the last ten or twelve years of my ministry, my opinions have undergone a thorough revolution. And I cannot but think that any man whose mind is ready to submit with the humility of a childlike faith, to the only infallible teacher—the word of God—must yield, even at the sacrifice of his previous prejudices, to the vast amount of testimony the Scriptures furnish to that important doctrine, the personal advent and reign upon the regenerated earth, of the glorious Redeemer.”

MARY W. HOWARD. Malone, N. Y.