The Cause in Woodburn, Ill.
By William Penniman
Eld. Canright closed, this week, a very successful meeting in this place, and I feel like adding a word of testimony in respect to what the Lord has done for us. The preacher of the M. E. church, who challenged any of our preachers to debate, and who was so intent on preaching the “funeral sermon of S. D. Adventism” in Woodburn, now knows that it is yet alive, and that the number of those who advocate the “pernicious doctrine,” as he would term it, is doubled, and the friends of the cause more than doubled. We can only exclaim, “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!” Truly, the Lord has caused “the wrath of man to praise him.” Previous to the advent of the Methodist minister above referred to, to this place, we did not dream of sending for Bro. Canright; but the circumstances were such that we thought it necessary to send for help. The way was opened, and Bro. C. came, and was a powerful instrument in the hands of the Lord, in demolishing objections to the Sabbath, and in overthrowing the Akerian system, that refuge of lies under which so many are vainly striving to find shelter. How clearly the truth shone out over that chaos of inconsistencies! How much grace and wisdom our preachers need when defending our faith against the attacks of men who seem to be urged on by the enemy of all righteousness to overthrow the truth. How fully did I realize the force of the words, “Babylon is fallen,” when listening to the abusive epithets of one who, though claiming to be a preacher of the gospel, and a minister of God, yet exhibited the pugilistic propensities of the prize-fighter. There must be something “rotten in Denmark,” or such preachers would not be sent out to proclaim the gospel. The calm, Christian spirit which Bro. C. maintained throughout the discussion, and that when he was even mocked, and the most unchristian language used against him, gave him many friends among those without. We had the pleasure of listening to several very interesting and profitable discourses before and after the debate. One of them, on the coming of Christ, very forcibly impressed me in regard to the nearness of his coming, especially when Bro. C. alluded to the wasting away of the man of sin; and that even now they have taken away from him the last foot of ground. We all feel encouraged and strengthened from the result of the meeting, and praise the Lord for what he has done for us. Woodburn, Ill., Nov. 23, 1870.