p. 1 | THE WARNING VOICE by Uriah Smith

Publishing Committee · Rochester, N. Y. · Apr 14, 1853

THE WARNING VOICE

By Uriah Smith

OF -

TIME AND PROPHECY.

BY URIAH SMITH. [Continued.]

"HIGH-ranked, and first, among the nations, who Have ruled the world sole monarchs, and have swayed With undisputed scepter all its tribes, And multitudes and people, small and great, The golden throne of proud Assyria stands. From limit unto limit, far away, Of farthest earth, from bound to distant bound, Where'er man's dwelling rose, or form was seen, All owned her power, herself their only queen. And this was that to whom the Prophet said, 'Thou art this head of gold,'¹ the lion,² this, Of the prophetic vision—but the words Of Heaven are firm established ne'er to fail;— This, therefore, yielded to the next that rose, The Medo-Persian, which the kingdom took, And westward pushed, and north, and south, that none Might stand before it, or resist its power; In whose fierce conquests clearly we discern The image silver, the ferocious bear, And (plain the Angel states) the two-horned ram.³ Thus trebly sure with threefold witness has Th' Omniscient Ruler well confirmed his truth, Which man may not presume to overthrow. The third great empire now begins to rise, Grecia; slow like some stripling young at first, But soon, at length, e'en like a strong man armed, Through fire, and smoke, and blood, and battle dire, It reached the acme of the world's renown, And took the throne that ruled the nations all. Thus speaks the prophecy: 'A kingdom, third, Of brass shall rise, and o'er the earth bear rule.' Behold it now! and in its rapid rise, Mark well the four-winged leopard, and recall, While yet you gaze, the Angel's words direct, 'The rough goat which thou sawest is the king Of Grecia, and its one great horn denotes The first great king, which broken, there shall rise Four kingdoms in its stead.' And thus it was; For Macedonia, Thrace, and Syria, sprung, With Egypt, into life, each by itself, When Alexander died. But they, too, passed, And, thus, with them the world's third ruler fell. But in the image, iron succeeds the brass The leopard yields but to a fourth great beast More terrible and fierce than all the rest, A fourth great kingdom yet on earth must rise, From all diverse; which, where do we behold? Far westward lo! another dawn of power, Another nation into being comes, And plants on seven firm hills, its pillars firm, The fountain of its strength; then onward moves, Encircling nation after nation in

Its rising course, increasing as it goes, Till like a mighty avalanche, at last, It sweeps, resistless, to the ends of earth, And high in every clime, victorious, waves The soaring standard of imperial Rome. Of this fourth beast, each land had sorely felt The crushing might of its great iron teeth, And heavy imprint of its brazen nails. Ten toes the image had, ten horns the beast, Fulfilling which, forsooth, ten kingdoms rose From Rome's vast empire, three, indeed, of whom, Uprooted were by that one little horn. Yea, even that 'man of sin,' none other than¹ The bold blasphemous rule of Papacy. Thus does it correspond in nicest deed To its prophetic symbol; this is he Who fain himself would magnify above All that is known of God in Heaven or earth, Celestial honors does the Pope usurp, And clothes himself with robes of deity. And he has thought e'en 'times and laws' to change, And 'gainst the saints relentless war has waged. And now, where'er Catholicism lives Among the kings of earth, his power is felt,— The iron amid the clay.— Thus far I've gone; Four universal kingdoms have I seen Arise and fall, and of the last, behold The crumbling fragments, only, now remain; And but for one more kingdom can we look, The endless kingdom of the God of Heaven. The image have I followed, till we stand, Even now upon the ends of its ten toes, Full well matured and ready to receive The fatal blow of that great 'Stone,' which, as It grinds the whole to powder, fills the earth— And next in order comes. And I have seen The lion, bear, and leopard all expire; And now the body of that fourth great beast, Waits but to perish in the burning flame. The 'little horn' has risen, and in the face Of Heaven has flung defiance; but his time Is almost o'er, yea, his dread doom draws near. Then to your chart, and search the future well; For that which is to come is no less sure Than that which has transpired; I only speak Unvarnished facts, and they can never lie." Such is the voice of Time; and thus does he And Prophecy e'er to each other call: What this predicts, he hastens to fulfill. Such was the triple staff with which they bore— Who took the message as it sounded forth— Aloft the Advent banner, and unfurled, To catch the passing breeze, its ample folds, From which, in glittering characters, far shone These thrilling statements brightly gilded there; "The Lord is coming! Soon will he appear, In flaming fire revealed from Heaven above, The well-ripe harvest of the earth to reap— His ransomed children all to gather home— Who his appearing love and joyous hail— But vengeance take on them that know not God. That fearful day is near, and hasteth on, That like an oven shall burn, when all the proud, Yea, all that wicked live, shall be as stubble—

When earth and all the works that are therein, Burned up shall be, and e'en the elements, Themselves, shall melt with fervent, glowing heat."

Which to sustain, full many a proof had they Decisive drawn straight from the word of God; And hist'ry all combined to prove it truth; But high o'er all, illustrious, brilliant blazed, These doubt-dispelling words, "Thus saith the Lord." Around this standard there were gath'ring fast A fearless, faithful band, to bear it on. Men paused and listened, and forgot awhile, In mute suspense—while on their ears the loud Alarm-notes fell—their fav'rite phantoms each; And ceased awhile to dream their darling dream, Of happy ages yet on earth to dawn. Satan's whole fabric of deception, vast, From base to summit shook, and promised well To crash in ruin down; the Fiend saw this, Alarmed, and trembled lest the world should all, His foul, deceptive plots detect at length, And flee his clutches safe; and fearful saw Mankind awake around, and one by one Break from his meshes, and themselves unite With that devoted band, who Truth, alone, Now sought to follow, and who, though they came From sects diverse, all differences forgot, And 'round their hearts drew firm the cords of love And unity, and in one common cause, To serve their coming Lord, united all, The more to swell the warning o'er the world. All this the Devil saw, from his high stand, Where he o'er looked the field, and gnashed his teeth, And to himself, in quivering rage, thus howled: "O, hateful band! O, most enraging foe! Who thus should rise to thwart my prospering plans! And intercept my best laid schemes! and wake The world to their condition, and expose My deep designs, and rob me of my prey! Who thus should thrust their miscreated forms Among mankind, and warn them of their state! And so the fervent strenuous efforts all Of my most faithful emissaries balk! And cheat me of revenge—ay! but revenge I'll have; even on this odious band itself, I'll wreak my direst vengeance; and will blow My fiercest blast;—but not too openly Must I the storm begin; else, all my plans Will but themselves defeat, and only prove A trap to take myself in; but I'll move Beneath disguise most deep, that surest is. Full well the way I know in which they have Begun their journey, and it leads to those Bright seats of bliss, from which 'tis my sole aim To keep all beings—but the path is steep, The mark high-laid, and narrow, which remains For them to travel, better, thus designed, To suit my purpose; since they only make True progress while on that, alone, they move; Hence, with all arts unceasing, will I strive To keep them down below; or, if they still Will rise, a helping hand I'll lend And push beyond; if they're but off the mark, It matters not which side, my end is gained: Of their condition then, in just such ways Will I advantage take, as only I Know how, and drag them down. Now, then, has come The crisis. Where my batteries now to aim,

I well perceive, with this unwelcome crew, Henceforth, is all my battle, all my wrath. This truth I then must haste t' oppose—but how? For well-laid plans alone can claim success; First, 'neath the guise of reason, I will brand 'Delusion' on it; then will I incite Earth's mighty ones and great, against it firm Themselves to place, and when they arguments Have all exhausted, (and, indeed, they'll find A small supply;) heap ridicule upon, And, thus, the people prejudice and blind. These causes well established, what effects Can come, but that unpopularity Should gather thick around, then scorn arise, Contempt and mockery, and finally, Uncovered persecution, unrestrained, And make men deaf to every warning given. But more than this—I e'en will dupe the Church Into my service; yea, the Church; to me Offenceless now; for though of godliness The form they have, 'tis all, and what care I For that? Nay, rather that delights me most; For 'tis a mockery of the Great Supreme— But 'tis the power I hate, 'tis that torments Me.—I around them strong the bands have knit Of worldliness; in that I well have done. That is the cord by which I'll hold them down; For I will strengthen now their love of earth, Its pleasures and its forms, its pride and show, Its luxury and wealth, and vain esteem— And who but knows, if they this truth receive, All these forgot must be? By stratagem, I thus will take them, and they in my power, A firm support will prove to all my plans; For I will join professors and divines, Church-men and worldly-men, drunkards and thieves, And every being, vile, both heart and hand, In one grand mass, to crush this rising truth. Now will I go, and give instructions clear, To all my legions; for my time is short. And what I would, I quickly must perform." This said, he straightway started to fulfill.

Meanwhile, their march the pilgrim band took up, And higher raised their warning banner, bright, And in a louder tone the message gave: The earthquake rockings ran more violent Through all the public mind, increasing still. But now began t' appear alarming signs, And unmistakable, that Satan his Design was fast effecting, and among The multitude was kindling fast the fires, The baleful fires, of opposition 'round. And now appeared great men, and high, far famed, For wisdom excellent, and judgment deep, Who thought this growing move to quell at once, With reason—nay, with common sense alone; In this deceived they soon ran high ashore, And as they floundered there, sang ridicule, Themselves the most ridiculous of all. And, ever and anon, the gath'ring frowns Of that strange idol, Popularity, Betokened coming storms, nor far away; But nearer as they came, more firmly bound, This body-guard of Truth, their armor on, And with a firmer step their way pursued, And with their broad two-edged sword, dealt off Full many a blow mid error's advocates; But still the shadows thicken; all around, Commotion reigns, and views conflicting rise, And mingling cries upon the air swell forth, Delusion and fanaticism, all: Some fight the truth, but yet a few defend, And file away to join that company, Who, heedless of the swelling waves around, Proclaim, "Prepare! for the great day of God, The day of wrath and vengeance is at hand." But why, O Church, art thou indifferent? Why, silent, gaze on movements such as these? Does now the thought of that bright Coming One,

Professedly thy King, thy Lord, no joy Or gladness to thy bosom bring? Is now The message that he will so soon appear, And recompense his faithful followers, all, To you a joyless message? You, who are Professedly his followers and his friends? Is such the proof of all your love to Him, Whom ye, with all your hearts, profess to love? Or does the shadow of the gath'ring storm Too dark appear, and ominous, to brave Its rising fury; but bethink thee now, Back to your predecessors look; and see How fared they on their journey ages gone! Mark! how the rack, the scaffold and the stake, Stood thick along the thorny path they trod! And think'st thou, then, on "flowery beds of ease," To reach the goal? Or has the world, at once, So good become, that it will bear thee on, Upon its shoulders, safe, to realms of bliss? Or hop'st thou, thus, by mingling with the world, It to convert? Be not deceived! The world With truth and holiness wars ever, and Against the power of God will ever rise! And if ye, to convert it, would presume, Convert at first its Prince, the Devil, then There may be hope to bring the subjects in. But know, O Church! thou now art Babylon! Thy many sects, unlike, parties diverse, Denominations strange and multiform, Creeds opposite, conflicting theories, And party zeal, and party spirit strong, But ill comport with His plain words, who taught, All his disciples one to be in him;¹ Or with that spirit, pure, of unity, Which, in the heart of every Christian true, Dwells paramount, and every action rules. No such confusion reigns, no Babel, such, 'Mong those who follow Christ, and him alone. "He that hath ears to hear, so let him hear,"² What to the Churches saith the Spirit now. Unto the Angel of the Sardis Church, Thus write: These things, who hath the seven stars, And who, of God, the seven Spirits, saith; Thy works I know, and know that still thou hast, E'en while thou yet art dead, a name to live; Nor perfect are thy works before thy God; How, therefore, thou hast heard, and how received, Remember and repent; and strengthen yet What things remain, lest they shall also die; For if thou wilt not watch, thief-like I'll come, And take thee in an hour thou knowest not." Such is thy state, O Church of Sardis! Now Wake! therefore, and prepare to meet thy God. This truth, alone, will thy dissensions heal, This, to the unity of faith will bring, This, only, lop the branches of thy pride, And break the bands that bind thee down to earth; Which severed must be now, or never be. [TO BE CONTINUED.]