HATH builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: she hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. She hath sent forth her maidens; she crieth in the highest places of the city, whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith unto him, Come eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled; forsake the foolish and live, and go in the way of understanding." Prov. ix, 1-6.
There is a sublime beauty in the truth; it is like the architecture of heaven; it is consistent, it is strong, it is lovely. Yes, wisdom hath builded her house, the feast is prepared, and the guests are already being collected; rich and wholesome are the viands she hath prepared for those who love her entertainments.
To the honest, zealous, sincere inquirer for truth, she hath multiplied charms; her proffered gifts do nourish the soul, and strengthen its powers to further advance, even as the genial summer sun and showers do nourish the various herbs and grains; and as the drouth does dry up and impoverish the earth, even so does error dry up the resources of the mind, and leave it in darkness, and doubt, and barrenness.
In order to fully appreciate the beauty and excellence of truth, we must first get a view of the hydra-headed monster, error, who, horrible as she has always been, is still becoming more and more horrible and disgusting as she is continually increasing her deformity by the multiplication of the number and hideousness of her heads, each with distended jaws and protruded fangs; she seems to threaten destruction to all that is pure, all that is good and holy.
Never did the truth appear more beautiful and symmetrical in her outline and proportions, than while listening last evening at Lovett's Grove, (I went to take notes, but disapprove of attending such places except for some sufficient reason), to a new development of error, in the lectures of W. Gay, who professes to be a restorationist, but is in fact like no one I ever heard of in his sentiments. (I think Satan has some designs in the matter). His object seemed to be to prove that all would finally be saved, and so mingled in the Advent ideas with error, that one might suppose some Advent believer had apostatized (yet he stoutly denies it), and had dragged down with him to the bottomless pit of error some of the bright gems of truth, which he so slimed with the snaky fold of error that it was indeed a disgusting, a horrible repast.
Like the fabled monster, who served up the most unclean of reptiles at his table and then forced his guests to eat, so Satan now seems bent on the boldest schemes in the work of poisoning the public mind, and now in the vicinity of Lovett's Grove, almost any bait will take which professes opposition to the third angel's message; but thank God, most of the Sabbath-keepers there remain firm in the faith.
Mr. Gay teaches the doctrine of the final salvation of the wicked, and even the final purification of Satan, makes the arch fiend to play a necessary part in the drama for the present (a sort of fatalism), would be willing he says to talk with Satan (yet professes opposition to Spiritualism), teaches the first and second resurrections, saints' reign on the earth during the one thousand years and the wicked saved after the punishment of fire at the second resurrection, recommends good morals and good works to the wicked in order to lessen or mitigate their future pains, he means to do the best he can, but he does not feel altogether sure he shall have a part in the first resurrection, but is sure that with all (he lays great stress upon the word all), he will be sure of life in the second resurrection; he makes sport of being licensed to preach, says any one has a right to preach, says the Adventists are correct mainly, wants them to take one more step, has been acquainted with the advent movement since 43, has found 534 unconditional promises in the Bible, tried to invalidate the writings of some of our belief, and by scattering isolated passages, attempted to prove the final salvation of all, and inferred positively none can be lost and that it was better so than not to get to heaven at all.
It may seem almost like blasphemy to quote such sentiments, but I write them to show to what heights of folly and depths of error poor man may blindly progress when once he leaves the highway of truth and holiness, and that evening after evening a congregation may be collected to listen to such open and willful perversion of truth. Baptism and the third message are to come up in course for consideration by him as he is trying to start a sect, and who knows but he may (despite his disabilities) gain many followers. "Professing themselves to be wise they became fools." Rom.