“AND KNOWEST NOT by J. CLARKE.

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 8, 1862

“AND KNOWEST NOT

By J. CLARKE.

THAT thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” The person who is asleep, is wholly insensible of his condition; with him, hours and moments are alike, until he wakes; until then, he makes no note of the time spent in sleep.

You must arouse him from his slumbers, before he will listen to your words, and perhaps as he lies in this condition, or in the transition to a wakeful state, he utters words of impatience, at being interrupted in his slumbers.

As the drunkard lies in dreamy unconsciousness, in the filth of the gutter, murmuring confusedly of wealth he never possessed, and knows not of his wretchedness, as the sleeping inmates of the house already in flames, dream not of danger; so the lukewarm professor of religion is insensible to his perilous situation.

The faithful watchman cries aloud, Awake, thou that sleepest! the slumberer partially awakes, makes a feeble effort to throw off his stupor, but in many cases, overpowered by sleep, suffers the demon of enchantment to bind him more strongly than before, or perhaps he starts at times, fitfully, as the startling tones of the watchman's voice recur to his memory, now more than half buried in sleep, or as they mingle confusedly with dreamy fancies, until sleep locks fast every avenue to the soul; what is it to him, now, if the flames approach, he heeds it not.

Thus the carnal professor, deadened by the love of the world, or by sensuality, or ambition, or sloth, or pride, or passion, or envy, or jealousy, or some other evil influence, slumbers on, and death comes on apace. Shall we sleep on till the numbness of death creeps over the soul? Shall we have only an intermittent life? Shall our zeal be fitful and unsteady? Is this the life of the Christian?

All heaven is astir as we approach the limits of probation; the scenes of earth rapidly draw to their close, and while bright angels from paradise are stirred up to activity and zeal, shall we sleep? The earth is groaning under its weight of corruption, its last throes of anguish begin to fall upon our ears, the arch enemy is making his final grand effort at deception, and shall we sleep? The books of prophecy nearly fulfilled, shine forth with clearness and power; the last and final message to the world, is being proclaimed, the third angel's warning against the worship of the beast and his mark; (Rev. xiv, 9-13) and can we sleep?

As we stand upon the borders of probation, and look back to the time when the disobedience of our first parents made it necessary that a way of escape should be made for lost man, and consider the immense ransom paid, and infinite perseverance and arduous labors for us, and consider the importance of this work, and the glories that cluster about its closing scenes, and we to be soon ushered into the midst of them; Oh can we sleep? J. CLARKE.