BOTH SIDES OF THE SABBATH QUESTION.
By Editor
ELD. P. continues his argument to show that the new covenant is now in force. Had what he has written been relevant to the question in hand, we had not had so much to say about its length and the tedious quotations from scripture in connection with it. All scripture is good in its place; but one would not like to be compelled to read the first chapter of Chronicles in the midst of an argument for baptism, nor the thirty-eighth of Ezekiel on the doctrine of repentance. There is such a thing as being too prolix on any subject, even though what is said be measurably to the point; but to be treated to long columns of matter that have no bearing whatever on the question, is a tax upon the reader for which we feel constrained continually to apologize to him, and request him to have patience to follow to its close this novel argument against the seventh-day Sabbath. We have this consolation, however, in the matter: When Eld. P. is treating on the subject of the new covenant's being now in force, he is not taking up our time with the subject of the washing of the saints' feet, or the sanctuary; and the whole range of subjects which can possibly be connected with the seventh-day Sabbath, will soon be exhausted. But Eld. P. seems to think the prophet Isaiah has something to say which proves the abolition of the seventh-day Sabbath. We will patiently listen. Preble.—"But again we inquire, who are the 'all' referred to, who are to know the Lord? Let Isaiah the prophet answer:— " 'Sing, O barren, that thou didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate, than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.' 'For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.' 'For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.' 'And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.' 'No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord; and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.'—Isa. liv. 1, 3, 9, 10, 13, 17. "This says 'thy seed' (Israel's seed) shall inherit the Gentiles, and all thy children shall be taught of the Lord. Now what says Mr. Objector? Does the 'all' mean all mankind or does it mean 'all thy children'? It must mean all thy children, I think." Preble.—"But I have still more to present to prove that the 'new covenant' is now in force. And in doing so I will continue to contrast the condition of the church, or people of God, under the "TWO DIFFERENT COVENANTS.
"1. We inquire, Where were the two covenants written? The first was written on 'two tables of stone.'—The second is written 'in fleshy tables of the heart.' (2 Cor. iii, 3.) 2. We inquire, How were these two covenants written? The first 'with the finger of God.' (Ex. xxxi, 18.) The second 'with the Spirit of the living God.' (2 Cor. iii, 2.) REPLY.—The fallacy into which Eld. P. has here fallen has already been pointed out. It was the law, not the covenant, which under the first covenant was written on the tables of stone; and it is the law, Jer. xxxi, 33, not the covenant, which under the new covenant is written in the heart. On a distinction so plain as this, confusion is inexcusable. Preble.—"A few passages will now be presented to prove that "THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT IS NOW IN THE HEART.
" 'For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing, or else excusing, one another.' 'Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God, and who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.' 'For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' 'And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, saying, Abba, Father.'—Rom. ii, 14, 15; 2 Cor. i, 21, 22, iv, 6; Gal. iv, 6." REPLY.—It is very evident that 'the work of the Spirit is now in the heart.' But does this testimony quoted by Eld. P., say that the Spirit writes the covenant in the heart? Not an intimation of any such thing. But what is it? Why, in plain term, 'the work of the law written in their hearts.' This corresponds with the prediction of the new covenant, which was that under it, the law should be written in the hearts of God's covenant people. Preble.—"3. Under the first covenant, did 'all' have the privilege of knowing the Lord for themselves? That is, did all have the privilege of approaching God for themselves? " 'COULD EACH FOR HIMSELF COME TO THE MERCY-SEAT?' Let the following answer: 'Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.'—Heb. ix, 6, 7. REPLY.—Well, suppose each one could not, under the former dispensation, approach God for himself, suppose they had to come to him through the medium of an outward priesthood, and suppose each one can now come for himself boldly to the throne of Grace, how does this affect the existence of the moral law of God? In no degree whatever. But Eld. P. argues that each one can now come for himself to the mercy-seat. We are happy to find him thus arguing, for it gives us an opportunity to inquire what the mercy-seat is. The mercy-seat was the cover of the ark. Had there been no ark there would have been no mercy-seat; and wherever a mercy-seat is, there must be an ark. Now if there is a mercy-seat in this dispensation for men to approach to, then there is an ark in this dispensation; and if there is an ark, there are ten commandments in that ark, constituting the law for this dispensation, exactly such as existed in the typical ark of old. If men will abolish the law, they must dispense with the ark, and if they dispense with that, they must give up all ideas of a mercy-seat in this dispensation, and if they give up that, then they must yield all the blessings of the gospel, and the whole plan of salvation. This is what goes by the board, when the 'law goes by the board,' about which we hear so much; for the law of God, whether in the old dispensation or the present, is the heart and center of the whole arrangement. We often hear the expression, that 'Christ is still upon the mercy-seat.' The great fact thus recognized that there is a mercy-seat in this dispensation, is correct; but the figure is wrong; for it was never the prerogative of the high priest to take his seat upon the top of the ark; but Christ pleads his blood before the mercy-seat (the place where mercy sits, not the high priest), blood shed to make atonement for man's transgression of a certain law that lies in the ark beneath the mercy-seat. Reader, has your heart ever been made glad that there is still a mercy-seat above, a place where 'mercy and truth are met together, and righteousness and peace have kissed each other;' a place where you may trustingly come for the forgiveness and pardon of your sins? Then do not quarrel with the law that reposes its living majesty beneath it. In vain will that man come to the mercy-seat for pardon, who is knowingly violating any one of the precepts of the royal law over which the mercy-seat is placed; for our Saviour in the very opening sermon of his mission, was careful to give utterance to this solemn truth, 'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.'—Matt. vii, 21. The original word here translated 'will,' is θέλημα which Greenfield in this instance defines, 'precept, statute.' Our Lord's declaration then, is simply this, that only those who, in addition to calling him, Lord, that is, acknowledging his authority and heeding his teachings, should also do the precepts of his Father, could enter into the kingdom of Heaven. And so important does the Lord apparently deem this fact that he does not leave it with being once stated. In the closing verses of the closing chapter of the closing revelation of the sacred volume, it is again solemnly announced: 'Blessed are they,' says Christ, 'that do his [the Father's] commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gate into the city.'—Rev. xxii, 14. Preble.—"The only person who was permitted to approach the 'mercy-seat,' was the high priest alone once a year. And hence no one knew whether he was accepted of God, only as the high priest performed the service for him. And this was done in the following very old way, viz:— " 'And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat; and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness; and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited; and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.'—Lev. xvi, 20–22. 'And thus it appears that all those who lived under the old covenant never knew whether they were accepted of God only as they learned it from the high priest. And so it was, as the thing strikes one at this late day, that a live goat was their Saviour. And so it rather strikes me that those who are determined to hold on to the old law, or the old covenant, have for their teacher—instead of the LIVING JESUS—an 'old dead SCHOOLMASTER,' and for a Saviour, a live goat.' REPLY.—What the object can be, of these remarks about the 'very old way' and the 'live goat' being their 'Saviour,' we do not know, unless it be to cast a little ridicule upon that ancient typical service. But Eld. P. has fallen into error in supposing that the live goat was their Saviour. The live goat did not at all typify the coming Saviour. It was the blood of the goat which was slain on the day of atonement, which was used to remove the sins of Israel from the sanctuary, and which typified the sacrifice which the Saviour was to make on Calvary. Eld. P. then speaks of 'those who are determined to hold on to the old law,' meaning thereby, of course, the ceremonial law; for that was the law which regulated the service of the sanctuary; and Eld. P. has once acknowledged that the ceremonial law, and the moral law, or ten commandments, were separate and distinct. Now we know of no professor of the Christian religion who is holding on to the ceremonial law of old, and depending on a live goat for a saviour. If there are any such we should be happy to have Eld. P. point them out to us. Preble.—"O that the Spirit of the living God might write upon the hearts of every seventh-day Sabbath keeper this important truth, that the same system of religious ordinances, or ceremonies, which required a live goat to take away man's sins into the wilderness on his head, was also the same system of service which required the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. And the entire system was established upon that old covenant which was written upon tables of stone, as will appear to any student of the Bible who will carefully examine the books of Exodus and Leviticus, as compared with the epistle to the Hebrews." REPLY.—If this writing upon the heart was left to men to do, what a scrawl we should have! What blurs, blots, scratches and contradictions! But, thank God, this work is committed to the Holy Spirit, which writes nothing but what is according to the mind of God. However fervently, therefore, Eld. P. may desire the Spirit to write upon our hearts that the same system that required the live goat to take away sins, required the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, it never will write it, for the Holy Spirit never writes lies! Besides, it is not the province of the Spirit to write in our hearts ecclesiastical histories or theological commentaries. But if that system of ceremonies was the one that required the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, it was the one also that forbade our having other Gods besides Jehovah, worshiping images, taking his name in vain, killing, committing adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, and coveting; and if the seventh-day37Sabbath has gone, there others have also gone; as no re-enactment of them can be found any more than of the Sabbath. They all rest on the same basis.—There are thousands of lawless villains all over the land who from blackness of their hearts would rejoice at the reasoning of Eld. P., which leads to such results. But the prophet says that it is a "horrible thing," to "strengthen the hands of evil doers."—Jer. xxiii, 14. Preble.—"It may be seen at a glance, by noticing the few portions of Scripture which follow, that the whole system was to cease with their generations,—seventh-day Sabbath and all; as they were only given to the children of Israel, 'throughout their generations.' I will now give a few instances, and my readers can satisfy themselves by examining them. "THE PASOVER. 'And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations: ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.'—Ex. xii, 14.
"BURNT OFFERING. 'This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord, where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar; I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.'—Ex. xxix, 42–45.
"SEVENTH WEEK SABBATH. 'And he shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be a holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein; it shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.'—Lev. xxiii, 21.
"DAY OF ATONEMENT. 'Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.'—Lev. xxiii, 31, 32.
"SEVENTH-DAY SABBATH. 'And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work on the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.'—Ex. xxxi, 12–18."
REPLY.—Of the Sabbath as a sign to Israel, throughout their generations, we have already spoken, and would refer the reader to our previous remarks, Vol. xxiii, No. 19. And concerning this imposing display of parallelism between the Sabbath, passover, day of atonement, &c., we also refer the reader to what we have already said on this point. See Vol. xxiii, No. 24. But Eld. P. seems disposed to continue his chivalrous attacks upon his men of straw, that is, the objection that the new covenant is not now in force.—The whole system, he says, was demolished under the first covenant. We have shown that the former system was distinct from the moral law, and hence the passing away does not affect that law, or the Sabbath which is a part of it. In the light of what has been written, the reader can judge for himself what bearing the quotations introduced by Eld. P. have on the question of the Sabbath. And as there is no particular point of controversy here involved, no further special reply will be called for from us on this part of the subject. " 'The Lord Jesus Christ not permitted to enter the holy places made with hands. Although Christ was a high priest fitted to pass into 'heaven itself,' yet he was not permitted to enter the holy places in the temple; for he was not 'after the order of Aaron,' but was of the 'tribe of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning the priesthood.' But although Christ could not enter 'within the veil' of the temple, to view the 'mercy-seat' there; yet when he expired upon the cross, by the power of God the Father 'the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom'; and thus was demolished the whole system under the first covenant; and a 'new and living way' was then opened up, whereby all might 'know the Lord from the least to the greatest'; as the following passages will prove, taken from the three important witnesses, Jesus, Paul and John! "FIRST. 'All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.—Matt. xi, 27–30; xxviii, 18–20.
"SECOND. 'But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.' 'For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' 'Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.' 'Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. By a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.' 'For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard, entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: but ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.'—Rom. viii, 9, 14, 15, 16; Heb. iv, 14–16; x, 19–22; xii, 18, 19, 22–24.
"I hope not to be tedious to my readers by my lengthy quotations. But fearing the real point under consideration may be overlooked, I will again say, remember that I am proving that all can know the Lord for themselves now, under the new covenant; and not simply through an earthly priest, as it was under the first covenant; and the only way to get rid of sins, to have them carried into the wilderness on the head of a live goat. No! Praise the Lord, now, under the new covenant, all can know for themselves whether they are the children of God or not. Hear, then, the third witness, John:— "THIRD. 'And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.—And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. (Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.)'—1 John iii, 19–24; iv, 13."
REPLY.—Eld. P.'s 'third witness' talks very strongly about 'the commandments of God.' He says, that whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments. These commandments of God are spoken of in distinction from the teachings of Christ. Now what commandments are these? The same writer speaks of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev. xiv, 12: The faith, or teachings and instruction, of Jesus, are one thing, the commandments of God are another and entirely different thing. What are these commandments? Every candid38mind will confess that they are the ten commandments. Eld. P. has brought on to the stand a very unfortunate witness for him: for he uses language which completely demolishes the no-law-of-God theory. Preble.—"But my objector continues and says, 'There is another point which has not been taken up yet, which is mentioned in the new covenant, and I don't believe it can be reconciled with your view of the subject. It is this:—And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more; and this cannot take place in this world surely.' We will let the word of the Lord settle this objection also:—'But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.' This shows us that under the first covenant it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins; therefore, there was a remembrance made of them again every year.—Heb. x, 3, 4. But, praise God, it is not so now under the new covenant, as the following Scripture will prove: 'For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.' 'And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where the remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.'—Heb. x, 14, 17, 18. "But my closing argument in favor of the 'new covenant' now being in force is this:—Christ is now mediator of the new covenant, as is clearly demonstrated by the following Scripture:—'But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.' 'And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.'—'And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.'—Heb. viii, 6; ix, 15; xii, 24. "The words of truth just quoted, prove beyond all cavil that we are now living under the new covenant. The Greek word here rendered mediator is μεσίτης, and its meaning, according to Donnegan's Greek Lexicon, is 'one who is in the middle; one who intervenes, mediates, or arranges affairs between parties.' Now by turning to the book of Exodus, we shall find that there was a difference between God and the children of Israel, growing out of the affairs of the golden calf, while Moses was in charge of the first covenant; and the Lord said unto Moses, 'Let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them.' But Moses as a mediator, stepped in between God and the people, and made this memorable plea in their behalf:— " 'And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.'—See Ex. xxxii. " 'The Lord heard this petition of Moses, so far as not to destroy all of the people; but still he was displeased with them; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.' And again Moses intercedes:—'And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin; and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.'—'And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.' And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.' "Hence we see that where this covenant is 'written in tables of stone,' and then shut away from the people, Moses, as mediator, goes to the Lord on their behalf. But under the new covenant, which is 'written in fleshly tables of the heart,' 'all' can approach unto God, through the LIVING JESUS, as their mediator. "Now let my objector speak, and say whether I have proved that we are now living under the 'new covenant' or not. If I have, let him own up. But if he still believes I have not, then let him meet me fairly, and show a better argument if he can." REPLY.—We don't know whom Eld. P. is talking to here. Preble.—"To bring this argument to a close, which relates to a change of covenant,—of priesthood,—yea, of all things, at the time of Christ's first advent, including the time of his ministry, his death, and his resurrection; I will present a few texts to show that Christ was lawgiver, prophet, chief corner-stone, etc." REPLY.—Eld. P. seems to have a wonderfully accommodating system. There must have been some point of time when the change took place from the old covenant to the new; but Eld. P.'s system, probably on the ground that necessity knows no law, has it include 'the time of his ministry, his death, and his resurrection.' The reader will remember from his previous arguments that he includes also the ministry of John the Baptist. If he was pressed upon the subject, we doubt not he would include the ministry of the apostles. But all this will do him no good; for before he can establish his position he will have to include the ministry of the 'man of sin.' He promises a text 'to show that Christ was law-giver.' We shall wait with interest for that text, for we have never yet been able to find it. Preble.—"It was therefore his right to make this change, with the aid of his Father. But first I will present one text to prove that all things have become new; and also, it will fix the point of time when this change took place:—'And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.' 2 Cor. v, 15–17. Mark this.—Jesus died and rose again, wherefore, from henceforth, know we no man after the flesh; therefore from this point, 'old things are passed away,' 'behold all things are become new.'" REPLY.—Eld. P.'s use of 2 Cor. v, 15–17, to show that a new Sabbath has been instituted in place of the old, is absolutely ludicrous. This is the second time it has been brought up, and it is urged even a third time, as good sound argument to prove the point. Any theory that compels men to use Scripture in this way, gives evidence of being very hard pressed. In Rev. xxi, 4, 5, we read of a time when God shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of his people, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' Here old things passing away, and all things being made new, refers to the destruction of this old earth, and the present constitution of things, and the creation of a new heaven, and new earth. Does it refer to the same thing in 2 Cor. v? According to Eld. P.'s interpretation it does: for he says that from the resurrection of Christ, old things, without qualification, are passed away, behold all things, without qualification, are become new.—Such is the folly into which we are liable to run, if we will not heed the qualification which the apostle has expressed in plain language before us: 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things to him are passed away, behold to him all things are become new,' and to him only. And how does it happen that it is so to him? Ans. Because on being converted to Christ, his heart was changed, the whole current of his affections, purposes, hopes and desires, took a new direction, and fastened themselves upon new objects. If Eld. P. will refer back to the time of his own conversion, he will doubtless be able to see in his own experience the force of this illustration of Paul's. Preble.—"A few texts now to prove that our LIVING JESUS was and is a being of great authority and power; and also a prophet, the greatest of all prophets, and chief corner-stone, etc." REPLY.—Had we been present when Eld. P. thought of introducing the point here mentioned, we should have expostulated with him something like this: 'Eld. P., remember that you are professedly arguing against the seventh-day Sabbath. Now please do not spend your time, quoting long texts of scripture to prove that "Jesus was and is a being of great authority and power;" for besides having no bearing on the question, there is no dispute on that point; nobody doubts it.' But he has thought it necessary to prove this point for somebody's benefit, we don't know whose; and here is his testimony: Preble.—"On this point I will introduce three witnesses: Jesus, Peter and Paul. First witness, Jesus, at the commencement of his ministry: 'Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.' 'And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.' 'And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.'—Matt. vii, 24, 25, 29. Jesus after his resurrection:—'And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.'—Matt. xxviii, 18. "Second witness, Peter:—'For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.' 'Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand before you whole. This was the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which has become the head of the corner.' 'Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.'—Acts iii, 22, 23; iv, 8, 12. "Third witness, Paul:—'For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby; and came and preached peace to you which were afar off and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone.' 'God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.' 'By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death; but this man, because he continueth ever hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.'—Eph. ii, 14–20; Heb. i, 2–4; vii, 22–28. REPLY.—The text which Eld. P. promised, to show that Christ is a lawgiver, we have not yet found, unless he considers it proved by the words of Christ, 'Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,' &c. But all Christ's teachings, so far from proving himself a lawgiver, only show that he was enforcing the law, and carrying out the will, of another. He referred to a law existing before his time, and declared that he came not to destroy or supersede it. He affirmed that only those who kept the precepts of his Father should enter into the kingdom of Heaven. He repeatedly assured the people that the words that he spake, and the doctrines that he taught, were not his own, but His that sent him. John vi, 16; viii, 28; xii, 49; xiv, 10, 24. And on the back of this, James declares, chap. iv, 12, that 'there is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy.' If Christ is a lawgiver in addition to his Father, there are two instead of one; but John, to free this matter from all doubt, comes forward and says that Christ, instead of being lawgiver himself, is the advocate between the lawgiver, the Father, and guilty man who has transgressed the Father's law. 1 John ii, 1. No, Christ is not a lawgiver. He claims no such office. He gave, to be sure, directions and rules for the government of his church, but concerning the duties which men as the creature owe to God the Creator, and to his fellow-creatures, he did not legislate, but simply enforced the law of his Father. Preble.—"Who can doubt for one moment, after thoroughly studying the truths contained in the foregoing portions of scripture from the New Testament, that there was an entire change in the system of divine worship at the first advent of our Saviour, or as has been shown above, that 'old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,' even a new Sabbath, or Lord's day." REPLY.—"A new Sabbath, or Lord's day," is not essential to a new system of worship; and while we admit that the system of worship was changed from the typical to the antitypical, we might add that from that time there was a new God, a new Heaven, a new earth, or a new race of beings, just as consistently as Eld. P. can add that there was a new Sabbath. But as men can easily persuade themselves to believe that which they inordinately desire to be true, he is very positive that this means at least a new Sabbath or Lord's day. Very well, then we must have new regulations touching the other duties that are associated in the decalogue with the Sabbath. And these regulations must differ from the old, else they would be a part of the same "old dead schoolmaster"(?) not a new law. But according to Eld. P., all has become new. And as the new Sabbath is kept on another day from the original, and for a different reason, being thus an entirely different institution, perhaps the other new regulations will permit us to worship graven images, swear, kill, lie, and steal, at least a little. Who knows?