Review and Herald, Vol. 38, No. 13. (9/12/1871)

Review and Herald

Sep 12, 1871

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 12, 1871

Another False Christ.

By John Nevins Andrews

BY ELD. J. N. ANDREWS.

Some weeks since, an account was given of the remarkable pretensions of an individual who lives near Boston. It seemed to me at that time that the mere recital of his arrogant assumptions would be enough to open the eyes of every person who really fears God; and this more especially when the character of his claims had already been tested by his own publicly announced test, and shown by the event to be wholly without foundation in truth. Thus he called upon the world to take notice that on the 24th of February, 1870, Louis Napoleon would invade the United States; and the fulfillment of this sign was to give the proof to the people of God that this man was the Elijah of the prophecy of Malachi. It does not appear, however, that the signal failure of his appointed sign has had any effect to open the eyes of those who have fallen into the strange delusions which he teaches.

On further reflection it has seemed to me duty to show what are some of the consequences of this person's wicked assumptions. It is but just to say that he is no doubt insane; for it cannot be believed that any human being in his sober senses could ever claim such offices and titles as are claimed by this man. Were no one in danger of being deceived (and some have been deceived already), I would not refer to this case at all. But duty demands that plainness of speech be used.

Let us notice, then, several of the pretensions of Joseph T. Curry; and we shall see that on his own showing he is the true Christ come the second time, or—he is one of the predicted false Christs. He declares himself to be the one described in Rev. 19:11–16:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Now let us observe the fact that these several titles and offices are specially applied to Christ. John wrote his gospel after his vision on the isle of Patmos. And the first sentence of that gospel takes up this very title, “The Word,” and applies it to the Saviour as he existed with the Father before the world was. Thus we read (John 1:1–3), “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”

J. T. C. should demand divine worship, or should repent of such fearful arrogance as to claim to be “The Word of God.” But this rider on the white horse is expressly called (Rev. 19:16) “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Now John tells us in Rev. 17:14 that this is the Lamb. Thus we read: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings.” And the Lamb himself is the one slain for us, in whose blood we can wash our raiment and make it white. This is the testimony of Rev. 5:6; 7:14. If, therefore, J. T. C. is the King of kings, he is the one who gave his life for the sins of men. He should therefore claim that his is the only “name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts. 4:12.); or he should retract his treasonable pretensions to that throne which belongs of right to Him only who tasted death for every man.

But this King of kings is expressly called by name, or rather the one to whom this title belongs gives us his own name and connects with it this title. Thus we read in the salutation which opens the book of Revelation: “And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth! Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” Rev. 1:5–7.

Observe here that this prince of the kings of the earth gives us his own name. It is that worthy name by which we are called, viz., Jesus Christ. He is the one who died for us upon the cross. He is, according to this text, to come again, and every eye is to see him. And his dominion he holds forever and ever. When, therefore, J. T. C. informs us that he is the King of kings, it is the same as declaring that he is the same as the personage here brought to view as Jesus Christ. He is, therefore, the one who died for men, and as he is already here, the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven must have taken place when J. T. C. was born. He must therefore claim to be the true Christ returned again to our earth, or he must acknowledge that he is one of the predicted false Christs. We shall find that he claims to fulfill prophecies that relate to the ascension of the Lord

Jesus, and of course his presence here on earth must be the second advent of our Lord.

Thus he quotes the second Psalm, and applies it to himself. Yet verses 1 and 2 are expressly applied to Christ in Acts 4:24–28. And verses 7 and 12 are addressed expressly to the Son of God. And verse 7 is applied to Christ in Acts 13:33, where it is said: “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” And verse 9, which reads, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel,” is in Rev. 19:15 applied to the King of kings, as we have seen. But Rev. 12:5 applies this Psalm as follows: “And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” These words were true in the case of the Lord Jesus. Mark 16:19; Heb. 8:1. They are not true in the case of J. T. C. unless he is the same as the only begotten Son of God, and unless, also, the Saviour has come to our earth the second time in the person of this man. But if that be so, the trumpet has sounded, and the resurrection of the just and the translation of the living saints have already taken place. And so the kingdom of God has come, but it has sin and death and the devil in it, but no Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Luke 13:28.

The great prince Michael that is to stand up for the children of God (Dan. 12:1), is also this same J. T. C. But Jude tells us that Michael is the archangel. Jude 9. The office of archangel is that of prince or ruler of angels. And this office belongs to the Son of God. Heb. 1:1–9. J. T. C., if we can concede his claims, is prince of the angels and identical with Christ. But this is not all. Michael, as we have learned from Jude, is the archangel. Now let us read Paul’s description of the second advent:

“For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.

Only think of this: the voice of the archangel is the voice of this mortal man. The voice that is heard when the trump of God is sounded, and that wakes the righteous dead is that of J. T. C. And as he is now here on earth it is fair to conclude that this sublime event, the descent of Michael from Heaven, ruling angels and men, and resurrecting the just, is now an event of the past.

Again, this personage who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron, and who has occupied a seat on the Father’s throne (Rev. 12:5), is not only the Christ that was slain for us, but he is the priest that intercedes for the people of God. Thus David says: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. . . . The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Ps. 110:1, 4.

There is but one who has thus set down with the Father, namely Jesus Christ. When he took this position he was exalted above every name, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. Eph. 1:20, 21. No other name has such honor. It was given to Christ because of his great humiliation to save sinful men. Phil. 2:5–11. The One who sits with the Father upon his throne sits there as a priest. Zech. 6:12, 13. This exaltation to the throne of God is ascribed to him who shall in the end rule the nations with a rod of iron. But before he does this, he must minister there as a great High Priest. Now J. T. C. claims this office of King of kings; but as has been shown, it stands connected with the office of High Priest, which is first filled, and then that of king comes next. If, therefore, Mr. C. is this Mighty Potentate who rides forth for the destruction of sinners, he is of necessity the one who has served as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. And thus if his assumptions are correct, he is the identical Christ that died for men, that rose again, that ascended to Heaven, that sat down upon the Father’s throne far above every name that is named, that served there as a High Priest, while there was one, that finished his work and descended with a mighty shout uttered by himself, and that has resurrected the just, and changed the living saints, and that is now the King of kings, sitting upon his own throne as once he sat upon the Father’s as a priest.

Either the second advent is a past event, and all its wonderful scenes have already met their fulfillment, or the conclusion is unavoidable that we have now in our land another false Christ.

Can any candid man deny the justice of this conclusion, or set aside the force of this reasoning? What has become of our dear Redeemer? Has he been taken away, and no information given us concerning his fate? Or has his second advent occurred in the person of a poor mortal like ourselves? Is this the fulfillment of the blessed hope? Where are the sleeping saints? Where are the martyrs? Where is the Man of Calvary? Where is the head that was crowned with thorns, the face that was spit upon, the hands and the feet that were nailed to the cross, and the side that received the spear, as it was thrust into the heart of the Son of God? Where is the Man of Sorrows? Where, rather, is the King in his beauty, coming to be admired in all them that believe in that day.

In place of Him who is our joy, our life, our Heaven, we have a poor mortal, weak, erring and sinful, like the rest of mankind. He cannot claim the offices which he claims only by maintaining that he is the Christ. Perhaps he has never done this in so many words. But the titles which he claims pertain alone to the Man of Calvary, as has been already shown. But one thing Mr. C. certainly does do: He lets the Saviour have all the suffering and he takes to himself all the glory. But the suffering and the glory go together. Luke 17:24, 25; Heb. 12:2. The one who suffers is the one who shall reign. If Mr. C. was slain for us, then Christ has come indeed the second time, much in the same way as he is said to have come a hundred years ago in the person of Ann Lee. But if Mr. C. is not the Saviour come again, then his claim to the glory that was promised to the dying Lamb of God is a blasphemous claim, and he himself adds one more to the long list of false Christs.

One thing more is worthy of notice in this article. Mr. C. says that he is the Elijah of the prophecy of Malachi. In the New Testament we do read of one who came in the spirit and power of Elias to do the very work predicted by Malachi. Compare Mal. 4:5, 6; Luke 1:17. The contrast between his words and those of Mr. C. is strongly marked. Thus John the Baptist said: “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.” Matt. 3:11. But our friend Curry has stepped into the shoes of Christ, and claims that they belong to him.

For extracts from the writings of Mr. Curry, on which this article is based, see ADVENT REVIEW of May 16, 1871.

THE GATHERING OF THE ELECT.

By Uriah Smith

“And He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other.” Matt. 24:31.

Whom will the angels to glory call, When a doomed race is to ruin hurled? When the great day of God’s wrath shall fall, Sudden, remediless, on the world? Not for the great ones will search be made, Not for the mighty on thrones of power, Not for the warriors, through blood who wade— No call for these in that awful hour.

Whom will the angels be sent to bear, Honored and loved to their Saviour’s side? Not the decked form of the millionaire, Not the blind devotee of pride. Ne’er will the questions by them be raised, Who has acquired an honored name? Who by the fickle crowd is praised? Who stands high on the roll of fame?

These are the baubles of fading earth, Sought alone by the sons of night; Never with gems of heavenly worth, Rank they of value in God’s pure sight. Heaven regards the upright in heart, Prizes a spirit meek and mild, Sets for its endless bliss apart Him who is harmless and undefiled.

They who wrestle with doubt and sin, Who to the tempter ne’er basely yield, Heroes in the stern strife within, On the heart’s unseen battle-field, Seeking, but not for mortal fame, Mercy and goodness, truth and love, Scorning alike earth’s praise and blame, Making their record right above—

These are the jewels the Lord will own, Guests he will bid to his banquet hall, Slighted on earth, despised, unknown, Heaven’s high honors now on them fall. Such find glory at last their home, Borne in triumph from land and sea— And when for such the angels come, Oh! will they come for you and me?

U. S.

The Danger of Forsaking Simplicity

THERE is no truth more important, and few less thought of, than this: the more we forsake simplicity in anything the more we multiply the means of corruption and error.

Looking Into the Heart's Corruption

GET in the habit of looking long and steadily at your own heart, gazing down into its depths of corruption, and do this till you look your sins out of countenance, and they flee abashed.

Bible Hygiene

In the records of God's providential dealing with the race, the Hebrews hold a high rank. These descendants of the worthy patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were proud of the blood in their veins, and, in the days of Christ, are heard to say, boastfully, “We have Abraham to our father.”

Abraham was a truly grand character in his day. “I know him,” says the great God, “that he will command his children and his household after him.” Gen. 18: 19. He is made the father of all the faithful. Rom. 4: 11, 16. The reason his children were to be in number like the dust of the earth, Gen. 13: 16, or, as the sand upon the sea-shore, chap. 22: 17, or, as the stars of heaven, chap. 15: 5; 26: 4, is given thus: “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Verse 5. The secret of his moral greatness lay in the fact that he was true to principle, and possessed unlimited faith in God, and in his providential dealings with the faithful.

There is much of thrilling interest in the sacred sketches of Isaac, of Jacob and his twelve sons, the slavery of Joseph, his elevation, the subsequent slavery of the Hebrews, and their miraculous deliverance. God designed to do great things for them; hence in their early history, his wonderful leadings, and his prohibitions, designed to restrict appetite, and to provide for them the most healthful food.

During four hundred and thirty years of slavery in a heathen land, the habits of the Hebrews became more or less corrupted. And as their moral powers became weak, in the same degree appetite and passion grew stronger. With a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, God brought them from the land of servitude into the wilderness, where he proposed to reform them. Their wrong habits in Egypt had made them irritable, and had disqualified them to endure the pangs of thirst, or the gnawings of perverted appetite.

The waters of Marah were bitter, and a general cry of murmuring rang through the host of Israel, and reached the ear of Moses, “What shall we drink?” A certain tree cast into the waters made them sweet. This quieted their murmurings for the time. And the Lord “made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, and said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that healeth thee.”

The candid reader will not fail to see that the gracious God of the Hebrews regarded the health of his people as a matter of first importance. He promised them health if they would obey. Indeed, no fact appears more distinct upon the Sacred Record than this, that in the great work of reforming them, and restoring them from wrong habits contracted in Egypt, which affected their physical, moral, and spiritual natures, God commenced with the appetite.

And God does not propose to work miracles for the health of his people, while they indulge in habits injurious to health. He designs to make them healthy and happy by restricting their diet, and thereby restoring natural appetite and mild temper. He is soon to take his people to the land of promise, a second Eden marred somewhat by the curse, and establish them there a healthy, happy, holy people. But before doing this, he would reform them in their dietetic habits, by taking them back, step by step, as near as possible to the purity of his original purpose when he provided the simple fruits, grains, and vegetables, as the best food for man.

Thirty days after the departure from Egypt, the Hebrews were encamped in the Wilderness of Sin, and there the circumstances of their position tested their trembling faith. It was evident that the chances for food were against them, unless God should work a perpetual miracle. And the infidel question was murmured through the camp, “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” And the whole congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Ex. 16: 3.

The case was an urgent one. Something must be done. The people must have food. The necessity of his people was God's opportunity there to miraculously send them food from Heaven. It came in abundance, and lay round about the host. The God and Father of his people being judge in the case, he most certainly gave them that food best adapted to their wants. Well, did he send down to them cattle, sheep, swine, lobsters, oysters, clams, eels, and the like, tea, coffee, and tobacco? This he could have done, and would have done, if these were necessary to life and health. But none of these were given. What did the God of Israel provide as food for that vast host? The simple language of the Sacred Record gives the following interesting facts:

“Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from Heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” Ex. 16: 4. God was about to repeat his law in the ears of all the people. Would they obey? Their appetites and passions were such that the matter was one of doubt. This, however, seems to be established in the Divine Mind, that unless they could control appetite, they could not be controlled by law. God proposes to prove their moral powers, and he does this by testing them in the matter of appetite.

From the description of the manna given in Num. 11: 7, 8, one might safely conclude that it would be quite as disagreeable to morbid taste as graham bread. Its shape, color, taste, and the manner in which it was prepared for food are thus given: “And the manna was as coriander seed, and the color thereof as the color of bdellium. And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.”

It appears from the Record that the people were not at first restricted to manna alone. In the morning they were to eat of the manna, and in the evening they were to eat of the flesh of the quails. Whether flesh was given them once a day at first that the change of their habits might be more gradual, or because of their frenzied murmurings, may be a matter of debate. But at a later period they were restricted to manna alone, as the following statement of their frantic murmurings shows:

“And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting; and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes.” Num. 11: 4–6.

At a later period, God gave the Hebrews flesh to eat. As they would not be restrained from their murmurings by the word of the Lord through Moses, he gave them a chance to gratify appetite, and suffer the consequences, to teach them that he best knew their real needs. As other means of instruction had failed, he let them have their own way this time to humble them, and bring them to submission.

The leader of murmuring Israel was instructed to say to his people, “And ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt; therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days, but even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you; because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?” Chap. 11: 18–20.

We are sometimes gravely informed by those knowing gentlemen who give their influence on the side of indulgence of morbid taste, that the appetite indicates that which is best adapted to the wants of the system. And tens of thousands are acting the glutton, and hastening to a premature, wretched end over this miserable untruth. How terribly false in the case of the Hebrews! And on the same ground men may justify the drunkard, the opium inebriate, and the tobacco slave.—Health Reformer.

Family Prayer.

By Arthur E. Main

An Essay read before the Sabbath-school of the Adams Seventh-day Baptist church, by Arthur E. Main. Published by request of the school.

FROM reflection, observation, and indirect evidence found in the word of God, we believe that in every Christian household there ought to be erected a family altar, around which should daily gather those whose hearts are united in friendship and love, to mingle their thoughts and voices in supplication and praise to their Father in Heaven. Family prayer may not be enjoined in the Bible; neither are we commanded to have Sabbath-schools, nor to maintain many other institutions and causes which are acknowledged to be great powers for good. But as we support the Sabbath-school, considering it an indispensable means of grace, and use other means given us in the providence of God, for our own good, and the good of our fellow-men; so should we also engage in family worship, if we feel that this worship would increase our own spiritual strength, and advance the interests of our Redeemer’s kingdom.

That we ought to pray often, no Christian will deny. Indeed, we cannot pray too often, since the Saviour said that “we ought always to pray, and not to faint.” And there seems to be a need of the Christian’s approaching the mercy-seat in different ways; for, to engage in public prayer, greater spiritual strength is needed than elsewhere, and hence acquired by those who do engage in it; because “they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;” and as the people of God unite in making known their wants to the Father of mercies, their hearts unite in closer bonds of fellowship. In secret prayer, the Christian holds communion alone with his Maker, and therefore can, with greater confidence, pour forth heartfelt desires; and by frequent silent prayer, thoughts of our dependence upon Him who is the source of all strength and blessings, are kept before our minds. And where is there a better place than around the family altar, to ask for grace to assist in the discharge of the common, but none the less important, duties of life; to implore the divine blessing to rest upon neighbors and friends around us; to cultivate in ourselves a spirit of prayer; and to turn the thoughts of the young toward Heaven and holy things? There is no more appropriate place. Therefore, though we do not find in the Bible a command for family prayer, yet, being there told so many times to pray, finding abundant evidence that prayer is of the greatest importance to a growth in grace, and estimating the blessings that must ever attend a right kind of family prayer, we believe that we have a right to infer, indeed, that it is the duty of the head of every family to feel that it is the duty of the head of every family to engage in this exercise.

In patriarchal times, it is evident that fathers were the priests of their families. For we read that Job continually offered burnt-offerings for his children, lest they should have sinned against God; and after Noah and his family had come forth from the ark, it is said that he built an altar to the Lord, and he offered burnt-offerings on the altar; and when Abram and his wife, and Lot, with their kindred and substance, had come into the land of Canaan, Abram built an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. Now, if the patriarch fathers were accustomed to offer sacrifices in behalf of their families, does it not become the fathers of to-day to present before the throne of grace those sacrifices which are now pleasing in the sight of God?

In the 29th chapter of Exodus, beginning at the 38th verse, we read as follows: “Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even; and with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the Lord.” This ceremony is again spoken of in the 28th of Numbers, and referred to in the 18th of 1 Kings, and the 9th of Ezra. In the first chapter of Luke, we read that while the priest was burning incense, “the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense;” and in Acts 3:1, that at the hour of prayer Peter and John went together into the temple.

Thus it appears, that under the Jewish dispensation, there were offered morning and evening sacrifices; and that there was an hour in the morning, and one at evening, which were called hours for prayer, when the pious Jew offered prayer to God, while the priests were, through sacrifice and incense, interceding for the people. But the days of such rites and ceremonies have now gone by. Were we to present burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin, the Lord would take no pleasure in them; “for by one offering he [Christ] hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Neither have the people of God a holy temple, where, morning and evening, they can go up to worship. But if from beneath the roof of every Christian family throughout the land, there should, at the morning and evening hour, ascend the voice of grateful praise and earnest supplication, as husband and wife, father and mother, son and daughter, the whole household, assemble around the family altar, would not this voice go up before the throne of mercy, far sweeter than any offering of the sweetest savor made by fire unto the Lord? And would not the Lord meet his children there, even as he met the children of Israel before the door of the tabernacle?

In the 6th chapter of Ephesians, from the 13th to the 17th verse inclusive, Paul describes the spiritual armor of the Christian soldier; and in the 18th verse he seems to show the necessity of prayer, in order that the “soldier of the cross” may contend successfully against principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. In this verse we find these words, “Praying with all prayer”—a phrase evidently referring to the different kinds of prayer. But as to what these different kinds are, all may not agree; yet, being taught the necessity of frequent prayer, and in view of the hallowed influences that must cluster around a family altar, upon which there burns, each day, the incense, not of long, formal prayers, cold and heartless, but of short, earnest, heartfelt ones, may we not justly infer that there is to be included this kind of prayer, along with public prayer, private devotion, prayer that is but the breathing forth to God of the soul’s desires, and that which is uttered with the voice from the heart?

My brother, the Saviour bids you enter the closet, and pray to your Father in secret; you believe, also, that Christians ought to regularly assemble where prayer is wont to be made; and that in your daily avocations it is good to frequently turn your thoughts from earthly to divine things. But does not the Spirit sometimes tell you, when your heart is warmest with love to God, to erect a family altar, that you may daily present a tribute of thanksgiving for life and its manifold attendant blessings given to you and yours, and ask for needed strength and wisdom? Obey the still, small voice when thus it speaks to you; and your own soul will each day enjoy the blessings of the Holy Spirit; they who gather with you will be brought under the sacred influences of family worship; and if there be any of the circle far away, they can feel that the loved ones at home remember them, as they offer before the Lord the sacrifice, not of a lamb, without spot or blemish, neither of flour for a burnt-offering, nor of beaten oil; but of a broken and contrite heart—a sacrifice the Lord will not despise, for “the prayer of the upright is his delight.”

May the language of your heart then be, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee;” and, “Let my prayer be set before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”—Sabbath Recorder.

H. F. PHELPS

By H. F. Phelps

Joy.

“But the fruits of the Spirit are these, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Those who have read the above language of the apostle Paul's, will not deny but that joy is a grace to be cultivated, and that it is very essential to a Christian character. I take the position that there is scarcely a professed Christian in the world who does not need to cultivate this grace much more extensively. Indeed it has become quite a general saying that, to become a Christian, one must put on a long face, in fact, be gloomy; and young people have sometimes had the idea that if they embraced religion they would have no more enjoyment. Now this is all wrong; and professors who carry

about with them in their very countenances, to say nothing of the gloomy words they speak, that which goes to give this impression, have something of which to repent. The prophets of old were not of this class of men, and they were men of like passions as we are.

Isaiah says, “The meek shall increase their joy in the Lord.” And David says of those who put their trust in the Lord, “Let them shout for joy;” and again, “Let the saints shout for joy.” Habakkuk says, “I will joy in the God of my salvation.” And the wise man exhorts us, “In the day of prosperity, be joyful.” That's just it, exclaims one, if everything goes well, why then I feel well; I can then serve God; I can then rejoice.

But this is not the way for us to do. The apostle Paul says, “I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulations.” Mark the expression, not only joyful, but exceeding joyful. And we may not be ashamed to pattern after Paul. Hear his testimony, “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness, besides those things that are without, that which cometh on me daily, the care of all the churches.”

Now if Paul, enduring all these things, could say, “I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulations,” why may not we in the few trials we endure? But the time would fail me to speak of all the ancient worthies, who could rejoice in their trials; and I will only add one more: the apostle James says, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” Now I advise all those who are inclined to gloom and sadness, to think of these things, remembering a trite saying of one, “That the most of the shadows that fall across our pathway are because we stand in our own light.” May the Lord help us to get this grace with the rest.

H. F. PHELPS

Wise to Win Souls.

WHERE resolute purpose is cherished in the heart, it will always find methods of execution. And any humble Christian who longs and prays to be made useful in the Saviour’s cause, will be made “wise to win souls.” T. L. Cuyler says:

On a certain Sabbath evening, some twenty years ago, a reckless, ill-dressed young man was idly lounging under the elm trees in the public square of Worcester. He had become a wretched waif on the current of sin. His days were spent in the waking remorse of the drunkard; his nights were passed in the buffooneries of the ale-house.

As he sauntered along—out of humor with himself and all mankind—a kind voice saluted him. A stranger laid his hand upon his shoulder, and said in cordial tones, “Mr. G., go down to our meeting at the town hall to-night.” A brief conversation followed, so winning in its character that the reckless youth consented to go. He went; he heard the appeals there made. With tremulous hand he signed the pledge of total abstinence, by God’s help he kept it, and keeps it yet. The poor boot-crimper who tapped him on the shoulder (good Joel Stratton) has passed away. But the youth he saved is to-day the foremost of reform on the face of the globe. Methinks when I listen to the thunders of applause that greet John B. Gough, on the platform of Exeter Hall, or of the Academy of Music, I am hearing the echo of that tap on the shoulder, and of that kind invitation under the ancient elms of Worcester! He that winneth souls is wise.

“I stood to-night for an hour at the corner of the street,” said Harlan Page, on a cold, wintry night, “laboring with Mr. H., to persuade him to submit to God.” So earnestly did he plead, so faithfully did he point to Christ, that within a few hours the young man found peace. He afterward became a devoted pastor, and in his turn was wise to win souls to Jesus. Who does not envy Harlan Page his heavenly crown? I would rather wear the diadem that decks his brow than to stand in Milton’s or in Bacon’s place at the day of Judgment. He that winneth souls is wise.—Sel.

Found at Last.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

FOUND at last! What is it? A divine revelation for Sunday-keeping. Certainly all Sunday-keepers will be intensely interested in this. It is the very thing for which they have been wishing, hoping, and searching, for long, weary years, till many began to despair of finding it, but at last it has come and the question is settled. There is divine authority for first-day observance. This important fact was brought to our knowledge under the following circumstances: The Seventh-day Adventist tent was pitched in the city of Leon, Decatur Co., Iowa, this summer, and for five weeks it was boldly and loudly asserted that there was no divine authority for keeping the first day holy. The ministers of the place were called upon to produce it, but failed. The deacons and church members were applied to in vain. They could afford no relief. Not a man in the county could find the much desired proof. A messenger was sent long, weary miles through heat and dust, to find a teacher, who could bring forth the needed testimony.

At last one was found. He came; and the people listened with eager ears and open mouths; but, alas! they were doomed to disappointment. He told them that there was no Sabbath day at all now. The tent company seemed to be triumphant; the people were despondent. Must they thus give up the cherished sacred day of their fathers?

Just in this their last extremity relief came. It was announced that Eld. P., of the Latter-day Saints, or Mormon church, would preach in the Court house, and take up the subject of the first-day Sabbath. The people went to hear, and we went also. He claimed no Bible authority for Sunday sacredness; said the seventh day was kept for hundreds of years after the apostles' time, till Pope Sylvester changed it to the first day. This was better than no authority, but yet it was not exactly divine authority. So he proceeded to tell us that when God raised up the great prophet Joseph Smith, this question came up for final settlement. The people inquired of the Lord, and, lo! a divine revelation through the prophet Joseph Smith was given in the year 1831, stating that Sunday should be regarded as a holy day. It is true, the revelation was a little late, by several hundred years, from the time it ought to have been given; but better late than never, especially under such a pressing necessity. From this meeting the people at Leon went to their homes to talk and meditate on the newfound divine authority for their holy day.

We think that so important a revelation as this (?) should be made known to the world; and we hereby notify our readers of this important fact. Consider it well and act accordingly, and let no man say hereafter that there is no divine revelation for Sunday-keeping! D. M. CANRIGHT.

Decatur City, Iowa.

Continue reading: WHAT MEN HAVE DIED FOR.—