The nominal churches sustain a similar relation to Spiritualism that laborers on a railroad track do to the running of cars. They may profess opposition to Spiritualism, and the track laborer may, in word, be strongly opposed to the running of cars; but as long as they, respectively, keep the track in good repair, they may take off their hats and see the cars rush onward. The only way successfully to oppose the running of cars is to tear up the track. And in vain may the churches cry out against Spiritualism while they hold such sentiments as the following, published in the Morning Star, the organ of the F. W. Baptists, May 26th, 1858:
"GRIEF FOR THE DEAD."
"O, hearts that never cease to yearn!
O, brimming tears that ne'er are dried!
The dead, though they depart, return
As if they had not died!
"The living are the only dead;
The dead live—nevermore to die;
And often when we mourn them fled,
They never were so nigh!
"And though they lie beneath the waves,
Or sleep within the churchyard dim—
(Ah! through how many different graves
God's children go to him!)
"Yet every grave gives up its dead
Ere it is overgrown with grass!
Then why should hopeless tears be shed,
Or need we cry, Alas!
"Or why should memory, veiled with gloom,
And like a sorrowing mourner craped,
Sit weeping o'er an empty tomb
Whose captives have escaped!"
Admitting all this to be true, the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead are thrown into impenetrable shade. In vain would the "voice of the Son of God" call upon "empty tombs" to give up their dead, whose captives had escaped, and that, too, before the graves were overgrown with grass.
If the dead "return as if they had not died," and "never were so nigh" while living, why not make their presence known, why not communicate? The foundation of Spiritualism is fairly stated in these few lines. It is also found in every human creed in christendom—181"We believe in the immortality of the soul." This prime article was first announced when the serpent said to the woman, "Ye shall not surely die." And the last great deception of the devil is based upon this article of faith.
I apprehend that "them that dwell in heaven" [Rev. xiii, 6] are blasphemed by this theory, which makes the dead our "ministering spirits" instead of the angels of God, which the Scriptures declare to be such. The work began (in the professed church of Christ) when idolatrous Rome began to pray to the Virgin and the saints, and will be fully consummated in modern Spiritualism.
Let him that would oppose this work of the devil with any effect, take the plainly expressed and positive doctrines of the word of God, as such, "The dead know not any thing," and, with them, demolish the very foundation of Spiritualism. If you would stop the cars, tear up the track. R. F. C.
WAS MOSES LITERALLY ON THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION?
By John Norton Loughborough
The question with us at this time is not whether Moses' soul was on the mount; for there is nothing but assumption to sustain any such position. Moses' soul is not mentioned in the text. But there are some who claim that this was a vision, and in this vision the disciples saw what looked like Moses, but Moses was not really there. Our position is that Moses was literally seen on the mount, and we propose in this article to advance some arguments to sustain this position, and look at some objections which have been urged against that view.
Our claim is that a literal construction of the record of the transfiguration [Matt. xvii, 3] will lead to the conclusion that Moses was literally on the mount. "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him." Comparing this with Luke's testimony the same idea is more fully confirmed. "And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias." Luke ix. 30. Here it is positively stated that two men appeared. Elias of the New Testament is Elijah of the Old. Elijah was one who never died, and all are agreed that Elijah was literally on the mount. The same language that proves Elijah there proves the same concerning Moses. It does not say there was an appearance like Moses and Elias; but "there appeared unto them two men which were Moses and Elias."
Peter's application of this circumstance to prove the second coming of Christ is evidence of its literality. Peter says, [1 Pet. i, 16.] "We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye witnesses of his majesty," and then refers us to the transfiguration and the voice which the disciples heard when they were with Christ in the holy mount as proof that Christ is really to come again. By comparing this with the statement of Christ, "There be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom," [Matt. xvi, 28.] we see that this circumstance of the transfiguration is an illustration before the eyes of the disciples of how persons would appear in the kingdom of God. Jesus was transfigured. His face and garments had that glorious appearance which they will have when the kingdom is established. Elijah appeared as a representative of those who will be alive at Jesus' coming and never taste of death. Moses (if raised from the dead) would be a representative of those who will be raised from the dead at the last trump. If Moses was not literally there, in this scene of the transfiguration, he could not represent the resurrected saints.
The dispute between Michael the Archangel and the Devil about the body of Moses, gives a reasonable ground for the claim that Moses had a resurrection. The Devil having "the power of death" [Heb. ii, 14.] would at once dispute the claim of one who should come to raise Moses.
Several objections have been urged against the position advocated above; that Moses had a resurrection previous to his appearance on the mount. Christ, it is said, was to be the "first born among many brethren." All the objection there is in this text is in the expression, first born, and this is to weigh anything is made to mean that Christ was the first resurrected. To claim that Christ was the first resurrected, is to deny the plainest statements of the Bible, for we have the record of the resurrection of no less than three individuals both in the past and present age. But Paul does say [Rom. viii, 29] that Christ was "the first born among many brethren." We do not suppose Paul to teach in the above text, however, that Christ was the first to rise, although [Acts xxvi, 23] "he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people and to the Gentiles." Among many brethren Christ is "the first born." In the past dispensation the first born was entitled to peculiar privileges and blessings. The birthright belonged to the first born. So with Christ; he is the one whose right the kingdom is, and yet he grants to his brethren the privilege of being joint heirs with him.
Again, we read in Col. i, 18, "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the first born from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." Here we learn that Christ has the pre-eminence by being the head of the body, the church, and he has become the head by being the first born from the dead. Not by being the first raised, or the first raised immortal, but by being the first born. We understand he has been the first born in the family of Adam since the time it was said to the serpent, the seed of the woman "shall bruise thy head." Every resurrection which has taken place since this promise was made in Eden has been by virtue of the work which Christ was to accomplish when he came in breaking open the prison house of the Devil, and thus through death obtaining power to "destroy him that had the power of death." Heb. ii, 14. Christ is the first born from the dead virtually, although his literal resurrection may have been after that of Moses and others.
In Rev. i, 5 Christ is said to be "the first begotten of the dead." This will not prove that he is the first resurrected, for in other testimonies he is said to be "the only begotten of the Father." If being the first begotten makes him the first resurrected, being the only begotten would make him the only one resurrected. Christ is said to have been raised by the Father, but we understand all other resurrections have been by virtue of his resurrection. The power of resurrection is now conferred on Christ; therefore we read, "The hour is coming when all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and come forth." John v. 28, 29. So he has the pre-eminence. "As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the Son of man." Again, "Thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." These testimonies place Christ at the head of the family, therefore he is "the head of the body," "first born from the dead," and "the first begotten of the dead."
The text which has been relied on as furnishing the best evidence that Christ's resurrection was prior to that of Moses, is in 1 Cor. xv, 23. "Christ the first fruits." But he can only be called the first fruits because he met the typical first fruits by himself becoming the antitype, and presenting himself before the Lord for acceptance the morrow after the Sabbath. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, so also Christ is our first fruits, and the great harvest is at the coming of Christ. All these texts which have been noticed above, if prove what they are quoted to prove, namely, that Christ was the first one raised, prove too much; for the Bible shows that six at least besides Moses had been resurrected before Christ's resurrection. It has been urged, they all probably died again. That is all probability, as neither you nor I have direct evidence on the point. But suppose they did die; that does not touch the fact that they were made alive by virtue of Christ's work which was yet to be accomplished. If Christ can be the first born from the dead virtually, when six had literally been born from the dead before him might not a seventh be born immortal by virtue of his death and he still be "the first born," "the first fruits," and "the first begotten?" We say, yes; and therefore there is no evidence in these expressions against the idea that Moses was resurrected and appeared literally on the mount of transfiguration.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Brookfield, N. Y., Oct. 12th, 1853.
A Debate on Immortality
By Wm. S. Ingram
Letter from Bro. Ingraham.
DEAR BRO. SMITH: You see from the date of this letter that I am in New York. I am on my way to Pennsylvania, with the intention of closing up my affairs in that place, and shall return West as soon as this is accomplished. The prospect for doing good in the West, so far as I have knowledge, is encouraging. In my last note to you I stated that I was laboring in Dodgeville, Iowa Co. I had not been long in the place before Eld. Nolon from Mineral Point came into the place ready for a discussion on the immortality question. I could not well avoid having a controversy with him on this point, consequently arrangements were made, and our discussion commenced on Fifth-day evening.
On the Sabbath I met with our brethren, and had a precious season by ourselves in worshiping the God of the Sabbath. The first evening of the debate, Eld. N. stated to the congregation that he would waive all his conscientious scruples respecting his Sabbath, and continue the debate on First-day. Our discussion commenced on Fifth-day eve, as stated above, and continued three evenings.
Eld. N. having the last speech the eve after the Sabbath, and having exhausted all the evidence on his side, and failing to meet my arguments, closed the debate unexpectedly to me and all the people, unless it was a contrived plan between Eld. N. and some few of his brethren. The people saw the injustice of such a course, and the meeting was thrown into perfect confusion. I appealed to the congregation, and claimed that Eld. N. had broken not only the rules of discussion, but his agreement. Had he intended to close the debate that evening, his speech should have been confined to a review of my arguments, and no new evidence introduced without giving me a chance to reply. I told the people if I could get a house to speak in, I would review every argument brought forward by Eld. N. The Presbyterian meeting-house was opened for me. I continued the investigation on First-day, and closed in the evening. We had a good hearing during the day, and in the evening the house was filled, and many stood in the entry.
I had the privilege of preaching only once on the subject of the Sabbath. The result was, two decided to obey God and violate his Sabbath no more. One of these was an English lady. She was calculating to start for England in about three weeks. When she arrives in her own native land she says she shall send for the Review.
There is quite an interest in Dodgeville. The people desire to know more about our faith. Twenty-eight send their names for the Review three months.
WM. S. INGRAHAM. Rushford, N.Y., Oct. 18th, 1858.
Extract from Schmucker.
Rev. xiii, 13. And he doeth great wonders. The opinion of the learned Taber and other expositors that heaven in this verse signifies the church, is, I think, totally untenable. . . . This erroneous conception has led those eminent authors into another mistake, of believing this prophecy accomplished by those pretended miracles and lying wonders, which the artful and cunning of the Roman clergy have imposed on the credulous laity of their church. But the wonders of the false prophet in these enlightened days, will be more specious than all those villainous deceptions, and of a wholly distinct, more important and delusive nature. They will consist in strange and miraculous operations, achieved by a hidden knowledge of the secret powers and mysteries of nature, and by the actual co-operation of Satan and his angels, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 2 Thess. ii, 9–12. These wonders themselves will probably be no frauds ; the deception consists in the object for which the false prophet shall perform them.
[Pretty well done, for one who wrote before the appearance of modern spirit manifestations.—R. F. C.]
THESE were the words of Jesus, when one of his disciples expressed a wish to show his regard for a parent. Our Lord would not have checked or re-proved the risings of filial affection; but the proba-bility is that the son wished to go and attend to his aged parent's wants, until he should die, or during the remainder of his parent's life; but Jesus had more important work for this disciple; viz., to preach the gospel. Luke ix, 60. We infer fairly from the language used, that the parent was dead in trespasses and sins, and he had other relatives who were also dead in sin. Let them therefore attend to the wants of thy father, but do thou go preach the gospel. What are earthly things compared with heavenly?
I think we may learn much from this direction of Jesus to his disciple. Are we engrossed with the world, and entering with them into its cares and vexa-tions? Are their troubles our troubles? Are their sorrows, or their joys, ours? Do we love the things they love, and hate what they hate? Is our conver-sation mainly upon worldly affairs, and do we with pleasure enter into discourse with worldly people, and pass the merry jest, or the lively repartee, and the witty saying with them? Then truly, are we not dead too? Surely life has no love for death. If we were among the dead literally, we should feel much solemnized at the sight; so now if we are alive in Christ, and dead to the world, we shall be solemn-ized in view of the moral death around us.
As far as spiritual life is concerned, we are among corpses; our very path is lined with their bones, bleaching as it were in the sun. They laugh and scoff at the idea of moral death, but the living need no monitor to say, The dead are here; the moral at-mosphere tells the tale. But do we realize the true state of the case? Do our hearts sicken in view of the moral death every where around us? Do we sigh and cry for the abominations of the earth? True it is that if we live in this sense, we shall feel pain-fully conscious of the presence of death in the same sense; and if we can view with apathy or indifference the ruined condition of mankind, it is a mark of death within our own bosoms. No; the true child of God retires to mourn in secret places, for those who make a mock of sin. Would it were not so; but sin has left its stain upon our race, moral death prevails, and poor man knows it not; no, he laughs at the idea of such a thing, and rushes onward, and downward, heedless of God and his law.
But this is so; it is no overdrawn sketch. We are here among rebel mankind, ourselves plucked as it were from the fire, still among dangers, among foes, who thirst for the blood of the saints. What is our duty in the present time? Shall we not divorce ourselves from earth, and lay up our treasure in heav-en? O, let us take the Saviour's words into our hearts, and obey his injunction, "Let the dead bury their dead." True, we may not be called literally to leave home and friends to find in the wide world a salary of hardships and sufferings, as did the apostle Paul, but we are just as truly called to come out of the world, and have our conversation in heaven, as he was; we may not be called to a total non-inter-course with those about us; on the contrary it is our duty to minister to their happiness, as far as is consistent, and to be on terms of social intercourse as neigh-bors and relatives; but let us by our deportment and conversation, manifest to them that our hearts are in heaven, and our treasures too, if indeed they are there. Shall we flatter them with hopes of safety, while they tread the path to hell? We may do so by our care-less, indifferent deportment alone, even though our words may not say so.
Let the world do its own voting and fighting; let the world do its own tattling; let them have the short-lived joys of earth, so soon to fade; let them converse upon politics, and party strifes; let them frequent the public walks, the bar-room, the the-atre and the law-office, and there mix in carnal delights; but let the children of the light walk in the light. O yes, "let the dead bury their dead;" but "blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season."
J. CLARKE.
The Latter Rain.
By C. E. Harris
A crisis the most important that the church of God on earth has ever witnessed is just before us. As a lukewarm people we have heard the testimony of the faithful and true Witness concerning our state, his fearful threatening, his kind and faithful counsel, and his cheering promise. Some have believed his testimony and accepted his counsel. Rebuked and chastened such are, and are zealous in the work of repenting. Must repentance necessarily be a long work? Is it not properly defined to be
“to leave
The sins I did before;
And show that I do truly grieve
By doing so no more?”
The Lord sees the repentance of his people, and that they greatly desire to leave their sins and open the door for Jesus to come in and sup with them and they with him. And is it not when the blessed Jesus comes in, and not before, that they become pleasing to God? The tried gold, white raiment and eye-salve, are what will change their condition from one in which they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, to one in which they will be rich, clothed, and will see. Will they not then be as Jesus would have them be, neither lukewarm, nor cold, but hot, and as no church has been since the apostles preached, being filled with the Holy Ghost, and confirmed the word with signs and wonders?
Let us think a few moments of the subject of the latter rain. How very appropriate it seems that the early and latter rains which fell in Palestine, one before seed time, and the other before harvest, should he used as emblems of the richest outpourings of the Holy Spirit which the Lord ever gives his people; one at the commencement of the gospel dispensation, and the other at the time of harvest, or the “end of the world.” Matt. xiii.
The apostle James exhorts his brethren to be patient unto the coming of the Lord, by the example of the husbandman waiting for the precious fruit of the earth, and having long patience for it until he receive the early and latter rain. From several of the prophets also we may learn something in relation to the latter rain; especially from Joel. The first and second chapters of Joel have of late been very deeply interesting to me. He seems to have a view of the church near the end, and it is first presented to him under the figure of a land, the fruit of which has been eaten; and the completeness of the destruction is described in the following words: “That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten, and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten,” &c.
In verse 6 he speaks of the number and power of the enemy which had wrought this desolation, and in verse 7 describes the work of destruction in very impressive language. “He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree; he hath made it clean bare and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.” The account of the desolation is carried forward through the remainder of the chapter with now and then a call for the husbandmen and vine-dressers to howl, and the priests, the ministers of the altar also, because the meat-offering and drink-offering are withholden from the house of God. In the next chapter some of the wonders and terrors of the day of God seem brought to view, and then in verse 12 the subject is sweetly changed, and a way of hope is opened; and a way in which mercy is to be obtained of the Lord. This is worthy of our consideration. Praise the Lord for a way of hope.
What is the result? “Then will the Lord be jealous for his land and pity his people. Yea, the Lord will answer (his people have cried unto him, verses 12–17) and say unto his people, Behold I will send you corn, and wire, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen. But I will remove far off from you the northern army, (the enemy who had caused this desolation, the “nation” of chap. 1, 6, is it not?) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate,” &c. Cheering tidings for the church of God! The power of their oppressive enemies will be removed and those gifts and graces which the Lord once gave them will again be theirs.
Let us read the next seven verses with thankful hearts, and especially mark in verse 23 the cause of this change, and of all this rejoicing. The floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil, and even the years that the locust, the canker-worm, &c., had eaten shall be restored. It is enough. Praise the Lord.
And now when the ministers of the Lord have wept between the porch and altar, and the people have turned to the Lord “with all the heart with fasting and with weeping and with mourning;” is not here another “promise of the Father” for them, and may they not as did the disciples of old upon a similar occasion, “wait” for it? Acts i; ii. That the Lord may speed on his work, is my prayer.
C. E. HARRIS.
Lunenburg, Vt., Sept., 1853.
LETTERS.
By J. T. Ashley
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another."
From Bro. Ashley.
BRO. SMITH: I believe without any doubt that we are living under the reign of the two-horned beast, and he is going to make war with the saints because they keep the commandments of God. We read in Rev. xiii, 12, And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him. And again in Rev. xvi. 6, For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. It seems that those upon whom those plagues are poured out, have shed the blood of saints and prophets.
We need to live a very prayerful life in order to escape those things that are coming on the earth. I find too often the lukewarm feeling stealing over me. We must live very near to God in order to overcome. This is a time when "darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people;" when sin and iniquity abound, and the love of many waxes cold.
Thank God that I ever saw the light of the Third Angel's Message, and the commandments of God. I cannot praise him enough for his goodness to me. It183is time we were all awake, and had on the whole armor. We need not be afraid to trust God and rely all upon his promises. They are sure and will not fail. What a fountain of strength and grace we have to go to! It never was exhausted. He is more willing to give good gifts to his children than earthly parents are. His ear is ever open to the cry of the needy, and he will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly. What promises he has given us! The way from earth to heaven is straight and narrow; yet I do not feel to complain of it. Heaven, if it should cost us our life, is none too dear. If we would reign with Christ we should be willing to suffer with him. I want to inherit that land where the inhabitants shall no more say, I am sick; where sorrow and mourning shall flee away. The thought arises, Shall I be permitted to enter the New Jerusalem? If we love God we shall keep his commandments, and they will not be grievous.
J. T. ASHLEY.
Dartmouth, Mass., Oct., 1858.
CAN WE FORGET?
Jesus! thy love shall we forget,
And never bring to mind
The grace that paid our hopeless debt,
And bade us pardon find?
Chorus.—Our sorrows and our sins were laid
On thee, alone on thee;
Thy precious blood our ransom paid,
Thine all the glory be.
Shall we thy life of grief forget,
Thy fasting and thy prayer;
Thy locks with mountain vapors wet,
To save us from despair?
Gethsemane, can we forget
Thy struggling agony;
When night lay dark on Olivet,
And none to watch with thee?
Can we the platted crown forget,
The buffeting and shame;
When hell thy sinking soul beset,
And earth reviled thy name?
The nails, the spear, can we forget,
The agonizing cry—
My God! My Father! wilt thou let
Thy Son forsaken die?
Life's brightest joys we may forget,
Our kindred cease to love;
But he who paid our hopeless debt,
Our constancy shall prove.—Sel.
Pressing Onward Toward Mount Zion
By W. D. Sharpe
From Bro. Sharpe.
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I can truly say that I am encouraged to press my way onward and upward, towards mount Zion. We have the word of God to encourage us while we sojourn here in this world of sorrow, sickness, pain and death. I praise the Lord for what he has done for me, in showing me the light of his truth. It shone so bright that I could not resist it when it came.
We are pointed down the stream of time to the last days. The Apostle says, Know this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 2 Pet. iii, 3, 4. It seems that we are forewarned that we cannot mistake its meaning.
O, my brethren and sisters, it is high time that we awake out of sleep. The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 1 Pet. iv, 17, 18. Should we not bestir ourselves while the day lasts, and gird on the whole armor and fight manfully the battles of the Lord? We are sure of victory if we have Jesus for our leader. If the Lord is on our side, who can be against us?
I am one of the eight here that are trying to keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus. Some of our number have fallen away since Bro. Cornell left. May we that yet remain heed the exhortation of the Apostle, Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever.
Yours striving for the kingdom.
W. D. SHARPE.
Green Spring, O., Oct. 11th, 1858.
JOHN J. CURTIS
By John J. Curtis
From Bro. Curtis.
BRO. SMITH : How cheering it is to hear from the brethren and sisters, and to read their soul-stirring and comforting letters, and hear them testify to the goodness of God to them in their loneliness. It gives me new courage. I feel to acknowledge the goodness of God to me, for he has done great things for me. My troubles and trials here are nothing to be compared to the never-ending joy that awaits the faithful; and I feel to press my way on, and hold out to the end, by the grace of God helping me. I think I can truly join in the song, "Farewell all earthly treasure." Jesus is my treasure; heaven is my home. I long for the day when Jesus will come to redeem his people. I often feel to say, Come, Lord Jesus, come and reign; yet I feel it to be a solemn time. We read that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It must be to the unprepared; but to those who can look up and say, This is our God, we have waited for him, it will be a pleasure to be in the hands of God, our heavenly Father.
I can truly say that by reading the Great Controversy, I have been greatly strengthened and encouraged, and I feel to bless the Lord that he is mindful of his people in these last days of great peril, in giving us new and glorious light fresh from the Sanctuary above, to cheer and comfort us on through this vale of tears. It is very necessary that we watch and keep our eye on the work lest the enemy overcome us, or divert our minds, and ere we are aware we find ourselves far from the strait and narrow path. The Lord has said that it will take all to buy the field. I believe it; and I am resolved by God's grace assisting me, to work as a day-laborer in the vineyard of the Lord. I want to be made free from sin. I must have on the wedding garment. I hope to meet all the dear saints on the new earth; and for this I will strive. We must be found without spot and blameless.
Yours striving to overcome,
JOHN J. CURTIS
Allegan, Mich.
Holding Fast to the Faith
By L. Ashley
From Bro. Ashley.
BRO. SMITH: I do not know how I should get along without the Review. It is all the preaching I have. I am alone here in the faith except my wife. We have not seen any one of the same precious faith since Bro. Rhodes was here last Fall. We would like to have some one come here and preach a week or more, if it was so they could. I think that good might be done.
We feel determined to hold on to the faith until the Lord comes. Praise God for what he has done for us and for what he is doing in the West. I rejoice that the message is rising. I believe the time is near when we shall see the Saviour coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. We are striving to buy the gold tried in the fire, the white raiment and the eye-salve. Pray for us. We are not without our trials; but we trust in the Lord.
Your brother in Christ, waiting and loving his appearing. L. ASHLEY. Ellington, N. Y., Oct. 10th, 1858.
POLLY B. ROGERS
By Polly B. Rogers
From Sister Rogers.
Bro. Smith : I write to express my gratitude to you and the dear friends through whose agency I have for a long time received the Review and Instructor, papers which I highly value for the blessed truths contained in their pages. I should feel lonely indeed without their cheering visits. I thank God that he has opened my eyes and heart to understand the teachings of his word relative to the time in which we live. I often fear that I shall be found holding the truth in unrighteousness, but I want to be a doer as well as hearer of the word.
Brethren and sisters, let us try to get on the whole armor of God. But in the first place we must throw off the galling yoke of bondage to the world. We cannot serve two masters.
I feel very lonely, and sometimes almost discouraged, not often enjoying the privilege of conversing with a believer in the truth. I wish some one could come this way and preach the Word. I live among the Seventh-day Baptists, and often meet with them on the Sabbath; but I see so much cold formality and worldly pride that it chills rather than warms my heart. If I speak of the coming of the Lord some of them will tell me it makes no difference if we are only prepared for death, thus putting far away the evil day, and soothing to sleep their hearers. O that the ministers and churches would not try to drown the notes of warning that sound on the sinner's ear.
Dear brethren and sisters who enjoy the privilege of meeting together to worship God on his holy day, remember the weak and lonely ones. They need your prayers.
Your unworthy sister.
POLLY B. ROGERS
Oxford, N. Y., Oct. 11th, 1858.
Extracts from Letters.
Sister S. Osgood writes from Haverhill, Mass., Oct. 11th, 1858 : "The little band here are trying to hold fast the blessed truth. We meet twice a week for prayer and praise, and feel that the Lord does meet with us by his Holy Spirit. Praise his name for condescending to manifest himself to such poor unworthy creatures as we are. I believe we are striving to free ourselves of every thing that is unlike the blessed Saviour ; for we know that without holiness it is impossible to please God. When we read of the remnant that are rising, we want to rise with them, and meet with the 144000 on mount Zion."
Wm. Brink writes from Elkhorn Grove, Ills., Oct. 2d, 1858 : "I am a poor man, sixty-eight years old, and badly crippled from my youth. My occupation is cabinet-making. I have been trying to live a christian near forty years. Some sixteen years I have believed in the personal reign of Christ on the earth, and in order to enjoy that belief I had to cut loose from sectarianism. Since then I have expected to stand or fall to my own Master, and I choose Christ in preference to popular theology. Bro. Hart called on me last Fall and wished me to take the Review for three months at least. I did so, and it has brought me to keep God's Sabbath instead of man's."
Bro. B. Hall writes from Shelby, Mich., Sept. 25th, 1858. "The Message seems to be on the rise here in Shelby: Although we have been called to pass through some severe trials, yet the Lord has done a great work, and the Church seems more than ever determined to overcome."
The honors of divine government are secured while favors are bestowed upon the rebellious, through the mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."
O B I T U A R Y
By Edward Andrews
DIED in Jefferson, Iowa, Sept. 6th, 1858, Bro. Cyprian Stevens, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. From a state of health and activity he was suddenly laid on the bed of death by the bite of a rattlesnake, the deadly effects of which baffled all human skill; and on the fifth day after the accident he closed his eyes on the scenes of earth. His sufferings at times were extreme; but his cry ascended almost unceasingly, "My Father, give sustaining grace," and the promises of God yielded him support and consolation.
This severe dispensation is greatly softened to his bereaved family by the recollection of the patience and entire submission with which his sickness was borne, and the calm and peaceful close of his life. They have the comforting hope that rests on the sure word of the Lord, that they shall meet again the beloved husband and kind father, in that happy land of which the Lord has said, "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain;" but there in perfect safety "the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den."
Bro. Stevens embraced the doctrine of the speedy advent of Christ more than fifteen years since, and continued steadfast in the faith. He, in consequence, shared in the disappointments of '43 and '44, and also largely in the trials and persecutions that followed. He did not cast away his confidence in the Advent faith, but waited for further light. He embraced the Sabbath of the Lord in 1845, and some time after received light on the Third Angel's Message, under the labors of Brn. White and Bates, and patiently waited for the consummation of his hope. But he has fallen asleep, and we have laid him away in hope, believing that the righteous are taken from the evil to come, and feel constrained to repeat the very comforting words of Bible, "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth."
EDWARD ANDREWS.
Parental Discipline.
[THE following valuable item may be of worth to some parents who are endeavoring to train up their children in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord." It is taken from Dr. Clarke's comments on Eph. vi, 4.—
[E. N. N.
Fathers provoke not your children to wrath. Avoid all severity; this will hurt your own souls, and do them no good; on the contrary, if punished with severity or cruelty, they will only be hardened and made desperate in their sins. Cruel parents generally have bad children. He who corrects his children according to God and reason, will feel every blow on his own heart more sensibly than the child feels it on his body. Parents are called to correct, not to punish, their children. Those who punish them, do it from a principle of revenge; those who correct them do it from a principle of affectionate concern.
CHANGE OF APPOINTMENTS.
By James White
Bro. Loughborough having decided to accompany us to New England, and assist in preaching the Word, we shall be able to hold two Conferences a week. Also, our limited time requires haste, therefore we have changed the time of meetings in N. H. and Mass.
JAMES WHITE.
To the Church in Lapeer, Mich.
By James White
Urgent calls for Conferences in New England seem to make it our duty to be absent from Michigan till the first of December. We therefore agree with Bro. Cornell that you had better secure the labors of Eld. J. H. Waggoner, of Burlington, Mich., at the opening of your house of worship. We will visit you as soon as consistent with other duties.
JAMES WHITE.