Review and Herald, Vol. 40, No. 14. (9/17/1872)

Review and Herald

Sep 17, 1872

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 17, 1872

The Law of the Sabbath

By J. G. Wood

STILL BINDING, AND WHAT IT FORBIDS.

In a small Tract, No. 187, written by William S. Plummer, and published by the American Tract Society, the law of the Sabbath and its importance is set forth, showing that it was made at creation and could be repealed by no less than the same high authority that gave it. He asks, “Is any evidence of such repeal found in Scripture? If so, where is the book, the chapter, and the verse, containing it? After arguing the law at some length, and showing that the seventh day is the true Sabbath, as we shall shortly show from his own words, he very coolly slides over to the first day of the week, and tries to maintain that as the Sabbath, without giving us even one text, Thus saith the Lord. Now in his own words I ask for the “book, chapter, and verse,” where the Lord requires us to keep holy as the Sabbath day the first day of the week. He says:—

“I ask for a few minutes of the reader’s time, while I reason with him concerning one of the laws of the world in which he lives. That law is found in Exodus, 20th chapter, and reads thus: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’

“Here is a law claiming to regulate a seventh portion of human life. If a man lives twenty-one years, this law claims the entire control of three of them; if he lives fifty years, it disposes of more than seven of them. It is therefore important. But it also devotes this portion of time to religious purposes; and these are the highest ends of life. All other time is secular. This is holy. That may be occupied with things which perish in the using. This must be given to things which take hold on eternity. Many questions may be raised concerning this law; but one question is at the foundation of all the rest: Is this law still in force? If it is not binding now, it never will be; and if it is binding now, it will bind while the world stands. The inquiry is of great practical interest. Public manners are vastly affected by the esteem in which the Sabbath is held. It is, therefore, right to look well to the foundation.

“DOES THE LAW OF THE SABBATH BIND US?

“It is evident that laws may cease to be of force; that is, they may cease to be laws. When this occurs, it must be in one of the following ways: The condition of a people may be so changed as to render obedience to the law impracticable. In human governments such cases often arise, and the law, unless administered by tyrants, becomes a dead letter. No good government will inflict the penalty on the transgressor to whom obedience is impossible, even though the law remains on the statute book. But the law of the Sabbath can as well be kept now as at any former period of the world. Indeed, when given from Mount Sinai, it was given to a people on a long journey, to whom were wanting many conveniences which we enjoy for its careful observance. If this law was in its nature ever practicable, it is so now.

“Some laws expire by limitation. Such are many of the laws of every country. Such were many of the laws given by Moses. They were in force until Christ, who was their end, came; and then they bound no longer. Thus the whole ceremonial law ceased to bind after the death of Christ, to which it was limited. But no limit was fixed to the observance of the fourth commandment, either when first given, or afterward.

“A competent authority may repeal a law, and thus its obliging power may cease. Every free government affords numerous instances of the repeal of laws once useful, but no longer so. In a regular government, the repeal must be passed by the power which enacted the law. The great lawgiver of the world is God. He ordained the law of the Sabbath, and he has never repealed it. Is any evidence of such repeal found in Scripture? If so, where is the book, the chapter, the verse, containing it? All admit that the law was in force until Christ. Christ did not repeal it, for he says so, Matt. 5: 17, nor did the apostles anywhere declare that it was repealed. If this law, therefore, has ceased to bind, it must be in some way utterly unknown to us. It is still practicable; it has not expired by limitation; it has not been repealed.

“THIS LAW IS PART OF A CODE WHICH IS IN FORCE.

“It may also be said that this law is in the middle of a code, all the rest of which is acknowledged to be binding; and why not this? Were the other precepts of this code spoken by God from Sinai, amidst the blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and terrors? So was this. Were the others deposited in the ark of the testimony, in the holy of holies, under the wings of the cherubim? So was this. No ceremonial or repealable law given to the Jews, had these marks of honor put upon it. Did Christ say, I came not to destroy, but to fulfill, the law? He said it as much of this as of any other precept. Did Christ’s most devoted followers keep the other commandments? So did they keep this. Luke 23: 56.

“THIS LAW ENACTED WITH GREAT CARE.

“On the face of this law are found some things which prove that God, who gave it, regarded it as of great importance. In the wording of it, a more full explanation of its true intent is given than in any other commandment. It is enacted both positively and negatively: Positively, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy’; negatively, ‘In it thou shalt do no manner of work.’ No other precept of the decalogue is given in both these forms, although every fair rule of interpreting them requires that when they enjoin a duty we should regard them as forbidding the contrary sin, and when they forbid a sin we should regard them as enjoining the contrary duty. Yet in this command, but in no other, both forms are used.

“This command is also introduced as no other is. The very first word of it is a solemn memento—‘Remember.’ This word is not found elsewhere in the decalogue. Moreover, this command not only addresses men in the singular, ‘Thou shalt,’ etc., but it goes further, and tells who is thereby intended, namely, not only the head of the family, but also the son, the daughter, the man-servant, and the maid-servant, the cattle, and the stranger. No such particularity is found in any other precept of either table of the law.

“In this command God also reasons with us on the equity of his demands. He says he gives us six days out of seven, as if he had said, ‘I am no hard master; I do not act unreasonably. I give you ample time to do your necessary work. I give you six days; therefore if you have any conscience, give me the seventh.’ For, says he, ‘It is mine—it is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.’ Surely you will not deny to your God a right so equitable, a demand so fair.

“It is also stated by God in the command itself that he set us the example on the completion of the creation. And shall we not follow such an example? If we ought to be holy because God is holy, if we ought to forgive our enemies because God forgives his enemies, we ought also to keep the Sabbath day because God kept it. Teaching by example is the highest kind of instruction.

“THE SABBATH GIVEN IN EDEN.

“Nor did the Sabbath originate with Moses, or with any sinner. It was an ordinance in Eden, when, for his sins, man was driven out of paradise. God permitted him to carry with him two institutions, established for his good before his fall. Which of these institutions is the greatest mercy to our world, or which is the dearest to the heart of a good man, I will not undertake to say; one of them is marriage, the other, the Sabbath day. If he is the enemy of virtue who would abolish the former, he cannot be the friend of God or man who would set aside the latter. By restoring marriage as far as possible, to its original purity in Eden, that is, by confining it to the pairs and rendering it indissoluble, the Christian religion has incalculably advanced civilization, peace, and all the domestic virtues. By restoring the Sabbath as nearly as possible to its purity in Eden, that is, by the holy observance of all of it, man makes his nearest approach to primitive innocence and future glory. There is no example of any community, large or small, ancient or modern, continuing virtuous or happy for a considerable time if they slighted either marriage or the Sabbath day.

“But God has also in this command done what he has not done in any other part of the moral law—he has pronounced a blessing on the institution. ‘The Lord blessed the Sabbath day’ and thus made it ‘Day of all the days the best.’”

J. G. WOOD.

Nashville, Barton Co., Mo., Aug., 1872.

Modern Preaching.

By Wm Penniman

We cannot more forcibly illustrate the difference between ancient and modern preaching than by imagining the translation of a preacher of fifty years ago to a modern pulpit. The dry and formal essay, the long homilies, the dogmatism and controversy that then formed the staple of public religious teaching, would be to-day altogether unsatisfactory in the hearing, and unfruitful in the result. Experience has proved that Christians are more rarely made by arguments addressed to the reason than by motives addressed to the heart. The reliable and satisfactory evidences of Christianity are found less in the sacred records than in its transformations of character and its inspirations of life. Though a thousand Strausses and Renans were at work endeavoring to undermine the historical basis of the Christian scheme, their efforts would prove nugatory when met by the practical results of that scheme in reforming character, in substituting benevolence for selfishness as the dominant motive in human commerce, in sustaining the heart in trial, in comforting it in sickness, and supporting it in dissolution. With the results of Christianity before him and in him, the Christian may confidently say to all his enemies: “If a lie can do all this, then a lie is better than all your truth, for your truth does not pretend to do it; and if our lie is better in every possible legitimate result than your truth, then your truth is proved to be a lie and our lie is the truth.” The argument is not only fair, but it is unanswerable, and saves a world of trouble. Of all “short methods” with infidelity, this is the shortest. It is like the argument of design in proving the existence of an intelligent first cause. The man who ignores or denies it, is either incapable of reason or viciously perverse.

So the modern preacher preaches more, and argues less. He declares, promulgates, explains, advises, exhorts, appeals. He does more than this. Instead of regarding Christianity solely as a scheme of belief and faith, and thus becoming the narrow expounder of a creed, he broadens into a critic and cultivator of human motive and character. We do not assert that modern preaching is entirely released from its old narrowness. There are still too many who beat over the old broth, and ladle it out in the same old way which they learned in the seminary. This “preaching of Jesus Christ” is still to multitudes the preaching of a scheme of religion, the explanation of a plan, the promulgation of dogmata. But these men, except in the most ignorant and unprogressive communities, preach to empty walls, or contemptuous audiences. The man who preaches Christ the most effectively and acceptably, in these days, is he who tries all motive and character and life by the divine standard, who applies the divine life to the every-day life of the world, and whose grand endeavor is not so much to save men as to make them worth saving. He denounces wrong in public and private life; he exposes and reproves the sins of society; he applies and urges the motives to purity, sobriety, honesty, charity, and good neighborhood; he shows men to themselves, and then shows them the mode by which they may correct themselves. In all this he meets with wonderful acceptance, and, most frequently, in direct proportion to his faithfulness. This, after all, is the kind of talk men are willing to hear, even if it condemns them. All truth relating to the faults of character and life, if presented in a Christian spirit, by a man who assumes nothing for himself, and who never loses sight of his own weakness and his brotherhood with the erring masses whom he addresses, is received gladly.

The world has come to the comprehension of the fact that, after all that may be said of dogmatic Christianity, character is the final result at which its author aimed. The aim and end of Christianity is to make men better, and in making them better to secure their safety and happiness in this world and the world to come. The Christianity which narrows the sympathies of a man, and binds him to his sect, which makes the Christian name of smaller significance to him than the name of his party, which thinks more of soundness of belief than soundness of character, is the meanest kind of Christianity, and belongs to the old and outgrown time. It savors of schools and books and tradition. The human element in it predominates over the divine. The typical modern preacher mingles with men.

He goes into the world of business—into its cares, its trials, its great temptations, its overreachings, its dangers and disasters—learns the character and needs of the men he meets there. He sits in the humble dwelling of the laborer, and reads the wants of humanity he finds there. In workshops, in social assemblies, in schools, among men, women, and children, wherever they live, or meet for labor or for pleasure, his presence is familiar. Human life is the book he reads preparatory to his pulpit labors, and without the faithful reading of his book he has no fitting preparation for his task. No matter how much a preacher knows of the divine life, if he has not an equal knowledge of the human, his message will be a barren one.

The great mistake of the modern preacher is not keeping up with the secular thought of his time. It is quite as essential to the preacher to know what men are thinking about as what they are doing. Comparatively few preachers are at home in the current progress of science, and too many of them look coldly upon it, as upon something necessarily inimical to the system of religion to which they have committed their lives. They apparently forget that their indifference or opposition wins only contempt for themselves and their scheme. There are few laymen so devoid of common sense as to be unable to see that any scheme which is afraid of scientific truth—nay, any scheme which does not gladly welcome every new realm won to the grand domain of human knowledge—is unworthy of confidence. An unreasoning loyalty to old interpretations of revealed truth is a weakness of the pulpit that becomes practically a reproach to Christianity itself. If the God of nature undeniably disputes the God of revelation, as the preacher interprets him, let him give up his interpretation gladly, and receive the correction as from God himself. It is only in this way that he can maintain his hold upon his age and win honor to the religion he tries to serve. All truth is divine, and the mode of utterance makes it neither more so nor less. A man who denies a truth spoken to him by the God of nature is as truly and culpably an infidel as if he were to deny a plainly spoken truth of the Bible.—J. G. HOLLAND, in Scribner’s for September.

The above requires little or no comment, as it speaks in unmistakable language, and clearly represents the great mass of popular preachers of the present day, as well as the work of the true preacher.

The idea that the grand endeavor of the true preacher should be “not so much to save men as to make them worth saving,” seems to be good. Said one of our preachers to me, speaking of a certain man, “Is he worth saving?” The remark seemed singular, and a little hard, but there is considerable truth, if not poetry, in the thought; for when we look at men who are perfect Gallios, caring for none of these things; and not to be compared to him in point of intellect; whose only argument is, “I don’t let such things trouble my head,” men low in moral sentiment, steeped in tobacco, tea, coffee, condiments, swine’s broth, and whose throats are open sepulchres, mouths the miniature craters of volcanoes, belching forth liquid fire, mingled with the perfumes of tobacco and alcoholic drinks, emitting a stench so horrible as not to be compared to that of the sulphureous lava; we are led to exclaim, Alas! Are such men worth saving? Taking this view of the picture, we can see the idea that the preacher should aim to make men worth saving. Hence all can see the importance of the great work of health reform which is going on among our people. It is a sort of John the Baptist, which makes men worth saving.

In regard to plain preaching, the writer is very forcible when he says, “This, after all, is the kind of talk men are willing to hear, even if it condemns them.” This fact is forcibly illustrated in Bro. Downer’s report, where he says, “We have always had a falling away when we came to the fall of Babylon, pride in churches, testing on the Sabbath, &c., but here the more we preach cutting truth, the closer hungry souls seem to cling.”

Let men only be convinced that the preacher lives out what he preaches, and earnestly seeks their good, and although what he says may cut like a two-edged sword, they will bear it, at least if they are worth saving. Wm Penniman.

THE MORNING.

By Etta Booth

“The morning cometh and also the night.”

An hour before the sun illumines the sky, The constellated firmament on high, You've seen from out the mountain's valley deep, Around the silent pole its marches keep; This pure and wondrous scene which seemed to raise Your weary thoughts to hopes of by-and-by, Seemed hidden by a heavy, misty haze.

You knew the hidden domes of stellar light Proclaimed last watches of the lovely night, And clouds that settled on the lofty cliffs, Were the true ushers of that light which lifts All shadows from the long, dark night away, And from his zenith chambers still more bright Pour down the glory of the full-grown day.

When conflict sore, and tribulation borne, Or costly, sacred sacrifice that's torn The casements open to our selfish hearts, How blest that morning light which still imparts Those rays of quiet peace and sweet repose, When of all earthly help we have been shorn, And darkest hours are added at the close.

These nights of peril which around us lie, Are the gold censers bright from which on high Faith wafts her incense to the throne above, Mingling with bitterness that divinest love Which the glad morning will present to view, The knotted clouds of trial all untie To diamond drops of rich, unfading hue.

Throughout the darkest watches of the night This earth has struggled, seeking for the light To dawn upon her misery and woe. In vain she's sought the peaceful mistletoe, But, lo! a darkness settles all abroad. See! 'tis the herald of that coming light Which ushers in the glorious morn of God.

The patient ones have watched and waited long, Toiling, suffering, battling 'gainst the wrong, Till truth has raised her banners to the sky, No more beneath the oppressor's heel to lie. Soon shall her children from the foes' enthrall With hallelujahs sing redemption's song, When in the morning sounds the Shepherd's call.

ETTA BOOTH.

Acceptable Christian Service.

By J. Q. A. Haughey

It is a great and grievous sin against God and our fellow-men to apply means to our own benefit that has been wrongfully obtained from others. In the sight of Heaven, it is nothing else than robbery to obtain means in this way; and it must be accounted for in the Judgment, unless there is repentance, and restitution made for the same. There is no way of escape but to come squarely up to the requirements of God; no way of dodging his justice and equity and obtain a home in his kingdom.

The people of God should be a pure and holy people, for that dreadful day—the day of Judgment—is dawning. God is a searcher of all hearts, and will separate the wheat from the tares. All will be “weighed in the balance.” Who, oh! who, shall escape the Judgment? “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” Ps. 24: 3, 4.

Dear reader, if you would walk with God, you must confess and forsake your sins, right all your wrongs, and abandon the ways of the world, or you may “be sure your sin will find you out,” and you be left outside of the city of God. Terrible will be the fate of the transgressor. May the Lord help you to set all things in order, that you may escape the Judgment.

Heaven is a pure and holy place, and none but “the pure in heart shall see God.” Yet sinners are invited to be the guests of Jesus, for Christ says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” What a blessed invitation. He also says, “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.” Matt. 11: 28–30. Come, sinner, turn right about. God has made a way of escape for you. Come to Jesus. He invites you. Be like him, “meek and lowly in heart,” and he will forgive and restore you from your fallen condition, and give you a home in the everlasting kingdom. You were created to be immortal, and upon true and deep repentance of all your sins, he will immortalize, and exalt you to his throne, and you will be as the pure and sinless angels, and live forevermore. What more can you ask? Is this not enough? It is all God can give you.

“Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and he was not, for God took him.” Gen. 5: 22, 24. Paul says, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Heb. 11: 5. Also, “Noah walked with God.” Gen. 6: 9. And, “The Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Gen. 17: 1. We have the evidence that Abram obeyed the injunction; for said he, “The Lord before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way.” Gen. 24: 40. God is no less mindful of those who walk with him now; for his angels, also, are with them, and prosper their way. It is said, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” Heb. 1: 14. Hezekiah says, “O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight.” 2 Kings 20: 3. David says, “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.” Ps. 128: 1. Dear reader, note the fact, that the blessing is only for those that walk in the ways of the Lord. Job also was a perfect and upright man, “and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” Job 1: 1. So we see that the patriarchs and prophets “walked with God,” and were perfect men. All are perfect “that walk in his ways.” And no less is required at the hand of sinners now, for God speaketh through his prophet, “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6: 8. Job 8: 20, says, “God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evildoers.” And David exhorts the people to “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.” Ps. 37: 37. And Paul says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2. Tim. 3: 16, 17. And Christ has given the express command: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.” Matt. 5: 48. And Peter says, “As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation: Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1. Pet. 1: 16, 17. So we see that we are commanded by the holy prophets, and Jesus, to be like God himself,—perfect and holy. May all who profess the name of Jesus trust in the Lord, and “walk with God” in integrity of heart, and rejoice that his ways are not as man’s ways. Oh! let us turn away from all the corrupting influences of the world, and rejoice with the angels at the purity and holiness of God and Heaven. Brethren, who of us shall have a home there? Righteousness is worth living for if we never get to Heaven.

There are but two ways; a right way, and a wrong way. The former leads to eternal life, and the latter to eternal death. Dear reader, you do not wish to die; then make choice of the way now. Come, let us be on the Lord’s side, and walk in the way most pleasing to God. To do this, we must confess and forsake our sins. Where we have sinned against God, let us ask his forgiveness. And where we have sinned against men, let us ask them to forgive us, and only hope to obtain their favor through the merits of Jesus. We should not only confess and forsake our sins, but we should make full restitution for all the means that we have wrongfully obtained from others and applied to our own benefit. This is humiliating, and is calculated to prove us, and test our sincerity, and will show our faith by works. As I write these lines, I feel to thank God for some of this spirit of humility. But I need more of the Spirit of Jesus. And, by his assisting grace, I am determined not to be again a partaker of the corruption of this sin-polluted world. In the language of a brother, “We are nearing the Judgment, and should not let the paltry things of earth get for a moment between us and our duty and crown. The means which have been perverted from the right channel,” unless atoned for, will cause many who now profess to be the followers of Christ to be shut out of the kingdom of God.

Zaccheus manifested a right spirit when he “stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him four-fold.” Luke 19: 8. No less than this is required at our hand. It is better to do as Zaccheus did; separate ourselves from the world, and be on the Lord’s side—the safe side; for God will inspect every sin, and exhibit to view every unrepented act in the Judgment. How appalling. May the Lord help us to realize the sinfulness of sin. And may we have our sins all put away before that time. Let us be careful “to do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.” One of the hardest things we have to do is to confess our faults; but this is made easy when directed and guided by the presence of the Holy Spirit. And the blessing of God is ever ready to fall upon those who do it. Think of the thief upon the cross, and let him that stole, steal no more, for “he that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Prov. 28: 13. “Duty is the path that leads to life,” but few there are that walk in it.

Let us look for a moment at our business dealings with our fellow-men compared with the eighth commandment: “Thou shalt not steal.” Ex. 20: 15, as written by Eld. D. T. Bourdeau, and published in the REVIEW AND HERALD, July 30, 1872. It is worthy of notice again. He says:—

“This is one of the negative precepts, which not only condemns the sin of unjustly taking from our neighbor property that we are not entitled to, but also as strongly enjoins the contrary virtue, namely, to interest ourselves in rendering to our neighbor property that justly belongs to him. This precept, like the rest of those that relate to our neighbor, grows out of the precept to love our neighbor as ourselves. To keep it in our business deal, 1. We should follow the golden rule, ‘And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.’ We should place ourselves in their position, and look for their interest as well as for ours.” “Men generally look at their own interest first, and, in their deal, seek to get the best end of the bargain. This sin is almost universally practiced. There is perhaps no commandment that men are more liable to violate than the commandment, ‘Thou shalt not steal.’”

2. “We should give an equivalent for what we purchase, and take only an equivalent for what we sell, unless those with whom we deal are disposed to favor us. This principle is often disregarded in having diverse weights and measures, which are said to be ‘an abomination unto the Lord.’ Prov. 20: 10. Very few articles come up to the recommendation given them. How much anxiety and perplexity would be saved us if the great family of Adam were strictly honest. Let us not forget the old proverb, that ‘honesty is the best policy.’”

3. “We should always tell the truth in buying and selling, and should not speak too highly of the articles we sell, or undervalue what we wish to buy. How few there are who will tell the whole truth here. Like Ananias and Sapphira, they will keep back a part of the truth to advantage themselves.” For this grievous sin they fell dead. What a sad mistake they made. “It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.” Prov. 20: 14. “Men will lie as well as steal in their deal, and frequently this is done within the pale of the church. And because this is done within the bounds of custom, it is thought by many to be all right.” But in the Judgment they will be overwhelmed at their sad mistake. May the great God pity, and help the erring, candid soul to behold the light of his truth, that he may see sin in its greatest enormity, and confess, forsake, and abhor and turn away from it.

Pause and reflect, if you please, and see how small are the chances of those who violate the eighth commandment to obtain eternal life and a right to the immortal inheritance. Better be Zaccheus-like, and redeem the past by making full restitution than have our sins brought up against us in the Judgment, for they will be sure to sink us to perdition with the ungodly. How necessary it is then that we have a clean record, that we may be able to stand without fault before the throne of God. True and righteous are all his judgments. He will judge the good and evil, and all will receive their just doom. All must appear in his presence. And he will execute true judgment, for all his judgments are just. In the language of a sister, “No fault can be found with his sentence. Justice and equity will characterize every decision.”

We understand that the Judgment is set, and must first begin with the people of God, and is now going on in Heaven. “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

All our thoughts, words, and actions, are faithfully recorded by our recording angel, and by them we shall be judged, and the final sentence be declared. Dear reader, I interrogate you, Who shall hear the welcome plaudit? “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Shall we meet each other there? It is for us to decide whether we have eternal life or not. This surely is worth living for, but there is a great work to do to right all our wrongs, and get rid of our sins, and form characters for the society of the pure and holy angels. Yes, we must do a work that will tell in our favor in the final day of accounts, or be irretrievably lost, eternally lost in death forever. Be all the thanks and praise to the great King of kings, for making a way of escape from eternal death. Let the righteous rejoice because man will be exalted to the throne of God, and be made a pure and sinless being. And may their daily prayer be, “Oh! for a closer walk with God.” Jesus is our example, and we should walk even as he walked. He “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”

God requires thorough heart-work. There must be a thorough reformation of all our wrongs. Sinners must repent. Hearts must be searched to the depth, every sin confessed, and atonement made for every sin that we have committed. This is God’s way, and the only way that will lead us through the pearly gates into the heavenly city. And this is all necessary in order to fit up a people for the society of the heavenly host of angels. May God help his people to make thorough work for the Judgment.

Mark the following inspired words: “If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed [very few professed Christians do this, the heart of man is so stubborn], walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.” Eze. 33: 15. Read from 10–16 verses. Mark! the promise of

life is upon condition that “if the wicked give again that he had robbed,” &c. The word “if” implies a proviso, and the condition must be complied with, i. e., the wicked must “restore the pledge” by giving “again that he had robbed” in order to secure to himself the prize—eternal life. He that doeth this must thenceforward “walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity.” Then “none of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him; he hath done that which is lawful and right [he is forgiven], he shall surely live.” Eze. 33: 16. “If a man steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.” Ex. 22: 1, 4. Read from 1–15 verses. Mark the difference made here in making restitution. Samuel says, “Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.” 1. Sam. 12: 3. This is the duty of every man who professes to walk with God.

Zaccheus undoubtedly understood the requirements of God, as taught in the Old Testament, or he would not have proposed to make restitution for wrong acts. No less is required of us. Man must become pure and holy in heart, that he may be able to stand without fault before the throne of God. Then we must do that which is right in the sight of Heaven, that we may be forgiven of our sins, and be sinless, or we cannot stand there. Only by thorough work may we pass the portals of this life into the eternal world, there to unite with the angels and saints in praise to God and the Lamb forever. Who! if he believes the word of God, would not confess and forsake his sins for the sake of eternal life? or for the sake of living a life as long as God lives? God and the angels are witnesses of every act that has been committed since the world was. All our deeds have been faithfully recorded in the books in Heaven by the angels that are watching over and caring for us, and will come up against us in the Judgment, “with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” But if repentance is sought and obtained, they will be blotted out, and hurled back upon the originator of sin, that is, the devil, and he will have to suffer for them. May God help me to see and know my whole duty, and I will, through the strength of Jesus Christ our Lord, perform it. Only give me a home with the angelic host in the world to come, and what more can I ask? I ask no more. May the angels of God watch around his people, and may they overcome the last sin, and obtain the victory through Jesus.

J. Q. A. Haughey.

Bowersville, Ohio, Aug. 27, 1872.

Do Unto Others as You Would Be Done By

“AND as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” Luke 6:31.

Significant Items.

By F. A. Buzzel

Compiled for Review by F. A. Buzzel.

The Mexican General Rocha, at the capture of Zacatecas, killed the wounded and piled them up with those killed in the fight, after which he saturated the gory mass with turpentine, and disposed of it, finally, by firing it.—Newport (R. I.), Mercury.

The number of theological students in the German universities is said to be falling off to an alarming extent. Ten years ago they numbered 2,562; now, only 1,985. The decrease is especially on the Protestant side.—Boston Journal.

Notwithstanding the large amount of land granted by the United States for various purposes, there still remains unappropriated the vast quantity of 1,034,784,644 acres. The unsurveyed land reaches an aggregate of 1,284,119,331, acres.—Boston Herald.

The New York (Methodist) Advocate, says that camp-meetings, originally a focus of religious fire, now assume the character of a gigantic speculation in real estate, with the accessories of the watering-places, exchanging “hops” and horse-races for preaching, boating, and games of croquet.

Antichristian influences are said to be gaining ground in both the upper and working classes in England. In order to meet the unbelief prevalent in the former class, the Christian Evidence Society has been giving lectures in London, which have not been very successful.—Boston Journal.

Ruth Chesterfield, in Congregationalist, says: “Society progresses. So does a crab—backward. There was a time when it was disreputable to reject the Bible. Is it one of the signs of the progress of the age that it is so no longer? that men now vaunt themselves of that which was once their shame?”

In the last six months, Boston has sent 439,500 gallons of rum to the nations in Africa. Boston is bound to enlighten the heathen all it can.—Pomeroy’s Democrat.

A lawyer in New York declines to accept an office which has been tendered him, because he has twenty-three murderers to defend during the coming fall terms of the courts.

The Unitarian church in New Bedford, Mass., has voted to dispense with the bread and wine at the communion service, but will celebrate the memorial with vocal and other services, as usual.—Newport (R. I.) Mercury.

The American Journal of Pharmacy says that 150,000 infants are killed every year by the opium contained in the various kinds of soothing syrups which they are allowed or forced to swallow.

Dr. Prime, of the New York Observer, predicts that within the life of some one now living, there will be a union of all the evangelical churches in New York. In this opinion the Protestant Churchman cordially concurs.

The State of Texas would contain the entire population of the United States without making it any more thickly settled than Massachusetts; and the same State would hold the entire population of the French Empire (or Republic that now is), and leave uninhabited a margin of sixty miles around the boundary of the State.—Franklin (N. H.) Merrimac Journal.

No wonder that the European powers are turning their attention to the loss of their population by emigration to this country. Especially is this matter creating anxiety in Germany, where the government is trying to check it. The total number of emigrants who sailed from Liverpool for America during the past month of July, was 17,000.—Boston Globe.

Slip-renting and coffee, at the Union Park Congregational Church, this Monday evening at 7.30 o’clock. A lively time is expected.—A Chicago Daily.

Continue reading: Locke, June 8, 1872