Review and Herald, Vol. 26, No. 3. (6/20/1865)

Review and Herald

Jun 20, 1865

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 20, 1865

Sanctification: or Living Holiness.

By D. T. Bourdeau

BY ELD. D. T. BOURDEAU.

SELF-EXAMINATION.

Self-examination, with us, may be defined as follows: A strict investigation of our spiritual state, to know whether we are in the faith, to know our defects that we may overcome them, and the improvements that we make, that we may be encouraged thereby. The necessity of attending to this duty will be seen by considering the following points:

1. This duty is enforced by a divine command. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith," is the language of inspiration. 2 Cor. xiii, 5. See also 1 Cor. xi, 28; Gal. vi, 4.

2. Since the heart is deceitful above all things, if we neglect to examine ourselves, we shall fail to obtain a thorough and correct knowledge of our own characters; and unless we know ourselves, without a knowledge of our imperfections, we cannot see the necessity of overcoming, and consequently shall fail to advance in sanctification. But if we become acquainted with our hearts by self-examination, we shall realize the necessity of overcoming and progressing in holiness.

3. By attending to self-examination we shall be enabled to guard against self-deception, which consists in a wrong judgment of our spiritual condition. The grand remedy for self-deception, is self-examination.

How liable men in every age have been to deceive themselves in regard to their characters, to call good evil, and evil, good, and act accordingly. And how many forms of self-deception there are in the world.

How many actually live and die self-deceived. And self-deception is not confined to the ungodly. In every age, a great portion of the professed followers of God have been deceived as to their true characters. Only a few years have passed since the testimony of the faithful and true witness to the Laodiceans, Rev. iii, 14–22, found the highly favored remnant church, even the people to whom the Lord had entrusted the sacred and important truths of the last message of mercy, deceived in regard to their spiritual state. This testimony described them as saying, "I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing," while they knew not that they were "wretched and miserable, and poor and blind and naked." True, God's people have improved since this cutting message was shown to apply to them. But how have they improved? We answer, One great means of their improvement has been self-examination. But the Scriptures represent that many will pass along, deceiving themselves even till the day of the Lord, in which many will say, Lord, Lord, claiming a right to his favor; but he will profess unto them, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matt. vii, 22, 23. Now self-deception cannot exist where the work of self-examination is rightly engaged in, and faithfully and perseveringly carried on.

If we were in a perfect state and had no defects in our characters, it would be very easy and agreeable for us to examine ourselves. But in this imperfect state, self-examination is not so easy and agreeable a duty to perform. The difficulty of this work is not owing to anything obscure in the evidences of holiness; for these evidences are so clear that any one who is endowed with sufficient intellectual capacities to comprehend the common affairs of life, can understand them. Whence, then, does this difficulty arise? It arises chiefly from the pride and deceitfulness of our own hearts, their liability to induce us to look upon our characters with complacency, and to excuse ourselves for our wrongs, the efforts and suggestions of the adversary and his agencies to deter us from this work, our proneness to suffer our minds to be engrossed with the cares of this life, the faults of others, and other subjects of secondary importance, when compared with this subject. And because of these and other obstacles, the hearts of men are generally averse to self-examination; and self-examination is shrunk from, and neglected by the great body of professing Christians.

But notwithstanding the hindrances in the way of this work, and the unpleasantness arising therefrom, we may, and should, know ourselves. If we can discover and criticise the faults of others, we can discover and criticise our own faults. That mind that is so reflective and discriminating in worldly things, can be so in spiritual things. Peter could say, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee." Jno. xxi. Hezekiah could appeal to the Lord that he had walked before him in truth and with a perfect heart, and had done that which was good in his sight. Isa. xxxviii. "We know," says John, "that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." 1 Jno. iii, 14. And Paul asserts that "the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." Rom. viii, 16.

But in entering upon an investigation of our spiritual state, it is of the utmost importance that we place before us the proper standard with which to try ourselves. And what shall this standard be? 1. The suggestions of our hearts cannot answer as the standard; for these are deceitful and lead us astray. 2. Neither is it safe to adopt feeling as the standard; for, as we have already seen, feeling varies with circumstances, and is often bad when we are in the way of duty. 3. Nor is it prudent to adopt conscience as the criterion; for the conscience of one man will tell him one thing, and the conscience of another man will tell him another thing. The conscience of one man will approve him for one course of conduct, and that of another man will reprove him for the same course of conduct; and conscience itself, as well as feeling and the suggestions of our hearts, needs a standard. 4. Neither could the sentiments, lives and experiences of others serve as the standard; these are also varying and conflicting and are often in direct opposition to the will of God; and though they may in some instances serve as helps, yet if we should adopt them as our criterion, we would certainly follow a zigzag course. We also need a criterion to try these and all false standards by, and this criterion is. 5. The unerring word of God. This should be the test of piety and holiness as well as of truth, the man of our counsel and the guide of our life, our only rule of faith, experience and practice, to which all our feelings and actions should be referred, and by which they should be tried. It is by this word that we shall be judged, and by it we should now judge ourselves, and prove the genuineness of our piety. If we should adopt a different standard, we might expect to fall into serious mistakes.

We cannot determine our state merely by looking at ourselves. We must also look at the truth. We must examine ourselves in the light of God's word. Our minds are naturally dark, and we should seek for light from without—from the word of the Lord. It is with us in this work, as it would be with a person in a dark room desiring to find an article, or to see himself and the defects of his person and dress. He at once raises the curtains and opens the blinds to let in light, or takes a light with him; then he can attend to his business. So if we would be successful in searching our faults we must take the word of God with us, and let its blessed truths shine in our hearts and on our characters; we must look at ourselves in the glass of truth. A person who would look in a dark room for an article hard to find without the aid of light, might question the possibility of finding it; and we might despair of becoming acquainted with our characters without the light of truth.

In self-examination we should search the truth not merely to become acquainted with it as a theory, and to be able to handle it fluently, but to apply it to our own individual cases. The truth will do us no good unless we thus apply it to ourselves. Men may speak and write ably and eloquently in defense of the truth, without knowing its sanctifying power. It is one thing to see the truth at a distance, and as it is brought to bear upon others, and it is another thing to bring the truth home, and make a practical application of it to our own hearts and lives.

As the Bible must be our standard, so our model must be the perfect example of Jesus. We are required

to walk even as he walked. It is safe to follow the example of Jesus, and we can follow others only as far as they agree with this perfect example.

In this work it is not only necessary that we adopt the proper standard, but we must also get clear and correct views of the evidences of piety and true holiness, some of which have already been noticed. "Without this," says Hellenstein, "we shall be liable either to the extreme of presumption or despondency. While some will cry, Peace, when there is no peace, others, overlooking the exercises of a renewed heart, will be held in perpetual bondage to their doubts and fears. Great care should then be taken to ascertain what the Scriptures insist on, as essential to Christian character. It is by these points, and not by such as are merely circumstantial, that we are to determine the genuineness of our piety.

"There are some who place great dependence upon the pungency of their convictions, the ecstasy of their joys, remarkable dreams, sudden impulses, the unexpected application of some Scripture promise, or the fact that they can refer to the particular moment and place of their supposed conversion. None of these things, however, constitute the distinguishing marks of grace. Instead, therefore, of directing our minds to those circumstances which may be as marked in the cases of the self-deceived as in the cases of true believers, our inquiries should relate to those traits of character which are the invariable fruits of the Spirit, and which are common to all the subjects of its saving influence."

There may be a tendency in us to take remorse, or a sense of guilt, as evidence of true repentance. But thousands have been deeply convicted of their sins who have never truly repented, and brought forth fruits meet for repentance. The wicked in the last day will have an overwhelming sense of guilt when it will be too late to repent. True repentance is invariably connected with remorse; but remorse may be realized where there is no genuine repentance.

As for dreams, they may come from various sources, and God has even given genuine dreams to those who were not in a state of grace. There are false joys and rejoicings, as well as true ones, and those who have them may seem happy while experiencing them. And the fact that we were once genuinely converted does not prove that we are now in a good condition. We may have failed to walk in the light, to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, since our conversion, and as a consequence be in a backslidden state.

We can also attach too much importance to the idea that we have a form of godliness, and to the simple fact that we have formally connected ourselves with the people of God. We would not intimate that it is wrong to have a form of godliness, or to formally unite with God's people. There is a form of godliness, as well as a form of the truth and a form of doctrine, Rom. iii, 20; vi, 17; 2 Tim. i, 13, to which we should hold fast. The power of godliness does not exist without a certain form; but a form of godliness may, and does exist without the power. Hence Paul in enumerating the leading sins which were to make the last days perilous, notices the fact that men have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. 2 Tim. iii, 1–5.

The Jews adhered strictly to a form of godliness even after God had rejected them, and this has been the case with many ever since; and who can say that there are not some even among us—some who have formally identified themselves with the remnant church—who will be separated from God's people, spewed out of the mouth of the Lord, and perish with the ungodly at last? We should therefore take heed that we attach not too much importance to these circumstances separately considered.

There is also a possibility of taking as evidences of piety, constitutional traits,—traits with which we may be favored by nature, such as humanity, a calm and even temper, or constitutional fortitude, &c. These traits are good as far as they go; but they are known to exist in some of the unregenerate, and therefore are not the unmistakable evidences of piety.

It will greatly tend to facilitate this work to commence with fundamental principles, with plain, every-day duties, which can be easily understood, and the performance of which constitutes what is often called every-day religion, and with those faults which we are most likely to commit. By noticing these points the mind will be gradually prepared to advance further and deeper in the work.

There is an alphabet to self-examination as well as to the other branches of sanctification, and if we leave this alphabet, and try to plunge into the depths of the work at once, we shall become confused, make egregious blunders, get discouraged, and perhaps give up the work, concluding that it is impracticable. The course of some well-meaning Christians in this work, may be well represented by a person's trying to learn to read without first learning his letters, or by a student's commencing to study mathematics, who would leave the first four rules in arithmetic and try to solve a difficult problem in the rule of three. We need a knowledge of the alphabet—not only when we commence to learn, but ever afterward—as long as we need to read; and so with the first rules in arithmetic; and so with the fundamental principles, duties and errors in self-examination. We are too apt to leave these plain common-sense principles, to go off in search of something great and mysterious.

As it is easier for the mind to look at those things which are without, and which are tangible, we might examine our outward conduct, our actions and words, and see how they agree with the fundamental principles of right-doing, as summed up in the ten commandments; and then proceed to the mind, from whence our words and actions flow, exploring its dark recesses, and trying its thoughts and motives by the same principles as explained by different Bible writers, and especially by the great Teacher. It is highly necessary that we try our motives; for it sometimes happens that apparently good words and actions can be traced to wrong motives; as in the case for instance, when we attend to the temporal or spiritual interests of others, merely to receive the praise of men.

But we must remember to implore the Spirit's aid, that we may have its illuminating influence to shine upon the truth, and in our minds, that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened to see the truth and its bearing upon our characters. In the language of Jesus to the Laodiceans, we should "anoint our eyes that we may see." The Holy Spirit is more than willing to help us in searching the truth and our hearts, and if we have the holy unction, we shall see our faults as fast as it will be for our good.

It will also greatly help us to advance in self-knowledge to improve on the knowledge we have already. To live up to the truth brings our natures in harmony with it, and brings light to the soul. By neglecting to live up to the knowledge that we already have, and by the practice of sin, our natures become gradually, and sometimes imperceptibly, averse to the truth; we bring darkness to our minds, and cannot see the force of the truth and our true condition.

Self-examination necessarily commences before conversion, and should continue through our whole experience in overcoming—as long as the Lord sees fit to add to our store of practical knowledge. And we must not refuse to come to the light, lest the following cutting reproof of Christ be found to apply to us: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John iii, 19, 20.

Self-examination should be attended to deliberately, frequently, systematically, impartially and thoroughly. The importance of this work should induce us to engage in it cheerfully and without compulsion. We should attend to it frequently. 1. Because our knowledge of self may be effaced from our minds by other and more recent impressions made on the mind, and as a consequence, we may lose a realizing sense of our condition. 2. As we should advance in the knowledge of self, the oftener we learn a lesson of self-knowledge, the more rapid will be our progress. It would be proper at least to take a glance at ourselves at different intervals in the day, as we are called upon to perform our several duties, and to be systematic in calling ourselves to a strict account for all our conduct at the close of each day. It would also be beneficial to have a list of simple and pointed questions to address to ourselves on the occasion. System will help us here as well as elsewhere.

Says Dr. Watts, "It was a sacred rule among the Pythagoreans, that they should every evening, thrice run over the actions and affairs of the day, and examine what their conduct had been, what they had done, or what they had neglected; and they assured their pupils that by this method they would make a noble progress in the path of virtue." And shall we be behind these heathen philosophers in this important exercise? Dr. Watts also furnishes the following lines, which we would do well to remember:

"Nor let soft slumber close your eyes, Before you've recollected thrice The train of actions thro' the day. Where have my feet chose out the way? What have I learned where'er I've been, From all I've heard, from all I've seen? What know I more, that's worth the knowing? What have I done that's worth the doing? What have I sought that I should shun? What duty have I left undone, Or into what new follies run? These self-inquiries are the road That leads to virtue and to God."

This work should be attended to thoroughly and impartially. In this respect it should be with us as with a judge sitting on a criminal case. It is a case of life or death, and justice and equity require that we be thorough in our investigations, and impartial in our decisions, and that we excuse not self because we are related to it. We are all in danger of excusing self for so-called, little sins. Says the natural heart, It is but a small matter, a trifle. Why be so particular about such niceties? But is it a little God whose word we have violated, and against whom we have sinned? Remember that it is the little foxes that spoil the vine, and that it takes but a small breakage in a ship to sink it. Awful consequences have followed seemingly insignificant deviations from right, as clearly appears from numerous cases recorded in the Scriptures.

Self-examination is a character work, and accords with the nature of the third message. As a study, it requires quiet, and is not so much characterized by sudden impulses and flights of feeling, as by cool and calm thinking. Hence, those who are peculiarly fond of excitement and high raptures, and only skim at the surface of the subject, will not delight themselves in this work, until they place before them the proper standard, and cease to reach out after feeling, at the neglect of heart work and right principles. Holiness is not spasmodic and periodical, and we are not to determine our state so much by what we are once a week, once a month, or once a year, as by what we are habitually.

As helps in acquiring self-knowledge, trials and afflictions cannot be too highly appreciated. The first object of trials is to make us inquire into our condition. It is when we are tried that we can easily ascertain the nature of our characters. It is then that we can readily see what dispositions enter into our characters, whether we are inclined to obey God or not, whether the Christian graces shine in us brightly or dimly. Take, for example, the graces of patience, faith and love. Is it not when we are tried that we can tell whether these graces are planted and growing in our hearts? Is it not when we endure trials with a calm and unruffled temper, without murmuring or fretting, that we can truly say that we are patient? But if we do not thus endure, are we not impatient? And is it not so with faith? Is it not when trials and obstructions are placed in its way, that we can tell how much confidence we have in God? And the same is true of love. We cannot really know how much of it we possess till we are proved. For instance, when the Lord requires us to do anything that is really crossing, we may know how much we love him, by our willingness to obey him. There is such a thing as loving God and our fellow-men with selfish affections—merely because of favors which we receive from them. But this is discoverable when these favors are withheld from us. And it is when we are deprived of temporal or spiritual blessings that we can tell whether we love them more than we ought, or with perverted affections. We might judge too favorably

of our characters by measuring ourselves only by what we are in prosperity, and when everything seems to be in our favor.

Dear reader, if you have not already entered upon the work of self-examination, be entreated to enter upon it at once. Be not intimidated by the vastness of the work. Commence by taking the first step, and by taking the first step you will be preparing for the second step, and so on, the way opening before you as you advance. If you have already commenced this work, be encouraged to continue it cheerfully and perseveringly, considering it as the leading branch of sanctification, yielding great advantages and a rich compensation to those who improve upon it.

(To be continued.)

The Guiding Hand.

By Cross Bearer

Is this the way, my Father? 'Tis my child, Thou must pass through this tangled, dreary wild, If thou would'st reach the city undefiled, Thy peaceful home above.

But enemies are round? Yes child, I know, That where thou least expect'st thou'll find a foe; But victor thou shalt prove o'er all below, Only seek strength above.

My father it is dark! Child take my hand, Cling close to me; I'll lead thee through the land; Trust my all-seeing care; so shalt thou stand, 'Midst glory bright above.

My footsteps seem to slide! Child only raise Thine eye to me, then, in these slippery ways I will hold up thy goings; thou shalt praise Me for each step, above.

O Father, I am weary! Child lean thy head Upon my breast; it was my love that spread Thy rugged path; hope on till I have said, Rest, rest with me, above.

[Cross Bearer.]

Spiritualism.

A NEW WAR has begun, another Fort Sumter has been saluted by the batteries of the enemy, and an earnest conflict may be expected, that may not result in the temporal death of any, but the eternal death of millions. We refer to the new movement among Spiritualists as developed at their late convention, held at the Melancon, (Tremont Temple Building,) Boston, May 20th, 31st, and June 1st, and 2nd.

In their published call for the meeting, we find one prominent object of the convention expressed in the following language:—

“Can any plan be devised to secure the co-operative action of Spiritualists for educational purposes, especially to bring our children under the influence of spiritual teachings, and thus to guard them against the demoralizing tendencies of POPULAR THEOLOGY?”

WE WERE in to several of their meetings, and found the speakers very bold in denouncing the schools and especially the Sunday schools, now established in our country. No Roman Catholics would have been more in earnest about establishing a new system of schools for their children. And they have fully decided, with one voice, to carry it into effect. Hence they have openly declared war against the moral bearing of “POPULAR THEOLOGY,” claiming in the most bold, out-spoken manner, that it is “DEMORALIZING,” and so much so, that the Spiritualists are unwilling to send their children to their schools any longer.

We are hoping that this movement may open the eyes of some of our orthodox friends to see that the Spiritualist viper they have been cherishing in their bosoms begins to show signs of life; and that they have more to fear from its poisonous bite than from every other source of danger. They may be assured that a storm is rising of no ordinary magnitude, that is well calculated to scatter moral desolation in all directions, as effectually as the rebellion has spread political and financial evil.

When this new movement of the Spiritualists is seen in its true light, it will be found to be a combined effort of demons, operating through their mediums, against Christianity, God and the Bible. It is antichrist at war with Christ and his truth. Said one of the prominent speakers in the convention:—“Nothing is true because Jesus said it; nor true because it is in the Bible. I receive nothing as true from any being in the universe outside of my own soul. I acknowledge no judge or God but my own soul.”

Men who talk thus, rise up against the Bible and its defenders, and say they are “demoralizing” the world so much, that the time has come for what they call the “new dispensation” of Spiritualism, which must be “put into new bottles.” They say “the old and the new cannot go together.”

It was advocated by their most able speakers that “organization is absolutely essential to carry out their purposes;” and that Spiritualism is to be “the power of the world; a power to be feared.”

We proposed some questions for consideration; and it was frankly admitted by an eloquent speaker, that those holding our faith were the only class worth noticing; all others were exploded; and that we “sustained ourselves, if the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures be admitted.”

It was advocated that a system of religion that teaches rewards and punishments is “demoralizing;” hence, of course it follows, according to their premises, that the Christian religion, as taught by Jesus and his apostles, was “demoralizing!” Yet this “new dispensation” claims to be “ancient Christianity revived.” It seems as though every one might see through the “Deceiver’s” gauze, and behold his horrid deformity. Spiritualism is as far removed from Christianity as Belial is from Christ, as sin from righteousness.—World’s Crisis.

What The Gospel Does.

THE following extract from a lecture by the Rev. Mr. Clarke, a Unitarian minister, on Theodore Parker, is exceedingly suggestive. It is by the gospel, and not by the fine spun theories of human philosophy, that men are to be saved from sin. The gospel of the grace of God, is the power of God to salvation:

“Nearly thirty years ago I went down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The steamboat stopped one day, detained by running ice at Smithland, at the mouth of the Cumberland. It had about eighteen hundred inhabitants, but they had drifted together recently, and there was in the place no church, no newspaper, not even a hotel. The people were rude and savage beyond anything we know of here. Street-fights were common; men were shot in their tracks by their enemies every day. Whisky was more common than water on the tables. The place was a kind of Pandemonium, just as it was at Paducah, another town a few miles distant. Bullies and bravoes were kings of these places; oaths, fighting, drinking, gambling, the chief features of society. A few years passed. A friend who came from these towns told me they had wholly changed.—What was the influence? Some Campbellite, Baptist, or Cumberland Presbyterian, or Methodist circuit-rider, had ridden into the town with his Bible or hymn-book in his saddle-bags, and by dint of exhortation and argument and persuasion, had softened these rough souls, and induced them to think of God, Heaven, and hell. He showed them that they were fit for better things. He appealed to their higher instincts. He awakened those sleeping intuitions in which I believe no less firmly than Mr. Emerson. His sincerity, his purity of life, his unselfish purpose, touched their hearts. These rough sons of the woods, abrupt in all things, turned suddenly from evil to good.—A church is collected, a meeting-house is built, a school is established, good morals and decent manners arrive. This history is no invention of mine—it has been repeated again and again in the West during the last fifty years.

“I do not say that the churches contain all the religion, or that there are no dead-and-alive churches now, as there were when John wrote the Revelation. But, on the whole, the current of the religious life in a community, runs mostly in channels of the churches. The churches, like the banks of a river, confine the current, and so keep it a running stream. All the water is not in the rivers, and the beds of some rivers are dry; but the tendency of water is toward rivers, and whenever it is moving on, it sooner or later finds its way into one. So, if you were to abolish all churches to-morrow, in a year from now, you would have other churches in their place, for churches rest on the indestructible needs of the human mind and heart.”

Look out for Masked Batteries!

Beware of masked batteries! You know the mischief they work. They have various forms, and are located at various places; but they always work mischief. There are many of them, and for fear that they should be brought to bear upon you we will point out some of them.

That screen, that you see as you pass the saloon door, is a masked battery. You know this without being told; for why do men or boys go behind that screen for anything that is honest or proper? Did you ever go near enough to read what is written upon it? "Come behind here, boys," it says, "and do what you are ashamed to be seen doing! Come behind here, and be cheated, by giving your money for that which will do you more hurt than good! Come behind here, and conceal a bad example! Come behind here, and see how mean a business we carry on; see how we mislead boys, and ruin men; how we get our living by doing evil to others; how we make drunkards and promote poverty; how we wring the hearts of fathers and mothers by enticing their boys to ruin! Come behind here, boys, men, women, children, and see what the screen tries to hide."

Those little dog kennels, in the shop below, are masked batteries indeed. What kind of goods do men sell, whose customers have to go into those dirty holes and shut the doors? Better by far go into the lock-up. These holes are indeed masked batteries for men. More drunken men come out of these holes than go into them. Keep watch at the door, boys, and see who are the customers. Men with red faces and tattered characters enter there—men with "blue ruin" written all over them. They have faced masked batteries before. They think their disgrace is a secret, while everybody knows they have been "battered" till there is little left of them. Watch the door, boys, for nobody goes into those dog-holes except to conceal their shame.

Reach Out for Heaven

REACH OUT FOR HEAVEN.—You long for the bread of God to come down from Heaven and give you life, such as the angels enjoy, do you? You long for a warmer, tenderer, more unselfish, and sympathetic heart, for more of true neighborly love, do you? You yearn for it, and pray for it? Then go out of yourself, and try to live for others. Try to do something to dissipate the darkness, to lessen the burdens, to alleviate the sorrows, to multiply the joys, to smooth the rugged pathway of some neighbor. Try to extract some rankling thorn, or to pour a little oil and wine into some bruised and wounded soul. Seek out some friendless and needy object, on whom to bestow your sympathy, your generosity, your offices of kindness. And you need not go far; such objects exist in scores all around you—objects needing sympathy and comfort, if not material aid. Do this, and see how your cold and hard-hearted selfishness will begin to diminish, and your neighborly love to increase! See how the windows of heaven will be opened within you, and your before waste and barren soul begin to be flooded with the gracious outpourings of love from on high! It is the outgoings of our own thoughts and feelings, with intent to bless, that cause the plentiful incomings of the divine love and mercy, agreeable to that divine declaration, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” —Religious Magazine.

Transforming Power.

If you have a fire, cast wood and straw upon it, and it will cause them to burst forth into a flame. Let the fire be furnace heated, then cast stones into it, it will break and dissolve them. Submit to its beat gold or silver, it will purge away their dross. Cast iron into it, and it will soon transform the metal into its own likeness, a mass of molten fire. Even so with the Spirit. To bring your worthless soul to receive revelations and discoveries of the love of God, and the grace and goodness of Josus; and the Spirit, in taking of the things of Christ, and showing them to you, will fire your whole soul witb the flames of gratitude and love. Submit your stony heart to his operation, and he will break it into pieces with the bammer of the word, and melt it into prayers of penitential return. Carry your corruptions to him to be subdued, and he will purify your soul from sin and from dead works, to serve the living God. Let him exert his full power upon you, and he will make you like unto himself, pure as he is pure, and you shall be changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.—Pastor’s Legacy.

Affliction

By Boston

AfFLICTION.—"God, by affliction calls men down from their hights to sit in the dust, plucks away their gay feathers wherein they prided themselves, rubs the paint and varnish from off the creature, whereby it appears more in its native deformity."

Forebodings.

By Editor

"MEN'S hearts failing them for fear," is laid down upon the Christian's chart as one of the signs of the last days; and another one, seemingly just the opposite of this, is, a cry of "peace and safety." How can these two exist together?

The prophecy says that they shall say, "Peace and safety." Now men sometimes say things from a variety of motives. It is not always from a calm and settled conviction of the truth of what they utter. They sometimes vociferate lustily, in order to work themselves up into a belief of what they are asserting, having a semi-consciousness that there exists for them no other source of comfort. They sometimes zealously assert the truthfulness of those things, the only evidence of the truthfulness of which is, their desire to have them true. And they will also assert, long and loud, the infallibility of their preconceived opinions and existing institutions, hoping thereby to prevent further inquiry, lest some facts should come to light to dispel their delusion, and lay bare their folly. A crowd of persons of this class, many years ago, in hopes of thus silencing all opposing arguments, very foolishly strained their lungs in shouting for about the space of two hours together, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians! great is Diana of the Ephesians!"

And it may be with those who now cry, Peace and safety, some as it was with the boy in the fable, who in passing in the dusk of evening the guide-board with its outstretched arms, imagined it a specter, and loudly whistled to keep his courage up. One thing is certain; the hearts of the observant and thinking are ill at ease. They may cry, Peace and safety, to shut out from their hearts anticipation of coming evil; but they cannot disguise the fact that fears and dark forebodings of confusion and trouble do often harass and perplex them.

For our own part, we could not well picture a scene more dark, than to have our hopes confined to a world like this in its present condition, and be obliged to lay plans for any moderate number of years to come. If the Christian can think of no other cause for gratitude and thanksgiving to God, he should find an exhaustless source of such emotions, in the fact that he is permitted to transfer his citizenship from this world to a world of eternal life and glory, that he can build his hopes in a land over which the Prince of Peace shall reign in righteousness, where his people shall flourish as the tree of life, and long enjoy the work of their hands. It is no wonder that John should exclaim, "Let him that heareth," of such a hope as this, "say, Come."

In reference to the present unsettled state of the nations, the Sun and Advertiser published at Halifax, Novia Scotia, says:

"Although actual war has not begun among the great powers of Europe, yet no one acquainted with affairs as they now stand, can fail to see the hair suspended sword, which the slightest touch might precipitate upon the whole continent. The only difficulty is to guess what kind of combination of the inflammable elements will culminate in an explosion which is to set Europe in a blaze.

"Although we will not say that France is the greatest power in the world, (our patriotism gives that distinction to England, because she is the best as well as the bravest;) but we do say that every kingdom is looking toward her with anxiety, to know by the decision of her Emperor, not whether there will be war, for that we fear is inevitable, but when and where havoc is to be let loose. By degrees, in the extension of his power, Napoleon has drawn the cords tightly around his yielding and complacent subjects, till at length they are beginning to feel their bonds, and begin to give an occasional tug at them with a grimace of dissatisfaction. They do not lack for advisers and secret agitators, who are ever at hand to pour the doctrine of revolt into ears equally ready to hear; and all the spies which diplomacy may employ, cannot prevent the circulation of inflammatory documents

among the people, to conjure up the sanguinary genius of revolution, which in France means blood-thirsty infidelity and insatiate cruelty.

"There is no human mind better able to estimate how far it is safe to go than the sagacious Napoleon; yet even the most subtle have been mistaken in venturing 'a step further still,' which, breaking through the thin crust over the seething volcano, plunges the rash venturer into the heaving lava beneath."

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