Earlier text: THE STATESMAN ARTICLESTHE OLD MAN IN THE MODEL CHURCH.
By Sel.
Well wife, I've found the model church! I worshiped there to-day! It made me think of good old times before my hairs were gray; The meetin' house was fixed up more than they were years ago, But then I felt when I went in it wasn't built for show. The sexton didn't seat me away back by the door: He knew that I was old and deaf, as well as old and poor; He must have been a Christian, for he led me boldly through The long aisle of that crowded church to find a pleasant pew. I wish you'd heard the singin'; it had the old-time ring; The preacher said with trumpet voice, “Let all the people sing!” The tune was Coronation, and the music upward rolled Till I thought I heard the angels striking all their harps of gold. My deafness seemed to melt away; my spirit caught the fire; I joined my feeble, trembling voice with that melodious choir, And sang as in my youthful days, “Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.” I tell you, wife, it did me good to sing that hymn once more; I felt like some wrecked mariner who gets a glimpse of shore; I almost wanted to lay down this weather-beaten form, And anchor in the blessed port, forever from the storm. The preachin'? Well, I can't just tell all that the preacher said; I know it wasn't written; I know it wasn't read; He hadn't time to read it, for the lightnin' of his eye Went flashing 'long from pew to pew, nor passed a sinner by. The sermon wasn't flowery; 'twas simple gospel truth; It fitted poor old men like me; it fitted hopeful youth; 'Twas full of consolation, for weary hearts that bleed; 'Twas full of invitations to Christ, and not to creed. The preacher made sin hideous in Gentiles and in Jews; He shot the golden sentences down in the finest pews, And—though I can't see very well—I saw the fallin' tear That told me hell was some ways off, and Heaven very near. How swift the golden moments fled, within that holy place; How brightly beamed the light of Heaven from every happy face; Again I longed for that sweet time, when friend shall meet with friend, “When congregations ne'er break up, and Sabbath has no end.” I hope to meet that minister—that congregation too— In the dear home beyond the stars that shine from heaven's blue; I doubt not I'll remember, beyond life's evening gray, The happy hour of worship in that model church to-day. Dear wife, the fight will soon be fought—the victory be won; The shinin' goal is just ahead; the race is nearly run; O'er the river we are nearin', they are throngin' to the shore To shout our safe arrival where the weary weep no more. What Is Your Faith?
By Moses White
THE so-called orthodox of the present day claim that Jesus represents the fleshly, and Christ the divine, part of the Son of God; and that while Jesus lay in the tomb, Christ, or the divine, part was absent from the body; but where, they do not tell. Thus, Mormons hold that Christ, while absent from the body, went to a pit in the center of the earth and preached to the spirits of those that left their bodies in the time of the flood. Does the word of God warrant this conclusion? Let us refer to the Scriptures and see what they say on this subject. Examine Rom. 5: 6-10; 8: 11; 10: 7; Pet 3: 18; Rev. 1: 18; &c. The Scriptures are so full and so plain upon this subject, that none need be left in doubt upon it, if they will but read this as they would any other book, free their minds of prejudice and take the liberty to think for themselves. Would to God that Christians would lay aside predilection and examine for themselves. “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me.” John 5: 39. MOSES WHITE. Siam, Taylor Co., Iowa, Feb. 12, 1873. Christian Disposition.
By Mrs. F. R. Graves
Too many, even of the children of God, leave their peevish, proud, passionate temper uncorrected, its sourness unsweetened, its harshness unsoftened, or its petulance unsubdued. Even after they have been convicted of its sinfulness, and their habits have undergone a visible change, we are compelled, at times, by their passionate and unsanctified temper, to stand in doubt of them. Such Christians, by these unrestrained exhibitions of a temper uncongenial with the Spirit of our Lord and Saviour, which breathes the very soul of gentleness and love, deprive themselves of much spiritual peace, joy, and consolation, for they drive away that dove-like Spirit, which can alone impart to all the enjoyments of the domestic and social circle. The mischiefs of this inconsistency are manifold and deeply to be deplored. With humble and heartfelt penitence for past failures, we should resolve for the future to watch, pray, and strive, with all earnestness, to be preserved by the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit from ever again thus disgracing the Saviour’s gospel, and dishonoring his name. If we study his character with humble supplication, our disposition may, by the renewing influence of divine grace, be cast in the very mold of his; and his spirit of meekness, and gentleness, and love, of patience and of peace, may henceforth rest on us, and regulate even the very aspect of our features and tones of our voice. Let us then faithfully apply the rule we have laid down: Seek always to be in such a temper, internally, before God, and externally, before those with whom we live, as we would wish the Saviour, if suddenly appearing, to find us. What horror we should feel were he unexpectedly to appear and find us with our spirits discomposed, and our features distorted by the dark broodings of an unsubdued and unsanctified temper. Are these the evidences of our being the temple of the Holy Ghost, that Spirit which descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, and whose fruit is love, peace, gentleness, meekness, long-suffering. Oh! how much should we resolve in divine strength, to place the spirit of Christian watchfulness as a sentinel at the door of our hearts, to question every thought that seeks admittance there, and to admit none to pass the portal, however attractive they may appear, which have not clear credentials that they come direct from God. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” ADVENTISTS are often accused of lack of charity, and confronted with, “Men are growing wiser and better,” when they say that evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse. The following, from the pen of Geo. D. Boardman, in Baptist Quarterly, pp. 182, 183, shows that they are not alone in their belief:— “Look at our own age. It is pre-eminently the age of science; the age of astronomical exploration, geological investigation, of physiological inquest, of chemical analysis, of psychological inquiry; the age of the telescope, the microscope, the crucible, the balance, the consciousness turning on itself in self-scrutiny. And yet it is the age, pre-eminently, of skepticism. It is the age of rationalism, of the authority of reason, as distinguished from and opposed to the authority of Scripture and of the Giver of Scripture. There has never been a period in the history of the world when science was cultivated with such ardor and success as now; and there never has been a period when scientific men, as such, so universally disowned the authority of revelation, or so strenuously insisted on excluding from the universe the living, personal, ruling God. Well may James, in speaking of the wisdom of this world, describe it thus: ‘This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, psychical, devilish.’ It is earthborn, belonging to the sphere of the psyche, and such as the demons may have.” CHAS. L. BOYD. Tobacco in the Sunday-School.
I HAVE often heard of noxious weeds growing in beautiful places. Now I think the most noxious and ill-smelling weed, in a place far too good for it, is tobacco in the Sunday-school. I was once present at a school, the Superintendent of which chewed vigorously and squirted scientifically. The opening exercises were somewhat after this fashion:— Superintendent.—“We will sing [squirt] a hymn found on the thirtieth page [squirt], “Now, children, I want you to sing with more [squirt] life than you generally do” (squirt). Then came the singing, interspersed with squirts from the Superintendent. How can a Superintendent or teacher talk to the children about clean hearts and pure lives when his own mouth, whence the words come, is so very filthy? How can he urge the children to be economical, and save their money for the missionary and Sunday-School cause, when he himself spends forty or fifty dollars per annum in sustaining this disgusting and debasing habit. The only argument I ever heard from Scripture for the defense of this practice is, “Let him that is filthy be filthy still.” Of all the dreary places, deliver us from the dreary farmhouses which so many people call “home.” Bars for a front gate; chickens wallowing before the door; pig pens elbowing the house in the rear; scraggy trees never cared for, or no trees at all; no flowering shrubs, no neatness, no trimness. And yet a lawn, and trees, and a neat walk, and a pleasant porch, and a plain fence around, do not cost a great deal. They can be secured little by little, at odd times, and the expense hardly felt. And if the time comes when it is best to sell the farm, fifty dollars so invested will often bring back five hundred. For a man is wrong who will not insensibly give a higher price for such a farm when he thinks of the pleasant surroundings it offers his wife and children. The commonwealth of Massachusetts is at present inflicting every year between 1800 and 1900 sentences of imprisonment for offenses of every grade from drunkenness to murder, and for terms of every length, from life down to days. About 11,000 persons are in prison at any given time on an average. This number of sentences is increasing, as the report of the Board of State Charities shows, at the rate of over 1600 a year. What it costs in money actually expended to keep this number of persons from doing day's work we do not know, though the total expense of the State during 1871 for charities and correction, which includes together the cost of prisons, paupers and vagrants, and that of lunatic, and other asylums and hospitals, was $1,574,000. But the real cost is increased by the amount of money which the State loses by this idleness. The Kingdom of Christ.
By James White
In the January number of the Christian (Disciple) Record, published in Bedford, Ind., Eld. W. B. F. Treat commenced a series of articles under the above heading. The declared object of these articles is to meet the views of Adventists on this subject. “Eld. Treat is a ‘representative man’ among the Disciples of Indiana. The Record has sung his praise as one before whose ‘ponderous logic and sledge-hammer argument’ no opponent could stand! This praise, however, would mean more if it did not come from a denomination proverbial for its flattery of its teachers. A ‘big gun’ is but an ordinary title for their ministers. And, while they boast as having alone ‘the gospel,’ very few of them have learned, if we judge from their words and actions, that the ‘law of faith’ excludes boasting. Rom. 3. In this first number his argument is not developed; but we purpose to examine it whenever it appears in tangible form. One principle, however, is announced in his first article, which deserves notice. He argues against the Adventists’ view of Jesus’ possessing two different thrones at different times. The view of the Adventists is based upon such texts as Rev. 3: 21. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne.” He does not, however, notice this text in defining our views—perhaps he will hereafter. In harmony with this text, we read in 1 Cor. 15 that Christ is to “deliver up” a certain kingdom, or throne, “to God, even the Father;” and we take it that this is the throne upon which he is to sit “until” his foes are made his footstool. Ps. 110: 1. On that throne he is now; it is the throne of his Father in Heaven, where he sits as a great High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, that is, as a kingly priest. Heb. 7 and 8. And while sitting on that throne he is “expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.” Heb. 10: 13. And this expectation will be realized when the time comes for him to leave his Father’s throne as priest, as in Ps. 110: 1, &c. Now he that denies that Christ’s priesthood will at some time close, places himself in antagonism with great principles, as well as numerous explicit declarations. For how else should he “put on the garments of vengeance,” as in Isa. 59: 17? Surely, he is not a priest at his Father’s right hand, when he comes “in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel.” 1 Thess. 1. He is not granting “repentance and the remission of sins,” when he says, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.” Rev. 22: 11. It is not in “the day of salvation,” while mercy is offered to the impenitent, that the wicked call for rocks and mountains to fall upon them to hide them “from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come.” Rev. 6: 16, 17. And if Jesus is to cease to occupy the throne which he now occupies, it cannot be the throne referred to in Luke 1: 32, 33; “And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Compare Dan. 2: 44. And again, if the saints have been inheritors of that kingdom since the day of Pentecost, as Eld. Treat and his associates teach, how is it that they that are rich in faith, and love God, are “heirs of the kingdom,” and that it is to them a matter of promise? James 2: 5; and that, when the Saviour comes, sitting “upon the throne of his glory,” he will say to them, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom”? Matt. 25: 31–34. And, if the saints are in that kingdom in their probationary state, how is it that Peter shows them how “an entrance shall be ministered unto you [them that have obtained like precious faith, verse 5] into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”? 2 Peter 1: 11. The truth is, Eld. Treat’s view of the kingdom of Christ is one-sided; based on a partial acceptation of the Scriptures of truth. The truth—the whole truth, on this important subject, is not understood by himself and his people; or if understood, the prejudice of position or opinion will not permit him to accept it. His principle I will briefly notice. He says: “I now state as a fact, recognized by all right-thinking men, that all Divine Power is a unit, and emanates from the throne of God. The erection of any other religious or spiritual throne would be an unpardonable act of rebellion. Adventism teaches men to believe Christ will perform by assuming a throne separate from the throne of God and legislating therefrom over the destinies of millions of responsible beings whose only rightful allegiance is to the throne of God!” I quote literally; but I infer that he meant that Christ performs such an act of rebellion, according to the teachings of Adventism. Now Adventism does not teach that there is at any time any withdrawal of “rightful allegiance to [from] the throne of God.” If the Saviour receives anything from “the Lord God” by gift, it does not argue a non-recognition of the power, authority, or right, of the Lord God. His statement of the principle is evasive, not placing us in the wrong by direct expression, but only by implication. But he well knows that our views, correctly taken, are not subject to criticism on this point. But now we will examine to see where Eld. Treat stands on this important question. Is he really zealous for the principle which he has set forth? or is he desirous of “making a point” against an opponent without regard to principle? I will state a fact, and let the reader judge. In Nov. 1871, I had the privilege of listening to a discussion between Eld. E. B. Lane and Eld. Treat, on the subject of the Sabbath and Law, in Gosport, Ind. Many statements of Eld. Treat I carefully noted at the time, expecting to have use for them in future reference. The following I copy from my memorandum book, taken, word-for-word, from his argument. “The law was abolished THAT OUR ALLEGIANCE MIGHT BE TRANSFERRED FROM GOD TO CHRIST.” I had the pleasure, soon afterward, before Eld. Treat and the congregation, of characterizing his statement as “one of the most monstrous perversions of Scripture that I ever heard;” and my opinion of it has never changed. We have never held any view nor made any statement on this subject that we would not have all our brethren and the world hear. Is it so with Eld. Treat? Or, if he has now changed his mind—if he has at last become convinced that “our allegiance” is not “transferred from God,” is he ready to accept the conclusion, and reverse the argument he tried to maintain in Gosport? His “sledge-hammer” was too “ponderous” for him to wield, and it has fallen back upon his own head! Our opinion is that “the primitive faith” has been remodeled to its detriment in “the current reformation!” It is a solemn truth that Eld. Treat’s theory, when traced to its legitimate conclusion, is found to be a godless system. It ignores the God of the universe—“the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;” and it perverts the gospel, denying the office of Christ as “a mediator between God and man,” by “transferring allegiance from God to Christ,” and thereby rendering the office of mediator an impossibility. But sufficient for the present. We shall wait for the development of Eld. Treat’s argument, and test it by the Scriptures, in due time. Tract and Missionary Work.
By George I. Butler
The importance of this work has not been fully estimated by many of our people thus far, and it is the design of this article to call the attention of the readers of the REVIEW to some things connected with it, and to some of the means necessary to accomplish the design of its organization. This subject was one of the most interesting brought before the General Conference at its recent session, and we should have been greatly pleased to have all the readers of the REVIEW present on that occasion, that they might have heard what we heard, and had the spirit of the work infused into their hearts. The remarks of Eld. Haskell, of the New England Conference, and Bro. Kinne, of New York, were very encouraging and instructive, and well worthy of being remembered and carefully considered. The workings of the Tract and Missionary Society, where it has been really carried out according to the original plan, have been most encouraging, and if in our Western States it has not seemed to accomplish the same work, we think the reason to be simply this—the original plan has not been fully tried. No plan of action should be held responsible for apparent failure, until it has had a fair trial. But this society has always proved a success when it has had such a trial. And here I may be allowed to say a word in reference to my own feelings, concerning this society. When it was first organized, and put into operation by Eld. Haskell, in New England, I had some doubts about its proving a success, especially in our Western States. There seemed to be considerable machinery about it, some of which I could not see the need of, as I did not understand all its workings. The condition of things in New England is different in some respects from that in our larger Western States, where the means of travel are not so fully provided. These and other reasons seemed to make it a matter of doubt whether the plan would prove practicable in a larger field. But the last season has made me a full convert to the practicability of the plan as carried out there. During the last season, while our Western States have been measurably hesitating in regard to some of the provisions, New York, the largest State in which we have an organized Conference, has heartily adopted it, and is now reaping the benefits of the same. Bro. Kinne, a layman, the President of the Conference, and of the Society, stated in the General Conference, that the influence of the Society in that State, since its organization a year ago, had, in his judgment, been more effectual for good than all the preaching bestowed during the same period. In localities where the cause had been languishing for a long period in consequence of past troubles, the introduction of this Society-work had aroused an interest unfelt for years, and hope and courage were springing up in the hearts of the people. There is no Conference that has labored under greater discouragements than New York. No State where there was a greater territory to be organized, and none where the brethren were more scattered. Yet the plan has been working finely, and has proved a blessing to the cause. The same is true in regard to Ohio. This Conference has had no ordained minister of its own for years in the past. It is a large State. The brethren were in many places somewhat discouraged. And when the Society was organized by Bro. Haskell, he was unable to be with them long enough to fully instruct them in all its workings. And since its organization, some of its officers have resigned, and various perplexities have had to be met, and great discouragements to be encountered. Yet, under all this, it is believed that the tract and missionary work there, is in advance of any other State where this plan has not been carried out. I might say the same in regard to Maine, another State where Bro. Haskell has been able to partially carry out the plan. All these instances have proved to me the practicability of the plan, and shown furthermore that our Western States have suffered a loss in permitting themselves to fall into the rear in this great work of the Tract and Missionary Society. The results, as seen in the New England Conference where it has been more fully tried, are worthy of study. This Conference was generally regarded as one of the hardest in which to accomplish any great results of any in the field. Previous to the organization of this society, the General Conference had to support much of the labor bestowed in that field. But since it has been put in operation, New England has become one of the foremost in supporting our various enterprises, though it is known to be less wealthy, and in membership less numerous, than many others. It numbers not far from three hundred, with S. B. about $3000, being about $10.00 per member on the average. Let us notice two other prosperous Conferences, Michigan, and Iowa. The first, with a membership of about sixteen hundred, according to the N. E. rates per member, should have an S. B. list of $16,000. But it has only about $6500, while Iowa, with her seven hundred members, should have at the same rate an S. B. list of $7000, but actually has only about $3500, or one-half the New England rate, and yet it cannot be shown that the people on the average are poorer in these States than in New England, but rather the contrary. The same facts hold true of other Conferences. Not one of them comes up as high as New England. What has brought about this wonderful contrast within so few years? Those best prepared to answer say, The Tract and Missionary Society. But this change is not all confined to the matter of Systematic Benevolence. It is seen in the same distinctness in most other directions; in the matter of donations for various purposes. I was struck with this in the last camp-meeting, when appealing for help on the Hygienic Book Fund. In no State did I see the friends step forward with the alacrity that they did in New England. In the appeal for $100 each to be loaned without interest to help Bro. T. J. Butler, New England was the first on the ground, with about one-third of the whole amount. So in regard to paying up arrearages on our periodicals. They tell me at the Office that there was a very marked contrast when the lists of the different Conferences were taken up. The New England list was far ahead of any other Conference, and those States that had partially adopted the plan, stood next. But it may be said by an objector, that a special pressure has been brought to bear, that the brethren have overacted, and that a reaction will take place and great weakness result. So far from this being the case, never was there a time since the organization of the society, within the last three years, when money could be raised there with the ease it can now after these three years’ experience. As we work, we become more able to work. Exercise gives strength. This great law of God applies to giving labor or means as well as in other directions. This is the secret of strength. New England men and women have gone to work as though they believed this cause a reality. As they work, they find additional strength to work. So far from having overacted, they are just getting ready to act. May God bless their good example to the good of our people everywhere. The true secret of their success is in the plan, which brings every man, woman, and child, into a harmonious system. Each mite cast in, goes to swell the amount, as the little rivulets run into the great river which rolls its mighty volume of waters on to the sea. Our Systematic Benevolence affords an excellent illustration of this whole tract and missionary work. Many of us can remember what difficulties were encountered in raising means for the support of the cause previous to adopting our present plan. And why was this? Simply because there was no recognized system established which would bring all the membership into working order. Many did not realize their obligations. They125were never set before them properly, and the burden of the work fell upon a few liberal souls, who had to give far more than they were able to, or to see the blessed work which was more precious to them than life stop for lack of proper support. But when this voluntary system of giving was set before all, and their duty made plain, the difficulty was met, simply because all the membership became workers. Where all do only a little, far more is accomplished in the aggregate than where only a few do liberally. So in the tract and missionary work. The object is that all shall become workers. Every member becomes one of a vigilance committee on the alert, to scatter light and to help forward the work. The women, and even the children, are welcomed as participants. When the General Conference assembles, and all parts of the cause are represented, and matters of great moment are decided upon, and important calls are to be made, the delegates and leading brethren go to their several Conferences and communicate through the tract society to every member of the body. And through this medium, contributions are made, from a penny up to hundreds of dollars, from men, women, and children, for the purpose of carrying out that which our highest legislative body, composed of our delegates, shall deem best for the interests of the whole cause. During the last war, directions from the headquarters at Washington flashed along the wires to the remotest parts of our country. And the whole force was in motion. So we may carry on our work when these societies are properly organized and directed. What a mighty engine of strength this will be to us when this is fully accomplished! Every man, woman, and child, may then be a worker for the cause they love. Then real progress may be made. Then burdens which now fall upon our ministers will fall where they belong, and they may be left to labor to gather in souls. If any have thought that the object to be accomplished by this society was merely to scatter a few tracts, they have been much mistaken. It is designed to cover a far greater field, and to bring about equality among all our membership. Then all our institutions will be properly cared for, and channels of communication be opened in all directions, to affect souls and bring them to Christ. We have no time to delay in this important matter. Several of our Conferences have already lost a year in getting under way. This lost time should be made up. From past observation, we are satisfied that the plan carried out in New England has proved by far the most effective. Local societies lack the essential features which are needed to make each society a part of one great system. The important objects to be accomplished will be lost unless all these societies are united in one general system. We think our Western States will fail to realize the golden opportunity if they do not send in urgent invitations to Bro. Haskell to help them get well started in this important work. We think his time could not be more profitably spent, the coming year, in any other way than in superintending the proper establishment of this work in every Conference. We think, further, that our brethren generally will fail to come up to their duty, unless they take hold zealously to carry out the plan indicated. It is no longer a mere experiment. It has proved a brilliant success where it has been really taken hold of intelligently, and worked out properly. But, like every other excellence, hard labor is necessary for its success. The Secretary has the most important duties to perform. An inefficient Secretary will spoil the whole plan. This should be guarded against. We hope the present year will show a mighty advance in this important branch of the work. We know it cannot take the place of religion in the heart. Nothing can. But with this important auxiliary, we have firm faith that the tract and missionary work will prove most important in the great work to be done before the Lord shall come. As my mind runs out on the important work before us, and as I see how all these important agencies are to be blended into one glorious system which shall enable all to be workers together for fallen man’s salvation, I feel to pray that God may greatly bless the tract and missionary work, and that we all may take part in it, and have it said to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Our Proposed School.
By John Nevins Andrews
It was the judgment of the General Conference that a school should be established to aid those who desire to prepare themselves for usefulness in the cause of God. It is very evident that such a place for instruction is greatly needed. It is not enough that those who offer themselves to become laborers in the work of the ministry should be men of piety. This is indeed indispensable, but it is also necessary that those who teach others should have knowledge to impart. “Moreover,” says Solomon, “because the preacher was wise he still taught the people knowledge.” We do not desire the knowledge that puffeth up. Let others seek after that which shall inflate them with pride, and that shall enable them to walk in a vain show. We desire none of these things. But men cannot teach the present truth without understanding many important facts in Biblical knowledge, in history, and in science. We have not time to give them what is technically called a finished education. But we can give important instruction in divine truth, in science, in historical knowledge, and in the languages, sufficient at least to put the keys of knowledge in the student’s hands, and to put him in the way of making further progress. We desire to aid those who are willing to consecrate themselves to the service of Christ. We believe the time for labor is short. But this is no reason why we should sit down in despair and say that it is of no use to try. Nor is it a reason why we should say that we need no better qualifications than we already possess, or, that if we do, it is the Lord’s business to confer these on us, or else to furnish men who have them. Far from this. It is our business indeed to pray the Lord of the harvest to send faithful men into his harvest. But it is also incumbent on us to do what lies in our power to fit ourselves for the work of God, and to help others to do the same. There will still be room for the Lord to work, and it is when men do their part that they may ask the co-operation of the Spirit of God. The calls that come from every quarter, from men speaking other languages, must be answered by us. We cannot do this in our present circumstances. But we can do it if the Lord bless our effort in the establishment of our proposed school. We have delayed this effort too long. The time past cannot be recalled, but the time still remaining can be improved. Let no man stand back to criticise and find fault. We want the united action of all the friends of this cause. Our Lord is coming. Men of other nationalities desire to be instructed concerning it. They also inquire concerning God’s holy Sabbath, so long trodden under foot. We must be able to answer them. In some way, all can aid in this work; some, by giving of their means, and some, by the offering of themselves. Let every one do what he can while space for work remains. The present term of school commenced Tuesday, March 23, and has at present some forty scholars. Previous notice would have been given, had it been known by those having charge of it when it would begin. It has now been in progress three terms of twelve weeks each during the past year. Although we have had no buildings suitable and no organization perfected to manage it properly, and although the Gen. Conf. Com., who have had a kind of supervision of it, have had so many other duties that they could not give this important enterprise a tithe of the attention that it deserved, and although it has had to struggle against peculiar difficulties incident to all new enterprises, as well as some that are uncommon, yet the experiment has been quite satisfactory, when all the circumstances are taken into account. Not that the school has been by any means what we hope to make it. We could not expect this under the circumstances. But it has been shown that results far ahead of those generally seen may be reached. Its order, its high moral tone, and its thoroughness of instruction, are gratifying, and lead us to hope for good results hereafter. Those who have attended it seem, on the whole, to be highly pleased, and many of them desire to continue still to enjoy its benefits. We are not prepared yet by any means to advise a general attendance from abroad. We are in no condition to accommodate a large number, or properly instruct them; but we feel that this matter must be attended to at once. The General Conference recently held here recognized this as one of the most important matters to be attended to, and we hope to get before our people some proper plan of action before long, so that they may see this object in process of accomplishment. JOS. CLARKE
By JOS. CLARKE.
If you would attempt to prove that the sun shines, there are those who would oppose you in argument, merely for the sake of argument. So when you would show that the moral law, or the decalogue, is perpetual, you will find those who will, with one single effort, bind up this holy law with the Jewish typical system, and throw it all overboard. The third chapter of Galatians, and 16th verse, states that Christ came to redeem us from the curse of the law; that is, he came to redeem us from its penalty, or consequences, (he) being made a curse for us, (that is) he endured the penalty. To say that he came to redeem us from the moral law, and thus annihilate the decalogue, calling it a curse, seems to us nothing short of blasphemy. The moral law a curse! the ten commandments a curse! the decalogue a curse! Horrible perversion of morality! Do not these commandments form the basis of all morality? Is not the whole system of common law founded upon the precepts of the moral law? and does not every Sunday-school, and every Christian family, teach these precepts to the young? Let it be the prayer of every friend of truth that error may be speedily rebuked. How long, O Lord, shall fables be proclaimed from the pulpit and the press? Oh! that voices might arise from every hill, and valley, and plain, from every place where error is taught, that would be full of mighty power, confuting error, dispensing light, scattering darkness. Our ears are pained from week to week, as we hear heathenish doctrines proclaimed seriously as Bible truth.