Review and Herald, Vol. 29, No. 22. (5/7/1867)

Review and Herald

May 7, 1867

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 7, 1867

The Sermon.

By Joseph Bates

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.

PREACH THE WORD. 2 Tim. iv, 2.

THE SECOND ADVENT.

BY ELD. JOSEPH BATES.

“Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven.” Acts i, 11.

Here is infallible proof that our blessed Lord and Saviour will come the second time, and that coming will be as personal and visible to those then living on the earth, as it was to those who saw him going from their midst up into Heaven, after closing his mission here at his first advent.

For further proof, we will go back from this thrilling scene some six weeks, to where Jesus and the same disciples passed through a sorrowful scene at midnight in the garden of Gethsemane, where he said unto them, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” John xiv, 1–3.

In verses 28, 29, he says: “I go away, and come again unto you. . . . I go unto the Father; for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that when it is come to pass, ye might believe.” When these faithful followers of their Lord and Master came to compare these promises with the testimony of the angels in our text, how could they otherwise believe than that Jesus was gone to his Father and would come again and take all his faithful followers to his Father’s house in Heaven?

Again, the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew and onward to the fourteenth verse of the twenty-fifth chapter, contains a prophetic discourse from our Lord Jesus Christ, in which he speaks of the great events connected with the people of God, from his first advent down to his second coming. In this discourse, our Lord has pointed out the most important events with which his professed followers were to be connected from the time of his first to his second advent; such as the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70. From thence, the tribulation of the Christian church by the dreadful persecuting powers of Pagan, and the 1260 years of Papal Rome, for more than sixteen hundred years. From thence follow the special signs of his second advent, viz., the darkening of the sun and moon in A. D. 1780, and the falling stars in A. D. 1833, and the parable of the budding fig-tree, to prove that then, viz., in 1833, He (Christ) was near, even at the doors. But let us examine some of this important testimony of our Lord and Saviour, and see if it is in agreement with what we have here stated.

Matt. xxiv, 3. “And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Here are two questions asked, and both are answered distinctly and separately. The first question relates to the destruction of the temple, and also the city of Jerusalem. The second, to his second coming and the end of the world. From the fifth to the fifteenth verses, our Lord gives a brief statement of events that would take place before the end of the world. From thence, in verse 15, he begins to answer the first question of his disciples,

WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE?

Answer. “When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand).” Verse 15. Turning to the prophecy of Daniel, we read as follows: “And the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the Sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” Chap. ix, 26. Luke’s record of Jerusalem’s destruction, says: “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” Chap. xxi, 20. Josephus, who writes the history of the destruction of the city and sanctuary of Jerusalem, A. D. 70, shows that this “Prince” was Titus Vespasian with the Roman army, whose father was at that time emperor of Rome. Here is a clear prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies, which answers most definitely the first question, which is not so much as named again in this discourse.

Continuing on from the answer to this first question, our Lord follows on in one connected and continued chain of prophecy covering the space of some 1800 years, in answer to the second question.

“AND WHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN OF THY COMING AND OF THE END OF THE WORLD?”

“Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the house-top not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day; for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Verses 16–22.

As we have already shown, the answer to the first question carried us in the history of the world to the destruction of Jerusalem, in the year A. D. 70, which was thirty-nine years after the gospel dispensation had commenced. In A. D. 64, six years before the destruction of Jerusalem, the apostle Paul declared that the gospel had been preached “to every creature under heaven.” Col. i, 23. It is therefore evident that the warning and tribulation here spoken of by our Lord was to his professed followers wherever they had been gathered into the Christian church; and not to the Jews as some have supposed; for when Jerusalem was destroyed they ceased forever to be the “elect” people of God; for in A. D. 44, some twenty-six years before their dispersion, “the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” Acts xi, 26.

Verses 20 and 21 show plainly that the tribulation was to commence with those Christians who were to flee out of the city. “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day; for then shall be great tribulation,” &c.

We follow them in their flight to the mountains, and then pass along down through the noted persecutions of the Christian church under Pagan Rome; and we see their tribulation. Read Rev. ii, 9, 10, and see how our Lord and Saviour viewed it. And when we come to the period of Papal persecution we see them suffering the most cruel torture that wicked men and demons could inflict. That church represented by a harlot was “drunken with the blood of the saints and with the martyrs of Jesus.” Rev. xvii, 6.

Says Daniel, “I beheld and the same horn (papacy) made war with the saints and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High. . . . And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints,” &c. “And the woman (Christian church) fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days.” Rev. xii, 6.

All of this, and much more, taken in connection with Fox’s Book of Martyrs and the History of the Church, is so generally admitted, we will add but few words more on this point. The thousand two hundred and threescore days are also admitted to be the 1260 years’ reign of the Papacy, commencing A. D. 538 and ending A. D. 1798, at which period the Pope was deposed and lost his supremacy.

Verse 22. “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” If the days of the tribulation of the elect had not been shortened, “the martyrdom of the church would have continued down to 1798, in which event, in all human probability, no flesh of the elect would have been saved. But the reformation under Martin Luther and those associated with him, modified this tribulation and continued to restrain the rage of the Papacy until 1700, since which time, according to church history, there has been no general persecution against the church.” As we have now passed down through the tribulation of the Christian church, we come to the

SIGN OF HIS COMING.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Verses 29–31.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened,” &c. This, we understand, was the notable dark day of May 19, 1780, of which so much is said in history. Although eighty-six years have passed since that time, no one has been able to account for it, only as a fulfillment of this prophecy. Mark makes it still plainer. “But take heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. But in those days after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened,” &c. That is, in, or during those 1260 prophetic days of Papal supremacy. As the sun was darkened in the year 1780, after the tribulation of the church, it was still eighteen years before the ending of the prophetic days in 1798.

“The stars shall fall from heaven.” We understand that this was the wonderful phenomenon which occurred in A. D. 1833, of which there are tens of thousands of witnesses still living. It is but a few weeks since the daily journals of both hemispheres were excited about it again, but obtained no further light than was known the next day after its occurrence thirty-three years ago. The reason is obvious; it was what was predicted by our Lord to follow the darkening of the sun, and it came as he foretold. Historical facts respecting these three signs in the heavens are numerous and wide-spread. For further information on this subject, we would refer our friends to the “Signs of the Times” and Brief Exposition of Matthew Twenty-four, by James White, Battle Creek, Mich.

“The powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” We understand the powers of heaven are the sun, moon, and stars, “to rule over the day and over the night.” Gen. i, 16–18. They are to be shaken by the voice of God yet future. Joel iii, 15, 16. “The sun and moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake,” &c. See also Heb. xii, 26, 27; Rev. xvi, 17. Our Lord has foretold this as the next event to follow the falling stars from 1833.

“Sign of the Son of man in heaven.” Here comes the fulfillment of the angel’s testimony as shown in the text. “This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Eighteen hundred years ago he passed out of their sight into the distant heavens; so he will now appear in like manner. This manifestation, though far distant in the vault of heaven, will signify to those who are looking for him that that is the sign of his personal appearing; and they will not be held long in suspense in this matter; for he has already told them in verse 27, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

“Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven.” Then will cease forever all fruitless reasoning about his coming, and then men will cry for rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from his presence; for then they will see him on the white cloud. From thence he will send his angels to gather his elect to take them to the mount Zion of God.

Verses 32, 33. “Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [he, margin,] is near, even at the doors.”

What a beautiful illustration our Lord has here given, to inspire his followers with faith in his coming. Where is there an intelligent person that does not know when the trees of the field put forth their leaves, and the tender grass is springing up, that summer is approaching? So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things (or know that they have come), may know with the same certainty that the coming of Christ is near, even at the doors. The phrase, all these things in verse 33, could not, we think, refer to any other than these three signs, viz., in the sun, moon, and stars; for in this prophetic discourse, passing along over the events of the Christian church, our Lord was answering the second question asked him by his disciples, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?”

Again, our Lord says, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke xxi, 28. The signs began to come to pass with the darkening of the sun and moon in 1780. Then it could be said that the redemption of the church draweth nigh; and when the stars fell in 1833, then all the things, or signs, had come which were to be taken, according to the parable of the fig-tree, to show the coming of our Lord to be near, even at the doors.

Verse 34. “Verily I say unto you, this generation SHALL NOT PASS till all these things be fulfilled.”

It has been said that our Lord spake of the generation then living who listened to his teaching. This could not be; for he said of that generation, “There shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.” Chap. xii, 39. It is evident that he was speaking here of the generation which commenced with the falling of the stars in 1833, which “shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.” All of what things? Ans. All of the things spoken of to be fulfilled after the stars fall from heaven. The first in order, which is yet future, is the shaking of the powers of heaven; second, the sign of the Son of man; third, all the tribes of the earth mourning, and fourth, the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The Bible nowhere gives the number of years for a generation. Some have supposed that seventy years are one generation. That cannot be; for there are families that now number four generations. Matthew in his first chapter counts forty-two generations from Abraham to Christ. Luke, chapter iii, counts seventy-five generations from Christ to Adam. Every one of them are from father to son.

Joel’s prophecy is for the last generation. See chapter i. In verses 1 and 2 he shows three generations inquiring about the dreadful state of things that is now closing in upon us. Let us flee to the strong hold for refuge.

As our Lord came to this point in his discourse, saying, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled,” mark with what emphasis he gave utterance to this statement: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words SHALL NOT PASS AWAY.”

Verse 35. Here we have the answer to the second question in his discourse brought down to the last generation so definite and clear that no reasonable, reflecting person may raise a single doubt. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man.” But all men may know that the coming of the Son of man will be in this generation; which generation we understand commenced with the falling stars, where the parable of the fig-tree is given to show the coming of Christ to be near, even at the doors.

Says one, Doubtless this is all clear to you, but I claim that all these things were fulfilled eighteen hundred years ago at the destruction of Jerusalem, and then Christ came the second time. Let us test this matter. “Of all these things,” there are six in which all the evangelists are agreed. 1. The darkening of the sun. 2. The moon shall not give her light. 3. The stars shall fall from heaven. 4. Shaking of the powers of heaven (yet in the future). 5. Mourning and wailing of the wicked. 6. The coming of the Son of man. See Mark xiii, 24–27; Luke xxi, 25–27. John was shown in vision as follows:

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free-man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. vi, 12–17.

We ask, Were all of these things fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem? Certainly not; for Jerusalem was destroyed A. D. 70, and John’s revelation is dated A. D. 96, some twenty-six years after the destruction of Jerusalem. Further, John saw that these things would not begin to have their fulfillment until the sixth seal was opened at the time of the great earthquake, which historians show was in the year 1755. Then would follow the signs in the sun and moon and stars, &c.

The proclamation of the coming and kingdom of our Lord is for the last generation, and consequently will follow the falling stars. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Verse 14. Whiting translates it, “good news of the kingdom,” &c. Campbell says, “And this good tidings of the reign shall be published through all the world,” &c. By comparing the 14th with the 3d verse, we understand that it is the proclamation of his coming and kingdom, and is in agreement with the first angel’s message in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, verses 6, 7: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

Has the proclamation gone forth in this generation? A few historical facts will shed light here. One or two in every quarter of the globe have proclaimed the second coming of Christ. Wolfe, of Asia; Irving, late of England; Mason, of Scotland; Davis, of South Carolina; Wm. Miller, in the United States and the Canadas, from the falling stars in 1833. The first angel’s message, quoted above, symbolizes a body of people preaching the message to their fellow-men. Seven years later, the movement had so far advanced, that a paper was sustained, setting forth its claims. In October 1840, the first Second Advent Conference was convened in Boston, Mass. From thence, the first angel’s message symbolized a body of Advent believers preaching to their fellow-men, spreading books and papers far and wide. Conferences and camp-meetings were multiplying in various directions in the

United States and the Canadas.

Periodicals, pamphlets, and books, like falling leaves, were loading down the mails, rushing, by carriages, steamboats, and sailing ships, in all directions over land and sea, so that by 1843 the good news of our coming Saviour was “preached in all the world for a witness.” Yes, it went “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come.” Such a universal, wide-spread, and rushing movement has never been witnessed since the deluge. Call it what you please, such an unmistakable momentous movement cannot be made again. Why? Because it was the proclamation of the second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, given in the right place, and at the right time, to this last generation. God never does his work twice. How could he have the coming and kingdom of his dear Son proclaimed to the generation before the last, or to any other generation but the last; for they are the people who are to witness his glorious appearing. All the nations of the earth know they have heard it. They also know the time when it was sounding at their doors. Hence the prophetic declarations of our coming Lord are verified.

No marvel that the mind of the great apostle to the Gentiles was stirred within him when he heard and read about the second coming of his divine Master. With what confidence he could say in his letter to the Corinthians, “Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Chap. xv, 51, 52.

And again to the Thessalonians: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. iv, 15–18.

How comforting these words have been to the saints of all ages. And how much more so to them who are now looking for him, who have this assurance that he is coming in person and in like manner as he went up into Heaven eighteen hundred years ago.

“But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you; for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” Chap. v, 1, 2.

It appears that it was not necessary for those beloved disciples who saw their Lord going away from them into Heaven, to know the “times and seasons.” Acts i, 7. But the watching, waiting ones of the last generation, who long for his appearing and kingdom, will not be in darkness respecting that day, but will see the clear light continually in their pathway.

As this delightful theme was so clearly open before this great and good man’s vision, how fervent the prayer he offers up for them. “I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 23.

Dear friends, let us all resolve that we will unite our earnest prayers with his, that we may improve the very short space of time allotted us here, that we may be found blameless in that day: that when we shall see the very same Jesus which was taken up into Heaven coming in like manner as he was seen going into Heaven, we can then say, “Lo, this our God: we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isa. xxv, 9.

NOTHING TO DO.

“Nothing to do!” in this world of ours, Where weeds spring up with the fairest flowers, Where smiles have only a fitful play, Where hearts are breaking every day!

“Nothing to do!” thou Christian soul! Wrapping thee round in thy selfish stole! Off with the garments of sloth and sin! Christ thy Lord hath a kingdom to win.

“Nothing to do!” there are prayers to lay On the altar of incense, day by day; There are foes to meet, within and without; There is error to conquer, strong and stout.

“Nothing to do!” there are souls to teach, The simplest forms of Christian speech; There are hearts to lure with loving wile, From the grimmest haunts of sin’s defile.

“Nothing to do!” there are lambs to feed The precious hope of the Church’s need; Strength to be borne to the weak and faint; Vigils to keep with the doubting saint.

“Nothing to do!” there are heights to attain, Where Christ is transfigured yet again, Where earth will fade in the vision sweet, And the soul press on with winged feet.

“Nothing to do!” and thy Saviour said, “Follow thou me, in the path I tread.” Lord, lend thy help, the journey through, Lest, faint, we cry, “So much to do!”

THE LIKENESS QUESTION AGAIN.

By D. T. Boerdeau

Though I have, from the power of example, transcended the bounds of propriety in a measure, in this matter, which I intend to do no more; yet I do not feel inclined to take an extreme view of the subject by denouncing picture-taking in a broad and unqualified manner, and go so far as to destroy the likenesses I have, or order others to do so, in imitation of the example of some East a few years since, against the teachings of the gift of prophecy (as I understand it), which afterward condemned such a rash and unwise course.

I do not even understand that the last testimony to the church, a fragment of which I see in Sr. White’s acknowledgment in Review, No. 16, condemns picture-taking in every instance. If it does, why does Sr. W. say, “I was shown that picture-taking had been carried to too great lengths by Sabbath-keeping Adventists; and that much means had been spent in multiplying copies which was worse than lost?” If this was the mind of the Spirit in the matter, would not the production and testimony read something like this: “I was shown that picture-taking was wrong in every instance; that we should not go into it at all?” No, it is in carrying this matter “to too great lengths,” and in expending “much means” in “multiplying copies,” which “should have been invested in the cause of God,” that we have done wrong.

Neither do I believe that taking likenesses within proper limits, is against the second commandment. If the first part of this commandment is to be taken in its broadest sense, without being limited by the latter part, then Jehovah himself is a violator of the moral law, of which we justly say that it is a duplicate of God’s holy character, because he keeps every precept of it in its strictest sense. For Jehovah has in many instances commanded likenesses to be made of things in heaven and things in the earth. Then God gave laws to his ancient people clashing against each other, and they could not obey him. Then you must say that Jehovah set a bad example in causing two cherubims of glory to be made over the mercy-seat, looking with interest and sacred approval and respect to the law in the ark containing the second commandment, etc. Then we all err in having charts, in harmony with an injunction to make the truth plain. Then we should not even make a pattern of any thing, and no one keeps or can keep the second precept of the decalogue.

How plain it is that the first part of this precept is explained by the latter clause, “Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them,” and that it is making these things to worship them that is condemned by the law of God. Thus the second command explains itself. We have a similar instance in the fourth commandment, a portion of which reads, “In it (the seventh day) thou shalt not do any work.” Who among us will take this part of the Sabbath law, disconnected from, and unexplained by, the rest of it, which shows that it is “thy work” which should not be done on the seventh day?

But any blessing can be abused and be made a curse and a source of sin, by the use we make of it, and I do not wish to encourage by my remarks the spirit that has prevailed among us on the likeness question. I admit there is far greater danger in indulging in this direction, than there is in abstaining. Yet I do not feel to censure those who, for instance, would receive the likeness of an absent wife, or husband, or child, or who would accept a cheap and plain picture of aged and respected parents, whom they may never see, or of a dying Christian sister who has been especially drawn out to get her picture taken for her absent brothers, etc. I cannot condemn those who in such circumstances would think that there can be no more harm in looking at the shadow or likeness of an absent friend, than there is to look at the reality; and that to look at the simple picture helps the mind to call up and keep in remembrance the qualities and virtues of the individual, especially if there is a lack of memory of form and faces.

But neither will I feel tried with any who should, through a desire to do right, deprive themselves of these privileges. I will respect such, as I should like to be respected by them. And I shall not get up a battle with those who are willing to deny themselves in that which is lawful to not have others do that which is unlawful; but will admire their love for the cause.

It may be urged that this is the position Sunday-keepers take with us. But this is not a parallel case. It is assuming a point without evidence. It is, in our humble opinion, begging a question against the example of Jehovah, and that of his ancient people, and against the conduct of all now living, in lawful and necessary things.

We repeat, we know there is danger of going to extravagance, as pointed out in prophecy, Isa. ii, and idolatry, while we should be examining our characters in the light of God’s law. There is danger of squandering means which we are responsible for, and which should be spent in the cause.

And in conclusion we would say, let all move in the fear of God in this matter; and let those who do not see as we do, simply carry out their convictions. In doing otherwise, they would sin against their own consciences. But let us enjoy our liberty before God, and we will love you, and will hope to so carry out the principles of God’s law, that we may enjoy each other’s society where there will be no separation and no mental deficiencies, and consequently no room for those sublunary things, which have called forth these remarks. D. T. BOERDEAU.

I'M GOING HOME.

By Mela Heusser Schweizer

I'm going home—here have I no abiding; I've looked around me in this world of care, Though earth were all her wealth to me confiding, I never could have built my home nest there.

I'm going home, for gently, surely closes, Before the dawn, the evening-primrose pale; The nightingale is hushed by summer's roses, The brook flows faster through the last rough vale.

I'm going home, they have not comprehended The silent longings of my wistful heart. At last my weary prison time is ended, The spell is broken, gladly I depart.

I'm going home, my bitter grief is over; There's naught but joy and peace in store for me; No marring touch shall yon clear light discover, Wounds roughly made, there healed for aye shall be.

I'm going home, by storms autumnal chastened, Whilst others linger in an early spring; The summer sun the ripening fruit has hastened, The summer bird must soon be on the wing.

I'm going home, my pilgrim garb exchanging For festal robes that mark the bridal day; For heavenly crowns, at God's behest, I'm changing My lily wreath, that soon would fade away.

I'm going home, the way's unknown, untrodden, But one has passed these portals, e'en for me. Have I his grace, his faithfulness forgotten? No! through the clouds the Morning Star I see.

I'm going home, to thee my heart is given, Lord Jesus, thou who erst didst give me peace; 'Tis through thy blood my sins are all forgiven, Thy life is mine, I'm longing for release.

I've reached the goal, oh, I am weary, weary; There come sweet whispers from the land of rest; Earth is receding with her wastes so dreary, I sleep, to wake upon my Saviour's breast? —Mela Heusser Schweizer.

The Eclipse of the Soul.

The moon, in an eclipse, complained to the sun:

“Why, O my dearest friend, dost thou not shine upon me as usual?”

“Do I not?” said the sun; “I am sure I am shining as I always do; why do you not enjoy my light as usual?”

“O! see,” said the moon, “the earth has got between us.”

“Why, O Saviour,” says the backsliding Christian, “do I not, as in former days, walk in the light of thy countenance?”

“I am sure, troubled soul, I have not changed. The rays of my love are as warm and bright as ever; what can prevent them from reaching thee?”

Canst thou not see, O troubled Christian, that the earth has got between thee and Christ?

Faith Turns Trials into Victories

The faith which can truly say, My Shepherd! My Lord! My God! My Rock! turns prophecies into history, promises into deliverances, sorrows into joys, prisons into palaces, perils into victories, death into life. Nothing else can do as much.

Continue reading: Notes on Genesis