Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 25, 1860
THE NEW EARTH.
By G. W. A.
THE following graphic description of the earth renewed, is taken from the Rev. A. S. Wightman's "Glance at Creation." If any one can read this elegant portraiture of the restitution without being alike impressed with the descriptive powers of the writer and the scriptural views here set forth, they are of a different cast of mind from ourself. It is also truly refreshing to see men of orthodox faith defending such fundamental truths as contained in the following extract. Without forestalling the present article we simply add, the author has painted out the future of our present sin-cursed world in a manner greatly to edification.
G. W. A.
ThE great and interesting truth, proclaimed to the apostle by the voice of God, during his residence upon the lonely island, in the words, "Behold I make all things new," is a truth upon which even very few professed Christians have bestowed much thought.
No argument is necessary to convince any one, who has proper conceptions of the character of the Creator, that the world which we now possess, came from his fashioning hand with the visible impress of high perfection upon all its features; for anything less than this would be unworthy of the living and all-wise God.
We learn from the Scriptures, that there is to be a restitution of our present very seriously impaired world; and also that Satan's dominion in the same is to come to an end; for when the end of time shall finally come—when Christ "shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father"—then the time will have arrived, "when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power," and when that triumphant work is done, this world will be refined and restored, at least to its paradisiacal state, and then, and not till then, in the full sense of the promise, will the deep, dark marks of Satan's diabolical scourge be obliterated from the world, and his power over the same effectually broken.
This second or renewed Paradise—or Paradise redeemed from the scourge of the devil—will be most lovely and indescribably beautiful in all its phenomena. The heavens will no more be disturbed by storms and tempests, no frightful hurricanes, or devastating tornadoes, sweeping onward in their frightful rage, no dreadful thunderbolts to shake the ground, no lightning's glare to frighten guilty ones, no muttering earthquakes to prostrate temples and swallow cities, nor clouds or fogs to mar the glory of refulgent and perpetual day. There will be no poisonous winds or pestilential blasts; no deadly vapors loading the air and leaving in their march the dead and dying; no sirocco gales, breathing devastation and ruin in their fatal course; no poisonous plants, noxious weeds, briars, thistles or thorns.
The change in the element of water will, doubtless, be very great. "It will be, in every part of the world, clear and limpid, pure from all unpleasing and unhealthful mixtures; rising here and there in crystal fountains, to refresh and adorn the earth with liquid lapse of murmuring stream."
It should be remembered, that the fact is clearly revealed, that "there shall be no more sea;" yet we do not see in what sense its absence could affect the perfection of the new earth. Indeed, all its present space may be occupied by attractions a thousand times more lovely than anything ever yet conceived by the most active imagination.
The new earth will not be subject to extremes of heat and cold, or sudden and fatal changes of the same; no desert sands, perpetually heated by the blazing sun—no frozen regions held in the chains of everlasting Winter—no horrid rocks, yawning chasms, frightful precipices or sinking bogs, to mock the trust of the unfortunate traveler. The charms of that bright world are inconceivable by mortal powers. The poet has sung—
> "O! the transporting, rapturous scene,
> That rises to my sight,
> Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
> And rivers of delight."
Yet, smooth and expressive as are his lines, they fall far short of expressing the glory and beauty by which he was inspired to an effort at description.
But the most glorious perfections seen in all the associations of the new earth, will be those enjoyed by the children of God, who, in the fall, in many respects, sank lower than many other parts of creation, and who, in the restoration shall enjoy the greatest elevation.
The rightful occupants of the second paradise, will enjoy all that confidence of, and communion with, God, which was enjoyed by those of the first; and if the views of some eminent men are reliable, they will enjoy higher degrees of perfection than our first parents enjoyed in the garden of Eden, before sin ruined them. No tears shall ever fall from weeping eyes, or sighs escape from heaving bosoms, in that world of bliss that is to be fitted for the residence of God's faithful ones.
O, how comforting the thought, that our time of weeping is so soon to be passed—yes, if faithful to our God, the last pang will soon have wounded our spirit, and the last groan will have escaped from our burdened heart. Tears and sorrow may be endured for a night, if joy but come in the morning. Reader, remember that the pious alone are to "have right to the tree of life." In that blissful region there is to be no more sin, and no more temptation, for all hearts are to be pure; and no tempting Devil will ever be allowed to press the golden pavements of the New Jerusalem with his diabolical foot, or whisper lies into deceived and bewildered ears.
There will be no need of fast-sailing ships to convey men and merchandise from kingdom to kingdom,—a fact much in harmony with the statement of the Apostle, that "there was no more sea,"—for the citizens of that glorious retreat will be far above the necessities and honors of commerce; too rich to need and too holy to desire the profits of trade, and too spiritual to require the food that perisheth.
There will be no need of railroads, for conveying the inhabitants of the land from one part to another, for those who are worthy to dwell there are to be "equal to angels" as to swiftness and strength, and consequently can pass from one side of the sphere with the fleetness of thought—with a velocity that would quickly leave the most powerful locomotive in the shadowy distance.
From the above facts, the lengthened wires of the telegraph would also be a needless appendage, for all communications, at all points, can be instantly and conveniently personal. . . . O! how delightful it will be for fellow-pilgrims—old companions of a common and perilous warfare, honorably and victoriously closed, and in full possession of the glorious rewards of faithful allegiance—to greet and re-greet each other, as easily and frequently as their harmonious sympathies and ecstatic spirits may require.
Another very striking peculiarity of the new earth, will be the absence of death, the presence of which is a prominent feature of the present one, which at best is a vast charnel house—a common cemetery—daily swelling with gathering victims, from the infant of an hour to the infirm and time-worn of "three-score years and ten."
Walk along the silent alleys of "the city of the dead," look upon the marble slabs and imposing monuments, with their inscriptions of fame;146but how ephemeral! just as full of death as are the mouldering forms beneath them, whose dying glories they vainly attempt to perpetuate.
But in the better land—the promised home of the Christian—there will be no mouldering skeletons, no dark sepulchres, no cold, coffined forms, no earthly beds, dismal and damp; the hiding-place of wasting mortality and winding-sheets; no funeral pageants or solemn array of mourners going about the streets; for death's dominion shall be broken, and instead of the marbled paleness and icy chill, there shall be upon every cheek the flush of eternal youth, and in every body the quenchless fires of immortal life.
Instead of labored eulogies to commemorate the deeds of the departed, and chiseled columns to speak their fame, there will be the perpetual bestowal of the truthful approbations of the everlasting Father, and the unwasting records of a blood-bought right to a crown of glory, that shall shine with increasing brilliancy while the undying cycles of eternity shall continue their successions. Who would not wish to be an inhabitant of that fair land, where wasting consumption, burning fevers, pestilential chills, withering pains and loathsome contagion are never known? O! glorious home! O! promised land of the blest! our spirits are longing for thy peaceful and perfect clime, where our sorrows shall be known no more forever.
Such, we think, will be among the many perfections of the promised land. We are sensible that their beauties and very desirable character have only been faintly traced, yet we hope that the outlines have been sufficiently drawn to interest the inquiring and comfort the pious. . . .
Kind reader, since our present interview is nearly closed, permit us to ask you if, as you look out upon the hills and valleys, and walk along the way, you realize that these very hills and vales, over which you pass, perhaps with thoughtless steps, are destined to constitute, in a highly refined and every way improved state, the great and glorious promenade ground of the saints of the Most High God?
Such a destiny awaits the very elements of the ground daily pressed by a thousand hurried feet of those who are in zealous pursuit of the mocking phantoms of an hour, whether such elements form the flinty rocks, the mountain range, the rolling hills, or humble plains.
Let us rejoice that the dawn of our being commenced amidst elements possessing so glorious a future. Here, the earth is often measured by steps, attended by heavy hearts and sighing spirits; but when the same redeemed ones shall walk amidst its enchanting scenery, in its new and glorious state, sorrow and sighing shall be known no more.
Move on, then, ye children of light, although your present way is sometimes rough, and thorns sometimes wound your journeying feet. Move on, in the name of Israel's God, where you shall wear white robes, and wave palms of victory. There shall be no roughness nor thorns in the way, for the immortal earth and immortal feet shall press each other with the gentleness of that charm that must be experienced to be fully apprehended.
But what will be the ecstasies of those who shall be found worthy to enter the celestial city, which is to constitute the great central attraction of the new earth! The heirs of life are not only to be permitted to enter its pearly gates, but are to be received—yes, received, after all, to the honors and privileges of the holy city of God.
O, who can comprehend the perfections and glory of those decorated walls and golden streets, the river of life clear as crystal, the tree of life, growing luxuriantly upon either side of the river, and the throne of God in the midst of all, more lovely and glorious than the most vivid imagination can possibly conceive; and finally, the beatific presence, emitting a transcendently luminous and inexpressibly beautiful halo of light, enriching with the Godhead's charms the whole display of matchless attractions. Such a place—such a city—and such a home of the Christian, gentle reader, shall be the crowning glory of this, at present, sin-cursed world.
Let us, therefore, prize it in view of its high destiny, yield a cheerful and ready obedience to its demands, improve well our residence in it—that we may be its rightful occupants in its higher, holier and eternal state.
COME, LORD.
By Horatius Bonar
Come, Lord, and tarry not;
Bring the long-looked-for day;
O, why these years of waiting here,
These ages of delay?
Come, for creation groans,
Impatient of Thy stay;
Worn out with these long years of ill,
These ages of delay.
Come, for the grave is full,
Earth's tombs no more can hold;
The sated sepulchres rebel,
And groans the heaving mould.
Come, for the corn is ripe;
Put in Thy sickle now;
Reap the great harvest of the earth;—
Sower and reaper Thou.
Come in Thy glorious might;
Come with the iron rod;
Scattering Thy foes before Thy face,
Most mighty Son of God.
Come, spoil the strong man's house;
Bind him and cast him hence;
Show Thyself stronger than the strong,
Thyself Omnipotence.
Come, and make all things new;
Build up this ruined earth;
Restore our faded paradise,
Creation's second birth.
Come, and begin Thy reign
Of everlasting peace;
Come, take the kingdom to Thyself,
Great King of righteousness.
[H. Bonar.
RULES FOR MORAL WARFARE.
By T. L. Cuyler
A SIMPLE "yes" or an emphatic "no" may cost you a fortune—may cost you a troop of friends—may cost you your political promotion—may cost you your character—may cost you your soul! How many a public man has had his whole career decided by his course in some trying emergency, or on some one great question of right. He is led up into the mount of temptation, where some gigantic iniquity bids him bow down and worship it, and promises in return "all the world and the glory thereof." From that mount of trial he comes down a hero or a fool. The die is cast. If he has honored justice and truth, then justice and truth will honor him; if not, his bones will be left blanching on the road to a promotion he can147never reach.
That was a hard struggle for Nathaniel Ripley Cobb, of Boston, when he decided to accumulate no more than fifty thousand dollars during his life, and to give all the surplus to the treasury of the Lord. But after the noble resolution was once taken, selfishness was a conquered lust in that man's breast forever. He had come off more than conqueror. How many a minister of Christ has been charged upon and overcome by this accursed spirit of "worldly wisdom"? He was put to the decisive test, not in Nero's judgment-hall, or before Agrippa's tribunal; not before a Popish inquisitor, or in sight of Smithfield's fire of martyrdom; but in his quiet study, when some timid friend counseled a treacherous silence in his pulpit on some vital question of right, his "yes" or his "no," will either call from his Master the precious benediction, "Well done, good and faithful servant," or else the fearful anathema, "Ye were ashamed of me and my truth, and of thee will I be ashamed before my Father and his holy angels."
We all have our moral Marengoes and our Waterloos, where we win or lose the crown of Christian character. When these decisive conflicts come on between our conscience on the one hand, and some selfish schemes or Satanic iniquity on the other, then try to remember a few simple rules of moral war:
1. Never change your position in sight of an enemy. This was a fatal policy to the allies at Austerlitz. It has cost many a disgraceful defeat in spiritual warfare.
2. Never place on guard a doubtful or a questionable principle. Your sentinel will be sure to betray you.
3. Never abandon the high ground of right for the low lands of expediency. Before you are aware, you will be swamped in the bottomless morass of ruin.
4. Get your moral armor from God's word; and "put on the whole armor." An exposed spot in character may admit the fatal weapon of the foe. Ahab was wounded through the joints of his harness. Do not mind blows in the face. Heroes are wounded in the face; cowards in the back.
5. But whether wounded by foes or deserted by friends, never surrender. It is said that not one of the old Imperial Guard survived the wreck of Waterloo. Towards the sunset of that long, bloody day, when the surviving remnant of the Guards was summoned to lay down their arms, the scarred veterans of fifty victorious fights cried out, "The old guards can die, but they never learned to surrender!"
The glorious Captain of our salvation could die for us, but he could not desert us. Blessed is he who is found faithful! He shall wear the crown of amaranth in the paradise of God.—T. L. Cuyler.
WHAT IS YOUR TESTIMONY?
By H. B.
If you profess to be a Christian you are understood to be one of those to whom God says, "Ye are my witnesses." You are therefore under obligation to give your testimony for God.
When a witness is placed on the stand, if he is unwilling to answer, or answers with hesitancy or doubt, or contradicts himself, he does damage to the cause for which he appears.
Bear in mind, also, that a witness is not called up to tell what he thinks, hopes, or supposes; but what he knows.
Furthermore, you can give no testimony but your own; i. e., what you know.
It is no testimony for you to state what you believe to be the views, feelings, or experiences of other Christians, or what are the teachings of the Bible. Your testimony is the declaration of your own experience. It cannot be anything else, for this is all that you know. You believe the Bible, but you can give no testimony respecting it but that you experience the fulfillment of its promises in your own soul. You believe that Jesus is the friend of sinners. To testify of this you must have known yourself a sinner, and then have known the love of Christ in your own soul. The scripture says that the love of Christ revealed in the soul gives peace and joy. When you have experienced this, you can testify that it is so—not before. It is a very different thing to believe it on the testimony of the Bible, or of other Christians, from what it is to know it from experience.
You are before the world as a witness. What is your testimony?—H. B.—[Golden Rule.
"TAKE HOLD OF MY HAND."
"Take hold of my hand," says the little one, when she reaches a slippery place, or when something frightens her. With the fingers clasped tightly around the parent's hand, she steps cheerfully and bravely along, clinging a little closer when the way is crowded or difficult, and happy in the beautiful strength of childish faith.
"Take hold of my hand," says the young convert, trembling with the eagerness of his love. Full well he knows that if he rely on any strength of his own, he will stumble and fall; but if the Master reach forth his hand, he may walk with unwearied feet, even on the crested wave. The waters of strife or of sorrow shall not overwhelm him, if he keep fast hold of the Saviour.
"Take hold of my hand," falters the mother, feeling that she is all too weak for the great responsibilities that throng in her path. Where shall she learn the greatness of the mission—the importance of the field that has been assigned to her? and, learning it, how shall she fulfill it, if she have not the sustaining, constant presence of one who loves his people?
"Take hold of my hand," whispers the aged one, tottering on through the shadows and snows of many years. As the lights of earth grow dimmer in the distance, and the darkening eye looks forward, to see if it can discern the first glimmer of the heavenly home, the weary pilgrim cries out, even as the child beside its mother, for the Saviour's hand.
O Jesus! Friend and Elder Brother, when the night cometh, when the feet are weary, when the eyes are dim, "take hold of our hand."—Chris. Intell.
Love Is Rare in Human Life
As gold is found but here and there upon earth, so it is with love in human life. We meet it a little in the hearts of children, and in our households; but it is here and there a scale of gold, and a whole continent of dirt.
MAN AND HIS SAVIOUR.
A VERY old German author discourses thus tenderly of Christ:
"My soul is like a hungry and thirsty child, and I need His love and consolations for my refreshment; I am a wandering and lost sheep, and I need Him as a good and faithful Shepherd; my soul is like a frightened dove pursued by the hawk, and I need His wounds for refuge; I am a feeble vine, and I need His cross to lay hold of, and wind myself about; I am a sinner, and I need His righteousness; I am naked and bare, and need His holiness and innocence for a covering; I am in trouble and alarm, and I need His solace; I am ignorant, and I need His teaching; simple and foolish, and I need the guidance of His Holy Spirit.
"In no situation, and at no time, can I do without Him. Do I pray? He must prompt and intercede for me. Am I arraigned by Satan at the divine tribunal? He must be my advocate. Am I in affliction? He must be my helper. Am I persecuted by the world? He must defend me. When I am forsaken, He must be my support; when dying, my life; when mouldering in the grave, my resurrection. Well, then, I will rather part with all the world, and all that it contains, than with Thee, my Saviour; and God, be thanked, I know that Thou art not willing to do without me. Thou art rich, and I am poor; Thou hast righteousness, and I sin; Thou hast oil and wine, and I wounds; Thou hast cordials and refreshments, and I hunger and thirst. Use me, then, my Saviour, for whatever purpose and in whatever way Thou mayest require. Here is my poor heart, an empty vessel; fill it with Thy grace. Here is my sinful and troubled soul, quicken and refresh it with Thy love. Take my heart for Thine abode; my mouth to spread the glory of Thy name; my love and all my powers, for the advancement of Thine honor, and the service of Thy believing people. And never suffer the steadfastness and confidence of my faith to abate, that so at all times I may be enabled from the heart to say, "Jesus needs me, and I need Him, and so we suit each other."
ONE WAY ONLY.
THERE can be but one kind of straight lines; but there may be any variety of crooked ones. So there is but one way of going to heaven; but an incalculable diversity of ways of going to hell. As there was but one ark in which men could be saved from the deluge, but any quantity of places in which they could be drowned, so there is but one Saviour, Jesus Christ, by whom we can be saved from hell, while there is any number of enemies to drag us thither. The exercise of one particular grace especially is essential to salvation; but the commission of any sin is enough to condemn the soul to hell though a man keep the whole law, yet offend in one point, he is a transgressor, and as such, under the condemnation of the law, though that point may, in his opinion, be a very small thing. Obedience of some commands does not atone for disobedience of others. Men talk of amiable moralists, and little sins, but in the sight of God, no sin is little, no morality is amiable short of that which springs from faith in Christ. A man need but sit still and do nothing, and he goes to hell; the descent to it is comparatively easy, for it does not require the mortification of a single lust. Many fancy that if their morality be unblemished in the sight of the world, they are safe. They never think how many duties they omit to do; they look merely at the sins they have refrained from committing. They have not sinned as other men, and therefore fancy themselves safe, just as though there were but two or three ways of going to hell, whereas the truth is, worldly morality will furnish a passage to hell, as surely as gross immorality.
SUNDAY NO SABBATH
By Editor
From the Sabbath Recorder.
"SUNDAY NO SABBATH."
UNDER the above heading the Boston Investigator, an infidel paper, publishes the following paragraphs. We copy them partly because of the truth they contain, and partly because we hope in that way to enable some of those who never look into an infidel paper to see themselves as others see them. How much easier it would be to promote a reform in the manner of keeping the Sabbath, if those who advocate such a reform would themselves practice what they preach—if they would in other words, keep the Sabbath according to the commandment upon which they profess to base their movements. Here is the extract:
"Professed theologians ought to possess some information upon this subject. They should not subject themselves to a laugh of such scornful derision as must curl the lip of every man of information, on beholding erudite divines denominating Sunday the Sabbath day, and declaring, moreover, that it is the Sabbath ordered to be kept holy by the fourth commandment. This is worse than ignorance; it is deliberate misrepresentation; it is a willful perversion of truth and of the Bible. The Sunday is not the Sabbath-day of the fourth commandment. There is no authority whatever in the Bible for giving to the Sunday the denomination of the Sabbath. It is a theological delusion to use such language, and they who use it are guilty of misleading and deceiving the people.
"Both in the Old Testament and in the New, it is the seventh day, the Saturday, that is called the Sabbath. The practice and tradition of the Jews, preserved and acted upon to the present day, inform us that the Saturday is the Sabbath. In opposition, then, to the Bible, in opposition to the information of all history, in opposition to the practice to this hour of that very people to whom the fourth commandment was expressly given, and who, to the present time deviate not in the slightest degree from the practice and custom of their ancestors in the day which they observe as the Sabbath, how dare clergymen come forward and with shameless audacity tell us that the Sunday is the Sabbath-day of the fourth commandment? Sunday is not the Sabbath, nor has the law of the Sabbath any reference to Sunday; and if that law be in force now, the strictest and most straight-laced observer of the Sunday is a violator of the Sabbath-day."
THE "RAVENS" THAT FED ELIJAH.
It is probable that the ravens that fed Elijah were Arabians. On the words of 1 Kings xvii, 4, 6: "And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook," Horne in his introduction says:
"Had these writers (unbelievers), however, consulted the original word of this passage, and also other places where the same word occurs, they would have found that Orbhim (the word translated raven) signifies Arabian. Such is the
meaning of the word in 2 Chron xxi, 16, and in Neh. vi, 7, where our version renders it Arabian. Now we learn from the Bereshith Rabba (a Rabbinical commentary on the book of Genesis) that there anciently was a town in the vicinity of Berthsham (where the prophet concealed himself), and are further informed by Jerome, a learned writer of the fourth century, that the 'Orbin' or inhabitants of a town on the confines of the Arabs, gave nourishment to Elijah. This testimony of Jerome is of great value, because he spent several years in the holy land, in order that he might acquire the most correct notion possible of the languages and the geography of the country, as well as the customs and habits of the people, in order to understand, explain and translate the language of the holy Scriptures. Although the common printed editions of the Latin Vulgate read Corui, crows or ravens, yet in 2 Chron. xxi, 17, and Neh. iv, 17, Jerome properly renders the same word (Arbin or Arabian) Arabians. What adds further weight to those testimonies is the fact that the Arabic version considers the word as meaning a people, Arabian, and not ravens or fowls of any kind. We may also add that the celebrated Jewish commentator, Jarchi, gives the same interpretation. It is therefore most likely that some of the inhabitants of Oreb or Orbo, furnished the prophet food, being specially and divinely directed to do so."
UNIVERSALISM.
H. Ballou, of the Universalist denomination, mourns over the great fecundity of Universalism. "It has hatched out," he says, "a brood of ministerial mesmerists, biologists, fourierists, and Necromancers;" and in conclusion, he asserts that we (the Universalists) must put a stop to this fecundity, or it will put a stop to us."
"Would it not be wise," says the Calendar, "for the intelligent portion of this denomination to look into this matter, and ascertain the cause of such effects? If such witness is true (and we have no reason to doubt it), then something must be wrong in the system. A higher wisdom has said, 'By their fruits ye shall know them.'"
A WORD TO BOYS.
Be Polite.—Study the graces, not the graces of the dancing master, of bowing and scraping; not the foppish infidel etiquette of a Chesterfield, but benevolence, the graces of the heart, whatever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report. The true secret of politeness is, to please, to make happy—flowing from goodness of heart—a fountain of love. As you leave the family circle for retirement, say good night—when you rise, good morning. Do you meet or pass a friend in the street, bow gracefully, with the usual salutations. Wear a hinge on your neck and keep it well oiled—and, above all, study Solomon and the epistles of Paul.
Be Civil.—When the rich Quaker was asked the secret of his success in life, he answered, "Civility, friend, civility." Some people are uncivil, sour, sullen, morose, crabbed, crusty, haughty, really clownish and imprudent. Run for your life! "Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit! There is more hope of a fool than of him!"
Be Kind to Everybody.—There is nothing like kindness. It sweetens everything. A single look of love, a smile, a grasp of the hand, has gained more friends than both wealth and learning. "Charity suffereth long and is kind." See 1 Cor. xiii.
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
Professor Stuart remarks on this passage : "By repeating the sentiment, this is the second death, the lake of fire, the writer means to say, that the death to which thanatos (death) and hades (hell or the grave) are now brought, is one from which there is no resurrection. It is final."
A Good Test
A GOOD TEST.—Mr. Dodd, an eminent minister, being solicited to play at cards, rose from his seat and uncovered his head. Being asked what he was going to do, he replied,
“To crave God’s blessing.”
The company exclaimed, “We never asked the blessing on such occasions.”
“Then,” said he, “I never engage in anything but on what I can beg of God to give his blessing; in all thy ways acknowledge Him.”
Life Is a Book
SAID a distinguished American statesman to a debating club of young men: "Life is a book of which we can have but one edition. As it is first prepared, it must stand forever. Let each day's actions, as they add another page to the indestructible volume, be such as that we shall be willing to have an assembled world read it." Good advice!
Charity Is a Universal Duty
CHARITY is a universal duty, which it is in every man's power sometimes to practice, since every degree of assistance given to another, from proper motives, is an act of charity; and there is scarcely any man in such a state of imbecility, that he may not, on some occasion, benefit his neighbor.
WORLDLY POLICY.
"THERE is that scattereth," says the wise man [Prov. xi, 24], "and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." So there is a worldly policy in high repute among men as shrewdness and dexterity of management, of which the Christian would do well to beware, lest that also tend to poverty and loss, not only in spiritual things but in temporal also.
When Abram and Lot could no longer dwell together on account of the increase of their herds and the strife that arose between their herdsmen, Abram proposed a separation, and gave Lot his choice of the land, saying that if he would go to the left, he would take the right, or if Lot preferred the right he would take the left. With this latitude accorded to him Lot lifted up his eyes to see what portion of the country afforded the best prospect for his prosperity. He beheld the plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, even as the garden of the Lord. Gen. xiii, 10. This portion of the country afforded him the most brilliant prospect of success in his temporal affairs. No doubt he thought he should do far better there than in any other place. The country was well watered; it was like the garden of the Lord, or the land of Egypt; it would afford easy sustenance to his numerous flocks, and enable him to rise rapidly in opulence and influence in the world.
In Lot then, if we do not misjudge, we have an instance of a man pursuing that line of policy which worldly wisdom would dictate at the expense not only of the interests of others, but of his own spiritual interest also. For Lot seems to have had no care for the prosperity of Abram, nor to have regarded the associations into which he would be thrown with the wicked inhabitants of Sodom. And the inspired record seems to have had an eye upon this very thing, when it significantly states right in connection that the "men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly."
Lot chose his own course of action, and with the sequel all are familiar. He was fortunate in being himself just and righteous to that degree that the Lord had a care for him, and was unwilling to abandon him to his course, but chose to save him in the only way probably in which it could be done, viz., by crossing and disappointing his worldly spirit and expectations. Prosperity did not attend him. Once he went into captivity; and finally we behold him hurrying away from Sodom with his two daughters only, his riches, his flocks and his herdsmen all gone, and even his wife overwhelmed in the ruin that overtook the guilty inhabitants of the place. An instructive issue truly to all those who would be inclined to pursue a similar course.
Another instance to the same effect we have in the case of Gehazi, the servant of Elisha. 2 Kings v. When Naaman the Syrian had been cured of his leprosy, he came and stood before the man of God and in the fervency of his gratitude urged him to receive a present at his hand. For some reason the prophet thought best to refuse. But another spirit took possession of Gehazi—one which, in accordance with the heading of these remarks, we shall call a spirit of worldly policy. He acted accordingly; and from his actions we may judge that he reasoned somewhat after this manner: "It is strange that my master should refuse that gift at the hand of the Syrian. A valuable present has been offered us, which we might have just as well as not. Why then not take it? The Syrian is rich; he is able to give it: he is grateful for his cure, and is willing to give it. Astonishing that such a good opportunity to add to our treasures should be let slip! But if my master is so unmindful of his interests as this, I do not calculate to lose any such opportunities. As the Lord liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat of him."
Gehazi carried out his resolution, and got his present at the expense of his veracity. And did his ill-gotten wealth profit him? We need not ask the question. With the Syrian's treasure, he received the Syrian's leprosy.
Numerous other illustrations may be found in the sacred record, illustrating the same rule that in the Christian a worldly spirit tends to spiritual and temporal loss.
And what may we learn from all this? A great lesson, which the Sabbath-keeper should especially heed,—to beware of that shrewd and schemy spirit of the world which makes temporal gain the great object of worship, when it would lead us into evil associations, or endanger our spiritual interests.
"I WANT THE REVIEW DISCONTINUED."
By James White
So says Bro. R. Miles of the Mannsville, N. Y., church, in a letter of the 12th inst. But why have the REVIEW discontinued? He says:
"Bro. White has taken such a position about organizing churches, and also of making us a name, that I see no consistency in his former position. I do not wish to point out his former position, for all the brethren know what that was. I must say that a good many in this church have lost a great deal of interest in reading the REVIEW, as well as myself. I think that Bro. Arnold's exposition of making us a name is very good, that is, the Remnant. This name the Lord gave himself."
The above plainly shows that Bro. M. is suffering from a confused and unhappy state of mind. What a pity that a few columns from our pen on the subject of organization should spoil the REVIEW for Bro. M., and, as he claims, for so many of his brethren. But should they all stop the REVIEW, it would be published the same; for the whole amount would be only about twice the daily increase of subscribers. We can spare a few hundred subscribers much better than they can do without the REVIEW. But we are happy to know that most of the Mannsville church are the real friends of the cause. Why leave the ship if she should shake a little? Is it not evidence that such have but little on board? Those who have put all on board will not be so ready to leave the ship.
As to making us a name, we have only suggested the propriety of taking the name furnished in the word of God—"Feed the CHURCH OF GOD which he hath purchased with his own blood." Acts xx, 28. Again, if Bro. M. sees "no consistency in our former position," we hope he does in our present one. But Bro. M. may be mistaken in regard to our former position. It has not been Bro. White, but some body else, who has been writing and preaching against the judicial oath under any circumstances, collecting dues by law, organization, &c. Some of our remarks on Babylon may be bent that way, but it is well known that we have for the last eight years stood opposed to the extreme positions taken, and have urged the subject of order in the church to the great displeasure of many. Bro. M. is mistaken in the man.
But what seems a little amusing is that Bro. M. agrees with Bro. Arnold, when it is evident that Bro. A. agrees with us on the one point upon which we have written, namely, holding church property legally. Bro. Arnold, in a letter of the 12th inst., speaking of a communication before sent which has not been received says:
"The leading features of the article were (1.) Scripture reasons why we as a church should take upon us the name given us by inspiration, viz., 'The Remnant.' (2.) Reasons why we should as a church thus entitled avail ourselves of the privilege held out to us by the powers under which we live, and secure our pecuniary interests to the purposes intended. (3.) A coincidence with Bro. White as proposed in last Samaritan, and exactly agreeing with Bro. Andrews in Review No. 14, viz., a conference or conferences to prayerfully consider the matter. Your unworthy brother, desiring a part in the burdens and blessings of the Remnant Church."
Now we affirm that we have not suggested from first to last any more than is contained in the above statement by Bro. A., or than is admitted to be necessary by Bro. R. F. C.
Then why do certain ones feel as they do towards us? Answer. There was a class of minds like Bro. Miles, ready to be prejudiced against us by the articles of R. F. C. on making us a name. And although Bro. R. F. C. has changed his position, and now thinks it right to secure the Office legally, yet as he has not frankly acknowledged those articles wrong, certain ones are left in the confused, unhappy position in which we see Bro. M.
Let it be fully understood that we have only suggested legal organization necessary to hold church property, and have recommended the simplest form possible. We have presented some of the necessities of the case. The question has not been just what should be done, but whether anything of the kind should be done. Here we stand. We can have nothing to say in regard to what shall be done until it be decided whether steps shall be taken so that the church shall hold their office of publication.
Meanwhile we would advise those who are suffering under blind prejudice to seek relief in sober reflection, common sense, and humble prayer at the throne of divine mercy.
J. W.