Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 31. (8/13/1885)

Signs of the Times

Aug 13, 1885

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 13, 1885

General Articles.

By Mrs. E. G. White

The Schools of the Ancient Hebrews.

THE institutions of human society find their best models in the word of God. For those of instruction, in particular, there is no lack of both precept and example. Lessons of great profit, even in this age of educational progress, may be found in the history of God's ancient people.

The Lord reserved to himself the education and instruction of Israel. His care was not restricted to their religious interests. Whatever affected their mental or physical well-being, became also an object of divine solicitude, and came within the province of divine law.

God commanded the Hebrews to teach their children his requirements, and to make them acquainted with all his dealings with their people. The home and the school were one. In the place of stranger lips, the loving hearts of the father and mother were to give instruction to their children. Thoughts of God were associated with all the events of daily life in the home dwelling. The mighty works of God in the deliverance of his people were recounted with eloquence and reverential awe. The great truths of God's providence and of the future life were impressed on the young mind. It became acquainted with the true, the good, the beautiful.

By the use of figures and symbols the lessons given were illustrated, and thus more firmly fixed in the memory. Through this animated imagery the child was, almost from infancy, initiated into the mysteries, the wisdom, and the hopes of his fathers, and guided in a way of thinking and feeling and anticipating, that reached beyond things seen and transitory, to the unseen and eternal.

From this education many a youth of Israel came forth vigorous in body and in mind, quick to perceive and strong to act, the heart prepared like good ground for the growth of the precious seed, the mind trained to see God in the words of revelation and the scenes of nature. The stars of heaven, the trees and flowers of the field, the lofty mountains, the babbling brooks, all spoke to him, and the voices of the prophets, heard throughout the land, met a response in his heart.

Such was the training of Moses in the lowly cabin home in Goshen; of Samuel, by the faithful Hannah; of David, in the hill-dwelling at Bethlehem; of Daniel, before the scenes of the captivity separated him from the home of his fathers. Such, too, was the early life of Christ, in the humble home at Nazareth; such the training by which the child Timothy learned from the lips of his "mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois," the truths of Holy Writ.

Further provision was made for the instruction of the young, by the establishment of the "school of the prophets." If a youth was eager to obtain a better knowledge of the Scriptures, to search deeper into the mysteries of the kingdom of God, and to seek wisdom from above, that he might become a teacher in Israel, this school was open to him.

By Samuel the schools of the prophets were established, to serve as a barrier against the wide-spread corruption resulting from the iniquitous course of Eli's sons, and to promote the moral and spiritual welfare of the people. These schools proved a great blessing to Israel, promoting that righteousness which exalteth a nation, and furnishing it with men qualified to act, in the fear of God, as leaders and counselors. In the accomplishment of this object, Samuel gathered companies of young men who were pious, intelligent, and studious. These were called the sons of the prophets. The instructors were men not only versed in divine truth, but those who had themselves enjoyed communion with God, and had received the special endowment of his Spirit. They enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people, both for learning and piety.

In Samuel's day there were two of these schools,—one at Ramah, the home of the prophet, and the other at Kirjath-jearim, where the ark then was. Two were added in Elijah's time, at Jericho and Bethel, and others were afterward established at Samaria and Gilgal.

The pupils of these schools sustained themselves by their own labor as husbandmen and mechanics. In Israel this was not considered strange or degrading; it was regarded a crime to allow children to grow up in ignorance of useful labor. In obedience to the command of God, every child was taught some trade, even though he was to be educated for holy office. Many of the religious teachers supported themselves by manual labor. Even so late as the time of Christ, it was not considered anything degrading that Paul and Aquila earned a livelihood by their labor as tent-makers.

The chief subjects of study were the law of God with the instructions given to Moses, sacred history, sacred music, and poetry. It was the grand object of all study to learn the will of God and the duties of his people. In the records of sacred history were traced the footsteps of Jehovah. From the events of the past were drawn lessons of instruction for the future. The great truths set forth by the types and shadows of the Mosaic law were brought to view, and faith grasped the central object of all that system, the Lamb of God that was to take away the sins of the world.

The Hebrew language was cultivated as the most sacred tongue in the world. A spirit of devotion was cherished. Not only were students taught the duty of prayer, but they were taught how to pray, how to approach their Creator, how to exercise faith in him, and how to understand and obey the teachings of his Spirit. Sanctified intellects brought forth from the treasure-house of God things new and old.

The art of sacred melody was diligently cultivated. No frivolous waltz was heard, nor flippant song that should extol man and divert the attention from God; but sacred, solemn psalms of praise to the Creator, exalting his name and recounting his wondrous works. Thus music was made to serve a holy purpose, to lift the thoughts to that which was pure and noble and elevating, and to awaken in the soul devotion and gratitude to God.

How wide the difference between the schools of ancient times, under the supervision of God himself, and our modern institutions of learning. Even from theological schools many students graduate with less real knowledge of God and of religious truth than when they entered. Few schools are to be found that are not governed by the maxims and customs of the world. There are few in which a Christian parent's love for his children will not meet with bitter disappointment.

In what consists the superior excellence of our systems of education? Is it in the classical literature which is crowded into our sons? Is it in the ornamental accomplishments which our daughters obtain at the sacrifice of health or mental strength? Is it in the fact that modern instruction is so generally separated from the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation? Does the chief excellence of popular education consist in treating the individual branches of study, apart from that deeper investigation which involves the searching of the Scriptures, and a knowledge of God and the future life? Does it consist in imbuing the minds of the young with heathenish conceptions of liberty, morality, and justice? Is it safe to trust our youth to the guidance of those blind leaders who study the sacred oracles with far less interest than they manifest in the classical authors of ancient Greece and Rome?

"Education," remarks a writer, "is becoming a system of seduction." There is a deplorable lack of proper restraint and judicious discipline. The most bitter feelings, the most ungovernable passions, are excited by the course of unwise and ungodly teachers. The minds of the young are easily excited, and drink in insubordination like water.

The existing ignorance of God's word, among a people professedly Christian, is alarming. The youth in our public schools have been robbed of the blessings of holy things. Superficial talk, mere sentimentalism, passes for instruction in morals and religion; but it lacks the vital characteristics of real godliness. The justice and mercy of God, the beauty of holiness, and the sure reward of right-doing, the heinous character of sin, and the certainty of punishment, are not impressed upon the minds of the young.

Skepticism and infidelity, under some pleasing disguise, or as a covert insinuation, too often find their way into school-books. In some

instances, the most pernicious principles have been inculcated by teachers. Evil associates are teaching the youth lessons of crime, dissipation, and licentiousness that are horrible to contemplate. Many of our public schools are hot-beds of vice.

How can our youth be shielded from these contaminating influences? There must be schools established upon the principles, and controlled by the precepts, of God's word. Another spirit must be in our schools, to animate and sanctify every branch of education. Divine co-operation must be fervently sought. And we shall not seek in vain. The promises of God's word are ours. We may expect the presence of the heavenly Teacher. We may see the Spirit of the Lord diffused as in the schools of the prophets, and every object partake of a divine consecration. Science will then be, as she was to Daniel, the handmaid of religion; and every effort, from first to last, will tend to the salvation of man, soul, body, and spirit, and the glory of God through Christ.

THE LIGHT THAT IS FELT.

By John Greenleaf Whittier

A TENDER child of summers three, Seeking her little bed at night, Paused on the dark stair timidly. "O mother! take my hand," said she, "And then the dark will all be light."

We older children grope our way From dark behind to dark before; And only when our hands we lay, Dear Lord, in thine, the night is day, And there is darkness nevermore.

Reach downward to the sunless days Wherein our guides are blind as we, And faith is small and hope delays; Take thou the hands of prayer we raise, And let us feel the light of thee!

—Whittier, in Christmas St. Nicholas.

Are the Ten Commandments the Old Covenant?

A FAVORITE line of opposition to the Sabbath of the Lord has been followed by not a few in late years, through a false position upon the doctrine of the covenants. They maintain that the old covenant made at Sinai with the then recently liberated Hebrews, is the ten commandments, and, learning from New Testament statements that that covenant is no longer obligatory, conclude that the Sabbath, being the subject of one of those commandments, is not a requirement under the gospel. The object of this article is to show that this position is wholly unscriptural, and therefore wholly wrong, and that the true doctrine of the covenants establishes Sabbath obligation in the new dispensation.

First, as to the meaning of the word covenant. It is "a mutual agreement in writing and under seal; a contract; stipulation; a writing containing terms of agreement."—Webster. Under contract, he says: "An agreement between parties, imposing obligations and conferring rights upon each; covenant; compact; stipulation; obligation; a formal writing containing such agreement."

From this definition it is seen that the word has two meanings: (1) an agreement or contract, and (2) a writing containing the terms of such agreement or contract. A covenant complete and entire comprehends these two ideas, although each part separately may be spoken of as a covenant. An agreement or contract is in its very nature a promise, as we may see at a glance. There can be no agreement made unless a promise is made; this is so in the very nature of things. When one agrees to do a thing he at the same time promises to do it, and so Mr. Webster defines promise to mean: "A declaration by one person to another, which binds him who makes it to do or forbear a specified act."

So, then, agreement, contract, and promise are, in their nature, the same. I have said that the ten commandments are not the old covenant. Then what is that covenant, according to Bible teaching? I believe the phrase "the old covenant" is not found in the Scriptures, but the word "old" is used in Heb. 8:13 relative to a covenant. This is "the first covenant" mentioned in the next verse (chap 9:1), and in verses 15 and 18 of the same chapter. This last verse gives us the clue as to what the first or old covenant was. "Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood." The apostle goes on to speak of a transaction recorded in Ex. 24. Going back to that chapter we read (verse 8): "Behold the blood of the covenant; which the Lord hath made with you."

We are here referred to a transaction still further back. The Lord had made a covenant with them before this time. We go back to chapter 19 and there read of a transaction between the Lord and the people, answering to the first meaning of the word covenant. An agreement, a contract, and promises were there made. Read verses 1-8. This was shortly after the people had left Egypt. Jer. 11:3, 4; 31:32; Heb. 8:9. It was at Horeb or Sinai. Deut. 5:2, 3; Gal. 4:24. Here is where the old or first covenant or testament was made, and the time when an agreement was entered into. The Lord promised the people great blessings if they would obey his voice and keep his covenant. This they promised to do. Here a contract was made. A few days afterward the Lord's voice was heard proclaiming to the people the ten commandments.

These were the conditions of the covenant or contract. Here was a "mutual agreement" entered into, "to do or forbear specified acts." The acts to be done or to be forborne were what the voice of the Lord, which the people promised to obey, proclaimed, viz.: the ten commandments. Not long afterward, this "mutual agreement" was put in writing and sealed or dedicated with blood. Ex. 24:3-8; Heb. 9:18-24. Here we have the completion of the old covenant of which we write. It was not the ten commandments; they were the conditions upon which the promised blessings of the covenant were suspended. These commandments were written by the Lord. Ex. 24:12; 31:18. They were the writing "containing terms of agreement," and in this sense, therefore, they answer to the term "covenant," and in this sense only are they associated with the old covenant. Deut. 9:9, 11, 15.

That the ten commandments are not the old or first covenant itself is plainly evident from the following facts:—

1. They existed long before the old covenant did. This covenant, as we have shown, came into existence at Horeb or Sinai (Deut. 5:2, 3; Gal. 4:24), after Israel came out of Egypt. The ten commandments were known by all, observed by some, and violated by others, long before this time. Proof: 1 John 3:4; Rom. 5:13; Gen. 4:7, 8; 6:5, 11-13; 13:13; 2 Pet. 2:6-8. Abel (Heb. 11:4; 1 John 3:12), Lot, and Noah were righteous. 2 Pet. 2:5, 8; Gen. 7:1. Abraham, also (Gen. 15:6; Gal. 3:6), kept God's commandments, statutes, and laws. Gen. 26:5. This, then, was the way the righteousness of these ancient believers in God was manifested. They kept his laws and commandments. The ten commandments are such. Neh. 9:13. The righteous character of Abel, Noah, Lot, and Abraham was shown, therefore, in keeping the ten commandments, "the synopsis of all religion and morality."—A. Campbell. Cain, the antediluvians, and the people of Sodom, being the opposite in character, violated them. So the ten commandments, being known long ages before the old covenant was made, cannot be that covenant.

2. The Sabbath, especially, which is almost if not wholly the sole occasion for the peculiar position taken upon the covenants by a class of its opponents, was observed by the people before the old covenant was made. This is plain from Ex. 16. The preliminary work of making the old covenant was not entered on till we come to chapter 19, about a month after. So the Sabbath existed and was kept before the old covenant was made, and therefore does not owe its existence to that covenant. If it could exist before the covenant was made it could also exist after that covenant was dissolved.

3. The old covenant was made with the people. Ex. 24:8; Deut. 5:2, 3; Jer. 31:32. "With" implies co-operation. The people assisted in the making of the old covenant. They co-operated with the Lord in the matter. This is very evident from the nature of a covenant. As we have seen, it takes two or more to make a contract, or covenant. This was done in the making of the old covenant. Ex. 19:5-8. The Lord must, from the very necessity of the case, have the help of the people. Did he have their help in making the ten commandments? Was it necessary that he should have such help? These questions themselves suggest the difference between these commandments and the old covenant. Had the Israelites refused to enter into the making of the covenant, there would have been none made. Would their refusal to help make the ten commandments have resulted in there being none made? By no means.

4. The old covenant was concerning the ten commandments and was not the commandments themselves. Ex. 24:8. Moses read in the hearing of the people and they said, "All that the Lord hath said we will do, and be obedient." Verse 7. The Lord had said or spoken the ten commandments a short time previously. Ex. 20. The agreement in Ex. 19 was a part of what was written. Paul, in Heb. 9:19, says Moses "spoke every precept to all the people." The ten commandments must have been written in the book. They were written there at one time at least, according to the apostle in Gal. 3:10. The curse was upon every one that continued not in all things which were written in the book of the law. In verse 13, it is stated that "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Verse 14: "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ." What was in the book of the law affected the Gentiles, and caused the death of Christ. This was certainly the moral law of ten commandments. The old covenant was made with the people concerning the words the Lord had spoken to them—the ten commandments.

Now a covenant made concerning certain words is surely not the words themselves. The covenant had a relationship to the words, but was not the words. The words were the conditions of the covenant, and not the covenant itself. So the ten commandments and the old covenant are not the same thing. A conversation concerning the Constitution of the United States is not the Constitution itself. By the same logic, a covenant or contract made concerning certain words cannot be the words.

5. The old covenant was made with the natural seed of Abraham, with the people who came out of Egypt. Deut. 5:2, 6. It was not made with their forefathers. Verse 3. This shows positively that it was not the ten commandments. The fathers did have them. Gen. 26:5; 18:19. The old covenant they did not have. They had no knowledge of it, but they did have knowledge of the ten commandments. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and others, says the apostle, "obtained a good report through faith." Heb. 11:39. But faith without works is dead. Jas. 2:16-26. And as they received a good report, it could only have been by perfecting faith by good works. Does any one suppose their faith led them to be idolaters, blasphemers, liars, murderers, Sabbath-breakers, and the like? The apostle, in Heb. 11, sets forth their lives in his discourse on true faith, as worthy examples for the Christian believer to imitate. Should we imitate the ones whose lives are not regulated by the precepts of the law proclaimed on Sinai? Never.

6. The old covenant was established upon promises. Heb. 8:6. This shows the real nature of a covenant. A covenant we have before shown is necessarily of the nature of a promise. Were there no promise, or promises, there could be no covenant, or contract. In the old covenant the Lord promised the people to confer upon them great blessings, upon conditions. The people promised to comply with the conditions. Here were mutual promises made. The ten commandments are not in their nature so many promises. They are moral requirements, and do not rest upon promises. They

How to Hold the Young People.

By T. L. Cuyler

UPON no practical question are many pastors more exercised (as the Scotch phrase is) than the question, How shall the young people of my congregation be drawn more closely to the church, and be developed into a healthy spiritual life? All manner of devices have been attempted; and again and again the well-intended experiments have ended in failure. The cardinal blunder that has been too often made is that the church of Christ is bound to furnish amusements to her young people, and that they are to be constantly bribed, like spoiled children, with confectioneries and convivialities. No time need be spent in exposing the folly of a course which deprives spiritual character, dishonors the church, and ends in disappointment and disgust. Everything that makes the youthful portion of the spiritual household self-indulgent and worldly-minded is directly damaging. Why transplant a young man out of the world into the church if he carries the old soil with him, and yields the same old fruit? In these days the church is quite too much tempted to go “one mile” into worldliness, without teaching the next generation how to go into it “twain.”

The vital thing to be done is to hold the young to the church by the same tie that holds them to Christ; and the chief aim should be to strengthen that tie. Literary clubs are good things in their way and place; but their aim is not to develop Christian graces, and the church must be careful how it organizes its sons and daughters for the profit of the head, with no reference to the heart. There might be a demand for some things in the way of mental culture among the poor, uneducated lads of a mission school, that an ordinary church is not bound to furnish to its well-educated young folk.

Social entertainments may be wisely introduced occasionally, as condiments are set on the same table with bread and beef; but woe to the eater if there is nothing else there but pepper and mustard! Old Lyman Beecher used to work off his nervous excitement with a violin, but that is no reason why a minister of God should be a professional fiddler. Right in this direction of social amusement lies the danger; how to use the social instinct without abusing it requires both grace and “gumption.”—T. L. Cuyler.

Privilege and Obligation.

JOHN tells us that our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. This is an announcement of great honor and privilege. It tells of intimate friendship, confidence, and partnership with God. There are many foreshadowings and illustrations of this truth in the Old Testament. Enoch walking with God, speaks of the intimacy and fellowship between God and his beloved follower of those far-off days. To be the disciple of any eminent and good man is a privilege. To be his daily companion and walk with him, and be taken into his confidence is a privilege that any one of us might covet.

What fellowship there must have been between God and Enoch! Who can tell it? What high and holy converse must have passed between them! No doubt the theme of creation and redemption made up a large part of the matter of their conversation. For three hundred years the fellowship continued on the earth, and, without doubt, it has not been suspended in Heaven. Nor was the pleasure on Enoch's side alone; for we read that the patriarch had this testimony, that "he pleased God." God was a delight to his soul, and he was a pleasure to God.

In later times we have the story of Abraham, who was styled the "friend of God." Abraham was taken into God's confidence to such an extent that when God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he paused, and said: "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" That, indeed, was a testimony to the high regard in which he was held by the Lord. Among other of the patriarchs this same kind of intimacy existed. Noah, Daniel, and Job are mentioned as being intimate in their fellowship with God; so intimate, indeed, that he said even their prayers would not avail in a certain case.

It is a great thought that man should be the friend of God; but that he should be the intimate and confidant of Jehovah is a truth that, but for the word of God, which bears witness to the truth of it, no man would for a moment presume to think. God as our Creator, Redeemer, and even our Father, is not so striking a fact. In all these relations there is a certain something that suggests awe and reverence, rather than close companionship. Even the filial relation, when God is the Father, is one in which a certain reverential distance is proper. But when God takes us into close fellowship with himself, and calls us friends, it is a thought that may well call out from us the greatest wonder.

If God revealed himself as the friend of his people in Old Testament times, it is much more freely set forth in the New Testament. Just before Jesus went away he said to his disciples: "Henceforth I call you no more servants, but friends." He had, earlier in his ministry, distinguished John the Baptist by calling him "the friend of the bridegroom." "Ye are my friends." Certainly this is the highest title he could bestow upon them.

Do we receive it? Have we appropriated it, and do we rejoice in it? And are we striving to be worthy of it? To have fellowship with the Father and with the Son is the saint's highest privilege. Few, we fear, get beyond the apprehension of mere redemption relation to God, and fewer still get into the comfort of an experimental knowledge of the fatherhood of God. It is only an elect few who seem to have taken Abraham's and Enoch's and Daniel's and Noah's and Job's place under New Testament conditions, and become the friends of God. And yet this is for all of us. Alas! that we do not press into it.

This high privilege is not one for abstract enjoyment, or aesthetic spiritual joy only. It involves obligation. "Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I have commanded you." Of the conspicuous friends of God mentioned in his word they were all devoted servants as well. They were chosen for great service. Whosoever is the friend of God must be a "worker together with" him. Friendship or fellowship is a great privilege; but it involves great obligation, and we would with the apostle urge our readers not to "receive this grace of God in vain," but walk worthy of this high calling, both in all manner of godliness and holy conversation, and in utter and entire consecration. The friends of Jesus Christ cannot be the friends of this world, for this world is the enemy of Christ. The sequence of friendship with God is far-reaching, and is worth the careful study of every earnest Christian.—Independent.

The Old Covenant and the Ten Commandments

are the conditions of the promises God made to the people when he made the covenant with them.

7. The old covenant vanished away. Heb. 8 : 13; 9 : 15–17. The ten commandments have not. Matt. 5 : 17–20; Rom. 3 : 19, 31; 13 : 8–10; 1 Tim. 1 : 9, 10; Jas. 2 : 8–12.

8. When the old covenant was made with the people, they did not hear the voice of God at all. When the ten commandments were spoken, the people did hear the voice, and it was very loud. Ex. 19 : 9, 16, 19; 20 : 18. The whole mount quaked. Ex. 19 : 18; Ps. 68 : 8. The earth shook. Heb. 12 : 25, 26.

9. Because of disobedience on the part of the people the old covenant was abrogated and came to an end. Heb. 8 : 8, 9. Disobedience does not bring to an end the ten commandments, but they still remain to condemn the transgressor. Jas. 2 : 9. Therefore these commandments and the old covenant are not the same.

Are the Ten Commandments the Old Covenant

By N. J. Bowers

10. Under this new covenant, the law—ten commandments—is written in the heart. Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10; Rom. 7:7, 22, 25. The ten commandments are the basis of both covenants. Ex. 20:3-17; Deut. 4:10-13; Matt. 5:17-20. The gospel rests upon the law. What is the gospel? The good news of salvation. Salvation from what? From sin. What is sin? Transgression of the law. 1 John 3:4. The law is the ten commandments. Matt. 19:17-19; 22:36-40; Jas. 2:8-11; Rom. 2:17-22. Therefore the gospel of the new covenant rests upon the ten commandments.

11. If one should break, and teach others to break, the ten commandments, he would forfeit his right to eternal life. Matt. 5:19, 20. One cannot only teach with impunity, that the old covenant may be neglected as a means of salvation, but that it is vain to look to it for such blessing. Heb. 9:15.

We are now prepared to answer the question that heads this article: Are the ten commandments the old covenant? We answer emphatically, No. N. J. BOWERS.

An Index of Character.

By Methodist Recorder

The society which an individual voluntarily keeps affords a sure index to his character. "Birds of a feather flock together." Like seeks its like. Persons of similar views and feelings seek each other's society, and take pleasure in associating with each other. When a person chooses the society of the ungodly, we may justly conclude that his views and feelings are in harmony with theirs. But whatever moral difference may exist between individuals, continued association, as a general thing, removes it, and assimilates them to the same moral likeness. Especially is this the case with young persons whose principles are not fully established. They are easily influenced, and if their associations are improper, they are easily led astray. "Evil communications corrupt good manners;" and the only way to escape such corrupting influence is to abandon improper associations. Hence we are required, if we would be the children of God, to come out from the world and be separate from sinners, and utterly refuse to participate in their evil deeds. Here is one of the greatest dangers to which young converts are exposed. They find it difficult to break off their association with the ungodly; but if this is not done, they are soon entrapped by the enemy, fall back into their former habits, and are again led away by the error of the wicked. The duty of separateness from the world is one which few Christians fully appreciate and observe. While in the world, they should remember that they are not of the world. Every Christian, like the psalmist, should be a companion of them that fear God.—Methodist Recorder.

Daily Cross Bearing

"If any man will come after me," says Christ, "let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." How many professing Christians there are who appear to forget that the service of Christ involves a daily cross bearing—a daily following of the Master! The service of Christ is not a thing of "fits and starts," of occasional pious impulses or pious acts, but a steady, undeviating aim in all things to please him, to imitate his example, and to do his will. It is a daily service, a daily bearing of the cross, a daily following of the Master. There must be no shrinking from trial, no faltering in the discharge of duty, no turning aside from the way. Having named the name of Christ, we should be careful in everything to avoid even the appearance of evil, and always remember that they that continue unto the end—and they only—shall be saved.—Sel.

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