p. 4 | Review and Herald, Vol. 26, No. 19. (10/10/1865)

Review and Herald

Oct 10, 1865

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Michigan · Oct 10, 1865

The Moral Law.

It is said that "God has a written law and a gospel; the law humbles us, and the gospel comforts us; the law casts us down, and the gospel raises us up; the law convinces us of our misery, and the gospel convinces us of His mercy; the law discovers sin, and the gospel discovers grace, and Christ."

When the grace of God is accepted, it leads the receiver to forsake the ways of disobedience, and he feels as the Psalmist has expressed, that God's precepts are lovely and perfect; and he learns from the sacred word that they are unchangeable and everlasting.

Concerning this law of perfect precepts, which some presumably believe has been changed, while others affirm that its requirements are not binding in the present dispensation, the noted J. W. Nevin, D. D. in his summary of Biblical Antiquities, gives the following remarks:

The Moral Law, summarily comprehended in the ten commandments uttered from Mount Sinai, requires in all its precepts, a spiritual obedience. It contemplates the heart. It carries its authority into all duties; even such as were ceremonial in their nature, were enforced by its power; because when the will of God is understood, whatever it may prescribe, the obligation to regard it flows from the first principle of natural and unchangeable reason; namely, that the creature should in everything render a willing obedience to its infinitely perfect Creator. Thus, for an ancient Jew to eat swine's flesh, while it brought him under the penalty of the ceremonial law, was an offense, also, if willfully done, against the moral law, not less truly than it would have been for him to take his Maker's name in vain, or to steal his neighbor's property. Our Saviour teaches us that the sum of all the moral law is expressed in two great precepts. (Matt. xxii, 37-40.) Love to God will secure natural obedience to all his will, and "love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." (John xiv, 23, Rom. xiii, 8-10.) This law is that which Paul speaks of as being written in the hearts of men. (Rom. ii, 15.) Man was originally made so as to have a natural sense of its obligation, and a natural knowledge of its precepts. And, although, by the fall, the clearness of this knowledge has been much obscured, it has not still been utterly taken away; but some vestiges of it are to be found in every age, among all people. (Rom. i, 19-21.) It is still only by reason of sin, that men do not all learn the glory of God from his works, and are not all moved by their inward sense to understand the moral law, and to make it the rule of their conduct.

This law, we have said, never loses its force. Every human soul is at all times under its authority. Nor will it in any case give up the smallest part of its claim. It requires full obedience, or tremendous punishment, such as falling upon a creature like man, must doom him to everlasting destruction. The law is holy, just, and good—and whosoever offendeth in one point is guilty of all—for it is written, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them," and again, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Rom. vii, 12, James ii, 10, Gal. iii, 10, Matt. v, 18.) According to this law we are to be judged in the great day. Reader! have you not broken it times without number? How then will you appear before the judgment-seat of God? How will you stand in that awful trial, where a single offense is enough to condemn you forever? Can it be that you have not yet begun to look out for some way of escape from so fearful a prospect?

Scripture Precepts Concerning Meekness

Selected for the Review.

Scripture Precepts Concerning Meekness.

MEEKNESS is a lovely grace, and is reckoned by the apostle as one of the "fruits of the Spirit." Gal. v, 22. In these days of pride, self-will, and arrogance, it is truly refreshing to recognize this Christ-like trait. Meekness is simply humility, resignation, submission to the Divine will, without murmuring or peevishness. It is a grace which will act an important part in fitting us to dwell with God. None of the ancient heathen philosophers, who are lauded for their excellencies, seemed to have understood, or recommended this virtue. Need we say that the one who selected the following for the Review has our thanks? It is from the pen of that excellent divine, Matthew Henry.

If we lay the word of God before us for our rule, and will be ruled by it, we shall find meekness and quietness as much our duty as our ornament. We are there told, as the will of God, that we must "seek meekness."

1. This command we have in Zeph. ii, 3, and it is especially directed to the meek. "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth;" "seek meekness." Though they were meek, and were pronounced so by Him who searches the heart, yet they must seek meekness: which teaches us that those who have some degree of this grace, have still need of more, and must desire and endeavor to obtain more.

Paul was a man of great attainments in grace, and yet we find him "forgetting those things which were behind, and reaching forth to those that were before." Those who "took joyfully the spoiling of their goods," are yet told that they "have need of patience." Thus the meek of the earth (who, being on the earth, are in a state of infirmity and imperfection, of trial and temptation), have still need of meekness; that is, they must learn to be yet more calm and composed, more steady, and even, and regular, in the government of their passions, and in the management of their whole conversation. They who have silenced all angry words, must learn to suppress the first risings and emotions of angry thoughts.

It is observable that when the meek of the earth are especially directed to seek meekness, when the day of the Lord's anger hastens on, when the times are bad, and desolating judgments are breaking in, then we have occasion for all the meekness we have, and all we can get, and all is little enough; meekness to bear the trial, and to bear our testimony in the trial. There is sometimes "an hour of temptation," a critical day, when the exercise of meekness is the work of the day; sometimes the children of men are more than ordinarily provoking, and then the children of God have more than common need of meekness. When God is justly angry, and men are unjustly angry, there is anger enough stirring, and then "blessed are the meek," who are careful to keep possession of their souls when they can keep possession of nothing else.

Now the way prescribed for the attainment of meekness, is to seek for it. Ask of God; pray for it: it is a fruit of the Spirit; it is given by the God of all grace, and to him we must go for it. It is a branch of

that wisdom which he that lacked must ask of God, and it shall be given him. The God we address is called "the God of patience and consolation;" and he is the God of consolation, because the God of patience, and as such we must look to him when we come to him for grace to make us "like-minded," that is, meek and loving one toward another. God's people are, and should be, a people that "covet the best gifts," and make their court to the best Giver, who "never said to the praying seed of Jacob, Seek in vain;" but has given us an assurance firm enough for us to build upon, and rich enough for us to encourage ourselves with,—"Seek and ye shall find." What would we more? Seek meekness, and ye shall find it. The promise annexed is very encouraging to the meek of the earth who seek meekness: "it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." Though it be a promise with an "it may be," yet it ministers abundance of comfort; and the meek ones of the earth that hope in his mercy, and can venture their all upon an intimation of his good-will, shall find, to their comfort, that when God brings a flood upon the world of the ungodly, he has an ark for all his Noahs, his resting, quiet people, in which they shall be hid.

2. We must put on meekness. "Put on, therefore, (as the elect of God, holy and beloved)—meekness." It is one of the members of the new man which we must put on. Put it on as armor to keep provocations from the heart, and so to defend the vitals. They who have tried it will say it is "armor of proof." When you are putting on "the whole armor of God," do not forget this. Put it on as attire, as your necessary clothing, which you cannot go without; look upon yourselves as ungirt, undrest, unblest without it. Put it on as a livery garment, by which you may be known to be the disciples of the meek, and humble, and patient Jesus, and to belong to that peaceable family. Put it on as an ornament, as a robe and a diadem, by which you may be both beautified and dignified in the eyes of others. Put it on as the elect of God, holy and beloved, because you are so in profession; and that you may approve yourselves so in truth, be clothed with meekness as the elect of God, a chosen people, whom God hath set apart for himself from the rest of the world, as holy: study these graces, which put such a luster upon holiness, and recommend it to those that are without, as beloved of God and beloved of men: for love's sake, put on meekness. What winning, persuasive rhetoric is here! enough, one would think, to smooth the roughest soul, and to soften and sweeten the most obstinate heart! Meekness is a grace of the Spirit's working, a garment of his preparing, but we must put it on, that is, we must lay our souls under the commanding power and influence of it. Put it on, not as a loose outer garment, to be put off in hot weather, but let it cleave to us, as a girdle cleaves to a man's loins; so put it on as to reckon ourselves naked to our shame without it.

3. We must follow after meekness. This precept we have in 1 Tim. vi, 11. Meekness is here put in opposition to those foolish and hurtful lusts that Timothy must flee from: "Thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." See what good company it is ranked with. Every Christian is in a sense a man of God, and those that belong to God are concerned to be, and do, so as to recommend themselves to him, and his religion to the world; therefore let the men of God follow after meekness. While others are ingenious and industrious enough in following after malice and revenge, projecting and prosecuting angry designs, be you wise and diligent to preserve the peace, both within doors and without. Following meekness bespeaks a sincere desire, and a serious endeavor to get the mastery of our passion, and to check, govern, and moderate all the motions of it. Follow meekness, that is, as much as in you lies, live peaceably with all men, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit: we can but make one side in the dispute; if others will quarrel, let us be peaceable; if others will strike fire, that is their fault; let us not be as tinder to it.

Our One Life.

By Horatius Bonar

'Tis not for man to trifle! Life is brief, And sin is here. Our age is but the falling of a leaf, A dropping tear. We have no time to sport away the hours, All must be earnest in a world like ours.

Not many lives, but only one have we, One, only one; How sacred should that one life be, That narrow span! Day after day filled up with blessed toil, Hour after hour still bringing in new spoil.

Our being is no shadow of thin air, No vacant dream, No fable of things that never were, But only seem. 'Tis full of meaning as of mystery, Though strange and solemn may that meaning be.

Our sorrows are no phantom of the night, No idle tale; No cloud that floats along a sky of light, On summer gale. They are the true realities of earth, Friends and companions even from our birth.

O life below! how brief and poor and sad! One heavy sigh. O life above! how long, how fair, and glad! An endless joy. O to be done with daily dying here; O to begin the living in yon sphere!

O day of time, how dark! O sky and earth, How dull your hue! O day of Christ, how bright! O sky and earth, Made fair and new! Come, better Eden, with thy fresher green; Come, brighter Salem, gladden all the scene. —Bonar.

Walking as Seeing the Invisible

Though we cannot now see Jesus, yet we are to "walk as seeing him who is invisible;" and "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" in the assurance that he is ever near us.

One soul converted to God is better than thousands merely moralized, and sleeping in their sins.

A Time for all Things.

By A. P. VH.

THIS is an excellent rule to reduce to practice in every day life. Order, promptness, and punctuality are taught us in the Scriptures; and we think the following remarks of O. S. Fowler will be acceded to by our friends generally. A. P. VH.

“There is a TIME for all things,” and all things should transpire in their season. Is it not important that the sun, moon, and stars rise and set to their appointed second? What confusion would their irregularity cause throughout the universe? Does nature regulate her operation by keeping the most PERFECT time, and shall not man, the highest of her works, also observe a corresponding periodicity? Was this institution created in vain, or man adapted to it for nought? If nature without timeing her operations, would be rendered so imperfect as to be valueless, shall man mar his nature and blast his happiness by not observing times and seasons? And since periodicity in her is so incalculably beneficial in all her operations, shall not man also follow her teachings by observing that regularity of which she sets so perfect a pattern?

Let us all, then, follow this teaching and requisition of nature. LET US APPROPRIATE OR LAY OUT all our time, and then adhere strictly to such appropriations. Let us appoint a specified time to rise, breakfast, dine, sup, study, transact business, and even particular kinds, recreate, retire, and prosecute every avocation of life. Than this, few things are more promotive of health, happiness, and even life itself; for where is the aged person whose habits are not regular, or what tends to prolong life more than regularity of habits? How incalculably more, also, we can accomplish as well as enjoy by pursuing this regularity? Have no time for anything, and what loss of time, derangement of affairs, and perpetual confusion ensue? But how appointing particular times in which to do particular things, facilitates dispatch, and institutes perfect clockwork throughout all the habits and operations of life!

Since this periodicity is thus important in eating, sleeping, business, and the like, is it not as much more so when applied to the higher faculties as their functions are more exalted? Should we not, then, set apart particular TIMES for the exercise of intellect and moral sentiment, and even for each one of these higher faculties? And these seasons ought to be DAILY. In fact, no day should be allowed to pass without our improving certain portions of it in cultivating these God-like powers. Indeed, these noblest functions of our nature should take PRIORITY in occupying our time. We should appropriate certain hours daily to reading, reflection, the cultivation of memory, and, above all, to the worship of God. Nor hours in the day merely, but days in the week and year. The observance of religious sabbaths, festivals, fasts, and ceremonies, not only coincides with the nature of man, but is absolutely necessary to perfect that nature.

Since regularity of personal and business habits is so indispensable in adults, its early formation in children is equally important. Begin in the very cradle. Put them to bed at particular hours, and they will soon fall asleep spontaneously when their time arrives, and also awaken at just such times every day. Feed them regularly and they will never tease for, nor require food between meals, indulgence in which is decidedly injurious. And thus of every thing else. The power and utility of habits thus formed, are incalculable. Even indifferent habits well followed become beneficial. How much more, then, those that are good IN THEMSELVES? Mothers by as much as you love your children—by as much as you desire their prosperity and even life—mark and follow this direction. It will even save you a vast amount of time and trouble, as it will them of ill-temper and even temptation to sin. You are not permitted to confer many equally great blessings on them. Better form one good habit in a child than leave it a legacy of millions. That child who has been trained up to regularity is richer than Solomon and Crœsus together. But poor indeed is that youth, however large his property, who has no such fixed periodicity of habits. Liable even to become vicious, which well-established habits, especially of retiring, would prevent. In short, few things in the training of children are equally important, or even in perfecting our own characters as adults. Do not these remarks commend themselves to the experience and the common sense of all who have either? Will not all commence their vigorous practice FORTHWITH, and continue it through life?

Grandeur of the Bible.

Sad error this, to take The light of nature, rather than the light Of Revelation for a guide. As well Prefer the borrowed light of earth's pale moon To the effulgence of the noon-day sun. —Bates.

If we have ever tried it we must have been struck with the few solid thoughts, the few suggestive ideas which survive the perusal of the most brilliant of human books. Few of them can stand three readings, and of the memorabilia which you had marked in your first reading, on reverting to them you find that many of these were not so striking, or weighty, or original as you thought. But the word of God is solid, it will stand a thousand readings, and the man who has gone over it the most frequently and carefully is the surest of finding new wonders there.—Rev. James Hamilton.

When I commenced my duties as professor of theology, I feared that the frequency with which I should have to pass over the same portions of Scripture would abate the interest in my own mind in reading them. But after more than fifty years of study it is my experience that with every class my interest increases.—Professor Leonard Woods.

I have always found in my scientific studies, that when I could get the Bible to say anything upon the subject, it afforded me a firm platform to stand upon, and another round in the ladder by which I could safely ascend.—Lieut. Maury.

I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once a year. My custom is to read four or five chapters every morning after rising from my bed. It employs about an hour of my time, and seems to be the most suitable manner of beginning the day. In what light soever we regard the Bible, whether with reference to revelation, to history, or morality, it is an invaluable and inexhaustible mine of knowledge and virtue.—John Quincy Adams.

I can easily conceive why the Bible was one of the four volumes which always lay on Byron's table; and it would be easy to fill a lecture with the testimonies, written or unwritten, which painters, sculptors, orators and poets have rendered to the most thought-suggesting book in the world.—Hamilton.

From the time that at my mother's feet, or on my father's knee, I first learned to lisp verses from the sacred writings, they have been my daily study and vigilant contemplation. If there is anything in my style or thoughts to be commended, the credit is due to my kind parents in instilling into my mind an early love of the Scriptures.—Daniel Webster.

I am of opinion that the Bible contains more true sublimity, more exquisite beauty, more pure morality, more important history, and finer strains of poetry and eloquence than can be collected from all other books, in whatever age or language they may have been written.—Sir William Jones.

I will hazard the assertion that no man ever did, or ever will, become truly eloquent, without becoming a constant reader of the Bible, and an admirer of the purity and sublimity of its language.—Fisher Ames.

I rest in the Bible as the only book in which is to be found true eloquence and wisdom.—Picus Mirandula.

There is no book like the Bible for excellent learning, wisdom and use.—Sir Matthew Hale.

No writers, from the invention of letters to the present time, are equal to the penmen of the books of the Old and New Testaments in true excellence, utility and dignity.—Dr. David Hartley.

Every word and syllable of the Bible ought to be adored; it not only cannot be enough admired, but it cannot be too much admired.—Bileau.

The Bible is a matchless volume; it is impossible we can study it too much or esteem it too highly.—Boyle.

We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy.—Sir Isaac Newton.

There are no songs comparable with the songs of

Sion, no orations equal to those of the prophets, and no politics like those which the Scriptures teach.—Milton.

I must confess to you that the majesty of the Scriptures astonishes me; the holiness of the evangelists speaks to my heart, and has such strong and striking characters of truth, and is, moreover, so perfectly inimitable, that if it had been the invention of men, the inventors would have been the greatest of heroes.—Rousseau.

The Bible is itself a standing and an astonishing miracle. Written fragment by fragment, throughout the course of fifteen centuries, under different states of society, and in different languages, by persons of the most opposite tempers, talents and conditions, learned and unlearned, prince and peasant, lord and peer; cast into every form of instructive composition and good writing, history, prophecy, poetry, allegory, emblematic representations, judicious interpretation, literal statement, precept, example, proverbs, disquisition, epistle, sermon, prayer; in short, all rational shapes of human discourse, and treating, moreover, on subjects not obvious, but most difficult; its authors are not to be found, like other writers, contradicting one another upon the most ordinary matters of fact and opinion, but are at harmony upon the whole of their sublime and momentous scheme.—Prof. Maclayan.

The rhetorical and poetical beauties of Scripture are merely incidental. Its authors wrote, not for glory nor display, not to astonish nor amaze their brethren, but to instruct them, and to make them better. They wrote for God's glory, not their own; they wrote for the world's advantage, not to aggrandize themselves. Demosthenes composed his splendid oration in order to win the crown of eloquence; and the most elaborate efforts of ancient oratory—the panegyric to which Socrates devoted fifteen years—was just an essay-written prize. How different the circumstances in which the speech on Mars's Hill was spoken, and the farewell sermon in the upper chamber at Troas. Herodotus and Thucydides composed their histories with a view to popular applause; and Pindar's fiery pulse beat faster in view of the great Olympic gathering and the praises of assembled Greece. How opposite the circumstances in which the seer of Horeb penned his faithful story, and Isaiah and Jeremiah poured forth the fearless denunciations of popular sins. The most superb of modern historians confesses the flutter which he felt when the last line of his task was written, and he thought that perhaps his fame was established. A more important history concludes: "These things were written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."

Most wondrous book! bright candle of the Lord! Star of eternity! the only star By which the bark of man could navigate The sea of life, and gain the coast of bliss Securely; only star which rose on time, And on its dark and troubled billows still, As generation, drifting swiftly by, Succeeded generation, threw a ray Of Heaven's own light, and to the hills of God, The everlasting hills, pointed the sinner's eye. —Pollock.

O come! let us walk in the light of the Lord, As it beams from the page of his life-giving word! 'Tis a lamp to our feet, and we go not astray, While we follow the path that's illum'd by its ray, The path by the prophets and patriarchs trod, Still bright with the steps of the chosen of God. Wm. H. Burleigh.

God’s Glory Too Precious to Lose

God's glory, like the filings of gold, is too precious to be lost wherever it drops.—Charnock.

Pleasures Connected with the Cross

THERE are no valuable or lasting pleasures but such as are in some way connected with the pain of the cross. We must suffer with Jesus, if we would also reign with him.

THE pleasure of doing good, is one that never wears out.

Insects—Why Were They Made?

ThE earth is covered with beauty everywhere, and is teeming with various plants in their early stages of growth. With them comes a new world of animated nature, in the form of insects, whose name is legion. Very few plants escape them. The mullein, chickory, dock and murdock, are, perhaps, exceptions. The more tender and delicate a plant, the better they like it, and that is very sensible in them. Scarcely a plant among all our farm crops or the garden vegetables, escapes their ravages. They are everywhere. They will cut off your thrifty hills of beautiful squash plants in a single day and night, and the row of beautiful egg

plants, that were tipped with dew and shone so brightly in yesterday's morning sun, are utterly worthless today, drooping, mutilated, dying! Birds, squirrels, and mice destroy the corn; caterpillars and canker worms destroy the foliage of the fruit trees; and the apple-worm, moth and curculio either drop an egg upon the fruit or puncture it, or seal over an egg, and thus introduce an enemy into the very citadel of life, which preys upon its vitals until death ensues. All the fruits, grains and grasses have their enemies, and nothing but vigilance will save the plants of the cultivator from common destruction.

What were these creatures made for? is a question sometimes asked by persons, when the long and careful labor of their hands is cut off in a single day! We can only reply, that they were created and placed in our midst by the same wise and beneficent Being that created us, and who has made it our duty to cultivate and subdue the earth, and make it teem with fertility. If we cannot fathom the mysteries of a single blade of grass, how can we expect to penetrate his designs in the multiplication of so many creatures that destroy the labor of our hands. The thought that he created them—and undoubtedly for wise purposes—should hush every murmur, and lead us to accept what he has given in grateful trust and confiding love.

That insects are made in vain we cannot for a moment believe. The evils they inflict upon us have their compensation. Most birds feed upon insects. Should we be willing to give up these, if withdrawing insects were the price? They also serve as food to the larger animals, and even for man himself in some countries. They undoubtedly assist to maintain a due balance between vegetable and animal productions, and are also scavengers, removing nuisances and deformities that become exceedingly offensive to the senses. They serve us in the fertilization of plants, fructifying them with the pollen which they carry along from flower to flower. They afford us medicines, some of which are of such essential service as to be thought indispensable in the practice of the physician. Dyes of exquisite color, are obtained from them, and could scarcely be spared in the arts. So they yield us wax, honey and oils—silks that are in the civilized world—silks in which kings and queens are clad, and which may be found in some form in the humblest hamlet in the land.

Let these compensations—and no doubt there are many more—comfort us in our moments of vexation, added to the thought that this is their world as well as ours; that God has created and placed them in it, and caused plants to grow for man and beast, and that we are, all alike, dependent upon his bounty for our daily bread.

But, let us be watchful that they do not get too large a share. In this patient watchfulness we may find, perhaps, another compensation of which we have as yet little thought. Stern virtues do not spring up from beds of down and paths of ease, but amid the sharp and rugged ways of life, in trials and disappointments, even after all our powers have been exerted to avoid them. Is it impossible that these tiny destructives are exercising us in lessons of patience, forbearance and love, and leading us more directly to him who is the Author of all! Who knows?—New England Farmer.

Nearing Home.

By J. W. Taylor

Yes, dear brethren and sisters, we are nearing home. The wheels of time are rolling on with the celerity of the lightning flash, and every revolution brings us one day nearer our Eden home. Soon we shall be there. Oh, what a stupendous thought! Immortality secured in the paradise of God! No more aches and pains; no more sighs and tears; no, nothing there to mar the happiness of God's dear saints in the bright world to come. The tree of life, lost by Adam's fall, once more blooms on Eden's aromatic plains. The forest songsters tune their warbling notes without a fear of harm, and the (now) ferocious beasts lie submissive at the infant's feet.

The glorified saints, redeemed from hades' dark gloom, participate in the full fruition of their hope, while sparkling diadems deck their immortal brows.

And can it be that we are within a few brief years of that blissful home? Yes, the clarion notes of the last loud trump may break the silent watches of to-morrow's night. And are we prepared for that event? Have we done our duty in warning our fellow-men? If not, let us be up and doing, that we may meet the approbating smile of Him who knows the secrets of our hearts, when he shall come to render unto every man according as his deeds shall be.

The wheels of time are rolling on, The day is drawing near, When Israel's King, God's royal Son, In glory shall appear; And those who bravely meet the strife, And to the end endure, Shall gain a crown of endless life, Which is "in Christ secure." But those who do despise his name, Or shun the cross to bear, Shall in "that day" be put to shame, And doomed to dark despair. —J. W. TAYLOR in World's Crisis.

Strange Phenomenon.

From the Chicago Tribune of the 27th ult., we take the following item. It is from the correspondence of the N. Y. Tribune.

HOT WEATHER IN ALGERIA—A SIROCCO UNDER WHICH HOUSES BURST THEIR WALLS AND FORESTS ARE LIT UP IN FLAMES.

The exceptionally hot weather which we have had for the last week makes us read with additional interest the accounts of a scorching sirocco in Algeria, followed by devastating fires. A letter from Algeria says: "Almost all summer we have been congratulating ourselves on the coolness of the season, and when letters from France complained of the heat, we recommended our friends to come to Algeria for fresh air. But we reckoned without our host—the sirocco; and now that has come with a vengeance. It was prefaced by a tremendous thunder-storm, which broke the windows, and roused the population from their beds. An hour later, all was calm; but the old colonists knew what was coming, and sure enough the next day the sky assumed that peculiar violet color which so astonishes artists when they venture to pass a summer on the other side of Mt. Atlas. A few burning gusts of air, feeling and smelling like that issuing from an oven when the baker opens it to take out the bread, served as an advance guard of the enemy. The temperature rose rapidly. On Friday, the thermometer at Duchassaing's Club, with a northern exposure, marked forty-five centigrade in the shade. At El Biar, at the same time, another thermometer, also in the shade, but exposed to the full blast of the sirocco, went up to 51½. The most robust man could not have crossed the sunny side of Government-place without danger. The ground burned the feet through the shoe-leather; the hand that touched any object whatever—a cane or a coat-sleeve—smarted with pain; the nostrils contracted, and the eyes closed under the influence of the torrid breath of the simoon. In many houses, furniture fell to pieces, tapestry dropped suddenly from the bursting walls, and ceiling crumbled to pieces, and descended upon the heads of the inmates like flakes of burning snow. Never, within the memory of man, had such things been seen in Algiers. At night a frightful spectacle was seen. From Guyotville to Cape Matifou, along an extent of twelve leagues of coast, a lurid glow suddenly appeared, became rapidly more and more intense, and it soon became apparent that the whole country was on fire. Entire mountains burst forth in flame like a volcano, and burning forests lit up the waters of the harbor, and made the stars look pale. It was a sublime horror. There are rumors of loss of life, and the damage done to property is necessarily enormous. Many farms, barns, and stacks, have been entirely destroyed."

David and the Skeptic’s Objection

The superficial manner in which skepticism skims over the surface of things, is well illustrated in the use which it makes of the declaration of God, that he had found David a man after his own heart. David, says the skeptic, was guilty of egregious sins; and yet God says that he was a man after his own heart, and hence God endorses David's life as that which he approves, and shows himself well pleased with the heinous sins of which he was guilty. And the conclusion is eagerly arrived at, that herein we have a specimen of the character of the God of the Bible.

Let us see how this is. Paul refers to this matter in Acts xiii, 21, 22, thus: "And afterward they desired a king; and God gave unto them Saul, the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up to them David, to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will." There is enough in this, it would seem, to lead the skeptic to pause a little before drawing his rapid conclusions, and taking it upon himself to ridicule those things, which a little thought would bring before his mind in a far different light. Perhaps it never occurred to such to inquire at what period of David's life God bore this testimony concerning him. If they would do this their objection would at once vanish. Paul, in the testimony above quoted, says it was when God raised him up to be king in Saul's stead. And that portion of his life which God by that language approved was then in the past; for God, at that time had, up to that point, found him a man after his own heart. And then he refers to him as one who would in the future, perform all his will, having reference, we understand, to his management of the kingdom, from which Saul by his disobedience to the plain command of God, had been removed to make room for him.

A reference to the original scripture from which Paul quotes, will make this matter still more plain. It is found in 1 Sam. xiii, 13, 14: "And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee; for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee."

Here it is plainly stated that it was even before Saul was actually dethroned that David was called a man after God's own heart. It was spoken of him while he yet possessed the purity and innocence of his youth. It was never said of him after he had been seduced into wickedness, and had committed those sins which have left their stain upon his great character. To take this testimony spoken of him in his youth, when there was no fault to be found with him, and apply it to him at the close of a life marked by some very prominent follies, and then assert that God thereby endorses those departures from right, is to either blindly or maliciously misapply the record. And if to any of our readers the skeptic should ever urge this testimony concerning David as an objection to God and his word, just remind him of the time when it was spoken, and let him ever after, on this point, keep silence.

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