Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 2, 1881
THE ANGEL'S REPROOF.
By Mrs. E. G. White
Although the last admonitions of Joshua, and the solemn covenant which Israel had made with God, seemed to make a deep impression upon them, yet time soon proved that the influence was not permanent. After the death of their leader and of the elders who were associated with him, the people began gradually to relapse into idolatry.
Joshua had not been permitted to drive out all the inhabitants of the land. A remnant of the heathen nations was spared for a time, that the Lord might through them test the faith and obedience of his people, and that those whose hearts were cherishing idolatry might be revealed and punished.
The generation that succeeded Joshua were directed to carry forward the work which he had left unfinished; but they did not obey the divine command to utterly destroy the heathen. Some of the tribes made war on the Canaanites, but failing to receive the help which they should have had from their brethren, they became weary of the conflict, and spared their most dangerous enemies. Frequent intercourse soon removed all fear of danger; and now the Israelites took another step in transgression, by connecting themselves in marriage with the heathen. When this was done, the difficulties of the situation were greatly increased. It was no easy matter to make war with relatives, and to extirpate or banish their own kindred.
By their disregard of God's command, the Israelites had woven for themselves a net in which their feet were soon entangled. Ere long, many of the Hebrews were induced to attend heathen festivals. Lascivious songs and licentious indulgence, formed a prominent part in the idolatrous worship. Exposed to these contaminating influences, the Israel of God steadily became corrupted. In imitation of the gods of the heathen, images were made to represent Jehovah, and thus idolatry spread like a plague throughout the land.
The evil made little headway until the generation was extinct which had made the covenant with God; but the parents had prepared the way for the apostasy of their children. God's commandments had been disregarded, his safeguards removed, his barriers broken down.
The correct and simple habits of the Hebrews had preserved them in physical health; but association with the heathen had led to the indulgence of appetite and sensual passions; and this had lessened physical strength, and enfeebled the mental powers. God removed his protecting care and support, and the Israelites were no longer able to contend with their enemies. Soon they were brought into subjection to the very nations whom through God they might have subdued.
The Lord did not permit the sins of his people to pass without rebuke. There were still faithful worshipers in Israel; and many others, from habit and early association, attended the worship of God at the tabernacle. A large company were assembled upon the occasion of a religious feast, when an angel of God, having first appeared at Gilgal, revealed himself to the congregation at Shiloh. He addressed them in words of solemn reproof:—
“I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars; but ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.”
This angel, the same that appeared to Joshua at the taking of Jericho,—was no less a personage than the Son of God. It was he who had brought Israel out of Egypt, and established them in the land of Canaan. He showed them that he had not broken his promises to them, but they themselves had violated their solemn covenant.
“And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept.” “And they sacrificed there unto the Lord.” But their repentance produced no lasting results. The people mourned because their sins had brought suffering upon themselves; but did not sorrow that God was displeased, and his name dishonored. True repentance includes more than sorrow for sin. It demands a resolute turning away from evil. We may profess to feel deep sorrow for our sins, we may weep over our wrong course; but if we make no change in that course, our sorrow will avail nothing.
Before they entered the promised land, the Israelites had been faithfully taught their duty toward the heathen. They were to make no league with the inhabitants, but to utterly destroy their idols, and to cast down their altars. Now the Angel solemnly declares, “Ye have not obeyed my voice.” And in sadness he asks, “Why have ye done this?”
The people could now see the sinfulness and ingratitude of their course. This was the golden opportunity for them to return to their allegiance to God, and to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. Had they manifested a willingness to act when duty was made known; had they entered at once upon the performance of the work that had been neglected, then the curse of God might have been turned away from Israel. But they returned to their evil ways, and the Lord left them to suffer the consequence of their own neglect.
The experience of the Israelites is that of many at the present day. Warnings and proofs from God are continually given to his people. Godly sorrow, which produces repentance unto salvation, would lead them to make an immediate and decided change. But here many fail. Confessions are made, sorrow is expressed, tears are shed; but there is no permanent change of life. Unless the heart is renewed by divine grace, and earnest effort is made to resist temptation, we shall be overcome again and again.
Among God's preferred people, there are men in responsible positions who are content to remain in a state of coldness and backsliding. Their piety vanishes at the approach of temptation. To gain the friendship of worldlings, they will risk the consequences of losing the favor of God. The Lord is trying his people as silver is tried. Closer and still closer will come the searching test, until the heart is wholly submitted to God, or hardened in disobedience and rebellion.
God distinguishes between those who walk in the path of self-denial and obedience, which he has marked out, and that class who choose to follow their own ways. Too late we may see, as did the children of Israel, the folly of neglecting and disregarding God's commands.
As the Hebrews were warned not to assimilate to the heathen around them, so we are warned against conforming to the spirit and customs of the ungodly. Christ speaks to us in language that need not be misinterpreted: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Christ himself is the true pattern. His life of self-denial we are to imitate. His earnest labor for the salvation of souls we must copy. His purity and holiness must be reflected in us, or we shall never be permitted to sit with him in his throne.
It is not safe for Christians to choose the society of those who have no connection with God, and whose course is displeasing to him. Yet how many professed Christians venture upon the forbidden ground. Many invite to their homes relatives who are vain, trifling, and ungodly; and often the example and influence of these irreligious visitors produce lasting impressions upon the minds of the children in the household. The influence thus exerted is similar to that which resulted from the association of the Hebrews with the godless Canaanites.
God holds the parents accountable for disregarding his command to separate themselves and their families from these unholy influences. While we must live in the world, we are not to be of the world. We are forbidden to conform to its practices and fashions. The friendship of the ungodly is more dangerous than their enmity. It misleads and destroys thousands who might, by a proper and holy example, be led to become children of God. The minds of the young are thus made familiar with irreligion, vanity, ungodliness, pride, and immorality; and the heart not shielded by divine grace, gradually becomes corrupted. Almost imperceptibly, the youth learn to take the tainted atmosphere surrounding the ungodly. Evil angels gather about them, and they lose their relish for that which is pure, refined, and ennobling. 242
Professed Christian parents will pay the greatest deference to their worldly and irreligious guests, while these very persons are leading the children of those who pay them so much polite attention, away from sobriety and from religion. The youth may be trying to lead a religious life, but the parents have invited the tempter into their household, and he weaves his net about the children. Old and young become absorbed in questionable enjoyments, and the excitement of worldly pleasure.
Many feel that they must make some concessions to please their irreligious relatives and friends. As it is not always easy to draw the line, one concession prepares the way for another, until those who were once true followers of Christ, are in life and character conformed to the customs of the world. The connection with God is broken. They are Christians in name only. When the test hour comes, then their hope is seen to be without foundation. They have sold themselves and their children to the enemy. They have dishonored God, and in the revelation of his righteous judgments, they will reap what they have sown. Christ will say to them, as he said to ancient Israel, “Ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have ye done this?”
How are parents neglecting their precious opportunities? It is their privilege to serve and honor God in their household. They should reject every form of idolatry and corruption. They should keep the atmosphere of the home pure and healthful, thus attracting holy angels to be their guests. They should educate and discipline their children to be Bible readers and Bible Christians.
Abraham's course in controlling his children and his household, and instructing them to fear and obey God, was approved of Heaven. Because he had been faithful to the trust already given, God committed to him greater responsibilities, making him the depository of divine truth for all the generations to come. He had honored God in his household, and God honored him before the world. It was declared that through his posterity, all the nations of the earth should be blessed.
God would do great things for his people at the present day, if they would imitate Abraham's example of faithfulness and obedience. The Lord is waiting and longing to reveal to us the right arm of his power. He will work mightily for us, if we will but faithfully improve the opportunities and blessings already given.
“Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation,” was the admonition of Christ to his disciples. We, too, have need of watchfulness and earnest prayer. We are surrounded by the perils of the last days. It is a time of special danger to the young. We should feel the most intense interest to secure the salvation of the children whom God has given us. When so much is at stake, how can we set up idols in our hearts? How can we be indolent and trifling, vain, proud, and careless? We have foes to fight within; we have victories to gain over our own sinful propensities. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, are seeking continually to weaken our spirituality. We must crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Let us not yield to sloth, unbelief, and idolatry, as did the children of Israel. If the enemies of our souls are not driven out, they will increase in power, and will hold us in the slavery of sin. We can have no fellowship with the Lord's enemies, within or around us, without endangering our own souls, and the souls of those whom God has committed to our care.
MAN'S MORTALITY.
The following beautiful poem is justly considered a poetical gem of the highest order. The original is found in an Irish MS. in Trinity College, Dublin. There is reason to think that the poem was written by one of those primitive Christian bards in the reign of King Diarmid, about the year 554, and was sung or chanted at the last grand national assembly of kings, chieftains, and bards, ever held in the famous Halls of Tara. The translation is by the learned Dr. O'Donnovan.—Pittsburg Chronicle.
LIKE as the damask rose you see,
Or like a blossom on a tree,
Or like a dainty flower in May,
Or like the morning to the day,
Or like the sun, or like the shade,
Or like the gourd which Jonas had;--
Even such is man, whose thread is spun,
Drawn out and cut, and so is done.
The roses wither, the blossom blasteth,
The flowers fade, the morning hasteth,
The sun sets, the shadow flies,
The gourd consumes, the man--he dies.
Like to the grass that's newly sprung,
Or like a tale that's new begun,
Or like the bird that's here to-day,
Or like the pearled dew in May,
Or like an hour, or like a span,
Or like the singing of a swan;--
Even such is man, who lives by breath,
Is here, now there, in life and death.
The grass withers, the tale is ended,
The bird is flown, the dew's ascended,
The hour is short, the span not long,
The swan's near death, man's life is done.
Like to the bubble in the brook,
Or in a glass much like a look,
Or like the shuttle in weaver's hand,
Or like the writing on the sand,
Or like a thought, or like a dream,
Or like the gliding of a stream;--
Even such is man, who lived by breath,
Is here, now there, in life and death.
The bubble's out, the look forgot,
The shuttle's flung, the writing's blot,
The thought is passed, the dream is gone,
The waters glide, man's life is done.
Like to an arrow from the bow,
Or like swift course of water's flow,
Or like that time 'twixt flood and ebb,
Or like the spider's tender web,
Or like a race, or like a goal,
Or like the dealing of a dole;--
Even such is man, whose brittle state
Is always subject unto fate.
The arrow shot, the flood soon spent,
The time no time, the web soon rent,
The race soon run, the goal soon won,
The dole soon dealt, man's life soon done.
Like to the lightning from the sky,
Or like a post that quick doth hie,
Or like a quaver in a song,
Or like a journey three days long,
Or like the snow when Summer's come,
Or like the pear, or like the plum;--
Even such is man, who heaps up sorrow,
Lives but this day, and dies to-morrow.
The lightning's past, the post must go,
The song is short, the journey so,
The pear doth rot, the plum doth fall,
The snow dissolves, and so must all.
IS SIN ETERNAL?—NO. 3.
By John Norton Loughborough
BY J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH, OF SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND.
WE have previously given Scriptural testimony that the ungodly are to receive their punishment on this earth after the judgment, in those fires which shall renovate our earth, and bring in "new heavens and a new earth." These renewing fires are spoken of as the "perdition," "second death," "destruction," and "perishing," of the ungodly. The Psalmist says of them: "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evil doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. 37:8-11. In verse 20, we read: "But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." In verse 22, "For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off." And in verses 34-38, we read: "Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off."
If we take the literal construction of these and similar texts, it would appear that the righteous are to have, at last, a kingdom of eternal felicity on this earth made new; but that the wicked shall be utterly destroyed.
The prophet Nahum, when about to predict the overthrow of Nineveh, first speaks of the character of God, and the manner of his coming to execute judgment upon the ungodly: "The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end; affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry." Nahum 1:5-10.
Some have said that the wicked being "cut off," "destroyed," and "perishing," only means that they are cut off from the earth, but they will still exist, and be in torments that must continue eternally. To such we would suggest the importance of giving due weight to the words of Solomon (Prov. 11:31), that the ungodly and sinners "shall be recompensed in the earth." On this earth then, is the place of their recompense. That they do not exist elsewhere in sin and torments, after the final execution of judgment, is plain from the testimony of St. John, when speaking of that time in his revelation. He says: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. It seems at that time, every living being in the whole creation of God will be engaged in his praise and worship.
After describing the earth made new, with its glories (Rev. 22:3), he says, "And there shall be no more curse." On this text, Dr. Adam Clarke’s comments read: "Instead of katanathema —curse, the best manuscripts and versions read, katathema—cursed person." So when the glorious new earth state is brought in, there will be no more a cursed person; not simply on the earth, but in the whole creation of God. It seems from the testimony of Prov. 3:33, and Isa. 34:5, that the wicked are the people of God’s curse upon whom he will "come down" in judgment. If there is to be no longer a cursed person, it is only another form of expressing that the ungodly243will no longer exist. How is this? Will the wicked at that time all become converted? Will the renovating fires of judgment purify and preserve them, according to the theory of "Eternal Hope?" or will they not become, as expressed by the prophet Obadiah, "As ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been." Verse 16. As none but the righteous then remain, of course every creature will be praising God.
While the Scriptures give no hint of those found impenitent at the judgment being restored to favor with God, they do declare in the most emphatic language, not only that they shall be driven away from God’s presence, but that they shall be punished with "destruction from his presence." We instance the words of our Saviour: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. 25:41. And the words of St. Paul: "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thess. 1:7-9.
The advocates of eternal misery to the wicked, claim support for their theory in the terms employed by Scripture writers in speaking of the punishment. They tell us that the expressions, "everlasting fire," "eternal fire," "unquenchable fire," and "the fire that never shall be quenched," indicate that the wicked shall be in eternal conscious sufferings. It is claimed that if this is literal fire, the wicked must ever be burning in it; and if it is a figure, it must represent "unending mental anguish."
Referring again to the "eternal fire" of St. Jude, St. Peter says it turned "the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes," and that it is an "ensample" to all the ungodly. By the force of this example, we should decide that the effect of an eternal or everlasting fire, was the utter destruction of whatever is subject to it. When the word eternal is used with reference to time, we understand it to mean endless duration. To apply the term eternal fire to literal things, it would be contrary to all our experience and knowledge to conceive of a fire being supported by combustibles to all eternity. A literal fire of brimstone falling from the eternal God upon the cities of the plain, might, with strictest propriety, be called an "eternal fire;" not with reference to the duration of the consuming flame, but to its origin and results. It was a fire kindled by the great Eternal, and made a complete destruction of those cities.
The learned Dr. Whitby, on the word eternal as connected with the punishment of the wicked, said: "We know that it sometimes has the sense of final, or nearly that sense. Because this destruction is eternal, it does not follow that the act of destruction is to be always going on, but rather that the state of destruction is such that there is no recovery from it. Thus, if a man were destroyed for a year, and then restored, it would be a punishment for a year; if for a hundred years, it would be a century of punishment; if for a thousand years, it would be a millennium of punishment; but if he was destroyed never to be restored throughout eternity, it would be an eternal punishment."
We read in Heb. 6:2, of "eternal judgment;" not that the act of judging will be eternally going on, but the decisions of the judgment will be eternal, or final. In Heb. 9:12, we read of "eternal redemption." None would interpret this to mean that God will be eternally redeeming his people, but that the blessed effects of redemption will be eternal.
By the recorded expressions of St. John the Baptist, and our Saviour, the fire into which the wicked will be cast, is called "unquenchable." St. John says of Christ: "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Matt. 3:12. Our Saviour said, "It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:47, 48.
In the latter text, the word hell is translated from the Greek word, gehenna. In the gehenna—vale of Hinnom—before their eyes, the worm might die, or the fires might be extinguished before completing their work; but in that gehenna of fire into which the wicked shall be cast, the fire shall not be arrested in its work. So our Saviour's language carries out the same idea as expressed by St. John, that there shall be a thorough purging of his floor; not by preserving the wicked in the fire, but by burning them up, illustrated by the husbandman in consuming the chaff after securing the wheat. If we are correct in this conclusion, the result of an "unquenchable fire" must be the same as the "eternal fire" on Sodom, causing a complete "overthrow."
CULTIVATING CHILDREN'S TASTE IN READING.
By Editor
H. Clay Trumbull, the efficient editor of the S. S. Times, gives these wise suggestions, which it would be well for all parents to read and adopt:-
In all the endless discussion about the sort of books available for the Sabbath-school library, it seems to be taken for granted that children's taste in reading is a fixed factor; and that the books selected must be conformed to that taste, rather than that taste conformed to the books selected. Herein is a radical error concerning the whole library question.
In matters of dress and diet, and of sleep and exercise, a wise parent or guardian expects to conform a child's taste to the proper standard, instead of allowing the child to settle all these points according to his natural preferences. What if the child would like to sit up half the night, and to lie abed until the middle of the forenoon? Is he to be indulged accordingly; or to be trained to a different liking and doing? What if he dislikes thick clothing in cold weather, and wants to walk in the wet without overshoes? It is the parent's plain duty, and it is every sensible parent's aim, to bring his child to see the folly of such a course as this. A child may, to begin with, like only sweet things, or only sour things, or may dislike meat, or fish, or milk, or fruit,—and show such positiveness in his likes and dislikes as makes it a matter of no small difficulty to overcome and change them. But the parent has an undeniable responsibility for both the kind and amount of food and drink taken by his child; and in the discharge of that responsibility he ought to, and he can, shape and cultivate the child's likes and dislikes in eating and drinking. He is to decide what, all things considered, is best adapted to that child's bodily needs and general welfare; and then he is to teach that child to use, and finally to enjoy, the diet provided for him. In the long run, only the child whose tastes are thus restrained and directed, really knows what it is to enjoy eating and drinking. Natural tastes which have never been cultivated are rarely a source of profit or comfort to child or man. And this is a truth which has the same force in its application to mental food as to food for the body.
To the natural mind, fancy commonly takes precedence of fact, and the exceptional has a charm not found in the commonplace. A child ordinarily enjoys the realm of imagination more than the sphere of practical life. It is easier to get a boy to play soldier, or robber, or bear; or to get a girl to play company, or party, with her dolls—than to get either of them to give as much time and strength to gathering last evening's playthings, or to doing a little plain sewing. Most children find an attractiveness in entertaining their little neighbors, or in going out to see other children, which they do not find in the routine of quiet home life; and a menagerie or a picnic has a great many more children admirers than a day school. A fairy tale, or a story of romantic adventure, is more pleasing to the average child than the straightforward recital of actual events in the world about them. And books which excite strong feeling, and too often those which gratify a prurient curiosity, command in his mind an interest not drawn out by books which give counsel and information within the bounds of good sense and propriety. In all these things it is evident that the natural taste of the child must not be permitted to run on absolutely unchecked. There must be wise repression and guidance and cultivation. Play, and visiting, and going to places of entertainment, and hearing fairy stories, and reading books of romance, must have their limitations, and at times their forbiddings; and work, and staying indoors, and hearing plain facts, and reading books of counsel and instruction, must have their place in the child's life and training. To secure this guidance and repression, calls for wisdom and firmness and ingenuity on the part of the parent; but on every side parents are exercising these called-for qualities with eminent success.
The story is a familiar one of the good father, who, finding his boys quite tired with walking while yet some distance from home, cut two sticks from a thicket they were passing, and gave them to the boys to straddle and play horse with, and in this way enabled the little fellows to trot along at good speed with the strength restored to them by their imagination. And Dr. Vincent tells of his inducing his little boy to eat his prescribed portion of bread and butter, when on one occasion it was more than ordinarily unwelcome, by cutting it in square pieces and arranging them in order as a locomotive and cars, and then inviting the boy to devour the entire train, car by car, locomotive included. What mother is not familiar with some effort in this line every day of her life, to refresh the flagging spirits of her little ones, or to furnish occupation for their restless energies? Why should so much more of such work be done in every other sphere of child training than in that of its religious reading?
A wise parent can train his children to an interest in any book that they ought to be interested in. It would not be fair for him to expect in every case, the same books to please and profit a quiet and sensitive daughter, and a wide-awake and adventurous son. He ought to consider the characteristics and needs of his children severally, and then select for them books suited to their comprehension, and to their necessities of being. Nor is it enough for him to pick out the proper book and put it into the hands of his child. He should talk over its topic in advance, or by some suggestion or inquiry should excite an interest in the book or its writer, that his child would have a desire to become possessed of its contents, or familiar with its style. And there should be timeliness in the mention of particular books, to add to their preliminary attractiveness. When, for example, the death of Jacob Abbott was announced, it was a good time for a father to tell his children of his early reading of the Rollo Books, or the Franconia Stories, or Marco Paul's Adventures, or the Young Christian series, and to induce them to want to read such of those books as their father thought would best suit their case. More than one father did try that plan with success at that very time. When the Sabbath-school lesson on the Sermon on the Mount told of the duty of trusting all our interests to our Father's care, it would have been well to point a child to that wonderful story of three in the life of Christian Gellert, as told in the little book, "Trust in God."
A MERITED REBUKE TO BIGOTRY.
By Editor
THERE was another illustration recently of the constant driving of Catholics upon the public school system. This time it was in Philadelphia, and the trouble grew out of the teaching of history. There are beyond question facts in history which are not calculated to inspire children or anybody with regard or respect for the Roman Catholic church. There are also facts in history, we frankly admit, that discolor the record of other churches. But the difference is that the present members of these other churches do not hold themselves responsible for what they had no hand in doing, nor feel any necessity either to conceal or uphold a bad record of the past. But with those who in large numbers still maintain that the Bible itself is a dangerous book to be put into the hands of either children or parents, without a priest at hand to point out what portions are suitable to be read, and to explain these, the teaching of history is a very different and delicate affair.
In the Hunter Grammar School of Philadelphia it was Miss Anna Scull's duty to teach the pupils history. In telling of Luther and the Reformation she forgot to ask if there were any Catholic children in the class, in order to let such go home so as to hear nothing unpleasant. She read from Chambers' Encyclopedia respecting indulgences, pointed a distinction between the confession of Protestants to God and of Catholics to man, and pronounced the anathema of excommunication to be un-Christlike. It happened that there were Catholic scholars who went home to tell what the teacher had said; whereupon complaint was made against her of “vilifying and abusing” the Catholic religion.
The matter was publicly and fully inquired into. The Examining Committee not only entirely exonerated the teacher, but they rendered good service to the cause of right education and sound principles everywhere by putting this forcible and clear statement in their report:—
“The public schools are common property, supported by taxation imposed on Protestant, Catholic and Jew alike, and the religious instruction, comment and criticism should not trespass beyond what is common ground. But should this tenderness for the supposed religious conviction of pupils justify a teacher in ignoring the indisputable facts of history? Clearly not. It is the teacher's province to give instruction concerning those matters as they occurred. If the Puritans burned old women for witches, and the early Protestants persecuted for opinion's sake, if the Pope sold indulgences, authorized massacres, and, by his mandate, lit up all Europe with the funeral pyres of fellow-Christians, and the teacher finds it so recorded in history, she falls short in her duty if she fails to impart such information as it comes up in course. No one, Catholic or Protestant, has a right to object to this. It is not theology; it is not religion; it is not church history merely; it is a part of the history of humanity, in the shame of which we all must share. Bigotry, natural cruelty, political ambition, mistaken zeal, and more than all, ignorance, were responsible for these crimes. In having them well known and laid to heart is the best and surest guaranty against their repetition. Our common schools would be sadly defective if they contained nothing in their course of study concerning the Reformation, the Inquisition, the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and the fires of Smithfield. Respect for the religious scruples of pupils does not demand the passing over of facts like these because they chance to reveal a blot upon the past history of a particular church or sect.”—Examiner and Chronicle.
The Deacon and the Widow’s Wood
A well-to-do deacon in Connecticut was one morning accosted by his pastor, who said, "Poor widow Green's wood is out. Can you not take her a cord?" "Well," answered the deacon, "I have the wood and I have the team; but who is to pay me for it?" The pastor, somewhat vexed, replied, "I will pay you for it, on the condition that you read the first three verses of the 41st Psalm before you go to bed to-night." The deacon consented, delivered the wood, and at night opened the word of God and read the passage: "Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth; and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." A few days afterward the pastor met him again. "How much do I owe you, deacon, for that cord of wood?" "Oh!" said the now enlightened man, "do not speak of payment; I did not know those promises were in the Bible. I would not take money for supplying the old widow's wants."
UP AND DOWN.
By Baptist Banner
The poorest hope of Heaven is that which is based on the words, "I have done no harm." The very stones, insects, reptiles, may say as much as that. There are two ways of measuring sin—down and up; down, by counting all the actual sins we have done—all covetings, anger, evil thoughts, selfishness, falsehoods, dishonesties; up, by seeing what we might have been, all the good deeds we might have done, the character we might have formed, the blessed, useful life we might have lived, and God intended us to live; and then placing beside this picture the life we have actually lived. This will show the number of our sins of omission. But, probably, we have omitted more of quality from our life than quantity.—Baptist Banner.
Ignorance of the New Bible Revision
The Burlington Hawkeye says that it heard a man declaiming against the new revision as an unauthorized meddling with the Scriptures that is little short of blasphemy, who, at the same time, was hunting all through the book of Job to find the quotation, "Make hay while the sun shines." There are too many making a fuss about the new revision who know but little about the present one.