Your ShelfYour Projects

Review and Herald, Vol. 52, No. 7.

AN APPEAL TO THE MINISTERS

Review and Herald

Aug 8, 1878

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 8, 1878

AN APPEAL TO THE MINISTERS.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“AND Enoch walked with God.” This is the path of safety to all who profess to follow Christ, but in a special manner to those who profess to be watchmen upon the walls of Zion. I am deeply convinced that there must be greater piety among those who teach the truth of God. Those who labor for the truth in word and doctrine should closely examine themselves for the purpose of purifying and improving their character. Many study books to perfect themselves in knowledge, while they neglect to become acquainted with themselves. Christ said, in the prayer just prior to his betrayal, “I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” If the minister would present those for whom he labors, perfect in Christ, he must himself be perfect. This work of becoming perfect through the merits of Christ requires much meditation and earnest prayer.
I have felt grieved at hearing some ministers talk of Christ’s life and teachings in as common-place a manner as though recounting the incidents in the life of some great man of the world. When I hear this sacred subject treated in such a manner, I feel a grief that I cannot express; for I know that although these men are teachers of the truth, they have never become acquainted with Christ and learned of him. Had they exalted views of Jesus Christ, they would not express themselves in the common-place manner in which they do. They have not that elevation of thought which would give them a clear conception of the divine character of the world’s Redeemer. They have little faith, little godliness, and bring down the standard of holiness to a level with their own narrow comprehension. This tends to lower the appreciation of the exalted character of Christ in the minds of the people.
It is not unusual for ministers, in their discourses, to treat of Christ as though he were a man like themselves. As a rule, such ones place a high estimate upon themselves and that which they accomplish. While professedly servants of Jesus Christ, they are not partakers of his divine nature; they are wrapped up in self, and do not discern sacred things.
The ministers of Christ, who bear the message of truth to men, will never become self-sufficient or self-exalted if they have correct views of the character and work of Christ, the author of man’s salvation. The unworthiness, weakness, and inefficiency of their own efforts in contrast with those of the eternal Son of God, will render them humble, distrustful of self, and will lead them to rely upon Christ for strength and efficiency in their work. Habitually dwelling upon Christ, his exalted character, and the all-sufficient merits of his sacrifice, increases the faith, sharpens the imaginative power, strengthens the longing desire to be like him, and creates holy earnestness in prayer, that makes it efficacious.
I see that great reformation must take place in the ministry before it shall be what God would have it. Ministers in the desk have no license to behave like theatrical performers, assuming attitudes and expressions calculated for effect. They do not occupy the sacred desk as actors, but as teachers of solemn truths. There are also fanatical ministers, who, in attempting to preach Christ, storm, halloo, jump up and down, and pound the desk before them, as if this bodily exercise profited anything. Such antics lend no force to the truths uttered, but, on the contrary, disgust men and women of calm judgment and elevated views. It is the duty of men who give themselves to the ministry to leave all coarseness and boisterous conduct outside the desk at least.
Awkward and uncouth gestures are not to be tolerated in the common walks of life, how much less, then, are they to be endured in the most sacred work of the gospel ministry. The minister should cultivate grace, courtesy, and refinement of manner. He should carry himself with a quiet dignity becoming his elevated calling. Solemnity, a certain godly authority, mingled with meekness, should characterize the demeanor of him who is a teacher of God’s truth. Ministers should not make a practice of relating anecdotes in the desk; it detracts from the force and solemnity of the truth presented. The relation of anecdotes or incidents which create a laugh or a light thought in the minds of the hearers is severely censurable. The truth should be clothed in chaste and dignified language; and the illustrations should be of a like character.
The minister who has learned of Christ will ever be conscious that he is a messenger of God, commissioned by him to do a work both for time and eternity. It should not be any part of his object to call attention to himself, his learning, or his ability. But his whole aim should be to bring sinners to repentance, pointing them, both by precept and example, to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. Self should be hidden in Jesus. Such men will speak as those conscious of possessing power and authority from God, being a mouth-piece for him. Their discourses will have an earnestness and fervor of persuasion that will lead sinners to see their lost condition, and take refuge in Christ. Such ministers will partake of the sympathy and love flowing from Jesus, the great fountain-head, and souls will be touched by their words; prejudice will melt away, and sinners will be converted.
Were the gospel ministry what it should and might be, the teachers of Christ’s truth would be working in harmony with the angels; they would be co-laborers with their great Teacher. There is too little prayer among the ministers of Christ, and too much self-exaltation. There is too little weeping between the porch and the altar, and crying, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach.” There are too many long doctrinal sermons preached, without one spark of spiritual fervor and the love of God. There is too much gesticulation and relation of humorous anecdotes in the pulpit, and too little said of the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. It is not enough to preach to men; we must pray with them and for them; we must not hold ourselves coldly aloof from them, but come in sympathy close to the souls we wish to save, visit and converse with them. The minister who conducts the work outside the pulpit in a proper manner will accomplish tenfold more than he who confines his labor to the desk.
Christ is constantly interceding in Heaven for poor sinners upon earth; if ministers would be co-laborers with him they must do the work on earth which corresponds with that which their Master is doing in Heaven. Jesus has opened the gates of Heaven for us, and we may make intercessions at the throne of grace, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting, and bear the cases of those for whom we are laboring before God. We may see the heavens opened, and the glorified Son of God, the High Priest of our salvation, pleading for sinners. Doctrinal discourses should be well savored with the Saviour’s dying love to men. This will make the truth spoken tenfold more efficient. Let your own heart be filled with the Spirit of God and the love of Christ, and then let your hearers feel that you deeply appreciate their danger, and that you would sacrifice even life itself, if it were necessary, in order to turn their feet from the path of perdition into the path of life and peace. Those who forget self, and rely on God alone for success in the task of saving sinners, will have divine approval, and the fruit of their labors will tell gloriously in the harvest of souls.
Ministers should be instant in prayer; they should walk with God in spirit, as Enoch did of old. The divine light shining upon their countenance, and shown in their words, will illuminate the truths uttered by them, and the treasures of infinite mercy, and the Redeemer’s boundless love, will be the theme of their hearts. The fervor and earnestness which characterized the work of Christ should also distinguish the efforts of his ministers. Their hearts should be subdued and filled with the Saviour’s love, if they would break down the prejudice and melt the coldness of those who listen to their words. Converts seldom rise at once in spirituality above the level of their teachers. How important, then, that those teachers should habitually put their trust in God, and seek for the manifestations of his divine power upon their labors; that they should be meek, spiritual-minded, and in constant communion with Heaven. Then those who are converted under their labors will partake of their spirit, and emulate their graces.
Divine power alone will reach and melt the sinner’s heart, and bring him, a penitent, to Christ. Neither Luther, Melancthon, Wesley, Whitefield, nor any other great reformer and teacher, could of himself have gained such access to hearts as to accomplish the grand results these men did. But God spoke through them. Men felt the influence of a superior power, and involuntarily yielded to it. The ministers of the truth should ever represent the life and teachings of Christ; then will they have power over the hearts of men.
“I feel constrained to say that ministers are greatly deficient in their labors, and in their spiritual attainments. God is ready to bestow his grace upon them, yet they pass on from day to day, possessing a cold and nominal faith, presenting the theory of the truth, but without that vital force which comes from connection with Heaven, and which would send the word preached home to the hearts of men. May God awaken ministers from their lukewarm state! Oh, that their lips might be touched by a live coal from the altar, that they might with heartfelt expostulations, warnings and tears, seek to arouse perishing souls to a sense of their danger. It is fearful to contemplate the carnal security which is taking possession of souls. While the ministers of the truth are half asleep over their work, souls are perishing around them in darkness and error.
Ministers of Christ, with your own souls aglow with love to God, and love for your fellow-creatures, seek to arouse men from the stupor of death. Let your heart and mind be imbued with the spirit of your work. Let your entreaties and earnest warnings pierce the ears of the sinner. Let your fervent prayers and expostulations melt his ice-bound heart, and cause him to go in penitence to the Saviour. There are sacred obligations resting upon you as ambassadors of Christ, preaching the message of salvation to an erring world. Few in the ministry have a proper appreciation of their weighty responsibilities. They go on indifferently with their sacred work, and it is like the blind leading the blind. Ministers of Christ, will you awake to your obligations to God, and to your fellow-men? You are not your own; you belong to God; your Redeemer paid the price of agony and blood for your redemption, and he has just and sacred claims upon you, and demands your full co-operation with him in the work of salvation. He has a right to all your powers, your means, and your time, and he requires your services to the fullest extent of your capabilities. He would employ them for his honor and glory, and for the salvation of souls. You dishonor him if you are not continually growing in grace, and in the knowledge of the truth.
Whatever sufferings or trials you may be called upon to bear, you should not permit a breath of murmuring to escape your lips. You should reflect that the Majesty of Heaven endured far more for your sake than it is possible for you to be required to bear. He has redeemed you by his boundless mercy, by his blood, and agonies, and death. When the Master calls you, “Go work to-day in my vineyard,” let no selfish desire, no worldly ambition or projects, deter you from instant, cheerful, and unqualified obedience. The life of the gospel minister should be a living representation of the life of Christ. The Christianity that is manifested in the life and character, that beams out in divine loveliness from the countenance, and from every action, is a power that will attract sinners to the Saviour, and dispel the dreary shades of doubting and distrust. The corruptions existing in the ministry have made thousands of infidels. When men see the selfishness and sin of the professed teachers of Christianity, they are apt to lose confidence in Christianity itself.
God calls upon ministers who accept his truth, and bear, in his name, the most solemn message ever given to the world, to lift the standard of Bible truth, and exemplify its precepts in their daily lives. Such a course would charm into believing many who have entrenched themselves behind the breastworks of infidelity. The influence of a true Christian character is like the cheering rays of sunlight that pierce to the remotest corners of the dark places into which they are allowed to enter. The light emanating from the example of the true Christian minister should not be fitful and uncertain like the flash of a meteor, but it should have the calm and steady radiance of the heavenly stars.
The minister of Christ should be encircled by an atmosphere of spiritual light, because he is connected with the world of light, and walks with Christ, who is the light of the world. Arguments may be resisted; persuasion and entreaty may be scorned; the most eloquent appeals, supported by the rigor of logic, may be disregarded. But a living character of righteousness, a daily piety in all the walks of life, an anxiety for the sinner wherever found, the spirit of truth burning in the heart, beaming from the countenance, and breathing from the lips in every word, constitute a sermon which is hard to resist or to set aside, and which makes the strongholds of Satan tremble. Ministers who walk with God are clad with the panoply of Heaven, and victory attends their efforts.
Ministers who would labor effectively for the salvation of souls must be both Bible students, and men of prayer. It is a sin for those who attempt to teach the word to others to be themselves neglectful of its study. All who feel the worth of souls will flee to the stronghold of truth, where they may be furnished with wisdom, knowledge, strength, and divine power to work the works of God. They should not rest without the holy unction from on high. Too much is at stake for them to dare to be careless in regard to their spiritual advancement. Ministers of Christ, your coldness, your lack of prayer, of fervor, and of heavenly wisdom may turn the balance with a soul, and send it to perdition. Ye messengers of the truth, ye cannot afford to be indifferent in these last days! Our feet are on the borders of the eternal world, and every probationary moment is more precious than gold.
Ministers of Christ whom God has made the depositaries of his law, you have an unpopular truth. You must bear this truth to the world. Warnings must be given men to prepare for the great day of God. You must reach those whose hearts are calloused by sin and love of the world. Continual and fervent prayer, and earnestness in well-doing, will bring you into communion with God; your mind and heart will imbibe a sense of eternal things, and the heavenly unction, which springs from connection with God, will be poured upon you. It will render your testimony powerful to convict and convert. Your light will not be uncertain, but your path will be luminous with heavenly brightness. God is all-powerful, and Heaven is full of light. You have only to use the means God has placed in your power to obtain the divine blessing.
Be instant in prayer. You are a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. You occupy a fearfully responsible position. I entreat you to redeem the time. Come very near to God in supplication, and you will be like a tree planted by the river of waters, whose leaf is always green, and whose fruit appears in due season. Ministers of Christ, you need divine power, which God is willing to give without stint, when the draft is made upon him. Only go to God, and take him at his word, and let your works be sustained by living faith in his promises. God does not require from you eloquent prayers and logical reasoning; but only a humble, contrite heart, ready and willing to learn of him. The praying minister, who has living faith, will have corresponding works, and great results will attend his labors, despite the combined obstacles of earth and hell.
“Rouse to some work of high and holy love, And thou an angel’s happiness shalt know; Shalt bless the earth; while in the world above, The good begun by thee shall onward flow. In many a branching stream, and wider grow, The seed that in these few and fleeting hours Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow, Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers And yield the fruits divine in Heaven’s immortal bowers.”

“THE LORD HATH NEED OF THEM.”

Father, if many olive plants are given, To deck thy vineyard with sweet flowerets fair, Cherish the treasures that are loaned from Heaven, And toil and pain in hope and patience bear. Remove the withered leaves by mildew brown, Pluck up the weeds around each fragile stem, Prune well the tangled vines all trailing down, Straighten thy plants;—“the Lord hath need of them.”
Mother, if little birdlings seek thy nest, Shelter them gently ’neath thy downy wing, Knowing that here each is a transient guest, And their glad voices may in triumph sing Forever ever in the heavenly bowers; And shine in glory, each a sparkling gem, ’Midst emerald groves, and love’s unfading flowers; Train them for Heaven;—“the Lord hath need of them.”
Christian, haste through this wilderness of care, And on the highways that are hedged with thorn, Gather the poor lambs that are straying there, In one great fold, where souls sick and forlorn Find health and peace; while grace and love combined, As glittering stars shall deck thy diadem, And in the “well done” thou reward shalt find; Bring in the lambs;—“the Lord hath need of them.”
—Selected.

OUR INFLUENCE.

By J. O. Corliss

WHAT is it? How far does it extend? These are questions that should earnestly engage the attention of every one, especially of those who are seeking to do the will of their Master. Webster says, that, in a general sense, influence denotes power whose operation is invisible and known only by its effects.
Every one, no matter how humble his sphere in life, carries with him a certain amount of this unseen power; but just how far it extends, or how much others are affected by it, may not be fully known till the judgment of the great day shall bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the heart.
One thing, however, is certain, the influence of every individual is felt to a certain extent. Especially is this seen when the truth is first proclaimed in a new place. One can go nowhere now to hold meetings but he will find those who have known something of others professing the truth. It is not uncommon to hear one say, “I lived a near neighbor to Mr. Brown in York State for two years. He was a member of your church;” or, “I knew Mr. Smith in Vermont ten years ago. He belonged to your society, I believe.”
The thought then flashes on the mind, though we hardly dare express it, I wonder what impressions this man received of the truth by being intimately acquainted with those professing it. One is not long left in doubt, however; and how sad to think that sometimes the impression left was such as to make the truth decidedly repulsive. That impression may have been received years ago, yet it has not been erased; and though the person who exerted this influence may be wholly unconscious of it, yet it may be felt hundreds of miles from the place where the impression was first received. But if, on the other hand, the impression made was very favorable, then one feels that in that person’s case at least, the battle is partly fought, because he is disarmed of prejudice, and is prepared to listen candidly to what is said about the truth.
A case of the latter kind came to our notice lately. One of our company a few evenings ago saw in the congregation a lady whom she recognized as a friend of her mother’s. After meeting she made herself known to the lady, and accompanied her to her home. Of course the topic of conversation was the tent-meetings, and the lady told her own story. She said she had been advised not to attend the meetings, “but,” said she, “I shall go and hear; for I believe they are good people. I am acquainted with Mrs. S—, and I know she is a real Christian.”
Although the sister referred to has never been in the place, and probably knows nothing of the extent of her influence, yet it exists here and is silently operating on the mind of that lady. Neither will it stop with her. She will tell others of the good impression received, and being a person of good repute will extend the influence, and the way will be open to sow seeds of truth in hearts that otherwise might have been closed to the light of God’s word now shining for our time.
How necessary, then, that all should try to wield what influence they have in the world upon the right side; for little do they know how far it may extend. The Judgment alone will reveal whether each word and act has had a gathering influence or not. God forbid that the blood of souls shall be found in our garments at that time.
J. O. CORLISS.

THE ETERNAL WORD.

When Tom Paine wrote the “Age of Reason,” and Voltaire boasted that the “wretch was crushed,” there were men both in Europe and America who predicted that, in half a century more, the last Bible would have been sold and read. In less than fifty years from the date of that prophecy the great British and American Bible Societies had been formed to circulate the Bible in all the languages of the earth, and the great missionary societies of every denomination were busily engaged in sending the gospel to the heathen. The last Bible! Indeed!
The British and Foreign Bible Society has been in existence seventy-three years; during that period it has issued the grand total of seventy-nine million one hundred and three thousand four hundred and sixty-five copies of the Holy Scriptures, at an expenditure of $40,755,000. This society, and other kindred societies throughout the world, have, during the present century, distributed about one hundred and fifty million copies of the Sacred Scriptures. What a magnificent work, and how vast and incalculable the results! What an overwhelming rebuke to the bigoted foes of the Bible! Its triumph is certain. “The owls may hoot at the rising sun, but the sunshine creeps on notwithstanding. Tribes may perish, priests may die, altars may crumble into ruin; but this blessed book advances at a pace that never ceases; and if it ever retreats it is to cover its retreat with a greater glory than its advance.” Like its Author, it changes not. Sir George Mivart, an eminent naturalist, says that for a while he accepted Darwin’s theory; but he has been compelled to give it up, for scientific reasons. It is plausible, but not true; and so it goes. In what is called Natural Science, nothing is fixed so securely that it may not be superseded by new discoveries to-morrow. Only the word of the Lord “liveth and abideth forever.”
In the eloquent language of the late Dr. Duff, “It has survived the fires and the horrors of the infernal Inquisition, the terrible confederacy of the Jesuits, the blight and mildew of British infidelity, the impious socialism and atheism of France, the terrible pantheism and rationalism of Germany; ay, and it has survived in the midst of innumerable changes that have subverted once powerful dynasties, and scattered to the winds of heaven every memorial of human glory. And it will still survive the shock of nations and the corruptions of human depravity. It will go on flourishing, too, when the Koran of the Mussulman, the Talmud of the Rabbinist, the Zendavesta of the Parsee, the Vedas of the Brahmin, and the demoralized dogmas of the Socialist and Materialist, the infamous, blasphemous dogmata of the Pantheist, the lying legends of the Papist, the truth-perverting traditions of the Romanizing Ritualist, are all consigned in indistinguishable dishonor to a common grave, with no one to act the part of chief mourner at the funeral. It will survive when all the kingdoms of this world, all the lordly hierarchies of idolatry and superstition, are forever swallowed up amid the overpowering glories of Messiah’s reign.” —Protestant Standard.

THE SAVIOUR’S EXAMPLE.

Here is a straight piece of theology from the International Bible-Lesson Department of the Watchman, of July 18; but it will not fit the crookedness of Sunday-keeping.
“I. THE SAVIOUR’S EXAMPLE.—Our ideas of Christ are at fault if they center wholly on his work of expiation for sin. This undoubtedly was his crowning work, but as preliminary to that, and as essential to it, his life of obedience to the law of God must not be forgotten. ‘He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it,’ in its most rigid requirements and holy sanctions. ‘He magnified the law and made it honorable.’ As artists of moral beauty, therefore, in our Sunday-school work, we must keep the human perfections of Jesus in view. By so doing his humanity will come within our reach, and we shall feel at home with the exemplary, spotless, sinless Son of man.
“The exemplariness of Jesus was noticed in our last lesson in his observance of the festivals of his race. In the present lesson the same is manifest in his observance of the Sabbath. By one of those slight touches of inspiration which often convey a world of meaning, the phrase ‘as his custom was,’ as bearing on his Sabbath worship, is deeply significant. There is no reassertion of the commandment on the Sabbath in the New Testament. Repetition of divine precepts there, however, was not needful. In the absence of express commands by Jesus, his example was sufficient to bind the conscience of his followers. Example, in his case, is as good as law. The conditions of Sabbath obligation as laid down in God’s word are too well known to be reviewed here. (See Ex. 20:8-11; Isa. 66:23; Isa. 58:13; Hab. 2:20; Matt. 24:20; Ps. 65:1, 2, 4, 7; Neh. 13:15–22; Mark 2:23, 28.) Suffice it to say, these conditions apply alike to the individual, the family, the community, the church, and the state, and unless they be heeded, the divine ordinance instituted at the creation, re-affirmed at the exodus, and honored by the example of Christ and his apostles, will be more and more Parisianized—to coin a word—and practically swept away. If ‘history,’ however, is ‘philosophy teaching by examples,’ there is the highest example for a perpetuated Sabbath. The Lord’s custom should be the custom of man to the end of time.”

“A TIME TO DANCE.”

A worthy clergyman who had been suspected of having improperly interfered in influencing some of the young people under his pastoral care to absent themselves from a ball that took place in that parish, received in consequence the following anonymous note:—
“Sir,—Obey the voice of Scripture. Take the following for your text, and contradict it. Show in what consists the evil of that innocent amusement of dancing—‘A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.’ Eccl. 3:4.
“A TRUE CHRISTIAN, BUT NO HYPOCRITE.”
The minister wrote the following admirable reply, which he inserted in a periodical publication:—
My dear Sir (or Madam),—your request that I would preach from Eccl. 3:4, I cannot comply with at present, since there are some Christian duties more important than dancing, which a part of my people seem disposed to neglect. Whenever I perceive, however, that the duty of dancing is too much neglected, I shall not fail to raise a warning voice against so dangerous an omission. In the meantime there are certain difficulties in the text which you recommend to my notice, the solution of which, I should receive with gratitude from “a true Christian.” My first difficulty respects the time for dancing; for although the text declares that there is “a time to dance,” yet when that time is, it does not determine. Now this point I want to ascertain exactly, before I preach upon the subject; for it would be as criminal, I conclude, to dance at the wrong time, as to neglect to dance at the right time. I have been able to satisfy myself, in some particulars, when it is not “a time to dance.” We shall agree, I presume, that on the Sabbath day, or at a funeral, or during the prevalence of a pestilence, or the rocking of an earthquake, or the roaring of a thunderstorm, it would be no time to dance. If we were condemned to die, and were waiting in prison the day of execution, this would be no time for dancing; and if our feet stood on a slippery place beside a precipice, we should not dare to dance.
But, suppose the very day to be ascertained—is the whole day, or only a part, to be devoted to this amusement? and if a part of the day only, then which part is “the time to dance”? From the notoriously evil effects of “night meetings,” in all ages, both upon morals and health, no one will pretend that the evening is “the time to dance;” and perhaps it may be immaterial which portion of the day is devoted to that amusement. But allowing the time to be ascertained, there is still an obscurity in the text. Is it a command to dance or only a permission? Or is it merely a declaration of the fact, that as men are constituted, there is a time when all the events alluded to in the text do come to pass? If the text be a command, is it of universal obligation? and must “old men and maidens, young men and children,” dance obedience? If a permission, does it not imply a permission also to refrain from dancing, if any were so disposed? Or if the text be merely that there is a time when men do dance, as there is a time when they die, then I might as well be requested to take the first eight verses of the chapter, and show in what consists the evil of those innocent practices of fasting, and making war, and killing men, for which, it seems “there is a time,” as well as for dancing! There is still another difficulty in the text, which just now occurs to me. What kind of dancing does the text intend? for it is certainly a matter of no small consequence to “a true Christian” to dance in a scripturalway, as well as at the scriptural time.
Now to avoid mistakes on a point of such importance, I have consulted every passage in the Bible which speaks of dancing; the most important of which permit me to submit to your inspection:—
“And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her, with timbrels and with dances.” Ex. 15:20. This was on account of the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red Sea.
The daughter of Jephthah “came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances.” Judges 11:34. This also was on account of a victory over the enemies of Israel.
The yearly feast in Shiloh was a feast unto the Lord in which the daughters of Shiloh went forth in dances. Judges 21:21. This was done as an act of religious worship.
“And David danced before the Lord with all his might.” But the irreligious Michal “came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to-day, who uncovered himself in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!” 2 Sam. 6:14, 20.
Dancing, it seems, was a sacred rite, and was usually performed by women. At that day, it was perverted from its sacred use by none but “vain fellows” destitute of shame. David vindicates himself from her irony, by saying, “It was before the Lord;” admitting that had this not been the case, her rebuke would have been merited.
On account of the victory of Saul and David over the Philistines, “the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing.” 1 Sam. 18:6. “Let them praise his name in the dance.” Ps. 149:3.
“Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing.” Ps. 30:11. The deliverance here spoken of was a recovery from sickness, and the dancing an expression of religious gratitude and joy.
“As soon as he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing.” Ex. 32:19. From this it appears that dancing was a part also of idol worship.
“O virgin of Israel, thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.” Jer. 31:4. This passage predicts the return from captivity, and the restoration of divine favor, with the consequent expression of religious joy.
“We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.” Matt. 11:17. That is, neither the judgments nor the mercies of God produce any effect upon this incorrigible generation. They neither mourn when they are called to mourning by his providence, nor rejoice with the usual tokens of joy when his mercies demand their gratitude. “Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and drew nigh to the house he heard music and dancing.” Luke 15:25. The return of the prodigal was a joyful event, for which the grateful father, according to the usages of the Jewish church, and the exhortations of the psalmist, praised the Lord in the dance. “A time to mourn, and a time to dance.” Eccl. 3:4. Since the Jewish church knew nothing of dancing, except as a religious ceremony or as an expression of gratitude and praise, the text is a declaration that the providence of God sometimes demands mourning and sometimes gladness and gratitude.
“But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.” In this case dancing was perverted from its original object to purposes of vanity and ostentation.
“Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray to him?” Job. 21:7–15. Their wealth and dancing are the reason of their saying to God, “Depart from us,” and of their not desiring the knowledge of his ways, or of serving him, or of praying to him.
From the preceding quotations it will sufficiently appear,—
  1. That dancing was a religious act both of the true and also of idol worship.
  2. That it was practiced exclusively on joyful occasions, such as national festivals or great victories.
  3. That it was performed by maidens only.
  4. That it was performed usually in the daytime, in the open air, in highways, fields and groves.
  5. That men who perverted dancing from a sacred use to purposes of amusement, were deemed infamous.
  6. That no instances of dancing are found upon record in the Bible in which two sexes unite in the exercise, either as an act of worship or amusement.
  7. That there is no instance upon record of social dancing for amusement, except that of the “vain fellows” devoid of shame; of the irreligious families described by Job, which produced increased impiety, and ended in destruction; and of the daughter of Herodias, which terminated in the rash vow of Herod and the murder of John the Baptist.
I congratulate you, sir, on the assured hope which you seem to have attained that you are “a true Christian,” and on the meekness and modesty with which you have been enabled to express it; and most sincerely do I join with you in the condemnation of all hypocrites.—Selected.

GO ON.

By Mary Martin

In the ages past,—the long ago, When our Saviour wandered here below,— As the heavy cross he fainting bore, He paused by a humble artisan’s door. And begged for rest on his bench of stone, But he rudely said, “Go on, go on.” The Saviour turned away from the spot, From one of “his own” who “received him not,” And said, essaying the mount to climb, “Thou shalt go on to the end of time.” The rolling centuries went and came, With their weight of woe no tongue may name, As he traversed the earth from pole to pole, No moment’s respite for body or soul; And he sighed for rest with sob and moan, But the mocking echoes said, “Go on.” Whether the legend be false or true, Hence comes the name of the Wandering Jew.
To thee, O idler by life’s highway, These weighty words come home to-day; Wilt thou tarry still ’mid the fading leaves, When the golden harvest’s ungathered sheaves Await thy coming with sickle drawn?— Gird thee for labor;—go on, go on.
Weary watcher with care bowed low, Humbly seeking the way to know, O list to the words, for in love they come From the mansions fair in the Father’s home: “Time’s night shall fade, eternity dawn, Thy rest is sure;—go on, go on.”
Worn heart, I know, for thy works will tell, Thou hast labored, nor fainted, and this is well; But I know thy works will also prove; Thou hast left thy first, thy early love. From whence thou hast fallen, so tempted and torn, Arise and repent, and go on, go on.
Thou who hast taken the sword and shield, For the cause of truth in the Master’s field, Does thy heart grow faint as the legions rise To keep thee back from the heavenly prize? There’s a starry crown to be lost or won, It may soon be thine;—go on, go on.
Whoe’er thou art, whatever thy part In this strange dark world may be, Though thou weepest now thou’lt rejoice one day, That the words ever came to thee. Though the way may be rough, it is ever enough To know who before us has gone, There’ll be rest by and by in the mansions on high, Then let us arise and go on.
MARY MARTIN.
Continue reading: CONDITION OF THE POPE