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Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. XXX, No. 21

GLAD TIDINGS OF SALVATION.

Advent Review and Sabbath Herald

Third-day, November 5, 1867

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Third-day, November 5, 1867

GLAD TIDINGS OF SALVATION.

By Eld. T. M. Steward

BY ELD. T. M. STEWARD.
TEXT. Mark xvi, 15. “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned,” (or lost.)
This language of the Saviour was uttered under very interesting circumstances. He says in John iii, 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Again in 1 John iv, 9: “In this was manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” Verse 14. “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” Then without Christ the world would have been lost. Acts iv, 12: “For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
So the Son proposes to enter into this great work, and the Father consents to send him. Therefore, in due time we see him manifested in the flesh, to condemn sin in the flesh; or, in other words, to show that God’s law could be obeyed in the flesh, and thus condemn the transgression of the law.
During his ministry he chose twelve of his disciples, ordained them, and named them apostles, Luke vi, 13, appointed them leaders, and, by personal instruction, qualified them for this work of making known to the world this great salvation.
But our text is his final charge to all who shall engage in the work by divine appointment. His language is plain. My object, in selecting this text, is to notice the gospel more particularly; and I will take up the subject in the following order: I. Go ye. II. Into all the world. III. Preach the gospel to every creature. The conditions of life or salvation I must leave for another time.
1. Then the command to go. “Go ye.” What meaning there is in the command. The natural heart would have suggested that they take their positions at certain localities, and then, as others are the ones to be benefited, let them be to the trouble and expense of coming. But, no! no! Make the sacrifice. The world is lost in sin; they will not appreciate the call; you leave your homes and comforts, and go to them with this cheering message, that they can be saved. The servant is not greater than his lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. You are to share my glory, now bear a little of my sufferings. Go, offer to them eternal life in my name. Oh! What a message! After man had turned from this rich gift, when it was within his reach, and by sin forfeited all right to it, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And then he proposes, at his own expense, to send the news to all the rebels, so they can avail themselves of the blessing if they will. Who can withstand the invitation of such amazing love? Truly God is love.
But, says one, does that commandment extend beyond the apostles? I think it does. I don’t think Christ expected they would live long enough to preach the gospel to all the world. In Matt. xxviii, 19, we read: “Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, * and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” He did not expect they would live, and teach unto the end of the world. I understand this charge is to all those whom he may choose during this dispensation to preach the gospel. Then, with this commission in our hands, and the promise of our Saviour, we are authorized to preach the gospel, if he has called us. We should be careful that he has called us, and also that we are qualified for this work. Then,
II. Into all the world. How wide and benevolent is this commission. As the purest love and richest benevolence dwelt in the bosom of our divine Saviour, we find it, in its richness, in this instruction. Glad tidings of salvation to be carried to all the world, to all nations. While man is living in sin and rebellion against a just and a holy God, he, with his Son and the holy angels, are planning to save the rebels. Infinite wisdom could devise no plan only by the death of his well-beloved Son. In Matt. xxvi, 39, we read that Jesus prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” If there is any other way to save man, relieve me of this bitter cup. But there was no way. So in verse 42 he says: “O my Father, if this cup may not pass from me except I drink it, thy will be done.” Blessed, loving Saviour! He loved his Father, and he loved poor, fallen man; and in the magnitude of his love he poured out his soul unto death. “But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. liii, 5, 6. Blessed Jesus! How much it has cost him to offer salvation to the world! Who could withstand such love? Ah! methinks while angels shout “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men,” I hear poor, degraded, lost, and perishing man catch the inspiring lay, and while hope and life spring up anew in his saddened and despairing heart, he swells the glad note of praise in one universal song of thanksgiving and praise to its divine Author, and his Redeemer.
How sad that he, with all his love, is despised and rejected of men, the very ones he died to save. He is willing to bear all this to save the few who will accept salvation. He is despised of men, that we may be esteemed of God. He is rejected of men, that we may be accepted of God. He carries our sorrows, that we may partake of his joys. He shares our griefs, that we may enjoy his peace. And with his stripes we are healed. Praise God for such a Saviour! This is too great a salvation to be limited, so it is to be carried to all the world. It is worthy of a world-wide circulation. Herald it to all the world! Not to Jews only, but unto all nations. Teach all nations. “To every creature.” No respect to persons.
III. Preach the gospel. But, says one, What is the gospel? I may think one thing is the gospel, and you may think just the opposite is the gospel; can both be right? I answer, No. Both may be wrong, but one must be. So let us candidly weigh a few thoughts on this subject.
1. This is a very important subject. For while those who believe and are baptized shall be saved, those who believe not shall be lost. So the eternal destiny of all turns upon believing, or disbelieving the gospel. As we cannot believe what we do not understand, then it will devolve on God to make the gospel proposition so plain that every accountable child can understand it; for unless they believe it, they will be lost; and they cannot believe it unless they understand it. They must understand it to be saved. Now I will undertake to show that the gospel is so plain that every accountable child can understand it.
The word, gospel, is generally defined to be good news. This is rather indefinite, for all good news is not embraced in the gospel. But admitting the definition of the word, I will define the terms, gospel of Christ, and leave you to judge of its fitness. It is this: All the promises God has made to us through Christ. This is comprehensive enough, and limited enough. But now I must content myself with one class of promises; for it would require too much space to investigate them all. Yet whatever chain of promises we investigate, it is gospel, while they all harmonize.
2. The gospel is a unit. Christ does not say, preach a gospel, but the gospel. He does not say, preach this gospel to the Jews, and that to the Gentiles; this to the Baptists, and that to the Methodists. No! no! But preach the gospel to every creature. The same gospel that is preached to one, is to be preached to all. Hear Paul on this subject: Gal. i, 6: “I marvel that
ye are so soon turned from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: [he corrects himself] which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, let him be accursed.” “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Paul does not admit of conflicting gospels. Christ and Paul teach a unit gospel. Paul says there are some who preach perverted gospels, and he pronounces a curse on such. Now if all ministers had always preached the same gospel to the world, then those who believed it would all have had the same faith; and believing the same promises, they would have had the same hope, all expecting the same thing. See Eph. iv. So we are held to this point: We must preach what Paul preached, or be cursed. Then let us see what Paul calls the gospel. Gal. iii, 8. “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [Gentiles] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” The gospel was to be preached to all nations; and the blessing promised to Abraham was to reach all nations. God has never had but one gospel, as he has but one Saviour, and one plan of salvation. Let us turn to the original promise made to Abraham. Gen. xii, 1–3: “Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy house, unto a land that I will shew thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” In the 7th verse of this chapter, God defines his blessing in part. “And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.” Again, Gen. xiii, 14: “And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.” This truly is good news to Abram, and all whom it concerns; and it is as plain as need be. Let us take Paul’s comment on this in Gal. iii, 16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.” Then the promise will read, Unto Christ will I give this land. There could be no mistake in this promise. It was the very land Abram saw that God promised to give him, and his seed, or Christ. But, to be sure, let us read Gen. xvii, 8: “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Then Paul, to show how this is to reach all nations through Christ, says, Gal. iii, 29: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Abraham has the assurance that sometime in the future he shall possess all that land. And as God renews the promise to Isaac in the 26th chapter, he uses this language, “All these countries,” which must embrace more than just the land of Canaan.
The Psalmist says, Ps. xxxvii, 11: “But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Paul seems to have understood it in this way; for he says, Rom. iv, 13, “For the promise that he should be the heir of the earth, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law [or works], but through the righteousness of faith.” Peter tells us what the nature of this inheritance is. 1 Pet. i, 3, 4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away.”
Then the earth and the world which God promised Abraham, are sometime to be incorruptible, and undefiled. 2 Pet. iii, 13: “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new [renewed] heavens and a new [renewed] earth.” Or we expect, according to his promise, that the curse will be removed from the earth,
and the atmosphere, and it will again be filled with the glory of the Lord. See Num. xiv, 21; also Rev. xxii, 3.
This promise to Abraham was of such vast importance in the mind of Jehovah, that he would not let it rest on merely a promise, but confirmed it by an oath. Gen. xxii, 15–18. Paul, in Heb. vi, 16–20, tells us why God was so particular in this: “For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise [those who are Christ’s] the immutability of his counsel [promise] confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things [his promise and his oath] we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail.”
Then by God’s oath, this promise is made doubly sure; and if it has not been fulfilled in the past, it certainly will be in the future. None will contend that Christ ever had the land, earth, or world, as his own. He sojourned here once, but had not where to lay his head. Then we may expect it in the future.
Perhaps some will say that Abraham possessed the land, for he lived there. But when good old Sarah died, he had not so much as a burying place. See Gen. xxiii, 3–16. Hear Stephen, a man full of the Holy Ghost, on this subject. He will preach the same gospel Paul preached. Acts vii, 1–5: “Then said the high priest, Are these things so? And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into a land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, [of Canaan] wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it, NO NOT SO MUCH AS TO SET HIS FOOT ON: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.”
Now hear Paul on this point. Heb. xi, 8–10: “By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after [not then] receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” See Rev. xxi, 14. So they have not yet received the promise.
Perhaps some will say, The children of Israel inherited [or possessed] that land, and so the promise was fulfilled to them. But this will not meet the promise; for it was to Abraham himself, and was to be an everlasting possession. But let Paul settle this. Heb. xi, 12, 13: “Therefore sprang there, even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore, innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off [in the future], and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Please read from verse 32 onward. Verse 39: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. God having provided [foreseen, margin] some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect,” [or receive the promise]. That is, we shall all receive the promise at one time. Then we cannot expect to receive it until after probation is ended.
But Paul says again, Gal. iii, 9: “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Then I must wait until Abraham receives the inheritance before I can claim mine; and at the same time all the faithful will be blessed with him. But Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with all the faithful, are dead. Can the promise be fulfilled to them while they are dead? No. Then we must wait until they are raised from the dead.
But have we any assurance, or promise, of a resurrection? I answer, Yes. Without it, God’s promise would fail. Hear Paul. 1 Cor. xv, 16, 18: “For if the dead rise not, . . . then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished, and your hope is vain.” This would include all the heirs of the promise who are dead. Christ, through whom the promise was made, has taught a resurrection from the dead. John v, 28, 29: “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” Acts iv, 1, 2: “And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” Hear Paul again. Acts xxiv, 15: “And have hope toward God which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” Again, Acts xxvi, 6–8: “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob]; unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come [in the future]. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?” Paul refers to the promise as the foundation of their hope; and from this argues a resurrection from the dead, with a direct appeal to the conscience of king Agrippa. In the 27th verse, Paul asks this significant question: “King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.” No wonder that Paul asked why it should be thought a thing incredible with him that God should raise the dead. Had the prophets believed in a resurrection of the dead? Hear Job, who lived near the time of Abraham. Job xix, 25–27: “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” Read also chapter xiv. Hear David: Ps. lxxi, 20: “Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again [bring me to life], and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.” [Grave.] Ps. xvii, 15: “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.” Isa. xxvi, 19: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” Jer. xxxi, 16: “And they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” Hosea xiii, 14: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.” Dan. xii, 2: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Lastly on this point we turn to Eze. xxxvii, 11–14: “Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel, [all God’s people]. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost. We are cut off for our parts. [They thought because they were going into the grave they would lose the promise]. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken [promised] it, and performed [fulfilled] it, saith the Lord.
This matter then is settled, that the faithful of all ages expected a resurrection from the dead. This never has taken place, so they are still in the graves. We are still looking for it. But when may we expect it? 1 Cor. xv, 22, 23: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his
own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterwards they that are Christ’s [the heirs of the promise] at his coming.” Then at the coming of Christ, all the faithful, dead and alive, will be gathered.
Paul, in comforting his brethren who were mourning for the dead, writes: 1 Thess. iv, 13: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [go before] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first [before the wicked dead arise. Rev. xx, 5.] Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
This is called the first resurrection. Rev. xx, 6: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” They shall not die again. They must have been changed. 1 Cor. xv, 51: “Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die; for some will be living when Christ comes], but we shall all [who are Christ’s] be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we [the living] shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” This is the reason why they shall not die again. Immortality cannot die.
We have seen that the nature of the inheritance is incorruptible; and corruption cannot inherit incorruption. 1 Cor. xv, 50. So the saints must all be changed before they can inherit the promise. They partake of the divine nature; 2 Pet. i, 4; the nature of God; 1 Tim. i, 17; are born of the Spirit: John iii, 5; and are now prepared to reign with Christ in his kingdom.
But where will they reign? They are to reign with Christ a thousand years, as priests. During this time they are to sit in judgment with him. Rev. xx, 4.
Where shall they reign? You say on the earth. This cannot be; for when they reign on the earth, they reign forever. It cannot be on the earth; for the earth is corrupt and is not purified until the end of the one thousand years. Christ tells us, Jno. xiv, 1–5, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also.”
This settles the matter, that the place he is preparing for them is away from this earth. Paul says, Heb. xi, 16: “For he hath prepared for them a city.” This city Paul says is above, and is called the New Jerusalem. Gal. iv, 26. He calls it the heavenly Jerusalem—the city of the living God. Heb. xii, 22. So when he has raised his saints, and changed them to immortality, making them spiritual beings like himself, (Phil. iii, 21,) he then takes them to his Father’s house, the New Jerusalem, and there they reign with him for a thousand years in judgment upon the wicked. 1 Cor. vi, 2: “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” 2 Pet. iii, 7, 8: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” That is, this day of judgment upon the ungodly by the saints will be a thousand years long, while the earth remains desolate. While they are thus engaged and waiting to see the inheritance fitted up for them, we hear them singing, Rev. v, 9, 10: “Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth.” They are redeemed and are reigning as kings and priests, but the purchased possession is not redeemed, and they are anticipating this event, and sing, “We shall reign on the earth;” that is, when it is restored.
The wise man says, Prov. xi, 31: “Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.” Then, as both classes are to be rewarded in the earth, can they both be rewarded at the same time? We think not; for while the righteous are promised life, the wicked are threatened with death. While one is to have peace, the other is to have tribulation and anguish. While one is to remain forever, the other is to be cut off and destroyed. Then, as the righteous are promised the new earth, it must be after the wicked have received their reward, i. e., destruction. Turn to Ps. xxxvii: “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.” Verse 9: “For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.” Verse 10: “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place [the old earth], and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth [the new earth], and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” “For all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Num. xiv, 21. “And there shall be no more curse.” Rev. xxii, 3.
So the wicked are to be recompensed first. But they must first be judged, and their judgment is one thousand years. Then, at the end of the one thousand years, the rest of the dead are raised, and the judgment is executed. Rev. xx, 13–15: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Now, if God by his power should preserve them alive there, in the lake of fire, to all eternity, then there would be no death there; but John says: Death and hell [the grave] were cast in there. How shall we understand this? Death is not an object that can be taken up and thrown into the lake of fire. But it is a condition, brought about by the extinction of life. You tell me, “Death has never entered your family,” I understand that none of them have died. You say, “Death has entered my family,” I then understand it that some of them have died. So let us understand John. When he says death was cast in there, he means that they begin to die there. But you say they have died once and been raised. So John explains this. He says, “This is the second death.” Now they are dying the second time, suffering the penalty for transgressing God’s law. “The wages of sin is death.” Rom. vi, 23.
How fully all those texts relating to the destiny of the wicked are fulfilled here. Eze. xviii, 4: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ps. xxxvii, 38: Here they are destroyed. Ps. xxxvii, 20: Here they perish. Here they are consumed. Mal. iv, 1: Here they are burned up, root and branch, as the chaff; and none can quench this fire. Ps. xxxvii, 22: Lo, they are cut off. Ps. xxxvii, 10: They shall not be. Obadiah xvi: They shall be as though they had not been.
They have now had their recompense in the earth, and now the next thing is to purify the earth for the saints. The fire that burns up the wicked continues to burn as long as there is any thing destructible for it to prey upon. 2 Pet. iii, 10: “And the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” The effects of the curse are entirely removed. Verse 13: “Nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness;” or wherein the righteous shall dwell.
After seeing the wicked punished “with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power,” as he comes to be glorified in his saints, 2 Thess. i, 9, 10, the scene is described as follows, Rev. xxi, 1–7: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away: and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [the ‘Father’s house’] is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha, and Omega, the beginning and the end. [I began this work, and now I have finished it.] I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely [free access to it.] He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” John i, 12.
Now the meek can inherit the earth, and delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Abraham, with all the family of the faithful, can now enjoy the fulfillment of his promise, and the gospel becomes the power of God unto salvation, to all that believe. The gates of the New Jerusalem are thrown open, while Christ, the Redeemer, leads Abraham forth to view the long-expected inheritance, now redeemed from the curse and all its consequences, to bloom in all its glorious splendor to all eternity. No wonder John says, “And every creature which is in Heaven, and on 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.”
Glorious state! Happy throng! Millions redeemed, and brought back from the curse, and now adopted into the family of God, to be fellow-heirs with Christ and Abraham in the kingdom and inheritance, as the result of proclaiming this gospel to the world. This commission is not a small matter. Christ shall then see of the travail of his soul, that is, what he was so anxious to see, and shall be satisfied. Isa. liii, 11.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Heb. ii, 3. How will Christ honor those who have cheerfully, and willingly suffered with him in this great and glorious work! Go forth, then, ye chosen heralds of the cross, ye ministers of his, ye who labor under this great commission; and preach the one gospel, in the strength of Israel’s God, and you shall have a rich and an abundant reward at last.
And, dear brethren, as probation is drawing to a close, let us all hasten to take a part in spreading this gospel by lending our means to the Lord, to scatter these truths.
Poor sinner, this gospel has been preached for six thousand years, and now the last call is being made upon you to embrace life, eternal life. Now is your last opportunity. This slighted, your doom is fixed, and you are lost, lost. Jesus, understanding what it was to be lost, had rather die than to see you go to perdition. He died for you, poor sinner. Turn ye! turn ye, for why will ye die! Praise God! the promise is yet in the future, and we can become Christ’s, thus Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Amen.
TO THE READER.—Original articles, written for this paper, are signed in SMALL CAPITALS; selections, in Italics.

"I SHALL BE SATISFIED."

By S. J. Thayer

Not here:—my roses bear too many thorns: My gold has in it too much of alloy; The purple of my robe to oft adorns An aching soul; my sweets to often cloy.
Not now:—the present has too much of pain— Too much, alas, of mingled hope and fear; I set my loss to often ’gainst my gain: I shall be satisfied not now, not here.
But there! but then! in Heaven!—when I wake In His dear likeness who for me once died; O, fount of bliss! in thee once let me slake My life-long thirst—I shall be satisfied!
Selected for Review by S. J. Thayer.

The Sermon.

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.
PREACH THE WORD. 2 Tim iv, 2.

The Christian Comforter.

It is a blessed thing to cheer one sorrowing heart, to soothe one pain, to dry one tear; but thrice-blessed is he whose lot it is to comfort and be “a succorer of many.” Who would not have rather, like Mary, have laved the weary feet of Jesus than to have offered wine a golden chalice to the proud Herod on his throne? Who would not rather have sheltered his homeless head in that humble cot of Bethany than have entertained an earthly prince? Who would not crave the place of those meek women who pressed with tearful eyes and throbbing hearts around the cross, in preference to them who nailed him there? Next to placing the cup of cold water to his parching lips, is the honor of giving it to those of his children who, like him, are bearing the burdens of others.
Reader, are you gathering with Christ?

Salt. Matt. v, 13.

Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Luke says:
Salt is good; but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear. Luke xiv, 34.
The following interesting observations, throwing light on these passages of Scripture, we take from Watson’s Biblical and Theological Dictionary.
Although salt, in small quantities, may contribute to the communicating and fertilizing of some kinds of stubborn soil, yet, according to the observations of Pliny, “all places in which salt is found are barren and produce nothing.” The effect of salt, where it abounds, on vegetation, is described by burning, in Deut. xxix, 23: “The whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt of burning.” Thus Volney, speaking of the borders of the Asphaltic lake, or Dead sea, says: “The true cause of the absence of vegetables and animals is the acrid saltness of its waters, which is infinitely greater than that of the sea. The land surrounding the lake, being equally impregnated with that saltness, refuses to produce plants; the air itself, which is by evaporation loaded with it, and which moreover receives vapors of sulphur and bitumen, cannot suit vegetation; whence that dead appearance which reigns around the lake.” So a salt land, Jer. xvii, 6, is the same as the “parched places of the wilderness,” and is descriptive of barrenness, as saltness also is, Job xxxix, 6; Ps. cvii, 34; Eze. xlvii, 11; Zech. ii, 9. Hence the ancient custom of sowing an enemy’s city, when taken, with salt, in token of perpetual desolation, Judges ix, 45; and thus in after times the city of Milan was burned, razed, sown with salt, and ploughed by the exasperated emperor, Frederic Barbarossa. The salt used by the ancients was what we call rock, or fossil salt; and also that left by the evaporation of salt lakes. Both these kinds were impure, being mixed with earth, sand, &c., and lost their strength by deliquescence. Maundrell, describing the valley of salt, says: “On the side toward Gibul there is a small precipice, occasioned by the continual taking away of the salt; and in this you may see how the veins of it lie. I broke a piece of it, of which that part that was exposed to the sun, rain, and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, yet it had perfectly lost its savour; the inner part, which was connected with the rock, retained its savour, as I found by proof.” Christ reminds his disciples, Matt. v, 13: “Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” This is spoken of the mineral salt as mentioned by Maundrell, a great deal of which was made use of in offerings at the temple; such of it as had become insipid was thrown out to repair the road. The existence of such a salt, and its application to such a use, Schoetgenius has largely proved in his “Hora Hebraica.” The salt unfit for the land, Luke xiv, 34, Le Clerc conjectures to be that made of wood ashes, which easily loses its savour, and becomes no longer serviceable.
Continue reading: Notes on Genesis