Review and Herald, Vol. 51, No. 9. (2/28/1878)

Review and Herald

Feb 28, 1878

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 28, 1878

The Watch Tower.

“Can ye not discern the Signs of the Times?” Matt. 16:3.

THE financial crisis still continues. One of the most discouraging features connected with the failures is the disclosures of new methods of fraud. One of the oldest bankers of New England says he never knew so distrustful a time; that while the number of failures is large, the worst feature is that almost every one brings to light some new form of deception, or fraud, and that it is more difficult than he ever knew to use the money of a bank to get anything like a fair interest without endangering the principal of the loan.

THE Nashville Christian Advocate is not an alarmist. It speaks as follows about the spread of Romanism among our colored population: It seems to be generally understood that the Romish Church will in future devote special attention to the spiritual welfare of the colored people in the South, regarding them as eligible subjects for missionary work. In Alabama and Georgia the priests have already established churches, and the colored communicants can be counted by thousands.

PERSECUTION is not at an end yet in Mexico, as the missionaries have daily cause to know. A gentleman connected with the American Board in the State of Jalisco describes some of the outrages committed on converts. Recently one of them was assassinated on the streets. Many lose their employment, are driven from their houses, and are looked upon as the filth of the world by their own families. In the Pueblas one had his house burned down because he spoke of Jesus, instead of Mary; another was stoned in the plaza for not taking off his hat when the bell struck twelve o’clock; a third was followed with the cry of “Death to the Protestant,” because he read the Bible to his family and others who would listen to him. Four persons, because they possessed a Bible, had to leave their homes at midnight, under cover of darkness, to save their lives, the priest having said that the inhabitants of the place had proved themselves cowards for allowing such books in their midst, and tolerating the persons who had them. It is this church, good reader, that has undertaken, for us, to educate and religiously instruct the Freedmen of the South.

DEALERS in fire-arms report a large increase in the demand for deadly weapons during the past three years. The purchasers are from every class of society, from the rough or “knuck” to the quiet Christian traveler, and from the boy of twelve years old to the patriarch in his second childhood.

FAMINE IN CHINA.

Telegrams tell us that nine millions of people are in a destitute and starving condition in Northern China, owing to the famine. The following description is given in the Friend of China, by a contributor who has been actively engaged in the distribution of relief:— “People of all ages die of actual starvation by thousands. The famine extends over a district which includes at least five thousand villages, and in these latter together I am certainly within the mark in saying that five hundred die daily, perhaps one thousand may be within it. A few days ago I traversed the worst part. Thousands upon thousands have perished already. Houses are pulled down in every village to sell the timber and thatch in order to get food. Those who can get husks and dry leaves, ordinarily used for fuel, are considered well off. Most of the poor young girls had been sold; old men, middle-aged, young men, and children die daily of sheer starvation, and others freeze. The dead cannot get a burial; they are too many, and none can afford the expense; so they are cast daily into large pits.”

The London Times says:— “This description applies to the famine of 1876, which affected the sea-board provinces Shantung and Chih-li. The area affected in 1877 was inland, constituting the central part of Northern China on both banks of the Yellow River. It is thought that the distress will not have passed away until June next in Shan-si, the north of Honan, and the south of Shen-si.”

THOUGHTS ON BAPTISM.

By Joseph Harvey Waggoner

BY ELD. J. H. WAGGONER.

(Continued.)

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

An argument in favor of pouring is supposed to be found in this baptism, because the Spirit was poured out, or shed forth. See Acts 2. But there are two decisive difficulties in the way of this conclusion: 1. The word ekcheo is never once used in the numerous instances in the New Testament where the ordinance of Baptism in water is referred to. 2. Though the Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost, it filled the whole room wherein the disciples were. If water were poured out into a room until the room was entirely filled, all the persons in that room would be entirely surrounded with, or submerged in the water. And this was the case in the pouring out of the Spirit. When speaking of the Spirit the word ekcheo is used, which is defined, poured out. But when speaking of the persons, the word baptizo is used, which in all the lexicons is defined, immerse. This was literally accomplished by the Spirit filling the whole room wherein they were.

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

The apostle Paul twice speaks of Baptism as a burial. This expression is just according to the meaning of the word immersion. But the term is not well chosen if it is intended to represent sprinkling or pouring. It is likened to the burial and resurrection of Christ, to which the ordinance has undoubted reference. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Rom. 6:4. “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” Col. 2:12. The most eminent scholars, among those who advocate and practice sprinkling, have been constrained to admit that these illustrations have undoubted reference to the primitive practice of immersing in the rite of Baptism.

The reader will pardon us for noticing the effort which has been made to evade the force of these scriptures. Because this Baptism is a burial, and cannot be made a sprinkling, it has been denied that it refers to water baptism. Perhaps, said the objector, it refers to the fact that the disciples were buried in the love of God! Were that the truth it would not destroy the force of the statement that baptism is a burial. The meaning of the word is the same, no matter what element is used. But that cannot be true, for this consideration: in whatsoever a person is buried, when he is raised he is raised out of the same. If we are buried in the earth, we are raised out of the earth; if buried in water, we are raised out of water; and if buried in the love of God, we are raised out of the love of God! Said the apostle to his brethren, “Buried with him in baptism, wherein ye are risen with him.” Were they raised out of the love of God? Would such a resurrection lead them to seek those things which are above? See chap. 3:1. Again we ask pardon for noticing such an objection. It is sometimes necessary to show how utterly idle is the effort to evade the force of the plain testimony of the word of God. And this shows what positions men are willing to take, and what conclusions they will risk, to support their theories against the plain reading and evident meaning of the Scriptures.

Under this head should be considered 1 Cor. 10:2. Dr. Clarke sanctions the idea that the Israelites were sprinkled by the cloud over them, and that this indicates that sprinkling is baptism. It is to be deplored that one so ripe in scholarship—so able as a critic—should so suffer himself to be blinded by the theology of a church. The language and the facts do not admit of such a construction. Shall we read it, “Sprinkled by the cloud and by the sea?” We cannot. “Sprinkled in the cloud and in the sea?” That is impossible. Prof. Stuart is much more reasonable on this point; he says:—

“The suggestion has sometimes been made, that the Israelites were sprinkled by the cloud and by the sea, and this was the baptism which Paul meant to designate. But the cloud on this occasion was not a cloud of rain; nor do we find any intimation that the waters of the sea sprinkled the children of Israel at this

time. So much is true, viz., they were not immersed. Yet, as the language must evidently be figurative in some good degree, and not literal, I do not see how, on the whole, we can make less of it, than to suppose it has a tacit reference to the idea of surrounding in some way or other.”

Granting that they were not immersed; certainly they were not sprinkled. And granting that the word baptize is used figuratively in some good degree, yet the figure must be so construed as most nearly to conform to the actual meaning of the word, i. e., immerse. And this is done by the idea of surrounding, as Prof. Stuart has it; and it meets the conditions stated far better than any other construction.

INSTANCES OF BAPTISM.

John baptized in the river Jordan. Christ, our pattern, was baptized in the Jordan. The record says, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water.” Matt. 3:16. Alas, how many professed followers of Christ would be ashamed to go down into the water to be baptized; be ashamed to be seen coming up out of the water, as Jesus their Lord was seen!

“John also was baptizing in Ænon, near to Salim, because there was much water there.” John 3:23. The reason here given for baptizing in that place looks unmistakably to the same action as we find indicated in Matt. 3, baptizing in a body of water. We may safely leave it to the judgment of every reader that this reason would never be offered in favor of the modern practice of rhantism, if it can even be called that; as we recently saw a minister barely touch the ends of his fingers in water, and lay them upon the head of a child. Water was not even sprinkled upon the child. Nothing of that kind is found in the language of the New Testament.

The circumstances attending the baptism of the eunuch afford important evidence on this subject. First, we notice in this case the importance of Baptism in the preaching of the gospel. Philip “preached unto him Jesus,” and in the same interview the eunuch desired baptism, which proves that the preaching of Jesus included preaching baptism in the ministry of the apostles and evangelists. How different was this from the teaching and preaching of many at the present day.

Secondly, we notice that they both went down into the water, and there Philip baptized him. And together they came up out of the water. This is not consistent with the idea of any administration but that of immersion. The only remark we find in Prof. Stuart on Baptism which gives occasion to doubt his candor as a writer, is on this text. He says:—

“If katabesan eis to hudor is meant to designate the act of plunging or being immersed into the water, as a part of the rite of baptism, then was Philip baptized as well as the eunuch; for the sacred writer says that BOTH went into the water. Here, then, must have been a re-baptism of Philip; and what is at least singular, he must have baptized himself as well as the eunuch.”

These remarks are entirely uncalled for by the record; they are as unworthy of the man who wrote them as of the subject on which they were written. Going down into the water is a necessary prerequisite to baptism (but not to sprinkling); but no one ever claimed or even thought that katabesan eis to hudor expresses “the action of plunging or being immersed.” We fear the idea sprung up in the mind of a theologian rather than of a critic; for almost the next sentence says “kai ebaptisen auton,” “and he baptized him.” This excludes every possibility of obscurity.

It is true that they both went down into the water, and this always is the case when immersion is practiced. The administrator and subject both go down into the water. But going down into the water is not and was not baptism. Does the record say that both went down into the water and were baptized? No. “They went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.” It is no part of candor nor of reverence for the Scriptures to raise a doubt over such plain and unmistakable testimony as this.

A doubt has been raised about there having been sufficient water for immersion in this instance, because verse 26 speaks of the country as being “desert.” The word eremos does not necessarily mean a dry, barren place, destitute of water or vegetation, as may be supposed, but a solitary, uninhabited region. See Greenfield, and compare Matt. 14:13, 15, 19. This scripture says they were in “a desert place apart,” and because it was desert, and the day was passing, the disciples requested Jesus to send away the multitude that they might go into the villages and procure food. But he commanded the multitude to “sit down on the grass,” and he fed them there. So far the point is proved. In the case in question, Acts 8, they came to standing water, as is indicated by the sudden exclamation of the eunuch. “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” Travelers who have passed “from Jerusalem to Gaza,” say there were springs and pools on the route quite sufficient for the purpose.

“The Bourdeaux Pilgrim, less than three hundred years after the event [A. D. 333], described with care its situation. His note is (as he advances from Bethlehem): ‘Thence to Bethazsora is fourteen miles, where is the fountain in which Philip baptized the eunuch. Thence to the oak where Abraham dwelt is nine miles. Thence to Hebron is two miles.’ Eusebius, on the word Bethsur, has the following note: ‘Bethsur of the tribe of Judah or Benjamin. There is also now a village Bethsoron, twenty miles distant from Jerusalem toward Hebron, where also a fountain issuing from a mountain is shown, in which the eunuch of Candace is said to have been baptized by Philip.’ Jerome in like manner says on the same word: ‘Bethsur in the tribe of Judah or Benjamin. And there is at this day a village Bethsoron, to us going from Jerusalem to Hebron, at the twentieth milestone; near which a fountain, boiling up at the foot of a mountain, is absorbed by the same soil from which it springs, and the Acts of the Apostles record that the eunuch of queen Candace was baptized in this by Philip.’”

These quotations are taken from a recent American traveler, Rev. G. W. Samson. The following is from Mr. Samson’s own observation:—

“Starting now from Jerusalem on the route thus indicated, let us view the facilities for immersion along its course, and especially at the spot where history has fixed the eunuch’s baptism. Proceeding on horses, at the ordinary rate of three miles an hour, in two hours and thirty minutes we reach the three immense pools of Solomon, from which water was conducted to Jerusalem. In Christ’s day they were little lakes of water, for the three covered about three acres of ground, and when filled they furnished all needed facilities for immersion, lying open, as they do, and in a retired valley. Even now, such is the quantity of water in the lower pool, that a more convenient place for the sacred ordinance could hardly be desired. Proceeding thence over hill and dale, and through one long valley, which, from the number of its wells, the muleteers call Wady el-Beer, the Valley of Wells, in one hour and fifty minutes more we stopped on a hill-side to water our horses, and to drink at a large reservoir with an arched roof, from which the water is drawn up with a bucket. Of this place Dr. Robinson says: ‘The road up the ascent is artificial; half way up is a cistern of rain water, and an open place of prayer for the Mohammedan travelers.’ At this spot immersion would not be difficult. Descending thence into the fine valley before us, crossing it, and ascending on the opposite side, in thirty-five minutes more we reached the ruins of an ancient town, which our muleteer calls Howoffnee, but which Dr. Robinson has marked Abu Fid; mentioning ‘olive-trees, and tillage around, and a reservoir of rain water.’ This reservoir lies in the open field, with a grassy brink around it. It is fifty or sixty feet square, and it is now, in the last of April, full of water, the depth being apparently from three to five feet. It is evidently ancient, the walls being built up of large hewn stones. A fitter place for immersion could not be desired. Proceeding onward, through a country quite open and considerably cultivated, in one hour and five minutes we reach, at the foot of a long and steep hill, the ruins of a fortress or church on the left of our road. . . . In front of the fortress by us is a fine gushing fountain of sweet water, and broad stone troughs in which we water our horses. This spot has been fixed on by Dr. Robinson as the Bethsur mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome as the place where the eunuch was baptized. . . . The ground in front of the fountain and of the structure behind it is so broken up and covered with stones, that it is difficult to determine what was once here. There is now a slightly depressed hollow with a sandy or gravelly bottom. It is hardly conceivable that, in the days of Herod, the fountain-builder, this most favorable spring should not have been made to supply a pool in this land of such structures; and even now water sufficient to supply such a reservoir flows from the troughs and soaks into the soil.”

Omitting notice of all other places, we give evidence only in regard to the route traveled by the eunuch “from Jerusalem to Gaza,” as on this there has been so much doubt and misapprehension. We find—

1. The word eremos (desert) signifies an uninhabited region, and not necessarily an arid, barren plain. Proved also by Matt. 14.

2. The route traveled by the eunuch is a land of hills and dales, mountains and valleys, much of it fit for cultivation.

3. There are on this route numerous springs and pools of water; some of the pools are open to this day, while appearances indicate that others were open in the days of the Saviour.

This shows how needlessly wrong it is to doubt against the plain language of the Scriptures.

(To be Continued.)

WHEN WILL HE COME?

By The Christian

Will it be when the midday sun is gleaming And I am toiling 'neath its sultry heat? Or when at eventide I'm gently resting Among the flowers springing at my feet? Or when above my head the stars are shining Brightly resplendent in the heaven's high dome, Or in the rosy blush and dawn of morning, Or in the twilight gray? When will He come?

Shall I be old and dreary and forsaken, With white hair streaming o'er my furrowed brow, Gone from my life the music and the sunshine, Gone from my heart the love that cheers me now? Shall I be sleeping, with the green grass waving And the winds whisp'ring round my lonely tomb; Or will He take me now to greener pastures And fairer, purer joys? When will He come?

When shall I hear—to-day, to-night, to-morrow?— The sound I long to catch, His own dear voice, Sweeter than all the tones I love so fondly, Saying in accents clear, “Rejoice, rejoice”? When shall I see the hands for me once pierced, And the brow pressed for me with thorny crown, Know that for my own sake He gave His life-blood, Yet, that He calleth me? When will He come?

Shall I be worshiping among His children, And singing hymns of praise unto my God? Or 'mid the dwellings of the poor and needy, Striving to follow where His feet have trod? Or in the bustle of the crowded city, Or the sweet, social pleasures of my home? Or at his table, or in woods at even, Or on the sea's blue waste? When will He come?

Will all the fields be fragrant with spring blossoms, The song-birds warbling in the flowery glade; Or the bright summer sunbeams shining over The fruitful earth which His own hand hath made? Will autumn winds be rustling through the meadows, Or winter's snows around where'er I roam? Poor, vain attempt to hide earth's sin and ruin From His all-searching gaze? When will He come?

And still I wait and wait. My Lord delayeth, My yearning heart grows troubled oft, and sad; Yet through the darkest night His loved voice sayeth, “I'm coming soon, to make thee truly glad.” The time is short, this world is fleeting swiftly, Heaven is nearing, my eternal home; Oh for the wings of faith to reach unto it, E'en while with tears I say, “When will He come?”

—The Christian.

A NATION'S SHAME.

The silver bill passed the U. S. Senate, Feb. 16, by a vote of 49 to 21. The scene witnessed in the Senate chamber, pending the passage of the bill, is thus described in a dispatch to the Detroit Evening News of Feb. 18:—

“The scene in the Senate chamber last night was remarkable, as well as disgraceful. A large number of senators were in an unfit condition to participate in the discussion, being so intoxicated that they could scarcely stand on their feet. There were from ten to fifteen in this condition, and instead of being taken to their homes they remained in the Senate chamber, to make themselves conspicuous and pain the occupants of galleries, who were compelled to see the sight. Such a scene was probably never before witnessed in the capitol, and it ought to bring a blush of shame to every citizen, that such exhibitions go unrebuked.”

The wise man says that “righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” And what can be hoped for a nation whose highest interests are in the hands of those who will at any time give themselves up to beastly drunkenness, especially in the Senate chamber of the nation’s capitol?

SCIENCE DRIVES US TO RELIGION.

By T. S. King

If I were in the danger of becoming skeptical, I believe that a fresh and vivid appreciation of the scientific revelations concerning our globe would appall me into faith. To think of this ball whirling and spinning about the sun, and to be an atheist! Its covering less in comparative thickness than a peach-skin, and its pulp a seething fire, and to feel that we are at the mercy of the forces that lash it like a top around the ecliptic, and of the raving flames that heave and beat for vent; not more than an eighth of its surface inhabitable by man; seas roaring around him, tropic heat smiting his brain, polar frosts threatening his blood, inland airs laden with fever, sea winds charged with consumption; hurricanes hovering in the sky, earthquakes slumbering under our feet; the conditions of life dependent on the most delicate oscillations of savage powers over which the wisest man is as powerless as the worm,—to think of these, and not to have any confidence or belief in a Power superior to these pitiless forces, not to have an inspiring faith that the land was made for human habitations and experience, and is sheltered by a ceaseless love from the hunger of the elements!

Why, I could as easily conceive of a person making his home unconcerned in an uncaged menagerie, as a man at rest in nature, seeing what it is, and not feeling that it is embosomed in God!

Go to nature, my brother; go to the unroofed universe; go to the awful pages of science, not to learn your religion, but to learn your need of it—to learn that you are houseless without a sense of God as overarching you by his power, pledging his care to you, twisting the furious forces of immensity into a protecting tent for your final home.—T. S. King.

NEVER SURRENDER.

By G. V. Kilgore

The title of one of Mr. Moody’s anecdotes is, “We will never Surrender.” It is a story told in the history of the ninth century, of a young man who went out with only five hundred men to attack a king with an army of three thousand men. The king sent a messenger to the young man saying that he need not fear to surrender, for he would treat him kindly; but the young man would not trust good promises from an enemy. He therefore called up one of his soldiers and said to him, “Take this dagger and drive it to your heart;” and the soldier took the dagger and drove it to his heart. The young man called up another of his men, and said, “Leap into yonder chasm;” and the man leaped into the chasm. Then the young commander turned to the king’s messenger, and said: “Go back and tell your king I have five hundred men like these. We will die, but we will never surrender. And tell your king another thing, that I will have

him chained with my dog inside of half an hour.” When the king heard this he was afraid, and his army fled. And the same day the young man had the king chained with his dog.

If this story is true, the young warrior showed the right kind of zeal to be successful. It is the kind of zeal that we want in the cause of God, and that we must have if we would stand through the trying times before us. When we are tempted to yield to earthly powers instead of obeying God, we must be strong enough to say, “We will die, but we will never surrender.” No difference if good promises are made to protect us and treat us kindly. We will have to remember that good promises from our enemy are only to trap us into sin. The devil tried to catch Christ by good promises. He offered the Saviour all the kingdoms of the world, if he would only fall down and worship him; but Christ said, “Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” This is what we want to remember. When the dragon voice of the two-horned beast is heard, we want to be ready to say, “It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” “We will die, but we will never surrender.” And another thing we can remember then is this: In a short time God will have the dragon, or devil, chained, and cast into a lake of fire with “dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” G. V. KILGORE.

GOD’S COMMANDED COVENANT.

By C. A. Russell

In the Scriptures, the ten commandments are called a covenant. They are not the covenant the Lord made with the children of Israel, but God’s commanded covenant. “And he declared unto you his covenant which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deut. 4:13. Webster gives the definition of the word covenant in substance as follows: 1. A mutual agreement between two or more persons; 2. A writing containing the terms of agreement; and 3. The promises of God to man on condition of obedience. It is certain that the old covenant answered to the first definition given above; for it was an agreement between the Lord and the people. See Ex. 19:5–8; 24:3–8. This all must admit.

The ten commandments could not have been the first or old covenant, for the following reasons:—

1. They only contain the words of the Lord, uttered in terrible majesty, while the people were speechless with fear. This fact is alone sufficient forever to refute the idea that they were the old covenant, which was a mutual agreement between the Lord and the people.

2. The old covenant was annulled by being broken on the part of the people; but the law is still binding upon all men, Rom. 3:19; its transgression is sin, 1 John 3:4; its penalty is death. Rom. 6:23. Transgressing a law does not abrogate it.

3. The first or old covenant was made before the tables of the law were delivered to Moses, as will be seen by Ex. 24:12.

4. The law exists since the old covenant has passed away, and occupies an important place under the new. Jer. 31:31–33. Please notice the wording of this scripture: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” The new covenant, too, is a contract; and in making it the people, as well as the Lord, have something to do.

It may be asked why the ten commandments are called a covenant. The reason is obvious. The great Creator has an undoubted right to demand obedience of all his creatures; and as he is not only a God of justice, but of love also, it inevitably follows that his blessing will rest upon all who do his will. This is implied. Indeed, he has, in two of the ten commandments—which are a brief epitome of his will—promised the divine favor, once in the second commandment, which, with the one preceding and the two following, relates to our duty toward him; and once in the fifth, which, with the five following, defines our duty to our fellow-men. He says, Obey me, and you shall be blessed. Hence with the strictest propriety his law may be called his covenant. It relates to all created intelligences.

The ten-commandment law was the condition of the first covenant. Indeed, that covenant consisted in the agreement of the people to keep the law, and the Lord’s promise to them of special blessings if they did. The many references in the Bible to the Lord’s covenant confirm the above positions. See Deut. 17:2; 1 Kings 11:11; Ps. 111:7–9; Isa. 56:1–7.

Some seem to believe that Christ gave a new code of precepts which were to supersede the law of his Father. If this is a correct view, it will of course be in harmony with the Scriptures. In Deut. 18:18, the Lord promised to raise up a prophet, which was Christ, and said that he should speak the words that God should command him. David, speaking prophetically of Christ, says, “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” Ps. 40:8. Isaiah, chap. 42:21, says, “He shall magnify the law, and make it honorable.” And immediately after commencing his ministry we find him fulfilling the divine prediction. Matt. 5:17: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law. . . . Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” John 12:49: “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak,” exactly fulfilling Deut. 18.

The prophet declared that he should magnify the law, and make it honorable. This he did in showing that the law has jurisdiction, not simply over the overt actions, but also over the desires of the heart.

But in a pre-eminent sense did he magnify the law when he, as man’s substitute, stepped forward and received its penalty. His dying groans on Calvary speak in tones louder than the thunders which shook Sinai, that the law is immutable. Here, it seems to me, the zenith is reached, and the argument stops. The inevitable conclusion is forced upon us that God’s law is still the law of the universe; and that all except those who accept Christ as their Saviour must suffer its penalty, which is death.

C. A. RUSSELL.

THIS GENERATION.

By T. M. Lane

In Matthew’s Gospel, chap. 24: 29, are given a series of signs respecting the coming of Christ, which come in immediately after the tribulation of those days; viz., the darkening of the sun and moon, the falling of the stars, and the shaking of the powers of heaven. Verse 32 gives the parable of the fig-tree, which seems to connect with verse 29; verse 33 speaks of those who shall see these signs fulfilled, and in verse 34 the sacred writer plainly declares that this generation shall not pass until all these signs are fulfilled.

There seems to be a query in the minds of some as to what is meant by the phrase, “this generation,” when it begins, &c. We fail to see that it implies particularly the generation that lived on the earth in the year 1780, at the time of the darkening of the sun, when the moon also refused to give her light. We would assign it, rather, to the year 1833, the time of the falling of the stars, or near the commencement of the proclamation of the first angel’s message; for the inspired writer informs us that this generation will be one that has witnessed all these signs, or has had a knowledge of their fulfillment; also that it will be one that shall understand the parable of the fig-tree.

Allowing that “this generation” began near the fulfillment of the last sign, and that those composing it must have been then of an age to understand the matter, and considering that it is not to pass until all these things shall be fulfilled, surely the restitution of all things is near at hand, “even at the doors.”

In realization of the great fact that the end is near, let us live relative to it by buckling on the whole armor, discharging every known duty, and endeavoring to be fully prepared for that great event.

T. M. LANE.

B. C. College.

IS THERE A REMEDY?

By S. B. Whitney

A REMEDY for what? We see placarded on rocks, fences, trees, outbuildings, and in every available place, advertisements of a thousand and one remedies for the ills that flesh is heir to; but amid the multitudinous specifics, panaceas, and cure-alls, none are recommended for one terrible malady,—church difficulties. Churches suffer and groan, languish and almost die, and the cause of God is nearly ruined; but no philanthropist of the ordinary type offers any relief. Ministers labor and pray, expostulate and entreat, still the terrible evil remains. Chronic derangement of the heart, resulting in an unconsecrated condition of the whole system; inflammation of the brain, producing a heated imagination; a neuralgic affection of the tongue, causing an unusual and abnormal action of that organ,—all these symptoms exist in some cases to so great an extent as to make it a question whether the patient will ever recover, whether there is sufficient vitality to endure the treatment necessary to effect a cure.

Cannot this state of things be helped? Is there no remedy? We think there is if those who need it can be induced to take it, and we venture to suggest the remedy. Our first prescription is godly sorrow, in doses so plentiful as to produce great humility of mind, and cause hearty confessions of past wrongs to be thrown off in profusion; this to be followed by a warm bath in kindly affections, compassion one of another, pity and courtesy, Rom. 12: 10; 1 Pet. 3: 8, with an internal application at the same time of the love of God shed abroad in the heart. As a preventive, the constant use of watchfulness and prayer is recommended, to be vigorously applied, especially on any indication of a return of the symptoms.

In order that this treatment be permanently effective, it should be followed up by active exercise. This is as necessary to spiritual as to physical health, and especial provision has been made for this exercise in the organization of the tract and missionary societies. If our brethren and sisters would realize the responsibilities of this time and interest themselves to engage in this work; if our sisters, especially those who are so much inclined to talk, and must give vent in this direction or suffer from the pressure of pent-up feelings, would combine themselves, as many noble souls are doing, in vigilant missionary societies, and become deeply imbued with love for souls and the work of saving them, having their minds and hands engaged in spreading the precious rays of light, hunting up those who can be reached by the truth and corresponding with those who become interested in it,—they would find ample exercise for all their powers and but little time for unprofitable reflection and gossip; and such an experience would prove a wonderful tonic and an almost universal panacea for spiritual maladies. But we venture the opinion that those who neglect this work, and are content to be idlers in the Lord’s vineyard, thus refusing to improve the way Providence has so clearly opened for them to become co-workers with Christ, will die from the effect of some of these maladies; and we shall soon have to mourn their loss and perform funeral rites that will be sad indeed.

Come, brethren, let us wake up, and not measure our experience in the future by what it has been in the past. Let us not think that what has been must always be; but let us remember that if we remain as we are we shall never be fit for the kingdom. Our work is one of overcoming, which implies a letting go and forsaking of past wrongs and a constant progression toward the right; and the promises are made only to the overcomers.

S. B. WHITNEY.

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