Bishop Clark's Sermon on our Impending National Dangers.
THE discourse preached by Bishop Clark in Grace church last Sunday evening, Nov. 1, 1862, was one of intense interest, and made a profound impression upon the immense congregation. The text was from Lamentations v, 16. "The crown is fallen from our head. Woe unto us, for we have sinned!" We make the following report : After a reference to the sad picture of reverses which the prophet describes in the book of Lamentations, the Bishop proceeded to show the application of his language to the condition of our country. "We have fallen upon evil days, and the heart of the nation beats with agony. I do not wish to say a word that shall deepen the gloom. We must look the facts in the face, we must be willing to see where we stand, and what dangers threaten us. The crown of prosperity is fallen from our heads. There is no suspension in the operations of business. There are many who are making202money as they never did before. By a single turn of the wheel, some find themselves rich who were poor yesterday. There never could be a better time for shrewd and daring speculation. Money is a drug; and when a man has made his half a million, he does not know what to do with it; for he feels that there is no paper which may not be rags in a year, no stock which may not have lost its value, no form of business that may not be at a stand still. Nothing is safe but gold and land; and the former can be had only at ruinous rates, and the latter may yield no income. We have a sort of hectic prosperity, but the vital organs are diseased. We have an abundant currency—an over-abundant currency—because it is fictitious—a "promise to pay," which everybody knows is a lie. The show of prosperity that we have cannot last long. We are blowing the bubble larger and larger every day, and it grows thinner as it expands. It glistens gloriously in the sunshine for a moment, but it will burst suddenly and vanish into space. We have ceased to accumulate the true material of prosperity, producing and manufacturing abundantly. Every one knows that soon the supply will be much larger than the demand, and we are speculating upon the impending calamity. "This is not the worst. The temptations to fraud are irresistible, and many men, of whom we had expected better things, are yielding to the temptation. The most discouraging thing in the present alarming crisis is the fact that so many loyal citizens are improving the opportunity to amass enormous profits by fraudulent speculation upon the miseries of the country. I have seen the results of this at Washington, in forms that make one's blood curdle with indignation. I have seen sick and dying men in our hospitals furnished with supplies, for which the contractors were paid a generous price, and the poor creatures turned away with loathing from the nauseous substances laid upon their hot and fevered lips. "The crown of pride is fallen from our head. No foreign power has attacked us; but the foundations are shaken, not by assault from without, but—the pillars of this magnificent fabric have fallen in by their own weight, weakened and shattered by the hands that were sworn to hold them up. And now we are distressed and ashamed at our inefficiency in dealing with the traitors who have desolated the land; and here and there men begin to whisper of compromise and concession. Meanwhile the nations from abroad withhold their sympathy, exult over our defeats, minister abundantly to the wants of the rebels, and exultantly predict our final ruin. Before many months have passed, if things continue in their present condition, we have reason to believe that they will proffer mediation with one hand, holding in the other the threat of armed interference. "The crown of confidence is broken. No people ever struggled harder to retain their faith in the wisdom of their statesmen, and the efficiency of their military leaders; but to-day they point to the practical results—to what has not been accomplished, and say, 'We are disappointed.' Men are losing faith in each other. Party strife is rampant—the crew are quarreling while the ship sinks. "It would be well in these days, when we are threatened with other dangers besides the Southern rebellion,203if our people and our rulers would study somewhat carefully the records of the past, and then remember that human nature, being essentially the same in all generations, history is very apt to repeat itself. What precipitated upon France all the horrors of her bloody revolution? I shall enter upon no recital of the strange cruelties and atrocities of that dark period—God grant that it may never be repeated! But I simply ask you to note these few points in the order of events. First, a cry for bread—the people are hungry and must be fed. Starving men are tigers, and will have blood if they cannot have bread. Secondly, weakness and temporizing on the part of the monarch. He means well, but lacks nerve. Thirdly, the union of extreme parties most diametrically opposed—the old aristocracy and the new radicals, to make things as bad as possible, and each hoping to secure what it wanted in the general overturn. Fourthly and lastly, national delirium, universal madness, a menagerie of wild beasts all let loose together, and human life regarded as a bagatelle. "Is there anything in the fact that we live in the nineteenth century to shield us from the awful convulsions of the past? A while ago we thought there was, and he who should have predicted such a civil war as is now raging, would have been called a fool. Do you think that the great problems that the nation is now trying to solve will be settled easily or speedily? Do you feel sure that the final issue will come during your day and generation? Are there no tokens here in the loyal portion of the land which alarm you? Would one grand victory bring us unity and peace? Do you suppose that out of the ruins we shall ever rebuild the temple of our liberties in the same proportions and after the same architecture as before? No nation ever passed through such a struggle as we are engaged in without having experienced some organic changes; some for the better, some for the worse. We shall come out of this contest with the mark of the scars indelibly impressed upon us. God grant that we may also come forth stronger in limb, clearer in brain, and purer in heart. "For, woe unto us, we have sinned, and therefore is the crown fallen from our head. We have sinned as individuals, and we have sinned as a nation. I have not time to give a full catalogue of our transgressions. I can only notice those which are most obvious and flagrant. "First and foremost stands our treatment of those races which the providence of God has thrown upon our protection; inferior to us in blood, in culture, in rank, and in power. I say it deliberately, that the annals of the world nowhere furnish a record of more atrocious injustice, cruel fraud, than is seen down to the present hour in our treatment of the aboriginal nations of the soil, whom we have dispossessed, and, as far as possible, exterminated. "And there is another people, first stolen from their barbarous homes, and transported over the sea to become our slaves. How have we dealt with them? Here at the North we abolished slavery when it ceased to be profitable; but down to the present hour the very name of the African is a term of indignity and reproach. We cast contempt upon him because he is weak. We exclude him as far as we can from every station of responsibility, no matter what his qualifications may be, and we would be glad to be rid of him altogether if we could. Well might Jefferson tremble, as he tells us that he did, when he remembered that God is just. His vision was prophetic, and to-day we are reaping the bitter fruits of our iniquity. "And in those parts of the land where slavery was not abolished because it was thought to be profitable, why has there been no legislation to save the husband from being torn from the wife, parents from their children; no legislation to rescue the slave from the position of a chattel? No legislation for the prospective, gradual abolition of an institution which the whole civilized world has united in branding as a relic of barbarism. I hold no Utopian views upon this subject. I never believed that the relation of master and servant is of necessity a sin. I always thought that the evil needed to be carefully and judiciously handled. But I marvel at the wicked folly which pronounced this curse to be a blessing ordained of God to be perpetrated forever, and at the stupendous blindness which supposed that a nation could continue to prosper in peace with this caldren forever infecting the atmosphere. "Again, we have sinned as a nation, in the persons of our representatives and rulers. Is it the wise forethought and sober judgment and deliberate wisdom of the community which determine who shall be our rulers? How are they nominated? How are they elected? How do they conduct themselves after they are elected? Do they never take bribes? Do they represent the country, or the party which elects them? Do they decide every question by its merits? Are they always sober, temperate, chaste, free from all objectivity and profaneness? Do they always utter their honest convictions? Whenever a measure is proposed for action, do they ask 'Is this wise and is it right?' and so determine how they will vote? Alas! the crown of glory is fallen from our head, and there is no hope for the country until the people arise in their might and say, 'We will no longer have profligates and fools to rule over us.' The descent has been so low that it is considered an impropriety to speak of the subject in a Christian pulpit. Politics mean party, and this is out of place in the house of God. "We must have a thorough reform in this matter, or the nation is ruined; ruined whether we succeed in our present struggle or fail. We want men at the helm who fear God and keep his commandments. Men who break laws are not the men to make laws. Alas! for the ship of State, when the morals of the officers are lower than the average of the crew. I do not say that it is so now; but as things have been going, it is likely to become so soon. It is a terrible symptom when one is allowed to do that as a legislator which he would be turned out of society for doing as a citizen. The language of the Capitol of the nation ought to be the purest in the land. I do not learn that it is so regarded at present. The language of the Capitol is not altogether what we would like to have our children learn. Whenever our rulers represent the highest intelligence and the loftiest morality and the purest religion in the land, then the fallen crown will be restored to our brow. Brethren, pray for this; labor for it; and vote for it. "Finally, we have sinned in that we have to a great extent banished God from our councils, and divorced Christianity from statesmanship. We have built a stupendous engine, and left out the regulator. It is not strange that we have an occasional explosion. "I think the world have found out clearly enough where we are weak. We are not weak in numbers or resources, but we are weak in that efficient action which comes of faith, earnestness, self-denial, and unity of purpose. We have made many awful sacrifices to no purpose. We follow up nothing so that it tells substantially upon the final issue. The fault is laid here and there and everywhere, and there are none so positive in their censure as those who know nothing of the facts. "O that the unity of the nation might now be restored in the bond of perpetual peace! We will sacrifice everything but principles for this. . . . Blow from the South, O winds of God, and bring us the tidings of reconciliation and love! Blow from the North, O winds of God, and carry back the message of fraternity and peace! Scatter the darkness, roll away the clouds, and give unto us all once more the sunshine of tranquil rest! Under the shadow of thy wings we make our refuge, O God; give us peace."—Providence, R. I., Evening Press. The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald
The Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association. TERMS.—Two Dollars a year in advance. One Dollar to the poor and to those who subscribe one year on trial. Free to those unable to pay half price. Address ELDER JAMES WHITE, Battle Creek, Michigan. THE heart is fixed, and fixed the eye,
And I am girded for the race :
The Lord is strong, and I rely
On his assisting grace ;
Race for the swift, it must be run ;
A prize laid up, it must be won. And I have tarried longer now,
(Pleased with the scenes of time),
Than fitteth those who hope to go
To heaven, that holy clime ;
Who hope to pluck the fruit which grows
Where life's immortal river flows. The atmosphere of earth, oh ! how
It hath bedimmed the eye,
And quenched the spirit's fervent glow,
And stayed the purpose high ;
And how these feet have gone astray,
That should have walked the narrow way ! Race for the swift, I must away,
With footsteps firm and free ;
Ye pleasures that invite my stay,
And cares are naught to me ;
For lo ! it gleameth on my eye,
The glory of that upper sky. "A prize laid up," said he who fought
That holy fight, of old,
For me in Heaven yet for me not
Alone that crown of gold ;
But all who wait till thou appear,
Saviour, the diadem shall wear. Patiently wait—so help thou me,
O, meek and holy One,
That dim although the vision be,
The race I still may run ;
This eye, thus lifted to the skies,
This heart, thus burning for the prize. The Love of the World the Weakness of the Church.
"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." John xv, 19.
The antagonism existing between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of Christ, ever since Eden was despoiled of its primeval innocence, is loud in its attestation of the truthfulness of the above utterance of our blessed Lord. The history of the church in all ages of the world, and the conflict still going on between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan, are but the fulfilling of the prophetic annunciation made six thousand years since, that the "seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," and that it in turn shall "bruise his heel." We learn from the declaration of our Lord that the world will love only its own, hence whatever of concord is apparent between the worldly votariat and the aggressive spirit and conquests of the gospel, may safely be taken as a correct index to the spirituality of the church, or in other words, a scale measuring the proportion of worldliness drank in by professed Christians. A pure and unadulterated Christianity neither courts nor receives popular favor. It admits of no compromise with sin. And while with the apostle, the Christian is ever on the alert to avoid unnecessary coming in contact with the prejudices of the ignorant, and is willing to be "made all things to all men" in order to "save some," yet when the principles of his holy religion and the honor of God's name become involved, he is also ready "not to be bound only, but to die for the Lord Jesus." He can cheerfully endure the scorn and obloquy of the world, only for Christ's sake. And the fact that modern Christianity has attained such an unprecedented popularity with the world, and that the masses of Church members so adroitly shape their religious course as to glide along smoothly through life without ever once coming in contact with the powers of darkness, is to the true Christian a source of pain and deepest sorrow. He has learned what the time-serving Christian has never known, that "that they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution"—that is, he is opposed at every step, and at every corner meets the rebuffs of the wicked. Because of the civil restraints of enlightened and Christian laws, he may not be hunted from house to house and from city to city, and seal his faith in God at the burning stake, yet if he have an earnest zeal for souls and the prosperity of Christ's kingdom he will find "This world is not a friend to grace,
To help him on to God."
The kingdom of this world will not suffer any encroachments without contesting to the bitter end every inch of ground. The "carnal, or worldly, mind is enmity against God"—mark the phraseology—it is not at enmity, but is enmity itself, the very essence of all hatred and opposition to Him. "It is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be;" hence the injunction to come out from among them and be separate. But it may be asked: May we not lose more than we shall gain by such scrupulous exactness, and would not a more conservative and yielding course be better calculated to secure the good will and co-operation of non-professors, and thus avoid the reproach of "extremists" and "one-idea" Christians? An apostle under the immediate afflatus of the Holy Spirit has summed up the whole matter in these words: "Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God." No betweens or middle course here—no medium between serving God and serving the Devil; we are for or against him; we gather with him or we scatter abroad. We can have the friendship and co-operation of the world only to that degree that we drink in its spirit and conform to its maxims. And is it not surprisingly strange that in the face of such plain and palpable Bible truths, professors are not found wanting, weak or wicked enough to attempt to blend what God has declared to be irreconcilable antagonisms? Herein lies concealed the cause of our impotency, contrasted with the glorious successes that crowned the labors of primitive Christians. They were dead to the world, having their lives hid with Christ in God. To be thus consecrated, and in such intimate relationship and communion with our divine Lord, we should soon realize that we too have a living God, and that the wonderful effusions of the Holy Spirit that so strikingly marked the ushering in of the gospel dispensation were not peculiar to the apostolic day, but that the PROMISE extends to us, and to our children, and to all that are afar off.—Sel. Family Troubles.
By Editor
Was there ever a family without its troubles? Every family has a skeleton behind the door; every person a thorn in his side. It is said that misery loves company, so take courage, helpless man, wearied woman. You are in the majority. "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." A useless family would be yours if it knew no trouble. Trouble is our great teacher. It nerves us with strength; it gives us courage; it tempers our metal; it develops our self-control; it quickens our inventive powers. Troubles are to us what the winds are to the oak, what labor is to muscle, what study is to mind. Life is a school, and trouble is one of the great lessons. Troubles are not to be courted, but when they come, we must get over them with the best fortitude we can arouse. Take courage, therefore, troubled one. Not in vain are your trials. They make you brave, strong, and it is hoped, better. Be not cast down, cheer up; cast aside your weeds and woes. Look the world in the face; do your duty; take every trouble by the horns, overcome it,203with the courage of a true soldier in life's great campaign, and stoutly contend for the victory of will and wisdom.—Ed. Standing in the midst of our darkness, in a world where there is so much misery, where we see so few things with any degree of clearness, we may learn to prize more the descriptions of that world to which we go—the declaration respecting heaven, with which the Bible so appropriately closes: "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. And they need no candle neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light." What a glorious career is before the Christian! All his darkness shall yet be dissipated; all that is now obscure shall yet be made light. Destined to live forever and ever; capable of an eternal progression in knowledge; advancing to a world where all is light; soon to be ushered into the splendors of that eternal abode where there is no need of the light of the sun or the moon, and where there is no night, we may well submit for a little time to the mysteries which hang over the divine dealings, and with exulting feeling look onward. In a little time, by a removal to a higher sphere of being, we shall doubtless have made a progress in true knowledge, compared with which, all that we have gained since we left our cradles is a nameless trifle; and then all that there is to be known in the character of our Maker and the principles of the moral government—all that is to be enjoyed in a world of glory without a tear—all that is beatific in the friendship of God the Father, of the ascended Redeemer, of the sacred Spirit, and of the angels—all that is blessed and pure in the goodly fellowship of the apostles and martyrs—and all that is rapturous in re-union with those we loved on earth, and the friendship of the "just made perfect," is before us. Let it be dark, then, a little longer; let the storm a little longer beat around me, and the waves arise, let even the heavens be overcast, so that I can see neither sun nor star, I will neither murmur nor complain; for I see the light burn clearly that stands on the shores of eternity, and that invites and guides me there.—Way of Salvation. Motives to Holiness.
By A. Barnes.
A MAN who has been redeemed by the blood of the Son of God should be pure. He who is an heir of life should be holy. He who is attended by celestial beings, and who is soon—he knows not how soon—to be translated to heaven, should be holy. Are angels my attendants? Then I should walk worthy of their companionship. Am I soon to go and dwell with angels? Then I should be pure. Are these feet soon to tread the court of heaven? Is this tongue soon to unite with heavenly beings in praising God? Are these eyes of mine soon to look on the throne of eternal glory, and on the ascended Redeemer? Then these feet and eyes and lips should be pure and holy; and I should be dead to the world and alive for heaven.—A. Barnes. Beautiful Sentiment.
By Barnes
“I would frown on vice; I would favor virtue—favor whatever would elevate, would exalt, would adorn character, alleviate the miseries of my own species, or contribute to render the world I inhabited like the heavens to which I looked, a place of innocence and felicity. Though I were to exist no longer than those ephemera that sport in the beams of the summer's morn, during that short hour I would rather soar with the eagle, and leave the record of my flight and my fall among the stars, than to creep in the gutter with the reptile, and bed my memory and my body together in the dunghill. However short my part, I would act it well, that I might surrender my existence without disgrace and without compunction.” Talks About Health.
By D. Lewis, M. D.
ONE of the gravest mistakes in our dress is the very thin covering of our arms and legs. No physiologist can doubt that the extremities require as much covering as the body. A fruitful source of disease: of congestion in the head, chest, and abdomen, is found in the nakedness of the arms and legs, which prevents a fair distribution of the blood. A young lady has just asked me what she can do for her very thin arms. She says she is ashamed of them. I felt of them through the thin lace covering, and found them freezing cold. I asked her what she supposed would make muscles grow? Exercise, she replied. Certainly, but exercise makes them grow only by giving them more blood. Six months of vigorous exercise would do less to give those naked, cold arms circulation, than would a single month were they warmly clad. The value of exercise depends upon the temperature of the muscles. A cold gymnasium may be considered unprofitable. Its temperature should be between sixty and seventy, or the limbs should be warmly clothed. I know that our servant girls and blacksmiths, by constant and vigorous exercise, acquire large, fine arms, in spite of their nakedness. And if young ladies will labor as hard from morning till night as do these useful classes, they may have as fine arms, but even then it is doubtful if they would get rid of their congestions in the head, lungs, and stomach without more dress upon the arms and legs. Perfect health depends upon perfect circulation. Every living thing that has the latter, has the former. Put your hand under your dress upon your body. Now put your hand upon your arm. If you find the body warmer than the arm, you have lost the equilibrium of circulation. The head has too much blood, producing headache or sense of fullness; or the chest has too much blood, producing cough, rapid breathing, pain in the side, or palpitation of the heart; or the stomach has too much blood, producing indigestion; or the liver has too much blood, producing some disturbance; or the bowels have too much blood, producing constipation or diarrhea. Any or all of these difficulties are temporarily relieved by immersion of the feet or hands in hot water, and they are permanently relieved by such dress and exercise of the extremities as will make the derivation permanent. Again I say, the extremities require as much clothing as the body. Women should dress their arms and legs with one or two thicknesses of knit wollen garments which fit them. The absurdity of loose flowing sleeves and wide-spread skirts, I will not discuss. Do you ask why the arms and legs may not become accustomed to exposure like the face? I answer, God has provided the face with an immense circulation, because it must be exposed. A distinguished physician of Paris declared, just before his death, "I believe that during the twenty-six years I have practiced my profession in this city, twenty thousand children have been borne on the cemeteries a sacrifice to the absurd custom of naked arms." When in Harvard, many years ago, I heard the distinguished Dr. J. C. Warren say, "Boston sacrifices five hundred babies every year by not clothing their arms." Those little arms should have thick, knit, woolen, warm sleeves, extending from the shoulder to the hand.—*D. Lewis, M. D. SAID an infidel lady once to Lord Chesterfield, "The British Parliament consists of five or six hundred of the best informed men in the kingdom. What, then, can be the reason they tolerate such an absurdity as the Christian religion?" "I suppose," replied his lordship, "it is because they have not been able to substitute anything better in its stead; when they can, I do not doubt that in their wisdom, they will readily adopt it." And Lord Chesterfield, with all his sayings, never said a better thing.—Sel. Our Inheritance.
By H. F. Soule
SATAN took from us our dominion—our Eden. We have long been exiles from home, but thank God, in our wanderings we found One who was able and willing to redeem our lost inheritance, and has redeemed it with his own blood. He has left us to wander for a while, as Abraham did, who sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country. But he has promised to come again, to be our King forever, for his dominion shall be in the earth.—H. F. Soule—Church Advocate. "In this age of unbelief and changeful events nothing seems more needful to establish our faith in the truth of divine revelation, and satisfy our minds with respect to the future, than a consideration of the prophecies of Scripture; not one jot or tittle of which will ever fail in its accomplishment."—Lorenzo Dow's Works, Vol. II, p. 149. A Soldier's Opinion of this War.
"I THINK the sin commenced in the church. She has got off from the old paths, and got into pride, fashion, and idolatry, and I think she will have to humble herself down as Nineveh did at the preaching of Jonah, or if she does not, God will bring her down at the point of the sword."—Church Advocate. "FEARFUL stories are told of the increase of crime and violence in Richmond. One of the newspaper correspondents there says: 'A large and well organized band of cut-throats has "taken the town." ' They lie in wait at almost every corner, well provided with slung-shot, billies, brass knuckles, and all the other devilish implements of mischief which the city highwayman uses to disable his victims, and they attack everybody that walks along, oftentimes gentlemen when attended by ladies.' Even if much exaggerated this is a pretty unpleasant situation."—N. Y. Independent. A FRIGHTFUL instance of the swiftness with which soldiers perish, is afforded by the army of the Potomac, in which, as is reported, of 230,000 men who were present a year ago, but 60,000 are this day left! —N. Y. Independent. Counsel in Temptation and Christian Love
IN thine own temptations, often ask counsel of those who have been tried, and have overcome; and in the temptations of thy brother, treat him not with severity, but tenderly administer the comfort which you now desire to receive. HE doeth much who loveth much; he doeth much who doth well; and he doth much and well, who constantly prefereeth the good of the community to the gratification of his own will. THE tongue blessing God without the heart, is but a tinkling cymbal; the heart blessing God without the tongue, is sweet but still music; both in concert make that harmony which fills and delights heaven and earth. THE following is from the London Observer: 'To even a casual observer it is apparent that Europe is gradually but surely drifting into a convulsion. Notwithstanding that respective European governments profess to be at unity with all neighboring powers, that emperors, kings, and diplomats are studiously polite to one another, and that professions of friendship are on their lips, there is much reason to fear that they mutually distrust one another, and are quietly preparing for the storm which is believed to be impending. Everywhere a spirit of uneasiness seems to pervade Europe. Russia, for instance, would appear to be on the verge of a revolution, which may burst forth at any moment. General dissatisfaction is felt in the army, on which the Czar solely relies. A vast conspiracy exists, not only among the soldiery, but also among the officers. A secret society, something after the principle of Ribbonism in Ireland, appears to have been formed; and when the work of assassination is decided upon, parties are elected to carry out the sentence of the tribunal. The nobles and the middle class population are also disaffected, and the numerous incendiary fires in all parts of the kingdom indicate how widely the conspiracy has spread. Poland shows unmistakable signs that ere long it will be in a state of convulsion; indeed, actual revolution is only kept down by martial law and the presence of a large army. With these internal sources of disquiet existing in his empire, the Czar has thought it a favorable opportunity to enter into a treaty (it is said of a very intimate character) with France and Italy—a combination that looks ominous for the future peace of Europe, and especially threatening to England.' Sharing the Goodness of God
He that has feasted upon God's goodness, is desirous that many more should sit down at the same table: "O taste and see that the Lord is good:" try yourself by this. Striving for Union and Faith
Bro. F. Castle writes from Grass River, St. Lawrence Co. N. Y.: I feel interested in the truths the Review advocates, and that it is calculated to lead God's people to a system of order, and establish them upon a firm platform, so that the cause of God may prosper in their hand, and the loud cry go forth and find its way to him that hath ears to hear, so that even the poor oppressed may be led to rejoice at its happy tidings, of a Deliverer soon to come. I feel like still trying to overcome; and while the enemy would sow seeds of discord and strife, I would seek for union and try to be in harmony with the remnant people. Our lot is cast in perilous times and how needful it is that we have the gifts in the church for the instruction and comfort of the body to the end, that it may be perfect. I think we shall appreciate these things more as we approach the end; and may the Lord help us to have faith.