Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 3, 1877
SANCTIFICATION
By A. C. Spicer
BY ELD. A. C. SPICER.
The dear Saviour prayed the Father to sanctify his disciples, and in the same prayer declared that he “sanctified himself that they might be sanctified.” John 17:17, 19. The inference, therefore, is that Christian sanctification is a possibility, and is desirable. Furthermore, the invocation of Jesus Christ to his Father was, “Sanctify them through thy truth;” and his declaration was, “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” And there was added, as if to avoid misapprehension of his words, “Thy word is truth.”
Here, then, is definitely set forth
1. The direct agent in the work of sanctification,—God.
2. The means to be employed in that work,—truth, as contained or expressed in God’s word.
To sanctify as defined by Worcester is:—
1. “To free from the power of sin; to cleanse from corruption; to make holy.”
3. “To ordain or set apart to sacred ends; to consecrate; to hallow. So for example: God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.”
No fault need be found with these definitions or with the illustration. They are doubtless sufficiently explicit and complete for common, practical use. What is needful to those who use the term, and especially to those who adopt “sanctification” as a creed, and advocate it as a specialty of their faith and life, is that they understand the meaning of the definition, and of the term as used in the Bible. The substance of the first definition is contained in the last clause,—“to make holy,” for that will “free from the power of sin” and “cleanse from corruption.” This applies only to moral agents. The third definition varies but in a light shade from the first to render it applicable to inanimate objects, and is expressed in the one word “consecrate,” to set apart for sacred uses.
Sanctify—“to make holy.” Holiness (as righteousness and godliness) pertains to character in a moral agent; and this character is to be developed, to be wrought out or attained by activities. It is not inherent (like purity and innocence) nor spontaneous. It is character of a moral agent in conformity to moral law and in harmony with the Divine will chosen and wrought out by voluntary activities. It is not the result of accidental or ephemeral conformity of life merely to the letter of law. Holiness is character in conformity to the letter and spirit or intent of moral law, which character is intelligently chosen by a free moral agent as a highest earthly good and as the pleasure and will of God. Not only is this character so chosen, but those conforming acts of life thus in harmony with the Divine will are also intelligently and conscientiously chosen and directed as the God-ordained and essential means for the development of that holy character, and are adopted and pursued as the pleasure of God from pure, conscientious, moral motives. Hence this holiness is not spontaneous nor enforced, accidental nor extrinsic. It is a chosen, intrinsic virtue, and is usually of gradual growth by definable, chosen processes. Rom. 6:19, 22; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:24; 1 Thess. 3:13; 4:7.
The present purpose is to ascertain and set forth the scriptural use and true meaning of the word “sanctify.” To this end reference is had to Ex. 19:10, 12–15, 21–25.
Moses is charged to go down from the presence of God on the mount “and sanctify the people” (verse 10), also to “sanctify the mount.” Verse 23. In what that act of sanctification was to consist is there declared, “Set bounds about the mount.” Verse 23. How this was to be done is indicated in verses 12, 13, 21, 23, 24. “Thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mount shall surely be put to death. There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long they shall come up to the mount.” “Charge the people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish . . . let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth upon them.” “So Moses went down unto the people and spake unto them.” Verse 25.
And thus, “setting bounds about the mount” by declaring it sacred,—set apart,—consecrated—to the appearance of God thereon and the sublime manifestation of his power and authority therefrom, by prescribing rules for the deportment and conduct of the people on the occasion,—a law of action for their guidance—telling them where they should go, and what to do, how near they should approach to the mount, and what not to do, how to act and demean themselves, giving them complete directions as a law of action to guide them in properly observing the occasion and honoring God, these acts are termed “sanctifying the mount.”
This is in exact accord with the third definition quoted, and was the sanctification of an inanimate object by setting it apart to sacred ends; consecrating it; hallowing it. And this is effected by, (1) announcing to the people that it is by God so set apart to sacred uses; and (2) giving to the people a law of action in relation to the thing set apart, and instructing them in that law, and charging them to be obedient thereto.
So also was the sanctification of the people effected by prescribing to them a rule of deportment, a law of action, by which they were to be governed, thus “setting bounds unto the people round about,”—circumscribing them “round about” by a law of life—to govern and guide them on the occasion of God’s special visit to the mountain and speaking to the people. They were instructed to purify themselves even to the washing of their garments and the avoiding of those indulgencies, which might in any degree vitiate their sense or detract from entire attention to him and his words. V. 15. They were also charged where and how far to go; and where not to go, and what not to touch, how to appear, and what to do. In short, in respect to that particular time, place, and event, there was given to the people, evidently, a complete rule of deportment—a complete law of action; and they were instructed in it carefully and fully, and enjoined to obey it, and these commands were enforced by the peril of their lives. The record here is brief, but there can be no doubt that the law and commandments and instruction were complete and all-sufficient to entail entire responsibility upon the people.
“So Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and spake unto them,” declaring unto them all the words of God unto him, instructing, commanding, and charging them in the name of God what to do and how to do, thus by a law “setting bounds unto the people round about,” saying unto them, “Take heed,” etc. And these acts are termed (verse 25) “sanctifying the people.” In this work, (1) Moses (under God) is the direct agent commanding and instructing the people; and (2) God’s word—his law—is the means used, while the act of the people in obeying the words of God is a secondary, concomitant means and the people themselves secondary, cooperating agents.
The term “sanctify” in John 17:17, 19 is evidently used with the same signification. “Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth.” Here, God is implored by the loving, very anxious Saviour and friend of man (1) to be himself the direct agent, and (2) to use his word as the means to make the disciples holy. It is the truth, then, as contained in God’s word that is to be the means of sanctifying God’s people; i. e., God is asked to make that word, as embodying the truth, a law of life unto them. God is besought by that law to “set bounds unto the people round about;” by it to prescribe their deportment and acts of life in obedience to the Divine idea of right and fitness and to God’s will and pleasure; to circumscribe them around with his moral law of holiness, which is to be implicitly accepted by them when fully instructed therein as a law of moral life and guide unto holiness of character, essential to acceptance with Christ and to the reward of eternal life.
This thought is rendered more complete by the language of verse nineteen, containing Christ’s declaration that, “For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” This must mean, when he says, “For their sakes I sanctify myself that they might be sanctified,” etc., that Christ does this,—sanctifies himself—as an example unto us, for in no other sense could his sanctification conduce or redound to our sanctification. It is evident that much of Christ’s mission and labors on earth were as an example to us, that we might by witnessing an example of a holy life learn better how to live one. In instituting the church ordinances, Christ partook thereof himself as an example to us. When he asked for the administration of baptism to himself by John, he testified, “Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” And when he had solemnly instituted the third and last ordinance on that night of his betrayal, he testified of it, “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done unto you.” Previous to this, Christ had exhorted, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart,” etc. Matt. 11:29. In fact, either definitely or impliedly, Christ’s whole earth-life is frequently presented as an example to us, as by John in 1 John 2:6,—“He that saith he abideth in him ought also to walk even as he walked.”
Now, it seems that he had done something as an example to his disciples which he terms “sanctifying himself.” And it is clearly implied by him in the language used that the means employed for his sanctification was God’s truth—“his word.” Also this is the only logical inference; for unless he employed the same means, the same instrumentality that is to be employed in man’s sanctification, the example would be imperfect and hence inefficient for the object designed. He prays that man may be “sanctified through the truth”—God’s word. Then it was through the application of that word to his life that he sanctified himself.
How did he do it? He made it the guide of his life. He walked in its precepts. He kept its commandments, and statutes. He averred, “I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me;” and that while here he sought not his own will, but the will of the Father who had sent him. John 6:38; 5:30. As doing that will he faithfully kept his Father’s commandments, “did all those things that pleased him,” and “finished his work;” and himself presented his obedience thereto as an example to us. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” John 15:10. Christ’s abiding love is promised as an encouraging reward to induce obedience to the commandments of God. The keeping of those commandments is the object sought, and his example and the rewarding love of his Father are presented here as a strengthening, sustaining encouragement.
We learn from Luke 1:6, that “walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless” is what constitutes “righteousness.” And, further, we learn from John 14:15–24; 1 John 2:29; 3:22–24, that the condition upon which we are to be blessed of God (as asked in this prayer of the Saviour) and be accounted holy—righteous—is that we have his commandments and keep them. Now grouping these thoughts all together, it seems clear that that which Christ did as an example to us, which he termed “sanctifying himself,” was the “keeping the commandments and ordinances of God, blameless,” and doing his Father’s will in all things, which he declares to be the purpose of his earth-mission. In that work of sanctification of Christ, (1) Christ himself, as “one” in purpose and labor with the Father, was the agent, and (2) God’s law was the means.
Thus Christ “set bounds unto himself round about” by his Father’s commandments and will, conforming his life thereto during all his stay on earth and amid all138his labors, sufferings, trials, and agony even unto death, walking among pursuing and persecuting men blameless, as an example to them and us; and thus it was he “sanctified himself” “for our sakes.”
Then, when Christ prayed his Father to sanctify his disciples “through the truth”—“his word”—he asked the Father by the Holy Spirit which was to be sent to instruct, to keep and lead them and “guide them into all truth,” to so commend the value of God’s word unto them, and to take the teachings of Christ “and show it unto them.” (John 16:15) In such a way that they shall be constrained to love it and induced to accept it as their law of life and “guide to holiness,” by it “setting bounds unto them round about” so that they should sin not, but should “walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless,” walking thus by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, so that this faith might be “accounted unto them for righteousness.”
In this work of sanctifying the disciples (1) God is asked to be the efficient agent, and (2) God is asked to use the truth as expressed in his word as the necessary means through which to effect the object desired. God works by the agency of the Holy Spirit, to enlighten, admonish, convict, subdue, subject, teach, guide, sustain, and perfect, and hence to bring into obedience to the divine law and into harmony with the divine will and pleasure, and thus make holy. This we learn from John 14:15–26; 16:7–15, and corresponding scriptures. Manifestly, sanctification implies holiness, godliness, righteousness, and pertains to character. And this character is attainable by entire conformity of the interior life and exterior deportment of the child of faith to the law and ordinances and expressed will and pleasure of God. It is moral character developed in and by the believing child of grace in entire conformity to God’s moral law and to his will and pleasure, and with the teaching, precepts, life-example and character of Jesus Christ, taught, led, and controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Then, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, the truth as embodied in God’s word, the disciples of our Lord may be thus sanctified by co-operating with God in “setting bounds” unto themselves “round about” by his holy law, and then walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. “Ye shall sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44), is everywhere the spirit of the divine requirement. And “this is the will of God, even your sanctification;” “for God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness (1 Thess. 4:1–8) is the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If this be a true conception and understanding of the subject, then the doctrine of sanctification is full of deep and valuable import to us, and means much more than mere ephemeral emotions excited by sectarian zeal for creed or special doctrine; far more than excitement manifesting itself in undignified, wild, and extravagant enthusiasm; very much more than the mere emotional pleasures of even a true faith, and by far more than the evanescent joys of a blind faith or sectarian zeal, interspersed by grace and unguided by wisdom.
It means self-abasement and subjection and subdued humiliation; it means the heart, temple of God, swept, washed, and purified by the blood of Christ and inhabited by the Holy Ghost; it means much pruning, much chiseling, grinding, and burnishing; it means passions all subdued, affections all chastened, temper all controlled and sweetened, and sympathies all tenderly alive and pulsating to the beautiful and true in virtue, a conscience quick and sensitive to every pulsation of right and wrong and to every call to duty, and a benevolence that knows no limit within the possible. It means, hence, a mild, calm, meek, and quiet temper and demeanor; an entirely dispassionate, pure, and innocent life, fervent devotions, strong and controlling religious convictions, divinely enlightened sentiments, noble aims and holy aspirations, great hope, grand designs, matured plans, unfailing resolves, and earnest, persistent, yet cautious and discreet labors. In short, sanctification means a religious character patterned after that of the blessed Master and developed and perfected “in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Eph. 4:13. Again, if the true meaning of the term sanctify as used in the Bible, has been correctly apprehended as stated above, then the import of the words in Gen. 2:3,—“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made”—must be this:—
1. On the seventh day God, ceasing from his six days’ creative work, rested himself from all his works, as an example to man.
2. God pronounced his blessing upon that seventh day declaring his purpose to make it a holy day.
3. God sanctified it—made it holy, which consisted (1) in proclaiming to the people that “it was by God so made a holy day set apart for sacred rest from secular labor, for religious instruction and for the worship and honor of the living God; and (2) in “setting bounds about” it by a law for its observance, by giving to the race a law of the Sabbath, commanding its observance as a day of holy rest, directing what to do in respect to it and how to do. In this work of sanctifying it (1) God is the direct agent, and (2) God’s moral law is the means, as above seen.
The sanctification of the seventh day, hence, implies a Sabbath law—a law for the government of man’s conduct in respect to it, and that that law was proclaimed to the race, and that they were carefully and fully instructed in that law. It implies that God then and there, in Eden, ordained a Sabbath law for the protection of the institution when he created it, and that then and there he gave the Sabbath and the law thereof to man.
Then, to argue that though the Sabbath was instituted in Eden for man, yet it was not given to him, nor was any Sabbath law enacted or given to him until two thousand five hundred years thereafter at Mt. Sinai, is to argue against light.
The conclusion is as the beginning, viz., that Christian sanctification is both possible and desirable, even in the high sense indicated above. High as the standard of perfection is, which is understood to be required, yet the child of true faith walking in the pure, clear light of God’s word, need not despair. For God is pledged by his word to hear and answer the prayer of faith; the Holy Spirit is pledged to enlighten and assist to the full extent of any need; and Jesus Christ, the ever loving friend of the contrite in heart, is yet interested in us and anxious for the saints’ sanctification no less than he was when he uttered that memorable prayer to his Father.
“I WOULD NOT LIVE ALWAY.”
[Written nearly fifty years ago by the late Dr. Muhlenberg. From the Independent.]
I would not live alway—live alway below!
Oh! no; I'll not linger when bidden to go.
The days of our pilgrimage granted us here
Are enough for life's woes, full enough for its
cheer.
Would I shrink from the paths which the prophets
of God,
Apostles and martyrs, so joyfully trod?
Like a spirit unblest o'er the earth would I roam,
While brethren and friends are all hastening
home?
I would not live alway. I ask not to stay
Where storm after storm rises dark o'er the way;
Where, seeking for rest, we but hover around,
Like the patriarch's bird, and no resting is found;
Where hope, when she paints her gay bow in the
air,
Leaves its radiance to fade in the night of despair,
And joy's fleeting angel ne'er sheds a glad ray,
Save the gleam of the plumage that bears him
away.
I would not live alway; thus fettered by sin,
Temptation without and corruption within;
In a moment of strength, if I sever the chain,
Scarce the victory is mine ere I'm captive again.
E'en the rapture of pardon is mingled with fears,
And the cup of thanksgiving with penitent tears;
The festival trump calls for jubilant songs,
But my spirit her own miserere prolongs.
I would not live alway. No, welcome the tomb.
Since Jesus hath lain there, I dread not its gloom.
Where he deigned to sleep I'll too bow my head,
All peaceful to slumber on that hallowed bed,
Then the glorious daybreak to follow that night,
The orient gleam of the angels of light,
With their clarion call for the sleepers to rise,
And chant forth their matins, away to the skies.
Who would live always away from his God,
Away from yon Heaven, that blissful abode,
Where the rivers of pleasure flow o'er the bright
plains,
And the moontide of glory eternally reigns;
Where the saints of all ages in harmony meet,
Their Saviour and brethren, transported to greet,
While the songs of salvation exultingly roll,
And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul?
That heavenly music! What is it I hear?
The notes of the harper ring sweet in mine ear!
And see, soft unfolding those portals of gold!
The King all arrayed in his beauty behold!
Oh! give me, oh! give me, the wings of a dove,
To adore him, be near him, enrapt in his love.
I but wait the summons, I list for the word:
Alleluia—Amen—evermore with the Lord.
HUNGERING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
By R. F. Andrews
The last days were to be noted by the existence of a class of very degenerate professors of religion. 2 Tim. 3: 1–5. The great mass would be satisfied with the form without “the power.” Instead of earnestly seeking to know what God would have them do, they were too busy themselves in climbing “up some other way;” and “having itching ears,” they were to “turn away their ears from the truth, and be turned unto fables.” 2 Tim. 4: 3, 4. It is evident that the time described by Paul has arrived, and that the perils of the last days are upon us. How men and women professing godliness can cling to the hoary-headed traditions and corruptions of that power which was to think to change the law of God, and to exalt himself above God (Dan. 7: 25; 2 Thess. 2: 4), after their attention has been called to the matter, is truly wonderful.
Our adorable Saviour has said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” Matt. 5: 6. Righteousness! What is it? John says, “All unrighteousness is sin,” 1 John 5: 17; and “sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3: 4. This being the truth, of course righteousness would be the opposite, and is obedience to the law. That this is the exact truth is most clearly proved by the Scriptures. “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.” Isa. 51: 7. “All thy [God’s] commandments are righteousness.” Ps. 119: 172. “Let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous.” 1 John 3: 7.
Notice, it is not he that believeth righteousness, professeth righteousness, or even teacheth righteousness, but he that doeth righteousness. Again, the Lord by Isaiah says, chap. 48: 18, “Oh! that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been like a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” “And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God.” Deut. 6: 25. Hence, righteousness is right doing—a righteous life is a life in conformity with God’s holy, just, and good law.
Hunger and thirst are very strong terms. It has been said that “hunger will break through stone walls,” and it often has. Men urged on by the keen gnawings of hunger have dared to imperil their lives, to get food. Women have even cooked their own children to satisfy the intense feelings of hunger. 2 Kings 6: 29. How anxious the weary traveler is, as he marches under the burning rays of the summer’s sun, for a cooling drink from the sparkling fountain to quench his thirst! See that look of distress, bordering almost upon despair, depicted on the countenances of the passengers on board that noble ship, in mid ocean, as they hear it announced, “our water is spent, there is no more fresh water on board the ship.” As thirst presses upon them, they become more and more anxious. There is no carelessness, there is no indifference among them.
Dear reader, do you so hunger and thirst after the commandments of God, after righteousness? Are you as anxious to know what God commands as the famishing person is to get food? As the individual perishing with thirst is to obtain a refreshing draught from the cooling fountain?
If you have been a reader of this paper for any length of time, you know the position is not only taken, but sustained, that Sunday-keeping is a human tradition that makes void one of the commandments of God. How do you feel over this matter? Do you acknowledge that the arguments are conclusive, and the proof clear? And are you still saying by your actions that it makes no difference whether you respect the commandment of God or the tradition of men? “If the Lord be God,” why not respect his authority? Oh! why not bow to his will? “Behold to obey is better than sacrifice.” There is nothing so acceptable in the sight of God, as a cheerful, faithful, willing, complete obedience, to his holy will. How can you give “sleep to your eyes and slumber to your eyelids,” until you have ascertained the will of God in this matter?
Be entreated by one who loves you, and would seek your best good, even your eternal interests, do not carelessly, and indifferently, turn away from an investigation of this solemn matter. It involves the weekly violation of one of the ten precepts of Jehovah. “As the hart pants after the water brooks,” so may you desire to know what God would have you do; and then lovingly do it. Some people claim they are investigating for truth, when they are only seeing how many objections can be raised against it, and if there cannot be some argument that will offset one in favor of it. May you not be of that class who labor to find something to excuse them from obedience to God. But may the prayer of your heart be like that of David,—“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Ps. 119: 18. “Show me thy ways, O Lord; lead me in thy truth and teach me.” Ps. 25: 4, 5.
R. F. ANDREWS.
Gilman, Ill., Apr. 15, 1877.
At Ease.
Notwithstanding the “woe” pronounced, there are hundreds “at ease in Zion.” Here is what the Baptist Union says about them:—
Like boarders at a hotel they are eager to be served, but disdain to serve. Work and responsibility are never welcome to them. They believe in receiving, but not in giving; in being worked for, but not in doing for others; in being blessed, but not in blessing. Religion to them is merely a luxury, or a convenience, or an insurance against evil to come, but not a practical, every-day matter of duty-doing. The paying and praying, testifying and doing part of religion they dislike. If the church can do anything for them, add to their comfort, help them into good society, relieve their fears, and especially if it aids their business, they are delighted to hold membership, but when it calls for labor, costs money, imposes care, they object, and often desert the fold. They are willing to be religious if the way is easy, society agreeable, fare abundant, and the work laid upon others.
It is surprising and mortifying to run over the catalogue of most churches, and note what a small minority can be regarded as working members. If all were like the majority, there would be no prayer-meetings, no Sunday-schools, no mission efforts, no preached word, and finally no church. What little they do is forced or drawn out of them, by those who carry the cause upon their hearts. If the cause prospers they faintly rejoice; if it declines, their grief is too moderate to disturb their quiet. In times of great religious zeal around them, slight activity is sometimes begotten; they open their eyes, and perhaps speak a few words of testimony, get to the prayer-meeting, and half resolve to live lives of faithfulness. But such purposes pass like the morning cloud and early dew. The slightest obstacles prevent their attendance at church, the most trivial excuses turn them from the path of duty. They are exceedingly weak, and emit discouragement in their very breaths; they lack heart, and chill the ardor of all around them.
The first stage of life above this condition of ease, is that of grumbling. A fault-finder has a little life, and hence affords a little hope of reform; but who can reform a sluggard? We always preferred a fractious, nervous, runaway horse to a lazy one, and growling Christians who will work to stupid ones. Any kind of action is better than inertia. Yet there are some grumblers worse than sleepers. Many a weary, perplexed pastor has learned this, and wished that certain troublers in Zion were, by some means, put to sleep. They find fault, impugn motives, cast suspicion, stir up strife, oppose every good work, chafe and worry the workers, and irritate the most patient. We heard of one case, where a good brother averred that he could cause a quarrel among the purest of saints, break up the best church that ever existed, and destroy the usefulness of any ten of the best ministers he ever knew, by a skillful use of a certain mischief-maker. There are others almost as bad. A very small man can do great harm. A fool can burn a building which cost the highest skill of wise men to erect. A severer woe rests upon such men, than even on those at ease in Zion. We need activity, but not bitterness and strife; workers, but not destroyers; helpers, but not hinderers.
We call for workers; the churches need them, the Sunday-schools need them, the mission cause needs them. Revivals will come, power will rest upon the saints; sinners will be converted, money will flow into the treasury, strength will increase, wisdom enlarge, love become deeper, courage stronger, experience sweeter, if the people will work.
CHRIST’S LAW.
By L. Caldwell
1. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Matt. 4: 10. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom. 10: 13.
2. “For as much as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone graven by art or man’s device.” Acts 17: 29.
3. “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.” Matt. 6: 9; also, Col. 3: 17.
4. “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother (which is the first commandment with promise), that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Eph. 6: 1, 2; 5: 21; Rom. 12: 10.
5. “Thou shalt not kill.
6. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. “Thou shalt not steal.
8. “Thou shalt not bear false witness.
9. “Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment it is briefly comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” etc. Rom. 13: 9, 10.
10. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God139with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Matt. 22: 37.
11. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Verse 39.
Concerning these commandments we remark: The first clause of the first is quoted from Deut. 6: 13, and addressed three years before the crucifixion to the devil! The latter clause was written A. D. 60. The second was spoken by Paul on Mars’ hill, A. D. 53. The third is part of the sermon on the mount, spoken A. D. 31. The fourth was written to the Ephesians, A. D. 64, thirty-three years after the resurrection. The next four are given by Christ before the cross, Matt. 19: 18, and written by Paul to the Romans, A. D. 60. Chap. 13: 9. The last two are quoted by Christ from Deut. 6: 5, and Lev. 19: 18.
From “The Sabbath,” by Rev. Y. B. Meredith, Methodist, we quote, in a comment on Luke 16: 16: “The inference is clear in this scripture that the former dispensation was confined to the Jews; but, from the time of John the law being taken away a broader provision is made for all men.” P. 23. In p. 24, in comment on Rom. 10: 4: “Here the law having accomplished its work is abolished.” On p. 27, he says: “The day of the N. T. Pentecost was the first day of the week; and does not this transfer the Sabbath to the first day?” On p. 30, in comment on Col. 2: 14–17: “Is the Sabbath here included? Most certainly. All were fulfilled in Christ; he nailed them to the cross. Here the transfer of the Sabbath is as clear as the noonday sun!”
On p. 31: “Again, it is midnight in one place and midday in another; so we see in what inextricable labyrinths of confusion their specific day and hour are involved.” On p. 35, in answer to the same objection to Sunday-keeping he says: “In every place at the appointed hour for that place the Sabbath should begin; likewise at the appointed hour it should end, irrespective of differences of longitude.” O consistency, thou art a jewel! How clear shines out the truth as compared with these shifts to evade the fact that “The seventh day is the Sabbath.”
L. CALDWELL.
Bourbon, Ind.
THE NEW LAW.
The preaching of God’s law has stirred up much opposition here in Indiana, and several have written against our views of its obligation. Eld. Winebrenner, of the Christian sect, advocates its abolition at the cross, and has found Christ’s new law. On page 14 of his pamphlet he says, “Does, then, this ending and fulfilling of the law dishonor the law? Who then will say that the law is dishonored or destroyed? . . . Its mission was a noble one, which end has been accomplished, which leaves it all covered with glory.” P. 15. “The failure of the law to condemn those (drunkards and polygamists) the worst of sinners, would both dishonor and destroy the law. The fourth commandment ended with the other nine.” He gives
A UNIVERSALIST ANSWERED.
In Broadway Tabernacle, New York, many years ago, an eloquent Universalist preacher who had addressed a large audience, at the close of his remarks said that if any one present wished to ask any questions, or reply to his arguments he would be heard.
The invitation was accepted by the Rev. John Hendericks a minister of the Reformed Church, a pious, but eccentric gentleman, who left his seat, and, standing in one of the aisles, addressed the audience substantially as follows:—
“My friends, I have a few words to say in confirmation of what has been said. No doubt you have heard of the inhabitants of the world before the flood, how wicked they became, and what violence and bloodshed polluted the earth, until God, in wrath, sent the water of the deluge, and swept them from the face of the earth, and took them all up to happiness in glory. But there was poor Noah, a just man, who vexed his righteous soul with their filthy communications; the Almighty shut him up in an ark with a great lot of beasts, birds, and reptiles, and he was buffeted about by the waters of the flood until the ark rested on Mount Ararat, and then he did not dare to come out of the ark until he had first sent a raven and then a dove to see if the waters had subsided. And, my friends, there were also Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of the plain, whose inhabitants were corrupted, and were guilty of abominable iniquity; the Lord rained down fire and brimstone upon them in wrath, and then took them all up to happiness in Heaven. But poor Lot, who was vexed with their wicked and filthy condition—the Lord sent him out of the City of Sodom, and he went wandering about in much fear and perplexity.
“Now, my friends, my advice to you is, go home, lie, steal, swear, profane the Sabbath, and do all manner of iniquity, and then the Almighty may, in wrath, take you away from this world of trouble, and if what the speaker said is true, take you up to glory, like the inhabitants of the old world before the flood, and of Sodom and Gomorrah. But if you obey and keep his commandments, repent of your sins, and trust in Christ for salvation, God may keep you here a long time in this troublesome world before you are called away, and he takes you to himself in Heaven.”
The audience, pleased with these remarks, laughed heartily, and no converts were made to Universalism.—Presbyterian Weekly.
ETERNITY
By Eliza H. Morton
The word eternity suggests to the mind something hard to comprehend. Time prolonged forever is so different from our short lives that it is not strange finite mind cannot fathom it. We can imagine what a few hundred years of life would be; and when we consider that it would take a man thirty-one years to count a billion, counting at the rate of one a second and taking no time for food or rest, and that even Adam if he had lived and counted until this time could not have counted a trillion, then we get some idea of numbers. Letting each number represent a year we get a faint idea of time prolonged, but when we think that eternity cannot be expressed by numbers then we become overwhelmed. This is the will of the Infinite, and it is enough for us to know that eternity is something boundless as space and endless as the circle of the heavens.
It is pleasant to think that not only the time of the saints is to be eternal, but this peace, this bliss, this inheritance and every thing promised them are eternal. This thought ought to inspire us with courage, renew our strength, and make our hearts sing for joy. Oh! the rapture of an eternal home! a household never broken by death! Heart-aches and weariness of flesh never known!
In the land of Beulah the music will never cease; the glory never fade; the rapture never end; but forever, even forever and ever, a spring of happiness will overflow every heart. ELIZA H. MORTON.