Earlier text: THE EVIL HEART OF UNBELIEF.THE WICKEDNESS OF THE SONS OF ELI.
It is a sad chapter in the life of Eli that relates to the wickedness of his sons. No stain appears upon the life of this amiable priest and judge in Israel except his sufferance of the wickedness of his sons. Undoubtedly this fault dated back to their early childhood. Though judge in Israel, he had no government over them. We may be certain, therefore, that he had failed with his sons in their early life. He had not formed their characters to virtue. He had not implanted in their breasts that love for purity, and that abhorrence of evil, which, by the aid of God's Spirit, he could have formed within them, had he watched over their early lives as he might. He had neglected family government. Very probably he excused himself on the ground that his duties to the cause of God left him no time to look after his own sons. Yet this was a fatal mistake. If the current saying, “Charity begins at home,” were applied to cases of this kind, we might well approve the maxim. It was Eli's business, first of all, to govern his own sons. He should have devoted his time first to the formation of righteous characters in them. He would have found the remainder of his time worth more to the people of Israel than all of it could be with his sons growing up in wickedness. But he signally failed in this important matter. He left that work to the Lord, which the Lord had enjoined upon Eli to do. When he should have taught his sons diligently the law of the Lord, he excused his neglect because he had no time for this work. And, whereas, he should have visited with correction their first waywardness and disobedience, he evidently left this to the Lord, presuming that somehow it would all come out right. Probably he thought they must have a time “to sow their wild oats.” At all events they had such a time, and they used it in the diligent performance of wicked deeds. It is, perhaps, not very strange that young men, growing up under such a system of parental government, should throw off all restraint and thoughtlessly plunge into sin. But it is, indeed, surprising that their father should forget that they would certainly reap the very crop they had sown. They sowed to the wind and they reaped the whirlwind. Their father flattered himself that their early follies would soon be succeeded by wisdom and discretion. Perhaps he reasoned that as he had himself turned from folly and from sin, to God, so, in due time, they also would do the like. Now they were like him in his days of folly. Soon they would, by true repentance, become like him in piety toward God. What a fatal mistake was made by Eli! He left that work undone which God had given him to do. But though Eli was thus neglectful of the precious opportunity to form his sons to virtue, Satan was by no means idle or indifferent. He seized the chance to ruin the young men, and he did it most effectually, even in the plain sight of their father. The sin of the young men was very great, both in the sight of God and man. Eli filled two offices, high priest, and judge in Israel, and either of these offices would have given him ample authority to put the young men, his own sons, out of the priesthood. But the same lack that appeared in the parental government of Eli, appeared also in his rule as a magistrate. He feebly remonstrated with them against their course of sin, but when he saw that they would persist therein, he suffered them still to remain in the office of the priesthood. The supreme Judge and Ruler in Israel sent him first an awful warning by “a man of God” (1 Sam. ii, 27–30), and afterward a final announcement of the terrible fate of his family. 1 Sam. iii, 11–14. Surely Eli suffered an awful chastisement. 1 Sam. iv. Let us consider the wickedness of his sons: 1. They were emphatically the “sons of Belial.” 1 Sam. ii, 12. Their office was to minister in sacred things. But they forgot its solemn obligations, and devoted their lives to the service of sin, of Satan, and of self. They were the disgrace, the scandal, and the stumbling-block of the people of Israel. Their conduct gave men occasion to say that religion was a farce, that piety was a sham, and that the profession of godliness was only mockery and hypocrisy. 2. Though the vows of God were upon these men, they were of no consequence in their esteem. When they were consecrated to the priesthood, the blood of consecration was placed upon the ear, the great toe, and the thumb, of each man. And this declared to them the fact that the ear was set apart to hear God's word, the hand to do his work, the foot to run in the way of his commandments. Ex. xxix, 20; Lev. viii, 23, 24. But they forgot God. They forgot those solemn vows which themselves had ratified. When God spoke they had no ear to hear. Their feet were swift to run in paths of evil and of sin. Their hands, so solemnly consecrated to the service of God, were defiled with the most accursed deeds of evil. 3. The offerings of God were seized upon by these wicked men, and used for their own selfish purposes, while the honor of God was utterly disregarded. Their conduct caused men to abhor the offering of the Lord, and made the very name of sacrifice to be an abomination among men. 1 Sam. ii, 12–17. But this, awful as it was, stood only among their smaller sins. 4. We are further informed respecting their sin against God. These young men made the sin of adultery the chief business of their priesthood. They turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. They made religion a cloak under which to commit the most awful abominations. They deliberately, systematically, and, it is probable, for a considerable period of time, carried on the work of corrupting the worshipers of the Most High. It does not appear that there could be any forgiveness for this awful crime. They sinned not merely from sudden temptation which took them unawares, but they made this their deliberate purpose, and they dared to persist in it against light and knowledge. The crime of Eli's sons is placed on record to show to all future ages how God looks at such sins when committed by his ministers. God swore that this iniquity should not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever. 1 Sam. iii, 14. It is not unlikely that this very oath of the Almighty had reference to the peculiar form of temptation which gave boldness to these young men. They were priests. It was their business to offer sacrifices for the sins of men. We may very certainly decide that these sons of Belial reasoned with themselves, that sin was not after all a very dangerous thing. What if they did allow themselves to commit sin? Could they not make an offering for themselves?45Were they not the Lord's priests? Did they not minister before the ark? Were they not an indispensable part of the Lord's cause? So they may have reasoned. And it seems that they thought themselves perfectly safe in going out to battle with the ark of God against the Philistines. They little thought that for their own sins against the law of God, that law and ark were to be delivered into the hands of the enemy, and themselves to be slain, and Israel to be smitten with a sore destruction. There are some solemn reflections to be drawn from this lesson: 1. Those that bear the vessels of the Lord must themselves be clean. Those that minister in holy things must themselves be holy men. God will not wink at sin because his ministers commit it. No man is to be spared in sin because he is so serviceable to the cause of God, or because he fills so important a station. The expulsion of Satan, the highest of the angels, from Heaven, settles that question. God has no favorites. He respects character, but he does not respect persons. 2. The violation of the seventh commandment, which is among the greatest and the most abominable of crimes, is that form of sin which Satan especially delights to lead the ministers of God to commit. He can thus most effectually dishonor the cause of God. If such persons are willing to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, he can make even the service of the Christian ministry an opportunity for this awful transgression, as did the sons of Eli their office of priesthood. 3. But let the men who are exposed to this heinous sin, remember that such sin deliberately committed under the cloak of religion, is a sin never to be forgiven. It is lying to the Holy Ghost, worse than did Ananias and Sapphira. It is a sin unto death, not to be prayed for. Surely the end of such must be in the fire of Gehenna. “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke xv, 10. The angels of God do not view repentance in the same light that it appears to sinful men. To them it is an elevated, honorable, and sacred work. To us, alas! it is a work to be shunned, if possible, or if not wholly shunned, to be disposed of in as private a manner as we can. We think of it with shame; we speak of it with pain and regret. It is so humiliating to have it known that we have had to break our hearts, to bow our stubborn wills, to humble our proud natures under the mighty hand of God. We are not so much ashamed of sin, as of repentance. Nay, we are frequently far from being ashamed of sinful conduct or of wicked dispositions. But to have it known that we have made frank and humble confession of wicked acts, is too humiliating for us to endure. We are not ashamed of sin, but ashamed of having it known that we confess and repent of our sin. Yet sin is that abominable thing which God hates, and genuine repentance is that which he approves and accepts. Sin is the fruit of our own evil nature, aided by the powerful co-operation of the Devil. Repentance is the work of the Spirit of God wrought in us by our consent, and with our active co-operation. How strange that we should be ashamed of repentance, rather than ashamed of sin; that we should cherish that which comes from Satan, and loathe that which proceeds directly from the Spirit of God. Sin is the only real cause for shame, and it is cause enough surely. But repentance is something noble, dignified, and honorable. It shows that though we have been wicked, now that we have come to ourselves, we put away the wickedness, and allow not one particle of it to cleave longer to us. How the Devil perverts things in our minds when he makes us ashamed of this most sacred work. What a wonderful fact our Lord has revealed to us in stating that there is joy in Heaven among the angels of God when a single sinner repents. Great as is the joy of the angels in their own exalted bliss, they are capable of feeling an addition to this joy when one poor prodigal returns to God. How intense the interest they feel for us! How disinterested and unselfish is their conduct. If that which benefits us alone can give such joy in Heaven, shall we not make it the most earnest business of life to develop perfect repentance? It is worthy of notice that our Lord does not speak of the joy of our departed friends, but the joy of the angels at our repentance. Yet if they were in Heaven, how much keener their joy than that of the angels! THE ARABIANS DID NOT BELIEVE IN THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
Dr. Good, M. D., F. R. S., &c., some years ago, delivered a course of lectures before the Surrey Institution, London, at the request of Dr. Adam Clarke, and others. Those lectures were on the “Science of Nature,” and were attended by popular and crowded audiences. These he has written out in his “Book of Nature,” from which I quote. He was a firm advocate of the soul’s immortality, hence his testimony is of the greater weight. He says: “If we turn to the oldest hypothesis of the East, to the Vedas of the Brahmins, and the Zendavesta of the Parsees,—to those venerable but fanciful stores of learning, from which many of the earliest Greek schools drew their first draughts of metaphysical science, we shall find, indeed, a full acknowledgment of the immortality of the soul, but only upon the sublime and mystical doctrine of emanation and immanation, as a part of the great soul of the universe; issuing from it at birth, and re-absorbed into it upon the death of the body; and hence, altogether incompatible with individual being, or a separate state of existence.” Series 3, Lecture 2, p. 372. Of the Arabians he says: “If we turn from Persia, Egypt and Hindostan, to Arabia, to the fragrant groves and learned shades of Dedan and Teman, from whence it is certain that Persia, and highly probable that Hindostan, derived their first polite literature, we shall find the entire subject (of the immortality of the soul) left in as blank and barren a silence, as the deserts by which they are surrounded; or, if touched upon, only touched upon to betray doubt, and sometimes disbelief. The tradition, indeed, of a future state of retributive justice, seems to have reached the schools of this part of the world, and to have been generally, though perhaps not universally, accredited; but the future existence it alludes to, is that of a resurrection of the body; and not of the survival of the soul after the body’s dissolution. The oldest work that has descended to us from this quarter (and there is little doubt that it is the oldest, or one of the oldest works in existence) is that astonishingly transcendent composition, the book of Job; a work that ought assuredly to raise the genius of Idumea above that of Greece, and that of itself is demonstrative of the indefatigable spirit with which the deepest, as well as the most polished sciences were pursued in this region, during what may be comparatively called the youth and day-spring of the world. Yet in this sublime and magnificent poem, replete with all the learning and wisdom of the age, the doctrine upon the subject before us is merely, as I have just stated it, a patriarchal or traditionary belief of a future state of retributive justice; not by the natural immortality of the soul, but by a resurrection of the body. And the same general idea has, for the most part, descended in the same country to the present day.”—Ibid. This is a good testimony as to the faith of that ancient nation, and also as to their faith since that time. He also acknowledges that the book of Job does not teach the immortality of the soul. D. M. CANRIGHT.
Sigourney, Iowa. THE LORD'S SABBATH PROVED BY SUNDAY ARGUMENTS.
By G. W. A.
LAST week several important extracts were given from the pen of Mr. Kingsbury, a first-day writer, which were entirely in harmony with the views of those who observe the Sabbath of the Lord. This week still more of these extracts are presented. On pages 41–43 of his work are some very pertinent thoughts relative to the Sabbath and the law of God's being known and understood in the earliest ages of the world. These are as follows:— “Should we take it for granted, that there was no law requiring our first parents, and the antediluvians, to keep a day of rest, because none was then written, we must also conclude that there was none against murder. But God certainly did punish Cain for the murder of his brother, showing that he had, in some way, made known such a law. For where there is no law there can be no sin. For the same reason, the antediluvians must have understood his will; or they would not, for acting contrary to it, have been buried in one common grave. Yet there is not the least allusion made to any of the ten commandments in the history of the old world. On the other hand, suppose it were indisputably proved that there was no Sabbath instituted until after the flood; this would not prove the Sabbath to have been intended only for the Jews. It would only be presumptive evidence that God could not keep men from wickedness, and lead them to himself by oral instruction, without a particular day set apart, to give and receive such instruction; and that therefore he established a new dispensation, wrote the commandments, and appointed one day in seven, when they should be read and expounded. But there is not, in our mind, a shadow of doubt, that the Sabbath was given in Eden, and designed for all men, and of perpetual obligation. Nor, can there be any doubt that all the moral laws were understood by the inhabitants of the old world. Else, the destruction of the antediluvians is wholly unaccountable and unjust. From God's dealings also with Sodom and Gomorrah, it is evident that they were held accountable for their conduct. This would not have been, had there existed no law; yet they were destroyed before Israel, as a nation, had come into existence.” “From the dealings of God with the Jews, and from what is recorded respecting them before the giving of the law on Sinai, we are irresistibly led to conclude, that they were, previous to that event, acquainted with, and governed according to, the laws contained in the decalogue. We find indisputable evidence that they were acquainted with the laws in regard to the Sabbath, marriage, and murder. From plain allusions it is obvious that idolatry, adultery, covetousness, and theft, were also understood to be sins against God, by the Jews, in this early stage of their history. The manner in which the law was given was admirably suited to impress on their minds the importance of obeying it, and to fill them with awe and reverence for the character of the terrible Lawgiver. The commandments were repeated in the hearing of all Israel amidst thunderings and lightnings, and quakings of the earth, and the voice of a trumpet, waxing louder and louder, that the people might believe them, and they were written that they might remember and do them. The whole transaction seems designed, not so much to give the people information on the subject of their duty, as to so impress the commands on their minds, that they might never forget them. “There are expressions in the commandments which show that they were not at that time new to the people of Israel. In the second, for instance, God speaks of showing mercy unto such as love him and keep his commandments—not these commandments, as though they were now for the first time promulgated, but ‘my commandments,’ as if they were already acquainted with them. Again, the fourth commandment commences ‘Remember the Sabbath day.’ But we cannot remember what we have never known; and to suppose that God was calling on the people to remember what was then entirely new to them, is to suppose that he, who is infinite in wisdom would speak nonsense.” Pages 43 and 44 speak still further of the law, why it was written, and of its adaptation to Gentiles as well as Jews:— “The same grand moral principles by which all past generations had been governed, must now be written. The writing of these moral precepts must not be left to Moses, but be done by the finger of God. Other laws were given at the same time, very important for the religious improvement of the Jews, to whom this precious treasure was committed. But they were ceremonial, only designed for them during their scholarship, and these might be written by Moses. They were types and shadows of things to come; yet were they practical lessons, adapted to deepen the impression on their minds. The chosen people, too, were so far gone in wickedness, so ignorant of the divine character and government, that they were kept forty years, as it were, in one vast camp-meeting, learning the mind and will of God, and forgetting wickedness and idolatry.” “At length we find them prepared to come out among the Gentiles, with these moral laws so indelibly written on their memories, as well as on tables of stone, that they could never be entirely effaced. These laws were now to speak to them instead of God; and are also to be to us in his stead. For he does not communicate his will to us, as he used to do to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the prophets. “These same commands were often repeated, in substance, after the transactions on Sinai, which seems to show that very probably they had often been before. “The fact that there were many laws given to the Jews not contained in the ten commandments, and which cannot be inferred from them, furnishes additional proof that God made a distinction between these and other laws which were given only for the Jews as a nation. A distinction was obviously needed between those which, from their very nature, are binding on all men, whether Jews or Gentiles, and those which referred only to one nation, and embraced only a limited period of time.” “We may safely infer that God intended the Sabbath for the Gentiles, because the reasons of its observance apply to them as much as to the Jews. They, and their servants and cattle, as much need the refreshment of a day of rest—they have as much cause for gratitude and admiration in view of the work of creation—God's resting is as much an example for them as for the Jews.” Mr. Kingsbury speaks again with much clearness in reference to there being no mention made of the Sabbath for some time after creation:— “Others object, that as the Sabbath is not mentioned for the space of twenty-five hundred years after the creation, it could not have been instituted in Eden. But if this argument proves any thing, it proves too much. For it is not mentioned from the time of Joshua till David ascended the throne. Circumcision is neither mentioned nor alluded to from a little after Moses till Jeremiah, a period of eight hundred years. Are we to believe that none of the pious kings, during that long period, were circumcised? Who, then, can say that none of the holy patriarchs kept a Sabbath, because it is not mentioned during a period of46twenty-five hundred years? Neither are sacrifices mentioned for fifteen hundred years—from Abel to the deluge; nor from Jacob, at Beersheba, till the deliverance from Egypt—two or three hundred years more. No mention is made of the Sabbath in the books of Joshua, Ruth, 1st and 2d Samuel, or 1st Kings, which are so much more specific and minute, and more voluminous, than the book of Genesis, in which the history of many centuries is written on three or four leaves of a common Bible. (The ordinance of the red heifer is never noticed, from the Pentateuch till the close of the Old Testament; but we know from the apostle that it was in constant use.) The book of Psalms, and some of the prophets, rarely mention the Sabbath; but this is no evidence that it was not kept.” On pages 52–57, inclusive, our author argues in favor of the perpetuity of the law with all the zeal of a Sabbath-keeper. He is meeting the objection so common in our time, that “the moral law, or ten commandments, has been abrogated.” Mr. Kingsbury says:— “The objector to the Sabbath also often meets us with the assertion that the moral law, or ten commandments, has been abrogated. There were given to the Jews a moral, ceremonial, and judicial or civil law. One or more of these may have been abolished, and the other still remain in full, if not augmented, force. We shall see if the latter is not the case with the whole of the moral law, or ten commandments. Infidels, and all those who would give full license to their covetous desires and unholy passions, often quote Paul, Acts xv, 5, 24, to prove that the law, meaning the law of the Sabbath, and indeed the whole decalogue, is now no longer in force. Some of them would have no law, neither moral nor civil. Say they, Let public sentiment be the only law to regulate men's actions. But it may be well to see how Christ and his apostles understood this matter. “In the first place, then, in Matt. v, 17–19, in the memorable sermon on the mount, we find Christ using this language,—‘Think not [for some at that day talked just as infidels and deists now do] that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.’ But, it is asked, What law is here spoken of, the ceremonial or moral? Not the former, of course; for that, as a matter of fact, was destroyed, i. e., abrogated, at his death; which is implied in the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles being, by that event, broken down. The apostles, too, throw the whole weight of their inspired teachings, and divinely-bestowed authority, against the observance of the ceremonial law. Christ, then, did come to destroy that law. But he fulfilled the moral law, in his own person; he inculcated it in its purity, and as one having authority; his whole system of morality is based upon it. If he came to destroy the moral law, he came to undo his own work, the effect of his own mission. But Christ, in the succeeding verse, has put the matter forever at rest. ‘Whosoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so,’ &c.; commandments, i. e., the moral law, which no man may break, no, not the least of them. “One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” All the prophecies must be fulfilled; for he came not to destroy them. But all the prophecies are not yet fulfilled; therefore, not one jot or tittle of the law, of which Christ spoke, can pass away, until such fulfillment. Consequently he spoke of the ten commandments, the moral law. Now, who dare take from this law, from these commandments, the law of the Sabbath? Would the fourth precept be not so much as a jot or a tittle, or one of the least of them? If not, then Christ may not call the man who tears it from the decalogue to account for his conduct. But be it remembered by all who would go to Heaven, that their righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, far exceed it, or they will finally fail of reaching that holy place. The whole of the decalogue, then, as written by the finger of God on tables of stone, and all the prophecies, remain as they were at Christ's coming. The law is still, and forever shall be, every word of it, in force; and all the prophecies shall be accomplished. The ceremonial law, the things typical of Christ, were abrogated when he hung upon the cross, and these only. “Matt. xxii, 36–40: ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ “This Pharisee, who was a lawyer, understood what was meant by ‘the law and the prophets;’ he evidently anticipated the answer he received. No sooner was the question propounded, than Christ gave the answer. This he did by including in one commandment the sum of all that was contained in the first table of the law, touching his duty to God; and in the other, the sum of all that was written on the second table of the law, or ten commandments, touching his duty to man; assuring the lawyer that these two commandments were the foundation on which all the law and the prophets stood; they were built on these two main pillars. Unless these were observed, the prophecies could not be fulfilled, nor would any of the ceremonial or judicial laws avail any thing, if these, i. e., the ten commandments, were given up. “Christ did not tell this lawyer that there was any difference in the commandments; that the Sabbath was one of minor importance, and could be dispensed with; or that those in the second table were not equally dear to him with those in the first table: but ‘the second is like unto it’—each, all are important, and cannot be separated. Should any person say that the Sabbath cannot be included in either of these commandments, mentioned by our Saviour, he would greatly err, not understanding the Scriptures, nor observing the physical as well as spiritual benefits of that day. Love to our neighbor will prompt us to give him a Sabbath. And we cannot love God if we ‘do not the things which he says.’ “In Luke xvi, 17, Christ says, ‘And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one tittle of the law to fail.’ In the previous context he had said, ‘The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached.’ As if he had said, before it was not preached as it now is. But let no man suppose from this, that John or myself have done away the law or the prophets; for ‘it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail;’ the law is immutable; heaven and earth will fail, but the law cannot.” MEETINGS IN ILLINOIS.
By T. M. Steward
AFTER laboring through the winter in Illinois, I went North after my family, and since May I have labored in the same places where I labored last winter. Some thirty had embraced the truth, and they had kept up meetings every Sabbath while I was gone. Some have moved away, others have given up, while others have come in. So there are now about twenty who attend the Sabbath meeting. Sabbath, July 24, nine were baptized, and others are only waiting to see their duty more plainly. Nearly all of these are persons who had previously made no profession. I intend to labor in this vicinity until Conference. I want to live more consecrated than ever. I feel the need of a deeper work of grace in my own heart. I hope we may never be guilty of lowering the standard erected in God's word; but to faithfully elevate the standard, and by constant and humble consecration strive to come up to the mark (perfection), for the prize (eternal life). Oh, that the little remnant of my life may be spent in the service of God as a faithful servant! May the Lord help me in the work of preparing for the Judgment. The Lord will bless his people and his cause. He will take care of the remnant, and see that they are safely conducted through the perils of these last days. Dear brethren, let us be faithful in this great work. Yours, hoping for deliverance soon,
T. M. STEWARD. GOOD FEELING AND WELL DOING.
By H. W. Beecher
Here is a man who is a roaring good Christian. He goes to meeting. There is a revival, and his religious feelings are all aglow. And it is all right. He does feel just as he says he does. There is no hypocrisy in his profession. He takes his hymn book, and the minister happens to be fortunate, and the hymn comes right home, and circumstances concur, and the electric influences are favorable, and the meeting is a joyful one, and he will not go home until twelve o’clock. He has sung twenty hymns, and he does feel as though he could not keep himself on the ground. “A little more, Lord,” he says, “and I shall fly away.” Now I want to see if to-morrow he will go to his neighbor, with whom he has been at variance, and say: “Look here, my dear fellow, we are wrong; at any rate I am, whether you are or not. I have been ugly. Forgive me. I had such a good time last night, that I must clean my heart. My pride must come down. And I must be reconciled to you.” He did have a good time, and that is the sign that the feeling which he experienced was genuine. That he roared his hymns joyfully was no sign of it; that he had an ecstasy of prayer was no sign of it; but that, having that elevation, he changed it to a moral purpose; that out of that feeling he wrought garments of duty; that out of that experience he came back to his fellow-man more sympathetic, more humble, more Christlike—ah! that was a sign that the feeling was a genuine one. Otherwise it would have been simply a sign of self-indulgence.—H. W. Beecher. A WRITER in the Church Union asks the following pungent questions: When the following classes are taken out of our churches, how many would be left? All who will not pay their just debts? All who are hypocritical? All who are deceitful, and talk about others behind their backs? All who go in debt without the prospect of paying the same? All who are proud and scornful, holding themselves above their fellow-men, and shunning those less fortunate than themselves? All who worship money more than they do their Creator? All who speculate off of the ignorance of others? All who sell intoxicating liquors to make money? All who think more of a wicked rich man than they do of a pious poor one? All who oppress the poor? All who are vain and self-conceited? All who make long prayers for the sake of being seen and heard of men? When these, and a good many others that could be mentioned, are taken out, the 'church' will be left almost without members. The religion of Jesus does not have any of the foregoing effects. It makes the true convert cheerful, hopeful, and charitable, disposed to visit the widow and orphan, and to keep unspotted from the world. It does not make one proud and scornful, but on the contrary, makes one desirous to do good, to be meek and humble, and to be kind to all, as opportunity may offer. Oh! that we had less pretension in our churches, and more genuine Christianity! THERE is a large class who would confound nature and grace. These are chiefly women. They sit at home, nursing themselves over a fire, and then trace up the natural effects of solicitude and want of air and exercise, into spiritual desertion. There is more pride in this than they are aware of. They are unwilling to allow so simple and natural a cause of their feelings, and wish to find something in the thing more sublime.—Cecil. If Satan seeks to puzzle thee about the time of thy conversion, content thyself with this, that thou seest the streams of grace, though perhaps the exact time of thy first receiving it may not be easily found. You may know the sun is up, though you did not observe it rise. J. P. HOFFMAN
By J. P. Hoffman
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I feel that it is a great privilege, as well as a duty that I owe to my Heavenly Father for his goodness and mercy toward me, to tell, through the REVIEW, what he has done for me. I feel that I can say with the psalmist that “he has taken my feet out of the miry clay and placed them upon the Rock, and established my goings.” “He has put a new song into my mouth, even praise to the Most High.” I feel that I have great reason to praise his name for raising me up from the pit of despair, by means of the health reform. It has saved my life, and been a source of many blessings to me. Truly I can say that, “Wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” I mean, by the grace of God, to live out the reforms as taught by the Spirit of God. I believe that God is leading his people, and will purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. I attended the tent-meeting at Oakland, and received great encouragement and benefit from the teachings of the servants of God. I there saw pointed out our true condition as a people, and there made new resolves that I would consecrate myself anew to his service, and be more faithful in his cause. We have passed through great discouragements and trials here, but are coming up in the work, and a few are trying to move forward in the light, unitedly. Pray for us, that we may so let our light shine that others, by seeing our good works, may be led to glorify our Father in Heaven. The Lord’s Goodness and Mercy
By Sarah E. L. Pierce
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: Though I have never contributed anything to the Conference Department of our dear REVIEW, I have not been uninterested in its contents. My heart has often been cheered while reading of the goodness of the Lord to his trusting children, and his special care for those who are alone. A few weeks ago I took up the REVIEW, when I had but a few minutes' spare time, thinking I would read the letters; but, alas! it contained none to read. I feel to say truly that the love and mercy of the Lord toward me has been very great. I do greatly desire to so appreciate and improve the blessings which he bestows upon me that I may bear the fruit of the Spirit, and at last receive the reward of everlasting life. I would break up the fallow-ground of my heart with the ploughshare of repentance, that the warnings and admonitions of the Lord through the Gifts of his Spirit, and by his servants, may not be lost upon me. It seems to me that the power of the enemy to benumb and stupefy the mind to a sense of important truth, was never so great as now. Hence the more need of constant watchfulness and prayer, lest we, like the first disciples of our Lord, sleep when it is most important that we watch, and thus, like Peter, be left to deny our Lord in times of trial. I never felt a more full assurance of the willingness of the Lord to help than at the present time. Truly he is waiting to be gracious. But how solemn the thought that if we do not help ourselves by perseveringly seeking unto the Lord, we shall be left to our own ways. The most of the time since my connection with the Advent people (which has been from childhood), I have known by experience how to sympathize with the lonely ones, and those afflicted and tried with peculiar trials. The Lord proves us in various ways, and I have felt of late, that as in time past he has proved me in the furnace of sorrow and adversity, he is now proving me with blessings and privileges, which will prove a savor either of life unto life or of death unto death. I am now situated where I can meet with quite a large number of those of like precious faith three times a week, to worship the Lord and enjoy their society at any time. The Lord help me to improve these blessings, and help us each, dear brethren and sisters, to endure the trial of our faith, come forth as gold, and so be fitted for a home in his heavenly kingdom. Your sister in hope,
SARAH E. L. PIERCE.
Franklin Co., Vt. Sabbath Discussion in Vermont
By Albert Stone
JULY 1 and 2, I was present at a discussion of the Sabbath question, between Bro. D. T. Evans and a first-day Adventist preacher, at the Union meeting house in Warren, Vt. Quite an interest was manifested by the community, which reached to the adjoining town of Granville, from which many came to hear. The preacher, as usual with those of his class, took the ground that the law of the ten commandments written on the tables of stone by the finger of God, was but a part of the law of types and ceremonies, and shared the same fate, by being nailed to the cross, and is not obligatory under the Christian dispensation. I think the result of the discussion will be to advance the truth. The following Sabbath and first-day, held meetings with Bro. Evans in Granville, where some interest is manifest, and about forty persons came to hear. Some wept, being convicted of the truth. Bro. Evans is laboring there part of the time. Our meetings with the churches in Vermont are good and refreshing, without exception; yet we earnestly hope the time may soon come, when this State will become the theater of a more powerful baptism of the Spirit; when tradition and prejudice will yield to the convictions of truth, and the pent-up streams of salvation will flow through the land.
ALBERT STONE.