Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 30, 1882
General Articles.
By Mrs. Ellen G. White
Christian Beneficence.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
"HONOR the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."
"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."
God is able to fulfill his promises; His resources are infinite, and he employs them all in accomplishing his will. Yet all his promises are based upon conditions, and it is only by complying with these that we can hope to gain the proffered blessing. God has entrusted of his bounties to every man, in varying measure according to the capacity of each. These gifts of Providence are to be wisely employed in the service of the Giver, and to be returned with interest at the day of reckoning. Those who prove themselves good stewards, will receive in greater measure as they disperse their means to advance God's cause and to bless suffering humanity.
Our Heavenly Father has been pleased to make men co-laborers with himself in the work of human redemption. Those who have been commissioned to preach the gospel are not the only ones whom he will use as his instruments. All whose minds have been illuminated by the Holy Spirit will in their turn be required to enlighten others. "None of us liveth to himself." Every individual has his station of duty in the accomplishment of God's great plan. And every one who receives and obeys the light which God has given, will be a living witness for Christ and the truth.
The children of God will not be like the world, enshrouded in moral darkness, loving themselves, and seeking for earthly treasure. They will be a "peculiar people, zealous of good works." It will require self-denial and self-sacrifice to imitate the pattern, Christ Jesus. In order to be like him we must cultivate a spirit of beneficence. The first great principle of God's law is supreme love to the Creator; the second, equal love to our neighbor. "On these two commandments," said Christ, "hang all the law and the prophets."
Experience shows that a spirit of benevolence is more often to be found with those of limited means than among the more wealthy. The most liberal donations for the cause of God or the relief of the needy, come from the poor man's purse, while many to whom the Lord has committed an abundance for this very purpose see not the necessity for means to advance the truth, and hear not the cries of the poor among them.
Yet many who greatly desire riches would be ruined by their possession. When such persons are intrusted with talents of means, they too often hoard or waste the Lord's money, until the Master says to them individually, "Thou shalt be no longer steward." They dishonestly use that which is another's as though it were their own. God will not intrust them with eternal riches.
The cry of souls that have been left in darkness, and the cry of the widow and the fatherless, go up to Heaven as a swift witness against the unfaithful stewards. The poor man's gift, the fruit of self-denial to extend the precious light of truth, is as fragrant incense before God. And every act of self-sacrifice for the good of others will strengthen the spirit of beneficence in the giver's heart, allying him more closely to the Redeemer of the world, "who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich."
The smallest sum given cheerfully as the result of self-denial is of more value in God's sight than the offerings of those who could give thousands and yet feel no lack. The poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury of the Lord, showed love, faith, and benevolence. She gave all that she had, trusting to God's care for the uncertain future. Her little gift was pronounced by our Saviour the greatest that day cast into the treasury. Its value was measured, not by the worth of the coin, but by the purity of the motive which prompted her sacrifice.
God's blessing upon that sincere offering has made it the source of great results. The widow's mite has been like a tiny stream flowing down through the ages, widening and deepening in its course, and contributing in a thousand directions to the extension of the truth and the relief of the needy. The influence of that small gift has acted and reacted upon thousands of hearts in every age and in every country upon the globe. As the result, unnumbered gifts have flowed into the treasury of the Lord from the liberal, self-denying poor. And again, her example has stimulated to good works thousands of ease-loving, and doubting ones, and their gifts also have gone to swell the value of her offering.
Liberality is a duty on no account to be neglected; but let not rich or poor for a moment entertain the thought that their offerings to God can atone for their defects of Christian character. Says the great apostle, "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."
Again, he sets forth the fruits of true charity, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth." If we would be accepted as the followers of Christ, we must bring forth the fruits of his Spirit; for our Saviour himself declares, "Ye shall know them by their fruits."
It is to cultivate a spirit of benevolence in us that the Lord calls for our gifts and offerings. He is not dependent upon men for means to sustain his cause. He declares, by the prophet, "Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof."
These words were spoken as a reproof to Israel, who did not cherish the love of God in their heart, yet were increasing the number of their sacrifices, as if they would make a compromise with the Lord. Gifts and offerings will not purchase salvation for any of us. The religion of the Bible is that development of our moral nature by which the soul learns to love what God loves and to hate what God hates. The Lord will not accept our offerings, if we withhold ourselves. He asks for that which is his own,—not only the means intrusted to us, but all that we have and are, in body, soul, and spirit; for, all has been purchased at the infinite price of the blood of Christ.
God might have made angels the ambassadors of his truth. He might have made known his will, as he proclaimed the law from Sinai, with his own voice. But he has chosen to employ men to do this work. And it is only as we fulfill the divine purpose in our creation, that life can be a blessing to us. All the riches intrusted to man will prove only a curse, unless he employs them to relieve his own daily wants and the wants of the needy around him, and to glorify God by advancing his cause in the earth.
The Majesty of Heaven yielded up his high command, his glory with the Father, and even his own life, to save us. And now what will we do for him? God forbid that his professed children should live for themselves! There is work to be done for the Master, by our means and by our influence. God's claim underlies every other. The first and best of everything rightfully belongs to him. When Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven, he will have no use for the money which he has intrusted to us. It is in this life that he requires all our talents to be put out to the exchangers. In this life he calls upon us to bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and thus prove him and see if he will not pour us out a blessing. This proposition is made by the Lord of hosts. Shall we comply with the conditions and thus secure the promised blessing?
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." There has been a fearful withholding from God, and as a result the withdrawal of his special blessing. My brethren and sisters, I entreat you to look carefully to this matter; learn where you have robbed the Lord in tithes and offerings. Let not the record stand against you in the books of Heaven. Repent, and show your repentance by your works. Make up the deficiencies without delay.
We should not look upon the tithe as the limit of our liberality. The Jews were required to bring to God numerous offerings, besides the tithe; and shall not we, who enjoy the blessings of the gospel, do as much to sustain God's cause as was done in the former, less-favored dispensation? As the work for this time is extending in the earth, the calls for help are constantly increasing. And in view of this the Lord commands us, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house," that is, a surplus of means in the treasury, to amply sustain the work of God in its various branches.
As we are continually receiving the blessings of God, so we are to be continually giving. When the Heavenly Benefactor ceases to give to us, then we may be excused, for we shall have nothing to bestow. God has never left us without evidence of his love, in that he did us good.146He gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, providing us abundantly with his bounties, and filling our hearts with gladness. He has declared that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
We are sustained every moment by God's care, and upheld by his power. He spreads our tables with food. He gives us peaceful and refreshing sleep. Weekly he brings to us the Sabbath, that we may rest from our temporal labors, and worship him, in his own house. He has given us his word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In its sacred pages we find the counsels of wisdom; and as oft as we lift our hearts to him in penitence and faith, he grants us the blessings of his grace. Above all else is the infinite gift of God's dear Son, through whom flow all other blessings for this life and for the life to come.
Surely, goodness and mercy attend us at every step. Not till we wish the Infinite Father to cease bestowing his gifts on us, should we impatiently exclaim, Is there no end of giving? Not only should we faithfully render to God our tithes, which he claims as his own, but we should bring a tribute to his treasury as an offering of gratitude. Let us with joyful hearts bring to our Creator the first fruits of all his bounties,—our choicest possessions, our best and holiest service.
WE SHALL LIVE AGAIN.
By Mary M. Buckland
BY MARY M. BUCKLAND.
WHEN we are called to pass through the valley
That leads to the chambers of death,
How we shrink, and start back with terror,
And tremble to yield up our breath,
And bow to that terrible mandate
That we must lie down with the dead,
Shut away from the beautiful sunlight,
With the earth heaped over our head.
But the Saviour has passed those dark portals
And triumphantly risen again.
He has conquered the dread king of terrors
And purchased salvation for men.
Now we know that the grave cannot hold us,
Though we by death’s scepter shall fall,
We’ll awake in the morning, immortal,—
Awake at the Conqueror’s call.
’Tis hope that lights up the dark pathway,
There is life beyond the dark grave,
If we trust in a crucified Saviour
Who, only, has power to save.
We know soon the graves will be opened,
When ended is death’s cruel reign,
For the Life-giving Jesus is coming,
Then we know, we shall live again.
Albion, N. Y.
Constitutional Amendment.
By W. H. Littlejohn
BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.
ADVANCING now to the remaining scripture, which is found in Acts 20:7, we append its words as follows: "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." By reading that which immediately follows the above, we shall learn the following facts: First, that here is indeed a record of a religious meeting upon the first day of the week (verse 7). Second, that it was held in that portion of the day when the darkness prevailed, since it was necessary to employ many lights (verse 8). Third, that Paul preached unto them, and that, while he was speaking, Eutychus fell to the ground; and Paul having restored him to life, returned to his labor (verses 7–11). Fourth, that he broke bread, or administered the Lord's supper (verse 11). Fifth, that he preached until break of day (verse 11). Sixth, that Luke and the other disciples, preceding him, sailed the vessel to Assos (verse 13). Seventh, that Paul, having preached all night until the dawning of the day, crossed the country on foot, stepped aboard of the vessel, and went on his journey towards Jerusalem (verses 13, 14). Now, let it be borne in mind, that Troas was a city on the west coast of Asia, located at the base of a peninsula, on the opposite side of which lay the city of Assos; distant about nineteen and a half miles in direct line from the former place. Let it also be remembered that the promontory in question, projecting as it did into the sea for some miles, made it necessary for a vessel, passing from Troas to Assos, to traverse a much greater distance, and to consume more time than one would be compelled to do in passing from one of these points to the other by the overland route. This explains the reason why Paul, who was exceedingly anxious to spend all the time he could with the brethren, consented to perform the journey on foot; thus being enabled to spend several additional hours with them, while Luke and his associates were toiling to bring the boat around the headland to the place of the apostle's final embarkation.
Returning now to the consideration of the meeting in question, it becomes important to know just when it was entered upon. Did it answer to what we would call a Sunday evening meeting? If so, then Paul resumed his journey on Monday morning. But, before we give an affirmative response to this question, would it not be well to inquire in relation to the system for computing time which ought to be followed in this case? We moderns have generally adopted that of the Romans. With it, beginning the day, as it does, at midnight, we would naturally answer the interrogatory above in the affirmative. Should we do this, however, we should unquestionably fall into a grievous error. The days of the Bible commence invariably with the setting of the sun. That this is so, the following quotation from the American Tract Society's Bible Dictionary is sufficient to demonstrate: "The civil day is that, the beginning and end of which are determined by the custom of any nation. The Hebrews began their day in the evening (Lev. 23:32); the Babylonians at sunrise, and we begin at midnight." Art. Day, p. 114.
Reasoning, therefore, upon this hypothesis, the bearing of the text is immediately reversed. As the meeting was held in that portion of the first day of the week in which it was necessary that lamps should be lighted, it follows that it commenced with the setting of the sun on Saturday evening, and continued until daylight on what we call Sunday morning. It is consequently clear that we have at last found one first day in the Scriptures, the first half of which was observed in a manner compatible with the idea of its being regarded as a Sabbath. But, as a Sabbath day is twenty-four, and not merely twelve hours, long, it is indispensable that those who seek to avail themselves of the record before us, should be able to establish the point that there is nothing in it which would go to show that the remaining portion of the day was devoted to purposes, and employed in a manner irreconcilable with the hypothesis of its sanctity. Can they do this? Let us see. Would it be legitimate for believers at the present time to traverse on foot a distance of nineteen and a half miles between the rising and the setting of the sun, on the first day of the week, in order to pursue a journey toward a point of destination hundreds of miles in the distance? Would it be admissible for others, prosecuting the same journey, to weigh anchor and hoist sail in a friendly port, and coast along the shore for a much greater distance?
Who, among the friends of Sunday observance at the present time, would venture to answer these questions in the affirmative, without putting on the record some qualifying or explanatory clause? We hazard the assertion that few of them, conscientious as we believe many of them are, would be willing, by such a response, to place themselves in the category of those who, to say the least, may have very lax views in regard to what may be done upon holy time. And yet, this is precisely the situation in which Luke has left Paul, himself, and his associates, before the generations of Christians who were to follow them.
We ask, therefore, again, Can it be true that the great apostle to the Gentiles, standing as a representative man in the great work of transferring the religious world from the observance of the seventh, to that of the first, day of the week, and this not by positive precept, but, as it is claimed, simply by precedent and example, should have allowed himself to throw that example, as in the case before us, against the very work which he was seeking to accomplish? In other words, is not the obvious import of the text such that the average reader, with no favorite theory to make out, and a mind unbiased by the effect of education and early training, would naturally come to the conclusion that Paul and the disciples with him, and those from whom he parted at Troas, looked upon the day of that departure as but a common one?
We believe that if any other meaning can be drawn from the history before us, it will be reached through constraint, and not through the easy process of obvious reason. It is useless to talk about inability to control the vessel, and the urgent necessity of occupying every hour in order to reach Jerusalem in time for the feast. So far as the first of these points is concerned, if it were well taken, is it not to be presumed that, for the vindication of the course pursued, and for the benefit of posterity, it would have found a place in the sacred record? And as to the matter of limited time, the question of twelve hours longer or shorter, was immaterial in a journey of the length of the one under consideration. Besides, upon following the account as given, we have from Luke that, before they reached their destination, they stopped at Tyre for seven days (chap. 21:4), and at Cesarea, many days (chap. 21:10), and yet had ample time to accomplish their object in reaching Jerusalem before the feast.
We say again, therefore, that these considerations, in the absence of any allusions to them in the context, are simply gratuitous, or, at least, are far-fetched. The narrative still remains. The great fact that Paul and his followers did travel upon the first day of the week is made conspicuous, and the only legitimate conclusion to be drawn therefrom is that which alone harmonizes with the consistency of Paul's life and that of his brethren, as well as the wisdom and beneficence of the great God, namely: that he did so because of his conviction that it was a day which might properly be devoted to labor and travel. With this understanding, the story is relieved of all embarrassment, and becomes a simple and highly interesting account of a meeting convened on the first day of the week, because of the approaching departure of a beloved brother and apostle, and rendered also worthy of record by the miracle which was performed upon Eutychus. But with such a decision, our labor is ended, and with it the whole theory in regard to the Sabbatic character of Sunday is exploded; for, not only does the Scripture which we have been investigating, fail to yield the doctrine which it was supposed to contain, but on the contrary, it presents Paul as standing emphatically against it. This being true, it belongs to a faith which he never proclaimed, and which, consequently, was associated in his mind with that which should not be received, though it were "preached by an angel from Heaven."
Nevertheless, that we may not appear to have overlooked the two remaining texts, which are generally quoted as affording additional proof of the distinguished regard in which the first day of the week was held, we turn our attention for a moment to Acts 2:1, and Rev. 1:10.
As it regards the first of these scriptures, the claim is, that the outpouring of the Spirit occurred with reference to a divine disposition to honor the day of the resurrection. To this we reply, first, that if this were so, it is a remarkable fact that there is nothing in the connection to show it. The name of the day, even, is not so much as mentioned. The inspired annalist, were this supposition true, would most assuredly have given prominence to an idea which, it is claimed, was the governing one in the mind of the Spirit, in order to enable succeeding generations to extract from the facts narrated the true moral which they were intended to convey. But mark his words. Is the declaration, "When the first day of the week was fully come?" If so, we might say that this day was foremost in his own mind, and in that of the Spirit.
But such was not his language. On the contrary, his statement is, "When the day of Pentecost was fully come." Hence it was the day of Pentecost, or the great Jewish feast, which is here made to stand out conspicuously upon the sacred page. If, therefore, we are to decide that the transaction in question was intended to hallow any particular twenty-four hours, undeniably they were those within which the Pentecost fell. But those did not occur regularly upon the first day of the week, nor was the institution one of weekly recurrence. It was annual in its return, transpiring one year upon the first, and perhaps the next year upon the second, and so on, through every day of the week. To reason, consequently, that, because it happened to take place at this time upon Sunday, the fact is necessarily significant of a change in the character of the day, is altogether inconclusive.
That were a cheap logic indeed, which would argue that the Pentecost, which was mentioned expressly, and the return of which was waited for with patience, was in no-wise affected, illustrated, or perpetuated, by the outpouring of the Spirit upon it, whereas, a septenary division of time—not thought worthy of mention by its peculiar title—was thenceforth rendered glorious. Stand together, however, they cannot; for, if it were the Pentecost which was to be handed down in this way to those who should come after, then it would, of necessity, be celebrated annually, and not each week; but if it were the first day of the week which alone was made the object of divine favor, then why wait until the arrival of the great annual Sabbath at the end of the fifty days? Why was not some other first day taken—say one of the six which had already occurred between the resurrection and that time—in this manner avoiding the possibility of confusion as to which event was thus honored?
Should it be replied that the Spirit could not be poured out until the great antitype of the fifty-day feast had been met in Heaven, we answer: Then it was this event, and not the resurrection, which furnishes the occasion for the remarkable demonstrations which were manifested before the people. We repeat again, therefore, that from whatever stand-point we look at the text, it is the Pentecost, and not the first day of the week, to which, if to anything, it attaches special importance. This is further demonstrated by the fact that it is to this hour a matter of grave discussion
147between theologians whether the day of Pentecost, at the time under consideration, did really fall upon the first day of the week or upon some other. Leaving to them, therefore, the delicate and arduous task of adjusting questions of this nature—which are neither important in themselves, nor easy of decision—we hasten to glance at Rev. 1:10. It reads as follows: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet."
Here is something which certainly has a bearing upon the subject. The language employed is of thrilling interest. Says the apostle, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." This being uttered about A. D. 95, determines the point that God has a day in this dispensation, and also proves that he has but one; since the language would be very indefinite were there two or more days of such a nature. But by what system of reasoning is the conclusion reached that this must of necessity be the first day of the week? Assuredly it can only be by inference. If it can first be proved that the day of the resurrection has, by divine authority, been anywhere styled the "Lord's day," then the point is unquestionably gained. When those words were penned, more than sixty years had passed since it is claimed that Sunday had been clothed with divine honor. The whole canon of the New Testament, save the gospel of John, had been written within that time. Ample opportunity had been afforded for the work of placing upon record the sacred appellation which was to be given to that period of time, which having been separated from everything of a secular nature, had been elevated to the dignity of a holy rest. But had this ever occurred? The facts are briefly these: The first day of the week, as we have seen, being mentioned eight times in the New Testament, is always spoken of as plain first day of the week; John himself, writing his gospel after the appearance of the Apocalypse, everywhere applies to it this unpretending title. Whenever the term Sabbath is used, on the other hand—as we have seen that it is fifty-six times in the New Testament—it is applied, with one exception, to the Sabbath of the commandment, or the seventh day of the week.
Mysteries.
By T. D. Talmage
And so many people in this day get up into the tree of curiosity or speculation to see Christ. They ask a thousand queer questions about his divinity, about God's sovereignty, and the eternal decrees. They speculate, and criticise, and hang on the outside limbs of a great sycamore. But they must come down from that if they want to be saved. We cannot be saved as philosophers, but as little children. You cannot go to Heaven by way of Athens, but by way of Bethlehem. What matters it who are elected to be saved, when we know that unless we believe and repent, we shall be damned? Why be perplexed about the way sin came into the world, when the great question is, how shall we get sin driven out of our hearts? How many spend their time in criticism and religious speculation! They take the Rose of Sharon, or the Lily of the Valley, pull out the anther, scatter the corolla, and say: “Is that the beautiful flower of religion that you are talking about?” No flower is beautiful after you have torn it all to pieces. The path to Heaven is so plain that a fool need not make any mistake about it, and yet men stop and cavil. Suppose that going toward the Pacific Slope, I had resolved that I would kill all the grizzly bears and the panthers on either side of the way. I would never have got to the Pacific Coast. When I went out to hunt the grizzly bear, the grizzly bear would have come out to hunt me. Here is a plain road to Heaven. Men say they will not take a step on it until they make game of all the theories that bark and growl at them from the thicket. They forget the fact, as they go out to hunt the theory, the theory comes out to hunt them; so they perish. We must receive the kingdom of Heaven in simplicity. William Pennington was one of the wisest men of this country; Governor of his own State, and afterward Speaker of the House of Representatives. Yet, when God called him to be a Christian, he went in and sat down among some children who were applying for church-membership, and said to his pastor: “Talk to me just as you do to these children, for I know nothing about it.” There is no need of bothering ourselves about mysteries when there are so many things that are plain.—Rev. T. D. Talmage.
THE COMING ONE.
Christ is coming, quickly coming,
Oh, my heart, what joy! what joy!
Soon to see Him, soon to dwell in
Scenes of bliss without alloy!
Hushed each murmur, freed from sinning,
Quenched all bitter doubts and fears;
Then no sorrow, pain, nor sighing;
God, our God, shall wipe our tears.
Christ is coming, quickly coming,
Oh, my heart, fresh courage take!
Shrink not from the daily crosses;
Joy to suffer for His sake.
Fear not war with Satan waging;
He's a conquered foe at best;
Faint not, though the battle's raging,
All will soon be perfect rest.
Christ is coming, quickly coming,—
Can it be I heard aright?
Yes, the message said distinctly,
"Spent already is the night."
Lo! the day-star in the heavens,
Harbinger of glory's day,
Token from the absent Bridegroom;
Soon He'll be upon his way.
Christ is coming, quickly coming,
Hush, my heart; be still, be still;
Is there naught to mar the meeting?
Naught of sin, or self, or will?
'Tis but Satan, surely, trying
Peace and joy to steal away.
"Jesus died;" no more I fear thee,
Satan, dar'st thou ought to say?
Christ is coming, quickly coming,
Wing, ye hours, with rapid flight!
Hasten, welcome his appearing,
Moment of supreme delight!
Solemn moment of his coming
Love, oh, mystery divine!
Joy to know he's coming for me;
"I am his and he is mine."
Christ is coming, quickly coming;
Then with lamp all trimmed and bright,
Gladly working, watching for him,
Waiting till the dawning light:
Telling out the gospel message;
Offering mercy full and free
Tell of Jesus sweetly pleading—
"I have died;" "Come unto me."
Christ is coming, quickly coming,
Woe to those who know him not;
Awful judgments, anguish, horror,
Is their destined, certain lot.
Would that all believed his coming,
Ere the Bridegroom enters in;
While his precious blood still cleanses
Every crimson, scarlet sin!
—Light of the Morning.
A Poor Young Man at Harvard
President Eliot, of Harvard, recently gave an instance of what a firm will and mother-wit can do in enabling a poor young man to surmount the difficulties in the way of his getting a thorough education.
Two years and a half ago there appeared in Cambridge, just before the examination for admission, a young man of rough exterior who came from a small village in New York, where his father earned a scanty living as a stone-mason. He came to see me before the examination, and stated, among other things, that he never had any teacher in Greek, Latin, or German; that he had begun to learn these three languages only sixteen months before; that out of these sixteen months he had worked ten at his trade as a stone-mason, and that his entire quick capital was $10. To my astonishment he passed an excellent examination, succeeding in every subject except Greek composition, which he had never tried to learn. He was taken care of at Cambridge, as many another has been, and in his first year won a scholarship.
The Free Gospel
By Christian at Work
SOME persons are enamored with their idea of a "free gospel." It means to them to pay nothing in church and take every benefit that comes along. It means, perhaps, to roam among the churches, knowing all the star-preachers and glib about their merits; to have children in three or four Sunday-schools and receive a line of goods from several Christmas trees; to have cake and coffee at social gatherings, and a bite out of every conceivable dish of church benefit that may be passed about. There are persons to whose character some of the above features will fit exactly and stick like crockery cement. If, on the other hand, they do give something to God's cause, they like to give as little as possible and get all they can. It would be like them, with closed eyes and a closed pocketbook also to meditate upon a free gospel while the unnoticed plate slipped along under the nose. We have no patience with some people's idea of the word "free."
The Seventh Part of Time.
By C. B. Fitzgerald
It has been well said that "Order is Heaven's first law." In all of God's ordinances, and in all his infinite works, we see a beautiful, a divine fitness. The Lord has done nothing in vain, and wisdom is seen in all his ways. When in the beginning, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, he did so for definite reasons, which he has seen fit to make known to us; and by these we are led to a knowledge of the nature, object, and design of the Sabbath. Therefore, a knowledge of these reasons, and the conclusions to which they lead, are all that is necessary to effectually settle the question.
There is a plain difference between a mere proportion of time—a seventh part of time—and the definite seventh day of the week. It is written, "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." Gen. 2:7. If we ask why? Inspiration will answer: "Because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested"—when? on a seventh part of the time? no, but on the definite "seventh day" of creation week. And for these reasons he "blessed and sanctified," or "hallowed," not a seventh part of the time, but, that definite part of the week corresponding to the definite day of creation week, in which the Creator rested—"the seventh." No other day, or time, would so correspond. An argument should not be required to prove to the intelligent Bible reader that the Sabbath is a memorial of God's work of creation; and that it is never, by Inspiration, referred to any other work or event. Therefore the time of rest could not be changed without rendering the Sabbath an unfit memorial of creation:—without destroying the wisdom, beauty, and fitness, which characterizes all the works of God.
Much has been written and said on this subject, but it would seem that a volume should not be required to make this matter plain. The truths of revelation are simple, clear, and direct; and it is not necessary that the sincere, earnest seeker after truth should be deceived. C. B. FITZGERALD.
Jacksonville, Oregon, January 8, 1882.
The Dancing Brethren.
By Editor
MR. DONALDSON of the Presbyterian Church, at Emlenton, Penn., of whom we wrote a few weeks ago, was suspended from the communion by the Session of the church, for dancing. The Presbytery sustained this doctrine by vote of 22 to 1, and the Synod by a vote of 73 to 20, and he now goes to the General Assembly. These minorities, though small, indicate that there is a limited number in that church who believe dancing to be right and proper as an amusement for Christians. There are probably as large a proportion favorable to it in all the leading denominations as in the Presbyterian. It seems some would rather be expelled from the church of the living God, than give it up. Now we propose that all these, of every name and order, come out from among the non-dancers, and be separate. Let them form a new connectional church, called, say the Union Dancing Evangelical Church. They need not dance at their worship, but they could dance at stated times in the church parlors. There could be an annual or a quarterly Sunday-school ball, and the Superintendent could give rehearsals. Christmas, baptisms, and ordinations could be celebrated in the same way. Of course revivals would occasionally interfere with dancing, but these would be rare. The feeble health of some and the pressing business of other members would make revival workers very few. Conversions would not be nearly so certain a mode of growth as accessions from other churches. There would be no danger of doctrinal disputes separating the Union Dancing Evangelical Church from other churches as it would be liberal, and other churches might see platoons of their members seceding and going to the new organization, and could say of them: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The U. D. E. Church could have its own religious periodicals, and foreign missionary society, and without drawing away more from the old churches than its prayer-meetings would abate the numbers of the others. Here is a golden opportunity for some fiery reformer to add one to the number of denominations, and at the same time add greatly to the efficiency of all others.—Golden Censer.