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Review and Herald, Vol. 35, No. 20.

OUR FAITH AND HOPE;
Earlier text: OUR FAITH AND HOPE;

Parleying with Temptation.

WE are in a world of temptations. We cannot escape them. Fortunately the temptations themselves are not sins. The sin lies in yielding; and the yielding is almost invariably preceded by a parley. Parleying with temptation is the grand avenue to all the sins which the tempter would have us commit. If we can close up this, we fortify ourselves against many dangers.
What is meant by parleying with temptation is most strikingly illustrated in the history of Balaam. When the messengers of the king of Moab came to him with splendid offers, if he would come and curse Israel, the Lord expressly told him not to go with them. A second deputation arrives with richer bribes and more imposing honors. Under an affectation of piety he says, “Tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.” God had once expressly forbidden him. Of that he was well aware. But the offers were tempting. The prize was worth securing. And now could not he, notwithstanding God’s prohibition, some way secure the reward consistently with duty? He gave his mind up to the unlawful study of how to reconcile these two things. And because he loved the ways of unrighteousness, more than his duty to God, God gave him up to follow his own ways; and the sad results are known to all.
The human mind reasons now just as it did then; and thousands are substantially following the steps of Balaam. There are four principal ways in which we give the tempter access to us, and even solicit his assaults.
1. The first is when we re-open for debate a question which has once been decided. Our first judgments are the best. They spring from the intuitive perceptions of conscience before it is biased by after thoughts. Subsequent considerations are too often but the pleadings of selfishness or dishonesty to escape from the convictions of conscience. If Balaam, once expressly informed by God of his duty, and decided in that direction, had adhered to that decision, he would have been safe. But he re-opened the question for further discussion. Perhaps the question was not fully settled after all. Perhaps it could be decided in some way which would allow him to receive the reward which he so much coveted. Here was his first great stride toward his fearful fall. And so it is with us. Therefore when a question has once passed the tribunal of conscience, and been decided in accordance with clear perceptions of right, take your stand immovably upon that decision. Let the enemy understand that that is not a debatable question. This will save much after trouble.
2. The second way in which we weaken ourselves in the face of the enemy is when we do not at once subjugate the inward inclination which leads to the outward act. All things spring from within. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Every act can be traced to some inward motive. If these motives are right and pure, such will also be the actions which follow; if they are evil and impure, the actions will bear the same character. These hidden springs, therefore, need to be carefully watched. And when an inclination enters the heart which will lead to evil, subjugate it, suppress it, nip it in the bud, don’t let it mature. This is the easiest, quickest, surest, way to avoid the evils which will follow if this is not accomplished. The secret inclination in Balaam’s heart, which eventually matured into such bitter results, was the love of honor and gain. Could he not in some way secure these? This was the object of his parley; and this was the great cause of his fall; for the apostle mentions as his chief characteristic, that he “loved the wages of unrighteousness.” These secret inclinations being allowed to prevail, soon gain the understanding by special pleas addressed to it, and finally the will is drawn in, and the guilty deed is at once executed. Lay the axe at the root, suppress the inward inclination. The strength of the temptation is then gone.
3. The third way of parleying with temptation is to throw ourselves into circumstances of trial relying upon our own strength. The Christian’s strength is wholly in God. The Bible seeks to inculcate a true conviction of human weakness and guilt as the basis of all acceptable action. And the Christian’s sense of weakness is his strength; for it leads him to rely upon an unfailing arm. And it operates also in another direction; for feeling his weakness, he shuns temptation; and temptation shunned is powerless. The serpent cannot charm when we turn from him. These considerations teach us, first of all, to fly from temptation; but when we are thrust out where we are obliged to grapple face to face with the foe, then rely on God for help and strength. With every temptation he is able to make a way of escape.
4. The last and final stage is reached when conscience becomes a party in the conspiracy with evil, and sin is made to look consistent with duty. So long as a person will acknowledge right principles, there is hope of him, however reckless he may appear. There is some ground upon which a reform may be based. But when the conscience is brought into that place where it will bear a false testimony, and the distinction between right and wrong is broken down, then the person is wholly given up to evil. Here is the great danger. Conscience may be perverted; it may be seared; it may become evil. Alas for the victim, when he reaches that stage in self-deception! Hence the necessity of guarding well the conscience. Hence the value of a Christian education. Welcome, anything which will enlighten the mind, and restrain from sin. Welcome, anything which, though it may not entirely restrain from sin, will render it uncomfortable. Something is gained even then. Failing to secure the enjoyment falsely promised, the transgressor may turn to seek what reward there is to virtue.
“Every man,” says the apostle, “is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Such is the insidious entrance of evil; such is its awful result. We have spoken of some of the more usual avenues of its approach. If these can all be guarded we have but little to fear; and it is all summed up in one sentence: Don’t parley with temptation.

What is Coming?

MANY eyes are intently studying the horoscope of the future. So striking and so numerous are the portents of coming events, that the voluptuary in his insane chase for pleasure, the man of the world in the giddy whirl of business, people among all classes and in all avocations, are constrained to pause and inquire, What is before us? Nor is this true alone of our own and other enlightened lands, but even in distant India, in the benighted regions of heathenism, the same inquiry is raised. The Madras correspondent of the Interior (Presbyterian paper, Chicago) says:—
"It is remarkable how the whole world seems on the tip-toe of expectation, looking for some remarkable event shortly to happen—just as it was in the days immediately preceding the birth of Christ. And surely the day of his second Advent is drawing nigh. What a glorious prospect it is when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and when he shall reign from the river even unto the ends of the earth." A remark I read in the Madras Times, an entirely secular paper, impressed me greatly. After giving a brief summary of the events that took place in the world during last year, and the present position of things, it said:
"Surely none but the most foolish and senseless of men, but must pause at such a time as this, and ask what do all these things mean? Surely the crisis of the most remarkable events the world ever saw is at hand."
When worldly men see these things, how is it that Christians do not awake? I do feel every day more and more convinced that "the night is far spent, the day is at hand"—the bright and glorious day of Christ's coming.
"We have been talking on these subjects, and Mr. Tracy, who has been a missionary in Southern India for over thirty years, said:
"Let me tell you what the people down there think. The Mahometans say that for the next few years there are to be a great many troubles all over the world, wars, earthquakes, storms, and famines. Then their tenth and greatest Imaun (prophet or high priest) since Mahomet, is to appear. Then all the wicked are to be cut off, and he is to reign in righteousness all over the earth. The Hindoos also state that there has been a recent incarnation of Vishnu; that he is at present in the north of India, somewhere in the neighborhood of Cashmere; that he is now about thirteen years old; that he is being thoroughly educated, as soon as he arrives at man's estate he will proceed to Delhi, where he will be placed on the throne of his ancestors; that immense treasures are still concealed in that city, which he by his divine wisdom will soon discover; that before this, however, there will be the most dreadful wars, and plagues, and the strangest sights seen both in earth and heaven. Kings and queens, from all parts of the earth, will come to bring him presents, and to worship him, and those who do not, he will destroy. All those who are very wicked will die, but the good will all continue to live most happily while his reign shall last, which will be many thousands of years.
"Mr. Tracy tried if he could not trace these traditions up in some way to the Bible, but they are believed and held where the Christian religion was never heard of. Is it not singular?"

Before Honor is Humility.

By John Nevins Andrews

If we read the Bible with prayerful attention, we shall find that its biographies are wonderfully instructive. It never sanctions wrong, and never either excuses or hides it. Often, however, it tells the story of men's good deeds, without one word of praise, and of their evil deeds without any censure. But it is to be understood that this book contains the moral law, which every one can use in squaring the actions of men; and it is to be particularly observed that men's actions are given in such a manner that the consequences of good and evil at last appear with wonderful distinctness.
The wisdom of God in training men for honor by leading them through poverty and humiliation is very manifest from the records of their lives.
Saul is an instance of one who, in private life, was a good man, and yet, when elevated to the throne, became wicked, overbearing, and cruel. He could not bear his high honors. Had he been trained for many years in deep humiliation he would have been a very different king. Solomon is another instance of the inability of man to bear honor without previous training in poverty and sorrow. He came to the throne like the sun showing itself at its meridian hight when it first comes in view. That sun was overshadowed in disastrous eclipse, and perhaps set in eclipse also. Let no man ask for honor till humility has prepared him for it.
David is an illustrious instance of training in the school of poverty, humiliation and sorrow. God suffered him to receive injustice at the hands of Saul that he might learn to hate such wickedness and never act in that way when himself made king. Surely he had a schooling of inestimable value to prepare him for the throne. Yet with all this he had nearly made a fatal plunge when prosperity became his portion. David's case stands as a light-house built near most dangerous rocks. With all his previous training he was well-nigh ruined by what prosperity flowed in upon him. A lowly station in life is far preferable to one of an exalted character and it is infinitely safer.
Joseph in the providence of God was made lord of Egypt. But he had first to be thrown into the dungeon. He was sold for a servant. His “feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: UNTIL the time that hisword came: the word of the Lord tried him. The king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: to bind his princes at his pleasure: and teach his senators wisdom.” Ps. 105; 17-22.
The wisdom of God is seen in the history of Joseph. He could never have done the work for which he was exalted to that high station, had he not first been made a slave, and then a prisoner in iron in a dungeon.
Before honor is humility. Those who seek honor at the hands of God will spend their lives in the deepest self-abasement before him. Those that humble themselves, God will exalt. Those who exalt themselves he will certainly abase. Those who are exalted by him shall sit down with Christ upon his throne; and those who are abased by him shall suffer shame and everlasting contempt. J. N. A.

The Second California State Meeting of Seventh-day Adventists.

By D. T. Bourdeau

This meeting has just closed. It was an excellent meeting. Our expectations in regard to it were more than realized. It may safely be said that it has given a good impetus to the cause in California. About one hundred Sabbath-keepers were present; and on Sunday our commodious house, with its present temporary seats, was well filled. Seven discourses were given with good liberty on various practical and doctrinal subjects, and six prayer and social meetings were held, in which nearly all took part. At several points two or three were on their feet at once; and at one of these meetings, which was necessarily short for want of time, thirty-three spoke in twenty-eight minutes.
The blessings of the Spirit of God were enjoyed in rich effusions, and the general feeling and expression was that God is good; that we should praise him for the truth, and for what it has done, and try to be more in earnest, and arise on higher and holier grounds. Some who had served the Lord for years said this was the best meeting they had ever attended, and of course this was the sentiment of young beginners. Many rejoiced and expressed gratitude that they had at last found a people who served the Lord in simplicity and truth, and enjoyed so much of his spirit.
It was indeed interesting and cheering for the brethren and sisters to form so many new acquaintances; and to worship together. And we also realized that our distance from the brethren East did not exclude us from them, and from the blessing of the Lord, and that our dear brethren and sisters abroad were remembering us in their prayers.
All expressed a strong desire to have Bro. and Sr. White come to this State the coming season, as Bro. White intimated in the Review last fall. And we believe that if they should come prepared to remain from one to three weeks at each important point, much good would be accomplished, not only for the churches, but also for those from without.
At this meeting three were baptized, one of whom had been raised a Roman Catholic and had recently embraced present truth.
For two months past I have had an increasing conviction that the time was approaching for me to labor for my people; and for the past five weeks myself and wife have been closing up our labors with the churches, trying to do all we could in public and from house to house to raise them up to their duty and privilege at this stage of the work. During this time, we helped to complete the religious organization at Petaluma.
We leave this dear people with feelings of gratitude for their kindness to us, and for what the Lord has done for them, and with the expectation that God will still work for them and the cause in California, if they carry out their recent resolutions, and advance in the way of holiness. If they and the preachers will dedicate themselves wholly to the cause, work with God, looking to him for strength and wisdom and having no higher object than to glorify him by furthering the present truth, and working for the salvation of their fellow-men, we shall expect to hear of still greater success in California; for the work is now started.
When Bro Loughborough and myself came to California, there was but one in this county keeping the Sabbath; the work was naturally looked upon with caution; preachers and the press came out against it; we had to meet a great amount of prejudice, and had no funds in the State to depend upon. Now there are over one hundred keeping the Sabbath; four churches have been raised with reliable funds amounting to over $800, in gold, to say nothing of what may be received and raised in new fields the coming season; with the blessing of God and promptness on the part of the churches in paying their pledges, the mission is self-sustaining. Over one thousand dollars' worth of books are being read; the opposition from preachers is subsiding where the merits and strength of their position have been tested; the press in the country is favoring us in publishing for us such matter as is calculated to set forth our people and their views in their proper light before the public; and we think that the work generally is commanding the respect of the candid.
Wherever our lot may be cast, we shall remember California, hoping to meet with all our dear and tried friends when the war is over.
D. T. BOURDEAU.
Santa Rosa, Cal., April 11, 1870.

Envy.

By R. F. Andrews

Envy, says Mr. Webster, is, “Pain, uneasiness, mortification, or discontent, excited by the sight of another’s superiority or success, accompanied with some degree of hatred or malignity, and often, or usually, with a desire or an effort to depreciate the person, and with pleasure in seeing him depressed. Envy springs from pride, ambition, or love, mortified that another has obtained what one has a strong desire to possess.”
It is one of the vilest passions of the human heart. It is classed by the apostle Paul, in the first chapter of Romans, with covetousness, maliciousness, fornication, and murder; and the apostle James in speaking of it, says that it “is earthly, sensual, devilish,” James 3: 14–16, i. e., diabolical, partaking of the qualities of the devil. Envy leads man to commit all manner of external crimes. It caused Cain to murder his brother. It moved Joseph’s brethren to slay him. Gen. 37: 11, 20. They were withheld from it only by the power and providence of God, according to Psalms 76: 10. Stephen says, Acts 7: 9, that the patriarchs moved with envy sold Joseph into Egypt. Oh, how cruel! to turn a deaf ear to the earnest cries and entreaties of an own brother. They could not have done it had they not been blinded and urged on by the power of the devil.
Envy moved Saul to try to take the life of David. 1 Sam. 18: 11; 19: 10. But why should he be anxious to take David’s life? God had wrought a mighty deliverance for Israel through him. 1 Sam. 18: 40–54. He was a modest unassuming youth, and had demonstrated his loyalty to king Saul a number of times; especially when Saul was in the cave, 1 Sam. 24: 11, when it was in his power to take his life. 1 Sam. 26: 12. Saul had to confess that David had rewarded him good, while his course toward David was evil. At one time his eyes were so opened that he exclaimed, “I know well that thou shalt surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.” Saul felt this. It was more than a formal acknowledgment. He was moved to tears. 1 Sam. 24: 16–20.
Surely we might suppose him to be now cured. He had such an evidence of David’s innocence and uprightness of intention, that it would not seem that he could any more rise up against him. But alas, for poor fallen man, blinded by the power of Satan! In a very short time from this, we find him at the head of “three thousand chosen men,” thirsting for the blood of the man that was the means of saving his own life, 1 Sam. 26: 2, ready to hunt him down as a wild beast of the forest. Oh! the power of the devil over our fallen race.
It was envy that moved the presidents and princes of the Medo-Persian kingdom against Daniel, and prompted them to come before king Darius with a base and wicked lie in their mouths. Dan. 6: 7. It lives and grows in the hearts of those in high places, as well as those who are in the more humble walks of life. It is not confined to those who are destitute of wealth, honor, and fame, but may be seen among every class, from the lowest peasant, to the king, president, or emperor.
Haman could boast of “the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children,” his promotion and exaltation over “the princes and servants of the king,” and that he was the favored guest at Esther’s banquet. Yet he was not a happy man. The spirit of envy was in his heart. His testimony was: “All this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai, the Jew, sitting at the king’s gate.” And relief came only as he with his wife and friends plotted the destruction of an innocent man. Esther 5: 11–14.
It was envy that caused Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, to diffuse rebellion throughout the camp of Israel. It is a terrible plague, and will stick like the leprosy. To escape from it, we must walk in meekness and perfect submission to the will of God. It blinds the mind, perverts the judgment, and turns darkness into light, and light into darkness. It holds its devotees as with an iron band. A display of the divine power will hardly suffice to cure it for one night. “Who can stand before envy?” No wonder that James says it is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Envy brings down retaliation and vengeance on its own head. Cain exclaimed, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” Joseph’s brethren said, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.”
Saul’s course brought its just retribution. Daniel’s persecutors were themselves destroyed in the lions’ den. Haman perished on the gallows erected to hang Mordecai on. Little did blood-thirsty Haman think, at the time that he was preparing this instrument of death, that he was to be the victim. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, were signal victims of divine vengeance; and the men that participated in, and sympathized with them in, their rebellion, were accounted guilty in the sight of God, and suffered as incorrigible sinners.
May the Lord help us to be admonished. Oh! the necessity of our guarding our hearts on this very point. Many a bark, that bid fair to reach the heavenly harbor, has been wrecked on this fatal rock.
Envy prevents God’s blessing, and torments the soul where it dwells. Surely Cain did not have the blessing of God, while contemplating the murder of his brother.Could he enjoy peace after committing the terrible deed? No, indeed; nor could he until an entire reformation should take place in his life, and the spirit of envy be forever banished from his heart. The spirit of grace and the spirit of envy cannot dwell in the same heart. If they can, then there is concord with Christ and Belial, fellowship with righteousness and unrighteousness, and communion between light and darkness; which God’s word positively declares cannot be. 2 Cor. 6: 14, 15.
I would not be understood that men do not feel inspired while having envious and rebellious feelings in their hearts; for I believe they do; but what I claim is, that this inspiration is not from the Lord, but from Satan. Saul was inspired after God had withdrawn his Spirit from him. He changed spirits and was not aware of it. And, oh! how many in these days have been thus deceived by the devil. Envy and rebellion have crept into their hearts, and they themselves have landed on the rocks of universalism and infidelity. If this were all it would not be so bad as it is; but some have been successful in leading others astray from the landmarks of truth; and these are following fast, in the footsteps, of their leaders, to certain ruin. May the Lord open the eyes of those that still remain within reach of salvation. Have such apostates been walking in the counsel of God? Has God’s blessing been resting upon them? The place where they have landed ought to evince to every candid mind that they have been walking in darkness, and were led captive by the devil.
Envy is not merely against our fellow men, but it is against God and his providence. Did not Joseph’s brethren, in striking against him, strike against God? Was it not an invisible hand that raised David to the throne? In Saul’s malice and hatred against David, did he not stand up directly against the providence of God? Those who suffer envious and rebellious feelings to come into their hearts, forget that it is written that “promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” Ps. 75: 6, 7. Had Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, understood this, it would have been happy for them. Their hearts were unreconciled to the supreme disposer of events. And in being envious and rebellious against Moses, they rebelled against God; for it is written, “This is that Dathan and Abiram, which were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the Lord.” Num. 26: 9. These men were famous in their rebellion against God. They submit to be led by the humble instrument of God’s choice? Never. That, in their eyes, looked too much like one-man power. How could they humble themselves to acknowledge Moses as the chosen of the Lord, when “all the congregation” were “holy, every one of them.” No, indeed! They would rather ferment distrust, and suggest that Moses was determined to kill them “in the wilderness,” or else exalt himself to be “a prince over” them. And when their eyes were blinded by Satan, then they could charge Moses with putting “out the eyes of” the congregation. This looks like Satan’s masterpiece: first, to lead into rebellion, and then to represent that the loyal and obedient were being imposed upon, and had their eyes put out. I think we should do well to remember that these things were “written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
In conclusion I would say that envious feelings are unreasonable. By what method of reasoning can we excuse Cain? Upon what ground can we justify those that have harbored envy in their hearts, no matter against whom it has been. Oh! that God would root out of the hearts of his people this terrible evil. Paul says that without charity (love) “we are nothing,” and that “charity envieth not.”
R. F. ANDREWS.

Ministers' Yearly Reports.

By John Harvey Waggoner

A FEW words to some of our ministers on the subject of yearly reports may not be amiss; and if remembered by them may save the auditing committees much trouble.
1. Place no dependence on your quarterly reports for the yearly settlements. The quarterly reports are for the use of the Secretaries to aid them in keeping their accounts and to enable them to make their reports to the Conference. But these quarterly reports seldom go into the hands of the auditing committee.
2. For the above reason it is necessary to give a full account of your financial affairs for the whole year in your yearly report.
3. Be sure to keep your traveling expenses, or all expenses incurred for the Conference, separate from your personal expenses. It is well for the Conference Committee to know what your personal expenses have been, but the auditing committee have to do especially with your traveling expenses. Let these expenses be separately and plainly kept.
4. But contrary to this course, some ministers put in with their traveling expenses, the amounts they have paid for the S. B. fund, for charity or donations to various purposes, and so forth. In such cases the auditors have to separate and compute these several accounts; and hours are spent by the auditing committees over reports which might be settled in a few minutes, if properly made.
5. Do not mix in your expenditures with the record of your labor; but put your accounts by themselves in a business manner, and save trouble and perhaps mistakes.
J. H. WAGGONER.

Report from Bro. Taylor.

By C. O. Taylor

Oct. 7, 1869, I went to New Centerville, Oswego Co., to baptize one person. Three received the ordinance. The way opened to have meetings there. I continued them some three weeks. At times I was much encouraged to hope some would receive the truth. In this I was disappointed. One who had given up the Sabbath, commenced keeping it again. The few that had been keeping it for years were encouraged in hearing the truth spoken again.
After closing these meetings I endeavored to learn the mind of the Spirit of God, where to put forth labor, and not have it wasted. Went to the town of Parish, in the neighborhood where the tent was some twelve or thirteen years ago. Time had made its changes since then. Some had moved away, new ones had come in, and the youth had grown to years to think for themselves. I remained laboring from house to house during the day as my strength would permit, speaking to the people in the evening, for four weeks. When I left, ten were keeping the Sabbath. Here I formed an acquaintance with S. N. W. who, though making no profession of religion, and not keeping the Sabbath, had been for years advocating all the truth. He is one of the ten mentioned above. Has been for years superintendent of a Sunday School, always having an interesting one. I was much interested to hear him teach the youth the word of the Lord just as it reads in the Bible. His talent, if consecrated to the Lord, would help carry forward the work of the third angel. His father at the advanced age of 85, commenced keeping the Sabbath. Now as he has commenced obeying and seeking the Lord, we may expect good fruits from his labor.
During these meetings Bro. F. Wheeler was with us at several different times, and spoke the word with freedom and profit.
C. O. TAYLOR.

Trust Encourages Faithfulness

It goes a great way towards making a man faithful to let him understand you think him so; and he that does but suspect that I will deceive him, gives me a kind of right to cozen him.

COULDST THOU NOT WATCH WITH ME ONE HOUR?

By Mrs. E. M. Hicks

The night was dark, behold the shade was deeper, In the old garden of Gethsemane, When that calm voice awoke the weary sleeper, Couldst thou not watch one hour alone with Me?
O thou, so weary of thy self-denials, And so impatient of thy little cross, Is it so hard to bear thy daily trials? To count all earthly good a gainful loss?
What if thou always suffer tribulation? And if thy Christian warfare never cease? The gaining of the heavenly habitation, Shall gather thee to everlasting peace.
But here we all must suffer, walking lonely The path that Jesus once himself has gone; Watch thou in patience, but this one hour only, This one dark hour, before the eternal dawn.
The captive's oar may pause upon the galley, The soldier sleep beneath his plumed crest; And peace may fold her wing o'er hill and valley, But thou, O Christian, must not take thy rest!
Thou must walk on, however man upbraid thee, With Him who trod the winepress all alone; Thou wilt not find one human hand to aid thee, One human soul to comprehend thine own.
Heed not the mirages forever thronging, From out the foregone life, thou livest no more! Faint-hearted mariner, still art thou longing, For the dim line of the receding shore?
Wilt thou find rest of soul in thy returning To that old path thou hast so vainly trod? Hast thou forgotten all thy weary yearning, To walk among the children of thy God,
Faithful and steadfast in their consecration, Living by that high faith, to thee so dim, Declaring before God their dedication, So far from thee, because so near to him?
Canst thou forget thy Christian superscription, Behold we count them happy which endure? What treasure wouldst thou in the land Egyptian, Repass the stormy waters to secure?
Wouldst thou yield up thy sure and glorious promise, For the poor, fleeting joys earth can afford? No hand can take away the treasure from thee, That rests within the keeping of the Lord.
Poor, wandering soul! I know that thou art seeking, Some easier way, as all have sought before, To silence thy reproachful inward speaking, Some landward path, into an island shore.
Thy cross is heavy in thy human measure, The way too narrow for thy inward pride; Thou canst not lay thine intellectual treasure, At the low footstool of the Crucified.
Oh! that thy faithless soul one brief hour only, Might comprehend the Christian's perfect light; Despised with Jesus, sorrowful and lonely, Yet calmly looking upward in the strife.
For poverty and self-renunciation, Our Father yieldeth back a thousand-fold; In the calm stillness of our resignation, Cometh a joy they never knew of old.
In meek obedience to the heavenly Teacher, Thy weary soul can only find its peace; Seeking no aid from any human creature, Looking to God alone for his release.
And he will come in his own time and power, To set his earnest-hearted children free; Watch only thou this dark and painful hour, And the bright morning will yet dawn for thee.
Selected for REVIEW by MRS. E. M. HICKS.

California State Meeting.

By D. T. Bourdeau; M. G. Kellogg

AGREEABLY to previous appointment in the REVIEW, the second annual meeting of the California State meeting of Seventh-day Adventists, was held in Santa Rosa, Sunday, April 10, 1870.
Meeting was called to order by the President, Eld. D. T. Bourdeau. The Secretary being absent, Bro. M. G. Kellogg was chosen Secretary pro tem. Eld. D. T. Bourdeau, T. M. Chapman, and Wm. B. Dennison, were chosen as a committee on nominations. While this committee were selecting a board of officers, the minutes of the previous meeting were read and accepted. Bro. Loughborough also read a brief but interesting history of the California Mission, from the record in the Secretary's book. Elds. Bourdeau and Loughborough made their reports of receipts and expenses from April 12, 1869, to April 8, 1870, which were accepted. The Treasurer's report was made as follows:
Received from Churches: Windsor, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and Healdsburg, $624.35
Individuals, 139.35
Total received, $763.70
EXPENDED.
To preachers, $574.02
Tent-master, 7 months, 131.60
Tent expenses, 52.08
Book for State Records, 1.50
Total, $759.20
Balance in treasury April 8, $4.50
Report accepted. It was also further stated by the Treasurer that there had been paid in this State to ministers during the past year, aside from money paid into the treasury, $33.50; making a total raised in the State the past year for support of the mission, $797.20
Before the State meeting was organized, there had been raised in the State $112.80; making the sum total raised in the State since the commencement of the mission, in gold, $910.00, and $88.00 in gold for the general Book Fund of S. D. Adventists.
The subject of quarterly meetings was next taken up, and after appropriate remarks, a plan for quarterly meetings, previously prepared by the Executive Committee, was submitted for the consideration of the meeting, as follows:
Petaluma, the fourth Sabbath in April; Green Valley, the second Sabbath in May; Healdsburg, the first Sabbath in June; Santa Rosa, the first Sabbath in July; and in each place once in three months, dating from the time of the first meeting. This arrangement was unanimously adopted by the meeting. The following resolution was then read and adopted:
Resolved, That we hereby express our gratitude to God for sending Bro. Bourdeau to this coast, to labor in the Mission here, and that we pledge to him our sympathies and prayers for success as he now goes to labor among the French.
The Committee on Nominations presented the following list of officers who were elected by unanimous vote: President, J. N. Loughborough; Secretary, H. T. Hewitt; Treasurer, J. N. Loughborough; other two members of Executive Committee, M. G. Kellogg and John Bowman. Adjourned sine die.
D. T. BOURDEAU, Pres.
M. G. KELLOGG, Sec., pro tem.

Coming Events.

By C. P. WHITTORD

From the first it has been the faith of S. D. Adventists that in this government, oppressive laws would be enacted in religious matters as brought to view under the symbol of the image to the beast. Rev. 13: 11, 18. All along, indications of this have been growing stronger and stronger. Few of our people are aware of the depth and extent of the movement now in progress for the virtual union of church and state. The following, from the Church Union, shows what is aimed at:
“If we are Christians let us make no hypocritical pretensions of founding our government on Christian principles. If we are, and believe they should govern our whole life, let us have them incorporated in the basis of our government, and the national policy shaped to them. Let no one hold an office of trust or profit whose life has not been conformable thereto.”
No one can fail to understand the import of such language as this. No one but Christians to hold any office. But who shall determine who are Christians? Why, the ruling churches of course. All others will be branded as heretics, and all rights denied them. This is where we are surely drifting. The time is evidently near when an image to the beast will be formed. A series of movements all looking to this end, are taking place in all parts of the country. So far has the agitation already progressed that public documents are everywhere circulated. A national association has been formed, to carry forward the movement, and national conventions are being called in all parts of the country, and all American citizens, without distinction of party or creed, who are willing to pledge themselves to secure, under God, an open communion, and the recognition of our evangelical ministry, by the interchange of pulpits, thus to make visible the unity of the church, are called upon to unite heartily in the work proposed. They say they do not propose to form a Christian, nor even a Protestant, political, party; but the position is taken that “good men throughout the nation should be thoroughly organized and prepared to act promptly and unitedly in opposition to every thing that endangers our free institutions.” Among the things which they set down as endangering our free institutions, they mention, “The destruction of the Christian Sabbath.” And so minds are working, and the agitation moves on. It was truly said in REVIEW, No. 15, “There is a hidden power impelling it forward, which will soon make it the leading question of the day. Let us prepare for the scenes before us.”
C. P. WHITTORD.
Berkshire, Vt.
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