Review and Herald, Vol. 18, No. 25. (11/19/1861)

Review and Herald

Nov 19, 1861

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 19, 1861

Elijah the Tishbite

From "Elijah the Tishbite."

OuR imagination can picture Ahab now arrived at his palace in Jezreel, which appears to have been his summer residence, on account of its agreeable situation. We are certain that Jezebel, his queen, could not have been indifferent as to the issue of the great contest at Carmel; and we may well suppose that she was expecting, with impatience, the return of the king. We have seen that he returned at full speed, in a violent rain; and it is easy to imagine him hastily alighting from his chariot before the palace, and hurrying into the apartments of his imperious consort, to announce to her the wonderful occurrences he had just witnessed. Elijah meanwhile remains in the neighborhood, awaiting the issue of the great events which had been brought to pass. His hopes were probably at this time raised high; perhaps he even promised himself an immediate return, both of prince and of people, to the God of their fathers.

Ahab, full of the tidings of these strange events, "told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword." We can imagine with what emotions he would enter her apartment, and say, "The Tishbite has triumphed! Fire from heaven has confirmed his word. Upon his prayer, with my own eyes I have seen flames fall from the skies, consume the burnt-offering, the wood, the stones, and lick up the water in the trench. All the people can bear witness to it. They fell on their faces and cried out, as with one voice, that Jehovah is God. The priests of Baal are slain; Elijah and the people have destroyed them, and their blood is flowing in the brook Kishon. They were laughed at as liars and impotent deceivers. Their authority and their worship is gone forever. There is universal enthusiasm for Elijah. He is a prophet of the living God. The miracle on Carmel has placed it beyond a doubt, and these heavy rains completely confirm it. At his command they fall; he closed heaven, and he has now opened it again."

In some such manner as this we may suppose the king communicating these tidings to Jezebel, and then breaking off in the midst of his narrative, as if he had been thunderstruck. On what account? Alas, he sees the face of his queen gather blackness like a storm. The weak king, as one "whom Jezebel his wife stirred up," for thus the sacred historian speaks of him, is evidently completely under her influence; and when he perceives the effect his narrative has upon her, his opinion is quite changed; he begins to take another view of the wonders at Carmel, as also of Elijah himself. Jezebel resolves to gratify her blood-thirsty revenge, and she is the adored mistress of Ahab's affections. The deluded monarch appears not to have dared to think differently from Jezebel his wife. He appears as a lamentable instance of one, who, though not totally insensible to the voice of truth, continues a wretched slave to the father of lies. His heart was given to Jezebel, and her affection is the price to which every thing else was to be sacrificed. On her behaviour to him was all the happiness of his life suspended. He was the sport of her tempers; and she exercised over him the most unlimited control. Pliant, like clay on the potter's wheel, and capable of taking any form, he was always ready to be what she was pleased to make him. Sold by affection, under her influence he soon lost the last remains of manly steadfastness; and, before he was aware, his own individuality was so much sunk in that of his proud and imperious mistress, that he heard only with her ears, saw with her eyes, and felt and thought only with her.

A great many persons, in every age, are thus led blindfold by human influence. The chains with which the prince of darkness binds mankind to his yoke and banner, are not always the grosser vices and lusts: he secures thousands of souls to himself and to hell, by attaching them with the silken cords of tender affection to persons who have taken a decided part with the enemies of the cross of Christ. Now, whatever the bond may be, whether paternal, filial, conjugal, or social, the effect is the same. The influential person or persons rule with irresistible power, and the poor captive soul thinks not for itself, has no firmness or independence; friends and party govern it altogether, and this in spite of the most distressing convictions. Nor is it by perverted human affection alone that men are kept back from the truth. There are others, and not a few, who are equally far from the kingdom of God, by reason of the homage they pay to human intellect, either in themselves or others. The corrective of all these different sorts of error would be a heartfelt belief of those plainest declarations of the gospel: "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and your spirit, which are God's." "He that cometh from heaven is above all." "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." And again, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." And you who exercise influence over others, take heed that you prove not, in this respect, the agents of the great enemy of souls; for if through you any "weak brother perish," "his blood will be required at your hands." Remember, that whoso destroyeth a soul, "him will God destroy."

Wo, then, unto those men of talents and acquirements, who, with revolting ingratitude, transmute the gifts and abilities which God has vouchsafed them, into weapons of darkness; who, under the influence of the great deceiver, assault the most sacred things of God. Wo unto those much-admired rulers of literature, who, in wicked self-deification, use the power they possess over the minds of men, to rivet more firmly the bonds of infidelity and hostility to Christ upon the neck of the present generation; and who exert their genius in preparing those intoxicating notions and anti-christian systems which delude themselves and others to their destruction. Wo unto those brilliant heads in laurel crowns, that cover the kingdom of sin with fantastic enchantments, and overturning every sacred restraint, implant the horrible delusion in the mind, that he sinneth not who only contrives to sin poetically and elegantly. Wo to those whose voices give the tone to the world, who have sufficient means for becoming the Ezras and Nehemiahs of their time, but who are a pestilence to the age they live in, by darting forth their wit in seductive and blasphemous falsehoods; and abuse the weak understandings of those who hang in admiration upon their lips, in order imperceptibly, under the pretense of superior light, to scatter sparks of rebellion against Jehovah and his Anointed. Wo, wo unto these betrayers of mankind! Their part will soon be acted. A time is coming, when, from the very lips that now satiate them with their plaudits, only the dreadful thunder of furious execrations will meet their ears; and when the very hands which now crown them with laurel, will be extended toward heaven against them, to draw down upon them the lightning of an eternal curse. Be not deceived! mistake not the present course of things for the final decision. The decision will be pronounced by Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire, and who weighs with other scales than those of the deluded world, which only pays homage to external glitter. Your glory has its season and its period, like the flower of the grass. "All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away."

[Those wielding an influence for error, because it is popular, and those being led by such influence, should ponder the above. And those who contemplate connections of ungodly influence, will do well to pause and consider.]

TRUE PIETY.

To be the thing we seem; To do the thing we deem Enjoined by duty; To walk in faith, nor dream Of questioning God's scheme Of truth and beauty.

Casting self-love aside, Discarding human pride, Our hearts to measure; In humble hope to bide, Each change in fortune's tide, At God's good pleasure.

To trust, although deceived; Tell truth, though not believed; Falsehood disdaining; Patient of ill received, To pardon when aggrieved, Passion restraining.

With love no wrong can chill, To save unwearied still, The weak from falling:— This is to do God's will On earth,—and to fulfill Our heavenly calling

Refresh Your Memory with Good Things Daily

Refresh your memory with good things daily.

Unlawful Marriages.

By M. E. Cornell

We are not of those that "forbid to marry." The marriage institution is divine. Christ honored a wedding with his presence in Cana of Galilee, and the apostle declares that marriage is "honorable." But there are certain restrictions upon this subject which should be observed as given in the Bible.

There is in the popular churches and the world almost an entire disregard of the instructions of Jesus Christ in respect to marriage and divorces. Even Adventists have not been entirely clear in this matter. It is an easy thing to conform to the low standard of morality in these degenerate times, and yet live in violation of the precept of Christ. When we see that divorces are often obtained for the most trivial causes, we are reminded of the words of the apostle, that in the last days they should be "truce-breakers" and destitute of "natural affection."

The Scriptures warrant a divorce for one cause only, and to marry one that had become separated for another cause would be unlawful. Christ, when interrogated upon this subject gave the following rule:

"He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."

The apostle Paul instructs as follows: "And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband. But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with him, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife." 1 Cor. vii, 10-16.

The above testimony is unequivocal, and none need mistake his or her duty in this matter, and were these instructions generally heeded, a vast amount of human suffering would be saved. There can be no safety in departing in the least degree from these plain and wholesome rules. But there is another point in this subject to which we wish to call especial attention, namely, in regard to marrying unbelievers. In many instances where Sabbath-keepers have married unbelievers they have brought upon themselves much trouble. Some have been led away from the truth by such means, and are now without hope. Those who will presume to go contrary to the plain direction of God's word cannot expect to prosper. Moses directed by the Lord gave the following:

"Neither shalt thou make marriages with them: thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly." Deut. vii, 3, 4.

Joshua in his farewell address to Israel gives the following important charge:

"Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. Else, if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you." Josh. xxiii, 11-13.

Although this had an especial application to Israel at that time, yet it contains a principle which applies with equal force to the present, when God has set his hand the second time to gather the remnant of his people. On this point the apostle says:

"The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth: but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord." 1 Cor. vii, 39. From this testimony we conclude that a believer is not at liberty to marry one that is not in Christ.

Unlawful marriages was one of the crying sins of the antediluvian world. They did not stop to inquire what was right, or would be for the glory of God, but after their own unholy desires "they took them wives of all which they chose." Gen. vi, 2. Let our young people beware that they do not offend in this matter. All must be done to the glory of God. The duty to be separate from unbelievers is plain. You have no right to keep the company of unbelievers. The first step toward a union with them is wrong. The following testimony, though applicable to all believers under all circumstances, has a double force when applied to the marriage relation. "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?" 2 Cor. vi, 14, 15.

This text, though not spoken with direct reference to unlawful marriages, has a principle which will apply to them. If it forbids intimacy with unbelievers in general, it of course will apply to any particular case. If to associate with them is to be "unequally yoked," how much more so to marry them. These remarks cannot apply to those who are already married when they embrace the truth, but will certainly apply to those who would voluntarily place themselves in that unequal yoke. As a hint to the wise is sufficient I will only refer to the following:

"I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and I will not sit with the wicked. I will wash mine hands in innocence; so will I compass thine altar, O Lord: that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honor dwelleth. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men." Ps. xxvi, 4-9.

"Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away." Prov. iv, 14, 15.

"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." John xv, 19.

M. E. CORNELL.

Organization.

By Dexter Daniels

DEAR BRO. WHITE: I want to say that I fully approve of the doings of the Battle Creek Conference upon the subject of organization. Although it startled me a little at first, after a moment's reflection all was settled in my mind. Because there can be no kingdom or church on the earth that can exist without organization. Without organization any kingdom or church must go to pieces. If God is the leader of this people, there will be order: for there will be order in God's house. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. 1 Cor. xiv, 33. And before the church can be all brought into the unity of the faith, this house

must be organized (so it seems to me), and then the Lord will add unto it such as shall be saved, and the saints will be rebuked and corrected and reproved until they all come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Eph. iv, 13. But if one says, I will have it thus and so, and another says, I must have it thus and so, where would be the end of this confusion? God must have a house now, and that house will be organized, then the true saints will bring all their tithes into the storehouse, and there will be meat in God's house (money in the treasury), and the Lord says, Prove me now herewith if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing (latter rain) that there shall not be room enough to receive it. But if God has no storehouse, how can the saints bring their tithes into it?

Dear brethren, to you that are afraid of this house of order, I wish to say, Do not be afraid. Do not try to steady the ark. God will take care of that himself. Let those take care of the ark whom God has chosen to bear it. We need not be troubled about it. God is doing his work just right. This work of order is not of the enemy. No, no. He would be glad to have it broken up; for he is a disorganizer; he loves confusion; and if he cannot make us stumble at the holy law, he will try to make us stumble at the organization of this house, or at something else. He is on the lookout for all the weak and feeble ones. But I would say to all the fearful ones, Come, let us go up of our own free will and help build the house of the Lord. This voice sounds to me like the voice of the good Shepherd. This will shut out all impostors. I rejoice in this house of order.

Do we believe the third angel's message is of God? Yes, we do. Then it is worthy of God's guidance. Then God will guide it; and he will entrust this work in the hands of such men as will do it right. All that I have to fear is, that I shall not be found worthy of a place in this house. But I am trying to overcome Satan and his devices, that I may be worthy to work in some humble place in the house.

I was at the Wilbraham Second Advent camp meeting one year ago this fall, and there I saw a sample of the no-organization system. Such confusion of sentiment I never witnessed before. No two agreeing, it was contention all over the camp. It was Babylon truly. We have been so much afraid of Babylon that Satan will try to make us believe that anything like order is Babylon. I think that I have learned something of his devices in my experience, and I will try to profit by it.

Dear brethren, God has a true church; and he will have true leaders in the church. Now let us be true soldiers, ready to obey orders, and go up and help build the house of the Lord, and we shall soon see the salvation of God. O, I want a place among the pure and the holy ones. I want a place among the redeemed at last. Many times I have thought of Bro. Miller's beautiful dream. I want to quote a little of it. He says, after speaking of his death, in his dream, "I remembered

no more until I arrived at the top of the stairs, where I found myself in an upper room, filled with the purest light that my eyes ever beheld. I looked for the cause, but there was none: neither sun, nor moon, nor candle. The light was brighter than the brightest rays of the sun, yet it did not dazzle; it was as soft and easy to behold as the morning tints. The room appeared to be arched, yet I could not discover its hight. The floor appeared like crystal glass, very thick, yet it did not restrain the sight, for I could see all below. The room extended from east to west. On each hand was a walk, on which I saw many walking. I was directed to walk with them, when I found that they were singing, Hallelujah to the Lamb. The music was soft and sweet. It fell on the ear without any jar or pain. I beheld many persons that I knew. I heard them sing. No silent ones there. I thought of the love they had one for another. I thought I felt its fame, the pure, unadulterated love, no mixture of self beyond another. I saw of all denominations of Christians, yet all distinction was taken away. Here was a communion indeed. Here was no ennui, no hatred, no evil thoughts: nothing to hurt or annoy. O ye selfish votaries, could ye but see this happy throng, you would cover your faces with shame; you would hide if possible from the face of the Lamb and him that sitteth on the throne. I felt myself free from every clay, and all my soul was swallowed up in this celestial throng.'

God is trying us in this world to see if we will submit to discipline before we get into the kingdom; and if we will not be disciplined in this world to the church, how shall we join the church of the first-born in the kingdom of God? O let us be careful how we oppose this work, lest we be found on the outside with every unclean and abominable thing. We cannot be found within this temple of we oppose its organization, any more than the opposers of God's law can be found among the Sabbath-keepers. Nominal Adventists think they are keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, when, in fact, they are continually opposing God's law. So, how can we be found working in the house of the Lord, when we are continually opposing its organization? If we oppose this work, shall we not be like those that opposed the Israelites when they built the house of the Lord? O let us not hinder the work. See Nehemiah iv. My prayer shall be, Lord strengthen the builders, and I will try to send them some things that they shall need. I believe that God has begun to bring his church together into the unity of the faith, a perfect, organized, holy church. Then the church will be prepared for the latter rain, and the loud voice of the third-angel. God will pour out a blessing upon his house, that there will not be room to receive it.

Your brother trying to overcome, that I may have a shelter in the day of wrath.

DEXTER DANIELS.

New Boston, Mass.

A Saving Interest in Christ.

QUESTION. What is the great business a man has to do in the world?

ANSWER. To make sure a saving interest in Christ Jesus, and to walk suitably thereto.

Q. Have not all the members of the visible church a saving interest in Christ?

A. No, verily; yea, but a few of them have it.

Q. How shall I know when I have a saving interest in him?

A. Ordinarily the Lord prepares his own way in the soul by a work of humiliation, and discovers a man's sin and misery to him, and exercises him so therewith, that he longs for the physician Christ Jesus.

Q. How shall I know if I have got a competent discovery of my sin and misery?

A. A competent sight of it makes a man take salvation to heart above anything in this world: it makes him disclaim all relief in himself, even in his best things; it makes Christ, who is the Redeemer, very precious to the soul: it makes a man stand in awe of sin afterward, and makes him content to be saved upon any terms God pleases.

Q. By what other ways may I discern a saving interest in him?

A. By the going out of my heart seriously and affectionately toward him, as he is held out in the gospel; and this is faith or believing.

Q. How shall I know if my heart goes out after him aright, and if my faith be true saving faith?

A. Where the heart goes out aright after him in true and saving faith, the soul is pleased with Christ alone above all things, and is pleased with him in all his three offices, to rule and instruct as well as to save; and is content to cleave unto him, whatever inconveniences may follow.

Q. What other marks of a saving interest in Christ can you give me?

A. He that is in Christ savingly is a new creature; he is graciously changed and renewed, in some measure, in the whole man, and in all his ways pointing toward all the known commands of God.

Q. What if I find sin now and then prevailing over me?

A. If you be afflicted for your failings, confess them with shame of face unto God, resolving to strive against them honestly henceforth, and flee unto Christ for pardon, you shall obtain mercy, and your interest stands sure.

Q. What shall the man do who cannot lay claim to Christ Jesus, nor any of those marks spoken of?

A. Let him not take rest until he make sure to himself a saving interest in Christ.

Q. In what way can a man make sure an interest in Christ, who never had a saving interest in him hitherto?

A. He must take his sins to heart, and his great hazard thereby, and he must take to heart God's offer of pardon and peace through Christ Jesus, and heartily close with God's offer, by betaking himself unto Christ the blessed refuge.

Q. What if my sins be singularly heinous, and great beyond ordinary?

A. Whatever thy sins be, if thou wilt close with Jesus Christ by faith, thou shalt never enter into condemnation.

Q. Is faith in Christ alone required of men?

A. Faith is the only condition upon which God offers peace and pardon unto men; but be assured, faith, if it be true and saving, will not be alone in the soul, but will be attended with true repentance, and a thankful study of conformity to God's image.

Q. How shall I be sure that my heart accepts of God's offer, and closes with Christ Jesus?

A. Go make a covenant expressly, and by word speak the thing unto God.

Q. What way shall I do that?

A. Set apart some portion of time, and, having considered your own lost estate, and the remedy offered by Christ Jesus, work up your heart to be pleased with, and close with that offer, and say unto God expressly, that you accept of that offer, and of him to be your God in Christ; and do give up yourself to him to be saved in his way, without reservation or exception in any case: and that you henceforth will wait for salvation in the way he has appointed.

Q. What if I break with God afterwards?

A. You must resolve in his strength not to break, and watch over your own way, and put your heart in his hand to keep it; and if you break, you must confess it unto God, and judge yourself for it, and flee to the Advocate for pardon, and resolve to do no more so: and this you must do so often as you fail.

Q. How shall I come to full assurance of my interest in Christ, so that it may be above controversy?

A. Learn to lay your weight upon the blood of Christ, and study purity and holiness in all manner of conversation; and pray for the witness of God's Spirit, and his testimony will establish you in the faith of an interest in Christ.

Q. What is the consequence of such closing with God in Christ by heart and mouth?

A. Union and communion with God, all good here, and his blessed fellowship in heaven forever afterward.

Q. What if I slight all these things, and do not lay them to heart to put them in practice?

A. The Lord cometh with his angels, in flaming fire, to render vengeance to them who obey not this gospel; and thy judgment shall be greater than the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.

THE HOLLINS TURTLE.

The following description of the Turtle, with which Greytown Hollins attempted to destroy our fleet, has reached us by a circuitous route from New Orleans:

The Turtle is a vessel of great power of engine. She has a bow 9 feet long, of oak planks, secured all around by timbers 6 feet in thickness, also covered in the same manner, and made perfectly tight and solid, beside being shielded with iron plates two inches in thickness. The hull is only 2<span class="s">¼</span> feet above the water level. She is destined to run into the Brooklyn, which lies down on the Balize, and to sink her. She is provided with a

steam-borer or auger, about the size of a man's arm above the elbow, intended to make a hole in the vessel. Twenty-five hose are kept to throw boiling water over the Brooklyn to keep her hands from defending her. Already several trials have been made with her, which the rebels say, have given complete satisfaction. Cannon balls have rebounded when fired upon her, producing no injurious effect, and in fact it is very difficult to hit her, so small a portion of her being above water.—N. Y. Tribune.

Can Two Walk Together Except They Be Agreed?

RELIGION is walking with God. In order to our walking with God, we must be reconciled to him, and so experience a change of mind. We must be converted, and change our course. We must be influenced by a holy principle, take his word as our rule, and aim at his glory as our end. Sinners and God go in opposite directions. The sinner loves what God loathes, chooses what God prohibits, and prefers what he despises. If two walk together they must be agreed; therefore God cannot walk with a Pharisee, nor with a licentious person, nor with an unbeliever. We must come to an agreement with God on all important subjects,—as to the method of obtaining pardon ; as to the terms of acceptance with him ; as to the nature of true happiness : as to the importance of practical holiness ; and as to what constitutes true honor. God and sinners are not agreed ; and therefore they cannot enjoy each other's company, or minister to each other's joy. God is all right, being holy, just, and good; the sinner is all wrong, being impure, unjust, and depraved. God therefore cannot come to agree with the sinner in his sins, but the sinner must be brought to an agreement with God. This is what the gospel aims at ; to this the whole economy of redemption is directed ; on this God's heart is set ; therefore we meet with these wonderful words: "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ; and hath committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." "What concord hath Christ with Belial?" 2 Cor. vi, 15.

What Shall I Do Unto Thee?

“O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee?” Hosea vi, 4.

God speaks as one in perplexity, as if he were at a loss what to do. He condescends to consult man as to his own case. He had wrought great deliverances for them, he had conferred the greatest favors upon them, he had sought to win them to himself, but all in vain, and now he asks, “What shall I do?” Sinner! God has given you his word, his ordinances, his day. He has presented to you his son, and offered you his Spirit. He has warned you solemnly, he has exhorted you earnestly, he has invited you lovingly. He has set life and death, heaven and hell before you, and has advised you to choose the former and escape the latter. He has spoken to you by his providences, he has alarmed your conscience, and he has supplied you with the most powerful motives to turn unto him and live. And yet you remain as you were,—far from God, averse to God, refusing to submit to God. Now, then, hear him ask you, “What shall I do unto thee?” Shall I break your proud spirit by a succession of terrible visitations? Shall I force you to heaven against your will? Shall I do violence to your judgment, your affections, or your will? Or, shall I give you up, and henceforth leave you entirely to yourself? God speaks to you in kindness, in love, in earnest love: what would you have him do? Must he punish you? Will you lay him under the necessity,—is the just God, is the insulted moral Governor to punish thee? If so, hear him clear himself: “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will ye die?” If you perish now, your destruction will be entirely of yourself. You will die a suicide. You will be the author of your own condemnation. “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?” Isaiah v, 4.

THE SABBATH.

By Editor

Recently there have been many inquiries relative to the proper observance of the Sabbath. And as these questions evidently arise from a conscientious desire to keep the Sabbath holy, it is a pleasure to notice them. In looking over this subject we find the following excellent remarks from the pen of Bro. Smith, REVIEW, Vol. xvii, No. 7:

"The fourth commandment is very definite. It gives direction to the man concerning his son, his daughter, his man-servant, and maid-servant, and it places the stranger, while within his gates, on the same footing, and under his control. But what are his 'gates?' and who is the 'stranger?' Ans. We understand by 'thy gates,' any real estate under the control of the individual, and by 'thy stranger,' any person who does not sustain to that individual the relation of son or daughter, man-servant or maid-servant. Does an individual call upon a Sabbath-keeper on the Sabbath? He is not to do any work while within his gates or on his premises. Should he presume to (other of course than works of necessity and mercy), it would be the Sabbath-keeper's duty to make known his wishes for him to desist. If a Sabbath-keeper has a piece of land or a farm, it is his gates while he holds personal possession. And if he suffers on such farm or land labor to be done on the Sabbath, we cannot see how he lives up to the commandment which makes it incumbent on him to see that all within his gates, son, daughter, man-servant, maid-servant, cattle and stranger refrain from labor."

The design of the fourth commandment is to secure to the people of God rest and freedom from worldly care upon the seventh day. Any arrangement of secular matters which would endanger the quiet of the Sabbath, and be liable to take the mind from sacred subjects, is not in harmony with the great object of the Sabbath. Hence all within our gates should yield to the claims of the Sabbath law.

With this view of the subject, we do not see how those who conscientiously reverence the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, can take those into their houses as boarders who labor on the seventh day. In most cases boarders coming in for their meals, would require that attention upon the Sabbath which would disturb the quiet upon that day which was designed to be secured to the people of God.

Again, if a brother rents a shop to a Sabbath-breaker which is on the same village or city lot on which he lives, he and his family may often have their minds called from the sacredness of the Sabbath by circumstances connected with the business of that shop. Hence all within his gates should rest. Or if he rents the home farm, or any part of it, to a Sabbath-breaker, those within his gates are liable to have their minds caught away from the heavenly to the earthly by the usual stir of ploughing and sowing, driving and carting, reaping and threshing. If a special contract be made not to have labor performed on the home premises on the seventh day, then in most cases Sabbath disturbances are prevented. The following questions are from Bro. B. F. Snook:

"If a brother rents a farm and receives one-third of the grain, and the farm is worked on the Sabbath, does he not share in Sabbath-breaking profits? Again, suppose that instead of grain rent he receives cash rent, does that lessen the crime?"

We think the kind of rent can make no difference in this case. The great principle of the Sabbatic institution must govern us. Its design was to call the people of God from worldly labor and worldly thoughts upon the seventh day, and bring them into close communion with God; hence all within their gates should rest according to the commandment.

In answer to the question relating to sharing in Sabbath-breaking profits, we say, he does. But suppose this farm is five miles from the brother's home place, and he rents it for one year, and thus puts it from his control, and is in no way disturbed by the labor that is done on the farm during that time, how does he violate the great principle of the Sabbatic institution by sharing the profits of labor done on that farm upon the seventh day?

As we wish more time to think upon this subject, and more space to express our thoughts than can be spared this week, we close by requesting from Bro. S. and others an answer to our interrogation.

Continue reading: KEEPING CLOSE TO GOD