Review and Herald, Vol. 11, No. 18.
"Neither Cold nor Hot." Rev. iii, 16Page 1
It may be useful, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, to say a few earnest words to a class of persons who are not, perhaps, addressed so distinctly or so frequently as others; namely, those who rank themselves among the people of God, but whose aim, whose tone of piety, and whose spiritual attainments are so low, that it is difficult to distinguish their right to this holy title. With a humble desire to lead them to self-examination, to an elevation of their sentiments, and an ennobling of their minds, we wish to endeavor, first, to show what God requires of us, by a consideration of the language and tenor of his word; secondly, to discover the reason why so many seem unobservant of the force of these requirements; and then, thirdly, to find the remedy. I. WHAT DOES THE WORD OF GOD REQUIRE OF CHRISTIANS? In the book of God the Christian's course is described in the strongest terms; as a race, a conflict, a wrestling, a fight, a conquest, a "following fully," a "giving all diligence," a "more earnest heed," a "building up," a "going on unto perfection," a "praying in the Spirit, living in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit," a "being dead to sin," a life "hid with Christ in God," "affections set on things above," a "flesh crucified," a "world crucified," a glorying only "in the cross." There is no excuse for spiritual poverty, for "God is able to make all grace abound toward you," and to "give all sufficiency always in all things." The "all" of God's written word is very remarkable. In Colossians [chap. i.] there are thirteen "alls," including all wisdom, all pleasing, all might, all patience, all fullness; and all these, if we are Christ's, shall be ours. There is no sanction for lukewarmness in Scripture; it is written, fervent in spirit; and those who are neither cold nor hot God will spue out of his mouth. How awful! because the Laodiceans were "neither cold nor hot," but lukewarm! And because the inhabitants of Meroz came not to the help of the Lord, [Judges v, 23,] "Curse ye them bitterly, saith the Lord," because they were lukewarm, negative, and did not gather with him; therefore the Lord did curse them bitterly. O! we have need to shudder, if ours be this lukewarm, sluggard spirit, standing still, not coming up to the help of the Lord. There is another main feature of the real believer, portrayed in Scripture, which, it is to be feared, is grievously overlooked, and this is growth. Where there is life there should be growth. Every emblem and expression in Scripture referring to the life of God in the soul of man involves growth and progress as inseparable consequences. First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear; the babe, the child, the young man, the fathers and mothers in Israel; the little leaven which spreads and leavens the whole lump; the grain of mustard seed, smallest of all seeds, growing up and becoming a tree for birds to lodge in; smoke bursting into a flame, consuming the dross. The epistles teem with growing, increasing, abounding, fruits multiplying more and more, faith that groweth exceedingly, perfecting holiness, and being filled with the Spirit of God. Must we not, then, stand in doubt whether there can be life at all in religious professors in whom there is no visible growth? Year after year the same pleasure in paltry, perishing things, the same preference of their temporal over their spiritual interests, or of the pursuits of science and taste to self-denying work in the Lord's vineyard! The same unprofitable conversation, the same inconsistencies of conduct, the same absence of unction in their tone and spirit, the same acknowledgment of coming short, with no hearty effort to get nearer, and the same insensibility to their danger! Where is the deep conviction of sin, mourning for sin, groaning, being burdened by sin? the O wretched man that I am! the poignant sorrow, the cry of anguish, the godly sorrow that worketh repentance unto salvation? Where the carefulness, wrought by painful experience, and shown by separation from an ungodly world, the indignation at themselves, the vehement desire after holiness, the zeal, the revenge? Where is the deep humiliation of soul, accounting themselves chief of sinners? and where are the rivers of water running down their eyes because men keep not God's law, the sighing and crying for the abominations of iniquity, and the head of waters and eyes a fountain of tears to weep day and night for the sins of our land? O, do not all come fearfully short in these things? It is not wise to measure ourselves by ourselves, or with those who, like ourselves, may be false to their principles and their professions, sluggard in soul and stinted in stature; but to compare ourselves with the holy precepts and examples given by the finger of God for our guidance, is wise; and we would therefore contemplate two of the fruits of the Spirit, of which that Spirit treats, as a test of character. Love, sweet, holy, happy love, comes first. See this grace in its constraining power: Mary at the feet of Jesus, sitting there to hear his word, anointing his head with ointment, and so loving that she cannot leave him. Paul says, the love of God so constraineth us to live henceforth not unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us. The disciples left all to follow Jesus: perhaps it may be thought they had not much to leave in a few boats and nets; but they went forth to suffer reproach, persecution and death, and Paul left his scholastic lore, and his daily comforts, and counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Look, Christian professors, at this grace as it abounds to the children of God, and see if ye too abound in love. Have you done all when you have let an annual gift to some society go from your purse? Is this the measure of a Christian's love to souls? Is it such a love as will very gladly spend and be spent—though the more abundantly ye love, the less ye be loved; that travails in birth for souls until Christ be formed in them; affectionately desirous, and gentle, even as a nurse cherisheth her children; [I Thess. ii, 7, 8;] willing, like the apostles and evangelists, to have imparted not the gospel of God only, but also their own souls, because their converts were dear to them? Is it such a love as would lead the professor to yearn, and long, and weep, and pray day and night, and cease not? If such a spirit becomes the minister of Christ especially, it is not his sole prerogative; the women also labored with the Apostle in the gospel; [Phil. iv, 3;] and Priscilla and Aquila laid down their own necks for his life; [Rom. xvi, 4;] and the Macedonians—in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 2 Cor. viii, 2. Joy is another fruit. But if the signs of life are undeveloped, it is vain to look for the symptoms of health, which would be grace in exercise, the spiritual appetite, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, panting after God as the heart after the water-brooks, so the soul breaking from the longing it hath to his commandments at all times. These are all characteristics of men of like passions with ourselves; for we have not attempted to set forth that example which is especially given for our imitation, that we should walk in his steps, even in those of our blessed Lord himself. We have not spoken of his love—his heights of holiness and depths of humility, the length of his forbearance and compassion, and the immeasurable breadth of his redeeming love. Here we should indeed be lost; but even if you compare the light in you with the bright glowing flame that burned in the hearts of God's people of old, you will surely be ready to fear lest that light be darkness. Survey yourselves in the unerring mirror of the word of God, and you will see yourselves grievously defective in the features of the family of which you call yourselves children.138 And in reply, we may say that it is because you do not consult the mirror as you should; you do not read your Bible with prayer, and therefore you do not read it with profit; you read to satisfy the conscience, and not to feed the soul. The root of the whole evil probably is that you do not love communion with God; your prayers are the offspring of fear rather than of affection, a duty more than a pleasure. You are, it may be, content, as you think, to avail yourselves of Christ's salvation, without studying how to show your gratitude for his saving grace; willing to appropriate the benefit of his work while wanting in love to his person! O! be sure that if you were in the habitual exercise of near and dear communion with Jesus, you could not live as you do; your laggard souls would get wings, and mount up as eagles; your faces would shine like Moses', at times, and your souls would become a sweet savor of Christ. III. What, then, is THE REMEDY?
It is true faith in Christ, and a living communion with the Father of your spirits through the Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. O friends, be ashamed of such a selfish, sordid religion as you think will just save you; tremble lest it be just too little. Faith worketh by love; if you have no love at work, fear lest yours be not a living faith. Seek, then, to have your hearts brought into close and blessed fellowship with Christ by the Spirit; to have your happiest time that which is spent with him in secret, while the Spirit makes to your soul fresh discoveries of his grace and beauty, displaying his love to you, and drawing your love out after him. When this is your happy experience, when from the deepest self-abasement springs up the highest exaltation in the Saviour, this is an unction from the Holy One—testifying, "He that believeth on the Son hath the witness in himself"; for then does the Spirit witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. O friends, follow after these great and gracious things! Be ashamed to creep when you might fly—to grovel in the mire when you might soar in a spiritual atmosphere; be ashamed of your spiritual poverty, when there are for you in Christ unsearchable riches—to stint your soul to such meager fare, when you are bidden to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, and the Spirit's royal mandate is, "Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved!" For the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, let your love in the Spirit be declared, [Col. i, 8,] for when there is more of this close walking in private, there will be less inconsistent walking before men. The people of God would not be found among the mixed multitude in such strange places; the putting on of apparel would come less in collision with putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, and being clothed with humility, and ornamented with a meek and quiet spirit; and the fashion of this world would in all things lose its baneful supremacy. Whatever tends to unfit the mind for close communion with God must be given up, and will be given up from choice; for nothing can compensate for the realized presence of God in the soul when once it has been tested there. Neither must we engage in anything on which we cannot distinctly ask and expect the blessing of God, fearing to do anything that we are not sure is for his glory. O beloved, we would warn, we would entreat you, come close and live close to Christ; give yourselves to prayer and to feeding upon the word; pray in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit. Thus the love of the Spirit will be more and more made known to you; your Saviour will be honored, your Father in heaven glorified, and neither angels above nor saints on earth will longer "stand in doubt of you;" but the eternal Spirit will bear record in you and of you, that you are children of God.—Tract, No. 198. CHRISTIAN SUBMISSION.
By Mrs. R. Smith
The Lord is mine, his will my choice,
I'm his to suffer or rejoice,
While here on earth I stay.
I know in whom I have believed,
He has my sacrifice received,
And will direct my way. Whate'er he calls me here to do,
He'll give me grace and help me through;
He'll lead and guide me home.
He's promised to be with me here,
And said to me, "Be of good cheer,
The world I've overcome." Let friends deride, let scoffers rage,
Let hell against my soul engage,
No one of them I fear.
My Lord has conquered all my foes,
In vain they rage, or me oppose,
While my Deliverer's near. Myself, my all, to God I give,
And in his glory would I live,
From sin's dominion freed.
I'll trust him though he hides his face,
Sufficient for me is his grace,
In every time of need. He's coming, whom we have desired,
In all his saints to be admired;
Even so, Lord Jesus, come.
Come, in thine own appointed way;
We'd wait in patience to that day,
When thou shalt call us home. MRS. R. SMITH.
West Wilton, N. H. Identity of the Resurrection body.
THE importance, in the Christian system, of the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, can not well be over-estimated; and although of late it has fallen into much neglect, yet, in the New Testament scriptures it is everywhere insisted upon, as the keystone of the arch—the foundation of the Christian faith. "For if there be no resurrection of the dead," says the Apostle, "then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." Infidelity has judged, and rightly too, that if this doctrine could be overthrown, Christianity itself must also fall; hence it is at this point she has aimed keenest shafts; more especially, as this, among the doctrines of revelation, has appeared to be farthest removed from the deductions of reason. The objections have usually turned upon bodily identity, as few have the effrontery to affirm that he who in the beginning created the body, is unable to raise it from the dead. The objections usually urged against the resurrection of the identical body are comprised in the four following propositions, viz.: 1. "That the body is in a constant state of change from birth until death; so that when it is said the body shall be raised, it can not be known what body is meant; as the individual, if he be an aged person, has had several entire changes during life-time; and if any one of these bodies be raised, it would not be the body inhabited by the soul, except for a very small period of human life." 2. "That the body becomes totally decomposed after death, mingling with other elements, forming various and numberless new combinations. That parts of it pass away into impalpable gasses; and these substances again uniting with other substances, and these substances again suffering decomposition, and so on until the identity of the body is utterly destroyed; so that the identical body never can be raised again." 3. "That the resurrection of the identical body implies the resurrection of every identical particle of matter of which the body is composed, neither more nor less." But, 4. "That it is impossible, in the nature of the case, as one body at death becomes parts of other bodies at their death; and, consequently, that two or more souls would claim the same body at the resurrection." The first objection assumes that the body is undergoing a constant state of change, through the destruction and renewal of its particles, so that the man, for instance, who has arrived at the age of seventy has had several totally distinct bodies, so far as their material is concerned; and although this fact has been stoutly denied, by those who defend the doctrines of the resurrection of an identical body, we can not see how, under the present light of physiological science, this denial can be made good; neither do we apprehend that it is necessary to make such denial, in order to sustain the doctrine of identity. On the contrary we shall make use of this very fact, in its proper place, to elucidate what we believe to be the true scriptural doctrine of identity. The second and fourth objections, also assume positions wholly incompatible with the present received notions of identity, and yet it is difficult to conceive how these conclusions can well be avoided by the ingenious mind. They assume that the matter of which the body is composed, is, at death, no longer held by the laws of life, which govern organized matter, but becomes subject to those laws which govern matter generally, and consequently is decomposed, and resolved into its original elements. Thus far we all agree, "Of dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Now that this matter may, unless hindered by the interposition of some special law, enter again into new combinations, and thus as at first, become integral parts of other human bodies at their death, no one will have the hardihood to deny. The question here at issue is, has such a special law been impressed upon the matter which happens to compose the human body at death, forever forbidding it to enter again into the composition of human bodies? We do not for a moment suppose that it is not in the power of God to impress such a special law upon the matter in question, but this we do affirm, that God never works by special legislation to accomplish an end that may as well be attained by original law; and to argue, in the present instance, that original law is insufficient, is to assume that we are acquainted with all its relations and capabilities. Nor can we discover that the special law theory, is supported either by facts or revelation, and on no other ground are we authorized to make such an assumption. And first as to facts; we will, for the sake of brevity, pass over the case where these human remains are supposed to enter into the organization of plants, and these again through the animal into the human, and will come at once to the extreme case of Cannibalism. Here we have man feeding upon his fellow man, and to argue that such food never enters into the organization of the body by way of nutrition, especially where, as in the case of shipwrecked mariners, such flesh has been the only accessible food for days and even weeks, is to our mind wholly gratuitous. But in case one particle of such food becomes organic in the body of such cannibal, and the individual dies in its possession, the commonly received theory of identity becomes untenable. Neither have we been able to find any intimation of the existence of such special law in the Scriptures, where alone we can look for a knowledge of God's special legislation. Others, in order to solve the difficulty, relinquish their claim upon every identical particle, and bring forward the germ theory. This assumes the existence of an indestructible germ in the human body, from which the resurrection body springs. But this theory encounters greater difficulties, than the preceding, inasmuch as it not only encounters all the objections that lie against the former,—since it would require just as truly the presence of a special law to save the germ from re-organization in the human body, as it would to save all the particles therefrom,—but it also affirms that there is a portion of the human body that never dies, which, to say the least, is of doubtful orthodoxy. Nor does the passage, [1 Cor. xv, 36, 38,] teach any such notion, as it would be extremely difficult to show that a single particle of the grain of wheat, much less the indestructible germ of that wheat, passes into each of the numerous grains that spring therefrom. The most that can be said here is, that in wheat and other seeds, there is a living germ which, nourished by the decay of the main body, is enabled thus to spring forth into the beginning of vegetative life, henceforth to draw its life from independent sources, so that whatever particles of the grain of wheat enter into the new organization, are expended long before the new grains which form the type of the resurrection body are brought forth. But we shall refer to this idea again in its proper place. The great blunder in the argument of those who support the commonly received theory, consists in the unqualified admission of the premises laid down in the third objection cited above, viz.: "That the resurrection of an identical body, implies the resurrection of every identical particle of that body." Let these premises be admitted, and the conclusions contained in the fourth objection must inevitably follow. But we deny the premises and loudly affirm that the resurrection of an identical human body does not necessitate the resurrection of one single particle of the body that is laid in the grave. The difficulty has arisen from misapprehending the true application of the term human body. This does not imply a determinate portion of matter, but a peculiar organization of matter, so that its identity as a human body resides not in the matter itself, but in its organizations and functions, and as the bodily organs themselves produce from totally different substances, an identical kind of flesh, so God may, in the resurrection, from entirely different material, raise a body that shall be identical with the one that was laid in the grave. Material is a matter of indifference, provided it possess identity of organization and function, so that what we really mean by the resurrection of an identical body is, peculiar organization of matter that was lost in death, is resumed in the resurrection. This idea of identity exactly agrees with the facts of science alleged in the first objection, so that what was brought forward as an objection, becomes a main pillar in support of the doctrine opposed. A man, for instance, is let down into a mine, and emerges at the end of ten years, clothed in the same identical body, though not actually in possession of a single particle of the matter which composed his body when he entered. The same illustration also, sufficiently refutes the objection, that if the new body does not contain the same identical matter, it becomes a new creation, and not a resurrection. If this be a new creation, then yonder aged man has139during his life, undergone a number of new creations. This view is also scriptural. In answer to a similar objection of identity, contained in 1 Cor. xv, 35, the Apostle exclaims, "Thou fool! that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die: and that which thou sowest; thou sowest not that body which shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat or some other grain." From this we learn, that as the production of the new wheat cannot take place without the death of the seed, so the production of the spiritual body cannot take place without the death or change of the natural one; and that as neither the wheat, nor even the germ that is cast into the ground, is the same with the grains that shall be produced, though these sustain to it the relation of fruit; so the resurrection body is not the same that was laid in the tomb, though sustaining to it the relation of fruit; and as the grain produced is identical in quality, appearance, and functions, though not in matter, with that which was cast into the earth, so the resurrection body is identical in quality, appearance and function, though not in matter, with that which was laid in the tomb, with only this difference, that was sown in corruption and weakness, but this is raised in incorruption a glorified body. "God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him." "All flesh," continues the Apostle, "is not the same flesh; but there is one kind of flesh of man, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds?" Now what but the power of God has made this variety? Not the difference in the material, certainly, of which they are composed, for the same kind of food may have entered into the composition of the flesh of a man and a beast, but the one is totally different in composition from the other. All we can say is, that God has so constituted men and beasts, that while the same kind and quality of food may enter into nutrition of each, the change it undergoes in each is different, constituting a different flesh in each. Then what becomes of your material identity? for if the body consists in identity of material, the same material must produce flesh in man and beast. Again, a great variety of material enters into the composition of the human body, and yet it is the same identical flesh; and this same identical body has, in the course of a man's life, been several times collected from different parts of the earth; then cannot God, in the resurrection, accomplish, without the intervention of bodily organs, what he has so often done through such organs? Hence the Apostle himself, clearly makes the distinction between material and bodily identity, and his entire argument becomes an overwhelming refutation of the former notion. But it is objected to this view of identity, that Christ, who is the first-fruits of the resurrection, was raised with the identical body containing the identical matter in which he was crucified. All this is granted, but it does not effect in the least the position we have taken. The identical body that was crucified was raised, and in this case the identical material, but the body would have been equally identical, according to this view, had the material been different. But the body of our Saviour had not yet suffered decomposition; hence the identity of material. A similar case, we apprehend, will occur at the resurrection, with regard to those that have recently died, while those who are yet alive, will be changed without death. If it be objected that these last may contain matter that has entered into the composition of the bodies of the dead, I reply that this objection stands not against my position, but yours. Finally, the view of bodily identity, here advocated, answers all the demands of scientific facts, appears to me eminently scriptural and rational, and as such, it is respectfully submitted to the consideration and criticism of my brethren.—Messenger. Book of Exodus Confirmed.
Rev. J. D. Heath, has published in London "Exodus Papyri," containing the result of an examination of Egyptian records, in which he finds traces of a history parallel with that given in the Pentateuch by Moses. Mr. Heath has made himself familiar with the method of deciphering hieroglyphics employed by Young and Champollion, and a careful examination of the papyri has led him to the conclusion that they are note books of the scribes recording current events. The bearing they have upon the Mosaic history is set forth in the following paragraph: "That we should meet here with a Jannes, mentioned five times, with a Moses, twice, with a Balak, the son of Zippor, at a place called Huzoth, with the word Hebrew, and with the feast of passing the dead, is enough to excite at least our curiosity. When we find, moreover, from these papyri, that a people, among whom a Moses was a leader, marched towards Palestine, by the route of Tasacarta, Migdol, and Zoar; that they were connected with the name Midia and Aram; that there was a contest at a place of a great waterflood; that an enslaved Aramæan people located about Tapanhes, met with great opposition from the governor of the place in celebrating the four days feast at the beginning of their year; that Moses is again named as a cattle owner among them; that a royal or noble youth is described as meeting a sudden and mysterious death; that a royal order is immediately issued for the hasty departure of a people for their passing the dead; and that miracles are named as being performed by their leader in Lower Egypt;—when all this is upon record, I may be pardoned, as a Christian clergyman, for maintaining that the cotemporaneity of these papyri with the Exodus seems established, and for recommending to those who have doubted the authority of the Pentateuch, a reconsideration of their theories." —Sel. FORBEARANCE.—For shame! for shame! Hasty, impatient and petulant Christian! Was David the song of drunkards? Was Elisha the derision of children? Was Paul called a madman? And must you hold up your head and feel indignation on account of a trifling injury? Do you profess to be a follower of your meek and lowly Lord and Master, and fly off at a tangent because a slight indignity has been put upon you? Go and ponder the words, "With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love." Eph. iv, 2.
By Erasmus
Was righteous Abel slain? Was Daniel cast into the lions' den? Was Stephen stoned to death, and the Lord of life and glory taunted, buffeted and spit upon, scourged and crucified? And can't you bear with an offending brother, without giving way to anger, hatred, malice and uncharitableness? Oh, for shame! for shame! brother; open your Bible and pray to Almighty God to instruct, and give you sufficient grace to apply the following text: [Matt. vi, 14, 15:] "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses." "I Have Lost My Way."
By Sel.
"I have lost my way," a little child said to me this morning. It had wandered too far from its father's house. "I want to go home," the little child said, and her tears fell thick and fast upon her little hands. I led the little lost one home, and it was sweet to witness the rejoicing of the parents over the restored lamb. I have lost my way, I repeated sadly to myself, in these deep labyrinths of life—my feet wander in strange paths—the fruit which I had so fondly coveted, like the apples of Sodom, has turned to ashes on my lips—memories of my glad, prayerful childhood come sweeping over my soul—I have left my Father's house, and I too, want to go home. God has made the parent a type of his own infinite love; and if an earthly father can say, "It was meet that we should be merry and be glad, for this my son was dead, and is alive again, and was lost, and is found," how much more will our heavenly Father welcome the wanderer's return to his protecting love! The sweetest tears shed are those of penitence. Some of the noblest steps trod are those which return from wanderings. A greater than a father's love waits to embrace the prodigal.—Sel. Let Your Light Shine
By Horatius Bonar
"LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE."—When first we are brought to know Christ this light is kindled—kindled by being brought into contact with Him who is the Light of the world. Having been thus kindled, it must shine. The new life is the shining. The new feelings, the new desires, the new temper, the new words, the new walk and conversation—these are the beams of light which should stream out from us upon a dark world.—Dr. H. Bonar. No Family Altar.
By Editor
We saw the statement in a religious paper, that in many professedly pious families there is no family altar—that parents and children, brothers and sisters do not habitually kneel together, and seek God's blessing upon them as a household. This statement haunted us. We thought we saw a house in the wilderness, in mid-winter, with no smoke curling from its chimney, with no cheerful blaze upon its hearth-stone, with fierce blasts driving in through hundreds of crevices, and a family sitting together benumbed, and just ready to perish! They have ceased to realize the danger—in a dreaming, half-conscious state, they are gliding into the arms of death. What a picture! But sadder is the spiritual condition of a home where the fires of devotion are not kept burning; where the young are not taught, by parental example, their daily dependence on God, and their need of his pardoning grace. Methodism in Virginia.
By Editor
As a specimen of Southern toleration in religion, we give the following extract from the Lynchburg, Va., Republican: The ministers of the Baltimore Conference are the most deadly foes to our domestic institutions, and they should be expelled from the State as soon as possible. They dare not take open ground against slavery, but they insinuate their anti-slavery doctrines into the minds of the ignorant and misinformed, and thus do more harm than they would do were they outspoken in their pernicious views. We are extremely gratified to find that the Church South has made a permanent lodgment in Fincastle, Lexington, Lewisburg, and other important points heretofore held by the Northern branch. Let the good work commence, until the whole Valley and western portion of Virginia are cleansed of this foul leprosy of anti-slavery Methodism. The God of Abraham and of Isaac is not their God any more than he is the God of Giddings. Can You be Safe too Soon?
By Flavel
Can you be safe too soon? Can you be happy too soon? Certainly you cannot be out of the danger of hell too soon; and therefore why should not your closing with Christ upon his own terms, be your very next work? If the main business of every man's life be, to flee from the wrath to come, as indeed it is, [Matt. iii, 7.] and to flee for refuge to Jesus Christ, as indeed it is, [Heb. vi, 18.] then all delays are highly dangerous. The man-slayer, when fleeing to the city of refuge, before the avenger of blood, did not think he could reach the city too soon. Set your reason to work upon this matter; put the case as it really is: I am fleeing from the wrath to come; the justice of God and the curses of the law are closely pursuing me; is it reasonable that I should sit down in the way to gather flowers, or play with trifles? for such are all other concerns in this world, compared with our soul's salvation.—Flavel. PRAYER.—Devotion is the sole asylum of human frailty, and the sole support of heavenly perfection—it is the golden chain of union between heaven and earth. Who has never prayed can never conceive; and he that has prayed as he ought, can never forget how much is to be gained by prayer. "It is well to mark how a passing word—
Too lightly said or too deeply heard—
Or a harsh reproof, or a look unkind,
May spoil the peace of a sensitive mind."
Central Presbyterian Daily Remembrance of Good Things
Refresh your memory with good things daily.