NOT CONVENIENT TO KEEP THE SABBATH.
By B. CLARKE
As this excuse of some dear friends (who had been gone for many years) might suit some others also, I would inquire concerning it. Our friends had been with the Freewill Baptists; therefore said, "It had not been convenient to keep the seventh day." A thought occurred to me—would it be convenient for those making such excuses to "have right to the tree of life and to enter in through the gates into the city?" Our Lord said to the young man who inquired of him, if thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments." Matt. xix, 17. Again there is not all the church, but only a "remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. xii, 17. Again, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Rev. xiv. Again, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the trec of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." I would kindly ask any of our dear religious friends who make such excuses here, whether they think they can stand up in the judgment and say, It was not convenient for me to "rest the seventh day according to the commandment," or it was not convenient for me to keep the Sabbath which Christ said "was made for man." Suppose that Noah had said It is not convenient for me to build an ark; or if Daniel had said, It is not convenient for me to be cast into the den of lions; or if the three Hebrews had said, It will not be convenient now for us not to follow the fashion of all the people, and bow down to the great image which the king of Babylon has set up; we shall be unpopular and out of fashion; besides it will not be convenient for us to disobey the great king and be cast into the fiery furnace! Would they have been blest of God? Was it convenient for our dear Saviour to lay down his life for us? And was it convenient for his blessed apostles and prophets, and for millions of the martyrs of Jesus to lay down their lives rather than to vary one single iota from what they believed to be truth? The writer of this knows a little how to sympathize with the lone ones, having lived one season in a city where no others were known to keep the Sabbath of the Lord. Dear reader "those that are with him (the King of kings) are called, and chosen, and faithful." Rev. xiii, 14. TO THOSE WHO KNOW NOT GOD.
By A. L. Wilkinson
READER, are you one who has not made your peace with God? Is your heart wholly upon the things of this world? Its pleasures, vanities, fashions, gains or honors? Do you seldom if ever, reflect on a future state? or what your condition will be after this life has passed? If so, you are the very one with whom I would speak. Come let us reason together. 'Tis true you may find a sort of enjoyment in the pleasures of this world; but it is very transient, and so poor a kind at best that it is hardly worthy the name; and what is more it always leaves a sting behind; a barrenness, a feeling of restlessness, a desire for something, you can hardly tell what; something that will not melt away in your grasp. You may sometimes ask, Is there any such thing as joy unmixed with sorrow? I answer, Yes; but you will never find it in the things of this world, though you should search from pole to pole. You will never know what permanent happiness is until you know God by an experimental knowledge, and believe on our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. By so doing you will obtain that peace which passeth understanding. I am well aware that there are those who seem to think that it makes very little difference whether they secure the favor of God or not, and say that this world is good enough for them. "A short life and a merry one" is their motto. O how I tremble for such persons. They are blind. They see not their danger, neither do they care. I can see that they stand on the brink of an awful precipice, and are about to be dashed upon the rocks below. How will they mourn at the last when they find that "the harvest is past, the summer ended and they are not saved." I am led to wonder that creatures endowed with reason can be so blind to their best interest. But dear reader I trust you are not one of the number who will "reject the counsel of God against themselves, and perish." Will you not receive a few words of warning? Remember that "your life is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away." Jas. iv, 14. Although this is a great reason why you should be in haste to make your peace with God, there is yet another, a strong and all important reason, viz., "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and hasteth greatly." Zeph. i, 14. We have abundant evidence from the word of God that the end of all things is at hand. It is plain enough to be seen by any one who has his eyes open, that this world is "reeling to her final doom." Have you not suspected that it was so? Do you not see the storm gathering and thickening all around, and that it will soon burst upon an astonished world? If you do see it, arise in haste and flee from destruction, and hide yourself in the mighty God of Jacob. If you do not see it, O be entreated by one who does, and escape for your life. Tarry not in all the plain of sin and unbelief. Flee to Jesus the Rock of ages. Hide yourself in him and you will be safe, forever safe from the coming storm. Yet notwithstanding the overwhelming evidence that we have that the great day of the Lord is at hand, many will say, Don't give yourself any uneasiness about Christ's coming. We don't see any signs of it; all things continue as they have. We are not afraid. To such I would202say, Do you not perceive that this is virtually saying, Let the storm come upon me. Let me be smitten with the plagues. Let the incurable sores cover me. Let me have nothing but blood to drink. Let the sun scorch me with great heat so that I shall blaspheme the name of God for the extreme misery that I shall suffer, and let there be great darkness so that I can see nothing, and then let great hail stones fall from heaven upon my defenseless head, and finally let me be destroyed from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power! Oh fearful picture! Oh wretched state! Who does not shudder at the thought of it. And who art thou, poor, feeble, puny man that thou shouldst think to withstand the Almighty when "he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." "Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Isa. xiii, 9. And do you O sinner, think that you shall escape if you neglect to obey God? Nay verily. You cannot hide from him. O will you not be persuaded to consider upon these things, and be wise now while probation is granted you, before pining sickness comes upon you, and you have no more time. Be entreated by one who cares for your soul, one whose feet have been in the horrible pit of mire and clay, and knows how to feel for you; one who has been led to look to Jesus for pardon and peace and has found that "he is the one altogether lovely, and the chiefest among ten thousand;" one who would give more at this moment for one approving smile from her precious Saviour than for all the wealth and honor of this poor world, yea or a thousand just like it; for "it is all vanity and vexation of spirit;" Eccl. i, 14. Says our Saviour, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt. xi, 28-30. Yes, Come! come now, come just as you are, do not wait for anything. You can never make yourself any better by staying away. Go by yourself alone where no eye can see you but God's, kneel before him and from the depths of your heart say, Lord I come just as I am; I confess that I have broken thy holy law, and that I am justly condemned to death; but wilt thou have compassion on me for Jesus' sake who died for me that I might live; and grant that I may be washed in his most precious blood from all my sins. O Lord be merciful to me a sinner. Be in earnest. Let this prayer come from your inmost soul. Do not doubt his ability or willingness to save you. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God for he will abundantly pardon." Isa. lv, 6, 7. "And ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jer. xxix, 13. God is no respecter of persons; he wills not the death of any, but rather that they would turn and live. Come, believe. Trust in God, and obey him, and you will receive the great and last promise on record in the Bible. Rev. xxii, 14. "Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." HASTE, TRAVELER, HASTE!
By Bonar
HASTE, traveler, haste! the night comes on,
And many a shining hour is gone;
The storm is gathering in the west,
And thou art far from home and rest.
Haste, traveler, haste. Oh far from home thy footsteps stray;
Christ is the life, and Christ the way,
And Christ the light. Yon setting sun
Sinks ere the morn is scarce begun;
Haste, traveler, haste. The rising tempest sweeps the sky,
The rains descend, the winds are high;
The waters swell, and death and fear
Beset thy path, no refuge near,
Haste, traveler, haste. Oh yes, a shelter you may gain,
A covert from the wind and rain—
A hiding-place, a rest, a home—
A refuge from the wrath to come,
Haste, traveler, haste. Then linger not in all the plain;
Flee for thy life, the mountain gain:
Look not behind, make no delay;
Oh speed thee, speed thee on thy way:
Haste, traveler, haste. Poor, lost, benighted soul, art thou
Willing to find salvation now?
There yet is hope, hear mercy's call—
Truth, life, light, way, in Christ is all.
Haste, traveler, haste.
[Bonar. "THIS GENERATION SHALL NOT PASS."
By H. M. Kenyon
How full of encouragement is this declaration of Jesus to the true child of God, while he sees iniquity abounding and the love of many who profess to be the followers of Jesus, waxing cold. How cheering, while many scoff at the idea, and make derision of those who are looking for and loving the appearing of their Lord, to know that this generation will not pass before He whom they love will be seen coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory to gather his elect, and take them to those mansions which he has gone to prepare. There is that in this which is calculated to cheer and encourage us under all our temptations and trials. Many times is our way hedged up, and seemingly, there is no way for our escape. How cheering it is then to look forward to the time when Jesus will come and set us free from all our trials here. But Satan who is always on the alert, and ready to deceive, knowing our trials, comes in to darken our minds and weaken our faith. Then how comforting these words: "This generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." What a blessed hope is the Christian's hope. Our trials here which are but for a moment, work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. In view of these things let us "Watch to catch the new-born ray,
That ushers in a glorious day," and not let the things of earth bind us down, but have our lives hid with Christ in God, that when he who is life shall appear, we may appear with him in glory. H. M. KENYON. MYSTICAL INTERPRETATION
By D. M. Canright
Bro. SMITH: The following I copied from the History of the Church by C. A. Goodrich.
D. M. CANRIGHT. “Origin, a conspicuous person, born A. D. 185 introduced a mode of explaining Scriptures which did much injury to the church. He supposed it was to be explained not in a literal, but in an allegorical manner; that is they had a hidden or figurative meaning. This hidden sense he endeavored to give, and always at the expense of truth. His method of explaining scripture was long after followed by many in the church and schools, and greatly tended to obscure the evangelical doctrines of the gospel. The errors of Origen were great. He was a learned man, but a most unsafe guide. He introduced, it is said the practice of selecting a single text as the subject of discourse. Cobham who was martyred by the Roman church, says, For the breaking of God's laws and commandments they never yet cursed me; but for their own laws and traditions most cruelly do they handle me and other men; and therefore both they and their laws by the promise of God shall be utterly destroyed. The Gospel’s Agitating Power
It was when the waters of a certain pool were troubled by an angel of God that they dispense a healing virtue; and it is when all the elements of nature are worked by the same Almighty power that they subserve the highest interests of man. In the moral and religious world he effects the most glorious ends by means which can never operate on men and nations without agitating them mightily. As he said by the prophet "I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more until he shall come whose right it is; and I will give it him." And when in the fullness of time Christ came, by his immaculate life, by his wonderful miracles, and by his unparalleled teaching, he agitated men as they had never been moved before. Anticipating the commotion to be produced by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, he said, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." The Apostles in carrying out their commission so presented the truth as it is in Jesus, that the agitation he had begun was greatly increased; and in the excitement that prevailed, the cry was raised against them: "These that have turned the world upside down have come hither also." Had Christ and the Apostles been like some in our days, the great victories of the gospel had never been won. The world might have passed on in their sins, and no warning voice ever sounded alarm in their ears because it would agitate them and cause painful emotions. Every sinner who has ever passed through the strait gate of repentance unto life eternal, knows that agitation of soul is inseparably connected with a change of the whole man from a state of sin to holiness. The captives of the mighty are not released without a struggle. The sinner seeking for the glorious liberty of the sons of God, often feels to say as Christ did in the last onset of Satan: "This is your hour, and the power of darkness." Every reformer is of necessity an agitator. He knows that no improvement can be effected in the condition of those he seeks to benefit, so long as they are undisturbed in their present position. Hence his efforts to make them dissatisfied with present attainments by showing a greater good. Hence too, his efforts to convert them from their errors of faith and practice, by showing a purer faith and a more excellent way. No man has a moral right to occupy a position at variance with the best interests of his fellows, or to indulge in practices subversive of the eternal principles of right and justice, or to rest in opinions that will not bear the test of truth. If he allows himself in any of these, we must not be surprised to find him resisting every attempt to convince him of error in opinion, and wrong in position and practice. In his dread of agitation, he adopts the language of the demons to Christ: "Let us alone. What have we to do with thee? Art thou come to torment us before the time?" He whose uppermost desire is to be right, is not afraid of discussion and agitation on any questions that concern his relations to God or man. Like the old Roman, he says: "I am a man, and whatever concerns my fellow men interests me." Men must be aroused to feel an interest in every rational intelligence. According to English history, in 1647 the army appointed an "Agitator," whose business it was to watch over its interests. With us public sentiment has appointed every man who duly prizes his own liberty, and the public good, to be an agitator; and every freeman who is worthy of the name, will insist on the right to exercise the functions of his office whenever and wherever he deems it best; assured that eternal vigilance is the price he must pay for the blessings of liberty. In effecting reforms the conflict of opinions is more potent than the sword. The power of an idea based on truth is invincible. But to bring that force to bear, agitation becomes a necessity of our nature. The contact of ideas and opinions secures us an incidental benefit, the quickening of our intellectual powers to an unusual acuteness. We do not of course attribute these benefits to the working of those fierce and uncontrollable passions excited in some whenever they are crossed and disappointed, and which are as much to be dreaded as the ravings of insanity. The strife of passion can only produce fruit like itself. It is contrary to reason and hinders reflection. But the agitation occasioned by the free discussion of conflicting opinions is eminently adapted to elicit truth and establish men in the right. PERSONAL CONFLICT IN THE M. E. CHURCH.
The conflict in the M. E. Church on the slavery question is generating again, as in years gone by, a great deal of personal ill will among professedly antislavery men. Not long since one of the corresponding editors of the Northern Independent, a thoroughly anti-slavery sheet was expelled from one of the Genesee conferences, for some things written in the Independent, and now Rev. Dr. Mattison, of the Black River conference, has presented charges against Rev. Abel Stevens, editor of the Advocate and Journal, for "immoral and unchristian conduct." The charge and specifications appear in the last Independent. These personal difficulties and terribly bitter assaults upon character among brethren are but a repetition of the scenes which resulted in the organization of the Methodist Protestant and Wesleyan Methodist churches. It may be that Mattison, Hosmer and other methodists who are bent on the exclusion of slavery from the M. E. church, may not be themselves excluded or driven out; but at present their prospects look gloomy. They have put God's law first and Methodism second,—a crime not easily overlooked in official quarters. This conflict refreshes in our minds the question of an apostle—“How can two walk together except they be agreed?” Freedom and slavery are essentially and eternally antagonistic, and therefore never can dwell peaceably together in the same203church, unless the church itself be “dead, twice dead and plucked up by the roots,” in which case it has ceased to be a church, and has sunk to the level of a mere worldly organization. At this period while the Methodists in the North church are in this severe conflict among themselves, those in the south are at rest. The reason is that while freedom is contending with slavery in the North church, in the South freedom has recently been strangled and buried and slavery sways an undisputed scepter.—Religious Telescope. A brother sends us the following for the REVIEW. We think it appeared in our columns not many volumes since; but it is worthy not only of frequent republication, but even of a committal to memory. “Learn from the earliest days to inure your principles against the peril of ridicule; you can no more exercise your reason if you live in the constant dread of laughter, than you can enjoy your life if you are in constant terror of death. If you think it right to differ from the times, and to make a point of morals, do it, however rustic, however antiquated, however pedantic it may appear; do it not for insolence, but seriously and grandly as a man who wore a soul of his own in his bosom, and did not wait till it was breathed into him by the breath of fashion.”
From the American Baptist. Bad Prospect For Tea Parties.
The higher prices of teas seem not to be the worst result, so far as tea drinkers are concerned, of the belligerent state of affairs existing between the most enlightened nations of the earth—England, France, and the United States—and the semi-civilized myriads of the celestial empire. The story comes and goes, too, that the celestials have commenced the practice of "doctoring" us out of harm's way by putting arsenic into the teas which are destined for our consummation. Whether this be so or not, we cannot say. But we cannot put our faith to the contrary in the humanity of the Chinese as some of our contemporaries profess to. If they have not the physical ability to defend themselves, we see no reason why they should not make up in strategy what they lack in armies and navies. However, as nearly all the tea has been poisoned from time immemorial, the difference if any, is merely one of degree. In London a Medical Board has more than once examined the teas in market, and found in every instance all the green teas drugged with Prussian blue or other coloring matter, while many specimens of black teas were more or less drugged or adulterated. There is but one remedy for the evil, and this is to let the evil thing alone. We can make better beverages of many herbs that grow in our gardens, and avoid all danger of being exterminated by this underhanded method of warfare. THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST.
WHY does many a sermon fail to have effect? It may be truth, it may be brilliant, it may be eloquent; but the result is exactly that of the tinkling cymbal and the sounding brass. Why? The power of the Holy Ghost is not in it. Why do we read the Bible very often, and derive very little good from it? The power of the Spirit of God is not sought. Why do Christians quarrel among themselves, and Churchmen hate Dissenters, and Dissenters hate Churchmen? Because they have not the cementing power of the Holy Spirit of God in their hearts. When we see men quarreling about baskets, we may depend upon it they are not very hungry; when we see ecclesiastics quarreling about crotchets, we may be very sure they have no very deep conviction of realities. As often as you see men disputing about one little jot on which they differ, and forgetting the ninety-nine magnificent things about which they are at one, they need the Holy Spirit of God to teach them better things. What is wanted in the present day in every sermon, in our worship, and work, and way, is the power of the Holy Ghost. PERSEVERANCE ILLUSTRATED.—Rev. Mr. Scott a Baptist minister, in addressing the Wesleyan Missionary Society at its late aniversary in London related the following incident: "In Scotland I was attending a missionary meeting, and you know in Scotland it is the fashion to give money at the door coming in or going out. Going away from the meeting, a poor servant came and she dropped in a sovereign. The deacon standing there said, 'I am sure you can't afford to give that.' 'O! yes I can.' 'You will have to go without clothes.' 'O! no, I shan't.' 'Do take it back,' he said. She replied, 'I must give it.' The deacon then said, 'Take it home to night and if after thinking of it during the night you choose to give it, you can send it. The next morning I sat at breakfast, and there was a little note came, and it contained two sovereigns. The good deacon said, 'You wont take it?' I said, 'Of course I shall, for if I send it back she will send four next time.'" SPEAKING WELL OF OTHERS.—If the disposition to speak well of others were universally prevalent, the world would become a comparative paradise. The opposite disposition is the pandora box, which, when opened fills every house and every neighborhood with pain and sorrow. How many enmities and heart-burnings flow from this source! How much happiness is interrupted and destroyed! Envy, jealousy, and the malignant spirit of evil, when they find vent by the lips, go forth on their mission like foul fiends to blast the reputation and peace of others. Every one has imperfections, and in the conduct of the best there will be occasional faults which might seem to justify animadversion. It is a good rule, however, when there is occasion for fault finding, to do it privately to the erring one. This may prove salutary. It is a proof of interest in the individual, which will gradually be taken kindly, if the manner of doing it is not offensive. The common and unchristian rule, on the contrary, is to proclaim the failings of others to all but themselves. This is unchristian, and shows a despicable heart. MOSES' BURIAL AND GRAVE.
By Latrie
“And he buried him in a valley, in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.” Deut. xxxiv, 6. “No man knoweth of his sepulcher!” When the warrior dies, his comrades, with muffled drums and reversed arms, show banners taken, tell of battles won, and rehearse his noble deeds. Amid the first and most honored of the land—sages, poets, and statesmen—they lay him to rest, where costly monuments of bronze and marble speak to a world of departed greatness. But Moses, the man of God, the bravest warrior, the most truthful sage, the inspired poet, and the greatest philosopher that ever earth knew, sleeps in a nameless spot, By Nebo’s lonely mountain,
On this side Jordan’s waves.
Moses, whose life, from his very birth, was one of hardship, struggle and toil; who religiously refused to become the heir of royalty; who meekly declined the honor which God designed should be bestowed on the saviour of Abraham’s children; who, under God, safely delivered them from their cruel bondage, and the tyrant’s power; who patiently listened to the complaints and bore the reproaches of the children of Israel; but who, finally, provoked to anger, at the rock at Meribah, incurred the displeasure of the Lord, and forfeited his entrance into the promised land, whose fertile fields and pleasant rest had been the goal of his hopes, for more than forty years—this friend of God was permitted only to view the land, and then called to rest in his unknown grave. Beloved friend and mourner, do you grieve that your husband, your child, or your friend, lies in an unknown spot? Do you weep because you cannot plant myrtles, and strew flowers above the unmarked grave, and sigh that no marble speaks of the worth, and guides to the resting place of the departed one? Remember that he who, favored as no other has been, talked with God face to face, at the same time the greatest and the meekest man, has, for thousands of years, lain where man knoweth not his sepulcher.—Latrie. We quote the following from a private letter, written by a man whose name would be as good authority as any single name in the Methodist Episcopal Church. "Within about twelve months past a member of the M. E. Church on Sadlersville circuit, Easton District, in the upper part of Maryland, sold a mother and her three children to a southern trader for $1,650, and the transaction received no notice from the Church." "Another member on the circuit, an ex-member of congress, sold a woman to a trader; when the latter came after his property, the poor woman shut herself up in the house and cut her throat and died, to escape her coming fate! This woman had a husband, and belonged to the same church as her master. He was unmolested! These facts show the construction practically put upon our discipline less than one hundred miles south of Philadelphia." Comment is unnecessary. Why cannot such men be dealt with? Because the rule is, "buying and selling men, women and children, with an intention to enslave them," and these men say they had no such intention—the negroes were already enslaved. And because we wish to change the rule and stand right before God and the world, we are fanatics.—Zion's Herald. When did Paul travel between Troas and Assos?
CONYBEARE and Howson (“Life and Epistles of Paul,” Vol. ii, p. 209), say it was on Sunday. For this walk, they say, “there may have been other reasons, . . . but the desire for solitude was doubtless one. The discomfort of a crowded ship is unfavorable for devotion; and prayer and meditation are necessary for maintaining the religious life even of an apostle. That Saviour to whose service he was devoted, had often prayed in solitude on the mountain, and crossed the brook Kedron to kneel under the olives of Gethsemane. And strength and peace were surely sought and obtained by the apostle from the Redeemer as he pursued his lonely road that Sunday afternoon in spring, among the oak woods and the streams of Ida.” “The labors of the early days of the week that was spent at Troas are not related to us; but concerning the last day we have a narrative which enters into details with all the minuteness of one of the gospel histories. It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. On the Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail.”—p. 206. Sometimes we think we can bear reproof and we invite the brethren to give it, but when it comes we are too dignified to receive it, too self-righteous to believe it. In holding an argument with some people on the present truth (and people too of good sense upon other subjects), one is reminded of a trite axiom: ‐Take nothing from nothing and nothing remains.‐ A man may be a good citizen but a poor physician; so a person may be a useful Christian, but a poor preacher. It is better to learn a little perfectly than to have a smattering of all learning. We may with propriety rejoice in the prosperity and happiness of others even though we do not get any benefit of it ourselves. The sanctified will is like that of Christ. Not my will but thine be done. The Christian is not troubled by the malice of enemies. ‐Let him curse,‐ said David of Shimei ‐it may be God hath hidden him.‐ Too much talk with little action on religious subjects is the first step in hypocrisy. THE CHRISTIANITY THAT GOES TO JAPAN.—
The Jeddo (Japan) correspondent of the Concord, N. H. Patriot, writes; I sincerely pity the Japanese, such are the knaveries and tricks foreign merchants will practice upon these simple-minded and kind-hearted people, and such vices will be practiced by the mass of seafaring men who will visit those ports. I was ashamed and humbled this afternoon when I saw an American of our ship dead drunk in the street, and the Japanese looking on in amazement and apparent sadness. The Christianity which commerce sends to the east corrupts heathenism itself. TO CORRESPONDENTS.
By Editor
B. F. R., of Ohio. We think the Scriptures plainly teach degrees of punishment to be inflicted on the wicked. The texts you refer to, seem clearly to prove this. We know that the objector to our views, asks, in seeming astonishment, what degrees there can be in a state of death; and if death is the punishment for sin, and all suffer it alike, how one can suffer more than another? We are, however, unable to make this appear, in our own mind, anything like an objection; for it will be admitted by all that death may be to some a far more terrible event than to others. The prospect of being blotted from conscious existence may strike some souls with deeper dread than others, and consequently be to them a far greater punishment. The duration and intensity, also, of the suffering by which their dissolution is accomplished, may be proportioned to the difference of their deserts. We see therefore no lack of harmony between the views that death is the punishment for sin, and yet that there will be degrees in the punishment of sinners, according to the degrees of their guilt. To quote the sentiment, though not the exact language of Scripture, "Every man shall be rewarded according as his work shall be." G. P. W., of Me. If the "tribulation such as never was," spoken of in Matt. xxiv, &c., refers, as has been generally supposed, to tribulation to come upon the Christian church, it could not have reference to scenes connected with the destruction of Jerusalem. And the Christian church has probably endured no tribulation at all comparable to that it suffered during the time it was given into the hands of the "little horn" to be "worn out" by that persecuting power. The supremacy of the little horn commenced A. D. 538, where, consequently, the commencement of the days of tribulation is placed. In reference to Acts xx, 7, the word "morrow" evidently refers to the next period of daylight succeeding the evening on which the meeting was held. This is shown by verse 11, which says that as soon as it was break of day Paul departed. In regard to John xx, 19, the Jews reckoned two evenings : one constituting the close of one day, and another the beginning of the next. The evening of the verse in question, must have been the evening which closed the first day of the week. "IGNORANCE AND BIGOTRY."
By R. F. C.
"When we see a handful of persons whose graces and virtues are in no sense superior to those of their neighbors, claiming to be the sole favorites of heaven, merely because they have adopted an ism, or theory, of whose truth others cannot be convinced, we are reminded of the rooster which acts as if he thought the sun had risen to hear him crow. In their littleness they fancy that God can have no purpose in doing anything in this world, which does not have respect to them. We are reminded to say this by the following extract from one of our correspondents: 'We have in our neighborhood a small society of professed christians calling themselves Second Adventists, who proscribe charity very much. They imagine themselves Noahs in a world of ungodly churches, which have heaped to themselves teachers having itching ears, blind leaders of the blind, men who will not endure sound doctrine. They believe in the seventh day as the Sabbath, that at death the soul sleeps with the body till the resurrection, and that then the wicked will be burned up both soul and body. According to their view, there will be a hundred and forty-four thousand on the earth when it is destroyed, who will be ready to meet the Bridegroom. They are always ready for contention and have caused us a great amount of trouble.' One can feel no bitterness towards those who have become victims of such nonsense, because their range of thinking is too limited, to admit of their rising to the serene elevation of truth and love. One passage affords hope in regard to them, and that is this, that Christ 'can have compassion on those who are ignorant, and on them who are out of the way; for that He himself also is compassed with infirmity.' And the apostle Peter teaches us how to deal with such, when he says: 'for so is the will of God, that with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.' We must cancel their hatred with love, and overcome their evil with good.'—New York Chronicle. With what a pious grace does the editor conclude his article, compared with the sneering style and spirit of the whole. He finds it much more convenient to sneer at and despise the "littleness" and "ignorance" of the people in question, than to correct their ignorance and errors by a presentation of truth from the word of God. It is easier to call them "victims of nonsense," with an affected commiseration, and a disavowal of that "bitterness" which is still apparent to the reader, and so let them pass. His honest correspondent was evidently in deep trouble, or, in his own words, "a great amount of trouble," but the editor offers nothing for his relief, and only teaches him to despise those arguments which he cannot meet, and to cancel the imaginary hatred of those troublers of Israel by a noble, high-soaring and overbearing love. The people of other ages have been troubled in a similar manner. It was said of Lot, by the fashionable sinners of his day: 'This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge.' Gen. xix, 9. It was fashionable in Sodom to break the seventh commandment; it is now fashionable to break the fourth. Ahab said to Elijah, "Art thou he that troubled Israel? and he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim." 1 Kings xviii, 17, 18. It was at that time fashionable to break the first commandment. In the days of our Saviour it was fashionable to break the fifth commandment by a certain ostensibly pious tradition. Matt. xv, 1-9. Jesus and "a handful of persons" caused them a "great amount of trouble." Doubtless they attempted to sneer down the truth by sneering at the "carpenter" and the fishermen that followed him. Perhaps they tried in this way to love them out of their folly and "ignorance," and "overcome their evil with good." How much more manly it would be, in all such cases, to take the Bible and defend their position and expose the opposite errors. How much better "by well-doing," that is, doing the commandments of God, "to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men."