The Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 5 (1/31/1884)

The Signs of the Times

Jan 31, 1884

Seventh-Day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 31, 1884

Parental Responsibility.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

PARENTS are in a great degree responsible for the mold given to the characters of their children. They should aim at symmetry and proportion. There are few well-balanced minds, because parents are wickedly negligent of their duty to stimulate weak traits and repress strong ones. They do not remember that they are under the most solemn obligation to watch the tendencies of each child; that it is their duty to train their children to right habits and right ways of thinking.

Sometimes parents wait for the Lord to do the very work that he has given them to do. Instead of restraining and controlling their children as they should, they pet and indulge them, and gratify their whims and desires. When these children go out from their early homes, it is with characters deformed by selfishness, with ungoverned appetites, with strong self-will; they are destitute of courtesy or respect for their parents, and do not love religious truth or the worship of God. They have grown up with traits that are a life-long curse to themselves, and are liable to be reproduced in others. Home is made anything but happy, if the evil weeds of dissension, selfishness, envy, passion, and sullen stubbornness are left to flourish in the neglected garden of the soul.

Children imitate their parents; hence great care should be taken to give them correct models. Parents should show no partiality, but should treat all their children with tenderness, remembering that they are the purchase of Christ’s blood. Parents who are kind and polite at home, while at the same time they are firm and decided, will see the same traits manifested in their children. If they are upright, honest, and honorable, their children will be quite likely to resemble them in these particulars. If they reverence and worship God, their children trained in the same way, will not forget to serve him also.

It is often the case that parents are not careful to surround their children with right influences. In choosing a home, they think more of their worldly interests than of the moral and social atmosphere; and the children form associations that are unfavorable to the development of piety and the formation of right character. Then parents allow the world to engross their time, strength, and thought; and when the Sabbath comes, it finds them so utterly exhausted that they have naught to render to God on his holy day, no sweet piety to grace the home, and make the Sabbath a delight to their children. They are seldom visited by a minister; for they have placed themselves out of the reach of religious privileges. An apathy steals over the soul. The children are contaminated by evil communications, and the tenderness of soul they once felt dies away and is forgotten.

Parents who denounce the Canaanites for offering their children to Moloch, what are you doing? You are making a most costly offering to your mammon god; and then, when your children grow up unloved and unlovely in character, when they show decided impiety and tendency to infidelity, you blame the faith you profess because it was unable to save them. You are reaping that which you have sown,—the result of your selfish love of the world and neglect of the means of grace. You moved your families into places of temptation, and the ark of God, your glory and defense, you did not consider essential; and the Lord has not worked a miracle to deliver your children from temptation.

You who profess to love God, take Jesus with you wherever you go; and, like the patriarchs of old, erect an altar to the Lord wherever you pitch your tent. A reformation in this respect is needed,—a reformation that shall be deep and broad. Parents need to reform; ministers need to reform. They need God in their households. They need to build the waste places of Zion; to set up her gates, and make strong her walls for a defense of the people.

There is earnest work to be done in this age, and parents should educate their children to share in it. The words of Mordecai to Esther may apply to the men and youth of to-day: “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Young men should be gaining solidity of character, that they may be fitted for usefulness. Daniel and Joseph were youth of firm principle, whom God could use to carry out his purposes. Mark their history, and see how God wrought for them. Joseph met with a variety of experiences,—experiences that tested his courage and uprightness to the fullest extent. After being sold into Egypt, he was at first favored, and intrusted with great responsibilities; but suddenly, without any fault on his part, he was unjustly accused and cast into prison. But he is not discouraged. He trusts in God; and the purpose of his heart, the purity of his motive, is made manifest. The eye of God is upon him, a divine hand leads him, and soon we see him come forth from prison to share the throne of Egypt.

Joseph’s checkered life is not an accident; it is ordered of Providence. But how was he enabled to make such a record of firmness of character, uprightness, and wisdom? It was the result of careful training in his early years. He had consulted duty rather than inclination; and the purity and simple trust of the boy bore fruit in the deeds of the man. The most brilliant talents are of no value unless they are improved; industrious habits and force of character must be gained by cultivation. A high tone of moral character and fine mental qualities are not the result of accident. God gives opportunities; success depends upon the use made of them. The openings of Providence must be quickly discerned and eagerly seized upon.

Young men, if you would be strong, if you would have the integrity and wisdom of a Joseph or a Daniel, study the Scriptures. Parents, if you would educate your children to serve God and do good in the world, make the Bible your text-book. It exposes the wiles of Satan. It is the great elevator of the race, the reprover and corrector of moral evils, the detector which enables us to distinguish between the true and the false. Whatever else is taught in the home or at school, the Bible, as the great educator, should stand first. If it is given this place, God is honored, and he will work for you in the conversion of your children. There is a rich mine of truth and beauty in this holy book, and parents have themselves to blame if they do not make it intensely interesting to their children.

To many, education means a knowledge of books; but “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The true object of education is to restore the image of God in the soul. The first and most precious knowledge is the knowledge of Christ; and wise parents will keep this fact ever before the minds of their children. Should a limb be broken or fractured, parents will try every means that love or wisdom can suggest to restore the affected member to comeliness and soundness. This is right, it is their duty; but the Lord requires that still greater tact, patience, and persevering effort be employed to remedy blemishes of the soul. That father is unworthy of the name who is not to his children a Christian teacher, ruler, and friend, binding them to his heart by the strong ties of sanctified love,—a love which has its foundation in duty faithfully performed.

Parents have a great and responsible work to do, and they may well inquire, “Who is sufficient for these things?” But God has promised to give wisdom to those that ask in faith, and he will do just as he said he would. He is pleased with the faith that takes him at his word. The mother of Augustine prayed for her son’s conversion. She saw no evidence that the Spirit of God was impressing his heart, but she was not discouraged. She laid her finger upon the texts, presenting before God his own words, and pleaded as only a mother can. Her deep humiliation, her earnest importunities, her unwavering faith, prevailed, and the Lord gave her the desire of

her heart. To-day he is just as ready to listen to the petitions of his people. “His hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear;” and if Christian parents seek him earnestly, he will fill their mouths with arguments, and, for his name’s sake, will work mightily in their behalf in the conversion of their children.

ONLY HIS IN NAME.

By Mrs. M. S. Beers

“I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.”—Rev. 3:1.

“A NAME that I live, and yet I am dead?” But, Master, thou canst not mean me! For the moment I heard thee call, I came, And e’er since have been loving thee.

Loving? I called thee to suffer, child, Thou hast chosen but pleasant ways; I called thee to work in my vineyard, To pleasure thou givest thy days.

To deny thyself and take up thy cross, And to follow where’er I might lead, But I walk alone through my harvest-fields, When thou knowest thy help I need.

I called you to pray, and bade you to watch, But found you sleeping, instead; While the soul of thy brother to ruin went, His blood dripping down on thy head.

Ah, unless thou repent, while I stand and knock At the door of thy selfish heart, And puttest away the love of the world, With mine thou shalt have no part.

It is only for those who overcome, To be clothed in garments white; And only for those who suffer with me, To reign in the kingdom of light.

—Mrs. M. S. Beers, in Y. M. C. A. Bulletin, Oakland.

God's Regard for the Ten Commandments.

The following is the concluding portion of an article by Enoch Pond, D. D., published in the N. Y. Observer of Feb. 22, 1871:—

Without dwelling longer on the exegetical part of this subject, I proceed to deduce from it some important truths. In the first place, by means of the ark of the testimony—with its appendages, contents, and place of deposit—God is teaching us, and impressing upon us, the high regard which he has for his law. In illustration of this, let me call attention, for a moment, to the structure of the ancient temple and the place of deposit for the ark. The temple, with its several courts, was surrounded with a high wall 750 feet square, including more than twelve acres. Immediately within this exterior wall was what was called the court of the Gentiles. Passing through this, you come to another wall, inclosing the outer court of the temple. Passing through this and the outer court, you come to the inner court of the temple. Passing through this and the inner court, you come to the gate of the temple itself. Passing through this, you first enter what was called the sanctuary. Here stood the great altar of burnt-offering surrounded by the priests engaged in presenting the sacrifices of the people.

Passing through this apartment, you next enter the holy place. Here stood the candlestick, the table of shew-bread, and the altar of incense, on which was offered the morning and evening sacrifice. Passing through this, you next enter the most holy place. In the temple, this was a spacious room, thirty feet square, and overlaid with pure gold. It was situated in the deepest recess of the temple and protected by its sacred, successive inclosures. It was open to none except the high priest, and to him only once in a year. And what did this splendid, awful apartment contain? Not an individual thing, except the ark of the testimony and the cherubim covering it. And what did the ark of the testimony contain? Nothing originally, except the tables of stone, on which was inscribed the moral law.

And now, in this wonderful, awful structure—this vast institution—what a high regard did God manifest for his holy law! How could he have manifested for it a higher regard, or put upon it a greater honor? He laid it down—where it still lies—at the foundation of the whole scheme of mercy. He laid it down in the most sacred recess of the temple and at the foundation of the entire service of his church. Here rested the tables of the law, covered and protected by the wings of mighty cherubim. Here they rested, overshadowed by a visible manifestation of the divine presence and glory, to be approached by no foot but that of the high priest, and by his only once in a year. How could the great Sovereign of the world have said in more intelligible language, “This law is holy and must be maintained. It has been transgressed, but it shall not be dishonored. No scheme of mercy can ever be tolerated which brings the least stain upon the law. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.”

In the ark and its accompaniments, God sets before us not only the honors of his law, but that, in some way, there is mercy for those who have transgressed it. Over the ark there was laid a mercy-seat, and here God was graciously pleased to dwell and to hold communion with his people. Both in the tabernacle and temple, the mercy-seat was the place where the tokens of the divine presence were specially visible; where rested the glorious Shechinah—the pillar of a cloud and of fire. Here, too, was the place where God promised to meet his people and hold communion with them. “I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat. There will I meet thee, and there will I hold communion with thee.”

To the ancient believers, all this was full of precious, glorious meaning. They saw in it that, in some way, “mercy and truth had met together;” that “righteousness and peace had embraced each other.” They saw in it that a holy and righteous God could yet be merciful; that, in some way, he could be just to himself and his law, and yet justify the penitent, returning transgressor.

Nor did the ark, and the services connected with it, leave the ancient worshiper altogether in ignorance as to the method of justification. Once every year, on the great day of atonement, he saw the high priest, attired in his sacred vestments, venture into the holy of holies, to sprinkle the mercy-seat with blood, and to burn incense before it. By this awful service, the priest was instructed to propitiate the God of Heaven and make an atonement for the people. In these symbolical transactions, the believing Israelite saw much of the method of salvation. By these typical atonements, made by the blood of bulls and goats, he looked forward to a greater atonement, consisting in a richer sacrifice, and more precious blood.

We learn farther, from the ark and its appendages, the deep and abiding interest which celestial beings feel in the wonderful work of man's redemption. Cherubim were erected on either side of the mercy-seat and extended their wings over it. More lofty cherubim were erected in the most holy place in the temple, under the shadow of whose wings the whole ark was deposited. And, besides these, we are told that Solomon carved the entire wall of this most sacred apartment “round about with carved figures of cherubim.” The faces of all these figures were turned inward on the ark, in a posture of the deepest and most devout attention—thus indicating that the ark, with its appendages and contents, furnished matter of the profoundest interest and wonder to the cherubim world. Celestial beings here saw that which they loved and obeyed carefully deposited in the most holy place, and honored with tokens of the highest regard. They knew that this law had been dreadfully violated on the earth, and had reason to expect that its fearful penalty was about to be executed.

But, instead of this, they saw the ark covered with a mercy-seat, and saw the Holy One of Israel descend and take up his abode there. They saw him holding communion with apostate creatures and dispensing pardons to guilty men. They saw the curse of the violated law removed, and yet its authority sustained and strengthened. They saw it pass away as a foundation of hope for sinners, and yet remain in full force and effect as a rule of life. They saw, in short, that a just God could consistently save the guilty; and not only so, but he was sincerely disposed to do it. They heard him crying from the mercy-seat: “Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy wine and milk, without money and without price;” “Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth.”

Now these things, we have reason to know, are matters of delight and wonder to the celestial world: “Into which things the angels desire to look;” and redeemed souls cannot be less engrossed with them than they. With intense interest they cluster around the mysterious ark. They bend over it, they fasten their eyes upon it in a posture of the most devout attention. They are never wearied or satisfied with this blessed employment. Their mighty energies are engrossed and their eternity occupied in searching into the wonders and pouring forth the praises of redeeming love.

Oh, that Christians in this world might imbibe more of their fervor, and more closely imitate, in this respect, their example!

If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

A Rival of Christ Jesus.

By EPSILON

To ADMIT the Roman idea of the soul, that it is an intelligent being not subject to death, living on after the death of the body through all coming ages, amounts to setting up the claim that a future state does not depend upon Christ and the resurrection.

Jesus and the resurrection is what the apostles preached. “Being grieved that they taught the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” Acts 4:2. This scripture alone shows what hope they held up to the people; but let us notice others. “For thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:14. They could not be recompensed before the resurrection of the just, because a future state is brought in by the resurrection.

“I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:3. He will receive us when he comes again to give us another and better life. “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” [at the resurrection]. “And whosoever liveth, [at the time of the resurrection], and believeth in me, shall never die.” John 11:25, 26. This scripture promises a second and better life at the resurrection, and not before. “And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.” John 6:39. According to this scripture, Jesus would lose those the Father hath given him, unless he should raise them up at the last day.

Paul speaking of the resurrection, says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” 1 Cor. 15:19. No cunning false reasoning can evade this text. It can mean nothing else than that this life is all there is of man, unless he be raised from the dead. Again: “If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.” 1 Cor. 15:32. Yes, if the dead rise not, let us eat and drink and enjoy ourselves as best we can, while we do live; for death will be the end of us. What profit was it to Paul to suffer such dangers, if death would end his existence forever? Nothing but the glamour of the imaginary immortal soul can shut out the true meaning of these and many other scriptures.

When God created Adam and Eve corporeal beings, and gave them access to the tree of life that their lives might be perpetuated, he showed his design. Has Satan defeated God's design, and changed man into an apparition? Sin has brought death unto man. Adam and Eve were condemned to die, and driven away from the tree of life on the very day that they sinned.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Cor. 15:22. Christ will raise the wicked, also, from the dead. But when they shall have risen they will still be under condemnation of death, and must die “the second death.” The Scriptures often treat the resurrection of the wicked as not worthy of the name of resurrection. Luke 20:36 and Phil. 3:11. The Greek prefix ex, meaning out from, is in some texts applied to the resurrection from the dead. O what a difference will then be made between the righteous and the wicked! Glorious thought, to be “equal unto the angels!” to be like our glorified Redeemer, and be eternally in his kingdom! EPSILON.

Disguises of Covetousness.

By John Harris

It is true of every passion, that it has an established method of justifying itself; but of covetousness it may be said that all the passions awake to justify it; they all espouse its cause, and draw in its defense, for it panders to them all; “Money answereth all ends.”

The very prevalence of the evil forms its most powerful protection and plea; for “the multitude never blush.” We might have supposed that its prevalence would have facilitated its detection and exposure in individual cases; but it is owing to its very prevalence that so few are conscious of it. We keep each other in countenance. Having been born in the climate, we are not aware of anything pernicious in it. The guilt of this, as of every other sin, is measured by a graduated scale; and as all around us indulge in it up to a certain point of the scale, it is only from that point we allow covetousness begins; we begin to reckon guilt only from that point. Indignation is reserved till that point is passed, and the passion has become monstrous and extreme. Because we are not a community of Trumans, Elwes, and Dancers, we exchange looks of congratulation and flatter ourselves that we are innocent. The very resentment which we let loose on such personifications of the vice, seems to discharge us from all suspicion, and to grant us a fresh dispensation to indulge in the quiet of ordinary covetousness. Yet, often, it is to be feared, that very resentment is the mere offspring of jealousy; like the anger awakened in a community of the dishonest, at finding that one of their number has violated the rules of the body, by secreting more than his share of booty.

But that which constitutes the strength of covetousness is, its power to assume the appearance of virtue; like ancient armor, it is at once protection and disguise. In the vocabulary of covetousness, worldliness means industry; though it is obvious to every Christian observer, that the pretended industry of many a religious professor is the destruction of his piety, and will eventually form the ground of his condemnation. Idleness is his pretended aversion. His time, his strength, his solicitudes, are all drained off in the service of Mammon; while nothing is left for religion but a faint sigh, a hurried, heartless prayer, and an occasional struggle so impotent as to invite defeat.

“But Providence,” he pleads, “has actually filled his hands with business, without his seeking; and would it not be ungrateful to lose it by neglect?” But have you never heard, we might reply, that God sometimes tries his people, to see whether they will keep his commandments or not? and may he not be now proving how far the verdure of your piety can resist the exhaling and scorching sun of prosperity? Besides, is it supposable that God intended you to interpret his grant of worldly prosperity into a discharge from his service, and a commission in the service of Mammon? And, more than all, significantly as you may think his providence invites you to labor for the bread that perisheth, does not his gospel, his Son, your Lord and Redeemer, call you a thousandfold more emphatically to labor for the meat which endureth unto eternal life? You may be misinterpreting the voice of his providence, the voice of his gospel you cannot misunderstand; it is distinct, imperative, and incessant; urging you daily to “seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.”

Another individual is a slave to parsimony; but he is quite insensible to it, for the temptation solicits him under the disguise of frugality. Waste is his abhorrence; and he knows no refuge from it but in the opposite extreme. Every new instance of impoverished prodigality is received by him as a warning from Providence to be careful. His creed is made up of all the accredited maxims and world-honored proverbs in favor of covetousness, the authority of which he never questions, and the dextrous application of which fortifies his mind like an antidote against all the contagious attacks of charity. And thus, though he lives in a world supported by bounty, and hopes, perhaps, to be saved at last by grace, he gives only when shame will not allow him to refuse, and grudges the little which he gives.

The aim of another is evidently the accumulation of wealth; but the explanation which he gives to himself of his conduct is, that he desires simply to provide for the future. Want is his dread. And though, in his aim to avoid this evil, he may not distinctly propose to himself to become rich, yet what else can result from his constantly amassing? His interpretation of competence, if candidly avowed, is affluence; a dispensation from labor for himself and family to the end of time, a discharge from future dependence on Providence, a perpetuity of ease and sloth. Till he has succeeded in reaching that enviable state, his mind is full of foreboding; he can take no thought except for the morrow. As if Providence had vacated its throne, and deserted its charge, he takes on himself all the cares and burdens belonging to his state. And laden with these, he is totally disqualified for every holy duty and Christian enterprise which would take him a single step out of his way to competence. And often is he to be seen providing for the infirmities of age long after these infirmities have overtaken him, and laboring to acquire a competence up to the moment when a competence for him means only the expenses of his funeral.—Mammon, by Rev. John Harris.

“Feeble Saints.”

It was an amusing distortion of a good hymn, but there was not a little sound philosophy in it, when the negro preacher sang,—

“Judge not the Lord by feeble saints.”

And yet this is precisely what the great majority of unconverted men are doing all the time. They will not go to the Bible and give heed to what God himself says. They have no ear for his voice of mercy that offers them salvation for the taking. They do not pay any attention to the solemn warnings that the Scriptures utter. They judge the Lord by “feeble saints.” They attempt to feed their starving souls on the imperfections of Christians, and poor enough food they find it! Because God’s people are not all that they ought to be, therefore these cavilers will keep aloof from the religion they profess. Because God’s believing followers are not perfect—they do not claim to be—therefore, say these unbelievers, there is no power in religion. Christians cannot claim exemption from criticism. They do not expect it. They know that the eyes of the world are upon them. But they say to the unbeliever, “If you would know the truth, go to the word of God; go to him who is truth; judge not the Lord by feeble saints.”—Christian Witness.

Giving Begets Love.

INTEREST in anything is quickened by sacrifice for that thing. The giving to a good cause increases love for that cause, or creates a certain affection for it where none existed before. Father Childlaw, of Ohio, tells of a woman in his field who declined to give money for a bell for her neighborhood church, because she never liked the sound of bells, and was glad to be beyond their reach. At last, however, she was over-persuaded and gave five dollars, under protest. When the bell was in place, and sounded out its ringing notes, some one asked this woman what she thought of it. “Well, I've always said that I never liked bells,” she replied, “but I confess that's the sweetest sounding bell I ever heard.” “Ah!” says Father Childlaw, “she heard her five dollars jingle when that bell rang. That was why its sound was so sweet to her.”—Sel.

Pertinent Questions.

Has infidelity ever raised a man or woman from the haunts of vice, and made his or her life clean? Has it ever taken a drunkard from the gutter, the gambler from his cards, or the fallen from a life of shame? Has it ever found a man coarse and brutal in character and life, and made him a kind husband and faithful father? Has it ever gone out into the heathen lands, and found a people ignorant and barbarous, delighting in rapine and murder, and by the power of its teachings lifted them out of their degradation, until they adopted the customs of civilized nations? Is there in all history of infidelity a story of its moral triumphs that will match the regeneration of the Fiji lands under the labors of the Wesleyan missionaries? Has it added anything to the sum of human happiness? Does it bring one ray of comfort into the chamber of death, filling the soul of the dying with peace, and the hearts of the weeping friends with hope? The religion of Jesus Christ has done all these things. The tree is known by its fruits.—Selected.

Preaching Christ Crucified Brings Moral Power

Preaching.

ETHICAL preaching disconnected with Christ crucified has little reformatory power. It may illuminate the moral judgment, but it will not quicken the conscience into life. The testimony of Thomas Chalmers on this point is pertinent. Speaking of his preaching prior to his conversion to evangelical views, he says: “I certainly did press the reformation of honor, and truth, and integrity among my people; but I never once heard of any such reformations having been effected among them. . . . I am not sensible that all the vehemence with which I urged the virtues and proprieties of social life had the weight of a feather on the moral habits of my parishioners.” But after Chalmers began to preach Christ as the sinner’s Saviour, and morals as the fruit of faith in Christ, he saw great moral transformations in the lives of many. And it is always so. Christless preaching falls dead on the human heart; but the preaching in which Christ is the alpha and omega is always, more or less, both morally and spiritually, fruitful.—Ex.

Holiness.

MEN pray for holiness as if it were something entirely apart from their every-day life, something that had nothing at all to do with their domestic, social, and business relations. They sing, “Nearer my God to thee,” with glowing fervor, but never think that the prayer can be answered only by the uplifting of their own lives to the plane of God’s requirements. Holiness is not a mere sentiment; not a vague vision of glory over-hanging us like a heavenly cloud; not a rapture or an ecstasy; not something that God sends down to wrap us like a garment in its radiant folds. If being holy means anything at all, it means being true, honest, upright, pure, gentle, patient, kind, and unselfish. We really have no more religion than we get into our every-day practice. Wherein our devotion is higher than our living, it counts for nothing.—S. S. Times.

The Need for Personal Responsibility in Mission Work

ONE great need in the Christian Church to-day is a sense of personal responsibility. It is to be feared that a majority of those whose names are enrolled upon the church records know almost nothing concerning mission work in general, and are giving neither time, money, influence, nor prayer toward hastening the day when “all shall know the Lord.” Glimpses of the fields abroad, with all their pressing needs and imperative claims, could hardly fail to impress Christians with a sense of personal responsibility. And we repeat, this is just what is now needed.—Sel.

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