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Review and Herald, Vol. 19, No. 24.

HISTORY OF THE SABBATH

Review and Herald

May 13, 1862

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 13, 1862

HISTORY OF THE SABBATH.

By John Nevins Andrews

(Continued.)

TRACES OF THE SABBATH DURING THE DARK AGES.

ANOTHER class of witnesses to the truth during the dark ages, bore the name of Cathari, that is, Puritans. Jones speaks of them as follows:
"They were a plain, unassuming, harmless, and industrious race of Christians, patiently bearing the cross after Christ, and both in their doctrines and manners, condemning the whole system of idolatry and superstition which reigned in the church of Rome, placing true religion in the faith, hope and obedience of the gospel, maintaining a supreme regard to the authority of God in his word, and regulating their sentiments and practices by that divine standard. Even in the twelfth century their numbers abounded in the neighborhood of Cologne, in Flanders, the south of France, Savoy, and Milan. 'They were increased,' says Egbert, 'to great multitudes, throughout all countries.'"—Hist. Church, chap. iv, sec. iii.
That the Cathari did retain and observe the ancient Sabbath, is certified by their Romish adversaries. Dr. Allix quotes a Roman Catholic author of the twelfth century concerning three sorts of heretics, the Cathari, the Passagii, and the Arnoldistæ. Allix says:
"This Romish writer lays it down also as one of their opinions, 'that the law of Moses is to be kept according to the letter, and that the keeping of the Sabbath, Circumcision, and other legal observances, ought to take place. They hold also that Christ the Son of God is not equal with the Father, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, these three persons, are not one God and one substance; and as a surplus to their errors, they judge and condemn all the doctors of the church, and universally the whole Roman Church. Now since they endeavor to defend this their error by testimonies drawn from the New Testament and prophets, I shall with the assistance of the grace of Christ stop their mouths as David did Goliath's, with their own sword."'—Eccl. Hist. of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont, pp. 168, 169.
Dr. Allix quotes another Romish author to the same effect:
"Alanus attributes to the Cathari almost the very same opinions in his first book against heretics, which he wrote about the year 1192."—Id. p. 170.
These statements of their views are given in the uncandid language of their enemies. The charge that they observed circumcision will be noticed presently. Mr. Robinson represents these Passagii or Passaginians as a branch of the Waldenses. He says:
"It is very credible that the name Passageros or Pasagini was given to such of them as lived in or near the passes of the mountains, and who subsisted in part by guiding travelers or traveling themselves for trade."—Eccl. Researches, chap. x, pp. 305, 306.
Mosheim gives the following account of them:
"In Lombardy, which was the principal residence of the Italian heretics, there sprung up a very singular sect, known by the denomination of Passaginians, and also by that of the circumcised. They had the utmost aversion to the dominion and discipline of the church of Rome; but they were at the same time distinguished by two religious tenets that were peculiar to themselves. The first was a notion that the observation of the law of Moses, in everything except the offering of sacrifices, was obligatory upon Christians; in consequence of which they circumcised their followers, abstained from those meats the use of which was prohibited under the Mosaic economy, and celebrated the Jewish Sabbath. The second tenet that distinguished this sect was advanced in opposition to the doctrine of three persons in the divine nature."—Eccl. Hist. cent. xii, part 2, chap. v, sec. xiv.
Mr. Benedict speaks of them as follows:
"The account of their practicing circumcision is undoubtedly a slanderous story forged by their enemies, and probably arose in this way: because they observed the seventh day they were called by the way of derision, Jews, as the Sabbatarians are frequently at this day; and if they were Jews, it followed of course that they either did or ought to, circumcise their followers. This was probably the reasoning of their enemies; and that they actually practiced the bloody rite is altogether improbable."—Hist. Bapt. Den., vol. 2, pp. 412–418, ed. 1813.
An eminent church historian, Michael Geddes, thus testifies:
"This fixing something that is justly abominable to all mankind upon her adversaries, has been the constant practice of the church of Rome."—Acts and Decrees of the Synod of Dampier, p. 168.
Of the origin of the Petrobrusians, we have the following account by Mr. Jones:
"But the Cathari or Puritans were not the only sect which, during the twelfth century, appeared in opposition to the church of Rome. About the year 1110, in the south of France, in the provinces of Languedoc and Provence, appeared Peter de Bruys, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, and exerting the most laudable effort to reform the abuses and remove the superstition which disfigured the beautiful simplicity of the gospel worship. His labors were crowned with abundant success. He converted a great number of disciples to the faith of Christ, and after a most indefatigable ministry of twenty years' continuance, he was burnt at St. Giles, a city of Languedoc in France, A. D. 1120, by an enraged populace, instigated by the clergy, who apprehended their traffic to be in danger from this new and intrepid reformer."—Hist. of the Church, chap. iv, sec. iii.
That this body of French Christians who in the very midnight of the dark ages witnessed for the truth in opposition to the Romish church were observers of the ancient Sabbath is expressly certified by Dr. Francis White, lord bishop of Ely. He was appointed by the king of England to write against the Sabbath in opposition to Brabourne who had appealed to the king in its behalf. To show that Sabbatic observance is contrary to the doctrine of the Catholic church—a weighty argument with an Episcopalian—he enumerates the various classes of heretics who had been condemned by the Catholic church for keeping holy the seventh day. Among these heretics he places the Petrobrusians:
"In St. Bernard's days it was condemned in the Petrobruysans."—Treatise of the Sabbath-day, p. 8, Lib. Am. Antig. Society, Worcester.
The Anabaptists are often referred to in the records of the dark ages. The term signifies rebaptizers, and was applied to them because they denied the validity of infant baptism. The designation is not accurate, however, because those persons whom they baptized, they considered as never having been baptized before, although they had been sprinkled or even immersed in infancy. This people have been overwhelmed in obloquy in consequence of the fanatical insurrection which broke out in their name in the time of Luther.Of those engaged in this insurrection, Buck says:
"The first insurgents groaned under severe oppressions, and took up arms in defense of their civil liberties; and of these commotions the Anabaptists seem rather to have availed themselves, than to have been the prime movers. That a great part were Anabaptists seems indisputable; at the same time it appears from history that a great part also were Roman Catholics, and a still greater part of those who had scarcely any religious principles at all."—Theological Dict., art. Anabaptists.
This matter is placed in the true light by Stebbing:
"The overthrow of civil society, and fatal injuries to religion were threatened by those who called themselves Anabaptists. But large numbers appear to have disputed the validity of infant baptism who had nothing else in common with them, yet who for that one circumstance were overwhelmed with the obloquy, and the punishment richly due to a fanaticism equally fraudulent and licentious."—Hist. Church, vol. 1, pp. 183, 184.
The ancient Sabbath was retained and observed by a portion of the Anabaptists, or to use a more proper term, Baptists. Dr. Francis White thus testifies:
"They which maintain the Saturday Sabbath to be in force, comply with some Anabaptists."—Treatise of the Sabbath-day, p. 132. He cites Hist. Anabapt. lib. 6, p. 153.
Thus it is seen that within the limits of the old Roman empire, and in the midst of those countries that submitted to the rule of the pope, God reserved unto himself a people that did not bow the knee to Baal, and among these the Bible Sabbath was observed from age to age. We are now to search for the Sabbath among those who were never subjected to the Roman pontiff. In Central Africa, from the first part of the Christian era—perhaps from the time of the conversion of the Ethiopian officer of great authority Acts viii, 26–40—have existed the churches of Abyssinia and Ethiopia. About the time of the accession of the Roman bishop to supremacy they were lost sight of by the nations of Europe. "Encompassed on all sides," says Gibbon, "by the enemies of their religion, the Ethiopians slept near a thousand years, forgetful of the world, by whom they were forgotten." Dec. and Fall, chap. xlvii. In the early part of the sixteenth century they were again brought to the knowledge of the world by the discovery of Portuguese navigators. Undoubtedly they had, during this long period, been effected by the dense darkness of pagan and Mahometan errors with which they were encompassed; and in many respects they had lost the pure and spiritual religion of our divine Redeemer. A modern traveler says of them: "They had divers errors and many ancient truths."—Maxon's Hist. Sab. p. 33.
Michael Geddes says of them:
"The Abyssinians do hold the Scriptures to be the perfect rule of the Christian faith; inasmuch that they deny it to be in the power of a general council to oblige people to believe anything as an article of faith without an express warrant from thence."—Church Hist. of Ethiopia, p. 31.
They practice circumcision, but for other reasons than that of a religious duty.—Id. p. 96; Gibbon, chap. xv, note 25; chap. xlvii, note 160.
Geddes further states their views:
"Transubstantiation and the adoration of the consecrated bread in the sacrament, were what the Abyssinians abhorred. They deny purgatory, and know nothing of confirmation and extreme unction; they condemn graven images; they keep both Saturday and Sunday."—Church Hist. Ethiopia, pp. 34, 35; Purchas's Pilgrimage, book ii, chap. v.
Their views of the Sabbath are stated by the ambassador of the king of Ethiopia, at the court of Lisbon, in the following words, explaining their abstinence from all labor on that day:
"Because God, after he had finished the creation of the world, rested thereon; which day, as God would have it called the holy of holies, so the not celebrating thereof with great honor and devotion, seems to be plainly contrary to God's will and precept, who will suffer heaven and earth to pass away sooner than his word; and that especially, since Christ came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. It is not therefore in imitation of the Jews, but in obedience to Christ, and his holy apostles, that we observe that day."—Ch. Hist. Eth. pp. 87, 88.
The ambassador states their reasons for first-day observance in these words:
"We do observe the Lord's day after the manner of other Christians in memory of Christ's resurrection." Id. ib.
He has no scripture to offer in support of this festival and evidently rested its observance upon tradition. This account was given by the ambassador in 1534. In the early part of the next century the emperor of Abyssinia was induced to submit to the pope in these words: "I confess that the pope is the vicar of Christ, the successor of St. Peter, and the sovereign of the world. To him I swear true obedience, and at his feet I offer my person and kingdom."—Gibbon, chap. xlvii. No sooner had the Roman bishop thus brought the emperor to submit to him than that potentate was compelled to gratify the popish hatred of the Sabbath by an edict forbidding its further observance. In the words of Geddes, he set forth a proclamation prohibiting all his subjects upon severe penalties to observe Saturday any longer.—Ch. Hist. Eth. pp. 311, 312. Or as Gibbon expresses it, "The Abyssinians were enjoined to work and to play upon the Sabbath." But the tyranny of the Romanists after a terrible struggle caused their overthrow and banishment, and the restoration of the ancient faith. The churches resounded with a song of triumph, "that the sheep of Ethiopia were now delivered from the hyenas of the West;"; and the gates of that solitary realm were forever shut against the arts, the science and the fanaticism of Europe.—Gibbon, chap. xlvii.
The Armenians of the East Indies are peculiarly worthy of our attention. J. W. Mossul, M. R. I. A., says of the East Indian Christians:
"Remote from the busy haunts of commerce, or the populous seats of manufacturing industry, they may be regarded as the Eastern Piedmontese, the Vallois of Hindostan, the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth through revolving centuries, though indeed their bodies lay as dead in the streets of the city which they had once peopled."—Continental India, vol. ii, p. 120.
Geddes says of them:
"The three great doctrines of popery, the pope's supremacy, transubstantiation, the adoration of images, were never believed nor practiced at any time in this ancient apostolical church. I think one may venture to say that before the time of the late reformation, there was no church that we know of, no, not that of the Vaudois, that had so few errors in doctrine as the church of Malabar." He adds concerning those churches that were never in the bounds of the Roman empire: "It is in those churches that we are to meet with the least of the leaven of popery."—Acts and Decrees of the Synod of Diamper, preface.
Mr. Mossul further describes these Christians:
"The creed which these representatives of an ancient line of Christians cherished was not in conformity with papal decrees, and has with difficulty been squared with the thirty-nine articles of the Anglican episcopacy. Separated from the western world for one thousand years they were naturally ignorant of many novelties introduced by the councils and decrees of the Lateran: and their conformity with the faith and practice of the first ages, laid them open to the unpardonable guilt of heresy and schism, as estimated by the church of Rome. 'We are Christians and not idolaters,' was their expressive reply when required to do homage to the image of the virgin Mary. . . . La Croze states them at fifteen hundred churches, and as many towns and villages. They refused to recognize the pope and declared they had never heard of him; they asserted the purity and primitive truth of their faith since they came, and their bishops had for thirteen hundred years been sent from the place where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians."—Continental India, vol. ii, pp. 116, 117.
The Sabbatarian character of these Christians is hinted by Mr. Yeates. He says that Saturday "Amongst them is a festival day, agreeable to the ancient practice of the church."—East Indian Church History, pp. 134.
The same fact is further hinted by the same writer in the following language:
"The inquisition was set up at Goa in the Indies, at the instance of Francis Xavier [a famous Romish saint] who signified by letters to pope John III, Nov. 10, 1545, 'That the JEWISH WICKEDNESS spread every day more and more in the parts of the East Indies subject to the kingdom of Portugal, and therefore he earnestly besought the said king, that to cure so great an evil he would take care to send the office of the inquisition into those countries.'"—Id., pp. 139, 140.
In other words this Jesuit missionary desired the pope and the king of Portugal, to establish the inquisition in that part of the Indies subject to Portugal, in order to root out the Sabbath from those ancient churches. The inquisition was established in answer to this prayer, and Xavier was subsequently canonized as a saint! Nothing can more clearly show the malignity of the Roman pontiff toward the Sabbath of the Lord; and nothing more clearly illustrates the kind of men that he canonizes as saints.
Since the time of Xavier, the East Indies have fallen under British rule. A distinguished clergyman of the church of England some years since visited the British empire in India, for the purpose of acquainting himself with these churches. He gave the following deeply interesting sketch of these ancient Christians, and in it particularly marks their Sabbatarian character:
"The history of the Armenian church is very interesting. Of all the Christians in Central Asia, they have preserved themselves most free from Mahometan and papal corruptions. The pope assailed them for a time with great violence, but with little effect. The churches in lesser Armenia indeed consented to an union, which did not long continue; but those in Persian Armenia maintained their independence; and they retain their ancient Scriptures, doctrines, and worship to this day. 'It is marvelous,' says an intelligent traveler who was much among them, 'how the Armenian Christians have preserved their faith, equally against the vexatious oppression of the Mahometans, their sovereigns, and against the persuasions of the Romish church, which for more than two centuries has endeavoured, by missionaries, priests and monks, to attach them to her communion. It is impossible to describe the artifices and expenses of the court of Rome to effect this object, but all in vain.'
"The Bible was translated into the Armenian language in the fifth century, under very auspicious circumstances, the history of which has come down to us. It has been allowed by competent judges of the language, to be a most faithful translation. La Croze calls it the 'Queen of Versions.' This Bible has ever remained in the possession of the Armenian people; and many illustrious instances of genuine and enlightened piety occur in their history. . . . .
"The Armenians in Hindostan are our own subjects. They acknowledge our government in India, as they do that of Sophi in Persia; and they are entitled to our regard. They have preserved the Bible in its purity; and their doctrines are, as far as the author knows, the doctrines of the Bible. Besides, they maintain the solemn observance of Christian worship throughout our empire, on the seventh day, and they have as many spires pointing to heaven among the Hindoos as we ourselves. Are such a people then entitled to no acknowledgment on our part, as fellow Christians? Are they forever to be ranked by us with Jews, Mahometans, and Hindoos?"—Buchanan's Christian Researches in Asia, pp. 159, 160.
These facts clearly attest the continued observance of the Sabbath during the whole period of the dark ages. The church of Rome was indeed able to exterminate the Sabbath from its own communion, but it was retained by the true people of God who were measurably hidden from the papacy in the wilds of Central Europe; while those African and East Indian churches that were never within the limits of the pope's dominion, have steadfastly retained the Sabbath to the present day.

PEACE PURCHASED BY SUFFERING.

“But the Son of man had not where to lay his head.”—Matt. viii, 20.
BIRDS have their quiet nest, Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed; All creatures have their rest— But Jesus had not where to lay his head.
Winds have their hour of calm, And waves, to slumber on the voiceless deep, Eve hath its breath of balm, To hush all senses and all sounds to sleep;
The wild deer hath its lair, The homeward flocks the shelter of their shed; All have their rest from care— But Jesus had not where to lay his head.
And yet he came to give The weary and the heavy laden rest; To bid the sinner live, And soothe our griefs to slumber on his breast.
What then am I, my God, Permitted thus the paths of peace to tread? Peace purchased by the blood Of him who had not where to lay his head!
O, why should I have peace? Why? but for that unchanged, undying love, Which would not, could not cease, Until it made me heir of joys above.
Yes! but for pardoning grace, I feel I never should in glory see The brightness of that face, That once was pale and agonized for me!
Let the birds seek their nest, Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed; Come, Savior, in my breast Deign to repose thine oft-rejected head!
Come! give me rest, and take The only rest on earth thou lov'st—within A heart, that for thy sake Lies bleeding, broken, penitent for sin.

THE POWER OF SATAN.

By Ellen G. White

Fallen man is Satan’s lawful captive. The mission of Jesus Christ was to rescue him from his power. Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot of himself successfully resist so terrible a foe, unless Christ, the mighty conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and giving him strength. God alone can limit the power of Satan. He is going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it. Heis not off his watch for a single moment, through fear of losing an opportunity to destroy souls. It is important that God's people understand this, that they may escape his snares. Satan is preparing his deceptions that in his last campaign against the people of God, they may not understand that it is he. 2 Cor. xi, 14: “And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” While some deceived souls are advocating that he does not exist, he is taking them captive, and is working through them to a great extent. Satan knows better than God's people the power that they can have over him, when their strength is in Christ. When they humbly entreat the mighty Conqueror for help, the weakest believer in the truth, relying firmly upon Christ, can successfully repulse Satan and all his host. He is too cunning to come openly, boldly, with his temptations, for then the drowsy energies of the Christian would arouse, and he would rely upon the strong and mighty Deliverer. But Satan comes in unperceived, and in disguise he works through the children of disobedience, who profess godliness. Satan will go to the extent of his power to harass, tempt, and mislead God's people.
He who dared to face, and tempt, and taunt our Lord, and who had power to take him in his arms and carry him to a pinnacle of the temple, and up into an exceeding high mountain, will exercise his power to a wonderful degree upon the present generation, who are far inferior in wisdom to their Lord, and who are almost wholly ignorant of his subtlety and strength.
In a marvelous manner will he affect the bodies of those who are naturally inclined to do his bidding. Satan exults for his own sake that he is regarded as a fiction. When he is made light of, and is represented by some childish illustration, or as some animal, it suits him well. He is thought so inferior that minds are wholly unprepared for his wisely-laid plans, and he almost always succeeds well. If his power and subtlety were understood, minds would be prepared to successfully resist him.
All should understand that Satan was once an exalted angel. His rebellion shut him out of heaven, but did not destroy his powers and make him a beast. Since his fall he has turned his mighty strength against the government of heaven. He has been growing more artful, and has learned the most successful manner to come to the children of men with his temptations.
Satan has originated fables with which to deceive. He commenced in heaven to war against the foundation of God's government, and since his fall has carried on his rebellion against the law of God, and has brought the mass of professed Christians to trample under their feet the fourth commandment, which brings to view the living God. He has torn down the original Sabbath of the decalogue, and instituted in its place one of the laboring days of the week.
The great original lie which he told to Eve in Eden, “Thou shalt not surely die,” was the first sermon ever preached on the immortality of the soul. This sermon was crowned with success, and terrible results followed. He has brought minds to receive that sermon as truth, and ministers preach it, sing it, and pray it. No literal Devil, and probation after the coming of Christ, are fast becoming popular fables. The Scriptures plainly declare every person's destiny forever fixed at the coming of the Lord. Rev. xxii, 11, 12: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Satan has taken advantage of these popular fables to hide himself. He comes to poor deceived mortals through modern Spiritualism, which places no bounds to the carnally minded, and, if carried out, separates families, creates jealousy and hatred, and gives liberty to the most degrading propensities.
People know but little yet of the corrupting influence of Spiritualism. The curtain was lifted, and much of its dreadful work was revealed to me. I was shown some who have had an experience in Spiritualism, and have since renounced it, who shudder as they reflect upon how near they came to utter ruin. They had lost control of themselves, and Satan made them do that which they detested. But even they have but a faint idea of Spiritualism as it is.
Ministers inspired of Satan can eloquently dress up this hideous monster, hide its deformity and make it appear beautiful to many. But it comes so direct from his satanic majesty, that all who have to do with it, he claims as his to control, for they have ventured upon forbidden ground, and have forfeited the protection of their Maker.
When poor souls have been fascinated with the eloquent words of the teachers of Spiritualism, and they have yielded to its influence, and afterward find out its deadly character, and would renounce and flee from it, some cannot. Satan holds them by his power, and he is not willing to let them go free. He knows that they are surely his while he has them under his special control. But if they once free themselves from his power, he can never bring them again to believe in Spiritualism, and so directly under his control. The only way for such poor souls to overcome Satan, is to discern between pure Bible truth and fables. As they acknowledge the claims of truth, they place themselves where they can be helped. They should entreat those who are experienced, and have faith, to plead with the mighty Deliverer in their behalf. It will be a close conflict. Satan will reinforce his evil angels who have controlled the individuals; but if the saints of God with deep humility fast and pray, their prayers will prevail. Jesus will commission holy angels to resist Satan, and he will be driven back and his power broken from off the afflicted ones. Mark ix, 29. “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
The popular ministry cannot successfully resist Spiritualism. They have nothing to shield their flocks from its baleful influence. Much of the sad result of Spiritualism will rest upon ministers of this age; for they have trampled under their feet the truth, and in its stead have preferred fables.
The sermon Satan preached to Eve upon the immortality of the soul—“Thou shalt not surely die”—they have re-iterated from the pulpit, and the people receive it as pure Bible truth. It is the foundation of Spiritualism. The word of God nowhere teaches the soul of man immortal. Immortality is an attribute of God alone. 1 Tim. vi, 16. “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.”
God's word, rightly understood and applied, is a safeguard against Spiritualism. An eternally burning hell preached from the pulpit, and kept before the people, does injustice to the benevolent character of God. It presents him as the veriest tyrant in the universe. This wide spread dogma has turned thousands to universalism, infidelity, and atheism.
The word of God is plain. It is a straight chain of truth. It will prove an anchor to those who are willing to receive it, even if they have to sacrifice their cherished fables. It will save them from the terrible delusions of these perilous times.
Satan has led the minds of the ministers of different churches to adhere as tenaciously to their popular errors, as he led the Jews in their blindness to cling to their sacrifices, and crucify Christ. The rejection of light and truth leaves men captives, and subjects of Satan's deception. The greater the light they reject, the greater will be the power of deception and darkness which will come upon them.
I was shown that God's true people are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. God requires of them continual advancement in the knowledge of the truth, and in the way of holiness. Then will they understand the coming in of Satan, and in the strength of Jesus will resist him. Satan will call to his aid legions of his angels to oppose the advance of even one soul, and, if possible, wrest it from the hand of Christ.
I saw evil angels contending for souls, and angels of God resisting them. The conflict was severe. Evil angels were crowding about them, corrupting the atmosphere with their poisonous influence, and stupefying their sensibilities. Holy angels were anxiously watching these souls, and were waiting to drive back Satan's host. But it is not the work of good angels to control minds against the will of the individuals. If they yield to the enemy, and make no effort to resist him, then the angels of God can do but little more than hold in check the host of Satan, that they should not destroy, until further light be given to those in peril, to move them to arouse and look to heaven for help. Jesus will not commission holy angels to extricate those who make no effort to help themselves.
If Satan sees he is in danger of losing one soul, he will exert himself to the utmost to keep that one. And when the individual is aroused to his danger, and, with distress and fervor, looks to Jesus for strength, Satan fears he shall lose a captive, and he calls a re-enforcement of his angels to hedge in the poor soul, and form a wall of darkness around him, that heaven's light may not reach him. But if the one in danger perseveres, and in helplessness and weakness casts himself upon the merits of the blood of Christ, Jesus listens to the earnest prayer of faith, and sends a re-enforcement of those angels which excel in strength to deliver them. Satan cannot endure to have his powerful rival appealed to, for he fears and trembles before his strength and majesty. At the sound of fervent prayer, Satan's whole host trembles. He continues to call legions of his evil angels to accomplish his object. And when angels, all-powerful, clothed with the armory of heaven, come to the help of the fainting, pursued soul, Satan and his host fall back, well knowing that their battle is lost.
The willing subjects of Satan are faithful and active, united in one object. And although they will hate, and war with each other, yet they will improve every opportunity to advance their common interest. But the great Commander in heaven and earth has limited Satan's power.
My experience has been singular, and for years I have suffered peculiar trials of mind. The condition of God's people, and my connection with the work of God, has often brought upon me a weight of sadness and discouragement which cannot be expressed. For years I have looked to the grave as a sweet resting-place.
In my last vision I inquired of my attending angel why I was left to suffer such perplexity of mind, and so often thrown upon the Devil's battle-ground. I entreated that if I must be so closely connected with the cause of truth, that I might be delivered from these severe trials. There was power and strength with the angels of God, and I plead that I might be shielded.
Then our past life was presented before me, and I was shown that Satan had sought in various ways to destroy our usefulness; that many times he has laid his plans to get us down from the work of God; he had come in different ways, and through different agencies, to accomplish his purposes; and through the ministration of holy angels he had been defeated. I saw that in our journeying from place to place, he had frequently placed his evil angels in our path to cause accidents which would result in our losing our lives; but holy angels were sent upon the ground to deliver. Several accidents have placed my husband and myself in great peril, and our preservation has been wonderful. I saw that we had been the special objects of Satan's attacks, because of our interest in, and connection with, the work of God. As I saw the great care God has every moment for those who love and fear him, I was inspired with confidence and trust in God, and felt reproved for my lack of faith. E. G. WHITE.

What Family Government Is

WHAT FAMILY GOVERNMENT IS.—It is not to watch children with suspicious eye, to frown at the outbursts of innocent hilarity, to suppress their joyous laughter, and to mould them into melancholy little models of aged gravity. And when they have been in fault it is not simply to punish them on account of the personal injury that you have chanced to suffer in consequence. Nor is it to overwhelm the little culprit with angry words; to stun him with a deafening noise; to call him by hard names, which do not express his misdeeds: to load him with epithets which would be extravagant if applied to a fault of tenfold enormity; or to declare with passionate vehemence that he is the worst child in the world and destined for the gallows. But it is to watch anxiously for the first risings of sin, and to repress them; to correct the earliest workings of selfishness to repress the first beginnings of rebellion against rightful authority; to teach an implicit and unquestioning and cheerful obedience to the will of the parent, as the best preparation for a future allegiance of the requirements of the civil magistrate, and the laws of the great Ruler and Father in Heaven. It is to punish a fault because it is a fault; because it is sinful and contrary to the commands of God, without reference to whether it may or may not be productive of immediate injury to the parent or others. It is to reprove with calmness and composure, and not with angry irritation; in a few words fitly chosen, and not with a torrent of abuse; to punish as often as you threaten, and threaten only when you intend and can remember to perform; to say what you mean, and infallibly do as you say. It is to govern your family as in the sight of Him who gave you authority, and who will reward your strict fidelity with such blessings as he bestowed on Abraham, or punish your criminal neglect with such curses as he visited on Eli.

WHICH DIED?

THE no-Sabbath men affirm that Paul teaches in Rom. vii, 6, that we were delivered from the law by its abolition, or death, at the crucifixion of Christ. The verse reads as follows,—
"But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."
This text taken alone, at first sight, with those who wish to have the law abolished, seems to teach what they would like to have it teach. But here are several facts worthy as especial notice.
1. Rom. vi, and vii, set forth the law as the means of conviction of sin necessary to true repentance, in connection with baptism, in a manner to establish its perpetuity. Hence Paul does not contradict his plain teachings in these two chapters, in verse 6 of the latter. Paul does not contradict Paul. But if we make him say in this verse that the law died at the crucifixion, and in the very next verse say, "I had not known sin but by the law," we have him convicted of sin by a law that had been dead about four years. This would make Paul a teacher of nonsense. Consistency will lead honest men to avoid such contradictions, even if thereby they are led into the truth.
2. The marginal note of the text under consideration will help those who love to see harmony in the word, and want the truth. We will give the text with the marginal reading. "But now we are delivered from the law, being dead to that wherein we were held," &c. This shows which died. And we see a beautiful harmony with other declarations in these two chapters. Verse 4. "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law." Verse 9. "I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." Chap. vi, 6. "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him." Also Col. iii, 3. "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Verses 9, 10. "Ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man." Gal. ii, 20. "I am crucified with Christ." There is not an intimation here that the law died; but rather, the apostle teaches the death of what is called "the old man;" and the law is the very instrument by which this is accomplished. The first and second husbands of chap. vii, 2, 3, illustrate the old man and new man mentioned in Col. iii, 9, 10. The old man is the carnal mind, the new man is the mind of Christ. The woman, in Paul's illustration, could not be legally married to the second man until the death of the first. Neither can the new man be put on till the death of the old man. Now let Paul say what is instrumental in slaying, or crucifying, and putting off, the old man. Hear him. He says, "I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." So far then from the law of God dying, it is the very instrument by which the old man is slain, and put off, preparatory to the putting on of the new man, which is Christ the Lord. Here the no-Sabbath men have made a most egregious mistake.
3. 'Aποθανόντες ἐν ᾧ κατειχόμεθα. "We being dead, or having died, to that in which we were held."
We know of no translation of Rom. vii, 6, that gives a rendering essentially different from this but the received version, which in most editions has the marginal reading above given.
Macknight renders, "But now, having died with Christ, we are released from the law, by which we were held."
Wakefield translates, "But now we have been released by death from that law, by which we were held."
Wesley renders, "But now are we freed from the law, being dead unto that whereby we were held."
Sawyer translates, "But now we are released from the law by which we were held, having died."
Whiting translates, "But now are we separated from the law, being dead to that by which we were held."
Campbell renders, "But now are we loosed from the law, having died in that by which we were tied."
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