Review and Herald, Vol. 52, No. 14. (9/26/1878)

Review and Herald

Sep 26, 1878

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 26, 1878

THE TWO COVENANTS.

By J. G. Matteson

BY ELD. J. G. MATTESON.

God has made a covenant with his people in the last days. All that enter into this covenant obtain forgiveness of their sins, and eternal life. But those who are strangers to it must bear their own sins and at last reap corruption. Gal. 6:8. It is of the greatest importance to become acquainted with this covenant; therefore we will listen to the testimony of the Scriptures on this point, for they alone are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 Tim. 3:15. And these testimonies are so plain that no one can misunderstand them, if he will weigh the evidences carefully and honestly before God.

The two covenants, the old and the new, are fully and clearly presented in Jer. 31:31–34 and Heb. 8:6–12. In Heb. 8, the Holy Spirit testifies by the apostle of the ministration of Christ as our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary. Verses 1, 2. Then he speaks of the priests under the old covenant, whose ministration only served unto the example and shadow of the ministration of Christ in Heaven. Verses 3–5. But of Christ he says: “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” Verse 6.

It is this new and better covenant which we desire to understand and to enter into; for it is founded on better promises than the old. And Christ, whose ministry is more excellent than that of the earthly priests, insomuch as he is more excellent than they, is our divine mediator in this new and better covenant.

The Scriptures speak of several covenants before Christ. But to avoid all misunderstanding, the Lord shows clearly, first, what covenant he calls the old and first covenant; and then describes the second in unmistakable terms. And this second covenant he calls “a better covenant” and “a new covenant.”

THE OLD COVENANT.

“For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.” Heb. 8:7–9.

THE NEW COVENANT.

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Heb. 8:10–12.

“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Verse 13. The old covenant has utterly vanished away. There is no more any good reason to say that any man, even though he be a Jew, can obtain any temporal or eternal blessing by the promises contained in that old covenant.

We will now consider, first, THE OLD COVENANT: what it was; and how it was established and sealed; and, second, THE NEW COVENANT: wherein it is like and unlike the old; how it was made and ratified; and what it contains.

I. THE OLD COVENANT.

The covenant which is here presented, and denominated old, is that covenant which God made with the ancestors of the Jews in the day when he took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. Heb. 8:9.

The word diatheke, which is rendered covenant, means any disposition, arrangement, institution, or dispensation; hence a testament, a will, a covenant, i. e., mutual promises on mutual conditions, or promises with conditions annexed; meton, a body of laws and precepts, etc.—Greenfield.

The old covenant, now under consideration, was not the ten commandments; for it was that covenant which the Lord made with the house of Israel when he led them out of the land of Egypt. And this no one can deny who believes the text quoted,—Heb. 8:9. It was a voluntary agreement between two parties, and not an unconditional law.

This truth is further proved by the statements of the Bible concerning the old covenant in Ex. 19 and 24. Here we do most certainly find the first mutual agreement, or covenant, which the Lord made with the house of Israel after the time when he “took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.”

1. What the old covenant was. This old contract contained a promise from the Lord to make the Jews a favored people above all other nations on the earth, on the condition that they would obey his voice and keep his commandments.

Moses went up on Mount Sinai where the Lord spoke to him, and told him to remind the people of their deliverance from the Egyptians, and then present unto them the covenant which the Lord proposed to make with them. Ex. 19:2–4.

THE OFFER OF THE LORD.

“Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob.” Verse 3.

The condition: “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant.”

The promise: “Then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.” Verses 5, 6.

THE ANSWER OF THE PEOPLE.

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him, and all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.” Verses 7, 8.

God’s holy commandments and laws, and among these the Sabbath, existed before they were publicly proclaimed on Mount Sinai. Abraham obeyed the commandments and laws of God. Gen. 26:5. The Lord proved the Jews before they came to Sinai, whether they would walk in his law or no. Ex. 16:4. And it was the Sabbath by which he proved them. Verses 27–30. The world also was full of sin before the law was publicly proclaimed on Sinai. And when there is sin, there is also law; for “sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. Besides this, the Sabbath was instituted at creation. Gen. 2:3. Thus it was a part of God’s holy law from the beginning of the world.

These considerations show how the Lord could present obedience to his holy law (or commanded covenant) as a condition of the old covenant, before the law was publicly proclaimed.

Then was not obedience to the law of the Lord, the ten commandments, a condition of the old covenant?

Certainly.

Has not this law, then, vanished away with the old covenant?

This question is best understood by considering what the new covenant contains. We have no desire to introduce anything more in the second covenant than the Lord himself has brought in; neither do we wish to draw back from a single point which the Lord has written in it.

2. How the old covenant was established and sealed. When the people had promised to enter into the covenant, the Lord was not in a hurry to seal it. They must first be informed of many points relating to this covenant, in order to understand fully what they were doing.

In the next chapter (Ex. 20) we read how the Lord himself proclaimed the ten commandments in the hearing of the people. Then follows, in chaps. 21, 22, and 23, those civil and ecclesiastical laws which the Lord gave Moses to make known unto the people.

In the twenty-fourth chapter we read that “Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments [or commandments]; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.” Verse 3.

This was the second time the people promised to obey the Lord. It would seem to us that this was enough; but it was the will of God that this important agreement should be made still plainer and more sure before it was sealed.

Then Moses wrote all the words of the Lord in a book. Verse 4. This book is called the book of the covenant. “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people; and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Verse 7.

This was the third time the people promised to obey the Lord. And this time everything was recorded, that it might not afterwards be forgotten or changed. Thus the old covenant was finished, and then sealed with blood.

The young men had offered burnt offerings of oxen unto the Lord, and half of the blood was left in basins. Verses 5, 6. “And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.” Verse 8.

Thus the old covenant was established according to the plainest Scripture testimony. We have considered how it was made, and what pertained to it. There were two parties that mutually entered into it; a mediator who brought it about; one condition and one promise contained in it; and a seal that made it of force. We will now name these things in order:—

a. The first party: The Lord, Creator of heaven and earth.

b. The second party: The house of Israel. And this term signifies in the old covenant all the Jews, both believers and unbelievers. This cannot be misunderstood.

c. The mediator: Moses. He laid before the people all the words of Jehovah, and returned answer to the Lord, wrote the book of the covenant, and transacted the whole business between the two parties.

d. The condition: To obey the voice of the Lord and keep his commandments.

e. The promise: That the Lord would bestow great blessings on the Jews in preference to all other nations.

f. The seal: The blood of animals that were offered.

And what was the object of all these things?

That they should “serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,” and to develop a people who would preserve the word of God in the earth. The house of Israel was a type of the true “Israel of God.” Moses was a type of Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant, “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession;” “who was faithful to Him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.” Heb. 3:1, 2.

The covenant itself was a type of the new covenant, and the blood pointed to the precious blood of Christ, whereby the second covenant should be sealed when the first vanished away.

II. THE NEW COVENANT.

This we have already quoted as it is found in Heb. 8:10–12. It was not made with the Gentiles, but with the house of Israel. The Jews are preferred in the new covenant as well as in the old.

Many try to throw contempt on those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord by calling it Jewish. They forget that the new covenant was made with believers among the Jews. Christ himself was a Jew according to the flesh. The prophets and apostles were all Jews, and the first Christian church consisted of Jews. If we ask: What advantage, then, have the Jews? the Scripture answer is clear and unmistakable:—

“Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Rom. 3:2. And again the apostle testifies, that he could wish himself to be accursed from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh: who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants [this signifies at least two covenants], and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” Rom. 9:3–5.

We Gentiles have nothing to boast of. We were by nature “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” Eph. 2:12. Truly, unto us belongs only confusion of face.

How, then, can the new covenant be of any benefit to us?

By the blood of Christ we may be made members of the Israel of God. Eph. 2:13. Through Christ, both Jews and Gentiles “have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” Verse 18. “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Verse 19.

The Jews are represented by the natural branches of the olive tree, which is an emblem of the church of God, but the Gentiles are wild branches. “Thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear; for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.” Rom. 11:20, 21.

Thus we see that the new covenant is made with the house of Israel, or the believing

Jews, and that the Gentiles can be made partakers thereof by faith and obedience.

Considering the new covenant carefully, we find the following points:—

a. The first party: The Lord of Heaven and earth.

b. The second party: The house of Israel, or believing Jews.

c. The mediator: Christ, our Saviour.

d. Two conditions: 1. To love the commandments of God, and 2. To know the Lord.

e. Two promises: 1. Those who are members of this covenant are the people of God, and 2. Their sins are forgiven.

f. The seal: The precious blood of Christ. Heb. 9:12.

1. Points wherein the new covenant is like and unlike the old. We can now compare the two covenants, and will present some points wherein they are alike, and some things wherein they differ from each other:—

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND COVENANT.

THE OLD COVENANT.

The old covenant was established by the Lord.

It was made voluntarily, without compulsion.

It was made with the house of Israel.

It was brought about by a mediator.

It was founded upon obedience to the commandments of God.

It brought great advantages to all its members.

It was sealed with blood, and was thenceforth of force, until the shadow reached the reality.

It could not be changed after it was sealed.

THE NEW COVENANT.

The new covenant is also established by the great God.

It is a voluntary agreement.

It was also established with the house of Israel.

It cannot be entered into without a mediator.

It is also made on the condition of loving the law of the Lord.

It brings great blessings to all who enter into it.

It was sealed with blood and is of force ever since.

It cannot be changed, nor anything added thereto after it is confirmed. Gal. 3:15; Heb. 9:17.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND COVENANT.

THE OLD COVENANT.

The old covenant was made with the believing and unbelieving Jews, without any distinction.

It demanded outward circumcision in the flesh and outward obedience.

It gendered to bondage, and embraced only the old Jerusalem. Gal. 4:24, 25.

It was brought about by a human mediator.

It could never take away sins. Heb. 10:11.

It was sealed with the blood of goats and calves. Heb. 9:12.

It had many priests. Heb. 7:23.

THE NEW COVENANT.

The new covenant is made with those alone out of the house of Israel who have the law of God written in their hearts, and know the Lord.

It demands the circumcision of the heart, insomuch that the individual is made a new creature in Christ Jesus. Col. 2:11; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15.

It begets a spirit of adoption, and embraces the heavenly Jerusalem with her children. Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:26.

It has a divine Mediator, the only begotten Son of God. 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6.

It cleanses from all sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:7.

It is ratified by Christ’s own blood. Heb. 9:12.

It has only one priest,—Christ. Heb. 7:24; 8:1.

To the old covenant, and to that only, belonged a whole law of commandments contained in ordinances (Eph. 2:15) which contained nothing but a “shadow of good things to come.” Heb. 10:1. In the place of the sacrifices and ministrations which belonged to this law, we have a more excellent sacrifice and high-priestly ministration. “He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” Heb. 10:9.

We want to notice this closely, for it is a question which is continually agitated. What is it which is taken away? and what is established in the place of it? Let the word of God answer:—

THE FIRST, WHICH IS TAKEN AWAY.

“Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law.” Heb. 10:8.

“And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” Verse 11.

THE SECOND, WHICH IS ESTABLISHED.

“Then said he [Christ], Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Heb. 10:9, 10.

“But now hath he [Christ] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant.” Heb. 8:6.

Thus we have in the new covenant a divine sacrifice which can take away sin, and “a high priest over the house of God” (Heb. 10:21), Jesus Christ. And he is the only true priest in the new covenant.

Then the old covenant, with its sacrifices, its priestly ministration, and that law which ordained all these services, is taken away, and the sacrifice and ministration of Christ has been established in the place of it.

The law of sacrifices and offerings, and burnt offerings, and offering for sin, and of the Levitical priesthood, was, consequently,

the same as “the middle wall of partition,” “the law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Eph. 2:14, 15), which was abolished. And to this belong also the annual sabbaths, which were appointed for days of offerings and atonement, and were “a shadow of things to come.” Col. 2:16, 17; Lev. 23:24, 27, 28, 32.

But the Sabbath of the Lord, which is weekly, is no part of “the law of commandments contained in ordinances;” for it originated in Eden before the fall, and does not point to the sacrifice and ministration of Christ, but to God’s creation and his holy rest. Gen. 2:2, 3. And it is a part of the law of God, which also in the new covenant convinces all men of sin. Rom. 3:19; Ex. 20:8–11.

The law regulating sacrifices and everything pertaining to the Levitical priesthood is “the first,” which is taken away. The divine sacrifice of Christ and his heavenly priesthood is “the second,” which is established in the place of it.

(Concluded next week.)

THE SABBATH IN PARADISE.

By R. F. C.

When first our world was brought to light By wisdom infinite, and might, What crowned the work with sweet delight? The Sabbath.

When man in innocence and love Was sinless as the gentle dove, What gift was given from above? The Sabbath.

Through paradise, his Eden home, In pure delights he free could roam, And hail with joy, when it should come, The Sabbath.

So at the first, when time began, And all unruffled moments ran, That priceless boon was given man, The Sabbath.

Had he not sinned, he ever might Have had God's presence day and night, And ever hailed with fresh delight The Sabbath.

Though now from Eden man is driven, He still may keep the gift then given, The link that binds to hope and Heaven, The Sabbath.

Redeemed by Christ, the living Word, Man and his paradise restored, He shall enjoy (thus saith the Lord) The Sabbath.

God's Israel shall there remain, From month to month shall eat again Of life's fair tree, and still retain The Sabbath.

R. F. C.

THE CALLING OF THE GENTILES.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

One of the most striking prophecies of the Old Testament is that relating to the calling of the Gentiles,—to the extending to them of the gospel invitation. Every reader of the Bible is aware that the Jews became exceedingly exclusive and bigoted. They thought that no one outside the Jewish nation could be saved; hence they had little communion with the outside world. When Jesus Christ came and began to unfold the gospel plan, teaching that it would reach the Gentiles and gather them in, even his chosen apostles could not be made to comprehend him; and after his ascension to Heaven, though he had told them his gospel was for all nations, yet their prejudice was so strong that it seemed to them a mistake; hence Luke says of the apostles that they traveled everywhere, “preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.” Acts 11:19.

It will be remembered that the Lord gave Peter a vision from Heaven to prepare him to offer the gospel to the Gentiles. After he had been shown the sheet containing all manner of beasts, God sent to him the Gentiles, who begged him to come and preach the gospel to them. Even then he went doubting in himself what would come of it (see Acts 10); and as soon as he returned to his Jewish brethren they called him to an account for his conduct. “And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him. Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.” Acts 11:2, 3. So even Peter had to give a full explanation.

It will be remembered also what an outcry the unbelieving Jews raised against Paul, when he told them that God had sent him to the Gentiles: “And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live.” Acts 22:22.

These facts, with many others that might be given, show the prejudice that existed on the part of the Jews against the Gentiles, and how adverse even the disciples were to the idea of introducing the gospel to them. Nothing short of the miraculous power of God compelled them to do it.

Now let us turn to the Old Testament, and there we find that ages before this time the prophets had plainly predicted the calling of the Gentiles. Even as far back as the days of Abraham, about nineteen hundred years before Christ, the Lord said to Abraham, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Gen. 22:18. Notice, the Lord told Abraham that in him all the nations of the earth should be blessed. He did not simply say, All the nation of Israel, but all the nations of the earth. This is a plain intimation that the gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles.

Isaiah, seven hundred years before Christ, said, “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious.” Isa. 11:10. And again: “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isa. 42:6, 7. These are very plain predictions that the Messiah was to gather the Gentiles to the Lord.

The next prophecy is still more interesting: “One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.” Isa. 44:5. Here it is predicted that the Gentiles shall call themselves Israel, and take upon themselves the name of the God of Jacob, as they have done, and be called after him.

Here is another touching prophecy of the gathering in of the Gentiles: “The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold I was left alone; these, where had they been? Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.” Isa. 49:20-22. When the Gentiles are thus gathered in as children of God, the prophet represents the Saviour as saying, Who are these, and where have they been all this time? The Lord answers that they are those that shall be gathered out from among the Gentiles.

Take one more text, which must suffice,—one of the many: “For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mal. 1:11.

The Lord promised that the day should come when his name should be great even among the heathen who at that time knew nothing of him. Now look at the fulfillment of this prophecy. While the Jews, the people of God at that time, are rejected, and the Lord hardly has a faithful servant among them, the name of the God of Israel is held in reverence all over the earth, and among every nation of the Gentiles. Thousands bow to him, and hundreds of thousands are called by his name. How remarkably these prophecies have been fulfilled, and how forcibly their fulfillment shows that they were given by inspiration of God. D. M. CANRIGHT.

IDLE WORDS.

By W. P. Crandall

“But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment; for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matt. 12:36, 37.

How important it is that we watch our lips, that we let no words escape that will condemn us in the day of Judgment, which is near at hand.

The apostle exhorts us to avoid foolish talking and jesting, and if we would grow in grace we must heed this admonition. We need to be constantly on our guard, lest the enemy get the advantage of us in this respect. Satan is constantly trying by every means in his power to lead God’s people astray, and this is one of the most successful ways, especially with the young. Have we any time now to waste in jesting and foolish talking? I think not. We shall need all the time that is left us to prepare to meet Christ in peace. Then let us awake to the importance of living wholly for God, of denying ungodliness and worldly lust, and living righteous and godly lives.

Do we realize that all our words are recorded, and that we must meet them again? This is a solemn thought, and it should lead us to watch continually, lest we be overcome by the enemy of all righteousness. What an influence goes out from us who profess to be followers of Christ, if we engage in frivolous conversation! “Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded.” We who profess to be followers of Christ are watched by the world to see if religion makes us better men and women, and shall we take a course that will cast a reproach upon the cause of God? How often do we hear those who profess to have forsaken the world with its follies engaging in light conversation, even using the “slang phrases” which are so common at the present time. We are commanded to do everything, whether in word or in deed, in the name of Jesus, and can we use these useless words in the name of Him who died for our sins? I say in the words of the apostle, “These things ought not so to be.”

Let us, dear reader, examine ourselves, to see if we are not guilty before God; and if we are, let us seek his forgiveness, and resolve, in the name of Christ, to overcome this habit. W. P. CRANDALL.

ACKNOWLEDGE HIM.

By A. Smith

“In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Prov. 3:6. I do not understand that the expression “acknowledge him” has reference to a mere verbal declaration that this or that event in our individual experience is providential. To acknowledge God in all our ways, we must honor him in all we do or say. This agrees with the words of the apostle: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31.

The question might arise, How can a farmer acknowledge God in all his ways? In the first place, by becoming genuinely converted; for if he is not a true Christian he cannot glorify God, as he practically denies the claims of God upon him. The Christian farmer feels under obligation to use all proper means to care for the property which God has intrusted to him; and if he suffers loss he does not fret or complain, nor does he anticipate loss by expressing a fear that his granary will be broken into, his fruit stolen, his stock diminished by disease, or that his dwelling will be broken into by robbers or destroyed by fire. He retires at night with the sweet assurance, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.” Ps. 4:8.

What is true of the farmer is true of every Christian, whatever his calling may be.

When Christ was upon earth, he ever dispensed his blessings according to the faith of the people; and to-day he is unchanged. He is able to send angels to guard everything his people possess. Satan inquired of God concerning Job, “Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?” God did not deny this; for it was doubtless true, and is not God able to do the same by his people now? What saith the Saviour? “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them [worth half a farthing] shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Matt. 10:29–31.

Is not fretting and complaining on the part of a Christian very strongly expressed unbelief? Pause, Christian, lest Christ should practically say to thee, “Be it done unto thee according to thy faith.”

If a man would succeed in business, let him honor God by using a just and liberal portion of his means in his cause. Withholding this, God calls robbery. Love is the fulfilling of the law. How can we love one whom we rob? If, then, we rob God, are we commandment-keepers? If a man should rob his employer, would he not be at once dismissed as one unworthy to be trusted? When one talks of loving God, and being happy in that love, we conclude he is financially up to duty, or that he is deceived in himself.

Many are dissatisfied with the lot assigned to them by Providence, and clamor for a change; but this, without the sanction of Heaven, would be wrong. With some, indirectly expressing unbelief and distrust in the providence of God has become a chronic habit,—one which ought to be energetically resisted and overcome. We ought to talk faith, act faith, live out faith, for the honor and glory of God, and to cheer the desponding.

Talk discouragement to a man of business, and it disheartens him; let a chorus of voices dissuade him, and ten to one if he succeeds at all. Talk doubts and fears and darkness in a social meeting, and the very lamps will seem to burn more dimly, and the walls to assume a dingy hue. Let a mother fret and scold, and her little flock will desire to flee from the parental

roof; let a father storm with rage, or talk of coming poverty or calamity, and his children will doubtless grow up with the same peculiarities of passion and distrust, to extend the blighting influence far and near.

The same principles are also true in reference to our attitude toward God. How important, then, that we speak and act always with that Christian propriety that is well pleasing in the sight of Heaven.

A. SMITH.

CALM

By Bonar

I stand upon the mount of God With sunlight in my soul; I hear the storms in vales beneath, I hear the thunders roll. But I am calm with thee, my God, Beneath these glorious skies; And to the height on which I stand No storms nor clouds can rise. O this is life! O this is joy! My God, to find thee so; Thy face to see, thy voice to hear, And all thy love to know. —Bonar.

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