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Review and Herald, Vol. 47, No. 2.

THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE

Review and Herald

Jan 13, 1876

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 13, 1876

THE BIBLE AND THE PEOPLE.

[Extract from a Recent Sermon by Prof. Swing, of Chicago.]
To the multitude, the Sacred Volume tells a straight-forward story. They see in it a picture of the human heart in all its sinfulness, and in all its divineness too. They see the dark destiny of sin and the bright destiny of virtue. One is called hell, the other Heaven. They do not descend into particulars about the region of sorrow or the region of joy. They feel that the one is to be dreaded, the other loved. There, on the open page, lies the doctrine of repentance, far more impressive in Peter and in Magdalene than in any system of abstract doctrine. There lies the doctrine of faith in Christ, sweeter in the group around Jesus, in the apostles and martyrs, than in any confession of any church. There in the gospels lives and moves, and dies, and rises again, the Redeemer, in a charm and power to which the learning of commentators can add nothing.
In fact, one may perhaps be glad that there is an army of earth's inhabitants, old and young, white and black, hidden away in the obscurity which ignorance and poverty bring, to whom human wisdom in the form of “eternally begotten,” and “eternally proceeding,” and “limited atonement,” and “inability,” has never come, but to whose hearts the Bible tells its simple story as a mother talks to her confiding child. Much of modern theology is only great banks of cloud rolling up between the human family and the moral sun. As the damp vales of earth, and the bitter ocean, are always exhaling vapors that keep our sky clouded and that expose the beautiful earth to perpetual storm, so from the intellect, in its extravagant vanity, clouds arise that hide both Creator and Saviour from the upturned faces of mankind.
Upon Goat Island, in Niagara, upon a Sunday, years ago, I found, hidden away at the root of a tree, a servant from the hotel reading in his Testament about the crucifixion. He was an old, emancipated slave. Upon being questioned as to whether he loved that passage above all, he said he always cried over the idea, that, for even black men, a Christ should have died. I wondered whether any of the formulas of men about that death could ever entice from a slave's heart such tribute of weeping. Here an humble fugitive slave came to fulfill the image of Tennyson:—
All subtle thought all curious fears, Borne down by gladness so complete, He bows, he bathes the Saviour's feet With costly spikenard and with tears.
Thus, doubt it not, the common people glean from the sacred page the very golden sheaves which the Lord let fall for man. They find them in all the wide field reaching from Abraham to St. John. Not the entire multitude will thus be found extracting honey from this great field of flowers. Man will never move in a solid phalanx toward any form of good. Many are called, but few are chosen. The downward path is always broad, the upward path narrow. Facilis descensus Averni. Hence, when I speak of the blessings which the common people draw from the Bible I am not dreaming of an unbroken host poring over a divine book, but of many souls, many indeed, that in youth and in old age, in joy and in sorrow, in darkness and in light, are at times taking up the Bible, to trace in it the path of hope for time and eternity. Could you call all these together this day from all the corners of our land, and from the lonely ships on our seas, they would come in such a multitude, and so pressing the book to their hearts, that even were you an infidel you would bless God that so many souls were drawing so much happiness from the two Testaments. The hardest heart might weep for joy that so many had found infinite peace.

THE PEOPLE OF GOD

By J. G. Matteson

During the Closing Tribulation.
BY ELD. J. G. MATTESON.
The prophet Isaiah has presented many remarkable things relating to the people of God in the last days. He paints their tribulation, warfare, and victory, in living colors. In Isa. 33:9–24, we find a very interesting picture of the last trials of the people of God, and some stirring exhortations to be faithful unto the end.
“The earth mourneth, and fadeth away.” Isa. 24:4. The curse devours the earth on account of the transgression of its inhabitants. Verses 5, 6. “Sharon is like a wilderness.” Then the Lord arises to judgment. The imagined wisdom of man is likened unto conceiving chaff and bringing forth stubble. And the people shall be burned in the fire as thorns cut up. Chap. 33:10–12. But the warning voice of God shall be heard in the earth:— “Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with everlasting fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” Verses 13, 14.
Sinners and hypocrites in Zion are those who profess to be disciples of Christ, but at the same time do not walk in uprightness and honesty before God. They have retained their place in the church, but they are under the control of sin. They have deceived their fellow-men, but they cannot deceive God. The devouring fire has come. The everlasting burnings rage around about them. The noisome pestilence walks through the terrible darkness, and death is mowing down men with his scythe, until “a thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand.” Ps. 91:6, 7.
Up to this time, sinners have slept calmly in Zion. They were not disturbed by the warning voice of the watchman. He cried aloud of the great day that was near; but hypocrites smiled and would not be disturbed. They thought, There is no danger. These warnings have sounded a great many years. Yet all things continue as they were from the beginning.
But now the flames of hell have surrounded them. They neglected prayer. They forgot to watch. The inward man was not renewed or nourished. The gold was not purified in the fiery trials. They never made room in their souls for Jesus, the hope of glory. Now they do not know whither they shall flee from the devouring fire. Their painful cries sound terrifying through the air: “Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
They did not turn at the reproof of the Lord, when he would have poured out his Spirit upon them, and would have made known his word unto them. Therefore, the word of the Lord is now addressed to them: “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.” Prov. 1:24–29. Oh! how these words will pierce like pointed arrows through the hearts of thousands, when dark despair enshrouds them like a pall on the great day of the Lord.
It seems as though none could be preserved in that terrible hour, yet the Lord will preserve and save his children. The pestilence shall not come nigh to them. “Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.” Ps. 91:7, 8. There is a people who can dwell with the devouring fire, whom the Lord will hide for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. Isa. 26:20. Who, then, shall be numbered with this people?
“He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil. He shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Isa. 33:15, 16.
The religion that leads in this way is the religion of Christ. The grace that produces such fruits is the saving grace of God. Blessed is the man who thus receives Christ, and follows his footsteps, for this is to walk righteously; who bridles his tongue, and governs his temper; who would rather be poor than get gain by oppressing and deceiving his fellow-men; who would not change his judgment for money; who shuts his ears and eyes from the many evil things that are in this world. The angels of God will encamp round about him in the evil day. He shall find a habitation in the midst of the wilderness—a shelter with the Most High.
Ancient Israel waded through plagues and tribulations before they were delivered from the bondage of Egypt, and entered the promised land. So likewise must the Israel of God through much tribulation enter the heavenly Canaan. This will be the case in a special manner when the seven last plagues are poured out upon the earth. The sun scorches with great heat, until the seed is rotten under the clods; the pastures are desolate; the herds of cattle and flocks of sheep perish; while the food is cut off from the eyes of men. Joel 1:15–20; Rev. 16:8, 9. The sea, rivers, and fountains of waters turn to blood. The thirsty people cannot find one drop of good water to cool their parched tongues, and the air is filled with poisonous substances from the multitude of decaying fish; for life has departed from every soul in the sea.
Then this promise of God will be very precious to his suffering people: “Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Once more the Lord will open the heavens with manna for his waiting Israel. Once more their thirst shall be slaked with water from the flinty rock, called forth by the word of the Lord.
As the Lord appears unto his people to be tarrying, he comforts them in much mercy: “And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment; blessed are all they that wait for him.” Isa. 30:18.
The Lord points his waiting people to Jerusalem, where they soon shall dwell: “For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; thou shalt weep no more. He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.” Verse 19.
Their thirst shall be satisfied in affliction and their hunger supplied in the great distress. “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction [Danish version: And the Lord will give you bread in adversity, and water in affliction], yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left [Danish: When ye would have turned to the right hand or to the left].” Verses 20, 21.
There were but few teachers among the people of God. They had to travel continually from place to place. The parting scene was often painful. But now (during the time of the plagues) there are no more warnings to be given to sinners. The time of grace is past. Preachers and hearers are together waiting for the solemn hour of deliverance.
The office of Jesus as high priest has then ceased. The ministration in the heavenly temple is finished when the seven last plagues begin. Rev. 15:8. Then the people of God must be free from sin, not only in deed, but also in word and thought.
This seems to them impossible; for they are still mortal creatures, and with the best intentions they can easily make mistakes. But the angels of God are round about them. They keep them in all their ways. When they would turn to the right or left, because their judgment is not sufficient for the emergencies, the good angels lead them gently in the straight and narrow way.
Dear reader, consider how gracious the Lord is, and how wisely he has arranged everything for our salvation. When the towers fall in the day of the great slaughter, there will be distress and anguish among the children of men. “And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lightning down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones.” Verse 30. Then the fire of Tophet shall burn, as the prophet declares, like a pile of much wood, like a stream of brimstone. Verse 33. But the Lord will save his people with a glorious salvation. “The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” Verse 26.
“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28. In the midst of their affliction, the Lord bids his people look up. “Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty; they shall behold the land that is very far off.” Isa. 33:17.
Jesus was a blessed child to look upon, even in his human weakness and poverty. It was a happy moment for old Simeon when he, after a long and weary time of waiting, could say: “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” Luke 2:29, 30. Yet it must be far more glorious to behold Jesus as a king when he comes in all his heavenly glory. What a blessed sight to those eyes which often were wet and tired from tears and sorrow! Then the tears of waiting and longing shall no more roll down the furrowed cheeks, when the Lion of the tribe of Judah shall come from the paradise of God with the sweet morning glory of eternal bliss.
When Christ left this world, he “went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” Luke 19:12. Now he is coming to take you home to this “far country”—the heavenly Canaan, the blessed paradise of God.
Human plans and offices perish. Your heart is terrified by unexpected events. The enemies of God speak scoffing words. Isa. 33:18, 19. But they shall soon perish. Then the King will give unto those who have kept his Father’s commandments access to the tree of life, and they shall enter in through the gates of the city. Rev. 22:14. Rejoice, O daughter of Zion. Thy King cometh with the clouds of heaven. He comes with gentle words and heavenly comfort. Lift up your weary eyes from the valley of tears, from the great tribulation of the last days. “Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation.” Isa. 33:20.
O weary soul, let not your courage fail. Look upon the city where God’s people shall assemble. Here we often found but little room. Many doors were locked against us and against the truth of God. Often we were but few, and sometimes lonesome. Our fellow-men in the world counted us with fools and heretics. Yet God did show us the path of life, and he will give us fullness of joy in his presence, and happy mansions at his right hand forever (Danish translation). Ps. 16:11. There are many mansions in the Father’s house. John 14. And the Master has prepared them very gloriously. You will be much astonished when Jesus leads you into your heavenly home; for the beautiful things he has prepared for you will excel all the glory you ever could imagine.
Zion is the city of our solemnities. All the children of God bring their honor and glory into the city of the great King. The glory of God shines in it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. Then mistakes and misunderstandings are past forever. Every soul that is washed in the blood of the Lamb shall shine like the sun in the eternal kingdom. All party spirit is gone. Every heart beats in heavenly harmony. Every tongue praises God and the Lamb. O blessed hour, draw nigh! Let mine eyes see Jerusalem. Let my soul rest in thy quiet habitations. There is rest for the weary.
The heavenly habitation is a strong tabernacle. Here the stakes are often pulled out when we pitch our tents, and the ropes are broken. Sometimes the storm tears down our tents; and when that is not the case, we have to pull the stakes ourselves and move; for we have no abiding city here. But there we shall never feel the power of the shifting winds. The howling storm is changed into a heavenly calm; the moving tents into a city that hath foundations, a kingdom that cannot be moved. There the Lord will be glorious unto us. He is our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King. He will save us. “And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick. The people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” Isa. 33:24.
Dear reader, have you obtained the forgiveness of your iniquities? Have you found healing in the wounds of Jesus? Are you a sinner in Zion, who soon with trembling will endeavor in vain to flee from the devouring fire? Or have you turned from your idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from Heaven?
Are you making advancement in the way of life? or does lukewarmness hinder your spiritual growth? Do you learn from our Saviour, who was meek and lowly of heart? or do the world and the flesh still rule in your mind? Search yourself in the sight of God, who is acquainted with all your secret thoughts. Be not discouraged, neither presumptuous. Prepare to meet your God. Then you shall soon see the King in his beauty, and find an eternal home in Zion, the city of our solemnities.
Ft. Atkinson, Wis., Dec. 15, 1875.

NO ROOM FOR JESUS.

O plodding life! crowded so full Of earthly toil and care! The body's daily need receives The first and last concern, and leaves No room for Jesus there.
O busy brain! by night and day Working, with patience rare, Problems of worldly loss or gain, Thinking till thought becomes a pain— No room for Jesus there.
O throbbing heart! so quick to feel In others' woes a share, Yet human loves each power enthrall, And sordid treasures fill it all— No room for Jesus there.
O sinful soul! thus to debase The being God doth spare! Blood-bought thou art! no more thine own; Heart, brain, life, all are His alone— Make room for Jesus there;
Lest soon the bitter day shall come When vain will be thy prayer To find in Jesus' heart a place; Forever closed the door of grace, Thou'lt gain no entrance there.—Sel.

IN THE HEART OF THE EARTH.

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matt. 12:40.
This passage of Scripture has in the past been made the basis of one of the greatest objections brought by skeptics against the word of God, and even now many are troubled to harmonize it with other declarations of the Bible. It is a fact generally acknowledged and clearly established, that our Saviour lay in the tomb but two nights; yet many contend for the three nights, and, in trying to harmonize the Scriptures upon the point, take some strange positions.
One class contend for the whole seventy-two hours; but in doing so they have the Saviour rise on the same hour of the day in which he was buried; namely, late in the afternoon, or near sunset. But as he was first seen early in the morning of the first day of the week, it is inferred that he must have risen on the previous day, which was the Sabbath. With this view, Christ must have been put in the tomb as early as Wednesday.
Another class do not contend for the full time—only the three nights. Because, say they, the text just as certainly says three nights as three days, and if the phrase “three days” means some part of each of those days, so “three nights” must mean some part of each of those nights. Therefore, this class will have the Saviour buried Thursday.
It would seem that the advocates of these views must have overlooked some very plain points of scripture; for we find our Saviour while talking with his disciples (and when he was alone with them he spoke plainly. Mark 4:34) saying repeatedly that he should be killed, and be raised the third day. See Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33. And we have also the statement from the two that went to Emmaus on the day of his resurrection that that was the third day since he was crucified. Luke 24:21.
Just what is meant by the expression “third day” can be determined by the use made of it in the Scriptures. Christ said, “Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and do cures to-day, and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.” Luke 13:32. Also in the account of Paul’s voyage from Caesarea to Rome, Luke says (Acts 27:17–19) that they undergirded the ship, the next day they lightened it, and the third day they cast out the tackling; thus making the day of undergirding the ship the first day of the series.
In recording the events of the crucifixion day, Luke says, “And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.” Chap. 23:54. And Mark says, (chap. 15:42), “It was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath.” Now, making the preparation day the first in the count, the Sabbath would be the second, and the first day of the week the third, which makes perfect harmony between the declarations of Christ and the subsequent statements of the evangelists.
But, says the objector, you have only two nights in the count, and what will you do with the text at the head of this article? for our Saviour says he shall be in the heart of the earth as long as Jonah was in the whale’s belly, and the record testifies that Jonah was there three days and three nights.
In examining the text, there are some things to be taken into consideration: (1) To whom the words were addressed; (2) The language used in the address; and (3) The meaning of the expression, “heart of the earth.” In the first place, we learn that the words were addressed to the scribes and Pharisees, and it is said that Christ ever spoke to them in parables. Matt. 13:34. The Pharisees were supposed to understand the symbols of the Hebrew language (see Ps. 78:1–3), hence our Saviour addressed them in that manner.
In speaking of the heart of any object, it is taken for granted that the center is meant. Certain it is that the heart is not at the surface. If earth in the text is to be taken literally, it certainly must mean its center. But we dwell upon the earth’s surface, and not at its center. Then was Christ ever in the heart of the earth? Is there any proof that he was put down into the earth at all? We read that he was put in Joseph’s “new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock.” Matt. 27:60. The word earth occurs many times in the Bible when it can be taken in no other than a figurative sense. We give a few instances, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken.” Isa. 1:2. “Hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.” Deut. 32:1. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” Isa. 45:22. Nothing is plainer than that the earth referred to in these texts must mean the people. Again, we read in Mark 1:5, concerning the work of John in the wilderness, “And there went out unto him all the land of Judea.” It is evident that the people are referred to, and not the land.
At the time referred to in the text, no people could more appropriately be styled the “heart of the earth” than the Roman nation. They had pushed their conquests until they were recognized as the heart and center of all the powers of earth. All other nations had become tributary to them, and even the parents of our Lord responded to the summons of the Roman emperor to appear and be enrolled for taxation. Luke 2:1–5.
Christ was delivered by Judas into the hands of the soldiers the same night that he ate the passover with his disciples, which was the evening before the preparation day, and continued in their hands until he was crucified. Then a guard was placed before the tomb, which guarded his body until he was raised and released from their power. It is just as true that the Saviour was in their power from the time of his betrayal until his crucifixion as it is that he was in their power while in the tomb.
No power on earth could have taken him until the appointed time arrived for him to be delivered up, and no power could hold him after the summons was given for him to come forth. The case of Jonah was the same. The fish had no power to take him until he was delivered up; and when he was again placed on the land, he was as safe from danger as before starting on his perilous journey.
So if Christ was delivered into the hands of the people the evening before the preparation, which would correspond with our Thursday evening, and remained in their power until his resurrection, then there is some analogy between his case and Jonah’s, and we see no difficulty in finding the three nights spoken of in the text, nor will we be out of harmony with other scriptures in making the above application of the text.

REVIEW OF STORR.

By A. Smith

The Sabbath Law and Sabbath Penalty.

Eld. STORR: “The Sabbath was to be a sign between God and the children of Israel forever; Ex. 31:17; that is, as long as they should exist as a nation, or have the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession; Gen. 17:8; or until Christ should come.”
Ans. The Israel of God is perpetuated in the Christian dispensation, as can be clearly proved from Eph. 2:11-22; Rom. 11:17, 24; 2:28, 29; Gal. 3:7-9, 29. The Sabbath, therefore, is still a sign between God and his people. God indeed promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession; Gen. 17:8; but Stephen, in his defense before the Sanhedrim, declared that he did not give him so much as to set his foot on; Acts 7:2-5; and Paul says that Isaac and Jacob were heirs with him of the same promise; that they dwelt in tabernacles; that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth; and that they desired a better country, and sought a city whose builder and maker is God. With these also he includes the prophets and holy men of all former time, and concludes that without us (Christians) they will not be blessed; that is, they will not receive the promised inheritance. Heb. 11:9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 39. The earth is to be renewed, and given to the people of God, and then the promise to Abraham will be fulfilled. Dan. 7:27; Isa. 65:17-25; 2 Pet. 3:7, 13, 14; Luke 13:28, 29.
Eld. S.: “If the Sabbath law is binding now, why not enforce the penalty of its violation, which was death? See Num. 15:32-36; Ex. 31:15; 32:2, 3. If I believed in keeping the Jewish Sabbath, I should feel in duty bound to stone people for violating it if I could get a chance.”
Ans. Mr. S. is evidently unacquainted with the fact that the Jewish government was a theocracy, God himself being their king. 1 Sam. 12:2; 8:7. All penalties of his violated law could therefore be enforced. It is just as great a sin to violate the law now as it was then, but the execution of the penalty is deferred till the Judgment, when the second death will be the doom of every transgressor who has not availed himself of the benefits of the atonement. The case referred to in Num. 15:32-36, was doubtless an aggravated one. The people were traveling in an open, sandy, desert, in a warm country, and no necessity for kindling a fire existed.
Jesus justified David in taking hallowed bread from the tabernacle in the days of Abiathar, Matt. 12:3-7, and his disciples in plucking corn on the Sabbath; for the simple reason that necessity existed.
If it is required as an act of mercy, or if health demands it, it is doubtless right to kindle a fire on the Sabbath, or to do other necessary things; but where no necessity exists, it is just as grievous a sin now as it was in the days of Moses.
As to throwing stones, if Eld. S. really intends to carry out his principles, we advise profane people and undutiful children to beware when he is around; for the same penalty that is attached to a violation of the fourth commandment is also attached to that of the third and fifth, and he might feel in duty bound to execute it. See Lev. 24:15, 16; Ex. 21:17. A. SMITH.

FREE-WILL OFFERINGS.

By Mary A. Davis

When Moses was about to build the tabernacle, the Lord thus commanded him: “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering; of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.” “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” The material which was to be thus collected must have constituted a very considerable part of the wealth of that people; and to understand how close a test this invitation was, let us consider the circumstances under which it was given.
The children of Israel had been bondmen in Egypt, and the treasure they possessed, their only reward for long years of bitter toil, had been wrung from their oppressors by the judgments of God. Doubtless, they looked to these to purchase supplies from surrounding nations during their long journey, and to aid them in settling in their future home.
Again, the Hebrews had all the oriental love for display, made stronger by its repression during their life of slavery, and they must have looked with proud satisfaction upon their jewels, the trophies of their deliverance.
Now an invitation is extended to all, contrary to the dictates of worldly wisdom, the pleadings of vanity and pride, to bring these treasures, a free-will offering to the Lord.
There was a stir throughout the vast encampment. The gay young maiden unclasped her glittering ornaments, the careful matron gathered her store of precious things, strong men, the gray-haired, and the youth, helped swell the treasure, till they were restrained from giving; for they had brought much more than enough.
Then the skillful workmen labored, the wise-hearted women wove the coverings of brilliant hues, embroidering upon them shining cherubim. When all had been completed according to the divine command; when the tabernacle in its splendor had been prepared for a dwelling-place of the Most High; when the sanctuary, the vessels, and the priests, had been consecrated, and the appropriate offerings made, then fire came down from Heaven and consumed the sacrifices, and the glory of God filled the tabernacle.
These things were written for our instruction. Not only are we to be warned by the sad history of their unbelief, their murmuring, their rebellion; but we should emulate their example of liberality and devotion.
There is a call extended now for offerings for the work of God,—whatever we have to bring—gifts of means, of time, the labor of the hands, of intellect, or heart. Only our best gifts will he accept. Not the feeble remnant, after the world and our own pleasure and ambition have been served; but our deepest affections, our freshest hours, the morning of life, our best thoughts, should we render. It must be freely offered. Only the willing-hearted will be permitted to have a part in the work. Only these gifts will find a place in the records above. None are so poor that they have not something to bring; for it is not the amount one doeth, but the love with which he worketh, that will make it acceptable to God.
The sacrifice which we often find the most difficult is that of giving ourselves to God, to be used in his service as shall best please him. We shrink from discharging duty, from bearing responsibility, fearing that we shall fail, and thus bring discredit upon ourselves. Let us come nearer to our Master; let us remember that he gave himself for us, and count not our lives, our reputation, ourselves dear, if we may butshow our gratitude for his matchless love to us.
“Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, . . . and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” If his people do thus unitedly bring in their free-will offerings, consecrating themselves entirely to his service, will not that promise be fulfilled? the windows of heaven be opened? and the glory of God be manifested in the midst of his people? Will not the great ingathering of souls begin? the refreshing be poured out, and the coming of the Deliverer be hastened? Shall we not, each in his own sphere, help on this glorious work, and bring the glad day nearer? MARY A. DAVIS.

A REFUGE OF LIES.

By Wm. Covert

“They have made others to hope that they would confirm the word.” Eze. 13:6. Man, poor deluded creature, has suffered himself to be deceived, and has become the easy prey of Satan. He has been so badly bewildered that he has mistaken light for darkness and darkness for light. The race have gone so far in this direction that even those who profess to love Jesus, fondly cherish any thought that would make them hope that his coming is far in the future. They are very sensitive indeed for the honor of the Son, when the subject of the Sabbath is being considered; but just tell them he is coming back in a little while, and they will shudder at the thought. Oh, no! it cannot be possible that this beautiful world, with its teeming millions, shall never realize its fond hope of a temporal millennium. They really do not want to see Jesus. They would much rather he would not come. They hope that their ministers can satisfy their minds by convincing them that he is not coming soon.
I lately heard a novelty of an explanation, which is satisfying some who never investigate for themselves, and who desire to put off the return of the Lord. A Baptist minister living in Bluffton, Ind., has written a Commentary on Daniel and the Revelation, in which he has originated some things very peculiar, and has succeeded in quelling the fears of many concerning the threatenings contained in Rev. 11:15–18. These verses describe the third and last woe. But in his work he gives the order of the trumpets and seals, and declares that the seventh in each series preceded the first in the same series!
I had often wondered if those who cry, “Peace and safety,” ever looked at these chains of prophecy. But I have ceased to wonder. I have learned the solution of the mystery. They will do anything, no matter how absurd or false, in order to fortify their “refuge of lies.” Eze. 13:10–16. No matter if an angel (Rev. 8:13) does announce that there are three angels yet to sound after four of the seven have sounded, and that these three trumpets are woe trumpets. It is of no consequence that Christ has told us that when the seventh angel sounds God’s unmingled wrath is poured out, and the destruction of the wicked powers of earth takes place. It proves nothing that the testimony does say that the saints all receive their reward at this time. There is one fact standing boldly to the front, and every other consideration must give place. The chronology of this trumpet is fixed at the first advent, because the kingdom of Christ is set up when it sounds; and as it was set up at the first advent, the seventh angel sounded before the first! Again, it cannot be future; for if it is, there is no place for the temporal millennium!
Thus their whole faith is mounted like a grindstone. It has for its axle the cry, “Peace and safety,” one end resting on the assumption that the kingdom of Christ was set up eighteen hundred years ago, the other, on the false idea that the world is to be converted. Thus it can turn either backward or forward, and the face is always up to brighten their hopes and quell their fears.
And so vain man sets at naught all the warnings sent in mercy. But this only confirms our faith in the truth; for we find plainly recorded on the pages of inspiration a prophecy of the course that theologians are taking. Wm. COVERT.

SELFISHNESS THE ANTAGONIST OF THE PEOPLE.

By Mammon

Sin, as Selfishness, Is Frustration of the Divine Plan.

THE awful invasion of sin frustrated the divine intention, destroyed it even in its type and model. Man aspired to be as God; and, from that fatal moment, his great quarrel with his Maker has been a determination to assert a state of independence altogether alien to his nature and condition. The standard of revolt was then erected, and the history of all his subsequent conduct has been the history of an insane endeavor to construct an empire, governed by laws and replenished with resources, independent of God. The idolatry and sensuality, the unbelief, irreligion, and all the multiform sins of man, are resolvable into this proud and infernal attempt. Having by his apostasy cut himself off from God, he affects to be a god to himself, to be his own sufficiency, his own first and last.
Such, however, is the intimate dependence of man on man that it is impossible for him to attempt to realize this enormous fiction without being brought, at every step, into violent collision with the interest of his fellows. Love to God is the all-combining principle which was to hold each individual in adhesion to all the rest, and the whole in affinity with God; the loss of that, therefore, like the loss of the great law of attraction in the material world, leaves all the several parts in a state of repulsion to each other, as well as the whole disjoined from God.
Having lost its proper center in God, the world attempts not to find any common point of repose, but spends itself in fruitless efforts to meet an infinity of independent interests. Every kingdom and province, every family, every individual, discovers a propensity to insulate himself from the common brotherhood, and to constitute himself the center of an all-subordinating and ever-enlarging circle. Such is the natural egotism of the heart that each individual, following his unrestrained bent, acts as if he were a whole kingdom in himself, and as if the general well-being depended on subjection to his supremacy. Setting up for himself, to the exclusion of every other being, he would fain be his own end—the reason of all he does.
Under the disorganizing influence of sin, then, the tendency of mankind is toward a state of universal misanthropy; and were it not that some of their selfish ends can be attained only by partial confederations, the world would disband, society in all its forms would break up, every man's hand would be turned into a weapon, and all the earth become a battle-field, in which the issues to be decided would be as numerous as the combatants, so that the conflict could end only with the destruction of every antagonist.
There is, be it observed, a wide difference between selfishness and legitimate self-love. This is a principle necessary to all sentient existence. In man, it is the principle which impels him to preserve his own life, and promote his own happiness. Not only is it consistent with piety, it is the stock on which all piety, in lapsed man, is grafted. Piety is only the principle of self-love, carried out in the right direction, and seeking its supreme happiness in God. It is the act or habit of a man who so loves himself that he gives himself to God. Selfishness is fallen self-love. It is self-love in excess, blind to the existence and excellence of God, and seeking its happiness in inferior objects, by aiming to subdue them to its own purposes.—Mammon.
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