Review and Herald, Vol. 35, No. 19. (4/26/1870)

Review and Herald

Apr 26, 1870

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 26, 1870

OUR FAITH AND HOPE;

By James White

Or, Reasons Why We Believe as We Do. NUMBER TWENTY-ONE—THE THREE MESSAGES.

BY ELDER JAMES WHITE.

3. THE prophecies which give us the time of the Judgment, and which present the succession of events leading down to that great crisis, were closed up and sealed till the time of the end. We refer particularly to the prophecies of Daniel. See chap. 8: 17, 26; 12: 4, 9. Hence it is evident that God reserves the warning to that generation which alone needs it. Noah's warning respecting the flood, was alone applicable to those who should witness it; thus also the warning respecting the Judgment near is alone applicable to that generation which lives in the last days.

4. The Bible locates this message in the period which immediately precedes the second advent, and plainly warns us against the proclamation of the Judgment at hand prior to that time. Here we join issue with our opponents. Instead of finding that the apostles gave this proclamation, as some teach, we shall find indubitable evidence that they located this warning far in the future, and that they admonished the church to heed none that should precede a given time. If we recur to the book of Acts, we shall find Paul preaching before Felix, of the Judgment to come; and before the Athenians, that God had appointed a day in which he would judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ. Acts 24: 25; 17: 31. But that book nowhere intimates that Christ was immediately coming to Judgment. Peter points his hearers to the future, saying, that the heavens which had then received Christ, must retain him until the times of restitution. Acts 3: 21.

The first epistle to the Thessalonians may seem to teach that the apostles expected the coming of Christ in their day. Indeed, it is evident that such an idea was received from it by the Thessalonian church. Hence it was, that in his second epistle to them, Paul found it necessary to speak explicitly on the point. He tells them that the coming of Christ could not take place until the great apostasy; and as the result of that apostasy, that the Man of Sin should be revealed, showing himself that he is God, and exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped. That this mystery of iniquity is the great Romish apostasy, none but a Papist will deny.

Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he had told them of these things when he was yet with them. And where could Paul have learned this fact, which he had thus stated to them? He was accustomed to reason from the Scriptures, and not to deal merely in assertions. Hence it is very evident that he refers to the prophecy of Daniel, which in its seventh chapter has given the successive events which intervened between its time and the Judgment. In this series of events it has with wonderful precision described the power to which Paul has referred as the Man of Sin. No Protestant will deny the identity of Daniel's little horn and Paul's Man of Sin. And as Daniel has brought it into a series of events which ends with the Judgment and the setting up of the everlasting kingdom, it was an easy matter for Paul to tell where, in this series of events, he stood, and whether the Judgment was its next event or not. The apostle, therefore, plainly tells them that that day was not at hand. For the Man of Sin, the little horn, must arise and perform his predicted work, and when that should be accomplished, the coming of Christ should transpire, to consume "that Wicked with its brightness."

Now when was the little horn to arise? Daniel was told that it should arise after the ten horns upon the fourth beast; or, in other words, after the fourth empire should be divided into ten kingdoms, which was accomplished about five hundred years after Christ. The Judgment therefore could not come prior to that time. But how long was this little horn to have power to wear out the saints? Daniel informs us that it should be for "a time and times, and the dividing of time," or 1260 prophetic days. Rev. 12: 6, 14. It follows therefore that the apostle carries the mind forward five hundred years to the development of the Man of Sin, and thence 1260 years for his triumph, before the Judgment could be preached as an event immediately impending. Whoever will carefully read Dan. 7, will get the original of Paul's argument in 2 Thess. 2, and will not fail to see the force of his statement.

The papal supremacy began 538, and ended in 1798 with the overthrow of the Pope's temporal power. The warning of Paul against a false proclamation respecting the Judgment at hand, therefore, expires at the last given date, and not before. For we have then reached the point of time where the last important event in Dan. 7, before the Judgment, has transpired. An angel from Heaven preaching the hour of God's Judgment come many years in the past, would be giving a different gospel from that preached by Paul. Those who locate the angel of Rev. 14: 6, 7, in past ages, virtually place upon his head the anathema of Paul in Gal. 1: 8.

And what is of very deep interest, the point of time at which Paul's warning expires is the commencement of the time of the end—the very point to which the visions of Daniel were closed up and sealed. Compare chapter 11: 33, 35; 7: 25; and the fact that the 1260 years' persecution of the saints terminates with the commencement of the time of the end, will appear obvious. How gloriously does this view of the subject make the truth of God shine out! For the warning of the apostle against a false proclamation of the Judgment at hand, expires at the very point where the seal is taken from those prophecies which show when the Judgment sits. And it is respecting this period, the time of the end, that it is said, Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge [on the very subject which was before concealed] shall be increased. Then the time of the end is the period in which the Judgment-hour cry, and the subsequent messages are to be given. Dan. 8: 17, 26; 12: 4, 9.

Another important argument on this point is found in what our Lord has said relative to the signs of his second advent. The church were to understand when his coming was at the doors, by the fulfillment of certain tokens. Until these should be seen, they were not authorized to look for the immediate advent of the Lord. But when the signs should begin to appear, his church might then know that their redemption drew near. Luke 21: 28. It is an interesting fact that Christ has marked the time in which these signs were to begin to appear. Consequently the messages in question could not be delivered prior to that time.

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." Matt. 24: 29. "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken." Mark 13: 24, 25. We think there can be no mistake that in these scriptures our Lord refers to the papal tribulation of Daniel the prophet. The signs of his second coming were to commence "in those days," but "after that tribulation." In other words, the 1260 prophetic days should not be quite over, but their tribulation should be ended, when the sun should be darkened. The sun was darkened in 1780, and the tribulation of those days was then past, but the days did not expire till 1798. Thus we have the signs of our Lord's immediate

advent just opening upon us, as we come down to the time of the end, the period when the vision should be unsealed, and many run to and fro and knowledge respecting the end should be increased.

The extent of this proclamation is worthy of notice. An English writer, Mourant Brock, thus remarks: "It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the continent of Europe. In America about three hundred ministers of the word are thus preaching 'this gospel of the kingdom;' whilst in this country, about seven hundred of the church of England are raising the same cry."

Dr. Joseph Wolfe traveled in Arabia Felix, through the region inhabited by the descendants of Hobab, Moses' father-in-law. In Yemen he saw a book which he mentions thus:

"The Arabs of this place have a book called Seera, which treats of the second coming of Christ, and his reign in glory!"

"In Yemen he spent six days with the Rechabites: 'They drink no wine, plant no vineyards, sow no seed, live in tents, and remember the words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab. With them were children of Israel, of the tribe of Dan, who reside near Terim in Hadramawt, who expect, in common with the children of Rechab, the speedy arrival of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven.' "—Wolfe's Mission to Bokhara.

"In Wirtemberg there is a Christian colony numbering hundreds, who look for the speedy advent of Christ; also another of like belief on the shores of the Caspian; the Molokaners, a large body of Dissenters from the Russian Greek church, residing on the shores of the Baltic—a very pious people, of whom it is said, 'taking the Bible alone for their creed, the norm of their faith is simply the Holy Scriptures'—are characterized by the 'expectation of Christ's immediate and visible reign upon earth.' In Russia the doctrine of Christ's coming and reign is preached to some extent, and received by many of the lower class. It has been extensively agitated in Germany, particularly in the south part among the Moravians. In Norway, charts and books on the advent have been circulated extensively, and the doctrine received by many. Among the Tartars, in Tartary, there prevails an expectation of Christ's advent about this time. English and American publications on this doctrine have been sent to Holland, Germany, India, Ireland, Constantinople, Rome, and to nearly every missionary station on the globe. At the Turks Islands, it has been received to some extent among the Wesleyans. Mr. Fox, a Scottish missionary to the Teloogoo people, was a believer in Christ's soon coming. James McGregor Bertram, a Scottish missionary of the Baptist order at St. Helena, has sounded the cry extensively on that island, making many converts and premillennialists; he has also preached it at South Africa, at the missionary stations there. David N. Lord informs us that a large proportion of the missionaries who have gone from Great Britain to make known the gospel to the heathen, and who are now laboring in Asia and Africa, are Millennarians; and Joseph Wolfe, D. D., according to his journals, between the years 1821 and 1845, proclaimed the Lord's speedy advent in Palestine, Egypt, on the shores of the Red Sea, Mesopotamia, the Crimea, Persia, Georgia, throughout the Ottoman Empire, in Greece, Arabia, Turkistan, Bokhara, Afghanistan, Cashmere, Hindustan, Thibet, in Holland, Scotland and Ireland, at Constantinople, Jerusalem, St. Helena, also on shipboard in the Mediterranean, and at New York city, to all denominations. He declares he has preached among Jews, Turks, Mohammedans, Parsees, Hindoos, Chaldeans, Yesedes, Syrians, Sabeans, to Pachas, Shieks, Shahs, the kings of Organtch and Bokhara, the queen of Greece, etc. And of his extraordinary labors the Investigator says: 'No individual has, perhaps, given greater publicity to the doctrine of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, than has this well-known missionary to the world. Wherever he goes, he proclaims the approaching advent of the Messiah in glory.' "—Voice of the Church, pp. 342-344.

The Voice of Truth for January, 1845, says: "We are doubtless near that auspicious hour when the harvest of the earth will be reaped, as described in Rev. 14: 14-16. The history of God's people in this mortal state, as given in that chapter, before being glorified, is nearly complete. The everlasting gospel, as described in verses 6 and 7, has been preached unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people; saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. No case can be more clearly demonstrated with facts than that this message has been borne to every nation and tongue under heaven, within a few past years, in the preaching of the coming of Christ in 1843, or near at hand. Through the medium of lectures and publications the sound has gone into all the earth, and the word unto the ends of the world."

But those were disappointed who expected the Lord would come in 1843 and in 1844. This fact with many is sufficient for rejecting all the testimony in the case. To them the position that the Advent movement was in fulfillment of prophecy, when at the same time those who took part in the movement were disappointed, is an absurdity. We acknowledge the disappointment, but cannot acknowledge that this furnishes a just reason for denying the hand of God in that work. It is a fact that God's people have fulfilled prophecy, and at the same time been disappointed in their hopes. This was the case with the disciples and the shouting multitude on the occasion of our Lord's meekly riding into Jerusalem, when they cried, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." The prophet of God had said, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." Zech. ix, 9. And his words must be fulfilled. That which inspired the shouts of the disciples was the expectation that their Master would then ascend to the throne of David and reign among them. But in this they were disappointed. In a few days their hopes died, as he expired upon the cross. Did they fulfill prophecy? They certainly did. Were their expectations which moved them to fulfill the prophecy realized? They were utterly disappointed.

Disappointment by no means proves that God has no hand in the guidance of his people. It should lead them to correct their errors, but it should not lead them to cast away their confidence in God. It was because the children of Israel were disappointed in the wilderness that they so often denied divine guidance. They are set forth as an admonition to us, that we should not fall after the same example of unbelief. But it must be apparent to every student of the Scriptures, that the angel who proclaims the hour of God's Judgment, does not give the latest message of mercy. Rev. 14 presents two other and later proclamations, before the close of human probation.

“O LORD, THOU KNOWEST!”

Thou knowest, Lord, the weariness and sorrow Of the sad heart that comes to thee for rest. Cares of to-day, and burdens of to-morrow, Blessings implored, and sins to be confest, I come before thee at thy gracious word, And lay them at thy feet—thou knowest, Lord.

Thou knowest all the past—how long and blindly On the dark mountains the lost wanderer strayed— How the good Shepherd followed, and how kindly He bore it home upon his shoulders laid, And healed the bleeding wounds and soothed the pain, And brought back life, and hope, and strength, again.

Thou knowest all the present—each temptation, Each toilsome duty, each foreboding fear; All to thyself assigned of tribulation, Or to beloved ones, than self more dear! All pensive memories, as I journey on, Longings for vanished smiles, and voices gone!

Thou knowest all the future—gleams of gladness; By stormy clouds too quickly overcast— Hours of sweet fellowship and parting sadness, And the dark river to be crossed at last, Oh! what could confidence and hope afford To tread that path, but this—THOU KNOWEST, LORD!

Thou knowest, not alone as God, all-knowing— As man, our mortal weakness thou hast proved; On earth, with purest sympathies o'erflowing, O Saviour! thou hast wept and thou hast loved! And love and sorrow still to thee may come, And find a hiding place, a rest, a home.

Therefore I come, thy gentle call obeying, And lay my sins and sorrows at thy feet, On everlasting strength my weakness staying, Clothed in the righteousness of faith complete; Then, rising and refreshed, I leave thy throne, And follow on to know as I am known! —Methodist Advocate.

Letter from Switzerland.

By Albert Vuilleumier

THE following letter from the brethren in Switzerland to Bro. Ertzenberger, he has kindly translated for the benefit of the readers of the REVIEW. Being a private letter, we have here the simple breathings of the fervent piety of their hearts, unrestrained by the thought that it was to appear before the public. The reader will see that they are subject to some trials from which we are as yet free. Let us emulate their Christian virtues, and pray for them in their afflictions:—

IN CHRIST OUR LORD, DEAR BRO. JAMES: I received your good letter of February 15, with the inclosed for the German brethren and sisters. You know that a letter from you always is a means of joy to us, and we join you in giving thanks to God. He united us in his love, and has enabled us by means of correspondence to converse one with another, to speak of the goodness of God, to encourage and to exhort. Yes, it is a very precious thing, and especially in regard to our advancement in the knowledge of God.

Your letter caused us to pray very sincerely for you. We see very well that our enemy (Satan) does not sleep. He tempted Christ, our dear Lord, as he was hungry; and he also approached you as you were homesick. We felt deeply for you. But thank the Lord, and blessed be his holy name because we are more than conquerors through him. He sustained you. This is why we must become attached more and more to him, as it is said in the holy word. We also shall no more fear as the world. See 1 John 4:13–19.

It is with impatience that we wait the sweet moment when we shall see you again. Because the Conference will be held earlier than usual, your return will be sooner. And we all are glad and desire your return as soon as possible. Oh, yes! come as soon as possible. Our arms are stretched out for you, our hearts long after you. We heartily desire to learn by you of all the good things the Lord has done for you and our dear brethren, and to be instructed. Our life will become better employed and more active for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

Dear brother, although many trials are in store for us, we must always think that we are laboring according to our strength in the vineyard of the Lord. In doing thus he will manifest himself in our infirmities and bless us. He is not a hard and unjust master, but a tender and good Father to them who fear him. Our resting place is not here below, and we sigh with more ardor for that which will be permanent, and to be united with all our dear brethren and sisters, and all the saints, to behold the adorable face of our dear Lord and Saviour, where there will be no more sorrow nor sufferings nor weepings, there with all the redeemed to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. A little time more, and He who shall come will come and will not tarry. Oh! how strengthening are these blessed truths to us.

I received but one number of the last ADVENT REVIEW. A day before the receipt of it, I received all the tracts mentioned in your letter, but the Christian Baptism.

March 16, 1870.

DEAR BROTHER: I am often with you during the time of the General Conference. Oh! what a blessed time for you to be among the dear servants of God. Oh! what a great encouragement for you, and how much your heart will be rejoiced. May the Lord bless you all abundantly, and give you what you are in need of to accomplish his great designs and to be faithful to him. I very much regret that my lines will arrive too late to claim for myself especial remembrance in your prayers through the Conference, although I know you do not forget me. I feel the necessity of being an especial object of prayer. I would like to send you during this precious time a dispatch in behalf of our dear Bro. Albert Rapel to pray for him. Last Sabbath he was called to do service as soldier; but as it is not according to the Bible, he could not do it. He did not return, but is obliged to affirm his faith by a certain time of imprisonment. He also is banished out of the country and will be obliged to leave it for many years after having suffered his imprisonment. Oh! how much he needs our prayers, and his dear father who is much tried, and his sick mother, who is now suffering much. Oh! dear brethren, pray for us.

In our prayer-meeting of last evening we spoke on James I. It was of great benefit to us. We know our faith must be established by patience and resignation. Oh! how edifying is the 12th verse. May the Lord accomplish it in us. Amen!

I almost feel ashamed to speak of myself. I have many evidences of the goodness and love of the Lord in regard to me. I know he has blessed and watched over me, but I do not find the love in me for him I wish. The old man is not wholly dead and buried, and I have to pray, O Lord, create in me a new heart, a heart which follows thee willingly as thou desirest it, a heart which loves thee more, a heart trusting in thee alone, waiting for thy return. Amen!

As we do not know the time of your departure for Europe, please write us, so that we may know about writing. But we pray you forget not to testify especially to our dear brethren there, our great love to them, as well as of our hearty gratitude for all they

have done, and are doing for the truth and for us all. We do not cease to present them to God, that they may be kept from all evil, guided by his Holy Spirit and richly blessed. We should very much like to see them.

I have read the discussion between Grant and Cornell. It is very rejoicing to think that the Lord made us acquainted with his pure and precious truth. Oh! let us love him for all his goodness. Let us bless him with our whole heart. We have no other news from Bro. Czechowski since my last letter sent to you. I think he will not come to settle his affairs.

The spirit which is manifested in the church is a very good one. God be blessed! All our families are well. We have a good hope that this will be a good year for our little flock and that our numbers will be increased. Much is spoken at this time on religion and the Council at Rome, in the newspapers. But most of the people desire a religion by which they can be saved easily, and without being converted, laying aside the word of God.

May the Lord help us to be faithful, to shine as lights in dark places. May we show by our conduct, our faith, our love, that we love and serve him; and finally may we be accepted in his everlasting kingdom.

I once more commend myself and the whole church to your prayers. Salute heartily all these dear brethren, and although they do not write oftener, I believe they think of us and that they love us, and this is sufficient.

I hope to receive good news from you in a few days, and to see you soon. And, oh! what a happy day it will be. I pray God to bless and return you soon. Receive my fraternal greetings.

Your affectionate brother in Christ,

ALBERT VUILLEUMIER.

Prophetic Voices About America.

In the Atlantic Monthly of Sept., 1867, we find an article said to be from the pen of Chas. Sumner, headed as above, which contains some very significant declarations concerning America, and its position and influence among the nations of the earth. It is a collection of what European and American writers have said concerning this government; from which it appears that the more discerning minds of the past, though all unconscious of the position which prophecy, nearly eighteen hundred years ago, assigned to this government, have been intuitively impressed with the idea of its future greatness and power. In view of the prophecy, these utterances become very striking, and worthy the attention of those who understand the voice of inspiration on this subject.

Mr. Sumner commences by saying, “The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus is the greatest event of all secular history;” while the testimonies he introduces show that many have entertained the greatest expectations of the government here founded. He continues:

“Before the voyage of Columbus in 1492, nothing of America was really known. A few scraps from antiquity, a few rumors from the ocean, and a few speculations from science, were all that the inspired navigator found to guide him. Foremost among all these were the well-known verses of the Spaniard Seneca, in the chorus of his “Medea,” which for generations had been the finger-point to an undiscovered world. “‘In tardy years the epoch will come in which the ocean will unloose the bonds of nature, and the great earth will stretch out, and the sea will disclose new worlds; nor will Thule be the most remote on the globe.’”

“Two, if not more, different copies of these verses are extant in the handwriting of Columbus,—precious autographs; one in the sketch of his work on the Prophecies, another in a letter addressed to Queen Isabella; and it would seem as if there was still a third entered among his observations of lunar eclipses at Hayti and Jamaica. By these verses the great discoverer sailed. But Humboldt, who has illustrated the enterprise with all that classical or mediæval literature affords, does not hesitate to declare his conviction, that the discovery of a new continent was more completely foreshadowed in the simple geographical statement of the Greek Strabo, who, after a long life of travel, sat down in the eighty-fourth year of his age, during the reign of Augustus, to write the geography of the world, including its cosmography. In this work, where are gathered the results of ancient study and experience, the venerable author, after alluding to the possibility of passing direct from Spain to India, and explaining that the inhabited world is that which we inhabit and know, thus lifts the curtain: “‘There may be in the same temperate zone two and indeed more inhabited lands, especially nearest the parallel of Thinae or Athens, prolonged into the Atlantic Ocean.’ This was the voice of ancient science.”

Sir Thomas Browne, 1682, predicted the growth of this power, till it should become the rival of the European kingdoms in strength and prowess.

“Bishop Berkeley,” as we quote from the article, “is compassionately called an Irish prelate and philosopher. He was born in Kilkenny, 1684, and died in Oxford, 1753. He became bishop of Cloyne, in which place he was most exemplary, devoting himself to his episcopal duties, to the education of children, and the pleasures of composition. He wrote the famous poem entitled, ‘Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America.’ The date may be fixed at 1726. Such a poem was an historic event. I give the first and last stanzas:

“‘The Muse, disgusted at an age and clime, Barren of every glorious theme, In distant lands now waits a better time, Producing subjects worthy fame.

“‘Westward the course of empire takes its way, The first four acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day; Time’s noblest offspring is the last.’”

“Another illustration of this same sentiment will be found in Burnaby’s ‘Travels through the Middle Settlements of North America, in 1750 and 1760,’ a work which was first published in 1775. In his reflections at the close of his book the traveler thus remarks:

“‘An idea, strange as it is visionary, has entered into the minds of the generality of mankind, that empire is traveling westward: and every one is looking forward with eager and impatient expectation to that destined moment when America is to give the law to the rest of the world.’”

John Adams, Oct. 12, 1755, wrote:

“‘England began to increase in power and magnificence, and is now the greatest nation of the globe. Soon after the Reformation, a few people came over into this New World for conscience’ sake. Perhaps this apparently trivial incident may transfer the great seat of empire to America. It looks likely to me.’”

On the Declaration of Independence he says:

“‘Yesterday the greatest question was decided which ever was debated in America, and a greater, perhaps, never was nor will be decided among men. . . . I am surprised at the suddenness as well as greatness of this revolution. Britain has been filled with folly, and America with wisdom. At least this is my judgment. Time must determine, It is the will of Heaven that the two countries should be sundered forever.’”

“In an official letter to the President of Congress, dated at Amsterdam, 5th September, 1780, the same writer, while proposing an American Academy for refining, improving, and ascertaining the English language, thus predicts the extension of this language:

“‘English is destined to be in the next and succeeding centuries more generally the language of the world than Latin was in the last, or French is in the present, age.’”

Galiani, a Neapolitan, in 1776 said:

“‘Livy said of his age, which so much resembled ours, “Ad hæc tempora ventum est quibus, nec vitia nostra, nec remedia pati possumus,”—“We are in an age where the remedies hurt as much as the vices.” Do you know the reality? The epoch has come of the total fall of Europe, and of transmigration into America. All here turns into rottenness,—religion, laws, arts, sciences,—and all hastens to renew itself in America. This is not a jest; nor is it an idea drawn from the English quarrels; I have said it, announced it, preached it, for more than twenty years, and I have constantly seen my prophecies come to pass.’”

In another letter, dated at Naples, July 25, 1778, he prophesies in language still more explicit:

“‘You will at this time have decided the greatest revolution of the globe; namely, if it is America which is to reign over Europe, or if it is Europe which is to continue to reign over America. I will wager in favor of America, for the reason merely physical, that for five thousand years genius has turned opposite to the diurnal motion, and traveled from the East to the West.’”

Adam Smith of Scotland, 1776, predicted the transfer of empire to America:

“‘The distance of America from the seat of government, the natives of that country might flatter themselves, with some appearance of reason too, would not be of very long continuance. Such has hitherto been the rapid progress of that country in wealth, population, and improvement, that, in the course of little more than a century, perhaps, the produce of America might exceed that of British taxation. The seat of the empire would then naturally remove itself to that part of the empire which contributed most to the general defence and support of the whole.’”

(Concluded next week.)

Iniquity by Law.

By A. H. Lewis

The signs of proscription on account of the Sabbath are steadily increasing. The movements in the Legislatures of Rhode Island and Illinois are indicative of the state of the public mind concerning Sabbath-keepers. These refusals to modify or remove the disabilities under which Sabbath-keepers now labor, show a state of things which, with very little change, would readily increase the present burdens. “Orthodoxy” is steadily manufacturing that sort of public opinion which says, “Minorities are a nuisance, and must be abated.” In all questions of Sunday legislation, Sabbath-keepers are a most troublesome element. No-Sabbathists carouse and plead for “free lager” on Sunday; they are infidels too; and so orthodoxy can oppose them on both moral and theological grounds, with some degree of consistency. But Sabbath-keepers are quiet, law-abiding, temperate, and orthodox. There is really no argument against them, except the powerful (?) one that they are in the minority and are troublesome. Every week their practices condemn the sin of the majority. Every sermon preached by them, every book sent forth, helps to tear away the mask which hides the deformity of orthodox Sunday-keeping; this is far from being agreeable. There is no hope for the popular cause in the Bible, and hence the appeal is to the civil law. “Save the Sunday,” is the watchword. This can never be done so long as a Sabbath-keeper is allowed to tell the truths which are so damaging to the Sunday. Listen to the Christian logic of Hon. William Knowles, in the General Assembly of Rhode Island: “A Seventh-day Baptist carpenter might work right in view of the church windows in Providence,” therefore, Seventh-day Baptists must be proscribed. “Great is Diana, goddess of the Ephesians.” This is the universal spirit of the Sunday laws in the United States. In no State in the Union—unless it be one or two of the South-western—can a Sabbath-keeper (under protection of the law) carry on any business on Sunday, if he “disturbs any one who observes that day.” In some States he cannot leave his own premises.

The same proscriptive spirit is being manifest in all recent conventions which look toward political reform. The late “National Convention” which assembled at Pittsburgh, with the purpose of “securing a recognition of God in our National Constitution,” was attended by about four hundred delegates, among whom those from the Reformed Presbyterians were largely in the majority. The tone of the discussions and resolutions was decidedly favorable to a union of church and state.

The New York State Temperance Convention, which met at Albany on the 16th of March, evinced much of the same spirit. We had the pleasure of sitting in that Convention, and know whereof we affirm. The object of the Convention was to forward the work of forming a new “temperance party.” The majority of the Convention were opposed to any party on the single issue of prohibition, and so the Sunday law and the Bible in the schools were both incorporated as parts of the new platform. The vigorous protests against the Sunday-law plank only served to reveal how eager the leaders were for its adoption. “Sunday law is the issue of the time,” was the oft-repeated assertion. “If we ignore that, we fail.”

So the tide drifts. Men in the church seek “Sunday law” as an element of religious reform, and politicians seek it as a means of political success. Between the two, the truth would be crushed, were it not invincible. But the “wrath of man shall yet praise Him” whose eye is watching over the truth, and will not leave it to defeat.—A. H. Lewis, in Sabbath Recorder.

Living for Religion

MEN will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it; anything but—live for it.

Continue reading: Origin of the Names of the Days of the Week