Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 29, 1857
ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED.
By W. S. P.
"Oh, how I should like to write an article on being 'accepted in the Beloved.' What a theme. 'Accepted in the Beloved!' 'Accepted in the Beloved.'"—Nevins' Memoir, p. 56.
ACCEPTED. If we are accepted, then we are not outcasts, not rejected, not condemned. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." If we are accepted, then we are owned, adopted in God's family—not merely absolved from guilt, and our sin pardoned, but we are restored to the divine favor. If we are accepted, we are not mere servants, but sons and heirs of God.
Acceptance implies pardon, but it is more than pardon. The former is never separated, though it is distinct from the latter. Both are by Christ's atoning blood and righteousness. He "was made under the law." In dying, he obeyed; in obeying, he died. He obeyed until death; he obeyed in death.
In him was no sin, but on him were laid the iniquities of us all. He bore mercies in his hands, but he bore the sins of many in his person. He died that we might live; and he lives that we may not die. He shed tears. He shed his blood. He poured out his life. "His blood cleanseth from all sin." This fountain is always open. Happy for us that it is so.
We need to wash daily, for we sin daily. As the scarlet thread in the window of Rahab; as the mark put on the forehead of the righteous by an angel having an inkhorn at his side; and as the blood of the lamb on the two side-posts and the upper doorpost of Israel in Egypt; so the blood of Christ only and alone can avert the righteous vengeance of God.
It is of the nature of law to be rigorous. Law may be broken, but it will not bend. We must conform to it; it will not conform to us. God's law is holy, just and good, both in its precept and in its penalty. It is indeed perfect. It could not be changed but for the worse. It is, and ever shall be, the bond of society. Its demands are enforced by the principles of eternal justice, which could demand no less than spotless obedience, and be satisfied with no less terrible penalty than death. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." Thus pardon flows to us through him.
"Accepted in the Beloved." We must be in him as the branch is in the vine, as the arm is in the body, as the stone is in the building, as the man-slayer was in the city of refuge. In vain shall we hope for any saving mercy, unless by union with Christ. As all lines terminating in a common centre are one in it, so all believers are one in Christ. And as those lines, the nearer they approach the centre, are nearer to one another, so all believers, the closer their union with Christ, the nearer they are to each other. The author of this union is God himself. "None can make a Christian, but He that made the world." This union is vital. As the arm, severed from the body, withers and dies, so a saint, severed from Christ, would perish. We can have no solid peace, can bear no good fruit, can do nothing without him. Well did Luther say, "All the prayings, teachings, and actings of men are, out of Christ, idolatry and sin in the sight of God." So Paul says, "I count all things but loss and dung, that I may be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."
Accepted in THE BELOVED. "Beloved" is a title given to Christ more than a dozen times in half as many chapters in one short book. It is given elsewhere in the Scriptures. He well deserves it. But of whom is he the Beloved?
He is the loved of God. "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth," says the Father. Christ says, "I was by him as one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." Yea, God sent a voice from the excellent glory, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And Christ in his last agony says, "Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." Christ is the beloved of God.
He is also the beloved of angels. "When he bringeth the first-begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him." True worship has real love in it. Angelic worship has fervent love in it. Christ is not the Redeemer of angels, but he is their Head and Lord, and as such they love him.
He is the beloved of just men on earth. "Whom, having not seen, ye love," says Peter. "We love him, because he first loved us," says John. This love of Christ's people is sincere, holy, strong, supreme. They love none more than him. To them "he is altogether lovely." They love to read of him, hear of him, think of him, and speak of him. They love his yoke, his word, his ministers, his Sabbaths, his worship. To them his name is as ointment poured forth. His will is their law; his reproach is their grief; his people are their companions; his success is their joy; his glory is their end. He is their beloved—their "well-beloved."
O that all men loved him. He is worthy of it. Shall we not love—ought we not to love him whom the Father loves? If he can satisfy the infinite mind, he can satisfy our minds. If God is well pleased in him, ought not all men to be pleased in him? Our first great duty on earth is to love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. We do not begin to live, till we do that. Not to love him is rebellion, ingratitude, wickedness. He must have a bad heart, who loves not this blessed Saviour. None can compare with him. You had better be out of house and home, out of money and credit, than out of Christ. You had better be out of existence than die out of Christ, for out of him "our God is a consuming fire."
O that those who love him, loved him more, and made him the Alpha and the Omega at all times, and in all places. Live, pray, do, suffer, hope, and walk, as in Christ. Think more of your sins, and of Christ's grace; of your ill deserts, and of his merits; of your pride, and of his humility; of your weakness, and of his strength; of your guilt, and of his blood; of your wants, and of his fullness; of your wretchedness, and of his righteousness. Never grow weary of such a theme. No man's heart is so bad as his who has no desires for Christ. No man's heart is so good as his who loves Christ above all things. "He that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love."
If we are "accepted in the Beloved," we shall be saved. "If God be for us, who shall be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again; who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." "If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." The strongest reasoning I ever saw, was in the Bible; but even in that blessed volume, I never found any stronger than this. It shuts us up to confidence and hope, unless we are given over to unbelief.
What glorious prospects believers have. "The Christian hath such a harvest of glory and happiness coming, as will never be fully got in. It will be always reaping-time in heaven." When we shall get safe to glory, we shall be ready to say, as the queen of Sheba on visiting Solomon, "It was a true report that I heard in mine own land. . . . Howbeit, I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and behold, the half was not told me."
[W. S. P.—Am. Messenger.
THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL.
By Mark E. Green
Its Foundation, Pagan Idolatry and Priestcraft.
MUCH time and learning has been bestowed on this important subject. It has been discussed in the pulpit and in the Senate chamber, by the learned and the unlearned, in ancient as well as modern times. It has been abandoned and rejected by its most powerful advocates, as an idle and extravagant opinion, and not to be believed by any man of liberal education and understanding. And yet we are told, in these last days, that it is "modern infidelity" to deny that the soul is immortal! Such men must be ignorant of history and the Bible, or dishonest in their teachings.
Immortality without a resurrection of the body is the invention of the Serpent, handed down to us by the traditions of men, and is the corner-stone of corrupt christendom, as I shall endeavor to show.
To what extent it was taught before the flood, we are not informed; but soon after the flood it was introduced into the worship by the priests, and was made the foundation-stone of their superstructure, and was the first god the heathen had, except the one taught them by Noah. Says Mr. Howitt, in his History of Priestcraft, "But before they were thus scattered (speaking of the scattering at the tower of Babel) they had corrupted their religious doctrines they received from Noah; or rather had set them aside in order to deify Noah and his three sons, whom they had come to regard as a re-appearance of Adam and his three sons, Cain, Abel and Seth. The singular coincidence of circumstance between Adam and Noah, forced this upon their imagination. Adam, the first man and father of the first world, and Noah, the first man and father of the second world, had each three sons, conspicuous in history; and of these three, one in each case was a bad one, Cain and Ham. Led by this to consider the second98family but an avatar (the descent of a deity in a visible form or incarnation) of the first, they regarded them as immortal, and worshiped them. Hence, we have in all Pagan mythologies a triad of principal gods: one of whom in each case is a deity of a dark nature, like Cain and Ham.
For further information on this important subject I refer to Calmet, Bryant, Faber and Spencer.
This is the first instance we find on the pages of history of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul being taught. It was the first god that was deified after they had set aside the doctrine of Noah, who was a teacher of righteousness. From this point we can trace this corrupt doctrine that fills the church. The immortality of the soul—the transmigration of the soul—and the trio of gods—God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost; and that of the spirits of holy men coming and dwelling in men in the millennial state, to convert the world. It is all Paganism from beginning to end.
Pythagorus was not the author of this abominable doctrine. He, Cicero, and others, endeavored to establish the doctrine by metaphysical reasoning; but they failed to establish themselves in that belief. It is said of Cicero, "Notwithstanding all the fine things which he had said about the immortality of the soul, or, which to him amounted to the same thing, a future state, in which point he seemed the most sanguine and positive, yet in his epistles, where he speaks his real thoughts, we find him giving it all up, and having recourse only to the miserable comfort of a final insensibility."—Bishop Law.
Again, says history, "The writings of Cicero represent, in the most lively colors, the errors and ignorance, and the uncertainty of the ancient philosophers with regard to the immortality of the soul; and we are sufficiently acquainted with the eminent persons who flourished in the age of Cicero, and the first Cæsars, with their actions, their characters and motives, to be assured that their conduct in this life was never regulated by any convictions of the rewards or punishments of a future state. At the bar or in the Senate of Rome, the ablest orators were not apprehensive of giving offense to their hearers by exposing that doctrine as an idle and extravagant opinion, which was rejected with contempt by every man of liberal education and understanding. Since therefore the most sublime efforts of philosophers can extend no farther than feebly to point out the desire, the hope, or, at most, the probability of a future state, there is nothing, except a divine revelation, that can ascertain the existence and describe the condition of the invisible country which is destined to receive the souls of men after their separation from the body."—Gibbon, 15th chap.
There is no age of the world wherein the subject of the immortality of the soul was more ably discussed than that to which Gibbon has referred; and if metaphysical reasoning could have settled the question it would have been settled forever; but they failed to convince the thinking mind, and it was condemned as a fable not to be believed by any man of liberal education or understanding. Gibbon is set down by the orthodox portion of community as an infidel, yet he declares that if the immortality of the soul is to be proved, it must be proven by divine revelation; and he is astonished that God did not reveal this important truth to the chosen people of Palestine; and with great reverence calls upon us to adore the mysterious dispensation of providence.
He says, "We might naturally expect that a principle so essential to religion would have been revealed in the clearest terms to the chosen people of Palestine, and that it might safely have been entrusted to the hereditary priesthood of Aaron. It is incumbent on us to adore the mysterious dispensation of providence when we discover that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is omitted in the law of Moses, and darkly insinuated by the prophets."—Gibbon, 15th chap.
This omission of that doctrine in the law of Moses has called forth many remarks from learned men; and it is astonishing to see what excuses they have framed to exculpate the God of heaven for his neglect to the chosen people of Palestine on this point.
The question might be asked, how the Jews came to believe in the immortality of the soul, if it is not revealed in the law of Moses? Let the historian answer this question. Says Gibbon, [47th chap.] "It was not until the Jews went into captivity that they were persuaded of the pre-existence, transmigration, and immortality of the soul."
Gibbon, in speaking of the return of the Jews from captivity, says, "The Jews were divided in two sects, the Sadducees and Pharisees. The former, selected from the opulent and distinguished ranks of society, were strictly attached to the literal sense of the Mosaic law, and they piously rejected the immortality of the soul as an opinion that received no countenance in the Divine Book, which they revered as the only rule of faith. To the authority of the Scriptures the Pharisees added that of tradition; and they accepted, under the name of tradition, several speculative tenets from the philosophy or religion of the eastern nations. The doctrine of fate or predestination, of angels and spirits, and future state of rewards and punishments, were, in the number of these new articles of belief. And as the Pharisees, by their austerity of manners, had drawn into their party the body of the Jewish people, the immortality of the soul became the prevailing sentiment of the synagogue. Their zeal, however, added nothing to its evidence, or even probability."—Id., 15th chap.
Well might our Saviour caution us to beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees; one denying the resurrection, the other making the resurrection impossible, if the souls of men go into some other body. How different the teachings of Jesus and his disciples. Like Moses, they set life and death before the people. No resurrection, no life, says the great apostle to the Gentiles.
The Christian church soon became corrupted with this abominable doctrine, which began its inroads in the church while the blood of Christ was still recent on mount Calvary. A class of teachers arose that called them New Platonics—known by the name of Docetes—who profess to believe in the gospel of Christ. Simon Magus, we are informed by lord King, in his history of the Apostles' Creed, stood at the head of this new sect. He pretended to perform great miracles, so that they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. He professed, says lord King, to bring the souls of the patriarchs and prophets from hell, or hades, and send them to heaven. To him must be ascribed the honor of the orthodox doctrine of going to heaven at death.
Says history, "They believed in common with the other Christians: they preferred Plato to other philosophers, and looked upon his opinions of God, the human soul, and things visible, as conformable to the Christian doctrines. They denied the salvation of the body, the resurrection of the dead, and the humanity of Christ."—Mosheim.
Soon after the apostles' days, these philosophers, by their eloquence and learning, succeeded in deceiving the church into the belief that what they taught was truth: for they claimed to draw their opinions from secret doctrines of Christ, and the church, says Mosheim, soon became shrouded in "Mystery of Iniquity."
"It soon became a matter of controversy (says history) whether this philosophy was of utility in the Christian church; but the cause of philosophy triumphed, and this victory was attributed to Origen, who had been instructed in the Platonic schools. The fame of this philosopher increased among Christians. His mode of interpreting the Scriptures became almost universal among Christians. He opened a secure retreat for all sorts of errors."—Mosheim.
Origen, like his prototype, Simon Magus, taught that the salvation of the body was presumptive, that the resurrection was a spiritual one, and that the soul went to heaven at death. He did not believe, says history, "That Christ was the Son of God, but believed that Jesus Christ was an excellent man, the friend of God, yet denied that Jesus designed to abolish the worship of demons."—Mosheim.
Again, "St. Ambrose adopted the doctrine of Origen, that before the death of Christ the souls of all the patriarchs and saints went to hell, where they remained in joy and happiness till our Saviour's death, when his separate soul came into those infernal regions, and breaking the bonds he freed those captive souls, and at his resurrection triumphantly led them into heaven, unto which place the departed souls of all believers do now immediately go, no more to return to the body."—Lord King.
In less than three centuries, we see these false teachers occupying the highest place in the church, using every means to compel men to subscribe to their "damnable heresies."
Says history, "Two monstrous errors were adopted in this century; viz., 1. That it was an act of virtue to deceive and lie when by that means the interest of the church might be promoted. 2. That errors in religion, when maintained, should be punished with civil penalties and corporeal tortures. We would willingly except from this charge St. Ambrose, Helaryus, Augustine, Gregory, Nazianzen, and Jerome; but truth, which is more respectable than these venerable fathers, obliges us to involve them in this general accusation."—Mosheim.
Again says history, "These philosophers, while the true Christians were endeavoring to escape the sword, exhausted their learning, eloquence, and ingenious stratagems against the true Christians; and they were much more dangerous and formidable as they had adopted the institution of the gospel of Christ. They attempted to reconcile Paganism and Christianity."—Gibbon, 28th chap.
I make these quotations to show the characters of these fathers who are so much relied on by the present orthodox church, to establish the doctrines which undermine the gospel, and robs Jesus Christ of the honor and glory of raising the dead, and giving life and immortality to its saints. If those fathers are not of their "father the Devil," it would be difficult to determine where they belong. Murderers and liars, and wolves in sheep's clothing, having all the characteristics given by Paul, Peter, and John, "even denying the Lord that bought them, cursed children, who love the wages of unrighteousness, counting gain godliness." And notwithstanding all this, if any one dare to denounce these doctrines as unscriptural, he is branded with "infidelity," and cast out of the synagogue, and shunned as one having a plague about him. "Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of."
Much more might be said to show that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul had its origin among the Pagan priests, and has been handed down to us through a corrupt priesthood for the purpose of making merchandise out of it. But sufficient has been said to show its origin, how it came to be believed by the Jews, and by what means it got into the gospel church, and was handed down to us; and that it did not have its origin with the ancient philosophers, for they had no faith in it themselves; and in their day it was rejected by every man of liberal education and understanding as an idle and extravagant opinion.—Bible Examiner.
Faith and Means.
THERE is one kind of faith which God never requires the Christian to exercise. He never requires him to believe that a blessing will follow neglect of duty even though prayer be offered to that end. We are taught to have confidence in God as a hearer of prayer even when human probabilities do not help our expectation and even when obstacles lie in the way of a blessing provided those obstacles are not chargeable to ourselves. If they are to be found at our own door, whether they consist in cherished sins or neglected duties, they will prove insurmountable stumbling-blocks. We cannot in such a case pray believingly. Conscience will condemn the inconsistency of our requests even before they are uttered. It is morally impossible for either an Achan or a Jonah to offer the prayer of faith. The sin must first be given up or the duty performed, then we can pray. It is said of Henry Martyn that “he so lived that he could pray.”
It may be regarded as a general principle, that so far as we are able to render circumstances favorable to a blessing, we are required to do it. If they are unfavorable from providential necessity, and there is no more that we can do, then no matter how dark the prospect to our eye, we may wait with assurance on the Lord. If there are no tithes that we can bring into the storehouse, then we may still pray, and still expect that a blessing will be poured out.99But if we have such tithes, then until they are brought we are not prepared to wait in hope.
We must arrange the sails and cordage of the ship, while we wait the breeze. We must carefully prepare the soil and sow the seed, then look to God for the early and the latter rain. Prayer should crown every Christian effort, and give it warrant of success; but it is not designed to take the place of any thing which we can and ought to do. We are not to send our petitions over the heads of a thousand neglected duties. If an individual or a church is not doing all that it can to increase the human probabilities of success in winning men to Christ, then it is not yet in an attitude to wait in confidence for the choicest blessings of the Lord.
How forcibly and beautifully is this point illustrated in the experience of Jacob at the Ford Jabbok! He was about to meet his injured brother Esau, and was afraid for his life had been threatened. And yet as he must encounter him, he hastened to arrange his caravan in the very best manner, imploring a blessing as he went. He shrewdly planned every thing in such a way as to make the most pacific impression on his brother, sending fine presents in advance.
He divided his household into companies, directing them minutely what to say, and then when his best possible plans had been made and his resources all arranged to the best advantage—when he had done all, had sent his family over the brook—then he went and prayed, then he threw himself with unyielding faith upon the mercy of the Lord, and waited in very deed, wrestling with the angel till the break of day.—Gen. Evangelist.
“The Wages of Sin is Death.”
A young man, who was in prison awaiting his trial for a serious crime, was asked what ruined him.
“Sir,” he replied with tears in his eyes, “it was my street education that ruined me! I had a good home education, but I would slip out of the house and go off with the boys in the street. In the street, I learned to lounge. In the street, I learned to swear. In the street, I learned to smoke. In the street, I learned to gamble. In the street, I learned to steal.”
So you see, my children, the street ruined that youth. It seemed pleasant to him, as it does to some of you, to spend his hours abroad with idle, roystering lads. No doubt he thought his father and mother were too strict, too particular, too notional, when they wished him not to frequent the street; and, thinking so, he chose to have his own way even at the price of disobeying his parents. He did have his own way. To what did it lead him? To destruction! I think he paid too high a price altogether for having his own way. Do you agree with me in this opinion? If so, beware how you imitate him, beware how you cherish a love for the street, and street companions. Find your enjoyment at home, especially in the evening.
You may depend upon it, boys and girls, that to pass safely along the ways of life, you must be careful of your steps. It will not do for you to tread a path merely because flowers grow in it and you feel a desire to pluck them. The most flowery paths often lead to the most dangerous places. You must seek, therefore, for the right rather than for the pleasant way. Indeed, the right path is always the most pleasant in the end.
To find the right way, and thus to avoid the dangers of the wrong one, you need a guide for your feet. I have read somewhere, that, on a part of the seashore in England, there are steep cliffs rising abruptly from the beach. To keep smugglers from landing foreign goods on which “duties” have not been paid, a “guard” is stationed to watch, night and day. The men composing this guard have to ascend and descend the cliffs in the night. Their path is very narrow, and it runs close to the edge of the cliff. A single misstep would cause a man to fall over on to the beach, and to be dashed in pieces.
How do you suppose the men of that guard find their way up and down those cliffs at night in safety? If you were to examine their path, you would see a row of very white stones set in it all the way up from the beach. These stones can be seen in the darkest night. The men look for them and thus traverse the giddy path with safety.
Now, my dear children, God meant his holy book to be to you, on your life journey, what those white stones are to the men who guard that cliff in England. It tells you where to go and where not to go, what to do and what to avoid. If you wish, then, for safety, you must both study and obey the Bible. If you will not, why, like the young man in the prison, you must find pain, shame and death in your pathway.—S. S. Advocate.
How to Overcome the World.
THE things of the world, if we put them under our feet, increase our stature towards heaven; they are means of growth in grace, according to the use we make of them. If a man stands on a pile of gold a foot high, he is a foot taller than other men, and sees farther than they; but if the gold is above him, it weighs him down, and if it is before his vision, it darkens him. If we would use the world as not abusing it, we must stand upon it, we must climb by it towards heaven, not be buried beneath it. The policy is not to annihilate the alluring objects of the world, but bind them to our service; not to make ourselves poor by having no riches, but rich by using them for Christ. Temptation greatly increases and strengthens grace, if it is only used rightly. Hence James says, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing that the trial of your faith worketh patience.”
The things of the world, its vanities, its pleasures, its attractions, are like quicksilver, which is dark in itself, and you cannot see through it, but put it behind a plate of glass, and you make a mirror out of it. Just so, if you put the vanities of the world behind the heart, if you put the heart on the right side of those vanities, they make your heart a mirror of heaven; they enable you to reflect the glories of the celestial world, and the radiance of the face of the Redeemer, when you look towards him; the bright uncovered side of the mirror being toward the sun of righteousness, his image is reflected. But if you reverse the process, and put the things of the world before your heart, between your heart and heaven, then you can see nothing through them, and there is no reflection in them to any heavenly object or light; the mirror side being towards the earth reflects only the earth, and the side that ought to be towards heaven is as dark as midnight.—Sel.
ZEAL.
The river that runs slow and creeps by the banks, and prays to every turf to let it pass, is drawn into hollows, and spreads itself in smaller portions, and dies with diversion; but when it runs with100vigor, and a full stream, and breaks down every obstacle, making it even as its own brow, it stays not to be tempted with little avocations, and to creep into holes, but runs into the sea through full and useful channels: so is a man's prayer; it moves upon the feet of an abated appetite, it wanders into the society of every trifling accident and stays at the corner of the fancy, and talks with every object it meets, and cannot arrive at heaven; but when it is carried upon the wings of passion and strong desires, a swift motion and an hungry appetite, it passes on through all the intermediate regions of clouds, and stays not till it dwells at the foot of the throne, where mercy sits, and thence sends holy showers of refreshments.
Advanced Christians.
By Maine Evangelist
ALL stages of life have their peculiar hazards. The young have their dangers, the middle-aged theirs, and the old theirs. We speak oftener of the hazards of the young—of young disciples—not often enough, perhaps, of the hazards of the old—of disciples who have walked long in Christian paths.
There is the danger among advanced Christians, of relying too much on past experiences, as evidences of discipleship. These have their value as evidence of our union with Christ. It may be fitting and desirable at times to recur to past joys, the sweet fellowships of past years, and to derive consolation from their remembrance. Such a recurrence to past experiences for comfort, while the soul is traveling on in temporary gloom, may be legitimate, but when we begin to make our past experience our dependence, it becomes a snare to us and a stone of stumbling. It is not to be used as a couch on which to recline, but as a cordial to cheer us, and to stimulate us to fresh endeavors.
When we go back to what we have felt of the Divine love, and rest upon that, instead of going forward to sound the fathomless depths of the Divine love yet unknown to us, we are in great danger. Instead of gathering manna every day afresh, we avoid labor by attempting to store up what we gathered in past years. This danger of relying on past experiences, attaches peculiarly to older Christians. It is not till we have journeyed on in the Divine life, that we gain any experience, and it is not till then that experience ever comes between us and Christ, and eclipses his light. Now, whatever takes off our eye from Christ, even if it be an experience of Divine love itself, becomes a snare to us. There can never be gained an experience so rich as to justify us a moment in trusting to it; and hence, when you see a Christian dwelling much upon his experience, instead of thinking and talking much of Christ, it is a bad sign. Paul was taken up into heaven, and there saw wonderful things, and yet he does not even mention the fact until years after. What is called a wonderful experience is often a dangerous one for a Christian, and even Paul could not bear it, without the thorn in the flesh to keep him from self-exaltation. It is not experience, it is Christ, that saves us. Maine Evangelist.
The Old Paths.
I HAVE been a reader of the word of God for nearly sixty years. I have always found and so understood the Scriptures to teach, that the Saviour of poor lost sinners, while he tabernacled here on earth, called, qualified, and commissioned certain men, called apostles, or ministers, and sent them forth to preach his everlasting gospel to a dying and ruined world.
In tracing the history of these men from their first starting out on their mission from Jerusalem, to the end of their pilgrimage on earth, wheresoever they went, we find that they preached Christ and the resurrection, Christ and him crucified, and taught the people every where to submit themselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord’s sake, whether it be unto kings or unto governors, and whosoever resisted the power, resisted the ordinance of God, and they that resisted should receive to themselves damnation. Wheresoever they went preaching the gospel of the kingdom, the power of God was manifested, with few exceptions, in the conviction and conversion of scores of poor perishing sinners. Paul tells us that should an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto us, than that which we the apostles have preached, let him be accursed. Tracing the history of Christ’s church and preaching, of such ministers as preached the apostolic doctrine down to my own recollection, I find the power of God and the conversion of sinners attended their preaching wherever they went. And since my recollection, wherever the word was preached in demonstration of the Spirit and with power, believers were built up in the most holy faith, and many poor sinners were converted and added to the church. God owned their labors, and the church flourished. But alas, the glory of the church, I fear is departed, in these last days. Preachers will now take the circuit or field of labor allotted to them, and preach a whole year on it, and at the end of the year, few, if any souls are converted, and the circuit left as good as dead.
Being a strict observer of these things, and searching for the primary causes, I am sorry to say that I am forced to the conclusion, that if ever we have a reformation in the church it must begin in the stand. Paul tells us that he ceased not to warn every one, night and day, with tears, and taught the people publicly, and from house to house. But some of our would-be preachers, in these last days, scarcely visit their brethren, much less the men of the world once in a whole year; and should they happen so to do, the welfare of their souls and future prospect of heaven is not thought of. Praying with them is out of the question, unless they stay over night with them; and when several of these preachers are in company together, their light and trifling conversation, and that before the men of the world, would make any sincere Christian blush; and when in the sacred stand in the house of God, they will read as a text, a verse or two of the holy Scriptures, and forthwith sail out into the politics of the day, and not one word of Christ and the resurrection in the whole sermon. They forget to meet their class after preaching a time or two for a whole year.
I believe the gospel is the same, has the same power, and would have the same effect, if preached in its purity to-day, that it had in old times. O, brethren, let us try and hunt the old paths and walk in them.—Selected.