THE relation of church membership is not, now, generally, regarded as it was in the primitive church, but has deteriorated in proportion as the pure fountains of truth have been perverted; and the laxity and superstition of successive ages have weakened its significance, until we have scarcely any of its original genius left. Love, which was the magnet of union among the early disciples, has degenerated into almost sheer selfishness in the churches of the nineteenth century. Most of the professors of the religion of the Cross, carry too much of the repulsive coldness of the world into their high and holy calling, instead of a warm and glowing heart, expanding with love to God and enkindling a burning zeal for the constant exercise of kind offices towards each other, and think that they have done all, when they have related their “experience,” submitted to the initiatory ordinances, and had their names enrolled on the church books. We are too apt to look upon our religious profession as a mere personal affair, without understanding or rightly appreciating the mystical union of the individual members to each other, and all with Christ, the head of the church. When we, upon a slight exercise of faith and repentance, imagine that offended Deity looks propitiously upon us in the face of Jesus, we rejoice for a season and then settle down in listlessness, and think all is right, all secure; and should we experience in our hearts, in the faintest degree, that we love the Lord with all our heart, and all our soul, and all our strength, and all our mind, we fancy that we have the Spirit bearing witness with our spirits, that we are accepted of God, and we have no other concern in the matter. It was not so with those of old “hewn from the rock,” and those “digged out of the hole of the pit,” when their hearts were touched with fire from off the altar, and upon whose lips was put the “new song,” they slumbered not, neither kept they silence, but were found “with one accord,” walking and working together, “heirs with God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.”
Identity among believers is one of the binding laws of the kingdom of Christ. “This is my commandment,” says our divine Master, “that ye love one another as I have loved you.” And in another place he says, “A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another.” “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” “This injunction,” says J. A. James, “is denominated the new commandment of the Christian economy; not that love was no duty before the coming of Christ; but it is now placed more pre-eminently amongst the duties of believers; it is urged on fresh grounds, enforced by a more perfect example, and constrained by stronger motives. The dispensation of Jesus Christ is a system of most wonderful, most mysterious grace; it is a manifestation, commendation, and perfection of divine love. It originated in the love of the Father, and is accomplished by the love of the Son. Jesus Christ was an incarnation of love in our world. He was love, living, breathing, speaking, acting amongst men. His birth was the nativity of love, his sermons the words of love, his miracles the wonders of love, his tears the meltings of love, his crucifixion the agonies of love, his resurrection the triumph of love. Hence it was natural that love should be the cardinal virtue in the character of his saints, and that it should be the law which regulates their conduct towards each other. And it is worthy of remark, that he has made his love to us, not only the motive, but the pattern of our love to each other. “This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you.” The Apostles echoed the language of their Master, and continually enjoined the churches which they had planted, to love one another, and to let brotherly love abound and increase. It is a grace so important that, like holiness, no measure of it is sufficient to satisfy the requirement of the Word of God. It is the basis, and cement, and beauty of the Christian union. The church where it is wanting, whatever may be the number or gifts of its members, is nothing better than a heap of stones, which, however polished, want the coherence and similitude of a palace.”
Our blessed Saviour illustrates this intimate union between himself and his disciples, by the beautiful and endearing simile of the vine and its branches, of which “the Father is the husbandman;” and Paul represents the believers as the “body of Christ and members in particular;” in reference to which he says, “There should be no schism in the body; but the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.”
From the whole tenor of the Scriptures, it is manifest that they design to inculcate and enjoin the cultivation of an affectionate solicitude for each other, far above mere human sympathy. A very excellent writer, Miss Caroline Fry, correctly remarks: “Surely, if Christians, re-united to one stem, planted together in the likeness of one life and death, are only just, only benevolent, and in intention kind, it may well be said to them, ‘What do ye more than others; do not the Scribes and Pharisees the same?’ The word that requires us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, says also, ‘Weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that do rejoice.’” Jesus the Righteous, dwells particularly upon this subject in all his teachings; and it is enforced by all the divinely inspired amanuenses of the Holy Spirit. John says, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
What a wide departure from this love, this holy confraternity, which the church was designed to be, is seen, on every hand, in the present day, and in all sects of Christendom. We are too easily satisfied with the fancied evidences of our own safety, and manifest too little concern for the advancement of piety and the welfare of the brotherhood. We take a name and sit down and fold our hands in almost perfect indifference in regard to the extension of the Redeemer’s kingdom, and caring less about “bearing one another’s burdens, and so fulfilling the law as we are commanded.” This was not the case in the early ages of Christianity. When the disciples entered the ranks of the “Captain of our salvation,” they entered for the whole war—they rallied round the standard with their whole heart, and left the world entirely behind. Impelled by an all-absorbing love, they knew nothing, nor cared for anything, but love to God and love to man. They enjoyed all things “with singleness of heart;” lived as one family, and strengthened each other’s hands in doing good and in glorifying God their Maker. “All that believed were together, and had all things in common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted to all men as every man had need. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one soul; neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things in common.” Acts ii, 44, 45; iv, 32. This was prompted by the spontaneous feelings of the disciples—their voluntary act, springing from love toward each other, and not from any requirement. When dedicating themselves to the Lord, by a public profession of his name, they regarded themselves as a family—the Lord’s children, the household of faith.
[Sab. Recorder.]
THE REVIEW AND HERALD.
“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.”
ROCHESTER THIRD-DAY, DEC. 19, 1854.
THE CHURCH NOT IN DARKNESS.
By H. L. Hastings
BY H. L. HASTINGS.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that DAY should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thess. v, 4.
A deep sense of the vast responsibilities resting upon a servant of God, prompts me to express the thoughts that stir my inmost soul. A fearful prospect lies before me—a world slumbering on perdition’s fiery brink,—a church drowsily proclaiming, “My Lord delayeth his coming”—clouds, darker than ever have mantled earth’s sky since the first beaming of Bethlehem’s star, gathering along the horizon, pent-up surges of desolation, fire, and blood, pressing against their yielding barriers—and beyond all the rest, the day of God, the mighty judgment, the awful destruction that awaits the ungodly, and the triumphant deliverance of the ransomed of the Lord. These are the scenes that rise before me—the visions that crowd my path in the busy whirl of human activity, or in the place of privacy and of prayer. These are the coming events that cast their shadows o’er my path, and the premonition of whose approach I read in the book of providence and in the Book of God,
The sword cometh—How can I hold my peace? The Judge standeth before the door—How can I be silent?
The Day alluded to in this passage is more definitely named in the preceding verses. For the consolation of those of the Thessalonians whose hearts were bleeding with bereavement, the Apostle undertakes to dispel their anguish by dispelling their ignorance, “concerning those who are asleep” in Jesus. Looking downward and pointing to earth’s world-wide charred house, he sees and traces from the rock-hewn tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a single brilliant ray of light and hope. Here was a torch for the hand of faith and a light for the eye of hope. If God had brought Christ from the dead, then those who are “in Christ” must also be brought. The living shall have no pre-eminence at last over those who in former ages had lived and died in the Lord. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven—a mighty shout shall proclaim his victorious power and majesty—the awful voice of the Archangel, and swelling echoes of the far-resounding trump of God, shall proclaim alike perdition to the sinner and deliverance to the saint. What a scene ensues!—forth from their graves burst the unnumbered saints of God—earth and ocean teem with an immortal host—each living saint feels a sudden thrill,—it is “the power of an endless life”—and lo! this mortal puts on immortality.
And now they ascend. Slowly, calmly they rise!—earth sinks and recedes from their view—the deep despairing wail of the ruined world sounds fainter and fainter in the distance—while around them and above them burst on their ears the enrapturing harmonies of Cherubim and Seraphim. Still they ascend—the vast and radiant cloud of glory unfolds a gorgeous portal, and attendant angels escort them within it. Still they come, an innumerable company from every land and clime—from prisons, dens, and deserts, from vallies and from hills. Oh, how beauteous are their glittering ranks! And now the last one has arrived. The shout of joy goes up—the Saviour’s smile is seen, the Saviour’s greeting heard—the pierced hand wipes away the lingering tear—the dead and the living are together once more—the prophets and the apostles meet—martyrs behold their martyred Lord. Sinners saved gaze upon their Saviour, and so are they for ever “with the Lord.”
Calmly and kindly does the Apostle turn and place this glowing page before the mourners’ weeping eye, bidding them to “comfort one another with these words.” Blessed words,—consoling thoughts. They have been the “oil of joy” to mourning hearts for eighteen hundred years, and still they “hush the low complaining sigh,”—still they “dry the flowing tear,”—still they make the place of weeping a place of joy, and bind about the tomb the flowers of never fading hope. Still they illuminate the path that lies along the dark valley. Still they strengthen those who stand beside the dying. Still they comfort those who weep above the dead. Never shall the Christian’s eye cease to contemplate the picture; never shall his heart cease to thrill with the anticipation—never shall his hope cease to embrace the promise, until the rent heavens disclose the majestic form of the descending King—the quaking earth deliver up its sleeping captives at his call, and the saints from every age and clime, unite in singing the song of Moses and the Lamb,
“Far from a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in.”
Concerning the “times and seasons” when these sublime anticipations should be realized, there then existed no present necessity for further communications. They were perfectly acquainted, however, with the fact, that the day of the Lord in its coming would resemble a thief in the night. When the whisper of ‘peace’ and the careless thoughts of ‘safety’ should possess the minds of a slumbering, dreaming, and besotted world—then destruction, unparalleled for suddenness and exterminating fury, shall burst upon them. Vainly they flee from its devastating influence—vainly they pour their piteous prayer for refuge to towering mountains and to craggy rocks. Vainly their mighty wail reaches from sea to sea—overspreading continents—echoing from the islands and comprehending “all the tribes of the earth.” Vainly are ten thousand stubborn hearts broken—ten thousand blasphemous lips employed in supplication—ten thousand brazen foreheads bowed in sorrow, and ten thousand knees bent before God that never bowed before! Alas, it is too late. “Sudden destruction” has come, and from the faithful word peals forth the dread announcement, “They shall not escape.”
It was this “day” which stood full in the view of the inspired Apostle, and the expectant church—this day of resurrection, of triumph, of glory, of re-union, of deliverance of immortality to the righteous, and of destruction and despair to the impenitent—it was this day to which he alluded when he declared, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night nor of darkness.”
The teaching, then, of the Apostle was clearly this:—First. That the people of God at that period needed no special information concerning “the times and seasons” of the Saviour’s second advent. Second. That they were informed that the coming of that day would be sudden and unanticipated by the world. Third. That, still further, at its coming the wicked would be denying the very possibility of its approach, and dreaming of perfect safety. Fourth. That at that time of profoundest carelessness, the sudden and unavoidable destruction from the Almighty should fall with resistless fury upon their heads. Fifth. That the people of God were not in darkness, but were “of the day.” Sixth. That therefore, that day can not overtake them as a thief, but by watchfulness and sobriety they might discern its proximity, observe its precursors, and escape its terrors, while they participated in its joys.
Concerning this “great and terrible day of the Lord,” we are not left destitute of further information. Information, too, that is amply sufficient to stir the deep and swelling surges of emotion within every pious soul. Strangely hardened must be the heart that can behold unmoved the approach of the tremendous scene, and strangely perverted must be that Christianity that can view without the intensest awe and solemnity, the coming of that day of clouds and darkness, of judgment and of wrath—or that can anticipate without delight that day of deliverance, of triumph, of joy, of songs and of crowns, for “all that love His appearing.”
The events of that great day are most graphically sketched by the apostle Peter, in the concluding chapter of his last epistle. Carrying the lustful scoffers of the last day backward on the track of time, to the antediluvian world, he, by that awful example, reproves their impious mockery. He teaches us that the same God who condemned that world, condemns this, and “the same word” that overwhelmed that with water, shall desolate this by fire. Notwithstanding the patience and compassion of God—notwithstanding his “long-suffering to us ward”—notwithstanding his unwillingness that one guilty rebel “should perish”—notwithstanding his mercy holds open the door of refuge, and his love bids and entreats sinners to enter therein—notwithstanding all this, yet, “the day of the Lord” must and “will come as a thief in the night;” wickedness must find a shore to its foaming wave; impiety must be smitten on its brazen front; oppression must be punished; blasphemy must be hushed; and righteousness, so long abased and abused, must triumph at last. Hence “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” And in that day the ascending fires of wrath shall reach the very heavens—awful thunderings shall tell their dissolution and departure: the elements shall melt like wax within the glowing furnace: earth, too, shall be molten before the presence of her God, and shall roll, an orb of fire within a sky of flame, while the works that are therein, the products of human pride, and power, and cruelty, shall perish with the enemies of the Most High, amid those all-devouring flames.
But beyond all this, a vision of purity and peace rises in brightness before the prophet’s eye. God’s curse hath devoured the earth, his blessing shall restore it. No longer groaning beneath the burden of sin; no longer charred and molten by the fires of wrath, her desolateness is exchanged for the verdure of Eden; perfection blooms where barrenness reigned; Carmel and Lebanon are faint types of its blushing beauty and unfading green: the glory of God floods it with one sea of radiant splendor, and peace waves her olive branch from shore to shore. Righteousness, too, is there—not as a visitant, merely—not as a contrasting spot amid surrounding corruption—not as exemplified in the character of a single “Man of sorrows” but as the prevailing principle, the constant disposition, the ruling thought of an innumerable, peaceful and adoring throng. There on a throne “established in righteousness,” reigns a righteous king over all the earth. There the people are all righteous, they inherit the land forever. There the righteous flourish. There the work of righteousness is peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. There the pilgrim finds his home, the Christian his rest, the martyr his crown, and the mourner his joy, in that “new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
This, then, is a brief, a faint and an imperfect sketch of those tremendous scenes that go to fill up and add grandeur and importance to the great and terrible day of the Lord. It is this day, concerning which the church of God “are not in darkness.” It is this day that shall not come upon them as a thief. It is this day that shall be put far off by a dreaming world, and which, coming suddenly, shall find them sleeping, and overwhelm them with consternation and despair. It is this day for which the church of God are to look—it is this day for which the children of Satan will not look. It is this day for which the church of God should watch—it is this day for which the children of Satan will not watch. It is this day for which the church of God seek to prepare—it is this day for which the wicked will not prepare. This day will bring deliverance to the saint, and perdition to the sinner. What will it bring to you?
Seriousness.
NOTHING IS SO CONTRARY TO GODLINESS AS LEVITY.—Seriousness consists in the matter of what is spoken, the manner of speaking, in dignity of behaviour, and in weighty, not trifling actions. Some people are serious by nature, some by policy and for selfish ends, and some by grace and from a sense of duty.142Jesting and raillery, lightness of behaviour, useless occupations, joy without trembling and awe of God, an affectation of vivacity and sprightliness, are all contrary to the Spirit of God. A fool laughs loud, saith Solomon, but a wise man scarce smiles a little.
Levity is contrary to contrition and self knowledge—to watching and prayer—frequently to charity—and to common sense when death is at our heels.
Levity is destructive to all devotion in our own hearts, and in that of others, by unfitting the company for receiving good, and bringing a suspicion of hypocrisy upon all.
Seriousness is useful to prevent the foregoing miscarriages—to keep grace—to recommend piety and a sense of God's presence—to leave room for the Spirit to work—and to check levity and sin in others. And have we not motives sufficient to seriousness? Are we not walking in the presence of God? on the verge of the grave? and in sight of eternity? All who walk with God are serious, taking their Lord for their example, and walking by Scripture precepts and warnings.
Are we to be dull and melancholy? Seriousness and solid happiness are inseparable. Is there not a time for all things? There is no time for sin and folly.—Selected.
RELIGION
[The following extract from an article with the above heading, from the Wisconsin Home is forwarded to us by E. S. Sheffield, with his remarks upon the same, as contained in a note to the Editor of that paper.]
“The Ten Commandments form its true basis. They form a foundation broad and strong enough for all creation to rest upon with perfect safety. Yet how few do we find thereon. Over 600 flimsy platforms, or side issues, are propped up around it by as many different sects, and each one tries to get as many as possible on its own, to secure popularity; and declares hostility against all who do not give heed to its importunities. Who can wonder that so many fall and are lost, or that thousands turn away in disgust when the ridiculousness of the farce becomes apparent. Meanwhile, firm and ample stands the great REAL platform, ready to receive all who can over-ride their pre-conceived prejudices, and cast aside selfishness, bigotry and superstition.”
TO THE EDITOR OF THE “WISCONSIN HOME”
Mr. Editor, Sir:
HAVING seen some of your articles relating to your position, I have read them with interest, and am glad to find some who are willing to own that the ten commandments are the only true basis of Religion, the foundation laid by the great Author of our existence, and this great platform still stands firm, ready to receive all who can over-ride their pre-conceived prejudices, and cast aside selfishness, bigotry and superstition—broad enough for all creation to rest upon with perfect safety. This I firmly believe to be truth; says the wise man, Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. But as you say, how few do we find thereon. The Bible represents them as a remnant: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus Christ.” Rev. xii, 17. You say over 600 flimsy143platforms are propped up, by as many different sects. Revelation says, Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred three-score and six.” Rev. xiii, 18. I understand this man to be the man of sin, who should think to change times and laws. These times and laws, I believe to be the times and laws instituted by God. Roman time, or the day, begins at midnight: God's time, or day, begins in the evening. Roman and Papal tradition says, The first day of the week is the Sabbath, the memorial of Redemption: God's word says, The seventh day is the Sabbath, the memorial of Creation—For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore (or for this reason) the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. I know not but you observe the Sabbath according to the commandment, if you do not, you do not stand wholly upon the firm and broad platform; namely, The Law of God; for he who shall offend in one point, is guilty of all: he is become a transgressor of the law. If we keep the Sabbath and break one of the other commandments, we are transgressors of the law, and the same if we keep all the rest and not the Sabbath. But perhaps you may say as many do in the present day, that you keep the Christian Sabbath; for the Jewish Sabbath was nailed to the cross. I answer that a Jewish or Christian Sabbath is not once named in the Bible; but the Sabbath was made for man, not one word is said about his being either a Jew or Christian, neither is there one word to be found between the lids of the Bible about the blessing's being transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, or about keeping the Sabbath to remember the work of redemption, but it always reads, For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and rested on the seventh.
E. S. SHEFFIELD.
Koshkonong, Wis. Nov. 1854,
Extracts.
“We have no dispute about the existence of abstract spirits, nor of abstract bodies. The dispute is about the consciousness of abstract spirits.
You aim to prove their consciousness by Parables, and Prophetic visions. Whereas we know “that God speaks of things (in this way) that are not; as though they were” and that to consider them as literal is to deceive ourselves. The main point in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, was to show that wealth was not that which entitled men to happiness in a future state. This parable was spoken because of what was said by the Pharisees.
“The Pharisees who were covetous heard all these things, [preceding parables] and derided him.” And to rebut their derision, the Lord uttered the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
“Now we must consider the inhabitants of Hades, as being either dead or alive. If dead, then they are the proper subjects of the resurrection, but if alive I don't know how to apply the resurrection to them. I read of the dead's being raised, not the living.
“And I also read that Hades shall deliver up the dead that is in it, but there is not a word said about the living. Then if it be inhabited by abstract spirits they must be dead ones.
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it.” This passage very clearly proves a separation of the body and spirit at death, which every body believes, but goes farther and almost, if not quite, proves the annihilation of identity. When the body mingles again with the earth, and the spirit returns to the source from whence it came, the idea of identity is lost—and were it not for the promise of a re-in-statement of our identity, at the appearance of the Lord, the faith and hope of the Christian would be useless. I might reason thus, and say that I existed in the earth and in God from the beginning, but what consolation would this afford, seeing that I was not conscious of my existence—and if I were returned to the source from whence I came and were not conscious of my existence—I would make but little difference between that state of existence, and total annihilation.”
HADES
I HAVE read your additional remarks on the “consciousness of the dead.” Your arguments were all founded on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. I am not disposed to deny that in that parable the rich man, Lazarus, and Abraham are all made to speak like men in the flesh, and of such punishments as belong to the flesh, such as “I am tormented in this flame,” “send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool my tongue.” If this parable will prove “the consciousness of the dead,” before the resurrection, it will also prove as clearly that they have bodies, and that their bodies are punished in fire. I have heard men quote this parable to prove that men went directly to heaven or hell as soon as the breath left their bodies, or rather that their spirits went to heaven or hell then, and their bodies not till after the resurrection. You are aware, that parables are not acknowledged as good witnesses to prove every thing by me. If I can ascertain the design of the speaker who uttered the parable, then I admit it as proof of the position he was aiming to establish. But I do not feel bound to admit that all who have died, went directly to heaven or hell, before the resurrection or the judgment, merely because it is said the rich man was tormented, and the poor man was comforted. Suffice it to say that from what is said in the parable, we could not learn in what part of God’s creation “Hades” was situated, nor could we tell whether it was a whole world or only a part of one. We should be as likely to suppose that both heaven and hell were situated in it as any where else from the reading of the parable only. And we should certainly conclude that its inhabitants were really men, and not spirits, for there is not a hint that spirits were alluded to, or that they had been the topic of conversation.
[Primitive Christian, 1838.
The Spirits in Prison
“We are naturally prone to speculation and show a fondness for the marvelous. Hence we are delighted with the theme of abstract spirits’ enjoying the blessings of Heaven, and undergoing the torments of Hell. We muster up in our imaginations identity without form or substance. This is a sublime mystery in which we delight, because we cannot begin to explain or understand the existence of form without substance—and it is form that gives identity. We know nothing of individuality apart from form. But in this sublime and mysterious doctrine of Heaven and Hell inhabited by abstract spirits, with susceptibility of pain or pleasure, we do away the necessity of a resurrection, or of a future Judgment, or at least, we put it out of our power to show a necessity for a resurrection or a Judgment, having already given to naked or abstract spirits, all the properties we can possibly conceive of, as belonging to resurrected bodies when re-inhabited by their spirits.
But why do I speak of spirits as belonging to bodies, when it is proved that spirits exist independent of bodies—and that these abstract spirits are the spirits of men. In fact, it is said that these spirits are the men themselves, and that they can be known when separate from the bodies which they once inhabited. These things being so, it is hard to show the use of bodies—and we might be led to suppose that the spirits of men existed before their bodies, and come to the conclusion that as many men existed before the creation of man as there have since.
But if we stagger into this sublime and mysterious doctrine, we are then driven into the vulgar notion that the bodies and spirits of men come into existence at the same time, and that they grow together, the spirits as well as the bodies, and that there are imperfect spirits of men, such as are not full grown, thus we suppose that spirits can be improved as well as bodies. But whether they are improved when they are separated from the body or not, is a matter of nice argument, if they are, they can perform deeds without the body, and must be judged for the deeds done out of the body, as well as for the deeds done in the body. But as we have no information of the accountability of abstract spirits—we might be led to doubt their power of action, and if they are destitute of that power, I know what our decision would be if they were bodies instead of spirits, we should say they were dead.”—Prim. Christian.
THE perpetuity of every jot and tittle of God’s law is supported by the use of two tills. 1. Till heaven and earth pass. This is quite strong, and carries the mind to a period of time which is still in the future. On this, I think there can be no disagreement. 2. Till all be fulfilled. Here is the disputed ground. We are told that this reaches only to the crucifixion. That Christ fulfilled all the law, and nailed it to his cross. But I should think it most natural to reserve the stronger expression for the final one. Let us read the text to suit the views of our opponents. According to their interpretation, the Lord wished to assure his hearers that no part of the law would pass, till the crucifixion, which was nearly three years and a half in the future. Then it would stand like this. After cautioning the people not to think he had come to destroy the law or the prophets, he would say, For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till three years and a half.
It has often been shown, that to fulfill a law is to obey it, not to abolish it. But leaving this point, I remark that the subject of discourse includes something besides the law, namely, the prophets. He says, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” He came in fulfillment of the prophecies. But have all the prophecies been fulfilled? Nay verily. Heaven and earth must not only pass, but new heavens and earth must be created before all is fulfilled. The prophet Isaiah says, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.” This must be fulfilled before even the fourth commandment of the law can pass. I conclude, then, that the second till is the stronger of the two. The first reaches to the passing of the present heavens and earth; the second, not only to the making of the new heavens and earth, but to the unlimited extent of their duration. R. F. C.
Seeing Jesus.
“We shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.”
In expounding from the pulpit this striking passage, it is said the late Dr. John M. Mason was accustomed to illustrate the meaning of the Apostle by the family resemblance observable between children and their parents, derived in part at least from the affectionate and earnest contemplation of the parents’ countenance, which is so observable in young persons; thus moulding the very outline of the features into likeness to that of father and mother. So the redeemed soul “shall see the King in his beauty,” and feel the transforming power of the adoring contemplation.
But how do we love him whom we have not seen? This, too, admits of a familiar explanation. How is it that Washington is an object of profound admiration to millions in this and other countries who never saw him? How is it that this veneration and respect, gratitude and admiration, instead of diminishing with the distance, rather becomes more profoundly intense in the breasts of all true patriots? As one has well remarked: “We sometimes form a very strong attachment to earthly friends whom we have never seen. We hear of their works; we catch their spirit; we see numerous and most expressive manifestations of it; and our interest in them is scarcely less than if we had seen them with these eyes. There are multitudes of holy men, living and dead, for whom we cherish the deepest affection and regard. How many precious spirits among the patriarchs, prophets and apostles do we admire and love; for our souls have been trained and turned to gratitude, submission, adoration, and praise, by the sweet words in which their hearts once gushed and poured forth their devotions. Hence we feel as if we knew them. In fact, we are scarcely less acquainted with them than if we had seen them.”
Yet while we know them much, we have known Jesus more. The streams have been good, the fountain incomparably better. We have gone to them for instruction. Their example has been valuable; that of Jesus has been priceless. Their sympathy—but we cannot begin to put it in comparison with that of Him who can be touched with the feeling of all our infirmities, and who was tempted in all points like as we are—whose infinite heart goes to the bottom of the deepest sorrows of every one of his countless children of every nation down through all ages. And to crown all, Jesus gave himself for us by a death, a self-sacrifice and agony. He took our place before and underneath the sword of justice. We have not seen him; but we have seen and felt the proofs of his unutterable love for us. We see such grace and such unsurpassed moral excellence—we cannot but admire, love, and adore him. No matter whether we have seen him—we can love him and adore him, as if there were nothing else to be loved or adored on earth or in heaven.—Presbyterian Advocate.
Present Truth in Crawford County
By T. H. DUNN
From Bro. Dunn.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:— Believing the readers of the Review will be interested in hearing of the rise and progress of present truth in Crawford Co. Penn., I have concluded to send you for publication a brief statement of the facts in the case as they have occurred. I was a member of the Seventh-Day Baptist Church in this place, and always had believed them in possession of more truth than any other professing Christian people. One year ago last August I listened to a lecture on man's mortality, in which the speaker defied his audience to find the phrases, immortal soul, deathless spirit, and such like, in the Bible; and I was perfectly astonished at the amount of scripture adduced to sustain his position. The impressions received upon this occasion, however, were not lasting. Last Spring I commenced reading a work entitled, “The Bible vs. Tradition,” in order to prepare myself to meet the views of those holding man's complete mortality, and very soon became perfectly convinced that I was the one in error; and that man is a unit being, wholly mortal, and made alive by the power of God. Since that time I have been emerging from the cell of tradition. The Bible to me is most emphatically a new book; its teachings now appear to be most reasonable and harmonious. The doctrine of man's complete mortality, the resurrection of the righteous to immortality at the second appearing of Jesus, the earth restored to its Eden state as the everlasting abode of the faithful, are now to me, real and tangible, and furnish something substantial for hope to take hold of. Blessed be God for the light of these present truths.
The Lord be praised that the scales have been removed from my eyes, “that whereas I was blind now I see.” How thankful I feel for the privilege of correcting my vain delusions—how precious the gospel to those who believe and obey it.