Review and Herald, Vol. 10, No. 6.
All Christians are Required to Imitate the Life and Example of Jesus ChristPage 1
Earlier text: All Christians are Required to Imitate the Life and Example of Jesus ChristENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA vs. SUNDAY-KEEPING.
By Editor
FROM the Encyclopædia Americana, we are induced to make the following extracts on the subject of the Sabbath, thinking they may not only be of interest, but also of profit, to our readers. Although the writer takes some positions which we think untenable, as we shall notice in their proper place, he nevertheless treats the observance of the first day of the week as a day of rest, with a candor which is not to be found with any of the ultra-advocates of Sunday-keeping. He is also inclined to certain distinctions which we think owe their existence to long-standing prejudices and traditions, rather than to any declarations of the Word of truth. But we need not anticipate. From the above work, Art. Sabbath, we commence to read as follows: "SABBATH (a Hebrew word signifying rest) is the day appointed by the Mosaic law for a total cessation from labor, and for the service of God, in memory of the circumstance that God, having created the world in six days, rested on the seventh. Concerning the time when the Sabbath was first instituted, some Jewish writers, and some fathers of the church, have believed from the language of Gen. ii, 2, (where it is said that God blessed and sanctified the day,) that it was established from the moment of creation; but as there is no proof in the Old Testament, that this day was observed by the patriarchs before Moses, others have supposed that the words in Genesis mean that God intended to have the Sabbath celebrated in future; but some modern writers, particularly English and American divines, adhere to the first opinion." We must here stop long enough to inquire upon what ground the distinction is based upon which we already find the writer definitely standing. It is said, "Sabbath is the day appointed by the Mosaic law," &c. What are we to understand by the Mosaic law? Those laws given by the hand of Moses to Israel—laws local in their application, adapted to the particular circumstances in which a particular people were placed for a given time. Entirely distinct from these must of course be those moral laws which all must admit God has instituted to govern mankind, in all places, under all circumstances, and in all time. These are generally conceded to be the ten commandments as written by God's own finger upon tables of stone. And those who would regard the Sabbath as a ceremonial or local institution are here obliged to make a most unnatural exception. The very fact that it is enrolled in the bosom of the decalogue is prima facie evidence that it is of the same nature as the other commandments with which it is associated, and like them unchangeable and eternal. No other place than paradise, and no other time than the creation of the world can be pointed to for the institution of the Sabbath. If it was not then and there instituted, we have no record of its institution; and the declaration that "there is no proof in the Old Testament that the day was observed by the patriarchs before Moses," is more than met by the fact that the division of time into weeks, which can be derived from nothing else than the division which God gave man at the beginning, of six days of labor and one of rest. The force of this fact is very generally admitted even by those who contend for a change of the day. We have before us a tract on the "Law of the Christian Sabbath," No. 443, published by the "Tract Society, New York," which says: "The Sabbath was no merely ceremonial or transitory law. Born as the institution itself was, so to speak, in Paradise; recognized by patriarchs from Noah onward, as indicated by the division of time into weeks; lost and trampled down under the hoof of slavery in Egypt, (as it has ever been where slavery has prevailed) but experiencing a resurrection in the wilderness, where Israel was free to serve and sacrifice, to worship and give praise to their fathers' God—the covenant of Sinai gave awful sanction and permanent establishment to a 'law' which from the beginning had its moral claims over the race, and was emphatically 'MADE FOR MAN.'" From the Encyc. Americana, we extract again: "The explicit injunction of the celebration of the Sabbath, the enumeration of it even in the decalogue [Ex. xx, 8.] had a great influence upon Christian observances; and there are many Christians to this day, especially in England and North America, who transfer all the injunctions contained in the Old Testament, respecting the observance of the Sabbath, to the first day of the week, and even give this the name of Sabbath. The use of the word Sabbath, in this application, we believe is confined to these two countries. In the earliest times of Christianity, the law of the Sabbath, like other parts of the Jewish faith, could not be received into the new religion, except spiritualized and refined like the sacrifices and other ceremonies. Every day, the whole life of the Christian had become a Sabbath, destined for the service of God. St. Paul explicitly treats the reverencing of certain days, as invested with a holy character by a divine ordinance as Jewish and unchristian, and as a return to servitude of the law. The first communities assembled every day; e. g., the community of Jerusalem for common prayer, meditation on the Word, communion and love-feasts. Traces of these daily meetings are found even later. With the spread of Christianity, however, and the necessity of instructing a greater number, the appointment of a certain time became necessary. This was not a departure from the spirituality of the new religion, but only an accommodation to the wants of mankind. In the same way, peculiar persons became priests, though all Christians had an equal sanctity of character, and the departure from the spirit of Christianity consisted only in assuming a peculiar spiritual character for the priests. The gradual adoption of forms and ideas from the Old Testament took place in the same way, in respect to the Sabbath as in respect to the priesthood. When the Montanists intended to establish new fasts, assigned to fixed times, they were reminded of the Epistle to the Galatians; but Tertullian treated the censure of St. Paul as attaching only to the celebration of Jewish festivals, (Tertullian, De Jejuniis, c. 14.) The weekly and yearly festivals of the Christians originated from the idea of following Christ, the crucified and the arisen; hence the festival of the resurrection, and the fasts preparatory thereto. In each week the joyous festival was on Sunday; and the preparation for it was on Wednesday and Friday, the days of the Saviour's passion. This point of view is necessary for the right understanding of the early festivals." Various ideas are introduced in the above extract which we are confident a "poor way-faring man" would never arrive at without help. The idea that the Sabbath was so rarified and expanded at the cross as to cover the whole week, we need not comment upon, till it shall be shown that it was in its origin and existence peculiar to the former dispensation. We call attention however to the only grounds which can be assigned for the observance of the first day; namely, as a festival, owing its existence to customs of the church and the "wants of mankind." And we might here ask, why the Lord did not permit the ancient Sabbath to continue to exist and meet with its presence these wants of mankind which he must have foreseen would shortly arise. "The desire of distinguishing the Christian from the Jewish observance, early gave rise to the celebration of Sunday, the first day of the week instead of the Jewish Sabbath; the first trace of which is found in Acts xx, 7." The declarations here made that the first trace of Sunday celebration is found in Acts xx, 7, is more than is generally conceded by First-day observers; for they will have us go back at least to just this side the resurrection, and believe that Jesus met with his disciples on two successive Sundays, at least, though more than "eight days" came between them! Closely examined, however, it will be found that Acts xx, 7, does not contain the "trace" that it is supposed to. This the writer partially admits, further on, and in so doing manifests more particularly that candor and fairness to which we have already alluded. He says: "This however, is by no means conclusive, because the community collected on the first day of the week, might easily have been assembled by the near departure of St. Paul; and still less can be proved from 1 Cor. xvi, 2. Another trace is in the Apocalypse, i, 10, as here we cannot suppose that by Lord's day is meant day of judgment." Having thus admitted it to be a matter of extreme doubt whether inspiration has ever in any degree distinguished the first day of the week, either by example or precept, the writer proceeds to introduce testimony showing us that Sunday observance is a human institution merely, and bringing to view the causes to which it owes its existence, and the authority upon which it rests. It is found in the following: "In the letter of Ignatius to the Magnetians, (chap. ix,) allusion is made to the Sunday celebration, as the symbol of a new life, consecrated to the Lord, in contradistinction to the former Sabbath. Sunday was distinguished as a day of joy, so that none fasted on it; people prayed standing and not kneeling, in allusion to Christ's having raised fallen man. Neander, (q. v.,) a most learned and faithful inquirer into ecclesiastical history, observes,* that "the celebration of Sunday was always like that of every festival a human institution; far was it from the apostles to treat it as a divine command; far from them and from the first apostolic church to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday. But perhaps as early as the end of the second century, a mistaken application of this kind had grown up, because, even then, the working on Sunday seems to have been considered sinful (as we may conclude from the words of Tertullian, De orat., chap. xxiii.) Wednesday and Friday, the latter particularly, were sacred to the memory of the Saviour's passion. Jewish-christian communities, however, retained the celebration of the Sabbath, though they adopted also that of Sunday, and thus it became customary in the Oriental church to distinguish this day also by not fasting, and by praying in a standing posture: on the other hand, in the Western and particularly in the Roman church, in which the opposition to Judaism prevailed, the custom grew up of using the Sabbath particularly as a fast-day. (Tertullian, De Jej., chap. 14.) And when at a later period, the causes of this fasting on Saturday were lost, legends were invented to explain it, such as that Peter had fasted on this day to prepare himself for the disputation with Simon Magus. Tertullian speaks of this difference between the Oriental and Western churches with much moderation. The learned Hyppolytus wrote at the beginning of the third century on this point of dispute. (Hyeronymus, Ep. 72, ad vital.) Constantine the great made a law for the whole empire (321 A. D.) that Sunday should be kept as a day of rest in all cities and towns; but he allowed the country people to follow their work on that day. In the year 538 (A. D.) however, the council of Orleans prohibited country labor; but because there were still many Jews in Gaul, and the people fell into many superstitious uses in the celebration of the new Sabbath in imitation of the practices of the Jews, the council declares that to hold it unlawful to travel with horses, cattle and carriages, to prepare food, or to do anything necessary to the cleanliness and decency of houses or persons, savors more of Judaism than of Christianity."45"The reformation abolishing so many of the festivals, which had increased in the Roman Church to an immense number, naturally elevated the character of those which it left, as Easter, Christmas, &c., and Sunday; but Sunday, though considered by the Lutherans as a proper day for religious service, was never regarded by them with that awe which was connected with its observance in the Old Testament. It is with them a day of rest and enjoyment; and many amusements are taken by Protestants on the European continent, during that day, which people there would think improper on week days appropriated for labor. Calvinism which is altogether of a sterner character than Lutheranism, may have induced its adherents to observe Sunday more strictly; but even at Geneva, the Sunday evening is spent in numerous amusements, in visiting, dancing, playing foot-ball, &c., and the labors of husbandry are permitted in harvest on Sundays. The custom of calling Sunday, Sabbath, indicates the inclination to transfer the character of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday. In fact the Puritans from whom it has descended, showed in many respects a decided inclination to the sternness of the Old Testament. The Puritans rejected by degrees the feasts of the church as heathenish or Popish, and Sunday alone was retained, either because they considered it as, originally, of divine institution, or because being conscious of the disadvantage of abolishing all festival days, they felt the want of a divine injunction for the one which they kept." A few Thoughts on the Cleansing of the Sanctuary.
By E. Everts
DAN. viii, 14. "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed." What Sanctuary? Not the earthly typical one, where the Aaronic priests officiated between God and his people anciently through the patriarchal and prophetic age down to the cross, where was offered the great sacrifice that cast the shadows by which they offered their services. No. For that sanctuary was destroyed according to the predictions of Dan ix, 26. "And the people of the prince that shall come, shall destroy the city, and the sanctuary." Matt. xxiv, 2; Luke xix, 43, 44, which was fulfilled by the Roman army A. D. 70. And the sanctuary services virtually ceased, as types and as prophecy declared A. D. 31. Dan. ix, 27. "And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease." Ex. xii, 3, 6. "Fourteenth day of the first month: and the whole congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening." [Margin, between the two evenings.] Rom. v, 6. "In due time [according to the time, margin] Christ died." Luke xxiii, 45. "And the vail of the temple [which divided between the holies of the sanctuary in the temple] was rent in the midst." By what shall it be cleansed? By blood, according to the type. Lev. xvi, 15, 16. "Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with the blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat: and he shall make an atonement for the holy place." Why is the sanctuary cleansed? "Because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins." Lev. xvi, 16. What did the cleansing of the typical sanctuary amount to? A typical, or temporary judgment for the people. "For in that day shall the priests make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord." Lev. xvi, 30. "For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people." Lev. xxiii, 29. What sanctuary is there to be cleansed after the ending of the twenty-three hundred days, [years,] which commenced B. C. 457, and ended A. D. 1844, if the typical one was set aside A. D. 31, and destroyed A. D. 70? The heavenly, where Christ is "a minister of the Sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man." Heb. viii, 2. How do you know that there is a necessity for cleansing the heavenly Sanctuary? Because "they (the priests,) served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." "We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore, it is of necessity that this man have also somewhat to offer." Heb. viii, 1, 3, 5. When in the type, as to event, was the sanctuary cleansed? The last thing except the dwelling in booths, that commemorated their dwelling in booths, when God brought them out of the land of Egypt, to be observed from the fifteenth to the twenty-second of the seventh month, after the gathering of the fruit of the land. Lev. xxiii, 39-43. When will the heavenly Sanctuary be cleansed? "In the end of the world, hath he (our High Priest) appeared (within the inner vail) to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Heb. ix, 26. Is there in heaven anything unclean? Physically, there is not. Neither was there in the most holy on the earth; but as the cleansing of the earthly was "because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of all their transgressions in all their sins." So there is no physical uncleanness in heaven to be cleansed; but the great and solemn work of judgment in blotting out the sins of the people of God of all ages. When does the judgment commence? Not at death. Judgment had not come in Paul's day. Paul points to the future for judgment, and urges repentance. "Because he (God) hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world by that man (Christ) whom he hath ordained." Felix trembled when Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. Acts xvi, 30, 31; xxiv, 25. Peter locates the time for the judgment of the saints, both the living and the dead. In 1 Pet. iv, 3, 5, 6, he says that, "the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles," &c. "Who (we saints,) shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick (living) and dead." "For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, (or like the living,) but live according to God in the Spirit." Peter being a prophet indeed, places the judgment at the point of the history of the church, when it must be no other point of time, but when the last generation is on the earth that will live prior to the second coming of Christ. And he adds, "But the end of all things is at hand." Verse 7. There is no time for judgment of the saints after the second appearing of Christ; for he comes to reward his saints with eternal life at the sounding of the last trump. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we (the living) shall be changed." 1 Cor. xv, 52. When the judgment is past, we must hear the solemn, unchangeable declaration. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is righteous, let him be righteous still. And then exclaims the Revelator, "Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. xxii, 11, 12. "For the time is come (A. D. 1844) that judgment must begin at the house of God; (whose house are we;) and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" 1 Pet. iv, 17. The message of the First Angel, (Rev. xiv, 6-8,) that pointed out the ending of the twenty-three hundred days of Dan. viii, 14, on the tenth day of the seventh month, sacred time, 1844, declared, that the hour of God's judgment is come. Since then we have no evidence but that judgment, as solemn as it is, has been going on in the heavenly Sanctuary—which is the cleansing of the same from the uncleanness of the sins of the people of God, from Abel to the sealing of the last saint on the earth. Soon the investigative judgment will be over, the saints of all ages each other will greet in the first resurrection; and John says in Rev. xx, 4, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, . . . and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Verse 5. "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Verse 6. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." "Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?" "Judgment was given to the saints of the Most High." 1 Cor. vi, 2; Dan. vii, 22. The charge of Paul in 2 Tim. iv, 1, I do not view to be the investigative judgment of the righteous saints after they are rewarded with eternal life, but the judgment while some are alive and some are dead, agreeing with Peter, which must be before Christ, the Nobleman, returns from the far country, where at his appearing before the Father for his kingdom, he judges whom he accounts worthy to be immortalized at his return, to sit on thrones with him in his kingdom. Luke xix, 12; Rev. iii, 21. Lord help to overcome, is my prayer. E. EVERTS. Rubicon. Dodge Co., Wis., June 4th, 1854. "Bread Cast Upon the Waters."
By Merritt E. Cornell
WHILE waiting for the cars at the Rail Road Depot in Sandusky City, Ohio, I saw a large Bible lying upon the center table, (an unusual, but commendable arrangement,) upon opening which, I found written upon the blank leaves some very appropriate and timely remarks. On the same page were sentiments emanating from darkened minds, and penned by sacrilegious hands. As the eye glanced over the dark scraps, it rested upon the following, and hailed it as "light in a dark place." THE BIBLE.
By M. E. Cornell
"This Book is read by many, but understood by few. Superstition has blinded the mind of the masses, even of the religious, so that its simplicity and pristine purity is overlooked, and the whole is read through a veil of mystery—a relic of Romanism. A mystery propagated and fostered by the pretended called and sent clergy—than which God's word has not a greater enemy; for they even boast that it is a dead letter, and cannot be understood, and hence of no avail until the mind is forced to comprehend its meaning by the Spirit's influence. But thank God such is not the case—it is so plain that wayfaring men though fools, can with the same rules of interpretation that they would apply to other writings, learn their whole duty to God and their fellow-men. Reader, don't start back, but be candid and give this gratuitous hint, from one you know not, due consideration, that you may become satisfied of its truthfulness." ALEXANDER being asked where he would lay his treasure, answered very well, among his friends; being confident that there it would be kept with safety, and returned with use. Why needest thou enlarge thy barns? Knowest thou not where to lay thy plenty? Make the friends of Christ thy treasury; let the hands of the widow, the bosoms of the poor, be thy store-house. Here it is sure no thief can steal it, no time can rust it, no change can lose it; and here it is improved. A temporal gift is here turned into an eternal reward; no ground so fruitful as the bosom of the poor, that brings forth an hundred fold. Waiting and Ready for the Lord
By Elias Goodwin
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: I am still striving to be an overcomer, to make heaven my home, and to meet all the dear saints where sin can never come to defile or mar our peace. O sin! what hast thou done? thou hast caused all the misery, and unhappiness that has ever been in the world. I long for the time to come when sin shall be no more, the curse be removed, and all the people be righteous, and inherit the land (the earth made new) forever. "Thrice hail, happy day, when earth shall smile in gladness, And Eden bloom o'er nature's tomb, O hail, happy day." Blessed be God! who hath begotten us unto this lively hope, and enabled us, through his grace, to turn from many of our idols, to serve the living God, by keeping all his commandments, and to wait for his Son from heaven. May the Lord help us to be waiting, in the true sense of the word, to have our loins girt about, and our lights burning, and we like unto men that wait for their Lord, &c. To be waiting implies readiness. "O let us be ready to hail that glad day." There is great danger, that, after all the light we have had on our lukewarm condition, that we still go on in the same careless, indifferent, lukewarm manner that we have for a few years past; or that being aroused and awakened a little by the rebukes and chastenings of the Lord, that many will sink back again into the same state, and finally be spued out of the mouth of Jesus. O God forbid that this should be my lot. I want to be zealous and reform, and be transformed by the renewing of my mind, that I may prove what is that good, perfect, and acceptable will of the Lord. I want to live in that way that I can say in truth, "Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow thee: All things else I have forsaken, Thou from hence my all shall be." Dear friends, how many of us can sing this hymn with the spirit and with the understanding? O let us not be deceived, for God is not (or will not be) mocked. Says Jesus, "except a man forsake all that he hath he cannot be my disciple. And again, "why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say." "Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity." Brethren and sisters, let us be doers of the work, and not hearers only, deceiving our own selves. It is written, and applies most emphatically to this present time, "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." The Laodicean (or just people) have, in a great measure, many if not all of them, drawn back from that faith that they received a few years ago, when they embraced the present truth, or Third Angel's Message; therefore with many of them God has not been well pleased: some have been overthrown in the wilderness, and destroyed by fiery flying serpents, &c., and upon others God has had great compassion, in giving one more call to be zealous and repent, and not fall after the same example of unbelief. O let us heed the counsel and buy of him gold tried in the fire, white raiment, &c. God will not always be trifled with, probation will not last forever; soon the saying that is written will come to pass: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still," &c. May the Lord help us all, that know these truths, to be found among the righteous ones. There are a few in this wicked city that are still striving to overcome, to heed the counsel of the faithful and true Witness, &c. Although at times it seems next to an impossibility for any one ever to overcome in the midst of so much darkness, and wickedness, as surrounds us here; but if it is the duty of any of God's children to stay here, as their day is so will their strength be, if they trust in him, and live by faith. It now appears to be my duty to go with my team, and draw around, or help take care of the tent in this State this season; and I beg an interest in the prayers of all the saints of God, that I may be useful in my sphere, and shed a godly influence wherever I may be. And now, dear brethren and sisters, let us all be diligent, that we may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless. That this may be our happy lot, is the prayer of your unworthy brother in Christ. ELIAS GOODWIN. Owego, N. Y., May 22d, 1857. Arise, Be Zealous, and Repent
By C. F. Worthen
Bro. Smith : It is with a variety of feelings that I attempt to address myself to the brethren and sisters through the Review. I have feelings of great joy when I think of the goodness and mercy of God towards us, unworthy as we are. We have had precept upon precept, and line upon line; but have we been zealous in repenting? My heart is faint within me when I think how lukewarm I have been. I mean by the help of the Lord to arise, to be zealous and repent. O brethren and sisters, awake, awake! Get ready for the coming of the Lord. How can we be waiting unless we are ready? I was much stirred by Bro. Pierce's letter. I believe it is truth, and I mean to profit by it. I believe that the time has come when God's people will arise; but those who reject the counsel of the faithful and true Witness will go down. How painful the thought that any who have been partakers in the Third Angel's Message, should give up at last. Such indeed will have great reason to lament, when it is said to them, "It is too late to repent now; I know you not." May the Lord help us to buy the gold tried in the fire, and the white raiment, that we may be able to abide the day of his coming. Yours striving to overcome. Charlestown, Vt., May 25th, 1857. Testimony to the Truth and Review
By Belinda Loveland
Bro. Smith: I wish to add my feeble testimony in favor of the precious truths contained weekly in the Review. Those truths, together with the cheering, comforting letters from the dear saints scattered abroad, greatly strengthen and encourage me from time to time. I have been a reader of the Review from its commencement; my interest and sympathies have been with it, too. I prize it highly. It contains food for my soul. My prayer is that it may rise in interest as long as it is needed. Seven years ago I commenced trying to keep all the commandments of God. My soul was then made free, praise God's dear name! I claimed the promise of our Saviour to his disciples, "ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." I believed unwaveringly that the Third Angel's Message was the truth of God. I had been in the two former Messages, and was trying to hold fast the profession of my faith without wavering, looking for something to come along to bring God's people together into the unity of the faith, and fit them up for translation. When the light of the Third Angel's Message shone into my heart, I saw clearly that this Message was uniting the hearts of God's people firmly together. O how we loved one another; and I was so short-sighted, as has been remarked, as to think that none but true-hearted ones would ever embrace this glorious truth. My companion and children embraced this truth with me, and we were a happy family in trying to live it out. Although reproached on every hand, the ark of the covenant did abide with us, and we were blessed, as was the house of Obed-edom of old. But gradually and almost unperceived by us we lost in a measure that freedom and power to prevail with God. When we became sensible of the fact, we tried to humble ourselves before him, and often we would feel for the time being the joys of his salvation restored to us; but it seemed almost impossible to retain, as formerly, the testimony that our ways pleased God. Yet we tried to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. In this condition the Lord began to lay his afflicting hand upon us, and within one short year our two oldest children have been laid away in the grave; but here I want to say to the praise of God's dear name, his promise to us has been verified. His grace has been sufficient for us. Although cutting have been the trials through which we have passed, and keenly we feel our loss, I can say, he hath done all things well. The thought of overcoming, and meeting them again where death cannot separate us, at times thrills through my whole being. But O! how I miss their society. Their places are vacant around the family altar; no more I hear their shouts of victory and songs of praise. A few steps from our dwelling is their quiet resting place; but to use their own language, "the glorious resurrection morn is near." They will sleep but a little while; for in bright hope they died. Yes, I believe with all my heart in a little time from this, all will be over. O how important, dear brethren and sisters, that we do the work of the day in the day. The Lord is calling upon us to make one united effort to get out of this lukewarm condition and gird on the whole armor. O ye weary, way-worn pilgrims, that have borne the burden and heat of the day, look up! your redemption draweth nigh. A rich reward awaits you. Heaven will be cheap enough47 I do rejoice to know that we are in Laodicea; but regret that we have fallen into this lukewarm condition. I feel thankful, however, that the Lord has shown us our poverty and wretchedness, and that so many are giving heed to the admonition of the faithful and true Witness. O, what a solemn moment! It seems to me that every power and faculty of our whole being must be nerved up here to strive to enter in at the straight gate. I mean to overcome. Come, brethren and sisters, let us all try to do as we would be done by, and try and encourage each other through the Review. I should be very glad to hear from those dear brethren that have gone West, that we have not heard from. We have enjoyed many precious seasons together, and we miss you much here in Vermont. We desire your prosperity, and hope to meet you when the final gathering shall come, if not before. Yours, hoping to see the King in his beauty soon. BELINDA LOVELAND. Johnson, Vt., May 25th, 1857. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee." Isa. xxvi, 3. The rains descended, and the floods
My soul's foundations tried,
While one by one each cherished hope
Like waning rush-lights died,
And, lone and desolate, I heard
The elemental din;
Yet light amid the darkness broke—
A sunbeam shone within. Out on the crested surge I rode,
When mighty seas arose,
And challenged with their thunder cry
The stormy winds as foes;
Then barks were wrecked, and men went down
Beneath the billowy brine;
But in that tempest of despair,
The sunbeam still was mine. The trust in God—I'll hold it fast,
In peril and in pain,
Until that glorious Sun arise
That ne'er shall set again.
And if, by death's grim phantom led,
I tread the shadowy vale,
Still may that perfect peace be mine,
Though flesh and heart should fail.—Sel. LETTERS
By A. C. Bourdeaux
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another." BRO. SMITH : I have the pleasure of informing you that my brother Daniel has just returned from Canada with cheering intelligence. He says, "The Lord only knows what difficulties I have been called to pass through since I left Vermont! But notwithstanding all my trials, I have been blessed abundantly. I have got an insight into my character—learned, to a certain degree, what the Lord requires at my hands, and have been permitted to speak of the present truth to many honest-hearted Christians. Three of those to whom I have spoken feel persuaded that the seventh day is the Bible Sabbath; and others are studying silently the Scriptures to know all their duties agreeably to the moral law and the testimony of Jesus." He freed himself of his position as a teacher, about a week ago. Since that time he has had the pleasure of speaking on the present truth to his dear Christian friends at St. Remi, St. Constant, Montreal and Grand Ligne. His intention is not to follow the opinions of learned men; "for," saith he, "I see that those who oppose the truth, though learned, contradict one another, and that those who defend the truth, though sincere, are nothing but frail, imperfect beings, deriving their knowledge from the only source of revealed truth, the Bible." In haste, your French brother.
A. C. BOURDEAUX.
West Enosburgh, Vt., May 29th, 1857. DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: As I am one of the scattered and lonely ones, I am often cheered and encouraged while reading the communications from the dear children of God. I esteem them very highly, as the Review is the only preacher that we have for weeks and months together. I often feel that I could not do without it; and while I have received so much instruction from the precious truths it has contained, I do feel truly thankful for this medium of instruction, and hope that we shall remember those who are laboring and toiling day and night to get out the truth, and to send out and spread abroad the last message of mercy that will ever be given to poor perishing man, and feel that we ought to be doing something. There are none but what may render some assistance in this great and glorious work. God requires nothing but what is right. His ways are just and equal, and if we strive with all our hearts to know and do his will, he will assist us and we shall be accepted of him according to that we have. We have every encouragement that we need in his precious word. His promises are sure and will not fail. We need not be discouraged, although we find ourselves in a lukewarm state, reproved by the faithful and true Witness, because he says, Be zealous and repent. I do feel truly thankful that while we were in such a state of poverty and wretchedness, and knew it not, that the Lord has not left us, but counsels us to buy of him gold tried in the fire that we may be rich, and white raiment that we may be clothed, and anoint our eyes with eye-salve that we may see. We want to see our condition just as it is, and have our sins open, going beforehand to judgment, that they may be blotted out before Jesus leaves the heavenly Sanctuary, and the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. I have been trying to be zealous and repent, and get the door of my heart open that Jesus may come in and sup with me and I with him. O I want him to have full possession, that every thought of my heart may be right, and all my words and actions be in accordance with his blessed word. Praise God for what he has done for me, and for what he is doing for his people, that he is fitting up the remnant to stand in this time of peril, while moral darkness is covering the earth, and gross darkness the people, and they know it not. O praise God that the little remnant have got light in their dwellings! and that it continues to increase, and will continue until Christ will have a church to present to the Father without spot or wrinkle, pure and holy, without fault before him. O, I do desire with all my heart to be one of that little company that will be found without guile, yet I do not expect that I shall be unless I obey God in all things he has commanded, and walk in all the ordinances of the Lord's house blameless, and be willing to suffer reproach for his name with his afflicted and despised people. I mean by the grace of God assisting to strive to overcome every wrong and get on the whole armor that I may be prepared for the trying scenes that are just upon us. Chelsea, Vt., May 26th, 1857.