Signs of the Times, Vol. 5, No. 40. (10/23/1879)

Signs of the Times

Oct 23, 1879

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Oct 23, 1879

General Articles.

By Mrs. E. G. White

WISDOM AND COMPASSION OF JESUS.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

WHILE Jesus was engaged in teaching, the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman whom they accused of the sin of adultery, and said to him, Master, "now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not."

The scribes and Pharisees had agreed to bring this case before Jesus, thinking that whatever decision he made in regard to it, they would therein find occasion to accuse and condemn him. If he should acquit the woman, they would accuse him of despising the law of Moses, and condemn him on that account; and if he should declare that she was guilty of death, they would accuse him to the Romans as one who was stirring up sedition and assuming authority which alone belonged to them. But Jesus well knew for what purpose this case had been brought to him; he read the secrets of their hearts, and knew the character and life-history of every man in his presence. He seemed indifferent to the question of the Pharisees, and while they were talking and pressing about him, he stooped and wrote carelessly with his finger in the sand.

Although doing this without apparent design, Jesus was tracing on the ground, in legible characters, the particular sins of which the woman's accusers were guilty, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. At length the Pharisees became impatient at the indifference of Jesus, and his delay in deciding the question before him, and drew nearer, urging the matter. But as their eyes fell upon the words written in the sand, fear and surprise took possession of them. The people, looking on, saw their countenances suddenly change, and pressed forward to discover what they were regarding with such an expression of astonishment and shame.

Many of those who thus gathered round also read the record of hidden sin inscribed against these accusers of another. Then Jesus "lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground." The accusers saw that Jesus not only knew the secrets of their past sins, but was acquainted with their purpose in bringing this case before him, and had in his matchless wisdom defeated their deeply laid scheme. They now became fearful lest Jesus would expose their guilt to all present, and they therefore "being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst."

There was not one of her accusers but was more guilty than the conscience-stricken woman who stood trembling with shame before him. After the Pharisees had hastily left the presence of Christ, in their guilty consternation, he arose and looked upon the woman, saying, "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more."

Jesus did not palliate sin nor lessen the sense of crime; but he came not to condemn; he came to lead sinners to eternal life. The world looked upon this erring woman as one to be slighted and scorned; but the pure and holy Jesus stooped to address her with words of comfort, encouraging her to reform her life. Instead of to condemn the guilty, his work was to reach into the very depths of human woe and degradation, lift up the debased and sinful, and bid the trembling penitent to "sin no more." When the woman stood before Jesus, cowering under the accusation of the Pharisees and a sense of the enormity of her crime, she knew that her life was trembling in the balance, and that a word from Jesus would add fuel to the indignation of the crowd, so that they would immediately stone her to death.

Her eyes droop before the calm and searching glance of Christ. Stricken with shame, she is unable to look upon that holy countenance. As she thus stands waiting for sentence to be passed upon her, the words fall upon her astonished ears that not only deliver her from her accusers, but send them away convicted of greater crimes than hers. After they are gone, she hears the mournfully solemn words: "Neither do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more." Her heart melts with penitential grief; and, with gratitude to her Deliverer, she bows at the feet of Jesus sobbing out in broken accents the emotions of her heart, and confessing her sins with bitter tears.

This was the beginning of a new life to this tempted, fallen soul, a life of purity and peace, devoted to the service of God. In raising this woman to a life of virtue, Jesus performed a greater act than that of healing the most grievous bodily malady; he cured the sickness of the soul which is unto death everlasting. This penitent woman became one of the firmest friends of Jesus. She repaid his forgiveness and compassion, with a self-sacrificing love and worship. Afterward, when she stood sorrow-stricken at the foot of the cross, and saw the dying agony on the face of her Lord, and heard his bitter cry, her soul was pierced afresh; for she knew that this sacrifice was on account of sin; and her responsibility as one whose deep guilt had helped to bring about this anguish of the Son of God, seemed very heavy indeed. She felt that those pangs that pierced the Saviour's frame were for her; the blood that flowed from his wounds was to blot out her record of sin; the groans which escaped from his dying lips were caused by her transgression. Her heart ached with a sorrow past all expression, and she felt that a life of self-abnegating atonement would poorly compensate for the gift of life, purchased for her at such an infinite price.

In his act of pardoning, and encouraging this fallen woman to live a better life, the character of Jesus shines forth in the beauty of a perfect righteousness. Knowing not the taint of sin himself, he pities the weakness of the erring one, and reaches to her a helping hand. The self-righteous and hypocritical Pharisees denounce, and the tumultuous crowd is ready to stone and slay, and the trembling victim waits for death—Jesus, the Friend of sinners, bids her, "Go and sin no more."

It is not the true follower of Christ who turns from the erring with cold, averted eyes, leaving them unrestrained to pursue their downward course. Christian charity is slow to censure, quick to detect penitence, ready to forgive, to encourage, to set the wanderer in the path of virtue, and stay his feet therein.

The wisdom displayed by Jesus on this occasion, in defending himself against the designs of his enemies, and the evidence which he gave them that he knew the hidden secrets of their lives, the conviction that he pressed home upon the guilty consciences of the very men who were seeking to destroy him, were sufficient evidence of his divine character. Jesus also taught another important lesson in this scene: That those who are ever forward to accuse others, quick to detect them in wrong, and zealous that they should be brought to justice, are often guiltier in their own lives than those whom they accuse. Many who beheld the whole scene were led to compare the pardoning compassion of Jesus with the unrelenting spirit of the Pharisees, to whom mercy was a stranger; and they turned to the pitying Saviour as unto one who would lead the repentant sinner into peace and security.

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Jesus had represented himself, in his relation to fallen man, as a fountain of living water, to which all who thirst may come and drink. The brilliant lights in the temple illuminated all Jerusalem, and he now used these lights to represent his relation to the world. In clear and thrilling tones he declared: "I am the light of the world." As the radiant lamps of the temple lit up the whole city, so Christ, the source of spiritual light, illuminated the darkness of a world lying in sin. His manner was so impressive, and his words carried with them such a weight of truth, that many were there convicted that he was indeed the Son of God. But the Pharisees, ever ready to contradict him, accused him of egotism, saying, "Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true." Jesus, answering their objections, asserted again his divine commission:—

"Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true; for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I came and whither I go." They were ignorant of his divine character and mission because they had not searched the prophecies concerning the Messiah, as it was their privilege and duty to do. They had no connection with God and Heaven, and therefore did not comprehend the work of the Saviour of the world, and, though they had received the most convincing evidence that Jesus was the Saviour, yet they refused to open their minds to understand. At first they had set their hearts against him, and refused to believe the strongest proof of his divinity, and, as a consequence, their hearts had grown harder until they were determined not to believe nor accept him.

"Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet, if I judge, my judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me." Thus he declared that he was sent of God, to do his work. He had not consulted with priests nor rulers as to the course he was to pursue; for his commission was from the highest authority, even the Creator of the universe. Jesus, in his sacred office, had taught the people, had relieved suffering, had forgiven sin, and had cleansed the temple, which was his Father's house, and driven out its desecrators from its sacred portals; he had condemned the hypocritical lives of the Pharisees, and reproved their hidden sins; and in all this he had acted under the instruction of his Heavenly Father. For this reason they hated him and sought to kill him. Jesus declared to them: "Ye are from beneath; I am from above. Ye are of this world; I am not of this world."

"When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me." "And he that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." These words were spoken with thrilling power, and, for the time, closed the lips of the Pharisees, and caused many of those who listened with attentive minds to unite with Jesus, believing him to be the Son of God. To these believing ones he said, "If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." But to the Pharisees who rejected him, and who hardened their hearts against him, he declared: "I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins; whither I go, ye cannot come."

But the Pharisees took up his words, addressed to those who believed, and commented upon them, saying, "We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man; how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?" Jesus looked upon these men—the slaves of unbelief and bitter malice, whose thoughts were bent upon revenge—and answered them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin." They were in the worst of bondage, ruled by the spirit of evil. Jesus declared to them that if they were the true children of Abraham, and lived in obedience to God, they would not seek to kill one who was speaking the truth that was given him of God. This was not doing the works of Abraham, whom they claimed as their father.

Jesus, with startling emphasis, denied that the Jews were following the example of Abraham. Said he, "Ye do the deeds of your father." The Pharisees, partly comprehending his meaning, said, "We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." But Jesus answered them: "If God were your Father, ye would love me; for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me." The Pharisees had turned from God, and refused to recognize his Son. If their minds had been open to the love of God, they would have acknowledged the Saviour who was sent to the world by him. Jesus boldly revealed their desperate condition:—

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not." These words were spoken with sorrowful pathos, as Jesus realized the terrible condition into which these men had fallen. But his enemies heard him with uncontrollable anger; although his majestic bearing, and the mighty weight of the truths he uttered, held them powerless. Jesus continued to draw the sharp contrast between their position and that of Abraham, whose children they claimed to be:—

"Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad." The Jews listened incredulously to this assertion, and said, sneeringly, "Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" Jesus, with a lofty dignity that sent a thrill of conviction through their guilty souls, answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." For a moment, silence fell upon all the people, as the grand and awful import of these words dawned upon their minds. But the Pharisees, speedily recovering from the influence of his words, and fearing their effect upon the people, commenced to create an uproar, railing at him as a blasphemer. "Then took they up stones to cast at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."

TRIUMPH OF FAITH.

By Mrs. M. A. Kellogg

"Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul."

WHEN my heart is over burdened With its weary weight of woe, Tremblingly it shrinks and falters At the furnace' fiery glow.

When my bleeding footsteps linger On the dusty road at even, Then I need thee, precious Jesus, Let my sins be all forgiven.

Oh, for strength to bear life's burdens! Oh, for grace to act my part! All thy precepts, pure and holy, Write them now upon my heart.

Tho' the shrinking flesh may quiver, Yet the spirit strong and free, Says, "my Lord, my Friend, and Saviour, I will suffer still with thee."

Where my Captain leads I'll follow, Though all earthly ties be riven, Gladly suffer in the warfare Till the glad discharge be given.

"Come ye blessed of my Father," All the ransomed ones will hear; "Behold, I gird myself and serve you! Share with me this heavenly cheer."

Heated brows will cease their throbbing As the helmet is laid down, And the loving hand of Jesus Places there a starry crown.

'Twill be enough to share the glories Of that world of bliss untold, To be forever with our Saviour, And wear the victor's crown of gold.

MRS. M. A. KELLOGG.

Madison, Dakota.

The Perfection of a Creaturely World

A creaturely world, which should be in itself so perfectly organized, that it did not admit the intervention of God in it, without suffering a disturbance of its course, would be a limitation for God, and consequently as a creature, a most imperfect world.

God’s Name in Nature

The Infinite has sowed his name in the heavens in burning stars, but in the earth He has sowed His name in tender flowers.

The Immortality of the Soul—History of the Doctrine.

(Continued.)

PLATO.

THE greatest name that appears in the history of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul is that of PLATO. He was a Greek, was born B. C. 428, and was one of the greatest philosophers of antiquity. "The influence of this sublime autocrat," says Alger, "in the realms of intellect, has transcended calculation. However coldly his thoughts may have been regarded by his cotemporary countrymen, they soon obtained cosmopolitan audience, and, surviving the ravages of time and ignorance, overleaping the bars of rival schools and sects, appreciated and diffused by the loftiest spirits of succeeding ages, closely blended with their own speculations by many Christian theologians, have held an almost unparalleled dominion over the minds of millions of men for more than fifty generations." (Doctrine of a Future Life, p. 185.)

Those who believe the soul immortal, now quote his views on that subject with great satisfaction. So much did he do for that doctrine that he is often called the father of it. Mr. Anthon expresses the sentiment which has led so many Christians to put Plato almost on a level with the Bible when he says: "Whoever studies Plato is treading on holy ground. So heathens always felt it; so even Christians confessed." (Classical Dict., art. Plato.)

The reason why Plato is thus honored by Christians is revealed in the following statement of another author: "Plato is also celebrated as the first of the ancient philosophers who distinctly taught the doctrine of the immortality of the soul." That it was not very plainly taught before, we have already seen. It needed the genius of a Plato to invent arguments to prove the soul immortal; and Christians, in their defense of this doctrine, have only been able to take up and repeat his arguments. This fact Dr. Knapp thus honestly confesses: "In the varied web of proof [of the immortality of the soul] in our modern philosophical schools, the chief threads, and, as it were, the entire material, are of Grecian origin." "The followers of Socrates, however, did the most for this doctrine, and especially Plato." (Chris. Theol., pp. 521, 522.) Enfield says, "Even to the present day Plato has many followers; his writings still give a tincture to the speculations and language of philosophy and theology." (Hist. of Phil., p. 115.)

This is true; hence we shall be interested to learn about Plato and his doctrine of the soul. At the age of twenty Plato became the disciple of Socrates. At the end of eight years, Socrates dying, he left Greece in search of wisdom. "He first visited that part of Italy called Magna Græcia, where a celebra ted school of philosophy had been established by Pythagoras, and was instructed in all the mysteries of the Pythagorean system, the subtleties of which he afterward too freely blended with the simple doctrine of Socrates." (Ibid., p. 116.)

Thus at an early period we find Plato a disciple of the Pythagoreans, and freely receiving their doctrines, the chief of which was the immortality of the soul. Then he traveled into Egypt. Of this event Enfield says, "Wherever he came he obtained information from the Egyptian priests." (Hist. of Phil., p. 116.) "Whilst studious youth were crowding to Athens from every quarter in search of Plato for their master, that philosopher was wandering along the banks of the Nile, or the plains of a barbarous country, himself a disciple of the old men of Egypt." (Valerius Maximus, book viii. chap. vii.)

Returning to Greece, laden with all the theories of Socrates, Pythagoras, and the Egyptian priests concerning the nature of the soul, he proceeded to remodel and refine their doctrine according to his own fancy, and he brought it much nearer the present view on that subject than it had before been. Of this fact the historian says, "Plato himself, whilst he enriched his system with stores from the magazine of Pythagoras, accommodated the Pythagorean doctrines, as he also did those of his master, Socrates, to his own system." (Enfield's Hist. of Phil., p. 221.) Mosheim says, "Plato falsely attributed to Socrates what he had either learned from the Pythagoreans, or had himself feigned, in order to obtain for it greater currency." (Cudworth's Intel. Sys., vol. i. p. 264, note.) What Plato represents Socrates as saying in the Phædo about the immortality of the soul, is only Plato's own words and ideas put into the mouth of Socrates; hence these sayings afford no proof that Socrates ever held or taught that doctrine.

On this subject Enfield says: "Socrates left behind him nothing in writing; but his illustrious pupils, Xenophon and Plato, have in some measure supplied this defect. The memoirs of Socrates, written by Xenophon, afford, however, a much more accurate idea of the opinions of Socrates, and of his manner of teaching, than the dialogues of Plato, who everywhere mixes his own conceptions and diction, and, as we shall afterwards see, those of other philosophers, with the ideas and language of his master. It is related, that when Socrates heard Plato recite his Lysis, he said, ‘How much does this young man make me say which I never conceived.’ Xenophon denies that Socrates ever taught natural philosophy or any mathematical science, and charges with misrepresentation and falsehood those who had ascribed to him dissertations of this kind; probably referring to Plato, in whose works Socrates is introduced as discoursing upon these subjects." (Hist. of Phil., p. 100.)

"When he [Plato] was twenty years old he became a stated disciple of Socrates, and remained with him in that relation eight years. During this period he frequently displeased the followers of Socrates, and sometimes gave Socrates himself occasion of complaint, by mixing foreign tenets with those of his master, and grafting upon the Socratic system opinions which were taken from some other stock." (Ibid., p. 116.)

"It is remarkable," says Leland, "that though there were several sects of philosophers which professed to derive their origin from Socrates, scarcely any of them taught the immortality of the soul as the doctrine of their schools, except Plato and his disciples, and many even of these treated it as absolutely uncertain." (Necessity of Revelation, vol. ii. p. 139.)

PLATO'S DOCTRINE.

Having found the fountain whence Plato drew his doctrines, we will now briefly examine his theory of the soul. We find him agreeing with his master, Pythagoras, in the following particulars: 1. The pre-existence of the soul; 2. That it was an emanation from God; 3. That it was immortal; 4. That it transmigrated through different bodies; 5. That it would finally be absorbed into the Deity. We shall also find that he further improved and spiritualized this doctrine.

Plato made the soul more ethereal than his predecessors had considered it, though he still held it to be material.
He made the soul the real man.
He made the body a prison, a real hindrance to the soul.
Death was simply the freeing of the soul from gross matter, that it might act with more freedom.
Plato made the transmigration of the soul a moral doctrine instead of one of necessity, as it had been held before.

Enfield thus describes Plato's doctrine of God and matter: "Plato supposes two eternal and independent causes of all things; the one, that by which all things were made, which is God; the other, that from which all things are made, which is matter." (Hist. of Phil., p. 129.)

Plato held that God did not create matter, but simply molded it. He taught that baneful doctrine that matter is the source and origin of all evil.

Says a learned author: "It was also a doctrine of Plato that there is in matter a necessary, but blind and refractory, force; and that hence arises a propensity in matter to disorder and deformity, which is the cause of all the imperfections which appear in the works of God, and the origin of evil." (Ibid., p. 130.) This is the cause of the mixture of good and evil which is found in the material world. The effect of this doctrine is to degrade matter and exalt mind, or the soul.

Again, the above author continues: "Visible things were regarded by Plato as fleeting shades, and ideas, as the only permanent substances. These he conceived to be the proper objects of science, to a mind raised by divine contemplation above the perpetually varying scenes of the material world." (Ibid., p. 132.) Here the same effort is seen to decry matter and exalt pure mind, spirit, or soul.

"Still further he taught," says the historian, "that the body is a prison, from which the soul must be released before it can arrive at the knowledge of those things which are real and immutable." (Ibid., p. 136.) In answer to the question how they should bury him, Plato makes Socrates say: "Just as you please, if only you can catch me." And do not "say at my interment that Socrates is laid out, or is carried out, or is buried." (Phædo, Bohn's Library, pp. 124, 125.) How many Christian funeral sermons have been modeled after this old heathen philosophizing!

One fact is worthy of special attention; viz., that Plato places his doctrine of the human soul at the head of his philosophy. Thus testifies Enfield: "Plato refers to the head of the philosophy of nature his doctrine concerning the human soul,—a doctrine which he treats obscurely on the ground of his assumed hypothesis concerning spiritual emanations from the divine nature. He appears to have taught that the soul of man is derived by emanation from God; but that emanation was not immediate, but through the intervention of the soul of the world, which was itself debased by some material admixture, and, consequently, that the human soul, receding further from the first intelligence, is inferior in perfection to the soul of the world. . . . The relation which the human soul, in its original constitution, bears to matter, Plato appears to have considered as the source of moral evil. Since the soul of the world, by partaking of matter, has within itself the seeds of evil, he inferred that this must be the case still more with respect to the soul of man. . . .

"To account for the origin and present state of human souls, Plato supposes that when God formed the universe, he separated from the soul of the world inferior souls, equal in number to the stars, and assigned to each its proper celestial abode; but that these souls (by what means or for what reason does not appear) were sent down to the earth into human bodies, as into a sepulcher or prison. He ascribes to this cause the depravity and misery to which human nature is liable; and maintains that it is only by disengaging itself from all animal passions, and rising above sensible objects to the contemplation of the world of intelligence, that the soul of man can be prepared to return to its original habitation." (Hist. of Phil., p. 134.)

Thus we see that Plato held that the soul was a spiritual emanation from God; that the source of all evil is in matter; that the body is a prison for the soul; that by contemplation the soul may return to God, etc. "Lastly, Plato teaches, in express terms, the doctrine of the immortality of the rational soul; but he has rested the proof of this doctrine upon arguments drawn from the more farciful parts of his system." (Ibid., p. 135.)

The learned Mr. Anthon thus relates Plato's arguments for the soul's immortality, as found in the Phædo. Be it remembered that in this dialogue Socrates is only used as a mouth-piece through which Plato expresses his own ideas. "Socrates," writes Anthon, "undertakes to prove the immortality of the soul by its spirituality; and we have here the first traces of a demonstration which modern philosophy, under the guidance of Revelation [?], has carried on to so successful a result. The doctrine which Plato here puts into the mouth of Socrates is not entirely pure; it is amalgamated with the Pythagorean hypothesis of the metempsychosis, and with all sorts of fables borrowed from the Greek mythology." (Classical Dict., art. Plato.)

Here we have Plato proving the immortality of the soul by its spirituality, though this he did not mean pure immortality, as is now taught. This was the first trace of that idea which modern Christian philosophy has carried on. This shows the origin of the doctrine. Plato was its legitimate father.

Plato taught that the transmigrations which any soul has to undergo are for its sins. When it is freed from sin, it will be freed from transmigrating, will no longer be connected with a natural body, will be returned to God, and be re-absorbed into his being. If a soul has sinned much, and is very vile, it will be born into the body of a degraded animal, as a pig or a dog. If it has been pretty good, it will occupy the body of a better animal, as a horse or a man, etc. Warburton and Knapp say this was a refinement of Plato's upon the original doctrine of transmigration. This was the only hell that Plato believed in. The vulgar notions of hell, hades, tartarus, and the torments there, he rejected as fables, though he often speaks of them in an accommodation to the popular notion. So say Leland and others.

Plato held that the soul was a part of God. Thus writes Bishop Warburton: "Plato, without any softening, frequently calls the soul God, and a part of God." (Divine Lega., vol. ii. p. 220.) This is one of his strongest proofs of the soul's immortality. As a part of God, it will be re-absorbed into him either at death or as soon as it is sufficiently purified by transmigration. With Plato, the soul was immortal only as a part of God, into whom it would finally be re-absorbed, and lose all personal existence.

(To be Continued.)

Christ Our Saviour

THE bad fact of sin is still in the world. And by sin, we mean, not a mere mishap that ensues upon a lack of knowing; not the inconvenience that follows, as a necessity, from the abilities of a finite intelligence, but the actual loss that comes to souls by wilful and positive wrong-doing. Sin being still here, and having the race and the individual in its death-grip, we still need a Saviour, who, by renewal in us, makes us able to break out of its fetters and be free. A real, tender, strong Saviour is still the most quickening and blessed tidings announced among men. Law is good, Science is good, but personal Love and Help are better. We understand quite well why so great a spirit as Paul could say, "Jesus Christ is all and in all." For if it were not for this ever replenishing Christ, humanity would be neither equal to utter a science nor obey a law.

Prejudice against Truth.

By Editor

[H. D. Clarke, who labored with Eld. Rogers in the Seventh day Baptist tent the past summer, gives in the Sabbath Recorder the following conversation with a minister on the subject of the Sabbath. We notice that those of that denomination who are, providentially as we trust, led out to labor more directly in the cause of Sabbath reform, come more in sympathy with the efforts and the means put forth by the S. D. Adventists. May the blessing of Heaven attend all alike who are trying to lift up the standard of the Sabbath of Jehovah, and his down-trodden precept. ED. SIGNS.]

"I called yesterday upon a reverend gentleman, and after a pleasant conversation with his family, I asked him if he had decided to keep all the blessed commandments of God, and that included the fourth. He did not wish to consider the matter or talk about it, but I pressed the question, when he said he felt well satisfied with his Sunday. 'My father and mother kept Sunday, were good people, and have gone to heaven, and I do not wish to depart from their practice.' 'But' I replied; 'your sainted father and mother might not have had the light that you receive.' 'Well, if I keep the rest of the commandments, I think it will be well with me at last. Why has God so blessed us while we kept Sunday?' One of the family remarked that 'God never named the days of the week, hence we did not know whether Sunday was first or seventh day.'"

""Did you ever read the first chapter of Genesis?""

""Yes, sir.""

""Do you claim "lost time," so you do not know when First-day comes?""

""No, sir; there has been no lost time.""

""What, then, do you think of the fourth commandment?""

""The commandment does not say keep the seventh day, but a seventh part of time.""

""Will you repeat the commandment just as it reads?""

""Well, it don't mean the seventh day.""

""Do you, then, feel satisfied that any week day may be observed as the Sabbath?""

""I desire uniformity about it.""

""Very well, for the sake of uniformity, if all parties will consent to it, would you be willing to keep holy the Wednesday?""

""No. It must be Sunday!""

"Such is the argument of a religious teacher and his excellent family. Did ever mortal listen to such nonsense? 'It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.'"

"Such conversations are numerous with professed gospel ministers, and a fair sample of their loose notions and lack of conscientiousness on vital questions of the day. 'Like priests, like people.' May God stir up his people as never before to see the darkness of the times."

Fourteen Days of Happiness out of Fifty Years' Reign.

ABDOULTRAHMAN was one of the richest kings in history. He was one of the Moorish kings in Spain, and his life runs somewhat like Soloman. His palaces were among the finest in the world; more than one thousand marbles, brought from Spain, Africa, and Germany, adorned his mansion. His chairs, knives, forks and plates were made of gold, and his waiters were dressed in the most gorgeous manner. Pictures framed with gold and marble, inlaid with gold and precious metals, were set about the walls. His subjects were all servants. At the chase, twelve thousand horsemen, dressed in the most brilliant and gorgeous apparel, attended him. His hunting pavilion was of vast dimensions. He had all the earth could give, and yet he had no enjoyment and a few years after his death the following was published:—

“From the moment when I began to reign, I have recorded those days in which I enjoyed real and undisturbed pleasure. They amount to fourteen. Nothing seemed wanting to my happiness; riches, honors, to say everything, sovereign power. Fifty years have I reigned, and in so long a course of time can count but fourteen days which have not been poisoned by some vexation. Mortal man, consider what this world is and what dependence is to be placed upon its enjoyment. Alas! such moralizings are idle to change the course of the moralist, for they come from the late discovery that all is vanity.”

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