Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 44. (11/18/1886)

Signs of the Times

Nov 18, 1886

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 18, 1886

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

The Value of Prayer.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

"The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers."

WE are told that Elijah "was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly," and his prayer was answered. A royal decree was signed in the courts of Babylon, that if for thirty days any man asked a petition of any God or man, save of Darius the king, he should be cast into the lions' den; but Daniel, notwithstanding he knew of the decree, failed not to pray three times a day, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, as he had done before the decree was made; and the God whom he served continually, delivered him out of the power of the lions. These holy men knew the value of communion with God.

When Jesus was upon earth, and walked a man among the children of men, he prayed, and oh, how earnest were his prayers! How often he spent the whole night upon the damp, cold ground, in agonizing supplication! And yet he was the beloved and sinless Son of God. If Jesus felt the necessity of communion with his Father, and manifested so much earnestness in calling upon him, how much more should we, whom he has called to be heirs of salvation, who are subject to the fiery temptations of the wily foe, and dependent upon divine grace for strength to overcome, have our whole souls stirred to wrestle with God. The language of our souls should be, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." But many have allowed their hearts to become overcharged with the cares of this life, and God and his word have been neglected.

The subjects of Satan, although they hate and war with one another, are active and united in the one object of destroying souls. They are vigilant in improving every opportunity to advance their common interest, and war against the kingdom of Christ. But He who is the great Commander in Heaven and on earth, has limited their power.

Satan is ever ready to insinuate that prayer is a mere form, and avails us nothing. He cannot bear to have his powerful rival appealed to. At the sound of fervent prayer, the hosts of darkness tremble. Fearing that their captive may escape, they form a wall around him, that Heaven's light may not reach his soul. But if in his distress and helplessness the sinner looks to Jesus, pleading the merits of his blood, our compassionate Redeemer listens to the earnest, persevering prayer of faith, and sends to his deliverance a re-enforcement of angels that excel in strength. And when these angels, all-powerful, clothed with the armory of Heaven, come to the help of the fainting, pursued soul, the angels of darkness fall back, well knowing that their battle is lost, and that one more soul is escaping from the power of their influence.

Prayer is the Christian's life. There is a remedy for the sin-sick soul, and that remedy is in Jesus. Precious Saviour! his grace is sufficient for the weakest, and the strongest must have his help or perish. A Christian has victory over his passions and besetments. I would not dishonor my Master so much as to admit that a careless, trifling, prayerless person is a Christian. It is the privilege of the Christian to enjoy the deep movings of the Spirit of God. A sweet, heavenly peace will pervade his mind. He will love to meditate upon God and Heaven, and to feast upon the glorious promises of the written word.

But how shall this victory over the world be obtained? Go to your closet, dear reader, and there plead with God: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Be in earnest; be sincere; Jacob-like, wrestle in prayer. Do not leave your closet until you feel strong in God. Remain until unutterable longings for salvation are awakened in your heart, and the sweet evidence is obtained of pardoned sin. Then when you leave your closet, watch; and so long as you watch and pray, the grace of God will appear in your life.

In no case neglect secret prayer; for it is the soul of religion. If you expect salvation, you must pray. Take time. Be not hurried and careless in your prayers. Intercede with God to work in you a thorough reformation, that the fruits of the Spirit may dwell in you, and that, by your godly life, you may shine as a light in the world. When you sincerely feel that without the help of God you perish, when you pant after him as the hart panteth after the water-brooks, then will the Lord strengthen you speedily, and you will have that peace that passeth understanding.

While you pray that you may not be led into temptation, remember that your work does not end with the prayer. You must then answer your own prayer as far as possible, by resisting temptation, and leave that which you cannot do for yourselves for Jesus to do for you. We cannot be too guarded in our words and deportment, lest we invite the enemy to approach us with his temptations. With the word of God for our guide, and Jesus for our heavenly teacher, we need not be ignorant of the divine requirements or of Satan's devices. And it will be no unpleasant task to be obedient to the will of God, when we yield ourselves fully to be directed by his Spirit.

Pray in the family. Morning and evening obtain the victory at your family altar. Let not your daily labor keep you from this duty. Take time to pray. And as you pray, believe that God hears you, have faith mixed with your prayers. Let faith take hold of the blessing, and it is yours.

In the morning the Christian's first thoughts should be of God. Come before him with humility, with a heart full of tenderness, and with a sense of the temptations and dangers that surround yourself and your children. Morning and evening, by earnest prayer and persevering faith, make a hedge about your children. Patiently instruct them; kindly and untiringly teach them how to live so that they may please God.

Teach your children reverence for God and the hour of prayer. The Lord our God is holy, and his name is to be treated with great reverence. Angels are displeased and disgusted with the irreverent manner in which the name of God, the great Jehovah, is sometimes used in prayer. They mention that name with the greatest awe, even veiling their faces when they speak the name of God; the name of Christ also is sacred, and is spoken with the greatest reverence. And those who in their prayers use the name of God in a common and flippant manner, have no sense of the exalted character of God, of Christ, or of heavenly things.

Pray in faith. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Prevailing prayer is the prayer of living faith; it takes God at his word, and claims his promises. Feeling has nothing to do with faith. When faith brings the blessing to your heart, and you rejoice in the blessing, then it is no more faith, but feeling. How strange it is that men will put confidence in the word of their fellow-men, and yet find it so hard to exercise living faith in God! The promises are ample; why not accept them just as they read? "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"

Every petition that is offered to God in faith, and with a true heart, will be answered. Such prayer is never lost; but to claim that it will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire, is presumption. God is too wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly. Then do not fear to trust him even though you do not see the immediate answer to your prayers. Rely upon his sure promise, "Ask, and ye shall receive."

Fervent and effectual prayer will be regarded in Heaven. It is the privilege of Christians to obtain strength from God to hold every precious gift of his Spirit. The power of God has not decreased. His grace and his Spirit will be just as freely bestowed now as formerly. It is the church of God that have lost their faith to claim, their energy to wrestle, as did Jacob, crying, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." Enduring faith has been dying away, and must be revived in the hearts of God's people. There must be a claiming of the blessing of God. Living faith always hears upward to God and glory; unbelief, downward to darkness and death.

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." We can overcome, fully, entirely. Jesus died to make a way of escape for us, that by prevailing prayer by his grace, we might overcome every temptation, every subtle snare of the adversary, and at last sit down with him in his kingdom.

Basel, Switzerland.

JESUS AT THE DOOR.

By Frank Hope

BY FRANK HOPE.

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Rev. 3:20.

JESUS, thou the world's Redeemer, Canst thou deign to dwell with me, A rebellious, fallen sinner, One who was thine enemy?

Tell, oh tell me, dare I suffer Thee to enter this abode? What to thee have I to offer, Save my guilty soul's foul load?

But thou, Jesus, still art knocking At the portal of my heart, And shall I, thy mercy mocking, Bid thee from my soul depart?

Nay, but knock thou ever harder, Till thou break this heart of stone; Come, oh come thou ever nearer, Till I see but thee alone.

Sanctification.—No. 2.

By A. S. Hutchins

THE sanctification recognized and enjoined by the Bible is not partial in application nor superficial in character. Its office is to change the entire man. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5:17.

Says Paul: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thess. 5:23. One sanctified "wholly," then, is sanctified spirit, soul, and body; and this must embrace the whole man.

I think it cannot be denied that the apostle in the prayer here quoted has special reference to the last church, certainly not if read in connection with the fourth chapter, verses 13-18, and in connection with the first verses of the fifth chapter. We, then, as a people, should be deeply interested in the subject, for in addition to the prayer for the entire sanctification, he adds, "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." Here is positive proof that this work will be accomplished.

By the term spirit, in the text under consideration, we understand the apostle to mean the mind, the same as in Colossians 2:5. This, with all its God-given faculties and powers, should be consecrated to our Creator. The mind may be "carnal," "enmity against God," "not subject to the law of God;" or it may be such that with it we may serve the law of God.

It was not until Paul had so learned to reverence the will of God, and had brought his own will in subjection to it, as to enable him to meekly pen the truth, "so, then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God," that he could exclaim in joyful accents, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

And here we notice some of the faculties of the mind, all of which will bear unmistakable evidence of having experienced the work of sanctification, when the spirit shall be wholly sanctified.

1. We notice attention. The teacher, however much devoted to his work, or however faithful he may be, can do but little for his pupil till he can secure his attention. And it is no less true that we can know but little of God or his will concerning us till we give attention to his gracious calls; hence the repeated appeals of his word, "Hear, O Israel." "And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep and do them." Deut. 5:1.

2. Affections. These in the progressive work of sanctification, must be supremely set on God, his work, and on his law. Deut. 6:4, 5; Ps. 19:8-10. Affection brings the mind to bear upon the object of its choice. Affections, as they respect religion, have been defined to be the "vigorous and sensible exercise of the inclinations and will of the soul towards religious objects." Another says: "Now in order to ascertain whether our affections are excited in a spiritual manner, we must inquire whether that which moves our affections be truly spiritual; whether our consciences be alarmed, and our hearts impressed; whether the judgment be enlightened, and we have a perception of the moral excellency of divine things; and lastly, whether our affections have a holy tendency and produce the happy effects of obedience to God, humility in ourselves, and justice to our fellow-creatures."

Says the apostle, "Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Why is it so hard for some to part friendship with the world and become friends of God, to raise the affection above "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life"? Oh, they are not dead to the world! Their life is not hid with Christ in God; if it were, they would find objects of heavenly birth all glorious, attractive, and lovely for their affections to twine around, and fix their thoughts upon. They do not love the appearing of Him who is our life as they should, nor do they anticipate the day with joy when all the saints shall appear with him in glory.

"Bright are the crowns that we hope soon to wear, Blessed the rest, oh! we long to be there."

3. Meditation. This faculty of the mind has an important part to act in building up, solidifying, and balancing the mental man. Indeed, it may be said to be as important here, as are the digestion and assimilation of food to the physical system. Meditation "in religion is used to signify the serious exercise of the understanding, whereby our thoughts are fixed on the observation of spiritual things, in order to practice them."

As proper and healthful food tends to the development of a strong and vigorous body, so suitable matter for thought and meditation tends to the development of a wise and prudent mind. On this point we have some worthy scriptural examples and precepts. Please read Psalms 1:2; 63:6; 77:12. Again says David, "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands."

Meditation upon the works of God fills the most profound mind, the loftiest aspirations, with admiration, delight, and untold joy. In all things, from the dewdrop that trembles upon the leaf to the vast expanse of the ocean's rolling waters; from the spire of grass or tiny flower to the towering mountains, the grand, stately trees of the forest, or the myriads of worlds which fill the immensity of space, we read of the handiwork of God, and as we read, every intelligent, devout heart joins with infinite wisdom in pronouncing them "very good." Yea, we anticipate the song of the redeemed and exclaim, "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints."

As Christian men and women, as ministers of the gospel, we should meditate upon our solemn work, and the preparation of heart to engage in it. The spiritual father of Timothy, in writing to him of his personal preparation for the ministry, his work, and his gift, exhorts him thus: "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all." 1 Tim. 4:15.

4. Memory. This faculty of the mind presents to us ideas and views of the past and makes them real and present. If this faculty were sanctified, no doubt heavenly truths and divine things could be remembered much better. Persons of "such a poor memory" remember many things they should not. It is to be regretted that many, old and young, can remember so little of a subject they may read, or the nature of a sermon they may hear preached, which is one continuous chain of valuable thought. The apostle seemed to realize this when he wrote to his Hebrew brethren, "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard." The aged and very feeble may not be able to remember as once they could, but if they have grown in grace so they have not "forgotten" that they were "purged from their old sins," they should be thankful and take courage, for the word of God profits them as it runs through the mind.

It is as lamentable as true that the great majority of professed Christians have so far forgotten the only commandment in the decalogue which contains the word and command "remember," as to entirely disregard the day that God blessed and sanctified, to keep in memory his creative works. They talk and sing of sanctification, claiming to enjoy it, and trample his Sabbath under foot, with his word blazing before them: "I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." Eze. 20:12. We have shown that it is not the office of the Spirit alone to sanctify the believer.

5. Imagination. This ability certainly needs the moulding hand of sanctification laid upon it, for with many it is seriously inclined to make mischief in the family of faculties, in the household, and in the neighborhood, and it has been known to make trouble in the church. We have heard of it of old, and of its evil work. Gen. 6:5. The flood did not wash it from the earth (Gen. 8:21), but it can, by the grace of God, be brought in subjection and in obedience to the will of Christ. 2 Cor. 10:5.

6. Judgment. The fear and service of God are not calculated to make man wild and fanatical, nor to unbalance him, taking his judgment from him. "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." Job 28:28. "A good understanding have all they that do his commandments." The fear of God, then, which leads to the keeping of his commandments, does not dethrone reason, but rather strengthens, informs, and sanctifies the judgment.

7. The will. This king of all the faculties may and must be brought to experience the power of sanctifying grace, or the work is but partially done on the mind; and when this is accomplished, the child of God can say with the suffering Redeemer, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done." Luke 22:42. And again, "I seek not mine own will; but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

And this implies a submission and reconciliation of all the faculties of the mind to God. Unspeakably blest is the man brought to this state of communion with his Maker. Here may we work out our "own salvation with fear and trembling. For," saith the apostle, "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:12, 13.

Love.

LOVE to Christ smooths the path of duty, and wings the feet to travel it; it is the bow which impels the arrow of obedience; it is the mainspring moving the wheels of duty; it is the strong arm tugging the oar of diligence. Love is the marrow of the bones of fidelity, the blood in the veins of piety, the sinews of spiritual strength; yea, the life of sincere devotion. He that hath love can no more be motionless than the aspen in the gale, the sear leaf in the hurricane, or the spray in the tempest. As well may hearts cease to beat as love to labor. Love is instinct with activity; it cannot be idle; it is full of energy; it cannot content itself with littles; it is the well-spring of heroism, and great deeds are the gushings of its fountain; it is a giant; it heapeth mountains upon mountains and thinketh the pile but little; it is a mighty mystery, for it changes bitter into sweet; it calls death life, and life death; and it makes pain less painful than enjoyment.—Sel.

Eternal Life.

By R. Hare

This is the boon, the priceless boon, that God has promised "to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality."

The fact that eternal life is given only "to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality," shows clearly that there will be a class who will not receive this gift, for all do not continue in well doing. Of the wicked man the prophet says: "Shall he then live? he shall not live; . . . he shall surely die." And the apostle says: "Ye know that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." Then when we remember that the law of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; and that hatred against a brother (Matt. 5:22) will bar our way to eternal life, the Master's declaration, "Few there be that find it," will not appear so circumscribed.

God will not force this priceless gift upon any. The theory of inherent immortality is as fabulous in its structure as the great lie on which it is built. "Ye shall not surely die," is the devil's statement, while God had declared, "Thou shalt surely die." If you have any doubts on the question, go to the grave-yard, and there read over ten thousand graves as many mournful attestations to the awful truthfulness of God's decision.

The crown of life is held out before us, an eternal prize, offered by the infinite God; no human mind can ever estimate its value. No mathematical calculation can ever determine its worth. None can by any means purchase it. It still remains, and will remain, God's free gift. He who left the glory-circled throne; he who trod the earth a stranger and died under its scorn; he who burst the fetters of the tomb and exclaimed with a voice that echoed through the hollow caverns of death, "I am alive forevermore," he declares, "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish."

Yes, the crown of life is free, and Heaven is free to all; but the unholy shall never wear that crown nor walk the golden streets. James tells us the Lord has promised the crown of life to them that love him, and the scriptural definition of love is given by John, "This is love, that we walk after his commandments." 2 John 6. We are thus brought to the conclusion that only those who keep God's law can inherit eternal life; and from this conclusion springs another equally logical, that the "patient continuance in well doing" spoken of by Paul, the love of God set forth by John, and the Master's narrow way, are synonymous, and all focalize in the great principles of supreme love to God and equal love for our fellows.

Truly the way is narrow, truly it leads to life; and while many are flattering themselves in the possession of a boasted immortality, the voice that cannot err calls in awful warning, "Few there be that find it." R. HARE.

Signs of Decaying Religious Interest.

By William Cowper Prime

PERHAPS memory deceives me, and there was not so much more devotion in the Sunday gatherings of fifty years ago than now. But, as a rule, there is very little now. The people do not appear to come together for worship. The experience of ages teaches that people who are religiously educated will habitually assemble regularly for the worship of their God, doing it both as a pleasure and a duty.

It is not easy to induce men and women to assemble once or twice a week, for months, years, life-times, to hear lectures, essays, sermons, however instructive or eloquent. This is specially true of the young. In the large majority of country congregations it is quite evident that the people assembled have little idea of any purpose of personal worship.

There was a time when controversy ran high about the proper posture in prayer. It proved that men had at least the conviction that some specific outward sign of inward humility was proper. It is now the general custom to ignore all outward formalities. It is rare, in "orthodox" churches, to see any one even bow the head or close the eyes while the minister prays. In many churches all the congregation sit bolt upright and stare at the man in the pulpit, or look around.

A striking custom prevails in many churches, where a choir, located at the end opposite the pulpit, does the singing. All the people, old and young, rise, turn their backs to the pulpit, and look at the choir in silence, while that part of the service is performed. One is tempted in this connection to speak of the doggerel stuff which has taken the place of the old psalms and hymns which were once the grand liturgy of the church of every denomination. But whatever it is, the people stare and listen. It is evident that they have come to see and hear, to use eyes and ears only; not to take part in the services.—W. C. Prime, in New Princeton Review.

Lovers of Pleasure.

PERSONS will pay to be amused. The Boston correspondent of the Cape Cod Item gleans a few figures regarding this matter:—

In twenty-six weeks one lady of fair face and damaged reputation, drew $256,000 from the pockets of the public, and in twenty-four weeks another of similar character drew $390,000; a singer in her first tour drew $226,000, and another singer in fifty-eight concerts drew over $200,000; an actor drew $280,000; and another actor, $315,000.

Here are "six stars," averaging to work twenty-six weeks, who in one season drew from the public one million, six hundred and sixty-seven thousand dollars ($1,667,000). I like to write it out in full, and when people tell me of hard times, no money in circulation, and all that sort of thing, I want to just quote this fact, that in one season the American pleasure-seekers paid six men and women over a million and a half of money! For what? Amusing them for two or three hours with music or acting, and in the first case it was neither,—only just to see a world-renowned beauty.

With this pleasure-seeking go other expenses, and men waste on lust and wine the abundance which God bestows, while poor women toil and stitch for a pittance, and men strive in vain for daily bread and comfortable clothing.—Safeguard.

Business Idolatry.

The idolatry of business may be seen in many and various aspects. When business overrides religion, in any way, it is idolatrous. Not only when it monopolizes time so as to prevent the performance of religious duties, but, also, when it absorbs the mind and blunts the religious feelings, should it be regarded as an idol. When a man, in any sense, cares more for his business than his religion, he assuredly has an idol that he ought to put away. When he looks at everything in a business rather than a religious light, and acts habitually upon business rather than religious principle, though the one may be in conflict with the other, he needs admonishing lest his idol be a witness against him before which he cannot securely stand. It is a mistake, and more than a mistake, to conduct business upon mere worldly principles, regardless of their variance from religious principles. So doing involves ungodliness which amounts to a violation of the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."—Sel.

Silent Prayer.

By New York Observer

IN prayer we speak to God, but there is also the silence of prayer. Our lips utter no sound, we cannot find words to express the language of the heart, but the soul still prays. Perhaps we are too weary in body, or in mind; perhaps the brain may be too utterly exhausted to frame the petitions we would ask. Still we desire to hold communion with him who bids us come to him when we are tired. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Then comes the experience and the sweetness of the silence of prayer. What is it?

1. It is just kneeling down in our accustomed place, and lifting up our hearts to him in wordless petition which speaks only in the well of longing deep down in our souls.

2. It is letting God speak to us in our silence and listening to his voice. There are many things he will say to us if we will only hear them—deep, sweet, holy things—comforting things, and things that will draw us away from the world to follow him more closely.

3. It is a time of great nearness to Jesus. Is he not close by? Having felt the weakness of our nature, he draws near in full sympathy with our weariness.

4. It is a time of strengthening. Our strength is sometimes to sit still. No less do we receive strength from God when we are drinking in silence from him who chooses sometimes himself to be "silent in love." So may we arise from the silence of prayer invigorated and strengthened.—New York Observer.

Seek and Ye Shall Find.

SEEK and ye shall find. Too many of us seem to think that high attainment in the Christian life comes accidentally or suddenly. This is a mistake, and a sad one. It is one that Satan delights to have us make. If he can keep us of this opinion, rest assured that he will. No great thing is done in this life, even, without great effort. God would have us exert our physical powers, and blesses us with strength in consequence of the effort put forth. So in matters spiritual, he would have us strive to enter in. Seek and ye shall find. Let us then not look listlessly on and wish that we had faith, and power with God and man, but let us seek for this power and we will find it. For, while God requires exertion, he cheers us with the blessed assurance that if we seek we shall find. This ought to be enough for us. If we are engaged in an earthly enterprise, the possibility of failure adds heavily to the burdens already borne. If the struggling merchant could be assured that finally he would come out financially sound, he would bear present reverses with a light heart. It is that fearful dread of coming failure that crushes him and makes him unfit to make the best of the resources still left. Well, no matter how dark it is, no matter how little we have done so far in life, if we seek we shall find. With the joy born of a consciousness of final victory, let us then, in Christ, earnestly seek for the highest attainments in the Christian life.—Christian Home.

The Need for a Prayerful Life

By Archdeacon Farrar

LET the man or the woman live a prayerless life, and all the light and the fire and the glow, all the wisdom and generosity and love, will die away from it, because these are the result of spiritual grace from above; and covered with the dead, white embers of its own selfishness and pride, it too will be cold and dead and hard—a useless thing, half consumed with impenitence and sin.

Three Virtues for Life

By Tennyson

SELF-REVERENCE, self-knowledge, self-control, These three alone lead life to sovereign power. —Tennyson.

The Ten Kingdoms in the Dark Ages.

THE FRANKS.

(Continued.)

THE defeat of the Burgundians followed in A. D. 499, and is thus told:—

"The kingdom of the Burgundians, which was defined by the course of two Gallic rivers, the Saone and the Rhone, extended from the forest of Vosges to the Alps and the sea of Marseilles. The scepter was in the hands of Gundobald. That valiant and ambitious prince had reduced the number of royal candidates by the death of two brothers, one of whom was the father of Clotilda; but his imperfect prudence still permitted Godegesil, the youngest of his brothers, to possess the dependent principality of Geneva. The Arian monarch was justly alarmed by the satisfaction, and the hopes, which seemed to animate his clergy and people after the conversion of Clovis; and Gundobald convened at Lyons an assembly of his bishops, to reconcile, if it were possible, their religious and political discontents.

"A vain conference was agitated between the two factions. The Arians upbraided the Catholics with the worship of three gods; the Catholics defended their cause by theological distinctions; and the usual arguments, objections, and replies were reverberated with obstinate clamor; till the king revealed his secret apprehensions, by an abrupt but decisive question, which he addressed to the orthodox bishops. 'If you truly profess the Christian religion, why do you not restrain the king of the Franks? He has declared war against me, and forms alliances with my enemies for my destruction. A sanguinary and covetous mind is not the symptom of a sincere conversion; let him show his faith by his works.' The answer of Avitus, bishop of Vienna, who spoke in the name of his brethren, was delivered with the voice and countenance of an angel. 'We are ignorant of the motives and intentions of the king of the Franks; but we are taught by Scripture that the kingdoms which abandon the divine law are frequently subverted; and that enemies will arise on every side against those who have made God their enemy. Return, with thy people, to the law of God, and he will give peace and security to thy dominions.' The king of Burgundy, who was not prepared to accept the condition which the Catholics considered as essential to the treaty, delayed and dismissed the ecclesiastical conference, after reproaching his bishops, that Clovis, their friend and proselyte, had privately tempted the allegiance of his brother.

"The allegiance of his brother was already seduced; and the obedience of Godegesil, who joined the royal standard with the troops of Geneva, more effectually promoted the success of the conspiracy. While the Franks and Burgundians contended with equal valor, his seasonable desertion decided the event of the battle; and as Gundobald was faintly supported by the disaffected Gauls, he yielded to the arms of Clovis, and hastily retreated from the field, which appears to have been situate between Langres and Dijon. He distrusted the strength of Dijon, a quadrangular fortress, encompassed by two rivers, and by a wall thirty feet high, and fifteen thick, with four gates, and thirty-three towers; he abandoned to the pursuit of Clovis the important cities of Lyons and Vienna; and Gundobald still fled with precipitation, till he had reached Avignon, at the distance of two hundred and fifty miles from the field of battle. A long siege and an artful negotiation admonished the king of the Franks of the danger and difficulty of his enterprise. He imposed a tribute on the Burgundian prince, compelled him to pardon and reward his brother's treachery, and proudly returned to his own dominions, with the spoils and captives of the southern provinces.

"This splendid triumph was soon clouded by the intelligence that Gundobald had violated his recent obligations, and that the unfortunate Godegesil, who was left at Vienna with a garrison of five thousand Franks, had been besieged, surprised, and massacred by his inhuman brother. Such an outrage might have exasperated the patience of the most peaceful sovereign; yet the conqueror of Gaul dissembled the injury, released the tribute, and accepted the alliance, and military service, of the king of Burgundy. Clovis no longer possessed those advantages which had assured the success of the preceding war, and his rival, instructed by adversity, had found new resources in the affections of his people. The Gauls or Romans applauded the mild and impartial laws of Gundobald, which almost raised them to the same level with their conquerors. The bishops were reconciled, and flattered, by the hopes, which he artfully suggested, of his approaching conversion; and though he eluded their accomplishment to the last moment of his life, his moderation secured the peace, and suspended the ruin, of the kingdom of Burgundy."—Dec. and Fall, chap. 38, par. 8, 9.

When Clovis died, November 27, 511, his dominions were divided amongst his four sons. Theodoric, or Thierry I., his eldest son, had the northeastern portion, which lay on both sides of the Rhine, with his capital at Metz. Childebert, eldest son by Clotilda, held the central part, the country around Paris, with Paris as his capital. Clodomir, the third son, received western Gaul, along the Loire, and had his capital at Orleans. Clotaire, the youngest son, ruled in the northern part of Gaul, with his capital at Soissons. The Alemanni under the governorship of dukes, belonged with the eastern partition and were tributary to Theodoric. The Burgundians were still ruled by their own kings until 532, when the last Burgundian king was slain, and they, too, ruled by dukes, became subject to the sons of Clovis. This was accomplished under the reign of Sigismond, the son of Gundobald.

"The Catholic Sigismond has acquired the honors of a saint and martyr; but the hands of the royal saint were stained with the blood of his innocent son, whom he inhumanly sacrificed to the pride and resentment of a stepmother. He soon discovered his error, and bewailed the irreparable loss. While Sigismond embraced the corpse of the unfortunate youth, he received a severe admonition from one of his attendants: 'It is not his situation. O king! it is thine which deserves pity and lamentation.' The reproaches of a guilty conscience were alleviated, however, by his liberal donations to the monastery of Agaunum, or St. Maurice, in Vallais; which he himself had founded in honor of the imaginary martyrs of the Thebœan legion. A full chorus of perpetual psalmody was instituted by the pious king; he assiduously practiced the austere devotion of the monks; and it was his humble prayer that Heaven would inflict in this world the punishment of his sins.

"His prayer was heard: the avengers were at hand; and the provinces of Burgundy were overwhelmed by an army of victorious Franks. After the event of an unsuccessful battle, Sigismond, who wished to protract his life that he might prolong his penance, concealed himself in the desert in a religious habit, till he was discovered and betrayed by his subjects who solicited the favor of their new masters. The captive monarch, with his wife and two children, was transported to Orleans and buried alive in a deep well, by the stern command of the sons of Clovis, whose cruelty might derive some excuse from the maxims and examples of their barbarous age. Their ambition, which urged them to achieve the conquest of Burgundy, was inflamed, or disguised, by filial piety; and Clotilda, whose sanctity did not consist in the forgiveness of injuries, pressed them to revenge her father's death on the family of his assassin. The rebellious Burgundians, for they attempted to break their chains, were still permitted to enjoy their national laws under the obligation of tribute and military service; and the Merovingian princes peaceably reigned over a kingdom, whose glory and greatness had been first overthrown by the arms of Clovis."—Id., par. 10.

The quadruple division of the dominions of Clovis ended in 558, by being merged in the sole rule of Clotaire I., who held the power till his death in 561, when it was again divided into four parts among his four sons—Charibert, king of Paris, Gontran, of Orleans, Sigebert, of Metz, and Chilperic, of Soissons. The Burgundians fell to the portion of Gontran, who left Orleans and fixed his capital in their country.

"In 567 Charibert, king of Paris, died, without children, and a new partition left only three kingdoms—Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. Austrasia, in the east, extended over the two banks of the Rhine, and comprised, side by side with Roman towns and districts, populations that had remained Germanic. [The Alemanni—Suabians—belonged in this division.] Neustria, in the west, was essentially Gallo-Roman, though it comprised in the north the old territory of the Salian Franks, on the borders of the Scheldt. Burgundy as the old kingdom of the Burgundians, enlarged in the north by some few counties."—Guizot's History of France, chap. 8, par. 1.

(To be continued.)

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