AS THE judgment of the saints takes place before their resurrection, and they are raised to receive the reward determined in their respective cases, so with the wicked. In Rev. 20 we learn that they who have part in the first resurrection sit upon thrones of judgment for a thousand years. And in the same scripture we learn that "the rest of the dead"—in distinction from the blessed and holy—"lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Thus the assessing judgment—to use the idea presented by many authors—will occupy the one thousand years of Rev. 20, and at the end of that period the wicked will be raised to receive their reward—the second death in the lake of fire.
When we consider the exceeding great multitude of the lost who have lived since the time of Cain, and that every case has to be examined, it does not appear strange that one thousand years are set apart to the work. The saints are represented as kings and priests unto God; but they are not actually kings until thrones are given them, which will not be done until after the second advent. In Rev. 5:8-10 the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders present vials of incense before the throne in Heaven, which are said to be "the prayers of the saints." Whatever may be the chronology of this part of the chapter—whether the song is by anticipation or sung when the first part is fulfilled—it is true that there is a past and a future in the song. They were redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, which indicates the fullness of the gospel work as then accomplished, and they were made kings and priests unto God, and they "shall reign on the earth." It seems evident that they were made kings and priests before they reign on the earth. And such we find is the order presented in other scriptures. The only priestly work of the saints is done while they are on thrones of judgment, which is altogether during or within the thousand years.
One important end which will be gained by this examination of the cases of all the wicked by the record of their lives, is the complete vindication of the Government and providence of God. To all of the human race, while they only "know in part," many of the ways of God are dark and mysterious. In the words of the poet:—
"That vice should triumph, virtue vice obey,
This raised some doubts of Providence's sway."
And this is the case with the righteous, while the wicked have openly murmured and denied both the justice and goodness of God. It was said by the Saviour that even a cup of water given to a disciple in the name of a disciple shall not lose its reward. And who so fitting to plead such an act in behalf of a lost one as the person to whom the kindness was shown?
Paul says: "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall every one have praise of God." 1 Cor. 4:5. On the last sentence of this text Barnes remarks:—
"The word here rendered praise (epainos) denotes in this place reward, or that which is due to him; the just sentence which ought to be pronounced on his character. It does not mean, as our translation would imply, that every man will then receive the divine approbation—which will not be true; but that every man shall receive what is due to his character, whether good or evil. So Bloomfield and Bretschneider explain it."
And this is doubtless the true interpretation of the passage. Greenfield says of the word: "By impl. reward, retribution, recompense. 1 Cor. 4:5." This bringing to light the hidden things of darkness, and making manifest the counsels of the hearts, means that they shall be revealed or made manifest to the saints by their examination of "those things which were written in the books." Rev. 20:12. As there are to be degrees of punishment, it is evident from the scriptures noticed, that the determination of the measure of punishment is the work of the saints, where every mitigating circumstance will be presented and considered. This is the sense in which they will be priests in that judgment.
The objection raised against this view, that this does not conform to the idea of the work of priests according to the Levitical law, cannot lie against it, because we may not draw a parallel between the service of the priests under the law and that of the saints in the Judgment. We must decide by the definition of the word, and the facts of the New Testament. The word priest does not necessarily imply a mediator in the sense of one who offers sacrifices. Robinson and Greenfield define it, "One who performs the sacred rites." These rites may pertain to offering sacrifices or to mediation, or they may not. If the saints have the work of determining the degree of guilt, and of fixing the amount of punishment, their office is properly that of a priest. And it must be evident to every one that our ideas of the work of priests, if gathered from that of the Jewish priests, must be greatly modified when we come to consider the office of the saints, as the priesthood of the saints is on thrones of judgment, which was not the case with the Jewish priests. We may not reason from one to the other, but must let each class stand in its own place, according to the work ascribed to it in the Scriptures.
But it is not alone the righteous who need to have the mysteries of God's providence opened to them. As we remarked, the wicked have lived and died complaining of the ways of God. The Judgment will be made the means of bringing them to confess their error, and to realize that they alone were responsible for their own ruin. The Lord will "convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." Jude 15. Myriads have died, glorying in their wickedness—in the success of their selfish plans—unconvinced of the ungodliness of their actions. But they will all be convinced; they will all be brought to see the enormity of their crimes against the Most High God, and to confess the justness of his judgments. As is said by the prophet: "I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return. That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed." Isa. 45:23, 24.
The one thousand years of Rev. 20 are but the beginning of the reign of God's dear Son after he resigns his position as a priest on his Father's throne. The angel said that of his kingdom, on the throne of his father David, "there shall be no end." Of the stone, which represented the kingdom of God, it is said in Dan. 2:35 that it "became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." In Dan. 7:27 it is said that "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." All the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the whole earth, are to be destroyed. Jer. 25:26-33. The kingdoms of this world are given to Christ, and by him will be broken with a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces as a potter's vessel. Ps. 2. They are not to be transformed or merged into the kingdom of Christ, but he destroys them and his kingdom takes their place. It fills the whole earth.
And this makes plain Matt. 25:34. "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." When God made the world he said it was "very good." There was every tree which was pleasant to the sight, and good for food. No thorns, no thistles marred the face of the fair creation. No evil was found therein. And to man was given "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth." Gen. 1:26. This was "the first dominion, the kingdom [which] shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah 4:8. And this will be the fulfillment of the promise that "the meek shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5. The psalmist adds a condition which the beatitude of the Saviour only implies: "The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. 37:11. And this is proof that the reign of the saints over the whole earth—under the whole heaven—is not in this present state. "In the world ye shall have tribulation." John 16:33. The wheat and the tares will grow together until the harvest, which is the end of the world, or of this age. Matt. 13:36-42. The "little horn" will practice and prosper and prevail until judgment is given to the saints of the Most High. Dan. 7:21, 22. "That man of sin," the wicked one, will exalt himself until he is destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. 2 Thess. 2:1-8. These, and many other scriptures to the same intent which might be quoted, prove conclusively that in this world—in this present state—the wicked will enjoy their triumph; and the saints must remain in expectation of their triumph; still be "heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him." Jas. 2:5. Not in this, but in the world to come, will the saints reign. Well has the poet said:—
"There is a land, a better land than this;
There's my home, there's my home."
There is not the shade of a contradiction between the two statements, that the saints shall have tribulation in this world, and, the meek shall inherit the earth. If the earth were always to be in its present state and condition, where the wicked prosper and the righteous are oppressed, then it would not be possible that the meek should inherit the earth and delight themselves in the abundance of peace. But the earth is not always to remain under the curse. The thorn and the thistle shall not always mar the face of the dominion which was given to man at first, and which man shall eventually inherit forever. God's original purpose will be accomplished; his counsel shall stand. The work of the Captain of our salvation was not ended when he died upon the cross; when his soul was made an offering for sin. Isa. 53:10. His work will not yet be finished when he has cleansed the sanctuary by the sprinkling of his blood upon the mercy-seat. The Atonement has in view the fullness of the glory of redemption. It is necessary to understand what is included in the work of redemption, in order to understand what the blood of Christ has purchased for us; what his Atonement accomplishes for man; and what are the riches of the glory of his kingdom. To this subject we must further give our attention.
Universal Salvation and Judgment
Suppose the doctrine of universal salvation be true, and you disbelieve it; will it harm you? Suppose you fear God, and are devout and holy; will this exclude you from Heaven? By no means. Make Christ your portion, and whether it be true or false, you are safe. But suppose this doctrine be false, and, unwashed and unholy, you are called to judgment; will that delusion save you?
The Truth.
By R. F. Cottrell
IN the scriptural sense of the term, the truth is not merely something to be spoken, but something to be done. Says Jesus, "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." John 3: 20, 21. Doing the truth is directly contrary to doing evil; and doing evil is sin, which is transgression of the law; hence the deeds of truth are obedience to the law.
The word of God is truth. "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." John 17: 17. Nothing can have a higher claim to be called the word of God than the ten precepts which he spoke with his own voice. Hence the Spirit of God testifies through David, "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth." Ps. 119: 142. "Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth." Verse 151. The commandments, all of which are declared so emphatically to be the truth, are those which were spoken from Mount Sinai. "Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws [Hebrew, laws of truth, margin], good statutes and commandments; and madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant." Neh. 9: 13, 14. The laws of truth were spoken by God himself, and written with his own hand, while the "precepts, statutes, and laws" peculiar to that dispensation, and to the Jewish commonwealth, were given "by the hand of Moses."
The ten commandments are the truth, because they contain the only true principles of right between man and his Maker, and between man and his fellow-man. The precept, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," though negative in form, teaches the great truth that there is but one living and true God. That being the truth, idolatry of every kind, and profanity, or irreverence toward his sacred name, are manifestly wrong. And the fourth commandment expresses a great truth affirmatively, without a knowledge of which the one only true God could not be known. That truth is, that he is the maker of all things. This necessary, fundamental truth cannot be learned from any one or all the other nine. See Ex. 31: 13, 17; Eze. 20: 12, 20.
These commandments being the truth, to abolish them would be to abolish the truth. Those who contend for their abolition can hereby see the tendency of their efforts. And we ask those who believe that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment has been changed, Can that which is truth be changed and be the truth still? Would not the truth of God when changed become a lie? Paul teaches that those who broke the first commandment by worshiping the creature, instead of the Creator, turned the truth of God into a lie. Rom. 1: 25. Let us test this matter. The fourth commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. . . . The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
Insert the "first day" in place of the seventh, and we have the following: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. . . . The first day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. . . . For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the first day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
All can see at once that this is not the truth. To say that God rested upon the first day of the week, and blessed and hallowed it, is false; and "no lie is of the truth." It is not possible to change the rest-day of the Creator to any one of the six days on which he did not rest. The truth that he rested on the seventh day, and that he blessed and sanctified that day, because he had rested on it, is the truth still. This truth must be changed before any other day can become the Sabbath day, i. e., the rest-day of God. R. F. COTTRELL.
THE END OF THE WAY.
My life is a wearisome journey;
I'm sick with the dust and the heat;
The rays of the sun beat upon me;
The briers are wounding my feet.
But the city to which I am going
Will more than my trials repay;
All the toils of the road will seem nothing
When I get to the end of the way.
There are so many hills to climb upward,
I often am longing for rest;
But he who appoints me my pathway
Knows just what is needful and best.
I know in his word he has promised
That my strength shall be as my day;
And the toils of the road will seem nothing
When I get to the end of the way.
He loves me too well to forsake me,
Or give me one trial too much;
All his people have been dearly purchased,
And Satan can never claim such.
By and by I shall see him and praise him
In the city of unending day;
And the toils of the road will seem nothing
When I get to the end of the way.
When the last feeble step has been taken,
And the gates of the city appear
And the beautiful songs of the angels
Float out to my listening ear;
When all that now seems so mysterious
Will be plain and clear as the day—
Yes, the toils of the road will seem nothing
When I get to the end of the way.
Though now I am footsore and weary,
I shall rest when I'm safely at home;
I know I'll receive a glad welcome,
For the Saviour himself has said, "Come."
So when I am weary in body
And sinking in spirit, I say,
All the toils of the road will seem nothing
When I get to the end of the way.
Cooling fountains are there for the thirsty;
There are cordials for those who are faint;
There are robes that are whiter and purer
Than any that fancy can paint.
Then I'll try to press hopefully onward,
Thinking often through each weary day,
The toils of the road will seem nothing
When I get to the end of the way.
“To Be Seen of Men.”
By A pastor's wife
FROM a child I always felt an unconquerable aversion to that seeming display of one's private devotion, either when a clergyman came in and kneeled in the pulpit, or when a worshiper bowed the head to the back of the forward seat. It seemed to me as if they had forgotten their closet devotion before starting from home, and that I had unwittingly entered their closet. I would suggest that this preparation service be observed at home. He who understands our thoughts afar off will accept the preparation of the heart which may be silently and unobtrusively conducted, even while preparing the outward person for attendance upon public worship.
Or, if one chooses to occupy the first moments in God's house in communion with him, let it be without any change of attitude or appearance of devotion, for our heavenly Father can hear without the bended knee, or the bowed head, or even the closed eyes. Then, indeed, shall the worship not seem to be done “to be seen of men,” and the Father which seeth in secret shall approve.—A pastor's wife.
Contentment and Possessions
You have plenty of this world's goods if, with your little, you have content. If you have not content, you can never have enough of anything.
Mutilation of History.
By V. Hull
I LEARNED when I was a lad that the Armenian Church were Sabbath observers, and I felt a desire to get hold of their history. I bought a copy of “Christian Researches in Asia,” by Claudius Buchanan, LL.D., as I understood his work contained that fact. The volume which I bought was published by the “American Tract Society.” I read and reread, but read in vain, so far as the fact in which I was especially interested was concerned. I was loth to believe that great Society would be guilty of garbling history. I looked upon such an offense as altogether beneath ordinary candor and truthfulness, and began to think I might have been misled as to facts; in the meantime I heard of an old volume, some ten or fifteen miles away, and thought I would get that, so I went, and found the book badly worn and still worse smoked. I had to pay nearly twice as much for the old one as I paid for the one which I bought of the American Tract Society. Here is what the author says: “The Armenians in Hindostan are our (British) own subjects; they acknowledge our Government in India as they do that of Sophi, in Persia, and they are entitled to our regard. They have preserved the Bible in its purity, and their doctrines are, so far as the author knows, the doctrines of the Bible. Besides, they maintain the solemn observance of Christian worship throughout our empire on the seventh day, and they have as many spires pointing to heaven as we ourselves have among the Hindoos.” My advice to the American Tract Society is that they publish a tract on moral honesty. I consider it a very grave offense to mutilate history. I make the above quotation for the benefit of any who have not the work, and yet desire the information. The book I have was published by C. Bowles, Nortonville, V. T., A. D. 1813.
As my work is well-nigh done on earth, should any of our institutions of learning desire the volume I have, and will inform me, I will forward it to their order.—V. Hull, in Sabbath Recorder.
Extent of Christian Duty.
By Editor
The S. S. Times very sensibly speaks as follows:—
It is certainly to the credit of The Independent that it is being taken to task by the Christian at Work for expressing its disapprobation of card-playing, theater-going, and tobacco-using. The latter paper affirms that the former paper "has, in fact, set up a new decalogue—rather triologue;" of which the critic says:—
"The Independent's new triologue is neither sensible nor timely; and with every regard for the personnel of The Independent, it is open to the charge of impertinence."
Then follows the counsel:—
"We advise our beloved contemporary to change its course and disestablish its new code instanter, and hereafter to prescribe no other commandments than those to be found between the covers of the Bible."
It is a very common misapprehension of the entire spirit and purport of the Bible, to suppose that the specific commandments and enjoinings of that Book are our only guide to present conduct. The Bible does not attempt to specify every form or phase of sin by name. It lays down principles. It gives germs of thought in the realm of morals. A prominent duty of the Christian preachers—in the pulpit or through the press—is to apply those principles, and to unfold those germs, in the face of the dangers and the duties of to-day. Faithfulness in that sphere is, however, sure to call out a protest against the preaching which hits particular misdoers; as is again illustrated in the experience of The Independent.
The Sabbath-School.
By W. N. Glenn
LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST.—APRIL 12.
ACTS, CHAPTERS 17:10—18:17.
Berea.
PAUL and Silas left Thessalonica by night, and made their way to Berea, a city situated on the eastern slope of the Olympian Mountains, about forty-five miles from the former place, in a southwesterly direction. Its name is derived from the abundance of its waters, which to this day flow through every street. It is yet a place of considerable importance, having about 18,000 inhabitants, and ranking as the second city in European Turkey. When the gospel missionaries first visited Berea there were a sufficient number of Jewish residents to support a synagogue.
Vindicated by the Scriptures.
PAUL preached in the synagogue, as his custom was, and found hearers ready not only to listen to his message, but to prove his words by the Scriptures. "Therefore many of them [the Jews] believed; also of honorable women which were Greeks, and of men not a few." Chap. 17:12. How significant the word "therefore." It points directly to the fact that men are sanctified through the word of truth. See John 17:17. Paul's presentation of the gospel was evidently in harmony with the Old Testament scriptures, as those Jews understood the original. This being the case, how about the latter-day gospel that discards or has outgrown the Old Testament? It is certainly another gospel than the one Paul preached. For his opinion of the preachers of such a gospel, see Gal. 1:8, 9.
Tracked by the Jews.
THE fierce, unreasonable Jews at Thessalonica followed up the missionaries to Berea, as they of Antioch and Iconium had pursued them to Lystra on the former tour. Like their brethren of Asia Minor, the cause of the hatred of the Thessalonian Jews toward the ministers of Christ, was envy. And as the former had joined hands with idolaters against the work of the Lord, so the latter "took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort," to assist in carrying out their designs. But the brethren only sent away Paul this time, while Silas and Timothy remained. It is probable that the ardor of the pursuers was somewhat dampened by the sympathy of the Jews and "honorable women" with the ministers. It will be remembered that the influence of the "honorable women" of Antioch in Pisidia was brought to bear upon the other side, when Paul and Barnabas were expelled from that place. Chap. 13:50.
Arrival at Athens.
WE can easily imagine how one of Paul's zeal and devotion would have "his spirit stirred in him" to find a city like Athens "wholly given to idolatry." The noted magnificence of the place and its ruins were such as the ordinary excursionist would call splendid; but for one whose whole soul was wrapped up in the message of mercy to a dying world, and was being driven from city to city by those whose welfare he was seeking, the magnificence of sin had little attraction. The assertion that it was wholly given to idolatry, is fully attested by secular history. Pansanias says, "The Athenians greatly surpassed others in their zeal for religion." Lucian wrote, "On every side there are altars, victims, temples, and festivals." Livy says the city "was full of the images of gods and men, adorned with every variety of material, and with all the skill of art." And Petronius said "it was easier to find a god than a man." The Christian with a warning message cannot afford to become a mere sight-seer in the midst of the splendors of wickedness. His prayer should be, "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken thou me in thy way." Ps. 119:37. His most dangerous allurements come through the "lust of the eyes." 1 John 2:15-17.
Paul Labors Alone.
ALTHOUGH he had sent for his co-laborers, he did not wait their arrival. He first sought the professed people of God in their synagogue, and he labored daily with such people as he found in the places of public resort. He soon attracted attention, as the Athenians as well as strangers there spent their time in telling or hearing something new. Chap. 17:21. But he had nothing to present that was attractive to the eye or outward senses, and such an idea as faith in something that could not be seen would not be entertained by a people whose affections were upon the glittering works of art. A pride of one's own attainments, and an ambition to compete with the mental or material attractiveness of this world, is a formidable barrier in the way of man's salvation. It is a great cross for the worldly wise to become fools in the estimation of their fellows for the sake of being wise before God. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God." 1 Cor. 3:18-21.
His Opponents.
THE apostle met opponents in every class. Some spoke of him as a "babbler," while others gave the matter more serious attention, as "he seemed to be a setter forth of strange gods." Jesus and the resurrection was a new God and a new doctrine in Athens, as they are to-day in many places where they are supposed to be known.
He met the Epicureans, a sect of philosophers named after their founder, Epicurus, who lived about 300 years before Christ. The leading doctrine of this school was that pleasure is the chief good, and that virtue was only to be valued as a contributor to pleasure. The followers of Epicurus, however, carried this idea to an extent far beneath the teachings of their founder.
He met the Stoics also, a school contemporary with the Epicureans, and always a rival. It was founded by Zeno, a native of Cyprus. They admitted that all things were created by God, but that all results were subject to fate—even God himself being under a fatal dominion. Hence their doctrine that man should so restrain his entire nature as to be insensible to, or unmoved by, any condition of either pleasure or pain, as any situation must be the result of an unalterable fate. To either of these classes of ambitious zealots, the doctrines of Christ and the resurrection would indeed seem like "babbling," for "they are spiritually discerned." 1 Cor. 2:14.
The Unknown God.
PAUL took advantage of the situation, when they had brought him to Mars Hill to hear what he had to say, and preached to them from an inscription upon one of their own altars. He declared unto them the "unknown God." Verily he was "unknown" to them, as he is in this proud, idolatrous age, to the multitudes of "Epicureans." The synopsis of the apostle's discourse is found in Chap. 17:22-31, and is worthy a careful perusal. It is a fearful relationship to entertain toward the Creator of all things and the "Judge of all the earth," that he should be unknown, and the salvation he has provided through his Son be neglected. "Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Verse 31. W. N. GLENN.
Corinth as a Field of Labor.
By Ellen G. White
THE following extract from “Sketches from the Life of Paul,” by Mrs. E. G. White, is an interesting picture of that famous city when the gospel was first introduced to its inhabitants:—
Paul did not wait at Athens for his brethren, Silas and Timothy, but leaving word for them to follow him, went at once to Corinth. Here he entered upon a different field of labor from that which he had left. Instead of the curious and critical disciples of schools of philosophy, he came in contact with the busy, changing population of a great center of commerce. Greeks, Jews, and Romans, with travelers from every land, mingled in its crowded streets, eagerly intent on business and pleasure, and having little thought or care beyond the affairs of the present life.
Corinth was one of the leading cities, not only of Greece, but of the world. Situated upon a narrow neck of land between two seas, it commanded the trade of both the East and the West. Its position was almost impregnable. A vast citadel of rock, rising abruptly and perpendicularly from the plain to the height of two thousand feet above the level of the sea, was a strong natural defense to the city and its two sea-ports. Corinth was now more prosperous than Athens, which had once taken the lead. Both had experienced severe vicissitudes; but the former had risen from her ruins, and was far in advance of her former prosperity, while the latter had not reached to her past magnificence. Athens was the acknowledged center of art and learning; Corinth, the seat of Government and trade.
This large mercantile city was in direct communication with Rome, while Thessalonica, Ephesus, Alexandria, and Antioch were all easy of access, either by land or water. An opportunity was thus presented for the spread of the gospel. Once established at Corinth, it would be readily communicated to all parts of the world.
Yet the apostle saw on every hand serious obstacles to the progress of his work. The city was almost wholly given up to idolatry. Venus was the favorite goddess; and a great number of dissolute women were employed in connection with the worship of this reigning deity, for the purpose of attracting the devotees of popular vice. The Corinthians, had become conspicuous, even among the heathen, for their gross immorality.
There was now a much larger number of Jews in Corinth than at any previous time. This people had been generally favored by the ruling powers, and treated with much consideration. But for some time they had been growing arrogant and insubordinate, and after they had rejected and crucified Christ, the light of the world, they followed their own darkened understanding, manifested more openly their envy and hatred of the powers that governed them, and proudly boasted of a king of the Jews who was to come with great power, overthrow their enemies, and establish a magnificent kingdom. It was in view of this vague belief that they had rejected the Saviour. The same malignant spirit that actuated them in their persecution of the Son of God led them to rebel against the Roman Government. They were continually creating seditions and insurrections, until they were finally driven from Rome because of their turbulent spirit. Many of them found refuge in Corinth.
Among the Jews who took up their residence here were many who were innocent of the wrongs that prevailed among them as a people. Of this class were Aquila and Priscilla, who afterward became distinguished as believers in Christ. Paul became acquainted with the character of these excellent persons, and abode with them; and having learned tent-making in his youth, labored with them for his own support.
Temperance.
The Supposed Utility of Alcohol.
THERE has been a great advance in public sentiment in regard to the supposed utility of alcohol.
Sixty years ago the use of alcoholic liquors was supposed to be a necessity, in order to health. One of the first questions raised, when the reform began, was whether it would be possible for men to maintain good health if they desisted from their use entirely. It was supposed to be necessary often to resort to them. They held complete sway in all fields of labor, and no man was supposed to be of much value in the field or shop, as a laborer, without them; and it was held to be impossible to withstand severe heat or cold without their aid. They filled a large place in materia medica, and were freely resorted to for every kind of illness, as a sovereign remedy.
The quaint superstitions of Theoricus, in the ancient Hollingshed chronicles, over-lapped the first quarter of the present century, ascribing to alcoholic drinks the following remarkable virtues: "It sloweth age; it strengtheneth youth; it helpeth digestion; it cutteth phlegm; it abandoneth melancholy; it relisheth the heart; it lighteneth the mind; it quickeneth the spirits; it cureth the hydropsia; it healeth the strangurie; it pounceth the stone; it expelleth the gravel; it puffeth away ventosity; it keepeth and preserveth the head from whirling, the tongue from lisping, the mouth from snaffling, the teeth from chattering, and the throat from rattling; it keepeth the weazen from stifling, the stomach from wambling; and the heart from swelling; it keepeth the hands from shivering, the sinews from shrinking, the veins from crumbling, the bones from aching, and the marrow from soaking."
Sixty to eighty years ago public sentiment had advanced a little, and but little, beyond these superstitions of the olden times, in regard to the virtues of alcohol. Thirty years ago an old man approaching his ninetieth birthday said: "A kind Providence and good New England rum have spared my life so long." "Black strap," made of rum and molasses, or a rum sweat, were indispensable remedies for a cold. "Rum, seasoned with cherries, protected against cold." "Rum, made nutritious with milk, prepared for the maternal office; and under the Greek name of paregoric, rum, doubly poisoned with opium, quieted the infant's cries." "Females, or valetudinarians, courted an appetite with medicated rum, disguised under the chaste name of 'Hexham's Tincture,' or 'Stoughton's Elixir.'" In some sections of the country, it was customary to take whisky flavored with mint soon after waking in the morning; and so essential was it regarded to health that scarcely any person of any age or sex was exempt from it.
Can alcoholic drinks be safely dispensed with? was a question seriously and conscientiously pondered when this reform was in its incipient stages. Even Dr. Benj. Rush was some time in settling this point; others were longer still in reaching a conclusion. To dispense with them altogether, it was felt, would make men weak and puny, the sure victims of exhaustion and disease. These ideas were current. These mischievous delusions, relics of darker ages, have now been dispelled from multitudes of intelligent minds. How great the change! How seldom we meet such notions now, only among backward looking people, who are unpardonably loitering behind the march of mind, held back by the subtle delusion of appetite.
As early as 1850 the use of alcoholic beverages had been condemned by the best medical authorities in Great Britain and the United States, as not only needless, but positively injurious. Prior to that time alcohol had been demonstrated to be a poison in a healthy body. Two thousand of the best medical and surgical gentlemen in Great Britain declared, over their signatures, that "the most perfect health is compatible with total abstinence from all intoxicating beverages," and that "total and universal abstinence from such beverages would greatly contribute to the health, prosperity, and happiness of the human race." One hundred and twenty-five of the first physicians in New York City united in declaring that "alcohol should be classed with other powerful drugs, and when prescribed medicinally, it should be with conscientious caution and a grave sense of responsibility." Soon after the publication of these views, an article appeared in the Westminster Review advocating alcohol as food. Some French investigators, however, of a high rank, quickly exploded this pernicious theory, and the Westminster Review magnanimously retracted it. Ex-Governor Andrew, before a Legislative Committee of Massachusetts, with a great array of learning, reasserted the theory that alcohol is food, or at least an assimilator of food, and the effect of it has been a reaction of sentiment in some circles of society. But the battle has been fought over again, and the demonstrations of the ripest science are against alcohol at all as a beverage, and also as a medicine, except in exceedingly rare cases. In the language of the "Sanitary" editor of The Independent, "Every gain in sanitary knowledge and in the study of the conditions of perfect health, tends to drive alcohol from use."
The employment of alcohol in medicine is immeasurably reduced in the practice of the most scientific physicians; and, in the London Temperance Hospital, after eight years of thorough trial, it has been fully demonstrated that it can be dispensed with altogether in the treatment of all diseases.