Review and Herald, Vol. 21, No. 9. (1/27/1863)

Review and Herald

Jan 27, 1863

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 27, 1863

God's Controversy with the Nations.

By H. L. H.

Though the analogies of the past and the aspects of the present, speak with no uncertain voice concerning the probable issue of this mighty conflict, yet their verdict is manifestly insufficient to decide the question, in the absence of more positive testimony. Analogies may be mistaken—appearances are deceptive. God alone can scan and foretell the future. To his word then we turn, and before the door of the eternal oracle we enquire, What shall be the end of these wonders? What shall be the issue of this great controversy? We must refer to the words of the prophets of God, and learn from them the course and issue of this terrible contention.

First, then, let us listen to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who has so plainly spoken of this controversy. As the custom of kings anciently was to inflict death on criminals by a cup of poison, this figure is made use of in speaking of God's dealings with the nations of the earth. The prophet, who in his childhood had been set "over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant," was therefore bidden to bear the cup of wrath to the enemies of God. "For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine-cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me." He then proceeds to an enumeration of the nations that were designated as guilty criminals, deserving wrath, and destined to drink the wine-cup of his fury. "To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse; as it is this day: Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;

and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes." After indicating the various nations that were thus doomed to bear the judgments of the Lord, the prophet's vision seems to widen and encompass unknown and unnamed nations and empires, that were yet hidden in the womb of time—for he continues to say: "And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thy hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord.—Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground."

Here is the terrible history of this controversy, forewritten by the servant of the living God. The judgments that commenced upon Jerusalem and Israel for their rejection of divine authority, were to overspread the earth. They commenced in isolated inflictions upon various nations and tribes. And where are those nations whose death-warrant is here issued by Jehovah? With scarce an exception they are gone. Their power has been broken, their cities overthrown, their governments subverted, their palaces desolated, their glory departed, and they have perished from the face of the earth. But others were to share in these judgments. The bounds of geographical knowledge were reached, but the cup still overflowed. Palestine and all the adjacent countries had been mentioned—the great empires of antiquity had been included, and still he extends the dreadful malediction, and hurls it down to time's remotest years; and fastens it upon "all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the

earth." No refusal can avail them. They must certainly drink the cup of fury. The world shall not be unpunished. God will call for a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth. He shall rush to their destruction as the vintagers tread the grapes. The noise of the conflict "shall come even to the ends of the earth, for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations." And how shall it issue? "He will plead with all flesh—he will give them that are wicked to the sword." The tempest of wrath shall burst like a furious tornado. It shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked—it shall do its work of desolation "in the latter days," and as its result the slain of the Lord shall strow the earth from end to end, ungathered, unlamented, and unburied, they shall be dung upon the ground. The mighty, the great, the princes and the nobles, are called upon to mourn over their impending ruin.—"Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord. He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger."

This is their doom. Their days of slaughter, in which they have nourished their hearts, and dispersed and killed the just, are ended. They shall be destroyed as a crystal goblet is shivered by its fall, and over all their hopes and prospects brood the clouds of darkness, desolation, and despair.

Such is the terrible destiny that overhangs the impenitent world. A destruction so awful and so widespread, has never been known since the waters of Noah overwhelmed the race. No history can furnish a fulfillment of the whole of this terrible denunciation. The controversy has not yet reached its final issue. Some nations have fallen; but "that day" in which "the slain of the Lord" shall bestrew the world, and the wicked shall be given to the sword of his vengeance, is manifestly yet future. No local judgment can accomplish it; no mere national calamity can answer to it. It overhangs the world like a pall of darkness. It is the death warrant of a godless and impious race. Nothing but a slaughter, wide as the world, can fill the terrible picture. "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire and with his chariots, like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many."

The whole tenor of the Scriptures accords with this representation. It were almost too great a task to quote the various passages that point to this terrible conclusion. It is the universal voice, the concurrent testimony of prophets and apostles, and of Christ himself, that necessitates this decision.

If we turn over the pages of inspiration, we look in vain for any tokens or predictions of a process of gradual improvement, that is to usher in a brighter day. The whole Bible represents the world as growing

worse and worse, until the protracted controversy reaches its terrible consummation, in manifestations of divine indignation; compared with which, all previous national inflictions are like rain-drops before the storm.—Great Controversy by H. L. H.

Childlike Trust.

I know not the way I am going, But well do I know my guide; With a childlike trust I give my hand To the mighty Friend by my side.

And the only thing that I say to Him As he takes it, is, "Hold it fast! Suffer me not to lose my way— And bring me home at last!

As when some helpless wanderer, Alone, in an unknown land, Tells the guide his destined place of rest, And leaves all else in his hand.

'Tis home, 'tis home, that we wish to reach; He who guides us may choose the way; For little we heed what path we take, If we're nearer home each day.

The Joy of the Cross.

By Cuyler

We have just been witnessing that scene—old yet ever new, common yet ever wonderful—of the sufferings and love of Jesus as set forth by the sacramental table. The simple scene took us back to Jerusalem. We were in the "upper chamber," and heard the melting words, "This is my body broken for you." We followed through the midnight silence over the brook Kedron to the olive garden, and listened to the broken utterance, strange, awful, and full of agony, that comes forth out of the deep darkness: "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." Then we saw the march of mockery through the streets of Jerusalem—the howling mob led on by infuriated Pharisee and Scribe—the heavy toil up the mount—the piercing of nails through tender flesh, too sacred for an angel’s touch—the slow swooning away of the tortured sufferer on a cross dripping warm with the blood that cleanseth from all sin. To our eye there hangs the bruised flower of divine perfection drooping on the cross, while a rabble is foaming with execration before him, while the sun wraps his face in a noonday night, and the affrighted earth shudders with pain at the tragedy of horror.

All this we see, and see no more than this. But to the divine sufferer there appear infinitely other and brighter objects. For through this appalling spectacle, his all-seeing eye looks onward to the glorious results of this bitter agony. And for this joy set before him, he endures the cross and despises all its shame.

To his eye there is a child of sin resting under the wrath of God. He hears the first cry of penitence. He sees that penitent approaching the cross. Sin is confessed there, forsaken there, cleansed away, and the pardoned penitent retires healed and happy. Faith has saved him. He is thenceforth a new man; leads a new life—a life assimilated to the life of Christ. He triumphs over temptation, does valiant battle for truth and righteousness, and crowns his career of beauty and beneficence by a serene death-bed. And this spectacle is a joy before Christ’s dying eyes for which he endures the cross and despises the shame.

But this is a unit only in the calculation. We must multiply this one redeemed soul by tens of thousands, and these again by thousands of thousands. We must add to the saved of one land the saved of all lands. We must add to the saved of the first century the saved of the nineteenth century, with all the countless multitudes interlying the two. Then multiply this stupendous product by eternity! And then we have reached an element, but only one single element, in the joy which the dying Saviour "set before him."

Let us take another element of that promised joy. The one we have just glanced at ultimated on man as a saved and glorified being. Let us now look at the result of Christ’s humiliation on the Saviour himself. He was then in the deepest, darkest valley of the death-shade. But as one who is in the bottom of a gloomy, terrific gorge, toiling up the precipitous mountain side, over jagged rocks, and through tangled thickets, catches, ever and anon, through the o’erhanging forests, a glimpse of the mountain top flashing in the crystal sunlight; so did our suffering Saviour, from the depths of Gethsemane’s gloom, and from under Calvary’s vail of horror, behold far above him the joy of his final exaltation. Then he was hearing but the howls of his persecutors. Soon should he hear the "harping symphonies" of the redeemed in glory. Now his temples are torn with the crown of thorns. Soon should that bleeding brow be encircled with the diadem of universal sovereignty. Now he is the Lamb slain. Soon should he be the "Lamb in the midst of the throne, and his servants shall serve him, and have his name written on their foreheads. On his vesture and on his thigh will a name be written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords." With the luster of all this looked-for glory falling upon his dying eye, the Redeemer, "for the joy set before him, endured the cross, and despised the shame."

In one brief paragraph we cannot enumerate all the innumerable sources of satisfaction which Jesus Christ found in his atoning work—in honoring the divine law, in establishing the divine government, in satisfying the violated justice of God, in humbling the power of the devil, in bringing a multitude of souls from hell to the raptures of paradise. As the young mother bears up under the anguish of the birth-hour—hushing her sobs and wailings with the "joy that a man-child is born" into her bosom and her house—so did the Divine Patience bear the anguish unutterable of the spiritual birth of a "peculiar people" born anew unto God. With that bitter price bought he the ransom of his church. He paid their ransom in the groans and stripes and blood of Golgotha; he shall be repaid in the homage of the white-robed armies of light on the sea of gold like unto pure glass.

How many an earthly cross is endured under the inspiration of the joys that cross shall bring! How many a patriot-soldier has beheld through the tears of parting with wife and children—as through a crystal lens—the triumph from afar of liberty and right! How often, amid the half-waking visions of his midnight bivouac, he catches glimpses of victorious standards borne homeward, garlanded with the broken fetters of the ransomed, and hailed with the benedictions of a liberated people. Such are the joys of the Christian reformer, when his every blow against the Bastiles of oppression and wickedness arouses the howls of the envenomed Cerberus within. Such is the sweet solace of the philanthropist, who, over thorny paths, goes about doing good. These are the inspirations which have sent every true missionary to the lonely toils of heathen shores; every martyr to his solitary cell, or to the bloody crown of martyrdom. It was for the joy set before them—the joy of pleasing God, and of receiving the final "well done, faithful servant"—that the cross was taken up and cheerfully borne unto the end.

As we withdrew from that sacramental table this day, methought I heard a voice, sweet and sad exceedingly, that said unto us, "For the joy set before me, I am enduring this cross, despising its shame. Whosoever of you, will be my disciple, let him too take up the cross and follow me. For whoso will not take up his cross and come after me, is not worthy of me."

What is Christianity ?

“THIS people draweth near to me with their mouth, and honereth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”—Bible.

“Every stoic was a stoic; but among Christians where is the Christian?”—Emerson.

The broad principle of Christianity, as exemplified in the life and teachings of Christ, is simply that the religious truth of man is better than his worldly comfort. That it is the duty of man to set himself, with all the might God has given him to fulfill what he believes to be the law of God. That it is the duty, in doing this, to cast aside, if necessary, father and mother, and all earthly ties; he must be willing to throw away all the allurements of the world, the pomp of station, and the luxuries of wealth; to retire away from the haunts of the profane, and dwell in hunger, cold, and danger ; must be willing to brave all peril, suffer all persecution, be beaten, and tortured, and ridiculed, and spit upon, and even be slaughtered with all the inhumanities man can inflict, rather than to be false to the laws of God, rather than to succumb to the allurements of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Christianity is a crucifixion

of the animal of our nature for the good of the spiritual of our nature. Said Jesus, as he walked to Emmaus with the two disciples, after his crucifixion; “Ought not Christ so to have suffered, that he might enter into his glory?” And ought not Christians to be willing to crucify their animal besetments, that they, too, may be accounted worthy to be partakers with Christ of the heavenly glory ?

Christianity teaches man that he has a soul to be saved; to be saved from the corruptions of the flesh, and to be presented, pure and holy, and without blemish, at the throne of God. “But, alas!” cries out the despairing, sinful, struggling soul, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” The Lord responds: “My grace is sufficient for thee: I died that you might live. By faith consider your body as dead with mine, that there be no longer any let or hindrance to the life of the spirit within.”

Christianity teaches man that he should “work while the day lasts.” He is taught at all times and in all seasons, to have this before him; that every opportunity passed by is chronicled against him; every light, unmeaning word, and even thought, recorded. He is taught that every man, rich or poor, is his brother, and, by natural birth, as good, and as much God’s son, as he ; that all pride toward his fellow man is sinful ; that to allow one human being to want and to be in misery, while he, by denying himself, can save or solace him, is a crime not hereafter to be overlooked. He is taught the immense, the awful, scarcely-bearable responsibility of riches; that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to be saved; that it is not the amount a man gives that is to be counted, but how far it is a personal deprivation of comfort and ease to the giver; that suffering man has a claim upon his rich brother, even to the extent that he should “sell all that he hath and give it to the poor.”

Christianity teaches us that all men are alike in the eye of God; that he should be kindly affectionate one to another; that we should bear one another's burdens—weep with those that weep, and mourn with those that mourn.

But man has a duty to do to himself as well as to others. His life should be one proud, unwavering effort to act in conformity with Conscience. Deep in the heart of man is placed the voice of God to guide him. When he passes on to virtue, this inner voice assists him and applauds : when he rushes into vice, it struggles to arrest him. Neglect this monitor, and it retires within itself; it becomes fainter, till it is heard no more, and the bark of life floats rudderless on a sea of strife. Listen to its admonitions, be guided by its counsel, and it enlarges with the enlarging intellect, and however high we may mount, it is still far above us, shedding light upon the mazy wilderness, and becoming the path to God. The following of Conscience, with the qualities we have named in full exercise, never has been, and never can be, an easy or a gentle task. A sterner and a harder life is more in keeping with the idea of a heavenly crusade, wherein, by battling, we must win ourselves victory and a home.

There is a time in the life of such as are led to join that heavenly crusade, when the faith of boyhood falls away, and the fair sunshine of childish trust has to undergo the dark eclipse of doubt, and when, from the shivered fragments which lie around him, the young crusader has had, amid tears and uncertainties, and huge heart-bursting appeals to God for light and assistance, to shape for himself a new belief. He may reconstruct that in which he was nurtured, or he may not. But such a crisis is necessary to the manliness of his being, that his faith, his chief being here below, be not received as a bequest, second hand, but be verily and indeed his own. When that era is safely ended, sluggish idleness must not even then ensue. There must be no looking back. A professed faith is a mockery, if it be not acted on in life. In the battle of life on which he now enters, there are first the outer sensuous temptations to oppose and conquer; hot desires, foaming and raging, which must be kept in control; there is, also, a tendency to ease and luxurious enjoyment, preying upon and striving to deaden the sense of duty which leads to self-denial and active labor. Then, when all is accomplished in that quarter, and the allurements and dangers of the world of sense are

trodden under foot, there follows a fiercer conflict within the soul itself—the disappointment and humiliation of beholding incessantly a perfect ideal, and achieving but an imperfect reality; the path of duty lying so clear and manifest before us, and the constantly recurring departure from that path; the soaring upward into the sunny regions of a holy life, and then suddenly, in the very midst of our triumph, falling back into the depths of abasement, with nothing left for us to re-arise and struggle onward again undauntedly, and, in the end, only purchase victory by death.

Such is the life of man when he casts aside falsehood, and poises himself on the eternal truths of his nature. The vocabulary of every-day life has many epithets for such men; they are “visionaries;” “enthusiasts,” “fanatics;” and worldly wisdom sees nothing in it, save insanity, that should be, at any cost, put down. But put down it never can be; for he who is conscious of following out what the voice of God within him dictates, can afford to smile at the expletives of the shallow world.—Franklin Almanac.

Meekness.

A PROPER control of temper contributes very much to the peace and harmony of domestic life. Many very honest, sober, cleanly persons, throw a house into confusion by habitually giving away to bad temper, and seem to think it no sin. The indulgence of such evil dispositions is exceedingly sinful and displeasing in the sight of God, and especially offensive in those who profess to be followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, and partakers of the Holy Spirit who is grieved at all bitterness, and wrath, and evil speaking, and malice. No temper is good but that which is regulated by principle; the best natural temper requires this regulation, and by it the worst may be managed and controlled.

If any one wishes to lay claim to the character of meekness let him search for the following evidences; and be assured that if a deficiency of either exists, he so far fails of proving his title.

1. Meekness is humble; not proud, not self-conceited, not impatient of contradiction.

2. Meekness is gentle; not easily provoked, not hasty in finding fault with others.

3. Meekness is peaceable, not eager to assert its own rights, or to justify its own pretensions, or to maintain its own opinions, or to have the last word in a quarrel.

4. Meekness is tender; consulting the feelings of others, and willing to bear much pain rather than inflict any.

5. Meekness is patient; and can endure unavoidable inconveniences without murmuring.

6. Meekness is forgiving; it is slow to perceive offence, quick to forget it, and incapable of avenging it.

In a word, if you wish to know what meekness is, read the life of the Son of God, and endeavor to imbibe his spirit who humbled himself, Phil. ii, 3–8; who was meek and lowly in heart, Matt. xi, 29; who did not strive nor cry, nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets. Matt. xii, 19; who gave up his own right rather than contend for it, Matt. xvii, 25-27; who felt for the distresses of others, Jno. xi, 33, 35; Luke vii, 13; who did not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax, Matt. xii, 20; who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, Heb. xii, 3; who when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered he threatened not, 1 Pet. ii, 23; who forbore to resent injuries, Luke ix, 53–56; who pitied his persecutors, Luke xix, 41, 42; prayed for his murderers, Luke xxiii, 34; and who left us an example that we should walk in his steps. 1 Pet. ii, 21. Sel.

Pressing Forward.

By Charles H. Spurgeon

EACH believer should be thirsting for God, for the living God, and longing to put his lips to the well-head of eternal life; to follow the Saviour. Satisfied I am that many a believer lives in the cottage of doubt, when he might live in the palace of faith. We are poor starving things, when we might be fed; we are weak, when we might be mighty; feeble, when we might be as giants before God; and all because we will not hear the Master say: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." Now, brethren, is the time with you, after the season of trouble, to renew your dedication vow to God. Now, beloved, you shall rise up from worldliness and come away; from sloth, from the love of this world, from unbelief. What enchants you to make you sit still where you are? What delights you to make you as you now are? Come away! There is a higher life; there are better things to live for, and better ways of seeking them. Aspire! Let thy high ambition be unsatisfied with what thou hast already attained. This one thing do thou—press forward to the things that are before.—Spurgeon.

Three Rules for a Holy Life.

By H. Venn

WHOEVER desires to persevere and increase in the fear of the Lord, and the comfort of the Holy Ghost, to live in hope that maketh not ashamed, must be diligent in secret prayer; must constantly read the Holy Scriptures, begging the Most High to explain them and give faith in them: and must walk with those who walk conscientiously before God—who are always aspiring to what they have not attained—in whose manner, spirit, and discourse, there is what reaches the heart, and tends to humble, quicken, and comfort the soul. In all my reading and acquaintance for forty years with religious people, I never saw an instance of one decaying and coming to nothing, who observed these rules—never saw one who presumed, on any consideration, to give over attention to them, who did not fall away.—H. Venn.

The Great Coming.

"Behold, he cometh!" Yes, he has received his commission from the Father for the glorifying of his people and the judgment of the world. He is, by his Spirit, his angels, and his ministers on earth, preparing the world for the reception of his presence. He hath mounted the the chariot of final redemption. Its wheels are moving round. The faint and feeble sound of them may be heard afar. Enlarge your vision, and gaze with the intensity of heavenly wisdom into the mysteries of futurity—"Behold he cometh!"

It is added, "with clouds." Clouds, in the Bible, are often employed as an appropriate symbol of glorious majesty. And in glorious majesty the Lord Jesus will appear when he comes. Probably the symbol alludes to the manner in which the Lord descended on mount Sinai at the giving of the law. There "clouds and darkness were round about him," and he appeared in terrible majesty, so that even Moses, his chosen one, trembled at the sight. . . . .

And even now, and ever since his apostle wrote, the clouds of his majesty, the indications of his vengeance and displeasure with those who scorn his gospel, have been advancing and accumulating over the world; and in due time the muttering storm will burst forth in awful splendor, and the immediate presence of our exalted Redeemer will be fully realized. "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were!" is the cry of a Christless or Christ-hating world. The cry is false, but let us take it as it is. Ah! who knows not, that often, when the might of heaven is about to be revealed in the sky, for a time before the bursting of the thunder every element is still? The wind is a breath. The rustling of the leaves is heard no more, and the rippling of the waves is changed into a calm. But is this stillness a pledge of continued repose? Nay, rather, while it lasts, do we not feel as if the attention of Him by whom all things are upheld were absorbed in the muttering of the gathering storm?

In like manner, O ye scorners of the coming Redeemer, the present quiescence of the highest heaven is no indication of abiding repose. An era is drawing nigh when the divine stillness which prevails will give place to wrath, proportioned to the greatness and length of the deepening gloom. O, already the Christian sees the clouds of the advent covering the sky, and anon the world shall be lighted up with the glory of the Lord. Say not, "Where is the promise of his coming?" "Behold, he cometh with clouds."

"Every eye shall see him." The nature of the advent here referred to necessarily determines the character of this vision. Hence the plain import of this announcement is, that men shall recognize the footsteps of the Saviour's mediatory providence in the leading events of the world's history; and ever as these events roll onward, more evident to all will be the doing of the Redeemer, till at last, when the consummation comes, and that Redeemer is openly seen interposing his omnipotent arm in the climax of the world's career, the conviction will force itself upon every mind, that all along the omnipotent arm has been swaying the destinies of mankind.

Meanwhile, the providence of the world is rolling rapidly on. The men of the world recognize no mediator's sway, and the smile of an impious infidelity sits upon their countenance, as they hear us declare, on the authority of God, that our Redeemer is at the right hand of the power, and that all the astonishing vicissitudes of the earth are only indications that he is more speedily than heretofore converging the interests of the world to its predicted crisis. "Be not ye like unto them." They cannot look beyond material things. They cannot see with the eye of faith, as we do, the divine Redeemer making bare his holy arm in the sight of all nations. Pity they cannot! But there is a time coming when they will find it impossible to resist the overwhelming evidence of the Redeemer's providential sway, a time coming when not merely his omnipotent arm, but his whole mediatory glory, shall stand disclosed before a trembling world. And then literally "every eye shall see him."

Dreadful will be the "wrath of the Lamb" when he ariseth to judge. Then he will be seen beyond the possibility of a doubt, coming in his terrible array, "coming in the clouds of heaven," to smite every foe, and emphatically to inflict the predicted doom upon "the mystery of iniquity," the man of sin, "whom (we are told) he shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." Ah, then, if not before, "all kindreds shall wail because of him."

Extract from an Old Sermon.

The providence of God appointed the mission of Jesus to a time which brought him in close contact with the greatest variety of depraved character, and many of the highest degrees of human vileness. It would appear also that that degenerate time was marked with more than usual ravages of Satan, and many sad pictures of distressed humanity; and certainly it lacked none of the common sorrows of sickness and death, or of national calamities to the Jewish people. In condition, the lot of Jesus was cast among the lowest ranks of men, yet so that he had experience of the peculiar vices and miseries of all ranks from the lowest to the highest. He shared the privation and reproaches of the poor, and yet became himself the object of jealousy and spite from men in high position, who trembled lest they should be held second to the Nazarene. He mingled with multitudes of the sick, and maimed, and bereaved, with publicans and sinners—with self-righteous Pharisees, and cold philosophic Sadducees—with wavering friends and a traitorous companion—with self-seeking priests, and prejudiced judges, and with temporizing and unjust rulers.

God's Plan of Your Life.

By Dr. Bushnell

NEVER complain of your birth, your training, your employment, your hardships; never fancy that you could be something, if you only had a different lot and sphere assigned you. God understands his own plans, and knows what you want a great deal better than you do. The things you most deprecate as fatal limitations or obstructions, are probably what you most want. What you call hindrances, obstacles, discouragements, are probably God's opportunities; and it is nothing new that the patient should dislike his medicines, or any certain proof that they are poisons. No! a truce to all such impatience! Choke that devilish envy which gnaws at your heart because you are not in the same lot with others; bring down your soul, or rather, bring it up to receive God's will, and do his work, in your lot, in your sphere, under your cloud of obscurity, against your temptations; and then you shall find that your condition is never opposed to your good, but really consistent with it.—Dr. Bushnell.

Seeking the Lord in Trouble

CROSSES should be neither sought nor avoided. When they come, they are graces; when sought for, offenses.

THOSE who seek the Lord by prayer in trouble, should seek the Lord with praise when the trouble is past: "I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me."

Continue reading: Thoughts on the Revelation