Earlier text: General ArticlesModern Spiritualism. "DOCTRINES OF DEVILS."
By Editor
SPIRITUALISTS destroy all distinctions of right and wrong, by denying the authority of law, human accountability, and the punishment of sin. This charge may seem severe, but it is no more severe than just; and we feel fully warranted in making it, judging them entirely by their own words. We prove them under this charge, in a threefold manner: 1. By their denying all law, and trusting to "intuition." 2. By their denying human accountability, or the punishment of sin. 3. By their denying the plainest principles of morality. 1. They deny all law, and trust to "intuition." By intuition we are to understand their own mentalities—mental views for which they are not dependent. The difference between them and the teachings of the Bible is this: The Bible presents to us a system or code of morality as emanating from God, the Supreme moral Governor; that it is of course of absolute authority; that man is subject to it in his actions, and subject to a penalty (punishment) for its violation. Now, though Spiritualists speak of the holiness and perfection of God's laws, as they sometimes do, we are to take these expressions with very considerable qualification; as by many of their expressions relative to God, we should be led to think they believed in the personality of a Supreme Being. But when we examine their explicit declarations, we find their views are ultra-pantheistic. So, though they speak of laws, they rob them of every characteristic of law: of authority, the first great essential of law; of penalty, without which a law is mere advice; besides this, they deny free-agency, or probation, without which a law is a nullity, though in itself possessed of every essential attribute. The "Healing of the Nations," says:— "Thus thy body needs no laws, having been in its creation supplied with all that could be necessary for its government. Thy spirit is above all laws and above all essences which flow therein. God created thy spirit from within his own, and surely the Creator of essences must be above all essence created. And if thou hast what may be, or might be termed laws, they are always subservient unto thy spirit." Page 163. "Good men need no laws, and laws will do bad or ignorant men no good." "If a man be above the law, he should never be governed by it. If he be below, what good can dead, dry words do him?" "True knowledge removeth all laws from power by placing the spirit of man above it." Page 164. That such expressions as these can only be understood in their most objectionable sense, that is, according to their obvious import, and not with reference to other expressions that might be considered qualifying, is evident from its relation to the following propositions:— 2. They deny human accountability and punishment for sin. A. J. Davis not only denies man's accountability, but argues, or rather asserts, the necessity of human imperfections in the following singular manner:— "Man is not accountable, in the manner in which this supposition would imply, for the original or present imperfection. For these sprang necessarily from his uncultivated social and moral situation. Indeed, it is only by the aid of these imperfections that man can properly know and appreciate purity and perfection."—Nat. Div. Rev., page 392. A correspondent of the Telegraph, elevated the "Healing of the Nations" far above the Bible, and says of it:— "According to its teaching, no place is found in the universe for divine wrath and vengeance. All are alike and forever the object of God's love, pity, and tender care—the difference between the two extremes of human character on earth being as a mere atom when compared with perfect wisdom," This is not merely the sentiment of the correspondent of the paper; he characterizes truly the teachings of the book, which is a standard work of Spiritualism. That there is a wider difference between God and the very best of the human race than there is between the two extremes of the human race, we do not deny; for God is infinite in every perfection, while man is imperfect at best. But to argue from hence that God disregards the distinctions of character, or will not vindicate his laws and punish the guilty, is but shallow reasoning, to say the best of it. Abraham passed a different judgment on the ways of God, and doubtless, his perceptions of truth and justice in this matter were as acute as those of the spiritual authorities. He said, "That the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee; shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Gen. 18:25. Instead of giving us an exalted view of the holiness of the Supreme Being, these spiritual teachings really place him below our estimate of a good, worthy man. We do not conclude that a man, because he is wise and good, will overlook and disregard all difference of action and character in his children or in his fellow-men. He who is the lowest and most debased will least regard these distinctions. Can we respect the man who places the same estimate upon the thief that he does upon the honest man? or regards the murderer in the same light that he does the innocent and inoffensive? We cannot. Such declarations deny, not the Bible only, but every principle in reason or revelation on which the stability of the divine government depends. The Bible informs us that when God created man and placed him in Eden, he told him that if he disobeyed him he should die. We find this penalty for transgression confirmed in many scriptures. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Eze. 18:4. "The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. Who would imagine, from reading the works of Spiritualists, or even those of the popular authors of the day, either secular or religious, that death was an enemy, a curse, a fruit of sin? A popular author makes an apostrophe to death as follows:— "O death! thou art lovely! O death! thou art grand! Now I see that man was made in the image of God. Life may deface it, but death restores it. The impress of the Divinity is here." If this were true, Jesus would again deface the image of God when he raised his saints from the dead! The Spiritual Age says:— "There is, strictly speaking, no such thing as death, in the popular signification of that term. Death, so-called—the death of the human—is a veritable birth into a higher life. It is a change in the condition, consequent upon outward dissolution. . . . The REAL man survives the process intact, and still exists in full life and consciousness, upon a plane beyond—far beyond—the reach of fire and flood." The Scripture, corrected by this standard, should read: The soul that sinneth, it shall be born into a higher life! The wages of sin is transition to a more elevated plane of being! This is comforting to sinners, no doubt, for the present; but when the penalty of God's holy, just, and good law shall be inflicted, and the sinner dies, even the second death, how miserably foolish and vain will appear the perversions of God's word on which he has staked eternal life! Truly, "they know not what they do." The "Healing of the Nations" says:— "At the death of the outer body, the true life of the inner spirit commences." Thus again we may paraphrase the threat of the Lord to Adam: In the day thou eatest thereof, the true life of thine inner spirit shall commence. If some of our professed Christian friends discover the counterpart of their systems of theology in such teachings, we hope they may be led to consider well its opposition to the word of God. The rudiments of Spiritualism have been taught in the pulpits throughout the length and breadth of the land. And it is vain for those ministers to try to pull down the superstructure, and denounce it as evil, who guard and defend the foundation with such jealous care. Many professed believers in the Bible, who deny Spiritualism, hold a faith identical with that of the Spiritualists. So far as we can see, they are really Spiritualists, only denying the name. This will appear as we present the teachings of both, and show their harmony. Says Dr. Hare:— "Hence the dark hearse, the black pall, the bitter lamentation over the grave, which shows that it is not realized that death is only a glorious spiritual birth!" Page 145. Dr. H. also gives the following spirit communications:— "Oh, mother, why do you mourn my death? I have just begun to live. Grieve not for me." "MY DEAR AUNT: This is the first time that I have communicated. When I left the rudimental sphere I was so young I did not know what it meant to die; I know now. It was the beginning of life!" Page 188. The Baptist Register said:— "There is no death! what seems so is transition: This life of mortal breath Is but a suburb of the life elysian, Whose portals we call Death." A well-known religious hymn says:— "Death is the gate to endless joy." A Spiritualist paper says:— "Fold us in thy embrace, sweet angel Death, So that no cloud can our twin being sever; Come with soft lips and kiss away our breath, And let us take our heavenward flight together." The American Messenger the organ of the American Tract Society, says:— "Who calls thee grim and terrible, Thou glorious angel, Death? Thy form should wondrous beauty wear, Like sweet perfume thy breath; Thy robes should be of woven light, Of clear, resplendent sheen; A crown of stars upon thy head, Thy face as Heaven serene. But now, midway from earth to Heaven, Upon thy ebon throne, A glorious boon is granted thee, To thee, great Death, alone: The golden key of life, true life, Op'ning the pearly gates, Where never enter woes nor strife, But rest the FREED awaits." Another well-known hymn says that death "Is but the voice which Jesus sends To call us to his arms." Joel Tiffany, in his lectures on Spiritualism, says:— "But hark! a voice comes from beyond the grave to tell us that death is not our foe; that he is the messenger of life and joy; that he is the grand accoucheur of the soul, and comes to usher it into light and life eternal. "To the bereaved husband, the voice of the departed wife comes back, saying, 'Weep not for me, my dear husband, for I am with you still, and I watch over you, and will guide and guard you through life,'" etc. Mr. Tiffany would pass for an infidel with many professed Christians, yet the whole page from which we make the above quotation is, not the mere counterpart of, but identical with, the majority of funeral discourses. "Appendix—B," in the "Healing of the Nations," commences as follows:— "From the N. Y. Evangelist. "On the ministration of departed spirits in this world—By Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe. "It is a beautiful belief That ever 'round our head, Are hovering on viewless wings The spirits of the dead." We will offer a few brief remarks on the foregoing quotations. The Scriptures say that the saints of God will all take their "heavenward flight together," not when they die, but when the Lord Jesus shall come and restore them to life. 1 Thess. 4: 13-18. If the Spiritual theory were true, to destroy death would only be to reverse a desirable "transition." What would the Baptist Register say to this? Again, the Scriptures say, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Cor. 15:26. How different the teachings of Spiritualism, and also of the theology quoted. In the Scriptures, Christ is called "our life;" he says it is his privilege to give life; that no man cometh to the Father but by him. But according to the above quotations, both spiritual and religious, this is the prerogative of death—of "death alone"! While the Spiritualist says it is a messenger of life, and the hymn book says it is the voice of Jesus to call us to his arms, and the American Messenger that it has the key of life and opens the pearly gates, the Bible says it is the fruit and wages of sin, and he that had the power of death is the devil. How different—how widely different! With such unscriptural ideas the theology of the present age has prepared the way for the introduction of Satan's last deception—Spiritualism. And still they go hand-in-hand, affirming that death qualifies our friends to guard and guide us, and render us that assistance that the living cannot give. The article from Mrs. Stowe noticed above, together with a large proportion of the pen and pulpit essays of the theology of this age, is Spiritualism denying its name. "Sin entered into the world, and death by sin." Therefore, if death is a friend, if it opens the elysian fields to our view, we must give all the praise to sin, or yet the devil, by whom this "messenger of life" was sent on his errand of joy! Wisdom cries, "All they that hate me, love death." Oh! that men would listen to the voice of wisdom, and seek life through Jesus and the resurrection from the dead. The Lord, by his prophet, speaks of those who say, "We have made a covenant with death, and with hell [the grave] are we at agreement." Isa. 28:15. They despise the word of the Lord, calling "evil good, and good evil." But there is a day coming when God will vindicate his truth, and his enemies shall perish; for he says, "And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it." But it is not alone by perverting terms, calling darkness light and evil good, that they deny the punishment of sin. The following, from the "Healing of the Nations," well expresses their faith:— "God doth not condemn. A God of perfect love and wisdom can never condemn those himself created, and who are not equally perfect and wise unto himself. When man feeleth condemnation, his own wisdom chides him for his failure to apply wisdom and love. He who hath not wisdom and love within to violate, cannot suffer, for these being violated is the inward cause of suffering." Page 400. The tendency of such teaching as this is unmistakable. We will next pass to consider that wherein they most manifestly destroy the distinctions of right and wrong. EDITOR. (To be Continued.) COME Holy Spirit, come with grace,
And make in us thy dwelling place,
For then will light of Heaven divine,
In all our course and conduct shine. Inspire us with a heavenly zeal,
That we thy love divine may feel,
And warm our hearts with holy fire,
That we thy precepts may admire. Enable us to watch and pray,
That we thy counsels may obey :
And help us, Lord, through trials hard,
That we may gain the great reward. How happy will thy children be
When thy dear face they all can see,
Rejoicing in their Saviour's love,
In peace and harmony above!
—J. Y. Heckler, in Brethren at Work. "FOR Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." There is one obvious sense in which Christ is the end of the law; and that is when the law viewed as a school-master brings us to the conclusion, as to its last lesson, that Christ is our only refuge, our only righteousness—thereby shutting us up into the faith. But this is not the sort of end which is meant here. We should have a more precise understanding of the verse by taking the word end as equivalent to purpose—and that a purpose too which the law was fitted to serve not merely after it was broken; but at the time of its original institution, and when it was first set up for the moral government of men. Now that the law has been violated, and we are the outcasts of its rightful condemnation, it is good to be schooled by it into the lesson that Christ is our only hiding-place, in whom there is no condemnation; and thus to make Christ the end or the final landing-place of that educational process through which we are conducted, when studying the high precepts and authority of the law, and our own immeasurable distance and deficiency therefrom. It is not thus however that this verse is to be understood; and for the right determination of what it signifies, we should go back to one of the purposes for which the law was given at the time of its first ordination—a purpose to be gained, not after the breaking of it, but which would have been gained by the keeping of it. One of these purposes was to secure the moral rightness of man's character and conduct. But another of these purposes was to secure for him a legal right to eternal life. The one was the end of the law for his personal holiness. The other was the end of the law for his judicial righteousness, and this is what we hold to be precisely the "end of the law for righteousness" in our text. Its direct and primary object was that man should be justified by his obedience thereto; but man falling short of this object or end by falling short of perfect obedience, can only now obtain it in Christ, in whom alone we have righteousness, even a part and an interest in that everlasting righteousness which He hath brought in, by His obedience—which righteousness, with all its associated privileges and rewards, is unto and upon all who believe. It is the merit of His obedience imputed unto us and made ours by faith, which forms our right or title-deed of entry into the kingdom of Heaven. He is the Lord our righteousness; and in receiving Him we receive that righteousness which it was the end of the law to have secured for us had it been by us fulfilled; but which we in vain seek by the law, now that it has been broken. We go on through our life comforted in our troubles, strengthened in our trials, and elevated in our joys, by the wondering and expectant hope of that day of glad surprise when the sealed package shall be opened, and we shall know what the Lord hath prepared for them that love him. Honest Ways to Earn Money
HORACE GREELEY never said a more truthful thing than when he declared “that the darkest hour in the history of any young man is when he sits down to study how to get money without honestly earning it.” Did Moses Write on the Tables of Stone?
WE have been requested by a correspondent, to give an answer to this question. It is easily answered. Those who claim that Moses did write on the tables of stone rest entirely on the 28th verse of the 34th chapter of Exodus, which reads thus:— "And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread nor drink water; and he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." The case turns on this one question: when a pronoun is repeated without a substantive intervening, does it necessarily in each case refer to the same antecedent? Without any regard to the context or to other texts, and with modern ideas of grammatical constructions, it would be decided at once that Moses wrote on them. But no candid student of the Bible will contend that a text must be taken without regard to the context or to other texts speaking on the same point. It should also be considered that the Hebrew is a very brief language, leaving far more to be gathered from the context than do modern languages. Learned Jewish Rabbis consider the Christian teachers greatly at fault in trying to bring down the Hebrew to the grammatical precision of the Western languages. The great proportion of supplied words in many texts gives force to this objection. Without these supplied words we have barely the skeletons of sentences, to be filled out according to the connection. What, then, was the usage of the early writers of the Hebrew in regard to the pronoun? Every observing reader must have noticed that they use pronouns often when we, for the sake of greater clearness, would insert the proper name. A few instances will suffice to show this. 1 Sam. 16:21: "And David came to Saul and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer." It was Saul that loved David greatly, as he said in verse 22, of David, "He hath found favor in my sight." According to modern ideas of grammar we must decide against the evident meaning of the text. Isa. 37:36: "Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and four-score and five thousand: and when they arose in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." Here there is no antecedent expressed but the Assyrians who were all slain; we are left to infer that it was the remaining Assyrians who arose and found one hundred and eighty-five thousand corpses in the camp. Zech. 6:13: "Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and he shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne." Although the pronouns in this text are not the same, one being possessive, the construction is similar, so much so that some have strenuously claimed that he and his refer to the same person. But the context shows that it is upon the throne of the Lord, the Father, that the Branch, or the Son of God, sits a priest. "The counsel of peace shall be between them both." This shows there are two to whom the text applied. Heb. 7 and 8 show positively that our Saviour, the King of peace, is a priest on his Father's throne. And this is in distinction from his own throne, upon which he will never be a priest, as is said in Rev. 3:21: "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." This method of expression is not confined to the Old Testament. We find a striking instance of it in Paul's language in 1 Cor. 15:25: "For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." Here, according to our rules of grammar, we must decide that he who reigns is the same who puts all enemies under his feet. But the context and other Scriptures show that he is not. In the two preceding verses both the Father and Son are introduced, and the two instances of the pronoun in verse 25 apply, the first to the Son, the second to the Father, exactly as the pronouns refer to Moses and to God in Ex. 34:28. In Ps. 110:1, the Father says to the Son, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." He is now sitting at his Father's right hand from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 1 Cor. 15:28 shows positively that the Father puts his enemies under the feet of his Son. "And when all things shall be subdued unto him [the Son], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [the Father] that put all things under him [the Son], that God may be all in all." This verse also presents the same interchange of pronouns that we find in Ex. 34:28, and it shows that the same rule of grammar which would make Moses write the ten commandments on the tables of stone, would make the Son become subject to himself! instead of becoming subject to the Father who will put all things under him. And verse 25 stands thus:— "For he [the Son] must reign till he [the Father] hath put all enemies under his [the Son's] feet." And thus in Ex. 34:28: "And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he [Moses] did neither eat bread nor drink water. And he [the Lord] wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." The context and other texts show that this is the true reading of the text. See verse 1 of this chapter:— "And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest." This alone fully justifies our application of the pronouns as above. But it is placed beyond all possibility of doubt in Deut. 10:1-5. We will copy entire; they are the words of Moses speaking to Israel:— "At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made." The opposers of the truth have waxed so bold as to even deny that God wrote upon the first tables except through Moses as his agent. In Deut. 5:22, Moses said:— "These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me." Also Deut. 4:12, 13. So far from it being true that Moses wrote on the tables, the Lord prepared the first tables and wrote upon them before he called Moses up into the mount to receive them. See Ex. 24:12:— "And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone and the law, and the commandments, that thou mayest teach them." Accordingly Ex. 31:18 says they were "written with the finger of God." And Ex. 32:16 says:—"And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables." God prepared the tables and wrote upon them the ten commandments before he called Moses up to the mount to receive them. This is too plain to be denied by any candid man. They only who regard theories more than truth will deny the evident teachings of these Scriptures. Unfortunately there are many in these days who strive for the mastery without regard to the contradictions in which they involve the Scriptures. They who "tremble at the word" of God, will ever seek to harmonize the Scriptures and to bring them into agreement one with another. And they will also try to bring themselves in harmony with the whole truth of God, instead of distorting the word to make it conform to their own opinions. SELFISHNESS is its own curse; it is a self-starving vice. Signs Office—Its Wants.
By Editor
It is well understood that there has been great embarrassment with the publishing work at Oakland in consequence of a large indebtedness resting upon the Office here. This indebtedness was not brought on the Office by losses, but by increasing its facilities to establish a first-class publishing house for the purpose of publishing present truth, and to make the Office a self-sustaining institution. A second-rate establishment, with few facilities, would never be self-sustaining, but would require large donations yearly to keep it in operation, besides working to a great disadvantage. For a complete printing house, furnishing its own type and other printing material, it is now second to none on the Pacific Coast. One publisher, who would not trust his printing to any house in San Francisco, but sent to New York and Philadelphia to get his printing done, after having been prevailed upon to give this Office one trial, became satisfied that no eastern city could excel this house in skillful execution, and therefore entered into a contract to have his work done here. But to bring about this condition of things has cost much labor and a large outlay of means. Its present condition can be briefly stated as follows: With the present patronage of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES by the Missionary Societies east of the Rocky Mountains, including the number of copies taken on this coast, the paper is self-sustaining. The Job Department pays at the present time from $75 to $100 per week, besides its running expenses. The Type Foundry is furnishing type to the Office and other parties, so that now it is about paying its way; and so with each department in the Office. The Office at the present time pays all its expenses within itself, and were there no indebtedness upon it, it would require no help outside of itself to do all the business it now does. But the present difficulties arise from the indebtedness incurred in bringing the Office to its present condition. The Office now pays $150 a month interest. Besides this, there are large payments to be made yearly on the principal. This present month there has been made $4000 payment on the principal. But this money is largely borrowed, as our brethren were not able to meet their pledges which now are past due. So the interest is not stopped, and the borrowed money is to be replaced this fall. The property here is not the property of any one person, but is owned by those taking shares. No one person is benefited by any profit accruing from its business. The institution, with all its proceeds, is devoted to the interests of the cause of God. The work is largely done by our brethren at a sacrifice that they may labor for the interests of the cause, working for much less wages than is paid in other houses for such work. Now we ask our friends to aid us in the following manner:— 1. Let those who have pledges made to the Association pay them on or before the time of the camp-meeting in September next. 2. Let those who have means for which they do not have immediate use, deposit here without interest. This will give the Association the benefit of the use of it till such times as the depositor may wish to call it out. 3. Let those having money which they can loan on this coast, loan it to the Association at a low rate of interest. The Association will give its note if desired. We consider all money deposited or loaned to this Institution safe; far more so than in banks, with the every-day failures which occur. We do not say help if you can as well as not, although many can, and it is appreciated just the same here. But remember, it is helping God's cause, and God will regard those who will put themselves out to help bear the burdens which must necessarily be borne. The Institution has been founded in God's providence, and is devoted to a specific work. About 7,000 copies of the SIGNS are taken by our Vigilant Societies, weekly, and remailed to as many families and individuals to every part of the world. The work in Italy and Egypt, and many other places, is the fruit of this kind of labor. Now, from what spot on earth does this light start to find its way to so many thousand families and through them to the islands of the sea, till there is no telling where these rays of light do not penetrate? We answer, from the SIGNS Office in Oakland, Cal. And who sends this truth from this point? Those who assist in sustaining the work at this place. The reward will not be to those alone who work in the Office or who remail the SIGNS, but who assist this institution by their means and their prayers. The management of this institution is not controlled by any one person. We believe the angel of the Lord's hosts is at the head of this work. And those having charge of the Office, some of long experience in the cause, meet each day at 6 A. M. and spend an hour in prayer and consultation for divine guidance through the day. We, therefore, ask the hearty co-operation of all the friends of the cause on the Pacific Coast, from Southern California to the North Pacific. We ask none to distress themselves; but now, while the battle goes hard, we invite them to lift at the wheel with those at the Office; and we believe that God's blessing will rest upon all who do so. S. N. HASKELL. We wish to add a few words to the remarks of Bro. Haskell. 1. Since our coming here last November, we have not attempted any new enterprises, but have labored hard to bring into efficiency those already commenced. And, considering the circumstances, the results have been highly satisfactory. We plainly saw, on our arrival here, that considerable outlay and much labor were necessary to place all departments of the Office on a substantial footing. As the means did not come in as we had been led to expect, we had to struggle harder than we even anticipated, and we owe it to the especial blessing of Heaven that the institution stands where it does to-day. 2. We have no reflections to cast upon any because they were not able to appreciate our efforts. They knew not the precarious condition of the Office, the instructions under which we were laboring; and many viewed almost every move we made, with distrust. But we are very happy to say that this state of things has passed away; and we believe there is to-day greater harmony between the several branches of the work in California than at any previous time in its history.2533. By the inability of those who had pledged, to pay their pledges, we were placed under more trying circumstances than we had anticipated; and it is only by the kind interest taken in our work by the Tract Societies that we are able to make the SIGNS sustain itself the present year. For this we feel very grateful, well knowing that it would be more convenient to the body of our missionary workers to have the paper printed east of the mountains; and that they are lifting with us here to enable us to establish a house on the Pacific Coast which will be able fully to sustain itself. 4. We have labored hard to effect this, looking forward to the time, not far off, when this help will be withdrawn by the establishing of a pioneer paper at some other point. And it has greatly cheered our hearts to have Bro. Haskell come to California, and to see him take so deep an interest in the prosperity of the work here. His counsel and assistance are of great value to us at the present time. 5. We think all these things strongly indicate that now is the time for the friends of the cause to lift with us; that those who have pledged should redeem these pledges as far as possible, and as soon as possible. We have felt considerable anxiety fearing that Bro. Haskell would be called away before certain things are accomplished which seem to be essential to the future prosperity of our work in this State. 6. When these things are accomplished, and our anxieties are relieved, and we are freed from some of the burdens which we have unexpectedly been called to bear, we hope to do our work in a still better manner than we have done it so far. The end is drawing nearer, the urgency of the work is increasing, and we hope that our efficiency may increase, and a new impetus be given to the cause at large by means of the truth which goes forth from Oakland. J. H. W. Watching the Sacrifice.
By John Nevins Andrews
WHEN Abraham asked a token of the Lord that he should actually inherit the land, he was bidden to offer a certain sacrifice. He made the offering as directed, but no signs of God's acceptance appeared. What did Abraham do? Did he become weary of waiting on God? Did he say that he had done what he could and that it availed nothing? That he was discouraged to find no response, and that he should never act in that manner again? Far from it. He had entered upon something worth all that it could cost, and that was sure to bring the wished for result, if he could only wait long enough. The sacrifice needed watching. Abraham needed just exactly the task of doing that watching. He spent a whole day in doing it. For the vision in which God conversed with him was in the night season, as shown by the fact that Abraham was taken forth abroad, i. e., out of doors, to see the stars. When the vision ended, we may safely conclude that Abraham immediately prepared and offered the sacrifice. But it was not till the going down of the sun that the desired token was granted. So the whole livelong day Abraham watched his sacrifice and waited for the hand of God to appear. See this remarkable story in Gen. 15. What a lesson for our admonition. God bids us to present ourselves, and all that we have, a living sacrifice to him. Perhaps we make the sacrifice. Whoever is soundly converted, must do this very thing in order that God may thus accept him. But how few, having made this surrender of self to God, do thenceforward watch the sacrifice to see that it is not removed from the altar. How few, alas, do not rob the altar with their own hands. Having once given all to God, they break their solemn vows and take back, piece by piece, what they had solemnly devoted to God. Consider Abraham watching his sacrifice through weary hours. There was a man faithful to God. But how few have the spirit that was in him. "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the work of Abraham." John 8: 39. It is ours to make the unreserved surrender of all to God. It is his to reward our sacrifice. But it is for us to wait his time. The time our God appoints is best. The waiting is for our benefit, not the Lord's. We shall wait not one moment beyond what is strictly necessary. But who of us shall thus prove our fidelity? Who of us shall receive for our reward the things which God hath prepared for him that waiteth for him? Isa. 14: 4. J. N. A.