Review and Herald, Vol. 35, No. 3. (1/11/1870)

Review and Herald

Jan 11, 1870

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 11, 1870

OUR FAITH AND HOPE;

By James White

Or, Reasons Why We Believe as We Do.

NUMBER EIGHT.—THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

BY ELDER JAMES WHITE.

“Can ye not discern the signs of the times?” Matt. 16:3.

Our Lord asked the Pharisees and Sadducees this question at a time when they came to him tempting him for a sign from Heaven. It was a reproof to them for their unbelief in the signs mentioned by the Old-Testament writers, which they professed to believe, and which were actually fulfilling before their eyes, yet disregarded by them. They could tell the weather for the morrow, but had no skill in those prophecies that pointed to that time. “When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red; and in the morning, it will be foul weather to-day, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”

We will here name some of the signs which the Jews had as evidence of Jesus’ being the true Messiah.

SIGNS OF THE FIRST ADVENT.

1. The star that appeared to guide the wise men to the place of the infant Saviour, Matt. 2:2, 9; prophesied of in Num. 24:17.

2. He was born of a virgin, Matt. 1:18–25; spoken of in Isa. 7:14.

3. Bethlehem was his birthplace, Matt. 2:1; mentioned in Micah 5:2.

4. Herod’s slaying all the children in Bethlehem, from two years old and under, Matt. 2:16, 18; prophesied of in Jer. 31:15.

5. His forerunner, John. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, &c. Isa. 40:3. All Judea and Jerusalem saw this sign when they went out to be baptised of John. Matt. 3:1–6.

6. The gospel preached. When Jesus stood up in the synagogue to read, he opened the book and read where it is written, Isa. 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel,” &c. The eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened upon him. And he said unto them, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4:16–21.

7. His humility when on trial. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted; yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” Isa. 53:7.

8. The manner and circumstances of his death. “They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. . . . They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture;” Ps. 22:13–18. This prophecy had an exact and literal accomplishment at the crucifixion of Christ, and the Jews saw it. Read Matt. 27:35.

9. The fulfillment of the seventy weeks of Dan. 9:24–27. The Jews understood this, or might have understood it. Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied [or taught the prophecies] that Jesus should die for that nation, and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one, the children of God that were scattered abroad.” John 11:49–52. We might add to these signs the miracles of Christ, his resurrection, the pouring out of the Holy Ghost on the day of pentecost, and still others which were distinctly spoken of by the prophets.

But notwithstanding all this scripture was fulfilling before the faces of the rulers of the Jews, and all these signs were actually accomplished in a little more than thirty years, and they themselves had to acknowledge that notable miracles had been done, yet they believed not.

Well may it be said by this generation, that the Jews deserved wrath, and God was just in destroying their nation and place. But how is it with the professed people of God at this day? Do they believe in that Word which they blame the Jews for rejecting? The Jews were looking for a temporal kingdom, and overlooked the signs of Christ’s first advent. The nominal church, as a body, is looking for a temporal millennium, and overlook the signs of his second advent, which are more numerous and forcible than those of his first advent. Then if the signs of Christ’s second coming are doubted and rejected by the professed people of God of this generation, the sin of unbelief will rest upon them heavier than it did upon the Jews, in proportion as they reject greater light.

SIGNS OF THE SECOND ADVENT.

1. The dark day of May 19, 1780. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.” Matt. 24:29.

The tribulation, here mentioned, is that which was upon the church of Christ for 1260 years, noted in Dan. 7:25; Rev. 12:6; 13:5. In Matt. 24:21, it is said to be “tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” During the 1260 years of papal persecution, fifty, and some writers say a hundred, millions of Christians were put to death by sword, flame, and rack, and by every other engine of cruelty that wicked men and demons could invent. It was a greater tribulation than the church will ever suffer. It is true that the prophet speaks of a “time of trouble such as never was,” when Michael [Christ] shall stand up. Dan. 12:1. But that will be a national trouble upon all the wicked, and not on the people of God; for “at that time,” says the prophet, “thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

The tribulation named in the text cannot apply to the destruction of Jerusalem; for that trouble on that nation was not so great as that of the cities of the plain, when God rained fire and brimstone from heaven on them; or the destruction of the old world by the flood. Neither was it so great as the day of God’s anger will be, when the last vials of his wrath shall be poured out.

If this tribulation be applied to the Jews, or any other class of unbelieving men, it cannot be harmonized with Dan. 12:1, which speaks of the time of trouble such as never was, when Michael shall stand up. Certainly there could not be two times of trouble, at different periods, greater than ever was, or ever would be. Therefore we apply the tribulation spoken of in Matt. 24:21, 29, to the church during the 1260 years, and the trouble mentioned in Dan. 12:1, to the unbelieving world, to be experienced by them in the future.

Then, immediately after the tribulation of those days of papal persecution, the sun was to be darkened. Mark this: it does not say, after those days; but after the tribulation of those days. The days reached to 1798, eighteen years this side of the dark day; but the tribulation of the days ceased before the sun was darkened in 1780. The days of tribulation were shortened for the elect’s sake. Verse 22. The reformation under Martin Luther modified this tribulation, and continued to restrain the rage and consume the power of the papacy until 1760; since which time, according to all church history, there has been no general persecution against the church. Mark 13:24, makes this point very plain: “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened.” That is, before the 1260 years should close; but after the tribulation, or martyrdom of the church ceased, the sun was darkened. Those who would point to the future, or to the past, prior to the eighteenth century, for the darkening of the sun here mentioned, will do well to read again Mark 13:24. “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened.”

“A something strikingly awful shall forewarn that the world will come to an end, and that the last day is even at the door.”—Martin Luther.

“In the month of May, 1780, there was a very terrific dark day in New England, when ‘all faces seemed to gather blackness,’ and the people were filled with fear. There was great distress in the village where Edward Lee lived: ‘men’s hearts failing them for fear’ that the judgment day was at hand, and the neighbors all flocked around the holy man; for his lamp was trimmed, and shining brighter than ever, amidst the unnatural darkness. Happy and joyful in God, he pointed them to their only refuge from the wrath to come, and spent the gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed multitude.”—Tract No. 379 of Am. Tract Society—Life of Edward Lee.

“The 19th day of May, 1780, was a remarkably dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses. The birds were silent and disappeared. The fowls retired to roost. It was the general opinion that the day of judgment was at hand. The legislature of Connecticut was in session, at Hartford, but being unable to transact business, adjourned.”—President Dwight, in (Ct.) Historical Collections.

“AN ANNIVERSARY OF THE DARK DAY.—The dark day, May 19, 1780, is thus described by Mr. Stone, in his history of Beverly: ‘The sun rose clear, but soon assumed a brassy hue. About 10 o’clock, A. M., it became unusually dark. The darkness continued to increase till about one o’clock, when it began to decrease. During this time, candles became necessary. The birds disappeared and were silent, the fowls went to their roosts, the cocks crew as at daybreak, and everything bore the appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produced by this unusual aspect of the heavens was great.’”—Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1843.

The supernatural darkening of the sun, May 19, 1780, has been so universally understood that Noah Webster’s dictionary, in the edition for 1869, under the head of Explanatory and Pronouncing Vocabulary of Noted Names, says,

“The dark day, May 19, 1780;—so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day, extending over all New England. In some places, persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. Birds sang their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost; cattle sought the barn-yard; and candles were lighted in the houses. The obscuration began about ten o’clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with differences of degree and duration in different places. For several days previous, the wind had been variable, but chiefly from the south-west and the north-east. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known.”

“From Robert Sears’ Guide to Knowledge, published in New York, 1844, we extract the following: ‘On the 19th of May, 1780, an uncommon darkness took place all over New England, and extended to Canada. It continued about fourteen hours, or from ten o’clock in the morning till midnight. The darkness was so great that people were unable to read common print, or tell the time of the day by their watches, or to dine, or transact their ordinary business, without the light of candles. They became dull and gloomy, and some were excessively frightened. The fowls went to roost. Objects could not be distinguished but at a very little distance, and everything bore the appearance of gloom and night. Similar days have occasionally been known, though inferior in the degree or extent of their darkness. The causes of these phenomena are unknown. They certainly were not the result of eclipses.’”

2. The dark night of May 19, 1780. “And the moon shall not give her light.” Matt. 24:29.

“The moon shines with a borrowed light; and, therefore, if the sun from whom she borrows her light is turned into darkness, she must fail, of course, and become bankrupt.”—Matthew Henry.

“The night succeeding that day [May 19, 1780,] was of such pitchy darkness that, in some instances, horses could not be compelled to leave the stable when wanted for service. About midnight, the clouds were dispersed, and the moon and stars appeared with unimpaired brilliancy.”—Portsmouth Journal, May 20, 1845.—Extract from Stone’s History of Beverly.

Mr. Tenny, of Exeter, N. H., quoted by Mr. Gage, to the Historical Society, speaking of the dark day and dark night of May 19, 1780, says:

“The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible with the blackest velvet.”

Dr. Adams, speaking of the dark night says:

“At nine, it was a darkness to be felt by more senses than one, as there was a strong smell of soot. Almost every one who happened to be out in the evening, got lost in going home. The darkness was as uncommon in the night as it was in the day, as the moon had fulled the day before.”

3. The falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833. “And the stars shall fall from heaven.” Matt. 24:29. We here give an extract from an article written by Henry Dana Ward, in regard to the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833, published in the Journal of Commerce, Nov. 15, 1833:

“At the cry, ‘Look out of the window,’ I sprang from a deep sleep, and with wonder saw the east lighted up with the dawn and meteors. The zenith, the north, and the west also, showed the falling stars, in the very image of one thing, and only one, I ever heard of. I called to my wife to behold; and while robing, she exclaimed, ‘See how the stars fall!’ I replied, ‘That is the wonder!’ and we felt in our hearts that it was a sign of the last days. For, truly, ‘the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.’ Rev. 6:13. This language of the prophet has always been received as metaphorical. Yesterday, it was literally fulfilled. The ancients understood by aster, in Greek, and stella, in Latin, the smaller lights of heaven. The refinement of modern astronomy has made the distinction between stars of heaven and meteors of heaven. Therefore, the idea of the prophet, as it is expressed in the original Greek, was literally fulfilled in the phenomenon of yesterday.

“And how did they fall? Neither myself, nor one of the family, heard any report; and were I to hunt through nature for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of the heavens, as that which St. John uses in the prophecy before quoted.”

“The stars fell ‘even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.’ Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did not come as if from several trees shaken, but from one: those which appeared in the east fell toward the east; those which appeared in the north fell toward the north; those which appeared in the west fell toward the west; and those which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the Park) fell toward the south. And they fell not as the ripe fruit falls. Far from it; but they flew, they were cast, like the unripe fruit, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and when, under a violent pressure it does break its hold, it flies swiftly, straight off, descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force, but each one falls on its own side of the tree. Such was the appearance of the above phenomenon to the inmates of my house.”

Prof. Olmstead, of Yale College, says:

“The extent of the shower of 1833 was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth’s surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the east, to the Pacific on the west; and from the northern coast of South America, to undefined regions among the British possessions on the north, the exhibition was visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance.

“The meteors did not fly at random over all parts of the sky, but appeared to emanate from a point in the constellation Leo, near a star called Gamma Leonis, in the bend of the sickle.

“This is no longer to be regarded as a terrestrial, but as a celestial phenomenon; and shooting stars are now to be no more viewed as casual productions of the upper regions of the atmosphere, but as visitants from other worlds, or from the planetary voids.”

The People’s Magazine, Boston, Jan., 1834, on the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833, says:

“The Rockingham (Va.) Register calls it ‘A rain of fire,’—thousands of stars being seen at once; some said it began with considerable noise.

“The Journal of Commerce informs, that ‘three hundred miles this side of Liverpool the phenomenon was as splendid there as here; and that in St. Lawrence County there was a snow storm during the phenomenon, in which the falling stars appeared like lightning. . . . That in Germantown, Pa., they seemed like showers of great hail.’”

“The Lancaster (Pa.) Examiner says: ‘The air was filled with innumerable meteors or stars; . . . hundreds of thousands of brilliant bodies might be seen falling at every moment, . . . sloping their descent toward the earth, at an angle of about forty-five degrees, resembling flashes of fire.’”

This is important testimony as to the vast extent of the falling stars, and also from their emanating from a single point in the heavens. It was the greatest display of celestial fire-works recorded on the pages of history. It was no atmospheric or terrestrial phenomenon, common to the upper regions of the earth; but a display of the divine power, baffling the science of man.

After our Lord names these three signs; first, the sun darkened; second, the moon not giving her light; and third, the stars falling from heaven, Matt. 24:29–31, he gives the parable of the fig-tree.

“Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [He, margin,] is near, even at the doors.” Matt. 24:32, 33.

The parable of the fig-tree is probably the most forcible that could be used by our Lord to inspire in the hearts of his people faith in his speedy coming. When the trees of the field begin to put forth their leaves, and the tender grass springs up, and the ground is being covered with its green, velvet carpet, we know that summer is nigh. If one should doubt, and talk of the season’s changing back to winter, he would be

thought insane. It is a certainty with us that summer is coming when we see these signs in nature. We know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, or with the same certainty, know that Christ’s coming is at the doors when the signs in the sun, moon and stars are fulfilled.

Here, dear reader, our Lord has stated the object of these signs, which is, that we may know when his coming is at the doors. But we are told that the church is not to know anything of the period of Christ’s second advent. Then, we inquire, why did our Lord give signs of the event? Are they given to deceive us? to lead the honest Christian to look for Christ’s coming when, in fact, nothing is to be known of the time of the event? Certainly not. The fact that Christ foretells signs of his coming, and then states the object of those signs, that the church may know when the event is near, even at the doors, is sufficient proof that it is the design of Heaven that the church should understand the period of the second advent.

Correct Ideas of Burden Bearing.

By John H. Waggoner

Gal. 6: 2: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Verse 5: “For every man shall bear his own burden.”

The apostle Paul was decidedly a reasoner. A mind as logical as his would not find it difficult to preserve consistency either of statement or conclusion. Certainly he would not contradict himself in writing two sentences so nearly connected as are the above quoted from his letter to the Galatians. And yet were all the “burdens” of life alike in their nature, and to be borne under like circumstances, we could see no consistency in the two verses.

In looking around we shall find three kinds of burdens to be borne; viz., those which we can and ought to bear with or for one another; those which we cannot bear for one another; and those which we ought not to bear for one another.

The first, referred to in verse 2, are burdens which are laid upon us as servants of God; those which fall upon us because we are the followers of Christ. These are all the scoffs, scorns, insults, hatreds, persecutions, losses, and injuries, we receive or suffer as Christians. Such we should bear for each other’s sake, not only as a duty, but as a joyful privilege.

As a duty, because it is enjoined by our Saviour; it is to follow him in his labor of love, who suffered not for himself, but for others. It is the manifestation of the spirit of the gospel; the spirit of disinterested kindness—the opposite of all selfishness.

As a privilege, because it is suffering for Christ’s sake; rather, it is suffering with him. His servants are his representatives, and what we do to or for them, we do to or for him. Matt. 25: 40. Paul rejoiced in his sufferings for his brethren, because he thereby filled up that which was behind of the afflictions of Christ, in his flesh, for his (Christ’s) body’s sake, which is the church. Col. 1: 24. No doubt all the disciples regretted through all their lives that they “forsook him and fled” in the hour of his betrayal. It was a sore trial in the flesh then, but what a record would it have been for one of them to stand boldly by his side, and brave the anger of the Jews and the power of the Roman soldiers for the sake of their Master—the holy Son of God! What a privilege it is to suffer with Jesus!

And there are some burdens which we must bear alone; no human aid can reach us in the struggle. These are the burdens of personal duty; of self-denial; of cross-bearing; of overcoming our besetments and passions. These, perhaps, the apostle referred to in verse 5. Divine grace can assist us in the work, but grace will not do our work for us. Overcoming is a heart work, a life struggle. God will do great things for us—more than we can conceive; but he will not do for us what he has commanded us to do. Grace will enable us to obey; but it will not remove the obligation or necessity therefor.

And again there are other burdens which we ought to bear alone; these are the burdens of our own wrongs. If we suffer as evil-doers, we have no right to throw the burden on our brethren, on the church, or on the

cause of God. But alas! all these have to suffer when the professor of godliness turns aside from the narrow path.

We should suppose that all would be ready and glad to bear the reproaches and persecutions which fall upon the servants of God for righteousness’ sake; that they would esteem it a privilege, as Paul did, to suffer for the body of Christ on earth; and that they would instinctively shrink from bearing reproach with them who are reproached for evil-doing. But the reverse is very frequently the case. It often happens that the godly is left to suffer alone for his devotion to the cause of Christ, without an eye to weep for his sorrows, or a heart to pity or sympathize in his afflictions; while he who is chastised for his unfaithfulness to duty, and bears a burden of his own wrong-doing, is the object of pity, and receives the strongest sympathy.

That this is very often the case, we all know. But why is it so? What can be the motives actuating professed Christians to take such distorted views of duty, and to suffer their sympathies to be so perverted?

The reason is found in this: that such professing Christians lose sight of the declarations of the word of God, and estimate things by a worldly standard. “The reproach of Christ” is a commodity of no value in this world; it is avoided by the worldling as something positively injurious; and very many professed followers of Christ are so imbued with the spirit of the world, that they, too, fail to discern its worth. They deal so little in it—it is so slightly interwoven into their religious experience, that they do not recognize it when it is presented before them. They move with the world; they love what the world loves, and despise what the world despises. But let them know that if they do not repent and turn away their hearts from the world and worldly things, they will sink and perish in the world’s destruction.

Such professors, having wandered far from Christ; having lost their affection for his cross; the spirit of sacrifice and self-denial having died out of their hearts, are blinded to the claims of moral worth, and see no beauty in the pure principles of Heaven. Their feelings and sympathies readily blend and harmonize with selfishness and worldly-mindedness. There they find their level. And if, as Paul says, when one member suffers all the members of the body suffer, we are almost compelled to believe that these are no longer members of the body of Christ, they seem so perfectly indifferent and unfeeling while his chosen ones are suffering for his cause and name’s sake. They love their ease. The world is so filled with iniquity that there is but little reproach attached to sin; and that is so easy to bear, they choose it instead of the reproach of Christ.

We may therefore set it down as a truth that the direction of a person’s sympathies is one sure indication of his standing as a Christian. And it becomes every one of us to watch our sympathies with jealous care, and know that they move in harmony with the Spirit of Christ. When he or his cause suffers in the person of his followers, let us stand by their side; let us bear the reproach with them; let us suffer in their persecutions; let us rejoice at the privilege of bearing their burdens, that so we may fulfill the law of Christ; and though the selfish and carnally-minded may be ashamed of us now, Jesus himself will not be ashamed of us in that day when kings and mighty men will try to hide from his face.

In that day the decisions of the present will be reversed. The honors of this world, its wealth and glory, now so highly prized, will then be worthless. The reproach of sin, now so light, so little cared for, will then be so heavy as to sink its possessor into despair and perdition. The reproach of Christ, now so lightly esteemed, yes, so generally despised, will then prove of infinite worth.

Who, in that day, will regret that they suffered with Christ? Who, in eternal ages, will not rejoice that they were permitted to bear a part in his afflictions? Who would not feel eternally reproved by the wounds he bears, if they should choose the path of selfishness and ease? Let us throw all our feelings and sympathies forward into the judgment, and try to view things now as we shall view them in eternity. If Jesus has his representatives on earth, let us do to them as we shall wish we had done when we shall be called into his presence. Now we have a little time and opportunity left to “suffer with him.” It will soon be past, and the reproach of Christ cease forever. May we so bear the cross as to share the glory which shall follow.

J. H. WAGGONER.

To the Lonely Ones.

By John Matteson

“I WILL never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb. 13:5. What more need I say to the lonely ones? Is not this sufficient in all your privations, trials, and sufferings? Jesus will never leave you, never forsake you.

Oh! yes, that is easy enough for you to say, who are living right among brethren, where you have all the privileges of meetings, and preaching, and Sabbath School; but if you were living as I am, deprived of all these things, you would probably feel as lonesome as I do.

Dear brother or sister, I am also one of the lonely ones. It falls to my lot mostly to live far from those of like precious faith, and whenever such spring up around me, and my heart is bound to them with the tenderest cords of love, I must break all these and seek a new place, where to battle again with a cold and frowning world. Sometimes I don’t see the REVIEW for weeks. Then I truly long to hear from the dear waiting ones.

Well, that must be very tedious, alone, among strangers, far away from home, after meeting with ill success, sometimes sick, with no home conveniences or comforts. You have, indeed, our full sympathy and our prayers.

Thank you, dear brethren. You have also mine. But if you think this is tedious, you are very much mistaken. What! tedious to live for Christ, to suffer with him, to work for him! Lonesome! where I can walk by faith with Jesus every day, enjoy the company of holy angels, hear the heavenly voice of the Holy Spirit, and have that constant, faithful, never-erring companion—God’s word? Oh, no! I am not lonesome. I enjoy myself more here than I ever did in any camp-meeting, or church-gathering. In the path of duty and toil, is the best enjoyment. To learn submission is the sweetest work. Though the descent into the valley of submission may be steep, and rough, and cost many struggles, and prayers, and tears; yet this trouble is richly paid by the beautiful flowers and rich fruit that grows in this valley. Their fragrance seems to be so fresh from Paradise. Hope and joy hang here in rich clusters. And faith views a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. How this can lighten every burden, heal every wound. Jesus is mine. I am his. He will never leave me, nor forsake me.

Yes; the grace of God is sufficient for us all. Very true. But then you are a preacher. That is a different thing.

Lonely brother, now don’t say that a preacher’s way is easier than yours. That awful responsibility that rests upon such, may be you never knew. And the powerful efforts made by the enemy, specially to overthrow them, may be you never experienced. Now don’t think that blessings drop from Heaven upon the preacher, when he is idle and at ease. His are trials more severe, struggles more intense, prayers more agonizing, tears more abundant. Come, now, and let us reason together. If we have any aching void in our soul, any unsatisfied aspirations, any complaint about our lot of any kind, is it not because we are so far destitute of divine grace? Are we not always contented and happy, whatever circumstances may be, sickness, distress, persecution, in proportion as we enjoy an indwelling Saviour? And can he not give us joy unspeakable and full of glory, enough to overbalance all sorrows and troubles of earth?

Lonely ones, look to that dear Lamb of God, who so patiently suffered anguish unspeakable, of mind and body. How lonesome he was when all his disciples left him; when angels of God left him; when the Father himself for a while left him. Then it wrung from him that terrible cry of despair: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” He suffered for our sins. If we should at last come short and be lost, then we would also have to taste such anguish, such deep despair. Lonesome, indeed, left by friends, and angels, and God. Left to wild and frantic despair. Death our eternal portion. But if we overcome, we shall never be as lonesome as Jesus was. Never suffer as he suffered. For he will never, never, no, never leave us. And should our active limbs moulder in a lonely pilgrim’s grave before he comes, never mind; it is only a short night’s rest, soon to be broken by the Archangel’s trumpet, and an everlasting day of glory. Then, whether we die midst a circle of friends, or are left to perish alone, unnoticed, unlamented, oh! let us die at our post. Let us sleep in Jesus. Let it be written by angel hands in heavenly records, “A pilgrim sleeps in Jesus. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from henceforth.”

I believe all this. I know if I have Jesus, I have enough, and he will never leave me. But oh! you don’t know how I have desired, and prayed that some preacher might be sent this way, and yet it seems as though we never should be permitted to see one.

I know that there are some lonely pilgrims who have prayed and wept much for their neighbors, and who would gladly give all their living, could the truth prosper in their neighborhood, who are trying hard to live blameless before God and man. I wish to God that this was true of all my lonely readers. But in every case pray on, toil on, trust in God. It is not possible that God can refuse to answer your prayer if you pray in faith, and it can be done consistently with his plans and glory. If his own good time has come to sound the third angel’s message in your neighborhood, it will be done. Some preacher will be directed that way. Or some silent little messenger will come as an angel wing to patiently toil and convince souls of the truth. Or your own prayers, godly example, and timely words will lead your friends to Christ. Or if it can be done no other way, he will cause the children to help swell the last message, as they did the first message in Sweden, crying: “Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come.”

Lonely ones, trust in Jesus. Live for Heaven. Long and suffer, and toil for Jesus. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. Soon a rich, glorious, and eternal reward will be yours.

JOHN MATTESON.

Centerville, Kansas.

Preparation for Sabbath Keeping

By Jos. Clarke

Items.

We should not be too hasty in judging others; for the act or the word we have noticed, may have been bitterly repented of, and forsaken, while we were censuring it in our hearts.

The sixth day was the preparation day; if we hold the seventh day as holy, we must prepare for its celebration; and the whole day previous is none too long for the work of preparation; our minds, as well as our hearts, need ordering and arranging; and the hurry and fatigue of the sixth day, if spent in wearing labor, are ill calculated to calm the mind for devotion; then would it not be well, to slack up in our labors on the sixth day, and spend it in putting affairs to rights, and making such general settlements and arrangements as shall best free the mind from care, and thus we enter upon the Sabbath prepared to improve it?

There is an intimate connection of the Christian graces, and virtues, and acquirements; one can hardly exist alone; they will pine if not in good society. One will stand on his faith, to the neglect of study; he makes a bright light for awhile, then goes out; another will stand on his understanding of the truth; he fails in like manner, because he neglects meditation, and heart work and prayer. As in the common affairs of life, a diligent performance of little duties, seeing to all the minutiae of business, insures success, so in religion, you must make it your business, your main business.

Some make religion a kind of servant, to do their bidding, and when it fails to serve, it is discharged. Religion is a governing principle, standing in majesty and authority, to dictate, not to be dictated to.

God's mercy and love reaches to all his creatures; so let our hearts expand in generous acts, and kind words, and love to all. JOS. CLARKE.

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