Review and Herald, Vol. 34, No. 10. (8/31/1869)

Review and Herald

Aug 31, 1869

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 31, 1869

THE POSSESSION OF ABILITY.

By George I. Butler

PERHAPS there is no direction in which pride is more natural to the human heart than in the possession of ability. There is a universal desire among men to be thought talented. This has many different ways of being manifested, yet I think the above statement correct. The love of wealth, at the present time, is all-absorbing; yet I believe the love of being thought smart, is even more so. Why is there such a rush for prominent places in public life? Not merely for the money it brings, nor the ease of the incumbent, but to be looked up to. The members of the English Parliament receive nothing for their services, yet fortunes are spent for the purpose of getting a seat there. Why is it that people are willing to be praised more than the truth will warrant, while on the other hand, if blamed justly, or otherwise, it pierces even like a dagger to the heart, and enemies are made for life.

Every man, even the most simple, has some point in his mind in which he fondly believes he excels. The dislike of being thought foolish is one great reason why so many will not obey God. This principle is what keeps so many from self-examination and confession, and in spiritual blindness as to their real condition. We are apt to express a desire for greater ability than we possess; and certainly the consciousness that we have it in possession, when we have mental labor on hand, is very pleasant. How complacent the human heart is apt to feel under such circumstances! While, on the other hand, how trying to one's feelings it is when some difficult mental labor is before us, and we feel entirely inadequate to the emergency! How natural to repine because we had no more ability bestowed upon us. Those possessed of large self-esteem, perhaps, do not realize this so much. All their words and actions appear to them in such a favorable light that they do not know how others feel.

It may seem startling to some when I say, the possession of great talent is not only very dangerous, but hardly desirable. I believe this is so. The possession of great ability is, in many respects, like the possession of great wealth. It gives chance for great usefulness, but the chance is so rarely used and so generally abused that we are warranted in believing that the effect produced is generally bad. What opportunities for usefulness the Astors, the Girards, and the Rothschilds possessed! but how little good they did in the world! Our general experience teaches us that as riches increase, the desire to use them for any other purpose but self-gratification, decreases. The more we get, the more we want to get. So with mental capacity. It gives great chances for good, but they are not generally used.

A sad fact is very plain to observing minds, that is, the Devil has most of the smart men. Of course, there are exceptions in this, as well as other ages, but this is the general rule. What a pity! How much good might have been done had such men as Shakespeare and Dickens, Napoleon and Cæsar, and hundreds of others who might be mentioned, been truly consecrated to God.

And at the present time, as we read the writings of poets and legislators, and behold the energy which the men of the world put forth for the accomplishment of worldly purposes, we are led to think if these abilities were engaged in the cause of present truth, if these men could be humble Christians, consecrating all their powers to the advancement of God's blessed cause, what a work might be done.

But these men cannot, as a general thing, be reached; and I apprehend one of the greatest reasons is because they are conscious of their own talents, which renders it morally impossible to reach them. This will be the ruin of millions. And is not the direct cause of one's ruin dangerous and hardly desirable?

The Bible history bears me out in this. The case of Solomon will naturally occur to our minds while reflecting upon this idea. Possessed of the greatest diversity of talent, appearing to have a deep understanding of the whole realm of nature, having the deepest insight into human motives and human character, and, what was vastly more than all those, having a personal experience of the work of grace upon the heart, and a knowledge of the workings of the Spirit of God, having been a prophet of the Lord, one to whom God had spoken directly—yet in spite of all these, it appears probable that Solomon will be lost. His great abilities and acquisitions, instead of being a help, no doubt built up pride, that subtle, dangerous enemy, and led him to do what other men could not; i. e., commit sin, and on account of his wisdom, his knowledge, and his strength of character, escape the consequences of the same. This was beautifully set before us in a sermon by Bro. Andrews, in the REVIEW last winter.

There is another case recorded in the Bible, not so generally adverted to as Solomon's, which is equally plain: the case of Ahithophel. We read of him in 2 Sam. xv, 31; xvi, 20; xvii, 23. He seems to have been a counselor and intimate personal friend of King David's, who turned away from him in the rebellion of Absalom. He seems to be referred to in Ps. lv, 13, 14: "But it was thou, a man, mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked into the house of God in company."

It was very evident from David's language in 2 Samuel how much he feared his counsel. He says, "O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." Any one who will read the counsel he did give, will see with a little reflection how well calculated it was to widen the breach between father and son, and make a reconciliation between them impossible, and to end in the destruction of David, although it was satanic. What caused the alienation from his former friend and sovereign, of course we cannot tell; perhaps the hope of greater preferment or wealth.

In the last verse of the sixteenth chapter come these very remarkable words: "And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom." If we were to look the Bible through, we could not find a more remarkable declaration. A man's judgment, so perfect and exact as to what was best to be done, so certainly correct, that it was as if inquiring of God; and not once merely, but all through his connection with David and Absalom! How could language be framed more emphatic or more expressive? And yet we learn that this wonderful man in a little

while after went and committed self-murder. What a wretched end for such godlike ability!

The cases of Solomon and Ahithophel, their miserable end after having been children of God, should show us the danger of great ability, as well as great riches, and show us also the folly of desiring it when we do not possess it. The true rule is to make a good use of what we have received of God, put what we have received out to the exchangers, and make the proper use of that, instead of mourning over the lack of what we have not received, or trying to handle more than God has given.

Great talents bring terrible responsibility. When these talents are possessed, the responsibility comes in spite of us, and they must be used in the Master's cause, or we shall receive condemnation. But how apt we are, when we possess any talents, to look upon ourselves with complacency, and think we have a right to use them selfishly for our own gratification, while we should ever remember that we owe them all to God, and must render an account for their use. In other words, faithfulness, and not ambition, is the true principle of action for all. May the Lord help us all to act upon it.

GEO. I. BUTLER.

WHAT YOU CAN DO.

By Etta Booth

If you are too weak to labor In the vineyard of the earth, In which suffering and pollution Cover all with sick'ning dearth; You can by a life consistent With the love a Saviour gave, Help the fainting, falling, weary, *And the wayward, erring, save.

If you cannot, in the struggle, Bear your brother's heavy part, You can cast some rays of sunlight Round the weary, sinking heart. You can, by your cheering kindness, Whisper hopeful words of trust; Touch the chords of friendship often, And its harp-strings will not rust.

If you have not earthly treasure, To relieve the want and woe Crying to the rich to help them, You can listen as you go Through their homes of want and sorrow Like a true disciple meek; Words of kindness you can scatter, Bearing roses round your feet.

You can tell them of a Saviour, Who, on earth, did suffer loss; Taking on him all their sorrows When he died upon the cross; That he's waiting now to hear them, In his holy courts above; Pleading still before the Father, Making known his grace and love.

You can, if you have the blessing Of a sympathizing heart, Reach the burden'd hearts of others, And in tenderness impart All the prospects that before you In their silent grandeur rise; All the glories of that mansion That awaits you in the skies.

Then, if something you are waiting To do in the Master's field, Scatter wide these seeds of blessing, Soon a hundred fold they'll yield; Go, then, where the soil is richest, 'Mongst the thorns and thistle-down; And when comes the golden harvest, Gems will glitter in your crown.

ETTA BOOTH.

How It Died.

“DIED—in Laodicea, the Prayer-Meeting, aged one year. The health of this meeting was poor most of the year, and its life was despaired of. But a few anxious friends kept it alive, and sometimes it would so revive as to encourage them.

“Discouragement at last prevailed, and the prayer-meeting is dead. It died from neglect. Not a Christian was present when it died. Over forty were living within a mile of it, and not one was there.

“Had two only been there, its life might have been saved, for ‘where two are agreed,’ &c.

“Two-thirds of the forty might have been there, had they been so disposed; but they were not, and the prayer-meeting died.”

JOY AND PEACE IN BELIEVING.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

Says Paul, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Rom. xv, 13. This is a sentiment often repeated in the Bible, that the child of God should be full of joy and peace by believing in God. It is his privilege to walk in the light; to have peace that passeth all understanding; to have a firm hope in God; to know that he has passed from death unto life, &c. So holy men of the Bible have said and felt, and so it is promised to every child that will walk with God. Now does our experience correspond with this? Do we enjoy our religion, or is it a yoke of bondage? Do we ever enjoy sweet seasons of communion with God and Heaven? If we do not, sin lies at the door.

With sorrow I have to confess that I have not always served God because I loved to; that my soul has not always been in my prayers; that my own heart has not always been moistened and wet with the dews of Heaven while I have been trying to water others; and that my spirit has not always been warmed with the love of Jesus while I have tried to warm others. But it is hard laboring for God and for souls in this way. It is like working alone, and with man's strength, against overwhelming odds. Very little fruit ever appears from such labor.

But I am glad that all my experience has not been of this kind. I have found many bright spots, happy hours, and deep joy and peace, in serving my God. How many sweet seasons my soul has enjoyed when I have sought the Lord by repentance, humiliation, meditation, and earnest prayer. How near Heaven has seemed! how light, and full of peace and love! How great, then, has appeared the goodness of God, and the love of Jesus! Then could I go forth with a full heart, and it was sweet to work for Jesus. Then could I reach the hearts of those who heard me. When the heart is full of the love of God, and his truth, how easy it is to talk it out, and pray it out. How precious souls seem then, and how small self appears, and all our labors and trials are nothing. Why can we not always live there! Ah! it is the deceitfulness of sin, the carnal heart, that shuts out the light of Heaven, and cuts us off from the joy of God's salvation.

I find that it is easier to make a mighty effort and seek the Lord than it is to continue to walk with him after I have found him. A continual seeking God, a daily conversion, is what is needed. This I am trying to obtain, and the Lord often waters my soul with his good Spirit. Oh! let us taste and see that God is good.

D. M. CANRIGHT.

Sigourney, Iowa.

True Friendship in Extremity

Happy is he who finds a true friend in extremity; but still more happy is he who finds an extremity to try his friend.

TRUTH.

By Mary Stratton

“Truth crushed to earth will rise again; Th’ eternal years of God are hers; But error, wounded, writhes in pain, And dies amid its worshipers.”

I cannot help admiring the beauty and excellency there is in the truth. It is always in time and place. Our Heavenly Father adapts it to all our wants. The doctrine of the sleep of the dead and the destruction of the wicked, was revived just in season to meet Spiritualism; and the commandments of God, and the reform, to fit a people for translation.

It is no use for the world or the churches (if I need make the distinction) to oppose. God has set his seal to these truths, and they must advance till the coming of the Just One. It is mysterious to me why more do not see and embrace the third angel’s message when it is so plain; and more mysterious that those who have embraced it do not see that the reform must be in close proximity to it. For how can we be cleansed, purified, and made perfect, without the aid of the reform?

I will not speak of the filthy habit of using tobacco, nor of the use of pork; such things ought not to be once named among Seventh-day Adventists. But tea, coffee, spices, and, finally, all stimulants, are evil and only evil in their effects. The world is running rampant after these things; and shall we follow in its train? When I hear my brethren and sisters say they are trying to be good and faithful, and mean to be overcomers, and still persist in these pernicious habits, what am I to think? Well, I have not wisdom enough to solve these things, so I will leave them and have all the charity I can, remembering my own infirmities.

It may be that reform in dressing is not so important as in eating; yet it is important, and how glad I would be to see uniformity among our sisters in this. I am not ashamed of the reform dress. It commends itself to every reasonable mind. But when I see my sisters wearing long, heavy skirts, at the cost of health and a great deal of happiness, I do feel sorry. And if they are long enough to drag six or eight inches on the ground, a feeling very near akin to shame comes over me; because the argument is all on one side of this question, and ought to be so understood.

There may be crosses, but there is a crown a little in the distance. There may be bitterness in the cup, but the honey of the truth will sweeten it all. If we do not suffer with Christ, we have no promise of reigning with him.

MARY STRATTON.

THE POWER OF PRAYER.

The Bible account of the power of prayer is the best we have, or can have.

Abraham’s servant prays—Rebekah appears.

Jacob prays—the angel is conquered; Esau’s revenge is changed to fraternal love.

Joseph prays—he is delivered from the prison of Egypt.

Moses prays—Amalek is discomfited; Israel triumphs.

Joshua prays—the sun stands still; victory is gained.

Hannah prays—the prophet Samuel is born.

David prays—Ahithophel goes out and hangs himself.

Asa prays—God turns away his anger and smiles.

Elijah prays—the little cloud appears; the rain descends upon the earth.

Elisha prays—the waters of the Jordan are divided; a child is restored to life.

Isaiah prays—one hundred and eighty-four thousand Assyrians are dead.

Hezekiah prays—the sun-dial is turned back; his life is prolonged.

Mordecai prays—Haman is hanged; Israel is free.

Nehemiah prays—the king’s heart is softened in a minute.

Ezra prays—the wall of Jerusalem begins to rise.

The church prays—the Holy Ghost is poured out.

The church prays again—Peter is delivered by an angel.

Paul and Silas pray—the prison shakes; the doors open; every man’s hands are loosed.

GOD'S WILLINGNESS TO GIVE.

By E. E. Sturges

God is willing to give his children the things they ask for, and many times bestows more than they have faith or confidence to ask. The woman of Canaan begs a crumb, and Jesus gives her a child's portion. She came to have her sick child made whole, and Jesus said, “O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.”

Weary, trembling pilgrim, striving to overcome and obtain eternal life, Jesus speaks just such comforting words to you. Solomon prays for wisdom, and with it God gives him wealth and honor. Abraham asks a child of God, and he gives him a son, and more than this, a numerous offspring, in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed.

To God's little remnant the promises are great, but how slow of heart are we to believe the good word of God. We daily trample upon exceeding great and precious promises, as upon barren ground, while we cry, “My leanness! my leanness!” forgetting the injunction, “Ask, that your joy may be full.” We need to take counsel of the word. Daniel's method was right. First, he searched the Scriptures to see what was the mind of God before he set his face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer, &c. Dan. ix, 3. “Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” Do we believe this? If we do, let us draw nigh unto God with full purpose of heart. Zion languishes; her sons and daughters, many of them, have but a name to live. Rapidly is the end drawing near, and what shall the anxious, waiting ones cry to God for? Clean hands and a pure heart. Oh, that we may be found without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.

To the youth in our ranks, I would say, The cause demands the hearty co-operation of such as you. Are you in a condition to work for perishing souls? Have you learned what you may pray for in faith to receive. “This is the confidence we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us.” Is this your experience? God will rouse us suddenly if we do not rouse ourselves. His commands oblige us to flee from the snares that Satan lays for us, as well as to pray against them. God will not work for us if we are unwilling to work for ourselves.

We have no excuse why we may not help bear the burden of the work. Let us resolve at once to die to self and the world. Then we shall be alive to God, and reflect the image of Jesus. We shall find at last a crown and mansion in Heaven for us.

E. E. STURGES.

ETERNITY.

By L. E. Millne

O ENDLESS eternity! Immortality brought to light through the gospel, and freely offered to mortal man. Amazing grace! How rich the gift! With what shall I compare thee? Eternity; who can comprehend it?

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright, shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, Than when we first begun.”

And the weary saint is almost there. Yes, we are nearing the port of endless life. Those glittering mansions, those transparent streets, like unto pure gold, the tree of life, those crystal streams, all invite my soul away from this dark vale of sin and sorrow. Shall I complain of trials and temptations? Shall I shrink from the fiery ordeal? Oh no! Let me feel the cleansing flame. Let the dross be consumed. Let me be purified. Let the image of Jesus shine in me. However painful the conflict, ’tis nothing compared to an eternity of bliss in the kingdom, never, never more to end.

Awake! O thou that sleepest; awake, arise; shake off this slumber from thy soul, and behold the beautiful city, the New Jerusalem. Art thou not transported at the sight? Canst thou barter away eternal life, for the few fleeting pleasures of this world, which are soon to pass away? Tarry no longer; flee for thy life! Resist the enemy of all righteousness. Return unto the Shepherd, and Bishop of your souls, and there shall be joy in Heaven. L. E. MILLNE.

Assurance of Faith

ASSURANCE OF FAITH.—Assurance is glory in the bud; it is the suburb of Paradise; it is a cluster of the land of promise; it is a spark of God; it is the joy and crown of a Christian.—Brooks.

ROMANISM IN AUSTRIA.

The following article, which we clip from the editorial columns of the Battle Creek Journal, illustrates the wicked cruelty of the “Man of Sin,” whom the Lord is to “consume with the spirit of his mouth,” and “destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Such recitals lead us to exclaim, Hasten the day. Even so, come, Lord Jesus:

A horrible discovery was made last month, at Cracow, in the Empire of Austria. An anonymous letter, written in a woman’s hand, gave information to one of the civil courts that a nun named Barbara Abryk had been for many years immured in a dark cell in the Carmelite Convent in that city. The convent was accordingly visited by an officer, who, though at first refused, insisted upon being shown to the cell of the imprisoned nun, where a revelation was made, which, if the facts were not well attested, we should suppose to belong entirely to the realm of fictitious invention. A human being crouched in a narrow prison six by eight feet in size, the window of which had been walled up, so that light was occasionally admitted through a very small aperture. In the language of one of the Vienna journals:

“In a dark, stinking hole, on a heap of straw, sat, or rather cowered, a naked, wild-grown, half-witted woman, who, at the unusual appearance of light and human beings, dropped her hands and implored piteously, ‘I am hungry; pity me; give me meat; I will be obedient.’ This dungeon, with its little straw, and much filth, and a dish of mouldy potatoes, without fire, bed, table, or even chair, which no sunstreak cheered, or fire-blaze ever warmed, had the inhuman ‘Sisters’ chosen as the dwelling-place of their should-be companion; there had they imprisoned her, year after year, since 1848. For 21 years did these dreadful Sisters pass that cell, and to none of them had it ever entered to take compassion on their poor victim. And now, half-human, half-beast, with her body covered with dirt, with her legs shrunk and withered, with her head squalid, diseased, year-upon-year-long unwashed, a terrible being revealed herself, such as Dante himself, with all his powers, could not have depicted or imagined. So kneeled there that awful victim in the convent of the Carmelites.”

Upon investigation it appeared that this Barbara entered the cloister of barefooted Carmelites in 1841, at the age of twenty-four years, and that, for breaking her vows, in what particular is not fully known, she was placed in her cell in the year 1848, as mentioned above. As was to have been expected, she was at once set at liberty by the officers of the law, the Bishop of the Diocese loudly denouncing the crime, and threatening to break up the convent. The poor woman, while being led away from the gloomy walls which had imprisoned her for so many years, inquired with trembling anxiety, “Won’t they take me back again to my grave?” indicating some horrid sepulture to which she had been subjected, and when asked why she had been shut up, answered, “I have broken my vows; but these, these,” looking furiously upon the Sisters, “are no angels;” and she sprang upon the confessor, exclaiming, “You beast.”

This victim of ecclesiastical cruelty was then taken to an asylum for the insane. Reason had deserted its throne, under these horrible cruelties, but it is said the physicians have hopes of her recovery under proper care.

But a most important fact in connection with this event, is the effect which this revelation seems to have produced upon the popular mind in Austria. The press expresses its indignation. A Vienna paper asks, in view of it, “Is this the nineteenth century?” and the power of Rome has evidently received a most staggering blow. At Cracow, the excitement was intense. A mob of 4,000 people broke into the Carmelite convent, smashing the windows, and committing other mischief, and the Lady Superior and her assistants were obliged to place themselves under a military escort for protection. Even the Jesuit, and also the Franciscan convents, were threatened with destruction, and a petition numerously signed has been sent to the civil authorities to remove the Jesuits and Carmelites from the place.

These things indicate that Romanism is rapidly losing dominion in Austria under the rising intelligence and the growing power of the people. Terrible as is the revelation made at Cracow, of the bigotry and cruelty of the church, it also proves that the day for the exercise of such bigotry and cruelty is nearly over, even in the Empire which the Pope has hitherto regarded to be the very strongest bulwark of his authority.

The facts of history have frequently disclosed the truth that no ecclesiastical communion can be safely entrusted with the prerogative which properly belongs to the State, and we trust that Austria will now put an end to the Concordat which gives irresponsible authority to those who, in the sacred name of Christ, have so often shown themselves ready to inflict barbarities upon their fellow-mortals, which it would almost be slanderous to charge upon Satan himself. When the civil power asserts its full mastery, and becomes entirely emancipated from priestly thralldom, there will be a rapid advancement of freedom, and a speedy growth of free institutions in the Austrian Empire, as well as in Italy and Spain, where the decline of Romish influence has been clearly and steadily marked by the advance of liberal political sentiments among all classes of the people. We believe in the full toleration of Romanism as a religious creed, but when, according to its wont, it attempts political domination, it seeks to gain a thing the very possession of which calls for the universal denunciation of mankind.

THE UNFAITHFUL MINISTER IN THE DAY OF GOD.

THIS truly awful account of the unfaithful watchman is from the description of the day of Judgment given in Pollok's "Course of Time." It is essentially a truthful representation. Let all who read it lay its solemn admonitions to heart.

Among th' accursed, who sought a hiding place In vain, from fierceness of Jehovah's rage, And from the hot displeasure of the Lamb, Most wretched, most contemptible, most vile,— Stood the false priest, and in his conscience felt The fellest gnaw of the undying worm: And so he might, for he had on his hands The blood of souls, that would not wipe away. Hear what he was. He swore in sight of God And man, to preach his Master, Jesus Christ; Yet preached himself: he swore that love of souls, Alone, had drawn him to the church: yet strewed The path that led to hell with tempting flowers, And in the ear of sinners, as they took The way of death, he whispered peace: he swore Away all love of lucre, all desire Of earthly pomp: and yet, a princely seat He liked, and to the clink of mammon's box Gave most rapacious ear. His prophecies, He swore, were from the Lord: and yet, taught lies For gain: with quackish ointment, healed the wounds And bruises of the soul, outside, but left, Within, the pestilent matter unobserved, To sap the moral constitution quite, And soon to burst again, incurable. He, with untempered mortar, daubed the walls Of Zion, saying Peace, when there was none. The man who came with thirsty soul to hear Of Jesus, went away unsatisfied: For he another gospel preached than Paul, And one that had no Saviour in't: and yet, His life was worse. Faith, charity, and love, Humility, forgiveness, holiness, Were words well lettered in his Sabbath creed; But with his life he wrote as plain, Revenge, Pride, tyranny, and lust of wealth, and power Inordinate, and lewdness unashamed. He was a wolf in clothing of the lamb, That stole into the fold of God, and on The blood of souls, which he did sell to death, Grew fat: and yet, when any would have turned Him out, he cried, "Touch not the priest of God." And that he was anointed, fools believed; But knew, that day, he was the devil's priest, Anointed by the hands of sin and death, And set peculiarly apart to ill,— While on him smoked the vials of perdition, Poured measureless. Ah me! what cursing then Was heaped upon his head by ruined souls, That charged him with their murder, as he stood, With eye of all the unredeemed most sad, Waiting the coming of the Son of Man!

Prayer

PRAYER.—“He who prays as he ought, will endeavor to live as he prays. He that can live in sin, and abide in the ordinary duties of prayer, never prays as he ought. A truly gracious, praying frame, is utterly inconsistent with the love of, and reserve for, any sin.” —Owen.

THE BEGINNING OF APOSTASY.

By Jos. Clarke

If we can find where an evil commences, we have the secret of avoiding it, unless it has proceeded beyond cure.

In the perusal of the sermon published in Review No. 2, entitled “The Evil Heart of Unbelief,” this subject is fully considered; and it is there proved that all sin originates in the evil heart of unbelief which departs from God, or that departure from God hardens the heart, and fits it thus to launch out into sin of every kind.

So, then, we see that when we depart from God, become lukewarm and stupid in his service, we become calloused and hard-hearted, and Satan has influence to lead us astray; then, step by step, we leave the path of duty, farther and farther we go astray from God, until it seems impossible to return again to his service.

Where, then, was the principal sin? Was it not the first departure from God? or was it the last great disaster which woke us to see our situation? Oh, cruel unbelief! Who would have thought that a little unbelief, a little departure from God, would have wrought such wondrous depths of sin.

Was it not this which paved the way for the fall of Judas, of Demas, and others who have fallen?

Is it not the experience of every one who has ever backslidden from God, that unbelief and lukewarmness first open the floodgates of sin? On the other hand, how sweet the consideration, that by drawing near to God we may avoid the great disaster of apostasy and ruin; and that by living in continual and intimate communion with God, we may attain to perfection. And it is clear that by such means alone we overcome, that is, by the opposite of unbelief, by the power of faith, a living faith.

When we live near to God, and drink in rich supplies of his grace, then faith is in lively exercise, and the nearer we approach to him, the more strong and lively our faith; but when we depart from him, then comes in unbelief, which increases in the proportion of our distance from our Creator and Redeemer.

Where, then, was the first step in unbelief? Was it not the first departure from God? when we first commenced becoming stupid and careless?

From reading the article above alluded to, many conclusions came with force upon my mind. Some of them I have here written; another in this: that only by the power of a living faith can we stand and fully overcome. Then let us all draw near, very near to God, and cultivate in our hearts the love and fear of God, by the power of faith, resisting unbelief and spiritual darkness, realizing that if we become cold in our love toward God, we are at once powerless to resist our cruel foe, who knows well how to time his attacks upon those who wish to escape his grasp.

JOS. CLARKE.

A GENTLE HINT—GAPING.

By A. S. HUTCHINS

IN speaking of his enemies, Job says, “They have gaped upon me with their mouth.” In this way the wicked often open their mouths in envy and rage, against the righteous. But says Peter, “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye.”

And again, “For what glory is it, if, when ye are buffetted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” 1 Pet. ii, 20.

While laboring under the influence of sleepiness and stupidity, from overtaxed energies or surfeiting, a temporary relief may be gained by gaping. But when a sense of propriety, and respect for the house of worship, and divine service, is so far lost, as to allow ourselves frequently to indulge in yawning, in a manner so coarse and loud as greatly to annoy both the earnest speaker and anxious hearer, we say it is too bad. And we have wished it were otherwise.

Now, kind reader, this moderate intimation means you. And we confidently expect that when you read it you will be benefited by it, for you know “a word to the wise is sufficient.” A. S. HUTCHINS.

Fearing God, Fearing Men

The more we fear God the less we shall fear men.

THE APPEARING OF CHRIST.

THIS term is applied to the first advent of the Saviour, and also to the second. Heb. ix, 26, 28. When, however, in speaking of the forty days which intervened between our Lord's resurrection and his ascension from the Mount of Olives in the presence of all his disciples, the idea is advanced that Jesus visited his Father's presence during the time, at least, on the day of his resurrection, as implied in John xx, 17, then it is strongly objected that this cannot be, because his future advent is called his second appearing. Heb. ix, 28. Yet those who raise this objection do not correctly apprehend the case. The statement that "now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself," Heb. ix, 26, must be understood to cover all the time from his birth till his ascension from the Mount of Olives. And whether he visited his Father during the forty days or not, it is certain that he was not with the disciples during that time, except, in most cases, at intervals of several days each. John xx; xxi; Acts i. And these several manifestations of Jesus to his disciples after his resurrection are called appearings. Thus we read:

Mark xvi, 9: "He appeared first to Mary Magdalene."

Verse 12: "After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them."

Verse 14: "Afterward he appeared unto the eleven, as they sat at meat."

Luke xxiv, 34: "Saying, the Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon."

These texts are sufficient to show that those critics who seize upon the expression, "appear the second time," to show that Christ could not ascend to his Father and return again to his disciples on the day of his resurrection, because that would make his future advent his third appearing, do labor under a great mistake. Here are not less than four instances during the forty days in which Christ is said to have appeared to his disciples.

But it may be said that this does not meet the case, for (as claimed by these critics), Christ did not leave the earth between these appearings. Let us then try again. Several years after the ascension of Christ from the Mount of Olives, Saul, the Pharisee, was converted. Now it is twice expressly stated in the book of Acts, that Christ appeared to Saul on the way to Damascus. Thus we read:

Acts ix, 17: "The Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest." See also verses 3-5.

xxvi, 16: "I [Jesus] have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister." See also verses 12-15. Read also the express statement of Acts xxii, 14; 1 Cor. ix, 1; xv, 8.

It is certain that Jesus did appear to Saul after his ascension. And yet Saul, afterward called Paul, does after this speak of the second appearing of Jesus. Nor is this all that should be said. It appears that in various forms the Son of God did manifest himself to his people in Old-Testament times, even before what is called his first appearing. Thus it is said that the captain (or as the margin has it, the prince,) of the Lord's host appeared to Joshua. Josh. v, 13-15. But this prince of the host we know from the book of Daniel to be Christ himself. Dan. viii, 11, 25; xi, 22; xii, 1. And this prince of the host, or Michael, did reveal himself to Daniel. See Dan. viii, 13-16; x, 10; xii, 1, 5, 6. Michael, or Christ, was here upon the earth to contend with the Devil concerning the body of Moses, and, it is reasonable to infer, to raise that body from the dead. Jude 9. And many other facts might be adduced to show that Christ did reveal himself to some of his people in Old-Testament days, and prior to his appearing once to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. How, then, are we to understand the language of the Bible respecting his appearing the second time? It is evident, that if there be any difficulty here to solve, it does not all grow out of the interpretation of John xx, 17, proposed at the opening of this article. The difficulty, if there be one, pertains to all who believe the Bible. Yet there is really no difficulty only in the minds of those who desire to cavil.

The two appearings of Jesus, of which Paul speaks, are his two public manifestations to the world of mankind.

This is a reasonable explanation of the language, and with this interpretation of Paul's words, all difficulty in the case ceases to exist.

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